——— A anions OLD VIRGINIA SCENES. SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE CO .N- TRY CROSS ROADS STCRE. Old Time Customs and Modes of Life Peculiar to an Earlier PerlodeThe Country MerchanpeOarrying the Mails, Jig and Juba. The visitor from the wide awake and more energetic northern or western states in pass. ing through Virginia will, fist of all, be at- tracted by the old time and anti. quated customs and modes of life peculiar to an earlier period which still cling like thread- bare garments to the noble form of the oll commonwealth. Not the least interesting of thes aried phases of existence in the once wealthy state is aehitt SRS D6 very properly designated as her cross roads life. term secms particularly appropriate to this class, which is as extended as the boundaries of the state itself, and will be met with in every section, irrespective of its agricultural ad- vancement or social status. The inevitable little store, the representative of the class, nestles cozily and quietly in its midst. At every corner the contracted catch-penny store sits complacently awaiting ths tardy purchaser of its limited stock of wares, con- sisting of a “little of all,” as the merchant in charge would say, while in reality limited to a few every day articles necessary to the country folk around for whem the ordinary shopkeeper caters, THE COUNTRY MERCHANT. These stores are in most instances kept by Virginia gentlemen whose was swept away by war, and who have calmly settled into a dormouse state of slumber within the shadow of the ghostly old guide post at the cross roads to drone out a bare existence—a life as shadowy and unsatisfac- tory as though alworbed and iost in & Rip VauWinkle sleep. It is somewhat amusing to seo with what address and elegance of man- ner these Virginia country merchanis preside over their unpretentious establishments, while with the brad a and other peculiarities of accent and expression, which they declare to be purely Elizabethan, they trace back for centuries to an ancestor of the “blae blooded” anstocracy ; later toa first rank among the “F. F. V8.” and later still, to a ocolonelship— never the rank of a private—in the Confed- erate army. or an intimate relationship with some leader of “the lost cause ™ In many of these stores is located the country postoffice, the once lord of the manor becoming the duly qualified and recognized representative of one of the most extensive and most important departments of the American government. The mails, in ex- ceptional eases, are received daily: at other remote places, semi-weekly, tri-weekly and at others Jess frequently still. The mode of carrying the mails is in places as quaint and primitive as that of many other sections of a century ago, employing ncient in appearance as the old chaise of Washington's time, in some in- stances being carried on horses as dilapidated as the revolu saddle upon which the not les dilapidated mesenger rides: and, in- deed, the United States mail department is represented on foot, A favorite expression, and one which seems to have a soothing effect upon the dignitied cross roads merchant and postmaster is “be. fore the war,” what he did and bow he lived, and if then a seller of wares and trader in eggs and general country produce, be speaks with a feeling of romantic pride, savored with regret, of the superior stock and Jarge sales “before the war:” but times have changed, while, save in financial condition, the merchant remains the same, ON SATURDAY NIGHT. Saturday night is the only time that the Avepage store throws off its quiet, sleepy way of existence, The week's work is finished. and $he colored population from far and near as- “sambie at the place of fanciful name to spend the results of toeir labors and pass muck of the night in social dance, songs and jokes, while the dignified persotzge of the duller week day, in the “rush of business,” becomes Folly and seei-vie and waits upon the colored Brotherhood with that ease and courtesy which the southern gentleman possesses so well, This diminutive castle by the sea was visit. ed on Baturday night, when ablaze with light and basking in all the glory of a “big night. t bad assumed boisterous Tl E ii HEHE i H EF i Louisiana's “ Yanillc Men. Coming to the “colored” po. : — WHO CAN TELL? Wo lost: yet couldst thou deem it boot ¥ thou and I had never ret) Had never known the wild regret; Our hearts been formed to soon forget; Had never shod thos scorchiug tears, That dimmed our eyes, and aged our years, And wrecked our souls’ unknowing rest? We lost; yet were it wise or well It mever we had known or cared? If ne'er our souls’ wealth had been And all our weal and woe bean spared If mever our two souls had run . Their course care free, then blent as one? Maghap "twers best. 1 csnnot tell, We lost: yet all the grief and wos, The yoars of care and pain, Hopes Bes haton bound loaves have lain Along my path, the strife so vain, The bliss so distant as to seem But as the fabric of a dream, Bly soul deep treasures. That I know! «M. Elleen Holahan, The Colonel and the Soldier. Col. Stephen A. Walker is now United tSates district attorney at New York city. ‘Walker had served the Union in the innoo- uous position of assistant paymaster. One «dark day while Mr. Walker was sitting in his office wi how long he would be «compelled to “loaf,” on account of the in- ability of Uncle Sam to pay his boys in Blue, a private soldier walked in, and con. fronted him. The soldier belonged to a Con- neeticut regiment. Imagine the paymaster's surprise when the following conundrum was put to him by the soldier: “Say, when do you expect to pay us men, anyway! We haven't had a cent now in three months." The assistant paymaster glared at his visitor, and told him neither politely nor religiously that it was none of his ——— busi- ness. This was far from satisfactory, and the soldier proceeded: ‘But it is my busines, and that is why 1 am here. The men are not treated with the slightest justice, and if the United States ain't able to pay them, why you can have a draft on a New York bank for the amount due my regiment. Of course there was no alternative left to Col. Walker but to regard the Connecti- cut private as a crank. It remained only to bo sure just how dangerous a crank he was, “You'd better get back to your camp at once," said the paymaster. Who gave you penuission to come Lae, anyway! Come now, get out, or I will call the guard and bave you placed under arrest. Git!" Suiting the action to the word the doughty paymaster arose and proceeded to ‘fire’ the private. “Hold on a minute; take your hands off! I tell you I mean what I say. I belong to the —th Connecticut, and I ean afford to pay my regiment, if there's no objection ing ought to be done, and I'm will- ing to advance the money. My name is Elias Howe!" This gave an entirely new aspect to the case, and Paymaster Walker grew quite deferential. The man who stood before him was the famous inventor of the managed to find himself in New York. He had started a law office; that is to say, be helped to occupy the office of a few friends of his was not specially active. One day Walker thought he would stop in and sew whether Elias Hows recalled the misadven- ture of the war. Two years had then eiapsed. Elias Howe was there and his memory was good. They sat down together and talked. Bre Massachusetts, Walker from Vermont. The Howe Machine company fad juss been organised al ker was appointed it . With an office in every city, town, and hamlet in the A Charming Girl She Was. “I bad a little experience once,”’ said the young analytical philosopher, “You don't sem to have kept it," said his friend. 4 : Phi £ {rit 3 : i : : i k | ] 2 : X is ; i d | i 4 rit} Big jist £3% g : 2 EXPERIENCE WITH A BEAR, A Farmer Goes Prepared for Work in Close QuartorssA Hint for Amateurs, “On the third day,” continued the post. master, “we had an exciting adventure with a large bear, Farmer Riddell, remembering his experience with the bear two years ago, bind gone prepared in an extra way.” “How was that” “He had been told by an old hunter that it was a good plan to carry about a pound of pepper loose in your pocket, so that if you onme in close quarters with a bear you could dash a handful in his eyes and blind him," “Was the farmer thus prepared” “Yeu: and on the day spoken of we had separated to look for deer. 1 stationad him on a big rock near a path, and proceeded around the bill, expecting to start a deer. 1 had not been gone more than an hour, when I heard the crack of the farmer's rifle, and I hastened to where ho had been stationed,” “What did you discover?” asked Grier, “When I arrived, imagine my surprise to find the farmer perched on the limb of a tree about twenty feet from the ground, and a big bear tearing around below, evidently in great pain.” “Had he wounded it" “No. It appears that as be was standing on the rock watching for deer a bear came suddenly loping along the path, Impulsively he raised Lis rifle and fired, but missed the bear. It at once made a dash for him, when be suddenly turned and clambered into the branches of a friendly oak tree near by, losing his rifle in the ascent. The bear started up the tree after him, when he thought of the pepper in his pocket, sud as it was about to reach for him be threw a hand. ful in his face, Fortunately the pepper filled the eyes of the bear, and it immediately com- menced voaring with pain and dropped to the ground. Just as #000 as I could draw a bead on the crazed beast 1 fired, and fortunately killed it. The farmer then descended the free and related the story how he came to take refuge in its branches” “Was the bear a large one?” “When skinned and dressed it weighed 280 pounds. It was very fat, and we had a splendid roast next day for dinner. We brought about 100 pounds of the meat and the skin home with us. Farmer Riddell will have a robe out of the skin, and be will keep it asa trophy of bis adventures in the Black Forest.” Now York Times. Allve with a Broken Neck. It has gencrally been supposed by those un familiar with medical and surgical science that a mas cannot live with a broken neck, Considerable interest is manifested in the caso of Andrew Hamilton, who, according toa dispatch from Baraboo, Wis, had his neck broken in Evansville, Wis, last Sunday and bs still alive. The dispatch concluded with the statement: “This is supposed to be the first case on record of a person living so long with a broken neck.” On account of the cu- riosity und interest falt in what appears to be an extraordinary cass a reporter called on Dr. P. 8. Connor, the eminent surgeon, who has bad great experience in all such fract. ures, “Ix this case so wonderful, doctor?” “That depends upon where his neck was broken. If it was above the point of the phrenic nerve death would result instantane ously or within a very short time. This was probably a fracture of the lower vertebra, which causes paralysin. There are cases on record of this character, and are not uncom. mon. One wan lived eleven days, another fifteen weeks, another four months, another fifteen months, and still another fourtos: years, A dislocated peck does not necessarily produce death, unless the spinal cord mapped. 1am satisfied that in the css you mention the fracture was below the second cervicle, and the injured man is a victim of paralysis. People live with broken backs, and when the compression of the spinal cord bas not been severe injured mon have recov- ered from dislocated necls All the patients Téver had whose necks were broken above the phrenic nerve have invariably died. It Is impossible for them to survive" “How about men who are legally hanged “In my opinion very few of them have their necks broken. They die of stranguls. tion. "Cincinnati Enquirer, An Ingenious Libel, Jhb Stun of tie bestiute: Chices: why strikingly exemplified the other y at Shanghai. A Chinaman, having a grudge against another, wrote an article full of vio lent personal attack and § and took it to one after the other of the two native papers. Both refused to insert what was clearly a libelous document. The China: Ul the following day an advertisement ick sy of cup iom lon ele He wp the pervon who inserted the first advertise | 4 ¥ n | Uninvited Wedding Guests, One of the ills that soc’; has to grin and bear iv the presence of Uninvited] yates at werklings and receptions. ly rg ae nook tells mo 1] knows several ner and won who attend lg porties without favitation “Why sty they vot ejeciodl” 1 asked. “Oh, is would make a soene, and we don't like ; said she. “But I would TL i i FROM TIE ASIAN SEA. PECULIARITIES OF THE MALAYS WHO LIVE IN NEW YORK, Gregariousness of the Colony in Their Various Relations of LifesAmusomont of Turtle FightingeGamblingeMatri- monysBoarding House=Itoligion, Bo far ax the western world is concerned the Malay is a ses nomad. Those who have settled in New York came there as seamen, who intended to return by the same ship, but who by accident or other cause wers obliged to vemain until they were mors or low at tached to their now home. In the yeurs they have grown by accretion until they form a legitimate colony similar to those of the Chinese, the Italians and the Polacks This colony rises and falls in number according to the nationality of foreign seamen in port. It never falls below 800, and sometimes rises ne hich us 1,500, The Malay, contrary to popular belief, is not & pure blooded race, so far os the New York representatives are concerned, A leading man in the Sixth ward, Nik de la Cruz, has the build of a Falstaff, a round, full face, more like a German's than of any other nation. ality. a warm sepia comp exion, long blue black hair that breaks in heavy curls upon his shoulders, and the physiognomy of an ideal philanthropist. Min Gos, who isequally popu lar in Orlental councils, and who runs a queer fonbiing house in Mots street, is thin, wiry, ree featured, straight haired, yellow skinned and cat like in ways and actions. Malaba, a third, is almost European in his physiognomy, but as dark as a Lou negro in hair and skin. These differences are, perhaps, attrib. utablo to the fact that most of thoss in the metropolis come from Manilla and other Malay seaports, where from time immemorial there has been a constant miscegenation of all the Oriental races. GREGARIOUSNESS- A MUKEMENTS, Like all the eastern people, they are habit. uated to the practices made needful by a dense population. No matter where they are they crowd together. It is not uncommon for fifteen or twenty to sleep together in a room of 12 by 2 dimensions. In conversa tion they squat or stand Together till almost all engaged are §9 personal contact When they visit a lquor saloon or one of the dance Ia'ls ro common in the lower ward, they go in knots of five or more. The Eregarioustes extends to almost all the relations of life, and in some Malaysian communitios enters the marital relation, producing that singular cos ton, polyandry, Their anvusements are fow and simple. The most remarkable of these fs turtle fighting Two snapping turtles are carefully selected and trained. The best for sporting purposes are those that weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds apisce. Lighter ones are immature and not 0 muscular, Heavier ones aro logy, slow and les vindictive. The training con. sists in teasing them three times a day witha bamboo rod and allowing them to bang from this by the hour after they once take bold. The only dist is raw meat and rd Pepper, even water being taboosd. The day before the fight the teeth and jaws are examined, overbanled, filed and scraped till they re semble knife The figh: Is conducted in a small ring not more than & yard in diameter. The snappers aro produced and washed and sach tasted by the reconds of the other, This is done to pre- vent cowitch or poisonous drugs being placed pond the salient points whence it way enter the mouth, howe and eyes of the opposites an- tagonist. They are then irritated in the usual style with a sharp rod until nearly frenzied, and then placed in the center of the ring. There is neither wait for running away. Each snaps at the other simultaneously. The best bold & an oblique hold. This enables the one that catches to reach 55 carotid artery and the windpipe without being compelled to bite through the massive cartilages of the neck. Next to thie is a straight neck hold, in which the two jawa strike against the top and bottom of the neck. Below this again is the cross bold, in which the jaws strike again the two sides of the neck. Poorest of all is the leg hold. This is regarded by all Orfental sports as the acme of unintelligence, Lecauss if both the snappers take leg holds the fight iv lengthened out interminably. The combat is to the death—one of the turtles always being killed and frequently both, GAMBLING MARRIAGE RELIGION, The Malays, like the Chinese are great gamblers. Their favorite games for which wa have no name in English, suggest and a few resemble) faro, lottery, roulette, odd and they bave made in the new world the Malays are industrious, affectionate and domestic, is Ile i! i # 5E larger children. ¥ ha Ie : Hgloas that they may bo tuth ally wid to room and kitchen com Inet is the store room, ta from A055 to $10 0 momh rout and its about £3,000 per annum, ur ksi my oti pd £9 By re 4 3 : Favs none, Maslow ava coalols (oom the Baddidet, Yobamm lan Dome a Cation. He and Conlaci a faiths me found in every and hamlet of Malaysia. They WITH THE LONDON BUSMEN, Seventeen Hours a Day, and No Holidays. No Time for Home Pleasures. “Beventoen hours a day! One hundred and nineteen hours a week! That's my time, I left the yard last night st five and twenty minutes to 2, and I was on my bus again this mornin’ at 'alf-past 8. It's these long hours that tell?” “But you get o holiday somet! mes?” “If we ilko to pay for it. Whenever wonre off duty wa don't get paid. Whoa, there!” And tho speaker, a smart “whip” amon the London omuibus drivers, ceases his conver. tion concerning his long hours of labor to pull up his horses nud sing out loudly the desting- tion of his omnibus They are quaint and curious men, some of these London busmen, with a rich fand of droilery all thelr own, “You see, sir,” sald one, “1 don't much ears for a holiday; I've been so long on this ‘ere bus that things look quite different likes when I'm In the strect below. Tahouldn't know my own children fn the street,” “Oh, come! that's Loo strone.” “Fact, I tell yo, wir; I'm ale=es away in the momin' afore they're up, and not Lome till they're in bed at night, and I shouldn't know my littlo gal if I was to meet ber out, especially if 1 was to seo her off my bus.” Truly a siznificant remark for a man to make In this latter half of the wonderful Nineteenth century —a rewiark not without a touch of satire and of pathod, too; and we find ourscives nskice if it is 0 nocewity of our advanced civilization that men mast work wo long and so continuously. day after day, that tic; never ses their children ex. cept asleep] No sweet, simple prattle about the father’s knee, no little fat, dimpled arms around the father's neck, none of the loving, softening influences which 1ittl« peonie know so well bow to exert over even the most stony hearted of men! Surely, O Christian civilization, thess things are not necessities of thy development! But yet the bus driver rarely complains or grumbles, He does not strike or congregate in mam meetings, or commit acts of riot, but he works patiently on, day by day, steering his horses marvelously well through the crowded London street, and surveying life with a philosophic calm from the altitade of bis box, except when a child strays in the way of bis horses, and then his language is, perhaps, rougher than are his real feelings. ~The Quiver THE ENGLISH SOCIETY JOURNAL. The Latest Produet of Eaglish Life. Dasly History of the Aristocracy, But not only do the English of late years throw reticence to the winds when they write their memoirs, they have invented The Ro ciety Journal, the latest product of English life. 1 was living in London when Edmund Yates founded The World It was so suo cessful thet Labouchere's Truth spesdily fol. lowed, and eclipsed its original in daring freedom of statement and satire. Both papers wore frowned upon at ‘he outset and censured harshly by the rigid guardians of society, but read universally They were seen in every drawing room in London, and in nearly every bouss in England; commented on, declaimed against, and finally contributed to, by the fine folks who at first decried them. Doubtless the editors often wont 00 far—sometimes they went to fail; untruths were invented, and libel suits were the consequence; but the journals were stab. lished. and today they are recognised as featurm, sven powers, in the social and politi. el =vetem of England. All this is natural under 8 monarchs The “great,” as they call themmelves, are uv +1 to being discumed. Princes and princesses ex- pect 10 be criticised as well as 3 They know that the penalty of their position fs publicity, and they do not shrink from the unveiling, any more than the actors who play Romlind or Clandian, Their characters and lives, even their appearance and thelr manners, have been the theme of comment since the days of Pharaoh's hter and Helen of Troy, and the talk of today is the basis of bistory tomorrow. The great por. form ina theatre where the whole world fs audience, and those who sit in the pit have a "fo England thi terday, and in what order ber gusts went to table. The in the same way allows its banquets and Falls to be chronicisd for the information of its inferiors: and so it Pin Maosey in OIL A Pittsbary oll beaker receis od the follow. 1SS6 1S59- Great Reduction PRICES!!! l am now Prepared to Give BIG BARGAINS. DRY GOODS, Dress Goods from 5¢ to $2 per yard. NOTIONS, Hore from 3c to $1 perdy w GROCERIES LowerThan theLow, est. Give us a Call Ws Guasastes Satis- | if | 4 i I i : 2 i i L 3 hy il
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers