A Billy el I>esp: ir.
We hal sweet .Ireurns I'm' oilier night.
When nil around was still—
We dreamed w m* a host of folks
Par np tile.i printer's bill.
Wr wish the drciia w.tuld com* to pa**.
Aud our empty p iHc-t* illi
Tar da nnip * is di Idle dr. a,
Te tump le 11 lie .Hi.
Flattery.
0 '. it ia worse than mockery to list to the flat
tever'B tone:
To lend a ready kar to thoughts the check
mnst hlni.li to own .
To hear the red Up alaaparod of. and the
flowing cnrl and eye
Made constant theme of eulogy extravagant
and high ;
And the charm of person worshiped in a
homage offered not
To the perfect charm of virtue, and the
majesty of thought.
The Home Heart.
The tabe that nestled in my arms oooa for me
tail in dream* .
The pratth r crowned with golden curls lives
hut in mctnorv's gieaui* .
Whet maivrl. Thee, that loving fear blends
With die pride and joy
That watches, on his manhood's verge, the
bold and tionuy boy
The happy smile of infancy sti'l wreathes tie
rosy lips,
Ihe fearkes light of ch Mhood's ejes knows
notl log of echpse .
Hut firmer tread and stronger c'asp attest the
rcUiog ar.
While pruning. daring thought and will awake
the woman fears.
My sou. a wiser baud than tame will shape the
onward way,
A greater Power soothe tliy night and guide
thee through the dav.
So, in a patient impotence, 1 sttivs to stand
apart.
Only praying, fiw thy father * sake, oh, keep
the frank home heart!
Keep the pure u: stinted charity, tlse trust tn
all things fa r.
The hope that mid each earthly cloud still feels
the sunshine there ;
The faith in good; ess |..ve and truth, that,
spite of fault and fa!).
Lock* on the bright wor'd God ha* made, and
owns His touch on all.
So shall the light f.>l spring unharmed a'ong
the perilous psth,
Sa shall the brave hand clasp and keep the one
imm .M.i wreath.
By tlie yearning of the lonely life, whosecliief
set joy thou art.
Oh. darln gof our severed lives, keep atl !l the
fresh h.irr.e heart!
TUE BASKET OF FLOWERS.
1 wondered what jiecnliar taste could
have induct d either the designers or
decorator* of the cratt to have d pped
such a prei<oetetvu* thing as a flower
basket ou the steruof that ship. 1 was
seated ou a dock 1 ear Hunter's Point
watching the loading of a petroleum
Teasel— a queer, old-fashioned bark.
Hail the owner or skipper any deal
Eroclivitles ? Perhaps soiae practic-l
and it) a rbip vard—a master in the
art of hacking figure heads of dolphins
or cornucopias all out of solid oak—
some one who might have been a
Thonswalden but for the want of op
portunity, had eliminated that flower
casket from his inner conscioueuesa.
Just as likely it might have been the
production, so far a the {loetical con
ception of it wont, of some captain
through whose oompieition there ran a
latent vein of romance. Who oould
tell but that in years long g> ue by the
woman the captain had loved hod been
associated with a bask.,-t of flowers ?
80 he might have goue straight to the
ship-yard, all aglow, inspired for the
moment, and in a cheery voice said,
" Here, carpenter, cut me out a basket
of flowers. Do it good. I ain't par
ticular about the kind of flowers, so
that there is pleuty of them, and that
the basket is all right Pat two han
dles on the basket " And so to work
fifty years ago went the carpenter, who
had followed the sea in his younger
days, and the artist, with adze and
gouge iu hand, had possibly got into
a quandary over the job, for quite likely
he was more familiar with tangled sea
weed than with the primmer gsrden
flowers. So in great mental travail he
must have solved the que tion bv
taking as a pattern his mother's > d
faahioned sampler, on which iu cross
stitch was depicted a floral offering,
and copied it all out in wood and stuck
it on the stern of that vessel, and felt
satisfied with it, though a stiffer or
more impossible flower basket never
was made. Undoubtedly once it was
colored with hues as bright and varied
AS a rainbow, and shown out re
splendantly as tb ship's steru, and was
reflected in summer seas, and was the
envy of other skippers. But when I
saw it all its bloom was gone, for it
had been painted all over a glaring
yellow, and was as nglv as sin. Orna
menting the stern of a petroleum ship,
odorous with the mo*t villainous of
smells, that poor old flower basket
seemed horribly out of place.
"CaptaiD, sir?" I made bold to say
t a man in the dock, who was giving
some instructions as to the moorings uf
the vessel.
" Just so, sir," was the reply of s
fine, hearty-looking man. " Hera, Mr.
Mathias"—this was to a person evi
dently the mate—"have this hawser
eased. Take out the double bitch, and
don't jam the knot. It's too tight. It
would take as much as five minutes to
unreeve thst knot; ain't you got aaU
enough to know that when you are taking
on board this kind of dangerous stuff,
alongside of the factory as makes it,
the whole place is just as likely as not
to be on fire any minute? Tell that
hand forard at the fall to watch the
capstan and them spiles here, and to
loosen the hawser with the tide. She
can't chafe much. It ain't a bad plan
to have an ax, and a sharp one, always
erady, BO that a fellow can cut his
lucky and run. Capt. Billy M&gruder
saved his brig a year and a half ago, at
this very dock, from being burned up,
because he had a carpenter's hatch ft
handy. You was wanting me, sir ?"
said *he captain. " What can Ido for
yon?"
'• Only this," I replied ; "I am very
little nautical, and mv experience does
not go beyond yachting ; but I have, I
think, a kind of memory for ships.
Did I not see this ship at New Bedford;
she was then in the whaling business
some years ago ?"
"Exactly so, sir. You are right
Maybe you found her out by the carv
ing on her stern. Bho is a qneer old
craft, built as they only built 'em fifty
years ago. She has been kept up,
though, all the time right through, and
the oil is so soaked into her timbers
that there is no rot in her. For nigh
on to thirty years she pitched and
tumbled on the Pacific, and many a
whale she has had alongside of her, and
tried out, and if all the money she has
arned was in my pocket or in youni, or
only halved between ns, why, I, for
one, make bold to say that I wouldn't
be here stowing away coal-oil. The
petroleum business is a kind of resting
place for old-fashioned ships. It used
to be the lumber trade, but now lots
of the old stagers go into ooal-oiL"
" It is, then, a kind of charnel-house
for decayed veseela ?"
" Well, that's it, pretty much. 1
seed you looking at her stern. It's a
real nice bit of work that carving.
Them flowers is all buttercups and
.oow6lips and sunflowers now from their
color. There is a queer yarn about
this here ship which I don't mind tell
ing. I am fresh in her, that is to Bay,
it will be a year this ooming February
since I took hold of her. I ain't had
much luck, that is for my time of life,
and had hoped at my age to be some
thing more than captain of an oil-craft;
but luck is everything. Now, we sea
faring men keep the run somehow of
all the ships and the stories about 'em.
You see, some ships bring luck and
others don't. I've known a ship that
..i tajn ui&d money for her
ownere, but always killed her captains.
I knowed one bark that mad* every
skipper as sailed her take to drink.
Yen see, the story about this ship I got
from the man as sailed her before me f
FU.MD. K 1' irrZ, Kilitornntl 1 Vopriotor.
vol, Ml.
ami dnring hor wholo life* alio ain't had
but live men to haudlo hor, aud four of
'oru, of which 1 am ono, has lieon on
hor during tho last ton year*. Aforo
that, for nigh on to forty year*, only
j ono man sailed hor. Before the kool of
this ship was laid, there was a scalar
ing man as sailed out of Maine. That
man struck salt water airly, and
hadn't no education when ho w as young,
but lots of pluck. In thorn days, fifty
year ago, passengers used to take the
regular liner* from lloston or Now
York and go to Charleston. Thataailor
man was before the mast. He was a
i handsome, civil kind of a fellow, and
was learning his dutv fast. There
came ouoe aboard tho brig ho was on,
! which was a Charleston liuer—one of
them big llostou baga—owe of them
aristocrats of tho old time —with a sick
daughter, his ouly che-ild." My cap
tain, I saw hero, was inclined to be
melodramatic, as ho insisted on this
peculiar, eccentric subdivision of a sin
gle syllable.
"The v'yagc was a long one, and
Jack's dnty it was to go down below
' and hand tiiat vonng miss on deck, and
put her like a "frostbitten flower in the
sun, for they thought she was dyiug.
Now this rich man's eheild didn't care
a brass lardeu for Jack, but Jack, who
was an ass, cared for her. A\ hen
thev got South. Jack put the lady in
hor carriage at Charleston, and bid her
good bye, and didn't say nothing more.
That rich man's cheild came pretty
near dying in Charleston, and Jack
kept cat bug every day, with tho cap
tain's compliments, so ho said, to see
how she was getting on ; but they wa&u t
the captain's compliments, but his own.
She didn't get any better or much worse,
but kept backing and Ailing. When
it got to be time for Jack's brig to go
homo, the girl's father he came in per
son on board to thank tho old man for
his civility in sending u often to make
inquiries about his daughter. Now,
this made the captain stare, for the old
skipper, after ho had damped the party
an tho Charleston wharf, had no more
thought about 'em than of an odd cask
of nails. So the story got about tho
ship, and tho crew tan poor Jack about
it, as shipmates will, until Jack got
most wild. But they knowed Jack didn't
allow much chaffing, so after a regular
knock-down or so, they let Jack alone.
Jack stayed by that brig all that winter,
she going regularly on her trips, and
he finding out how the young woman
was making out. She stayed South
most a year, and then Jack learnt she
was coming homo in another vessel.
What does he do but leuves his own
craft and ships in the other one, and
comes homo with tho young woman.
Jack had brushed up mighty in the
twelvemonth, though he wasn't nothing
more than a sailor. The father didn't
know him no more than you could tell
one link of a chain cable from another,
bat his danghter did. I disremember
exactlv how the yarn goes on
here, Lut as sure as you are born the
rich man's daughter and Jack got to
love one another unbeknownst to the
father.
•• Now, fifty years ago a man that
commanded a ship wasn't thought no
mean shakes of. Xow-a-days he i.
mighty low down, and ain't considered
as much account as a ht d. waiter iu a
dining-saloon. It was agiiitd between
'em that Jack should tight it through
and get a ship, and that then, if the old
man didu't agree to it, they would look
out for themselves. 80 he did, and he
went to South America round the H >rc
and was gone three years, and c >aie
back second mate. Then ke wout to
Cbiua, and had 110 end of luck. Hir
captain and first mate died 011 board
the ship, as did a good many of the
crew, and Jack br nght the veaael into
Boston most by himself, snd was made
captain and had all kinds of favors
shown him. You see, sir, I have been
third mate more nor once on a long
v'yage, but somebo wor other no such
luck never oome to me. Well, Jack
had brought from Chiua a carious kind
of basket for bis true-love, and had
made a regular hot-house of his ship
with queer kinds of China plants,
which wasn't common in them days in
the United Stites. So now, as captain,
he made bold to give the basket to her,
and they both went 10 the old man and
tld their stories. ' No, sir, he couldu't
think of it. What, give his cheild to
one of them no-aeconnt ship captains ?
Not if be know'd himself. Well, at
last it was fixed np that Captain Jack
should make another v'yage, and then,
if she would have him, they should be
married. That was all the old man
woold do, and them hard lines was
agreed to. Captain Jack had a new
ship a building for him, for the China
trade, as you know, was just busting in
them dsys, and he wanted his owners
to let him oall his ship after his sweet
heart's name, but the old mau wouldn't
let him. 80 says she to him one day :
' My dear love, in remembrance of me,
you'll have that basket of flowers put
on your ship, and just while your ship
floats I'll never forget yon, nor niu.t
ven forget me.' My wife, sir, as is at
Bridgeport, has got that part into
rhyme, something about 'your heart
smoats,' and ' the ship she floats,' but
1 never was good on poetry, and just as
likely havn't got the hang of it. The
ship was launched, and that there iden
tical basket was carved and put on her.
It ain't stuck on, sir, but is cut right
out of the timber, so as to be everlast
ing-
"Ob, he come back, sir ; but not at
the end of three years, nor in his own
ship. In Manila he took the fever, and
was left for dead, and she, the rich
man's cbeild, wis made to believe that
her sailor lover was gone, or didn't care
for her, so after awhile she married
another fellow. I never heard she was
unhappy. My wife says she was ; but,
then, women, you know, sir, has such
strange ideas on them subjects. Jack
took to his ship again, and the old
wooden basket of flowers, carved and
painted on the stern of his vessel, was
all that remained of his true love, and
they do say, no matter how rusty bis
old craft became, whether out at sen or
in port, he used to have them old
flowers kept in a regular blaze and
bloom of glory. He was a mighty rest
less old fellow, aud never Rtaid a day
ashore, always lived on ship board, anil
a-going all the time. Whaling he took
up some time in 1840, and kept it np
for a long time, a-living in the ice,
maybe a-trying to freeze the love out of
him. He died mighty rich, and
singularly crusty and cranky, a matter
of eight year ago in Maiue, where he
was born. The yarn is a true one. be
cause I heard tell how in his will he
left some of his money to the woman
he had loved onoe, becauso times had
changed, and she and her family had
got poor. Borne do say that the rich
man's daughter aud her familv had
been supported by that old whaling
captain for years. 80, yon see, he
didn't bear no malice. This old craft
never was exactly unlucky, and that
old basket of flowers has hung to her
so long that I ain't going to have it
taken off while I sail her. Gness them
flowers has been a good deal patched
up since they was first put on her, as
may be my story, though, saving the
soft parts, which I can't work in like
my wife can, it's pretty muoh as I have
been telling it to you. lam going to
keep that old flower-basket fresh, mind
I toll you, no matter what yellow ochre
does oost a pound. No, sir; no ghosts ;
not even a rat; petroleum is pison on
THE CENTRE REPORTER.
rata. We are for Trieste. lUtUw
mighty poor 4s. Hd. a barrel. It may
lie a matter f w*nly-fi*r day* Moro
1 Rot there. Hhc is steady, air, though
aim can't be said to be fast. No ob
jections to yotir writing it out. I
uught like you U> send tho story to lay
folks at Bridgeport, ouly my wife will
bo sure to toll uit< 1 iiitvo loft out all tho
uioo.st pail*. Wouiou an* so queer,
you know, ami spin things out so."
the President ami the llorao Dealer.
Among the enterprising oitiaeua who
contributed to the St. Lotus State fair
was Mr. Dillon, who is a dealer in
Noruiau horses. Mr. Dillon has re
cently imported a uuuiber of these ani
mals from Europe, and had a "hix-iu
hand " attached to a ponderous vehicle
on the fair grounds. Driving around
he course, the horse fancier met old
Sim Buck master, of Illinois, and in
duced him to accept a seat m the cara
van. Thev drove several times around
the track, aud were the observed of all
observers, but finally Mr. Buck master,
seciug two gentlemen approaching,
said: " There comes the President; I
must grt out and una! him,"
"The President 1" exclaimed Dillon ;
"why, that i just the uiau I want to
see. I wanted to get hold of a man
that is a good judge of horseflesh.
Which is the President ?"
" The gentleman in dark clothes
currving the umbrella," replied Sam.
"TFlallo !" cried Dillon to the
stranger ; " come here ; I want to see
you,"
The gentleman with the umbrella ap
proached smilingly and shook Dillon
by the baud, supposing that he was
•time acquaintance of other times.
" What do you think ol my team ?"
said Dillon.
" Tboy do very well," said the man
in dark clothes.
"Jump in and let me show yon their
pace. Bring your friends along,"
shouted Dillon, heartily.
" You must excuse u.o. I don't want
to be conspicuous," said the stranger.
" Conspicuous t" remarked Dillon.
" Get in here and let me give you a
ride Ixdiiud these horses."
" No —no," cried he of the umbrella ;
"I must be going."
" Why don't you get in ? I won't
eat you !" said the burse fancier.
At this the stranger and the friend
tnrned abruptly away, and were lust in
the crowd.
" Well," exclaimed Dillon to Back
master, who stood by dumbfonuded,
"Just to think that the president of a
one-hor*e Missouri fair refused to ride
behind my team. What a sop he must
be."
" President of the fair !" Buckmaster
shouted in a mare ; "don't you know
who that was?"
" No," replied Dillon ; " you told me
he was the President."
"80 he is the President," rejoined
Bnckmastcr, *' but not of the fair.
Why. surely you knew him?"
" I'll t>,' hanged if I did," Dillon
said. " I was sure ho was president of
this fair."
"Oh, this is too much !" cried Bam.
"Why, that was the President of the
United Btates !"
Dillon grew very red in the face, and
►lowly gasped forth : " Was—that—
Grant ?"
"Certainly, it was Gen. Grant."
Dillon canght up his reins, dropped
his whip and exclaimed, " Oh?"
Him He Started Out.
H-ury 1 K.jmond, member of Con*
gross, L-eutenaut-G iveruor of the
Sut of New York, but better known
wr the fi'tmJrr and editor of the New
York 7vm the s<>u of a jnxir
'ariner. At tue ago of twenty he gradu
itej at the Univtrntr of Vermont,
His father wanted him go to work
on the farm. But young Raymond had
no inolinat-.on for farming. He felt if
he could get a start in New Ytrk city,
that he had the habits of industry and
the brains which would enable him to
do well.
Moved by his sou's earnestness, the
father raised three hundred dollars by
mortgaging the farm, and with that
sum the future journalist went to the
city. There he studied law, taught
school, wrote for the Dewspapers, and
was the first person, it is said, to write
regular letters from New York to the
country journals.
Horace Greeley, about that time,
started the New Y'ork 7 Yibunc, and
being acquainted with Raymond, in
vited him to do his writing in the office.
For some months he wrote at his bor
rowed desk, when, receiving a liberal
offer to teach school in the South, he
determined to accept it.
Thanking Mr. Greeley for his many
courtesies, he informed him of his in
tended departure.
" I don't think," said the kind-hearted
editor, who, like Raymond, was then
struggling for bread and a position,
" there's any particular use of your
going 'way down there, Henry. Yon
ought to do as well here, aud New
York's a better place for you. How
much are you to get for teaching ?"
"Ten dollars a week, and I can't earn
as much here."
•' O, well, you'd better stay. Write
for the Trit'imr,; I'll give yon eight
dollars a week."
T; e Mare Trade,
It in not alone piety which prompt*
thousands of Mohammedan merchant*
annually to join the pilgrimn marching
to Mecca. The charm of a profitable
bargain is not unknown to theao appar
ently righteous wanderers, and they are
by DO means oversernpnlons ns to the
manner in which they gain their money.
While the more devout shed their tears
and say their prayers at the shrino of
the Prophet, those who have an eye to
business capture sluvcs wherever they
can, in the regious of Africa through
which they pass, and sell ttiem witlnn
the Dominions of the Hultan of Moroo
-00, who takes one slave in twenty as
his tribnte. This trade, which is car
ried on within a few leagues of the
French settlements in Algeria, is said
to be by far the most lucrative indulged
in by the caravans. Three thousand
slaves are annually brought down from
the Soudan, and not even the powdered
gold, the iuoense, the precious stones,
the indigo, or the rhinoceros horns,
which the caravans sometimes get in
Central Africa, are sought for with half
the eagerness displayed in slave-hunt
ing.
A Strange Disaster.
Sinking of a steamboat heavily laden
with sugar, molasses, and rice, at her
landing in New Orleans, four hours
after her arrival, is oertainly a curious
enough incident, but when wo have to
add to this that fonrteen of her passen
gers and many of her crew were drowned
by the aocident, the occurrence beoomes
surprising, and calls loudly for investi
gation. The statement of one of the
passengers that the bout was overloaded
and parted in the middle is, if
sad commentary on the rapacity of the
owners. Steamboating on the Gulf
ooast is surrounded with enough perils
ordinarily, without having the addi
tional one added to it of danger occa
sioned by the indifference of owners to
the safety of passengers. We hope that
some other explanation than this will
be found in the present iastaaee,
CENTRE HALL, CENTRE CO., LA., THURSDAY, DECEMBEK 10, 1874.
Til F (\U SK OF SI'K IIIKH.
V ►> a Mtelk>~Wfc*l Simula be
lluu*.
Dr. Allan MoLtni* Hamilton, of Hollo
-1 vue Hospital, Now York, ami lecturer
oil nervous disease* iu the Long Inland
Colli<g Hospital, read liefortt the
Auicricau Health Council a pajier upon
"Suicide in Large Fttieo, with lteler
eitoe to Certain Salutary l\mditums
which Tend to Prevent it* Moral ami
■ Physical Causes." The doctor saul that
I hi* observations UJHIU the subject had
l> en made for the moat part iu New
York city. Comparisons have been
made between that city and London
aud Paris. In all larger cities the
uumtier of cases is governed, to a great
extent, bv the habits, tastes and moral
culture o'f the people, aud back of this
the national characteristics. The
French people, noted for their indifler
: cuoe to life aud exaggerated morbid
j sentimentality, are oelehratcd for the
propensity to end life with their own
: imuds. Varis has been, and always
will be, celebrated for the prevalence of
this crime. The Parisians pursue it as
.ui agreeable mode of securing relief
from their trout ilea. It has been as
serted that foggy weather induces sui
cides, although statistics go to disprove
this, especially in New York. The
I mouths of April, May, Juue, July and
August, the most pleasant months of
the year, are thoae in which more per
aons take their lives than at any other
jin the year. The gravity and ntolidity
of the Euglish people rather shows in
j their favor, as regards this crime. Iu
the city of New York, between lfwV.
and 1572, there were 678 suicides, the
males predominating. For the three
i years, 1870, '7l and '72, there were 359
suicides, 132 being Hermans, As re
gards conditions, 171 were married, 118
single, 43 widows and widowers, and
j 27 whose condition was not stated. The
age of the oldest was 84, and that of
the youngest, 10. The cause for the
suicide of the latter was remarkable.
She was detected iu the theft of fifty
cents from her mother, aud seekiug to
! escape from her shame she resorted to
; Paris green. Poison is the mot pop
i ular mode of suicide, Uie preference
| being by arsenic, Paris green, opium,
carbolic acid and other irritants, In
sanity causes the largest number of
suicides, l>oth men and women ;
drunkenness comes next, and disease
third. The ages at which suicide seems
to be most often resorted to are be
tween forty and fifty among men and
forty-five aud fifty-five among women.
Since the greatest number of deaths in
New York is by poiaomug it is im
portant to inquire into the causes why
it should be so. Wheu we take into
consideration the looseness of the
present laws regarding the sale of
poisons, there appears to be no trouble
for per ous who wish these drugs to
obtain them. It is needless to say that
the opium habit, like alcoholism, leads
to self-destruction in a number of
instances. A form of suicide, which
figures largely iu American statistics, is
jumping from an elevation. Tin* is
oftentimes the result of a momentary
impulse, produced by the surround
ings. In York city there wt re
of this mode be
tween the TOKH lStJfl and 1872. A most
impoitant duty in oonneoti u with this
subject is the influence of tlie mode of
lift of the poorer classes, lie alluded
more particularly to the tenement houe
system. The vices attending the
oolouization of the working classes arc
spread by the contact of the vicious
with the pare, at; 1 the depression of
tlie toue, are powerful inducer* of nut
cide. The prevalstice of strikes and
trad**' unions, with their dangerous
restriction* and foolish oaths of allegi
ance, are fruitfnl causes of suicide*.
Men are afraid to work in opposition to
the threats of their fellow tradesmen,
and when poverty stares them in the
face they become dt spcratc and commit
suicide. A great percentage of the sui
cides in large cities are attributable to
iiiinatnrftl vices, caused by a state of
hypocboudiiasin or monomania by the
carefully written advertisements oi the
many quacks. The prevalence of se
duction in large cities is perhaps
greater among the lower classes, tlie
large factories living the places where
the crime is- mostly committed and
where suicide often follows. To di
minish the number of suicides the
doctor favored regular meals and
habits, the abolition of immoral enter
tainments, advertising quacks, so
called anatomical museums, of obscene
and sensational literature. Legislation
should strictly regulate the sale of
poisonous drugs.
The Kxact Truth.
Two yonng masons were building a
brick wall—the front wall of a high
honae. One of them, in placing a
brick, discovered that it wa a little
thicker on one side than the other.
"His companion advised him to
throw it out. "It will make yonr wall
untrue, Ben," said he.
"Pooh I" answered Ben, " what dif
ference will snch a trifle us that make ?
You're too partienlar."
"My mother," replied his compan
ion, "taught me that * truth is truth,'
ever so little an untrnth is a lie, and a
lie is no trifle."
"O," said Ben, " that's all very well;
bnt I am not lying, and I have no in
tention of doing so."
"Very true, bnt you make your wall
tell a lie ; and I have somewhere read
that a lie in one's work, like a lie in liis
character, will show itself sooner or
later, and bring harm, if not ruin."
" I'll risk it in thia case," answered
Ben ; and ho worked away, laying more
bricks and carrying the wall np higher,
till the close of the day, when they
qnit work and went home.
The next morning they went to re
name their work, when behold the lie
hail wrought out the result of all lies !
The wall getting a little slant from the
untrue brick, had got more and more
untrue as it got higher, and at last, in
tho night, had toppled over, obliging
the masons to do their work over
again.
Jnst S3 with ever so little an untrnth
in your character ; it grows more and
more, if yon permit, it to remain, till
it brings sorrow and ruin.
Tell, act aud live tho exnet truth al
ways.
How to Pull Teeth,
A peculiar dental operation has jnst
oome nnder onr observation. A certain
citizen had an nppor tooth which was
loose and troublosome, so ho resolved
to extract it by fastening a string in it;
bnt after u trial, finding tlie operation
painful, he hadn't the grit to grin and
(tear it. He thoaght if the tooth could
be extracted by Rome sudden mode tho
pain would be bnt transient; and after
mature deliberation he hit upon an in
genious plan to jerk it out tu a jiffy.
Procuring a heavy flat- is ,u he tiod it
to the other end of tho cord attached
to his tooth, then shutting both eyes
he let the iron drop, which descended
plump center on his pet corn. After
hopping about tho room, wildly, on one
foot, groaning for very anguish of
spirit, and reoiting choice passages
from profane history, he finally calmed
down sufficiently to hurl the flat-iron
over tho fenoo, and swathe his sore too
in camphor and cotton. But he pulled
the tooth, and with it a piece of gum,
And the man lived-
im-FFVKIt A3S| ITH tT'KK.
\ I'upr t ll'n I > 111. ll' i.l lirfor# lh
I'M Mir I|r 11 It Aisotlslloit of T'tilla
tll|ittU.
Dr. Beard read a paper tiefore tlie
i American Public Health Association of
Philadelphia, ou the subject of " Hay-
Fever aud its Dure." The doctor be
gan his investigations on this subject
1 by preparing a "circular of iuquiry,"
which lie sent all over the country to
persons suffering from the disease, to
physicians, to scientific persons, and iu
fact to all who could aid him in his re
searches upon this subject. From the
information thus obtained he arrived
at the conclusions embodied in his
paper, of which the following ie a
| synopsis '
liar fever is a complex and uot a aim
j pie disease, us has been generally on-
I drrstood. The first element of the dis
ease is a uervo bilious temperament,
or, at least, a temj>ernnicut in which
tlie nervous element predominates.
Hay-fever putielits are the elans of pa
tients subject to other nervous dis
eases. The second factor in this dis
i cane is heat following cold. The heat
' of hot climates does not seem to act as
a cause, but the heat of temperate
Climates following the cold weather.
The disease is found only m that belt
where there are eitremea of tempera
ture. Third—Various exciting causes,
over tweuty or more iu number, such
an j-erfuine of flowers, dust, in-door and
out door, fresh hay, old hay, bright
sunlight, gaslight, close oonthied air,
smoke, cinders, hulling of corn, Horn an
wormwood, sneeze-weed, over-exertion,
etc. Iu order to get up s case of hay
fever two of these three factors, cer
tainly tlie first two, are necessary. The
I exciting causes are named under the
third head, and have been regarded as
the disease, hence the name hay-fever,
j>eadi cold, rose-cold, etc. One might
as well call a sick-headache a aauaage-
L cad ache, because it may be at times
caused by eating sausage*. The ma
jority of the patients afflicted witlihay
fever who are reported to me are of
American birth. Dr. Jacobi, of New
York, whose axpeneuee and practice
among the better class of Hermans are
very large, tells me that he has never
known a case cf hay-fever among Her
mans in tins country. I suspect that
among the foreign popu'ution not born
iu this country hay fever is compara
tively rare ; just as among the same
classes nervous disease of all kinds are
comparatively rare.
Aft-r a person has once lit en at
tacked he sceins to be for all his life
liable to be again attacked. Now and
then one may go over a yeai without
the disease, but this is rare. Home-
I times the disease increases in severity
with years, and sometimes diminishes.
A majority of my patients have tried
the local application of the solution of
quinine, as r. commended by Helmholtx,
and they report that it is little or no
good. Among the regions which hay
fever patients visit with benefit, I may
mention the White Mountains and the
ocean everywhere, at least iu oold
climes ; for those who take sea voyages
almost never suffer while st sea, but
may tie attacked as soou as tbey land.
A trip to Europe, tlie Adirondack
rtgion and the inland of Mackinaw are
v-ry highly recommended bv some.
Dr. Denniaon, of Denver, (Colorado,
sends me s pamphlet which reports
that some case# of hay-fever have t>een
on nil by a residence in Hint locality.
Like other nervous diseases, it is
powerfully uiub r the influence of tlie
iniud. The striking periodicity of the
disease coming on a* it does, in a cer
tain case, at precisely tlie same day or
hour, is probably the result in part of
cx|>ecttion of the patient that it will
come then. The plan of treatment that
I would suggest for bsy-feTcr is as fol
lows : First, to prevent the disease.
A* early as March or April the patient
should tiegiu to take course of nerve
tonic treatment. I would recommend
it to le arsenic, phosphorus in ltsvari
i on# forms, cod liver oil, iodoform and
electricity, csjieeially the methods of
general galvanization and general
fandization. When the disease appears
the great dependence must lie on looal
treatment, combined with general ton is
treatment Mr. friend. Dr. W. F.
I Hutchinson, of Providence, had o case
this year, which he broke up bv central
galvanization. I relieved decidedly one
! case and somewhat relieved another
by local galvanization externally. The
remedies shoul 1 bo used thoroughly.
The great trouble with those who gal
vanize themselves is that tliey do not
; completely and thoroughly bring the
: remedies io act npon all the sinuous
I and tortuous lining membrane of the
! nasal passages.
A Lady's Chances of Iteing Married,
Tho statistician, aud likewise the
average woman all the way from fifteen
years of sgo to the point whgb birth
day anniversaries erase to be a time of
cheer and gratulation, may tako ut
least a paamng interest in a table re
cently printed in England, to show the
relations between matrimony and age.
Every woman baa aotno eliancc of Insit g
married ; it mny le one chance to fifty
against it, or it may bo ten to one that
she will marry, lint whatever that is,
representing her entiro eliancc at one
hundred, her particular chance at cer
tain defined points of her progress in
time is found to be in the following
ratios; When between fifteen ami
twenty years she has fourteen ami a
half per cent, of her whole probability ;
when between twenty and twenty-five
sho has fifty-two per cent. ; between
twenty-five aiul thirty, eighteen per
cent. After thirty years she has lost
eighty-four and a hslf per cent, of her
chance, but until tbirty-flve she has
still six and a half per cent. Between
thirty-five and forty it is three aud
throe-fourths per cent., and for each
succeeding five years is respectively
two, one naif, one-eighth, nin! one
fonrth per cent. Any time after sixty
it is one-tenth of one per cent., or ono
thonsandth of her chance of a chance—
a pretty slender figure, but figures often
are slender at that age.
A Cnrious Character.
A singular trial has just boon con
cluded in Now Haven, Oonn. Tho suit
was brought by n farmer against Ins
hired man, who claimed an offset to
moro than the amonnt of the
claim. Tho plaintiff, nemo time ago,
having lost his record books, made
notes of his business transactions on
separate shoots of paper, which ho de
|M>sitod as fancy inclined him. Some
times they would l>o plarssl beneath the
carpet, sometimes behind desks and
doors, and wherever their secrecy was
supposed to be unquestioned. Nearly
all theso papers the plaintiff brought
into oonrt to sustain his claim. There
wero suoh queer items as tb's : The
hired man did something in opposition
to tho wish of his employer, the plaintiff,
or pushed him hard against a door, in
juring his feelings thereby. For some
of these episodes the hired man was
charged forty cents. For being
" liquory " another charge was entered,
and for falling down stairs, and thereby
shocking tho plaintiff, another amonnt
was asked. As the hired man did not
pay these charges, and thought he
ought to be paid a certain amount for
labor he performed, the snit was
brought.
XiMKKD HI IOLAIIV WOIIM.
Ah 1)1* ItH'i llu*rSlß|t si tears Malm
l'M* Vtßtlßl Ufl HOBBS aaS
U*|(.S.
For many year* there has lived in
Munioetowu, I'a., su eocentrio old msu
named laaac Castor. He is s shoe
maker and lives alone in a little honae
in an out of the way spot. He is over
sixty years old, aud for years has hoard
ed lilt earnings, using only enough
money to procure the hare necessities
of life. His income has never been
large, bnt its accumulation for over a
quarter of century amounted to a
snug little competency. lie always
carried several hundred dollars in his
pautaloou pockets, which fact waa gen
erally known, and it has been the atand
iug wonder here for years that he had
never been robbed.
On n Monday morning it was notioed
that the old shoemaker's shop was not
opened as usual, and that there was no
stir about the house. This was so re
markable an occurence that two or three
citizens weut to his house and broke
open the door. They found Castor
bound tightly in a chair, so thst he
oonld not use his hands or feet, aud a
handkerchief tied tightly over his
mouth, lie was hastily released, and
as soon us he oould recover sufficiently
from his czciti ment and alarm he told
substantially the following story :
About an hour before daylight he
was awakened by a man who stood by
the side of his lied. Fast r sprang up,
but was stopped by the man, who put
a pistol to hn> head and told him to be
still or he would blow his brains out
Another man, with a lantern, was go
ing about the room searching every
hole and corner. The old aboeinaker at
first thought the men were negroes, bnt
afterward discovered that they were
white men with blackened (aces. The
one man rifled the poekoU of his pan
taloons, which contained nearly ssOll,
but not being able to find money tliat
they evidently believed was sweretrd
about the room, the robbers told the
old man that he must tell them where
he hid his money or they would kill
hum Castor assured them that he had
no more money ; that his pantaloons
pockets contained all be had in the
world, and he begged them to leave
him some of that, as he was keeping it
to pay his funeral expense* when he
died. The burglars, failing to force the
old man into revealing the whereabout*
of the riot of his probable treasure,
and daylight being near, mad* their
victim get out of bed. They then
bonud him to the chair and gagged
him, and took their departure. Tiiey
hml effected an cut ranee into the house
through a back window. Castor aaid
that he could not be able to recognize
the robbers. He could not distinguish
their features, and their voices were
strange to him. The general impres
sion is that they are partie* living in
the neighborhood, as no strangers have
been seen about tlie place. There is
not the slightest suspicion, however, as
to who they may be. Castor says thst
the robbers took every dollar he had in
the world.
Mushroom Poisoning.
Au inW l renting case was recently
brought before one of the criminal
court# of London, the grand jury
throwingont a bill of indictment again#t
a gardener who wu charged with mar
dering a fellew-scrvant by giving her
poisoned mushrooms to eat. Although
there wan no reason to suppose that the
mushroom* were given with any feloni
on# intention, yet three pereou# were
actually jniisoiied by them, and one
died; the fnngi being #o mneh like
mnsbrooms that even a akilb-d witno*
•aw nothing in them to distinguish
them from the genuine article of food.
It appearing in evidence that tuush
muuii growing under trees are danger
out, the presiding judge gave great
emphasis to the importance of anch a
fact being widely known, and calloi
attention to the following description
given by Professor Bi-ntly—though not
an unerring one- showing the general
characters by which the edible and
poi*ououa species of fnngi may ln-st be
distinguished : The edible mushroom*
grow aolitary, in dry, airy plac*a, and
•re generally white or brownish ; they
have a compact, brittle flesh ; do not
change color, when cut, by the action
of the air; jnice watery, and odor
agreeable ; Uatc not bitter, acrid, aalt,
or astringent. The poiaonona ninsh
rooma, on the contrary, grow in clus
ter#, in wood* and dark, damp places,
■ad are naually of a bright color ; their
flesh is tongli, soft, aud watery, and
they acquire a brown, green, or bine
tint wheu cut and exposed to the air ;
the juice is often milky, the odor com
monly powerful and disagreeable, and
the taste either acrid, sstringent, acid,
salt, or hitler. These characteristics
are almost invariable.
A Sulfide's Confession.
At least one man knew tlist he had
become a bore, and when convinced of
the fact he killed himself. This was a
yonng *jundtlirift named Ilntenof, the
scapegrace son of a Sun Francisco
banker. Before his suicide he wrote a
letter in which lie said, " That the
public shonld not suspect that tho deed
was done in a fit of insanity, 1 state
that after a month's reflection I take
leave of this world in the full poases
sion of all my senses, and that I am
calm and collected, but I am driven to
this by extreme despair, nervons ex
citement, etc. I have gone to the dogs.
For yeara I have deported myself cor
rectly in this world, but during the
ls*-t ten weeks I fonnd that 1 would
have to beoome involved in debt and
live upon the charity of othera. Even
now 1 find that I have overstepped the
bounds, and can no longer obtain a
cent's worth of favor. For weeks I
have offered my services for my board,
but they have not !>eon accepted. It
wonld take too long for me to regain
my former status. I have almost beg
ged of those who throngh me made
hundreds of dollars, and they turned
from me with their dimes in their
pockets. Some did help mo at first,
but their manner was such that to ap
proach them a second time for a favor
became impossible. My innermost
thanks to [liero follow tho names of a
dozen personal who liavo this dav that
1 take poison, refused mo credit.
Plants.
It is well known that plants sleep at
night; bnt their hours of sleeping are
a matter of habit, and may be disturbed
artificially, just as a oock may bo woke
up and crow at untimely hours by the
light of a lantern. De Oaudollo sub
jected a sensitive plant to an exceed
ingly trying course of discipline, by
completely changing itH hours ; ex
posing it to a bright light all night, so
a# to prevent sleep, and putting it in a
d..*k room during the day. The plant
appeared to be muon puzzled and dis
turbod at first; it opencil and closed its
leaves irregularly, sometimes nodding
in spite of tho artificial sun that shed
its beams at midnight, and sometimes
waking up from force of habit, to find
the chamber dark in spite of the time
of day. Such are the trammels of use
aud wout. But, after an obvious strug
gle. tho plant submitted to the change,
nna turned day into night without any
apparent ill cfieots.
TYrm: 52.00 a Year, in Advance.
tiiia inhr.fciis.
" Man the inast-heada there I" wm
the order from the mate of the States
man. on a bright, clear morning in the
tropical latitutes of the Paetifio.
The order was obeyed by those whose
turn it wss to take the first look-outs
of the morning. But the youngster
whose station waa in the fore to'gallaut
cross trees paused in the fort-top, and
threw a rapid glance round the horixon.
"Bail on the weather bowl" he re
ported. " A boat with sail set, coming
right at us."
The announcement caused s stir at
onoe on deck, and brought cot only the
captain, bnt all the watch below up.
The all-important morning duty of
washing off decks was suspended for
the time being, to gmxe npou the un
wonted spectacle of s whale-boat alone
upon the ooean, coming to board us
in the morning, like the veritable
barber—Neptune, of equatorial noto
riety.
The boat waa not more than a couple
of miles from us when first discovered,
approaching swiftly nnder the oombined
power of rail and oara. The captain's
telescope wss brongbt to bear, and it
as boon ascertained that she had at
least a fnll crew. We backed the main
topsail, and hove to, waiting impa
tiently to know more, aud making vari
ous shrewd guesses and (q>eculationa as
to her history and character.
" They've lowered for whales and
got lost from their ship," suggested
one.
" Likely enough," returned an
other.
" The captain makes out eight men
in her," said s coxswain, coming from
aft
Here was a new phase of the matter,
and our theory was blown to tba fonr
winds. Nobody would lower in pur
suit of whales with any more than six
in a boat.
" Castaways, of course," was now the
unanimous opinion. "Bhip foundered
or burnt at sea and some of her boats
lost with her."
But we were not kept long in sns
pause, for the strangers brought their
frail craft alongside as rapidly as oars
and canvas could do it aud leaped on
deck. In a few minutes we were in
possession of the whole story—a parody
on the old one of Bligh and Fletcher
Christian.
The boat contained Captain Watson,
lua state and tu others, from the
bark Newcastle, of Hyduer, who had
been act adrift the day before by mu
tineer a. The second mate, named Mc-
Gregor, was at the bead of the con
spiracy, which had been most artfully
planned and carried into execution,
while be had charge of the deck.
It was supposed that McGregor, the
new oommauder, intended to carry the
bark down among the Marshall
Islands and there destroy her, taking
tip his residence among the sarages.
"Du re were still twenty men on board ;
but bow many of them were actively
engaged in the plot, or how many
were merely cowed into sabmiasien to
the new authority, was more than the
captain eould tell.
" And how far do you suppose your
ship to be from us now ?" asked Captain
Bent
" 1 have steered weat northweat, by
compass, as near as I could," said Cap
tain Watson ; " and have run, I ahonld
judge, about eighty miles. Tho New
castle, wheu I lost sight of ber, wan by
the wind on the northwest tack, under
easy sail, She ought to bear nearly
due east from us."
" Come below, and let's lay off your
course on the chart, I donl'know M 1
can do anything forvou, even if I should
fall in with your ahip, but it might be
some satisfaction to see hrr."
The two captains went into the cabin,
and soon the order was passed •long to
make all sail on a wind. Nothing was
seen during the day, and at night we
tacked back again. And the first gray
light of morning showed up tlie bark
—recognised at once by Captain Wat
son and hi a mate M their own vessel—
running down serosa our course.
"Of course he won't pass nesr us it
he oan help it"
" No, I suppose he will tToid us; but
1 am going to signalise, at anv rate.
Haul the mainnail up," said Captain
Bent, to the officer of the deck, " and
set the ennign at the gaff."
The orders were obeyed ; and much
t our surprise, the mutineers altered
their course a little, with the evident
intent of speaking to us.
" Whst can it mean, that he is so
ready to apeak to a stranger ?" was the
question that passed from one to
another of the group.
" Now I think of it," said the mate
of the Newcastle, " I think I know his
object. If he really means to wind up
hi* cruise st one of the Marshall
Islands, he will want to make a trade
for tobacco and fire-arms."
" You've hit it," returned the cxp
tain. " That must be McGregor's ob
ject. There's isn't mnch tobaeco on
board and but little powder. He wants
to bnv more. Captain Bent, let's yon
aud I have another talk by ourselves. - '
he added, seeming to have oonooived
some new idea.
Their conference was short; bnt,
judging from tho expression ou their
faces, when thev came on deck and
took the mates into their conference,
! it seemed to have been productive of
? omethiug of importance. The bark's
boat, in which the wanderers bad been
picked np, was placed overhead on the
skids, as if she had been one of our
own, and a sail thrown over her that
she might not le recognized. The erew
were instructed to keep themselves ont
of sight while the two vessels were
communicating.
" What bark is that ?" asked Cap
tain Ben, innocently, after he hail given
his own name.
" The Newcastle, of Sidney."
" Who commands her I"
" Watson," was the reply.
" One of our n.eu had his log broken
yesterday," hailed our captain, " and I
wonld like to get the service of your
snrgeon."
" Certainly. I'll come aboard, nd
bring tho doctor with me. I wish to see
?'ou to trade with yon." And with a
arewoll wave of a trumpet, as the
vessel passed out of bearirg, he
luffed to nnder our loe, and then low
ered his boat
Now the doctor of the Newcastle was
at that moment in onr own cabin, he
having been sent adrift in the boat with
the captain ; but McGregor wonld, of
course, bring some one to personate
the character. This would take seven
men from her crew ; and it was also
certain that he would man his boat
with his choice spirits, for if he brought
any doubtful or lukewarm ones, they
might prattle. We had onr instructions,
aud within five minutes after the sevon
men steppes! on onr deck, they had all
been decoyed below and quietly se
cured.
The boat was veered astern by the
warp, and the maintopaail filled on a
wind, just as if we had made arrange
ments for a day's " gam," aeoording to
the frequent usages of whale-ships on
eruising ground. Of oourso our part
ner followed our lead, keeping oompany
with us all day, without the least sus
picion. Tho remainder of our plan to
regain possession of the ship could only
be e&rrieil out under cover of darkness.
MoGregor and his associates in
crime were ironed and placed in the
run lev safe-keeping. After dark we
NO. 45.
hove to *0(1 ft a light in the rigging,
which vu it once answered by another
from the Newcastle, aa aha closed with
on and lay under onr lee.
Away want a boat from oa in charge
of onr mate, with a ]hdud crew ; while
a ahort distance aatorn of her followed
another, with Captain Wataon and hia
whole party. The ruffian who waa in
eharge of the bark, calling himaalf
mala of her, waa amuaed by the fir.t
corners with a atory that hia captain had
made a bargain for a quantity of gun
powder and tobacco, and that onr mate
had been lent for the money in pay
ment. Suspecting nothing, he invited
hia visitor Helow, to drink and enjoy
himaelf awhile. Onr men managed
adroitly to engage the attention of tbeae
on deck, and the second boat waa
silently alongside in the darkness, be
fore her approach had been observed
by them.
The alarm waa given by the cry
" Boat ahoy I" bnt too late. Aa the
touched the aide, her orew sprang opto
assist cars, forming a superior force,
with all the advantages of surprise.
McGregor's lieutenant waa knocked
down by onr mate in the eebin ; the
few men who really had any heart in
the mutiny were quickly disponed of;
and in leas than two annates from the
time the beat waa hailed, the quarter
deck of the Newcastle waa in poaaca
aion of her former officers.
Metlregur and the other principal* in
the revolt, still ironed, were carried to
Sydney (or trial. As oar reaeon wna
up, we kept oompsny with Captain
Wataou, and made oar port there,
where we were liberally by
the owners of the recaptured vessel lor
our share in the business.
A Clean Aprs*.
A lady wanted a trusty little maid to
come and help her to take charge of a
baby. Nobody could recommend one,
and she hardly knew where to look for
the right kind of a girL One day ah*
was passing through a by-laue and saw
a little girl with a clean apron holding a
bat T in the doorway of a small house.
" That is the maid for me," said the
lady. Bho stopped and asked for her
mother. "Mother has gone out to
work," answered the girl. " Father is
dead, and now mother haa to do every
thing. ' " Should yon not like to oorne
and live with me 7" asked the lady.
" I should like to help mother some
how," said the little maid. The lady,
more pleased than ever srith the tidy
looks of the little girl, went to eee her
mother after she came home, and the
end of it was that the lady took the
maid to live with her, and ahe found—
what, indeed, ahe expected to find—
that the neat appearance of her person
showed the nest and orderly bent of
ber mind. She had no careless habits,
ahe was no friend to dirt; but every
thing she had to do srith was folded np
and put away, and kept carefully. Th<
lady finds great comfort in her, and
helps her mother, whose lot is not now
ao herd as it was. Bhe smiles when
she says, "Sally's recommendation
was ber clean apron and who will
say that it was not a good one ?
Labor Now and Year* Ago.
A French author, in speaking of the
efficiency of labor now and in Homer'a
time, says that 20 millers can now pro
dace by machinery flour enough for
the daily nae of T2.000 men, for each
man can grind enough for 8,600 men,
or 144 timet aa much an could be
ground in the old Homeric hand-mill.
A smart woman, working with her knit
ting need lea, can make 30 stitches a
minute, while a machine is making
4,930. The machine thna represent*
60 workmen. If we compare this show
ing of the great inefficiency ef labor in
old times with oar own knowledge of
the luxury enjoyed by the hordes of
aristocratic non producer*, both in
Homer'a time and for more than 2,000
year* thereafter, we can form some con
ception of the extreme poverty of the
laboring people, and perhaps ahall be
content to own that much of the splen
dor of antiquity ia due to oontrast with
a dark setting' of human poverty and
■offering which our own modern art
happily lacks.
Went ts lfer Death.
The other day there waa picked up
out of the Seine* a young woman of such
surpassing beeuty that crowds flocked
to see her body at the Morgue, and
photographs of her were scattered
broadcast over Paris. The lovely un
known proved to have been an Italian,
by name Lncretia Balbi, who earned
her living as a model. Among the
painter* for whom she had sat waa
Henry R< gimiit, and for him the poor
girl conceived the most ardent passion.
"She never told her love," and he
never suspected it; but from the day
of his death, two years sgo, she began
to pine swsy in the deepest melancholy.
Her character waa stainless, and her
deep sense of religion caused her long
to hesitate at suicide; but at length
her mind seems to have given way.
tihe left a letter addressed to her broth
er, who also ia a model. It ia a very
sad story. but there are no dark fea
tures in the case. What a wonderful
tiling love ia, even in these prosaic
days!
The Work at Ilell Gate,
The total number of feet of tnnnel on
the 3d of J unc, 1873, was 6,781. The
work waa suspended for want of funds
about the middle of November, and
was not resumed again until July, 1874.
The lineal feet of tunnela excavated
during 1873 waa 896; the number of
cubic yards excavated in Jnly, August,
September, October and part of No
vember, 4,648; number of feet of
holes to each cubic yard removed, 9J ;
average number pounds of uitro-gly
cerine used to enon oubio yard of rook
removed, 1 1-10 lbs. lly the removal
of the reef the channel would be in
creased from 600 to 1,200 feet, at an
average depth of 26 feet, and the most
formidable obstruction to navigation
which exists in Hell Gate conld be ob
literated.
The Falling Leaf.
The separation from the stem, which
precedes the fall of the leaf, is said to
be a gradual prooess, beginning early
ia summer and produced ly the con
tinued growth of the stem after the leaf
has attained ita fall growth, which it
usually does in a few weeks, the cuticle
of the stem healing over the wound
thus formed. The growth of the bud
of the base of the leaf still further sepa
rates it, aud a gust of wind, or the con
traction of the leaf stalk by frost cause*
it to fall The leaves of white oak and
some other treesare notthns separated,
but pushed off by the young growth of
the next year.
ABOCT THB BCTTBB.— After baying
a pound of butter of a Detroit grocer,
a woman indignantly remarked that
thirty-seven cents per pound was sheer
robbery, and she couldn't see how but
ter was so high. "11l explain,madam,"
replied the bland grocer. " Yon see
theexoeeding parched nee s of vardnre
has resulted in a dearth of lacteal
foundation for butter, and not until
the atmosphere is rendered more hu
mid by some astronomical procedure
will the supply of oleaginous matter
be increased. Bhe pondered a while
and went off feeling much better-
A Persian Lave Seng.
Ab! sad are tbsy who know no love.
Hat, far from passim'* leer. and .sal!.*
Drift down a moonless tea, beyond
The silvery "■*• * hie.
And Mtdder they whose feaglng Up.
Kim ewpty sir. eivt never touch
Tl dear warm mouth of thoee they lote--
WaJUag, waetiag, .offering *.
Hut Clear as amber, fine aa muak.
Is life to thoee who, pUgr.ni wVw.
Move band in band from dawn todaak,
Each mornlus nearer Pared!**.
Oh, not for Hi em shall angels pray r
They stand in ovevuaUag light i
They walk In Allah's smile by day.
And neeile in hia heart by night.
Items ef Interval,
The poorest income on which a mar
| ried couple sen live ia iacome-patibility.
At Salisbury. K. H., Master Cuafaon.
aged fifteen, killed Master Couch, aged
fifteen, with a oinb.
" Where is ' parts unknown V " aaka
a correspondent. " Where they don't
advertise."
What cornea once in A minute, twice
in a moment, and ones in • man'a life ?
The letter IL
A queer man-The baker who kneads
much, and vet sella everything he
kneadf himself.
In preparing copy for the printer
make hooka to jour letters, bnt do not
hook your ideal
Who ia tha lancet man ? The furni
ture man ; he keeps chairs and lounges
about all the time.
The statement ia made that lightning
conductors made of straw have been
tried with aaooeg|fn France.
Germany baa joat launched her
seventh first-class iron-clad, and will
have another afloat by next April.
Canadian justice magnanimously
allows a man the choice of going to jau
three yeara or supporting hia wife.
The youth who cried " Exoalaior "
didn't know that he waa naming five
out of every six saloons in the eountry.
Recent statistics show that the whole
number of farmer* in France ia 7,333,-
g, of whom 6,875,946 are land pro
prietor*.
The aale of onion* haa largely in*
in eaiiwl in Maine, thoae who would
like atoohol If they oonld get it being,
according to one theory, the purchasers.
In October the affectionate hoaband
weeps to aee hia wife akip about the
house flourishing a duster, and to bear
her ahriek in aoeenla wild, " Kill him 1
There'a another moth miller 1"
We ahall hail the day of female suf
frage, for then the monotony of seeing a
rooster at the head of every victorious
newspaper will be relieved by the oo*
eaaional inters perm on of a bun.
A good meal, it is aatd, is served in a
restaurant in the Hue de Trinile, Paris,
for nine oenta. The mean eompnaee a
plate of meat, a plate of vegetables,
dessert, and hail a bottle of wine.
A couple of fellows who were pretty
thoroughly soaked with bad whisky got
into the gutter. After floundering for
some time one of them said, " Let a go
to another house; this hotel leaks."
An inquiring man thrust bis fingers
into a horse's mouth to see how many
teeth he had. The horse eloeed his
mouth to see how many fingers the
wn had. The curiosity of eeefa was
fully satisfied.
Thirty Chinese boys have just arrived
in Springfield, Mass,' to be thenee sent
to various schools in that State and
Connecticut for education. Tbey
brought their wardrobes and trinkets
in great bamboo chests.
The lifting power of plants is well
illustrated by an oak tree in South Had
ley, Mass. A rook had a seam in it,
and a fibrous root from the oak crept
into the seam, grew and lifted the rock,
weighing over a ton, to a height of one
foot
A Western man set firs to the prairie
for fan, bat after he ran seven miles
and climbed a tree, with his pants
abeut all burned off, he concluded the
sport was a little too violent exercise
to be indulged in oftener than once in
a lifetime.
Good advice. When yon use a postal
card, always write the address the first
thing. Tons of postal cards without
any address are destroyed in the Dead
Letter Office, because people write
their message first and thea forget to
address the card.
In Hartford, not long ninoe, where
the estate of a bankrupt, upon settle
ment, only allowed a diviiitend of one
half of one per cent, the highest divi
dend was $55 on a debt of SII,OOO to
the wife of the bankrupt, and the low
est was four oenta.
A bashful young man mortally offend
ed the bride of his moat intimate
friend by stammering, when taken
aback by a request for a toast at the
wedding en pper: ** Tom, my f-fr- friend,
may you have a wedding onoe a year
aa long as you live."
A pistol to be need by Marietta Ravel
in a plav at a Troy theatre waa loaded
with a "decidedly realistic bullet. A
boy had been rat hunting with the fire
arm, and had left in a deadly charge
The diaooverv was made jast in time,
probably, to save the life of an motor.
Excellent paper pillows may be made
of old letters—the stiffer the paper
the better. Newspapers will not da
The paper should be cut into strips
and rolled round an ivory knitting
needle; it is then almost like sspring,
and makes a much better cushion
than the torn paper, being more elas
tic.
Nineteen years ago s Tennessee
fatker refused to let his young daugh
ter go to s candy-poll, and she disap
peared. The other day she returned,
lifted eleven children out of the wagou,
and entered the house and took off her
things aa coolly as if she hadn't been
gone over a day.
A hint to be taken by the f urplioed
and others is given by the New York
correspondent of an exchange, where
he writes, "A clergyman of my ac
quaintance does a very nice thing when
he marries s couple. After the eere
monv is over, he steps up to the bride
and 'presents her with the prayer book
ont of which he reads the wedding
services. The names of the bride and
groom and the date of the wedding are
written on a fly leaf of the book."
A Rich Charrh.
The salaries of twenty-eight prelate*
of the Established Ohorcta of England
amount to £152,900 a year, or nearly
eight hundred thousand dollars ; but to
this you must add £IB,OOO for as many
deans. The annual patronage attached
to these twenty-eight dioceses is valued
at £901,165. This patronage includes
oauons resident, arohdeacocs, and
other olerioal snuggeries. The value
of the real estate of the Established
Church of England may be estimated
from its revenue, which at its lowest
rate is £7,000,000, or thirty-five million
of dollars annually. The Established
Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)
ownß 1,250 churches, educates 140,000
scholars, and raises £140,000 annually
for home and missionary purposes.
Within twenty years 150 parish chap
els, costing £500,003, have been en
dowed and erected.
Undecided.
A well-dressed man in Chicago at
tracted considerable attention the other
day by sitting upon the edge of the
sidewalk for some time, with hiß head
between his hands, as if in deep medi
tation. At last a sympathetic stranger
approached him and aaid: "Friend,
yon seem to be in trouble ; can I assist
Jon in any way f" The man sprang to
is feet, and taking off hie hat, parted
his hair carefully, and said: "Stran
ger, do yon see this cnt f My wife did
it this morning with a flat iron, and
then sent me down town to bay licr a
new bonnet, and I have been sitting
here for an hour trying to decile
whether I will buy it or Dot, iu>d b aiae
rae, rtranger, if I hwyn't ahaon* d
eidvd to get ifc"