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- s .0» The Yachts in Which the Crowned Heads of Europe Go to Sea. 1 The 31811)!!!" Are British Bulk. Dry-rot . has, it seems, attacked Her Brimnnic Majesty‘s yachts Osborne and Alberta to such an extent that, to make them j seawortliy, £9000 will have to be spent on-l the latter and £5000 on the former. The oldest surviving English royal yacht is the Royal George, which carried the Queen on her first trip to Scotland lialfa century ’ ago. Built in 1313, the glory of this ancient craft has long since departed ;but she still I serves in Portsmouth harbour the humble but useful urpose of a floating barracks for the crewso her modern successors. In 1833, another royal yachtâ€"the Royal Adelaide- was launched at Sheerness. She was a tiny frigate, fifty feet long and fifteen feet brood. Like the Royal George, she hashad her day so far as royalty is concerned. Her Majesty has at present four pleasure-ships at her com. mand -the yachts Virtoria and Albert and Osborne, and the tenders Alberta. and Elfin. Though the average age of these vessels is only twenty-nine years, million sterlinghas been spent an them up to the present. The Elfinuthe oldest of the fourâ€"was built at Chathnnixin 1849, and has a displacement of only ninety-three tons. I-fcr original cost was £6168, and the cost of her maintenance up to date has been about £40,000. The Victoria. and Albcrl, the LARGEST AND HANDSOMEST. , ( ,. if ,9 is the built at Kiel in 1875. Sheis two dred. and sixty-ei ht feet by thirty- four feet, has a isplacement of 1675 tons and 11. horsepower of 3000, and car- ries a crew of one hundred and thirty- three including officers. Though the Hohenzollern is beautifully fitted and can steam about Sixrszx KSO’I‘S ax nova, the Kaiser must needs have another yacht It is said that the IIohenzollern is not near- ly large enough to accomodate the Emperor's staff and suite when he assumes the coni- mand of operations at. sea, and the Budget 'ouimittee of the Reichstag have meaning- ly included in the naval estimatesa grant of 4,500,000 marks (nearly £225,000) for a new Imperial yacht. The Sultan owns no fewer than ten yachts, all of which are of British build. Of these the most important is the Sullameh, which dates from 1861. She is three hun- dred and sixty-four feet long, and has a displacement of 2902 tons and a horse-power of 800; The Asxar-i-A'usret and the .lIedar- i-Zafler are of 1344 tons and 350 horse- power each; while the ’l'eraid, Ismail, Oualir, and Izzeiliu are rather smaller. “0t far Short Of a l The remaining three are the Stamboul (909 tons and 350 horse-power), the Relhimo, and the Sure go. All ten are paddle-yachts. The Italian royal yacht, the Samia, is re- markable for her size and power as well as for the completeness of her armament. In fact, she is more of a war-ship than a plea- sure~shi . Built at Castellamare inlSS3, she is a dec -protected cruiscr of 2800 tons dis- of Her Majesty’s private fleet, is the second 1 pllacement and 4150 indicated horse-power. of her name. \Vheu she was laid down at Pembroke in 1355 it was as the Windsor Castle ; but at her launch in 1854 she was given her resent name, the old Victoria. aucl Albert eing then renamed the Osborne, which was broken up in 1808. _ The present Victoria and Albert is three hundred feet long and rather over forty feet broad, has a displacement of 2470 tons, and engines of 2980 indicated horse-power. . Her spacious cabins and saloons are furnished and decorated in the most. luxurious and artistic style, and she has the reputation of being not only a fast but a comfortable ves- sel. She carries a crew of one hundred and fifty-one officers and men. It cost £176,820 to build her; and keeping her afloat has en- tailed an additional ex cnditure of more than £337,000â€"so thata together more than half amillion has been spent on her. The Al. berm and the Osborne were also built at Pem- broke, in 1863 and 1870 respectively. About £70,000 was laid out on the former, a vessel. of three hundred and seventy tons ; while the latter, with a displacement of “eighteen hun- dred andfifty tons, costnearly £134,000. Like the Victoria and Albert, the Osborne is a pad- dlecsteamer. She is two hundred and fifty feet long and thirty-six feet broad, her indi- cated horse-power is 3360, and her crew con- sists of one hundred and forty-five all told. As during her comparatively short life of nineteen years the Osborne has cost over £150,000 for maintenance, it is somewhat. surprising to be told that she now stands in need of a large further outlay to render her serviceable. Her Majesty, as is well known, makes very little use of her little squadron of yachts. oxcsou TWICE A YEAR one or other of them is rcquisitioned to con- vey her across the Solent ; and on rare oc- casions she crosses the Channel in one of them ; but nearly all the year round they are lying idle. Being all built of wood, they decay rapidly, and would soon fall to pieces if they were not constantly overhauled and patched and painted. Economists urge that these four old wooden ships, on which large sums have been spent year by year, should at once be replaced by one or two new stccl yachts c {a modern type. Dry. rot cannot attack a steel ship, and though it may cost more to build, it would cost far less to keep in repair. lint it must not be supposed that Queen er len th is two hundred and seventy-five feet anr her breadth forty-two feet. She is furnished with four twoand-a-quartcr inch quick-firing guns" and six machine-guns, in addition to which she carries two torpedo discharging tubes. The 11! iramar, the principal yacht of the Austrian Emperor, was built in England in 1872. She is a fast iron paddle-ship of 1830 tons and 2500 horse-power, and measures two hundred and sixty nine feet by thirty~two feet. Another British-built royal yacht is the Amphitrue, belonging to the king of Greece She was built eleven years ago, and is a s‘teel paddle-ship, havin a displacement of 1028 tons and an indicate horse power of 1800. ' . The .lIahroma, owned by the Khedive of Egypt, is a yacht of imposingdimensions, but is now sadly out of repair. She measures three hundred and sixty feet by forty-two feet ; her displacement being 3142 tons and her horse-power 6400. She was launched in 1865, and used to be capable of steaming ei hteen knots an hour. ‘ he king of Denmark’s yacht is the Dan- nebrog, an iron paddle-ship of 760 tons and 800 horse-power, built at Copenhagen in 1880. The Skoldmon, the Swedish royal yacht, was built of iron in l868, and. has a displacement of 1028 tons. The Prince of Roumania’s yacht, the Stefan cel M arch was built in 1866. She is an iron paddle-ship of 350 tons and 570 horsepower. _ Among Asiatic potentates the king of Siam, the Mikado, the Sultan of J chore, and the Rajah of Sarawak are yacht-owners. The yacht at present used by the Mikado is he Sin-in, an iron screw-steamer of 300 tons and 270 horse-power. She was built in 1856, and will soon give place to a new and large vouchâ€"Chamber! Journal _________..__.â€"-â€"- Dost Like the Cherry ‘2 A fruit dealer on Market street, in- censed at the liberties taken by loafers and friends with his stock displayed at the door, placed half a gallon of cayenne pepper pods in abasketv, labelled it, “New Zealaud Cherries,” and hung it in a conspicious place in front of his stand. In a few minutes the next door merchant saun- tercd up, inquired how trade was, picked up a New Zealand cherry placed it in his mouth and suddenly left to attend to a cus- tomer. Rev. Dr. llolby next rounded to. Viciml‘fs Filth“ 903‘ "10”: um“ those 0f: observed that it had been years since he had any other monarch. the fact. Among crowned boat's the Em- peror of Russia ranks first as a yacht-owner. \thn, ten years ago, the late Czar ordered the notorious Lirmlia to be built, he was alrczuly the owner of half-a-dozen fine yachts. All things considered, it must be allowed that tho‘Lirarlia is the strangest and most useless yacht that has yet been seen. To secure the Imperial family against sea- sickncss, she was built with a breadth (one hundred and fifty~thrcc feet) equal to about two-thirds of her length (two hundred and thirtyd‘ine feet); and in order to give her greater speed and make her handler than other ships, she was supplied with engines indicating 10,500 horse-power and with three screws. On heramplcdcck was reared a veritable palace : and had she fulfilled the expectations of her designers, she would no doubt have been 'i‘ur. nos’r MAGNIFICENT YACHT that ever floated, nlbcit the ugliest. So far, however, from “walking tho waters like a thing of life," she behaved in a generally awkward manner, and, in short, turned out a grotesque and monstrous failure. 'l‘o-day, with licrnnme changed to the Opyl, she figurcs as a sort of barracks somewhere in the Black Sea. The Lilmlia was constructed at flovan, and launched in 1880. Altogether, thcrc can be little doubt that over half a million pounds was spent on her. \Vhen the \Vhiic Czar goes for a sea trip now, it is in the 1). rjm-u, a wooden paddleship, built in St l’ctcrsburg in 1871. She is three hundred and clcvcn fcct longand forty-two feet wide, has a displuccincnt of 3346 tons and engines of 2700 horse-power, and her internal ar- mugcmculs are on the most magnificent scale. The L‘zar is, lunvcvcr, now having built. also at St. l‘cmmburg, n 'r.cht which is to surpass in splendourâ€"mud in costli- nch too, one may safely predictâ€"every othcr in the world. The I’olarunia. Switch is. to be a twin-screw vessel of 3346 tons and 6000 horse-power. and measuring three hundred and tiitccn fcct by forty-six fcct. His Imperial Majesty‘s other steam- vachls are the iron single-screw schooner l‘nirsmm, of 796 tons, built at Hull in 187-1: the juiddle-yncbts .â€"llr.mudria and Stri'elaml, built on the Thames in 1851 and 1887: the scrcw Slarimilu, launched at Hull in 187-} ; the Munro, the Zion. and the Still-a. Be- sides these, he has several small sailing- vachts. ' The young German Emperor is also a considerable yacht-owner. In addition to several little river-craft, he has a frigate-yacht, which was built at “'oolwich in 1832, and sent by Kin \\'illiain IV. as a present to the king 0 Prussia. She was modelled-like the old Royal Adelaid-x mentioned aboveâ€"after the mnnwnrd English frigate l’iqm, and ass youth the Emperor William was very fond of sailing her. Thu-l3 is in" from belllg‘tasted a New Zealand cherry, whereupon he ate one, remarked that it was superb, wip- ing his eyes on his coat sleeve, supposed that New Zealand was getting warmer e very year, gave the dealer :1 look of lingering rc- proach, wished him good morning and dis- appeared, lamenting the growmg weakness of his eyes in the sunlight. A chronic dead beat then came up, took a mouthful of cherries, splnttercd them out .with an im- prccation hotter than the fruit, stuffed a pear, banana, and a bunch of grapes into his mouth to take out the fiery taste, inform- ed the innocent fruit dealer that he would have him prosecuted for keeping green fruit, and hurried down the street to a pump. A lady with two children next appeared, stopped to admire the cherries, asked if she mightn‘t taste themâ€"she had 'never seen any beforeâ€"supplied the children, and walked away with a face fiery with scorn and anger, whilst the children set up a bowl that brought all the )eople to the doors and windows and above a l the policeman off the street. Thus the fun went on all the morn- ing. The fruit dealer never laughed so much in all his life. The occupants of the adjacent and opposite stores and a shoal of small boys soon learned what was up, and watched for the proceedings, eagerly join- ing in a ringing roar as each new victim tried the cherries. Finally a solemn looking countryman loungcd up, inquired the price of them ’cre New Zealand cherries invested in a pint and put one in his mouth, took. it out again, gave the fruit dealer a \vitheriug look, threw off his coat- and waded into him. “'hen he left the fruit man with tendencies to practical jokes had a black ere, a. red nose, a purple face. a sprained wrist, a torn collar and several baskets of fruit scattered romiscuously around among the small mys, while a ringing roar of laughter was going up from the on-lookcrs. ~+__.._â€"-â€"â€"- Baby- Ouc little head of golden hair. Two little cheeks so round and fair, Two little lips with fragrant sighs, One little nose and two blue eyes, Two little hands as soft as a peach, Two little feet with five toes each, Two little smiles and two little tears, Two little 1c and two little ears. Two little e1 rows and two little knees, One little vrunt and one little sneeze, One little mart, but no little sins, Plenty of skirts and lots 0‘ pins, One little cloak and plenty of frocks, One little hood and two little socks, A bi ' disposition to haul and to pull, One little stomach that's never fall One little mouth of the rose's tint, One little bottle of peppermint. â€"â€"-â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"c.._.â€"â€"â€"â€" Saved by a scratch -â€"Your The Kaiser's chief yacht lSiguamr“ ‘0 3 Check- Hohenzollern, an iron" paddle-ship I My morning ‘Then sing the boar, the mighty boar, ! And here's to all who fear no fall, Youth’s daring spirit, manhood’s fire, Then sing the boar, the mighty boar, l \g A A nusnngsorg: ‘_ " The boar, the-mighty hour’s ‘ “'hat'er the Wise may" say, ‘ ' ' « thought, my midnight dreamy My hope throughout the‘day. ' u . Fill high the cup with me, And the next gray boar We see. Stout heart, and eagle eye, Doth he require who would aspire To see the wild boar die. ' Fill high the cup with me, And here’s to all who fear no fall, And the next gray boar we see. “’9 envy not the rich their wealth, Nor kings their crowned career ; The saddle is our throne of health, Our sceptre is the spear Nor envy we the warrior’s pride, Deep stained with purple gore, For our field of fumes the jungle side, Our foe the grim gray boar. \Vhen age oath weakened niannoou‘s' powers, And every nerve unbraced, The joys of youth will still be ours, 0n meniory’s tablets traced ; And with the friends whom death hath spared, , \Vhen youth’s bright course is run, “'e‘ll tell the dangers we have shared And the spears that we have won. ,. . . 011081": . . . Then sing the boar, the ,mighty boar, Fill high the cup with me, And here’s to all who fear no fall, And the next gray boar we see. The Lord’s Mink Farm. Lord “'yiiford stopped at North Platte, Neb., during his tour of the prairies. He seemed greatly pleased with the Wild \Yest and intimated that he would like to invest some money in something good. There was a sharp young Irish lawyer in the town, whose parents had' had some unpleasant dealings with Lord “’ynford in the old country. This 'oung lawyer had lived in North Platte about two years. He came there to examine a claim he had purchased on paper. To his disappointment his farm was nothing but a prairie~d0g town. You could not raise even sage brush on the claim, so close to ether were the burrows of the little anima 3. He had about given up all hopes of disposing of his land when he learn- ed that Lord \Vynford was looking for a good investment. Then he called upon the wealthy foreigner and offered for sale what he called “the most profitable industry in America.” He told the British Lord that he had been ten years establishing a mink farmer, and just as the enterprise was beginningx to coin money he was oblig- ed to go Soul: on account ofhis poor healtn. He explained how the minks were raised, how their skins were disposed of, and the rent demand for mink fur in this country. The young Irishman pledged Lord \Vynford to say nothing of the deal, as his mink farm was only known to a few who were in simi- lar enterprises. Then he drove his guest out to the prairie-dog farm. V Here an extensive tract- of land, destitute of trees and alive with little animals that burrowed in the ground and barked like a small dog, was thoroughly inspected. ,The possibilties of furnishing the “'est with mink for in the Autumn delighted Lord VVynford, and returningto the city he gave $5000 for the dog town. He owns it now, and tho good-for-nothing place is called “ the Lord‘s mink farm.” To Regulate the Sale of Meat. A bill introduced into the British House of Commons to “regulate the sale of foreign and colonial meat ” will, if passed, have an important effect on the import trade, though whetherits bearing will be relatively unfavorable to live imports, such as those from Canada, may be doubted. It provides that it shall not be lawful to sell or expose for sale any foreign or colonial meat unlessn conspicuous Sign is placed over the shop to indicate that the meat is foreign or colonial. No such meat can be sold except at these labelled shops unless notice is given in writing to the purchaser that such meat is from abroad, and unless also the pur- chaser shall have expressly ordered colonial or foreign meat. Furthermore, carts used for conveyance or sale of such meat must also be labelled. However, the bill, it may be assumed, will not pass at present. But its introduction is significant of the tendency, not merely on this continent, but in England, to resort to petty and meddlesome legisla- tion on the very slightest pretext and re- ardless of the loss of time and expense in- icted on individuals, and the burden the public at large have thus to bear in main- taining a host of inspectors and regulating officers, whose numbers threaten to become as great as those of private citizens making a living in a better way. Persian Flower Worship. A recent traveler in India gives the following description of flower Worship as practiced by the Persians in Bombay. A true l’crsian, in flowing robe of blue, and on his head a sheepskin hatâ€"black, glossy, curly, the fleece of Kan-Kal-â€"â€"would saunter in and stand and meditate over every flowr r he saw, and the ideal flower he was seeking found, he would spread his unit and sit before it until the setting of the sun, and then fold up his mat again and go home. And next night, and night after night until that particular flower faded away. he \voulcl return to it and bring his friends in ever- incrcasing troops to it, and they Would all together pray there, and after piavcr still sit before it, and sit and pl Ly ibi- guitar or lute before it, sipping shorth and talking the most hilarious and shocking scandal late into the moonlight. and .10 “on every evening until the flmvcr din-d. 5.1m. times by way of a grand finale. I'm- whole company would suddenly arise before 7.110. flower and serenade it together with an ode from Hafiz and depart. tending Up For Her Friend- .\lr. Hankinson (at the party)â€"-“\\'hat a dainty cater .‘liss Kajones is 3 Miss Kcrsmith (bosom friend of Miss Kajoncslâ€"“Indced, Mr. Hankinson, you «’0 the dear girl injustice. After her tea and an gel cake at a magnet like this you have never seen her at home in front of a plate of cold sausage." It was an Austin girl who married nthif- ,, . ‘ ). .. L“le 3 teen, so that she could have her golden wed- ding when it would do her some good. . specially mlculntedto 'places, here he is welcome ! K. ,4 - r 6": .: BY KATE TIIORN. ‘ If there is anything specially planned, and try a man’s faith in the eternal wisdom and fitness of all things, it is having to wait for a train at a country railroad station. ~ The train that he is going to take is gen- erally behind time; tAnd he is in a' hurry. All people ’who are going on t sins-are a hurry." . 1 - . The station is always located in the hot- test and most uiiinviting "lace in that part of the country. Sand is all around it. Shade trees are unknown. Grass, which is dnc‘of the most democratic species of all vegetation, fights shy of it. The , station ,itsself is, an,,anomaly in_ the'way of architecture. Theman who plan- ned the first railroud’stution everbuilt in the country town has reason to congratulut c himself on having struck something new un- der the sun. And it was so near perfection that no suceeding architect has ex er felt him- self able to improveupon it. , , And there it stands to-day, hundreds of it, all over our land, as a )erpL-tu -.l monu- ment to the genius of that first builder. No blinds, no shades ; the routs yellow settecs,’the water supply a pump before the door, the. ornaments on the walls framed advertisemtents of steamship lines, and “Fiz- zleton’s Great Soap Discovery ;" and the flies are there in fullforce to cheer the heart of the weary waiter, and make him feel that though the world may frown on him in other .i ‘ The ticket-office is generally closed, which proves that the official in charge is a wise man. He knows better than to wear out his precious life dancing before that win- dow, looking for travelers who never come to buy tickets. 5' ' p . e v' 1 ' 5‘ He takes his rest on‘the shady side of the house, on a settce, with a cigar and a novel to help him take it easy: He is a philoso- pher, and indeed he needs, to be, since no 'other man 'could survive a'inoutli of life at'a country railroad station. He has his little diversions, no doubt. \Vhen the Sunday-school fpicnic starts out, and when the circus comes to the next town, and when some farmer’s cow is run over and killed, and the people round about drop in to tallgit over, mulspeculatc on whether or not the otvner of the animal is likely‘tp get damages. ; i ‘ ' g.“ But the man who is'waiting for the train has none of these little interests to cheer him. \Vhen he has read the advertisements on the wallshand looked up and down the . track, and peered at his glowering image in" the cracked looking-glass, and looked twenty times at his watch, and the same number of times at the time-table, he is ready to give his kingdom for the sound of a Ideomotive whistle. ' ' ' ' ' " And the old woman who comLs in with her bundles, and the young woman who comes in with her crying baby, are welcome as the flowers in spring. »He never before realized how entertaining a crying baby might be under. some circumstances. Some- thing to look atâ€"something to listen to. He studies the old woman’s bonnet, and he counts the buttons on the baby’s cloak, and he wonders what is in the big bundle, and what is in the little box, and then he looks at, his watch again, and compares it' with the clock, and finds that the clock has been stopped an hour, at the least calcula- tion. . _ By and by the ticket-seller comes leisure- ly in and opens his little window. Oh, what an encouraging sound it is ?â€"-sweeter than music to the ears of the weary waiter. He rushes up and gets his ticket. Then he sits down and reads it all over. He never dreamed that a railroad ticket could be such interesting reading. He has never before looked upon that sort. of literature as worthv of notice. \Vcll, circums anccs alter cases, and you do not know what you might be driven to consider as entertainment until you have waited for a train at some country railroad station. Man's Best Friend. First and foremost, woman is man’s best friend : Because she is his mother. Second, because she is his wife. Because without her he would be rude, rough and ungodly. .Bccausc she can with him endure pain quietly and meet joy gladly. lccausc she is patient with him in illness, endures his fretfulness and “ mothers” him. Pecanse she teaches him the value of gentle words, of kindly thought and of con- sidcration. llecmsc on her breast he can shed tears of repentance, and he is never rcmindcl of them afterward. ' Because she has made for us a beautiful world, in which we 8111 old be proud to live and contented to die. lecausc she will stick to him through good and evil report, and always believe 111 him, if she loves him. lecause, when he is behaving like a frctful boyâ€"wand we all do, you know, at, timesâ€"with no reason in the world for it, woman‘s soft word, touch or glance 'will make him asbnmcd of himself. as he ought. to be. lieuausc without her as an incentive he would grow lazy: there would be no good work (inlic. there would be 1m ll'llllt' lmliks written, them.- would be no bountiful piclurcs painted, 1l1('ll: would be no divine strains of melody. lemmeâ€"and this is the best reason of all- 4v} n the world had reached an uncu- viablc stair: of \vickcllm-sss the blessed iasl: of bringing it a Saviour for all mankind was “1, ,UL .11,” “was j,“- 5,.c,,,,,1' THE COUNTRY WHOM) STATION: '2 ,K GREATGANB mamas. Xv. Carroll Calls“ It the Gina‘s: from“! m the World. ,Ro a1 Phelps (kn-roll has returned from his s noting trip in'thc une. lored wilds of Africa, where he taught the e ephnnts of the “Masai country, for the first time, to respect. the sound of the rifle. Mr. Carroll has naturally bror ht back with him hosts of good Atories' : {big game, which he tells, ‘u n with the unostentatious test. 0 the true sportsman. Contrary to the 'habit of most African hunters, he deals neither in the iii-venous nor the heroic. 3 “AB forlions, .said he, 3. fa“: days ago, “you don‘t run across them every day, you know, even though the Masai consider them sacred and never kill them. They are plenti- ful enoughâ€"afar too plentiful for.r the good of the edible game of the land, and even for the safety of the people. lint they keep very quiet in their jungle strongholds, and it is only by chance on now and then run across them. If had been after lions par- ticularly no dpubt- thenatives, who know their ways, could have found me their hiding .placbs; As it wasflwas in Africa for elephants and did not look for more lions than I met by the way. Lions were all round camp, however, every night. \Ve could not see them, for they kept well outside the line of camp fires, but we constantly heard them. They made a most peculiar noise. The lion‘s cry is not the thunderous roar that people think. Ima ins a noise resembling a grunt, and yet wit 1 something of the dignity of a roar, and you will about have it. '.\‘ ith day- light, however, tho lions disappear. “I had good chances at seven lions, yet I only got one of them. That fellow was a camp follower. He had been after us for a. day or two. One morningl caught a glimpse of him” grabbed my b express, and follow- ed. 1' cauglft $1gllt0f’i 'm once and fired. llc (lashed into the brush. I followed him. Soon I got another chance and fired again. Again he dishppcnacd in the brush, and I after him. After about half an hour of this he turned. It was in an open. I saw him swing around a tree, face me, and crouch. I' took a careful aim and fired. He disappear- ed.~ But I found him not far off with his shoulder broken. “Once I had a chance such as very seldom offers to a sportsman, and I lost it because -_ of sin attack ofigggnuine buck feverâ€"lion ~ievéréI suppose youmight term it in this cage. 2, I might 1:5ch baggedfive lions on the spot if it hadn’t been for that. i I “It happened this way. I was beating through envy jungle, my big est English ex ressron my arm, andsom‘e o? my ‘pcople be ind carrying other loaded weapons hand me in case of need. I was after an elephant. I broke tlu'ou 'h a mass of ex- ccptionall'y heavy » bros , and suddenly ‘found‘myself on the verge of. a precipice. The rocks shot prccipitately down at my feet for thirty yards or more, and arose again as precipitatcly on the other side of a. 50-foot chasm, at the bottom of which rushed a mountain torrent. The opposite edge of the chasm was clear of brush and covered for some distance back with a lux- uriant growth of fine grass about. three feet high. \Vhile Ik'wus studyin the lay of the land a hugli tawny head wit 1 flowing more _,liop ed up ou‘t'of the grass opposite, and the nick of a great lion became visible. He did not see me. At the same time I caught sight of a huge lioness, and presently made out three nearly grown cubs. They were all in the grass, all in short range and all easy prey. I had no excuse whatever for fear, because not one of them, if enraged, could leap that chasm in the teeth of a rifle, and I had plenty of good rifles close by in the hands of my men. But the unexpected chance upset me. I became most- unreason- ably excited. I fired at the big one with my big express, and, without any possible excuse for it, missed him. ‘ '.\ly men passed me up ride after rifle, but I got more rat- tled at every miss, and the lions all go away. It was a most disagreeable, not to say disgusting, experience. A Far-off Star. It is difficult to conceive that the beauti- ful dog star is a globe much larger than our sun, yet it is a fact that Sirius isa sun many times more mighty than our own. This splendid star, which, even 1110111‘11103t.p()w~ .erful telescopes, appears as a more pomt of light,is in reality a globe emitting so enor- mous a. quantity of li'rht and heat that were it to take the place o our sun every creature on this earth would be consumed by its burn- ing rays. Sirius shining with far greater luster than any other star, it was natural that astrono- mers should have regarded this as being the nearest of all the “fixed” stars: but recent investigation on the distances of the stars has shown that the nearest to us is Alpha (,Tcntauri, a star belonging to the southern latitude, though it is probable that Sirius is about fourth on the list in order of distance. For though there are about fifteen or twcnt stars whose distances have been conjocturcr , fin: astronomer knows that in reality all of them, save three or four, lieént distances too great, to be measured by any instruments we have at present. Astronomers agree in fixing the distance of the nearest fixed star at 'J‘EJKXMXXMXX) miles, and it isccrtain that the distance of Sirius is more than three and less than six times that of Alpha (,‘cntauri, most likely about five finicu, so that we are probably not far from the truth if we act the distance of Siriusai about l(MAXWJNKIJNK),000, miles. “hat 1 vast distance is this that separates us from that bright star ! \\'ords and figures flicnzsolvrs fail to convey to our minds any mlr-qnulc idea of its true charac‘wr. To take a «.zouunon triumph: of illuitrat- iug such enormous distances. It is calcuâ€" lated tin: flu: ball from an arm-strong 100- poundi-r quits the gun with the speed of Now, if this ElV‘f“ 1” =‘-_ “mu-“II. Which was God‘s “VP-3’ ‘fl velocity urnild bu kept up it Would require setting 11F seal of approval “11 lltf‘ “‘ll” 35 no lower that 100.0001”), years before the inotlxvr, wifc, daughter and swr;ct'm::rrl, and, therefore, man's best friend. The Rational Failing. Jacksonâ€"“ I'm going to start n. new pap-H er, and I-tbink I’ll call it The Umbrella." Merrittâ€"â€"“ Why-g" .lncksonâ€"“ lle~ use cverylndy who sees it will take it." Merritt -â€"~“ Yes, )cople would take it, but they wouldn‘t pay for it." ,__.â€"_.â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€".' ,. a John," said Mrs. .l., " you were talking all night in your sleep about a jack-pot. What is a jack-pot“ John tscornfully)â€" ” You know what a .I'iffl'. rose is, I supposle Well, they can grow in pan, can't they 2" 1 ball could reach Sirius. Sweet Girl. "Maria." “Yes, Tom." ' “Moria-~1â€"â€"nh." T: “Yes, Tom." ' * “Marin, do youwthnt is~â€"" “Yes, 'l'om." ‘p‘U, will you marry me 2" .“Yes, Tom. That in the fourth time I've said it. I knew what you were driving at. all tthime." a _ Small 0 e. Inquisitive mum..-” Do you ever get any money from tender-hearted people 1" German Tmmpâ€"“ ()1), some dimes." m 1.2:; l l l 1 l l l V. 1.x”). a; - . . “W. .2': 3:. ewes"? 4-5.... 1 I