V-7 L v I
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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher- NIL DESPEII AH PTJM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. X. RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1880. NO. 12.
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On the Rifts.
Where the river lrom the shadow
Of the waving spruces creeps,
And then hurried through the meadow
Where the cascade broadly sweeps,
Vapors lilt from the rift
Where the trout his vigil keeps.
Oh, what musio, as we listen
To the river's splash and roar;
How tho broken waters glisten
As they dash against the shore,
And the trees in the breeze
Heaven's masio outward pour.
Mossy boulders rising yonder
With a beard of snowy foam,
Where the maddened waters thunder
O'er the river monarch's home,
Where in pride he doth hide
Where an angler dares to come.
Where the silver eddy sleeping,
Just beside the roaring flood,
Mark you jeweled beauty leaping
From the tide in sportive mood,
And the rash sportive plash
Gives a start to laignrd blood.
But I wasto the time in thinking,
Morning clouds begin to life,
At the fount ot nature drinking,
I forget the joyous rift.
Drop the creel, spring the reel,
Throw the fly with motion Bwitt.
On the leaves of recollection
I have painted many scenes,
And I turn them with affection
When lile's work-day intoi-venes.
When the brain throbs with pain,
Then their sweets my Inncy gleans.
Then, oh henrt, in rnplure knreling,
Lay thia picturo up in store,
Silver rill and" sunshine stealing,
Sighing tiecs and river's rnar;
Make it last, that it Inst
Till eurtli's ache and pain bo o'er.
A. T. W'ordin, in Rjchetier Exp'tu.
A GAT WIDOW.
1 lie lirst time 1 ever saw ber was
from the window of uiy room in the
hotel. She was walking across the
p'ateau, and raised her tine i yes just as
she passed. A really striking face.
something not exactly bold, but cou.'
rageous and intrepid, about H, and a
very high color. Her Btep was quick
and iiriu, and her liguve perfection.
I ws a little ''taken," and, hastily
seizing my hat, ran down the steps and
tallowed li'T, straight to tne spring
wliere 1 and mv htiiow-guests were in
the habit of drink ng those horrid
waters every morning. The widow
intuition told me she was a widow, and
I dr mk swral glas33s of the wretched
stuff, looking at one another without
exchanging .a word, and so in a lew
minutes parted agHin.
For the two or three following morn
ings it was the same, and we always
m;t at meaN, and in the evening on the
veranda or in the parlors. On these
occasions I always assumed a sort of
waggish, knowing look, designed to
vex her. and so it did; for she" invari
ably stared haughtily back in return,
her brilliant color deepening to scarlet.
Her name was Mrs. Powder, widow ol
thi lato lamented General Powder, wlie
lost his legs and life leading an Alabama
regiment at Malvern Hill. So I was
told by the coIo;ed waiters.
Well, the little romance proceeded,
and in a few days whenever I saw the
plunp and pretty widow I even ven
tured upon a faint smile, which, how
ever, I am bound to say, she invariably
rebuked. Several of ray friends asked
me who she was, and I told them a very
fay widow from Selma "very gay,"
added, with a wink of somewhat
rakiph character. And thus it got
about, and thus I deliberately and idioti
cally entangled mysel in a fix of a most
complicated and distressing character.
For, two days afterward, while enjoy
ing my after-dinner cigar, and mentally
concluding that the flies were about as
troublesome and ihe weather as hot at
White Sulphur as at any place I had
ever visited, 1 received this note:
"Sir I have just learned your name.
and 1 write at one ? to inform you that
I have heard of the manner in which
you havespoenof me among the people
summering at this hotel. Idonotknow
what, you have seen in my conduct to
justify the interpretation you appear to
Have put ui.on my character; out x can
assure you that those surmises are quite
wrong. Although alone in the world. I
am a woman perfectly capable of taking
care of hersi-lt in every way, and at the
very first opportunity I intend to make
you understand til" I ict.
"Bessie Soutiigate Powder
I now saw cle.irly what a fool I had
been. The lady had not given my iru-
Dt-runenco tne least encouragement, and
my while conduct had bten that of a
cjxeorab nnrl very impudent fellow
was flight n d the letter was thor
oughly characteristic, and expressed no
more ihm would be carried out. There
was, in f ict, a piinfully strong sugges
tion of horsewhip about it.
1 own frankly that I never was more
frightened in my :ife. A duel I should
not have cared to much about; but the
otlier Mini a public chastisement at
the bands ot a woman, at so nuhlin
place as the White Sulphur Springs
was indeed appalling to contemplate.
I eat down and wrote Mrs. Powder a
letter an apology in the mojt abject
terms, and, whiie the messenger was
cone with it. I stood at my window
looking at tho clouds in the distance
moving likearmus preparing lor battle,
Tuere was a thunder-storm coming up
dismal omen. I whittled and drummed
nervously on the ledge of tue window
awaiting to hear the returning footstep
of the darkev : and at last 1 aid near it
He brought back my letter unopened
the lady hai declined to read it, he
said, with a grin. X suppose lie though
it w is a proposal.
What was to be done? I walked the
floor in asonv long after darkness bad
fallen and the sounding of the gong for
tea. I was, in fact, afraid to go down
to tea.
Suddenly a thought occurred to me
I would go upstairs and confide the
whole thing to old Governor Avdslott,
of Georgia, who was a lawyer, and
mieht get me out of the difficulty if any
man could. And so very quietly I stole
away to uis room on mo noor above,
and fortunately found him alone.
He was sitting in one of the tall win
dows leading upon a short balcony out
side, watching the approach of the thunder-storm,
now almost ready to burst.
At every few seconds a frigmiui gieam
of lightning tore open the heavens, fol
lowed by a burst of thunder that seemed
to shake the world.
" Hullol Come in come in!" said the
governor, cheerily, tottering goutily to
ward me and placing a chair. I hope
we shall have a little cooler weather
after this," indicating the storm.
In a few minutes I had placed him in
possession of my case. He looked very
f;ravely at me indeed, and pursed up his
ips into a little round O.
" Young man, that lady intends to
cowhide vou. sir. George Powder's
widow 1 By Jove! sir, I'd rather face
a battery of artillery any day."
There was a knock at the door; a ser
vant appeared.
"Governor, Mrs. Powder's compli
ments. She is out here in the ball, sir,
and would like to have a short private
conversation with you, sir."
He was a knowing servant, and
fmiled darkly, I fancied, in my direc
tion ; and no wonder, for I was as pale
as dfa'h.
" Tell Mrs. Powder that I shall be nt
her service in one moment," said the
governor; and the man retreated. ' My
friend "he sei led my shaking ha-.d
" there is absolutely no escape for you,
except by going upon the balcony until
I have succeeded in getting rid of her."
I made a dash for the window, and
he shut me outsido. At the same in
stant the thunder-storm burst in all its
tury, and, there being no protection
whatever, I was soaked through and
through. Positively, I could not have
been wetter if I had deposited myself
at the bottom of a river.
The thunder and lightning were ap
palling, and, as I am naturally nfraid of
tuo elements, my situation may be im
agined; and for a full hour I was thus
entr.ipped, and still no propect of re
lief or of the storm ceasing. In despair,
I glanced over the balcony and saw
that there was another beneath, and in
a moment I had let myself down by my
hands and secured a footing there1.
The window was up. the room ap
pirently untenanted, and I stepped in.
Scarcely had I done so when there was
a shriek from the bed ; a lady sat up and
b'gan screaming "Robbers!" and I
rushed to the door and gained tho cor
ridor, and so at last my own chamber.
An hour afterward I was in a ra !
way train, speeding from the White
Sulphur us rapidly as steam could carry
me.
Six months had passed away; the
events of the summer were growing
dim upon my memory, and X was in
New ork. We were endeavoring to
g-'t up a charitable concert for the bene
lit of sufferers by flood somewhere, and
I was the most active agent in the enter
prise. i am, x believe, a nrsl-rate amateur
tenor, and you have, perhaps, seen my
name pretty freely in the newspapers in
connection with semi-public concerts.
ur programme was all arranged and
capital one. except that we needed a
solo cornetist, or something of the
ind. I recollected my old friend
l'.irdspye not a cornetist, but tin very
best flute-player in the State. He had
is own private and particular flute.
mounted in silver and gold, and pre
sented to him by some musical society
worth at least a thousand dollars:
and it was well-known that the public
would come to see that flute as well as
to hear it.
Birdseve. acordins to report, had
lately retired from public flute-playing.
and positively declined to engage in
any musical enterprise whatever. I de
termined to see him personally, and, it
possible, alter his resolution. I called,
and was informed that he was not at
home; but, if my business was very
important, I might see his wife.
X walked in and took a seat, and a
light, rapid footstep sounded in the hall.
The doorswings open enter Mrs. Pow
der! I sprang to my fe?t and got be
hind the table, horribly frightened.
x wished to see Mr. Birdseye "
I am Mrs. Birdseve." she returned.
in a votoe sweeter than Birdseye's valu
able flute, " and have been so for several
months. Mr. Birdseve is out of town
at present; his health is very delicate,
and he is in the country."
X hen she recognized me, and her eyes
auated with a herv tc earn.
Madam, we have met before," I
stammered; "and I fear I was guilty
oi conduct"
"You decidedly were, sir." she re
turned, advancing upon me.
x stepped from the table to a large
arm-chair, trembling in every limb,
and casting about for the most direct
route for the door.
" 1 was guilty of conduct which the
wife of no flute X mean no gentle
man -'
" No gentleman, sir " she repeated.
in a rising echo, making another step
in my direction; and believing that a
fracas was inevitable. X pluneed vio
lently toward the door, rushed through
and closed it behind me.
At the same moment I felt her hand
on the knob on the other side ; exerting
all my strength, I held the barrier fast,
locked it and fled.
I felt now that I should not be in
condition of safety while I remained in
New York. That womw might pounce
upon me at any time. As for appearing
at the concert, it was out of the ques'
tion. and, pleading illness, x packed up
my tilings and started southward.
About a month afterward, living in
Washington, I had a letter with the
monogram of a flute on it from Birds-
eye, f course; a peremptory message
that he desired to see me immediately.
v i r . . i . . i . r t i J 1 -
i ieiL tnat nisnt ior ruciimona. itau iu
two weeks another letter was forwarded
by the secretary of my club in New
York, with another flute monogramed
on it. The handwriting was bold and
aggressive, but of a strictly feminine
character, and a tremulous examination
revealed the authoress Mrs. Birdseye
Again it was the peremptory message
from Birdseye, that be desired to see
me without delay. The morning saw
me on my way to South Carolina.
By this time I had become a sort of
monomaniac, but one fully aware of
his own lunacy and unable to correct it
Waking and sleeping, I could think of
nothing but Airs. Birdseye. x felt that
implacable woman intended to follow
me to the grave, and several times in
Charleston f walked down to the water
and examined it critically. The most
trifling things threw me into intense agi
tatinn the mention of the article now
Apt nr uii reference to the feathered
creation, or the sight of a flute in the
window of a music-store. And one day
I read in the paper the announcement
ot the death of the oeieoratea nute-
player, George Birdseye. from consump
tion; poor George had blown all his
vitality through the orifices of his
favorite instrument. His widow was
free to pursue her life-dream of ven
geance.
i started for xnorioa.
Here, among the oranges and alliga
tors, peas and strawberries In winter
and other attractions. I began, little by
little, to, not exactly forget, but to cease
to remember with such distinct acute
ness the complications of the past. The
mind becomes enfeebled in Florida, and
the emotions subside to a state of
apathy.
X was in this condition oi languor
when, one day, entering the hotel. I
carelessly glanced at the register. "Mrs.
Georee Birdseye" stared me in the face!
" How long has this lady been ticrer
I asked.
" Just arrived, sir," said the clerk.
I went directly to the elevator and
got in. Ud we started and had got half
way, when, witn a hideous wrencn, me
machine stopped between two floors.
"Oh! cried a voice near me. in
alarm, "we have met with an acci
dent."
I become conscious, for the first time.
of a companion. It was a lady, and she
lifted her vail. It was Mrs. Birdseye.
and I felt that I was alone in a cage with
an infuriated tieress.
" I always hated these elevators," she
said, with a frightened anxiety; "I
wish I had gone to my room by the
stairs! Do you think we are in danger
ofi being precipitated to tne bottom
sir?"
I shoo1: mv head.
A ventriloquial controversy began up
and down the snatt between me ser
vants and the elevator bov.
" The thing has caught," shouted the
boy. tiive it a snake."
Mrs. Birdseve sprang up.
"Oh. for mercy's sake! don't shake it,
or we may be killed." She seized my
arm. "Command them not to shake it,
sir. Threaten them with damages, sir.
it they expose our lives in so reckless a
manner! Will you speak, sir, or are you
deaf and dumb?"
"There is not a particle of danger, I
think, madam," said I. " The elevator
is a new one, and I fear that they do not
know precisely how to manage it."
She recognized me.
"Mr. Blueberry!"
I prepared to defend myself.
"No violence, ma'am. Don't get ex
cited. Act calmly and reasonably."
" I have come to Florida expressly to
find vou. if possible. Mr. Blueberry
have written reams of letters, and have
followed your trail like a detective. It
almost seemed as if you were trying to
avoid me.
"I I state unhesitatingly that
shall be compelled to defend myself,
Mrs. Birdseve."
She looked at me for a minute a little
nuzzled.
"Oh!" she returned: "I suppose you
refer to your absurd attempt to get up
flirtation with me at White buiphurf
I don t mind that now indeed, X had
nuite forgotten it although, of course,
it the tune x was a nttie vexeu. 1 re
member vou talked about me ns a gay
widow, and I really was provoked
nougli at first to have cailed you to ac-
ount: but Governor Anslott said it
was only fun, ard afterward poor George
Birdseye said he knew you intimately,
and and I dismissed the matter from
my mind."
I breathed a deep stgn ot relief."
" But why have vou been so long in
pursuit of me, Mrs. Birdseye?"
Well. George, you know, H dead.
poor fellow, and before he went he
harged me with a commission, ior
years he had been writing his musical
memoirs a most interesting work en
titled, ' Notes by a Musician.' Know-
ng you to be a literary man. he wished
you to take charge of the material and
put it in proper shape edit it, you un
derstand. And in consideration of this
and his old friendship, he has left you,
Mr. Blueberry, by his will what do
you think? his gold and silver flute!"
I s:iook hands with her Mientiy, ano
wiped the corner of my eye with my
handkerchief.
" It shall be done," I murmured, in a
broken whisper, still holding her BUiall
and plump hand.
" X am g ad to hear you promise me
tnat. for x thought you would reiuseme,
know how eccentric vou are. Mr.
Blueberry, and really, after that occur
rence in our parlor the day you locked
me in X positively considered you in
ane. I was shut in there four or five
hours, unable to got out, sir. and finally
was obliged to call assistance from the
street."
"It was pre-occupation, Mrs. Birds
eve. My mind was absorbed in pro
foimd literary projects, and X scarcely
knew what 1 was about. I was then
tracing the missing link between the
oyster and the clam, to the exclusion of
nil other subiects whatsoever. iou
forjive me?" I pressed her hand be-
sefchin?ly.
t-ertainly. But really, this is rather
a curious situation, isn t it t flow much
longer are we to be imprisoned here?
Please ask the boy."
"How long, oh, Catiline, wilt thou
abuse our patience? ' I shouted.
" A man has gone for the carpenter,
sir," cauie back tue reply.
Either the man or the carpenter made
his haste very deliberately, ior Mrs.
Birdseye and myself remained in close
communion in the elevator for an hour
Ionizer.
But it was a short hour indeed, a de
Hirhtful hour. When we were released
I surreptitiously bestowed upon the
boy a banknote, to his great bewilder
ment.
I am now engaged upon the memoirs
of my late friend George, and find the
assistance ot his widow valuable.
More Sunshine,
The world wants more sunshine in its
disposition, in its business, in its chari
ties, in its theology, ror ten thousand
ot the aches and pains.and irritations of
nun and women, we recommend sun
shine. It soothes better than morphine.
It stimulates better than champagne,
It is the best plaster for a wound. The
good Samaritan poured out into the
fallen traveler a gash more ot this than
of oil. Florence Nightingale used it on
the Crimean battle-fields. Take it into
all the alleys, on board all the ships, by
all the sick beds. Not a phial full, cot
a cup full, but a soul full. Xt is good
for soleen. for liver complaint, for neu
ralgia, for rheumatism, for failing for
tunes or melancholy. faun ana worts.
" He flies higher than he can roost,"
is the latest addition to the vocabulary
of slang.
Historical Doubles.
Few historical characters have had
more counterfeit presentments than
Sebastian of Portugal, who, being found
missing after a battle against the Moors
in 1578, was represented by a succession
of impostors for years afterward. Con
cerning one of these historians are yet
in doubt. In 1598 a man presented him
self at the Venetian senate claiming to
be the last heir of Portugal, escaped
from a twenty years- captivity among
the Moors. He possessed great personal
resemblance to the last prince, was ac
quainted with secrets concerning the
royal family, and had certainly strong
evidence to produce in favor of his
claims, but he was decided to be another
of the long series of impostors who had
assumed the title bebastian, and was
sent to the galleys. To the close of his
life, however, he persisted in his tale,
and its truth is one of the many histori
cal mysteries that are never likely to be
cleared up. Russia, too. has had its
historical "doubles." Many counter
feits arose to personate that Demetrins,
son of the czar, as "grand duke of
Muscovy." who was murdered in 1600.
In 1773 an impostor arose who asserted
that he was Peter III. He led an army
against the Empress Catherine, but was
defeated and executed in 1775. There
were many claimants to the title of
Louis XVII. In the present century
a mm named EleazarWilliams, residin?
in Canada, was believed by many per
sons to bo the unfortunate Dauphin, who
it was snid had been secretly conveyed
to America oy a iaitniui servant, in
stt-ad of dying in the temple.
In our own day was there not the"
Tichborne trial, concerning which
opinions were so greatly divided? A
yet stranger case of disputed identity oc
curred in the sixteenth century. A cer
tain Martin Guerre, residing in ttie
province of Hiute Garonne, left his
wife and family and disappeared for
eight years. At the end of this time he
apparently returned to his home, and
was received without suspicion by his
relatives. Martin had a number of pe
cuiiar marks which the new comer also
possessed; the returning prodigal was
also conversant with all the most pri
vate affairs of the family, and knew
secrets that the wife revealed to her
husband alone. Three years passed
away, and two more children were born
to the supposed Martin, when a doubt
of his real identity bgan to arise. Xt is
not clear what first roused suspicion.
but the rumor once set afloat, evidence
began to pour in. till there was, at least,
strong cause to believe that the reputed
Martin (juerre was only a "doppeigan
ger"of the real man; that he was in
fact a certain Arnauld de Tilk. win had
made the acquaintance of the real Mar
tin in Flanders, and traded in his like
ness and the possession of information
obtained from Martin t J personate his
coinrado to his family. In the midst of
the discussion the real Martin returned
home, but his appearance, instead of
mending matters, only .
" Made the case darker,
Which was dark enough without."
Soma swore positively that tho firs
claimant w is the real M irtin; others
were equilly certain that hi was an im
oostor. Tho casj wont for trial, and
the real man succeeded in proving his
identity, the counterfeit Mirtin (alias
Arnauld du rilk; b.ung hanged. Lon
don Olobe.
About the Teeth,
Dr. Meredith, in his lecture upon
The Teeth.' says
Enough has been spoken and written
at various times upon tne abust-s ot civ
ihzed life, and especially ot retined so
ciety, to induce us to confess that the
constitution of man has deteriorated
and that the teeth have shared in the de
generation of the organism. One of the
most conclusive proofs of this is found
in the fact that scientihc travelers visit
ins various nations in different parts of
the globe have reported that those peo1
pic who breathe a pure atmosphere, who
drink pure water and eat unadulterated
food, who taice healthful exercise and
sufficient rest, who dress in a manner
that favors free respiration and fixe
movement of the body, are wonderfully
free from those f lseases that are so com
nations, and possess teeth that are sel
dom, during a long life, attacked by any
disease.
It is a reasonable assertion, then, that
if we would endeavor to imitate the
healthful manner of living of these na
tions which we could do very nearly
and still retain all our claims to civili
zation if we would eat bread made of
unbolted flour, and other things contain'
ing a liberal amount of phosphates, we
could make a decided impression for the
better upon the teeth ot the following
generation, xi mat generation woum
pursue the same course, and so on. it
would not be many years until the teeth
wouiq db resioreu iu meir pristine
soundness a id perfection. But people
seldom bestow any thought on this sub-
ject until tney areiorcea to ao bo oy me
condition of tneir own ana tneir can
dren's mouths. At that time it is too
late to change the construction of the
teeth bv anything that they may
do, and too little interest is felt
in the welfare oi humanity sev
eral generations afterward to induce
them to mate any radical cnange in
their manner of living, or to leave the
beaten track of favorite habits and cus
toms.
How to Write far the Papers.
The Boston Post hits the nail on the
head when it says: Communications
should be brief, and there are several
reasons for this. In the first place.
newspaper space is valuable. The
modern newspaper is never troubled
with' the old-time complaint of needing
"something to fill up." The editors
scalpel is constantly reeking from the
slaughter of live news matter and inter
esting miscellany, snort communica
tions are much more likely to find
readers than long ones are, and unless
they are to be read it is much batter not
to publish them, wore contributions can
be represented whers the articles are
short than when they are long, and
one man has as strong a claim upon the
columns as another, provided he fur
nishes as interesting matter- A short
article is usually more pithy and pointed
than a lone one. A subject bhould
have many ramifications to demand
more than half a column in a newspaper.
while all that can be saved even from
that limit uo to a certain point is ant to
be an improvement. That prince of
journalists, the late Samuel Bowles
once anoioeieea ior a ions editorial
and gave as his excuse lack of time to
write a ahorl one. He expressed an im
portant truth in bis usual epigrammatic
way.
TIMELY TOPICS.
Professor Georee L. Voso. of Bowdoin
colleiro. Maine, who is regarded as an
authority upon such subjects, says that
over 200 railroad bridges nave lauen
within the past ten years. He attributes
these "accidents" either to the selec
tion of bad material, faulty construc
tion, and imperfect supervision, or all
ot these causes combined.
It is said that, when completed, the
Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore
will be the most complete and best en
dowed institution of the kind in the
world. The grounds cover an area of
fourteen and one-half acres, and there
will be twenty-eight buildings in the
inclosure. For it and a colored orphan
asylum Mr. Hopkins left four million
dollars.
Adam Wagoner was about the most
popular old man in GalJipolis, Ohio,
but he was a confirmed swearer. The
community was frequently shocked by
bis language, but liked him for nis
kindly heart. His nephew, Philip,
owed him a grudge, and took advant
age of his failing to injure him. w lien
ever he cursed outrageously before wit
nesses, Philip had him arrested and
hned under the law against profanity.
This went on for several years. At
length the justice before whom tho
cases came refused to inflict another
fine. Philip was maddened by the fail
ure of his old device, and killed the old
man on the spot with a pistol.
By an official return relating to Eng
lish merchant shinning, lately issued.
the number of sailing vessels employed,
both in the hom and foreign trade, has
diminished from 19,090 in 1860 to 16.449
in 1879, the tonnnge being 3,852,245 in
the first year, to 3,918,676 in the last.
The height of prosperity for England s
merchant fleet was in 1805, since which
year there has bern a marked falling
off. On the other hand, the number of
steamers has augmented from 9-29 in
I860,' to 3,580 last year, and the tonnage
from 399.491 to 2.331,157. This increase
of about six-fold in the tonnage of the
steamers means more than a similar in
crease of sailing vessels would imply,
for the effective power of the steamer as
a carrier may be three or four times that
of the sailing vessel, as the former will
make three or tour voyages to one ot
the other.
In Zurich, Switzerland, the use of a
portable water power, so to speak, is
being extensively used for household
purposes. Firewood, for example, in to
be sawn into convenient lengths for
burning. A small sawing machine on
wheels is drawn by two men to the
front of a house. They connect by a
flexible tube with the nearest hydrant;
the water flows to the machine; the
saw dances, and cuts up the wood with
surprising rapidity. A portable turbine
has also been invented, and employed
in many places in the same city, in
drivings Gramme machine for the pro
duction of electric light. Water is very
abundant in Zurich; but there are
other towns in which this domestic
water power could be advantageously
introduced. Where it is any object to
kr ep a record of the water used an in
dtoator showing the quantity might be
affixed to the machine.
Daring a recent performance in the
Ttatro del Girco, nt Madrid, a madman
forced hi3 way into tho house, armed
with a hatchet, and contrived to climb
from the auditorium upon the stage,
where, brandishing his weapon furi
ously, lie announced himself to the terri
fied audience as the "Avenger of Man
kind." All attempts to remove him
having proved in va'n, and his lury
momentarily increasing, a detachment
of soldiers received the order to ;o.id
with ball and fire upon him. A minute
later the wretched man lay a corpse
pon the stage, three bullets having
passed through his head; and, this
highly sensational dramatic episode
having been thus brought to a close, the
audience returned to their places, lrom
which they had fled in terror wnen tne
madman made his first and last appear
anco unon the stage, and the evening's
penormances were resumed at tne point
at which they had been interrupted by
Mankind s Avenger."
How Gibralter was Captured.
It was a sudden inspiration which in
duced Sir - eorge Rooke, as he lay, with
a combined fleet of British and Dutch
hips, inactive off Tangier, to make a
ash at the great Spanish fortress on
the opposite side of the straits. Reports,
which proved wen lounueu, said mat
Gibralter was but weakly garrisoned,
and that its defenses were wholly in
adequate to protect it from a vigorous
attack; a bold and sudden descent
might wrest it tnereiore irom apanisn
hands. Accordingly, upon tne nrst oi
August, 1704, the fleet appeared in the
bay, and summoned the place to sur
render. A certain Don Diego de Salinas
was its governor, and he had at his dis
posal just eighty regular soldiers, to
which, by great exertions, he added a
fw hundred volunteers and militia.
With these all U'-wmed and ill-found
as they were, and with but few guns
and small stores of powder and shot, he
made what show he could; out tue
British blue-jackets and marines landing
at three points at the Old and New
moles, and at a bastion now known as
Jumper's from tbe naval captain of that
name who here led the as-ault carried
all before them. As a last resource the
nuns of Santa Clara, followed by a
crowd of terrified women and children,
went in procession to tbe shrine of the
Virgin de Europe, to intercede for
divine interposition; but they fell into
the hands ot the enemy, who had by
this time made themselves misters of
tlie New mole. Successful also at the
other points, Don Diego had no alter
native but to capitulate ana nam down
his flag. The captors then took formal
possession of the place in the name of
Prince George of xxesse, who was
present, and who claimed the throne of
Spain. But itwas the union jack which
was hoisted, and wnicn. Das continued
to wave over the rock of Gibralter from
that day to this.
A horse biscuit is being manufac
tured in Russia to take the place of
oats. Is is made ot crushed oats and
the flour of gray peas, mixed with
hempseed oil and salt, and is four in
ches in diameter. A day's rations
weighs about four pounds, and is equal
to ten pounds of oats. The hon es like
the biscuits when soaked in water, and
if fed exclusively on them, though they
lose in flesh, are still fit for fatiguing
work.
A Modern Jacob.
Tho Philadelphia Telegraph" Paris
letter says: I was recently told by a
young French gentleman (tho son of
the prefect of La llochelle) one of the
strangest romances of real life that ever
came to my knowledge. Some four
years ago a peasnnt boy who lived on
a farm near the town of Clermont
Ferrand saw and fell in love with the
beautiful daughter of a gentleman of
good fortune and position, he being at
that time seventeen years of age and
the young lady was just sixteen. The
new ' Claude Melnotte" was so madly
in love that he went straight to the
house of the young girl's parents and de
manded her hand in marriage. The
father treated the preposterous proposi
tion with good-natured scorn. " Come
back when you have an income of t40,
000 (200,000 francs)." was his answer,
" and then we will see about it." Tho
infatuated youth took him at his word,
and forthwith set to work. Now one
f the peculiarities of the town of Clermont-Ferrand
is a scarcity of wntcr.
There is no river near it, so it relies
for its supply on springs and wells.
Under theso circumstances a spring is
a valuable piece of property and com
mands a relatively nigh price. So the
young peasant lover set on for an ad
jacent mountain, there to search for
hidden springs. My informant said that
lie had honey-combed the whole side of
the mountain with his works, construct
ing at ono point a tunnel over two
miles in length. All this was executed
with his own hands. He worked from
dawn to dark, lives upon potatoes of
his own planting, and never spends so
much as a sou upon a mug of beer
Every Sunday he goes to church in the
town, after which he proceeds to the
house of his lady-love, to ask if she is
married or likely to be. On receiving
a response in the negative he plods con
tentedly homeward, and starts out
afresh to his toil on the morrow. This
life has continued now for full four
years. Up to the present time he has
discovered three important springs
each of which he so.d for $5,000, but,
though now possessed of what a man in
his condition of life is wealth, he
abates none of the hardships of his ex
istence. He has one idea, namely, to
become the possessor of a fortune sum
cient to enable him to claim the hand
of the object of his blind passion. Yet
no one who knows the parties ever
imagines that the young lady will ever
consent to marry him. She is now
twenty years of age, and is pretty, re.
tinea and accomplished, while he is
coarse and unlettered, without even
physical comeliness, as he is short and
thick-set, with a broad, stolid counten
ance. What will be the end of this
dream, I wonder? Will he go mad or
breaR his heart the day he hnds his be
loved either married or betrothed? Or
will he die some day of privation and
overwork, with a vision of success be
fore his eyes.
The Baby.
Tuo bahv is a revolutionist. He ruth
lessly upsets established customs, breaks
in on confirmed habits, and swavs do
spotic command in his realm. There
c in be no -.:onservatism where there is
baby. He is a radical of radicals, and
lie seems to have a hydrophobic horror
of anything nnd everything that savors
oi the old order ot things, lie is an in
definable compound of arrogance an
amiability; is amusing and exasperat
ing; tyrannical and condescending
nilable and dictatorial. When he suck
his fists and protrudes his cheeks, or
forgets his autocratic state in the en
grosaing effort to dine off his toes or the
house cat's tail, he becomes an object
o curious ana nuecuonate interest
When he learns to creep and takes
into his small head to try the effect of
overturning a kettle of hot water on
himseif, or an experimental plunge into
tho cistern, he excites rather more than
a mild solicitude, that is equaled only
by the emotions he arouses when he
manages to get hold of the paternal
razjr with the evident intention to try
us edge on his tongue, buca manifes
tations ol eccentricity as a heels-overhead
tumble downstairs, pulling the
table-cloth off for tho delight of htaring
inn ruina crasu, mutilating your Eun
clay coat with the newly giound family
scissors, or making the souls of horse
car drivers quake by his squatter sover
eignty predilections in favor of the
traok, soon lose their terrors on the
principle that familiarity breeds con
tempt. II there is any danger, near or
remote, into which he haa not projected
himself before he reaches the age of two
years, he is of a verity the far-famed
" most wonderful baby in the world."
But it is the month-old baby to whom
(or which) the grown-up world pays
profoundest homage. The acutest ob
servers of human nature must fail of
anything like intelligent classification of
him. xxe is a law unto himself, inex
plicable, elusive, never of the same
mind on two occasions, and a creature
of most doubtful issue in respect of his
intentions about permitting a quiet
night to pass. In short he is The Baby,
tbe most helpless object in the universe.
and the incarnation of ai absolute
monarchy. With reference to every
thing else, animate or inanimate, the
terms big and little are merely relative;
out the Dioy is a living uetiance ef that
and all other laws, lie is at once the
smallest and the largest factor in the
humnn problem. His rule being of
short duration its despotio character is
correspondingly pronounced. He Is
presumed to have originated the adnge
about making hay while tho sun chines,
and the huge winrows be piles up attest
Ins appreciation ot his own wisdom .
Detroit Free Press.
Ancient Wonders.
Nineveh was fourteen miles long.
eight miles wide, and forty-six miles
around, with a wall iou feet hih, and
thick enough for three chariots abreast.
Babylon was fifty miles within the
walls, which were seventy-five ftet
thick and 100 fret high, with 100 brazen
irht' s. The Ipmnle of Diana, at Enhe-
sus. was 420 feet to the support ol the
roof. It was 100 years in building
The largest of the pyramids was 481
feet iu height, and 853 on the sides. The
base covered eleven acres. Tbe stones
are about sixty feet in length, and the
layers are aoa. it employed dao.noomen
in building. The labyrinth of Egypt
eontains 300 chambers and twelve halls.
Thebes, in J gypt, presents ruins
twenty-seven miles around, once con
taining S50 000 citizens and 400,000
slaves. The temple of Delplos was so
rich in donations that it was plundered
of $59,000,003 : the Emperor Nero carried
away from it two hundred statues.
The walls of Rome were thirteen miles
around.
A Ked Ro.
Oh, rose, my red, rri rose f
IS here bos thy beanty fledf
Low in the west is a sea of fire,
Bnt the great white moon soars high and
higher,
As my garden walks I tread.
Thy white-rose sisters gleam
Like stars in a darkening sky;
They bend their brows with a sudden thrill
To the kins of tbe night dewea, soft and still,
When the warm scnth wind floats by.
And the stately lilies stand
Fair In the silvery light,
Like saint'y vestals, pale in prayer,
Their pure breath sanctifies the air,
As it fragrance Alls the night
But oh! my red, red rose!
My rOBe with the crimson lips!
So bright thon wert in the sunny morn,
Yet now thon art hiding all forlorn,
And thy soul is in drear eclipse!
Dost thou morn thy lover dead
Thy lover, the lordly sun t
Didst thou see him sink in the golden west,
With pomp of banners above his rest T
He shall rise again, sweet one!
He shall rise with his eye of fire;
And thy passionate heart shall beat,
And thy radiant blushes burn again,
With the joy of rapture altor pain,
At the ooming ol his fuet!
Mrt. Julia C. R. Dorr.
avms or IHTEKMT.
Home is the dearest plnce on earth
particularly if there is a ten per cent,
mortgage on it. Middlclown Transcript.
A piece oi gingerbread may serve ns a
barometer, it Is soft to the touch in
damp weather, and bard in dry weather.
The fellow who has engaged himself
to ten girls, and disappointed the whole.
must be a beau of promise. Syracuse
Sunday Times.
A fashion exchange says: " Large fig
ures are going out of style in dresses."
This will please "dear papa" at all
events. Lockporl Union.
A husband telegraphed to his wife:
" What have you for breakfast and how
is the babyr" ihe answer came:
Buckwheat cakes and the measles."
In the middle ages the burial service
was read over a man when he became a
leper, and he was from that time sep
arated from the rest of mankind, except
others like himself.
When tho glass-stopper of a bottle
sticks pour some warm water on it, or
lay a clotn saturated in warm water
around the neclc of tho bottle and the
stopper can be easily removed.
Mr. and Mrs. Bloomer, the latter the
inventor of the Bloomir eoatume for
women, recently celebrated their fnr
tifft! wedding day in Council Bluffs,
Iowa. They formerly lived in Seneca
Falls, N. Y.
Tho three sons of Z. D. Bowen, of
Wadioy, Ca., all use crutches. Their
bones are so soft and brittle as to often .
bieak from even a slight jar. The old
ejt, Sylvester, lias already bu.-'tained
twenty-six fractures.
An ant, three-eighths of an inch long,
carrying a burden of one-Bixth of a
grain, moves at the rate of one mile in
eleven hours. The weight (a small one
compared with that they can carry) is
eighteen times their own.
The secretary of the Liverpool vege
tarian society states that he has walked
500 miles in fifteen days an average of
thirty-five miles per nay on a diet ot
nothing but raw fruit, and this without
unusual fatigue or bodily strain.
Baron Rothschild, of Frankfort, has
bought the celebrated service of plate
nia'fe in the sixteenth century by the
goldsmith Jamitzcr, and which has
b icn long on exhibition at Nurnberg in
the museum devoted to German art.
Tho owncr3.are said to have rec-jived
$20!,000 for it.
A man stopping his paper wrote to
the editor : "I think men ottend to spend
thtir munny for paper, my dad did ant,
and everybody Bed he was the intelli
ecntcs man in the country, and he had
the smartest family of boys thut ever
dug taters." Of course he didn't need a
paper.
" Well I declare," said a stranger the
other day, as he looked at a Roman's
boots, " when they were dealing out
feet they were prettv
liberal with you,
weren't they?" "Yes," replied the
Roman, "they seem to have been more
liberal with me in that particular than
they were with you when dealing out
brains." The stranger turned red in
the face and walked off. He has not
been seen since, and it is presumed he
has bidden himself away to meditate
privately on physiological extremities
and the anatomy of cute remarks.
Too Much Sleep.
The effects of too much sleep are not
less signal than those aribing from its
privation. The whole nervous system
becomes blunted, so that the muscular
energy is enfeebled and the sensationi
and moral and intellectual uianifesta
tions are obtunded. All the bad effects
of inaction become developed. Tho
functions are exerted with less energy,
the digestion is torpid, the excretions
are diminished, while, in some in
s.ances. the secretion of fat accumulates
to an inordinate extent. The memory
is impaired, the powers of imagination
are dormant, and the mind falls into a
kind of hebetude, chiefly because the
functions of tbe intellect are not sum.
ciently exerted when sleep is too pro
longed or too often repeated To sleep
much is not necessarily to be a good
sleeper. Generally I hey are the poorest
sleepers who remain longest in bed
t. ., they awaken less reiresnea man
if the time of arising were earlier by an
hour or two. While it is true that chil
dren and young people require more
sleep than their elders, yet it should be
the care of parents that over-indulgence
be not permitted. Where the habit for
children is to lie in oea until eight or
nine o'cleck in the morning, the last
two hours at least, do not bring sound,
dreamless sleep where the hour for re
tiring is 8 or 9 o'clock p. m., but are
spent in dozing, and, in fact, such ex
eess cannot fail to insure tbe harmful
results described by the authority
quoted. What is called laziness among
children is in very many cases disease,
and is largely due to this as well as the
other causes mentioned that undermine
the foundations of healtn. Go'dtn
RuU.
J
1