ELK COVXTYTUE JlErVBLlCAN PARTT.
VOL II.
ridgway; pa,. Thursday, oCtober 10, 1872.
NO. 32.
I'O ETR r.
TRl'ST.
1 Know not If or dark or brijrht
Shall be mr lot;
If that wherein my hope, d '.-light
Bo boat or not.
It may be mine to dm for roars
Toll's heavy chain,
Or dav and night my meat be toari
On bod of pain.
Dear faces may surround ray hearth
With smiles and Biro,
Or I may uwell alone, and mlitb
Do stranpe to mo.
My bark 1i waftod to tho strand
Ity breath divine ;
And on the helm thore rosls a hand
Other than mine.
One who has known in storms to sail,
1 havo onboard ;
Above the raffing of the (rate,
I hear my Lord.
Ho holds me when the billows smite,
I shall not fall :
If sharp, 'tis short : if long, 'tis li(ht
He tempers all.
Snfb to the land safe to the land
Tho end Is this ;
And then with him (ro hand In baud
Far into bliss.
Dean q C'anlirhury.
THE STOIZ Y- TELLEll.
A MIDDLE-AGED LOVlS STORY.
They had come, a little group of
inonaiy laces, to watch rue off, witli
waving handkorchiefs and kindly good
bys ; and I stood on tho stern nodding
and waving back, till the steamer swept
down the river out of their sight.
1 knew I should have their prayers
that the great sea might be gentle with
me ; I knew they would watch the
weather, and leok for the telegram of
the arrival of our ship ; yet I knew I was
taking nothing from their lives, and that
they each would go home hardly missing
me ; so it was with no great wrench of
heart that I saw the pilot put oil from
us, and took the last look at my native
shores.
During most of the passage I was just
comfortably seasick, so I sat all the day
long in a reclining chair on deck, watch
ing tho white caps on the purple and
green and bluo waves that mounted and
tell, down and up, up and down, away
out to tho far horizon. I saw the shin
ing nautiluses float by, and now and
then a whale or a shoal of porpoises, or
a sail speeding white and full across the
water.
I saw also a good many other things
nearer by, for I didn't put my eyes in
my pocket along with my short-sighted
glasses j and nobody was much likely to
mind a middle-aged woman in hood
and waterproof.
The first thing I saw was a young girl
with dark eyes and brown hair, that
rippled itself into a tangle of rough
curls whenever sho took off her net. She
was not so very pretty, nor so very bril
liant, but there was a piquant charm
about her that attracted half the pas
sengers before the first day was over. By
tho end of tho second day every body,
from tho captain to the ship's surgeon,
and from tho surgeon to the cabin-boy,
was eagtr to show her attention, and
every body was met by the same genial
smile and lively retort.
She won her wuy at once into my
heart by the kindly thought that led
her to bring little relishes from the table
to tempt my sickly appetite, and to
soothe my forehead with bay-water and
gentle touches of her shapely brown
hands, where a great emerald glittered
encircled by diamonds. Very soon she
got into the habit of drawing her rug
besido my chair, and sitting on the deck
leaning against me, so that I might
" pet her," as she said.
This was how it happened that my
quiet, out-of-the-way corner came to be
the centre of the lifo and gaiety and ro
munce of tho whole shipboard.
It seemed this young girl, Rosa Ar
mour, was an only child, and an orphan,
going to an uncle in Germany, her near
est of kin.
" Dear heart I I hope her uncle will
bo wise as well as loving," said I to my
self very often, for she seemed too frag
ile a bubblo of humanity to drift on
through life alone.
The tips of her brown curls were
lighter than the rest, and here and there
were littlo bright touches all over her
hair, as though the sun was shining in
spots on it. One morningI sat coiling
these gleams of sunshine around my
fingers, on watching a flock of Mother
Carey's Chickens skim restlessly over the
restless water, thinking these thoughts
about Rosa, and having her soft pres
ence alone to myself for a few moments.
Not many, however; soon up came a
New Zealander of course there was a
New Zealander or an Australian on our
boat.
" You are very lowly, Miss Armour,"
Baid ho ; " let me bring you a chair."
" Thank you ; I prefer to sit here on
my rug, and havo Miss Wells pet me,"
replied Kosa, turning up her eye lan
guidly. " Tho deck is my favorite seat,
if I can only have an excuse to sit
on it."
" But you need something over you,"
persisted the New Zealander, going
away, and coming back directly with
his own heavy gray wrap. Then he
seated himself on a low camp-stool be
side her, folding the wrap over the two.
" I never saw so rough a sea as this all
the way from Honolulu to Ban Francis
es," said he, looking out upon the gentle
swell of the lazily-mounting waves.
Rough !" cried Miss Armour ; " I'm
sure the ocean is as smooth as a mill
pond 1"
" O, but not as am pared to the Paci
fic peaoefuWlt was rightly named.
We have never such gales on that as
sweep the Atlantic but only the gent
lest westerly breeies." The New Zeal
ander shivered as he spoke, and drew
Lis wrap- closer over his knees. '" We
have the most charming climate in New
Zealand," he went on J "we are never
too hot, and never too cold. In fact, we
never think of the weather. And the
soil is the most fertile in the world."
" Pity it is in such an out-of-the-way
part of tho enith that nobody van live
there," said Miss Afruour. '
" Beg your pardon, misj ; there are
several English towns ol thirty thous
and inhabitants each ; and . we never
think of ourselves as being out of the
way, but rather feel sorry for those who
live so far off," returned tho other,
bending his tail figure earnestly for
ward. Rosa leaned her pretty head toward
him in a confiding attitude of interest,
and laughed : " O, so you are the people,
and wisdom is going to die with you 1"
said she. " But what do you do out
there in the heart of tho universe '("
" We dig gold for one thing, and raise
sheep for unother millions and mil
lions of them j from thirty to forty ves
sels are constantly plying to England
with the tallow and pressed wool."
" What do you do with all that mut
ton Y" asked Rosa, looking idly at tho
light in her ring, and then as idly at the
light in tho speaker's eyes.
" We use what we can," was the re
ply ; " and sometimes, I am sorry to say,
we bury the flesh not usually ; but
sometimes an order will come to one fap
mer for a thousand sheep, if you please,
and all he can do is to clip oil the wool,
get out the fat, and bury tho car
casses." " What a pity tho meat can't be sent
to the hungry poor at home 1 Why don't
somebody condense it, as they do the
beef in Texas Y " I said, in my practical
way.
" In good time I dare say somebody
will, but we can't do every thing at
once," replied the New Zealauder, look
ing with sudden interest at the game of
shufHe-board being played besido us.
Just then along came tho ship's sur
geon, a blonde youth in uniform with
his hair parted in the middle.
" Miss Armour," said he, " tho gun is
to be fired at the bow ; will you come
and see it done Y "
Miss Armour started up at once, turn
ing some half-confiding glance and
ready smile upon him she had been giv
ing us.
" I am going to leave my rug with
you ; I shall come back," said she, beam
ing over her shoulder as she took the
surgeon's arm and went away.
The New Zealander looked after her,
tried to console himself by drawing his
wrap in another fold across his knees,
did not succeed, and finally got up and
went away. Of course it was not worth
his while to make himself agreeable to
a middle-aged woman in hood and wa
terproof. So I sat and looked at the
likeness of a lake among the sunset
clouds, and tried to decido whether I
had better take oatmeal gruel or biscuit
tea for my supper ; wondering the while,
half unconsciously, about the old chord
in my memory that was always being
struck by a certain musical ring in tho
New Zealander's voice.
After an hour or so the gun was fired,
and presently Miss Armour came back
with the disorder of the strong sea-wind
in her hair, and its freshness in her pret
ty pink cheeks.
" I've come as I said," she murmured,
dropping at my feet again, and smiling
up, as though she hud got where she best
loved to bo just such a smile as she
would havo given to ths stokers down
in tho engine-room, or to the ship's cat.
But it was lovely to look upon while it
lasted, and we middle-aged people have
learned to warm ourselves in any chance
ray of sunlight, without stopping to
consider whether it is likely to be per
petual. This time tho bit of sunshine did not
stay long, for there came up an artist
with his sketch-book ; and when Miss
Armour had sufficiently admired his
graphic pencilings of tho captain and
the "quarter-master, and the sea-sick oc
cupat of an upper berth, . it was time to
throw the log, and so he boro her off to
find out by her own eyes whether we
were actually going at the rate of thir
teen knots, or only twelve and a half.
That was how the days went. The
passengers read and paced the deck,
played games and guessed riddles, and
were always hungry ; the pilot stood
steady and firm at the wheel ; the sailors
ran up aud down about the rigging like
overgrown spiders, and were forever
scouring and scrubbing, tying and un
tying, drawing up and letting down.
Thus at la t we had come safely almost
to our desired haven. With fair Bailing,
wo were only one day out from port j
and fond as we had grown to be of each
other, we were getting impatient to
pai t.
Miss Armour, during all the voyage,
had kept on as sho began, beguiling ev
ery one with her trick of lip and eye.
They ran after her liko boys at tho
string of a kite. Well, they had noth
ing better to do just then ; and when
she had faded out, as a rainbow fados, I
made no doubt she would be as easily
l'orgotten, or only remembered as a mid-
suuimsr a day-dream, by all, unless it
might be a solitary, warm-hearted man
like the New Zealander.
To tell the truth, I was a little sorry
for him. Evidently, life had not brought
him all it might, and be was hungry tor
the love and confidence that had never
been his. Bo I was afraid he would miss
this little sparkle of girlhood and warm
youth, and find the void deeper when it
had gone out.
To the very last day Rosa kept her
place by my chair, and to- tho very last
r. - - , i i i i i i
the .New eaianuer Kepi bis puice oy
her. when no one younger stepped in to
carry her off j which was pretty often
to be' sure. Then he always quietly
weut.awav himself, with a kind of grave
regret in his face. On this last morn
ing, Mus Armour had just left us along
with a young lawyer, to drop oranges
and lemons among the steeraae passen
gers, when I noticed the New. Zealander
looking after her with a gadder regret
than usual almost a pain-"-in his eyes.
He had such handsome dark eyes. I
see that without my glasses.
" Now," said I to myself, ' I hope he
isn't going to get soft, a sensible, gentle
manly, agreeable man like him, and
quite old enough to be her father P And
bo I looked at him to see if be was, when
suddenly he turned upon me.
"At feast you might have written,
Agatha Wells ! " Baid he, sharply.
I started, as you may think, to hear
my own name epoken so familiarly by a
ftrang'er; when, looking again, behold,
I saw beneath the bronze, and under the
wrinkles and behind the beard, a face
that twenty years before was the dearest
in the world to me the face of Dunoan
Ashley I We parted one day expecting
to meet on the next, but that evening he
was called away, and wrote instead of
coming. In the'' letter he said what he
had said before with his eyes yes, those
same beautiful eyes that I was tho
choico of his heart and Iho desire of his
life.
" Answer me," said ho ; " I cannot
wait till I Sao you."
So I answered a long foolish letter,
though there was no need of writing ;
for he had read all I could say long be
fore, witji those eyes of his. Then I
watched and waited for him, but never
saw him or hoard one word more. If
you are young, you can imagine the
slow dying out of hopo and expectation j
and if you are old, you know how such
things can be lived over and hidden in
secret graves.
But now, as though the graves had
been opened and the judgment set, came
this sudden reproachful question up from
the buried past. I fairly caught my
breath as I turned back my eyes and
looked him in the face again.
" Forgive me," said he, directly, in a
gentlertone. " I did not mean to speak ;
you brought it out with your eyes j that
questioning turu was so familiar. Of
courso you were quite right, and I never
blamed you. I never meant you should
see me again, but the temptation to feel
myself besido you, only te be in the
soothing charm of your presenco, was
too great. It has been a blessing I shall
carry with me all the rest of my life."
Ho was rising to go away, but I put
out my hand. " I did write, Duncan
Ashley," said I ; " tho letter must have
gone wrong."
"You did! you wrote!" he cried,
sinking back in his chair again, and
looking at me eagerly. " What did you
say r"
' There was only one thing I could
say, and I said that," I answered, blush
ing as though I had just written tho
letter.
A middle-aged woman iu hood and
waterproof ! But, dear me I it was only
my face that was middle-aged, after all ;
my heart was as young and silly as ever.
Aud as for Duncan's face, the marks of
care and thought and time fell off, leav
ing in it only the eternal youth of love. -
It was the old story of a lost letter,
and the older story of a proud man, be
lieving himself rejected and humiliated,
and fleeing to the ends of the earth with
his pain.
" Twenty precious years wasted l" said
my New Zealander. " We will not be
separated another day while we both
live. There is a clergyman among our
passengers, and we will be married this
very hour."
That was so like his headlong decis
ions! Certainly he did need a sober
second-thought like me for a ballast.
" That cannot be," I cried ; " tho cere
mony wouldn't be legal without a license
or something. And I would by no means
do any thing so sensational and con
spicuous." But, bless your heart I I might as well
have tried to wipe up the Atlantic with
my packet-handkerchief. He was so
grieved, and so impatient, and so reso
lute (and, indeed, when one comes to
think of it, twenty years it long enough
for an engagement), that I finally drop
ped off my waterproof and my sea-sickness,
and stood up behind the binnacle,
and was married before eight bells that
very morning ring and all. Duncan
produced it from a small casket, where
he had carried it in his waistcoat-pocket
for the whole twenty years.
" I could never bear to put the little
thing away," said he, looking at it ten
derly. The next day we came to port, with
the sun shining and our flags flying.
There was a flurry of good-bys, a hoist
ing ef trunks, a welcoming of friends
on the shore, and a glad hurrying te and
fro.
Among the rest was an instant's nest
ling of Miss Armour's lips oa my cheek,
and little cling of her hand in mine, the
vanishing of a smile, and she was gone
like the flash of a fire-fly, out of my sight
forever. But wherever she is, and how
ever Bhe fares,' she has the daily blessing
of two middle-aged hearts, whose way to
each other she unconsciously lighted.
Courting in Siberia.
When once the young beau among the
Korakas becomes infatuated, he makes
known his passion to the father of his
affinity, ana expresses his desire to strive
for her hand. A kind of contract is im
mediately entered into, by which tho
young uian binds himself to the father
as a servant, for a term of years, at the
expiration of which time he can have
the pleasure of learning whether the
daughter will haye him or not. In this
manner, if tho father be the happy pos
sessor of a beautiful daughter, be may
have half a dozen men to do his bidding
at one time. When the term of servi
tude expires, one of the place, armed
with thick sticks and pieces of seal
thongs, is then stationed in the pologs
suspended around the room. The daugh
ter then appears, thijkly clad in skin
garments, followed by her lover, when a
race ensues around the enclosure, the
contestants dodging about among the
pologs. To win his bride he must over
take her, and leave the print ef his nail
upon her person, before she can be res
cued by the old woman, who, during the
face, impedes the lover as much M pos
sible by beating him with sticks, trip
ping him, and by seizing his legs as he
rushes by. The advantage is ail with
the girl, and if she does not wish to We
ceme the wife of the pursuer, she can
avoid hint without difficulty. On the
contrary, if she likes him, she manages
to stumble, or make known her wishes
to the old woman, who then only makes
a show of impeding her pursuer. Some
times the lover is desperately smitten,
and just after being foiled he returns to
the father and binds himself for another
period of years te have the privilege of
anotner trial
An Englishman's Mislnkc.
The Continental papers are circu
lating a story of an Englishman and
his wifo. who, not' knowing a word of
German, -but being able to express
themselves well in French, resolved to
visit Berlin and Dresden. At Berlin
they had been reoommended to a hotel,
whither they were riding in a hack,
when all at once the lady espied an im
posing edifice, upon which were in
scribed, in large letters, the words "Ho
tel Radzievill
She cried out : " There is a beautiful
hotel, and the situation is splendid."
" Suppose we go there 'f " suggested the
husband.
It was done as soon as said. The dri
ver was stopped. There wero several
ladios about the hotel, but none of them
spoke either English or French. How
ever, the servants were made to under
stand by gestures that they wero to
take in the luggage, and the travellers
were ceremoniously conducted into an
apartment.
The lady asked by signs for a sleeping-room,
to which she was led, and, on
her return, said to her husband ;
" I never saw in all my life a hotel so
admirably furnished. Come and see
the chamber and sleeping-room."
Having dressed, our English folk
lunched, and announced to the servant
that they would dine at five.
They went to walk. On their return
a gentleman of distinguished appear
ance entered their room, saluted them,
and said something in German, which
they did not understand.
Tho Englishman, thinking him a little
familiar, replied carelessly, in English :
" Good-morning. How do you do Y"
And the stranger withdrew.
A delicious dinner was served.
When the servants had gone, " My
dear," said the gentleman to his wifo,
" all this is excelleut. This hotel is evi
dently'first class. But it must be very
dear, and, as a matter of prudence, it
will be well to ask for the bill to-morrow
morning."
But he neglected to do so, and two
days niore passed like the first.
At last the bill was asked for, but it
was not brought.
" I am beginning to be alittle uneasy,
my dear," said the husband. " Surely
no one could be better cared for than we
are here, but I am persuaded the
charges will be frightful."
At that moment the gentleman of
distinguished appearance entered, and
the following dialogue took place in
French :
The stranger : " I am Prince Radzie
vill." The Englishman (rising and bringing
a chair) : " To what may I attribute
the honor of this visit Y "
The prince : " You have evidently
taken this house for a public hotel." .
The Englishman : " Certainly."
The prince : " Well, this is my pri
vate house, my hotel."
The Englishman was so astounded
that he could make no reply, and could
not explain the mistake of his wife,
who, in tho greatest consternation, began
to tell the prince, in English, that the
word " hotel " over the door had caused
her error.
Tho prince, who saw thoir confusion,
politely expressed his satisfaction at
having given hospitality to English
people, and begged them to remain a
few days longer that he might enjoy
their society. Of course, the invitation
was politely declined. The Englishman
succeeded in making the servants ac
cept a few presents, and the princo in
sisted upon accompanying them to a
real hotel in his own carriage. Prince
Radzievill is the Russian ambassador at
Berlin.
California Big Trees.
Professor Asa Gray, tho retiring pres
ident of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, gave, at
the opening session, an interesting sketch
of his botanical observations at the
West, referring particularly to the " big
trees" of California, the Sequoia gigantca,
their history and relation to the fossil
trees of geological ages. Of the possible
theories respecting these forest pheno
mena, Professor Gray maintained that
they were the lineal successors of a pre
historic race of trees which once crowd
ed the hills and valleys of the world.
His argument is summed up as folltws :
At tho beginning of the Tertiary period
the northern temperate zone was a re
gion of perpetual summer. Gradually,
glaciers rolled down from the north,
driving all vegetation far to the south.
Then a warmer climate came again, and
freed the greater part of the Northern
Hemisphere from its fetters of ice. As
these melted away, vegetation extended
northward, but not to its former limits.
These facts furnish a clew to the history
pf the " big trees." If their ancestors
wero numbered by hundreds of thou
sands, their fossil remains must exist in
the strata formed by the great ice-flood
that swept over the northern half of the
globe. Research has found the fossil
Sequoia gigantea throughout the Miocene
formations of Northern Europe, and in
those of Iceland, Spitzbergen, Green
land, Alaska, and the Rocky Mountains.
All of these fossil specimens are almost
the same as the " big trees " of to-day.
This crucial test shows that before man
sprung from the dust of the Garden of
Hiden, according to Uenesis, or was evolv
ed from the ape of Northern Africa, ac
cording to Darwin, the Sequoia gigantea
belted Northern America, Asfa, and
Europe, and the islands of the northern
seas.
It has long since been demonstrated
that sea-water contains an appreciable
amount of silver, and a recent calcula
tion shows that, if equally distributed.
there must be in the oceans of the world
some two million tons of the precious
metal, or more than has ever been dug
out of the earth. Silver in the sea is
only one of the thousand illustrations of
the fact that solid substances may be
made invisible by chemioul processes,
just as a silver half-dollar may be dis
solved in a very small amount of nitric
acid, the coin disappearing, while the
fluid is as clear and transparent as
before.
A French Romancer.
Our own newspapers, enterprising and
inventive as they are, do not inform us
of all the surprising things that happen
in this country, as, for example, witness
the following from the Paris Fiqaro :
" It is known that the railroad from San
Francisco to New York passes through
the reservation of several tribes ot
Indians, who invariably regard the
locomotives as terrible monsters created
by the Manitou to exterminate the red
man. Several times already the Indians
have attempted to throw the trains on
tho track. In these enterprises they
were led by one ot' the florcest of thoir
chiels, a Cherokee named Nana, and
surn allied the Mocking-Bird. All their
attempts having iailod, Naha resolved
to change his tactics. Accordingly, on
the 2d of June last, ho concealed him
self near the rails, and, with extraordin
ary activity, bounded upon the foot
board of the train No. 67, from San
Francisco to New York. He then slip
ped along the train till ho reached the
locomotivo, where he killed the fireman
with a blow of his tomahawk, stabbed
tho engineer with his knife, and, after
soalping them, jumped on the tender,
brandishing the scalps, and howling out
a savage war-song. The settlers along
the line beoame terrified as they saw the
train, which now dashed along at a fear
ful speed, driven by tho ferocious engi
neer. The passengers all cried out for
help. Their situation was extremely
perilous n fact, they were running into
the jaws of death. Finally, an officer of
the navy, Henry Pierce, determined to
sacrifice himself to save his fellow pas
sengers. Armed with a long dirk-knite,
he ran along tho foot-board of the train,
and jumped upon the engine. The chief
uttered a war-cry and brandished his
tomahawk, and a hand-to-hand struggle
was commenced over the bodies of the
engineer and fireman. The passengers
put their heads out of the windows, and,
with an anxiety which may easily bo
imagined, tried to see the fight. In
about a niinuto Mr. Pierce fell mortally
wounded under Mocking- Bird, who in
the twinkling of an eye scalped him.
But, while he was triumphantly waving
the sculp of his victim in the air. Mr.
Pierce, who was still lying, had sufficient
strength to jump up and lunge his knife
into the Indian's breast, killing him
instantly. He then crawled to the
valve-handle, shut off the steam, and the
train stopped. The passengers ran to
the assistance of this brave officer, but it
was too late ; he died two hours after
ward." China and Glass Fabrics.
Many of the exquisite forms given to
those beautiful specimens of earthen
ware which form the service of our
breakfast and our dinner tables, are not
capable of being executed in the lathe
of the potter.- The embossed ornaments
on the edges of tho plates, their polyg
onal shape, the gilded surface of many
of tho vases, would all be difficult and
costly of execution by the hand; but
they become easy and uniform in all
their parts, when made by pressing the
soft material out of which they are
formed, into a hard mould. The care
and skill bestowed on the preparation
of the mould are amply repaid by the
multitude it produces. In many of ths
works of the china manufactory one
part only of the article is moulded the
upper surface of a plate, for example,
whilst the under side is figured by the
lathe. In some instances, the handle, or
only a few ornaments aro moulded, and
the body of tho work is turned. An
other iustance which may be cited in
illustration of this peouliar kind of me
chanical operation, is that of glass seals.
As is well known, the process of engra
ving upon gems is one requiring consid
erable time and skill in order to insure
a perfect result. Tho seals thus pro
duced can therefore never become com
mon. Imitation, however, arc made, of
various degrees of resemblance, and
these have extensively taken the plaee
of the genuine article.
The color which is given to gloss, is
perhaps the most successful part of the
imitation. A small cylindrical rod of
colored glass is heated in the flame of a
blow pipe, until the extremity becomes
soft. The operator then pinches it skil
fully between the ends of a pair of nip--
pers, which are formed ot brass, and on
one side of which has been carven in
relief the device intended for the orna
mentiny of the seal. When the requisite
care has been taken to heat the glass in
a proper manner, and when the mould
has been well finished, the seals thus
produced are not bad imitations, some
of them being extremely beautiful in
their appearance. They are produced
in very large quantities and at a small
cost.
t
Plaxts. Probably all florists have
observed that the white blossoms of
plants are more apt to be fragrant than
those which are highly colored. Pale
aud white blossoms predominate in the
northern regions. We may therefore
conclude that the relative number of
odorous flowers is greater toward the
pole than toward the equator. It would
seem that the too powerful action of
light and heat is opposed to the emana
tion of flowers, and we Bee many speci
mens which are scarcely fragrant during
the day, become bo in the evening or
during the night. But if the odors emit
ted by the blossoms are more frequent
in the north, the reverse is the case with
the essences enclosed in the glands. Plants
iwth fragrant leaves, aromatio fruits,
and wood penetrated with essential oil.
are scarcely found except in warm or
tropical climates.
A tew weeks since a well-eduoated
young woman, the daughter of wealthy
parents, suddenly disappeared from her
home in an eastern city. She was fi
nally discovered, dressed in a suit of her
brother's clothes, and working in a car
riage-factory, about forty miles away.
When taken back, she avowed that her
sole object was to be talked about.
" Didn't the neighbors talk when I left,"
she said, "and won't they talk more
now. when they hear where I have been.
and what 1 have done r
Age of tho 1'rosldrnts.
Gen. Grant is one of three of our Pres
idents who have passed their fiftieth
birthdays in the highest place an Amer
ican can reach, the other two being Mr.
Polk, who entered the office about seven
months before he was fifty yeai s old,
and Gen. Pierce, who became President
in his forty-ninth year.
Gen. Washington was in his fiftv-
eighth year when he became President.
John Adams was in his sixty-second,
Mr. Jefferson was in his fifty-eighth,
Mr. Madison in his fifty-eighth, Mr.
M3nroe in his fifty-ninth, John Quincy
Adams in his fifty-eighth, Gen. Jackson
in his sixty-second, Mr. Van Buren in
his fifty-fifth, Gen. Harrison in his sixty
ninth, Mr. Tyler in his fifty-second,
Gen. Taylor in his sixty-fifth, 'Mr, Fill
more in his fifty-first, Mr. Buchanan in
his sixty-sixth, Mr. Lincoln in his fifty
third, and Mr. Johnson in his fifty-seventh
year. '
Uen. Harrison was the oldest man
ever elected to the presidency, and Gen.
Grant is the youngest. Washington,
Jefferson, Madison and John Quincy
Adams wero all in their fifty-eighth
year when they entered tho presidency,
and Mr. Monroe complotedT his fifty-
ninth year only fifty-five days after he
became President, and Mr. Johnson was
in his fifty-sixth year when he succeedod
President Lincoln.
Four Presidents went out of office in
their sixty-sixth year, namely, Washing
ton, John Adams, Jefferson and Madi-
i. President JackEon was the oldest
of all our retiring Presidents, as he went
out of office only eleven days before the
completion of his seventieth year. Mr.
Buchanan left office fifty days before he
bceamo seventy years old.
The President who lived longest was
John Adams, who died in his ninety-
hrst year. Tho next oldest was Mr.
Madison, who died in his eighty-sixth
year. Mr. Jefferson died in his eighty-
fourth year, John Quincy Adams in his
eighty-hrst year, Mr. V an Huron in his
eightieth year, Gen. Jackson in his seventy-ninth
year, and Mr. Monroe in his
seventy-third year. The youngest re
tiring President was Gen. Tierce, who
went out ot office not quite lour months
after ho had completed his fifty-second
year.
Mr. l'olk retired in his litty-fourth
year, and died in little more than three
months later, at tho age of fifty-three
years, seven months and thirteen days,
youngest of all our Presidents in death.
Changing tho Subject.
An attentive "littlo Ditcher" had
heard her father instruct older brothers
and sisters that when, in the course of
conversation, a subject came up that
seemed to be disagreeable to any one
present, etiquette demanded that it
should be changed as quickly as possi
ble. Some days after, her father said to
her as he left the house :
" Mary, papa wants you to be very
careful, if you play in the garden to
day, not to touch the hyacinths. Will
you remember Y"
Of courso she would ; but on papa's
return in the evening ho found his hya
cinths picked, and the marks ot the lit
tle teet in tho garden-bed.
Calling Mary up to him, he looked
very grave, and said :
" My dear, you remember that I told
you particularly not to touch the hya
cinths, and now I find them picked, and
no one has been lit the carden Dnt you.
How is this?"
Mary laughed and said :
" O, papa, it was splendid in the gar
den to-day I I saw a beautiful little
bird's nest, and there was a great big
butterfly
" Wait, wait, my child. I am talking
to you about something else now. Don't
you understand me Y I am very seri
ously displeased with you. I told, you
not to touch the hyacinths, and now I
find them picked and your footprints all
about."
" O, yes, papa, I did havo the lovliest
time in the garden to day. Don't you
think it was a beautiful day Y"
" Mary, how daro you answer me so
impertinently I I am talking to you
about your disobedience. Why do you
not attend to me? I shall have to
make you."
Rather sobered at this suggestion,
"little pitcher's" countenance fell, and
she faltered out :
" Why, papa, you said that when a
subject became unpleasant to any one,
the only way was to change it."
Papa saw the point, and the unpleas
ant subject was dropped for that once.
The Caliroi nlan Trade.
California is literally choked up with
grain at the same time that there are
no adequate means to transport the sur
plus to distant markets. The Daily BuU
letim says :
" It is calculated that not more than
one-third of the products of the San
Joaquin Valley cau be transported to
markets, and the farmers were making
preparations to house the grain during
the balance of the year. As it chances,
this will make only the difference be
tween storing the grain on the farm and
on the seaboard, owing to the absence of
shipping accommodations at San Fran
cisco. If all the surplus grain in Cali
fornia could be sent to San Francisco,
there still would not be half enough
vessels to transport it to market. Taking
into calculation the grain already ex
ported and all the vessels in the foreign
and coasting trade available, and the
number that will arrive in San Francisco
during the next four months, it is esti
mated that the total tannage oapaLilities
will be only available for moving an ag
gregate of $0,500,000 centals, or only
about half the assumed surplus of the
crop. And even this estimate assumes
that all the tonnage to arrive during the
balance of the season will be chartered
for the grain trade, and makes no ao
count of the demands for carrying lum
ber, coal, dye-woods, and other produots."
A young man will pay for one hun
dred and sixty acres in Iowa with this
year crop. It you can equal or beat
that, go west."
Facts and Figures,
Georgia will not tax cotton or woolen
mills erected there for two years'.
Feldspar, hitherto imported from
Spain, has been discovered in Connec
ticut. Some cf the Michigan pastures are so
dry that farmers have to feed hay
already.
The Siamese twins, Cha and Eng,
are at last divided. One is for Greeley,
the other for Gr nt.
Josh Billings ,ays, very truly : " You'd
better not know so much, than to know
so many things that ain't so."
A Chicago advertisement for three
lady copyists brought in two days an
influx of 2 19 beautifully written lotters.
An undertaker's office recently bore
this cheering inscription on the front
door : " Gone for a dead man back
soon."
Women are scarce in Northwest Kan
sas. Four men to one woman is tho
proportion, with an active demand for
the latter.
A new peril for toilers at the noodle.
A Harrisburg, Pa., woman has been
made blind by sewing on poisonously
dyed cloth.
Native of the Emereld Isle Is it me
bare feet that's troublin' yer Y Bless yer
hanner, an' ain't I sportin' a pair of
Cork soles Y
Tho new court house at Burlington,
Vt., is just completed at a total cost of
?jU,UUU, and is the hnest building ot the
kind in the State.
" Insults," says a modern philosopher,
" are like counterfeit money : we cannot
hinder their being offered, but we are
not compelled to take them."
Iron shingles have been recently
patented, and are said to be less expen
sive than slae. They are made about
six by thirteen inches in size, and fas
tened by headless nails.
As so many articles in every-day use
aro manufactured of paper, it is asked if
a paper beefsteak can be invented to
take the place of the leather ones com
mon at boarding-houses.
The Gardner (Mass.) Newt says ! " Five
married ladies in this town have felt
called upon to bid their husbands an
abrupt 1 good-bye ' during tho last few
weeks, which signifies that the world
still moves."
Dollar gold pieces of San Francisco
coinage have been put on tho market,
and meet with ready acceptance. They
are of standard value, and are a legal
tender, equally with gold, ns a circu
lating medium.
The Public Wurks Department ot
Japan employs 101 foreigners at an ag
gregate cost ot sfja.O'Zi per month.
There are 111 Tnglish, 30 French, G
Chinese, 4 Manillese, 2 Americans, 1
Indian, and 1 Swiss.
A citv fop who was taking an airing
in the country, tried to amuse himself
by quizzing an old farmer about his
bald head, who solemnly remarked,
Young man, when my head gets as
soft as yours, I can raise hair to sell."
A Vermont pensioner has written to
tho pension office as follows : " Have my
name dropped from the pension rolls, as
I can do nearly as much work as ever,
and I feel in my heart that I can do
without it better than the government
can pay it.
A man a hundred years old went to
have a pair of shoes mode. The shop
keeper suggested that he might not live
to wear them out, when tho old man re
torted that he commenced this one hun
dred years a great deal stronger than he
did the last one.
A good illustration of the quiet of
Boston streets on Sunday nights is fur
nished by the fact that a gentleman
drove Sunday evening, between 9 and
10 o clock, Irom htate street to iioston
Highlands and only met two carriages,
except street cars.
A gentleman of Pittsburg wants to
Eay $14,000 for lied CUud, the trotting
orso that carried off the first money in
all the races there last week. Mr. Alex
ander King subsequently bid $15,000,
but both offers were declined. The horse
is six years old, and valued at $20,000.
There is a negro woman living in
Columbus, Ga., said to be only 110.
Strange to sav, he never nursed Gen.
Washington. Six generations look
with awe upon their venerable ances
tress. Although deaf and blind, she
shows a third set of excellent grinders.
A nrnzv man ha vino- eot into the e-al-
lerv nt' the Senate of the United States
during a rambling debate, was taken
out, ' the sergeant-at-armB telling mm
that he was " out of place in that gal
lery." '! That's so," said the lunatio " I
ought to be on the floor with the sena
tors." A Lockport girl based her breach of
promise suit upon the slender ground
that her recreant lover had told her that
if he' married any one ho would marry
her. It took the jury ail night to award
her one hundred dollars damages, and
one or two of the jurors do not feel
quite satisfied that she ought to have
even that.
A couple from the backwoods of Ten
nessee arrived at Nashville on their bri
dal tour, and, on calling for a room,
were shown into the elevator, which
they in their innocence took for a bed
room. When the servant, who had gone
for some matches, returned, he found
them partially disrobed, and expressing
their dissent at the closeness of the room
and the scanty sleeping accommoda
tions. '
There are gomo medical enthusiasts
in England who think perhaps it would
be wise if all small or unhealthy chil
dren were suppressed when first born.
A writer says had this been the practice
in the past we should have had neithor
Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Goethe, or Sir
Isaac Newton. The last might have
been put into a quart pot when born.
Voltaire was too small tto' christen for
some days, and Goethe and Hugo were
not expected to live.