111
Bill
J. C. LUTHER, Editor and Publishes.
A LOCAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL.
Term $2.00 a Year, in Advance.
VOL. II.
RIDGWAY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1870.
NO. 9.
DECEMBER.
BT WILLIAM MOIIIIIB.
Dead, lonely night, and nil streets quiet now ;
Tbii) o'er the moon the hindmost cloud
swims post
Of that great rack Hint brought tis up the
' snow ;
On earth strange shadows o'er the snow are
cat ;
Pule Mars, bright moon, swift cloud, make
heaven so vast,
That earth led silent by the wind of night
Seems shrunken 'ucnlh the gray unmeasured
bight.
Ah I through tliehuoh the looked-for midnight
clangs I
And then, e'en while its last stroke's solemn
drone
In the eold air by unlit windows hangs,
Out break the bells ubove the year I'oredone,
Cbungc, kindness lost, lore kit, unloved,
alone;
Till their despairing sweetness makes thee
deem
Thou once wert loved, If but amidst a
dream.
O thou, who cllngcst still to life and love,
Though naught of good, no God, thou
mayu.it discern.
Though nought that is, thine utmost woe can
move,
Though no soul knows wherewith thine
heart doth yearn
Tct, since thy weary lips no curse can learn,
Hast no least thing tliuu loved'st once away,
Since yet perchance thine eyes shall see the
day.
OW and Ketc.
A TERK1BLL SIGHT.
It was four o'clock on nn afternoon in
the mouth of December, IS , and busi
ness tor the day being over, the portei
for the bank at W was closing tb
aoors ot that establishment. As 1 wn
accountant at the bank, I was busily
engaged in verifying the posting of the
ledgers, while the tellers were hard at
work counting the cash in the tills, and
the clerks at the various books and let
ters. When I had finished an abstract I
was making from fouie of the ledgers, 1
took it into the manager's room. As 1
entered, the manager was just buttoning
his coat to depart.
" I have done the abstract of profit
and loss on bills for the last month,"
said I, p!aciug the paper on his table,
" ana 1 nnd the result more satisfactory
than you expected."
" I am very glad of it ; the directors
are particularly anxious to improve this
branch ot the business. I will take this
abstract with me, and look it over thi-
evenmg," said ho, putting it in his
breastpocket. If there is nothing very
urgent to do in the office, I should like
you to conio up and dine with me this
evening; in tact, 1 nave some news tor
you, which you will find as acceptable
as, 1 think, it will be unexpected.
As I had no pressing reason for doing
any more work tbat afternoon, 1 accept
ed the manager's invitation ; the more
so as ho was a very genial man, and
much of my advancement in the bank
was due to his kindly exertions on my
behalf. We both sallied forth into the
main street. It was a miserable night ;
the rain and sleet came down at a sharp
angle, borne on a piercing wind, and
under foot was a halt-frozen mixture of
mud and snow, which struck a cold chill
through one's feet. We soon found a
cab, and a few minutes saw us in the
porch of Mr. Wilmot's house, and once
more in his cosy snuggery. As soon as
we were seated, Mr. Wilmot commenced
to communicate to me the news of which
he had spoken. It is unnece.-sary to de
tail our conversation, the sum ot which
was, tbat he had very good reason to
believe that 1 was on the point of being
promoted to a managership. To make
this comprehensible to the reader, it is
necessary to explain something of the
organization ot the bank in which 1 held
the post of accountant. The particular
othce in which I was employed was a
branch bank, forming part of a great
joint-stock bank, having its head office
in Loudon, and branches in various pro
vincial towns. The manager of one of
our branches was about to retire on a
pension, and the board had that day
communicated to Mr. Wtlmot their in
tention on certain conditions of ap
pointing me to the post at their dispo
sal. Of course, this was joyful news to
me, yet it seemed rather to spoil my ap
petite for my dinner than to improve it,
and whr-n we went into the dining-room
Mrs. Wilmot rallied me on my seeming
rather absent.
" Oh !" said her husband, " I have just
been telling him some news thut may
considerably affect his career in the
bank, and I suppose he is ruminating
over it."
' But I thought Mr. Danby was al
ways in the good graces of the directors.
I hope no change has taken place If" said
Mrs. Wilmot.
"None whatever," said Mr. Wilmot.
" Come, D uiby, you ought to look more
cheerful than ever; but I can well un
derstand that the prospect of attaining
the goal of your ambition is too over
powering to induce sprightliness."
" I can assure you, said I, ' that the
prospect is very gratifying, and I can
not tell why 1 should look so dull, fur I
feel so joyful that I am, in fact, quite
confused. To-morrow I shall fuel all
-right, no doubt."
"But," said Mrs. Wilmot, "is there
some great secret about Mr. Danby's
.prospects i"
"No, my dear," said her husband.
"You are aware that Mr. Kinnear, our
.manager at 6 , is goiug to retire.
Well, the directors have decided to up
joint Mr. Diuby to succeed him, on
certain conditions, and as those condi
tions are, to my knowledge, favorable,
we may look upon the matter as set
tled." Mrs. Wilmot expressed her pleasure
at my improved prospects, and then the
t-ouunencenient of the dinner interrupt
ed our conversation for a time. When
we began to converse again, an acci
dental remark of Mrs. Wilmot's led to
'the introduction, of a topio which lad
rrepeut. dly been mentioned in my pres
enoe on former occasions, but which I
Iliad never properly fathomed. It re
ferred to a very mysterious affair con
mected with the disappearance of a valu
able jewel-case belonging to Mrs. Wil-
mot. Prompted by curiosity, I asked
Mr. Wilmot if he would enlighten me as
to the whole fauts of this matter.
" Well, I will tell you all that I know
about it, but that is not much, as the
whole transaction was very mysterious
tnd it has never yet btcu o lean d up.
The robbery, for such it undoubtedly
was, took place some three years and a
half ago, aud therefore about six months
before you came to this branch. It hap
pened in this way: We had a dinner
party one evening, and my wife, when
dressing, took some jewelry out of her
case, which I brought from my private
safe for that purpose. This case she left
on her dressing-table, and when we went
out to our bed-room, alter our guests
had gone, it was nowhere to be found.
We had a servant who was to leave the
next day, the cause of her dismissal be
ing her habit of going out without per
mission and keeping late hours. Ou in
quiry, I found that this girl bad been
away from the house for about two
hours duriug the time we were with our
guests. This circumstance, coupled with
others, excited my suspicions so far that
I sent for the superintendent of police,
but after a long and tedious inquiry, it
was impossible to obtain auy tangible
evidence against her. Among our guests,
on the evening in question, was a gen
tleman named Oarstaug, who filled the
post of accountant in the bank here, but
who was on the eve of his departure to
take the managership at N . My
wile was alwayH firmly impressed with
the idea that Qarstang was connected
with the disappearance of her jewels,
but of course 1 looked upon such a su
picion as simply preposterous ; in fact,
her only grounds for it were, her gene
ral dislike to him, and the fact that he
had departed before the rest of the com
pany upon what she thought an insuffi
cient plea."
"Whether I wrong him or not I can
not tell, and may never know," s tid Mrs
Wilmot, "but I have always felt an ir
resistible conviction that my impression
was right. You know, Stephen, that I
expressed a dislike to him when first I
naw him. There was something about
the expression of his features that was
very unpleasant"
" That is my strongest reason for dis
trusting your conviction, my dear. I
onsider that it was the result of the
bud impression he niado upon you at
tir.-t, indefinite at starting, but suddenly
reduced to shape by the circumstances
of the robbery. If, however, you will
consider Mr. Garstang's prosptcts at
that very time, you must see that it
would be absurd to suppose for a mo
ment that be could be euilty of sui.h an
egregious act of folly an act the dis
covery of which would have hurled him
from a most enviable position to a fel
on's ceil. Such a suspicion is unjust
and dangerous, and I should tremble if
thought anyone could get an inkling
of it. I need not impress upon you the
necessity ot silence upon so delicate a
subject ; and, of course, D.nby," said
he, turning to me, "von fully under
stand that what you have heard is un
der the teal of friendship, and must nev
er be even whispered to your own ears."
I signified my firm intention of never
breathing a word on this dangerous
subject and turned the conversation to
more ordinary matters.
V e had lust commenced dessert, when
a telegram was brought in by one of the
servants, and handed to Mr. Wilmot.
who quickly read it, ond with a look of
surprise, passed it to me. Now, in the
course of our extensive banking busi
ness, it was continually necessary to
communicate by wire from one branch
to another, on important matters, and,
for the sake of the needful socrecy, a ci
pher code was adopted. This code was
only kuown to the chief officials at each
branch, and hence none of the teWranh
clerks could understand our dispatches.
ine leiegrani was in this code and was
from M , a town about fortv miles
off, where there were two banks viz.,
our branch and a private bank. The
telegram stated that this private bank
uaa ciosea its doors hnally that after
noon at four; that Mr. Dane, our mana
ger at M , had just got this informa
tion, and that he expected a severe run
upon our bank in the morning. He
urged us to send him immediate relief.
and suggested that we should telegraph
to our branch at O for gold for our
use, so as to send him as much as possi
ble. The case was a most urcent one.
aud Mr. Wilmot quickly decided what
to do. I started in a cab to fetch the
cashur, who had one of the three keys
of the bank strong room, the others be
ing in the respective keeping of mvself
and the manager. While 1 went on this
eriand, Mr. Wilmot sent off a telegram,
giving a copy ot Mr. Dane's, with gome
further hinls to the manager at O .
Mr. wilmot was at the bank when I re
turned with the cashier. We found the
orter, who, like myself, lived on the
bank premises, at home, and we were
not long in packing up, in suitable ca
ses, a sum el seven thousand pounds in
gold, and about two thousand in Bank
of England paper. For the conveyance
of this to the railway station, we sum
moned two cars from an adjoining stand.
As these cars drove up, I ran somewhat
quickly out of the bank, aud, in so do
ing, came against a tall man who was
passing along the foot-path. He had a
handkerchief muffled about his throat,
and his coat buttoned up to his chin, in
addition, to which he held a red silk
handkerchief to his nose and mouth.
The inclemency of the night sufficiently
accounted for these precautions, but, as
I jostled him, his hand was for an in
stant cast aside, and I saw his face. It
was one not easily forgotten. It was
handsome and yet repugnant. How
ever, I was busy. He passed on, and I
thought no more about it. The mana
ger and myself got into one car, and the
cashier and the porter occupied the oth
er, and we drove as rapidly as we could
through the town to the railway sta
tion. When we arrived there, the mail
train for M was just about to tart.
The station-master was on the platform.
and a few words from Mr. Wilmot ex
plained what we required.
"1 see, sir. Mr. Dauby wants a com
partment to himself. I think all the
carriages are more or less occupied. I
will put on another carriage; but we are
already past time, and the mail guard
will not allow delay, so that I cannot
break the train. I shall be compelled to
pat on the carriage behind the guard's
van."
To this we raised no obj ction, as the
one important question was to get to
M- wit h the required relit t. The
extra carriage was quickly booked on
and duly screwed up, and tail lamps put
upon it. Ine cases ot gold were put in
upon one of the seats, and I took my
place opposite them, wishing my friends
good night. The train begun to move
rather slowly, when 1 caught Bight of
two men ot about equal height, who
hurried from a waiting room across the
platform toward the train.
" This way, gentleman," said the
guard, opening the door of a compart
ment behind that which I occupied, but
iu the same carriage. Where we were,
the station was somewhat dark, but just
as they were getting in, the light ot the
guard's lamp fell upon them, aud I was
struck with the fact that, not only were
they of the same height and build, but
they were dressed just in the same way,
and that way was precisely that of the
man against whom 1 jostled outside the
bank. 1 conld not tell why, but 1 tell
uneasy, and had it not been too late, as
we were already out of the station and
going rapidly through a tunnel, I should
have got the porter to go with me to
ai . I reasoned with myeelt that,
after all, I was quite safe. I was locked
in on each side, and the motion of the
train would as effectually prevent any
one from reaching me as it would hinder
me from reaching the guard. Reason as
would, however, I felt more and more
uncomfortable, and I determined that,
at the first stoppage, I would get some
alteration made. I little knew where
my first stoppage was to be ; little did 1
think of the nature of those who rode
behind me, or of the doom that hung
over me. Suddenly I thought the thun
der of the train btcame fainter, and the
motion of the carriage less rapid. While
I was try ing to solve this matter, the car
riage seemed to stop, and then to move
again. I looked out. Good heavens 1
the train was a considerable distance
ahead, and I was being rapidly carried
back toward W . Faster and faster
sped thecarriageon its return, and more
teruhed did i become. I he motion ot
the carriage became as swif : as it had
been when behind the mail nay, even
switter and my heart sank within me,
my very knees shook under me and my
hair set med to bristle with the terrible
suspense of those moments, while big
drops ot cold sweat tell irom my lace.
Ou.on vre sped, and then the motion be
gan to slacken. Good God! what
should I do i The carriage stopped ; h
click as if a ke y in the door near which
I stood, a moment, and the light of the
carriage lamp fell upon the. face I saw
outside the bank. The man or fiend
pointed a pistol at me. 1 drew back a
step, and was seized from behind ; my
assailant had entered from the opposite
door. The one with the pistol advanced
across the floor of the carriage ; I made
one frantic grasp at him, saw him ruie
the butt-end of his weapon, and then 1
felt dizzy, and in attempting to grasp
bis arm fainted away.
When I came to myself, I was lying
on the floor of the carriage, too weak to
move ; the doors were open, and the bit
ter storm beat in upon me in all ils
winter fury. I could not quite realize
my situation, all seemed confused and
muddled. I only remembered that I
ought to have been at M , but that
some terrible violence had prostrated
me. Presently I heard the whistle of an
engine, as if coming from M , an 1,
confused as I was, 1 knew the fate which
awaited me if in the storm the advanc
ing train should be upon mo ere the
driver noticed my carriage. made a
desperate attempt to rise, but in vain.
The bhrill whistle sounded ugain, sti 1
nearer, and this time it was answered by
another of deeper tone from the oppo
site direction, aud 1 caught, in a lull of
the storm, the sound of wheels of the ap
proaching engines. I became sick with
horror, uud I closed my eyes in dread.
Then the advancing engines whistled
again and again, and, O joy I I could
tell that they went slower, and then
stopped. Then I lost all consciousness
once more. When I again became sen
sible, 1 felt myself sitting up, and some
one holding mo. I felt too, thut the
carriage was in motion. I opened my
eyes, and found myself with Mr. Wil
mot and the cashier. The porter of the
bank und tbo fetation muster of W
were also there. I tried to speak but
could not. I made a motion with my
hand, to try to make them comprehend
that I could not speak.
'He wants something to drink," said
Mr. Wilmot. "Has any one got some
brandy Y'
No one had, but in a few minutes
more we were at W , and I was taken
into the refreshment room and placed
under the care of a surgeon. Under the
effects of warmth and stimulents I soon
revived sufficiently to give an accouut
ot what had happened, so far as I under
stood it. The station-master stated it
as beyond doubt tbat the men who at
tacked me were prepared with a care
fully considered plan, which they had
but too well succeeded in carrying out.
They had evidently got along the foot
board of the carriage, and, when as
cending a steep incliue, they bad undone
the couplings, so that the carriage ran
back on to the level. Their place had
been well chosen, as it was in a very
lonely part of the country, aud far from
any station, Ibe tact that the turnpike
road approached the line at a point
some three hundred yards from where
tho carriage stopped, had possibly facil-
.tart 1 1 1 o.n j i iU T ariifl ntiulla . . i . .
couut for the arrivfTof tho two engines,
which evidently came to search tor the
missing carriage. This was soon ex
plained. As regarded the engine from
M , tbat was sent back as soon as
ever the train reached the station, be
cause the carriage wasimmediately mis
sed. The engine from V . with Mr.
Wilmot and the others, started on ac
count of a discovery made by Mr. Wil
mot, wnicn caused the utmost conster
nation. This discovery was no thin sr
less than that the telegram from M
was a forgery. Mr. Wilmot had teb
graphed to Mr. D.tne to say that the re
lief asked had been sent. To this an
nouncement Mr. Dane replied that ho
could not understand it, that something
was wrong, and that he should await
Mr. Wilmot s explanation at the station
at M . The false telegram had been
craftily conceived, and, unfortunately
for me, was in the private code of our
bank. Y hen it was telegraphed irom
M that the train had arrived minus
my carriage, the cose against me looked
doubly strong, and tho two men who
entered at W were set down as con.
federates who were to help me to carry
on the booty. hen, however, 1 was
ft und in the carriage, a new light broke
in upon the minds ot my rescuers, and
it was seen that I was the victim, not
the chief criminal.
It remained now to try to discover the
daring scoundrels who hud planned and
executed this nefarious deed, and if pos
sible, retake the booty. This seemed a
very hopeless task. Men of proved skill
had beju taken to the scene of the out
rage from both W and M with
the spe ial engines which came to the
rescue, but it was very doubtful whether
they would nnd any clue. A second
time was the special engine sent from
W , and it ere long returned with
one of the detectives. This man had
found a gold watch on the ballast near
where the carriage had stopped on the
level. Now this watch did not belong
to me mine being still in my pocket
nor indeed to any among our party. It
was therefore very evident that it had
been dropped by one of the thieves in
the scuffle, or in getting the cases off.
The detectivo handed the watch to Mr.
Wilmot arid Mr. Dane, but they could
not make anything of it. By this time
news of the robbery hud spr. id into the
town, though everything was done to
keep it quiet, and many people had
jome to the station to satisfy their curi
osity. Among others, a watchmaker
who worked for Mr. Wilmot came on
the platform. The detective at once
suggested that Mr. Wilson, the watch
maker in question, should m ike an ex
amination of tho watch, and that a re
port of such examination should be
drawn up. Mr. Wilson was accordingly
called into the room, aud the watch
handed to him. He opened it and took
off the case, while the detective prepar
ed to note dowu the result. No sooner
had Mr. Wilson removed the case, than
an exclamation of surprise fell from him.
"Why, Mr. Wilmot!" said he, "this
watch is oue that used to belong to Mrs
Wilmot, and which was stolen some
three years ago."
"What!" said Mr. Wilmot; "Mrs.
Wilmot's watch. Are you sure '("
" Yes, sir, quite sure, 1 remember many
peculiarities about it; and here I can
identify some special repairs that I made
myself."
"This is very strange," said our mana
ger. " The thieves who stole this watch
must be closely connected with the pre
sent outrage."
" Mr. Torter, can we have a special to
N at once '(" said our manager, ad
dressing the station mister.
" 1 will order one immediately, sir;
and also telegraph to see if the line is
clear."
While this was being done, Mr. Wil
mot asked the doctor if I could be safe
ly moved, as he wished to take me to
N , to be ready to identify my as
sailants, should they be captured. The
doctor gave it as his opinion that I
might be taken ; and he expressed his
willingness to accompany us, to be ready
in case of need. We were soon on our
way to N , and in the morning we
arrived there. Mr. Wilmot and two de
tectives at once proceeded to the bank ;
and in about half an hour Mr. Wilmot
returned to the inn, where I remained
with the rest of the party. lie said that
Mr. Garstang was not there, he having
gone away early in the morning; but
the detectives had been stationed where
they could watch all who approached
the bank. Wilson, tho watchmaker,
had gone round to several of his fellow
tradesmen in N , aud at last he found
a person who recognized the watch . as
one which he had cleaned on several oc
casions, for Garstang ! Thus, then, we
had got another link in our chain one
stronger than any of the others. Porter,
the station master, had ascertained that
Garstang often drove out of N in a
dog cart, and mostly in one direction.
Uu arriving at this town we succeeded
in ascertaining where Girstang's dog
uart invariably went. This was to a
bouse in the suburbs.standing in grounds
of its own, and inhabited by an old wo
man and her daughter. When we reached
this house, part of our force, approached
it by the front and part by the back,
the doctor remaining with mo in the
carriage at the corner of the lane. While
we waited m suspense for the result of
the raid upon the house, we heard the
sound of wheels, and the doctor looking
out, saw a carriagp, the horses of which,
be said, seemed hard driven, cominff at
a rapid pace down the lane leading to
the tiouse. Where our carriase stood, it
could not be seen by the driver of
the other. To run in by the back wav
of the house was but the work of a mo
ment with the now thorutrhlv excited
doctor; and he succeeded in warning
our party just in time for them to con
oeal themselves. As we expected, the
carriage turned into the grounds of the
nouse. it was instantly surrounded.
The occupants, it is needless to say, were
the two who had attacked and robbed
me. They at fist showed an inclination
to use their fire-arms; but seeing the
hopelessness of resistance, they desisted.
and gave themselves up. When thev
were confronted with me, I at once iden
tified the man whose face I had seen ;
and though tbey had chansred their
dress, the station-master was convinced
tbey were the men who got into my
carriage at W . The one who passed
tue oauK was u twang, nis object in so
doing being the to see how the plot wis
working. The whole mystery was now
clear. It was easy to see that Garstang,
being acquainted with the code, had
caused the forged telegram to be sent
from M by some accomplice. In
quiries instituted among the clerks at
the M telegraph office elicited the
fact that a female had sent the spurious
dispatch, which the receiving clerk well
remembered on account of its length
and peculiarity. Finding this to bo the
case, the younger of the two women was
taken into custody on her return home.
She proved to be none other than the
female servant who was discharged from
Mr. Wilmot's at the time of the jewel
robbery. This girl was admitted a sa wit
ness against Garstang, as also was the
driver of the carriage in which he and
his fellow-robber reached the house
where they were captured.
The mystery about tho jewel-caso was
cleared up by the evidence of the servant-girl.
On the night of tho robbery,
she stated thut she was in her mistress'
room, and then determined to steal it.
She alleged that she was attracted rather
by the beauty of the jewels than by
their value, and that no idea of selling
them ever entered her head ; her only
idea being to become possessed of such
splendid finery. She took up the box,
and was coming out of the room with it,
when Garstang confronted her and
threatened to give the alarm. She be
oame very frightened, and attempted to
put the case back. This G irstang would
not let her do, but led her down the back
stairsand out into the garden, and thence
to the street. He then frightened her
to going with him to a disreputable
public house, where he robbed her ot
the jewelry, and threatened her with
the consequences of divulging whathud
taken place ; at the same time he told
her he would marry her if she kept all
quiet. This he had never done ; but he
had taken the house in which he was cap
tured, and here he placed his victim with
an old hag, whom he made her designate
48 her mother. He had, shestatcd,al ways
treated her with a sort of kindness; but
he never relaxed his hold upon her, and
she felt very frightened of him. Thus,
then, was this villain at last fairly net
tled, and, with his fellow-criminal who
turned out as we expected, to be his
brother committed for trial. While
he lay awaiting his trial at the assizes,
some bills of his brother's were dishon
ored; and this led to the discovery of
an extensive system of fraud which these
two worthies had carried on for many
years. At the trial, the robbery in the
ruin was clearly proved against the
two Garstangs; and justice was at last
vindicated by their receiving a sentence
of penal servitude for life, with the ad
dition of an ample preliminary adminis
tration of the cat.
The wretched girl who had, in a wav
ering moment, when a word of good
counsel might hav saved her, unfortu
nately fallen into the clutches of a heart
less, calculating scoundrel, was sent to u
distant part of the country ; but she
soon drooped und died of consumption,
induced or hastened by exposure to the
bitter weather when she went to M ,
to send the telegram which so nearly
led to such dire results. As for myself,
1 soon recovered, aud took my post at
S as manager, and when Mr. Wil
mot and I visit each other's houses
which we often do we seldom fail to
think of the forged telegram and my ter
rible ride.
"A Few More Left."
The most renowned street-vender in
New York, or in the world, is Henry
Smith, tb.n " Razor-Strop Man " of Nas
sau street. Born in England, six months
alter Waterloo, his youth was roving and
dissipated, and his devotion to drink
gained him the sobriquet ot " Old Soaker
before he was twenty-one. Signing the
abstinence pledge for a month, and then
for life, he became a good husband, an
industrious man, and an ardent temper
ance advocate. In 1812 he sailed in the
Ontario for America. L inding in New
York, he soon began to sell razor-strops,
and his street spiecb.es were such droll,
witty, and sensible mixtures of prose
and poetry, that ia three months he
made himself the prince of peddlers.
His sayings were chronicled in the pa
pers, bis portrait was published in the
Sunday Allan, and he even appeared for
seven nights at the Olympic Theatre in
Mitchell s play of the "lUzor Strop
Man." His fame rapidly spread, and he
made the tour of the Union, teaching
temperance and selling his strops, until
nis characteristic saying, " A tew more
left of the same sort," became a " house
hold word." He achieved a fortune iu
a few years; but the spirit of specula
tion seized him, and the crisis of 1857
swept away his last dollar. With un
shaken courage and a fresh basket ot
strops he b 'gan life anew, visited his
native .bijgland, and won much reputa
tion as a "genuine Yaukee peddler."
Returning to America, the war found
him at Rochester, where he enlisted in a
volunteer regiment. In his left leer he
still carries a Gettysburg musket-bill.
When told that it might be necessary to
amputate the limb, he replied, " Well 1
suppose I can afford to lose it, as I shall
still have one more left of the same sort!"
The leg was saved, but the wouud dis
abled him and compelled his return to
Rochester, were he served till after the
close of the war as recruiting-sergeant,
and in the soldiers's hospital. With a
purse from the city, a letter of thanks
from the Mayor, aud a Zouave uniform
from bis regiment, the veteran vender
returned again to New York and be
came once more the " Razor-Strop Man "
of Nassau street. Age has whitened his
close-cut hair and mustache, and the
short growth on his bronned cheek and
chin; and his witty old-time speeches no
longer gather crowds of laughing buy
ers But his eye still twiukles with
kindly shrewdness behind his cold-
rimmed spectacles, and his softly spoken,
"Here you are young mini" is often
the prelude to a sensible and genial
preachment of temperance and the
many virtues of the strops, razors, knives.
and other wares that overflow his red,
white, and blue striped, " first national
basket." from u The Street-Vender $ of
Neie Yorl," by E. E. Sterni, in Heribner'
Monthly for Vecenber.
A vouth re-neotablv connected st Phi.
. -
cago, and not yet seventeen years of age,
recently died from the effect of xRuii n
drinking.
Legend of a Baggage-Smasher.
I knew him. It was years ago. His
name was well, call it Bumps. If you
ever get into a railroad struggle where
one struggles to get another off the
track, you will know more about Bumps,
or your friends will. This Bumps wub
a nice young man. His hair always
combed low down ; ho wore brass but
tons; and there was a mysterious re
port current that he had been known to
call on the sherry for three, on the
Fourth of July, and had actually paid
for it paid for it, sir I We held him in
awe we boys did. He could talk about
lever watches, pointer dogs, steam
barges, and he could relate incidents ot
difficulties in prize rings so beautifully
that I used to wish to knock some one
in the stomach, and break some am
bitious Englishman's jawbone. If
Bumps said anything, the whole towu
swore that it was so. If he didn't say
anything we stood back and waited for
developments.
At lust lie went away. His uncle
used his influence to get liiui a position
as baggage-master. I never heard of
him for years, but I was called oue (lay
to see him die. I went with greut
pleasure. Bumps was a mere skeleton ;
his eyes were like saucers ; his hair was
all worn off from tearing round so in
bed. He told me all about it. He drove
everybody out of the room, bade me
string up my nerves to hear a mournful
tale, and then he commenced. He
weut on the railroad a pure young man;
ha took charge of trunks and boxes, and
commenced by lifting them by the han
dles, and setting them down carefully.
He had not served a month when the
president of the road called him into the
office, cut down his salary, and told him
if there were any more complaints from
the conductor, Bumps would be bumped
out of a berth. Then the young man
grew cold und stern. He was bound to
suit the railroad corporation or die. He
began by walking up to a poor old chest
belonging to an orphan, aud putting his
foot through the corner. The conduc
tor saw the act ; the two shook hands,
and they wept for hours on each other's
breasts. Bumps had not mado two trips
bifore he could sling a satchel eleven
yards, retaining both handles in his
grasp. Innocent owners of such things
threatened him, and commenced suit
ag 'inst him, and swore they would
never ride on that road again; but
Bumps was firm. He was dignifi d ; he
was solemn ; he was working for a high
er sphere ; he was treading in tho path
of duty.
When gentle females would hangup
their tender little baskets und satchels,
Bumps would make a diabolical smile,
and get in a corner and jump on the ar
ticles and toss them up and kick them,
und fling them through ethereal space.
And when the train stopped ho would
throw out a waterfall and toothbrush iu
answer to oall for check " 22." Hus
bands would strike at him, and dared
him out of his den, and called him a base
tiend; but Bumps was solemn. He
knew his line of business. Whoa he got
hold of a nice trunk he would carry a
countenance like a strawberry of joy ful
ness. He would jerk off one handle,
then another, then kick in the ends, then
take an axe and smash the lock, aud then
let the shirts and things rattlo out ou
the track. It got so at lust thut people
actually paid high priues for the priv
ilege of living along the line of that
roud, as they got their shirts for nothing.
All that was needed was to have the
children follow up Bump's train.
But there came a black day. A mis
erable, contemptible, sueukiug wretch,
who owned a saw-mill, went travelling.
He ran his factories two weeks on
nothing but truuk stuff, and he brought
out the wickedest trunk that ever went
into a car. It was seven feet thick all
round, and there were sixteen nails
driven in one on top of the other, until
the thing was clear proof. Then he
ave it into Bump's hands, charging
him to be " very careful if he pleased."
The train started. Bumps got the axe
as usual aud struck at the lid, but the
axe bounded back. Hj struck once
more; the axe flew into pieces. Then
he got a crowbar and a can of powder,
but he couldn't burst a rail. He swore
and jumped up aud down, and wanted
t die, and wished he'd never been born
He got all the train men in; they all
pouuded, but the trunk held firm. It
went through all right. It was handed
down without a jam, and tho owner was
thero to say, "Thank you, sir," and he
pretended he was going back again, aud
bad the chest put on board ouce more.
Bumps grew pale. He was sick. His
Ugs shook. He had chills all over him.
The trunk went back, a witness ot
"man's inhumanity to man." Bumps
grew worse He felt that he was for
ever disgraced, aud went to bed with the
brain fever. They tried to console him,
aud said that they cnuld h ive trusted
the chest if they had only thought to
h;tve a collision. I was there when he
died. I never want to weep as I wept
then. He Just shrunk right away, mur
muring, " Cuss that t r u n k."
Not the least of the benefits consequent
upon the coustruction of the railway to
the Pacific is the impetus it has given to
the cultivation of what has been hereto
fore esteemed only a barren desert. Ex
periments made at a number of localities
show thut the whole of the Western plains
can by artificial irrigation be rendered
fruitful ; and latterly even this a-sistanoe
has been shown not to be absolutely in
dispensable. Mr. It. S. Elliot, the indus
trial agent of the Kansas Pacific Railway,
has just made a report of his sucoess in
planting wheat, rye, barley, timothy, and
lucern at various points on that railway,
from which he infers that these grains can
be profitably cultivated along the w hole
line. He has also planted the seeds of
burr oak, pecan, chestnut, peach, and
ailanthus trees, which, if not destroyed
by burrowing animals, will, be thinks,
germinate iu due time. This tree-planting
is an exceedingly important work ;
for it' any considerable extent of forests
can be ouce established, there is no doubt
that the rainfall of the whole region will
be vastly increased, and its fertility as-
MISCELLAAEOIS 1TE3IS.
Church deacons are expelled BtElmira
for saying " by telegraph." 1 .
Ease ball has killed twenty-five per
sons during the past season.
The Steamship China, just arrived at
San Francisco, brought over 12,000 pack
ages of tea.
Miss Vinnie Ream's statue of Lincoln
is fiuished, and will be sent to Washing
ton this wiuter.
There are on file on the docket of tho
Supremo Court of Massachusetts nearly
1,5000 bills for divorce.
The " one flesh" that an Indiana couple
were recently made, weighed one thou
sand pounds avoirdupois.
A lady reporter goes to church and
writes up " Style in the Sanctuary" for
one of the Chicago papers.
Mr. Pt rry of Michigan, quotes wives
at $5 plus un old shot gun. He sold one
of his recently at that figure.
Sets of mathematical instiuinents nnd
a library, are to be given to Gen. Grant,
Gen. Sherman, and Gen. McClellan.
Mark Twain has issued a new work,
entitled "Innocents at Home" Or in
other words his wife has got a baby.
The Kansas Tribune states that a legion
of pretty girls are worrying the members
ot the new .Legislature out ot their seven
senses, by applications for assistance in
obtaining clerkships und other official
positions.
The Toledo, Wabash and Western Rail
road is sued for if 40,000 damages because
its trains do not stop at Jacksonville,
Ind., " twenty minutes for n freshoients,"
as was the understanding when the depot
and hotel were built.
In Tndianupolis, a charming young
lady physician was calli d to administer
to a gentleman down with a fever. " You
need good nursing," said the lady.
"Nurse me for hfe.': replied the patient.
" I will" was the soft answer.
Miss Kitty Underwood has been do-
cided by a vote of the citizens of Fort
Dodge, Iowa, to be the handsomest girl
in the city. She is about eighteen years
of age, a school-tfiacher, and dependent
on her own resources for a livelihood.
A letter from Paris says: "It is
strange aud painful to see groups of well
dressed womeu looking in the windows
of pork butchers' and tripe shops with
the s tme eager curiosity with which they
used to gaze at ribbons and bonnets "
Steel ear-rings are now the fashion.
They are fastened to the ear by a spring, .
and have the appearance ot a small gold
dot inserted into the fieh. They are
popular among young ladies, inasmuch
as it is not necessary to pierce the ears.
Five ladies, not long since, left North
ampton, Mass , for Califoruia, going by
the Pacific Railroad. They went unat
tended, und all but one, whose husband
is a resident of California, are out on a
pleasure trip. They will remain in Cal
ifornia until spring.
The Spanish Minister has paid over to
the government nineteen thousand seven
hundred dollars in gold, which was
awarded in a recent arbitration for dam
ages in the s i.uro of the Lloyd Aspin
wall. This subject, it will be remembered,
was alluded to in the President's Mes
sage. Its settlement is a cause for con
gratulation, as it threatened at one tiino
to affect the relations between Spain and
the United States.
A committee of the Maryland Acad
emy of Science, having spent several
weeks prospecting in the coul and iron
regions of West Virginia, have reported
their observations to the Institute at
Baltimore. The committee reports that
the amouut of the minerals there exceeds
all anticipations. There ii a large amount
of splint of coal great value for manu
facturing purposes The committee ex
presses the opinion that the best quality
of iron can be manufactured there cheap
er by several dollars a ton than in Peun
sj lvania.
A dealer in agricultural tools out in
Iowa, and a Gi-rmau by birth, went to
Fatherland, lust spriug, taking along a
reuper uud mower of the most approved
pattern, and put it to practical use at
once. The old und the young gathered
by hundreds to see it work, for they have
only the old-fushioued clumsy scythe,
and tho old wood mold-board plow. But
when they saw twenty acres of grass cut
in seventeen hours, they were completely
astonished, and confessed such a machine
run with a little oil was completely ahead
of their tools backed by uuiimited sup
plies of lager.
The report of the United States De
partment of Agriculture comes to the
startling conclusion that such is the
wholesale destruction of American for
ests, there will be an actual famine for
wood in the country within thirty years,
unless immediate measures are taken to
supply their places by new plantations.
It is estimated that from 1850 to 1800
20.000,000 acres of timber land were
brought under cultivation, and thut in
the present decade no less than a hundred
millions will be so reclaimed. We see
but one remedy for this : Lot the Gov
ernment offer large premiums for the
cultivation of forests.
The thieves who travel oa the rail for
a living at the expense of honest people,
have invented a new device for the pur
pose of facilitating their plundering op-'
erations. The device consists of a
drugged cigar, the smoking of which
produces a gradual but almost deadly ef
fect upon the victim. The game consists
of the operator making himself respecta
bly present in the smoking car of a train
and at the right time engaging in con
versation with a stranger, and then in
due time offering him a cigar, which he
takes Irom his pocket with a hindful of
others. The operator, unnoticed, then
smokes a cigar taken from another ock-
Inf ii'a. the ?eDtlmMlduzy
and falls asleep, tut soon awakes to
vomit freely m a state of copious per
spiration. After his sickness We? or
uoon arriving j "", oi
he discovers that: X,
his nnnkaf-Vww.l, ,, .vuuw v.
. . "" pronered cit