L
DESULTORY READING.
Mont Ro-CalloU Heading fnurafiiiiirarretty
. Nvarly luro Iiiluey,
Mr. H.ilfourhas recently stopped aside
lrom political ways to deliver an address
at the opouingof a nowTibrary, in which
he won the approval of all truo book
lovers by saying o pood word for what la
anion Hip solf-f leet known by' tln con
temptuous term of "desultory reading.''
It is tho solemn conviction of tho lira l
grinds of the world thr.t. tf ore Is no read
iipr which la of any advantage to a man
tiuless it is arranged in courses and de
votod to some speclllo end; while equally
tin truo book lover, tho man who i horn
with the literary instinct and crmvlo
tbn, kiowa beyond paradveuturo that
thin reading which has been stlgmathed
an desultory $9 the most valuable of all,
and that It is only by the good which is
won by following it through the wind
ing way in which it leads as through a
labyrinth that one is able to get .from
formal reading any benefit whatever.
Tho Aral principle of reading should
be that one Is profoundly interested
the-efn. It is worse tban useless to force
one's self, or to force others, to go over
the page of any book which does not of
itself hold the wader. It may be neces
sary no-and then to go through a course
of reading upon a special subject as one
does any other mechanical task, but he
labors under a complete misunderstand
ing who supposes that by so doing he Is
Increasing bis intellectual culture. He
may for a moment increase the unasslm
Hated facts in bis mind, but this is .al
ways a hinderance to mental progress
rather than a help.
The genuine love of books is perhaps
a thing which one must be born with tc
enjoy It in Its fullness, and it can, after
all be largely cultivated. At least,
there are few people who can not inter
est themselves in some sort of reading
if they are but placed in a position to
reach the books which are adapted to
their minds, and what is quite as im
portant to their temperaments. What
Is known as desultory reading is, after
all, if one only examines the matter a
little closely, reading what Is adapted to
the condition of the mind at the mo
ment. It is taking the mental food
which one can digest, instead of dieting
the mind upon those indigestible things
which have some time and somewhere
been supposed to be good for minds of a
different sort in a different condition.
Most reading courses are pretty nearly
pure idiocy; a stringing together of good
books into a perfectly arbitrary and un
wholesome composition. One might as
well weigh out the food to be eaten
meal by meal for a year to come. The
appetite has more to do with it than
theories, and is a better guide unless it
has been most fonly dealt with.
The way to read is to read, and if a
person turned into a library can not bet
ter find out what to read tban anybody
can tell him. he is either too young tc
be trusted alone anywhere or mentally
diseiaed. The mind is its own gauge,
and if it does not work well it Is very
seldom that any outside expedient can
be made to serve instead, If the at
tempt be made it results in something
which is not culture, at least. Boston
Courier.
JUSTICE EASILY MISTAKEN.
An Innorvnt Man Permit HlmMlf to B
Convicted or a Brotlioft trim.
"Years ago," said one of the well
known members of the Louisville bar,
;'l was called on to defend a man of
nearly middle age, who was accused
of having stabbed a man in a quarrel
on the str et. Imagine my astonish
ment when at the lirst consultation he
told me th' so facts: 'Yesterday after
noon." bifA he. 'about dusk, my
brother, who resembles me somewhat,
vas crossing the street, when he met
a stranger coming; the other way. The
crossing was muddy, the stranger jos
tled hint, and a quarrel ensued that
develop! into a tight, in which iny
brother, who had his jonkiiife in his
hand, stabbed his opponent several
times, and then ran away as a jioliee
tuan and several citizens came up.
After we were all in bed last night, the
oiiicei-s came to the house after tho as
sailant, and much to my surprise the
warrant was made out against me.
Jly brother is a man of dissipated
habits, who has several times been in
trouble, and if this case is pressed
ugaiiist him I am afraid he will be
sent to the penitentiary. On tho other
hand, I am a law abiding citizen, and
can prove an excellent character.
Now, what I propose to do is to stand
trial on this charge, plead not guilty,
prove an alibi, us I can, prove my
character, and bike the consequences.
If I am convicted, I may get oil' with a
tine, and lam willing to pay that to
keep my brother out of prison.'
"I tried to jiersuade my client out of
such romantic proceeding," continued
the lawyer, "but he was determined,
and in order to do him justice in the
defense 1 obtained the assistance of an
other lawyer, who did not know the
facts, and would act in the defense as
if our client was guilty. Well, the
cave came up. My client was identi
fied by the man who had been stabbed
and by the policeman and other dis
interested parties who had witnessed
the light in the semi-darkness and
were sure of their man, as they
thought. Jly client swore that he did
not commit the assault, but that he
was at home at the time when it oc
curred, and his family swore to that
fact. Then several leading members
of the church testified as to bis good
character. Uut the jury found him
guilty and fined him $50. He paid it
without a murmur, and the record of
his conviction stands in the orders of
t.h court. All through the trial ir
eiii'u guilty brother sat by ins suit,
in the court and heard the testimony
without tliuching. 1 asked him what
he would have thine if his self suerilio
ing brother had been sentenced to the
penitentiary. '1 intended, in thul
event,' said" ho, 'to get up in court ami
acknowledge rny own guilt,' Tht
other lawyer was thunderstruck ufMc
the trial when 1 told him tho ' facta
Ho refused to believe it, and said tlw
evidence was sullieient to convict an;1
man who lived. Only tho proof o'
good character saved tho accused from
a severe sentence to the state prisou '
Louisville Courier-Journal.
HUNTING BUFFALOES.
k Witrn lluntir'i lCd'orM to tlomattl
cti lh Animal.
"I began hunting the buffalo in 1871.
I have kilted from forty to sixty buffa
loes In one bunt." said a voterau buffalo
hunter. "1 figured out a plan of my
own to corral them upon the prairie. I
made an effort to get In front of the
herd when they were traveling, so that
they would oome within about twenty
yards of mo in passing. I then shot tho
loader through the heart and dropped
her in hor tracks. The trader was gen
erally a cow, the old bulls being lazy'
nd usually lagging behind. The herd
would fall bank In the direction from
which they came about one hundred
yards, stopping to turn around and look
for danger. In a few minutes one of
the cows led out to go around on one
side or the other, and I would drop hor
as I did the lirst. They would again
fall hack a short distance and huddle
up together. After a short pause, an
other cow might undertake to go around
on the other side, and invariably met
the same fate as tho other two. The
herd after this was sure to form a close
group upon the ground, whore they
halted after the first shot, as buffaloes
nover retrace their steps but a short
distance.
"Now. they had trouble on three sides,
and on the other was their back track,
and I was free to shoot down as many
as I wanted, provided I did not fire too
rapidly and alarm them. Whenever one
would attempt to lead away, I made sure
to kill T and this taught the others
that It was sure death to the leaders.
"To bo sure, it was very cruel, but I
could hear the crack of guns on every
side, and I thought I would have my
share.
"I soon realized that these animals
would soon be extinct, and in 184 I be
gan to gather up the calves to atone for
my slaughter. It was a very difficult
matter to raise them, and at first I lost
fifty per cent of them; but, after a little
experience, I could saveainety per cent
The calves when caught over three
months old can not bo raised the cage
breaks their hearts, and they give up in
disgust. I continued my efforts, how
ever, and soon had a fine stock of calves
on my ranch, near Uafdcn City. At the
close of 184 I had only succeeded in
raising four, the next year seven and
the next twenty-two full-blooded calves,
and my herd to-day numbers nearly one
hundred.
''I bought the famous Manitoba herd.
eonsistingof sixty full bloodsand twenty
iix crosses in 137.
"I have jld a great many bulls to
ehows and menageries at prices ranging
from $ M0 to 8700.
"The buffalo has a very fine, long coat
of hair, which It sheds every year, and I
am saving this, which averages about 10
pounds per year, intending to have It
made into cloth by way of experiment.
The buffalo grow much larger in North
ern elimates. tho bulls reaching a weight
of 3.500 pounds, with magnificent heads,
which are eatferly sought for by the
museums, and for which they have to pay
from -00 to &"00 apiece when mounted.
The meat of the domesticated buffalo
Lh as tender as the finest beef and has a
delicious flavor. It is not like the old
tough 'run down' bull meat, which we
used to get and which was nothing but
muscle and sinew.
"The cows are more valuable than the
hulls, a number of the former having
just been sold In Utah at prices ranging
from $5uo to ?soo. The half-breeds are
not so good as the three-quarter or se ven
eighths. The latter are splendid ani
mals, carrying a fine coat of hair.
"With a view of perpetuating the race
of American buffalo, and also of estab
lishing an attraction for the city, a syn
dicate has been organized at Ogden. A
zoological farm will bo started and com
pleted as rapidly as possible. Negotia
tions for the purchase of a half-Interest
in my herd have been going on for some
time. They are now concluded, the price
being 53,000.
"1 anticipate no difficulty in moving
the animals, as I bad none in bringing
the Manitoba herd into Kansas." -N. Y.
Herald. '
t Hriyio cold Water Itcmnrh.
The little anecdote of Carlyle related
by Lord Houghton to tho members of
the Yorkshire college is said to be
characteristic of its hero. It appear!
that many years ago, when Carlyh
first came on a visit to Lord Hough
ton's grandfather at Fryston, his host
took occasion 0110 morning to lament
to him the destruction of a line view
by the erection of a tall factory chim
ney. Mr. Millies, no doubt, expected
that his guest would readily concur;
but the philosopher was not in a con
curring mood, and his reply was: "I
do not at all agree with you. Since I
have been under your hospitable roof
this is tho first evidence 1 have seen
that any work is being carried on in
this neigh borhood which is of any
utility to mankind." This is the sort
of reply which sensitive conversation
ists dud slightly discouraging -
yUAi.M "LONGEVITY.
It fi Ino to Qitlt IlaMt ami DUolptliiml
Motion ir l.irwf'
It is qulto true that many "Friends"
11 e long. It Is equally true that certain
circumstances in their history militate
against long life. Among those latter
intermarriage Is, perhaps, the wwt Im
portant of ull. 'it followers of George
Fox have never been very numerous,
but until late years they have heon ex
tr(nely exclusive. Th.i inevitable re
sult of Unit has heon extensive inter
marriage. throughout the whole
community. Tim consequences of the
frequency of Intermarriages have been,
and are still, very evident. Quakers, as
a class, ure not museularly robust; many
f them ure decidedly antemio, and not
a few uro mentally feeble. Yet, In spite
of these practical and serious drawbacks,
the Friends, us a class, do moro than
their proportion of tho world's serious
business, and they manage to attain to
a high average of longevity. Now thh
Is exactly the kind of fact that true
medical science likes to get hold of, and
to Interrogate and learn from. What is
the reason, asks tho sensible man, why
Quakers, with so many undoubted dls
advantages, attain to such a high aver
ago of success in all that constitutes
worthy life, and also succeed in enjoy
ing their success to an exceptionally old
ago?
The reason, we are convinced, 18 to be
found in their quiet habits and disci
plined lifo. An ordinary doctor, or even
layman, would probably have folt much
moro interest in tho subject at this point
if wo had been able to afllrm that the
Quakers owed their success and long life
to certain drugs, as, for example, to ar
senic, phosphorous, strychnia and the
liko; or to certain methods of feeding,
as vegetarianism, or meat eating, or
fruit eating, or wine drinking, or tento
talism, or smoking, and so on. ltut we
submit that (hat shows a want of real
mental capacity. For what, after all, is
the true importance of the subject? Does
it not consist in tho undoubted charac
ter of the results? The resuita are
really the things to be considered. As
a matter of fact the Quakers are suc
cessful in life. As a matter of fact (hey
do live long. Then, surely, true science
will not curl the lip of scorn because
these result are obtained by what nay
be called "natural and simple" processes,
instead of by elaborate preparations and
out-of-the-way methods. Hospital.
S u : ' '
Fluctuating Interesting-.
In this country the chrysanthemum
has had its, ups and downs in popular
favor. &kh after the European gar
doners began actively the work of pro
ducing now varieties, a number of
American florists became heavy im
porters, and the flower at once be
came a craze, ilieii me taste lor inem
declined, until it was dillicull to sell
any plants at all. but in recent years
tne interest nas oecn roviveu. auu me
florist's windows are gay with mauy
colored flowers.
The chrysanthemum will endure a
considerable amount of frost, but usu
slly severe winters will kill them.
the plant is one which may be easily
uitivated. and may bo rapidly in-
i-ri-a.Mil bv dividing tho plants in
, (n il. W ushington Post,
Wlivre Ha lrw til t.lne.
"Throw up your hands!" cried tho
robber.
"Certainly," replied the obliging
tourist.
"I'll throw up anything you want
me to. Except' (he added rotto voce)
"the diamonds I swallowed to keep
you from getting." Epoch.
MENTAL ALERTNESS.
Why It 1 the llnnltit fart of Any Ono'i
IIUSI
Therfl are different ways of Doing
busy, and the busiest way of all Is that
which often looks least like business.
It is sometimes derisively said that one
Is "busy doing nothing." Hut "doing
nothing'' may mean one thing to one
kind of worker, and another thing to
another kind. "Your work Is only
headwork." said tho college white
washer to the college professor, quite
contemptuously. Tho locomotive en
gineer on the lookout of tho fast ex
press, with his hand on tho throttle,
may seem to the purely physical labor
er, or to the purely intellectual toiler,
to bo "busy doing nothing." lie call
no muscle into action, he involves no
abstract thought, no philosophy, no
science. He appears to bo enjoying
tho view from his cab-window just
about as idly and complacently as does
the recreating tourist behind him,
whoso very lifo is committed to the in
active hand of that engineer. The
engineer to all appearance is "busy
doing nothing." Hut tho difference is
that the tourist-passenger is Inert,
while tho engineer Is alert. And this
unbroken alertness, this sense of a
tremendous responsibility unlifted for
ono moment, is tho busiest of all ways
of being biiHy. Every muscle Is ready,
every nerve is tense. Tho wholu man,
physical, inuntul, moral, Isexhaustingly
engaged albeit tho whole man may
outwardly suotu to bo "doing nothing."
The hardest part of any one's business
is that part of it which lives and dies
within himself. The unceasing, un
broken alertness, the ever-conscious re
sponsibility for right action at tho right
tiiuo, Is the busiest of all busi nesses,
tho first business of every business 01
every Ufa S. S. Times.
CURE FOR KICKING,
Mow In Msilwr llr Adihrtoil to th
Vlnlntta Habit,
During thOj' last thirty-five years a
neighbor hns permanently cured over
twenty horses of the kicking habit,
without fulling in any case attempted.
Following is his method: Take a half
Inch rope that has been stretched until
It can not stretch any moro, tie it
around the horse six inches back of
the pad and bcNybund of tho humous;
Insert a short stick itnd twbt It up
nearly us tight as the rope will bear
without breaking, and tie the titiek so
that It will stuy. Fasten the horse in
a stll where there is room 'behind
ti I in to wield a long lush whip, then
strike him around the hind logs quite
severely; nttbe second .or third blow
he will genurnlly kick with both feet
with all his might, but only for two or
three times, if he has been in the
habit of kicking In harness, drive him
with the rope on two weeks, or until
he quits making any threats, Some
will kick onco or twlco with one fout,
and bob up nnd, threaten for several
days. They should be tickled or teased,
or have u basket or pull thrown under
thorn or tied to a hind foot several
times a day to make them try to kick,
and until they cease to make any effort
In that direction. The remedy is then
effectual. After driving thoanimal hall
Hn hour the rope should be tightened.
This will also euro bucking horses or
any which try to throw their rider.
Galen Wilson, in N. Y. Tribune.
-For heroism in ono of the battlei
of tho Mexican war, the Lcgtslaturt
of Missouri granted to Absalom Hughoi
the right to keep a dram shop durlni
his nntural life without paying Statu
county or municipal license. Although
over seventy years of age. he is still
engaged in the business at Cedar City.
Merchant "Can you bring mo a
few bushels of green peas, this morn
ing?" Dakota Gardouor--"Not this
mornln'. My peas war' jest blossomln'
when I left home an hour ago. Hut of
that nr' cloud, drops an inch or two
so's tcr keep often the sun. I'll be here
with a load this nrternoon." Thno.
The total production 0 gold and
silver of the world in 1887, according
to the report of the Director of the
United States Mint for the your 1884.
was, in gold, $100,820,800; in silver (at
United States coining valuo), $125,3 16,-810-or
$226,173,110 in all. The real
value of the silver was, however, much
less, lining about $94,000,000. '
An F-uston man, homeward bound
with a new carpet sweeper, was ac
costed by a neighbor who Is zealous to
bethought agricultural, and who asked
consent to try that mower on his lawn.
He tried it, and finding that he could
not make the grass Ry he passed it
back with an expression of mistrust in
"these now patents." AHentown (Pa.)
Register.
A Hnltlmoro woman dreamed of
finding a pot of gold in the cellar, and
tho next day sho went down and began
looking for it. She managed In a short
time to run across fourlurge sized ruts,
an old key that hud been lost for six
months, and u jug of whisky her old
man had been hiding behind the potato
barrels. She is a firm believer in
dreams now. Peek's Sun. '
A nlue-yenr-old son of Maine, liv
ing eleven miles from Hangor, heard
of tho electric lights in that city, and
teased his father to take him there
that he might see them. Tho father
said he hadn't time. A few days after
ward tho boy was missed. His father
drove straight to Hnngor, and at nino
o'clock that night found him under an
electric light, guzlng in open-eyed do
light, lie hud walked all the wuy.
An Interesting innovation in the
method of catching cod has just boon
made by the Freneh fishermen coasting
off Newfoundland. They catch largo
periwinkles, remove their shells, and
use the creatures for buit The cod,
it Is said, have Bitten eagerly at the
new bait and the owners of the French
vessels have caught fish so fast that
they were able to sail for France In tho
first week of July, instead of October
as iiNiiai. In England the whelk bus
long been used for the same purpose.
One of tho most interesting natur
al curiosities of Lycoming County,
Pennsylvania, is situated in Hose Val
ley, about six miles from Trout Hun.
It consists of seven natural wells ex
tending utmost straight downward to a
depth unknown. Largo stones cast in
so no of these wells go rumbling down,
making a coarse, rasping sound at first
as they strike against the sides of tho
well, growing fainter and fainter until
lost by tho distance Near these wolls
is a cave, tho mouth of which is largo
enough for a horso to enter. Several
gangways load off from the main en
trance to largo separate chambers, and
from theso other passage ways loud off
probably to unoxplored chambers.
Edwin Everott HSTo say's that whon
be was in college ho and bis chum took
the first daguorreotype ever made in
Boston.
Bishop Fowler thinks that Prince
LI, the Viceroy of China, is "one of the
greatest statesmen the world has ever
produced."
nlmni's oo.iy. ana laid open a fearful
gash. J saw tho flush of the fellow's
knife as Harrows and I hurrlnd for
ward to get a shot at tho tiger.
"Without relinquishing its hold on
the man, tho tiining-lm bounded back
up tho drift, but before reaching tho
top it lost Its grip and stopped short,
a 'Crimson stream pouring from Hn
wound.
"At a distance of thirty or forty
feet from tho animal Harrows and 1
fired. The tiger again seized tho
Japanese, and tried to spring with him
from the drift into ltii lair, but miscal
culated Hs ebbing strength, and fell
beneath the drift Biid the wall.
"Mustering our forces, wo climbed
up tho gory snow-bank, expecting to
have a hard struggle, but the tlgor
was then seen to be lying holpless on
the other side. A part of its entrails
extruded from the wound the Japa
nese had made, and Barrow's bullet
was found to have pussod through Its
body back of the shoulder, breaking a
rib whore it emerged on the other
side. Another shot stretched the
animal life. ess in the snow.
"The man whom the boast had tried
to ca'Ty off lay whore the creature ha,
dropped him, and we at first thought
him dead. Hut though he was over
come by fright and Dadly bitten, hli
hurts wore not fatal. We carried hint
back to our quarters, and he recovered
in the course of a month.
"Two of, the Coroans mustered
courage to enter the don, and found
there somo of the bones of their two
unfortunate comrades whom the tiger
had carried to his lair to devour.
Threo of the Japanese remained
behind to take off the tiger's skin,
which, when afterwards stretched out
at the mill, was found to bo nine feet
long. This tlgor must have weighed
fully five hundred pounds, and was
handsomely striped.'1 Lieutenant C.
R. Smith, in YoutS's Companion.
SOMEWHAT RISKY.
Bow It rla Appla Cut la
Two an Ona'a Haail.
I once let a professional swordsmaa
cut apples in two while I held them
00 my head and on the palm of my
hand, and I'll never do it again. Th
experience is too thrilling for the
plain oltlzen who is not military in
his tastes I was with ft show when
the regular assistant of the swords
man wont on a strike, and the swords
man was in a dreadful fume as he
thought of disappointing the crowd of
spectators that night He came be
bind the scenes at rehoarsal and called
for a volunteer. "I'll give twonty.
five dollars to the man who'll hold tha
apple for mo." said ha No one vol
unteered, and I daringly put In my
oar. "I'll do it if you give me a re
hearsal." "No rohearsol," said he,
emphatically. "It will shatter you
nerves so that you'll tremble like an
aspen loaf whon you come out at the
performance." So I wont out whon
night came, the upper part of my
body covered with a thin silk vwt.
It was cold, anyway, and I tremble,
abomlnally. lie saw it, but said noth
ing to me. I held the applo on my
extended hand, and it shook. I could
feel It shaking, and felt ashamed, but
1 couldn't control the nervousness. 1
turned away my head; he mudo a few
rapid feints, and 1 knew by tho ap
plause that the apple had fallen. 1
didn't feel the blade lit all as it out
through. Thon I knelt down, and he
put another apple on my neck. 1
know this was really dangerous, for il
his hand slipped he might ducapitats.
mo. I shut my eyes. In a second,
which seemed an hour to mo, I folt a
thin cold lino touch my neck, and
thoro was moro applause. In that in
stant J thought of Mme. P.olund and
the gulllotino, and came near faint
ing. He told me to got up, nnd I foW
lowed him, feeling rathor dazed, to
the dressing-room. I thought 1 must
bo cut, the touch of the stool had boon
so pluinly felt, but the looking-glass
showed nus that thoro was not a mark
on me. Hut I was awfully pale. Tho
next night we got a regular man to
hold the upplos. St. Louis (Hobo
Democrat.
Honks were scare; In Purlin n days,
and perhaps that is the reason tha
writers made tho most of the titles,
1 using such choice ones as "A Heaping
i Hunk V,'.I1 Titnmiti'i.fl ffii t.hn Si uhhiitti
"
Ears of the Coming ('cop; or, HiseuiM
Halted in 'Jin Oven of Charity. Care
fully Conserved for the Chickens of
the Church, 'the Sparrows of the
Spirit, and the Sweet Swallows of Sal
vation;" "A Pair of Hollows to Hlov
Oft" the Dust (Just Upon John Fry."
I've been thinking." said .Jenkins'
nmther-lii-law, who IsHoiiiethingof agos
sip. "that; it Is 11 woman's duty to fU her
self for the same struggle in life that mes
undertake. I've determined H apply ai
your father's bank for a place "Yor,V
said Jones, "ask him to let you bfl
Teller." Merchant Traveler.
Mr. .llardcash "Well, sir, what in-"
duend you to imagine that 1 would give
mv consent to in v daughter's iiiarpvlnf
n - " ra
you?" Do (iall I'nrdon mo, .my dear sir,
I wasn't m foolish to lmaglno any thing
of the kind. I merely asked for it as a
tnofton .f In.., It ...... ,.f,,u ol...ll
xiarry without that's U."-wUrip. ,