Poe Ms gamma it
RECKLESS. '
sr N. N. ON,
Oh, what a night this is to me, •
The winds are whirling o'er the lawn,
bd hl the dark I hoar and see
Ten thousand devils, drive - them on,
The earth recoil. beneath their tread,
The shivering stars comma their light,
he pine tree moans, with feiir an& dread,
And all is wild this awful night.
,
t brings no terror unto me, ,
Nor in ,roul bee fear a part,
he who& 84 4 1 0;i 1 d, and fierce, end free,
Arenot op reckless as my heart.
never knew until this hour
The strengthtl4. does on passion wait ;
never felt the f sled power •
That nature gives to those who hate,
/hate him for he stole from me
The love with which my life was light,
nd left It like the raging sisa
All wild with dorms, this fearful night.
I he billows heave and swell, and roll,
And dash theft waters on the rocks
n wit.; dismay,—without control,
But I am calm amid their shocks
Aye, calm with joy, and light, and glad,
oveitiews no yfeasure sue. an ..
.fy soul with wild delight is Mad,
And laughs amid this wintry storm,
No more I care for lore's soft spell,
I only feel the force of fate,
Impelling me to work no well
That I shall tuto the joie of hate.
1; o winds, and tell him am he cower'
Beneath the fury of thy blast,
A stormy.with all Its awful powers,
Shall buret upon his bead at last,
rid when my vengeance on him falls
Far happier the wretch shall be ,
'f hat Ilea within the graveyard walls,
Or groans In hell's eternity.
oshannon, l'a.Jan. 11, 1888.
A Rift in the Clouds
A STORY ►OR MARRIIPI) rooim
Andrew Lei' came home frOm his shop
where he bad worked all day, tired and
out of spirits; came home to his wife,
who !sells!! tired and out of spirits.
"A smiling wife and olieerlul home—
s paradise it would be •" said Andrew
to himself, RS he turned his eygs from
the clouded face of Mrs Lee, and eat
down with knitted brows and moody as
pect.
Not a word -was spoken -by either.
Ur*. Lea sea gelling_ _slipper, and abs
moped--about - with a weary step.
she said at last, with a side
glance at her husband. .
Andrew arose and weat to the table
He vaiveleimpled to 'peak an angry word,
ut oorirrolled himitelf and kept anent,
He could find no fault with the chop nor
he homemade bread, nor the fragrant
ea They would have cheered his in•
and loan, if there had been any gleam
Jf sunshine on the face of his wife. He
„noticed she did not eat.
'Are you not well Mary ''” The
words were on hie lips, but he did not
, utter them, for the fuer of hie wifelook
ed 10 repelant, that he feared sn irri
tating rep'y.
And so in moody silence, the twain
mat together until Andrew had finished
his supper.
As he pushed his chair back, his wife
arose and commenced cleiring oil the
table,
"This is purgatory," said Lee to him
self, as he commenced walking the floor
of their little breakfast room, with 4 bis
hands thrust dowda into his frowners
pockets, and, his obin almost touching
his breast.
After removing ail the dishes and tak
ing them into the kitchen, Mrs. 'spread
a green cover on the 'table, and placing
• fresh trimmed lamp thereon, went out
and abut the door after her, leiving ber
husband alone with unpleasant fooling,.
lie took a long deep breath as she did so,
pausing In his walk, stood still for some
moments, and then drawing a paper
from his pocket, set down by the table,
opened the sheet, and commenced read
ing Singularly enough,the words upon
which Ida eyes rested were "Praise your
wife." They rather tended to increase
the disturbance of mind front which he
was suffering
"I should like to find some 000aeien
for praising mine." How quickly his
thoughts expressed that ill natured
senSiment. But bie eyes were on the
page before bim,and he read on ; "Praise
your wife man ; for pity's sake give her
a little encouragement It won't hurt
her."
Andrew Lee raised his J eyes from the
paper and muttered : "Oh, yea that's
all trery, well praise is cheap enough.
But praise her (or what ? For being
sullen ' and mtking her home the most
disagreeable place in the world 7" We
eyes fell again on The paper. -
"She has made your home own foriable
your hearth bright and shining, your
food agreeable; for pity's sake tell her
you thank her,' if nothing more. She
deal espedt It ; It will make her eyes
open wider than they have for twenty
years; but it will do her good for all
that, and you, too.' '
It seemed to Andrew as if this sentence
was written just (or him,' and just for
the occasion. It was a oomplete answe!
to his question—" Praise her for what?"
and he f.O it ,also a rebuke. lie read
no fUrther, for thought came too busy in
a new direction. Maisiory was mimic-
nag
VOL. 13
ling him of injustice to his wife, She
had always male his home as comforta
ble for him"as her hands could make it,
andlhad he °Fared the light
_return of
prat or coMmendation ? Had he ever
told her Of. the satisfaolion ballad known
or the comfart he had experienced 1 He
was not able to recall the time or occa
sion. As he thought thus, Mrs. Lee
came in from _ else kitchen, .and taking
her work basket froth the closet, place.
it on the table, and sitting down without
speaking, began to sew. Mr. Lee glanc
ed almost stealthily at the work in he‘r
hands, and saw the boltem of a shirt,
which she was stitching neatly.' Ile
knew Thal it was for him that she was
at work.
'•Praise your wife " The words were
before the eyes of his mind, and he cL.uld
notlook away•from them. But he was
not ready for this yet. Ile still felt
moody and unforgiving. The expres
sion of his wife's face he intexpreted to
mean ill-nature for which he had no pa
tience. Hie eyeer'fell upon the news
paper which lay spread out before him,
anti iii.:iee7C the `senl ence4 "A kind,
cheerful word spoken in a gloomy house
is the little rift ik,the cloud that lets the
sunshine ihrougNi."
Lee struggled with himself a while
longer.
_t„lie 9.1111 ill-nature had to be
conquered first; his moody accusing
spirit-bad to be subdued. lie thought
of many things to say, yet ho feared to
say them lest his wife should meet his
address with a cold rebuff:. At last,
leahlog towLrd her and taking hold of
the shirt bosom upon which she was at
work, hasaii ru avoioe carefully made
laled with kindness:
°You are doing the work beautifully,
Mary "
Mrs. Lee made no reply , but her hus
band dur not fail to nottoe that she loot
almost instantly that rigid erectness
with which she had bean sitting, nor
thau be motion of her needle hmturiped.
"My ohms are better made and whiter
than those of any other man in the shop,"
said Lee, encouraged to go on.
"Are they !"
Mr. Lee's voice was low, and had in
it a slight huskiness. Bbe did not turn
her face, but her husband haw she lean
ed a little toward him. Ile had broken
the ice of reserve and all was easy now.
His band was among tho clouds and a fee
ble ray was already struggling through
the rift it had made
Yes, Mary," he answeted softly ,
-and I've heard it more i ban once, what
a good wife Andrew Lee must have."
Mre Lee turned her face toward her
husband
There was light In it, and light in her
eye But there was something in the
expression of the countenance that a
little puzzled him
"Do you think so "" she asked, quire
soberly.
"What a question I" ejaculated Au
drew Lee starting lop and going round
to the Bide of the table 'abate hie wife
was sill ing.—"Wliat a quest ion Mary :"
he repealed, as he stood beside her
'Do you '" It was all shessae
'"Yes, darling," was the warmly spo
ken answer, and be stooped down and
eased her "How strange that you
should ask me such a question!"
"If you would on l y tell roe so now nod
then, Andrew, it would, do me good "
Mrs Lee erode, and leaning her fees
against the manly breasr of her hus
band, stood and wept
What a streng light broke in upon the
mind of Andrew Lee Ile had never
given his wife even the email reward of
praise for the loving interest she bad
manifested daily, until doubt of love had
entered her soul —No wonder that her
face grew clouded, uor what he consid
ered moodiness and ill-nature, took poet
session c f her * spirit.
"You are good and true, Mary, my
own dear wife, I am proud of you--I
love you, and my first desire.ie for your
happineem 1 could always see
your race in sunshine, my home would
be the-dearest-place. on earth."
"How precious to me - are your words
of love and praise, Andrew," said Mr..
smiling up through her tears Into his
face. "With them in my ears, my heart
'tan never lie in a shadow."
How easy had been the work tot An
drew Leo. He had swept his band
&arose the cloudy horizon, and now the
bright suaghine was strutting down,
and flooding that ' home with joy and
beauty.
The weapon that no enemy osa parry
is a bold and cheerful spirit.
"MATE RZONTIII AND PEDEMAD 'UNION."
i BELLEPONTE, FRIDAY JAN. 24, 1868.
A Skull that had a Tongue. 1
When Dr, John Doane, the famous
poet and divino of the reign of James
1:, attained possession Ohio first living,
he took a walk into the chuiehyard,
where the sexton war at the time ,dig
ging a grave, Sod in the course of his
labor threw up a skull. This skull the
the dootor took into hib handb and found
errivity - , -- nendiess naii - Vicking in- t
temple of it,'wh holt he drew out secretly,
and wrapped it in the cornerof his hand
kerchief, lie demanded of the grave
-digger whether he knew whose skull
that was. Ile said it was a man's who
kept a brandy-shop—an honest, drunk
en fellow, who one night having taken
two quarts, was found dead in Ws bed
next morning. •
"had he a wife?"
•
"What character does mho bear
"A very good one : only the neighbors
reflect on her because she married the
day after her husband was buried."
Thin was enough for the doe tor ,who,
inUtSrlsrittents' 751"wiliitIng
era, went to see the woman. HO asked her
several quest ions,and among others what
sickness her husband died of—she giving
the same account ho had heirs received.
Ile sudden ly opened the handkerchief,
and cried in an autboratative
"Woman do you know this nail 1"
, She was struck with horror at the un
expected demand, inetantly owned the
fact, and woe brought to I* and . exe
cuted.
Truly might one say, with even more
point thin Hamlet, that tbo
./kuil had a
longue in it.
AN UNDEHOILOUND RIVIIN la OHIC,A
GRUA? NATIONAL IN not
generally known that there exists about
a mile west of Fremont, a remarkable
underground stream, with a swift our
rent2_ and no outlet above - the aortaee of
the ground this side of Lake Erie. It
was discovered several years ago on a
farm North of the Four Mile House now
owned by Mr. Sheffer, by a man who
was returning from a day's chopping
in the woods In walking over a slightly
sunken place, he noticed a hollow sound
and turning, &truck the ground with his
axe The axe broke through and disap•
peered and never has been heard from
since. Further investigations showed a
rook about six feet below the surface,
with a crevice a foot or mote wide, in
which water could be ere*: several feet
below By tracing :its course further
down and breaking through the cruet.
the same phenomenon appeared again,
and by dropping a piece of wood or other
floating substance in the upper apetture,
it RAM soon seen to pass the lower one,
showing a strong current. A lead and
line, let down to the depth of seventy
feet, found no bottom,-The supply of
water is only slightly effected by drouth,
and a pump set up in one of the places
above mentioned has furnished the pur
est water to the neighborhood during
the late dry season It is certainly
quite a remarkable streitn.--F;x
-- —A lady who went out shopping.
promised to gel her little son a cocoanut
She procured one with the husk on, in
which state he had never seen one. On
arriving.at borne she gavo it to the boy,
who look at it curiously, smiled, suit
laid it down ': Presently he said. "[do
th6r, where's my cocoanut" just
gave it to you, ' she replied. Taking
it up again, he viewed it oontempltiously
for a moment and exclaimed, —That
thing a cocoanut '— I thought it was a
watelfall '"
--AHeoleil young lady, seated in a
rocking-choir, reading the Bible, ex
ev, here is a' grammati
cal error in the Bible!" Mother, low
ering her speck'', and approaching Ne
reader in a very scrutinising attitude,
eays,"Kill it! kill it !! It's the very
thin, that has been eating the leaves
and book-marks."
—When sprung gentleman in Cana
da wishes to pay , attention to a young
it be winter, he undertakes to kill
her with kindness—by taking her out
and aleightng her.
"I wonder what amulet my eyes to be
co weak ?" Bald a fop' to a gentleman.
"They are In a weak place." replied
the latter,
Week & Southern savings
blalkestabliched by usgroes, collapsed
because the depoiltore withdrew all
the Nods to attend a draw.
The New Reconstruction Bill
Tluilump Congress, It would appear
has passed another, a third, prormnoii,
mento against the lives and liberties o
the Southern people, end wall it "A New
Reconstruction Bill." It is infamous
cowardly and damnable, in all its part
and bearings. The New York Times
thoroughly underelaTidini the objects
and t igerversatious of the " Radical Rump
Rebels" in Congress. minutely explains
its provinior.s when it says :
The Reconstruoti:on Commateehas not
quite got up to the standlird of the
Southean Convent i JD. They, or some of
them, have modestly asked that the civil
offmett of their respective States be de
clared vacant, and that they he filled by
appointees of the Conventions. This
seems to have been a little too much for
the ()committee But, though the new
meaauretthieh it has prepared does pro
videlfilra great deal of confusion and
for a central military dictatolxhip by
wiiy Ofteniedy. •
- It will not be easy, by : and by, to de
fine the civil Government of the ten ex•
eluded States, or to-say how or for what
tbsy exist. Provisional they , have al
ready been declared to be. Under the
proposed measure they will be several
shades less than Provisional, if it be
possible to comprehend en orrinization
which halt an exiistance and still has
none. The notion is paradoxioal, but
so will be the law. The 'State Govern
meat will go on at present, but the Fed
eral Elect:Sive sad- Jtillfebtry are forbtd
den to recognize their validity, or the
validity of anything thiy do. If Hun
nloutt or Bradley were to organize a rev
olutionary junta apd call it a Govern
ment, it would have the same title to
recognition at Washington that the pees
sent Provisional Government of Vir
ginia or Georgia will have under the
law.
The only authority that will be 'idea
ble or recognized, as between the South
and the Union, if this project hie+
law, will be the military authori alt
will be a central military •uthorit , boo,
The discretionary poweb now wielded by
the District Comthanders is to cease;
and the General-i9-chief, sitting in his
office at Washington is to-lor the abso
lute 'master of the South Ile is to he
dictator The administration of the Re
construction law, and of all laws will be
under his exclusive supervision His
nod will appoint or remove Ile may knock
down Governer, Judges, Sheriffs and
every civil tuna , ionary in a State, as un
ceremoniously as he would knock down
ninepins, and may play mischief gener
ally, with none to call him to account.
Provided only, the States prove, them
selves reconstructed by adopting consti
tutions filled with " loyal safeguards,' ,
and by sending to Washington Senators
and Reprentatives with the mark of the
Radical Cain sport their brows, the Getter
abin Chief may do or undo, obey the
law or break it, respect white men's
rights or dieragard them, according to
his sovereign will bud irleaeure.
If Congress insists upon having a dic
tator, Gen. Grant is certainly the best
man for the office Cool, clear-headed,
free from partisanship, and inclined to
be magnanimous, he is tie best man on
whom Congress can confer these enor
mous powers. But there can be no mis
take about the main fact Conyrrsa now
proposes to operate by and through a dicta
torship A moldier is to do the work
which the Radicals are unable otherwise
to do The sword is to take the place of
statesmanship in the business of Recoil
struotton. To Ibis complexion has the
jugglery of the Reconstruction Commit
tee finally COlllO
Itihst signals° the oonatitutional das
Ignstion of the Preaident Couttuantkr
in-Chief I Ile in!ty oommand,but the new
bill enjoins indifference to Me orders.
In relation to the army and the South,
be will be laid upon the (their until the
dimatorehip make room for constitu
tional goventatank—if that ever happen.
'To call this Reconstruction, is a per.
vertion of the - terme. To imagine that
it - will promote peace at ihe Huuth, or in
any detree contribute to the restoratOn
of the Union, were transparaet folly.—
What it really amounts to is ar confession
that Congress has sunk soteep into dif
floultiee of its own making that It sees
ho lawful methodleir . dellvermaos ; add like
all such •bodies, in similar dilemma.,
Ayes to "miliwy &votive for relief.
InoßiAsixa,—Ottr subiskiption list
•--
111 1 r 4
Tr
/ 7*
-7k9
LONG YEARS AGO
All for • pretty ghtlish taco,
TwoAeolis of ropy
Two laughing lips of Yerrnll tint
And tyee of beaven'n blue.
All for a• little dimpled chin, '1
A round throat snowy fair,
A darling mouth to dream upon, '
And glorious golden hair.
All fora tender cooing voice.
7And gentle Buttering
'All for the promise made to me,
By story, telling eyes.
AI for the pretty girlish face,
For a band as wh ite'as snow,
dreamed a foolish dream ill' love,
Long, long years ago.
THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER.
—Beecher now orator from a 4lpit
i ltl
made of wood from the Mount of 011 a.
—fn ritting for hie portrait Gira will
not probably take apolitical attitude.
--Christmas dish most prevalent in
England—Fenian broils.
--Sumner's political and social rerun.
Biro c tion—pertnan en t separation.
--"Thersia . a man in Danville, Va., who
ate apidera !
-=—lklisiachusetta makes $21,000 out td
its State prison annually.
—The latest political caritture tepre
Bents Grants platform.. Ile is tending on
nothing. .
—A man recently died of hydrophobia
in New Orletmarota a bite received two
JO/T8 lip
—A. T. Stewart has given State &mail
Creamer asBo,ooo house and lot for making
a spleeh fur him.
—lt cost $400,000 to find whether the
lisug.tteky nunniktra were o r not. An
expensive piece of information. ,
—lf the war was prosecuted fur the
pre AAAAA tiun of the Iln lon, why are ten
States kept out of it.
—Brigham Ycung has -just married ble
severity.thiroi-wife, and there was a big
Jubilee over the nuptials.
--A Chicago paper asks whetter Gen'
Grant is in favor of purehasing territory.
It of course wants to know whether he is a
land Grant. •
—The Mobile Advertiser suggeses that
Dickens' reason for not attending church
here is because be Is not interested in Amer
ican politics.
—The marks °lova( 11 wasting may be
made indellible by passing the tongue over
tt. liven breathing slow over the lines pro
tect• them from erasure.
rich old lady has recently died in
flomersetshire, England, who for years could
only sleep when riding in her carriage.
Did she ever try a stupid preacher 7
—Pringle one of the Georgi.l registers,
was defeated by a negro for the MSc. of Ser
geant at Arms of the Reconstruction Con
vention, and bung himself in disgust.
"Nancy," said of girl to her companion,
"which railroad train do you likethe but
"
'That one," replied Nancy, "which furnlih
et a 'park catcher."
e--Morels are improving about the
"Huh." The Boston Poet says "No bank
was robbod in this o ity—so far as known to
the public—yesterday, and no teller ran
away.'
—Many of the coffins of soldiers, buried
by contract in St• Louis have - been found
filled with sticks and stones. The bodies
weredoubtlessxold by the contractors for
anatomical purposes.
—A Ie w days ago, wear loaded with
barrels of elder ream thrown from a track at
West Cornwall, Cl. The weather waa so
sold that the eider became frusen, and wee
taken away in paper hags by the people..
—A statiotican eatimatee that every
married couple may calculate up 4,181,304
deicentlento in about 400 yeara• Let young
[mop!, 111110 C end reflect upon the dreadful
ooneciuencos of matrimony.
.—George Franck Train has declared
Oatmeal Grant to be the moat gigmatie sell
ever put upon A Christian people, and com
pared him to the Irishman's owl, that kept
up a "devil of a thinking."
—A man in Connecticut had ono of hie
oyes put out by a piece of chip striking it
while chopping wood, soma time since, and
last week he was thrown from a sleigh, and
will probably lute the other eye from the in
juries received. _
--A large bundle, which wis tumbled
about °tithe ((round in the hurry of extri•
cating the aulferern at Angoli, last emit
ted a wail, and on 'being opened was found
to contain a six months old - baby, without
a imolai upon ite body. T.lse uipther was
deid.
—Judge Clark or the Supreme court of
New York, has decided that gold and silver
&rano longer lawful money of the irountry,
but merchantable oommoditlee, and Promis
sory notes made payable- in gold mast be
paid in gobror surretiey of an egniva!ent
value.
~Rocesiblourrr, Mecklenburg Co.,
Vs., Jan. 6th. 1868. f
MR. 1;: G. hismr—Deefr Sir:
_ Christmas and New Year's Days. are
both gone. And if the New Year, (which
has $n reality begun) ii fraught with
new pleasures, brighter hopes, or " bet
ter times," they are rather stow in mak
ing their appearance, for things in gen
eral wear the same ;spool thy did a
month previous, tilt this exeeption,
vi.: very few of the freedmen have be
gan work. Around the stores, groceries,
and "pop-shops," may be seen plenty of
negroes idling away time, and drinking
the whiskey, bought by the proceeds Of
a night's plunder. A great, many bring
forward as an eicuse for idledess, the
unsettled state of the times, or id other
words, "waltia' to see what's.gwitte to
happen."
"0.4
I am unable•to say what this toaypor
tend,quit am inclined to think it relates
to some of the many rumors that have
been afloat for the last few years ; such
as the confisoation of land; •laud• - mllz
nopoly ; social equality, riegiO suprem
acy or sonie Gulch " thundering,—
m tug," of the Rs. teal
party. At this season .of the year plan
ters are buoy preparing for a crop ; but
numbers of the negroes are unwilling to
enter into any contract for this year ; or
for a year at a time. Now, if a planter
does not engage laborers for the entire
year, he is, ten to one. left'ina bad pre
dicament; for if he were to engage
hands by the month, the unprincipled
negroes would leave him at the very
busiest season of the yeal-, which comes
ih August and September ; when
the broiling nun opens the pores on
a niggers book, and mouses him to
emit a very savory odor. Soch an one
as would be - relished in a Radical par
lor; a most delightful scent it is, and
doubtless this sweet perfume—in com
parison with which Phalott's extract of
night blooming cereus, sinks into utter
insignificance—was, what first attracted
the admiration of the Rads, and of
courre one cannot but respect the ohoioe
of lunettes, however ridiculous that
—E4 rharop
choice may appear
"So I will e'en leave them to, enjoy,
The goods the gods provide."
•A very striking seine occurred a few
days ago at a hog killing ;" (no very
romantic plage for a scene) for the sake
of mystery I shell omit mimes. and give
pert feelers est they oessurred ---
A t four o'clock, a. m„ the line funer
al pile was lit, and the negroes began to
assemble for the bloody work of death.
And as the gentlemen were * liberal, the
negroes were drunk of course. Then
began a dance round the "scalding tub"
that resembled the 'tidiest war (knee.—
When, le! all of a sudden was heard a
trrible noise, by one of the Etbeopian
performers, who was found in the centre
of about forty gallons of hot water.—
Another in the attempt to rescue him
from Siloam's pool, divested the top of
his creek= of enough " curl hair" to
stuff a medium sized sofa. Another of
the colored chivalry seized hirrhande
full of clotted blood, and holding it up,
esclaime‘with the voice of a Stealer.
"So I is gwine to wash my hands in
white folks; blood, some of dese days
before long." And the few white men
that were superintending, becoming al
armed at this turn of affairs, armed
themselves with knives, for their mutual
protection ; and it was well they dl.d—
For a plot was formed for their assassin
*Ulm, but was luckily discovered. The
sight of the kniles, and s little summa
ry chastisement Inflicted on the ring
leaders, had the good effete-et tranquil
izing the murderous crew, who however,
continue t 6 vow Vaseline:a on tie whites.
Whether they will parry their threats in
to effect or not, remains to be seen. I
am-convinced of the fact that they should
like to do so, but I do not think they
possess the courage to carry their threats
into execution. I may say more on the
subject another time, for the present
adieu EbIANUEL NOLL.
- —We were amused the other, even
ing at three little girls playing among
the sage brush in a back yard. Two
of them were "making believe keep
Louse" a few yards distance from each
other—neighbors as it were. One cf
them Bays to the third -little girl:
-There now, Nelly, you- go to Sarah's
house, amt stop A little while and talk,
and then ytu come back and tell what
she says about. me : and then I Will
talk a bout her, then you go and toll
her all I say, and then we'll get mad atld
don't opeilciiretich other, just like our
mothers do, you know. 0! thee/I-be
such fun,"
—A per , 'it'll, girl boasted to one
of her little ft tends that her - father kept
• earrings. "Alt, but," Was the trium
phant reply, "my father dries SU om
nibus."
—An enraged, bookend in Omaha
eought to fake the life of wife by
loading a stick of firewood with gun
powder. Hs. managed to blow the house
up, but the wife still lives to punish
him.
Two lowans waded the ?dials,lppt in
rubber ,boots, at Seek* the other
dy.•
LOW from Virginkt.