EXCELSIOR. M'F'G CO.
Great Closing Out Sale
or
j
AT ASD BELOW COST THE ESTIRK STOCK MUST HE SOLD RE
OARDIJSS OF COST TO (JI IT HL'SISESS.
Big Bargains in, Suits !
FOR MEX FROM 8.60 IF WARDS. BOV'S ASD YOUTH'S SUITS ALMOST
O IVES AVAY.. CHILDRESS CLOTH ISO WAV DO US.
OY RCOATS
FROM $O.OO VIZARDS, A LI. WOOL MESS FASTS FROM $2 .V) ll'-
WARDS. HIS STOCK OF CLOTH IXU MIST FoSITI VELU Ll'.
I - SO7.Z) REGARDLESS OF COST.
_
V TAKE NOTICE,
Every $.OO invested in purchases nt our Store will he entitled to n
CHANCE 7CKKT to win either of the two handsome GIFTS to lie
drawn by tb lucky numbers which ONE AND ALL have the same
chance to pssess.
Ist. Prize.
One fandsome IJedstcad, poplar wood, beautifully finished; Double
Enclosed Wash Stand: Teapoy Table; one beautiful French Dresser
German Nate Glass 17x30; three ('ane Seat Chairs; one Cane Sat
Hocking Chair; one Towel Rack. (Tup of Dresser, Wfch Stand, Tea
poy Sunt, imitation Teuncssec Marble.)
2d Prize.
Of beautijul BrumeU covered Walnut Frame I/ounpe.
A KEYSTONE CLOTHING HOUSE,
M|l lied, Flag. Ileilefontr, I*a.
fjZC'HLER it' CO., (I roeer*, Itnch lIOIIHC It/ork, lit LLR/oute, I'd.
1 NEW GOODS
—FOR THE—
SPRING and SUMMER TRADE!!
We have endeavored 'JO get the very best of every thing in our line, and now
have some really CIfOICF GOODS.
J FIFE CREAM CHEESE, Extra Large FRENCH PRUNES,
Mf * SELEC T O YSTERS, S H EAT POTA TOM,
WfkoE RIPE CRANBERRIES, PRL'NELLES, IMPERIAL FIGS,
BRIGHT NEW LEMONS, FLORIDA ORANGES,
Princess Papor-ShcH Almond*. Evaporated RRIEI) PEACH EN
A FULL LINE OF CHOICE CANNED FRUITS.
PRESERVED PEARS, PEACH FN, PLC MS and PR UNELLES.
PLAIN CANDIES, FINE CONFECTIONERY,
—AND—
GOODIES of all Sorts and Kinds
JMTWe invite the people of Centre county to call and inspect our NICE
GOODS, which cannot fail to please.
'F SECHLEU & CO.
Doll <f Mingle—Boots if I hoc*.
£ mii iiiDDDd)
rboot or Shoe
I K'tbii a man,
lßtyle, Quality and Cheapness.
we defy all competition. We have the largest stock—and bought for cash,
and tell 10 per cent, cheaper than any store in the county.
9- OUR SPECIALTIES. "**
wXINOLDS DUO A, Ulice and 1). ARMSTRONG'S Rochester shoes for
■ ) ladies, Misses nod Children.
I Hallinvvny Soulo and llarrlngton Fine Shoes for Men.
|L!I^IS|T|E|R!" |B|o|o|T|B,
LITHE KIISTG OF THE MARKET,
Pre have a Shoe Polish which will not crack the Leather,
E good as the best and only 15c.
i DOLL A MINGLE.
Ikllcfonlc, Pa,
f *
■pi M • i ■M. '' ' *
■
Our Own.
If I had known in tli mornlnif
How w*rlty nil flit day
Tim word* unkind
Would troulil* my mind,
I Mild wltvn you wrnl away,
1 find bwn morn cnrnful, darllnir,
Nor Riven you nntdlMM p*Ju ,
llut • *•* M our own **
With I'M.k Mil>l ion*.
Wo may uv*r uka hark ngniu.
Pt>r though In lh gulat atanlng
Von irmy give na til* klm of |eaci,
Vet it tuighl ha
That never for ma
Tha |•am of tha Utmti ahould <**•*•.
How many go forth In lha morning
Tiiat navor i • iu lOM k at night!
And hoarte hava hrokaU
F.r hrh WOMU npoken.
That aorruw can ua rr •! right.
W> hate careful thoughfa for thoatranger
And auiilea for tha guaat;
Hut oft for " our own "
Tim hlttar ton*,
Though *o |o* our own " lha haal.
Ah' li|ai with <uraa im|Mli<nt ?
Ah ' hrow with that look ufa urn ?
'Twara a cruel fate,
Ware the night tin* Irte
To undo the work of the morn.
M♦ M -
CAPE DIAMONDS.
A DKTECTIVK STORV.
r With four other masculine fellow -auf
ere rs—one of whom was u small )•<
tacled, inoffensive-looking man—Ned
Gimrd and myself were the suffering in
matea of a nondescript vehicle of the
stagr-wugon pattern, drawn by six
small "Capo'' horses, enroute from the
Hloeiufontein diainand fields of South
Africa for Wellington, thence h> rail to
Cape Town.
Two-third* of the terrible journey
, had now been accomplished, yet there
; were utill some two hundred and fifty
: | in ilea of travel over sun heat plain and
, arid desert before us, with the mercury
102 degrees, in such shade alone as our
tilted c mvcyancc afforded—for, in truth
i there was no other
, Our eyes w.-re hlurrel and blinded
r by the ci useless glare of tin- sun, whose
[ rays beat down on the sandy d.-*ert
-. from the unclouded skv, which was n
| brass before u*. iur I iodic* were sore
and bruised by tho unceasing jar and
jolt of our rudely -hung vehicles. We
were parched with tliir*t, which the
lukewarm water along the route utterly
failed to slake ; an<l though continually
drowsy could neither ale. p by day nor
by night, because of the intense beat,
| the sand flies, swelled and burning feet,
and intense nervousness engendered by
' the foregoing, with the other d.scom
. fort* ami sufferings incidental to a
*tagejoirney of some hundreds'of miles
through South Africa.
The most of us kin-w each other by
sight, through having met from day to
day for some month*, in and about the
mining field which we had left. Hut I
will venture to state that *i\ more sur
lv, unneial f.-llow passenger* than our
I dusty, unshorn selves were p'-rhap
. lover—ill. rall> -thrown tOfOthOT.
If Ne.l and myself were {.erhap* n
; little more pronouneod m general di*
, agree able lie** than tin- oihrr* we con
I sidered, indee.l, that we had ample pro
j vocation therefor. For thirteen month*
we had been toiling and )<or*piring.
taking our several turn* in the "dump,"
lor in our twenty four foot mining
. ! claim, as the case might In-. In nearly
if not quite, a year of unremitting toil
we had barely succeeded in washing
out *mill "stone*" [the invariable
. term for diamonds in South Africa]
) with which to pay our running e*.
|penei:and then one stroke of the
j pick unearthed a rose diamond of such
j siic and purity that for full ixtv min
I ute* our good fortune was the talk of
| Bloemfontein.
( | Well, that night, after our frugal sup
per, Ned, without *|>eking, extended
, the precious gem toward me in his open
pakn, as we sat at our rude table, in
our ranva covered cabin. I do not
answer for tho scope of my partner.s
vision of course, but in theuncut bril.
liant a* in the magician's stones, I my
self saw hut one object—a sweet, wist
fill face framed in a wreath ofdark hair,
! within the depths of whose soft eyes
• was a look as of patient waiting for the
. return of him who had gone to seek
( hi* fortune in the far away diamond
fields.
"Home'.'" was Ned's interrogative
query, raising his own eyes, which had
bent upon the gem r with a sort offer
away look, to meet my own suddenly
upturned gore.
"Home 'l echoed, with joyous em
phasis.
Hut hardly had the word escaped my 1
Hps when a tall form dashed through
the door, lunl, upsetting Hie candle by
a sudden How, seized the diamond from
Ned's stiil outstretched hand, and was
off in the darkness—the whole event
having taken place in far le* time than
1 have occupied in telling it.
Of course we gave the alarm as quirk
ljr a* we could regain our scattered
idea* : but, though half the male pop
ulation of Hloetnfontcin turned outfit
was to no purpose, ,
The robber and hi* booty bad disaj>
peared, without the slightest clew.
Ho it was that being in local parlance
"down on bur luck, "Ned and mys. If
disgusted and dlscouiaged, had aold our
Halm to couple of newcomer* for
ibont £3OO, and with those composing
I oqr coach party, had Ink
ctt pMWg", as I have *nld, for Web
] .ingle u in tending to return home even
though with heavy lioarl* and ligh"
pocket*.
Besides the small, spectacled man
wiio had represented himself us a son
of colporteur for a religious society at
Cape Town, our fullow-piuwcnger* con
posed two diamond brokers, togetliei
witli a young and very boastful fellow,
who called himself McArthur. The
latter had been very successful, and it
was with feelings of envy we heard him
relate the result of two weeks' work in
a deserted claim, where, as he inform
ed us with many profane asseverations,
he hail struck a ''pocket," from which
he had taken stones, whose vulue he de
clared was at least £I,<KK).
There he carried in a belt about his
waist, together with a considerable sum
of money from the sale of his claim, a*
ho said, while girded to either hip was
a heavy revolver, as a safeguard against
possible attack from road agents.
After a wretched supper in a small,
barren looking station in the lloogboom
ltotlom, the journey was resumed with
I| fresh relay of horses and a slight
diminution of our ill temper, the beat
■ ! being a degree or two lets interne, by
reason of the declining sun.
The conversation naturally turned
uj>oi the subject of road agents, some
' recent depredations of these gentry
having been graphically narrated by
the proprietor of the station we bud just
"They wouldn't play any of their
• game* on me," replied M.-Arthur, torn h
! ing the buttsof bis revolver* in a rig
nili- ml manner at In- spoke.
1 | The pale blue eye* of the little man,
' who bore the not uncommon name of
Smith twinkled never to slightly be
bind bis -neetiich-* at the remark, but
> !
he groaned diimally and shook hi
| head.
1 "My dear ir." he exclaimed in dep
ri at ing tones, ••you surely would not
' commit the awful crime of murder,
even U> prevent the loss of the filthy
lucre which you—hem ! •claim to have
acquired through jour own honett ef ,
fort."
"Claim to have acquired? What the
deuce do you mean by that ?" I>lu- let
ed McArtbur. a- N I and my ■■•lf glan
' ed at the little man in tome surprise,
for it enu'd t<> strike us simultaneous
ly that there was a orl of unconscious
significance in Mr. Smith's tone*.
Yet it wa, perhaps, a mistake, as w < 11
•as the fancy that Mi Arthur's bron/ed
he e rhaiigi d color never so little, even j
as the other spoke.
Mr. Smith shrank ba< k into hi cor
ner as though terrified at the other's
threatening manner.
| "Indeed, I meant nothing at all. my j
<b-ir friend," he answered, in apparent
I alarm, "1 "
Cut his protestation wo* cut short by ,
the sudden and abrupt stoppage the
stage, and a terrified yell from the
Kraw boy who drove.
Almost at the same moment a man
sprang from either side of the road with a
I leveled rille.
■'The first one that stirptsa bid!
thrrugh hi head!" said the taller of
the two, a heavily bearded fellow, tl.e ,
very counterpart of the ruffian in a Ist '
. der play.
, My own revolver was in the small ra
lise, which held Ned's and my own
r worldly goods. Kven if 1 had carried
it on my jierson, it is more than likely
that with the nuurlc of a rille staring
I me full in the face. I should not have
! ' attempted to use it.
Ned was unarmed. So, as it then
appeared, wa* the little colporteur.
And the valiant McArtbur dropped on
the bottom of the coach with a cry of
terror, which was feebly echoed by Mr.
Smith.
, In obedience to a gruff command. Mc-
Artbur handed bis revolvers to the
smaller of the two road agents, who,
seeming to lie Assured that no weapons
' were worn by any others of the party,
caused us to alight.
Nod and myself submitted to !>e
searched with the calmness of despair
We bad about A hundred and fifty
sovereign* between us, and a bill of ex
change on a bank in f ape Town, which
the tall roblier took from us, while his
companion, with cocked hat and pre
sen ted rifle, did the intimidating. Me-
Arlhur alternately raved and swore, a*
he was relieved of his belt. The little
man wrung his hands and raised bis voice
in meek supplication, while his specta
cled eyes were fixed, •* though in a sort
of fascination, upon the ruffian who held
the presented rifle.
Now, then, gig lamps, what haveyo*
got about you7" was thejoonequery.
And little Mr. Smith piteous))' en
treated that the mimic of the loaded M
rifle l>e turned asido from his lill'rjgbU-d
face.
"It mif/Jtt go off," he said,.in tretnu
loua tones* "and it make* nitf *o nervous
to have a deadly w capon pohited at fftc.
th. please, take it asfay f l 1
With a hoarse laugh the road agent
tossed his rifle inte the hollow of his 1
arm k ' 1
"Ail r!, n•* lilfllntan! ' 1.-. rJ*.', ,
carelessly, Uo ahead, iltli.'' * I
• 4 i
Jv * 1
This to his companion who approach
ed Kniith for the pur|ose of searching
•dm.
I hen there wa* a transformation
♦eerie, indeed. The small man straight
cried up like lightning and with a
quickness that seemed almost incredi
ble, shoving his hands in the side pock
ets of hi* linen coat, he drew them out
with a cocked revolver in each.
Crack ! and the shorter ruffian stag
gerod and fell, shot through the heart,
(.'rack ! and bis astonished companion,
with a yell of mingled pain and rage,
♦prang for hi* rifle, which lay beside
liim on the ground ; but he was too
late.
Before his fingers closed upon its
shining barrel he tumbled forword to
the earth with a ball through his brain.
The whole affair as over in ten sec
onds., Mr. Smith repocketed bis pis
tols, und taking off bis spectacles re
garded our astonished fuees witlvs ben
evolent smile.
"I lead I y weapons come bandy some
times. after all, gentlemen," he remark
ed.
And I noticed a curious change in he
voice and manner. So, too, did McAr
tbur, who stood for u moment looking
at hiin with seeming perplexity in the
midst of hi* evident stupefaction.
Meanwhile, Neil, who was of a prac- !
tir-al turn, legan taking from 1 1*
i capacious pocket* of the taller of the
two outlaws the valuables and inotiev
of which our little compuny bad been :
df [toiled, at the eager suggestion of the
two diamond-brokers, who bad been
literally paralysed with terror during -
the entire scene through wh.- h we had
I a**c*l, both of them having bcenrelii •. i
ed of large amount*.
iif course they insisted ii|ton r< --is ing
tin ir own property first. Then came
our*. And. at the same time, from a hit
of vsa-b leather iti the same p<w kct roll
(da diamond, of such peculiar sliaj -
i/.e and color for it wa* one of tho e
rare gems. ( peifect rosediamond- that
; Itotli NCI and myself uttered a sim
I ullaneou* cry of astoot*hm< nt and
delight, a* well we might, f'-r it .• our
stolen diamond!
"You are in lurk, genth men," quietly
remarked Mr. Smith, who had I* - n
watching t lie whole procedure, v-hile
' Me Arthur 'tool looking on with cove
tous '■>( '. "I see that tin* i* the stone
•
that you had *toh-n fn>ni you in (amp
- iffis dnv- since. 1 bad glimps of it the
j morning Mr. Oirord here " nodding at
j \ ed—"na showing it to .larvd-a, lh<'
broker, on the corner of Krall street, j
i I should know it among a thousand
M Arthur, who, with hi* recovered ■
, revolvers, which he had buckled oil. had
assumed lii* usual air of braggadocio.
was beard to ex proa* considerable dis
1
i satisfaction.
"One diamond i* like another!" he .
grow led.
Anil lii ilea via' thai under the cir
jruni.tmc the whole had a sort ot ;
common interest in thi* one. In which
1 the brokers gave ready o*-ent.
"I'd like to see any one try to take j
i l!" a;d Nod, with a < ngerou gl";int in 1
i liia eye*.
And little Mr. Smith, nodding appro i
ingly. removed from the dead man's
body the money-belt of which Mr. Mc
Arthur had been deprived.
But instead of handing it to that ;
gentleman, he buckled it about his own j
waist, with an agreeable smile,
"What the duce dons tl.ia mean 7' j
yelled McArthur, who*eface wa* purple
with rage, when, no Icm to bis own
than to our own astonishment, hi* arms
were pinioned by the little colporteur,
who seemed to have the strength oftwo
ordinary men. And in another in'tant
his wrists were adorned with a pair of
shining steel handcuffs.
"It's no use kicking, William,"
i|iiietly remarked his captor, removing a
faded flaxen wig from his own head and
ex|K>siiig to view a short crop of stubby
block hair. "I diden't mean to have
pulled you till we got to Wellington
but this little affair lias, so to speak,
precipitated matters a littlo."
And after we were all again en rout,
having left word at the next station as
to the di>|>osition of the outlaivs' lodic*,
tho |i*eiido Mr. Smith informed u* th*t
the scowling prisoner on the seat oppo
site, who wa kept in bond* by theaight
of a cooked revolver in the captor'*
bands, was one William Hardy, with a
dozen ali"e, whom he—lVnnison
Hunt, the then beat known detective
in hngland—bad followed from Liver
pool to tho verv heart of South Afric ft ,
a reward of £l.t**i having been offered
for hi* apprehension a* principal ut x
great London bank robbery,
[ ,'jHut I never thought I should l>e the
mean* of helping you two gent* foyour
lost properly," said Mr. Smith, with his
eii*tomary. placid smile, as, after tho
wearisome journey, we alighted in front
of the Bigger't He treat at Wellington,-),
with dust bergrimed faoes and i
limb;, four d*y* later. ,
And, to hi* credit be it said, tho dc- ,
teetive would not accept a penny of I
recompense from either of Us. i
'fl ii excitement of the little scrim- i
in*|M WM MMii, HA iltMvllit - I
hands at porting. j I
I -
An Ant's Brain.
Well may l>rwin speak of ih<- i,rir>
of an ant a one of the moat wonderful
particles of matter in the world Wo
■re apt to think that it ia impoaaibUr
(or o minute piece of matter to po*
*•** the n*ce*#ary complexity for thedi*
charge of uch elaborate function*. Tho
microicope will doubtless ahow aouie
detail* in the ant'* brain, hut there fall
hopelesaly abort of revealing the refine
meot which the ant'a brain muat real.
1y have. 'J'he microscope ia not ade
'piate to ahow ut the texture of matter.
It b:* been one of the greatest diacov
eries of modern time* to enable u to
form aome numerical estimate of tho
exquisite delicacy of the fabric which
we know i inert matter. Water, or
air, or iron may be divided and aubdi
vided, but Iheproceaa cannot be carried
On indefinitely. There ia a well defined
limit. We are even able to make aomo
approximation to the number of mole
culen in a given ma<> of matter. Sir
W. Thornpaon baa eatimated that tb©
number of atom* in a cubic inch of air
i* to be expreaed by the figure 3, 10l
lowed by no )*■** than twenty cipher*.
I be brain of the ant boubileaa contain*
more ntoma than an equal volume of
air; but even if we suppose then} to bo
the same, and if we take the aire of an
ant'a brain to be a little globe one thou
sandth of an inch in diameter, wo arte
able to form some eatimate of the num
ber of atorna it must contain. Tho
j number ia to be expressed by writing'
: down ft, and following it by eleven
cipher*. We can imagine these atora
grr uped in ao rnaoy variou* ways toab
even the complexity of the ant'a brain
maybe intelligible wnrn • have it>
many unit to deal with. An il'ustra
tion will perhaps make the argument
clearer. Take million and a half of
little black ttrurka, put them in acer
tain order, and we have a wondrous
reult I'siain's "Iteacent of Man."
Thi* book COrinsN of about 1 'AW.OOO
jeltera, placed one after the other in *
certain order. Whatever be the c<-,rn
plfxity of the ant'a brain, it ia still hard
to believe that it couid not be full}' ue
scribed in tuO.'Mi volumes, each a* large
a* l>arwin' work. Yet the number ©'
molecule# in an ant'a brain is at leaat
400, Ola) tim< is great a* the number o)
i letter* in the memorable volume r
queation.
When roal-g.ia eacaj"** from pipes in
a bona* its presence in the air i* quick
ly detected by its peculiar odor, but
when the leak ia underground and the
gi filter* into basement and cellars
through the toil all odor may licloat.
The air of closed house* may thu< be
t come dangerously charged with this
product while the fact remain* uriu
1 jiected by the inmatca of the dwelling*,
ca*ea have occurred, and I'rof.
Pettendofer. in a recent popular lecture*
at I'erliu, expressed the belief that they
may be much more frequent thaj <s
generally fuppoaed. Coal gaa owe* it*
poisonous properly to carbonic oxilr,
which forma ten per cent of it* com
' position. Grubs ba* *bown that air
containing five parta of carbonic oxido
in t< n thousand may be breathed fot
days without injury to health, while u
projortion of seven or eight parta in
ten thousand cafisea appreciable dia
comfort, a proportion of twenty part*
in ten thousand produces difliculy 4
1 breathing, weakness and uncertainly
of gait ; and twice that proportion
1 >ade to stupefaction. f lio* el by ex
tream and fatal effect* aa the carbonic
oxide inrreaaea. On the occurrence ®(
symptom* of gas poisoning—such a*
headache—Prof. Pettenkofer re com
, mend* the opening of window*, and if
the symptom* reappear on dosing tho
windows be think* that an escape ri
ga* near the house may well be ua
j pected.
Water Witchea are highly regarded
lin the far Weal. toe man in particnln
hat the reputation in Colorado, of he
| ing a trust worthy diviner, and he
alwaya in request. T>y trade he U a well
j digger, but to thi* commonplace seen
pation he has added the profession of
water finder. And he ia not exclu
I *ively employed by willy people, but by
practical men of business. Thus he i
designating for a railroad company all
the wells along the new line which they
are constructing. The instrument of
divination is a forked twig, by prefer
ence a mulberry.
The Chinaman in hew York rarely
ue their real names in business. Wad*
I.ee means "united profit," Yee Lee,
"essy profit," and ao on. They carry
on their correspondence at home in
their assumed name*, and thus produce
an impression of business prosperity
far beyond the possibilities .of .a side
street laundry.
An Albsny firm have utilised tin
ssrapt. They make wrought jplstw
dovtails for store legs, an'd till!. qp from
six to eight tons of aersp* every month
for thi* purpose. The article* made
are small piece 1 of tin of peculiar eha;*
which are need by stove wembor* tw
in*. 1 a t2^
bottoms.