A KIVEK OF FIUE.
Volcanic rriiptlnn In llawnll—Thandcr.
In Kipln*loit—White Hot llorki and
I'IUWIIIK Klame
The Hawaii Gazette gives nn account
of an eruption of the volcano of Manila
Loa. exceeding in violence any ever be
fore known on the island. The grand
outburst of fire is described ns follows:
It broke out about 7 I*. M. on Friday,
about six miles north of the summit
crater of Mokuaweoweo on Manua
Loa. and flowed down tie elevated
plateau lving between Maunn I*oa and
Kea. sending out two branches, one
from near' its source toward the old
crater of Rilauen, and another branch
further down, tending toward the east.
On Wednesday the flow could be seen
distinctly from flilo winding its wny
toward I'una, with a small branch
stream runuing toward liilo. Tne
treani running toward Puna was übvut
thirty miles in length, and from 100 to
200 yards in width, with a depth of
about twenty feet. A correspondent of
the Gazette accompanied a party to view
the grand sight, and they climbed the
mountain side Soon, he says, as the
fog gradually cleared off" the sides of the
mountain, we saw a tremendous river
of tire pouring down the steep sides.
We could sec it distinctly down the
slope, till It ran into the fog bank, which
had settled like a huge snow bed all
over the lowlands.
The tire was an intense white light
and was running fuiiouslydownward.
They then went toward Puna to seethe
molten river by night, and, he adds, the
moon set, and stili it was light enough
to sec to read . Away above us in the
heavens shone the brlliant fountain
head, and thence to the end was a con
tinuous stream of liquid lava. There
lay a river of tire beneath us at least
thirty miles long, every inch of which
was one bright rolling tide of fire.
There was not a single break in the
whole length. The whole front edge,
being about three-fourths of a mile wide,
was a most intensely brilliant light, and
as it slowly advanced ami rolled over
the small trees and scrub, brigtit flames
would flash up and die out along the
whole edge. Then there were giant ex
plosions, vast and terrible, as if the earth
was being shattered by earthquakes, and !
all at once a huge dome of moiten lava
was thrown up about half way up the i
mountain side, and continue ' to flow
over like an immense fountain. The j
next day the party crossed the old lava
beds for bout 1,000 tict. Not twenty
feet distant was the immense bed of lava
slowly moving forward with irresistible
force, bearing on its surface huge rocks
and immense boulders of tons weight.
The whole front edge was one bright
red mass of solid rook incessantly break- j
ing oft' from the towering mass and roll
ing down to the foot of it. to bo again
covered up by ar.olhgr avalanche ol
white-hot rooks and sand. The mas*
v, is at its front edge from twelve to
thirty feet in height. Along the line of
its advance it was one crash of rolling,
sliding, tumbling red-hot rock. We
could see no fire or liquid lava at all,
but the whole advance line of red-hot
stones and scoria. There were no ex
plosions while we were near the flow,
only a tremendous roaring like ten
thousand blast furnaces ail at work at
once. Some fear 3 of the safety of Ililo
arc stili • rU rl.air.cd, but the flow seems
turning in another direction.
A correspondent of the Honolulu
Pres.', writing from Hilo, says: The
sight on Saturday was indescribably
grand. All day. with or without the
glass, our eyes were turned toward th
mountain. A fountain of liquid lava
wa* pouring up from the summit line of
Mauna !/. Two fiery streams were
distinctly visible coursing down its side,
one toward Mauna Kca, the other neater
Hilo. At night the sky was a glare ol
light that niadeobjects distinct!* visible
in the streets and in our rooms. Wednes
day night the sight of the mountain was
most glorious. The broken clouds lying
around the summit sides were irradiated
and shone in wonderful splendor. The
force of the eruption seems now dimin
ishing. ________
A Farmer's Hlcader.
A Scotch farmer, living near the sea
const. sajr the shore on the morning
after a storm strewn with jelly-fish. He
knew in a sort of general wny that fish
made good manure, and supposed that
one suit of fish was as good as another.
So blessing Providence for dumping
such a iot of fertilizer so handy to his
farm lie used all his men and horses
that dny in carting load after lead of
, jelly-fish to his fields.
Great were his expectations of large
crops. Hut a neighbor, who had a little
"hook lnrnin'," blighted bis hopes.
"You've been watering your fields in
stead of manuring them," said the
neighbor, who knew thnt the jelly-fish
is largely made up of water.
The farmer rcse "a sadder and a wiser
man" from that chat. For be leameo
that a jelly-flab of two pounds contains
nnly thirty grains of solid matter, and
in spreading four tons of the fish upon
his fields he had added but sixteen
pounds of fertilising matteT thereto.
A marriage notice begins. "John
Knox has taken n wife." Well, that's
nothing. It hn't near so bad aa il he
bad taken tbe cholera, or smallpox, or
yellow fever, you know. John ain't so
had off as you think.— Williamspor
Urealfatt Table.
Maiden lady's quotation slightly al
tered from an old aphorism! " Where
singleness is bliss 'tis folly to be wives." j
HE KNEW HOW TO TItAVFL.
A Kallroad Incident In the Ufc nf *
Humorist.
We were rumbling merrily along to
I'utnnm, Connecticut, when the new
man got on. 1 think lie got on at Wal
pole. He carried a valise, a blanket
rolled Up in a shawl strap, a cane, an
umbrella and a hook, lie wore a plaid
suit and a silk hat, and a polo cap was
roiled up in his ulster pocket. In one
of them, that is, for they were legion.
He carried his wax matches in a little
pocket on his right cuff, his little ea°e
ol gentle cigarettes in a little pocket
just below the handkerchief pocket; his
card ease in a little pocket near the right
hip, then there were three other unas
signed pockets on the rigtit breast and
two other mysterious pockets on the left
side of his ulster. Then I think there
were two pockets on the back of that
wonderful garment, just below the
shoulders, but I will not be positive.
His u.Bter was belted in with a In It that
might have done duty on the big pulley
in a saw mill. He parted his beard in
the middle, combed his hair low on his
forehead, was very broad across his
back, and had a voire as big as his
ulster. He paused beside me and looked
down at me.
" This scat occupied, sir?"
And be said sir like a regular army
officer, with an impressive pause be
tween it and the rest of the sentence, a
pause juat about as long as the regular
nrmy officer usually occupies in saying
"blessyou," or words to that indirect
effect.
"No, sir," I said, timidly, and then
with a feeble attempt at cordiality. I
added, " sit down, sir."
"Sir,"said the new man. "I intend
to I generally find a seat if the car is
crowded, or I tell people wl at I think
about it."
And then lie sat down, partly on the
sent and partiy in my lap, crushing rae
up against the window. He put his si.k
hat in the rack and the polo cap down
over his manly brow; he stood his cone
and umbrella up in my end of the scat
and set his valise upon my feet. Then
he folded his nrms so that one of his
great elbow? jammed itself into mv
cheek, and t' en he look<d comfortable.
Once in a wi iie he would suddenly feci
in his pocket for something, and every
time he did so, that elbow went cruising
up and down my ribs like a street
crusher.
In one of lhc3<? sudden disturbances I
ve-ntured, with a feeble effort at timiel
sarcasm, to " hqpc that I didn't incom
mode him?"
" No. sir!" said the new man, with
considerable italics; "no. sir; I'd let
you know very quickly if you did, sir.
I'd tell you what I thought about it."
Presently lie took out his little cigar
ette case, and a neat little meerschaum
holder and made preparations for the
comfort of a imoke, hut the brakemnn
touched his shoulder and told him he
must ge> forward to the smoking car.
" Isn't this the smoking car?" yelled
the new man, many grinding me to
powder a9 he turned to face the brake
man.
"No, sir;" replied that functionary,
; very airily; " this is a ladies'car."
• Well, by jove," said the new man,
" I took it for the smoking ear, and not
1 a very nice one at that. It looks like a
smoking car, and the people in it like
the peop!" I generally find in a smoker."
And then he grc und around toward
me again and said:
"I'm an old traveler, and when 1
don't like anything I tell what I think
! about it. Tl. tis where you'll generally
find me."
I wanted to say something smart, but
somehow or other I couldn't think of
any thing very appropriate just then,
so I beid my peace, and nerved my
wrath against not only the new man
but tbe fat passenger, whom I could
hear behind me making pleasant re
marks abou' aiy position. By-and-bye
we stopped at some station where there
was a great Concord stage waiting, and
the new man was one of the first paen
eers to rush out, saying he would have
a box seat or they'd hear what he
thought about it.
Weil, I guess he ot it. He wa3
climbing up over the forward wheel,
roaring at the apathetic driver to take
his valise, when the train started and
the noise frightened the horses, and they
made a plunge. The new man stepped
on the wheel and was thrown headlong
on the ground, snapping his umbrella
and cane in the spokes of the wheel as
he fell. His hat rolled off, his valise
fell in front ot the wheel, which passed
over it, and two or three men, making a
rush for ttie horses, stepped on his hat.
I couldn't got my wirdow up in time to
cheer, but the sad passenger got his
head out. and as tbe train movrd off the
crowd around the coach and the new
men was thrilled by a tender, insinua
ting voice, that came singing hack from
tbe car window with a melancholy in
tonation :
" I say. tell 'em what you think about
It!"— Jlurlivgtrm //• keye.
When the nook pbced the f urkry o._
the table, upsh'e down on the dish— that
is with its back up-(he in ad of the
house got his back up, too, gave her a
withering look nnd almost profanely
asked it she "s'posed he was going to
crawl under the table nnd cut a hole up
through the plate, to get at tbe breast of
tbe fow 1 ? Wnrristoim Her all
A great many men are cottage-built;
that is to say, they have but one story,
and they are forever tellin£it.—Rntkm
Transcript.
A Helping Hand
" Kvnry innn's Neniesn I.ion lies in wait
lor him somowtiere " — Huikin.
There was a small crowd ol boys and
men congregated upon an uptown cor
ner the other morning, and the occasion
of it was a horse fallen in the harness—
a respectable-looking horse drawing a
respectable-looking milk wagon, and
driven by a boy, who now tugged at his
head, vainly urging him to rise.
"Jerk him up," called a man who
stood oa the sidewalk with both hands
in his pockets. "(Jive him the whip,"
Each one shouted out some advice,
but no one volunteer d to assist the boy,
who was just far enough away horn bis
childhood to feel like having a good ery;
but he coaxed and pulled at the horse
that now lay quite still, nnd with horse
sense did uot try to move on the slip
pery ice, hut stretched his neck out in a
way that brought despair to the heart
of the boy, who believed lie was going
to die on Ins hands.
Just then a man enme walking briskly
along anil saw the prostrate horse, and
the disconsolate-looking boy; he car
ried a hnivy piece of machine! y in one
hand, hut this lie laid aside as he stepped
out to the horse and began to take off
the harness. In a moment lie had run
the shafts back and left the horse free.
Then he took the briddlc-rein, gave a
quick, sharp elierup and the animal
sprung to his f<et and gave himself a
great shake; the man helped the boy re
harness him, the two exchanged a smile
of thanks and welcome, and then the
man picked up his machinery nnd
walked cheerily off one way, as the boy
drove on another. He had slain the
Nemean lion to begin the day. and we
may well believe that when evening
came he would be one of tfiose who can
sing:
" Something Acron){<liflhfvl, ** Birthing -;orc
Han a night'**
An old colored woman stopped at a
corner of one of the most fashionable
thorough fares the other afternoon, just
before nightfall, nnd looked disconso
lately un and down the street; then she
app< aied to a beautiful girl in a Raphael
hat and with eyes like some pictured
saint who tripped along in rich and
costly attire: " l'icasc, miss, mought
this be Anthony street, deary." hut only
a look from the beautiful eyes was
vouchsafed her. Then came some fi.ir
and prosperous matron*, a 1 laughing
and eimtting over their Christmas pur
chases. The old aunty, with her with
ered face stood in the way. " Please,
honeys, will ye direct me to Anthony
street? Ise done got iost."
"We never heard of such astro
they said, and wmt laughing on. It
was a wcarv professor going home from
instrumental lesson-giving, with the
merest breath of life left in him. who
stopped and said: " \\ u mean Antoine
street, aunty." and ho turned her in tho
right diro tion, and saw that she fol
lowed it. And so he had slain his
Nemean lion before lc slept.
For the difficulty of moment in the
path of everybody is the amaii, homely,
unheroic duty, which is so unbrautiful
we will not sec it. nnd has so little
grandeup with which to inve-st us irh< n
wo have p'r.'oriucd it. Who of u*<*rrs
to be seen assisting an old woman with
an oicrburd n of unwashed rlotln *. or
a blind man groping behind a wheel
barrow. Too h ar of ridicule is stronger
than the rr ed of ages.— Detroit Free
/Vtu.
*— •
lite Hones of the Irhh Peasants
It may bo well to give you a descrip
tion of the in'.eriorcf *nm°of the dons,
misnamed cot*. In which tlsr peasantry
of Galway nnd Mayo counties live*,
writes Edward Kmg from Dublin to the
Boston Journoi. They are merely stone
sh Iters; they are r.ot provided with
any facilities fe r drainage, • nd are often
incomparably filthy. The floo.s are of
hard mud; it is rare to find more than
one room in a hut, and only one story.
Hods nnd l>edding are luxuries which
the poorer tenants do not possess; old
heaps of hay and straw are the couches
on which the lovely brown eyed maid
ens of Contiaught repose. Tin smoke
fre>m a peat fire in a common peasant's
cabin spreads through the room, and you
narrowly escape strangulation on your
first visit. I have had this experience
in Herzegovina, and consequently
minded the smoke but little. How
family decencv is maintained in these
dens is a mystery, nnd how tho people
manage to keep clean—for they look
clean—is a puzzle.
'lhe pigs run in and out of the doors—
nnd surh wrctefied pigs! A North
Carolina wild hog would lie an aristoerat
beside tbrmt In di sens of these cabins
sick people are to lie found -sick people
dependent either on the charity of their
neighbors or on friends in Amiriea who
send th'm small sums. A gentleman in
Galway told me that the agents of land
lords treated the poorer tenantry ss if
they were animals. He instanced the
case of one agent who, on rent day.
when any tenant was short a half crown
in bis paymenL, would knock the money
off the table on the floor, so as to humili
ate the tenant before his fellows. Up to
a very recent date even the better class
of t<n:ints wouid not have dared to
resent suclt behavior; they were reany
to fnwn before the man who insulted
them. Now the tables are turned nnd
the agent sneaks in and out among the
people, taking twenty-five per cent, less
than the usual rental, if indeed he gets
anything at all, and is glad to gel away
again out of the farming district with
his head still on his shoulders.
A meteoiological station is to be es
tablish'd on the celebrated Scottish
mountain. Hen Nevis,
I'OITLAK SLIKNCK.
The fuel ol tlio living body ! fool
It is known as a fact in p i-ology tliat
below the depth of iliirly k-< I ! c i artli
becomes rrgu arly warmer : ■■ <• de
scend. On an average tin < r cie In
at tlx* rate of one degree ol K.ihi i heit
for every fifty feet
A journi v across Africa from south to
north is to be undertaken by Dr. Kmii
Ifoiub, of Prague, under the auspices of
the Vienna Geographical society. He
liinks lie can traverse the continetnt
lengthwise in three years.
One of the most delicate instruments
known to science is Edison's tasimeter
or heat measure. The rapid of
the hnnd before it. at a distance of tlilr- I
ty-four feet, causes n deflection of tie
needle of two liundred degrees.
In his n< w scientific treatise on islar.el
life Mr. Alfred H. Wallace, the eminent
English naturalist, estimates the period
embracing the formation of all the
fossil-bearing rocks, since the Cambrian,
at tw< nty eight millions of yenrs.
Another unsuspcc cd k dangrr growing
out of the inlirmiliesdf railway employ
ees was suggested at the recent confer
ence of instructors of deaf mutes at
Milan It appears that locomotive en
gineers are peeulia'ly subject to a certain
disease of the ear, liable to affect their
hearing in such away as to imperil the
safety of their trains. Like color-blind
ness, the defect seems to have been
operative long before it was discovered.
Ye Olden Times.
Thirty years ago Michigan people
wen a frank and truthful set. Strang! rs
couid come here and trade horses with
their eyes shut, and breach of promise
ensrs were unknown. Folss meant what
they said, and when they gave their
word stuck to it.
Exactly thirty years ago this month a
widower from New York State appeared
in Lansing on business. Tbat same
business carried hint over to DeWitt,
eight miles away. While en route lie
stopped at a log farmhouse to warm his
cold fingers. He was warmly wel
comed by the pioneer and his wife, both
of whom were well along in years, and
after some general talk, the woman
queried:
"Am I right in thinking you ar a
widower ?"
" Yes."
" Did you come out here to find a
wife?"
" Partly."
" Did anylxxly u 11 you ol our Susie?' 1
" No."
"Well, we've got as bouncing a girl
of twenty-two as y>u eyr-r set eye* on.
Site'* good-lookin.r, h allliy and good
t nip rid, and I think she'll like your
| looks.'
" Where is she P"
"Ovrr in the woods here, chopping
down a coon-trce. Shall 1 blow the
horn for her?"
"No It you'll kfp an ye on my
1 horse I'll find her."
"Well, th n's nothing stuck up or
afl< ct/.d about Susie. She'll say yes or
no as soon as she look* you ovrr. If
yott want btr don't he afraid to say so,'
Tl.c stranger heard the sound of her
ax nnd foi.owed it. He found lerjust
as tfm tree was r<ndy to fall. She was a
.-tout, good-looking girl, swinging the
ax like a man, and in two minutes he had
decided to say:
" Sm-ie, I am a widower from New
Y< rk Slate; I'm thirty-nine years old,
liav- oner! i d, own a g'od farm.and 1
want a wife. Wfil you go back home
with me?"
She leaned on the ax and looked at
him for ha fa minute, and then replied:
"(' i.' s.iy 'or ci rlain. Just wait til)
I get thr e coons < ff my mind."
S'ir s< nt the tree < rattling to earth, and
with Ids h lp killed five coons, which
wf re stowed tway in a hollow.
" Well, what do you say?" he ash'd,
as the last coon stopped kicking.
" I'm your'n!" was the rep y; " and
byMie l mo you get hack from DeWitt
I'll have these pelts off and tacked up
and be rcadv for the preacher!"
He relumed to the house, told the old
! folks that he should bring a preacher
back with him. and at dusk that evi n
tng the twain w< re married. Hardly an
liour hid been waited in courting, nnd
yet he took home or.r of the best girls in
the State of Michigan.— Jitlroxl Free
/Ve*i.
Iffert* or Fright on the Hair.
The (/tu< tie elea Thp Inxtx gave an ac
count lately of a si ngular cn.c uj com
plrte alopecy. A girl, aged seventeen,
who had always erjnjpd liealth had oi.e
day a narrow escape Irom lieing cru-h< d
by a floor giving way beneath her. She
wna very much frightened, ar.d Hie same
night began fo complain of h ad ache
and chills. The next morning she felt
restless, and had itching of the scalp.
During the few following days she
steadily improved, with the exception
of the itching. One day. In combing
her hair, ahe noticed f list it came out in
large quantities. Three days later she
was perfectly bald. Her general health
was good, but her head continued bald,
and wai still so when seen two years
later by the reporter.
A little boy having heard his father
any that a certain neighbor was a fore
handed man, became very anxious to
•rclim; but when the coveted oppor
tunity came, the little fellow, alter look
ing at him carefully, nnd <wfng that he
bad hut one arm,txclaimed in a tone of
hitter disappoint menu "You ain't four
handed a bit. You've only one hand.
What makes ra fib soP " An explana
tion was necessary.
FOR Tlik FAIR HKX.
Whsr* (lrlftm*t,d,
It has often been a subject of won er
ment to us whore our pretty giris got
the notion from of combing tbefr front
hair down over their forehc a, ar.d
cutting off the ends so its U> make the
inch and a half of hair which they k> t >
hanging down marly to their eyebrow
and which is irresistibly associated in
our ruin' 1 with an imperfectly sheared
mule's tail. The mystery we s ved to
our satisfaction last night as we dropped
into Dr. Jackson's. The doctor received
from New Zealand, yesterday, among
quite a variety of ferns and motes, ar.d
other curiosities from that semi-barbar
ous land, the pictures of two M (uri
natives of that country—a boy and a
girl—and the latter had her back hair
looped upon tho top of her head, and
stuck through with white-tipped turkey
feathers, and the front hair was hauled
down in front, the ends mingling with
the eyebrows. Ho it is from the New
Zealand savages, and not from the North
American Indian squaws, ladies, that
we copy the fashion.— Columbia (H. (!.)
Htyistcr.
I*arl Its' I'atfhvi,
The beauties of the court of Louise
the Fifteenth thought they had mode a
notable discovery when they gummed
pieces of biaek taffeta on their cheeks to
heighten the brilliancy of their com
plexions. The ladies in England had
before adopted patches, in quaint
shapes, uof a crescent or coach and
horses. An epigra u was written :
Her p*tch *re of every cut,
For pimple* nnd ior seer*;
Here'* *ll the wandering planet*' mgn*.
And *orne ol the fixed ular* 1
The coach and horse patch was an es
pecial favorite. Anstcy, in his satire,
" The Bath Guide," enumerates " velvet
patches" as among a fine lady's neces
sities; but about the beginning of the
present century they seemed gradually
to go out of fashion in England.
fashion
Linen "bunting." finished with row*
of faggotting, is the new material for
window curtains
street jackets are not bordered
with fur. hut have collar, cuffs and
pocket welts made of it A fur
is thought to detract from the style.
Plnah and brocaded velvet fans come
in dark Oriental colors, or in delicate
evening shades, and are handsomely
mounted with pearl or carved ivory.
Rack basques and colored skirts are
the latest combination.
Big white- buttons on overcoats arc
among the horrors of the winter.
One-half of the lower part of a sleeve
is occasionally covered with a netting of
jet twad* matching a collar and cuff ol
the same material.
Gray silt stockings embroidered in
colors for the house, light tint# for ro
i eeptions, nnd reel stockings or those
matching the- gown for the street, is the
rule in l'aris.
Some ofthe New York girls must look
[like small hussars in their red jackets
braided with gold. Collar, cuffs and
sekel fairly glitter with metal, and the
effect is decidedly military.
Aprons nrc now shirred across their
entire breadth, the fullness between the
drawing threads be ing pressed into knife
plaiting* and turned under at the foot
to give a full, puffed )rx>k.
Cash meres an- prettiest trimmed with
velvets; cloths, as already said, with
velvet or plush, but the prettiest fancy
fabric* for trimming fine woolens are
those of wool brocaded in tiny silk pat
; terns- The style is now more fashion
able tlian I'rktns.
Plaited waist* are again fashionable
and are often made for indoor wear of
material different from the dress. A
flannel blouse of this sort is both com
fortable and economical, inasmuch as it
affords an easy method of utilixing old
skirt*, the bodies to which are worn
out
Indies who are making whole gowns
out of the brocade* now sold at bal
price are informed by Harprr'a Batnr
that the dresses should be very simple
In style, with peasant waists, broad
collars, wide belts with sashes, close
sleeves, and a full round skirt with no
trimmings at the ba -k.
Many of the cloak sleeves are rather
1 short, the lower part being turned back
to the depth of ten inches. This gives
a bright and stylish gffeel, as the linings
vre usually of some gay-colored plush
The lower edge of the mantle not
infrequently is turned up with a band
cf tbe same, and the plush is then intro
duced in the hat trimmings.
Hpun-ailk stockings in solid colors on
antique gold and all the lighter shades
i f sulphur, cameo, salmon, straw and
icmon are among the latest importations
n hosiery. Toere are also handsome
combinations of pale rose and bright
coral, light blue and garnet, dark
myrtle green and carnation, mauve and
cream, and royal purple and very deli
cate lilac.
When a man want* to enlist in the
arm/ ol China his courage is subjected
to a very unusual teat. The recruiting
officer places tbe candidate in a chair
and proceeds to extract a tooth, and the
conduct of the patient under this ordeal
Is said to decide the question as to his
fitness for the military service of the
empire. If he howls and jumps up and
down he is pronounced unfit; but if be
smiles and exhibits generally a feeling
cf satisfaction be secure* a permanent
pln.-e in the ranks.
A Marathon woman has a husband so
sharp tbat ahs uses him to cut beef
wfth.— Marathon ImUpemtmt.
Anrlent Fair* and Wsrksts.
During n recent lecture in New York
on ancient fair* and (msrketi, Chief-
Justice C'jvlei P. Djily siid: Fairs
have -ouie down to ui from a remote
antiq nty, and theirorigin w*i probxbly
Asiat They were found in Mexico
and Peru when those countries wore
tir.il lin >vered by the .Spaniards, and
W'-re ':n iffn in Karopo as early as the
< venth century. From the fourth to the
seventh century Europe wis devastated
by the savage tribes of Asia, and com
mercial intercourse wts almost com
pletely destroyed. At the close of this
warfare, the seeds of a n"w civilization
were sown, and people were again
brought together for mer :ntilo trans
actions, but with great diffleu ty. Tiie
roads were infested with robbers ad'f
merchants were forced to unite and
travel well armed for protection. It is
probable that the great fairs held down
to the sixteenth century had their origin
in this way. M rohants encountered
each other at certain seasons of the year
at central points, and exchanged their
commodities. Another circumstance
fixed the places for these meetings, and
gave rise to small lo:a! fairs. In the
middle ages the devotional feelings of
the people caused them to visit the
shrines of the saints. Pilgrimages wre
made at favorable seasons of tuo year,
and as travel was difH .-ult and danger
ous the pilgrims set out in large num
! bers. With an eye to business they
usuaiiy managed to carry with them
| goods which they knew would i>e in de
mand at the holy pia ; and thus, not
i only indemnified themselves for the ex-
I perse of the pilgrimage but served (Jod
; and turned an honest penny at the same
j time. After the religious ceremony
< ame the iair and the busy scenes of
traffic. The :<ame causes led to the es
i tablishment of local f*irs or markets on
Sundays and holidays in nearly every
town where the church was established.
They were a source of revenue to the
religious houses, a toll being exacted
Irom all merchants who engaged in
! traffic.
There were seven or eight great fairs
■ in Europe, to which all the great mer-
I chants iesorted. They were generally
l held in an open plain, covering a space
of six or seven mLcs If held near a
town ah business was suspended there
during the progress of the fair. The
manner of conducting them was thor
oughly republican, every p rion in
terested having an equal voice in the
govrnnjent A president was elected
and a council of twelve, in whom all
power was lodged. They also had a
. <-ourt, ol twelve persons, and
police to preserve order. The proceed
ings of the court were summary and
without appeal, and execution promptly
followed the sentence. The court settled
all disputes, and theli was punished by
whipping the offender and exposing him,
fastened to an iron chain, that all might
know that he wsts a thief. The fair was
opened and closed by public procama
: tion, and merchants were exempt from
arret in person and property while en
gaged at the fair, and jn going to or re
turning from it. When the fair was
formaiiy opened the spectacle presented
was striking and picturesque. Booths
and tents were spread out in a.l direc
tions, and amusements of all kinds were
liberally provided. Everywhere, as
now. the gambler was to be found, and
the puppet-show divided attention with
the rope-dancers and fortune-tellers.
With the advance of civilization, safety
of travel and the bui.ding of great cities
) —which are, in fact, but fairs, or mar
kets, on a large scale—the necessity for
holding these large fairs disappeared,
and they began to be patronized more
by tbe idle and vicious in search of
amusement than by traffickers in the
I necessities of life.
A Forger's Career.
A Boston Cincinnati Rn
irtrcrsays: Advices jast received here
go to show that tbe fugitive K v. Ezra
U. Winslow, forge, who ran away
from Boston with over sS<*\ooo. is now
| editor ol the Buenos Ay res Herald, in
j South America. The evidence shows
that after the English government re
, fused to surrender him he went to S >uth
America, where he assumed the name
of Lowe and became a great church
member and sgent of the N clonal Bank
Note company, of New York. By
ciedlt he got control of the Buenos
Ay res lit rail and got a fat billet as a
mediator between the Argentine Con
federation and Chili, out of which be
' reaped a good harvest with certain
! banner*.
A short time- since he published a
long obituary of his wife, at present
living in Ibis city, and went into rooorn
ing, but soon after married a sixteen*
year-old girl, the naugbter of a wealthy
larnily in Rumoe Ayrot. Last month
the fact of the existence ol the first wife
reached Burn >S Ayres. and there was
trouble in his new family. He smoothed
matters by claiming that wife No I had
been divorced, when the oontrary is the
fact, and he still continues to "roll la
clover." Invest! gallon here goes to
show that a few weeks since be wrote
to parties here offering to place 915 000
in the hands of wife-No. I if she would
get a divorce from h'm. She U almost
brokrn'hrftted, and a physical wreck,
bat yet is disposed to ooniinoe ber har
den without complaint, although her
fWnda and relatives have advised her
to get a divorce from her notorious
hatband. _________
" I'm drating a concimion," re
marked Aminidab. as he pulled the oat's
tail.—Ad, L. Adams.