Wtant 111 Wealth and glory and place and power— What are they worth to ino or yo-iT For tho leiuie of lUe runa out in an hour, And death stands ready to claim his due. Bounding honor*, or heap* ol gold— What arc they all whon all la told? A pain or a pleaanre, a anulo or u tear— What doOa it uufttor which wo claim? For wo atrp from tho ciadlo into the bier, And a caioloaa world gooa on tb anino. Hoars ol gladnees, or hour* of sorrow— What will it matter to ua to-morrow? Troth ot love, or vow ot friend, Tender caresses, or orael sneers— What do they matter to us in the cud? For the brie! day dies, and the long night nears. I'aHsionate kisses, or (cars ol gall— The grave will open and cover them all. Homeless vagrant, or honored guest, Poor and bumble, or rich and great, All are racked with the world's unreet, All must meet with the common late. Lite Irom childhood till we are old— What is all when all is told? Ella Whttltr. A TERRIBLE ADVENTURE. In tLb spring of 1876 Mexico tvus in a tumult. Lor Jo, the chief justice, suc ceeding to '' presidency at the death of Juan z, and afterward elected for a sec ond term, announced himself as a can didate for the third. His political I opponents, enraged at the thought of a third term, uprose in all directions and declared for Diaz. In March of this year only the rumblings of the rebellion were heard, but society was daily lie coming more and more disturbed. Armed men were everywhere about, and many bands oi lawless ruffians were scouring the outskirts of the cities nnd towns, slealing from the farmers, and leaving behind them desolation and despair—truly a peculiarly dangerous and unfortunate time for a foreigner to set out on a journey. On a lovely morning in early March a young American gentleman left the town of Matanzas to travel to Jalapa. The narrow road at first winds up the aide of the mountain, turning sharply around sudden bends, where a single misstep of the horse or mule would hurl the rider far down into the valley below. It is as if the great mountain had been hollowed out, and the jagged sides left standing vlth a rude path trending from the base to the summit. The American was accompanied by six na tive horsemen mounted on mustangs similar to his own. and four footmm, The whole party were armed. After passing at < uthalf way up the mo n sin side the traveler halted, and moti >::rr. to his followers to do the same. For n long lime he sat motionless in liis saddle gazing out at the exquisite picture be fore him. In the distance, far below, lay the wonderful valley of Matanzas, the " Harden of Mexico." The rich, j-.xceasivc vegetation could be disrernt-d, and a few light, and graceful clouds hung drifted against tho tower ing rocks. The beams of the lately risen sun were pouring over the hill tops a d illuminating the vast plain braeatl with a frcsli nnd rosy light. lie tnus hi-ve been indeed a prosaic and nr.i.p: -eciative man who would pass carelessly by such a wonder-work of nature. His reverie was suddenly broken by a shunt from above. Looking up he saw a single horseman picxing bis way care fully toward him. He was soon recog nized by the men as a resident of Mat anxas. When he drew near he spoke rapidly and excitedly to the escort in their peculiar patois, gesticulating vio lently ail the while. The effect was immediate and start ling. The entire body of native horse men, with one exception, and all the footmen, turned sharply around and msde their way rapidly down the moun tainside, without a word of explanation or farewell to their employer. The only one who remained was Filomeno, who had been sent by bis master, a friend of ( the traveler, to set mpany him to Ja lapa, and who understood English after a fashion. He sat motionless in his sad dle, gating after his eoantrymcn, now fast disappearing around the curves of the rat. way. " What's the matter, Filomeno?" ask ed the American at length, rising in his saddle as he spoke, and shading his eyes with his band, as be looked alter the deserters, " what did that fellow say that has made all this fuss?" "He said," replied the Mexican slow ly, " that revolution has already broken oat at Jalapa; tbal tbe terrible soldiers of the plains are before us, and that if yon proceed yon will be surronnded and killed." " Stuff," said the American," " I am not afraid. Filomeno, let as go on." And, as bespoke, he tightened his hoi on his horse's rein, and was about to proceed, when he saw that Filomeno hA not stirred. "Come, Filomeno," said he, "time is slipping by and we must be off. Barely you are not afraid to accompany me f "Nomatter." answered tnc Mexican, " but I cannot go as 1 am. AH these robbers know Filomeno. and would give a good price for my head. If Igo with you I must go disguised. Wait;" and, turning sionnd, he scrambled lightly and qu only tack Irom the road toward a little hut near by, whence a thin wreath of smoke was curling laaiiy up through the ciear nmrning air. He was gone scarcely fifteen minnloa, and when lie again drew near th American hardly knew liim. Filomeno had disappeared unuer tlic guise of a cfinrcoal-burner. "Now I am ready; I have left my horse whero it will be taken care of," ho said, and now on foot he fell into his old placo close behind tho American's mustang. And so they journeyed on, up into the clouds and then down again, over the rich breasts of valleys which are only found in the tropics, and along the tracks of old watercourses, and through brooks and little rivers of a peculiar greenish hue. Around them was nature in all her wasteful luxuriance, but no sign of anything human to help or hinder Ihetu That night they encamped in a small valley, and resumed their journey at daybieak. At eleven o'clock on the morning of this day they were drawing near Jalapa. The bun was beating down out of a cloudless sky; tho heat was in tense; and a deep stillness seemed to have settled over the great plain. He fore them was the valley of Jalapa; on the right the volcano of Orizaba, its cone white with snow and ice, its sides covered with that luxuriance of foliage oniy known where eternal summer reigns. The American, too tired even to notice this, was nodding in his saddle, and for a long time had not spoken to his com panion. Ho was aroused by a low cry from Filomeno. Turing toward him and following the dirrection of his eyes, lie saw a large body of horsemen gallop ing tow ind iiim. He could sec at once that they were not regular soldiers. They advanced in confusion, and no two men teemed dressed alike. It was a squad of the dreaded guerrillas on a foraging expedition. With a terrible feeling of despair tiie American again looked around for Fiiomeno. lie had fled. Tho American was alone, with 100 wild anil lawless Mexican robbers bearing down on him, like a tusliing wind across a placid inke. In a moment, as it seemed, they were i upon him and around him. Resistance w;\s useless. A score of pistols pointed at him, a score of swards were raised above Lis head, and n score of longsticks with knives on theends, ca,.ed " malchc zics," were pricking him in ail directions He was pulled ofl his horse in a twink ling, s.ripped naked in the midst of a dense circle of howling savages, who were cursing and fighting for his vari ous articles of dres. At length Lis clothing, arms and valuables were divided. The leader of the hand, with the American's watch dangling from liis belt, shouted out an order to his men. The troopers armed with ' match-zies" rode up to the prisoner and commanded him to walk before them. " You Ameri can dog,' they exclaimed in Bparisb, "you dog of a spy.be off to Jalapa. W hen we get you there we'll teach you to sneak around our lines. March P And in order to add emphasis to their words they prodded the prisoner with the points of their "matcbczies" till the blood started from more than one wound on his arm and legs. Angry, faint and sore, and half blinded by the fierce rays of the sun, the American wheeled around and upbraided the leader for tin so in dignitirs, and especially for depriving him of his clothes. In reply one of the soldiers puiied out from under his saddle a piece of coarse and filthy matting, which he carelessly tossed to the pris oner. " Take this," he said; "it is too small for you, but the fleas in it will keep you warm.' 1 And so, wrapping his dirty covering about his shoulders, our countryman started on his painful march to Jalapa. At three o'clock in the afternoon they reached the town. The American was hustled into a wretched adobe but on the outskirts of the village, and the Mexicans, afUr posting a guard around the place, tied their horses under a shed and gave themselves up to rest and bois terous recreation. Inside the hut on a rude bench the American sat silent hour after hour. At length he walked to a little window and begged for water. There was no response. The bare walls only echoed bis cry of "Aqua! aqua!" All the next day, too, the prisoner was kept without food or drink or clothes. At times bis mind wandered a little. At sunset the cool evening air somewhat revived him. He moved his bench under the window of the hut, and stretching himself under it listened carelcaslj to the idle conversation of the soldiers outside. Suddenly his heart gave a terrible throb; a cold perspira tion overwhelmed him, and he fainted. What be had hear was this: The sol • diers were talking about a fair that was to open in Jalapa on the morrow, and they were detailing to a new-comer some of the amusements that had been planned for the occasion. "We ars going to have a shooting match at noon." said one; "we have got nn American spy in that box yonder, and we are going to tie him to a stake and shoot at him with our revolvers. Whoever kills him will get five silver dollsrs. The dog*s hours are num bered ' These were the words which had fallen on tho American like a pall. It was probably much less than a Lour that the prisoner lay insensible. Then he roused himscif and, like the | brave man that he was, looked his doom in the lace. So be was to die, and ; die the death of a miserable cur; be, the inhabitant of a pleasant Northern city, with youth, health, kind friends and fortune. To be tied to a stake in a Mexican market place and shut for a paltry prise. These thoughts wet* maddening. He called fiercely to his captors to liberate him; ho strode fur iously up and down the room; he rushed to the window and rattled tue bars; and finally from sheer exhaustion lie snnk down on the floor in despair. He lay still for a long time. Ho could not mark the hours, hut at length ho knew by the cool wind that crept in through the bars, that day—his last day -was not lar away. Then he heard a cock crow; and then he saw a bright ray of sunlight come flashing into his iiut, and h< was sure that he had but a few hours more to live He made up his mind that he would die bravely. Ho rose to his full height, stretched his limbs, and raised his head proudly. As ho did so he heard the sound of horses galloping toward him. He rushed to the window and looked out. A cavalry officer in a fine uniform, with flashing arms and equipments, and followed by a squ*>d of men, was com ing 3. and is probably remembered by many of the Union soldiers immured within its dreary walls. The elder Libby, who accumulated a large fortune, lived on what was called Church hill, near the famoua St- John's church, in which Patrick Henry delivered (March, 1775) liis celebrated "Give m liberty or give me death' harangue. The hill overlooking (lie James river has been turned into a park sines the war and named Libby Hill park. Libby was not, as is commonly thodght, the first mliitsry prison in Richmond. The first was a large frame atrncture that had been employed to house negroes previous to their aaie. It was in Lumpkin's alley, and got tbe name of Castle Goodwin, but having proved inadequate for its military pur poses the prisoners of war were re moved to the larger structure on tbe dock, which haa just been sold. Not one of the Libby prison officials is now. it iasaid, in Richmond, though a number of men who guarded it are still there. M)\jor Turner, it* commander, was one of the youngett men in the Confederate service. When Virginia had seceded, be left West Point, where he was then a cadet, and went South. Before Rich mond had fallen he fled from the city, believing that he would be elain by the soldiers of tbe victorious army, and afterward went to Mexico, where he entered tbe service of the ill-fated Maximilian. After the execution of the Austrian archduke. Turner fled back to bla native land, studied dentistry in New Orleans and has for some years been practicing bla profession in Mississippi. He could not believe for a long while that bis life would be safe where he was generally known, and it is said that he still thinks he would be killed by some of the quon dam prisoners if he should come North. Libby looks very much as it did during the war, thougli the bars have been removed Irom tbe windows, and tome of tbe inner partitions have been taken down. It is so interesting a relic of history that it should be carefully preserved. AS AKI/OSA WONDKK. A Itrmarh.hle C*e In lha Maul* 1(11* MiiUlui-Th H'ttioiiilm* I'll. Hie Tucson (Arizona) CUiaen any*: For several years the existence of a cu rious cave near Groaterville has hern known to the miners of the vicinity, but the difficulty of thorough exploration lias deterred many from visiting it, and half its wonderful extent is yet un known. From P.J. Coyne, a well known and icliable prospector, who is in the city, in company with Mr. John son, a OiHten reporter (rat tie red some interesting facts regarding the cave, the result of a partial exploration. The cave which is known by the miners as the Aztec, is located about four miles south of the (ireaterviillc placers, in a limestone ridge. Quite recently a party of miners, numbering eight or ten, including Mr. Coyne, determined to discover, it possible, the extent and resources of the cave, and provided thembelvos with ropes, candles and other necessities. They explored sev enteen rooms in all, the corridors and approaches to which extend nearly a mile from the entrance. They ex perienced great difficulty, as their pro gre s was frequently interrupted by abrupt breaks in the plane of the cave at which breaks they rapidly used up their available supply of ropes. The mnn and child, the man being in tbe center, and nl-o having the closest 1 resemblance' to humanity. The head is especially like that of a man. having the features almost distinct, and surmounted by a hat. A short distance away from the group, in the flickering candle light, the ihusion is said to be absolute y pre fect. At this point the rave discloses the strange feature of being two-storied, to reach the lower rooms of which it is necessary to descend by means of ropei. Here the extent of the old explorations cc**c. and the adventurers had to be careful lest some new and strange fea ture of the cave cause them trouble. In one of a group of three lower rooms was found a huge stalagmite, which was instinctively called Pompry's Pillar. It is three feet in diameter as the base, and lessens gracefully in size to the roof of the cave thirty feet high. Tliis is probably fICO feet below the sur face. From the rooms last mentioned a corridor leads to a very large and irregular cavity, and from this small corridors lead to very beautful rooms, which were given the names of different members of the exploring party. The one named for Mr. Coyne is the largest in tbe rave. From what was named "Halo's Koom " the party followed a steeply inclined tunnel, aeventy-flve or eighty feet long, which terminated in a large abyss sixty or seventy feet in diameter. Alter lowering one of the party down the perpendicular sides from the mouth of the tunnel as far as the re maining rope would permit (about seventy feet), and failing to find bot tom, the explorers named it the "Bot tomless Pit,** and returned. Potatoes Preserved. The great drawback in the past in the way of an extended export trade of po tatoes i-oni this country has lain in tbe fact that in ocean voyages the vegetable is susceptible to sweat and rot, and on arrival the losses from this cause are ofwn found to counterbalance the profit made on the intact part of the cargo. This inconvenience seems to he over come by the recent invention of a machine for pressing and preserv ing potatoes in such a manner that they may be dried and kept for a number ol years in any cli mate. It Is said that no oxidation or fermentation takes place in tbe process, and that often tbe potatoes sfter they go through the entire process retain to a great extent their natural taste and original freshness. We understand that shipments of these potatoes made to England recently, more particularly those from California, have commanded earnest attention, and that the demand for them largely exceeds the present supply. It is claimed that in tbe opera* tion of curing no chemicals are needed, everything being done by a simple machine, which is capable of pre serving six hundred bushels of potaUes in twenty-four hours. The machine not only presses tbe potatoes, but lays them on a tray in a concave form with the hollow Bide down. After the pressure they are put into a drying apparatus, where they remain for two hours, then they are ground into ooarse meal i csembllng cracked lies. The first shipment of preserved potatoes to Liver pool brought the handsome sum of 9160 per ton more than ail expense of ship ment. Last year about 'twenty tons were shipped by one San Francieeo merchant which brought forty-five Kngiieb abill age per hundredweight, or at a rate of .ill-60 per bushel for green potatoes. T.iis surely would leave a good margin for cost of preserving and profits.— Botto* Commercial BulUltn. HOME OLD PEOI'LE. Robert Stewart, of Clearfield county l'a., is 100 years ol age, and is still very active. Mrs. Bridget Connelly died in Walt ham, Mass., on Monday, at the alleged age of 108 years. Mrs. Henry Bryan was in her ninetieth year when she died. She went to live in Centerville, Ohio, in IHI3. Joseph Berlin, of Bell township, W est moreland county. Pa., died recently, after he had becomes cenVnarian. The oldest man to speak Irom a politi cal platform in the late campaign was Araoß Perkins, of Unity, N. I!., who is in his ninety-third year. Mrs. Fannie Hill, of Hardin eounty, Ky, is ninety-five years old; and Marcus Crandall, commonly known as the hero of the Algcrine war, is in his ninety fourth year. John Brown, of Brown7ille, Md., is ninety years old, and still holds the post mastership there. He is the oldest oflloe holder in the country. He waaappointed in lb3o, by President Jackson. Shadrach Clay well, a Western pio neer, died at his home in Woodbine, 111,, from a fall from a load of hay. He car ried the first mail between Gahna and Freeport, marking his course with a hatchet. Mrs. Hannah Seivere. of Mount Pleas ant, N. J., has celebrated her ninetieth I birthday. She is the m ither of heavy W' ighls, the lightest ol her children | tipping the scales at 3l'i pounds nr.d the heaviest at Bflo pounds. Aitoona is proud of thirteen of her citizens, w' i.ie sges aggregate I.UB years. On'of them, James Kcwburry, wlio is in his eighty-fifth year, served in the war ol ISI3. in the Mexican war, and throughout the late rebellion. John Kynor was born at Mount Hope, N . J., in sight of the old furnace and foundry in which, during the It v .u --tionary war, cannon and cannon balls w. re made by the Continental srmy. lie died recently at Boon ton, aged ninety-four years. Five generations of the Ixngfeilow fami.y arc living under the same rool at Maloom, lowa. Charles Longfellow has in his familv his mother, aged near ly sixty-nine; his grandmother, aged ninety-three; his own daughter, and her little child of three months. Butter and I hec*e Factories. Few of the modern contrivances for rendering American farming profiub.e arc deserving of more attention and en couragement on the part of our tanners themselves than the establishments for the manufacture of butter ard cbqese on a large scale, which now flourish so extensively in New York, New Jersey. Pennsylvania and Ohio. This business originated in the State of New York, where it has become quite large, and has been the principal cause of building up the dairy interests of that State to such remarkable proportions. Penn sylvania is really one of the very best regions of the country for dairy farm ing, but this particular form of utilising our dairy products was only introduced there long after it had attained great magnitude in New York, and was making rapid headway in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. This btuineei. besides furnishing staple products for the home market adequate to the largest possible demand, ba enabled us to become ex tensive importers of butter and cheese to Great Britain and continental Eu rope. where American cheese has be come a preferred article. Although late in turning her atention to the establish ment of butter and cheese factories, Pennsylvania seeme at last to be going ahead in it laboriously, perseveringlj and with great earnestness, seal and suc cess. Wherever these factories are es tablished they at once furnish rood markets lor milk and cream produced by all the dairies for miles around. UndcT such circumstances there is every possible inducement to undertake such enterprises wherever tbe capital can be raised for the purpose. German town Tcltgraph. " I Knew That.** A London pnper has heard of a case where a dro.l fellow named Scrubbs got into a first-class railway carriage, before smoking carriages were invented. In the carriage was seated a sour-looking old gentleman. After the train had started, Scrubbs took out his pipe. "You mustn't smoke here,"at once said the old gentleman. " I know that," replied Scrubbs. lie then calmly filled his pipe. "Did I not tell you," said the o. g. again, " that you can't smoke here V " I know that," gloomily replied Scrubbs, taking out hie fusee box. He lit a fusee, but now the wroth of tbe o. g. was dreadful. "You shant smoke here, sir!" he ehrieked. " I know that," added Scrubbs, allow ing the fusee to exhaust itself, when he lit another, and another; lbs stench was awful, the smoke suffocating. The o. g.. coughing and splattering, struggled for words. "You'd better smoke," mid he. " I know that," replied Scrubbs, ap plying tbe biasing fusee to tbe expectant pipe- Tbe habit of American girls marrying Italian counts has slackened up a little of late-. The life of following around s hard organ and passing the tambourine for pennies is not sa attractive as for merly. What Will Happen Tbli Year. " To *n et.'l tbe world come In oightMfii hundred *nd eighty-one.' Mother Shipton made some notable prophecies; lor instance, the "Tele graphs," the " flrcat Ironclads," and sundry other thing* equally astonish ing; but search reveals the fact that the above prophecy, alleged to have been made by Mother Shipton, aa well as a certain prophecy about the railways, are spurious and false, and do not appear in any of the editions oelorc Iwu They were then published by a Mr. ilindly, of Brighton, who subsequently acknowl edged the forgeries as is own in "Notes and Queries." It therefore amounts to this, that Mother Shipton never proph esied any such a thing as the world coming to an end in Ibci. and, so far as she is concerned, my readers may not disturb their minds. It cannot, how ever, be denied that 1881 will be a remarkable year, chiefly on account of the great conjunction of S'turn and Jupiter (and the proximity of the sun at the time) in the sign Taurus. Such an event will alter the face of the earth hy the prevalence ol great and continued earth quakes, the uprising of islands, and the subsidence of land already above the s