THE SNOW-CAPPED PLANET.
Tha Development of Mar--Have
Oar Martial Srlthbore C'aaalst-
Happing the Plaaet.
fNow York Sun.l
Perhaps the m0.1t interesting celostial
event of the year will be the opposition
of Mars at the end of the present
month. 1 here ii so much about this
lomarkablo planot that augments a close
resemblance to the earth, and so many
of lta surface foatures and of the natural
processes occurring upon it are visible
with tolescopio aid, that every time it
comes to opposition, that is. Rots into a
line with the earth and the sun, the
earth being in the middle, a battery of
telescopes is turned upon it with eager
exiiectation 01 interesting viewi if not
of important discoveries. At opposition
Mars appears with small telescopio
power like a lull moon of a ruddy titige,
As the magnifying power is increased
one detail after another of the diverse
fled surface of this distant world comes
into view, until it Langs in the field of
the telescope a real globe, marked
plainly with continents, oceans, and
islands, aud partially covered with
clouds.
The first physical features of Mars
that come into view are the snow-caps
surrounding bis poles. The southern
pole is now inclined toward tho earth.
and a small telescope, say of throo
incites aperture, will plainly show the
circular, gloaming patch of snow that
covers the antarctic region of tho crlobo
of Mars. Tho dark ring surrounding
the snownold ana sometimes culled
Philip s sea is almost equally distinct.
aud some of the other seas or spots
that are believed to be seas can be seoa
with tlra samo telescope. With a
largor telescopo more details are visi
ble; and with the largest and best of
all the various features of Martian
goography which aro represented on
some of tho wonderfully complete mops
of-Murs that Lave bon construeted.cnn
le seon. What a surprising thing it is
that men have been able to make maps
and globes representing, with a high
degree of completeness, the surface of a
world nover much less than 40,000,000
miles distant from the earth I
Large telescopes will, during tho
present opposition also, lo able to show
the two tiny moons of Mars, which re
volve closo to the planet, so rapidly that
tho inner one goes through all tho
changes from now moon to old moon in
loss than a day.
Another interesting thing about Mars
which can now be studied is the mys
terious network of so-called caii'uls
which conr a large portion of the plan
et's surface, particularly in the equa
torial regions. The idoa that thero aro
caaals constructed by inhabitants of tho
rnddy planet can hardly be eutertaiuod
when it is known that they are sixty
miles and more in width.
One thing seems to be pretty certain :
Mars has reached a much larger stugo of
planetary development than the earth,
and if it has inhabitants they may pos
sibly have attainod a degree of civiliza
tion incomprehensible to us. At any
rate, it is a wonderful world that now
beams as a ruddy star in our winter
miduight sky.
Mnaday la t'onatantlaople.
(Foreign Cor. Huu Frauclaco CtuuuMo.
lint if, however, business does not
step its whoels on a Friday, the Turk
ish Sunday is a gala day for tho womcu,
the idlers aud the, tourists. Karly in
tho morning the narrow streets leading
out of l'era are crowded with peoplo
goiug in the direction of the great ave
nue that leads to tho winter paluco.
Their pit'tures(ueness alone makes bear
able the fact that they do uot smell good.
As I saw them, high state dignitaries
passed iu open carriages, pashas and
officers, followed by their orderlies,
scattered tho crowd as they galloped
by. lty them rail beggars in all stages
of profitable diseaso and disfigurement,
who sureamed dolefully for alms and
only desisted as their wind gave out.
Yet these same beggars garnered a very
pretty harvest of piasters in tho course
of the morning. Turkish women were
plenty, iu tho most gaudy colors, their
luces veiled and their dainty yellow
slippers kept out of the amid by put tons'
six inches high.
Omnipresent were tho venders of
water, coffee and sherbet. The Turkish
law allows no strouger drinks to be sold
iu public, and these fellows reaped rich
harvests, retailing their wares at a
quarter-piaster (about an American
cent) a glass to the thirsty crowd.
F.quully a nuisance were tho dealers in
nuts and uniso-soed cakesthe lat
ter wares made round and carried
strung 011 long sticks. There is some
thing peculiarly aggressivo in tho way
a Turk does business. Tor a bargain of
nu eighth of a cent he will shout and
swing his arms and almost come to
blows. In fact, on the streets in Con
stantinople everybody shouts, no mat
ter whether he is bargaining or not, and
the result iu such a crowd is pandemo
nium. Perhaps tho most curious figures
were the eunuchs. Following the popu
lar idea, 1 hud expected them to be
small and abortive iu development. On
tho contrary, they are largo and well
almost perfectly formed, and would
be conspicuous anywhere for their Hue
appearance and graceful carriage. To
day there are practically no white eu
nuchs iu Turkey. The law allows only
black. Most of these come from Fgypt
or Nubia. They are sleek and well
fed, wear modern clothes, long ulsters
of Paris cut, and carry more stylo than
the porter of a l'ullman car. The
crowd showed representatives of every
hade of color, from black to purest
white. Fortunately all were good
Matured, for otherwise there would have
been innumerable tights from the aban
donment with which they shoved aud
elbowed each other along.
Old lllrkerr'a Orthography.
Chicago Herald.
Somebody hat been unearthing a lot
of old depositions in a Kentucky cletk's
office, and taking notes of the bad spell
ing of some of the great men of the past.
A deHMtition in the handwriting of
Andrew Jackson contains audi xpe.lit g
as "refferenee," "deponants," 'tintdl,'
'ballanee," "valine," aud "diftcn'.t. ' Old
Hickory's use of capitals was quite re
markable. Such words as "lUillar"
and "Money" he capitalized, while !;
also wrote "almighty god."
The Probabilities or Personal Hon
eat. Detroit Pre Praoj.1
At half-past 7 o'clock the triangle
sounded, the Oloe club sang an ode en
titled "Don't You Lick a Lamp Tost,"
and Brother Gardner said:
"De y'ar 1883 am passed an gone. Its
cyclones, airthquakes, floods, fires, joys
an' sorrows am no mo'. Dey'arlHbt
boa been bo"n, an' de chilo am doin' as
well as kin be suspected under the sar
cumstances. At tie present time we all
feel what poo', contemptiblo sinners we
am, an' we resolve to do better. A
New Y'ar's resolusbun am not worf do
Cowdor to blow it across de sidewalk,
ut at de same time if I can h'ar of a
single member of dis club who hasn't
resolved to live a hotter life from dis
time honcefu'th I'll fine him $16,000.
Let ns now agitate do reg'lar program
my of bizness."
Brother Ilamiltonian Smith arose to
make an inquiry. lio had often been
asked if it was forbidden iu the consti
tution or by-laws of the Lime-Kiln club
for a member to bold a position under
thestato or United States government.
"I should reckon it wasn't!" replied
the president, as Smith sat down. "De
members of dis club kin hold any sort
o' posishun dny kin git, from sellin' red
lemonade in do big circus tent to con
ductin' do pension buro at Washington,
De only by-law on dosuhjeck am to for
bid do club, as a club, from givin' bonds
fur do honesty of any member holdin' a
posishun whar' he km do any stealin'."
Major Chapultepeo Green secured
the Hoor to inquire if tho president in'
tendod to be understood as doubting
the honesty of members of the club?
I hat is, if Waydown Boboo, for in
stance, was a clerk in the city treas
urer's office and had a chance to lay his
hands upon $10,000, would ho do it?
"Ue probably would, sah! Dat is,
dar' am so many probabilities dat he
would pocket de money an' skip fur
Yurrup dat do club wouldn't go on his
bond. Whon white ruon all ober do
kentry am daily sellin' out dair reputa
tion fur honesty fur a few hundred dol
lass apiece, it wouldn't be safe to leavo
a black man olono wid a packago
countiu up into de thousands,
(ambling. .. Z
"Oath" in New York Tribune.)
Oambling may be the unanticipated
dostroyer of modorn civilization. The
riots of 1877 have sometimes been
debited to stock gambling. San Fran
cisco, rising like anothor Ilium, let in
the Trojan horse of the Comstock lodo,
and next was Kearney, Kalloch and tho
aand lots. Anothor insurrection in
Spain lately was charged to a stock
gambling coterie between Paris and
Madrid at the same instant we wero ap
prised of it. Tho French war in Anam,
which may be a string to pull all Asia
together, is charged to schemes to
launch stock projects on the l'aris
Bourse and pluck France of her
plethorio wealth. Maximilian diod for
a stock bubble and for the
same the Napoleons went out.
Egypt revolts and Alexandria turns
to ashes when a French "projector"
tempts tho son of Mehemet Ali into his
broker's shop. Tho vast indemnity
Germany took from France was burnt
up in limited liability companies. Groat
maritime corporations no competition
could put down have yielded iu Eng
land to operations in tho directory and
stand limp and sick, l'eru and Bolivia
nearly perish under a conquest begun
from speculations in nitre aud guano.
Our own land was the basis of a specu
lation that overthrew tho French mon
archy seventy years later, when for
dukedoms and murqumatos in Arkansas
Law's Louisiana shares went up 4,000
per cent. Tocquovillo, fifty years ogo,
considered division of labor iu the fac
tories the only iuflueucu probable to
subvert democracy with feudality. Ho
did not seo gambling, though Biddlo
and the bank had just been ruiued.
A Messenger ll Long Trip.
llnltimore Sun.
A bright faced, red-headed boy, 14
years old, dressed in the uniform of a
messenger lad, called at a pawn storo
Saturday and threw a pawn ticket for a
gold chain on the show caso aud said :
"Gimme that chain."
Mr. Lewyt looked nt the ticket, which
ho at onco recognized. "The man to
whom this ticket belongs is in New
York," he remarked to the boy.
"Well, that's just where I camo from,"
said tho boy. Tho little fellow then
said that on Saturday afternoon a call
came to the Seventy-second street ollico,
cast side, New York city, for a messen
ger boy. This lad was sent to a well-to-do
gentleman's house in answer to
the summons. The caller had
pawned a valuable chain, an
heirloom, during his visit to Bal
timore a few days ngo, when he
was out of money. He wanted to
wear the chain on Sunday, but could
not get it in time, as no express would
reach him on that dav. The boy was
to bring the pawn ticket here, pay the
$25 advanced on the chain, also the in
terest, and get back as soon at ho
could. The gentleman was to pay his
fare here and back, incidental expenses,
and give him besides 0 cents au hour
extra pay.
1 lie boy was back in ew lork Sat
urday night with the chaiu, fifteen
hours after he started.
How Joaqaln Miller Works,
Joaqnin Miller, tho ever tuneful poet
of the Sierras, is a hard worker. He
writes his graphic Sunday sketches for
The Courier-Journal, guides tho
destinies of a serial story iu Wakeman's
Curront, will be represented in the
coming St, Nicholas, drops into poetry
for the leading magazines, in his odd
moments writes a play, and on off days
runs down to Washington from New
York and superintends a new house he
is building there.
f.ffrrt of Miami Watera.
Medical Journal.
From exierimentsnion doers. Lewas-
chew and Klikow itch have concluded,
that tho effect of ordinary natural min
eral watera is to increase the quautity
of bile and to make it more fluid and
watery This increased flow is bene
ficial in freeing the gall-bladder from
stagnant bile. The action of artificial
solutions of alkaline salts, as well as of
hot water, was found to 1 similar to
that of the natural mineral waters.
A PLEA KOR ALMANACS.
The Alnaaae of the Old Settler
taKgestloa for Pobllahrra to Con
sider. Chicago Timet.
One of the first publications in this
country that attracted great attention
at home and abroad was "Poor Rich
ard's Almanac," which was compiled
and published by Benjamin Franklin.
The ' wise maxims contained in
this publication became "house
hold words" in almost every
family in the land. They ronkod
next to the proverbs of Solomon. Un
doubtedly they contributed much to the
thrift of the early settlers of the coun
try. Books were scarce and news
papers almost unknown outside of
large towns. Tho almanac was the
book for daily reference. It was
studied almost as critically as the
bible. Before the year had ended, al
most every member of tho family hod
committed its contents to memory.
Old almanacs were carefully filed away
for the benefit of future generations.
Not nnfrequontly they were bound and
plaeoj in the library.
The almanac of "Poor Ilichard" was
succeeded by others of almost equal
value, which contained a large amount
of useful information. Besides the cal
endar of each month, there were the
Dames of the oflleers of the nation and
and state, the times of holding court,
the fees of various officials, college reg
isters, businocs forms, interest tables,
an abstract of the postal laws, the time
of the occurrence of eclipses, and
various othor things of timely impor
tance. It was thought necessary for
every well-regulated family to have an
almanac before the commencement of
the new year.
The decline in reliable almanacs in
this country dates from the advent of
patent medicines. The enterprising
proprietors of these nostrums published
enormous editions of so-called medical
almanacs, heaped the counters of gro
ceries and drug stores with them, and
caused them to be distributed from
house to houso. In many cases they is
sued editions in various languages, and
gave them away, aud the free almanacs
thus destroyed the market for those
that were only disposed of for a price.
The free almanacs, however, were very
dear in the end, for they induced peo
plo to purchase millions of dollars'
worth of useless if not harmful nos
trums. It is time to revive the publication
of almanacs of the better sort. Their
publication has never been discontinued
in Great Britain and the countries on
the continent of Europe. A journal iu
the former country devotes two columns
to a review of the almanacs issued for
the present year. Some of them ap
pear to lie volumes of considerable size
and to contain a vast amount of in
formation. A few are largely devoted
to the wants of special classes, as ship
pers, miners, teachers, merchants and
scholars. One is chiefly given to the
discussion of domestic problems as ap
plied to evory-day life. Another is do
signed for the dissemination of free
trade principles.
. The family almanac, as a moans of
doing good in various ways, has not re
cently been appreciated in this country.
The liumaue society could hardly make
a better use of a part of its funds than
by publishing an almanac that would
be put into tho hands of persons w ho
have tho care of animals and birds. The
manufacturers and venders of quack
medicines, fertilizers and dime novels
should not bo allowed to monopolize
tho publication of a class of reading
matter that goes into every family liv
ing outside of tho largo cities, and
which is attentively and carefully
studied. The influcnco of the family
ulmauac can hardly bo overestimated.
familiar Line or an Old-Tlnie Poet.
It appears that a number of our
familiar phrases are tho expressions of
an almost forgotten English poet,
Thomas Timer, who was born about
the year 1515, and died when Shake
speare was but 10 years old.
The following quotations aro given
ns illustrations:
A stone that is rolling can gather no moss.
Better late titan never.
All's fish they get
That eoiuetu to net.
Look ere thou leap, see ere thou go.
Except wind stands as nover it stood,
It is au ill wind that turns noue to good.
Time tries the troth iu everything.
Uod srudeth and giveth both mouth and the
meat.
A rrentlce Chest not.
Tho Courier-.Tonrnal says that the
lato George 1. Prontieo was once play
ing nt poker on a Mississippi steamer.
Prentice bet a thousand on his hand ;
his opponent raised him five hundred ;
Prcntico raised a thousand; his oppo
nent raised him tivo hundred; Prentice
again raised the stake, a thousand. "Mr.
Prentice," said the opponent, confi
dently, "you are betting more than your
hand is worth." Prentice looked at his
hand, turned it down on the table, and
said: "Sir, if 1 were plaving with
Jupiter nt a star unto, I would darken
the everlasting firmament on the hand
I have just turned down."
Polaonlng Kabblta.
The lost report of the New Zealand
Agricultural society reveals that its
managers have found it necessary to
resort to the wholesale nse of poison in
order to prevent their crops from being
entirely destroyed by rabbits. During
the three years w hich ended in October
last more than 500,000 ounds of poi
soned oats were scattered over the com
pany's estates, with the rosnlt that
nearly three millions of skins were
picked up and brought to market..
Had to Drop Ilia.
Yes," said young De Smyth, as he
pensively chalked the end of his cue,
".lack was niT oldest an.1 kn.i 1
- v am mruu,
but he married a girl from the suburbs
who wasn't nice in society, so, of course,
I had to drop him. My shot ?"
"Royal Bob."
A writer in a Detroit paper gives the
following account of how Kobort (1.
Ingorsoll came to be called br the ma
jestic title, "Koral Bob." 'The first
time President Garfield visited Wash
ington after his return 'rom Mentor
Bob Ingersoll and several more of his
admirers went to the depot to meet him.
As the president-elect stepped off the
car Ingersoll went forward, held out his
hand, and said: "How are vou, gen
eral?" Garfield smiled and replied:
Itoval, Bob." A reporter wrote up an
account of the meeting between the
president and the noted infidel; but the
intelligent compositor and the still more
intelligent proof-reader consigned to oh
earlv and unhonored grave the comma
between "Royal" and "Bob," so that
next morniug it appeared in the paper
as "Royal Bob." This spread through
out tho United States, nnd hence the
name.
BEAUTY A-SLEIGHINQ.
Oa the Koad Feminine I gllnesa Is
Bare aad Prise Ueautiea Common.
Inter Ocean Sew York Letter.
The sleighing gives wealth a chance
to vary its display. The fashionable
thing on runuers is the Rusiian vehicle,
with plumes at its front corners, and
draw n by three horses abreast, the mid
dle beast bearing a high arc of jingling
bells. Great quantities of costly fur
are in and over the sleigh and on the
harness. The men and women who ride
thus conspicuously are by no means so
uniformly fine to look at. They are of
all sorts and conditions, socially,
morally and intellectually, nnd I am
. .1 . .1
bound to 'say mat in none oi uiese iw
snoets is the truth indicated by appear
ances. The incidental racing, too, is
helter-skolter and democratic. The
deacon and the gamblor speed their
trotters alongside. But if these men
are a fair average of all men in the
matter of face, the same is not true of
the women.
"Probably yon havn't any notion,
unless you have bestowed some thought
on it, said my sleigu companion, alter
she had scrutinized the visagoi of many
of her own sex on the road, "how dis
proportionately large is the amount of
beauty shown in places of pleasure ; and
it gets more so as the cost of the di
version increases. Go to church and
vou will strike a true average. Go to
the theatre, and you will see a consider
ably bigger proportion of pretty girls,
Go to the more expensive operas and
the percentage of beauties go up. Here
on the road ugliness is rare and loveli
ness common.
"The reason is that men let good looks
decide them in choosing a girl to take
out, and the more alluring the sport the
likelier it is to fetch out the prize beau
tics. It is really too bad on the homely
girls, for only wealth or nnusual mental
qualities can command lor them sucn
jolly amusements as this. I m the ex
cention that Droves the rule."
No matter whether she was sincere as
to herself ; but she was right about the
rest of it. Beanty abounded on the
road. Furthermore, and lamentable in
another way than she had intimated,
the beauty was too often of a notorious
kind. It was possessed in a quite
shockng degree by chorus girls from
the comic operas, ballet girls from
the spectacles, adventuresses of divers
grades; and the p '-llo point in the ex
hibition was that ..io men who shared
seats with them were by no means all
of a kindred character, but were numer
ously sons of respected families, who
ought to havo been ashamed of their
positions, but were proud instead.
There is no direction in which the idle
and moneyed young fellows of this city
are drifting worse or faster than to this
public association with professional
beauties. It is in imitation of the Eng
lish aristocracy. Ridicule has no re
pressive effect. A spanking law might
be good.
What 1'an It MeaaT
Olive Logan.
You and I, who belong neither to
the one clnss nor to the other, who are
observers merely, shut out from splen
dor's highest expression, yet sparod
squalor's keenest miseries, can but
look at each other, nnd exclaim in
amazement, "What enn it mean? What
is this fearful secret of life, which con
demns ono man to a hand-to-hand fight
with hunger from his cradle, to his
grave and laps tho other in downy lux
ury, softer than tho plumage of the
swan's white breast, feeds his baby lips
with n golden spoon, nnd lays his em
balmed corpse in a monument, whoso
cost would 'erect a hundred cot
tages to shelter many more than a
hundred human beings us irresponsible,
as worthy as himself?"
The llunko Man's Victim.
New York Tribune.
The class from which tho professional
swindler's victims nre usually drawn
consists largely of people who are dis
honest within limitations. They will
not subject themselves to legal "pains
and penalties, but they will get the bet
ter of their neighbors whenever it can
be done safely. It is because theie is
so considerable an admixture of knavery
in the conduct of many of the victims
of these professional swindlers that the
latter are enabled to ply their vocation
so boldly nnd with such immunity.
AnnivM-vary r.xtraordinarr.
Texas Siftings.
Mrs. Junebug invited several of her
friends to come to her house on a cer
tain day, as she was going to celebrate
her '25th birthday. At the dinner
table Mrs. J. said :
"This day is also the anniversary of
sorrow to me my father's death."
"Indeed! And how long has your
father been dead?" asked one of the
guests.
"Twenty-eight years," replied Mrs.
Junebug.
That Hettlea It.
Xyui Crinkle.
If to be monotonous is to be gifted ;
if to be one good actor in a group is to
be representative; if to walk a chalk
line is to go upward ; if to present one
repcrtoiro in one way for twenty-five
years and to get the same unvarying
euiogiums for its success then Air.
Booth, no less than Joe Jefferson, de
serves well of fame, and need bother no
more about w hat other people do.
Rev. F. H. Barrows. P. D.: We
imike a mistake in writing too many
esays about religion, instead of preach
ing simply and directly and with fiery
earnestuess to people's hearts and consciences.
LEGS AND ARMS.
An Art by W hleh Portloaa of the Iln
aaa Anatomy Are Bareesefnlly Ia
, plicated.
Chicago Herald.
"You want to know how artificial
limbs are made? Why that question
could hardly be answered in volumes,"
ejaculated the doctor, when the reporter
pressed his question, lie then opened
a large glass caso and pointed to an
artificial leg, which, had it not been for
the somewhat livid color of the enamel,
would have led the obsorver to believe
it had just been severed from the body.
"Now. here." said the doctor, "is the
best anatomical log in tho market. It
sounds funny, doesn t it, to speak oi
"legs in the market?' I'll try to give
you an idea as well as I can without the
aid of illustrations. Tho ankle joint is
formed by a ball of polished glass, ply
ing in a socket of vulcanite of India
rubber, which is a joint that admits of
every motion that the natural ankle
does, without exception. It is the first
joint ever invented which never re
quires oiling. At the base or the can oi
tho leg there are four India rubbor
springs, which take tho place of the
muscles of the natural leg. From these
springs the tendons, with screw-heads
on the upper end, pass to tho ankle joint,
and the nuts serve to regulate the ten
sion of the tendons and springs to suit
the wearer. The knee joint is formed
by an axial bolt plying in two segments
of a circle, one of which is adjustable to
prevent looseness nnd noise. A spring
operates the knee-joint and carries the
foot forward at each step, with any de
gree of motion desired to suit the pe
culiar gait of the wearer. It is made
froni Iudia rubber, nnd adjustable like
the others. The motion of the knee
joint is limited and controlled by a
cord, which takes the place of the cru
cial ligaments of the natural knee-joint;
so, there is no unpleasant jar caused by
the contact of the solid parts, and the
annoyance and expense of sending the
leg to the maker every now and then
to have the joints bushed to keep them
from wearing loose and rattling is en
tirely avoided. In form, as you see, the
limb is made to correspond exactly with
the natural one. It is then covered
with a delicate skin, which is enameled
with the most delicate tinted flesh-colored
enamel, shaded to suit each par
ticular case."
"Formerly," the doctor continued,
"the manufacture of artificial legs was
almost ' entirely left to common me
chanics, and strange to say, to those
who had suffered amputation, and had
little or no knowledge of anatomy.
They imitated some of the motions of
the natural leg quite well, but others
not at all. Indeed, it could hardly be
expected that any one but an anatomist
should be able to model a leg so close
to nature as to imitate all the varied
motions of the natural leg.
"There is the so-called 'army and
navy leg,' constructed by the earnest
request of surgeons, who wanted for
their patients a strong, durable leg, and
yet not costing a sum too large for a
porson of limited means to pay. It has
no lateral or side motion, but has India
rubber springs that cannot be broken,
nnd which give nn easy, graceful mo
tion, like that of the natural limb. Eng
lish willow, leather, silk and steel aro
the principal materials. The leg is
ventilated completely, aud the top rim
is bound with brass, which prevents
splitting of the socket, lho leg is
easily taken apart and put together, and
will stand the test of years.
"The mechanism of an artificial arm,
said the doctor, "is, of course, more
complicated, but still the principle to
imitate nature is retained in this case
also. Inside the thumb a strong spring
is inserted to enable it to press upon any
object put between it and tho two first
fingers of the baud; this gives the natu
ral requirements ' for holding a pen,
kuifo.fork, book, etc. The curved and
graceful constructions of tho fingers
give the hand nn ensy, natural appear
mice, with shnpe nnd strength to carry
a pail of water, to use tho lines in driv
ing; or to assist the other hand in lift
ing nnd working where two hands are
needed. The elbow joint is so con
structed that it con be Hexed or ex
tended nt will, in fact, without nny is
Bistance from tho other hand, retamug
nny desired position."
A Curious Varlntlon.
"Manhattan" in Chicago Journal.
This general rule of squalor through
sacrifice to drink has one curious varia
tion. You have doubtloss rend of tho
cheapness nnd discomfort in which
Itnlians live in New York. They do not
endure that kind of existonco because
they nre saving it. They have no idea
of staying longer in this" country than
will sutlice to gather a few hundred
dollars, with which to return to Italy,
where the sum will relatively be
a fortune. The grimiest rag
picker, the humblest organ-grinder,
the meanest chesnut-roaster, is a capi
talist, The Italians nre a colony by
themselves in the Sixth ward. The
houses are bad, aud the oceuponts have
the aspect of abject and hopeless pov
erty. But there are three Italian bank
ing places in that quarter, and not
one pawnbroker. That tells the story.
Another thing, the Italian stale-beer
dens, in which the dregs from beer
kegs are sold at 2 cents a glass, with
the privilege of sitting all night on a
hard bench by a tire, are actual places,
and no description has exaggerated
their awfulness of degradation; but
Italians are the keepers of them, and
not the customers.
Animal Life.
Scientific Journal.
The largest living animal is the ror
qual whale, 102 feet in length ; the small
est, the amoeboid forms. Whales aud
elephants live to the greatest age, 130
years; May flies the shortest, only a few
hours. The most intelligent of tho
lower animals, ahead even of the Au
stralian bushmen and others, aro the
ant.
Aaother Notation.
A Louisville clergyman said in his
sermon that if women and men would
only dance in separate rooms he would
not object to dancing. It would be
just as graceful, he claimed, and just as
healthful exercise, and they could keep
atep to the music just the same.
TraaiDS' Valise".
r-ew Orleans Times-Democrat
Do you see iu. f11" vaiises
... in the corner," said the agent of
lUCSV
the Faciflo Express company. I he re-
porter nouueu "" u.i u
what expressmen term 'old boss or in
.ii... n-nr.ls freicht on hand. All nf
these valises belong to tramps who have
shipped them irora various pans oi the
country, and I will vonture to say that
some of them will be called for."
How do you know that the valises
belong to tramp?"
liana tlUfH lifter many years service in (
the express business, we locate thingt
bv instinct, me umjui--j mo vaiues
w'ill never be called for and will be sold
.t nnAtinn. for the reason that th
chances are their aspiring and migra
tory owners have long since been
killed while trying to stool a ride on
the truck of a freight train."
"How long is such freight kept ia
the oflice before it is sold?"
"'a allow it to remain for a year.
and then sell it at auction to the highest
bidder. It is a curious signs to see
what the valises contain, and how easily
liiddnrs nre fooled by the outside an-
pearance of the valise. Now, you see
that little rusty cousuuipuYu wuuw on
to himself; I will be willing to bet that
the articles it contains are of more value
than those to be found inside of that
puffy fat one with the broken handle.
Ten chances to one the latter v. sttitlfed
with an old shirt and a lot of worthiest
rags or waste stuff used in
cleaning and oiling a locomotive.
Tf that valise should happen to
be destroyed in a fire or stolen or lost
and the tramp heard of it, he would
send in a claim to the company for $300,
and iwear that it contained diamond
rings and other valuables. Very often
T liHve had tramps come into the of
fice, and show a receipt for an old valise
that had been on hand for at least
eight or ten months. He would open it
and take out a comparatively clean
shirt," nnd nut a soiled one in its rdace.
and then ask me w-bat it would cost
to send the valise to Little Rock.
I would state the express charge, and
then he would say, 'Will it cost much
more to send it to tl raso .' 'les,
little more.' 'If I send it to Santa Fe,
how long will they keep it before it it
sold?' 'One year.' 'Woll. if that's the
case, just send it to Santa Fe; I'll be
there in that time. Here s your money,
Dir.' And without another word he
will turn and walk out, and yon will
never see his gentle face again. If any
of your friends wish a fashionable
valise at a low figure, send them around
when we have our auction sale.
One of Caltrornla'a Nabobs.
Stockton Mail.
A man with a leg that hung as loose
from his hip as if it had been a piece of
hay rope buttoned a ragged old over
coat over his humped shoulders and
pigeon breast. Then he looked up and
down Main street with earnest vacuity,
and hopped on his good leg to his wagon'
and drew himself painfully up to his
seat. The top of the wagon was made
chiefly of gunny sacks, and canted to
one side as if it had about made
up its mind to give up further
effort to be a wagon top. Three spokes
were gone from the hind wheels. The
hind spring was broken nnd was tied to
the nxle with half-unraveled ropes. At
tached to this ruin of a vehicle a mult
was hitched. The wagon by compari
son with this beast was a gaudy thing.
The mule was tied to the broken and
spliced shafts with a maze of knots nnd
twists and tangles. The mule stood
with his nose within six inches of the
ground and gave a hollow cough at in
tervals. From a strap close to his
ear a long tassel dopended. It had
once been red, but was now I
dirty pink. "Get up," said the
man with the boneless leg. tugging at
the rope and leather lines. The mnle
groaned deeply, nnd pninfully started
up at n walk so slow that it would have
angered the chief mourners at a funeral
As ho walked it was seen that one of
his hind legs had been broken at the
knee joint, and healed so that it bent
inward and rubbed against the other at
nrrr V1, .' I. V .'lVl
Gripp that lives out on the sands," an
swered a farmer. "He must have i
wretched life of it." "There you're off,
young fellow. Gripp is one of the old
est nnd best citizens one of the pio
neers. I reckon he's worth half I
million."
How to iet a Start In Law Practice.
Kentucky State Journal.
"Well, son; did you get any cases to
day?" asked a father of a son, w ho had
been admitted to tho bar about six
months ago.
"No, father; none yet. I am very
much discouraged."
"Perhaps you don't take the proper
method to get cases. You should never
nppear on tho streets without carrvinf?
: i i . . , i
in your nana a sheet of cap paper folded
I
i
t
up so as to iooK lute a legal documeni
rush about as if you were loaded do
with business. When in your office ar
anV One COmes in. lu lm n-i-ifinrr nut
deed or something; and when in court
never fail to cock your feet up on tho
table, roach up your hair and look wiser
than the judge, if you can. That's tho
way these fellow s who succeed in la
so well all do."
Longrrllow'a "Kxeelaior."
fRrphiintyo 1
The library of Harvard college con
tains the first two drafts of Longfeh
low's "Excelsior." The first is written
on the back of a note addressed to
Longfellow by Charles Sumner, ond if
indorsed "September 28, 1841, 3:30
o'clock, morning. Now in bed." The
second shows variations and erasure.
For instance, the line "A youth ho
bore 'mid snow and ice" was written
four times before decided upon
youth who bore a pearl of price," and
"A youth who bore above all price."
The inception of the line "A tear stood
in his bright blue eve" was "A teat
stood in his pale blue eye".
W. C. Prime: After alL the xoightr
forces which move humanity are tfc
forces which come from the affection'
rather than from the cool intellect.
No less than 500 schemes for impro'
ing the condition of the houses of tb
poor in Paris have been presented t
-we municipal council.