Wilkes-Barre Times Leader from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania • 1

THREE CENTS. NO. 2621. WJOLKES-BAUKE, MONDAY EVENING, MAUCH 12, 1888. The weather vesterdav? term snow at FROM OYER THE SEA.

LASOrt IN THE SOUTH. THE CURIOSITY SHOP. LEAP YEAR LEGENDS. FOUR O'CLOCI EDITION. A SIGNIFICANT It Does ITot Arsrne ITcIl for Che Party of aiisrule.

The Albany Journal thinks that it is something remarkable that the Democracy, departing from Its Its usual custom since the war, has had "the courage to outline a policy and name its candidates for a national suffrage before the Republicans had come in like manner before the people." The Cost ef Uvlng The Pood The Sweet Potato. QnesUoa. uiut it is not in this alone that our climate favors the manufacturer. It cheapens his manual labor. Our laborers receive smaller wages than those of the east, and yet, nevertheless, they are better paid.

It is not the price of a man's labor which measures his remuneration; it Is the cost of his living also. Our carders can live better on less money than their brethren of the east, and for this our climate is to be thanked. They don't re quire dwellings of brick and stone to protect them from the blasts of winter. They can wve in rrame Buildings, which, while not as enduring as the others, will last, when properly preserved with paint, for A 4B 4S.W at lease iw years, is or ao they have to purchase expensive fuel to warm their homes, and heavy and consequently ex pensive ciocning xor their bodies. 'And then, too," their food is much cheaper.

The eastern and northern laborer must consume considerable meat in order to keep the furnace of his body supplied with fuel to produce the necessary amount oi animal neat to resist the rigor of his climate, The southern worker not only does not need so much meat, but he i does not desire it; lighter vegetable and farinaceous foods. which are Inexpensive, gratifying his desires best. And these food products are also, cheapened by the gentleness of the climate. A man will take two acres of ground, say, and having plowed it over twice he will take sprigs of the sweet potato vine, about six inches long, and with a forked stick he will plant them in tne earth, almost as rapidly as he can walk. "After that he will plow the ground Twice, not aeepiy, as is done in the north.

but i just skim over the earth to remove the weeds and That ends his work upon that crop. At the outside he has not expended at various times more than fourteen days it, and yet the product from the two acres will range from 150 to 300 bushels of sweet potatoes. Here they would probably Cost $1 per bushel, but wjtn us ineir price is comparatively triv ial. They make most excellent food, being rich In both starchy and saccharine mat ter. In fact, the sweet potato Is to the south what the white potato is to Ireland.

upon mac ana upon tne large cow peas the negroes thrive." New York Graphic interview witn uovernor uordon. Cincinnati's Geological Positlen. The strata of the hills about Cincinnati are almost entirely -composed of fossils, packed as closely as they can be stowed together, and in a very perfect state of preservation. Geologically, the city occu pies one of the most positions on the North American continent. Globe- Democrat.

LftTE LOCAL NEWS. PROFITS OP A HENNERY. What Two EnterprlslBK Wllkes-Bnrre Bora Did With a Chicken Co v. They were talking about chickens. One gentleman remarked that he would like sappork a hennery if he thought the thmg wasn't more expensive than profitable.

"Well, listen to me." said another well known citizen; "I have a good sized back yard and about three years aero bit two dots asked if .1 wouldn't equip them with a chicken coop. They prom- isea 10 care xor tne iowis 1 would start them in business. I had place peti tioned on in the rear of tne yard, put up a good, high fence, supplied shelter and boxes 1 or laying, nought a rooster anda dozen hens and turned the whole establishment over to the boys. I think the outlay was about $15." "is it runninr vet?" matured an incredu lous knowledge seeker. "Yes sir It ia.

When the boys took charge I told them I'd pay them the market price for what chickens and eggs the family con sumed. This proved to be quit advan tageous to both" sides. For th bo vs. be cause it helped their sale, and to th family because their were sure of (retting fresh goods. Well, the boys kept the coop running in good order and at the close of tha first year they had supplied themselves with a suit of clothes each out of the orofits.

had a nice little sum In bank and a colony of sixty chickens. And all this in spite of the fact that both rats and disease Invaded their hennery and made sad inroads during the first winter. But they stuck to business and to-day they have a choice lot of fine breeds, have more money in bank, and -have kept themselves independent of parental charity. tne matter 01 pocket money. cnere nas always been plenty of fresh eggs ami lenaer oroiiersat oar noose." Death ef Rev.

Was. Case. the home of his danehter. Mrs. J.

MullL son, of Middletewn, N. on Saturday, of paraiysis, aged 71 years. Mr. Uase was well known as a local preacher of the Meth odist denomination, and as an extensive grape culturist Five children, all married, and a second wife survive him. The funeral will take place at Kingston, at 10 o'clock a.

m. to-morrow. Since the preceding was written, the following has com to hand: Rev. William Case, of Kinewton. who died on Saturday in Middle town, N.

was well known in this community, and for many years has been a faithful preacher of the gos- TV- a yteu jo.e naa a large xamuy 01 Children wnom he trained up In the admonition of the Lord. He was a. Christian whose hope was as sure as the Rock of Ares: a devotional reader in the closet and family, and private devotion is a much better evidence of sincerity than public worship. Ha was a man 01 prayer, lime uavia who said "Morning and eveuinz and at noon wilt I pray," and when in health his example was that, nt nhrlefi-n drar.llf. i earnestness.

I Muiuuviu mm mwawMMj A Qalet Day With the Mayer. The rooms of the city's executive officer wtre nearly deserted this mornimr. No I arrests bad been made by th police since Saturday, and then only a few for minor offenses, and one, a man named Price, for stealing a watch from a drunken farmer. He was seat to jail in default of $500 bail for appearance at court. Mayor Sutton amused aimseu to-day by contemplating the mud middle In front flf tha manvinal hnfliniv and stated to a few persons who had called mat naa determined to cause the prosecution ef tha Electric Light Company for causing and maintaininz a nuisance, and also for anting tneir coal wagons upon and occupy- ui iuo ttwuE on aiiey ior nours as a ume.

15 is claimed that nearly all. the mtn on that thoroughfare is located in the vicinity 01 tne electric light works. Communicated. Temperance TJaton. Notwithstanding the latest Infnrmatinn published in the Record this morning, the union neia a very successfal meeting at th M.

C. A. Hall. Saturday evening. The hall was well filled.

President ueorge a. Jd wards took charge of the meet ing anu gave a stirring address. Addresses were also made bv Rhone. Revs. Flv and Ferris, Messrs.

Rickette and Nichols. Mr. J. C. Jeffries sang the "Rolling Sea," and Mrs.

Monroe Bennett rendered a guitar solo In excellent style. A letter was received from the Hon. D. Foster regretting that absence from home would prevent his filling bis engagement, Need Net Mve Its Tracks. Some time azo Miss Eliza Penr lMti proceedings in the Luzerne courts to compel the Wilkes-Barre and Kingston Paisenger Railway Company to remove its tracks from the side to the centre of Northampton street, claiming that they, as now laid, are a damage to her property.

The matter was referred to a master, who decided that such removal couldn't be compelled. Exceptions to the report of the master were taken and to-day Judjja lliee Clwi an iniun overrulla" the excfrtlop? ani ccnSnuisg the mxru The tracks will remain. l'acrJ Tralss. THE DEATH WARRAKT READ Adas Telkavltch XJsteaS te tfc Zec nr Tktt OdcliUr Aiioimt His 'Deem Ready te Die But A Bates te Live-He Wast Sso Ills fell. And Won Id Ldke hectare Ills Wife.

Her Lever Aa Her Parssts Sad Scenes at the Jail Te-Day Shortly before 19 o'clock to-day hertff Search, accompanied by a number of ciU-rens and several reporters, drove to tn county prison for the purpose of reading the death warrant to Adam Volkavitch, who is to be hanged in the jail yard her on th Sd of April, three weeks from to morrow. Th party consisted of Sheriff Hendrick W. Search and his attorney, E. V. Jackson, Countv Commissioners English and Hart, Ex-Coanty Solicitor R.

D. Evaas, Auditor John J. Brislin, Court Interpreter Joseph Schwartz, 8. JacobowskL of Buffalo, J. Kern, of the Scran ton liefmblioa, H.

B. Hanson, of the Jtietn JDeaUr, and the Leapeb representatives. These were joined in the jail office by Warden Laycock and Deputies Roberts and Millard. At 12:10. dinner having been partaken of by the prisoners, th visitors were led Into tha south corridor, and thence to the cell of the condemned man.

Deputy Warden Rob erts opened th cell door, and Sheriff Search, after first shaking th extended of th prisoner, stepped inside. Upon observing Interpreter Schwarts ia the little crowd the prisoner's face brightened at once and grasping his hand said joyf uU ly In his native tongue, "un, i am glad you came." ice eneritc men instructed nr. saying ''Tell him that it becomes my unpleasant duty to read te him the death warrant wherein the Governor commands that he shall be executed on Tuesday, th Sd day of April, 1888, between the hours of 10 o'olocx in the forenoon and A o.clock in the afternoon." Mr. Schwartz did so, and When be had finished the prisoner smiled sadly and said that hs was ready. The reading of th oSl cial document was then begun.every sentence being repeated and translated by the Interpreter.

Volkavitch listened attentively and evidently understood every Occa- sionaily he asked that a senter ce be re so that the meaning be made clear, and when tha words "hanged by th neck until he is dead" were spoken he shook his head. wmufnllT anil Hmitfno-lr aHrtnMaxI Mr Schwarta. saymg. expected: it." When the reading of the long document was flashed he looked critically at the. great red seal and the signature of the governor.

The Sheriff then withdrew alter ipeaking a few words of encouragement, and air. Schwarts and the prisoner entered into an interesting conversation for some minutes la the presence of the entire party. It was noticed by all that Volkavitch was decidedly cool and collected during tha reading of th death warrant and that be did not appear to be la the lease nervous, his countanance was clear and healthy looking, his eyes bright and there was about him an indication of cheerfulness rather than despondency. "Well, Adam," said Mr, ttcawaru, "This is bad. Are you prepared to diet" "Oh.

ves." he said. "I have been to confes sion twice and feel that God has forgiven for any sin that I may have; committed; I am ready to die uoa so wins it, out i would like to live. You know life is sweet. and I am conscious that I am innocent." You still maintain that you are innocent asked Mr. Sen warts.

:riiv.v "Yes. and I shalLintil the end. I am not guilty of the murder of BioskL I killed faun, but it was in self-defence. Where I didn't do right was in not staying her. I should -have remained and told all about it.

But I had a few dollars in my pocket and I got frightened and went away. I have told you all, and I have told the truth. But what Is the use! If I had a knife and should cut my heart open and let all th world red my in nocence there, the people would not behev their own eyes and would still say that I was guilty." ou said you were ready to die are you willing to "JNO. i am not wuitng to die. uid Deopie may be willine.

bat I am young and heaUhv and I have done nothing that shonld deprive me of life, or even of liberty. Life is sweet and I would like to live, but I suppose there is no hope for me." xnere may oa nope yet, Adam." said the Interpreter, "do not riv up. I have collect ed over fou to carry your case oeiore tne Board of JPardons and we will send a man to Harrisburg next week to see what can be done. You may be saved yet!" Oh. I wish to God you would.

he ex- claimed eagerly. "Yes, send soma one to uarrisoure ana try to do something forme. remember I am innocentw" Schwartz that no one had yet brought bis child to see him, and declared that If he could see the little boy, if only for a minute, he could die happy. He entreated him to make another request of his wife to brinsT er send the child to the jail, addinsr. "Ob.

the hard-hearted womanH As the party were about to leave Volkavitch called Mr. Schwartz back and said. "I wish you would tell my wife and her father add mother and also her lover, to ha them all come her to see me. I have a few words that hwould like to SBeak to them be fore I die." y- Mr. Schwarts promised, and the prisoner was once more left to th solitude of his ly celL ine Bnerinr, commissioners and aeoonv panying friends then lepaired 4.

to the bass-j mens of the jail and Into an apartment that was as dark as night, where Is stored away the old wooden structure upon which Lena-han was hanged nearly, eleven years ago. Lights were procured and a casual examination made of the instrument of death The timbers were found to be perfectly sound, bat in order to make sure that every- caing is ngns tne commissioners dec idea to have it taken out into the yard some day this week and have it thoroughly examined by a practical carpenter. If any part is then found unfit for. use that part will be replaced, anri Icmcr hofnm t.hn da nt oTpnntlnn vom ltr ill I bybttuuue win in uijum ti I'H rrv cmc CIU law's stern decree. It was stated at the jail that one dar recently lb murderer's wife came to see hica and that during the interview at the cell door Doth oecame very angry.

Volkavitch tried to forcibly take from tha heartless woman's finger the engagement ring that he had tdven her, and also a breast-pin which he had pre- -seated to her. She resisted and mad a great noise, which brought to her side the Nanticoke butcher who is known to be her lover. Deputy Roberts unceremoniously bounced the butcher and the faithless wife from the building, and be does not expect them to return of their Own free will. Sentenced This Mem! a The voune fellows who created a row on a L. W.

train some time ago and whose trial was on daring the last session of criminal conrt were sentenced this. morning by Judge Rice. inose wnose names are mentioned twic were convicted of two charges, assault and battery, and riot, and th second sentences follow upon the expiration of the first: Martin Wilkes, $25 fine, and costs of prosecution Westly Troop, $60 fine, costs of prosecution and 40 days imprisonment in the county jail: George Culp. $35 fine and costs of prosecution; Emerson Sharp, $25 fine, costs of prosecution and 10 days imprisonment in the county jail; Lmenon Sharpe, $50 fine, cost of prosecution nnd 60 days imprisonment; John Calp, $50 fine and costs of prosecution Samuel Culp, fine and costs of prosecution. A General Resumption Next Week.

Preparations arsbelag' made to start all the collieries in the Panther Creek Valley next week. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company are bringing their mules from the farms in the adjacent country, where they had be sn wintered. The stampede of miners in the Lhhigh district continue, and all seem anxious to return to work. At Big View Colliery, near Tamaqua, fifty more miners applied for work than could be accom modated. Heme Charmed br a With es-Harre ratty CometliinT akin to a sonsattm, Ji lt tave keen nsada ia Eoce 1 -t 1 cf tLe f-.

1 1 ct 'jf that came at i.kc?-:.-;irre, 1 is p-pnre; tly r- 1 -1 I 1. 1 1. 1 A Kame for a Kovel Thackeray Tells How "Vanity Fair" Was Named. Thackeray's famous novel, "Vanity Fair, derived its name under the following circumstances, according to the statement of a friend of the great author, who thus relates the story in a recent number of Scribner's Magazine: "In the earliest days of our friendship Thackeray brought his morning work to read to me in the evening: lie had just, commenced Vanity and was liv ing at the Old Ship inn, where he wrote some of the first numbers. He often then said to me: 'I wonder whether this will take, the publishers accept it and the world read itf remember: answering him that I had no reliance upon my own critical powers in literature, but that I had written to my sis.

ter, Mrs. Frederick Elliot, and said: I have made a great friendship with one of the principal contributors of Punch, Mr. Thack eray. He Is now writing a novel, but can not hit upon a name for it. I may be wrong, but it seems to me the cleverest thing I have ever read.

The first time ha dined with us I was fearfully alarmed at him. The next day we walked in Chiches ter park, when he told all about his little girls and of his great friendship with the Brookflelds, and I told him about you and Chesbam place. When he heard tils and my opinion of his novel he burst oat laugh ing and said: 'Oh I Mademoiselle (as he always called me) it is not small beer, but I do not know whether it will be palatable to the London He told me some time after ward that after ransacking bis brain for a name for, his novel it -came upon him unawares In the middle of the night, as If a voice had whisper, 'Vanity He said: jumped out of. bed and ran three times around my room, uttering as I went, Vanity Fair, vanity lair, Vanity The Christian Era. Our era does not take its exact date from the birth of Christ, as is generally supposed.

The Christian era was invented by Dionysius Exiguus (Dionysius the little, so called either on account of his humility or his small stature), an abbot of the Sixth century. He placed the birth of Christ in the fourth year of the 194 Olympiad, 753 years from the founding of Rome. This is now generally admitted to be four years too late; but the Intentions of Dionysius were good, and the discrepancy is of no practical importance. Dionysius made the 85th of March (Lady Day the day of the Conception of Christ) the first day of his year. We have changed that, but adopted his reckoning in other respects.

The Dionysian era was adopted almost at once In Rome by the popes In the Eleventh century, and, its New Year's day changed from 25 to Jan. and itself rechristened the Christian era, by the Western world at different dates from 1504 to 1753. Cessar Introduced the present system of leap year, and Gregory XIII, in 1583 im proved it to its present form. The Casket Copy of the Iliad. While Alexander the Great was on hif Persian expedition and after he had con? quered Gaza, Syria, "a casket being one day brought to him, which appeared one of the .1.1 uiueu vui luus auu tu uamu uiuigs luuong bue treasures and the whole equipage of Darius (the Persian king), he asked his friends what they thought most worthy to be put into it Different things were to be proposed, but ho said: 'The Iliad most deserved such a case.

The Iliad, he as well as called, a portable treasure of military knowledge; and he had a copy corrected by Aristotle, which Is called the casket copy. said Alexander, 'used to keep his ointments in this casket; but who have no time to anoint myself will convert it to a nobler Onesicritus informs us that he used to lay it under his pillow with his sword." Plutarch, Leap Tear. One account of the origin of the custom of young ladies finding leap year a propitious time for taking matters into their own hands is as follows: By an ancient act of the Scottish parliament, passed about the year 1238, it was ordained that during the reign of her blessed majesty Margaret, every maiden lady of both high and low degree shall have liberty to speak to the man she likes. If he refuses to take her to be his wife, he shall be mulct in the sum of 100 or less, as his estate may be, except and always if he can make it appear that he is betrothed to another woman, than he shall be free. It was a hard time for bachelors.

The Xst Trump. When clubs are trump lookout for war On ocean and on land. For bloody deeds are often done When clubs are in the hand. 7T- The final trump of all is spade, Turned oy tne nana ol time; No matter where a man may live, In cold or torrid clime. No matter how much a man may lose Or how much he may save, You'll find the spade turns up at last And digs the player's grave.

The Keystone State. Pennsylvania was so named bv fThnrlp TT when he granted the province to. William Penn. It was not named after the latter, but in compliment te his father, Admiral Penn; whose naval and patriotic services in the cause of Charles had been very great, and created a debt which was paid to the son by. a'' grant of land in 'Syivania" means a wooded or a forest conn v.

and "PennsYlvania" has been intemretad to nmn Penn's wooden or wooded country. The. Admirable Crichton. James Crichton, called "The Admirable was a real personage, born In Scotland in 1560, who died in 1583. His ex traordinary knowledge of language and his superiority In every manly accomplishment, his eloquence, learning and wit, won for him his sobriquet.

He was a genius of the most remarkable kind. Tracheotomy. The operation of tracheotomy, reeentlvrjet farmed on the crown nrinco nf nrmnnv fa making an opening into the trachea or wind pipe to extract; a xoreign substance, or to permit the passage of air to the lungs. A Lonf Boad Since the new lines of the Northern Pacific railroad have been finished, the distance under control of the Northern Paciflo com pany measures 7,000 miles, making that line the longest line in the country. 1 Slave Trade.

Bv the treaty of Utrecht. Jnlv 13. 1718. British government agreed to furnish 4,800 negroes annually to Spanish America. The contract was renewed in 174.3.

hnt erf wn T1T in 1750. A Mode of Execntion. Boiling to death was introduced na mnAa at capital punishment durincr th rAlim ot Henry VHI, the act establishing it was repeaiea sixteen years later. High Seas. The oceans outside of a UrtA on marin league from shore, are the high seas.

And. Getting Nothing. Mr. Blaine does not want -to be overworked in evervthino'' pfte election Louis PosrDispatch.j Tiovr Is tlx It Is time now to decide who Is with us and who Is against us. Lonlsvillfl Courier-Journal.

His Bernard Wit. Mr. Depew still professes ta it wili be Elaine, Derew is fosv. Usctca A GREAT COMMERCE BEARER FROM INDIA'S CORAL STRAND. Bark Arrives Ia Kw Tork from Ports TThanee Clear! Papers from America Are Seldom I.aued-r-Article.

ef Com- xnerea from the Tropics. The marine investigator at Sandy Hook, casting his eyes seaward the other day, spied something which unaccustomed eyes would not have seen. He clapped his glasses, fine double extra power ones, to his eyes una stood la a posture of scru tiny for many moments. a bark," says he, still focussing nis glasses on ine distant object. A shadowy substance began to appear on tne Horizon.

The eye of the landsman would have simply noted that something that sailed was approaching. 1 "She's Nova Scotian," was ihe laconic utterance that came from beneath the binoculars. "Then it's the Strathay, now was the equally laconic outcome of a marine encyclopedia who stood near. iretiy soon me Dares sails loomed up Against the horizon and she came whooping along in a spanking breeze to the lower bay. She was the Strathay, ninety days from India's coral strand, nd she bore a royal cargo.

When Capt. Urqu-hart get his quarantine papers he brought his vessel In tow of a tug, her streamers Hying, up to a Brooklyn pier, and a long sea voyage was ended. The comes from ports whence clearing papers from America are seldom issued. She has been in the dismal and frightfully hot harbors of Aiipee and Cochin, on the Malabar coast, in the southern part of CEtT.ON'8 SPICT BREEZES. She had lain for days getting the spicy breezes of Ceylon at Colombo, and the blood heat rays of the sun, and there took in 1,000 barrels of plumbago." Then in southern India, where the man eating crocRodlle abounds, and sharks turn on their bellies and swallow Rien at a crunch ing gulp, she found ,1,200 barrels of co-coanut oil, which will be evolved into American soap, and a great quantity of the matting that is made from the fibrous bark of the cocoanut.

Then the Strathay was ready to make for civilization and New and she came along with some rip-roaring breezes, a great commerce bearer, under a foreign flag. Only two or three vessels arrive from Aiipee and Cochin in the course of a year, The freights of these are consigned to the firms who virtually monopolize trade from this There arc no harbors at these ports, and vessels are obliged to anchor two. miles off in the open sea. Though havenless the land Is fissured with many lagoons or backwaters. The country is low and sandy and covered with luxuriant vegeta tion and vast forests of palm trees.

From the latter are obtained the chief commodities of commerce. The straight stemmed trees are; from forty to eighty feet high, and the natives climb these with the aid of a short cord, 'connecting their big toes, which helps ascension by fitting them Into grooves of the bark. After the nuts are knocked off the thick husks are separated from the inner shell by sharp Iron spikes, and then laid in pits dug along the where the salt water macerates them. When the husks become sufficiently pliable they are taken Out and beaten with clubs, which completely parts the fiber from the pithy portion. It is then thoroughly cleaned and dried, and known as khair or coir, and is twisted into yarn and then woven into matting.

Th0 kernels, by hydraulic pressure, yield the oil now so much used by. American soap makers, as it produces soap capable of floating upon water. Thousands of Hindoos, male and female, re, employed in. these industries by the white They are very docile, exist on rice, fish and fruits, and receive equivalent to five or six cents for their daily wage. SPECULATORS' MISTAKE.

Two or three years ago a great speculation took; place in the raw fiber, -and thousands of bales were imported and held with the expectation that it would figure largely in mattress stuffing and kindred uses. This was not realized, owing to the fiber's lack of elasticity, and speculators lost heavily. It is said that the French are beginning to make cuirasses of it for their Ironclads, as it' offers more resistance than steel to a cannon ball, and a greater value may be put upon tne future. Other articles of commerce seldom heard of come from this far off shore. Cus-cus, a fragrant root from which sachet powder is made; citronella and lemon grass oils, also used in perfumery; tne Dutton iitce seeds or nux vomica, con taining the principle of strychnine; cardamoms, cinchona and turmeric, a yellow root used In dyeing ar.d which is said to be used In the adulteration of mustarcLa m.

1 i. i nn in xjigaii wuub peopio auu natives compose the population of Aiipee. About sevonty-flve different castes are repre sented. The climate is tropical, but healthy. Melting eyes and well favored forms are reported to be characteristics of the Hindoo females.

These are possibly enhanced by the limited inventory of ap parel, a palm leaf or two covering the whole body. The sailors are not proof against their seductions, and rigorous measures' have to bo taken for their restraint. The mate of tlio Strathav. a bronzed Scotchman, said to a reporter sadly: "Th' weemen played the deevil wl' the sailor ladsl Ah, coodna gang ashoor the twinty days we were off th' port, for ma time was taken oop watchin' 'eml Why, mon, we bad to fawsten the chield's AUWi OVbU VAA SV OU Jf Ihink it, twa o' 'em breaks loose, jumps over tne side and fiwums awa' to tbeshoor an' w' never clapt een afterl" Sievr Xork Evening Sun. Tricks of Chinese Traders.

A book micrht be written unnn thn palpable frauds and tricks, of which the Chinese trader ia guilty. With a goose quill he blows up" his mutton so that the veriest old scracr of a carcass looks fat and temrttinc. tncks obhl Rtonpu into his heads of cabbage, which he sells oy tne pound, lie sells dwarf orange trees loaded down with fruit, nine-tenths of which fa vploirorlir tcitaI fm fri hmtnohaa which never fed and developed it. Or, if by accident, a hole has been knocked in the side of an old porcelain vase, he grinds the hole into some sort of shape, cleverly grinds, fits and glues any bit of old brick intohe opening, and then so accurately reproduces in every detail and shade of color the outside decoration and glaze, that by the application of acid alone can the fraud be detected. The smallness of tho profit to be derived from the frand never deters Hokombe in Youth's Companion.

"XasbyVt First Book. v- Dr. TL Lor who dffd in Tolf1rt tTi other dav worth ftl.fiOO.nOrt. iwt tb ma for the first edition of his "Nasby" letters, Published in Infliananolla in 1Kfl3 Thn book was a yellow" covered pamphlet of iw pages ana nrougnttce author between $100 and $200. New York Evenir.2 World.

The Hoangno's Break. A syndicate of French enrineer Tins contracted to stop the breach of tha Hoani-IIo river. vLosa overCow rn.rr--1 the s.tent a ilicrt tln-i ro A VARIETY Of PEASANT SUPERSTITIONS AND FOLK LORE. The Tear's Unpropitloa Inflnenee ss Operations A Bit Taseaa Superstition Tradition, in the TatIj Days of the Church A Demon. The break in the regular order of days Is naturally a matter of awe and apprehension for the peasant mind.

We accordingly find, in nearly all the old countries, a variety of superstitions clustering around leap year. The rural folk lore of England tells us how all the peas and beans grow the wrong way in their pods that la, the seeds are set in quite the contrary way to what they are In other years. The reason commonly assigned for this supposed eccentric freak of nature Is "because it Is the ladies' year, they (the peas and beans) always lie the wrong- way In leap year." viic fe. vinv In Belgium the peasantry maintain that this year Is not only too frequently nnpro-pltiousfor farming operations, but that throughout It the young of no domestic animal will thrive as at other times. A similar they, argue, extends to every kind ef young grass and which it is affirmed Invariably become either stunted in their growth or blighted.

JLhe same peculiar idea prevails In certain districts of Russia, and, in accordance with the time-honored and much-quoted proverb, the peasant Is reminded how, "If St. Cassian (Feb. 29 look on a cow It will wither." Oh the other hand, there would seem to be exceptions to this rule, as In Sicily, where the former is advised to "set and graft vines in leap year." The ancient Romans considered the bis sextile, or "leap day," a critical season, reckoning it among their unlucky That this belief has not by any means lost ground Is evidenced by the deep rooted dislike parents have to a child being born on "leap it being a popular notion that to come into the world at such an odd time Is ominous as signifying the per son's speedy exit. But those, however, who chance to be born on this particular day have little occasion to dread such unnecessary alarms, for "it must be remembered how leap years comes around again and again, only too truly to testify to the utter falsity of the many articles of belief attached to Its anniversary. variety of this superstition prevails on the continent, and, according to a piece of Tuscan folk when a child is born in leap year, either It or its mother will die before the year has expired.

But, apart from considerations of this kind, It must be acknowledged that it is somewhat awkward to be born on "leap day," as a person can only celebrate the anniversary of his birth once in four It likewise also has its advantages, as In the case of those of the fair sex who like, as far as possible, to minimize their age, and hence look with envious eyes on those whose birthday comes only once to their four, Referring to this month, Mr. Chambers remarks, in the "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," that 'It appears to be considered by some people as the most important. We have as many rhymes about this docked month as about all the rest put together, many of them expressing either an. open detestation of it or a profound sense of its Influence in deciding the weather that is to But again, leap year Is not without its traditions and legendary lore. St.

Augustine, for example, writing of it," says: "The almighty made it from the beginning of the world for a great mystery, and If it be passed by untold, the first course of the year will be perversely altered, because there is one day and one night not reckoned. If you will not account it also to the moon, as to the sun, then you frustrate the rule for Easter, and the reckoning of every new moon ail the year." Hampson, in his "Medil G2vi Kalendar-lum," quotes the following quaint tradition from a Saxon treatise: "Some assert that the bissextus comes through this, that Joshua prayed to God that the sun might "stand still for one day's length, when he swept the heathen from the land as God granted to him. It is true that the sun did stand still for one day's length over the city of Gebaon; but the day went forward in the same manner as other days. And the bissextus is not through that, as some think." In France there is a popular tradition among the peasantry in the environs of -La Chatre of a different kind altogether. It Is said that every leap year a particular sort of evil demon makes Its dread appearance, whose "only pleasure is to be Hi3 shape is not distinguishable in member, joint or limb.

Nearly thirty years ago, M. Maurice Sand exhibited in the salon a powerful and graphic picture of this mysterious "It Is evening; the sun has just set over a waste country covered with marshy bogs and fens full of stagnating water. The clouds are bloodstained by the last rays of the departing day star, and the dark red color Is reflected on the snleeoinsr nools. Out of the depth of one of themin the distance a marvelous monster has arisen, and Is leaning against an old water worn pile. ueiore mm tne frightened fishermen fly and faJL His form Is not to definite as could be desired, but still he is the ghost of leap year," T.

F. Thistelton Dyer In Home Journal. What ST the Pnrlstst A new verb, to "ante-pone," has become a claimant Sot public adoption. It evidently avoids the roundabout way In which, by several words of a sentence," we have been in the habit of expressing the idea which is the opposite of that contained in the accepted word "postpone." This means to place after, In point of time; "ante-pone" means to place before, In point of time, is correctly formed from two Latin words, and, in a literary point of view, can scarcely be objected to. It will be a more condensed and a shorter mode of- expression to use single words such as "ante-none." and "ante-ponement," than to write, as heretofore, sentences stating that specified things which had been fixed for a certain date were to come off on a date prior to the one originally intended.

One word will satisfactorily contain the whole idea. Newport News. A Small Boy's Modest Bequest. "Granrlmi" Raid TIa-H- mi HVa a- -wj I. 6ee young boys enjoy themselves, don't you?" "Why, yes," replied "And VOTl liko to fin nil rnn ran tn finln em have a good time, don't you?" -vny, certainly.

"I thouffht bo. Well, met nrt fh Tompkins boys and the Clarks are going to pmy ijiie on me Plains' tne marts' barn for the next two "afternoons, and I thOTKrhfcl'd nsk von tn lpt Tin tat a wig to use for aEcalp." Chicago Inter Thongnt be Galled for It. The Small kid h.td fjikAn nnn rt tTinea to KPhnol xrltll Mm nml nroa having fun with it, when the teacher caught him at his fiendish work. She called him firmly to the front and ppoke uiiu wiw me most aigninea severity. "Where Is your sense of moral rectitude?" she asked, and thn the words awed the scholars.

The small kid without a word hauled out tha "buzzer" tremblinslv imrl laM it. desk. He never knew what saved him from punishment Ran FrB-nrfnrn Ohr-nn. No Telegraph. Owing to tha wires being down in all directions no newt dispatches came to Load LOVE'S WAYS.

Two paths hath Love for entering lorera' feet And one is broad und fair and very sweet. And every grace of song and flower hath; -The other la a and narrovr-path, VYnere stones and brambles choke the bitter way, And tongs It hath, bet never one la gay. And soma who eater are with roees bound. And some with thorns, but none may go na crowned; And yet both ways are thronged with eager feet, And voices, gay and sad, chant Love is sweet. Henrietta Christian Wright in Serfbner's Magv Polltene of tile Japanese.

Talking of politeness, the Japanese have that article in their composition to a very extraordinary extent. Men are always excessively polite to one another. They bend their backs and bow their heads and put their two hands back to back between their knees and have a great time. I Bat the most amusing thing is to see two old ladies in Japan meeting one another on the street. The street is empty, we'll say, and they catch sight of one another three or four blocks apart.

They Immediately begin to make obeisance at one another, and they keep bending and bowing at short intervals until they come together, when they make that peculiar bias by drawing in the breath and keep on saying "Obayo" for, about two minutes. The young things, the are very charming and graceful in their greeting of one another, but the old ladies are ornate and elaborate In their address. And the language has been framed with view to the necessities of politeness and of difference in rank. "Are, with the accent on the is the verb to be. If you are talking to a coolie, somebody very much below you, "are" Is good enough for "is." If you are talking to one a little below you, or you wish to be polite to an underling, you use "arimas." If you are on formal terms with an equal, you say "gozarlmas," and when you address a man high above you In rank you make it It's an elastic language, and pulls out to almost any length.

San Francisco Chronicle "Undertones" Germany's Army Commanders. The emperor of Germany Is the commander-in-chief of the army, whose motto is "For God, King and Fatherland." The allied sovereigns, Bavaria, Saxony, appoint their officers of the contingent which they furnish, but they have to be approved by the emperor. The minister war is Gen. Von Schellendorf. He superintends the different commands for Prussia and the confederated states.

Field Marshal Von Moltke Is at the head of general staff, which Is made up of the officers of the different armies temporarily detached. "They form seven divisions. The first three study each a theatre of war, the fourth occupies itself with the railroads, the fifth devotes its time to military history, the sixth studies geography and statistics and the seventh geodosy and topography. Field Marshal Von Moltke can call to his assistance the most distinguished civil engineers In the empire whenever he wishes. The general staff has ajibrary, begun In 1816, which now comprises nearly 60,000 volumes.

Berlin Cor San Francisco Chronicle. Take Time at the Tablet. Americans live at too high a pressure. No man has any business having functional dyspepsia. Organic dyspepsia Is different.

That la due to cancer or some other specific disease of -the stomach or other Internal organs. Rapid eating often grows out of the habit of eating alone. Pleasant company at table and good food are excellent preventives of rapid eating. Eat slowly, enjoy your food, take plenty of time between courses and let your teeth do their share of the work Instead of putting the whole job on the stomach. If you don't enjoy your meals take vigorous enough exercise to make you hungry.

Hunger is the best sauce. That Is the way to prevent dyspepsia If you haven't it, and the way to cure It If you have. New York World Interview. Oriental Pollten The Gazette de France publishes some curl oos notes upon the etiquette of the east. Here ia the Turkish form of an Invitation to dinner: Ht Gjdixbocs Wastes, My Rbspecttd Loss This evening, if it pleases Allah, when the great ling of the army of stars, the sun of worlds, approaching the kingdom of shades, shall put hi foot Into the stirrup of speed, you are Invited to enlighten us with the luminous rays of your face, whioh rivals the sun.

Your arrival, like the sephyr of spring, will drive away from ua the somber night of solitude and isolation." to a soiree or raki party: Mr Noels asdBtspectxo Fancm This even ing when the sirary bark, the moon, now fourteen days old, float upon the surface of the blue sky, spreading around love and tenderness, we shall be reunited at the viaage of Boumili-. Eissar in the place called HorieU-Mollah, a locality foil of delights; and all the night untiT. the awaking of the dawn we there shall taste the Joys of dry water and wet fire (cognac and rati). We wul not admit of a delay of the thickness of a hair. May the power of sans and oars hasten your arrival, which win be a source of Joy for all your friends.

A Young toTr' Confession. "Darling," he whispered softly in the hush of the twilight, while the blonde head had nestled down on his shoulder and, the fair cheek flushed beneath his kiss, "do you know that I deceived you once wilfully and wickedly A muffled exclamation of dissent escaped from the region of his coat collar, and he continued: "When you told me long ago in the moonlight that you could never marry a man who fe- .1 A. J1 ana corns, a iea you to Minx jl naa none; due it is false. I have a corn a small one. It is on my little toe.

It doesn't trouble me any. But now I suppose I most bid you farewell forever, and sadly go from your sweet presence." i "Yes, go," she said, In a firm, sad tone. "Go to-morrow to the nearest chiropodist, and never let this painful subject be mentioned between us New York Sun. A Rude Awakening. 1 1 i duo um uccu jruiiKKA4iuig aaoub crowning for nearly an hour to young Mr.

Waldo, and as she sat therein the flickering firelight, shading her eyes with one shapely hand, he thought he had never seen a fairer picture. She was about to go on, when her. little brother opened the door. "Penelope," he saylcatft I have some of them cold beans you pu2 away to eat after Mr. Waldo goes homef New York Sun, An Old Miner's A miner predicts that there will be a great boom in mining next year.

He bases his prophecy on the belief among old miners that every ten years rich deposits are discovered somewhere, and the craze is started. The different booms thus far are the California in 1S49, Pike's Peak in 1So9, Virginia City in 1S63 and Lead-vijje ta 1879.New York Evening World. Sweets to the Sweet. Irate Guest Sir, I have not had a decent meal since I have been In this house. Landlord What do you call a decent meal? Irate Guest--Wky, a decent meal for a decent man, Landlord Ah, that opens up a question regarding yourself.

Detroit Pre 3 press. There is nothing so remarkable about this, it our Albany contemporary can look at the matter from a fairly Impartial point of view. For the first time since the war the Democracy Is something more than a party of opposition. During the years when the Republicans were in power there was neither the need nor the oppor tunity lor the Democratic party to be any thing more than a party of opposition. The Republicans, by their long misrule; py ineir odious "reconstruction" policy; oy tneir persistent wnammation or sectionalism; by their desperate determination to remain In power, lawfully or un lawfully; by their usnrption and violation of the constitutional functions of our government; by their corruption, venality and extravagance in its administration, made the Issues themselves, and the only issues on which a fight against them could or shonld have been conducted.

Such a fight always was, and was bound to be. simply a struggle between those who are responsible for such xnisgovernment and the elements of opposition which they aroused. "But mark the "difference between situation now and that on the eve of any presidential election under Republican supremacy. For the first time since the war the two great parties stand face to face, with an field and unclouded sky. The fogs have lifted and, the smoke has dissipated, and each knows its ground and what it has to meet, as well as what it has to light tor.

it is no longer a ques tion merely of the offices; It Is no longer a struggle between the Ins and outs; it is no longer a rebellion of decency, honesty and self government against a growing centralization of all that is most dangerous to free government It Is simply a plain, practical question of direct personal interest to every citizen and of vital importance the national welfare. Louis villa Courier-Journal. Poor Old Bhwrman. John Sherman has misspent a lifetime In vain endeavors to persuade "the people that Democrats are Irretrievably wicked and imminently dangerous men: yet even he has been' forced to recognize a necessity for reforming bis ideas in this regard." Mr. bnerman proposes that from whatever quarter presidential breezes may! blow they shall waft his political argosy toward the White House.

Hence he was quite prepared to assure a citizen of Nash ville that there was no discrepancy between the political tone of his speech in that city and a later deliverance In Sprlng- neio. nat might, from the Sherman standpoint, be good politics in Ohio would possibly fail to be so considered in Ten nessee, i lint the Ohio senator Is auite capable of reconciling profligate abuse of the Democracy or the south, which contains within its ranks the best brain and blood of the section, with the purest de votion to southern interests. Philadel phia Record. No One tike Him. Why Is the Republican party flounder ing around in the dark after a candidate when it hag J.

B. Foraker, of Ohio; in plain Bight? What Republican for that matter, what American, or what human Deing living is more recklesslvand ab surdly consistent in his Republicanismf Who can play more fantastic tricks, froth more, swallow more swords, chew more glass, make himself more generally Offen sive to au decent and sensible people than this latest and ripest fruit of the Ohio idea? If the lines are to be "frlneed with fire" again, the party needs some one who in his rage and his wrath will not be afraid to cry "Aha!" to the Devil of Democracy and Treason. aflrespit-ter Foraker has not had his like since the great dragon of Wantley. St. Louis Re One Man for Hoar Anyway.

Senator Hoar writes to a Boston paper: "I think we should not send men to Chi cago with labels round their necks marked bherman 'Hawlev. We ought not, by any step, taken In April, to put it out of our power to aid in doing what, on consultation with the represent atives of the whole country, shall seem wisest In June. The senator wants to give the dark horse a chance. There is no knowing what may happen in a national political convention, and there is a man from Massachusetts who, it is understood, has never had the slightest doubt of the vauabuity of Senator Hoar. Chicago Herald.

"A Hopeless Case. Mr. John Sherman's latest letter- ia a mild and almost mournful notification that his lightning rod still aspires the clouds. He might as well take it down and impale his presidential bee on the point of it. His Springfield speech and his record make him hopelessly an ex-possibility.

St. Louis Republican. A Shrewd Attempt. Mr. Halstead declares in The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette that he finds here in the east a strong Republican combination against John Sherman, now that Is out of the contest for the presidency.

Is mis a snrewd attempt to create the Impression that Sherman really has a chance? New York World. They Are Coming to It. If the Rewublienn Tvresanf TndfunA Vmm on, it will demonstrate to the satisfaction of everybody, long before the convention meets, that neither Harrison nor Gresham can carry Indiana. And that ia just the fact. Indianapolis Sentinel.

Another Beom Gone Cp. The Ben Harrison boom has rancht on a jagged projection in his record and torn wiae open. xe votea against the Chinese bill in 1882. Gone to join Blaine, Sheridan. Fred Grant and Lincoln.

St. Tnia Republican. Says What He Believes. 'Ingalls, of the Grasshopper state, main tains that It Is "the right of' every American citizen to aspire to the highest office in the land." Was e'er a maiden half so coy? Philadelphia Times. Bead and Reflect.

-The more Democrats that Iiava twon put in place the cleaner the ad minis tra- nas Become. -Cincinnati Enquirer. Sherntan Thinks Hot, Is there anvthlnor about the nresMo-n that a citizen should be afraid of it? New voric Herald. The Mexican Government Ixau. The Mexican finnfTPRd rocc-ntlv antVAK.

UUVUVl zed the issue of i0.fsno onrv tten loan to pay a portion of the govern ment's burdensome floating debt. An Offer made bv a German fcnnl-a rt take of tha bonrU nt ro per cent, was rejected at first, because Cf tha JSmall fered, and because the government did noi, wisa to civiaa ine lean. The port rn-ment has finally dcciilpd t-i m-iTi banlrer'a crer, r.nd hns'r- lev i- a ir.rnr frc 1, I.