' THE BULL.
'Huzza!" From box and balcony
ang out the loud exultant cry:
"Huzza 1 the matador 1"
from floor to roof a glittering maze
Of gorgeous robes and faces fair,
With lustrous laces gleaming rare,
And veils of fluttering gossamer,
And fans that set the air'astir,
And flowers that bloom and gems that
. Filled al the amphitheatre. ,
blaze
JBelow them in the sunlit space "
Beneath the tranquil April skies,
2"wo combatants stood face to face;
- A milk-white bull, with fiery eyes,
'iHuge, frantic, mad with rage and pain, '
His great head bowed to charge the foe,
- And, poising with a cool disdain
His weapon for the fatal blow,
- A youth, decked out in gorgeous wise.
A murmurous hush, a breathless pause
A flash of scarlet drapery
A plunge a bellowing roar a cloud
" vDf flying dust I Then burst the applause, ,
' With cheer on cheer of wild delight
That rolled the echoing circle round.
And while, low-fallen upon the ground,
His victim struggled hard with death,
The hero of the noble fight,
iBained on with flowers from fingers white
Mid ringing bravas, smiled and bowed.
A child sobbed softly in the crowd.
Alas, poor bull!" below her breath
She wept , "Alas, poor pretty bullP
"With sad eyes, grieved and pitiful, ;
And down beside him in the sand,
One blossom, wet with tearful dew, .,:
One little crimson rose she threw, '
And hid her sweet eyes with her hand.
And still all tongues the victor sang, N
"Huzza!" the thundering plaudits rang,
"Huzza! the matador!"
Margaret Johnson, in Wide Awake.
The Weatherby "Wave."
BY MRS. M. L. HAT5E.
Ting-a-ling-a-ling, rang the door-bell
xt Captain Weatherby 's.
The captain and his wife were sitting
3n front of the coal fire in the back
$arlor, waiting till it should be safe to
leave, and seeing many queer things in
the glowing ashes. The "help" they
-do not keep servants had gone to bed
And the house was shut up for the night.
.No one. was expected, and it was too late
for callers, so there was a mutual start
of alarm on the part of the pair when the
front door-bell rang in that sudden way.
Ting-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-ling-ling!
It was really quite ghostly; Mrs.
Weatherby said: "Mercy me. who is
there, do you suppose?" and the captain
replied : " Like as not it's a telly gram."
Then he went to the door. The wire
of that indignant bell was still vibrating
and the tongue itself had just stopped
wagging and yet when the captain
opened the door not a soul was visible.
The soft, light flakes of the last snow of
i -the season drifted into his face, and fell
Sold and wet on his cheeks. Mrs.
Weatherby was close behind him, and ex-
-claimed:
"Mercy mc! It was nobody !"
"Not even the cat," said her husband.
"Old Prim can do a sight of mischief,
but she can't ring door-bells. It was some
pesky boy, I suppose, who thought he'd
play smart and then run for it."
"What's that on the door-step?" asked
Mrs. Weatherby, suddenly.
"It's a drift," said the captain. .
tell you what, Mary, there'll be a nor'-
. aster to-night, nor'east by nor', with a
wind that'll make the sails rattle. It's
getting' up now," and he drew in his un
covered head, and was about to shut the
hall door.
"There is something there, Silas," said
liis wife, "right on the top step. Looks
like a bundle."
The captain peered out again.
"It's right you arc, my hearty. Sure
KB rnn 1,'r-n U'o o Kncb-A 5) ,1 L.t,A.J
it with his foot.
"Oh, it's the groceries for to-morrow;
that careiess boy forgot them. No won
- net uu iitu away wucu ne rang me oeui
t. - i i ....
Fetch 'em in, Silas, and leave them in
the back parlor to night."
"Better take them into the caboose I
nean the kitchen," said the captain.
"No; it's locked up. Put 'em on that
chair by the door. Ugh! I'm shiverin'
with the cold air," and the good woman
again.
"We've a heap to be thankful for,
.Mary," said the captain, thoughtfully.
"Y-e-s, I s'pose so," sighed his wife;
' -she was thinking just then of two little
:graves at Marblchead. They had been
made nigh on to twenty years ago, and
the vacancy in her heart and life had
.never been filled.
At that moment a queer little wail
ing cry rang through the room. The two
started and looked at each other.
"Sakes alive 1 , What was it ?" asked
V
Mrs. Weatherby. ,
"It came out of that basket." Baid the
-captain; "that fool of a boy has stowed
a hand in the fo'castle I mean a kitten,"
and he stalked over to it and jerked off
the cover. ,
"By the great horn spoon!" he ex
claimed as he jumped back about four
feet; "it's a baby." k
"Mercy, me!" said his wife; "where
did it come from f"
t "From the skies, I , should say; that's
what the bell rang for. Well, I must
say this is an imposition."
Mrs. Weatherby was looking curiously
into the basket ; all she saw was rags, two
bright, smiling eyes, and a little round
head covered with dark hair a wee bit
baby, deserted and alone.
"I'll go for the police," said the cap
tain, angrily; "shiver my timbers if I'm
going- to have people starving thei
babies on my doorsteps when there's
places provided for them as are destitute.
The police will make short work of it,
Mary."
"They won't kill it, will they V
asked Mrs. Weatherby, in a horrified
tone.
"Well, no, wife; that's against, the
law. But they'll take it where such
waves (he meant waifs) belong. If you
ian't afraid to stay alone I'll run ' out to
the next corner and fetch one.
When the captain returned with the
policeman he had to stop to explain the
exact spot where they found the basket,
how the bell had rung, etc., and so it
was a half hour or more before they got
into the back parlor. There Mr3. Weath
erby' sat with the object rolled up in a
table-cloth, lying on her lap and basking
contentedly in the rays of the fire.
''Here we are," said the captain in a
brisk tone. "Now, Mx. Policeman, you
can take the youngster off in the basket
it come in, can't you?"
"It's a nice boy," said the policeman,
looking down on the tiny head basking
in the firelight.
"Girl," corrected Mrs. Weatherby. "I
tell you what, Silas, I think I had better
keep the baby till the mornin'. It don't
seem exactly Christian to let it go out in
the cold to-night again."
"That'll suit me," said the policeman.
"It's a good bit from here to the Fond
lin's', and it do seem at home, sir."
"Very foolish, very foolish, Mary; but
have your ovn way ; only don't let me
be disturbed with its cryin', that's all,"
said the captain, as he peeped over slyly
and stole a look at the "wave."
The next morning at 10 o'clock the
policeman was on hand for that baby.
"Now, isn't it too bad," said Mrs.
Weatherby, "but the fact is it ain't
ready," and she slipped some money in
the man's hand for his trouble. "I'm
going to look over some things I have
put away," said the poor little mother
"and give it some decent clothes to
wear. Would it be too much trouble
to ask you to come for it thi3 evening ?'
"Certingly not, ma'am," said the
officer. As he went out Captain Weath
by looked up from his paper and winked
at him. The officer, winked back and
looked very knowingly at Mrs. Weath
erby. Such a running and rummaging as
there was in that house all day ! and by
night the baby .had quite an extensive
wardrobe ready; dressed out in the little
tucked and embroidered baby-gown that
had been brought out and done up for it
from the stock that had once belonged to
those other babies who no longer needed
them, it looked like a very different baby
from that in the basket.
"It ain't such a bad-looking wave,
after all," said the captain, bending his
honest red face over it and holding out
a rough and rugged fore-finger, which
the baby instantly grasped, and laughed
and cooed over.
"Here's the p'liceman, mum, for the
baby," said Hannah, ushering that
functionary in.
"Oh." said Mrs. Weatherby, looking
greatly disappointed,' "I'm not half
ready yet !"
"But it's only the baby, mum, they
wants. One of the foundlings died last
night and this here one is to have its
place," said the man.
"I can't help it, "said Mrs. Weatherby;
"the child won't go till it is ready. Its
clothes are not even packed up yet."
"You see," laughed the captain, "my
mate there will want a Sarotogy trunk
for that wave's clothes before she gets
through with it.' Say, Mr. Policeman,
just as soon as it's ready I'll send for you
to come after it."
"Just so, sir," answered the man;
"just so; I'll return to duty, and you
can let me know when the missis is
ready."
There was an amused twinkle in the
captain's eye, when he saw how relieved
his wife looked as the man took his de
parture. -
All this happened a year ago. I was
reminded of it by receiving the following
card, which had been sent out generally'
by the good captain and his wife :
. THE BABY.
Where did you come from, baby dear!
Out of the everywhere, into the here.
Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the skies as I came through.
What makes your forehead smooth and high?
A soft hand stroked it, as I went by.
What makes your cheek like a warm, white
rose? i
I saw something better than any one knows.
Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.
Where did you get that coral ear?
God spoke, and it came out to hear.
Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into bonds and bands.
Whence came your feet, dear little things?
From the same box as the angel's wings.
How did they all first come to be you?
God thought about me, and so I grew.
But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought about you, and so I am here.
: Your presence is desired at the christen
: ing party of our adopted daughter,
; ETHEL,
; Wednesday afternoon, January 3, 1884.
; " Ceremony at 3.
: MB. AND MRS. SILAS WEATHEBBY. v
If anyone expected a fashionable gath
ering, it was simply because they did not
know their host and hostess very well.
The great, comfortable house was full of
guests, but they were mostly people of
the Weatherby stamp ; good, plain, sensi
ble souls who did not go through life
junketing and dancing, so they carried
into any occasion of enjoyment in which
they participated an almost childish zest.
And all the ladies purred over that blessed
baby, and all the gentlemen buttonholed
the captain and made him tell the story
over.
"Found it on the door-step, you say;
f-o-u-n-d it on the door-step? . How very
remarkable I"
"And in that very boat-basket, I mean
grounded as it were at my feet the
prettiest wave that ever struck the shoals
for me my eyes, sir !'"
It was hard to recognize the baby in
its pink slip and 'coral ornaments, but
harder to recognize the basket, for it
was one mass of flowers and, tied with
rose-pink ribbons, looked ai gay as a
peacock.
There was only one thing that came
near marring the perfect enjoyment of
the occasion. It was when the minister,
a pale, slight intellectual-looking man,
stepped forward to begin the ceremony
in which the "wave" was to have a
Christian name, and Captain Weatherby
called out:
"Ship ahoy!"
The good man stopped and looked per
plexed. "Stow the prayers, parson," said the
captain; "short services on this ship, if
you please."
The minister smiled and the ceremony
proceeded, and all the prayers and re
marks of the occasion were condensed by
the celebrant into a single quotation :
"When my father and mother forsake
me then the Lord will take me up."
Detroit Free Press.
Perfumes.
One Mercutio Frangipani, who lived
in 1493, was a botanist and traveler,
famous as being one of the Columbus ex
pedition when they visited the West
India islands. The sailors, as they ap
proached Antigua, discavered a delicious
fragrance in the air. This, Mercutio told
them must be derived from sweet-smelling
flowers. On landing, they found
vast quantities of the Plumiera alba in
full bloom, rendering the air redolent
with rich odor, and from this plant which
the present inhabitants of Antigua call
the Frangipani flower, is distilled that
exquisite fragrance which is still so pop
ular in fashionable circles. This has the
merit of being the most lasting perfume
made. The grandson of the nobleman,
the Marqui3 Frangipani, invented a
method of perfuming gloves, which,
when 60 perfumed, bore the name of
"Frangipani gloves." Although the sale
of perfumes was at first strictly prohibited
in Rome, their employment became more
and more extravagant, until even the
eagles and standards were thought unfl
to face the barbarian hosts of Northern
Europe unless they had been duly an
ointed before -battle ; and should the en
gagement have proved successful, the
ceremony was repeated. Such was the
demand for the luxury that the chief
street of Capua was occupied solely by
perfumers. The incense burned by Nero
upon the funeral pyre of his wife, Pop
pcea, exceeded the annual production of
spices in Arabia. At a rather earlier
period - Plantuius Plaucus, when pro
scribed by the triumvirs, was betrayed by
his perfumes. His place of concealment
gdt wind, and discovered him to his pur
suers. Stamford, Conn., has living within its
limits eisrhty persons over eighty years of
age. Combined, their years foot up
0,716, and the average is 73.95. Twelve
are over ninety -four years old, the list
being headed by ex-United States Sena
, tor Truman Smith.
WORDS OF WISDOM. ,
Disinterestedness is the very soul of
virtue. '
Habit, if not resisted, . soon becomes
necessity.
Ground not upon dreams. ..You know
they are ever contrary.
, Good will, like a good name, is got by
many actions, and lost by one.
It is more honorable to acknowledge
our faults than to boast of our merits.
Act well at the moment, and you have
performed a good action to all eternity.
The men of the past had convictions,
while we moderns have only opinions.'
People addicted to secrecy are so with
out knowing why ; they are so not for
cause, but for secrecy's 6ake.
The first ingredient in conversation is
truth, the next good sense, the tnird
good humor, and the fourth wit.
A slovenly dress betokens a careless
mind; or, as in the case of Julius Caesar,
it may be attributed to cunning.
What women would do if they could
not cry, nobody knows ! What poor, de
fenceless creatures they would be !
; We always know everything when it
serves no purpose, and when the seal of
the irreparable has been set upon events.
It is a philosophic truth that the least
things and the greatest are bound
together as elements equally essential of
the mysterious universe.
Happiness dotes on her work, and is
prodigal to her favorite. ,As one drop of
water hath an attraction for another, so
do felicities run into felicities.
A man takes contradiction and advice
much more easily than people think, only
he will not hear it when violently given,
even though it be will founded.
It has been well said that no man ever
sank under the burden of the day. It is
when to-morrow's burden is added to the
burden of to-day that the weight is more
than men can bear. ,
How Senator Ewing Came to be Called
-Sohtude."
f The nicknaming of prominent men,
particularly of those mixing in politics,
is practiced in America more, perhaps,
than in any other, and, as a rule, the re
cipient takes to it kindly. Thus Gen
eral Jackson was as well known as "Old
Hickory" and more readily recognized
than if called President Jackson. Sena
tor Benton in his life-time was almost as
well known as "Old Bullion," so called
from his advocacy of a gold and silver
currency and his inveterate opposition to
banks and paper money. The late
Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, while a Senator
in Congress, had his nickname of "Soli
tude," and it so stuck to him that even
now, long after his death, the prefix is
still given him, to distinguish him from
his son and namesake, General Tom Ew
ing. Senator Ewing made a speech in
the United States Senate which fastened
the "Solitude" upon him. It was during
the national bank agitation, when the
supporters of that institution were active
in picturing the ruin that would come
upon the country if the bank's charter
was not renewed. Senator Ewing in de
bate spoke of the mechanic being out of
work, and that the busy hum of industry
is heard not in this the busy season of the
year, and wound up with the assertion
that "our canals are a solitude, our lakes
but desert wastes of water." A number
of Congressmen several of them Sena
tors, and more than half of them Demo
crats made up a party to return to their
homes by the way of the New York canal.
The West was then sending its produce
to the East via lake and canal, and the
Congressional party found that the canal
trade, if judged by the number of boats
met, was immense, and it was a standing
joke with the Democratic members when
a fleet of boats hove in sight to call Mr.
Ewing from the cabin of the packet-boat
to look at his "solitude." At the lower
end of the canal there had been a break,
and a large number of boats were usually
in sight. Of course, it was fun to see
them and to point them out to the Ohio
member, but the fun was not on his side
nor to his liking. At Rochester, just as
the packet-boat landed, a freight boat was
discharging cargo, and Mr. Ewing and
the other Congressmen were lookers-on.
By some accident, a hogshead filled with
molasses had its head burst in, and the
contents poured into the canal. An Irish
laborer standing near to Mr. Ewing, with
out knowing who he was, exclaimed
"Jabers, mon, that must be solitude
cwatened." The other Congressmen roared
with laughter, and Mr. Ewing was forced
to join them. The Democratic members
told the joke and it got into the newspa
pers, and it aided in perpetuating the sou
briquet of "Solitude" on Senator Thomas
Ewing. I tell the tale as it was told and
printed at the time. '
A GREAT IALKER.
ITIr. Matthias Itlergridpe and III Gift
of ICeuiarRable Speech
Matthias Mergridge, of Union Settle
ment, Wayne county, Penn., has sixty-
four children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren, and recently celebrated at
the homestead the sixty-fourth anniver
sary of his settlement on the spot, where
he has lived ever since. Mr. Mergridge
recently passed his eighty-sixth year. He
was born in England in 1798. He came
to America in 1820, and settled on the
spot where he now lives, when the sur
roundings were nothina: but wilderness.'
While he never obtained any special bus
iness prominence in the community, his
eccentricities have made him a celebrity
not only in his own but adjoining coun
ties, where' he exhibited them periodi
cally for sixty years. He was possessed,
and is yet, to a degree, of a voice of re
markable power, and with, a wonderful
flow of language. In his prime it was no
difficulty for him to make himself heard
for a distance of half a mile, and he could
talk for hours with his voice at that pitchj
It was his especial delight to pay visits,
to the towns and villages through the val
ley and proceed at once to show the pow
er of his voice and the many uses to
which he could put it. As he walked
along he would deliver addresses on
some popular local subject, or relate anec
dotes and tell stories in an original and
inimitable manner that made his appear
ance in any place the signal for a rare
treat. Possessed of a great fund of wit
and humor, his speeches and narratives
were interspersed with convulsive mim
icry of national or individual peculiar!
ties, and with quaint songs, the words
and music of which were always original
and frequently impromptu, and with apt
quotations and original verses. It was a
common sight to see a whole village at
his heels for hours, listening to his rapid"
and sonorous relation of his remarkable
personal experiences, and his inexhausti
ble repertory of stories and anecdotes.
It is related as a fact by friends of his
that he once talked at a hotel in Hones
dale, Penn., for twenty-four hours, when
he was offered $10 by the landlord if he
would stop. Without a modulation of
his voice he replied that for $10,000 he
would not stop until he had exhausted
his subject, and he continued talking five
hours longer. ' ' i
One of his favorite personal reminis
cences is an incident that occurred to
him while on his way to England many
years ago. The first day out from New
York he went on deck and began to talk, -walking
about as he told his stories. The
passengers all were finally attracted to
him, as the villagers had always been,
and followed him about the vessel. This
became such an annoyance to the officers
and crew after a day or so that the cap
tain gave Mergridge $50 to go in the
cabin and sit down while he talked. ;
Mergridge was elected to be a justice
of the peace in Wayne county, and was
subsequently appointed postmaster of the
backwoods village that grew up around
him. Some one had him indicted for
holding two offices of trust and profit
contrary to the law. He pleaded not
guilty, because "neither office was one of
profit, and the only trust that attached to
cither of them was in the office of post
master, for in that capacity he had trust
ed every one for stamps who had asked
him." He was acquitted. :
Of the thousands of stories that Mer
gridge has "told and songs he has sung;
during his long residence in the Delaware
valley no one ever heard him tell or sing;
one twice, and the person is yet to be
f ound who ever heard one of Mergridge's
songs or stories before he told or sang it
himself.
Damon and Pythias. '
Years ago, when the Weddell house in
Cleveland, Ohio, was being built, Thomas
Potter and James Henry (masons) were
at work side by side on one of .the upper
walls. One of the men slipped and
would have fallen had not the other
caught him and held him until help
came. From that day onward the old
story of Damon and Pythias was recalled
in the close friendship between these two
men. They were companions and chums
'in the closest meaning of the terms.
They bought places in Solon, Ohio, and
lived side by side, and people got so that
when they saw Potter they knew Henry
was not far off. Said an officer of the
Cleveland Society for savings: "The
two kept their accounts with us for
years. When one came in we knew the
other was close at hand. It became a
standing joke, and the men enjoyed it as
much as wc did. They often said that
when one died the other would soon fol
low him. It was .a prophecy. The two
died recently within five weeks of each,
other. It struck me as a unique thing
that such friendship should run through
so many years without a flaw, and that
the two should travel over the dark river
1 almost in company.