If We Knew.
If W6 knew 'what forms were fainting
For the shade that we should fling,
If we knew what lips were parching
For the water we should bring,
We would haste with eager footsteps;
We would work with willing hands,
Bearing cups of cooling water,
Planting rows of shading palms.
If we knew when friends around us
Closely press to Bay "good-bye,"
Which among the lips that kiss us,
First should nea'h the daisies lie,
We would clasp our arms around them,
Looking on them through our tears;
Tender word of love eternal
We would whisper in their ears.
If we knew what lives were darkened
By some thoughtless words of ours,
Which had ever lain among them
Like the frost among the flowers,
Oh! with what sincere repen tings,
With what anguish of regret,
While our eyes were overflowing,
We would say ' Forgive! ForgoU"
If we knew. Al s, and do we
Ever care to seek or know
Whether bitter herbs or flowers
In our neighbor's garden grow?
God forgive us! lest hereafter
Our hearts break to hear him say:
Careless child, I never knew you;
From my presence flee away.
CUPID versus CUPIDITY.
"You are overworked, Hartington
Why do you not take a vacation ? What
say you to joining me in atrip? I
should be delighted to have you for a
companion."
So said Harold North to his friend.
Guy Hartington. And the latter, af
ter a short reflection, decided to act
upon his friend's suggestion.
And thus one pleasant spring morn
ing saw the two young men leaning
over the rail of an ocean steamer watch
ng the arrivals. Presently, through a
slight mishap, the attention of both"
wa3 drawn in the same direction. J
A young lady and her maid were
crossing the gangway, side by side,
when a puff of wind caught the hat
off the head of the latter, and, after
whirling it airily and dangerously just
over the water, blew it upon the wharf,
where it was rescued by a boy and re
stored to its owner, who was lament
ing the disaster.
"Just look at that young lady's face!"
Harold North exclaimed. "Did you
ever see anything so enchanting?"
Just then the young lady chanced to
raise her eyes, and caught sight of the
two faces leaning above her.
A look of pleasure was accompanied
by a charming smile as she inclined
her head. Of course both "gentlemen
lifted their hats, although, a moment
later, they looked at each other inquir
ingly. "So you know her, North? Sly f el
lowr "I only wish that I did. It was you
the bow was intended for. She looked
straight at you."
"If so, it's a case of mistaken iden
tity," Guy answered.
That very afternoon the friends met
the young lady who had so kindled
the admiration of both, face to face.
She paused and held out a tiny hand.
"Mr. Norris I am glad to see you!
Although it is four years since we met,
I knew you at once."
"And I am equally charmed to meet
you, although, begging your pardon, I
am not that to-be-envied individual
Mr. Norris,' " Guy replied.
.A flush crossed the young lady's face,
which, an instant later, dimpled into
smiles at the ludicrous contretemps.
"If I do not know her, I will before
long," Guy determined, and straight
way sought out the captain, whom he
had noticed a few moments before in
conversation with the fair unknown.
And thus with no difficulty he ob
tained the coveted introduction. Of
course Ilarold North came In for his
share in the remarkable good fortune
that had befallen his friend, and was
duly presented to the owner of the
face,
A week elapsed.
One afternoon as the friends were
seated together upon deck, Ilarold
looked up suddenly with the query :
"I say, Guy, you are in love with
Miss Weston?"
"In love well, that's pretty strong.
I admire her exceedingly and mean to
keep the acquaintance. But what is it
to you, old fellow?"
"A good deal. I am desperately,
fathoms deep, in love with her, and I
thought you might be drifting in much
the same course and that it would be
only honorable in me to warn you that
it will be war to the knife."
But if Ilarold thought to play a win
ning game against his more subtle
brilliant friend, he soon saw the futili
ty of his hopes, for any casual observer
could hardly fail to understand the
lovely light that made Daisy Weston's
face eloquent when in Guy's company.
Another week slipped by, full of de
lightful days and evenings, when be
neath the starlight the romance of love
made itself comprehended for the first
time to Guy Hartington.
Hitherto he had admired many wom
en, but cared for none. And even now
he was surprised at himself and a lit
tle incredulous as well.
At length the voyage ended, and the
travellers parted, each to go their own
ways Miss Weston to join an invalid
uncle, who was awaiting her at an ad
jacent watering place, and the two
friends, of course, together.
"Au revoir,Miss Weston, not adieu,"
Guy said, as he held her,handin a fare
well clasp. "I have promised to ac
company my friend to that haven of
his desires home; but if I live so
long as another month I shall hasten
to renew the friendship that has made
this voyage a never-to-be-forgotten
pleasure."
"I shall be very glad to see you,'
Daisy's soft voice answered; but though
her words were few, the expression of
her uplifted lustrous eyes told him
more eloquently than the longest sen
tence how very welcome he would be.
Tour weeks slipped by and one day
Guy left his friend Ilarold who had
long since accepted his fate like a man
and resigned the field to his favorite
rival and wended his way to the place
where he expected to find Miss Wes
ton. But to his intense disappoint
ment she was not there.
"The old gentlemen was taken sud
denly ill with alarming symptoms and
insisted on leaving at once for his own
home, sir," the hotel keeper informed
him.
4Can you tell where they have gone ?"
he asked.
And upon receiving a satisfactory
answer to his query, then and there
Guy sat down and indited a letter to
Daisy in which he told her how over
whelming his disappointment had been
at finding her gone, and what the na
ture of the errand that had brought
him to see her that day had been.
His answer reached him a couple of
weeks later, after he had rejoined Har
old in Rome. It was written upon
paper whose edge was deeply bordered
with black, but its contents were not
sombre, and should have filled Guy
with the liveliest delight.
But they did not, for within the re
cent fortnight events had happened
that had made an entire change in the
destiny of the man who read the sweet
innocent avowal of reciprocated affec
tion. -
For one day a legal communication
had come to him informing him of the
death of a distant relative, who had
left to him thehalf of his large for
tune upon one condition that he would
ask the hand in marriage of a young
lady the testator's adopted niece
whom such a union would make a co
heiress with himself. In case the spec
ified marriage should not take place
the entire property was to revert to
the latter.
The deceased had been an entire
stranger to Guy, and his surprise was
great as he perused the lawyer's letter,
Beyond all other qualities in Guy Har-
tington's character, ambition had al
ways held the foremost place.
His mother had married a poor man
against family's wishes, and had been
cast off by them, and thus it had been
only after a hard struggle with adverse
circumstances that Guy had gained his
present foothold upon Fortune's ladder.
But what of the love that had cre
ated for itself an abiding place in his
heart? Should he drive it forth and
sell his affections and every honorable
instinct for the sake of gold ?
The conflict between greed and con
science is -sharp; but it is brief, and
the former conquers, and a letter goes
forth to Daisy that crushes for a time
all the sweet hopes that have made a,
garden within her breast
But after a while her bright head
raises itself bravely once more, and a
feeling of intense thankfulness blends
itself with the regret with which she
thinks of the dear adopted uncle, who
had been the beneficent genius of her
life, and even in dying had rendered
her an inestimable service.
When she had spoken to him of Guy,
their romantic meeting and subsequent
friendship, and of his attentions and
evident regard for her. she had learned
with surprise that he and her adopted
uncle were related.
Soon after,, feeling dissolution near,
and wishing to try Gjuy's disinterested
ness of purpose and nobility of char
acter, the old gentleman had made his
eccentric will.
A week later Guy starts for England
to visit, for the first time, his late rela
tive's home and his own prospective
inheritance, and to make the acquaint
ance of the young lady who already
figures in his mind as the future Mrs.
Guy Hartington.
His destination reached, his eyes di
late as they take in the extent and
magnificence of his late cousin's state
ly home.
A pompous butler leads him tnrougn
the wide tilted hall to the drawing
room. A lady rises as he enters.
"For once in his life Guy Harting
ton's self possession deserts him, and
well it may, for in the graceful form
and sweet face of the beautiful girl
before him, whose eyes meet his so
coldly and haughtily, he recognizes
Daisy Weston.
See meets him calmly. It is Guy
upon whose crimsoned face chagrin and
embarassment sit plainly enough.
His punishment for his mercenary
spirit has truly been swift, and Guy is
only too glad to escape as soon as he
can the scornful glance of those love
ly candid eyes, without the slightest
attempt at extenuation or apology,
which he knows would b futile.
But if he expects to find a sympa
thizer in his friend, Harold North, he
reckons wrongly.
"You say Fortune has played you a
scurvy trick? I say she has served
you right," he exclaims. "You threw
away a prize to gain one of her glitter
ing bubbles, and lo! it melted into thin
air!"
"Keep your moralizing," says Guy
impatiently.
A few days later the two part com
pany. It is four years before Guy again
leaves his native soil He is changed
since we last saw him, both outwardly
and inwardly.
Through strenous exertions he has
succeeded in gaining a considerable
portion of that golden commodity for
which he once sacrificed what he can
never now regain; but his success has
not brought him content, and now he
seeks in change of scene and surround
ings the peace of mind he cannot find
at home.
Once more he is in England; in Lon
don, its queen city. One day in an art
gallery, whither he has gone to while
away the time, - he overhears the fol
lowing :
"Have you seen the picture every
one is raving about by the American
artist?" some one near him asks
another. '
"No; where is it?"
"There, where the crowd is. It's a
portrait of his young wife. I can as
sure you she is a queen of beauty and
grace. Come and see it."
His curiosity aroused, Guy follows
before the painted semblance of the
one being whose loveliness has been so
indelibly impressed upon his mind and
heart that no endeavor has ever sufficed
to drive away its haunting memory.
It is Daisy herself, purely fair and
beautiful, and attired in the lace-draped
satin robes of a bride. Ah, yes! some
one said this was a picture of the ar
tist's young wife. Who is the fortu
nate man who has won what he, to his
eternal regret, has lost.
Stooping, Guy Hartington reads in
tiny characters, upon one corner of the
canvas, the name, "Ilarold North."
A Yaluable Manuscript.
A few days ago a gentleman was
about to leave Constantinople for Lon
don, having among his luggage a very
valuable copy of the Koran in manu
script, some 500 years old and unique,
which had been in the possession of
his family for over 100 years. Only
recently a very large sum, reported to
have been as much as 0000, had been
offered for this work, and it would
probably have found its way into one
of the European museums had not an
inquisitive custom house officer dis
covered it among its proprietor's per
sonal effects. To the chagrin of the
latter the officials, with many devout
exclamations, took possession of the
treasure as state property. From the
custom house, the holy book originally
a gift from the Sultan Mahmoud to
the mosque of St. Sophia, was for
w aided to Yildiz Kiosk, where Abdu
Hamid now derives the benefit of its
wise teachings. Its late proprietor,
notwithstanding every effort, has fail
ed either to regain possession of the
work or to obtain pecuniary compen
sation. -
What the Moon's Face Tells.
The moon's face, says Professor
Proctor, tells of a remote yauth a
time of fiery activity, when volcanic
action, even more effective (though
not probably more energetic) than any
which has ever taken place on this
globe, upheaved the moon's crust
But so soon as we consider carefully
the features of the moon's surface we
see that there must have been three
distinct eras of vulcanian activity
Look at the multitudinous craters, for
example, around the metropolitan
crater at Tycho. They tell us of cen
tury after century of volcanic disturb
ance but they tell us more. They
mark a surface which varies in tex
ture, and therefore in light-reflecting
power in such a way as to show that
the variations were produced long be
fore the volcanic action began by
which the craters were formed. For
the variations of texture are such as to
mark a series of streaks some of them
2000 or 3000 miles in length, and
many miles in breadth, extending
radially from Tycho. Craters lie indif
ferently on these brighter streaks and
on the intervening darker spaces, and
some craters can be seen which lie
right across a bright streak with part3
of their ring on the darker regions on
both sides of the streak. This proves
that the craters were formed long af
ter the great streaks. When the
streaked surface was formed, it must
have been, tolerably smooth; for we
pee tha streaks best under a full il
lumination, and there is no sign of any
difference of elevation between them
and the darker giound all around;
they are neither long ridges nor long
valleys, but mere surface markings
Yet must they have been formed by
mighty vulcanian disturbance, such in
deed, as we may be certain went on at
an early stage of the moon's history to
which these radiating streaks must be
referred. It seems clear that, as
Nasmith has Illustrated by experiment,
they belong to the stage of the moon's
history when her still hot and plastic
crust parted with its heat more rapidly
than the nucleus of the planet, and so
contracting more quickly, was rent by
the resistance of the internal matter,
which, still .hot and molten, flowed
into the rents, and spreading, formed
the long, broad streaks of brighter sur
face.
. Idiosyncrasies of Diet.
Five thousand cats are said to have
been eaten in Paris during the late
siege. According to the same authority,
the cat is downright good eating. A
young one, well-cooked, is better than
hare or rabbit It tastes something
like the American gray squirrel, but is
even tenderer and sweeter. One
thousand two hundred dogs, it is stated,
were eaten in Paris during the late
siege, and the flesh fetched from two
to three franc3 per pound. According
to Pliny, puppies were regarded as a
great delicacy by the Roman gour
mands. The bear supplies food to
several nations of Europe, and its hams
are considered excellent The flesh of
the brown or black bear, which is eaten
by the common people of Norway,
Russia and Poland, is difficult of diges
tion, and is generally salted and dried
before it is used. Two bears were
eaten in , Paris during the siege, and
the flesh was supposed to taste like
pig. The Indian tribes, of the interior
of Oregon eat bears. The hedgehog is
considered a princely dish in Barbary,
and is eaten in Spain and Germany.
It is frequently eaten by the sick
among the African Arabs from the
belief that the flesh is medicinal
Mice and rats are eaten in Asia,
Africa, Australia and New Zealand,
and considered excellent morsels. The
taste of rats is considered to be some
thing like that of birds. The Chinese
eat them, and to the Esquimaux
epicures the mouse is a real bonne
louche. Rats and mice were eaten in
Paris during the siege. The porcupine
is reckoned delicious food in America
and India, and resembles sucking-pigs-The
Dutch and the Hottentots are fond
of it, and it is frequently brought to
table at the Cape of Good Hope. The
squirrel is eaten by the natives of
Australia,the North American Indians,
and is a favorite dish in Sweden and
Norway. The flesh is tender, and is
said to resemble that of a barn-door
fowl. It is sometimes eaten in Eng
land and the United States, and is said
to make excellent pies. The flesh of
the beaver is much prized by the
Indians and Canadian traders, espec
ially when it has been roasted in the
skin after the hair has been singed off.
A Humble Confession.
Who is that little woman there
With laughing eyes and dark-brown hair.
And physiognomy so fair?
, My wife.
WTio's not as meek as she appears,
And doesn't believe one-halt she heirs.
And toward me entertains no fears?
My consort.
Who wakes me up on every morning,
About the time the day is dawning,
My protestations calmly scorning?
My tootsy wootsy.
Who marks my clothes with india ink.
And darns my stockings quick as wink.
While I sit by and smoke and think?
My companion for life.
Who asks me every day for money,
With countenance demure and fanny, 1
And calls mo "pretty boy" and "honey"?
My littla woman.
Who runs this house both night and day.
And over all exerts her sway;
Who's boss o' this shanty, anyway?
My b-tter half.
HUMOROUS.
To foot a bill To v-toe it
The golden age Sweet sixteen.
Crazy quilts originated in Bed-lam.
"On the fence" Boards, of course.
It is the collector who is first to find
a man out
A duel is the quickest kind of an
encounter, because it Qnly takes two
seconds. In Rome every boarding house is a
palace, and it may be added that about
every palace is a boarding house.
The man who married a girl be
cause she "struck his fancy," says
she strikes him anywhere it comes
handy now.
A book publisher announces "In
press A Pretty Girl." She is often
in that predicament and the work
will be continued next week.
"This theory that cold contracts
everything but water, which it ex
pands," said one friend to another, "is
nonsense. You ought to see my coal
bill."
Did it ever occur to you, how
ashamed a pug dog must be of him
self, when seen in company with a
woman who is fool enough to lug him
about
A Chicago firm is "introducing wood
en slippers into this country. The
small boy is all' in a sweat for fear
his mother will take it into her head
to buy a pair.
"Mamma, where's papa gone to?"
asked a little girl one day. "He's gone
to town to earn more bread and but
ter for you, darling." " Oh, mamma, I
wish he would sometimes earn buns P
sighed the child.
"Is your wife acquainted with the
dead languages?" asked Ihe professor
of a Newman man, "Maybe she is,"
was the reply, "but the language she
uses is entirely too warm to have been
dead very long."
The ladies should always have con
siderable paid them on account of
their sex, and it is no more than pro
per that leap year should have one ex
tra day, to give the girls all the time
they need to propose in.
"No," said a fond mother, speaking
proudly of her twenty-five-year old
daughter, "Mary isn't old enough to
mary yet She cries whenever anyone
scold3 her, and until she becomes
hardened enough to talk back vigor
ously, she isn't fit for a wife."
"You gave my wife the wrong
medicine," exclaimed a man, entering
a drug store. " I hope no harm has
resulted," replied the druggist tremu
lously. "Oh, no, she's all right
" How do you know it was the wrong
medicine ? " " Why, because it helped
her immediately."
A lover, young and enthusiastic,
who sang and played for nearly two
hours before the house of his lady-love
the other evening, was electrified
that is, shocked after a short pause
by a cordial " Thank you," gracefully
pronounced by the "other fellow,"
who appeared at the drawing-room
window.
"LEAP YEAR VICTIM.
Breathes there the girl with soul so dead,
Who ever to herself has hath said
IH never wed?
Whose changing heart hath ofttimes turned
From love to flirting that hath burned
In her weak head?
If such there breathe, now shed a tear
For her. No " marriage bells " youl hear
With ringing cheer,
In rapture o'er her change of life
To blessedness in being a wife
This fond leap-year!