. ....... , ' -' t ' ' - '
.I.1,; .
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL, DESPHilANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
vol. y.
EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 187G.
NO. 52.
Did Too Ever Call Me Darling t
Did yon ever oall oia darling,
With a flush npon your oheek t
Enow yon not my heart thrills ever
To the slightest word you tpeak?
Do yon never guess how pleasant
Are the moments spent with yon ?
That this strange, intense affootion
Links my soul with all that a trne ?
Xes, you called me darling one time,
In a tone so sweet and low
That its mupio thrills me ever,
Cheering me where'er I go.
Night was round us, soft aud dewy,
Fragrant with the summer flowers,
N - And on wings of swiftest fleeing
Sped the bright, entrancing hoars.
Angels hovered in the shadows,
Whimpering holy things to me,
Bounded through my spirit's cloisters
A bowildering symphony.
Darling! novor word of paeeion,
But thiB toLler, tbrilliug one,
Sweet as that which charmed the lovers
When the world bad first begun.
And it charmed me, thrilled me, filled me
With supremest happiness ;
Nor for king, wUli crown and scepter,
Would I give that one oaress.
Tour hand mine was fondly clasping,
In its grasp my future lay,
For a love then sprang to being
Which will novor know decay.
A MEMORABLE RIDE.
"Hadn't you better leave the door un
fastened, Ellen?" said my husband, as I
turned the key in the lock, then dropped
it into my pocket.
"I don't know," I said, doubtfully;
then, after a momont's hesitation: " No,
I think it had better be fastened. The
children might get out and run down to
:the gate at tho foot of the meadow to
py, aud it is but a step from there to
the creok, you know."
Ho made no reply, but stooped down
and looked at boiuo part of the harness
with a slightly perplexed air.
"What is the matter now?" I said,
with some asperity.
Tho truth is, my husband belonged to
that numerous class of individuals whoso
motto is, never to do to-day what they
can put off uutil to-morrow; while I, on
the contrary, was prompt and decided.
With me, to will and to do were synony
mous, and I had little mercy for such a
failing.
"I fancy this little piece of twine will
bring us through this time, but I will
certainly mend it to-morrow," ho re
plied, as I climbed into the clumsy, old
fashioned phaeton.
The harness being adjusted to his sat
isfaction, if not to mine, he seated him
self beside me; and nodding s lost good
bye to the little faces pressed against
the window pane, we drove off.
Our cottage was situated in the little
valley lying to tho southwest of what
was at that time the village of Lanoy, in
Canada. A hill of considerable height
stood between us and the village, on our
side a verdure-crowned, gently-rising
slope; on the other a more abrupt de
scent, with a rather circuitous road wind
ing past little cottages and farmhouses
ofjniore or less pretension.
Our present errand was to the shop,
to which we carried our produce as it
accumulated from time to time, and re
ceived in exchange groceries, clothes,
etc. Our load consisted in part of a
basket of eggs; consequently we were
obliged to drive rather more slowly than
usual. I left, aa I had often done be
fore, the younger children to the ewe of
Oraoe, who, though but eight years old,
had a mind for in advance of her years,
and who was never more pleased than
when intrusted with some similar dnty
or responsibility. I charged her not to
take the baby from tho cradle, but to
rock him gently to sleep if he wakened,
or, if he would not sleep, to amuse. Lim
with his playthings until our return.
It was a lovely day in tho latter part
of September, copious showers of rain
had alternated with midsummer's suns,
and the freshness of .the verdure was still
nndimmed. It was scarcely yet time
for tho "sere and yellow leaf," though
the maples had hung out their golden
banners as if to try the effoct of contrast
with the living green of the other forest
trees. The birds still sang cheerily as
they fluttered to and fro in the hedge
rows, and numerous little ground squir
rels skimmed along the fence rails,
dropped suddenly and disappeared mys
teriously. Old Whitey ambled along after bis
usual monotonous fashion, and we soon
reached our destination. I had a num
ber of articles to purchase and examine,
as well as the merits of a new churn to
discuss; and just as we had settled all to
our satisfaction a neighbor whom we had
not seen for some time came in, which
detained us still longer, so that when we
turned our horse's head homeward I saw
with some surprise, as well as a slight
feeling of alarm, that the sun had al
ready set, and the soft gray of twilight
was stealing u the valley. Our load
was a pretty heavy one, my husband
having purcluvsed several agricultural
implements, of no great weight indi
vidually, but collectively making do
small load for one horse; so that though
we were necessarily anxious to get home,
we were obliged still to drive moderate
ly, particularly as the road was not only
hilly but rough.
Chatting upon the various little items
of gossip which we had heard, we drove
on until we had nearly reached the top
of the hill, when, turning to make some
remark to my husband, I saw a change
come over his face which struck me with
a sudden terror. He was pale as a
corpse.
"Look I" he said, in a voice hoarse
with emotion, pointing in the direction
of our home,
My heart gave a sudden bound, then
fell like a lump of lead in my bosom. A
cloud of thiok, dense smoke, distinctly
defined against the clear sky beyond,
rose above the treetops. I tried to speak,
but I could not utter a word. At last
I said, steadying my voice.: " I think it
must bo Morrison's. Isn't it to the left
of our house f
" No," he said, quickly, as he seized
his whip and urged old Whitey to his
utmost speed. "Don't you remember
that when we are at the top of the hill
the smoke from our chimney rises just
over the center of that little group of
cedars?"
Alas I I did remember, and as he
spoke we reached the summit and saw
enough to change our fears to certainty.
JN either spoke, but each turned ana
looked at the other with quivering lips
and dilating eyes. I was fairly beside
myself, frantic with terror. I felt as if
I must leap from the vehicle, and fly to
their rescue.
Old Whitey seemed to understand that
life or death depended upon his efforts,
and he exerted himself nobly. On we
flew, down the bill, dashing through the
stony little brook that crossed the road,
over the tumble-down bridge, whose
rotten boards rattled and started up
from their nlaees. tast the hedsrerows.
that looked like one continuous mass of
flying green ; past the little cottages,
with the startled children staring from
the doors, thinking of nothing, earing
for nothing, but to rescue our darlings.
I buried .my face in my hands, and
rocked to and fro in my seat almost be
reft of reason, as I thought of the scene
which might be awaiting us. Imagina
tion conjured up all the dreadful taies I
had heard or read, to add to my horror.
Once only I raised my head, and saw,
or fancied I saw, slender tongues of
flame cleaving the mass of smoke, which
had by this time increased fearfully in
volume and density.
At last, after what seemed an age, but
was in realitv onlv a few minnten. wo
reached the bottom of the lane which
led to our cottage. The angle was a
sharp one, and we turned with such
speed as to send the hind wheels of the
old phaeton spinning high in the air.
Mow 1 got out l never knew. I am sure
I did not wait for the horse to stop.
Bushing to the door, I threw myself
against it with such force as to break
it in. The room was full of smoke, but
as the opening door dissipated it a lit
tle, I saw that it was empty. Then,
suffocated by the smoke and overpow
ered by the excitement, I fell fainting
to the floor.
When consciousness returned I found
myself in the house of a neighbor, with
the children all about me, prettv well
tnghtened, 01 course, but entirely un
hurt. How the fire originated was a
mystery which we never could unravel.
Grace, sitting with her back to the
stove, and with her attention entirely
absorbed by the pictures in the family
Bible, did not see it until Rover, the
Newfoundland dog, who had been before
quietly dozing by her side, attracted
her notice by his evident uneasiness.
after which he sprang through the win
dow, fortunately taking the whole sash
bodily with him, and, running at full
speed to the nearest house, soon return
ed with some of its inmates. Grace, in
the meantime, after letting down the
two elder children through the window,
whioh vras only about four feel from the
ground, took' the baby from the cradle,
and was preparing to follow win n the
neighbors arrived. The house being
old, and .built, as such houses usually
are, of the most combustible material"',
notwithstanding ail enorts, soon became
a blackened, smoking ruin.
Rover aud Old Whitey lived to a gooo.
old age, aud were ever afterward held in
affectionate remembrance for their ser
vices on that occasion.
One evening, about a year afterwards,
as we sat in our new house, built on the
site of the old one, but more commodi
ous aud comfortable in every respect, I
remarked "that tho fire had benefited
us in at least one way, for unless the old
house had been actually consumed, we
should never have had the new one. "
"I have felt the benefit of it in another
way," said my husband, gravely; " it
has taught me never to put off doing
anything which should be done at once
until a ' more convenient seasou.' If
the harness had given way on that day,
where I mended it so slightly before we
started, though it would not have inter
fered with the safety of tho children, it
would have added tenfold to our anxiety,
because it would have delayed our reach
ing them. I made a vow then that if
we were permitted to reach home with
out accident, I would use my utmost en
deavors to overoome the habit of pro
crastination, and I think you will allow
that I have been pretty successful, so
that, in more than one respect, we have
reason to regard that as a ' memorable
ride.'"
A Society of Thieves.
Gen. Chamberlain, warden of the
Massachusetts State prison, in his evi
dence before the State prison committee,
said : ."I know from my own knowl
edge that there exists in the city of Bos
ton a regularly organized society of
criminals, with a president, vice-president,
secretary and treasurer. This so
ciety has a regular form of admitting
members. The prison he has graduated
from, his offense, with information in
regard to the prison, are all duly record
ed. Tho society discusses the most ap
proved plans for burglary, tools, equip
ments, etc; they also keep a regular
register of the best criminal lawyers in
the country, and of the judges of the
courts, and they knew at once what the
prospects are for a brother criminal. If
the case comes before what they call a
hard judge,' they raise the money to
secure a postponement of the case.
They also have a fund for mutual sup
port and protection, and through this
source they are often able to send deli
cacies to their brethren when sick in the
prison hospital."
Living on Seven Cents a Day.
A Fhiladelphian has been trying the
experiment of keeping his family on SI
per week, and the result appears to be
encouraging. The family consists of
himself, wife and chil I. He first tried
corn meal and found it insipid. Buck
wheat soon followed, and potatoes also
failed to sustain bodily strength. Then
oat meal was tried, and at tho expiration
of two weeks, says the experimenter. I
found myself four and a quarter pounds
heavier. My wife had gained three
poundB, while the lad had gained over
five pounds. Uur food outlay for four-
teen days was exactly $2.80, or less than
seven dents per day for each person. We
are now pursuing the same course, with
an occasional "mixed meal." Accord
ingly, our Philadelphia economist pins
his faith to oat meal and rests content.
Something was Said.
Gavernor Matthew Griswold, of Con
necticut, was conspicuous for the energy
of bis couusels and active measures dur
ing tho war of the Revolution. Gover
nor Matthew, when a young man, was
grave, shy, tall, and somewhat awkward.
He courted a young lady in Durham,
who put him off, delaying to give an an
swer in the hope that a doctor, whom
she preferred, would propose. He fin
ally, tired of his long rides on horse
back, and suspecting the state of her
mind, pressed for an immediate de
cision. "I should like a little more time," re
iterated the fair one.
" Madam, I will give yon a lifetime,"
was the lover's response ; and rising
with dignity, he took his leave.
The lady took her lifetime, and died
single, as the doctor never came forward.
Young Griswold returned to Lyme so
deeply mortified with the failure of his
suit that he was little disposed to repeat
the process of love making. In oonrse
of events his seoond cousin, Ursula Wol
cott, came on a visit to Black Hall. . She
was a modern edition of her grandmoth
er, the historical Martha Pitkin, bright,
beautiful, accomplished, and self-reliant.
She was a little older than Matthew. She
became assured that his affections were
centered upon herself, but he was pro
vokingly reticent. MeetiDg him on the
stairs one day, she asked : " What did
you say, Cousin Matthew ?"
"I did not say anything," he re
plied. A few days later, meeting him, she
asked in the same tone : "What did you
say, Cousin Matthew?"
" I did not say anything," he replied,
as before.
Finally, meeting him upon the beach
one morning, she again asked: "What
did you say, Cousin Matthew ?"
" I did not say anything," he still re
plied. "It is time you did," she remarked,
with emphasis.
Whereupon something was said, the
result of which was a wedding, and the
brilliant bride had a queenly reigu at
Black Hall.
Tho Esquimaux.
The Esquimaux are not an interesting
people. Spread over nearly the wholo
of the northern coasts of America, they
differ in form, manners and customs
from any other race on the continent.
They resemble more some of the natives
of the north of Europe than the Ameri
can Indians. In stature they are below
Europeans generally. Those to the
northwest of Hudson bay are of a larger
sizo than those of Labrador, but all are
dwarfish. But although they are di
miuutive, they are well formed and
hardy. Their complexions are clear, and
the skin smooth. It has been remarked
that "in this respect there are more
shades of dirt thun any other differ
ence." Their hair is black and straight:
the men wear theirs loose, but the
women, who take pride in it. separate it
in two portions, so that one part hangs
over each shoulder. Some of the men
wear the beard on the upper lip and
chin, and cut the hair on the crown, like
the tonsuro of a monk. Many of the
females and children have pleasing
countenances, even after the strictness
of the European standard. The old,
however, are often exceedingly ugly.
Y ars are unknown among the Esqui
maux, though the Indians sometimes
pursue them with ferocious vindictive
ness. Fighting is not their trade; they
are fishermen, and not warriors. Aud
yet the fact that they are not cowards is
well established, for they will some
times attack a polar bear siuglo-handed;
indeed, they frequently court danger
that ordiuary discretion would warn
them against. In quest of fish or game
they will fearlessly trust themselves on
floating pieces of ice where a European
would not dare to set his foot.
Sherman on the Presidency.
General W. T. Sherman, of tho Uni
ted States army, has written a letter in
which he says : I never have been, am
not now, and never shall be a candidate
for the h gh office of President beforo
any convention of the people.
My wife and family are strong Catholics,
but I am not; that, however, is nobody's
business. I believe in' the common
schools, and don't stop over the little
matters which seem to be exaggerated
by the press. In some quarters, how
ever, these schools are extravagant, and
indulge in costly buildings and expen
sive teachers, so as to be too heavy a
bnrden to the taxpayers. This ten
dency ought to be checked, which may
easily be done without making it a po
litical question. Self-interest will regu
late this and make them free schools to
all and capable of imparting the rudi
ments of a good English education.
Diphtheria.
Diphtkerta, says a medical writer, is a
term derived from the Greek, signifying
a skin or membrane. It is an epidemic
sore throat of great seventy, often con
tagious, due to poisoning of the blood,
attended with much prostration, and
characterized by the exudation of false
membranes and lymph on the tonsils and
adjacent parts. It attacks all classes of
persons and at all ages. Children are
most liable to contract it. It is proba
bly most fatal to the poor, or such as re
side in damp situations and in badly
drained houses. So far as known, local
treatment does not afford muoh benefit
unless commenced in the early stage of
the disease. Inhalations may then be
of value; but the reliance must be placed
in the good nursing, hygiene of the sick
room and a supporting treatment, to en
able nature to work her wondrous cures.
There is no specific remedy for tho
ailment.
Disappointed.
They tell of an ancient lady in Cali
fornia who was disappointed in love sev
eral years ago, and then pledged herself
to never out her toe nails again. . Her
toe nails are now so long that she can
not wear shoes, and she is sorry, she
owect We suspect it has neverooeui red
to her to bite them off ; or she might
place them on a railroad track, and have
them crushed off, without breaking her
tow. She can't expect to get a husband
as long as she wears such toe nails.
Barnum as a Young Lover.
That was a big book P., T. Barnum
wrote about himself. ' It is very com
plnte, too, says the Danbury News, but
there Is one little incident which ho
either forgot to mention 'or which got
pied when the forms went to press. It
occurred when the great showman was a
young man and a residentof this section.
He was paying impetuous attentions to
a young lady living iu Newtown. Being
the son of poor bat honest parents, he
was obliged to walk over to the village
whioh contained his adored on the Sun
day nights he visited her. When there
he labored undor another and more awk
ward disadvantage. Tho young lady's
father conceived a singular and most
violent dislike for the amiable embryotio
showman. This necessitated extreme
caution on the part of the lover, and he
was equal to the emergency, as a matter
of course. His ingress to the house was
by a window on the second floor, which
he reached by springing from the oover
of a cistern curb and catching hold of
the window ledge. His egress was effect
ed by hanging full length from the ledge
and then dropping to the cistern cover,
a fall of about six inches. .. One Sunday
he took with him on the, visit a young
man who now carries his silvered hairs
behind a Danbury grocery counter. They
reached tho plaoe; the young lady saw
the signal, opened the window, and the
famous Barnum sprung np into bliss.
The young man was to amuse himself
about the village until the hour of de
parture. He amused himself. It don't
seem possible that any one could be so
brutal, but that young man actually re
moved the oover to the cistern. Then
he sat down by the fence and ate cur
rants and calmly waited for the rest. P.
T. finished his sparking, and backed out
of the window the full length his hands
would permit.
" Good-bye," he gasped in a whisper,
as he prepared to drop.
" Good-bye, Phinny," she whispered
back.
Then he let go, and instantly shot
from sight into p yawning abyss of
darkness and rain water, and if he had
been of solid iron heated to a white
glow he could not have created more of
a commotion in striking the water. It
is not necessary to repeat what Mr. Bar
num said, both when crawling out of the
cistern and during the eight miles walk
home.
Questions and Answers.
Will it damage flax straw for manu
facturing purposes to thrash it with a
common spiked cylinder thrashing ma
chine ? Answer. Yes, it very nearly
spoils it. Treading out the seed with
animals is better, but the rollers are the
best. ' .
What size ol opening does it require
to keep life in one hundred men, sup
posing them to be shut '-up in a close
room f Answer. Supposing the room
to be large, a much greater opening
would be required at the top than if
placed at the bottom, as the carbonic
acid gas, which would accumulate by
being thrown from the lungs of occu
pants of tho room, is heavier than the
atmosphere, and would rest upon tho
noor. The most favorable arrangement
to ventilate the room would be that in
which an opening would be provided at
the floor and another at the ceiling, and
in this casd the size of the openings
might bo at tho minimum, the fresh air
entoyng at top and being discharged at
the bottom, except where the tempera
ture may be so much increased as to in
duce a current in the contrary direction.
An authority says : "The proportion of
oxygen gas in the atmosphere is abont
twenty-two per oent. bur after it has
visited the lungs it is reduced to sixteen
per cent." There is, therefore, a loss of
about thirty per cent, of the oxygen of
the air at each respiration ; and the
opening should be large enough to re
new about one-third of the air contained
in the room in every five seconds. How
large such au opening, or openings,
should be will depend upon the velocity
of the current entering, whether forced
by mechanical power or not, and should
be determined by experiment.
How much water should be evaporated
in a room fourteen feet square, to keep
it in a healthy condition ? Answer. It
is not desirable that the air should be
entirely saturated with water. Fevers
are sometimes generated in consequence
of a too humid state of the atmosphere,
An English admiral once banished the
yellow fever from his fleet on a West
Indian station by keeping his lower
decks dry with stoves in the summer
season. A vessel holding about two
gallon 4 of water placed in the air cham
ber of the furnace would give you all
the moisture you want for the whole
bouse. Scientific American.
After Relief Now.
Among the applicants for relief at a
late meeting of an English relief society
was a man, evidently of superior educa
tion, who stated that be was nephew of
a bishop, and formerly held a captaincy
in a cavalry regiment. He had " run
throuRh" afortuDeof 50,000 or 60.
000, and four years ago had made over
what then belonged to him, amounting
to about a pound a weok, to Lis wife and
two children. He did not now know
where bis wife was, nor did he wish to
live with her, as his present unhappy
position was owing to his own reckless-
ness, and he was justly served. He
stated that his health did not permit of
his engaging in heavy manual labor,
but he had supported himself in the
summer by husbandry work, such as
hoeing, hop picking, etc., and he was
prepared to do so again when the
weather permitted. The guardians as
certained that the applicant had gained
a settlement at Beading by renting a
renting a house there, and they accord-
mgly ordered his removal thither.
John G. Saxe's Latest.
When the witty poet was examining
nouses in Brooklyn with a view to pur
chasing, a lady acquaintance, of anibi
tious ideas, said to him :
" Whatever you do, Mr. Saxe, be sure
ana purchase a house with a one out'
side."
Meeting her afterward, he said :
"I have done what you wished I
have bought me a house with a fine out
side to which you will always be wel
come.
A SUCCESSFUL SWINDLER.
lie Makes and Upends Over a Million Dol
lars Before be la C'auahu
Among the latest developments in the
way of rascality is that of William J.
ltee, oonvioted in New lorn of uttering
forged paper. The prisoner is known
as a most daring and expert swinaier
and forger, and Tins had a remarkable
and checkered career. He is a native of
Denmark, aged about thirty-five years,
of attractive appearance, gentlemanly
address and refined tastes, and is said by
his most intimate acquaintances to be a
most entertaining conversationalist. He
came to this country before the war, and
was the possessor of some money. His
first appearance before the publio in
New York was as the organizer of a file
dressing company, he claiming to be
tho inventor of a chemical process by
means of which old files were instan
taneously restored to their original
oughness, without the expensive pro
cess of hand dresssing. Ho invited the
leading machinists and hardware mer
chants of the city to visit his factory and
inspect his process, and by means of
this ingenious ruse caused them to be
lieve that the files which they had
brought with them to test his patent,
had been operated on by his chemical
process, whereas they had, iu fact, while
their attention was directed by Bee,
been made rough by hand labor, as' in
the old fashion. On the favorable re
port of the visitors Bee received a con
tract from the government for sharpen
ing old files, but never received any
money, the fraud being detected shortly
after. He succeeded, however, in
making money in another direction.
Owing to the favorable report of his
factory, he had his stock (all of which
he issued himself) put on the market
and regularly quoted daily. He paid a
few quarterly dividends regularly, and
succeeded in running the stock from
twenty dollars to thirty dollars per share,
while in reality it was worthless, and
when he had disposed of a sufficient
quantity at the latter figures, retired
from the concern with a fortune of be
tween three hundred thousand and four
hundred thousand dollars. The file
company, of course, shortly afterward
collapsed, and Bee spent his ill-gotten
gains in high living and the most ostenta
tious display at Saratoga, Long Branch,
and other fashionable resorts. He be
came acquainted with the wealthy aud
fashionable widow of Commodore Levy,
then possessed of a fortune of some four
hundred thousand dollars, and married
her. They lived in style, and Bee in
vested the money in his possession in all
kinds of speculations. He carried fabu
lous sums of money on his person, and
was known to gamble extensively. He
ran through his money eventually, and
was in rather straitened circumstances,
when an aunt of his wife was one morn-.
ing found dead. On opening her will it
was found .that Bee was heir to most of
her wealth, but this second fortune he
squandered as he had the first. He
then became engaged in a number of
swindles, almost too numerous to men
tion. He got into the confidence of
wealthy men, and it is said that since ho
has been operating he has realized over
a million of dollars, all of which he has
spent in riotous living. He was sent to
State prison.
The Centennial Buildings.
The number of visitors to the Centen
nial grounds, says the New York Timet,
has already become very great. There
is, of course, little to be seen there yet,
except the structures themselves. But
the opportunity of looking at these is
well worth the trouble, not only of a
ride or walk from any part of Philadel
phia, but of a considerable jonrney from
beyond that city.
The leading feature of interest in n
view of the Centennial buildings is their
immense size. The main exhibition
building is 1,880 feet long and 464 feet
wide. To illustrate its magnitude by a
reference to New York localities, it
would about cover the space inclosed by
Wall, Nassau, Beekmau, and William
streets. The dimensions of this vast
edittoe are not generally at first appre
ciated by the spectator, a circumstance
whioh, as intelligent persons who have
traveled much are generally aware, is
not at all unusual in regard to tho first
impression made by a very large object.
Machinery hail, which is next in size to
the main exhibition building, is 1402
by 360 feet, with an annex of 208 by 210
feet. The agricultural building is 640
by 820 feet. These three structures
cover respectively about twenty, thir
teen, and ten acres. The art gallery and
horticultural hall are much smaller,
though they would anywhere else be re
garded as immense buildings, xtesidos
these five structures, there is a great
number of others, large and small, com
pleted or in process of erection within
the inolosure. The aggregate area oc
cupied by all the buildings on the
grounds will, as nearly as we can esti
mate, be about sixty-five acres.
Burned to Death.
A poor ballet girl. Alma Oldale, re
cently met with a terrible death under
the wretchedest circumstances, through
a fire which occurred during the per
formance of a pantomime at a Sheffield
(Eng.) theater. The unfortunate girl
was only eighteen years of age, and
was engaged to enact the part of an
" extra" or " flying lady " in the trans
formation scene of the pantomime. She
was suspended from the flies, standing
on a pieoe of iron, and strapped to an
iron rod at her back. The gauze cur
tains at the wing, from some unknown
cause, caught nre and were blown by a
current of cold air toward the girL Her
muslin skirts she had on beside only a
siagle garment were at once enveloped
in flames, and it was stated at the in
quest that two minutes elapsed before
she could be lowered to the stage. Be
ing strapped to the iron bar, she was,
of course, utterly powerless, and be
tween such a fate and being burnt alive
at the stake there cannot be any material
difference. -Alma Oldale appears to
have undergone the process of roasting
with remarkable courage; but her ner
yous system- was entirely shattered by
the shock she had sustained, and after
lingering for a few days the poor crea
ture died.
He Won his Case.
Alexander Stephens, of Goorgia, tolls
this story : A Dr. Boyston, doubtless a
most exoellent man, had sued Petor Bon
net, a farmer, for bis bill. " Little
A eck," as Alexander is minified by his
friends, told his client, Peter B., that
the case of service and its value were
proved against him in legal form, and
that there was no real defense. But the
old farmer insisted that his lawyer should
" speak to the caso." Mr. Stephens told
him that he ought to speak himself if ho
thought a speech could be made, and
was surprised by the retort : "I will,
if Bobby Toombs won't be too hard on
me. " Mr. Toombs promised, and Peter
Bennett began :
"Gentlemen of the jury, I ain't no
lawyer and no doctor, and yon ain't,
nnther. And if we farmers don't stick
together, these here lawyers and doctors
will get the advantage of ua I ain't no
objections to lawyers and doctors in
their place, and some is clever men, but
they ain't farmers, gentlemen of the jury.
Now this Dr. Boyston was a new doctor,
and I sent for him to come to doctor my
wife's sore leg. And he did, and put
some salve truck on it and some rags,
but never done it a bit of good, gentle
men of the jury. I don't boliovo he's
no doctor, no way. There's doctors as
I know is doctors, sure enough, but this
ain't no doctor at all."
This was evidently telling, and Dr.
Boyston put in with, "Look at my
diploma, and see if I am not a doctor."
" His diploma 1" said the new-fledged
orator, with great contempt. " That
ain't nothin', for no pieoe of -paper over
made a doctor yet."
" Ask my patients," shouted tho nov
furious physician.
This was the conventional straw that
seemed to break the back of the orator's
patience. " Ask your patients !" he
said, in slow and mournful deliberation.
" Ask your patients I Why, they're all
dead 1 Then, in rapid declamation, he
named case after case, well known, but
mostly among the negro servants of his
neighbors, where his opponent had
treated them and their owners buried
them, and continued : " Ask your
patients ? Why, I would have to seek
them in the lonesome churchyard, and
rap on the silent tomb to get answers
from the dead. You know they can't
say nothin' to this caso, for you've killed
them all I" The applause closed the
speech, and the defendant had his caso.
Extravagant Suppers.
The New York correspondent of tho
Chicago Tribune writes as follows : One
of the most gorgeous banquets even given
in this country took place at Delmonico's
a few evenings since. It was given by
a well known Wall street broker, Charles
J. Osborn, as the result of a bet with
another Wall street party named Travers,
on the price of Lake Shore stosk.
These bets are of daily occurrence, but
as this one involved something more
than an ordinary amount its winning
was celebrated by a banquet for forty
two persons the winner and loser each
inviting twenty friends. This affair cost
over 82,000, or an average of more than
$50 for each guest. This recalls an ex
travagant entertainment given at Del
monico's a few years ago by two daugh
ters of a well known financier, formerly
a Federal office holder, and now a bank
president. The occasion was the twenty
first birthday of their only brother.
Having obtaiued permission from the
father to make the entertaiment as grand
and magnificent as they pleased, thoRo
giddy girls gavo Delm nico an order to
prepare a feat and ball for one hundred
persons "regardless of expense." It
was carried out in strict accordance with
the order. The guests' iuvitation cards
were engraved pearl, highly ornamented.
The copies of the menu were also en
graved on small ivory tablets set in
Russia leather, with a small handle to
oaoh. The flowers used on the occasion
were so profuse that it is said that that
evening not a flower could be had for
love or money in New York the market
had been literally stripped by Dol
monioo. The feast itself was corre
spondingly magnificent. Tho bill for
this recherche birthday party was near
ly $25,000, and the astonished fi.ther
paid it like a man, though he fervently
ejaculated that he was glad there were
no more sons to celebrate their majority.
No Best.
Soienoe teaches us that the ciust of
our earth is perpetually moving, and
that the sea level is constantly chang
ing. Our globe has its daily rotation
on its axis and its yearly revolution
abont the sun. The sun, with all its
satellites, sweeps on toward a moving
point in the constellation iioroules.
Every so -called fixed star is in motion.
Fifty thousand years ago the constella
tion of the Ureat Bear or Dipper was a
starry cross; a hundred thousand years
hence the imaginary Dipper will be up
side down, and the stars which form the
bowl and handle will have changed
places. The misty nebulae are moving,
ana besides are whirling around in
great spirals, some one way, some an
other. Every molecule of matter in the
whole universe is swinging to and fro;
every particle of ether which fills space
is in jelly-like vibration. Light is one
kind of motion, hr at another, electricity
anotuer, magnetism another, sound an
other. Every human sense is the result
of motion; every perception, every
thought is but motion of the molecules
of the brain translated by that incom
prehensible thing we call " mind." Tho
processes of growth, of existence, of de
cay, whether in worlds or in the mi
nutest organisms, are but motion.
How to Make a Sice Girl.
First get your girl. (N. B. She
musn't be an old girl, but a young one,
nice and tender.) Bring her up from
early infancy on a strict diet of hot
pickles, cold brandy and water, Ouida's
novels. Bend her to a fashionable board
ing school to be "finished off," and
when she cornea home for the holidays,
carefully develop her latent love for
dress, extravagant habits, and fondness
for flirtations. Buy her the slang dic
tionary, and let her go everywhere and
do everything Bhe likes. By the time
she is twenty-one she will be quite
moe girL
Items of Interest.
" Be content with what yon have," as
the rat said to the trap when he left his
tail in it.
Silver mounted roparies, religious
medals, and the like, to the valne of ono
million dollars are sold annually in
France.
Some of the papers claim that Wash
ington was a Boman Catholic, because
after his army had crossed the Delawaro
ho "crossed " himself.
On the occasion of the marriage of a
Los Angeles man for the third time, his
jocose friends met and passed resolu
tions against a third term.
Economical fathers of grown-up
daughters are growling over the fact that
there are fifty-three Sunday nights this
year. And it's leap year, too.
Old Moneybags says that a girl with
an income of three thousand dollars or
more is always an object of interest, be
cause she has so much principal.
A poor family of Bangor, Me., ap
plied to a charitable society for clothes.
The next day the whole family dressed
up, went down town and had their pic
tures taken.
An exchange declares that a Pitts
burgh milkman can pay $500 in fines
per year for watering his milk and then
make considerable more money than a
circuit judge.
A Philadelphia man gained four and
one-half pouuds in one week by eating
oat meal. But he is wearing out his
Ulster overcoat scratching his back
against the door.
Infanticide is said to be an alarmingly
prevalent crime in London. It is re
ported that in the district of Middlesex
alone three hundred children are annu
ally smothered by their parents.
W. A. Kendall, a San Francisco Bohe
mian, committed suicide, leaving a note
addressed to the coroner, in which he
said: " I have stated the immediate
cause of my death, hoping it will obvi
ate the necessity of cutting me up."
The ex-Empress Eugenie is thin and
pale, but still very handsome. She and '
her son live in a plain and unpretending
way at Chiselhurst; the late emperor's
place at table is daily decked with a little
bunch of fresh violets. Tho i rinco is
well ma le and goo 1 looking.
At a publio meeting in a country
town, an eloquent advocate of popular
education thus delivered himself : "Mr.
President, I rise to get up, and am not
backward to come forward in the cause
of education; for had it not been for
education, I should be as ignorant as you
are, Mr. President."
The Philadelphia Press, which has
been asking the hotel men of that city
what their charges are to be next sum
mer, says: We are glad to be able to
give the assurance of the proprietors of
the several hotels in Philadelphia that
during the coming summer boarding
and lodging rates will not bo materially
advanced.
Charles Sobillor has contracted to
bury dead Chicago paupers for $1.40
each, and says that he means to sell the
bodies for dissection. He argues that
there is no law to prevent the business,
that the burial, after the doctors art
through with the corpses, will fulfil the
contract, and that the plan will save the
city much money, inasmuch as in no
other way could a contractor do the
work at that price.
For some time a deadly jealousy ex
isted between two negro men engaged
on the Southeru railroad at Emery Gap.
One of them went to a third negro and
agreed to givo him $10 if he would kill
the other. The proposition was accept
ed. The third negro then engaged a
ouithtodo the work iu consideration
of $6. The enemy of No. 1 was killed.
No. 3 received $10 from No. 1, paid $6
to No. 4, and pocketed $4 as his profit
in the transaction.
One of the most wanton and brutal
cases of torture to a Jive animal ever
recorded has oocurred in Shrewsbury,
England. A farmer was convicted of
having cut out a hen's "crop" while
she was alive. She was found living
next morning, with her chett cut open.
When interrogated about his motive, he
said that he had lost a bag oi wheat and,
suspecting a neighbor, had cut out the
orop of one of his fowls to obtain proof
of the theft. He was fined five shillings.
How It Is Lighted.
The main hall of the art building on
the centennial grounds at Philadelphia
will be lighted as follows: The ceiling
is a suspended dome at some distance
from the outer dome, which also is of
glass. But the glass of the latter is
transparent, while that of the inner
dome or ceiling is of white with a broad
rim of purplo. This inner dome is sup
ported by stay-rods, which start from
the iron ribs of the outer dome and come
together in an enormous pin shaped like
cross and it is also upborne at the
edges where it joins the trusses which
supportithe ribs. The gas jets, 2,000 in
number, will be aranged in three rings,
one a little above the base and near the
purple circle of glass, another in the
middle, and the third toward tue crown
of the dome. Inside, on the floor of the
main hall, the effect will be similar to
that produced in the art halls; but out
side, the whole outer dome will be a
mass of brilliant, dazzling lieht; and it
must be remembered that the top of the
dome is 150 feet from the ground, and
that Landsowne terrace, on the highest
5oint of which it has been erected, is
.16 feet above the level of the Schuyl
kill river, so that at nighttime it will be
a conspicuous mark over the whole
ity.
Calls for Cash.
We lately met an old colored man
trudging along with a heavy sido of
bacon that he had bought swinging over
his shoulder. We noticed he was mis
erably clad, and we felt sorry for him,
for a cold wind was blowing. We re
monstrated with him. " Why do you
spend your money for meat? You'd
better buy a coat The old man stop
ped, looked us full in the face for a min
ute, and said, in the most solemn tone ;
" Massa, when I ax my back for credit,
it gibs it; when I speak to dis" (laying
his hand upon his stomach), " it calls
for de cash,"