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BRIGHT MESSENGER BOYS, LONDON THE GREAT IS PROUD OF HER MESSENGER SERVICE. Hrtrr Arrntr.1 of i.iiiim. ur ImpiitlrBrr. And' tlway* tl<-r< and In. run I. -omr r Ihe tarlem Krrd rYrinrninl lit ihr H-rf en % vtrh ! 1 > i rau^r l..r III. II,. I,. I ii.l. U..U. London ha* a messenger service of which the British metropolis is proud. U piovides smart, capable, ambitious lad*, who v.e with each other in executing their taiki, n * manner that will win recognition and reward. A writer says : "A correspondent of tk* St. James's (iazette mentioned that having 'retired lo a spot in the north of Scotland twenty miles fiom any railway station, and five hundred from London, he was flattering himself that he was suffici- ently removed from all things savoring o the monster city. But lo, in his pathway, as he descended the hillside on hi* home- ward way, unconcernedly stepped along a boy in th* uniform of the London District Messenger* with a bundle of fishing rods over his shoulder. He had been chartered from the 1'io-kdilly office by two gentlemen on a bicycling tour. His duties, to valet them, travel with their luggage, while they were laboriously breasting hilly roads on safeties, acd apparently to enjoy an ooca. sional day's tuning. Who, would not be a District Messenger boy ? " But, upon further inquiry, it appears that the stern path of duty occasionally leads messengers into placet where they would prefer nut to go and to undertake duties which are, to say the least, unpleas- ant. Not loog sines a private hotel rang up. " When tbs boy presented himself he was '.old to send the biggest and strongest a lecture on ambulance work was in pro- gress. His presence wa* required tor the purpose of -IMTI VTIM. A and having various limbs bound up. "The official* take a particular pleaiure in taking on the staff one-armed or one- handed lad* of ">!>. I character. Doe of the olde*t boy* in to.- company'* service is one- handed; but if he i* deficient of hi* proper complement ot Itmlu he make* up for il in medal*, of which he. has earned four. Suuh an array i*a guarantee of good conduct and truitworthineii, *o ii is not surprising lo learn lhat this boy has carried hundreds of pounds at one lime with him lo variu.ii parts of the country. In the urm:ier be and another equally trustworthy I* f look charge of the canteen of a voluntenr camp "Few puople have any idea of t'-e work involved m summoning a messenger. They little dream of the miles of wire which have been laid, of the bauery-room beneath the district office, of the difficulty of finding reliable superintendents, of the anxiety o' the superintendents to afford a good service to their numerous clientele. These winter tor ms have given the foreman 1 inesman many an anxious moment. Spans of wire snap* ped by furious squalls mean circuits sus- pended, and that means complaint* from subscribers, naturally indignant. " One feature of the messenger service ha* icarcely yet been developed, and is little known. When it is, it is sure lo be appreciated; for it is *o simple and so per- fect in insuring its object viz., absolute watchfulness on the part of a watchman. Tilt TKl.L-TAI.K CLOTK is all very well, but it only tells its tale on ihe following morning. In the meantime the watchman may have been drugged or murdered, or be drunk, liut under the Messenger Company system the watchman is obliged to signal to the district office at stated times, euher hourly or halt-hourly, as arranged. Should the signal not arrive within three minutes ot the appointed time a messenger is sent to enquire the reason. Thus assistance can at any time be summon- ed without the watchman leaving the building. A report is sent every morning to the manager of the building showing the times at which the watch calls came in. " Had this sytem, which is now in op- eration at the Cafe lloysl, been there soon th.y had. Fortunately a tall, strong laj | er the mlir a, r of the mgnt w , tc hman must of about eighteen wa* in the oltice, who ha ve been detected within n hour, or even a much shorter period. This would have probably meant the murder's detection and possibly saved the lite of the victim. " In conclusion, the following are among the various erramlr performed by the com- pany's messengers. Leading a blind man about, taking a young lady to school, taking children to school daily and bringing them bajk, taking luncheon down to river picnics, acting detective in plain clothe*, down into the weal country lo pay a county court summons, shopping at the slorei, taking a newly arrived Indian servant MOrNTBD MK.HSINOIR.H. was in training for the police. He was accordingly dispatched to the hotel, it being about midnight, and was conducted to a bedroom upstairs, where he was told he was to sit up with a gentleman who was ill, and keep him in bed. After bjing thereabout an hour ho came to the con- clusion chat they had left him in charge ol A RAMNc: to the play, and cook out for a newly arrived (ierman A WALK IN Till MARK (and bringing her back, to the disgust of her fellow servants, whe hoped he had Isft her there.) Many other amusing in- stances might be related, but the list would be a very long one. There is oat other point which should be mentioned, and that i IB list ti I i I i * .. ..( 1,_ tl __ . 1 _ I . . .11 I Household. ^^X/>^^^ 1 ^*^^^SXX^>^N^X^^%^^XNi^' Home Sewing Points. "I see you are doing a job I ha.e always disliked, Mrs. Peters," said Mrs. Price, as her friend resumed ih* work laid down at her entrance. "I often wish we could return to the old fashion of buttons and buttonholes on all dresses, it is so difficult to have hooks and eyes look nicely." "I used to find it so," replied Mrs. Peters, "until I learned from a dressmsker I had at the house. W hen resdy for the facings, turn down both sides of the fiont about * quarter of an inch on the side for the eyes, and about half an inch on the side for the hooks, and baste it. Sew on the hooks and eyes, evenly, through the little rings, and also over the sides to keep them firm. You need not break off the thread every time, but carry it from one to the other. When this is done, cut the facings, and overcast them across the eyes -and under the books. In this way hooks and eyes are both covered, except the little part that n needed. The only difficult part is to have ihe ejres project the exact distance neces- sary, which should be about an eighth of an inch." "I think ihose directions will help me next time," said Mrs. Price, gratefully. Now 1 think I will tell you what I learned from a dressmaker, though I think very likely you may have practiced it." "1'erhaps not," was the answer, "let me hear it. ' "I always had trouble with my skirt agging in the middle of the back, until j learned of sewing largo eyes on each aide ol the middle of the belt and hooks to match on the seam* of ths waist. I never had any more trouble of that kind. "Yes," remarked Mrs. Peters, "I have used that plan and found it very satisfac tory. Please excuse me a moment, while i look for a bit to mend this undershirt with." Returning a few moments later, she said : "I can't bear to nee flannel* and stocking* or other clothes mended with thread or material that doe* not match. I sometimes think a hole is almost preferable to a gray stocking darned with blue, or black underskirt bound with red, or a brown patch where there should be a black one. Buttons, all kinds of mending thread*, in cotton, linen, silk and wool, bindings in taffeta, ribbons and even webbing by the yard are to h* bought at mo**, reasonable prices for making old things as good as new, and for keeping the new iu perfect condition." "For that reason," remarked Mrs. Price, " I think it would be an economy in the same direction to buy the same makes and colors in flannels and hose from season to i, so that one may have material to and such proved to be the case. The boy, however, stuck manfully to his post nil ihe morning. Recently there was another curious case where an unfortunate man deranged in his mind appeared at one oi the offices and asked for two bo>s to sit up with him to protect him. Due was sent and the oilier was to follow, but before he came the man got so nervous that he sent the first boy - to his no small rrlief for a policeman as well. "The public do not reai>/ how carefully this elaborate messenger service is organ' iced. Kvery effort is made in insure the efficiency and absolute promptness of the service. Kven a messenger police force had been organised In every district. The duties of this polioe are to occasionally, at uncertain hours, patrol their .intrul to take notice of any messenger who might chance to be improperly dressed, or per- forming his duties In a slovenly manner. The chances of this, however, sre very remote, for a messenger is not only encour- aged to perform his errands in good time by the bestowal of silver medals carrying gratuities with them, but an offender in this way is first warned, then fined, and lastly dismissed. Taken altogether, the discipline of the service, which is in the efficient hands of an old Horse Arlilleiy- man, who is enthusiastic in praise of his lads, is admirable, and strong esprit de corps pervades all ranks, "Since this admirable organisation took London by storm the (ieneral Post Office has lost some of its most treasured laurels, and moit emphatically been beaten on its own ground in certain direction*. The new service is so expeditiously ami accur- ately performed, and withal so cheap, that often the demands of the company's resources are difficult lo comply with, and many a time every messenger from a station will Iw out simultaneously. In fact, the organi/ation is . l.ott INi. AT V MI..IITV HATB, anil feeling that a service sn praiseworthy and admirable must lie a matter of quickly growing interest, we have gleaned some particulars at headquarters for the benefit of our readers. It is satisfactory to nee, in the first place, thai their healthy outdoor work has an excellent effect on the army of boys in the company's employ. All of them look the very picture of health, and despite their numbers, cases of sickness are extremely rare. As an instance of the ceaseless call on lhee young messengers, a fair example of a couple of nay's work at a ingle bran. Ii may be given. At the I'K oadilly office recently considerably over HOC calls were performed in two day*, some of these reprem-niin.' long journeys into the country, and including msny trips into the suburbs. "Quite recently the company have start- ed a number of bicycle*, no now for a small additional fee an extra accelerated service can be given. The royalties inflicted on the company by the Post Ollice are so excessive that several additional features have lately been introduced. "No work is loo mrange for a London District Messenger Ix.y. Nothing ever surprises him. Quits recently one was 'rung up' for dyan institution. On arrival he was conducted on to the platform where is the utility of the fire and police call Many serious fires have been extinguished I by the prompt arrival of the ' Fire Queen, summoned by the call box. As will bs readily understood, it is of paramount im- portance thai immediately on the discovery of a fire the whole energies of the person on the spot should instantly be devoted lo extinguishing it. If, therefore, he has ready to his hand a meant of summoning assistance, without ruihing out of tin house to give an alarm, thereby making a draught which mil fan the flames, it will be odds iu favor of the fire being got under control by the prompt use of handy appli- ances at the initial stage. A couple ol minutes' delay might mean the total de- struction of the house. By the use of the callbox . fire, which broke out at 3 o'clock on a .Sunday night in a house in (iren street, (iroevenor square, a month ago was confined to two rooms. Had it not been for the prompt use of it the whole house must have been burned down. Thi police call, too, is in almost daily use." Moustaches Prohibited. This is the ruls at the well-known bank ing house of Messrs. Coutts * Co., 59 Strand. None of the bank clerks wear moustaches, and it has long bean considered a point of business etiquette that all the gentlemen employed at the bank should wear frock- coats during business hours. A clerkship at Metars. Coutts' is considered one of the pri/es in the hanking profession. Some of the men Me university graduates, many have been educated at one of the great pu'ilic schools, while several have been calle.1 to the Dullish bar. Some years ago an attempt waa made to have the unwritten law regarding moustaches rescinded, but it was found ihal a greater number preferred the old custom lo remain in force than were in favor of its abolition. Ihis curious custom is also said lo prevail in some of the large tea houses in the city, while it is well known that some Church of Kngland Unhops prefer the curates under their charge to !H> clean shaven. A lady who tried about three years ago to enforce a shaved face on the groom in her employ- ment, and dismissed him at once because he refused compliance with her ordur, found that the law gave her no suoh power, and was mulcted in I'.i tor wrongful dismissal and I h costs of the action by the Judge of the Bedford County Court. Envious. "So you told your friend about my three hours' speech," said the emancipated woman. "Yes," replied her husband. "What did he say?'" "He said he wished his wife would make her speeches to an audlbnce instead of to him.'' Give Him a Show. "One more request,'' said the sick man, 'and I shall die satisfied." ''Name it," said his weeping wife. "I want John to write my obituary for he's the biggest liar in the family, and ain't never dad much chance to spread himself I" reinforce weak places without buying it." " That is true," was Mrs. Pater, reply, "and for that reason I often tl.ink it econo- my to dress in one color entirely or to dress a child so." " You don't mean alway* in one shade of C0lr ?" asked. Mrs, Trice, rather depre- catingly. "Oh, no, indeed," wat the quick answer. " But if one's clothes and hats and gloves were either all blue, of which many ihades could be used from the darkest navy blue to light blue* in wash good*, and shir waists, it would save much trouble in match ir.it lining*, *ilk, thread, etc., leftover from dreumaking. Or, if they were all brown.' "I believe there is something in your idea, Mrs. Peters. 1 shall think about it. Rice. While rice is often seen on the table, it i with many people considered a dish only fi for invalids, and with others always rook si in one of two or three ways. This houl< not be, for thsre are many dainty and pal atable ways of preparing it. In cool weather when cooked rice will keep for several days, cook quite a quauti ty and press ii in a mould a long or square cake tin makes a good one. Kit her simply boil the rice in water or cook it in a double boiler, using one cup of rice to three ol sweet milk. When cold, cut off sli needed. One pretty way of using is to spread layers of bright-colored jelly be- tween slices of the cold rice thrse layers of rioe and two of jelly then slice down through it and serve cold, with cream and sugar. Another fancy dish is made by taking slices of the rice, rubbing butter over them and browning in a broiler. Spread on a hot platter and put cooked chicken (minced) on each slice ; garnish with parsley and nerve hot. Simply browned iu butter and served m " rioe toast." r n a delicious and easily prepared break f a-, i dish. Cook the rice and pack in wet cups ; when cool, turn out on a rl ii dish and place a lump of jelly on top oi bage and salt it as yon would the same quantity for cooking. Pound and pack it down closely, about an inch in dej tii, with a wooden pounder, hut be careful not to bruise the cabbage. Now put in anolher layer of cabbage about an inch iu dep ih and salt it as before, then pound down. Fill the cask or jar, pressing each layer down as hard as possible without bruising ihe cabbage. Cover the lop with two lay- ers of cabbage leaves, an oaken board and heavy weight. Pour water over slowly till it nhows a little at the top. If the cabbage was packed very firmly, a very little water will suffice. Tie a thin cloth over the cask and set it in a moderately warm place until fermentation ceases. This may be determined by the non-appearance of bubbles around the outside. It will ordinarily require three or four weeks u> complete the process, when a cloth should be tied over the cask ar.i it should be sst in a cool place. If no water is used the kraut will not be as white; if too much salt is used fermentation is checked. Bologna Sausage. This receipt for mak- ing bologna has been tested and found to be good : Take three pounds of lean beef, three pounds of lean pork, two pounds of fat bacon and a pound and a half of beef suet : put the lean meal into a saucepan of hot watnr and set the saucepan over the fire for half an hour. Cat ihe pieces fine, each kind by itself. Chop the suet and bacon, each by itself. Season each with pepper, a litlle thyme and ground mace ; chop all lightly together. Fill skins with the mixture, tie them in lengths, and put them in reef brine for ten days, then smoke them. To prepare the skins : Take beef intestine*, cut them in long stripe, wash thoroughly in warm water, turn them and wasii apain. >crape thoroughly, wash in two or three waters, then soak them in salt water till wanted for use. The skins must be bandied carefully in the process of cleansing as they are often quite tender and tear easily. A REMARKABLE RUSSIAN. A Wealthy Vae. In renal TeUlol and HI* i ...nut Werk tilth ikr Laborers m I llrlr I .llr. While Russia has long been a synonym 'or despotism and oppression, there is as- sociated with it one name that has become amiliar in many lands as representing a benevolence remarkable in theory and practice alike. Count Tolstoi is well known as an author, bul better known as a man. is is descended from one of Russia's oldest amilies.and before he was twenty he came nu> possession of a largt amount of proper- ty. His ideas during his early life were not very different from those prevailing in us clan, although be soon shoved a dis- position lo help the poor people living on iis estate. Witnessing an execution led urn to study the relations of government and religion, with the result that he came GLTTING LIGHT FROM NOISE. t riuariiiiblr Blarevrrv Maid le Have lire M Nsdr br a feMvlrl. According to a despatch that is going tb* rounds of the papers, a convict at the Ohio Siat* Penitentiary has invented a battery that need* only some one to talk to it and set it into action. We notice that among the claims made for this acoustic battery is one that by its use a clock might be made to wind itself by it* own tick. The acoustic battery is described as fol- lows : "If two dissimilar conductors of elec- tricity which are subject to slight atomic change under the influence of sound are joined together aftei the manner of a pair of thermopile ban, and the open end* are iniulate'i by a suitable nonconductor of both sound and electricity, a current is generated wheu sounds are made in the vicinity of the exposed ends. If two or more such elements are connected together we have an ordinary call bell by simply clapping the hands in front of the exposed ends of tne battery." Thus it would be seen u> be a device working on a principle very similar to that of the thermo-electric pile, the sound vibra- tions being in this case sutstitnled for the heat vibrations us a motive force. There is theoretically no absurdity in this, and it seems rather probable than otherwise that * battery capable ol converting the energy of sound into electrical energy could be built acting on a principle entirely analog- ous to that to which thermo-electric car- rents are du. It will be remembered that Kdison in the early days actually patented ad. -vice for accomplishing the same con- version, and il worked, too, but was of no value whatever commercially. He con- ttructed a huge tuning fork which was to be caused to vibrate iu a magnetic field by resonance with its fundamental note sounded on another instrument, and still later Alexander Graham Boll invented the telephone, which is an adaptationof the same idea. The magneto receiver, when med as a transmitter, is a very familiar example of the facility with which sound will give rise to electric currents. Tne convict's idea, however, does net involve this princi- ple. It would be a more direct method in which magntism was not essential at alL If this announcement is authentic, it is one of considerable interest. As a method of generating current for power or lighting purposes, however, it is, of course, highly absurd. ONLY TWELVE OF THEM LEFT. serve either with ach ball and rreair or a sauce made of sugar and > itter. When the rice is oooku.l in milk it is converted into "cream* ed nee." by adding lai soon as cool) a \p- ful of HtilHy whipped cream season.> w.lh lemon. I'.le > uglily on a dish and serve when very co>. 1'Uin buile*. rioe is tu some tastes an in- sipid dish, but if served with lemon it is very different in Itoth taste and tppear- ancu. Before putting the rice on io ,-ook, slice a lemon thin and cover with >ugr. Wheu the rice is in the dish ready for the table, pour the syrup over il and place the slice* of lemon over the top and serve one or t wo of the slices with each dish of rice. Ku-u fritters are made by boiling a cup of rice in a pint of milk, adding the beaten yolks of three eggs, a lablespoonful of sugar and two of flour. When cold, add ihe whiles of the eggs, beaten tirt, and drop by spoonfuls in hot lard. Fry a deli- cate brown. Sour Krout and Bologna. This method of preparing cabbage is given by a Dutch woman who was noted for making excellent sour krout : Slioe cabbage with a slaw cutter or very sharp knife, sprinkle a little salt on the bottom of a jsr or cask, put in some cab- la COOST l.0 TOLVTol. to adopt as the practical creed of his life the Sermon on the Mount in in most literal meaning. Follswing out hi* example, he lives in the simplest style. He and his family work with the laborer* on their farm. He learned the trade of a shoemaker and give* much of hi* time to work at the bench. His life and words are made a con- stant protest against injustice everywhere. His wealth is most freely shared with the poor ; and, were he reft free to follow his own course, he won Id doubtless be ready to give away all that he has. His fins scholar- ship also is devoted to tne service of others, ami he has been engaged in preparing for he common people a collection of the best thoughts from the greatest thinkers of all i me*. The persecuted Stunduts have had ui warmest sympathy ,and such is the hold hat he has gained that no one person, pro- >alily, wields a greater moral influence in tusaia to-day. His works are eagerly sought, and -.mie that have not been pub- lished have a wide circulation in manuscript iinong the people. However widely one may differ from view* that wo.ild make Christianity opposed to government, an 1 j a synonym '<>r anarchy, and however little one may ap;>ruve not a few o' T.ilHoi's weitions, it cannot be .U-uied thai he has food lor principles that inihertu have been n little .: mger of being too strongly empha- sized er.lu r in theory or in practice. The Bicycle Mania. The medical journals am discussing ihe nteresting subject of bicycling, and they agree that when a man once falls victim to he bicycle mania he does not recover until he period of three years has elapsed. Then- are exceptions to this rule, and these ex :eptious are those men and women who ake up bicycling as a means of recovering and conserving their health. These people raotise the exercise temperately and mod- estly ; they are to be met with iu the lywaya rather than upon the highways ; hey do not seek to acquire spsed, and they until wilh tne physioal delights of the exercise the keen appreciation of those wauties of nature which are presented in he courts ountry. i I xlla. I Burr .r |,n, u , rwvered Isj i:nilh ultmkla. A remnant ot a once powerful and num- erous Indian tribe has just been discovered by KM: / Boaz near the head of Portland Canal. Dr. rioaz has devoted his life to the study of the Indian race in America. U the interest of the Berlin Museum and the Britnh Association, he went to British Columbia a few months ago, having heard that one of the British Columbia's Indian tribes possessed many of the dittmct char- acteristics pnyiical, religion*, social and mental of ths ancient Kirypiians, from which their legends would indicate that they ha.l descended. On arrival the investigator Irtrned that the tribe he sought, now alm.t extinct, had a home somewhere in the Naas Kiver country, whitrur be hurried. He found that Hie tribe had once ranged the great extent of country from Behm's Canal m Alaska to Cape Fox, and extending down to the Naas River, but that unable, by reason of their more peaceful disposition and pursuits, to oppose the inroads of Indians from ihe coast and from the Hock- ies the tribe had grown smaller and gradu- ally smaller, until now but twelve souls remained of what was once a great people. They have even lost their name, the pre- sent tribal name, Tsotsout, being taken from the Naas River language, iu which it is synonymous for slaves. These Indi- ans difler in appearance, measurements, history and customs, from any otner Indi- ans of America, and are apparently a Jistin-tive family. Dr. Boaz does not. however, agree with those who have proncunced them ancient Kgyptians. Their sociology possesses much in common with that of ths Phsraoh* and their legends also are all of the "great river. " But the expert does not consider this sufficient to establish anything iu view of physical dissimilarities. He ha* taken careful and voluminous notes, howi vsr, which he will study and compare on his return to London and Berlin. The language of the Tsotsouts it, he says, remarkable in its likeness to the Kgyptians. Finical. Tramp" Thanks for the clothes, mum, bui never mind the tie." Kiml lady" But you said you wanted to look like a gentleman Tramp" That's jest it, lady ; but this 'ere tie would queer the hul bi/. ! Yer see, they tie their own ties in the sacioty I moves in, mum." A Saving ot Wood. Subscriber What ! no fire in the stove thu .-old weather ? Kditor None ! hut there'* a creditor of their excursions into the j Mining round this morumg who said he I would make it hot for me.