She fftnmmit
BELLKFONTE, PA.
Tk ChctpMt and But Paper
rI'ULIDHED IN CENTRE rOCNTT.
THK PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
INTERESTING HISTORICAL SKETCH.
The recent sale of a large amount
of stock held by the city of Philadel
phia. has concentrated public interest
on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and
this sketch of it will be found worth
reading. .....
Pennsylvania embarked in the work
of constructing her public improve
ments in the year 1*22, when an act
was parsed authorizing the construc
tion of the Pennsylvania ('anal at the
expense of the State. In 1827 the
Caual Commissioners were authorized
to make examination for a railroad to
couneet sections of the oaual already
jiartiallv connected. In 1828 they
were directed to locate and put under
contract a railroad from Philadelphia
through lancastcr to Columbia. Mil
lions of dollars were s|ent on the canal
and railroad improvements, the ex
penditure lieing made necessary by
the eoaipletion of the Krie Canal,
which was taking the commerce of
Philadelphia to New York. In 1832
portions of the Columbia Railroad
were completed, and ears were run
upon it. In 1884 the entire line, part
ly canal and partly railroad, between
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, was
opened to trade and travel. It consist
ed of the railroad from Philadelphia
to Columbia, 82 miles; the eastern
division of the canal from Columbia
to Hollidaysburg, 172 miles ; the
Portage Railroad from Hollidays
burg to Johnstown, 36 miles, ami the
westeru division of the canal from the
latter place to Pittsburgh, a distance
of 104 miles, makiug au aggregate
length of 304 miles. Horse cars were
for several years run over the Colum
bia road, occupying nine hours in
traveling 82 miles. About 1836 loco
motives were regularly put at work on
the road to the exclusion of horse
power. The cost of the line to the
State was nearly fourteen and a half
million dollars. Several abortive at
tempts were made toward the con
struction of a through railroad from
the Ohio to the Delaware, but it was
not until 1846 that the project assumed
tangible shape by the incorporation of
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
The charter was granted on February
25,1847, and the law granting to the
Baltimore A Ohio Railroad the right
of way to Pittsburgh, was abrogated
in August following. Mr. J. Edgar
Thompson prosecuted the work of
building the road from Harrisburg to
Pittsburgh with energy.
September 1, 1849, the first division
from Harrisburg to Lewistown, a dis
tance of 61 miles, was open to travel;
a year later the line was opened to
the Mountain House, one mile east of
Hollidaysburg, and on the 10th of
December, 1862, cars were ruu through
from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, con
nection between the eastern aud west
ern divisions being formed by the use
of the Portage (State) Road over the
mountains. The Pennsylvania Com
pany's road over the mountains was
opened earjy in 1854. In 1857, after
a long discussion, a law for the sale of
the State Works was passed, and the
Pennsylvania Railroad became the
purchaer of the "Main Line," and
was thereby released from the pay
ment of tonnage, freight and certain
other specified taxes. The section of
law releasing the Company from the
payment of taxes was decided by the
•Supreme Court to be unconstitutional,
and in 1861 an act was passed "for the
commutation of the tonnage tax."
During the years immediately fol
lowing the completion of the road it
was greatly improved, the tracks
doubled, other lines leased or bought,
depots and extensions built, and more
recently almost the entire line has
ken relaiil with steel rails, the line
straightened and regraded. During
the war the Pennsylvania Railroad
was largely used for the transporta
tion of troops and supplies, and its
prevent President, Col. Scott, was
charged by the Government with the
special duty of furnishing transporta
tion for large bodies of troops and im
mense quantities of army supplies.
Twenty-five years ago the Pennsylva-
Ikilroad was but a link between
I'hiladelphia and Pittsburgh—extend
ing from Harrisburg to the latter city;
new it has an eastern termini at New
Philadelphia, Baltimore and
"tthington, and unites them by its
own direct lines with Pittsburgh, Erie,
Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Ciucin
j>*b> Indianapolis, Louisville, and
bt. Louis.
Connections are also made with St.
_ * u '> Dulnth, Omaha, Denver, the
°T California and with Memphis,
Mobile and New Orleans. To trans
#ct extended and diversified busi
m**, the Company now owns and runs
"k" 1 its own lines 1100 locomotives,
1000 cars devoted to passenger traffic,
* n <l 26.000 in freight service. It
owns 2,000 miles of complete road,
its workshops cover an area of more
than .>OO acres. It employs an army
° men, many of whom are mechanics
•M experts of the highest skill. It
has 222 foreign ticket offices and
■gents, (independent of those at its
j*" stations) established in thirteen
different States. Along with this great
extension of the road there has been a
£ rpnt improvement in the rolling stock
of the Company nud its bridges. Its i
chief officers have been civil engineers i
and they have employed in the service
of the company some of the best en
gineering talent.
THE STARN AND NTRII'EM.
TIIR WOMAN OP GENIUS WHO DCSIUNKD TIIK
AMERICAS II.AO.
From lh Drnrifurd Star.
Now that the modern Penelope is
stabbing her white fingers with the
point of a cruel needle and getting the
(esthetic bulrush in faithful Kensing
ton colors on screens and punels, it is
interesting, says the Washington Poat,
to recall the achievements of our
grandmothers in that direction. In
the quiet old days before the sewing
machine, noisy and aggressive, forced
dainty and womanly handicrafts from
the field, they did syrnc work that was
greatly to their credit, and one of
them at lca*t has been embalmed in
the amber of history by means of her
needlework. She was the genius of
the scissors, and with that good blade
Exealibur she out her wav to fame
and fortune. General Washington
himself was roused to enthusiasm by
the deftness with which Mrs. Betsey
Ross, of Philadelphia, folded and cut
at one fell stroke, a white satin star, i
For forty-six years she made flags for i
the army and navy.
At the request of Dr. Franklin, Mr.
George Morris and Colonel George
Ross, she made the first flag of the
United States, and Thomas Paine, who
sreftis to have had a finger in every
pie in those good old times, showed her
how to set the stars on the tlag.
It was at one time proposed to omit
the eagle from the Navy Hug, but
against this Paul Jones protested. Re
sides being flag-maker to the General
Government she was an artistic iq>-
holsterur, and furnished parlors, thea
tres and hotels. She not only worked
herself, but gave employment to ail of
her relatives and friends. She uj>-
holstered the ocean steamers that plied
between the new England and the old.
For all these purposes she herself im
ported the richest fabrics, and noth
ing, says the sketch of her life which
has come down to us, could bo more
bright and beautiful than the dra|>c
ries she designed. Probably Miss
Ross did not say "designed." She
would have been more likely, in the
sensible phraseology of the day, to say
that she "cut them out" and "made
them up." She would look with scant
admiration on the dubious colors and
half and quarter shades of modern '
panels. For herself she liked some
thing bright and decided, and always
combined with primary colors. Her '
proudest victories were won bv that
solid phalanx of the seven uncompro
mising shades.
THE LAW OF TRESPASS.
From Ilia Uo<-Mlsr New Era.
What constitutes trespass is a ques
tion that arises continually, especially
among farmers and owners of smaller
tracts of real estate, aud the ideas con
cerning it are about as vague as they
well can be. An interesting article
j on the laws governing this question i
! appears in the last quarterly report of
the State Hoard of Agriculture, which '
deserves to be read by every farmer in
the land, as they are oftener called on
to face the troubles arising out of such
cases than any other elass of men in
the community. Tresposs is defined
as "any transgression or offence against
the law of nature, of society or of the
country in which we live, whether it
relate to a man's persou or his pro
|>erty." This is its widest meaning.
Ordinarily, however, it has reference
only to an entrance on the property
of another without authority, ami in
doing damage while there, whether
much or little. The laws give the
owner exclusive control over his prop
erty. Any infringement of his rights
without his permission, or justified by
legal authority, therefore constitutes a
trespass. It does not need that the
land should be enclosed by fences.
The law supposes an imaginary en
closure, which answers every purpose,
and the simple act of passing it con
stitutes trespass, although no harm
should result to crops, cattle or aught
else. Even a person legally authoriz
ed to seize certain goods on a man's
remises dare not break open doors
or that purpose; if he does his au
thority avails bint nothing, and he be
comes a common trespasser. Neither
is a person justified in so arranging
spouts as to discharge water on anoth
er man'a land, even though he never
step off his own grounds, nor to per
mit filth to pass a boundary line with
out due permission. When a spotty
first discharges on a man's own prem
ises and the contents then find their
way to a neighbor's premises, it does
not constitute a trespass. Hunting
and fishing, however, constitute the
most common and annoying sources
of trespass to which our farmers are
subjects. No matter that neither
grass nor grain are trampled down,
whether gates arc left closed, bars left
up, and no rails broken, the pursuit
of game on the lands o7 another with
out permission is trespass. To even
enter an unclosed piece of wood, where
there are no, crops to be injured, in
pursuit of game, which may have taken
refuge there, is a violation of law—
quite as much as if a wheat field in
ear bad been trampled down. In fish
ing, as in banting, the ordinary pond*
and streams are the exclusive proper
ty of those through whose hands they
flow or in which they happen to be i
situated. In the ease of navigable
streams, any one may boat up and
down them and fish in thorn, but lias
no right to laud on the shores und
do so.
" ■ ♦
MASONIC ANTIQUITIES.
EMUI.EMSOr THE MVHTIC TIE IN THE KOI V '
IIATION OF CI.BOPATHA'S NBEDI.R.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18.—The Stnte
Department lias received a telegram
from Lieutenant t'ommnnder Gorringe
of the United States Navy, now at
Alexandria, Egypt, superintending the
removal of one of the monolith col
umns, in which he states that when
the obelisk was taken from the base
he had discovered Masonic emblems
in the foundation, of which photo
graphs would he taken and forwarded
to Washington at once, while the
originals would lie carefully preserved, j
This information has greatly encour
aged the belief of those Masons who
have elnimcd that the order ante-dated I
the records of the world's happenings,
as it is hoped this discovery may sup
ply for them the missing links of Ma
sonic lystory, while the general effect
upon the Order cannot hut prove ben
eficial in the fullest sense, as Masons
of every degree, so far as the informa
tion is communicated, receive the news
with pleasurable expressions. Many
very eminent members of the Order,
however, are very cautious in their
opinions regarding the genuine Ma
sonic character of the symbols which
Lieutenant Commander Gorringe lias
discovered, hut await with no little
interest fuller particulars after more
j thorough and skillful scrutiny by re
cognized experts.
NEW YOKK, Jan. 18.—The World,
which has been in peculiarly close re
lations with Lieutenaut Commander
I Gorringe, lias received the following j
communication :
"ALEXANDRIA, January 17, lko.—lm
mediately under the pedestal of the
ohelik ind_ in the east angle formed
by the steps I found a block of hewn j
syenite granite, forty inches in the cube, j
representing a perfect Masonic altar. |
Under this and immediately below I
found a white marble slah, representing
the apron, extending across the tounda
tion of polished syenite granite, or.e
hundred and two inches long and fifty
one inches broad and twenty five and a
half inches thick, the upper half hewn
into a perfect square. At the same
level, and touching the short section of
the square and in the west angle of the
foundation, 1 found another block of \
syenite granite, markedly regular in j
form, the surface of which represented 1
rough ashlar steps, and the foundation
i of which was composed of white granite.
Besides these four pieces, 1 found other
less noticeable and important but equal
ly significant emblems.
"H. If. GORRINGE,
"Lieutenant Commander, U. S. N."
Mush hurt oil's Bible.
SONK VEEV INTEREST!! 0 STATEMENTS ( ON
| * CBRNINO IT AND.THB CUI Rf'll.
, To th# Kdltor of th* Pott. %
Old Christ church, Alexandria, in
' in possession of the family Bible of
(Jen. Washington. His name is writ
ten therein bv himself: "George
Washington, Mount Vernon, 1794."
On the same fly-leaf appears, "P resell t
j ed to the Vestry of Christ church,
Fairfax parish, by George Washing
' ton Parke Custis, April 6, 1804."
Aud then follows in Mr. Custis' hand
writing, "The Family Bible of George
Washington, used at Muunt Vernon."
Application wa made to the vestry, in
behalf of the Mount Vernon associa
tion, to purchase this Bible, to he kept
at Mount Vernon. The church being
in debt, and this valuable and inter
esting relic not being very safe in the
j church building, the vestry were dis
posed to listen to the proposition.
This led to some discussion in the Al
exandria Oazrtte. In a communica
tion iu that paper of December 30,
over the rector's signature, he says:
i "In their financial needs, caused by
the repair of the building, which even
now is suffering through the lack of
funds, the proposition to buy the
Bible for the Mount Vernon associa
tion was presented to the vestry by
request. Necessity, ami no desire to
remove an ancient landmark, caused
the favorable consideration of the
proposition." The facts arc, that du
ring the past five years the sinnll aud
hy no means wealthy congregation of
the church has expended in necessary
improvements and repairs a sum
amounting to nearly $10,(8)0, all of
which lias been paid excepting the
present debt of alxiut SI,OOO. After
such a heavy expenditure the pay
ment of this debt liears heavily upon
the congregation, and they are very
anxious it should be discharged, and
speedily. The church has been al
ready taxed to the extent of their
ability. The current revenues are
barely sufficient for current expenses.
Christ church is considerably over a
century old ; it is the church In which
Washington and his family worshipped
—in which as a vestryman he occa
sionally read the service to the con
gregation, nud in which his pew still
remains of the same size and form as
when occupied by him. It is unlike
any other church in the State or coun
try, and is, so to s]icak, the property
of the whole country, and should be so
looked upon and should be sustained
by all as the link more tifarly binding
the past and present than any other
building in the country, and it should
be kept in repair and good preserva
tion. The above facts present an ap
peal for aid in paying off the debt of
the church which we think irresisti
ble, and we trust will be liberally re
sponded to. As regards the Bible of
Washington, we believe the vestry are
willing to loan and deposit it at Mount
Vernon, in charge of the Ladies'osso
rial ion, where it will be safe and ac
cessible, to all. ('ontrihiitioiis may he
sent to the rector, the Rev. Henry
Suler; or to the treasurer, Mr. .lack
son Kntwisle, Alexandria, Vn.
"
Mine, lie Main ten on us a School Mis
tress.
MOW nilK WROTE OK ANi> TIIOUMIIT ABOUT
HER CHARMER AT ST. CVH.
I'roni III" Unrnlon B|ll-I lulc,r, I).i rir,U r 13.
The only character in which Mine,
dc Maintcnon becomes really lovealdc
is as a school-in is tress. I ler first foun
dation at Rueil was chiefly for poor
children, and to do her justice, she
loved and tended them as carefully as
ever she did the young ladies of St.
|Cyr; hut in the eud the greater and
more aristocratic establish men t swal
lowed up the less. Her children ure
to he well fed ; to have as much bread
as they can eat. This she insists 011
several times. They are to be warmly
clud, in uniform, if possible, for Mine,
de Maintenon loves order in all things;
but if the excuse would be great site
will be content with a partial one—
t)s that all the girls should wear the
sume head dress and aprons, or hand
kerchiefs of the same cut ami color.
She wishes them to Ik; gayly dressed,
j and indeed" this element of brightness
> and cheerfulness is a leading feature
in her scheme of education. "I think
! the black aprons very lugubrious,"
■ she writes toMlne.de Brinon ; "let's
1 give them green or blue serge." St.
I Cyr was brilliant with light and color
! and song. Madame has a hearty con
j tempt for "the meannesses and little
: nesses of convents." She wishes her
dear children to grow up to lie "rea
sonable persons." They are to live in
the world, and accordingly even their
school frocks are to be cut in .lie fash
! ion and their "coiffure" to be that of
j the day. When the so-called "reform"
j took place at St. Cyr she thought it
I very hard that "the tailors" were
henceforth excluded. We find mus
lins and ribbons and even "a trim
ming of lace" as part of the uniform.
Nay, pearls and girdles were not un
known. The education was as uncon
ventional as the dress. "A solid piety,
far removed from the trivialities of the
convents, j>erfcct freedom in conversa
tion, an agreeable spirit of raillery in
, society, elevation in our religious fcel
| ings ami a great contempt for the
ways of other schools." The young
ladies rend Moliere and Scudery ; the
religious world held up its bands in
holy horror. There was a reaction
for a time, but the blow had been
struck ; a new ideal rose before the
world, and the sable throne of Igno
rance ami Routine received a shock
from which it will never recover.
Madame is always writitig little not<*
to Mme. de Brinon. Now it is to beg
a holiday, now to announce a sudden
visit and to ask "for some little treat
for our Sisters of Charity. I.ct me
sec them dine properly." When the
children were ill she sends M. Fagon,
the first physician in Kurope, to pre
senile for them and a whole list of cu
rious remedies for their disorder.
When tbev are well she dispatches by
Ix-arer "one pot of butter and eight
(Kits of jam," nut the careful soul begs
to have her jam-pon.returned, and the
"demoiselles" are to get twice as much
jam as the little peasants, for is not
noble blood to be respected in all
things? No wonder the children were
free with her, as she boasts with par
donable pride. She lias a special fond
ness for the naughty girls. "I don't
too much dislike." she says, "what are
called naughty children—l mean self
satisfied, boastful, <|uick-tempered chil
dren, a little wilful and obstinate, for
those faults may lie corrected by rea
son of piety." However, they wou't
get those rosaries they arc so anxious
tor, if they are not "better than they
were Monday at work-time." They
must have been better behaved when
Madame wrote to the school-mistrcss,
"Haven't you some pastry-cook at
Noisy or Bailly whom you can help to
a job when vnur children arc to have
a collation?' 1 The woman who habit
ually wrote and thought in this strain
cannot hnve been altogether bad and
heartless, as her enemies would hnve
us believe. It is in triflles like these,
where there can lie no hope* of public
ity and no desire to deceive, that we
can best discern the natural working
of Mme. de Maintenon's heart "These
things which seem nothing and which
are nothing really mark character too
much to be overlooked." This preg
nant sentence from her arch foe must
lie our apology, and with it we close
our article on oue of the most interest
ing characters in modern history.
TKY IT.
'lake an oblong phial of the whitest
mid .clearest glass, and put iuto it a
piece of phosphorus about the site of a
|iea. I'our some olive oil, heated to
the boiling point, upon the phosphorus ;
fill the phial about one-third full, and
cork it tightly. To use this novel
light, remove the cork, allow the air
to enter the phial and then recork it.
The empty spnee in the phial will be
come luminous, end the light obtained
will be equal to that of a lamp. When
the light grows dim, its power can be
increased by taking out the cork and
allowing a fresh supply of air to enter
the phial. In wiutcr it is some times
necessary to heat the phial between
the hands in order to increase the
fluidity of the oil, The apparatus
thus prepared may be used for six
months.
Honesty the Itest Policy.
Dfxlrlck Do'ld in frtn Knuiclwo
The other day, ns a keen-looking
business man, with his hat worn 011
the nape of his neck, was standing on
('lark street, u simple, gawky-looking
eouutry lad of nineteen, with a big
envelope in bis hand and his month
and eyes wide open, came sauntering
along, looking anxiously at all the
signs, which he was apparently sell
ing out. The husinejvi man, being
naturally kind hearted and desiring
to do a friendly turn to a stranger,
said to the hoy : "Hi, sonny, what
are you looking for? Let me see that
letter."
"No, I can't let you have that let
ter; there's bonds in it," said the boy;
"but p'raps you can tell me where
Mister Smith lives round here. The
boss told tin; the number, but I've for
gotten it, and the letter lias got bonds
in it, and so I ain't to give it to any
body but him."
"Why,'l've been waiting'for you
this half hour," said the keen business
man, as his face brightened up, "wait
ing for vou to bring me those bonds
which I bought of Wbat's-his-naine."
"Be vou Mr. Smith?" said the boy.
"Well , now, I'm right glad 1 met you,
because I'd clean forgot what was the
number where the. boss said you lived,
and I wouldn't have liked to go back
to him without finding you; it would
have looked as if I was careless."
With these remarks the lad took
out a big envelope marked "J. Smith,
Ksq., present," 111 the upper corner
"*2,">OU U.S. 5-20's," aud in the lower
corner "Commission due, ?•">. I'lea.-e
remit by bearer."
"That's all right, sonny," said the
keen-looking business man, as he haul
ed out a scantily furnished purse, gave
the Ihjv a #5 bill and a quarter, and
said, "There, sonny, that quarter is to
t reward you for your cleverness and
; fidelity," and, putting the envelope in
; bis breast pocket, be walked leisurely
round the corner, ran to Dcarbon
| street with the speed of a deer, skipped
lightly round to Madison, and hailing
a car, was whirled away at a compar
atively lightning sjieeJ. Not till he
had reached Union park did he draw
the precious envelope from his pocket,
and, with the remark. "J*rny heaven
they not registered !" tore it open.
He then found that the envelope con-
I tainod a copy of the Chicago Tribune,
; which he could have purchased at the
i office for five cents. Meanwhile the
| simple country lad, entering a beer
saloon in the vicinity of the Sherman
House, lias al>sorbed a beer, salted
away the $•" bill with seven others iu
his |K>eket-l>ook, and, with the remark,
I "The fish is biting very numerously
to-day," takes another big envelope
from his jxicket and ODce more sailed
' forth in search of a keen-looking busi
ness man.
A Itlfc Trout.
—"—
A Fort Missouri correspondent fur-
Dishes an accouut of Col. Gibson's fish
ing exploit iu Bitter Root. On Friday
the Colonel, armed with a light cane
rod, to which was attached an oil silk
line of less than twenty-four yards, a
leader of single gut, and quite a small
hook, started out to the river, halt
ing at a point about two miles below
the post. The water along the shore
was comparatively shallow. Observ
ing some small trout jumping some
distance below and near the water's
edge the Colouel reeled out nearly all
of his line so as to let his bait (a grass
hopper ) float down among them. In
a moment something took the hook
and sprylv made off with it into deep
water. Then followed a most interest
! ing fight, lasting about half an hour,
1 intensified as it progressed to an al
most painful degree. Tackle and skill
—the Colonel is a scienced angler —
were put to the severest test. Finally
the finny opponent was worried out,
and the Colonel steered him to shore,
l'ost Adjutant Williams and a drum
mer boy who happened to lie near,
"rallieil on the center," and seized the
catch by the gills and rushed him up
a steep bank, throwing him iuto a
field, the Colonel launching the rod
after him. You can imagine the ex
citement at post when the trout was
found to weigh nine pouuds and to
measure thirty-one inches. Was not
that a fish sure enough—a truly royal
trout? Previous to this the largest
know 11 trtmt caught by anv person in
this section was one taken by the Com
missary Sergeant, which weighed seven
pounds. Larger trout tliau these have
been sent from the Jocko, taken, how
ever, by the ludiaus iu fish baskets or
traps, the largest of which weighed
thirteen pounds and measured thirty
six inches.
"I am now in mv eighty-fifth year,
and very infirm. Here is my creed:
I believe in one God, the Creator of
the universe. That He governs by
I lis providence. That He ought to
be worshipped. That the most ac
ceptable service we can render Him is
by doing good to His other children.
l*hat the soul of man is immortal, and
will be treated with justice in another
life respecting its conduct iu this.
These I take to he the fundamental
points in all religion."— Benjamin
Franklin.
A gexti.kmam asks us, "What shall
Ido to make ray house warmer ?" Buy
more brooms. If your wife with half
a dozen brooms at her command can't
make the house warm enough for you,
then her early education in affairs' do
mestic ha# bwm sadly neglected.
Longevity of Fishes.
From !'-fl'-r in llnrtfor<l Tlmn,
Some days ago I hnd occasion M
make some inquiry into the age of
fishes, ami wan surprised to find tlint.
they lived no long. Thinking that
there are others who know as little
about the subject as I did, 1 Append a
letter I received from Professor SIM-ll
eer \V. Baird, United States Fish
Commissioner, who is the best authori
ty in the world on fish. He writes:
"There is, I believe, authentic evidence
to show that carp have attained an
age of two hundred years. There is
a tradition that within the last fifty
years a pike was living in Russia
whose age dated hack to the fifteenth
century. The first is said to have
heen eighteen feet long. This, how
ever, is not considered very reliable.
Hut there is nothing to prevent a fish
from living almost indefinitely, as it
has no period of maturity, but grows
with each year of life. In specie* like
mammals and birds, where there is a
limit, a definite tenu of years is gen
erally the rule." There are now some
gold fish here, in the aquariums of the
I nited Htates iiotanieal Garden, that
are fifty yenrs of' age. A gold fish
dealer in Baltimore showed me some
gohl fish that he had kept in his aqua
rium for thirty years.
A Cash llasiiiess.
The idea of a cash business is one
that ought to be more generally adopt
ed. The following suitable remarks
from an exchange are good : Some sav
that a cash business cannot be done;
let us cite you instances where it is the
basis of every transaction. How many
persons are there who, when they get
freight from the dc|>ot,tcll the agent to
charge it? And when you get ou the
train, do you say to the conductor, "J
I will pay you the last of the week?"
You go to the telegraph office and
! send a message, and ask the operator
| how much it is. When the answer
| come* do you tell him to wait a month?
When you attend a theatre or circus,
do you remark to the agent, "As soon
;as I sell my hog I'll fix this?" A
i farmer takes a load of potatoes to
market; after it is unloaded he is not
in the habit of bearing the dealer say,
"Just charge it, I'll pay it in a day or
two." The farmer expects cash for
his produce and it is right that he
should have it. Cash is required in
mailing letters. They are only three
cents but we don't ask the j>ostmaster
to charge it. Readers, please remem
ber these things when about to say
casli business cannot be done.
The Great Pyramid.
Professor Proctor, the astronomer,
holds strongly to the opinion that the
Great Pyramid was built for astro
nomical purposes, and he advances
some facts (by no means novel!) which
must be regarded as either conclusive
of that theory or as coincidences
which are more wonderful than the
theory itself. For example, the exact
! level of its base, its great stability, the
horizontal and other definite lines fa
j vorable to the observation of heavenly
j bodies, constitute importaut considera
! tions; but, what is more remarkable,
the sides of the Pyramid are true north
and south, east and west, and it is
located on the exact latitude which
I makes the altitude of the pole star
one-third of the way to the zenith, and
the altitude of the sun two-thirds of
the way to the zenith, at the spring
! equinox. These conditions would en
able the observer to make calculations
by the use of large angles, without
logarithms. The Professor is inclined
to think that the Great Pyramid was
built about 3,.T00 years before Christ.
It is 7G2 feet on each edge at the base,
aud according to Herodotus a fresh
set of 100,000 men was employed
every three months in building the
two pyramids.
IT is related of a well-known mer
chant of a neighboring city that, after
making his will and leaving a large
property to a trustee for his son, he
called the young man in, and, after
reading the will to him, asked if there
was any alteration or improvement he
could suggest. 'Well, father,' said
the young gentleman, lighting a cigar
ette, 'I think, as things go nowadays,
it would be better for me if you left
the property to the other, fellow and
made me the trustee.' The old gentle
man made up his mind then and there
that the young man was quite compe
tent to take charge of his own inherit
ance, and scratched the trustee clause
out.
MR. SWINU, Chicago's noted preach
er, made a remarkable discnurse last
Sunday, on the future of the Catholic
oburch. He stated that the Church
is becoming every year more and more
liliernl, that it is marching in progress
like Protestantism ; that the chikl is
bom, who will live to see Catholics
and Protestants exchange pulpits for
Sunday service ; that the spirit of lib
eralism is going to melt all churches
iutn one great brotherhood, and wheth
er they go by the name of Catholic,
Methodist or Presbyterian they will
be essentially one. §
IJ* drinking the "good health" of
your friends take rare yon don't get
too much in the habit of swallowing
your own.
HERO making is a woman's work.
Even your sensible and practical wo
man must take to hero making sooner
or later.