v
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Edljor and Publisher.
NIL DELIBERANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. III.
EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JULY 17, 1873.
NO. 20.
"6.
Sit
18
The Old Desk.
And bo to the dance thoy nil are gone,
And I sit hero by tho fire alone.
What shall I do to beguile the time ?
They will not return till morning chime.
I'll open, to pass the hours away,
A deck that's boon locked for many a day :
A little desk all blotted and scarred,
Oft by my childish fingers marred :
A little grave, where buried lie
Fond records of the days gone by
Of friends beloved whon my heart was young,
Of griefs that often my heart have wrung.
See in the yollow paper there
My father's and my mother's hair.
Thoylie together in loving fold,
One dusky tress and a ring of gold ;
And the dote is fifty years ap;o.
Ilere are two more but white as snow.
This lock was shorn from a Bister's head
When she lay so calm in her coffin bed :
This from tho friond who, through wind and
storm
Had failed mo never bravo heart and warm
Reading those faded letters o'er
May while away an hour or more.
What does this little box disclose ?
A faint, sweet scent a withered rose.
Again through the mist of years I see
The pardon fair with flower and tree
Tho fitful sky tho summor shower
The rich smell of mould and flower.
I recall the arbor, with ivy green,
Where weshelteredlnngcrthan need have been:
The dewy rose-bud given and taken ;
And then a blank and I awaken.
This little letter, tho last of all,
I open while softly the tear-drops fall
A child's note, written in spirits gay,
Troclaiming a coming holiday.
Ah ! little son, thou wilt como no more
With thy merry laugh to thy father's door.
IBtill must struggle in life's hard school,
But thou art under a gontfer rule. ,
I close the desk and I turn the key,
O'erwhelmed by tho tide of memory.
With tho loved and the Inst I pass the time,
Till the dancers return with tho morning chime.
ROLLIX WEST'S WILL.
"Well. I declare !"
Mis Chirrup wns always "declaring!"
misrht be snid. indeed, to be in the
indicative mood. Declare, we mny odd,
in her idiom, was a verb intransitive,
ui less thn note of admiration -with which
she invariably followed it niightbe taken
to be its ohieet.
"Well, I deelnre !" snid Miss Chir
rup, in n shrill whisper.
"Did you ever ?" replied Miss Chirk,
la (mother.
It was Rollin West's will thnt the two
were discussing. It wns very brief nnd
explicit. " I bequeath my entire es
tate, rent nnd personal, to my mece,
and attestation, wns ten tiieri naa ir n
The Misses Chirrup and Chirk
were too distantly related to the testator
to have entertained nnv considerable
hope on tneir own account. A triflinc
reminder, in deference to family eti
qnette, wns ns much as either had n
right to expect. But thnt Rollin West
should have left his whole fortune to
one of his nieces, to tho exclusion of
the other, whom everybody had sup
posed to be his favorite, took more than
the Misses Chirrup and Chirk by sur
prise.
Mr. West had been for mnnv venrs f
widower. His children had all died in
infancv, nnd n couple of orphnned nieces,
cousins to each other, and reared under
his roof, constituted his household.
That his lnrge fortune would be left to
them equally, was n point people took
for granted ; but should any discrimina
tion be mnde between them, nobody
would have hesitated to say it would be
in favor of Millie Granger, her uncle's
pet, whose blithesome smiles he had
been wont to call the sunlight of his
life.
Millie's loving heart wns too full of
sorrow nt her uncle's death, nndof grati
tude for his kindnesr. in bygone years,
to leave room for any feeling of reproach
at his last unnccountnble net, which the
Misses Chirrup nnd Chirk so enrnestly
protested n gainst.
An elderly maiden aunt came to live
with tho two young ladies, nnd the
household remained unbroken. Ex
cept the changes caused by tho vacancy
in their home, the lives of Ruth nnd
Millie continued ns before,
f It wns not till the cousins had resumed
their places in society that Millio be
gan to notice the difference made by
her altered, prospects. It was Ruth
now, and not herself, that was the cen
tre of attraction.
To be rid of the common herb of fops,
and to be no lonsrer pestered by their
silly flattery, Millie felt wns a thing to
be thankful for. But when Orville
Ryors turned his bnck upon her, and
joined the ranks of her cousin's ndmir
ers, she must have been other than n
woman not to feel it.
Mr. Ryors was the pet beau of Bil
lingdale. Handsome in person, nccom
plished in manners, nnd of fascinating
address, he was not one whose atten
tions were likely to prove distasteful in
any quarter, nnd when they were direct
ed townrd Millie Granger in a mnnner
sufficiently marked to excite no small
degree of envy, we need not be surpris
ed if, instead of repelling, she just a
little encouraged them.
It would have required a closer analy
sis than Millie had ever made of her
feelings to show her how little she real
ly cared for Mr. Ryors, nnd how much
she cared for Arthur Wnrren, whom
she had known nnd liked since they had
played and, sometimes, qunrrelled to
gether in childhood. But Arthur's self
examination hnd gone deeper. He de
votedly loved Millie, and knexo it. If
he had never snid so outright, it was
from motives of delicacy, prompted by
the difference of their positions. he
was a prospective heiress ; he was with
out fortune, nnd void of expectations,
save those whose realization depended
on himself.
Having never spoken ont, it may be
that Arthur Warren had no right to feel
aggrieved by the attentions pnjd by Mr.
Ryors to Millie. He should have re
membered that young gentlemen who
have nothing to say for themselves are
not privileged to stand in the way of
others who have.
But Arthur was not reasonable. He
ras not even candid. He quarrelled
with Millie on the score of Orville
Ryors, without a word of explanation
as to what concern it wns of hit if she
married thnt gentlemnn the next dny.
jnow Millie wns a girl of spirit. he
not only refused to decline Mr. Ryors'
attentions nt the unwarrantable dicta
tion of Arthur, but received them with
rather more encouragement than be
fore.
Feople began to say it would be a
match soon, nnd it might have been,
hnd not Millie's uncle died. For Mr.
Ryois, ns we have snid, was a very nt
trnctivo person, nnd Millie hnd not suffi
ciently scrutinized her henrt to be aware
that her chief interest in him sprang
from the plensure of having triumphed
where so ninny others hnd failed, nnd a
disposition to assert her own will.
When Arthur Warren left his native
village without so much ns cnlling to
hid tier good-by, Millie cued a little,
without well knowing why, nnd that
evening went to a ball with Orville
Ryors, nnd was among the gayest of the
gay. It is very likely she would then
and there have accepted Mr. Ryors,
hnd he said the word, just to show how
little she cared for Arthur Warren.
The grief that Millie felt at her uncle's
death for a season overshadowed nil
other thoughts. But when time at
length had so tempered her sorrow that
her life began again to now in its news-
tomed channel, it wns not with n little
chngrin that she beheld the man whose
attentions had been lately so devoted
to her that people began to couple their
names significantly, turn nnd follow
her fortune instead of herself.
Millie knew now how little she had
ever cared for Orville Ryors ; but would
others understand it ? The thought
stung her past endurance. And the
meanness of him who thus humiliated
her scarce exceeded in her eyes that of
her cousin Ruth, who permitted, in
stead of spurning his advances.
In the bitterness of her heart, Millie
resolved to quit her cousin b nbode, nnd
make her way to the great city, trusting
that where so many live there must be
many ways of getting n living, some of
which would bepen to her.
She had been liberally supplied with
money during her uncle's lifetime, nnd
had husbnnded enough to meet the ex
penses of her journey, nnd, for a time,
her living. So oue day, without a word
to nny one, she secretiy packed her
trunk, caused it to be conveyed to the
railway station, and took the train for
New lork.
The dny nnd nierht her journey lasted
was oue of alternate hopes and misgiv
ings. At times she would nave Jain
turned back, but when she thought of
the ieerincr tongues behind her, her
eyes would flash through her tears, nnd
though her lips quivered, her heart
would again become firm and resolute.
Millie had never seen the city before,
fth din Hud buntlo confuted her. ' S"r-
hotel runners quick to perceive her in
experience, she found herself nt last,
without her own volition, seated in
carriage whose driver undertook to
eonvey her to the Kickshaw, tho best
house in thecity, he assured her, though
it hnd not a very inviting look,
Millie thought, as the carriage stopped
in front of it.
" Your fnre, miss," said the driver,
lumping down " m-e dollars, yon
know.
It was not the extortionate demand
thnt brought n troubled look over the
girl s face, rutting Tier hand into lier
pocket, she found her money had uis
appeared. She searched everywhere,
but in vain. She had doubtless been
robbed in the crowd nfter leaving the
train. A feeling of hopeless terror over
came her at the thought of being there,
a total stranger, without a cent in the
world.
Iu a trembling voico Millio explained
her situation.
" That dodge won't do," said the
driver.
"No, it won't do," added a frowsy
looking clerk, who made his nppenrnnce
just tlien. "We enn't take people nt
tho Kickshaw that have no money, you
know."
" It's a rank swindle, an' I'll call a
p'liceman !" exclaimed the driver.
A crowd began to collect. The fright
ened girl sobbed nnd glanced appeal
ingly from one coarse face to nnother
without encountering a single look of
pity.
At this instant the driver and the
clerk, who stood close to the carriage
door, found themselves simultaneously
collared and thrust a considerable dis
tance asunder by a right-and-left shove
from a pair of vigorous arms.
" Millie Granger !" exclaimed a voice
that brought the blood back to the
maiden's blanched cheeks.
" Arthur Warner !" was all she could
answer.
" Well, I declare !" uttered a shrill
voice none other than Miss Chirrup's,
who, without Millie's knowledge, had
come to live in the city, and who chanced
to be passing at the time.
Mat ters were soon explained, and Miss
Chirrup, who had the kindest of hearts,
invited her relative home with her ; and
Arthur, having paid the driver his just
due, called another carriage, and es
corted the ladies to their destination.
He called round that evening and spoke
his mind to Millie. And Millie found
out she had always loved him. And
Arthur explained that it was only the
difference in their former prospects that
had kept him silent.
And Millie said she wouldn't care to
be rich if it wasn't for his sake. And
Arthur said he was glad she wasn't rich,
and added that he was earning a salary
that two could live on comfortably.
And, in short, the two lovers were as
happy as heart could desire.
Ruth Morgan's anxiety at Millie's
sudden disappearance had been relieved
by intelligence of her safety, and Ruth
was in high spirits when Mr. Ryors
called, determined, this time, to bring
matters to a crisis. He had more than
once tried the plan of gradual ap
proaches. On this occasion he resolved
to come directly to the point, and had
actually gotten half way on his knees
when Ruth said, quietly:
" Don't be too hasty, Mr. Ryors ;
yon 'may regret it."
" There is but one 'thing I can regret
your refusal."
" My uncle's will " Ruth began.
" I know ; it left you all he had," in
terrupted the gentleman j " but that it
nothing to me,"
" And quite as little, I assure yon, to
me, said Ruth. " Wirn un will took
effect my vtwle had nothing to leave."
The kneeling process was suspended
midway, and Mr. Ryors remained in a
very uneasy and not' altogether graceful
'l 1 T .(l . 1
pusmre, wiiiie ivmu continued:
" My uncle had some time before
made a deed, you see, conveying his
entile estate in trust for the benefit of
my cousin Millie, reserving only a life
interest to himself.
The hinges of Mr. Ryors' knees sud
denly uncrooked.
"Good good-morning, Miss Mor
gan, ho stammered.
" Good-morning, sir, said Ruth,
bursting into a ringing laugh when the
discomfited suitor s back was turned.
"It shall never stand!" said Millie,
when she and Ruth met, a few days
later. " Your claims on your uncle
were ns good as mine, and the property
shall bo equally divided."
" Don't trouble yourself, little one,"
said Ruth. "Before Tjncle Rollin pro
vided for you, our nunt, by an under
standing between them, settled her
fortune on me. Won't it console Mr.
Ryors to hear it ?" .
"" But that will of uncle's"
" Was made to save vou from a fortune-hunting
husband,1' replied Ruth.
The Railroad over the Andes.
The present nge is mighty in stupen
dous works! Years hence, with the his
tory of civilization before them, our
posterity .will believe that the coming
of the nineteenth century wns the be
ginning of the practical age. The
steamboat, the railroad, the telegraph,
the opening of the Suez Canal, the tun
neling of Mount Cenis, nre all followed
with a work so gigantic, so astounding,
that it is hardly to be believed, even by
this inventive and determined age. Tho
project to gird the Andes with the iron
band of a railway track, is not a new
subject for discussion. Its feasibility
has been in contemplation for years, but
the surprising and successful results
that have followed the attempt, is a
glorious and magnificent if it is a silent
eulogium on the indomitable persis
tence nnd ingenuity of the day.
The contract of the building of the
road between Callao and Oroya, was
signed between the Government of
Peru nnd Henry Meiggs, late of the
United States, but now the great rail
road king of South America, in the
year lSfi!), nnd the first earth was turn
ed iu Lima on the first of January,
1870.
The price agreed on for the comple
tion of the work was 27,000,000 sols (a
.iol being about 01 cents of an American
gold dollar) ; payments were stipulated
to bo made ns tho work proceeded, and
tho road was to bo oop''i-'i
ja to mo cruvciuuient within six
years from the date of contract. This
Mr. Meiggs is confident will be comple
ted, nnd his trust seems to be well
founded, as only nbonfc two hundred
more miles havo to bp finished. A
r-hort timo since an excursion was made
over the road, from Lima to a point
within sixty mile3 of Callao, the termi
nus of the work then accomplished.
Hie
Employment " Swindle.
It certainly does seem rathc-r strange
that petty swindlers should still find it
so easy to procure victims from among
a class bt persons w ho have a reputation
for "smartness." There is no older
swindle in use than the one known ns
the '.'employment bait," neither is there
any which has been so frequently ex
posed. Yet, in spite of these facts,
scarcely a week passes that we do not
hear of some person having been de
ceived by if. A young Vermonter, it
appears, was reeeutly induced to emi
grate to Montreal on' the strength of the
following advertisement :
"VYTANTED V young man in an office of an
11 American firm iu Canada Salarv Ho per
mouth, gold. A dopit of 230 cash is re-cpui-cd
: must make permanent ongugomeiit.
Only thoco who can meet tl'Cce requirements
need address J. C. Oopeway & Co., liox 330,
Montreal. Canada.
The young man now states that he
went to the " office " of " Copeway k
Co." upon arrival, paid his $250, with
out the slightest suspicion, agreed to
assume the position of a managing
clerk on tho following Monday, pre
sented himself, but. failed to find the
slightest traco of the firm. The lesson
was a severe one, it is true, for the Ver
monter had staked his all upon thnt at
tempt to belter his condition. How
ever, if his experience should have the
effect of savinghundredsof otheryoung
men from falling into a similar trap, the
8250 will not have been expended in
vain.
Swimming and Bathing.
Encourage the boys and girls in
learning how to swim, as it may be the
means of saving their own lives and
rendering them instrumental in saving
those of others in days to come. Also
impress upon tliir minds the great
necessity of caution ere they learn how
to take care of themselves in the water.
The death from drownings so prevalent
during the summer are among the
saddest incidents of the seoson, coming
ns they do so suddeuly, and what ren
ders them particularly distressing is
the fact that the great majority of them
are caused by heedlessness. Bathing
and swimming are healthy and delight
ful sports, and when participated in
with moderation, as all pleasures should
be in order to mako them enjoyable,
conduce greatly to the benefit of mind
and body. It is the excess in this, as
well as everything else, which produces
the harm, and this should be strictly
guarded against. Many a bright and
promising lad has lost his life or un
dermined his health ana hecome a
mfferer, by being too venturesome -in
the water, or going in too often. From
such items may we be spared the
chronicling during the present season
The police station officials at Bidde
ford weie considerably flustered the
other night by the demand of a newly
married young couple for lodgings, ft
seems that they had had a tiff with the
old folks, and penniless and friendless
they had been obliged to leave the
house on their wedding eve. A bridal
chamber is certainly something that
no well ordered police station should be
Lobster Fanning.
The Boston Journal of Commerce
gives the following interesting account
of a lobster farm on tho Massachusetts
coast. It is certainly the newest ottempt
at bringing the production of animal
food under man's control:
"The attempt to cultivate lobsters for
the lsarket was begun about a yenr ago ;
and though no very great results have
yet been'obtained.tho experiment pre
sents every indication of ultimate suc
cess. A space of some thirty acres of
flats having been enclosed by on em
bankment, the proprietor of the place
conceived the plan of hiring the use of
the enclosed water for a lobster pond.
Tre place was originally an arm of the
sea, and had a deep channel in the cen
tre, so thnt sufficient depth of water
wns secured. On building the dyke nn
arched wny wns made in it, so that the
tide could flow out and in at all times.
The opening being small, the tide only
rises and falls about three leet inside
and eight feet or more outside. This
keeps the inside water deep nt all times,
and at the same time prevents it from
becoming foul.
"During July and August last sum
mer, 40,000 lobsters, of every ago and
condition, wero let loose in tho pond.
Many of them were in the soft-shell
state, and many were unsalable on ac
count of a lost claw, or other mutila
tion. Food, in the shape of refuse from
the fish-market, was freely supplied
them, nnd a gate was put up at the en
trance to prevent their escape Unto the
sea. Nothing in particular hnppened
for several months ; and the enterpri
sing owner arranged nets for eels and
other fish, which ho caught iu the pond
in large quantities during tho fall and
winter.
"When tho ice had covered the pond,
holes were cut, nnd lobster traps were
put down. Good, size-ible hard shell
lobsters were nt once caught, nnd two
things were proved: first, the water
was deep and pure enough to keep the
fish alive, and secondly, the fish were
healthy, lor they had taken their hard
ened shells, in the usual manner, nnd
new claws had grown in the place of
those lost. In the spring, eels, perch
and a great many other kinds of fish
were taken from the pond in liberal
quantities, nnd now thnt- the spawning
see.son is well advanced, the farm has
cached its final and most critical stage.
Some 15,000 good, marketable lobsters
have been taken out nnd sold. Every
one was a male fish, as the female fish
were all returned to the water for breed
ing purposes, lue spawn is now in its
last stage, and in a lew weeks, it nil
goes well, some millions of-young lob
sters will swarm in tho pond.
" The proprietor is a keen, far-sighted
"-""I 11 educated, and thoroughly in
love with his biis,i,,r.9q ITi hns entire
confidence in the success it his venture,
:inu win maise n succeed n an.t ia,r can.
From a personal inspection of the lob
ster farm, we are inclined to think the
project destined to prove a financial
success. The fish already sold nre of
excellent quality, nnd have won a good
name in the market. I he number ot
lobsters that can live in the pond is
practically counth ss. If one-eighth of
the young fish live, a couple of years
will see the place stocked with millions
of salable lobsters. The expense is
small the rent, the food (which maybe
obtained for the asking), nnd the labor
of catching and preparing for market
being the whole of it. The experiment
is a very important one. If it succeeds
it will introduce an entirely new system
of lobster fishing, and do much to pro
vent tho destruction of the natural sup
ply. Nor is this all ; for the same pond
can be made to yield perch, flounders,
els, smelts, and other hsh in great
quantities at no additional expense."
Disregard of tho Teaching of Experi
ence. You rise in tho morning, and. while
dressing, take up a phiul containing a
tonic, of which a little has been pre
pared for you ; but after the first few
drops have been counted, succeeding
drops run down tho side of the phial
all because tho lip is shaped without
regard to the requirement. let mil
lions of such phials oie aunually made
by glass-makers, and sent out by thou
sands of druggists ; so small being tho
amount of sense brought t bear ou
business. Now, turning to the looking
glass, you find that, if not of the best
make, it fails to preserve the attitude
in which you put it ; or, if what is call
ed a "box" looking-glass, you see that
the maintenance of its position is in
sured by an expensive appliance that
would have been superfluous had a little
reason been used. Were the adjust
ment such that the centre of gravity of
the glass came in the line joining the
points of support (which would bo
quite as easy an adjustment), the glass
would remain steady in whatever atti
tude you gave it. Yet year after yenr
tens of thousands of looking-glasses are
made without regard to so simple a
need, i'resently you godownto break
fast, and, taking some Harvey or other
sauce with your fish, find the 'bottle
has a defect like thnt which you found
in the phial ; it is sticky from the drops
which trickle down, nnd occasionally
stain the table-cloth. Here are other
groups of trades, similarly so economi
cal of thought that they do nothing to
rectify this obvious inconvenience.
Having breakfasted, yon take up the
paper, and, before sitting down, you
wish to put some cool on the fire. But
the lump you seize with the tongs slips
out of them, and, if large, you make
several attempts before you succeed in
lifting it all because the ends of the
tongs are smooth. Makers and venders
of fire-irons go on, generation after
generation, without meeting this evil
by the simple remedy of giving to these
smooth ends some projecting points, or
even roughening them by a few burrs
of a chisel. Having at length grasped
the lump and put it on the fire, you be
gin to read ; but before you have got
through the nrst column, you are re
minded, by the changes of position
which your sensations prompt, that men
still fail to make easy chairs. Herbert
Spencer, in Popular ieimce Monthly.
Paxton, 111., has a new paper called
the Oi.nlet, which is to be "devoted to
life, liberty and the pursuit of green-
DftCKB, . .
A 'cw Southwestern Town.
Wlint a Visitor to Denlson soys of 111
Place.
Standing in the main street of Deni-
boii, the new Texas town, six hundred
and twenty-one miles southwest of St.
Ijouis, it was hard to realize, Bays a cor
respondent, that only four months be
fore our visit the site of the thriving
town was almost a wilderness, nnd that
not a building of any kind had ever
been erected, there. For all nronnd us
was Babel a wild rush of business, a
glory in affairs, an unbounded delight
in mere labor, which at once oppressed
and appalled us. Tho slightest indica
tion" of progress was pointed out as a
gigantic foreshadowing of the future
pre-eminence of Denison over the other
cities of the universe. "There ore from
2,500 to 3,000 people here now," snid
one gentlemnn to us ; "how's that for
four months ? That'll make some of
the incredulous folks take their frame-
houses off from the rollers !" an ex
pressiou intended to open up a startling
prospect for the future solidity of Deni-son.-
And. indeed, oil these enthnsias
tic pioneers of a new civilization were
jnsuiieu in ineirseemingiy wild propne
cies of grelftness. Northern Texas, un
der the beneficent influences of railroad
pioneering, is assuming o prominence
which hnd never been imagined for it
until within the last five years. As soon
as the railway had crossed the Red
river, a stream of immigration, which
the most sanguine had not hoped for.
set in. The Northwest seemed to have
moved en maxne. The tracts of fertile,
black-wax laud, which literally needed
but to be tickled with the plow to smile
a harvest, were rapidly taken up, and
Denison sprang into existence as the
chief town of the newly developed re
gion. Four months before our visit the
town was organized, and since that time
the Denison Town Company had sold
S90.000 worth of building' lots. The
town began its future with two rail
roads, which had not cost it a dollar,
coming to it at either extremity in n
county which does not owe n cent, nnd
nt tho outlet of one of the most fertile
farming regions in the world. It was
indeed like magic, the building of Deni
son. All the lumber for the houses wns
brought hundreds of miles, there being
none suitable in the vicinity ; nnd car
loads of timber were changed into rough,
but conimodius business establishments
in a twinkling. It was exceedingly re
markable, also, that in a community
one-half of which was undoubtedly made
up of professional ruffians, "terminus"
gamblers, and the offscourings of socie
ty, and where there was not yet a regu
larly organized government, there was
not more of terrorism. Every third
building in the place was a drinking
saloon with gambling appurtenances,
rilled nfter nightfall with a depraved,
adventurous crowd, whose profanity was
'pr"'"T. whose aspect was hideous.
Iu vulgar bestiality or language, in the
pure delight of parading tho incarnate
word under the mask of profane inde
cency, the ruffian as there manifest had
no equal. The carrying of firearms con
cealed is so expressly forbidden by the
laws of Texas at present, that shooting
rarely occurs, and there is no more dan
ger to the life or limb of the traveler
than there may be incurred on Broad
way, N. Y. Robberies were, of course,
of frequent occurrence in the gambling
hells, and doubtless are still ; but in the
primitive hotels, where tho passengers
awaited a transfer by stage to Sherman,
and where they were packed three or
four together in beds in a thinly board
ed room, through whose cracks rain
might fall and dust blow, they were as
sale from robbery or outrage as in any
hrst-cltiss hotel. Rough men abounded,
and would, without doubt, have knocked
any one upon the head who went alone,
unarmed, late at night, into their
clutches.
Tho business men of Denison are
stern, self-reliant and confident. They
have a thorough belief in Northern
Texas : intend to tame its wildness, and
make it one of the gardens of the world.
The Kansas and Missouri, and Illinois,
and Western New York character crops
out everywhere in Denison, nnd is the
chief reliance of tho town. The aborig
inal Texan looks on, and admires the
energy displayed. There is something
sublimely impudent, charmingly pro
voking, in the manner in which lie dis
appears from work and the street when
a cold "Norther" comes on ; in the cool
defiant way in which he forces others to
work for him, and the utter surprise he
mnnifests when he is accused of dron
ing. Yet this same man can leap to the
level of a hero when his rights are as
sailed : cau bathe a San Jacinto plain
with his best blopd ; can stand ot on
Alamo's breastworks until pierced by
an hundred wounds, and can ride at the
head of a brigade into the very gates of
death without losing one iota of his
magnificent firmness.
But the Northern Texan population
is rapidly assimilating in many respects
with the new-comers, and there is no
longer any vestige of the antique ostra
cism which made a Texan regard a
stranger as au iuferior being. Neither
is it 6afe in a new town like Denison to
judge a man, as we are forced to do in
large cities, by ins outer gari) oud man
ners. The huge hulking fellow with
one cneeK custenuea wiin touacco, and
with his clothes all so disposed that
they seem to have been thrown upon
him, will answer you with an the cour
tesy and grace of a high-bred gentle
man, and will show a consideration lor
your opinions and your remarks which
you do not always receive from the citi-
. -i- mi. l ii. .
zens oi ciues. j.ne rougnness is oi me
exterior only, and he who contents him-
slt with a passing glance will not pene
trate the shell.
The earnestness of the new town, the
almost religious quality of its ambition,
wasamusingas well as inspiring. Every
one talked in exaggerated figures : tho
rise in land was fictitious ; the estimates
of immigration were overdrawn ; the
"probabilities" were certainly elastio ;
but there was such hope ! Many men
who had only been in Texas a year or
two had already enriched themselves,
at the same time enhancing the values
of the localities in which they hod set
tled, and instances without number of
great chances, ruined by the stupidity
of the possessor of said chances, were
constantly mentioned. In' the little
i board newspaper office, it was the same
spirit of dauntless ambition J in the sa
loon, ngnin the some. "Sherman ain't
nothin' to this yer," snid one man to
me ; "we ve got the nine on her on sa
loons." Ho could not even allow n
neighbor town a pre-eminence iu vice.
"Gen. Sheridan s going to build a sup
ply depot here, 'n' then you'll see!" wns
the final annihilating rejoinder admin
istered to a enrping Shermnnite in our
hearing. All the inhabitants were de
termined to make out of this irregular
group of one-story wooden buildings,
sitting confusedly on the high rolling
land four miles south of tho Red river,
one of the principal capitals of the uni
verse ; nnd thoir zenl wns ns reviving as
new wine.
Who Write with Ease.
A newspaper man of experience ob
serves, that the "crowd of good writers
seeking employment of our gfeat jour
nals is painfully surprising. Whero one
retires in disappointment two others ap
pear. All possible outside influence is
solicited to assist m getting a position,
however humble it may be, and some
men are livii.g in promises of ' the first
vacancy.' All our newspaper writers
aro young men, simply because nfter a
few years of service they nre worn out,
and give way to the younger and more
hungry crowd. As a matter of surprise
I may'mcntiou that I once saw a gray
headed man serving as a reporter in one
of our courts, but I never met but one
case of the kind. The delusion to which
multitudes aro subject in considering
themselves called to write for the press
is only broken by hard experience. A
country clergyman told me lately that
he had made applications among some
leading editors for employment, which
he supposed conld bo readily obtained,
and was surprised nt the general refusal
of his services. At hist he condescended
to call on Bonner, for, though he pre
ferred n more solid sheet than the
Ledger, the latter was better than noth
ing. Mr. Bonner received him politely,
and told him ' he had matter engaged
to keep the paper full for three years.'
Bonner accepts no volunteer contribu
tions, and instructs his clerks to allow
none '.o be left for examination. The
disappointment of this clergyman was
painful ; but such things aro so common
as to become proverbial. Literary
young ladies ore also under a perpetual
disappointment. I commend literature
to this class as an accomplishment, but
not as a profession. A few ladies are
making a good living with their pens,
but what nre they compared with the
outside multitude ! Teople ore seldom
aware of the difficulties editors suffer
because of the limits of their journals.
In one office in New York city, it is said,
one-third of the matter set neveii gets
into the paper. Tho best is selected
and the rest, must wait ; perhaps before
the next day it is too stale to appear. A
literary gentleman savs he has nn ac
cepted article now wniting its turn iu a
lending journal. It is one thnt ' will
keep,' and it has been keeping over six
Mouths, nnd may keep a year before
room for it shall be found."
Alligators.
The following is from a letter by
'IT. V. R.," in the Cincinnati Commer
cial:
There nre some very largo alligators
on the lied river, l nave seen several
myself, though not of the largest size.
Their favorite posture is to sit or lie on
the bank or on logs, basking in the sun
shine. The pretty creatures seem to
like a genial.climate.
An alligator is rathersmnrtnbout some
things. He knows as much about strategy
as a major genera! of militia. HewilLpoise
himself on a log, open his mouth wide,
hy elevating his upper jaw, nnd remaia
perfectly quiet. In a short time his
mouth will nil with mosquitoes nnd
flies, when down will come his jaw, ta
king every mosquito and ny prisoner.
He swallows them, licks his chops, nnd
elevates his jaws to catch nnother floor
full. This dish is regarded by the al
ligator as the most delicious that the
country affords.
An alligator lives to a green old nge.
Indeed, it is a question among those
who have given the subject prolound
attention, whether he ever dies until
somebody kills him.
An alligator grows a foot a year. Tins
has been demonstrated. Some years
ago a gentleman sent an alligator from
Mobile to Knoxville, Tennessee. The
animal was three feet long. This side
of Knoxvil'e the train stopped for din
ner. The alligator sighed for liberty,
broke out of his cage and made for the
Houston river. Just as he got to the
water's edge his keeper was upon him
and grabbed him by the tail. The alii
igator turned sharply around and dis
played about a foot and a halt of mouth,
at which the keeper thought he would
let go.
Well, inst three years afterward the
alligator was killed near the same place
and measured six feet long, showing
that he grows just a foot a year. This
is a contribution to natural history
which I hope will be duly appreciated
by the scientific world.
Parties frequently hunt alligotors
along the bonks of Red river. It is
rare nnd exciting sport, especially if the
ambitious hunter accidentally lets one
of the animals get hold ot his foot.
I will close this letter before the
reader is sufficiently fatigued to wish
an alligator would get me, foot and nil.
Coloring Flowers by Chemistry,
The American JSaiuraliH gives au
abstract of a paper by E. Puscher on
this subject. The flowers are to be
placed in a glass funnel, which is in
verted over a plate containing a few
drops of sal ammoniac solution. After
a few minutes most blue violet or bright
carmine-colored flowers chang to t
Schweinfurt green ; dark carmine flow
ers become black, white chango to i
sulphur-yellow. The flowers plunged
into fresh water retain their new colors
for 2-6 hours, and then lose them. By
a somewhat similar treatment with hy
drochloric acid, many flowers, especial
ly asters, may be colored a beautiful
red, which is lasting after the flowers
are carefully dried.
The Androscoggin Mills in Maine are
making French calicoes, five and three
quarter yards ot which make a pound.
Items of Interest.
Tho survivors of theFirst Mississippi
Rifles propose to send Col. Jeff. Davis
ns their representative to the Conven
tion of Mexican War Veterans, to be
held in Washington on the 15th of Jan
uary, 1874.
TTenrv TVnhnseo. the antiquarian, is
going to erect nnd give to Cincinnati a
colossnl art hall, filled with his collec
tion of gems, antiquities, pictures,
books, A-c. He is now absent in Eu-
rope perfecting his plans.
A Dnnbury man nearly lost his wifo ,
tho otlier n'ight. She was taken vio
lently ill, and ho was aroused to go for
the doctor, but it was full on hour be
fore ho could find bis sleeve buttons,
nnd the delay well nigh proved fatal to
the unfortunate lady.
The Connecticut School Report shows
that in thnt State, ns well as in Massa
chusetts, 10 per cent, of the children
never see the inside of a school-house,
and that the avernge attendance, does
not embrace much more thnn hnlf tho
children in the Stnte.
Gen. Ross, of the Oregon Volunteers,
feelincly denies thr.t the murder of the
four Modoc prisoners wns done by his
troops. He snys the nearest camp of
the volunteers at the time was not less
thnn ten miles distant from the spot
where the assassinations were commit
ted. Judge Jeffrey O. Thelps.of Simsbury,
Conn., owns n piece of land which has
been in tho family upward of 200 years.
Tt, has been mown for the last, 60 yenrs.
nnd it. is n remarkable fact, thnt for the
last 45 yenrs the grass has not been cut
and housed before it hnd been wet with
rain.
Mr. John McAllister, who lives a
short distance from tho villapre of Do
ver, Me., reports that on tho 5th of
.Time there was a snow-bnnk nt least
four feet deep on the south side of a hill
near his dwelling, ne lias lived on his
farm nbont fifty-seven yenrs, nnd never
before saw snow upon tho ground in
Juno.
What will Ho do with It? A lady
who loved Bulwer entered a book shop
in the country just ns one of the men
hnd killed n large rat. "I wish to see
what will He do with It,'" snid she to
a boy behind the counter. "Well," snid
the boy, "if you'll step to the window,
you will probably see him sling it into
the back garden."
A despatch from Hamilton, White
Tine county, Nev., snys that a fire
broke ont there, in the cigar store of
M. Cohen, which, quickly spreading,
enveloped the entire town iu flames.
Hamilton is in ruins, a strong currens
of wind rendered the efforts of the Firo
Department useless. All the principal
places of business nre destroyed. The
loss is estimated at 8300,000. No lives
wero lost.
The Rochester Union snys thnt Seth
Green has received a letter from Reuben
Wood, of Syracuse, announcing that he
has in his possession n shad that weighs
sixteen and n half ounces, which lie
caught in the Oswego River nt Bald wins
ville. This shad took n fly with which
Mr. Wood was fishing for bass. This
shad is probably one of a lot which Mr.
Green threw into Svneca River two
years ago from the cars as ho was cross
ing the bridge with n large quantity of
the small fry, bound Westward.
Xoses Versus Cliaracler.
It is rather singular thnt many cele
brated men nnd women have been dis
tinguished by the pecnlinr shapes of
their nasal organs. Beginning with the
ancients, Scipio Nasica derived his
naino from the prominent share of this
feature possessed by him ; so did Ovid,
surnamed Naso, on which account Pope
represents his flatterers persuading him
that he had " a nose like Ovid's ;"
Cicero's nose was distinguished by a
vetch (eicer); Sylhi's by a profusionof
dimples. This latter made a great
figure in those days, and the Athenians,
while he was besieging them, cut a
number of jokes on it. Cleveland,
Birkenhead and other modern writers
tell us thi.t Cornwall's nose was ocomot
ingrain the emblem of a mandrake.
Napoleon I. was wont to say, " Give
me a man with plenty of nose long
nose, long head." His best generals
were, as a rule, remarkably well pro
vided in this particular. His own was
exquisitely chiselled, sculpturesque in
mould, form and expression ; though
strangely enough not one of his broth-1
ers had a nose worth looking at. But
the most prominent nose in Europe wns
Arthur, Duke of Wellington s. And
the Iron Duke's Captains, Anglessey,
Picton, Combermere and Hardings,
were men all noteworthy in this respect
also. Sir. Charles Napier, the con
queror of Scinda, was similarly favored.
His nose was like the beak of on
eagle ;" it was carved and keen as tho
blade of a sevthe. In a celebrated de
bute in the House of Commons, Sheri
dan compared Pitt's nose to the steeple
of Strasbourg. Pitt retorted by liken
ing that ot Sheridan s to a " nery
meteor." Lord Celley had a ruby nose.
Lord Broughman's nose, lithe, flexible,
mobile, now wagging with inunate hu
mor, now heaving with terrible wrath,
has been the theme of ten thousand
pens. The elder Booth, the well known
actor, has a broken nose. A lady onca
remarked to him, " I like your acting,
Mr. Booth; but, to be frank with you,
I can't get over your nose." " No
wonder, madam," he replied, " the
bridge is gone." Mrs. Siddons had
also a remarkable nose, and it gave
great trouble to the prince of portrait
painters, Sir. Joshua Reynolds. He
was completely baffled by it. For a
whole week he had been at the feature,
ond could not get the hang of it by hook
or crook. The witchery of the tragedy
queen's great, merry, yet serious eyes ;
the ripeness tinctured with tenderness
and vouched with a soupcon of scorn,
of the small mouth ; the gloom of the
eyebrows, the dimple in the chin, the
inimitable curve of the graceful neck,
the curly head surmounted by the
cavalier bat, the lazy gracefulness of
attitude all were there, true to the
original ; but then the nose 1 However,
he conquered it at last, and thus
posterity became coguizant of the fact
that the famous tragedienne was not
perfect in feature,