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HENRY A. PAES0N8, Jr., Editor akd Publisher, , ELK C OUNTY--TIlE REPUBLICAN PARTY. Two Dollars per Ahnuh.
VOL. I. RIDGWAY, PA., THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1871. NO. 8.
TUB BIVOUAC OF THE DEAD.
Tho muffled drum's gad roll bna bent
' The soldier's Inst tattoo ;
No more on Life's parade shall meet
The brave and fallen few.
On Fame's eternal camping ground
Their Bllent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead I ,
No rumor of the foe's advance
Now sweeps upon the wind ;
No troubled thoughts nt midnight haunts
Ot loved ones lelt behind.
No vision of the morrow's strife
The warrior's dream alarms ;
Nor braying horn, nor screaming life,
At dnwn, shall call to arms.
Their shivered swords are red with rust,
Their plumed beads are bowed ;
Their haughty bnnner, trailed In dust,
is now their martial shroud.
And plenteous funeral tears have washed
The red stains from each brow,
And the proud forms, by battle gashed,
Are freed from anguish now.
The neighing troop, tho flashing blade.
The bugle's stirring blast ;
Tho charge, the dreadful cannonade,
The din and shout, are past ;
Nor war's wild note, nor glory's Deal.
Shall thrill with fierce delight
Those breasts that nevermore may feel
Tho raptures of the fight.
For, like the dreadful hurricane
That sweeps tho wild plateau,
Flushed with the triumph yet to gain
Came down the serried foe. '
Who heard the tempest of the fray
Break o'er the field beneath,
Knew well the watchword of the day
Was " Victory or Death 1"
Long had the doubtful conflict raged
Across the surging plain,
For ne'er such fight before had waged
The fiery sons of Spain ;
And still the storm of battle blew,
Still swelled the gory tide
Not long, our stout old chieftain Knew,
Such odds his strength could bide.
'Twas In that hour his stern command
Called to a martyr's grave
The flower of his own beloved laud,
The nation's flag to save.
By rivers of their fathers' gore
His first-born laurels grew,
And well he deemed the sons would pour
Their lives for glory too 1
Full many a Northern breath hath swept
O'er Angostura's plain,
And long the pitying eye hath wept
Above her mouldering slain ;
The raven's scream, or eagle's flight,
Or shepherd's pensive lay,
Alone awakes each sullen height
That frowned on that dread fray.
Sons of" the dark and bloody ground,"
Ye should not slumber there,
Where stranger steps and tongues resound
Along the heedless air ;
Your own proud land's heroic soil
Must be your litter grave ;
Bhe claims from war her richest spoil
The ashes of the brave !
Now, 'ncatu their parent turf, they nst,
Far from the gory field,
Borne to a Spartan mother's breast
On many a bloody shield ;
She sunshine of their native sky
Smiles sadly on them here,
And kindred eyes and hearts watch by
The soldier's sephulchre.
ReU on, embalmed and sainted dead,
Dear as the blood ye gave I
No impious footsteps here shall tread
The herbage of your grave ;
Nor shall your glory be forgot
While Fame her record keeps,
Or Honor points the hallowed spot
Where valor proudly sleeps.
Yon faithful herald's blazoned stone,
With mournful pride, shall tell,
When many a vanished age hath flown,
The story how ye fell ;
Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's Bight,
Nor Time's remorseless doom,
Shall mur one ray of glory's light
That gilds your deathless tomb.
"Major General Win field Scott
A NIUHT AT BOLTON HALL.
A Uovernets Adventure, Itelnled by Her
self. " A governess life monotonous, do you
fay, my dear? Well, perhaps it may
be, as a general rule ; but I don't think
any woman's existence, however quietly
and obscurely it may be passed, is ever
entirely devoid of adventure. I have
been a governess for forty years now,
for I am past sixty, though I hardly
look it ; and I have had some curious
things happen to me in the course of
these forty years. There are more biog
raphies in the world than ever get writ
ten, my dear, and I have often thought
that the scenes of my life, if they were
told as some people know how to pic
ture them out, wouldn't make such a
very uninteresting book.
" I never told you about the gawky
young man, with the neglected educa
tion, who fell in love with me, when I
was teaching him syntax and prosody,
did 1 ? No, nor the widower with seven
children who wanted me to go out to
India with him, as his wife, at twenty
four hours' notice 1 Dear heart alive !
I often wonder what has become of them
all. But the strangest thing of any,
was what happened to me, when I was
in old England, years and yearn before
I thought of coming over to this coun
try, my dear.
"It was just after poor Allan Perci
val died of scarlet fever ; we were to have
been married at the next Christmas, if
all had gone right, and, naturally, I was
feeling lonesome and low-spirited
enough. But I've always found hard
work the best cure for the blues, and
when I had cried my poor little solitary
cry out, I put an advertisement, Want
edA Situation as Governess,' in the
Tinmt, and sat down, patiently to await
the result. For a forlorn little governess
must live, even though she Las been
' what the world call ' disappointed.'
H Well, the answer came in good time
a letter from a place called Bolton
Hall, in Lincolnshire, written by an old
lady who wished to engage a capable in
structress for her grandchild, a little
girl of twtlve years old. Only one pu
pil, advantageous terms, and an easy
place, among gentle-people who are
always more readily pleased, i nave
found by experience, than your upstart
Iwno nave buf.t their golden templet oi
fortune upqn tie foundations of a single
day, i really cad not think it would be
Eossible for me to do better, so I wrote
ack that I would be there upon a cer
tain day, two weeks off. ;
" I had never been in Lincolnshire
before, and I cannot say I was very
favorably impressed at first It was a
dreary country, all flat ferns and dismal
morasses, with stubby willow trees
growing in monotonous rows, and here
and there a windmill, with its arms out
lined against the leaden sky, like some
grotesque monster beckoning to one.
And it was long past sunset when I
finally arrived at Bolton Hall au old
red brick mansion, many-gabled, and
overgrown with fluttering trails of ivy.
" 1 It's a lonesome place, miss,' said the
post-boy, who had driven me over from
Eirsley, the nearest railway station. ' I
had a sister as was at service here once ;
but nobody stays long at Bolton Hall.'
" It was all nonsense for me to take
any notice of a servant's idle chatter,
but my mind was just in the morbid
mood to be influenced by trilling things,
and somehow the post-boy's words made
me feel a little low-spirited. But the
next minute the doors opened, and I
saw a great, octagonally shaped hall,
hung with dark crimson tapestry, and
lighted up by the shifting gleams of a
huge fire of crackling logs, for the eve
ning was chilly, although we were at
the prims of midsummer; and the
sweetest old lady you ever saw, in black
satin robes antl Valenciennes lace, with
curls as white as spun silver, and a com
plexion like a winter rose, came forward
to meet and welcome me.
" You are Miss Barbara Eyerson '('
she said, cordially extending to me a soft
white hand, sparkling with rich rings.
I am Lady Bolton ; and here,' with a
smile, ' is your little pupil.'
" And in an instant, a pretty child,
with a streaming cloud of golden hair
about her face, had run iuto my arms.
" ' Grandmamma I piped the child, I
know I shall like her I She is pretty,
and soft-voiced, and she hasn't got green
spectacles like old Miss Hosier 1'
" And I kissed the fresh, dimpled lips,
again and again, for who could help
loving an innocent, frank little creature
like this?
" The old lady smiled indulgently.
" ' Take Miss Eyerson to her room,
Victorine,' she said, ' and help her re
move her things, for tea will be served
in fifteen minutes.'
" I fell in love with my room at once.
It was a large, low-ceiled apartment,
and walls tinted of a delicate peach
bloom, and the floor covered with a
brown carpet whose pattern reminded
one of red and russet autumn leaves all
over it, and deep laticed windows hidden
with red moreen hangings. And when
we came down stairs again, little Victo
rine hanging fondly to my hand, Lady
Bolton was awaiting us in a great room
where the evening lamp cost a circle of
soft light in one particular spot, and all
the rest lurked in mysterious shadow. I
could see a curious red glow at one end,
which I afterward made out to be the
low setting moon shining through a
great stained-glass window, and there
was the rustle of tapestried hangings in
distant corners whenever a dor was
opened or shut by the grey-headed but
ler, or the brisk, pink-ribboned little
maid in waiting. It was all eerie
enough, and yet not unpleasant.
" Lady Bolton talked to me, after we
had drunk our tea, about Victorine, who
sat with her sunshiny head in the old
lady's black satin lap, and her big blue
eyes fixed dreamily upon me ; about her
proficiency in this particular study, or
her backwardness in that ; and gave me
one or two hints concerning the child's
peculiar temperament and character
istics. " I am very glad that you are young,
Miss Ityerson,' she said, with a Biuile.
' There is a healthy atmosphere about
youth that is especially needed, in a spot
like this, where a young child and an old
woman are thrown constantly together.'
'"Are you two the only members of
the family ?' I ventured to ask.
" ' We are all alone together, Victo
rine and 1,' she answered, her white,
slender fingers straying thoughtfully
through the little thing's meshes of gold
en hair.
" She is an orphan, then ?'
" Perhaps Lady Bolton did not hear
my question, for she immediately began
to talk of something else, and I had no
opportunity to repeat it.
" ' You must be tired,' said the old
lady, presently, rousing herself from
something like a reverie. ' You have
had a long and wearisome journey to
day, and I am selfishly forgetting all
but myself.'
And she rang the bell for lights, and
a servant to conduct me to my room.
" Lady Bolton was right. I was very
weary ; so much so that, notwithstand
ing my resolution to lie awake and
think over this auspicious beginning of
my new lite, I united away into sound
sleep almost the moment my head
touched the lavender-scented pillows.
" I do not know whether I had been
dreaming one hour or three, when I
suddenly awoke, oppressed by the
strange, mesmerio consciousness of some
other presence in the room than my
own ; and, to my surprise and terror,
the light from a shaded lamp was falling
full on my face, and a tall figure, with a
face as white as the whitest alabaster,
and arrayed in a sort of a loose cashmere
gown, belted at the waist with blue silk
cord and tassels, stood close at my bed
side. " 4 What is the matter what has hap
pened '(' I cried, sitting up in bed, and
wildly pushing the falling hair back
from my forehead, upon which a chilly
dew of sudden terror had oozed out.
" EUe I rise!' huskily whispered my
strange visitant, 1 for ycu are in mortal
danger I'
" What danger where f I gasped.
" ' Do you know what became of the
last governess who was here ? of the one
before her ?' asked the stranger, with a
peculiar smile on her face.
"'No.'
44 I will tell you, then; they were
murdered murdered in their beds mur
dered just as you are fated to be, unless
you heed my words, before this night is
another hour older.'
""Impossible!' I cried, falling back
upon the common sense of the thing.
Who should murder mo ? for what pos
sible reason ?'
' Insane people do not always stop to
reason,' was the calm reply. ' If you do
not believe me, I can show you where
their dead bodies are lying now. The
time grows short ; will you remain here
to perish, or will you consult your own
safety by instant flight with me ?'
"But who ore you ?'
" ' Your friend, and the enemy of se
cret murderesses. Tho time is flying
fast will you go or stay ?'
"I will go with you !' I cried, spring
ing to my feet, aud beginning, with
trembling hands, to throw on the vari
ous articles of dress that came first to
my grasp. ' But,' and I paused an in
stant, scarcely able to comprehend the
startling events of the moment, ' what
sort of a place, then, is this Bolton
Hall ?'
" ' A hell upon earth a charnel-house
a place where they shut innocent peo
ple up to die living deaths!' was the
slowly uttered response; an answer
which made the blood run cold in my
veins. 'But you need not fear, now
that I have come to your rescue. I will
conduct you to a haven of safety where
none can harm you. Only be silent and
speedy.'
" I tollowed her, with limbs that trem
bled so that they would hardly support
me, into the hall, and thence down a
narrow, winding stairway, which led
through a side door, into the starlighted
silence of the night. The dew sprinkled
my dress, as I hurried along the box
edged paths; mysterious shadows of as
pen, laurel and willow trees lay in dark
bars across the velvet-smooth grass, and
here and there a night-bird shrieked
through the thickets of dense-growing
shrubbery still we kept on, on until
the rushing sound of water warned me
that we were approaching a stream of
no inconsiderable magnitude.
"Suddenly my silent conductress
turned into an alley leading to the left,
and unlocked the door of a small build
ing of some sort.
" Stay here until I return,' she whis
pered, and fear nothing 1'
"But, in spite of her injunction, I did
feel a strange, inward quaking, as I
heard the key turned once more in the
lock, and knew that I was quite alone,
at the dead of night, in a strange place.
By the dim starlight, shining through
high latticed windows, I could see that
a narrow wooden bench ran round three
sides of the place, and that a flight of
steps extended down to the water's edge
on the fourth. Evidently I was in a
boat-house, aud, somewhat reassured, I
sat down on tho nearest end of the
bench, to try and still my throbbing
heart, and convince myself that all
would yet be welL My rescuer would
doubtless soon return, and then I should
be enabled to make good my escape.
" As I sat there, huddled up and shiv
ering in the chilly night air, with the
rush of the water sounding like a mourn
ful' monotone in my ears, I could not
but ask myself, over and over again,
what was the meaning of this strange
combination of circumstances? Did
such death-traps actually exist in a
country like this P If so, where were
safety and security to be found ? And
I trembled afresh at the bare idea of the
terrible peril in which I had so uncon
sciously stood. It was like a hideous
nightmare, or some fearful delusion of
a fever-rocked brain ; yet, I knew quite
well that I was neither asleep, nor de
lirious. No, it was the truth the terri
ble truth ; one of those fearful adven
tures which come to people perhaps once
in the course of a lifetime, but not oft
ener. The sweet-voiced old lody, who
had welcomed me with such a shww of
hypocritical kindness, the laughing, radiant-haired
child, who had hung so
fondly about me I shuddered as I re
membered those occurrences, and people
of the night before. Only the night be
fore ! To me it seemed a period removed
from my present by the long lapse of
years!
" Thus I waited there, shivering, trem
bling, palpitating ! I waited, and still
nobody came. I listened intently, but
all the sounds that I could hear were
the rustling of the woodbine which over
hung the lattice, swaying back and forth
in the dreary night-wind, the shrill cry
of summer insects, and the restless plain
ing of the river at my feet and still the
longed-for footstep of the rescuer came
not. And a new thrill and shudder came
over me as I suddenly chanced to re
member the post-boy's words :
" ' Nobody stays long at Bolton Hall !'
" And then, like a tender, reassuring
smile, the dawn began to crimson rosily,
and yellow light to creep in where the
stars and the darkness hod reigned hith
erto. It was morning once more. God's
new day was born, pearl-browed ond ra
diant, into the world. And, with the
shine and the glitter, new strength and
confidence came into my gradually sink
ing heart. Surely, surely my white-
robed conductress would not linger long
now i
"But the minutes crept by, slowly
lengthening themselves into hours, and
the vague, horror-stricken fear was borne
in upon me that I had been utterly for
gotten in my solitude. As this impres
sion seized on me, sprang madly to my
feet, rattling at the locked door with all
my feeble strength, shaking the mu! lions
of the lattices, crying wildly out for help.
But the dreary echoes of my own voice,
and the weird cry of startled birds, were
oil that came back to me.
"With a new inspiration, that was
like a glimmer of hope, I hurried down
the broad wooden steps. Why had I
not thought of this before ? I had never
been taught to manage a boat, but I be
lieved that I could do so, in case of ex
tremity ; and here, at least, would be a
means of -escaping from a prison-house
which began to be indescribably fright
ful to me.
. " But, to my dismay, 1 perceived that
no boat was there, only the iron staples
and rusted, hanging chains, to which, in
former times, a boat had probably been
attached, and, with a low groan of utter
despair, I seated myself on the lower
step, my dress dipping unheeded in the
sparkling current whose sunlit splendor
seemed to mock my desperation with its
joyous glitter. I could see the course of
the Btream tor some distance on either
Bide, as it wound through low, flat
meadows, with alder-busnes fringing
either side, ond pollard willows uplifting
their silver-grey foliage ; but there was
no dwelling nor other sign of human
presence to be discerned, ond the utter
solitude and isolation of the place
weighed upon my soul with o fearful in
cubus. Was I to starve to death here ?
to perish by slow agonies? I clasped
my hands involuntarily together, and
the incoherent fragment of a wild prayer
broke alound from my lips
" And the sun, mounting higher and
higher in the blue, cloudless heaveu,
withdrew its chequers of gold from the
floor of the boat-house, and the day grew
older and more radiant without, while I,
silent and almost stupefied with hunger,
fright and exhaustion, sat, like a motion
less log, on the step, leaning my throb
bing head against the rough boards that
formed the siding ; for I was quite past
exertion now 1 could only uwait my
fate. '
" It must have been past noon when
the welcome sound ot human voices
broke in upon the dreadful trance of
solitude which had come upon me, like
a slow, creeping numbness, and I invol
untarily started up. ,
" There's foot-tracks hero, plain
enough, aud the branches is broke
down,' said a gruff accent. ' I only hopes
she 'asn't been and murdered the poor
young lady I'
" I lifted up my choked voice with a
feeble cry for aid. Faint and tremulouB
thogh it was, it was heard,- and re
sponded to with a ' Hal-lo-o-o 1' that
Bhook the very timbers of the building
like a roar of thunder.
" ' 'Ere she is, or I'm no better than a
land-lubber!' bellowed the gruff voice.
' 'Ere she is, my lady I But, shiver my
timbers, if the boat-'ouse door ain't
locked !'
" ' Break in the door at once, Stephensl'
cried Lady Bolton's soft voice, agitated
enough now. ' Oh, merciful Heaven 1
who can tell what may have happened ?'
" ' There ain't a-many bolts, or bars
neither, as can stand agin my shoulder !'
growled the first tones. ' So, 'ere goes !
One, two, three, and begin !'
" And then there came a mighty sound,
like the cleaving and splintering asunder
of beams, and the crash of splitting
boards, and the next moment I was
clasped in Lady Bolton's arms.
" ' My dear f my dear !' she faltered.
'I am so glad, so grateful to see you
alive once again I'
" 1 heard no more. A blinding: dark
ness came over my eyes, the rush of tho
river seemed to fill my ears with thun
derous, confusing echoes, and I knew
nothing further until I found myself on
the sofa in Lady Bolton's own room,
with little Victorine's blue eyes watching
wistfully over me, and the faint sweet
odor of cologne and scented waters per
meating all the air.
" And then, when I was able to listen
collectedly, Lady Bolton gave me the
entire clue to the frightful mystery,
wnicn naa so nearly proved totally dis
astrous to me.
" ' It was Victorine's poor mother, mv
dear,' she said, sorrowfully, stroking
down my hand as she spoke. ' She has
never had her senses since my son was
killed in a duel, eleven years ago this
very month. But we dreaded gossip and
exposure, oud never could endure the
thought of sending her to on asylum,
though she has always been kept under
what we supposed the strictest surveil
lance in private apartments at the Hall.
But last night her keeper a very re
spectable and steady woman, my dear,
and an old servant of the family got
over-tired, and slept more soundly than
was her wont. Aud so poor Helen, who
had chanced to witness your arrival
from her window, and whose mind is al
ways more disturbed than usual at this
period of the year, in which her husband
met his death, contrived to steal away
her keys, and crept to your room with
the stealthy cunning of insanity. All
the rest you yourself know. It was a
mercy that she did not either destroy or
seriously injure you, or herself. As it
was, they found her half-way on the road
to Earsley, in search, as she told them,
of a magistrote to whom she could con
fide her fancied wrongs ; and she is now
safe in her own rooms, under Nancy's
soothing care. I have not myself been
able to see or speak to her in a long time,
for one of her chief delusions is that I
was accessory to the murder of her hug
band. God knows,' added Lady Bolton,
with tears in her sweet old eyes, ' I would
have given my own useless life to have
saved him to her ! But, my dear, you
must not ask any more questions, for you
are worn out, and need rest.
" And that was the end of my adven
ture. I need only odd that I lived at
Bolton Hall eight years until my little
Victorine wore a wedding-veil ; and dur
ing those years it was my lot to stand
beside the death-bed of poor young Lady
Bolton, whose mad freaks had terrified
me so sorely on that dreadful first night
at the Hall.
" For God is more merciful than man,
ond He sets oil captives free in His own
good time."
The Best Advertising.
The best ond cheapest mode of adver
tising in the world is that iu the news
papers. E very successful advertiser will
say this. Seed strewn there if the seed
is good for anything always brings up
a crop of some value, most generally a
hundred fold. Placarding the dead
walls, and showering the handbills
among the people, are auxiliaries in ad
vertising; but it is doubtful whether,
as a rule, thev more than nav the ex
pense, while there is no doubt that, they
are a nuisance. The blankest of dead
walls is only disfigured by posters, pro
voking, in the well-regulated mind, a
sense of aversion to the man who adver
tises, and the articles upon whose ex
cellence he expatiates ; while as to hand
bills nothing so prejudices a citizen
against going to we any show, or buy
ing any goods, as the ugly slips of paper
thrust at him from all quarters, elo
quently recommending him to do those
things. Journal of commerce.
SKETCHES BY A COSMOPOLITAN.
Night Bcenea In Wahlnton Market-Fes
tive Metropolitans' Dreary Mights
A Trio of Burglars, etc.
We have said somewhat about moon
light nights in Washington Market, but
wtio snail describe those dark tempestu
ous wotchnights, when the rain poured
down in torrents, when vivid flashes of
lightning blinded the eyes for a mo
ment, shedding a lurid glare on every
object, revealing with painful distinct
ness all the surroundings, only to leave
us again in darkness that could almost
be felt V And then
THOSE CRUEL WINTER SIGHTS,
fifteen hours long (from 4 P. M. to 7 A.
M ), that seemed on age to our weary
limbs, benumbed with cold, for, dress as
you might, the piercing cold winds from
the river would find their way through
long ere the morning, and it was at
times almost unbearable.
No person can know aught of what
utter loneliness and solitude is until
they shall have passed the long hours of
a weary winter's night on a solitary
post, scarce seeing a soul from eve till
morn ; the wind sweeping in fitful gusts
through the deserted avenues, and
soughing mournfully, and shrieking an
grily by turns, and howling like unrest
ing spirits contending in mid-air ; and
as the tempest sweeps across the river it
rattles the blocks on the vessels, and
whistles strongly and weirdly through
the rigging, while every half hour the
watch on each vessel (if he is awake,)
ories in their peculiarly despairing tone,
"half-past twelve o'clock and all's
well!"
The regular force had the advantage
of us in this, that they were changed
tnree times during tbe night, while we
were on duty from night till morning
without relief; but the poor fellows
were under the strictest surveillance, and
what with captains, sergeants, rounds
men, and inspectors, there was but little
lest for them. They were obliged to
move about continually, must hold no
communication with each other, or with
citizens, only so far as imperative neces
sity demanded ; must not enter a res
taurant or saloon, neither smoke while
on duty, or be caught without their
gloves on, etc. "For any such delin
quency, they will be reported, brought
before that august tribunal, the Police
Commissioners," and dismissed the ser
vice, suspended, or fined, as the gravity
of the charge demands. However, many
of those very excellent regulations were
evaded. We had one omcer in the 27th
Precinct that was not only very fortu
nate in such matters, but who would
manage to steal enough from me to sup
port his family almost. Many dollars he
cost me, but at last he overdone the mat
ter, and " killed the goose that laid the
golden eggs," . e., was detected, and
broke, in disgrace ; and the last I saw of
John Gurney he was a common street
loafer. At the end of Dey street pier
lay an old condemned propeller of the
Albany line, that was used as a store
house lor tho propellers to unload their
ale upon, and great quantities were of
ten on board, iu charge of a watchman.
JN ow Gurney had a weakness tor ale, and
as the roundsman's visits could be cal
culated upon, somewhat, as to the time,
he would often sneak oil his post and
visit his friend, the propeller watchman
and his beer barrels. One morning, af
ter the 3 o'clock change had been made,
it became pretty well known that proba
bly no other inspectors would be about
that night. Consequently Gurney and
four or five other officers boldly left their
respective posts and betook themselves
to the old propeller, and there remained
until broad daylight, when they came
marching up the pier, shouting and
singing, having no fear of the rounds
man " or any other man " before their
eyes. They turned into the wood yard
between Vesey and Fulton piers, and
there furnished a tree exhibition ot some
half a dozen " Metropolitans " in full
uniform, blazing away with their re
volvers at their costly regulation caps,
stuck up on sticks of wood. Fortune
favors the brave, also the fool and the
drunken, for I believe they were never
reported, ond managed to get to their
posts by seven o'clock to be relieved. At
another time, for the most trifling of
fence, they would be dismissed the ser
vice. Those dismal nights were the most
critical times for thieves ; if ever we had
need to watch it was then. They pre
sumed upon our being housed from the
storm, but housed we must not be. The
more piercing the celd, the wilder the
storm, the darker and more tempestuous
the night, the keener must we watch
and guard every avenue ; ond many
were the losses we met with when we
were doing our best. I came near mak
ing seven hundred and odd dollars out
of pocket on one oocasion, which would
have been a tolerable night s work ; it
was in this wise : 1 do not remember
why, but I was alone that winter's
night, having seven avenues to look af
ter : most of the stands, however, were
closed and locked. It was a bleak and
dreary night, and, as I had walked my
self tired, and everything being appa
rently snug and regular, I thought to
rest a little ; accordingly, taking a book
from my pocket, I crouched up in a
sheltered place : opening tbe dork lan
tern just sufficient to throw a ray of
iignt on the page, not sumcient to at
tract notice, and thus reading and
watching by turns, I endeavored to
while away the slowly passing hours of
the tedious night. Each time I patrolled
my beat I threw the strong light from
the " bull's eye " into every nook and
corner, through the glass windows of
every office, and thus satisfied myself
mat no one wos lurking about. Thus
the time passed on until the early hours
of the morning perhaps two or three
o'clock when I wag betrayed into a
longer rest than usual; how Ions, I
scarcely know ; I have an indistinct no
tion that I had fallen asleep, in fact, I
am almost certain of it. At any rate.
my book lay on the floor ot my feet, a
position I should scarcely have chosen
for it had I been reading. Suddenly I
was startled by a
HEAVY MUFFLED REPORT,
accompanied by a jar, as of one blasting
rocks under the surface. I was up iu
an instant, and wide awake. I had
heard that sound before. Once when a
heavy robbery was committed on Cort
land street, the safe being charged with
powder and blasted, I had then heard
such a sound, and several times since,
and always with a result. Passing has
tily around, and finding nothing dis
turbed, I began to hope that it was not
on my post, until I oame to a very large
stand in Centre Eow, running through
from one avenue to onother, ond en
tirely, open to both, winter and summer.
The owners were heavy dealers in poul
try, game, beef, etc., and had in the cen
tre of the stand a large office, enclosed
by glass, and in which were two large
iron safes, supposed to be " fire and bur
glar proof." As I threw the light to
ward the office door, I saw a brass key
in the lock, and intuitively turned it
away again, and after pretending to
look at some matters near the entrance,
whistling carelessly the while, I saun
tered slowly out. But the mind was
busy. I had taken in the situation and
Bummed the matter up. It was a re
mote point, and would be impossible to
procure help without alarming whoever
was inside ; to leave the vicinity entire
ly I dare not. I remembered that at the
lower edge of the sash (about breast
high,) was a narrow ledge, over which
the cashier inside received money and
transacted business with those who cur-
chased outside. The distance from where
I must first come in sight, i. ., the en
trance, was perhaps twenty feet. As I
have intimated, I was scarcely outside
before I had resolved upon my course,
and ready to re-enter. 1 turned the full
light on my dark lantern, which had a
powerful reflector, that no person could
look at without being blinded ; ond tak
ing my revolver at full cock, I made a
dash for the office door. Clapping the
lantern on the window ledge, so that it
shone full in the office, I quickly turned
the key, and holding on by the knob of
the door, I looked through the glass juBt
by me ; never was game more complete
ly bagged; they had no doubt been
aroused when I entered at first, but see
ing me pass carelessly on, felt more se
cure than ever, and the second time I
entered took them by surprise. There
were three in all one a mere stripling.
such as burglars often use to pass
through small apertures, fanlights, pan
els, etc, to admit the more bulky opera
tors.
One murderous looking outlaw, a red-
shirted, Garibaldian looking fellow, had
apparently started up when I dashed
in, and expecting me to come through
the door, was prepared to receive me on
the point of a "bowie" about a foot
long, which he held in readiness ; how
ever, I declined this delicate little atten
tion, and stayed outsido; the other two
were still on the floor, by the safe, which
was blown open, and the contents scat
tered about in great profusion. I man
aged that my head and my revolver
should both appear at one and the same
time. "Don t move a limb," I ex
claimed ; " don't stir a peg ; I cover
every movement ; I hold six lives here ;
it's no use, gentlemen, you're in limbo."
" Put back your hand," said I to the
young man, as I saw a stealthy move as
if for a weapon, "you're not ready to
die yet." He quickly drew back, or the
next instant I should have shot him, tor
it was my only safe course, but then the
Bpell would be broke, and wild work
would follow. " Now, gentlemen," said
I, facetiously, " you're bagged, there's no
denying that, and I know just what you
can do, and just what you can't do.
Three of you can not get out of there
alive. Two of you might, and give me
o lively turn ; but that one that moves
first dies as sure as fate. Who shall it
be ?" They were demoralized from that
moment. This was putting the matter
in an unpleasant shape, which they did
not relish. Not one stirred, but glared
ot me like wolves. At last my brigand
near the door proposed that I should
come in and arrest them. " No, gentle
men," said I, " seeing that the hour is
untimely, and there are three of you, it
will be but showing you ordinary cour
tesy to have others present. I shall now
call for my comrades, and in the mean
time don't fear that I'll neglect you ;
you can sacrifice yourselves at any mo
ment, only make up your minds who is
to die first, (it was my policy to keep
it before them in this shape,) and if you
all desire to live, don t do anything to
disturb my nerves, for if my finger
should by mistake give a twitch on this
trigger, 1 may do that 1 shall be sorry
for."
I expected a break when I called, but
with steadfast look inside a look so in
tense that it caused my eyes to ache and
my sight to blur 1 called, " Watch I
Watohl" Soon I heard them come;
first, sturdy Joe Soott, from Vesey street,
then the Stringhams, from the inner
market, "Barney," from West street,
and. indeed, there was heln enouo-h.
Upon entering, my " Garibaldian" (who
seemed to be the leader,) mode a lunge
at Stnnebam, but he was too wary an
old fox to be caught easily ; he parried
tbe blow with his club, and then intro
duced the toe of his boot under the fel
low's chin, and sent him sprawling back
ward. This was a favorite move of his
(Stringhams), upon which he prided
himself greatly. Eventually the two
elder burglars did the State some ser
vice ; being recognized as old offenders,
their sentence was heavy ; one of them
was a noted " cracksman," trom Liver-
pool, of whose arrival the police had
been apprised. The younger of the
three was sent on the island for one year
and six months, but he was off again in
less man two months, for 1 saw him,
and he told me how he had escaped by
swimming. He also told me that once
on that night I nearly caught them
when endeavoring to fit a key to the
door ; that they hod been inside about
an hour, and that if I had entered I
would never have come out until I was
carried out. All this he communicated
as I took him again to the station house,
from whence he was sent again to the
renitentiary, and 1 saw him no more.
L.B.T.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
The Broad Axe is the quaint title of a
paper published at Cleversbnrg, Pa. It
ehould have been called the Cleversburg
Cleaner.
St Louis is proud because she has a
capital of 13,600,000 invested in the la
ger beer manufacture. The annual pro
duct is (1,000,000.
The great railway contractor of Eng
land, Brassey, left a fortune of over 3S,
000,000, the whole result of his own in
dustry and enterprise.
Kansas City reports a lady as passing
along the main street of that town com
posedly puffing a cigar, while her hus
band, a meek-looking personage, walked
behind, carrying the baby.
The Irish emigration to America, for
merly so extensive, is reported to be now
rapidly on the decrease. English and
French emigration is increasing, while
that from Germany is the largest.
"A Young Shakeress" says, in a note,
that the assertion often made that the
Shaker males hate the females, ond vice
versa, is not true, " for we love each oth
er better than we can express."
Lillie Smith, the little Sunday-school
scholar who gained a reputation from
having committed to memory three hun
dred and sixty-nine verses of Scripture
in one quarter, is just recovering from
brain-fever. .
Mary had a little lamb, With hair as
fine as silk ; The longer Mary lived, the
more She found that lamb a bilk. For
all the hair was only flax, On that deceit
ful brute ; But Mary hadn't much to Bay,
for her's was only jute.
Thieving has been reduced to a sci
ence. In Boston, the other day, two
men stole an entire team, with its con
tents, consisting of $5,000 worth of
choice goods, which were on their way
to a packet pier. This is almost equal
to the sharp practice of the man who
stole a saw-mill and the water power.
A child, while walking through an
art gallery with her mother, was at
tracted by a statue of Minerva. " Who is
that?" said she. "My child, that is
Minerva the Goddess of Wisdom." " Why
didn't they make her husband, too?
".because she had none, my child.
" That was because she was wise, wasn't
it, mamma ?" was the artless reply.
At the Central Telegraph Office, Lon
don, no less than 485 young women are
employed as clerks, and only 250 moles.
None but male clerks ore placed on
night duty. The general post-office in
the same city employs about 6,000 tele
graph clerks, and over 3,000 messengers.
The " female clerkB " there total up to
nearly a thousand.
A curious and imposing ceremony took
place in Lexington, Ky., a few days since.
During the funeral services of a lady in
that city, her infant, only a few weeks
old, was brought to the chancel of the
church, and there, in the presence of its
dead mother, was solemnly dedicated in
baptism to the God whom she had served.
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
gives the following splendid type of inno
cence : " Une ot my friends had a little
marble statuette of Cupid in the parlor
of his country-house bow, arrow, wings,
and all complete. A visitor indigenous
to the region, looking pensively at the
figure, asked the lady ot the house, " If
that was a statoo of her deceased infant."
The recent explorations in Jerusalem
have excited great interest among the
fraternity of Freemasons throughout the
world, on account of the discovery of
what are believed to be " Masons marks
on a considerable number of the immense
foundation stones recently uncovered
under the debris of one of the ancient
temples of that city.
If cleanliness is, as some folk say, one
of the arts, all that helps should be made
known. Doors, walls, or anything, tbat
is painted, may be cleaned with a piece
of soft flannel, dipped in warm water,
then wrung, and sprinkled with finely
powdered French chalk. The paint on
being rubbed with this will become quite
clean, and will be saved from the de
structive action of soap.
A young lady, who started to deliver
her first public lecture in Iowa the other
day, remarked, at the opening, . that
women were responsible for certain so
oial vices, because if there were no wo
men those vices couldn't exist. The dis
course proceeded no further in conse
quence of the prompt action of the
astonished father of the damsel, who
rushed upon the platform and drove her
home.
The Eev. Messrs. McDonald of Bos
ton, Boole of New York, and Inskip of
Baltimore, start next month for a mis
sionary tour across the plains, taking
with them a big tent capable of holding
four thousand persons. After attending
to the regeneration of California, the
reverend gentlemen will move home
ward via Salt Lake, where they will
hold an old-fashioned camp-meeting for
the edification of the Latter Day Saints.
During the siege ef Paris many work
men were forced to part with the only
means they had for obtaining the neces
saries of life. Late in February there
were in pawn at the Mont de Piete 2,000
glovemakers scissors, 400 sewing ma
chines, quantities of carpenters' and
smiths' tools, a large number of mat
tresses, and musical instruments belong
ing to the people who formed the or
chestra at small theatres, and who were
without employment for six months.
The total number of articles in pawn
was 1,000,000. ..
An Iowa editor has got himself into
difficulty by neglecting the Scripture
injunction, "Beware of dogs.".' Borne
time since he advertised that he would
take "a good dog in payment for a
year's subscription." The next day
twenty-three dogs were taken to his of
fice, and two days afterward a (core or
more of farmers, living at distances from
eight to twenty miles, appeared to sub
scribe for the paper, tendering dogs in
payment. And to cap the climax, the
Mayor of that city has notified him that
the tax of $1 must be paid on every dog
owned in the place I He is in despair.