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VOL. III.
ST. HELENS, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON, OCTOBER G, 1882.
NO. 9.
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CO
TRUE LOVE.
Three ladies wre seated in Agatha
Foster's parlor Miss Forteseue, large,
dark, and of uncertain age, who rnouopo
lized the most comfortable arm-chair;
Mrs. Becker, shrunken anil sandy, who
was constantly sliding of! tho sofa and
reinstating herself with a jerk, and Miss
Agatha herself, who sit apart from the
others, glancing uneasily out of the vin
low, as if distressed by their garrulity.
Miss Agatha was a fair young roman,
with a uoblo head and a countenance
expressive of all grace and goodness.
Yet at this moment she entertained feel
ings decidedly hostile to her callers, who
had run ia with the familiar freedom of
fellow-boarders in a family hotel, to
chat away the afternoon. At heart they
were immensely sorry that Miss Xanme
Foster had not yet returned from a
suburb where she had gone the day be
fore. Miss Nannie, Agatha's cousin,
companion and chaperon m , . one,
was far more to their taste; she was more
attentive, more easily impressed, more
sympathetic, they thought. She never
sat looking out the window when thej'
were retailing their choicest bits of
scandal for her especial benefit. But
then she was a woman of years. How
ever, they still lingered; it was a pleas
ant place". The Fosters had the hand
somest suite in the building and fur
nished with such taste! Such carpets!
Such decorative art! And the Fosters
were tip-top people. There were four
of them Miss Agatha, her two bachelor
brothers, ten and a dozen years her
s' n or, and Miss Nannie, who, since
thtir parents' death, had kept the chil
dren together. The winter day drew to
a close, ami the room grew dusky, and
still the ladies lingered. .
Agatha could endure it no longer; this,
of all days, she was without patience.
She rose quicklv.
"Ladies,"' she said, with an indignant
quiver in her sweet contralto voice, "you
must excuse me. I cannot listen to such
conversation!"' ;
There was sileuce a moment; then
Miss Forteseue lifted her cumbrous
frame. "Oh, certainly, I juite under
stand. We will withdraw. Wo do not
wish to offend.
"Oh, certainly," faintly
Becker, slhliui? from tho
echoed Mrs.
sofa for the
last time and prep j ring to follow.
Agatha's impatience onbj increased.
"And allow me to say," she exclaimed,
with no compunction, "that I think
ladies might be better employed than
with their neighbors' affairs." c
"Good afternoon." said Miss Fortes
cue, savagely.
Becker.
"Good riddance!" cried Agatha,
sharply, ere the door had closed.
"To-day of all days," sho said, as she
walked to and fro in the dusk. Presently
the door opened.
"All in the dark.Agatha?" said acheery
voice.
"I thought you would never come,
Nannie," was the swift, unnerved reply.
Then she lit the gas.
"Why, what is the matter, dear?"
-"I have just put Miss Fortesque and
Mrs. Becker out of tho room, and it
it has annoyed me.''
"Dear me! What had they done?"
"The same old sickeuing gossip. Miss
Bruce flirts on tho street; Mr. and Mrs.
Brown have shown no marriage certifi
cate; Mrs. Gray holds her step-ohild to
the fire to burn it, and so on and so on."
"They get their ideas from the morn
ing papers," said Nannie, calmly, un
clasping her fur-lined circular. "The
step-mother holding the child to the fire
is a favorite paragraph when the news is
scare. Sometimes she heats the flat-iron.
For my part, I would never go to that
trouble."
But Agatha could not respond to her
staid humor. Sue helped to put away
the wraps, and inquired after the subur
ban friends.
"You look rather pale; aren't you
well?" asked Miss Nannie, when they
were seated.
The girl dropped her eyes. "Nannie,
I have some news for you," she siid with
an effort. "I last night I promised
Mr. Peters to to marry him."
Then she sighed if relioved of a great
burden.
The room was still, utterly still. If
Miss Nannie was surprised or shocked
she gave no token. She only sat quietly
looking at the girl and taking time tt,
collect her thoughts. Agatha never lifteft
her eyes until, after some moments, her
cousin cleared her throat and tranquilly
inquired:
"Well, dear, are you satisfied tint you
will be happy?"
Then the girl rose andthrew herself
upon the sofa. "Oh, Nannie, I don't
know; I can't tell."
More silence; then Miss Nannie asked
if she had told the boys.
To these women George and Lewiw
would be "the boys" as long as they
lived.
"I told George at noon," Agatha re
plied, in a voice heavy with tears.
"Lewis was not here. I wish vou would
tell him."
"And what did George say?"
"He only said, 'I congratulate Mr.
Feters."
Miss Nannio leaned back in her chair
and meditated, bringing Peters up for
mental review. Poor little whiffet! To
be sure, he had money, some standing
socially and a fair education. They had
known him a long, long time, and even
felt for him a sort of distant relatives'
affection. They would do anything in
the world for him. He often took Agatha
about, to places of amusement, to church
or riding. But he was at least fifteen
years her senior, and they never thought
of his aspiring to marry her.
His appearanee was pity fully against
him. Miss Nannie reviewed bis bad build,
she
called it a suspicious i eye that seemed
to skirmish about the j room while its
mate regarded you with steadfast respect.
Then she turned her thoughts to Agatha
Agatha, perfect in face and figure and
ennobled by education and advantages
Agatha, for whom a senator had pro
posed, and a congressman languished,
to say nothing of her jlesser adorers
Agatha, who had rejected tho senator
because he lacked principle,, and the
congressman because he was a widower.
Nannie remembered that the girl had
suffered and shed tears over refusing
these and others. She had a curious
disposition, as the boys had said.
At length Nannie roused and spoke.
"I will tell Lewis; and now, you had
belter dress; it's near dinner-time. A
little Florida water i will cool your
cheeks "
"Hark!" cried Agatha, "there ho is,
now gone into his room."
Nannio recognized the clumsy step.
Lewis had never yet 1 comn up those
stairs without tripping at the top; tho
rushing, impetuous way of his boyhood
would always cling to him.
"I am going at once to tell him,
before George comes," said Nannie,
"Yes, do," said
Agatha.
And when
her cousin had
gone out across
the eorri-
dor, and her tap had
been welcomed by
a' careless "Come
in:
! the young girl
stole after and listened at tho crack of
her brother's door.
"Lewis, I have news for you," said
Nannie, gently, and there was a hidden
sob in her fond voice. "Agatha has
promised to marry Mr. Peters."
"Oh, JLord!" cried Lewis, iu open
mouthed disgust.
Agatha crept away from the door; her
face was burniDg and j her heart beat
hard.
But Miss Naunie remained awhile in
her cousin's chamber, i
"Lewis," she said, qtiietly, "I snp
pof'e wo all feel the same over this
matter?" Agatha says jwhen she told
George he remarked that he 'eongratu
lated Peters.'" j
"Well, this is too bed," said Lewis,
indignantly. "It is a j shame if a girl
with her face and brains can't do better.
She is altogether too soft hearted. She
would have married all the men who
ever proposed, if we had. let her, and out
of s ieer pity, not because she cared for
them. That is why she accepted Peters;
couldn't bear to hurt his feelings didn't
want his straight eye to suffuse with
tears! We must do something to pre
vent." j
Nannie smiled deprecatingly. "We
must, bo very careful.! Agatha bas a
curious disposition, and i if she thought
we were all against him, she would only
pity him the more."
"If there were only some way to dis
pose of him," exclaimed Lewis, grimly;
"if we could send him out with the next
An tic expedition "
Nannio rose. "You will be very care
ful what you say, Lewis?"
"Oh, of course."
She lingered at the door. "Agatha
ha not a foiceless nature bv any
means,' she said; "she can get angry if
she cares to. She tells me she put Miss
Forteseue and Mrs. Becker out of our
parlor to day, because of their vile gos
sip. I have no doubt sho did."
"Humph!"
Agatha came dovn to dinner with her
face composed and her manner gracious
as ever. Her inward defiance was not
outwardly manifest. Of her family,
George was a shade more dignified than
usual, and Lewis appeared annoyed,
while Nannie put on a regretful look
and occasionally sighed. When they
l6ft the dinirg-room Agatha swept
haughtily by tLe table, at which sat the
Forteseue and the Becker. She was
done with the twain and intended they
should see it.
Up in their own parlor, George sat
down by his sister. "Agatha," he said
slowly, and with an evident distaste for
the subject, "do you think you did well
to eng'ge yourself to Mr. Peters before
consulting your family?" I
"I was of age three years ago," sho
said, regarding him with serene dignity.
"Yes, yos, of course. But there is
such a thing as advice. Mr. Peters is
cur good friend, but i3 ho a suitable hus
band for you?" ''
"What is there against him?" she
asked, unflinchingly. ' She was not
blind to her lover's bodily imperfec
tions. She had lain awake all night,
mentally endeavoring to straighten his
crooked limbs and control his recreant
orb. But with daylight they had
dawned upon her as uncompromising as
ever.
But George would not stoop to per
sonabties
quietly,
high for
happy."
"Nothing," ' ho answered,
"Only we have looked very
you. We want yoti
to be
"Then do not speak against Mr.
Peters," she said, in a way that seemed
to dismiss the subject. i
George betook himself to his own
room, and Lewis took j his place by
Agatha. "I suppose I am to congratu
late," he said, with a careless disregard
of Nannie's injunctions, j
"You do not seem very i enthusiastic,"
responded his sister, calmly, recalling
his secretly heard exclamation upon first
learning the news.
"I can't help it if I don't," he an
swered, half impatiently.; "You know
how proud we are of you; Gath, and wo
can't bo expected to think any man good
enough." v
Sho smiled. z' f
He went on recklessly i "I don't be
lieve you know what you are doing.
You don't love Peters; you only pity
him, just as you used to pity the Sena
tor and all the rest. This crooked little
curmudgeon! Why, he is older than
George and cross-eyed "
his bow leers, his "wild eye," as
. She sprang up in a rage. "Lewis,
you have said quite enough. Never
speak so again to me; I forbidjit.".
Then she sought her own chamber and
threw herself upon the bed.
Nunnie came to her after awhile. "My
poor darling! Why are you feeling so
bad?"
"Lewis has been saying such awful
things!"
"And are you quite sure you have
made no mistake?"
"Quite sure."
She rose and arranged her toilet; Mr.
Peters was to come that evening.
He arrived early. Nannie endeavored
to be gracious, but soon excused herself,
leaving Agatha to her lover, the boys
having both gone out. And Agatha,
with Lewis' crnel criticism still ringing
in her ears, felt as if in a dream. For
tunately, Peters made no inquiries as to
brother's opinion of the marriage. Miss
Nannie had congratulated him as though
all were satisfactory.
A git ha accepted his adoration quite
passively, and at last, when he had gone,
retired to lu r own room to pity him and
weep for him, and tell herself how much
she loved him.
But as the winter slipped away the
engagement was announced, and, having
remained unbroken, Agatha s brothers
even began to feel resigned.
The quiet, intense devotion of Nor
man Peters was touching. He wor
shipped his betrothed; to him she was a
very goddess.
"If." thought Nannie, with a softened
regret, "if he were only not quite so
small! If he were only a half-inch
taller, to be of even height li with
Agatha!"
Meanwhile poor Agatha was fretting
herself to death. A thousand little
heartless sarcasms and glances of
ridicule, to which Peters, in his great
happiness, was utterly oblivious, were
constantly stabbing her. Night after
night she passed iu wakeful agony.
the idea of breaking the engagement
never once occurring to her. She
was sure she loved him, and she
realized the death cf his devotion.
She endeavored to rise above morbid
sensitiveness, telling herself that people
would cease their cruel ways when thev
saw that she was determined to stand bv
him. But she grew thin, and her face
wore a hunted expression. Mesdames
Becker and Fortescne now began to cir
culate pretty little stories about her
ingeniously constructed but untruthful
romances.
iNotning vervhad. tor Agatna was a
woman to whom no doubtful mist could
cling for a moment; but whispers of
"coquetry,"S"blighted hopes," "girlish
folly," and "last lesort," which, blown
from lip to lip on the dubious breath of
friendship, came at last to vex tho ears
of the Foyers. Agatha only grew more
pale. Stormy Lewis, however, con
fronted Miss Fortopcao in tho hall before
his sister's room.
"I tell you, madam, that you must
discontinue your talk of my sister," he
cried, acgrily.
Agatha came out. "Ob, Lewis, dear."
He took her by the arm. "Go back.
Gath. I've a matter to settle with this
lady. She knows what mischief she has
been trying to work, and I intend the
talk shall cease, or I will take measures
she may not admire!"
Without a word Miss Forteseue turned
and fled.
"I was sorry for her," said Agatha,
"she looked so guilty and helpless."
"I declare I haven't much patience with
you," exclaimed her brother, "to think
that you would defend tier, and she every
day assailing your good name. But all
your ways of late are provoking. Yon
are going to marry a man you don't love,
because yon pity him. For God's sake,
why don't you pity some one suitable "
She trembled ith excitement and
passion.
"Lewis, if you have tho least particle
of love or respect fot me, you will never
s(.eak so again. I do love Norman, and
it would kill me if anything should
break the engagement.''
Lewis quit her presence crestfallen.
Tho days slipped by. There had bten
no date nxed tor tue wedding, nor was
the subject discussed by the familv.
None but Nannie knew the terrible
tremor in which the girl existed. She
was ever moving about, her hands con
stantly occupied. Day after day, rain or
shine, the two women were out of doors.
Thev had always an errand, usually one
of mercy. Naunie, howexer disinclined,
would have felt it a sin to oppose, and so
Agatha dragged her off through the flit
ting sunshine, the moodiness, the chill
or the storm of the springtime, until one
last morning.
It had been raining for three days,
and so steadily that the sidewalks flags
were cleaned and whitened.
Agatha said they would not be ham
pered with a carriage, and they took a
car for a mile or so, alighting to walk a
few squares to another line. Tho storm
had abated, and tho rain was but a list
less drizzle.
Agatha slipped and slid onoe, and
Nannie gave a frightened exclamation.
"My overshoes are useless," said tho
girl, carelessly. "I must havo another
pair. I have a good deal of shopping to
do soon-
"Your outfit " ventured Nannie,
and stopped.
Agatha sighed, but her sigh was
lost
out
one
her
ni tho noise of the street.
A poor little yellow dog limped
from a passing jyelncle, holding up
paw and yelping pitifully.
"Oh, see!" cried Agatha, with
eyes wet.
sorry !"
oor. noor do-?
gie! I am so
7 L o
The yelps died away
in the distance,
and the ladies went on.
A blind man crying
enges!" upon the corner
for a moment.
"Cough lox
detained them
In the next block an old building had
been torn away to give place to a new
one. Careless workmen hail left the side
walK unguarded in one place, a step
from which would have landed one in "a
deep cellar, where lay a number of loose
iounaation stones.
Just as they had reached this spot they
were .brought to a sudden halt by loud
cries and confusion. Down the street.
ana directly toward tnem, came a run
away team dragging a splendid carriage.
Agatha took an irresolute step forward
and then sprang back as the horses
dashed up against the sidewalk.
The women were thus separated, and
in a second Nannie was reaching forward,
cold with horror.
'Agathal" she cried, but too late.
The girl had lost her balance and had
fallen backward from the unguarded
sidewalk down into tho deep cellar, and
lay there upon the stones limp and un
conscious. .
She would live, sadly crippled and
helpless; the spine had been injured and
one hip dislocated. So said the best of
surgeons. Sho would henceforth re
quire all care and tenderness.
Thank God, sho is not poor!" cried
Nannio. As for tho boys, George was
comepletely crushed, and Lewis paced
the floor for hours, crying for "his poor!
poor sister."
Agatha insisted upon hearing the
worst, and when it was made known was
very silent. By and by Nanuie could
see great tears trembling under the long,
dark eyelashes.
"I would not mind," faltered tho suf
ferer, "but for him. Who will love and
care for him now?"
Then she asked that he be sent . for at
once. When he arrived, Nannie and the
boys were in the room, but they with
drew to the window. Peters' face was as
pale as Agatha's own.
"Norman, dear," she said without pre
face, "I am a cripple for life. I may
never valk again. I seut for you to
give you back your freedom.
A frightened expression overspread
his countenance; his lip quiver hI, and
he sank on his knees by the bed and
buried his face.
"Agatha, darling!" he cried, with
real pathos, fdon't, dan't cast me off.
You are a thousand times dearer to me
now. All I ask is the right to care for
you" his voice broke and he fell to
weeping.
By the window three persons heard it
all. They looked in silence at each
other; then Lewis strode swiftly across
the room.
. "Eeters,lie said, Vwo haven't done
right by you. I, myself, have acted
despicably. But if you will forgive and
forget, it will be very different in the
future."
Then Peters, who had risen, stood si
lent and bewildered till, through the
mist, the room grew suddenly bright,
for they had encircled him and were
clasping his hands with loving warmth.
And as Agatha lay watching.she raised
a feeble hand to stay the tears that
coursed her cheeks.
"I never thought," sha sobbed aloud
"I never dreamed 1 could oe made so
happy."
Hints for Uoni?$.
Think as weJl as act. Use your en
ergy wisely; tho constantly active are
not necessarily the most energetic. Mis
directed labor is sometimes as great .n
evil as idleness itself. What is the use
of firing unless yon aim at the target and
learn the skill of a good marksman? So
the owners of humanity are but wasted
unless your industry executes with cor
rectness and promptitude each duty as it
arises.
Pleasant looks, pretty clothes and
jolly speeches are as good at home as
elsewhere, only tue latter cannot Dear a
too frequent repeiition.
That woman is wise who cnooses for
her partner in life a man who desires to
fiad his home a place of rest. It is the
man witn many interests, wan engross
ing occupations, witn plenty oi people
to fight, with a struggle to maintain
against the world, who is the really
domestic man, in the wife s sense; who
enjoys home, who is tempted to make a
friend of his wife, who relishes prattle,
whom he feels in the home circle, where
nobody is above him, nd nobody un
sympathetic with him, as if he were in
a heaven of ease and reparation. The
drawback of home-life, its contained pos
sibilities of insipidity, sameness and con
sequent weariness is never present to
such a man. He no more tires of his
own happier moods. He is no more
plagued by his children than with his
own lighter thoughts. The man always
at home has not half tho chance of the
man whose duty is outside it, for he
must sometimes be in the ay. The
point for the wife is, that he should like
home when he is there; and that
living, we contend, belongs, first of all
to the active and strong and deeply en
gaged, and not the lounger, or even to
tue easy minded man. 1 Sunday lie
view. Apple Jelly. Make a syrup of a pound
of sugar, putting in sufficient water to
dissolve it. When boiled enough lay in
it the peeled and cored halves of some
large sour apples. Let them simmer
till tender, then lay them carefully in a
dish so they will remain unbroken and
in good shape. Add another pound of
sugar to the syrup, let it boil, skim it,
and when partly cool pour it over the
apples. When the dish gets oold each
piece of apple will be surrounded by a
delicious jelly. Eat with cream.
Mrs. John Murphy, of East St. Louis.
111., awoke the other night to And a
burglar in her room. She attacked bim
with a pillow and drove him from the
house.
Superstition! AboatVbTe.
From the earliest times no event in
human life has been associated with a
more extensive folk lore than marriage.
Beginning with love divinations, these
are of every conceivable kind, the anx
ious maiden apparently having left no
stone unturned in her anxiety to ascer
tain her lot in the marriage state. Some
cut the common brake or fern just above
the root to ascertain the initials of the
future husband's name. Again, nuts and
apples are vary favorite love tests. The
mode of procedure is for a girl to place
on the bars of a grate a nut, repeating
this inoantation:
If he lovca me. dod and fly:
I' ho bates me, live and die.
Great is the dismay if the anxious face of
the inquirer gradually perceives the nut,
instead of making the hoped for pop,
die and make no sign. One means of
divination is to throw a ladybug Into the
air, repeating meanwhile the subjoined
couplet:
Fly awa7 east Dd fir a wj west,
tihow me where Uvea the one I like beet.
Should this little insect chance to fly
in the diiection of the house where the
loved one resides, it is regarded as a
favorable omen.
Another species of love divination
onoe observed consisted in obtaining
five bay leaves, foar of which the anx
ious maiden pinned at the four corners
of her pillow, and the fifth in the middle.
If she was fortunate enough to dream of
her lover, it was a sure sign that he
would be married to her in the course of
the year.
Friday has been held a good day of
the week for love omens, and in Norfolk
the following lines are repeated on three
Friday nights successively, as on the
last one it is believed that : the young
lady will dream of her future husband;
To-night, to-night Is Friday night,
Liyme down to dirt white;
Dream who my biuoand 1h to be.
An: lay my children by ray atd4,
If I'm to live to be hU bride
In selecting tho time for the marriage
ceremony precautions of every kind have
generally been taken to avoid an unlucky
month and day for the knot to be tied.
Indeed, the old Roman notion that the
May marriages are unlucky survives to
this day in England. June is a highly
popular month. Friday, on account of
its being regarded as an inauspicious
and evil day for the commencement of
any Kind of enterprise, is generally
avoided. '
In days gone by Sunday appears to
have been a popular day for marriages.
It is, above all things. necasarr- that
the sun should shine on the bride, and it
is deemed absolutely necessary by very
many that she should weep on her wed;
ding day, if it be only a few tears, the
omission of such an act being considered
ominous of her future happiness.
In Sussex, a bride on her return home
frm church is often robbed of all her
pins about 'her dress by -the single
women present, from the belief that
whoever possesses one of them will be
marriei in the course of a year, and evil
fortune will! sooner or later inevitably
overtake the bride who keeps even one
pin used in the marriage toilet.
"Flinging the stocking" was an old
marriage custom in England. The
young men took the bride's stockings,
and the girls those of the bridegroom,
each of whom, sitting at the foot of the
bed, threw the stocki g oyer their heads,
endeavoring to make it fall upon that of
the bride or her spouse. If the bride
groom's stockings, thrown by tho girls,
fell upon the bridegroom's head, it wa a
sign that they themselves would soon be
married, and similar luck was derived
from the falling of the bride's stockings,
thrown by the young men. There ia a
superstitious notion in some places that
when the bride retires to rest on her
wedding night her bridesmaids should
lay her stockings across, as the act is
supposed to guarantee her future pros
perity in the marriage state. borne
thing to Bead.
rocTj-Store Talfc.
The articles in a country store got mad
and had a little talk over politics, re
ligion, etc., in a most soirited manner.
"I'm no sucker." said the mackerel.
"You are a mighty scalv sort of
party, though," said the sugar, "and I've
got sand enough to tell you so to your
face"
"I'll run counter to that," remarked
a piece of woodwork lengthwise of the
store.
"Lay the question on the shelf," said
another portion.
"Let us have peas, oried out the cof
fee.
"Bah! you must be green," said the
starch, "look at me and get a little stiff
ening to brace vou."
"Lard help us," said the butter.
"Shell out and let's get from beneath
this yolk," cackled the eggs.
"Hit him with a London club, said a
bottle on the top shelf.
"None of your sauce, wait till you
catchup with the times," fired up the
pepper, in hot temper.
"Shut up, or 1 11 sour on the whole of
you, snapped the vinegar.
"Taffy, taffy, whispered the molasses,
et's get into the thiok of it."
"Let us call it a draw," simpered the
tea.
"We aro too strong," howled the
cheese. i
"How have the mitey fallen," replied
the knife, as it slung the cheese on to the
floor. !
"Aw, you shut up," answered the
cheese as it closed the blade and chucked
it out of sight behind a barrel.
"Let s soap for better things," said the
lye. j
"How can we in the presence of a
lye?" said the soda.
"Well, if j I'm a lye you are an alkali,'
came the answer. -. .
"I rise to a point of order," sung ont
the yeast, j ,
j "Salt him down," squealed out a ham,
''for I'm smoked out."
"You can all be bought," said the
candr. j
"Ah, you sweet thing," came back the
response, "what are you giving us?"
"Well; I'd be darned,". ripped out the
coffee sack, ,"if his must stop." "
"That's oil right," gurgled the kero-sene-j
, . : V . w -
Blast you all," roared the powder.
' T von ,,4.l. l. t ,. ,1 tk. 1
phur. j
"I'm shot," shrieked the lead over in
the corner. I
"I'm out," groaned the meat, "and
will have to be mustered out of service."
"I m killed," chorused the oyster, the
lobster, the j codfish, the mackerel, the
pork, the bead and in the midst of it
the grocer walked in and everything
was hushed, and trade went on as usual.
Steuben ville Herald.
Sir -fit and their HablU.
Swifts eat on the wing, drink on the
wing and collect materials for their
nest on the wing. Hence, like all other
creatures, they produce extremely small
broods, for the material used up in mus
cular motion cannot tfso be devoted to
genesis as well. Long ago Gilbert
White was much puzzled with the diffi
culty suggested to him by the swifts to
what became of the annual increase
which must take place even among such
small breeders as these, for though
they lay but two eggs at a time and set
but once each summer, instead of twice,
like the other swallows, yet they must
give a constant 'increment of population
at the rate of about double every year,
even after allowing normal deaths of old
birds. What becomes of such increase?
That was the question that puzzled the
naturalist of Selborne ; and if he had been
a Darwin or even a Malthus, it might
nave led him gradually on to the great
discovery of the principle of natural se
lection, which has since revolutionized
all biographical scienee. As it was, he
came only to the lame and impotent con
clusion that they must disperse them
welves over the remainder of the world,
as though Selborne church tower wero
the central Ararat of an unpeopled and
vacant continent, whence endless o&o
nies might go forth to increase and mul
tiply and replenish the earth. I n sober
fact, one-half of them fail to pick up a
living at all;! the other half jnst.fceep .up ,
the standard of the race to its fixed nu- '
merical average; for everyone who haa
watched the swifts closely knows that .
each year just the same number of pairs
return punctually to just the same ac
customed station in just the same ances-
tral towers. Indeed, that is the rule
with tho vast majority of species, animal
or vegetable.' There are a few which,
like man, the Colorado beetle and the
Canadian pond weed, are rapidly increas
ing and overrunning the rorld; there
are a few others, which, like, tho great
auk, the beaver and tho edelweiss, are
rapidly dying out before their enemies.
But by far the greater number - seem to
continue absolutely, invariably from
year to year, at least within the range of
ordinary, huu.au observation. Out of
40,000 seeds of one common Eagliah
weed, only a single seed on an average
produces a full grown plant every sea
son. St. James Gazatte.
Monster Flag Moue
An immense flag stone, which is said
to be the largest ever quarried in Ameri
ca, is destine i for the sidewalk in front
of R. L. Stuart's new brown-stone resi
dence on Fifth avenue and Sixty-eighth
street, stretched across avenue from
curb to curb yesterday, and made it
necessary to cIobo the street between
Sixty eight and Sixty-ninth streets.! The
great slab is of river bluestone, and
measures twenty six feet six inches by
fifteen feet six inches. It is nine inches
thick and weighs over thirty tons. If
raised on its side it would make oue side
of an average seaside cottage. It is
perfectly smooth with tae excep
tion of a slight ri.lge through the
center which will be removed
after it is in position, The stone was
cut from the same quarry in Sullivan
county as the great fltg stone now com
posing part of the sidewalk in front of
the Vanderbilt man si m, but it is much
larger. It was brought down the Hud
son from the quarry on the deck of the
barge and unloaded at the foot of Four
teenth street by being raised high
enough with jack screws for two heavy
flat stone wagons to be placed under it,
when it was drawn to its destination by
eight powerful horses. Then it was
raised again with jacks and lowered by
the same means and placed on rollers.
The operation of moving the great slab
and getting it on the rollers in front of
its final resting place occupied three
days. Six men were at work one day
moving it with jacks into its position di
rectly in front of the main entrance to
the new house, where a four-foot Btone
foundation had been prepared for it. It
is moved at the rate of a foot an hour,
and the masons expect t get it in po
sition in a day or two. New York
Times.
Quince and Apple Preserve. Have
one-third weight of bweet apples pared,
cored and quartered; equal weit of
sugar and fruit. When the quinco is
boiled tender take it out, boil tue apple
in the quince water, put them into the
syrup and let them boil until they look
red and clear; an hour and a half is not
too long. Do not boil the quinces in the
syrup, but put layers of the apple, when
done, into jars, with th quince, previ-
ously cooked tender ia water, and pour
tha syrup over them.
i ,