V 1 . I ; , a c n v x r r-r if 1: .it Brvnr.tc a a r a n r r VOL. II. lUIXnVAX 1A TltUltSDAY, JANUARY 1:J. -187?). '(. 47. ilE iffl (n if tut m ' fJJJl CUT J Aiik Me no More. A me no moro. Tlin moon may draw (ho sna ; Tho cloud may stoop from hoavon unci tnlm tlio shape. With fold to fold, of mountain or of rnpo. Hut, oh, too fond, whmi have I answered thee ? Ask me no more. Ak me no more. What answer nliouM I pivc ? I love not hollow rheck or.faded eye j Vet, oh, my friend. I will not have thee dio I Auk me no more, lent I Hhould bid tho live ; Ask me no more. Ask me no more. Thy fate and inme'nre sealed. I strove against the stream Riul all invain. Lei the groat river take me to the main. No, more, dear love, for at a touch I yield ; Ask me no more 1 A STORY AIJOl'T PEARLS. We belonged to the same club. I pre rred his game of whist to tliat of any corner I cannot imagine. What I am anting about happened some venrs ago. it waS a Summer afternoen w'licn I met Clap von Trap in the park. "Here," said he to me, "is the chance I have ieen waiting for Rome time, that of see ing you again and talking to you alone," nnd with this lie drew a small velvet covered box from his pantaloons pocket nnd, opening it, displayed some ex quisite pearls. " Here is richness," lie continued. ' They came from Califor nia. Oysters pearl ovsters there in greater quantity than the edible ones in Chesapeake Bay. It's only a question of how many bushels, not of shells, but of pearls, we want. Divers, Luzon they rail them, do the business now. Here, take this one and look at it, It is not worth more than $100. There is just 82, i o() in this box. Take this one and give it to your wife, with mv compli ments. Know the place where thev are found? Don't I? These come direct from the bed. The original Spaniards used to fish there two centuries ago, but the very existence of the place has been lost to the whole world, excepting to three men, and I nm one of them. You have heard of "La Pepegrina,' the most beautiful pearl in the world, given to Pluhp II., King of Spain, nnd now in the royal treasures of Madrid, only equaled by the one belonging to the Princess Yousoppoff? Seen the Peve gnna when you were in Spain? Of course yon did; as big as a pigeon's egg worth $150,000. Queen Isnbelln.they do say, tried to Rwallow it when she 'was driven out, but could not bo't it, and so was forced to disgorge. That pearl is a fool to what we can find, and that pearl was discovered as far as tra dition goes exactly where our beds are. I have been waiting for the last three weeks trying to find one good, solid fel low, to embark in ii;Is enterprise. Don't talk to me about your fortune. Here it is. We could, if we wanted to, make pearls as cheap as glass beads, but we are too clever for that; we will only let them out ns they are wanted; no breaking down of the pearl market' ' "Every difficult' has been overcome" he continued. "There has been no end of ingenuity lavished on matters of this kind. There were lots of people.during the war, who racked their brains in venting subaqueous machines for hu man destruction. All of them failed either they would not work, or the men in them could not be kept alive all save one, and I have secured the patent of that one. All you have to do is to build your boat, pui a dozen men in her I nm willing to make the first trip in her and down, down we go, to nny depth under water, nnd we can sail 'around quite as comfortably one hundred fa thoms deep as a yatch would on the sur face of the North River. Then there is such an ingenious method for letting the men out so that they can work under water. Don't ask me about the air to keep them nlive with ; that is the first problem we had to solve. We are not so stupid as to suppose that human be ings could live underwater without air. All modern inventions of this character start with tho idea of supplying air from theoutside. Maybe, he went on, still toying with the pearls, "you have read those wonderful letters of Otto Plasms. You think I nm not a rending man, but I nm. He declares somewhere that on shipboard the time must come when, in stead of stowing away huge tanks of water for the use of the sailors, or even distilling sea-water, something else must be done. He even asserts that water in the Groat Desert of Sahara will be sooner or later supplied to those that use it by those simply natural but ever progressive laws of science. By combining oxygen nnd hydrogen in certain well-known and defluite pro portions, we can manufacture water. If water can be produced, what is to pre vent our manufacturing air? Funny, wouldn't it be, if that particular case mentioned by old Adam Smith should really turn up, that of a man having the monopoly of air ? Now follow me. All we have to do is to take in n cargo of oxygeu nnd nitrogen. But you say, nnd very properly, why not take in air at once ? Because it would occupy too much space, and make us so buoyant, that no matter how we condensed it, we would never sink. We take our sub marine boat, then, freight her with pick nxes. rakes, put our men on board, and with our tweney-five, fifty, or a hundred pounds of chemicals, down, down we go. Here I remember Von Trap plung ed his stick, on elegant Malacca, into the ground, and I followed suit with my cane, thrusting it into the soft sod away above the ferule. " You grapple with the oyster," continued my friend, mov ing round his stick in the dirt, "select ing only the biggest and fattest. We collect five ten fifty tons of them. Then up we come, and dump them on the shore, and back again we go for more and more. Here does not, howev er, end the business. The East, my boy, and Ceylon, Coromandel, and Con datchy ! We will monopolize the trade. Then what say you to coral, and the Mediterranean, and the tons on tons of that delicate blush pink shade, worth its weight in gold, and then the more vulgar but useful sponge; and, then my scheme is limitless in its extent. I con ess it conf uses me some times, when I one rise, though ho invariably won lny money. , , when I happen to see hiin, he is always on the other side ot the street, or inst. tuminu ,.i think of it in nil its extent-. Those hid den wrecks, there argosies, those ships rich i bullion nnd plate, which lie scattered here nnd there, strewed nround purposely waiting for us. Think of it, now; all those fat old galleons, sunk by Drake and Hawkins, which have been waiting the William Thippses of the nineteenth century I Do not talk to me about Capt. Ki'dd nnd such trash, I tell you 1 never was in more sober earn est in my life, and nm I'Cftity to risk my nil in it,' It ia simply a mutter of doi Inrs and cents. Here nre my figures." nnd with this he drew out of his cigar ease n card, on which was written in a bold, clear hand, n whole row of figures. Handing me a cigar, nnd taking one himself, he went on. " Now, you shall judge for yourself whether I nm much out. of the way. Patent on the subma rine machine, with total nnd exclusive right to use it, in fact, the absolute cession of it, 73,000. They wanted $200,000, nnd n participation in the profits, for the United States nlone, but I nt-last got their price, nnd have the refusal of it for ten days- Cost of build ing the vessel, iron throughout, with engine nnd apparatus complete, $08, 875 02. Every item down on the con tract, with specifications, nnd the work ing drawings now in the hands of the first machine-shop in the eoitntiy. Chemist's potent, $100,000. That is steep, 1 must admit." " Quite so," I said. " So it seems to me still. But the confounded fellow has the secret, and laughs at me when I mention even a penny less. I did try ever so hard to make him taken portion of tho price in shares, but he has refused. All I can get out of him is his promise to be sat isfied with his money by instalments. Item third; Cost of material for making air of the primest quality, fifty pounds capable ot producing 7,-S.rJ,oh'J cubic feet of A 1 nir. nt thirty cents n pound, is $15. But I hnve no uoubt, from in quires I have made among the whole sale people, it could be bought in quan tity for twenty-two cents, and we might import it ourselves on a margin; nnd what n saving that would be, for we shall certainly want tons of it. Well, you must confess that $15 is cheap enough." Quite so," I replied. " Then comes the pick-nxes, crow- ilars, nnd implements necessary for digging out the shells from their beds. I figured that out at $150, nnd I may be under or over the mark. Now, to transport our craft to San Francisco, the future centre of our operations, we will have to build her in sections nnd put her together there. That will cost, by the Pacific Railroad, exactly $18,(539. I have seen the freight agent and con sulted tho tariff. It would be much cheaper round the Horn, but then the delay, nnd the months that must elapse before we could ot it there. It is too good n thing to be slow nbout. One .tliinrr mm-A - fvpw rt' itn rnpil nlld nnn. tain,with stores nnd food, et cetera, sny)l.p. his wife nnd his children a matter of $750 a month ; nnd now you viug, for the last ten hours, have it nil, which makes a total of $202, 420.(15 call it, if you please, a round $275,000, and add $25,000 for contingent expenses I never omit contingerl; ex penses ; ninny n good thing has been spoiled for want of that calculation and you have $1300,000, and that is an out side figure. Now," and here he paused for n moment, nnd ngaiu taking out the box of pearls, selected one or two of the smaller sizes, " have you," he said, "any idea of the worth ol a string of these things when they come from Ceylon? Aquadruplestringsome ten inches long, of good quality, will bring from $1,000 to $5,000. Thev would go in a gill measure. If a gill is worth that much, what is n quart or peck worth ? Then, Rmmnsn vt Klimihl imlv (rot n fu khv ns liio- n n 1inz.d-r.iit. for it i.evfeetl'v vi.lAit tliof. rtl.locf on.! turyryact rtva. ters hnve never been obtained nt all . What's the use of speculating ? It's fabulous undivined untold wealth within our grasp, in pearls nlone, not speaking of the flyers in sunken ships, All the rest of the world will have to como io us for the right to use our pro cess. I have omitted entirely the mother-of-pearl, worth nt least $300 a ton, which would more than pay the working expenses. Now what say you ? Here, take this pearl ; it will just grace your wife's stylo of beauty. It is 3,000 slinres we shall start with. We have put them at $100; , that will make a capital of $300,000, not anything like as much as is put up every day io make the mean est ring in Wall street. At ten per cent, interest, we have to give $30,000. Why. one dip into the sea will pay more than that ; we are morally certain to pay back the whole capital with six weeks' labor. Now I do not want you to bo the least bit dazzled by what I have told you. I know you are timidand I applaud you for it. Take your time nbout it, do not be hasty. Here, take this pearl ; I nd mire your delicacy ; c ! course I can't be giving such things to your' wife only keep it awhile, nnd if you do go in with us, then only accept it ; it's a trifle any how, and you may pay me for it out of your first dividend ; " and, saying this, selecting a very-pretty penrl, with p. del icate, warm, golden tint, lustrous, how ever, as a globule of quicksilver, he dropped it into my watch-pocket. "Ah!" he said, "I must go. Sorry I haven't my double wagon out to-day, or I might give you a lift." Here tfrove up his stylish equipage, and taking the reins from his servant, in n moment more my friend, Von Trap, was gone. As I ascended the steps of my pleas ant little house, my wife opened the door for me. "It is rather late; what hns kept you away from us so long ? " she asked. " It is not lute, I think," I replied, and drew out my watch, when out tumbled the pearl, which I had forgotten. The oil-cloth in the entry was of a dark, black ground, aud over and over rolled the pearl, flashing and shining. "Gracious! what is that?" asked my wife. "Only a pearl," I replied, in a sub dued tone. " Oh ! the pretty penrl. What lovely colors. So modest, withal ; " and pick ing it up, she held it between her first finger and thumb. My wife has a charm ing hand and graceful fingers, and I thought then, as I think now, that that thumb and finger, imparting a rosy hue to the lustrous penrl, made the best set ting for the gem I had ever seen. Then I told her nil about it, from be ginning to end. " I shnll exnmine closely, vigorously into the whole matter. Voil Trap want's me on the Board of Direction, and fin occupation is so very desirable. If it is all right I might venture n small sum." and then I tallied of Ceylon, sponges, coral, sunken treasure, not as well ns did Von Trap, but with a certain effect. Whether (ill the stock was tnken or not, I suppose I shall never be able to discover. What is certain was that there were some good names standing for shares. P. P. C. stock, though not on the regular list, was bought nnd sold by brokers, and wns, for a time, quite n fancy stock. Home people took shares in itj the dividends to be paid in pearls, placing the shares in their wives' or daughters' nnmes, nnd in many p. draw ing room, pretty women would talk of their irospective pearl parures, nnd wonder how ninny pearls it would take to span their graceful necks. As I had Ke ad : ?f S it- , some taste in designing, mv tracing ornaments of n decorative nature, suit able for ear-rings, pendants, and brace lets, all of pparl. were engpfly sought after. The first difficulty was about the patent. No sooner was the P. P. C. the purchaser than injunctions, from America nnd Europe, nnd even Asia and Africa, I believe were showered on us. The whole world clamored infringe ments, Sonu we had to buy off, whilo others we had to fight in Court, Then came delay on delay as to the building of the submarine boat, I Bpent days and weeks in traveling between the office and the machine-shop, nnd quite I ruined my self in buying new clothes, inose i wore neing soiieu nv ine msi j ami oil in the dingy shop where it was building. After that came the chemical annoyances. There was no doubt about our being nble to make nir, nnd of the finest, purest, nnd most exhilernting charncler? in the office. We. used to prepare it by the ten cubic feet, hi n nicely-lacquered gasometer, nnd breathe it too, and enjoy the experiment very much, and we made every one who came in try it, nnd nil the visitors declared it to be the freshest nnd nicest air they had ever used, and some people of a j philanthropic turn of mind were sim guiue " that if " as they said, " we could only turn a stream of our prepared air ; into isaxter-stroet, or into tenement houses, in the Summer, we would save the city from nil sickness, besides ameli orating the condition of tho poor." But there was a hitch somewhere, suspected by me alone. Sometimes now that I go over the whole matter, I nm inclined to think that the German chemist was Mephistophiles, disguised as an alchem ist. One day he would burst into the oftiee, drag me into the private room, fall on my neck, aud witn tears in his eves wanting to kiss me would de clare, " That all was besser ns goot; that had beeu in an at mosphere of his own preparation, that they were doing well, and that the last obstacle in the manufacture had beeu removed," but adding " that he must have a thousand dollars more before he could go on." Thnt very night he would wake me and the neighbors up by howl ing my name at the door, and shouting " that his child wns ill dying, from there having been an overdose of nitro gen in his mixture. Very soon my thousand dollars went, and with it some of the stockholders, who preferred having their stock forfeit ed to paving further assessments. I must coufesa that so far, Von Trnp had stood manfully by us. He had bought an immense stock of pick-nxes, oyster-rakes, crow-bars at nominal i prices, which were on exhibition in the ! office. Little by little my ten thousand dollar interest became fifty thousand, and shortly I became the largest share holder, Von Trap complimented me on my pnioK aim oiiereo me the rres- idency, which 1 declined. I still hud unlimited faith in the P. P. C. so much so as to write a brilliant prospectus, ' which I had neatly printed on tinted j pnper, with a red line round the edges, which was distributed by the thousands. We advertised, it, too The Peregrins Pearl Company in all the lending pa- ! pers, and the reader may have seen notices of it. Here commenced mv nrsi co uness wiui on i rap. ae would write the advertisements himself, in the .. A 1 . -11 it r., regular patent medicine, lottery scheme style, which was against my judgment. Calls for money became now incessant. The contractor who wns building the submarine boat was always calling for advances, threatened " to leave right off then, and not drive in another rivet or turn a bolt unless so many thousand dollars were paid. We hall made so many alterations and improvements," he said " that it would cost twice as much as the original drawings and specifications called for." Later I noticed that my friend Von Trap had not been in the office for ten days. Presently, in the streets, I heard his name used m connection with that ol a novel process for facilitating City transit. It was described as something marvelous nn electro-motor, by means of which passengers could be conveyed from the Battery to Spyten Dnyvel in three minutes, and nt a cost not .exceed ing seven-eights of a cent per head. Still I labored on, was President, Secre tary, Consulting Engineer, correspond ent, clerk and errand boy : did every thing but sweep out the P. P, O. offices. The chemist now almost drove me mad. He became insatiable in his demands, and seemed to hold me personally re sponsible for the whole company. If he was not the evil one, at least lie was the personification of greed and avarice. Where the thousands of dollars he had received went to was a mystery, as he was always squalid, wretched and dirty to a degree. Now he lured me on with his secret, which he assured me was within grasp, and wrung from mo my last few dollars. At last, after a day of agonizing labor, he came to me with a preponderous demand for more money, which I refused. "Give me," I said, "the process perfected in every detail, and I will do what I Can to raise the money, but not one oent more until then' A Paducoh small boy was fined eighty cent in the City Court the other day He looked nt me with his sinster eyes and, very coolly drawing from his pocket a small glass tube, heremctically sealed, one end of which was drawn to a fine point, he said : "Zee. You must bay me vife tousand dollar, now on do' Fiphot, or I breaks oil' the leetle sphlinter of glass here, nnd you and I, nnd everydings in dis house, shall be smrtshed into leu hundred tousand mil' lion ndonis 1" nnd with this, his face livid with passion, he laid the glass tube on my desk. Had it been a sixty-four pound shell, with lighted fuse, I should not have eared. I knew that I was ruined that the brend had been taken out of my wife and children's mouths, and WHS ! indifferent ns to my fate. With one vigorous kiok, well applied, for all my upset energies culminated then, I sent the alchemist flying out of the room, headlong down the steep stairs, nnd hardly knowing what I did, rushing iwck to my itesK, tnrew uie internal thing nfterhim. The glass tube lit on thing niter mm. ne glass tune m on he landing, fizzled for a moment no ! XAc ,tLnn q, nna tImt j The nWemist I never saw more. I Next day I shut up the concern. The shell of the sub-marine vessel, half com- ph-ted, was sold for old hon, the price it brought settled some of the lawyers ; fees : the office furniture was seized bv the landlord for the unexpired lease. All I had left was the seal. I have it now. Poor wife and children ! They took their share of the misfortune heroically without n mnrmiin The day of the, downfall of the P. P. C. she offered me a pearl, which I had fortunately insisted on buying of Von Trap, to psy any outstanding debt thnt might be owing some honest creditor. Such a one wns found. Bridget McCosh, the woman who had cleaned the office for n six month, nt $5 a month, put in hei very just claim for $30. My wife took the pearl to nn eminent jeweler. "A beau tiful Indian penrl, Madam," he said, "and we shnll be quite 2uVased to have it back ngnin," "How havo it back ngnin !" nsked my wife, "We know every gem of value we dis pose of : which helps us, to trace lost stones. Of course, in this case, there is nothing of he kind. Could tell this particular stone in n thousand. Though not large, it is nearly perfect as to shape and color. Allow me to refer to our books. Ah, yes here it is. AVe sold this nnd quite a lot of them, say eight, ten months ago. I think $100 was the price then paid for it, We hnve no idea of taking any unfair ndvautage of yon, ! Madam. Pearls like this, rate nt any j time, are just now nt nn ndvnnce of fully ten per oent. We can just place such n I pearl to-day, to match one n customer j wants for a bridal gift, and we will give , $125 for it, which 1 assure yon is a fancy ; price. Will you take the money or our j check : perhaps you might wnnl some j jewelry in exchange for it ? Any way ; to suit you, madam. The char-woman was paid, nnd, good soul, such a kind friend she has been to ' us since. A Strange Story. An exchange gives a long account of ; one Henrietta Bobinson, who nbout ; twenty years ago was accused of poison i ing a man nnd woman in Troy, New j York, and wns convicted and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commut ed to imprisonment for life. She was styled at the time the "Veiled Murder- ess," as she kept herself closely veiled in court and in prison, and would neith- r uliftu' lim- fnnn nnr n-iV nnv nv-nmif of herself or her family. She has now ; been eighteen years in nmg Sing, nnd generally enjoys good health and spirits, ' and preserves 'her good looks. She was a very handsome woman when she went ' to prison, nnd was supposed to belong to some high family either in England or Ireland. She has never vet ! breathed a word in regard to her fain- ily which has reached the public. She i(;eailea .Ml., Robinson" by the other .,.: .i, .i n i-1. highest respect. Having been uniform ly exemplary in conduct, she has been granted many trifling privilege not all owed ordinary prisoners. Her cell is a curiosity in its way. It is represented to be a miniature conservatory, embrac ing some rare floral productions, Itis also embellished with many other evi I .. r lltlV. IU.Hi. dences of refined taste and culture. She : is mre communicative to the ehaplaiu ! of the m.:SOI1 ti...n anv one u ward him she occasionally throws off a portion of her habitual reserve. It is supposed she has made some important communications to him under the seal of secrecy, and he states that before many months shall have passed there possibly may be more disclosures given to the public in regard to her case, which will j present fier in a different light than that I in which she has hitherto stood. This i chaplain, who attended hr trial, has always expressed a belief in her entire innocence of the fearful crime for which she was convicted. 'ew Year Resolution. The commencement of a new year be ing an excellent time to "turnover a new leaf," let those who onght to turn, do it. Let those who have habits that are eb- noxious to other people or injurious to' themselves, resolve to abandon them. Let those who practice deceit and dis honesty resolve to be honest men. Let those who are indolent and mere leeches upon their friends or upon societv, nerve themselves up to a resolution of. manly activity and usefulness. Let croakers resolve to look henceforth upon the bright as well as upon the dark side of every object and event. Let profane men resolve to pronounce none but chaste and proper words henceforward. Let the reckless cultivate the spirit of moderation and circumspection. Let the .rash and thoughtless tame their headlong steeds. Let professing Chris- uansiuDorvery nara to oeunristians "in spirit and in truth." Finally, 3et all of us. old and young, rich or poor, male or female, resolve t square all our mo tives, ambitions and conduct by that noble and ennobling rule of, life, name ly: Do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us. That one "golden ride," coupled with faith in God's in finite goodness, is, after all, the grand solution of life's toughest problems; it is the finger of Wisdom pointing to hu man justice, peace ana Happiness. A Whirl hit! of Fli c hi j.'ilglniid, A most remarkable phenomenon oecui ed at King Sutton, near Banbury, Eng land, n local paper says, by which n man had a narrow escape. No less than sev enteen trees were torn up by the roots, thirty-six more or less injured, and 116 I ynrdsof stone wall thrown down. About : I o'clock in the day the people in the i neighborhood saw something in the j shape of a haycock, of great size, rovolv , big through the air. It wns nccompnn I ied by fire nnd a great deal of smoke ! and sometimes was seen high in the nir, I nnd nt others near the ground. It made j ft great noise, something like n railway ...n.i.litw It ..... M. a Dilnliu nf Col. North, Jr. P., Sir William Brown, Burt., and Mr. Leslie Melville Cart wright, sixty-one yards of whose park wall at one place has been torn down from the foundation. It tore up one of thp a t 1)p,.vii trees on Sir William irowll'R PStte, and nbout twelve tons of Lnrtl ...m, it ..(1 in.phou WPrP pnrth v.m, it an(1 10 i,vnnouos , (,nn.;,nl fth(mt ju (,u (lh.,,cti(ma. A named Adams, who was breaking st on t,p myn hp ,lcnV(l t v man stones great noise ns if a railway tram wns coming up. -i-i , .V i. 1 t,,at ,)ml bcpn Rt.lmlig nmlor a min. uk, uot3 Wnf( t(,m There wfl8 ft : heavy rain nt the time, nnd few minutes before n vivid flash of lightning. For n mile nnd a half there nre traces of the ih-st ruction caused by the phenomenon, which seems to have traveled almost in ' ft straight line from south to north. It was followed by n whirlwind thnt swept everything before it, nnd n pond it pass ' ed was dried up, stones carried n dis tance of forty yards, and railings knock ed down. Frightened cattle ran nbout the fields, uianv of . which nre strewn with the brandies of the trees struck. The people were greatly alarmed some of them say the noise wns terrific and they thought thnt the earth would open mid' swallow exerything up. After trav eling for about two miles the tire meteor . seems to have expanded itself, i'lTiticsirrisTi. I The political events of the year which ! has just departed have not been marked. Nothing of importance, politically, hns oceured in England, France lias been agitated, but though there hns been n great stirabout constitutional reforms, 1 M. Thiersis still master of the situation. In Germany the most important events : have been ihe expulsion of the Jesuits and the complete rupture with the Pope which it proclaims to the world, nnd the lloodimr of the upper house)!' the Prussian Legislature to swap the retro- i grade majority against the Counties Be- j ment in the puddier. The heat neces form bill. In our country the rise cul- : sarilv generated bv the operation is so mination, nnd collapse of the "Liberal " movement for the reform of the Govern ment of the United States was the most notable political event. Eighteen hun dred and seventy-two wns Presidential year. The Liberal Convention met on May 1, nt Cincinnati, alid nominated Hoi-ace Greeley and B. Gratz Brown for President and Vice-President. The Democratic Convention, which met at Baltimore, July 0, almost unanimously nominated th since candidates. June 5 the Republican Convention met at Philadelphia and nominated U. S. Grant and Henrv Wilson for President and Vice-President of the United States. The flection was heV. in all the States except Louisiana o i ovember 5. Ihe electoral votes of i"l the States but six aro pledged to General Grant. The 'troubles in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama are important. The interna- j tional events were the award of the Gen- , eva Tribunal in our favor, made Septem- ber 11; the Emperor William's decision cess. The successful substitution in of the San Juan boundary question in ' modern times of machines for perform our favor, made October 10; and the ! ing various operations which formerly prosecution of the Khivan war by seemed to require the intelligence nnd Russia, which, trivial ns the matter now dexterity of n living being for their ex appears, may ultiniat.dy embroil Eng- j ecution, justifies the expectation that land nnd Turkey in war. The Emperors the study now being given to the organ- of Russia, Austria nnd Germany met fit Berlin, on September 1, but ibe Confer-i euce appears as yet to have no real sig- J nificance. i The Profits if !liliiur. Some little idea may be formed 'of the severe injury which would be in flicted on trade in the event of a general movement in favor of temperance, by the following account given by Bailie Lewis, at a recent niertincr of the I'din burgh Town Council, ot the number of persons seen by the police to enter one of the "hard-ale" shops in that city during one day. A " hard-ale" shop is a house where customers maV get drunk for twopence halfpenny. One penny- worth of "hard-ale" followed bv three - halfpenny worth of spirits, will, it is stnted, reduce even a seasoned toper to n stnte of hopeless stupefaction. From 8 to 9 A. M. there entered the establish ment i l question on a Saturday in July 100 men and 38 women; froia 9 to 10 o'clock, 120 men aud 65 women; from 10 to 11, 90 men and 10 wo-nen; from 11 to 12 noon, 110 men nnd 48 women; from 12 to 1, 85 men and 55 women; from 1 to 2, 100 men nnd (50 women; from H t J 3, 115 men and (10 women; from 3 ' i 112 men and (50 women; from 4 to 5, 67 men and 43 women; from 5 to (5. 108 men fnd 47 women: from 6 to 7. 128 men nnd 50 women; from 7 to 8, 75 meu ami 50 wo men; from 8 to 9. 120 men and 55 women; from 9 to 10, H I men and 55 women; from 10 to 11, t'.l men and 43 women in all, 1,511 men nnd 709 women. If the proprietor c-f 'h's "hard ule" shop made only a proiit o: one halfpeuuy 011 each individual, he wou'd have a total profit of 1 15s. per day, or 110 less than 1,482 a year. It is remarkable to ob serve by these figures how steadily the " women " drank throughout the day there is but little variation in their num bers from hou:- to hsur ia comparison with that to be seen in the cases of the " men. " The constancy of women peeps forth in every transoction of life, while man, vile man, is fitful even in his cups. Plain Enough. The following is the account of a little trouble in Louisville as given by a police officer: " Far as I knows, your Honor, they be werry gooa young men. They started to take their classes at school, wich I thinks be werry good for them ; but they fell in with a West Ender. That's what beat 'em, and they didn't go to school. They raised a row, may it please the Court, and Mr. Green he stuck his thumb into Mr. Nobb's mouth, and that thumb hasn't been seen since. That's all I know about it." The Puddling of Irmt. This process f puddling Wns invented by Henry Cort, mi Finglishmnn, nnd patented' by him in 17H3 nt?d J7H1 ns n new process for " shingling, welding, nnd manufacturing iron nnd steel into bars, plates, nnit i';d, of purer quality and in larger quantities Il.'n" hereto fore, by a more effectual npplieniliW of fire machinery." For this invention Cort has been'called " the father of the iron-trade of the British nation," and it is estimated that lila inveutionhas, dur ing this century, giving emplovniont to (5,000,000 of persons, nnd increased the wealth of Great Britain by 33,000,000, 000. in his experiments for perfecting his process, Mr. Cort spent his fortune, and though it proved so Valuable, he died poor, having beeu involved by the Government in a law-suit concerning his patent which beggered him. Six years before his death, the Govern ment, ns nn acknowledgment of their wrong, granted him n yearly pension of 1,000, and at his death this miserly recompense was reduced to his widow to $025. When iron is simply melted and run into any mold, its texture is granular, and it' is so brittle ns tobe quite unreliable for nny use requiring much tensile strength. The process of puddling consisted in stirring the mol ten iron run out in n puddle, nnd had the effect of so changing its antomic arrangement as to render the process of rolling it more efficacious. The pro cess of boiling is considered an improve ment upon this. The boiling furnace is an oven heated to an intense heat by a fire urged with a blast. The cast-iron sides are double, and n constant circula tion of water is kept passing through the chamber thus made, in order to pre serve the structure from fusion by the heat, The inside is lined with fire brick covered with metallic ore and slag over the hottpm and sides, and then, the oven being charged with the pigs of iron, the neat is let on. llie jugs meir, and the oven is filled with molten iron. The pnddh'r constantly stirs this mass with a bar let through a hole in the door, until the iron rolls up, or "fer ments," as it is called. The fermenta tion is caused by the combustion of a portion of the carbon in the iron, and as soon as the excess of this is consumed, the cinders nnd slug sink to the bottom of the oven, leaving the semi-fluid ninss on the top. Stirring this about, the puddler forms it iuto balls of such a size as lie can conveniently handle, which nre taken out nnd carried on Hi tie cars, made to receive them, to " tho squeezer." lo carry on tins process properly requires great skill and judg great thnt very lew persons have the physical endurance to stand it. So great is ft thnt 'the clothes upon the person frequently cntch fire. Such strain upon the physical powers natur ally leads those subjected to it to indulge in excesses. The perspiration which flows from the puddlers in streams while rngnged in their work is caused by the natural effort of their bodies to'preserve themselves from in jury by keeping their normal tempera ture, Such a consumption of the fluids of the body causes groat thirst, and the exhaustion' of the labor, bath bodily and mental, leads often to the excessive use of stimulants. In fact, the work is too laborious. Jts conditions are such that no one should be subjected to them. The necessity, however, tor judgment, experience, and skill on tho part of the operator has up to this time prevented the introduction of machinery to take the place of human labor in this pro izatiou of industry will lead to the in- veution of machines which will obviate the necessity for human suffering in the' process of puddling. Such a consum mation would be an advantage to all classes concerned. The attempts which have been made in this direction have not as yet proved entirely successful. Agriculture in I'li-wia. The agricultural correspondent of the : Independnnee of Beige writes that in j Russia there are immense tracts ot land j of nn extraordinary fertility, from which, owing to the want ot population ! capable of creating a domestic market, i whatever is produced cnuonly be ot use 1 when exported. Um new railways have, therclore, given an immense impetus to acrriculture in Russia, which the corre spondent believes destined to become a formidable competitor with the agricul turists of the West. Great improve ments have been effected in all depart ments of the art of late. Scarcely ten years ago the grain in the Southern provinces was reaped by the hand, threshed in tho most primitive fashion, and loaded on carriages drawn by oxen, was borne to the nearest port whence it was despatched to the great London market. All this required twelve or fit teen months. Now everything is changed. Reaping is done by ma chinery, threshing is accomplished by threshers of the latest and most perfect modol. the grain is loaded at the nearest station for Odessa, where large steamers receive it in order to bear it to its desti nation. Four or five months ut most suffice to bring the corn from the Step pe of Russia to the immense grain it , -es of tho West. In a few years inure the Russians will grind their corn themselves, and export the flour ready prepared, thus keeping for their own mirooses the refuse which is useful for cuttle, and turning to theft- own advan tage all that is now loss in changing the wheat into flour. A Practical Joke. As the through truin from Providence for Worcester was abnut leaving the other day, some one called out at the doors, "Pawtucket and Y-Hey Falls passengers take the forward cu- on the other track." There were so ne sixtv passengers on the train to wiiom the cull seemed applicable, all of whom very innocently passed to the other car, as requested, supposing it was to be attached to the traiu. The point of the joke was perceptible when the the train had gone, and the credulous victims found themselves obliged to wait in the station for one hour. ItciiH of Interest. A slaughtered hog in Lynchburg, Va. eighteen months old, weighed 900 pound net. A boy, fifteen years of age, died lately in rk, Louis from the effects of intem perance. The convicts nt the Juliet, Ill.. Peni tentiary average days wages of 5i cents each, 'linking segars. The (,'ttlrlr in Hi 'tHli doubts if there nre twenty renlly healthy nnd Mrong women in nny Sbite in the Union. The Mcthntlit confesses to being n Utile astonished to se " how patroni zing the new school of sceptical science is to the Almighty." During the first nine months of l7'i England made away with 10,109,041 gallons of spirits 1,1(53,419 galloifs more than she drank during the corres ponding time in 1871. " I wish von would pay n little atten tion to what I nm saying, sir," roared an irate lawyer at an exasperating wit ness. "We'll, I am paying us little r,s I can," was the calm reply. Those who believe nothing often make others belieye most: a the best actors in our theatres nre those who re tain the most perfect command over Iheir feelings, voice and countenance. A woman of North Wheeling, vn., one Mrs. Dailev, was found by her bus- . band literally roasted to death 011 Chrwt mas evening, her clothinghuving caught fire whilst she was nlone in the house. According to a St. Tanl paper, noses, ears nnd fingers, which have been brok en off while in n frozen and crisp con dition, may be picked up in large quan tities from' the sidewnlks of that frosty city. There are now published in the United States 6,432 periodicals, of which 507 nre issued dailv. 105 tri-weekly, 110 semi-weeklv, 4,750 weekly, 24 bi-wecK-ly, 91 semi-monthly, (585 monthly, 4 bi monthly, nnd 55 quarterly. A novel pet hns a lady of DanielvihV. Conn, in the shape of a butterfly, which nestles in her hand, alights upon her shoulder or hair, or, by way of variety, hides in the knot of 'ribbon at her throat, wnen he feels like a nap. Fort Ontario, Oswego. N. Y., i i charge 01 a sergeant uini iui-. i- ....... The other day the seargeant put one of the men into the guard-house, set another to guarding him, and pnt the remnining one in chnrge of the fort. Mrs Samuel Colt made $800,000 proiit out of revolvers last year. She has 11 lovely daughter who will inherit, $8,0(10, 000. Klntira Cazrilr. This may be coirect ns to figures, but the " lovely daughter" happens to be a son with a will of his own. Htn-lfm-il Po(. According to the North China Jfrrahl, on the 13th nnd 14th of. October last in. less thnn 115 criminals were beheaded at the execution ground nt Matow. Of these some 46 were kidnappers, who were all strangled first and then decapi tated. The man in Danbury who enjoys the moHt sympathy, is he who chased a runaway team for half a mile, and finally succeeded iu heading it off, only to discover the driver iu the carriage looking very much astonished at the hallooing a nil panting rescuer. An old lady in Ottawa, Mich., was recently sitting iu an arm-chair sewing, -u-limi nil automatic rifle in the next room fell from its hooks and discharged. The ball went through n partition, pierced a table in the way nnd fatally wounded the old lady in the head. V hotel clerk who was banged up in a railroad accident recently.M'.ed the com pany for $20,000 for damage to his cheek, but the Judge told the jury he " did not want to influence them m their verdict, but thought ten cent would be nn ample sum for the 1111 my done." The annual report of the Chamber of Commerce of Milwaukee shows the re ceipts of the various products hist year. to lie as follows: Receipts I lour, 21.., 977 barrels ; wheat, 13,275,62o buslu; s ; oats, 1,608,018 bushels ; corn, 2,042 19(. bushels; rye, 410,133 bushels; barley, 1,447569 bushels. A school girl in one of the rural districts of l'ittsfield, Mass. was over heard trving to convince a school fellow that she'liked him better than sheet.! some other urchin of whom ne scemet jealous. " Of course I like you .better than I do Bill," said she, " for don t I miss words in my spelling lesson (ill purpose, so ns to be down to the loot ol the class where you are V" There is a duty o'f the hour which very few people seem to realize. Iho weight of snow of the density of the recent fall is nbout one-fifth the weight, of water; a cubic foot of it consequently weighs over 12 pounds, reckoning tho cubic foot of water ut 1,000 ounces. The roof of an ordinary dwelling house is something over 800 square leet 111 ex tent, nnd if we take the average dept . of the snow to be only one foot, we shall hnve on such a roof n burden of five tons. This is not more than n pood roof ought to bear, but there mo hun dreds of roofs in each city hardly able to Kiist.iin their own weight. Let house holders look to this without delay. What a Single Wave ( an Bo. There is a vessel in Queenstown har bor, savs an Irish paper, of 1,200 tons, which received from a single sea a sur prising umount of damage. This ves sel, a Norwegian, was struck by a sea or wave of so tremendous a character, in the late gale, as to sweep that portion of her cargo which was stowed upon the deck, iu a moment, into the sea; to carry off her cooking apparatus, made of cast 1 iron: to empty auu iu ureun uci-miuiwu, to smash her bulwarks and stanchions, to wound and bruise three of her men, . and to reduce four more to a state of weakness and syncope; to break tho mate's thigh aud wash a seaman over board, and finally to fill the cabin and damage all the proyisions, so uiui ine crew were uearly starving when they came into Queenstown. All these in j ur ies were produced in a moment by a single wave. It not only cleared the decks, but it extinguished hope in the heurts of the crew, who the moment they were struck never expected to see land again.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers