HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL DESPERANDUM.
Two- Dollars per Annum.
VOL. V.
IUDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA.,. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1875.
NO. 29.
(Join ? A way from Home.
BY WILL CAtlt.TON.
And so you'll noon he goin' away,
Sty dirliii'i little Boss i
And you lia been to the store to-day,
To buy your weddiu'-drei-s t
And so yonr dear good mother an' I,
Whoe love you long have known,
M wt lay the light of yonr presence by,
And wnl!: tho road alone.
Bo come to-night, with mother and me,
To the poroh for an hour or two,
And sit on your old father's knee,
The same as you used to do )
For we, who ha' loved you many a year,
And clung to you, strong and true,
Since we've had the young professor here,
Ilave not had much of you I
lint lovers be lovers while earth endures ;
And once on a time, be it known,
I helped a girl with eyes like yours
Construct a world of our own s
And we laid it out in a garden spot,
And dwelt in the midst of flowers,
Till we fouud that the world was a good-sized
lot,
And most of it wasn't ours 1
You're hoavior, girl, thau when you come
To us one cloudy day,
And seemed to feel so Bttle at home,
We foarod yon wouldu't stay (
Till I knew the danger wai passed, because
You'd struck so mortal a track,
And got so independent an' cross,
God never would lot you back !
But who would ever ha' had the whim,
When yon lay in my arms an' cried.
You'd some timo sit here, pretty an' prim,
A-waitin' to be a bride !
But lovers be lovers while earth goes on.
And marry, ai they ought ;
And if you would keep the heart you've won,
ltemombur what you've been taught :
Look first that your wedded lives be true,
With naught from each other apart ;
For the flowers of true love n6ver grew
Iu the soil of a faithless heart.
Look next thai, the bud ef health shall rest
Their blossoms upon your cheek ;
For life and love are a burden at best
If tho body be sick and weak.
Look next that your kitchen fire be bright,
And your hands be neat and skilled ;
For the love of man oft takes its flight
If his stomach be not well filled.
Look next thit your money is fairly earned
Ere ever it be spent ;
For oorafort and love, however turned,
Will no'ur pay ten per cent.
And, next, duo care and diligo'noe keep
That the mini) be trained and fod ;
For blessing over look uhabby and cheap
That li0'ht on an empty head.
Aud if it nhull please the gracious God
That children to you belong,
llamcmbar, my child, aud spare the rod
Till you've taught them right and wrong ;
And show 'cm that though this life's a etart
For the bettor world, no doubt,
Yet eartii an' heaven aiu't so far apart
As many good folks make out.
Harper'a Weekly.
Iil II K DESERVE IT 2
Billy Merrium was a "cattle-boy" at
a stock farm iu the "bush" iu South
Austrulia. lie was n happy-go-lucky
sort of itnl, niitl, from all accounts, a
rather graceless one.
It was Lis bflsiuess, iu company with
hnlf-a-ilozn other stockmen, to watch
over a herd of cloven thousand cattle,
that had their pasturage in the valley of
.1 small river called the "Wirrum,"
flowing int j tho Murray.
The pasture, or " run," extended for
many miles along the south bank of the
tt ream. No fences inclosed it. To the
southward it stretched oft" to the almost
boundless deserts of sand aud "scrub,"
where roam the wild black tribes, the
aborigines of this strange southern con
tinent. The stockmen are iu the saddle
all day long, aud lead a rough life, full
of adventure aud peril.
One day a wild young bullock belong
ing to Jiilly's "division" made a
"bolt ;" that is to say, he put up head
and tail, uttered a vicious bellow, and
dashed off over the hills toward tho
scrub. In a moment Billy was follow
ing him with a whoop and a hallo, his
long whip coiled, ready for a stinging
cast.
But the wily brute gaiued covert in a
ravine full of tangled grass-trees, which
led out of the valley on to the desert.
To turn him back, Billy was obliged to
make a long detour over the hills. In
the meantime the bullock returned to
tho plain, and ran from thicket to thicket,
darting in ami out of the tangled scrub,
where it was impossible to follow him on
horseback.
Half a score of miles are soon gone
over in such a chase. The half-wild
Australian cattle are very fleet, and have
remarkable endurance ; but Billy over
took the runaway at last. Tired out and
breathless, the steer stumbled and fell
heavily. There he lay palpitating, with
the whites of his wicked little eyes
glaring at his pursuer.
"I'll teach you a lesson 1" cried Billy,
galloping alongside aud leaping off his
his horse. "I'll take the quirks out of
you, sir 1" and the heavy lash came
cruelly down with a sounding crack,
which made the hair fly up in a long
line, and drew a wild bellow of pain
from the prostrate animal.
The wild, rough boy had no pity in
his heart. One stroke by no means sat
isfied his temper. A score of lashes fell
fast and heavy, and when his arm ached,
he rested a few moments, then com
menced afresh : and, to tell the truth, i
kept Hogging the poor animal till the
hair was nearly all off its back, and not
only the hair, but the hide with it.
Just at this stage of the performance,
an unexpected event happened. Billy's
horse a native-bred and rather wild
creature, named Blinker rinding his
master's attention occupied, concluded
to forage for himself, and so trotted
briskly away. No very good under
standing existed between Billy and
Blinker. There frequently arose an
tagonism 'i Mixt them, which Billy
generally settled with a few sound cuts
of his whip.
The horse took no notice of Billy's
angry shout of " Whoa, Blinker 1" othor
than to display both his liind hoofs, and
move away at increased speed.
Billy threw down his whip and set off
afler his faithless steed, exhorting him
to stop, in very strong terms. But
Blinker, having got the start, kept it,
and the boy soon lost sight of him amidst
the thickets and sand-knolls.
To add to the lad's discomfort, a
"scud " had arisen. It began to rain
furiously. To escape a drenching, he
crept under a grass-tree, the long, droop
ing leaves of which depended nearly to
the ground.
It continued to rain as it rains only
in Australia for an hour or two. A
violent wind drove the blinding sheets
of water. Billy could only remain where
he was, aud wait for the shower to pass.
When at length the tornado slackened,
it was late iu the afternoon, and owing
to tho black, rolling clouds, it was rap
idly growing dark. The boy crept out
from his shelter, however, aud set off at
a round pace, knowing that if he would
reach the ranche that night, he had no
time to lose.
His thoughts were occupied rather
with the prodigious flogging ho meant
to give Blinker than with the course
homeward, and it is not surprising that
in a littlo time he found he had lout his
way.
IIo was on an almost level plain, sur
rounded on all sides Viy scattered scrub
aud by bare sand-hills that looked be
wilderiugly alike. Along the whole dim
horizon there Wftfl no mmmfnin f.r enrva
as a landmark. Billy was puzzled and
win,, uuii not, inguieneu. lie ran on at a
venture past thicket and hillock, till it
had crown fifirlr n Inrlr in, loo I fl-mf
he could scarcely see, and had no longer
tho least idea towards what point of the
compass he was going.
The dosei't is not, ft 'nnmfnrtntila .tlnui
to be lost in, and Billy's sensations were
iar ii'om pieasaut. to lall into the
hands of the blacks and bo kept a pris
oner, or perhaps bo roasted aud eaten,
Were nmOTlff the Minnnna rf vaTYInim'im
o uuvuu v. .UWIMU.Ug
long iu the locality in which ho found
himself.
On horseback there was little danger
of being caught by the natives. Ou foot,
however, few Europeans would care to
try a race with those long-legged blacks,
with their boomerangs whistling about
his ears.
' A kind of large black 6nake, very ac
tive, and a deadly bite.r, is common iu
the scrub. Billy dreaded the snakes
almost as much as the blacks? Then,
too, he was wet. and the nie-ht was
chilly.
He had, hqwever, a bit of "damper "
bread in the leathern Docket of his
jacket. This he ate while peering about
lor somo nook or Mieltered Rpot, where
he might creep to escape the cold wind
and to pass the night.
At the foot of one of tho bare hillocks
close at hand, he presently saw a large
rock half hidden by the shaggy grass
trees. Pushing through tho shrubbery,
he found that the rock overhung on the
lower side, offering a partial shelter.
Here he sat down and determmed t )
remain till daylight. It was a drearv
evening, and the slow hours dragged ou
a still drearier night.
At first Billy was not inclined to sleep.
Once a kangaroo passed at a littlo dis
tance, making the ground jar heavily at
each of its unwieldy leaps. Later, he
heard the low, shrill "pheet " of a snake
close at hand, aud hastily threw stones,
sticks and dirt, to frighten off so unde
sirable a visitor.
Two or three times he fancied he
heard a queer sound of snuffing further
up under the rock, ami concluded that
there was a burrow of wombats behind
the bowlder, who were dissatisfied be
cause he had. taken possession of their
front doorstep. But thongh somewhat
large auimals, Billy had very little fear
of wombats.
Towards morning he grow drowsy, and
at length fell asleep. At broad daylight
he awoke. Starting hastily, a sudden
nimble caught his ear, and, turning, he
espied a big mottled tail disappearing iu
a rather large black hole, that seemed to
lead back under the rock. He concluded
the animal was a wombat that had proba
bly been observing hira curiously.
" I'll dig you out of here some day,"
was Billy's mental comment. Then he
bethought himself of his situation, and
sat up to consider it. He felt hungry,
and by careful search ho found a few
dirty crumbs of " damper " in his leather
pouch, aud ate them one by one.
While thus engaged, a bharp snapping
of twigs drew his attention. It came
uearer, and a moment later there burst
through the trailing leaves the lean,
black paws, and gray, wolfish head of a
native dog.
At sight of him, Billy jumped up in
sudden apprehension. The dog snarled,
then barked noisily. Immediately there
arose a low, peculiar cry, apparently not
a hundred yards off. It was answered
from all about " Cooe 1 cooe !"
The blacks were abroad oh a hunt.
Billy's heart almost came through his
ribs. If he ran, the dog would follow
him, and the whole pack of natives
would soon be at his heels.
He glanced helplessly around. The
wombat hole met his eye. The blacks
were coming. There was no time to
think twice. Billy instantly resolved to
take his chances with the wombats, and
dived into the hole.
The dog snapped and tore at his boots,
but he wormed his way in. The hole
led straight back under the rock eight or
ten feet, into the very heart of the hil
lock, where it expanded into a sort of
den as big as a baker's oven.
Seeing him coming, the wombats sniff
ed noisily, and went scrambling further
back under the hillock. Here Billy had
the satisfaction of being able to turn
over.
The dog was still worrying his heels ;
but taking a stone, he struok at the
brute's head with such effect that it
backed hastily out, howling with pain.
Meanwhile, he heard a jabbering out
side. The blacks had come up. Several
other dogs rushed successively into the
hole, but on getting within range of
Billy's heavy boot heel, beat a speedy
retreat.
There is no need to remark that he
listened intently to hear what the sav
ages were about. They were chattering
eagerly, but in a jargon quite unintelli
gible. Presently the hole darkened. Home-
thuig had been pushed up into the mouth
of it. At first Billy thought that the
blacks wero stopping it up ; but a mo
ment after an ominous crackling, accom
panied by a smothered roaring, began.
The natives had placed a Are at the en
trance of the burrow.
It flashed to Billy's mind that he had
heard that the natives captured wom
bats by smoking them out. An agony
of terror seized upon him. Ten times
rather would he have preferred a race on
the open plain, with tho whole tribe
after him.
At first very little smoke worked back
to where he lay, and he hoped that he
might yet escape suffocation. Mean
time, he could hear the blacks shouting,
singing, and beating on the rock with
their waddies, to frighten out tho wom
bats, probably, for they evidently had
no idea that there was larger game in the
burrow.
As soon as the first bundle of leaves
and grass w is burned out, another was
brought. Billy now thought of driving
out the wombats, and of saving himself
by sacrificing them. But on his trying
to seize the animals, they retreated into
smaller holes leading off from the maiu
den, where it was impossible to reach
them.
Gradually the smoke found its way
back into the burrow ; yet by holding
his face close down to the earth, Billy
managed to breathe. But it grew more
dense. His eyes began to smart, and it
was difficult for him to breathe. A hor
rible death stared him in the face.
Under ordinary circumstances I am
sure that Billy seldom prayed. J3ut he
thought ho was at death's door. Suffo
cation had its fearful grip on his throat.
" O Lord," ho cried out, his nose
pressed iuto the dirt, " take pity on me 1
O, dear Lord, put out that fire, and
drive away those heathen niggers I" and
then, fairly besido himself with terror,
he repeated it over and over with all his
strength.
Tha effect of this petition on the
blacks outside seems to have been in
stantaneous. The jabbering and shout
ing ceased at once as if by niagio. There
was a moment's silence, then a scamper
ing. With his mouth to tho ground and his
eyes tightly shut, Billy lay and listened.
An utter stillness had taken the place of
the noisy' jollification. The fire of dry
grass burned out, and the hole began to
clear of tho smoke. But for a while
Billy had no thought that tho natives
had gone. He knew nothing of their
superstitions. He lay quiet and waited.
Tho wombats came out of their leth
argy and commenced to sneeze prodigi
ously. They even tried to creep cut
past him, but Billy drove them back.
An honr.or two passed, and the boy
was about innstermg courage to crawl
out, when a slight noise on the rock con
vinced him that some of the blacks were
still near tho place ; so ho waited two or
three hours more, as he thinks, then
very cautiously crept down to the mouth
of tho hole.
There was no native iu sight, and
after watching and listening for a long
time, tho boy ventured to corns forth.
Glancing guardedly backward over the
rock, he saw, set on it, a broad wooden
platter, well loaded with fried tadpolos,
another coutainiug bulrush roots, aud a
large pieco of scorched kangaroo meat.
It is quite evident that the blacks had
taken Billy's voice for that of some sort
of divinity, whom they thought it was
best to propitiate with a generous meal,
and then le .ve to his own devices.
Without attending to the savage
offerings, or in tho least understanding
them, the boy first assured himself that
tho coast was - clear, then took to his
heels, and soon left the rock far be
hind. That this singular deliverance was iu
answer to Billy's prayer, may perhaps
be questioned by some people ; but all
readers will agree, I think, that physi
cally, at least, it was a good thing for
him that ho prayed for deliverance.
Without prayer he certainly would not
havo escaped.
He wandered about in tho scrub until
it was nearly night, when he fortunately
heard the guns fired by a party of the
stockmen, who were out searching for
him. They had become alarmed at his
not coming in, and still more by Blink
er's coming home riderless late the pre
vious evening.
So Billy escaped unharmed at hist ;
but either the fright or the smoke, or
perhaps both combined, brought on a
feverish attack which lasted a fortnight
or more. Ultimately, however, he re
covered his health, and, I am sorry to
say, celebrated his convalescence by giv
ing Blinker a most outrageous beating.
So, while his prayers saved his life, it is
very certain his almost miraculous es
cape produced no beneficial effect upon
him otherwise. Did ho deserve his mer
ciful escape S Youth's Companion.
An Ancient Sword.
Tho Buffalo Express says: There is
in the possession of John Ende, a harness
maker,- ono of the most ancient relics
owned in the city. It is an antique two
edged sword, made in 1365, one hundred
and twenty-seven years before the dis
covery, of America. The weapon is
about two feet and a half long, and ex
ceedingly well preserved. The blade
tapers off to a sharp point, and consists
of a thick piece of well tempered steel,
about an inch and a half broad at its
widest part. Several figures and de
vices have been cut in it, but they are
nearly obscured by the stains of rust.
The date, however, is very distinct, be
ing cut iu deep on both sides of the
blade. The hilt is entirely of metal and
strengthened by coils of copper wound
tightly around it. The hand is protect
ed by a simple iron cross-piece. That
the sword is genuine is proved not only
by its appearance but by its history. It
originally belonged to Baron Von Lich
enstein, a rich landed proprietor in Sax
ony, and was given to one of the ances
tors of its present owner as a pledge of
a patent right to sell salt among the
baron's tenants. It has been in his
family for several generations, coming
down from son to son with the privilege
whiuli iU possession conferred. When
Mr. Ernie left his native country for
America he took the sword along with
him aud still retains it.
Perils of Strangers In Italy.
The London Times says: Since the
commencement of the present year sev
oral cases havo occurred of English trav
elers in Italy having suffered arbitrary
arrest and imprisonment. A Rev. Mr.
Allies aud his brother, walking along the
road near the Cantine on this side of the
Great St. Bernard, were stopped by two
Carabinieri, questioned somewhat rude
ly, and Mr. Allies imprudently answer
ing in kind was handcuffed aud his
brother told to go about his business.
Refusing to leave his brother, he was
arrested also, though without, as far as
I remember the circumstanoes, being
handcuffed in tho same manner. They
were taken to Etroubles, kept in prison
all night, and the next morning were
handcuffed to each other and marched
off like common malefactors to Aosta.
There, after being put to considerable
trouble, they wore admitted to bail until
an action brought against tho Ilov. Mr.
Allies for resisting the pnblio authori
ties and using improper language to
them was decided; an action in which he
was fiually condemned to pay a fine of
one hundred francs. As Englishmen are
not required to exhibit passports when
traveling in Italy, they were, of course
unprovided in this respect; but tho Rev.
Mr. Allies, who is a Roman Catholic,
had his bishop's " celobrato " with him,
and they had other papers, all of which,
however, were oonsidered insufficient by
the Carabinieri.
The next case was that of the Rev.
David Kay, a Protestant clergyman.
He was traveling in a public conveyance,
and on its stopping for a short time at a
place called Avenza, near Carara, ho got
out to stretch his legs. As ho was walk
ing up and down, the suspicions of some
over zealous gendarmes were aroused.
They questioned him, but his answers
were not satisfactory; they demanded his
papers, but unfortuuately he had none,
and so ho was obliged to suffer the in
convenience of . being locked up all
night, to bo taken before the authorities
the next morning and released. In all
probability ho was tho victim of a ludi
crous mistake. The police accused him
of refusing to give his name; but it is
quite possible that on giving it they may
have misunderstood him to say " Che,"
"what?" and on repeating the quesf ion
he may have answered "Kay, Kay,"
twice over to emphasize it. This would
have exactly the same sound as che, che,
words which, when pronounced quickly
together, are hot only the equivalent for
" pooh-pooh," but being in very com
mon use in that part of the country as
an offhand expression of dissent, may
have seemed tojhe police a contemptu
ous manner of setfyig their brief au
thority at nought, aryi sufficient to merit
imprisonmnent for til night.-
Ap. Old Xew Jlrftnswlck Turtle.
The St. John (N. B.) Telcaranh says:
The veritable father of tho turtles in
this province has made his appearance
hi Kings county, with the weight of cen
turies upon his wrinkled shell. A few
days ago, while Mr. Edward McLeod
was rowing along the banks of tho Ken
nebeccasis ho found a shell turtle, and
with a natural desire to secure it for
further examination, took some trouble
to catch it. Ho expected to find an or
dinary shell turtle, but he secured a
walking dictionary of dates. The back
of the turtle was quaintly inscribed with
lacts and ugures graven thereon loner
years ago, and apparently added to from
time to time during tho post century .
Scarcely disceniiblo, except upon close
examination, were some hieroglyphics of
the ancient denizens of the forest. The
bow and arrow was the most conspicuous
among these, and it was evident that the
shell had borno other aboriginal devices,
now nearly obliterated. The marks
made by the early white settlers were
much more plain. The first of these in
scriptions reads: " Caughtin 1790, after
a great freshet." The next chronologi
cal record is: "Caught in 1801," aud
from time to timo the turtle appears to
have been caught and marked by its cap
tors. The intervals between the dates
range from threo to five years. The shell
is. almost completely covered with these
inscriptions.
It would seem that this turtle was no
fraud, marked as a hoax by some mod
ern reprobates, for men of fourscore liv
ing at Alillstreoni remember having
heard their fathers speak of this marked
turtle, which even in the days of the
early settlers was considered an old
animal.
The First Schoolmaster In Xew York.
Adam Roelandsen enjoyed the distinc
tion of being the first schoolmaster in
New York city. From some cause,
possibly because "people did not speak
well of him," he could not mako a living
at his vocation, and so took in washing.
But he did not succeed in his laundry
enterprise either. There is a curious
lawsuit on record which shows how ho
demanded payment of Gillis De Voocht
for washing Ins linen. Tho defendant
made no objection to the price charged,
but refused to pay until the end of the
year. The court decided that Roeland
sen should continue to wash for De
Voocht the remainder of the year.
Meanwhile the schoolmaster built him
self a house, thirty feet long, eighteen
feet wide, and eight feet high, whioh
was rooffed with reeden thatch, had an
entry three feet wide, two doors, a pan
try, a staircase, a mantelpiece, and a
bedstead. This latter was built into
the wall, like a cupboard in a partition,
with doors closing upon it when unoc
cupied. It was a great economy in the
matter of rooms. A sleeping apartment
in one of the small Dutch taverns of
that data often accommodated several
travelers at night, while during the day
it was only an ordinary publio room,
quite unencumbered in appearance.
But schoolmaster Roelandsen was unable
to compensate the builder, and he fiuallv
committed a grave offense, for which he
was chastised at the whipping post upon
the water's edge, and banished from the
Dutch dominions.
In the Russian army Prince Woron
soff was commandant of the regiment of
Hussars of the Guard and was pro
moted, General Mayendorn receiving
the place made vacant. But Mayendorff
is a German, or of a German family, and
upon his appointment fifty-four officers
of the regiment requested permission to
resign.
Churning.
Oh I dear me, hasn't that butter come
yet I" she exclaimed, as she pushed
away the little boy who had for the last
hour been leisurely lifting the dasher.
She sat down with a great jar aud a
heavy sigh, lifted the cover aud peered
iu, aud then, snatching at an old Weekly
Index, she leaned back to
(Dash read dash rock-dash rock
read dash.)
" Pull-back dresses going out of style,
eh?" she soliloquized, as she got her
eyes on the paper.
' Well (dash) I think (dash) it's high
(dash) time for (dash) a change."
"There's them Hodgkin girls," she
continued, after a short pause, " they
look just like a pair of wild ducks with
the feathers all pulled off except from
wings and tail."
Then she dashed away vigorously for
awhile, as if she thought she had those
Hodgkin girls under the dasher Dash
plash plash dash and then she ex
claimed :
" Well, here I So poor Susan Dayton's
dead, is she? Well, I've been expecting
it. Poor thing ! She's just starved her
self to death for that heathen husband
of hers. I don't believe he had a parti
cle of affection for her. Sho never had
decent clothes to wear, and was always
afraid to tell him if the flour was out or
if she even wanted a paper of pins. Now
she's dead, and she's a groat deal better
off. I shouldn't wonder if ho went right
off and married the widow Bonton. I've
seen him stop on the street and speak to
her more than once. '?
(Dash dash splash plash dash
splash dash.)
"Dear me! won't this butter ever
como. Johnny, bring me a knife and
let me scrape down the cream. Well, I
guess it's coming. Mollie, put the bowl
and ladle to soak in cold water."
" Now let me see ; whore was I read
ing," sho continued: "Well done! If
that Minnie Bates hasn't gone and mar
ried that Captain Howard 1 Old enough
to be her grandfather; but then he's
rich, and of course that's all she married
him for. Poor girl I Money isn't every
thing, and she'll live to regret her rash
ness. Gracious I is this butter never
coming ?"
( Dash dash dash splash splash
dash-s-splash.)
Another fire in Chicago! Well, no
wonder; them people there are so wicked
I should think the Lord would feel like
burnin' 'em up. Now, when I went
down there to see my sister Prudoncc,
one o' them hotel waiters laughed in my
face because I asked him for cowcuui
bers, and at the Grand Pacific Hotel
they tried to make me eat pie with a
fork; and one o' those piratical hackmen
would have cheated me out of seveh
cents if I . hadn't stood np for my
rights."
"O-nh ! it's a dreadful wicked city I
expect some day it will bo all coiitla-
grnted."
(Dash dash splaxh splash dash
plash swash swash swash. )
"There, it's coining I" she said, as she
leaned over the churn; "where's the
bowl, Mollie ? Johnny, bring the salt,
aud I'll have this butter down cellar in
less 'n no time."
Then she took off the cover, rolled up
her sleeves, and, reaching her long arm
down through the neck of tho churn sho
brought np the golden butter by ladles
fuls, until at last it lay a shining, irregu
lar mass in the white wooden bowl on
hor lap.
With enviable ease and skill she work
ed the buttermilk out and tho salt iu,
now and then pausing to pick out a tiny
speck until it was arranged to suit her
taste, and theu, with a placid, self-satisfied
air, she placed a damp cloth over it
aud carried it down to tho cool cellar.
" Now, Mollie,'" said she, on return
ing, "that buttermilk is so rich aud
sweet, we'll save a bowlful for the
Joneses, and here, give mo some in this
pitcher."
Mollie filled the pitcher, and, taking
it in her hands, tho good old dame put
it to her lips for a long draught, and as
she set tho pitcher down she smacked
hor lips and feelingly remarked: " Old
Bet can't be beat for giving the awfulest,
goodest kind of buttermilk."
A Palatial Hotel.
The Pacific Hotel of San Francisco is
brought into notice again by the failure
of its patron, the Bank of California.
The hotel is the most magnificent struc
ture of the kind in the world. It is 350
feet by 275, and contains 1,000 rooms,
not one of wlncli is less I nan sixteen leet
square. The dining-room is larger than
any private residence in New York, with
hall a dozen exceptions. - it is even
larger than six city lots in New York,
and counting the broakfost-room and
the privato dining-rooms, they ore equal
to thirteen city lots in that city.
As to the cost of this hotel, tlio figures
are almost appalling. Mr.' Sharon him
self informed me that the building and
ground had already cost nearly $5,000,
000. He said he did not expect the
property would pay as an investment. It
will, ne thinks, be a credit and an actual
benefit to the city. This is all he wants.
He can afford to build one hotel, if it
only costs $5,000,000. But why Mr.
Sharon, who is a Senator from Nevada,
should have such an extraordinary inter
est in San Francisco is rather strange.
He is supposed to live in Nevada, where
his colleague, Mr. Jones, is supposed to
reside, but he doos not live tuero. On
the contrary, he has a very charming
house in San Francisco, and never goes
to Nevada, except on a business trip.
from one year to another. However, he
goes quite as often as his colleague
does.
The furniture in the Falaoo will cost
$1,000,000. This is tho sum, laid apart
for it. The mirrors alone will cost
8100,000, and the chandeliers $45,000.
The silver will cost $00,01)0 and the linen
$75,000. Mr. Leland estimates that tho
furniture in each room will cost $1,000.
This of course does not refer to the par
lors or reception rooms, each of whioh
will require from $5,000 to $10,000. The
furniture throughout the hotel, like the
building, is to be severely plain.
The St. Louis Times gives the follow
ing specimen of a wedding notice :
Take away his little lat.'h key,
lie will need cigars no more ;
Life it real, Ufa U earnest.
From this sad and fatal hour
Gone to meet bis mother-in-law.
Civilized Infanticide The Remedy.
No animals are known to abandon
their progeny, for the word abandonment
cannot properly be applied to those few
caws iu which the young of certain ani
mals receive no care because they need
none. In every species where the pro
geny need caro and defense it is the one
inseparable trait of animal "morality"
to furnish theso to tho last extremity if
need be; Even those who hold that hu
manity is only the latest step of progress
from animal life must admit, therefore,
that a growth which seems all iu the di
rection of improvement has at least pro
duced one result which is a degradation,
and puts man below the animals in bene
volence, for all human races rid them
selves of the burden of a superfluous
progeny with more or loss deference to
forms. It might be superfluous to
speculate as to the precise point of pro
gress toward humanity at which mothers
find the maternal instinct less powerful
than certain conventional considerations
of good repute, or even of common com
fort, but it is certain that the point is
tonched at an early stage of the growth
of every Bociety, and grows as the civili
zation is higher. In the semi-barbarous
Settlements of Asia, 'where children are
exposed at the edge of the village at
nightfall, aud are seized by the prowl
ing wolf, and sometimes become the
nursling of tho she wolf, whose heart
proves gentlor than that of the human
mother, the crime is less common than
in civilized China, where there are
recognized receptacles for the little
wretches ; and in China it is still less
common proportionately to population
than in Europe. In Europe this vice
has been treated in different ways. It
has been recognized and provided for.
and stringent enictments have been
iramed to. repress it. In the Latin
countries they have provided that the
' exposure " of the infants should re
lieve the unhappy mother without tho
destruction of the child, and the vast
foundling hospitals have done great
service in that direction. Iu England
foundling hospitals wero looked upon,
not as preventing murder and saving
children, but as affording facilities for
evil, just as the known existence of a
receiver of stolen goods may be looked
upon as an incentive to theft. They
were so restricted, therefore, as to be in
effective as a remedy, aud thence arose
the English form of baby murder called
baby farming, by which little ones were
boarded out, aud ore not killed by vio
lence but simply die from the want of
proper care and nourishment, the profit
to tho murderess being that a child may
die in its first week, and she will collect
the board nionay or several months.
In this country' we hatfe generally gone
a step beyond . England, and have mur-
dsred the mother by malpractice before
the birth of the child.. But this seems
pnw lio- uecomu Onna-erous. There
is hope, therefore, that public opinion
will turn favorably to the best result yet
achieved by society iu this direction
the establishment, as part of the public
administration in every city, of found
ing hospitals. jSew ) ark Herald.
The Shakers Dying Out.
The New Lebanon correspondent of
the Boston Journal writes as follows :
It is much more probable that the recent
rapid decrease in their numbers has
been so startling that they do not wish
it to be known outside. As all tho mem
bers of the society would have to meet
together in tho public service, it would
be easy to estimate their numbers. A
comparatively large proportion, espe
cially of tho younger brethren, havo left
the society within a few years, and there
seems to bo little doubt that tho solid
rauks which used to fill the iloor of the
meeting house would be terribly do
pleted if they could bo seen there to
day. A number of outlying societies
have been given up within the post half
dozen years, their members being called
in to man tho battlements of the central
citadel. Weak families have been con
solidated with stronger ones, and even
with this aid they are compelled to call
in hired workmen from " the world " to
help them manage their large farms
and gardens. One family which, twenty
years ago, could send twenty-five or
thirty men into the fields during the
haying season, now is able to muster
only two. The aid of mowing machines
and tedders and horserakes and forks,
however, makes them almost as compe
tent as the largest number. Tho time
has been when they boasted that in due
course they would own all the fertile
valley at their feet, and turn the pretty
little Presbyterian church in its center
into a sheep pen. In those days they
refused to sell an inch of their land,
deeming the suggestion almost blasphe
mous. But for many years they have
only held thoir own, and now even that
seems to bo denied them. This year
they have sold many of their outlying
farms and others are for sale.
Offering to do the Fair Thing.
A story is told of an accident on the
New London railroad. An intoxicated
man was sitting on the track when the
engine tossed him down an embank'
ment. The conductor backed his train to
pick up the dead body. The victim was
found olive, however, only somewhat
bruised, and taken to Norwich. The
conductor kindly offered to take the
man to his home, a few miles away, iu a
hack, but he insisted on his ability to
walk, and refused to be sent home. Th
conductor pressed the matter, when the
Milesian, who had stood the battling of
the cow-catcher so well, bristled up
with "Go away with your kirridcro. I'll
go hom9 by myself, and if I have done
auy damage to your old engine, bedad,
1 11 pay lor it on the spot.
His Last Cent.
"Have you any five-cent cigars?
"Yes, sir," replied the clerk. "Have
you any for ten cents?" "Yes, sir.
nave you any lor niteen cents V pur
sued the would-be purchaser. "V
sir, we havo," said the clerk, at the same
time handing out tho Ikx. Would you
take a leuow a la-si cent lor a cigar ?
rather ln hgnautly queried tho custom
er. " Yes. I would-" nnanniKlilvi-otm-r,
ed the clerk. " Well, there it is," sol
einnly said tho strang-r, as h deposited
one cent on the counter uiul walked off
with his nrteen-ceiit cigar.
Hems of Interest.
Oxen are a dollar a head iu Eygpt.
Nevada expects to produce this year
bullion to the value of $25,000,000.
Massachusetts expects to foot up 1,700
000 inhabitants by the census now being
taken.
Buffalo has decreed that no married
woman shall bo a teacher in anyf its
public schools.
Lawyers have a clear majority iu the
Indiana Senate, and furmers a quorum
in the House.
Edmond About calls France a sick sol
dier of God needing to be cured through
the lapse of time.
" Whence came our aborigines ?" asks
the Baltimore Sun. Where are they go
ing ? is a more practical inquiry.
French immigrants complain of tho
treatment they receive in Venezuela.
Nobody is so well off as at home.
A Rochester paper suggests to Mr.
Frost, who is languishing in the jnil of
that city, that he had bebter thaw out.
Tho African locust has appeared this
summer in Germany, and laid waste tho
crops on the Berlin and Anhalt railway.
" I had my money and my friend j
I lent my money to my friend ;
I atiked my money of my friend ;
I lost my money and my friend."
At Ramseys, N. J., recently, a dog by
digging gained access to a hen coop and
killed twenty-eight chickens and tm
ducks.
The school commissioners of Mem
phis have succeeded in placing all the
colored schools under the charge of col
ored teachers.
The Russian aristocracy are opposed
to their government taking any part in
the Centennial exhibition. For all that
it will be held.
A satirical writer in a German paper
observes that if people go to tho apothe
caries because they are cheap, then doc
tors must be frightfully dear.
When freedom from her mountain
height nn'urled her standard to tho air,
her skirts, pinned back so very tight,
made her appear exceeding spare.
When a man sees a cat moving unsus
pectingly along, within easy range, ho
will involuntarily look around for a stone,
however good and noble he may be.
In 1874 the United States furnished
five per cent, of the importations into
Brazil, and received forty-six per cent,
of the exportations from that country.
There is a lake in Lagrange county,
Ind., called Wall lake, confined by an
embankment evidently artificial, and is
thought to be the work of the mound
builders.
When a Canada girl loves she loves
like a hand-engine going to a fire. Iu it
breach of promise suit the other day it
was snown tuat a young lady wrote ta
The elevators in the now Palaco Hotel,
San Francisco, have their uppermost
landing on the roof, where a lino place
is prepared for the guests to promenade
and enjoy the extensive view of the city,
suburbs aud liarbor.
A little boy in Amity township, Berks
county, Pa., although seven years old,
measures but thirty-two inches in height.
He has grown but little, if any, since ho
was two years old. He is said to bo
very bright and intelligent for one of his
age.
A hen belonging to a citizen of Beaver,
Pa., is said to bo as fond of catching
mice and to bo as expert in that art as a
cat. Sho will pass a long timo watching
hole, aud spring on her prey tho mo
ment it appears, almost always with suc
cess. A farmer iu Des Moines, Iowa, whilo
driving his cow to pasture by a rope tied
around her neck, was thrown down by a
sudden movement of the animal, and
turned a complete somersault, break
ing his neck and driving his head vio
lently into the earth.
A very tall and shabby-looking man,
after having a glass of liquor, asked tho
bartender if he could change a $20 bill.
The gentleman informed him that ho
could. " Well," said the tall one, with
a sigh of satisfaction, " I'll go out and
see if I can find one."
An enraged woman, with a knife in her
hand, pursued her lover, of whom she
was jealous, through the Paris streets.
People leered at his night, and, ashamed,
he turned and waited for to come up,
when she plunged the knife in his throat,
and he died in three minutes.
This illustration of Sankey's melody is
given in the London Times :
Weary, working, burden'd one, wherefore toil
vou so ?
Cease your doing ; all was done long, long ago.
Till to Jesus' work you cling by a simple faith
Doing is a deadly thing doing ends in death.
A youth named Stanislaus Morell was
instantly killed by lightning while feed
ing a horse in a stable in the town of
Clay, H. x. On removing his clothes
the perfect image of a tree was found in
delibly stamped upon his left side. Tho
trunk, limbs and leaves of the tree were
of a red color, and were as perfect as
could be drawn with a pencil. JSo other
mark or wound was visible.
A youngster being required to write a
composition upon some portion of the
human body selected that which unites
the head to the body and expounded as
follows: "A throat is convenient to
have, especially to roosters and minis
ters. The former eats corn and crows
with it; the latter preaches through his'n
and then ties it up. This is pretty much
all I can think of about necks."
There is in Dallas, Texas, a chain four
teen aud a half feet long, and consists of
one hundred and fifty different silver
coins, no two of which are alike. The
coin of almost every country on the
globe is represented in the chain, which
is linked together with small silver wire.
It was found in the Indian Territory, re
cently, and at one time was, doubtless,
the talisman of some mighty monarch
among the red men.
A queer civil funeral, that of Cloris
Pontonnel, the littlo son of a wine mer
chant, took place in Paris the other day.
Two persons carried the coffin and about
twenty friends followed. At the grave
the boy'a father delivered the following
adress : Adieu, my son, adieu citizen,
lor you were a citizen of the future not
baptized 1 Now, "thou hast letumed to
nothingness, for there is no soul. Be
come manure an there is need of it for
good wine,"