r
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T.I '. !'I
HENRY A. PARSONS, J., Editor xjtd rcnusnsR,
ELK W4tttiBi'tfBi:iCANrJLllTY.
Two Doixam r Akktm.
il'. II' '.' ' I
VOL. II.
RIDGWAY, PA,. THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1872.
NO. 17.
ft ir HI IlilVr-.
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POETRY,
BEAUTIFUIj hands.
Such beautiful, beautiful hand,
They're neither whit, nor small,
And you, I know, would scarcely think
That they were fair at all.
I've looked on hands whore form and lino
A sculptor's dream nilght be,
Yet ro these aired, wrinkled hand.
Most beautiful to mo.
Such boautlful, beautiful hands
Though heart were weary and rod,
Those patient hands kept toiling on
That children might be glad.
I almost weep, as looking back
To childhood's distant day,
I think how those hands rested not.
When mine wore at their play.
But oh t beyond this shallow land,
Where all is bright and fair,
I know full well those dear old hands
Will palms of victory bear;
Whore crystal streams, through endless tlmo
Flow oror golden sands.
And whoro the old grow young again,
I'll clap my mother's hands.
THE STORY-TELLER.
ON A CONSTRUCTION TRAIN.
In tho old country they would call ine
a navvy ; here, they call mo a railroad
Land, and a good one at that, though I
say it. I left a fine job on the Erie
road, last spring, to go down to Decatur,
Illinois, where there was a chance for
me to boss a construction train on tho
Toledo, Wabash and Western lino.
Now, as everybody knows, the Toledo,
W abash and Western runs through Har
ristown, which is a few miles from De
catur. Bello Carroll lived at Ilivrris
town, and it was because she lived there
that I left the job on the Erie road.
A man called Smith was master of the
lino between Decatur and Danvillo. I
broke for him as soon as I stepped off
the cars, and showed him my recom
mendations, lie was well enough satis
fied with my papers and my appearance
you can see for yourself that I look as
if I knew what work was and ho put
me on right away. Ho even took the
trouble to introduco mo to the engineer,
who was a young fellow called Joo
Haudley.
Now, I cau't say that 1 didn't like Joo
from tho start, because I really thought
him as good as they make them down
hero I mean railroad men, of course
but I can Bay that I did not like his eyes.
They hadn't a cast in them, mind ; and
there wasn't by any means a bad ex
pression in them.
Tho whites of his eves wore liko wet
china, and the pupils were hazel. You'd
have called them handsomo eyes. What
was the matter with them, then I I'll
toll you. They were brighter than any
eyes I ever saw before in man or wo
man ; they were never still j and every
now and then they seemed to swell and
start in their sockets, as if they were
going to drop out altogether.
Otherwise, you couldn't find a flaw in
hiui, lor ho was curly-headed, iresh
complexioned, good-looking, and clean
limbed. As I was a stranger in tho place, Joo
volunteered to help me get a gang to
gether.' We went to all tho choap boarding
houses and low saloons, where railroad
men most do congregate, and in two or
three hours I had engaged twenty-four
.Dutch ana Irish hands, all good men, in
respect of work, to all appearance ; and
I had rosolvod, in my own mind, to keep
out of Joe Haudley 'b company as much
as possible from that night. Not on ac
count of his dancing, shining eyes,
mind ; but because he drank like a fish,
seemed desperately fond of cards, and
squandered his money as if thcro were
piles of it in every gutter.
Before I knew Belle Carroll, I
shouldn't have found fault with him on
account of his prodigality, for I had been
as foolish with my time and money as
ever he was, perhaps ; but, you seo, since
Bello -Carroll eyes had cast a beam of
light across my soul, so that 1 could see
what I was, I had tried to become what
I ought to bo.
I left off drinking, only taking a nip
when wet through, or when aching with
cold ; I set a guard on my lips, for fear
bad languago might slip through; and
I was liko a miser with my month's
wages, for I had sober thoughts of a
homo of my own, and little ones to make
it heaven.
I had to pay in my turn that night,
though, and drink in my turn, too, when
I couldn't throw the whiskey down on
tho floor without being seen ; for it was
necessary to keep well with my en
gineer ; and if ho had discovered any
backdown in my good-fellowship, ho was
just the sort of man to pick a quarrel
there and then.
Thore was a good deal of ditching to
bo dono about Edwardsville, and grad
ing about Hillsbro', and track-raising all
over, west, and as fur down as St.
Louis.
This gave me no chance to see Belle
Carroll, and I was getting low-spirited
to such an extent that I would have
jumped the job for a cent, when, run
ning into Decatur ono December night,
I git .orders from Smith to finish olf a
duep cutting, a mile and a half below
Harristown.
I crossod the Sangamon River the
next morning in high spirits, I tell you.
Tho fiat cars wero on the switch at Har
ristown, so I left Joo to hook on the ca
boose and engine, whilo I walked down
with: the men to the cutting, looking
this way and that behind me tor Belle ;
but no Bello did I see- ; -
Thore wtsf plenty of work - there for
weeks, I saw at a glance, and I ' was
mighty glad of it. The face of the em
bankment had to come off forhalf a
mile, and a good deal of earth had to
come out of the base on each side for -a
mile or more. ''..". "
I set the men to work, and walked up
and down the track, to keep myself
warm, until Joe brought the cat cars
lown. , .
Lwai very fond of practical jokes,
i of the men bore him a grudge
kre. I believe there wasn t a
the twenty-four, indeed, that
They got along well enough with me,
for it was company work, you know :
and besides that, I was thinking of
Belle Carroll all the time, and I couldn't
have been hard on tho biggest loafer
that ever handled a ruck.
But I'm forgetting Joe Handley and
his practical jokes. Well, sir, ho played
off ono on his fireman a mere slip of a
boy that mudo mo begin to think he
was crazy.
They were both on tho top of the cm
bankmcnt, which was very high and
very steep. I was standing in the ca
boose, looking up at them, wondering
what on earth made Joe laugh so wildly
at nothing, when all at once Joe gave
the hreman a powerful shove down tho
slope I
It was the maddest tiling I ever saw
done as a joke, for the chances were fifty
to one in luvor ot broken bones, or death
outright, as a man with half an eve
could seo. Why, my heart was iu my
mouth. fortunately, tho lad, alter
pitching forward, got his legs straight
under him somehow or other, and came
down, frightened and angry.
He got into the caboose and swore he
wouldn't fire another time for Joo Hand
ley. Joo set up a loud, queer laugh ; and,
upon my word, I thought his dancingr.
glistening eyes would shoot clean out of
his head.
" Lord !" thought J to myself, " if I
was the company, I wouldn't have such
a pair of eyes behind an engine of mine !"
but, you see, I wanted to ask a favor of
Joe, so 1 didn t tell him what I thought.
Tho passenger train from tho West
ran into Decatur at half-past eleven in
tho morning, and we had to back to the
switch at Harristown, in order to lofi it
pass.
" Joe," said I, as ho let on the stsfam,
" I'll want you to stay a bit for mo in
Harristown. I wish to mako a vfmt.
The men have plenty of picking to do,
before they'll want the Hat csrs."
"All right," said he, readily. "111
wait as long as you liko. Is there a pet
ticoat in it, Bill '"
Now, I hadn't mado ft confidant of
J oe, I don't think I could have brought
myself to do it for money, unless he had
put a green shade over thoso dreadful
eyes ; and even then, if he had laughed
just one of his queer laughs, I'd have
stopped dead short, and smashed his
face to a pulp, so help me.
" Petticoats be hanged," said I. " I've
business of another sort to attend to.
I left him at the switch, and set out
for Carroll's house.
Bello was making biscuit in the kitch
en, and I caught her in her oldest dress,
up to the elbows in dough. You can
guess how glad sho was to see me, and
how she welcomed me, when I tell you
that there was flour all over the back of
my coat, and you could pick lumps of
dough out of my beard, two minutes af
ter I passed tho kitchen window.
Timo travelled like lightning, I tell
you, for I succeeded in making her name
tho day, and the old man gave me his
blessing, and the old woman kissed me,
and begged me to be good to her child ;
and Bello cried, and I cried for compa
ny. I was very happy, till I bethought
mo of the bright eyes that wero dancing
up and down the track in quest of me.
I teok my leavo of tho old couple, and
Belle went to tho garden gate with me,
to make tho parting easier, she said.
I was looking down into her dear
eyes, seeing thoro all sorts of joys in
storo for mo, when a littlo 6tart of hers
mado mo look up, and there, leaning
over tho gate, was Joo Handley I
I nearly jumped out of my boots. I
wasn't afraid of tho man, mind you, so
far as a fair stand-up fight wont ; but I
never caught tho gleam of his eyes on
mine without feeling cold in my spine.
" What a liar you are, Bill," said ho,
with ono of his queer laughs. " There
is a pettiuo in it, aftor all."
I couldn't speak. If I had opened my
mouth, I should have struck him.
" So, that's tho favored one, Miss
Belle '(" said he, pointing at mo with his
thumb.
Bello was greatly put out. Sho was
red and pale by turns, and pressed close
against mo for protection.
" I told you that I was engaged, Mr.
Handley," she said. " And I'm sure I
never gave you any encouragement."
" Well, there's more fish in the sea,"
ho returned, and went back to the en
gine, roaring with laughter.
- Belle told mo that she had met him at
a ball in Decatur, and he had beset her
ever since. She prayed me not to quar
rel with him" and I pacified her tho best
way I could with promises.
"Joe," said I, as wo ran down to tho
cutting, V I never thought of your being
my rival." I 1 .- .
" Faith," said he, " I never put you
and Bello Carroll together in my
thoughts before to-day."
" You bear no malice ?" I asked, offer
ing him my hand, for Belle's sake.
" What would I bear malice for he
returned. " 'If she bo" not fair for me,
what care I for whom she be Y "
i But he pretended not to see my hand,
so I drew it back, and was angry with
myself for offering it.
I was nervous all that afternoon for
the first time in my life, I believe. I
don't know that I had any positive
what do you call it? presentiment of
evil ; but I was uncomfortable, and . al
together' unlike myself! .! i . '
Joe staid in tho. tender all day, and
whistled. Ho was the best whistler I
ever heard, and the men used to stop
picking, to listen to him.' V'
The day wore away painfully. ' We
fot a good load en the flat cars, and
umped the dirt two miles further
down, on a road that crossed the track.
By that time, it was nearly dark, and I
gave the word for Decatur.
At Harristown we stopped, to get the
engine before the caboose, and take on
a dozen twenty-four-foot rails. The
men threw -up the last rail just ai the
first flakes of a terrific' snow-storm fell
around us. Then they jumped into the
caboose, where there was a good fire.
I waved my lantern above my head to
Joe, and off we started.
I was talking with the fireman, who
was still sulky, and determined to de
mand hig discharge, when a remark of
one of tho Irishiuon called my attention
to tho fact that wo wero travelling at a
much faster rato than ordinary. In a
few seconds, tho caboose, which was a
condemned freight car, as old as tho
line itself, commenced to jump off the
rails, and bump down on them again, in
an alarming manner. There was no
weight on it to keep it steady, you see,
and wo wore going at a rato far beyond
regulation speed.
Faator and faster we went, and tho
caboose swayed from sido to side, and
bumped and jumped more and more 1
Tho men got frightened, and strug
gled from their seats, with their eyes on
mo, questioningly, and then fell back
again, because they couldn't keep their
feet.
"That born divil means to murder
yez all !" cried an Irishman, wiping tho
sweat of fear from his forehead.
All this timo I had thought Joe was
playing off one of his mad practical
jokes on us, and I was shaking with
rage.
" He'll never drive that engine again !"
I said, as I gained my feet.
I pushed back tho sliding-door, and
swung myself out so that I could see
the light .n the tender. The wind was
blowing a galo, and the snow blinded
mo. ' I got a bettor idea of the paco at
which we were going, looking out, and
fear crept into my heart as I estimated
the danger.
I swung the lantern, low down, back
ward and forward, and shouted out at
the top of my voice.
Joe answered with a shrill laugh that
rose above tho howling wind, and I felt
tho caboose leap under me and come
down with a sickeniig crash. I knew
that he had let on more steam, and that
the trick he was playing us was one of
those practical jokes that Satan delights
in ! It meant murder 1
We' were about seven miles from tho
Sangamon, which is crossod by trestlo
work, forty rods or mora in length, over
which no train is allowed to pass faster
than a man can walk.
I knew perfectly well that the ca
boose Arould never go over that elastic
bridge at tho rato of twenty miles an
hour, let alono sixty, tho pace at which
Joe was driving us then j and I folt as
sure that ho meant to keep the throttlo
valvo open till ho smashed us, as I was
that I'd cut a poor figure before my
Maker, if called away that night.
I thought of my gray old mother,
knitting stockings for me by the fire
side in Toledo ; I thought of Belle, so
beautiful, and good, and. happy ; and I
thought how nice it would be to have
Joo down under me on the floor of tho
caboose to have my knoe on tho pit of
his stomach, and ray hands on his
throat.
There was a panic among tho men.
Somo of them were swearing, and some
were praying. Two or three hung on
my coat as I swung the lantern me
chanically to and fro outside, and im
plored me to save them.
"Men," said I, turning round, and
setting down tho lantern, "there's a rav
ing madman on that engine, and ho
means to have our lives. There's one
chance for us, and I'm going to try it.
If I can reach tho locomotive, and
choke the lifo out of him, wo may bo
saved yet 1"
It was a desperate risk. If I hadn't
had an old mother, and thcro had been
no Belle to think of, I don't believe I
should have had the courage to take it.
To get to tho engine, I had to climb to
the top of tho caboose, cross a cerner of
the roof, go down tho ladder in front,
and jump over the couplings. It was
easy enough to get to the top of the car,
in Bpite of its violont motion, of the
fierce wind and blinding snow, because
there were rungs for the purpose ; but
crossing the roof was another mat
ter. I threw myself on my Btomach, ant
crawled forward, 'sliding this way and
that with tho fearful swaying. If ever
I prayed in my life, I did then, you bet,
for I had nothing to take hold of but
tho Lord's mercy, till I made a desper
ato clutch at the brake, and caught it,
just as tho caboose gave a jump that
threw me bodily olt the root. Then 1
swung myself over, and wont down the
ladder.
Leaping on the tender was another
sickening risk ; but it was a matter of
life and death, and I dared not hesitate,
so I jumped blindly forward, and caught
the knob of the cab-door by the inorest
chance.
Joe had his back turned toward mo.
He was watching the indicator, and
whistling bike mad. I hoped to spring
on him unawares ; but he heard me
open the door, and turned with a wild
howl, that rings in my ears yet. I got
ono blow at him that covered his face
with blood, and then we closed.
You say that I am a strong man. I
am strong stronger than any man I
ever compared arms with but I needed
all my strength in that tussle. He was
no chicken himself, and he had madness
to help him.
Aly only chance was to stun or kill
him, and I had only a few seconds to do
at in. The worst of it was, I had no
weapon. He carried an unopened clasp
knifo in his hand. I wrenched this from
hini, and struck him on the temple with
the butt end of it. The blow partially
stunned him, and I followed it with a
dozen more, that laid him senseless in
the corner.
You can make up your mind that it
wasn't long before I choked off the
throttle-valve, and reversed the steam.
As soon as that was done, I got a good
kick at Joe's head, to make sure of him;
and then I shouted to the men, to let
them know that we were saved.
It seemed an as-e before the sreed di
minished, but sensibly slower it became,
at last ; and the men recovering their
courage, swarmed out, and put the
brakes on, just as we came to the trestle
work. ' r
1 I 'TJ ' I
They wanted to kill Joe ; but I was
cool-blooded as soon as the danger was
over, and I wouldn't let them. We
bound him, and carried him over to
Smith s ofbee, as soon as we got to Deca
tur. He was raving mad, foamed at the
mouth, and talked the wildest stuff.
There was a trial, and he was sent to
tho asylum at Jackson. . '
Tho company and tho Doontur papers
complimented me highly. I sent the
papers to my old mother, and if you'll
believe me, she spells out the compli
ments every night . of her lifo after
supper, and cries over them with pride.
But the compliments I was most
proud of myseU, wero those I got from
Belle's lips. She's my wifo now. That's
my story, sir. Chimney Corner.
Tales of Toads.
Geo. M. Mead states his experience
with toads in the Ohio Farmer. Unless
their skin is broken they are perfectly
harmless. They will eat any bug but
the potato bug.
In Pittsficld, Mass., I had an uncle,
one of .the finest gardeners in the town,
and ho, to tho no littlo amusement of
friends, used to pick up those venomous
toads in his hands, whenever he could
find nice fat ones, carry them home, and.
put them in his garden to catch the bugs
and worms. Ho said to me one day :
" They will become quite' tame if you
pot them a little." I thought that a
little singular, but concluded to try it.
When I went home I found one in tho
shod close to tho kitchen and commenced.
At first I caught a bug or fly and stood
as far off as I could and dropped it down
in front of my pet. I did not have long
to wait, for the bug had hardly dropped
before he disappeared. Each day I
went to see and feed him, and went up
closer, until ho got so tame that ho
would at any timo take a bug or a fly
out of my fingers. I then began to
handle him, and if I chanced to move
him from his nice littlo corner ho would
go back there and seem to wait for me
to come and see him.
. Dr. Harris said twenty years ago that
ho supposed tho odor of the squash bug
corcua Trintia) would protect it from the
toad ; and to test the matter he offered
one to a grave-looking Bufo under a
cabbage. He seized it eagerly, but spit
it out instantly, reared up on his hind
legs and put his front feet on the top of
his head for an instant, as if in pain,
and then disappeared across the garden
in a scries of tho greatest leaps a toad
ever made. Perhaps tho bug bit tho
biter. Not satisfied with this, Dr. H.
hunted up another toad, which lived
under tho piazza, and always sunned
himself in one place in tho grass, and
offered him a squash bug, which he took
and swallowed, winking in a very satis
fied manner. Twenty other fine bugs
followed tho first, in a few moments,
with no difficulty or hesitation in the
taking or tho swallowing, though from
the wriggling and contortions it appeared
their corners did not sot well within.
Tho Btock of bugs being then exhausted,
a colony of smooth, black larvsB was
found on a white birch, each about
three-quarters of an inch long, and over
100 of these wero fed to the waiting
toad. Touching one of them with the
end of a straw, it would coil around it,
and then when shaken before him he
would seize and swallow it, at first
eagerly, but with diminished zest as the
number increased, until it became neces
sary to rub the worm against his lips for
some timo before he could decide about
it. He would then take it and sit with
his lips ajar for a short time, gathering
strength and resolution, and then swal
low by a desperate effort. Thore is no
telling what tho number or result would
havo been, as the dinner-bell rang as the
101st disappeared, and by the closo of
the meal he had retired to his hole, nor
did he appear for four days in his sun
ning place. It is to be hoped that ho
slept well, but there might havo been
nightmares.
iHstinct of Fishes.
I have seen (writes Mr. Kidd, tho em
inent naturalist) some singular instan
ces, mentioned in various works, of the
tameness of birds and beasts, and I well
know, from oft-rcpeated experiments,
what may be done in this way. My ob
ject, on the present occasion, is to direct
your attention to sundry experiments I
have been making with fish. Of min
nows I had, two years ago, no fewer
than thirteen, ranging about in a large
glass globe, and I taught them not only
to know me, but to recognize the sound
of my voice, whilst I whistled to them
some lively air. On such occasions they
would all rise to the top of tho water,
salute mo by touching my lips as I bent
closely over tho bowl, and actually leap
up and play with the extremity of my
nose I They would, moreover, fondle
over me, by rubbing their silvery sides
against one of my fingers, which I pur
posely dipped into their watery hab
itation iu this particular imitating the
fondness of a cat, when she pleasingly
purrs, erects her tail, and draws close to
your person, to evince her perfect state
of happiness. The usual fate, however,
peculiar to all pets-awaited mine ; one
by one, as tho heat of the weather in
creased in intensity, they gave hp the
ghost, and my glass globe was consign
ed to the silent shelf. A few months
since, my eye chanced to rest on the
same globe, and there was awakened in
me the fondest remembrance of my
former tiny friends. You may guess
the consequenco. I have procured
more, confining myself, however, to
throe only ; and I have actually ac
complished with these what I did with
the others, er very nearly so; for they
every day become more and more af
fectionate and attached. How their ex
quisitely delicate structure, and still
more delicate constitution, will bear up
against the coming dog-days I cannot
say. I fear the worst I keep them in
cold well-water, fresh twice a day ; and
they suffer themselves most willingly 4k
be taken in the naked hand, whilst
being transferred from the globe to a
basin, during the change . of water,
Surelythe law of kindness is all power,
ful. Would that it were more univer
sally tried. ., '. . w o r
As a remit of the woman's rights agi
tation it has been found necessary in the
District of Columbia to appeal to the
courts to decide whether or no a white
man became an Indian - by the act of
marrying a squaw.
Education of tho Ear. v
Standing in the weaving-room of any
of our largo cotton-mills, a stranger is
often surprised to seo the attention of
an operative at some distance attracted
to the overseer. The deafening rattle
of the machinery precludes the possibil
ity of communication by speech. The
loudest shout would add so little to the
general din as to be wholly inapprecia
ble at a distance Some mysterious sig
nal, however, has passed. No gesture
has been mado, no message has been
sent ; yet suddenly a lad in somo part
of the room starts and turns with ex
pectant look for some further sign from
his superior. The overseer is asked for
an explanation, and the inquirer learns
the following lessons in acoustics :
Only by making a sound radically
different from any of tho hutnniings,
batterings and clashings which com
bined make up the confused and scarcely
varying din of the room, can tho ear be
impressed with the sense of a new sound ;
and if the sound thus made, even if not
very loud, docs 80 differ from the pre
vailing clang, it requires but littlo effort
on the part of the listener to hear it, if
he has once heard and recognized it. So
when the overseer of a weaving-room
forces his breath with a sharp hiss, this
hiss may be heard yards away, distinctly
over the din of the machinery, this be
ing a method employed in some facto
ries to attract the attention of any ono
in tho room.
The ear learns to follow and unravol
the intricacies of sound in common speech ;
no easy matter, as it is found by thoso
who attempt to learn a new language.
The sound of machinos is often the best
guide by which to judge of the accuracy
of their performance. An experienced
clock-maker will tell at once whether
the works of a clock aro properly level
ed, by the beat of tho pendulum. The
carpenter tapping lightly with his ham
mer upon a plastered wall, determines
easily whero ore tho underlying tim
bers. A practical woodman can tell, by
striking a tree with his ax, whether the
timber is sound, shaky or hollow.
Huntsmen also become skilled in de
tecting various sounds by which they
traco their game. The rat-tat-tat of the
telegraphic instrument speaks as plainly
as a human tonguo to tho experienced
telegraph operator. But we forboar to
multiply instances in which the ear is
educated to other than ordinary Uses.
How far this education might be car
ried, and what useful purposes, at pres
ent unknown, might bo subserved by it,
it is impossible to say. At present,
all the systematic education of the
ear is confined to perfecting its accuracy
in distinguishing musical sounds and in
tervals. In conclusion, we will remark that
few are conscious how far the ear aids in
tho acoomplishmcnt of very niuo opera
tions, usually regarded as strictly man
ual. As with the eye, we are so accus
tomed to its constant employment, that
we becomo unconscious of any effort in
its use, or of tho. true importance of the
sense of hearing compared to the other
sensos.
Story for the Times.
There is a fablo among the Hindoos
that a thief, having been detected and
condemned to die, happily hit upon an
expedient which gave him hope for life.
He sent for tho jailor, and told him that
he had a secret of great importance
which he desired to impart to the king,
and when that had been douo he would
be prepared to die. On receiving this
piece of intelligence the king ordered
the culprit to be conducted to his pres
ence, and demanded of him to know his
secret. The thief replied that ho knew
the secret of causing trees to grow wbi,ch
should bear fruit of pure gold. The ex
periment might easily be tried, and his
majesty might not lose tho opportunity ;
so, accompanied by his prime minister,
his courtiers, and chief priest, he went
with the thief to a place selected near
the city wall, whero tho latter performed
a series of solemn incantations. This
done, tho condemned man produced a
piece of , gold, and declared that if it
should be planted it would produce a
tree, every branch of which would bear
gold. " But," ho added, " this must be
put into tho ground by a hand that has
never been stainod by a dishonest act.
My hand is not clean, therefore I pass it
to your majesty." The king took the
piece of gold, but hesitated. Finally he
said : "I remember in my younger days
that I often filched money from my
father's treasury, which was not mine.
I have repented of tho sin, but yet I
hardly dare say my hand is clean. . I
pass it, therefore, to my prime minister."
The latter, after a very brief considera
tion, answered : " It were a pity to broak
a charm by a possible blunder. I receive
taxes from the people How can I be
sure that I have remained perfectly
honest ? I must give it to the governor
of our citadel." "No, no," cried the
governor, drawing back ; " remember
that I have' the serving out of pay and
provisions to the soldiers. . Let the high
priest plant." And the high priest said :
" You forget ; I have the collecting of
tithes and disbursement of sacrifices.
At length the thief exclaimed : " Your
majesty, I think it is better for society
that all five of us should be hanged,
since it is found that not an honest man
can be found among us." In spite of the
lamentable exposure the king laughed;
and so pleased was he at the thief s cun
ning expedient, that he granted him a
pardon.
The City of Veiled Women in Siam
numbers nine thousand inhabitants, all
of whom are of the feminine gender.
One thousand of these belong to the F.
F. 8., and the remaining eight thousand
administer to their austocratio ants.
In this feminine municipality female
blacksmiths, jewelers, merchants, and
manufacturers abound, and the jack-of-all-trades
is a woman. The' walls are
cruarded by female sentinels, female po
licemen patrol the 'streets, and once a
week female military, both horse and
foot, perform their evolutions on a large
parade ground in the centre of the
town.
Eartliqnako Waves.
Tho writor was in Australia when the
great Chilean earthquake occurred, in
1868. The wave-breaking phenomona,
as regards Australasia, occurred only at
New Zealand, and even thero it was
confined to one or two places notod for
their susceptibility to earthquake dis
turbance. At Sidney, one thousand two
hundred miles distant, tho sea merely
ebbed and flowed in rather quick suc
cession, and for very short periods. At
Newcastle (N. S. W.), eighty miles north
of Sydney, the wvters of the River Hun
ter wore so strangely disturbed by elec
tricity as to cause the iron steamboats
to swing broadside on to the tide, be
sides which, as at Sydney, the tide rose
and fell. At Adelaide and King George's
Sound the tide also ebbed and flowed in
like manner, whilst Melbourne was to
tally unaffected by oceanio disturbance.
The wave broke on the shores of Japan
with a height and force second only to
what occurred at Callao. The same
phenomena, but on a very small scale,
also occurred in a few islands in the
South Pacific and at the Chincha Is
lands, off the Peruvian coast.
It will be noticed that tho localities
where tho wave broke on the shores are
notoriously subject to earthquake dis
turbance, Japan being only second on
the list after Chile, and New Zealand
next. Now, these remarkablo excep
tions would point to a susceptible sub
terranean connection with the present
great focus of earthquake disturbance
on the Peruvian seaboard. If this view
bo adopted, it is only reasonable to as
sume that a subterranean disturbance
took place at Japan, New Zealand, and
other islands to which the Chilean
earth-throes penetrated, and there
caused that mysterious prior recession
of tho sea from tho shores in each local
ity whero the great sea waves subsequent
ly broke. Now, it appears to tho writer
that tho philosophic nut to crack ip,
what agency oaused tho prior recession
of tho sea which took place at all the
places whero the great waves broko on
the shore?
To suppose that the great earth-throe
on the South American coast possesed
tho power to project a wave across tho
vast Pacific Ocean to a maximum dis
tance of ten thousand five hundred
miles, and that such a wavo travelled at
the rate of from two hundred and ninety-five
to threo hundred and ninety-four
miles per hour, is only preposterous, in
a second degree, to suppose that a wavo
could exist on the ocean, or that a wave
has progressive motion until it reaches
a shore, when it becomes a wavo of
translation. Itis diroctly against hy
drostatic laws to assort that a single
wave can exist on tho ocean, much less
can it progress forward.
If this were possible it would be with
in tho power of tho engines of a ship to
drive her as fast as a locomotive on rails ;
whereas we find that nearly all the
ship's motive power is absorbed in cleav
ing the particles of water apart to admit
the bow, and it is due to those retard
ing particles clinging with tenacious
grip to the vessel, and which to the last
grip to counter and stern until torn
away.
I am really at a loss to conccivo how
any scientific man should have propa
gated it as a fact, that any of the forces
of nature aro capable of creating waves
on tho ocean unless tho initial forco bo
constant.
Lot us Bupposo ourselves on board
ship in a hurricane of twelve. If the
wind (tho initial force) abates to ten, tho
sea soon fulls in altitude, and so on
down the scalo to naught, a dead, glassy
calm. Thus an earthquake may, by a
sudden upheaval, cause (not one, but
many) waves ; yet, owing to the cessa
tion of the initial force, such waves
would not be observed by vessels at a
distance of ten miles, much less ton
thousand I It is true that waves will bo
transmitted by hydrostatic undulation
to great distances, and so fast as to out
run the storm that gave them birth;
but they owe their power of transmis
sion to tho sustained initial forco, as
when that ceased, the power of trans
mission would also cease.
Tho diurnal flow of the great tidal
wave is sustained by tho continuod ac
tion of tho moon and sun, but when
those planets cease to exort that power,
the tidal waters seek their normal level
in the ocean.
There are people who havo a fixed
idea that ocean waves possess progress
ive motion, which is a mistake. Let us
suppose that they have the power of
progression. What would be tho con
sequonce when a hurricane was blowing
on to a shore ' The waters of each wave
would bo impelled on to tho beach in
quick succession, so as to bond back the
waters of rivers and creeks, lowlands
would be flooded, and its attendant
ruin to tho inhabitants would follow.
Taking Medicine.
: There is an inhorent predisposition
to take something which is regarded as
medicine by a majority of people in all
civilized countries. If they are not
dosed to their satisfaction by physicians,
patent preparations, nostrums, and
above aU, pills, have sach irresistable
charms, they indulge in the luxury of
prescribing for thomselves.
Medicine taking, therefore, from its
universality in this country, is a disease.
That fact is made use of to supply the
enormous demand, by extensive, manu
facturers, of all imaginable composi
tions. Vast fortunes are thus accumu
lated in keeping pace with the general
cravings for physic. The more severely
drastic, the better it is liked. If it tears
the bowels with extreme violence, it is
an evidence of its utility to the mass of
medicine takers. - ,,
The best physician is one so skillful in
his profession as to decide when it is
not necessary to take medicine. A dis
tinguished medical gentleman of Bos
ton, very far advanced in years, imputes
his extraordinary good health and vigor
to the fact that he has never taken any
drugs. , He is, sustained in the opinion.
There is neither common sense nor sci
ence in dabbling perpetually on the
slightest indisposition with medicine.
- All are not thieves that dogs bark at.
Facts and Figures.
Souie iocular California robl ers let
off a clergyman recently, on his romiso
to pray for them his money's worl i.
Tho only prisoner in jail at t'outh
Bend, Ind., is indignant at tho cil .uni
stauoe. Hn says he wasn't condemned
to solitary confinement.
Durini' an illness of tile vditor of lio
AUunuerque.(Nc.w Mexico) Uecicm, hii
wifw, Leonora MeGuinness, n:t the typn,
did the press work, got out every isuo
of tho paper in good shape, and had a
baby.
Somebody has 'unearthed a Chineso
MS., written some 300 years before the
Christian era, which is said to show that
tho Celestials were at least 1,800 j'ears
ahead of Christopher Columbus iu dis
covering America.
. An affectionate Chicago mother had
her boy arrested the other day for steal
ing twenty-five cents from the toe of
her stocking, and tho culprit was sen
tenced to three years' seclusion iu tho
State Reform School.
Tilton, N. II., hns a small Enoch - Ar-
don case. Mr. Murphy, returned to
town ' after six months' absence, and
finding his wife married to another
man, attempted to take forcible posses
sion of his child. After a short strug
gle, husband number one was arrested
and locked up.
There lives a man in the village of
Rochester, N. H., who is out every
morning, rain or shine, before other peo
ple are up, searching diligently on tho
sidewalks, in tho gutter and through
tho streets, for money or any valuable
that was dropped tho previous evening.
Tho result of his diligenco,is not re
ported. A servant gill at Pitlsfield, Mass., it
is related, was so much impressed the
other night by dreaming that somo one
was robbing tho clothes line, that sho
got up and looked out of tho window,
when she saw a man carrying off soino
clothes. Sho was so overcomo by tho
singularity of tho affair that sho let him
go and did not tell the story till tho
next day.
What is the value of a man's lifu ?
Juries disagreo on tho subject, and for
our part wo should say that it depondod
on tho character of tho man. A court
and jury at Troy have granted $0,000
damages against tho Boston & Albany
Railroad Company for killing a man.
We should regard it as a largo price for
seme men, but everybody has some ono
to rate him at a high figure.
A Buffalo pastor in tho course of liia
sermon lately, stated that tho fact had
come to his knowlodge ot a child but
three years old being received into the
orphan asylum in that city, wko was
afterward found to be suffering from
nothing less than delirium iremtim. The
mother of the child was a most intem
perate woman, and had actually fed her
offspring from tho whiskey bottle.
We doubt the wisdom of any man
leaving property to any person on con
dition somebody elso dies. It is apt to
encourage death and give riso to un
seemly bargains. At Cohoes a man died
some twenty years ago, leaving a widow
and infant daughter. A largo share of
property was bequeathed to tho child, .
but in case of her death before the ago
of twenty it was to go to her cousin.
She grew up delicate in health, and as
she approached the fatal limit tho
mother and the cousin bargained over
her chances of life. Finally the cousin
sold his chance of the inheritance for
$1,000, and because tho girl died beforo
she was twenty ho sued the mother to
recover tho entire property, alleging
that ho was deceived as to tho state of
the girl's health. Tho courts say that
won't do ; ho must stand by his bargain.
A Nevada papor, speaking of tho
rarity of the atmosphere at Virginia
Uity, says that ballet dancers are fre
quently uuablo to go through thoir
parts, and encores are impossible. Per
sons arriving from places near tho level
ot the sea, who are at home rapid walk-;
ers,'soon find themselves brought up with '
a round turn, and either spit blood or
bleed ot tho nose. Littlo brisk walking
is ever seen in the city. People- do not
seem so active as they really aro, for tho
reason that they have been compelled '
to adopt a gait which if not lizy is ut.l
least rather leisurely. Hot weather is ,
felt much more severely and is much '
more debilitating than at the sea level.
When tho thermometer makes eighty .
degrees in this elevated region, the air
is of much less value than it is at tho
sea level under the same heat. Pigeons.
that fly very strongly in California aro
almost like unfledged birds when
brought here. Lots of pigeons brought
from California for pigeon-shooting j
matches aro often almost worthless, as
being sprung upon tho trap they will '
flutter and come to the ground before
going two rods. . . ;. , ., ,
The merry account of a midnight j
murder is from tho Springfield liejmbli
can : It was the solemn hour of mid- '
night. The moon hung low in the west.
and naught was heard but the far-off
tramp of a solitary policeman, when"
the dwellers on one of our most fashion'
able streets were suddenly awakened by
fearful cries, as of some one in distress. '
A window was quickly thrown open .
and a voice from inside was heard ut- j
tering a vow of vengeance. The only an
swer was an unearthly and a defiant -.
yell from a Thomas cat which stood
with arched back and gigantic tail on '
the ridge-pole of the opposite house. - '
The owner of the voice felt that the, ; t
time for action had come, and drawing
a bead across the barrel of a Smith & "4
Wesson, he pulled the trigger. There '
were cries of murder from nervous wo- -mon
in that locality for the space of
about ten minutes, but the window was '"
closed and aU that.xemainfld.: jf tho ,'i
bloody deed, next morning, was a yery. (
dead cat, laid on the ridge or the house in ,
the picturesque manner that farmers
used to carry thoir grain on horoo-tkaok,-,(
to milL The bullet did its deadly work ;'
the song at midnight was hushed ; and
the residents in that fashionable street
even looked upon the cold-blooded as
sassin as a publlo benefactor.