King Heath. King IV*th *u rare old fellow! H© sat where no *nn could shine ; And he lifted his hand so j allow, A4 poured out his coal-black wine. Hurrahfor the coal-black wine' There came to him many a maiden, Whose eyes had forgot to shine; And widows, with grief o'erladen. For s draught of his sleepy wine. Hurrah' for the coal-black wine The Scholar left all his learning ; The Pool his faecied woe# ; And the beauty her bloom returning, lake life to the faded roee. Hurrah! fot the oeal-black wine! All came to the roral old fellow, WII.-1 laughed till hi* ©yea dropped hrine, And he g*T© them hi* hand so yallow. And pledged Utero in Heath's' black-win# Hurrah' Hurrah! Ilurrah ! for the coal black wine. A l ullaby. Rockaby, lullaby, Ives in the clover ' Ovmitig so drowsily, crying so low— Rockaby. lullaby, dear little rover ' Powti into wonderland Down to the under-iand Go, oh go ! Hewn into wonderland go Rockaby, lullaby, ram on the clover! Tears on the eyelids that waver and weep ; Rockaby. lullaby bending it over Down on the mother-world, Pown ou the other world ! Sleep, oh sleep ! Pown ou the mother-world sleep f ■R vkaby, lullaby, dew on the clover ! Pew on the eye* that wtU sparkle at dawn Rockaby, lullaby, dear little rover ! Into the stilly world— Into th# lily-world Gone, oh gone ! Into the hly-world, gone ' —J. O. Hcllasd. THE ADM IK .11.*$ tilth lilntfraltn* A Singularly Vllirtl I'p Stale of Affair* at a >a* > \ ard. A vivacious correspondent of the Cin cinnati Gazetit tells a story connected with an attempted reception of Secre tary Robeson at the Portsmouth (N. II 1 Navy Yard a year ago, which he says was current at Rye Beach the past summer. The secretary, who has apartments each seasou in one of the cottages at Rye, liml sent word to the admiral commanding the yard that he would visit Portsmouth on a certain day and the station. Great preparations w re taude to receive him. When the tiiuo for bis arrival drew near, the ad miral with all his officers in full uni form, four companies of marines, and the baud, stood on the wharf ready to greet the head of all onr marine forces, vhile tlie crew of a national frigate sto ni to their guns all ready to utter a little thunder in the secretary's be half. There were two ways for the secretary to reach the vardfiom Portsmouth. He could cross the river by boat or drive around by the bridge. The boat-land ing at the yard and the entrance from the carriage-way are upon opposite sides of the grounds, and quite con cealed sue from the other. The admiral, wishing to show all possible attention to the secretary, sent over to the Portsmouth side, first his gig gayly decorated and manned with eight expert oarsmen, a steam-launch, in case he should prefer to cross in that, and, lastly, his carnage and horses to convey the party around by the bridge, should they desire to go that way. A messenger was in waiting to ascertain which of these modes ot con veyance the secretary selected, and to cross m advance and give the admiral notice, so that if the secretary chose the carriage, the officers and marines might be marched over to the gate to receive him. Of the secretary's party was Master , who was always prominent ou occasions of this kind." When the party arrived at the Ports mouth wharf an officer explained to the secretary that several modes of convey ance awaited his choice. He could be rowed acroes in the admiral's gig, or take the steam-lamteb, or drive around with the carriage. Master listened intently while the secretary was con salting the members of the party and making np his mind. At leDgth Mr. Robeson inf-.rmed the officer in waiting that he would go over in the gig. Master , hearing this, concluded that be would jump on the ferry-boat which was just pushing off. and be tbe first to inform the admiral of the secretary's intention. The ferry-boat passed the officers' boat su the same errand, and arrived at the dock far in advance of him. Un fortunate ly. Master is not a great sailor, and as a landsman he had been educated to suppose that a gig was something that went on wheels and was drawn by horse-power. So the moment the boat reached the wharf he jumped ashore, ran up to the admiral, and said, "The secretary will drive around." Then there wss hurrying in hot baste. The marines started at double-quick for tbe gate on the other side, quite around and behind the great ■hip buildings, and wholly hidden from the river. The admiral and ali his officers followed as fast as possible, and in three minutes the forces of all kinds and the crowd of visitors had passed behind all the building*, and the river front of the yard was left without a sign of life, except an officer who hap pened to be off duty and opportunely came along a few minntes after the ad miral and his forces had disappeared. Meantime the secretary's party, minns Master , had disposed them selves in the admiral's gig and were being rowed rapidly to the deserted wharf. The stillness of things seemed nnscoonntable to Mr. Robeson and tbe visitors ho had brougJiiA-riTirTfTTnrTr arv of tbe Navy was J\£££lrrira aia yard where there was a full force to do him honor. There was no thunder of cannon, rattle of drams, or music of bands. And the secretary, noticing the absence of the expectAl concourse of souud, cast his eye along the wharf and arouDd the visible por tions of the yard, and was thunder struck at tb general stillness and desolation. His wonder grew as the gig pulled up at the wharf, and no Unman being appeared to greet him, or even hand him a message. Tbe situa tion was fast becoming emburusaing. However, the party all crawled out of the gig as best they could,and gathered in a knot on the wharf. Here they at tracted the attention of the strolliog officer, and as he came near and recog nized tbe secretary, the whole situa tion flashed upon him. He was in fatigue uniform and not in any sense ready to "receive" the head of the navy, but, walking np and saluting the secretary, he offered to escort him to the admiral's quarters. At the same rime he managed to inform the officer in command of the frigate in the next slip that the secretary had landed, and by the time the party had fairly start ed on its walk, tlie big gnns began to thunder, and on one side of the yard the embarrassment of the situation was considerably relieved. But what shall be said of the per plexitv which prevailed at the gate on the other side ? The carriage in which it was supposed tbe secretary was driving around had not appeared when the first gun fired on the river front. Real after peal followed and still no cairiage. At length, just as the ad miral 1 ai given himself over to abso lute despair, np came the carriage, driving furiously, and enveloped in a c'oud ef dust. It seemed that one heavy gentleman of the secretary's party chose to drive aronnd, and, hear ing the first gnn of the salute, tbe driver had attempted to reach the ground BO that the guest might not miss any part of the reception. It was natural that all should suppose the secretary to be in that carriage, and the appearance of the stoat gentleman confirmed the belief, so the admiral and all his officers gave the customary salutation in splendid style. The fonr companies of marines presented arms, and the band went into ecstasies. At this jnnctnre the strange gentleman get out, and the admiral" was advanc ing toward him, when a messenger cane up and informed him that the \ Kl3. K I H TZ, Kilitor and 1 Vnpriotor. VOL, Ml. secretary had lauded at the wharf, an,l was there alone. The strange gentle man was loft to liia fate, and sudor the swift orders of the admiral the whole force started on double-quick for the wharf, the officer in advance, and the battaliou of marines, with its band, preceding, followed close after. The ruaritiea being more accustomed to double quick step than the admiral and his officers, gamed oil the latter, and as the hurrying column pressed on it was well closet! up. Then came the crowuiug catastrophe. Turning a sharp comer iu the road, where it passed between two high buildings, sud where the echo was altogether con fusing, the admiral and his companions bore directly down upon the still more sstomahed secretary, and the next in stant the drum major, with his big fur cap and baton, projected himself into the official presence, followed bv drums and brass horns iu dire confusiou, and an instant later, the column of marines telescoped the whole party, after the manner of a railroad collision. The situation was at leiqd grave. Tlio admiral had grasped the secretary's hand at the first meeting, and was try ing to eiplaiu, when the player on the biggest horn arrived, and lefore he oould halt, had run the instrument over the Secretary's shoulder, till, seen from his own party, the illusion of his having joined the baud was complete. And t make matters worse, the thun der of the last guns of the salute was rwttiiug betweeu the buildings, render ing explanations on either side almost impossible. But after some two min utes, which to the admiral seemed as many hours, the salute ended, the ma rines regained their ranks, the baud got itself together and withdrew to one side, ami the admiral soon explained how he had been misled by the mes sage from Master that the " secre tary will drive aroiiud." As the reception had been thus some what marred when judged by naval standards, the battahou of mariues was marched to the parade ground, where they reviewed by the secretary. Hero everything passed off with the strictest regard to tactics, except that the secretary, instead of standing oppo site the colors wlieu the line formed for review, was furnished with a rockiug chair, which, ou account of his pre vious fatigue, he occupied while the column passed twice in review. After this the secretary and the other mem bers of his party, all looking as if they had seen sights enough for oue day, were escorted to the admiral's quarters and provided with a luuch, which re stored the fortunes of the day. Before it was over. Master had learned the difference betw. en gigs on wheels and gigs afioat. Cruelty to Pigeons. Two boys named Dan Walls and George Heaton were charged at Leeds, England, with cruelty to pigeons, and Elijah Walls, the first named boy's father, and John Hunt, were charged with aiding and abetting in the com mission of the offense. Mr. George Buck ton said that on the 22 1 of Sep tembtr, abont five o'clock iu the after uocn. while he was in his garden, he heard the sound of a slight explosion, and looking into the air he saw a pigeon flying which had evidently a lighted cracker attached to its tail. Going on to the road, he saw the two boys carrying a basket, and he caused a police officer to apprehend them. In the basket were three pigeons, one of which had au unexploded cracker, con taining twenty "cracks," tied to its tail. They toid him that Hnut had given them the pigeons to send up at intervals of five minute?. Inspector Peet states! that in couseqnence of what the last witness told him he went to Walls'house and saw the fonr defen dants. In answer to the ch-rge. Walls said, "Wo had made a match for a sap per, and tied crackers to the pigeon's tails for the purpose of making them fly fast. We knew it was crnel, but we will never do such a thing agaiu." The l>ench discharged the two boys and fined the men ss. and costs. Curious Epitaphs. Some of the tomtistones of England —and some of the old ones of nearer home, too—have strange inscriptions. A correspondent sends us the following as specimens : '• Can it be true that I un free. From that queer old pest, Ann I.arabee ? I am sure or line, *b once was mine. But now. O Lord! I her to thee resign, '• And am TOUT "Humble and happy Servant, "Jons LaaasKK." " It was spotted meaelee that killed our Dairy, When I think of her death it makes me go crazy, I don't eee why we shonhl bare no much trouble. While others go'scott-free, and of money have double. " " Go, crnel Death 1 I do not love thee, for thon wert unkind To Bird -4rxfl the ™ here behind. Thou should'st have taken both of ns, if either. Which would have been a comfort to the survivor." " Friends, I've left this world of sin. And am shut up hero in a small coffin. May I soon reach Heavon, and stretch my limbs. For I long to sing songs with the cherubims." "The milk of Unman kindness was my own dear cherub wife, I'U never And another one as good in all my life; She bloomed, the blossomed she decayed. And under this tree her body is laid... Ills Fee. Velpean, the French surgeon, bad successfully performed, on a little child five years old, a most perilous operation. The mother came to him and Baid : " Monsieur, my son is saved, and I really know not how to express my gratitude. Allow me, however, to pre sent you with this pocketbook, em oroidered by my own hands." "Oh, madame," replied Velpean, sharply, " my art is not merely a ques tion of feeling. My life has its re quirements like yours. Dress, even, which is a inxury to yon, is necessary for me. Allow me, therefore, to refuse your charming little present in ex change for a more snbstantial remune ration." " But, monsieur, what remnnoration do you desire ? Fix tlie fee your self." "Five thousand francs, madame." The lady very quietly opened the pocketbook, which contained ten thou sand francs in notes, counted out five, and after politely handing them over tc Velpean, retired. Imagine his feelings 1 .Now and Then. In 1810, the thrifty district known as Honthern New York was almost unin habited. In this new country lumber ing was the only business carried on. The lumber was made into rafts and floated down the Delaware to the Philadelphia market, and the lumber men were accustomed to walk the en tire distance home after having dis posed of their lumber. On this ronte there was a stretch of what was called " the wilderness," a distance of thirty miles, without a house, and only a foot path through the dense forest that stood on the banks of the Delaware river. Many are the narrow escapes from wild beasts that inhabited this wilderness that are reoounted by those who, when boys, listened to tne old pioneers of this district, THE CENTRE REPORTER. Poachers Iu England, One of the legal consequences of own ing land iu England is the projiertv which it brings with it in all the aiu luated tenants of the forests, meadows, sud streams. birds, fish, and deer, pheasants and plover, foxes and hares, belong as much to the proprietor as the trees and the fruits of his garden. Whoever shoots a birJ or traps a rabbit on one of the immense English estates is liable to imprisonment like a thief or a burglar. The game laws authorixe the owner to defend his warrens and preserves even by killing the trespasser who resists his servants uud refuses to leave his laud, and the property iugame is enforced by all the powers of the British constitution. .The right of tlshiug iu certain streams or hunting ovsr certain grounds is bought and sold as commonly as the right to preach and pray. The fives of the throngs of hares, foxes, and birds that swarm in countless numbers over England are guarded with sedulous care ; and the unlucky tenant-farmers, who often see their crops devoured and their gardens pillaged by the rabbits and the rooks, have uo resource but submission. They look with uo kiudly feeling upon the landlords who nourish the vermiu that overrun the fields, or who in the au tumn ride over meadows aud hedges aud plowed laud in their mat! chase after a hare or a fox ; and the hungry laborer, whose family seldom tastes meat and often suffers for waut of less costly food, cannot avoid a pang of envy aud of discontent when he sees the forest and meadows swarming with use less and destructive game which he is forbidden to toucl% but which would bring back perhaps the failing strength of a sick wife or a feeble child. 'Temp tation is ever before hiui. He cannot always resist. Poaching is oue ot the commonest i crimes in England, and is punished with extreme severity. The country magistrates, who are always laud-hold ers, have no pity on the vonug laborer who is caught shooting his first par tridge or hare ; and the rigid game-laws are said to be the cause of a rapid growth of crime in the rural districts. The young man who lias been tempted to poach in the teeming forest or pre serve, and is delect .1, loses at once character and hope. He is imprisoned or fined. He enters npon a new course 'of crime. Iu his madness and want he i robs, perhaps at last he murders, and sometimes the gamekeeper who pro ! cured his first conviction has fallen a | victim to his rage. At night the gamekeeper and his men, and sometimes the proprietor himself, wander over the immense es tates in search of poachers. They are well armed and pre;*nred for resistance. Thev track their victims with the stealthy tread of the savage. The re port of a gnn or the trail of men over the grass guides them to theit enemy, and the poachers, who arc always ou the watch for the gamekeepers, and are alio arrasd, not unfreqnently make a bold resistance, and a nocturnal skir mish and combat take place in tne green glades of the forest. All over England, in the season of game, this constant vigilance must be exercised, andun army of gamekeepers are kept in activity in order to aeenre this migratory kind of property. Yet poaching flourishes, and large quantities of cheap game find away to the London market that could never have been sold so low unless it had been obtained as easily as Robin Hood's venison. Poaching has natu rally a strong attraction for all the Idle and reckless young men of the coun try. They find in the woods an easy means of making money for dissipated pleasures. They at least can see no wrong in clearing the land of useless game. They have their haunts in the depths of the English forest, and live a nomad life, that is not unlike that of a Western trap|>er. The Sionx are not mom hostile to the white hunter who intrudes upon their hunting grounds than is often the English land-owner to his poachers, nor more resolved to ex tirpate the bold intruders. Between the poacher and the English squire a war hts raged since the days ot Puck and Robin Hood. Yet the progress of intelligence and humanity in England promises <>on to abolish even the game-laws. Already they have been amended in several of their harsher provisions. This season several of the large laud-holders have thrown open their immense hunting fields to the people, and have allowed game to be pursued freely by all who chose to come. It is scarcely possible that the English can much longer con sent to preserve this nursery for dis content and crime ; and when the pub lic schools have spread over the coun try, as they are now rapidly doing, the game-laws must fall before the light of knowledge. It is indeed remarkable that they should have lasted so - - - Vr. Pnnkin pi iz the sass ov Nn Eng land. They are vittleH and drink, tliey are joy on the haff-sbell, they are glory ennff for one day, and aro good kold or warmed np. I would like to be a boy again, just for sixty minnetts, and eat myself pliull ov the blessed old mix tnr, Enny man who dont lnv pnnkin pi, wants watching olnss, for he means to do somethin mean the fust good chance he kan git. Giv me all the punkin pi i could eat, when i waz a bov, anil i didn't kare whether Huu day-skool kept that day or not. And now that i have grown up to manhood, and have run for the legislature once, and only got beat 85fi votes, and am thoroly marrid, tbare aint nothing i hanker for wusr, and kan bury quicker, than two-thirds of a good old-fashioned pnnkin pi, an inch and a liaff thik, and well smelt up, with ginger and nutmeg. Punkin pi iz the oldest Amer ikan beverage i kno ov, and ought to go down to posterity with the trade mark ov onr grandmothers on it; bnt iam afrade it wont, for it iz tnff even now to find one that tastes in the mouth at ali as they did 40 years ago. About Wooden Toothplrks. One gets so used to seeing wooden toothpicks at restaurants that he looks npon them as things of course. He never thinks that their maunfacture forms an important branch of industry, but, nevertheless, such is the case. These toothpicks are mado principally in the New England States and in New Jersey. They are manufactured by the same process as are match stems, usu ally mado in the same factories. The material nsed in their manufacture is white maple or poplar, as both of those woods are tasteless. They are put up iu boxes of two thousand each, and sell for fifteen cents a box. Restaurants use from two to four thousand tooth picks in a week. Because they are so cheap and so bountifully supplied peo ple take them by the handful. Wooden toothpicks have only been in use for about ten or twelve years. When they were first invented,there were only one or two factories where they were made and they cost a deal more than they do now. An exchange has an acquaintance who remarks that he has olten heard the proverb, " A friend in need is a friend indeed," but he says he can't see where the laugh comes in. He has a friend in need who is always borrowing money of him. CENTRE IIA EE. CENTRE CO.. PA., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER l!>, 1874. The I'olaouiug Prrlod. If the reign of Louis XIV.of Ermine, ! was celebrated for its literary aud war like illustrations, it was a period of terrible Crimea. It was the era of poi son*. Wives murdered husbands, sons killed fathers, aud La Hrinvtlliers flourished. M. Havaissou says : " The |H>isoners worked awsv, almost 111 broad daylight. Home passed themselves off for alchemists, and while preparing mineral and vegetable pultons in secret, iu public showed alembic* tilled with iunooeut distillations. Colbert, just tlieu, was paying great attention to ! founding glass factories in Erauce, and many of the |K>isouers went to work iu the royal glass works, so that they were absolutely supported by the State, while they sold their |H>!SOUS at high ; prices. Home of these wretches gave lessons in preparing poisons, and kept professional schools, where the whole business was taught iu a most thorough manner." Willi this horrid school of professional poison-makers, there was ingrafted a belief in sorcery. Fantas tic legends, more or lea* diabolical, seised hold of the miuds of the common people, aud there ia no doubt but that children were sacrificed during certain incantations. The crimes jwrpetrated by the Ereneli at thia period, in the middle of the seventeenth century, are so horrible that they had better not be described. The poisoners for a long time laugh ed at justice. Thou, its to-day, the de tec!ion of this particular crime was a difficult one. French opinion at this period was quite indifferent. The l'orisiau world was even ready to laugh, when a pretty wife got rid of an old and ugly husband by means of n few grains of health powder. There was a certain Muie. Dreui.the wife of a mem ber of the Parliament, who, tired of a married life, was said to have tried a half doreu times to poison her better half, and who, in a tit of jealousy, was known to have |>oieoucd the betrothed of one of her former lovers. Yet this estimable lady was well received. M. De Contangos wrote a number of pleas ant couplets directed against M.Dirux, and even the clever Mine. De Sevigue scribbled amusing letters about the whole business. It seems, however, that some people of a timid character were not exactly comfortable. Believ ing that glass would show traces of poison better than goblets of golden, silver or pewter, nobody drank but out of glass. Clothes were washed at home, under the eye of the miatress of the house ; letters were disinfected for fear of poisou.aud pretty women would only receive bouquets of dowers with the utmost circumspection. Invita tions to sup were accepted with a cer tain amount of supicion, and the con duct of the host was closely watched, and what he ate or drank was only ac copied by the guests. After a pleasant little supper, the least symptoms aris ing from natural causes, as from an in digestion, were looked upon with fear and trembling, and it war the custom, ! immediately on arriving home from a feast for the guests to take emetics and drenches,in order to protect themselves against the chances of any tampering with the meat or wine. Captured After Man} Years. Fraught a< the last mtw'ii years have been with gran.l events, which j have changed the destinies of nations, news to thrill BO many hearts ha, per haps, never been flashed through the wires as the brief message that Nana Sahib, the oneo noted Hindoo chief, has at last been captured. Like thunder in a clear skv, the In dian mutiny of 1H57 shocked while it astounded the civilised world. The well at Oawnpore has become a shrine. The demon hero of that awful deed was Nana Sahib. Hunted like a wolf iu the field, his followers slain, his every effort at resistance cast to the winds by the fierce and sleepless wrath of the avengers, the bafiled prince has been a fugitive all these wearv years. Not for a second has the search relaxed. Every man's haad has been armed against him. Immense rewards have been offered, aud he has been tracked and pursued all over Asia. Humors brought ever and anon by flying CttatidM would place him at Herat or Varkand, Aleppo or Bokhara. There, ou the spur, hur ried bands of tho old allies of Great Britain in quelling the outburst, eager to bring him back, dead or alive. He has t>oeu captured a dozen times, ac cording to rumor, but the prisoners have pro Ted to be either other muti neers or perfectly innocent persons. This time, however, there seems to be no doubt about the matter. Arrest ed in Gwalior, his native place, aj)d of which ho claimed sovereignty, he has by his consiii, the MttifrVfajah Scindi&h, perhaps the most powerful aud certainly tho wealthiest of all the nativa monarchs of llindo stan. It was from brooding over the al leged injustice of tho East India Com pany that Nana Sahib, or rather Nana Hao, his proper name, lashed himself to the pitch of ruthless fury which cul minated in his dreadfni massacres at Bithoor and Cawnpore. He was a Mali ratta Brahmin, aud, according to the peculiar Hindoo law of inheritance, the adopted son of the Peishwa excluded nearer relations. When tho Peishwa died tho British Government refused to recognize Nana Bao, and placed Sciudi&h on the mujtnud. The disap pointed prince, a cultured mnu, braved the displeasure of his friends, tho very tenets of his religion, crossed the for bidden A 'ala Pani, or " Blaek Water," and for years pervaded tho precincts of tho English Court. Ho was unsuccess ful. Ho returned to India, and to purge himself of his sius against the oeremonial law, passed through a gi gantio golden cow, which WAI after ward melted up and divided among 5,000 Brahmins. Ho beeamo quite a society man with tho English officers, and was remarkably gallant to the ladies. Arab horses aud cashmere shawls were frequent tributes from this unusually affable Hindoo. Milder than his proverbially mild race, his ferocity, when it did break out, was as that of the tiger of his country's jungles. He brought mourning to a whole nation, with whom the world sympathized. MADR INSANE.—A young girl in Paris named Marguerite Belief,who had been unfortunate in A love affair, resolved to commit suicide. Before going to bed she filled her chamber with tho most odorous flowers, and having completely closet! the room, covered up her head and went to sleep. Hhe was found in an unconscious state about noon tho next dav, and although by groat medi cal skill she was recalled to life, her reason has fled. Hhe imagines that she has been transported to the kingdom of flowers and has become a marigold. "I remember that I loved a butterfly," she murmurs; "but ho has gone away." " People talk about waking up with a snap," says Mr. Murray, of Adiron dack fame. " Why, that is a horrible way to do it. I met a friend the other day who said, ' I always wake up with a snap, and get up with a jump.' Why, the sweetest experience of life comes to us leisurely. What would you think of the sun rising with a snap ? of rones opening with a snap ? of a man outing beefsteak with a snap ? of a wife kiss ing her husband with a snap f" THE HABITANT. \ Ur|itile l>rrl|Uon ol l; VraHth ( aiiailUu Bwall l*'rur* A of llit* ltoftton < 'om tmmuralth, writing from Hto. Mario-de- Mauuoir, Province of Quebec, gossips thus pleasantly about the small farm era : Did I ever tell you of the Canadian par exctllt hoc, the " habitant," or well to-do farmer ? If not, you aball make his He t# about fifty Vears old (the one that 1 known, about live feet six ill height ; baa blaek hair, and dark, soft eyes ; wears side whis kers, a la AnytaUe, and is always smoking the most villainous tobaoco of his own raising. Iu summer ho wears a blue joau shirt, white duck pauts, moccasins made of one piece of leather and turned up at the toe ; a broad brimmed straw hat crowns his head ; rt "U voila He doesn't like to work, and if it were not for the richness of the soil, 1 am afraid he would starve. He lives iu a little house, whitewashed, with red shutters, red roof, and a red d>or ; the windows are casein cut*, and are curtained with papers. We go up the stops and go straight into the big room ; an immeiibe stove, three-stories, stands iu the center ; there are big buffets for the dishes and clothes, and a stand for the buckets of water ; a pic ture of the Virgin hangs on the wall, and a crucifix is on the table. There are two little rooms leading from the big one, and 1 cau tee the tall ward robes and high beds—one with pink sheets and pillow-slips, aud the other with green. They are so high ) know they must have little steps to get into bed. The wife of the " habitant" is very pleasant, but has no beauty; she ha* to work too hard, aud has too mauy children to attend to herself. Hhe it is who makes her garden aud does her housework, spius and weaves, and twice a year looks alter the grand wash by the river bank. She work# out doors, and her husband goes to the village store, drinks with his companions, and spins long-winded stories for the pleas ure of the storekee|>er and his griuuiug clerk*. She, too, wears the moccasins and the broad-brimmed hat, a skirt of gray flannel, just reaching to her ankle*, a calico sack aud apron ; and, behold her ! she is very dark, and her voice will be harsh and heavy. .Perhaps, too, #h* will have au enormous g-ntrr. These good people are Catholics, and pay to the church the taxof one twenty seventh part of their grain, besides giv ing to every beggar aud nun, and al*o paying to the lord of their country the tiliie that has come down siuce the set tling of Canada. If some one of their family has died, aud they want masse# said, they will bring a pig or some chickens, and after church the beadle will sell them on the green iu front of the church. In the winter the dress of the woman is changed only by a sack of flannel, and a little, wooli-u bonnet ; but the mau dona high soft boots of buff or brown leather, made like his tm>oca*iui, a flannel shirt, gray, red or blue, gray flannel pauts ; and there ha rests, close by the stove, unless busmen* calls him out. Then comes from the stablu s pretty, low sleigh, and a spirited horse. He pulls a pointed, knit-cap over hi* head, pats on hi* Capuchin-coat, pulls the pointed hood with ita scarlet Lssel over hi* knit cap, ties a scarlet scarf about hia waist, springs into hia sleigh, and away he goes down the long, wnite, straight road ! We watch him out of sight, and come back to more mundane things. This is but a specimen. Some arc richer, some are poorer, but they have all warm hearts, and touch their hats with |X)liteueas to the DfmoitfUU Amrricatrtf, although they belong to another class and another religion. These " habitants" are the farmers and small landed proprietors. There is still another class, the pea sants, who are poorer, sud work for the others ; then, next the " messieurs," including the doctors, lawyers, mer chants, clergy, and the rich 1 I like the French Canadian, he is slwavs very good to mo, and, indeed, to ns all. An Eccentric S'ar. The most singular fact connected with the proper motions of the stirs is that oue or two stars are flying through space with such enormous rapidity that the combined attraction of all the stars risible with the telescopeoonld never stop them. This seems to be especially the case with a small star, invisible to the naked eye, d<>aiguated in astro nomical literature as " Groombridge, 1830," from the name of the astronomer who first recorded its position. The rahl o'. TMAwiof this star is about seven second* |>er year - .greatest known. It was hence concluded Viat it must be very near ua, aud a number -wtrono mers have sought to determine its p-T --allax, but hare found it to be on'iy about n teuth of a second. Its ap parent motion in a year being seventy times its parallax, it mores at least serenty times the distance from the earth to the snn in a year, or 18,000,- 000 of miles every day, and more than 200 miles every second. From what we know of tbo distribution, masses, and number of the stars, it seems probable that the attraction of all the bodies in the universe cau never stop this head long speed, nor briug this star into auy orbit, nnd that consequently it will pass through our universe, and leave it en tirely in its passage through infinite space. If we had accurate observations of the star's position 8,000 or -1.000 year* ago, we oould speak with more certainty of its destiny. We may ex pect that our posterity of a few ttiou *and years hence will, by tlic aid of the observations and tables we shall transmit to them, be able to come to a definite oonolnsion respecting the ago and the structure of the universe. Little Johnny's Compot Itlon. CATS. This is not a essy on tho eat, wich would be oue, but on eats, wicli is sev rel, for cats is never by tlieirself only wen they sleeps, and they don't do that no different from other nnimels, but they is alone wen they eetclios a mouse, except the mouse. We hail a old cat as cot a mouse and didn't kill it, but only hurt it inside. Then she laid it down, and laid down by it, and shut her eys, and forgot; but wen it had crold away a bit she romeniberd. Then father lie said heed be blode, and the way he kict the cat was eruwii as you ever see. Then tho baby, wieh wa* a settiu' on tho (lore, lookt up and said Agin. Cats can look in the dark be ter than day times, tho they isn't so much to see. That's 'cause their eys is like lan terns, but dogs looks best with a bras coler. Hilly he says if dogs haa bran colors with their oners' names onto it they don't go mad. Ho says that's law. Cats wich has kittiua is better than tho other kind, 'cause it's good fun to drownd 'em in bags. My sister's young man says wen you want to drownd kit tins if you wil apple ey to the Society for prefentin' crulty to auimels you can git rose water. Did you ever here the eats in the night, and a-spittin'? I have, lots, and I tel you it makes a feller afrado if he isn't a-slcepin' with his sis ter. Hyron says oats is awful yet love ly in their strength, and they is mon- Uond by sevrel. Curious A muvruirut*. We are enjoying the eieitemcut at tendant UJHU an English fair, writes a correspondent. Locking around u we notice interest# and excitenieut# which, if known in America, are unfamiliar to ua. Here ia a group of lada, reminding ua of the (Ilea that gather to a drop of treacle. We dud in ita center a table of common deal, into which are atuck by the blade aotne titty or sixty pocket knives. The table and the knivee are owned by a terw rummy looking man, of fifty-rive or aixty year*, who ia ex horting the boya to try their luek. lie know* they are clever lada. He knowa it by their*look*. Here are four braaa rings, if auy boy will throw one of theae ring* at five feet from the table ■ ) that it falla upon a knife, he ahall have the knife, or fonrpenoe, as he pleaaea. Hmart boya, anch aa they are, can do it with case. The riuga are full two iuchea 111 diameter, and aure to go over the knivea if well thrown. He ahall be obliged to attach one condi tion, only one, to the throwing of the riuga. If it should happen that no one of the four riuga should go over a kuife, the thrower will kindly pleasu to pay him, the owner, one penny. We looked on. The first ring we aaw thrown went over a knife. We aaw twelve other lada try their luck, and not an other ring did we see go over a knife! This game waa the center of a constant circle of loaiug lada, and aometimea of losiug men, all th< afternoon. Not far off ia Aunt Hallv. Bhe is a atick atuck into the ground, with skirt* over crino line, and Buriuouuted by a wooden band decorated in imitatian of a squaw's. In her mouth an ordinary to bacco pipe. To every man paying Lis penny is given four round sticks, an inch in diameter and a foot in length. If, standing at a distance of twenty feet, he can hit and smash the pipe in Aunt Bally's mouth, he shall be re warded with fourjience. If not, lie lose# bis penny. Aunt Bally is a "good card," but beside her are other cateli ju-nuie#, such as op|ortuuiliea to try your strength, your weight, the power of your lungs, and the distance you cau jump. Ily-and-bye cornea a con test iu step-dancing. Then come* a donkey race, always a comical affair, and popular in Kuglaud. It cornea off amid * storm of ahouta and laughtor, and the moat uuhkely donkey comes in ahead simply because the most likely one stops, doggedly or doukeyly, just his own length short of the goal. A hurdle race follows, and it is impossible to decide which of the two ia the win ner, and finally a traveling trickster gives various feats which makt# the na tma open their eyea and their mouth# in wonder. A Terrible Snake htory. A party of Chicago tourists, who re turned from a three mouth#' trip through Park, Summit, and Grande counties, Colorado, relate a terrible snake story. They were ene*mpd in Klk Head Mountains, iu the North Park, when they met with a misfortune which cost one of the party his life. The party arrived in camp late one night from a day's hunt and ramble ov r the bills. After a hearty snpper the party lay down in their blankets around the fire, which had been built in the cleft of some large quartz rock#, and all were soon fast asleep. Mr. Straley wa* awakened in the night by a heavy weight npon bia cheat. At first he supposed it was his brother's hand, but, ss it did not move, and be coming nervous and alarmed, he raised his head, and waa horrified to find a large mountain rattlesnake coiled upon hia cheat, with his head nestled down in the center of the ooiL It was nearly daylight, but Mr. Straley w* so para lyzed with fear that be oould not make a noise, and dared not more. He re covered hi# presence of mind so far a# to be able to draw the blankets over hi# face. This movement started the reptile, which glided from him to hia brother, who was sleeping with him. The snake passed from his breast to bis brother's f#>e, when, in a fatal moment, Henry Straley raise*) hia hand to tear it away. Then' was a fierce rattle and a loud cry from the half-awakened boy, and the monster buried its fangs in his right hand and a second time in his cheek. There wa# a loud scream from Henry m the poor boy jnmped to his feet, while the snake glided from the blankets to s large flat took near the embers of the fire. Mr. Jenkins fired his revolver at it and the second shot brought it down. Poor young Btraley was soon suffer ing the most intense sgony. His brother, at his request, cut out a large part o the check in hopes that the poison bad not penetrated very deep, and a tight ligature wa* bound around the wrist of the bitten hand, which was bathed in cold water. Rut nothing the horrified young men could do failed to save "the poor boy. He died in 'ess than two hour* in the most terri ble igony. The body changed oolor within three hours after the accident. The young meu conveyer! the corpse to Fort' Btle, whence it was shipped home to Chicago for interment. The snske measured four feet in length and ha®y • fw fluently disturbed. We have often seen them, aays a writer, in tba great swamp* of tba Bureau Vallay, along tba Illi noia, ooma hj about dark, whan it waa just too lata to draw a tight, noiaelaaly ♦taaling along ao aa to evade tba ran dom aliot of tha hnntar returning to <-amp after a long day's work. Ba at taobad are they to their old grounds, and ao liable to ba pnraoad at night by rack lass adventurers, that altar a faw warnings they baffle the moat intelli gent. Simula their line of entry be discovered to-night aa they eocna aeroas the marah from the to-morrow night, if yon watch, yon may bear tha vibration of their wings aa they paaa over the timber to tba north, in weir approach to the old rioe pond or open water of the big aloogh. Upon all other occasion*, and aJao when die tnrtied, they exhibit their usual pro penaity to indulge in gabble and gooee talk. The moat prominent among tba varieties in tba West ia tba Canadian gooae. The next, and cxiating in great numbers, ia the white-fronted or laugh ing gooae, ealled by many " brant" Of the regular brent-gooae wa bare bat few. We killed one oat of a flock in the Illinois river, in 1860, on a sand bar, and believe it ia the only flock wa ever aaw in that valley. The brent gooae is about half the size of the Cana dian variety, and ia abont two-thirds aa large aa the white-fronted, mottled, or laughing-gooae. Bat in the absence of the regular brent-gooae, the mottled bird known aa fbe langhmg-gooae car ries the name of brant, And brant it ia, so far aa the average shooter ia in formed ; for few of tbem have ever seen a brent-gooae—and this is tb only bird which, to their knowledge, ever bore the name. These same fellow* call a partridge a pheasant, and an English snipe a woodcock. It ia amusing to waieh a flock of langhing-geea® aa they approach a favorite feeding-grunad o/ a resting place. Tbey ooma first in the regular acute-angle line of flight, sud denly tbey break ranks, and with one aooord tba whole flock begins a series of evolutions, tumbling and turning high in the air, and then descending in a most comical and irregular manner, to the amusement of the observer, all the while indulging in n jabber more re sembling the merry laughing of school girls than anything else, from which peculiarity they reoaive their name, Aa a table bird it ia highly es teemed, and ia generally preferred to the Canada gooae. In point of num bers it exceeds the latter in this locali ty, while in other parts the ratio ia reversed. They visit the Weet in March and April, oe their ragnlw mi grations to the lakes and bays of North ern Minnesota, the British possessions, sad Labrador, remaining with ns some times aa late aa May in small detach ments. Many are killed before they reach their northern breeding-grounds. After raising the usual brood, sod re plenishing their thinned ranks, they gather for the aatamnal return flight, and in October we see them wending their wav to their old and favorite haunts, until the cold weather driven them southward to the great marshes of Arkansas and the Lowet Mississippi. Aa they pass north in March, per ermly before a aoutharn gale, which tames them along with little apparent effort, their coming is welcomed as a harbin ger of returning spring. Tbey come, 100, in large numbers, accompanied by all the usual varieties of water-fowl ia even greater prolusion. Allltade at Which Mew Caw Live. There haa been a great deal of dia cuaaion as to the altitude at which bumaa beings can exist, and Mr. Glaia ber himself can tell us aa much about it as anybody. In Julr, 1872, he and Mr. Cox wall ascended in a balloon to the enormous height of 38,000 feet. Previous to tbe start, Mr. Glaiaher's pulse stood at 76 beat* a minute, Oox well's at 74. At 17,000 feet tbe pulse of the former was at 84, that of the latter at 100. At 19,000 feet Glaiaher's hands and lips were qnite bine, bat not hia face. At. 21,000 feet he heard hia heart beating, and his breathing be came oppressed ; at 29,000 feet he be came senaelees ; notwithstanding which the aeronaut, in the interest of science, went up another 8,000 feet, rill he could no longer use his hands, and had to pull the strings of the valve with his teeth. Aeronaut* who have to make bo ex ertionshare,of course, a great advantage over me in ben of the Alpine Clnb and those who trust their lews; even at 13,003 feet, these climbers feel vary un comfortable, more ao in the Alps, it seema, than ebewher*. At the monas tery of 8k Bernard, 8,117 feet high, the monks become asthmatic, and are com pelled frequently to descend into the valley of the Bhone for—anything bat a bieiatb of fresh air; and at the end ef tea years' aernoe are obliged te give up their high living, and como down te their nsnal level At the aame time in Booth America there are towns, such ae Potosi, placed as high ss the top of Mont Blanc, the inhabitants of which feel no inoanvenienoe. The higheet in habited spot in the world is, however, the Bnddhist cloister of Hanle, in Thibet, where 21 priests live at an atti tude of 16,000 feet. The brothers Schlaginsweit, when tbeT explored the glaciers of the Ibi- Oamin in the same country, encamped at 21,000 feet, the highest altitude at which a European ever passed the night. Even at the top of Mont Blanc, Prof. Tyndall's guides found itvery un plesssnt to do this, though the Prof, himself did not confess to feeling so bad as they. The higheet mountain in the world is Mount Evened (Himalaya), 29,008 feet, and the oondor has been seen " winging the bine air" 500 feet higher. The air, by-the-bye, is not •'blue," or else, as De Saussure point ed out, " the distant mountains which ' are oovered with snow would appear blue alsoits apparent eolsr being doe to the reflection of light. What light can do and does, is marvelous ; and not the least is its power of attrac tion to humanity. A Bridal l>rvss. The bridal dress of Miss Honore, the bnde of OoL Fred Grant, was white .latin with point lace overokirt made to owlet) - ftnd beautifully looped with orange bloeso®k-lUl> q*"*e high in the neck, has long sleeve*. AlliLi* oovered with an illusion veil. Ajomr lace jacket and a set of delicate Valen ciennes, a coat of black mantilaaee, mounted with velvet, an all black teilet of silk velvet and jet, were noted and deserve more special attention than there is now time to give them. There wss also a plain walking skirt of velvet, with camels' hair polonaise, mounted with velvet, which was exceed ingly novel, original and stylish ; the traveling dress of camels' hair, oolor of seal skin ; three black silks, one with the train all profusely trimmed with beads ; s cloak of matelasse cloth and a variety of other articles, forming a very complete and elegant trousseau. Distribution or the Stars. Professor B. A. Gould, who has just returned from the Argentine Confed eration, where he has established a well equipped astronomical observa tory, brings home some observations which oonld not be made in a less clear atmosphere. At the late meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Science he spoke of the Milky Way, an seen in Ooraoba, and the belief that the number of stars of any given mag. nitude increases toward the Galaxy. He said that a great circle or zone of bright stars seems to intersect the Milky Way at the Southern Croas and Cassiopeia. The inclination of the stream ef stars to the Milky Way is abont 25 deg. Part of this zone has been previously recognized by Sir John Herscbel. Dr. Gould thought that two questions discussed by him, the hy pothesis of an equable distribut'on of stars being one, and thia discovery of a well marked zone of very bright stars near the Milky Way being tie other, may assist in determining the position of our sun in reference to its own clus ter, as well as other great astronomical questional