©he (Centre BELLBPONTE, PA. The Largest, Cheapest and Best Paper PUBLISHED IN CBNTHIC COUNT*. " Just Like Oameron. " Always Getting an Office for Some one. Just around the corner (iu Winches ter, Va.,) is where the dashing Sheri dan had his headquarters, the buildii g now being used for an Episcopal semi nary ; near by stands tho house iu which the Revolutionary General Morgan died in 1802, and" his hotly rests in the citizens' cemetery beneath an unkept mound and a broken slab ; and iu this portion of the town, too, lived Miss Ilebocca Wright, the (Juarker girl, on it Winatlox mruis'• eti by whom Sheridan fought and won the bloody battle of Winchester, Sep tember 151, 1804. Miss Wright's mother kept a boarding bouse in Winchester, and, hearing from rebel officers at her home that Early had dispatched a number of his troops to reinforce Lee in Eastern Virginia, she uotitied Sheridan who was encamped without the town. He acted prompt ly and Early was sent " whirling down the valley. " Sheridan did not forget his fair benefactress, as the following order, which you, Mr. Editor, who were issuing com miss try and a member of his statr at the time, have seen be fore, attests : CAPT. GKIBST : (Jive Miss Wright all the fresh beef she needs. P. 11. Shew DA/, Major General. After the war had ended S.ieridan further expressed bis gratitude by pre senting her with a handsome gold watch. This fact becoming knowu the Wright faniilv were socially ostra cised by the Winchesterians, the'r boarding house tabooed aud their means of livelihood disappeared. M-. Robert J. Houston, of Lancaster, hear ing of Miss Wright's sto-v through a friend, Mr. James N. Van Ormer, who, by the way is a brother-in-law of our Clerk of (Quarter Sessions, Mr. < leorge W. Eaby, laid the matter before Tin ted States Senator Simon Cameron and within four weeks Miss Wright was appointed to a government clerk-hip. General Cameron declared to Mr. Houston that " Sheridan ought to mar ry that girl ami I'll tell him so, too," hut evidently Sheridan or the girl, or both didn't think so, ami not a great while afterwards she became tho wife of a Mr. llonsall from near the Rising Sun, Cecil county, Md., where they lor a time lived. Rut she returned to Washington ami I understand yet holds a position under the government she o signally served. — iAturarh r In teUigeneert m ♦ Painlessness of Death. The Opinion of a Seiertfr Mm. Dr T1 -.ruA I>. 9|*n<*#r, in P * M ntl.lj At birth the babe undergoes an or deal that, were he conscious, would he more trying than the most painful death ; yet he feels it not. Rom in an unconscious state, the brain incapable of receiving conscious impressions, his entrance into his hitherto unknown world is accomplished during a state of oblivion known as Nature's ana -- thesia : "PainlcMl? w# r mr. whnc kn rtol: PainUwsi gw, whtlhtr n* kixw i t From the earliest period of human history death has been considered as necessarily accompanied by pain. So general is this belief that the terms "death-agony," "last struggle," " pangs of death," etc., have been in almost universal use in every age am) under all conditions of society. Nothing could be more erroneous. The truth is, pain and death seldom go together ; we mean the last moments of life. Of course death may he pre ceded by weeks or even months of ex treme suffering, as occurs during cer tain incurable diseases. So exaggerated has been this notion that it has lteen considered an art of humanity to anticipate the " death struggle" by violence. For ages it was customary among the lower classes of Europe to fasten death by suddenly jerking the pillow from beneath the head of the dying, thus throwing the head backward, straining the pharyn geal and thoracic muscles, rendering the respiration, alrendy difficult, short ly impossible. A Venetian amhnssn- | dor, in the time of (jueen Mary, asser ted that it was a common custom among the country people to smother the dying by meaus of a pillow placed over the face, upon which leaned or sat the nearest relative. This was founded upon the pious belief that a short road was the best one. The cus tom was handed down from generation to generation, parents performing it for their children, and nee reran. Rut perhaps the saddest privilege ever al lowed the near friends of a dying man occasionally occurred during the reign of (£uecn Elizabeth, when, through executive clemency in executions by hanging, they were permitted to grasp the teetof the suspended criminal and, by clinging to the extremities, precipi tate their additional weight on the body, thereby hastening strangulation. It is needless totsay that these theories are false in both conception ami prac tice. Death is a physiological process, and, like all other animal functions, should be painless. • AFT KB marriage the question as to who shall be s|eaker of the house is speedily settled. How Long a Man May Live. It was Professor's Hutolnnd's opin ion that the limit of possible human life might he set at two hundred years. This is oil the general principle that the life of a creature is eight times the years of its period of growth. That which is quickly formed quickly perish es, and the earlier complete develop ment is reached the sooner bodily de cay ensues. More women reach old age than men, but more men attain remarkable longevity than women. Some animals grow to he very old. Horned animals live shorter lives than those without horns, fierce long er than timid, and amphibious longer than those which inhabit the air. The voracious pike exist, it is said, to an age of one hundred and fifty years : the turtle is good for a hundred years or more; and among bird-, the golden eagle is known to have lived nearly two hundred years, while the sly aud somber cow reaches the vein rahlc age of a century. Passing up in the scale of life to man, aud skipping the patri arches, we find luatiy recur ed instan ces of longevity among the classic (Ireeks and Romans. Pliny note- that in the reign ot'the Emperor Ve-pasinn, in the year 7<, there m re one hun dred and tweuty-four nun living in the limited area between the Appeni nes and the l'o of 000 humlnd years and upwards, three of whom were one hundred ami thirty-five. ( ieero's wife lived to be the age of one hundred and three, and the Roman actress l.uccja nlayed in public its late as her one hundred and twelfth year. (.01..'tig down to more recent times, the most notable authentic iiis.anee of great age is that of Henry .Iciikius, of 1 Yorkshire, England, who died in l>7o, one hundred in d sixty-nine years o'd. He wxs a fisherman, and at the age ore hundred easily sv ..in rrro s rapid rivers. Another historic e • is tha. of Thomas Parr, of Shropshire, a day laborer, who lived to the age of one i hundred and fifty-two v> ar-. When in >re than one hundred ami tat ntv he married his -eeuud wife, and till one hundred and thirty he could -wing the scythe with hi- fill ..-laborer- In his one hundred and fifty second vear Parr went up i ]>md<>ii to exhibit himself to.the King. It proved an unlucky visit, for violating the abste mious habit of a century and a half, the old mail fen-ted s > tr-e|v on the royal victuals that he in died, mere Iv of plethora. On examination his internal organ* j nv be in excel lent condition, and there wa* n • r. .1- "on why he should not have lived long er, save for his unfortuna!- taste ol rujal hospitality. I'rofe-sor lluteiaiid'- r I• : eent- na riaus includes many i- oi irkablc eases, among ih- in that oi Mitih -t>-d,a I'm-- sian .soldier, who served sixtv-seven years umler lioili Fredericks, fighting many battles ami enduring much hard campaigning, ami who, alter all thi-, married successively three wives, the last w hen he was one hundred aud ten, two years before his death. Tilt: meanest man living i int'raw ford-villp, Indinua. H- stole all the wood his iieighh.>r's wife ha! sawed aud split during the day, and then in vited her hiishnnd over t > spend the evening. J. SIMPSON A Pit KM. Democratic t amlldate for Secretary of Internal Affairs. Hon. J, Simpson Abies, >■( Hunting don. the Democratic mmiin- • I- r *--crc tsrv of Internal Atfair*. was tii- iinani mous clinics of the convention and of; the Democratic party < f the s-,,,, f or that position upon the ticket. Piifilic opinion h unerringly and unmi-lltk- ! ably pointed to him. • nc his appoint merit bv <• neral Mc 'iihlli m, in 1875, ss Deputy Secretary, me nm-t com patent person in the r.m oioiiw-altb for the office for which i.e w .s chosen *s a candidate. Ife imd'-cconic exten sively and fnvorahlv known through the public position with winch he letd been entrusted and through hi- profes sion as a surveyor anti-civil Migineer. Ilis personal popularity ati'l bis repute ; tion for Aiiibtv and integrity arc not ' only of the h.ghest order nmong his' friends and neighbors and in the por tion of the State where he resides, but are coextensive with the Common wealth, and are not confined to its lim its. The truth of tins will be manifest when it is remembered that when elec ted to office by the people, as has sever al times occurred in his native county, it baa been sga-nst an adverse political majority, which it was necestary lor him to overcome. Always, when a candi date, has he run largely ahead of his ticket, and always, when they have bad the opportunity, have the people ex pressed their unreserved and unbound ed confidence in him. oEXtaLonicsi.. Mr, .Africa is, on the paternal side, of Herman ancestry, hitt great-granlather, <"hristopher Africa having immigrated from near Hanover and settled at (Jer manlown (now part of Philadelphia). .Subsequently he removed £r> Hanover, in York county. He and hia family were Lutherans, as is shown by the re cords of that church at the latter place. He had two oons, Michael and Jacob, the former of whom, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, married Miss Catharine firiftin at York, removed to Huntingdon in 1791, and purchased the properly now owned and occupied by his grandson, He was one of the foun ders of, and an elder in, the Lutheran church at that place. There Daniel Africa, our candidate's father, was born in 1894. He wot a man of prominence and influence in the community, was deputy surveyor for Huntingdon coun ty from 1824 till 1830, and woa for twen ty-two years a justice of the peace. His knowledge of the law was much more DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR SECRETARY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS. 88® ii iMTft - J. SIMPSON AFRICA, of Huntingdon. thorough mill extensive than thai u*ual !jr pi.-s.-s*e I I• v magistrate*. lie wu familiar with many of I lie I ngl -Ii nnd American 11*. anil emu pan ion. * The great prat, -slather of our r unl • ■ late on hi* mother'# rub was .fame* I Murray, a native of - -Hand, who came to America iv xitit tiii* uir IT.i't. at a verv early age. ami ettle.| ,n I'txton. Lancaster i| - of Bucks county, wh , nlno >a n itiri 1 hi the iv tr for our independence. This couple Were III" | ar.-nt- of the wife I'ar.tel and mother of J. v tup*nn Afr ca. ep tember. I' • and bag thereh re attain ed l.i* fiftieth vear. He #'i • .11# ate / in the pot.lie rhoil* an lin the Hun tingdon Ar/.'if-inv. which i.tl-rde-l t in. •I! the opportunities that weie i * * * - i ry to t.t him f*r In*, active and ;• ,•• III! btiine# llll*. He h l. howev* r. I -t| tinue I t<> l e a -Indent, a# >.i ti u-t al ami public life ha# been underiating careful ' ne*s and accuracy t'ombined with hi* conscientiousness in flu* repect i* ht* lon< experience a# a #urtrcyor, b • fi.-ld extending ovar the Htate from S-w .1. r -mbi-r of councils having beun sleeted burp •- In I* I. I * • • nt.-d I be. - riling r hi,.f 1. I,r to 1 1. 1.1. 1 1*1 election I . .-,g Un thre.. venr*. hdtif.g the •(-'•iofm of 1* *8 and 1* r.t he w.,* one of the c'< ik I'l till- M*te Senate l.i* lie* l election I,\ 11, c* people of - lluritmp-lori county w, their ri re ■ • I. tat . HI l ii- l."gi*lature ml*'*, (be majority in the com t> hud changer! -in big to I'ej ul-iicnn. ar.'f it '*' * i'-t t hr- candtdate of (be litter jvr iv ti. it .ir. Africa i*., successful, lie i among the at leal and m **t mtelh g-t l member# of the I * ly. s. rvmg on •ip :' ilil commit tr .•. ami 1.-.tfi , ~ f|, tl rani in enmrnittee exerti I „ jte.t .i*!f iei.rc<>|Kin its proceeding*. 1 1;< i< i* hi Minirt* tor >t lie lit) of organ:/,ng the Ileparl m-nt of Internal All.irs.lei .Ive.J upon the I r.t ir.ciiml .nt elect. I after tlx > t M '.ion of the constittiiion of 1*7.1, i-y which the office waa created, it van. in re -nlll -n of hia eniittr-r.t fitne** for the j ~, .. tint Mr. \lrtea *> appomte-i I'-1 uty S<* r. t .rv I v (ieneral Mcf,nd ~-• W II- I, tl.e ~lter nit. red U|*r>n the 'into * of the office in I*7',. Mr. Africa'* *.t • * ~-.ge and experience peculiarly Iti >*t imp. t (ant general v lection, and as the II j til'licari. thoroughly organ's*-I their I 1 riv ami made nn active eanva** for the ticce* of their tic k, t and to retain control o) li.e State, the election Of Mr. Africa co.i ld not be regarded a* among the probabilities, tut it *. evident from the day of hi* nomination that, • ven if defeated, the majority agatmlbim would !< much le than that against any oth er candidate on the ticket, and there was reason to regard In* chance* a* not entirely hnpele**. The result wa* highly flattering to Mr Afri ca. tl.e majority gamt hitu Itemg hut I'd IV. while thai for Hoyt, the Hepub- | lioan candidate for governor, was ai.out I I d2,.'00. Hi* popularity in Huntingdon county wa* again altesdo.l h> a tuajori ty lor httn of 541, while lloyt's wa# 337. I t svxisorsi.v ar.xoat* ATl n. Having developed such strength be- I fore the j>eop)e hia renominatton this | year wa# looked upon a* a certainty long before the meeting of the conven tion. He w.,s in no sense a candtdate, never having indicated any desire for the nomination, but public sentiment having clearly pointed to him aa the unanimous choice of the party, no oth er person was thought of a* a candidate, and the action of the convention plac ing In r.t upon the ticket without a dis senting voice was hut the registering of what had already been decreed. Mr. Africa haa held but one office he side* those that have been mentioned. In 1880 President Hayes appointed htm Nnpervisor of theCensusfor the Seventh Putrid of Pennsylvania, composed of fourteen counties in the central part of the State, and extending Irom Clearfield to York. It ia unnecessary to say that he displayed the name fidelity in this position that he haa always shown in public or private station in which be hot been placed. Its duties were per formed to the entire salisfoetlon of the department. Mr. Africa's admirable character is the result of deepaented moral and re ligious convictions. It has been stated that his ancestors were butherana. From bla tnothers'a side be come* natu rally by hia PresbyUrian faith. He be longs to the latter church at Hunting don, ia a member of the board of trus tees and treasurer for the congregation. EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT. "Thr ctmunu mhool la a |ir>alnrlln of nnjari Il.'.ai|| l.l. All. li'fil nit.] Ml'lill* a,' a# itaro a rartalh kll.'l ami amonut of *-Hiiral|,.f, t.ail ll Maa |. It for llltalrlll III"", In 11,,, tla'.UKlat "I |-,| illar tor it* Imlrurtmu u, tl, ('<,Miiiuftl'*tluM ai.rt dlacoaatona aollcllnl, Aildraaa Ka CHUKOTIONH ; What is Mark Twain'* real name ; Juab Hilling*' ; Mr*. Par tington'h; Petroleum V. Nnhhy's ; Arte HI TIN Word'*. WE should he pleased to have SHORT report* from any of our county teach i in, treating of th< ir school*. Wt: will aciul the IJIM- 1 illi' li i t thin prohletil : 1 have to make a lid for a box, which in to he twelve inehen Mpiare. Now, the only Imard I have in nine inehen by sixteen inehen. The lid in not to have more than one joint, nor consist of more than two piece#. Hill. AT IV It Sl/.KH OF VaHIOI'S (,'V- Il.'il-I 111A - CoMI'AISKD WITH till Hllil.l Printed matter in measured by 'M -" the letter Mlm i iir u unit : I I'. *t, • • ' %| g U.I .1-. . IHCFL T.HT \ 30 MM < MV* M.IPN. < • at. .!.*•. I % |..|C A 4* <'* " .1 I •.*• > . CI • | * Urn tA.'*# "" •• A||4i . r%H J-r IW *.Omffi - ITt ) • ,)•*•)) I-r if ATI t- 1' * I*; ss-tayi M I*m ■•••' I r-n< It 4N€i (pvi ftUti •* lie calculations have been fur nished by J'rof. A. I'. Lynn, of N. w V >rk, ami are based on careful com putuii li", which li4\e been Verified. Examinations. frtitsa. Nhra I No more difficult ta-k cunfrontn the t m ill r tliuii that of < lamination. An a t<-t of attainment in anv branch of tudy, it i necessary, and may la- of gr< al value, or almost wortbh-w, d<-- pcmling u jhiii the character and schol arship of the examiner, J.-{ecially in thin true when tie examiner ba in ver taught the examined, and ban had no knowledge ot bin power of thought, cr gi neral habit of study. (Question* niav hi so constructed, or topics so a—ignod, a to tent the mem ory alone, bringing into notice merely the retention of tact" and dates and verbal text book" an-wer*. —a disorga ni/.ed ma-- of material, neither digest ed nor assimilated, and of but little* ue, in such form, to any one. Kven in thin < a*e, an examiner of broad -< holarship, by a careful survey of the answers, can detect, with difficulty however, the mental grasp of the ex amined. Hut again, ipiontions may be so con struct" d or topic- MI a—igned an to tent the knowledge of the examined, and show how far his thought has grasped the truth of things in the givt u subject of study. The examined is thrown upon hin own resources, not by puzzle* to test hi" ingenuity, but ; by questions that demand a knowledge of principles upon bis part, and the answers of which must come from bis own inner jmwers of thinking. Kven in this case, it is difficult to form a correct estimate of scholarship in vi ry many branches of study, unless the examiner takes into critical survey the whole character of the answers given, the structure of the sentences, the Knglinh used, and that nlmost in | visible thought power, which the ex-1 aminer, if a scholar, recognizes by a sort of intellectual affinity or mcutal sympathy. All examinations in our judgment, if to be relied upon, should be con i ducted by nil examiuer of broad, sound scholarship, such as will dictate a series of ipicstions calculated to test scholarship, and which will detect in every answer given the more hidden element of self-possessed thinking, rather than the most ostentatious pow er of memory involved. Hot in an examination to test the qualification of ouc desiring to become a teacher, how can an examiner assure himself of those clhieal qualities, which, to say the least, are as necessary as arc the intellcfituilf What list of questions can he form which will be of any servioc here? The most that he can do is to dettet in the personal presence of the examined, a# well aa in the general tone of hi* answer*, that •elf-huinilialion ami reverence without which all moral life i* dwarfed and blighted. liut fortunately our schools are all under the personal and continued in spection of our superintendent*; and this, added to their examinations, should be sufficient to guard us against any serious immorality or great in competence or waste uf time in our educational work. Let us labor to keep among our examiners men of the broadest and soundest scholarship pos sible, and men whose manners and morals are above reproach. Valuable Wood*. , There i*a large number of valuable ; wood* and timber* grown in thin coun try that are used tr commercial pur imeea. Among other* the following , are common; namely, a*h for furni ture and wagon work; birch, for boli bin* und for furniture; beech, for ear|*etit4?r*' plane*, tool* and furniture ; ■ , chestnut, for furniture and ornamental j work ; catalpa, for the *arne ; elm, for . wagon-making ami hick ory, for wagon*,buggies, handle*, etc.; L j maple, for ornamental work and Iratne* lor muchim-* ; '"-ago-oraugc, for wagon* and huggic*; pine, tor timber ; oak, for fliip-buiiding ; vel r low pine, tor the same and (or build ing furniture and ornamental work ; i-pruce, for dairy package* ; ba*-wood, 1 lor light pleasure-sleigh* and chair bottom*; willow, for charcoal, lor powder, ami (or wooden ware ; walnut, lor gun-lock", furniture und cabinet . work; cherry, for the *ame; apple and pear wood, lor coar*e engraven*" j block-, for tool* and mallet*. also lor imitating -!' ny tor ornaillental work ; • | poplar, for furniture; red cedar, tor pencil- and moth proof trunk*, I'.ei- Inr, spruce, and buttonwood are al* . d l'r wood |>o|*er-pulp. Indeed. , there i- *carcely one of our native t r'' * that i- not useful |NR *omc com ■ mercial or indu*trial purpoM-. Sumac , twig* and have- are used tor dveing . ami tanning and are worth l*7o a ton. , lel low locu*t i* u(-d for pin* and | treenails; white locust differ- from it 1 j in the Color of the wood and in ii* • | toughness ami strength. S ON; of the cheese—"will vou love me when 1 mold ?" A I'IKTOI. i IJ'it half MI danger' ux when the owner i not load-d. _ I 111 -*cret ot ihe K-<-ly motor ha* been divulged. It i- mom v. A nm.l. i* rpiii klv managed— ii on ly tak<> two sr-oond* to arrang< ii. A KI NTI < KV woman ha* married R . Mr. ('alien—ha* wedded a prin!*, a* it were. I ill: palmy da vs of a boy'* life are th'ipv in which he get* proper!v epank <• land edit and publish a newspaper; , an 1 they are not tbc only lunatics en i gaged in the business. Tin: editor of a Mi-*i sippi paper wrote: "Our fair, la*t week, exhibited | among other things, collection of in • sects," but the type wtP r substituted "hair" for "lair." A KORKISTOWW young man who to Atlantic City, last week, ray* lie lost a dollar dinner the fir*t day lie was there. lie probably drop|>e age I* coming upon me rapid ly," said an urchin who was Mealing j apples from an old man'* garden, a* he saw the owner coming furiously toward* him with a stick in his hand. A srm imiKß write* to an cdiior in the West: "I don't wan't your paper any longer." To which the editor re plied : "I would not make it any long er even if you did ; its present length just suits me." TIIK Paper World May* that the consumption of paper for newspaper purposes is 25 per cent, more in l'hil adelphia than in New York, figured on a pro rata basis of the proportion ate imputation of the two cities. Ax editor, in response to a subscri ber, who grumbled that his paper was intolerably datnp, says, "That is be cause there is ao much due on it" We have some of those subscribers, and it is a wonder their paper is uot soaking wet. TIIK Boston Herald recently preach ed a sermon on the " I'ower, of the I'resa, " and au extract taken there from is as follow*; " The press re buke ain morning, noon and night, al so Sunday and holiday*. By the pre** men are kept in wholesome fear of public onini'Mi. Men who would other wise go home us night aiul I mat their wives fear (be truth telling reporter. Men who are itching for a sale chance to steal their employers'* cash are re strained by a dread of being pilloried in the public print*. "