Fame,
'All, Fate, cannot a man
I Bo wise without a beard?
From East to West, from Ueeraheba to Dan,
( Say, waa it never heart!
That wisdom might in youth be gotten,
Or wit lie rijio boforo 'twas rotten?
He pays too high a price
For knowledge and for Ume
!Who gives his sinews to lie wise,
His teeth ami bones to buy u name,
Aud crawls through lifo a paralytic.
To earn tho praise of bard and critic.
la it not better done,
To dine ant! sleep through forty yean,
Bo loved by few, bo leered by none,
Isuigh life awsy, have wine for tears,
And take the mortal leap undaunted,
Content that all wo ask was granted?
But Fsto will not permit
The seed of gods to die,
Nor sudor serses to win from wit
Its guerdon in the sky;
Nor let ns hide, whatu'er onr pleasure
Tho world's light underneath a measure.
Go then, sad youth, and shine!
Go, sacrifice to Fame;
Put love, joy, health, upon tho ahrinc,
And lifo to lan tho flame!
Thy hapless self lor praises barter,
And dio to Fame on honored martyr.
—H. It'. Emtrion.
The Doctor's Experience.
"If you please, uncle," said Nanny
Juniper, "1 would like to speak to
you."
Old Doctor Juniper dropped his
newspaper in dismay; the spectacles
fell limply off his nose.
"You don't mean to tell me," said
he, "that tliem cidcr-bar'ls sprung a
leak ag'in!"
"No, uncle," said Nannie, nervously,
pleating the frill of her apron, and
changing color as she spoke.
"Then the rod cow is gyt astray,"
groaned the doctor. "It does heat all
how careless the neighbors are about
their bars."
"The red cow is all right, uncle,"
said Nanny. "It's about myself that I
wanted to speak."
Doctor Juniper drew a long breath
of relief.
"Oh!" said he, "altout yourself?
Well, if it is a new dress, you've had
two already since Thanksgiving Day;
and if you want to take lessons of the
wax-flower woman, I think it's all
stuff and nonsense. So there! Just
hand me up the paper, Nanny, there's
a good girl, and see what a nice blue
berry dumpling you'll make me for
dinner."
"Uncle," persisted Nanny. "I don't
think you understand. I—l am not
satisfied!"
"Not satisfied ?" repeated the doctor,
opening his small, blue eyes to their
utmost capacity.
"I should like you to pay me wages."
went on Nanny; "because, uncle, —
don't you see?—l'm doing all the work
of the house, and saving you the ex
pense of a hired girl, and I haven't a
penny that I can call my own; and if
it's ever so small an allowance, uncle,
don't you see that it would save me the
mortification of cutting to you for ev
ery yard of tape and paper of needles
that I want?"
"Nonsense!" roared the doctor.
"I shouldn't ask for it, uncle, if I
didn't fed I deserved it," pleaded Nan
ny.
"Rubbish!" said her uncle.
"Six dollars a month isn't such a
great deal of money," urged Nanny.
"And I have lived here eight years al
ready for nothing, you know."
"For nothing, eh?" said Doctor Ju
niper, severely. "I a'pose your board
and lodging don't count; nor yet your
clothes. Ah, the parson was right ,
when he preached, last Sunday week,
about the rank ingratitude of the hu
man race. There never was anything
like it—never!"
"Of course I'm very much obliged
for all that you have done for me, un
cle," said Nanny, "Hut I'm two-and
twenty now, and I really feel that I
can earn a little money of my own.
And If you think six dollars is too
much, 1 shall be very thankful for
five."
"Ah, indeed!" said Doctor Juniper,
satirically. "Quite moderate, I'm sure!
But, you see, our ideas don't czaekly
agree. If you ain't satisfied with
things as they be, you're welcome to
better yourself."
"Uncle!" cried Nanny, her blue eyes ;
brimming over with tears.
"What I say I mean," said Doctor
Juniper, resuming the study of his
nrwspnjier. "And now I'd like the
chance to read a spell afore I go out .
Into the maple-pasture."
And, surreptitiously eyeing her de
parting figure over the rims of his
glasses, the old man chuckled to him
self:
"I cale'late I've settled that busi
ness. Wages, indeed! Times has come
to a pretty pass, when my own niece
wants wages for doing my house
work."
As for Nanny, she went quietly into
the kitchen, where she prepared the
fowl for roasting, made u little breoa
sauce for It, concocted her uncle's favo
rito blueberry-pudding, and then re
treated up stairs, whore she packed
tho little trunk, which had once be
longed to her mother, and whose sur
face was decorated with "A. J."—for
Antolnetta Juniper—ln brass nails.
"1 can't live so!" said Nanny. "My
boots are all patches, and Uncle Juni
per thinks two pairs a enough
for anybody. My dresses aren't lit to
bo seen, ami Uncle Juniper is always
saying that his mother's calico dresses
[ lasted year after year. I can't even
put a flve-cent-plece in the contribu
tion-plate at church, without Uncle
Juniper's accusing me of extravagance.
If lie won't pay me tin* wages which I
;nn sure I earn, I will go down to the
Lake View House and help Mrs-
Dauesbury make pies and puddings
for her hoarders. She told me, long
ago, that she would give mo ten dol
lars a month, during the busy season,
to assist her."
Doctor Juniper relished his roast
chicken and blueberry-pudding as only
an elderly gourmand can relish the ap
petizing edibles of this world.
Nanny sat opposite him, looking
rather distraite and thoughtful. And
when he had sop pis 1 up the last of his
pudding-sauce with a piece of bread,
wiped his mouth, and folded up his
napkin, she spoke out:
"Uncle, I'm going away to-morrow."
"He you?" said Doctor Juniper.
"To earn my own living," said Nan
ny.
"Humph!" commented Doctor Juni
per. "Well, suit yourself suit your
self!"
"Mrs. Daneshury is going to pay me
ten dollars a month," explained Nanny.
"Hut I'd rather stay with you at half
the price, if "
"I'il see you further!'" - lid Doctor
Juniper. " 1 won't pay you a nil
cent!" '
"Very well, uncle," said Nanny.
And so she went awav.
">he needn't think she's going t-.
wind me around ln r little linger," said
Doctor Juniper. "I can get plenty of
housekeepers for less money that that.
And I won't be imposed u|*n!"
The doctor got his own hrv.nkfa.st
the next morning. It wasn't so easy
as lie had supposed it would lie. The
lire smoked and sulked, the enffee-put
tipped over, the llsh was snip bed, and
the eggs overboiled.
"Ilang it all!" said the ihictor.
"Tilings don't taste right anyhow.
There must lie a knack in cooking,
after all."
He left tho unwashed dishes on the
table, saddled the roan horse, and set
off immediately after he had swallowed
the last drop of the tluvorless coffee,
in search of "help."
The Widow Keone was all smiles
when he stopped at her little red cot
tage.
">o Nanny has gone, has she?" said
the widow. "Wal, there ain't no de
pendence to lo put on gals. And you
feel the need of a real helpful coin- J
panion? I did say, when I buried ;
Koene, that nothin' should induce me
to marry again, hut—"
The doctor reined up Old Iloan so
suddenly that that meditative stood
jumped off all four legs at once.
"Hold on!" said he. "1 wasn't
talkin' of matrimony. I ain't a
marryin' man. All I want is hired
help!"
"Do yott mean to insult me?" said
Widow Keenc.
And she slammed the ihwir in his
face, and Doctor Juniper rode on, much j
marveling at the narrow escape he had
hail.
"I'll try Miss Mahala Dickerman," j
he concluded. "She ain't a widow.
Widows are naturally sly and tricky."
Miss Mahala Dickerman was more
reasonable. Yes, she would come.
Hut she required her Sundays to her
self, every Wednesday aftegnoon, the
use of a horse and wagon to take her
to church, and fourteen dollars a
month.
"But what is to liecnme of me on
Sunday?" Doctor Juniper ventured to
inquire.
Miss Mahala didn't know, she had
tier soul to look after—that was very
certain. And she couldn't reconcile
his Sunday business to her conscience.
So Doctor Juniper rode away once
more, solemnly shaking his head.
"What's come to all the women?"
said the doctor.
Hetsey Crowe was the next person
on whom he called—a sharp-nosed
gossip, with a high, shrill voice, and
spectacled eyes.
"I think I kin suit ye, doctor," said
Miss Crowe. "I've lived housekeeper
to several families. My terms is twelve
dollars a month and the privileges of
a home, and a young gal under me.
Her wages w ill lie four dollars extra."
Doctor Juniper grew a tallowy
white.
"Iyou s'pose I'm made of money?"
said be.
"Them's my terms," said Miss
- Crowe, "and I wouldn't vary from
" 'em, not for the president of the
I United States!"
"There's an end of the matter, then,"
- said Doctor Juniper.
r "Just as you please," said Betsey
Crowe, tartly.
Louisa Ifenley would not undertake
. the place unless her mother and eleven
, years-old brother could come as corn
, puny for her. Mrs. Cackle expected
, the washing to bo put out, and a clean
, ing woman engaged for every Satur
, day. Maria Michels hinted at the
. privilege of Idling the vacant rooms
, of the house with summer hoarders.
And the upshot of it all was that l)oc-
I tor Juniper came home in desperation,
, without any help whatsoever.
lie telegraphed to his cousin, an
, ancient female, somewhere on tho edge
, of the Adirondacks, to coino to the
rescue. (She came. Hut she was sub
ject to the rheumatism, to epileptic
llts, and to an undue fondness for the
brandy-lnitt le, and at the end of a
month, Doctor Juniper was glad to
ship her off to a "Home for Aged
Women" in New York. And then,
subdued by much discipline, ho walktsl
down to Mrs. Danesburv's and asked
to see Nanny,
Nanny came in, all smiles and
dimples.
"Heady," said the doctor, to himself,
"I hain't an idea the girl was so
pretty!"
she welcomed her uncle with tho
most affectionate of kiss<-s.
"Nanny," said lie, "you were right,
and I was wrong. I'm sorry I ever let
you go away. If you'll come bark to
the old farm, I'll pay you ten dollars a
month and be thankful to you."
"Oh, uncle, I can't!" said Nanny,
laughing and blushing. "I've prom
i>'-d to marry Hugh Dancsburv."
D x-tor Juniper's face fell.
"Hugh Danesbury'" said he. "That's
i the young fellow that works at tho
' mill, ain't it ?"
"Yes. uncle," said Nanny.
; "Then r .me. lith of you," sai i D.*--
t'.r Juniper. "Hugh shall run the j
farm on shares, and I'll pay you ten I
dollars, just the same. I can't live as !
! I've been linn', I'd sooner take laud- j
| anuiu!"
- ' tbc young people were married,
! and came to Juniper farm to live.
"And uncle's a deal easier to get '
• a!' rig with than ever he was ltefore!"
x.ud Nanny.
For I>octor Juniper had profited from
1 his experience. //,/<„ F->rr>*t Umrrn. i
I'EARI.M (IK THOUGHT,
Jealousy is a secret avowal of our in
feriority.
The only rose without thorns is |
frieniLship.
We ought not to judge of man's ,
merits by bis qualifications but by the i
use he makes of them.
Though we travel the world over to
find the lieautiful, we must carry it
with u.s, or wc find it not.
Hashfulnexs may sometimes exclude
pleasure, but seldom or oyer opens any
avenue for sorrow or remorse.
Attrition is to the stone what good
influence is to the man. Both j>ohsh
I while they reveal hidden beauties.
Cares are often more difficult to ,
throw off than sorrows; the latter die
with time, the former grow utxin it.
The leader will fail who acts on "the :
i counsel of those whose intelligence and ;
I means of information is Inferior to his
own.
Zealous men are ever displaying to
you the strength of their belief, while
judicious men are showing you the
grounds of it
There is a wonderful vigor of con-'
stitution in a popular fallacy. When
the world has once got hold of a lie, it
is astonishing how hard it is to get it
out of the world.
If a man be gracious and courteous
to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of
the world, and that his heart is no i
island cut off from other hearts, but a
continent that joins them.
There are few men who, were they
certain of death on their seventieth
birthday, would think of preparation.
To-morrow may be the gate of an eter
nity, and they go on in their folly.
He Had Confldrnce In Uypsles.
A band of gypsies camped in Mis
souri. A farmer in the neighborhood
was painfully twisted by rheumatism
and they straightened him out with
mysterious lotions and ceremonies.
This won his confidence. They told
him that a large sum of money was
buried on his farm, but they did not
know exactly where. Their instruc
tions were to bury all the cash he hail
for eight days, and then dig it up,
whereupon the place of the concealed
treasure would be revealed. He
olwycd, and at the end of the pre*
scribed time his #5900 and the gypsies
were gone.
I ILU'I'INUN FOR the curious.
About seven centuries before the
christian era Southern Italy was so
thickly set with Grecian cities as to lie
known as Magna (Inccla.
There is a creek several miles from
Waynesboro, Ga., which is so highly
impregnated with liino that it will
take the hair off a horse's legs in pass
ing through it.
The silver ore of the Nevada mines
is so intimately associated with lead
that nearly one-half of the miners w ho
handle it become afflicted sooner or
later with wrist drop, palsy, or half
paralysis.
Mr Edward Atkinson says it would
require 16,000,000 persons, using the
spinning wheel and hand loom of less
than a century ago, to make the cotton
cloth used by our people, which is now
manufactured by 160,000.
Among the Chinese no relics are
more valuable than the l<oots that have
been worn by a magistrate. If he re
signs and leaves the city a crowd ac
companies liiin to tie* gates, where his
boots are drawn ofT with great ceremo
ny, to be preserved in the hall of
justice.
A Tennessee doctor II;LS a curious
Indian relic. It is a ring, made of
pure silver nicely engraved and weighs
twenty-three pennyweights, and, con
sidering the primitive tools with
which the Indians must have worse*!,
the engraving is said to be remarkably
well done. The general design,
although smaller in circumference,
resembles in a marked degree the
bracelets most In favor with the socie
ty belles of to-day.
The slaughter of a plow ox is pro
hibited l>y law in China, and a viola
tion of the Jaw is punished by two
months' imprisonment and 100 blows
of the heavy batnlioo; except in cases
where the offender is tho owner of the
aninfhl, when the imprisonment 1- one
month and tho number of blows
eighty. Mandarins w!c> fail to t.do
notice of such offences are also pun
i-losL The ox is thus honored als.ve
I other beasts lssausc be is annually
j offered to Confucius; and because of
i his services to man in plow ing and the
| entire dependence of the husbandman
on him, man should refrain from
doing him harm.
It is relatisl in 7>r. F-r.f* Jl.alth
Jfonthly that Paul Bert saw at
j Geneva a curious sjiecimen of humani
ty that would Is* worth a fortune t> a
I Bowery museum or a travelling show.
I It was a child five years old, or some-
J w hat more than one child, for it had
I two heads, two chests and four arms.
hut only one abdomen and one pair of
i figs, the fusion of the two lli<-s into
I one occurring at aUwt the waist.
1 Each head lias control.,f the fig on it
; own side. The two faces are much
j alike, and the two intellects already
understand several languages. The
food which one takes d<>et not satisfy
the hunger of the other, and they eat
and sleep alternately. ne has had a
fever without the other Is-ing ill.
A New York restaurateur l>eing
asked why it is considered so difficult
to <at two or even one quail a day for
thirty days, replied, "Because the
' human stomach is an intelligent and
! sensitive member of society. If you
{ were to feed it every day for thirty
days on a pound or two of sawdust,
i you would not wonder if it rebelled.
I would you? No. Well, quail and the
| white meat of all birds is very much
like sawdust. It's dry; it's indigesti
ble. It lies there on the stomach, and
of course the stomach doesn't like it.
and when you want to add more to it
the stomach is very apt to rel>el and
make you sick. You may try to coax
j that important functionary with bril>cs
of pepsin and that sort of tiling, but
there is a limit to even that. Si you
| see why quail won't do for a steady
diet" _________________
A Minstrel's Conversion.
•Senator Bob Hart," the negro
' minstrel, used to lie a great favorite
in the West His stump sjieeches
and his excruciating Latin wore his
chief stock in trade, but they were
enough to give him a lctter incotm
than half the professional men get.
Well, a couple of years ago, when he
was almost dead with delirium
tremens, he staggered into a revival
meeting and was converted, and since i
then he has been known as tho Rev.
J. M. Sutherland and a more con- |
sistent, earnest Christian exhorter
never lived. He has for nearly two
years been in the employ of the City
Missionary society, which pays him
#2O a week, on which lie supports
his wife and daughter. Cliicagoans
can reineinlier when Boh Hart got
#3OO a week during an entire season
In that city. lie works among the
poor people, and preaches several
times a week and twice on Hurdays.
Jle hasn't touched a drop of liquor
since the night from which he dates •
his conversion. ■—ChvrtcMd Sun.
UESSUM TITAI, KTATIHTICH.
, A Year's Straths In the Cnll.d SMalss.-
The I'assas af llsath, and Other
' Inlarsslln* Facts.
An article in the New York Nun >
says that according to the last census, j
i | 756,893 persons died in the United
Mates during 18*". The death rate '
I for tiie whole Union was therefore j
■ ! 15.1 to tho thousand. That is a low
rate, and yet it was much higher than
i j that given in I*7o, which was only
l . 12.8 per thousand, while the death i
, rate according to the census of I*6o j
. ■ was 12.5.
But the apparent increase in 1880
i was due entirely to more complete i
returns of deaths, and even the figures
for that year cannot be regarded as ;
accurate. Except in a comparatively
small number of communities, vita! !
statistics are not gathered in the i
; United States after a scientific system.
The actual mortality of the Union is
probably somewhere between eighteen
and nineteen per thousand, instead <1
J a little over fifteen. But that is a low
rate as compared with Eurojsan
countries, the death rut>* for the whole
of England having been 20.5 per
thousand in I**", and for Scotland,
21.3 in I*7*.
(if the 756,893 deaths recordist in
the census returns 010,191 were of
whites, out of a total white popula
tion of 43,402,970, and 116,702 of
, negroes, out of a total colored popu
i lation of 0,752,813. The apparent
death rate, therefore.was 14.71 among
1 the whites, and 17.28 among the
; negroes.
(if the deaths reported 391,900 were
of males and 364,933 of females, the
total living jsqiulation having la-en
25,51*.820 mules and 24,636,963
females. For every thousand deaths of
females there were 1,07-1 of males.
The proportion of males dying in
infancy was alv> greater than that "f
female-. <if the 39",6H males who
died 163,**0 were und-r five years of
age, while of Hie 363,*7 l females who
died 13*,920 were under five years; '
that i, the pro]ortion of deaths under
five years of age t<> all deaths recorded
! was 419.51 per thousand among males,
while among females it was only
3*1.85. Nearly half the male mor
tality was among very young children.
The causes of death were rejmrted
in only 713,*40 raw, and the follow
ing table gives the nundter of deaths
from each of the ten principal causes:
< onmimplion ... - - . 91,.Ml
hifihlhfru
I iiiin.nnk! • • * • 65,645
Dimsmc* of nrrroui • • M.G7O
Dumajm* of r#|nr*lonr vrmmi • 107.'.*04
1 Kitoa*** of !i£e*tirc ftvaftftin • - .'iI.CMM
Knturie (ty|4iokl) f#rer - 22,90.5
M (wir* ........ *.77 2
Snarl*! fmrvr • • • - • • 16410
omigh - • . • • 11,1*02
Consumption was, as always, tiie
great scourge, and it carried off a con
siderably larger proportion of females
than of males, the deaths from that
cause ls-ing 10,619 tnah*s to 50,932 f">-
males. It is very instructive to ole
serve that the mortality from consump
tion in the North Atlantic and Lake
regions was highest in the small towns
and agricultural districts, while on
the Gulf coast it was greatest in the
city of New Orleans, with its wretched
sewerage and drainage system.
Enteric or typhoid fever is also more
especially a disease of the country
rather than the city. The Is-tter
drainage which ordinarily prevails in
the large towns makes them less liable
to that fever than the smaller com- ;
inanities arid scattered settl -ments,
where necessary precautions against
the pollution of the water supply arc
not generally taken, and accumulations
of tilth in vaults and cesspools are
common. Malarial fevers likewise
were more pre\ alcnt and more fata'
proportionately in the smaller com
munities than in the great cities. Tho
same was the case with diphtheria
The report of the numlHT of deaths
due to accidents and injuries is inter
est ing:
Itnrn* and scald* - • • • • 4.7*1
I trowned • • 4,320 1
Ksponirc and neglect . . - • 1,200
liiiiahnl wound* ...... 2.2K0
Homicide ........ 1,33(5
1 tdnntiride . ....... 40
ln|ur,m liy machinate .... 120
Itiulrnad accident* ..... 2 3(0
Sndncatioo ....... 2,339
Suicide bjr shooting • • - . - 472
Suicida by drowning . . . . ( 15,5
Suicide by powon ..... j 340 j
Other eiiicide* ...... 11,550
Snnntrok* ....... ..I 55"
Other accelent* end injuries • • Ij.ONO
Brevity.
Few writer* know when ttHt-qi
writing; they say too much, SHt in
Luther closed his speech befoftlthc
diet of Worms with these words: 'Sere
I stand. I cannot do otherwise. Hod
help mc. Amen." Sup|ose IhA.vl
said: "The position which I at prHnt
occupy 1 shall continue to maintfln.''
The latter is grammatically cmHrt.
You can praise it, but literary
demns it as weak and
back to the Old Testament t '
there tie light and there was 1
j Beyond the naked grandeur of
word* art cannot go. And, inHrt.
I brevity is an art—and one worth Hu- i
vating, too. ■ 1
Alone.
The ran •hlnee out arrrm Ui MO,
The old churcb Ull chirua merrily.
Hut the mtu*\eu fright in mi**ry,
Awl wftft'lfM mu\ *w\ lunci;
Far b#! ban gone, her lOVIJT trot,
Arrowi tb? <xmr>, w'ule. arnl Mu*—
Wow /all bar tlike evening daw,
And Ibua aho i/,hk<?> bar in'run :
My love ha.ii gone' Ah, wall a day*
My heart ia fri#**f-<] in uum-tj'
And rnuirt it now tbua lor aye?
Ah, won! Ah, woe i ma'
Tba breaker* on the nounding itbore
Are leaping high with *;e*nelrM roar,
And the rnaiden watchea by her door
With *ad and auxioua eye.
j The white f'arn fall* around her there,
And flerk with anow her rat en iiair,
Hut atill ahe wat/be in riae)<air
And rnurTnura with a aigb:
My love haa gone' Ah, well a'lay'
My heart m filled with miaery'
And inuat it now be tbua for aye*
Ab, woe* Ah, woe ia me'
The 'lark cloud* drive arrofi the • k.'*,
She aeea the moon among them iiae;
Jligli on the win i* her lover iioa,
il* ne'er will pj.-nk again*
She knee la bt*i<!e him all alone,
Alcove the wild wmda ingh and moan.
Hut the maiden 'a heart i* tu myi t/> atone,
For now ail hope i% vain.
My love i den/1' Ah, weli-e-day'
I My heart u ateeped in ti/jter) ;
And it Diuat now 1* tbua lor aye,
Ab, woe' Ab, woe ia me'"
Offilvit Mite Kill.
I'l'MiKM PABAbItAPHS.
Trousers rover a multitude of shin--'
Cannot lawyers be term-d fee-males ?
j Aw ife may be a blessing, but a
'lumb wife is an unspeakable < oe.
It is a terrible shock to <n. 's fen-1-
ings, aft < T singing "Salvation's Free,"
t<< hear the announ< 1 nx-nt that "the
i oll's tii >n will now Is- taken."
rh<- question is ask'-d us, If there is
anything that will hring y uth to w. -
V'--, i:,i|"<y]. ji income of
say > ill bring any number of
them.
A man wh - ! ... hapjierxd t have a
g<xd ib al of i , j..-riiTici' -a;. s: "Stan<l
anywhere but for four {•• t to the lift
of aw miari wlx-n sh< hurls ah ttlo at
a lx-n."
"Mr. June-." asked Smith of thej ar-
MD, "don't you think th- wicked will
liaxe an opportunity given tlx-m in the
n<-\t world?" "Vn, <■< rtainly," re
j plied the parson, "an excellent oppor
tunity to g< t w .irrn.'
An agricultural journal recently
published a long article on "Sheep
Husbandry." but it didn't say anything
aliout the man who continually com
pliments his wife, although he is most
assuredly a she-praiser.
"If your hoarding-house should take
fire at night w hat would you do to g"t
the people out ?" asked the fire mar
hal of an cxjierienccd matron. "Uh,
Here would IK- N. trouble altout that,"
was the reply; "I would just ring the
breakfast bell, and all the boarders
would lie in the dining-rouin in three
minutes."
It i- said that the F.mperor of Rus
sia "chops WINS) for exercise." This
gives his wife more time to gossip over
the bark fence with the next door
neighbors; but one would suppose that
the emperor g->t exercise enough dodg
ing dynamite l*imhs and other infernal
i devices contrives I by the nihilists,
without resorting to wocxl-chopping.
Common Phrases.
The term blackguard has a very
common plar* origin. In all great
houses, particularly in royal residences
there was a number of mean and dirty
dependents, whose office it was to at
tend to the woodyards, sculleries, etc.
Of these—for in the lowest depths
there are lower still the most forlorn
wretches seem to have been selected to
j carry coal to the kitchen, halls tnd
other apartments. To the smutty reg
iment, who attended the progresses
and rode in the carts with the pots and
kettles, which, with every other article
of furniture, were then moved from
palace to palace, the people, in derision,
gave the name "blackguards," a term
j since become sufficiently familiar.
"To the bitter end" is clearly an old
nautical expression. A dictionary,
published in the first part of the eigh
teenth century, has "bite," a turn or
j part of arable; "bitts." the main pieces
of timler to which a cable is fastened
w hen a ship rides at anchor; "bitter," a
turn of the cable about the timber
called "bitts," that it may lie veered
out little by little; and "bitter end" (of
a cable) is that part which is wound
around the bitts when a ship rides at
anchor. The modern cant expression,
"to the bitter end," may have taken ita
rise from the old nautical words, as
meaning the last coil of the cabin, or
from the last end, the very "bitter"
dregs. It is a slang expression, anoth
er form of "1 will fight you to the
death." In it bitter only means piti
less, severe, like a bitter cagt wind, or a
bitter foe.