SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
<W The mean depth of tho sea is from
four to fire miles.
The average of human life is about
thirty-tliree years.
It rains three times as often in Ire
land as it does in Italy.
A moderate gale travels at tho rate of
sixteen feet in a second.
1 . Venus, Mnrs and Jupiter comparo in
size as a pea, a pin head and an orange.
.The moan height of tho Englishman
' Ais five and a half inches above that of
tho Frenchman.
The amount of common salt in the
sea is estimated to be about live times
the bnlk of the Alps.
A thermometer, plnnged into tho
snow to the depth of four inches, will
mark nine degrees more heat thun at
tho surface.
In ordinary breathing a man's chest '
takes in at one breath abont twenty j
► cubic inches of air, the bulk of a full
sized orange.
If the existing waters of the sea were i
increased but one-fourth it would
drown the earth, with the exception of
some mountain summits.
To estimate the distance of a storm
observe how many seconds elapse be
tween the flash of lightning and the
thunder and multiply them by 1112— j
tho number of feet sound travels in a
second.
Dr. Amott affirms that no ware of the
ocean rises more than ten feet from tho
ordinary sea level, which, with the ten
feet its surface afterward descends, gives
twenty feet for tho whole height.
A French surgeon mitigatos pain by
administrating a series of wave sounds i
to the affected part by means of a tnn- j
ing fork and a sounding board. Neu
ralgia is cured speedily. Tho vibration !
is kept up by an electro-magnet.
A Clergyman's Congregation.
The following anocdoto is related as
having actually occurred not many ;
months ago in a largo northern seaport
eitv in England; and we have no reason !
| to disbelieve it.
It was a Sunday, and it wa.> raining !
as it never does rain but in the vicinity j
n of mercantile shipping on tho first day'
of the week. The docks lioasted a lit- i
tie church or bethel, which hoisted tho
nnion jack every Hnnday morning in :
I token that service would be held there, j
chiefly for sailors. The clergyman who j
officiated weekly at the bethel was rather
later than usual on tho Hnnday morning
in question, owing to tho difficulty he
had in getting a cab, the rain having I
caused those vehicles to l>e in great de
mand. Ho arrived, however, a few min- !
Utes l>eforo eleven, and hurriedly bid
ding the driver wait for him til! service
shonld l>o over, he entered the sacred !
w edifice—to find himself alone there. 1
Possibly seafaring people are not more
prone to ehnrch-going in wet weather
than their fellow-sinners who live
ashore; anyhow, every seat was vacant.
The clergyman was a zealous man, so he
resolved to wait a quarter of an hour, on
the chance of some waif or stray turn- I
ing up. His patience was not unre
warded; for after the lapse of a few
minntes one very wet man came slowly
in, and seated himself with some hesi
tation on one of the back benches.
Even he, probably, had only put into
that haven nnder stress of bad weather
outside, all the public houses and other
congenial places of shelter being closed
. Now, onr parson was not only a zealous
\ bnt a conscientious man—not always the
rk same thing—and he resolved that had ho
I bnt one solitary nuit instead of a con
gregation, he would pursue the service
in foil to the bitter end for that nnit's
benefit—at least, as long as the nnit
would bear it— and he proceeded to do
so, and accomplished it. At the end of
the liturgy, touched probably by tho
patient endurance of his auditor, he
condescended to address him personally,
telling him that sinco the inclemency
of the weather -wo are not in receipt of
information on that point, bnt wc feel
< sure be said inclemency—had prevented
the usnal attendance at the chnrch he
would forego the sermon he had pre
/ pared, and would content himself with
making a "few remarks." This, however,
his hearer begged him not to do, and
expressed a great desire to hear the ser
mon; ao, pleased with this evideneo of
intelligence among tho lower orders,
and gratified by the effect his eloquence
was producing, he took the victim at
his word, and let him have it. The text
duly chosen, blossomed into firstly,
secondly, thirdly, fourthly and lastly.
"Hi conclusion" was followed by "one
word more," and still the nnit sat on
B undismayed.
After it was all over the preacher
I g came down and shook bands with him,
thanking him warmly for his attention,
his gratification being somewhat dimin
ished when he discovered the enrap
tured listener to be his cabman, the
sum total of whose "half a crown an
hour (or waiting" had lieen materially
augmented by the length of the worthy
divine's discourse.— Chambtnf Journal
The good tilings of not to be
had singly, but cooks-do us wi ha mix
ture ; like a nehoplboy> Holiday, with a
task affixed to the tail of tt
I'EAItbM OF THOUGHT.
They talk most who havo tho least to
say.
No one loves to tell of scandal except
to him who loves to hear it.
Noxt to love, sympathy is the divinest
passion of tho human heart.
A man of integrity will never listen
to any reason against conscience.
Sometimes a noble failure serves the
world ns faithfully as a distinguished
success.
So long as wc stand boggling at ini
aginary evils let us never blame a horse
for starting at a shadow.
A man must reap as he sows. In a
broken natural law thero is, as Shakes
peare suggests, " no more mercy than
there is milk in a malo tiger."
Wo do not like our friends the worse
becauso they somotimes give us an oj>-
portunity to rail at thorn heartily. Their
faults reconcile us to their virtues. '
You have probably observed that the
most difficult persons to got along
with are those who are always perfectly
sure that they are in tho right and
equally sure that you are in the wrong
particularly, asisofton the case, when
yon know you are in the right.
Let no one suppose that by acting u
good part through life lie will escape j
scandal. There will be those even who
will hate them for the very qualities j
that ought to procure esteem. There j
are folks in tho world who aro not J
willing that others should bo better j
than themselves.
What greater thing is thoro for two
human souls than to feel that they aro i
joined in life—to strengthen each other !
in all labor, to rest on each other in nil
sorrow, to minister to each other in all
pain, to be one with each other in silent, I
unspeakable m- morics at the last part- i
ing.
When yon have learned how to live !
well, you will know bow to die well.
Be not sorry if men do not know yon, i
but be sorry if you are ignorant of men.
Not to correct our faults is to commit
new ones.
Banishment by the Cangue in China.
This cangne is the main prop of the
Mongolian order—the stocks, pillorv j
and penitential cell of Kathav. It is
merely a cage of crossbars, which are 1
sometimes of iron, sometimes of heavy j
timber. The prisoner's body is inclosed
in this cige, which reaches from his ;
knees to his neck; his head and limbs
are alone free, his bands being-trapped j
to a bar. Now it is manifest that a
criminal thus occontered must be a prop
and support of bis own portable jail.
A captive of Atlas, he carries abont bis
own dungeon, and he cannot lie down
to rest, bnt must pass whole days and
nights on his feet, the poles attached to
the cangne preventing him from lying
down, while to the framework is fixed
a placard inscribed with tho wretch's
name, offense and sentence. A cangne
may weigh HX) ponnds, or only twenty,
bnt in any case it is a dreadful punish
ment, kept on as it is for periods vary
ing from six hours to six weeks. Imag
ine days and nights of cramps and
sleeplessness, the haraas-ng stings of
mosqnitoes and other f -rmenting in
sects worrying tho nal d skin, and no
hand to hrnsh them away; the scorch
ing sun, and no screen; the chilly night,
and no covering; weariness, dizzy
brains, limbs nuked for dire fatigue,
fever, delirium, the pressure of the
hard yoke on the galled shoulders, the '
strangling collar, tho agony of long
want of sleep, the thirst, the shame!
Men often go mad in tho canguo, it is
said; they fall asleep on their feet, like
horses, from sheer exhaustion; they
perish, and are fonnd dead in their
cages, liko so many neglected wild
beasts in captivity. But tho canguo is
a favorite pnnishment among tho judges.
All lli* Koir Rwintt.
Fillnl Love,
There is not on earth a more lovely
j sight than tho unwearied care and at
| tention of children to their parents,
| Where filial love is found in tho heart
i we will answer for all tho other virtnes.
j No jonng man or woman will turn out
| basely, wo sincerely believe, who has
patents respected and beloved. A
| child, affectionate and dntifnl, will
never bring the gray hairs of its parents
to the grave. The wreto/who breaks
forth from wholesome ret iraint, and
disregards the laws of his conntry, must
i have first disoliered his parents, show
, ing neither lovo nor respect for them.
' It is seldom the ease that a dutiful son
I is fonnd in the ranks of vice among the
wretched and degraded. Filial love will
' keep men from sin and crime. There
, never will come a time while jonr
parents live when yon will not lie under
i obligations to them. The older they
grow the more need will there be for
l yonr assiduous care and attention to
their wants. The venerable brow and
frosty hair speak loudly to the love and
comi>asflion of the child. If sickness
and infirmity make them at times fret
ful, bear with them patiently, not for
getting that time ere long may bring
you to noed the same attention. Filial
love will never go unrewarded.—Ami
ihyU.
tSikrlHif*' 4 '
A MONNTKK OF THE HFA.
Harass Ores lures ihst Ida* irom the Hoi
10m oflbeHcs Onl> when The* urn Slullln
iril— Inlerrsllns lufuriimllon About Tb>-ui,
A Gloucester (Moss.) fisherman said
to a Now York reporter while examining
a squid at a ltockaway museum :
"I'vo boon round tho world, seen
sharks, whales nnd big snakes, hut a big
squid when lio's cornered is übont tho
worst-looking creatnro you want to sen.
Generally their body is about ten feet
long, lookH like a gruyish-whito hag,
with a tail like a big arrowhead. Tho
head is small, bnt tho eyes are about as
big as a largo saucor or plate, and black
and staring. When you catch a glimpso
of thom eyeing you out from among
their arms, I tell you it makes a man
wish 110 hadn't conic. Tho arms, ten of
them, branch from tho head, eight short
ones about lifteon feet, and two long
ones from thirty to forty, depending, of
course, upon tho size of the squid.
Light of them are lined with suckers,
each ono ranging in size from a ten
cent piece up to a half-dollar. They
aro like so many air pumps. In each
ono is a ring of bono with edges like a
saw. These are pressed into you, and
the air is sucked out, which, of course,
forces the tooth of the saw in, und you
can imagine the offe •: f 1 nndrods ol '
these flying around und sml -ng nu all
sides. The long arms only have their
suckers confined to the ends, which are i
flattened out. Between nil these arms \
is the month, which has two beaks just
like a parrot's, only larger, and tho upper
ono sets into the under so they can nip !
a piece out of au oar blad" as out* u*< to
say the word.
"Do they swim? Yen, and backward, !
too, draggi' c the arms after them and
going like lightning. Homctimes they
jump right out of water r.ud come down
as slick an s flying fish. Tho first ono I
I over tackled was just alsive Trinity
bay, Newfoundland. Wesa v something
in near shore, and a couple of us jumped
jnto a dory and pulled ov. rto it. When
we got near a big wa o teased us right
on tjp of it, ami the first thing I knew
I g>t a shot of water and ink (yon i
know they spurt ink troni an ink bag;
fair in the face, and by the time I wipes 1
it off tho squid was half aboard us. It
thing five of its arms over, and one
struck my mate on his bare arm and
nearly hauled him over. I grabbed the
ax and managed to cut two of the
arms, when another got round my leg,
and hauled mo off my feet; down I went
into the boat, ari l I believe that's the
only thing that saved us, as my hand
landed on a big boat book. I lay on
my back, tho boat half full of water, j
and jammed that hook right through
the ugly creature's eyes, and, as my
mate had put an oar through it, it
slipped into the water. All this time,
mind yon, it was fuming and spurting
water and ink; hut it was only about
half a fathom of water, and I stuck the
boat hook in it again. After we had
hailed out the boat we made the squid
fast by the painter, towed it a)>oard and
cut it up for bait, after we had meas
ured it. From the tip of tho long arms
to tho end of the tail the line gave
fifty-one and a half feet. We packed
it in a tub that was mad" to hold ex
actly 900 pounds of coil, and it filled it.
I wouldn't tackle one again like it for
tho proceeds of a whole season.
" Why, everywhere a sucker had
struck my mate's arm it looked a?
though a red-hot iron had l>een pressed
on and sunk in, and whom they had
been torn away tho flesh had gone, too.
He was laid up a month. I had a heavy
pair of boots on, and the leather showed
the marks, as if they had been cut with
a penknife.
" Yes" (in answer to a question)
"most all the Gloucester men can tell
big stories about squids. Captain Col
lins, now one of the United States fish
commission, used to run the schooner
Howard, and they caught five in one
day, averaging from thirty-five to forty- j
j live feet on nti estimate, and weighing
abont a thousand pounds apiece. Home ,
difference l>ctwecn them and this men- j
I stor, that we are money out on."
; This account was not exaggerated, as
uny one may prove by paying a visit to :
the zoological museum of Y'ale college, '
whero Professor Verrill has the finest
; collection of theso creatures in this or
any country, A few years ago they
were not believed in, and the Strang."
tales of Hugo were the only hints of
their existence; hut ono was washed
ashore on tho Newfoundland coast, and
fortunately fell into tho hands of tho
Hov. Dr. Harvey, who sent part of it to
the Hmithsonian institute, and thus
their existence became assured and
credited by many who some years l>aok
classed them with the sea-serpent.
At certain seasons they are mere fre
quent than oll'crs, and as they Jam only
found or seen when mutilated, living at
; other times in the deep sea, it is sup
posed that they become injured in the
breeding season; or perhaps at certain
times paraitic animals are more fre
quent. 1H75 was a season extremely
notable in this respect, and
were seen floating on tho surface, food
for birds, or partly dead and mutilated.
Others were found along tho coast
washed among tho breakers, where they
swung, hanging by their two long ten
tacles, which wera fastened to the
rocks, answering the purpose of cables
to the living ship on a lea shore.
A famous place for them seems to be
tho Flemish (lap, a bank to tho north
cast of the Grand Hanks. Portions of
those monsters have been found in
wholes, that indicated animals nearly
one hundred feet long and twenty-live
hundred pounds in weight. These ani
mals are not new to the geologist.
Their fossil beaks and ink bags are fre
quently found in tho strata of the recent
formations, tho ink being so well pre
served that it was formerly used as the
sopia of commerce, and a writer has
penned u history of living squids with
tho ink of one that perished tens of
thousands of years in the past. F.arlicr
forms of tho squid appeared in shells,
and those fossil coverings are frequently
found almost as large as a cart wheel,
while some of the straight shelled vari
eties reached a length of fifteen feet
and, according to some authorities,
thirty feet. Imagine a shell thirty feet
in length propelled like a battering rarn
through the water, waving its snake like
arms; a fitting forefather of the gifht
squid of to-day, the architenthis of the
scientific world.
A Trip Around the World.
Cyrus W. Field gives the outline map
of his journey around the world: New
port to Han Francisco; to Yokohama,
<>B,ooo inhabitants; 2* miles by rail to
I okio, 1,000,000 inhabitants; back to
Yokohama; 400 miles by steamer to
Kobe, *,<K>o inhabitants; 22 miles by
rail to Osaka, 500,000 inhabitants, and
by the most beautiful inland sea to Na
gasika, 70,000 inhabitants. Then leav
ing Japan by steamer, across the Yellow
sea to Shanghai, 250,000 inhabitants; by
steamer on tho China sea to Hong
Kong, 125,000 inhabitants, and bv river
7*> miles to Cant >n. Then leaving
China by steamer on the China sea to
Saigor, HO,OOO inhabitant-, to Cochin
China. Then by steamer on the same
sea to Singapore, 100,000 inhabitants,
and by steamer tlirongh the Straits of
Malacca to Penang, 00,000 inhabitants,
both cities of the Malar peninsula.
Then up the May of Bengal to Maui
main, 55,000 inhabitants, by the same
bay to Uancoon, >*o,ooo inhabitants.
Then leaving British Murmah by
steamer across the May of Bengal to In
dia, landing at Calcutta, Wo,ooo inhab
itants. Then "'.O miles by rail to Be
nares. 175,00(1 inhabitants, by rail 350
mil's to Agra, 150,000 inhabitants; by
rail 115 miles to Delhi, 155,000 inhab
itants; by rail *OO miles to Allahabad,
105,000 inhabitants, and by rail 000
miles to Botnlmy, 050,000 inhabitants.
Then across the Arabian sea, l,*ou
miles to Arabia, landing at Aden, 5,000
inhabitants. Then 1,600 miles through
the lied sea to l'.gjpt, landing at Suez,
15,000 inhabitants; by rail *f miles to
Cairo, ,'150,000 inhabitants, and by rail
112 miles to Alexandria, 100,000 inhab
itants. From Alexandria to Italy, sail
ing about 1,500 miles aeross the
terranean to Naples, 450,000 inhabi
tants; then to Marseilles, 520,000 in
habitants; then along the French coast
by rail 20 miles lieyond Nice to Men
tone, famous as a sanitary resort From
Men tone to Paris, to Ijondon, to Liver
pool, down the Irish channel to (Queens
town, and then to New York, having
gene zigzag enough to make a journey
of nearly 50,000 statnto miles.
Noblemen as Walters.
A story is afloat to the effect that a
foreign authoress who went to Del
monico's uptown restaurant to dine
found that ' he waiter who came forward
to wait on her was her brother. The
item was shown to the manager at Dol
monico's, and he was asked if there was
any truth in it. He shook his head and
smiled.
" Kvery now and then," he said,
" some story of the kind is set afloat.
Generally, however, it is about a waiter
who is a nobleman."
"Is it not a fact that occasionally
yon have a nobleman among you?"
"It is not at all unlikely. There are
plenty of noblemen abroad who are very
poor, and are sometimes hard put to it
for a good meal. In such cases they
often drop their titles. If they come
to this country why should they not
work at waiting as well as any other
business? Then there are fast young
noblemen who run tbrongh their means
and emigrate. They have not been
brought up to any business ; they are
unacquainted with the ways of Aroer '•
can life, but they know abont table
service, and a job as waiter is the thing
they are best qualified for. Noblemen
1 are not scarce in the old world. In
<lermany the title goes to all of tho
sons of a nobleman. I have no doubt
there are noblemen jerking beer in the
Bowery. We have had noblemen oc
casionally among our corps of waiters.
There is nothing surprising in it. We
see men - merchants, brokers, etc., who
make a great deal of money. They live
fast, spend freely and make a big figure
in the world for a time, and then comes
a smash and they disappear. Perhaps
we may afterward hear of them working
|in a mine or herding cattle on the
I plains. There is nothing to surprise
' auy Vtne in finding that the waiter who
I takea your order is a baron or a oount."
I —Xtrm )^p rk Sun.
\
The hereon of the Mississippi.
In Louisiana the levee system in of
comparative antiquity, having had its
beginning in the earlier years of the
eighteenth century, and the embank
ment long ago came under the juris
diction of local and Htato government
and assumed the dignity of public
works. In Mississippi and Arkansas,
however, the reclamation of the swamp
was an enterprise of much more modern
date, having its origin almost within
memory of jK-rsons now living, and at
first—and, indeed, for a long time—it
wan exploited solely by individual ef
fort.
The earlier settlements in the river
between Memphis and Vicksbnrg—gen
erally wood-yards with small appurten
ant corn-fields—were mode upon un
usually high spots, which, although
really formed by antecedent inundation,
obtained, absurdly enough, the reputa
tion of being " above overflow," because,
for a number of years, they had not
been actually submerged. They were
prized accordingly, and the corn-fields
of the woodchopjters were gradually
transformed into cotton plantations, at
first, of course, of very limited dimen
sions. Similar elevated spots were
sought and subjected to culture, and
before any leveeing operations had
been attempted the river on both sides
was dotted with settlements of pioneer
planters, who sought to utilize the fer
tile soil by cultivation.
A very few years, however, sufficed to
demonstrate the fallacy of the "above
overflow" pretension ; the planter's
mind relinquished the delusion that
land should be high—it was sufficient
tliat it should be dry—and tho pro
prietors deemed it expedient to fortifv
against their common enemy. The
water-marks left by the flood upon trees,
stumps and fences were as plain as
paint; these indicated the level of the
water and supplied the want of engineer
ing science. A mule-shift levee of
primitive stylo wun constructed very
near the river bunk, ls-cause less Land
was thereby thrown out, and because
the ground is always highest upon the
margin of the river, sloping thence in
land. As the plantations increased in
number and approximated each other,
the principle of co-operation appeared;
levees were built across unoccupied lands
until there were disconnected strings
ten, twelve or fifteen miles long. The
c nstruetion of these was fur from satis
factory. The operatives were generally
the plantation negroes. At that tune
the Irish ditchers and levee-builders
had scarcely made their appearance in
tie country. The colored people art
no'. usually distinguished for their skill
in the uso of the spade, and cannot at
all compete with tho Hibernian. Some
years there was high water, carrying
dismay to the planter's heart; some
years there was low water, inspiring
confidence and security; occasionallv
there n, water" at all—the river
did not of its banks, and was
therefore held in contempt. In lhlt,
however, the Mississippi, having ap|r
ently lost all patience with this persist
ent intrusion ujion its domains, " spread
itself," to use a vulgarism singularly de
scriptive of the ojcration, and treated
its unbidden guests to a first class " big
overflow," the like of which had not
been seen since IN2H. The river rose
early and went down late ; it overflowed
the whole country, and filled up the
entire swamp; ruined all the levees,
great and small; remained at or near
high-water mark week aftei week and
month after month until late in July,
and did not finally retire within its
I tanks until nearly the middle of August.
William /,. Murfrtt, Sr., in Scribnrr.
Abusing Newspapers,
Home people think that they are very
smart when they abuse a newspaper or
an editor. They forget that m&uy
papers have profited by becoming the
objects of these attacks, and that some
editors liave thriven on being assaulted.
Aside from this consideration, it aliould
lie rememliered that an editor is often
obliged to occupy a very dclictte posi
tion. His sense of right will sometimes
cause him to attack or defend a nan, a
business, a class or a cause at a risk of
making enemies of others, only to find
those in whose interests he had laliored
display ingratitude. Of course no level
headed editor expects to find much
gratitude or charity. He must gener
ally be content with the approval of his
own conscience, and pnraue the course
he believes to be right, regardless of
either frowns or smiles, supported by
his conscious rectitude. It will all
come right in the end. It is hard to be
misunderstood, and to find those to
whose support you have earned a right
desert you to meet alone the attacks of
those whom yon have incensed in pur
suing the course yon were convinced
was right, lint you will thereby learn a
lesson of self-reliance, and form a habit
of judging entirely for yourself that will
be invaluable. You will be able to tell
the truth, however distasteful, and re
fuse to utter a falsehood, no matter how
mnch pleasanter it may promise to make
thinga go.— Neri<i*n HttmnUtr.
Home one has formed 1,061 Kngliah
words of not leaa than four letters from
the letters in the word " regulation*."
Origin of the Railroad Hell-Rope.
In the early days of the railroad in
this country the locomotive engineer
wu * the master of the train. He ran it
according to hi* judgment, and the con
ductor had very little voice in the mat
ter. Collecting fares, superintending
the loading and unloading of freight,
and ahonting "All aboa-d!" were all
that the condnctor win cipectod to do.
The Erie railway wax then the New
York and Erie railroad. There wax no
ruilroad connection with Jersey City in
1K42. Boate carried passengers from
New York to Piermont-on -the-Hudson,
which was then the eastern terminua of
the road. Turner s, forty-seven miles
from New York, wax ax far west ax the
railroad wax in operation. One of the
pioneer conductors of this line was the
late Captain Ayres. He ran the only
train then called for between the two
terminal jxiints. It was made up of
freight and passenger cars The idea
of the engineer, without any knowledge
! of what was going on back of the loco
| motive, having his way as how the train
j *a to IK; run, did not strike the cap
tain as being according to the propriety
|of things. He frequently encountered
1 a fractious passenger who insisted on
riding without jmying his fare. As
there was no way of signaling the en
gineer. and the passenger could not be
thrown from the train while it was in
motion, the conductor in such cases had
j no choice but to let him ride until a
! regular stop was made. Captain Ayr**
finally determined to institute a new
system in the running of trains. He
procured a stout twine, sufficiently
long to reach from the locomotive
to the rear car. To the end of
this string next the engineer he fastened
a stick of wood. He ran this cord track
over the cars to the last one. He in
formed the engineer, who was a (in
! man, named Abe Hammel. that if he
desired to have the train stopped he
would pull the string and raise the
stick, and would expect the signal to I*>
olreyed. Ham mi I looked upon this in
novation ax a direct blow at liis au
thority, and when the train left I'ier
inont he cut the stick loose. At Tur
ner's he told Captain Ayres that he pro
posed to run the train himself, without
interference* from any conductor. The
next day the captain rigged up his
string and stick of wood again.
"Abe," said lie, "this thing's got to
t>c settled one way or the other to-day.
If that stick of wood is not on the end
of this cord when we get to Turner's
you've got to lick me or I'll lick you."
The stick was not on the string when
the train reached Turner's. The cap
tain pulled off his coat, and told Uammil
to get off his engine. Hsmmil declined
to get off. Captain Ayrea climlied to
the engineer's place. Hammil started
to jump off on the opposite side. The
conductor hit him under the ear, and
aaved him the trouble of jumping. That
settled forever the question of authority
on railroad trains. Hammil abdicated
as autocrat of the pioneer Erie train,
and the twine and stick of wood manip
ulated by the conductor, controlled its
management. Tuat was the origin of
the belt rope, now one of the most Im
lortant attachments of railroad trains.
The idea was quickly adopted by the
few roads then in operation, and the
liell or gong in time took the
place of the stick of wood to signal the
engineer. Captain Ayres continued a
conductor on this road under its differ
ent managers until he w\x superannu
ated and retired on a pension a year ago.
He died a few months ago iu
Y , at the age of seventy-eight years.
The Te "lible Tragedy.
The thick thunder threatened torrents;
1 the tempest tossed the trees, throwing
their trembling trunkleta topsy-turvy.
Tripping toward the town, Theresa
thought: "To-night Theodore treads
the tiresome thoroughfare, thinking
• things that—"
Thud!
The terrified truant turns to trace the
threatening turmoil. There, toward the
j toll-gate, tramped Theodore, trying to
throttle two thieves.
"Take to the timber, The -e.se!"
thundered Theodore.
"Tell that to timid things," thought
Theresa, treading tiger-like, tip-toe
toward the trio. Then, telling Theo
dore to throw the taller Ihief, Theresa,
taking' t'other'* toga, tied through the
thickness the thief* throat.
Thus terminated the terrible trouble
that threatened the twain. They turned
j triumphantly to town, there to tell the
1 tale. To morrow ties them together
The Bean's Thanks.
Some accidents seem to have hap
i pened on purpose, so pat are they. For
I instance :
A certain Dean of Ely was once at
! a dinner, when just as the cloth was re
moved, the subject of discourse hap
pened to le that of extraordinary mor
tality among lawyers.
"We have lost," said a gentle man,
" not leva than seven eminent barristers
in as many months.'' The dean, who
was very deaf, rose just at the conclu
sion of these remarks and gave the
company grace:
"For this and every other mercy,
make ns devoutly thankful.