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at.» MAICHMAKING IN CHINA‘ â€"â€" "When Iget married," is a phrase that singLe men, as well as single wo- men, an fond of using. Crusty old bachelors are occasionally taken un- sw‘ares with it on their lips. and even they dwell on the words softly, some- times regretfully. The young people of China do not know this pleasure. And while [miny women approaching the borderiand of spinsterhood in this coun- try and mhny men who have been dis- appointed in some affair of the heart my be inclined to think that marriage customs and laws here are all wrong. it is doubtful if any one could be found in this country who 'would not most seriously object to substituting the Chinese customs of courtship and mar- riage. The fact is that in China the persons most interested have nothing whatever to do with the matter. The Rev. S. G. Miner, a missionary in China, says in a pamphlet issued for the in- fbrmation of his friends, that the young people there are usually betrothed at a very early age, sometimes when mere mbes. , ‘ , . : - I This is the way they go about it. Frequently a man having a friend I. a. similar station in life proposes to give his daughter in marriage to his friend's son. They have matchmakers and go- betweens in China just as here. but they work in an entirely different way. It is at this stage of the game that the matchmaker is called in. The chil- dren's horoscopes are cast, and for some ya the matter is weighed by both fimilies. The fate of the unconscious young people hinges on trifles during this period. If any accident happens in either family, such as breaking a piece of china or glass ware, or losing a trifl- ing article, it is regarded as a bad omen, and the match is declared off then and there. But if all goes smoothly the parents decide that: the betrothal is de- sirable, and immediately presents are exchanged, the parents of the (girl coming in for the greater share. Among the ifts two cards are exchanged by the auiifiies. One is ornamented with a. lit dragon, and has written upon If; in urination relating to the good pomts and shortooluiings of the boy. Of course the shortcomings are few and for (be- tween, since Chinese boys are consul- ered nearly perfect beings by their parâ€" ents. The other card is decorated with the picture of a phoenix, and gives stin- ilar ‘informatioiii about the girl. A thread of red silk with a needle at each end is passed through each of these cards, which are preserved with the be- trothal p' pers in the two families. The red silk Signifies that the feet: of peo- le destined to be married are tied to- gether with invisible cords. Lovers in. this country generally think that their showing for agreat degree of hap- iness in marriage is a poor one unâ€" éss their hearts are tied together in this way. These Chinese engagements are as binding as marriage, although tie contracting parties may be in ab- s lute ignorance of the arrangement. :Very sad surprises constantlly occur at Chinese weddings. So do they at our weddings, or, rather, after them, for that matter. But they aren’t the same kind of surprises. Frequently in China no communication takes placebo- tweon the two families from the time of the betrothed until 'the wedding. Sometimes one of the families becomes very poor. or maybe one of the be- trothed couple becomes a. helpless crip- pfie, ora victim to leprosy or some inâ€" curable disease. Mr. Miner says that he knows of one instance where the rospcctive bridegroom was an idiot; but nothingcould prevent the marriage. Frequently the betrothed girl is takâ€" on at once to the home of the boy's! parent‘s. There she is made to be a. servant for the family until the mar- riage ceremony is performed. l’oor nuptial blessing shall come to the young pair. ch1: they return to the reception room and worship in the same manner as before all the groom‘s seniq large Scarlet robe thrown over all. Al Scill‘lol’. silk or cloth veil covers her face I'nd head. With the assistance of her attendants she trips across the scarlet arpet laid for the occasion lxecause her ittls feet must touch nothing else, and takes her seat on the bridegroom's right. i: then removes her veil andl crown, t e curtain is drawn, and theI two are suppOSed, without so much as lti ping at each other, to sit and bin , without speaking, until prepara- tions for the service are completed. Ten to one they get a pretty fair idea of what each other looks like out of the tail of their oblique eyes, if they are anythin like lovers the world ovenl during is period of waiting. ‘When everything is ready the bridegroom reâ€"l crowns his bride and they walk to the reception room. A Chinese reception room would make the average Canadian, with his idea ofl what a reception room should be, open his eyes. The whole end of it is open: and looks out. upon an open court. Hither the couple make. their way, and by bowing their faces to the groundi four times worship heaven and earth! her until they meet two of the bride- groom's nearest ot kin, when they hand her over to the care of her new pro- tectors. All her other relatives remain at home and bewail her loss as if she were going to her burial instead of her bridal. which. in most; countries. is be- lieved to be the happiest event .of a woman's life. Not one of her_ km or friends ever attends the wedding._ Upon her arrival at the bride- groom's home two women attendants stand ready to receive the bride and serve her dur' the days_of ceremony and festivitym'fhe chair is. set down, and as they open it a child and an old woman who has many sons and grandsons come forward and formal- ly invite the bride to accompany them to the bridegroom‘s chamber. _ They find him sitting there attired in offi- cial cap. gown. and boots. The bride woars parti-colored garments with a or relatives. and are worshipped in turn by all his junior relatives . . . The climax of the day’s festivdies is a grand marriage feast, after which the guests of both sexes are permitted to inspect. the bride and make any personal remarks they please about her appearance or her dress. Every Chinese bride has to pass through this ordeal, and furthermore she must ap- pear perfectly unconsmpus of blame or praise of harsh criticism or friendly judgment. It has always been said that the Chinese women have most amiable disposi'ions. and they must to stand. this trial. If possmle on the following day the wedded couple VlSll’. the bride's parents. If she has a lot of big brothers woe to the bridegroom unless he hands them out a good deal of cold cash; he is liable to have some- thing of aselrenade otheIWise. W RUSSIA’S ROAD THROUGH CHINA. â€"--1 Advantages Guaranteed to the Government and the Company; The statutes of the East China Rail- way Company have been approved by the Emperor of Russia and promulgat- ed by the Senate. and come into force, on Feb. 16. No time is being lost in pushing on the preliminary surveys. A special commission, consisting of sev- eral Russian engineers, one French en- gineer, and some Chinese officials, is engaged on the work. M. Jugovitoh has been appointed chief engineer, and he has undertaken that the line shall be completed within five years. It seems that the line will be construct- ed with French capital by French en- gineers, under the control and with the guarantee of the Russian government, but nominally will be a Chinese line, administered ‘by China. The Russian influence, however, will be so great 'as to make it practically a Russian line, ~and should occasion require, there can be little doubt that the Russians will seize all the advantages mentioned in the treaty, the terms, of which they seemed so anxious to disclaim. By the terms of the agreement the company is bound to convey all the Russian trains which may be supplied at the Transbaikal or Ussuri termini, and they have to undertake that the speed shall not be less than on the Siberian railâ€" ways. It will receive and despatch with the utmost diligence telegrams for or from China, or for intermediate sta- tions, if at any time the ordinary tele- graph line be broken down. It under- take? that its rolling stock shall be up 0 THE LATEST REQUIREMENTS, and it agrees to conform to any di- rections of the Russian Railway Ad- ministration. In case the company should not. have funds to carry out these directions. it may always apply to the Russian Minister of Finance for a subsidy, a provision which gives great power to the Russian Government. The decision of the 'Minister of Finance in all disputes between the Russian and Chinese railways will be final. Tolls and rates of telegrams are to be fixed by agreement with the Russian Minis- ter of Finance for the whole period of eighty years, and are not to be al- tered without the consent of the Min- ister. The company shall convey free of cost the Russian mails and the Rus- sian postal officials. in addition, the Chinese Government has granted the company the following advantages: No taxes shall be levied on passengers or goods in transit, on railway fares or telegrams, Chinese customs dues for imports and exports by the Russian frontier shall be one-third lower than in the case of sea-borne goods. The company. further, is to have the privi- lege of importing its material and corn and other food supplies free of duty. Surely. between the paternal care of the Russian Government and the lib- eral concessions of the Chinese Gov- ernment, the railway ought to be a success. The shareholders evidently think so. as the capital has been sub. scribed many times over. If Chinese corruption and bad management do not wrovo too much even for the external influences at work. we may look for- ward to the line being completed with- in the time stipulated. and its effects will soon be felt in the for East. This} east China railway will place Russian THE RETIRED BURGLAR. __. A Host I’neomferuble Situation for Him and now He Escaped from It. "At the rear of a farmhouse that I was looking around one night," said the retired burglar, “I found an extension containing a single room that appear- ed to be used as a washroom: Ithought if I went in through this extension I should be less likely to wake up the folks in the house. and so I got in at a rear window and started for a door at the other end opening into the main part, which I hoped to find unlocked; but I never really did find out wheth- er it was unlocked or not, for when I had got about half way across the room I stepped through a hole in the floor and dropped into a cistern. " I suppose that of all the uncomfortâ€" able places a man can get into one of the most uncomfortable is a cistern. It is a very difficult place to get out of. and it may be impossible to get out of it without help. The water in this cistern was just. over my head, but I could swim, and the water wasn't very cold. I kept afloat and felt around the walls for something to climb out by. I did find something; the pipe from the pump; but it wasn’t of any use to me, for it left the cistern just where the walls began to arch over to form the top. If it had run up under the arch a little it might have helped 'me to reach the edge of the opening, but itf didn't; it started out from the top 0 . THE STRAIGHT WALL. It was on the side toward the house, and I suppose this cistern must have been outdoors, and they built the ex- tenston over it.- " I kept paddling all the time to keep my head above water, and every now and then I looked up at the opening I had dropped through. I could make out the outline of it by the starlight an the washroom, and I wished they hadn't left the cover off. And how I did Wish I could get my hands on that riml But the nearest I could get to it was about. two feet away. I found that by making a great effort I could reduce that distance to about a foot and a half, but that was all; and it up ht as well have been a mile and a alf. “Paddling around in the water one of my feet struck my tool log, lying on the bottom where I had dropped it when I first went down. The little bound from that, instead of from the floor of the cistern, which I had touch- ed a few times before, threw my head a little higher out of water than usu- al. and then I found the satchel with both feet and stood on it. That gave me the first rest I had had since I dropped mto the cistern. It raised me up as that my head was clear of the water down to just below my mouth; and I could keep in that position with- out very much effort and breathe easâ€" ily. It was a very great relief. " Then, of course there was a chance to think things over with some kind of comfort. I had my jimmy in my bag. a useful tool in many ways; and no doubt I could have got out of the cis- tern by the aid of it; but the work would have been very difficult, and it would probably have taken too long; and as a matter of fact I had already thought of a very much simpler way of getting out. Standing top of the. cistern. If I could get some- thing a. little higher still to stand on A FOOT HIGHER. or even less than that, I could reach the rim, and. of course, the thing to do was to end this bag up and stand on that. This seemed no extremely Smely that you may wonder I hadn’t thought of it before; but the falling into the cistern had been in the na- ture of a surprise to me, and I hadn’t ' got around to this idea yet; I would have thought of it I hadn't happened to strike the bag. with my feet. "_\Vell, I balanced myself on the bag as it was until I had got a good rest, and then I bent down andended the bag up on it to hold it, and then I stood up in the water foot on Then I found I could reach Within six or eight inches of the rim of the ctstem. :But it was a mighty in the water shaky support; rigid enough in itself, , with the bones it was wabby, and of no use unless I could get it right in line with my body' when Jumped. But I steadied it up under my feet, and trucd it up the . best I could and made aspring from it. I caught the rim of the cistern with both hands, and then I raised myself up and chinned it. Then I got my right elbow up'over onto the floor; and afâ€" ter that it wasn't very long before I had worked myself up over the edge and out,t but I didn't try to do any more work that night." ter, but. of course, it raised me just so much nearer the opening at the DAUGHTERS DRESS ALIKE. In Yucatan, Central America. sisters .dress precisely alike, even to the tying of a bow, the turn of a. button, or the The}. then .face right about. and \i'or- ; “mph-mm territory in du-ect commun- flower in the hair. In the tropics large 511”, the bridegrooms ancestors in like : imitlon. and open to French and Rus- families are the rule, and any day you manner. Next they worship each. oth~ er, or pretend to. and retire again to' the chamber. where the bride‘s crownl and veil are taken off for the last time. _; her hair is elaborately dressed, and the' bridegroom beholds her infill .hcri beauty. or ugliness for the first time: Then the wedding breakfast is served.: Nobody is allowed to partake of it ex-l or it the can )It‘. and ev_en the bride isn't i a! owed to 0 any eating. She just has{ to sit there motionless and watch thai bridegroom enjoy himself. During the meal the mist rcss of ceremonies chants a song {written for the oocaswn, in Which she predicts that every knowni thing! In addition. to hearing about "My mother's pics." ifthey have tes_in: China. she has to see her ‘mot er-tn-f law-elect prepare them day in and day out. sometimes for several years. Moree freov'““‘ hmvayer, the two who are’ «new; . f E)“ thro 11 life 2 other never see, eaciIoother'ifgfaces uti‘iIl after they are n and wife. In this event the bride brought to her new home on _ the wedding day in a hired bridal Cbalf. a! grand affair of flaming scarlet. sin or- atelv decorated. and carried by [our] oodles flee-sited by a band of mimic. Two of r near relatives accompany sian enterprise the whole of the densely populated area which it taps. French produce will pour into .the country along the railway at preferential rates. which will. no doubt, virtually exclude both British and German goods. Of the strategies] value of the line much might be said; but it may suf- fice to indicate that, assuming the con- tinuance of the Franco-Russian en- tente. it brings Russia. via_ Annam. to the very frontier of Burmah. PROLONG ED CONSIDERABLY. Do you think that it prolongs a man’s life to be insured? hes. replied the man who had ust been interviewed by an agent. it use something towards keeping him from being talked to death. w FREE BATES. \Veary \Vatkinsâ€"Wot you think of this scheme of free baths? Hungry Higginsâ€"They won’t get none from me. No man is goin' to pit me to bathe without paving me for it. : may see in that country girls in groups of from three to a baker's dozen, who belong to_ the same family. as their clothes will show. It is thus easy to distinguish the members of a family anywhere; and not infrequently sisters are called by their favorite flower or color. ‘In Annam men and women wear almost alike; ear rings and finger rings are worn by women only. Lapp men and women dress alike. The men and women of the Crete tribe of Amer- ica dress alike, but can be distinguishâ€" ed by the ornamentation of their leggings. that of the men being vertical and that of the women horizontal. -_.--.__._â€"__â€"_â€"-â€"- AFRAID 0F GUNS. Blinksâ€"I thought Illuffer challeng- ed you to a duel. You didn't weaken did you 1 - Jinksâ€"Not much. I accepted. What weapons? Guns. Eh? He‘s a dead shot. Wouldn‘t he ' fight 7 .\'o. I chose old-fabioned muskets of ' "'vkim; variety. and he backed out. on the bag I not only raised my head above the wa- ' in time, even if and got one foot - again and got the other - in it, but not fixed,-’ their hair in the same way, and dress, PRACTICAL FARMING. \\\\\\\\‘\\\\\~\\\ ~ \. -\‘\\\- MARKETING FARM ‘ BUTTER. I have read with interest all that has come under my observation on this sub- ject and have not yet found anything that gave any light to those that need it, says a writer. The only advice giv- en is sell to private customers. This. however. is impossible for the great ma- jority of this class of butter makers. The situation is simply this: Every good farmer's wife aims to supply her own table with good butter. She will take just as great pains to make what she expects to use as she would if she was making a large amount for some fancy trade. always remembering that there must be a difference in quulity in favor of the greater quantity made. To do this she must aim high enough to cover the entire year, and thus she will have a surplus at some season of the year. The amount is too small to pay for the drive to a special market. even if there was one within 8 or 10 miles. Private customers are not plen- ty in our country towns. who will pay you more than the retailer’s margin above the price at the store. I thought by giving our experience we could be of some help to that class of dairy wo- men. For many years we were patrons of the cheese factory, and took the ups and downs in price with our fellow patrons, until the fall of 1893, when we concluded that we could do better by making butter and selling to private customers. \Ve had no trouble to con- tract for the winter, to the first of April. at 250 per lb. A butter shipper said it had never bum done in that town before. It was to be an experi- ment both on our part and our cusâ€" tomers; \Ve had 8 miles of a drive every week, rain or shine. \Ve soon learned that there was not enough demand for butter at that price to pay us for the time and trouble. \Ve learned one thing. however. that was of some value, viz.: that our but;- ter was all right. This same butter shipper offered us no less than 16c. per 11)., and when the market went above that we would get the advance. _ This opened a new thought in our mind. If he could ship our butter at that price, why can't we ship it ourâ€" selves? \Ve are only 1 1â€"2 miles from the express office, aind 8 miles from his office. \Ve sent to one of the manâ€" ufacturing firms for small packages and had one sent by mail as a trial package. \Ve filled it with butter and paid express on it to our nearest city fmarket, as a sample. \Ve received a ifavorable reply, and after the first of April shipped our first; lot to the city. Our anxiety. mingled With fear. while waiting, must be experienced to be ap- preciated. All we had ever heard about the dishonesty of railroad employes and Icity merchants came to our memory. lBut in a few days we received a postal card stating: " Butter received. You .are credited at 23c. per lb. Butler 7 scarce in this market. Send more soon." i Butter here was worth 120, and we felt ‘all right. “Is have been sending that firm our butter ever since and have not lost one pound nor one penny. This summer we shipped them our eggs, also. at a good profit above what we could get at home. Last spring we persuaded a young iman just starting into the buying of Ebutter and e gs, to try our 2-lb paper packages. \ e let him have some to {make the trial and it was not long 'until he had a good market for all he would leave some empty packages of ‘would leave some empty packages at ' each house as he took up the. full ones. ‘On each package was pasted a label: 5"Manufacturcd forâ€"â€"-â€"- byâ€"â€"â€"." I-Ie paid them two cents extra for their 'work and sold it on orders at a fair 'margin, while all other butter bought on the road was handled at a loss to ' both parties. , The advantages are apparent at once. ‘The maker gets 2 cents at home. She iis accustomed to see the manufacturâ€" ‘er’s name on everything she buys, but 'to see her own name go before the ‘public as such. looks altogether differ- ent. This will spur her up to her best efforts. The buffer will reach the con- sumcr just. as it left the maker's care and in a much shorter time than the old way. Another plan would be for a few neighbors to unite and ship together. One should have no less than 30 lbs per week, or in at least ten days, to ship. They should, however. agree on some one system of making their but- ter so as to have a uniform quality as near as possible. \Vhile there is still much butler made that is inferior. there is also a great. amount. made that is good, but. the. methods used in getting it to market are all wrong. “'9, need a radical re- form in the line of business. The nutr- ket is wailing to receive it. Consumers are fast becoming educated in taste for "the better article. The manufacturers of these cheap small packages should advertise more frequently in our farm papers. DAIRY NO'l‘l~ZS. An inexperienced dairy hired man is dear at any price. He should not be engaged simply for his physical qual- ifications in milking cows aml clean- ing stables, writes George E. Newail in Ohio Farmer. If he is not a compet- ent dairyman you cannot conduct your dairy business profitably. lie is the inâ€" dividual under whose care the cows usu- ally come most. (in him devolve those little minor detaiLs of attention in the stable which if neglected or are im- properly performed. help to keep the cows down to a 825 per year income, when it should run over 850. Show me the dairyman who depends on transient or inexperienced help, and I will show you the one who never rea- lizes a profit from his ways. From‘my earliest recollections my life has been closely associated with milch .animais. milk. cheese and butter.'and I have studied with keen interest the revolu- tion of dairying. \Vliile the general advance in methods on the farm and in factory is not what it should be. in ’ ,_-_-I ___.- ‘_.--v~â€"â€"â€"-~.. â€"-â€" Vle\\‘ of the diffusion of dairy knt‘ ledge. more money is now being made from cows than ever before. ‘ Big dairy prices do not necessarily mean profit. The dsiryman who de- pends solely on the condition of the milk or butter market to measure his profits. can never be counted as real- ly succusful. 'Ihat the times are desperately hard for all engaged in agricultural pursuit: goes without saying. but. yet it should be remembered that there is as much money in the country as there ever was. a portion of which stands ready to be exchanged for necessary dairy products. This should sci as an incen- tive for datryinen to produce good “in- ter butter and lots of it. _ Despondeucy is infectious. and I be- lieve there are thousands of dairy~ men all over the land despondent at the hard times. who are not puttin forth half the effort they might. an should. to make their business pay this wuntep. _Now is the time to act, and by stirring briskly around you can make some profit. by making your cows make milk. Action is the life of dairy- ing, and unless you act, your cows will not. “hen I first embarked in the da- Lry business I wondered why I didn't make any money, but after a tints awakened to the fact that I was expect)- ilng my cows to do it all, while I stood by and watched their efforts. Cows count for only half of dairy capital. Their owner or their mana- ger counts for the other half. Thus you see how necessary it is that a dairy- mnn should be as good as his cons, 1897 “'1” prove a prosperous dairy year for those dairynien who strive inâ€" dividually to make it a success. Don't wait till next summer, but begin now. toâ€"day, and you will see that by increas- ed zeal and enterprise in feeding and care. the milk yield of your dairy will feel the stimulation even by to-mor- row. PIG FEEDING. The treatment of pigs intended for porkers and those intended for bacon should from the age of twelve or four- teen weeks be somewhat different. The former may be pushed on sharply and fed at least three times aday, says Na- tional Provisioner, but care should be . taken not to give more food at each meal than is thoroughly cleaned up. A good mixture of two or three sorts of ground corn. either scaldcd or steam- ed, with the addition of some boiled po- tatoes. mangels or swedes, and a lit- tle skim milk, will make porkors fit for the market in four or five months. Pigs that are intended for bacon should and for the first four or five months need only be fed twice a day, on such food as will promote rowih and ) duce flesh rather “1:511 fat,'but flfgy be allowed a fair amount of exercise should never be allowed to stop grova mtg nor to lose their suckers flash. W hen put to feed, the change to richer food should be gradual. Opinions vary very_much as to whether it is desirable {Silvia Imeal fraw1 or cooked; for my , iave ount tli 1‘ ' frtAin cooked food. 0 beat usulls ‘ s regards the diet on which bnco pigs should be fed, it is impossible til) lay down any hier and fast rules. The pig, of all animals, thrives best . .. on u. -mixcd diet, and every pig feeder must decide for himself what is the in’ ' that he can most economically mg regard to the produce ()I-illfi counâ€" ty. lhere is no doubt barley meal is one of the best all round foods for the production of good bacon, with the ad- dition of a small quantity of pen. or bean meal, and fourths flour. Maize meal is a most useful food in small quantities, but it should always be sixti- dedior boiled and never be used ox- clustyely, or as the principal ingrediâ€" ent in.food .where high class, strcaky bacon is dcsu‘cd, as its tendency is to produce fat. it _is of the ulmost ini- portanoe that pigs should be fed at regular intervals. When this is not at- tended to they become restless and do not thrive as they ought to do. The food should be varied from time to time. its; nothing promotes a good up- pciite like change of food. l _____ 0....“ COOKING FOR. TIIE KAISER. Since great men must live, and live very much in the same way as do their more humble admirers, one cannot but .get a glimpse now and again of those strictly personal-matters that reveal the common every-day life of uncommon people. Such a glimpse is afforded by a peep at the culinary arrangements of the German court, as given by a Ger- man paper. The German Kaiser is evidently not among the men who never trouble themselves about what they shall cat. Though the details of the royal meals are ordinarily arranged by the cm- prcss, yet on state occasions the cm- peror_liunsclf doigns to give the mat-- lcr his attention. in this case menu is pix-pared a week in advance. The actual cooking is done on iron stoves. The roasting room contains huge stoves of special construction lot into the walls, and a great turnspit worked by machinery. The department of the pastry-cook is one of immense importance, for the pastry must be embellished with all manner of elaborate designs round the edges of the dishes. They are made of dough, gilded or silvercd ovnr. and are strictly for ornament. for the are no tintcnded to be eaten. All inds of ornamentations, in the shape of fig- ures. hunting scenes and astlcs. are tobe seen on the dishes, most of them being made of dough or fat. and col- orcd or gilded. * The emperor is evidently not extrava- gant for he pays only astated sum lor_ each, cover at adinner, so that strict carefuan must be observed. For ordinary meals the rate is about a dollar and a half a cover. BIRTH DA Y SONGS. "Monday's bairn is fair 0' face: Tuesdays bairn’is fu' o' grace; Wednesday's bairn's a child 0’ woe, Thursday'sbarrp has far to go; Friday's bairn is lovin' and givin' Saturday‘s bairn works hard for a liv- m.’ But thc- bairn that is born on a Sabba' day. Is wise and bonny and good and Old Scotch Prover or.“ “k E: w... -~..- i.- . ~...-....-.~ ng ._......__-- N