' lie ill 'feiiff liicik '
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL. DESPERANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. IX.
EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, N PA., THUESDAY, APBIL 3, 1879.
NO. 7.
Long, Long Ago.
Hark ! 'tis the ring ol the merry sleigh bells !
Over the hills and down through the dells,
With the speed ot tlie hiud or the bounding
deer,
Onward they go, with a ringing cheer
Where the light fulls whitest,
Where the stars shine brightest.
Whore the snow lies clearest,
Where the frost bites keenest,
Over the hills and down through the dells,
list to the ringing of the tinkling bells !
See where the flash of the glittering steel
Follows the track of the coursing heel,
On rivers of glass, in the dnnring light,
Where eyee of lovers are Sparkling bright j
Where the ice grows strongest,
, Where the moon stuys longest,
Where the hearts beat lightest,
Where the eyes shine brightest ;
There is the truck of the coursing heel
Lit by the flash of the burnished steel !
I hear them again, us the years go pnt,
Blithesome and gny in the winter's blast ;
The cluttering footsteps eome and go,
With a swift, light tread on the glixt'ning snow ;
Where the heart is boldest,
Whero tho love is oldest,
Where the faith is newest,
Where the trust is truest,
They come agnm, in the wintry blast,
And sing of days the days that are past.
I
And tho white cottage iown undor the h L
'Jlio light in the window guiding still; I
As I turn me back from the giddy whirl,
To stop and look for a shining curl;
Where the throng is thickest,
Where the heart beats quickest.
Whore the love holds strongest,
Where the days seem longest
Ah! never again, us guide to me,
Will flunluug light in that window be! '
Philadelphia Inquirer.
THE BEST OF IT.
"Ckdak, June 15.
"Deah I'iiii. When are you coming?
Cedar is in lull feather. Picnics set in
lo-morrow; strawberries just right; two
delightful widows: lots of girls; and the
whole house crying for you. Come
along liy return mail. I meant to say
the picnic was day sifter to-iiiorrow. J
shall he at. tho late train to-morrow.
" Yours, as usual, IIakky.''
Philip Norton laughed ns ho read this
letter. It was ko like Harry Clarke
" Hal Ueading,'' his father used to cull
1 it in the hi ightcst, handsomest, gayest
tdlow of his class at Yule, now a coun
try doctor at Cedar, a town in tho west
ern part of 'Now England. Having lost
all liis property "by rash speculation,
except his 'wifo'!) farm nt Cedar, which
her father left her, the elder Mr. Clarke
went there to live, and one of the local
physicians being near death with old
age, Harry thought it a good place to be
gin what ho called his "medicinal ca
roer," being a young man who had no
reverence for the English language, but
made light of it, and used it in his own
way as another outlet for the overflow
ing fun of his nature.
1'hilip Xorton had been his chum nt
college, and his friend ever since. He
was of graver nature, ;and had gone into
the ministry. With the gifts of keen
intellect, ready language and good looks,
he found life easy enough, and his first
parish was in Xew York, where, in n
first-class boarding-house, he did not
seem so much a modern apostle as a very
lucky man. Hut good fortune could not
spoil his earnest and truthful character.
He preached as sharply to his flock of
sinners as if he had live hundred a year
instead of live thousand, and did as niuch
"hard work among the city outcasts as if he
headed a mission to the "Digger Indians,
and lived in a shanty instead of Madam
Rtlston's elaborate establishment.
He had just recovered from a severe
attack of typhoid fever, consequent on
some of these excursions into the dark
places of tlie earth, when Harry's letter
came, and was glad enough to accept his
invit;iion. There were only three
children in the Clarke family besides
Harry twin girls of twelve and n
younger boy and they all loved Vhilip
as well ns if they were his brother and
sisters instead of his friends. There is
something in n sudden journey of pleas
ure that is inspiriting, nnd when Mr.
Xorton left the train at Cedar he felt
stronger and better, in spite of the long
day's ride, than for many weeks, and the
next morning declared himself quite
ready for the picnic, though Mrs. Clarke,
a motherly soul, always devoted to Iter
"other boy," scolded liira well for the
idea. Hut being a persistent man, lie
went his way, and by ten o'clock had
joined a gay party in the car they had
chartered for tho day and attached at
Cedar station to the train going to Pat
ton, a little. Tillage aliove whose quit
street towered Gray Mountain, their
place of destination. The- day was a
"day in June," fair as ever poet cele
brated. There were fifty pleasant people
pleasant for a picnic, that is and Philip
was put in charge of a Mrs. Boyd.
" One of the widows," Harry whisper
ed in his ear; a very bright, agreeable
woman, with a pleasant face, dressed
neatly enough in brown holland and a
black hat a costume adapted to the oc
casion, but not becoming. She was evi
dently not vain. A few seats before thejn
sat a beautiful young woman, daintily
dressed, though evidently she considered
herself in mourning; but the shower of
soft, fair curls that drooped from the back
of her head, the sparkling ornaments of
cut jet, the rings on her little white hands
of' pearl and diamond and onyx, all
seemed out of keeping with the crape on
her dress and hat; Hnd when that co-qucttishly-looped
heaW-gear was laid
aside, a triangle of crape, with the con
ventional widow's ruche about it, pinned
on with diamond and onyx pins, looked
a real absurdity, and every woman in
the car laughed at Nan Boyd's attempt
to assert her widowhood ; for this was
the other of the two widows. Yet if she
was a little absurd, who cared? When
one's skin is tinted with the warm glow
of pink apple blossoms, with lips scarlet
as fresh strawberries, great clear blue
eyes, delicate features, teeth of pearl, and
abundant gilded-flax hair falling every
where in long loose curls, what doos it
matter what one wears! Nan Boyd
would have been lovely in brown hoi
land and a cheap black hat, though her
cousin and sister-in-law was not
Nobody had ever supposed tho Rev
erend Philip Norton was susceptible.
He had never given a tenderer glance to
any Jovely girl in bin congregation than
to the old woman who swent the cross.
ing before his church; but he fell in
love like a schoolboy during the next
six hours with Nan Boyd. Courtesy
obliged him to attend to the lady placed
in his care, and the obligation was not
disagreeable. She was natural, intelli
gent, kindly, with an artist's eye for the
wonderful scenery about them, and more
over a generous woman ; for when Philip
asked her, as carelessly as he could put a
uestion that thrilled his lips, who the
beauty before tuem was, sue answered,
auicklv:
" My cousin and sister-in-law another
Mrs. Boyd. Isn't she lovely? I like to
look at lier as I do at a flower : she is so
exquisite. "
Mr. Norton assented eravelv. and turn
ed the conversation. His head whirlMri,
his eyes wandered; he could not talk
witn any sort ol fluency; he was be
witched by the pretty widow. She,
however, liad her own court to hold.
Butterflies never fluttered nore thickly
about the gay weed that bears their
name than the gentlemen of the party
about Nan Boyd ; for, to tell the truth,
this lovelv creature was a native co
quette. It was as much a matter of
course for her to flirt with every man
who came near her as it is for a rose to lie
fragrant ; and she had that charm, sub.
tier than beauty, which is potent with,
out but irresistible with it.
It was a proverb in Cedar that no
youth ever grew to manhood there who
had not adored Nan Boyd. Her cousin
Anne was very different. She had come
to t edar on a visit wlien JNan at last
made up her mind to select Will Boyd
as a permanent victim from the crowd
aljbut lier, and she- found her own fate
Will's twin-brother .Tames. Ihe
cousins, however, were not married at
the same time. Anne could not leave
her father, for her mother had died just
after her return from Cedar; but before
many months her father went too, and
there was a very quiet wedding at her
lonely home, and a line! journey back to
Cedar, where Nan, already a six months'
wile, was readv to welcome them.
Anne Boyd found tou late that she had
made a mistake. She could not be han-
tw u'ftli lini tillclwitwl ITm trio iinnKn.
cious narsii, inoee iiiuougii lie Had
seemed to her only reserved and fastidi
ous; selfish, penurious, at times ill-
' i ...I. i- .1.1. l t, V ,
tempered, w lien lie died, a year alter
their marriage, and from the curious
physical sympathy common with twins.
Will died too, neither ol the widows
was heartbroken Xan from pure levitv
of nature, Anne from no sense of loss,
but rather of relief. Since they both
lived at Cedar, there had been much
confusion of names between them, Anne
Bovds both: but wills widow was
always called Xan by her old friends;
and bearing her grandmother's full name
of Anne Hart, whiU her cousin was
Anne alone, there was a way of escape
for those who were well informed; the
others took their chance.
As the lovelv summer davs went on.
and Philip Xorton was involved more
and more in the shnnle iraveties of
Cedar, whose inhabitants consoled them
selves for their ,long cold winters with
i .. c r ... ,i i : r.. i : .
piciiLj vii uui-uuui iiic nuu rii)ujiueill ill
the brief summer months, he became
more and more bewitched with Xan
Bovd. Her lieimtv stood tlip test, nf huh
and air, heat, fatigue and daily observa
tion; it was as genuine and real as the
roseate splendor of the mountain laurel,
whose pink bells illustrated and illumi
nated every hill about the village, and
shone with'a light like dawn through the
edges df the dark woods.
1 hen she was graceful, genial, kind:
always ready to get up or to join a party
of pleasure; willing to sing if singing
was wanted : to make wreaths for other
girls wreaths she could not wear, for
the sake of that typical triangle; she
never seemed tired, dull, or ill-dressed:
in short, Mr. Xnrton believed her n real
unjrel, and threw all the strength of his
honest, deep nature into his passion for
this lovely little creature. An unpreju
diced observer of course a woman
might have decried the sharp thin voice.
the' shallow laugh, the naive selfishness,
of this angel, and suspected that this gay
blossom wouiu snow no adequate trim
when its petals fell ; but Philip Norton
had no such slanderous thought in bis
heart. Such external charm was to him
only the expression of inward beauty.
Experience might have taught, him bet
ter, but he was not just now amenable to
experienced ho was in love. He liked
Mrs. Anne Boyd much ; as he became
better acquainted with her, her really
sweet and fine character had its effect on
him, and he enjoyed an hour's conversa
tion with her when Nan was not at
hand thoroughly. She was one of those
people who have that rare charm, a deli
cate and melodious voice, with wonder
ful command of language, and being
withal perceptive, highwiinded nnd of
d"p feeling, she was a most fascinating
companion even to a man in love. Harry
Clarice, too, was devoted to Nan Bovd.
He had been a childish lover ot hers dur-
ng his youthful visits to his irrand-
futher's farm at Cedar, and now the first
love seemed to have re-awakened. He
was at her side everywhere, and if his
professional life had been anything but
that of a beginner, his practice would
have suffered ; as it was, his rivals suf
fered instead, for either out of thefamil
iaritvofold friendship or the merecanriee
of her disposition, Xan chose to parade
Marry as ner cavaner more ana more
frequently.
Philip Norton was plunged in desnair
by this state of . things; he could not in
honor or decency come forward a.s a
rival to Ins best friend in that friend's
house; his affection for Harry, his sense
of tho 'proprieties, all forbade his ex
pressing in any way his passion for this
enchantress. He kept away from her
charmed circle a.s far as possible; he
talked much to Mrs. An;ne Boyd, be
cause she was Nan's cousin. It is well
to m near tho rose if you are njt a rose
yourself, for there is at least the neigh
borhood of its bloom and perfume to
attract adorers. Still, ho plunged daily
further and further into this gulf of
bitter-sweet passion, till one moonlight
night his mind was set at rest concern
ing Harry. They sat on the steps ef the
south door, tired with a long day's drive
to Bashbish and back, and the two little
girls were hanging about 'them, anxious
to hear some report of the day's enjoy
ment, for to them a picnic of grown
people was an unattained paradise.
There had been much whispering be
tween Ruth and Rachel for a few mo
ments; but at last Ruth took courage,
nnd. looking up shyly at her brother's
face, spoke out: "Hal, dear, are you
going to be married?"
" I hope so, ma'am, at some period of
my existence," he answered, gravely.
"Oh, I don't mean that! Are you
going to, pretty soon?"
" Not this week, Miss Inquisitor."
"Hal, you'ne an awful tease there!"
burnt la Rachel, out of patience,
" My dear girls, in the ords of the
lamented Artemus, 'Why is this thus?'
What has got into vour small heads in
that vacant place nature intended "for
Drains r"
" Why, Jack said Tom Green told him
ypu were certain sure going to be mar-
rl (il V 1 rrl i f (iTl-mr tit At Yo ATun TtrtV1 "
" Not much !" ejaculated Harry.
"Oh. Hal. thats slang!"
"Well, what if it is? Slang is the
language of the coming man; slang is
universal woru-pamting; slang but 1
wander from the subject Listen, listen,
ladies gay, nnd I will point a moral nnd
adorn a tale for your infant minds. 1
fell in love over head and ears and the
top of my tallest hair with Nan Boyd
when I was twelve years old and she was
ten. I spent my little all in candy and
peanuts tor her sweet sake : I wrote her
a valentine, and male her a string of
bird s eggs three feet long a rosary o
despair to the gentlo birds I robbed ; I
paid tor a tin-type ot ner sweet lace with
mv last cornier and a iackknife that I
loved like a brother; but she refused me
after nil, though 1 implored her to elone
with me in the milk wagon. Lo, as the
i orkslnre man said, only t other end
first, 'She wouldn't have he, d'ye see?
for why now, he won't have she!' The
moral of all which is, Rachel, don't snub
Tom Green too much now, lest he should
turn and rend you by-and-by."
" I hate Tom Green," retorted Rachel.
Harry laughed. But Philip Norton
a relief of mind almost painful in its
intensity, itarry aid not notice his si
lence. nnd Ruth went on:
" But I should think you would want
to marry her, Harry. She is awful
pretty.
"Oh, Toot! 'awful pretty!1 and you
talk to me about slang! My dear, your
glass house will become fragmentary in
about five minutes if you go on."
"Kon't you like her, liairyr " asked
Rachel, always direct.
"Yes. miss. I like her, but I don't
wan't to marry her."
" Don't people ever marry people when
they don't wan't to?" said Ruth.
" Perhans thev do. ma'am, but I don't
consider that I am people. By Jove! I'd
rather spin ropes out of sea-sand than
tie myself up that way. Ask the minis
ter here if he don't agree with me."
Philip roused himself from his dream
at the appeal, but the question had to lie
repeated.
" I'd rather do anything else, Miss
Ruth."
" But what it vou'd cot married bv
mistake;, just as those people did in the
newspapers, for fun but really they
were married what would you do?'
asked Rachel, persistently.
"Make the best of it," laconically
answered Philip.
" isart is the best ot such a mistake,
Phil. Are there no divorce courts, mv
friend and pitcher?"'
Philin's face darkened. " Not for me.
If I had married Hecate ' by mistake,' as
Rachel says, I would try and make the
liest of her. Anything rather than di
vorce ; that is unchristian and unmanly
both."
" Good for vou. parson ! You haven't
forgotten your old trick of accenting the
position. ' Make the best of it, was the
theme of this distinguished gentleman's
valedictory address, my dears, on that
glorious day when lie became the proud
possessor of1 a sheepskin, like the immor
tal Brian O'Lynn, only the woolly side
was out; he pulled that over the profes
sor's eyes, and thereby got all the Honors,
while my modest worm went unre
warded." Here the gate swung open, hist in time
to prevent further burst of Harry's elo
quence, and a boy with a telegram came
up to them. It was for Philip. One of
his most valued friends and supporters
in the church was dying, after a brief
illness; he must see Mr. .Norton. There
was no delay possible, anud in the niorn
liifr. verv earlv. Philin went, lenvinv
such adieus as he could for llarrv to de
liver, and carrying with him a triumph
ant sense that neither honor nor honesty
need seal his lips now ; he could tell Nail
Boyd the love that possessed and con
sumed him, and surely so stringent a
passion must compel return.
But he found his friend in the verv
agonies of death ; nnd in the atmosphere
of grief and pain that surrounded him,
after the solemnity of death, in the care
and help of the forlorn family, and the
services of burial, more than a week
passed away before he could write the
important letter, and when it was once
gone his courage failed, suspense racked
and tortured him, he could not eat or
sleep, and on the fourth day he sat lie
fore the beginning of his sermon totally
unable to get further than the first sen.
teuce, waiting feverishly for the letters
to bring him life or death. But tho mes
sage was merciful ; a sweeter letter, to
his thought, was never written ; modest,
reticent, yet with a tone of deep S-eling, '
it promised to the heart far more than it
said to the eye. and put him into a state
of grateful rapture that crept into the
delayed sermon, nnd made a sensation in
the parish when that precarious dis
course was at length finished and de
livered. For a few. weeks frequent let
ters were exchanged, but, at the lady's
request, nothing wns said of any fixed
engagement; she wished, she said, to
know a little better the man to whom
lier future life must lie bound. Philip
had heard that Will Boyd had not been
altogether devoted to his wife, and ap
preciated at once the sense and delicacy
of her reserved expression of feeling in
the matter. In September he received a
brief note, following a long letter, to sav
that she and her cousin had both been
called to California to a sister-in-law's
hurried wedding. Dr. Clarke was to go
with them as escort and groomsman to
his old friend lr. Eldridge, and XTan
wished Mr. Norton to know that they
were going would be gone when tho
note reached him in ordr to account
for his own letters being unanswered,
for their brief stay in San Francisco
would not permit the mails to be use
ful to them. It seemed as if fate sported
with poor Philip, for not two days
passed oefore he, too, received a summons
to travol directly the other way ; his only
relative, am aunt in Europe, was seized
with severe illness, and telegraphed for
him at once. He sailed by the next
steamer, and found Mrs. W arne at the
point of death ; but the pleasure oi seeing
tier nenhew seemed to rouse her and
waken her vitality ; she grew a little bet
tor week after week, but was sent south
ward as she recovered, and at last to
Egypt. It was May before Mr. XTorton
brought her back to New York ; but by
this time it had been agreed in the few
letters that had been received by him in
his constant transit from one place to
anothor, that without any formal an
nouncement of engagement, Xan should
be ready to marry him at once on his re
turn. pO having prevjouoijr legrufmeu
her. he arrived in Cedar the last of Mav.
lata in the afternoon, and instead of go
ing . Air. Clarke's, went to the little
hotef, Td as soon as might be betook
himself to Mrs. Boyd's house.
He stood a moment after being shown
into the parlor, his heart wildly throb
bing with hope and agitation, when the
door opened and in walked Mrs. Anne
Bovd. She glided up to him with a face
so full of blushing emotion, he thought
sue came to congiaiumic mm, ana wun
the nbounding affection engaged people
have for all their relatives in prospect,
he stooped and kissed her fresh, sweet
lips. .
" How did you know where to find
me?" she said, blushing. "I forgot to
tell you in my letter that I had been liv
ing here the past year. When Nan was
married she left me in charge."
"Married! Nan!" echoed the gentle
man, aghast..
" Oh, you must have missed the letter
1 sent to JNice tewing you all about it.
She married an Englisman, living now
in Boston, and they went abroad to see
his friends."
The truth flashed on him like a stroke
of lightning: it was Anne with whom
he had corresponded: Anne to whom he
was engaged ; Anne he was expected to
marry. Nan was lost to him forever,
lie turned very pale, and reached his
hand toward the table for support. Anne
thought he was faint; with tender hat
she pushed a chair toward him, gently
put him into it, and poured a few drops
of cologne from a flask on the table on
his head; the fresh, delicate perfume
made him shudder for years afterward.
He saw in one glance the position before
him; one' life must be ruined, his or
hers. The moment that passed over him,
as he leaned back, sick and faint, con
scious that Annie's eyes were fixed on
him anxieusly, was long as some placid
lifetimes. Thanks to a constant habit of
self-control, the dizzy whirl of emotion
was conquered quickly; the color re
turned to his face; he said to himself
that the life already wasted could find
no help in destroying another. Annie
was innocent of any intent to harm him;
she was a woman, too ; both as a man
and a Christian minister it was his duty
to protect and honor her. He looked up
quickly and smiled.
" Excuse me, dear," he said, hoarsely.
" I was very tired."
lie told the truth and no more. Had he
been capable of deceit, Anne's honest na
ture would have detected it ; but of an
untruth he was incapable ; and now, as
he sat beside her, and his mind returned
to its own balance, 1 involuntarily be
gan to weigh the possible ameliorations
of his dreadful mistake. He could not
marry Nan now; she was hopelessly be
yond his reach. One factor of the prob
lem was forever set aside, and that the
greatest. Then he rcallcd the letters
that he had received from Anne, what
line and lovelv traits of character they
disclosed. Here his head began to whirl
again; joi u seeiiif-i iiiipussiuic 10 Depu
rate the vision of Nan he had built up on
that very foundation from the reality
which belonged to Anne. Xan would
have thought his love-making cold in
deed; but Anne was shy and reticent
herself. She could feel, and feel deeply ;
but she could not be demonstrative, and
she dreaded demonstration in others. It
was quite in accordance with her nature
that, after a long, quiet evening of con
versation, Mr. Xorton should part from
her with one grave kiss on her forehead.
Xan would have clung about his neck.
and put her peach face up to his for ca
resses, as a llawer seeks the sun. lie
knew how it would have been, and for
one mad moment sickened with thwart
ed passion; but Annie never saw it. She
trusted him implicitly, and after her pure
prayers fell asleep, like a happv child
and dreamed of hiin and her future
home. But what a night awaited hini!
Sleep fled far away, lie had in her pres
ence been able to preserve calmness nt
least, and resolved to accept the situa
tion ; but when ho was aloue, all tho past
came back on him like an armed man.
It was a night never to be forirotten. In
the morning he went to Mr. Clark's and
told them of his engagement, and asked
them to the quiet wedding next day.
j hey were an surprised, and congratu
lated him with such warmth and sinceri
ty, lavished 6iich love and praise on
Anne, that he felt almost euiltv in ac
cepting the pleasant words, conscious
how little they delighted him. Harry,
as soon as they were aloue, proceeded to
enlarge on Anne's charms.
"To tell vou the truth, old follow. I
have been niightilv smitten with that
lady myself; but she has behaved like a
lay nun the past year. I couldn't under
stand it. Somehow or other I got it into
my head you were sweet on Nan. I
even went so far as to foel sorry for you
when she married Dalrymplc what a
waste of the raw material ! and all the
time you were cutting me out with Anne.
You had not heard of that marriage till
Anne told you. It was a nine days'
wonder here; he is fat, fifty, and rich as
Crersus: that was his charm. Ducats,
my lord, ducats! Nan loves a shining
mark; she inherits old Madam Hart's
tastes as well as her name, only the
madam loved to- save, and Anne to
spend."
Here it flashed across Philin that bis
letters haU all been mistakenly address
ed. Xan was Anne Hart Boyd, and he
i i At. i.i . i i i , r, ,
nau uiougiib uie ininai ue longed io
Anne. From the very first those let tars
had gone wrong, and in his own dislike
of nicknames he had never used hers,
but called her Annie always a tender
softening of the monosyllable that seemed
to express more than the cold stiff name.
The day after, the wedding was cele
brated. Very quietly and simply Philip
iuiwiu mm jiiuic tnjyit were inneio one.
He could not help owning that the sft
folds of dark rich silk, illuminated with
fresh white roses on her breast, nnd in
her hair, tho warm color on lap and
cueeu, the soft hazel eyes, dark and clear
as the brown water of a forest brook, and
the expression of deep emotion on lier
face, made her a very attractive bride ;
but even at tho altar a glimpse of blue,
bewildering eyes, floating gold-lit hair,
ineffable witchery and sweetness, seemed
to dazzle his eyes and constrict his heart,
but he repellod the dream starnly, and it
fled.
Had Anne been more selfish nd Philin
less strong and sensible, here now was
place and room for a real domestio
tragedy, of all tragedies most vital and
least dramatic; but each began the new
life in devotion to the other, one from
love, one from duty. But if it was
Anne who kissed and Phili n whrt Kant.
the cheek, was she loss happy? The
giver is more blessed in all things ; and
in time Philip learned to love Anne as
fully as her heart could ask. He was
mightily assisted, no doubt, by the
career of Mrs. Dalrymple, who soon re
turned to America, and asserted herself,
iu mic iiuv vi iMsnuijr ami money both, as
a queen of society. She did not pretend
to care for the stout, stupid, brusque
man of business who supplied her purse,
but ran a wild course of folly and fashion
year after year, as only a loveless nnd
childless woman can. Ten years after
his marriage Philip met her, failed,
rouged, overdressed ; her laugh false and
hollow, her smile forced, the childish
ringlets waving in soft mockery about
the worn face, and even her smile me
chanical. His heart reverted with a
glad leap to the wife he had left at
home, a calm, sweet-faced, gracious wo
man, with lovely children clinging about
her, the color of health and happiness
richly glowing on her chock, and the
love and admiration of all who knew
lier making a halo about her noble char
acter. He owned to that remorseless in
quisitor, his own heart, that he had in
deed made the best of it in a fuller sense
than the poor allowance of the proverb,
that Anne was as far beyond Nan as the
star beyond the clod, and that the true
failure of his life would have been the
result of the success he had longed for
nnd missed. Yet all his life he hated
the smell of- German cologne. Harper's
Bazar.
TIMELY TOPICS.
HeiT Krupp, the famous German gun
maker, has just eclipsed all his former
efforts by constructing a new steel can
non, which is the largest piece of steel
ordnance yet made. It weighs seventy
two tons, is thirty-two foet long, and has
a caliber of twenty-one and three-fourth
inches, while that of the English eighty
ton guns has only eighteen inches. The
charge for this monster gun is to be 385
lbs. of prismatic powder, the projectile
being a chilled iron shell weighing 1.6C0
pounds and having a bursting charge of
twenty-two pounds of powder. The
force of the shot on leaving the gun is
estimated at 31,000 foot-tons, and it is
calculated that when pointed at an angle
of forty-three degrees with the horizon
the gun will throw its projectile a dis
tance of fifteen miles.
The last circular of the Illinois State
board of agriculture gives the following
table, which is of interest. The shrink
age of values of farm crops of lato years,
owing to the depression of business nnd
large yield of som'eof the leading staples,
was proportionately better in 1878 than
most articles of merchandise, as may be
seen by a : comparison ol the average
prices tor the State the past three years
Article. 1576.
1877. 1878.
$r .30 $ .22
1.19 .79
.95 .68
.23 .17
.62 .41
.47 .50
.75 1.33
.45 .47
.80 .65
6.35 4.33
3.37 2.95
4.23 2.80
Corn, per bushel $ .30
w intr wuont, per mm i i.ui
Spring wheat, per bus'l .92
Oats, per bushel 30
Kye, per bushel 66
ISarley, per bushel S3
Burk wheat, per bushel
Polatoej, per bushel.... ' .58
Wintei np)ile, per bns'l .44
liny, per tou 0.25
Uoef cattle, groan 3.47
Fat hogs, gross., 4.09
The discovery of petroleum has saved
many a penny to the poor by bringing
light to their houses at a low price. But
in some of the towns of the petv.,..ii
districts, the new discovery is ako iUi:c
to serve its fuel. In East Livonia, Ohio,
the cas wells seem to hold mi inexhaust
ible supply. An extensive system of
piping carries the gas Into the ileuses,
where, in stoves properly constructed.
it docs all the cooking and warming.
Manv families in the place u-e no oti:er
fuel than this gas. They find ii i.dequatc
for all their needs. In "the street lamps
it is allowed to burn by day as well ns
by night, because it costs more to turn it
off tlian to consume it. Great pottery
manufactures are carried on in the town,
the gas supplying all the heat. As the
wells have been in use twenty years with
out any sign of exhaustion, the people
leoi no Mlixieiv annul, iiieir iiumc .supply.
East Livonia is a cood place to emigrate
to when gas bills grow liurdwisome.
A mound similar to those so common
in the Western States was recently found
and opened in Japan, and scientific ex
amination of its contents affords ground
for a very strong argument that canni
balism was practiced, perhaps habitually,
by some of the ancient inhabitants of
that country. That the Oruori mound
was not a tomb was sufficiently shown
by the fact that the skeletons found in it
were never complete, nnd that the bones
lay about in disorder, and in no relation
to each other, whereas the bones of
buried bodies would be found approxi
mately in some position possible in life.
Moreover, the human bones were fonnd
among those of other animals, and, like
them, were broken into lengths conven
ient for cooking and eating, and were
doeply scratched in those portions, such
as the joints, from which the eater would
find most difficulty in removing the flesh
The discovery is a curious one, as it is
the first indication of cnnuibnlisin among
a people whose characteristics as at pre
sent known strongly negative tho prac
tice by them of so horrible a custom.
But similar evidence was held by ari luu
ologists sufficient to prove the former ex
istence of cannibals in North America.
Dr. Rabelais' Free Journey.
The learned and famous Frenchman,
Dr. Rabelais, once, found himself in Mar
seilles without money. He wished to
travel to Paris, but could not contrive a
way to do so. At last, however, he hit
upon a plan.
He started one first of April carrying
with him some full phials labeled "Poi
son for the King and the Royal Family."
A the city gates, according to the cus
tom in those days, the traveler was
searched, and these suspicious-looking
bottles were found, as he intended. The
officials were herrified, and they prompt
ly arrested him and hurried him off ns
a state prisoner to Paris, there to bo tried
for treason.
Not long after his arrival Rabelais and
his bottles were taken before the judges.
Then the doctor, who was very well
known as a wit, made a little explana
tion, showed that the phials contained
nothing but brick-dust, and was at once
released tho court, the accusers, the
lookers-on, and all Paris convulsed with
laughter at the joke. St. Nicholas.
Some barren land near the city of
Pantzigwas irrigated by sewage from
the citv. The potato ci-od irrown unon
j this land averaged 'sixteen and one half
j tons to the acre. This result led the ex
perimenter to contract with the munici
pal authorities of Breslau.acity of about
, two hundred and fifty thousand inhabi
tants, to remove its sewage during twelve
years, and with it he intends to irrigate
for his own profit about three thousand
acre of land.
I A prescription warranted to make any
sick woman re" cover" A new dress,
NOYEL FISHING.
The Manner In which Cormorant are
Utilised In Japan.
I was Invited one evening, says a writer
in the Argonaut, during mv sojourn at n
small town not far from Kiyoto, the old
cnpital of Japan, to accompany some
yakunins (olhcials), who were then
traveling with me, to the neighboring
river, for the purpose of witnessing the
manner in which cormorants are em
ployed in the cntching of fish; at the
same time I was informed that a pleas-
ure boat had already been engaged for
the occasion. I accepted the invitation
eagerly, and, lanterns being provided,
together with a guide to show the way,
we set out, carefully picking our way
along tho narrow paths dividing tho rice
fields, tho myriads of frogs in the water
all round us keeping'up a deafening roar,
rendering it almost impossible to carry
on conversation, while the mosquitoes
were anything but friendly in their de
monstrations. When we were about
five hundred yards from the place where
our yanc-bune (literally roof-loat) was
awaiting us. we were met by one of our
boatmen bearing a lantern, who at once
turned and preceded us to the little pier
of stones.
On entering the boat, the bottom of
which was comfortably covered with
tatami (thick mats), over which was
spread a gay-colored rug, I was ngree
aply surprised to find that everything
requisite for spending a pleasant evening
had been sent on before my hosts. My
after-neqiinintance with the people of
this beautiful country has taught me
that they never lose the opportunity to
make merry, and will seize upon the
most trifling excuse for organizing a pic
nic, and thoroughly enjoying themselves
when such pleasures do not interfere with
the strict performance of their public
duties. On the present occasion six
geisha (female musicians) had been en
gaged, who sat at one side of the boat,
while we of the other sex ranged our
selves on the mats on the other. Sweet
meats of various kinds were spread out
on lacquered trays, as we 'all settled our
selves into the most comfortable atti
tudes, and the sendo (boatmen) were told
to cast off.
After about fifteen minutes' sculling we
rounded a bend of the river, when a
magnificent spectacle burst on our view.
The river npneared to lie on fire. Near
ly two hundred fishing boats were in
sight. At the bow of each, and attached
to the end of a pole projecting over the
water, was a brazier containing burning
pine wood, blazing pieces of which every
now nnd then fell through the bars into
the water, thereby multiplying the num
ber of lights, real and reflected, and add
ing to tlie general effect. Our boatmen
now steerinl us into the midst of the
busy scene, nnd driving the boatpole into
the bed of the river, made fast to it, and
sat down fo smoke their ki.icro (pipes).
Each of the boats possessed from ten to
twenty cormorants, which, when pot en
gaged n their duty of catching fish, re
mained silently perched on the gunwales
awaiting their master's commands. The
birds which are employed in this branch
of industry are hatched from eggs ob
tained from the cliffs nlong theT shore,
and being accustomed from the first to
the company of man, are very tame.
Each has a name given to it, nnd, on its
owner making a peculiar sound, will
enter the water in search of the fish that
would, were it free, be their natural
prey. Large numbers of them were now
swimming around the boats, their move
ments controlled by strings attached to
rings nround their nocks, and held in the
fishermen's hands. Whenever a bird
spied a fish attracted by the glare of the
lire.it seized it with its bill, but was
prevented from swallowing it by the ring
rout)d its throat. The fisherman then
uttered a peculiar cry, and gently drew
it into the boat, where it was forced to
give up tho prize. Occasionally the
birds are rewarded by being permitted
to swallow a fish. In some parts of
Japan considerable quantities of fish are
taken in this manner.
One of my entertainers now hailed the
nearest boat and bargained for some of
the tresh-eauglit saknna and hav
ing provided a griddle for the occasion,
had his purchase broiled over the hibarhi
(box holding charcoal lire); and this
made a repast fit for an epicure. I par
took heartily of this dish, which tho Jap
anese know so well how to cook, and.did
not neglect tho sake (wine), which was
passed around pretty rapidly, nnd which
was kept hot in a kan-dokuri (porcelain
vessel in which wine is heated bv beinir
placed in a kettle of hot water) by one of
the lair singers, who also took care that
Uie bottle was replenished as fast as it
was emptied. During all this timo the
geisha had been enlivening the feast with
songs, accompanying themselves on their
mmisens (guitars), while in the interval
jokes, puns, and repartee kept all in a
continual laughter.
My hosts now proposed to return, and,
the boatmen having blown the remains
of tho tobacco out of their little pipes as a
boy would blow a pea from a pea-shooter,
the boat wns unmoored, and we
dropped gently down with tlie stream
toward our landing-place; and ju.t as I
was beginning to cast rather tender
glances (probably the effects of the fish
or wine) in the direction of a very pretty
geisha seated opposite me we touched the
pier,, and, stepping ashore, took our way
again through the rice fields, the scene
enlivened by large numbers of hoturo
ffire-flies) flitting hither and thither.
Outsjde our hotel we parted witli our
fair musicians and retired to rest, having
spent a most pleasant evening.
Ntrnnge Jtfurdcr Agents.
Tho reported ntterript of the king of
Buruiah to procure the murder of "the
claimant or his crown is a fair sample
of the way in which state questions are
settled in the east, where political assas
sination has for ages been one of tlie re
cognized functions ot government. The
commonest method of accomplishing this
is, of course, by armed violence; but
where thfs happens to be impracticable,
other and yet darker means are em
ployed. One of the most singular of
these is to mix with the doomed man's
food a Uger's whiskers chopped small,
which, from the internal inflammation
caused by them, make the victim's death
merely a question of time. The same
result is produqed by tho employment of
J! J . J ! 1 r i , ,
umiuuuu-uuBb, uovico wuicn receivea
unexpected publicity three or four years
i ago, in consequence of the attempt made
! by the late gaekwar of Barnda upon the
; life of Colonel Phayre, the British resi
dent at his court. But thewuost formida
ble of all these hidden weapons is the
subtle poison extracted from the com
mon thorn apple, which attacks the mind
I instead of the body, and which, admin
I istered in doses too small for detection,
has converted many a brave and gifted
leader into a gibbering idiot.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The notes of a jail bird are forged.
"A fellow feeling" A phrenologist.
Philadelphia has 20,000 unmarried wo
men. On its last legs A chair tilted back
ward. How to save doctors' bills File them
away.
Stokers are the most Stirling men c f
the times.
A novel experiment Publishing an
author's first novel.
The Chicago Times office has in use
six speaking telephones.
Gen. Hancock is the wealthiest officer
of tho United States army.
Jumping the rope by the little girls is
another harbinger of spring.
" Out of sight out of mind " does not
mean that blind people are lunatics.
The hair of the dog is good for the bite, '
but the bite of the dog is not good for the
hare.
" The new color is just the shade of
brown sugar," and the Indies will look
sweet in it.
M. Clairvillo, the French playwright,
who died recently, was the author of 600
plays, 450 of which had been put on the
stage.
Since paper napkins were introduced
by a manufacturing firm in Wisconsin,
a venr ago, ono Boston firm alone has
sol'd 250,000 of them.
The man who is penny-wise and pound
foolish, attempts to wash the sore on his
mule's hind leg, but he who knows the
ways of the beast, takes him to a, veteri
nary surgeon.
The man who can face a hurricane
without winking, will shiver all over
when his collar button comes out nnd
makes a longitudinal pilgrimage to
the interior of one of his boots.
Tis now nlong the highways
The robins gayly flute,
Anil in the orchard byways
The cnblmges take root ,
lis now tlie chief musician
'Hound tho cottage is the wren;
Tis now that the fruition
Of the merry-hearted hen
Wakes joy in the bosom of Agricoln,
Who sells eggs.
A Japanese Fable.
Once upon a time, on the shady side o
a hill near the sea-shore, there lived a
crab. One day he found some boiled
rice, nnd set off home with it; but on his
way was spied by a monkey. The mon
key offered to 'exchange the seed of a
persimmon, the fruit of which he' had
nearly finished eating, for the rice. This
the crab aeoeptAi on condition that tlie
monkey had not injured it with his
tooth. The exchange made, Jocko de
voured the rice, but the crab planted the
seed in his garden. A long time after
ward, the monkey happening to pass the
same spot, was surprised to see a fine
tree lation with fruit, and his friend the
crab sitting on the balcony of a nice new
house, admiring his fruit tree. The
monkey being hungry, begged the crab to
allow him to eat some of the fruit. But
the crab apologized, saying that his friend
would bo quite welcome to some of the
fruit, but ho could not climb the tree to
gather it. The monkey declared his
ability to climb if the crab would allow
him to try; to which the owner of the
tree consented, stipulating that he should
receive half tho fruit that was plucked.
So up the monkey clambered and ate as
fast as lie could,-selecting the bst nnd
ripest fruit, but was too greedy to notice
the crab, who was waiting patiently
below. At length the crab, losing pa
tience, accused the monkey of being a bad
and deceitful fellow; upon which the
monkey got angry, pelted the poor crab,
and broke his shell. The crab's friend,
the wasp, coming by, attacked the mon
key and stung him so severely that
Jocko scampered away frightened. The
wasp sent for his friends Ecg nnd Mor
t:ir, and, after duo deliberation, they
made it up amongst them to punish
Jocko. They arranged that Egg should
explode if put on the fire, the wasp
should sting Jocko, nnd Mortar, placed
on tlie roof, should roll off upon his
head ns he ran out of the door. The
next day the monkey being hungry,
called at tlie crab's house to apologize,
and beg another dinner of fruit; but,
toeing no person in the house, he entered ;
and finding a nice large egg on a tray, he
put it on the fire to roast it, ns ho could
not manage raw eggs so well as hard
cooked ones. Presently the egg exploded
violently nnd scattered tho hot cinders
over Jocko, who ran into the next room
howling with pain; but tho wasp flew
out of a corner and stung him so badly
that he rushed out of the house, fright
ened and almost mad with pain, when
down dropped the mortar upon his head
and killed him.
Moral Cunning nnd greedy people
rarely gain much, and ungrateful ones
are generally punished in the end.
A Singing Book.
Another curious phenomena ot sound
is the singing book, now a philosophical
toy. Thanks to M. Pollard, navy en
gineer of Cherliourg, it is within evry
intelligent person's reach. You place
it small book on the table, the floor or a
chimney-piece, and presently it distinct
ly emits songs, sacred and profane, or
duets by a piano, or bar)) and violin
solos. Tho book is composed of ordinary
paper, leaves of the latter, alternating
with some of tin. The metal leaves are
united, the last two with an electric cur
rent, forming thus a condenser. The
top and bottom sides of the voluniecom
municnte with an electric wire running
along the wall, but concealed, and ter
minating in a pile in another room.,
where the speaker or tho singer, etc.,
"deposits" tho sounds of his voice in a
wooden mouthpiece containing a metal
plate and a stylus, which, touching a
spring, sets free the electric currents and
transmits the sound to the book, where
it is related a phenomenon not yet
capable of being satisfactorily explained.
1'aris Letter.
A Tennessee Terror,
The following emphatic hint is pasted
up in a Tennessee hotel. The original
is done with pen and ink, and neatly
elaborated with flourishes:
NOTICE.
All persons waiting for a train using
this room and not eat their meals will be
charged the same as if they had a pri
vate room or eat their meals. .J
LuncII EatinG
is Not
this Hotel
as i cannot afford to furnish room and
fire for folks to eat their Lunch and use
my room and fire and. be in my pavine
guest 8 way. ' "
i