I'
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
Nlli DESPERANDtJM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. X.
KID G WAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1880.
NO 39.
A PRATER IN HELU
BT O. L. WILBOH
The earth and heaven pnsa away,
And mind and jMstlce hold fti'l away;
Within the dwclling-placo of peace.
Where, Joy to in y, our holies increase.
The wicked pray, oh, ancli a craycrl
Ve rock and Mils, why Btaiid ye therej
0 ace that ihlet once did piercol
Dread aotil, thou curse, why look so fiercer
Hah I 'twas my shadow frightened me;
Ah no ! no 1 'tis a devil I si-e I
Bold 1 'tis the llijlit of Him doth shin.
To make my shadow! curse divine)
Ah, but my pruyer was late too late!
But Oh I this hate I myself I hate!
Ye rocks and hills, shut out the Hunt:
Fall down and crush me out of sight!
What linrneih in me? Myl Whathell
The sunglosn purity doth swell
To fluniKH within my driti-up soul!
Why focus light boyond the goal?
My Gid I the 11? lit shines ihrough the gate;
1 cannot go I I must not wait!
I viNh not h'aven now, but hell,
To burn me up! 1 cannot tell
Where men or d- vils ever find
A greater hell tlniu cursed mind!
Go back ! fly back 1 ye memories vt
Out of eternity so vast!
Most HiKh Omnipotent, I pray
Make dead my mind! r.nd dnrk my day!
I know Thee who Thou art. Uretit God;
I knew Thee when the earth 1 trod!
Thou mercy of the (lod, 1 hear
I hear Thy tores of loving cheer
To those. Thy followers: ye hells,
Of which the creed of hr.des tells,
In heart and heart, thou fiery lake
Bwell up, and in thy mercy take
Tie sli-ht of good and God and lovo,
And place its toi hires high above!
Oh I shut out heaven from my eight,
And dro.n my soul in endless night!
Where comes not knowledge, dreams, or breath
Nor life; where all is sullen death I
3IH. 1XD MRS. BOJiDURANT.
BY BOUSE HCERE.
"I think yon will find a document
nudcr jour plate that may interest you,"
said Mrs. Bondurant, bddressing her
husband, as he took his seat at the
breakfast table.
The words were uttered with a look
intended to express severe censure, with
eome pity and contempt, and rather
inoro of the latter.
The husband slowly turned over his
plate, took up and read a grocer's bill
$59.34. On the margin were the
words, "Check expected immediately."
" I would rather not send this man a
check just now," said Mr. Bonduract.
" It is true I have a little more than
that amount in the bank, but I shall
need all I have and more also to-morrow
to pay the costs of the suit I am
conducting."
" This is about the answer I expected
to receive," said his wife, "and I must
tell you that your paltry excuses will
not answer for the purpose. That bill
must be paid at once."
" It is scarcely worth while, Julia, to
speak so emphatically in regard to thin
matter," said the husband. "I am do
ing a little business for these grocers,
and although they do not owe me any
thing now, I can, I suppose, get thein
to wait a few days and in the mean
time let us have what goods we need."
"They will do nothing of that sort,"
said Mrs. Bondurant. "And if the bill
is not paid before 3 o'clock to-day they
will send it to my brother, Alfred, who
will pay it and take an assignment of
the claim."
"Then let him do so," said Mr. Bon
duraut, quietly breaking a piece of hard
cracker into his coffee and at the same
time deliberately watching the soften
ing process. "This is what thoy call
hard-tack, I believe. It is better for
sailors than for us poor landsmen. They
have more time to spend soaking it,
unless when the rough weather comes
on, and then I suppose they dispense
with the ceremony of eating until the
storm has expended its fury."
"Yourinsinuations are intended to
exasperate me," said Mrs. Bondurant,
"but I warn you, sir, that you are
treading on treacherous ground."
"If tkt, ground, madam, on which I
am treadiug is composed of your feel
ings I would not exp.ct to find it un
commonly delicate," was the retort.
"Are you willing, sir, to have my
brother pay that grocer's bill?"
"I could have easily arranged it in
such a way that it would not have gone
into his hands, but as I infer from what
you say that the matter has been talked
over between him and you and the
grocer, and that he has agreed to take
an assignment of the bill if I do not
pay it before 3 o'clock to-day, I shall
allow the matter to be disposed of in
that way, and give myself no further
concern in regard to it at present."
" Then it seems you are willing to
have my brother provide for your fam
ily ? That is just what he told me it
would come to when we were married,
and in fact immediately after he first
learned that you were visiting me. My
father and mother also gave me the
6ame warning. They told me more
than fifty times that you would never be
worth a dollar in the world, and they
would have to support us."
" And you are sorry you did not take
their advice?''
" Sometimes I am, if I must tell you
the truth. You know I could have
married Rocky Billings, and I had other
good offers. As for Rocky, he was al
most dying for me. His social stand
ing was not, it is true, quite equal to
yours, and he was not so good-looking,
but he had more business capacity than
n hundred young lawyers like you.
With him for a husband I would never
have suffered the mortification of seeing
a grocer's bill paid by my brother."
"Mr. Billings is still unmarried, I
believe," said the husband dryly.
"What base insinuation are those
words intended to convey? You are
now my husband, and I have no wish
to exchange you for Mr. Billings or any
one else. If I have made a bad bargain
it is right that I should suffer the con
sequences of it, and I intend to do bo
as patiently as I can."
"Whenever you wish to be released
from the consequences, madam, and the
bargain that has led to them, please let
me know," said Mr. Bondurant; and,
without a word more or any token of
affection, he passed down the two flights
of stairs that led to their hired apart
ments and was on his way to his office.
But, before leaving the room in which
he had breakfasted, he plaaed on the
table a $10 bill.
There was an inside history which
this table-talk may suggest but does not
explain. Julia Henderson was the
daughter of a proud, ambitious family,
who had a little means that they were
fond of displaying to tlia greatest ad
vantage. Their daughter Julia was a
young lady of reoogalzed beauty and
mors than ordinary attractions, and
they had hoped that her marriage to
such a man as they would select and
approve would be of some benefit to
them as well as to her, and lift them up
considerably on the scale of worldly
prosperity.
"Can it be possible, Julia, that yon
are receiving the attentions of that
young lawyer?" Mr. Henderson had
said
"Well, no, father," Julia answered;
"not in any other way than that I find
him a pleasant companion. He calls
and takes me out occasionally, in which
I hope you see nothing wrong."
"I don't like the way he looks at you,
Julia. He evidently admires you, and
admiration sometimes changes to love
so easily that it is scarcely possible to
any when or in what way the transition
takes place. I understand he is a some
what able lawyer, but is very poor and
is no doubt likely to remain so in a pro
fession that is crowded until there is no
longer standing room left. You had
better have a talk with your brother
and hear his opinion in regard to this
young lawyer before you allow him to
call many times more.
A soornful and defiant look was the
only answer this suggestion raised, and
the next moment the young lady had
left the. room.
"Yon see how that girl takes and
sets," said Mr. Henderson to his wife,
who had been a silent listener.
"Yes, my dear," said her mother, "and
I am now satisfied that her feelings are
more deeply interested in the young
lawyer than any of us had supposed.
But let Alfred talk with her, and he may
bo able to turn her thoughts away from
young Bondurant and get her to en
courage the attentions of Mr. Billings.
He is rather a low-bred young man, it
is true, but he is making money rapid
ly, and his uncultivated manner need
not alarm us a few weeks spent in so
ciety will make them all right."
"Perhaps so," said Mr. Henderson,
with a look that betrayed more skepti
cism than confidence.
" I had no thought of seriously en
couraging the attentions of Mr. Bondu
rant," said Julia, the moment she began
to feel the pressure of her brothers de
terminations to prevent the acquaint
ance from proceeding any further.
"But now, if you please, Master Alfred,
I shall do exactly as I think best in re
gard to this matter."
From that time onward the young
lady found employment for the whole
of her life-will und the had a good
deal in resisting the effort of her pa
rents and brothers to compel her to dis
miss the youug lawyer,
" If you marry him we shall be ob
liged to support you both, no doubt,"
was her brother's frequent and tantaliz
ing suggestion. " The young fellow is
not making a dollar more than he needs
for his own board and clothes, and he
has actually been obliged to give up
smoking, because he could not afford
cigars, and was too proud to be seen
using a pipe."
The young people had been married
four years when the conversation oc
curred in regard to the grocer's bill.
Young Henderson had been making
some money, a little of which he had
found opportunities occasionally to give
to his sister, and in every instance had
reminded her that he was fulfilling his
predictions. In fact he, and her parents
also, had been continually reproaching
her for her folly in marrying the poor
lawyer.
The unfortunate woman for so Julia
begun to consider herself had no
children now living. One little girl,
born about eighteen months after their
marriage, had lived nearly a year, and
wlu'n its death and burial came the
feelings of the parents- -of the father
especially had been wounded almost
beyond endurance by their being made
to realize their inability to provide for
the funeral expenses in a becoming
manner.
"I must take care of the dead also, as
well as the living," was her brother's un
feeling remark, made while the funeral
preparations were in progress.
The stern logic of long continued ex
perience had finally exhausted the spirit
of the poor wife, and she gradually
came to believe that what she had so
often been told was true, and that she
had made a great mistake in marrying
the poor lawyer. This persuasion, hav
ing become a settled conviction, soon
found expression in complaints and re
proaches which were not very patiently
borne by the man who was conscious of
doing all in his power to make his wife
comfortable, and never spending a cent
for any personal indulgence. Besides,
the amount earned would have enabled
them to live in a style of moderate oom
fort, had not his wife's family contin
ually urged her into expenditures be
yond what her husband could afford.
The young lawyer had, however, at
last got hold of a case which he felt
certain of gaining, and which, when de
cided, would bring a few thousand dol
lars. He had taken the case at his own
risk and cost, and was to receive one
half of the amount received, his client
having expended his last dollar in the
suit, and being unable to do anything
more. In the meantime that over-assiduous
and agonizing brother-in-law,
who T's r"dy to pay the grocer's bill
and take tui assignment of the claim,
had an interest in defeating the suit
and was actually furnishing money for
that purpose.
But these legal and business com pi " -cations
the discouraged and fault-finding
wife did not know much about.
(She knew that the grocer's bill and
other bills were unpaid, and that the
brother had already paid several of
those bills and was holding the claims
against her husband.
"Well, Julia," said Mr. Bondurant,
returning from his office on the evening
of the day when he left without saying
"Good-by;" "I hope you have been
able to get up a plain dinner with the
10 I left on the table this morning."
"I have not used the $10, nor any of
i;," said his wife, binding the money
back to him. "I have had a long and
serious talk with brother Alfred to-day,
and have come to a firm conclusion that
under the circumstances it will be best
for me to return to my father's house
and remain there until you are able to
provido for me and yourself also. For
the present too have as muoh as yon
can do to take ear of yourself, and my
brother has promised to see that I am
comfortably provided for."
Mr. Bondurant regarded his wife for
a few moments in bewildered amaze
ment. He was carefully holding the
$10 bill which he had accepted from
her, but without knowing why she had
handed it back to him. He now dropped
the bill on the table, and clasping his
hands, as he was in the habit of doing
sometimes when trying to get a clear
view of some question that bothered
him, he looked at his wife for a few mo
ments in a solemn and earnest way, and
then said :
"If our dear child had lived I suppose
you would not have left me."
" No, C presume not ; she, no doubt,
would have kept us together. I would
not have taken her from you, and I
know yon would not have gone to live
with me at my father's house. I have
no thought, Alfred, of really leaving you,
but shall be true to my marriage vows,
and shall be ready to return to you as
soon as you are able to provide for me.
But for the present we must part. My
brother tells me that the claim you are
prosecuting will end in nothing, and
that ycu are not worth a dollar to-day,
and it is not likely you ever will be."
"And if that is so, it would seem that
you are leaving me with the expectation
of returning no more."
"That must depend, Mr. Bondurant,"
said the wife, steeling herself to a cold
and firm look, " on the possible contin
gency of your being able, at some future
time, to provide for me in a comfortable
way, which, I am sorry to say, does not
now appear very probable."
"Then good-by forever 1" said tho
husband, rising and withdrawing from
the room, without taking any further
notice of his wife ; nor did he even look
back. , ....
The marriage, as a legal relation, re
mained undisturbed. The husband and
wife, when meeting occasionally on the
street or elsewhere, bestowed upon
each other a bew of civil recognition,
but without exchanging a word.
In this way eight years had passed.
At the end of five years Mrs. Bon
durant's family, including that devoted
brother, had been both unable and un
willing to do anything more for her,
and for the last three years she had
been supporting herself by performing
the duties of secretary for an insurance
company. Why that situation had been
given to her just at a time when she
had no other means of support, and at a
salary much larger than she had ex
pected to receive, was a mystery about
winch she had her own private suspi
cions. It was a cold morning in mid-winter,
and the sidewalks were oovered with
ico. Mrs. Bondurant, on her way to
her office, had just passed the manly
form of one whom she had never ceased
to admire yes, love, for his image had
always remained in her heart. Every
photograph, piece of jewelry, or other
memento that he had left with her had
been looked at and handled again and
ajrain, and some of these articles she
had often bathed with her tears..
On passing him this time she had
received the usual look and bow, and
nothing more. The poor woman could
not, however, refrain from casting a
look back for an instant to catch a
Khmpse of his receding form, and while
she was doing so the treacherous ice,
as if intending some mischief, per
mitted her to fall suddenly and at full
length.
" Are you hurt, my dear? " were the
first words she heard, and her quick,
spontaneous answer was :
"Not much, I hope, darling hus
band I " And as he lifted her into the
carriage he had hailed and took a seat
by her side, with his arm around her,
she added, "How glad I am that you
were there to assist me."
"Yes, dear, that was a slippery path,"
no said softly.
Which I hope I may never pass over
again 1 " murmured the wife, earnestly.
"I gained that suit," said the hus
band, as the carriage was taking them
to his home, which could now be hers
also.
"Yes, dear, I knew you gained it,
and I was so glad 1 I have saved more
than half my salary the last three years.
You know, and so do I, that most of
that salary has come form you.
The long embrace and fond kiss
which each received and returned was
a mutual assurance that through their
long separation their hearts had become
united more firmly than ever.
"it was ail my nil my fault, was
what the repentant and now happy wife
wanted and endeavored to say, but she
was stopped every time.
"No, no, my dearl" her husband would
answer, "These self-reproaches, coming
from you, are painful to me. The past
has done its work in its own way, and
now let us remember the lessons it has
taught us, and forget the sorrows
through which those lessons have been
learned I
Eloquence.
Eloquence in a man is as difficult to
define as fascination in a woman. It is an
indescribable something which carries
us away captive, we know not why or
how. And it is almost infinite in vari
ety. Burke was, and is, considered one
of the greatest, if not the greatest, of
English orators ; yet the House of Com
mons never adjourned after a speech ol
bis to enable the members to regain
their mental balance. The House of
Commons did do that for Sheridan
None will deny to Webster first-class
oratorical ability, yet he could never
sweep an audience with him as did
Clay. Burke and Webster will live
forever in print; Sheridan and Clay in
that fond tradition which is quite as
imperishable, if not as satisfactory.
Sargent S. Prentiss was probably more
eloquent than either Sheridan or Clay,
yet he exists only as a dim and fading
memory. It is doubtful whether the
very highest order of eloquenoe can be
preserved in any other way. The sub
tle spirit that pervades it and gives to
it irresistible power evaporates in type.
The body is there, but the soul has
tied. Ho the grandest eloquence may
be said to die with the breath that
carries it to the ear. Domosthenes and
Cicero we read them with delight, but
what must they have been to those
who heard the words of living fire rush
from ins speakers Hps.
USEFUL HISTS.
To Restore velvets. Hold over a
basin of boiling water, back down. It
takes a long time, out tne nap will rise.
To Clean Black Cassimere. Wash
hot suds with a little borax in the
water, rinse in very blue water, and iron
while damp on the wrong side.
To ReMOVE SOOBOH FROM LlNEN.
Peel and slice two onions, extract the
juice by pounding and squeezing ; cut
up nan an ounoe oi nne wane soap and
add to the juice ; two ounces of fuller's
earth and half a pint of vinegar ; boil
all together ; when cool, spread over the
scorched linen and let dry on; then
wash and boil out the linen, and the
spots will disappear.
To Restore Faded Upholstery.
The following directions were recently
given to a correspondent of the London
Furniture Oatette t Beat the dust out
of them thoroughly, and afterward brush
them ; then apply to them a strong lath
er of castile soap by means of a hard
brash ; wash the lather off with clear
water, Mid afterward wash them with
alum water. When dry the colors will
be restored to their original freshness.
When the colors have faded beyond re
covery they may be touched with a pen
cil dipped in water colors of a suitable
shade, mixed with gum water.
Lemonade. Few persons understand
properly the art of making lemonade.
The lemon should first be rolled between
the hands until it is quite soft, the skin
removed with a sharp knife, and every
pip extracted, the lemon being held over
a tumbler that no juice may be lost in
the operation. The pulp should then
be divided into small pieces, and the su
gar thoroughly mixed with it. Last of
all, the requisite amount of water should
be added. Orangeade may be made in
the same way as lemonade, using less
sugar. They both should be ioed. Im
perial drink is made by adding a small
teaspoonful of cream of tartar dissolved
in boiling water to each pmt of lemon-
ado.
Petroleum fob Rustic Work. "We
see on every hand, says an exchange.
"handsome rustic work falling to decay
and becoming distorted by age. It is
commonly made of a kind of wood which
does not last long, boak it thoroughly
with crude petroleum when new, and it
will remain unchanged indefinitely. A
rustic summer-house on a shaded part of
our grounds would have been unusually
exposed to dampness and decay had not
his been prevented a dozen years ago
f petroleum. The peculiar brown color
imparted by a mixture of the heavy oil
remains unchanged : and a lattice-work
of pme lath a fourth of an inch thick.
fully exposed to dampness and weather,
is as sound and unworn as ever. The
oil is now so cheap that there is no ex
cuse for omitting: its ap: lication. and
it may be rapidly and easily brushed
over the surface, and sunk into the pores
with a whitewash brush. Aoolv it
heavily."
uuke of .diphtheria wuen a mem
her of the family is attacked by this
fearful disease, the best medical aid
should at once be called. The danger
is too great to allow this advice to pass
mheeded. Indeed, even in apparently
he lit cases, that appear to be progress
ing to a speedy and favorable tormina-
tion, the patient often suddenly dies,
and what are called the sequence of the
disease its later effects on the organs
und tissues of the body frequently re
s-ilt in death, or protracted disorder
and suffering. It will therefore be seen
that intelligent professional treatment
is necessary to prevent, if possible, such
serious results. But in some cases a
ihysician may be so far away as to ren
der his assistance practically impossi
ble. For such, we say there are three
principal remedies. The first is the
saturated solution of chlorate of
potash, given in teaspoonful doses ev
ery hour. The French physicians rely
largely on this. The second is chlorine-
water diluted with from two to four
times as much water. A prominent
physician of Springfield, Mass., has for
the last sixteen years found it almost
uniformly effective. Prior to its use,
he lost half his cases. The third rem
edy is sulphur. Dr. Field, of England,
has obtained remarkable cures with it,
His prescription is, we believe, to mix a
teaspoonful of the flour oi sulphur in a
wine-glass of water, and give it as a
gargle. If the patient is nnable to gar
gle, blow some of the dry flour through
a quill upon the diseased paits of the
mouth and throat; or burn some of tho
sulphur on a live coal, and let the pa
tient inhale its fumes; or, filling the
room with the fumes, let him walk about
and inhale them. The patient should
always be kept warm, the bowels open,
and the system well nourished with
easily-digested food.
Eccentricities of the Olden Time.
Mr. J. Underwood, who died in 1733,
left 6,000 to his sister on con
dition of being buried in the following
manner : At the grave-side, six gentle
men, who were appointed to follow liini,
sung the last stanza of the twentieth
Ode of the second Book of Horace.
No bell was tolled nor black worn ; no
one was invited but these six gentle
men; and no relation followed the
corpse. The coffin was painted green,
and the deceased was buried with his
clothes on. With hint were buried
three copies of Horace, Bentley's Mil
ton, and a Greek Testament. After
supper, they sang the thirty-first Odd
of the first Book of Horace, all being in
strict accordance with the will.
A maiden lady who died in 1786 left
the following singular legacies in her
will: "Item I leave to my dear enter
taining Jacko (a monkey) 10 per an
num during his natural life. Item To
Shock and Tib (a lap-dog and cat) 5
each for their annual subsistence during
life; but should it happen thut Shock
died before Tib, or Tib before Shock,
ihen, and in that case, the survivor to
have the whole.
About 1770, there was living in Lon
don a tradesman who had disposed ol
eleven daughters in marriage, with each
or whom he gave their weight in half
pence as a fortune. The young ladies
must have been bulky, for the lightest
of them weighed 50, 2 shillings and
eig htpence.
The hottest plaoe on earth is Bahrn,
on tha rsMiin ff-ntr. .
A New Story of Lincoln.
Gen. Steel, being the oldest member
iu continuous service of the Indiana
Legislature, was appointed Chairman of
the committee delegated by the Legis
lature to meet President .Lincoln at tno
State line and escort him to Indianapo
lis. At Lafayette there was an immense
gathering of people to greet the Presi
dent, and an earnest call by them for a
speech, a wish which he seemed very re
luctant to comply with, rinding, how
ever, that he must say something to
quiet tho multitude, he related the fol
lowing : He said his situation reminded
him of a man out in Illinois, who was a
candidate for nomination for an office.
The convention at which the nomina
tion was to be made was held at a town
some miles distant from where the
candidate resided. On the morning of
the day on widen the nomination was to
be made, the candidate hired a team to
take him to the scene ol his nopes.
The horse proved very slow. The man
pounded and swore, and swore and
pounded, but with his best efforts he
did not get through till after the con
vention had adjourned and his hopes
were blasted. He returned home in a
frame of mind which you can imagine.
The horse had been hired of the fore
man of the livery stable, and was re
turned to him.
Our candidate did not waste much of
his powder on the foreman, but, on his
way home, meeting the owner, he de
nounced him in the strongest terms for
letting him have such a horse. Tho
owner said there must be some mistake
about it ; that his horses were all good
travelers, and finally persuaded nun to
return to the stable to find out the
trouble. WThen they cot to the stable,
the owner asked the man in charge what
horse he had given the man. " I gave
lam the hearse horse." "Hearse horse I
hearse horse 1 " exclaimed the man.
"Why. if a man should start to a fune
ral with such a horse as that, he would
not reach the crave till two weeks after
the resurrection," and, said Mr. Lin
coln, if I make a speech in every town
1 pass through, I shall not reach ash
ington till two weeks after the inaugura
tion. Chicago inter (Jcean.
Good Humor.
Good humor is rightly reckoned u
most valuable aid to happy home life.
An equally good and useful faculty is a
sense of humor, or the capacity to have
little fun along with the humdrum
cares and works oi me. we au Know
how it brightens up things generally to
have a lively, witty companion, who
sees the ridiculous points of things,
and can turn an annoyance into an oc
casion for laughter. It does a great
deal better to laugh over some domestic
mishaps than to cry or scold about them,
Many homes and lives are dull because
they are allowed to beoome too deeply
impressed with a sense of the cares and
responsibilities of life to recognize its
bright and especially its mirthful side,
Into such a household, good, but dull,
the advent of a witty, humorous friend
is like sunshine on a cloudy day,
While it is always oppressive to hear
persons constantly striving to say
witty or funny things it is comfortable,
seeing what a brightener a little fun
is, to make an effort to make
some at home. It is well to turn off an
impatient question sometimes and to
regard it from a humorous point of
view, instead of being irritated about it.
" W no, what is the reason 1 never cau
find a clean shirt? exclaimed a good,
but rather impatient, husband, after
rummaging all through the wrong draw
er. His wife looked at him steadily lor
a moment, half inclined to be provoked ;
then, with a comical look, she said, 1
never guess conundrums ; I give it up."
Then he laughed, and they both
laughed, and she went and got his
shirt, and he felt ashamed of himself
and kissed her ; and then she felt hap
py, and so what might have been an oc
casion for hard words and unkind feel
ings became just the contrary, all
through the little vein of humor that
cropped out to the surface. Some
people have a peculiar faculty for giv
ing a humorous turn to things when
they are reproved. It does just as well
oftentimes to laugh things off as to
scold them off. Laughter is better than
tears. Let us have a little more of it at
home. Scottish Ar.erican.
Italian Postal Curiosities.
The distribution of letters is, in fact,
one of the weakest points in the Ital
ian postal svstom. Except in large
towns the postoffice does not profess to
make any house-to-house distribution
at all, except on the payment oi a
small fee. generally a sou for each
packet delivered to the postman; and
in the large towns the delivery is done
in a very careless manner. The post
man rarely takes the trouble to ciiino
the stairs to the different apartments,
except lust before Christmas, but con
tents himself with leaving au the let
ters for a house with a porter, who de'
livers them whenever he happens to be
going up-stairs : if the porter is not in
the way the letters go back into the
bag until the next round is made, or are
even sometimes left at a shop near,
No wonder then that letters frequently
miscarry without such willful intention
as the postman showed who was dis
covered one Christmas stuffing all his
letters into a sewer grating that he
might get the sooner to his Christmas
dinner. The exouse for non
delivery is that with houses of
five or six stories the work is
too hard for the postman; but the
remedy for that is obvious. It is only
fair to say that the postoftice does not
recognize this haphazard distribution ;
but complaints only remedy the evil for
a time, and somehow one's letters seem
to miscarry more frequently after mak'
ing them. As a consequence most busi
ness houses pay a small fee to the post
office to have a box of their own, into
which all of their letters are put, and
withdrawn by a messenger.
The difficulties nut in the way of cash'
ing postoffice orders (and also, it may
be added, of obtaining registered let
ters) are most vexatious. You must
produce some one to identify you who
is known to the officials, and it is easy
to see how difficult this may often be;
otherwise a notarial certificate is re
quired, and that is only removing the
difficulty a step further. PaJ Mall
An Incident of the TTar.
On a raw, gloomy afternoon in the
winter of 1864, Col. Senter and the
writer had an appointment with Presi
dent Lincoln on business conneoted
with the proteotion of the commerce
of the lakes. As we were about
to be ushered into the private
room of the President. Mr, J
well-known lawyer of Ohio, seized both
of us somewhat roughly by the should
ers, and begged us in earnest tones for
the love of God and humanity to ask
Mr. Lincoln to see him and his client,
if only for one moment. "All day," he
said, "we have tramped wearily by the
door, hoping in vain the President
would relent and give ns a hearing.
Look, for mercy's sake," he continued,
at that noble white head and tottering
figure, with the hands tightly clasped
nervously before him. That old man
is a father; his only son, a lad of 19, is
to be shot this afternoon at 6 o'clock,
unless the President interferes. Stanton
has approved the sentence, Lincoln has
declined to interfere he will not see
me, and, unless we can get the ear of
the President, the boy will be shot, and
this old man and Lis wife will be
maniacs."
Tim furrier nf the hav at this moment
came forward, a venerable old gentle
man, with long white hair falling upon
his shoulders. His face was one oi tne
saddest sights I ever saw. The grief
and anxiety so plainly written upon it
plainly showed the torture he was snt
fering. We took the old gentleman
kindly by the hand, told him we would
beg the President to see him, and Dade
him hope for the best. Mr. Lincoln
was in the gayest of humors, some
thing specially funny having taken
place in an interview just closed with a
large committee from Baltimore, and
he reoitedthe whole matter in tho mer
riest manner, accompanied with shouts
of laughter. For an hour Mr. Jjineoin
gave himself up to relaxation and rest,
telling the usher to bring him no cards
till he rang his bell.
At the end of this tune Mr. John U.
Nicolay, then private secretary, now
Marshal of the Supreme Court, came
quietly into the room, leaned over the
President's chair and whispered some
words of private conversation in his
ear. In an instant the President ceased
speaking, his face became cold and sol
emn in composure, and he appeared to
reflect gravely for a moment before re
plying. Quietly looking baok over his
cbair. he said slowly and distinctly
" Tell Mr. I will not see him. I
cannot. Don't ask me again. Tell him
1 have read the papers in the case ; all
of them fully, word for word. The boy
deserted three times, the last time
when on guard at Washington, ftnd he
can not be pardoned. I will not inter
fere. He must be shot. Mr. moolay
at once left the room, and Mr. Lincoln
ngain renewed the conversation at the
point he had broken off. He made no
allusion to the interruption, and evi
dently did not wish either of us to
speak of the subject in any manner. It
was plain that his mind was made up,
and his decision irrevocable.
The lawyer, on getting the message
from Mr. Nicolay, admitted further
effort was useless, and at onoe started
with his client to cross the bridge into
Virginia, and drive where the boy was
confined a prisoner. They reached the
camp in time to find the young man
ready for execution. The parting be
tween father and son was so affecting
that no one could look upon it. Tho
officer in command had the broken
hearted old man carried tenderly to a
tent, and at 6 o'clock promptly the
young soldier was shot dead as a de
serter, in the presence of his regiment.
Cleveland Herald.
Cape nnil Sword.
When Bonaparte first paid court to
Madame de Beauharnais, neither was
rich enough to keep a carriage, and the
young hero, who was deeply in love,
often gave the charming widow his arm
when she went to visit her man of
business, a notary named Raguideau.
Madame, who had a great oonhdence in
this legal adviser, who was a friend as
well, went to see him immediately after
her engagement to Bonaparte, who, as
usual, accompanied her, but, from mo
tives of delicacy, did not enter the no
tary's cabinet, but remained in an ad
joining room, where several clerks
v. ei e writing.
I he door being imperfectly closed,
' here heard nearly all that was said
d uring the interview, and especially the
arguments used by Raguideau to deter
Madame de Beauharnais from the mar
riage she acknowledged herself about
to contract.
" Mark my words, madame," said the
notary, "you are about to commit a
great folly, of which jou will bitterly
repent. Why, this man you are about
to espouse has nothing in the world but
a cape and a sword."
Said Josephine: "Bonaparte never
spoke to me of this, and I had not the
faintest suspicion that he had overheard
Raguidoau's contemptuous words. Can
you, Bourrienne, figure to yourself my
astonishment when, eight years after,
ou the day of his coronation, as soon as he
was invested with his imperial robes, he
said, ' Let them go and seek Raguideau ;
have him come instantly, 1 have some
thing to say to him." -
The notary was promptly brought,
and stood much astonished before the
Emperor, who with his peouliar sar
donic smile said to him, "Monsieur I
have I nothing in the world but a cape
and a sword?"
Didn't Declare lliinseif. .
When Ralph Waldo Emerson was
traveling in Egypt, with his daughter,
they met an Englishman who did all in
his power to make it pleasant for them,
and, when the time came lor their sepa
ration, said : " You may wonder, sir, at
my having overstepped my usual re
serve so far as to become so intimate
with you, but it is for the sake of a
countryman of yours, one bearing the
same name Emerson Ralph Waldo
Emerson. He has done me muoh good,
and I hope some time to cross the ocean
to meet him." And Mr. Emerson never
told him it was himself whom he
sought
BBEYHTE8.
Philadelphia has 7,681 grog shops.
The enrolled militia of Massachusetts
numbers 245,762.
Canon Fabrar is said to have a sweet
and musical voice.
Senator Blaine wears a nickel-plated
watch that cost $7.50.
Apples were never before so plentiful,
of such fine quality, and so cheap.
At a mnnnt. dinner the Queen of En
gland plucked ripe peaches from potted
trees.
Sweab not at all," not even when
Eutting up a depraved and ungoverna
le stove-pipe.
Mun Yew Chuno. a Chinaman who
weighs just 100 pounds, is coxswain of
the Yale crew.
Miss Emily Faithftjll has postponed
her visit to the United States for the
present season.
John E. Owens, the actor, has given
up the stage for mining speculation in
San Francisco.
Bell, the teleohone man. has been
elected professor in Johns Hopkins Uni
versity, Baltimore.
The Lowell Courier believes that the
lover who pressed his suit was a tailor
or clothes-cleaner.
There are in Georgia 88,522 colored
men who own, by the tax receivers' re
turns for their respective counties, 651,
199 acres of land.
Providence. R. I., has twenty-five
national banks with a capital of $15,
145,600, and $3,251,203 surplus and un
divided profits.
Ghastly, iollv" is given as the latest
addition to fashionable slang in England.
It was probably created for use at a
mother-in-law's funeral.
Mrs. John C. Green has given $100,
000 to the American Sunday-School
Union, to be used in developing a higher
order of Sunday-sohool literature.
There are hundreds of entertaining
writers who would be good historians il
they did not know so many things that
have never happened. New Orlean
Picayune.
Mark Twain draws and paints a little.
ITu drew the lumber to build a fence at
the back of his house, and the white
washing on said fence is said to be one
of the finest sights in Hartford.
" In what condition was the patriarch
Job at the end of his life?" asked a
Brooklyn Sunday-school teacher of a
quiet-looking boy at the foot of the
cluss. ' ' Dead," calmly replied the boy.
A horse in Nevada, being sick with
colic, ended his sufferings by deliber
ately dashing out his brains against the
stone wall of the corral. It was in Ne
vada, also, that a pet dog recently com
mitted suicide by drowning.
W. N. Armstrong, a lawyer of New
York oityj has been appointed Attorney
General in the new Cabinet of King
Kalakaua, of the Sandwich islands.
His father was one of the first mission
aries to the islands, and he himself was
born there.
Suicides are on the increase in France.
The number in 1870 was 4,157 ; in 1872,
5,275; in 1874, 5,617; in 1876, 6,804;
iul877, 5,922; and in 1878 -to which
only statistics have been made up
6,424. A great number of cases, too,
are hushed up and never appear.
A prize was offered for the mother
who presented the greatest number of
her own children at the Indiana State
fair. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Line were
each accompanied to the fair by nine,
but Mrs. Line gave birth to a tenth on
the grounds, and so took the prize.
A theological professor asked his
class the question whether they could
think of any reason why the grave of
Moses should have been so strictly con
cealed, and a simple youth, who, un
fortunately, stammers, thought it must
be "be-because they would t-take him
up and st-stuff him."
Among the languages of civilized na
tions English is the most widespread. It
is the mother tongue of about 80,000,000
poople ; German, of between 60,000,000
und 60,000,000; French, of between
40,000,000 and 50,000,000 ; Italian, of
28,000,000, and Russian, of between
55,000,000 and 60,000,000.
The correspondence of Peter the
Great will shortly be published by im
perial authority at St Petersburg.
The work of editing the materials has
already been seven years in hand. The
text is elucidated by commentaries from
the pen of the Russian Academician
Bytchkoff. The appearance of the vol
umes has long been anxiously awaited,
aud is expected to be a literary event of
the first order, no less on account of the
monumental character of the work than
tho elegance of its execution. It is
probable that it will contain many inter,
eating revelations.
A Woman's Tactics.
When one woman is jealous of another.
sho rarely attacks her openly ; but she
instinctively talks a great deal about her,
and the general drift of her remarks un
der such circumstances must be familiar
to every one whose acquaintanceship is
not confined to the male sex. It is cer
tain that she will never admit her jeal
ousy but beyond that there is no say
ing what observations she may mane
about her enemy ; nor will she miss any
opportunity of saying an unkind word
of her. She will generally contrive,
however, that none of her weapons of
attack shall be so damaging as her praise.
She will allow that her enemy is beauti
ful beautiful as a tigress but she will
affirm that she is wicked ; she will ad
mit that she is amusing, but she will de
clare her to be ill-natured ; if she calls
her innocent, she also calls her silly:
and if she praises her as true-hearted
and trustworthy, she stigmatizes her as
unsympathetic and uninteresting. If
she begins by describing her as clever,
she goes on to hint that she is an infldeL
If she praises her balls and her parties,
she abuses her for being too fat or too
thin, or mentions some social failing.
There are plenty of other faults with
which ladies accuse each other behind
their backs, such as inhospitality, idle
ness, having "odd people" to stay
with them, frequently changing their
servants, and even telling lies ; but it is
needless to multiply instances. Such
accusations are all alike unkind and
unjust