Papa's Letter.
1 waa sitting to my study,
Writing letters, when I hoard,
"Pease, dear mamma, Mary told me
M.mms mtun't be 'titurbed.
" But Ts tired of the kitty ;
Want some oaaer Aug to do,
Writing letter*, is 'on, mamma T
Tan't 1 write a letter, too ?"
" Not now, darling, mamma's buy ;
Bun and play with kitty now. H
" No, no, mamma, ma write letter*—
Tan If 'on will thow me how."
1 would paint my darling * portrait,
A* hi* (weet eye* aearohed my face—
Hair of gold and eye* of acur*.
Form of childish, witching grace.
But the eager face was clouded.
As I slowly shook my head,
TUII said, "IB make a letter
Of you, darling boy, instead."
Bo I parted back the tresses
From his forehead high and white,
And e a tamp in sport I pasted
'Mid its waves of golden light.
Then I said, " Now, little tetter,
Qo away and bear good newt
And 1 smiled as down the stairoaee
Olattered loud the little ehoee.
Leering mo, the darling hurried
Down to Mary in hi* glee ;
•' Mamma's writing lots of let tars
i's a letter, Mary-see!"
No one heard the little prattler
As once more he climbed the stair,
Reached the little cap and tippet.
Standing on the entry etair ;
No one heard the front door opes.
No one eew the golden hair
Aa it floated o'er hia shoulders
In the crisp October air.
Down the street the baby hastened.
Till be reached the offloe door :
" I s a letter, Mr. Postman ;
la there room for any mere I"
" Cause dia letter's doin' to papa
Papa live* with Qod, 'on know.
Mamma sent me for a letter ;
Doe* 'on flnk 'at I tan go?"
But the clerk in wooder answered i
" Not to-day, my little man."
" Den I'll find anosser offloe ;
'Oanse I mast go if I tan "
Fain the clerk would have detained him.
But the pleading face waa gone.
And the little feet were hastening.
By the busy crowd swept on
Suddenly the crowd waa parted,
People fled to left and right,
Aa a pair of maddened horses
At this moment dashed in sight
No one saw the baby figure
No one aw the golden hair,
Till a voice of frightened sweetness
Bang out on the aatumn air.
Twaa too late—a moment only
Bteod the beauteous vision there ,
Then the little face lay lifeless,
Covered o'er with golden hair
Reverently they raised my darling,
Brushed sway the curia of gold,
* Saw the stamp upon the forehead,
Orowing now so icy ooid
Not a mark the fees disfigured,
Showing where the foot bad trod ;
But the tittle life waa ended—
-1 Pepa's letter " waa with Ood.
-flwttsjios lla'tkry.
THE BUSHRANGERS.
My story hae one great merit : it is
Inte. A simple narration, therefore, of
the following authentic events in oon
■ action with two notorious Australian
bushrangers, Peureon and Ruiherford,
My be read with some interest.
The scoundrels had a short and not
very brilliant career, but the details
which I learned from eye-witnesses, the
facta that came out in the polioe court,
where I had the painful duty to ait as
one of the committing magistrate* in the
ease of one of them, and the aubneqaent
awful fate of the other, together make
' ®P • reoord of crime not unworthy of
reproduction; and should this story
reach the eyee of any of thoee who were
ooooernod in it, they will pardon me for
adhering ao scrupulously to the bare
facta and incidents that I have not even
suppressed their name*.
During the terrible drought in De
cember, 1868, of which Australian
" squatters " will have a lively but bitter
recollection, ao great were my straits,
that I had directed two of my oVenmerJ
James McNall and Harry Zouch, to
brand and prepare some twenty thou
■and sheep " for the road," to travel in
March of grass and water, now getting
veryeoaroe in my own country. The
drafting-yards were at " Con's Hut," an
out-station about seventy mile* from
Fort Bourke. Half a mile up the War-
S rive* from this place was a bush
ic house, kept by one William
iw, fifteen mifes farther my Belelie
bead station. For many miles no other
human habitation broke the dreary
monotony of what ia termed in Australia
"The Bush," but what in reality oon
torts of a succession of bare and parched
plains, interseoted at long intervals by
■wow belts of timber or occasional
ptae ridge*. Suddenly the men were
disturbed in their work, m they after
wmd told me, by the sound of several
iboii fired tliaoit HI ID nlUmeottnl T in the
direction of the public boose. To catch
their hobMed horses, aaddle than, and
gallop off to see " what was op at Billy
Bhaarerti" was the work of s very few
Now what did happen "atShearer's"
I will describe by giving, as near as
jsamonr will serve me, the sohetaooe of
Ms tvidaooe at the trial. Ha stated
ttiat abont noon on this December day
he was standing behind bis oonnter in
• iall room about ten feet
msnaKSrksrsa
W> mounted polite, MoMuu. .
trooper of the Queensland foroe, end
their bleak boy, the native " tracker,"
rode up, end having alighted, inquired
if anything had been heard of two
bushrangers, Pearmon and Bntherford,
adding that thev were wanted abont a
lato " ntioking-np " case in which they
had been oonoerned, and bad been
tracked to that locality. Hhearer knew
Rutherford from his haviug been
bat s few months previously one of the
station bands, and was able to inform
the polioe that this outlaw, at any rate,
had not yet pat in en appearance; the
polioe most have missed them in the
bash and gone ahead of them.
The sergeant had iust sat down on a
small form on the left front of the bar,
placing his rifle within reach against tbo
counter—the other constable was stand
ing beside him—when two men rode op,
hitched their horses to the vcranaa
posts in front of the inn, and without
warning the foremost—Bntherford—
entered the room, and oovering Hhearer
with his revolver, nttered the formula
so much dreaded at the time in Aus
tralia, " Bail np I"—the doorway at the
same time being occupied by the other
man, Pearson, also revolver in hand.
Finding themselves in snob olose prox
imity to the polioe was no donbt a most
unexpected surprise, bat Sergeant Mo-
Cabe s challenge "to surrender " had
no other effeot than to oanse Bntherford
to wheel half ronnd, alter his aim, and
fire, McOabe, as it appeared, rooeiving
the ball as he was in the act of leaning
forward, and though without time to
bring bis rifle to the shoulder, discharg
ing it in that attitude at Pearson in the
doorway. The scene of oonfusion was
indescribable—the small room was dense
with smoke—six shots, it is believed,
having been exchanged in almost as
many seconds at such terribly close
quarters.
The bushrangers rushed for the horses,
which had broken away in the melee,
caught them, and decamped; but Pear
son was seen to drop bis revolver and to
be staggering, and, as was subsequently
discovered, was shot through tho wrist
and the shoulder. McCabe was down,
mortally wounded, and the first care
seems to have been for him, a circum
stance which explains the almost unmo
lested escape of the bushrangers.
It was at this juncture that the over
seers, McNall and Zouch, came noon
the scene, and, without further delay,
armed themselves with poor McOabe's
rifle and revolver, and, aooompanied by
the unhurt trooper and his native boy,
went in pursuit Following the tracks,
they reached tho head station, Belaile,
where they learned that Pearson and his
mate had been before them, had helped
themselves to two of my best horses,
abandoning their own, and, leaving the
road, hail struck out due west across the
bush. This occasioned some surprise,
as Bntherford, who knew the ground,
must have been aware that such a route,
if persisted in, would necessitate seventy
miles without water, and that, too, with
a wounded comrade.
Occasionally across the wide plains tho
fugitives were sighted, riding leisurely
along, little suspecting bow closely they
were followed; and our men had to
check their pace, as their tactics were
to keep them in ignorance of pursuit,
with the hope of being able to taae them
by a night surprise, when, as was nat
urally expected, they would "go into
camp." NoNall has described to me
how, on one oocasion, where the plains
were smaller and the clumps of timber
more frequent, they were able to get
within rifle-shot, and be was sorely
tempted to show them a* little consider
ation aa they had shown tho poor ser
geant, and fire; but Zouch, who, before
be came to my employment, had been a
sub-inspector of police, and had had
much experience in bunting down bush
ranger*, was bent on taking tbem alive,
and would not risk the chance of a long
shot. These cooler counsels prevailed,
and they steadily and stealthily followed
on. They were doomed to disappoint
ment in the end; for, almost incredible
aa it may seem, with a wounded man to
endnru such neat and fatigue, theee
hardy desperadoes made no halt. As
night came on our men, on the other
hand, were obliged to camp, aa they
could no longer follow the hoofmarks of
the fugitives horses without risk of los
ing them altogether. Ho soon, however,
as the moon waa up they were again on
their tracks, and followed them till soon
after daylight, when, worn ant with
thirst and fatigue, they reached Mr.
Vinoent Dowling'a Tantabnlla station,
on the Cnttabnrra river. Here they
were mortified to find that the bnahrang
era had again been too qnick for them,
had run the station horses into the yard,
helped themselves to fresh ones, and
were away with some hours' elear start.
It was then decided to abandon the pur
suit. There were at that time few sta
tions further west, and sooner or later
starvation would compel the runaways
to return to inhabited parts. The troop
ers were left to watch and endeavor to
Sck np farther information, while Me
al] and Zouch had reluctantly to retnrn
and look to their station dntiaa.
• • • *
At the time when bnehranging waa
rife in Australia there were part* of
the country where, amour a certain
class of small farmer* and publicans,
sympathy was shown for bushrangers,
and what the polioe had to enconnter
before thev ultimately succeeded in ex
tirpating the evil was the greet difficul
ty In getting reliable information of the
movements of these marauders, who on
the other hand were themselves kept
posted in the movements of their pur
suers, and the " office " being given,
were harbored or assisted to escape by
secret allies, who seemed above suspi
cion. In the far,interior, where we Inet
sight of Pearson and Bntherford, this
was fortunately not the case; here they
wonld find no " onver " either from the
nature of the country or the disposition
of the inhabitants. They could not
hold out long outside the occupied
oounhry, and when forced to retnrn,
Bulatkm was en scattered and eympa
ers none, that hopes of escape were
sUgbt. Added to tliia, the excellent
police force of the colony was on
tbe elert and bonier patrols active end
vigilant Notwithstanding, for upward
of a mouth there was DO sign; till one
day Psaraoo was sighted on foot in a
range of hill* near Fort Bourke. He
was easily captured, *nd, when brought
before the bench, waa haggard and worn
out with fatigue.
This unfortunate man was of oom
paratively gentle birth, had been a
medical atadeat in England, and being
aenlout to the colon/ to seek hia for
tune, had, aa ia too often the oaae where
a young fellow ia ahipped off without
friends, intereat or capital, loat canto,
got among diaaolute companion*, until,
attracted by what weak-minded bo/a
would think a daahing life, hod oome by
rapid atepa to thin terrible depth of
crime.
The oaae waa simple—hia only core
seemed to be to clear himself of the
actual murder of McCabe. Tbe law,
however, oould tako no cognizance of
thia—whether he fired the shot or aot
he was equally guilty of the murder.
He waa oemmitted, tried and sentenced
to be hanged. (Subsequently hia sen
tence waa commuted to imprisonment
for life, and when I last heard of him
he was still an inmate of Darliughurst
jail.
An extraordinary statement of bis was
that on leaving the publio house, he had
to bo helped on to hia horse in an almost
fainting oondition, and yet held up
through that exhausting escape; that a
day later, by hia directions, his mate ex
tracted the ball from hia shoulder with
his knife; and yet when taken, though
weak and ill, no trace of wounds save
the scars remained. He had parted from
Rutherford, as his enfeebled state was a
danger to both, and he had not had the
hardihood to attempt to make his way
through the oordon formed by tbe vigi
lant guardians of the peace.
Bat to hia companion he was true as
steel, and would give no due to the
direction Rutherford bad taken.
Tho latter, who was a much more ei
pcrienoed bnshman, and in htrooper
health, waa siiooesaful in evading his
fate for aomn time looser. A* waa after
ward ascertained, he had oontrived to
elnde the police, and made hia war to
the McQuarie river, aome three hundred
milea nearer Bidney than the aoene of
hia late terrible outrage. He waa a
m art young follow, a native Anatralian,
though of English parentage, and of
good addreea. Arriving in a diatriet
where he waa unknown, ho had no diffi
culty in getting employment, and waa
for aome time engaged breaking-in horaea
on a cattle atation, a dnty be waa well
able to perform.
Had he been oontented to remain at
boneat work he might havo long esoap
ed detection; bnt it waa not to be. He
waa aoon at hia old work, and one day
walked into the Pine Ridge hotel, near
Canonba, kept by a Frenchman named
lieanvaia, and tinoeremonionaly an
nonnccd: "I am Rntherford. Bail up."
The process waa without excitement,
orderly and bnaineea-like, and Beanvaia
knew there waa no alternative trot to
submit.
He pleaded that he was not a rich pnb
lican, and begged moderate terms, offer
ing any refreshment ho demanded.
Rutherford money and nothing else—
" that or yonr life." With hia revolver
at the head of the unhappy Frenchman,
he marched him into the private room
was the cash box waa kept, and stood
by while hia victim reluctantly and alow
ly opened it However, he stood a little
too clone, and Heanvais. aa he described
it to me, tbonght: " I will not part with
my money without a struggle. ' There
waa no time for bandying word* or re
monstrance. Quick aa thought he
threw up hia antagonists revolver arm,
and grappled with him in a deadly strag
gle. He was a plucky fellow, but the
odds were against him. Rutherford
waa a yonnger and stronger man, armed,
and now desperate.
Beanvaia* grasp on the revolver arm
prevented Rntherford from getting an
opportunity to Are; still the issue could
not long be doubtful.
At this moment in the unequal com
bat Mime good chance caused one of the
men to stnmble, and both fell heavily
to the ground. There was a lond re
port; Rutherford's pistol had gone off
in the fall, and Beanvaia, jumping to his
feet, fonnd that the wretched ronrderer
baa perished by hia own liand, and with
out a straggle.
I am glad to be able to add that tbia
plncky act waa not left unrewarded, the
New BonUi Wales government present
ing Reauvaia with £IOO for his gallant
conduct in having been instrumental in
ridding aodiety of thia dangerous and
desperate felon.
Urgent f Their kind
1. Th Urgent imo in the world in
the Pacific. 2. The Urgent nea, the
Mediterranean 8. River, the Amaton.
4. Golf, Mexico. 5. Cape, Horn. 6.
Lake, Superior. 7. Bay, Bengal.
8 Inland, Australia. 9. City, London.
19. Public bnilding, Bt. Peter'a. Home.
11. Hotel, Palace, Han Francisco. 12.
Steamer, Great Eastern. 13. Desert,
Sahara. 14. Theater, Grand Opera
Honae, Paris. 15. State, Texan, lfl.
Territory, Dakota. 17. Park, Phenix
Park, Dublin. 18. Highest mountain,
Mount Everest, Hindoetan, Asia. 19.
Hound, Long Inland. 20. Largest rail
road, Union and Central Pacific 21.
Oana),Grand Canal, China. 22. Bridge,
that over the Tay at Dundee, Scotland.
28. Largest railroad depot, St. Pan
eras, London. 24. Largest room in the
world nnder a single roof, military one,
St. Petersburg. 26. Strongest fort,
Gibraltar. 26. Longest ship,the Rome
dal, lately in the port of New York.
27. Sailing ship of greatest tannage,
the Three Brothers
A rem In la* Mystery.
Amnmiog that DO man ever eaw a wo
man alap bar ran or wear earmnflh, it
behooves tb aterner aex to raepeetfnlly
inquire why tbia ia eo. Women's ran,
taken M they ooine, look TOT mncb aa
men'a can. To an impartial and fair
minded observer, they are more deli
•ntalj oooatruotod, and, natnrally, not
as well fortified again* ooid aa the aver
age maaettline anrioelar appendage.
The feminine ear ia not protected by
wbiaken or hair, and fashion declarer
that the hat or bonnet aball in no way
oontribnte to ita warmth or >*
comfort. It goaa into battle aga/nat the
common enemy without armor, and with
no more preparation for eon flint
were tbia Ute month of June inateed of
December. That it abonld eecepe under
end> ci ran instance*, or that nnwrapped
and thna exposed, it a bo old not require
dapping, aa either a preventive or pro
teralve meaenre, ia a myatary which the
avenge mescaline mind ia not eqoal to.
-CWoaf® /abrOwaa,
SCARLET PEVEK.
aroeu u w Ua Ortats-IM Aaoravs-
Uoa osS FOTMIIM br OrSlaarr Pra •
In view of the large number of cases
of aoarlet fever prevailing in New York,
the World sent a reporter to one of the
beat-known physicians in the city, Dr.
Fordyoe Barker, from whom tbe fol
lowing facta and opinions oooeerning
tbe disease were gathored :
The reporter asked if aoarlet fever
oould be called a disease of modern
times and WM unknown to the ancients.
" It was first described by Bydenhsm
in the seventeenth oentury," answered
Professor Barker, "as a distinct dis
ease. "
" Are there great differences in the
severity of suoh epidemics ?"
" Tory great differences; aome epi
demics being mild and aome attended
with severe and (longerons oases. But
there ore always mild caaes during the
moet severe epidemics."
" What are the causes of aoarlet
fever ?"
" Tbe specific cause is infection by a
specific poison which is communicated
by direct contaot either with tbe exhala
tions from the lungs of patients, with
their akin, or by meana of oiothing or
various snbstanoea with which the
patients have oome in oontad. Hoarlet
fever is said to have boon communicated
by milk, or even by a letter. Taylor,
an eminent English writer, reporta the
beginning of one epidemic as being in
the family of a milkman who delivered
milk to twelve families. Of these fami
lies six had aoarlet fever as consequence.
A certain individual predisposition mast
exist, as it is frequently found that one
child in a family may take the disease,
while other* of the children who have
frequently been exposed in tbe same de
gree do not get it
" Are individuals who have had tbe
disease in a mild form more liable to a
second attack ?"
" I should say not On the contrary,
those who have a constitutional predilec
tion to the disease are more liable to
a second attack. Ordinarily one at
tack secures immunity from a second,
but there are many exceptions to this.
It ia very rare that patients die from a
second attack. In fact not more than
three or four oases of thia kind have
been reported in medical literature."
" How long does the poison retain
its activity in clothing, furniture, rooms,
ele. r*
'' This ia very uncertain. There ia
conclusive evidence that it haa been re
tained in clothing aometimea for months.
For example, a lady aaaiated in nnraing
the children of a aiater in the oonntry
in the month of August. In the follow
ing February one of her own children
waa attacked with the diaeaae and sub
sequently two other*. It waa then
fonnd that thia lady had put on a <1 row
ing gown ahe haul worn at her winter'*
the previoaa Angtiat, and had taken in
her lap the first of her own children
which waa attacked at the time ahe pnt
on thia gown again for the first time.
In another case, a ntirwe who had been
in attendance on acarlet-fever patienta
four montha before aeema to have com
municated the diaeaae to a lady whom
ahe waa attending who had a young in
fant. Another caae waa that of a lady
who had moved into a bonne where there
bad been wear let fever aome month*
before. Three of ber children were
attacked with the diaeaae who had not
been expoaed to infection from any
other nouroe, and no other aaaea were
prevailing at the time that oonld be
beard of by the lady'a physician.
" How noon in the diaeaae developed
after infection T "
Trouaaean reports a case in which the
diaeaae was manifested in twenty-four
hours after exposure, and similar cases
are reported ; bnt usually the period of
development ia from three to ten or
twelve days after exposure. This is prob
ably due to the difference in the sus
ceptibility of the patienta.
" At what period of the diaeaae, and
how long is it infectious!"
" It is infectious throughout ita whole
course. It ia believed to be most in
tensely so during the period of desqua
mation, or when the skin is peeling off;
but ao long as there ia any evidence of
disturbance of the system from the
localisation of the poison in any organ,
it is not safe to assume thai the d:> ease
ia not communicable."
" What ia the comparative suscepti
bility to and danger from the disease at
different ages?"
"The most snaoeptible period of life is
from one to fifteen years. Marehisoo. a
very high authority, states from the
statistics of nearly 150,000 oases that
abont sixty four per cent, of deaths
from scarlet fever are under five yean,
ami nearly ninety per cent under ten
yean; ninety-five and a balf per cant
under fifteen yean, and only one and
three-fourths per cent over twenty-five
years. Scarlet fever ia very rare in
young infanta. Only one-ninetieth of
all the deaths are under one year, and
one-fifteenth between one and two
yean."
" How can scarlet fever be prevented
and alleviated ?"
"To prevent scarlet fever, complete
isolation of the patient* ia absolutely
essential, as well ss the prevention of all
contact with those in attendance on the
diseased persons. It is essential also
that the bouse should be thoroughly
ventilated, ao that the poison which
may eaoapo may be ae diluted ae possi
ble. All clothing should be thoroughly
disinfected, and even the soiled linen of
the tick should not be mingled with
that of the other members of the honae
bold. The relief ef the patienta pertains
to the medical treatment. After the
disease ia recovered from, the sick-room
should be thoroughly disinfected, aa
well ae the bedding, the furniture, the
earpeta, and even the walla. It ia found
that dry heat to the point of 21$ degrees,
kept up for aome hours, effectually de
stroys the poison; and thia, perhana. ia
aa good a method as any of disinfecting
the bedding of those who cannot afford
to have It destroyed."
Whan the reporter referred to the
published statement that the household
of the Princess Alice, grand duchess of
Darmstadt* were made more susceptible
to the contagion of diphtheria by the
habit of biasing among ita buaatsa, and,
asked Professor Barker whether inhal-j
tng the breath of a scarlet fever patient 1
by kissing or otherwise was dangerous
and should be avoided, the doctor re
plied, "Moat asauredly the disease
i. Jfe,.
might be communicated by a mother
kiaeing her child who hoe either aoarlet
fever or diphtheria."
"If diphtheria oomplioatee a coee of
aoarlet fewer, doee thia neoeaaarily moke
the oaae fatal V
"It ia a severe complication, but by
no meana neoeaaarily fetal, as I've often
known caaee to reoover in which both
diaeaaea existed. Lat winter a young
girl of fourteen bad diphtheria. After
the diphtheria waa pslpeblyjiubsidiag
the child continued to have a very high
temperature, leading to the suspicion
that aome other poiaou waa disturbing
t e system. Huddenly a very intense
form of scarlet fever waa manifested.
The child was extremely ill for aeveral
days, and then, daring desquamation,
the diphtheria again appeared. Bat
this young girl perfectly reoovered.
Diphtheria, therefore, while causing
grave apprehension, should not be re
garded as neoeaaarily terminating fatal
ly. A child siok with aoarlet fever in a
house which ia axpoaerl to sewage gas,
or in whiah there is defective plumbing,
would be likely to have the disease
complicated with diphtheria."
"Does the term scarlatina mean a
mild form of aoarlet fever t"
" No; the two tonne are precisely
identical."
"Is scarlet fever always a fatal dis
ease in women just after confinement?'
"It is ndt; but after nonfiement
sometimes women are very susceptible
to the poison. I have always heard
physicians loosely say that under these
circumstances the women always die,
bnt this I know to be far from the truth.
A woman with an infant just born was
some years ago brought into one of my
words in Be 11 erne hospital. The next
day aoarlet fever appeared in her case.
I immediately had all the patients in the
ward removed and took every precaution
to prevent the spread of the disease.
This patient, whose system was com
pletely broken down by want and ex
posure, died within twelve bonrs after
the appearance of the eruption. Three
other women who were in the word
when she was brought in, and who bad
rooently l>een a ufined, were attacked
with the disease on the third and fourth
days after exposure. Two of these re
oovered. It is s singular fact that neith
er the baby of tbe first w>mnn nor any
of the sixty or more in the hospital had
the disease. In private practice I have
seen few coses of scarlet fever in women
who had recently been oonfined, but a
majority of these have recovered.
Mystery of a Mordered lan.
There ia a mywtery abont the life of
the mnrdered German, Hcbnlte, of Nor
walk, Conn., which, if nnearthed, would
probably make a vory iaterenting ntory.
In one of the meet quiet and neclnded
neighborhood! to be found along the
Hound, abont balf way Irotwecn the city
of Booth Norwalk and the village of
Darien, a atranger appeared nearly two
yearn ago and bought a little farm on a
cronn road. He hardly examined the
property, bnt aaked the price, promptly
counted ont $5,000, and took poaaenaion
almost at onoe. No one knew anything
of bin antecedent*, and he avoided mak
ing acqnaintanoea. His next-door neigb
bor waid, after the mnrder, that he did
not know him by sight. He made fre
qnent viaitn to New York, and waa at
tended to and from the railroad ntation
by a hired man who waa required to
walk alwaya ao many paces in front He
lived in the plainest manner, and while
it waa known that be had money to sup
ply hia wants, there waa no suspicion
that be waa rich. Huddenly, while on
hia way home from the atation, be waa
brutally murdered, and then it waa dis
covered that, aaide from what money
hia murderer* secured, he had $20,000
in caab inaide hia veat lunula the
honae a large num. aaid to be $200,000,
wan found, and a little cheat deposited
bv him in a Norwalk aavinga bank a day
or two before hia death waa found to be
fnll of French gold coin. Paper* in bin
poaaesaion abowed that he owned a very
large amount of property in Germany,
near Cologne; tbey also indicate that he
waa a man of good education, and appar
ently of conaiderable prominence.
Those who made hia aoquainUnoe way
he spoke four languages fluently. It
baa also transpired that he wan intend
ing removing to Virginia, where be had
instructed a New York agent to bny a
farm, as be found the New England cli-,
mate too severe. A passport among hia
papers indicated that be had traveled
through Germany. Probably time will
unravel the mystery, bnt at present no
body known hia history, why be waa
in apparent hiding at thia spot, or what
motive could have led to the crime,
There are no clnea to the murderers,
except such aa throw aoapicion cm the 1
man-servant. Hia course at the time ia
thought by aome to ahow hia innocence,
by other* to indicate a well-acted pari j
to hide liia guilt and throw suspicion on
other*. All told, the story ia more
mysterious, although less tragical, than
the horrible killing of poor Mary 8 tan
nard in Madlaon. Harifard CbvranL
The (tewing Women of New fork.
From a small paper, called the Cheri
tj/ RecorxL, issued by St. John's guild,
one of New York'a leading charitable
inatitutiona, we take the following: Few
people, except tho actual sufferers, are
aware of the many hardships endured
by the sewing women of New Tork. The
prices paid for work by the manufac
turer* are, at the beat, very low. The
conditions exacted by them arefreqnent
of snob a nature that poor women,
ongh honest and industrious, are un
able to oomply sith them Thia haa led
to a class of middlemen, who being able
to comply with the conditions of the
manufacturers, obtain the work for
them, and then sublet it to poor women
at greatly reduced rates. As an instance,
the usual rate paid by the manufacturer
for a common grade of ah iris ia fifty- five
cents par doaen, Many women who ap-
Cied to the guild for work laat -winter
id beau making the aame shirta at
twenty -eight cents per doaan. This waa
indeed a great hardship, if not a positive
Injustice. The guild d entree to prolan!
the sewing women from thia great tax
upon their poorly-paid labor, and haa
established a sewing department, in
which Hia full prion thai is raeatead from
the manufacturers ia paid. The manage
ment of thia department has been placed
in toe hands of a committee of ladies
who volunteer their am i loan.
*f*v '* ♦ *
< i
.ammarnm .
OffTBICH PARMMf*.
N
A Ptnltu Wr<u4 • rtnllw MM* Africa
I mdmmrt.
The male* are splendid birds, often
measuring seven feet in height when
the bead is raised, and above foar feet
to the shoulder, with black htniny
feathers on the back, and the beautiful
Blames, both black and white, ander
je wings and on the sides of the tail.
A band of bright red or pink rans down
the leg, and they prance sbont with
great dignity, shaking the wealth of
rich, loose, hanging feathers under
their short arms (as one might say) with
much pomp and ceremony before their
ladies, who are far more quietly dressed
in gray. Vhey, too, have, however,
some white feathers; bnt these cannot
be depended upon, as they are often
streaked with grey, end are never so
valuable ae those of the male birds.
Their large eyes have e carious film,
which they can bring over them and re
tract at pleasure. A pair of fine os
triches is worth about S4OO, and live
were now parted with: bnt the remain
ing nine need nightly to settle tbem
selves to roost at equal distant along
the farmyard, with their large project
ing breasts flat on the earth. And a
stranger driving np to the place at dusk
waa more than onoe confronted by the
: nine sentinels suddenly uprising from
; the ground to their fall height with
startling effect. • They are extremely
; strong, and can kill a man by striking
|at him with the foil foroe of the leg,
when the claw, above an inch long, of
the front toe, will tear the flesh from
head to foot; the wound from the nail
is considered to be poisoned. The bird
when it is to be plucked is therefore
very carefully secured; it is driven into
s narrow pen and a bar let down behind
it. A stocking is then drawn over its
head, and when onoe blindfolded it re
mains motion leeeandmake* no resistance.
The quill of the feather, when "alive,"
is full of blood, and plucking must be a
Sinful process. About twenty of the
Her feathers, and thirty or forty of the
commoner ones, are taken at the same
time, when She poor bird's wounds are
rubbed with sweet oil and vinegar. It
Boon seems to reoover; bnt the tender
hearted master sometimes cuts the
| plumes off near the root instead of
! plucking them; these, however, do not
i sell so well. A good feather is worth
12.60 at Cape Town, and the produce of
the Ave ostriches amounts to sbont SBOO
s year. This, in s bad season, when
the wheat is devoured by rust, when the
sheep have the sesb, when the cattle
suffer from dry seasons and abort crops,
and the oidium is threatening the vines,
I must lie a very pleasant resource to the
Gape farmer in bis need, which the Eng
lish one will envy him. It is by no
means, however, all plain sailing with
ostrich prodooe. The birds only breed
after five years, and oftenoome to grief;
j the male birds flgbt, they rub them
selves against the ground—break and
dirty their feathers, are fond of water,
and often plnnge into the pools, and
swim over, much to the detriment of the
plumes that are to figure on the bonnet
of some Paris or London elegant*,. The
garden pool of the farm in question is
surrounded by wild red geraniums six
J feet high or so, which are mown down
from time to time only to grow up more
luxuriantly, mixed on the lower, moister
side with a quantity of tall white arums
and a sort of red gladiole with long,
' loose, narrow leaves. As the ostriches
grew older they were confined in s pen
surrounded with s fence of cactus or
prickly pear, the fig of which is good
eating; and one day a young mulatto
crept in, where be had no business, to
| steal the fruit. An indignant ostrich
struck at him, and tore open the whole
leg of his trousers, wounding the thigh.
It might have killed him; but the boy
Jack, who fed tbem, rushed up at the
sound of the shrieks with s basin of
* barley and rescued the man. The
wound, however, was months in heal
ing. The bird is very easily killed by s
slight twist of the neck or s blow on tbs
bead. The immense cavity for air with
in the breast, which enables it to ran so
long, makes s sound like s drum when
the bird is struck on the back. At one
time in the year they make s loud
booming noise like that of a bull, very
alarming when the ostrich is unseen and
comes suddenly close upon you. They
| are, however, extremely quiet when
i ell treated; and the little children oa
the farm are often put to ride on their
hecks. Horses, until aoeustomed to the
I sight of them, snort and rear in great
affright, and the ostrich returns the
compliment of dislike. In sn ostrich
camp near by, when the master went
about to inspect his sitting hens, they
rose at him menacingly, but when he
rode round, Ahey remained oowed and
silent.- (food Word*.
The Cental's Saake-Eater.
The "secretary bird," carrying hie
pen behind his ear, ranks among the
remarkable oi the feathered race. These
birds are also oalled serpent-eaters, and
in sighting their peculiar prey from
afar, their eyes will match those of the
eagle. The author of " Thirty Tears at
Bee." saw one domesticated at the
British consul's residence, in the city of
Luanda, Africa, and stalking about
among the poultry. They are kept, he
says, about the basements and court
yards of booses as scavengers, and to
destroy mice and snakes, which latter
are their principal food when not in
captivity.
The owner erf the one I speak of was
showing its capacities to our captain,
and the bird gulped down five or six
whieh had jeet beau eel
off. A large snake, said to be poiaoe
ous, waa then brought in a basket and
turned out in the ooart-yard.
The secretary at oooe made for him
with his wings extended, and the quills
at the baok of his heud (from which be
is familiarly named) all erected.
The snake glided rapidly around the
wall, evidently seeking some hole or
hiding-place, but finding none, be col
lected himself for n spring, but before
be ooukl strike, the bird se<sed him
by the neck, lashed him violsoUy on the
pavement two or three times, and then,
putting one horny foot oe his neek,
commenced to tear him in ptooes, ami
devour him.
Mot more than two minutes elapsed
between the taming oat of the make
and hie being safety stowed away in the
secretary's crop, in doenpaay with the
chickens' heeds.