Deserted Filth Avenue.
By early entalle light I wander lorth
Upon Filth avenue anil the tuljoining street*.
How silent, how <hwcrto<l are these mnrhlo
hat Is,
It> homos of wealth and luxtiry.
Scant' the glimmer ola chamber light la seen,
Hie parlors all funcrally closed,
The lolks are ont ol town,
rhe basement* only show some signs ot life,
As Ann and Hriilget, lelt to keep the house,
There loiter at hour ol early eve,
To breathe tr> sh air anil gossip
With Houndsinan No. 7.682.
A cat with stealthy tread
Steals o'er the way,
Intent on llioff or commune with some other
cat.
Ha! Who are these?
So stealthily peeping lorth
As though in lenr ol toe outside in ambush,
Or sitting well ensconced within the hull.
In dresses dark and somber,
rheee ? This is the lamily,
Who lor st rong reason
Have stayed in town this season.
Who timidly a*, night nnhar the door
Ukwed in the day, and in deserted outward
. look
Contemporaneous with Urerest.
I turn away my head
I know their pain.
They wish not to lie seen ot inou.
The y're theoretically out ol town.
I will not e'en spy out their number.
This is true charity.
.Vu> I orA Graphic.
The Little Old Woman and Her
Cows.
A 9TOKY FKOM OVF.It TIIK BF.A9.
Oudenarde is a town in the Nether
suids; perhaps the guide laxiks spell it
Audennrde, ; ut long ago. when she lived
tin •re, the country was known as Fi;ut
ders, and tie name of the town begun
with (>. They wire times of trouble
then on account of the wars. The nn-n
were nearly all off for soldiers whether
they wanted togoor not; and the towns,
which all had high walls round them
for defence, fell first into the hands of
one army and then of the other, and
fighting was the chief business.
Tltis woman, whose name was IVtro
niila, lived just off tlie road ixtwecn
Oudenarde and Ghent, which were
twelve miles apart; hut she belonged to
the topper place, though she lived a
good way outside, and never w< nt there
now: for not only did she fed too old
for the walk, but the town had a garri
son of soldiers in it, and was in danger
of being attacked uiy day, and site had
seen trouble enough without going to
ss'k it.
Site w:is more than sevt nty years old,
and livid alone except for In r cat. And
she was so |>oor that she had almost
nothing but two cows, and those site
would not have had long if the soldiers
had thought them worth driving off;
hut as they were not much more than
skin and 'nine, she wu- left in peaceful
possession of them.
Bi ing a pious woman, when she said
Vr prayers at night she never forgot to
say that the cows Wt-re a great deal to tie
thankful for. On the tew pints ol milk
they gave, nnd a little barley bread, she
managed to live, and also to keep her
cat in good condition.
The eat—his name was Solomon—had
belonged to tier son Peter. So had the
cows, which he had raised from calves
when they had a nice farmstead of their
own, and all was prosperous with them.
Now thfl farm WU gone, the horse* ;
and the cattle, all l>ut the cows. She
hail only them and tlie cat.
I(*r husband was dead ; and Peter was
lost. He had been forced into the wars,
and now for eleven years no tidings of
him had ever reached her.
But she always prayed for him as if
he was alive, and never gave over the
hope that lie might comeback—a mother
never doe*.
That was why she -tili liv*l near
Oudi-narde; because if she wrnt away,,
and lie should coni* hark, how eould he
ever find her? Could lie anyway, for ;
her old neigh or* wire ail gone, and
the war had eh .ngrd everything?
She had found shelter in a little, old
hut witli a thatched roof. The walls .
looked ready to full down, and the'
thatch had rotted so that it let in the
rain; but she kept it sweet and airy.
In fair weather the door 'always stood
wide open, showing the clean, clay floor,
a small fireplace with the dinner-pot.
which had nothing in it. hanging on tlie
crane, two wooden lienclies. a table aud
a tied, a brass lamp, some pewter anil
wooden dishes, and a crucifix ar.d
pieture of the Virgin. There was a
square window with latticed bars across
it in checkers, and on the iedge was
always a mug of flowers, and beside it in
sunny days usually sal the cat, which
was salmon-colored and immensely
large.
Ttiis was how the house looked one I
September afternoon at sunset. Pctro
ailln had just milked the cow, and
hot!; of them were safe for the night in
a little yard at the end of tlie house.
She stood in the door looking first at the
smell quantity of milk in the wis den
dipper sli" "ield in her hand, and then at
the cows, and wiw that tliev were leaner
than ever. Ther she gazed off U|*in the
dusty, dried-up fieids on whose out
skirts they had picked up their scanty
living, wfiileshe sat by watching tliem
with knitting-work in In r hands; there
was almost nothing left for them ; what
should she do?
Then she thought of tlie great meadows
along the river toward Oudenarde;
broad and green she eould see tliem far
away this side tlie town. There tlie
grasses grew rank ami high : nnd in this
time of fear no man eared for them, or
would dare to cut tliem. A force ol
soldiers had just gone into garrison
there, tlie gate* were kept shut and
guarded.tlie inhabitants dared not stir
outside; and "t any moment the men of
Ghent might march down and attack
them
It was no trespas- to gather grass from
Die river valley.
Tlie lodger she iookni the more iftic
frit that she eouid get some, and that site
might to do it.
Wlien site itad niadi up tier mind site
felt easier, and her face showed it. It
was a good face; brown, because site
had been out of door* so much, wrinkled
hi a row of furrows eleur across her
fcrehcad, and wrinkled aliout her eyes
and chin, hut it was kind and patient.
She tied a dark handkerchief over her
clean white cap. and tucked her small
•becked shawl closer about her neck and
erased it on her bosom outsideoflier
hrnwn woolen gown, then she put a
strong cord into her pocket which she
worn hanging from her '"'lt. and took j
her staff from l>chiml the door, and not
out; hut just before she crossed the
threshold she looked down at Solomon,
who wit there nnd wild, ••Solomon, you
keep house till 1 get back. It won't he
before midnight. Women who live
alone with cat* are apt to confide'things
to them.
Ft wn* a lonesome walk, and aweary
one for a woman of her years, hut the
thought of her poor cow* kept her up.
The night was beautiful, tin' air was
mild, and the starlight so clear that she
could easily find her way, and yet it was
not bright enough to betray her to any
one who might be wiuuicring about,
which indeed was a very unlikely
thingto happen, for everybody, except a
few stray cottagers like herself, was snfi
within tin' walls of the town; and as
for the enemy, they were twelve miles
off in Ghent.
Besides its own strong defences Oude
narde was further protected by great
ditches, deep and broad, along the mead
ows, so that it was considered safe from
attack on that side. When lVtronilla
reached the outermost of these ditches
she was much surprised to lind that
there was no water in it, but being
anxious to gather her bundle of gr;iss,
she Ml to work, pulling it un by long
handful*, until she had secured as much
as she could carry, nnd had just tied it
with the cord, when a strange thing hap
pened, :uui she scam learned something
very important about the ditch.
Though her hearing was not as good
as it once had been, she was sure that
two or three persons were talking not
f;u- away, and that tlcy were coming
nearer. She instantly pulled offhereap
that its snowy whiteness might not at
tract attention, mullled herself to the
eyes in her kerchief, and crouched low
1 among the tuffs of reeds.
And none too soon, for men began to
pass close by Iter, carrying long ladders,
I which nearly swayed against her, so
; near were they. She dared not stir, and
could not raise her eyes to see higher
than their knees; hut as the feet went by
her face, one pair after another, she
counted; and there were four hundred
men.
What was the meaning ol it she gath
ered quickly enough, for the h adcrs talk
ed over their plans inmost over her le ad.
They were foes, the men of Ghent,
come at midnight after l"iig marching
to surprise Oudenarde.
They said that most ot the garrison
and the great officers were away, f eiing
that all was safe—they had sent spii-s
who found this out—and that the town
was carelessly guarded, and what was
worse, that the inhabitant* had drawn
the water out of tin' ditches to get the
fish, and along these channels the enemy
could now approach even to the walls,
anil by means of their scaling-ladders
climb over.
As soon .-is tic men had all gone by,
Petronilla, though shaking with terror,
flurried as fast a- her feet could hobble
by a short path she knew to the walls,
just where tic emptied ditch would give
them a place of a<!vantage.
The sentry was going his rounds, and
finding all was well, would soon have
passed out of hearing, hut she b< gan to
moan and cry as if in distress, and hear
ing her, became hark and asked her what
was the matter.
Then In a quavering voice she told her
story, which he knew not what to think
of; iieing only a poor sentinel obeying
orders, what should lie think wle n an
old woman started up before him at
midnight h> gging him to alarm thi gar
rison. when the commander had felt
secure enough to leave everything just
as it was?
But he was humane, so he treatsl her
kindly, and asked her to stop and rest
herself, but she said :
" No; if I don't hurry away I shall he
a dead woman."
When she had gone, the thought came
to him how tnn* and kind h r voice
was, and what an honest woman she
seemed.
"She made me think ol my poor
mother, who ha* been dead these many
year*, I fear."
Bemtllf of this, he said lie Would go
and look off from tin* highest tilaee and
watch and listen, which Tie diii; but not
a sound broke the stillness except the
cry of a night-bird on the meadow;
nothing was stirring, even tin old wo
man was nowhere tol*' seen.
Indeed, she had made h.'iste to get
back to the place where she saw the
men, who renialn'il as slm had left
tliem, all but four, who w re just Is ing
sent onward with order* from tloir
leader not to speak, not to cough or
inecze, hardly even to breath", but to go
as near the walls as possible without
startling the watchman, reeonnoiter.
and bring back word
Tiiis they did; and IVtroniila waited
to bear the nqmrtin dread and sorrow,
for she was sure there was not a liuht
burning in all the town and that the
people were sound asleep in their beds,
never dreaming of danger: and when
the spies returned, tinTr words only
add) <1 to her misery.
They did not see so much as a lighted
candle, tiiev said, and they believed that
the sentinel had been his rounds and bad
gone to bod; and now it was proposed to
prepare for a start, enter the ditch and
move on to the walls.
Then poor tired old IVtroniila started
again, and appeared once more to the
astonished watchman, who was still
keeping a sharp lookout, and told liini
all she had just beard, and that it was
the last he would see of her that night.
" But," she said, " if evil does come to
the town and you escape, mv hut can
shelter you front harm. It is the first
on the road to Ghent."
She told him this because lie had a
civil, pleasant way, which made her
think f her dear boy. Peter.
And now the man, fully alarmed, went
round to the gate that was threatened,
where he found the soldier* of the guard
crowded about a dim light nlaying dire,
with three or four flasks of wine lieside
tliem; they weie his superiors in rank,
so lie addessed them as "Gentlemen!"
and asked if their gates and harriers
were all secure, because an old woman
had '>een to liini and told him that a hand
of men were on the'r way to take the
town.
"Oh, ho!" they cried, "our gntea are
fast enough. A had night to the old
woman wlm ha* come at such an hour
to alarm us! Probably site saw some
| cows and calves that had come untied,
and "lie fancied they wen 1 men ol Ghent
coming here. They have no such inten
tions.
Meantime. Petronilla, leaving her
bundle of grass where it lay. wearily and
sadly plodded home that slie might lie
take herself to lied while she was able to
get there; and the cows went without
any aunper.
While she lay awnke, for sleep she
could not, the terrible thing she fi>ared
(came to pass. The guanl. careless at
their post, who scorned her message,
were surprised at their game. The four
hundred bad come over the walls by
tlieir scaling-ladders and gained the
market place, where they were heard
shouting:
"Client! Client!"
The startled people sprung in horror
from their beds, only to see that it was
too late to save their town, even if their
own lives were seeure.
It was an awlul night of fighting and
pillaging; and the sight wliiidi the next
morning's sun looked upon was of
streets full of armed men, houses broken
open, eonfusiiin* and destruction anil
death everywhere; and out through the
now open gates a multitude of women
and children, in th" clot lies they sltcp
in, barefoot nnd half-nakeil, fleeing for
their lives is'fore the men of Client, who
were driving them as if they hud been
cattle; and the poor fugitives, glad to
eseiyieNin any terms, went running off
on every road except the one to the
enemy's city: and in the end found!
refuge in other towns, where the bus- |
hands and fathers of some of them after
ward joined them,hut tin* most were,
tin* samo as if they were widowed and j
orphaned.
I'liere was only one person who dared
take the road to Client, and lie crossed i
out to it over the fatal meadow, but left
it as soon as lie saw at one side the lean- \
ing cottage, with the little cow-in n lie-j
side it, where Pctronilla lived. The
sentinel iiad escaped, with bis outer gar- 1
ment torn away and a g;t*b neross Ids
shoulder; but he had Kept safe sewed !
within hi* leathern doublet a pouch of
gold which In* hud laid by for his old
mother's support , if ever lie should come
back to (tuilcnariie.
Since he came he hnd heard that she
had been some years missing from the
farmstead, which had bis'ii ruined by
the wars, and that surely slo* mu-t he
dead.
He thought that perhaps he would
give this gray-hnired woman some of it
now for Ins mother's sake. How anxi
ous she hail seemed, what a faithful
soul *he was to do so much, how old *lic
was to have walked so far, and how
kindi /t nvitatioii had l •n!
This was le r hut, tle-n! lfow jwiOr it
was. And tho-c two rows looking over
the fence and lowing mournfully—! aw
lean and stnrvi*! they were! Thohotuc
door was open, ami a eat canio out,
salmon-colored. Where had he sen
sueli a eat of that queer color? Sill
growled and put up her hack and started
in. ilicn stopped and looked around in
dismay as lie called "Solomon! Solo
mon! It is inv very eat. Solomon'"
Tlmn something else happened, for a
voice cried from the bid within :
"(Hi. Peter!"
Yes: I'etronilla, sleeping lab after her
night's adventure, dreamed of the senti
nel: and IVter's words awoke her. As
ran a* she was Pi Uobilla, be w is PeU r.
Wlmt more is there to In told ? Why,
that tlicy Imtli agreed that it wo* best
tomt away from (htdenarde as fast as
their feet could carry them. The linu-*-
might serve as slidt r to some poor fugi
tive. The dinner-pot they wuld eav
with somclnidy who iiad wherewithal to
buy n dinner to rook in it And tlie
few po- 1 • *inn* of tlii 1 departing linuse
kei |mt should Im-left fiirlur succc---ir.
Hut Solomon tlicy took with tbein in a
bag: and the two sorry-looking coin
they drove In-fore tlieni to a more fi-rtiie
:v< well as peaei fttl land—
said I'cter, "it it hnd not been for tlie
cows, we never should have found each
other.— Cmiwint n.
Fruits for Food.
Henry Ward Reeeher say* there is no
sense in the old familiar motto. "Fruit
is gold in tlie morning, silver at noon,
mil lead At night." His reasons for
this opinion he thus state*;
lb cause, with a limited experience,
m ople perceive that some folk* ciui ent
fruit at one time and not at . notlu-r,
tlicy lay down ties rule for all. The
• a* * where fruit is unhealthy at night
are the ixoepiioii
It is trin that in tropical i liinaU *.
1 • avy ruits, diflieult to digest, ought
not to he taken at night.
Hut the fruits that an on our North
ern farms arc all healthy, a* a rale.
Among tlie i xoellcnt small fruit are cur
rants. goosebcrrii . ra'pl* rries. straw
iM-rri'grate's. mulberri*—these iast
arc a very mm li negb-ep-d fruit; there
i no lietter fmit trie for children than
the Howning's CVIT- hearing mulberry.
()n> of tie in w ill tsar fruit for eight
or ten weeks slendilv, constantly ripen
ing, and pie -ing ali the low J* and tur
key*. • hi.ill-n and old folk*. I would
rather liave this mulberry to-day Uiaa
a strawberry.
Tlie common mulberry i- tl u and
-wi*et: but this ha* a tin sprightly icid
tate. as finely eomhined a* ieinonade.
A* you go up. you I iim il- apple,
whieli i* the patriarch, or the Alu iliinn.
of all fruits If I had to choose but one
fruit out of ail in the world, I should
decide for the apple.
For uses ot every kind, early and late,
winter or summer, cooked or raw, ap
pie is king. Then comes tlie cherry,
then the pear, tie n the pluin and the
pcach-
I have not mentioned orangi -. le* ause
they are not raisable in the North; but
tlicy * 'iigbt to l>e cat' n nt the right time,
which is nil the time from getting up in
the morning till you go to bed at night.
The man with wiemi tlicy disagree is |
the exception.
A Tame Humming Itird.
Some time ago a lady living at Cin
cinnati heard a bird called lis if in pain,
in the yard outside the door, and upon
investigation found a young humming
bird in the talons of the family cat. Sh<
promptly rescued the tiny fellow and
fouro! it to he a little 'hurt, though
enough to warrant le-r taking an Interest
it* convalescence. She took it into the
house and kept it ti 111li*n*xt day, when,
on taking it to tliejdonr to let it go. the
bird flew up into a tree nnd refused to
go farther away, finally returning to her
hand. Charmed with the confidence
displayed by the nretty er<*nture, the
lady took it fully in charge, and since
then ha* fed and eared for it :u* for any
: other featheriM pet. The bird is of a
lieautlful russet gold in color, seems to
know ila hcnefactriss, nnd has charm
| ingly coquettish ways. It permit* it*
; mistress to handle it without exhibiting
fear, and seem* to eiuoy being stroked
and petted. When tt gets hungry It
makes a plaintive call, anil is then ftal
from a fresh petunia, into whose depths
liave been sprinkled sugar, moistened
with water in imitation of the honey
that is the natural food of the bird of
freedom. The bird enjoys its meal* with
gusto, and calls for about twenty of
litem daily. It Is very seldom that one
of these dainty birds fs caught, and still
more rarely Is one kept alive, to say
nothing of becoming a pet. iui is the enae
with the one spoken of.
The Needs of tlie World.
The harvest of tli<' small grain* of the
country in rompli'Uil nnd safely
in stuck. Hotter weather a* a whole
could not lo desired. It lot* been
dry nnd 0001. Our prediction of last
spring Hint, with seasonable weather
tue w I lent crop of the country would be
unprecedented, hn* boon more than ver
ifm I. Our bout wliont yield in the piuit
years hits been nbout 300,(MNi.fNM) bushels.
This season it w ill undoubtedly reach
400,000,000 bushels, nnd inny to 425,-
000.000. Two-fifths of thin product we
onn Hond out of the country nnd Mill
have MI ample reserve for oar home
use*. l/ot um now nee what the require- ,
nientn übroiuj will probably be. We
have heretofore stated that England
will probably require 120,01 hi.ih si bushel* |
nnd France 10(1,000,000 bushels. It is j
now estimated that the Mediterranean !
countries other than France will need
25,000,000 nnd Demunrk. Norway nnd
Sweden 10,000,000, a total ot 280,000,000
bushels. l.ato French statements *sti
inate European requirements at 98,0dd,-
<km hectoliters, or 37h,000,000 bushels.
Russia produces 200.000,(XNi hushels, nnd
consume* nt home 150,000,000 of this
amount, leaving a surplus for export of
50,000,000 bushels: India 12,000,000,Aus- !
trin 20.000.000, nnd Hungary 8,000,000.
Thus WO liave 110,000,000 hushels to'
supply the deficiency of 280,000,000
bushels, leaving for the I'idled Stale*
170,000,000. It S therefore pretty certain
that our surplus of 1G0,000,000 bushels
will find n ready market and at fair
price* Alexander Ileimar. a very con
servative authority, estimates the
world's crop n* follows, the figure* rep
resenting million*:
ciMiiv ? | "r. §t ?f
||| LR RI
Odtti.KsU ■ M ... IN
h : ■JYII NW
Itim r I _'JIJ -Jitl Vl
Om -: 110 |li 1*
in M
11 Ai > |VL 1(0 •
\'i ' 11. ijkm J"-* no .
I'll!'' 1 '.! r i lid
Torkwj N .*
Rmtm • la 4 *
A Wnrii. . 'J& >.
I* i if Tin:...... ....• .* i'.
Hol.tni R '
lUrara |1
' ohiila. ....... '.<• JH
AuairalU - j'
a
I'o.ituoi. ft B a
Wwrrffc ...... 4 4
Ifi . talk ..
H* J. nft (id N . •> i N
HAITMURIL. ... ...... J 'I
AIJ (tbri* .♦ H J
Ti It! ... li, • 1 t A4H | /!* /j,',
" While I have i very r< aeon to r> gard
tlii* iv a i orre< iex|sition .f the world's
crop mid Allure wle at movement at the
pv -. Nt moment, it is to I" rcni<ml*red
that the harvest i* not over yet, that
from some countries the teicgrnphie ad
vice* liave is en ratlcr meager. and that
isith the requirement- met surplu* or
d< licit ola country depend mueh tux.n
the rye and other grain n>j*. whieli,
though they are Ie rein <-*.nid'Tcd are
not shown in tie tabic. For these
r< oson* the d< toils may ha* •• to tie some
what modified. Hut tie- general result
ean. I think, hr deluded upon for sub
stantial corn ■ tn< *. 'I hat i*. tie- wheat
deficit will, during tie harvest year
1879-80. amount to ov< r 200,000,000
bushels —*av 225.000.1N10 bushel*—nnd
that the Pnit'-d States will |k> called
upon to supply two-taird- of it, or say
125,000,000 to 150,01X1.000 bushel*; Ituv
*i;i, sti.fNiO.WNi bushels; Ifr<umnnin, 30-
000,000 hu*li*l; anil Canada. Au-tri:i
and India. 6.000,000."
Thus it will lc seen evin from the
roost conservative view, and taken at a
time when the wheat crop of lh< I "nit* d
States had not yet dcv< loped it • If, tl.a!
on extraordinary deficit must ensue.
Since that lime thol'nifrd State* has.
with favoring weather, very much in
i renaed her supposed yield, wliile Eng
land and France ami some other Euro
pean count tie* und r n stri *s of weather
very severely reduced the contemplated
yield. England must a!< buy more
largely tills HtHOD than heretofore of
Indian corn to ek. iiut lier bad hay and
root crop. The carrying out of this
vast quantity of grain mii*t bring back
gold or its equivalent. It will have the
effect to cause business of every kind
to spiring up. and thus again, a is al
ways the i we have the fact verified
that upon agriculture a* the foundation
n *t the prosperity ofa nation.— /Vrn'rie
FARMER.
On !Yhrcl,
Every middle-aged person knows
what a gn at change has tnlo n place
in the carriage* in ordimry us*' in the
last thirty or forty years. When I was
a boy, family carriages, and, indeed,
vehicle* of i i cry kind, except olonibuses
and carts —1 beiievc there has rot hi i n
mueh ehangi in thein—were vi ry heavy
and unwieldy affairs, wle n i .tinpared
with those now in use. Not long ago I
saw at the permanent ixliibition. in
I'liilmlelpibia, the eatriage in wliielitien
oral Washington used to ride. You
could not get a President of the I'nited
State* to ride In such ,a funuyold coach
nowadays, nnd I doubt very much If
any one would take it as a gib if they
were obliged to use it. Yet it is far bet
ter looking than some of the carriages
that were thought good enough for kings
and queen* r hundred Man i|t, Hut
we cannot go viTy far bai k in making
eompmrisons of carriages. Previous to
the sixteenth century there were many
hundreds of year* when cai rlagi-s were
xcarcelv known at nil in Europe.
In the old Ronton days, there bail been
handsome chariots and wheeled vehi
cles of various kinds, hut when Rome
declined, chariots and carriagi-s disap
peared. and |>eople either wnlked. or
rode on horseback, or wi-re carried by
men in scdan-rhnirs and similar eon
trivam-es. There was a good n ason for
this change. The old Romans made
splendid roads, but the nations tlint
afterward ruled Europe did not know
how to make good highways, or did not
care altout such things, and were content
to ride their horses over such roads as
they found. Even in England, where
we might supipose the people might have
known 1* Iter, this was th<- case. The
prim ipal highways wore so hnd and the
mud was sometimes so deep, that even
horsemen found great difficulty in get
ting along. So they never thought of
using wheeled vehicles on tlmse wretched
thoroughfares. Hut when they liegan to
make good roads, carriages followed, as
n matter of course.— FU. A 'UJIOUU.
\ young man went into a restaurant
the other day, and, remarking that
"Time is money," added that as he lind
half an hour to spare. If the proprictot
was willing he'd take it out In pie.
TIMKLf TOI'K'N.
Tables prepared at Washington give
the aggregate production of th<- three
great agri< ullural staples of the .South
ern States lor 1878 as follows; Cotton,
5,200,000 bales; sugar, 2f\,000 bogheads;
tobacco, 572,000,000 pounds. I*i 1877
this production was: Cotton, 4,811.423
laths; sugar, 197,753 bogheads; tobacco,
580,1:00,000 pounds.
Chur'e- lb-ode is outdone in the story
whieli N'atlian G. Kay ha, of Golden,
Col., tells of bis own experience :w a
1 azy man. His persecutors were hi*
wife and daughter, who would lie bene
fited by his dying intestate, He says on
oath that they indueed a jury of six of
his enemies to pronounce him insane,
hired a brute to keep him on bis farm,
reviled him when, in an effort to escape,
lie was lassoed and b:ul a leg and a hip
broken by bis jailer, and finally stole his
property. The man i* vonehed for as
entirely sane.
The French originator of the gigantic
enterprise of bridging the I'nglish clian
no] says that lie mentis business and pro
po:ies to commence operations at onee.
lie has been laying his plans before the
Chambers of ( ommcree in Frame and
Belgium for the purpose of securing
funds, and will soon make an ap
peal to the British government.
He has already secured the ind< rsc
ment of eighty-four commercial or
ganizations in France and Belgium,
and he estimate* that seven months time
and $200,000 will suffice for tb experi
mental stage and demonstrate the feasi
bility of bis enterprise.
Imitation meerschaum pipes are now
manufactured from potatoes in Frame.
A peeled potato i.* placed in sulphuric
arid and water, in tin-proportion of eight
parts of the former to 100 of the latter.
It remains in this liquid thirty-six hour*
to blacken, is dried with blotting paper,
and submitted to a certain pressure,
when it ia-rome* a material that ran Is
readily curved. The counterfeit is said
,lo be excellent. An imitation ivory
sufficiently hard for billiard ball* can
be made by *till greater pressure. Arc
- inblan's-of coral Is obtained by treat
ing carrots in the same manner.
'I he race of white peoph whi< b Major
Pinto, the Portuguese explorer. ba. fi*-
eoveri-d in South Africa i* named Ca*e
uU'T. and i- wbit- r than the Cau< aaians.
Sinaii tufts of very short black wool
take the place of hair on the head, while
, -tiitiilne*- of eye- and prominence of
clink Ixme* constitute a resemblance to
the Chinese. Til- men are extr- ne ly
; rohu-t, and both m< n and women ar<
entirely nomadic, wandering in group*
of from four to six familiescacli. and
living on root- and on the re*ults-f the
chase. I "nl'*ss these fail tin in tin have
no intercourse with their black eigh-
Is.r-, ih'-y arc the only 1* in
Africa that do no| cook tie ir hwwl in
fx its.
Tie- latest "fn.*tc-t o. 1 an steamer i
the Arizona, whieli isthe largest steam
er now in service and which reached
ijueen-town in *< v< n days, right iiotirs
and eight miiiut- - frotn N' W York, l at
ing In r previous trip, wiiicii was ai<>
le r fir-t one, by one hour and a quarter.
The s|m*-<I of ocean voyages do< - not
ne 1 *-arily im p-a.se the danger of them,
for It i* t!i*- t-erfe, tion and excellei.-' of
tic machinery um<l which enable the
newest il'smi r- to outsail the old oni -.
For people who sp. ml ocean voyage* in
j tin' ngonh - of sea-sickness tin quicker
the trip is iiiaib-the ! iter th*> 'ike it,
and provided waft ty lie not sacrificed t<i
*pi'd, the savingofaday in crossing the
Atlantic i* an ohject for travelers of all
1! as* i-.
In relation to cotton production and
eonsumption thr f tt<U SUtU* KronomiM
gives tables showing that for eleven
y< ars, ending with the crop of the
total production of the country was 37.-
410.f1i7 bales. The annual average
yield 3.100.972 bah■*. For the fourteen
years, ending with the crop of I*7*. the
yield, wa* W.TSB.Ifis bale*, tb yearly
iiverage In ing 3,fi15,319 hales. The
coming crop i j-ul at i, 200,000 bale*.
Tlie percentage increase is. for the throe
yi-ars ending l*.V>. 94 p< r c<nt.: for the
thp*'years ending 1*59. 7: for tlie two
years ending 1881,20; for tlie three years
• nding I*7l. 4; for tlie three year- end
ing l*7o, Hi; for the tlin-e years ending
1*77, 17: for tlie two ir* ending 1*79.
Is|. During the first eleven years fol
lowing tie- war. tin production reached
38,310.881 bale*, an averag' of 3.300.09U
per annum, against 37.t10.fi97 for eleven
yean ending l*fil, ati average annual
production of 3.400,972. The average
crop for the last fourti- n years exceeds
the average production forth' cloven
year* ending hy 815.000 I tales. The
-Top now coining to market, if nirnnt
istimales of it be comet, ix.**,)* tlie
largest crop prior to the war by 377 .000
bates.
Too Many Snake Bite*.
During the baying season an honest
old farmer out on tlie Gratiot nr.id em
ployed three voting men from the citv to
lie'p cut and store hi- timothy. N'one
of tlnmi liked work half a* well as
whisky, and a conspiracy w.-m tlie rc
; suit. Alsiut noon one dav one of tlie
trio fell down in the field, shouting and
kicking, and the other two ran to tlie
farmer with wild eyes and called out
that their companion had been bitten
'by n rattle make nnd must have
whisky. Tlie farmer rushed to tlie
1 house and brought out a quart, and the
three harvesters got a nig drink nH
around on the m. while the "bitten"
one had a lay-off of half a day. The
next fop-noon a second one was bitten,
and again the farmer rushed for id*
l*ttle. it was a nice Utile job b>r tlie
| lm>*. and M tlie third day the tiiird one
put in Ids claim for a bite, and yelhsl
for tlie whisky l*ltle. The farmer
took the matter very coolly thi* tine,
ami alter making particular inquiries a*
to tlie *!■ of ttie snake, location of the
I bite, (he sensation and so forth, be
slowly continm d:
" Day before yesterday James was
bitten and drnnk a quart of good
whisky. Yesterday John was bitten
and drank a quart morn. To-day you've
got a bite and the best thing vou eon do
is to smell their breaths 1 ml lay in the
shade while tlie riwt of us eat dinner!"
Tlie man got well In ten minutes, and
not another rattlesnake was *c<n during
the season.— Mmit hYrr Prrf.
A British army captain and two
li< iit< cants have Iwen fim d $BO each for
br< aking into tlie bedn oms of two
other officer* and sprinkling pepper on
the carpets in order to ma'.e them sneese
'ur.ti'y when they returned. Tin oom
ph.in r - was the landlady, whose furni
ture ;.a, bim damaged.
A Terrible Lightning Bolt.
The Gun by ( aiihh.) Ncwn contain* th*
following particular* of the dentil by
lightning of Mr*. f/'Kucr, lrr two-year
old chili] and a little girl named Dri< ken :
At the time of the casualty Mr. I/■ Suer
wax on the right side of the front neat,
unring, and Will Date wax Hitting at
hi* left, with the three little boy* that
escaped unirijur<<U sitting in front of
them, under the buffalo robe. Mrs.
!/• Suit was on the light sideof the front
seat, holding her infant child on her lap,
and carrying over her left shoulder a
metallic-pointed sunshade. Immediately
at her left sat her two-year old girl,
Mabel; at the end of tin- *ei* Rosa
Drieken was sitting. It is evident from
the appearance „f the corpse tiiat Mrs.
Is- Suer received the gresp-st part of the
shock. The sunshiufcshe used that day
had stool ribs covered with silk, and it
is thought by many that the electric 4
fluid passed down these ribs, striking
Mr. Date (irst on his right shoulder,
and Mr. f.u Suer on hit left shoulder,
and so on to the seat, p'arlly melting the
iron bolt, and then down to the ground
across the axle of the wagon.
We called to see Will Date, who
luui la-en brought in from Nub
son's. to whose house be had succeeded
in crawling after receiving the shock.
t\ < found Mr. Date getting on finely,
ex cent the bruises on different parts of
his body. From him we roecivod the
following statement: •• We were about
two and a half miles from town; we
were driving along; it was about hall
oast five o'clock: it was raining some;
I was singing, or rather humming, to
myself; Mrs. \/ Suer was joking and
making fun of my singing, when all at
once I heard a sudden crash, and then 1
-ceined to go off into a trance or slumber;
1 then saw tic- nicest kind of colored
■tan and heard tha iwmM -train- of™
vocal and instrumental rnusie, and then
I thought I was floating down, down in
tie air; it was the softest seat I ever
had; I would like to experience the
sane sensation as that again; I should
judge it was about two hours and a hall
before Icame to: I found myself ir tall
gro** and 1 tried to get up, hut could
not: had no u-e of my legs and only the
partial u-c of my right arm; could not
raise my body from the ground: laid on
my hack and turned over on my face:
<•.. d go no further, and then I nied
to float off again into the air: then I
came to, and looking up I saw a house,
and tlnn floated off again. I then came
to and nulled mj -elf along by the grass,
and fell into the creek, and tnanag<-d to
S' ainhle arotlnd and got mv Ixwlv hull
out of the water on the other sjde. I
lnok'd up and saw a man on the same
side of the < reek oa ■ -mail hill. I oould
not speak, as my jaw* were s< t e]o*e;
tried to make a motion to him: he
laughed at nic; he was drunk and
thought that I was. About this time a
boy < ame down after water, and caught
hold of nic and helped me out and un to
the hoii-e, alw>Ut half a mile or *0 from
when I was struck : wlcn near t lie door
I f'll, striking my head against the
door, and that opened my jaws; that is.
the first time that 1 had any control over
my sprat h, and then I OOUd only whi
r.er. 1 couldn't make tin- woman of the
house understand mc th<-n, hut she tick
off my wet clothes and put dry on'* on
me, and then they put me in bed, and
then I seemed to float away again. After
coming to I made a motion to them to
go after the rest of the party, and the
drunken man that I fiist met at the
creek was in the house and he wouldn't
listen to me. and wanted to light and
would surely have hurt mc if it wasn't
for the woman and lioy, who put hini
out door* Finally Mosier and H<nr< tty
came into the room and a*k<*i me where
Le Suer was. I told them he wa- ■
torn up by lightning.
"The stroke hit me on the right
■boukk rand ran down my br t-t. nak* $
ing a perfect circle across the pit of my
stomach, and darted down my left leg
and my left knee; from there to mv '< ft
foot. liurting that some."
The Fat Horse 44 Ram*."
11 It. t'onklin. of New York, owner
of "Rarus," says that ho has owned
" Rani* from his liirlh, and as so->n as
he <iicovered that the ivilt was pow
scsscd oi *0 many qualities indicating
endurance and speed lie determined not
to allow his enthusiasm to g't the better
of his judgment, and instcvl of urging
the coming horse to the limit of his
two-Utilities in hi* earlier years, he care
fully and gr.oiuallv trained him up to
hi* present 1 x<s*licnce. Tin horse i
now twelve y* .is of age, and during his
whole life h<-has never had s single dsv
of natural siekms- The only time lie
was not in condition wa* about three
yenr* ago when the groom, forgr tling hi*
mnnh'-od anil duty to his employer, al
lowed himself to he tirihed ny jealous
.an! unscrupulou- jot keys, and admin
istered a narcotic drug to the noble
brute, but the owner, who constantly
and untiringly keep* a close supervision
over Ilia valuable pet, soon after diseov
cr>d the troublcand by prompt measure*
defeated the base designs of the perpe
trator*. "Why," saiil Mr. t'onkhn. "I
known hat horse a* well as I know my
self, and the minute t step into bis stall
orgaae into bis eye I can t<4) his condi
tion. So long have I been accustomed
to so examine him that I can without
fail determine whether lie will trot fat
or otherwise. \Ve can't control theehw
ments, but if ' Rarus * lives and I live, r
shall yet see 2.10 bunp on .lie outer
walls of the judges stand."' In
answei to the value of tliis king of
I the turf, bis owner said: "I have
several time* been offered $40,000 for
tiim. but that offer did not tempt nic. and
I don't think it ever will. I can afford
to keep him and, IVnvidence permitting.
1 propose to do so."
On Driving Ont Mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes ran be driven away from
rooms by the smoke of incense powder
burned on a hot shovel. Winn it i* not
easy to get fire, put a bit of gum cam
pnor in a shovel, light, and the gum will
eateh us quickly as alcohol; then sprinkle
a tablcspoonftll of insect powd.a
(pyrethrutn) on the flame, let it take fir#
and blow out the blaze. close the win
dows and let the smoke rise for five
minutes. It will not imure walls or
furniture, and docs not harm human
beings, though obnoxious to insist*
Hanging a cloth on which a traspoonfui
of carbolic acid is poured at the head of
the bed. will keep mo-quit. n - away, and
the writer has repeatedly gained a good
night's shen by thismeon* when other*
failed. Taae care to place the cloth or
sponge so that there is no dangtr of
touching it with the face or hands in
the night, a* the acid iwirn* like causliqg
It is not generally known, a* it ought to
lie, that the remedy for hum* by car
bolic acid is Canada fir lialsam. spread
on the part attacked.