Widnes Examiner. — 1887-12-24 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

SAVED FROM SUICIDE.  "Lily," vaid Katie, stopping, " They are having service it tile church by the Abbey. Listen. Oh, it must be the evening service. They are praising God and singing hymns, and we are out in the fog and the' cold, and going to kill ourselves. "Yes, I could not sing any hymns just now." "Lily, let us have one prayer *before we go." "No; leap first and pray afterwards ; there will be plenty of time to pray when we are sure that we shall not have to come back to this miserable world any more." She dragged the bther girl along with her past the Abbey straight down to the Embankment. "Hush, Katie; don't speak now. This is the very place." She stopped at one of the landing places, where the steps go down into the water. "The tide is running," said Lily. (How did she know, because they could see nothing "It will carry us up the river ;it will roll us over and over. Don't let go my hand, Katie ; it will kill us in P moment, and then it will drive us and beat us and bang us against the piers of Westminster Bridge, so that no one will be able to recognise us when they do find us. And so it will never be known what became of us. Dear Katie—dear Katherine Regina—poor queen without a penny—give me one kiss. Hold my hand. Now you shall be with your lover in a moment and all your sorrow shall he over. Hold my hand and run down the steps with me. Quick ! Quick ! Hold my baud hard—harder. Quick I' She drew Katie to the steps, crying .out to her to hasten and to hold fast, and dragging her down to the river; Katie was too weak to resist mentally and bodily. And all around her lay the thick black fog like a wall of darkness. " Did you elir think what it would be to he shut up in such an Intern° as Dante's in a thick black fog, a darkness wrapping you round as with a horrible cloak from which there was no escape. All day long these girls had been sitting in such a fog, withoat food, and before them they heard and now saw with eyes of madness the rush of the river, which would mercifully take them out of the fog and land them at the foot of the Golden gates ? " Quick, Katie, quick, don't let go. On ! " The fog lifted a little, suddenly, at this moment. Before the girls stood a figure, black and gaunt, which stretched out two long arms, and said with harsh and strident voice, " No, my dears, not this time you don't." Then Lily loosed her hold of Katie's hand, and thraw .out her arms in a gesture of hopelessness. "Oh !" she cried, " God will not let us live and He will not let us die." Then she turned and fled, leaving Katie alone.—" Katherins Regina." By W. Besant. Arrowsmith's Christmas itn  Song of the well-bred baker.—l need thee every hour. Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.  A. little Burlington boy gave, as the definition of cupidity, "love-sickness." "There's plenty of room at the top," as the champagne remarked when it flew to the dude's head. _ _ .  Dicky: "Will you have the salad dressed,Dorothy ?" Dorothy: "Thank you, no. I prefer it—r-r-r—nude " A man who had foolishly ventured upon a verbal contest with his wife was met, as he .was retiring from the scene, by his little sm, who had just begun to study grammar. " Papa," said the child, " what part of speech is woman? " To which the father replied, " She isn't any part of speech at all, Georgy—she's the whole of 'An Irish girl heard an account read from a newspaper of the death of a wttman at the age of one hundred and seven years. "Do you believe that, Nora?" she was asked. " Belay° it ?" said she. "An' why sh'u'dn't I belave it ? How do I know that I'm not a hoondhred an' stein years old niesilf ? Faith I may well be that, for All I know, for abure I can't remember the time whin I wasn't alive 1"  -