Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1877-04-26

house.
Mary's tears fell fast, but presently
the feeble voice spoke again.
Ruined ruined |! l am too old to
face poverty. Will they put me in
the alms-house like my little maid, l
am afraid I am afraid
Mrs. Jermayne,' Mary said softly
caressing the white hair, i am here
to wait on you. What can l do for
your
'Mary9
Yes Mary
Will they take me to tie almshouse
Mary?'
Never, never Mary said. 1T was
bad dream. You have been very,
i'll, and dreaming
Dreaming thought l was ruined
that all l have had all my life was
swept away. But this is my room?'
Yes your own room
And my things about me. 1t must
have been dream, for you are here,
my little maid
Yes ever your loving servant.
will you read to me. My own
Bible is here on the table. | am
tired, but very happy, since all my
trouble was dream.
And listening to the words of prom
ise, clasping Mary's hand, Mrs. Jer-
mayne sank softly in eternal sleep, in
the home saved for her by the graf
itude and affection of the sweet little
matron who had been her little maid
CURIOUS Fishes swallow their
food whole; they have no dental ma
chinery furnished for them. Frogs,
toads and serpents never take any
food but that which they are satisfied
is alive. If bee, wasp or hornet
stings, it is nearly always at the ex-
pense of its life. Serpents are so te-
nacious of life that they will live for
six months without food. Turtles dig
holes in the sand by the seashore and
bury their eggs. Lobsters are very
pugnacious, and fight severe battles.
If they lose a claw another grows out.
Naturalists say that single swallow
will devour six thousand flies in a
day. The tarantula Of Texas is moth
ing bnt an enormous spider A single
goldfish produces more than one million
eggs in one season. A whale suckles
its young and therefore is not fish.
Toads become torpid in winter and
hide themselves, taking no food fo.'
five or six months. Serpents Of all
species shed their skins annually, like
sea crabs and Holsters. Turtles and
tortoises have their skeleton partly
outside instead of within the body
It is believed that crocodies live to
be hundreds Of years old. In South
America there is prolific honey bee
that has not been furnished with a
sting. In the darkest nights fishes
pursue their usual movements the
same as by daylight. Seals are as in
telligent as dogs, and like them may
be made to perform many tricks.
KEEP Your Promise.-A boy bor-
rowed tool from a carpenter, prom
islng to return it at night. Before
evening he was sent away on an er-
rand, and did not return until late.
Before going he was told that his
brother should see that the article
was returned. After he had come
home he inquired and found that the
tool had not been sent to its owner.
He was much distressed to think his
promise had not been kept, but was
persuaded to go to sleep and rise ear
ly ana carry it home the next morn
ing. By daylight he was up, and
nowhere was the tool to be found. At
ter a long, fruitless search he set oft
for his neighbours in great distress to
acknowledge his fault. But how
great was his surprise to find the tool
on his neighbors doorstone. And
then it appeared, from the prints of
his little bare feet in the mud, that
the lad had got up in his sleep and
carried the tool home, and gone to bed
again without knowing it. Of course
a boy who was prompt in his sleep was
prompt when awake. Respected
while he lived, he had the confidence
Of his neighbors, and was placed in