Stye imc5 Wvo Bloontficlb, JJcu THE LITTLE MAN IN DRAB. 'TTTIIYis that fellow crying 'go ; W ing, going, only one dollar and a half, only one dollar find a half,' when there is not a person except himself in the store?" nsked a friend, as we wcro walking along Clark street. " lie's advertising his goods to passers by ; when you hear him shout for tho twentieth time that it is only one dollar and a half, the inquiry,, naturally arises : What is it that is only one dollar and a half?" " One point is already gained for the auctioneer. If your curiosity is excited to tho extent of your stepping into tho store, there is a chauco that you will not mo out bclore you purchase that very nrticlo, bo it bogus jewelry, a second--hand revolver, or a summer coat." " Docs he keep up that auctioneering whether ho has any customers or not ?" " Nearly the whole day. Tho best time, however, is near six o'clock, when thousands of people are freed from their work and on their way home, with per haps money in their pockets. Then you may see a crowd in the rooms ; in the evenings also, they do an immense busi ness, and hardly ever fail in selling a largo amount of goods. On days, too, when there are a great many people from the country, they gather a rich harvest. There is nothing going on hero at pres ent, but if we come here in tho afternoon we shall find them in full blast." AVhen wo returned, according to ap pointment, there was a crowd before tho door, and tho auction-room was full. Our cars were greeted with something like the following : " Eighteen dollars and a half, 'n a half, 'n a half! Do I hear any more? Why, gentlemen, that watch is worth one hun dred dollars. Once twice " turning to a benevolent-looking gentleman in spectacles, and putting on an inquiring air, "Make it nineteen?" Spectacles shakes his head. " Once twice and " Jlr. Green from tho country bids ' nineteen.' " Niucteen dollars do I hear once we cannot dwell and gone." " No more watches at that prico," says tho auctioneer, with well-feigned disgust. Mr. Green walks up to the cashier's desk and pays over nineteen dollars, and takes his watch. A week's wear will tell him that "all is not gold that glitters." This is the simplest phase of tho mock auction business. Hut there are compar itively few such unsuspecting catches as Mr. Green. Tho gamesters have a card, however, for all grades of astuteness. There is the countryman who takes the papers and reads accounts every week of how somebody was swindled out of his money in a mock auction room. One of these self sufficient men goes to Chicago; it is possible that he is a thriving mer chant, or a grocery keeper, or a lawyer, or a minister. He can step into one of these places with perfect impunity ; no fear of his being swindled by bidding on brass watches and bogus jewelry. With what interest he makes note of tho poor fools who are tho victims of these ac complished rogues. Ho is a man of deep sympathies. Ho watches that little man who elbows his way through the crowd hurriedly, and asks tho auctioneer in a timid voice if they sell watches for other people. He is dressed in a shabby gen teel suit of light drab that docs not fit him any too well. It is "ready made," and is evidently tho result of a long struggle with poverty. A new hat could not be bought, so tho poor fellow has first drenched the old one with water, and then applied his eoat sleeve. The hat has a shiney appearance, aud with his oth er clothes mark him to tho practiced eye as a first-class dead beat. The auctioneer has just sold ' without reserve' the bogus jewelry he had in hand when the man in drab first spoke: " Let's seo your watch 1" he says roughly. He examines it by opening it and turn ing it over and over, and winding it up. " My friend," says he, " you cannot get tho worth of . that watch in this crowd. ; It is too. good a watch to put up hero." . .. , ,. Tho poor man mutters something about ''must havo the money,". "I cannot wait," etc. . " Thcu you must take your own riek. We will do all wo cau to sell it at a good figure ; but remember, it must be sold without reserve." " I must have the money," says tho uu fortunato man. " Well, then remember, teu per cent, for the sale of tho watch, and to be sold without reserve." " How long havo you worn this watch?" asks the auctioneer. " Six months. I purchased it in Bal- timore, and paid $125 for it." " Here then, gentlemen, is a watch that must be sold. How much am I of fered for it ? How much f . Somebody bids " twelve dollars." "I told you," said the auctioneer,turn ing to the man iu drab, " that you could not get what it is worth here." . The watch ia passed round amoug the crowd, and is pronouuoed a No. 1 watch. . Our shrewd gcutleniau from the coun try examines it, ;1 ,. " No mistake about that watch," Bays he j " genuine" and be bids twenty dol lars for it. "Twenty dollar fur a watch worth one hundred and twenty-five dollars. Do I hear any more ? We cannot dwell once twice and " Hero the man in drab nervously asks if ho may bid. " No," says the auctioneer, "you can not bid 5 1 cannot bid. Tho watch must bo sold to bona fide bidders once twice and gono to Mr. Cash for twenty dollars." Our sharp friend takes tho watch and pays his twenty dollars. He never "can explain how tho thing was done, but he will tell you that the watoh was the poor est quality of bogus article j and that what puzzles him most of all is that it should havo been worn six months by that innocent man in drab without its worthlcssness being discovered. He reads with more interest than ever accounts of swindling in mock auctions ; but none of them bit his caso exactly. Tho truth is, theso rogues do not run ono plan a great while ; as soon as its pe culiarities aro discovered they invent a new way of covering their rascality, and thus tho public is continually entertained with somo new way of operating, and the man who is on guard against any partic ular modo of swindling is almost sure to be roped in on some other trick. Ho shuns ono slough only to run into anoth er prepared expressly for him. When it is remembered that there aro hundreds of susceptible points in every man's mitid,by the touching of which bo may bo led hither and thither almost at will, it is no wonder that accomplished sharpers who are thoroughly familiar with the charac teristics, tastes and peculiarities of thp general public, can devise schemes with out limit by which a large proportion of this general public can bo deceived. Success in such schemes is not chauce work. It is the result of thorough knowledge of tho weak points of bumau nature, and bold unscrupulousncss in us ing that knowledge to advantage. Hero wo must protest again against a great deal of sympathy that is manifested for the numerously swindled public. There are plenty of phases of business of swindling which call for our deepest sympathy ; such as deceiving old and in experienced people who aro traveling, by means of playing upon their 1'ear, igno rance, or credulity, and thereby getting their money away from them. Hut, ns a general thing, people who enter a mock auction room deserve but little sympathy. If a man buys for twelve dollars a watch he supposes to bo worth ono hundred nnd twenty-five dollars, ho must know that somebody is to bo tho loser, and it is all the more discreditable to him that he sees tho unfortunato possessor of it be fore him, and believing him so hard press ed that he is obliged to part with his gold watch at that ruinous figure, ho still bids, and finally secures it at ninety dollars less than its actual worth. The fact that the auctioneer is a swindler, tho man in drab clothes an accomplice, docs not make him any the less an incipient rogue. He is undeveloped and inexperienced, and id, theroforo, beaten at his own game. He should be the last man iu the world to go whining to a newspaper office to ask thcui to expose that wicked establishment that has beat him out of twelve dollars in cash. He should pocket tho loss, and congratulate himself that he only needs experience and opportunity to become a first class swindler. Tho great source of success in all such schemes is, that thero aro crowds of peo ple who are ever on the watch to get something without paying anything like its actual worth. They are ready to become tho passive recipients of others' gains ; while tho rogues who carry on swindling establishments aro bold, active, aud unscrupulous. Tho people that fre quent mock auction rooms arc the nega tive poles, whilo their audacious mana gers aro the positive poles of these great batteries of rascality. They are comple ments of each other, and each is necessa ry to tho schemes of tho other. They are both swiudlers ; ono positive, tho oth er negative. A few days after our visit to tho auc tion room I met my friend. 1 " I havo something to tell you," said he ; " out of curiosity, I have given some attention to these auction rooms for the last two days, and I have seen that little tnun in drub conio in with tears in his eyes no less than ten times, and inquire if they could sell watches for other peo ple." "Well, what of him?" "Why ho is a regular penitentiary bird, known to every detective iu the city." father Old. The inundation of 1711, which swept away a great part of the old Tyne Bridge, Newcastle, was long remembered and ul- ludcd to with emphasis as " tho flood." On one occasion Mr. Adam Thompson was put into tho witness box at the as Bizcs. Tho counsel asking his nume, re ceived for answer : " Adam, sir Adam Thompson." "Where do you live?" " At Paradise, sir." Paradise is a village about a mile and a half west of Newcastle. 1 "And how long have you dwelt in Paradise?" continued the barrister. , " Kvcr siuce the flood," was the reply niudo in all simplicity, and with no inten tion to raise a laugh It ia needless to say thht tho judge asked for an explunatiou A Historical Sketch. rpWENTl'-FIVE years ago Friday, X (July 7,) Commodore Sloat raised the American flag over Monterey, then tho capital of California, under Mexican rulo, and proclaimed tho Province a portion of the United States. He arriv ed at Monterey from Mazatlan five days before, 'with tho frigate Savannah and five other vessels, under instructions from Secretary' of tho Navy liancroft (now Minister to Berlin,) to watch tho drift of events, and, incase of a breach of peace, to employ his fleet for hostilo purposes. Tho real object of Sloat's ex pedition was to prevent California . from falling into tho hands of the English, in case of war with Mexico. War actually broko out in May, 1840, two months beforo Sloat reached Monterey'; but whilo he suspected this, ho did not know it, though he had probably heard of Fro mont's Dear flag insurrection at Sonoma. Ho was decided in his course, however, by observing that a British fleet of ten vessels on this coast wero watching Amer ican movements, and nursing some de sign in opposition to them. When Sloat left Mazatlcn on tho Savannah, tho Brit ish flagship, tho Collingswood, carrying Rear-Admiral Sir George Seymour, left San Bla.,and the t wo vessels had a race for Monterey. Tho Savannah was tho fastest sailor and reached that port first, whore Sloat learned that'tho English had nearly perfected a plot to put California under British protection, as security, or equiv alent for the Mexican debt to British subjects, tho transfer to bo followed by a scheme of colonization in tho San Joa quin valley and around tho bays of Mon terey and San Francisco. Sloat did not know that instructions were then on tho way to him, directing him to seize and hold Mazatan, Monterey, and San Fran cisco, and tako all measures in his power to secure the conquest of tho country ; but ho knew this was within the plans of tho government, and saw that unless he acted at once, tho British would su percede him and California bo lost to the United States. So, on tho 7th of July, 1840, ho sent a force of 250 men ashore to hoist the stars nnd stripes and make proclamation as above. Tho act was not only not opposed, but was hailed with cheers by the people, who were generally anxious to separate from Mexico, and had been plotting more than once to act for themselves. On the 8th of July, in com pliance with a message from Sloat, Com mander Montgomery, of tho United States sloop of war Portsmouth, raised tho American flag at San Francisco, on the plaza which has ever since born tho name of his vessel, and took possesion of the then pretty village of Yerba Buena, in the name of his country.' On tho 10th of July, ' Montgomery sent tho national flag to Sonoma, where it was gladly ac cepted by tho Fremont revolutionists in lieu of their rude bear flag. Thcso nets, followed by various land operations at a later day, insured tho acquisition of Cali fornia by the United States, which was completed by a formal treaty at the cud of the war with Mexico. Tho feelings of Admiral Seymour, when he tardily reached Monterey nnd saw the American flag flying over the towu, may be imagin ed. It is pretty certain that if Sloat had not got ahead of him tho British flag would have been hoisted instead, and California might cither not havo been an American State to-day, or elso havo be come so only after wur with Great Britain. Jack's Proposal. Ono evening as I was sitting by Hetty, and had worked myself up to the point of popping tho question, sez I, " Hetty, if u feller was to ask you to marry him, what would you say ?" Then she laugh ed, nnd sez she : "That would depend on who asked me." Thcu sez I, " Sup pose it was Ned Willis?'' Sez she, " I'd tell Ned Willis, but not you." That kinder staggcrt me, but I was too cute to lose the opportunity ,and so sez I again, ' Suppose it was mo '" And then you you aught to see her pout up her lip. Sez she, " I don't take no suppose." Well, now you see, there was nothing for mo to do but to touch the trigger and let the gun go off. So bang it went. Sez I, " Lor', Hetty, it's me! Won't you say yes?" And then there was such a hullabaloo ' in my head I dou't know zactly what tuk place, but I thought I heard a " Yes" whispered somewhere out of the scrim mage. ' Not lo be Beaten. A distinguished ex-Governor of Ohio, famous for story telling, relates that on one occasion, whilo uddicssing a temper anco meetiug ut Georgetown, District of Columbia, and depicting the misery caused by indulging too frequently iu the flowing bowl, his attention was attracted by tho sobs of a disconsolate and seedy looking individual in tho rear part of the room. On going to tho person and in terrogating him ho was told tho usual tale of woo among other sad incidents that, during his oarccr of vice, ho had buried three wives. The Governor, buy ing buried a few wives of his own, sym pathized deeply with the inebriate, and consoled him as much as was in his power. Said he : " The Lord has indeed afflicted you." Tho mourner sobbing replied: ' but I don't think the Lord got much ahead of mo, for us fust us he took one, I took another." SUNDAY READING. Now is the Time. . ' ' DURING a violent Btorm, a trading vessel was driven upon a high rock on the Western coast of England, and immediately becamo a perfect wreck. Many of the crew perished, but tho cap tain and his wife wero providentially ena bled to reach this rock nnd clambered up its sides to cscapo from tho waves. But all danger was not over. Their place of shelter was a crag separated from tho main land by a deep channol, whero tho sea rushod with terrifio violence" between tho rugged cliffs on both sides. The cold was iutense, and they had neither covering or shelter. Tho tide was run ning rapidly, nnd night was drawing on. It was plain that uuless prompt assis tance was rendered, they could not hope to survive. Happily they wero seen from the neighboring shore, and a boat imme diately launched to attempt their deliver ance. For tho boat to approach tho rock was found utterly impossible, and the al ternative was to project a rope towards them from tho shoro, by meaus of a rock et, and then haul them through the surf within reach of tho boat. nAfter many fruitless trials tho attempt to throw the rope was successful. The captain grasp ed it with lifo and death tenacity, uud by moans of it a second was drawn from the shore, and one made fast to tho person of each. Tho mountain waves with every successive flow surged up their feet, and then receding laid baro the broken and fiointcd rocks which were spread out bc ow. It was thus rendered clear that their only wny of deliveranco was to spring upon tho bosom of the wave at tho moment of its highest swell, and thus bo borno safely over the danger and death which slept beneath tho raging bil lows. The wife is the first to make tho at tempt and is instructed what to do. All is ready ! Tho great wave is seen from a distanco sweeping on nearer, nearer, and nearer with majestic grandeur. At last it swolls full at her feet. " Now ! now '" shouted tho crew. " Spring upon the wave," cries her husband, with pas sionate earnestness. Alas ! she trembles, hesitates, delays only for a moment ; but that moment is fatal. She leaps at last, but the wave has rolled by, and sho falls upon tho rocks beneath a mangled and lifeless corpso. Tho ocean billows become her winding sheet, and the restless winds moan her requiem. Her husband, ignorant of her hapless fate, takes the wave at its swell and is saved. Now is the accepted time. . . t. One of tho Saviour's most delight ful discourses, second only to. tho sermon on the mount, is that delivered at Jacob's well to but ono listener and that ono a poor despised Sumaiatin woman. It en courages tho heart of a minister of course, to be able to preach to multitudes oitcn it fosters vanity and pride. But let him not count it condescension, when tho oc casion calls for it to Fpeuk the- truths of tho gospel to solitary listeners, or to "two or three," gathered together in the name of Jesus. For he that couvcrteth one sinner from tho error of his way, saves a soul from death, and hides a multitudo of sins. IlinnRifY. If thou art a vessel of goldj and thy brother but of wood, be not high-minded; it is God that makes then to differ. The more bounty God shows, tho ' more humility ho requires. Those mines that are richest are deepest ; those stars that aro highest look smallest j the goodliest buildings havo the lowest foundations. The moro God houoroth men, tho more they should humble themselves; the more fruit, the lower tho branch on which it grows. Pride is ever tho companion of emptiness. Would Lose It. ; Colonel , reflecting on his ill life and character, told a certain , nobleman, " That if such a thing us a good name was to bo purchased, ho would freely give ten thousand pounds for ono." The no bleman said, ' It would certainly bo the worst money yem ever laid out in your life." "Why so?" asked tho honest colonel. " Because you would forfeit it again in less than u week,' for a good name cannot be secured by purchase." Zteif The soveieignty of Divine grace, and tho impartiality 1 of Divine justice, are points difficult to reconcile ; but it is a mercy to know that God has not im posed on us tins difficult task ; wo uro commanded to believe, but nowhere re quired to unravel such difficulties. Euf Love is the diamond amongst the jewels of the believer's breast plate. Tho other graces shine like tho precious stones of nature, with their own peculiar lustru and vurious hues, but. tliu diamond is white. Now, in white all the colors are unite I, so in l've is centered every other Christian grace and virtue love js the fulfilling of the law. CSV The pioaching if the word in somo places is like l lie plunting of woods, wherethongh no profit is received for twonty jears. touiher. it comes afterward. DR. CROOK'S WINE OF TAR Has been teHted by the public '.,.!. FOB TEN YEAltU. lir. Ooolis Wine of Tar Ronovates and . ' Invigorates the entire system. 1 DR. CROOK'S WINE OP TAR Is the very remedy for tho Weak ( . , aud Debilitated. DR. CROOK'S WINE OP TAR Rapidly restores exhausted Strength ! DR. CROOK'S WINE OP TAR Restores the Appctito and Strengthens tho Stomach. DR. CROOK'S WINE OP TAR Causes tho food to digest, removing Dyspepsia mid Indigestion DR. CROOK'S WINE OF TAR Gives tono nnd energy to Debilitated Constitutions. DR. CROOK'S WINE OP TAR. All recovering from nny Illness will find this the best Tonio they can tako. DR. CROOK'S WINE OP TAR Is an effectlvo Regulator of tho Liver. DR. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers