Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph

Gelli. The visit of the Rev. Carey Bonner to Hope English Baptist Sunday School Guild on Sunday and Monday, August 29th and 30th, should attract large gatherings. The Rev. Carey Bonner is general secretary of the Sunday School Union, and has not visited this district before. He has devoted his life to Sun- day School work, and will, no doubt, have many valuable suggestions to offer as oolutions to Sunday School difficulties.

Local Invention. The concise description given below of a recent application for patent is contri- buted by Messrs. Howard and Co., Patent Agents, 57 and 58, Chancery Lane, Lon- don, W.C., who will assist readers in all 'patent matters: — COMPLETE SATISFACTION. 5916 D., 4, Trafal- gar Terrace, Ystrad, Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire. Hinges are securely fixed to doors by turning back upon itself that portion of the fixing-plate lying, between or on each side of the part of the plate that is bent round the pin of the hinge.

.,ALWAYS MANDY-A:Box THE EVER-READY HERBAL HE I Made solely from rich and rare herbal H juices, Zam-Bukis an ever-ready and un- H failing remedy for eczema, ulcers, bad leg, H ringworm, and piles. Soothing and anti- ■ septic, Zam-Buk is also recognised as the H ideal dressingforcuts, bruises, sprains, sore feet Hj and chafed skin, because it prevents festering H and blood-poisoning and heals naturally. H9 and blood-poisoning and heals naturally. H9

Presentation at Ton Pentre The departure of the popular cleric, Itiev. J. J. Williams, M.A., from St. David's Church, Ton, could not be allowed to take place without some mark of appreciation being bestowed upon him by the members of his Sunday School class. Accordingly, on Saturday even- ing, the 14th inst., a presentation meet- ing was held in the Central Temperance Hotel, Pentre. The host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. Collier, had provided an excellent supper, the quality and quan- tity being of the usual high standard, and the providers were congratulated upon their excellent catering. After supper, the chair was occupied by the Rev. D. Davies, Ton, one of the cham- pions of St. David's Church, who opened the proceedings with an excellent speech, inspiring those present to even greater enthusiasm. In dwelling upon the great loss to St. David's in losing Mr. Wil- liams, he congratulated the people of All Trealaw, on securing his ser- The programme for the evening included several songs, which were heartily applauded. The presentation of a small select library of valuable books was made by Mr." D. J. Smith, who wished Mr. Williams a successful future in his new sphere of life, while thanking him sincerely for the great assistance which he had rendered to the young peo- ple of Ton. Mr. P. Bailey also spoke of the abundant good qualities possessed by Mr. Williams, and of his readiness to utilise these to the best advantage for the good of others. The evening, was en- joyably spent, although the departure was much regretted by the numerous friends with whom Mr. Williams had be- come acquainted during his ministry in Ton. We compliment Mr. Willtams upon his past work, and trust that his efforts at Trealaw will be equally successful.

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THE SUNDAY CORNER. Often deep spiritual impressions come most unexpectedly, says Dr. David Thomas. It is night; the toils of the day are over, and the man has retired to rest. All is dark, lonely, and silent around him; the doors are fastened, and with conscious security he sinks into repose. But, see a vision approaches; it halts right before his eye, it illumines mid- night with its brightness, it breaks the silence with its voice, and delivers a message from the Everlasting. What a symbol this of a spiritual thought! It often comes into the chamber of a man's soul at night on his bed, breaks his slumbers, and shakes his spirit to its centre. Nothing can exclude it; no walls, gates, bolts, or locks can shut out a thought. He who made the mind knows its every avenue, and can reach it whenever and how- ever He pleases. He that liveth wickedly can hardly die honestly. Since our earthly life is spent, as it were, in the ante-room of the House Bea-titifi-il of the heavenly life, ISlrould we not adorn it with the bright trophies of spiritual victories, and keep it continually filled with the sweet fra- grance of kind words and deeds? One single fact is worth a shipload of argu- ment. True religion guards both eyes and feet. We walk as we see, if the mark of the prize has really won our heart. A thousand things may tempt to k-ft or right, hut-" I press on." Marathons are not won by zig-zag. Is not this to-day the besetting sin of professing Christians, that they are too easily be- witched "-as St. Paul said to the Galatians? They are too ready to turn to any path that promises ease, and they lose themselves in 3y-p.ath Meadows. Guard the eye, make level .J¡.e path-and walk straight on. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord. A man stood upon a height, overlooking an estuary of the sea. On the opposite shore was a bold headland. Wishing to cross thither he cast about to find a way, but the abyss of water lay between. Then One who stood beside him said: "The bridge is safe; ad- vance and fear not." But I see no bridge," said the traveller. Take this glass and look," said the One who stood at his side. And the man took it and looked, and lo! a bridge was spanning the great gulf of waters. Yet he saw but a small part of that end which was nearest. He went forward courageously, and, as he advanced, the bridge stretched out before him, though the farther end was still obscured. He marvelled much at this wonder, and inquired the reason. This glass," ex- plained the One who had led him to look, is Faith it gives spiritual vision and reveals that which is hid from the eye of flesh." Ad- vancing more confidently, he saw the bridge now more clearly, as its proportions were gradually disclosed. And he went on his way across, singing and rejoicing, for he was glad at heart. Those who follow after others in sinning. are in danger of following them in suffering. Someone suggests that another" R." be added to the immemorial "three u.'¡; of (-ducation--R,iglit living. It would be a good climax II," for it counts more than all the others put together. No young man is well educated unless he is trained in righteous- ness, and uses his knowledge daily. A missionary in Turkey tells of a poor widow, with five children, who was helped weekly by her church to the amount of ten- pence. Out of this she brought, week after week, one penny as her contribution to the services of the church and the support of the poor. At first the receiving deacon laughed. and said it was absurd to bring the church's money back to its own doors. The woman seemed deeply hurt, and with tears in her eyes said: "Is not the money mine, after you give it to me? And cannot I bring my tithe with others? If giving among the Christian nations were as generous, systematic, and re- gular as that o: this Turkish woman, the religious and benevolent needs of the world "auld be speedily and adequately met. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. • ♦ Do you enjoy praying? The Rev. J. h Jowett asked that question of a large congre- gation, saying that a vast number of Chris tians approached the time of prayer almost1 with reluctance. He said one reason is that! many who have become so accustomed to the phraseology in which they express •_ their prayers that they use words without thinking ,)f their meaning. When prayer becomes thoughtless it becomes forceless, and when if becomes forceless it just limps along in idle familiarity. An unlawful oath is better broken then kept. < "The peculiarity of ill-temper," says Henry Drummond, keenly, is that it is the vice of the virtuous." Young men and women who are sincere Christians, fighting against their other sins valiantly, will permit themselves a fit of ill-temper without scruple. Love, joy, and peace are the Christian's ideals. Can ill- temper be indulged and such ideais ever be reached? The gentleness of perfect freedom can only be won by the discipline of sel £ -restnaint. Have you never heard a public speaker say something to this effect, Don't teach a young man an old woman's religion"? One Y.M.C.A. speaker who made this remark has received a pointed but none too severe reply from one who signs herself An Old Woman." The speaker," she says, was urging young men to heroic activity in the Christian life, but does he forget that heroism sometimes takes the form of patient endurance and of unrecognised self-denial and self-effacement for the good of others? What shall be said of home-keeping women everywhere who bear and rear children, live lives of patient toil, enduring often many privations and hardships, do their share in neighbourhood and church life, and some times through much self-denial help theii children to better educational advantages than they have themselves known, women who sometimes out of their poverty give to charities and philanthropies and at the same time make happy homes whose genial hospi- tality even the heroic young man is some- times willing to share? ° < It In Bryant's poem, The Conqueror,' in which he is supposed to be speaking of his mother, as he stands by her grave, he says, in the opening line Within this lowly grave a conqueror lies,' and later in the poem he says of her: She met the hosts of sorrow with a look That faltered not beneath the frown they wore, And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took Meekly her gentle rule, and frowned no more. By that victorious hand, despair was slain With love she conquered hate, and over- came Evil with good, in her great Master's name.' The religion which could produce such a character as the poet here describes would not harm young men, if it could be taught' to them, but, alas! it cannot be taught,' it must be learnt by the inner way of experi- ence."

THE THIRD READER. In his early youth George Washington was a mere child. Even at that period, however, did he so deport himself as to earn the admiration of all who esteemed him. Alas! can this be said of other great men who were once little? When he was about six, Washington was made the owner of a little hatchet. The ceremony was simple and devoid of pomp, but dignified and complete. From that moment the hatchet be- longed to him. This is a pleasing thought to ponder over. On a memorable morning he thoughtlessly tried the edge of his hatchet on a fine cherry- tree in his father's garden. This was important. .Had the cherry-tree been in someone else's gar- den his father might not have asked with much warmth—for the day was a cold one-who had done the mischief. Then Washington realised that when he tried the edge of his hatchet on the cherry-tree the attempt had been successful. "General," said the parent, "do you know who destroyed this cherry tree while you were hewing it down? It was on his lips to reply, but Washington was silent for a moment. This is what is termed the "dramatic pause." Then, gazing at the audience to give full effect to his words, the American Fabius bravely shouted, "I cannot tell a lie! Ask the hatchet." Come to my arms, my heroic boy," cried the old gentleman, tears coursing down his visage. You have killed my cherry-tree, but I will not kill you!"—FRED SCHAEFER in the Brooklyn Citizen.

SHE LEARNT QUICKLY. I've never played cards in my life," de- clared Mrs. Flurry, seating herself at the card- table to fill out at the hostess's request. But never mind; I always learn things quickly." Please cut the cards, Mrs. Flurry." "All right. Please hand me a knife."

THEY MIGHT BE WORSE. If all the flies had stingers and if all the dogs were cross, If all our joys were heartaches and our every gain was loss, If every day were rainy or if every day were dry, Then would there be some slight excuse for one to sit and cry. If all the trees were winter-killed and all the ,eggs were stale, If all the prunes were wormy and if all our plans should fail, If ail the roads were muddy and if all the hills were steep, You would not be so roundly blamed when you sit down and weep. But houseflies are not hornets and most doggies do not bite; Two-thirds of what we undertake turns out ex- actly right; The weather's mostly wholesome, half the eggs we buy are recent- Things might be quite a whole lot worse than fully half-way decent. -ilidge.

THE FACETIOUS SUBURBANITE. The second-storey man had climbed into the front window of the facetious suburbanite's villa, and was engaged in rifling the latter's pockets of such random possessions as were to be found therein. "Ah, good evening, my friend," said the facetious suburbanite, from the depths of his bedclothes. Aren't you working overtime 1" We can't help it in our business, governor," replied the burglar. We ain't got no reg'larly organised hours of work. It's do it while you can with us, day and night." "That's a shame! said the facetious subur- banite. You ought to get together and form a burglars' union for your own protection." "We ain't a trade," retorted the burglar scornfully. We're an industry." Then you should be incorporated into the Steal Trust," said the facetious suburbanite. Whereupon the midnight marauder laughed so long and loud that he was overheard by the policeman on the corner, who, recognising the laugh, immediately fled to a place of safety.

WOMEN WILL TALK. A clerk in a family hotel in Boston was sitting all alone, having nothing to do. Suddenly the telephone bell rang. He jumped up with a start and answered it. "Will you please see if Miss Never is in t u asked the voice on the other end. She just went out," replied the clerk. Do you know when she will be back? asked the voice. "No, I do not," replied the clerk. "She is liable to be in any minute." Will you please tell her, when she comes in, that Mrs.' Sleft called her up, and that she would like to know if she could go to the theatre to- night, and &c., &c., &c., &c., &c., &c., &c., &c." Wait a minute, wait a minute," said the clerk, "till I send for the printer and give him this. It's enough for one volume already." BANG! went the receiver, and that ended it.

WILLING TO DO HIS DUTY. It must be so, this story of fun, For it appeared in the New York Sun." Walter C. Goodson, an attorney of Macon, Mo., attended circuit court at Oskaloosa, la., lately, and noticed some interesting features which differed from the Missouri practice. "On 13 the day of opening of court the Judge lines up the petit jury, and asks if there are any mem- bers who want to be excused," said Mr. Good- son. The day I was there every man with one accord began to excuse himself. One said he had just purchased a farm, and that he had to start his hands fixing it up. Another said he was a candy salesman, and that his house would fire him if he didn't keep on the road. A great big woodsman said he was unable to read and write well, and that he wasn't certain he knew enough to be a juror. Fully half of the men summoned had one reason or another why it would be absolutely out of the question for them to serve. Later, the Judge investigated the excuses, and found some of them good and others not so good. Where the excuse was flimsy he made the men stay on. One of the lawyers up there told me this story. A line-up of jurymen appeared before a certain Judge, just the same as on the day I was there, and every man explained that it would mean disaster to him to serve at that term of court—all but a little fellow at the tail end of the line. This man was a hunter, and he had lived in a cabin on the creek all his life. "'Have you no excuse to offer? 5 asked the surprised Judge. No, sir.' Haven't got a sick mother-in-law needing your attention? No, sir; I ain't married.' What about your crop? Don't raise anything.' No fence to fix up?' Haven't got a fence on the place.' You think you can spare the time to serve on a jury two weeks?' Sure.' The Judge sat a while and meditated. Reaching over, he whispered to the clerk, who shook his head in perplexity. Then the Judge's curiosity got the better of him. You're the only man who's got the time to serve your country as a juryman,' he said. Would you mind telling me how it happens?' Sure not,' said the little man, promptly. I heard you was going to try Jake Billings this term. He shot a dog o' mine oncet.'

NOTES FROM THE BASSWOOD BUGLE." Renfrew Binks, the gentlemanly and congenial station agent at the railrud depot, stood on the platform of the depot last Thursday night when the seven-forty-seven went through without hesitatin'. Ren was caught by the suction and dragged as far as Peavy Junction. Ren says he didn't mind the trip much, as he wanted to go to the Junction anyhow to see a feller about a dog but he is afraid the company will dock him for bein' absent from his post of duty. There may be some politicians in this world whose wives don't take in washin' by the day or week, but they don't live around these parts. Elmer Spink has been away to an art school, and is gettin' so he can draw almost anything exceptin' a salary. Since Miss Euphemia Mudge, of our midst, has started to write poetry, she has got the artistic temperament so bad she can't keep hei hair comlbed. „ Hilliker's folks had fresh meat for dinner Sun. day. Business must be pickin' up some, at thil writin'Judge..

BITS FROM BOOKS. JOHNSON & GOLDSMITH'S FRIENDSHIP. In Bell's H Miniattlre Series of Great Writers," Mr. E. S. La-iig's "Oliver Gold- smith has many things, pleasant and nice, of the author of The Vicar of Wakefield" The greatest men of that age, and the best, loved Goldsmith like a brother. Very soon we see Dr. Johnson marching down Fleet-street arm-in-arm with Percy to take supper with Dr. Goldsmith. The lexicographer has on a new suit of clothes and a wig finely powdered, and looks uncommon through this unexpected scrupulosity of costume. Percy is impertinent enough to inquire the cause of this finery. Why, sir," said Johnson, I hear that Gold- smith, who is a very great sloven, justifies his disregard of cleanliness and decency by quoting my practice, and I am desirous this night to shew him a better example." This amusing incident marks the foundation of a great friendship. If ever Goldsmith had a friend, that friend was Johnson; if Johnson ever had a friend, that friend was Goldsmith. The story does not proclaim dear Noll a dandy this time. Doubtless his care or carelessness in gar- ment kept pace, step by step, with varying moods. There is evidence enough to tell us how much he doted on finery and fashionable rai- ment in those bills from his tailor, which to the very last remained unpaid. Filby could afford the loss. It will be gathered from all this that with a change in fortune there also had been a departure from those scanty quarters in Green Arbour-court. His new apartments in Wine Office court, Fleet street, were not elaborately furnished, nor dignified in themselves or their situation, but they were the sign of better days. For all Fame brings its rich rewards. For Gold- smith the greatest of these was Johnson's friendship and esteem. The bond that bound I. these two was this, that they were always the last to abandon the poor and the worthless. Tired out with failure or importunity, other men of kindly heart might leave the incorrigible to their fate, but not Samuel Johnson nor Oliver Goldsmith. A better basis for friendship could not be.

BECOMING YOUNG AGAIN. In The Sunlit Way and Other Poems" (New Age Press), by Guy Kendall, perhaps the best thing is Boyhood Revisited," from which we may quote a few stanzas: Who are these bright ones, strong ones, white ones, Gambolling under the lintel of life? Youth is their leader and Joy their feeder, Play their employer, and Sport their strife [.. Eyes so untested, tired, unrested, Soon are bewildered as gathers the gloom. Mine are more fitted that nightly have flitted, Where the owls hoot and the niarsli-birds boom. Yet, as the flushing of Day is rushing Fragrant and fresh on your forehead and hair, Still I can see you, well-nigh be you, As I was once in the dew-sweet air. Let me be near you, see you, hear you, Now the new sun's flooding full o'er the hill, One moment stay with you, thankfully pray with you, Then to the dusk and the Valley of Ill.

A TERRIBLE REVOLUTION PICTURE, In Recollections of Baron de Frenilly, Peer of France (1768-1828)" (Heinemann), edited by Arthur Chuquet, and translated from the French by Frederic Lees, occurs the following striking passage. Frenilly's mother had wished him to become a magistrate, and held up before him as a model Herault de Sechelles, the spoilt child of Fame, says M. Chuquet. Sechelles received him as an advocate in Parliament. But Frenilly was not to be a magistrate, and Sechelles Let us give the story in Frenilly's own words, which constitute a vivid picture of the tragedies of the Terror: I returned, therefore, to Paris at the worst period of the Terror. The Cordeliers had suc- cumbed. The wolves had ceded the battlefield to tigers and hyenas. I wanted to see, once and for all, one of the daily sacrifices. It was in the Rue Saint Honore. Three carts, painted red, harnessed to two horses, and escorted by five' or six gendarmes, slowly made their way through an immense and silent crowd, which shewed no joy and did not dare to express its horror. In each vehicle were five or six condemned men. I recollect distinctly only the first, because of two faces that struck me with surprise and horror. One was that of Danton, Robespierre's Pompey, the great victim of the day. His enormous round head was proudly turned towards the stupid multitude, with impudence on his fore- head and an expression of rage and indignation on his lips. The other was that of—shall I say? Herault de Sechelles, dejected, and with despair on his brow, which he bent towards his knees. His black hair was short and stood on end, his collar was loose, and he was half-dressed in a wretched brown dressing-gown. Suddenly he appeared to me as I saw him in Parliament when he received me as an advocate: handsome, young, and elegant, his whole toilet carried out with the greatest refinement. Philosophy had thrown him into the Revolution, pride had kept him there, and fear had enchained him; and above and beyond what the others had, he had the misfortune to be contemptible.

THE UNREMITTING WORKERS OF JAPAN A good deal of sympathetic observation has stimulated the writers of Every-Day Japan" (Cassell). Mr. Arthur Lloyd has lived and worked in Japan for twenty-five years, and iden- tifies himself so fully with the Japanese that, when writing about them, he frequently says we," not they." This is what he says of the condition of the workers: The Japanese workman has very long hours, and works every day in the year. He makes up for it by working leisurely all the time, with many a rest for pipe and tea, and a scrupulous limitation of output which makes the cost of labour very high, in spite of the lowness of the individual wagg. He does not always quite know what to do with a day off when he gets one. His cottage is too miserable and too email to offer him the attractions of a home, amuse- ments are few, the universal provider of mis- chief is at work here as elsewhere, and there are but few churches for him to go to. Christians are but a handful in the land as yet, and the native religions have nothing akin to a weekly dav of rest, though there are Buddhist temples in which sermons are preached on that day, but only in the larger towns. I have known a case in which workmen actually asked to be allowed to knock off a weekly day of rest which a con- scientious Christian employer had provided for them. They said they did not know what to do with it.

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL. One need not be repelled by any apprehensions of technicality in taking up The Meaning of Money," by Hartley Withers. (Smith, Elder.) The City Editor of the Times ie always cheerful whatever he hae to say. He gives enlightenment about that particular bill of exchange, the "house bill"—a bill drawn by a firm or com- pany on itself. He explains: If this paper became too common, the watch- dogs of the credit organisation would remark that there was too much Smith on Smith about, and would describe it, in its picturesque phrase, as mere "pig on pork." The classical example of pig on pork is the order on Mrs. Micawber which Mr. Macawber gaVe to David Copperfield in the King's Bench Prison. Indeed, Mr. Withers pursues the classics re- lentlessly. He says: Writing to Atticus, Cicero asks him to con- sider whether the monetary requirements of his son at Athens can be provided by exchange operations, and it is interesting to see that the Latin phrase is a literal counterpart of the Eng- lish-permuturi. But although this passage is not sufficient evidence, from a legal point of view, that such a thing as a bill of exchange was used, it clearly proves the existence of some form of exchange machinery in Rome and Athens. And there is a bill of exchange in Don Quixote Time is a consbant element in the composition of a bill of exchange, and space ie a very usual one. When Sancho Panza had his ass stolen by a ruffian whom his master's chivalry had set free from the grip of the law, Don Quixote consoled himself with a promise of a bill of ex- change (cedula di cambio) foT three asses out of five in his stable. As they were then wandering in the Sierra 'Morena, the elements of time and apace were both present. Lombard-street is so sensitive that it knows at once if the nation is having a wet holiday: J A cold, wet summer will check holiday travel and expenditure, while a brilliant season will send I a shower of currency through tourists' pockets into the hands of hotel-keepers and others who provide for their wants; and the extent of this outward tide will be among the innumerable items that will effect the volume of what is called money in Lombard-street. Of the anecdotage in the book there is a fit example in: the story of a man who came down the steps of his bank, the door of which had been closed against him, stumbled under the shock of his ruin into the arms of a friend, and apologised by saying, The fact is, I have lost my balance."

FACTS AND FANCIES. EAST ANGLIA AND LIBERTY. The East Anglians are a blend of the native Britanni, the Angles, the Norsemen, and the Danes, and the result is, says Black and White, a singularly sturdy and independent race, whose characteristics recall the fact that Domesday Book shews a far greater proportion of freemen (" liberi homines ") than any other part of Eng- land save Lincolnshire. Later on came emi- grants from the Low Countries and from France, who brought new industries and new ideas with them. But all through the centuries rhe love of freedom was strongly uppermost, since the days when at St. Edmundsbury Abbey the nobles and prelates in 1214 swore on the altar stone of the Martyr King to obtain from King John the confirmation of their rights and liberties. »

A LONG-LIVED PEOPLE. Out of the 1,300,000 inhabitants of Guatemala, more than a fifth part have attained to the age of between forty and 100 years. Those who age virly are invariably great drinkers. Men and uomen who have passed their seventieth year a re often remarkable for their mental and bodily vigour. A gentleman of ninety-eight lately mar- vied a fifth time, and is rejoicing in the birth of a son. » ■

ROMANTIC CANVASES. Many famous pictures can claim most remark- able careers. In recent years, Romney's Whitehaven If. was discovered by a gentleman n a house at Whitehaven, rolled up. and in a very dirty condition. It had been bought fifty years before for £ 1, and, when identified again, realised £ 6,825. Raphael's picture of The Holy Family was in 1876 found stopping a broken window of a peasant's house. It was promptly restored to the descendants of the owner, from dKHll, many years before, it had been stolen. A series of drawings by Hans Holbein in King Ed- ward's collection at Windsor have had a strange areer. Many years after Holbein's death, in 1543, they turned up in France, whence they were procured by Charles 1. The King after- sards gave them to Lord Pembroke, and from him they passed to the Earl of Arundel. Nothing more was heard of them until they were accidentally discovered by Queen Caroline, in the reign of George II., stowed away in an old bureau in Kensington Palace, together with a volume of valuable drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. ♦

PROFITABLE AFFORESTATION. Orsa. in Sweden, has, in course of a genera- tion, sold £ 1,000,000 worth of trees, and by means of judicious replanting has provided for a similar income every thirty or forty years. In consequence of this commercial wealth there are no taxes. Railways, telephones, &c., are free, and so are schoolhouses, teaching, and many other things.

AFRICAN COURTSHIP. Among some African tribes, when a man pro- fer-'s-es his love for a woman, and asks her in mar- riage, she invariably refuses him at first, lest it should appear that she has been thinking of him, and was eager to become his wife. By so doing she maintains the modesty of her sex, as well as teste the love and abases the pride of her lover. This policy is also intended to be of use to the woman in her married life—as. should chore be quarrelling, and the husband threaten to send her away, she can remind him of how he made repeated professions of his love, and urgently pressed his suit, before she consented e to become his wife. «

ARABIAN DOINGS AND SAYINGS. The Arabs look upon the dog as an unclean animal, yet a native saying is, "The dog says, May God give my master good sight, that he may earn money to buy bread and give me some'; but the cat says, May God make my master blind, that I can get on the table and eat his food.' In Busreh a lunatic is looked upon as someone to be respected and feared. There are many blind beggars in the district, and it is rarely that an Arab will pass one with- out saying, God will give to you," and, con- tent with uttering that charitable expression, continues on his journey.

THE WONDERFUL CANDLE TREE. One of the wonders of the vegetable kingdom is undoubtedly the "candle tree" of Panama, known to botanists as Parmentiera cerifera. This tree produces from its stem and older branches a great profusion of yellowish, cylin- drical, smooth fruits, twelve to'eighteen inches long, which appear exactly like wax candles, as the botanical name implies. So close is this re- semblance, says the Strand Magazine, that tra- vellers, seeing the tree for the first time, are liable to be temporarily puzzled as to whether the candles of shops are made in factories or grown on trees! The candle-like fruits are sus- pended from the branches and bare stem by short slender stalks: dangling in the air they readily give the impression of a chandler's shop. As night falls, and the numerous fire-flies move among the fruit, this impression is intensified. The inexperienced traveller is not infrequently informed that the fire-flies perform the duty of lighting up these "candles" at night when light is required by the denizens of the jungle. • 0

THE COURT OF HUSTINGS. Which is the oldest court of justice in the world? It is difficult to say exactly, but the Court of Hustings, of the City of London, still meets with all the ceremonial of 600 years ago. The court still retains the power of enrolling wills and deeds, and the presence of the Lord Mayor, six aldermen, and certain other officials is necessary for the legality of the court, whose records go back to 1258, while the court was in- stituted long before that date. At first all dis- putes between the citizens of London came be- fore this court; but gradually changes were made, until almost its only privilege now lies in the granting of probate of wills and deeds. a

A STRANGE HOBBY. The backs of some cottages situated in Cain- den-street, Maidstone, are covered with eildl plates, dishes, soup-ladles, and various orn&- ments, fastened to the walls bv cement. The work was done by Mr. John' Woodharns, a brieklayer, who made. the work his hobby. It him for between three and four years. Children knowing his hobby used to take all so its of broken plates, &c., to him, and were al- ways rewarded by some coppers in return. The four cottages decorated in this fashion form a striking picture, and are known by the two nicknames of "Old China Cott-epes" 8.Ià4I Platter Villas."

THE VALUE OF REFUSE. Banana skins are utilised in on rhe West Coast of Africa. The skins are xick kt alkali, so they are burnt to an ash, and tl»» nixed with water and palm oil goes to make a cleanser which is in demand among the uebitefi is well as the natives. This brings out very coct- -ptcuously a fact, often not realised, that big values are thrown away in so-called refuse. At time, when you have tossed out a pair of discarded shoes, did it ever strike you that yen might be combing your hair with "them latex? That old footwear does enter into combs is a fact. The shoes are cut up, soaked in obloiide of sulphur unril the pieces are hard ami brittle, and then ground to a powder. This is mixed with a material of the nature of glue or gum, and then compressed into shapes not only for combs, but for buttons and knife handles. • ■■■ ♦

WHITE ANTS IN AUSTRALIA. White ants are a never-ending trouble to -&ic Australian settler. This tiny creature attaofes, and in many cases destroys, the settler's honee. Wherever woodwork is used precautions have to be taken against this insect, and buildings in Australia have sometimes had to be taken down owing to the ravages of white ants. The white ant is an unseen worker. Generations of tlie insect may have lived-and worked without hav- ing created the slightest suspicion of their presence, and it is only when they have con- sumed the entire foundation of the woodwork that they are discovered. Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent experimenting- with pre- ventives; but the white ant is still master cf the situation.

A JUST-SO STORY. The Burmese, who sometimes keep a stricter as a, household pet, say that originally it was the only poisonous snake. The legend goes that it was teased or chaffed by a crow, and told that though it was very big it never killed anybody by biting. The boa on hearing' this spat up all its poison in a rage. This vm swallowed by numerous other snakes and creep- ing things, and hence the increase in the num- ber of poisonous snakes, whilst the boa can only kill by compressing his victim. The gall-bladder and fat of boa-constrictors are used by Chinese and Burmese for medicinal purposes,; and gre said to be good for rheumatism.

SAGE SAYINGS OF OSGAR. Silence ies nod preserfed. in family jars. Efen a man mit hiss fingers crossed OOD pt hiss vires crossed. Luffsickness does nod call in der doctor, be" id hates to be cured. Der man who eats like a hog base to h&S digestion like a ostrich. A mirror shews you only vonsite oi yourself, und von site iss all id cares to look ad. Derdifference betveen a setting hen und a j[¡k:- cubador iss dot der inkcubador does nod e-aje. Pigs iss pigs, but vot is sissages? Der only marines a sailor hass respegt fvr jBà submarines.—Brooklyn Citizen. WOMAN AS THE RULING SEX. Women who clamour for their righte elouid go to Besjukovschtschina, in Russia, probafcly the only place in the world that is run entirely by women. The State is made up of seven vil- la, gee, each presided over by a mayoress, the whole under the superintendence of a lady named Sasehka, who acts as president. There are women magistrates, women preachers, women policemen—in fact, every capacity in the State is filled with women. The roads are made by women, and women sell milk and deliver letters. If you want to bring an action against your neighbour in this State, you go to a woman lawyer; and if there is anything in your house to be stolen, then a burglar of the weaker sex steals it. No place of any importance is filled by a man. + A HUGE PETRIFICATION. What is probably the largest example of petri- fication exists in Arizona. It consists of the trunk of a tree, with branch stubs still intact, which has fallen across the head of a consider- able canyon and there turned to stone." The huge roots of the fallen monarch rise to a height of 8ft. or 10ft. at one end, while the upper ex- tremity of the trunk is buried in the soft forma- tion of the land in which it grew. The trunk if more than 50ft. long, and spans a canyon at least 40ft. wide. It forms a perfectly solid bridge of a diameter oi from 5ft. to 2ft. at the smaller end. Trees of considerable size have grown up around it from the bed of the canyon, some of them considerably higher now than the fallen tree is long. Over the trunk of the petrified monster they tkrow a welcome shade to the birds which gather for miles around to eit on the stony trunk during the heat of the day. This tree is a considerable distance from the Arizona petrified forest, and is one of the wonders of the great desert state. It is considered quite pro- bable bv miners who have seen the tree that its interior" portions are practically solid agate, as are those of the other petrified trees of Arizona; but no one has been venturesome enough to out into the great, natural, palaeontologies! bridge to find out. » The most elaborate train in the world belongP to the Kaiser. It cost £ 200,000, and took three years to build. Liquor-selling in England was prohibited M early as the reign of the Saxon King Edgar, who closed hundreds of ale-houses. If a human being continued to grow at the rate he does during the first year of life, at the age of ten he would be over sixty-eight feet tall. In Japan, a. man can hire a horse, keep two servants, and live in excellent style, for a little over S4 a month. WiioPO-ever .s11311 confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Fathei which is in heaven. Someone remarked of a dealer whose weight was sure always to be as scant as the law would allow and whose statements con- cerning his goods were often not the whole truth, that, after all, he '4 probably aimed t< be honest." Grandfather shook his heai doubtfully. "Perhaps," he admitted, "hv he'd be the better for a little target prac tice." A little practice at hitting the target ■—the Bible standard of fair dealing—woulc improve the skill of many poor shots.

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