HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher
NIL DE8PEIIANDUM,
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. X.
EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1881.
NO. 61.
3
The Unseen Friend.
Lile is too long lor me. I cannot hew
The weary days and honra.
But II I ibare
Thy weary vigil, wilt thon .till despair?
My burden weighs me down. I am not tree
lo haste with teager Btops.
Yet 1 will be
Thy help aid strength. Divide thy load with
me.
The path is strange and ragged, and the night
rails blaok along the sky.
I will be sight
For thee, laint soul, and guide thy feet aright.
May, but fair homelights on the valley gleam.
And voices enll.
What doth earth's splendor seem
Better, tnoie lasting than too glow-worm's
beam?
And is there, then, for me, no home nor
love
Naught but those barren wastes?
So thou shalt prove
The bliss God givetb to bis own above.
Thou, who art thou, that by me toilest on,
Untlinnked, unasked T
Friend, when thou lookest upon
My Ince, thy luce in heaven will be won!
Mary Aingt Dt Vft.
A BACHELOR'S ROMANCE.
A vigorous r ull nt the front door-bell
start' fl Mr. Wells a', with his leet coni
f ortaH i cisffl c-n his desk, chair tipped
back, nnrt the fumes of an odorous Ha
vana pervading the apartment, lie in
rlulecf! in his usual after dinner smoke.
Mr. Frcdeiierr. Wells was a confirmed
bHclicicr, and notwithstanding the many
solicitations of his fair friends, whose
charms hud failed to melt his obdurate
heart, Ft ill persisted in eschewing so
ciety and living with Lis sister almo t
the life of a recluse. But Mr. Wells
had not always been so exclusive; only
a few years belore le had met and loved
Lucy Shel'.on. ti e daughter cf one of
Chicago's wealthy c itizens. This young
lady, though refu-ing to bo his wile, ac
knowledged her hesirt to be his, but she
had T( n.'ied her father to marry his
partner, Joseph Parker, and circum
stances over which the had no control
conrellrd her to kcp her word and
many his rival -her fathers choice. Iu
vain he pictured to her the wrong the
wou'd do him. herself, and her husband j
notLins could turn her from her course.
Not wishing to witness Parker's tri
umph, Mr. Wells resolved to leave
Chicago. Aecfirdincly Le, with his
only sister, removed to the East, where
thev occupied an elegant l.oi'se in one
of New England's llourisLing cities
Jntl.cirpracii'ul Ea-tern de-me rumors
had readied tliim o iiio failure of the
hotseof f-hdu n & Parker. L:iterthe
Bad rtory ol jouijr Parker's downfall
reached their ' rriputheiic ears how.by
becoming a victim tf the demon, inletu
piranco, he Lat reduced his lair young
wife to the veeisily cf t,ivin.' maii
lcpecms in ord-.-r tt keep st-n vation l.oni
her door. Mr. Wells, by thinking o
Lucy as the wi'p of another i.r.d a wo
man false to i:i i' !.e-i!t"s Inst imiu'.ses
sought to banish hrr forever from hip
mind, and while he pitied the un'ortu
nate Lucy, he still tin light that she, ii
a measure, doei v d her sad fate. With
thef-e hitter feel ns would come a wish
to bt-ctch ou' a helping hand to thi
woman, who. by miming iiis love, had
consigned him to a hopeless, hapless,
existence.
On the afternoon cur story opens he
was musing upon a means of aidins
Mrs. Parker for he knew her proud
spirit would refuse, any pecuniary as
sistance from him when the sound of
an unusually loud rinij of the door-bell
aroused him from his reverie, and in
stantaneously brought his feet and chair
to their proper position. " Whew !" he
exclaimed, as lie knocked the ashes from
his cigar, "something unusual is
wanted to warrant such impatience."
Just then the door of his study opened,
and his sister called him to come and
see what hnd been left at their doi-r
Hastily following her into the hall, he
beheld, to his surprise, in the arms of a
servant-wbo txplained that she had
found "the little tuing" lying on the
door step when she opened tho door
an infant some seven or eight months
old, wrapped in a Luge shawl, and
calmlv gazing with bright bui eyes at
the astonished group Taking the child in
his arms, Mr. Wells proceeded to remove
the shawl and found pinned to the dress
a card bearing the name Lucy, and gath
ering the little form t j his breast, reat
tears welled up into his eyes as he bent
his head over the tiny baby face and
murmured: "Those eyes! that name!
Surely, tLis is Luc's child " Then, as
if ashamed of his emotion, be handed
the child to his fci&ter, telling her in a
eruff voice to see to its wants, vanished
into his sanctura.slammingthe door with
a bang that plainly told her he did
not wish to be interrupted; and
here, free from aoital gaze,
gave vent to his pent-up feeli gs ; and
while sous siioou lis maniy irauie, me
question, can this be Lucy's child P con
stantly recurred to him. He had not
even heard that she had a child j besides,
he knew she was in Chicago very re
cently, in a state of abject poverty.
But,notwithstanding these contrarieties,
the resemblance he fancied existed be
tween this little waif and Mrs. Parker,
only served to coudrm him in the idea
that this was indeed her child; then
again he would ask himself How
came it to that city ? to his doorP None
of his friends in Chicago knew ot his
whereabouts, i.nd bow was it possible
for Mrs. Parker thus to leave her child
to the mercy of a man she had so cruelly
wronged? At length, not finding a
satisfactory answer to his queries, he
resolved to keep this little foundling, to
bring it up as his own, cherish it as a
boon Irom heaven sent to cheer his
lone'y life and bring sunshine in to his
heart and homo.
"Well! Ellen, hejw do you and the
little stranger agree?" playlully inquired
Mr. Wells, us he met his sister at the
tea-table that evening.
" Her ladyship and myself are on
wonderfully good terms, considering our
limited acquaintance," laughingly re
joined his Bister. " Come and see her
new quart crs, but, as she is asleep,
you must make as little noise as pos
sible!" "Oh! hoi the little tyrant has issued
her decrees thus early in her reign,"
jrayly retorted Mr. Wells; " but she'll
not find an obedient subject in me;' and
with stealthy steps he followed Ellen
into the next room, where.lyinguponan
In i-u 4 .. 1 1 . .... 1 1 . 1 vi r-. r r rr i t 11 r. . , V. A .
arm-chair and pillows, was the form of
the sleeping child. As. Mr. Wells stood
gazing at the infantile face, the blue
eyes opened and looked up at him, while
a bright smile lit up the biby features
and rendered more striuing the memory
of another pairof eyes that had looked
into his, another smile that had once
shed its rys over his natbwav-
Ellen was delighted at the prospect of
. .1. !- 1 . . 1 , ,
uniuiK iui in in iibue one, wuose coming
she felt would dispell her brother's gkom
and bring iov to them both.
That evening, on returning home at a
late hour, Mr. Wells perceived a pros
trate figure lying directly in front of his
door.
" Hello ! Who is this? You will freeze
to death in this blinding storm," he
exclaimed. But the figure remained
motionless, and, approaching, Mr. Wells
proceeded to uncover the face. As the
gleam of the street-lamp fell upon the
upturned countenance of a young, and
once beautiful, woman he stageered
back, muttering . " Oh, my God ! Has it
indeed come to thisP My poor,
poor, Lucy!" and raising the lrail
form in his strong arms he
carried her into the house,
calling to his sister, who was sitting up
wniting his return, to send for a physi
cian and bring restoratives, as he had
just found Lucy Shelton, dead, or
nearly so, Rt their door.
Ellen, who had known and loved
Lucy during her happier days in Chi
cago, assuring herself that she had only
fainted, immediately set about
bringing back to life the
inanimate ' form. At length her
efforts were rewarded ; the color came
slowly back to the pallid cheek, the
beautiful eyelids quivered and re
vealed a pair of blue eyes that
wandered in a restless, searching glance,
from face to face, as if looking for some
beloved object. In tones of niteous
agony she wailed : " Oh! my baby! my
lost darling!" Then, as if speaking to
some unknown person, she would clasp
her poor little hands and implore the
restoration of her child .
The doctor declared hers to be a most
precaiious case of brain fever, and that
her recovery would be almost a miracle.
as some great mental sorrow was aiding
tue ravages ot mis terrible disease.
lor many weeks Lucy's life tottered
on the verge of eternity. Mr. Wells
and his sister were untiring in their care
and watchfulness, making every effort
in their power to save the life of the
hapless mother of their little foundling,
for as such both had grown to consider
her.
During her ravings she reproached
her faithless husband with having
robbed her of her only source of hap
piness her child, and besought him, in
plaintive tones, to bring back her baby,
to tell her where he had hidden their
child. On one occasion she pleaded so
piteously that she be restored to her
arms, that Ellen, moved by her entreat
ies, brought the child and laid it at her
sielo; but instead of assuaging the
mother's sorrow, this only increased her
agony, as, turning away from her little
one. she accused them of trying to de
ceive her. "My husband has stolen
my child," she cried. "Oh! what shall
Id) without mv darling P "
One day, after Mrs. Parker had been
ill lor about six weeks, Ellen entered
tier room to see after her patient's wants.
Oa approaching the bedside a thin, little
tiand clasped her3, and a trembling
voice inquired :
" Have I been ill long P Oh, Ellen!
why did you call me bnck to a life of
misery and soirow P"
"Hush; you must not talk now.
When you are stronger all wiu be ex
plained," answered the delighted Ellen,
and kissing her pallid cheek, and recom
mending her to rest, she fled to her
brcther with the welcome tidings of
Mrs. Parker's recovery.
On reaching Mr. Wells' study, she
found him in a state of intense ex
citement, caused by something he
had read in the newspaper which he
convulsively clutched with one hand,
while with the other he pointed to a
paragraph that read ;
"Last night during a quarrel in one
of the drinking dens in this city, a
young man named Joseph Parker was
Bhot through the heart by an unknown
assassin. As Parker is a stranger in the
city, his body will be in the morgue
until to-morrow, in case some of his
friends might wish to claim it."
" A terrible end to an ill-spent life,"
was Ellen's verdict, as, g'ancing over
the article, she realized how just are
the punishments of an all-wise God.
" Lucy has regained her reason," she
told her brother, "and is sensible of her
child's loss. We must conceal it
safely and the death of her husband
from her until she is sufficiently strong
to bear this double shock.'1
"Yon are right; my dear sister," re
joined Mr. Wells: "but in the mean
time I will have the unfortunate Parker
decently interred ."
Accordingly he proceeded to the
morgue, and there recognized in the
bloated, scarred face the features of a
once brilliant man and the husband of
the unhappy Lucy. By Mr. Wells
orders the remains were conveyed
to the nearest churchyard, and a
plain marble slab erected, to mark
the resting-place of him who had
been the cause ot his unhappiness and
of Lucy's misery.
Under uuen wens' skiuiui nursing,
Mrs. Parker's return to health was
rapid. Day by day she gained new
strength, till at length the doctor pro
nounced her strong enough to hear the
tidings of her child's saiety. As yet Mr.
Wells bad not seen her, and only on one
occasion had she mentioned her pre
server's name. This was, when speaking
of her past wretched existence, she
blamed herself for having not only
blighted her own lite, but for being the
cause of his misery. She told Ellen
that her father had extorted a promise
from her to marry Parker by avowing
himself on tho verge of bankruptcy,
from which this marriage alone would
save him. Accordingly she sacrificed
her heart s dearest love in order to save
her father's honor. Matters got worse,
instead of better, after this ill-fated mar
riage, l'arker spent bis time and
monev at the gaming table, and, finally.
not content with squandering his own
mone v. SDent that ol the brm also. A
crisis was inevitable, and when at last
the house was declared bankrupt every
thing was sacrificed to satisfy the credi
tors. Even her father was not spared
Ler; for, when he realized the extent of
misery in store for himself and his
cherished child, he took bis own life.
But her trials did not end here. Her
husband fell from one degradation to
another, till at last, from neglecting
his young wife, he grew to abuse her.
With the aid of a few friends she ob
tained several musio scholars, and with
the money thus earned kept starvation
from her door. Whtn at length her
patrons refused to aid one whose
drunken husband was ever in attend
ance, she resolved to fly with her child,
an infant of seven months, from the
scene of her many sorrows, to tho East,
where she hoped to get employment
but here she was toll wed and
tortured by her tyrant husband's pres
ence Life became almost unbearable,
and but for her child, whom she devo
tedly loved, she would have ended her
own existence. Jealous of the atten
tion she lavished upon her bat e, the
inhuman father threatened to take it
from her. Not dreaming him capable
of so diabolical an act, she did not fear
the fulfillment ot this threat, and on the
afternoon of the day they found her at
their door, she left her darling under
his care, while she went forth in search
of employment. On her return after a
fruitless afternoon's labor, she found
their lodgings deserted, and not a trace
of the whereabouts of her child to be
seen. Realizing that her husband had
kept his threat, she rushed, frantic with
grief, about the streets in hopes of find
ing some clew to the little one's retreat.
At length, tired of wandering about,
she sat down upon a door-step to rest.
Here she remembered nothing further;
and " Oh ! Ellen," the invalid continued,
"to think that I should have come to
you, to be nursed by you back to life
you who would be justified in turning
me from your door, because of the
blight I have cast upon your noble
brother's life. But God knows how
bitterly I have been punished for mv
folly."
iears ailed Mrs. Jarker's eyes, as she
concluded her sorrowful Btory, and
trinkled down her pale cheeks. Ellen,
kissing the tears away, vainly tried to
cheer her by picturing a brighter fu
ture, the possibility of again finding her
missing child. She declared she would
never be happy while her tyrant hus
band lived.
Ellen, embracing this oPDortunity,
disclosed the details of Parker's death
and burial to his heart-broken wife, who
listened with bated breath and long-
rirawn sighs till she had finished the sad
recital; then throwing her arms about
JMien s neck sue sobbed out her griei on
her shoulder.
The latter endeavored to soothe her
sorrows, but Lucy was inconsolable, not
so much at the loss of her miserable
husband as at the realization of her own
destitute condition deprived ol father,
uusba ,d and ctiud. " Mv poor baby."
she wailed, if I only had you I could
bear all else."
"Then bear with your trial, dear
Lucy; your child is safe and well,"
Ellen said, and proceeded to tell the
weeping mother now her child Had
been found at a gentleman's door : now
it had been taken in and tenderly cared
for until she should be sufficiently re
covered to receive it back; that this
same gentleman was at that moment
wa:tme to restore it to her arms. and.
recommending her to quiet and rest,
liiilon left the room to prepare her
brother for the meeting.
Lucy had covered her face with her
hands and promised to comply ; but
finding herself alone sue threw herself
on her knees, and raising her hands and
eyes to heaven, in fervent tones she
thanked the Father of the widow and
the orphan for having spared her to her
fatherless little one. "Oh, God!" she
concluded, " bless and prosper him
who, m his charity, eas succored my
lost lamb in its hour of direst need."
rtisins. she stood lace to face with
Frederick Wells.
For au instant her tongue refused to
articulate a word, but as her eyes fell
upon her lost darling, whom he earned
in his arms, she utterd a glad cry, and
snatching the child to her bosom, the
fond mother almost smothered the
frightened little one with caresses.
Mr. Wells, standing a silent witness
of this reunion, felt amply repaid for
his long years ot pain, and lie thought
how much more blessed it is to give joy
than sorrow.
When Mrs. Parker raised her eyes,
streaming with tears of joy, ta imface.
and said: "Mr. Wells, now snail 1
ever pay this great debt ot gratitude,
tor not only do I owe my own mo to
vour kindness, but also that of this
child, infinitely more precious tome?"
Uc answered : uy giving me me rignt
to watch over and protect you both, I
will be made immeasurably happy;"
and drawing mother and child to his
breast he kissed Lucy's tear-stained face.
Of course she consented, tor a tew
months later a quiet wedding took place
lrom the Wells' residence, when, after
all her sorrows, Lucy Parker became
the wife of her heart s first love.
A Determined OfSce-Seeker,
Last spring a bright-eyed, pretty girl of
sixteen made ner way into t .e presence
ot Secretary Sherman and said :
"Mr. Sherman. I have come here to
get a place." "There are none vacant,"
was the reply. "I know you can give me
a place if you want to, and I thing; I am
as much entitled to it as anybody. Mv
father spent his life in the United States
army, and when he died he left nothing.
The responsibility of the family is on
me, and I think I've got as g?od a claim
as any one else on the government."
"What kind of a place do you wantP"
" I don't care what it is, but I must
have work at once." Mr. Sherman as
sured her that there were ten applicants
for ever? one place, and there was verv
little chance. She very deliberatelv
told him that such an answer would not
do, and declared that if he would
allow her she would come up
every day and black his shoes,
if he couldn't do better tor her
The secretary was struck at her deter
mination and charmed by her bright
face and her sprightly manner. He
told her to come back. In less than a
week she had a good place in the
treasury, which she still holds. Every
morning she walks to the department
with tho step of a business little woman
who is proud that her delicate hands
can be the support ot others. She
receives $100 a month and supports in
comfort her mother and sister. This
brave, bright youn? woman is Miss May
Macauley, formerly of Atlanta.
Washington Letter.
Tue qualities that make a great or tor
are thus stated by wendeu riiiiiips:
A man mav a stammerer and vet a
great orator, a man may have a poor
voice and yet bo a great orator, a man
may speak incorrectly ana ungrammatt
calfy, and still be a very great orator;
all that is needed is to have an earnest
cause thoroughly at heart, and have
heart and cause so truly wedded that
thev are one with his innermost nature.
so that when he speaks be pours out his
own self, exalted by that with which he
uruuea.
FARH, garden and HOUSEHOLD.
Urape Culture.
The grape ought to be as widely dis
seminated as the apple, and there is no
good reason why it should not be. The
large vineyards can Bupply our city
population, but to supply the agricul
tural districts, grapes must be grown at
home. This can be done at so small
coBt that no man who owns a home with
a half-acre of land has any apology for
depriving his family of grapes. An
eighth of an acre In vines will supply a
family and leave a surplus to sell. Any
well-drained land that will produce
sixty bushels of corn to the acre mnv be
expected to produce good grapes. Well
prepared borders, with a good supply of
bones, are desirable, but by no means
essential. A dressing of wood ashes
is an excellent fertilizer, but any
manure good for corn will bo good
for the vines. The varieties which
do well under the greatest variety of
circumstances, anl bear neglect best,
are such as the Concord, the Hartford
Prolific and the Ives Seedling. There
are grapes of much better quality than
these, but they are good enough to suit
the popular taste, and are nardy. They
can be relied upon to bear fruit every
season in generous quantity. The Ives
has a thick skin, and is particularly de
sirable to pack in boxes for winter use.
They have been for years before the
public, are thoroughly tested and can
be furnished very cheaply by any
nurseryman. A cheap trellis of chest.
nut posts and wire wi.i ne ail tne sup
port they need. A fou? months' supply
of grapes will promote health in the
family, save doctors' bills and prove an
important part of the food supply.
American Agriculturist.
About Hone.
The stomach of a horse has a capacity
of about sixteen quarts, while that of
the ox has 250. In the intestines this
proportion is reduced, the horse having
a capacity of 190 quarts, against 100 of
the ox. The ox, and nearly all other
animals, have a gall-bladder for the re
tention of a part of the bile, secretd
during digestion. The horse has none,
and the bile flows directly into the in
testines as fast as secreted. This con
struction of the digestive apparatus in
dicates that the horse was formed to
eat slowly, and digest continually bulky
and innutrllious food; when fed on hay.
it passes verv rapidly through the
stomach in'x) the intestines. The horse
can eat but five pounds of hay in
an hour, during mastication, with
four times its weight of saliva.
Now, the stomach, to digest it
well, will contain but about ten quarts;
and when the animal eats ono-third of
his daily rations, or seven pounds, in
one and one-half hours, he has swal
lowed at least two stomnchfuls of hay
and saliva, one of these having passed
to the intestines. Observation has
hown that the food is passed to the in
testines by the stomach in the order in
whicu it is received, 1 we teed a norse
with six quarts of oats, it will just fill
his stomach; and if, as soon as he fin
ishes tiiis, we feed him the above ration
ot seven pounds of hay, be will eat
sufficient in three-quarters of an hour to
have forced the oats entirely out ot his
stomach into the intestines. As it is
he office of the stomach to digest the
nitrogenous parts of the feed, aud as a
tomacntui ot oats contains lour
or live times as mucn ot these as
the same amount of hay, it is cer
tain that either the stomach must se
crete the gastric juice five times as fast,
or it must retain this food five times as
long. By feeding the oats first, it can
only be retained long enough for the
proper digestion ot tne nay; conse
quent y it seems logical, when feeding a
concentrated food like oats with a bulky
one like bay, to feed the latter first,
giving the grain the whole time between
the repasts to be digested. The digestion
of the horse is governed by the same
laws as that of man ; and we know it is
not best for a man to go at hard work
the moment a hearty meal is eaten, so
we should remember that a norse
ought to nave a little rest after his meal,
while tne stomach is most active in the
processes of digestion. PlntUer and
Farmer.
ICeclpe.
Lemon Cake. One cup cf butter, two
cups of sugar, three and a half cups of
flour, one scant cup ot milk, two wnoie
eggs and yolks of two, two tcaspoonfuls
of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of
soda, grated rind ot two large lemons.
Bake in laver cakes. Icing for the cakes
whites of three eggs beaten to a still
froth, one pound of powdered sugar,
juice of two lemons.
Fourchette. Bits of nice salt pork.
about one- third of an inch thick, two or
three inches square ; bits of calf's liver
the same size. Puf these alternately on
a long skewer, beginning and ending
with Dork : lav it in tne oven across
dripping-pan, and roast as you would a
bird, basting occasionally, wnencone
slide the pieces from the skewer, and
serve on a hot plate.
To Keep Tomatoes Whole. Fi 1
large stone jar with ripe tomatoes, then
add a tew whole cloves and a little
sugar; cover them well with one-half
cold vineear and half water: nlace
piece of flannel over the )ar, well down
in the vinegar; then tie down with
paper. In this way tomatoes ean be
keDt a vear. Should mildew collect on
the flannel it will not hurt them in the
least.
Stuffed Ego Plant. Cut them in
halt, lengthwise, and parboil them in
salted water; scoop out most of the in
side, and pound this to a paste in the
mortar, with a nttie iat bacon and some
mushrooms, previously cnopped up.
littie onion, also chopped, pepper and
salt to taste, and a little crumb of bread
soaked in stock. Fill each half with
this mixture, lay them in a well-but
tered tin, and bake for about a quarter
of an hour.
Swallows In Louisiana.
In the winter swallows collect by the
millions in Louisiana swamps and teed
on what the trencti call swallow trees,
a species of willow. They will settle
on the trees in such myriads as to orcak
limbs as thick as a man's leg, and a
heavv load of mustard seed shot from
double gun will sometimes kill thirty or
forty dozen at once, mey are dres.-ed
and sold in the market for fifteen cents
a dozen and are used by French and
Creoles in making "j ambles," a prepa
ration of rice and meat, fish or game.
The New York Tribun says the bil
liard saloons oi that oity have suffered
a great loss of custom owing to the
introduotlon of billiards as a household
attraction.
TIMELY TOPICS.
The inquiries of Professor Conn, of
Breslau, indicate that short-sightedness
is rarely or nevsr born with those sub
ject to it, and that it is almost always
the result ot strains sustained by ' lie
eye durinf study in early youth.
Ten pounds of tobacco out or every
eleven that is used in this country is
grown here. We grow about 391,000,000
pounds, import about 7,000.000, export
about 321,000,000, leaving 77,000,000 for
consumption. It is estimated that there
are about 7,000, roo smokers in the
United States ; thus the yearly average
per smoker is eleven pounds.
A number of English coal mines are
being worked under the ocean. In
Northumberland the net available quan
tity of coal under the sea is estimated
at 403,000,000 tons, and on the Durham
coast under the sea, including a breadth
of three and a half miles, with an area
of seventy-one square miles, 734,500,000
tons. The latter mine is in a vein of an
agares ate thickness of thirty feet, dis
tributed in six seams. Engineers are
considering how it can be worked suc
cessfully in the future.
It is some consolation to know that
the prophets of disaster to our steady
going old planet do not agree among
themselves. Two of them have de
duced from the Bible the conclusion
that things will go on as they are til I
1887. Then people must look out for a
tremendous cataclysm; the Star of
Bethlehem will reappear, and moral,
physical and mundance convulsions will
follow. Others, however, equally en
titled tocredene-e also, have set the date
of the event as November 12, 1881.
It gives one n vivid idea of the incal
culable loss to the country in material
wealth from the wanton or accidental
destruction of our forests that the dam
age from forest fires in but three States,
New York, Michigan and Wisconsin,
nd in but a single year. 1871, is estima
ted at the enormous sum of $215,000,000.
As a consequence of similar destruction
settlers in' Minnesota have been com
pelled this winter to burn their furnit
ure, farm implements, outhouses and
ven the doors oi their dweJlin-s to
keen from freezing. Others have Daid
from $17 to 20 a cord for firewood. No
wonder t'je Minnesota Foresters' asso
ciation is pressing so energetically the
need of renewing their woodlands.
Murder," according to the San Ber
nardino Times, "still stalks red-handed
throucrh the Pacific coast." The record
of violent deaths for a single week is
given as a sample : At Cucamonga " a
man undertook to shoot another; bis
hand was struck up, the pistol dis-
harged, and a voung man entirely in
nocent of the row now lies at the point
f death; at El Monte, Hunt, who is
known to have murdered one or more
men in Utah and others in Arizona, and
was allowed to elude the law, butchered
one of the best ' itizens of Los Angeles,
and name within a hair's breadth
of killing a citizen of the Monte
tue same time; in Keno, on
the seventeenth, a man shot another
over a game of cards; at Bodie the
people arose in their indignation and
ym.-hed a murderer who had been ar
rested and allowed to escape; at San
Die?o, a day or two since, a saloon
eeper shot two men in self-defense,
nd thev are now in a dving condition.''
Ihe Times says this record is repeated
week after week, and thinks it about
time that jurors should begin to convict
murderers, and that a severe penalty
should be imposed upon carrying a
deadly weapon of any kind.
A Terrapin Farm.
The Mobile (Ala.) Reaisler has the
following account of a terrapin farm
owned by Mulford Dorlon at Cedar
Point: This projection of land is on
the western shore of Mobile bay, about
thirty miles below this city, and is in
habited principally by oystermen, who
reap golden harvests from the many
beds which furnish nearly every oyster
brought to the port of Mobile. Mr.
Dot Ion, who keep? a store at this point,
has about threo acres fenced in with
strong pilings Leading to this inclos-
ure are two canal", one on tue bay side
and the other on the gulf side, which
supply with salt water a number of
ditches ten feet wide and 100 leet long.
The sand accumulating from the ex
cavation of these ditches is thrown on
each side, and used by the terrapins to
sun themselvt s and lay their eggs in,
which, if counted, would go up in the
millions, and can be raked up by the
bushel. In the winter season tue terra
pins remain imbedded in the mud of
the ditches, where they stay until spring
time, never toucumz a morsel ot lood.
A system ot sluices enables Mr. JJorlon
to Keep the ditches full of salt water, or
drain them at, pleasure, and tie is not at
all dependent on the tide (or that pur
pose.
rne number oi terrapins on tne larm,
as far as can be ascertained and by the
closest calculation, is between 20,000
and 25,000, anl in the course of the
next three or four years will be some
thing hard to calculate. About May I.
Mr. Dorlon makes his purchase of
terrapins from the country people on
the Mississippi sound, and takes all to
can secure at $3 a dozen, and that
generally averaaes about 8.000 a year
added to his farm, outside of those
bred therein. The inhabitants ot
Mississippi and Alabama hunt the
terrapins with dogs trained lor that
purpose. The dog barks when he finds
one, and the hunter immediately
secures it by going to the spot where
the dog points.
The cost of feeding the terrapins
which, as we have said, is only done in
the summer, is about one dollar per
dozen for the season, and the price per
dozen in New York has varied from 818
to $8. The food, which consists of
crabs and Hah. is caught with a seine,
in front of the farm, and really very
little expense is attached to the raising
ot tliese valuable land tortoises. Mr,
Dorlon begins to ship about October 1
and then on to May 10. He generally
sends his to Savannah by rail, and thence
to New York by steamer, averaging
about 13,01 0 a season, and had it not
been for a disastrous hurricane, which
some time ago washed out Mr. Dorlon'i
farm, it wou d be to day the greatest
terrapin farm in the world. He can al
ways ship all he can get, for there is a
ready market lor these delicacies.
There are only twenty-four
factor le in tho United State.
match
Injecting Morphine.
A number of persons more or less
prominent in different walks of life have
died in this city, says a New York
paper, within n few months from the
direct effect, it is said, of hypodermio
injections of morphine. Most of them
had, according to report, begun the in
jections in order to relieve themselves
from pain caused by neuralgia, rheuma
tism, or some other distressing disorder.
The effect was so pleasant, so delicious,
indeed, that they were gradually sedu
ced into such use of morphine when
they had no need of it, and, soon yield
ing completely to the habit, were
destroyed by it. Physicians say that
this has grown to be far from
uncommon among persons of wealth
and position, particularly among wo
men, who, after having tried it a while,
have not had the strength to relinquish
the delightful anodyne. Nor is it by
any means confined to Hew York. The
evil has spread all over the land, though
it is naturally most prevalent in the
large cities. It is said to have grown
alarmingly during the last five or six
years, and many persons wbo would
never be suspected of the habit are its
irredeemable victims. It has largely
usurped the place, with certain classes,
of the old custom of taking morphine,
laudanum, and other preparations of
opium into the stomach. The
popular notion is that it is not so harm
ful. But there is very little difference,
and the injections aro thought to be
more dangerous because they are more
insidious. They can be self-administered
without the least trouble, and are
so administered in nearly all cases where
serious misrhief is done. Tho efl'ect of
the morphine under the skin is de
scribed as peculiarly and wonderfully
agreeable. A delicious languor steals
over the frame, the senses are wrapped
as in a voluptuous waking dream, and a
most joyous consciousness of perfect yet
fascinating repose softly over
flows the mind. Even strong
men and women have frequently
found it hard to resist its allurements,
have not been able to surrender its
beatitudes without arousing all their
will. On this account some physicians
will not administer or prescribe mor
phine under any circumstances, fearing
the consequences to their patients. Not
a few women of the finer type have been
weeked by the habit, and many men,
professional and commcrcisl.are steadily
ruining themselves by its indulgence.
It was hailed ns a great blessing once,
and so it is. properly regulated ; but, like
so msny blessings, it may readily be
convi rtrd into a curse.
Beading the Kccipe.
Old Mrs. Jones borrowed Mrs.
Brown's recipe for making watermelon
pickle the other day, and, being tard
of hearing, as she couldn't see to read
very well, sue got her grandson Jakie
to read it for her. Jakie took the paper,
like a dutiful child, and, holding it
UDside down, commenced :
" Take a green watermelon"
"Why, Jakie, ain't you mistaken P
I thought the melon must be ripe."
"Oh, what's the matter wid yew!
Gew ever see a watermelon that wusn't
green P"
"Cut the watermelon into four
halves"
" But there ain't only two halves to
anything I don' believe you are read
ing ttiat, Jakie."
"Well, I don't have to. anyhow that's
what the resect says. Then soak it in
a pint cup"
"Oh, dear me! How in the world
can ycu put a watermelon in a pint
CUD?"
" wen, 1 ain't nere to ten tue where
ases and howfores. I'm just readin' the
facts and you can put in the filosoiee to
suit your taste. Alter soakin' the melon
put It In a skillet and fry it lur five
days."
I wondjr if Mrs. Brown sent mc
such a recipe as that?" said the old lady ;
but Jakie kept on:
' Then nut the watermelon in a quart
bowl and pour over it a gallon of vine
gar, taking care not to spill the vine
gar"
" I'd iust like to know how you can
nour a trailon into a auart bowl without
spilling any oi it;" out jame continued
men sitt a peck oi red pepper
through a milk strainer over tue melon,
and to one cud of butter and the white
and volks and shells of three egg3. and
throw in the old hen that laid tnem.and
four sticks of cinnamon drops and two
tablespoonfuls of quinine and run it
through a coffee mill and let it stand
until it ferments, and then put it in a
tin can and tie the can to a dog's tail
this will stir it up to the right consist
ency and then you can turn it off in
crocks and nave it ready lor use. &ere
it cold and spread it o mince pie and
it makes capital dessert," and Jakie slid
out of the door and left the old lady
looking like a wrinkleon a monument.
Detroit Free Press.
Unman Force.
In the lives of most persons there are
periods in which everything is at stake,
Home, uonor. competency and happi
ne'ss all hang on the balance. They may
be almost ours, or even be in our posses
sion, while the events will shortly tell
whether they shall be ours for life or be
lost forever. No matter how dark it is
ahead, we must go into the contest or
lose all without a struggle.
It is unon himself that aman must de
pend in such emergencies. His friends
have their own battles to fight or victo
ries to enjoy. The quality ttiat will
help him most is aggressive force the
persisting and indomitable energy that
bears down all opposition. The man
hlled with this combative spirit is tne
hero, the master spirit of the world in
whicti he moves, impediments which
would dishearten weaker men cause in
him the most vigorous exertions. Dim
cullies are swept out of bis path, and
though borne aown time alter time he
strus7les on and wins.
Thev are fortunate who are thus en
dowed. But wo all need what we can
of strength of action. We must have
the desire and the determination to push
our wav through the world. Goin
reolutely on our way, thrusting ob
stacles aside as they are met, gives us
the power of conquering. To be self
reliant keep in sight the motto " God
will not crush me and no man can."
Concerning the cause of London fogs,
it is now suzpestcd that they are largely
due to the burning of sulphur, 200 tons
of this substance being daily burned in
London.
The Scientific American estimates that
more than $35,000,001) was brought into
ins united btaiet last year by foreign
immigrant.
My Valentine
My valentine lives in her deeds,
Nor praisei unmerited leeks;
Her poor little mother she heeds,
And kindly her brother betpenks.
My valentine no ernel thing
Will chatter ol'olher girls' ways,
Or make a new gaiter or ring
Her moasnre of eonsnre or praise.
My valentine mixes the pies.
And rolls out the crust for her ma;
And such a girl, earth or the skies
Might claim for a flow'r or a star.
HUMOROUS.
A dangerous collision Running into
debt.
A good trade mark A big advertise
ment. Rubbers do not necessarily give a man
an elastic gait- Yonkcrs Statesman.
A New York man calls his sweetheart
Kitty, because sho gets her back up so
often.
The counterfeiters making ten-cent
pieces cannot expect to have very good
dimes.
Circumstances maVe men, yet one
man isn't a circumstance to another,
frequently.
Burglars are of great assistance to
merchants, manufacturers and clerks in
taking stock.
Thermometers reform late in life;
they never become temperate until
nearly sixty.
Why is a police officer like a confi
dence manP Because he takes people
in. Philadelphia Sun.
Out in Montana, when tncy start a
man down hill in a barrel, they speak
of his "appearance in a new role."
Smithkins, who is a tailor by trade,
got married lately. Ho says now that,
before he was married he had only one
" goose," but now he has two. loronto
Grip.
A country doctor on being asked
what was the best way to cure a ham,
remarked that before answering that
question he should like to know what
ailed the ham.
When the telegraph comp inies are
compelled to run their wires under
ground, the worms will learn to read
by sound so ns to know when the fishing
is good. Philadelphia Chronicle.
" I didn't like our minister's sermon
last Sunday," said a deacon who had
slept all sermon time to a brother dea
con. "Didn't like it. Brother A. P Why,
I saw you nodding assent to every prop
osition of tho parson."
' A meditative man was roaming
through an anatomical museum, and
came across the skeleton of a donkey.
"Ah !" he said in reverential awe, as
he adjusted his green spectf.cles, " we
are indeed fearfully and wonderfully
made."
Nearly a vear has elapsed sinco the
last wealthy young lady eloped with her
tattler's coacuman, nnd tne many re-
pectable young men who hopefully
sought employment in the stables of the
rich during the epidemic are disconso-
itely drifting back to their former
pursui's. Modem Argo.
An exchange combines a great deal of
sound sense as well as sarcasm in the
following ironical answer it gives one
of its subseribers : " We are sorry you
don't like this paper. Wo publish it
simply to please you. We should ask
you to come to tue office and editit.only
that if you did some iniquitous idiot
might write to tell you how much
better ho could do it himself, and that
would annoy a nervous person like you."
Young Mr. Stayer was a frequent
caller downtown, and always sat up
very late with the girls. The other
night the old gentleman w as heard call
ing to some one in the hall. "Ah."
said Mr. Stayer, "what was thatP"
" Nothing," said Miss Angelica, " only
papa failing the hired girl to get up and
go about breakfast." it was tnen uaii
past ten o'clock and Stayer knew better,
but someiiow lie couldn't remain and be
happy, and ho went away long before
the e.lock struck eleven. Some young
men are so sensitive, you know. Steu-
benville Herald.
Bound to Have It.
Elder Traverse was once the most
noted man in Extern Ne v York as a
camp-meeting leader. He hai a power
ful voice, was a uuent speaker, and in
the prime of life could get away with
any man who ever sought to disturb
his meetings.
The elder was once holding a camp-
meeting near Yonkers, and word
reached him that a notorious rough,
known as " Chicago Bob," intended to
be on hand on Sunday for a row. He
made no reply and took no precautions,
and when Bob appeared on the grounds
with a cigar in his mouth nnd a slung
shot in his sleeve, the elder didn't grow
pale lor a cent, bob had come out
there to run things, and he took a for
ward scat. Whn the people started to
sing he began crowing, and thus created
confusion.
" Robert, you had better sit down."
observed the elder, as he came forward.
Chicago Bob sits down for no man."
was the reply.
bit down. Robert." continued the
elder, as he put his hand on the loafer's
arm.
' Here goes lo clean out the crowd!"
crowed Bob, as he peeled off his ooat.
Next instant the elder hit him under
the ear, and, as he fell over a bench, he
was followed up and hit again and again,
and' while in a semi-unconscious state
ho was carried off by is friends.
Next day he was the first one to go
forward for prayers. The elder put his
hand on his head and asked :
" Robert, are you in earnestP"
" I am."
"Are you really seeking after faith P"
"You bet 1 am! If iaith helps a man
lo get in his work as quick as you did
yesterday I'm bound to have it if I have
to sell my hat I"
no didn't get It verv stronir. but he
did no more crowing while the meetirg
, u.ii itiMt tfCWI,
At the Castle of Simonetta, about
twenty miles from Milan, a surprising
echo is produced between the two wings
of the building. The report of a pistol
is repeated by this echo sixty times ; and
Addison, who visited the place on a
somewhat foggy day, when the air was
unfavorable to the experiment, counted
filty-six repetitions. It is stated that
the sound of one musical instrument in
this place resembles a great number
playing lo concert.