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VOL. XXVII.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., OCTOBER 1, 1873.
NO. 40.
Hall column
One column.... ...
Poetry
To a Coquette.
ST WALTS a LLC
If your eye were not so bine,
1 would resent your eoldoeas ;
If my heart were not so true,
I would repent my boldness.
Y aay you love me, and yo iirt.
As if to make me sealous ;
Wbea I am touched and own the hurt,
Yen say I am toe jealous.
Cpon your lips great store of blipe
Allure me to the banquet ;
Bat when I reach to take a kiss.
Ton pout, and say I can't, yet.
Tour glance rob my day of peace ;
Ton know that I adore you ;
Bat when I plead upon my knees.
Yon frown, and say I bore you.
If my heart were not so true,
I would repent my boldness ;
If your eyes were aot so blue,
I would reMnt your coldness.
knstian Catoit.
Words antl Tone.
It la o so much what you say,
As the manner la which yon say it ;
It is not so much the language you use.
As the tones in which you convey it.
The words msy be mild and fair.
And the tones may pierce like a dart ;
The words may be soft ss the summer air.
And the tone, may break the heart.
3IiKeellniajr.
.tots Gathering.
Among the many articles of com
merce furnished by nature, unaided by
man, in this semi-tropical climate of
oars, is moss. This long, luxuriant
parasite clothes and festoons the trees
with its dull gray drapery all over the
woods and swamps of lower Louisiana.
The same humidity and warmth in the
atmosphere which deprives man of the
will to work, foster and nourish the
growth of this strange plant, thus af
fords him, if he would avail himself of
the opportunities, an easy way of mak
ing a living. The supply of moss in
our forests is simply inexhaustible.
There are trees loaded down with it
standing on thousands of square miles
in this state ; and even when the tree
is denuded of this weird-like garb, in
less than a year it comes out in a dress
as ample as that of which it has been
stripped. The waters of all our swamps
are tilled with it, where it has dropped
from the trees, and lies rotting, un
gathered and uncared for. The whole
country where this moss grows is acces
sible to any one desirous of turning it
to account. Bayous and streams navi
gable for large boats intersect the woods
and swamps where it grows in every
direction. But strange to say this moss
interest, which might be made so great
here, is sadly neglected, although it
presents so many inducements to those
who are desirous of gaining an honest
livelihood.
Most of them with that prodigality and
wastefulness which are part of the na
ture of our people, cut the trees down
to gather the moss on them, and thus
kill the goose which lays the golden
eggs, without even eating the goose,
fur they leava the timber of the tree to
rot where it lies, after stripping it of
its somber covering. But some of them
are more economical, and having an eye
to future wants, more properly climb
the trees among the moss, which they
gather off the limbs and throw to the
ground in a pile. Those heaps are left
standing for some time, and the rain,
with the dews, thoroughly saturating
them, they undergo a species of "sweat
ing," like tobacco, which rots off the
gray covering and leaves the black
fibrous horse hair like material, which
is the moss of commerce. This is usu
ally transported to market in flats and
boats of the swamps. It is packed up
near the place of curing in rude bales
with rope ties. When it arrives in New
Orleans it passes nnder the manipula
tion of moss pickeries and through the
machinery of gins after which it is
pressed into bales under steam pressure,
tiound with neat iron ties, and is then
ready for shipment. The men who
gather this moss nsually live on the
banks and islands of the bayous which
lead through the swamps. Most of
those at present engaged in it are Ger
mans and Creoles, who live very com
fortably on the spots of high land which
are found almost everywhere in the
swamp country of Louisiana. They
prepare their moss in rather a rough
manner to be sold advantageously in
the New Orleans market, but there the
"country moss" is nearly rehandled and
refined as it were by the exporters of
Louisiana moss. There are at present
only a few firms besides the "junkers"
who deal to any great extent in the ar
ticle. After the necessary preparation
is made with the rough material these
parties find no difficulty in selling their
moss in the northern markets. The
difficulty some of them have had to con
tend against at times is the want of
freight room for an article of balk as
compared with other freights. The gin
used by the exporters for preparing
their stock was invented and afterward
improved on for the special purpose of
moss cleaning. New Orleans Times.
Hearing with the Eyes.
Beading has been happily defined to
be "hearing with the eyes." And it
has some very decided advantages over
"hearing with the ears." In whatever
we receive through the speech of others
we are subject to their whims or pur
poses. It may be agreeable, or far
otherwise, for we have no choice in the
matter, and must accept what is offered,
or walk away, which to do is not always
polite. As to "closing the ears," that
is an expression too metaphorical to be
practical. The latent cariosity of human
beings compels them to listen, whether
they like it or not Unpleasant words,
or unpleasant sounds will persistently
annoy. One cannot stop them. But
"hearing with eyes" is a much more
manageable matter. We can shut the
book, or throw down the newspaper.
To read, or not to read is entirely within
oar own volition.
Having free choice in the matter of
reading, onr reading matter should be
well selected. If good, it is mental
sustenance; if bad, mental poison.
Appetite grows by what it feeds on ;
and inasmuch as tastes become per
verted, he who reads most may often
read to the most mental disadvantage.
It is pleasant to think, as some hopeful
people do, that the prevalent tendency
is now in favor of useful reading. Bat
it is evident, notwithstanding that there
are large classes of readers, especially
among the young, who might much
better be asleep than employed over the
sensational stuff which not only wastes
their time, bnt perverts their principle.
False views of life are created, and false
notions of right and wrong.
The modest maples an beginning to
color up.
JOHff MERRILL'S SECRET.
Among the heterogeneous crowd who
were to be my shipmates in the Amphion,
I was particularly attracted to a slender
youth from one of the back counties of
New York state, who signed his name
on the papers as John Merrill. He was
nearly my own age, I judged ; and there
was an air of quiet refinement about
him, strikingly in contrast with the
rude, boisterous character of the major
ity of our associates. These last were
about an average of such raw material
as is recruited every day of the week at
the metropolis, and shipped off to the
whaling ports, to be manufactured into
seamen.
John was, from the first, retired and
uncommunicative, though less so in his
intercourse with me than with any one
else. He never referred to his antece
dents, though I had given him my whole
autobiography before we had been a
fortnight at sea. And as I found him a
sympathizing listener whenever I wan ted
to let my tongue ran on, 1 don't think
I ever thought of esteeming him any
the less for his reticence as to his past
life. I merely thought that he must
have some good reason for wishing to
conceal his true history, and was too
conscientious to invent a new one.
One of John's eccentricities I knew
not what else to call it was that he
always kept his sea-chest locked. This
is unusual in a whaler's forcastle, and
always subjects the man doing it to un
pleasant remarks, as implying a want of
confidence in the honesty of his ship
mates. It is common to say of the man
who does it, that "he is either a thief
himself, or else thinks the rest of ns are
thieves." But John Merrill only
blushed, without making any audible
reply, when such catting insinuations
were thrown out, as they occasionally
were, in his hearing. They had no
effect whatever, in producing any change
in his habits. Even I myself, could
never get a peep at his inventory. He
was generous, even to a fault, in respect
to giving or lending little matters ; bat
he always kept his chest in the darkest
corner of our little dark, triangular
quarters, and when he took out or pat
in anything, was careful never to leave
it unlocked.
As concerned his duty, he did not
appear to be the stuff of which crack
sailors are made. But he won upon the
good opinion of the officers, even to
gruff Mr. Baldwin, onr executive, a tarry
old Triton, whom current report de
clared to be web-footed.
"I can't haze that boy," he would
say. "We most ease him, till he has
eaten a few barrels of salt horse to har
den his sinews "
I could not tell why, but I don't think
I was ever envious of my comrade be
cause the mate favored him in this way,
while he drove me up to my utmost
capacity. Both of ns were respectful
and willing, and tried hard to do onr
duty, and as he expressed it "make men
of ourselves." And I think I felt rather
elated to know that Mr. Baldwin dis
covered that there was tougher material
in me than John Merrill, and worked
us accordingly. It was an honor to be
selected to pull the mate's tub oar,
while he was enrolled in the rear rank
of the "ship-keepers." And I never
complained, even when, in reefing top
sails, the old salt would say kindly,
"Step down, John Merrill, I want you
to help me," while at the next moment,
he roared at me on the yard in a voice
of thunder, "Lay out there, you Bill,
and take np the dog's ear ! What are
you staring at in the bunt ?"
I think I may have assumed a patron
izing air in my intercourse with John,
in consequence of all this. Feeling a
professional superiority, I could not
avoid letting it appear sometimes. But
if so, he never seemed to notice it. If
there was a sudden call in our watch
for one of the boys to jump aloft and
reef studding-sail halyards or loose a
royal, John would start sometimes, but
I would gently push him back and jump
in ahead of him. I was prond of my
ability to take the lead, and there was
gratitude instead of indignation or
shame in his clear, blue eye on such
occasions. Some of the men standing
near would, perhaps, intimate that he
was wanting in pluck to let me do this,
but I don't think I ever thought so,
though of conrse I felt flattered by such
remarks, as any body would.
But John Merrill made sure, though
slow, progress in his duties, and his
sinews hardened np, as Mr. Baldwin
had prophesied. Though delicate in
frame, his health seemed perfect,
and in some respects we had no better
man among us. He was always ready
to take an extra trick on the lookout,
for he seemed to like being alone,
where he could commune with his own
thoughts. And he was soon acknowl
edged to be the best helmsman on
board. Did the sturdy old Amphion
show a determination to carry her wheel
an extra spoke to the windward at
"full-and-by," or to make wayward
sheers and yaws when off before it, no
one could manage her like this quiet,
timid youth.
He was always ready to take my turn
at the helm for me ; indeed, he would
have taken them all if I would have let
him. He could have done me no greater
favor than this ; for no duty, however
laborious or dangerous, was so irksome
to me as steering the ship. To do it
well, required an abstraction of the
mind for two hoars from all other mat
ters, with a touch and a kind of fore
sight, or rather fore-feeling, in which
John Merrill excelled, but which few
rough-and-tumble sailors possess.
Mr. Baldwin declared that he "never
knew a right-down smart fellow who
could steer more than a fair, decent
trick ;" and that he "never knew an A 1
extra helmsman who was good for much
else." And, after an observation of
many years, I think his statement was
not far from the truth.
We made oar first port at Talcahnane,
after doubling Cape Horn, and John
and I, being in the same watch, were
much together on shore. But he would
never stay after dark, and appeared
utterly insensible to the fascinations of
the Chilian brunettes. He would not
drink liquor, and his example in this
respect had a good effect upon myself.
We sailed for a cruise on the coast of
Pern, after a short stay in port Among
the men shipped to fill vacancies was
one known as "California Tom," a fel
low of infinite "gas," to whom John
and I both took an instinctive aversion
at first acquaintance. Bat he found
some congenial spirits on board the
Amphion, as such fellows will in any
ship where they cast their fortunes.
We had not been long at sea before it
appeared that we had some one in our
circle who disdained the nice little dis
tinction of meum and tuum. Several
articles had been mysteriously missed
by different parties, and complaint
were load and clamorous.
A ship s forcaatle is as unfit a place
for a thief as he can well find his way
into. As much uneasiness is caused by
fiia nrvawtrwvi as bv the knowledge that a
powder tr"" aoeated somewhere
under the deck, without knowing ex
actly where. Woe to him if he is caught;
for though Jack's standard of morality
is, in many respects, no higher than it
ought to be, he has no mercy for a pil
fering shipmate. He has, it may be
said, one code of morals to regulate his
dealings with his own comrades, and
another more elastic for the great bar
barian world outside.
We became a very unhappy family
after this discovery, for, of course, mu
tual confidence was lost, until it should
appear who the offender was. No one
was exempt from suspicion ; though the
weight of it was equally divided be
tween California Tom and my demure
friend John Merrill. Each had his
friends, who believed the other guilty,
but while the boy modestly refrained
from saying anything about it, Tom did
not scruple to head his own party.
"It's easy enough to see who the
thief is," I heard him say one night, as
ne occupied the Knot oi bis cronies,
"It's that sleek-faced hypocrite that is
at the wheel now."
"Of course 'tis," said Derby, one of
the "congenials. "It s enough to con
demn any fellow to know that he keeps
his donkey always locked np."
"What business has one man to be
allowed to lock his donkey, anyhow ?"
demanded Tom, load enongh for all to
hear. "I say, let's go and kick the lid
open and see what's in it"
"Sit nght down," said Frank Wight
man, from onr side of the house ; for
Tom had risen as if to carry his sugges
tion into effect Don't undertake any
thing of the kind. John Merrill isn't
here to speak for himself, and no man
shall break open his chest while I'm
by to prevent it"
"Don't you want to find oat who the
thief is ?" asked Derby.
"Of coarse I do ; and I don't think I
should have to go far to do that If
there's to be a general search of chests
and bunks, I'm ready to agree to it at
any time ; and perhaps the boy will be
willing to open his, in such a case. But
1 say it sha'nt be kicked open in his
absence."
"It's plain enongh that he is the
guilty one," said Tom, "when his chest
is the only one locked, and "
"I don't know about that," retorted
Frank, with a significant look. "A thief
might find other places for his plunder
besides in his chest Indeed, if he's
an old hand at it he would be likely to."
This home thrust put an end to the
discussion for the moment ; for Tom,
as well as Derby and all the rest of his
gang, were afraid of Wightman, who
alone was a match for any of them. But
when John was relieved from the wheel
we told him what had occurred and how
suspicion was thickening upon him.
Frank asked him if he were willing to
open his chest, and let as all have a look
at its contents.
"No," said he, quickly, "I am not
willing."
"But why not, if you are innocent ?"
"I cannot say why not, but I can as
sure you that I know nothing about the
stolen things. You must either take
my word for it, or if a general search is
determined npon, open my chest by
force, for 1 shall not consent to have it
done"
"I believe what you say, John," said
Frank, "and so does Bill, here, that you
are entirely innocent But there are
many who don't, and there will be still
more, if you don't satisfy them. Per
haps if you would let me, alone, over
haul it, or Bill, if that will suit you
better, eh ?'
"No, I cannot show the contents of
it, even to BilL If the matter is pressed
hard, I shall appeal to the old man for
protection, though I don't know as that
would do any good."
"None at all," said Wightman and I,
both at once.
"What would he do, do yon think?"
"Exercise bis authority, and demand
the key at once or open it by force.
He has heard about the thefts, as you
know ; and I heard him tell Mr. Bald
win that, if another case was reported,
he should make a general search, and
flog the thief, if he could be found."
The boy rested his face npon his
hands in thought, but made no answer.
"Never mind, John," said Wightman ;
"don't fret about it No harm shall
come to you, anyhow. I'm satisfied of
your truth, and if yon still decline to
show your things, yon shan't be forced
to, at least by anybody in this end of
the ship, lint think this matter over,
and perhaps to-morrow you'll feel differ
ent about it I've no idle cariosity,
myself, to want to know your secret ;
but I would like to satisfy others, who
haven't the same trust in your integrity,
that I have."
That night, in the middle watch, I
was awakened by a slight clicking noise,
and I saw California Tom, by the dim
light of the hanging lamp, stealthily
opening John's chest with a key. John
himself, as all the rest of my watch, was
sleeping soundly ; but I knew that he
never left bis key wbere it could be
found. It was always about his person
night and day. Tom must have found
a duplicate key to fit the chest.
I was about to speak and give the
alarm to Wightman and others ; but, on
second thought, determined to wait a
moment and see the result Tom had
a bundle in one hand, which appeared
to be a new flannel shirt, and, as the
lock flew open at last, he lost no time
in looking into the chest, pushed in the
bundle and re-locked it and went on
deck.
I considered the matter and deter
mined to tell Frank Wightman, which I
did as soon as onr watch turned oat
"Don't tell John," were his friend's
words ; "I hope he won't open his ehest
and discover it ; for I want to see what
kind of a plot is hatching.
John Merrill had the morning mast
head, and went np to bis post at day
light, without having had occasion to
look into his chest Tom was np and
stirring soon afterwards an unusual
proceeding for him in a morning watch
off duty and headed off Captain Soule
as soon as be made his appearance
above the deck.
Presently the order was given to call
all hands, and master them up. One
of the mates was sent into the forecastle
to see that no one lingered, and to have
all the men s kit s and effects roused up
to the sight of day. The captain was
evidently in a towering rage, for he
had passed lightly over several previous
reports of theft, hoping the matter
would be adjusted without his inter
ference. But Tom had lost a new shirt
daring the night, and Captain Soule
had lost his patience.
"I'll find it if it's inside the ship 1"
said he ; "and I'll flog the man that
stole it"
Several bags and chests bad been
emptied of their contents in the pres
ence of us all ; for John had been called
down from aloft, and stood thoughtful
and agitated, at my aide. When the
captain came to the locked cheat.
. ... .H . , .
"Wnose is tnis r ne aemanaea.
"Mine, sir," said the lad.
"Oi" me your key 1"
"If youTl axons me, air I would
like to speak a word with you by our
selves, sir, if you please."
But the captain was not in the humor
to listen to any remonstrance at that
moment
"Let me go tnrough with this cursed
business before I talk to anybody I It
doesn't look well, anyhow, that you
keep yonr chest locked np I"
He swung back his heavy boots as he
spoke, and with a single kick nnder the
projecting edge of the lid, it flew open.
"There's my shirt !" exclaimed Tom,
seizing the bundle that lay on top. He
shook it open, showed his marks, and
it was at once recognized beyond all
dispute.
"Enough said ! We re on the rignt
track, now," said Captain Soule. "Take
up this chest and carry it aft !" and he
closed the lid with a bang.
"Mr. Baldwin," he continued, "strip
John Merrill's back and seize him np !
It's a new thing for me to flog one of
my men a thing I never did bnt I've
sworn it in this case, and I'll keep my
word.
The poor boy overwhelmed with con'
fusion, could hardly find a word to
Erotest bis innocence, as tne mate led
im aft But at this moment Frank
Wightman neared the captain respect
fully and touched him gently on the
shoulder. A word was spoken ; the
captain relaxed bis angry brow to listen
to it, for Wightman was the best man
in the forecastle. The two walked aft
together, conversing very earnestly. I
kept my eye on them till Frank made a
signal which I understood, when I fol
lowed. "Mr. Derrick," said the captain to
the second mate, "keep everything as
it stands, with the chests forward.
Don't allow a man to touch a thing till
further orders."
He beckoned Wightman and myself
to come below. But as he did not
countermand the orders he had given
about seizing John up, the mate, it
seems proceeded to obey them. He
prepared the seizings, bat when he or
dered the boy to remove his shirt, he
met with unexpected resistance. While
I was relating to Captain Soule, in the
forward cabin, what I had seen during
the middle watch, there was a scuffle
over oar heads, and John Merrill, in a
frenzy of excitement, rushed down the
stairs and into the after-cabin. "Hold
on, Mr. Baldwin 1 Never mind what I
told you, for the present !" And the
captain followed the boy into the sanc
tum while we awaited the result. In a
minute afterwards he put his head out
at the door with the strangest look on
his face that I had ever seen a mortal
man wear.
"Wightman ! you and Bill pass John
Merrill's chest down the stairs right
into this room !"
We obeyed the order, and set onr
burden down at his feet But the lad
was not to be seen as we looked about
us.
"That'll do. Yon may go on deck
now I'll talk with yon agaiu soon."
And the door was closed between us and
the mystery.
It was half an hour before Captain
Soule came up and ordered the search
continued. When he came to Tom's
chest, he overhauled it very carefully ;
but it was apparently emptied to the
bottom without finding any stolen
property But, still unsatisfied, he
stood it np on one end, thumped it
heavily, and threw it bottom up. A
false bottom was dislodged and fell out,
followed by the various missing articles!
A general cry of indignation was
raised, and a strong disposition was
manifested to lynch California Tom.
Bnt Mr. Baldwin took upon himself the
office of executioner this time with a
good will.
"I always felt it in my bones that
John Merrill was innocent," said he to
Captain Soule ; "and when it came to.
stripping bis shirt, somehow 1 hadn t
any heart to do it"
"I'm glad you didn't succeed in doing
it," was the reply. "I couldn't have
flogged him if he'd been guilty nor
could yon, either."
"How so, sir?
"Do you think you could lay the cat
on the back of a woman ?"
That comical look of the captain's
was reflected, nay, multiplied tenfold
in the rough face of the old mate.
"A woman !" he gasped out ; "John
Merrill?"
"Ay, a woman. Mr. Baldwin. Annie
Carroll is her name, now."
"Bnt what are you going to do with
him, sir?"
"Do with him ? With her, yon mean
put him, or put her, or it, ashore, of
course, as soon as I can make a port.
We must give her a state-room in tne
cabin, and have her wear such a dress
as belongs to her sex.
"Well, well," said Mr. Baldwin, re
flectively, "I never had anything bring
me np with a round tarn like that"
Then a bright idea seemed to have
struck him, and he demanded triumph
antly, "Where's yonr clothes to dress
ber in T
"She's got all her dry goods in her
chest, ready to wear."
"What i in John Merrill s chest, do
you mean ?"
"Of course. Whose else should I
mean ? That's why he she, I mean
always kept it locked, and she was so
secret about it"
I shall not spend the time to tell how
we talked the matter over in the fore
castle that night, and compared notes,
and went back to every little incident
of the outward passage, that might be
supposed to have any bearing upon this
astonishing discovery. Of coarse there
were those ready to say they had guessed
the truth months ago ; but I venture
to say that no man on board the
Amphion bad the slightest suspicion of
the truth, until it was revealed to Cap
tain Soule, as I have related. And how
much longer we might have been in the
dark, but for the attempt to flog her, it
is difficult to say.
John Merrill stood no more watches
on board the Amphion, nor went to the
masthead. But Annie Carroll, a beau
tiful young lady, save that she wore her
hair rather too much au garcon, some
times steered a trick at the wheel when
she felt in the humor, until our arrival
at Callao, where she became when her
story was known, the heroine, the
lioness of the hour. A passage home
was secured for her ; and she took leave
of us all, with no desire, as she con
fessed, to follow any further the pro
fessions of a sailor.
It was the old, old story. An orphan,
a harsh guardian, and an attempt to
force her into a marriage with one she
disliked. A madcap scheme, in which
she had embarked from a wayward im-
Eulse, and persisted in because she
ardly knew how or when to retreat
And we were constrained to admit,
when we reviewed all the circumstances,
that she had nobly sustained the double
character, and bad preaet7ed all the
finer attributes of her sex, while she
laid aside the appareL
And will it be wondered that aha lost
her heart while on board the Amphion ?
Not to me ; for, of course, I was but a
boy in her eyes. But when I last saw
John Merrill, he was Mrs. Captain
Wightman, and still claimed to be, if
not the boldest seaman, the beet helms
man, at least, of tbe family circle.
How She Became Green.
Mr. Green was a good-looking man,
very he dressed well was well posted
up m matters of business, and had the
reputation of being a smart man. But
Mr. Green had lived thirty years with
out a wife. It wasn't his fault, for he
was fond of the society of tbe fairer sex.
owned a fine house, which he rented for
his board, and there were plenty of
: LI. i - 3;. At -11
marriageable lauies in tne village.
How happened it, then, that Mr.
Green remained in a state of single
blessedness? Want of courage. Mr.
Green was a coward among the ladies.
True, he could pick up a lady's hand
kerchief, hold a skein of yarn, or give
his arm in the politest manner to escort
a lady from church. He had seen at
least a half dozen women he would have
married, or, who would have married
him, but he never could muster suffi
cient courage to ask either of them
whether she would or not
One evening he was visiting at the
widow Smith s W mow Smith not
twenty-six years had flown over her
bead, and yet she bad been a widow
three years, and had long put off her
widow s weeds, she was pretty, bad
placed her only child beside her hus
band in the grave-yard, and sighed for
a companion; and many a time bad she
remarked to her friends she wondered
why Mr. Green did not get married. He
was an occasional caller at her house,
and would have married her at an hour's
notice. But she did not know it He
had never whispered to her of love.
He could talk about the crops the
growth of the village the industry .of
the young men, and all other matters
which the widow did not care to hear
about, but the "one thing" which would
have struck her ear as the sweetest of
sounds, he never mentioned.
On the evening in question, the
widow was excessively annoyed by her
domestics. Hardly was Mr. Green
seated when Bridget made her appear
ance at tbe door.
"Mrs. Smith, if it plaze yon," said
the domestic, "will you look into the
kitchen for a minnte?"
Scarcely had Mrs. Smith returned,
when the bushy head of John, the hired
man, was thrust into the door, with :
"Mrs. Smith."
"How I hate the name of Smith !"
said the lady.
Mr. Green's eyes dilated for a mo
ment he opened his mouth and ex
claimed in hurried accents :
"Make it Green, ma'am make it
Green 1"
And in less than a month there was
no "Widow Smith" in our village.
Injuries or the Ear.
"Among the causes of injury t the
ear must unfortunately be reckoned
bathing. Not that this most important
and heathful pleasure need, therefore,
be in the least discouraged ; but it
should be wisely regulated. Staying
too long in the water certainly tends to
produce deafness bb well as other evils;
and it is a practice against which young
persons of both sexes sbonld be care
fully on their guard. But independently
of this, swimming and floating are at
tended with a certain danger from the
difficulty of preventing the entrance of
water into the ear in those positions.
Now, no cold fluid should ever enter
the ear ; cold water is always more or
less irritating, and, if used for syring
ing, rapidly produces extreme giddi
ness. In the case of warm water, its
entrance into the ear is less objection
able, bnt even this is not free from
disadvantage. Often the water lodges
in the ears and produces an uncomfort
able sensation till it is removed ; this
should always be taken as a sign of
danger. That the risk to hearing from
unwise bathing is not a fancy is proved
by the fact, well known to lovers of
dogs, that those animals, if in the habit
of jumping or being thrown into the
water, so that their heads are covered,
frequently become deaf. A knowledge
of the danger is a sufficient guard. To
be safe it is only necessary to keep the
water from entering the ear. If this
cannot be accomplished otherwise, the
head may be covered. I should be
added however, that wet hair, whether
from bathing or washing, may be a
cause of deafness, if it be suffered to
dry of itself. Whenever wetted, the
hair should be wiped till it is fairly dry.
Norought the practice of moistening the
hair with water, to make it curl, to pass
without remonstrance. To leave wet
hair about the ears is to run great risk
of injuring them. In the washing of
children, too, care should be taken that
all the little folds of the outer ear are
carefully and gently dried with a soft
towel." Scientific American.
Death -The Dread of Dying.
Death with all its terrors, is not so
much to be dreaded as men suppose.
All the known evidence upon the sub
ject goes to show that at the last it is
bnt a painless sleep. At M we talk
sentimentally about it, or jestingly, or
defiantly. At 40 we are of a more seri
ous mood ; we carry a grave or two in
our hearts, and scarce care to stroll for
choice in churchyards.
At 60 we have accepted it as a dire
necessity. "Friend after friend has dis
appeared over that steep hill ; and the
command to climb may come to as at
any time." Of the feelings and last
words of the dying, he says : "The old
man prates pleasantly of the pastime of
his sturdy youth, the old woman laughs
again lovingly to her boy lover, and
Napoleon expires a lonely exile at St
Helena, with a last proud cry of Tete
d'armee." Dr. Bailie said that in bis
vast experience he had never known
more than one out of every fifty dying
men quit life one whit more conscious
than when they entered it "Light,
more light !" cries Goethe with his part
ing breath. Dr. Cullen, when dying,
faintly intimates to a friend : "I wish I
could write ; I would describe how
pleasant a thing it is to die."
Bacon, at the point of death, writes
with incapable fingers of the snow
stuffed fowl which cost him life. Dr.
Black, while eating bread and milk,
dies so tranquilly that his stiffened
fingers grasp the spoon with its contents
unspiiled. Coffee cup in hand, the
spirit of Charles Blagden passes away,
while Guy Lussao notes the cup of un
tasted coffee in the dead man's hand,
not a drop having fallen to the ground.
"That we live in the shadow of death"
is true, but the shadow is no terrible
darkness that need scare or terrify us,
and when it completely envelopes us we
shall be only
Like on who wraps tb drapery of his much
About him, and lie dowa Is pleasant dreams.
Yon may depend upon it that he is a
good man whose intimate friends are
alt good,
Windsor Forest.
Windsor Forest whose romance be
gins with Arthur and his knights;
where the Saxon kings Uved, and
where, in its castle, the most celebrated
pageants and courtly ceremonies for
many reigns performed is truly lamous.
At first this forest comprehended a cir
cumference of a hundred and thirty
miles. It dwindled away with the lapse
of time to seventy-seven miles, with
three thousand head of deer. At pres
ent the view from Windsor Castle is one
of the finest in England. Eton College
is in its neighborhood ; fnrtner on is
Stoke Pegis, the scene of Gray s .iegy.
On the extreme right is Runnymede,
where King John signed Magna Charta.
Nearer is the village of Datchet, where,
according to Shakspeare, Sir John Fal
staff was ducked by the Merry Wives
of Windsor. In this park, too, was
"Heme's Oak," immortalized by Shak
speare :
"There Is an old tale goes that Heme the hunter,
Sometime a keener here la Wiadaor forest.
Windsor Forest contains the largest
artificial lake in Europe Virginia
Water, formed in the reign of George
III. There is a statue of this king in
Windsor Park. It contains some mag
nificent trees beeches thirty-six feet
round, and two of the oaks near Cran
bourne Lodge are thirty -eight feet
round. Windsor Castle and Forest are
more associated with royalty than any
other in England. Here Edward III.
instituted the Order of the Garter; here
Queen Elizabeth hunted deer ; and
here Charles L is buried. Queen Anne
held her drawing rooms at Windsor
Castle. In short, "the proud keep of
Windsor" is associated with the most
interesting events and persons in the
History of England. Hainault Forest
contains the unique "Lawn Farm," re
claimed from the woods, which is said
to be the original of "Warren Farm,"
in Dickens' novel of "Barnaby Rudge."
Chigwell is not far off, and there is still
an inn called "The Maypole."
Every reader of history knows that
William the Conqueror made himself
detestable by seizing a tract of land
covered with manors, towns, and vil
lages, and converting it into the New
Forest, and making most cruel and ar
bitrary laws. At present it is twenty
miles one way, and fifteen the other.
Six thousand acres are enclosed for tim
ber growth, scattered in different en
closures, subject to forest laws. Forty
eight thousand acres are enclosed
against cattle, bnt not deer. In the
purlieus of this forest there are some
acres of freehold property, wnose pro
prietors claim forest rights and privi
leges. Beauliea Abbey, that beautiful
monastic ruin, is here ; gypsies form a
portion of thepopulation. The New
Forest is celebrated for a breed of small
half-wild horses, which belong to the
borderers and cotters, and run wild till
caught and tamed. Herds of hogs are
fed on beech-mast in autumn, and here
and there are flocks of sheep. In the
New Forest, owing to the diversity of
vegetation and the surface, the note of
every British bird may be heard. The
principal trees are oaks and beeches ;
the ground is characterized by heathy
lunds and carpet lawns, interspersed
with woods ; parts are so high as to
command magnificent views ; rivers and
brooks run through it, and along its
borders are bays with coast scenery,
with broken cliffs and winding shores.
The mention of Sherwood Forest re
calls Robin Hood. Once it covered
the whole of Nottingham County ; but
Civilization has come, and the Forest is
bat a vestige. At Bilhaugh there are
oaks which cannot be less than six cen
turies old. When Richard the Lion
Hearted returned from his imprison
ment in Austria, he visited Sherwood
Forest, at that time a terror to the Nor
mans. There the lost remnant of armed
Saxons, still denying the conquest,
found a refuge. A man wbo had long
been the hero of the poor, the serfs,
and the Anglo-Saxon race, lived there,
too the famous Robert Hood ; the
chronicles tell us little more than this
of the partisan chief. The romances
and ballads tell us all we know. He
has a claim to the title of the Earl of
Huntington ; it is in his epitaph on his
tombstone at Kirklees. An old song
relates that he was traveling, at the age
of eighty, in the vicinity of the nunnery
there, and was taken ill. The superior
was his cousin :
"She blooded bold Bobi Hood, till not a drop would
ran."
Pilgrims still frequent the wayside inn,
and traces of the nunnery exist The
fragment of Parliament Oak in this re
gion is above a thousand years old.
Some years since branches started from
this trunk which yielded hundreds of
acorns. In the heart of Sherwood For
est stands Newstead Abbey, the ances
tral home of Lord Byron, one of the
best specimens of that style of architec
ture, half castle, half nunnery, ruined,
changed, and restored according to its
owners. The fact that there are so many
minor and miscellaneous forests, all
named, with a pedigree, and nnder for
est laws, proves the solidity and sense
of the English a fact which America
should open her eyes to, and make laws
for the preservation of the forests so
rapidly disappearing.
Antiquity or Ulan.
It has of late been the belief of a large
class of men of science that the exist
ence of the human race on the earth
dates much further than was generally
supposed, while the followers of Darwin
and Lubbock have claimed that the hu
man race has been in a constant state
of progression from barbarism and
brutish ancestry. Accounts were given
of a human skeleton unearthed by the
quarrymen in Neander valley, near the
Dussel, at Eloenfeldt, in Rhenish Prus
sia. The professors pronounced it to be
of great antiquity, and were of the
opinion that the Neander man, whose
bones possessed in general the same
qualities which characterize the mam
moth found in neighboring districts, and
inclosed in the same diluvial loam, lived
together with the mammoth and other
extinct animals of the drift period. The
3knll was the subject of measurement
and calculation of brain power. Its
capacity was found to be about equal to
that of the average Polynesian and Hot
tentot, and while the opinion of geolo
gists differed in regard to minor points,
all admitted the great antiquity of the
skull and bones. A discovery "has just
been reported in Kansas, which, if veri
fied, is far more remarkable than the
above described. The Osage Mission
(Kansas) Journal says that a human
skull was recently found near that place
imbedded in a solid rock, which was
broken open by blasting. Dr. J. C
Weierley, of Osage Mission, compared
it with a modern skull which he had in
his office, found that it resembled the
latter in its general share, though it was
an inch and a quarter larger in its
greatest diameter, and much better de
veloped in some other particulars. He
says of the relic : "It is that of the
cranium of the human species, of largi
size, imbedded in conglomary rock of
tbe tertiary class, and found several
feet beneath the surface. Parts of the
frontal, parietal and occipital bones
were carried away by explosion, lhe
piece of rock holding the remains weighs
some forty or fifty ponnds, with many
impressions of marine shells, and
through it runs a vein of quartz, or
within the ctanium crystalized organic
matter ; and by the aid of a microscope
presents a beautiful appearance." If this
be a fact, and it seems to bear the im
press of truth in the description,
neither Lyell nor Hugh Miller, nor any
of the rest of the subterranean explor
ers report anything so strange. The
Neander man comes the nearest to it,
but the Neanderthal bones were found
in loam only two or three feet beneath
the surface. This skull was discovered
in solid rock. If the Kansas discovery
be real, it is worthy of a thorough
scientific investigation.
I'rnits ol Siam.
Siam is verily the queen of the tropics
in regard to the abundance, variety.and
unequaled. lnsciousness of her fruits.
Here are found those of China, greatly
enriched in tint ami flavor by being
transplanted to this warmer climate ;
and those of Western Asia, in this fruit
ful soil far more productive than in the
sterile regions of Persia and Arabia ;
while numberless varieties from the
Malayan and Indian archipelagoes,
united with the host of those indige
nous to the country, complete a list of
some two hundred or more species of
edible fruits. In this clime of peren
nial iresnness trees Dear nearly tne
year round, and so productive is the soil
that the annual produce is almost in
credible. The tax on orchards alone
yields to the Crown a revenue of some
hve millions of dollars per annum, as I
was informed by the late "second king"
of Siam. It is not unnsnol to find on a
single branch the bud and blossom,
together with fruit in several 1 liferent
stages. Thus, at the merest trifle of ex
pense a table may be supplied during
the entire year with forty or fifty speci
mens of fresh, ripe fruit. Among these
are many varieties of oranges and pine
apples, pnmeloes, shaddocks, pawpaws,
guavas, bananas, plantains, duriuns.
jack-fruit, melons, grapes, mangoes,
cocoa-nuts, pomegranates, sonrsaps,
linchies, custard apples, bread-fruit,
cassew-nuts, plums, tamarinds, mango
steens.rambnstans, and scores of others
for which we have no names in our lan
guage. Tropical fruits are generally
juicy, sweet with a slight admixture of
acid, luscious, and pecnliarly agreeable
in a warm climate ; and when partaken
of with temperance and due regard to
quality they are highly promotive of
health. For this reason Boodhists re
gard the destruction of a fruit tree as
quite an act of sacrilege, and their sa
cred books pronounce a heavy maledic
tion on those who wantonly commit so
great a crime. One who has tasted the
fruits of the tropics only at a distance
from the soil that produces thera can
form no conception of the real flavor of !
plums and grapes that never felt the
frosty atmosphere of our northern
clime ; of oranges plucked ripe from
the fragrant stem ami eaten fresh while
the morning dew still glitters on their
golden-tinted cheeks ; of the rare, rosy
pomegranate juice, luscious as nectar.
Lippineott's Magazine.
Japaneae Itetl.
Dinner over, a siesta on the soft mats
is next in order. These mats seem made
for sleep and indolence. No booted
foot ever defiles them. Every one leaves
his clogs on the ground outside, and
glides about in his mitten-like socks,
which have each a special compartment
for the great toe. My waiting damsel
having gone out, and there being no
such things as bells, I do as the natives
and clap my hands. A far-off answer of
lie i-j-t is retnrned, and soon the
shuffling of feet is heard agaiu. The
housewife appears with the usual low
bow, and, smiling so as to again dis
play what resembles a mouthful of coal,
she listens to the request for a pillow.
Opening the little closet before spoken
of, she produces the desired article. It
is not a ticking bag of baked feathers
enclosed in a dainty, spotless case of
white linen, bnt a little npright piece of
wood, six inches high and long, and
one wide, rounded at the bottom like
the rockers of a cradle. On the top,
lying in a groove, is a tiny rounded bag
of calico filled with rice-chaff, about the
size of a sansage. The pillow case is a
piece of white paper wrapped around
the top, and renewed in good hotels
daily for each guest. One can rest
about four or six inches of the side of
his os occipitis on a Japanese pillow,
and if he wishes may rock himself to
sleep, though the words suggest more
than the facts warrant. By sleeping on
civilized feathers, one gets out of train
ing, and the Japanese pillows feel very
hard and very much in one place. The
dreams which one has on these pillows
are characteristic. In my first some
imps were boring gimlet-holes in the
side of my skull, until they had honey
combed it and removed so much brain
that I felt too light-headed to preserve my
equilibrium. On the present occasion
after falling asleep, I thought that the
pillow on which I lay pressed its shape !
into my head, and the skull, to be re
paired, was being trepanned. My head
actually tumbling off the pillow was
the cause of the fancied operation being
snddenly arrested. IJppineotCs Mag
azine. The ;irlM.
The girls in the principle cities in
this country are noted as follows :
Baltimore, the wildest.
Boston, the most intellectual.
New York, the gayest and most ex
pensive in dress.
Washington, the most airy and super
ficial. Philadelphia, the most refined and
lady-like.
Chicago, the fastest and most dissi
pated. St. Louis, the most reckless.
New Orleans, the most truthful.
Cincinnati, the sweetest and mo&t
amiable.
Louisville, the proudest.
Detroit, the handsomest.
Cleveland, the most graceful and en
tertaining in conversation.
San Francisco, the most indifferent
Richmond, the most anxious to be
loved.
Mobile, the most liberal entertainers.
Hartford, the best musicians.
Buffalo, the dullest
Rochester, the longest hair.
The girl in the country as making
the best wife.
The sudden fall of the thermometer
says the New York Graphic, hap
brought back to the city a rush of
chilly persons who had lingered a little
tco long in tbe lap of rural boarding
'.ouses and hotels. Tbe trains are
loaded down with prv ngers, and the
express companies ai -'n to mad
ness by the avalanche of trunks that is
thrown npon them," '
Varieties.
As charity covers a multitude of sins
before God, so does politeness before
men.
Maine is establishing cheese factories,
and it isn't considered such a mitey en
terprise either.
It costs Richmond, Va., $18.63 per
annum for every child attending the
public schools.
A woman in an Hlinois penitentiary
recently cut off a finger to escape being
compelled to sew.
Omaha has opened a "Pullman"
hotel ; but as it hasn't wheels it isn't
likely to go off well.
Blacksmiths are the only people who
can engage in forgery without danger
of getting into trouble.
A Cherry Valley lady's beau wanted
to borrow five dollars of her, when she
immediately put a V-to on his farther
visits.
An old bachelor says that women are
like parrots; they are willing to bo
caged up, if they can only have a ring
to play with.
Pauline Lucca has purchased a lot
and will erect a handsome residence for
herself On Fifth ftVfnnA. tipap thA (Vn
tral Park, N. Y.
The Govern mpnt Tina uakvaA avsv
hundred barrels of Bourbon in Ken
tucky, and the inspectors are now busy
looking into the matter.
The Ralonn-lcPATiAra all atoi tawn ova
complaining of the difficulty of making
milk-punches out of milk-and-water.
The milkmen are quite cowed down
about it.
Long Island presents a fine opening
for missionary operations. An enthu
siastic in search of martyrdom can be
easily accommodated among the Ameri
can Aar-iars uown tnere.
A patent medicine manufacturer ad
vertises that persons should "never
trifle with sickness." We don't see how
he is going to sell his medicine if they
take his advice. They can't take both.
Lake Tahoe, Nevada, has a curiosity,
naif a mile from shore a tree stands
perpendicular in eighty feet of water.
It projects ten feet above the surface,
and is fastened so firmly to the bottom
that it affords safe moorage to the
largest crafts on the lake.
Mrs. Gersbach, a merry wife of Mar
tinez, California, playfully mixed lau
danum in his favorite moustache enp,
and also administered soothing Croton
oil. But when even this would not
touch him, she called in a friend who
carried concealed weapons, and all was
soon over.
A young lady at Layfayette, Ind.,
sings all the popular songs while fast
asleep, and knows nothing about it
Now, if she were to change her tactics a
little, and sing all the popular songs
while her neighbors are asleep, so then
would know nothing about it. we should
consider her a success as a singist
We learn from Nature that the dome
of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, has
recently been rendered secure from
lightning-strokes by a complete system
of conductors. They consist of eight
half-inch strands of copper wire, octa
gonal in form and leading from the
cross ball and scroll over the sides of
the dome, and thence down the rain
falls to the sewers.
The new counterfeit fifty-cent stamp
is very dangerous. No difference can
be distinguished between the printing
and engraving of that and the genuine;
so experts decide by the letter "p" in
Treasurer Spinner's name. If on the
right hand upper corner of the note is
cot found the lower half of the loop of
this letter, then there is "no loop or
binge to hang a doubt on" that the
stamp is counterfeit
New cattle cars have been invented
and patented which promise to supply
the much needed accommodations re
quisite for the humane and proper
transportation of cattle. The car is
forty-six feet long, and has accommo
dation for sixteen head of cattle or
horses. Each animal has a separate
stall and the gates are on slides and
move with the cattle. They stand
eight in a row, on each side of the car,
and all look outward. The hips of the
animals come together, and they are
exempt from all hurts or bruises. Tbe
car is so arranged that the stock can be
fed and watered on the way.
Hippophagy is said to be on the in
crease in France, and the artists of the
kitchen are cudgelling their wits to in
vent new styles of serving it up. A sir
loin of horse, corned saddle would be
a more appropriate term for it, perhaps
is said to be superior in succulence
to beef prepared in the same way. Cer
tainly, if the horse is a thoroughbred,
its fleBh ought to have a racier gusto
than has that of tbe slow ox. Com
panion and servant of man as the horse
is, however, it seems almost like canni
balism to transfer him from the stable
to the table ; and in this country, at
least, it is probable that he will, for
many years yet, continue to enjoy the
privilege of being curried instead of
cooked.
The bystanders who witnessed the
following narrow escape related by a
French paper, must have felt extremely
anxious to wake. A child of five and a
half years of age was playing at one of
the windows of a house in the Rue de
la Trappe, when it leant too far out and
felL The mother darted to the window
in agony, and saw her child hanging by
its pinafore to an iron hook fastened to
the half-opened shutter of a window on
a lower story. In spite of the entrea
ties of a neighbor, the unhappy mother
stood gasping for breath, her hands
clutching the window-sill, and her
whole appearance a model for a statue
of despair. Suddenly a voice cried:
"Make haste ; his pinafore is tearing."
The mother fainted, but the door had
now been broken in, and the porter
drew the shatter gently inwards, and
thns at length succeeded in placing the
child safe and sound on the floor of the
room.
An English paper reports the case of
a Norwich laborer, who, being dissatis
fied with his wife, placidly gave her in
marriage to one o! his acquaintances,
himself appearing to perform the cus
tomary ceremony of giving her away at
her wedding. Being promptly taken
before a police-justice, he was punished
for this little deviation from custom by
imprisonment for two months, with hard
labor. The journal from which we
learn these remarkable facts comments
as follows : "Mr. Earle's mode of deal
ing with matrimonial 'incompatibility'
has the merit of simplicity, and is,
moreover, more humane than that often
adopted by others of his class. It is
better, no doubt, to 'give away a wife
with whom one does not agree than to
dance upon her in hobnailed boots.
Bnt we are not yet quite prepared for
such liberty of divorce aa Mr. Earle baa
ventured to anticipate, and he must
suffer like others fur being in advance
of his age."
!!
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