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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDTJM. , Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. III. . . lUDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1874. NO. 40.
. M
If.
By Hie Seaside. .
, t'hy do I linger so late alone ?
' There's a charm for it in you wavo-wash'd
stone. -
Long years ago, when my life was young,
In the golden time that poots have sung,
Together wo eat on that stone so tret ;
How sharp it was I rememhor yet 1
I aok'd her, " Lucy, you'll be my wife t
Darling, I love yon far more than life."
And then sho tmswer'd, " I am so vox'd,
But I'm to lie married, this month or next."
"I Ehould have told yon" "Always a
friend"
I'd no Idea-, "--80 on to the end,
Soon were you married, my love, my dear j
And soon yonr husband found out, I hear,
That you had a tompcr ; and ho ah, well,
How much you try him no words can tell.
No wonder I love, by the sounding sea,
The place where Lncy said " Xo" to me.
FOtt DEAR LIFE.
Winter again, and the land is once
more wrapped in the same spotlces
mantle, locked in the same icy fetters,
as it was that memorable -winter bo long
ago when Erie and I had that fierce
wild struggle "for dear life." At this
season of the year the never quite dor
mant recollection revives, and I feel
all the horror of that midnight scene
rise and come back upon me, like a
ghost from the confines of the past. It
chills me with its dread presence, until,
shivering in nerve and limb, I rise and
draw nearer to the blazing hearth, heap
on some more pine logs, and strive in
the region of light and warmth to bid
it defiance.
In vain.. Through the whir of my
spinning wheel comes the long-drawn
moan of the wind, whilst without the
jenow falls as heavily as ever, adding
Jolation to the already drear and
lbro landscape. Eric has gone to
the fold-yard, as beseems a thrifty
- husbandman, to eee aftar the well-being
of our kine. Would that he were back
to laugh oft' my fears, and exorcise the
phantoms which rise thus unbidden
from, the days that are now no more.
His hearty presence and joyous voice
are in themselves as potent against dis
traught fancies as the "sprig of rowan"
which the faithful wear for safeguard
against witchcraft aud the evil eye.
' Meanwhile, as I sit waiting with the
supper ready, and all things bright and
tidy, I must e'en yield to the spell of
the place aud hour, and listen to the
tale suggested by tho wandering fancies
of old.
Nvw Ycnr'o ova Homo thiitv vears airo
'aud, we were keeping it right merrily
nt the old manor-house of Stor Aswan,
the home of my childhood, as it had
been that of my forefathers for inauy
generations. The pleasantest spot in
nil tho world, I thought, and still think,
that quaint Norwegian homestead, with
its bull' walls and birch-bark roof, which
succeeding summers had rendered ver
dant with an evergreen thatch of moss
and lichens. Just now, however, this
was not visible, for snow lay thickly
upon it, as it had laiu for weeks past,
not only there, but upon all tho coun
try round. We were in the midst of a
white sea, whose billows were the par
tially submerged hedgos, that daily
grew less noticeable as the snow drifted
in and piled above them. The fir-trees
alone stood forth bravely, as if defying
this insidious foe, vet even their statelv
branches trailed earthwards, and their-
strong arms creaked aud strained under
the ever-increasing load.
It was tho hardest winter there had
been for fifty years so the old folks
said and they foretold its continuance
for somo weeks longer. Other signs
were uot wanting which more plainly
than aught else denoted the unusual
severity of the season. The flocks of
wild fowl, usually so shy and difficult
of approach, came down from the. up
per meres, their accustomed haunts,
and strove with tie- tamo denizens of
our own farm -yard for a share in their
midday meal. Hares and rabbits, im
pelled by hunger, forgot their nature,
and stole up to our very doors, beg
ging with their large black eyes in a
piteous dumb fashion for relief. Herds
of reindeer also came south from Lap
land, seeking more genial pastures ; and
it was rumored that less pleasant visi
tors had recently been seen and heard.
Tho black pine forests of Salten had
agnin sent forth the grim, blood-thirsty
pre1, of legionaries who for ages had
d . 1 It unmolested in its dark fastness,
i cud the cry of "wolf" was no longer, as
keretofore, an empty sound.
All thix, however, did not affect any
of our party, who were all Norsemen
nnd mu'dens born, used to the cold,
full of health and spirits. I, Ella Bioorn,
daughter of the house, was the wildest
of that mad circle who had assembled
Jit Stor Aswan that Cbrissmas-tido to do
nonor to tny betrothal to Erio Jarl, the
lover of my youth, ere long to be my
husband. As soon as the birch-trees
put forth their first green tassels in the
early springtime, I was to leave my old
home for a new one ; so now, surround
ed by kinsfold and neighbors, we were
keeping this last anniversary of my
spiusterhood in goodly fashion. We
revived many a bygone pastime, and the
vast hall at Stor Aswan reechoed once
again to the shouts that greeted the in
coming of a mighty yule-log, and rang
with joyous laughter at the tricks and
antics of morris-dancers and mummers.
So, in dancing, feasting, and merry
making, the week sped, until a few
hours more would see us all scattered
in various directions, to meet again we
knew not when or where. For the last
day, therefore, we had reserved the
chief pleasure, the crowning point of all
our enjoyment a sleighing and skating
party to Stor Aswan, a mountain-encircled,
lake some ten miles further
north, the same from which our home
stead derived its quaint Runio name.
This was to be our vail or greeting to.
the New Year our welcome to the in
coming guest.
Brightly dawned the eventful morn
ing, clear and fair as heart could desire.
Blue was the sky as a sapphire, whilst
the freshly-fallen snow sparkled and
shone as though strewn with living
ferns. AH nature seemed rejoicing like
ourselves at the advent of another
year, and one already so full of promise.
Without, the snow-bells tinkled and
chimed meily, making the frosty air
ring again as the gaily-caparisoned
horses pawed and shook their heads,
impatient as their owners to be off. At
length we started, Erio and I as hosts
being the last of the party, for of course
he was my charioteer. I well remem
ber my father standing at the door to
see us go, and as he tucked the bear
skin rug more closely around me, bid
ding us " return early, and beware of
the Salten hounds." We laughed at
the warning then, but had awful cause
to remember it afterwards.
Of that day I shall not speak ; we
were all young and in wild Bpirits, and
some of us in love. Need I say more ?
Atiidst the many fair faces and lithe
forms that glided so gracefully over the
frozen mere, tireless through these long
hours, I was the fairest. I, blue-eyed,
goldon-haired Ell 4 Bieorn, was the ac
knowledged belle and queen of the
party, and Eric, my lover, the most
stalwart youth of the country-side. But
all things, even the pleasantest, must
come to au eud. So when the shades
of evening began to fall heavily, merg
ing earth, sky, and water into one grny
leaden cloud, we began our " journey
homewards. Tired out with my exer
tions, as soon as wo started I nestled
down amongst the soft furs in the
sleigh, and, rocked by its easy motion,
soon fell fast asleep. How long I slept,
I knew not ; but when I awoke it was
snowing fast, and the darkness so in
tense that we could not see a hand's
breadth before us. I called to Eric,
who was driving, and asked if all was
well. To which the answer came back,
half deadened by the thick atmosphere,
"All well, but for God's sake try to
keep awake."
So I aroused myself aud sat ud, know
ing that sleep in that bitter night air
might moan death. Of any other fear
I had no th.ught, for my driver was
skillful whilst Thor and Odin, our two
sturdy little mountain ponies, knew
their way home almost unguided. Sud
denly, as I listened vainly for the echo
of our companiens' bells, I heard an
other sound come up with the wind a
long-drawn hollow moan. Twice or
thrice it came at intivals, this weird
noise, each time nearer and more distinct-
The third time the ponies also
heard it, for tbey sprang forward with
an impetus that almost shook me out of
the carriage. Frightened, I said to
Eric, " What, O, what is that V" And
the answer came back, short aud stern,
" The Salten hounds !"
Then began that terrible chase " for
dear life" which, though we should
both live for twice our allotted span, we
never could forget. Swiftly we sped
along, our steeds impelled by a terror
ns great as our own, until they appeared
olmost to tly. Breathlessly we barkened,
hoping even yet to leave the enemy be
hind. But uo ; they traveled with u,
gained upon us, nearer and yet nearer
their cry growing perooptibly from an
uncertain vague voice of the darkness
into the unmistakably wolf-like note.
We knew from the" direction from
whence it came that they were tracking
by scent ; so now our last poor
chance lay in the darkness of the night
and our nearness to Stor Aswan. Eric
still held the reins, and I cowered down
at the bottom of the sleigh and prayed
more earnestly, than I had ever yet done
in my life " fwr an increase of the snow
drift, or aught, even a miracle, if it
might only save us."
On, and on, for a time that seemed
interminable, yet in truth might have
been but a few moments. Then the
starm ceased, tho moon emergeu from
her shelter, and we saw half a mile in
our rear a dark lino coming swiftly and
steadily down upon us. In the middle
of a white plain, with no nook or corner
visible wherein we could take refuge,
and still nearly a league from home,
our case looked hopeless enough. So
our pursuers seemed to think, as they
now caught sight of us for the first
time, aud lifting their black muzzles-)
from the ground gave veut to a howl of
savage exultation. I could have
screamed too when I heard it, forfright
was driving mo half wild ; it was so
unutterably horrible to perish thus.
But a glance at Eric, so calm and stead
fast, gave me new courage. I felt that,
come what might, we should at least die
together.
Faster and faster we flew, like hunted
animals, death behind us coming on
apace. A few yards more and he would
claim us for his own. Already I could
hear the rapid breathing of our foes,
see their fierce eyes and white teeth
glittering and gleaming in the moon
light. Prompted by Eric, I threw out
the bear-skin rug which protected me
from the cold. For a moment they
paused, smelt at it, then on with fresh
fury after their old prey. One by one,
cushions, wraps, all went over to the
hungry pack, each gaining us an in
stant's priceless delay. As the last fell
from my hand, the foremost wolf
bounded forward, just missing my arm,
whilst his strong, cruel jaws met with
a painfully audible snap.
Then Erio turned and looked at me
a long, loving glance and began knot
ting the reins to the iron side of the
driving-seat. Instinctively divining
his purpose of giving his life to save
mine, I sprang forward, and clinging
to him frantically, whispered :
" Dearest, remember, we stand or fall
together."
A sudden thought, justified by our
dire extremity, Hashed through my
brain it was a best a forlorn hope.
Quickly I bent over Eric, snatched the
hunting-knife from his belt, and cut
loose the nearest pony. With an al
most human cry of pain the poor ani
mal galloped off, with the ravenous pack
after it. A few strides ouly and it was
surronnded, overpowered, down ; and
the last sounds we heard ere the wel
come lights of Stor Aswan came in
sight were our ballled enemies growling
and fighting over the remains of my
gallant little steed. ' It was a cruel sac
rifice ; but. necessity knows no law, and
by it we Were saved.
"in years after, as we sat round the
fire at New Year's Eve, with the storm
beating wildly, as now, against the
casement, and the wintry twilight closing
in, our children would ask to hear,
" once more," the oft-told tale of the
"Salten hounds," or our flight "for
dear life."
' The Formation of Clouds.
Muhry has lately presented, in a very
impressive manner, the conclusions de
ducible from some observations pub
lished by Meissner, in 1863, on the for
mation of vapor vesicles and of clouds.
The researches of Meissner were mainly
directed to the relations of ozone ana
antozone, and it was only as one of the
incidental results of his work that ho
announced that, without the presence
of oxygen in the air, there could be no
clouds. In regard to this important
point Meissner's researches have appar
ently not attracted the attention that is
due them, and Muhry urges that me
teorologists and physicists are not yet
to consider that the question of the ex
istence of vesicles of vapor has been
settled in the negative. Basing his
conclusions on Meissner's researches,
Muhry says that tho condensation and
precipitation of aqueous vapor would
take place immediately, in the form of
small drops, if it were not for the pres
ence of oxygen in tho air ; that this gas
itself brings about the transition stage
the vapor vesicle. The experiments
of Meissner consisted in confining with
in the receiver of an air-pump a mix
ture of aqueous vapor and the gas to be
experimented on. By a rapid stroke of
the piston the mixture is then quite
suddenly expanded, and the oooling
due to expansion produces a precipita
tion of a portion of the inclosed vapor.
The faint cloud that is seen by close ob
servation within the receiver continues
but a few minutes, and was first ob
served with special care by Saussure.
in 1783. Meissner, however, has shown
that when other gases replace the air
within the receiver, the condensation
in general takes place not in the form
of a cloud, but of fine light drops that
fall directly to the bottom, the cloud
being produied only when oxygen is
present, either pure or mixed with other
gases.
These experiments have been repeat
edly and very carefully made by Meiss
ner with air, nitrogen, hydrogen, car
bonic acid gas, and in pure aqueous
vapor alone, and in various mixtures of
these gasses. Meissner further meas
ured the exact degree of expansion
needed to produce these vaper clouds,
aud found that saturated air at 30.0
inches deposited its vapor when the
pressure is suddenly reduced to 21.4
inches ; by a second step ne passed
from saturated air at 21.4 inches to 10.1
inches, when a somewhat fainter cloud
was formed ; the third cloud was formed
on passing from 10. 1 to 13.8 inches, the
fourth on passing from 13.8 to 10.7,
and a fifth on passing from 10.7 to 8.5
inches. These barometrie pressures
correspond respectively to altitudes
nbove the sea of about e.UiH), 15,000,
10.000. 23.000, and 27,000 feet, and the
clouds successively formed were of di
minishing grodes of delicacy, those
formed in the rarest medium being ex
tremely delicato and evanesceut. For
all further degrees of expansion Meiss
ner was unable to perceive any cloud
vesicles, although minute transparent
drops were present. These results
would be directly applicable to our
atmosphere had ALeissuer been able to
reduce the temperature of his receiver
to that experienced in the upper re
gions of the atmosphere.
Farm Life.
The glory of the farmer is that in the
division of labor it is his part to create.
All the trades rest at last on his prim
itive authority. He stands close to na
ture ; he obtains from tho earth the
bread ; and the fsod, which was not, he
causes to be. The first farmer was the
first man, and all historic nobility rests
on the possession and use of land. Men
do not like hard work, but every man
has an exceptional respect for tillage,
and feels that this is the original call
ing of his race, that ho himself is only
excused from it by some circumstance
which made him delegate it for a time
to other hands. If ho had not some
kkill which recommends him to the
farmer, some product for which
the farmer gives corn, he must
himself return into his due place
among the planters. And the profes
sion has in all eyes its ancient charms,
as standing nearest to Qod, the first
cause. Then the beauty of nature, the
tranquility and innocence of the coun
try, his independence ' and pleasing
nirs, the care of bees, poultry, sheep,
hogs, the dairy, the care of hay, of
fruits, of orchards and forests, and the
reaction of the workingman in giving
hini strength and plain dignity, like the
face and manner of nature all men
acknowledge. All men keep the farm
in reserve as an asylum, in case of a
mischance, to hide their poverty, or as
a solitude in case they do not succeed
in society. And who knows how many
glances of remorse are turned this way
from the bankrupts of trade, mortified
pleaders in courts or senates, or from
the victims of idleness anil pleasure.
Honey from Ants.
Henry Edwards, in the American
Naturalist, gives au interesting account
of the honey-making ant of New Mex
ico. It appears that the communities
consist of three distinct kinds of ants
the guards, the nurses or feeders, and
tho honey-makers. The site of a nest
is usually in sandy soil, and from four
to five feet square. The surface of the
ground is not disturbed, and if it were
not for the presence of the ants the po
sition of the nest would not be suspect
ed. The black workers surround the
nest as guards or sentinels, and are al
ways in a state of great activity. They
form two lines of defence, moving dif
ferent ways, their march always being
along three sides of a square, one col
umn moving from the southeast to the
southwest corner of the fortification,
whiie the ot her proceeds in the opposite
direction; In most of the nests exam
ined, the eastern, western and southern
side w as left undefended. If any enemy
approached the line, he was at once,
ferociously attacked. A portion of the
soldiers bought flowers and aromatic
leaves and deposited them in the centre
of tho square, whence they were taken
by the nurses and carried into the nest.
The honey-makers never leave their
cells, their abdomen being too much
swollen by the honey they contain. It
is supposed, but has not been proved,
that all the ants use the honey aa food.
Enoch Ardcn Improved.
A Hartford paper is responsible for
the following story, which concerns
persons said to reside at the present
time in the town of Cheshire :
" Some twenty-five years ago a young
gentleman and lady of families of high
standing were united in the holy bonds
of matrimony. The birth of a son in
duo time blessed their union, and yet
the father was not happy. From no
domestic nnpleastness, "however, nor
from any lack of earthly bleesings, as
far as can bo ascertained, but apparently
from a more desire to travel, the
husband suddenly annouced his in
tention of going abroad. He parted
from his wife affectionately, with the
understanding that he should spend
but a siugle season abroad. He sailed,
however, without leaving word as to
his destination. Years past by without
news from the absent one, and the
mourning wife at last, with tho advice
of friends, decided that she was a
widow, and, in accordance with the
manner of nearly all . pretty young
widows, took unto herself another
father to her son. A year or two after
her second marriage a sailor, who had
known both parties, happened in one of
his voyages to stop at Melbourne, in
Australia. Walking the principal
streets of the city one day he met a
person whom he recognized as the sup
posed dead husband. Greeting him,
he was recognized in turn. In the
mutual interchange of information he
let drop the announcement that the
wife, supposing him dead, had re
married. And here, contrary to the
poetic idea of what is the proper thing
for a husband to do in such a case, this
one gave no indication of being shocked
or grieved in any way, but quitely re
marked that the news afforded relief, as
he had himself been for some time de
sirous of entering into a connection
which, until thou, his conscientious
scruples had prevented him from doing.
The fact that his wife had remarried,
he felt, removed all the obligations of a
husband. The sailor in course of time
returned home and told his story, but
it was universally disbelieved and treat
ed as a canard. Facts afterwards
transpired, however, which afforded the
fullest proof of its truth. .- Two or three
years sinco the missing husband re
turned to this conntry, -and, brought
with him a new wifo and a 'couple of
children. No local action for-divorce
has been taken by either party, and the
husband, having returned to his pater
nal estate, both, with their respective
families, now reside in the same village
and mingle in the same society," , ' ; .
Texas Cattle.
'
' A Mampede among Texas cattle, says
a writer in 'oribner's, is something
which baftles description. ; ' you must
witness'- it. ; It -is ' a - tempest of horns
and tails, a thunder of hoofs, a light
uiug of wild eyes ; I can describe it no
better. Merely to see a man on foot is
sometimes sufficient to set the average
Texan cattle into a frenzy of fear, and
a speedy stampede ; for the great ma
jority of them have never been ap
proached save by men on horseback.
The gathering up of stock is no small
task, as a herd of seventy-five thousand
cattle will range over an area fifty miles
wide by a hundred miles long. Large
stock-raisers are always increasing their
stock by buying herds adjacent to their
ranges. Many persons made fortunes
by simply gathering up and branding
tho cattle which tho rightful owners
have neglected to brand ; and cattle
found unbranded, and a year old are
kuown as " Mavericks." The origin of
the name is very funny.
Col. Mavericn, an old and wealthy
citizen of San Antonio, once placed a
small herd of cattle on an island in
Matagorda Bay, and having too many
other things to think of, soon forgot all
about them. After a lapse of several
years, 6ome fishermen sent tho Colonel
word that his cattle had increased
alarmingly, aud that there was not
grass enough on the island to maintain
thorn. So he sent men to bring them
off. There is probably nothing more
sublimely awful in the wholo history of
cattle-raising than the Btory of those
beasts, from the time they were driven
from the island until they had scattered
to the four corners of Western Texas.
Among these Matagordian cattle which
had run wild for years were eight hun
dred notable and ferocious bulls ; and
wherever they went they found the
country vacant before them. It was as
if a me'nagerie of lions had broken loose
in a village. Mr. Maverick never suc
ceeded in keeping any of the herd to
gether ; they all ran madly whenever a
man came 111 sight ; and for many a
day after, whenever auy unbranded and
unusually wild cattle were seen about
the ranges, they were called "Maver
icks." The bulls were finally dispersed
among the ranges ; but they were long
the terror of the land.
The Fashion,
A correspondent asks us to utter a
blast against the fashion of ladies wear
ing long trailing dresses in the streets.
We might as well whistle jigs to mile
stone, with the expectation of its start
ing into a dance, as to hope to change a
fashion, however absurd, by any force
of argument or ridicule, when the utter
futility of both has been so often
shown. Men have talked of the awful
extravagance of fretting nnd fraying
costly silks by dragging them over side
walks, street-crossings and pavements ;
and the wise and witty Dr. Holmes has
insisted that women who parade, the
the streets with elongated skirts gath
ering dust and dirt nnd defilement are,
not to put too fine .1 pfiint, dirty and
sluttish. It is not a comely or cleanly
sight, that of an eh gant silk dress, or
indeed one of any fabric, sweeping the
streets, grimmed by the dirt and col
lecting in its progress varions vegetable
debris. But it is tho fashion.
No Cards No Reception No Any
thing. via isiuiry ytsat 1 iont see
why you two eloped. There was no ob
jection ; and a regular marriage, with
bridesmaids, cake, and all that sort of
thing, is so much more respectable."
Young Husband" Ah, yes ; but the
elopement was so much .heaper, don't
you see I"
The Life of a Spanish Feasant.
Ill-fed, ill-housed; ill-clothed, ill
taught, or rather untaught, and un
cared for ; a hopeless, objectless being,
feeling no responsibility for tho present
or the future. Such is the peasant of
tho interior, be he farm-laborer, black
smith, fruit-seller, water-carrier, gipsy,
horse-dealer, or whr.t he n.ay. He
seems to be unable to read, or write, or
think, or love, or hope, or pray, or
plan. With him there is no light. Into
darkness, social, moral, and intellectual,
he is born as his heritage; in that dark
ness he spends, and in that darkness he
is content to eud his days. Come with
me for a stroll into the campo, or wild
country, and visit the hut of a poor
fruit-seller. His little shanty stands
alone near his dry, half-tilled garden ;
and you look in vain for a smiling vil
lage, or a substantial farm or country
house. His hut let us call it "shanty"
stands alone amid the thistles, its
poverty its best protection. It is form
ed of three walls of rude, unfashioned,
unhewn stone, boun together with no
mortar. You must stoop low to enter
it ; it is roofed with reeds from the
Guadalquivir, or with brushwood and
rushes from the neighboring bosque
(coppice.) There is one rough settle in
the dark room. The floor is the earth
and dust. Here is the mistress, a
knife stuck in her girdle. You must
not look for beauty or tidiness in her
wooden, mahogany-colored face, and
you wonder at her stride, like a man's,
and her muscled arms and rough voice.
Yet, remember, she has to work very
hard, and the Spanish old woman of
the lower class is always masculine
looking. She has no chair, but courte
ously apologises for its absence, and
throws down a " nianta " 011 the floor
for you to sit on. Suddenly, you hear
at your ear the cackling of hens, the
crowing of a cock ; she sees, with ready
Spanish perception, that you are puz
zled, and pushes aside, not the bed
linen, but the brush-wood, and there,
under the settle, is the " roost " full of
poultry. There, too, is her little jarra
of water, and the provisions, the flat
cake of coarse bread, and tho melon, or
the white grapes. She will tell you,
with a woman's tact, "We are all 111
the rough, for the winter rains are
coming, and then we gotctakea house"
(she means a quarter of a room) " in
the town." The little vineyard, or
nielon, or vegetable-ground of this man
is close to his house, and daily ho takes
his prodnce to the Plaza (market-square)
of the adjoining towns. Just now he is
taking his siesta, rolled in his mania in
this room, too indolent to move. At
sundown ho trots behind his donkey,
with its pauniered sides well galled
with " melones " or grapes ; and we
will follow him along the dusty track
wo boast no roads with his bnggy
canvas trousers, esparto-grass sandals,
and huge knife stuck in his foja. About
ten o'clock he arrives in the btreet,
which, running out of the market,
serves for stables for the beasts, and
bedroom forthe owners of these panniers
of fruit. He loosens his pannier from
his donkey's back, and lets the air get
to the inside of the packet of fruit ;
then tethers his donkey to tho side of
the street, rolls himself up in his
manta, lights his ciganllo, and falls
fast asleep by his fruit. It is a strange
sight to pass about midnight along
these streets adjoining the fruit market
the rows of donkeys, the hundreds of
sleeping forms, undistinguishablc from
the fruit and sackiag, the fresh, sickly,
damp smell of fruit hauging heavy on
the air; and just beyond tho Plaza,
with its every tent now lying on the
ground covering the fruit, and a tiny
oil lamp burning faintly to show where
the stall aud the stall-keeper aud tho
fruit are, all lying under the rough
tent like a lot of half-empty sacks. At
half past three the market opens, and
at four to five it is, in truth, a lively
sight.
Brotherhood of Englueers,
Tho headquarters of the International
Division of the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Engineers is located at Cleve
land, Ohio. From the last report of the
Grand Chief Engineer, Mr. C. Wilson,
made at the Philadelphia meeting, we
learn that the progress of the Order has
been rapid for the past year. There are
172 divisions, with a total membership of
9,600 ; but since that timethe additions
will bring the aggregate up to 10,000.
The total cash on hand October 1 was
829,803, exclusive of over S6.000 as the
net inc.me of the Journal, a periodical
under the control of the G. C. E. There
were 83 deaths during the past year,
and $21,641 were dispensed to meet the
wants of the families of the deceased.
The late railroad strike has brought
the brotherhood prominently before the
people, as the public is intimately con
cerned in the movements of tho rail
roads. A correspondent had an inter
view with Mr. Wilson, in which he
stated that the recent strike was not
authorized, consented to, nor encour
aged by the brotherhood in any par
ticular. The rules did not justify it,
nor did the Order sanction it. The
brotherhood, at thoir headquarters,
deny all knowledge of the strike in an
official charactar.
A Working King.
The late King of Saxony was in the
habit of attending all the State institu
tions to see that they were kept in
working order. One day King John
appeared at the telegraph office of a
small station, taking the clerk by sur
prise. This official had only just time
to telegraph to his colleagues at the
next station, " The King has just ar
rived on a visit of inspection," before
he was summoned to give all possible
details to his sovereign with regard to
the amount of traffic in the place, the
number of dispatches received, the
number sent out, etc. Presently a mes
sage came along the wire, which the
clerk read in much embarrassment.
" What are the contents of that dis
patch ?" inquired the king. The official
Btammered out- mat tnu contents were
unimportant, but, as his royal master
insisted on being informed of them, the
unhappy clerk was at length compelled
to acknowledge that he had telegraphed
to bis neighbor, " The king has pist
arrived, 'and that the'answerhe Lad re
ceived ran thus : " The king pokes his
J-J. u,
An Aged Horse
A remarkable old horse called Charlie,
the property of Mr. Dexter E. Wadleigh
of Boston, died recently at the age of
twenty-fivo. He was never sick except
during the epizootic of 1872. Probably
no horse was ever more attached to his
master or more anxious to do his bid
ding thon Charlio. He has traveled
seventy miles iu one day without ex
hibiting fatigue, and was as fresh as
ever for the next day's work. During
one year his owner drove him over
three thousand miles. When pur
chased Charlie was inclined to be a
balky, and would stop suddenly ; but
his master never struck him with a
whip, choc sing rather to conquer him
by kindness, in which he was success
ful. He was usually driven in a chaise;
and when these contrary notions would
seize him his master would turn him in
a large circle, working patiently and
kindly with him for a few moments,
when ho wculd be "all right." By
this method Mr. Wadleigh soon suc
ceeded in breaking him of the habit
entirely. During the twenty-five years
he never struck the horse a blow that
he would be unwilling to receive upon
his own back. Charlie was so familiar
with his master's step that ho would
always turn toward him as he approach
ed, and greet him with an affectionate
whinny. He was never afraid of cars
or anything else, day or night, and
would stand without tying for hours.
While on the road if anything happened
to carriage or harness he would always
stop to remind his master that some
thing w.is wrong. For several months
he was driven without breeching, hold
ing back the chaise 011 descending
ground by tho cross-bar.
Old-Time Customs.
Tho Bimgor (Me.) Whig soys that a
recent visitor to tho French settlement
in Notth-castern Maine visited a woman
ninety-seven years old and entirely
blind. He found her sitting in her
rocking chair, very busily engaged in
picking to pieces a piece of old yarn
with a large needle. Betide her lay a
small quantity of huir that had been
carded from the cattle, and a small
amount of wool. Her daughter sat
spinning this composition into yarn to
be knit into fine socks, as thoy say.
Ihe method of preparing this stock
for the wheel is rather amusing. After
picking to pieces old yarn and woolen
cloth, it is mixed with enough good
wool to " galvanize " it. Then it is
put in an old-fashioned dash churn,
soap and water applied, and churned
until it is ready for tho cards ; then it
goes to the wheel the same that was
used by grandmothers of old for spin
ning flax. The women of Upper
Aroostook are very industrious and
great helpmeets, as many times they
can be Eoen at work in the field, plant
ing, hoeing, baying, harvesting, and
as a general thing they manufacture
their wool into cloth, sacks, and mit
tens. Many whole families are clothed
in wool of their own manufacture.
Many card wool by hand, spin with the
old flax wheel, and weave with the old
loom that has been in uso for hundreds
of years.
Chnng and Eug at Home,
" Chang and Eng," the Siamese twins,
are settled about -forty miles west of
Salem, North Carolina, and have been
for p. number of years in Surry Couuty,
near Mount Airy. They each have a
very good farm, adjoining each other,
and both have families. They stay al
ternately two weeks at a time at each
other's farm. Both have children, who
have a flue education, and one daughter,
who had some literary aspirations, died
some two or three years ago. One of
the twins had a daughter recently mai
ried. They have good residences and
out-buildings on their farms, and are
considered good and successful farmers
here, and very good and kind neigh
bors. Being in their neighborhood, I
went to see thera at the residence of
Mr. Eug Bunker, and found tho broth
ers there, and was treated very hospit
ably by them aad the family. They
have, it is thonght, a great deal of
money employed in mercantile pursuits
in the little village of Mount Airy,
Surry Couuty, N. C., and much more,
the bulk of their estate is in New York
City.
Drinking Hard Water.
Hard water has sometimes been
thought unhealthy, and people have
taken great pains to build cisterns in
their houses, where rain water purified
might be bad for the table. But nature
rarely makes mistakes, and spring water
is almost uniformly hard. It is found,
on extensive and careful inquiry, that
hard water is more healthy than soft.
The body needs some of the salts held
in solution in hard water, and suffers if
they are not supplied iu some way.
In England, the countries where hard
water abound are more healthy than
those where soft water is used. The
same fact appears in cities, where the
mortality is least in the sections sup
plied with hard water. Contrary to the
general impression, soft water acts on
lead pipes more powerfully thaa hard,
and induces danger. Those who have
built rain-water cisterns, thinking them
more healthy than wells, will need to
study the wiser methods of nature.
Statistics of Bengal.
The Christian Union says that a cen
sus of Bengal latelv taken makes the
population (57,000,000, instead of 40,
000,000, as was estimated. In some
districts there are COO to the square
mile. The number of MohammedanB
is far in excess of popular estimate,
which has counted them at about 15,
000,000, while they are found to be 20,
604,000. Of all who call themselves
Hindoos in faith there are 42,674,000.
The Buddhists are 85,000 in number,
and tho '.Christians 93,000. Of the
aboriginals, included in neither of these
classes, there are 2,351,000. It is stated
that the Mohammedans, with their
armies of missionaries, their theory
that all faithful races are equal before
God, and their pra.tice of raising any
convert at once to full social equality,
are becoming so numerous that by the
year 1900 they will be half the popula
tion, aad ultimately will control the
religions destiny of Bengal,
Items of Interest.
Bazaiue has left France for the Island
St. Marguerite.
The resignation of U. S. Minioter
Sickles has been accepted.
The Kentucky Senate wouldn't vol
against accepting free railroad passes.
A Spanish prize court setting in Ha
vana condomned the Yirginius as a
lawful prize.
Do not ran in debt to a shoemaker.
It is unpleasant to be unable to say
your sole is your own.
An explosion in the Ferial Battery,
Cartagena, killed twenty officers aud
men of the besieging force.
Twenty Fougbkeepsie (N. Y.) fami
lies are making arrangements to emi
grate to Lower California in tho spring.
Five hundred children of Havre lost
their fathers by the Ville du Havre dis
aster; 110 widows have been made
there.
The Boston Publio Library has been
open on Sundays, nearly a year, al
though tho city solicitor, declared it
illegal.
The cities of Matamoros, Monterey,
and Tampico are much disturbed just
now by conflicts between the municipal
and state forces.
A woman iu Howard City, Mich., re
cently gave birth to five children at one
time. So, at least says the Grand
Itapids Democrat.
Here's an example for bores : A
man in Livingston country, Ky., hangs
his hat on a gate-post, and talks to it
for ten hours at a time.
A Terre Haute man lately ate 112
oysters at a sitting. Judge Dowling,
of New York, devours from five to seven
dozen oysters every day.
A Dubuque man hired a policeman at
$3 a night to watch his wife, and she
was at the same time paying this same
mon $4 per night to watch her husband.
The police of New York made a de
scent upon the Kentucky Lottery, ar
rested all persons found on the premi
ses, and seized the safes, books, money,
etc.
The Missouri Ilarrisonian advertises
four hundred and twenty cow bells for
sale, and explains that it took them
from a hardware man in payment for
job work.
In a Boston discussion of corporal
punishment by teachers it was argued
that driving the spine up into the head
could be nothing else than hurtful to
the brain.
The Third Ass. Postmaster-General of
theU.S.decides that any number of indi
viduals or firms may print their adver
tisements on a postal card before it is
deposited iu the mails.
A prisoner in a western jail escaped
with a leaden key which he mannfac
turned. In New' York they use golden
keys for that purpose. In such cases
both lead and gold are base metals.
When you go to Mittiueague, Mass.,
don't say anything about f jx-hunting!to
any of those hunters who recently
chased a yellow cat into a hole whence
she was unearthed with much trouble.
It is a matter of indisputable record
that nearly half the children born in
civilized communities die before they
are five years old, and from 15 to 20 per
cent, of them during the first year of
infancy.
Treasurer Spinner still keeps as a
relic the torn and blook-staincd play
bill with which Laura Keene attempted
to stanch the wound of President Lin
coln, in his box, at Ford's theatre, ou
the night of the assassination.
The company raised for the conquest
of Cuba at Augusta, Ga., was very
strongly officered. It consisted of
thirteen generals, seven colonels, four
captains, nineteen paymasters, twenty
seven quartermasters, and one private.
A Troy girl whose parents would not
let her marry him wrote a letter to a
convent asking for a situation as a nun,
had tho letter intercepted by her
mother, and a finale of white satin, lace,
orago blossoms, and things followed as
a matter of course.
They have a queer way of suppressing
rebellions in Mexico, now-a-days. The
150 revolutionists of Sonora, who
promised such great things, last Sept.,
being short of cash, recently accepted
from their enemies an offer of SI, 000
for their arms and then disbanded.
A correspondent of the Waterloo 06
scrvcr tells a story of a man who went
to a new town iu'the West. When ho
arrived with' his wife the town was
building a hotel. She being the first
woman here the town stopped work,
gave three cheers, and engaged her on
the spot to mend their clothing for $2 a
day.
In the little Swiss Republic, Dr. C.
Sehenck, whose election to the Presi
dency was announced, receives a salary
of $3,000, holds his position but one
year, and will not be eligible for re
election until tho expiration of another
year. The Vice-President has $2,400,'
and the seven members of tho Council,
each of whom presides over an adminis
trative department, also receive 2,400
each.
A Nashville printer xeceutly had
some very bad manuscript copy to set
up. Every word needed closo study
before its meaning could be guessed at, "
but at length two or three words came
in succession, which it was quito im ,
possible to decipher. All hands in tho
office tried and failed, until at length
the printer, in despair, set up "copy
books ten cents each," and continued
the work, afterwards sending the proof
to the author for correction. The hint
was taken, and the author employed an
amanuensis.
Change of purpose is not invariably
the sign of a weak mind, and we trust
that resonsiderationa of a similar im
port to the following, which we find in
the Rochester Democrat, will not this
season be infrequent. It has reference
to a contribution to the orphan asylum
of that city, and is in the form of a note
to the treasurer, inclosing $50, which
was shown to the city editor : " Mr.
Sage I subscribed $10 for the asylum
lately, but when I come to write you a
check for the amount, it seemed so easy
to make it g50, that I can hardly re
sist the pleasure of doing bo at the risk
of your thinking me fickle."
O