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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL. DE8PEEANDUM.
Two Dollars per . Annum.
VOL. VIII.
1 11IDGWAY, ' ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1878.
NO. 11.
ii in .
. . t
, 1 7 ' 1 ." ! V.Xl . I !'!
- 13
f
Some Time.
Some time, tired heart of mine.:
You shall have ft long, long rent;
Anl the qniet evening ran, . '
Sloping outward to the west,
Creeping In the casement wide,
Shall look on a quiet breast.
Though the birds shall coo and eall
As the doeper shadows fall.
Ion may rest.
Some time, patient eyes of mine,
; You may take a long, long sloep;
Though the early morning Ban
All along the wall shall creep,' '
Waxen eyelids will not lift
From the watching which they koep;
Though a sunbeam, overbold, " " '
Seek to part your curtain's fold,
'" ' ; - Yon may sleep.
Some time, striving hands cf mine,
: There will be a long, long peace;
Loosened from the tasks you hold
Into new and sweet release,
Other bands must plaoe yon close
In a dumb amen for grace.
Even love's touch, soft and warm,
Daro net break such prayerful form
Of your peace.
Some time, restleas feet of mine,''
- There will come a long, long day
When yon need not cross the sill
From the flashing till the gray.
- Other tteps must bear yon forth
To the plaoe where clay Is clay.
Though I led you out at light
Tbey will bring you home when night
Ends our day.
PRUDENCE GRAY.
That's my name, for father said there
wasn't a better barge on the river than
the Prmleaoe, nnd if I was called the
same he was aure there would never be
a better girl.
Poor father 1 He was always very
fond of mo, and my earliest remem
brances are of sitting on the tiller and
having a ride, when he stood there of an
evening (steering the barge, with the
great cinnamon red sail filled ont by the
wind, nnd tue water foaming ana bub
bling by u as we ran on np the river
toward the big city, where the ships lay
close together in dock and against the
wharves, emptying tneir loads or waiting
for others before going away across the
seas.
I used to think our barge, which was
a very smnll billy-boy, if you know what
that is if yon don't 1 must tell you that
it's a barge built with rounded ends and
low bulwarks, meant for carrying loads
up rivers, but built also to be able to go
out to sea a little while, running alor?
the coast I used to think our bav-e. X
say, a very, very large ship, till I grew
old enough to compare it with those that
passed us going up or down the mer,
and then it used to seem to me tnat it
would be wonderfully fine to go on
board one of those great snips and go
sailing away fai away across the
ocean, instead of hist constiug along to
Bheerness ai?d tip the Aledway, as we
used to go yeai rfter year, loaded deep
down in .he water with po.ry or hops,
or even bricks.
I cant tell you how my child-life
slipped away, living with mother and
father on board that barge, in a little
bit of a cabin with a tiny stove : all I
know is that 1 was very happy, and that
1 never hardly went ashore, and when I
did I was frightened and wanted to get
back ; and at last I seemed to have
grown all at once into a great girl, and
lat her and I were alone.
Yes, quite alone, for mother hod left
us very suddenly, and we have been
ashore at Bheerness, father and T, and
came back from the funeral nnd were
sitting on the cabin hatch, before X
could believe it was anything but a ter
rible dream, and that I should not wake
and find that she was alive once more.
as blithe and cheery as ever, ready to
take the tiller or a pull at a rope, the
sama as X did when father wanted any
help.
Father was a changed man after that,
and as a couple of years slipped by the
work on the barge fell more and more
into my hands, and I used to smile to
myself as x saw now big and red and
strong they had grown. For father
grew quiet and dull day by day, and
used to nave a stone bottle filled when
ever he went ashore, and then Bit with
it in the cabin all alone till I called him
to come and help with the sail.
Not that I wanted much help, for ours
was only a small barge, and once start
ed, with a fair wind, I could manage her
well enough ; while when we had to tack
backwards and forwards across the river
mouth, I could always lock the tiller by
the rope that hung on the belaying pin,
and give it a hitch on this side or that
side, till I had taken a pull at the sheet
and brought the barge round on the
other tack.
I must have passed half my life in
those days leaning back against that
tiller, with its end carved to look like a
great acorn, and the name of the old
barge, Prudence, cut deep in the side.
There I'd stand looking out ahead m
we glided along over the smooth sea,
passing a buoy here and light there,
giving other barges and smacks a wide
berth, and listening to the strange
squealing noise of the gulls as they
wheeled and hovered and swept by me,
so closely sometimes that I could almost
have touched them with my hand.
Our barge was well known all about
the mouth of the river and . far up be
yond the bridge ; and somehow, I don't
know how it was, the men on the differ
ent boats we paased had always a kind
bail or a wave of the hand for us, ax we
flided by, if we were too far off for a
indly shout to reach us.
Sometimes I'd run the barge pretty
close to the great ships and steamers,
inward or outward bound, so as to look
at the ladies I saw on board; not that I
oared to do so very often, because it
seemed to make me sad, for the faces I
looked on seemed to be so different to
mine that I felt as if I was another kind 1
of being, and it used to set me wondering
and make me think; and at such times !
I'vt) leaned against the tiller and dream
ed and dreamed in a waking fashion of
hew I would like to read and write
and work, as I had seen ladies sitting
and reading and working, on the decks
of the big Bhips, nnder the awning; and
then I had to set my dreams aside and
have a pull at the sheet or take a reef in
the sail; because the wind freshened and
my dreams all passed away.
I don't think poor father meant it on,
kindly, but he seemed to grow more and
more broken and helpless every day; and
this frightened me, and made me work to
keep the barge clean and ship-shape,
lest the owners should oome on board
and see things slovenly, and find fault
with father and dismiss him, and that I
knew would break his heart. So I work
ed on, and in a dull heavy way father
used to thank me; and the time glided on,
till one day, as we were lying off South
end, with the sea glassy and not wind
enough to fill the sails, 1 felt my cheeks
begin' to burn as I leaned back against
the tiller, and would not turn my head,
because I oould hear a boat being sculled
towards usvttyd I knew it was ooming
from th,'r'jHt leeboard barge lying
astern. JA i
" He's coming to see father," I said to
myself at last in a choking voioe; and as
a hail came I was obliged to turn, and
there stood up in the little boat he was
sculling with an oar over the stern John
Grove, in his dark "trousers, blue jersey
and scarlet cap; and as I saw his sun
burnt face and brown arms and hands I
felt my heart beating fast, and knew he
was not coming to see father, but to see
me.
We had hardly ever spoken , but I had
known John Grove for years now, and
we bad nodded and waved hands to one
another often and often as we had passed
up and down the river.
' Heave us a rope, my lass," he said,
as he came close in; and I did it dream
ily, and as soon as I had done so I began
to pull it back, but it was too late; he
had hitched it round the thwart of his
boat, and was up and over the side be
fore I could stir; and then he stood look
in g down upon me. while I felt some
times hot and sometimes cold, as if I
could not speak.
" Da you want to see father?" I said
atlast.
"No, my lass," he said quietly, "I
want to see you."
"Me!" X faltered, with my face
burning.
" Yes, you, my lass," he said; and his
handsome brown face lit up, and he
looked so manly as he laid his hand on
my arm.
" Prudence, my gal," he said, "we're
both young yet, lor x m not six-ana-twenty,
but I thought it was time I
spoke to you.
" Spoke to me ?" I said, with my face
burning still.
" Yes. my loss, spoke to you, for we've
been courting now a matter of four
years.
"Oh, John," I cried, bursting out
laughing aud feeling more at my ease,
f'why, we've never hardly spoken to
one another."
"That's nice," he said, drawing a
long breath. "Over again ."
"Over again t What ?" I said.
" Call me John," he replied.
"Well' then. John." I cried hastily,
"That's right, Prudence; but, as I
was going to say, not spoken to one
auother I Well, how could we, always
taking our turns at the tiller as we
were ? But all the same, my lass, I've
, i - - i. l i
Deon always courting oi you, uiguii auu
day, these four years, and looking out
and Ion trine for the time when the Pru
dence would oome in Bight and I could
give you a hail and get a wave of the
hand bacK.
I could feel the color coming back
into mv cheeks again as I heard him
speak, and knew how anxiously I had
looked out lor his barge coming up or
down the river; and then I began won
dering what it all meant, and soon Knew.
" Prudence, my lass," he said, " I've
saved up 10. all my own, and our owner
has just given me the command of a new
barge, with as pretty a cabin as you'd
wish to see; and so, my lass, I thought
I d ask you if so be as now we ve been
courting four years, you wouldn't oome
to me and be my wife."
No," I said, " no," and shooK my
head. " I belong to father, and I could
never leave him never."
Ttnt vnn'll have to some dav. Prud
enoe," he said, looking dreadfully down
hearted and miserable.
"No." I said. "I shall never leave
him; he wants me more and more every
day, and X must stay.
" Prudence." he said sharply, you
am t playing with me, are you f
" Playing with you
"Yes: I mean you ain't going to take
up with any one else, and go aboard any
other barge no, no," he cried, "I won t
be so mean as to ask you that. x$ut.
Prudence, dear, some day you may have
to leave him, and when you do, will you
please recollect John Grove loves you
better than aught else in the wide world,
and is waiting for you to come I"
" Yen .Tnhn " I said BimDIV.
" You mean it. Prudence ?" he cried
in deli eh t. as he caught my hand.
" Yes, John; I don't know anybody
else, and there's no one as cares for
me."
"Hundreds on the river," he said
sharply.
"Then I don't care for them. John.'
I said simply; " aud if you like me, and
x ever do do leave oh, dear I what
am I saying ?"
I sat down on a fender and covered
my face with my coarse, red hands, and
began to cry; but he took my bands
down, and looked long and lovingly in
my face, with his exeat, honest brown
eyes; and then he couldn't speak, but
seemed to choke. At laet he araspod
out; .. .
Thanky, Prudence, thank v. I'm
going away now to wait, for you'll come
to me some day, I know."
I didn t answer him.
" For the time may come, my lass.
when you'll be all alone in the world;
and when it does oome, there's the cabin
of the Betsy Ann, clean painted up, and
Tt minim v J 4 uv uuniu o
a-waiting too. '
He went auietiy over the side and oast
off the rope, and was gone before I knew
it; and I sat there in the calm afternoon
and evening, sometimes crying, some
times feeling hopeful, and with a sense
of joy at my heart such as I never bad
felt before.
And so that evening deepened into
night, with the barge a quarter of a mile
astern of us, and no wind coming, only
the tide to help us on our way.
It must have been about ten o'clock at
night, when I was forward seeing to the
light hoisted tip td keep anything from
running into us, When I heard father
oome stumbling up from the cabin, and
maxe as u to oome forward to me. .
" Prue " he cried. " Prue 1"
"Yes, father, coming," I said; and
then I uttered a wild shriek, and rushed
towards where the boat hung astern by
her painter, hauled her up and climbed
in; for no sooner had I answered than I
heard a cry and a heavy splash, and I
knew father had gone overboard.
I was into the boat in a moment, and
had the scull over the stern, paddling
away in the direction that the cry had
oome from; but, though I fanoied in
those horrible minutes that I saw a hand
stretched out of the water, asking as it
were for help, I paddled and sculled
about till I was far from, our barge, awl
then sank down worn-out to utter a moan
of horror, and sob, " Oh, father 1 father 1
what shall I dot"
"Is that you, Prudenoe?" said a
voioe.
"Yes, John, yes," I cried, looking
out through the darkness, out of which
a boat seemed to steal till it was along
side, when John streohed out his hand
and took mine.
" Quick 1" I gasped, " save him,- John
father gone overboard I
" When you shrieked out. True ?"
"Yes, yes," I wailed; "oh, save him I
save him 1"
" My poor lass," he said, " that's a
good quarter of an hour ago, and the
tide's running strong. I've been pad
dling about ever since, trying to find
yon, for I went up to the barge and you
were gone."
"But father, " I wailed, ' father save
him I
" My poor little loss." he said, tender
ly, " I'd jump into the water now if you
rid me; but what can i do, you Know,
Prudenoe, what can I do ?"
I did not answer, for I did know that
he must have been swept faraway before
then; and I was beginning to feel that I
was alone quite alone in the world.
It was quite six months after that
dreadful night that one evening John
came ashore from his barge to the cot
tage, where I was staying with his
mother, and had been ever since he had
brought me there, without seeing him
to speak to, only to wave my hand to
him as he sailed by. That evening he
came and looked wistfully fit me and
said but little, and at last his time was
up and he rose to go.
I walked down to his boat with him,
and on the way he told me that he had
got leave to alter the name of his barge,
and it was called the Prudence, too; and
then, without a word about the past, he
was saying good-by, when I put my
hands iu his and said quietly
"John, dear, I haven't forgot my
promise."
" And you are alone now, ' Prudenoe,
my lass," he cried eagerly.
" No, John, no," I said softly, as the
tears ran down my cheeks; "I never
shall be while you live. "
"Never, my lass, never," he cried.
" And you'll be my littlo wife ?"
" Yes, John, yes; I promised you."
" When X come back from this voy
age?" "Yes, John, when yon will," I said,
and with one long hand pressure we
parted, and I went back to wait for
another month, and then I was his happy
little wife.
- And there seemed no change, for I
was once more on the river orjout at sea,
leaning upon the tiller and gazing
straight before me, with the gulls wail
ing as they wheeled and dipped and
skimmed or settled upon the water;
while the soft wind gently stirred the
print hood that was lightly tied over my
wind-ruffled hair. Only a bargeman's
young wife living on the tide, but very
nappy; for John often points to the
great ships that pass us, with their cap
tains in their gold-laced caps, and as he
does so he whispers
"Not with the best among them,
Prue, not with the best; I wouldn't even
change places with a king."
And if he is as happy as I, dear Jehn
is right. CasselPt Magazine.
Grace Darling in Michigan.
Lake Michigan has its Grace Darling.
and her father and brothers are as brave
and heroic as she is herself. Sanford
W. Morgan is keeper of the life saving
station at Grand Point au Sable, Michi
gan, and after the close of navigation he
allows the crew to go away for the win
ter, but remains on the ground with his
daughter and his sons. At daylight,
during one of the most violent gales of
the season, with the sea so boisterous
that it was covered with foam, a fishing
boat was discovered about three miles
off shore, in distress, by Miss Edith.
Quickly giving the alarm to her father
and two brothers, she urged them to go,
volunteering to take an oar herself to
assist the crew. It seemed as though a
boat oould not possibly live in the
mighty waves, but one was launched,
and after a pull of two hours, with seas
breaking over the small boat and threat
ening its destruction and the loss of
those on board, they snoceeded in reach
ing the wreck, to find that one of the
orew who had been clinging to the side
of the vessel had become exhausted, and
letting go his bold had been drowned.
Another sailor, however, was rescued as
he was about to give np, and was taken
ashore. Nor was this the first time that
the brave young girl bad ventured out
on an errand to save.
A Yeung Giant.
The " fat man " whom I mentioned
in my last letter, writes a correspondent
in England, is now exhibiting himself
at the Egyptian Hall, in London, and
making a good thing of it. Fancy, if
you can, a young man only twenty-two
years old, weighing 728 pounds, and
measuring eight feet round the shoul
ders. He seems in perfect health and is
i .i . i - :a i j i
very cnauy, a peauiuuivj sutireu vj ma
wife, who accompanies him and who
seems proud of haying the biggest hus
band of any woman in Xuigland, perhaps
in the world.
The " ajjony columns " of the Turkish
newspapers are filled with advertise
ments for lost relations, giving painful
evidenoe of the dispersion of families of
the Mussulman population which has
taken plaoe in the districts ravaged by
war.
FARM, GARDES ASD IIOUSEIIOLD.
Farm Hetee.'
Do not plant trees ' deeper than is
necessary to oover the roots well. Never
plane the roots in contact with manure.
Planting seed not be hurried. When
trees arrive from the nursery, unpack
them, keeping a sharp eye to the labels,
and " heel-in " at onoo.
Watering must be attended to, and
when the soil gets packed and crusted
between the rows, break it np,or mellow
it with the finger, or a pointed stick.
' Grafting is best done juBt as vegeta
tion starts. A tree that produces poor
fruit is easily converted into a profitable
tree. . The operation is a simple one,
and any intelligent boy can porform it.
Stakes, where ,vtrees are properly
planted, are not needed, unless in ex
posed localities where there are strong
winds, and in such cases .'the orchard
should be protected by a screen of some
quick-growing trees that will serve as a
wind-break.
Drains should be cleared of waste
matter, such as leaves, and other trash
that will interfere with the flow of water.
In digging open drains, the earth should
be thrown out upon the side opposite to
that from which the surface water comes.
It is now that we require rapid, vig
orous growth to send up strong spears
from the tillering roots. A moderate
dressing of some active fertilizer, rich
in ammonia, and witb a good supply of
phosphorio acid for the needs oi the
grain, is precisely what is needed.
Laying out the ground may be done
in squares, the trees in rows, and oppo
site each other, a common plan for
small orchards, but where the ground is
to be used to the best advantage, the
quincunx method is adopted, in whioh
each tree stands at the corner of an
equilateral triangle, and is equally dis
tant from six others.
A Silesian farmer has adopted a
method of imparting to butter an aroma
as delicate as that secured from cows
pastured in the most fragrant meadows.
He suspends in the empty churn a calico
bag filled with fragrant herbs.keeping the
churn carefully closed. When churn
ing, he substitutes four smaller bags,
attaching them to the beaters of the
churn. The result is thus secured in a
perfectly legitimate and harmless man
ner. A correspondent states that be kept a
plum tree from curculios by sprinkling
the ground under the tree with corn
meal. This induced the chickens to
scratch and - search. The meal woe
strewn every morning from the time the
trees blossomed until the fruit was large
enough to be out of danger. The con
sequence was, that the fowls picked up
the curculios with the meal, and the
tree being saved from the presence of
the insects, was "wonderfully fruitful.
Breedlna Stock on the Farm.
In view of the market for choice stock
lately thrown open to our farmers by
the exportation of cattle and meat to
Europe, it behooves them to pay in
creased attention to the raising of su
perior animals on the farm. A late
report on the American trade, by Pro
fessor Sheldon, of the Cirincester Agri
cultural College. England.after furnish
ing a mass of information on the subject,
comes to the conclusion that, despite
some fluctuations, the dead meat trade
will rapidly increase, and that appli
ances for its fiuocessful management will
be multiplied here and in Europe. The
profits of the traffic will be in a great
measure, proportionate to the excellence
of the product, and the limit to the
quantity shipped will be the stowage
capacity of vessels crossing the AUantio,
for, owing to the falling off in our im
ports, the number of ships engaged in
the transatlantic trade will be too small
to afford room for a large export of moat
together with other merchandise without
advanoing the freight to a figure that
will prohibit further exportation.
The experience of many thriving
farmers all over the conntry.proves that
a better run of animals is obtained by
breeding them on the farm than by pur
chasing them. More care is bestowed
in selecting the likely offsprings of tried
animals, they will go on fattening
more rapidly and nnif ormly than strang
ers picked up here and there, for it
takes some time before these get ac
quainted and become contented enough
to lay on flesh kindly in their new home;
and moreover, the tendency of prices for
young stock is upwards, and the proba
bility is very strong that ere long it will
not pay farmers to go into the market
for young animals. In any case, it is, as
a rule, more profitable to breed the
stock one handles than to purchase it.
Massachusetts Ploughman.
Tlaesar Maklnc
The apples should be crushed and the
juice expressed and put into good tight
barrels, with the bung left out. Fer
mentation will follow quite rapidly, and
continue for days or weeks, according
to the weather. After the the first fer
mentation ceases, draw off the cider
carefully, in order not to disturb the
sediment which will have fallen to the
bottom. Rinse out the barrel, put the
cider back, and set in a warm place,
adding a pint of liquid yeast, or a half
pound of yeast cakes previously dis
solved in two quarts of water. If the
cider is rather weak, two quarts of mo
lasses may be added to strengthen it;
but usually the cider will be strong
enough to make excellent vinegar, and
sometimes too strong; in the latter case
dilute with rain water, two, three, or
more gallons to the barrel; at the close
of the second fermentation, the cider
will generally have become excellent
vinegar, if what is called mother of
vinegar can be obtained, a small quanti
ty may be added with advantage.
A Vienna mechanician has succeeded
in constructing an apparatus for working
sewing machines. Electricity, steam, or
water power are, an the score of cost,
domestically inapplicable, so the inven
tor of the new machine was restricted to
gravitation or elasticity, and be, prefer
ring the latter force, has contrived to
make springs strong enough to keep an
ordinary sized machine in motion, it is
said for hours. A system of cog-wheels
is arranged underneath the surfaoeof
the table upon whioh the machine is fix
ed, and by a handle at the side the spring
is wound up with facility. The Telocity
at which the machine works is entirely
at the option of the person using it, and
can be easily regulated. .
Hunting a Coyote.
The Virginia City (Nev.) Chronicle
says: Yesterday afternoon a party of
Virginians engaged in a coyote bunt,
whioh was perhaps one of the most re
markable sporting events ever witnessed
in the country. The meet took place at
noon, on the alkali flat, about eighteen
miles east of this city. The plaoe se
lected for the liberation of the coyote
was a sort of alkali flat about six-or
seven miles wide. The coyote, caged in
a close box, had been brought to the
place in a wagon, and was liberated
about half-past twelve in the center of
the flat. It was agreed to allow him to
reach the edge of the sagebrush, some
three miles distant, before the hounds
were slipped. When let out of his box
the oovote trotted off leisurely, leaving
behind eighteen or twenty , hounds
struggling frantically in the leash and
clamoring for the run. i It took the
coyote about fifteen minutes to reach the
edge of the flat, and just as he melted
into the sagebrush the pack were turn
ed loose upon the desert and took the
trail in full cry, followed by a well
mounted field.
The sagebrush was soon reached, and
then the chase began in earnest. John
S. Kaneen,who was splendidly mounted,
took the lead, with Jack Magee close at
his heels and the rest of the field trail
ing behind. The sagebrush and bould
ers were not the easiest things in the
world to run in, but the horses, which
had got warmed np to the work, made
light of the rough condition of the track
as they went crashing through the
brush or. took flying leaps over the
boulders. The hounds were about half
a mile ahead in the sagebrush, their
oourse marked by a continuous yelping
and a trail of dust.
After a run of about twenty minutes,
the coyote turned upon the trail and
took a course leading back to the flat.
Reaching the limit of the sagebrush, it
shot into the clear flat again, and made
a bee line for the box from which it was
liberated. The hounds cleared the brush
but a few minutes behind, with the field
not twenty yards in the rear, and at this
point the chase became very exciting.
The flat was as level as a Qoot, and when
the field straggled out of the brush the
coyote was about half a mile ahead, and
had three miles to run before reaching
the box a point for which it was evi
dently making. Horses, hounds and
coyote were now all, for the first time,
in sight of each other. About half a
dozen horsemen led the field.
As they neared the box the coyote was
pretty closely pressed by the hounds,
but made a spurt and slid into bis old
retreat like a flash of lightning. The
driver of the team who had brought him
out jumped down and closed the door,
and in a minute a pack of disappointed
dogs were yelping all around it. The
riders came up immediately afterward,
and a hearty cheer went up in honor of
the sagacious coyote, followed by a
general laugh when the utter ridiculous
ness of the situation became apparent.
After the coyote had taken about hilf
an hour's rest it was decided to give the
hounds a second run, and the snarling
coyote was again turned out npon the
cold charities of the sagebrush. He
made off this time at a pace which dis
counted his first effort. It did not take
over five minutes for him to reach the
sagebrush, and the instant be disappear
ed the field took the trail. He covered
about the same ground as before, but
doubled more frequently and ran a good
deal faster. In about twenty minutes
he again turned into the flat, and " Lit
tle Martin," the driver, who was near
the box with his team, concluded to go
out to meet him. The coyote was doub
ling in fine style on the hounds, but
when Martin had traveled about a mile
from the box the animal turned and made
for the wagon. The dogs overtook him
when he was yet about fifty yards from
the wagon, and the leader springing for
ward fastened his teeth in his shoulder.
The coyote turned nimbly, and appro
priating a portion of the dog's ear,
traveled on, and gaining the wagon,
stopped directly under it, trotting along
like a ooaoh. dog, beneath the fore
axle.. The bounds surrounded the
wagon yelping savagely, and one would
occasionally shoot between the wheels
to try conclusions with the coyote, who
would generally send him bowling back
with the blood streaming from bis hide.
The coyote finally became emboldened
with its success, and gliding from be
tween the wheels, sprang into the center
of the pack, and, for a few seconds,
fought savagely, sliding back to its van
tage ground again when numbers threat
ened to overpower him. Little Martin,
the self-constituted guardian of the
coyote, enjoyed the fun immensely, and
drove the wagon straight up to the box.
The hounds, whioh seemed to anticipate
a repetition of the first strategic move
ment, made a rush to cut off the retreat,
but the hunted animal fought his way
through, and clearing the back of the
last one in his way by a leap that must
have measured five times his length, he
gained the door of the box, and was in
side again in a second.
The field now came np and sent up
another round of hearty cheers for the
coyote.
The Armies or the World.
Three years ago Major-General Emory
Upton, with credentials from the United
States Government, started on a tour to
examine and report npon the condition
of the armies of Japan, China, Persia,
Italy, Bussia,Au8tria, Germuny, France
and England. He was gone nearly two
years; and the work embodying the re
suits of his observations has just been
issued. The armies of the countries he
visited are thus represented :
Peaee War
' footing. footing.
Japan 81,440 46,050
China 600,000 . 1,000,000
India 190,000 600,000
Persia 60,000 120,000
Italy 230,000 869,816
Rusoia 630,000 1,640,000
Austria 800,000 1,040,000
Germany 421,000 1,340,000
France 490,000 1,780.00
England v... 138,621 641,624
Totals.. .......... ..2,981.064 9,226,993
Excluding from consideration the first
four countries, we find that the peace
footing of the nations more or less in
terested in the Eastern question is an
aggregate of 2,096,600 men, while the
war footing ia nearly 7,600, OOOmen,
The Great Thirst Land.
We take the following from a recently
published work descriptive of Southern
Africa, entitled "The Great Thirst
Land: ' The sufferings endured on ac
count of the drought were at times al
most terrific The throats of the oxen
were so parched that they oould not
low. The dogs suffered even more than
the cattle. Nor are the wild animals
exempt from the plague of tbe land.
When water becomes scarce in these
thirsty plains, the whole of the wild
animals that inhabit them oongregate
round any pool that may be left, for
with very Jew exceptions all have to
drink once in twenty-four hours. The
lions, which follow the game, thus are
led to their drinking places not only to
assuage their thirst, but to satisfy their
hunger.
To watch one of these pools at night,
as I did in the northern Massara coun
try, is a grand sight, and one never to
be forgotten. The naturalist . and the
sportsman can here see sights that will
astonish them, and cause them to won
der at the wonderful instincts possessed
by the animal kingdom.
At such watering-places the small
antelopes invariably drink first, the
larger later on, and with them the zebras
and buffaloes. After these oome the
giraffes, olosely followed by the rhinoc
eros, and next the elephant, who never
attempts to hide his approach oonscious
of bis strength but trumpets forth a
warning to all whom it may concern that
he is about to satisfy his thirst. The
only animal that does not give place to
the elephant is the rhinoceros; obstinate,
headstrong and piglike, he may not
oourt danger, but assuredly he does not
avoid it. The elephant may drink by
his side, but must not interfere with
him, for he is quick to resent an insult,
and I am assured that when one of these
battles takes plaoe the rhinoceros is in
variably the victor. The elepha it is
large, of gigantio power, bnt the other
is for more active, while the formidable
horn that terminates his nose is a dread
ful weapon when nsed with the force
that he has the power to apply to it. I
have been told on trustworthy authority
that a rhinoceros in one of those blind
fits of fury to which they are so subject,
attacked a large wagon, inserted his
horn between tbe spokes of the wheel
and instantly overturned it, scattering
the contents far and wide, and after
wards injuring the vehicle to such an ex
tent as to render it useless.
The lion is not tied to time in drink
ing. After it feeds it comes to water,
but it never would dare to interfere
with the rhinoceros or the elephant.
Where the buffalo exists in numbers it
is the prinoipal prey of the lion; in
other localities antelope and chiefly the
zebra are its food.
What an Egg is.
To the reflective mind the egg consti
tutes one of the greatest marvels of na
ture. At first view it would seem that
it is an especial characteristic of birds;
but when we observe that fishes, bo dif
ferent from birds in their organization
and their mode of life, have also eggs,
we see that.it must be the same in one
sense with all kinds of animals. A pul
let's egg is a very small germ, posses
sing at first only the most essential or
gans for the actual sustenance of its ex
istence, and the gradual development of
its other parts inclosed in a box, with its
provisions for the time it must actually
remain in seclusion. The animal is the
little whitish circle remarked in the
membrane which envelops the mass of
the yolk. The house destined to protect
the young animal until it has acquired
all of its own organs, and all the neces
sary strength, and yet allow the air and
beat to penetrate, is the shell. Hence
the size of the eggs of animals is, not
necessarily proportioned to the size of
the animals to which they belong. All
animals, whatever they may be from
the elephant to the humming-bird are
at the moment when they begin to feel
the principle of life nearly of the same
size. . That which varies is the provision
of nourishment they require. The cro
codile, destined to attain colossal dimen
sions, can take care of himself very well
in the river where he was born when he
has attained the size of a lizard; so na'
tare places in the box where he is oon
fined food sufficient to enable him to
reach that size. The same with fishes;
there are some enormous ones which
have onlv very small eggs, because, how
ever diminutive they may be on leaving
their envelope, they can already obtain
their own living in the bosom of the
river or ocean.
Alexander Hamilton Stephens.
A Washington correspondent thus de
scribes Congressman Stephens, of Geor
gia: A white secretary, a colored ser
vant, and a pair of crutches form Mr. Ste
phens' entire family. He was never mar
ried, and I believe has few or no relatives
On account of his infirm condition he is
never seen in the dining-room. He
takes bis meals in his room. He eats
very sparingly, and is an epicure in bis
tastes. He hates the sight of pork, and
he was once known to fire the plate at
the waiter's bead who bad brought him
sausage-cake for breakfast. But his
wrath was over in a minute, for he soon
laughed at the folly of his quick temper,
and handed the astonished waiter a gift.
Yet it is somewhat strange that, notwith
standing Mr. Stephens' natural aversion
to pork in any shape for it is said that
he oan hardly look at a hog in the street
without having a touch of convulsions
notwithstanding this aversion, he is
passionately fond of 'coon, and he em
ploys two men constantly on the Virginia
side of the Potomac capturing young
raccoons for him. It tests Mr. Stephens'
full strength to stand alone on his
crutches. He appears to be all dead
but the eyes, which are large and radi
ant, with wonderful depth and serenity.
One leg i shorter than tbe other, and it
is raised by a high heel on his shoe. Al
ways dwarfish in size, there is now noth
ing left of him but the bones tbe mere
skeleton. He wears an old beaver hat,
and clothes that are not exactly shabby..
One shrinks from bis face at first sight
as from a dead person. But the quiver
is but momentary, for the eyes speak,
and you feel that a man of intellect ia
somewhere near, - :
Items of Interest.
Buckwheat is more eaten here than in
any other land. - .
The Chinese for "adieu" is very ap
propriate " chin-chin. "
Everyone is in one thing at least orig
inal in his manner of sneezing.
There are nineteen thousand female
Patrons of Husbandry in Texas.
One good turn deserves another, but
a shirt collar is only capable of two.
A picture frame just completed by a
New Jeneyman, contains 1,682 kinds of
wood.
London is going to build a new bridge
over the river Thames, and to pay $10,
000,000 for it
A five-year-old girl was actually whip
ped to death in Marshall town, Iowa by
her drunken mother.
Gortchakoff is in his eighty-seooni
year beating Lord Palmerston, who
died in harness at eignty.
The present rulers of the laws of eti
quette nave decided that it is only good
style to bow after the lady has bowed.
In Pennsylvania seventy-one per cent.
of the farms are cultivated by their own
ers, twenty per cent, are worked on
shares, and nine per cent, are rented.
An organ of the tobacco trade asserts
that if the tobacco consumed annually,
about 4,000,000,000 pounds, could be
made into a roll two inches in diameter,
it would encircle the world sixty times.
" June t Jnne ! June 1"
Low croon
The brown bees in the clover;
"Bweet! sweet! sweet 1"
Repeat
The robins, nested over.
Avi Grey in haribner.
Mr. F. D. Millet, an American, was
the only correspondent wbo went
through the Balkans with Gen. Gourko.
The czar presented him with the deoora
tion of St Ann, which is the highest
decoration given to any correspondent.
Because you flourish In worldly affairs,
Don't be haughty and put on airs
With insolent pride of station.
Don't be proud and turn np your nose
At poorer people in plainer clothes ;
But learn, for the sake of your mind's repose,
That wealth's a bubble that oomes and goes ;
And that all proud flesh, wherever it grows,
Is subject to irritation.
Henry Goodrich is a music teacher.
He has traveled from place to place until
he bos taught music in every State in the
Union. It is said that he has married
seven of his pupils and most of the States
are yet to be heard from. In Clarksburg,
Va., he outdid his former matrimonial
exploits by marrying two girls in the
same village. He is now in jail.
The Great Eastern.
The leviathan of ships, the Great
Eastern, is one of the wonders of our
progressive age, and a mighty proof of
the energy, perseverance and skill of
man. No other ship is worthy to be
mentioned with her. She stands alone,
a proud monument to her designers and
builders.
She was built at London about twenty
years ago, and cost a fabulous sum of
money. Bhe is nearly, 700 feet long, J
feet wide, and can carry 20.000 tons of
freight. The next largest vessel's ca
pacity is not over 6,000 tors.
Although of i uch immense size her
lines are beautiful, and she sits upon the
water as gracefully as a yacht, che has
seven masts. Her engines, of the com
bined power of 10,000 horses, are a
wonder to contemplate. Involuntarily
the beholder exclaims, as be gazes upon
the moving mass, "How could man ever
fabricate them?"
Although built for a passenger and
freight steamer, and intended for the
Australian trade, she has been used al
most altogether in laying submarine
telegraphs, proving altogether too large
for profitable nse as a merchant steamer.
There is no doubt, in the event of Uretit
Britain's going to war, she would be
used as a transport steamer, being able
to accommodate 10,000 soldiers with
their baggage.
Saved by Fire.
Three little girls, from six to eigh
years of age, up at Mannville, on the Wis
consin Central Railroad, wandered into
the woods one day reoently and got lost.
Night came on and the little ones finally,
at about midnight, ran npon a haystack
in a clearing. They pulled out some of
the hay and made a hole big enough to
crawl into, when, to their horror, several
large wolves came bowling about them
and snapping their jaws in anticipation
of the human feast before them. The
children cried and screamed in their ter
ror as the wolves came nearer and
nearer. Finally the oldest of the chil
dren, while on her knees praying for
herself and little sisters, happened to
remember that fire would frighten away
wild animals, and remembered also that
she bad a few matches in her pocket In
a moment she pushed the children out
from the stack and struck a match and
set fire to the dry hay. The effect was
magical. In an instant the flames shot
skyward, the wolves ran off in a rage of
disappointment, and soon after, as the
little ones were warming the chilled
blood in their little veins, their parents
and friends came up to their rescue,
attracted thither by the light from the
burning haystack.
Words of Wisdom.
Self-denial is a grand virtue.
Every high aim lifts yon above your
self.
Selfishness has a variety of disguises,
but nnder tbe velvet you can always
find the olaw.
If it be important to know whether a
man will cheat yon if he can, sound him
as to his willingness to help you cheat
somebody else.
With tune and patience tbe mulberry
leaf becomes satin. What difficulty is
there at which a man should quail, when
a worm can accomplish so much from a
leaf.
A man who covers himself with cotly
apparel and neglects his mind, is like
ouewho illuminates the outside of his
bouse and aits within in the dark.
Ignorance and deceit are two of the
worst qualities to combat It is vastly
easier to dispute with a statesman than
a blockhead. 1
It we would have powerful minds we
must think; if we' would have faithful
hearts, we must love; it we would have
strong muscle, we must labor. These
include all tliat U Talnablein We,