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Among the Thousand Islands. CENTURY MAGAZINE The: misty njr like ambt-r seems, Lxlm meltmg gold Hm sky 601%me Athwzu't‘ the ivory gnu- of dreams Surely our bark is piloted. 'l‘hrillnd by the \\‘u101".< long embrimc. 'l‘hc slundm’ silver reeds are stirred. fwnd sway with slow, \‘nluptuousg ‘nco. Like dune '1‘0 :1 waltzunhezu‘d. For thi is the cnrhanlod 1* *alm, The fairy-palace I‘vm'cd by sleep : Through emerald (-hmnhL-rs glides our 11v)“ A 1111 1'11 ourwakc fialn('»01)a]s Imp. ] need but lift my hour ‘ 'l‘o South (11' North. in} ‘t or “70521. To see. as m my bidding. rise A. wane harmed island's tufted 01-051 Here a tall headland draped wiill fern, Pine-crowned and honey Combed with mu cs ; 'l‘herc.just above H10 ri\ ri urn A low, soft m '1 ol'ngSL Now narrowing cliff. im-lnsv our prm Fantastic I'm-ks streaked blue and rose ; '(‘hcvhzmnel eddies s“1f1~nnd 110w ix-oud as the son the “nor flows. ’i‘hox-o whore flmcl'ystul flour svarco shines So thick the vch‘ut. luau-s nnx‘nld, Superb the lily-queen roulim-s, A miracle of snow and gold. More is Miranda‘s island 4001; E "l‘wixr tree and cloud still A z'io‘. 1". Behind the hi”, beyond the brunk. The whelp of Syt-m'ux )‘CI, lies. No ribbonod grass is final ingthcro, Along 0111‘ smooth, pcul'l-pan‘cn path, But hidden faces" pale green hair 01‘ nymphs and nercids at the bath. 0n 3 “'0 shall find in suhm'soolh. From some clear won-head buhhhng up, The fountain ofotm'nal] youth To brim lhc thirst pilgl'inl’s up. Eu} duke n m] prim'os. Clown and 5001', Hch vuyugcd forth My other so; And fathom (10(3)), Sim-0 many a year. Are buried book and wand and keys lim‘hantod world ! (tncl’lantod hour! Hail and farewell enchanted stream, That, 113.51 1110 llninmg’incd power To make the l‘t'ill surpass the dream ! v Emma Luuu'lm, _.__â€"-»<.-v>wII-â€"â€"â€"â€" STORM-LIGHTS OF ANZASCA. ri‘he main road from the Logo Maggiore to the western parts of Switzerland at one time ran through the valley of Aniasca; and it was once my fortune to be detained all night at n. wttage in one of its wildest defiles, by a, storm which rendered n.y horses ungovern- able. \Vhile leaning upon a bench, and looking with drowsy curiosity tovards the window for there was no bed excopt my host's, of which I did not wish to deprire himwvl saw a small, faint light among the rocks in the distance. 1 at first conceived that it might proceed from acottztge win- dow ; but remembering that that part of the mountain was wholly uninhabitatcd, and in- deed uninhabitablo, I roused myself, and calling one of the family, inquired what it meant. While 1 spoke the light suddenly vanished ; and in about a minute reappear- <d in another place, as if the bearer had gone round some intervening reek. The storm at that time raged with LL fury which threaten- ed to blow our lint, with its men and horses, over the mountain; and the night was so intensely dark that the edges of the horiz- on were wholly undistinguisliztble from the sh ' “There it is again I” said I. “\Vhat is that, in the name of God 1'" “ It; is Lelia’s lump 2" cried the young man, eagerly, who was a son of our host. “ Awake, hither ! Ho, Batista lâ€"Vittoria ! Lelia. is on the mountains l” At these cries the whole family sprung from their lair at once, and, crowding mound the window, fixâ€" ed their eyes upon the light, which continu- ed to appear, although at long intervals, for a considerable part of the night. \Vhen in- terrogated as to the nature of this mystic lamp, the cetta‘gers made no scruple of tell- ing me all they know, on the sole condition that I should be silent when it appeared, and leave them to mark uninterruptedly the spot where it rested. To render my story intelligible, it is ne- eessary to say that the min/Tull and farmers form two distinct classes in the valley of Anzasea. The occupation of the former, when pursued asaprofession, is reckoned disreputable by the other inhabitants who obtain their living, by regular industry ; and indeed the manners of the minerali oii'er some excuse for what might otherwise be reckoned as illiberal prejudice. They are addicted to drinking, quarrelsoine, over- bearingAat one moment rich and at another starving ;and in short they are subject to all the calamities, both moral and physical, which beset men who can have no dependence on the product of their labor; ranking in this respect with gamesters, authors, and of her vagabonds. . . . . n ,. r. They are, notwithstanding, a fine race of menâ€"brave, hardy and often handsome. They spend freely what they win lightly; and if one day they sleep off their hunger, lying like wild animals basking in the sun, the next, if fortune has been propitious, they swagger about, gallant and gal , the lords of the valley. Like the sons 0 God, the minerali sometimes make love to the daughters of men ; and, although they sel- dem possess the hand, they occasionally touch the heart, of the gentle maidens of Anzasea. If their wooing is unsuccessful, there are comrades still wilder than their own, whose arms are always open to receive the desperate and the brave. They change the scene, and betake themselves to the highways when nights are dark and travelâ€" lers unwary ; or they enlist under the ban- ners of those regular banditti who rob in thousands, and whose booty is a province or a kingdom. .. .11» u x 1 , ,,,L Francesco Mal‘telli was the hamlsomest goldseeher in the valley. He was wild, it is true, but that was the badge of his tribe; and he made up for this by so many good qualities, that the farmers themselvesâ€"at least such of them as had not marriageable daughters â€" delighted in his company. Francesco could sing ballads so sweetly and mournfully that the old dames leaned back in the chimney-corner to weep while he sung. He had that deep and melancholy Voice which, when once heard, lingers in the ear, and when heard again, however, unexpectedly, seems like a. longing realized. There was only one young lass in the val- ley who had never heard the songs of Fran- eesco, All the others, seen or unseen, on some pretext or other, had gratified their uniolt)‘. The exception was Lelia, the An Itailan Legendary Tale. (laixghtor of one of the richest farmers in ‘ mnsca. Lelia was very . young, being scarcely sixteen; but in her quality of an only daughter, with a dowry in expectancy equal to more than one thousand Austrian liras, she attracted considerable observation. ller face, on minute inspection, was heauti~ ml to absolute perfection; but her figure, although symmetrical, was so pm‘i/r, and her mmmerm shy {LlHl girlish, that she was thought of more {we child than R young wo- man. Her mother had died in giving her birth ; and for many a year the life of the child had been preserved, or rather her death prevent- ed, by what seemed a miracle. Even after the disease, whatever it might have been, had yielded to the sleepless cure of her fath- er, she remained in that state which is de- seribed in the expression “not unwell” rath- er than in perfect health ; although the most troublesome memento that remained of her illness was nothing more thana 11er- vons timidity, which in amore civilized part of the country might have passed for (leliv cacy of feeling. Besides being in some degree shut out from the society of her equals by this peculiarity of her situation, she u'asprevcnt- ed from enjoying it by another. \Vhile her bodv languished, the cultivation of her mind had advanced. Music, to which she was passionately attached, paved the wry for poetry; and poetry, in spite of the doc- trines of a certain school you have in Eng- land, untitted her for association with the ignorant and unrefined. 'l‘hnt Lelia, there- fore, had never sought to hem- the ballads of li‘ranceso was occasioned, it may readin he believed, by nothing more than .‘111 instinct- ive terror, mingled with the dislike with which the name of one of the rulfizrn minerali inspired her, and, in truth, shelistened to the tales that from time to time reached her ear of the young gold-seeker, ,with somewhat of thc vague and distant interest with which we attend to descriptions of a beautiful but wild and cruel animal of another hemis- phere. There came one at last, how Iver, to whom poor Lelia listened. She was sittingr alone, according to her usual custom. at the hot- toun of her father’s garden, singing, \vhile she plied her knitting-needle, in the soft, low tone peculiar to her voice, and beyond which it had no COITIPHSS. The only fence of the garden at this place was a belt of shrubs, which enriched the border of the deep ravine it overlooked. At the bottom of this ravine flowed the river, rapid, and yet sullen ; and beyond, seareer distanttwo hundred yards, :1 range of precipitous cliffs shut in the horizon. The wildand deso~ late aspect of the scene was overshadowed and controlled, as it were, by the stern grandeur of these ramparts of nature; and the whole contributed to form such a. pic- ture as artists travel a thousand miles to eontemplate. Lelia, however, had looked upon it from childhood. it had never been forced upon her imagination by contrast, for she had never travelled live miles from her father’s house, and she (continued to knit, and sing, and dieam, without even raisin‘cr her eyes. Her voice was hardly loud enough to he eaught by the echoes of the opposite rocks ; although sometimes it did happen that, car- ried away by enthusiasm, she produced a tone which was repeated by the fairy min- strels of the glen. 0n the present oeeasion she listened with surprise to a similar effect, for her voice had died almost in a whisper. She sang another stanza in a louder key. The challenge was accepted; and a rich sweet voice took up the strain of her favorite ballad where she had dropped it. Lelia’s first impulse was to flee; her second to sit still and watch for a renewal of the music ; and her third, which she obeyed, to steal on tiptoe to the edge of the ravine, and look down into the abyss, from whence the voice seemed to proceed. The echo, she discover- ed, was a young man, engaged in navigating a raft down the riverâ€"‘sueh as is used by the peasantry of the Alps to float them- selves and their wares to market, and which at this moment was stranded on the shore, at the foot of the garden. He leaned upon an oar, as if in the act of pushing ol’l' his clumsy boat; but his face was upturned, like one watching for the appearance of a. star; and Lelia felt a sudden conviction, she knew not why, that he had seen her through the trees while she sat singing, and had adopted this method of attracting her attention without alarming her. If such had been his purpose, he seemed to have no ulterior view; for, after gazing for an in- stant, he withdrew his eyes in confusion, and, pushing ofl’ the raft, dropped rapidly down the river, and was seen out of siglit:_ Lelia’s life was as calm as a sleeping lake, which aeloud will blacken, and the wing of an insect disturb. Even this little inei- (lent was matter for thought, and entered into the soft reveries of sixteen. She felt her cheeks tingle us she wondered how long the young man‘ had gazed at her through the trees, and why he had floated away without speaking, when he had succeeded in attractingher attention. There was delicacy in his little contrivance, to save her the surprise, perhaps the terror, of seeing a stranger in such a situation ; there was modesty in the confusion with which he urned away hisheadjand, perhaps what was as valuable as even to the gentle Lelia, ther was admiration, deep and devout, in those brilliant eyes that had quailed beneath h ers. The youth was as beautiful as a. dream ; and his voice Lâ€"it was so clear, and yet so soft â€"so powerful, yet so melodious! It haunted her ear like it prediction. It was a week before she again saw this Apollo of her girlish imagination. It seemed as if in the interval they had had time to get acquainted ! They exchanged Salutations â€"«the next time they spokeâ€"and the next time they conversed. There was nothing mysterious in their communications. He was probably a farmer’s son of the upper valley, who had been attracted, like others, by the fame of old Niccoli. He, indeed, knew nothing of books, and he loved poetry more for the sake of music than its own: but what of that ?â€"-the writings of God were around and within them ; and these, if they did not understand, they at least felt. He was bold and vigorous of mind ; and this is beauty to the fairand timid. He skimmed along the edge of the precipice, and sprung from rock to rock in the torrent, as fearless as the chamoisk He was beautiful, and brave, and proud: and this glorious crea- ture with radient eyes and glowing checks, laid himself down at her feet, to gaze upon her face, as poets worship the 1110011! The world, before so monotonous, so blank, so dear, was now a heaven to poor Lelia, One thing only perplexed her; they were snifieiently longâ€"â€"uecording to the calculi).~ tions of sixteenâ€"41nd sulliciently well ac- quainted; their sentiments had been avowed without disguise; their faith plighth l)C- yond recall ;and as yet her lover had never mentioned his name! Lelia, reflecting on this circumstance, condemned, for the mo- ment hermrecipitation; but there was now no help for it, and she could only resolve to extort the secretuif secret it was 77777 at the next meeting. “ My name I" said the lover, in reply to her frank and sudden question ; “you will know it soon enough.” ‘ “ 3111; I will not be said nay. You must tell me nowâ€"0r at all events to-morrow night. ” “\Vhy toâ€"morrox; night 1’" “Because a young, rich suitor, on whom my father’s heart is set; is then to propose in proper form, for this hand ; and let the confession cost What it may, 1 will not overthrow the dearest plans of my only parent without giv- xnga. reason which will satisfy even him. 0]], you do not know him ! “'ealth weighs as nothing in the scale against his (laugh- ter’s happiness. You may be poor for aught I know ; but you are good, and honorable, and therefore, in his eyes, no unfitting match for Lelia.” It was almost dark, but Lelia. thought she perceived a smile on her lover’s face while she spoke, and a gay sus» picion flashed through her mind, which made her heart beat and her cheeks tin- gle. He did not answer for many minutes; a. struggle of some kind seemed to agitate him ; but at length in a suppressed Voice, he saidâ€"“to-morrow night, then.” “Here 2’" “No, in your father’s house ;in the presence ofwmy rival. ’7 The morrow night unwed ; and with :L ceremonious formality practised on such oe- easions in the valley, the lover of whom Lelia-had spoken was presented to his mis- tress, to ask permission to pay his addresses; or, in other wordsmfor there is but short shrift for an Aiizuscan maidAto demand her hzmd in 111arriage. This was indeed a match on which old Niceoli had set his heart : for the offer was by far the best that could have been found from the Val d’OssoIa to Monte Rosa. The youth was rich, “ell-looking. and prudent even to coldness; what more could a- father desire ‘.’ Lelia had put off the minute of appearing in the porch, where the elders of both families had assembled, as long as possible. \Vhile mechanically arranging her dress, she eon- tinned to gaze out of the lattice, which com- manded a. View of the road and of the par- ties below, in expectation that increased to agony. Bitter were her reflections during that inverval I the was almost tempted to believe that what had passed was nothing more than a dreamâ€"â€"-a figment of her imag- ination, disordered by poetry and solitude, and perhaps in some measure warped by dis- ease. Had she been made the sport of an idle moment? and was the smile she had ob- served on her lover’s face only the herald of the laugh which perhaps at this moment testified his enjoyment of her perplexity and disappointment ? His conduct presented itseli in the double light of folly and ingrati- tude ; and at length in obedience to the repeated summons 01' her father, she descend- ed to the porch with trembling step and a fevered cheek ’ The sight of the company that awaited her awed and depressed her. She shrunk from them with more than morbid timidity; while their stony eyes, fixed upon her in all the rigidity of form and transmitted cus- tom, seemed to freeze her very heart. There was one there, however, whose ideas of “ propriety,” strict‘ as they were, could never prevent his eyes from glistening, and his arms from extending, at the approach of Lelia. Her father, after holding her for a moment at arm‘s length, as with a doating look his eyes wandered over the bravery of her new white dress, drew her close to his bosom, and blessed her. “ My child,” said he, smiling gayly through a gathering tear, “ it is hard for an old man to think of part- ing with all he loves in the world ; but the laws of nature must be respected. Young men will love, and young lasses will like, to the end of time ; and new families will spring up out of their union. It is the way girl#it is the fate of maids, and there’s an end. For sixteen years have I watched over you, even like a miser watching his gold; and now, treasure of my life, 1 give you away I All Task on your part, is obedi- ence-maye, and cheerful obedienee#after the manner of our ancestors, and according to the laws of God. After this is over, let the old man stand aside, or pass away, when it pleases heaven ; he has left his child hapâ€" py: and his child’s children will bless his memory. He has drunk of the Cup of life â€"â€"swect~ and bitter#bitter and sweetâ€"even to the bottom; but with honey, Lelia.” thanks to his blessed darling ‘.-r»rwit}1 honey in the dregs !” in the dregs !” Lelia fell on her father‘s neck, and sobbed aloud. So long and bitter was her sobbing that the formality of the party was broken, and the circle narrowed anxiously aroulnd her. \Vhen at last she raised her head, it was seen that her cheeks were dry, and her face as white as the marble of Cox'â€" daglia. .l I J Z murmur of compassion ran through the bystanders ; and the words “poor thing Em still so delicate-Aold hysterics I” was whis» peringly repeated from one to the other. The father was alarmed, and hastened to cut shortaceremony which seemed so ap- palling t0 the nervous timidity of his daugh- ter. “ It is enough,” said he : “all will be over in a moment. Lelia, do you accept of this young man as your suitor Z’wcome, one little word, and it is done." Lelia. tried in vain to speak, and she bowed her acquies- cence. “Sim,” continued Niceoli. “ my daughter accepts of the suitor you offer. It is enough; salute your mistress, my son, and let us go in, and pass around the cup of alliance.” *“The maiden hath not an- swered," observed a. cold cautious voice among the relations of the suitor: “ Speak then,” said Niceoli, casting an angry and (lisdainful look at the formalistr- »“ it is but a. wordAa sound. Speak l" Lelia’s dry, white lips had unelosed to obey, when the gate of the little court was wrenehed open by one who was apparently too much in haste to Kind the latch, and a man rushed in to the midst of the circle. “ Speak not I” he shouted, “l. forbid 2” Lelia sprung to- wards him u'7 ‘ " fitified cry, and would have thrown ll3l‘acll mt; his arms, had she not been caught midway by her father. “\Vhat is this 1’” demanded he sternly, hut in rising alarm ; “ rnttian ~A drunkard â€"~ madman ! what would you here ‘3" “You cannot pro- voke ine, Niceoli,” said the intruder, “were you to spit upon me! 1 come to demand your daughter in marriage. ” “ You 1” shouted the enraged iather. “ You ‘3” re- peated the relations, in tones of wonder, scorn, rage or ridicule, according to the temperament of the individual, “ There needeth no more of this,” said the same cold, cautious voice that had spoken before ; “ a wedding began in a brawl will never end in a bedding. To demand a girl in legitimate marriage is neither sin nor shame; let the young man be answered even by the maiden herself, and then depart in peace.” “He hath spoken well,” said the most cautious among the ohl men ; “speak, daughter ; answer, and let the man begone 1" Lelia grew pale, and then red. She made a step forwarth hesitatedâ€"looked at her father timidlyâ€" and then stood as still as a statue, pressing her clasped hahds upon her bosom, as if to silence the turobhings that disturbed her reason. “Girl,” said old Niccoli, in a voice of suppressed passion, as he seized her by the arm, “ do you know that mam-did you ever see him before? Answer, can you tell me his name ‘3” “ No I” “ No Ewthe inso- lent rutfian ! Go, girl, present your check to your future husband, that the customs of our ancestors may be fulfilled, and leave me to clear my door of \‘agabonds !” She step- ped forward mechanically ; but when the legitimate suitor, extending his arms, ran forward to meet her, she eluded him with a sudden shriek, and staggered toward the in- truder. “Holdâ€"- hold I” cried the relations, “ you are mad~you know not what you do â€"it is Francesco, the mineralo l” She had reached the stranger, who did not move from where he stood ; and, as the ill- omened name met her car, she fainted in his arms. A man in a large active business, in New York, said in our hearing : “The worst over- sight of my younger days was that someâ€" body Llid not instruct me to take care of my teeth. At 50 years of age l have but eight natural teeth left, and 1 could well afford to pay even $1,000 apiece to get back halfa. dozen or more that l needlessly lost.” In explanation he put it in this way: “Artificial teeth are at best a very poor substitute. 1 am in a large business that needs a good deal of strength of body and mind. All strength comes from good food well digest- ed. But perfect digestion only takes place when food is thoroughly inastieated (chew- ed) and mixed with the saliva, and good, firm, natural teeth are essential for this. So, if 1 had better teeth I could do a great deal more of profitable business, and earn addi- tional money enough to pay {L great price for several of them.” This is worth thinking of by the young. Here are some good rules: 1st. Never crack nuts with the teeth, or bite very hard sub- stances ; it breaks or cracks the enamel and hastens decayeflnd. Always brush the teeth before going to bed, if not in the morn» ing also, and use a wooden or quill tooth- pick (not pins or other metal), to remove any food from beneath the teeth. If left there overnight it ferinents and injures the teeth. Use only a moderately stiff tooth- brush; zt very stiff one injures the gums, and promotes decayâ€"3. Do not use any of the “boughten” tooth-powders, unless it is finely powdered orris root. The most active tooth- powders, which whiten the teeth quickly, contain injurious acids or alkalies. Charcoal, however fine, is not good ; it has the “grit” and wear of diamond dust.-â€"~4th. 1f the slightest decay begins on any tooth, have a. reliable, skillful dentist plug it firmly at once. It will be one of the best possible in» vestments of {L small sum for the future. A Ruse at a Restaurant. It is an awful thing to he absentâ€"minded. The story is told of a certain Philadelphia, gentleman, who discovered this at his cost. it so happened the other day that the din- ing room of the club which he frequents was quite full,when a men who chanced to know his particular failing came in very hungry. The waiter told the newcomer there was no room at present. Spying 0111' absent-minded friend comfortably seated and reading the newspaper, a, brilliant idea >truck the hun- gry man. “Has Mr. A. dined yet 1"" he questioned. “No, sir,” replied the waiter. “\Vell, never mind, take him his bill and tell him he has had his dinner.” The waiter hesitated a moment, and then appreciating the situation Went over to Mr. A. and handed him his bill. “\Yhat is this for?” quoth the poor fel- 10W. “For your dinner, sir.” “My dinner-â€"~-ah ! Have I walls, had it 2'” “Yes, sir," rejoined the waiter in all ix» IIOCBIICG. “Dear me. I had an idea I was waiting for it. Whata curious mistake.” And with a contemplative smile Mr. A. sauntered out of the room, leaving his table for the use of the genius who had profited by his absentâ€"mindedncss. And this was the story we told thp Chicago editor : “Yes, sir, there’s a man in New York who was born drunk. Both the parents were hard drinkers. From the moment he came into the world he has been in a state of beastly intoxication, though he has never touched a drop of liquor.’ The Chicago man had listened with great interest. “Does he feel drunk and act drunk all the time?” he eagerly asked. “He does,” we replied. There was a. sad, chastened, far-away look in the Chicago man’s eyes as he murmur- ed Previously to 1/97 Italy was without a newspaper. Now it has more organs than it knows what to do with, and is obliged to send them over heraivl’m-l'. It- sends also cranks to grind them with.â€"»Nmr Yuri: (707:1- morcial Adrrrliser. Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid, who still lingers in England, has taken up his resi- dence for the winter at a fashionable hotel in the west end of London, and grumbles loudly at the gloomy climate and dull ex- istence of London. His wife will not join him just yet. (T0 In: (JOXTINITEDJ wflA-â€"â€"-u<>o4-o->~>â€"â€"Â¥â€" A Two Thousand Dollar Tooth. Amerir‘nn A griqlhumt “ Some men have dead loads of luck.” a.- 4.-.) o; «0040’ M»- Some Men's Luck. o. 10.} to quoth the poor fel- The sand-hornet is the greatest \‘il‘ain that flies oninsect wings,and he was builtrora professional murderer. He carries two keen eimetars besides a deadly poisoned poniara‘, and is armed throughout with an invulner- able coat of mail. He has things all his own way; he lives a life of tyranny and feeds on blood. There are few birdshnone that I know ofwthat care to swallow such a red-hot morsel. It is said thatnot even the butcher-bird ha‘ukers after him. The toad will not touch him, seeming to know lcy in- stinct what sort of chain-lightning he con- tains. Among insects this hornet is the harper eagle, and nearly all of them are at his mercy. Even the cicada, or drumming harvest fly, an insect often larger and heavier than himself, is his very common victim. Consnlering these charaateristics, it was of especial interest to witness such an incident as I have here pictured, Where one of these huge tyrants was actually captured and overpowered by the strategy of three black ants. 1 had left the meadow, and was ascending a spur of the mountain by the edge of a pine wood, when snddenlyI espied the hornet in question almost at my feet. He immedi- ately took to wing, and as he flew on ahead of me ,I observed a long pendent object dangling from his body. The incumhrance proved too great an obstacle for continuous flight, and he soon dropped again upon the path, a rod or so in advance of me. I ever- took him, and on a close inspectjon discov- ered a plucky black ant clutching tightly with his teeth upon the hind-foot of its cap- tive, while with its two hind- legs it clung desperately to a long cluster of pine needles which it carried as a dead-weight. No sooner did the hornet touch the ground than the ant began to tug and yell for help. There were certainly evidences to warrant such a belief, for a second ant immediately appeared upon the scene,e1nerging hurriedly from a neighbouringy thicket of pine-tree moss. He was too late, however, for the hornet again sought escape in flight. But this attempt was even more futile than the former, for that plucky little assailant had now laid hold of another impediment, and this time not only the long pine needles, but a small branched stick also, went swinging through the air. Only a yard or so was covered in this flight, and as the ant still yelled for re-enforcements, its companion again appeared, and rushed upon the com» mon fee with such furious zeal, that I felt like patting him on the back. The whole significance of the scene he had taken in at a glance. and in an instant he had taken a vice-like grip upon the other hind-leg. Now came the final tug of war. The hornet tried to rise, but this second passenger was too much for him; he could only buzz along the road, dragging his load after him, While his new assailant clutched desperately at everything within its reach, new a dried leaf, now a. tiny stone, and even overturning an acorn-cup in its grasp. Finally, a small stick the size of a match was secured. and this proved the “last straw.” In vain were the struggles of escape. The hornet could do no more than lift his body from the ground. He rolled and kicked and stumbled, but to no purpose, except to make it very lively for his captors; and the thrusts of that lively dagger were wasted on the desert air; for whether or not those ants knew its searching propensities, they certainly man- aged to keep clear of this busy extremity. Hon: long this pell-inell battle would have lasted I know not, for a third ant now ap. peared, and it was astonishing to see him ; with every movement of the hornet, he in turn would lay hold of a third stick, and at the same time clutch upon those pine needâ€" les to add their impediment to the burden 01' his own body. Practically the ants had won the victory, but what they intended to do with the floun- dering elephant in their hands seemed a problem. But it was to them only a ques- tion of patience. They had now pinned their victim securely, and held him to await assistance. It came. The entire neighbour- hood had been apprised of the battle, and in less than five minutes the ground swarmed with an army of re-enforcements. 'l hey came from all directions; they pitched upon the hornet with terrible ferocity, and his complete destruction was now only a. ques- tion of moments. :kpicturc by SirEdwin Landseer reL ently _s01 in London for $14,750. India has five paper mills that are built and managed on English models. Victoria, Australia, is about to borrow another twenty millions of dollars, The envelope manufacturers of the coun- tr'ytm'n out about 4,000,000 envelopes a day. There are 3,763 public libraries in the United States and they contain 12,482,671 volumes. A lower half of a‘ cabin stove was taken from the bottom of the harbor recently, by a steam dredge New, Haven, attached to which were thousands of oysters from the size of a. pin up to those three years old. The dredge also brought up a large devil- fish. THOSE who are rushing forward in the eager pursuit of material riches, regardless of their own welfare or (character 01' trespassing on the just rights of others, are really put- ting it out of their power to attain wealth in its truth and wholeness. They are sacrific- ing the whole to secure the part ; and, even. if they succeed in gaining the part they crave, it will he a transitoxy possssion, for riches without character will certainly make themselves wings. When the Prince of \Yales visited this country twenty one yea-rs ago he planth an English oak and an American elm in Central Park, New York. The elm has flourished and now lift its topmast branches many feet into the air. Its stem is almost two feet in diameter, and its long, graceful branches reach far out on all sides. But the oak has" not been so well'favored. For the first few years there was little hope that it would re- tain its hold on life. Within the last year“ it has assumed a. hardier appearance, and its condition almost warrants the conclu- sion that its struggle for existence is at last ended. Strategy Versus Strength. The Prince of “Tales’ Trees. PITHY PARAGRAPKS. Hnrper‘s )‘ngx fine loo 1.9} 00