UN. —————— 2 mm — i; ——— Bc Ee ne ed Cotmis has wo ———— —— IN LOVELY VENICE. Venice, Dee, 27.~Close to the very we cros=picce, a- it were, of the letter 8 that forms the Grand Canal, is the famous bridge of the Rialto. It is mude, like almost everything else in Venice of marble, and is 158 feet long. It is really a short stone street in the air, with shops and peddlers upon either side, It has often been said that the way to find any one in & crowd is to stand . still and let him come to you; and it is true that to get a good idea of the common people of Venice one has only to staed quieidy for an hour up- on this bridge wil watch the passers by. Dark-eyed, dark-skinned, decently dre:s d, pleasant in manner, fair with each other, and courteous tostrangers Jet them have their own way, that is about te imp es<ion the common peo- p'e of Venice make upon one. Their own way does not consist of anything very cruel it 1s simply a question of ~ your subm ttiog to a few of their lit- “tle lo g-estahiished cheats, costing ~you only a fev cents per day, and v y'Iding any amount of comfort and information. For iustance, you pay your gordoler bis and the city's ; price for ta<ing you on one of the Rittle canal jourveys; then he expects dwo or thre ceots more. If you “hand him these, he thanks you with a ssmile that is worth the price of the exhibition; if you do not, he wrenches himsell away with such an iojured look that you are unhappy for an hour after. When you land, or when you ~embark in a gondola, a poor withered veteran of the placid waves makes a feeble show at assisting you by hold- ring the boat still with a antiquated looking hook. This man is a Worn out gondolier, and he expects you to give him for his little service just two cen- times —not quite half of an American cent. Who would not expend this much to please an old man? A be. witchingly handsome, or interestingly ug'y boy opens the church door for you before you esa get a haod to the knob; give bim a centime sod he will be pleased with it and you. A grace ful listle girl, with eyes like pieces of night with stars in them, glances at you sweetly. Don’t forget to give her a small round fragment of metal if you had rather her little mind would not ¢jaculate “Mean old thing” Italian. One can here, with a very little copper, purchase a great deal of silver and gold. in But do not get a Venetian angry | flne paioeg of a good old monk in | at you. Billingsgate is a feeble de- scription of the racket they can make with their tongues. They are elso quick tempered snd revengeful. When steamers were put upon the | Grand Canal the gondoliers “went on a strike” ina truly American fashion, and would carry nobody for days. When some of the principal hotels decided to keep their own gondolas, and employ only their own servants «a8 goodoliers, the women turned out in a passion early one morning and wmashed all the boats, From what I have seen and heard, I have no doubt that a Venetian makes an awkward + enemy. But a touch of feeling sets them all aglow with geverosity. Traveliog dhrough ove of the narrow caoals, ‘with scores of more or less destitute people upon the shores, a lady of our party took a faocy to the face of a little girl sod wished to give her some money. The child was shy, aod tried to run away; but the ragged people persaed her down aa alley like street aod brooght her back, ball crying 10 receive the reward of her beauty Not voe of them bat needed the money a badly or worse than she; but they were se pleased with the tiny good fortune at their little neighbor that they gave us all quite an ovation, The sbopkedpers of Venice are maloely a bad lot. According to Veuetina papers themselves, sod aoe cording to buyers from all Jands, a shop bere is more than likely 10 be the nest of bandits. They pay guides large commissions for inveigling trav. alors iuto their dens, and then ak at least twioe the retail worth of their ware —often ameriing, with tearful #76, what they are on the brink of rain, are offering below cost have wold nothing that day, ect. If & cus tomer obooses to ma've himself into a finano al ledg bammer, aod bests Issolubalt, be own bring them ‘do PSE ati; but _ore numer. sented. One word of advice to tourists: Do not make your journey into a shopping trip,and let your putchnses consist mainly of souvelrs; else you will probably be cheated out of time strength and money. But we areslill at the Rialto bridge, and now walk into the Rialto iteelf— once a sort of Venitian Wall Street ~ now a fruit, beef and vegetable, market, The first settlers of Venice landed atthis little island, and lived upon itas a refuge from the Huns; so that Rialto is really a tiny old city within a city. It is lighted up by Shakespeare's genius for here Shylock first heard of his enemys approaching ruin and chuckled over the pound of flesh that he fioally did not get. But we have not much time to spend in this interesting place; we must voyage through other paris of the Palace City. We dive with a gondola iuto the more narrow canals 50 narrow that when we meet a floating load of hay, we have to turn back to a corner and let it puss. The buildings are so high, and appieach each other so nearly at the top, that it seems as if we were sailing in a region of wells, Just here no people are in view—not even at the windows; all is assilent as death, except the faint, regular splash of our oarsman. A boy turns a corner and comes sweeping down toward us in his toy gondoln, deftly singing an operaite air; he looks independent enongh to be a young duke, instead of a young duck; but he detects our interest in him, and away his rank by asking for ceontesimi. Corner after corner, and liquid street after street, and now it ita re lief to be in & wide lake or laguna, which separates the city from The Lido—the Coney Islaud of Venice. We find this place oppressively dull, as all watering places are out of season; the Adriatic deals tenderly with it as compared to the Atlantic our American shore resorts, and nice bath houses and ¢plendid wave strip of ground. It is ouly a short distance from St. Lazere, the little Island that contains an Armenian monastery, where Lord Byronstadied, | more Or less for six months, The monks probably did not succeed in| { making the wild youog man particu- | larly pious, but they preserved his | memory in every way possible. They exhibit the table at which he sat, the library in which he worked, and a | the act of teaching him, they show photographs for sale. Back again through the dusky air | of evening toward the unique city, whose distant window lightshave now been kindled, and look at ns over the still waters, Aswe glideslowly along it is easy to immagine our little craft motionless aod the faraway town floatiog toward us over the deep. Stars began to take their places in the blue Italian sky, the moon is nearly at its full’ and has silver to spare, which it throws lavishly iato the waves around us. Now there comes & mellow voice from the bell toogue of St. Mark's, sad the old song occurs to us— Alone on the waters! "tis eve’s moarnfal bell, That so sadly keepasighing a note of farewell! for to-morrow we must leave this flood full of palaces, crumbling away uoder the memories of & thousand years, Wins Canvcerus. GREAT DIAMOND - THE FRAUD Among the many schemes to which the great banker Ralston, who loved to be called the “finaccial king of the Pacific const,” devoted no small share of the California Bank of which he was president, was the exploiting of mives in yramid range of moun. rains close der. line which divides A from New Mexico. This was In the early seventies, when speculation was rife and the discovery of bousozas an everyday event. Amnieg the suployecs of Ralston in the Pyramid mines was one George Arnold, a man of meager education, but bright and ambitions. In his shanty on the wild mountain side be was over dreaming of some plan that would bring Dame Fortune to his feet. even | While yet dreaming his dream of wealth there eam» to him the are published that poking are not always m0 repre. | discoveries Solted aes Of the mivut dismond, st Cape Colony, His £ y ] accommodatinns adorn the long sendy | LL SORES davisel » schim o which, in its wy, equaled Low's Bouth Bes bubble. The soll arouad the Pyramid dis trict was rich in color and had char acter enotigh to inaugurate any min. ing scheme, however wild and im- practicable. 80 with a comrade, Jim Haggerty, with whom he had long been associated, Arnold made long tours over the surrounding country. After a few weeks of this kind of work he resigned his place in the mines, with the given intention of seekiog the fairer fields of Mexico. He next turned up in San Francis co in the fall of 1871, He immedi- ately found Ralston, and even aston- ished that bold operator by revealing that he had discovered in Ariz oa rizh diamood fields quite as extensive as those of Cape Colony. From the grip-sack he had brought with him he poured forth a wondrous display of rough diamonds which had been washed from the yielding soil of the new find. They were many and ap- parently of value, Ralston, ever ready for venture, especially one which promised such dazzling results, entered at once into a proposed exploration of the new diamond fields. He introduced Arnold to several leading capitalists who at once became enthusiastic over the Golconda. With the rapid action peculiar to Californiavs the clique who had been let into the secret immediately determined to visit the mines, and if fonod to be all right, 10 purchase Arnold's claim and title for the sam of $1,000,000. Arnold re luctantly accepted the offer, Oo their return to San Francisco pany. ed. Arovold was paid his $1,000,000 and made superintendent of the pew mines. He at once made known the location of the diamond fields they were visited holders in the company. Diamonds were found by each and all of them, | and all went merry as a marriage bell until Arnold skipped for the East. It was then thought best ts call in and | an expert, and Professor King, well-known geologist, was selected | He first discovered that the ground | | around the clump of trees on the {bank of the Rio Prieto had been | cleverly * ‘salted” with refuse diamonus | such as may be cheaply bought | the marts of Amsterdam. | seen that the diamonds found by the | capitalists had been “tried” at Amster. dam, and, as Professor King “while diamonds may exist in Arizona in said, you ap astounding lot of old books, a | 't 18 bardly to be expected that nature | that a learned looking prinsiug office, some | | will produce them partly cut or polish- | Strang: r, I reckon you'd better mosey beantiful flowers snd any nomber of | ed. The members of the new diamond | company were both | sod indignant, snd steps were quickly taken to bring Arnold to justice. He was at his home in his native Ken- tucky, and the machinery of the law was brought to bear upon him there, He was arrested, but gever taken out of the blue grass country for punish- ment. In some manner he secured his release, aod entered upon a life of wild enjoyment. His excuses were of short duration and after five years of feastiog and rioting with illgotten wealth, he died.— Providence Press. a — — A BRIGHT SCHEMER. A professional real-estate “boomer” while riding on horseback through the pine woods of Arkansas, came up- on a peculair-looking fellow sitting us. der a tree, deeply interested in a sort of a diagram, which, with a short stick be was drawlog on the sand. How are you! said the boower, dismounting, Ain't complainin, the fellow repli od, contemplatiog a fresh mark which he made in the mod, You seem to be laying off a town there, No, I ain't doin that, nuther. Must be some sort of land scheme you've got on hand. Ko, it ain't that, nuther, I was io vopes so. You see my bawiooss— No, 1 dida’t see yore bizoess, nuth- Wait a minute. I say my busi- ness is Lo go into a neighborhood and immediately bring up the value of lund by stimalatiog & spirit of speca- lation. Say for instance, that you've got one huodred acres that you'd like 10 well but tor which you have found no markel, I see you secretly and enter bright | into an arrangement with you. Short ly afterwards [ mest you at the cross- the capitalists wished to form a com. | In ten days it was accomplish | number of fellows. 1 meet you as if for the first time, fall into conversa tion, gradually come down to land matters and after a while ask you who owns a certain tract. You do, I would like to buy it. You regard the matter carelessly, just as I observe you are admirably fitted to do, sod, without giving rae any satisfaction, get up and go off. Then I take out a sortof a map and after looking over it for some time, mumble some- thing about a new railroad, as if I don’t care about any body hearing me, and afterwards showiog considerable auxiety concerning you, ask where for you. I fail to find you and come back to the place. where the fellows are sitting. Fioally I explain all | about the new railroad, and spesk of | you as & most fortunate fellow, for | the new depot is going to be located on your land. I start out to look for come back. By this time these fellows | have formed a sort of a syndicate to cheat you out of your place. The lead: r begins to ask about your land, place for ten times as much as it worth, After that, money. See, The diagram maker sprang to his feet knocked the boomer down and kicked him ; and theo, as he was try- ing to get up, knocked him senseless, When the boomer came to, he raised up and said : Will you let me go now ? The peculiar-lookiog fellow glance ed up from the diagram, upon which he bad resumed work, aod replied : Reckon you'd better. The boomer got alter up, and by several stock | who is uoacquainted with the social customs of the community, why thumped me around in that way? fel. No would’t mind. You see, a fow with the same game the | It was also thunderstruck | through here about a an I was cone of month ago, the fools that | roped in into buyin’ a old sedge ficld | that ain't worth ten cents. | Thank you for your information. do not want 10 be inquisitive, but will you tell me what sort of a map that | {is your are working on so iotently, I am tryin to ef | ken make a map {showin how hs railroad ken git round | | | & cypress swamp, over a bayou, over | another old field bought a sand mountain, through swamp and then git to the fellers possul of us slong, now. ~—Arkansaw Traveler - PEPPER AND SALT The position of a judge is an ex- tremely trying ove, It would seem patural for a carpen ter to walk with a lumbering gait. Dogs sod men have summer pants, but a dog has a fit sometimes, The farmer makes his liviog by the grain io the field, aod the carpenter by the grain in the wood, The busivess of a spirit-mediom is better in winter than in summer, be- cause there is more demand for wraps. —Siftinge A face that one never tires of ex- aminiog-—the face a note for a large amount, good any timeat the bank. Texas Siftings. A New Jersey man has invented a stove to carry in the hat. This, with the conventional brick, makes a very good heating arrangement. No matte of your head vas shinffed mit knowledges go on der church house, und der goot tiongs dot vas laz& on your mind vas get inwagora- tions, dots #0. Corl Preteel. How it all comes back to me, said the poet sadly, as with practiced fio gers he estimates the thickness of the portly MBS. which hud just been taken from the postoffice. Brown—Do you “know bow long Robiod has been keeping bouse? SBmith-~No, but it must be a great many years. I took dinoer with bim the other day and be carved a duch without spilling it on the floor. Har per's Basar, They were to have young Mr. Law de Dah to dioner, and Mis Travis quietly remarked as she changed the glasw at his plate : | must get Mr Law de Loh soft water, It woulde t do for him to diink anything hard, you know, Can you tell me darling, be arked roads where you are silting with a you have gone, and start oat to look | you again, and while I am gone you | all the time keep a sharp look-out | to see if I am coming back, and the | first thing you know you've sold your | is | of course, you | brushing the sand off his clothes, said: | Would you mind telling a stranger | you | comes | was | | as they sat together in the the weak spot of the sola, the exact physiologi. oal ‘sud mathematical duration of a kissff About asecond sod a balf I believe, she answered demurely. Thanks, he replied. | will wake » minute of ii. Yourg Journaiist (to old editor)— Buccessful writing, [I should think is quite a science. Editor—No [don't thing so. Quite easy, it sirikes me what the people want aad then wii e it—You encourage me, but say, how All you've got to do is to find out | | true iu part, {of briefly ex plslon’ to de meetin’ fur us have some philosophy frou brocher Gardoer, on the soabject of ficial honesty. How dat report go abroad I dosn know, cosiuuep the old man, but it was made outer hull cloth, as we sll know: Dar sows our respected Treasurer in his usual seat, an’ de club ar’ safe in Bunk, Homan fore- sight sn’ human hindsight bev deir wesk pints, ao, de day may possibly come when some sich item may be I may take de liberty {is a fellow going to fiad out what the | | people want? Ediwr—I be hanged it | koow —Arkansaw Traveler, Irate Father ~You remember you wanted to marry a book keeper of | mine about a year ago. Dsughter—- | Yes, father. A pretty sort of a man | you picked out. He has decamped | with my whole fortuve, You re- | member fa ther, that you told him he don’t you ! Of course the young— | | I have just received a dispatch from | him at Montreal saying he is rich now, | | bat is perfectly willing Lo marry a Omain World C——— WHY HE CHANGED HIS MIND, | poor man’s daughter — Farmer Dobbs was busking corn i L] clearly : Yes id he, [ eale’lace some on visitin' | Lijah this wiater. | York, ye know, an’ | | fen to go because thev're | busy people no’ I a'ay's { labo, to siate his case very powerful mistrusted | twould be & put-out to them to traipse | {around with me. Lijah’s in his office - all day, ao’ the gals are seein’ aboot | their clo’es, an’ their mother she’s on {a good many boards an sich, What's { mind, uncle ? made you change your ssked a neighoor, who had come into change I'll tell ye, al a said the farmer, looking red ear before he and possibly remembering the days | when he and Abigail were youag. The | gals have speat tbe summer dowa | here, ye know, au’ sist they made | things ham ! Made knowingly volunteered the Wal, no, 1 trouble, for we was glad to troable 7 neighbor. exactly Site & good deal of shouldn't say ‘sm ina’ glad to do for "em; but bless, 4 {my work, I can dn’t make no booes of henderin’ teil Sometimes {they seemed as if ‘twas play got up for them to look at Now, I shouldn't ! said the ne It | she'd beg to ride a little ways they ye. liked ion. ba' that, ghbor with decis did hender, I can’t deny, Clary ‘he | mowin’-machive, aod I'd have to fol- : ¥ Wer « on n my hair tarein’ gray, what for fearshe'd | oa’t hadu't turned afore, { cut herself all to pieces. for save it both the gals must ride I'll be buttered when we was coming back aod puttin’ for the barn, wiih the big drops splashin’ us all Jennie she botlers : 0 Uacle Peter, stop the oxen ! do ! I thought she'd got hurt someways, to say the least on't ar’ what do you s'pose was the matter? She'd seen a big ros’berry bush, su’ nothin’ would do but she must stop an’ eat That time’ though, I didn’t give ia. I drav on. They seemed poorty lively gals, Lively | They tooted horas every time we weal out riding and wanted to make jack-o’laoterns,~[ blessed my star punkios hadae’t came !—ap’ asked the hired men all msoner o ridic’lous questions an went walkin’ "around with long poles in their hands that they ealled helpin’ sticks. If its the fashion in New York to make such a pow-wow, it must sound like Bable an’ nothin’ else; bot I'm goin there to fiud out. They're real warm-hearted gals an’ seein’ they aint back'srd in heo- derin’ other folks’ werk, why I don't wean to be back’ard in henderin’ theiro. w———_— Then, whea we was hurryio’ {dear life to get io a load an’ : | from wettin’, ia the rack an’ help load; au’ over, Do II ———— THE LIME-KILN CLUB My attenshun, said Brother Gard. ver, as he carefully pulled down his vest, bas bia directed to de follerin’ item in 8 Chicago paper: Sktrreo <The Treasurer of the celebrated Line-Kiln clad ut {could pot bave me uutil be got rich, | He lives in New | never've felt | works a spell, | laid it down, | ’ : § em : de beuvefit of any sospishus member, | de modus operandi ou which de finan- | shul system of 2:8 elub am conducted, Fustly-—All de moneys received far does, payments of fines, ete., ar’ | counted three times ober by de three | members of the Finance Committers. | By dat time de figure am K'crect, an’ | all de bogus pieces sorted out to the furrein heathen, entered on the sephrate cash books, an’ | | De sum ar’ each member must check up the entry | made by the odder. SBeconaly-—De cash ar’ den handed to Bir Walpole, Waydown | Beebee, an’ myself. | We re-count it au’ enter it on four | four more cash books. | Thirdly—It yen goes to de Treas urer, who couois it agaia, Isaac Elder Sp oner, makes an- give mes certain per cent. of the | and he proceeded, with a paase in bis |odder entry, an’ de five of us purceed to de bank an, deposit it. Oo de way down we keed a clus watch ou each oddder. Fourthiy—not a cent can be draw- I issue de check an’ fo’ odeer pussons sign it. | Fusthly—When de Treasurer of dis {club so fur forgits hissell as to absorb $7 000 of our money an’ cross de ribber it wiil be a cold day-—cold nuff fur two undershirts. It cant be dun, eben if be wanted wo git his name up ed frum de bank widout aod yuo far some fat offis, xthiy—As to any remarks on de (subjick of offishus dishonesty, our feelin’s ar’ purty geonerally known. It ar’ mighty few who could gis offis if dey waned dt. Candydates fur fat offices, in dese days, ar’ selected by | brewers, saloonists, gamblers, rail- | roads, and odder rings. Each ring wants a man it kin haodle. Each riog {gite dar. De fitoess of a candydate bas no bearin on de If he doan turn cut a thisf or an embezzler befo, his term ar’ np all peoj out, de public holde jts bref out how many otoers | as Lo honesty If be does turn to find guilty as | well, fur it understands that he has | not pofited alone. Wheu de honest | men of dis kentry riz up an, insist wid dere bollots, cat only respectable | men shall hold offis, de great high- | way to Cauada will be grass-grown.- | Detroit Free Presa le are surprised. ar - GETTING THE BEST. Look bere, my friend, said a travel- ing man to the hotel clerk, I want to impress it on you that [ want the best room you've got vacant. I want bath-room with hot and cold water, prompt attendance, and all the modern conveniences, and you will oblige me by not allowing it to escape vour memory. What do you mean sir, by ad- dressing yoursell to me ia that man- per ? gasped the clerk, as he simed the dazzling refulgence of his big shirt stud at the traveler, Just what I said and more, too, I'm very hard to please [ am. Who the mischief are you,soyhow ? I'm the representative of one of the biggest diamond jobbing houses in the country, and I can tell paste st a glance was the reply, spoken in a confident tone of veioe. Froot! Show this gentleman ap to 20, first floor, front, sir, and if there's anything you want we'll be only wo glad to attend to it.—Merchant Traveler. — A], — EMERGENCY WORTH ATTENTION. AN Domestic Please, mam, your pug Jog Lot under the streeboar and got i Young wile—Indeed! Yes, mam, and the new girl has ruined your best dress lettin’ it fall mn iow sheen. And theives bas gos lo an’ ran of with your diamonds, | please, mam, a man "ys your . eg . Whit's that? Jadu bent 00 | HEE ee Ruttiii#'e Sug property dowa'sawa i" -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers