JULY 27 
has gone, he has yielded to t his base step by a 
league with robbers, whom he has promised to 
admit to hts father’s store at midnight, December 
24. He will allow them to bind and beat him to 
cover his sin, and perhaps they will kill him.” A 
Rhudder shook her slight frame at the thought. 
“ it’s all clear to me now,” she said. “ Oh, Her¬ 
bert, my poor Herbert! He has been tempted 
sorely, for he Is not bad at heart, and I will save 
him. Yes I” clasping her hands tightly and rais¬ 
ing her eyes to heaven, “ with the help of heaven 
I WILL SAVE HIM.” 
There was no hesitation about her movements 
now and no tremor in her voice as she spoke her 
thoughts aloud. What was before her or how 
Bhe was to accomplish her object sho did not stop 
to consider, but seemed to bo led by some unseen 
Impulse and passively obeyed. Her only thought 
was to reach her lover without, delay, it was 
Thursday night, and by to-morrow at this time 
she must be In New York. Not a moment was to 
he lost. Quietly gathering a tew necessary arti¬ 
cles together, she packed them In a small satohel 
and selected a plain traveling suit to be worn. 
Then, taking a railway guide that nerbert acci¬ 
dentally left and a small map of New York city, 
she occupied herself for an hour In gaining such 
knowledge of the undertaking before her as was 
possible from the conveniences at hand, till, over¬ 
come by weariness, hor head bowed forward on 
the table and she slept. But It was only fitful 
naps, made hideous by dreams of unearthly ter¬ 
rors, and the morning found her but little refresh¬ 
ed and poorly prepared for the task nerore her. 
There was earnest Inquiry at breakfast for the 
cause of her strange conduct the previous even¬ 
ing, which she met with smiling explanations of 
the tediousness of shopping and tho unaccustom¬ 
ed sights of the city; then, In her pleading way, 
asked leave to pass rhe day with a friend la the 
village, which was readily granted. Said farmer 
Edwards: “Yes! let her go, mother; she knows 
what she's about better than we can guess,” And 
in due time she stepped from tho farmer’s sleigh 
at the place designated, and with a request to 
come for her early la the evening she entered the 
house, but remained only long enough to write a 
hasty note to be sent to her home at evening and 
then hurried to the depot. 
It was nearly train time, and sne could hear 
the distant rumble of Its approach; it seemed as 
It her heart would flutter Itself Into fragments 
with mingled hope and fear. Summoning all her 
self-possession, she said to tho ticket agent: “I 
want a ticket to New York, and please, sir, do not 
tell father Edwards where I have gone, until to¬ 
morrow.” 
Although It was a strange request, the official 
reluctantly gave tho promise, and a few moments 
more found Marjle on the train whirling away to¬ 
ward the great city, Then such a feeling of utter 
desolation and loneliness came over her that she 
could scarcely suppress her tears; but she kept 
repeating to herseir, “ It’s for bis sake, poor Her¬ 
bert, and I'll save him,” and this thought seemed 
to renew her strength and courage. Hours rolled 
on, and faster sped the train, bringing her every 
Instant nearer the Anal consummation of her 
darlug scheme. What If she should be too late ? 
Odd forbid It l Tho thought was maddening. 
The short gray twilight of winter had deepened 
Into early night, and still on they flew, “An 
^iour more, and we shall b3 In the city,” remarked 
the man In the next Beat. “ in the olty 1” Alar- 
lle’s heart gave a great, bound. How much those 
three words meant to her ! 
A gental-looktug old gentleman had for some 
time occupied tho seat with Marjle, and as he 
opened bts valise to receive some packages, she 
saw it was oiled with Bibles, tracts, etc. Observ¬ 
ing her Inquiring look, he handed her a card, 
bearing the name “E. N. Soldier, City Mission¬ 
ary,” stying, pleasantly, “ You see 1 am a soldier, 
but these aro the weapons of my warfare.” Hero 
w;us Just what Marjlo wanted,—a person whom 
shB could trust to aid her, and without delay, she 
told him Uer mission was to save one who was 
near and dear to her, from a great crime; further 
than this, she rerused to explain, and only asked 
his assistance to reach the locality she desired. 
“A very si range place for a lady to go alone, at 
nigh'.,” said Mr. Soldier; but when he looked at 
her sweet, earnest face, and thought how far she 
had come on this journey of love, he could not 
believe evil of her, and betore he had time to rea¬ 
son the case with her, (he train had arrived lu 
the depot at .Jersey city. So taking Marjlo’s 
satchel, and bidding her cling close io Ills arm, 
they were soon jostling amidst the hurrying 
thousands of the great city. 
What a Babel ror Marjte’s ears, so used to coun¬ 
try quiet; but In a few moments something of 
her childhood nature seemed to come back to her, 
and as she remembered how she had roamed 
these very streets alone and unharmed In by-gone 
years, her tread wub a trifle more llrm, and she 
clung less closely lo the arm of Uer protector. 
Marjle had requested to be left at the corner of 
Barclay and Washington streets, but It was plain 
the missionary had serious misgivings at the Idea 
of deserting no inexperienced girl In that local¬ 
ity ; hut Marjle was firm, and blddlDg him “ good 
evening,” wlnu that point was reached, with 
thanks for Ills kludnoss, she turned on Washing¬ 
ton Street, and was soon out of sight. 
A few steps brought her to the vicinity of the 
store, and by the light or the street lamp directly 
opposite, she plainly read the sign, ** Elliott. & Co,, 
Wholesale Grocers,” but the shutters were up 
and the doors all closed; for a moment she gazed 
at. the place, with a blank stare, loo contused to 
realize the situation; then her thoughts began to 
gather, but In an Instant, hor mltid was again a 
w T htrl of excitement. Was she too late? Mo; for 
she could inform the Police, and at least prevent 
the robbery; but this to hor was a secondary con¬ 
sideration. Her aim was to save her lover from 
his temptation, and while she llugered In a vain 
attempt to term some plan of action, the door 
opened, and a porter appeared, broom In hand, 
finishing his day’s toll by sweeping the pavement 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
before the store. Marjle stood quiet In the shadow, 
and could scarcely be seen with her water-proof 
wrapper closely about her and the hood drawn 
over her head, and as the man reached the curb¬ 
stone, and stood for a moment, looking up and 
down tho street, she slipped m the partly-open 
door, and had scaroely time to crouch behind a 
pile of boxes, when he returned, and hanging his 
broom In Its place, gave a general glance around 
to see that all was right, then putting on hla coat 
and hat, deported, closing tho door with a heavy 
bang! and Marjle heard the holt fly Into Its place 
as the key was turned, and. then ids footsteps 
grew fainter, till lost In the distance; still sho 
remained where sho had flrst sank down, almost 
unconscious of her surroundings. She could hear 
the measured tread of the pa trolman as he passed 
along the deserted street, then all was still as the 
grave. 
Marjle was now within the warehouse doors, 
but with no definite plan of action; the prompt¬ 
ings of a sudden Impulse had brought hor there, 
she scarcely knew how; the past seemed a dream 
and the fut ure only chaos. She could only com¬ 
prehend one thought, that was the necessity of 
Immediate action, but what tills action must be, 
her confused brain refused to dictate; sometimes 
a faint sense of the rashness of her actions would 
dawn on her mind, but was quickly overshadowed 
by the thought, " It Is for Herbert’s sake,—to save 
him.” 
At last, moving like one In a trance, she arose, 
and, supporting herself by the hales of goods 
which had concealed her, groped her way slowly 
toward the center of the store, fill, in view of the 
office, where the gas was burning brightly; keep¬ 
ing In the shadow, she paused, to consider what 
to do next—but in vain she tried to think—her 
thoughts were In tho wildest confusion; she could 
realize but one thing—that Herbert Elliott was In 
some great danger, which she had come to avert. 
She did not know whether he was near her then 
or not, but she believed that was to be the scene 
of his temptation, and moved by the vague im¬ 
pulse that she must save him, she again advanced 
toward tho lighted office; a few steps 6howed 
her a man Bitting at one or the desks with his 
head bowed forward perfectly motionless. She 
rematned quiet a moment till he raised his head, 
and then saw It was Herbert Elliott, but how 
changed! The noble brow was contracted into 
painful wriDkies. and there was a look of bitter¬ 
ness and despair in his face—the hands of tho 
clock over the desk, Bhow it was nearly eleven, 
and its slow, even ticking seemed fearfully op¬ 
pressive In the silence. 
There was a rattling at the street door, which 
startled Elliott quickly to his feet, and then he 
smiled grimly at his own foolishness, for It was 
only the watchman on hla usual rounds. “ Only 
this, and nothing more.” 
A short distance in the rear of thiB office are 
two largo doors, opening Into a court or alley- 
way used for receiving and shipping goods; these 
were fastened by & stout, oaken bar placed trans¬ 
versely across them, and secured by a bolt; there 
True, also a heavy spring-bolt at the top of the 
doors, and a double-lock near the bottom. At 
this entrance young EUlott glanced nervously, as 
tne hands on tUo clock move slowly but surely 
around the dial nearlug the fatal hour. 
It Is twenty minutes past eleven, and he plle6 
up his books upon his desk, walk* across the 
floor a few times, and then, carefully replies 
them, at least once In every minute of the quar¬ 
ter hour just past, and now examines the safe, 
leaving the door partially open. Eleven thirty! 
It is fearful to watch the varying expressions of 
his face, as with clenched fists he strides up and 
down that little room, as a caged Hon treads his 
cramped prison-house, and anon drops his head 
forward and covers bis face with his hands, while 
his whole form shakes with emotion. A glance at 
the dial shows eleven forty; with a wild groan 
he presses bis hands to his temples, crying, “ God, 
be merciful 1 Ohl God, be merciful t” What a mo¬ 
ment for Marjle—trembling in every nerve, she Is 
wholly undecided how to net—what can she do? 
It Is a quarter of twelve, and again the latch of 
the door clicks at the the watchman’s hand, and 
all Is still; soon a faint tapping at the rear door 
brlugs Herbert to his feet with a bound. What a 
look! his eyes are blood-shot, and the purple 
veins stand out almost to bursting on his high 
forehead. He cries out, “ Great Heaven! Is there 
no help—no help for me ?” 
Marjle has crept close up to the door of the 
office, and can watch every motion. 
He turns to his desk, and, taking up a small re¬ 
volver, nervously draws back the hammer as If 
tempted to take hts own life. 
Marjle grows faint at the sight, her brain whirls, 
but she does not lose her self-pos3esslon for an 
Instant; If he moves his hand to raise It, she will 
sprlDgtohlm. Hark! the warning stroke of the 
elock—tlve minutes of twelve. 
He hears It, drops the weapon and 'urnlng 
flereely, almost brushing against Marjle In his 
haste, passes out of the office toward the doors 
he loosens the heavy bar and, takes It down, 
then walks back a few steps—one minute gone- 
bo leans his head on a bale of goods for ati in¬ 
stant, then slowly taking up the bar, partiy re¬ 
places It. Oh! what a moment of anxiety for 
Marjle: will he have courage to be true? “God 
help my Herbert,” she murmured. But with a 
fiendish laugh ho throws it down again, the clock 
Is on tho stroke of twelve, a moment more it will 
be done and Herbert Elliott will be a relon. oh! 
the wild passion that surges through Marjle’s 
heart, her reason wavers, It seems to her that 
the canopy of heaven is about to fall, and her 
slender hand Is all that holds It back, and now 
sho thinks an awful tempest Is to devastate, the 
earth and the winds are held In her feeble grasp, 
which she feels Is weakening at every breath, 
the mental strain Is too much for human endur¬ 
ance, It grows dark to her, and she cannot speak 
or move; but her eye Is fixed on Herbert and she 
watches every motion of his hands. He has 
pulled down the sorlng-bolt from the top, ono 
turn of his hand will complete the work. He 
staggers forward and looks wildly around him— 
his hand is on the key, and—Marjle Is spell¬ 
bound, will she fall now at this last moment? 
has she fainted? not a feature moves—her face Is 
livid and her eyes protruding; the clock begins 
to strike and Marjle moves, she takes a step 
nearer and at the rustle of her garments Herbert 
looks around. There she stands, full In the gas¬ 
light pale and motionless. 
“Oh God! ’Us Marjte’s spirit!” he cried, and 
reeled heavily clutching the door for support. 
The elock Is strlktng and there Is a loud tapping 
at the door. With a strong convulsive thrust 
be sets the spring bolt back In Its socket,, the 
oaken bar Is quickly replaced and secured; then 
sinking on his knees, Herbert EUlott vowed tor 
Marjte's sake to be a man. 
There Is impatient rapping at tho door, but 
heeding it, not he turned again toward Marjle and 
there she stood unmoved, the shock was almost 
too much for even his strong nerves, hut he 
spoke calmly—the calmness or fear—saying: 
“ Is it you Marjle, or am I mad ?” and with 
equal calmness she replied. 
“ Yes, Herbert, It’s your Marjle come to save 
you.” 
“ And, God be praised, she has 3aved me,” cried 
he as, catching her fainting form, they both sank 
to the floor. 
The noise at the door grows louder, but they 
hear it not tlU brought to consciousness by the 
sharp report of fire-arms and the rush of feet 
without. 
The cause of this is readily explained by the 
action of Air. Soldier, who, after leaving Alarjie, 
met a friendly officer to whom he related what he 
knew of these strange circumstances. A special 
watch was placed in the vicinity and the three 
burglars were taken In the act of signaling to 
Herbert Elliott. 
Their story of his connection with the plot was 
not believed, and as they were well known to the 
police as criminals, the proof was deemed suffi¬ 
cient for their conviction. 
Thus, by the blessing of God on the Intrepid 
daring of a Bimple country maiden, the fortunes 
of the house and the honor of Herbert Elllotr 
wore saved. 
It Is not for us to describe the confessions made, 
vows renewed, or prayers of thankfulness that 
rose from earnest hearts as the night hours 
waned; but we will mention that In the early 
dawn of that Christmas morning a carriage was 
driven from a dingy warehouse on Washington 
Street to a spacious residence on Madison Ave¬ 
nue, and a strange scene was witnessed in the 
library, where were present only Gilbert EUlott 
and wife, his son and Margaret Martyn,—and, 
strangest of aU, this same austere Gilbert EUlott 
found tear-drop6 on his cheeks, where none had 
been for forty years before, and as he wiped them 
off he laid his hand tenderly on a maiden’s head, 
saying, “God bless you! God biess you, my 
daughter!” A week later, when the New Year 
dawned, the sign at No. — Washington Street 
read no longer “Elliott & Co.,” but “ Gilbert El¬ 
liott * son.” 
Alotiier Edwards had company from New York 
on Christmas week, and there was a long, earnest 
consultation in the quaint old keeping-room the 
night before they returned. When the daisies 
came and the strawberries began to ripen In the 
meadows, one daisy blossomed from girlhood into 
womanhood, and the accompanying strawberries 
were rosy blushes beneath a crown of orange 
blossoms. 
--—- 4 - » ♦■■■- 
Monkey Coolies.—a correspondent of a Ceylon 
newspaper stateB that large apes are now regu¬ 
larly employed In the Straits Settlements to pull 
cocoa-nuts. These monkeys are Imported from 
Acheen In batches, like cooUes, and are marched 
round the plantations by their owners, who let 
them out on hire. A line is flrst attached to each 
of these peculiar laborers, and he is then sent up 
a tree, where he Is said to select fruit with great 
discrimination, and to twist the nut round and 
round until It falls to the ground. Each suc¬ 
cessive fall of a nut is hailed by the hairy opera¬ 
tor above with a Jump and a chuckle of satisfac¬ 
tion. 
-»-» ♦ 
The Contents of a Crocodile's Stomach.— The 
stomach contained about live pounds’ weight of 
pebbles, as though It had fed upon flesh resting 
upon a gravel hank, and had swallowea the peo¬ 
ples that had adhered. Atlxed with the pebbles 
was a greenish slimy matter that appeared wool¬ 
ly. In the midst of this were three undeniable 
witnesses that convicted the crocodile of wilful 
murder. A necklace and two armlets, such as 
are worn by the negro girls, were taken rrora the 
stomach. The girl has been digested. This was 
an old malefactor that was a good riddance.—Sir 
Samuel Baker’s Ismailia. 
-♦-*->- 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
Dosia. By Henry Grevillk. Translated by Ma¬ 
ry Neal Sherwood. Boston: Estes & La'uriat. 
Price, $1.60. 
This is a charming story charmingly told, and 
felicitously translated. Dosla Is a fresh, original 
creation, quite too good for the somewhat prig¬ 
gish fellow who won her. While the plot Is ex¬ 
tremely simple,—it can scarcely bo called a plot, 
in fact,—the dialogue is sparkling, and the narra¬ 
tive la as smooth and graceful as a sun-beam. 
The story Is so unlike the average French produc¬ 
tion, is so unlike some other stories by the same 
author, as to create a curious surprise that her 
pen could produce such dissimilar work. The 
boo’s must prove a delight to those fortunate 
enough to read It. 
The Cob-web series, to which It Is the latest ad¬ 
dition, has been very happy In Its selections of for¬ 
eign authors thus far, and If the standard is ad¬ 
hered to, we do not think we can recommend 
more pleasing translations to those whose scheme 
of education has not embraced foreign languages. 
BRIC-A-BRAC. 
Imitation Ebony.— Ebonlzed wood is much In 
demand now-a-days for painted panels and other 
decorative purposes. In some respects It Is pref¬ 
erable to the genuine ebony. Apple, pear, and 
walnut wood, especially If fine grained, may be 
“ eboulzed” by the following process: Boll in a 
glazed vessel, with water,four ounces of gall-nuts, 
one ounce of logwood chips, half an ounce of vit¬ 
riol, and half an ounce of crystallzed verdigris ; 
filter while warm, and brush the wood with the 
hot solution a number of times. The wood, thus 
stained black, is then to be coated two or three 
times (being allowed to dry completely after each 
coating) with a solution of iron ^flltngs In a quart 
of good wine vinegar. This is to be prepared 
hot and allowed to cool before nse. 
Only a hoy; but he chanced to crawl. 
Through a little rent of the oircuo wall. 
And. taking breath, he stood bravely up 
Till the clown came in with skip and hop. 
Only a boot; but :t ehanoed that day 
That that there hoot it bore down that way. 
And the power that through that boot was sent. 
Lifted the boy out of that circus tent. 
__ [Good WoriJ$. 
Apparatus costing $ 2 ,ooo has been successfully 
used in San Francisco to photograph a horse while 
trotting. A row of cameras wag uncovered and 
covered by electricity, thus photographing the 
famous horse at successive points of his stride 
while going at a 2:25 gait. These pictures show 
that his feet were all off the ground together 
twice during the 3trlde, notwithstanding the gen¬ 
eral belief of turfmen that a trotting horse al¬ 
ways has one foot down while In action. They 
also upset accepted theories as to the shape of t he 
fore leg when the foot touches the ground, for 
Occident. Is shown with the leg projecting at a 
considerable angle before him, as straight as an 
Iron bar, with the heel In contact with the sur¬ 
face, and the toe not yet brought down. 
" There goes a maiden wooed and won,” .1 
Said Robinson to Brown, 
Ab by there passed a dainty dame 
With richly broidered gown ; 
"And there,” Baid Brown to Robinson, with Anger 
placed 
A painted form upon 
That fronted a tobacco mart, 
” There stands a wooden one. ” [ Tonka rs Gazette. 
Enterprise in Honey.— a Chicago honey dealer 
has const rue ted a floating bee-house large enough 
10 accommodate two thousand hives. This he Is 
towing up the Mississippi River, from Louisiana 
to Minnesota, keeping pace with the blossoming 
of the flowers, thus stimulating the honey-mak¬ 
ing ability of his bees. I n bis return trip he de¬ 
signs to take advantage of the autumnal flowers 
at eacn point. Just as he does of spring In go¬ 
ing up the river. This plan of moving bees to get 
the benefit of fresh flowers has been tried In 
some parts of Europe. 
nKAVEN'S phonograph. 
“For every idle word that man shall speak,” 
For every low-breathed curse his lips shall mutter, 
I’ve always read that man shall give account 
At the last day, to his confusion utter. 
Scoffers have sneer’d, ” What, every word recorded 
Nothing illegible on pages of gold ?” 
Earth has its phonograph—is heaven without it! 
Scoffer, beware! the phonograph is old. 
[F- S. in Boston AcJertUver. 
AN INN IN JArAN. 
The certainty of having a pleasant resting- 
place aftPr the toll aDd trouble of the day la one 
of the charms of pedestrianlsm In Japan. The 
“ Pled Bulls ’’ and ” Red Lions” of our English 
highways make no pretence whatever to any¬ 
thing beyond the mere satisfying of the animal 
wants. How very different tt Is In Japan ! From 
the moment the threshold Is crossed to the mo¬ 
ment of departure the visitor Is the object of un¬ 
ceasing solicitude on the part of every one con¬ 
nected with the establishment, from highest to 
lowest. If If. is midday, and he has arrived hot, 
dusty and a little tired, after a long morning's 
tramp, the whole force of the establishment ush¬ 
ers the visitor Into a pretty, light apartment, 
looking on to one of those marvellous min¬ 
iature gardens. In which, covering a space of a 
few feet, the mountains, woods, rivers and floods 
of an entire province are represented. By one 
neatly-dressed, pleasant-looklngdamsel his hoots 
are taken off and his feet bathed In hot water, a 
second fans nim and keeps up a voluble patter’of 
onversatton, a third on her knees offers him re¬ 
freshing tea and sweetmeats, while the host 
himself with another detachment of waitresses 
If helping the coolies to unpack the box contain¬ 
ing t he European food. Everything that meets 
the eye is cantrtved to please it. There are pleas¬ 
ant rustle paintings the screens. There are 
vases wlthlfiowers dotted about; from the wood¬ 
work outside are suspended gayly colored lan¬ 
terns, or festoons of glass through which the 
wind makes a soothing music, bo that by t.bo 
time the traveler has finished his repast, has 
smoked a pipe, and perhaps drank a cup of 
“ Sakl ” with the host, he feels thoroughly Re¬ 
freshed and In capital humor to resume his jour¬ 
ney. All this enjoyment Is procured at a merely 
nominal cost, and the present of some bread or 
European liquor to the house at leaving brings 
out tne whole establishment, who say “ Sayon- 
ara”—that Is “ Good-bye”—with their foreheads 
ou the mats.— Belgravia . 
Blue ryes smile and sorrow dies. 
Blue eyes frown and gladness flies; 
Smiling, frowning, laughing, weeping, 
Blue sy?s e'er my heart are keeping. Dk. 
“You muy break, you may shatter the vase, If 
you will,” but the frightful keramics pasted on by 
women folks will stick to It still.— [Hon-istoion 
Herald. 
