1 1
)
I THE LOST STAR.
A little Htnr, n Hliufie spnrk,
Ilml limi it way among the clouds,
And weeping, wIhhI lit liny JitrUl
Ado w ii the utiwt of rainy ulit-nutf,
Ztaftttw no ptHliway In the dark;
Hi- turned to left, lit turned to right,
AltniK (lio highway of tlit night.
A Ritntlf! wind, from off tht rum
('ill lie whinnering II) tin; distant VHltt
Anil uriil u Htory to Itiu ruin.
Tint vu7ft Hpreiul their Inimitl Hails
Anil proudly tmveled to the lea.
(llml M 1 1 It; Hiar, with might and main
He Jo Inn IiIh tittcrliiK iuwt again.
-Buimiel AUtHitt lu Ladlea' Ilmne Journal
A STRANG K GUIDE.
I once had iih u guide a strange, unquiet
and talkative man, so dissimilar from all
oLhcmof his condition thul tbe Una half
of the way 1 wu wok inn within myself
Home piaitKiblf pretext fur turning back,
wid the second lialf I wan lihuiitiiK myself
fur having thought ill of hi in.
The maimer iu which hi; preneated him
self to me, Ijih Iwhavior, his look, his dress,
hia step, hiN ucceut, and eveu hi herculean
strerigtii, everything in. him was a reason
fur icmvt niiN)ioiou.
1 wan at an inn in Val Tourniinche, and
I wiHhiil to go to Fiery, where several
friendM were to meet me; having a rather
heavy valine I needed a mule to curry it,
anil uIhu h guide to show the way.
But not a single mule wim to be had., and
tilt mily guide I could Hud, a Kwlwt. did
not wlsli u carry any burden; ho J wan in
danger of iiilwiug rny upjiolntinmit.
Tli day liefore J was to depart, ax I wan
standing ulmut uunk ai the diHr of the inu
looking nuxioiiHly to see whether any
guide ur KirutiK hud returned from tbe
mountainside lundlord cume to leUuia
that tto hud found my man.
"Have you mint for imt"
"He is litre."
"When did he enmef"
Mum now,"
"Dow lie come from the valley fn
"No, Hir; from the mountain."
"Impuiwible. 1 should huve Keen him
eniniiuj. I have beeu watching for an
hour,"
"Tlii mail doc not follow thesum path
an tlit ot hern."
"Vliy"
but ui v host would not explain himself
further; he only culled with u loud voico
"JaeipieH!"
He wiw a flue mutt, very lull, muscular,
about thirt y yearn old, covered with sweat,
the wrinkles of IiIh fuc giving on exprw
' won of hard anil energetic will.
lie Jiud a large, straight nose, large
mouth, a forest of black curly hair, a
buard twu days old.
J wanted him to come in, fn order to get
away from the chilly brume; but he
shrugged IiIh shoulders and aaid to tue
quickly:
"l)o you wish to go to Fiery, uud go up
first Mount tlervino''
"J have given up jMount Oervino, unless
tins evening I Hod a ' muleteer who will'
carry my vallw."
"1 will carry it,"
"Then I Huouid ueed a guide for Mount
Cervino."
"1 will come."
"Would you bo willing to curry my
line up there?1"
"How much doe it weigh F"
"AUiut tifty poundN."
"All right; g'v nte flfU-en francs."
The price wuk more than lnnderHte, but
the fellow anemed to me a Hwaggerer.
luffiunti loHhowhim the valine; but h '
laughed at the iiIwl 1 did nut like him.
"Are you a regular guider"
"Certainly."
"Have you a license!1"
"No. 1 have u vertillcati of honorable
diwiharge. 1 wua in the artillery."
"What Ifl your name)'"
"lk you want to know all this for ttfttwu
tmaixt" and he liegun to luugh itarcaHti
cally. "Vury well, 1 will tell you mjr
name gratis. Aly uiiiim in (iiucomo Ualmeii,
Dobh that plejiHe your"
beeiug that his amile did not pleaae me
he immediately changed bin expression
ami whled emphatically:
".Fifteen fraiiua would help mo, you
know; tomorrow night you will able to
tall me if I have earned them;" and aftar a
Huart'liiiuj glance, "The laudlord.'tells me
that you have known him unite awhile,
AHk him about me.- My respect-H,"
Ami ho aayliig be went into the kitcheu,
Muxt day we net out at U o'clock in
the morning. My valise stuffed full
seemed to him a mere straw. He carried
it bound on bis Imck with cords, like a
kuapsitck. He walked nimbly, whistling
a quickstep. His guit had aomethiug
peculiar alwut it. i did not know what It
was, but InUirou 1 understood. His step
made no sound, be seemed to glide along.
Hardly bail we started when he begauto
tMlk tome, but either from sleepiness or
from the let-Hug of uueastuess wliiuh his
coutpuny gave me I did not answer him.
He tried two or three subjects, then gave
up and began to whistle, hastening his
step. ; Instead of going by the regular way
he begun presently to follow around tbe
mountain on its lower slope until he found
a kind of pat h out in the living rock, rough
aud hare its a slab. He entered It without
saying anything, and climbed- like a squir-rl-
Certainly by that way tbe asceut was
pleafunterand quicker.
When we help ourselves with bands and
kueeij, nnd every step must be studied and
measured, the mind dues not iiotioe tbe
fatigue.
At first iu tbe steepest places Jacques
lurried around and offered me bis hand.
buLtwing fresh 1 refused his aid, proud to
muter tint rough mountain. J lieu the
jw begau to walk by himself, abandon
line to my fate. There was uu real dan-
but i felt somewhat indignant at aee-
liim so high on the rocks. Sometimes,
lint on my uttps, 1 fur gut him, aud when
J being aloue,
distance and mill cart lew of me,
At first 1 I Kid thought that iu certain
parts the path would In-come impraoUca
We and thai It would Is- necessary to get
Mit of it and remuue it further urrTbut
gnuluallyas 1 prmwded I p reeivnd that,
the passage cniitinuwi, ami n leed it was ,
always IteiMiniug more pract i -hie. J cried
him to stop, but my void-1 id not reach,
him. If it hud not been f ; my valise, I
would have returned immediately.
At lust 1 saw him sitting on the ground
waiting for me. I came up to him in bad
humor.
The smooth surface of the rock bad be
come slippery 1 u consequence of a stream
of water, and be had stopped to offer me
his baud.
"Why do yon walk at such a distance
from meP I wish to have you uear me."
"1 thought you wished to be alone; I
did not want to disturb you,"
"Why do you leave tbe path so often f
What makes you go out of your way so!1"
"I am of the raw of hounds; I like to go
nine! ling utiout the ground."
"Well, uow, don't leave me any more,"
"As you please."
I tried to start a conversation, but this
time it was he that would not bite.
The sun had risen; he hud taken off his
jacket atid was carrying it on bis arm.
From IiIh leat her Mt hung a vine dttwser'e
hatchet, au instrument nut usually worn
by guides.
"Why do you carry the hatcbuU"
' always carry it."
"What fori"'
'"Oh, because"
He looked at me fixedly ami added;
"I have also a pistol look!"
He took out from his pocket a short,
double barreled pistol and gave it tome,
warning me that it was loaded.
1 was tempted to keep It.
In tbe Alps no one goes about armed;
pistol are implements of luxury, intended
to be 11 red on joyful occasions such as marriages.
Hut I thought that if be hud intended to
make bad use of It he would not have
shown it to me. 1 returned it to him with
out speaking,
Afu-r walking a quarter of au hour he
said;
"Kxeuseme. I will return immediately.
Vou go on. 1 will rejoin you in two min
utes,"
And down the side of the mountain be
went. Hardly had lie left the path when 1
followed him. I saw him run to a heap of
great rocks ubout ten yards off. He benl
down, moved two or three great stones,
searching on the gitmnd and then turned
around. W hen he saw that 1 stood watch
ing him he frowned, his eyes glittered, but
lie smoot hed his forehead in a momeut.
"1 want to get this piece of bread and
cheese that I hid here yesterday. 1 often
go around the mountains and place food
lien; aud there.
He looked in my eyes and said:
"Jhm't you Iwlieve it J"
"No." 1 did not believe it. I had seen
him take his I trend out of his pocket, and
his confusion at IsMtig surprised must have
hail a rciiMin. 1 began to feel greatly dis
quieled, ( lie perceived it and immediately
tni.wm- juviui aim wimauvf!. ne Knew
ine, he said; he aked the landlord atwut
me; be knew that 1 was a writer, jour
nalist in fact; it must lie a line trade for
making money by the bagful. He kuew
city life and always read the papers. He
kuew also that 1 had written operas for the
theater, another gold mine.
If 1 bad been willing to pay attention to
him he would buvu toid me stories about
rogues,
All, you ge.ntlcmeu come here lust for
the fun of knowing what fatigue isl Jf
you only knew what it was and how much
a piece of bread costs! And there are peo
ple that would like to steal it from us!
They have here judges, jury, sheriffs aud
detectives, all t he bad things of the earth,
and if they wish to come, let them come,
they will liud me!"
Then he touched the pistol iu his pocket,
He was eloquent and excitable, like a man
Wlieving himself to be followed up by a
constant persecution. He spoke by jerks,
aud jumped from one su inert to another,
as if forced by a t umultuous current of
ideas, and afraid of losing them by talking.
He eertaiuly had Home bitt-er enemy that
mysteriously influenced all the acts of hia
life. All bia talk had reference to him; he
burst forth In vague threats, uttered laugh
ing with set teeth; teeth white and firm,
capable of breaking a crown piece. Never
theless, in t he depths of his eyes apjieared
a timid and humble uneasiness contrast
ing with bis violent words, which finally
reassured me completely. He understood
this also, aud when J offered him a cigar
said;
"Vou have thought evil of me. 1 am not
a rogue. Come here aud you will under
stand everything." We had lately bad
our first snowstorm, tbe ath had broad
ened aud uot a blade of grass was to be
seen.
Tbe whole mountain was a mass of gi
gantic rocks, half buried in the sand, soft
and moist from tbe recently melted snow
and the draining of the ice.
He led me by the hand in tbe labyrinth
unt il we arrived at a kind of grotto formed
by t wo rocks lying against each other.
He entered on hands and knees, and came
out witfh a package of a few pounds' weight
wrapped iu rags. He unbound it and took
out cigars and tobacco. He was a smug
gler, :
Coming from Switzerland he scattered
bis merchandise in many biding places, in
order that it might not all fall into the
hands of the oflicers.
When he hud done up the package he re
placed it again in the cavit y and turned to
me with a trust! ul face, isow that he had
himself told me his secret be no longer
feared me.
"This is tbe safest storehouse," said he.
"The custom bouse omoers 'never come up
as far as here. They know that at such
A height there are no shepherds to act as
witnesses, Here 1 am master, and ibis is
my aid-de-cump," he wjdod, taking out
irom a crevice near ny ausuim uouseoui
cer's musket,
. ... tvtnwtint cannot understand that smug
i; bis moral sense
tlie notion of tbe
(,e suite. He knows
'Hbb one's neigh-
ho does
To pwhln't a traffic so natural seem to
him au mtolcrnlile imposition, 'against
which it is not only lawful but meritorious
to rebel. Hence a violent hatred against
the custom house oflicers, and the firm in
tention to shoot tliem in cold blood if nec
essary.
The officers kuow this, and often when
they ni'tet a smuggler iu a rough and desert
place., 1: they are, not numerous enough to
overpower him, and if they do not think
the merchandise has a special value, they
pveU'rni not to see him and pass on looking
the otrrflp way.
It is easy to shoot, and at those heights a
body may easily be carried a long distance
without detection. The offi'erdoes not re
turn, suspicious fall on tbe true murderer,
patrols start out searching for tbe dead
man through the defiles of the mountains,
but no one obtains sure proofs.
My guide had once found himself un
armed within range of two officers, and he
had escaped by a miracle. At another
time, unseen, be had rolled down from the
cliff a quantity of stones on the heads of
two officers who were climbing up the
Hlojte, and fine of them, while endeavoring
to escape, lost his musket.
I'hat was the tnusket I showed yon,"
added .lacqtus with a triumphant air.
"Hut what a horiible life! and the profit is
little, y-iii know. 1
He related to me bis nocturnal trips in
winter alone over tbe deadly glaciers,
loaded like a mule. Fogs beset him and
family, a circumstance, in view of tbe
character the place already bore, not at
all difficult, 1 hitched tip another hone,
and in couijiauy with my father and
younger brother, returned to the scene
of my late-horrible experiences, and tbe
investigations we there made in refer
ent to the noises and other phenomena
will 1 am afraid, only disgust those im-'
aginative minds which are always on
the alert for startling denouements.
Tbe gnawing sounds we found had
been produced by the chafing of the
wagon hub against a loose board in the
haymow, and every time the animals
reached forward after their fodder the
movement carried a rusty, guttural,
scraping of tbe turntable, which simu
lated the sound, "Joe, Joe," with suffi
cient nearness to mislead a cooler head
than mine was just ul that time.
The demoniac laughter which bad so
horrified me was of equally absurd ori
gin, being simply tbe rattling and clat
tering of a thin, loose clapboard high
up in the gable whenever a gust stronger
than usual struck it. For the light 1
could find no explanation other than tbe
only possible fact that it was simply a
phosphorescent exhalation from a little
swamp near by, one of those luminous
methylic vapors, variouhly known as
will-o'-the-wisp, Jack-o'-lanteru, ignis
fatuus, etc.
The place was infested with ratB, and
it was doubtless their scurrying back
and forth over the tiopr which sounded
so much, like stealthy I)t4tep8-.-ither
that or the falling of tlte large rain
drops which fouud their way through
the leaky roof.
There too biy the reptile which had so
nearly strangled me a long, soft Btrip
of t he inner bark of one of the cedar
rafters, which, saturated by the rain,
had fallen across the back of my neck
as 1 stooped forward, and you can readi
ly appreciate the sensation such a thing,
unexpected and in total darkness, would
be a lit to produce.
While we were making these discover
ies and remarking bow a little davlight
and good common sense will knock the
protw from under the best ghost utory
ever gotten up, we were all startled by
a sudden rat-tat-tat on the barn door.
My father hastily unfastened it, ex
pecting of course, to meet one of the
neighbors, or possibly a strolling tramp,
and J noticed a queer expression come
over bis face. There was not a soul
there.
He had hardly closed the door, how
ever, when the sharp rat-tat-tat was re
peated, this time considerably prolonged.
Again tbe door was opened quickly,
and again uot a soul was in sight.
There was a little door in the rear of
the bam, and, leaving my father and
brother looking at oie another iu a some
what funny manner, 1 quietly unfas
tened this, and as the knockiug had re
commenced, slipped quickly around out
side to the front of the barn, only to
a large redheaded woodpecker diligent
ly tapping away on the door in search of
his breakfast
We got away from that place with all
the exedition possible, and ever since
my skepticism iu reference to the vivid
and ornate stories of a similar character,
which we so frequently hear, is pretty
radically continued by the simple re
membrance of my own blood curdling
experience that night with the ghosts.
J. K. Farke in buffalo News.
How n Itilnud Crew.
Iu 18117 hi'f majesty's ship Falcon report
ed H ttbutil about thirty allies wHt of A.
muka, uuuof the islands in the Tonga or
Friendly group. This was considered
rather odd, a deep sea sonnding expedition
having but uiue months previous reported
(1,000 leet of water in that viciuity. Ten
years later, in 1877, H. H. S. Kuppho re
ported seeing smoke rising from what had
been called tbe "Falcon Shoals," and in
1885 a passing ship's logbook noted that a
volcanic island bad arisen on the site of
the "shoals."
On Oct. U, 1885, a submarine eruption
further increased tbe siee of ralcou island.
as it has since been called, for when the
United States steamer Mohicai visited
that portion of the Pacific in 181 nany
islands were found scattered in
what had been o.wii icot or water
Falcon island, which, by the w
timies to grow, was theu 1 and 4
a mile long and 105 above the
the highest place. Jn 1800 it w
'-'lea long! and a mile wide
DRAINING THE CELLAR.
How to. Prevent It from Becoming Wet
or Even Damp.
A wet collar is one of the worst ob
ject which an owner can place on his
farm. It .can be of little value in any
case, and will cause disease among the
animals. It is therefore worth much
labor to make it dry. This may be
done by cutting a 1ith around the
whole building, and deeper than the
bottom of the cellar. This ditch must
extend from the surface of the ground
down below the bottom of the cellar.
It must be made by removing all the
earth from the outside of the cellar
wall, so as to make it a foot or more in
width. This ditch, being a foot or
more beiow the cellar, and having suf
ficient slant, will carry off all the water
w hich otherwise would soak into the
cellar. The accompany icg figure rep
resents a cross-sectiou of tl.e wall and
ditch. F being tbe earth outside the
whole buiitiiug. and E the ditch filled
from bottom to top with broken stone
or coarse gravel. It is in contact with
the cellar wall. Hclow the whole is a
ditch tilled with broken stone and one
or two pipetiles for carrying off all the
water which runs down from the ditch
E. This bottom ditch must be wide
and deep enough to receive and convey
away all the water which otherwise
would enter the cellar. C is a heavy
flagstone on which the wall rests. The
owner will of course know the proper
slant to give the ditch. The ditch E
remaining open while digging, must be
braced with heavy blocks if necessary,
to prevent the main wull from falling
till tilled. -Country Ceutieman.
DAIRY SUGGESTIONS.
The prospect for a prxid price for
dairy products this winter seems good.
Loosk methods or no method at all
ami scrub cows make a big leak on the
farm. ,
This cow that has nothing hut a
burnt up pasture to feed on ought not
to be expected to yield a profit
Maki; good butter and send it to a
city market. There is no money in
sidling butter at the country store.
Diiks grain raising pay you? Well,
no. Then why not try dairying? That
has been found to pay when tbe price
of grain was much better than now.
Mii.k is now in disfavor with some
of the doctors for feeding infants. They
say that disease so often comes from
sickly cows that it is dangerous. Any
body who tries can get healthy milk.
Thk best cow bred is none too good
for the farmer who will take good care
of her. It is the farm dairy that pro
duces most of the butter and the farm
dairy should be fully eouipped with all
modern improvements, including the
best -cow. Hut tbe cow is only a
machine. She must have good cure like
any other machine, or she will wear
out before she should, aud not be able
to do the work that she does, do as efti
ciently as she might Farmers' Voice.
Novel Devi for h Silo.
My plan for keeping corn has been a
success for the past four years. I have
a bay in my barn Vi5x;i5 feet with 18
f'Kt post. I cut out of the center of
the buy of solid hay a hole of 15 feet
which will leave T feet of solid hay on
the sides, I also leave ubout 2 feet of
hay in the bottom of the hole. The
hay taken from the hole can be put on
the top aud around the sides, or, if a
press is handy, may be baled. 1 then
set boards all around the inside as close
us 1 cud get them together and nail
them to a board put in cro&swise, am
then ready to till. I put my corn in
whole us 1 think it is just as good and
a saving in the buying of machinery
for cutting. 1 use a horse fork for un
loading and have a man in the hole to
lay it straight, preferring to have it laid
lock fashion. Otherwise 1 proceed as
omens do with regularly built sib
The corn invariably comes out a)' '
and affords a cheap ensilv
Spencer, in Farm and Home
IU Prop
Mamma Here yov !
ing but meat, and v
think bread -anyhow?
."
Bobbie1
'mpyrtimV
LIGHT ROAD (Vi ACHIblE.
A New York Man's Si;bUtiit ft
Heavy "Home Killers."
Regardless of the compulsion o
law, self-interest In every rural coi
nity demands good roads, They
crease the facility for marketing p ;
uce, save in horseflesh and wagon
pairs, attract money-spending sujt
visitors and enhance the value of ,
erty. The macadam and si mil a1
terns are unquestionably the bet .
though rather costly at first - liw
fortunately in many country town
usual method of road making conslii
plowing up the loam, clay, gravel j
turf and scraping it up toward the
ter of the highway, with more or
bungling attempts at smoothing, i-:
cial machines for this purpose hive
been devised, some of them heavy and
cumbrous, weighing from B.000 to it.OOU
pounds, needing from four to six horses
,or oxen to operate them, and so expan
sive as notio be turned around easily
on a narrow road. They are costly in
more ways than one, not merely to the
town or district which buys them, but
to the owners of horses which are
hitched thereto in service. Hence the
road machine invented by a Stockport
(Columbia county, A. Y.) man and rep
resented herewith, may, perhaps, All a
long-felt want in many parts of the
country. Only a single sample has
been built, but it has been practically
tested. Its weight is only 400 pounds
It needs only a pair of hordes, can turn
easily anywhere, and the inventor
claims that it does better work and
does it more easily than anything else
of the kind.
As will be seen from the accompany
ing picture, the machine is mainly sup
ported by one wheel, the axle of which j
is secured to a section of anglo-iron
that serves as a continuation of the
pole, and resembles a plow beam. The
wheel is flanged, in order to make it
run exactly in the line of drait. A
tendency to shift to one side results
from the angle at which the scraper
blade is set with the beam. A stay-rod,
shown herewith, maintains this unglc;
and it may be used, in cooperation with
the beam, to sustain a driver's seat. The
scraper-blade is six feet long, and
tapers from nine to twelve inches in
idth. Bolted on to the tower half of
its front surface are two east-iron
plates, or shears. The rear lever is used
to change the level of the surface of
the road, grading up from side toward
center, and also to lift the blade en
tirely free from the ground when going
to and fro or turning around. A small
wheel, not visible in our illustration, is
piaccu uuuer me uiga or iorvvuru
end of the blade, to carry that part of
the apparatus when not in use, and
also at limes, especially In soft soil, to
regulate the depth to which the blade
cuts. One of the advantages of having
the blade set at an angle is that when
used as a rut scraper, it sweeps the
loosened earth sidewise to some extent,
and thus tills up the ruts instead of
merely crowding the dirt forward.
Besides the lightness, simplicity of
construction and efficiency which are
said to be among the merits of this ap
paratus, its cheapness is also to be con
sidered. It can be mode so as to yield
a large profit and retail for 15, which
is from a quarter to one-tenth the price
of machines now in use. S. Y. Trib-
WORK FOR THE IDLE, r v
The Present I a (irftiid Opportunity for
Roud Improvement.
Officials of the National League for
Good Roads have issued the following
circular from the world's fair office in
which they call attention to the present
opportunity for improving the roads: x
Tbe earueBt attention ot members of the
league, Hs coworker mid all committees, and
pereoim seeking relief for tbe unemployed it
respectfully called to the present favorubie con
dition for making rood improvement, both for
Its own suke and us a means of giving employ
mept and of stimulating business iu general.
Capital as well as labor la idle, and bankers
are expecting an era of cheap money, bringing
a quick demand forsui'h investmuuu as tow
and county beads. Many county and tr
boards in variuiiB suites are already v
izeu 10 begin road making and lo iaeu'
therefor, others only require the ganr
lyval election. .
Men enough could be put to w
bodies without waiting for. lep
sensible relief to the labor or
rlally ease tbe bard times
while tbe roads would be ly
out and of interest char1
have not adopted ih
hasten their lugislr
the same advautagt, :
lifted out of its ti"t
certain to promt ?'
To enforce t'
tentionot tr j
upon the v
power u -who
a.