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» December 17, 1881.
st<~3iGOLDEN DAYS:o +>
27
tired of its ride, it had begun to tickle
the mule’s flanks with its sharp claws.
The mule failed to understand what was
the matter, and took to its heels. Mr.
Robb laughed in spite of his bruises,
and, cutting the string, release hi
ssum trom the saddle. The ’possum
ipped off into the bushes, and the
hunter walked on after his mule, which
was found quietly grazing a mile away.
—While the steamship Newport, which
plies between New York and Havana,
was passing the Capes of the Delaware,
a few weeks ago, she ran among an im-
mense school of whales. Such a sight
Captain Sundberg says he never saw
fore. There were hundreds of the mon-
sters, and they were of all sizes. Sud-
denly the people on board the Newport
felta shock. The vessel had struck one
ofthe whales. As she did so the whale
threw up its flukes, and a perfect deluge
of water was thrown over the bow. The
Newport is an iron steamer, and she cut
the whale completely in two. The pas-
sengers saw the head come up on one
side, and the tail part’ on the other,
When the severed head caine uP it shot
six feet into the air. Ever,
board was thunderstruck. ‘Ten vaipates
later the Newport struck and killed an-
other whale. The sea was red with
blood i in the vessel’s wake for some dis-
o
fed the birds, and in a few weeks a
strong bond of friendship was formed
between the men and the little chatter-
ors. Since then a large number of spar-
s goin and out between the bars, to
the. delight of those who are deprived of
their liberty. The keeper of the prison
says that hée thinks the birds have made
better men of the law-breakers.
THE MYSTERIOUS BOX.
(A Story of the Atlantic.)
BY DAVID KER.
We noticed him, I remember, from
the very first; and we had three good
reasons for doing so. In the first place,
he was the very last passenger to come
on board, arriving, indeed, just when
the bell was ringing asa signal to clear
the ship.
In the second place, he was rathera
remarkable-looking .fellow altogether—
tall, gaunt, sallow and stern, with a long,
lean face and acold, gray eye, and, as
we all declared, a manifest air of mystery
about him, even from the beginning.
Last, but by no means least, of our
grounds ef suspicion, was the fact that
ship gave a sudden lurch, and the boil-
ing cotfee flew like a fountain- -jet into his
spotless shirt-front, making him wriggle
like a speared eel.
But by the morning of the fourth day
the gale seemed to have spent its force,
and we were at liberty to turn our atten-
tion once more tothe mysterious pas-
senger and his equally mysterious box.
The former seemed quite as anxious to
preserve himself from contact with any-
thing on board as he had been to _pre-
serve his package, for he never spoke to
any one, and always answered as shortly
as possible (when he answered at all)
whenever any one spoke to him.
_ As forthe box itself, it was a greater
puzzle thanever. The stewards report-
ed that he had warned them so earnestly
against touching it, or even going near
it, as to imply that’ the contents, what-
ever they might be, were something
very dangerous indeed. at, if he
had his doubts whether even ihe fear of
some unknown peril would be strong
enough to keep them from meddling
with the precious package, if they
the chance, he spent most of his time Se.
low, and as he taken a whole state-
room tor himself (or, rather, for himself
and his box), there was no risk of any
one disturbing hiin there.
“JT think he’s a Fenian carrying over
one of those dynamite torpedoes to Liver-
the stranger—who had retired as usual
with his milk and bread—announcing
that the captain wanted him. Scarcely
had he disa peared when the Harvard
youth poppe i -
The next moment a terrible cry start-
led us all, and, rushing to the spot, we
found the mystic box open, and the
sophomore struggling in the coils ot a
huge black-and-white snake !
Fora moment all was confusion, but
the stranger, who had just returned,
sprang like lightning to the breakfast=
table, “filled a cup with milk and set it in
front ofthe snake. Instantly the latter
unwound itself from its captive, who
reeled helplessly against the wall.
You’re more frightened than hurt,
young feller,” said ‘his rescuer, coolly,
“tor this snake’s quite a harmless sort,
and as taine as a pet oe into the bargain.
I kept him dark. w could, for I
didn’t want him, burt after stumpin’ all
Louisiana to git him for the London
Zoological, but you *d best not touch him
ag’in, for his breed’s mighty fond of a
fool, and I guess that’a why he was so
spry to git hold of you
THE JOKE-CRACKER.
“ Harry,” said a nurse, “ didn’t you pear
our mot ther tell you to come right
tance. Shortly afterward the Newport | our inysterious fellow-passenger brought * said a young British officer, home- | the house?"
left the school behind, and no more | on board with him an oblong wooden Wward-bound irom ‘Canada. Dee avin tororieniee mindin’ me of it;
whales were Seen.
—In the New York Museum of Natu-
box, very much like an overgrown pistol-
case, of which he seemed far more care-
ful than of the well-worn leather port-
«More likely a bank-clerk absconding
with specie,” grunted a nip, red-faced
Treacher My good child, what are quad-
ra
weiolar—. Ajimals with four legs.
al Hist d several littl t cotton-spinner from Laneashir
ral History are preserved several little mantean, which was the only other arti- 30x ain’t heavy enough for that,” Teacher—That’s right. Now name some.
creatures that, when living, could shed of baggage that he seemed to possess. objected a lanky New- Scholar—A ¢ ‘lew a a horse, two chic! kens—
light from their bodies. As seen in the
alcohol, they are objects of little inter-
est, but when aliye, and under water,
they are like ballsof fire. Bilbra, the
nt was ev idently not very heavy, for
one sailor shouldered it with ease. It
could not be called inconveniently large,
for when its master begged to be allowed
to keep it in his state-room instead of
* Perhaps, after all, is nothing more
wonderful than a rare statue or picture
for some museum.”
Ever; looked disappointed, for
this last idea, which had somehow never
Teacher—There ! there! that will do.
alled wit was once talking in a
boastful manner toa wise, but quiet, pro-
essor,
* As for me,” said the former. 41, do not
believe what I do not understand.
Brazilian pher, once invited
£ stowing it in the hold, neither captain | occurred to us, now seemed natural and ‘ou understand how it is that fire
arty of trends to to spend ‘an ev ening in nor purser made the slightest objection, | likely enough, and it was a sad come- softens butt utter, but hardens an egg 2” asked
} P It was not labeled ‘Glass, with Care,” | down after all our romantic imaginings. “ 5 si si
see that instead of lamps only phosphor-
escent animals were used to light the
room, The brilliant creatures were in
globes of salt water. The light that
came from their bodies was so bright
that the visitors read the finest print in
some newspapers with perfect ease. The
color of these animals, when they are
quiet, is a yellow mixed with green, but
on the a ightest inovement they glow
like a gas-jet. Sometimes they pass
through” various shades of deep red,
orange, green and azure-blue.
—A young lawyer of Providence, R. I.,
or anything of that sort, as we could all
see for ourselves; and yet its master’s
nervous anxiety lest it should be damag-
ed, or even bumped against anything
hard, was so marked that every one
gan to have dismal suspicions as to its
possible contents.
But just at first we had something
else to think about, for the first three
days of our voyage were a perfect chap-
ter of accidents.
‘To begin with, we were thrown late at
starting, by having to wait more than an
hour for the mail. Then, when we were
But just then a new turn was given to
the discussion by a long, wiry keen-eyed
Cape Codder, who had hitherto been
perfectly silent. Taking his short pipe
out of his mouth, he said, slowly and
emphat ically:
eYain’t that, boys; but I reckon I
could tell yer what it is!’
“What?: What?” cried every one,
eagerly.
oA baby,” answered the Yankee, with
the solemnity of perfect conviction.
A is there was a shout of laughter
so uprosrions that a ssing steward
'
“Yet Sou 1 believe in an omelet!”
ittle girl did not obey when first
callea, and, for that reason, her mother
spoke th tere sharply aie ‘second time.
hen she came in a:
“ Mamina, I've Veen s Sots kind to you to- »
day, and I don’t want you to speak so
large to me.”
—Ata recent entertainment for children,
a gentleman egan to 8 young audi
ence about his travels in heathen land .
Sy little friends,” he asked, “what i an:
ol?”
“Something that is lazy,” was the quick ©
and loud response ot one of the young-
sters.
was once examining a witness in atrial | just outside the Narrows, on came a fog | peered amazedly into the smoking-room | _—A teacher was trying to make Johnny
at Bristol, in that State. The witness | as thick as buckwheat porridge, which | to see what all “the fun could be about. understand the science of simple division,
was expected to tell all he knew about | forced us to Ho-to tilt ate | ihe the 1 after. | But the entleman from Cape Cod was | orange’which you wished to divide with
aij i 7 “ noon, keeping up all the while a chorus | not a whit abashed. your little sister, how much 1d
acertain liquor saloon. “ You say,” re- of bells and fog-horns worthy of a Chin- “Laugh as much as you like, boys; give her?” would you
marked the lawyer, ‘“ that the rum-shop
as_a bad reputation?” ‘Yes, sir.”
“Who did you ever hearsay it was a
bad place?’”?” The witness did not recol-
lect having heard any person speak of it.
“What!” exclaimed the lawyer, “you
have sworn-that this place has a bad
reputation, and yet you can’t tell of any
one you have ever heard say so!” The
witness was staggered fora moment, and found it to be only the beginning of | do this, and | wondered that we had not | mates Saturday a little miss of eight jaee.
the lawyer thought he “had him. But | them. noticed it After doing itup, the. viene k sai me ace,
after ashort pause the witness said, ad- The red and angry sunset on the Tor a few 1 moments every one was in ere is one and a-half sards of lace, at
dressing the lawyer: “ Well, you have second night, the ghostly haze around | high glee at the apparent solution of the ten. cents a yard; how much does that come g
the reputation of being a smart lawyer, | the full moon when it rose, the short, | riddle; but the remorseless New-Yorker “To which th trl i
but I never heard any ‘one say sol” uneasy panting of the wind, all fore- speedily blighted our new-born happi- “Well, sta nek, ‘gain pertly y replied ibave to i
—The great German philosopher, am bodes further mischief; and the older study at arithmetic all ‘et rest of the week, :
manual Kant, had presence of mind ts” looked meaningly to windward, “Guess you're consid’able out there, | and going to bother my head with :
under the most trying circumstances,
ese wedding.
And _ as soon as the fog cleared, it was
succeeded bya rain which in-
spired a facetious em galoon, assenger to
ask the captain, at dinner-time, whether
fishing was allowed on the after-dec!
At length the rain went off in its turn,
and now we began to hope that this was
the end of our troubles; but we soon
ant prophesied ‘‘dirty weather.”
The (perk was not long in fulfill-
but what I s: ick to. Every day,
reg’lar, at breakfast « and at tea, I’ve seen
that air critter, after he’d had his share,
start for his state-room with a cup of milk
and a hunk o’ bread, and if that don’t
mean a baby somewhar roun’, ’m a
Mexikin!””
There was a general start, for we now
remembered to have seen the stranger
stranger,”’ objected he. ‘For the baby
that could be four days aboard ship, or
nbreplled thought it over for a moment,
and re
yon paid a story: teller to a bit of a
girl, “there are people. in the moon just as
there are on the
“Why n
“Becuuse Where would the:
moon gets so small you can
go when the
ardly see it?”
iton Saturda’
—First boy—What ails you?
Second boy—
In the town where he lived a butcher | jy 5 jtse About midnigl!
A‘ : 4 ight I was awak- | anywhere else, either, without raisin in
beeame insane. One day while Kant ened by a crash as if twenty cart-loads of | one squall, has got to be discovered yer in! ryote theres is; Jon've been ery-
was walking alone in the woods, the | pricks had {fumbled through the roofs of } I’ve got three « ot ’em myself, and I guess Secon a boy NOs wothing' 0 only yesterday
crazy butcher sprang across the path. | as inan. y glass-houses, and found myself | 1 ought to kn ” av oy a thras in and this
The butcher's eyes were glaring, and in
his right hand was a g ittering knife.
Just as as about to leap | upon the
philosopter, the latter said; -day
utchering day? I believe ‘it is . tomor.
standing bolt-upright in my berth, like
a soldier ina sentry~ -box. ‘The next mo-
ment I had a fin rspective view of
iny toes high ov erhead, while a kind of
waterfall of cushions, blankets, pillows,
This ung answerable argument threw us
all back to where we were before, and a
sullen silenco followed, broken at length
py a dashing young ‘sophomore from
larvard—one of the briskest and boldest
morning bis father bought him a goat, and
oys an nd goats are over there but-
ting each other and having a ood time,
and I'm lett out in the cold—boo-hoo
—One morning, Frank's mother gave him
anew shirttoputon, It proved to be as
row.” The insane man was thrown off soap, towels, boots, and what not, went | spirits of our company. much too large as the ones “ne had been
his guard by the refersnce to his calling. | pouring through every part of the room. | “Baby or no baby,’ said he, firmly, mother rere, too fmall. Running to his
Ife remembered that the next day was | ‘Then burst forth a deafening chorus of | “I’m bound to get at the ins and outs of “Ma Tina, Tr ao) tecl aw fai lonesome inthis
the regular time for ns elt and, | shouts, groans, screaming women, cry- | this job, somehow. Tither I’ll know | sh ,
putting his knife in his belt, he per- ing children, the rattle of dishes, the | wha ts Inside that box before it goes ee yptie.” a a. good mother to her
initted the philosopher to pass
—One day last’ spring a ta brighteyed
English sparrow crept between the bars
ofa window in a Baltimore prison. The
convicts were surprised at the visit, for
they had not seen a bird since the day
that the iron doors closed behind them.
One of the prisoners was so much affect-
ed that he shed tears. He got some
@ Sparrow was tame,
he fed it until the bird seemed to be per-
fectly at home, The Sparrow reappeared
on the following day, and with him were
several other sparrows, The convicts
crash and jingle of broken glass, and we
were fairly ‘in for it’? at last.
For the next twenty-four hours, in the
graphie words of our o! atswain,
“everything blessed on board was in-
side-out and upside-down.” Plates and
cups, knives, forks and spoons, eddied
ceaselessly from side to side of the table.
Tlasty feeders stuck their forks into
themselves in place of their meat; the
soup meant for the mouths of the guest Ss
emptied itself into their laps inst
and just as one dignified old wentleman
wag raising his cotfee-cup to his lips as
solemnly as if he were taking poison, the
ashore, or T’11 never, wear the crimson of
old Harvard again
But this valiant pledge seemed likely
to go unredeemed, after all; for, as if the
man of mystery had known of the plot
hatching against him, he seemed to be,
f possible, more vigilant than ever.
Jay followed day, until at length we
came in sight of Queenstown, where the
stranger was to land, and the secret of
the box was a secret still.
But the time came at last. Breakfast
was hardly over that morning, when a
steward (sent on purpose by the ingeni-
ous sophomore) tapped at the door of
‘6 tarts, weren’t you
Yes, ma’am,” was in
“What w ere 3 ou imal ° “my. fon 7”
“Afraid I couldn't find t
—Dou Jerrold. the famous wit, once
said to: a dealer in ¢:
“The candles you ‘sold me last week were
mente sir, lam sorry for that,” replied
“Yes, sir; they were very b: Y then
know, they’ base fo. the rae and then
would burn n
"What, sir—did they
“You s surprise’ inet
go oute”
“No, sir, no; they burnt shorter!”
Age ein ereninnhesesei a,
aera
v
watt teat abie
a4
ad
“r