E LANCASTER INTELLIGENCER,
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY
H. D. SMITH at.CO.
O. SMITH, A. J. STEINMAN.
aetS Two Dollars per annum payatkle
all cases In advance.
I lIE LANCASTER DAILY INTELLIOENCER I s
Wished every evening, Sunday excepted, a
per annum In advance.,
IFFICE-80UTRNFEST CORNER OF CENTRE
• ARE.
Vortrp
- -
f Frotit the January Atlantic Mnnthly.l
THE SisTEns.
lII=
n le ;mil Rhoda, stet Pre twain,
lee In the night to the sound of rain
e rush of wind, the ramp and roar
great waves elimbing a rocky shore
Ide rose up In her hed gown Ncildo.
d touted uut lute tilt . ~torm and nlght
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'unrest thou nialling, sister dear?"
hear Ilse son, and the pin...h of rain
ul roar of Ow siortlienA hurricane.
Get thee beelc to Ike lied so warm,
0 k‘,0.1 synteEtolg it slot at
What is It lo thee, I kiln would know,
hat waves are rimring and wild wiuds WOW
o lover of Ihlne's afloat to rains
harbor lights oil a night Ilke thty
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ali3crlanlolLs
Glll or core
Orie ov irue , late ill November, an
thlerly man with beetling brows, piers
ng, gray eyes, thin compressed lips, and
ong bony hands, sat in a shabbily fur•
tished room in a splendid old house,
•asting op accounts by the light of a
Angle (•aisle. 'Ulm weather being cold,
me of those baskets for live coals which
ire sometimes most appropriately called
' killjoys," glimmered in the huge
•rate. door of the room, which
melted into n tine oak-panelled hall,
vas ajar, and presently a servant-girl,
iearing a light, flitted by from the stair
,ase. Iler master called her, " Ili, Jen
ty! come here. Whitt 'sakes you look
.o seared.' is your mistress worse.'
" atearil so, Sir
" ! what :'—really
"
die?"
"She itys, alie
ooks it too! I I sir," cried thegirl, earn
•stly, blurting out what Was on her
out, " it alie were to die without a doe-
tor!"
This abnormal possibilily shocked Sir
Timothy ( rabham also, the invalid be
ing, in a manner dear to him. It was a
very general motion amongst his zieigh
bors and tenants that the mail was in
capable of caring for anybody ; but this
was ; he did care for his wife
after his own fashion. It was not per
haps an enthusiastic :at:whin:int, or a
deep one ; I don't suppose that he loved
her as \ veil as a good bargain, for exam
ple; but comparisons :u•e odious.
Ile remained silent for a while, look
ing down, and then ututteled, " I de
clared that I would never send for that
fellow Radford again ;^ which was an
error in his part; he had never made
that rash observatiLit,—it was Mr. Rad
ford who had vowed he would not come.
" Shall Charles go fur Mr. Radford,
please, Sir Timothy ?"
" There's no one else; so I suppose he
must:,
. .
Jenny Ns:mi.:twit in search foot
arum-grown-gardener named Charles;
and her master tried to get back into his
sum, hut made a mistake of twopence
.t itrthing viol lapsed into revery.
sit' Timothy I trittiltani wan not a wire
'Mall, but it he had routainud I
AO his wine's 'audition, lie would have
.been a_monster. She had now, for thirty
I,wars, devoted herself to the difficult
Link of pleasing, him ; she hail brought
him money and saved him money; born
economical, she had fl2veloped the facul
ty into extreme meanness, to gain his
approbation. Passion would have been
out of lute at his age, and hers, hut he
esteemed her.
After a hard day's work,;Mr. Radford
had turned into bed with the snug Call-
Ma he \Sala going to remain un
disturhed up to eight Welock on the fol
lowing morning, for his last "lady's
ease" was going an as favorably as if
civilization had been unknown, and no
fellow-creature looked to him fur intro
duction into the world for the next fort
night to come. Itut at half-past eleven
his sleep was broken by the
and he had to wrench himself front his
warm nook in the feathers, feel for his
dressing-gown and slippers, blunder in
to the dressing-room, which looked out
on the front I/1 the house, and open the
window. "\Vhat is it?" he shouted,
shivering as the frosty night-air blew
lit upon Ids fate, and played about his
unprotected legs.
" Please, sir, it's me,"
[dint!—your name•.'
Chvirle, from the hill,"
;!Then, Charles from the llall. you
Inv go back again, for I am not coming.
" . My lady is very ill, sir,”
"('an't help it. Tell your master
that I wont attend hint or his funnily,
and he need send no more messages, as
I shall mullle the night-bell." And
Willi these words the doctor banged
down the window.
" What are you doing, John ?" said a
voice front the bed presently.
" Tying a stocking around the clap
per of this confounded bell."
" What for?''
"To get a good sbep, in spite of Sir
Timothy (lrablutm."
" * Why, he has never sent for you"
" Ile has, though, the insolent screw;
his wife's ill."
" 0, well, don't tie up the hell, John;
she may be really bad, --dying, you
" is that to me?"
" 1 know they have treated us very
badly ; a rich man like that to refusa to
pay for your attendance; It is unheard
of! But other people might wantyou."
"Not likely.'
" No,
but it is just possible. Don't
muffle the bell."
I need hardly tell the married reader
that the doctor got growling into bed,
with tile bell-clapper free to rouse him
out again. In an hour's time the pro
voking bit. of ,iron availed itself of that
.vl),)c l'aittOtet slittetti4-,c,rt?,ct
VOLUME 71
liberty, but for some minutes Mr. Rad
ford declined to stir. Consideration for
his wife's rest, however, at length in
duced him to turn out once more, and
again go through the process of refrig
eration.
" Sir Timothy's messenger again, I
suppose?" he cried.
No," replied a well-known voice :
" I am here myself."
"For what purpose, Sir Timothy
(}rabham, do you come and disturb me,
when you know very well that „I never
intend to enter your doors again ?"
"Ay, ay," replied the voice from be
low ; " but this is not a time to bear
malice. I tell you that my wife is dan
gerously ill,—dying, I believe ; and if
she dies for want of medical assistance,
you will be responsible."
"Not so ; the responsibility will all lie
on your own shoulders. I am a poor
man, working hard for my living, 'but
no one ever knew me neglect a patient
because he could not pay me. Two
thirds of my work is done for nothing,
or next to nothing, and those; ho can
allbrd it ought to take some share of the
burden, more especially you, the lord of
the manor, under whose protection the
whole poor are placed by Providence.
Instead of which, you retuse to pay me
for actual attendance upon yourself and
your funnily for upwards of a year!"
" Stay, stay!" cried Sir Timothy :
"you mistake; I never refused to pay
you ; I (ALF: omitted to do so. You are
really wrong to look upon it as a person
al matter, because 1 Dever pay any one
unless lam actually obliged. Why did
you not bring an action ? But come, let
us see if we cannot do business together.
Save my wife, and I will pay you a hun
dred pounds. There ! '
"Eh?"said Mr. Radford, rather stag
gered. "But you know there is 110 tak
ing your word for anything."
"Conte down, and let me in, and I will
put, the promise down in black and
whit.•," said Sir Timothy.
'' I'b it sounds like business," replied
the doctor, not altogether sorry for un
excie-c ic)r 0”i rig to the aid of a dying
W0111:111. Si he shut the -window, put
on some clothes, and admitted Sir Tim
othy tirabliam, hiking him into his con
sultiug-romn and lighting the gas.
"Now, how' am Ito word it inquir
ed the baronet, taking up a pen, and ar
ranging, a sheet of foolscap before him.
"I prolltiSC to pry the sum of 1:100 ..11r.
John Moll ord , snrip on, if he r-urea —"
"No, no," interrupted the doctor; "it
is only quacks who ina,te such bargains
IN that; 1 nurst have my fee whether I
11111 successful or not."
"Very good--'Bltrycon, for a frnthem ,
lion my trifv, kit( or cm, \Vill that
" ; that will (1,. ; but sign it."
"0, I forgot. I low stupid ! And Sir
Timothy appended his name to the doc
ument, which Mr. Radford locked up
in his desk ; and their putting on his
!sliest coat :Lod hat, he left the house
with his successful visitor.
Ile found Lady Gmbh:tin very ill in
deed, quite past human aid, in fact ; and !
though he was indefatigable in his at
tendance, and performed that feat which
is popularly called " exhausting the re
sources of his art," she sank on the third
lay. The widower was not, inconsol
able. The undertaker took some tim
ber which had lately been felled, in part
intynient of expenses; and on the very
day of the funeral, Sir Timothy let a
farm, the lease of which had expired, at
an increased rent, without having to do
as much in the way of repairs as he had
anticipated ; so that he was enabled to
hear his domestic misfortune like a
Spartan.
After a decent lapse of time, Mr. Rad
ford sent in a note referring to the pro
mise which Sir Timothy I irabbam had
made him, and requesting a cheek fora
hundred pounds; and no answer being
vouchsafed to this communication, he
presently wrote again in more urgent
language; but the second letter was ig
nored as quietly as the first. 'Then the
good doctor got angry, and meeting his
debtor one day in the course of his
rounds, lie upbraided him with his con
duct, and threatened to take legal pro
ceedings.
"Quite right, doctor—quite right,"
said Sir Timothy. " Force me to pay
you, and I will do it; but I never part
With a farthing except under compul
sion ; it is against my principles; and I
am sorry I cannot make an exception
in your favor.
So Mr. Radford put the matter in the
hands of a lawyer; and in due time the
'use came O. It was a gay day in the
little country town, for the case excited
a great deal of curiosity and amuse-
menu ; the poor doctor, who was a gen
eral favorite, had been pitilessly chaired
though everybody hoped for and anti
cipated his success; and the Court was
crowded with county magnates. It ad
ded to the attraction of the affair that
Sir Timothy Grabham, with all his
faults, had the merit of being consist
ent; he would not employ a lawyer,
lad conducted his own case. Of course
the doctor's solicitor was jubilant, and
ituded the proverb which avers that
the man who so acts has a fool for
his client. " Not but what the case is
clear enough," lie added ; " all the law
yers in London could nut get him oft
paying up."
And indeed it did seem simple. l'he
doctor was put into the witness-box,
and told his story; and Sir Timothy
did not question the correctness of it;
on tile contrary, he openly, said, to the
best of his rememberance, everything
had occurred exactly as described.
" But," he added, " I should like to look
at the document which has been alluded
to, and ask the pint aur a question or
two about it."
=MM=
and he read it aloud : "1 promise pg.,'
Uri sign r to Mr. John Rartford,
surgeon, for lig eight tu, upon
1•ilf or cure." Exactly. Well, Mr.
Radford, did you cure li,
"No ; that was impossible."
" Did you kill her.
(rent Houses In England
One of our [Join - lon correspondents
writes:
About twenty years ago some of the
weatt hiest noblemen in England awoke
to the fact that their " housekeeping"
was in a frightfully " bloated and ex •
travagant condition," and that their
houses seemed to be carried on mainly
for the benefit of the upper servants.
There is actor that the matter W:LN first
forcibly brought home to the late Lord
Derby in the following manner: Hav
ing invited a friend: to visit hint it
Knowsley, the genth 3 inan in question
accepted the invitation, and told his
valet to prepare for the journey. To his
surprise and annoyance the man, a val
ued servant, long ill Ids service, incon
tinently gave warning. " What in the
world is the meaning of this?" illquired
his toaster. " Are you not comfortable?
What do you want ?" Yes, he was very
eomfortable, wanted nothing, hut per
sisted that he must leave.
. .
1I is 'ouster reflected that the man's
determination to quit his service wasal
most contemporaneous with the an
nouncement of the visit to Knowsley,
and questioned him more closely, and
at last the valet frankly said : " Well,
Sir, I confess to you I leave rather than
go to ford Derby's. The truth is that
they don't play whist in 'the room' (i. c.
the housekeeper's room, the grand salon
of high life below stairs,' 1 there, at any
thing below guinea points, and I can't
stand it "
At last the man was coaxed into going
and his master-took very good care to
advise his host of the proceedings in his
household. Soon after Lord Derby put
the whole ordering and control of his
establishment into the hands of a near
relative, a naval officer of rank, who was
dot to be trilled with ; a coup dont isteque
followed, and housekeepers and major
domos were summarily packed oft; ho
potently vowingvengeance, and now no
better managed household exists, it is
said.
One of the worst was that of the late
Duke of Devonshire, who was probably
plundered to the extent of some thou
sands an nuidly—a ci retunstance brought
to light when his butler's defalcations
were made public by a prosecution. He
maintained a most preposterously large
establishmentof servants to do nothing,
and the footmen went in and out of
waiting like the Queen's equerries.—
Once at Chatsworth, a gentleman who
knew the Duke very well, determined
to remonstrate on the subject of the ser
vants' scandalous inattention; the Duke
listened to the story, and then replied,
" Just like 'em ; just like 'em," which,
of course, was highly satisfactory to the
complainant.
The late Lord Lansdowne, a wise old
man, who refused a dukedom, and of
whom Punch there-anent wrote,
"Lord Lansdowne won't be Duke of Kerry- ;
Lord Lansdowne Is a wise man, very.
Punch drinks his health In port and sherry."
used to say that twenty-five thousand
pounds a year was enough to satisfy the
wants and wishes of any reasonable be
ing, and after that it was merely more
footmen and more fuss. There is now
the germ of a healthy feeling in this re
spect in wealthy families, and people
are beginning to admit that great estab
lishments are such great bores that the
play isnot worth the candle.—N. Y. Post.
Personal Reminiscences of Thackeray.
In this number of the Atlantic also
appears the first paper of the series of
" Our Whispering Gallery," by James
T. Fields, in which, after discoursing at
some length of Pope and an original
portrait of him which Mr. Fields pos
sesses, the writer fills page after page
with fresh reminiscencesof Thackeray.
We present such as we have room for :
As he wrote from month to month,
and liked to put off the inevitable chap
ters till the last moment, he was often
in great tribulation. I happened to be
one of a large company whom he had
invited to a six o'clock dinner at Green
wich one summer afternoon, several
years apo. We were all to go down from
London, assemble in a particular room
in the hotel, where he was to meet us
at six o'clock, .4/or/t. Accordingly we
took steamer and gathered ourselves to
gether in the reception-room at the ap
pointed time. \Vhen the clock struck
six, our host had not fulfilled his part
of the compact: His burly figure was
yet wanting among the company as
sembled. As the guests were nearly
all strangers to each other, and as
there was no one present to introduce
us, a profound silence fell upon the
room, and we anxiously looked out of
the windows, hoping every moment
that Thackeray would arrive. This un
toward state of things went on for one
hour; still no Thackeray and no dinner.
English reticence would not allow any
remark as to the absence of our host.
Everynody felt serious, and a great
gloom fell upon the assembled party.
Still no Thaekeray. The landlord, the
butler and the waiters rushed in and out
the room, shrieking for the master of
the feast, who as yet had not arrived.
It was confidentially whispered by a fat
gentleman, with a hungry look, that the
dinner was utterly spoiled twenty min
utes ago, when we heard a merry shout
• in the entry and Thackeray bounced
into the room. Ile had not changed
his morning dress, and ink was still
cisiblc upon his lingers. l.'l.•rpping his
hands and pirouetting briskly on one
leg, he cried out : "Thank Heaven,
the last sheet of the Virginians has just
gone to Ihe printer." Ile made no apol
ogy for his late appearance, introduced
nobody, shook Annuls heartily with
everybody, and begged us all to be seat
ed as quickly as possible. His exquisite
delight at completing his book swept
away every other• feeling, and we all
shared his pleasure, albeit the dinner•
was overdone throughout.
The most finished and elegant of all
ti v(111,1,, Thackeray often made a very
poor appearance when he attempted to
make aset speech to 0 public assembly.
He almost always broke down :titer the
first two or three sentences. He pre
pared what he intended to say with
great exactness, and his favorite delu
sion was that lie was about to astonish
everybody with a remarkable effort. It
never disturbed him that he commonly
made a woftil failure when lie attempted
speech-making, but he sat down with
such cool serenity, if he found that lie
could not recall what he wished to say,
(hat his audience could not help joining
in andll-niling with him when he came
to a stand-still. Once he asked me to
travel with him from London to Man
chester to I a great speech he was
going to make at the founding of the
Free Library Institution in that city.—
All the way down he was discoursitor of
certain effects lie intended to produce
on the Manchester dolls by his eloquent
appeals to their pockets. This passage
W LIS to have great influence with the
rich merchants, this one with the clergy
and so on. He said that although Dick
ens and Bulwer and Sir James Stephen,
all eloquent speakers, were to precede
hint, he intended to beat each of them
On this special occasion. He insisted
that I should be seated directly in front
of him, so that I should have the full
force of his magic eloquence. The oc
casion was a most brilliant one;
tickets
had been in demand at unheard-of
prices several weeks before the day ap
pointed; the great hall, then opened for
the first time to the public, was tilled
by an audience such as is seldom con
vened, even in England. The three
speeches which came before Thackeray
was called upon were admirably suited
to the occasion, and most eloquently
spoken. Sir John Potter, who presided,
then rose, and after som e compl i men tary
allusions to the author of "Vanity Vair,"
introduced him to the crowd, whowel
conned him with ringing plaudits.. As
he rose he gave me a half-wink from
tinder his spectacles, as if tosay :—"Now
for it ; the others have done very well,
but I will show 'em a grace beyond the
reach of their art." He began in a clear
and charming manner, and was abso
lutely perfect for three minutes. In
the middle of the most earnest and elab
orate sentence, he suddenly stopped,
gave a look of comic despair at the ceil
ing, crammed both hands into his trow
sers' pockets, and deliberately sat down.
Everybody seemed to understand that
it was one of Thackeray's unfinished
speeches, and there were no signs of
surprise or discontent among his audi
ence. He continued to sit on the plat-
form in a perfectly composed manner,
and when the meeting was over he said
to me, without a sign of discomfiture,
" My boy, you have my profoundest
sympathy ; this day you have accident
ally missed hearing (me of the finest
speeches ever composed for delivery by
a great British orator." And I never
heard him !mention the subject again.
Thackeray's playfulness was a marked
peculiarity ; a great deal of the time he
scented like a school-boy, just released
from his task. In the midst of the
most serious topic under discussion, lie
was fond of asking permission to sing a
comic song, or lie would beg to be allow
ed to enliven the occasion by the instant
introduction of a brief double shunt,.
Charles Lamb told Barry Cornwall,
when they were once making up a din
ner party together, not to invite a cer
tain lugubrious friend of theirs. " Be
cause," said Charles, " he would cast a
damper even over a funeral." I have
often contrasted the habitual q u alities
of that friend of theirs with the astound
ing spirits of both Thackeray and Dick
ens. They always seemed to me to be
standing, in the sunshine, and to lie con
stantly warning other people out of cloud
land. During Thackeray's first visit to
America his jollity knew no bounds, and
it became necessary often to repress him
when he' was walking the streets. I
well - remember his uproarious shouting
and dancing, when lie was told that the
tickets to his first course of readings
were all sold, and ,when we rode togeth
er front his hotel to the lecture hail he
insisted on thrusting both his long legs
out of the carriage window, in differ
ence, as he said, to his magnanimous
ticket-holders. An instance of his pro
crastination occurred the evening of his
first public appearance in America. His
lecture was advertised to take place at
half-past seven, and when he was in
formed of the hour, lie said he would
try and lie ready at eight o'clock, MIS
thought it very doubtful. Horrified at
this assertion, I tried to hnpress upon
the importance of punctuality on this,
the night of his first bow to an A inch
' can audience. At quarter-past seven
I called for hint, and found him not
only unshaved and undressed for the
evening, but rapturously absorbed in
making a pen-and-ink drawing to illus
trate a passage in Goethe's Sorrows of
Werther, for a lady, which illustration
—a charming one,by the way, for he was
greatly skilled in drawing—he vowed
lie would finish before he would budge
an inch in the direction of the (I omit
the adjective) Melodeon. A comical in
cident occurred just as lie was about
leaving the hall, after his first lecture in
Boston. A shabby, ungainly looking
man stepped briskly up to him in the
ante-room, seized his hand and an
nounced himself as "proprietor of the
Mammoth Rat," and proposed to ex
change season tickets. Thackeray, with
the utmost gravity, exchanged cards,
and promised to mil on the wonderful
quadruped next day.\.,
Thackeray's motto was never to per
form to-day what could be postponed
till to-morrow. Although he received
large sums for his writings, he managed
without much difficulty to keep his ex
penditures fully abreast, - and often in
advance of his receipts. Tits pecuniary
object - in visiting America the second
time was to lay up, as he said, a " pot of
money" for, his two daughters, and he
left the country with more than half his
lecture engagements un He was
LANCASTER, PA., WEDNESDAY MORNING DECEMBER 28 1870.
to have visited various cities in the Mk:-
die and Western States; but he took up
a newspaper one night in his hotel in
New York, before retiring, saw a steam
er advertised to sail the next morning
for England, was seized with a sudden
fit of home-sickness, rang the bell for
his servant, who packed up his luggage
that night, and the next morning he
sailed. The first intimation I had of
his departure was a card which he sent
by the pilot of the steamer, with these
words upon it: " Clipod-bye and (rod
bless everybody, says W. M. T." Of
course he did not avail himself of the
opportunity afforded him for receiving
a very large sum in America, and he af
terwards told me, in London, that if
Mr. Astor had offered him half his for
tune if he would allow that particUlar
steamer to sail without him, he should
have declined the well-intentioned but
impossible favor, and gone on board.
s '
One of the most comical and interest
ing occasions I remember, in connec
tion with Thackeray, was going with
hint to a grand concert given fifteen or
twenty years ago by Madame Sontag.
We sat near an entrance door in the
hall, and every one who came in, male
and female, Thackeray pretended to
know, and gave each one a name and
brief chronicle as the presence flitted by.
It was in Boston, and as he lord been in
town only a day or two, and knew only
a half dozen people in it, the biogra
phies were most convulsing. As I hap
pened to know several people who pass
ed by, it was droll enough to hear this
great master of character give them
their dues. Mr. Choate moved by in
Iris regal, ailluant manner. The large
style of the man, so magnificent and yet
so modest, at mice arrested Thackeray's
attention, and he forbore to place him
in his extemporaneous catalogue. I re
member a pallid, incisive-faced girl
fluttering past, and how Thackeray ex
ulted in the history of this frail " little
bit of porcelain, as tie called her. There
was something in her mariner that made
him hate tier, and he insisted that she
had murdered somebody on the way to
the hall. Altogether this marvellous
prelude to the concert made a deep im
pression MI Thackeray's one listener,
into whose ear he whispered his fatal
insinuations. There is one man still
living and moving about the streets I
walk in occasionally, whom I never en
counter without almost a shudder, re
membering AS 1. do the unerring shaft
which Thackeray sent that night into
the unknown man's character.
One day, many years ago, I saw him
charting on the sidewalk in London, in
front of the Atheneum Club, with a
monstrous-sized cabman, " copiously
ebriose," and I judged. from the driver's
ludicrously careful way of landing the
coin deep down in his breeches-pocket,
that Thackeray had given him a very
unusual fare. " Who is your fat friend?'
I asked, crossing over to shake hands
with him. "011, that indomitable youth
is an old crony of mine," he replied;
and then, quoting Falstaff, " a goodly,
portly man, i' faith, and a corpulent, of
a cheerful look, a pleasing eye, and a
most noble carriage.,:' It was the man
ner of saying this, then and there in the
London street, the cabman movid slow
ly oil' on his sorry vehicle, with one eye
tan eye dowy with gin and water, and a
tear of gratitude, perhaps) on Thaekeray,
and the great man himself so jovial and
so full of kindness!
Ile took very great delight in h is
young daughter's first contributtons to
the Cornhill, and I shall always remem
ber how he made me get into a cab, one
day in London, that I might hear, as
we rode along, the joyful news he had
to impart, that lie had just been reading
his daughter's first paper, which was
entitled "Little Scholars." "When 1
read it," said he, "1 blubbered like a
child—it is so good, so simple, and so
honest; and my little girl wrote it, every
word of it."
During his second visit to _Boston I
was asked to invite him to attend an
evening meeting of a scientific club,
which was to be held at the house of a
distinguished member. I was very re
luctant to ask him to be present, for I
knew he could be easily bored, and I
was fearful that a prosy essay or geologi
cal speech might ensue, and I knew he
would be exasperated with me, even
although I were the innocent' cause of
his affliction. My worst fears were re
alized. We had hardly got seated before
a dull, bilious-looking old gentleman
rose, and applied his augur with such
pertinacity that we were all bored near
ly to distraction. I dared not look at
Thacker:ly, but I felt that Ids eye
was upon me. Nephew, conceive my
distress, when he got up quite de
liberately from the prominent place
where a chair had been set for him, and
made his exit very noiselessly into a
amall ante-room leading into the larger
room, and in which no one was sitting.
The small apartment was dimly lighted,
but he knew that I knew he was there.
Then commenced,aseriesof pantomimic
feats impossible to describe adequately.
He threw an imaginary person myself
of coursei upon the floor, and proceeded
to stab him several times with a paper
folder, which he caught up for the pur
pose. After disposing of his victim
in this way, he was not satisfied, for the
dull lecture still went on in the
other room, and he fired an imaginary
revolver several times at an imaginary
head. Still the droning speaker pro
ceeded with his frozen subject (it was
something about the Arctic regions, if
I remember rightly), and now began
the greatestpantomime scene of all,
namely, murder by poison, after the
manner in which the player king is dis
posed of in Hamlet. Thackeray had
found a small vial on the mantel-shelf,
and out of that he proceeded to pour the
imaginary "juice of cursed hebenon"
into the imaginary porches of some-
body's ears. The whole thing was in
imitably done, and I hoped nobody saw
it but myself; but years afterwards, a
ponderous, fat-witted young man put
the question to me: " What was the
matter with Mr. Thackeray, that night
the club met at Mr. —'s house'."'
.lava Coffee
Of the 71:1,000,000 pounds of vollee pro
duced yearly in the world,Java furnishes
lto,ono,uo!) pounds. Next to Mocha, it
is the most highly esteemed. The
greater portion of Java coffee sold in 1
this country as the old government Java,
says the .1,1( riemi UrOorr, is only such
in name. The Holland Government
haying control of the coffee plantations,
it is shipped direct to Amsterdam and
Rotterdam, and there disposed of at
regular auction sales, the buyer not be
ing allowed to inspect it before buying.
We quote front the circular of Messrs.
lin Hoff & Ertz, Chicago, 111., importers
of government Java coffee, and who are'.
authority on all matters appertaining
to Java coffee. All the coffee plan
tations in lava, and the rest of
the Dutch East India possessions are
under the control of the Holland Gov
ernment; and all the best of the crop is
shipped by the "Maatschappy" (Dutch !
Trade Association), under contract with
the Government, directly from the
island to Amsterdam and Rotterdam,
where it is sold at their regular monthly
auction sales. This trade association has
the entire monopoly of government
Java c Mee ; and, together with the
Government, they regulate the markets
according to its requirements, by fix
ing the quality to be sold. At these
auction sales the coffees are bought
up principally for the demand of
Germany, France and Switzerland.
Hence, genuine government Java cof
fee cannot come to this country from
the islands direct, - but must be imported
from Holland. Notwithstanding this
fact, however, nearly, if not entirely,
all the coffee brought to this country
and sold as government Java is import
ed directly from the place of growth by
parties wh ) have facilities of ships, etc.,
and the best of it, (in appearance) is
sorted out and sold as old government
Java, when in reality it is either that
portion of the crop which has been re
jected by the Dutch Government at the
islands, or coffee which has grown in
the vicinity of the Dutch possessions,
neither of which are genuine govern
ment coffees, but inferior merchandise.
Various deceptions, such as browning
in heaters, coloring, sweating, etc., are
used to give these coffees the outward
appearance of genuine goods. The value
of Java coffee depends largely upon the
,district of plantation on which it has
been grown, and upon the manipula
tions the beans receive after they are
gathered, some government coffees be
ing turned and browned in the sun for
four years before they are allowed to be
shipped from the island; this process,
of course, giving them age, color,
strength and additional richness and
flavor. Government Java coffees never
come in mats, but always in government
bags.
Antiquities of Washington
The Davy Burns Farm
Reminiscence% of Adams and Madison
Correspondence of the Evening Pe.wt.
WASHINGTON, December H, 1870,
The future site of the Federal City, as
he for whom our National Capitol was
named, modestly persisted to the last in
styling it,was marked by only five houses
tradition affirms when the surveyors
came to fix its boundaries. One of the
five still remains, preserved in singular
contrast to the iconoclasm of the age for
no more useful purpose than to serve as
a relic of the past. This antiquated
building, once known as Davy ,Burns'
farmhouse, is situated near the foot of
Seventeenth street, almost on the banks
of the canal. Some three or four acres
of ground are enclosed by a high brick ;
wall, and near the centre of the proper
ty may be seen the house the date of
whose erection probably may be placed
before the revolution. The greater por
tion of the land lying between Capitol
Hill and Georgetown belonged to old
Davy Burns, as he is usually styled ;
and front being a man of moderate
means, he became almost a millinnare
by the increased value of his property
when the site was chosen for the Presi
dent's 'house and other public build
ings. He was a Scotchman, as shrewd
as are his countrymen generally, and
knew how to make the best of bargains
for his land. In this farmhouse he re
ceived General Washington when he
came to make arrangements for the
purchase of a portion of his property.
By some it is asserted the idol of the
Nation met with an ungracious recep
tion from the surly old Scot, but others
declare the reverse to have been the
case, and that when General Washing
ton asked the price of the land Mr.
Burns replied, " Whatever your Excel
lency pleases," and tints secured more
advantageous terms than would have
been possible had lie shown any disre
spect to a man whom the entire coun
try delighted to honor.
The old farm house with its sharp,
sloping roof and low walls was, also,
the scene of a handsome dinner or sup
per given by Mr. ,-Burns in honor of
Tom Moore, when the latter visited
Washington. The only child of Davy
Burns was a daughter, Marcia, who was
the heiress of all his property. This
lady was agreeable and accomplished,
as well as wealthy, and is a matter of
course was the sensational young lady
of the , period. - Her father's house was
the resort of the most brilliant young
men of the day. General John P. Van
Ness, then a member of Congress from
New York, married Miss Burns and
settled in Washington. In 1815 he built
at a cost of ,'Slio,ooo la great sum in those
daysl the large stone house still stand
iog in the grounds and comparing favor
ably with the residences of modern date.
The grounds are well worthy of a visit,
having something the appearance of an
old English park. Tall, stately, trees
abound, and produce al most dense shade
in the retired parts of the enclosure.
While the walks near the house are neat
ly kept, those removed from it aregrass
grown, and on either side the rank lux
' it Hance. of the shrubbery suggests the
neighborhood of the river, and the poi-
Honed air front thence, by which the
plants are nourished. There are many
fruit trees. and in the garden may be
seen, at the limiter season, besides vege
tables, raspberry, currant, and goose
berry bushes. The inner side of the
wall - is lined with fig trees.
Mrs. Van Ness was a charitable
man, anti was the founder of the Protes-
tant Orphan Asylum in this city. Her
portrait is still preserved in the institu
, tution. leneral Van Ness's brother
1 was the father of Mrs. Roosevelt, of New
York, and her sister, Lady Ouseley.
These ladies in former years passed
much of their time with their aunt anti
uncle at Mansion square, as the proper
,ty just described was then called. The
present owner, who has occupied the
old place for more than twenty years, is
Mr. Green, of Virginia, to whose verse
' ration for historical associations is due
the preservation of the Burns farm
house.
Not far from this last, on the corner
of Eighteenth street and New York av
enue, stands the Octagon house, :built
by Colonel John Taylor, of Mount Airy,
Virginia, before the conclusion of the
last century. Colonel Taylor was one
j of the most gifted and cultivated men of
his time, and also one of the wealthiest,
1 having an income of about :. , 6 , 1,0 1 10 a year.
B e l ong i ng to a family of distinction in
his native state, lie Was given the great
est advantages in education, and coin
pleted his studies at an English univer
' city. General Washington persuaded
Blur to invest a portion of his property
in the rising capktal, and so great an in
terest did the General take in the build
ing of the Octagon house, that he used
always on his visits to the :city to ride
1 past the house and pause to watch its
, progress. In this house, when comple
-1 ted, assembled the most elegant society
of the country. Colonel Taylor was as
I hospitable as he was abundantly able to
gratify his tastes. Strange to say three
or four of his former classmates at Cam
bridge were sent during his lifetime as
ministers to the United States, and
these, as well as his large eircleof friends
at home, It, entertained in a princely
manner.
Every one who mentions the Octagon
house refers to the tradition of its being
haunted, and the story is revived of the
singular disturbance of the bells of the
house, which once was the talk of the
town. It is a fact well authenticated
that for seine mysterious reason every
night, at the same hour, all the bells
would ring at once. Many persons now
living attest this fact. One gentleman
has told me that on one occasion his un
cle was dining with Colonel Taylor,
when this strange ringing began, and
being an unbeliver in mysteries, the 1
gentleman, a very powerful man, jump- I
ed up and caught the bell wires in his
hands; he :was lifted bodily from the
floor, but did not succeed in stopping the
singular manifestation. It is said by
some that the discovery was made after
a time that rats were the ghosts who
rang the bells, but others say the cause
was never discovered; and that finally,
the family, to secure peace, were coin
! ladled to take the bells down, and hang
(hem differently. Among other reine-
I dies had been previously tried that of
exorcism, but the prayers of the priest
who was summoned availed naught.
After the burning of the White House
by the British, Mr. and Mrs. Madison
lived for one year in the Octagon house,
and there held "drawing rooms" and
gave those elegant dinner parties for
which their administration was celebrat
ed socially. This house is still owned
I by the descendants of Colonel Taylor,
and is now rented and used as an office
by the Navy Departmen t.
Before moving into Hie Octagon house
Mr. and Mrs. Madison, returning to the
almost desolate city after their flight in
1814, passed a short time in what are
known as the Adams houses, which
! still remain in perfect preservation on
F street not far from the Treasury Be
i partment. These two houses (then used
as onei had been occupied by Mr. Mad
ison before his inauguration as Presi
dent, and he went from thence to take
the oath of office, and in them enter
tained his friends on his return from
the Capitol. During John Quincy
I Adam's term as Secretary of State he
lived in these houses, and Mrs. Adams
here used to hold Thursday evening re
ceptions, which were remarkable
for their brilliancy. Those who
remember 'Washington society of
that (late mentioned the large num
ber of superior men and we-
men who were assembled at the capital
(luring the latter portion of Mr. Mon
roe's administration. It has been call
ed the golden period. On the Bth of
January, 1814, General Jackson being
then a Senator from Tennessee, the Sec
retary of State rand Mrs. Adams
gave a ball to the military hero, in com
memoration of his victory at New Or
leans. This ball was immortalized in a
poem by Mr. John Agg, an Englishman,
then and for some years afterwards re
siding in Washington and correspond
ing with various journals. He was after
this period connected with Peter Force's
National Journal, and at this very time
edited a newspaper of his own, the
Washington Republican, in opposition
to the administration. The poem men
tioned brings in very neatly the names
of the leading ladies of the capital, and
so great was the sensation it created
when it appeared that not only do those
living at the time remember it, but the
children of the flattered belles remem
ber hearing their mothers repeat its
well-turned rhymes. After diligent
search this poem has been recently
found and republished, and has attract
ed much attention. Strange to say,
about one,-half of those whose names
are recorded In It are still living. An-
other grand ball waseiven in the Adams
houses somewhere midway between the
date of the above and the present time.
Commodore Patterson and his family
then occupied these houses. This ball
was an occasion for the display of fancy
costumes, and a large party of American
and foreign ladies and gentlemen re
produced the celebrated personages of
the court of Queen Bess. As no one
dropped into poetry in a friendly way
on the occasion this ball was made less
conspicuous than its predecessor. Mrs.
Porter, the wife of the Admiral, is a
(laughter of Commodore Patterson.
The Adams houses have had no espe
vial history of late years, except as serv
ing for the headquarters of the United
States Sanitary Commission during the
last war.
The Library of Congress
Correspoudence of the New York 111"-Itt
WASHINGTON, Dec. U.—Everybody
visits the Library of Congress who visits
the Capitol and admires the three grand
halls—the main one facing west, flank
ed by another hail of equal length on
either side. The entire portion of the
Western projection in the centre of
the original Capitol is embraced in
the library. Front the central door of
the main hall the western portico is ap
proached, where sightseers always be
take themselves to gaze upon the finest
panorama of the city otlered front any
point. seeing the view, and casting a
second hasty glance around the library,
it is usually considered that nothing
more of intPrest remains to be enjoyed,
and visitors go elsewhere. 13ut this
portion of the Capitol does not merit
so peremptory a dismissal. In the first
place this Library is remarkable as the
only one in the world into which no
wooden shelving and no combustible
material has been introduced. It is ab
solutely fire-proof. In the next place,
as a Library of reference for modern
works it compares favorably with lead
ing European libraries, though it can
not compete with them in literature of
the middle ages or rare old manuscripts
of more ancient date. It has its treasure
Within its spacious shelves, among its
200,000 volumes. The range of shelving
is astonishing, being nearly five miles
in its entire extent ; this includes the
measurement of the shelving in the
Law Library in another portion of the
building.
==!
Among the treasured volumes most
highly valued is the "Codex
Sinatlf
cus," being a printed copy of an origin
al
Ureek manuscript of the New Testa-
ment, and edited by Tischendorf, a
learned Hebrew scholar of Germany tby
whom the manuscript was discovered in
a convent of Mt. Sinai), and printed and
presented by the Russian government to
our own and other governments. The
text of this is a fac-simile of that of the
manuscript, and the version is pro-
nouneed by scholars to beat least as old !
as that of the Vatican, and more coin
plete. It was discovered only in 1 sW.
Among the illustrated works are the live
folio volumes of " Gould's Monograph
of the Trochilidue" lor family of hum
ming birds), in which life-size pic
tures of the birds are given in chi.,
mo lithography and by means of
a secret method which has been
patented a gloss is given to the pictures
and a radiance to the brilliant coloring
of those birds having apparently jewel
ed crests, which imparts a glitter as of
gems to the feathers, produced by no
other style of colored print. 'Flue flora
among which these birds build their
nests is also very wonderfully repro
duced. The Brazilian government has
had prepared and presented to our gov
ernment a magnificent grand folio vol
ume. entitled " Descourlitz's Brazilian
Ornithology," which was published in
gorgeous stye in London. The text of
this work is French. he binding is
the Finest red morocco, skilfully inlaid
with a map of the country, and with
representations in green morocco and
gold leaf of the palm trees of B raz i . The
thy-leaves are of white watered silk. The
plates are tinespecimens of tinted litho
! graphy.
It, tiles of newspapers the library is
rich. The flies of all the prominent
New York dailies are regularly kept,
and complete files are preserved of many
of them from the date of their publica
tion. The London Tii,t,h is filed from
10911, but it assumed no importance for
six years or so afterwards. A complete
tile of the London liuzefee is also kept
from 16115 up to date, and of the British
Royal Kf r from 1772 to date. Thp
Almanac de (Jotha is also preserved
from 1776, ten years from the date of its
first publication, up to the present time.
The tiles of all newspapers now or here
tofore published in Washington are
complete.
It is customary for the principal news
papers each to send collies of its daily
edition to the library of Congress free.
Strange to say among the larger cities,
the journals of Chicago and St. Louis
do not observe this rule. From the
South, since the war, the Mobile t Ala.,
Regiskr is the only paper forwarded to
the library.
in this library are the legal, political
and historical works. Works of fiction
bear a small proportion to other classes
of literature. Three alcoves alone are
occupied by novels and the like, and
these alcoves are the only ones in the
library left unlocked and into which
those privileged to draw books are al
lowed to go, and themselves search for
the volume desired. The reason for ex
cluding the public from access to the
shelves is obvious. Few persons are
careful to replace books after handling
them, and On the order in which the
books are kept depends the facility and
expedition with which they can be
found when wanted.
The circulation of this library is limit
ed. An act of Congress provides that
only the President and ', ice-President
of the United States, the members of
the Cabinet, Judges of the I - 1i Red States
Supreme Court, members of the Senate
and I louse of Representatives, Secretary
of the Senate, Clerk of House, Agent of
the Joint Committee on the Library,and
members of the Diplomatic Corps can
take the books to their homes. Only a
few years back members of Congress
could transfer to others the privilege of
using the books outside the reading
room; in consequence many valuable
works were lost. Now the privilege is
absolutely not transferable. The im
mediate families of the officials above
named alone can draw books, and by
them are the three alcoves which are
left open used.
El=
For reference the library is constantly
used, and persons seeking information
011 ally subject where books can furnish
assistance form the large proportion of
readers. Almost all of the many who
may be always seen seated at the tables
reading here come for a purpose, and the
results of their researches are in the
most places to be made public. Ameri
can and foreign authors are frequently
seen here, and a proof of the perfection
of the system used in arranging the
hooks is the fact that any one asking for
a book is supplied with it within live
minutes if the book required is in the li
brary. In the British Museum so much
"red tape" is necessary before a reader
can receive what he wants, that a half
hour is always consumed before he is
given the work he wishes.
If possible, it would be curious to trace
the tastes and mental bent of prominent
members of Congress by the volumes
credited to them during the session, but
the list of books placed to the account of
one of these would give a false notion of
his pursuit, owing to those three open
alcoves, where his wife, daughters, or
sisters may bury themselves in romance
and engulf his innocent name in a
whirlpool of sentimental trash. The
honorable gentlemen who draw books
for their own use are comparatively few.
The readers or students at the present
time are not numerous in House or
Senate.
The operation of the Copyright law
throws into the library of Congress a
heterogeneous mass. Copyrighted works
heretofore piled in the store rooms of the
Interior Department are now in process
of removal to the Capitol, and will be for
the first time catalogued and prepared
for the public use. With the trash and
works of absolutely no value, such as
printed ti ties accoru panying trade marks
on paper collars and bags of flour, come
as well the original editions of all Amer
ican authors, and ample compensation
for the space accorded to useless or pur
poseless works is the possession of copies
of the original issue of the earliest pub
lications of our more eminent poets and
writers—Whittier, Longfellow. Irving
Lowell, fur example.
The very valuable:collections of books
added :it various times to this library'
have been the Jefferson law library,
sol I by its founder during his lifetime,
because of pecuniary embarrassment;
the library of the Smithsonian Institute,
and the Peter Force library. This last
collection depends for its value mainly
on its wealth of political and historical
works relating to America. With it was
acquired an immense mass of newspa
pers and other periodicals, pan) ph lets
bound and unbound, and maps.
M=lllll
The law library is placed in the room
used by the United States Supreme
Court from ISt:, to Isn't. This fact alone
gives interest to the room, because of
its many valuable historical 11.81.30(litl
; lions. Here Chili-Justice Marshall pre
sided ; here Clay and Webster first dis
, played that eloquence at the bar which
afterwards made them famous in the
legislative halls of the nation. Here
Mr. Webster made his great speech in
the Dartmouth College case, and Horace
Binney here made his renowned argu
inent in the cast , of the Girard
• will. One wishes in this room
! that the walk had been blessed
with ears when these great men
made them resound with their eloquent
speeches, and now had memories and
tongues to give to us the echo of their
' voices. It is a strange-appearing, room,
semi-circular in form, seventy-tive feet
in diameter, with grained ceiling. The
:inches of the ceiliag rest on heavy Doric
columns. The spandrils of the arches
are tilled in with solid masonry, coin
. posed of massive blocks of sandstone.—
The masonry is strong enough to sup
, port the entire weight of the Capitol,
yet there is nothing above requiring a
strong support. There isa tragic reason
for this waste of strength and material.
The master of the works Mr. Lenthal,
I in planning this room planned an arch
whose span in proporti in to its height
mused all who saw his drawings to
declare it unsafe and insecure. Mr.
Len thal was sure his theory was cor
rect soil constructed the arch in ac
contain, with it. On the day of its
completion he was all anxiety to prove
the soundness of his work, but not a
man would venture to remove the seaf
' flding. In the enthusiasm inspired by
the moment, feeling assured of the ab
sence lif danger, and anxious at once to
demonstrate the soundness of his theory
lie !last ned himself to knock away the
temporary supports to the ceiling. But.,
alas! in his impatience lie had notwaited
for the plaster cementing the structure
to dry and harden, Mill the ceiling fell
burying the unfortunate man beneath its
mills. Ile was taken at a later hour front
the building dead and mangled. His idea
was, however, not incorrect ; had the re
moval of the scaffold been delayed long
enough t'or the plaster to harden, no ac
cident would have occurred. In rebuild
iug this portion of the Capitol, the ma
,
sorry above mentioned was used to in
sure no tragedies from like cause in the
future. The collection of law books
here found, has few rivals in the world.
There are '27,270 volumes, of which U 39
belong to the Jefferson collection. There
are :;on volumes containing single trials.
T\yo different editions of the celebrated
trial of liohan, La Moth., and Cagliostro,
aresh ow n. This trial fs otherwise known
as that of the "o,ilirr dc Rcine," or
"Queen's Necklace," and the history is
given of that famous diamond necklace,
which, in reality, was one of the causes
lof the bloody revolution of 1789. One
of the volumes is an original edition,
published while the trial was in pro
' gress ; the other is a later work, and
gives an engraving of the fatal necklace,
in which the diamonds are represented
as one-third their actual size. It is a
beautifully-tit signed ornament in ap
pearance. It was a cruolly-designed
one in reality, when every brilliant rep;
resented a drop of life-blood front the
lovely' throat it was nieatit to encircle.
, l'nhappy ilarie Antoinette!
QUF:EIt 1.1 . 1"1 . 1,1 . : BOW:
with two most comical illustrations;bet
ter as burlesque. 4 in their very serious
ness than any caricatures could have
been. A volume containing the trial of
Richard Johnson, "self-styled King of
the United States, England and Rome,''
who attempted to assassinate Andrew
Jackson when President. The funeral
ceremonies of \V. K. I)aVis, member of
Congress front South Carolina, had
just ta' en place at the • Capitol, and
the President with Secretary Wood
bury and other officials was about
leaving the building when Lawrence
discharged a pistol at the Chief Magic-
Irate. The scene of confusion which
ensued is (Marini ugly caricatured by the
artist, who makes the Administration
execute a rigid war-dance with uplifted
cane, while' his devotees hold Lawrence
prone upon the floor, and Van Buren,
in mild complacency, simpers in the
back ground. Tue illustration on the
title page, representing Lawrence tak
ing Rini, has been faithfully reproduced
in the signs of all modern shooting gal
leries. Lawrence was manifestly In
sane, and was after his trial sent to the
asylum near \Vashington, of which he
was .we of the first inmates.
of this library diverge from the centre
of the room, and are stocked mostly
with volumes in that professional bind
ing whose color Dickens has so aptly
likened to that of underdone pie-crust.
All English and American works are so
bound, and common law is thus pre
served, while civil law, represented in
works of continental origin, is found in
ordinary style. I never before knew the
technical distinction between cird and
common law, and was struck by the fact
that the latter prevails throughout the
[oiled States, except in Louisiana,
where civil law is used. Contained iu
these seemingly trilling distinctions is
the history of the settlement of our
country. Settled by the English, the
United States, with one excepth n re
ceived and perpetuated common
That exception, Louisiana, settled by
the French, received the civil law from
France. It is but one instance in many
of thestriking manner in whiehwords in
everyday t-elcontain:volumes of history.
Among other valued works are the
quarto volumes, nearly one hundred in
number, of the statutes at large of Rus
sia. No other government has so large
a collection. That of England is about
I one-fourth as large: while the statutes
at large of the United States are con
tained in sixteen octavo volumes.
"Take Care of Yourself."
111/NV often, passing through the streets
do we hear the words at the head of this
article. They are generally spoken at
the close of a conversation, when the
time comes for parting. Yesterday we
saw a man slightly under the influence
of liquor, who, afteta conversation with
a friend. was bidden " take care of your
self." Rather unsteady in his mariner,
he replied, "I'll do it my boy," and
went away down the street.
They are about the last words of a
mother when a boy makes up his mind
to see the world, and is leaving the pa
rental roof. " Now, take care of your
self,'' says the mother. "1 w Ill," is the
response; and away, in many instances
goes the youth, too often to fight the
tiger, and to learn that the tiger has
claws, which leave their marks until the
day of death.
Take care of yourself," say parents
when the young and innocent maiden
goes forth into the battle of life, and she
replies, equally confident, that there is
no danger.
One of the great Greeks, said, "Know•
thyself," and the Great Teacher said,
Deny thyself;" while in this 19th
century we have shaped the philosophy
into " take care of yourself."
How many can do so effectually?—
The pleasures of the world allure youths
to danger. They think they are strong
and will dare. They wake up to find
that forbidden pleasures are stronger in
their effects than they had calculated,
and learn, too late, the value of that ad
vice given to them by their parents.
It is too often the case that young peo
ple despise the counsel and warnings of
their elders; and hence has arisen the
rough saying, that young people think
old people fools, while old people
know young people to be so. "Take
care of yourself," though often spo
ken, has come to have little mean
ing. It is often used in mirth, without
any serious intention to convey counsel,
and yet, how much we all stand in: need
of the caution. We cannot do better,
in closing the short essays to which the
,scene narrated gave thought, than by
the common parlance of the street
" Good bye, take care of yourself."
A colored boy named Rawlins, of
Ironton, Is said to be the best billiard
player in Southern Ohio. He allows all
the fast young men of that place to pay
for the games.
NUMBER 5.2
Indian Relics In Pennftylvsnl
Recent examinations of pre-historie re
mains found on a farm near Monongahela
City, Pennsylvania, reveals some interest
ing points. The relics were discovered ou
the farm of Lewis Colvin, on the east side
of Pigeon Creek, and were contained in se
pulchral schists of oval shape, with tin or
concave bottoms. The schists proper vary
in depth from fifteen to eigteen inches,
over which were carefully plamd large ❑at
stone flags, efteetually covering the sepul
chre. These generally lie about the line of
separation between the vegetable mound
and substratum of clay. The query arises
has the disposition of h u mus entirely taken
place since the period of interment.
Tha explorer contributes to a Pittsburgh
paper the result of his observations. Ile
I says t—thie of these :whists revealed the
remains of a child about eight years °rage.
'The cranium was tolerably Well formed ;
the softer and smaller bones generally gone.
The body had probably been interred sit
ting with the face towards the southwest. I
In close proximity with the head was dis
covered, resting on the side, a voce perf ec t
in form and finish. The entire schist was
filled with 1 ight,yellow colored earth which
has been washed in during the long eon-
tunes since the excavation was made 'the
eranial cavity and earthen vases were alike
tilled with earth. The vase constitsted by
far the roost interesting object recovered.
It contained some animal hones and dark
particles of animal Matter, which had evi
dently been placed in the sepulchre to sup
port the departed to the spirit land. This
toneral rite was in obedience Lo a wide
spread custom among Many bar bariC na
tions. The vase in• :tine work manship—
a breevia of clay and a hanildnade shell—
of capacity over one pint. It has four ears,
each perforated and handsomely ornament
ed around the margin. It is decidedly a
line specimen of the dirtily art and a Valua
ble relic of antiquity.
Another contained the tolerably well pre
served remains of a child of perhaps six
years of age, with numerous personal or
naments. 'lwo ear ornaments of shell lay
011 either side of the cranium, while live
others of similar design lay ill itnniedlate
proximity with the ribs and vertebra,—
NUMerOUSMae bone and ropper beads
were also found ; also a copper tube, two
inches in length, tilted with some ti bents
substance. Near the lower extremities
were discovered vestiges of fibrous cloth,
or tolerably tine texture. These reties in
dieate an advanced type or rare, and the
interesting arclueological problem eiimes
up t whether the Copper Age hail overlap
ped the stone, or are these of it there havo
been discovered (alter srpulturrs eontain
ing copper) intrusive elements? Copper
was the only metal worked by pre-historic
races 1111 this continent. North ui Mexico.
ornaments and weapons of this most val
uable metal have been discovered in
mounds and other ancient depositories.--
Bronze was unknown to the 11101111 d build
ers or subsequent nations, anterior to the
dawn of history. The Mr nee was Obtained
trust mines 110 W worked on Lake Superior.
Their abandoned di irts, stone hammers,
broken masses of copper, ete., have been
discovered, but :alas! who Where are
the miners?
- -
The sixth schist contained a handsome
pearl ornament. In all, the bodies had
been buried facing the south or siitithwest.
The writer adds: I have collected many
fine specimens of the Stone Age in this in
teresting archaic field. The race Whose re
mains we have been examining had ad
vanced to the Nciiiithic or polished Shine
Age. Many of the Speetlllolls are of exqui
site workmanship, and compare favorably
with minor remains of art from the aalliu
Valley Mounds.
There is all entire air:en!, of timinlar
works in the vicinity of the schist remains.
A few scattered mounds occur along tile
Monongbahela. My attention has been
directed to a small stone tornthous on the
plateau back of Coluinbia, reported as con
taining an arch. 1 have uxuauincd at, hilt
must reserve any description for the pres
ent; suffice, the arch was simple the hori
zontal or overlapping arch. The principle
of springing an arch and locking with a
key was unkllolsll to any people north of
Mexico and east of the Gila. Repeated ac
counts have been published of the discov
ery of the arch in the Mississippi Valley,
but these are al! apocryphal. Not a single
authentic instance is upon record.
Some Drell.lfol Statigllcs
A study of the record of the killed and
wounded passengers of the railroads of the
United States, may—if not very entertain
ing—at least he to a certain degree instruc
tive. We are accustomed to see in the
papers of the day accounts of a few killed
here, or a score or two injured there, but it
is only on compiling these fragmentary
evidences of the doings ,:f the "demon ,if
the rails" that we learn anything like the
true state of the facts. The following facts
are taken from a record for the year ending
Oct. 31, 1870. The total number of deaths
by the rail was 1,5, together with -Isl
wounded, thus geographically distributed :
Injured.
Ohio 0 " 17
New Jersey In -16
New York
California..
10wa........
1 enne ,oe
Ponnsylvan i : A)
Indiana s
Verm0nt.........
Massachusetts
Mississippi
New Ilanii.hire
Louisiana
Missouri
South Carolina
Kansas
Maine
15 .16
These lists are only passengers killed or
wounded by direct railroad accidents, and
do not include those run over on the track,
or employees of the road killed in dis•
charge of their duty. Kansas, it will be
seen, is at the head of the slain, with 27
killed, while New York conies first in the
wounded list, with it:t. The largest num
ber of persons killed at one accident was
21, being upon the Mississippi Cen
tral Railroad, near Buckner, when a
train upon the '2sth of February broke
through a trestle bridge, and to which
must be added 15 wounded. New York
starts elf th,t, in the frequency of her aeci
dents,. having had fourteen Iry which lives
were lost. New Jersey, it will beseen, has
not been behind in the deadly contest, hav
ing had live fatal accidents by which ten
lives were instantly lust, while the number
of those mortally Wol.lllllVil is 110 t ascer
tained, but goes to swell the list of forty
six set against her on the list of injured.
'l'o these ghastly tables should be added
I the lives lost by the blowing up of lair river
and lake steamers, and the number then
shown would indeed be startling.
Seizure of a Large Qom iiii y of Venial
Arm% and Y 1 on WOE. of War.
[From the Del Post. Dve.
Yesterday afternoon the United States
authorities in this city received apparently'
reliable information as to the whereabouts
of a large quantity of arms and munitions
of war, which belonged to the Fenian
Brotherhood, and which had been sent here
hest summer for use in the contemplated
raid on Canada. A search warrant was im
mediately issued, and Deputy 11Iarshal Har
ry Blanchard, assisted by Deputies Alvord,
Bartlett anti Muni can, proceeded, ab o ut 5
o'clock, to the house of Jas. II oli ham corner
of RiVard and Franklin sts., where the arti
cles were said to be located. liolihan was
found on the premises, and a warrant for
his arrest having been previously issued
for violation of the neutrality laws, he was
taken into custody. A search of the house
was then made, and, stowed away under
the beds in bedrooms, and in closets and
garrets, were found a large number of
guns, J.: e. They were immediately taken
possession of under a.warrant authorizing
their seizure, and were taken to the United
States Marshal's office to await the action
of the Court in the matter. There were
found in Holihan's house altogether up
ward of 200 stand of arms and eight ea.sts
of Fenian uniforms.
The guns are apparently new, and are a
superior breech-loading rifle. They are
furnished with bayonets, and are complete
in every respect. They have been well
kept, are nicely polished and in good order.
It is not known where these guns came
from. They may have been purchased
abroad, or, more likely, they are a United
States arm made over. The Fenian uni
forms were new, and had never been un
packed from the cases. They consisted of
dark pantaloons and the ordinary blouse
of green cloth. The packages were direct
ed to Mr. Holihan, but the point from
which they were shipped could not be as
certained.
It is understood that Ili - Alban is the treas
urer of the Fenian Brotherhood in this city,
and that he had charge of these war outfits
as such officer. They are supposed to have
been sent here last spring, previous to
O'Neil's raid..
Tragic End of n Carpet-bagger'• Career
The Now York Tribune says
The fate of the honest fisherman who
sadly ended his piscatorial efforts by going
down to "feed the fish he'd baited ott be
fore," is strikingly paralleled in the fate of
the ex-Mayor of Richmond, George Cahoon
so unhappily notorious for being involved
in the quarrel for the Mayoralty of Rich
mond—that finally ended in the frightful
Court House disaster. He was tried for for
gery and convicted a short time since, and
it is gravely related that immediately fol
lowing the sentence the culprit—who tilled
at the time the office of United States Com
missioner—was taken by the Marshal and
installed in his judicial seat, where for the
rest of the day he sat in judgment over
criminals sent boiore his Court. When the
judicial work of the day way ended, he
was marched off Ito prison, and is now
serving out four years in the Virginia
Penitentiary.
RATEEOF ADVRTISING
BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENTS, $l2 a year per
squre of ten lines; t. per year for each addi
tional square.
REAL ESTATE A AVERTISING, 10 ee111,4 a 1111 e for
the first. and 13 vents for each subsequent Ins
Insertion.
andVTSIN, 7 subsequent n or the
first 4 cents for each I mo• •
Lion.
SPECIAL NOTICES Inserted in Local Columns
143 cents per line.
SPECIAL NOTICEI preceding marriages nnd
deaths, 10'eents per line (or first insertions
and 5 cents (or every subsequent insert ion.
LEGAL AND OTHER Nortcrs—
Executors' notices 2 50
Administrators' notice 2 50
Assignees' notices =i J
Auditors' notices . 2 0)
Other " Notices," ten lines, or less,
three times I 50
Contest Between the Govern
the Pacific Railroad
A fortnight ago wo noticed a terrible de
cline, fully 20 per cent., In the stock and
securities of the Union Pacifiss Itailaoad, ht
conseon (slice of ht demand made on t he com
pany for interest advanced by the Govern
ment and duo and unpaid to it. There was
at once a great hue and cry front all the
subsidy men all over the country, whose
representatives (locked to Washington in
great numbers, besieging the Secretary of
the 'Treasury, and insisting that the de
mand on the company for payment of in
terest shall be withdrawn. rho matter was
Sillimitted to t', S. Attorney General Aker
. man, who, after an elaborate review of the
several nets 01 Congress on the subject,
niches a clear and unqualificsl decision In
favor of the legality 01 the demand for in
terest made by the Secretary of the Treas
ury, and against the eomptiny On all points.
The Attorney General, in a resume oh the
matter at issue, slaws that the Govern
ment has issued its bonds to the eon,
pany the anemia of many millions.
and it has paid the accrued interest.--
Upon application to reimburse this
interest it refuses, contending that the
Government has no valid Clain' for reim
bursement until the principal shall be due,
except as to ono- half of the compensation
Mr services rendered the Government, and
rive per veil tum of nut earnings after com
pletion. If the company is right, the Gov
ernment niuhst go on paying out the interest
twice a year, and wait thirty years for its
pay, except the probably small amount of
one-half the compensation due to the com
pany as a carrier for the Government, and
live per cent. of the net earnings. The At
torney-General shows the amount the com
pany will thusowe the Uuvermuent at thnex
piration of thirty years. which will be nearly
treble the principal of the bonds, and Mere,
if the interest of the paid coupons is charged
against the company, and while tins heavy
debt shall be accumulating against the emn
pony the 1 lovernment will all the time be
paying to the coin party one-half of the value
of the services rendered to it by the com
pany. Without a wonderful Increase in
value there is no pr.lbability that the road
atettill the appurtenant property will be
wortisi at the end or thirty years the thus
incre.sed debt then due to the Government
after the first mortgage creditors shall have
been satisfied. Meanwhile the company
may be paying dividends to its steekhold
erg out of the earnings which natural justice
would apply to the relief of that creditor
through whose benefactions the road has
been mainly built. A construction which
leans to such results, the Attorney-General
wisely eonelnides, ought not to be adopted
unless clearly required by the language (.1'
the law. The unblushing impudence atilt)
speetilators connected with these compa
nies, who are represented to be making
millions through the use and abuse of sub
sidies, not to he deterred by this decision of
the Attorney General, are now preparing
to bring the matter before Congress, for the
purpose of getting this laws now im ties
statiste book construed differently from the
doeisien of the Attorney General in li&or
of the railroad... The Committee 1,11 Ap
p,priations, which had the joint rest,-
I Mien introduced nrew days ago by l edge
Lawrence, of I'M°, belts re it, has been wait
ing for the promulgation of the opinion of
the Attorney I ;intend before taking action.
The 5011110 Men Will probably report the
resolution favorably, and should it pass,
the railroad companies will be vompulled
not only to pay the interest n n their loin's,
but make provision for the redemption of
the bonds at maturity. The feeling in both
Houses of Congress, it is represented, Is
against their appeal, as must be theopinion
of every intelligent, honest man that the
rail rowelsbe made to pay the Interest
on their bonds promptly as it becomes due.
If the simple announcement, made last
week, that the I iovernment mid demanded
of the con] puny restitution of interest shoo 1.1
knock down the eons pany's securities MOH-
Oy per cent., What May not be feared from
die en fin...einem of that demand of the
Treasury, under the able and ismodusive
decision of the Attorney General ? We but
renew the caution of the Lrdyer to its read
ers, th avoid, as the rule, sending their cap
ital far from home to be used in huge 10111
exissrimental ventures.—Phila. Ledyce.
I raring last summer Secretary Fish...ad
dressed a circular to the Legations of the
United States at London, Paris, Berlin,
Vienna, Madrid, Brussels, Copenhagen,
Florence, The Hague, Lisbon, Stockholm
and Item, with a view to promote the adop
tion by the Legislatures of the several Pow
ers of n romnum unit and standard of an
international gold coinage. The Secretary
concludes liy saying:
The government of the United Staten
suggests far the consideration of the several
Powers whether all that is contemplated
may not lie attained without an abandon
donnient of the different mint systems. IL
suggests, for eonsideration only, and not as
the best theoretical solution or the question,
that the international value of the coins of
the nations that may become parties to any
monetary convention, or who may in any
other way arrange this question between
themselves ! shall be determined by the
quantity of pure gold which it contains,
Which measure shall be expressed in a com
mon standard of weight upon itsfaceduid un
less absolute I:Tillie:Won can be obtained
all other questions of coinage will be left to
local hats and experience. The French
decigram is suggested as the most conveni
ent minimal measure by which to deter
mine this quantity, and that it is desirable,
if possible, to avoid running this expres
sion into a fraction.
111111
l!N
Minister ISancroft, after presenting . the
slibiecl to thin gt)Verntrientli of Prussia and
of North tiermany, informed Secretary
Fish the tendency was toward the adop
tion of the live and twenty franc piece, with
doeintal division, but nothing was decided.
A Htomole home
The Free MaSMIS of Pennsylvania have
determined to erect a suitable Home for
aged and disabled indigent members of
the fraternity, and for the widows and or
phans of such as may die in destitute cir
cumstances. From the great number or
members of the ()flier, and their well
known disposition to aid all charitable en
terprises, there can be no doubt of the suc
cess of this undertaking.
We learn that the project had Us origin
in an address delivered In Williamsport,
Pa., in .Juno last by James ff. Hopkins,
of Pittsburgh, In the course of which
he said :
I have often thought that the great Mason
ic fraternity of Pennsylvania, in addtion to
their customary charities might build a
Horne for destitute brothers and widows of
.1111, and for the nurture of their orphans.
It would be a grand and proud monument
of the beneficence of our Order, and might
relieve many a heart-ache and dry up many
a tear fur those to whom wo are so closely
holm]. By concerted action amongst the
various branches of Masonry, and by in
dividual subscriptions, this undertaking
!night be readily accomplished.
We are informed that a number of gen
tlemen have indicated their intention of
making Ii bend contributions. Appeals
will be made to all the lodges and members,
and for so laudable an undertaking, a largo
amount will certainly be realized.
We also learn that Mr. Ifookins has ex
pressed a willingness to deliver a number
of lectures, and apply the proceeds to the
I loine.—l'Mdbargh Post.
The Arlington Exhste and Mnry Comils
A correspondent of the New York World
w ritPm
"IL inlay not be amiss to state a few plain
facts as to the matter of the Arlington es
tate. John Parke Curtis left the Arlington
estate to t ieorge Washington Parke Curtis,
the adopted son and step-grandson of ono
iteorge Washington. I. W. I'. Curtis hail
one child, Mary Cost's, win Was born at
Adingtun, and to whom he devised his
estate. The daughter Mary married Hobert
Edward Lee. In his will, admitted to pro
bate at Lexington, Va., in October hurt,
(ieneral It. E. Lee bequeathed to his family
only personal estate. No mention of lands
is made in It, because he owned none. The
will itself bears date anterior to the war.
W. P. Curtis died in 1857, and after that
general Lee held a life estate in Arlington
as tenant by courtesy. It now belongs to
Mrs. Lee free from claim whatever, except
a tax title held by the United States gov
ernment. Any lawyer knows that a court
Of equity would hold the owner of a tax
title as entitled merely to what he actually
paid out, returned to him with legal inter
est. Mrs. Lee has been under legal disa
bility as a married woman. This is now
removed by the death of her husband, and
she stands SS any other widowed lady
claiming her patrimony and birthplace at
the first moment that the laws allow her to
do so. Nobody seeks to remove the Union
dead. But shall the great-granddaugter
of Martha Washington have her property?
That's the question."
Rosiness Snepenelon• In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 17.—During the
past two weeks 14 firms engaged in the
shoe trade have failed. The Cbmmercial
List of to-day gives the following statement
of their liabilities : 0. S. Clallin &Co., $170,-
000; Gosliu N. Vachtel, $170;000; Fritnk
Keen, $50,000; Morrow & Pendleton, $13,000;
C. Black, $:30,000; W. McKnight S. Son,
$04,000; C. Fay, $25,000; P. Butman, $40,-
000; P. k. S. S. Smith, $80,000; Langley
& Vincent, $2,000; Mason S Bowman, $28,-
000; Ambrose & McManker, $40,000; Dor
man ,1 Wiley, $20,000; a firm, name sup
pressed, $54,14400. 0. S. Chinni & Co. will
pay about 40 per rent; F. Keen, 50 per
cent; W. NI eKti ight & Son, 40 per cent; I'.
Butman, 50 per cent; Langley t Vincent,
40 per cent; T. P. & S. S. Smith, 25 per
cent, and Goslin & Vachtel, about 25 per
cent. It Is not heard what proposition has
been made by the other houses, though It
is not anticipated they will pay over 25 per
cent. The firm whose name has been sup
pressed expresses its ability to pay dollar
for dollar of the liabilities. The total liabil
ities are $755,000.—N. Y. Tribune.