THE DAIIA MVENIMG TKLEGIiATII PHILADELPHIA, TUU1ISDAY, OOrOBEil 24, 18G7.
G
T O A 1) H
John Pull gratifies his hereditary dislike for
the French by calling a Frenchman "Joliuny
Johnny Toad." Ask him
Crapaud"-
.d k, .111 tall joa ttat .11 Fr,ohu.,,
lik. one. and
If he
Lnfwtbat gaMU ranks the toad hgh.Mh.a
.AThans ne wwm " i - .
V i PltaH " and his GalHo neighbor "Johuny
SffrS Ad J-et John Bull in general
tulJl that the toad U
Hn11
TenomouB, and, if eaten, would poLsou Johnny
rvXuid to death; in which belief many a
Frenchman ignorautly helievea with the vul
var Englishman, although he may have often
unconsciously eaten toads, supposing them to
1 frogs, just an he doubtless has eaten cats
under the mistaken persuasion that they were
rabbits.
Yet French restaurateurs and English mount'j
liaDks long ago discovered that the common
toad ia harmless food. The one cooks him and
tails him "frog;" the other used to eat him
raw, amidst a gaping crowd, who, like the bar
barians of Malta, when the viper fastened on
J'aul's hand, "looked when he should have
swollen or fallen down dead suddenly," but, in
stead of Buch a catastrophe, only saw the char
latan swallow a dose of what he called "modi
cine," and seem to be livelier and healthier thau
ever; none the less lively because the crowd of
admiring bumpkins at once made haste to buy
his nostrum, and, as President Lincoln used to
say, "provide against the emergency" of their
Bwallowing a toad. Usually on such ocoasious
ne man ate the toad, at the mountebank's re
quest, and, to please him, was then attacked
with seeming illness, and, being persuaded to
try th "cure-all," recovered immediately.
"WaB it from this practice that sycophants and
flatterers came to be called "toad-eaters ?"
English poetry is full of slanders upon toais.
Even Shakespeare, like all others iu his day,
and most others since, looked upon toad as
poisonous, as appears from that charming pas
sage in As You Like It:
"Sweet aro the uses of adversity,
Which, like the load, ugly and venomous,
"Wears yet a precious jewel la his bead;"
and is further manifest in the Witches' incan
tation, in Machulf.
"Toad, that under coldest stone,
Days and nlglils lias ttilrty-oue
Sweltered venom 8c',iiug got,,
Boll thou llrst I' the charmed pot!"
If Shakespeare believed also in the precious
jewel, the "toad-stone," or bufonite, supposed
to be formed and found in the toad, he partook
cf an error which lived both long before and
long after him. The toad-stone is now known
to be the tooth of a fossil fish; but for ages it
was believed to be formed in the toad's head,
as is the pearl in the oyster, and to possess
Wonderful powers, both medical and magical.
Children, until they are taught better, re
gard toad-Btools as structures built by toads,
as did "our sage and serious poet" Spenser,
and wonder why, unlike him, they never iind
toads Bitting on or under those pretty um-
loreua-snapea tungi, though they have never
read his declaration in the "Faerie Queen"
that
'The grisly toad-stool, grown there, might I see,
And loathed paddocks lord 11115 on the Maine!"
Milton evidently shared in Shakespeare's
and fcifenser's dislike of toads; otherwise he
would not have described Satan as taking the
form of that reptile:
'Squat llUo a toad oloso at tlie ear of Evo,
Assaying by his devilish tu t to reitcli
The organs of her fancy ....
Or if, Inspiring venom, he might taint
The animal spirits, " etc.
The great poet of the "Paradise Lost" per
mits the devil to assume the form of three dif
ferent animals, all objects of popular hate and
disgust, and all classified from time immemo
lial among monsters, or beasts of malignant
aspect and evil omen. He doubtless remem
bered that Virgil in his (leorgics (i. 184) even
Virgil, whose knowledge of agriculture should
Lave taught him not merely the harmlessness,
but also the insect-killing value and helpful
ness of the toad calumniates that much
abused reptile as a monster;
"Inventueque cavls bulo, et ciute plurlina terife
ilonsVia lerunt."
Or, as Dryden says:
'In hollow caverns vermin make abode,
The hissing serpent and tlie swelling toad."
Thus the very modesty and retiring disposi
tion of this poor toad beoome his reproach.
JIow invariably poets add to the horrors of
grottoes and caverns by peopling them with
snakes and toads ! Take, for example, this
passage from Henry Kirk White's "(ijudo
line:" "And as she entered the envern wide
The moonbeam gleamed pale;
And she saw a suako on the cruggy rock
It clurjg by its slimy tail !
Her foot It slipped, aud she stood aghast,
Bhe trod on a bloated toad !
Yet still upbcld by the secret charm,
the kept upon the road."
The toad's eyes were wonderfully bright and
beautiful; yet not -of them has it ever been
aid, in the undefined language of Keats
"A thing of beauty is a Joy forever,"
Nay, the beauty of their eyes has rathor
aggravated the general dislike for toads, as
though such ugly customers should not pos
sess such sparkling gems without being sus
pected of grand larceny. The toad might find
more favor, perhaps, were Lis skin smooth
InBtead of warty, his colorB gay instead of
grey or grave, and his motions lively and
graceful instead of slow and awkward; and
yet it is doubtful. Frogs possess all these
nuperior traits, but they are not admired by
most persons; it is only some enthusiastic
naturalist of the French school who sympa
thizes with the Count Lacopede instead of
laughing at him as he exclaims: "Who can
tegard without pleasure a creature so delicate
in fonn, bo nimble in movement, so graceful
.hV?- ?, Letu8 not deprive ourselves of
"d"'0M Bnrce of pleasure, nor regret to
fw ianka ?f our rlts brightened by
mbo l" ' &Ud &Uimtttd h? "Prig""
4a19EUndt, "T1 and coolness of the
toad bo essential to his health and comfort,
help to make mm disagreeable tons. As the
moist coolness of a dog's nose startles any one
Who feels it unexpectedly or in the dark ho
does the invariable dewy cold and clammv
weat of the toad when touched offend inauv a
civilized simpleton. I Bay civilized, remember
ing that the black barbarians of Senegal
availing themselves of this perpetual cooluejs
produced by the abundant moisture and rapid
evaporation on the skin of toads, are in the
habit, as Adamson informs us, of applying
. toads to their foreheads as they travel iu torrid
heats over burning sands, on the Baine princi
ple that Roman ladiea of the imperial age car
ried cooling-pots iu their hands and bosoms ia
the form of liriug serpents, or that the languid
beauties of Turkish eeraglios pass between
their lingers the refrigerating and fragrant
beads of their amber tusbecs.
la every toad is a sack of pure water not at
all connected with the1 kidm-ye, but serving as
a reservoir, aud furnishing, doubtless, a part
of the fluid which transpires from the skin.
This fluid is very harmless in the common
jujglisJi and Aittaivaa tvads. go, aLjo, ia Uio
l cjnid, which is largely fecreted by the beatl
Mwi ed Lunch on ca h side of the toad's hea l,
a well, as that which is BO freely ejected
when you suddenly grasp a toad
in your hand. Most persons are
afraid of thppe fluids, aud imagine them
poisonous. They are mistaken. Not eveu
"Macbeth V weird sisteis could now find venom
in the common toad. It is true, however, that
these juices have a slightly irritating effect
when applied to the eyes or to a flesh wound,
and that a cut or dog does not like to take a
second tatty. Hut they are substantially
haimless.
There are foreign toads whose fluids aro less
harnileps. TIuip, Rev. Mr. Stanley of Eng
land found that iuk was changed by them as
by acids. Monsieur Hose, a French naturalist,
tells us that it', in hot wvather, any one puts
his hand to tola rose (his mm noso, not
that of Monsieur Uohc) after handling a
toad, he will feel nausea, and other
di.-turl ances of the stomach; and Schel
hamnier, another continental writer, re
lates an anecdote ot a child who had severe
Enctulous eiuptiou, in consequence of a toad
aving been held for some minutes before the
child's mouth. The nater-javk; or hufo calu
mila, which is found in Kuglaud and on the
continent of Europe, and also the brown toad
of Southern Europe, smell disgustingly, the
one like gunpowder, the other like garlic,
when disturbed, and people who "sniff' at
them may be nauseated; but no such odor or
etl'ect belongs to the common toad of either
England or the United States.
Not only did "Macbeth's" witches ise toads
to make their "hell-broth" "thick and slab;"
but many physicians of former ages, aud some
of more recent date, have employed both toads
and frogs in pharmacy and medicine. The
llei-h of toads, dried and powdered, used to be
considered diuretic nnd diaphoretic. I have
read the statement of a living English doctor
that "frog-spawn may be usefully employed in
external iullammation as soothing and emol
lient." Formerly toads' flesh macerated iu oil
was regarded as detersive and anodyne. Live
toads used to be applied topically for headache,
colic, and cancer. Ettmnller, Joel, Vallesnieri,
and many others, have left us curious details
on this subject. Timotheus directed the appli
cation of frogs, cut in two alive, to the region
of the kidneys of dropsical patients. Diosco
rides prescribed the llesh of frogs cooked in
salt and oil as an antidote for the poison of
serpents. Arnold affirmed that the heart of a
frog, taken daily, in the form of a pill, was a
cure for fistula, aud the London Encirlopadiu
("Crulat Jiidnus auHa, iwn ego") affirms that
some Americans take the land frfg of Cate3by,
reduce it to powder, mix it with orris root,
end lake it as a cure for flatulency 1
Hotli toads aud frogs have the same curious
habit of swelling up aud pulling themselves
out when alarmed by seemingly hostile ap
proach. vEsop had noticed this habit in the
f j og, and makes use of it in his fable of the
Frog and the Ox. I have often mischievously
amused myself by wrircling a sack, snake-
fiBhion, towards a toad, in order to see him
bloat and bulge out, and stand on tip.
toe, apparently trying to make himself
appear to be too lnige to be swallowed
Uenerally the toad's courage fails before the
suck gets very near, and he, like another well
known bloated character, believing that the
better pari or vaior is discretion. turn3 tail.
and hops away with a headlong speed and
lencin 01 nop utterly imicuious.
It is curious to observe that, while the com
mon toad ol the United states hops, the com
mon toad of Kugland does not lion, but crawls,
and that the nailer-jack or hufo vnlamita, which
is the only other kind oi toad iound 111 hag
land, neither hops nor crawls, but runs much
like a mouse. .AH ot them, however, have
the same habit of blowing themselvej up ou
the appearance of danger. May not
the Latin name for toad, which i3
hufo, coupled with this swelling swagger
common to toads aud jesters, or clowns,
on exhibition, have given the name of buffoua
to that amusing class ot personages f
Children who are frightened by the rough
Ekin and uncouth movemouts of toads, and who
see them eagerly devouring worms and insects,
are very apt to believe that toads have teeth
Eut neither English nor American bn'o vulyiris
has any such addition to jaw, tongue, or
palate. I have explored their inoutbft with
the zeal of a dentist, but never found fang or
tooth, mcisor or canine, bicuspid or molar 1
Jt Is worth while to see a toad eat an angie
worm using his forepaws a3 a greedy child
his lingers, to cram his moutu ana get tue
whole worm tucked iu before he begius to
swallow. It is fitill more amusing to see a
toad wiiecle off and devour his own skin,
This cutaneous thanksgiving feast occurs
once a year. Tne siun comes on iu lateral
halves, and is crammed eagerly, one-half aftor
the other, into the owner's mouth, and swal
lowed with great apparent zest
Every toad, like every frog, is, or should be,
born in water. If the female can possibly get
to the water she will always deposit her eggs,
which resemble long threads of jelly, studded
with minute beads, in either pond or stream
Sometimes, it is true, they are laid in cellars,
or other places away from water. But in such
cases the toads that may be hatched from
them do not pass through the regular tad
pole state.
Early m the Fpnng tue toaa, wno at every
other period avoids the water, goes there to
deposit her eggs. Then it is that we hear
those trtpinir. shrilling, iar-reaching, aua not
unmusical sounds, from every use, pond,
river, stream, ditch, aud pool, which tell us
that spring has come again, ana which have
induced some naturalists to call our American
toad the Liufo musicun. About twenty days
after the eggs are laid they become tadpoles,
purwiggies, porwiggles, poliwigs, or, as Yan
kee i'oys say, pollywos. lhe tadpole period,
unlike the tadpole's tail, is very short. While
it lasts the juvenile toad swims and breathes
like a iish. having at nist a tail only, with
which to row, Bcull, or steer. Speedily his
legs develop themselves; and, presently, the
tail, as if conscious of its misplaced attach
ment, lirst falls away, aud next falls off.
("Oh, waterfall is there, my coun
trvmen !") Tbe gills close up, the lungs are
put in motion, aud the pollywog emerges from
the water aud graduates a diminutive toad
into field and garden. JNor is this the only
change. As a tadpole his intestines were very
long aud adapted for the digestion of vegetable
fuod only. As a toad, they have beoome very
much shorter, are mllnted into stomach aud
colon, and become luted for animal food
Loid Haton, learned us he was, made some
queer blundeis 111 reuard to tadpoles, frogs,
aud toads. In one tas.-n',8 he era vely informs
us that during the -reat plague of lliG'O,
"there were geeu in divers ditches about Lon
don many tajs tht had tail three inches
no" uiTsLrB '"a ls'" h" Bas h!i7t) u8ually
About U
t 1,a" n thn margin of a pond or
ool waruupK ailJ U.ck with thonsind on
thousands ,,t 0UUg toads not larger tha
kernel of corn. ouo, , particular? do I
member having met kucU countte a crc
advai.chitfin the road,
an a
re-
a countless crowd
In spring-time, wheu the Bun witu T Taurus
X
Tour Xorui Ihelr populous youth i
nd fairly obliging me to check my horse, or
crush them by hundreds, flly uumanity made
no impression on a Hock of depraved ducks
and ducklii'gs that followed this phalanx of
irogp, and gobbled these balrachian infants up
(or down), tMtli appetites that seemed inap-
peasable.
cuch of these juvenile reptiles as escape the
enily perils pi migration and transmigration
grow rapidly ineize, and some of them attain
to a good old age. Toads, known to be four
teen, fifteen, or sixteen years old, are not un
common, l'cnnant gives a very interesting
account f one that was domesticated in an
Englich family for upwards of six-aud-thirty
years. His favorite abode and winter retreat
was under the house door-steps. Of courst
he burrowed there, and remained out of sight
except iu warm weather. He knew his
master, and would come forth at
his approach. At candle-light lie came
out regularly to receive his supper.
OfU n, to gratify curious visitors, he was
brought into the house and placed on the
table lor exhibition, niamtesiing the utmost
coolness and self-possession iu polite society,
and seizing with wonderful celerity every m
Bect offered for his entertainment. He grew
to a prodigious size, and showed no sign of
mummy up to the day when fate fell on him
in the fell shape of a raven whose ravenous
beak, in ppite of a gallant and persistent de
fense, inflicted on his aged frame wounds
whereof ho never recovered, but of which, or
tne eiieets oi which, arter some mouths' linger
ing, he ditd. Hie transit gloria bufonisl
iut a lorty-year-old toad in our climate has
really had an active, self-couscious life of less
than half that period. F'or, to say nothing of
111s eieepmg by day iu summer, he retires into
his hole on the approach of cold weather, and
there remains torpid until the return of spring,
bias tne eartu roil, nor heeds its idle whirl."
The ease and speed with which he dies his
hole, stein foremost, not elbowing, nor shoul
dering, but hipping away the earth behind
him, are quite remarkable, and it is really
lunny to watch him as he goes under, his
eyes, with their three sets of eyelids, wink
ing rapidly as they disappear, not again for
more than six long months "to revisit the
pale glimpses of the moon."
ihe toad loves the twilight. "Keeping
shady" in the daytime, he comes nimbly forth
atter sunset, and seeks his evening meal among
the insects which swarm amidst the deepening
shadows. A3 "it 13 the early bird that catches
the morning worm," so it is the twilight toad
that catches the evening bug. How often, at
eventide, have 1 sat on piazza or door-steps
and watched the activity or these bright-eyed
bug-devouiers, a dozen of them in sight at
once, hopping about in the gathering gloom
like rabbiis in their warren, evidently aware
that they are licensed pets, each one a "char
tered libertine," safe from all enemies, and
not seriously disturbed when some zealous
entomologist seizes one of their number and
cenvly compels him to disgorge his evening
meal iu order to discover in his maw some rare
and delicate insect, whose nocturnal habits
enable him to elude all eyes less keen than
those of the toad.
I was early taught to spare the lives of toads
and swallows. "If you kill them," said one of
the village oracles, in the very beginning of my
memory, "the cows will give bloody milk." 1
believed it most religiously, and doubted not
that I should thus he deprived of my morning
aud evening bread-and-milk should I wantonly
destroy either 01 those sacred animals.
K has long been Known that toads will not
only remain for more than hair a year lu a
torpid state, as is their winter custom, but that
they will live lor years shut up in darkness,
and setminiily beyond the reach of either air
or food. There are cases, well or ill authenti
cated, of the discovery of living toads inclosed
in solid trees, in cwal, in various kinds of
stone, in beds of sand or gravel, at immense
depths below the earth's surface. Over
sandstone mantel piece in thillingham Cas
tle, England, there used to hang, framed
m with a coat of arms, a Latin inscrip
tion, in letters of gold, calling attention to
a cavity in the mantel, and reciting that
a living toad was taken from that hole in
the rock when the mantel was split from
the quarry. Nearly a hundred years ago, in
tearing down the wall of a Parisian house be
longing to the Duo d'Orleaus, which had been
standing nearly iilty years, a live toad was
said to have been found in the midst of the
wall, his hinder-legs imbedded in the mortar
This discovery led to many cruel experi
ments in both 1-rauce aul isnglami
experiments too cruel to be justified
by any scientino pretext. Monsieur Her
risant, in pretence of a committee of the
French Academy of Sciences, inclosed three
toads in plaster, boxed aud sealed them up,
and laid them aside for a year and a half. The
boxes were opened at the end of that period
and two of the toads were found alive. They
were again boxed up for a few months, and
then again their sarcophagi were opened, but
all were dead. In 1817, at Paris, Dr. Edwards
enclosed a number of toads in plaster, and as
far as he could, in various ways, deprived
them of air. All or them uvea many days,
but those died soonest which he forced to re
main under water.
In 1825 aud lb30 two English clergymen
who might have been better employed iu paro
chial duty, repeated these experiments on a
larger scale. The full record of the tortures
they inflicted may be found in the Edinburgh
I'lulusopltaal Journal, April October,
pp. 20, 228. Dr. Huckland was the first of
these experimenters. That reverend gentle
man caught thirty-two toads, shut them up aud
starved them for two months in a cucumber
frame in his garden; so that, to use his own
words, they "were iu an unhealthy and some
what meagre state" when, on the 20th of No
vember, 125, he proceeded to imprison them
more closely. Four of them he plugged tight
into as many holes, each cut about five inches
deep and three inches wide, on the north side
of the trunk of an apple tree. At the eud of a
year every one of these four toads wa3 dead,
and all of their bodies were decayed. Twelve
.more he shut up at the same time in twelve
circular cells, each about a foot deep aud uve
Inches in diameter, cut in a block of limestone
so coarse that it was easily perjueable by
water. 7 it'ice inore ho confined in twelve
other tells of the same width, but only half as
deep, cut in a very compact silicious saudstoue.
The tops of the twenty-four cells were glazed
air-tight, and covered with slate. Eoih stones
were then buried three feet deep in the garden,
and there they remained for nearly thirteen
months. On tue 10th of December, 182t, they
were dug up and examined. Every toad in
the sandotoue had evidently been dead for
mouths. Most of those iu the limestoue were
alive, but all except two were greatly ema
ciated. These two had gained in weight.
Over one of them, and also over one that had
died, the glass was broken.
The survivors were again shut up and buried
as before, but all of them died before the end
of the tecoud year. Four others were placed
each in a small basin of plaster of Paris, four
incbeB deep and five inches wide, glazed in
aud buried like the twenty-four. Being dug
up at the same time, only two were alive, but
"much emaciated." What the Doctor did
with them we ara not told.
The Uir tlerkaJtuperUaeuter was the RT.
Fdwuid Stanley. Ia June, IK',0, he conHiied
three toads, each in a flower pot, and buried
mem Tour ieet deep. In the following March
they were all dead. Then he corked up two
others in glass bottles, one hermetically closed,
the other with a umallholein thestopper. The
first died in forty-eight hours; the other
seemed to be dying in about a fortnight, lie
was llien unbound, nut under a flower-not on
moist garden-earth, grew lively, and was set
at liberty. In words that sound like
mockery this clergyman says: "I had the
pleasure of peeing it a awl off under every
symptom of entire convalescence." Tortures
inflicted for bo trifling a purpose, and ending
in results eo worthless, almost make one wish
that, lor a while at least, the toads and their
toi mentors could have been made to chance
places. Which of them would have then
l-elieved that "not a sparrow falleth to thw
ground without your Heavenly Father's
notice ?"
I will finish this article by quoting some
passages from the letter of a young friend who
is endeavoring to domesticate a toad, and who
in this letter "reports progress, and aks leave
to sit again:"
"Saturday. I ran Into the garden to look for
nt( iid. it Is hard to tlnd tliuni in the daytime,
but I noon saw one, and Ihcn put on my glovcA
and uHve chase. I tiionglit that I really meant
to catch him. Jle hopped unit I ran. I stooped
and put out my huuel, and he spiatiK out ol
my reuch. My movements are nut very
prompt, pnd his wire; and presently, to my
great si.lislaclion (!), ne noppeu inrouvn mo
pickets and escaped. I guess I was us gUd
us he.
"J: if. After dinner I thought I would try
ngu n, nnd alter some search found a big toad
uikIi r 11 cuminl-biub. Summoning up all my
tcuiHpe, I giusped him with my gloved hand,
111.1I, iigli.' v, hat a sensation It gnvemp to touch
bin ! i never felt u toad before. With a good
dc ul t f troblclutlon 1 numaued to put him into
an old bird cuge which I hud brought for the
puiiHiKC; but to my amazement ho hopped lu
sinritly through one of the seed-holes, winch
KKiKeu sn uner umu nis couy, anu was at iu
ertv. Jiiit I caught him ngalu shudderlug as I
did belore put him into the cage, covered up
the seed nnd water-holes, rushed to the house,
pnd exhibited my prisoner. We all udmlred
tbe beauty of his eyes; but his warty nnd watery
skin whs dlFgusllng, and his avtlvUv iu trying
to get cut wus beyona un ueuer. rreseutiy 1
Placed tbe cage on the grui.8 under the dining-
room window, Hnd too it a seat in-doors to
wnleh him. In less than Ave minutes he turned
himself edeewlse. orced himself through be
tween the wires, pnd escaped I Not expecting
such an escapade, I had taken ofTray gloves, and
now If 1 caught blm it must be with my naked
bards and I did It! As I seized his damp, cld,
knobby, bloated body.un indescribable shudder
ran through me, extenuing to my very toes,
lie wet my hand, but I did not let go until I
hud put him back luto the cage; and theu wrap,
pii.g a shawl round it, 1 sat down on the plaz7.11,
quite faint and weak with the struggle, lie re
trained slill for a while, but presently begau
lenplrjg upward over aud among the perches lu
the cage, sometimes actually clinging to the
top wires, showing the whlty-yellow undor side
ot his body, and making me feel almost as
badly as wheu I had him in my hand. He
seemed sn nearly fi untie that I concluded to lut
him go. to, taking him back to his currant
bush, I opened his prUou door and came away,
leuvir g mm to come out at ms pleasure,
"Ho much for my first day of toad-taming !
"Mondov. P. M.l resolved to try azaln
JhlLgitig down lrom the garret an old paieul
llour-siiLi r, i converted it into a cage, and then
ran into the garden, caught my victim. Im
prisoned him, brought him to the house, aud
can-ltd him up to my owu chamber, and placed
him in one of the windows opening ou the
piazza t ool, where I left him to meditate till
ulier tea. Afier tea I brought him down, set
ti e ctige on the table, and oilered him a succes
sion of files. He seemed quite olm, be
haved very well, but would not notice
lhe Hies. Then I took him up stairs uualn, and
placed b Is cage us before. When I went up to
IjkI 1 buo Xorgotten all anout iiira, out just as
1 la gan to undress 1 beard a sort of scratching
ut'ino, jikcu luivuraa tne wiuilow, and saw the
t nd sprawling along on the outside of his
eege. I uttered one scream, nnd sprang upon
the bed. He gave one leap, and fell upon the
floor. Del closed my door, and would not, come
111 to my relief. Toady hopped about the
el a 111 her with alnrming agility; and there I
sat, 't-quut like u loud,' on the bed, half crying
belf li ughing, and wholly afraid to get dowu
ai d recapture the 'contraband.' I called to Del
to 'tome in and catch blm,' and she exhorted
me (through the keyhole) 10 'get dowu and
catch him,' und each stonily refused to do any
fcuch thing. At last, mustering all my courage,
I charged at him with a towel, covered
blm, M-ifced him, and culled out, 'Del,
I've got him !' That heroic female theu
ventuied to open the door almost au inch,
and peep iu. I suppose I must Lave relaxed
. my gnup, for Just thut Instant the load leaped
out lrom under the towel. Del screamed aud
si mmed to the door, and 1 screamed and
jumped up again on lhe bed. Very soou, how
ever, feeling rather Bbhamed of my cowardice,
Iputou my gloves, once more enveloped the
Joad In the towel, curried him down stairs,
opened the back door, aud dropped blm on the
grass. 1 went to bed disgusted with toads, and
rather mortified at my wantof courage, besides
seeming to have lobt uil lallh in the wisdom of
trying to establish and maintain friendly rela
tions with the lower orders of animals,
" Wednesday. Another toad adventure! This
afternoon, at uncle ham's, oneol his little boys
come in with a toad In his hand. He treated it
Just as though it wore a pet bird. Uucle tools
it, patted It, ployed with it, tickled Its stomach
with one of his fingers uutll the toad actually
laughed out loud at least he swelled up and
made a sort of chuckling noise that sounded
semetblng like laughing. Then uncle persuaded
me to take it, first lu one hand, then la the
other, then in both together, without gloves:
and 1 did so, and kept ou doing so until all my
uncomfortable feelings passed away, and I
began to ihlnk thut a load, well trained, might
become a very tolerable pet. I have mada up
my mind to keep one in a sort of pen in the
garden, where I can feed it regularly, and study
its disposition aud habits. Aftor a month's
trial rerhaps 1 will send you au account of my
1 have written encouragingly to my corres
pondent, and in due time hope to receive a
supplemental report. Harper's Monthly.
INTERNAL REVENUE'
REVENUE STAMPS
FOB MALE AT THE
PlUNOIl'ALi AGENCY,
NO. 07 fcOl'TIl Illinu MTBKET,
A LIBtRAL DIHCOUNT ALLOWED.
Orders or Stamped Checks received, and delivered
with dchi atch.
Orders fcy mall or express promptly attended to,
7 29 tt AroilK.Rl IIVW.tYi
BOARDING.
11t)1 (JlKAltD fcTREUT BETWEEN
1 Z 1 ChcMii.l sud Market aud Kleventti aud
Twellili streeiH centrally located, Accommodation
tor peimui.t til, trunnion l. sud lulile Boardera. Ibll'iu
FIRE A N dUrLAr1HOOF SI FfcS
fiftl L. MAISEZR.
MANrACTCBtB OF
rlBI A K It 16 V It J I. A U- V li u O
OAK KB.
I.OI F.KMIT1I, BKLIrlUNUKU, ARB)
t t.JAl.r.U IS Itl JLlMAO UAUUWABIi,
t H WO. 4 KtlK NTKfcKT,
A LAlUiiJ ASSORTMENT OK FIRE
iL' and linrkiar-proofHA FKb ou uand, with Inside
loort, Lwellink'-lmuse Hates, free Iroui dnmpmwa
Prices low. . lUkNEN roilllKIt,
i No. ! V INK Mlreot
BOX Etil HOXESI BOXE3!
Franklin Planing Ml I. all kind of itoses, Box
hliookn and Ijp Boards made lo order. Also, Luia
br lor sale, wot ked to suit customers. Alio). Whit
DdHar Pine Floorlu. C id W H M'INU, H. K. cor
INSURANCE COMPANIES.
DEI.AWABE MUTUAL, SAFETY INSU
JiANCKt:oMPAN Y.lneorporaiedby the legis
lature of l'euDdi Ivanla, !.
Office, B, E. corner ofTIMKD and WALNUT Streets,
rniiHfifMpnin.
t a t t m 1,'. 1 m 1 ij a rcrrrci
on vessels, cari, and freight lo 'l parts of the world.
ilvLANll lKSURANCKH
on gmfln by r'vor, canal, lake, aud laud carriage, to
all irla of the Vnlnn.
1 UK JInUHAB',ia
on mr rrhandlRe Rpnerally.
un Mures, iiweihng-xtoimns, etc
ASKETS OF Til K COMPANY
Nnvoralir I. ltttiH.
I100,foo United blatea 6 l'erCeuU Loan,
171
120.0MI UnlitU Stales 8 l'er Ceut. Louu,
114,000-00
13S.WO-00
211, 600 -00
12G,Ki2-5fl
64.700-00
44,'EO-OB
Ri.toiUO
:fiO,000 TJ n II c'li" Htalt'ii"' 7" '"io 'Ter"TnU
Loan, Trfnsurj Motes
125,000 t'iiy of I'liilailtMplila tt x'ut Out.
Loans (exempt)
64,000 St it if of I'enuMylVttiiia U I'vi Cent.
Lortii
66,H'0 ftnti' ol l'oiinsylvQiilaS Per Cent.
I.ouu
60,000 Mult- ol JSew JorHny blx Per Oout.
i.onn
20,0(0 l'miiR) Ivanin Kmlronl, Ixt Mort-
icnue, Hlx l'er l ent. HomiIh
26,000 IVni'sy.vunla Kallri ad, ReconU
Moringt Hix lvr put, Bonn....
25,000 We-teru I'minsy Ivanla Kallrond
Hlx Vi't ( put, i.nrds (Pciiusyl-
v.nln linllrond Hiinrmt"H) ,
80,000 frtateol Tennessee Five l'er Cent.
Loan
7,MiO State nl Teiiuersee Blx Fer Cent,
loan
15,000 EdOHlinres Mock of 'Ucrmaiitown
Ua Company (principal and In
terest Kuurunleed by the city of
Philadelphia)
7,150,HH Hiares t-lock of Pennsylvania
Itallrnad Company
B.GOO.lOoMiaiPRlntork ol North feiiiisylva-
. nin Itallrnad Company
20 000-811 Shares block of I'lnlauViphla and
iMiiitlieru Mull hteamalilp Com
punys
lfb.fOO J.oiuiH on Homll nnd Mortgage,
llrst liens on City Property
?'i,500-00
21,2fl0P
20,730-00
18,000 00
40-00
15.000-00
8,208-25
8, 900-00
20,0o0-00
l:i8,(XKI-00
11,045,050 par. Market value...l,oo,MO-6
COBt. II .0...V'2'IU.
Ttenl Kstate M.nnn-oo
rtlllH rfceivahle lor liiHurances made 27,Wi7'20
xaiaoce uue ut auntie les i-rcmiuuis on Ma
rine Policies. Accrued Interest, and OLher
debts due to the Company., a8,tfiV90
Scrip and Mock of miliary itixuriuice and
oiner 1 onitiBiiiPs, oi73. intimated value...
Caah In Hank, xll,lr;-26.
Cash In Lrawer, (447-14
2,910-00
41,540-00
l,r7,821-6
Thlsbfdng a new enterprise, the Par la assumed
m tne niarKti value.
Thomas C. Hand,
Pamnel E. Btoltea,
Henry Sloan,
William O. Bnnttoii,
Kdward D.trlluKtOu,
If. Jones fJrooka,
Kdward Lafourcadn,
Jacob P. Jones,
James B. McFarlaud,
Jo'thua V. Eyre,
Spencer Mcllvalne,
i. li. Semple, PlUH'.i'r,!
A.. H. Helper, "
I). T. Moi'san, "
(4eori.-B W. Herraril 1 1.
j on 11 u. uaviH,
J uniund A. Kouder,
Tbeoplnliis Paulding,
John K. l'euroje,
James TraarAir,
Henry C. l.ailett, Jr.,
James C. Hand,
William C, Ludwlg
Joseph H. Seal,
George (4. Lelper,
Hugh CralK,
John D. Taylor,
jucoo iwetei,
THOMAS C. HAND. Pield-nt.
JOHN c. i, vih. V'ce-l'reMi.eiit.
Hknrt Lylbuhn, Secretary. 1 'i
185) 9 c 11 A llTKK 1E1 pKT u A T
FraiiLUn lire Insurance to
of ruiLADF.rniiA.
OFFICE:
JDLOS. 1QS ASD 187 CULMS UX tit UEKT.
ASSETS ON JAN IT AK V 1,1807,
asau.i-tU'ia.
Capital fMO.OOO'OO
Accrued burp.ua 04tl,71X-8
Premiums n , , ..l ant,ia-16
CNStlTTLKD CLAIMS, INCOME FOR 1866,
LOSSfS l'AIl NINCE IS9 OVflQ
83,&OU,000.
Perpetual and Temporary Policies on Liberal Terms.
DIRKCTOIW.
Charles N. Bancker, lUeOrge Falea,
'iohlas W aguer, . A Hied k itler,
Samuel Orant, Francis W, Lewis, M. D
George W. lUchards, Peter McCali.
Isaac Lea, Thomas Sparks,
CIIARLE8 N. BAM'KKK, President.
UF.O.kUK FALK.-t, Vice-President.
J, W. McALLlSlKU, Secretary pro tern. .aitl2.31J
T3U0Y1DLM LIrE AND TRUST COMPANY
AT OF PHILADELPHIA, "
No, 111 South FOURTH street.
JJSCORi ORATi.Il ad MONTH 'tlA, IMP. I
CAPITAL, 160,000, PAID IN.
insurance ou Lives, by Yearly Premiums; or bvB
10. or Jio year premiums, JNoii-lorieiture. '
Anuuities granted ou lavoruble terms.
Term Policies, Children's EiidowmeuU,
'lliis Company, while giving the Insured theaecurlty
of a paid-up Capital, will divide the entire prolitsof
the Lile buhinebs among Its po.iey holders,
Moneys received at luterest, and paid on demand.
Authorized by charter to execute Trusts, aud to act
as Fxecntor or Administrator, Assignee or4uardlan,
aLd iu oiher fiduciary capacities, under appointment
ol any Court ot this Commou wealth, or any person or
persons, or bodies politic or corporate.
SAM UKL R. SHIPLkvVHENRY HAINPI4,
JCbitLA H. MORRia, IT. WISTAR BROWN,
Rit HiKi) W OOH, W. C. LONUSTRKTH
RICHARD CA lib CRY, WILLIAM HACKER.
CHABLES p. COt FIN.
SAMUEL B, SHIPLEY, KOWLAND PARRY,
President. Acinar?
WM. C. LOSGPT BETH, Vice President. J'
THOMAS WISTAR, M. I),, J, fl. TOWNSKND.
727 Medical Examiner. Legal Adviser.
INSURANCE COMPA H Y
NORTH AMEUKJ V
OIFICE, Ko, 22 WALNUI' a ., PHILADELPHIA.
INCORPORATED 1794. CHARTER PERPETUAL.
C4PI1AL, aoo,ooo,
AK&K1N JANVAHI 8,1807 91,703,a0730
insijkkn mavink, inland iu.tsi'ou.
TATION AND 1 1UU KUUH,
DIRECTORS.
Arthur t4. Corlin, ueorce L. Harrison,
Samuel W. Jones,
John A Rrowu,
Charles Taylor,
Amhiube While,
Richard 1). Wood,
Wiiliaru Welsh,
H. orris Walu,
Fraucts R. Cone.
Edward H. Trotter,
Edward S. Clarke,
WiUUm CuuiuiluKS,
1'. Charltou Usury,
Allred U. Jetsuu.
I, ,li tt U UM.t...
JOhh ALUSOU,
Louis C, Madeira,
ARTHUR Q. COFFIN. PrHi.inl.
CBABi.KS Pltt, secretary.
WILLIAM BCEHLEU, Harrlsburg, Pa Central
Agent lor the Slate ol Pennsylvania. litoj
JDHdONIX INSURANCE COMPANY OP
. PHILADELPHIA.
INCORPORATED ISM CHARTER PERPETUAL
No. KiA W ALN UT Street, opposite the Exchange
In and I lion lo MARINE aud INLAND INSUR
ANCE, ilu Company Insures lrom loss or daiuaue by
II BE lor liberal terms ou buildings, merchaudlae
iiirniiiire, etc, tor limlied periods, and permanently
ou butlulugs, by del osil of premium, v
'lhe Company has been In active operation for more
ban SIXTY Y EAKH, dunug wliioli all losses ha VI
een promptly adjusted aud paid.
piaatToas,
John L. Hodge,
Lawrence Lewis, Jr,
m. a. juauony,
John T. Lewis,
William S. Grant,
Roberi W, Learning,
D. Clark Wharton,
A'MV IU XJBWIB,
Beujamln Ettlnt,
Thomas H. Powers,
A A, McHenry,
Edmund Oaiulllon,
oamuei wiicox,
ixaiiH c n orris.
JOHN Wllf n :Rh:h Prldant.
fiurtl. Wrxcoz. Searetary
FIRE INSURANCE EXCLUSIVELY. TUB
PENNSYLVANIA F1BK INSDRANCK COM
PA NY Incorporated lb26 Charter Perpetual No,
61H WALNUT Street, opposite independence Square.
This Company, favorably known to theoomrnuiiliy
tor over forty years, continues to Insure against loss
or damage by tire on Public or private Buildings,
either permanently or for a limited time. Also, on
Fnrulture, stocks of Goods, aud Merchandise gene
rally, on liberal terms,
'i heir tapliul, together with a large Rnrpius fond,
Invented lu the uiost careful mauner. which enables
tl'emt o oiler to the Insured an undoubted security in
the cut of loss.
Daniel Hnilth. Jr..
Julia Devereua,
Thuiuiui (tuil lit,
Henry lwla,
J. lllhliKliju ValL
Alexaudvr iixuion,
Inane itaxlehunil.
j Innnws lUibuiun,
Uiuilel Huddixit. Jr.
PANULSM ITU, Jb Picsldent.
INSURANCE COMPANIES.
INSURE- YOUR LIFE
IN
The Pcnn Mutual Lifo Insu
rance Company,
KO, 031 CHr.NACT STBEET.
AH ASSET I,700,000'0
Policies are Issued on various plans; Annual Life,
Ten Payments.
Endowment payable at specified age, all with par
tlclpatlon In division ol surpln.
Uet Cash Plan may be also adopted, by which the
cheap present cost Is attained.
Premiums may be paid la cash, annually, semi
annually, or quarterly; or halt In cash and half In
note, adding Interest,
I.cats always promptly paid. The amount paid to
families and others exceeds one million of dollars.
JAMKS TltAUUAlIt, President.
8AMTJKL K. STUKK8, Vice-President.
JOHN W. HOP. NOR, A. V. P. and Actuary,
HOP.AHO 8. BTFPiLFNH.Secietary. 10 10 Stuth3t
JfcOOlilAiN, Lll'Ji INSURANCE
OF SEW lOUH, MlJTlTAI
POL1C1L8 NON-FCRFI 1TABLK, Thirty days
grace given In pajment ot Pnmlums. No extra
charge for residence or travel In any portion of the
world. Dividends declared annually, and paid la
cash. Dividend In 167. 40 per cent.
E. E. COLTON,
. GENERAL AGENT.
N, E, CORKER SVTH AND (IIESNtTi
Agents and Solicitors wanted In all the cities and
towns In Pennsylvania and Southern New Jer
sey , 2 a.i
p I R C INSURANCE.
LIYERFOOIj AND LONDON AND tHOBE
in&ciiance; company.
AHSl.TS OVEB. ................ ,.............8I0, 000,000 .
INVESOTED IN TUE V. Mn OTEB-81,800,000
PHILADELPHIA BOARD.
Lemuel Coffln, Ksq., If'harles 8. Smith. Eir
Joseph W. Lewis, Esq., I Henry A. Duhriug, Esq.,
Edward Slier, Jq.
All losses promptly adjusted without reference to
England.
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE,
JYo. 6 MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE,
ATWOOD SMITH,
10 17 thstueml General Agent for Pennsylvania.
FINANCIAL.
BOUSE
JayCooke&((jp.
113 and 114 So. THIRD ST. PIIILAP'A.
Coalera in &11 Government Securitiofi
OLD 6-SOt WANTED
IM EXCHANEF FOR NLW3
A EIltEKAx. l)irrr.EESl'E ALLOWED,
Compound Interest Koteg Wanted.'
IMIKlftT ALLOWED ON DEPOSITS.
CoUexiUoiia madt. Stocks bonbtVad gold on
fjammlfislon.
Special bnslnefia Roconumxlatlons reservftd for
ad lea. 19 34 8m
RATIONAL
BAXE OF TUE REPUBLIC,
609 &r.d 811 CHESNUT STBEET
PHILADELPHIA.
CA l'IIAli..HM..w...H.wHM.,li...M.H wtl04r4i44l
DLRECTORa
Joi oph T. Bailey,
Nalhtin Hilles,
Ren). Rowland, Jr.,
fcamuel A. Rispham,
iulward a. Orne,
V, llllun Krvlen.
Osgood Welsh,
Frederick A, Hoyt,
Win, 11, Bnawn.
WM. XL SHAWN, President,
Uut Cathter of ti Central National anl
JOB. P. JiTJiiFORD Cashier,
5 IU LaUoflM eMadelpMa JSuiioiua Bank
7 3-10s,
ALL 81illIE9,
CONVERTED INTO
FlYE-TWE IS TI ES.
BONDS DEMVEttED IMMEDIATBT,
DE HA YEN & BROTHER
lOIrp WO. 40 H, THIRD STBEET.
is, liECURITIEG
A SPECIALTY.
SMITH, RANDOLPH
BANKERS AND IJBOKE11S,
Orderi for Stocks and Gold executed in rhila.