THE GARDEN.

(Br Hoktcts.)

OtHendar of Operations,, A.ug. *25. "Hortus" ifl willing to ur-^wor any queries. Correspondents moat give Vheir tall name and address, though not for publication.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Peach (K.D.)—Tho peach is wopked upon %he almoiul, plum, and seedling peach. Tho mode of working la generally by buddhj'g in autumn* Robes (Nomo)— In jiruuiuß tho rosos, -always leave two oc throe buds. -Mow is tho proper time Co prone. After pruning fork over tho eurfaoo soil, and give a stood niulchiug of cow manure, if uuch cuu bo -procured. Tho ruin will wash it Into the ground. JFBVrr Tkhks (T.D.)—Yob must prune your trees at once; the nap is beginning to rise iv. some of them, and all fruit treoa should bo pruned before the sap 4s in motion. Peak (Ju<;k,) —Do not root pruno very he*,vy BOW. At this season you would only Buccecd iv giving the tree 'too severe a check. Only cut a few of the roots. Next autumn you can out the roots all round the tree. Planting Tkbks (G.W., M.)—l do not boiiove in late planting aa a rule, but if you plant your trees carefully and well pulToriso the soil, 1 have no aoubt but ohoy will succoud very well, especially i£ you Rive a aooa uuak i"S of water once duriug Uio summa-.

MAXIMS.

Seeds will not vegetate unless within the in fluence ol moist uro, air, and heat. Jbie careful, therefore, not to bow your seeds 100 deep. The first leaves which appear on young seed liugs '(milled, the seed loaves) are the sole uie&na of supplying nourishment to the young plants till ii. nan acquired roots; therefore, if they are seriously inj-ured or destroyed, the plants must die. The roots of most young seedlings are not strong enough to bear removal till they have ruade Ironz two to four proper leaves, for by this time the roots will be able to perform their functions. Leaves absorb and give out moisture and iahale and exhale air. They are consequently the moat, important organs of a plant, and i£ they arti'iestroyeU or injured the whole plant «UffOTB.

KITCHEN GARDEN.

AS soon as the soil is in v favourable con dition, sow main crop of onions, li the •toac.d baa fceen prepared as already directed, uead all ovxr tue surface, tuen .apply me rato. Xaeu mark out, the lines aujui, iificeu inches apart; sow me seed abuuu hali-an inch ttiep, cover up with the rake, then geiuJy. put the surface ivitti \.na back of we spade. Onions sowriearl> give heaviei and sounder bulbs than tuo&e suwu late, uia-ut iiocca for early spring usu ; brown opauisa aud James fur keeping, iaow aaotaei small -ptttcU of lsituce ; taoee large enough iiam .plant into rows about fittean iacliod apart. L>o not break the tap-root wuen lilting. .Make succeasioual sowinga of peas every fortnight; cnooae the dwaif sorts, as they dO'&ot r give so much trouole in providing stakes. Celery, aow in &eea pan, aud puc iq the frame. XoiuaCues, cucuuibers, and iuck-melona should now be sown under glass for the early crop. seakale and rhubarb for forcing, still contiuuc aa directed last weak.

FLOWER GARDEN.

All lifting aud traaaplauting in tuis de pattmont aiasc be bjougat to a c.osu uc tne cud 01 tais mouta. Uvues suouid oe plaiiteu at ouoe. (Joruwue piuuing for succes sioa. Oontiuuu pl^ntiug out giauioli «nu llliams ; luesu like a wJI-uiaumca picea of open gtuuud, wtil sutlitreu uom wind. ' Continue plaining tuc bu. dot tavoui - ilea mendonecl l<iai ■wuoK. Couduuo aow iu^ seod of tne a&idier aunuuls ; keep tae soil well stirred mound the early apriug Uo wenug bulbs : the uifleient upujQg lloiver ing piauis willsoou make thegaiueu alitde moru attiactive. To hoeda wjjicli are oe ginniog to appear thtough the j^ive a sprimkling of lime, so as to cueck ihj slaga. The best time 1.0 apply it is about nine o'clock at night; tae --lug* are out .feeding thea, aud the lime ia sure tv kill Uieui, liawu ; Apply the rollei frequeutl^.

GREENHOUSE.

All plants that ace coming into flower, water copiously wheoevei they require it, occasionally using weak liquid manure. Azaleas and camellias that have done .flowering remove outside to a warm shel tered situation. Kuschia outlines struck last autumn should now be polled, iota few iichimeuea and gloxinias. On o plenty of air cv all bright suuuy days. Cinerarias and calceolarias keep near ttio glass, turu ing them every lew days, so that, all sides of the plants may receive an equal distri bution of lightj thin prevents the plants growing lopsided.

SEASONABLE HUNTS.

Dr. A. li. Child ia antuority tor the sUte- : meal, that trees known to be only 12 years old were found when cat to have thirty-live ' to forty of tne lings which are popularly believed to be animal markj, His experi ments .point to the conclusion that "the formation and thickness of the nuga depend upou changes ia tbe atmospaere, aud the more trenuent these cuangss the greater number ol riugs." AMpurugao should be sown early in winter or late ia spring, in drills fourteen inches apart, and wueu tne shoots are well up tniu out. Good plants, one, two, or even three yours old, are preferiei where actaiuable. The grouud.for au, aspm a^ua bed caunot be nuidc too rich, and snould ba deeply worked, iv Betting tue plants iv the bed, placa them one foot apart each way, ana cuvcr with earth to the .depth of uve or six inches. Salt auu lime may be useu freely to au vant age. Many growers aver that there is only oue distinct: variety of this plant, auu that whatever difference .tliui'o uiay be ia due to culture and locality. Kndivuisahardy vegetable, cultivated for the leaves, whicn make one ot the bo.-t spring, autumn, and winter salads, For aa early crop, bow in drills fourteen inches apart as soon as the ground will do to work, and transplant 01 titiu out to one foot asunder. The late crop is the one mo.-.t sought for, and may be bum in mio f.uiiiiiitr. Before usiug, the plant must be blanched, whicL is auue as soon us the toot leaves have attained theii growth by i>ing them up when they are pene-lly dr>, uaa emtuini; them up wlien the weather is warm and dry, Xne complete shading of the soil rapidly enriches it, even without the application of manure, it may be that shading causes a deposit of nitrogen from the air ; Dut be that as it may, every farmer knows that wherever a stack of hay or straw has stood for Beveial months the ground underueatu i» not only enriched, but grows much darker :n colour. Any one may try au experiment, a3 follows : Select the poorest spot of ground on the farm and lay over a strip of any length, bat about a yard wide, a few inches of straw, and cover with a board, or, if pre ferred, lay only a board on the ground. If the place is then seeded to borne thing, tue difference ia growth between tuat pordju shaded and that not (shaded <vill be very marked. | To make a cheap aud reliable substitute far commercial fertilizers, such as super phosphates, etc., ut>s the following combina tion, viz. : Take one bug oi pure, raw, lioeXy ground bones and a bag of the best wood ashes, mix them on a Hour, and add gr.uiu ally three pailsful of water, mixing tlio. roughly with the hoe. Use ia small titixti ia about Uiu uwe manner v* She

superphosphates. The mixture should not I be too sticky, neither too moist nor too dry. I In opj.il.ving it avoid direct contact with the • sued. For instance, if applied in the hill, scatter v little earth over it before dropping the seed. A Very early visible effect should not be anticipated, but the good results -will manifest themselves as the season advances. The following is the best plaa for ger uiinauag small and delicate seeds : —Fill a common flower pot with fine loam, and scatter the seeds over the surface, which should be finelj pulverised, and by jaralag the pot settle the seeds well among the par ticles of soil. Do not press o? pack: the sur face, or any other part of the soil, but settle moderately by jarring the pot. Set tJie pot in shallow water in a 'warm, sunny win dow or plant-house, aud keep sufficient water at the base of the pot to keep the surface of the soil wet. Treated tfeus, marly if not all good seeds will grow, even those that re main in full view on the surface. Mo glass need bo laid on the top of the pot to j>re veut drying ot the surf,ice of toe soil, for by capillary attraction the surface wKI be kept sufficiently wot if enough water is kept at the baee of the pot. ft o care need be exercised to prevent baking ot the soil or washiog out of the seeds, &s when water is applied directly to the surface, Moat persona in setting out trees and other plants are so anxious to see them bldooi or bear fruit that they dislike to start with small specimens or prune large ones, even when informed by persons of experience in such matters that it is act ually necessary to sucoes*. KrverythiuK of the kiud is for immediate show or bearing, and if they plant a grape vine, raspberry, or fruit free, they want it to bear fruit the first seasou ; hence all cutting back and penning seem to them an unnecessary waste of material. Impatience, however, is one of the principal causes of failure among the inexperienced cultivators of both fruits and flowers. Tbey demand impossibilities, and reap only sad disap pointments.

Fruit Growing.

I>ext will cume the consideration of cropping the orchard. If it be a newly planted orchard, it will be better cropped for a few jears, and in cropping care must be taken to crop with email growing crops, »uch aa potatoes or other vegetables, which will not have the eflect of drawing tbe jouuh trees. Whatever is used, a sufficient distance must be kept from each tree, so that while growing it does not touch the tree, and that the orchardist cau always get tree access to each tree, so that the necessary pinching and summer-pruning can be conveniently carried on. It will be of great benefit to the trees having the i-uiiueo ground broken up seasoD after reason for some crops. Bat do not exhaust tbe ground by cropping ■without returning plenty of manure to it. Farmyard manure is the bear, but it cannot always ba ob tained in sufficient quantities, Tnen bones or some other good fertilisers must be used. There is another material which most noils are deficient in, and that is lime. Most fruit must have a certain amount of lime in its composition, -and ,where soils are defi cient it ou^ht to be supplied. The best way to supply the lime la in the spring of the year. Get the lime direct, if possible, from the kiln, and spread it over the surface iast before working the surface for the crop. It will immediately com mence to slacken, thereby giving the soil the benefit, of the heat generated in that process, wnich heat will also assist in dis solving some of the acids which abound in the soil, greatly assisting both crops and trees. When trees are getting too large for cropping, tow down into permanent grass which can be cut for hay in summer and gioen teed in winter. In the spring, in old orchards where the trees are becoming old and exhausted, and have perhaps received a slight application of the knife in the winter, ao as to induce them to make more wood, I would dig a large circle round each tree, ruixine in with the soils some well-decomposed manure or rough bones—this only where the trees want>selsting. Where old trees are making plenty or too much wood, they are better left alone at this period. They will require root-pruning in tne autumn.

A Duel to the Death.

The Early Peach came to a place where four roads met. He slapped his chest with his stem and looked to the east and the south. " Bismillah," he cried, "I am the hoss, and I drive the ambulance." The lUtle Green Apple came down the long road from the west and heard him. He bowed to the north and he bowed to the west. " I am the son of the cyclone," he shouted, "and I travel with my own pri vate coroner." "By the camel cf Mahomet," said the Early Peach, "-I am the friend of the sexton, and 1 can knock you out in four rounds, Murquisof Tewskbury rule 3." " Come to tne wake." shrieked the little Green Apple, "and you may call me a harmless pawpaw of the wilderness, if £ canuot double up the man who planted you." Then they looked down the four long roads aud waited for some one to practice on. Fram the east came a fair young girl from Vasuar College, and from the south came a gray-haired African. " Take you the fair student," said the Early Peach. " Not I," said the little Green Apple, " I didn't come here to attempt impossibilities. For nearly four years that girl has sat at surreptitious midnight lunches ; she has broken up a score of young men with her iee-creum bills, and still she is hungry. But I will stand aside and give you a chance at the African." •' lam not on the suicide lay this morn ing," *aid the Early Peach. "I know him, and already since yesterday's sun there have reposed beneath his untroubled vest, a peck and a half of my brethren, and he is even now famished. He is known as the destroyer of watermelons, and all my triDe fear him. Allah is great, but some things arc impossible." So they let many other people pass by unharmed—the old, the tough, the wary and the well seasoned. But wkicn'the day was far spent, coming down the long road from the west, they paw a rundyboy, the pride and joy of his home, and the torment of his teacher. Whistling a merry roundelay he came, his face as rosy as the glowing west, his heart as light a? thistle down. Ho waa their meat. The Karly Peach and the little Green Apple set their teeth and breathed hard as he came near. '■ Now 1" they shrieked, and livid with hate, they fiercely sprang upon him. In two short minutes tnat boy had both of them down, and as he cracked the peach pit to get at the "goody," he said : "By jimmy jinkp, I wisht I knowed where I could find a bushel of them fellers." The Karly Peach, with a dying gasp, turned and said ; " Wo were taken in." With a hollow groan the little Green Apple replied : " Of corpse." But the buy slept eouadiy all that night, and came tne next daj to look for more,-— " Chicago Herald."

A LADY'S LETTER FROM LONDON,"

Gossip about Dress, Fashions, Society, Music, the 'Iheatres, and New Hooks. [WRITTEN SPHCIALLY FOR THK " STA.B,".! i

By "ELISB."

London, July 13th. Dear ME Editob,—We are having wuch a glorious summer. For ■weeks now the weather has been simply perfect, and the heat is bo great that 1 often nod myself talking as if there were no such place as London and we were back in New Zealand again. Apropos of the Colony, who do you think 1 met the other day? why, Mrs Laishley, wife of the well-known Auckland solicitor. She caaie home a menth or two ago, and is residing with her little girls at the not very inviting suburb of Anerley. Mrs Laishley duesu't like London a little bit, aud finda living ia England terribly dull. I'm sure I'm not at all surprised. 1 really can't, think what I should have done wh*n we first cams tome if Tom had not been with me. Colonial ladies should never attempt to face England unaccompanied by their husbands. Theoretically it aouads very much ''the thing" for Mrs Blank to take her girls home in order that they may have the Benefit of the best masters, &c., but practically 1 don't believe ii otteu answers. There are so many things to be considered. Of course, when one has rela tions living ia London the undertaking assumes a uifferent complexion ; 1 am talk ing now of colonists who come home know ing literally no one. Are wives naturally hard upon widows who marrj again ? Tom declares they are, but I don't believe it. The remark was made because Ada (that's my sister) said she thought it was horrid of Lady Frederick Cavenaish (widow of the murdered Chic Socretary of Ireland) to marry again thus early. 1 muat confess the news of ta engagement stave me rather a shock too. it seems only the other day that Lord Frederick was assassinated. Yes, 1 do think her ladyship might have worn weeds for him a little lunger. Ahe new bridegroom is Mr Charles Meysey Olive, of Whitfield, an elderly man, and himself a widower. livening dresses are worn more decolleteo than ever. 1 hear the Princess of Wales ia determined to put a stop to the custom, and ban spoken very strongly to Lady Bolsover and other notable sinners, M jfigaro " has a story about a certain bishop whose attention wss drawn to sundry Dountiful charms too liberally displayed by a stout pmress. " Did your lordship aver see suca a sight!" observed his horrified chaplain. "JMotthai I remember," replied the reverend father ; '' at least not—auem I— since 1 was weaned," ltoyal personages do not, it ia to be feared, often reflect what are the oonse quonces of their whims. In the spring the Cjaeeu nearly brought ruin upon uunureds of glaziers through allowing it to be sup posed sue desiieu to ai&courage folks eatiu^ iamb. Well, now the Prince of Walee's known aversion to the new colour called "crushed strawberry" is entailing foariul loss on hilk-mercers, dressmakers, and glovers, isix weeks ago the demand for this soade was enormous. To-day uu girl with any pretensions to fashion would wear a scrap uf it. . Unquestionably the colour is hideous. About tuat there can be no aoubt whatever. 1 most say, though, some of tne new greens and yellows are far mure objectionable. If tt.K.H. were Jo prohibit them, she would confer a genuine boon on sooieiy. My husband is—like most of you men, dear Mr isditor—a little tryißg at times. He goes crazy over some.particuiar crochet, and then there is no persuading him to talk abuuc anything else. X remember, two joars ago, when we lived in New Zealand, he had a fit of belief in spiritualism, It v/a.-) a moat aggravatiag monomania, A numter of " inquiring minds" (oh, dear me ! what densely stupid people they were) used to come to the house every evening, and nothing would suit them but sitting at a round table in the dark and "investigating phenomena." 1 flatly refused from toe lirst to have anytning to do with such non sense, but I didn't like to bs disagreeable about the "seances." You see, thatterribla person, Lotti Wilmot, was in Auckland just then, and I feared Tom might go to fier " reunions " at the Army and .Navy Hotel if I stopped the fun at home, A crisis-, however, came presently. Mr ■■, of the —— Bank (who really aught to have known better), proposed that an invitation should be sent to Miss Wilmot to join the "advanced spiritualistic circle" at our house. Can you wonder that I f«lt very cross indeed, and said some rather unkiud things to the stupid man? Tom was aogry with me later on for being rude to his friend, and talked grandly about the "oacied laws of hospitality." I replied nothing on o-«rth should make me recive a -voinau who lectured and wrote as Lotii Wilmot did, aud, to make a loQg story short, the discussion ended by my having a bad attack of hysterics and Tom's run ning i.if in a hurry for the doctor. I was ill in bed for a day or two after, which sadly frightened my husband. There were no more " seances" then, and very soon a new sensation drove " spiritualism '' out of his head. Well now, would you believe it,the dear, silly fellow has none mad on the subject of "thought-reading." I daresay you have seen in the pa(,e:s ("Xmtti" especially) a long story ab jut the man irving-Bishop, who pro fesses to kuow everything that passes in your mind. We went to one of his soirees the other mgut, and (like Mr Laboucnere) I am confident the fellow is a common charlatan. JNone of his tricks are half as clever as those of the coujuror Maskelyne. Let me describe you two. The seance took place in a large mom tilled with-ladies and gentlemen specially invited by "the ex perimenter.'1 They were nominally sup posed to be all "unbelievers," but con sidering the great majority were clearly strangers to each other, I cannot see why half a dozen confederates might not have been there. One gentleman («aid to be Mr Froctor, the astronomer) blindfolded Bishop and lad him from the room. A small white pin was then produced, and (rather ostentatiously I thought) hid beneath the collar of a short, stout, gentleman's dress coat. On Bishop being Drought in again still blindfolded, a third party rose and announced that he was going to think hard about the location of the pin in order to enable Mr Bishop to read his thoughts aud find it. Bishop thereupon seized this individual by the hands, and after making a feint of hesitating which way to go, leu him straight up to the stout person, and turning up the latter's_coat-collar, triumph antly extracted the pin. Now, as a clever trick, this no doubt deserved the applause it got; but to call such jugglery " thought reading" is, 1 really think, too silly. Any confederate might, without the smallest risk or difficulty, have quietly signalled to Bishop the location of the pin. In the bank uotc " experiment" which followed, I

am almost certain one man at least was signalling.. It may f£s TdnTaays) "be only my ovp,i.suspicious nature, bat even he found himself oompelled to admit that the person in question coughed and dhuked a good deal. The cough -was possibly a natural afflction, but, presuming each tone *m signify a separate numeral and the num ber of the note to bo known' to tbe con federate, the trick Mr Bishop had to do would be mere child's play.' ' Sir John Lubbock w«« the hfro of the bank note experiment on this oocasioD. He took one from his purse, looked at the number for a momeut, and pat it back again. Bishop then pouuo-d upon him, and. seizing the baronet's hands, called out 9.7,974, hesitating for two or three minutes before the three as if uncertain about it. The reason of this hesitancy became clear presently^ for when Sir John read out the number it was 95,994. I had been' sus picious of confederacy before, ' but this curious incident convinoed me there must be something nf the kind. Moreover, Bishop failed utterly with several Bubject*. He d»ea not, it i» fair to say, pretend to read everyorm'.i thoughts, but I can't un derstand why his successes are usually " nobodies " and his failures men of known character and integrity. Tom was much imp-o sod with the Luobock incident. "p-o one," he keeps saying; "saw that note except Sir John himself, knd ho is abova suspicion of confederacy. How, therefore, do you account tor Bishop's suc cesss?" I got so tired of hem ing this juggler eulogUed that I insisted on our going to Maskelyne and Cook's on Wed nesday afternoon. There was an immense house, and Maskelyne had plenty of funny things to say about Bishop. Towards the close of the entertainment he came amidst the audience and stood on a glass pedestal, so as to insulate himself aud do away with all suspicions of electricity. A bank note was then asked for and banded up by my husband. Mas kelyne glanced at it for a second and then returned it, At the same moment the writing automaton Zoe, wnich was on the stage 50 yards away, correctly chalked on j her black-board the number of the note. This performance has (as I hoped it might) materially changed Tom's ideas about Bishop. The weather is so hot in the eveniDgs bow that theatres seem quite out of toe question. Most of them are shutting up for a month or twe, though the "dead" season does not absolutely commence till after Goodwood. The banquet to Henry Irving was a good deal talked about before hand, but did not prove the succtss antici pated. Tbe Queen would not permit any members of the Royal Family to be pre sent, and both Mr Gladstone and Lord Granviile sent npologies. Mr Gladstone is said to be in favour of knighting Irv ing, but Her Majesty declares that the precedent of bestowing titles on actors shall not be set m her reign. Mary Ander son, the great American actress, has ar rived in London, and will op«n at the Lyceum in September. Sue Is, as I dare say you know, a cousin of Mr Griffiu, the U.S. Consul at huc(cloud. Another Ameri can troupe is also ariveltis*d to appear at one of the West Knd theatres soon. I think they call themselves Willie JUI win's " Sparks." Very few new pieces are an nounced. " Kip Van Winkle," though ap proaching the 300 th night, at the Comedy Thexttre, still draws excellent houses. Plunquette's "New Gynne" has, how ever, been placed in r«h»arsal to as to bs ready directly business fait* off. I have not been reading a gteat many books lately. Very few good stories seem to be coming out this summer, and it is too hot for "instructive work*.", "Trans planted," by Mrs Fraser Tytler, is a pretty tale. I'he heroine uelente, after being bro-jght up abroad by a "bohemian" widower, gets transplanted to the deadly, dull, and proper society of an English village. What ehe ezperiaaces' may be imagined, but the story is well told, and not too long. The initial number of the new series of the " Cornhill Magazine," though a fair sixpenny worth, scarcely fulfils the expectations raised by most ex travagaut advertising. Mr Anstey, author of that clever and laughablo skit, " Vice Versa," contributes the serial etory. It is called the "Giant's Kobe," and I rather think I can foresee the plot. The opening chapters describe how the hero oonhdes to a young schoolmaster (whom the author gives us good reasons to distrust) a novel for publication. Mr Hero then goe« abroad; and I imagine that when the book is pub lished, aud turns out a wonderful success (as of course it isbound to do), Mr School master will declare it his his own pro duction, and appropriate the money and glory accruiag therefrom, thus proving himself "a dwarh'«b.*tbief wearing a giant's j robe." The short stories in the " Csrn hill " are rather good. I don't care for brief "scrappy" tales myself, but those who do will find tbis magazine an ad vance on " Household Words" and similar periodicals. There are always excellent novelties in ".Black wood." Tom brought home the June and July numbers the ottier day, and picking the first up, I got much interested in a tale of Japan called "The Little World." As I suppose your ball season will soou !be in full swing about the time this letter appears in print, some bints on the subje:c of new dance music may not come amiss. Of oonrae you kaow the " .Loyante " waltz which was so popular last year. WelL Mr Wheeler (the husband, by the way, of the famous "professional beauty") has written another quite as good. It is called the "Daisy" (after Mrs W.), and was by special request played twice at the last Court Ball. Mr Wheeler's "Chic" polka has also a fair reputation. Waldtenfel seems to be temporarily out of fashion, bis name only appeared ouce on the abovementioned Court Ball programme, "Le3 Serenes" waltz being the composi tion selected. Very different this to tbe Marlborough House dances two summers ago, when Waldteniel and Bucalossi monopolised the waltzes between them. X notice the name of a composer of darice ■inu3ic named Weissler very frequently nowadays. Two of his waltzes, the "Southern Breeze" and "Gift of Love," appear constantly on the programmes of the present season. Bucaloasi is too busy with his new opera to have much time for writing dance morccaiup, but the lovely "Mia Cara" still holds its own. Galops are not,allowed at Court or any other big balls at present. Lancers, au contrairc, have Increased lv numbers. The best to dance to are those arranged by D'Albert from "lolanthe" arid "Patience," but they aro unfortunately done to death. P.iS.—The engagement of Lady Frederick Cavendish to Mr Clive is, I have just heard, authoritatively denied. The fact seems to be that though something of the Kind had been privately arranged, it was understood no public announcement should be made for at least twelve months to come.

'•JI don't believe in this learning German, | Spanish, French, or any other roreign language," said a Michigan man the other day. "'Why I lived among a lot pf Ger mans, and got along with'them! just as well as if I had known their language ; but I didn't—not a word of it." " How did you contrive it?" "Why, you see, they understood mine."

THE STORY of BROTHER HIGGINS.

,t m "Wiibn I first came to this country, pleaching wa9n't as easy as it is now," said Parson JLambith the other day, during a meeting of Northern aud Southern minis ters. "When I came here thirty*five years ago,and entered upou a work of refor mation, the weather was not at all suited to the work. I built a log church on • a mound, and bad just about completed the structure, wbeu a mau came along and said : ■ '■ Hellu, Cap'ii; got a house on the knob, I see !'' '■ Yts, we have decided to worship the Lord at tbis place, and we wouldn't mind having you aa a member of the congrega tion." " " ' That ain't exactly in my line, Cap'ii, for my business Jays mightily rollin'; but what 1 wanted to say to you in, that knob belongs to me, and 1 mast have it.' " ' What can you u<> with it, 2' I asked. It is unstated for cultivation.'. '' I want to dig id it. 1 have just learned that the Indians buried a lot of stuff in there, and I want to dig it out. Sorry yon built there, for I like to help the cause along; but 1 must have that Indian trumpery. There's plenty ot time for Gospel work, tor you know the wrath to coma is mighty slow. i.out liko to urge 'he matter, but if that l.u-ldiug jiin't liowu b^ to-mi.rrow n'ght, t'U have to s-;t fire io it. I give you this warniog ao you can tave the timber.' " ' I saw at once that ttje fellow was a rough customer, and as t,did not want my logs to be burned, , decided to take them down. Securing the services of <two negroes, I worked faithfully all night, and along toward day I had the sati-faction of seeing the last log moved fiom the con demned mound. .Next day a member of my congregation came to me and said : " ' Brother JLambith, you are ah lof a fellow.' " ' Why ?' I a.ked in surprise. "'What made you tear down that church f '• I explained, aed he continued: 'I must say you are the easiest feller i-cared I ever saw. That laod belong? to me, and the man that made you <ake down the church is a rival preacher. He doesn't want you to build a chuich tbere, for he wants the whole thing his own way. Well go over tomorrow aud rebuild the church.' " Wheu we went the next day, we found that someone bad set tire >o the logs. Brother Higgins, the gentleman who »c ---compaoied me, was very angry. 'Just wait,' he said, 'and we'll catch the scoundrel.' " ' We'll go to his church while he's preachin',' " '1 don't like to do that, and I don't be lieve I'll go.' " ' Yes, you will go, blamed if you shan't, an' lemme tell you, unlesa a man's got sand, he can't preach the Gospel to these people.' " 'You must excuse me. Brother Higgirjs. I prefer to have nothing to do ■with so unpleasant a performance as I am convinced would attend our visit.' "'Blamed if you shall c-awl outen it that way, C»p n !' he said. ' You are goin' with me, and if you try to hang back, I'll Blap three kinds of gospel an' a bundle of hyum-bouka outen you. Hear me !' " I heard him. I saw that resistance would be useless, and I meekly con sented. "'Go home with me,' said Brother Higgins. ' He's aoin' to po-ach to-night, After cupper we'll call on him.' "After sapper Brother Higyius asked, ' What sorter weepin have you got?' " 'Noue,' I replied. "'None!' he shouted. 'Well, you're the blainedßt fool I ever saw. Git tbat shotgun !' I begged and implored. I told him that I would pay for the logs, but he was deaf to a compromise, and buckling a biace of pistols around him, he ordered me to follew. Silently we went thiough a, deep ravine, frightening birds from their roosts. We crossed a nill and plunged into the darkness of a valloy. « light flickered high up on a hill, and Brother Higgins, pomtiog, said: "That's whar the tkunk preaches.' I said nothing, but followed. The church was a mean log affair, and ere we reached it I could see through the gaping apertures the congregation and the minuter. 1 trembled when we reached the door. The preacher, the very man who had deceived me, atood up and howled furiously, and the congiegaiion swayed to the motion ot his powerful arms. "' .He'll come down an' stir up the mourners pretty soon, an' then we'll give it to him,' whis-pered Urothi r Hi,gins. He's mighty nigh got to the fever pint.' I stood near the doorway and trembled, and leaned on nay gun. " ' Uock your gun,' whimpered Brother Biggins, ' ror he's gottin' in a weavin' way.' "I obeyed mechanically. I leaned ou the iron heavily, lost my balance, and fell. The gun was discharged with a loud report and Brother Higgins, with his legs filled full of shot, jumped high in the air and howled. I did not wait to investigate, but actually flew down the hill. Brother fliggiiis, believing that I had turned traitor, came tearing after me. He knew the way better than k did, and after I got down into the valley, and was turning a great rock. bans ! went Brother biggins's pistol and off went ray hit. Then I flo«r; oh, but l flaw fasierthauyoueverfiawamaufly. Xhedark ness rushed past me, and I wondered at that mte how long it would take me to reach daylight. 1 checked up a little after a while, and was Travelling along in a trot, when b.ng ! went Brother Higgins's pistol and my coat tails dropped in shreds. Then I flew again. Oh, I flew, and again the Oarkm^a rusbed past me. At last oaylight came, and fouod me near tbe river. I swam across and struck out for the ui?art st towo, which I reached ai'"-n r, dinner time. Fen years afterward I cutback into the neighbour hood, iv company with several brave men, and asked for Brother Rii/ginp. a. man came out of a cabio and exclaimed : ' Hello/ is that you ?' " It was Brother Higgms, Mid rolling up hia breeches,be pinched out a shot and con tinued, ' Wall, I'm glad to see you. Ain't bad no fun since you left. Have you come over to build that church ? I'm still a good member. Made that preacher pay for them logs. Maliody, fetch out that book an1 we'll have a by run.' " I rerx ained in the neighbourhood and built a flourishing church, and I didn't have a better member than Brother Hig. pins."—Ft om the " Arrkansas Traveller."

A certain eouutry squire was the most un» calculating ot mortals ia niotiey-matters. Hefcegan to build a house, but his original design grew, with wing on wing, until it new away with all his cash capital, and more too. He was in debt to architects, carpenters, masons, ana for everything about his new dwelling. Due bright morn ins in March, as he leaned meditatively over a fence, looking towards his Aladdin palace, a stranger passing by asked, " Sir, who does that htindsooje edifice belonp to!" "That," said.the s-quire, uit.h a sparkle in his eye, "ia just what I «nn trying to find out 1"

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STAJB SATURDAY BUBPL.E&IEIXT, ACGUST 2S, 1&8A.