HOW TO MAKE MATCHES.
dot the KnUBiBUI bat the Ralphartnt
Kind —An Interesting Proceaa Ilr
aarlbad*
There are only seven match manufac
turers in the State, and hut twenty-five
in the United States. Within the paat
three months the manufacturers have
formed an association, and are practi
cally united. There are three factories
in New York city, one at Frankfort, one
nt Utica and two at Syracuse. Tlie de
tail of match-making is nn interesting
one. The Utica firm employ Bixty
hands, and in the busy season turn out
400 gross of matches every twenty-four
hours The first process is the sawing
Tf the blocks. Good clear pine is se
lected, of an average thickness. The
blocks when sawed are sent down an
inclined plane, being " fed " by an opera
tor into a machine that cuts them
cleanly into the shape required. The
working of this machine is interesting.
The cutter is ot finely-tempered steel,
and every movement tells. It cuts out
sixty-four matches at each stroke, ami
makes '2*o strokes a minute, or 17,020
matches a minute. The matches are of
double length. The machine drops the
matches into a trough which mechani
cally feeds them up an inclined plane,
from which they are removed by a boy
and taken to tne coiling room. The
machines which cut up the blocks vary
in certain details, some of them cutting
a square match—known as the old
fashioned "telegraph match." From
this room the matches arc taken to the
coiling department.
The process of " coiling " is also a me
chanical one, and the mechanism is re
markable for ingenuity. The matches
when straightened are put into a hop
per and " fed out" by the machine pass
ing at regular intervals between a thick
belt and a thin one. From a small roll
the matches are picked up separately
and "coiled" with perfect exactness
until the roll is as large as a good-sized
cheese. Each match is held securely in
place. When coiled the mass is ready
for " dipping." There are ten coiling
machines now in operation in this fac
tory. Each machine is capable of coil
ing fifty gross per day. The coils are
evened, heated and then dipped in a
boiling vat of sulphur. The process of j
dipping requires experience. After be- j
ing dipped in sulphur they are further |
headed by being dipped in a preparation j
of phosphorus, glue, etc.—the exact na- '
ture of the compound being a secret
known only to the manufacturer. One
of the objections to matches has been
the fact that they mar the wall and de
face wall paper when "struck." This
objection has at last been removed.
Alter a series of experiments extending
through years, the Utica firm have at
length discovered a process which not ■
only leaves the head of the match per
fectly white, but also makes it impossi
ble for anyone to mar the wall paper, |
or.'a delicate surface while in the act of \
striking. As may be supposed, the call j
for this match is very great; the firm has |
been unable to meet the demand. When i
the writer visited the factory, men were
employed in dipping the white or j
" tiger"match. The great coils, when j
didped, were dried for a few minutes
and then passed on to the cutting ma
chines. Up to this point the matches
have been of double length, being dipped
on both ends. They are now cut in two
with great exactness and rapidity nnd
passed through to the filling room. Here
twenty-live girls are employed in sorting j
and filling. They work with a rapidity i
of movement that is wonderful. Prac-'
tire enables them to take up just the 1
number of matches required to fill n j
box. One of the girls employed has
filled 4,330 boxes of matches in a day, I
handling 132,000 matches.
The Utica firm make the boxes re
quired, buying the straw board and
ottier paper needed and cutting and
working it up. The straw board is cut,
•cored (or creased)in one department
and then passed into the box-making
department. Here fifteen girls are em
ployed in making boxes, fn another :
room may be seen one of the latest tri-1
umphs of mechanical art in the shape of
a box-making machine. The machine
seen in operation yesterday drops 104
boxes a minute, and the machine that
makes the covers also turns out the j
same r.umber per minute. The paten-1
tees expect to receive their patent some
time during the present month. As
socn as the patent is issued we shall a!- I
iude to the machine at greater length. !
The covers of the large boxes are now
made by a machine that cuts off the
forncrs of the straw board and puts on
the glue required. The hoard then
passes to a machine that perfects the
form. The Utica factory is at present
making six varieties of matches. The 1
parlor match is made ronnd and square.
The red-headed match is made square
form. It is sold largely in Vermont.
The round whito, or "tiger" match,
circulates everywhere. The blue-headed
match sells largely in Pennsylvania and
the South; the head large and glaringly
b,ue—a regular chrotno oa a large scale,
which the darkies of the South take de
light in. It is square in form and quite
bulky. The black-hcaded match is
rounded in form and is in demand in all
reetions of the country. The largest
match manufactory in the country Is
located m t Wilmington, Delaware
• lira Ofcjertwr.
The Ualted States Cengres*.
The Senate of the United States con
sists of seventy-six mem Iters, and of this
number fifty-nine are practicing lawyers.
Of the 393 members of the House of
Representatives 319 are lawyers. The
President and Vice' President of the
Lnited States are lawyers, and nearly
*ll the government departments nre
loaded and directed by tne same profes
sion. In the Senate there is only one
pbysiebta. and in the ilonse there are
but six. There are among the Senators
eight business men or merchants, one
doctor, one editor, two planters, two
farmers, one banker, one mine owner
nd operator, and one of no profession
or business.
lb-sides tho 810 lawyers in the House
there are twenty-five merchants, five
banker*, three capitalists, two inventors,
hve manufacturer*, two teachers, twelve
farmers, six physicians, one architect
and builder, four editors, two ministers,
one stone-cutter, one insurance agent,
two millers and three owners and oper
ators of transportation lines. The oldest
member of the House is Mr. Walt, of
Connecticut, who is sixty-nine years sf
age, and the youngest member is Mr.
Frost, of St. Louis, who is twenty-eight
years of age. Fernando Wood lias been
longer a member of the House than any
of his associates, and next in point of
long service is Judge Kelly, of Pennsyl
vania. Mr. Stephens, of Georgia, is
generally spoken of as being older than
any other member ol the present House,
but Mr. Wait lias about one year the
advantage of him in that respect.
FOB THE FAIB Six.
A HIM I
A pout, anil parting ol lips as they touch—
That's a kiss in the abstraot. It does not seem
much;
But whore is the language can rightly express
it T
What letters can sound it to help you to guess
it?
What Bimlle suggest, or what lanoy reveal
The mysterious bliss it can cause one to lecl T
Here nature assuredly won a diploma
For liagrance ol flavor and perfect aroma.
A kiss is eleolriCal—comes with a start
That tingles u delicate shock to the heart,
And sets the eyee twinkling with rapturous
dolight,
Like stars in tho sky ot a clear frosty night.
When 'tis over tho ccstacy clings to you yet;
Tis a joy to remember and never forgot.
All pleasure condensed in an instant of bliss
Can but partly describe what's contained in n
kiss.
George Birdteye.
Fashion Fancies.
Shell trimming is much used to head
flounces.
Flowers reappear as trimming for
dress bonnets.
Corduroy is the fashionable material
for a child's dress.
Tho magnolia has found its way into
the brocade patterns.
Ostrich hands nre tho only feather
trimmings that wear well.
Turbans matching their ulsters make
pretty school hats for little girls.
A yard and a quarter of satin is all
that is needed to trim a cashmere gown.
Bracelets of flswer buds are the new
est thing for fastening the long glove
wrists.
A sickle in which a lour-leaved clover
is caught is the design of eno of the new
lace pins.
lacc pins, looking like hranehes of
holly with bright berries, are pretty and
reasonable.
Cashmere colors are more sparingly
used, and chiefly as relief to plain vel
vets and cloths.
The New York girls Lave adopted the
Parisian fashion of wearing India scarfs
for extra wraps.
Caps and jackets of colored velvet. !
trimmed with gold or silver braid, are j
worn by young girls.
Twilled French sateen, which is used
to line dresses of cream barege, is almost |
as light and firm as silk.
Coat basques are made gay at a very i
small expense, by adding skirts, cuffs, I
and a collar of cashmere.
A new sty le of bonnet, gradually com
ing into use in New York, is small and
close, and almost like a coil.
Aatreat deal of figured and stamped
velveteen is used inexpensively with j
satin and silk in street.costumes.
The birds used for dress trimmings j
nre very natural looking, even the beaks
and claws being perfectly imitated.
Madam Sin-Fu-Gen, the wife of the '
Chinese minister at Berlin, is tho first
Chinese lady who has ever been in
Prussia.
The latest boots for Indies have a broad
projecting sole, ami button on tho out
side of the foot instead of over the instep,
as formerly.
Evening dresses which have their i
skirts made up in wide box-plaits have ]
masses of roses set on each plait byway
of trimmiDg.
Plush turbans, with deep bands of fur
sewed around the edge, and having
chenille tassels falling nt the back, are ;
pretty and tasteful. ,
_ Silk tassels of cream, or blue, or red |
silk, are used as ornaments for cliil- i
dren's caps, and sometimes constitute !
their sole trimming.
Some turban bonnets are covered |
with folds of soft silk with raveled
edges, and have bands of white velvet
placed around the edge.
Little yellow chrysanthemums and
clusters of rose geranium leaves have
taken the place of the daisy bouquet
that was worn in summer.
Bronze turkey feathers are used in
some of the new feather bonnets, as well
as the more aristocratic plumage of the
golden and purple pheasant.
Sapphires of many colors are com
bined in one ring by New York jewel
ers. They arc cut In the same way as
diamonds and mounted high.
Wide ribbons witii dark borders and
chintz or nnlms in the center, are used
witii striking effect with delicately
tinted muslins nnd satins for evening
dress.
The new fur-lined circulars nre made
with a deep collar of fur instead of the
hood of last winter, and all a trifle
shorter, to enable them to be worn with
the short costumes.
Butterfly bows may be made eitiier
of India muslin, edged with Languedoc.
Valenciennes, or Duchess lace, or of
black China crape, bordered with hand
painted black lace.
Gray, brown, olirs and blue French
cashmere, wrought all over with polka
dots of the same color, arc imported for
combination with satin or velvet in
pretty house dresses.
Red and yellow, the Hpaniah colors,
are In high favor In Paris, and so are
Spanish mantillas, which are wprn in
ways that would convulse the gravest
of senoras with laughter.
The Tallien overskirt, which opens
on tlie left side almost to the waist, and
lias a deep border of silk or figured
goods, is worn with an underskirt of
alternate plaitings of plain and figured
goods.
The gowns which have the skirt
straight nnd full at tlie back, and the
front breadth gored, or shirred, or
quilted, or embroidered, or painted by
hand, are intended to imitate the Queen
Anne style.
Visiting costumes of plain velvet havo
appeared this season. They are lined
with satin, and a little ivory lace is
worn at the throat, and if one wishes to
he showily dressed, an Ivory feather is
placed on the bonnet.
Garnet and pink are the leading com
bination of colors for evening dress. No
shade* are more inviting in assistance
to the complexion. A great deal of
filmy white lace or gauze de sole is in
dispensable with such costumes for
young ladies.
It is averred by dealers that ladies
who own fine diamonds purchase and
wear numbers of paste stones in hand
some settings, to encliance the splendor
of their display. The white topaz, found
It* Arizona and Idaho, is frequently set
with real diamonds to make a show.
The new cuffs are very deep, and
reach so nearly to the elbows as to make
the upper part of the sleeve seem
puffed, even when it is quite plain. The
leg of mutton sleeves will not seem so
ugty when they come if the eye be grad
ually accustomed to something like
them by these cuffs.
Princess dresses for evening have the
front slashed in deep points from below
the hips, edged with feathery fringe,
falling over satin of a deeper shade.
An Oriental scarf, which combines the
shade of the dress with brilliant, yet
subdued embroideries,in gold and colors,
is draped round the hips.
The broad brimmed hats of fur felt,
wrongly (tailed beaver, are in request by
ladies wishing a change of mulinery,
who cut off part of the rim, and bend
the hat into close, becoming shapes.
Broad satin loops and a feather or wing
are the proper trimming for such hats,
which are rather more stylish abroad
than the dressy turbans.
Flowers are worn with evening toilets
in every fashion. A bouquet is tucked
in the lace at right of the low, round
corsage, or on the Grecian bertha di
rectly in front. In other designs,
smaller knots arc worn as epaulets, and
a rose heads the lacing in the back of
the cuirass basque, or a dozen roseß of
graduated sizes form a cordon from the
left shoulder across the bosom. This
is particularly rich, with black lace or*
satin dresses. A festoon of roses heads
the deep lace of the apron, with a trail
falling at each side, or a spiral of lacc
headed by flowers is carried down the
back of the dress, in a new and elegant
fashion.
Quern ChrUtlne,
The Queen of Spain's apartments at
the Castle of Pardo are thus described:
The rooms are eight in number. The
first we enter is liung in white satin,
with hand embroidered blue flowers;
the furniture, of loui# XV. style, is
upholstered in rich nlue satin; in a \
comer is a remarkable tine cabinet of'
rosewood, ornamented witii old Sevres I
pands of great beauty. This room
leads into a smaller boudoir, style of i
the first French empire, hung in yellow
satin, witii furniture of the same. In a
recess of a widow is a small equestrian
statue ot the king when he was only lour j
years old. The small mite, looking very !
frightened, is holding the bridle in one '
hand nnd is saluting with the other, j
The third room is the queen's music ;
room. The hangings are red and gold, j
two grand pianos occupy two corners,
and curves and knick-knacks abound. !
Tiic queen's study or workroom, comes I
next. It opens upon a large terrace,
which, in summer, is arranged as a
garden. It is white and gold, tiic furni
ture being old Dutoh, with inlaying col
ored flowers. Then comes the bedroom,
which is a very marvel of splendor and j
luxury. It required no less than eight j
hundred yards of stuff for the hangings, 1
which are of ecru Lyons silk, hrocfie, 1
alternate lines of red and blue flowers.
The lurniturc is Louis XVI.; in a I
corner is a table in old Sevres j in the j
middle of the room is the bed, in blnck
wood, with embossed black ornaments; ;
at the head two reclining nude figures !
support a shield, upon which is cm- \
blazoned the queen s monogram in red
upon blue ground; a canopy, in em- j
bossed brass, supports the curtains,
which are thick silk, of the same design
ns the hnngings. Ttie bathroom, which
is close by, also opens into a room i
specially reserved for tlie queen's attend- i
ants, and near the bedroom also is the ;
dressing room, the furniture of which
is silver pine, the walls being hung with '
ecru silk, with blue flowers.
Ifcwi anil Intn for Wonirn.
There are now fifty girls among the '
students of Cornell Lnivcrsity.
A Philadelphia woman owns the
largest colored diamond ever brought to !
America.
The empress oi Austria has a large i
riding school attached to her estate, i
Slie loves to watch the training of
vicious horses.
Miss Kckhardt, a farmer's daughter, j
of Mate Centre, Ohio, pitched "eighty
acres of wheat from wagon to stack,
and was married a lew hours aflerward. I
A celebrated French beauty in the
time of Napoleon Bonaparte, Mine, j
Louise Lucerne, has just reached her
100 th year. She was the friend and rival
in laauty of Mme. Rceamier.
Miss Gabriel la Stiekney lias been ap
pointed postmistress at Collyer. Kansas.
She was a type-setter on the Chicago
Legal New four years ago, but went
West to grow up with the country.
Miss Marv Ripley has charge of the
loys' department of the high school, at
Buffalo, N. Y., where there are over 200
yeung men. whose ages range ns high as
twenty-five years. Few men who have
preceded Iter in the work have been
able to do it acceptably. Her influence
is such as to make not only law-abiding,
hut enthusiastic students.
A pretty miss of eighteen, who be
longs to a good family in Union City,
IndT, and lias been well educated, has
recently been released from jail, where
she was awaiting trial for kleptomania.
The most influential people in the county
united in a appeal lor the dismissal o(
the indictment, and the court gladly
acquiesced in a nolle prosequi.
Steam Power of the World.
The aggregate steam power oi the
world is at present 3,500,000 horse power
employed in stationary engines, and
10,000,000 horse power in locomotive
engines. This force is maintained with
out the consumption of animal food, ex
cept by the miners who dig the coal,
and the force maintained in their mus
cles is to the force generated by the pro
duct of their labor, about one to I,°Bo
- steam power is equal to the work
i ing force of 515,000.000 horses, and one
horse consumes three times as much
tood as one man. The steam power,
knerefore, is equal to the saving of 7ft,-
000.000 human beings.
Boon after building a magnificent
home in Han Francisco a few years ago
Senator Sharon sold it to the late mil
lionaire, W. 8. O'Brien. The appraisers
of the O'Brien estate have just been
making estimates of the vnlue of the
furniture. Senator Sharon paid 9195.-
0110 lor it, and, though many of the
rooms have not been used a single day,
the appraisers value the whole at 996,-
000. l>or instance, the furniture of the
library, which cost f 17,000, is valued at
99,700; that of the "pink room," cost
ing 97,600, is valued at 91,106; that of
the "drab room," costing $5,000, at
91,173; and that of the "green room,"
ousting $4,000, at SOOO.
The Mexican and Hie Ijuwo,
A South Texas correspondent writes
as follows: An accomplishment of the
cowboy, and one in which, to be suc
cessful lie must invariably he an adept,
is "roping" cattle, or horses'for that
with a lasso. It is an ordinary
half inch hempen rope, usually sixty
feet long, and provided with what farm
ers call a •'slip-knot." The Mexicans
often use a " lariat," which is even
stronger, and by hand made of rawhide
thongs, The cowboy, when aiiout to use
ins lasso, secures one end to the strong
and substantial horn of his saddle,
which i itself hcc urc d to the aniniul lie
rides by two strong broad girths of hair
lrom the cow's tall. With the bridle
reins in his left hand and the rope coiled
up in liis right, the cowboy gallops off
into the prairies and directs his course
toward some horse or cow he desires to
catch. At sight of him they likewise
set off at a gallop, and the race continues
until the pursurer has gained sufficiently
upon them to use his rope. The coil is
at length suddenly thrown into the air,
and so accurately has the rider calcu
lated time and distance that, although
his own animal and the one !ip is pur
suing are dashing along like a locomo
tive, the noose descends on the head or
around the horns of the fleeing cow. So
well trained is the cowboy's horse that
the latter instantly stops in hia career
and pulls back. The cow has also been
halted and secured, the rider and his
horse experiencing a profound jolt to
whieli, however, they are not by any
means strangers. A horse is caught in
the same manner ns a cow, only that
the cowboy throws the rope around the
neck instead of the horns, as in the case
of the cow.
But cattle and horses are not the only
subjects oi the lasso, which is and has
long been used by Mexican bandits and
highwaymen in assaulting and killing
or robbing unwary tfltvelers on the Rio
Grande. For this purjose the stealthy
*hpg generally conceals himself in a
thicket of ehapparel or behind a grove
of cactus (prickly pear, which here
grows higher than a man's head) near
by the roadside. _ In this position, lie,
panther-like, awaits the approach of his
victim, who comes riding along totally
unapprehensive of danger. All at once
away goes the lasso high irr the air, nor
does the wayfarer have time to recover
lrom his surprise before the fatal noose
hns been so tightly drawn around his
throat that his breathing is suddenly
stopped, he is dragged from his horse in
the death agonies and soon all is over.
The thug first secures the horse, if val
uable enough, then waits till the last
struggles are past, th<n quickly rifles
his pockets, drags the corpse into the
ehapparei, and i ides away on the uead
man's horse.
An Old Ntagc Driver's Reminiscences.
The Boston Journal gives some remin
iscences of an old New England stage
driver, from which wo take the follow
ing: "Yes, I've carried people whose
wives, husbands, daughters or eons
were sick nigh unto death, and they
fussing and fretting because the cattie
didn't get over the road faster, and
blaming nie because there was so many
hills to climb. I remember one man
who had a sick wife at a house on the
road, and lie heard just afore I started
fiom Boston that she was dying. We
had a light cargo that trip, and tiic man
kept urging me to go faster, he was so
anxious. I was driving as fast as I
dared to send the cattle, 'cause it was a
pretty hot day. and told him so. He
asked me how much my horses were
worth. I said nbout seventy dollars
apiece. Horses were cheap in tiiose
days. He just pulled his wallet right
out and counted out two hundred and
eighty dollars, handed it to me, and
said lie wanted to buy them, but that lie
must drive. Well, as I could get as
good ones for the money, and seeing as
how worked up lie was, I just nut the
money in my pocket and haniicd the
lines to him. telling him to go ahead if
he wanted to, and didn't he go? He
just kept the long whip-lnsh tickling
the flanks of the leaders, all the tim
we was on level ground, and the only
breathers they got was when they
climbed a hill. We finally reached the
house his wife was stopping at about
(hree hours ahead oi time; he found her
alive, and rushing from the hour.} made
me a piesent of the team. 1 refused
them, nut he insisted, and so. as the
cattle were all right the next day, not
hurt at all, I concluded to let the com
pany keep the horses and I the money.
"1 was once carrying a young couple
—girl and her sweetheart—to Haverhill.
I had taken them up at different place#
on the road. Pretty soon tiic young
fellow was a urging me to drive faster
and I see that he and the girl was kinder
nervous like,and it wasn't till the girl
herself coaxed me, with tears in lier
eves, ttiat I began to drive faster. Then
tfiey told me they were running away to
get married, and as roon as the girl was
missed her folks would be alter her.
You see I was young myself t hen, and so
I just sent them cattle for all they was
worth, and when I pulled up at the par
son's house they was white witii loam
I went inside the house with the couple
and saw them hitched together, and just
as we was a coming nut up comes the
girl's fktiicr and brother, but it was too
late. I know I had a warm enemy in
that household for years after."
A Dog Craved by Grief.
A family who formerly lived near
Providence emigrated to Kansas about
a year ago. leaving behind them an old
dog named Dash. Dash had been
brought up in the family from puppy
liood; he had kept faithful watch every
night in winter and summer weather,
and he was deeply attached to his mas
ter. Dash was not ugly in disposition,
and he discriminated instinctively be.
tween the wandering reprobate, whose
presence in the neighborhood was dis
agreeable, if not dangerous, and the sub
stantial citizen out for a walk or a drive.
Whether indifference or lack of means
caused the proprietor of Dash to go
away without him is not known. After
liis master's departure Dash seemed to
be a changed dog. Although kindly
treated by a relative of his former owner,
lie grew moping and despondent. lie
would someiini-s ran down the road to
meet an approaching team, and look up
anxiously at those in it, as if expecting
to see a well-known face. When spoken
to in a pitying tone, or patted and ca
ressed, he would turn up his mild eyes
witii a mute and appealing glance, and
liis tail would wag in a hopeless, forlorn
way. At length it became evident that
the dog's bra<n was affected. Was lie
erased ny grief, or was lie in the imbe
cility of olit age? The writer is inclined
to the former opinion. At any rate it
was judged best to kill him, and a single
bullet put an end to the life and the
wretciiedncM of Dp"** Dash.— Proridtrtct
Jv<*imL
THE MADSTONE.
Wonder Ail Corel Ma let to Hove fie en
Wrought la north Carolina.
Robert J. Jones writes from Danville
Va., to the New York Annas follows:
Joseph Pointer, of Person county,
North Carolina, had a madstone that
had been ia his family for many years—
more than 100, I think. I have never
seen it, hut I have heard of it ever since
I was u child, and I never heard any
body express a doubt ns to its curative
nower. I lived within five miles of
Pointer s house for more than twenty
years. I went to school with his older
children, and his younger children went
to school to me. Those who have seen
the madstone sny that it is about the
size of the ball of a man's thumb, of a
dark color, and very compact —like
glass—on one side, and porous and of a
brownish color on the other side. When
a person has been bitten by a rabid dog
or a poisonous snake or spider, it is ap
plied t the wound, where it adheres for
a time, and then falls off. It is aftcr
wurd put into warm water, where it
gives out the venom it has absorbed,
and the process of applying it to the
wound and putting it in water is re
peated till It will no longer adhere.
In the spring of 1871 a girl about
twelve years, who was then going to
school to me, was bitten on the top of
the foot, while barefoot, by either a
land moccasin or a spread-head adder
(the children were so excited that they
were not sure which). The reptile held
on so hard that the girl had to kick to
get it loose. She was about three miles
from Pointer's. She was taken in a
wagon and hurried there ns rapidly as
possible. The stone was applied to her
foot, which was very much inflamed
and swollen. In a day or two she was
hack to school again.
About the time that the war brake
•ut, J. Scott, whose land adjoined that
of my father, had a negro man bitten in
his own yard by a Btrangedog that had
all the symptoms of hydrophobia. The
man was taken to Pointer's, and the
stone was applied. He is still living,
and has had no symptoms of hydropho
bia, though no one doubts that the dog
that hiir him had rabies.
Josephus Younger, of Person county,
a farmer and iron moulder, a leading
member of the Baptist church, and for
many years county treasurer, told me
that many years ago. when the mad
stone was in the possession of Joseph
Pointer's fatiier. a inan living near him
was bitten by a spider, ijecame delirious,
and seemed about to die, but was cured
by applying the madstone. This was
vouched for by R. A. C. Mason.
Mr. Younger told me that John lb n
nett, Sr.. for many years sheriff of Per
son county, and once a member of the
legislature, told him that he knew of a
team of four horses, all of which were
bitten by a rabid dog. The old man
Pointer objected to applying the mad
stone to any but a human creature; but
he was finally persuaded to apply it to
the wound of one favorite horse. The
horse thus treated.never showed any ill
effects of the bite, while all the other
horses that were bitten had rabies and
died or were killed.
I have been told by four men, all of
whom I have known from youth, and
whom I believe to be trustworthy, have
told me that last summer a cow and a
colt wire bitten by a rabid dog. Both
had rabies and niea. The same dog, on
the same day, bit two negro bovs. One
of them, when he was taken to Pointer's
house, was very sick. His jaws were
set, and he was foaming; at the mouth.
The madstone was applied, and the boy
was well in a day or two. The other
l>oy was not so sick, and niter having
the madstone miplied lie never experi
enced any ill effects from the bite.
These arc only a few of the cases I
have heard of where persons were thus
cured by the madstone. Joseph Pointer'
died not long ago, and his effects were
sold on December 17. 1879, and I suppose
the madstone was sold. If it was not,
it is likely to be sold next court, which
will Ik* iu March or April.
Imprisoned by Hnow.
There WM it thrilling adventure in
Berk's county, Pa., recently, in which I
one of tlie Hungarian emigrants who '
not long ago landed at Castle Garden, I
New York, came near dying in a hor- j
rible manner. Ninety of the Hunga- |
riana were sent into the Blue mountains, 1
near I/cnhartsrille, Berks county, to ;
chop wood. Among them was a tall, i
black-bearded man. named Adolpli
Hintr.ky, very strong and of admirable
physique—a circumstance to which he
owes his life. The party lire in rude
shanties in the woods, but Hintsky,
who was anxious to learn the Knglish
language, left his companions and took
boarding in the hot of a charcoal
burner named Marks. On a Thursday
morning ho shouldered his axe, and
went to liis work alone, takirg his din
ner with him. He did not return at
night, nor was anything seen of him
for several days. But neither his com
panions nor Marks seemed to have
troubled themselves about him, and no
searrh was made for him. Three days
afterward a hunter who was chasing a
rabbit found Hintsky pinned to the
ground under a tree which he had been
chopping and which had fallen before
he expected it and caught him. A pro
jecting rock by his side received the
weight of the tree and saved him from
being crushed to death, but he was
held so fast that he could move only
one arm and could do nothing to extrL
cate himself. The hunter was oblige*
to leave him there and go to Marks'
cabin, two miles distant, to summon
help, before Hintzky could be released;
which was only done at last by chop
ping away the tree. Hintsky, when
found, was dumb and speechless and
nearly dead. His ears, noee and one
hand were frozen, and he was covered
with snow. He was taken to Marks'
place, where vigorous treatment soon
brought him round, and he was able to
tell lits story. Hesaid a sudden gust of
wind had blown the tree over on him
and the fall knocked him senseless.
W lien he came to, he was wet and cold
and bis limbs were numb. It began to
snow, and with his free hand he man
aged to cover his ears, and then put
that hand in his pocket. He lay in that
position from some time on Tuesday
until Thursday afternoon, with nothing
to eat or drink, and with the hope of
succor growing fainter every hour. He
was found just in time, for in Ma en
feebled oondition the intense of
Thursday night would havs certainly
frozen him to death.
Whm Capt. Godfrey, of Nevada City,
walks in an ordinary manner over
ground to be prospected, he Is seised
with a strange sensation accompanied
by disninees and sickness whenever he
reaches a point beneath which rests
quarts or gravel gold; and his Indica
tions are said to be reliable.
An K/eWUness' Account of the Tay
Bridge Horror.
8° little In known about the terrible
railroad disaster in Scotland that the
following account of an eye-witness pub
lished in the Jy>ndoa TtUyrnph, whl be
read with more than usual interest:
Enjoying the cosy comforts of my own
parlor fireside on Sunday night, I lis
tened to the fierce clamor of the storm
without and felt a deep sense of grati
tude for the security I possessed, min
gled with a feeling of compassion for
the poor sailors on the sea battling with
the storm. The children had gathered
round me for their usnai Bible stories,
and with an instinctive sense of fear
they nestled close to my side as they
heard the wild efforts of the blast to bat
ter in the casement of the window. I
chesc the story of St. Paul's shipwreck
on the island of Melita, thinking that
the storm without might help me to im
press upon their young minds the ter
rible nature of the dangers to which the
A pout's was exposed as the ship lay rid
ing helplessly upon the waves with four
anchors'between it and certain destruc
tion. While thus engaged a blast of
wind, more furious than before, had
caught the chimney-tops of a house
almost opposite my parlor wiudows, and
brought them down to the ground with
a thundering crash that startled every
one of uh to our feet. Stepping over the
casement I gazed out upon the street,
and just then a blaze of moonlight lighted
up the broad expanse of the Tay down
below, and the long, white sinuous line
of the Tay bridge came into view. I
looked at my watch and saw that
it was exactly seven o'cleck. " The
Edinburg train will be due immediately,"
I exclaimed to my wile; •• come and let
us watch to see if it will attempt to cross
on such a night." So saying we turned
down the gas in the parlor and prepared
to await the coming of the train. The
light by this time had become most fit
ful. Great masses of clouds were sweep
ing across the expanse of the heavens,
at timeg totally obscuring the light of
the full moon There she comes, cried
oneof the children, and, at that moment,
the slowly moving lights of the Edin
burg train could be distinctly seen round
ing the curve at Wormit. and passing
the signal box at the south side, enter
ing upon the lonp straight line of that
portion of the bridge. The train once
on the bridge seemed to move along
witli greater swiftness, and when the
engine entered the tunnel-like cloisters
of the great girders my little girl exactly
described the effect of the lights as seen
through the lattice-work wlien she ex
claimed, " Ixiok, papa, in't that like
lightning?" All this takes some time
to write down, hut to the eye it seemed
as if almost simultaneous with the en
trance of the train upon the bridge. A
comet-like burst of fiery sparks sprang
out as if forcibly ejected into the dark
ness from the engine. In a long visible
train the streak of fire was seen till
quenched in the water below. Then
there was absolute darkness on the
bridge. A silence fell upon our eager
group at the window. Then, with stun
ning force the idea broke upon my mind.
" lfeavens!" I cried. " I fear the train is
over the bridge!" With agrowing hor
ror I watched the curve at the north
side to try if I could see the train pass
at that goint. but as several minutes
pased and no moving object brake the
continuity of the bridge at that point J
snatched up my hat and hurried devn
and nEioss the Magdalen Green, to meet
several individuals all bent upon the
same errand as myself.
'I he taloe of Worn Hold Coins.
Inquiries are daily made at the
United States mint as to the least cur
rent weight at which the government
will receive gold coins at their nom
inal value. Under the fourteenth sec
tion of the coinage act of 1873, it is pro
vided " that gold coins reduced in weight
by natural abrasion not more than one
half of one per centum below the
standard weight, after a period of circu
lation of twenty years, and a propor
tionate rate for a leas period, shall be
receives] at their nominal value at the
; United Slates treasury and its offices."
The following statement exhibits the
standard weight and least current weight
of gold coins after a circulation of
twenty years, and at which least current
weight they are receivable in payment
< of debts to the United States:
Slnndatd Ltasl Cur
tf'ngkj rent WngAt
in Grains. in Grains.
; Double-eagle 616 613.42
Kngle 268 256.71
| Hall-eagle 12* 128.36
> Hires dollar 77.4 77.02
! Qnarter-eagle '64.6 64.16
I Dollar 25 8 26.67
j The legal deviation from the standard
j weight ol the goli dollar being one
quarter of a grain, it will continue cur
rent until reduced in weight below 26
j 55-100 grains. All double eagles which
> have not been artificially reduced in
weight will be found with hi the limit of
j natural abrasion allowed by law. The
same rule will apply to eagles coined
' since 1845. half-eagles coined since 1865,
and quarter-eagles coined since 1860.
The double eagle should continue cur
rent for fifty years from the dateot coin
: age; the eagle for thirty-five years; the
half-eagle for twenty" years; and the
three-dollar piece and quarter-eagle at
least fifteen years. The deviation from
standard weight of one-quarter of a
I grain allowdl bylaw in the coinage of
! the gold dollar exceeds the legal limit
I of wear by nearly one-eighth of a grain.
I All pieces of this denomination roined
since 1860 will be found within Hie
legal tolerance. If not fraudulently re
duced in weight*
These periods are estimated for coins
when they constitute a part of the cir-
I dilating medium, or are frequently
I transferred in treasury and customs
| transactions. In this country, as in
| England, there is no " least current
weight"/or silver coins fixed by law or
treasury regulations. The natural
abrasion of silver coin is not so great as
generally supposed. It in expected that
fully fifty years will elapse before the
coins issued under laws passed within
the lest five years will need renovation.
Careful observation and experiments in
this country show the average loos from
natural abrasion of the whole body of
silver currency, when in actual circula
tion. to be about one per cent, in twelve
years, the smallest coins, quarier-dol-
Isrs and dime# showing a greater per
centage of loss than half-dollars or dol
lars.
The Cunard steamers carry small tin
pases the size of an cram(*,ftill ola
chemical preparation which ignites the
moment It touches the water. When a
man falls overboard in the night they
throw one over, and the man is supposed
to swim to it, enabling the boats to pick
him op.