1
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher
NIL DESPERANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. VIII.
KIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1879
NO. 46.
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Hare Hope.
Thero never m valley without a faded
Bower,
There never was a heaven without lome
little clou.
The face of day may flash with light in any
morning hour,
But evening soon she 11 come with her shadow
woven shroud.
There never was a river without its mist of
gray.
There never was a forest without its fallen
leaf
And Joy may walk betide us down the windings
" of our w ay
When lo t there sounds a footstep, and we
meet the faoe of grief.
Theie never was a seashore without its drifting
wreck,
There never was an ocean without Its moan
Ing wave ;
And the golden beams of glory the summer
sky that fleck
Shine where dead Btars are sleeping in their
azure-mantled grave.
There never was a streamlet, however V
clear, '
Without a shaduw resting in the rlppTes of
its tide.
Hope's brightest robes are bordered with the
sa?le fringe of fear
And she lures bnt abysses girt her path on
either side.
The shadow of the mountain falls athwart the
lowly plain,
And the shadow of the cloudlet hangs above
the mountain's bead
And the highest hearts rnd lowest wear the
shadow of some pain,
And the smile is scarcely flitted ere the an
gnish tear is Bhed.
For no (yes have there been everwithont a
Weary tear,
And thoHO lipJ c::ir.ot be human which never
heaved z l:,h ;
For without tbe dreary winter there has never
been a J ear ;
And tbe tempests hide their terrors In the
calmest summer tky.
So dreary life is passing and we move amid
its maze,
And we grope along together, half in dark
ness, half in light ;
Ant our hearts are often burdened by tbe
mysteries of our wars.
Which are norer all in shadow and never
wholly bright.
And onr dim eyes a k a beacon, and our wean
feet a guide,
Aad oar hearts of all life's mysteries seel
the m -aning aad the key ;
And a tro-s gleams o'er our pathway, on it
hangs the Crucified,
And
He answers all our yearnings by thi
whisper: " Follow Ma"
ENSIGN R ANSON.
Many years bnck, a young nan cam
out of a little house at tbe eastern cue
of a town by tbe sea. There was plenty
of life anil payety at the other end oi
tbe town, which was enlivened by one
or two barracks, a fort and a ouBtle.
But the eastern end was very poor, arid
would have been quite lonely but foi
the fishermen and their boats. The
house from which the young man came
was beyond even this homely bustle,
and was little more than a wooden hnt,
t.nrml to defend it from wind and
weather.
But the young man who came out was
in the frill drees of a military officer,
though that was screened from a first
view by the loijg gray cloak that the
wild March wind made so necessary.
He was qniw young, and his face was
finely cut, aud would have been pleas
ant but for a look of stern and painful
Borrow, not unmixed with bitterters.
which seemed strangely incongruous
with his years and his dress.
lie waK-ed on quite through t! e
town. Wherever the houses broke
apart one caught glimpses of a wild,
flat country, dotted here and there with
weird trees in Indian file; and the
youth looked wistfully toward these
desert fields, as if ho would fain have
struck away across them instead of
going on, aa he did, toward the grim
old fort.
Yet there, it was clear, festivity was
going forward; and friendly voices
greeted him as he passed tbe gray old
portal. And then, over his (tern, sad
faoe he dropped a mask of gayety, and,
though he relapsed into silence at
times, he was as polite and conversable
as the best of them.
There was preparation for a dinner
party in the fine, stiff, old hall, with its
rows of military portraits, end its dingy,
blood-stained banners. The castle,
tbe barracks, and the fort itself, had
eagerly furnished guests to welcome
the visitor of tin day, a grand old gen
eral recently returned from honorable
victories in the south of Europe.
After dinner, when ceremony was
fairly thawed, the good old general, iu
the kindliness aud pride of his heart,
displayed a little box, which bar! been
given to him by some grandee of Spain.
I think it must have been too small for
a snuff-box, and . was probably ono of
those tinv trifles in which fashionable
folk used" to oarry comfits and lozenges.
At any rate, this box was set with dia
monds and colored gems of rare value,
and it passed from hand to hand, flash
ing brightly in the lamplight, while the
old warrior told dreid stories of his
campaigns and of the daring and honor
of his men.
But suddenly, at the end of a story
bo thrilling that all heads had been
crammed toward him, while the mili
tary servants had thronged the door in
rapt attention, the simple question was
asked
Where is the general's jeweled
box?"
Nobody knew everybody said that
he had silently passed it on to his
fellow.
The general rummaged his own pock
.eta, lest it had found its way back to
him and lie bad Lalf.cocFcious.ly put it
away. No, it was not there, and the
brave old fighting face looked a little
blank, aud he murmured an exonse
about " how its los would vex Ladv
"Elizabeth."
; " But it cannot be lost, general," said
the .officer in command of the fort.
" In this room it was a few minutes ago.
and in this room it must be still. No
gentleman, to his knowledge, has it in
his possession. Let the servants at the
door come in ; though, to the best of my
belief, not one of them has approached
the table since the box was brought out,
Let the door be made fast, and let our
search be tborongb."
The candles were brandished to and
fro, under the tables, under the chairs.
round the table drapery. But from no
point flashed out the brilliant beauty of
sue i e dox.
" Still it must be here," insisted the
commandant, "and surely no gentle
man will think his honor infringed if
each in turn is asked to empty the con
tents of his pockets upon the table. I
myself will be the first to do so. And
the servants shall be the last."
Nobody could be expected to demnr
at so simple and sensible a proposal,
backed as it was by the honest old of
ficer instantly rattling out some crown
pieces, and a tobacco pouch, half-pence.
and an old pipe. One after another, the
gentlemen on either side of the table
followed his example, while sharp but
not unfriendly eyes took eager note of
strange pieces of personal property, and
oi dainty three-cornered notes, which
might serve iu the future as material for
badinage and quizzing.
But one drew back when the com
mandant made his proposal. That
young man who had walked in from the
eastern end of the town dropped sud
denly into his seat, whence he tad risen
in the first eagerness of the search. He
passed his hand once or twice nervously
through his hair, leaving it wild and
straggling. And then he watched
blankly, as the fruitless search drew
nearer and nearer to himself. Within
five minutes later, one or two of the of
fices were whispering to each other that
any simpleton mi( hi have seen he did
not expect it could, be found.
His turn was the very last "Ensign
R-inson," said the commandant, steadily.
Ensign Rjnson was certainly the first
who required to be call upon by name.
The 'youth arose, and. though the
rest of his face was a deadly whiteness,
there was a spot of burninar red on each
cheek.
" I don't think anv gentleman should
be asked to do this," he said. " I will
give my word of honor than the box is
not upon my persoi I did not even
keep it iu my hands for a moment: I
merely tof.k :t and passed it on.
"Too hiuh-niinded even to look a!
such gewgaws," sneered a spiteful old
major nnoer his breath.
What men hich iu the service an i
old enough to be his father have already
done, Ens:U Rag son may safely do
hIso," Riiid the commandant, with a se
verity which was not unkindly, foi
young Raiison looked such a boy among
the crowil of men, mostly stout one
middle-aged : and the very suspicion
suddenly lowering over him made the
old officer think of his own lads, grow
ing up aud not quite sure to do woll for
themt-elvf s nfter all.
" I would never have asked it for the
sake of ruy box," observed the general,
leaning back in his cbair, and inwardly
wondering what Lady Elizabeth woulu
cay of his carelessness.
"Dutv.ewsk it for the sake of our
honor, general," raid the commandant.
testily.
"And we do not seem to have asked
it needlessly," whispered the epitefu1
major.
' I will not do this thing I" cried the
young ensign, passionately; and he
looked wildly round the group as if he
sought for one face that would compre-
ueud and compassionate bis misery. The
face which looked the kindest was that
of the old general himself, partly be
cause it was not his hospitality that wa
outraged, partly because his genial na
ture was terribly shocked at finding
anything of his the cause of 6ucu a
wretched act of dishonor.
" If the general will come with me to
the anteroom," said the young man, " 1
will convince him that I have barely
touched his box. But this public ex
posure I will not submit to; our consent
was not asked, and "
" Certainly not I" " Out upon you P
" General, yon must not thick of in
dulging his insolent request," were the
only sentences audible iu the goneral
hubbub that arose on every side.
But the general rose. "Gentlemen,"
he said, quietly, " Ihave never yet re
futed to listen to ail enemy's petition
If you can satisfy me, sir, perhaps your
comrades will take my word for you."
There was a murmur of very reluctant
acquiescence, as the ensign bowed and
waited respectfully to follow the general
to the ante-chamber. They had not dis
appeared behind the heavy curtains be
fore All sorts of surmises were whispered
round the table, guesses and hints c
ild and so sinister as to do credit
neither to the heads nor the hearts
which originated them. The general
and the ensign stayed a longer time iu
the anteroom thau would have sufficed
to search the ensign's pockets twice and
thrice over. Not a sound could be
heard. If any conversation was going
forward, it must have been in a very
low voice. The two gentlemen were
away for nearly half an hour. All the
military servants had been subjeoted to
the commandont's rigid scrutiny, and
then dismissed. It might be as well
that none but the " gentlemen of the
regiment " should know exactly what
the end was. The delay grew first
awkward and then awful. Even the
whimpers and rumors flagged into an in
tent and excited watching.
At last the general and the ensign
came out. The ensign's faoe was still
very pale; what flush remained upon it
had now mounted to the eyes. The old
general was blowing his nose,
"Ensign Hanson has thoroughly sat
isfied me," he said, in his most gentle
voice. " Never mind my box. It has
vanished by one of those mysterious ac
cidents whioh will happen sometimes.
It will be found some day. And now,
gentlemen, per hips as we have been
thus broken up we shall not settle down
again very comfortably to-night. I
hrpe we shall see you all at the castle
before Lady Elizabeth and I leave for
London."
General," said the commandant,
drawing him a little on one side, " may
I say that J sincerely trust your great
generosity has not led 70a to"
"Sir," cried the old general, "can
you imagine that any mistaken idea of
kindness would cause me to make you a
companion of thieves 7 Uentlemen.
he went on, seeing that the company
were not unaware 01 tnis little by-play,
" I pled CO von mv word that I am Mat.
isfied of Ensign Hanson's honor; and
whoever dares to donbt him makes me
to be his accomplice."
And the old general seized the young
ensign's arm aud marched with him
from the banqneting-room, while every
one sac uumbiounded, till tbe spiteful
major remarked that wonders would
never cease.
There was nothing more to be said,
It was discovered that Ensign Bauson
was not only invited to the castle with
the other officers, but was also asked
there by himself, and actually waB be
lieved to have taken tea with the gener
al and Lady Elizabeth in their deepest
retirement, tor the general's sake,
lather than his own, his brother officers
continued on courteous terms with him;
and be bad alwas been so sny, and Jaeld
himself so aloof, that perhaps he did
not discover there was but little cordi
ality in their courtesy. And presently
he exchanged into another regiment,
whioh went on foreign service. '
He was away for several years, and in
the fortunes of war he got rapidly pro
moted, so that when he returned home,
though he was still young, he was no
longer a poor nobody. When he landed
in his own country he found a letter
awaiting him, written by one who had
sat near him at that memorable dinner
party, and who was now residing in the
old castle where the general and Lady
Elizabeth had then been guests. This
letter pressed him, in the warmest
t?rms, to spend some of his earliest
dnys in England at this very castle, and
so give many old friends who were in
the neighborhood an opportunity of
meeting and congratulating him. En
sign Ran son, now Colonel Ranson,
smiled a little strangely when he read
this invitation, but he wrote a very po
lite reply and accepted it.
Once more be sat in the stately old
banqueting -room of the fort. This time
he had not walked in from the bleak
east end of the town, but had been driv
en from the castle in the chariot of the
castle's owner. But, as he took his
seat in the chair of honor, he noticed
that every face at the table was, in all
s changes, familiar to him. All of the
guests at the former dinner were not
there. Many of those, indeed, he well
knew, were sleeping on battlefields far
away. But nobody was at this dinner
wno nad not been at the other one.
Once more the dishes were removed
and the servants withdrawn. The guest
of this evening was no wonderful story
teller, like the good old general, who
had now passed to his rest. Colonel
Ranson was ns taciturn as Eusien
Hanson had been shy, and he- even let
the conversation flag and never seemed
to notice it.
"Colonel," said the eldest gentleman
of the party, speaking with visible effort,
and giving a slight congn, to vail his
embarrassment; "colonel, I think we all
remember another time when we dined
together here."
" Certainly : I remember it." answer
ed the colonel, lifting his grav eves with
a cool light in them.
Uolonel, we fancy vou think some
of us did you ill justioethen. At least
a lady says you felt so Lady Elizabeth,
the good old general's widow. If what.
we are going to do is any way painful to
you, 1 hope you will paidon us, for we
are only following her counsel. Colonel,
there was a box lost that evening. Hero
it is."
Yes, there it was. gleaming onoemore
in the light which danced gayly upon it.
The colonel looked at it calmly, and
asked :
" Where was it found ?"
His composure was exceedingly dis
conceiting. Another gentleman, feel
ing that the first had done his part, now
took up the parable.
It was found in the verv chair on
which you are now seated, colonel," he
said, " You will remember that the
general sat there on that night. It
must have found its way back to the
general's own hand, and in the interest
and excitement of his story-telling he
must have intended to slip it back into
his pooket.-which, if you recollect, was
the first place where he sought it. In
stead of that, it evidently escaped the
proper orifice and dropped into the cov
ering of the chair; that covering was
very thick aud heavy, and hung in lap
pets about his legs. Part of it was un
sewn, and this box dropped between tho
damask and the lining and remained
there, safely and unseen, till the chair
was recovered last year."
"Uentlemen, said the colonel, with
his accustomed calmness, though his
lip trembled a litths, " I cannot wonder
if some of you thought my conduct sus
picious. 1 thank you heartily for show
ing me your brotherly delight that those
suspicions were unfounded."
At the bottom 01 tne tabic f nt the
spiteful old major (he was on Lslf-pay
now, and more spiteful than evtr), aiid
he thought within himself that there
was no knowing whether Ensign Ran
son bad not taken some subsequent op
portunity of getting rid 01 his danger
ous booty iuto the hole in the damask,
and that the mystery could not be oalled
cleared up, unless the colonel had ex
plained why be bad demurred to tne
search. Aud this spiteful old major
would have said as much to- bis next
neighbor, if he himself had not been so
terribly deaf that be could not regulate
f : u !,.!
niS OWU voice uobwcvu tuuuiu uliui
whisper and a mighty shout.
The colonel sat in silence ior some
minutes. Then he recalled himself
with a start, and, drawing something
from his own pocket, said quietly :
"Gentlemen, I, too, have something
to show you."
All pressed forward as he carefully
unfolded the soft paper paoket and laid
something on the table. What was it t
What conld it be
It was the bleached skeleton of a
chicken's wing.
"Gentlemen," he said, in that same
quiet voice, which no longer sounded
cold and stern, but rather full of strength
and sweetness, " when I was hero bo
fore, I was a poor, fetherless hid. own
ing nothing jn the world but my poor
little pittacke of pay. 1 fear I was an
eyesore to kome of you. I thin yon
felt that my appearance did not do
justice to the dignity of our regiment.
I believe I often looked rather shabby,
but really I could not help it.
" I ha4-only one relation in the world,
and that was my mother's siBter. After
my mother died she had been as a
mother to me, but when our home was
finally broken up, there was nothing for
lit but she must be a governess in a
stranger s bouse. And she did her
work courageously and cheerfully
enough, till her health failed, and
nobody wanted the service of a sick
woman,
" She had always been good to me,
and we two had only each other in the
world. I could not help her as she
ought to have been helped, but my pay
would ,at least provide her such a home
and such a maintenance as a poor work
ingman can give to a poor working
woman. " I took my aunt to lodge with the
wife of the miller's man, in the little
black cottage beside tho mill. She was
a very kind, cleanly woman, though
rough and plain in her ways; and my
Eoor annt used to call herself very
appy there. But she could not eat the
simple food my scanty means conld pro
cure. Aud the good landlady used to
break my heart by suggesting that her
appetite might be tempted by chickens
or game, or such other luxuries beyond
my utmost reach.
" All the day of that memorable dinner-party
my aunt had been very feeble
and failing. When 1 left her I really
wondered whether she would be alive
when I saw her again. My soul revolted
at the sight of dainties which were no
good to me, and whioh I could not con
vey to her who seemed dying for want
of them. Suddenly a bright idea seized
me. 1 took a letter from my pocket
and spread it on my napkin, and then,
by an adroit movement, transferred the
wing of a chicken from my plate to the
paper, and thence smuggled it to my
pocket."
Tbe listening guests began to look at
each other with enlightened eyes. The
spiteful old major felt that very full
explanation was being given and he
was glad he was deaf, that he need not
hear it.
" Gentlemen, you can all imagine my
feelings when such unlooked-for cir
cumstances threatened to expose my
poor little plan. Gentlemen, there are
some of you who were, like myself,
young then; whom it would have been
as hard to meet, after snch a discovery,
as it would have been had I really stolen
the jewels."
" Heaven forgive us, Ranson; but I
can't say you are wrong," said one
brave gentleman, who had been a fash
ionable dandy in those days, but who
had a wife and six children now.
" Gentlemen, I did not fear the old
man honored and enriohed by a grateful
country. The men who have fought
tbe best battles of life nave ever a piti
ful respect for tbe poor and friendless.
To him I could lay bare my poor little
secret. But my place then was among
the young the young, who, having
never conquered, nlwavs despised the
defeated the vain, giddy youths, ex
travagant with their fathers' money,
and "
Oh, come, Ranson," cried one offi
cer, " it is your turn now, with a ven
geance. Flease to remember that to-'
night we are the abject and defeated
and be merciful."
The colonel laughed. And they could
not tell whether it was with good faith
or subtle irony that he rejoined, " You
are right," and then went on:
Iu that lit tle room, vonder. I told
my sad story to that good great man
who is gone. And I folded up my
queer treasure again, for I could not
leave it behind to bear witness ; and.
besides, having paid such a terrible
price for it, I did not see why my aunt
should not have it. And she ate it for
her supper that very night ; and next
morning, almost as soon as it was light,
there was the general hammering at the
cottage door, with a basket of fowls and
fruit carried in his own hand. And,
then and there, 1 took this little chicken
bone, and vowed that I would keep it
till the snuff-box was found, and I my
self was such a man among such men
that none would smile at my poverty, or
even despise my weakness."
A Stone in a Horse's Jaw.
For a long time a lamp has been ob-
eervable in the side of the jaw of a horse
belonging to Superintendent Osbiston,
of the Gould and Curry and Best and
Belcher mines. Yesterday a veterinary
surgeon made an incision, and to his
astonishment brought to light a bard
and smooth? stone, about-. twT Inches
long and one inoh in diameter. The
stone was of a-;yllowis4i slj4e color,
and apparently as hard as marble. In
order to muke sure as to the nature of
the stone, Mr. Osbiston took it to- a-
ewelry store and bad it sawed m two
engthwise. When it was cut there
was seen in its center what had once un
doubtedly been a grain of barley, half
of which was visible in each piece of the
stone, the grain looking as though pet
rified. Arouud. this nucleus the stone
bad formed in regular layers or growths,
the rings of which were distinctly to be
traced. The material of which the
stone was formed appeared to be the
same pb is found m the morustrations
on the tubes of boilers. It is thought
that the grain of barley pierced the skin
of the horse's mouth and imbedded it
self in the flesh ; and that the saliva
then deposited upon it limy matter.
The stone is as hard as marble, and the
annular markings are very distinct.
vtrgmia vuu (JMev.) Enterprise.
The artioles made of paper at the late
Berlin exposition comprise the roof,
ceiling, cornice and interior walls of a
house, the exterior walls of which were
of pine wood; bnt all the furniture,
blinds, curtains, chandeliers, carpeting,
ornamental doors, mantel and table or
naments were or paper, including a
stove made of asbestos paper, in whioh
afire was burning cheerfully. There
were also exhibited wash basins, water
cans, a full-ngged ship, lanterns, bats.
shirts, full suits of clothes and under
clothes, straps, handkerchiefs, napkins
bath tubs, buckets, bronzes, flowers'
urns, jewelry, belting and animals, both
for ornament and for toys.
FOR THE FAIR SEX.
The Qaeea ol the Fairies.
The late duchess of Gordon, says an
English paper, taking an airing alone
in her carriage, in a remote part of the
Scottish highlands, observed at some
distance from the road a neat cottage
surrounded by a garden. Her grace
pulled the check-string, and asked the
servants to go round with. the carriage
to where she desired them to stop, while
she crossed the moor to pay the cottage
a visit. The duohess happened to wear
a pelisse trimmed with gold lace, and
her hat was ornamented with golden
spangles. A girl about twelve years
old, the only person in the cottage, was
spinning at the wheel and singing a
merry strain, As soon as her eyes
caught the figure of the duohess ap
proaching, the green dress, the shining
appearance of the hat, on which the sun
shone, the singularity of such a visitant
in so lonely a situation, all so worked on
the imagination of the little girl that
she verily believed the queen of the
fairies had come to reveal to her some
fearful mystery of fate. In great terror
She escaped to a baok cloBet, where,
through a small aperture, she could
tee without being seen. The supposed
fairy queen entered, surveyed the apart
ment with a curious eye, and then see
ing the wheel, bethought herself of try
ing to spin. She gave the wheel several
turns, but could not make a tolerable
thread, though she twisted up all the
carded wool she could find. As some
compensation for any injury her awk
wardness might have occasioned, her
grace tied a crown piece in a handker
chief that lay upon the table, fixed it to
a spoke of the wheel, and departed.
The girl conld not summon courage to
venture from her hiding-place before her
father and sister came in, nor till some
time after could they extract from her
an explanation of the extraordinary state
of perturbation in whioh they found her.
Their surprise was scarcely less than
hers when they were informed that
somebody, who could be no other than
the queen of tho fairies, for she was all
in green and gold, and shining bright as
the sun, had come into the house, ond
seeing nobody there, had fallen to be
witching the wheel, which, as sure as
fiiries were fairies, would never go
again.
"And see," continued the young en
thusiast, pointing to the handkerchief
tied to the spoke, "something which she
had left."
The father untied the handkerchief,
aud the sight of the sterling piece of
coin which it contained soon dispelled
from his mind all suspicion as to the
terrestrial attributes of the lady who
had been honoring his cottage with a
visit.
The women of the cottage, however,
were of a very different opinion. . With
them tho lady could be no other than
the fairy queen, who must doubtless
have come to tell poor Isabel her for
tune ; the spoiled thread was a sign that
the first days of their life would be
marked with disappointment and sorrow,
and the crown piece tied in a handkei
chief to the spoke of the wheel be
tokened that she would in the end ar
rive by honest industry to wealth and
com foi t. Harmless delusion I It lasted
but for a day. - Sunday came, and the
appearance of the queen of the fairies,
in the same dress at church v.s the
duchess of the manor, convinced even
Isabel that bhe had been deceived.
ews and Notes for Women.
San Francisco has a female painter
named Strong, who sells portraits of a
dog for $250.
The original "Grecian bend" oame
from Japan, and is found in many of
their pictures.
An overdressed women is offensive to
good taste, no matter how costly the
material she wears.
Sets of coffee and teaspoons are now
made up of odd pieces, no two articles
being the same in pattern.
Dinner cards, molded into the shape
of plates and oval platters, and painted
with graceful water color designs, are
a Boston notion.
It is more than hinted that the com
ing spring bonnet will be too elegant
for anything. Expectation is already
on tiptoe.
Gabriello dresses for little girls are
finished with a kilt plaiting around the
lower edge, with a sash covering the
top of it.
American flannel underwear is now
made so well that it can hardly be dis
tinguished from that which id imported.
A German writer defines women as
being something between a flower and an
angel.
A New York lady has invented and
patented a device for raising, taming
over and moving hospital patients and
ottftsrTck people in bed.
Mrs. Barton, the wifo of the English
traveler, will publish ou account of her
journey with her husband through India
aud Egypt.
Tbyra, of Denmark, is an extremely
pretty and accomplished young lady of
twenty five. She has a beantifully
shoptd face, large, gentle eyes, and a
very sweet expression. The duke of
Cnmbeiland, her future husband, is in
his thirty-fourth year, and has a plump,
good-natured counteuance of the Ger
man type. The Princess Emm, of
Waldeok, who is about to marry the old
king of Holland, is a graceful, warm
hearted little person, with bright eyes
and a piquant face.
"Eugenia, Eugenia, will you still in
sist on wearing the hair of another
woman npon your head ?" Alphonse,
Alphonse, do you still insist npon wear
ing the skin of another calf npon your
A young man from the country was in
town and entered a photograph gallery
to have his pioture taken. After seating
him, the operator told him to assume a
pleasant expression. " Think of some
thing cheerful," he paid ; " think of
your girl." A terrible scowl took
possession of the young man's face, and
jumping up, he exolaimed : " Think of
the deuce I She went home with
another fellow last night, and she can
!;o to thunder, for me 1" He evidently
hought of her, bnt tbe pleased expres
sion was not forthcoming, -NQrriatown
Herald. '"V" "
TIMELY TOPICS.
The world's production of gold is one
third lesi than in 1850.
In the United States alone, in 1877,
100 deaths per week were reported from
accidents by kerosene.
From the rather imperfect statistics
at hand, it is estimated that tho total
amount of honey produced in the United
States is not less than 35.000,000 pounds
for the year 1878. In 1870 the returns
gave 14,702,851, and 631,129 of bees
wax. Luis Cardena, an artist of Quito,
South America, has sent to the de
partment of state at Washington a
full-length portrait of General Wash
ington. It is considered an excellent
likeness, and will be framed and hung
in the white house.
At a recent fashionable wedding in
London tbe bridegroom requested the
bride to order her own jewels. This
she did; and bills have now come in to
the trusting bridegroom amounting to
over $500,000. He is unable to pay,
aud the jewole'i deoline to take back
their wares.
The Sural New Yorker says: "An
intending purchaser should have the
horse brought out before him, and
watch the animal as he stands at rest.
If the owner is continually starting the
horse into motion, and urging him to
" Bhow off," something may be suspect
ed, because it is when the horse is at
perfect rest that his weak points are
divulged.. If the horse be sound, he
will stand right square on his limbs,
without moving 'any of them, the feet
being flat upon the ground, and all his
legs plumb and naturally posed; if one
leg be thrown forward, with the toe
pointing to the ground, and the heel
raised, or if the foot be lifted from the
ground, and the weight taken from it,
disease or tenderness may be sus
pected." China has a governor-general by name
Li Hang Chang. He is at the head of
the progressive party in that country,
whose great aim is to avoid tho course
pursued by tbe Japanese in leaning so
much upon Europeans, and to develop
China by Chinamen. With this view a
variety of great undertakings are in
contemplation a steam navigation com
pany, extensive mining operations, . the
gradual introduction of railroads and
telegraphs, and a postal system on the
ordinary model. With a view to at
tracting investors, the competitive sys
tem of selecting employees, which for
some 2,000 years has been rigidly ad
hered to, is to be at once laid aside, and
any contributor to the stock of certain
of the new schemes will have the right
of nominating a clerk. No attempt at
improving the postal communication
with the capital is immediately contem
plated, but during the summer, cor
respondence between Pekin and Tient
sin is to be carried on daily by donkey
or horse mail, ond in winter by a route
whioh at best involves ten days.
Habits of Birds.
At a recent meeting of the Maryland
academy of sciences, Mr. Otto Lugger
read a paper on birds, bused upon his
own per sou al observations. Most birds,
be said, take bnt two meals a day early
iu the morning and about dark; birds
of prey rarely more than one a day.
Three hours out of the twenty-four seem
sufficient rest in sleep for siuging birds.
They are sensibly affected by atmo
spherio conditions, singing less, and
less jubilantly during cloudy, wet
weather. Male birds usually mate with
one female and remain faithful to her,
guarding her while she builds the nest
for the coming brood, and feeding her
while she is incubating the eggs, or
taking her place while she flies off in
search of food. Birds have little dis
crimination as to what kinds of eggs are
placed nnder them iu the neBt to incu
bate, and will try to hatch acorns or
unts if placed in the nest instead of
eggs. A temperature of eighty-six
degrees Fahrenheit for twenty-one days
is required to hatch most birds' eggs.
The young are not assisted by their
parents to leave the egg, but when each
one has broken its way out the parent
carefully removes the pieces of broken
egg from the nest. The young generally
emerge from the larger eud of the egg,
and, before coming out, can be heard at
work breaking their way. They are
born hungry, open their mouths for
food as soon as born, and are great eat
ers. Their eyes opei in from five to ten
days. When the yonng bird is old
enough to forage for itself, it is cruelly
driven away by the parent birds. Many
birds are much troubled by skin and
feather parasites, on their heads and
wings. i ;
The Empire Slate's Population.
A New York paper says: It will, we
imagine, surprise most New Yorkers to
learn that, according to the last census
of this State, 12,659 families are now
liviDg in log cabins. Of other dwellings,
698,031 are built of wood, 98,290 of
brick, and 18,718 of stone. More than
one-half of all these cost less than
$2,000 spieoe; more than one-third less
than $1,000, and 7,164 less than $50
each, showing that any extravagance
whioh interior New Yorkers may have is
not of an architectural order. In the
county or oity of New York, nouses, as
may be supposed, have much more value
than in the country, 56,010 having cost
$5,000 and upward, mainly upward. In
deed, the dwellings of the metropolis
alone have cost about as much as the
dwellings in all the rest of the State.
Of 1,637,727 productive New Yorkers,
851,628 are farmers or farm hands. Of
the workingwomon of the State, one
half, or 187,416 of them, are house
servants. Over 160,000 men earn their
bread as day laborers. There are 60,
103 clerks, 40,406 tailors and seam
stresses, and 83,476 milliners and dress
makers. Celibacy seems to be in favor
with New Yorkers. There are 2,673,813
unmarried, ,to 1,776,018 married.
Widows and widowers number 248,778,
and divoroed people 1,349. During the
last censusyear, in only one family out
of forty-five families was there a wed
ding. - w. . .
Items of Interest.
The best illustrate! paper Green
back. Sunbeams should be used in build
ing a lighthouse.
Offal to contemplate Tho contents
of the garbage cart.
The upshot of the matter was that he
fired his pistol in the air.
The first temperance society in this
country was organized in 1808.
A man feels the need of a good char
acter most after he has lost one.
Eight tons of paper are used daily in
the manufacture of paper collars.
There is no good reason why it should
be so, but doll babies are always girls.
It takes one-third of Russia's revenue
to pay the interest on her national debt.
Always build a pigsty with great de
liberation, and in the sow-west corner
of your lot.
Within twenty-four houre after Paa
sanate's attempt on King Humbert's
life, the Italian king had reoeived 4, COO
dispatches of congratulatiou on his es
cape, and Signor Cairoli 2,500.
A clergyman in Rockland, 111., has
found that even a paralytic stroke has
its compensations. Though disabled
by it, the shock unstopped bis ears and
opened his eyes, for before he was both
deaf and blind.
An exchange gives a recipe for making
a Russian name. It is as follows : Take
three alphabets and shake them up in a
hat ; throw on a table, like dice ; pick
out those that fall light side up, stick
them in a line, and add either the
" itch " or " koff," and you have a gen
nine, full-fledged Russian general's
name.
The drunkenness of Edgar Allen Poe
was recently nnder discussion by a
Richmond temperanoe society. A speak
er dwelt on the poet's disgraceful death.
Dr. Mason, who attended him in his
last illness, replied : ' He died like a
gentleman. For days before his death
he utterly refused stimulants of all
kinds to allay his nervous excitement,,
and died a sober man, truly penitent for
his past career."
When Leitch ' Ritchie was traveling
in Ireland, he passed a man who was a
painful spectacle of pallor, pqualor ond
raggedness. His heart smote him, and
he turned back. " If you nre in want,"
said Ritchie, with some degree of peev
ishness, " why don't you beg ?" "Sure
it's begging I am, yer honor," "You
didn't say a word." " Ov coorse not,
yer honor; but see how tho skin is
speakin' through the holes of me trous
ers ! and the bones cryin' cut through
me skin 1 Look at mo sunken cheeks,
and the famine that's starin in me eyes I
Man alive I isn't it beggin' I am with a
hundred tongues ?"
THE OTHER SIDE.
" Two sides there are to ev6ry tale,"
And every proverb, too j
And I have sought to here present
Home truths in aspects new.
' The tarly bird will catch the worm,"
We in our youths were taught ;
But while the lute worm sleeps in peare,
The early worm is caught.
"The rolling stone collects no moes,"
Another fact that s hurled
At many a youth who feels inclined
To roam about tbe world ;
But there's one truth that seems to be
Hid from our elders' eyes :
The stone that changes not its placo
Can never hope to rise.
"A quail that's caught," I've hesrd it said,
" Is worth two phoapanU frte."
But Just rt fleet, the captured one
Will sooner eaten be.
" Rccure tbe pence," the sages say,
' The pounds will besecure;
But if jou have the dollars safe,
The dimes w 11 be, I'm sure.
'Tis well to look he.furo you strive
To pieroethe eilKen shield,
If what is on tbe other side
Will just as quickly yield.
Just so 'tis well to see, ere yon
Disseminate your lore,
If those whom you would strive to teach
Were cot as learned before.
Every Man His Own Locomotive.
The newspaper carrier who serves
papers to the attendants in the perma
nent exhibition building goes his rounds
at the rate of twelve miles on hour. Ho
travels on machines not unlike roller
skates, which are called podomoters,
according to the inventor, Mr. J. H.
Hobbs, an architect ou Walnut tstreet,
above Fifth. The day is uot far distant
when the whole city will be on wheels,
when pedestrians will le skimming
through the streets at the rato of ten
miles an hour without any more efiort
than is now put forth iu perambulating
half that distance. The pedomotor con
sists of four tough, light wooden wheels,
supplied with an outer rim of tongli
India rubber. These wheels are secured
to a frame the shape of the foot, which
is strapped to the pedal extremities in
the usual manner. Unlike roller skates,
the wheels of these little vehicles are not
under, but are placed on er.ch side of the
foot, thus giving the wearer a good as
well as a solid footing. The rear wheels
aro three inches in diameter, while those
in front are but two and half inches.
This gives the foot a slight incline, and
when iu motiou has much to do iu im
pelling the pedestrian forward. Extend
ing from the toe, with a blight curl to
ward the ground, i a piece 1 1 rasting
termed the pusher, wbkh is simply used
in mounting the elevation or steep in
cline. From tho center of the heel a
small brass wheel extends backward,
serving as a guide as well as a brake.
The whole scarcely turns the scale at a
pound weight. In using them no more
effort is required thau in ordinary walk
ing. The wearer steps with his regular
stride, and is amazed to find himself
skimming over he ground eo rapidly
with so little muscular effort. Mr. Hobbs
explains the mysteiy of the rapid
movement as follows: A man whose
stride is thirty, two inches will traverse
forty eight inches, or one-half further,
with the pedomotor. This is because the
body is in constant motion. For instance,
says he, the traveler starts, and while
he raises one foot to step he continues
rapidly onward nntil the foot is set down
and the other raised to make another
step. This gives him me re momentum,
and away he goes over two miles in the
fame time it would take iiim to accom
plish a mile with the feet. No tffort of
the body is required for their nse, as in
Bkates. The traveler sim ly plants one
foot before the other and finds himself
whireing along at a lively rahs Phila
delphia Record,
to some of