Juniata sentinel. (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, September 24, 1873, Image 1

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ESTABLISHED IN 1846.
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MIFFLIKTOWN, PA.
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VOL. XXVII.
MIITLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., SEPTEMBER 24, 1873.
NO. 39.
Poetry.
My Violet.
raOM TRI OLD CAB1XST.
A viol-t lay la the grass,
A tear in its golden eye ;
Aud it said, Alas and alas I
The night is over and gone.
Another day is anih.
And I am alone, alone !
There is none to care if I die.
There is none to be glad that I live ;
The lovers Ihey pass me by
And never a glance they give.
And 1 could love so well, so well!
If one would but tarry and tell
A tale that was told to me only :
My lover might go his ways,
lint through all the nights and the days
I should never again be lonely.
Then sudden there fell a look
Into that violet's heart.
It lifted its fare with a start ;
It arose ; it trembled and shook.
At last, O at lat! It cried ;
Down drooped Its head, and it died.
h God in fcaren t It the bgld
Of the swons, and the stars, and the sunt.
Hit, or the Evil One'tt
h he cruel, or mad, or rigid f
Tbe Pansy that grew by the wall.
Its heart was heavy with bliss.
In tbe night it had heard a ca I;
It listened, it felt a kiss ;
Then a loving Wiod did fall
Od Its breast, and shiver with gladness ;
Tbe morning brought lore's madness
To light, and the lover fled.
But the eyes that burned in his head
Shot love through each and all.
For tbe Pansy that bloomed by the wall
Shone sweet In every place,
In the sky, the earth, and the air,
And that lover saw never the face
(if my dead violet there.
Mluth 1 Hush 1 Let no wrote be qjolem J
Tho'iyh it Iterifh, no pitir shatl Jttt it.
It-tier tt die hea t ftr-lm
i'iuve than to hue without it!
fnWi JrMAlr.
3Iiwcellriisy.
A. T. Stewart's Elephant.
A. T. Stewart's great charitable project
a Lome for the working women of New
York, is likely to become an elephant
on bis bands. Tbe building which was
intended as the futnre Home three years
ago is almost complete, but it is thought
doubtful whether it is to be used for
what it was originally designed. Mr.
Stewart's intention was to make it a
kind of hotel exclusively for single and
widowed working women, where they
could live cheaply and comfortably.
Since the erection was begun, however,
serious doubts have Wen entertained
as to whether Mr. Stewart's plan is
feasible. It is said that his advisers
consider it impossible to establish a
Home such as he proposes, as it would
require superhuman offorts to enforce
the regulations necessary for the thou
sand and more women who would occupy
the building.
The structure is in Fourth avenue,
between Thirty-second and Thirty-third
Htreets, on what was for many years the
tite of the Harlem Railroad locomotive
depot. It covers one half block, and
stands on the slope from Murray Hill.
Mr. Stewart has spent nearly three
million dollars in its erection exclusive
of what he paid for the lot. It is a mag
iiiticeut striicture.and resembles Booth's
'lbeatre iu its architecture, only it is
very much larger. Work was begun on
it after May 6, 18(59, the date on which
the architect's plans were filed with the
Department of Buildings. It is 2(15
feet front on Fourth avenue, and 196
feet 6 inches on Thirty-second and
Thirty-third streets. It towers in height
above every building north of Four
teenth street. From the pavement to
the roof the distance is 102 feet. The
depth of the foundation is about 18
feet
The base stories are six to eight feet
wide, aud are laid in cement. Its walls
are of great thickness, and are fire
proof. There are from three to six feet
of brick in the foundation walls. The
cornices are supported by eight iron
columns, which make the front very
ht rong. The floor beams are nine and
twelve inches thick. Under them are
iron girders supported by iron columns.
The roof is a mansard, made of brick
and asphaltnm. The walls are coped
with blue stone. The mansard is tower
bhaped on each of the four corners.
There is also a tower in tne centre on
the facade side.
It is six stories high, or seven includ
ing the mansard. The first tier or tioor
is nineteen feet six wenes irom noor to
ceilinc. and the upper twelve feet six
inches. A patent elevator extends to
the roof. There are about 800 corridors
aud 1,400 rooms. The middle of the
nite is a court-yard. Xew York Sun.
How the Ancient Lighted their
looses.
The ancients knew no method of re
filling oil. As a great luxury they mixed
it with perfumes, such as essence of
roses and sandal wood ; bnt this rather
detracted from than added to the burn
ing properties pf the liquid, and all that
was obtained by the process was an
increase of fragrance aud a diminution
of light. The dwellings of wealthy
men, who expended extravagant sums
npou scented oils, would not have borne
comparison, in point of lighting, with
the grimiest tap-room of a gas-Ut public
bouse. The gold and silver lamps,
liuug by slender, well-wrought chains
to marble pilasters, only yielded at their
best a lurid, tampering flame, that gave
out an enormous deal of smoke, flutter
ing in the slight breeze, and went out
altogether at a gust of wind. Neither
was it possible to steady the light by
closing the apertures through which the
air came, for had Roman or Grecian
I ..... a a Kaovi vwiflflAftflAjl nf cloflfl wimlnwn
tut v would have soon become uninhab-
. - r . e
stable, rue iresco paiuuuga 01 rom
.un'.ii villa tlifl delicate colors on the
walls of urban palaces would, in less
than a month, have been hopelessly
coated with lamp soot At the end of
. iw.n.'a vinforAnri nf an evening, a
nvu uvru " ' - - u
party of noble Romans would have re
sembled a congregation 01 euimnej
A tnniA rlvAd in TVrian nnrnle
would have acquired a mourning hue
in no time.
A Carious Watch.
Many years since, workman in a
French manufactory decided to make
watch, every part of which, the main
spring alone excepted,should be of rock
crystal. After thirty years of labor he
accomplished his task. All the pieces
of the watch are fastened by rock crys
tal screws, and the escapement is most
intricate. His widow would never part
with it ; but when she died the treasure
fell into the hands of a French watch
maker, who intends to exhibit it as a
specimen of French workmanship,
pricing it at two thousand dollars. Cer
tainly few articles could possess greater
interest on the score of ingenuity.
KEEPING A PROMISE.
Til wait for you, Ralph, no matter
how long it will be. I'll trust in you,
and wait for you."
The speaker was a fair-haired girl,
not exactly pretty, but with a delicate,
oval face, glowing with health, soft,
truthful brown eyes, and a slight, trim
figure. She stood under the apple
trees, loaded with blossoms that per
fumed the air. the setting sun shining
slantly on her heaJ, and a stray white
petal from the apple boughs lying on
her fair hair.
"It won't be for long, Bella; only
three years," said her companion, a
tall, handsome yonth, with curling
ciiestnnt hair and dark blue eyes. " e
are both young you, only seventeen
I, twenty ; three years won't seem long
to either of us. .
A shower of snowflakes fell on Bella
from the apple boughs above her.
"Let us go in ; it is almost tea-time,"
she said, brushing them from her hair.
The young man drew her hand through
his arm, and then sauntered up the
garden walk.
Ralph Trumain and Belle Selton were
companions since childhood. Ralph
had lost both parents at an early age,
and had been left in the care of Squire
Selton, whose wife had died at Bella's
birth. Ralph was as dear as a son to the
squire, who fondly hoped to see him
married to Bella ; but an unexpected
event came to change the current of the
young people's lives. This event was
the receipt of a letter from an uncle of
Ralph's, his father's brother, who had
long been thought dead, having left
home in his youth, and though diligently
searched, for, his relatives had dis
covered no trace of his whereabouts.
It seems that he had settled in Hong
Kong, and having amassed a large for
tune, wrote home to his brother, being
in ignorance of his death.
The letter, addressed to Ralph Tru
main, was, of course, forwarded to young
Ralph, who, upon opening it, discovered
that it was intended for his father, and
was from his long-missing uncle. Both
he and Sqnire Selton lost no time in
answering the letter, and informing the
absent man of his brother's death.
As soon as possible, a letter reached
Ralph from his uncle, requesting him
to come to China, and promising to
make him his heir.
Though sorry to part with him, Squire
Selton conld not do otherwise than
counsel him to go ; so preparations
were made for the journey, aud Ralph
was to start on the morning following
the commencement of this story.
"Well, children," said the sqnire, who
sat smoking in the porch, as Ralph and
Bella stood before him. He was a
stout, hearty looking man of forty-five
years, with a good natured expression
on his jovial countenance. Well,
children, don't look so down-hearted."
Bella murmnred something about see
ing if tea was ready, aud entered the
house. Ralph threw himself down on
the steps, aud surveyed the scene before
him with a sigh.
"Are you sorry to leave the old place,
my boy ?" asked the sqnire.
"Yes, sir," replied Ralph ; "but"
"liut what, Ralph?"
"I I should feel happier if there was
an engagement between Belle and my
self." "No, no, my boy. There must be no
engagement lietween yon ; in three
years either or both may change your
minds. It is best that yon should both
le free." "May I consider that your
final decision, Mr. Selton?" inquired
the young man gravely.
"Yes, Ralph," replied the squire,
replacing his pipe between his lips.
Next morning Ralph Trumain left
the home of his childhood to find his
uncle in far-off China.
A month after his departure, Bella
and her father received letters from
him. He was in Liverpool, and was
about to sail for China in one of his
uncle's vessels.
"You see, Bella," he wrote, "my
uncle has not forgotten the land of his
birth. The vessel I am to sail in is
named 'The Rose of Canada.'"
After that no news from Ralph reached
the Seltons ; so they concluded that he
had sailed for China, and did not
expect to hear from him until the next
spring.
The snmraer passed, aud antnmn
came, with its ripened fruit and golden
grain ; a little later and the frast set in,
and the trees waved their leafless
branches in the November blasts, when
Bella, sitting one morning by the cheer
ful wood fire in the dining-room at Sel
ton Hall, awaitiug the appearance of
her father for breakfast, took np a news
paper that lay folded on the table.
Turning it over, a heading, "Lost at
Sea," caught her eye. She glanced
over it, and read :
"New Tom, Nov. 90th.-Th.- brig 'John Lawrence,'
from Singapore, Brown, ruaMer, reiorts having
ticked up. ou the SI August, iu the lmiisn tK-ean,
.t. sv deg. 1ft miu. south, loug. Tft d-g. 1 min. west,
a long bitat, bearing the name 'Koee of Cansd 2 with
the body ot a man. apparently a sailor, iu it. It is
supposed that the vettwl was wrecked in uiid-orean,
aud that the occupant of the boat ieri!!i'i from
expiire aud starvation. A blanket aud an enijtty
bottle wete found iu the boat."
No cry escaped from Bella ; she sat
clutching the paper, her eyes strained
on the paragraph. Five minutes later
the squire entered the room.
"Good morning, Bella. Kept you
waiting, eh ? Well,'let's have breakfast
at once."
No answer.
"Bella, child, are you so interested
in that paper that you can't leave it ?"
Still no answer.
"Is the child asleep ? Belial"
He advanced and laid his hand on her
shoulder. The touch seemed to break
the spell that bound her ; with one wild
cry she sprang from the chair, threw up
her hands, and dropped senseless at her
father's feet.
Raising her in his arms, the squire
filled the house with calls for help.
All that day, and for many days after,
Bella Selton lay unconscious of what
was passing round her.
Squire Selton, in searching for the
cause of Bella's swoon and subsequent
illness, discovered the paragraph con
cerning the 'Rose of Canada.' Though
he greatly feared that Ralph Trumain
had perished, yet he set to work to dis
cover, if possible, a clew to his fate.
He wrote to the captain of the 'John
Lawrence,' wrote to the consignors of
the 'Rose of Canada' at Liverpool, and
wrote to Ralph's uncle at Hong-Kong.
Two of these letters were answered
before Christmas, the captain giving the
particulars of the finding of the long
boat; the consignors informing the
sqnire that Ralph Trumain had sailed
in the 'Rose of Canada' which had
undoubtedly been lost with all on board.
Long before the last letter had reached
the squire, Bella, much paler and
thinner than formerly, had taken her
accustomed place in the household;
before spring came her form was as
round and her cheeks as pink as ever;
but that she grieved for the playmate
of her childhood, and the lover of later
years, was plainly seen in her quiet, sad
manner.
Years passed by, and Bella recovered
her old cheerfulness. Suitors came,
but she encouraged none. Her every
day life said plainly, in the words of
Marion Gray:
1 can love no more.
My heart lies bnried beneath tbe sea :
Tet why should I give my days to grief?
There is plenty of work in tbe world for me.
And work she did ; the poor of the
country round blessed her ; not a house
did sickness or sorrow enter but Jiella
Selton found her way to, bringing snn-
shine to many a darkened homo.
Squire Selton had mourned lor Ralph
as for a son, yet he hoped that Bella
would forget him, and marry. Only
oure did he mention the subject to
Bella, when a rising young lawyer asked
for her hand in her twenty-second year.
"Bella, my child," he had said, "why
won't you accept young Granvile ? He
would make you happy, and I wish so
ranch to see you settled.
"Dear papa," Bella replied, "I cannot.
Something whispers to me that Ralph
is living. Five years ago I told him I
would wait for him, and I will keep my
word."
"God grant that he is living," said the
sqnire, solemnly ; "but I cau scarcely
hope it ; five years is a long time,
Bella."
"I know that, papa, and still I have
hope," was the reply, and so the subject
dropped.
Aud the years passed on, bringing no
tidings of Ralph Trumain or the 'Rose
of Canada.'
Agnin it was May, and the apple-blossoms
loaded with perfume the air round
Selton Hall. The sun was sinking
slowly in the west, its rays lighting up
the windows of the old house, as a fair
haired woman passed out of a side door,
and walked toward the orchard. Down
at the far end she stopped, and leaned
against an apple tree.
"Sixteen years to-day," she mur
mnred, "and it seems like a dream ;
sixteen years since I promised to wait
for you ! O, Ralph, Ralph ! my poor
lost Ralph I living or dead, do you know
that I am waiting for von still ?"
A soft breeze rustle.! the apple boughs
above her, and a shower of blossoms
fell on her head, as she stood, her fore
head resting against a tree; A step on
the grass startled her, and she turned
round. A tall, sunburnt man, with long
brown beard and curling chestnut hair,
stood before her. For a moment Bella's
heart stopped beating, aud she grew
pale, bnt the next instant she sprang
toward the new comer.
"Ralph!" '
"Bella !"'
And the long-parted lovers were re
united at last.
The first words Bella said were,
"Come to papa, Ralph," anil she led
him to the porch, where Squire Selton
sat dozing.
"Papa," she said, "here is a gentle
man, an old acquaintance, who wishes
to see you."
"Oh ah yes ! Very happy to see
you, sir," said the sqnire, starting np.
"1 . lielieve 1 don t remember you
Ralph."
Upon getting a full view of his visitors
face, Squire Selton had recognized him
at once.
"Yes, Mr. Selton, it is Ralph ; have
yon a welcome for him ?"
"A thousand, my boy, a thousand.
cried the squire, shaking hands with
Ralph as though he intended to wrin?
off his arm; "and there's that lady,"
pointing to Bella, "she has waited all
these years for you ; what do yon say
to that ?" And, Bella child, see if tea
is reaily ; we musn't let curiosity get
the better cf hospitality." Here the
squire stopped for want of breath.
After supper Ralph Irnmaiu gave the
sqnire and his daughter a detail of his
adventures ; how he was wrecked in the
Indian Ocean, and cast, with two com
panions, on an uninhabited island,
where they remained for fourteen years,
and were at length rescued by a vessel
bound for China, whither they went.
Upon reaching China, Ralph learned
that his uncle was d ing, and hastened
to him. He lingered for a few weeks
after li ilph s arrival, and died, leaving
Ralph his sole hair. As soon as possible
after his death, Ralph started for Can
ada, returning to his native land a
wealthy man.
The following day the neighborhood
was electrified by learning that Ralph
Trnmuiu who, for sixteen years, had
been considered dead, had returned.
Two weeks later there was a wedding
at Selton Hall, which every one declared
to be the grandest they had ever seen ;
and looking fairer beneath her bridal
veil than ever she had looked in her
youth, Bella Selton became the wife of
him whom she had mourned as dead
years before, and yet clnng to the pro
mise she had made to wait for him,
no matter how Ions.
Maids and .Mimresscs.
It should be plain enough that ex
amples are as much to servants as to
children ; since in manners and social
training servants are as children. The
peasant-girl reared in an Irish cabin or
German cottage can hardly be expected
to be a model of politeness or of personal
neatness. It is quite .possible, however,
to teach her by example alone. If the
mistress be courteous to every member
of her family, and they in tarn to her,
the maid soon feels the atmosphere of
good breeding, and unconsciously be
comes amiable and respectful. But
let the mistress speak sharply to her
husband, or scold the children in public,
or let the master constantly find fault
in the presence of the servant, and she
will shortly discover that conrtesy is
not one of the essentials of the estab
lishment, and will, most likely, add
black looks and uncivil words to the
general disharmony. Servants being
imitative, there is more reason that the
conduct of employers is worthy of imi
tation. It the mistress of a bouse be
careful of her dress, her speech, her
daily habits, her handmaid will, in all
probability, grow more careful of her
own. Bnt the woman who comes to her
breakfast-table with disheveled hair and
rumpled gown, has no right to find fault
with the maid for attending the door
bell in a dirty calico and slovenly shoes.
Like mistress like maid, as well as like
master like man. Unless a good
example be set, there is no cause to
complain of servants for following a
bad one. As a rule, they are ready to
learn, though they may be dull and
slow of compreheu ion. They wonld
rather improve their condition than de
grade it. They wonld rather be ladies
than servants. Their ignorance makes
them mistake the false for the true, the
bad for the good. If every mistress
would take pains to set a fair example
to her maids, and aid them, now and
then, by timely and delicate hints, she
would soon have servants who would be,
in fact, the help they are in name.
Scribner'f Monthly.
The most expensive and fashionable
jewelry in Denmark is said to be made
from fish bones and scales. It is more
costly than articles of gold.
Early Emit.
It was very cold at Nice : that is my
only excuse. Alas, by what slender
threads one s happiness depends I
It was all arranged I was to marry
Mile. Louise early in June, and the
Marquise, her mother, was commenc
ing to treat me with something less
than her customary reserve. She was
a terrible woman, that Marquise. "Be
treacherous," some one had told me.
And I was treacherous. At particularly
trying moments I looked into the eyes
of my betrothed, but one can form no
idea of the circumlocution I had to em
ploy to express to the Marquise the
simplest things iu life. Iu speaking to
me of the trousseau the word chemise
made her blush, and one day I caused
her to leave the room (I don't know
why), simply because I happened to
mention a pair of suspenders.
One evening Mile. Louise was even
more charming than was her wont. The
air was heavy with perfume. Coffee
had been served in the conservatory,
we sat beneath large magnolia trees,
which were fairly bowed down with fra
grant blossoms. Seated quite close to
her, I sketched a thousand projects for
our future, and while she listened with
her great blue eyes fixed upon me, I
gazed upon her graceful head ; her wav
ing blonde tress caught up from the
neck ; her light robe rising in a snowy
friise at the throat, and descending to
a point upon the bosom ; and I thought
that in six weeks at the longest she
wonld be mine.
It is so difficult to speak to young
girls. Every moment there came to my
mind stories which I found too gay.and
which would certainly have frightened
so ethereal and poetic a nature.
So, having plunged into a senseless
anecdote which I did not know exactly
how to get out of, I said suddenly, in
order to change the conversation :
"By the way. Mademoiselle, do you
like strawberries ?"
"I adore them," she answered, with
a daiuty little movement of the lips ;
"but I suppose that it will be necessary
to wait a little while."
The fact is that it was only the be
ginning of April, but I thought that
one could get anything in Paris, "and
that very evening I sent my friend Ray
mond the followind despatch :
"Send me a large box of strawberries
from Paris at any price. Hector."
Three hours afterwards I received
the reply :
"Little pots make up a box. Will
send as soon as possible. Ratmokd."
My friend Raymond was a jewel. Be
sides perfect taste and great amiability,
he was so fortnnate aa to possess Paris,
and, whenever I was away, I charged
him with all mv commissions, trusting
as much to him to order a coat as to
forward me a bouquet.
The nest day, early in the morning, I
received a great box, well, bound, and
labelled with my address. It was enor
mous, and it was frightful to think of
the number of little pots Raymond must
have purchased to be able to send me a
package of such respectable weight in
so short a time. Under the circum
stances, my present became a truly
royal gift, and the same day I sent it to
my fiancee, together with my daily bou
quet of white lilacs.
All that day I remained away from
Mme. de Boisen fort's, so that the effect
of my gift might be greater. The time
seenied very long. I could see Mile.
Louise opening my box the eagerness
which her feminine curiosity would be
sure to give rise to. Then I imagined
her astonishment at the sight of the con
tents. She would take a berry at ran
don (the largest), hold it delicately be
tween her slender fingers the little fin
ger in the air I could see it all as
though I were there and nibble it with
her white teeth, making all sorts of
grimaces as she ate. Decidedly it was
a happy thought to send to Pans.
When evening came I presented my
self at the usual hour, studiously af
fecting the indifferent air of a gentle
man who does not think he has done
anything at all remarkable.
I opened the gate, and was a little
surprised not to find Mile. Louise in the
garden. Usually she came to meet me,
and, after a cordial grasp of the hands,
we would enter the drawing-room to
gether, m
"Bah !" I said to myself, "I shall find
her in the green-house." And I ascended
the steps.
She was there, to be sure. Her face
was flushed and her eyes swollen, as
though she had been crying. As soon
as she perceived me she came forward,
and said :
"Oh ! sir ; it was very, very horrid
of you !"
Then, throwing me a glance full of
reproach she left the place.
I commenced to feel a little uneasy
upon entering the drawing-room. The
Marquise was standing before the mau-tel-piece,
erect aud haughty, something
like the statue of the commander.
"You received my package ?" I asked
with my most amiable air.
"Yes, sir ; yes," ground out the Mar
quise. (I awaited the key to this puz
zle.) "And," continued she, "I con
sider it was a little too soon much too
soon.
"Goodheavens, madame, these things
have no value unless they are sent
before the time for them as early fruit
yon know."
"As early fruit, sir as early fruit !
You continue your absurd mystification.
Leave the house. Neither I nor my
daughter will ever see you again. Leave
the house 1"
I was stuncetL I went away com
pletely disconcerted, asking myself if
it was not some frightful dream. Arriv
ing at the hotel, my servant handed me
a letter from Raymond together with a
little box :
"Mr dear Friend : I send you the
strawberries you wish. Forgive ine for
not having sent them sooner, and more
ofthem, but they are yet very rare. ."
Without finishing the letter, I tore
open the little box ; it contained indeed
some magnificent strawberries. What
was in the box of the previous evening,
then?
A frightful suspicion crossed my
mind. All at once, I uttered a cry.
There was a postscript :
"I hope you recieved last evening
the box of flannel waistcoats." La Vie
J'arUienne.
Scene in an Opium Shop.
One who has never visited an opium
shop cau have no conception of the fatal
fascination that holds its victims fast
bound mind, heart, soul, and con
science, all absolutely dead to every
impulse but the insatiable, ever-increasing
thirst for the damning poison. I
entered one of these dens but once, but
I can never forget the terrible sights
and sounds of that "place of torment."
The apartment was spacious, and might
have been pleasant but for its foul odors
and still fouler scenes of unutterable
woe the footprints of sin trodden deep
in the furrows of those luggard faces
and emaciated forms. On aU four sides
of the room were eouohes placed thickly
against the walls, and others were scat
tered over the apartment wherever there
was room for them. On each of these
lay extended the wreck of what was
once a man. Some few were old all
were hollow-eyed, with sunken cheeks
and .cadaverous countenances ; many
were clothed in rags, having probably
smoked away their last dollar; while
others were offering to pawn their only
decent garment for an additional dose
of the deadly drug. A decrepit old man
raised himself as we entered, drew a
long sigh, and then with a half-uttered
imprecation on his own folly proceeded
to rehll his pipe. This he did by scrap
ing off, with a five-inch steel needle,
some opium from the lid of a tiny shell
box, rolling the paste into a pill, and
then, after heating it in the blaze of a
lamp, deposit it within the small aper
ture of his pipe. Several short whiffs
followed : then the smoker would re
move the pipe from his mouth and lie
back motionless : then replace the pipe,
and with fast-glazing eyes blow the
smoke slowly through his pallid nos
trils. As the narcotic effects of the
opium began to work he fell back on
the conch in a state of silly stupefaction
that was alike pitiable and disgusting.
Another smoker, a mere youth, lay with
face buried in his hands, and as he
lifted his head there was a look of des
pair such as I have seldom seen.
Though so young, he was a complete
wreck, with hollow eyes, sunken chest,
and a nervous twitching in every mus
cle. I spoke to him, and learned that
six months before he had lost his whole
patrimony by gambling, and came
hither to quaff forgetfulness from these
Lethean cups ; hoping, he said, to find
death as well as oblivion. By far the
larger proportion of the smokers were
so entirely under the influence of the
stupefying poison as to preclude any
attempt at conversation, and we passed
ont from this moral pest-house sick at
heart as we thought of these infatuated
victims of self-indulgence and their
starving families at home. This bane
ful habit, once formed, is seldom given
up, and from three to five years' indul
gence will utterly wreck the firmest
constitution, the frame becoming daily
more emaciated, the eyes more sunken,
and the countenance more cadaverous,
till the brain ceases to perform its func
tions, and death places its seal on the
wasted life. Lippincott's Magazine.
Jet How and Where it is Ob
tained.
A writer in the Practical Magazine
gives the following interesting particu
lars regarding jet, a material much used
for the manufacture of mourning jew
elry. In this country, we may remark,
the substance is largely imitated by
vulcanized rubber, which, when new,
closely resembles the genuine article.
Real jet jewelry mounted in gold is
worth from hve and six to as higu as
seventy dollars per set, the price, how
ever, depending principally upon the
quantity of precious metal used. It is
very serviceable, and, unlike rubber, it
retains its brilliancy.
Jet is of two distinct species hard
jet and soft jet but the latter is of very
minor importance and will be referred
to hereafter.
The hard jet is found in the strata
known as the jet rock, which appears to
be a deposit of sea anemones, aud some
years ago a patent was taken ont to dis
till petroleum from it.
The jet rock occurs in the lias forma
tion some thirty yards above the main
band of Cleveland ironstone, and is dis
covered in compressed masses in layers
of very different sizes, being generally
from half an inch to two and a half
inches in thickness, from fonr to thirty
inches wide, and four or five feet in
length. It invariably tapers away, run
ning, as the miners say, to a "feather
edge."
These jet layers are always protected
by a skin, the color making another di
vision ; for that found in the cliffs by
the sea has always a blue skin, while
that discovered in the inland hills has a
yellow coating. The jet found in the
same mine varies very much in quality;
its worst specimens, those which are
quite brown and will not take a polish,
are termed "dazed jet."
The soft jet is confined to the lower
oolite in the sand-stone and shale
some 160 yards higher than the hard
jet, and is undoubtedly of a pure ligne
ous origin, tbe fibre and the branches
of trees being more or less distinctly
marked.
The most valuable finds of jet have
been washed down by the sea's action,
where the jet rock crops ont in the
cliffs, and on the cliffs where the seams
are exposed. The dealers of the town
of Whitby.in Yorkshire, Englaud, where
the principal deposits of the material
exist, rent these jet cliffs and inland
seams from the owners, generally for a
fixed lump sum paid in advance not
for a royalty for the right to work a
certain number of yards. Nearly all the
jet now obtained is found inland, bnt
in former days tales are told of men
being swung by ropes over steep cliffs
like tbe eider-down hunters of Norway.
At present, cliff jet is worked with the
same mining operations as that lying
under the inland hills.
The process is very simple, and, to
those acquainted with the intricacies of
iron and coal mining, of no very great
interest. A mine is commenced by
drifting into the face of a rock a pass
age of seven feet by five. A tramway is
then laid down, and the shale is tilted
from the mouth of the mine, the drift
continued for about forty yards, at the
rate of from two to four feet per diem;
then cross drifts are started in a variety
of directions. As soon as the rock be
comes too hard, the miners retire, pull
ing in the roofs as they recede, for the
bulk of the jet is found generally in the
falling top rock.
There are at present twenty-three jet
mines in full work, only one of these
being of soft jet. The average number
of men employed in each mine is six,
and there are now some hundred and
fifty miners engaged in this industry.
The men are generally paid by the week,
and only earn from twenty-four to
twenty-six shillings a sorry contrast
to the high wages of the iron miners.
Hard jet varies in prices, from 75 cents
to $3.50 per lb. ; soft jet from $1.37 to
$7.50 per stone, according to size and
quality, and sometimes also according
to the fluctuations of the market. For
instance, when the Prince of Wales' life
was in danger, Whitby was thronged
with buyers for both the raw and manu
factured article at any price, and some
speculators were severely bitten by his
happy recovery.
It is stated that the turn-over in rough
English hard jet amounts to $200,000
annually.
The material is manufactured as fol
lows: The jet is first peeled and stripped
of its skii, be it blue or yellow, by
means of a mannal chipping process
with a heavy ircm-bandled chiaeL It is ;
vnen eawn np into tne exact sues lor
the object for which it is intended, the
saw being guided by an ingenions ar
rangement of little wooden directors.'
Much care is taken in this process of
"sawing up," for great economy can.by
rigid supervision, be effected, one manu
facturer stating that by a very simple
arrangement he was able to make his
raw material go a fifth further than any
of his rivals. The little fragments are
then delivered to workmen, who, with
the aid of small grindstones driven by
a foot treadle, take off the angular
portions and reduce them more nearly
to the required dimensions. They then
pass into the hands of the carvers who,
with knives, small chisels, aud gouges,
soon, if it be rough work only, cut
them into the desired pattern. If the
work, however, be really artistic, the
carving is of course a much more
artistic process; and itfis curious to see
lads and men, who one might fairly
think had net the slightest knowledge
in the world of art principles, cut deftly
and rapidly cameos that in their beauty
of profile resemble the old masterpieces;
flower scrolls and groups of fruit that
have a marvellous fidelity to Nature
herself ; and crucifixes and pendacts
that rival all theingennity and patience
of the "heathen Chinee." Sometimes
you notice them with a pattern placed
before them, or with a rongh design
scratched by a kni'e's point upon the
material itself oftenest, novever, it
would seem as though the work were
altogether original.
After being carved, the goods are
removed to the polishing room, where
the first process, in the case of rorgh
goods, again takes place, upon a treadle
grindstone fed with oil and "rotten
stone." Then the finish and the polish
are given by what is termed "rougeing."
Here the articles are held against
quickly revolving wheels, covered with
ciiamois leather for the larger portions
and with strips of list for the indented
parts of the pattern, the beautiful pol
ish being given by means of a composi
tion of a red pigment and oil. They
are then set (the settings all coming
from Birmingham) and taken to the
warehouse, where they are carded, or
strung if necessary, and priced and
packed by young women, being then
stored for the inspection of the buyers.
Two Virginia CniTergities.
BY K. 8. SHALER.
Washington and Lee University was
an unshapely, dingy old building. The
students were away, but the place of
fended the sight by its dirty, unkept
look. There was a little chapel in the
grounds new enough to make the old
building look the more forlorn. A
boundary fence separated the grounds
from those of the Military Institute,
where the order of a well kept garrison
prevailed. There were half a dozen
buildings in the grounds, .well bnilt,
though with an apira tion. after the cas
tellate which was a little excessive.
It is not too much to say that this
school is about the most satisfactory
thing in the South, in the way of an
educational institution, A good coips
of teachers gives tuition to about two
hundred students. The appliances for
teaching are good. The chemical labo
ratory would compare favorably with
that of some of our best Northern
schools. The library to replace that
lost by tire is already reasonably good.
There is the beginning of a museum of
applied mechanics, with especial refer
ence to mining industry. The machi
nery of the school seemed ellective. How
ever much one might doubt the pro
priety of keeping the meuiseval ma
chinery of military school working at
this time, one could not fail to feel a
pleasure at the sight of trim, clean,
handsome boys who kept guard. The
effect is fostering those traits which are
most apt to be wanting in the Southern
character order, system, and mental
alacrity is undoubtedly good. The
students are fed in a mess-hall, with
kitchens worked on a military system,
with all the best modern appliance for
cooking by steam, bake-ovens, etc.
The dinner we saw in preparation was
excellent in quality, better in material
than that of the average boarding-house
at Cambridge, and much better cooked.
The physical result of the salubrious
conditions is marked in all the young
men ; a more manly set of boys I sever
saw.
Our last day in Virginia was spent at
the University of Charlottesville. This
pet child of Jefferson is one of the most
interesting schools in this country.
There is no school in America bnilt on
so grand a plan as this, at least so far
as its masonry is concerned. A huge
building of classio architecture, with a
pediment supported by Corinthian col
umns, with noble marble capitals and
incongruous shafts of brick and stone,
gives the offices of the school, its
library, lecture-rooms, and principal
hall. In the latter are some respect
able bits of art.among others a fair copy
of the School of Athens. The front of
this building forms one end of a great
quadrangle, the sides being bordered
by loug lines of brick buildings, part
one story, giving dormotories for stu
dents, part two stories, for the dwell
ings of the teachers ; the farther end of
the quadrangle is open, looking over a
beautiful lawn with' a lovely vista of
rolling country and distant bine moun
tains. The system of the school is good.
It keeps a high standard for its degrees,
and deserves in every way the warmest
support of those who look to the educa
tion of the Southern people for the re
habitation of that lovely but unhappy
part of our country. It was pleasant to
bid good bye to Virginia sights in our
last look at the stately buildings of this
monument to her intelligence. Allan
tic Monthly.
A Lady's Seat on Horseback.
A lady's horse, to be perfect, should
be all over handsome, and well up on
its haunches. If slightly hollow in the
back, so much the better, for it gene
rally tends to ease in action, and to less
motion to the saddle. A lady should
never be heard upon the saddle that
is, there should be no bumping noise,
not even in a trot. She should sit so
closely, and, when rising to the trot,
possess such elastic motion from the
foot to the knee and the waist that her
return to the saddle should seem as
light as a feather. She Bhould sit
"sqnare to the front," and her horse's
ear (to speak as a soldier) ought to
dress well with the buttons ou the
bosom of her habit. Nothing is so bad
as to sit with a lean to one side, and,
when admirers are following after, to
let them fear that a very little would
cast her off from the stirrup side of her
saddle. Her hands should be down,
but light, and her arm, as well as every
inclination of her figure, should har
monize with the motions of her steed,
as if both possessed the same volition.
The excursions ef bees to collect
honey are variously estimated at from
one to three miles each, aod they are
supposed to make each about tan trios
a day.
The Tombs ofChinese Emperors.
These are the tombs of the Ming em
perors, one of the most brilliant dynas
ties of Chinese history, ihey lie m a
circular valley which opens ont from a
great plain, and it surrounded by lime
stone peaks and granite domes, forming
a barren and waste amphitheatre. The
grandeur of its dimensions and the aw
ful barrenness of its desolation make it
a fit resting-place for the imperial dead
of the last native dynasty. At the foot
of the surrounding heights thirteen gi
gantic tombs.encircled with green trees,
are arranged in a semicircle. Five ma
jestic portals,alM)ut eight hundred yards
apart, form the entrance to the tombs.
From the portico giving entrance to the
valley to the tomb of the first emperor
is more than a league, and the long ave
nue is marked first by winged columns
of white marble, and next by two rows
of animals, carved in gigantic propor
tions. Of these there are, on either
side, two lions standing, two lions sit
ting ; one camel standing, one kneeling;
one e'ephant standing, one kneeling ;
one dragon standing, one sitting ; two
horses standing ; six warriors, courtiers,
etc. The lions are fifteen feet high.and
the others equally colossal, while each
of the figures is carved from a single
block of granita.
At the end of the avenne are the
tombs, with groups of trees about them.
Each tomb is really a temple in which
white and pink marble, porphyry and
carved teak-wood are combined, not
'ndeed with harmony or taste, but, what
.s rare in China, with lines "of great pu
rity and severity. One of the halls of
these tombs is about a hundred feet
long by about eighty wide. The ceil
ing is from forty to sixty feet high, and
is supported by rows of pillars, each
formed of a single stick of teak timber j
eleven feet in circumference. These
sticks were brought for this purpose
from the south of China, and with a
land journey from Pekin of more than
thirty miles. Thongh they have been
in position over nine hundred years,
they appear as sound as when first
posed, nor has the austere splendor of
the structure suffered in any degree.
The sombre obscurity well befits
these sepulchral dwellings, and the dull
sound of the deadened gongs struck by
the guardians makes the vaults rever
berate in a singular and impressive way.
Behind the memorial temple rises an
artificial mound abont fifty feet high,
ace ass to the top of which is given by a
rising arched passage built of white
marble. On the top of the mound is an
imposing marble structure consisting
of a don hie arch, beneath which is the
imperial tablet, a large slab,npon which
is cp. fed a dragon standing on the back
of a gigantic tortoise. The remains of
the emperor are bnried somewhere
within this mound, thongh tbe exact
spot is not known : this precaution, it
is said, was taken to preserve the re
mains from being desecrated in a search
for the treasures which were buried
with him, while the persons who per
formed this last office were killed upon
the spot, in order further to preserve
the secret. Lippincott's Mayazine.
DiNinclinalion to Marriage.
Concerning the cause of the trouble,
all sorts of philosophers agree. It is
the ambition for an expensive style of
living which keeps young men and young
women from thinking of marrying until
they can reckon on a sufficient income
to support it. Men who have thus post
poned matrimony to money-making,
find themselves when they have attained
middle age, in the possession of the
coveted wealth, perhaps, bnt disinclined
to marriage, confirmed in bachelorhood,
skeptical as to the virtues of women anil
the general desirability of the wedded
state. The hey-day of youth and the
spring of passion with them is over and
gone. The sweethearts of their youth
have grown old with them, and heve
long ago drifted ont of their lives.
They often conclude that having re
mained single so long they will not
change their state. It is the old story.
In youth when they couldn't, they fain
would have wedded, and in maturity
when they can, they no longer care to.
Or, what is worse than bachelorhood,
yielding to the suggestions of that deli
berate sensuality of mature years, so
different from the hot passion cf yonth,
they take to their bosoms some young
girl willing to sell herself for money,
and careless that she is utterly separated
from all sympathy with her husband by
a gulf of years. The costly habits of
dress indulged in by American women
are often adverted to as discouraging
early marriages. This is also to be
set down to the peculiarly unrestricted
character of social ambition among us.
The European woman follows the stand
ard of her class in her dress. That
standard is pretty accurately adapted
to the average resources of members of
that class, and she does not exceed it
without exciting remark. Iu this conn
try there is but one class, to which the
poorest as well as the richest belong.
There are accordingly no standards of
dress adapted to different grades of
income. The wife of the mechanic and
the wife of the millionaire follow but
one rule, and that is to dress as well as
they possibly can. This principle of
conduct makes a wife au expensive
luxury for an American artisan or strug
gling professional man. Still, although
our fair country women certainly de
serve a mild talking to on this subject,
satirists and social reformers are often
much too hard upon them. It is useless
to charge the disfavor into which mar
riage has fallen among young people,
exclusively npon either sex. Both have
a wholesome consciousness that it is a
thing they ought to be ashamed of, and
so are given to throwing the blame on
each other. But the truth is that both
sexes are perverted by a common curse
of inordinate social ambition and un
governed desire of fine living and the
lnxnry of wealth, passions, which, with
all the compensating blessings, a demo
cratic state of society unquestionably
tends to aggravate. Sprinyjield Union.
Metempsjehosis.
The gifted Sargent S. Prentiss once
gave asumptuous dinner to some friends
at a hotel in Vicksburg. Early in the
evening a stranger entered the room by
mistake. Prentiss courteously invited
him to join the party. Before long the
strange guest began boasting of how
much he had drunk during the day
a cocktail here, a smasher there, a jalip
in this place, a sling in that, and so on,
apparently without end. At length
Prentiss interrupted him :
"Sir," said he, "do you believe in the
doctrine of metempsychosis ?"
"I don't know," was the reply, "and
I don't see that it has anything to do
with what we were talking about."
"It has," rejoined Prentiss, "much
much every way, I have a firm faith
in that doctrine I believe that in the
next life every man will be transformed
into the thing for which he has best
qualified himself in this. In that life,
air, yon will become a corner grog
gery." Bench and Bar.
A'nrieties!.
The hardest thing to hold in the
world is an unruly tongue.
The children of God have much in
hand and much more in hope.
Never talk to a man when he is read
ing, nor read to a man when he is talk
ing. A geuins is popularly supposed to be
one who can do anything except make
a living. ?
Don't invest your money ia lottery
ticket. Give some o'her man a chance
for a prize.
Don't tell an editor how.. to run a"
newspaper. Let the poor fool fijid jt
out himself. .
A hard-working yonng man, with hi
wits about him, will make money while
others lose it. " "
Never promise a child and then fail
to perform, whether you promise him a
bun or a beating.
Pull up the moment you find yon are
ont of the road, and take the "nearest
way back at once.
Every time the sheep bleats it loses a
mouthful, and every time we complain
we miss a blessing.
A bore is a man who spends so much
time talking abont himself that you
can't talk about yourself.
Already we see signs of the coming
monarchy in this country in the number
of piers around New York.
Hop picking in the day time and
partner picking at night is now the
order in Central New York.
Drinkers in this country can hardly
be called heathens, bnt still the great
idea with them is jug-or-not.
It is only by labor that thought can
be made healthy, and only by thought
that labor can be made happy.
A North Carolina baby was born with
its false hair on, thus establishing the
genuineness of the divinity that doth
hedge a woman.
Punch saya a young man's friends
object to his being loose ; but, some
how, they have an equal objection to
his being tight.
One day recently, it is said, the wheat
cars which arrived in Chicago would
have made a continnons train over
twelve miles long.
A .noted English clergyman recom
mends to people to urn their dead.
Wouldn't he do better to show them
how to earn their living ?
A man, at Newark, N. J., claims to
have discovered a means by which elec
tricity may be controlled, so as to be
utilized as a motive power.
The Knit road Oazrtte estimates that
the extent of new railways built in this
conntry in 187.1 will be more than forty
per cent, less than for 1372.
Artificial wants are more numerous
and ler x to more expense than natural
wants ; from this cause the rich are
oftener in greater want of money than
those who have but a bare competency.
An Italian engineer proposes to tho
Sultan of Turkey to unite the conti
nents of Europe and Asia by means of
a bridge across the Bosphorus from
Pera to Scutari distance of a mile and
a half.
The wives and other female relatives
of the transported Coiumnuists who de
sire to join them in New Caledonia con
tinue to be forwarded thither at govern
ment expense, and a Havre paper gives
particulars of the departure of five hnn
dred women who left that port a few
days ago on board the steamer Fenelon,
many of them with families.
In a prominent Western journal we
find it stated that the Sierra-Madre
Tunnel Company of Colorado, with
Colonel George Ileaton as president,
has been organized for the purpose of
tunneling throngh the Rocky Moun
tains. English capitalists have come
forward and subscribed all the stock
sixty million dollar.) and work has
already been commenced. By moans of
this tunnel,the company expect to reach
all of the one hundred and fifty fissure
veins of silver-ore known to exist in the
mountains, and, if their calculations do
not miscarry, the earnings will many
times re-place the amonnt invested. It
is estimated that the cost of the work
will not exceed twenty million dollars.
An undertaker in Sullivan county,
New York, recently advertised as fol
lows in a local journal : "It is admitted
that we do not only love onr wives, but -also
onr children, brothers and sisters.
They die. We want a suitable coffin or
casket for the jewel, and a tender and
careful hand to take it np and bear it to
its last resting place. Who will do it
for us ?" The advertiser then proceeds
to answer his own qnestion by inform
ing the pnblio that he is prepared to
bury as many as desire his services,and
continues : "A good hearse and peer
less team of horses in waiting at all
times to receive or deliver a corpse at the
railroad station, or go elsewhere as far
as human voice is heard or hnman track
is run."
Keep a List. 1. Keep a list of your
friends, and let God be the first in the
Ust, however long it may be.
2. Keep a list of the gifts yon sret and
let Christ, who is the unspeakable gift,
be first.
3. Keep a list of your mercies ; anil
let pardon and life stand at the head.
4. Keep a list of your joys ; and let
the joy unspeakable and full of glory be
first.
5. Keep a list of your hopes ; and let
the hope of glory be foremost.
6. Keep a list of your sorrows ; and
let sorrow for sin be first.
7. Keep a list of yonr enemies ; and
however many there may be, put down
the "old man" and the "old serpent"
first.
8. Keep a list of yonr sins ; and let
the sin of unbelief be set dotrn as the
first and worst of all. Prompter.
Very few realize what a vast quantity
of eggs is reqnired for the markets of
the country. Boston alone consumes
from fifty to one hundred thousand
dozen of eggs daily, when they are at
the lowest figure, and about thirty thou
sand at the highest. One man in Ox
ford gathers and sends to Boston $,
000 worth of eggs annually. He keeps
two teams constantly employed collect
ing eggs from grocery stores of seven
or eight towns. He has a stone cellar,
100 feet by 50, at home, and one at
South Pans, where he stores the eggs.
When lowest, he pickles and saves for
a higher market. He has abont 1,000
crates and some 100 boxes, and ships by
(li. eoileno1 svarv flaw. Tha frfticht to
1 T 1 . .1 . r. nn.l .11 ..ua K
luntuu in a wub at uuuj ww jj
breakage comes on him. Eggs are
never lower than sixteen cents, or higher
than thirty-six, under this system,
though they used to be down to eight
cents. He collects in the summer from
five to six hundred dozen a week, pay
ing cash at the store. He thinks that
hens will net their owners each year a
dollar a head, if carefully kept.