©lit pDemoftat.
BELLEFONTE, PA.
The Largest, Cheapest and Best Paper
|>VHUSHED IN CENTRE COUNTY.
VALLEY FORGE.
j;|., fi..,lmnn Church, In llrp*r's >l*K*ln- for April.
Valley Forge is a manufacturing
place, nnd there is a constant hum of
machinery from the pnjKtr, flour, and
woollen mills. The neat little houses
of the factory hands are gay with
flowers and vines, while the Imudsome
residence of the mill-owner towers
castle-like above them. Fast all these
dwellings, at the end of the street,
stands the old-fashioned stone edifice
hallowed by Washington's presence.
It is a plain, somewhat contracted
looking house, this Valley Forge shrine,
after the usual type of ancient Penu
svlvnnia homesteads,with a queer roof
over the door, without either posts or
pillars, shaped like the sounding-boards
in old-time churches. The small-pnued
windows are long, and end in low deep
window-seats that could he sat in with
ease ; hut they are not cushioned, or
made the most of in any way. The
entrance door opens in halves, aud two
broad flat stones lead to it.
Nothing has been changed in the
old house since Washington left it,
with the exception of paper aud paint;
hut it strikes the visitor as decidedly
bare-looking, and by no means attract
ive as a place of residence. The ad
mission fee of ten cents is appropriated
bv the Centennial Committee for the
furnishing fund, their intention being
to furnish the back room on the,
ground-floor, known as Washington's
private office, with articles gathered
here and there of the date of Wash
ington's residence, and as nearly as
possible a fac-simile of those in use at
the period, the origiual furniture hav
ing slipped away down the back stairs
of time without leaving a trace be
hind.
As vet, however, nothing has been
accomplished, and very little of inter
est is to be seen in the way of relies.
The hack room is the chief point of
interest; and one of the deep w indow
seats is a box, the lid of which is
labelled "Washington's private papers,
1777," this receptacle having probably
been made to avoid surprises.
We are also shown a Revolutionary
cannon hall, the old anvil used iu
shoeing the horses of Washington and
his troops, an ancient fire-place with
"backs and jaiubs." The iron hacked'
another fire-place is unexpectedly dis
played outside of entrance door which
opens into a narrow passage. This
hack,of German manufacture, is quite
a work of art, and evidently intended
a* a representation of the miracle in
( ana of Galilee, the queer figures and
water jars being supplemented by a
(ierman inscription,in which the words
"Warner" and "Wcin" tire quite dis
tinct,also the reference to John ii, 1-11.
The most noticeable article of furni
ture in the room .is an "old clock on
the stair," which seems its legitimate
place. It was not used, however, by
Washington, having been imported
from England by the grandfather of
the present venerable occupant in 1784.
The old I'otU mansion has beau pur
chased by the Centennial and Memornl
Association, ami in the deed of trust
the ground belonging to it is careful
ly estimated at two acres aud eight
lurches. The long low stone barn
that stretches across a large portion of
one side is rough and plain—the same
in appearance as when Washington
stabled his horses there.
A LITTLE TRAMP.
From tli* 81. LOIIU Republican.
The other day a "country boy made
a pathetic appeal to a Union
park policeman in the heart of New
1 ork. The hoy had been gazing at
the policeman's star from afar, and at
last came to the conclusion that he was
a tnan of authority in the town. The
policeman had kept an eye on the boy,
too, so there was a good ileal of inter
est worked up between the man nnd
hoy before they had any communica
tion. At last the boy timidly ap
troached the policeman and asked
im where he could get something to
eat nnd a place to sleep, for he was
hungry and tired. He was a bright
looking little fellow, but he was evi
dently weary and worn, and travel
soiled, and from the country. He was
lost in town, and lingered round the
I nion Square as a country spot —an
oasis in the desert of pavement and
walls, and a familiar friend in a soli
tuile of thronging strangers. The po
liceman did not beat the boy with nis
cfcb and tell him to move on, as we
sometimes read of policemen doing to
little tramps. On the contrary, he
kindly placed the urchin in the hands
of an officer of the Society for the
Frevention of Cruelty to Children. In
answer to inquiries the little fellow
gave all of his history that he knew,
and explained his presence in New
ork in a very interesting manner.
His story was this:
"My name is Joseph Blowers, nnd
lam 13 years of age. I can't road or
write, but I know how to spell my
name and a few little words. I was
born somewhere up by the White
mountains. My mother died eight
years ago and my father died two
years ago. Before he died he gave
me nway to a farmer named Jacob
* oorhis, who lives at Galena, at the
foot of the White mountains. I bad
to work about tho farm, mid hud to
takoeareof seven cows and milk them
morning and evening. Mr. Voorhis
never sent me to school, and ns I
wanted to learti something 1 made up
my mind to go away and see if I could
not do something else, so that I could
go to school. Ho I left Mr. Voorhis,
and I've walked nearly all the way
from the White mountains to New-
York, which I'd heard was a liig city.
Sometimes I've inannged to get a ride
on the way. It was a long tramp
here, but f wanted to go to school,
and I heard that they hnd big schools
here. I want to get something to do
to pay my way, so that I can learn
something."
There are bad boys in New York
who sometimes "play it" upm good
people, and prove to be ninong the
things that "are not always what they
seem." .Joe did not look like one of
them, and his air and appearance
proved his whole story, but the officer
wished to make "assurances doubly
sure," so he took the boy out for a
walk and managed to lose him in a
crowd, while he observed Joe's move
ments from a convenient hiding place.
The |>oor boy ran up and down in ter
ror ut having lost his guide, like a
little stray dog hunting his master.
He was again groping helplessly and
hopelessly in the solitudes of the mul
titudes, and evidently knew nothing
of the streets of New York.
This*, knowledge or ignorance was
what the officer wished to test, and
being satisfied lie again appeared be
fore the lost boy like a messenger
drop|>ed from the clouds. Joe was
overjoyed, and the friend of the chil
dren was satisfied that Joseph Hlowcrs,
the White mountain boy, was not a
little fraud. A boy who, at the age
of thirteen, orphaned uud ignorant,
finding the time of edugption slipping
by, walks from the White mountains
to New York to hunt the better life,
has in him the kind of stufTof which
great men are made. lien. Franklin
strolled into Philadelphia, then the
metropolis of the country, munching
his penny loaf; Horace Greeley lum
bered into New York a green country
gawk, and Joe Blowers, a little tramp,
may make a big history for all any
body knows.
THAT OLD REBEL YELL.
AX INCIDENT Of SOUTHERN EXCURSION TO
CINCINNATI.
Colonel J. K. MeGowen, of the
Chattanooga Time* in a speech to
that paper, gives the following graph
ic description of an incident of the
Cincinnati banquet:
The great orchestra, under the puis
sant baton of Michael Brand, struck
up the stirring old air "Dixie," with
its soul-thrilling associations and
memories. For a moment there was
a hush. The old soldiers of the
North and the old soldiers of the
•South looked at each other, ami the
vast throng was still. But before the
second bar was struck, the emotions
of the gallant Southerners overcame
: them, and almost simultaneously they
| sprang to their feet, more than a
! thousand strong, and the old South
j ern battle-cry made the lofty arches
ring again. Side by side with them
i stood the Northern hosts uud cheered
with theiu. Again aud again the
men of the South broke forth as the
gay measures woke their enthusiasm,
and the strains of the orchestra were
fairly drowned by their united voices.
A prominent gentleman of Cincin
nati, and a famous soldier, turned to
! Gov. Marks, of Tcnnnessee, and said :
' "That is the old rebel yell."
"Yea," was the reply, "and now
hear it raised for the stars and stripes,"
for just then the orchestra struck up
that grand old patriotic air. The scene
that followed is indescribable. As
the full orchestra poured the grand
old strains of —
"The Ur-p#ngled banner,
Oh, long may it wave
OVr the land of the free
And the home of the brave.''
the graud organ burst fqrth in glori
ous unison with all its magnificent
power and the vast audience arose as
one man, and the old Union cheer
blended with the old rebel yell to the
notes of the National air for the first
time since the dark and hloody years
of the great civil war. Men who had
faced each other on many a crimson
battle-field under the stars nnd bars
clasped hands and waved handker
chiefs until the great level of the hall
was like a white sen. All the sound of
the orchestra was lost in the exultant
shouts of reconciliation and common
patriotism and the great wave of en
thusiasm swept over the vast, giowing
concourse and carried everything lie
fore it. It was a scene never to lie
forgotten by those who anticipated a
moment what was cardinal in the his
tory of the Republic.
England'* (treat Belle and Heiress.
Fmm til. London World.
The rumor chronicled last week of
the approaching contract of marriage
lietwecn I'rince Leopold anil Miss
Maynard is said to be unfounded.
Huch an alliance would have been
popular, and a beauty who has £30,-
(MM) a year is not a bad match, even a
for a I'rince of royal blood. The
Maynards have always been a popu
lar family in Essex, and the bright
Cresence and winning smile of the
eiress of that ancient house are ever
welcomed at Duumow. Easton Lodge,
near to Dunmow, which is Miss May
nnrd's property in her own right, is
one of the fiuest mansions in the
county, aud is no mean rival of Aud
h-y End—but without its wealth of
artistic treasures —or Down Hal).
The late Viscountess Maynard, the
grandmother of the new beauty, for
many years distributed £2,000 j>er
annum aiming the poor in the neigh
borhood of Easton. Miss Maynard
nttaincd her eighteenth birthdav last
December, and it will be remembered ;
the occasion was celebrated by a
magnificent entertainment, which cost
an enormous sum and was one of the
most brilliant ntfuirs which has been
known in Essex for a generation.
Flowers were brought from Nice, and
a suite of temporary reception gQyms
were erected for the occasion.
AKKNKMIKKG.
8. 11. M In llir|M*r'ii Mugarlnr for April.
Just In-low Constance the beautiful
island is Kcichenau lying likes gem in
the miniature sea. On the hills to the
left the chateaux, villas and castles. At
least one of these is historical; it is al
most the sitnpliest among them, but is
interesting as having been for twenty
years the home of ljueen Hortense, the
daughter of Josephine, and step (laugh
ter of Napoleon the First. With nil
her brilliancy of birth and character,
she wag an unhappy and an unfortunate
woman.
She had seen her own father murder
ed oti the guillotine, lier mother mar
ried an Emperor, only to die broken
hearted. ller stepfather died on a lone
island of the sea. She herself married
a king, only to he divorced and de
throned, while her children and her
whole family became wandering fugi
tives in strange lands. It is extremely
saddening to walk through the rooms of
her little home here, and recall the fate
that billowed her in life.
When Napoleon became Emperor,
she was one of the most brilliant arid
talented women of his court. She
wrote excellent verses, arranged (Jays
and composed songs that have cheered
the French Hrinies in battle from that
day to this. Her song "I'artant pour la
Syrii" may last with the French lan
guage.
When Napoleon's star of destiny
failed him, and all who bore his name,
or were related to him, were banished
from France, poor Hortense. after being
refused a resting place in many lands,
bought this little villa in a quiet corner
of Switzerland. Here she devoted many
years to self culture, and the culture of
her two BOIIS.
Here was spent the boyhood of
France's second emperor. Arenenberg
is a plain villa outside, but is situated
on one of the loveliest spots of the
shores of the river Ithine. In the gar
den near the villa is a long, low house,
used then, as now, for stables. The
upjter floor of this out-house contained
the rooms of the young prince, Louis
Napoleon. Here he studied, and here
he schemed.
In a recent visit to Arenenberg the
writer hunted up a number .of old resi
dents of the neighborhood who had
been companions of Napoleon, and a
few who had leen friends of Hortense.
There were many rememliered incidents
of the life of both ; for both, though in
a very different way, bad been much
liked by all the villagers. Hortene's
kindness to the poor of all the district
has embalmed her Dame in grateful
remembrance there, and even the stern
republicans of .Switzerland had a warm
sympathy for an unfortunate queen.
As to her son, the late Emperor, jx-ople
could never tire telling of the incident*
of his boyhood that pointed to the com
ing man. What a swimmer he was!
what a horseman! what a wrestler!
and if half the stories be true, what a
rake! Of his horsemanship it is main
tained he had not an equal anywhere.
It was a habit of his never to mount a
horse by tho use of the stirrup, but to
run and spring over the crupper and
into the saddle at a bound.
Ixiuis Napoleon visited Arenenberg
when he became Emperor, nad twenty
thousand people came to bid him wel
come. As a young man he had been a
captain of militia sharp shooters here,
and president of the village school
lioard. These bodies joined officially
in the greeting. There were several
coaches and four drawn up at the sta
tion for the Em|>eror and his staff to
ride in. What was the astonishment
and joy to see Ntpoleon jump into the
one horse wagon of a friend that hap
pened to be there, and with him head
the great procession through Constance!
How the people shouted and clapped
hands at the democratic Emperor 1
Hortense, after suffering several years
with a dreadful cancer, ended her event
ful life here in 1837. Mhe died in the
little upper east room. The stranger
going in there now will be impress#-. 1 to
see everything just as she left it. There
is the bed on which she died, and near
it is the ramp bedstead which her son
the Emperor bad at Sedan. There, too,
is her harp, as well as the harp of Jo
sephine.
Down stairs there are five rooms filled
with remembrances of the Napoleon
family. On a little table in the tecep
tion Tootn is the gilt clock used by Na
poleon on the ialand of Si. Helena. In
other room* are good paintings and
statues made from life of Napoleon the
First, Hortense, her mother Josephine,
and her brother Prince Eugene; also
the furniture presented to Hortense by
the city of Paris at the time of her
marriage to Napoleon's brother. There,
too, covered with a crown of ivy, is a
marble bust of Napoleon the Third,
taken from acastof his face after death.
The Empress Eugenie repurchased
this place (it had been sold after the
death of Hortense), and presented it to
the Emperor. It was lately the sum
mer reaidenoe of herself and the young
Prince Louis.
Over the bills from Reichenau, and
in another arm of the lake, lies the
pretty little island of Mainau, with its
charming gardens reaching down to the
blue waters. Real royalty dwells here,
for it la the property of the Grand
Duke of Baden ; and his father in-law,
the Emperor of Germany, often spends
his summer days in this lovely retreat.
In fact, the kings and princes of Eu
rope have managed to secure moet of
the rare apote around the luwer end of
Lake Constance.
•Judith I). Chitntilng in tli# Hnngor Whig.
The Old Pod Auger Days.
I saw mii sged man at work,
11 turned an auger round ;
And ever Mnd unon ho'd pause,
And meditate profound.
"Good morning, friend," quoth 1 to him—
"Art thinking when to raii<r.f"
"Oh no," said he, "I'm thinking on
The old 'pod auger day*.'
"True, by the hardest then, we wrought,
With little extra aid ;
On honor were the thing* we bought,
On honor those we made;
And now invention stalk* abroad,
Deception dogs her way* ;
Thing* difleient are from what they were
In old 'pod linger days.'
"Then homely was the fare we bad
And homespun what we wore :
Then scarce a niggard pulled the ,-tring
Inside his eahin door.
Then humbugs didn't fly *<• thiek
A* half the world to ha/.e ;
That sort of hug wu* scarcely known
In old 'pod auger days.'
"Then men wore strong arid woman fair
Was hearty a* the doe ;
Then few so dreadful 'feeble* were,
They couldn't knit and sew.
Then girls could sing and they could work
And thrum gridiron lays;
That sort of music took tho palm
In old 'jkxl auger days.'
"Then men were patriots—rare indeed
An Arnold or a Burr;
They loved their country, Bnd in turn
Were loved and blest by her.
Then Franklin, Sherman, Bitten house
Earned well the nation's praise;
We've not the Congress that we had
In old 'pod auger days."
! "Then slow and pertain was the word ;
Now de'il the hinderinest take ;
Then buyers rattled down the tin ;
Now words must payment make ;
Then murder-doing villains soon
Were decked in hempen bays ;
We didn't inurder in our sleep
Iu old 'pod auger days.'
"So wag* the world; 'lis well enough,
If wisdom went by steam,
1 But in iny day she used to drive
I A plain old fashioned team ;
; And justice with her bandag- otl"
i Can now *<>e choice in ways;
! She used to sit blindfold and" stern
In old 'pod auger day*.'"
- ♦
WOK DM UPON BVINO LIPS.
I now soke or the crest o- esrtii vet tiik
kino or terror*.
Queen Elizabeth, at the end of a
moat prosperous reign, begun amid
i danger* and many difficulties that were
j overcome by bold measure* and pru
dent council*, died exclaiming, "Ah,
j iny possessions for a moment of time."
I George VI. met death with almost a
jest upon his lips. Turning to Sir VVal
j tran Waller, on whose arm he leaned,
' lie said ; "Wliatty, what '*this? It is
i death, boy, and they have deceived us."
! The Danish Sovereign, Frederick V.,
greatly beloved by his subjects, cried
"There ia not a drop of blood on my
hands," as he passed away. Ilenry
VIII., who had altered the whole course
of monastic life in England, exclaims
"Monks! Monks! Monks!" Edward
| VI.. the wan boy King. Avith his fast
fading eyes, commended hi* nul to
God, "Lord, take my spiritand
Cromwell a* he listened to the discourse
of those about him aid, "Then I am
safe," and was silent forever.
The la*t word of Charles I. on the
scaffold to Archbishop .tuxson was
"Remember," referring to his desire that
his son Charles should forgive his fath
er's murderer*. Ann Boleyn, in the
same terrible situation, clasped her fair
neck, saying, "It i* small, very small
and Mir Thomas More, as he yielded
bintsell to the executioner, said, with
sorry wit, "For my coming down let me
shift for niyself." .loan ol Arc at the
•take ended her eventful, stormy life,
j with our Saviour'* name upon her lip*,
a* brave as Gen. Wolf, who, dying in
the midst of victory on the battle field,
and hearing of the enemy's retreat,
cried, "What! do they run already?
Then I die haftpy ;" or Philip Sidney,
after he had relinquished the draught
of water loan humbler oomiade, though
parched with thirst, turned him round
to die, saying, "Lai me behold the end
of this world with all ita vanities."
Miiabenu desired to die while deli
cious strains of music floated on the arr.
but bit laai utterance was a demand for
laudanum to drown pain and concioua
nesi. Moaart's laat words were,
me hear once more those notes so long
my solace and delight;" but Haydn,
forgetful of bit art, cued, "trod preserve
my Emperor." Alfleri's sympathetic
nature displayed Itself In the words,
"Clasp niy hand, dear friend, I die
Gcothe cries. "Light, more light." Tea
so, "In toua mantis, Do.nioe;" Byron,
"Come, come, no weakness ; let's be a
man to the laat; I must sleep now."
And thoae who saw hi* embalmed body
in 1824, when brought to England from
Misaolonghi in tbe Florida, and remov
ed to Sir Filer aid Knatchbull'a llouae
in.Great George street, where the coffin
was opened, described the face a* of
marble whiteness, the expression that
of stern quietude, laying wrapped in
his blue cloth cloak, the throat and
head uncovered, crisp, curling locks,
slightly streaked with grav, clustering
over the temples, the profile of exceed
ing beauty. Boiteau congratulated him
self, ai he closed his eyes upon this
world, upon the purity of his works,
saying, "It ia a great consolation to a
poet about to die that he hss never
written anything injurious to virtue j"
and Sir Walter Scott, little thinking hia
end so near, said, "I feel aa If 1 were
myself again."
Dr. -Johnson, the rough, kiwd heart,
whe loved a good hater, died as he said
to Miss Morris, "God bless you my
dear." Washington, dying at Mount
Vernon, cried, "It ia well." Franklin's
laat words were. "A dying man can do
nothing easily." Mme. de Suel, whose
sorest trial waa her enforcer! absence
from her native land, died saying : "I
have loved my God, my father and my
liberty." ' '
Hannah More'a last words were: "Pat
't-jO/ i" Grotius, "Be serious i" Haller,
"The artery oeases to beat;" Adams,
"Independence lorever;" Jefferson, "I
resign my soul to God, my daughter to
my oountty j" Looke, to Lady Masham,
who waa reading the Psalms, "CesM
now;' and poor Lmh, after the most
self sacrificing existence, wrote li!a last
word* to a friend, "My bed fellow* are
cramp and cough—we three *leen in a
bed. 1
Bishop Broughton's last word* are,
"Let the earth be filled with II in glory
Archbishop Sharpe, "I shall be happy
Bishop Ken. "/Sod'* will be done;"
Fair, Cntniner, Hooper, and George
llerberi, "Lorl receive my spiritand
lhe*e are hut a few of many srich utter- J
ance*. The Prince ('onsort confirmed
the impression that prevail* that the
dying have sometime* a foretaste of
coining happine**, "I have *uch *weet
thoughts," were the last word* of a
rnoat nolde life.
♦ *
If AT lIOI,KM AT lIAKKIHHUKG,
< >oe of the most intensely interest
ing volume* which ha* recently been
issued front the office of the public j
printer at l(arri*hurg, i* the annual re
|K>rt ol Auditor (ieneral Schell. Figures
ure usually esteemed a very dry and un
palatable sort ol diet, but the volume to
which we refer contains a vaaf amount
of food lor reflection, and embrace* al
most n* many amusing features a* a com
ic almanac. Among the various source*
of revenue are two dollar* in "con
science money" which came from Phil
adelphia. This i* a shihll beginning,
but it may contain the promise of bet
ter things in the future, of all the
money pilfered from the trea-ury dur
ing the lust twenty year* these are the
first two dollar* that have ever found
their way hack again. May we not in
dulge the hope that they will be parent*
ola numerous progeny of returning
prodigals? It i* a great mi-fortune
that history will be deprived of the name
of tin* first great conscience-striken
apostle of reform. F'uture age* will
never know whether it i* 'Lish Davis or
Harry lluhii.or Kmil Petrol!', or George
Handy Smith whom they should rise
up and call blessed. No less novel and
startling is the announcement that the
revenue* of the common wealth were still
further augmented by the return of
1 thirty-four cents, *n unexpended bal
ance remaining in the hands of Secre
tary Quay. This seems to settle all
doubts a* to the candidacy of Col. Quay
, for Senator Wallace'* seat in the Unit
ed State* Senate. With this thirty-four
i cents a* a basis hi* would be a strong
candidate on a platform of retrench
ment and economy. The satisfaction
; of the public over the di*continuancc
; of annual session* of the legislature will
i be largely increased by knowledge of
the lad that the last senate eot the
| State sl4€\7oB.y*2, and the house $l2O,
j .'ifi.'i 99, with $20,674.2-1 additional for
| the trl\gi'htirt £mrL Whether the
State received a corresponding lienefit
many person* will feel disposed to que*-
tion, in view of the fact that the only
: measure of general legislation to which
- they devoted their time and talent*
not* the schema to sUval four million
dollars out of the treasury under pre-
I tence of paying the damage* of the
Pittsburgh riot. In justice to the sena
tor* and member* it must be admitted
that they didn't pocket all the swag
j themelve, but were most munificent
jin their largesses to tboir political
I friend- who constituted the grand army
iof clerks, door-kee]>ers, messengers,
\ pasters and folder*. <>ver fifty thou
sand dollars were paid in salaries to the
officers of the senate. Six thousand
dollar* were paid for stationery for the
-enate, and fifteen thousand for the
| house, and every member of each bodv
waa allowed $25 for stationery and $lOO
for postage. For buckets ami brooms
$2,000 were ex [>ended ; $2,246 were psid
to 91 scrub women to clean up the sen
ate'* dirt, an average of forty women
every night, almost one to evety sena
tor. The resident clerk, at a salary of
$.1,000 ami a "contingent fund" of $2,-
200, and who ha* really little or noth
ing to do, had two clerks to help him
•in it at salaries amounting to $1,300.
The inauguration of Gov. lloyt cost
$1,098.11, and the stint of $10,995.91
wa* ex|M>nded in refurrfishing and re
pairing the executive mansion. The
public printing cost the enormous figure
of $2*7,924. 56; and the superintend
ent of public grounds got the nice little
plum of $13,421.78. The furnishing of
a room wherein the lieutenant gover
nor discharges the arduous duties of his
office cost over $5OO. The emhrionic
statesmen of* Harrisburg cost the com
monwealth $129.50 for ice water to mix
with their whiskey and reduce the tem
perature of their blistered gullet*.
These are only a few specimen items
selected out of a volume of 276 pages.
How much more undiscovered richness
the report contains may safely he left
to the imagination of the reader.
In the Australian Forest.
from Ohstnbrr*' Ji.urnsl.
Morning and evening the Australian
forest is awake; at noon it is asleep.
No greater contrast can be imagined
than between the morning hours and
those at mid day. In the former, the
very flowers seem to possess an active
existence. Myriads of such, larger and
more brilliant than those under Eng
lish skies, load the air with the sweetest
scents; magnificent tree-ferns wave
their fronds or branches in the light
breete ; on old stumps of trees great,
J;reen and yellow lisardi lie watching
or their prey ; the magpie throws her
voice from the wattles, and possibly the
lyVe-bird in the.denser scrub; and in
the tall gums numberless parrakeeta,
parrots, rosellaa, cockatoos, butcher
birds, lovebirds, etc., are screaming
nd darting to and fro. But bv-and-by
the intense heat will silence all these,
and nothing will he heard but the
chirp of the grasshopper and the shrill
sound of some unseen insect. At twi
light again there is a revival of life, but
not of so cheerful a description. The
cicadas shriek by myriads tneir deafen
ing "p-r-r-rr-r," drowsy opossums snarl
In the gum-holes, and flocks of cocka
toos scream as some greet grey ksngs
roo bounds past them like a belated
ghost. If there is marshy ground near,
the deep boom of the bittern, the wail
of the curlew, and the harsh cry of the
crane, mingling, poeaibly, with those of
or passing flock of black
•wans, will add u> the concert. In a
moment of silence one mav be startled
by the mocking laughter or the jackass,
or the melancholy "mo-poke" (for
"more-pork") of the bird of that name.
The dead of night is not so still as the
universal hush of the burning noon.
A New Application of Ihc Electric
Uffht.
Vrmii Hi.- Si-w Yoik Ili-mM.
Tbe wondei* of the electric light, it
secni*. ore not to cease. The lnti-*t de
velopment of ith virtue* is it* power to
promote the occult processes of vege
tation, a* recently demonstrated by the
eminent rcienti.-t Dr. C, W. Siemens,
before the Royal Society, The elabor
ate experiment* made by thi* inventi
gator to ascertain whether plant* ex- .
posed to the electric light were atfected
by it* ray* conclusively prove tbat it i*
eflicaciou* in producing their leaf green
and in greatly stimulatmgiheir growth.
After announcing thi* beautiful discov
ery to the meeting of the society on the
•llh !nst. the discoverer placed a pot of
budding tulip* in the toll brightness of
an electric lamp, and in l>out forty
minute* the hud* had expanded into
full bloom. I >r. Siemens' experimental
tost*, conducted (or two month*, show
t'lat the ordinary vegetables which
were kept entirely in the dark died ;
those exposed to the electric light only
or to daylight only throve equally well,
while those exposed to the daylight
and also to the electric light succe*ive
ly grew rapidly and vigorously. He
contends that the radiation of fient
Irom powerful electric arcs can be made
available to correct frost and probably
to promote the ripening of fruit in the.
open sir. It. has been generally sup
|>o*ed that plants, like-animals, require
a certain period of rest in the twenty
four hours, hut these experiments show
that, subjected to the sunlight by day
and the electric light by night, the#
make increased and vigorous progress.
The discovery may lead to some im
portant practical results of which it*
| own author has as yet no hint. Where
| natural water power can be had at lit-
I tie cost and the mechanical energy ne.
oes*ary for working the electric light
ing apparatus i* inexpensive it may,
and no doubt will, he highly available
tor horticulturists,
The Reason of Bird*.
From th# £|w-<;ut<#r
M*y I t*ll you a®ff\v fact* to provo
that birds can he, like their human
friends, both reasonable and unreason
able ? 1. Several years ago a pair of my
canarie* built: while the hen was sit
ting the weather became intensely hot.
She drooped, and I began to fear tbat
she would not be strong enough to
; hatch the eggs. 1 watched the birds
| closely, and soon found that Ute cock
I was a devoted nurse, lie bathed in the
fresh cold water I supplied every morn
ing. then went to the edge of the nest,
and the hen buried her head in hi*
breast and was refreshed. Without
hands and without a sponge, what more
could he have done J 2.' The following
spring the same bird was hanging in a
i window with three other canaries, each
|in a separate cage. 1 ws sitting in the
j room, and heard my little favorite give
j a peculiar cry. 1 looked up and saw
all the birds crouching on their perches,
paralyzed with fright. On going to the
window to ascertain the cause of their
terror, I saw a large balloon passing
over the end of the street. The bird*
did not move until it was ouV'd sight,
when they all gave a chirp of relief.
The balloon was only within sight of
tbebitd whogare the alarm, and 1 have
do doubt he mistook it for a bird of
prey. 3, I have a green and a yellow
canary hanging side by side. They are
treated exactly alike, and are wartu
friends. One has often refused to par
take of some delicacy till the other waa
supplied with it. One day I had five
blossoms of dandelion ; 1 gave three to
the green bird, two to the yellow one.
The latter flew about his cage, singing
in a shrill voice, and showed nnmis- *
takahle sign* of anger, finessing the
cause I took away one of three flower*,
when both birds settled down quietly
to enjoy their feast.
Mineral Resource* of Virginia.
Fixm the IWltnn<re Hun.
Prof. Kccleston lectured on Monday
evening t>efore the New York Academy
of Sciences on the mineral resources of
Virginia and West Virginia. The lec
ture was of a sort to explain the recent
renewal of railroad building in those
section*. Virginia produces iron ore in
great abundance, while We*t Virginia i*
full of coal beds. The Virginia iron
ores are of remarkable quality, stretch
ing in vein* between the Biue Ridge
and the Allegheniea. and extending
from Pottsdam on the east to Clifton.
The iron beds were sometimes contin
uous, sometimes in folds numbering
from three or four up to twelve, and
some of the specular ores were as rich
in mineral as those of Lake Superior.
These ores have not been developed,
owing to difficulties in access and trans-
Crtation. Fuel i* scarce, connection not
ing yet closely made with the coal
beds further west. But the time was
now coming when these ore bed*
would be worked. They were too rich
to be longer neglected, few of them con
taining more than a fifth pf one per
cent, phosphorus. Virginia ia richer in
iron than Pennsylvania, says Prof. Kc
cleston, and it is a store of wealth for
coming generations. If, he added, the
prosperity of tbe iron trade continued,
an industrial survey would have to be
made of tbe country, and such a sur
vey would show so much industrial
wealth in Virginia that capital must in
evitably flow into the State.
Scotch Farmer* for Minnesota.
Mr. Williamson, a wealthy grain mer
chant of Liverpool, England, visited
Minnesota last September, and hs* since
then completed the purchase of thirteen
sections of iand on the Red river. He
desips to send this tear two fsmiliea
of tifoshire farmers from Scotland to
locale on each section, and within three
years to have three fourths of his entire
purchase under cultivation. It is not
proposed to make large farms, but to
mske such a size that farmers having
both miens ana intelligence, as the Fife
sMre men have, can bring the cultiva
tion of the soil to its highest perfection,
and instead of chance and average
crops have a constant certainty of *t
least forty bushels of "No. 1 hard" to
the acre. _The original Fife wheat,
whioh has made Mioneaota Hour so fk
mous, came from Scotland where these
emigrating farmers reside.