filled with spice. They represent the wounds of Christ, and the candle itself when lighted signifies His resurrection. In the Greek and Armenian churches the paschal candle is divided into three branches, to represent the Trinity. -0:0 MCKINLEY'S NOBILITY. Mr. McKinley has just received froin an Irish lady who is in America a timely present in the shape of some photographs of the thatched cottage and its neighborhood where his greatgrandfather lived, and where his greatuncle, Francis McKinley, was hanged during the rebellion of '98. This was in Dervock, near Ballymoney, County Antrim, whose inhabitants to-day are said to be proud of the fact that the Chief Magistrate of the United States is a son of "Ould Ireland." 0:0 TURN HIM OUT. A parish beadle is Scotland was much exercised at the appearance of a strange old gentleman, who, when the sermon was about to begin, took an ear trumpet in two parts out of his pocket and began screwing them together. The beadle watcned him until the process was completed, and then going stealthily up, whispered, "Ye mauna play that here! If ye dae, I'll turn ye oot!" 0:0 FIRST AND LAST. A woman who was once the "First Lady in America" is now an inmate of the Louise Home in Washington, with a pension of 8 dollars a month to live on. This is Mrs. Letitia Tyler Semple, the daughter of President John Tyler, who, on the death of her mother in 1842, took her place as the social head of the American Executive. Her pension is dervied as the wdow of a naval officer, and, as she is without any other means of support, and the slen der sum is not enough for her needs, she has been reduced to the scarcely dignified position of asking one of the United States Senators to get her pension increased. She is related to three other Presidents besides her fathernamely, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, and Benjamin Harrison. 0:0 EASTER EGGS. The exchange of eggs at Easter was formerly a religious observance, the custom dating back to the very earliest days of the Christian Church. In many European countries, notably France and Russia, it is still religiously observed. Among the Russian peasantry the exchange of visits and eggs on Easter Day is very common, being accompanied by the salutation "Christ is risen!" the usual response being "He is, indeed!" In France, begging for eggs on the part of the village children is very popular, while in Italy hundreds and thousands of eggs are blessed by the clergy, previously to being distributed among the people as charms against many spiritual and bodily ills. 0:0 HEROIC. The statue of President Kruger of the Transvaal, which is soon to be unveiled at Pretoria, will be of bronze and fourteen feet high. A Dutch sculptor, Mr. Van Bouw, has the commission, and is working on it in Rome. In front of the president, on his pedestal of red granite, will stand the figures of four gigantic Boers, two in colonial garb, and two in latter day campaigning uniform. The president himself will be represented in his usual costume, a long frock coat, baggy trousers. roomy boots, and a two-foot hat, round of crown and curly of brim. Oom Paul lately dispatched from Pretoria to Rome one of his well worn hats for a model, and it has already been cast in plaster. A SERMON ON MONEY. A colored exhorter said recently, in the course of a sermon on "Money, the Great Evil:" "My brotherin, money causes mo' trouble in dis worl' dan anyt'ing I know on. Fac'is, de devil is in do dollar. When I see a man wid a pocket full er money, I say ter myself, 'Dar's a man what needs a guardeen,' an I feels des like takin him home an lockin up dat money fer him. Ef any er you in de hearin er my voice is got money on yo' pusson, bring it right heah, an lay it on do altar an go yo' ways an lemme pray over it till a blessin come ter it. Doan wait ter count it; des come forward an unload!"-Atlanta Constitution. the grammar a chance. Try it, and you will find it a dead certain cure. I tried hard to induce the late General Grant to adopt it, but I could not succeed. Otherwise he might not have died so soon." :0: AS MUCH AS HE COULD DO. A very eccentric character once happened to be selected as a juror in a murder case. The lawyers regarded him as a weak man who would be influenced by the other jurors. The first ballot taken in the jury-room showed eleven for conviction and one blank ballot. Inquiry traced this blank ballot to the eccentric character. He was argued with, but to no purpose. He told the jurors he would have nothing to do with the affair. When pressed, he thus explained his position: The whole thing was really a domestic affair between the prisoner and his wife (the murdered woman); he could not help it if the prisoner happened to kill his wife; it would be indelicate for him to interfere; it was as much as he could do to keep his own wife in order, and he would not be bothered by another man's wife. The jury was obliged to bring in a disagreement.-Literary Digest. :0: NO DIVISION. God does not mean us to divide life into two halves-to wear a grave face on Sunday, and to think it out of place to even so much as mention Him on a week-day. Do you think He cares to see only kneeling figures and to hear only tones of prayer, and that He does not also love to see the lambs leaping in the sunlight, and to hear the merry voices of the children as they roll among the hay? Surely their innocent laughter is as sweet in His ears as the grandest anthem that ever rolled up from the "dim religious light" of some solemn cathedral. And if I have written 240 anything to add to those stories of innocent and healthy amusement that are laid up in books for the children I love so well, it is surely something I may hope to look back upon without shame and sorrow (as how much of life must then be recalled) when my turn comes to walk through the valley of shadows. -Lewis Carroll. :0: FUN IN COURT. At a Dublin County court recently I was very much interested in the following case: Judge-Who is it that brings the allegation against the prisoner at the bar? X 99-Plaze, Y'ur Wurshup, Oi'm the allegator. Judge-What's the charge? X 99-Well, plaze Y'ur Wurshup, Oi was on my bate, as usual, when Oi saw a man with a box creating a disturbance in the road. there?" says Oi. "What are ye doing "Oi'm going to lave that box here," says he. "Shure ye can't lave it there," says Oi. well. Oi've left it there," says he. "Come out of that," says Oi. "Oi'm not in it," says he. "It's ag'inst the law," says Oi. "You're a liar," says he, "It's ag'inst the window." With that Oi struck him and missed him. Thin Oi hit him ag'in in the same place, but he hits me a blow on the nose with his fist, and says, "A friend in need is a friend indeed."-Answers. Radnor, O. PAPA ISN'T HOME TO-DAY. "O Papa, Papa," There she comes again, But that I cannot do, the week is gone, And neither of my sermons yet is done, "O Papa, Papa," What a silent thrill That piercing cry strikes through my tutored will; But to allow her now to enter in, And then neglect my work would be a sin. "O Papa, open door, me, baby, cry" My soul be still she almost heard that sigh, She won't stay long, Ha! there she goes away, "Yes, darling, Papa's home," I loudly cried; It was the thought that I may soon implore Ere long admission at the heavenly door, J. V. STEPHENS. |