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HBHET A. PABSONS, Je., Editor and Publishm.
ELK COUNTY TIIB REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Two Dollars r kMvvu.
VOL. II.
RIDGWAY, PA,. THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1872.
NO. 26.
POETR r.
FOOTSTEP3.
tn tho quiet hour of gloaming,
Whon th. hush Is upon the earth, .
When th. start gleam out and the low winds rr.onn
I sit and listen listen alone, .
Br the aide of the deaolat. hearth.
I listen, bnt not to tho homeless leaves.
As they drift 'iralnst the window-pane ;
Nor th. .ongoing wind from the tlr-crowncd bill,
Nor the ligh and ob of the swollen rill,
Nor the wbtaner of caroloss rain.
I listen, I listen, and but to hoar
Tho footsteps that fall around ;
The footsteps that gladdened mr life ol yore,
The footsteps that seek my side no moro,
That fall on no earthly ground.
The tiny steps of my first born
Come pattering qnlck and soft ;
He had trod like a mm. had he stared, by this.
Tet 0 1 yearn for the baby kiss
He tottered to give 10 oft.
Hit firm tread rings out gallantly,
Just as it was wont to do
When t used to apring from this aam. low seat.
The comer I lor.d tho best to greet
As Ls atrod. through tho evening dew.
Blow and heavy, and quick and light,
The echoes around me come,
The aUps that through youth's gay footpaths ranged.
Ul menus lorgotton, of Mends estranged,
Who one. made life and home.
Ab well, poor salvag. from the wreck
All memory sal es and stores,
Yet tho sounds that peoplo tho sweet Past's dreams
Are ae.ret to me than the light that gleams
On the lonclv Present's shores.
THE STORY-TELLER.
T. S. L.
1 B. Li. That was the only mark
there was upon it, the three initial let
ters engraved upon the inside. I turned
and twisted it in my fingers, as I stood
nnder the gaslight, making the dia
monds shoot forth their fiery lines of
aazznng Druiiancy. Uloso examination
proved it to be a most beautiful and val
uable jewel, a heavy gold ring, with a
shield of bluo enamel. In the centre of
tho shield sparkled one large diamond
of purest water, and afcove it a number
of smaller stones, yet each of remarkable
beauty and purity, wore grouped in the
form of a crescent. I had never seen a
gem more valuablo and unique, but its
possession was simply an annoyance to
me.
I was making a hasty business trip
irom my nome in v , Uhio, through
some of the large Eastern cities, and
had stoppod in New York for a few
days, having resolved to crowd two
weeks work into one if possible,
I had arrived in the city after all
places of business were closed, had eaten
a nasty dinner, and gone to the theatre.
Meeting some friends, we had supped
togetuer, ana talked until the clocks
warned us that we had Btolen moro
than one hour from a new day. Upon
my return to my hotel, tired and des
perately sleepy, I had found, upon tho
stairs, the ring I have described. It
was then after two o'clock, evidently no
hour to trouble the sleepy clerk down
stairs about the matter, so I put it in a
safe comer of my pockotbook, and re
tired. The next morning, rising late, and
feeling very much hurried, I merely
mentioned in tho offico that, if any one
inquired for a diamond ring, I had
found one, and went literally " about my
businoss." During my travels about the
city, 1 took the ring to a leading jewel
er's, and found his estimate of the val
ue of the stones even higher than my
own,
"The workmanship is exquisite," he
said to me, " evidently not done in this
country.
. No inquiries having been made at the
hotel, I advertised my windfall for three
days, and considered that 1 had done all
that could be expected, bull I did not
care to wear what was really not my
own, and put the ring away in a pri
vato drawer of my writing-desk, with
some other valuables, charitably hoping
the loser was wealthy enough to bear
the loss philosophically. When I left
New York, I gave my address at the
hotel and newspaper office ; but a year
later no word of inquiry respecting the
ring had reached me,
The business firm of which I was the
junior partner required my services as
a sort of travelling agent, my sojourn
in different cities lasting sometimes for
months, sometimes only for a few days.
We were introducing throughout the
United States a new and valuable pa
tent, with a success that was rapidly
making us all men of wealth. I being
the youngest in the firm, and having,
the others were kind enough to inform
me, a pleasing manner and ready tongue,
was chosen to point out the merits of
our bread-winner to tho merchants who
could dispose of it for us.
One of my trips southward a year
later than my visit to New York found
me settled in New Orleans, with letters
of introduction from many of the lead
ing merchants of other cities to those in
my new abode. -.
I was soon assured of a pleasant so
cial standing, and one of the most de
lightful homes where I was made wel
come was that of Monsieur Lecourt, a
French gentleman, and a merchant of
high standing and large wealth, who
owned valuable plantations not far
from the city. He was a tall, stately
gentleman, with white hair and mus
tache, and a grave face, that was eften
shadowed by a deep sadness, though it
never failed to light up in courteous
welcome when I approached.
I called twice, and spent the evening
in the library with my host ; but the
third time, as the servant opened the
door, a lady rose from a seat beside the
old gentleman, and moved toward the
door.
" Stay, Adela," he said ; this is my
friend. Mr. Haven, of whom I have
spoken t you. My daughter Adela,
Mr. Haven'
The lady returned my greeting, and
resumed her seat beside her father, and
as we conversed in the best French I
could command, I found my eyes wan-
dering ever to rest on hor face and fig-
ure.
Sho was tall and slender without be-1
ing thin; the figure was exquisitely
rcunded, and possessed a peculiar wil
lowy graco in its drooping attitudes
and motions. The face was very beau
tiful, a perfect oval, with regular fea
tures, and large, soft brown eyes, shaded
by long lashes, black as the raven hair
above the lew, broad forehead. But
upon the fair face, in tho gracoful drswp
ing figure, was visible a deep, settled
melancholy very painful to witness in
one who could scarcely have stepped
out ot her toons. Her face was always
pale, and looked like marble contrasting
with her deep mourning dress. Her
voioe was always low, and had an ac
cent of sadness in every tone.
Monsieur Lecourt was deeply inter
ested in my patent, and inclined to
many some investment ot his idle cap
nai m me enterprise, so that we were
oltcn together discussing business, and
ii soon occamo a matter ot course to
hnd Adela with her father in the li
brary.
it was evident tliat the bond uniting
vue two was very close, and that the
father rarely moved unaccompanied by
his daughter. So it was that we became
a trio often seen in the library. Adela
grasping with clear intelligence all the
advantages in her father's proposed
venture, ana questioning and overcom
ig mi me oujecuons. let, business
once over, Adela was also readv for mn.
oral conversation, proving in her every
word not only a refined, cultivated in
tellect, but a familiarity with current
topics rarely met with in a lady, and
doubtless due in a great measure to
her father s constant companionship,
As tho months of my sojourn passed
on, j. perceived little cnanges in regard
to Adela Lecourt, that seemed to promise
that tho heavy cloud evidently resting
uvKr hit young me was roiling back
eomewnai. one would smile ottener.
and I noted a softening in her dress,
ana an improvement in her manner.
boft white lace replaced the heavy
uibck crape at ner tnroat and wrists,
and she wore her hair in looser, fuller
fashion. The long white hands that
had rested in listless idleness upon her
lap now busied themselves with pretty
feminine work, embroidery, and soft
woolen trifles. True, the work would
lie often neglected if we spoke of topics
that interested her, but then her eyes
would kindle with an enthusiasm thef
never snowea in tne early days ot our
irienusmp.
It was friendship true and sincere,
knew I was Wrlcome to daughter as well
as father, and for the time I asked no
more than the cordial greetings given
me so ireeiy. eometimcs we formed par
ties tor horseback rides to the planta
tions, and I found Adela the centre of
loving friends ; but I liked best our long
uume evenings, spent in tne liorarv.
arawing-room, or wide garden summer
house, as the whim of the moment dic
tated. Calm, even, and uneventful, our
friendship knew no waverings, and seem
ed likely to endure through life.
r our months passed rapidly : my busi.
ness nourished, and all was well with
me, when one evening, calling at Mon
sieur i-iecouri s, i lound mm alone in
the summer-house. After some desultory
cuat, tne oia gentleman said to me :
" lo-morrow I hope to introduce to
you my nephew, Theodore Lecourt. He
arrives from Paris to-night."
" Indeed !" I suid, trying to seem in
tercsted. " Does he make a long visit
nero t
"His visit has been to Europe. He
has been nearly two years abroad, but
this is his home. He will be my heir,
as he is the affianced husband of niv
daughter."
My heart seemed to turn to stone as
the old gentleman spoke. For the first
time I realized what the past four
months had cost me. I had given my
whole heart to Adela Lecourt. never
knowing it till I heard she was beyond
my reach. Affianced to another I I
could not speak, and whether Monsieur
Lecourt guessed or not the cause of my
silence, he smoked his fragrant Havana,
and said ho more for a long time, then
started a new topic for conversation.
The evening shadows deepened and
lengthened, till the soft, dim twilight
rested on all things, and Adela came
not to her accustomed place bv her
father's side. When, at a late hour, I
took my leave reluctantly, she was still
invisible.
The next morning, before I loft my
room 1 was handed an invitation to an
entertainment at Monsieur Lecourt's,
given in honor of his nephew'B ar
rival. It would have been too marked
a difference in our friendly relations
for me to decline, and hastily writing
an acceptance, l tried by unusual
attention to business to forget ray
heartftohe. Another subject troubled
me. v The party was not to occur for
two days. Was I expected to absent
myself in the interval, or to make mv
evening calls as usual 't
All day my mind dwelt upon Adela.
Was the deep, settled melancholy upon
her faco the grief for the absence of her
fiance, and should I now see the lovely
tace lighted by hope and joy f I ground
ny teeth as I thought of this, inwardly
thinking I had rather see it celd in
death than radiant with love-light for
another. Requiring some private papers
during the day, I opened my desk, and
in one of the recesses, 'where it had long
lain forgotten, sparkled the ring I had
found in New York, the serpent diamond
crescent upon the doep blue shield. I
took it up carelessly, admired it a while,
and slipped it upon my finger. The
papers I had come to seek, being inter
esting and important, I was soon busied
with them, and closed the desk, forget
ting to return the ring to its plaoe. Af
terward, l thought :
Well, it is mine, I suppose. Nobody
else has ever asked for it, so I might as
well wear it."
could easily plead business as my
excuse for absence from Monsieur Le
court's for a day or two, and, dreading
to meet Adela now, I resolved to do so.
It was some relief to my sore heart to
become suddenly very active in busi
ness, and I ran about soliciting orders,
making proposals, and actually doing
more in forty-eight hours than I had
done in any previous month. Yet the
dronded day came at last, when I must
meet my rival, ana judge by Adela a
face if the recent changes in it had been
caused by the prospect of tho speedy
arrival oi nor jcance.
Being busy in the middle of the day,
and not caring to return home at that
hour, I strolled into the St. Charles, and
ordered dinner.
Two gontlemen were seated at the
table where I took my place, conversing
in a low tone, but earnestly. Without
listening, or indeed much heeding them.
I csuld not avoid hearing what was
ou.m ii r i;
iu uvmciiuj vnojr were very inti
mate friends discussing a love affair.
" I should scarcely have known her,"
said one.
" But," said the other, " you told me
it was an annir of long ago. Can vou
have a rival '("
" I have thought of that," and the
speaker crushed double a little salt
spoon he hod held in his hand. " It's a
new thing to see hor sad and quiet
more, she is positively gloomy. Her
lather says she has never recovered from
the shock of her mother's death ; but
why should that make her shrink from
me t
" Are you sure she does '("
"Sure I She never loved me, but we
were always good friends. Now my
presence seems to give her positive pam.
It 1 caress her, she turns so whito
think she will faint. If I speak of our
wedding, she shudders, turns away, and
escapes from the room as soon as possi
ble r
" She never did so before ?"
"No. e were friends though not
lovers.
" And you aro not ill-looking."
Mentally I indorsed the last state
ment. I never saw a handsomer face
than the one opposite me ; yet, with all
the beauty of regular features, large
dark eyes, and even white teeth, there
was a look of suffering there, as if from
ill-health, and the eye burned with a
fire that boded no good to any who
earned his enmity.
Suddenly, without a word of warning,
no gave a quick gasping cry, and bend-
lnd forward, glared into my faco. He
was white as death, and a literal fury
seemed to possess him. Twice he tried
to speak, but failed, and rolling over,
lay in frightful convulsions at my feet,
ii- . . . -
ms companion spoke at once to me.
" Loosen his necktie ! let him lie flat I
It is nothing. He will soon recover,
Any sudden or violent agitation brings
on inese attacks, lou know him f
" He's an entire stranger to me."
" Ah ! Have you not seen him
abroad, or before he left New Orleans Y"
he asked.
" I tell you he is a perfect stranger."
" See. he is recovering. Do not Inf.
him see you. You must resemble some
one he knows, and your face may renew
the attack. Pray leave us."
Not wishing to agitate the unfortu
nate man again, and seeing that he was
slowly recovering, I left my untasted
dinner, and was soon in the street once
more. I forgot business tho approach
ing festival at Monsieur Lceourt's and
strode rapidly along, thinking of the
strange incident. The face that had
looked into mine was strangely fa-
miliar, thbugh I was sure I had never
seen it betore ; the voice, too, seemed to
recall some memory, and my mind was
deeply troubled by all.
It was very late when I crossed the
garden, and ascended the wide steps at
Monsieur Lecourt's. The windows were
open, and strains ot music floated out
upon the air. Looking in, I saw Adela
conversing with a guest, a stranger to
me ; and watching her was the gentlo
man I had. met a few hours previous at
the St. Charles. I knew now what made
his face so familiar. Brother and sister
could not have borne a closer resem
blance to each other than Adela and
this man. He must be her cousin Theo
dore, ber affianced husband, and my
rival.
For the first time I saw Adela in a
dress that was not black. She had dis
carded her mourning, and wore a heavy
white silk, that left uncovered shoulders
and arms round and fair as marble stat
uary . Diamonds glistened in the droop
ing braids of her hair, at her throat and
wrists, but no color broke the snowy
whiteness, except the rays of tire from
the jewels. A faint smile of courteous
interest hovered over her lips, as she
conversed, but she was as pale as when
I first met her, and a deeper sadness, if
possible, rested in the large soft eyes.
My heart was so heavy, I was unfit to
meet gay faces. My own darling ! How
could I boar to see her the unwilling
bride of another 1 No doubt now rested
on my mind that the match was one of
interest or convenience. The conversa
tion I had overheard convinced me of
that. I looked long in the lovely, sad
face, and then left the window, not to
enter the house, but to wander through
the garden till I reached the summer
house. I had spent many pleasant
hours in this retreat, and I threw myself
down in a wide rustic seat, to try to
gain sufficient calmness to face the gay
scene to which I had been invited.
It was no light task. Every nerve in
my body seemed to me quivering with
pain and misery. I was sitting quiet,
when a rustling of silk near by aroused
me from my painful reverie, and, looking
up, I saw Adela standing in the door
way of the summer-house. In the dim
light I . was unnoticed, for, leaning her
head against tho leafy lattice, she S'ghed
deeply, and spoke in a low whisper :
" tie has left me I Mo word no fare
well ! Oh, Godfrey, I could not so desert
you!"
Jily own name I 1 could not restrain
myself.
" Adela I I cned, and was beside her
in a moment.
I cannot tell what I said. In rapid.
burning words I told her my love, my
jealousy, my despair, and she listened. -
Alter the first start of surprise, she
never stirred from her position. I might
have thought her cold, had not an occa
sional sob convinced me she heard me,
and felt for me. I took her hand in
mine, and raised it to my lips, when she
was snatched back by a strong hand,
and Theodore Lecourt's, voice cried,
loudly ;
" Traitress 1 So this is why you are
so cold to me, false one 1
" I amnot false, Theodore 1 I prom
ised you no love. My hand was and is
yours."
" And your lovois Godfrey Tlavcn's.
know all. Others have told me my
own eyes nave soon prooi ot your false-
nooa. Dare you deny you love him r
"1 do not deny it. I love him, bntl
only within this hour have X known he
loved me.
" Aela," the man fairly screamed in
his agony, " do you think to deceive me
If ho was not your lover, why did you
give him the diamond crescent, tho
pledge of love you accepted from mef
Adela I Adela I and, wailing the name.
Theodore Leoourt, for the second time
that day, fell in writhing convulsions,
Adcla's screams brought assistance at
once fronl the house, and her cousin was
carefully convoyed to a lower room,
Medical skill was of no avail, and when
tne 4iast ox the horrified guests left the
house, a Btiff corpse was all remainino- of
the unfortunate Theodore Lecourt.
jvionsienr ijeoourt implored me to re
main. Aueia went to her room, and the
old gentleman, after he had given all
necessary direction, drew tun info trio li.
brary.
" Tell me all you can. Mr. Haven." fin
said. ion were in the summer
house ?"
All I could toll was soon told, not
omitting my own love-story.
" You think Adola loves you i" he
asked. '
" She has said so."
" That explains so much. Poor Theo
dora I Butif you have not spoken before to
Adela, how did you become possessed of
t,Utl I
As he spoke, he nointed ta tho rinir T
had found in New York. A few words
told that story, as well. . f
" uodirey, ho said to me. " vou think
me a hard father one who would have
forced my only child into a marriage
her heart abhorred. I might plead the
custom of my country, for French mar
riages aro too often contracted for monev
or family convenience. But it was not
exactly the case here. Theodore and
Adela have been aflianced Bince thev
were children, and I had no idea that
my child had any dislike to her cousin,
still less did I dream she loved an
other." ' ; : ; ' ;
But, bit? she was so sad I Some
cause must exist for such deep depres
sion." " There was cause. Her mother, who
was always an invalid, was sent to Sara
toga by her physician, and Adela accom
panied her. Theodore was just leaving
for Paris, and I was detained here ; but
we had friends going to the Springs for
a summer holid.iv. and mv wifo ar,A
daughter joined their party, xotcad of
gaining health, Madame Lecourt became
rapidly worse, and was attacked by a
fever and violent delirium. In one of
her paroxysms of delirium, she sprang
from her bed, and rushed to the window
of her room. Adela, who was alone
with her, struggled with her, crying
loudly for assistance, but before it came,
her mother had burst from her arms,
and thrown herself headlong from the
window. She was killed instantly by
tho fall. I hastened to Saratoga, to find
Adela very ill, but kindly nursed by her
friends. When she was sufficiently re
covered, we returned home, bringing
with us the body of my beloved wife.
We were in New York a few hours, and
during that time Adela must have lost
1 beodore s ring Irom her wasted hand.
For many months the shock of her
mother's death, and the self-reproach
she would feel, kept her in a state of
deep sadness, that seemed to threaten
life and reason. Since you came she has
been slowly recovering her health and
spirits, until Theodore's return threw
her back again. To-night she roused
herself, I think now, hoping to see
you. I have been blind, Godfrey,
blind!"
" Do you feel, sir, that I have been.
innocently, heaven knows, the murderer
of your nephew '("
No. J rom childhood Theodore had
been subject to such convulsions as you
witnessed. There was an injury to the
bfain in his school-days, that was never
cured. Any sudden excitement would
produce convulsions ; and we have been
frequently warned that a sudden violent
shock would be fatal. Doubtless he saw
the ring upon your finger at the St.
Charles to-day. His initials are engraved
inside, T. S. L. Theodore Simon Le
court. He ordered it for Adela on her
eighteenth birthday, sending the design
to Paris, where a friend attended to the
commission. Poor Theodore !"
We sat silent for some time. I scarce.
ly dared speak of my own affairs in the
presence of death, and the uncertainty
about Adela. If she looked upon me as
having caured her cousin's death, could
she consent to be my wife Y Monsieur
Leoourt broke the painful stillness of
the room.
" Godfrey," he said, gently. " if Adela
loves you, remember, f will gladly give
you a son's place in my heart and
home.
I grasped the hand extended to me.
and pressed it cordially.
it was many days before I saw Adela.
She did not leave her room until after
the funeral, and was ill for a long time.
But she came at last to welcome me
when I called, pale and sud, yet not with
tne deep-settled melancholy ot old. It
was my happiness' to bring the roses to
her cheeks, the smile to her lips, to learn
that she loved me as I loved her, and
that her wedding-day now would be no
dream of pain or horror.
a year we gave to the memory of the
dead, and then my fair bride came to
bless my life, with happy love-lit eyes,
and no cloud upon her lovely face.
The building committee of a church
called upon a wealthy member of the
congregation soliciting a subscription to
ward a new house of worship The sum
he subscribed disappointed them, and
they told him so, at the same time inti
mating that Mr. J bad given dou
ble the amount " So he should," said
the wily gentleman J he goes to church
twice as much as I do."
A REMARKABLE WEDDING.
A Wealthy Chrlatatti Lftdr Becomes
Jewess,
A correspondent writing from Hart
ford, Conn., under recent date, says : An
imposing ceremony was performed in
this city on Sunday. Miss Estelle Sarah
Livingstone of England, heretofore an
Episcopalian, renounced her faith and
professed the Jewish religion, partly for
the purpose of marrying Dr. Louis J.
Jordan, late of the English army, but
XT -v 1. . ,1 . ,
it was hor conviction that Judaism
the true faith. This belief had hnen m
tablishod in her mind before she became
engaged to Dr. Jordan.
She has been for some time under the
care of Dr. I. Mayer, late Eabbi of tho
uongregation Beth Israel m this city,
who conducted the ceremonies at Mis
Livingstone's reception into the Hebrew
told, and ot her marriage to Dr. Jordan,
The lady is described as twenty-two
years old, coming from one of the best
tamuies ot England, and ot line educa
tion, and Dr. Jordan as a wealthy gen
tleman of large income, and thirty-
seven.
The ceremonies of profession, confes
n, and marriage were celebrated at
the Allyn House. But a very few per
sonal friends of the parties were present,
xue parlors in winch the coremonies
took place were at first darkened, and
lighted by gas and wax tapers. The
Key. Dr. Mayer, in black silk robe and
velvet cap, sat at a table covered with
.white, two candlos burning on the side
of a magnificent basket of flowers. Drs
Nathan Mayer and J Moses, with the
rabbi, acted as the tribunal before whom
the convert was to appear, and sat on
either side of the table. All being in
reuuincss, tun convert was led in by Mr.
T v a jl.' .
B
a. oiuiuiioun. private Becretarv. and
Dr. Jordan. She wore a heavv blank
silk dress, with a long train, her hair
foiling loosely down her back, and her
head concealed by a heavy black crape
veil. Not a particle of white or bit nf
jewelry was to 'be seen on hor person.
btanding in front of Eabbi Mayer, she
1 - . f : . i .
iuuuu ijiuiussiuu vi iuun, and was re
ceived into the fold of Judaism.
A short prayer in Hebrew concluded
the ceremony, and the lady retired to be
robed for the marriage ceremonv. Tn
about an hour the approach of the
bridegroom and bride was announced.
Four gentlemen held a canonv of dmh
silk, embroidered with blue, upheld by
standards surmounted with gold wound
with white satin. Under this the groom,
Dr. Jordan, first took his place, and soon
after Miss Livingstone appeared. She
wore a dress of eau de ft ile silk, over
skirt of a shade darker, both elaborately
t I osfc ntw. mmiu l)UU UUWD fUUtCll.
A long veil of tulle, edged with blonde
lace, enveloped hor from head to foot.
lier ornaments were of diamonds a
glittering array. They were the gift of
the groom. They consisted of a pair of
solitaire earrings, valued at $15,000; a
locket worth $7,500 ; a brooch of forty
elegant diamonds, worth $10,500 j and
two bracelets, equally valuable. Iu all,
the diamonds amounted to nearly $50,
000 worth. Pale and trembling, as
brides usually are, sho looked exquisite
ly lovely in tho midst of the cloud of il
lusion and tho blaze of her glittering
jewels. The groom was in full evening
dress, and on his bosom sparkled two
solitaires worth from $5,000 to $8,000
each. Dr. Jordan is the possessor of
other equally magnificent duiamonds to
the value of nearly $150,000.
The coremony was performed by the
Eabbi Mayer, after the orthodox style,
the groom breaking a wine-glass under
his feet according to the old custom. Af
ter the congratulations were over, an ele
gant collation was sorved, and a bridal
loaf cut and distributed among the
guests.
Mr. and Mrs. Jordan left on Monday
morning for a wedding tour via Niagara
to Canada. They will roturn in a
month and settle in New York, where
Dr. Jordan is in business. Previous to
the party breaking up, Dr. Jordan pre
sented the Eabbi Mayer with an elegant
Turkey morocco case, containing a wed
ding fee of $200, and Mrs. Jordan put a
diamond ring worth $100 upon his finger
as an acknewicdegment ot the services
he had rendered her.
Dead Letters,
Nearly 3,000,000 letters went to tho
dead-letter office last year. They are
partly classified as follows : 58,000 let
ters had no county or state directions,
moro than 400,000 wanted stamps, and
about 3,000 letters were put in the post
offices without any address at all. In
this connection it would be interesting
as a matter of statistics and as showing
the bearing of the " personal equation
on the number of misdirected letters if
we knew how many persons wrote these
letters. e think that many persons in
various parts of the country have each
contributed two, three, or perhaps more
letters to this number. The tendency
to habit would lead to such an inference.
Ninety-two thousand dollars in cash
and over $3,000,000 in drafts, checks, drc,
were found in these letters. It appears
that on an average every letter that is
misdirected or goes to the dead-letter
office from other cauees contains $1.09.
Much of this money is restored to the
senders of the letters, but very much of
it remains to the credit of the bureau in
Washington, owing to the carelessness
or forgetfulness of the writers in not
appending their residences.
His Plea. An Irishman being re-
ently on trial for some offence, pleaded
not guilty, and the jury being in the
box, the State Solicitor proceeded to call
Mr. Furkisson as a witness. With the
utmost innocence, Patrick turned his
face to the court, and said, " Do I un
derstand, your honor, that Mr. Furkis
son is ta be a witness forneutt me
again '(" The judge said, dryly, "It
seems so." " Well, then, your honor, I
plead guilty, sure, an' your honor plaise;
not because I am guilty, for I am as in
nocent as your honor's suckling baby,
but just on account of saving Mr. Fur
kisson's swl."
DcsliurtJon of Evergreens.
There is
much speculation and a
great variety of theory in regard to the
immeuiaie couse ot the recent death of
so many evergreens of all sizes and of
all degrees of hardiness, and in all sorts
of localities. Trees of sorts that endure
the climate of Labrador and of Norway
havo succumbed about equolly with na
tives of lower latitudes, and without
much respect to age or vigor. It is as
if an unseen axeman had, in some invis
ible Way, chopped off trees here and
there in wanton sportiveness, and left
thorn without apparent luBrks of his
lerformance. If any have suffered
moro than others within my observation
it has been Irish junipers. They and
hardier things have perished alongsido
of tender Noisette roses, Japan cuony
niuses and honeysuckles, and many
other things counted as frail, which yet
have escaped. It is evident that tho
cause is to be looked for outside of the
trees.
Nor does it depend upon position
according to the old rules of position.
By them we learn that there is danger
in sunny exposures during the alterna
tion of early spring. And wo know
that sudden thawing after hard night
freezing, when tho structure is full of
sap, does scald severely and discolor
sadly, but it does not often kill ontritrlit.
in this savage way. And in this case
we have tho antagonistic experience
of more iniurv on the shady sirio nf
buildings, &c, (on the northwest side),
than on the sunny side.
iiave the dry northwest winds, then,
.. 4.1,: . : i , -k- . . .
done
For all the symptoms indicate t.Vmt. tkn
turn misumoi r JO dOUDt Of it
trees have slowlv dried to rlotitv, nA
large plants, most exposed to drying
nuiuB, uttve sunorea morn than mv v
box, &c which usually suffer most.
They havo dried slowly, so as to retain
the leaves and give time for tlmir dis
coloration. The trees were dead before
the leaves were brown. And f.Viw worn
betrayed by the intense and steady
frost, aided by very unusual dryness of
the soil. For more than ntin hunHr
days the soil and the streams wcro held
rigidly bound by a frost so steady that
there wns not one dav's cessation. Onlv
in soils of peculiar texture did any of
the rains of winter penetrate the ground.
The water ran off over the
This unusual dry season was favnraWo
to rest of fruit trees and mnnv nti,o
deciduous plants which had ripened
well too in the dry fall. And when
they were wakened from their
the opening oi spring they were well
cuuv io open wnn vigor.
But evergreens doth rest in this way.
Eetaining their leaves, which are evan-
orating moisture all the while to a
tinual supply. This they could not
have in this case, because the frost,
which had penetrated the soil fully four
feet wherever it was compact and un
mulched or unprotected by sod, of course
held tho roots torpid and congealed
without any intermission through all
this extraordinary length of steady
duration. No matter how hardy a tree
may constitutionally be, it will perish
if an axe or a knife severs the connec
tion between the roots and the leaves.
These and the branches are then soon
dried up and exhausted. And if frost
cuts off the connection, and maintains
the blockade long enough, the result is
tho same. It is only where deep beds
of snow interpose and protect tho soil
from this extreme and protracted con
gelation that, in the fur north, or on
lofty mountains, even the very hardiest
deep and strong-rooting pines can
maintain themselves.
But these hardy habitants of Aretin
climes although they can conserve life
beyond all other trees, yet when they
lose it, lose it irrevocably. A deciduous
tree, deprived of its leaves and branches
at some timely season, will sprout again
from latent buds, feeding from a store
of materials laid up in the cambium in
the state ; and this they do as soon as
moisture from the roots, and external
warmth of vernal air, occur to favor the
movement. A coniferous evergreen
scarcely ever recovers in this way, after
being stripped of its leaves. Even the'
deciduous conifers (tho larches) do nt
sprout again after being cut down. All
of this class ef trees seem to live from
hand to mouth. Always possessed of
leaves, they have a daily income, not a
somi-annual one ; and they do not per
ceive the necessity of laying anything
up for a morrow. Country Gentleman.
The Pay-Day Question.
The Commercial Bulletin says: "The
question of paying workmen on Monday
instead of on Saturday, has attracted
considerable attention at tho West of
late, and some of tho manufacturers of
Pittsburgh and elsewhere have adopted
the plan. That such would be a re
formatory measure, all thinking persons
will at once acknowledge. With the
present custom a workman is too often
enticed into dissipation an the Satur
day night because he . has not to
work on tho following day, and he has
also the financial ability to cater to his
immoral and low tastes. This habit
thus contracted is the worst enemy to
the working man's prosperity and hap
piness that he has to encounter. In one
night and the following day the hard
toiling mechanic, who has labored
faithfully and intelligently for six days,
to earn a few dollars, dissipates away
what really respresents a portion of his
life. Week after week he dives into
the filth of dissipation, and each time
his constitution and worth as a mechanic
are impaired. ' If he did not receive his
earnings on Saturday evening he would
not have them to spend on Sunday, and
the day would be to him what it was
designed to be a day of rest It is
true there are obstacles in the way of
this reform, but none that really pre
vent it from being placed in execution
in our manufacturing towns and cities,
and we shall therefore look to see it yet
in force in many of them."
Blanting-fowdor is the name of a new
campaign paper in North Carolina. It
indulges in an explosive style, and is be
lieved to be an incendiary sheet.
The Lnte
Facts and Figures
A. clergyman occasionally troubled
with lapsvt lingum, called modern young
ladi'es the other Sunday tho " daughters
of Hem and Shain."
A certain miss unguardedly volun
teered tho remark in a family-circle
that, " when gentlemen oat warm maple-sugar,
it gets into their mustaches
and makes them scratchy." Her father
is curious to know how sho found it out.
A man enjoyin g tho euphonious name
of Tigg married a lady nnmcd Young.
A few days siix o u child was born to
them, and a rich undo of tho young one,
who, like Gilpin, " Loves a timely joke,"
promised to heavily endow tho boy if
the parents would christian him with
the maternal name. Tho foud but thrifty
parents consented, und tho youth wiil
hereafter be known to his friends as
Young Pigg.
An indulgent father, who wanted to
explain to an inquiring littlo son how
trees grew and how they were always
getting taller every year, saw the child's
face brighten up as lie inquired, " Papa,
are yon growing still "r" "No, dear;
what makes you think so " Because
the top of your hpad is coming through
your hair." The hair question was the
next in order, and the difference was not
quite so easily explained.
The first election in England bv
lot has taken place in Boston. Lincoln.
shire. There was a vacancy in the town
council, occasioned by the death of a
member, and the election took place on
the Monday after the royal assent had
been given to the new law. There were
twe candidates for tho vacant place,
one named Farron and tho other Best.
It may bo accepted as a favorablo
augury that on this occasion the Best
man won.
A now reform has boon inaugurated
in tho British House of Commons. Mr.
F. S. Powell, Lord Frederick Cavendish,
and others havo boon urging a bill " to
regulate tho uso of steam whistles in
certain manufactories." They desire to
prevent the uso of whistles for tho pur
pose of summoning or dismissing work
mon. Upon this the Echo calla for an
abatement of the nuisances of bell ring
ing, and of cannon firing, and likewise
of dinner gongs.
The method of sustaining points of
order in vogue among Western legisla
tors is more effectual than that in use
in the older and loss vigorous part of
the country. In the Wyoming Legisla
ture a short time ago. when a man in
sisted that he wns not out of order, his
opponent jerked off his coat, shouting :
If some reliable man will hold these
order;" and th point was sustained
without further controversy.
A horrible scen! took place at Caen, in
Normandy, on the 19th of June. A
murderer named Dutollier was to bo
guillotined for hnving killed his rival in
the affections of an Italian canta trice.
The executioner performed his bloody
work in a very bungling manner, and
the knife, instead of cutting off the head
of the ufortunate culprit, literally sawed
his nock apart. The spectators wero so
hornhed at this ghastly scene that they
attacked the headsman and drove him
and his assistants out of tho town.
I am particularly fond of lemon pie
for desert. At I went on peace
ably for a couple of weeks, but always
eating lemon pio under a silent protest,
tor l was a stranger, and did not liko to
make objections. Finally' I cilled a
waiter and said: "John, what kind of
pie is this V" " What kind did you or
der, sah '" " I ordered lemon pie, but
this appears to be dried apple." " Dat's
lemon pie, sah. You know dey has a
way of mixin dried apples in de lemon
pie here, sah, to dat extent it requires a
man of ability to 'stinguish 'em apart,
sah. De lemons are scarce, you know,
and dey has to 'conomizo 'tu so as to
make one lemon do tor sixteen pies.
Exorbitant American prices havo
driven multitudes in late years to seek
their summering acros3 tho Atlantic.
When one finds that he can tako his
choice, at tho same price, between Sara
togo or Newport on the one hand, and
Paris, the Ehine, Switzerland, and
North Italy, eu the other, ho is very
likely to engage a Cunard state-room,
and sail over tho seas ; only bpecial at
tractions, or settled habit, or a disincli
nation to brave the perils of the deep,
make him hesitate. Thus our money
goes into tho foreign pocket, when a lit
tlo wisdom on the part of our landlords,
many of whom keep up the old war
prices, though provisions have fallen,
would fill their houses and keep our
funds at home.
A Western paper tolls tho following
anecdote of a college chum : II., a mem
ber of one of the classes, was distinguish
ed not loss for dry wit and sly waggery
than tor his address in evading the
writing of themes, and in palming off
the brain-coined currency of others as
his legitimate " tender." One Monday
morning he read a theme of unusual
merit ; but Professor A. " smclled a rat,"
and as H. finished and sat down in the
pride of conscious innocence, asked, " Is
that original, H ?" " Yes, sir." " Are
you sure of it V" queried the professor,
doubtingly. "Why, yes, sir," replied
II., with the imperturbable gravity and
that pasteboard countenance be always
wore; "it had original over it in the
paper I took it from 1"
An Austrian savant is said to have
discovered by means of a microscope, in
a stone taken from the pyramid of
Dashour, many interesting particulars
connected with the life of the anciont
Egypti118' The brick itself is made of
the mud of the Nile, chopped straw and
sand, thus confirming what the Bible
and Herodotus have handed down to
us as to the Egyptian method of brick,
making. Besides these materials, the
microscope has brought other things to
light the debris of river shells, of fish,
and of insects; seeds of wild and culti
vated flowers, of corn and barely, the
field pea, and the common flax, cultiva
ted, probably, for both food and textile
purposes, and the radish, with many
others known to science.