At
f
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editoe ajtd Publisher.
RLK COUNTY TUK REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Two Dollars ter Akntjm.
VOL. II.
RIDGWAY, PA,. THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1872.
NO. 6.
POETR r.
tTH eibre wina OP SOMA.
The fagot, blaud, th. caldron's smoke
Up through tli. green wood curled ;
" Bring honey from the hollow oak,
Bring milky rap," the. brewer, .poke,
la the childhood of the world.
ApA brewed they well or brcwod tbey 111,
The priests thrust in their rod, .
First touted and then drank their fill.
And shouted, with one Tolce and will,
" Behold the drink of goda I"
They drank, and lo t In heart and brain
A new, glad life bgan ;
The gray of hair grow young again, .
The lick man laughed away hit pain.
The cripple leaped and ran.
" Drink, mortals, what the gods have sent,
Forget your long annoy."
So sung the priests. From tent to tent
The Soma's sacred madness went,
A storm of drunken oy.
Then knew each rapt Inebriate
A winged and glorious birth.
Soared upward, with strange Joy elate.
Boat, with dated head, Tarana's gate.
And sobered, sunk to earth.
The land with Soma's praises rang ;
On Gihon's banks of shade
Its hymns th. dusky maidens sang :
In Joy of life or mortal pang
All men to Soma prayed.
The morning twilight of the race
Sends down these irutin psalms ;
And still with woniertng eyes we trace
The simple praters to Soma's grace.
That Ver'Jj verse embalms.
As In 0-t child-world's early year,
v after age has striven
tiy music, incens., vigils drear.
And trance, to bring the skies moro near,
Or lift men up to heaven!
Some fever of the blood and brain.
Some self-oxaltlng spell,
The sconrgcr's keen delight of pain.
The Dervish dance, the Orphic strain.
The wild-haired Bacchant's yclL
The desert's hair-grown hermit sunk
The saner brute below;
, The naked Santon, hashish-drunk,
The eloister madness of the monk,
The fakir's torturo show I
And yet the past comes round again,
And new doth old fullBl ;
In sensual transports wild as vain
We brow in many ft Christian fan.
The hoathen Soma still I
Dear Lord and Father of mankind.
Forgive our foolish ways I .
Reclothe us in our rightful mind.
In purer lives thy sorvice find.
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word.
Rlso up and follow thee.
0 Sabbath rest by Galilee t
O calm of hills above.
Where Jesus knelt to share with the.
Tho silonce of eternity
Interpreted bv love 1
With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of thy call.
As noiseless let thy blessing fall
As fell thy manna down.
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease ;
Take from our souls the strain and strew.
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
Breathe through the heat, of our desire
Thy coolness and thv balm ;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire ;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm I
John a. Whittter. in Atlantic Monthly.
Till! STORY-TELLER.
ARNOLD'S WIFE.
It had caused a commotion in aristo
cratic circles when it was known that
Arnold Morford had married a nobody,
" My dear," said Mrs. Drumo to her
mend and conhdant, tno stylish mrs.
Cleveland, " she is really nobody. He
picked her up in some out-of-the-way
place where he was spending the sum
mer, fishing. iiis sisters are penecuy
wretched about it."
" I should think they might be," was
the sympathizing reply. "A young,
handsome man, with his wealth, posi
tion, and connections why, he might
have married in our very first cir
cles;" and Mrs. Cleveland thought of
her daughter Arabella s thin Bhoulders
and twenty-six summers, and noted the
news upsn her mental tablets as " one
more chance gone."
It was not likely that so important a
person as the only son of Morford, of
Mortord & (iiles, junior partner ot that
important firm, nephew ot lilies, a bach
elor, who would probably leave him all
his money, could marry without creating
somo stir in his own social circle ; but
when, as Mrs. Cleveland expressed it, he
" sneaked off to somo obscure town to
marry a raw country girl he was proba
bly ashamed of," society was really in a
flutter.
It was understood by sympathizing
friends, that Lucy Clifford and Leonora
Maxwell, the sisters of the bridegroom,
were completely prostrated by their
brother's infatuation and obstinacy, al
though the old gentleman declared he
" did not see why the boy should not
marry as he pleased. There 'was money
enough to start him in life, if his wife
had not two dresses to wear."
In the meantime the young bride
groom, happy and hopeful, was yet not
entirely oblivious of the probable com
motion amongst his friends, and keenly
alive to the anger of his fashionablo sis
ters, lie had won his little bride his
wood-violet, as he called her when
boarding with her widowed mother dur
ing a summer vacation, lie loved her
fondly, and he trusted in her love, as she
had yet to learn that he was wealthy.
Yet, deeply in love as he was, Arnold
Morford was slightly troubled. He had
taken bis bride to New York, established
her in a fashionable hotel, and after a
week of quiet happiness, ventured upon
the delicate ground that caused his per
plexity. Seating himself upon the sofa,
he drew his wife down beside him, and
thus commenced :
" I want to say something to you, Et
tie, darling, that may hurt your feelings
a little. Will you believe that I have a
motive for doing so, and forgive me be
fore I speak '"
" You know X will," she said, softly,
lifting her sky blue eyes lovingly to his
face. She was very pretty ; a little fairy
like blonde, with a complexion like a
miniature painting, a wealth of golden
curls, fect and hands like Titania g, and
a mouth like a cloft rosebud.
." It is bout our future, love. You
murriud me believing we should live in
a tiny house, whore you would have to
prepare the meals, keep tho rooms in or
der, and look upon a silk dress as a lux
ury to be indulged in once in a lifetime.
Did you not ?"
She only looked at him with wonder
ing eyes.
' Well, Ettio, love in a cottage is not
to bo our lot, sweet though it is. My
father is a man who counts his money in
hundreds of thousands, my sisters are
tho wives of men of large wealth, and I
am an only son, and junior partner in
the firm of which my father and my
mother's brother are the heads. I do not
want my little wife to bo worried yet
with the cares of housekeeping, so I have
taken a suite of rooms in a large board-ing-houso,
whore she will have nothing
to do but enjoy herself. My father lives
with my oldest sister, bo there is no real
home for my fair bride. But now I am
coming to tho point that may wound
you your dress.
" I thought you liked all my dresses,'
said the littlo bride, thinking of the
many hours sho had spent with her
mother, stitching on her modest trous
seau.
" I do. If only my taste were consult
ed, I would never want to see my little
lily-of-tho-valley in any dress but tho
pretty muslins in which 1 nrst saw her.
But darling, my wife will have a social
position to maintain, must move in BO'
ciety, receive and pay calls, eo to con
certs, parties, and operas, and must dress
in a style befitting her beauty and my
wealth. .Now, .bttie, don t look so ter
rified. You shall not go home for two
months, and before that time tho dry-
goods merchants, dressmakers and milli
ners shall transform you into a fashion
ably dressed littlo lady."
"But, Arnold, do you mean that I
must wear such dresses as the ladies we
seo at the table ?"
"Exactly."
" And hats and cloaks such as we see
on Broadway ?"
"Yes."
" And the the money ?"
" Don't fret about that."
" I think I understand you, Arnold.
You Will go with me, just at first, will
you not ?"
She was a sensible littlo woman, and
she let no foolish pique influence her
while yet her gentle modesty was un-,
touched by the idea of finery and fash
ion. Society had calmed down somewhat
after the flutter occasioned by Arnold
Morford's marriage, when again it was
agitated by tho invitations issued by
Mrs. Lucy Clifford for an evening party
to introduce Mrs. Arnold Morford to her
circle of friends.
Ladies who had secretly hoped to bo
the bride introduced, shrugged their
shoulders, and wondered if the " gawky
country girl knew how to behave her
self," but prepared for the occasion, while
the sisters-in-law, in private council,
agreed that " they were agreeably sur
prised at Arnold's choice."
" Really, my dear," said Mrs. Clifford,
" her trousseau is in exquisite taste."
" And Arnold has given her perfect
jowelry."
" She is so shy and graceful, and so
very pretty, that society will readily
overlook any little gaucherie."
"But sho really has none. She is a
lady, if she was country born and bred.
Did you hear her play '"
" Don't toll anybody ; sho was edncat
ed at a musical school for a music-teacher,
but nobody need know that."
" She never taught ?"
" No ; Arnold found her when she was
only at home a few weeks from school.
Between you and me, Arnold has mode
a better choice than any of tho silly
girls would havo been who have been
trying to catch him for the past ten
years."
" I was afraid he would be an old
bachelor, like Uncle Giles. By-the-woy,
Ettie must be years younger than ho is."
" She is seventeen."
" And he thirty-one. Well, tho dif
ference is on the right side."
" Did you venture upon any hint
about her dress on Wednesday even
ing?" "Not I. Trust Arnold for that. With
her taste, and his tavoir t'aire. vou mav
be sure she will be appropriately dressed.
I might have hinted ut her wedding
dress, but I am terribly afraid it was a
shilling calico."
Mentally the ladies concluded that
they were right to trust to Arnold and
lit tie, when the bride entered Mrs. Clif
ford's crowded drawing-room. Tho
fiure blonde beauty of the winning little
ady bore well the dress of exquisite
lace over rose-tinted white silk, while
tho golden hair, in soft, full curls, was
caught here and there by pearl Bprays.
Pearl jewels adorned tho round white
arms and throat, and caught up the
costly lace bertha on the shoulders.
From the tip of the white satin slipper
to the snowy gloves, there was no fault
to find, and the favorable impression
awakened by the fair, shy face and beau
tiful dress was increased by the grace
ful manner, the evident cultivation of
mind, and the artistic musical culture of
the little bride.
It was not long beforo tho shy little
country beauty found herself f-iirly
launched in the cream of fashionablo so
ciety, and Arnold could, with a sigh of
content, fool that she had under her shy
manner the tact ot a lady, and the
earnest desire to do honor to herposition
as a wifo.
Ten years passed over Ettio Morford s
head before any event of more than us
ual interest occurred to break upon
that rare combination, a perfectly happy
married life.
Two - children graced her homo, for
Arnold had, long ago, yioldod to her de
sire to keep house, though he insisted
upon a housekeeper; and her sunny
life had left but a few linos of age or
care upon her lovely face. The girlish
contour was gone, the shy drooping of
tho eyelids was long conquered ; but tho
ennobling expression of maternity had
replaced these, and the dignity of the
young matron well bocame tho young
figure.
'It had long been conceded that if
Mrs. Morford was not especially well
versed in small-talk, scandal and flirt
ing, that sho was mere than usually well
read, and could converso easily and
gracefully with men whose society was
esteemed an honor from their intellec
tual acquirements or scientific standing.
She was no pedant, and niado no pre
tensions to literary attainments beyond
the usual acquirements of her sex ; but
she read and studied intelligently, and
where sho found the conversation soar
ing beyond her comprehension, could
listen modestly, and gain informotion.
She was entirely happy. How many
can say bo truly ?
But a blow was to come to her that
was sudden and unexpected. It was at
a largo evening pary that sho heard
the first intimation ot approaching dan
ger. Sho was seated in a deep window-seat,
hidden by tho heavy curtains, when two
gentlemen, standing near her, com
menced a conversation that made her
heart seem to stand still.
" They say," said one, " that Morford
& Giles will have to suspend payment."
" I have heard such a rumor. They
snfforod severely bv the failure of Willets
& Co."
" And 1 suspect they suffer some from
the extravagance of Arnold's wife. That
woman's dress must cost a small fortune,
and the children are always a mass of
embroidery and finery."
" Her jowelry would support a fam
ily." The voices died away, but Ettie had
heard enough. Was this really true ?
Her conscienco was clear, for sho knew
that Arnold alone was to blame for her
own and her children's expensive ward
robes. Her jowelry was always a Christ
mas or birthday gift from her husband,
and ho knew, if no others did, that it
was to pleaso him she wore expensive
toilets, when sho would have willingly
returned to the simple muslins and cali
coes of her girlhood.
There was a glad smile on her lips as
she parted tho curtains, and stepped in
to) the room.
An hour later, she was in her own
room with her husband, and throw
ing asido her wrappigs, she modo him
sit besido hr, by a pleading " I am
not tired, an 1 I want to talk to you."
Not looking in his face, she repeated
the conversation Bho hod heard, and
asked:
" Is it true, Arnold ?"
"That your extravagance has embar
rassed us r No. Wo are in difficulties,
great difficulties, but wo hope to weath
er the storm. Willets & Company's
failure was a great blow to us, and wo
unfortunately made somo losing invest
ments in the fall. If I could now have
ten thousand dollars to meet present
emergencies, we could see our way clear.
I hope to borrow that."
" But if you borrow it, vou must pay
it back."
" Certainly. But we gain time."
" Still, if you could have it without
borrowing ?"
" That would, indeed, relieve in. But
that is impossible."
" Arnold, wilt you listen to u story,
and not ask any questions till it is fin
ished ?"
" Is it not too late for stories to
night ?"
" Please, let me tell you."
"Well!"
" Once upon a time, there was a littlo
country girl who married a rich city
merchant. She had been a poor girl all
her life, and industry had becomo a
necessity to her. After her marriage
she found herself condemned to a life of
almost entire idleness. Her husband
was fond of her and proud of her, and
one of his prides was to see her always
beautifully dressed. In order to ensure
this, he gave her a liberal allowance for
material and dressmaker's bills. Now,
this wicked little woman having a knack
for sewing, took it into her head that
dressmakers and milliners wore not
necessary to aid her in making a fash
ionable appearance, and secretly, while
her husband was away during the day,
she learned to make her own dresses and
hats. Ckildren came to bless her, and
the gonorous allowance for dress was in
creased, while still timo was found for
embroidories and dainty stitching for
the little ones. In all this time the lit
tle woman kept a memorandum of the
cost saved upon each dress, and by way
of preparing an umbrella for a rainy
day, commenced a little, hoard of money,
that grew year by year, till Arnold,
do you not guess how my story is to
end ? I have more than enough saved
to help you now.. You havo been so
generous, that I have saved over a thou
sand dollars every year, and now yau
will not have to borrow money to meet
your embarrassments, for it is here, in
the house, all your own."
And nobody knew or guessed that
Morford & Giles owned their continued
prosperity and credit to the economy and
industry of Arnold's wife.
What Makes Men.
It is not the best things that is, the
things which we call best that make
men ; it is not the pleasant things ; it is
not the calm experiences of life ; it is
life's rugged experiences, its tempest, its
trials. The discipline of life is hcra
good and there evil, here trouble and.
. i i .
there joy, nore ruaeness ana mere
smoothness, one working with the
other ; and the alternations of the one
and the other which necessitate adapta
tions constitute that part of education
which makes a man a man, in distinc
tion from an animal, which has no edu
cation. The successful man invariably
bears the mark of the struggles which
he has had to undergo on his brow.
Jixchange.
There is, perhaps, no time at which
we are disposed to think so highly of a
friend as when we see him standing
higher than we expected in the esteem
of others.
Monolith Temples.
Tho largest existing monolith temple
in Egypt. ., a tetnplo hewed out of a
single block of granite is that of Tol-cl-mai,
on the Delta. It is 21 feet 9
inches high, 111 fect broad, and 11 foot ?
inches deep. Large as this structure is,
it was exceeded by that of Amasis,
which was also on the Delta, and which
Herodotus states required threo years to
transport, with tho aid of 2,000 labor
ers, from Elephantine to Sais, a distance
ordinarily of twenty days' Nilotic navi
gation. According to tho same venera
ble authority, a third and still larger
monolith templo was tho glory of Lato
na, a city which stood on tho western
branch of tho Nile, and distant about
twenty miles from its mouth. " The
most wonderful thing" (relates the father
of profane history) " that was actually
to bo seen about this temple was a chap
el in tho inclosure made of a single
stone, the length and height of which
was tho same, each wall being forty cu
bits square (sixty feet), and tho whole
a single block I Another block of stone
formed tho roof, and projected at the
eaves to tho extent of four cubits." Ac
cording to these admeasurements, Sup
posing the walls to havo been only six
feet thick, and the material granite, as
in all other monoliths, this monument
would weigh 7,000 tons, being 70,032
cubic feet, without the cornice, which
was placed on the roof. This cap-stone,
although comparatively of inconsidera-'
bio weight 2,400 tons, if six feet be
taken for its thickness displays a won
derful example of the union of skill
and power in its elevation through tho
air to the altitude of more than sixty
feet. If any doubt exists respecting
tho ability of tho ancients to transport
and uplift such enormous masses of
stono as these, it is set at rest by M.
Jomard, tho celebrated Egyptologist,
who gives a sketch, in his work on
Egypt, published by the French govern
ment, of a huge block of granite sit
uated almost a quarter of a mile from
tho modern town of Syene, where it was
abandoned for some unknown reason
while on its way from tho quarry. It
bears numerous traces of instruments in
the work on its surfaco, as well as evi
dences of its having been intended for a
colossal statue. M. Jomard's dimen
sions are tho largest 22 2-10 meters,
and for tho body and back 6 1-2 meters,
or about 72, 21, and 21 English feet,
which, at 13 cubic feot per ton, yield
nearly 2500 tons ! This block of gran
ite is probably the largest in existence
of which there is indisputable evidence
of its having been moved by sheer man
ual force.
Tho Birds in Winter.
What do tho birds do in winter?
Many, you know, go South. As a gen
eral thing, winter's cold does not seem to
affect those who stay with us. Tho truth
is, birds are remarkably well guarded
against cold by their thick covering of
down and feathers, and the quick circu
lation of their blood.
Tho chickadee is never so lively as in
clear, cold woather. When tho thermo
meter is throe of four degrees below zero,
it shows by its behavior that it is pretty
cold. On such a morning I have seen a
small flock of them on tho sunny sido of
a thick homlock, rather quiet, with ruf
fled feathers, like balls of gray fur, wait
ing with an occasional chirp, for the
sun's rays to begin to warm them up ; a
littlo sober, perhaps, but ready, if cold
continued, to got used to it.
What do they eat J' Our merciful
Father does not loavo tho earth bare.
There is food enough and to spare. The
seeds of tho grasses and taller summer
flowers, and tho elders, birches and ma
ples furnish supplies that the cold and
snow does not destroy ; also the buds of
various trees and shrubs, for the buds do
not first como jn the spring, as some peo
ple think ; tliero are buds all winter ;
there are insects, too.
A sunny nook any timo during the
winter will show you a variety of two
winged flies, and several kinds of rpi
ders, often in great numbers, and as'
brisk as ever. Then in the crevices of
tho treo bark and dead wood there must
bo something nice to be had, judging
from the activity of tho chickadees, gold
crests, and their associates.
In the winter no mischief can be done ;
there is no fruit to steal. Nothing can
be destroyed now except the farmer's
enemies ; yet tho birds keep at work all
the time.
Winter, ton, is favorable to sociability
among birds as among people. The
chickadee, the gold-crested wren, the
white-breasted nut-hatch, and the dow
ny wood-pecker form a littlo winter
clique. You do not often see one of the
members without one or more of the
others.
No sound in nature is more cheery
than the calls of a little troop of this
kind, echoing through the woods on a
still, sunny day in winter the lively
chatter of the chickadee, the slender
contented pipe of the golden-crests, and
the emphatic, business-like hank of the
nut-hatch, as they drift leisuroly along
from tree to tree.
A Nice Point.
During tho war, a man named Smith
had a mule taken from him by the Uni
ted States military authorities for use
in the army. Smith subsequently died,
and his widow made application for pay
ment. Pending tho application or the
widow, tho guardiun of Smith's infant
children intervened, claiming that pay
ment should not be made to the widow,
but should be paid to him as guardian.
The guardian's allegation is that after
Smith's wife died (who was the mother
of these infant children), Smith married
again ; after which Smith died, leaving
this widow, (the applicant above do
scribed). But it is alleged that when
Smith married this second wife she had
another husband living, and therefore
her marriage to Smith was void. Tho
guardian consequently claims the money
oa behalf of tho minor children of
Smith. The application, says the Wash
ington Chronicle, is in the Third Audi
tor's office, and the clerks there are puz
zling themselves over the conundrum.
Grand Jnry Stories.
Col. T. W. Knox, in Scribner1! for
March, has an article on the famous
Now York Grand Jury of which he was
a member. Wo quote from it as fol
lows :
Not many days after wo wore con
vened, a case that touched the heart of
every man in tho room was brought be
foro us. A young girl had boen accused
of theft; a few dollars in money had
been stolon ; it was found in her pos
session. Tho complainant was a wo
man, and the accused had been in her
employ. When tho case was called the
woman entered tho jury-room and was
sworn by the foreman. Sho took tho
chair assigned to witnesses, and the fore
man questioned her.
" Did you lose some money?"
" Yes, sir."
" When did you lose it t "
" On the first day of December."
"Who took it?"
" Tho girl named in tho complaint."
" How do you know sho took it ?"
" I found it in her possession, and she
confessed taking it."
" That will do ; you may go."
But tho woman kept her seat, and
moved her hands uneasily. " You can
go," Baid tho foreman again, but she did
not start. A juror sitting near the door
rose to show her out, and as he did so
the woman said :
" I do not wish to press the complaint.
I want to withdraw it and have the girl
released."
" Why so ?" asked the foreman.
"Because," and her voico began to
choke, " becauso the girl is young, and I
do not wish to ruin her. Somebody elso
urged her to stoal the money, and I
think she will do better in future. If
I send her to prison she may becomo a
professional thief, but if I give her a
chance sho will be a good girl. She is
an orphan and lias no friends, and I
want to bo her friend. I know she is
guilty, but I want to bo merciful, and I
beg you to bo merciful, gentlemen."
Half her uttoranco was drowned with
tears, which flowed rapidly down her
face. The foreman told her to step out
side and he would cull her again in a
few moments, and inform her of the ro
sult of her eloquent appeal. " Bo mer
ciful, gentlemen," were her last words
as she closed the door.
It was voted to dismiss the complaint,
and whon the foreman called her to the
room, to inform her of the result of the
vote, and commended her for her kind
ness of heart, her tears flowed afresh, and
she thanked us through broken sobs. I
know that in that room more eyes than
hers were wet eyes not accustomed to
tears.
But soon a discussion aroso as to tho
propriety of our action. When the Grand
Jury was impanelled the following oath
was administered to the foreman:
"You Lucius S. Comstock, as Foreman
of this Grand Inquest, shall diligently
inquire and true presentment make, of
all such matters and things as shall bo
given you in charge ; tho counsel for tho
People of tho State, your fellows and
your own, you shall keep secret; you
shall present no one from envy, hatred,
or malice ; nor shall you leave any one
unpresentod through fear, favor, affec
tion, or hope of reward ; but you shall
present ull things truly as they come to
your knowledge, according to your un
derstanding. So help you God 1"
And to tho other members the follow
ing oath was administered :
" The same oath which your Foreman
has taken on his part, you, and each of
you, shall well and truly observe and
keep on your part. So help you God 1"
Some of the jurors thought we had no
right, under our oath, to show favor, no
matter how strong might bo the appeal
to our sympathies. Every man in the
room wished to be lenient, but at tho
same time, above all other things, wish
ed to do his duty. The discussion re
sulted in our sending for the District
Attorney and asking his advice.
After hearing the case, he said there
was a difference of opinion as to the
power of a Grand Jury. " You can un
doubtedly," ho continued, " exercise
your discretion in certain cases, and act
as you think is for tho best interests of
society, it is both right and proper
that the Grand Jury, and also the Dis
trict Attorney, should be clothed with a
discretionary power, as it frequently
happens that they can do more good by
exercising it than by following the
Btrist letter of the luw. I will give you
an illustration : Some years ago, the
case of a young man charged with em
bezzlement was placed in my hands to
prosecute. His employer was deter
mined to push the case ; he was rather
ugly about it, and there seemed no oth
er course than to prosecute. The young
man was out on bail, and came to me to
beg to be let off. He said he was guilty,
and should so plead ; that ho had an in
valid sister, and with tho utmost econo
my on his small salary he was unable to
support himself. He knew that this was
no excuse tor his thett, but he took the
money under great temptation, and did
not realizo the enormity of his offence
until after he had committed it. " You
can send me to tho penitentiary," he
said, " and nobody can blame you ; but
you will ruin mo for life, and bring dis
grace upon my parents and sister, who
do not know that I am charged with
crime. If I can be released and the
matter hushed up. I will faithfull v prom
ise to do better in future, and I think
this will be a hie-long lesson to me.
Ho pleaded so earnestly that I promised
to do what I could for him. I sent for
his accuser, and urged him to withdraw
the charge. . At first he refused, but I
laid the case before him in such a light
that he at once consented. And I then
urged hiin to take the young man back
and give him a new trial, and after much
talk I succeeded. The complaint was
withdrawn ; the young man was restor
ed to his position ; in a little time his
salary was increased; by-and-by the
firm dissolved in consoquonoe of the
death of one of its members ; the young
man went to another house, proved him
self worthy of confidence, and to-day he
is a member of that house, and as honor
able and upright as any business man in
JNew xork. tie has never torgotten,
and never will forget, that lesson. If
ho had gone to the penitentiary his
worst fears would have boen realized.
When an offender is young, the offence
is a first one, and the offender appears
penitent, it is entirely proper for you to
exercise leniency by dismissing tho com
plaint ; and in the case now before you,
gentlemen, you have boen entirely right
in your action."
As the District Attorney ended his re
marks there was a round of applause, in
which I am very certain every member
of the jury participated. Those who
had been most doubtiul ot the propriety
of our action were heartily glad that
their doubts were not well founded.
Tho Power of Chemistry.
The last example of the power of
chemistry will bo found in tho immense
prairies of Li Plata and Australia.
Hero wander innumerable flocks of
sheep and cattle ; a vigorous vegetation,
favored by a warm climate and the hu
mid salt emanations from the sea pro
vides abundance of nourishment ; ani
mals prosper and multiply amazingly.
The South American hunters are numer
ous also ; and the number of cattle kill
ed every month may be counted by hun
dreds of thousands, so that tho wonder
is that they do not wholly disappear.
In former days, this rough sport was
carried on for the Bake of tho hides and
wool only ; the flesh, bones and sinews
were too difficult of transport and pre
servation for this rudimentary trade,
and lay abandoned on tho spot. Some
persons interested themselves to utilize
more fully these waifs and strays of tho
chase. At first, it was proposed to ex
port the bones td England and France.
In civilized countries they have acquired
a commercial value which covers tho
prico of tho freight ; they aro largely
used by tho cutlers ; gelatine is extract
ed from them ; by burning them, tho
substance is obtained which clarifies
sugar ; 'o.sphorous is made from them,
uui lastly, they furnish tho most valua
ble manure for tho agriculturalist.
As for the skins, tho country not offer
ing tho necessary resources for tho es
tablishment of tanyards, they were ex
ported in a fresh state. A new agent,
phonic acid, preserved them from any
alteration during tho voyage. It is the
best antiseptic known ; thero is no ani
mal fermentation which can resist it, no
putrefaction that it does not arrest.
After this, there only remained tho fiosh
to perish for want of suitable means of
preservation. 1 he employment of phon
ic acid conld not bo thought of ; excel
lent as it is for the purification of sta
bles, houses, and hospituls, it docs not
answer for articles of food. Though it
has been purified so as to obtain color
less crystals, it always has an odor of tho
coal-tar from which it is extracted, which
gives a flavor to the meat. In default of
a modern antiseptic, another was tried,
less officacious, and as old as civilization
common salt ; but no decisive result
was obtained : it did not give completo
security, and it did not yet appear pos
sible economically to preserve tho meat
which was left to perish.
Tho well-known chemist, Dr. Liebig,
directed his researches in another way ;
instead of exporting tho flesh, he wish
ed to concentrate on the spot, and in a
small compass, tho principal nutritive
elements ; to obtain an extract of meat,
which, when it reached England, might
be weakened by thirty times its weight
of water, and give a liquid having all
tho essential qualities of ordinary beef
,tea. This new commercial production
has been largely consumed in England
and Germany ; it is used in the navy
and in distant colonies where food is dif
ficult to obtain ; but in France, where
rehnement ot taste is greater, tho sue
cess has not been so general. This is
tuo manner iu which it is prepared ;
tho process is very simple, and suited to
the primitive state ot tho country. Af
ter the animal is killed, tho meat is cut
very small, and steeped in an equal
quantity of water ; this is boiled for a
quarter of an hour, when tho whole is
thrown into a linen cloth, and the liquid
which passes through is the beef-ten in
its normal state. There is, however, too
largo a proportion of water, and somo
fat, which would interfere with its keep
iug. The dydraulic-press is applied to
tho mass of moat which is left after
straining ; and thus pressed it forms a
sort ot cake, which is considered to bo
exhausted of all eatable particles ; a
residue which at somo future time will
probably be turned to a useful purpose.
The liquid is again heated, and the fat
being carefully skimmed off the top, it
is boiled down to one-sixth of its origin-i
al volume, and brought to the consisten
cy of extract, keeping it from all con
tact with the air iu tho vessel whero a
vaccuum has been made by means 'of a
pneumatic pump. Nothing more is
wanting but to pour it into jars hermet
ically closed, and sealed with a leaden
seal, to preserve them from adulteration.
Chambers' Journal. -
Old Chestnut Trees on Mount Etna.
Mount Etna is celebrated for the great
ago and colossal dimensions of its chest
nut trees ; for one of tho largest and
oldest trees of the kin, in tho world is
that on Mount Etna, which is called
Custagno di Cento Cavalli. It is said
Jeanne of Arragon, on her road from
Spain to Naples, visited Mount Etna.
attended by her principal nobility, and
being caught in a heavy shower, she
and a hundred cavaliers took refuge un
der the branches of this tree, which
completely sheltered them. A century
ago, according to Brydon, this tree
measured 204 feet in circumference near
tho ground ; but more recent travellers
give only 180 feet as its girth. There
are also two other celebrated chestnuts
on Mount Etna, one called the Castarr-
no di Santa Agata, which measures 70
feet in girth, and tho other, Castacno
della Nave, which measures 64 fect ; the
stems, however, attain no great height,
but soon branch off above the ground.
According to Dr. Philippi, the Castanea
vesca does not appear to be wild in any
part of Mount Etna, but always to be
cultivated. The Harden..
England has 32,023 breweries.
Facts and Figures.
Ah Och, of San Francisco, Mongol,
while being prepared for tho grave, Chi
nese fashion, was burned on the fore
head with a white-hot poker, when ho
rose to explain. Ho was only in a
trance.
A writer says that moro thaiv 130.000
acres of the best timber in Atherioa aie
cut every year to supply the demand for
railway sleepers alone. In a single year
tho locomotives in tho United States
consumed 160,000,000 worth of wood.
The total number of hoes packed in
the West for the season just closed was
4,820,555, against 3,695,251 the previous
season, boing an increase of 1,125,304.
Of the number packed in Illinois, 1,-
oiV,on, (Jhicago packers make returns
of over 1,206,000.
The bullion production of the Pacifio
States and Territories for 1869 and 1870
averuges from 170,000,000 to 175,000,000.
lhere is reason to behove that last year
it reached $80,000,000, and there is good
ground for expecting that this year it
will aggregate trom 90,000,000. and
may possibly reach $ 100,000,000.
The land of Dakota is largely prairie.
ranging from one-third " bottom" and
" bench lands, ono-third gently sloping-,
dry, rich and productive higher prairie,
to one-third moro rolling and elevated
prairie, part of which is second or third
class in quality. Tho timber is found
along the streams and in places other
wise protected .from prairio fires.
The Western States ore now delibera
ting whether tho disfigurement of a
wife's complexion by small-pox ought
not to be added to tho list of logul
grounds for divorce. Tho question has
been brought up by the action of sever
al estimable Chicagoans who claim to be
justified in deserting their better hall's
tor tins reason ; and it is plausibly ar
gued that sinco much less obnoxious
conduct on a man's part is daily admit
ted as good causo tor treeing his wito
from nuptial bonds, sho ought not to be
allowed to pit herself against him for
lite without any chance ot nis escap
ing.
Tho Chinese carte tie vixilfi is a curiosi
ty. It consists of a huge sheet of bright
scarlet paper, with the owner's name in
scribed in largo letters tho bigger tho
more exquisite. For extra grand occa
sions this card is folded ten times, the
name is written in the right hand lower
corner with a humiliating prefix like
your very stupid brother, k " vour un
worthy friend who bows his head and
pays his respects," etc., etc., etc., tho
words " your stupid" taking the place
of our " yours respectfully." It is eti
quette to return theso cards to tho visit
or, it being presumablo that their ex
pense it too great for general distribu
tion.
Thero is an embryo showman out in
Virginia City, Nevada, who has already
made his mark in tho world. Ho is an
interesting boy of nine summers, who
painted his little brother in the latest
stylo of tho fierce Sioux, and exhibited
him as a captured son of " Spotted Tail"
at 25 cents a ticket. The exhibition
was a great success, and tho juvenilo
Barnum was drawing in tho quarters at
a rapid rate, when his mother came to
seo the show and recognized her off
spring through tho red ochre and lamp
black, whereupon, circumstances over
which tho young monager had no con
trol, put an end to his great enterprise,
for the entertainment of his fellow citi
zens. A Western editor, during tho late
frozen period, thus accounts for the
dearth of local news in his paper : " Our
reporter started out this afternoon in
search of local items. After an uuusuully
long absence he returned ; but, alas ! in a
most deplorable condition frozen stiff
as a poker and minus ono ear. We
stood him up against tho wall behind
tho stove, and ordered tho 'devil' to
pilo on tho fuel. We finally succeeded
in prying his mouth open with tho ash
shovel, when a dosen or so ef words fell
out upon tho floor and broke into piocos.
We set the ' devil ' at work putting the
pieces together, and ho finally reported
tho following as tho result of his labor :
' Coldest day of tho season ; everything
froze stiff ; saloon keepers selling hot
whiskies by the stick.' "
A Kentucky country paper gives tho
following : Recently one of our most ex
cellent housewives had occasion to send
to Louisville for a cook. The latter in a
few days put in her appearance, arrayed,
apparently, in a large quantity of cast-off
masquerade finery of the Queen of
Sheba ; dilapidated paniers, flounces,
hoops, and with a stunning head-dress,
that would hove fitted the Queen of
Hayti jute curls, ringlets, frizzles, chig
nons, and rats in alarming profusion.
Tho former looked on tho new-comer in
astonishment, and whon sufficiently re
covered, informed her that she did not
think she would suit as mistress for tho
kitchen, as her appearance indicated
that it would tako three-quarters of tho
day to get up her oluborate head toilette
alone. " Why, la, ma'am, I neeer combs
my head," was the response. Tho fash
ionable cook returned to Louisvillo.
A writer has taken the trouble to give
the actual material used in constructing
a pianoforte. In every instrument thero
aro fifteen kinds of wood viz., pine,
maple, spruce, cherry, walnut, white
wood, apple, bass wood and birch, all of
which aro indigenous ; and mahogany,
ebony, holly; cedar, beech and rosewood,
from Honduras, Ceylon, England, South
America and Germany. In this combi- .
nation elasticity, strength, pliability,
toughness, resonance, lightness, durabil
ity and beauty aro individual qualities,
and the general result is voice. Thero
are also used of the metals, iron, steel,
brass, white metal, gun metal and lead.
There are in the same instrument of sev
en and a half octaves, when completed,
two hundred and fourteen strings, mak
ing a total length of seven hundred and
eighty-seven feet of steel wire, and fivo
hundred feet of white (covering wire).
Such a piano will weigh from lune hun
dred to ono thousand pounds, and will
last, with constant use (not abuse,) fif
teen or twenty years.
V