Echo,
Coma to ms In the silence of the night:
Come in th* speaking silenss ef a dream .
Corns with soft rounded aheek* and syw* as
bright
ha auulight en a stream
Come back (v tears,
O memory, hop*, h aof finished tears
O dream, hew m, too sweet, too hitler
sweet,
Whom wakonine should hare been in Para
dise.
Whera sonla brimful of lor# abide aud meet ;
Where thirsting, longing eyes
Watch the alow door
That e|>euing. lets in. lets out no wore
fet come to me in dreams that t ma* Iris
My vary Ufa again. th> ugh sold in death ;
Pom* back to me in dream- that I ma* gne
Pulse for pulae. breath for breath :
Speak low. lean low.
Aa long ago. my lov*. how long ago !
" The Babes in the Woods."
wo ms ruT, 1871.
" Something characteristic," eh ?
Hump ! I reckon you menu by that
Something that happened in our way.
Here at the croaain' of Big lVe Fist.
Tune* aren't now as they uaed to be.
When gold wa* flush and the boy* were
frisky.
And a mnn would {Will out hi* battery
For anything maybe the price of whisky.
Nothing of that sort, eh ? Thai'* strange.
Why, I thought you might be diverted.
Hearing how Jt tie*, of Red Rock Range,
Prswed his " Hint to th* Unconverted, '
And saying. " Whar will yon have It t" ehot
Cherokee Bob at the last IVbaring '
What wae the quest too . I forgot—
ftii Jones didn't tike Bob'* war of stating.
Nothing of the kind, eh 7 Yon mean
Something aukler ? Lat'a see Ok, Joe ?
Tall to the Misuser that Utile venae
Oat of the "Babee ui th# Wood*. * You
know.
" Babes" waa the name that we gave em. AT,
Two lean lads in their teens, and greener
Than even the belt of spruce and fir
Where they built their meet, and each day
grew leaner.
No one knew where thev ram* from. None
Cored to ask if thev hod a mother.
Runaway schoolboys, maybe, line
Tall sad dark as a tpmee ; the other
Blue and gcM in the eyee and hair.
Soft and low ia his speech, but rarely
Talking with us : and we didn't cere
To get at their secret at ail unfairly-
For they were eo quiet, eo sad and shy.
Coolant to trust each other eotaly.
That somehow we'd always shut on* eye.
And never seem to obaarve them wholly.
As they paseed to their work- 'Twos a voruout
claim.
And it paid tliem grub. They could iiv*
without it.
For the boya had away of leaving game
In tbatr tent, and forgetting all about it.
Ist no awe asked for tbeur secret. Dumb
It lay in their big eve* heavy hollow*.
It waa understood that no one should come
To thetr tout unaware*, save the bees and
•wallow*.
Bo they brad alone. Until one warm night
1 waa sitting her* at the tent-door, eo, sir,
When out of the sunset's rosy light
Up rose the sheriff of Mariposa.
I knew at once there wae something wrong.
For his hand and his voice shook just a Utile,
And there isn't much you can fetch along
To snake the sinew* of Jack Hill brittle.
" Go warn th* Babes !~ lie whispered, huorse ;
** TeH 'eta I'm coming—to get and scurry.
Few I've got a story that's bad. and worse,
I've got a warrant; now, man. you hurry I"
Too late; they had seen him cross the hill
I ran to their tent and found them lying
Dead in each other's arms, and still
Clasping ths dreg they had takan (bring.
And there lay their secret cold and bare,
hie. their trial —the old, old story
For the sweet blue eyee. and the golden hair.
Was a ttxman'e shame and a voman't glory.
" Who were they ?" Ask no more, or ask
The son that riaits their grave so lightly :
Ask of the whispering reeds, or task
The mourning crickets that chirrup nightly.
AB of their life bat its Love forgot.
Everything tender and soft and mystic,
These are our Babes in the Woods, you're got.
Well—Human Nature—that a charactersuc.
RKKT HUTS
-irST HIS DCTT.
It was in the year of the great Min
ceaota snow storms. Ton heard of
them, I dare say. Most people did ;
and Tve little donbt that, to ladies and
gentlemen sitting by their sung fire
sides in London ana New York, there
was something pleasantly exciting in
the daily accounts from those far West
tern States, of bow the anow kept fall,
fall, falling, day by day and week by
week, in one soft, steady sheet of daz
zling white, till it rose high ewer walls
and hedges, blotted out roads, and
fields, and streams, and made hills and
dales alike one dead, blank level. Peo
ple reed with eager earioeity of whole
coach-loads frozen np in one night, of
traveler* lost in the whirling drifts
within a yard or two of their own
homes, of men going 'ont to seek for
stray oat tie, to be found dead and stifi
within an hour or so.
His name was Hugh Garston, and he
was the master of an infant*' school
half-way between Rock Rapids, lowa,
and the village of White Water Springs.
Hugh's father had been a gentleman of
property, given to traveling in his
yonth; and having rambled as far as
lowa one summer, had there fallen in
love with and married a trapper's
daughter.
As soon as the deed was done he was
very much ashamed of it; deserted his
wife as aoon as possible, and returned
to his ancestral halls in Yorkshire. Un
fortunately, the trapper's daughter was
not a person of delicacy. Instead of
taking her desertion as a gentle hint
that Mr. Garston was tired of her, and
resigning herself accordingly, thia
vonng woman packed up a change of
linen, and not only started off in pur
suit of him, but actually found him in
hia own home; and, arriving at the
hall with a fortnight-old baby in her
Arms, she presented the baby to tbe
hall's master as his son.
In good time Hugh went to college.
In the letter's twentieth year, however,
something oocurred which turned all
this good to bad. Mr. Garston had
destined him for the church. Hugh de
clined to enter it A quarrel ensued.
Unpleasant disclosures followed. Hugh
learnt for the first time that hia mother
was not dead, but living and disowned,
snd that the second Mrs. Garston owed
her marriage to a lncky and legal flaw
in the first ceremony.
Passion is productive of hasty words.
Wise men pay no faeed to them. Hugh
was not wise. Within a week he had
thrown np father, college and pros
pects, and departed to seek his mother
in tbe far West. Please to remember
his trapper blood in excuse, and excuse
him —as I did.
When I next met him it was out there,
and he was returning from his mother's
fnneraL He had fonnd her living alone
in a small house on the bills, keeping a
small school, and suffering from a
lingering internal disorder which made
life one long tortnre to her.
Hugh brought the best medicine that
torture could admit—his presence and
hia love; and under that gentle balm
Mary Garston lingered two years, rest
ing bom her labors in peace and happi
ness, while tbe young Oxonion kept
school and bouse far her, and tended
her like nurse, servant, and son, in
one.
Naturally, now she was gone, I nrged
him to give up this wretched life, and
l>egin a better in England, with my aid.
He thanked me, and declined. He liked
teaching. The school had increased,
and was a blessing to those outlying
farms and cabins, whose young fry
wonld otherwise have grown np mere
heathens and savages. If he gave it
up, no other would inke it, the pay was
. so poor, and the situation so lonely.
Besides, he was now bent on the Inde
)>endent ministry, and found this a
capital place for perfecting his studies
in qnie% and practising their lessons in
irsedom. These were his arguments,
and I combated them with sat*. Then
KHKD. KVHTZ, Kclitorrmd I *roprutor.
VOL. Ml.
he turned on me, and told me- 1 have
grown to care for a girl in the village
youder, MalTa Keith. Hhe is not a lady,
and 1 am not a gentleman -after my
father's pattern, at least. This state of
life anils her better than anv other;
therefore, if 1 marry her, it aud no oth
er ahall suit me."
I had used reason against arguments,
and tnrned them itilo smoke. To ue
reason against love would have been
folly; and 1 waa not a fool. We shook
hands heartily, bade each other "God
speed," and parted the beat of friends,
never to meet again in thia world. The
rest of Hugh's story I give from hit
letters and Malva's lips.
Hhe was a practiced ooonetto, honest
enough in her wgy, and beautiful be
▼ond measure, with the full, upright
flgwre, lithe, round limbs, aud rich col
oring of a prairie Hebe—well aware of
her beauty, too, both from the glass
and the more audible homage of at
leaat a score of rough and ready admir
ers, trappers, timber-feller*, railway
employee, 1 osiers, and the like, who
*ll vfed in paying court to the fiower of
White Water*. Hugh came in among
these like a star from another system;
and struightwav Malva oast off her suit
ors, and hauled down the flag of free
dom to lay it at the schoolmaster's feet.
So far, so well; but, unfortunately,
surrender was easier than subjection to
this young lady. Hugh lived nearly
three mile* off, and was at his work all
day. Malra lived just outside the Til
lage—her father was a timber con
tractor, and a well-to-do man of the
roughest class—and the bouse was
always full of those of her swains, ss
did not care for work, and found making
love a pleasant pastime; and Malva
waa too partial to this incense to re
linquish it at once, and for the sake of
a grave, stern young man, who had
other work than hanging on Iter apron
strings all day. The end of all this
was that Hngh grew anxious, then
jealous, then angry ; took to reproving
instead of worshiping, and so irritated
Malva's pride ; all of which culminated
in a desperate quarrel respecting a cer
tain Mile* Pearson, whoae over-familiar
worship of the flower of White Waters
had for some time been arousing Mas
ter Hugh's wrath. 1 fear that latter
gentleman had inherited hie father's
pride ; at anv rate, he bore himself so
sternly on wis occasion, that Malva,
who was on the point of yielding and
ashing pardon, suddenly nailed her
colors to the mast, and said she "wasn't
going to be bullied. Milee was ss good
as some folk, and better. He didn't
get riley and tyrannical; and for her
part she preferred Americans to half
bred foreigners," Ac., Ac., blue eyes
flashing and pomegranate chocks aflame.
Hugh looked her full in the face, and
answered her, very white and cold—
" That is vour choice, then ? Yery
welL The half-bred foreigner will re
sign yon until such time as you change
your "mind, and ask him to come back.
Good-morning, Miss Keith."
And so walked back to his school, and
came no more to the Keith homestead.
The weather was cold enough then ;
but the real heavy snow did not set in
much before January. It had been
falling off and on for several Jars, and
was so deep in place* that Hugh's
school benches haa grown very empty,
many from the more distant clearings
not oeing able to come. Still, the mas
ter was a great favorite with children,
and these in lowa and Minnesota are a
tough and hardy little race ; no, on the
sth of January, 187—, though the sky
was an ominous color, and the barome
ter falling fast, about nine boys end
girls arrived as nsual, and, after a good
wanning at the fire, began their studies.
One of them, Seth Halkett, brought a
bit of news.
" Miles IVarson's gwiue to splice
with old Keith's gal. Guess there 11 be
grand fixings down to her place. Air
you gwine to the marryin', teacher ?"
" You shut np, Setb," cried hia sis
ter, a sharp girl of twelve, who, with
precocious womanhood, had got hold of
Hugh's feelings in that quarter. " He'a
always talkin 1 when lie knows nathin',
teacher: an' he aren't done one figger of
his reck'nin' vet."
Beth stock hi* hands defiantly in the
ragged bands of bia corduroys, and
mattered—" Darn the reck'nin";" but
Hugh spoke to him mildly, and bade
the girl mind her own work. It was
not with children that hia atemness
cams ont.
And the anow went on falling.
It soon grew too dark for studying.
The flakes froze as they fell in a solid
heap on the window-sill, and blotted
out tbe light. One of the boya looked
ont at tbe front door, and got hia nose
frost-bitten; and a murmur rose that
they would be obliged to stay in school
all night Hugh went to the back door,
which was at the lee of the boose, and
confirmed the foreboding. Tbe road
was impassable for children already,
and the snow falling in two cross cur
rents, which made a sort of frozen
whirlwind in the air. There conld be
no going home that evening; and he
busied himself in piling np tbe Area,
and helping the old negress who waited
on him to get snpper ready for his pu-
Eils. That night, tbe two girls who
ad been plucky enongh to accompany
their brothers to school slept in Hugh's
bed, while he camped down with the
boys in the school-room. They kept
roaring fires, and used every wrap there
was in the bonus; but tbe cold increased
hourly, and one, the yonngest child,
woke crying more than once.
And the snow went on falling.
It never ceased all the next day and
night Hugh kept up tbe Area, fed the
children well, and told tliem stories.
Little Tommy, the youngest, cried, for
his mother at first; but soon ceased
when tbe master pnt him on his knee and
comforted him. Still, tbe time passed
very drearily; every peep from the
back room showed only a white waste
of snow, trending downwards to the
valley, and blotting paths, fences, and
landmarks in one huge winding-sheet.
Worse was coming still; for that night
old Gassy whispered her master that
the food was almost gone. Nine
hungry months soon make away with
the contents of one man's larder.
And the anow went on falling.
Chi the following day breakfast was
a miserable meal, and one of tbe girls
having discovered the cause thereof,
began to wail ont that they wonld all
be starved. Hugh quieted her, gently
but firmly, and going to the window,
pointed that the sky was clearing, ana
tbe snow-flakes falling leas thickly.
They continued to lessen hour by hour;
and by noon Hugh determined to make
his way to the nearest village store, and
bring Back food to the hungry children.
It was a difficult errand, even for
him, who knew every inch of the way,
and was cased m fur and leather from
head to foot All signs of the road
were obliterated. More than once he
missed his way, and sank in the snow
nearly to his thighs ; and the cold was
so intense that the very breath froze
upon his bps like an iey akin. The
poor fellow was well-nigh dead when he
at last reached Ethan Ball's store.
Only a light sprinkling of snow bad
fallen since his departure ; so that he
was able to retrace the journey by bis
own track, and was toiling heavily up a
steepish hill, when, of a sudden, LIB
ear was caught by the dismal bowling
of a dog far away. He paid no heed,
thinking it came from the settlement:
and presently it eeased, then changed
THE CENTRE REPORTER.
to a Lark, growing nearer aud nearer ;
till, finally, a Inrgo black dog cauie in
aight round a point ol rook, and, bound- |
iug UJHUI huu, began a series of (awn
iug and w lniiiiig. running sway ■ few
#teps, and returning to look up in Ida
face writb all a dog'* frensy of lmjHiteut
eloq uenee. Men soon grow to under
stand these sign* in the far Weat.
Ungli kuew. a* well a* if he hail been
told, that somewhere within hail that
dog's master waa lying iu iitnut so great
as to need help ; and help accordingly
he aet out to give. The dog led the
way, and he followed ; now stutubliug,
now falling outright; sometimes letting
the handle of the sled slip from his
half-froaeu fingers, and ofteu deter
mining to give up the attempt mid get
home while he oould ; but always urged
on, as much by that inflexibility which
made part of the mau'* chnracter aa by j
dislike of leaving a fellow-creature to
perish within reach. Ho on and on, for J
half a mile or so ; and then the doc
stopped beside a big, motion lea* mound
of snow , and Hugh, bending forward,
found himself staring into the white
and rigid face of his old enemy, Miles
Pearson,
Independent of rivalry, this man had
alwava been peculiarly obnoxious to
Hugii. He was a big, burly fellow.
That such a man should dare to admire
Malva Keith, and not l> repulsed with
loathi n g, had certoinlv lowered that
voung lady in her lover's evee ; and of
late tue two men had hardly even met
without exhibit iug a man >fe*t animosity.
Now. Pearson lay a half fruxeu, insensi
ble log upou the Minnesota suows , aud
Hugh Garston stood above him !
Only for a momen ; then he knelt
down "and felt the man's wri*t It gave
back no answering beat He laid his
hand ou his heart ; that still ticked on,
but very feebly. Death was ruuning a
race with Miles Pearson, and no time
could be lost if he were to be beaten.
Hugh lost none. Without a moment's
hesitation, he set to work to force some
drops of brandy down the man's throat;
theu jerked the bags of food out of the
sled, and half dragged, half lifted the
helpless body on to it instead. The
children were very hungry, but tk,y
could wait. Milee was past waiting.
But, not to lose the food, he drove the
long stick with which he had been
walking into the frozeu *now, and fas
tened the dog to him. He had gut out
of the way, he knew, aud was for from
home ; but that would mark the spot
And now he looked round, half despair
ingly, for some nearer shelter, and
straightway uttered a shout for joy. A
spird column of smoke wss rising into
the air, beaide a huge gray bluff, about
half a mils off; ana Hugk's heart beat
thankfully as he recognized the cliim
nevs of Keith's homes tend.
As he started to reach it the snow
began to fall.
In the great log kitchen at the
Keiths', the family were all gathered
roahd a hnge lire that afternoon, talk
ing cf the suow, of the time it had
lasted, and the easnalties it had occa
sioned, and wondering when tine
weather would set in again. Abram
Keith bail heard of a Minnesota bride
and bridegroom snowed- up in the sleigh,
en route to their married home, and
only rescued after two daya—bring, bat
crippled for life ; and his father told of
a neighbor fonnd dead and frozen stiff,
within a few yards of his house, that
very morning. There was no end of
such stories. Only Malta held her
tongue, and looked pale and weary.
Possibly she hail begttn to_misa Hugh
Gareton.
A heavy bang at the door startled
them all ;" and Abram, going to open it.
gave rent to such a volley of oaths and
ejaculations of wonder as brought all
the family to his aide, and turned the
010 to a chorus. Xo wonder, for what
had entered was the body of a man, fact
foremost, laid on a shed; and propelled
by another man, who, as if utterly ex
hausted, dropped his burden at the
door, and staggered to a bench, with
out uttering one word in reply to the
questions which assailed him. * Xo hoed
was paid to him, however, for all eyes
had tnrned upon the apparent corpse ;
and there was another shout from
Abram.
"Jechoeophat and all hia tarnation
grand uncles, el 'taint Miles Pearson!"
The whole house was iu a oommotion
at once. Brandy and hot blankets were
called for ; Miles was put into Abram'a
bed; and everyone was so busy in
sttending to bis restoration, that Hugh
had stumbled to the fire, helped him
self to a drink of hot coffee, and turned
to the door again, before anyone noticed
him. Then Mrs. Keith cried out—
" Garston, don't open that, man ; or
you'll let more of the cold in."
" I will shut it behind me," he said,
laconically.
" Why, what's the ftiry! yon're not
going ?" in a chorus from the men.
" Yes, I am—home."
Abram delivered himself of a whole
bagful of curses, ingeniously diversi
fied. Malm came close, ana put her
hand wonderingly on her lover's arm.
Hugh did not look at her ; but turning
to his host, stated the reason for his
departure—nine famishing children.
•'What lout there? Why, I reck
oned you were coming down here till
the thaw. Where did yon spot poor
Miles, then ?"
Hugh told.
" And yon left the prog, and come
away to toat him along down here !
Well, I'm darned I"
Old Keith shrugged his shoulders;
but Malva's eyes glistened, and her
warm fingers atole down his arm, and
glided sinnonsly into his gloved ones..
" Garston," said old Keitb, giving up
tbe paat idiocy for the present—" it's
most dark already, an' the snow falling
like wildfire. You'll never get home
with your life this day. Don't lie a fool
an' risk it."
" And my children ?"
" I)drot the shavers I If they've
empty bellies one day, they cun All 'em
the next, an' no harm done, I reckon.
Let 'em be. Why, you're most broke
down a'ready, an' as white as a skunk's
liver."
This from Abram. llugh looked at
him ooldly. These two yonng men did
not "hitch well," to use Malva'a
phrase.
" Will you go if I stay?" he asked;
"or will yon oome along with me and
help ?"
With the greatest sincerity, voting
Keith shook his head, and wished him
self at eternal perdition if he were snch
a fool—" He'd, keer for his life, he
guessed, ef schoolmaster didn't far
nis'n."
"The schoolmaster laughed con
temptuously.
"I thought so. Good night, friends.
I care for the children given to my
charge. Look after your frost-bitten
friend, Abram. Ton can do that with
out running the risk of losing your
precious life, or freezing your foal
tongue either."
He went oat at he spoke, and Abram,
boiling with rage, caught una "Colt's"
and made as he would fellow. Old
Keith hold him back.
" Let the darned fool go, and be
cussed to him," he said. " Look at the
snow, boy; he'll never spot home to
night Malva, bolt the door."
She flew off; bat not to obey. Hugh
had taken but a few steps, when his
arm was caught, and Ualva, half buried
in her father's huge bearskin robe,
clang panting to his aids,
CENTRE HALL. CENTRE CO., PA.. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12. 1874.
" Hugh, dear Hugh, do conic Lock !
Why, for pity's sake, do you flare at
Abiiam so ? lie only wauled to stay
you. Dome book, ilo !"
" I Log your pardon, Malva. Your
brother always irritates me; but his
selfish cowardice just now put my blood
up. Go liack yourself, child. It iau't
safe for von to be here a moment."
He put her liaek as he spoke, press
ing her into the shelter ol the deep
porch, and wrapptug the muitlera still
cloaer rouud her. Hhe got one arm
free, however, and ttuug it round hia
neck.
"Hugh, don't you* now don't! Look
at the Hitow, it's "falling fast again, an'
dusk's drawing in. Don't go to-night,
Hngh—for my sake, don't! Listen ' —
trying to rub her aofl cheek against hia
caressingly- " 1 love vou—J love you
better nor any OHM; aa' I'll never s|>eak
another woid to that drunken brute you
saved, nor no one if you bid me never,
Hugh! Do forgive "me, old man I Hay
you believe me, aud stay to-night—do!'
Hhe was sobbing aud crying uow,
with her wet, flushed face bidden on
his breast, and her warm, shapely arm*
clasped and quivering about hia neck.
The proprieties of courtship are not a
matter of education in the Northwest
eruHtaieo. Hugh lifted her face and
kissed it.
"I Jo forgive you," he said, " 1
would make von my wife to-night if I
could, and I believe you would come,"
"That 1 would, old man, right away."
"Do your duty, then, child; and obey
me like one. Mine ia to goto those child
ren this very minute, aud I must do it
There," unclasping her hands, aud kiss
ing both Uiem aud the trembling lipa with
long, grave kisses— "God bless you,
love, aud good-by ! Pve delayed over
long already."
He opened the door for her, and
strode sway into the driving snow,
without wailing for an answer. Hhe
walked heavily into the house, pat up
the bolts, siitl dropping down into a
seat, hid her face in her apron, weeping
bitterly.
And the snow went on falling.
It never ceased all that night and
the following morning; bat toward*
eveniug the sky cleared, the barometer
rose steadily, and two of the children's
fathers from the village found their
way to the school-house on the hilL
The drifts had blocked up the front
doors and window*, but the back waa
atill dear ; and at the sound of their
voices, kalf a dosen little faces, white,
gaunt, and haggard-looking, appeared
iu the o|>eu doorway, clamoring for
food.
"Thank the Lord, mine am safe!"
Jim Ualkett said, griping his son's
hand, while the other arm held the sob
bing girh " Why, where'# school
master, my kids ; and what's gone wi'
Nathan's little Tommy T"
" Teacher went away to get some
thin' t' eat vesterday moruin'.and never
come back," Seth said ; •' an' Tommy,
he tuk bad an died last night, tineas
he were so hungry he couldu't wait
We're moat dead wi' hunger, father."
Jim had brought a bagful of bread
stuff, on the chance of such ueed. He
hastened now to divide it among the
sick and famished children, while
Tommy's father went into the back
room, where the little white body lay,
cold and quiet- not hungry now. Old
Gassy stood beside him.
" He did nothing bnt cry," she said,
after de maas* went, till he took sick ;
and den he quirt bery soon. He'd been
a lyin" still, mont lie a couple o' hours,
when all of a sudden he skeered right
np, his little fat* all smilin', an' cries
out, "Teacher's oomin'! 1 see him
walkin' up de bill, aside of a man all
white an allium*. Ob, let me go !
He's holdin' out his hands to me. let
me go !' Item was his lery lsat word*.
ma*sa. He went off slick that minit,
and ef you ask my 'pinion. Muses
tlarston went fust He'd never ha'
stayed awav from these 'ere bleased
children if the snow hadn't caught him."
She uid truly. Two days later, a man
and woman, starting from Keith's
homestead for tlio achool, found his
Ixxljr half oovered with MOW, and Wing
within a dozen yards of the stick, where
the dog, stark and stiff too, crouched
gnardi n-like npon the heap of now
useless prorisions. He must nam lost
hia way in the blinding drift, and wan
dered round and round in circles, till
he dropped from sheer exhaustion ; for
there were marks of hia footsteps still
risible, crossing and recroaaing each
other in every direction. But the face
ws onite peaceful ; and on the stem
lips tncre still lay a smile, frozen there
by the ice hand of Death, before he rose
np to meet the Man whose dazzling
whiteness is beyond that of all snows
yea, even of the sun and atars. And
even in dying he had tried to carry out
that task* which, unfulfilled, had trou
bled hia laat moments ; for one rigid
hand still grasped an end of pencil,
while beside him lay the pocket-book,
in whioh the poor frozen fingers had
scrawled—
" Food—to the children— Quirk !"
That atrong right hand must hsve
grown strangely dead ; for the letters
were all but illegible.
How the Chinese Catch Ffh.
The cormorant ia largely employed as
an assistant to the fisherman, and is
carefully educated te its work by pro
fessional trainers. When thoroughly
trained, a pair of birds is worth forty
dollars, the high price being explained
by the cost and labor of instruction.
Dnring the first seven months of its
life, the cormorant is left with the flack
snd is taught by its elders how to feed
itself on small fish. After that
however, a collar ia fastened about its
neck so that it cannot swallow its prey,
aud to one of its feet a cord, some two
feet h>og, is attached, terminating in a
bamboo float.
At a signal from the fisherman, whose
sole implement is s forked stick some
ten feet long, the oormorsnti plunge
into the wster and search for flan, each
bird, as fast as he catchos one in hia
beak, riaing to the surface. The fisher
man then hooks the bird's float with his
stick and draws it towards him, taking
the flah away fiorn the oormorant as
soon as it comes within reach of his
arm.
When the fish is very lsrge and
weighs seven or eight pounds, for ex
ample, the cormorants will assist each
other, one catching the fish by tail, an
other by the head, etc. They rarely
catch anything less than a quarter of a
pound. After erery capture a small bit
of fish is thrown to the bird as s reward,
the piece being sufficiently little for the
bird to swallow in spite of its oollar.
Chinese fishermen keep their feath
ered assistants at work as long as day
light lasts. Occasionally the birds be
come tired and refuse to dive, a pro
ceeding which occasions a series of
frightful yells and beating oi the water
with a stick by their master, which
frightens them to such an extent that
they resume labor instantly.
This mode of fishing, which is not in
terrupted even by severe oold, is qnite
lucrative, as twenty or thirty birds can
readily catch about a dollar and a half
worth of fish per day. In general the
fishermen are associated, and the birds
belong to a society which marks them
with a peculiar brand of its own. Oil
of sesame is said to be the panacea for
all ills of the cormorant, whioh con
tinues its career of active work until
about tea years of age,
I l'alr of Brute*.
Hcutsikalili auit Marrtbic HiatalX at a
HIM IIMMSH family .
William Park#, aged about twenty
one veara, has been bulged in jail at
Tuukhauuoek, Peuuaylvauia, for re
totaled attempts to take the life of hia
father, Hlcpheu Wells Parks, of the
towu of Monroe. This bring* into
prominence the history of the Parks
family, known as the " Wild of
Mounie," which, without exceeding the
iNiuuds of truth in the least, ia one of
the moat singular on reoord.
In the fall of IM7I a party from Pitts
ton were huntiug iu the mountains. In
a wild, lonely a|ot, miles from any
habitation, one of them, hearing a
rustling in the leave* and bushes on
one side of him, was astounded to see a
young woman, perfectly nude, digging
among the loaves, apparently for beech
uuta. Hhe waa on her hands and knees,
aud was not aware of the hunter's
presence for aomo li m <\ When she aaw
mm she uttered a harsh cry and started
off like a deer through the woods and
was scon out of sight. Determined, if
possible, to find out something more in
regard to this singular apparition, the
hunter summoned hia companions to
gether, told them what he had seen,and
proposed that they follow in the diree-
Lion she had token, aud eudeavor to
learn where she had come from.
The party walked (or about a mile
through the wooda aud came to a small
clearing. In one corner of thia clear
ing was a miaerable hovel, built of loga
and with a roof of atraw. Tliey went
towards it Itefore they reached it Use
girt who hail been seen by their com
panion came out of the door, and fol
lowing after her waa a boy, also en
tirely naked. They jumped about the
door, as if playing, on all fours, pick
ing up something from the ground oc
casionally aud eating it The hunters
stood for a moment speechleea with sur
prise at the moat singular spectacle,
and tbea approached nearer. They
were soon seen by the wild beings—for
wild they snrelr were—who st onoe ran
swiftly off aud bid in the wooda.
Comiug up to the door of the hut,
the hunters looked in. On a bench in
the middle of the room sat an old man,
reading from a large (took which reatod
on his kneea. Hia clothing waa scant
and ragged, and evidently made by
himself. A lung white beard reached
nearly to hia waist and, like hia hair
waa matted and unkempt There waa
no furniture in the room, except the
bench. In one corner some straw waa
scattered about aa if for a bed. The
be re ground formed the floor. Near
one eud of the room a hole waa dug, in
wliich there waa a fire. Over thia waa
an iron kettle in which something was
boiling. Everything betokened the
moat abject w rwtrhedneaa; filth and
dirt were on every side.
The old man aroae when the strangers
came to the door, lie waa below the
medium height, and had a sharp, bright
eve aud an intelligent facet He invited
tfie gentlemen into bis honae, and asked
them, in polite terms, the nature of
their errand. The hunters were at a
loss at first to explain, bnt finally Udd
the old man what they had seen tn the
wooda and about his door, and expressed
a curiosity to know who and what the
strange livings were.
The old man Langned and said:
"Those arc my children, William and
Melvina—brother and sister. They
appear pocoliar to strangers, no doubt,
but I'm used to 'em. Clothes arc of
not much account, anyhow, here in the
woods."
The old man then stepped to. the door
and gave a peculiar shout. Very soon
bis children were seen to emerge from
the woods and come stealthily toward
the house, gesticulating aud rLattering
a strange git-U-rish, aud now and then
laughing idiotically. They came near
enough to afford a sufficient scrutiny.
Both were well formed, with the excep
tion of the lower limbe, which were dis
torted. The girl's face, although lack
ing auy sign of intelligence, was not
unpre)>oaseasing. The boy's features
were repulsive. Their heads were small,
the foreheads slanting far back. Long,
matted hair hung from their heads, and
Uieir akin was nearly black with dirt
and exposure. While the strangers
were looking at them, the boy, with no
apparent provocation, struck bis sister
a blow in the face, uttering a peeulir
cry. She ran serosa the clearing and
the boy followed her, seixing a stick
thst Isy on the ground. The father
started after them, shunting, " Let her
alone. Bill! Let her alone, I say!"
"Bill" did not catch bia sister, how
ever, and ran off in another direction.
The old man returned to his guests,
who oould not repress their astonish
ment and disgust, but solicited an ex
planation of the extraordinary and
almost incredible eoems which they
beheld.
The old man, without any hesitation,
told them the history of himself and hia
wild children. His name, he said, was
Stephen Wella Parks. He wsa born in
Luzerne county. Pa., and was fifty
years of age. Whcu he was twenty-five
years of age he married, and moved,
with his wife, to the farm where the
hunters found him. His wife's health,
ho said, was poor, and her mind very
weak. Hia daughter Melvina was born
in 18.50. She never had any care from
her mother after she could walk, and no
clothing except a cloth wrapped about
her when it was cold. Wuliam was
born two years afterwards, and was
treated in the same way. Parks and
his wife believed that it* was useless to
clothe their children ont in the wilder
ness where they lived. Neither of the
children ever spoke a word beyond
their atnuige gibberish, whioh they ap
parently understood. They ran wild
in the "wooda, living on roots, beech
nuts, berries, and sometimes killing
and eating snakes and toads. Walking
so much on their hands and knees,
hunting their food, occasioned the dis
tortion of their legs. Melvina had al
ways been of a docile, gentle disposi
tion and easily managed. William was
quite the contrary. He was vioiona and
ngly from the time ho could creep, and,
at the time the hnuters diaooverrd the
family, was getting quite unmanage
able.
The " farm" was used merely to
raise enough potatoes and pumpkins to
fnrnish food for the father and mother.
The children seldom ate st home, and
slept in the woods when the weather
was not too oold—sometimes being gone
for days at a time.
In 1807 the wife of Parks left him,
stating as a reason that " Bill" was
getting so unmanageable and ugly that
she was afraid of htm. Bbe took with
her another child, a baby, and had
never returned. Up to the time of the
visit of the hunters Parks had lived
alone ia the monntsins with his wild,
mute, idiotic children. If he had occa
sion to go away he always tied Bill up
in the honse with s strong rope, for
fear he might kill Melvina. Parks said
he found them a great bnrden and their
care interfered with his studies. Bur
rounded by wretchedness and filth, the
father of these brute like offspring had
learned the Bible almost by heart,being
able to repeat whole chanters at will
from any portion of it. lie was also
well veraeu in history and mathematics,
and had invented a system of shorthand
writing which he used with wonderful
dexterity. He exhibited specimens of
penmanship executed by himself whioh
ware really elegant, He also reeited
selections from Hhakaixiare in a manner
that aatouiahed lus hearers, lie said
he regretted hia wife's absence very
much, as it prevented him from inves
tigating an important etymological
theory of bis.
The hauler* left, finding it difficult
to credit oven what they had seen and
heard. When the news of the "wild
family" lmcame known the faro wna
besieged with caller#, and two enter
prising individuals conceived the idea
of securing the family and exhibiting
the wild mil tea about the country.
Porks was willing to engage in the en
terprise, aud lent ai hia unfortunate off
spring for the purpose. He ocoou-
Enied the exhibition, lecturing upon
e circumstances attending the Uvea
of hia children and himself. The mutes
were taken about the country for n few
weeks, but the speculation proved n
failure, aud they were returned to th*
wilderness, iiemoved from restraint,
they tore to shreds the clothing thai
had been placed upon them, an noon an
they reached home.
After the first excitement created by
the discovery of this family had died
away they were forgotten. The arreat
and incarceration of one of them has
again brought them forward, and re
vealed a still more sickening chapter in
their history.
Parka, the father, says that after
their return home from tue exhibition
tour, Bill became more and mora vio
lent in his temper. He made several
deadly assaults on both his stater and
father. A few mntiUts after their return
Melrine gave birth to a child. Thie
child ahe and Bill killed in the wooda
and tore it to pieoee. Not long after
wards Bill attacked his sister ana killed
her with an old knife that Pocks used
to eut up pumpkins with. Parks buried
his daughter, and ever sinee that time
be has lived in deadly fear of his son.
One day Bill attacked his father,
knocking him down with s eiub. The
old man got away from him, however,
aud came for an officer to arreat him.
Two men went to Parka's plane, aud
succeeded, after a struggle, in captur
ing him. They put a suit of alotuing
on him and brought him to Tunkhan
nock, and lodged him in jail. Aa soon
aa he was placed in the ceil he tore off
hia clothing, and ia now perfectly
naked. Hundreds have flocked to the
jail to ace him. The wild, mute, maniac
son will doubtless be acut to the ineaae
asylum to apend the reel of hia days.
It seems incredible that in this en
lightened age, within the sound, aa it
were, of the church bells of a populous
town, such a oaae of utter depravity
and wretchedness could exist But the
above are the facta, which can be sub
stantiated by plenty of reliable wit
neoaea.
Warm Winter*.
It is customary to forget each win
ter's weather before the next comae,
and to consider every season remark
able. An old number of the Hartford
(buntnl contains some records tran
scribed from the journal of the Rev.
Thomas HmiUt. of Portland, Maine,
kept between the years 1730 and 1735,
which are rendered especially interest
ing by the present mildness. In 1735
Jannarv waa pleasant aud moderate,
and February waa a " summer month
in 173K January came in like April; in
17t0 there were bnt two snow storms ;
February was a summer month again,
sad March the aame ; in 1751, January
15, the frost waa entirely oat of the
ground, February waa like spring, and
" the winter ends a wonder through ti c
whole." In 1756, in Jannary the fish,
as they are reported to have done thia
Tear, " struck in " from the sea, the
weather being so warm. February was
delightful, and March blustering, but
.oft as May. In 1773 Mr. Smith
record* a summer day on January 27,
" wonderfully moderate the next day,"
and February 9, "no *now since Decem
ber 29, wonderful weather. We saw
two robins." In the'year 1775, Feb.
27, the New Yerk Oasrttr and Post Hoy
reports that " last Wednesday the wea
ther waa so uncommon warm that many
lads went into the river to swim."
These are records all but one of them
more than a century old. They notice
six remarkably warm winters within a
period of forty years, bnt oon ing with
no noticeable periodicity. People who
are calling this season strange above all
others, indicstivo that our planet liae
drifted into new influences, and who
are promising all aorta of consequences
from iioor crops to Heoond Advent, may
liear in mind that there is a precedent
for H all, and that whether the weather
is divinely dispensed each day or ia a
grand sequence under ordained law
which prayer cannot effect, it keeps
coming and changing hour by hour,
and the peculiar freaks of a century
and more ago have not resulted in an
nihilation yet. Nor lias the period be
tween theu and now been one of nnin
terrupted disaster.
A Cantloa.
Each year hundreds of people lose
their lives by the communication of
fire to their clothing. Children's cloth
ing ia light and inflammable as they
venture near gas lights or other oolnmns
of flame. Dancers and others <>n the
stage arealao nightly subject to danger.
French chemists declare that experi
ments in that lino have convinced them
that a valuable compound to do the de
aired work may be formed by boiling
together twenty-live pounds of sugar
of lead, fifteen pounds of litharge and
forty gallons of water, for about half
an hour. When this liquid is to lie
used, as much of it ia taken as will at
least completely cover the fabric or
material to be treated—or, in mauy
cases, the fabric, may le simply
passed through the solution, raised to
nearly the boiling point. This opsra
ton having been performed, the fabric
is removed, and spread ont for about
twelve hours to the contact of the air,
after which it ia to be immersed for a
period of from one to two hours into a
hot and moderately strong solution of
silicate of soda. On lieing withdrawn
from this bath of silicate of soda, the
material is allowed to drain, then wash
thoroughly in soft water, and when
dried, it will be found to have acquired,
to a valuable degree, the property of
being uninflammable. If a hundred or
more human lives can be saved each
Sear by this process, it will be one of
ie most valuable ever presented to the
world.
Bid Net Enow.
Mr. Lay anl, the Eastern explorer,
once requested a Mohammedan official
to give him some statistics of the city in
which he lived. He received in reply a
letter, of which the following is an ex
tract : "My illustrious Friend and
Joy of my Liver: The thing you aak
of me is both difficult and uoeleea. Al
though I have passed all my days in
this plaoe, I have neither counted the
houses nor have I inquired into the
number of inhabitants; and as to
what one person loads on his mules,
and the other stows sway in the bot
tom of his ship, this is no business of
mine. But above all, as to the previ
ous history of this city, Ood only knows
the amount of dirt and confusion that
the iutldela may have eaten before the
coming of the sword of Islem. It were
unprofitable for us to inquire into it.
Oh, my soul! oh, my lamb! seek not
after the things whioh concern thee
not. Thon comest unto ns and we wel
come thee, Qo in peace."
Terms: #<2.00 a Year, in Advance.
Ttu lirltk Pua.
rit U<il •• HIMi '• at aMlMMikl u.
Ihotat '• MwlUa.
Iligh above all the characters thai
Hawthorne aver drew, strong because
.•f Hie perfect purity of her nature,
1 sweet because of ita abaolute truthful
neaa, stands Hi Ida of the " Marble
Kaun," and yet it ia only probable that
1 for the orignal of thia lovely portrait
the darkeei and aaddeat of fatea haa
been reserved. Teara ago, in her girl
hood, Adeline Mhepard waa a govorneaa
in the family of Nathaniel Hawthorne,
making a part of that happy domestic
group during ita sojourn tn Kngland
and Italy, and the peat novelist,
watching her and studying her aa it waa
his custom to atndy all with whom he
earn* in contact, placed bar portrait in
the " Mar hie Faun "aa hie ideal of a
maidenly parity so perfect as to be eelf
protecting, anu potent for good with ell
who cnoountered it Bueb, in her
youth, waa Mrs. Adeline A. Badger,
<x>neerning whom public oonjectare has
been busy daring the last week, finally
settled down to the dreery conviction
that the life which began ao beautifully
has ended darkly and sadly.
From hrr childhood Mrs. Badger waa
distinguished for her cleverness and
aptitude aa a scholar, attracting the at
tention of Horace Maun while she was
a pnpil at the Normal School at West
Newton, and winning the hearty com
mendation of the masters with whom
she afterwards pursued her studies, at
home and at AnUoeh College. It waa
after leaving this institution that she
went to Kurope with the Hawtburnee,
and traveled with them. Among the
Atnencena whom she met abroad waa
Theodore Barker, to whom, from en ap
preciation similar to that which called
forth the naturally chary sympathies of
Hawthorne, she had been long endeared.
Quite a pleasant anecdote is related of
the cordial welcome extended by Mr.
Parker at the time the two met in
Florenoe. After her return aha again
went West, and eventually married the
Rev. Henry C. Badger, of Antioch Col
lege, a Unitarian minister. With him
she paaaed some years at the West,
where he waa preaching, and afterwards
came to Cambridge. Hia health failed, '
and his energetic wife opened a school
for girls and carried it on ancoeaafnlly
foryear*.
This ia the very short and simple
story of a life whicn waa very qniet un
til within a few mouths, when Mrs.
Badger's appointment on the School
Committee nrocaaarily brought her be
fore the public end made her name a
household word in every city of the
Union in which a daily newspaper ia
published, and caused her to be an ob
ject of interest both to the woman suf
fragists and to those who oppose them
in the political field. Whether the ex
citement of the discussion which arose,
or the feeling of the responsibility of
her new position, or some unknown
cause, drove her to her death, will
probably never be known. The few
brief notes that aha left behind her tell
little, and she seems to have been reti
cent m her conversation with the ladies
to whom ►he spoke on Hie Fall Biver
boat; there is no hint of any secret
grief, and the only theory of the suicide
is that the gifted woman and talented 1
teacher sought her own destruction, hav- !
ing become insane through dreed of in
sanity. Having already seen the dark
cloud descend upon more than one
member of her family she feared ita ap
proach to herself, and sought security
in death.
Herein it ia proper to remark that
some misinformation haa been pub
lished is regard to the presence of in
sanity in the family. Her father, the
late Otis Hhepard, of Dorchester, was
never subject to insanity, nor ia it true
that one of the aistera died insane. The
derangement in the only two cases that
have occurred waa temporary, and
{ieldeJ readily to judicious treatment,
t ia the conviction of those beat know- ;
ing the that if the subject of this <
sketch oould have been reached betimes,
whatever aberrations of mind she might
have been thus subject to might easily
have been warred off and a permanent
mental restoration secured.
Business Prospect*.
It has been the prediction of si meat
all who have much reputation as com
mercial prophets, that business daring
1874 would be active and remunerative,
and we have already indications that the
activity has begun. Manufacturing,
especially of textile fabrics, ia pro
gressing favorably, and few establish
ment* are idle. The fact that the cot
ton factories are now tanning at a
profit ia not the least gratifying feature
of the preaent condition of affiura.
The woolen manufacturing interest ia
in a leaa prosperous condition, but
those who are doing business with a
reasonable degree of cantion are paying
their way. The retail dry goods trade
haa hardly settled down to steady work
on business principles, and there ia
still considerable driving off of goods
at leas than coat for the sake of moving
them. This ia not general, however,
and ia likely to come to an end before
<?f other extensive New England in
dustries, the manufacture of boots and
shoos ia justly considered the most im
portant. The demand for goods in this
line aeema to be a little backward, the
mildness of the season accounting in a
measure for the lateness of this trade.
The low prices which ruled at the South
and West dnring the two months of the
Cnic, on cotton, wool and provisions,
ve also much to do with it, as the
producers were thereby impoverished
to a certain extent
It i> veil to take into account, in
estimating the probable consumptive
demand for goods, the fact that the
purchasing power of the country was
reduced millions of dollars by the
panic. In the South and West the pro
ducer* were compelled to sacrifice very
heavily on their products in order to
turn them into cash at a time when
money was scaroe. The enforced idle
ness of thousands of mechanics for two
months placed them also in a position
from which they cannot recover at
once. Many of them will feel it their
first dnty to replace, as soon as possi
ble. their deposits in ths savings banks,
which they were compelled to draw
upon ; while others, less fortunate, will
be obliged to devote several weeks to
the payment of debts contracted during
the time when they had no work. This
will, to a certain extent, diminish the
volume of trade during the early part
of the year. On the other hand it is
well known that stocks of manufac
tured goods, of almost all kinds, are
light, necessitating the immediate
production of considerable quantities
to supply the demands of distributors.
Boston Cnmmrrrial BulUiin.
A BKACTUTO. Tints.—The camphor
tree perfumes the air, end its leaves
yield the finest honey. It often reaches
a hundred feet in height, with a girth
of fifty feet. The precious gum is
found sometimes in layers as large as a
man's arm, but more frequently in
small fragments, extracted with sharp
pointed instruments. The weod is ex
cellent for house, ship-timber and furni
ture, and, excepting the teak and
calambuoo, is the only wood never at
tacked by the myriads of voracious in
sects in ths East Indies. The common
kinds of camphor are procured by dis
tillation.
Tha Hmm Hußkng* <|wwtloa.
The Judiciary Committee of the Now
York Assembly hold ■ meeting in the
Assembly Chamber to give • hearing on
tha petitions In favor of granting the
right of suffrage to wotuao and on the
remonsteneaa against tasalioo without
representation, lira. Blake of New
York aftid :
In coming hers ones mors to ask for
<mr rights, wa feel inclined rather to de
mand of yon some good and aaoafleni
reason wny they should be r-fu>.<-<! to
s, than to beg or persuade you to grant
what is so justly our due. By what
God-given authority do you refuse to
ua flitmeus of this gluts tha privileges
wbieb you claim for journal! f It is
true that you hold tha power, bat in ex
cluding us from our equal share with
you, you ere guilty of a usurpation as
greet, aa wa should commit war* wa to
taad in your plaaea and axaiude yoft
Having this power you haw, as if to ri .i
up the measure af your injustice to us,
raised to tha rank of your p>hu<*.l
equals the poorest and moat degraded
of your own eex -svea theoolored man,
who a little while ago ware the vary
outcasts of society. We demand by
what authority yon have dona this while
refusing justice to as ? At* we so much
more stupid, so much mom degraded,
t so much leas moral than these men. that
we are unworthy to share the privileges
they enjoy t But when with hearts hot
WIUUD ua we indignantly ask you these
questions, you will perhaps tsy thai
women are so wall protected by smm
that they do not need I hear political se
curities, or that woman do not want to
vote. Let us look si tbaas two argu
ments. First, as to this specious theory
of protection It sounds vary wall, but
let me ask who is it that woman fear on
lonely roads at night f Is it tha mam- <
ben of their own sex or of that sax who
are their "natural protectors?" sad
when we corns to legal matters let ua
see how this theory works. "A dis
franchised class is always so oppressed
class," said one of U>* greatest states
men, and to-day wooes find it very diffi
cult to obtain justice in courts of law,
and small wonder, when judges bold ;
their seats by election, that they give
the preference to voters is their,
rulings. If you tell me that women do
not want to voto, I tell you there is ;
much to prove that this m not so. Our |
conventions and meetings art largely
attended by audiences of woman. In :
Washington the other day tha woman
would not leave the hall the whole day 1
in their eagerness to hear the gospel of )
their freedom and eacuritv. Ia Yir- '
ginia aa election was held or postmas
ter, at which women, being permitted
to vote, they want in great numbers to
the ballot-box, while in Wyoming and
elsewhere they have faithfully dis
charged the new duties to society. At |
Newport, in this Bute, tha votov of the i
women carried the election. Despite;
all these evidences of the wishes of one
half of our people, despito the justice of
our claim, tha last six mouths have
heard the decree pronounced in this
State that declares it to be a erime for
a woman to olaim her freedom—e crime
tor a woman to do that which is every
man's duty. And ww must psj the taxes
and obey the law* of a Government
which can utter soch a declaration aa <
this I Do vou wonder that w* are in-)
dignant, and that wa gsk of you, with ,
persistence and eagerness, that you!
make haste to set ua free.
A Strang* Affruy la Kentucky.
A preliminary examination has just
been conclndedin the court in Harrod*-
burg, Ky., which gave the particular*
of one of the most bloody, tragedies,
consequent upon the habit of carrying
concealed weapons, which has oocurrea
in this country. For many year* the
Thompsons and the Davieaew has beau
friends, but st last they fell out, and
bst bitterness enwned which alwar*
follows when friends disagree. In No
vember last both families were inter
ested in s lawsuit regarding money
which was triad in Harrodsburg. Each
testified point blank against the other,
and if the teetimoney of either was true
the members of the other family were
most infamous scoundrels. In our cool
Northern country such things might be
and blood not flow. Bat the Kentucky
spirit was stirred and the result waa a
moat bloody fray. Each party was
armed, and aa the testimony showed
they were in the habit of being armed.
Even while the civil trial was progress
ing, there in the very presence of the
Court the fight began. A shot was
fired, but by whom no oee has been
able to swear. Then followed s fusil
lade in which the Thompsons and the
Davieseu all took s huad. The result
was three dead Devisees, a father and
two sons, and several wounded Thomp
sons. In the meantime the spectators
rapidly disappeared, some through the
windows, ana others behind the stoves
or benches. There wee none left to
testify as to what they had seen, though
many oonld swear to much that they
had heard. Tha Judge took refuge
behind his desk, and there s brawling
ruffian, with ft pistol in hand, fau
across him, both lustily yelling " For
God's sake don't shook"
Now four Thompsons have been
brought into court upon the charge of
murder. Doctors have testified, and
bloody garments have bean exhibited.
Ten days have been occupied and the
ablest counsel in Kentucky have been
employed. Upoo general principles it
has bean found that it waa a free fight,
and nobody waa to blame, though upon
the specific action of chasing young
Theodora Device two blocks, and then
shooting him ia tha back, tha alder
Thompson has been held in the sum of
five thousand dollars bail, which was
promptly furnished, while his three
sons were discharged.
Effect af African Climate,
It is really pitiful to look st the faces
of young Europeans who have been out
here only a couple of years or so, says
s corrcNjxuulent on the African gold
coast. Their color ia that of a pallid
Cllow. They seem to bear on their
itares that stamp of despair which
only these deprived of sll hope of
health can have. Though the oldmt ia
not twenty-three years old, I should
judge, vet one of them is as gray as a
man of fifty. They ell look like old
young men, with their jsundioed com
plexions, from which every freshness
of youth has departed, their lack-Instre
eyes and languid movements. Tha
trade in which these Europeans, under
Mr. Croker, are engaged, is that of pur
chasing pslm oil, gold dust and gum
oopal, while the Basle Mission buys not
ooJy palm oil, gold dust and gum oopal,
bat black monkey skins, cotton, India
Rubber gum, and almost everything
that can be turned into money remu
neratively in Europe. When the mer
chants have finished boiling the palm oil
thsv pour it in great puncheons con
taining over 150 gallons, wnitewash
both ends of the punoheons, and ship
them to Europe.
The currency of the Gold Coast is
gold dust, and, in soma parts, oowry
(hells are still used, though they are
being rapidly superceded by British
silver coin. An ounce of gold dnst is
sold for £Bl2s. The natives frequently
exohange among themselves the weight
of even a small bead in the precious
dust, which they call npwua—a trifle
as insignificant to tha Aeeras as s pica
yune would be to ua.
JLiIB|.L4L: -BWIU JU..JHH , ■
(ferns T Isfereat,
Evil communications corrupt good
mhmni
Hwitoariand ie to hold ft world's fair
at Geneva in 1878.
According to Ptmeh the b*t substi
tut tor oold le warm toMtttMf.
There are mid to h* but three copper
.melting works in opstettoe in •
country. * .
What requires mora philosophy than
taking things fta thay eomat 1 arting
with things ae they go.
Home of the French pepm>o
mend the drowning of prisoners oon
rioted of capital offeoaa*.
Memphis physicians talk of erecting
• monumenMtotba"dootore who died
there of the rtotni plague.
You win not mwh by
showing that yon hate him as by ex
pressing a oontempt of him.
ielpbia sod jmmouuom
:J2g.'yg^at:4SS
tural collage funds are mJspp!"i.
j&'s2jr?*!ffsrz*E
j girls and imrm only tha sanribl* onee.
ricrrdibla aa it may Nmt• JJ*
Krorm* there IN fsmili® in new
York stty murting on lase than oon dol- f
S la* a weak.
A woman waa raeartl? sent to prison
! at Montreal, Canada, for hw
i far oollneting money on piwlanaa *na*
| ahe wae ft nun.
i " [ „^: 1 sf T egdr!aJ
, < rupm.'.
I)iAQi&r Atftinp.
wasn't for tha ton-®** •**
xxwsiooally fc and ui a bbew of tobaooo
a meiderabla portion of our cttiaens
j would fttnrm ■ .....
iSKSSSPSS
KS&hbSSS
reoently^thrt^th*7\ha*^J^^
hmL XTK. lot Oto*
of tha oaopln, who ware oonrtnced ot
the treachery of tha feeders.
A man writaa to tha •ditorfo* $L
" baeanaa ha ia so infernally short, and
ha gate in reply tb* Imartieee rwmeee,
aa I do, stand op on a chair.
In California the pi* In**™ of the
precious metals amounted lert year to
108.000,000. being an tnmmwe
year at about $10,000,000. Good estate
to own.
An embryo poet, who ie certainly *
elaae obamw of human nature, re
marks : " Time marchee an wtththn
slow, measured tread of s man working
by the day."
Tha Pittsburgh flam manufacturers
want to red ace the wages of their em
ployees 25 per cent. Tha employees
claim that tha manufacture® ere mak
ing high profile.
Borne bungling workmen smashed
acse: , ara?yg
Watertowu. They weighed *OO pounds
each, and sort $3&-or s total of sl,-
800.
Mm. Jarald, of Jacksonville, HL, left
a bottle of ether uncorked in bar room
when she went to sleep. It was with
difficulty that either her fnendi.or her
self became at last eoevinead thai aha
was not dead.
Professor Reynolds has found that,
by means of a strong discharge ofrteo
iricitv, be could buret a tobe which
. ..aid' stand a discharge at one inch of
powder, retained by wire slugs three-.
quartern of an inch long.
A abort mums memorial waa
forwarded to the Biahoo of ]Ww hy
Lord Forteequa, signed by lUp
sous in tha dioeeaa, orartug ttm Bifthop
to restrain the introduction of confes
sion into tha Church of England.
The most confiding woman bves ia
Providence. She went to an auction,
and, knowing the pravalenos of thieves
at such places, sskad a siee-looking
man to take care of bar pocfietbook,
containing SBO. He is still taking cam
of it
The people near Farmersri!le, Liv
ingston County, Missouri, ware scared
nearly out of their wita, a law day* ago.
by the faU of aa immense molite. It
sow lies embedded in tha ground, ,n ' t
is said to be about twenty-five feet in
diameter.
Gov. Taylor of Wisconsin was born
in Connecticut loft • P°®f anfhmin
infancy, went to New York at an early
age, and thmce to Ohio, where he en
gaged in farming and teaching. He
Settled in Wwooosin in IM*. and has
(Iliad various public offices.
One reason why tha workingmen in
New York were so uumerwiully dub
bed was thus given by a policeman:
• Ton see the Oommiastooer* had bald
the whole fores in reserve for some time
<m account of theae fellows, thus de
priving us of OTr ■;'
were determined to give toe® a head
ache for it M
The Emperor of China has conferred
distinction on the memory of Hang-
Chung, lato viceroy of the province of
Yunnan. Tha official hanged himself
when ha found that he waa unable to
resist the rebels who beleaguered the
capital city, and his wife hanged her
self with him.
Notwithstanding all that has been
said about faas and costs eating r.p
bankrupt estates, a well-known mer
chant assarts that, if the Qrat and
every officer should act -rithout any
oompenaatioo whatever, the entire es
tate surrendered by ft bsuktapl wi..
not, in the avenge at involuntary oasea,
pay ten oes* on a dollar.
A couple of fallows met a Mr. Keller
near Mount Jay. Pa., the other night,
and requested nim to give up his money
or his life. He thrust his hand into
his pocket, remarking, "Well. I'd
rather lose my money than my luo,
but pulled out a revolver, with which
he instantly killed one of the highway
men and wounded tha other.
A wild steer at Springfield, Mass.,
escaped from a herd and took to the
woods, going out at night to steal from
the haystacks, and hiamg in the day
time. When finally hunted down he
fought like a hero, and only fell when
dying. Nine buUpts were found in
him, his enemies having fired at him at
every opportunity during twelve weeks.
An explosion occurred at a cartridge
factory At Bel Air, in France, which
ceased the death of five women and
dangerous injuries to six othefe. One
oftlie survivors states that it was s
common praotaoe with the workwomen
to amuse themselves by igniting small
quantities of fulminate by frirtion be
tween copper plates in order to produce
a slight explosion.
Tha hen fever, which has prevailed
to some extent in this village, says the
Dover Observer, is abating. One man
who kept a debit and credit account of
his "hen money," finds that tMrty-five
bens have netted jnst thirty-four oenta
during the year, above the ooetof keep
ing. But calculating the number of
nines' travel which thr have e*nsed at
four cents per mile, and 1M finds
Kmln<w against each nan of one dollar
and ninety-seven oeota. He will not
cultivate hens next year.
GOOD Lauooiost Young people
should acquire the habit of correct
speaking and writing, and abandon as
early as possible any use of dang words
and phrases. The longer you put thw
off, the more difficult the acquirement
of correct language will be; and if the
golden age of youth, the propii season
for the acquisition of language, be
passed ioita abuse, the unfortunate
victim will most probably be doomed to
talk -'"g for life. Yon have merely to
nse the language which you read, ia-
Maad of the slang which yon hear, to
form a taste in agreement with the best
speakers sad poets in tha sountoy.
NO. 0.