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. ,