Old Dobbin. Ths psstnrs hank* in midday hsat. The ripening grain grow* near, Tha' bannered boat the mailing corn Salutes old Dobbin's ear. The dragon flies. this mmmor day, Tilt 'gainst hie patient nose The buzzing inserts sling his ears. And spoil his noontide dole, Old Dobbin's aged limbs are stiff, The worn old hinges grate- - For pastures green. Klysian fields. He'll not hive long to wait. I hope a Tie*ven for all hia kind. Beyond litis life swaits. And that for all good Dobbin's souls, Suing wide the golden gates. folccs of tha Dead. A few snew patches on ths mountain side, A few white foam-flakes from Ilia ebbing tide. A few remembered words of malice sjwuit. The record of eorne do ad tuau'a ill intent - They cannot hurt us, ail their sling is gone. Tbetr hour of 00M and bitterness is done ; Yet deepest snows and tioreeet lashing sea* Bring not such cold or bitter thoughts as these. A few soiled lilies dropped by childish bauds. A few dried arange blooms from distaut lands, A few rruiemt-ored smile* of some lost frieud. Few wonts of love some dear dead Augers penned. They are not beautiful for love to see. And Death s pale prv-ujuoe seems In them to l<; Yet never living blooms, most fresh aud gsv. Fills n with UiougUta of love eo sweet as ihey. OLD DITCH TIWFS. There was once an English sailor, named Henry Hudson, who made some very daring voyages. The European cations were trying hard to dud a short passage to India, either by passing north of Europe, or by finding some opening through the new eontiueut of America. Henry Hudson had made two voyages for" this purpose, in tlie employment of English companies. Twice he had sailed among the ice bergs and through the terrible cold, as far as Spitsbergen ; and twice he had turned back because he eonld get no further. But he was still as resolute and adventurous as ever ; always ready for sonietiiig new ; ready to brave the arctic cold or the tropic heat, if he could find that passage to ludia, which so many had sought in vain. At last, on the fourth of April, 1609, the Dutch East India Company sent him out once more to seek a passage to India. The Dutch at that time were the great com mercial nation of the world, and Am sterdam was the center of the com merce of Europe. Thera was not a forest of ship-timber in Holland, bat it owned more ships than all Europe besides. Henrv Hudson's vessel was named "The Half-Moon." He had a crew of twenty Englishmen and Dutchmen, and his own son was among them. First he sailed north, as tie had done before, trying to reach Spitsbergen and Nova Zembla ; but he found icebergs every where, aud his men almost mutinied because of the cold. Then he resolved to sail further westward; he passed near Greenland, then southward to Newlacd, then to Cape Cod ; then as far south as Virginia ; then he turned northward again, observing the shore moreeloaely, and found himself at the mount of what seemed to him a broad strait or river. On the third of Sep tember, 16CJ, he anchored near Sandy Hook. There the Indians came out to trade with him, and after a few day, he set sail again and penetrated farther and farther, thinking that he had found the passage to India at last. It must have been an exciting thing to sail with Henry Hudson up that noble river, where no white man had ever sailed before. He said in his nar rative that the lands on both sides were " pleasant with grass and flowers and goodly trees." "It is as beautiful a land as one can tread upon," he de clared, " and abounds in all kinds of excellent shiptimber." The Indians came out to meet him in canoes " made of single hollowed trees," but he would not let them come on board at first, lie cause one of them had killed one of his sailors with an arrow. After awhile, the Dutchmen put more confidence in the Indians, and let them bring grapes and pumpkins and furs to the vesseL These were paid for by beads, knives and hatchets. At last the Indians in vited the bold sea-captain to visit them on shore, and made him very welcome, and one of their chiefs " made an ora tion, and showed him all the country round about." Henry Hudson sailed np as far as where the town of Hudson now stands, and there, finding it too shallow for his vessel, sent a boat farther still—as far as what is now Albany. Then he turned back, disap pointed, and sailed oat of the "rieat river," or " Groot River," as he called it, and went back to Holland. He never saw that beautiful river again. The Dutch East India Company did not care to explore it, since it did not lead to India ; and Hudson, on his next voyage, went to the northern seas, hoping to And the passage to India that way. He entered the bay ths bears his name, and there hiß men mutinied, tied him, hand and foot, pnt him on board a boat with hia son and a few companions among the floating ice, and sent him adrift. Nothing more was ever heard of him. But to this day, some of the descendants of old Dutch families on the Hudson river tell legends of the daring navigator who first explored it, and when the thunder rolls away over the Highlands, they say, " There are Henry Hudson and his crew, playing ninepins among the hills." In a few years, trading-posts began to be established on the Hudson river. King James L of England, had lately chartered two companies for the pur pose of oolonizing North America. One was to take the northern part of the Atlantic coast, and the other the southern half; but he required that their nearest settlements should be a hundred miles apart, so that there should be no quarreling between them. It did not occur to him, that if he left this wide Bpace open, some other nation might slip in between, and found col onies of their own, so that there might be quarreling after all. Yet this is just what happened. After Henry Hud son's disooverics, Holland laid claim to all the land along the " great river," and called the whole territory " New Netherlands and the Dutch began to come to that region, and trade with the Indians. Then in 1614, there came a bold sailor, named Adrian Block, the first European who ever sailed through Hurlgate, and as far as Block Island, which was named after. He loaded his ship—the with bear skins, at the mouth of the Hudson, and was just ready to sail, when his ship caught fire, and be had to land on Manhattan Island, where New York city nqw stands. There his men spent the win ter. They put np some log huts and a fort of logs, and before spring, they built a new vessel of sixteen tons, call ed the "Onrust," or "Unrest," a very good name for the restless navigators of those days. This was the fLst ves sel builf on this continent by Euro peans. This settlement, which was called "New Amsterdam," was the foundation of what is now the great city of New York ; and ten years after that, the whole of Manhattan Island was bought from the Indians for twenty-four pounds sterling. Settlers at first came slowly to New Amsterdam ; but the Dutch established several trading-posts, at different points, where they might buy the skins of beavers, bears and otters, which the Indians had trapped er shot. At first only poor immigrants came, but after awhije certain richer and more influen tial men were sent out with special privileges from the Datch East India Company. Each of these had authority to found a colony of fifty persons, and to own a tract ol land sixteen miles in length, bordering on any stream whose shores were not yet occupied, and run ning as far back as he pleased into the interior. He was required to pay the FHMD. K I KT/„ l\ilitor nut! 1 *r >prit(>r VOL. VII. Itnliiui. for their land, and to establish his colony within four years. Ho could exercise authority on his own " manor," as it was called, without regard to the colonial government. Hut he could not engage in the woolen or cotton mattu fSv inn, because that was a monopoly of the Dutch Ess! ludia Company ; and this company also agreed to supply the manors with negro slaves, whom they imported from tluinea. These great proprietors were called " Da t roans. This was a very different system front the simple way n which New England had been oolouired, where all men were equal befsre the law, and each man had a voice in the government. The llutch and English settlers did not agree very well, especially when both nations had Iwguu to explore the Connecticut val ley, and both wished to secure jioases siou of it. The Englishmen thought that the Dutchmen had no business on the continent at all, and that they cer tainly had 110 claim to the Connecticut vallev. On the other hand, the Dutch men said that they had ascended the Connecticut river flist, and that their eastern boundary was the cape now called Cape Cod. Then the English men charged the Dutchmen with ex citing the Indians a ainst them ; and on the other hand, the Dutchmen said the English set'.less were apt to get the Iwttcr of them in unking bargains. 80 the colony of New Netherlands got into mote and more trouble with these ac tive and sharp-witted neighbors ; and, besides that, the Indiana were very trublesome; and there was also a standing quarrel with the Swedish set tlers in Delaware; so that, on the whole, the Dutchmen had uot so peace ful a time as they might have desired. If we could have visited a Puritan Tillage in Massachusetts, during those early days, and then c.uild have sailed in a trading vessel to New Amsterdam, we should have found ourselves m quite a different community from that wc had left behind. The verv look of the honsea and streets would have seemed strange. To be sure, the very first set tlers in both colonies had to build their cabins somewhat alike ; with walls of earth or logs, and thatched roofs, and chimneys made of small sticks of wood, set crosswise and smeared with clay. Bnt when they begau to build more permanent houses, the difference was very plain. The houses in New Am sterdam were of wood, with gable-ends built of small black and yellow bricks, ' brought over from Holland. Each house had many doors and windows ; and the date when it was bnilt was often marked in iron on the j front. The roof usnally bore a weath er-cock, and sometimes many. Within, the floors were covered with white sand, on which many neat figures were traced with a broom." The houses were kept very clean, inside and out; as clean as they still are in Holland, where you | may see the neat housekeepers scrub- ! biag their doorsteps, even when the rain is pouring down upon their beads. The furniture m these houses was plain and solid; heavy claw-footed chairs, polished mahogany tables, and cup boards full of old silver and china Clocks and watches were rare, and time was told by hour-glasses and sun-dials. Tliey had" great open fireplaces, set round with fignred tiles of different colors and patterns, commonly repre senting Scriptural subjects, the Ark, the Prodigal Son, and the Children of Israel passing the Bed Sea. In the evening they 1 urned pine-knots for lights, or home-male tallow candles. Every house had two or more spinnibg- ; wheels ; and a huge oaken chest held 1 the household linen, all of which had been spnn upon these wheels by the women of the family. Many of the citizens had also conn- j try-houses, called " boweries," with porches or 41 stoepe," on which the men could sit and smoke their pipes. Foi the Dntc'n colonists did not work sc hard as those in New England ; they moved about more slowly, and took more leisure, and amused themselves more, in a quiet way. They were not gay and light-hearted and fond of dancing, like the French settlers in Canada ; bnt they liked plenty of good eating and drinking, and telling stories, and hearty laughter, and playing at ''bowls" on a smooth grass plot. It was the Dutch who intro luced various festivals that have been preserved ever since in America ; such as " Santa Clans," or " St. Nicholas,' at Christ mas time, colored eggs at Easter, and the i ractice of New Year's evening. They kept very early honrs, dining ' at eleven or twelve, and often going to bed at sunset. Yet au early Swedish traveler describes them as sitting oil the "stoeps" before their houses, on moonlight evenings, and greeting the paasersby, who, in return, were "obliged to greet everybody," he says, "•unless they would shock the general politeness of the town." He also says that the Dutch people in Albany used to breakfast on tea, without milk, sweetened by holding a lamp of stigai iu the mouth ; and that they dined on buttermilk and bread, " anil if to that they added a piece of sugar, it was called delicious." But the Dutch housekeepers of New Amsterdam had a great repntation for cookery, and es pecially for a great variety of nice cakes, such as doughnuts, " olykoeks" and crullers. The people of New Netherlands were not quite so fond of church-going as those who had settled Plymouth and Salem, but they were steady in the sup port of pnblio worship, and had a great respect for their ministers, whom they called " Dominies." Sometimes the dominjes had to receive their salaries in beaver-skins, or wampum, when money wa3 scarce. Tiie Dominie of Albany had one hundred and fifty beaver-skins a year. As for the dress of these early colonists, the women nsed to wear close white muslin caps, beneath which their hair was put back with pomatum ; and they wore a great many short and gayly-oolored petti coats, with tilue, red, or green stock ings of their own knitting, and high heeled shoes. The men had broad skirted coats of linsey-woolsey, with large buttons of brass or silver ; they wore several pairs of knee-breeches, one over another, with long stockings, and with great buckles at the knees and on the shoes, and their hair was worn long and put up in an eelskin quene. As to their employments, the people of New Amsterdam used to trade with the West Indies and with Europe, export ing timber and staveß, tar, tobacco, and furs. They nsed to build their own ships for this commerce, giving them high-sounding names, such as " Queen Esther," "King Solomon," and the "Angel Gabriel." One of the Dutch governors, named William Kieft, used to be called "Wil liam the Testy," from his hot temper, and he kept ttie colony in a great deal of trouble, especially through his cru elty to the Indians, who injured the settlerß very much in return. Gov ernor Kieft was very much displeased at the colonies sent from Massachusetts into the Connecticut valley, for he wished to see that region settled from New Amsterdam only. So he issued a proclamation against the New Eng land men. But they, instead ol paying the least attention to it, attacked the Dutch fort at Hartford, and drove the garrison away. They also took pos session of the eastern part of Doug Island, threw down the ooat-of-arms of Holland, which had been set up there, TUB CENTRE REPORTER. atnl put a ** fool's head " 111 lis place. This failure, and the severity of Kieft's government, made hi 1 very unpopu lar ; ami the psopip were very glad when IU DVtT, tiovi ruor Deter Htuyvun ant was appointed iti Ins stead. I) vomer Httiy vesaul was a brave and honest uian, but was so obstinate that he was often called " llardkoppig Diet," or " Headstrong Deter. Home times he was called "Old Stiver leg," because he had lost a leg iu war, and used to stump about on u wooden leg, ornamented with strip, s of silver. Cuder his government the colony was well deteuded, for a time, ugiunst In dians, Swedes and Englishmen. The trouble was that he was quite despotic, and was disposed to let the people have as little as jsissible to do with the gov ernment. They did not feel that they had as much freedom as those who lived 111 the other colonies, and they were not BO ready to tight for their patrons arul for the East ludiu Company as were the English colonist* to tight for their own homesteads. Then the English settlers inct< aaed very fast in wealth and uunili<-r ; and the Dutch men rather envied tliem, even while quarreling with them. At last, 111 lotU, au Euglish fleet, with many re cruits from New England on board, ap peared before New Amsterdam; aud very s*>ou the town was surrendered to the English by the general wish of the inhabitants, tliough quite agaiust the will of " Headstrong Deter." He tore in pieces the letter from the English command*r requiring the surrender; but the people made htm put it to gether again, and accept the terms offered. From that time forth, except for one short interval of time, the Eng lish held possession of Now Nether lands. The name of the colony was then changed to New York, in honor of the king's brother, the Duke of York, to whom King Charles 11. gave the prov ince. That part of the New Nether lands south of the Hudson was, how ever, made iuto a separate province, under the name of New Jersey. The Duke of York allowed his ptovinee to hold an assembly, that the people might make their own iaws ; and in 1653, they obtained a charter for themselves,rniu'li like those of the colonies farther east. When the duke b came king, under the name of James 11., he tried to take away this charter, but never succeeded. New York remained an English prov ince, and lost some of its Dutch peculi arities ; bnt some of these traits lin gered for a good many years, and Dutch was long the prevailing lan guage. There were still Dutch schools, where English was only taught as an accomplishment ; but there was no college till King's College—now Col umbia—was founded, iu 1764. After the English had tak< a possession, a great mauy immigrants came to New York, though not so many as to Phila delphia ; aud these new-comers repre sented mauy different nations. But Holland itself had long been the abtnle of men from a gre.it many nations,both tiecause of its commercial prosperity, and from its offering au asyium to those persecuted for their religion. So there had been au unusual variety of people in New Amsterdam from its first settlement ; and it is said that eighteen languages were already spoken there when it was transferred to the English. Thus New York seemed marked out from the very beginning, for a cosmopolitan city —for the home of people from all parts of the globe. T. W. lliooixaoN. An Ant Cloud In England, A shower of ants is rporte snufliu' around the butter ; no well-bred man 'ill do it." 1 approximated that butter to my nose simple to ascertain if those blue streaks make any particular difference in the smell, 1 think that the streaks make no Very remarkable difference in the smell; i"u fact. lam of the opinion that if any difference at all is occas ioned, it is actually for the better. As far as smelling the butter is concerned, I hold that, ha ring paid for the article, 1 have a perfect rigid to smell of it, and should do so again if 1 thought it stall merMartr ; but 1 do not tliiuk it is. I .-moiled that greasy sulist-anee in this instance mcreiv to ascertain if it was the n w article of commerce called eleotnargariuc, and haviug thus ar rived at a satisfactory conclusion in re gard to the matter, I shall Lave no oc ean: >n to smell of it again." Here the frigid customer deposited a quarter upon the table and turned to go. Before he could reach the door, bow ever, the restaurant keeper, excited to au uncontrollable pitch of frenzy by the speaker's last remarks, yelled vocifer ously : " It's an infernal lie ! I keep none of your bull butter IU this house, kou lie'if you say so, sir ! I can HcJk the man who savs so, sir ! I can lick him now and lie smote liia guest upon the nose. In another instant the guest, forti fied, doubtless, by his recent substan tial meal, launched his right between the other's eyes and landed him under the nearest "table, stunned and sense less. There was a clash of plates, a rattle of steel forks and a dash of but ter dishes accompanying the last manceuvcr, but still the restaurant keeper lay without apparent life or motion. The guest surveyed him for a mo ment, and then lifting the plate of but ter for a fourth time to his nose, smelt it deliberately, laid it down, and de parted, remarking, as ho we nt out : "It it oleomargarine, and no mistake!" Dead Broke. " Can't find nothing to do bnt loaf round tho wharves and gallop up and down tho alleys, eh?" remarked his Honor of a western court, as a young man named Miller, charged with va grancy, was rushed out. " I mn a stranger in this town—dead broke and nobody to borrow of," re plied the prisoner, his hair climbing up to a perpendicular as Bijah glared down upon him. During the momentary pause a boy in the alley was heard singing: " Not s shilling in my pocket— railing tisrvl SKsinst stream." " I can't help it that you are broke," said the Court ; " I'd be glad if every body owned a silver mine and two coach dogs. The officer says yon have been wandering aimlessly around,sleep ing on bales of liay, taking free lunches and making no effort to amass n for tune. Yon don't seem to have any aim —any ambition." •♦Yes, I have," replied the prisoner. " Where is it, sir, where is it ?" ask ed his Honor, leaning forward. " Did yon ever hear of Gioero taking free lunches? Did you over hear that Plato gamboled through the alleys of Athens? Tell me, sir, did you ever hoar that Demosthenes slept under a coal shed or on a bale of hay ? If you wanted to be a Plato there would be fire in your eye; your hair would have nil intellectual cut; you'd step into a clean shirt and .you'd hire a mowing machine to pare those finger nails. Sir, you have got to go up for four months. ' A HAVAOE BAT.—A lady at Hoven, near Brightou, iu England, while an in spection of her house was being made for tho purpose of extirpating the rats, was furiously attacked by one of them. It was found that most of the rats came from the drain connected with the house, but among other tilings a piano was incidentally inspected, when a large rat and five young ones wero found secreted in the works. The old rat, on finding its place of concealment observed, flew at the lady who was directing the search. She was immediately,in consequence, seized with a fit, and only recovered to find herself seriously ill. Heating the Wind. The Boston Journal has the follow ing concerning (loldamith Maid's great scliieveineiit iu her trot for s'2,f>tMl to best her record of 2:14|, at Mystic Dark: The track, being one of the beet iu the country, if uot the best, was tn good condition, aud bets were high that the Maid would win the purse. iJudd Dohle drove her, aiul iter owner, Mr. Smith, eagerly watched the tr >t from the stand. The track was scraped anew at the conclusion of the second heat of the lirst race, and as the Maid made her appearance the applause of the ajK-ctatorn was most enthusiastic. Oeorge Avre's mare Jennie, drove by tiohleu, also spjieared, to tuu with the Maid. In the first boat, off they went, the Moid not breaking once, and apparent ly making no effort whatever. Bhe past the half in 1:10 and made the mile with great ease iu 2:10}. It was found that the drivers carriuJ eight pounds over-weight, which was reduced by lowering the weight of the cushions. This however, did not in the least dis courage those who hail prof >uud faith in her powers aud that she would be allowed to show them, and about five o'clock preparations were made for the second beat, the track being again scraped. The interest manifested was intense. Fvery one who could do so mounted an elevated position and eagerly watchi J for the start, which was made shortly, the Maid passing the wire at wonder ful sjieed, aud speeding on to the quar ter, which she passed in 811 j seconds. There was some suspicion of a break just before the half, it might have been u skip, but many thought not, and it was so slight no one could l>e certain that it Was one, Bhe passed the half in I.OCj, and AIM! on with unprecedent ed speed, closely followed by the run ner. The third was turned and the trial moment arrived. The driver want ed to score the best time ever made, and the Maid was in sympathy with him, and he had but to urge her to do her best, and the noble trotter bravely made the endeavor, coming down the homestretch magnificently and shoot ing the wire in just 2:14. The deafen ing cheers that filled the air was the response, and proudly did Budd Doble alight from the aulky, when the was led to her stable. A Sortie and a Suicide. Writing of the Bohemian# of Pari#, a correspondent Bays : " Not long ago, it journalist of aome note and decided cleverness, announced to hi# friend# that he had accumulated '2,500 franca. He #aid he had been trviug for seven or sight year# to get exactly that #tim, and that, having actually gotten it, be ex perienced a aeuse of happiness he had never before known. Wishing to cele brate the event, he invited half a dozen of hia eompau on# to dinner at a neigh boring restaurant. During ita progress they drank wine enough to #et them on what j# called here, un- ItatnborJtr. The consequence was, tnat in lest than twenty-four hours, the journalist had sjwut eviry eon in his possession. In America this would not be a very ex travagant debauch, anymore than the accumulation of SSOO by a jirofe sional scribe, would appear remarkable. In Prance, however, finance# are rated differently. A man who gets rid of 2,- 500 francs, by the indulgence of a lark, is regarded as a reckless prodigal. Our people waste mure than that and style it a bagatelle; but the Parisian moves to soberer measures. The inky spend thrift, as it proved, had designed to ap propriate the amount he had saved, to discharging a debt owed by his widow ed mother, en a small farm near Fan tainebleau. When he was entirely him self, lie was so overwhelmed with re morse, and so distrustful of his ability ever t<> acquire so much again, that he resolved upon the nstional remedy for grievous ill*. Ho di#i>oseen undertaken on anyth ng like so imposing a scale. The water wheels and canals which irrigate Egypt, and the tanks which tn msny places are used to store water for manufacturing and other purposes during dry seasons, are types of tl.s only familiar methods of the artificial collection and distribu tion of water. The bold engineers of Colorado, knowing that these petty plans would entirely fail of the pur pose in so large a' territory aa that which now needs irrigation, are forced to either abandon the problem or else to build reservoirs which will be larger that many respectable lakes. The task may be accomplished, but the cost will necessarily be enormous. The want of water is the great obsta cle in the way of the settlement of other parte of the great West as well aa Col orado. The planting of trees may per haps in some slight degree increase the frequency of rain, but the experiment is as yet a doubtful one, and ta only leas costly than irrigation. After all, in view of the vast extent of onr terri tory, it may perhaps be wisest to abandon the sandy and burning regions of Colorado and Arizona to the Indians and the mining adventurers. Our population is aa yet sparse enough in regions where rains are plentiful and streams abundant, and these regions must always possess a vast advantage over those where artifloisl irrigation ia a necessary oondition of agriculture and manufactures. The Austrian Polar Expedition. The scientific world will receive with peculiar gratification the intelligence not only of the safety of the mem ben of the Austiian Polar expedition, aent oat tome two yean ago, bat that the expedition haa added another valuable contribution to the map of the Arctic acaa. At or near the eighty-third de gree north latitude, the highest point reached by the expedition, and north Nora Zembla, a tract of land was dis covered which may prove to be, from further explorations, a large island or one of an eitenaive group of hlanda, like that at the head of Baffiu's Bay. If so, then we nay hare the fact es tablished tbst the'only poeaible prac ticable route for sailing vessel or steamer to the North Pole is the ronte of the Pacific Equatorial current through Be bring Strait. The fall re port of this returning Austrian expedi tion will, no doubt, largely contribute to the settlement of this important question. Captain Hall haa shown that the difficulties ef retching the North Pole, against the strong outflowing and ice-packed current of Usffiu'a Bay and Davis' Strait are |erhapa insurmount able ; and now, if the route from Nor way be proved impracticable from a group of islands with narrow passage* blocked up with ice. Behring Strait going in with the Pacific Equatorial current, may be the proper route for the next Polar expedition, whether from Europe or America. Chinese Servant*. If a Chinese servant is discharged and about to leave, in a few well chosen bat mysterious character*, be sets forth the canae*. either upon scraps of paper, or on the wall* of the room* lie ha* occupied. If there haa been any difference of opinion abont wages, any exaction* of senrioea not agreeable, or other real or fancied griev anoea, these matter* are *et forth in these few characters, which can only be read by the Bnooeeaor* of that par ticular servant. In one instance, re lated by a San Francisco paper, a fam ily had "a sncceeaion of servant*, com ing and going ail the time. As thev treated their servants well, the work being ligLt and the pay liberal, they oonhl not for a long time divine the cause. It finally occurred to them that some months before they had been obliged to dismiss a refractory servant. It turned out that this servant had left his esbalintic sign. He had got even by showing tip the family to all his suooeaaorK The Oriental document was effaced from the wall, and there has been no further trouble. Wbeu the wnth of John is kindled and he write# on the **ll or other place, it is said he ia neither very delicate nor truthful in hi* statements. A Home Maker. Helen Hnnt writes : " The most per fect home I ever saw was a little house into the sweet incense of whose fires went no costly things. A thousand dollars served a* s year's living of father, mother, and three children. But the mother was the creator of a home ; her relations with her children were the most beantiful I have ever seen ; even the dull and commonplace man wna lifted up snd enabled to do gaod work for soul# by the atmosphere which this woman created ; every inmate of her house involuntarily looked into her face for the key-note of the day, and it always rang clear. From the rosebud or clover leaf which, in spite of her hard housework, she always found to put by our plates at breakfast, down to the story sba had on hand to be read in the evening, there was no intermission of her influence. She haa always been and always will be my ideal of a mother, wife and'home maker. If to her quick brain, loving heart, and exquisite face had been added the appliance of wealth and the enlargement of wider culture, hers woutd have been abaolntely the ideal home. As it was, it was the beat 1 have ever seen." Stopping a Mowing-Machine. Illinois must have some lively hay fields, if the following is authentic. We should rather ride than walk through that grass, and even then we would get tied up, it seems. Au Illinois paper says : The farmers down on the river bottoms are having a good deal of trouble with snakes. It is said the rep tiles abound abundantly down that way. Joseph Bnider, while driving his mowing-machine through the field the other day, was surprised to find the horses stalled, and, upon examining, discovered the snakes so thick in the wheels and oogs as to completely clog the whole running arrangement. One black suake was fifteen feet seven inch es in length, and seven inches in diam eter. There were several other snakes mixed up in the mowing-machine, but all the balanoe were of leas calibre. Item* of Interest. Rev. O. B. True married the oth-r day in Connecticut. Hops ho will. Elsven members of * jury in a recent oate iu an English oourt responded to the name of .lone*. Important now discoveries of salt •priDjt" but b*n made in lbs val ley of the Haginaw. Chicago ha* a rich young ladywlio baa a mania for buying dog*. Hhe haa in vested |7,{tOO in'thorn no far. An Eastern debating society la trying to settle which ia tho hardest to keep, a diary or an umbrella. Thirty-four vnaaala laden with thia season's wheat, are reported to be on their way to England from Han Fran ciaoo. An Arizona girl, prettv, and only lixtoen, own* 10,000 head of csttle, and aba ia not engaged to bo married aa yet When a young fellow begina to talk of ** the laat little delicate aquiline curve in a eenaitive nose" of hia girl, he'a a goner. There never waa a thoroughly happy marriage where the hoaband waa master and the wife hia aervant—And " wiaey weraey." Cattle are herded on the aalt marsh, in Jewell oonnty, Ksnsss, at 15 eenta per head a month. The people in the vimnity of the marah gather large quan tities of the salt cruat for their cattle. If any carriage upaeta or injures another carriage in the aire* ta of fit I'etersbnrg, or if any paaaenger ia knocked down, the boraea of the offend ing vehieh. are seized and confiscated to the oae of the Are brigade. At a meeting of the Colored Mutual Aaaociation of Home, Georgia, Mr. Mooea Bailey advised the eolored peo ple to be patient industrious and law abiding, and to allow no indiscretion to piaoe them in antagonism with the whites. The Indiana of the White Earth' Re servation of Minnesota, whose crops have been ao badly damaged by the gT*ftsbopp*n, bi?e oootri bated uetrty 8100 in cash for the relief of the South west people, who have lost all their crops. This speaks well f-r poor Lo. One of the guests at the United fitatea hotel, Saratoga, ia the widow of a wealthy citizen of Buffalo, fihe ia sixty Sears of age. fihe ia accompanied by er widowed son-in-law, who ia just half her age. These two persona are engaged to be married, and will be uni ted next winter. Lovers of the weed may be pleased to know that at a recent meeting of the British Medical Society, a paper waa read, showing that disease of the gums and tongue ia frequently caused try smoking, and confirming Dr. Jonner a theory that the habit oaaaca palpita tion of the heart. •• Do you believe there are any peo ple who never heard the 'Old Hun dred r " asked a musical young lady at the family table. " Lota of folks never heard it," interrupted the precocious young brother. *' Where are they, I should like to know ?" "In the deaf and dumb asylums P Prof. Klob of Vienna recently made a post-mortem examination of a man 73 rears of age. The body was found to De infested with thousands of tri chinas spiralis, many of them still alive. The invasion of the parasites it was be lieved had occurred at least fifteen or twenty years previous to the man's death of marasmus. A grand juror in Colfax county, Miss., violated his oath by telling a friend of a bill that had been found against him, and advised him to hide until the oonrt had adjourned. The friend took the advice, but his kind in formant had to pay a fine of 9200 and go to jail for thirty days. A pouting bride, on her first sea voyage, writes home: ''The motion of s screw steamer is like riding a gigantic camel that has the heart dis ease, and von do not miss a single throb. I know of nothing to compare with it for boredom, unless it be TOUT honeymoon when you have married for money."* " Your Honor," said a prisoner to a Paris judge, "my lawyer is not here and I request s delay of the esse for eight days. "But," said the judge, " vou were caught in the set of it, what can any lawyer say for you V " That is just what I should like to hear,"said the prisoner, and the Court laughed, but sentenced bim to a year. The Khi van expedition is said to have brought into notice a rival to the famous Prussia* erfcmrwrsf, or pea sausage. The Russian soldiers were fed ehw fly on biscuits composed one third of floor of rye, ooe-third of beef reduced to powder, and one-third of sauerkraut also reduced to powder. The soldiers had a great relish for this food, and their good health daring the expedition is attributed in great part to the use of it. A barkened Life, In Nashua, X. H., say* an exchange, resides s young girl whose pitiful lot excites the deepest sympathy, yet for whom sympathy can do bat utile in alleviation of the sad misfortune which iiu darkened ber life. When a child she was terribly scalded abont the head and face, and although she survived ber injuries, she was thenceforth dis figured for life, and the rosy face of childhood was changed to a maak—a travesty on the human countenance — absolutely frightful in its hideonsnesa. In Lowell, Mass., where she once lived, so great was the horror excited by her appearance that ahe was forbidden by the authorities to show herself on the streets. At Nashua she ventured out the other day, and several ladies faint ed at sight* of her, and a cry is now made npon the authorities of that place to forbid her appearanoe on the streets. What a mournful fate is hers! To live through the terrible physical suffer ing only to endure henceforward a keener mental anguish in the knowl edge that ahe is a tiling of horror, to be abhorred and shunned by human kind, with no hope in the future except the grave, which shall hide her deformities from the gase of her fellow beings. Unknown Neighbors. Neighbors in cities often need to travel to become acquainted with each other. A good story ia told of two Boston neighbors. A gentleman and lady who occupied the same sent on an Eastern -bound train of cars in Ohio, recently, casually falling into conver sation,"found that theyboth belonged in Boston and were going home. On their arrival at the depot in Boston, they both got into the same hock, and the hackmsn having inquired of the man where he wanted to go, he replied, • jfo. 12 Street." " Yon may leave me at tile same place," said the lady. The man was a good deal surprised, but when they arrived at the house, they found that they had been living in adjoining houses, the entrances to which were not three feet apart, for several years, and had not known each other." DAMAGES.—A young and styliahly dreused colored woman entered the Tivoli Gardens, in Chicago, and or dered a glass of beer, which was denied her on account of her dusky com plexion. The next day a bill was filed in the Circuit Clerk's office, which set forth in legal parlance that plaintiff was not. a negro, hut a Mexican, a direct lineal descendant of the Montezucuas, and possibly heir to a throne, and that she was damaged by the refusal of a glass of beer to the amount of 810,000, which she claimed at the hands of her attorney in the AugUßt term of the Circuit Court. A SEVERB PUNISHMENT. — When a per son is found guilty of drunkenness, in Burmah, he is paraded through the streets by the" State Ministers, who read the crime at the street corners, and lash him with thongs. He is then taken to the high court and flogged more severely, and then aent home. If he is foand guilty a second time he is treated in the same way, and then ban ished from the country.