IIE11Y A. IMItSOXS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
ELK COUNTY-TIIE RE PUBLICAN PARTY.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOLUME III.
1UDGWAY, PA., THURSDAY, MA11CII 13, 1873.
NUMBER 2.
Miscellaneous Selections.
MARCH.
"MAncii. Its trop, Juniper . Its stone, Tllon.l
etonc. llsmotto, 'Ciim-iige niidstrcnirlli in times
of dunger. ' ' ' Old Srryin7.
In the pray ilawning across the white hike,
., ,'rr "1L' '''e-liummocks in frown waves brenk,
'Mia tlio glittering speara of the fur Northern
I.iphts,
Likea envuh-y nse.nrt of steel-coated knights,
Spanniiin the winter's cold milf with nn arch,
Over it, rampant., rides in the wild March,
l-ullopiiift, gallopingi galloping in,
Into the world with a stir nnrt a din,
J he norlh wind, the east wind, the west wind
towt'thm'.
In-brlngtng, in-liringing the March's wild
Wiulher.
Hear his rnnth chant as he dashes along:
"Ho. ye Maiv.h children, come list to my song!
A bold outlaw am I lioth to do ami to dure, -And
1 fear not old Kartli nor the Powers of the
Air;
Winter's a dotard, and Summer's a prnde,
Hut Spring loves me Well, nil hough 1 nm rude.
Fullering, lingering, listening Spring
liliHliing she wails for the clung and the ring
Of my swift horse's hoofs j then forward she
presses,
Itepclliui;, returning, my boist'rous caresses.
"Tlie winds are unbound and loose In the sky,
Hinting, frolicking, madly on high:
Arc ye uble to cope with the Norlh Wind's strong
avin 1
"Welcome boldly his fierce grasp: 'twill do you no
lint-m.
He knows the children of March are my own,
(Sealed with my signet of magic blood-stone.
Mood-stone, red blood-stone, green dark and
red light
Blood is for ardor and stone is for might;
Ami the wutch-word borncon by West Wind,
the runiror
Is, 'Courage and strength in the moment of
iiangcr. '
"Children of srurch, are vcstrong.are ye strong?
Bhnme not the Hag the West Wind bears along:
O ye men of the VI arch! be ye 11 rm as the steel i
) ye women of March I be ye loyul and leal
Strong in your loving and strong in your hate,
Const unt, like Juniper, early and lute.
Juniper, Juniper, juniper green,
liemesof blue set in irlitterino- sheen.
In the winter's cold snow, in summer's hot
Biili.mlnr
Unchanging, unchanging, thou heart true and
lenuer l ' v
Singing of juniper, forward he whftled,
walloping, galloping on through the world:
And when, shivering, waking, the dull Day
oraeil out
From her tower in the gray clouds, she heard but
i lie snout
Of the riotous winds as they followed in glee,
On, on to the wooing in mad revelrv.
Wooing, the wooing, the wooing of Spring
Here's a bold wooing that makes the woods
ring,
And thrills the leaf buds, though with snow
overluden.
As March, the wild outlaw, bears off the
.spring maiden.
Harper's Magazine for March
KILL OR CURE.
"Tub Major is a caiiitul fellow. Doc
tor," I said, as we sauntered out to smoke
our cigars hi the pardon, after an early
dinner: " out lie oujrht to be more merci
ful to us wretched bachelors. What with
his charming wile and that exemplary
baby, he makes it difficult to respect the
tenth commandment."
" You admire Mrs. Lay ton?"
'Admire her I If she were not Char
lie's wile, I should fall head over ears in
love with her. I h we seen fairer faces,
but for dear, pretty, delicate womanly
ways, i never met ner equal."
" l ou couidn t understand a man's
thirsting for her blood ?''
" Good gracious ! A wretch who could
touch one of her golden hairs roughly de
serves to ne cruciuect."
" And yet for many days she was in
deadly peui oi ner me. "
" For her fortune ?"
" She had none."
" Don't tell me. Doctor, that an inno
cent creature like that could give any one
cause lor revenge."
" No ; I won't tell you anything of the
sort."
" I think I see. Some one was madly
in love with her?"
'Jf you were to guess till this day out
you would not find the cause," said my
friend. '-Let us sit down hero, and I will
explain. It's no secret ; I wonder the
Major has not told vou."
"Down here" was on a rustic seat that
the Major's pretty wife had made at the
end of his garden, close to where a little
rill, soon to be lost in the blue Hudson,
tinkled Its wav through his grounds.
'
"During the war," began the Doctor,
"I served in the army, in the same regi
ment with an old schoolmate. lie was as
line a soldier as ever drew sword. Hale,
hearty, and sound in mind and body ;
eager to see service and he saw plenty.
I thought that he bre a charmed life, till
one day ho was carried into the hospital
tent in a bad way. A ball had entered his
shoulder, glanced on the clavicle (what
you call the collar-Done), and had gone
somewhere. That was all we could tell,
for there was no other orifice ; but wheth
er it had passed up or down, or taken
some erratic course round about, such as
balls will take, we knew not and no prob
ing could find out. Well, he recovered,
went North to regain his strength, and
for nearly three years I lost sight of
him. When the war was over, and I
had begun to practice as a civilian in
New York, I met him again. But how
changed ! He was a living skeleton, and
I saw in a moment that he had become
habituated to opium. Do you know what
that means ? No? Well, throw a bucket
of water into a piano and then light a lire
under it, and its strings will not be more
outof turethanan opium-smoker's nerves
are out of order, lie asked me if he
might call on n c at my oHlc, and of
course 1 ns.-ented ; but it was days before
he came, and when he did arrive I knew
that lie had been preparing himself for a
tight w ith himself, Some foolish patients
come prepared to hide the truth, some to
magnify their ills. It is part of our busi
ness, in serious cases, to examine a man's
mind before we ask about his body, and
hardened us a surgeon must be, I confess
that the condition of my poor friend
frightened inc. There was an expression
in his eye that I had never seen in any
Bane being ; and what made this worse
was the culm business-like manner in
which he spoke. He told me that soon
after he had (apparently) recovered from
Ids wound, he began to sutler from pains
in his head, which increased in severity
till they became so agonizing that he had
recourse to opiates to alleviate them
'lint 1 nave not come to consult you
about this.' he said, 'tins I can bear must
bear. W ould to God that they were al
ways tearing me! The worst is when
they are not.'
" ' They leave you very weak ?' I su,
arested.
"'Thev leave me,' ho replied, oulte
calmly, with a burning, all but unconquer
able., desire to take human tire.
" I am not generally a nervous man, but
T nt.irted. and looked round me for some
weapon of defense. ' Dou't be afraid,' he
continued with a sad smile, ' the Jit is not
on me now. I should not have come if it
had been. I have been nearly starved
once or twice, not daring to leave my
room, r ran connuer mv madness now ;
the question is, how long I can continue
to do so. I feel that it is growing upon
me. I leel niv power ol resistance be
coming weaker and weaker the craving
for blood tfetlinsr stronger and stronger,
Iain like a man who hus slipped over a
precipice, and feels the earth and shrubs
to whi-:h he clings, slowly, slowly, sure
ly, surely, giving way with him. I have
brought wretched cum out of the street,
and killed them in my frenzy. In the hope
io exiiausi n on mem. it is no use. 1
must have human life.'
"'Any human life?1 I innulred. 'or
some one In particular?'
"'Why do you ask this, Doctor?' he
cried, petting suddenly excited.
j.o mauer ; go on.'
" ' Sometimes.' he resumed. ' it seems
that any life would do ; and sometimes
i ocror, iour days before 1 saw you 1 met,
upon a New Jersey ferry-boat, a young
girl. So pretty, so refined and nice I I
followed her to her home the devil, that
has taken possession of me, led me. She
went in and soon came out again Into her
little garden, and tended her flowers-
poor child I Doctor, if I had had a pistol
with me I should have shot her. You
may smile; but some clay soon I shall
take a pistol on purpose, and shoot her.'
"it wascieany no use arguing with him.
The best way with such people is to ad
mit their facts and try to work round
them.
" 'Then.' said I 'the only thin? vou can
do is to submit to the restriction of an
asylum, till this feeling has passed.'
-it win not pass, 11 i were to go to a
madhouse I should sham sane. Sooner or
later their vigilance over me would be re
laxed. Then I should murder my keeper,
and go straight for that innocent girl.'
" 'Then leave the country.'
'"Well, that would save her: but,
Doctor, one life is as dear to its holder as
another. If I don't kill her, I shall kill
some one else.'
" 'My dear fellow.' I replied, in as light
a tone as 1 could assume, 'these fancies are
curable. Put yourself under skilled med
ical treatment. Y'ou are all to bits physi
cally. Get sound in body, and you'll get
an ngnt in your minu.'
un trie contrary, l am all to bits, as
you say, mentally, and my body suffers
tnrougn my mind. Medical treatment I 1
have consulted every practitioner of note
here and hi Europe. Some think I'm
fooling them, some look wise, and talk
as you do about "treatment." All have
failed. Doctors are no use to me.'
Then may 1 ask. why vou have come
here?'
"'To ask your advice as a friend.' he
answered, drawing his chair nearer to
mo ; 'and,' lowering his voice, 'to ask
you one'question as a friend and a God,
tearing man, and to which I pray you to
give me a piain yes or no.
"'Go on.'
'''Feeling as I feel, shall I be justified
before God in taking my own life"? Will
it be deadly sin for me to do for myself
wnat i womu uo to a mau dogr
" 'I repeat his words almost as he spoke
tnem. i cannot give you the lamtest idea
of the solemn deliberation with which he
put tliis awful question. For some mo
ments I could not say a word. Then I
b tar ted up and told him that I would not
answer him yes or no that it was not
fair to ask me to take such a responsibili
ty. Then he rose too, and said that he
must resolve it lor himself, and 1 saw
plainly which way it would go. ' Give
me till to-morrow to think it out,' I said,
detaining him.
'To-morrow maybe too late,' he re
plied. i ne nt may come upon me to
night for all I know.'
' Come home with me ; I'm not afraid
you won't hurt me,' I said.
" 'I would try very hard not to do so-
but I know myself. I cannot trust my
self, won't you trust me.'
" ! will trust you ; hut 1 11 do more,
l ou are not armed, I suppose ?'
"'No,' he replied with a shudder, 'not
now.'
" 'I'll take care that you shall r ot be,
ana l n carry my uernnger in my pocket
On the first Indication of homicidal mania
I give you my word I'll shoot-and I'll
shoot straight.' I said this to satisfy him
poor fellow! In his weak state I could
have laid him down like a child. It did
satisfy him, and we went home together,
I led him to talk of our old soldiering days,
and "radually got him back to his wound,
I made him describe the first sensations of
pain in his head, and repeat all that his
different advisers had said. I happened
to have a strong preparation of liasheeh
Dy me. i gave nun a dose, and whilst un
der its influence I carefully examined hi
head. Now the head, you must know,
does not fatten or was'e away in propor
tion to other parts of the body. Still hi;
had become mere skin and bone; and this
state, perhaps, gave me an advantage ove
others who had made the same examina
tion. At last I felt, or thought I felt, a
faint twitching u sort of abnormal pulsa
tionabout two inches above the left ear.
It might be merely nervous, but it might be
caused by the ball.
"I then set my mind to work, and
thought the whole case over steadily. In
the first place was that impulse to take
human life, of which my poer friend had
spoken, really uncontrollable. For ex
ample, suppose that one day he did take
pistol 'on purpose,' and go to that
young lady's garden would , he shoot
her? lo suppose that the insane mind
never changes its purpose, or turns from
the fell completion of its purpose, is to
say in other words that the insane mind
is stronger than the sane mind. If a man
with a freshly broken leg were to tell you
he was going to run a foot-race, you
would not believe him. because your
common sense revolts against the idea of
his running with a leg disabled. But if
one with his brain disabled declares that
ho is troinar to do something dependent
flpoa the action of his mind, common
sense does not always argue so wen.
In the second place, did Biy poor
friend, with his impaired means of judg
ment, believe that the impulse was uncon
trollable? Because if he did the end would
be the samo, so far as he was concerned.
He would sacrifice his own life to protect
that ot ottiers, though they were in no
actual danger.
In the third p'ace, might not this
story of the -impulse be a mere pre'nse
to excuse the commission oi suiciaer
Now there are no forms of madness more
obscure in their origin, more difficult to
detect, more persistent, and more fatal
than suicidal mania; ana as mere nave
been numerous cases in which persons
who have destroyed themselves have care
fully prepared evidence tending to show
that their death was accidental, why should
there not be one in which the fatal act was
to be (so far as possible) justified?
" In the fourth place, granting that
there was either real homicidal mania or
fancied homicidal mania tending to sui
cidal, or simply the latter was there a
possibility of cure?
" As the three first questions rested for
their solution on one set of facts, and the
deductions to be draw.i therefrom, I con
sidered them together. A victim of sui
cide mania rarely if ever speaks of suicide.
When a man says he is going to drown
himself, vnn mav trenerallv direct him to
tho cars which will take him to the river
side with tho fullest conviction that he
will not breakfast with crabs. If, in an
exceptional case, suicide is mentioned, it
will cither be treated lightly, as an act
that is not a crime, or the patient will be
very earnest In his assurance that he
would never commit It. Remembering
my poor friend's manner, 1 noticed that
he spoke of taking his own life with much
more emotion than he evinced when he
told uie bf the impulse to shed the blood
of others. ITis words, 'I must have hu
man lifn if I had had a pistol with me I
should have shot her some day soon I
shall take a pistol on purpose and shoot
her I fcbould murder my keeper
and po straight for the iuno
cent girl,' were spoken as calmly as
though he said, 'I owe five dollars I
must go and pay them,' and at the same
time with a tone of deep comniiseratiou
for the predestined victims. They were
to die for no fault of their own, btit they
were doomed to death if he lived. When.
on the other hand, he spoke of saving their
lives at the sacrifice ot ins own, nis man
ner changed. No one alllicted with sui
cidal mania ever treated self-destruction
with the horror, the consciousness of Its
wickedness, and the religious doubts as to
its bcingTfordonable under any circum
stances, with which he considered it. He
had never once spoken of murder as a
crime.
'After a long careful consideration I
came to the following conclusions :
He is not laboring under suicidal
mama.
His Impulse is real and will have fatal
results.
Confinement In an asylum womu have
no curative enect.
"Then I took down my books bearinir
upon the anatomy oi the human head.
'The next morning I addressed him
thus :
" 'Before I answer vou as to whether
you would be justified before God, under
the impulse you have told me ot, in taK
ing your own life to save that of another,
you must answer me several questions.'
"uo on,' lie said.
'"When vou consulted those doctors
did you tell them all that you have told
me?'
No. I did not dare. I said that I had
horrible thoughts and cravings, but with
out entering into details as to what they
were. Once 1 went so lar as to say J
feared I was becoming dangerous, and the
fool smiled.'
Good. Did they ever speak of search
ing for that ball?'
l es, they said it might oe the cause
of my sufferings, supposing that it had
lodged near the brain, but that no one
would take the responsibility of searching
tor it so to speak in the dark.'
" 'They were right the operation might
kill vou and the ball be not found, after
all.' "
He looked up, and the dull, delected
look that had become habitual passed from
his face.
" 'And even if It were found,' I went
on, ' its extraction might cause your death
all the same.'
" He laid his hand on my arm, and tried
to speak, but he could not.
" ' Still it would give you a chance lust
a chance of mora than life.' His grasp
tightened. I could feel his heat beating.
'And submitting to such an operation
almost hopeless though it be would not
oe quite suicide.'
" He fell on his knees and sobbed like a
child. ' You'll do it ?' he cried, ' God Al
mighty bless you ! You'll do it?'
" Well," said my friend, lighting a fresh
cigar, "to make "my story short, I did it,
with the assistance of a young surgeon
whose nerve I could trust. We found the
miserable piece of lead near where I had
suspected it to be. It was just a case of
touch anil go. Had my knite wavered
twice the breadth of its own edge had the
assistant been unsteady with tho forceps
it would have been fatal. I don't want
to appear vain of my success, so I'll say
no more than tnis ne recovered."
" And hasn't killed anybody ?"
" No, and doesn't want to."
" By Jove ! I wouldn't be too sure of
that. And so the girl he wanted to mur
der married the Major?"
" She did."
" Then if I were her husband I'd take
precious good care that your interesting
patient didn't come Into the same State
with her."
" My dear fellow if you were her hus
band you'd do exactly as her husband
does."
" Does he kno v ?"
"None better."
" And doesn't care ?"
" Not a bit."
" Then he's a brute !"
" You'd better tell him so here he
comes."
" Does she know?"
" She does."
" And she's not afraid?"
"No."
"One other question. Docs -your in
teresting patient still live, in this coun
try?"
" He does."
" In what State?"
'This State."
"Nenr here?-'
" Very near."
" Then with all possible deference for
our friend the Major, I think he is very
foolish.- Were I in his place I should say,
My good sir, 1 admit that the ball from
which you suffered so long cannot get back
Into your brains, but I am by no means
sure that the ideas it engendered may not
return. At any rate your presence near
my wife is likely to make her nervous,
and I appeal to you as a gentleman to lo
cate yourself -in some other part of the
country. If you do so I shall have the
highest respect for you; if you do not,
and ever have the misfortune to pass with
in a mile of nfy house, the interior of
your skull will become more intimately
acquainted than ever with lead in the
usual form.' " "
"Very neatly put" said the Doctor,
" but our friend does not think of com
mitting suicide now."
" Mercy, Doctor!" I cried, " you don't
mean to say that the man who wanted to
murder the Major's wife is is"
" The Major himself. Yes, sir." Tem
ple Bar.
The Future Electric Telegraph.
MM
As we now understand it, electricity Is
divided into two halves, or as those halves
are scientifically termed, positive and
negative. The earth is a vast reservoir of
the negative half; but who can fathom
the extent in the universe of the other, or
positive condition of electricity? Yet we
know that when these halves meet, an im
pulse, shock, or flash is resultant. This
was shown years ago in the experiment
of the celebrated Lcydcn Jar.
Utilizing this impuise, shock or flash
by simple machine', so that it Is made
to Indicate lcttersand words by graduated
interruptions or frequent breakings of the
circuit, constitutes the whole system of
modern telegraphy.
The positive portion
of electricity, as
applied to modern telegraphy, or the
Morse system, Is artificially made by cer
tain acids and minerals (the chemical ac
tion of acids on minerals producing it),
and this action Is transmitted over the
wires of indefinite length. But this ac
tion, ebullition or positive impulse would
amount to nothing would be a mere
wate were it not brought into contact
witn tho earth containing the nega
tive or opposite electrical condition.
But this connection with the earth
is made, at the telegraphic stations,
and a decided impulse or shock results.in
terrupted as before stated, to indicate
characters and letters by the use of sim
ple machinery adopted lor tne purpose.
l ins is the present system oi telegraphy,
due credit for which has been already
awarded to Professor Morse. We have
to comprehend those simple formulas
as developed by modern telegraphy to
Eroperly understand the idea suggested
y Dr. Loomis in his aerial telegraph
scheme.
As in the present or Morse system, we
must have the negative orground current
to complete the circuit, so must Dr.
Loomis in his plan us? the earth to com
plete Ins circuit. But instead of genera
ting the positive form by means of acids
and metals, and transmitting it over wires
elevated a lew feet above the ground, Dr,
Loomis proposes to go up above the
clouds and then find a continuous strata
or current naturally positive and univer-
sil (the same as the other opposite or
noorufivn fVn-m la imivnra.il tn tho narth
anil by simple means bring these two mar
riageable forces together, complete the
circuit, make the impulse or shock inter
rupted by mechanical devices to form sig
nals lor letters and words tne same as ia
the Morse system, and without the inter
vention of wires, from pint to point the
N
strata m the upper cioua current answer
ing the purpose oi wires.
The conception ot Dr. Loomis is a grand
or.e, and worth the profound attention ol
all his countrymen, it is a lar more feasi
ble plan, in view o'f our present knowl
edge oi electricity as applied to telegraphy,
than was the Morse system at its conception.
In certain conditions of the atmosphere.
as in thunder storms and the presence ot
the aurora borealis, this form of electricity
is brought so near to the earth that com
munications have been sent from point to
point over our telegraphic wires without
the aid ol chemicals, iience, tiDove the
point affected by terrestnaf disturbances
it is philosophically inferable that elec
tricity m its positive condition is univer
sal. The earth, as we know, throughout
its vast extent, possessed an Invisible elec
tric force in a negative form, and why not
the corresponding positive form in the
vast depths of the ethereal universe ? And
it is not essential that the condition should
take the lorm of currents correlative to
air currents (spoken of by aeronauts) for
the purpose ol telegraphy, since the uni
versa! presence ot electricity in this form
throughout the vast strata ot cither would
suffice to carry out to success the idea con
ceived Dy lr. loomis.
Tins system win revolutionize tele
graphy ail over the world as soon aa it is
practically developed and utilized, and so
inexpensive will it be in its daily opera
tion that it will soon supersede the postal
system of all countries without the aid of
legislation to this effect. Dr. J. R. JIuyes.
for Identification With the land of Ophlr,
the probabilities multiply that It was this
table-land between the Zambezi anil Lim
popo rivers In 'Africa. At any rate, if
there is gold there now, it will soon be
found, overhauled, and put Into circula
tion, and with it probably some equ lly
valuable additions to the world's knowl
edge of itself and its history. Sjn-ingjicld
Mass.) Jicpubtican.
Wild Flants Domesticated.
The Cabbage is first cousin to cauli
flower, broccol', etc., and they all come
from the wild cabbage of the sea-coast.
It is a marine plant, and loves salt and
salt water. The wild cabbage is a tall.
wavv. coarse plant, but the pods are now
gathered and eaten in the spring months
in some parts oi n,ngiana. T here is no
plant which has produced by cultivation
a greater number of varieties than the
cabbage. We can extend the varieties
much further, but it Is sufficient for us to
consider the wide range between the little
red cabbage for pickling, and the " mam
moth," with a head so large that it can
only be boiled In a large caldron. In the
cauliflower we eat the fleshy flower stalks
and undeveloped buds, which are crowded
together Into a compact mass, it was a
favorite saying of the great lexicographer.
Dr. Johnson. " Of all the flowers of the
garden I like the cauliflower the best," a
sentiment worthy oi tnis learnca epicure.
The numerous varieties of the cabbage
Illustrate in the most striking manner the
changes which are produced In species by
cultivation, and the permanence of some
varieties of races. They also give us in
structive lessons in the economy of vege
table lite.
The Turnip comes from a wild plant
found by the sides of rivers, ditches, and
marshes. Like the cabbage, it has pro
duced several varieties, the result of long-
cultivntion. From the wild plant we have
the little flat turnip and the huge rata
baaa. with all the varieties between. This
m'ntia nnw mnaf OrirlnlTT mil H vntorl nQ fnnrl
for stock, and it has added much to the as a ship's cable docs a coachman's whir.
The Banyan Tree.
The Banvan Fieus Indiea) is Indigenous
to India only. I call it one of the "kings
of the forest," because no other of the
vegetable giants ever measured a tithe of
five acres in circuit, or afforded shelter
from the torrid sun at one time to one
tenth of an army of ten thousand men.
No one who ever spent the long noon
tide of an Indian day under the capacious
shadow of a banyan-tree, or slept unin
jured during successive nights under
'the protection from dews and rains of its
shingled foliage, or strolled leisurely for
hours along avenues and foot-paths bor
dered by flowering slmrbs and cooled by
gurgling streamlets, all within the boun
daries of tho repeating branches of a sin
gle tree, will be disposed to dispute the
claims of tho banyan to be counted as one
of the three monarehs of the woods.
When a banyan first springs from its
seed, its method of growth is normal.
Like the oak, or elm, or beech, or maple,
it grows progiesslvely through ltsdiller
cnt stages of shoot, and plant, and shrub,
and sapling, and tree. There is nothing
about it that is peculiar. It observes the
ordinary routine of vegetable life. Rising
in height from year to yenr, it puts forth
nmDs which are ciotnea in iouage.
over the Orient there are banyans, still
short of their hundred years of age, which
are in no resnoct prculiar. Like other
denizens of the forest, the stranger would
pass them by unnoticed. But, when Its
lirst eenturv is passed, and its burden of
successors becomes oppressive, like a hale
old fellow ot the human race, it scens sup,
port In its children.
Kverv one is familiar with the fact that
different trees shoot out their limbs at dif
ferent angles to the trunk. The Loni
hardv nonlar. in this respect, varies wide-
v trom t ne elm. aim tne larcn irom ine
willow. The English oak-branch leaves
the parent stem at so high nn angle as to
be almost horizontal. The banyan does
the same. But the latter has a length
that surpasses the former almost as much
wealth of England
The Tarsnio is also a reclaimed wild
plant, and it is difficult to say whether we
are Indebted to cultivation or Importation
tor it; most probably tne fatter, as it is a
native of Britain. If the wild plant is cul
tivated two or three years In rich garden
soil, it acquires all the desirable charac
teristics of the best kinds : and if left to
itself in poor soil, it speedily goes back
into its wild, degenerate condition. Pars
nips appear to nave been very early re
claimed irom a wild state, ior rimy tens
lash. Now, it is a well known law m
mechanics, that the longer the arm the
more powerful is the lever. The Drancn
of the English oak ceases to grow be
yond the point where the lever power
would wrench it from tho stem. The
branch of the banvan does not. One
stons at live-and-twenty feet; the other
not even at five hundred. Provision must
be made, therefore, to give the latter sup
port, and its wonderluf peculiarity is,
that nature lias made sucn provision.
in the Danvan. wnen a norizoinai
us that parsnips were cultivated on the branch has been put forth t such a length
banks of the Rhine, and were brought
from thence to supply the tables of the
Roman emperors. Journal of Chemistry
The Land of Ophir.
A Lively Thresher.
The Titusvllle Press gives an account
of a young man from an eastern city who
had been visiting rural mends in that vi
cinity. After seeing a farmer thresh out
a "flooring" oi oata tne otner morning,
he asked and received permission to swing
the flail a few minutes, upon assuring the
agriculturist that he was perfectly famil
iar with the art of threshing. . Expecto
rating upon ins hands, the young man
went at the oals, but at the first pass
knocked the horn off from a new milch
cow that was leisurely chewing her cud in
a neighboring stall. The second swing
caved in the head of the farmer, who
thought he was safe enough as long as he
rocsted on top of the fanning mill in the
other end of the barn ; but, without dis
covering the havoc he was making, the
city artist kept at his labors; the third
blow fell upon the oats, the fourth killed
a hen in a manger near by. and the fifth
pass of the deadly weapon was the best of
an, ior it came round behind the young
man, boomerang fashion, and taking him
under the lower jaw, knocked him down,
ana thus put a stop to tno work oi siaugii.
tcr. The mere fact that the city "thresh
er" returned to consciousness an hour be
fore the farmer did, allowed the former to
get several miles out of town before his
efforts at threshing oats were discovered
py tno neighbors,
Among tlie wonderful discoveries that
turn all eyes toward Africa, it is thought
with considerable confidence that the
Ophir of the Bible has been identified In
the gold region which exists between the
Zambezi and Limpopo rivers in south
eastern Africa. This region has been pe
culiarly inaccessible, being held by the
Metabelr. nation, a fierce and warlike peo
ple who originated in the Zulu 1.- nd, and
sweeping northward, conquered it, and
have prohibited, on penalty of death, all
foreigners from examining its auriferous
capabilities. But on tlie death of their
King L mzihitttzi, about three years ago,
their jealous strictness has been a little
relaxed, and elephant hunters, particu
larly Mr. Hartley have partially explored
the region and brought bac'-t wonderful
accounts. Carl Mauch, the German geol
ogist and explorer, some time ago made
a flying trip into the same country and
sent accounts of certain remarkable ruins
and ancient mine shafts to Petermann,
tlie geographer, who gave his published
sanction to the identification of this re-
fion witli the ancient Ophir. Sir Robert
iurchison inclines to the same opinion.
The records of the earliest Portuguese
navigators mention extensive ruins to the
southward of the Zambezi, which thev
supposed to have marked the palaces of
tlie Queen of Sheba. Rev. Josiah Tyler,
the missionary, whose station is but a lew
hundred miles soutn ot this gold coun
try, corroborates the probabilities of in
teresting discoveries,areha3ological among
the rest, which promise to make this, as
well as other parts ot Alr.ca, famous in
tho near future. He regrets, however,
the very hasty observations of Carl
Mauch, leaving it in doubt whether the
ruins alluded to may not belong to the
eariy Portuguese au venturers.
We know that King Solomon had
the rendezvous of his loreign navy, the
ships of Tarshish, In the Red sea, and that
his rhenlcian ally, mrain ot Tyre, "sent
in the navy his servants, shipmen that had
knowledge of the sea, with the servants of
Solomon," and tnat they brought back
from Ophlr, not only gold in abundance,
but "great plenty of altnug-trees and pre
cious stones,' also silver, ivory, apes and
peacocks." Mucn the same sort ot tranio
comes down from that region now especi
ally if the ancient aluiug tree may be the
eDony, tne precious stones, diamonds,
and the peacocks may be extended to in
clude ostrich leathers and parrots.
T ho speediest connection between the
United States and Port Natal on that coast
at the present time is via Suez canal and
Aden on the Ited sea. According to
Herodotus, Pharaoh Necho, king oi
Ecvnt. about 200 years after Solomon.
having built the original of the present
suez canal, circumnavigated Atrica, and
probably long before this, the Phenicians,
most renowned mariners of the olden
times, had knowledge oi this African coast,
It corresponds, too, with the long voyage
to Ophir and back, that it should be in a
land distant as this, for "once In three
years came the navy of Tarshish," accord
ing to the books of the Kings.
So while Arabia and India and Spain
and eyen Peru, have been rival claimants
Guarana.
This is the name of a popular beverage
which the natives of Brazil prepare from
the fruit ot a small climbing shrub that
grows chiefly in the northern part of that
country, and on the banks ot the Ama
zon. The essential principle of thi3 fruit
is identical with caffeine, and its composi
tion in other respects is strikingly similar
to that of tea and coffee. An analysis by
Tromnisdorf shows that it contains caffe
ine, 4: green oil, 3.5 ; resinous oleaginous
matter, 2.5; tannie acid and salts, 40, starch
and gum, 115 ; vegetable fibre, 30. Sten-
house, in some cases, lounu o. per cent,
of caffeine. It is thus seen to be very
much richer In this Important ingredient
than either coltee or tea, the lormer rare
ly containing more than one or the lat
ter more than two percent, of cafteine.
During the months of October and No
vember the fruit is gathered. peeled, dried,
reduced to powder, and made into a paste
with water, when it is ready for use. If
not overdrieil. the color of this prepara
tion is a light chocolate, and it also has a
pleasant flavor, which is said to linger
long in the mouth. With cold water and
a little sugar it forms an excellent bever
age, or it may be eaten in the solid slate
like the preparations ol chocolate. It is
also employed by tho natives in a form
known as guarana oreau. as commonly
prepared it admits of being transported
without suffering deterioration, resisting
alike tlie sun's heat, intense cold, numid-
itv. and putrefaction.
Mantegazza, writing of the effects of
the beverage, savs : " Between breakfast
and dinner, in the warm days of June
nd Julv. there Is not a l everage more
healthful and refreshing than a fresh euo
of guarana. After drinking it one feels
jinvigorated, having in a measure par
iken at once of food and drink." It has
been used medicinally both as a remedy for
headache and as an astringent, but Its ef-
cts are only transient, hike other mem
bers of its class, guarana is not without
s dangers, in large doses it produces
xhilaration. convulsive inquietude, ex-
Itation of intelligence, wakefulness, slight
diminution of pulse, and. want ot appetite
Galaxy for March.
as to render it difficult to maintain itself
without breaking, it lowers down from its
end one or two more roots, which, enter
ing the ground, send forth rootlets, and
themselves oecome new sirms. in uue
time the horizontal branches, which once
were in danger of being destroyed by
their own weight, are as easily support
ed by the pillars as a bridge is by its piers.
So the process goes on. Lateral branches
shoot out irom tne main iimus, wnien
latter are constantly growing till they
reach gigantic size. These lateral brandi
es also put clown stems and shoot out
branchlets, until it comes to pass that, in
place of a single tree, tnerc is a wondrous
colonnade of stems, supporting as many
natural ratters, on which repose dense
canopies of foliage. N. Dodge in Ap-
pletons Journal.
The Earliest Newspaper.
The Airless Moon.
Avnn tho Illusions swept away by
modern science was the pleasant fancy
that the moon was a habitable globe, like
the earth, Its surface diversified with seas,
lakes, continents and islands, and varied
forma of vegetation. Theologians and
savants gravely discussed the probabilities
of its being Inhabited oyaraee oi semieni.
beings, Willi forms and faculties like our
own, and een propounded schemes for
opening communication with them, in
case thev existed. One of these was to
construct on tlie broad highlands of Asia
a series of geometrical figures on a scale
so gigantic as to be visible from our plan
etary nsighbor, on tlte supposition that
the moon people womu reeugui.e me "in
ject, and immediately construct similar
figures in reply 1 Extravagant and ab
surd as it may appear li the light of mod
ern knowledge, the establishment of this
Terrestrial and Lunar Signal Service Bu
reau was treated as a feasiblo scheme, al
though practical difficulties,- which so
often keep men from making tools ot
themselves stood in the way oi actum ex
periment; but the discussion was kept
up at intervals, until it was discovered
that 11 there were peopiu in uieiuuwu
they must be able to live without breath
ing, or eating, or drinking. Then it
ceased.
There can b no life without air. .beau
tiful to the eye of tlie distant observer,
tlie moon is a sepulchral orb a world of
death and silence. No vegetation clothes
its vast plains of stony desolation, trav
erscd by monstrous crevasses, broken by
enormous peaks that rise like gigantic
tombstones into space ; no loveiy loruis
of cloud float in the blackness of its sky.
There daytime is only night lighted by a
rayless sun. There is no rosy dawn in
the morning, no twilight in the evening.
The nights ure pitch-dark. In daytime
the solar beams are lost against tlie jagged
ridges, the sharp points of tlie rocks, or
the steep sides of the profound abysses;
and tlie ej'C sees only grotesque shapes
relieved against fantastic shadows black
as ink, with none of that pleasant grada
tion and diffusion of light, none of the
subtile blending of light and shadbw,
which make the charm of a terrestrial
landscape. A faint conception of tho
horrors of a lunar day may be formed
from an illustration representing a land
scape taken in the moon in the center of
tlie mountainous region of Aristarchus.
There is no color, nothing but dead white
and black. The rocks reflect passively
tho light of the sun ; tlie craters nud
abysses remain wrapped in shade ; fan
tastic weaks rise like phantoms in their
glacial cemetry; the stars appear like
spots in tlie blackness of space. The
moon is a dead world ; she lias no at
mosphere. Harper's Magazine for March.
Ai-tiiohities have differed widely as to
the nation and city entitled to the honor
of having started the first printed news
paper. For many years it was supposed
that tno credit Deiongea to r.ugiuuu. n
was claimed that the British Museum had
a copy of tlie earliest paper in its collec
tion. It was called the ,nqiisn jiercune,
and printed July Zi, 158S; but it has been
shown that this copy, like specimens of
r.iro old coins, was spurious, ana gotten
up for sale. Watts, the bibliographer ot
tlie Museum, who saw, on examination,
tint the type and paper were of modern
origin, and d d not belong to the sixteenth
century, exposed the forgery. It was an
ingenious fabrication, pretending to give
tlie news of tlie Spanish Armada, which
was destroyed m the lMignsn nannei ny
Drake and Howard a day or two previous
to the date of the sheet. There were seven
numbers of this spurious Mercuric pro
ducedfour In manuscript, and three in
print.
v enice lias aiso cuimeu uie nouor ui
leading the way in giving newspapers to
tlie world. Tho Qazetta, thus named be
cause it sold for a small piece of money
called gazzetta, it is asserted, was printed
there in lo0, and it is pretended tnat
copies of this paper of that date are in one
of two collections in London. But late
discoveries have apparently established
tlie claim of the old German city ot Nu
remberg to this high honor. A vaper
called the Gazette, according to trust
worthy authorities, was printed. In that
Dresden Porcelain.
Tnrc celebrated porcelain of Saxony
bears the name of, though it is not made
in Dresden, but at tlie town of Meissen on
the Elbe, fifteen miles below the capital.
Not to go there is a palpable neglect of
the tourist's obligation. The porcelain
manufactory is in the old Castle, once this
residence of the Saxon princes. It is an
imposing edifice, and, from its local po
sition on the banks of the river, looks re
nmrknhlv nlcturesoue at a distance, and
not much less so on close inspection. Its
appearance is assisted by the Cathedral
hard by, a handsome Gothic structure
with a graceful open-work spire.
The earth from which the porcelain is
made is obtained from Aue, un insignifi
cant village twelve miles from Zwickau.
Tho process of preparing and baking tlie
clay is slow, difficult, and complicated.
Tlie mixture, or biscuit, is composed prin
cipally of kaolin and ground feldspar.
The materials are reduced to very line
powder, an I stirred together with water
in cisterns, the surplus water being
pressed out through linen bags, separated
by filtration or other metlio Is. When
the biscuit is of the consistency of dough,
it is thoroughly worked over by beating,
kneading, and treading, and is then put,
away moist for a year or more to undergo
the 'molding process, which increases its
lilastieitv. Tho better kinds of porcelain
are formed in molds of gypsum, and the
nicest skill and care are needed to la-iiuon
the vessels, as well as in the glazing and
buking. A good deal of the ware is una
voidably spoiled, such precise Handling
does it require; but tlie artisans employed
in this manufacture have had years of
experience, and have inherited their trade,
as is the case wun tne urusseis nice maim
ers and Amsterdam diamond-cutters. It
is said that the excellence of porcelain de
pends on locality and atmosphere ; tnat
numerous efforts to manufacture tlie
Dresden china elsewhere, with exactly
the same material and the same work
nun, have failed again and again. There
was always something lacking some
thing almost indefinable, but still some
thing Whether it is that the artisans are
npeustonied to a certain routine and
Mexico and Its Jiew President.
We took President Lerdo of Mexico to
be a man of work. In referring recently
to Homans' Cyclopedia of Commerce, we
found that all the information there compil
ed on Mexico was derived from the works
of this same Lerdo de Teiada. But a let-
tertotho Tribune complains tnat nis ad
ministration is not a working administra
tion, but spends its time in attending ban
quets and receptions, to the neglect of the
state business. So notorious has this be
come that Lerdo appears In caricature as
the festive president. These fi.asts of the
Mexican nobility are beyond description,
and throw quite into the shade any of eur
extravagances in that line. The richest
man in Mexico. Senor Escandon. recently
entertained 1,000 "uests, setting a table of
400 covers, etc. Meanwhile the elements
of social discontent are perilously plenty
Think of this fact, that the whole landed
city as early as I4.y,nve years niter xeier . m influences of sur-
Schotter cast the first metal type in mat- r ' lnia- which thev cannot change
rices. Nuremberg with the lirst.paper in jnct of their
tlie fifteenth century, also claims the w ou l,uc question; but that
honor of the first paper in the sixteenth " ' J infreouentlv follows the
century. There is an anciently priuteu nivsterious law Governing the re-
sheet in the Libri collection which ante- SiT&rfJSr,l.ow"n hv re-
dates all others except the sheet of 14;.7 "1 experiments. The manufacture of
an .the CWtci of Cologne. It is called pXinas been for generations tho
tte Aeu Muy aiuHupa I profitable industry of the neighbor-
and bears the date of I ebruary, la34. I he f ,-,.,, nnfl iaJ iiUnlv to continue
British Museum, it is said, has a dupli- r generations to come.-From "Along
cate of this sheet. f. vtL h iITVI,,a m-vm Bhowxk. in
Thus to Germany belongs the honor ;'a aa azine March.
not only of the first printers and the first
printing, but also ot the nrst printed
newspaper. It has also another claim to
distinction. In IG15 Egenolf Eurmel
Started Die Frankfurter Oberpostamts Hei-
fuia. the first dally paper in tne worm.
This journal is still published; and the
eitv of Frankfort is to erect a monument
in honor of its founder and editor as tne
father of newspapers. From "News
papers and Editors," by S. S. Coxant, in
German Emigration.
How
Government Debtors Make it
"Square" in Japan.
-,.,.. ! v,i,i kt. i -vA iwiromiiim niiinfi papers and jiiditors," oy . a,
population of nine or ten m illions, the Harper's Magazine for March
majority OI wnoui are iiLueueuiertrcntcu
than slaves! This vast substratum of un
derlings, with passions all molten with
ages ot oppression, is what keeps the vol
cano in eruption This is the material
that i-4 ready to flock to the standard of
any who will confiscate the property of
the nateu spamsu lanuiorus una wmcii
maintains In the heart of the country stub
born lit'le Indian communities that suc
cessfully defy the control of the govern
ment. One of these communities, not
content with defensive operations, is now
in tne neid witn iu,uuo men, pieces oi
artil lery, and the rebel Lozada at their head.
To deal with these causes ol social disturb
ance and with the disturbances themselves,
Lerdo seems not sufficiently active. Su
perior to J uarez in learning and more ami
able than he in disposition, ho seems iu-
t. rior to n nn in administrative auauiv.
He was evidently in the right place as chief
justice or the supreme court, it is yet,
however, too soon to judge positively of his
administration. Exchange
Gilt Frames. Boll three or four on
ions in a pint of water, then, with a clean
paint-brush, wash over your frames, and
the flies will not alight on them. No in-
iurv will result to the frames. This ren
ders unnecessary the unsightly draphigs
or gauze,
The question of the great increase of
emigration from Germany, which it was
thought some nine ago tne vjroveriiuieiiL
would take some active means oi eiiecn
ing, has been brought up in the German
Parliament, and witn very satisi.ictory re
sults. Count Euleuberg, the Minister of
tho Interior, acknowledged the lact, anu
deplored it, but, declared there was no
help tor it, anu attriuuieu iu neeiy iu wu
war, in spite of all that the war has done
for the gloruication oi r atneriauu. in me
A native Japanese merchant named first place, tne enormous rise oi yrices .ms,
Yamashlnya, a resident in Yokohama, as is usual, not oeen iouoweu uy
but with business houses in Jedde, ponding increase of wages, and the labor
Ozaka and Nagasaki, committed suicide a ing classes are suffering severely, although
short time 6lnce. He was indebted to the tno Treasury is uureuiig miu rau,
government for a sum of $200,000 by non- tho next place, the small capitalists, who,
t . i . -. . i -. i j : .. 1 1 .. 1 t. .,,.,,,.. t.a nltica ivbiell is COlltribU-
faults. Officers were sent to arrest him, ting most largely to the tide of emigra-
but, knowing his fate as a dishonest trad- tiou, nave Dcen Beriuusiv
er, he anticipated the action of the law by loss of lite in the French war, and by the
making out a statement oi nis nauinues givm uui -u, - 1 , . ,
and future intentions, which he personal- ture created by the new role which Ger-
lv left at the War Office, and then return- many nus uuuw uuwu " i ..m.vw.,
edtohis house and disemboweled him- and which makes another tremendous
self. Hardly was he dead when the om- connict oneoi meevci vunv woiiusru..
cers, sent in haste by the department, ar- They are. therefore, afraid to embark or
rived to seize him, but, DaiKeu ia weir cumuiuB iu uuu, J : a .
obiect, took his keys 'and books, and with their little all to the only Oatxy in
placed guards in the possession oi uu wuicu uie imu ui wi ui.. .
property, ine Japanese uowik, wm uj . - .. ----
records the case adds, very naively : "We tho worst enemies the industrious man
hear other Instances ot geii-aestruciion nus to ieur mo wo
ruuiored." This is really a terrible taie aiors.- as reuiw, iui u tlU 8
of The result of twinges of conscience. It scarcity of agricultural labor, the Minis-
is to be hoped mat neither ine uuiiuguur vi iKiuiimnu w.v, ...w .
Its remedy wi'i extend in or to our iiins- tuim:i), a. ,
tian land. What would the Coroners do
in the matter of fragmentary evidence r two i!.ngiisn sisu-ts nameu rratt,
Shocking, even to think of it. If. Y. have Just put up their shingles as dentiste
Herald, m uwuu. auojt man, ,