Y (A C... fx I i HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPEItANDTJM. Two Dollars per Annum. EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 18U. NO. 41. I YOL. IV. A Persian Lovo Son?. Ah! sad are thuy who know no Hove, But, far from passion's tears and smiles Drift down a moonless sea, beyond The silvery coasts of fairy iBles. And naildor they whose longing lips Kiss empty air, and never touch The dear warm mouth of those they lovo Waiting, wasting, suffering much. But cloar as amber, fine as musk, Is life to those who, pilgrim wise, Move hand in hand from dawn to dusk, Each morning nearer Taradise. Oh, not for thorn shall angola pray ; They stand in everlasting light They walk in Allah's, smile by day, And nestle in ,is heart by night. THE MUTINEERS. " Man the mast-heads there I" was the order from the mate of the States man, on a bright, clear morning in the tropical latitutes of the Paoifio. The order was obeyed by those whose turn it was to take the first look-onts of the morning. But the youngster ' who e station was in the fore to'gallant ' cross -trees paused in the foretop, and threw a rapid glance round the horizon. "Sail on the weather bow I" he re ported. " A boat with sail set, coming right at us." The announcement cansed a stir at once on deok, and brought not only the captain, bnt all the watch below up. The all-important morning duty of washing off decks wan suspended for the time being, to gnze upon the un wonted spectacle of a whale-boat alone upon the ocean, coming to board ns in the morning, like the veritable barber Neptune, of equatorial noto riety. The boat was not move than a couple of miles from us when first discovered, approaching swiftly nuderthe combined power of sail and oars. The captain's telescope was brought to bear, and it was soon ascertained that she had at least a lull crew. We backed the main topsail, and hove to, waiting impa tiently to know more, and making vari ous shrewd guesses and speculations as to her history and chnrncter. "They've lowered for whales and Rot lost from their ship," suggested one. "Likely enough," roturned an other. The captain makes out eight men in her," said a coxswain, coming from aft. Hero was a new phase of the matter, and our theory was blown to the four winds. Nobody would lower in pur suit of whales with any more than six in a boat. " Castaways, of course," was now the unanimous opinion, "Ship foundered or burnt at sea and some of her boats . lost with her." But we were not kept long in sus pense, for the strangers bronght their frail craft alongside as rapidly as oars and canvas could do it and leaped on deck. In a few minutes wo were in possession of the whole story a parody on the old one of Bligh and Fletcher Christian. The boat contained Captain Watson, his mate and six others, from the bark Newcastle, of Sydney, who had been set adrift the day before by inn tineeis. The second mate, named Mo Gregor, was at the head of the con spiracy, which had been most artfully plauned and carried into execution, while ho hud charge of the deck. It was supposed that McGregor, the new commauder, intended to carry the bark down nmong the Marshall Islands and there destroy her, taking tip his residence among the savages. There were still twenty men on bourd ; bnt how many of them were actively eugaged in the plot, or how many were merely cowed into submission to the new authority, was more than the captain could tell. " And how far do you suppose your ship to be from us now ?'' asked Captain Bent. " I have steered west-northwest, by compass, as near as I could," said Cap tain Watson ; " and have run, I should judge, about eighty miles. The New castle, when I lost sight of her, was by the wind on the northwest tack, under easy sail. She ought to bear nearly due east from us." Come below, and let's lay off your course on the chart. I don't know as 1 can do anything for yon, even if I should fall in with your ship, but it might be some satisfaction to see her." The two captains went into the cabin, and soon the order was passed along to make all. sail on a wind. Nothing was seen during tho day, and at night we tucked back again. And the first gray light of morning showed np the bark recognized at once by Captain Wat son and his mate as their own vessel running down across our course. " Of course he won't pass near us if Lo can help it." " No, I suppose he will avoid us; but I am going to signalize, at any rate. Hani the mainsail up," said Captain Lent, to the officer of the deck, " and set the ensigu at the gaif." The orders were obeyed ; and much ta our surprise, the mutineers altered their course a little, with the evident intent of sneaking to us. " What can it mean, that ho is so ready to speak to a stranger ?" was the Question that passed from one to another of the croup. " Now I think of it," said the mate of the Newcastle, " I think I know his obicct. If he really means to wind up his cruise at one of the Marshall Islands, he will want to make a trade for tobacco and fire-arms." " You've hit it," returned the cap tain. " That must be McGregor's ob ject. There s isn t much tobacco on board and but little powder. He wants to buy more. Captain Bent, let's you and I have another talk by ourselves," he added, seeming to have conceived some new idea. Their conference was short; but, judging from the expression on their faces, when tnev came on aecK ana took tho mates into their conference. it seemed to have been productive of something of importance. The bark's boat, in which the wanderers had been picked up, was placed overhead on the skids, as if she had been one of our own, and a sail , thrown over her that she might not be recognized. The orew were instructed to keep themselves out of sight while the two vensela were communioating. " What bark is that ?" asked Cap tain Ben, innocently, after he had given his own name, " The Newcastle, of Sidney." " Who commands her I" " Watson," wan the reply. " One of our men had his leg broken yesterday," hailed our captain, " and I would like to get the service of your surgeon." " Certainly. I'll coma aboard, and bring the doctor with me. I wish to see you to trade with yon." And with a farewell wave of a trumpet, as the vessel passed out of hearing, he luffed to under our lee, and then low ered his boat. Now the doctor of tho Newcastle was at that moment in our own cabin, he having been sent adrift in the boat with the captain ; but McGregor would, of course, bring some one to personate the character. This would take seven men from her crew ; and it was also certain that he would man his boat with his choice spirits, for if he brought any doubtful or lukewarm ones, they might prattle. We had our instructions, and within five minutes after the seven men stepped on our deck, they had all been decoyed below and quietly se cured. The boat was veered astern by the warp, and the maintopsail filled on a wind, just as if we had made arrange ments for a day's " gam," according to tho frequont usages of whale-ships on cruising ground. Of course our part ner followed our lead, keeping company with us all day, without the least sus picion. The remainder of our plan to regain possession of tbe ship could only be carried out under cover of darkness. McGregor and his associates in crime were ironed and placed in the ran for safe-keeping. After dark we hove to and set a light in the rigging, which was at once answered by another from the Newoastle, as she closed with us and lay under our lee. Away went a boat from us in charge . f our mate, with a pioked crew ; while r. short distance astern of her followed .-mother, with Captain Watson and his " hole party. The ruffian who was in c'aarge of the bark, calling himself r.iate of her, was amused by the first comers with a story that his captain had made a bargain for a quantity of gun powder and tobacco, and that our mate liad been sent for the money in pay ment. Suspecting nothing, he invited his visitor below, to drink and enjoy himself awhile. Our men managed adroitly to engage the attention of those on deck, and the second boat was silently alongside in the darkness, be fore her approach had been observed by them. The alarm was given by tho cry ' Boat ahoy I" but too late. As she touched tho side, her crew sprang up to assist ours, forming a superior force, with all the advantages of surprise. McGregor's lieutenant was knocked down by onr mate in the cabin ; the few men who really had any heart in the mutiny were quickly disposed of ; and in less than two minutes from the time the boat was hailed, the quarter deck of the Newcastle was in posses sion of her former officers. McGregor and the other principals in the revolt, still ironed, were carried to Sydney for trial. As our season was up, wo kept company with Captain Watson, and made our port theio, where we were liberally rewarded by the owners of the recaptured vessel for our share in the business. A Clean Apron. A lady wanted a trusty little maid to come and help her to take charge of a baby. Nobody could reoommend one, nnd she hardly knew where to look for the right kind of a girl. One day she wus passing through a by-lane and saw a little girl with a clean apron holding a baby in the doorway of a small house. " That is the maid for me, said tho lady. She stopped and asked for her mother. "Mother has gone out to work," answered the girl. "Father is dead, and now mother has to do every thing. ' Should you not like to come and live with me ?" asked the lady. " I should like to help mother some how," said the little maid. The lady, more pleased than ever with tne tidy looks of the little girl, went to see her mother after she came home, and the end of it was that the lady took the maid to live with her, and she found what, indeed, she expected to find that the neat appearance of her person showed the neat and orderly bent of her mind. She had no careless habits, she was no friend to dirt ; but every thing she had to do with was folded up and put away, and kept carefully. The lady finds great comfort in her, and helps her mother, whose lot is not now so hard as it was. She smiles when she says, "Sally's recommendation was her clean apron ;" and who will say that it was not a good one ? A Curious Character. A siugular trial has just been con cluded in New Haven, Conn. Tho suit was brought by a farmer against his hired man, who claimed an offset to more than the amount of the plaintiff's claim. The plaintiff, some time ago, having lost his record books, made notes of his business transactions on separate 6he,ots of paper, which he de posited as fancy inclined him. Some times they would be plaoed beneath the carpet, sometimes behind desks and doors, and wherever their seorecy was supposed to be unquestioned. Nearly all these papers the plaintiff brought into court to sustain his claim. There were suoh queer items as this : The hired man did something in opposition to the wish of his employer, the plaintiff, or pushed him hard against a door, in juring his feelings thereby. For some of these episodes the hired man was charged forty cents. For being " liquory " another charge was entered, and for falling down stairs, and thereby shocking the plaintiff, another amount was asked. As the hired man did not pay these charges, and thought he ought to be paid a certain amount for labor he performed, the suit was brought. Tho President and tho Itorse Dealer Ar.ong llie enterprising citizens who contributed to the St. Louis Stn'n fair was Mr. Dillon, who is a denier in Norman horses. Mr. Dillon has re cently imported a number of these ani mals from Europe, and had A " six-in- han ettacued to a ponderous vehicle on tho fair grounds. Driving around tho course, the horse fancier met old Sam Bnckmaster, of Illinois, and in duced him to accept a seat in tho cara van. They drove several times around the track, and were the observed of all observers, but finally Mr. Bnckmaster, seeing two gentlemen approaching, said t " There comes the President; I must get out and meet him." "The President I" exclaimed Dillon ; "why, that is just the man I want to see. I wanted to get hold of a raan that is a good judge of horseflesh. Which is the President ?" "Tho gentleman in dark clothes carrying the umbrella," replied Sam. " Hallo 1" cried Dillon to the stranger; "come here; I want to seo yon." Tho gentleman with tho umbrella ap proached smilingly and shook Dillon by the hand, supposing that he was some acauaintance of other times. " What do you think of my team ?" said Dillon. "They do very well," said the man in dark clothes. " Jump in and let mo show you their pace. Bring your friends along," shouted Dillon, heartily. " You must excuse mo. I don't want to be conspicuous," said tho stranger. "Conspicuous?" remarked Dillon. " Get in here and let me give you a ride behind these horses." " No no," cried he of the umbrella ; "I must be going." " Why don't you get in ? I won't eat you I" said the horse fancier. At this the stranger and the friend turned abruptly away, and were lost in the crowd. " Well," exclaimed Dillon to Buck master, who stood by dumbfounded, " Just to think that the president of a one-horse Missouri fair refused to ride behind my team. What a sop he must be." "President of the fair I" Bnckmaster shouted in amaze ; " don't you know who that was?" " No," replied Dillon ; " you told me ho was the President." "So ho is the President," rejoined Buckmaster, "but not of the fair. Why, surely you knew him ?" " I'll be hanged if I did," Dillon said. "I was sure he was president of this fair." "Oh, this is too much 1" cried Sam. "Why, that was the President of the United States 1" Dillon grew very red in the face, and slowly gasped forth : " Was that Grant ?" " Certainly, it was Gen. Grant." Dillon caught up his reins, dropped his whip and exclaimed, "Oh?" The Exact Truth, Two young masons were building a brick wall the front wall of a high house. One of them, in plaoing a brick, discovered that it was a little thicker on one side than the other. " His companion advised him to throw it out. " It will make your wall untrue, Bon," said he. "Pooh 1" answered Ben, "what dif ference will such a trifle as that make ? You're too particular. " "My mother," replied his compan ion, "taught me that ' truth is truth,' ever so little an untruth is a lie, and a iie is no trifle." "O," said Ben, " that's all very well; but I am not lying, and I have no in tention of doing so." "Very true, but you make your wall tell a lie ; and I have somewhere read that a lie in one's work, like a lie in his character, will show itself sooner or later, and bring harm, if not ruin." " I'll risk it in this case," answered Ben ; and he worked away, laying more bricks and carrying the wall up higher, till tho close of the day, when they quit work and went home. The next morning they went to re sume their work, when behold the lie had wrought out the result of all lies I The wall getting a little slant from the untrue brick, had got more and more untrue as it got higher, and at last, in the night, had toppled over, obliging the masons to do their work over again. Just as with ever so little an untruth in your character ; it grows more and more, if you permit it to remain, till it brings sorrow and ruin. Tell, act and live the exact truth al ways. A Kith Church. Tho salaries of twenty-eight prelates of the Established Church of England amount to 152,900 a year, or nearly eight hundred thousand dollars ; but to this you must add &J8.U00 for as manv deans. The annual patronage attached to these twenty-eight dioceses is valued at 901,165. This patronage includes canons resident, archdeacons, and other clerical snuggeries. The value of the real estate of the Established Church of England may be estimated from its revenue, which at its lowest rate is 7,000,000, or thirty-five million of dollars annually. The Established Church of Scotland (Presbyterian') owns 1,250 churches, educates 140,000 scholars, and raises 140,000 annually lor nome ana missionary purposes, witnin twenty years iou parisn chap eis, costing jtouu.uuj, nave ueen en dowed and erected. The Falling Leaf, The separation from the stem, which E recedes the fall of the leaf, is said to e a gradual process, beginning early la summer and produced by the con tinned growth of the stem after the leaf has attained its full growth, which it usually does in a few weeks, the ontiole of the stem healing over the wound thus formed. The growth of the bud of the base of the leaf still further sepa rates it. and a gust of wind, or the con' traction of the leaf stalk by frost causes itlto fall. The leaves of white oak and some other trees are not thus separated but pushed off by the young growth of tne next year. Clothing fof fold Yfeathen Tho usual dress is sufficient quantity, nnd often good in quality, but it is very bmlly distribute!!. There is too much ah nt th9 trunk, and too little about thu lower extremities. If ono tjuartet of tho heavy woolen overcoat or shawl vern taken from the trunk, and wrap ped about the legs, it would prove a great gain. When we men ride in the cars, or in the sleighs, where do we suf fer ? About the legs and feet I When women suffer from the cold, where is it ? About the legs and feet I The legs and feet are down near the floor, where the Cold currents of air move. Tho air is so cold near the floor that all prudent mothers say, " Don't lie there. Peter ; get up, Jerusha Ann ; play ; play on the sofa ; you will take your death cold lying there on the floor." And they are quite right. During tho damp and cold season, the legs should be encased in very thick knit woolen drawers, the feet in thiok woolen stockings (which must be changed every day,) and the shoe soles must be as broad as the feet when fully spread, so that the blood shall have free passage. If the feet are squeezed in the least, the circulation is checked. and coldness is inevitable. This free circulation cannot be secured by a loose upper with a narrow sole. If when the foot stands naked on a sheet of paper it measures three and a half inches, the sole must measure three and a half. I will suppose, says Dio Lewis, you have done all this faithfully, and yet your feet and legs are cold. Now add more woolen, or if yon are to travel much inthe cars, or in a sleigh, pro cure a pair of chamois-skin or wash- leather drawers, which I have found to be most satisfactory. 1 nave known a number of ladies af flicted with hot and aching head, and other evidence of congestion about the upper parts, who were completely re lieved by a pair of chamois-skin drawers and broad-soled shoes. Three ladies in every four suffer from some conges tion in tho upper part of the body. It is felt in a fullness of the head, in sore throat, in palpitation of the heart, tor pid liver, and in many other ways. It is well known that a hot foot-bath will relievo for the time being any and all of these difficulties. This bath draws tho blood into the legs and feet, re lioving the congestion above. What the hot foot-bath does for an hour, the broad sotea shoes with thick woolen stockings, and a pair of flannel drawers, with a pair of wash-leather drawers added, will do permanently ; of course am speaking of cold weather. No one hesitates to multiply the clothing about the trunk. Why hesitate to in crease the clothing about tho legs ? As preventive of many common affec tions about the chest, throat and head, including nasal catarrh, I know nothing so effective as the dress of the lower extremities which I am advocating. Tne batn is a good thing, exerciso is good thing, friction is a good thing. but, after all, our main dependence in this climate must ever be, during the cold reason, warm clothing. Already we overdo this about our trunks, but not one person in ten wears clothing enough about the legs and feet. Lady's Chances of Being Married, The statistician, and likewise the average woman all the way from fifteen years of age to the point when birth day anniversaries cease to be a time of cheer and gratulation, may take at least a passing interest in a table re cently printed in England, to show the relations between matrimony and age. Every woman has some chance of being married ; it may be one chance to fifty against it,.or it may be ten to one that she will marry, liut whatever that is, representing her entire chance at ono hundred, her particular chance at cer tain defined points of her progress in time is found to be in the following ratios : When between fifteen and twenty years she has fourteen and a half per cent, of her whole probability ; when between twenty and twenty-five she has fifty-two per cent. ; between twenty-five and thirty, eighteen per cent. After thirty years she has lost eighty-four and a half per cent, of her chance, but until thirty-fivo she has still six and a half per cent. Between thirty-five and forty it is three and three-fourths per cent., and for each succeeding five years is respectively two, one-half, one-eighth, and one- fourth per cent. Any time after sixty it is one-tenth of one per cent., or one thonsandth of her chance of a chance a pretty slender figure, but figures often are slender at that age. Plants, It is well known that plauts sleep at night : but their hours of sleeping are a matter of habit, and may be disturbed artificially, just as a eock may be woke up and crow at untimely hours by the light of a lantern. Do Candolle sub jected a sensitive plant to an exceed ingly trying course of discipline, by completely changing its nours : ex posing it to a bright light all night, so as to prevent sleep, and putting it in a dark room during the day. The plant appeared to be mucu puzzled and dis turbed at first ; it opened and closed its leaves irregularly, sometimes noddini in spite oi ue artiuoiiu sun mat sue its beams at midnight, and sometimes waking up from force of habit, to find the chamber dark in spite of the time of day. Such are the trammels of uso and wont. But. after an obvious strng gle. the plant submitted to the chance. and turned day into night without any apparent ill enacts. Fish Breeding. Both Green, of Rochester, N. Y, publishes the following notice : Any parties in the United States or Canada wishing to experiment in hatohing the spawn of the salmon trout and white fish will be sent a few hundred, on re ceipt of fifty oents (to pay for the pack' age), by addressing a letter. Also, parties desiring to experiment in rare ing the young of the California salmon will be given a few hundred by going to the New xork btate natcning-house for them, all applications to be made during the month of December. All kinds of fish will be distributed to the publio waters of New York State the same as in years before. Tllf! CAUSE OP SUICIDES. A Pew S .ntlaltc What Shoultl i4 Done. Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton, of Belle- vue Hospital, flew xork, ana leotnrer on nervous diseases in the Long Island College Hospital, read before tho American Health Conncil a paper upon "Suicide in Large Cities, with Kefer- ence to uertam sanitary uonainons whioh Tend to Prevent its Moral and Physical Causes." Tho doctor said that his observations upon tho subject had been made for tho most part in New York city. Comparisons have been made between that City and London and Paris. In all larger cities tho number of cases is governed, to a great extent, by the habits, taBtes ana moral culture of tbe people, and back of this the national characteristics. 'ine French people, noted for their indiffer ence to life and exaggerated morbid sentimentality, are celebrated for the Eropensity to end life with their own ands. Paris has boen, and always will be, celebrated for the prevalence of this crime. Tho Parisians pursue it as an agreeable mode of securing relief from their troubles. It has been as serted that foggy weather induces sui cides, although statistics go to disprove this, especially in New York. The months of April, May, June, July and August, the most pleasant months of tho year, are those in which more per sons take their lives than at any other in the year. The gravity and stolidity of the English peoplo rather shows iu their favor, as regards this crime. In the city of New York, between 1866 and 1872, there were 678 suicides, the males predominating. For tho three years, 1870, '71 and '72, there were 359 suicides, 132 being Germans. As re gards conditions, 171 wero married, 118 single, 43 widows and widowers, and 27 whose condition was not stated. The ago of the oldest was 84, and that of the youngest, 10. The cause for the suicide of the latter was remarkable. She was detected in the theft of fifty oents from her mother, and seeking to escape from her shame Bhe resorted to Paris green. Poison is the most pop ular modo of suicide, the preference being by arsenio, Paris green, opium, carbolic acid and other irritants. In sanity causes tho largest number of suicides, both men and women ; drunkenness comes next, and disease third. The ages at which suioido seems to be most often resorted to are be tween forty and fifty among men and fortv-five and fiftv-fivo among women. Since the greatest number of deaths in JNew York is bv poisoning it is im portant to inquire into the causes why should bo so. When we take into consideration tho looseness of tho present laws regarding the sale of poisons, there appears to be no trouble for persons who wish theBO drugs to obtain them. It is needless to say that the opium habit, like alcoholism, leads to self-destruotion in a number of instances. A form of suicide, which figures largely in American statistics, is jumping from an elevation. This is oftentimes the result of a momentary impulse, produced by tho surround ings. In New York city there were twenty-one victims of this mode be tween the years 1866 and 187U. a most mpoitant duty in connect! n witn tnis subject is tho influence of the mode of life of the poorer classes. He alluded more particularly to the tenement-houso system. The vices attending the colonization of the working classes are spread by tho contact of the vicious with the pure, and tho depression oi ho tone, are powerful inducers of sui cide. Tho prevalence of strikes and trades' unions, with their dangerous restrictions and foolish oaths of allegi ance, are fruitful causes of suicides. Men are afraid to work in opposition to tho threats of their fellow tradesmen, and when poverly stares them in the face they become desperate and commit suicide. A great percentage of the sui cides in large cities are attribatable to unnatural vices, caused by a state of hypochondriasis or monomania by the carefully written advertisements of the many quacks. The prevalence of se duction in large cities is perhaps erreatr among the lower classes, the large factories being tho places where the crime is mostly committed and where suioido often follows. To di minish the number of suicides the doctor favored regular meals and habits, the abolition of immoral enter taiuments. advertising quacks, so called anatomical museums, of obscene and sensational literature, legislation shonld strictlv regulate tho sale of poisonous drugs. Went to Her Death. The other day there was picked up out of the Seine a young woman of such surpassing beauty that crowds nockea to see her bodv at the Morgue, ana photographs of her wero scattered broadcast over Paris. The lovely un known proved to have been an Italian, bv name Lucretia Balbi. who earned tier living as a model. Among the painters for whom she had sat was Henry Regnanlt, and for him the poor girl conceived the most ardent passion. "She never told her love." and he never suspected it ; but from the day of his death, two years ago, she began to cine awav in the deepest melancholy, Her character was stainless, and her deep sense of religion caused her long to hesitate at suicide; but at length her mind seems to have given wav, She left a letter addressed to her broth er, who also is a model. It is a very sad storv. but there are no dark fea tures in tho case. What a wonderful thing love is, even in these prosai days An Argument. John Henry's father- in-law, aged eighty-five, took it into his head to get his life insured. "But, sir, you are too old for us to take the risk," said the agent. "Why so?" tViA olil man. " Because speed v death is too sure a thing." " Well, I've been looking at your tables'" said the f ither-in-law. " and I find there ain' one man dies at my age to a hundred that dio younger." The insurance agent oouldn't see it, but John Henry says it's good logio, and he'll " back the old man for fifty years yet." MASKED BURGLARS' WORK. 12. - .J i. . o . 1 I An Old Dl.n'l tiimriini. - "-. i -Th Victim l.eii uonnn ana For many years thefo has lived in Monroetown, Pa., an eoeentrio eld man named Isaao Castor. Ho is a shoe maker afid lives alone in a little house in an out of the wav tot. no is over sixty years old, and for years has board ed his earnings, using only enough money to procure tho bare necessities of life. His income has never been largo, but its accumulation for over a quarter of century amounted to a snug little competency. He always carried sevoral hundred dollars in his pantaloon pockets, which fact was gen erally knowU, end it has been the stand ing wonder here for years that he had never been robbed. On a Monday morning it was noticed that the old shoemaker's shop was not opened as usual, and that there was no stir about the house. This was so re markable an occurence that two or three citizens went to his house and broke open the door. They found Castor bound tightly in a chair, so that he could not use his hands or feet, and a handkerchief tied tightly over his mouth. Ho was hastily released, and as soon as he could recover sufficiently from his excitement and alarm he told Bubstantiallv the following story : About an hour before daylight ho was awakened by a man who stood by H.a aiila nf Ilia liP.V f!nnt.- T HIirATlCr UP. but was stopped by the man, who put o T;f.ni tr hi henA nnrl told him to ba still or ho would blow his brains out. Another man, with a lantern, was go- ing about the room searching every hole andjeorner. Tho old shoemaker at first thought the men were negroes, but afterward discovered that they were white men with blaokened faces. The ohe man rifled tho pockets of his pan- taloons, wnicn containea neariy uuu, but not being able to find money that they evidently believed was ceoreted about tho room, the robbers told the old man that ho must tell them where he hid his monev or they would kill him. Castor assured them that he had no more money ; that his pantaloons pockets contained all he had in the world, and he begged them to leave him some of that, as ho was keeping it to pay his funeral expenses when he died. Tho burglars, failing to force the old man into revealing the whereabouts of the reBt of his probable treasure, and daylight being near, made their victim get out of bed. They then bound him to the chair and gagged him, and took their departure. They had effected an entrance into the house through a back window. Castor said that he could not be able to recognize the robbers. He could not distinguish their features, and their voioes were trange to him. Tho general impres sion is that they are parties living in tho neighborhood, as no strangers have been seen about the place. There1 is not the slightest suspicion, however, as to who they may be. Castor says that the robbers took every dollar ho had in the world. Mushroom Poisoning. An interesting case was recently brought before one of the criminal courts ot iiondon, tuo grana jury throwing out a bill of indictment against gardener who was charged witn mur dering a fellow-servant by giving her poisoned mushrooms to eat. Although there was no reason to suppose that the mushrooms were given with any feloni ous intention, yet three persons were actually poisoned by them, and one died; the fungi being so much like mushrooms that even a skilled witness saw nothing in them to distinguish them from the genuine article of food, appearing in evidence that mush' rooms growing under trees are danger ous, tho presiding judge gave great emphasis to the importance of such a faot being wicieiy Known, ana cauo attention to the following description given bv Professor Bently though not an unerring one showing the general characters by which the edible and poisonous species of fungi may best be distinguished : The edible mushrooms grow solitary, in dry, airy places, and are geueraiiv white or orownisu : tney have a compaot. brittle flesh ; do not change color, when cut, by tho action of the air : mice watery, ana oaor agreeable ; taste not bitter, acrid, salt, or astringent. The poisonons mush rooms, on the contrary, grow in clus ters, in woods and dark, damp places, and are usually of a bright color ; their flesh is tough, soft, and watery, and they acquire a brown, green, or blue tint when cut and exposed to the air ; the juice is often milky, tho odor com- inonly powerful and disagreeable, and the taste either acrid, astringent, acid, salt, or bitter. These characteristics are almost invariable. Tne Slave Trade. It is not alone piety which prompts thousands of Mohammedan merchants annually to join the pilgrims marching to Mecca. The charm of a prontabie otit t riffhtAoim wanriArai-H. aiirt thflv ftr by no means overscrupulous as to tho manner in which they gain their money. While the more devout shed their tears .i iv.: - v,; f the Prophet, tLse who have an eye to business capture slaves wherever thev can. in the regions of Africa through which they pass, and sell them within the Dominions of the uuitan oi juoroo- oo, who takes one slave in twenty as his tribute. This trade, which is car ried on within a few leagues of the French settlements in Algeria, is said to be by far the most lucrative indulged in by the caravans. Three thousand slaves are annually bronght down from the Soudan, and not even the powdered gold, the inoense, the precious stones, the indigo, or the rhinoceros herns, which the caravans sometimes get in Central Africa, are sought for with half ftray by drink, or aesertea nom ais the eagerness displayed in slave-hunt- like to the army ; eighty-tone wereper jn suaded by comrades or bad company ; in Springfield, Mass, to be thence sent better themselves ; thirty went on to various schools in that State and sprees and did not return ; forty Connecticut for education. They three were tired of the army ; eighteen brought their wardrobes and trinkets in great bamboo ohe6ts, Items of Interest. Thfl nonresl income OH which ft mar- ' - 1 1. i: .'-I i.irtn.nfiKilltV ril.'U cuupiu uau iiyo 10 iuuuuhj-h-" v At Salisbury. N. H.. Master Cnshon, aged fifteen, killed Master Couch, aged fifteen, with a club. A societv for the Introduction of tem perance literature in the publio schools has been formed in Chicago. Tho sale of onions has largely in creased in Maine, those who would like alcohol if they could got it being, according to one theory, the purchasers. In October the affectionate husband . . ' , 1 L A 1. weeps to see nis wite saip auuiw mo house flourishing a duster, and to hear her shriek in accents wild, " nan mm i There's another moth miller 1" A good meal, it Is said, is served in a restaurant in the Rue do Trinite, Paris, for nine cents. Tho menu comprises a plato of meat, a plate of vegotables, dessert, and half a bottle of wine. A couple of fellows who were pretty thoroughly soaked with bad whisky got into the gutter. After flonndoring for some time one of them said, "Let's go to another house ; thu? hotel leaks." An inquiring man thrust his fingers' into a horse's mouth to see how many teeth he had. Tho horse closed his mouth to see how many fingers the man had. Tho curiosity of each was fully satisfied. The lifting power of plants is well illustrated bv an oak tree in South Had- ley, Mass. A rock had a seam in it, and a fibrous root from the oak crept into the seam, grew and lifted tho rook, weighing over a ton, to a height of ono foot. A Western man set fire to the prairie for fun, bnt after ho ran seven miles and climbed a treo, with his pants about all burned off, ho concluded tho sport was a little too violent exercise to be indulged in oftener than once in a lifetime, Good advice. When you uso a postal card, always write the address the first thing. Tons of postal cards without any address are destroyed in tho Dead Letter Office, because peoplo writo their message first and then forget to address the card. In Hartford, not long since, where the estate of a bankrupt, upon settle ment, only allowed a dividend of one half of one per cent., tho highest divi dend was $55 on a debt of $11,000 to tho wifo of the bankrupt, and tho low- . est was four cents. A bashful young man mortally offend ed tho bride of his most intimate friend by stammering, when taken aback by a request for a toast at the wedding supper: " Tom, my f-fr-frieud, may you have a wedding onco a year as long as you live." A pistol to be used by Marietta Ravel in a play at a Troy theatre was loaded with a deoidedlv realistio bullet. A boy had been rat hunting with the fire arm, aud had loit in a ueaaiy cuarge. The discovery was made just iu time, probably, to save the life of an actor. Nineteen years ago a Tennessee father refused to let his young daugh ter go to a candy-pull, and she disap peared. The other day she returned, lifted eleven children out of the wagon, and entered tho house and took off her things as coolly as if she hadn t been gone over a day. Excellent paper pillows may bo made of old letters the stiffer the paper the better. Newspapers will not do. The paper should be cut into strips and rolled round an ivory knitting needle ; it is then almost like a spring, and makes a much better cushion than the torn paper, being more elas tic. How He Started Out. Henry J. Raymond, member of Con gress, ljieutenant-uovernor oi iuu State of New iork, but better Known as the founder ana editor oi uie iiuw York Times, was the son of a poor farmer. At the age of twenty he gradu ated at the University of Vermont. His father wanted him to go to work on the farm. But young Raymond had no inclination for farming. He felt if ho could get a start m New lcrk city, that he had the habits of industry and the brains which would enable him to do well. Moved by his son s earnestness, tue father raised three hundred dollars by mortgaging the farm, and witn mat sum the future journalist went to the Via stnrlinr) law. taught Bohooi wrote for the newspapers, and wa8 the perBoni xt is said, to write reRuiar letters from New York to tho comtry journals, jjorace Greeley, about that time, startea tne New York Tribune, and bein acquainted with Raymond, in- vited him to do his writing in the office. For some months he wrote at his bor rowed desk, when, receiving a liberal offer to teach school in the South, ho determined to accept it. Thanking Mr. Greeley lor nis many courtesies, he informed him of his in tended departure. "I don't think," said the kind-ueanea editor, who, like Raymond, was then oliukkuuk " f" ' " thtnreVi any particular use of your b"b """ V JA tcZZ oght to do as well here, and New York's a better place for you. How much yi"10! , ' "Ten dollars a week, and I can t earn as much here." O, well, you d better stay. Write for the Tribune; I'll give you eight dollars a week." English Abmt. Last year 743 soldiers were sentenoed for desertion from the British army. Some of the reasons given for desertion by the men are curious. Forty-seven were annoyed by comrades or harshly treated by non-commissioned offioers and others ; forty-four married without leave, or had love anaira ; eighty-seven were iea the cause ; twenty-nine deserted to deserted on account of whims and folly ; and thirty-two gave no cause.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers