" I am an Husbandman."
Tls bx aarth 1 * lair gilts to tabs,
Ot trnita, and oorn and ha ly.
Than ta bar aotd, nnwiUing arms.
Hid all Lba pomp at war's alarms.
Bar slanghtar'd sons to lay,
Battar ths tood ot man to win
From her consenting mold,
Than (tersely, with a miser's sest,
Ban sack and rend her sinking breast
For glittering stones, or gold,
Tes, hatter than on lowliest tomb
The simple phase appears
" I am an hnahandman." than claim
From history's scroll a depot's name,
And rear, though nations call it tauie.
A cenotaph ol tear*.
—Mr§. H. Siffcu•*,.
a
Over the Wires.
1 hear a faint, low singing.
tike the sound ot distant choirs.
'Tts a meaaage gleefully wingutg
Over the wires
And what are the glad wires humming
As they stretch in the sunlight away *
"I am waning, coming, coming-
I am coming home to-day *"
And now 1 hear a sohhing.
like some sou! sitting alone.
With a hoait that is weary throhhmg.
And lips that can only moan.
th what ate the wad wires sighing
As they reach through the .tarknees ot
night *
" He is dying, dying, dying
Come on the wing* ot light '
The titillauon ol laughter
Next tall* upon my ear.
And a hunt ol mad mirth after.
like the sound of a distant cheer.
And what is the glaelttl story
rhal the round wires spread alar *
•• Our Nine :* crowned with glory—
Hip, hip. hip. hurrah *"
Oh ' what are the wires relating.
Morning, and main, and night'
" The market is fluctuating
'• Reports of the Senate tight
•' Cashier 5 s defaulter
•' .Vrrest a man uatued Brown
" Jones died to-day by the bailer
"Wheat went suddenly down
' Dead " Born'" --Going'" ••Coming"
'• lieluge' and •• Drought and
" Fire.
Singing, and sobbing, and humming
Over the telegraph wires.
Kilo H'kttUr.
A MOUNTAIN RIDE.
Of course we girls all pitied Rachel
Tinkham. but vre never quite made her
one of us.
She wa.- such a shy iitt.e thing, and
blushed if you spoke to Iter, and acted
afraid ol her own voice, and wore print
dresses a., the time, and never was in
vites! to our parties.
She lived in a tumble-down old house
which had been a very grand mansion
once.
The Tinkhams had been great people
in my grandmother's day. Nothing was
left of uietr grandeur now. however, for
there hail been wine in one generation,
and whisky in the next, ami Mtnum
tremens in the third.
Kay's father was the third. She had
a wretched time keening house for him.
Her mother was dead.
" We" were the girls of Mrs. Bland's
private school.
A dozen of us were out upon the east
verandah one morning. We were ail
talking at onee. Some one. it seemed,
hail said the high school girls were bet
ter scholars than we were.
" Very well. So they are."
This was Kate Avery, and she wa.-
stauding up by the lattice where the
morning-glory vines grew, and when- a
hundred clusters ot little bells swung
out—blue and purple ami rose-pink, ll
Kate was anything, she was honest,
though she was handsome too.
"We have music and French conver
sation, and K>u has a phaeton, and 1
have two donkeys, and Queenv has been
to Europe; but." lowering lier voice,
"it's an awful secret though it's the
truth. The high school girls are miie
and miles beyond us in 1-atin and mathe
matics."
'• Indeed they are,"salt! I. " Fin whs*
mademoiselle calls an * idgit' in aritlf
nietic. I really suppose that two ant:
two make four, but if one of those girl
were to teii me that they made tire, 1
shouldn't dare dispute her."
"The fact is." said Kate, *" little Tink
ham is the on.y one of t!s who is sure o
her multiplication table. But then sh
doesn't reaiiy belong to us She woulc
not be la n it it wasn't for sweeping ant 1
dusting to pay her tuition. There she it
this minute."
A small, tirwd-looking figure in acoarst
dress came in -ight rouml the corner. It
was Rachel with her load of books it
.er arms.
"She Ir_? worn that dress every daj
for three months," said Iu Stedman .
" I veriiy believe she goes to bed whei
it is done up."
"My dear, she can't. She has to wash
and iron it herself. Oh. there is Queeny!'
cried Kate. It was such a gentle, gract
ful girl who came walking fast to over
take Ray, caught step as she overtook
her. and began talking pleasantly
" Doesn't she look nice in t hat seal-brown
suit? Ard isn't it just like her to tarn
Ray's books for her?"
Queeny's real name was Alice You
would have known why we called h
Queeny if you hat! seen her walk besiili
little Tinkham that morning, open th>
gate. Sand stand still, erect, with thai
grand way of hers, for the girl to pa*-
through. I believe we all rather wor
ship<*d Queeny.
Kate met them with her forehead ail
tied up into liard knots, and asked Ray.
"didn't she ' want to be an angel,'and
help her with those dreadful fractions?'
So they two sat down on the door
etep, and the rest went into the school
room. Then Iu called out to Kay to
come and dust her desk. She said "it
wasn't half dusted." Queeny said :
"Ray is busy. I will do it;" and she.
silent and looking prouder than ever,
dusted Lou's desk herseli.
It was this morning, Friday, that
Mrs. Biand told us that to-morrow
would be " Mountain day."
All the schools in our town drive t<
the niout tain once a year. Our daj
always comes in September.
This time Mrs. Bland couldn't go, so
she sent along h<-r cousin to matronizc
us. She was a fidgety person, afraid of
spiders, and no good any way.
"We are to start at nine o'clock."
Queeny said. " Ray, can you be read}
so early?"
Queeny was a new scholar. She
didn't know that Ray never went with
us to such places. Kow she flushed and
replied:
" I don't think I can go to the moun
tain."
"Certainly, you are going." Alice
said it in her queeniest way. "If you
can't go to-morrow we will put off
fp ing."
"Saturday is my day to clean the
school-room." Ray answered.
"We will clean it. Let's begin this
minute," and off came Queeny's cuffs
and Kate's, all the cuffs, in fact. We
went to work, and had such tun sweep
ing and scrubbing. Just imagine Kate
and Queeny washing the floor. They
did it well, too.
" Now. remember, Queeny said, the
last thing, " everybody is to wear her
oldest dress. And, Ray, would you be
kind enough to bring hard-boiled eggs
for your luncheon? One apiece for us
all round?"
Ray looked bright ail over, and said
yes.
Now I think it was just beautiful of
Queeny to think of that. She knew Lit
tle Tinkham couldn't bring frosted
cake and French rolls as the rest of us
did. . _ ~
So-'ie spoke of the eggs. We all re
membered that Ray had wonderful
chickens. lam sure the word about old
dresses, too, was meant to help her.
The next morning Obed Taintorcame
round with his un< vered omnibus and
his two great horsi and picked us up.
W T e went for Ra last. She was stand
ing in front of thr old house, beside the
tumble-down gai , with her basket of
eggs in her hand.
She looked perfectly happy, and her
dress was so clfan and smooth Kate
whispered to me:
"That dress has been washed and
ironed since last night. Just think
of it!"
FRED. KURTZ, Editor and Proprietor.
VOLUME XII.
It was a clear, warm morning and
every one was in such a glow of ginnl
spirits. 1 think we were all glad we
ha<t Rachel with us
But if it hadn't been for Queenv Ray
would never have gone, and it Ray hadn't
gone the rest of us would never have
come home, and this story for there is
a story —would never have been told.
It is eight miles to the mountain and
there is a carriage- road to the ton. The
last two miles are very hard and steep,
because you rise nearly a thousand feet
above the Connecticut river in that di
tanee.
But Obed was a steady, good driver
and his horse- were steady, good horst -
We always drew- lots for the scat be
side tibial, and it was one of our treats
to get him talking alxmt his "team." .as
he ealiod it.
"What are their names ?" asked
Queen y
" Well"—a pause. Obed was a slow
talker. but he had a great deal to say.
" The off one there is Uassar an' the nigh
one he is Alexander."
" Are they afraid of the cars?"
" Aint aleard o' nothin' in natur."
(.lived paused for us to think this over,
and then went on:
" Know too much, them ereeturs do.
They've carried a load to the mountain
four times a week all summer. They'd
take ye 'bout 's well ef 1 wa'n't along.
They know —well—beats all w hat them
animals know- Understand't I'm talk
in' 'bout 'em this minit '* well's you do.
They're used to being talked to. Sly wife
she thinks a sight ot 'em. Beats all!
She'll go out to the kirn, and -h.
carry 'em apples, and she'll lie ail over
'em; an' one week when she was sick,
an' kep' in the house, vou c'n h'lieve it
or not. hut it's a fact that them ereeturs
lost flesh. She braids up their front
hair for Yin. and tics it with a red rilv
bin one day. an'then the next day she
upbraids it, and it's crimped, a.l in tin
fashion, you'll understand. As they wa.-
a cumin' to a party to-day. they've got
their hairs crimped."
But alas for LVsar. and alack for
Alexander. It was a terrible piece of
work that you came near doing that
day. though we girls never shall f.-el
that you were much to blame.
You see this was what happened.
We were all tucked into the wagon as
tight as figs in a box, that afternoon,
ready to start for home, when Is>u called
out that she had left hr parasol. Sin
must get out. and run up to the tower to
get it
" You just keep y'r siitin'." said Obed.
"I'll fetch yer umberill;" and he started
for the tower.
It was about ten rods off. The tower
and stable are built in a small cleared
space at the top of the mountain. Ail
around and below are thick old woods
and great rtveks.
Obed had just gone out of sight when
Quceny gave a little scream, and put her
hand to her eyes. "Something lias stung
me." she said, and then, that instant,
while vre were all looking at her. it hap
pened.
The horses both reared, then gave a
plunge, the omnibus seemed to rise from
the ground with a great leap, and sooner
than I can tell it. we were *ll being
borne, at an awful speed, down that nar
row rocky road.
I glanced toward Cmsarand Alexander,
and saw a terrible pair of wild animals.
I looked toward the girls, and saw two
rows ot white, frightful fac.-s.
The reins were dragging on the ground
Some of us were shrieking, " Whoa!" A
lew were getting ready to jump- A!
this in an instant, and then, suddenly,
above the noise of the wheels and of
everything else, we heard a voice ring
out clear:
" Sit still, girls! I think I can -top th
horses."
It was Ray Tir kham. of all people in
the world.
She stood up with a steady look in her
eyes.
I must explain here that the road from
the tower runs down a gentle -lope for
haifa mile, and there comes asharptuni
Beyond that is Long hill, the -teei. st.
most dangerous part of the way. Rati
seimitny and whispered
"If the horses are not stopped L-f<>n
thev get to the turn, we shall all I>.
killed."
( Ray was climbing over the driver's
seat She always could climb anvwherc
like a int. She didn't paii-e anin-tant.
but -lie called back to me:
"Natty Brock, put on the brains
The rest of }ou sit still. Only pray a
bard a- you can."
I sp-rmg to the driver's - at. ami
> jammed down the handle of the hrak -
I prayed, too. I believed I should
neve rpray again.
1 saw and thought of a hundred things
at once. I saw the great tree trunks and
the huge black rocks close upon us. I
remembered the clematis over the front
door at home, and wondered who would
tell my lather that I was dead.
Meanwhile, Ray was over the dash
board. and down with her feet over the
whiffletree.
* llow she did it, I shall never know,
but the next we saw of her, she was
creeping aiong the pole between tin
horses, steadying herself with her bands
on their backs.
The horses went tearing on like wild
horses, their manes flying, and tin ir
groat bodies quivering all over.
Every instant the girls wen- becom
ing more excited.
Queeny was holding Mrs. Iliand'-
cousin with both hands, to prevent her
leaping out. Kate cried:
"We are almost to the turn. What
is Ray doirflr? She will trigliten the
horses worse than ever!" and she covered
her eyes.
The brow of the lull was not forty
feet off. Far behind, we could hear
Obeil's voice screaming to the horses to
stop. The keeper of the tower was fly
ing toward us.
But they were too far away to do any
good. Tln-re seemed not one chance in
a thousand for us. But that very instant,
when we all believed we were lost, we
looked at Ray.
We saw her reach forward with one
hand, and gra*p the reins which joined
the heads of the horses together, .lust
where the connecting straps crossed one
another her fingers Hutched them.
One sharp, fierce jerx oi those great
heads backward, and the horses slack
ened their speed, and in an instant more
stopped.
The wagon stood still, although the
oroaturos were snorting and plunging
yet. But that small hand of Ray's hel l
on with a death-grip, and in a moment
more Obed caught the horses by their
heads.
His face was as white as it ever could
be. and he spoke one word only. It was:
" Hornets!"
The horses had been stung in more
than twenty places. They were unhar
nessed at once, anil we were all out on
the ground directly.
We laughed and we cried, and Mrs
Bland's cousin distinguished herself by
fainting away.
" I don't blame the horses in the
least," Queeny said. "Onesting is had
enough," and she showed where her eye
was beginning to swell. "The hornets
tame swarming out of the woods
there." As for Obed, he was a humili
ated man.
" But I was the one to blame," he said.
" I thought the horses would 'a' stood
till the'r hides dropped ofFn tlie'rribs;
hut I tell ye ther' never was the team
hitehed up yet that 'ud stan' hornets.
Blarst the creeturs!" lie added, in under
tone.
" But Kay Tinkham!" cried Kate, and
she went up to where the little thing
was sitting on a rock, looking pale.
"You saved us all, you blessed child.
How did you ever think of doing that?"
" My grandmother stopped some run
away horses in that way once," gasped
Ray. " I didn't know whether I could
stop these, but I knew somebody must
do something, or we should all be dashed
to pieces."
" Well," spoke Obed, "I've known #'
THE CENTRE REPORTER
that thing's bein' donejust once afore in
tuv lifetime, htit it was a ln>y that did it.
There's a savin' 'mong-t team in' men
that, when you haint got the reins, you
can stop a runaway if v>>u walk out on
the pole ami grip hold o the bridles, hut
'taint every horse that'll stand it."
" But wasn't it splendid of Hay ?"cried
Ism, going over, and putting her arm
round her.
" Never knew a girl e'd have so tuueh
pluck." answered the driver. "If she
liadn't 'a' Iteen light on Yr feet, an' level
in Yr head, she never e'd 'a' done it. 1
tell you if these horses hadn't been un
common (food horse-, nothin' on airth
would 'a' stopped 'em."
And Kay? t never in ant to make so
long a story of it, but I must tell you
that we gave her a party soon after this.
All the fathers, and mot lows, and broth
ers went, and we carried her a carpet for
her room and a new chamber set. and
nice new clothes all through; and a few
of the gentlemen gave her a bank-book,
whatever that may mean. I only know
that she was to have the income of cer
tain money, and that it was enough to
educate hr thoroughly We had the
best time that night, and Queenv's
father umk Hay out to supper, and site
sat at his right hand, and everybody
treated her as though she had la-en a
prince— of the bUmd.
1 do ltelicvc there nevi r was a hapier
girl on earth than Rachel that night.—
You/A's ('emporium.
The Interoeeanle (anal.
At the meeting of the Association for
the Advancement of Science in Saratoga,
Commander K T. Lull. I S. N ,r< a.l a
paper on " The Interoceanie Canal
l'roblem." giving an account of the ex
plorations for connecting the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, in which lie has
Iteen engaged with others. A commis
sion had examined all the reports, and
found only two practicable routes —one
through Nicaragua and another by
Panama. That through Nicaragua in
clude- as an essential feature the Use ol
Lake Nicaragua, situated ten m -from
the Pacific coast, but with a surface 10?
feet above mean tide on each -ide. It is
llu miles from the Caribbean Sea to tin
lake by the river San Juan, the outlet .f
the lake on this side. A ear .1 from the
.ake to the Pacific I Venn would I*
16 3-10 miles long, only sev*n miles of
which would In- difficult. The excava
tion would average fifty-four feet, and
ten locks of t n feet lift each would be
required, with a tide lock of seven feet
at the seashore. An artificial harU.r
would be required on the Pacific side,
with a break water, for which the ma
terials are easy to In- obtained. There
are fifty-two miles of navigation <>n
Iwke Nicaragua which will n<*xl lilt 1
work, except at the south end, where
are some six miles of swamp. The total
length from the Carihliean Sea to tin
Pacific is I*HV? miles—fifty--' ven on tin
lake, 61.7 on the canal, and sixty-two
slack water. The estimate tuakes the
bottom of the canal seventy-two fi-ct
wide, and gives twenty-six feet depth of
water. The locks an- t<< t~J feet lung.
Estimated cost. $66,000,000. and it may
i-ome to $ 100,000.000 a* the outside cost
T!it> I'iuuuua nmti'. n<*nr the line of
the Panama railroad. would reuuiro a
feeder near the summit. which ,cu I*-
had. The highest place would put the
bottom of the tana, -<ventv-- -iglit fiat
above mean tide, and th>- -ur! nf ot tin
water in the eanal 1-4 feet aliovf ntean
tide. Total distance, forty-one mile*,
with twelve lift locks on each side of tin
summit. The heaviest eut would lx
I*o feet. The leeder would require 13.-
uOO feet of tunnel and two aqueduct*.
The breakwater and seawall at Aspin
wall, l.HOOfeet; cost estimated at
000.000. Materials arc more a<ves-ibl.
in Nicaragua, and the country is mon
healthy. The Nicaragua line enters lh<
ocean at a much lcs- distance from the
United Slates on each side than the Pan
ama route.
He criticised the plans of the French
congress recently held, and did not re
gard a s.-a-level eanal a- practicable. In
one place the cost of tile excavation ol
certain cuts on his plan would be $lO.-
500.000. and for the French plan at tin
sea level. #40.000.000 lie did not helicv.
this generation would ever a
level eanal.
(len. Alvord. U. S. A., said, in tin
discu-sion. that the United Stat' - g.iv
ernment had had the matter under i-on
siderntion for fhirty years, and has .-nt
its best officers to examine and survey
Incomes of Physicians and Clergymen.
A New York letter to the Boston Jwr
nol says: A large number of the New-
York pastors are very wealthy men.
This is almost always true of the ('at ho
lies. and has Ix-en true of nearly all of
the older pastors. Dr Spring was a
very rich man. and in old age married a
very wealthy woman for a wife. Tin
cider Tyng is a millionaire; Dr. William
Adams has always been rich since he
has Iteen in New York. Dr. Beveair of
Trinity < hurch has an - state in litigation
to-day. A 'arge portion of the clergy
are poor. Two or three of the denomi
nation are rich. Nearly every success
ful doctor lias a fortune. It is the same
with eminent legal practitioners. When
the minister gets poor, as he does at the
last of his life, the lawyer and the doc
tor becomes rich. When lie outlives his
usefulness, as lie does when he becomes
old, the lawyer becomes a judge and th<
doctor a professor. 1 asked an eminent
physician the other day, " Why is this?"
lie replied : " It results from the wny we
begin. Nearly every practicing physi
cian and lawyer at the start is jxmr. H<
has his tame to get and his fortune to
win. He spends years in laving tin
foundation of his fame. He studies econ
omy and rigidly looks out for the cop
pers. He isn't required to entertain
anybody, anil nobody expects he will
maintain the style of a successful mer
chant or a rich lawyer. He travels little
and earns his money before he spends it.
A minister takes his position at a bound.
The vounger lie is the more popular lie
is. fie takes a rank with a lawyer ami
merchant and doctor at the start. He is
Hush in funds, and imagines his bright
days will always last. The money th it
lie should lay up for his waning hour
he spends in trips to Kurope, and visits
the places of fashion and culture When
the pastor has got to the summit and
looks down the western slope, he has
spent his money Just as the doctor and
lawyer have the foundations of their
wealth laid and fame and usefulness well
secured. There is not a profession in
New York in which it is so easy to lay
up a competence for the future as the
ministerial one. The average pay is
larger than any other profession."
A Harrow Escape.
A California railway engineer had n
narrow escape from a bottomh'4> pit a
fortnight ago. He hod charge of a con
struction train and was hauling gravel.
A short distance out of Bcnieia. and be
yond Government Point, is a piece of
tule land. Thousands and thousands of
yards of dirt were thrown upon it when
the road waa built, and vet in a abort
time, even during the night, out of sight
the whole would go. At last the road
was ballasted and the track laid, and the
raiiroad authorities were smiling at the
thought of having their road in good
working order by the first of September.
The engineer noticed that the earth had
a depressed appearance, but he was so
far advanced that it was impossible to
stop, and having on a powerful head of
steam, he opened the valve and went
rustling over the dangerous place, and
at the same time felt the ground settling
under the train. In a moment they
were over the morass, and upon check
ing the engine the men on the train
looked back, and for a distance of over
three hundred feet they saw the ground,
the ties and the track in one vast body
go down into the bottom less pit a dis
tance of fifty feet.
CENTRE IIALL, CENTRE CO., PA., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1879.
American Honey Abroad.
Twelve months ago no American honey
in the comb was .-old in England, al
though a considerable quantity wan
ported from New \ "l k to Europe illgllt--
lat's. Now the trade i- ala ge one, and
tin- New York t' itHtnfrmil AAi'trltn r
tells how it has IK-CII worked up by Mr
Huge, a web know n la-e and honey man.
After contriving mean* to ship the pro
duet without breaking the combs Mr.
Huge set himself to get it introduced Oil
the royal tallli Accident suggested a
plan to this end which only American
enterprise would have ever dared to carry
out. Mr. Huge, while dining HI an Eng
lish chop house in lamdott, took up a
bottle ol sauce, and on the laU-1 found
that the condiment was prepared by one
Who had IHCII high st ward at Windsor
Castle. " There s mv man." thought
Mr. lloge, and away he went in search
of him; ultimately succeeding in obtain
ing an inirtaluetiou to the inventor of
the sauce. The merits of the sauce wa
nt" course the lir-t thing spoken of, and
the American praised it to the utmost
He then said I lint his object in Seeking
the former high steward wa- to intro
duce the - nice into tin I ruled Stat.
whereof course it would certainly have
a . irg. -al. through the New Yorkhous.
which had sent him to England.
Arrangements were miule to hav.
the sauce introduced here, and
the ex-high steward was in good
humor, 'litis was the time to in
troduce the real object of the visit, and
the American said Now, 1 want vu
to do a giwd turn for me. ('an you not
get a ea. of American .oiub honey
placed on the Qll. • ti's table' Ihe holt, t
will tell for itself afterward, a* you will
find when 1 send you a case tor y en
own use." " Nothing easier " replied
the ex-high steward; "1 am well ac
quainted with Un- pf-sent high steward
of \V imiser Castle. *n.l he w i.S do any
thing I request of him." The next day
a ease of the bc-t honey was sent to the
ex-high steward's house, and -ooti a'fer
another one w a- in Windsor I'astie 1 be
henutiful comb- were placed on tlu-
Queeu's table, and her grandchildren,
the daughter- of the late Princes- Aii.-e,
were so plea.- d with it that the Queen
gave orders that ten . as.-* should I"- at
one.- purchased for the u*' of the east'e.
meaning, of inurw, h.-r own table. 1 tit
fact of this order having Rett given by
the Queen -oon Rvalue known through
the enterprise ot the American, and tin
R.mlon pns t**k up tiie -uhje t of
Vtueri.-an eonih honey, praising it to
the utmost. Even the British /Ve Jour
ai took ha'k all it had -aid against the
hon.-y, and wa- loud in its pnuse. Th
re*Uit wa- that the Ameri an comb
honey was to le found in a very sfiort
time on every " fa-hionshle" person's
table, and its success in (.rest Britain
as ured. An ordet lias ln-.-u received to
ship at onee 300,000 pounds of the new
crop, to he followed by a like quantity
at a later period.
An Aerullth in Court
Prof. I'irrff'i |>wh bflttrt* the iclfn
ti?.t. at "•aratoga, dt-ilt mainly on the*
hiviii!jf bodies "mlI-<1 meteors. and
which, according to I'rof. Ni-wtort, of
Yaii' College, ar< *•> uum<T(iu< lliai n<-
fewer tlmi! four hundred million* of
them ent r lite earth's atmosphere every
vear. Fortunately for us.it is only the
large-,: of th**e meteoric stone* —and
thev* are exceedingly rare— which do
not bi'*oine who.ly lt**ipated befori
reacuing the ground: from all other* the
air is. as Prof. Newton expresses it. " a
•hie I*l t<> protect u* from an otherwise
intolerable bombarding." One of thisi
few ha*, strangely enough, brought up
an entirely new question of property
aw in France. One night not very long
since a peasant crossing a ll'ld saw a
meteor of unusual magnitude, which
fell with a great noise and touched the
ground within a few yard*}of |his a fec(.
Recovered from his fright, he went to
thw *i>ot and unearthed a stone of con
• id* raiee size. which, in *• i' nlific lan
guagc. is ealled an aerolith. It occurred
to the man that what had dropped down
to him from Heaven must !*• a rarity
and might have a money value After
■ onsulting tlie hi* com
mune. he took the mvsterioUS substance,
of no terri striai oi* ration, to the I**ou
,lun Museum, anil there received in i >-
change for it tlie, to him. wonderlhl
-UIII of #''.*. Short-lived was hi* joy.
rile proprietor of the field visited by a
product of the *ki<-*. who live* in Pari*,
read in the newspapers an account of the
celestial transaction, and strong in a
maxim prevailing in France to this
day. that property in land extend* from
"heaven nlwivo to heil beneath.* 1 ia
structed a county attorney to bring an
action, lie claimed either the r**iitu
tion of the aerolith which fell upon hi*
land, or #B.OOO damng'-s, which l.ejudged
to be the value of it. The case has not
vet been decided, ami threaten* to drag
its weary length for some time to mms
It has. however, been pretty clearly es
tablished that the damages claimed are
excessive. There is a regular tariff of
the value nl aerolith* at the Paris Mu
seum, and s*,'3 i* a high average price.
F.minent legal talent i* engaged on both
sides, and tiiusfar the peasant i* believed
to have the better of the Parisian.
Bright'* Disease in America.
The latest medical t' eory we have
•••en about Bright'* disease of the kid
neys. says a New York paper, i* that il
is largely c u*<*d by the excessive use of
iced water and iced drinks, and its wide
prevalence in this country is thus ex
plained. It is surprising how muck
kidney complaint there is hen-, and how
great a proportion of all the deaths occur
therefrom. Brigilt's disease is compara
tively uncommon in Kumpe. owing, it
is asserted, to the very small use there
of ire and iced drinks. H<> a re prone to
think that F.uropeane do not use ice
freely because they are unwilling to pay
for luxuries. But they are opposed to lee,
many of them, at least, on hygienic prin
ciples ; they are afraid of it. particularly
the French and Hermans, who can sel
dom be persuaded to touch it. Thev like
beer and wine cool, hut not ice-cold, be
lieving that to drink wine and b"er at
•ueii a temperature as we drink theni
must do irreparable harm. It is said
that seventy-fife per rent, of Bright'*
disease known to civilization occurs
here, and that we use nearly ninety per
cent, of all the ice used in the world.
These two facts are significant; but
whether they stand related to one an
other ns cause and effect has not been
clearly determined. Tlie almost general
prevalence of the terrible malady in the
I'nited States is startling. There must
lc some special reason for it. and it be
hooves Americans, who are such suffer
ers, to try to find out what the reason is.
Escaping their Foes.
The escape of the troopers who were
out foraging at the time of the Cabul
massacre is paralleled by that of an
English soldier who was acting as ser
vant to one of Sir William McNnghten's
officers, in Afghanistan, in 1841. Having
been sent out on an errand by his master
shortly before the attnek on the British
began, he took alarm at the uproar from
the direction of the residency, and nt
once made liis way out of the town. A
Sikli trooper, who likewise belonged to
the doomed band, baffled the vengeance
of his captor* by a singular stratagem.
Knowing well that his exploits during
the war had marked him for the worst
tortures which Afghan cruelty eould in
flict, he declared that were his life given
liiiu, lie would reveal a charm making
the wearer invulnerable, the power of
which he was willing to test on his own
person. The su|>erstitious Afghans at
once agreed, and the prisoner, covering
his breast with a white cloth, bade them
fire at it. and see how it would turn
their bullets. Every rifle was instant iy
discharged, and the Sikh fell dead on the
spot, thus escaping the torments in store
for him.
A TKKKIItI.i: >Mi 111.
ttirllllM K>|*.il.ur* of m H.iiuH blri
I .A.ltrtl In Ihc tlul • mi It. ol m sin kill.
I'ru|i< tier.
j Tin* I>< troit frn I'rtss linn tin follow
ing account of tin* experience ill Mini
I Belle Johnson, n young lady who *v tin
I atxiard tin* propeller Bertschy win nit
i was wrvk<*l 'n l-akt* llurim
After leaving liny City we had much
heavy Weather mnl had become rather
accustomed t<> tin* tos-ing of tin* bont.
Thursday night no change wa* observe I
ami tin* .ady iinnt'iipT#, myself among
tin* number, i-ollivtnl in tin* after cabin
tu linti'ti to tin* Morn-* of several Soutli
nrii ladies-refugees from tin* ft-v< r epi
detllir. who had chosen tin lake a.*> a -ale
resort. 1 wan standing within three feet
of my ntati room when tin* conversation
was ended l>y a terrible crash which
' threw me headlong ai-ro>*> the cabin.
I'ln* otln r 1 alie were crowded in a cor
ner. Hot one licillg able to speak For
some minute# no om moved, and I only
lu-ard an occasional prnyi r above tin
hoarse roar. One lady, like myself, had
hail experience in similar emergencies,
and we with difficulty gained the dc. k.
I'ln* night was v*ry daik, and nothing
could l seen except the iighthoUsc liea
con. several miles aw av < >ur steam
whistle* had been .sounding signs- ot
distress. hut tin* water dasln-d over the
engine Area and liny were put out, and
the only signal on board gradually do-d
to a moan and then failed quite. \\ e
Itaiked for torches, hut there were none
on board. Our lamps had tx-en dash's 1
out and we were left groring alxiut in
the darkness Captain Metiregor had
been sick in lx-d. hul I eould distinguish
him on deck, givirffc directions for the
launching of about which was to make
an attempt at landing in order to secure
assistance. The loal was in tin* water
but a minute, and then I knew by tin*
st ri-auis 1 heard, thai it hail gon< over.
\\ ■ passed the night in this way.
comforting each other and assisting tin
crew as we could I lie male passcngt rs
oil Ixiard had secured their life-|U s. rv
ers and sat wiilt thciu on al. night, but
tin* women had given everything up and
I refused to put one on. thinking it
would only prolong my suffering, i.arly
Friday morning the Mi-ward came below
and insisted upon buckling on the W
server. It seemed like getting into my
coffin, for I hail said my ,usi prnscr and
was ready. After so uring tin* tut* w<
were led to the upper deck. and. as the
taiat threatened to pari every minute,
were .ashed one by utli to the oUt' I
bulwarks. Whenever the sea pour d
over tin* the ropes held tin* fast, and I s ,t
tied there tbres hours b king into th<
water and wishing I could go down and
bay t* it end id
Tin* captain* pai*i hy, and. with his
glass. I oou.'isn someoi our men i ling
ing to the foot of a peri*ndicuiar i ,it!
doUt forty feet in height. They had
lieen drifted as I lore tie night before,
when the small boat Was swalllpcd. I
also saw the lifelxaM Ix-ing laun licit, and
the crowd of mm hurrying un and down
tin* slmri as though bewiiderial. The
.ife-xaving tx.xt eoulil I"* s- nan instant,
then it would sink in th< trough of tin
sea. and we tliouglit it was .<ist. It
gradually nearad us. and a line was
throw n out and stvurrd by Captain K iab
riietn two men were si. n > limbing out
on tin* ropes and through the water to
ward our boat It took them a long time,
but they were at ..out on Ixiard and kin w
bow to diria-t our effort* for safety
Through their management the boats
came near by and we were hauled on
tioard and th' n taken to land. Not until
I slimml on solid ground could 1 think
that it was possible for mi* to escape
death.
The greati-st praise is due the men In
the lif- oat. 1 visited their ftation
Saturday, and found the road over
which they carried their Imat rough and
sandy. A* it was ntxuil five miles from
the propeller's wrvk. it s. etoed marvel
ous that they eould reach her at all.
Talmage > i*lt* a Coal-I'M.
The Rev T. De Witt T* mug' is print
ing some characteristic * ketches of F.ng
lish scene* and life. This shows how he
■•nnte out of a coal-pit
But wc must say good-bye 1 • these
unilrrground worker*. We get itit" tb
" rage" and prepare for a- 'til. Tin*
guides warn us that we near the lop. and
the speed of the eagi* i* slackened : the
sensation will In* somewhat distressing
sfiiro enough! We gel alxmrd. throw
our arms over the iron bar with a -tout
hug. tin* signal of " All readyis given,
and we fly upward. Coming near tin
top. at the slackening speed, it seem* as
if the rope nitist have broken and that
we an- dropping to the tmttoin of the
mine. A few slight "Qh*"' and the
delusion passes, and we are in the sun
ligbt. Bliss t;od for this heavcnlv mix
ture! There is nothing like it \o ar
tifice can successfully iinitat' it.
YI'U need to spend a few hours deep
down in an Knglish mine to appreciate
R. ,
In the contrast it seems more yeuow,
more golden, more entrancing. \ "ti
take oft" your hat and bathe in it. "U
feel that the World netxl* more of it.
Sunshine for the Ixxtv ; *un*liine for the
mind: sunshine for tiie soul. Sunshine
of earth ; sunshine of heaven.
In the words of the old philosopher,
"Stand out of my sunshine!" l*xik
here! Why do we want any more of
these miners' lamps? They might a
well he extinguished. Their faint flicker
i* absurd in the face of the noon-day.
Thev were useftll to show us where to
tread among the seams of coal; they
were good to light Up the genial laces of
the miners, while we talked to them
alxitit their wages and their families.
lamps are valuable in a mine. But
blow them out now that we stand under
the chandelier which at twelve o'clock
noon hangs pendant from the frescoed
dome of these blue F!ngiih heaven* So
all the tallow-dips of earthlv iv will tw
submerged when the Old B liry of the
next world strikes twelve for celestial
noon. Departure from this world for
the piod will only b6 getting out of the
hariT-woj king mine of earthly fatigue
into the everlasting radiance of Kdenio
midsummer. Home, now! stop tbr.i
moralizing and drop that lantern of tiie
collieries.
The I'*e of Pain.
The power which rules the universe,
this great, tender power, uses pain as a
signal of danger, .lust, generous, beau
tiful nature never strikes a foul blow;
never attacks us behind our hacks; never
digs pitfalls i.r lays ambuscades; never
wears a smile upon her face when there
is vengeance in her heart. Patiently she
teaches us her laws, plainly she writes
her warning, tenderly she graduates their
force, lxmg before the tierce, red dan
ger light of pain is flashed, she pleads
with us—as though for her own sake,
not ours—to be merciful to ourselves and
to each other. She makes the over
worked brain to wander from the suh
ieot of its latwirs. She turns the over
indulged body against the delights of
yesterday. These are her cnuth>n| sig
nals, "(to slow." She stands In the
lillhy courts and alleys that we pass
daily, and heekons us to enter and realize
with our senses what we allow to exist
in the midst of t lie culture of which we
hr:ig. And what do we do ourselves?
We ply whip and spur on the jaded brain
as t hough it were a jibing horse —force it
back into the road which leads to mad
ness, and go on full gallop. We drug the
rebellious body with stimulants, we hide
the original and think we have escaped
the danger, and are very festive before
night. We turn :iside, as the Pharisee
did of old, and pass on the other side
with our handkerchief to our nose. At
last, having broken nature's laws, ami
disregarded her warnings, forth she
comes—drums beating, colors flyiog—
right in front! to punish us. Then we
go down on our knees and whiinpei
about it having pleased God Almighty
to send this affliction upon us. and we
pray Him to work a miracle in order to
revei>> tin natural consequence* of our
I disobedience, or *aV c Us tl'olli til* trouble
of d. ing our duty, lit olhet words, we
put our fingers in the lire and beg that
it may not burl Tmnple Bar.
Nil) the l.lght first But.
Next time you go out on tin* Michigan
Central road take a scat on tin- right
liand side of the car, so that you may
notice, UIRIUI ten miles down tin* road, a
| little old n d farmhouse. Tin curtains
! will be down, the doors shut, and rank
weeds and tall grass,s will meet tiie fly.
| ing glance in tin* front yard. A month
i ago old Nun Rogers lived there; to-day
the place is in tin- keeping of rat* and
mice and desolation. The old woman
| wa* a widow and childless. If she had
•i relative anywhere in tins great world,
j thus** who buried ln*r were not aware of
] the fact. Sin lived all alone, having
only a bit of land and Is-ing aided by
kind neighbor* to raise enough to supply
her wants. Kevt n or eight years ago,
when her last child left home to uiis*t a
y lolent dt alh oil this same road, the men
of the rai - became interested in th t
quaint old farmhou* One night they
-aw a bright light in one of thy win
dows. lis ray- streamed out over the
ilowi r> and tell ujHin the rails along
which the wheels thundered, and the
cnginet r wondered over the signal. The
.amp was there the next lligilt aild the
next, and it was never missed for a
-ing!<* night until one evening a month
ago. Old Nan. deprived of husband aild
children, made friends with the rushing
train-and their burdens The trainmen
sis ill found that the lamp Was for theiu,
and they watch'-d for it. During the
■ ariy evening hours they saw old Nan
ny's face fas-binil the li fat or at the door,
and a thousand times conductors, engi
neers and hrak- men have called cheerily
1 through the darknes ,
"liuod night. ol Nanny; <od bless
you' '
W inter and summer the light was
there. Winter and summer tin* train
men .i-okcd for it. and the more thought
lui ones often left a bit oi money with
tin station men beyond to help tlie old
woman k<*.,, the bright rays shiuing.
Tin* lamp wa- not Un-iv for one train,
but for ad, and all m- n understood the
sentiment and apprt iaud it. One dark
night not long ago, when the wind
how,e<l ,-uid the r iindrops beat fieroejy
agaitisl tn-ad.ighl and cab, the engineers
missed tin signal iight The* looked
o*r it again and again, n one who sud
den y it - an o.d landmark in a city.
; and wln-n they failed to tind it the hand
inst inctix' y w mil up to tJie tbrottle, aa
! it danger luikeii un the curve below
i Tlach trainman alMiartl that night looked
: .'or the signal. Is atnc anxious at its al
si'iicc, anil made in juirim at the station*
above and Next day men went
inun tu 111 iitlie oiti !uu- . fearing old
Nanny might b* ill. There sat the iatup
on the window-sill, but the oil waxex
iiausl'-t!. In her l>ed. si*ining to have
, only fallen asleep, was the pool old
woman, cold and dead life and lamp
had gone out together, and men of rough
iN>k and hardened lnmrt tap.ici!. as they
heani the news
" I'isir old woman' May her spirit
i rest in haaven!" /' :n>tt Frtt i'rtM
Comets.
Tin* comet* on r> orl exciod son
What an* Pailixl "short jx-riod" comet*
■ are: K.ncke's, whose time <i| r, Volution
is !J years; De Vieo'*. i|; Winne, ke's.
■4: Brorson's. , r 4 ; Bid a - '•!; D \rr,--t'#.
'•4; F'aye's "4 . .Mi-chain's.
Tei.
The lone , • riod comet* are those of
I'Wo, who-' time of revolution is H.*H
years; that of l"tt. li*-'.(w3 years; of
I "To, 75,314 tears; of I*ll, 3.000 ynn;
of iKttt. 13.W y.ars.ot ldt. 108,090
years; of I*l7, 13.b1* years; of 1 "vV-.
18,000 ytan; i 1801, I&JW4 ytm.
Bielaa' comet divided into two part*
in lt*4o. and in lnisi those part* were
i 890,090.000 miles aimrt, and bad en*
;ir< y di- ipparsd by letsi
I l OGGIA's COUP ( was discovered in
l*Tt. It i non-pcrioilica! and was 133,-
ikW.tkHt niiii-s from the *tin whin dls
' covered. In .July of tliat year it was
' within tiJ.isat.taiO miles d both earth
| ind sun. and it tail was <niput*d to 1m
118,000,000 alkla kv|tk,
Dor.ati's comet, disi-overed in IHSS.
j bail a tail mil'-* long, ar.d
, 11 s mam l**ly very nearly collidixi w itJi
Venus. Ait hough sUpjM>ed to lie \ i
parous, this ootU' t was calculated to M
F'.iN • to have the weight o! a sea TR't feet
deep and 40,0ti0 square mill's in extent.
11 alley*# comet ha* Jx-en identified a*
identical with the comet* of IW7.
lissi mo l-V.t. Its reappearance is prog-
H*ticat'sl for 1018.
(iucke'w comet [KISSCSKC* no tail, u ti
illy. in JHts. •however, it pnwntsd
two tails, one toward and one from the
sun.
Ix'xcil's. or " the lost iximet," was
caught or , ntanglial among the satellite
ol .lupiter in 1770. reappnuiai in
1770. again liecamo entangled, and ha
not tes>n xs'ti since.
The superstitions of all times and na
tions have rcgardial the apin-arancc of
comet* with dread, as licing omens of
disaster. The spectroscope fails to show
their elicmical composition. It was
shown by Schiapaviiii, in |s72. that
comet* re sometimes cjnnected witli
meteoric showers, and hi* distxivery has
Ins n indorsisi by noted a-tronoiners.
I.vclio Bralic liiscovervd that comets
an'extraneous to our atmosphere, and
Newton th t tln-y ari- subjected to the
same principle which guides the planets.
Three Counterfeits.
'Three new counterfeit national bank
nop* have a pin ared. One dollar bills
on tin* Nations, Flagle Bank of Boston,
tin* on the (Jlobe National Bank of
Boston and Dedhaiu National Bank of
Hcdbam. Mas*. These counterfeit* are
prepared by the photographic process,
and will be very dangerous until the
public are acquainted with the peculi
arities that distinguish them. An ex
animation of a genuine bill will show
that the whole paper can be distinctly
si-en through the red Jim's. The word
"series 1875" are so small that it is im
possihle to color them. In the counter
feit bill they will 1M found badly
blurred. The work of genuine lathes
is very clear on the hack of these coun
terfeits. The green tint is not well
imitated. These counterfeits an- printed
in black and tiien painted green. ')n
some places, on the hacks of the fives
particularly, in the center of tin'upper
lander, when* the words "National
Currency" occur, no attempt has been
made to give the green tint. The ones
arc much better done, hut on a close ex
amination will prove to lie put on after
the border has I printed in black.
On the genuine national hank notes the
hacks are made by two impressions, the
lainler in green and the center in black.
The following arc the numliers that
have bicn used on these counterfeits:
On the National Kagle Bank letter A.
Treasury number SII.tKM; hank num
ber .'Mi1.055. Globe National Bank, let
ter (.'. bank numlicr 2,(MM; Treasury
numlier 1. 333.71 H. Dedham National j
It-ink. Is'ttcr B. bank numlier 824 ; !
Treasury nunilwr It. N>4.B()fi. —AVie York
•Star.
Qumtsland, the youngest ot the Aus
tralian group, occupies the northeastern
quarter of the Australian continent and
stretches from the northern boundary of
Ni xv Hnßth Wales t;> the Gulf ot Car
pentaria. It is twelve times the size ol
England, twice the size of Canada and
half as large again as England, Ireland,
Scotland. Wales, France and Spain com
bined. It is rich in gold.
The boy who sunstitutes a living for a
dead hornet in the collection of a near
sighted ent sinologist, and tiien nsksthe
man of science to show him where the
insect's sling is located, should he held
responsible for any profane sentiments
the victim may advance.— Boston Globe.
TKRMB: $2.00 a Year, in Advance.
TISKLY TOI'IC*.
Al the close 111 last year there were
ef.Ml miles of railroad in opera
tion in the United States, with a popu
lation of nlsiut 38,000,000. The number
of mile* of road in operation in Europe
was alsiul Pt.ouo, for a population o
-olio-thing over 300,000,000. The I'Ditwl
States thus ha* a tulle of railroad to
alwiut 464 inhabitants, and Europe one
■uile to alxiut 3.3V3 inhahitanu; or. in
other words, every iuliabilant of the
United States has about seven times as
much railroad as every Euruptu.
A rtingress for the improvement ol
the condition of the blind has been held
in Berlin. Foremost among the ques
tions was that of the printed or written
character U. u->d by I . blind, and
the eoligreas de.-id.il that the system of
writing and printing by combination of
raised points, first introduced by lui
B wilk in 1x34. should lie adopted iu
tlermasy without modifi.-ation. Another
ini|>ortant decision was that tli- prac
ticed! uniting the blind and the deaf in
the same institution wa* highly objec
tionable. 'Hie congress also recorded
the fact that in the ex perienee of German
institutions rope-making is one of the
best trades there practiced by the blind.
The funeral of llerlig. a Socialist mas
ter turner, wa# the scene ot a great So
cialist demon •.nation at Dresden. Sev
eral thousand sympathizers followed
the txidy Ui Ule grave, but the police
took advantage of an old Saxon law
against the public exhibition of reputs
iican emblems to forbid the wearing ol
political ensignia. No funeral oration
y as permitted, and wnen a woman
-lepfx-d forward and spoke a lew words
an onler wa* given to am-sl her. the
• xecution of which was, however reu
der*-d impossible by the closing in ol
the crowd. Several wreath* wen-thrown
on the coffin, but not before the police
had insisted on the removal of the red
nik rihlton* with which they were tied.
A great business is being done this
year in the importation of iron from
Africa for use in American manufac-
Torii*. The great reason for preferring
African iron to native on- is, of course,
it* cheapness, but it has the further ad
\ anutgt- of being remarkably free from
phosphoru*. Tills ore has been imported
to some extent for two or three years,
but "never in such quantities as now.
one authority estimating that two hun
dred thousand tons wi!l tu- shipped to
New York this year and half as much
to Philadelphia, the latter for use at tiie
iron work* in Bethlehem and Johnstown
and by the Pennsylvania Steel Com
pany. Another notable feature in tin
iron trade is the importation of Bessemer
pig. of which forty five thouaand ton
are known to be under contract for the
INiitod State*. There have been no im
}*>rtations of this sort la-fore sine* 1873.
Mexican Horses.
Horses are bred in groat numtwrs at
the diffen-nt I acienda* in provinces.
Mime ot the largi-r i--ute having eighty
or a hundred tliousand cattle and titteen
or twenty thousand mules and homes.
The pasturage : green ail lte vi-ar round,
.and the animal* receive no oilier food.
They multiply as the bin!* do, and with
a* little profit to their owners. Ijcnermllv
-peaking, they run wild until wanted,
when they arc caught with a lasso, hood
winked and immediately mounted. For
the first fift.en or twenty rainutm they
exerttheir wlaile -trcnglh to throw tin ir
rider. liut. finding thejr effort* unavail
ing. patiently submit, and gi-neraiiy give
but little trouble nftcrward Owing to
their immense numbers, h<>r*<* are sold
verv cheap, the averagi- price for an un
tiroken hi*rl t* ing eight or ten dollar* a
load, with but little demand at that. It
-ometime* ix-cur* that the government
purchase* a few liundred hr Uie army,
but. generally sjx aking. then- an few
o -iion* when tiiey can be sold. Mexi
can hop., *. a.* a rule, are not liandso ne.
and arc -■ iiiotnfmotv than fourteen hands
high; -till thev have nothing of the pe
eu i:ir bui d iT the pony alout tliem.
Fed entirely upon gra**. they yd endure
mop' fatigued nd are capable of main
taining a rapid igsit for a longer t ; me
ticin tip* grain-irdliorsc# of otlier lands.
In the town* and eiti<* they receive
tic - intic*! of can* and the meagerest
nllowanes of fixxt. Tiid up the whole
day in the stilling courtyards, they
stand pat ion Jy aaaiting their evening
ncai Kp'x UI ntly they are turncl loose
together- when it pajuirc* the use of a
ia*so to'eateh litem. So familiar with
this instrument do they become, that the
moment the animal fia-ls the rope about
it- in- k it stands stock still, when with
out it it would not suffer itself to be
saddled or bridled.
Mad 4'lear Throngh.
It is rol.atixi that Hen. Scott's famous
letter to Zachary Taylor, announcing
the withdrawal of most of the regular
troop- from Taylor'- command, to lie
pia-i-d under his own in a projected
movement from Vera Out toward the
capital of Mexico, wa* rei-cived when
Hen Taylor was at supper with his staff
near Monterey. The gvncral asked Col.
Biis- to read it to him. He had just re
plenished his rxffw cup. and wa* en
gagisl in cooling it with a spoon while
the reading went on. This appeared to
make no further impression upon him
than that indicated by a contemptuous
"sniff." but a* the real import of the let
ter Ix'gan to apix-ar his whole manner
changed, and be ahxtracbally dipped the
*txxin into a bowl of mustard, which sat
upon the table, and stirred it in the cof
fee. This he repeated until by the time
the reading of the lettir was finished
the contents of tlie mustard howl were
exhausted. Without saying a word,
and to Bliss' astonishment and horror,
lie raised the cup to his lips and gulp**)
down the whole abominable compound.
He then broke into an excited and pro
fane harangue, consigning to everlasting
infamy every one concerned in the pro
poaed depiction of liis forces, and only
ceasing when his spixvh was overtaken
by a paroxism of stuttering, which, with
him, usually followed a violent out
break of temper. The colonel felt sure
that from the amount of mustard he had
swallowed, combined witli the intclli
frencp lie had received, it would inlalli
ily sicken him. but nothing uncommon
came of it. " Ratsbane, at • that mo
ment." said Bliss. " would. I am eon
vineed, have liail no more effect upon
liini than upon the stomach of a Milh
riilati's." Hen. I'leasanton, who <"t>ni
mantled the general's escort in Mexico,
says that when once thoroughly aroused
he was the maddest man he ever saw—
mat! Iroui the crown of his hat to the
soles of his hoots.
Humors of the Paris Kxposition.
Among the humors of the late Paris
Exposition, says a Washington cor
respondent. are the errors committed in
the awards of diplomas to a number of
American exhibitors, growing out of the
unfaiuiliarity of the commission of
awards with the American vernacular.
In looking over the diplomas which
have been received at the office of the
commissioner general 'he following have
been casually noted: The diploma in
tended for the Providence Tool Company
is addressed to the Providence /bo/Com
pany ; that for the Gardner Gun Com
pany is granted for a Fusil pour la Jar
diniere or Gun for a Gardener; that for
the Wamsutta Mills is granted to .Vows
Wamsutta* The Waterbury Button
Company receives its diploma in the
name of Waterbury, Button <S* Company.
The commissioner general, understand
ing for whom the diplomas were in
tended, forwarded them to their destina
tion. The parties, however, expressed
great disappointment, especially the
"Providence Fool Company," who are
anxious for a revision of the sward in
so far as the designation is concerned, as
thev are hardly willing to make a public
exhibition of' their laurels under any
such colors as those indicated.
NUMBER 38.
THE CAXfOH OF NIAGARA.
Hvrr NrMrrl.Ni I Han Ibr rail. Tbm
•rltM-Tka lK.ik of Ibr Water—l'.l
-riclr.ii Kipinratlon*.
'fin (any on of Sin* urn, say* a corre
upondent of the Syracuse HUmdnrd, i fur
more mysterious than the fail* them-
IM*IVC. Within the era <<f civilisation
in America no one wiu able to *u< ••**.
fully pierce through the fiert* and terri
ble undercurrent to the bottom, until re
cently the governno-nt iUelf thought it
necetiaary. In behalf of nietn*. U under
take the task. All the gn-al scheme*
imagined to ire strictly lelfßtllf were
put in operation by bunglers to cdrtain
the depth *of water beneath the fall*,
tiara ol railroad iron, paiia of stone*,
and all unreasonable, bulky and awk
ward instruments were attached to long
line*and cast off from th' railway bridge
and elewhere, but positively refused to
sink. The very bulk of the instrument
wu sufficient, no nuttier what their
weight, to give the powerful undercur
rent away to buoy them upon the sur
face, or near it. The United State*
Corey of Engineers, however, witii a
.mat! lead of only twelve pound,
weight attached to a blender rope, or
sounding-cord, easily obtained the depth,
iron the (alia to the lower bridge. A.
your correspondent assisted in the hy
'lrographiral operations, the facta may he
given a. they presented themaeive*
One day he launched in a small boat
not far below the fail, and entered on a
mobi exciting and perilou* exploration
of Uie canyon. The old guide, long in
charge of the miniature ferry situated
here, accompanied the party. With
gteat difficulty we approached within a
short distance of the American falls
which darted great jets if water on U>
and far out into the stream. The rosr
ww so terrible that no voice or human
sound, however near we were to one an
other. could be beard. The leadsman
cast the linc.which passed r .pidlv down
and told off eighty-three feet. This was
auite near the shore, facing out of tin
friendly eddy which iiad assisted us up
so near the fails, we shot rapidly down
stream The next cast of the lead told
of 1(10 feet, deepening to 192 feet at tin
inclined railway. The average depth to
llie Swift Drift,what* the river suddenly
becomes narrow, with a velocity too
great to be measured, was 153 feet. Just
under the lower bridge the whirlpool
rapids set in. and so violently are the
waters moved that they rise like ocean
waves to the height of twenty fee*., at
this point our correspondent, at the
time of the survey, computed the depth
at 210 feet,which is accepted as approxi
mately correct.
Tli* terror* of the gorge below Uii*
j point are known to but few. Indeed
the ft Kit of man scarcely ever treads this
I infernal legion. where a)m<tsi jarpen
: >iit-ular walls rise oo each side of the
verge of the river from S!7u u> I>6o feet in
height. Here the continually crumbling
of the rtx ks has formed a precipitous
oath way in piai-es on tbe river's edge;
elwwh* one must ding to the crevices
in the rock, to jutting crag*, or other
wise to get along. A party of four of us
made a survey of the interior of tiiis can
yon from Lewiston to Suspension Bridge
With great difficulty we clambered
along It was a tearful yet exciting ex
ploration. At tim<* the river would
rise suddenly some ten and even fifteen
feet as if a great dam atmvehaul broken,
causing a hasty retreat of the parties
up the side of the canyon. From point*
above. na-ks and stones frequent ly MI.
causing lively apprehension, and. to add
to tiie catalogue of embarrassment*, an
occasional rattlesnake attempted to re
tard our progress, and one of them was
killed and his rattles pn-served in com
memoration of the ever t. (letting into
the canym at lx*wision was compara
tively easy hut making one's way out
was another thing. N*>-arlv a mile be
low Iteveaux (oiler*, which is situated
half a mile north of Suspension Bridge,
the possibility of making <>ur way along
the river's edge ceased. Xlgilt was iusl
approaching, and It was a day's liard
work, nearly, to make lx-wisUin". Above.
Uie rock towered nearly 3f* feet. We
had the alternative of remaining in tiiis
abode of terror* over night and return
ing to Ix-wiston the following day. or of
fighting an almost impossible passage
to the steps leading down from the col
lege we determined to accept tin
latter.
After an hour's climb we made our
way to within 100 feet of the top. where
just a narrow ridge formed by the
crumbled debris seemed to extend. We
followed this perhaps half a rod, when
it came to an abrupt termination. Sev
eral rods beyond was a broad pathway
lejuiing up to the rocks.but in the interim
oniy the ban- wails of rock, almost per
pendicular from the top to the rushing
water. STO leet below, met the despair
ing gaw of our party. Just above our
heads was a crevice in the rock* whieh
seemed to cross Uie intervening spare.
With almost certain doom staring us
directly in Uie face, we determined to
try to cross by standing tiptoe in the
crevice ami cling to the juitings of the
rocks. Tiie various implements of the
parly were divided up. a heavy theodo
lite falling to your correspondent, which
was strapped on his hark. The tallest
clambered up to the crevice first, tiie
otlcrs assisting and following, and the
writer getting up last. Then began a
perilous struggle to reach the pathway
beyond. All arrived there safely, when
your correspondent, with the heavy
burden >n his hark, was but midway
across. Here a sharp rock just tlw height
of the breast impeded the way. In at
tempting to get around this the boot
failed to find a resting piece. The heavy
instrument was pulling me off tuy bal
ance. The fingers were loosening their
slender hold; 100 feet above was the
calm, safe world. 107 below the roaring
of the waters. One fK>t slipped off and
was going down—down: a mist came
over the eyes when my foot caught on j
a slender goosebi rrv-bush and a hand
suddenly grasped back and drew me
around to a sate standing place. In a
moment more the pathway was reached
and the safely of sill assured, but never
will the frigh'tfu! scene have the senses.
One of the party saw the danger and
rescued the participant, or else the
gooseberry - bush was the saving means—
we have never quite understood which.
" Papa WraugePs" Win.
" Papa W range!," the venerable Arid
marshal who died lust year in Berlin,
hiui more than tlio proverbial German
thrift. A comical illustration of his eco
nomical peeuliarities has just come to
light at Wiesbaden, where a famous mil
itary hospital exists, named atter the
Kmpeior. and founded chiefly by army
suliseriptions, every officer in the Ger
man forces, from sub-lieutenant to field
marshal, having contributed one day's
nay to the original cost of construction,
l'apa Wrangel visited and carefully in
spected this institution in 187S, but de
parted without making the customary
contribution to its collection-box. A
fortnight later, however, the hospital
authorities received a large hut not very
heavy packet, accompanied by a letter
from his excellency, stating that the
package in question contains a gift for
the infirmary, but must not he opened
until after the death of the illustriout
giver. No mention was made of the
value of the present, hut the size and
weight of the parcel led the trusting di
m-tors to believe that it contained se
curities or perhaps hank notes to a con
siderable amount . A short time ago the
packet was formally opened in the pres
ence of several army officers, invited to
witness the ceremony, which was pre
faced by an oration expatiating upon the
generosity of the deceased field marshal,
" the hospital's noble benefactor." The
seals were broken; first one paper cov
ering, then another, was removed, and
so on. till quite a hillock of wrappers
aros# upon the table. At last came a
omd-bonrd ease, and inside it a photo
graph of Papa Wrangel's favorite
writing-table in his study at Berlin!
The photograph •was not even framed.
Astronomy lais Easy.
Hi-diddle-diddl*.
Tho SOB'S ia IHO miiAa,
And plaaow arooad kirn sogiaad
Acs swinging in spas*.
Hold forovsr in plans
In th* Zodiac girth* or fannd.
Illdiddl*.diddle.
Th* dan's in lh middle,
And Memory'* Mat to th* soa,
WhO* V*nos so bright.
Seen at morning or night,
on* sooond to |oin la lbs lan.
Ili-diddla-diddlo,
Tho Son's ia th* middi*.
And third in th* group is oar Karl*.,
Wlul* Mar* with h Am,
Ho wart lb* and dire.
Swings around to bew.ioi. I ti.-earth.
Hi -diddl*-d !ddl*,
Th* Sun's ia tb* middle.
While Jupiter. n*st alter Mar*;
And his lour moons si night
Show tii* *p**d of th* lights
Nsit golden-ringed Saturn appear*.
lil-dktdle-dliidle.
The Sun's in the middle,
After Saturn oomes Uranus tor;
And his antic* so <)u**r,
led astronomer* oner
Co old Neptune, who drives the hurt u
ITEMS OK INTEREST.
AD imperious Caaoar—The sheriff.
An indearrihable uncle—Carb-unci a
Sound logic—Arguing through tho
telephone.
How many passenger* will a train of
circumstances carry r
Parker county, Tcvas, boasu of co
cumbers thirty-six inches ong.
Mount Stanford, in the Sierra Neva
das. is covered with red snow.
A man who declared himself to be in-
I toucau-d with music was considered air
tight.
A new Mormon temple now in course
of erection at Salt Istke City is to cost
$5,<00.000.
To use the new machines or the old
fashioned washboards? Aye. there's lbs
rub.— iXrayutu..
There are now in Texas over 5,000,000
i sheep, lmsl year over 11,000,000 pounds
of wool wet* shipped out of the State
In Tennessee. South Carolina and
Delaware clergymen are not permitted
i to become member* of the Statu Legia
■ ature.
A Black Hills correspondent states
thai he believe* the development of the
mineral resources of the Black Hills has
only oegun.
A fashion item .ays short dresses will
be the rage in the tail. Long dreuses
have been the rage in the fail—of many
man. (Jonsmda Enterprise.
A tarns owl used in former times to be
as common in English barn, as a cat in
the house. He was kept for the mice
which depredated on the grains.
An electric light in Saratoga enabled
' jxTKons to read a newspaper at Ballston,
| seven and one-half mnts distant, on a
lark night. A powerful reflector was
' Used.
Samuel Xussbaum murdered bis wife
at Girardeau. Mi.souri, and was slopped %
tn an attempt io kill himself an the spot;
but he was determined to die, and lias
finally accomplished his purpose by
starvation.
" It's a proof of the singular operation
of the human mind," says a mentai phil
osopher. •• that when two men accident
ally change hats, the man who get# the
worst tile is always the first to discover
the mistake."
Mr. Savage, an old man in the Ilart'
ford pourbouse, has a weli-authentjcated
claim for about sloo.oo© of the French
*poli_tion fund, and the money i* it. the
L tailed States treasury, but Congress re
i fuses to pay it ouu
Mr*. Elisabeth Thompson is circuLst
; ing a tract which shows that the pec pie
! of the United States pay over $700,000,-
i <(00 a year for spirituous and fermented
I liquors, and only $*5,500,000 foreduca.
j lion and $48,000,000 for religion.
The French have been trying, with
*otne success, the plan of towing canal
boats by locomotive*. A railway is laid
down on the towpath. about one meter
(3* incites) from toe side of the canal,
and on this are run small CH-O motives of
four or more tons, according to lb*
weight to be pulled.
The forest near Dillon. Kansas, has an
uncommon hermit in the person of a
j young and not ugly women, who lodge*
in * rude but. eat# vegetables and game
of her own getting, and will not say a
■ word to persons who intrude upon iter.
It is conjectured that she is insane; but.
aside from her lonely mode of life, there
' is nothing in her conduct to sustain that
belief.
A West avenue lather found Julia's
j lover staying so late every night, foi the
; past two weeks, that he finally thought
j t*. best to break tn upoo the couple in the
; parlor, and a-k the \oung man his in ten
11ions. ** My intentions." exclaimed the
frightened but sagacious youth, " are to
dig right home as fast as possible.
Mamma told me to be sure and not stay
out past nine o'clock, and I guess it
must lie near that time now. Good
night.— Rochester Erprrst.
mss axsns.
The beauteous, hnxom Bertha Bangs
U one ol oar divine*! girls;
the hangs the doors and liangv the chairs.
And likewise hsng* bar auburn curls.
She hang* on the pinna?. too.
And tmags upon th* light fatter —
But, oh. of all the hang* she hang*.
She mostly bangs her auburn ha r.
Oh. hanging, bouncing, buxom belle.
The poet's lyre with rapture twangs—
RamaMvs to the influence
Of thy beloved sad beauteous hang*.
—Si. Let.- TMl"ie.
It is estimated that there are in the
United States 400.000 railway cars of a£
kinds, also 16.000 engines. These engines
and cars in traveling over the roads lose
annually between 4.000,000 and 5.000.000-
I of.nuts. These will weigh over 1.500.-
000 pounds, and their cost is between
$30,000. and $40,000, and ttiis loss is
continued from year to year, saying
nothing of the nuts thrown in the scrap
heap, with their bolts worthless from
the use of the jam nut. also the liability
to acciden; from loose nuts.
The shade* of night were tailing last
When a mnaquito rose from hat ing parsed
A day o! henry slumber.
He stretched hi* ing* and scraped bis bil
And aaid unto himself. " I will
(io forth in search ol plunder. "
With happy song he sped away.
And ne'er returned Uil break ol day.
The morning dawned. With haggani taee
A family ol the human race
Arose from couch ol care.
The sheet* were torn, the bolster buret.
The father ol the lkmily curved.
That moaqnito had been there.
Pittsburgh Leader.
The great importance which ostrich
farming has acquired : n Southern Af
rica may lie seen from an ostrich auc
tion recently held at Middloburg, Cape
Land. The" lowest price paid for one
pair of these birds was £IBO. and several
pairs fetched £385. A few years ago
ostriches were obtained by" hunting
only, and at that time a good bird could
be bought for a menagerie or a zoologi
cal garden at a moderate price. But
since their domestication and the devel
opment of ostrich farming as an indus
i try their price lias risen enormously.
At present the Zoological Garden in
London owns not one living ostrich.
From the Cape of Good Hope 2,297
pounds of ostrich feathers were exported
in 1860. at a value of £19.261; but in 1873
the exportation had risen to 31,581
pounds, at a value of £159,679, and re
cently a hunch of picked bloods were
sold at Port Elizabeth lor £67 15*. a
pound—that is. about 15s. a feather.
Three Successive Golden Weddings.
The golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Francis Adams took place re
cently at Quincy, Mass.. in the same
house where that of John Adams was
celebrated in October, 1814, and that of
John Quincy Adams in July, 1847. The
intervals safe thirty-three and thirty-two
years—the lifetime oi a generation—and
there has probably never been another
instance in this country where three
successive generations have celebrated
their golden weddings beneath the same
roof. John Adams was seventy-nine
yews old and John Quincy Adams
eighty years old when they celebrated
their golden weddings. Charles Francis
Adams married earlier in life than either
his father or grandfather, and he is now
seventy-two years old. ,