iiiili
, .. -- - . " t 1 "
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. -Two Dollars per Annum.
. VOL: XI. - RIDGWAY, ELK COUNIyTpa., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1881. NO. 29.
Songs of Birds.
The skylark'. Bong : "Arise, arise I
Oh, free glad wings, awake the air ;
On, on, above, the light is there ; .
I'aaa the fiiiiit clouds and know the skies.
Oh, blneness I oh, deep, endless height 1
Oli, nnveiled sun 1
Oil, ecstasy of upward flight 1
monnt I I nigunt I Oh, skies I oh, snn I "
The sparrow's song : " Let be lo soar j
8kies blacken under night or rain ;
Wild wings are weary all in vain,
fio, the fair earth, the fruitful store 1
And the doar sunbeams travel down,
And warm our eaves,
And bring eay summer to the town,
Oh, snn I oh, bloom I oh, safe warm eaves I "
The linnet's song : " Oh, joy of spring I
Oh, blithe surprise of life I And flowers
Wake in the birthday April hours,
And wonder, and are fair, and bring
New promise of new joy to be.
Oh, hope 1 oh, Now !
Oh, blossoms breaking on the tree 1
I live ' Oh, day 1 oh, happy Now ! "
The night-owl's song : "The flowers go dead,
Weak flowers that die for heat or cold,
That die ere even spring turns old ;
And with few hours the day is sped ;
Tho calm gray Bhadows chase tho noon,
Night comes, and dusk,
And stillness, and the patient moon.
Oh, stillness I and oh, long, cool dusk 1"
The thrush's song : " Oh, wedded wills 1
Oh, love's delight ! She mine, I hers I
And every little wind that stirs,
And every little brook that trills,
Makes music, and I answer it
With 'Lovo, love, love,'
Oh, happy bough where we two sit I
I love ! I love ! Oh, song I oh, lovo 1 "
The raven's song : " Waste no vain breath
On dead-barn joys that fado from earth,
Nor talk of blossoming or of birth,
For all things are a part of death,
Save lovo, that scarce waits death to die.
Spring has its graves ;
Our yew-trees see the green leaveB lio.
Oh, churchyard yows 1 oh, tmooth ntw gi aves 1
The song of the Bweet nightingale,
That has all hearts in hers, and knows
The secret of all joys and woes,
And till the listening stars grow pale,
And fade into the daybreak gleam,
Her mingled voice
Melts grief and gladness in a dream.
She doth not sorrow nor rejoice.
She sings : " Heart, rest thee and be free,
Pour ttiyself on the unhindering wind j
Leave the dear pain of lite behind ;
Loosed heart, forget thou art, and be.
Oh, piiit ! oh, joy of life I oh, love I
My heart is these.
Oli, ro.m's nf the noon 1 oh, stars above!
OeaJ, waned, still with me; I am these."
-Augusla li'ebster.
DELIA'S REWARD-
"It was a scandal," the neighbor
said, " that Mu-s Delia should be
obliged to take boarder, after all she'd
been through; and heaven knows board
ers did not help a body to work out her
salvation. And so much money in the
family, too, taking it by small and
large." Wasn't her Uncle Eben, over at
Dover, well-to-do, and not a chick of
his own to care for, except the boy ht
bad adopted, who was no credit to him ?
It was odd, now, that a man with poor
relations should take to a stranger
when his own flesh and blood was
needy; but sometimes it does seem as
if folks had moi e feeling for others than
for their own kith and kin. Then there
were cousins in the city, forehanded
and fashionable, who were never worth
a row of pins to Delia, and there was
her great-uncle John's widow a-larking
on the continent, a-gaming at Baden
Baden, and trying the waters of every
mineral spring in the three kingdoms,
for no disease under the sun but old age.
She'd been known to say that " her folks
were too rich already, and probably she
would endow some hospital with
her property." Plainly, wealthy rela
tives were of no value to Miss
Delia. To be sure, she had
never seen her great aunt-niece
since she was a child, when her Uncle
John had brought her into their simple
life for a month's visit with her French
maid and dresses, her jewels and fallals,
which won the heart of her namksake.
Since then Uncle John's widow has be
come sort of a gilded creation, always
young and beautiful; for, though Delia
had received little gilts from time to
time across the seas for the last fifteen
years, she had neither heard nor seen
anything of the being who had inspired
her youthful imagination, and was quite
unceitain if such a person as Mrs. John
Rogerson was in the lnd of the living.
Dead or alive, she seemed to have made
no material difference to Delia's hum
dram life. After having nursed her
father through a long sickness, Delia
found that he had left a heavy mort
gage on the homestead, and her mother
and herself on the high road to the poor
house, unless they should bestir them
selves. As her mother was already
bedridden, the stirring naturally fell
upon Delia, and she advertised for
summer boarders:
" Good board in the country, by the
river-side, at seven dollars a week.
Large chambers, broad piazzas, fine
views, berries, and new milk. One
mile from the station.
" Address Delia Rogerson,
" Croftsborough, Maine."
" Cheap enough I" commented an
elderly lady, who happened upon- it.
" Delia Rogerson an old maid, I sup
pose, obliged to look out for herself.
I've a good mind to try her broad
piazzas and new milk. If I don't like
it, there'll be no harm done."
And bo Delia's first boarder arrived
an old lady with false front hair, brown
wriu&ittti njLin, iaueci eves, a black
ade her as welcome as if she had hn
uucueHs; iigniea a wood lire in Mrs.
(jiemeni u room, as me night was
damp, and brought out her daintiest
cup and saucer, with the fadeless old
roses wreathing teem.
"Wonderful kind," refleoted Mrs.
Clement, as she combed out her wisps
pf gray hair and confided the false front
to a box. "Wonderful kindness for
seven dollars a weekl She's new to
the trade. She'll learn better. Human
nature doesn't change with latitudes.
She'll find it doesn't pay to consider the
comfort of a poverty-stricken old
creature."
But in epito of her worldly wisdom
Mrs. Clement was forced to confess that
Delia had begun as she meant to hold
out, thongh other boarders came to
demand her attention, to multiply her
cares. The fret and jar of conflicting
temperaments under ner root was a new
experience to Delia. When Mrs. Ore-
some complained of the mosquitoes,
with an air as if Miss Rogerson were
responsible for their creation; of the
flies, as if they were new acquaintances;
of want of appetite, as though Delia
had agreed to supply it, along with
borries and new milk; of the weather,
as if shn find plodged herself there
would be no sudden changes to annoy
her boarders; of the shabby house and
antiquated furniture, "too old for com
fort and hot old enQngh for fashion "
then Delia doubted if taking boarders
was her mission.
" What makes you keep us, my
dear ?" asked Mrs. Clement, after a day
when everything and everybody had
seemed to go wrong. "Why didn't you
ever marry? You had a lover, I dare
say?"
" Yes; a long, long time ago."
" Tell me about him it ?''
"There isn't much to tell. He
asked me to marry him. He was going
to Australia. I couldn't leave father
and motaer, you know (they were both
feeble), and he couldn't stay here.
That's all."
"And you you "
" Now all men beside are to me like
shadows.' "
"And have yon never heard of him
since?"
" Yes. He wrote; but where was the
use? It could never come to anything.
It was better for him to forget me and
uiaiTj. I was a millstone about his
neck. I didn't answer his letter."
"And supposing he should return
some day, would you marry him ?"
" I dare say," laughed Delia, gently,
as if the idea were familiar, " let the
neighbors laugh ever so wisely. I've
thought of it sometimes, sitting alone,
when the world was barren and com
monplace. One must have recreation
of some kind, you know. Everybody
requires a little romance, a little poetry,
to flavor every-day thinking and doing.
I'm afraid you think me a silly old
maid, Mrs. Clement."
"No. The heart never grows old. The
km shrivels, the color departs, the
t;yes fade, the features grow pinched;
but the soul is heir of eternal youth
it is as beautiful at fourscore as at
sweet and twenty.' Time makes
amends for the ravages of the body by
leveiopmg the spirit, lou ciidn t tell
me your lovers name. i"erhaps.you
would rather not."
" His name was Stephen Lancrdon
Sometimes Captain Seymour runs
usainst him in Melbourne, and brings
me word how he looks and what he is
loing; though I never ask, and Stepheu
never asks for me, that I can hear."
Delia s summer boarders were not a
success, to be sure. If they took no
money out of her pocket, they put none
in. She was obliged to eke out her
support with coyping for Lawyer Dun-
more and embroidering for Mrs. Judge
Dorr. One by one her boarders dropped
away like the autumn leaves; all but
old Mrs Clement.
"I believe I will stay on," she said.
I'm getting too old to move often.
Perhaps you take winter boarders at re
duced rates. Eh ?"
" Do you think my terms high ?"
" Bv no means. But when one's purse
is low "
Yes, I know. Do stay at your
price. 1 can t spare you." She had
grown such a fondness for the old lady
tnat to reiuse ner at ner own terms
would have seemed like turningher own
mother out of doors; besides, one
mouth more would not signify. But
she found it hard to make both ends
meet, and often went to bed hunerrv
that her mother and Mrs. Clement
might enjoy enough, without there ap
pearing to be "just a pattern." At
Christmas, however, came a ray of sun
shine for Delia, in the shape of a, hundred-dollar
bill from an unknown
friend.
" It can't be meant for me," she cried.
" It's directed to Delia Rogerson."
said her mother; " and there's nobody
else of that name, now that your Aunt
Delia's dead."
" We are not sure she's dead." ob
jected Delia.
"Horrors I Don t you know whether
yoar own aunt is dead or alive ?" asked
Mm. Clement, in a shocked tone.
"It isn t our fault. She is rich and
lives abroad. I was named for her. I
used to look in the glass and try to be
lieve I'd inherit her beauty with the
name, though she was only our great
uncle's wife."
She ought to be doing something
for you."
" How can she if she a dead I I don t
blame her, anyway. Her money is her
own, to use according to her pleasure.
uncle John made it himself and gave it
to her."
" But if she should come back to vou.
having run through with it, you'd
divide your last crust with her, I'll be
bound'
" I suppose I should," replied Delia.
The winter wore awav as winters will.
and the miracles of spring began in
neids ana wayside; and Delia's boarders
returned with the June roses, and
dropped away again with the falling
leaves, and still Mrs. Clement stayed on
and on. Just now she had been some
weeks in arrears with her reduced
board. No money had been forthcom
ing for some time, and she was growing
more feeble daily, needed the luxuries
of an invalid and the attention of a
nurse, both of which Delia bestowed
upon her, without taking thought for
the morrow.
" T mnst hear from mv man-of-bntti.
ness to-morrow, Delia; I'm knee-deep
in debt to you, sue began one night
"Don't mention it I" cried Delia.
" I'd rather never see a cent of it than
have you take it to heart. You are
welcome to stay and share pot-luck with
us; you are such company for mother
and me."
" Thank you, my dear. I've grown as
fond of you as if you were my own
fletdi and blood. There, turn down the
light, please. Draw the curtain, dear,
and put another stick on the fire, please.
It grows chilly, doesn't it ? You might
kiss me just once, if you wouldn't mind.
It's a hundred years or so since ar.y one
kissed me."
And the next morning, when Delia
carried up Mrs. Clement's breakfast, her
boarder lay cold and still upon the pil
lows. The first shock over, Delia wrote to
the lawyer of whom she had heard Mrs.
Clement speak as having charge of her
affairs, begging him to notify that lady's
relatives, if she had any. In reply Mr.
Willis wrote:
" The late Mrs. Clement appears to
have no near relatives. Some dis
tant cousins, who have an abundance
of this world's goods, yet served her
shabbily when she tested their generosi
ty, as she has tried yours, are all that
remain of her family. In the meantime
l inclose you a copy of her last will and
testament, to peruse at your leisure."
" Wnat interest does he think I take
in Mrs. Clement's will," thought Delia ;
but read, nevertheless:
"Being of sound mind, this ICth dav
of June, 18, I, Delia Rogerson Cle
ment, do hereby leave one hundred
dollars to each of my cousin ; and
I bequeath the residue of my
property viz., thirty thousand dollars
invested in the Ingot Mining company,
fifty thousand dollars in United States
bonds, twenty thousand in Fortune
Flannel mills, and my jewels, to the
beloved niece of my first husband, John
Rogerson, Delia Rogerson. of Crofts
borough, Maine."
" For I was a stranger, and vo took
me in, hungry, and ye fed me; sick and
ye ministered unto me."
" Goodness alive 1" cried the neigh
bors, when the facts reached their ears.
" What a profitable thing it ia. to take
boarders I Of course Steve Langdon
will come and marry her, if she were
forty old maids. You may stick a pin
in there 1"
Delia did not open her house to
boarders the next season. She found
enough to do in looking after her
money and spending it, in replying to
letters from indigent people, who
seemed to increase alarmingly; in re
ceiving old friends, who suddenly found
time to remember her existence. And,
sure enough, among the rest appeared
Steve Langdon, and all the village said,
' I told you so."
" It's not mv fault that you and I are
single yet, Delia," he said.
"And we are too old to think of it
now, Steve."
"Nonsense! Its never too late too
mend. I'm not rich, Delia, but I've
enough for two and to spare."
"i wouldn't be contented not to
drive in my carriage and have servants
under me now," laughed Delia.
" Indeed I Then perhaps vou have
a better match in view. Captain Sey
mour asked me, by the way, if I had
come to interfere with Wuuire Jones
interest."
" Yes. Squire Jones proposed to me
last week."
"Now see here, Delia, have I come
all the way from Melbourne on a fool's
errand ? There I was growing used to
my misery and loneliness, when the
mail brings in a letter in a strange
hand, which tells me that my dear love,
ueiiu itogerson, loves and dreams of
me still, is poor and alone, and need-
me me ! And the letter is signed by
her aunt, Mrs. Clement, who ought to
know. I packed my household goods
and came."
"I'm glad that you did."
" In order that I may congratulate
Squire Jones ?"
"But I haven't accepted him. In
fact I've refused him because "
" Because you will marry your old
love, like the lass in the song, Delia V"
in Uroftsborough people are not vet
tired of telling how a woman made
money by taking boarders.
What a Gentleman Is,
" The essential characteristics of a
gentleman," says our American essayist,
Mr. Mathews, "are not an outward
varnish or veneer, but inward qualities,
developed in the heart."
The drover was a gentleman at heart.
and in speech al- o, cf whom this anec
dote is told. He was driving cattle to
market one day when the snow was
deep, save on the highway. The drove
compelled a lady to turn out of the
road and tread in the deep snow.
"Madam," eaid the drover, taking
off his hat, "if the cattle knew as well
as I what they should do, you would not
waiK in tne snow."
Charles Lamb tells a story of Joseph
Paice, a London merchant, who rev
erenced womanhood in every form in
which it came before him.
"I have seen him," writes the genial
essayist, "stand bareheaded, (smile, if
you please), to a servant girl while she
has been inquiring of him the way to
some street, in such a posture of 'un
forced civility as neither to embarrass
her in the acceptance, or himself in the
offer, of it.
"I have seen him, he continues,
"tenderly escort a market-woman whom
he had encountered in a shower, exalt
ing his umbrella over her poor basket
of fruit tnat it might receive no damage,
with as much carefulness as if she had
been a countess.
j. uese anecdotes snow what genuine
politeness is. It is a kindly spirit which
expresses itself kindly to all. Of one
who possesses it the remark is never
made, " tie can be a gentleman when he
pleases." As Mr. Mathews says and
we wisn tne boys to memorize the say
ing "He who can be a gentleman
when he pleases, never pleases to be
anything else."
"Here lies the youngest of twenty
nine brothers and three sisters." Such
is the inscription on the stone that
marks the last resting-place of General
Marston U. Clark, at Salem, Washing
ton county, Ind. He was a brave man
and had a great deal to do with the vic
tory at Tippecanoe, which made General
Harrison famous,
THE FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
Make the Ground Count.
We have learned one mistake we have
made for years past, and that is cover
ing too pinch ground with too few
plants. Vacancies not only make a loss,
but are expensive every way in prep
aration and cultivation of soil, in extra
expenses for manure, and interest and
tax on land. We are too apt to be am
bitious as to having a great number of
acres planted, regardless of th-n yield,
expense, etc We will guarantee that,
as a rule, persons having the least land
get the most fruit from their land in
proportion to the number of acres, and
make the most money. Fruit Recorder.
A Valuable Table.
The following table will show the
number of check? Ov hills contained in
an acre of ground at certain distances:
1 foot apart each way, 43,500
2 feet apart each way, 10,890
3 feet apart each war, 4,845
4 feet apart each way, 2,722
5 feet apart each way, 1,740
6 feet apart each way, 1,210
9 feet apart each way, 597
10 feet apart each way, 435
12 feet apart each way, 302
15 feet apart each way, K13
20 feet apart each way, ins
25 feet apart each way, fig
30 feet apart each way, 48
40 feet apart each way, n
Cutting.
M. Loiseau recommends that the us
ual method of striking cuttings should
be altered. When, he observes, a cut
ting is put in perpendicularly, the sap,
the natural tendency of which is to rise,
is expended in pushing forward a new
bud instead of forming a root." But if
it is laid horizontally, or even with its
lower end higher than the upper, that
is not the case ; the sap prefers to move
toward the higher end, or at all events
is evenly distributed between the two
extremities. This causes the callus to
form so rapidly that if the cuttings are
put into a warm place eight or ten days
are enough to secure its formation or
even that of the roots. Autumn cut
tings taken off a lit t lo before the sap
ceases to move, and treated in this man
ner, form the callus so quickly that
they are ready for planting out before
winter. In winter it is necessary to
keep the cuttings in a gentle heat, or
beneath leaves deep enough to keep olF
frost, and even then a callus will be
round to have formed by spring time.
The Grnpe.
Many vine-growers, says the Cincin
nati Gazette, experience great disap
pointment between the budding and
riperiing of their grapes. In spring the
leaves and sprays shoot forth abun
dantly and the " blossoms " appear in
gratifying profusion. As summer ad
vances the growth of the berries is at
hrst satisfactory, and then a reverse
commences. Home shrivel up, others
mildew and many drop off, the curculio
takes a share and general deterioration
ensues. If the trunks of the vines are
large and the branches extensive these
changes are only the more remarkable.
But larger vines absolutely require to
be profusely watered, for the propor
tion of water in the fckin of the crape
is evidently very considerable, and every
drop ascends through the pores of the
trunk. If the vines are near the dwell
ing waste washing water, soapsuds, etc.,
cannot be poured too profusely on the
roots. We have known young trees,
vines, etc., rescued from death by
drought by tho profuse watorihg of their
roots. Again, the paper bag protection
to the bunches is well worth trying.
Old vine growers near this city find it
to succeed admirably. There are few
noble grape "trees" in this neighbor
hood which rival in size and production
the famous Black Hamburg at Hampton
Court, England, but they are well cared
for by their owners, although in our
latitude it is not necessary to keep
them in glass houses. He who hath a
thriving vineyard hath a good posses
sion. ltulalug Calve oil Hklmiiiilk.
A. B. Allen, writing to the Western
Agriculturist, gives some advice on rais
ing calves. He eays: A friend who has
a large dairy in thb western part of the
State of New York informs me that he
has kept twenty-four grade shorthorn
and Guernsey calves, dropped the last
spring, in the following manner: They
were allowed to suck their dams a few
times immediately after birth, and then
taken away and taught to drink milk
irom the pail. This was warm and fresh
from the cows for a week or ten days,
and then skimmilk was gradually
mixed with it till substituted entirely
for the new milk. This was frequently
lobbered, in very hot weather, before
feeding, and was thought all the better
for it, as being more easily digested.
The calves were put into a good pasture
and at a few weeks old began to nibble
the grass. The summer being very
dry this failed considerably during
August; cut hay mixed up with wheat
shorts were then given in place of it.
One may judge how well these calves
throve when simply fed, for at six to
seven months old they weighed from
500 to 600 pounds each. The cream
from the milk of the dams of the
calves was made into butter of first
rate quality, stored till October, and
then brought a good price. Many think
that choice calvers cannot be well
raised on Bkimmilk, and therefore feed
all new milk to them. But I think this
is wasting the cream on such as are de
signed to grow up for dairy cows and
that they are all the better for this pur
pose when reared on the quality of milk
which is the least fattening and gives
the most muscle. Many a shorthorn
heifer is injured for the dairy by being
overfed and kept too fat from its birth
up to three years old, when it is the
usual time for it to drop its first calf,
As fed above the calves occasionally
scoured, and to stop this some astrin
gent medicine had to be given ia their
food. But if a heaping tablespoonful
01 onmeal, gradually increasing to
Cint for each calf as it grew older, had
een made into a gruel and mixed daily
with the Bkimmilk, it would have pre
vented scouring, kept the bowels in
good order and made them relish their
other food more heartily. Flaxseed
boiled to u jelly answers the same pur
pose, also if ground mixed, with oats,
one-fourth of the former to three
fourths of the latter, and then a quart
or more, according to the age of the
calf, fed daily, is a good substitute for
'he oatmeal.
tteclpesi
Sweet Applh Pickles. Sweet apples
make delicious pickles ; peel and quar
ter them, boil them until tender in
vinegar and water; to one quart of
vinegar add two pounds of sugar ; heat
the vinegar and dissolve the sugar in it;
add cloves and cinnamon, and pour
over the apples while hot,
Cbanbebbt R0M1. Stew a quart of
cranberries in just water enough to keep
them from burning. Make very sweet,
strain and cool. Make a paste, and
when the cranberry is cold spread it on
the paste about an inch thick. Roll it,
tie it close in a flannel cloth, boil two
hours and serve with a sweet sauce.
Stewed apples or other fruit may be
used in the same way.
An Appetizing Dish. One of the
most appetizing dishes that can be
placed before a hungry family, and
which may tempt the appetite of one
who isn't hungry, is made in this way :
Take one dozen ears of corn, grate it,
stir in four eggs, one-fourth of a cup of
flour, a little salt, and fry in hot lard ;
if the corn is not milky add a little milk
or cream. This is next to fried oysters.
To Stew Veal Cutlets. Cut them
about half an inch thick, flatten them
with a chopper, and fry them in fresh
butter or dripping. When brown on
one side turn and do them on the other,
continuing to do so till they are thor
oughly done, which will be in about a
quaiter of an hour. Make a gravy of
some trimmings, which put into a stew
pan with a bit of soft butter, an onion,
a roll of lemon peel, a blade of mace,
some thyme, parsley, and stew the
whole over a slow fire for an hour, and
then strain it ; put one ounce of butter
into another pan, and when melted mix
with as much flour as will dry it up ;
stir this for a few minutes, then add
the gravy by degrees till the whole is
mixed ; boil it five minutes, then strain
it through a sieve and put it to the
cutlets. Some browning maybe added,
together with mushroom or walnut cat
Bup, or lemon pickle.
To Dby Pumpkins. Take ripe pump
kins, pare, cut into small pieces, stew
soft, mash and strain through a colan
der, as if for making pies. Spread
this pulp on plates, in layers some half
an inch thick; dry it in a stove oven,
which should be kept at so low a tem
peratnre as not to scorch it. In about
a day it will become dry and crisp. The
sheets thns made can then be stowed
away in a dry place, and ore always
ready for use, either for pies or stewing.
lhe amen drying after cooking pre
vents the souring which is almost al
ways the case when the uncooked pieces
are dried, while the flavor is much
better preserved and the after cookine
dispensed with. On going to use, souk
portions of the article in a li.tle milk
over night, when it will return to as de
licious a pulp as if made of a pumpkin
when fresh.
A Thief Disguised as a Xohle Lady.
A recent letter from Vienna says: A
noble lady from Holland landed here
last week with a secretary, a maid, and
a colored footman, the little set putting
up at the bite Horse hotel, in Leo-
poldstadt. The countess, in taking tho
est suite of apartments, intimated to
the hotelier that she expected both her
I'ather-in-law and her Bister-in-law, who
was to be married shortly to an Austrian
noble of the best blood, and that the
wedding banquet would take place In
the hotel. She hired a handsome car
riage and drove out every day with her
footman on the box by the side of tho
coachman. During her drives she
stopped at many shops, ordered sam
ples and patterns to be sent to her hotel,
and at the same time made purchases of
silks, laces, fine trousseau linen for the
bride, etc., never disbursing a single
kreuzer, for the colored footman so
thoroughly represented wealth and in
spired confidence that shopkeepers were
only too glad to send to the noble
dame's hotel double the stuff's she or
dered. The countess also caned 011
several jewelers, one of whom had just
received a handsome garniture in bril
liants, which at once took her fancy,
being valued at the lowest at 50,000
norms, and the father-in-law being ex
pected on the following day the jeweler
was requested to bring the set to the
hotel at a given hour. This was done,
and when the diamond merchant came
ho was requested to be seated, and the
countess took the little case into the
next room, where father-in-law was
dressing, she said. After waiting a
quarter of an hour, Mr. Jeweler knocked
at the door and got no answer; tried the
door and found it locked. A noise in
the passage attracts his attention. A
rush, and he is in the portier's loge,
where he finds the countess disguised
in man's clothes and guarded by a po
liceman. Providence had warned that
portier, and he had stopped the countess
in good time as she was gilding past in
her disguise. He saved the Vienna
tradespeople from the loss of many
thousands, and placed a set of danger
ous thieves under the lock of justic".
The tradespeople are very grateful, and
the portier has received their thanks
with many bows and salams. The jew
eler, I believe, offered him a shilling,
but he declined to take it.
Careful observations have shown the
following to be about the average
growth in twelve years of several vari
eties of hard wood when planted in
groves and cultivated: White maple
becomes one foot in diameter and thirty
feet high; ash, leaf maple or box elder,
one foot in diameter and twenty feet
high; white willow, eighteen inches in
diameter and thirty-five feet high; Lorn-
bardy poplar, ten inches iu liameter
and forty feet high; lue and white
ash, ten feet in diameter and twenty
five feet high: black walnut and butter
nut, ten inches iu diameter and twenty
ioei uigu.
joaes on ooniriuution boxes are
worse off than the boxes themselves,
wiuon are never entirely empty,
FACTS AND COMMENTS.
John Skae was arrested in San Fran
oisco, drunk, the other night, and ha
gone to iuil iiecuiise he couldn't pay the
85 fine imposed by the court for the
offense. In 1876 he could have sold
his mining stocks for $10,000,000 but re
fused, and they slid out from under him
so completely that $5 is beyond his calL
The total amount of United States
registered bonds is $1,173,000,000. All
are held in the United States except
$27,894,000. $644,990,000, about half,
are in the hands of seventy-three thou
sand corporations and individuals, not
including national banks or foreign
holders. Two-thirds, about $400,000,
000, are held in amounts of over $50,
000. Seven millions are held in sums
of less than five hundred dollars.
A London paper says that "the
queen has. no wish to have Her name
associated with whisky. An enterpris
ing American whisky manufacturer, it
appears, recently sent the queen 'A
beautiful barrel of the best distilled
waters of Kentucky,' which he called
Victoria whisky. He hoped thus to ob
tain an advertisement out of her
majesty, but the queen showed her good
sense by simply declining to receive it."
It iBn't best to bring in a verdict until
all the e ridence is in. Deacon Gray, of
Palmerston, Wis., detected one of his
clerks in dishonesty. The young man
was not prosecuted, and after a week of
seclusion in his own room was allowed
to depart from the town. In a prayer
meeting at the deacon's church he was
warmly praised by the pastor for his
supposed forbearance toward the sinner.
This brought him to his feet with a con
fession that he deserved no credit. The
fact was that he had whipped the clerk
unmercifully, hurting him so severely
that he had spent the week of retire
ment abed.
Complaints are made in England that
dynamite can be purchased without
difficulty in any part of the kingdom,
and this with unfortunate results. Gren
ades of dynamite are employed to kill
trout, and hardly a month is said to
pass without reports of poachers using
the explosive as a means of catching
fish. It has been used also as a means
of taking one's own life. A case re
ported from Yorkshire is of a drunken
well-digger, who put an end to his days
by exploding a cartridge in his month.
His tongue, teeth and maxillary bones
were blown to pieces, although his
cheeks and lips, for some odd cause,
suffered no harm at all.
During the month of July there were
102 railroad accidents, of which forty
one were in the nature of collisions,
fifty-six of derailment, tn-o of boiler ex
plosions, two of broken connecting-rods
and one was due to a broken wheel.
Of the collisions twenty-three were from
the rear, seventeen from in front and one
from the side. The derailments were due
to a variety of causes. Three were fiom
broken rails, three from broken wheels,
three from broken axles, two from
broken trestles, two from broken
bridges, one from spreading rails, three
from accidental obstruction, eight fiom
cattle on tho track, four fi om washouts,
one from land-slide, two from mis
placed switches, and one each from
runaway, flying switch, malicious ob
struction, rail purposely removed, and
sub-switch purposely misplaced, while
nineteen are unaccounted for. Of the
collisions, as far as explained, eight
came about by tiains breaking in two,
four by mistakes or neglect to obey
orders, three by misplaced switches and
one by fog. The record for the year
shows that the greatest number of
accidents occurred in January and the
smallest in April. The average of
deaths by accident was 11-4 daily.
How Sponges are Caught.
A correspondent of the New Haven
(Conn.) Register tells how they fish for
sponges in the Bahamas: When a ves
sel arrives at the nailing ground it is
anchored, and the men in small boats
proceed to look for sponges in the
water below. The water is a beautiful
light blue color, and so clear a sixpence
can easily be seen on the white, sandy
bottom in thirty-five to forty feet of
water. Of course when there is no
wind, and the surface of the water is
still, the sponges are easily seen, but
when a gentle breeze is blowing a "sea
glass" is used. A sea-glass consists of
a square pine box about twenty inches
in length, a pane of glass about 10x12
inches placed in one end, water-tight.
To use it, the glass end is thrust into
the water, and the face of the operator
is placed close to the other. By this
means the wave motions of the water
are overcome, and the bottom readily
seen. Sponges when seen on the bot
tom attached to rocks, look like a big
black bunch. They are pulled off their
natural beds by forked hooks, which
are run down under the sponge, which
is formed like the head of a cabbage,
and the roots pulled from the rocks.
hen brought to the surface it is
mass of soft, glutinous stuff, which to
tne touch feels like soap or thick lelly,
When a small boat load is obtained
they are taken to the shore, where
crawl is built in which they are placed
to die, bo that the jelly substance will
readily separate from the firm fiber of
the sponge. These crawls are built by
sticking pieces 01 brush into the sand
out of the water, large enough to con
tain the catch. It takes from five to
six days for the insect to die, when the
sponges are beaten with small sticks,
and the black glutinous substance falls
off, leaving the sponge, after a thorough
washing, ready for market. To the
fishermen generally the occupation is
not a lucrative one. I am told the
wages will hardly average three dollars
per week, besides board. There is but
little diving' for sponges, except for a
particularly fine bunch which cannot be
got with the hook. The sponge is
formed by small insects, and ia the
hive in which they live. Different quali
ties are found growing side by side,
although in certain regions the finer
and more valuable sponges are found,.
Only n Smile.
Only a smile that giron me
5 On the crowded street one day 1
But it pierced the gloom of my saddened heart
I.Ike a sndlen sunbeam's ray.
The shadow of doubt hung over me;-
And the burden of pain I bore,
And the voice of Hope I could not hear,
Though 1 listened o'er and o'er.
But there came a rift in the crowd about,
And a face that I knew passed by,
And the am lie I caught was brighter to mo
Than the blue of a summer sky.
For it gave me back the sunshine,
And scattered each somber thought,
And my heart rejoiced in the kindling warmth
Which that kindly smile had wrought.
Only a smile from a friendly face
On the busy street that day 1
Forgotten as soon as given, perhaps,
As the donor went her way.
But Btralght to my heart it went speeding
To gild the clouds that were there,
And I found that of sunshine and life's blue Bkies
I also might take my share.
Harper't Weekly.
HUMOROUS.
Spell fat with four letters O B O T.
The true way for a woman to drive a
nail is to aim the blow square at her
thumb. Then she 11 avoid hitting her
thumb, anyway.
" Smith," said Brown, " there's a for
tune in that mine!" "I know," said
Smith; "I've put my fortune in It."
Philadelphia Sun.
A codfish produces 3,686,760 eggs
There's millions waiting for the man
who succeeds in crossing the codfish
with the hen. Boston Post.
Sharks will eat cats if they can get
hold of them. We shall make arrange
ments for shipping large quantities of
cats to the seacoast to enjoy bathing fa
cilities. New Haven Register.
A correspondent writes : " Will you
tell us what Mrs. Langtry's maiden
name was?" Certainly ; her maiden aim
was to marry Mr. Longtry.
An Arkansas journal says that ther
have in that State a spring so powey
fully impregnated with iron that the
farmers' horses which drink at it never
have to be shod, the shoe growing on
their feet naturally.
" Thore is a man iu our town,
And ho is wondrous wine;
Whenever ho has goods to Bell " '
Ho straight doth advertiHO;
And when lie finds his goods are gone,
With all his might and main
Ho hurries in another lot
To advertise again."
Carrie was six years old and quite a
model of propriety; but one day she
shocked her mother by doing some
thing very much like ordinary naughty
children, "why, Unmel" exclaimed
Mrs. B., "how could you do such a
thing ?" " Other little girls do so," re
plied Carrie. " But that doesn't make
it right, does it?" asked Mrs. B. "No,"
answered Carrie, with deliberation.
but it makes it a good deal more
comf'able."
Young man, bo happy hoot, holler.
skip, gambol and snap your fingers at
the nightmare of a new overcoat for next
winter. LaBt fall a Canadian genius
shivered awhile and then reflected
awhile, and the result was the purchaso
of a box of mustard plasters. These
were distributed around on his frame
where they would do the most good,
and while men in beaver overcoats shiv
ered with cold he was warm and happy
in his shirt sleeves. One dollar takes
you through a hard winter, and you
come out in spring fat. tree Press.
Now the papers are predicting a lum
ber famine. Good gracious, have we got
to go through that horror, too. Have
we got to sit idly by and suffer, withnc
sixteen-foot board to fill an empty
stomach, no bunch of shingles to cool
our parched tongue, no cedar poats to
till a want long felt, and no bundles of
lath to press our fevered lips? Thin is
too much. We could stand the famine
in box cars, predicted -last spring, but
to cut off our supply of lumber, just as
we have got a new bottle cf stomach
bitters for an appetizer, is piling the
agony on too thick. Peck's Sun.
Fish that Fly.
An old sailor said there was nothing
on land not to be found in the sea.
There are Bea cucumbers and carrots,
and many other sea vegetables that look
very much like those whose names they
bear. Some of the fish even have names
like those of land animals. There are
hog-fish, sea-horses, toad-fishes and sea
cows. One very lovely fish is the
angel-fish. But the most carious of all
is the flying-fish, which has broad fins
like wing'.
This fish is shaped and colored some
thing like a niackei el. Its back is blue
and its under parts are white. When it
flies it takes short flights from the top
of one wave to the top of another. The
flying squirrel can fly, in this way,
from a high point up on a tree to one
lower down. They are plentiful near
the West Indies, where the water is
warm. In the morning the sailor may
find a dead fish on the deck. It had
seen the lights that the vessel carries
at night and flown toward them. It
could fly high enough to reach the ves
sel's deck, but could not fly across it.
It may have struck a boom or sail and
fallen dead from the blow. After this
they grow more numerous, and you will
see them in the daytime.
They will fly out of the water in front
of the ship in little groups, looking
like flocks of swallows. Their -white
sides will gleam like silver in the sun.
They cannot fly far, perhaps a hundred
yards. After wetting their wings or
fins they then can fly farther on. They
look as if they enjoyed their life in the
air, but they do not always fly for
pleasure. The dolphin, a very fierce
and fast swimming fish, hunts them in
the water. When the poor flying-fish
tries to escape him, the great sea-birds,
the gulls and pelicans, seize them as
they fly out. They are very good to
eat. The people in the islands about
which they live catch them in dip nets
and fry them.
Sitting Bull is getting fat and corres
pondingly sancy. A few days in the
guard-house and short rations would do
that gentleman good.