DM Baby's Mtoektug. But BP tbs baby's ttoeklns: Be mr yon tail fosgst Th dtw little dimpled darling I She never eew Christmas pel ; Bat I've told her ell ebon I it, And ebe opened her bif bine eyes, And Pat sere ehe nnderetude It, She looked eo fumy end vim. Doer! what a tiny Mocking 1 It doeeo t take much to hold So oh little pink too* ea baby • Away from the froat and oold ; Bnt then for the baby's Christmas ll never would do at all; Why, Sent* wouldn't be looking for enythiag half eo aanell I A Christmas Sang. The oak ia a strong and stalwart tree, And U lifts its branch*, up, And oetahet the dew right gallantly In many a dainty cup. And the world it blighter, aud better made, Beoauee of the woodman's stroke. Descending ia sun, or falling ia shade. On the etonly form of tbe oak. But stronger, I ween, in apparel green. And trappings eo feir to eee,| With its precious freight, for email aud greet, la the heeuufol Chrtttmaa tree. The elm ie e kind end goodly tree. With its branches bending low ; The heart it glad wheu ite form we see, Ae we list to tbe river's flow. And joy illumine, the fees. Whenever a goodly elm is found, Because of iu beauty and grace. But kinder. I ween, men* goodly ia mien, With branches more drooping and free. The unta of whose leaves, fidelity wee roe. Is the beautiful Christmas tree. The maple is sopplu, and lithe, and strong, And olaimeth our love anew, When the days are tfetke*. end quiet, end long And the worid is feir to view. And lamr—as beauties and grace* unfold— A monarch right regally drest, With streamer. > flint and peunoae of gold. It eeemeth of all the heat. Mpre Imom, I ween, tbe brightness and shem, And tbe ook>ru;g, sonny ai d free, And the banner, soft, that are bald aloft. By the beautiful Chriauaas tree. —St .VfeAefcu for Dmesabw. THE SECRET DOOR. ▲ Christmas Story of Two Handled Tear* Ago. Koowkt, in Kent, is an ancient manor hoase. It stands knee-deep in rich gar den and pasture lands, with htij fit lds and apple orchards stretching tcyond, and solemn oak woods which whisper and stpkke their wise heads when the wmi* blow, as though possessed of sMtfereta which most not be spoken. Very much a* it looks to-day, it looked two hundred and thirty rears' ago, when Charles the First was king of England. That was the Charles who had his bead oat off, yoa may remember. Bias Christmas smoke* curled from the twisted chimneys in 1645 just as th> year. The same dinnery fragrance filled the air, for good cheer smells pretty much alike in all ages and the world over. A few changes there may be— thicker trees, beds of gxy dowers which were not known in thst day; and where once the moat—a ditch-like stream of green water covered with weeds and senm—ran round the walls, is now a trimly cot border of verdant turf. But these changes are improvements, and in all important respects the boose keeps its oi l lx>k, undisturbed by modern times and ways. In the same nursery where modern boys and girls eat, sleep and learn their A, B, C to-day, two children lived— little Balph Tresbam and his sister Henrietta. Quaint, old fashioned ere* ture3 they woald look to us now ; but, in spite of their formal dresses and speech, they were bright and merry and happy as any children you can And among your acquaintance*. Ralph's came was pronounced " Rafe," and he always called his sister " Ht-rie." Christmas did not oome to Knowle in its usual bright shape in 1645. Gloom and sadness and anxiety overshadowed the bouse; and though the little once did not understand what the cause of the anxiety was, they felt something wrong, and went about quietly whisper ing to each other in corners, instead of whooping and laughing, as had been their wont. They had eaten their Christmas beef, and toasted the king as usual, but their mother cried wh n they did so ; and Joyce, the old butler, had carried off the pudding with a fate like a funeral. So, after dinner, they crept •way to the nursery, an i there, by the window, begun a long whispering talk. Bexie had something very exciting to "Norse thought I was asleep," she ■aid, "but I wasn't quite; and when they began to talk I woke up. That wasn't wrong, was it, Bafef I couldn't sleep when I couldn't, oouid I f" "I suppose not; but yon needn't have listened," said Rife, whose no tions about honor were very strict. "I did pull the pillow over my ear, but the words would get in," went on Henrietta, piteously. "And it was so interesting. Did you know that there were such creatures as B >gies, Ksfe I Dorothy thinks that see have got one in our house, and that its hole is in the great gallery, because once when she was there dusting the armor, she heard a queer noise in the wall, and what else conld it bet It oats a great deal, does the Bogie. That's the reason nurse is sure we have got one. It ate all the cold sheep'B heal y sterday, and the day bo fore half tho big pastry. No victual is safe in the larder, the Bogie has such a big appetite, enroe says." " I remember about the sheep's head," raid Rafe, meditatively. "A1 most alt of it was left, and I looked to see it come in oold; bnt wheal asked, Joyoe Raid th-ve was none. Gobi sheep's head is very good. Do you rc member how much Humphrey used to like it?" "I don't remember exaeUy.it is RC long ago," replied Hexie. " How long i* it, brother ?—sinoe Humphrey went J away, I mean. Won't ha ever come j bock-f" " I a*k*d Winifred once, bid she only said, 'God knew,' that nothing bad been heard of him since the bottle when the king was taken. He might be dead, or he might bo escaped into foreign parts—and then sho cried, oh, so hard, Hexie I Poor Humphrey t I bop- he isn't dead. Bnt, about the Bogie, how curious it must be to meet one I Oh, I say, let as go to the galiery now, aud see if we hear any strange noises there. Will yon ?" " Oh, Rtfe ! I'm afraid. I don't quite like"— "But yon can't be afraid If I'm there,"said Bife, valiantly; "besides, I'll put on Humphrey's old sword which he left behind. Then if the Bowie comes—we shsi ! see f" Rafe spoke like a oonquering hero, Hexie thought; so, thongh she trem bled, she made no further objection, but stood by while he lifted down the sword, helped to fasten itH belt over his shoulder, and followed along the pas sage which led to the gallery. The heavy sword clattered end rattled as it dragged on the floor, and the sound was echoed in s ghostly way, which renewed Hexie'a f are. " Bafs! Rafe 1 let us go back!" she cried. " Go back yourself if you arc afraid," replied Ralph, etoutly; and as going back alone through the dim passage seemed jnst then worse than staying where she was, Hexie stayed with her valiant brother. Very roftly they unlatched the gallery door, and stole in. It was a long, lofty apartment, paneled with cedar wood, to which time hud given a beautiful light brown color. The ceilings the same FRED. KURTZ. Kditor and Proprietor. VOLUME X. shields, costs of arena, anil otherdevires. There was little furniture: one tall cabi net, a few high backed chairs, and eoine portraits hanging ou the walla. The ann, not vet quite set, poured a stream of red light across the polished floor, leaviug the far corners and the empty spaces formidably dunk. The children nad seldom been in the gallery at thia hoar, ami it looked to them almost tike a strauge place, uot at all an it did at noonday when they came to jump up and down the slippery fliKir, aud play hide and seek in the corners which now seemed so dark and dismal. • Even Kafc foil the diffhrenoe, anil shivered iu spite of his bold heart and the big sword by his side. Timidly they went forward, hushing their foot steps aud peering fnrtively into tbe shadows. Suddenly Heiie stopped with a little scream. Clone to them stood a large suit of ar mor, larger and taller than a man. The empty eye holes of the helmet glared out quite like real eyes, and the whole figure was terrible enough to frighten any little girl. But it was not at the ar mor that Heiie screamed; the iron mau was an old friend of tbe children's. Many a game of hide-anil week had they played around, and behind, and even inside him; ft* Humphrey had contrived a canning way by which the flgore oould be taken to pieces and pnt to gether again ; and more than once Rafe had tieen popped inside, and hail lain shaking with laughter while Hexie vainly searched for him all through the gallery. Thia had not happened lately, for Rafe was hardly strong enough to manage by himself the screws and hinges which opened the armor; bat he knew the iron man too well to scream at him, and so did Hexie. Tbe object which excited her terror was something dif ferent, and so strange and surprising that it is no wonder she screamed. Close by the armcr, half hidden by a curtain of heavy tapestry, was an open door, where never door hod been known to be. It stood ajar, and dimly visible inside was a narrow staircase windiug upward. "The hole of the Bogie!" gasped Hexie, clutching at Rafo's arm. He started aud felt for the sword. It rat tled fearfully, and tbe sound completed Hexie'a terror. She buret away, flew like a scared lapwing down the gallery, alone the paasagee, and never st pped till she reached tne nursery aud her owu bed, where, with two pillows and the quilt drawn over her bead, she lay sob bing bitterly at the thought of Ralph left behind, to be eateu perhaps by the Bogie 1 Poor little Hexie Rtlph, meanwhile, stood his ground. His heart heat very fast, bat he would not ran away—that war for girls. It mns! he owned, however, that when a moment later the sound of muffled voices became audible dowu stsire, he trembled extremely, and was guilty of the unman like act of hiding behind the cartaui. He was only teu years old, which must plea l his excuse with bigger boys who are confident that they could never, un der any circumstances, hide themselves ar he afraid. The voice* drew nearer, stops Rounded, and two figures came out of the narrow doorway. Oooid there be two Bogiaaf No wonder they ate so much. Bat in another minute all thought of Bogies vanished from Ralph's mind, for in one of the figures he recogniz d his own sis tor Winifred. Her companion wis a man. There WHS something familiar in his form. It moved forward, and Ralph jumped so that the big sword rattU-d again. B -gie number two was his brother Humphrey, mourned as dead ere r niece the summer before, when so many bravo gentlemen gave up their lives for King Charles at tho battle of Naseby. " Wnat noise w*;thit?" whispered Winifred, fearfully. "Some .-ound )mai below," replies! Humphrey, aftor listening a moment. "Mast you go, Winnief' "I mast, dear Humphrey. I dare not absent myself longer left I be missed aud suspected. Oh, if to morrow were but over, and you safe on the French lugger and over the *ea! I cannot breathe while this hiding and danger go oo." " I suppose I ought to be glad also," said Hnaiphray, ru-fully ; •• but to me that French logger means exile and loneliness and poverty, for the rest of ay life, perhaps. Better have laid down my life with the rest at Naaeby, in striking one last blow for the king." "Don't yon speak so!" protested i Winifred, tearfully. " You are alive, thank God ; and once these wars are over we may rejoin yoa, and have n happy home somewhere, if not in the land of oar fathers. Now, dear Humph rey, have yon all yon need for tho night t" "Christmas cheer,"said Humphrey, in a wonld-be cheerful voice. "Beef and ale—what better fare could be ? Yon are a gallant provider, mv Winnie, and there is need, for since 1 have lain in that bole with nothing else to do, my appetite has raged like a wolf. That sheep's head was srondrons savory. I say though, Winnie, what do the ser vants think of the famine I create in the larder I" " Ob, the stupid creatures fancy that a Bogie has taken up his residence here. A very hungry Bogie, Joyce calls the creature!" The brother and sister laughed ; then they kiseed each other. "Good-night, dearest Winifred." •* Good night, brother," and Humph rey vanished np the stairs. Winifred lingered a moment; then, as if remem bering something, opened the dooragain and ran after him. Ralph marked that she laid her hand on a particular boss in the carved wainscot and pressed it in hard, whereon the door sprang open. He stole out. laid his hand on the same boss, and felt the spring give way nn der his touch. Some undefined idea of stealing in later, to make Humph rey a visit, ww in his head ; bnt he heard Winifred returning, and harried oat of the gallery. Fatting back the sword in its place, he entered tho nursery. No Hexie was visible, but a sobbing sound drew his attention to a tumbled heap c n the bed "Is that yon, Hexie? Why, what are you crying about f" pulling away the pillow which she held tight. "Oh, Rafot Then the Bogis didn't eat you, after all 1" And Hexie buried her fear-stained face on his shoulder. " Bogie 1 Nonsense! There are no such things as Bogies !" "What was it, then, that lived np that dreadful stairs ?" " I can't tell yon, only it waa nothing at all dreadful. And, Hexie, don't sav a word about that door to any one, will yon? It might mako great trouble if you did." " I did tell Deborah, when she fetch ed the candle and asked why I cried, that I saw a strange door in the gallery," faltered Hexie, truthful, thongh peni tent. "Oh I Hexie, how could you f I don't like Deborah, and her father is a knave. Humphrey said so one day. How oould you talk to her about the door, Hexie t " I—don't know. I was frightened, and she asked me," sobbed Hexie. "Will it do any harm, Rafe?" "It may," said Rife, gloomily. " But don't cry, Hexie. You meant no harm, at all events." " Ob, don't speak ao gravely and so like Joyce," said Hexie, much troubled. THE CENTRE REPORTER She cried herself to sleep that night. Deborah, who undressed her, asked many questions about the gallery and the door. "It was very dark, and perhaps she mistook"—thai was all Hexie could be made to my. Ralph was disturbed and wakeful, aud alept later than usual nest morning, lie jumped up in a hurry aud made what haste he oould with dressing aud breakfut, lint it seemed as though they never took eo much time before; and all tbe while he ate he was conscious of a stir and bustle in the house, which excited his cariosity very much. Knock ing—the sound of feet—something un usual was going on. A* soon as possible he slipped away from nurse and run to the gallery. The door was half open. He looked in, and stood till with terror. Men, iu brown uniforms aud steel cups, were there sounding the walls and tapping the floor boards with staves. The gallery seemed full of them, though when lUfe counted there were but five. "This mau of irou was, in all likeli hood, a Malignant also," hie heard one of them any, striking the armor with his fist. "He ia somewhat old for that Me thinks that is armor of the time of tUat man of blood, Harry the Eighth. Move it aside, Jotliam, that we may search the further panel." So the heavy figure was thrust into a corner, and the men went on tapping with their wands. Rafe groaned within himself when be heard them declare that tbe wall sounded hollow, and saw them searching for a spring. Twenty times it seemed as though they must have lighted on the right place. Twenty times they just missed it. "We were ill advised to come with out tools," declared the m&u who seemed leader of the party. " Come thou to my shop, Peter Kettle, and thou, Bartimeus and Zermbabel, and we will tetch such things as are needful. Jotbam, stay thou here, to see that no men esoapeth from tbe ocnocatment be hind the wall." So fonr of the men went sway, leering Jot ham striding np and down a* on guard. Presently uaine a shout from beneath the window; " Jot ham I onr leader hath dropped his pouch in which are the keys of the smithy. Hasten and bring it to the outer door." *' Aye, aye I" answered Jotham, and, poach in hand, he ran down the stair*. Now was Rale's opportunity. Like a flash he wa.r across the gallery, his hand on the boas. The door flew open, and he fell into the arms of Humphrey, who, sword iu baud and teeth set, stood ou the lower atop of the staircase,'pre pares! to s-U bis liberty as dearly as possible. " Rife ! little Rife!" he exclaimed. " Hush ! The man will come back," panted ltfo. "Oome away—hide—oh, where f" Then with * sudden inspira tion ho dragged his brother toward the iron man. "Get inside," he cried. " They will never think of searching there! Oh, Humphrey—make haste! Get inside!" There was no time to be lost. With the speed of desperation, Humphrey unscrewed, lift d, stopped inside the armor. Ra/e slipped the fastening* to gether, whisper/-,! "shut your ejis," and flew leiok to his hiding place. Just in time, for Jotham'a step was on the stair, aud next moment he eutorei the gallery, aud resumed his march up aud down, little dreaming that the man sought for was peeping through the hel met holes at him, not three, f. et away. Presently the other soldiers came bock with hammers and wrenches, aud in a short time the Wautifnl wainscot, split into pieces, lay on the flx>r. Bud* dt-nly there was a shout. Tho secret door had flown opt-u, an 1 tho staircase stood revealed. Four of the men, with picks and pistols, prepared to ascend, whilo the fifth guarded the opening be low. At that moment Winifred entered the gallery from the further end. Bhe turned deadly pale when she saw the open door and the mm. " Oh! Heaven have mercy 1" she cried, and dropped half fainting into a chair. Rife daxtid acrot *tbe floor and seised her hand. " Hush," be whispered. " Don't say a word, euter. He i* safe." "He! Who!" cried tLo amazed Winifred. But now voices sounded from above. The men were coming down. Winifred rallied he* courage, ro-e aud went for ward. She was very wi ite still, bnt she spoke in a steady Toice. Her two brothers, Humphrey in his hiding place and little Rale by her side, both ad mired her greatly. " What is the meaning of this, Jo- Iham Green ?" she demanded. "By what warrant do yon enter and spoil our house ?" "By tho warrant which all trne moo have to search for traitors," said Jo tbara. " You will flad none such here," re sponded Winifred, firmly. " We flad tho larking place in which ono such has donbttess lain," said Zer rnbabel. " Where holes exist, look out for vermin." " You are lets than civil, neighbor. An old house like this has many strange nooks and corners of wh ch the inhabi tants may have neither use nor know ledge. If your search is done, I will beg you to make good the damage you have caused as best you may, and with as little noise as possible, that my mother be not alarmed. Jotham Green, jon are a good workman, I know. I re collect bow deftly you onco repaired that cabinet for us." All the men knew Winifred, and her calm and decided manner made its im pression. Jotham slowly picked np the fragments of the paneling ai A began to fit them together. The rest consulted, and at last rather sheepishly, and with a mattered half apology about "wrong information," went away, taking with them tLe injured woodwork, which Jo tham undertook to repair. Rafe's first words after tliey disappeared were : " Winifred, you must dismiss De borah. It is she that has betrayed as." " How do yoa know that, Rate!" Then it all came ont. Winifred lis tened to the tale with streaming tears. " Oh, Rafe, my darling, how brave you were ! You played the man for ns to-day, and have saved—l trust yon have saved—our Humphrey. Tho men will not return to-day, and to-night tho lug ger sails." And Humphrey was saved. Before morning, well disguised, he had made bis way across country to a little fishing port, embarked and reached Franco without further accident. Bo that strango Christmas adventure ended happily. It was all long, long ago. Humphrey and Winifred and Rafe lived their lives out, and lay down to rost a century aud a half since under the daisy sprinkled English sod. Little Hexie died an aged woman, before any of us were born. But still the beautiful old manor houso stands amid its gardens and pasture lands, with the silvery look of time on its gray walls. Btill the arm ed figure keeps guard beside the secret staircase, the tapestry hangs in the old heavy folds, evening reddens the cedar walls and the polished floor, and every thing occupies the same place and wears the same look that it did when little Rafe played the man in that gallery, and saved his brother Humphrey, more than two hundred years ago.— St. Nicholas. CENTRE HALL, CENTRE CO., PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1877. An llumblc Hero's Heath. The Chicago Tribwtr Uu the follow lug account of Uio loaa of four livw ut a tiro in that oily: It was in the Eastern House that the loss of life took nlace. The flames aeeuied to have enveloped the buildings in a whiff, for when the ffremou came ou the spot all the build ings were ablace. Captain Bullwiukle and hi* men, who were first ou the ground, reaoued all they oould, and in thin work, an acton sa they arrived, the ftremeu bravely anointed. Kaiser's family, (Vila's and Oeewe's. aa well aa the dookella, had a narrow escape. Mr. Cookell employed oouaiderable help in hia reataurunt. They alept in the rear fart f the second atory, over the the n. The fire bnraed tieroety here, an vhen the in ma toe were awakened ee.ui t> was almost onl off. Cookell and b • family were awakened by a man named James Allen, who boarded at the house, and their lives were thus un doubtedly saved. He was a tailor by trade, thirty seveu years of age, and had recently oorne home from Boston, where he left a wife ami live children. This mau Alien nroved himself a hero, and met hia death like a martyr in trying to save human life. After he bad awaken ed nearly every one in the house, he took hia overcoat upon his arm and got out upon the sidewalk. Finding thai there were vet persons in the building he managed to got back. A |>or girl named Agnes Healy, aged seventeen, who had beeu a waiter at the restaurant, was half erased, suffocating with smoke, and eryiug to be saved. lie seised her aronnd the waist, and was about to carry her to a window, bnt escape was cnt off, and the two perished together, and in ' this way they were found charred and lifeless,clasped in each other's embrace. A little way from them were found the bodies of Emma Burt, or Brad! y, a dining-room girl, and George Broad. The woman was about twenty-four years ! of age aud married, and her home waa in Columbus, Ohio. Broad was an Eng lishman, twenty six years of ago, and a | clerk for Oockell. The bodies were not burned so badly aa to be unrecognisable, and their appearance seemed to indicate rather that they were suffocated, the debri* covering and in a unmoor pre serving the remains. Worsen and War. Most wars of the last century, says the New York Time*, have resulted in little less than waste of money and waste of life. Nothing has been gained either materially or morally; they have end ed u.-srly where thev began, plus count less graves, invalids, shattered hopes and broken hearts. There have been a few contest*—cau tests for ideas, for human rights, for higher civilisation, but when Bnch lisve boeu, women have taken up their great burdens, mourn fully, though patiently and resignedly, ami have accepted what fortune brought, not without poignant grief, but with the consoling thought that they had suffered and mode sacrifice in a holy cause. It his been urged against women, sometime*, that they are iooa pable of bearing arms, of performing military duty in the field There have been msny exceptions to this rule, which ao doubt, however, holds generally good. If this incapacity be s fuult.it is certainly a good fault, one to which progress and hnmauity should be lenieut It might be said in women's favor that, should she have the arrangement of aii tira, wars would be far less frequent, if iht-y did not cease altogether. She is not so strong, physically, nor ao tleroe as her brother mau, but she is undeniably more moral and more civi lised ; and where high morality and ci vi lxation are, war, oft. n as it may happen, is always an anachronism. In any strict gyuoeraoy—should there ever be such a thing—the question of women bearing arm* will not be discnsed, for war will be ranked, as in most cases it dejuti ves to lie. na a relic of barbarism The daya of trial bv battle on a grand scale would assuredly be numbered, if statesmen and leaders who declare war, At soldiers who conduct it, w. re eapa oTi) of feeling for any length of time the dit tress cf mind, the agony of ln-art, the tortnre of soul, which every battle, all over the civilised world, naturally and necessarily brings to women. To them men owe much more than thqy ever think or oonerdo; and if men were mora in the habit of looking through women's eyes, beforo they iruj>e.ri! women's happiness in iuilitaiy ventures for no good or wise end, they might give themselves such wholesale pause as would turn the almost equally balanced scales on the side of beloved aud blessed peace. The Electoral Vote. Ex Senators Carl Schnrz and John R. Henderson, and other prominent men of Bt. Louis, have forwarded s petition to Congress relative to the counting of the electoral vote. They say in the petition that tho present condition of the oonntry calls for soino action which shall settle the political disquietude. Tho clause in the Constitution respect ing the muvussing of tho electoral vote is quoted, and prononnced inadequate and liable to diverse oonstmetion. The attempt to canvass the vote iu joint ses sion of Congress is deprecated as cer tain to rai o partisan issues, and develop a strife which may prove most disas trous to the oonntry. Thopetition then proposes as tho remedy that the whole matter shall be transferred to the sn prtmo court of the United States. It is urged that that is the only tribnnal from which a fair and nn partisan de cision, one which will satisfy the whole people, can be obtained. To effect this the petition proposes' that the two Houses shnll improve the three weeks preceding Christmas in forming and agreeing upon a Constitutional amend ment placing in tho snpremo oonrt the duty of canvassing tho electoral vote. Most of the State Legislature meet im mediately after the holidays, when the amendment could be snbmitted; and the latter holds to tho opinion thnt the amendment conld be ratified without delay, so that it oould be made part of the Conatitution and apply to the pres ent election. Both of the l'reaidential candidates, it is urged, would recognize tho wisdom of thin course, aud both the Republican and Democratic legislatures would ratify it. Tho petition dwells at length npon the wisdom of removing this important matter from n tribunal that is likoly to bo affcctod by party strife. Who's Elected. One of the teacher* in a Sunday school was "stumped" badly during the servioos of tho hour. Ho was teach ing the infant class, and, after explain ing the lesson as well as ho know how, he threw open the question box, figur atively speaking, and told the children they might ask him any questions that suggested themselves, lie was gratified by a seven year-old girl, who immedi ately piped out: "Who's'lected?" He couldn't tell LONG AWAY.—A traveler, who rode up to a wayside tavern in Wisconsin, being told by a boy, who pointed to an elderly woman standing in tho door, that "that ere woman is the landlady," politely bowed to her and asked: "Madam, where is your husband!" "Gone to Milwaukee for a stock of liquor and lemons," said she. " Has he been gone long I" " Only twenty-three years. The traveler rode on. A CIKE OP CREMATION. VS. Morulas ml Ihm NaSv ml Hmrmm Am rtie In the United Hiatus, the only record ed iustances of cremation, except the burning alive of priaouere at the stake by savages, are those of the burning of Henry Laurens, about 1816, of Henry Berry, in Marion county, 8. 0., last July and that of Joseph Henry Louis, Harou de Palm, Graml Cross Command er of the Sovereign Order of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, Knight of St. John at Malta, Prinoe of the Roman Empire, late Chamberlain to his Majesty the King of Havana, Fellow of the Tho oaophical Society of New York, eto., which has just taken plaoe. Thia uobleman's life was a romance of whioh his death, embalming, prelimi nary funeral in New York aud cremation iu Pennsylvania are strange seqnrncee. He was a member of that diplomatic corps which includes in every European capital the brightest, the best educated, the most accomplished of men, bat ho wearied of courts, possibly because the expense* of Germau diplomatists could not keep pace with those of English ambassadors. With a failing income and a stout heart he immigrated to America, and lauded in New York in 1858, a bachelor of some fifty years. He pushed on to Chicago, and there from time to time, iu company with sreocistas who are well known among merchants, he engaged in various business enter prises and real estate operations. They proved unfortunate. Toward the close of the year 1875 he returned to New York where he died, and his funeral ser vices took plaoe iu May last, at the Masouic Temple. By the will the Baron requested that bi< remains be burned. It being impractiacble to burn the corpse as he desired it to be burin d, it was em balmed and laid iu a receiving vault to await the completion of the present crematory by Dr. Le M >yue, of Wash ington, Pa., and to that place the re mains were taken. The furnace is a cheap affair. Coarse bricks and tire bricks form the walls ; the furnace door below and the door of the firecLy oven above it are of unorna niented irou. The front of tbe furnace resembles that of any common furnace for melting iron or reducing ore*. A sooty feeder of tbe tire stood in front of it. rather fatigued by a vigil of thirty-six hours since the fire begun to burn. Before any guest* were admitted, the body hod been taken from the oolfin, completely wrapped in a white sheet, and laid npon an iron crate which stood on wooden treaties in the renter of the reception room, according to the old Greek and Roman custom. It was in jected snd rurronuded with cinnamon, caasia, frunkinrenre and tnyrrh. A large number of scientific gentlemen were present to witnua* the affair. Tho body was placed in the furnace about eight o'clock, snd the fire wa* kept burning about three hoars, when nothing re mained but a confused mass of aahes in the bottom of the retort. When the re tort was cooled the ashes were gathered in a Hindoo urn aud will be preserved. l'atrkk Henry's Fropheey Patrick Henry, in the Virginia con vention on tho adoption of the Con stitution oi 1788, spoke as follows : " Your President may easily Is come king. Your H nate is so imperfectly oonsti act* d that vour dearest rights may be sacrificed by what may be a small uiaji riiy ; and a very small minori ty may continue forever unchangeably this government although horribly in fective. Where are vonr checks in this government! Your strongholds will be in the bauds of your enemies. It is on the supposition that yotir American governor shall be honest that all the good qualities of this government are founded, bnt its perfect and imperfect construction puts it in their power to perpetrate tbo worst of mischiefsahonld they be tied men. And, sir, would not all the world blame our distracted folly in resting onr rights npon the contin gency of onr rub ra being good or bad f Hhow m that age and country, where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the chance of their rulers being good men, without s oonaequent Iww of liberty. I say that the lows of that dearest privilege has ever followed, with absolute certainty, every such mail attempt. If your Araericnn chief be a man of ambition and abilities, bow easy will it bo for him to re ndor himself ab solute I The army is in his bauds, and if be be a man of address it will le at tached to him, and it will be the subject of long meditation with him to seise the flint auspicious moment to accom plish Lis design. And, sir, will the Amerioin spirit solely relieve yon when this happens! I would rather have a king, ic ids and commous, than a gov ernment so replete with such insupport able evils. It we make a king, we may present*) the nilee by which ho shall rule his people ; bnt the President in the field, at tho head of his army, can prescribe tho terms on which be shall reign master, so far that it will puule any American even to get his neck from nnder the galling yoko!" They Were Homesick. A letter from Hntisford, Wis., says: About the first week in October lat abont a dozen families and a few single Jonng men left this town aud neighbor ood, expecting to make their fntnre home in Oregon. We were, therefore, a good deal surprised almnt ten days ago to see meat of them back again. Some of them, on being questioned, declared that tho country was a miserable region, where a man wonld flud it difficult to live and anything bnt pleasant to die. Carefnl inquiry, however, disclosed the true atate of the rase. They had gone too late in the fall. It rained almost constantly after they left Wisconsin, and iucossautiy dnring their stay in Oregon. Boveral of the children fell sick on the way; nearly tho whole party were utterly homesick before they landed at Port land. Freaks of the Registry. The Columbus (Ga.) /inquirer has tho following: We have a file of the city registration Binco 1868. It is queer how some people grow. In IHBB a leading manufacturer gave his age as forty-four, in 1876 he is only forty-nix years old. He grows slowly. A shoe merchant in 1868 was thirty-seven, bnt in 1878 he claims to le only forty-seven. Bnt it is tho old bachelors and widowers who grow old slowly. One widower, a mer chant, in 1868, was flfty-fonr. In thir teen years he has only reached sixty four. One old bachelor registered him self in 1868 as thirty two, bnt we find in 1876 he has only reached forty-one. An other of tho same species was thirty-six in 1863, bnt has allowed the bair to grow so as to cover the bald spot and he now registers forty-five. His Tiiinkino. When a witness was testifying tho other day he replied to a question: " I think not, sir." "I don't waut to know what you think," thundered the lawyer. "Well," said tho witness, " I'm thinking under oath, and that's as near as I can tell you." That waa something new, and the smile went round, and then somebody sug gested that possibly it might be a good thing for lawyers, stump speakers and some editors to do their thinking under oath. ONE OF UICKF.NK' COHYICTO. MpaaSlai a 1.11.11 M. IS MelUary CeaSae. ■ asl—Doeerailaa a Cell tlsSer Ul aeltlse— S slaaalar (Jbaeaeter. Over thirty years ago, says a Phila delphia letter, when Charles Dickens made the tour of this country that re sulted in his " American Notes," he de voted much of his time to the inspec tion of our prison system. Oar prt..ci pal prison, then ss now, was the Eastern penitentiary, in which the system of solitary confinement prevailed. Mr. Dickens in a few graphic sentences pictured the miserable ooudition of the unhappy convicts to whom the sonnd of a litgßiui voice is almost unknown for year after year. That Mr. Diokeiu' notion of the sys tem was a fair one, the experience of many years and the testimony of some of the best minds of the age have shown ; but many men are still living—some of them' now within the walls of the priaou itself—who are ready to testify that the institution was as light and airy thirty years ago as it ia now, aud a recent personal visit oon vince me that it b u pleasant and wholesome a plaoe ae ia compatible with massive atone walls and unyielding bars of iron. Possibly Mr. Dickens' tmagi nation, aa ia apt to be the eaae with men of such high strong sensibilities, was wrought upon by his surroundings. At all events, those who read his vivid de scription will shudder more at the picture so powerfully brought before them, than they would be apt to at the original. The building oovers a square, aud branches off from a circular hall in the oeuter into seven lung corridors, all ; well lighted and excellently ventilated. Everything is as clean as soap and water can moke it, and within the oelta, which are rangtd along the oorridore in two tiers, there is neatness and cleanli ness which would shame many model housewives. ID Dickens' time there tu a prisoner of forty \ oars or thereabout*, whose de moted appearance especially attracted the attention of the novelist. He was m the corridor fronting the entrance, and had devoted all the time allowed him from his work to punting and orna i meuting hit oetl and cultivating hia little garden—a patch of gronnoition that a vigilant* .-.•m:;. went to the Benders'boose, placed them in j their own wagon, drawn by their own horses, aad conveyed them to a secluded ' spot not far ofl, on the edge of e large pond, aud there extorted a full amies- j akm from them of all their Crimea, down to the amalleet details. Alter this the Benders were never heard of, and it is • more than probable that their bodies ware cur. -ft;,.* concealed. It will be re membered that a few daya after this a wagon WH discovered near this point, to which a pair of boraas wen tied, which was known to be Bender's prop- erty. This waa aoon followed by the announcement that the horns of the Benders had been deserted. It is aaid that Gov. Oabom wee ee retly apprised of all these facta, wMeh will aooount for the fact that, on the part of the Kan— authorities, no sys tematic effort hsa ever been made to ap prehend toe Benders, and siorieaof their capture elsewhere have only excited au incredulous smile at toe (Mate capital. EffctU of Frest. Tbw workmen employed in * Milwau kee shipyard, on vimting the dry-dock one morning to commence the work of the day, were surprised to find that the Stat board wheel of the steamer Amasan had been slipped off the shaft. How so ponderous a pieoe of iron oonld have been removed was s pnaale that wsrely perplexed the men. On looking down into the dock they discovered the wheel lying there broken in two. An investi gation of the cause of the unusual oc curence dispelled the mystery and de monstrated the power of frost. The hub of the wheel, about fifteen inches long, was slightly hollowed oat at the ©enter to admit of its being slipped on without difficulty over an uneven por tion of the shaft end. This recees wis fall of water when the boat was placed in the dock and the keying had been to close that the liquid—about a pailful — was exposed to the frost As the water congealed under the sharp wintry at mosphere of the night it expended end burst asunder the five-inch walla of the iron, and the broken wheel fell with a crash. A Wallaat OM tteatlemaa. As an elderly couple were out walking, a lady on the opposite aide of the street tripped and fell down. The old gentleman rushed across the street, raised his hat, and offered to assist her in any possible way. His wife followed him across at a alow pace, and witness ing his devotion to the stranger, she got mad and shook her fist at him. ** It's all right—it's all rigid," be whispered. " Tee." she hotly exclaimed. " Here an unknown woman stubs her toe, and yon plow serosa the street to eat her up with kindness. The other day, when I fell down stairs, you stood and laughed and chuckled and tickled your ribs, and wanted to know if I was practicing for a circus I" That Oateaalal Fever. A Brooklyn (N. Y.) physician who ■ ha* attendee. many oases of the charac teristic fever that resulted from visiting the Centennial, says that he is con vinoed that tne cause was not the bad Hanitary condition of Philadelphia, or of tho Exhibition grounds, but the Pres ence of fomits* in certain articles on exhibition, which had been brought from some of the worse plague spots of tho earth—of Egypt, Afrioa, India, Asia and Sonth Amerioa. The doctor further adds that as a result of tho Cen tennial we shall be inflicted with num erous types or grades of fever hitherto unknown to as. The Lead. The steamer Fanny was coming down the tippof Mississippi loaded with pig lead. 4§he was going over a shoal {■lace the pilot gave the signal to heave ho lead. The only man forward was "Why don't you you bltitflßad.'' The Irishman snatched j> pigs of lead and threw it fleSHfc The mate, in endeavoring tojHDHum, lost his balance and fell intodhe rfiir. " Why dont you heave the f ad, and sing ont how muoh water ihtwew?" "The lead is heaved, yer honor, and tho mete's gone down to see how mush water there is." Though a Mohammedan who marries a French girl is not required to renounce his religion, he cannot contract a valid marriage with another woman daring her lifetime. These unions usually torn out well and are extremely prolific, and| the Arab husband submits passively to the dominion o! his French consort, as though he tacitlyaoknowledged himself of an inferior race. _ em Dtra ta ka heftr*i, g s i ,,^', ra .* JFisSttS JMEJWt Cti V 1 Dan with the awaji evsr to flgbi DSN la be loving and pattso* ssak day Dan speak ths troth whatever yeu say , Dsn to be gaatieaed ordnety, tee, Dan shea the erU whstevsr yea do. Dan to apssk ktodly, sad ever bs tree, Dan to do right, sad jrea'fi fled yew way throne h. Hems of Interest, Professor Swing says that a bat won on a bet " oomea down over the njwi ■of the winner's souL" A diftdeot man ie in a tight plaea when be does not know what to aay and is afraid to aay it. Hhskcsptwro in hortiouiturw—" Tbnt which we cauliflower by any other nam* would smell as sweet." A Parii fashion writer flays that ladies have bonnets of seventy five different thapfi* to choose front this fall. On Deoember 31, 1870, Italy had s population of 27,472,184 souK against a population of 26,(101,164 on December 31,1871. The wine orop of Fnnoe tkia yemr is on usually huge, being at hird larger than the vinee promised it the crat-wt of the season. There are esttmated to be over 1,000 Young Man's Christina A—nnltilMM fat North America. The average number of metabesa is 170. A Bosahto regiment, experimenting, swam, with hmkltj with rfanumatkn lately." Dr. Oman having heard tbo lamaw Thomas Foliar repeat amne veeaes on * (welding wife, waa ao i with them aa to request a oopy. "There in co naneaaity for that," aud Fuller, "aa you have got the original." "Bee bare, Ocipps; 1 understand yon have a superior way of earing bam*. 1 r. aid like to learn it." " Well, ye : i know very well how to cure them; bat the trouble with me, jurt now, it to tl. 1 , oat away to pro-cam them." i When you me a young mum I woman over too garden gale m the twilight and hear a sound bkw the i "squash" of a potato bug i 1 thai | . there bat been a climax of twoaoaa. Tell us, angelic host, ye messehpnara | of lore, shall swindled printer* .wire ha i low hare no retlrese above f The shin ' ing angel's band repii-d : "To u* wi| ! knowledge given; Jilinfiliwitii on lit# printers'books can never enter heaven." Jeremy Beatham ones mid : • I shoo! J wish that the years which I Have yet to live could be passed e*. a it the end of one of the centuries allowing my death; I ebool.l then be a wi'teues erf the influence which my works will - erctae on posterity." When a blear eyed, InM beaded { weather prophet is asked whether it is going to be a bard winter, he shuts one eye, looks at the ens with the other, digs up a damp of graes, examines the * roots, and says: "Id nt know." He ia generally correct. Mrs. Hoott, a nurse,* of Selkirk, Soot land, has inet been tried for culpable homicide, meKmuebss she gove a baby twenty-four bonra okl three drops of laudanum, causing death. She got off ' with six months' imprisonment b-cause < "her Intentions were good." Two gallons of whisky were con sumed by a man in Arkansas before ha folly recovered from the bite of a tammtnla. It WM then discovered that he had been stung by a wasp, The men who contributed the whisky www too mad to apeak above a whisper. Chinamen with white wives axe com mon in New York, bat in San Fraacbeo, owing to violent hatred of the Cluata. 1 the first marriage of that kind greatly I excited the public. The husband ia the wealthy agent of a Chinsso company, j and the wife ia a teacher ia a city mis -1 aion. Qay Fawkes day was celebrated throughout England with unabated j vigor this year. To forestall! dangerous outbreaks m towns whew raiiiusry gar risons were quartered, the aoldiera were confined to barracks during the after noon and evening, and the polios force was augmented. There will be five eelipewi in 1877, via.: ■ A total eclipse of the moon on February ' 27, visible m the United States ; a par tial eclipse of the son on March 14, vis ible in Western Asia; a partial eclipse of the sun on August 8, visible in Alaska, Kamchatka and the North Pacific ooeaa ; a total eclipse af the moon on August 23, partly visible in the Eastern and Southern States,arid a partial eclipse of the sun on September 7, visible in South Ameriaa. Let Brown Walk. A gentleman was very much annoyed ;at night,by a person who was walkii g heavily in the room above and unable lo ' sleep; he ascended to the room to ssesr tain the cants, and found a man walking up and down, apparently ia great dis tress. Bin sympathy induced him to inquire the cause. At first he could get no response, and the man, with his hair in his hands, still continued to ' pace the floor. At last, induced by the kindly tone of his visitor, he stated the 1 cause of his great anguish. " I owe ay friend Brown 8500, which I am utterly unable to pay." "My friend," said the gentleman. "I can give yon advice which will relieve your distress." I "What is it f" anxiously inquired the distressed individual. "You have walk : ed far enough," replied the gentleman. • " My advice to you ia to go comfortably to bed, and let Brown walk awhile." The Air We Breathe. You who live and move in crowded rooms without ventilation, remember that man's own breath ia his greatest I enemy; that air once breathed is unfit for respiration because, as Professor Wilder says: "I. It has lost about one i fifth of its oxygen. 2. It lias gained i about an equal amount of carbonic acid, ! 3. Zt contains more or lets effluvium, an organic matter capable of decomposi tion. The organic matter in consider able amount ia offensive, By decern po sition it beoomss s poison." 1 I