80NG3 OF CUPID.
neh tif ear to the earth to hear Prowrplns
plead
L, "Hasten : to spring a-coniiiif,
Rife with theuistout uumnuofc
Of rising sap iu the forest, aud odorous Mrus on
the mend, t
! met a woun)i lowr strayinjf may to mopo:
1 bade him llateo, aud filled his foolish being
with hope. ,
Twuig-tmtng! A lover n delicate gome! .
I listen and hear the blood leap up lu the veins of
arose.
And see its petals blushtap;
I hear the murmurous ruslilajr "
- -ma to the quiet heart of a valley wooing
Ke
s Bummer," sail I, and ou the season b
ed the secrets that onlj-the heart of a
1 'low eau know
. Ha! ha! A. lover is delicate game!
C The trees are falling asleep, the sun 1b brown in
the vest;
"Ah me," the leaves are sinning,
'Ah me, thefloweraaro dying,
And we must lie with them on the mother's with
ered breast!"
T left the leaves and Rowers to mourn their life
away.
And set a hopeless lover a-danciag as if twere
May-
HoiHot A lover is deUoategame!
Bilent the moon's cold eyes took down on the
placM.snow; t
The river, wrapt In sleeping,
Graved iu the ice b keeping
Its heart, till spring shall brew her charms in the
caves below.
But seasons are one to me, and off to the chase
I go,
TVith a kiss to my lady moon, and a pull at my
trusty bow
Tning-twangl A lover Is delicate game!
Iuwa Jiorgan buiith iu Home Journal.
JARVIS AXD WIFE.
I was within A mile of the boundary
4is-between Tennessee aud North Caro
lina, and near.where the Little Tennessee
river crossesthe line, when 1 heard shrill
voices on the rough trail ahead. Then aw
1 paused a sharp curve I came upon a man
and a woman, and a few rods beyond
them was a tumble down cabin, with three
children sitting on the doorstep.
it needed but a glance to show that
man and woman were husband and wife,
and that the cabin and children belonged
to them. The woman had on an ancient
straw bonnet and -a faded shawl, as if
bound on a journey, and both people were
somewhat excited. My appearance cut
short their conversation, and botli gave
me a "howdy?" as I drew nearer.
It was the loneliest, gloomiest spot in
&U the gloomy spurs of the lonely Cum
berland. Nine miles back was a moun
tain cabin in another such cove how far
ahead to the next L could not say. Around
the house was half an acre of cleared
ground. All else was rock and hill and
bush. The nearest town was twenty
miles away, and as for schools and
churches the people had scarcely heard of
them. It wasn't so much the poverty
though none could be poorer but the
utter loneliness, the seclusion, the cut
ting loose from all the great world, that
struck me. Once-a month some stranger
might pass that way. There was an awe
sameness about fhe spot even when the
i i wu i :!.,.
null bihuu wju urigutenb. n uvu tut; uihi.
dime down and the winds sighed through
trees and bushes and the solemn old
mountain sent masses of loosened earth
. and rock crashing down the steep slopes
it must have been maddening.
"We three looked at each othef for a
minute without speaking, Then the man
eaid: ' y
"I'm jist glad on't!"
"So m II" replied the woman.
"'Cause now I'll tell him all about it,
and you'll see if he don't fetch (agree)-
witnnie.
"No, he won't, Samuel Jarvis! Hell
jist fetch with me, and he'll tell you to
yer race that ye orter be asuameu or yer-
aelf."
"I it a a familv far?" I Innuired.
"Come r.p to the cabin," replied the
man. , ,
The children's faces wore an amused
' expression through the dirt. They seemed
to oe auont v, ana is years om, respect
ively, and soap and combs and towels
: were articles unknown to-them. They
snickered among themselves as we ap-
: proached, and the oldest said to his
(father:'
1 "Mam was a-goin' this time, fur suah."
"Shet!" was the brief command of the
father.
"'Dad and mum is always a-fussin,"
Added the second oldest.
"Iliram, you shet!" exclaimed the
mother as she sat down beside him.
The father and I sat down upon a log
at the door, and while he was clearing his
voice to begin, and reaching out for a
stick to whittle while he talked, the
woman suddenly broke down and sobbed
out:
'Just look around andVsee how I've had
to live fur the last fifteen years!"
"Thar's them as lives wuss," replied the
hmband.
What hev we got?" she demanded,
starting up and looking around. "You
eouid tote our (roods on yer back. We've
jist squatted yere, and we don't own
nothink."
"It's agin the law to own niggers," he
almly observed.
"Niggersl What do we want with
niggers Niggers would starve with us!
We'iins is niggers nuff."
"We'll hev a mnel some day
The children cheered. '
"A mu-ell Borne day! Oh, yes! A
real, live mu-el! And a herridge! And
we'll feed him on slivers and splinters!
That's bin the talk fur the last dozen
years, and whar's the mu-el!"
"Muels is high, Nancy."
"Kin I wo Hup him. dad?" anxiously in
quired the oldest child.
"Shet!" called father end mother in one
voice.
"It's like this, stranger," continued the
wife after wiping away her tears. "We
don't git along. It's all bis fault. He's
lazy, and lie dou't Ueer fur riches. He's
-alius gwine to do eunthin', but it never
cornea. - Yere we quatte& when we got
spliced, And yere we are today. Them
young 'una bur, growed up like heathen,
'. sad I've forgotten all I ever knowed. I've
.got clean bushed out,"
"Main's a-bawlkig!" snickered the old
est. : -,-
"Shet!" exclaimed the father as ho
reached over and cuffed the youngster's
head.
"Ipurfess that we heven't got rich,"
slowly replied -ho husband, "but taln't
all my fault. Wasn't 1 clnw'd by a bn'rV
Didnt I fall fum ft tree? Wasn't the
voting 'iws down with the measles and
thingdt"
"But you hain't used me right!" sobbed
the woman. "look at these duds tho
best I hev! I've worked and toiled and
toiled and saved, and what have I got for
H? Who bo I but a ramshackle squatter's
wife, a Levin' chills all summer and gain'
b'arfut in the winter? Where be wo, aud
what be wef
The children set In and began crying
with their mother, and the mountaineer
drew his sleeve across his eyes and whis
pered: "Stranger, talk to nor soothm' like.
She's powerful good hearted, but liable to
spells. She's got a spell on just now."
"Vorhaps things will soon mend," I
said, as the woman controlled her emo
tion a little.
"Whor1 did ye find mo, Samuel JarvU?'
she suddenly exclaimed.
"At yer pop's." if
"Yes; at my pop's, whar I was brung
up like a lady. What did you promisor
"Heaps, I reckons."
"So you did! I was to hev muelsand
korridges and niggers and silks! Whar'
bo they?"
"We've bin misfortmmte, Nancy. The
strangers will fetch with mo that a man
hain't to blame fur his misfortunates.
Come, wife, take oif yer things."
"What furY"
"To stay, of conrso. See them young
uns a-weepiu', and see me a-askiu it of
you."
"You said I could go if I didn't like
your style."
"I was only funnin', Nancy."
"Ma's ft-gittuV tho upper of dad!"
snickered young Iliraui.
"Shet!" called the father, getting in a
double cuff this time.
"Well, I might stay on account of the
children," said the wife.,
"Yea, thoy are pore things." , '
'And niebbo you'll do a turn better."
"I will, Nance durn my buttons If I
don't!" ; - '
. "But the stranger must fetch with me
that I'm a doiu' it to please you aud the
children."
"Yes," I said, "your duty lies here.
You must not desert your family."
"Madasn't go and pop dasn't let her!"
called Hiram from behind a stump, and
then we went inside. We had a "smack"
of bear's meat aud corn brood, and as
evening came down thoy gathered in front
of the tire to hear of the wonders boyond
the Cove. Ihiilroads! Neither mother
nor children had ever seen a track.
Steamboats! Thoy could hardly compre
hend. New York, Boston, Philadelphia,
Chicago! Thoy had never heard tho
names. Telegraphs and telephones,
pianos and organs, reapers and mowers,
steam engines aud electric lights! Each
was a wonder to them. Neither man nor
wife could name five states. They hud no
names for oceans. Thoy could namo only
three large rivers. We talked and talked,
and when midnight came the squatter
reached over for my hand and said:
"Htranger, don't it mako yer head ache
to carry all them knowledge around?"
"Dog gone my shoes, Sam Jarvis, but
we's got to be aristocratic purty soon or
I'll hang myself." M (Juad in Detroit
Free Press.
Troubles of a Tobacco Plant.
After the growth has been fairly started
the- troubles of tho young plant begin.
It has to be as carefully watched as the
youngest baby of the household, and the
planter must of necessity bo a most
patient nurse. It bus to be defended
from late frosts and tluit arch enemy, the
worm. This ever present worm is the
only living thing of the insect or animal
kingdom, with the single exception of
man, that relishes the seductive weed.
Frequently thev destroy entire fields three
or fount iines and the planter host of tho
writer told him of an instance where a
field in his plantation had to be reset a
half dozen times. The Virginia worm is
long, round and green, witli a smooth
skin, protruding eyes and numerous logs.
It keeps pace in its growth with tho
plant. When tho latter is small so is tho
enemy, and as it grows so does the worm,
until it reaches a length of three or four
inches and the thickness of the indent I
finger. When the plant is small and
tender the delight of tho worm is to eat
through the stulk, bringing It to the
ground, but after it reaches any size it
contents itself with eating great holes in
the leaves.
It is tho chief work of tho pickaninnies
(children) of the plantation to keep the
plants free from worms. Two or three
times a week they go up one row and
down another, carefully looking under
every leaf in the hunt. Now and then
yon will hear a joyous "kl-yi" como from
the direction of some woolly headed
worker, and yon may know that it sounds
the death kuell of an unusually largo pest.
In slavery days, as now, the hunt was
carried on with the greatest vigor and the
punishment visited on the unfortunate
youngster who failed to capture every
worm in his allotted district was to make
him bite the repulsive reptile, in two.
This is ft tradition, however, and must bo 1
relegated to the Uncle lorn period of our
literature. But the pickaninny also had
his reward. The "miller," a large white
moth, Is responsible for the tobacco worm.
It is exceedingly prolific arid sometimes
deposits as many as a hundred eggs in a
single night. The planter gives a reward
of five cents for every "miller" captured,
and on bright moonlight nights, when
they are most numerous, you con see the
young darkies moving stealthily about
the fields on a still hunt for scalps. U,
h. Clutter in Detroit Free Press.
'' 'Exper linen to In Hlguallng. '
- Partially successful experiments In sig
naling by means of electric lights flashed
on clouds have been mode by British offi
cers at Singapore, A message of four
words was read from an outgoing vessel
at a distance of sixty knots, but the reply;
escaped notice. A rkausaw Traveler,
K I
Tho British postofllco service employs
8,000 women. Competitors for places
have to be over 18 aud under 3U -years of
age. . 1
CONFIDENCE WOMEN.
THEY ARB PREPARING FOR THB
WORLD'S PAIR,
A DARINO I'LAM OP WOMEN WHO
IN FUST 1IIU, ITlli 4,
Sophie Lyoni, Itlary Krntlnst and
Ml Ifluy The hU'itgo Con tin gent
Hiu finny Nlielc Workers Among
Its m em ft era.
BOUT THIS
Benson of the
year, when ye
t armor and ve
country mere h
ant is supposed
to pay occasional
visits to the big
el;ies, blossoms
in to. notoriety a
class of fomenin
ity known to the
police as "con
folk." They
parade the live
nucs and the by-wavs. Today they
are so well clothed in silk and tinery
that they easily pass for the wife of a
millionaire. To-morrow they are meek
and lowly and clad in the garb of a
working girl. In the tivst costume
they look for the country meruhnnt
for n victim, in the lust for the rural
philanthropist who in always ready to
assist a poor girl iu distress because
she has just lost .her situation.
Hhe is often -found in another dress.
It is tliut of a man. In this she win
rob and plunder 1o great advuntasre
when .the opportunity presents itself.
Hue wilt do anything from climbing a
Eorch to holding up a man on the
ighway, .
Every lnrge city lias Its corp of this
class of criminals. They Ntddom move
wound between cities. Thoru are only
two or three of national reputation,
such oh feophte Lyons, Mary Keating,
and Lila May, each one of them with a
multitude of uluises.
There is not one of these who has
not been iu jail on many occusions
charged with surirtis offenses; but the
cases against thein generally full
through for laok of the prosecuting
witness, who would sooner not figure
before the public in that tight,
Marv Keating, who is a resideut of
the nourishing city of Chicugo, has
peered through prison bars not less
than half a hundred times. Khe is
at the present time in retirement
owing to a severe strain
caused 'from overwork, and is
wanted for the theft of S'Jsr. from a De
troit man who hud too much confidence
in her. She was strolling pant the city
hall during the (1. A. li. encampment
with her vict m whtn a detective ap
proached the pair and said: "That wo
man is the most notorious pickpocket
in the country,.
You d better drop
tier."
"I guess I know my business," re
torted the smart Detroiter, bristling
up at the insult ott'ared his companion.
Later he reported to the police the loss
of all the money he had. He was
obliged to walk home, while Mary took
a trip for her health to the seashore.
She has a sistor, Nora, who Is almost,
If not equally as good a "worker" and
has a record of some thirty arrests,
lioth reside in Chicago,
Minnie Williams, one of the three
sisters of that name who have the
peculiar contlit of affairs made the ac
quaintance of Alice, Is one of the best
combination pin U pockets and confi
dence workers in the western country.
Her plain features without any pre
tensions to beauty, adorn frame
:m . in the gallery. Bhe is
personally known to every po
liceman and detective in south and
west Chicago. Minnie's life during
the last five years has boon one suc
cession of nowns and ups down in a
police station cell and up before the
police magistrate. Notwithstanding
all this she has by careful and prudent
economy managed to accumulate at
her "calling" enough money to pur
chase a handsome home.
8he works theunsuspectingstranger
under the guise of an innocent country
girl lately arrived in Chicago. Her
tales of woe ure as many and varied
as the hues of a rainbow and as strik
ingly original. Minnie is not spending
y&lr
: i
ft
hopestoreaparkhharvestduringthtl- .;rjWM count do
world's fair. Not long since a bool ' - i, .
maker was relieved of a burden in tlf p ft
shape of an HMuu roll of bills by hi
but when the case came before tl.
grand jury she was discharged, "bt i
cause, as one oi uie wise men saiu,
man must be a chump who would ley
woman rob hnn."
Jennie Monroe, whose arrest
more than one occasion has saved!
Htranger the loss of his wealtnf
accomDltsneo worker, one is i
as a crook with no particular so
vrcutrnujf w maatj jcuuie vi w.
Life Juarj-
falls Into "her net. The Monroe woman
In a frequouter of tho levee and con
sidered a hard ohuruutor.
Annie Foley is a notorious pick
pocket and all-round thiof, whose
crimes have passed the do en notch. ,
In the gallory hur number is (ill) and
hor specialty "robbery." Khe was
born in Chicago, and notwithstanding
a somowliat deep scar on the side of
hor face, is considered a fairly good
looking woman.
"Vie" Palmer! whose last daring
robbery would have secured for her a so
journ lasting two years m the peniten
tiary had not a now trial been granted
her owing to her nue. is another of the
ftickpocitets who forwworal years have
nfosted the streets and boded no good
to tho wolfure of a plethoric purse.
"Vic" seunrcd a new trial und through
compassion her sentence was ohangtul
to six months in the county jail, whnro
she is at present Together with her
sister Maggie she has curiicd and holds
a prominent place in the gallery of
rogues.
These women are making great pre
parations for the influx of greenhorns
that the world's fair will bring. Of
course thoy will be joined by their sis
ters from other cities of America and
Europe. Thny will look after bail
bonds and habeas corpus proceedings
when their sisters got "ptnehud." The
rombiimtion can command millions of
dollars in bail bonds. Kuch is tlte
"pull of the aver, i go confidence wo
man. TRUTH AT LAST,
Vhe Identity of the w1Nhii In llie
Iron IfliiNk" Kelim Knttilil Mied.
It is said th.it an officer of the garri
son of Nuntes, 1 arb.' has received to
tmnncribe some Hmputuhes of Louis
XIV, aod of 'Louvois iu which there
are statements upon the "Iron Mask."
These dispatches are but a sucuesNion
of sentence interrupted and divided
by dashes, and which have never been
transcribed before, it is impossible
to iret the exact text as that has not
heen communicated, but it is to all
uuuuuuift ui great inturrtt, uuu uiruws
much light upon t Jit obscure points of
the campaigns of l'icdmout in loUi and
low.
It says that den, de Itulonde, having
raised the siege of Colli without neces
sity and against the orders of Catinat,
und in this man nor compromised the
Hucct-iiB of the campaign, was impris
oned in the castle at I'ignurol, and the
dispatches which ordered his arrest
contained alto un o'der to allow him
the liberty to walk on the ramparts
during the day with a mask.
(en. de liulonde was the man of the
iron mask, and alloxplainsitselt This
general had betrayed his country.
Louis XIX, for motives unknown, did
not want to havo him executed. Uc
had him imprisoned and accorded him
his life, on the condition that no per
son ever again see his face. The sad
ness and silence of the prisoner, upon
which poiut all authors agree, was
pro). -ably caused by repimtunce.
The Man in tho iron Mask Masque
de For was a state prisoner who went
by the name of L'Kstang. In lftll ho
was con fin ed in the Chateau
I'ignorol. In JtlHU he was
removed to the Isle fiaint Mar
guerite and in Hi'.m to the 1 tactile,
where he died In 170'J. He was a state
prisoner more .than forty years, He
was buried under tho name of
Marehiale,
There have been scores of hypotheses
concerning his identity. Voltaire said
1
V
IN DUTCH HOUSES.
THE WAR WHICH A PEASANT WO
MAN MAKES AGAINST PUST.
Iiiterttttlng Blmly of "Dutnh Interior.
How Lull nil ry Work I Done In Hoi
land NitrvanU A Ktrniitte Ciuttmv
Fowl and Cooking;,
Had Lndy Macbeth lived In Holland, that
"damned spot" would havo boon out in live
minutes, Nothing, not even it, could stand
aguliiflt a Dutch cliuning woman, Hlie is
imnUriblo, Look how nho Ik armed. Olaiwe
it hur weapons. Cloths and chamois, brooms
and bruxhos, scrubbing brunhw for the Honrs,
huh brimhoH for the wniuscoU, feather
brunlicH for tlm walls, tooth brusliea for the
coriiur, gutwo wings for the kUivph, linns
fentbcin lor dunning out the key IioIuh, kijiuU
itlcku oi wood for Hiking out any unhappy
pnrtide of diiHt which may have got Into tlie .
cracks of tlie llnor, white mxta for tlit) win
dows, ml imU) fur tho hwirtli stout, emery
for the fitwl, and several otlinr mim and
pollutes att the occamon may renuiiD, Throte
are the hiiplttiuunts a JJutrh pimiutnt woman
uww to clt'iui out hor cottage home. Duxt is
hur natural uuuniy, sho in born into the world
to Ihilit it, It in hitr minion, and h)io does no
mom than hur iuoilur and fm'cmotlmrs liave
done bufuro hur. , No woudur that kuuIi a
home training turns out an exceedingly hien
cia of domestic servant; and yet, thu Dutch
miHtreKH grumbles, Huuh is illu.
A DUTCH INTUUlOlt.
A "Dutch interior," from a houkeowr1i
as woll ax uu artiHtic poiut of vtow, in a moxt
mturotttiiiK Mtutly. It is one thing to know a
country wiU ity travoliug through It, stop
ping at tliu ln'st hotels, vinlting all jwiata of
hiu.'i-uxt, taking careful noUw by jmn and
bruHliof all worth recording, but It is quite
onotliur exnoneu and fully uh intertwtitig
to livu aiuong it ixioplu on one of tlitittiKolvew
to m how tlioy livu and think, maiuiKu aud
eat; wlioii ttuy are constdiuiH no lookiir ou is
by, and that Uiny iitH.'d uot adapt Uutntwtlvos
to any stranger's custom or fancy. This
latter law Iwvit my nood luck totx)riunce,
aud lean trutliluiiy wy that ttiui-e are no
cicanur, motn huttpitubiu, kind huartud, do
meKtic Hoplu in tho world than the Dutch,
I mmitiou 'Muuuttr" first Iwcaune with thorn
It comes fiiHt. What would Utuonui of a
Dutch woman in a wurld whuru thuro Is no
dust is a subject for conjecture, and though
1 loik uxn my visit to liollaiui un part of
thu hitppii'Kt time in my iif, "till my siucore
prayer is that my J tutch frieuds nuiyuevor
visit inc. 1 could uover livu up to thuir idua
of clcanUueMi; liie muutal straiu would be too
great,
W'arihlng is not done weekly as In America,
but allowed to accumulate for weekn, Bome
tiun oven tonpor, an unhealthy ciiKtom; hut
In thiH as in many other riMiafcbt the Duth
can hardly be calk'd a clmu nation, from a
hygienic int of view. With thorn it Isdust,
dunt, imd again diint,
Olteii the undemtrvnnts such as tcullcry
maid, nurse maul, etc., do not nlwp hi the
hoiwj. Thin i;iviw more space aud room for
tho family. Them girls come in by thu day,
sleeping at tliiurowu liouifM at ni'lit. All
sarvuutH in liolkmd dit-ss extremely neatly,
gonorally in lilac print dmaes, white mushu
vam, and lare white aprons. ,
The Maine dniw is worn iu tho street as in
the Imjuhu. If Uie weather ii-old, u Hliawl is
thrown over tho Hliouiderti. Thoy do a good
deal of tho hoiiKoliolii Hliopping. it nuiHt ho
indeed deliiitlul for thu Dutch mwtress to
havu llenmy Jane all ready di'ttenMl to run hor
little errands, hwtead of having to wait an
hour or more while Ikutey dmiu curls hor
"bang" ami iMiecltsliemelf with cheap finery.
This a good urrangemunt for maid iw well us
mistress, for with the former It hwaka tho
monotony of tho daily round, givm her a lit
tle blow of fresh air, iienides the opportunity
of a slight flirtation with tint butcher's hoy
or thu green grocer's adjutant.
A HOI.'HKUOLP CUSTOM.
A strango houwhold euHtoiu in ITollaad
Is the custody of the "guest money" by the
mistress. Kneh guest Ui, an in Kiigland, ex
Ieeted to few tho house servants. In llol
laud, this money js at onee bunded hy the
rof tpieiit to tho linly of the huo, who at
certain SfrrtsiuiH of the year kucIi as Christ
mas nud Luster, divides it eipially umong
all lir stuff. Not a bud plan when one
thinks it over, but rather startling at first to
the guest
And now for Dntdi food. All food is
good in Holland, all cooking excellent, hoof
and mutton oven bolter than lu England,
vegetables in nbundnnee. lintter is very
giKni and plentiful dud is used without stint,
buteverything is spoiled by twiug served
cold. Rich dishes which would Iw mustap-
pointing wore tuey eaten piping not, Iwcoino
repulsive, indigestible nmsswi of grease
j when served from a cold dish on a stono cold
pluto. DuriiiK tho whole of my stay in Hol
land I never once saw a dish covered or a
plate heated,
Cakes are a sieoialty with the Dutch.
Each town 1ms one or mora of its own, and
it was Interesting to trace the ancestry of '
many of our American onus. Wnllles mot
meats kermeaut Thu Hague. Thokoekje,
which is to Iw found nil over Holland und is,
in fact, the Dutch word for 'litt!o cake," is
actually and etymolugically the ancestor of
tho New England cookie. Doughnuts I met
everywhere, though I cannot imagine from
where thoy got their ugly namo of "dough
nut." In Holland they are called spntsen,
and In French Canada, whote they are a
sort of national cuke, they are known by the
name of erotpiiguoles, and sometimes beig
net, which latter name ts simply the French
for fritter. 1 imagine that in one way and
another wo owe a good deal of our cooking
to Holland. J. IS. lirooks in Good House
keeping, A rut e (Jum).
Physician Wai it troatmont for yourself)
You look hearty enough I'm sure.
Caller This fatness which you notice is ,
,not natural, doctor, It came very rapidly.
"Yourftwh looks altWght. Don't worry
Wer a httlii .pltiruftlii-efflit rfoD fetKkud
"77tMnttt that virtue won't
x.
2
-4