) ' ( r ' ' ';
4
Wife
Willi
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. , NIL DESPERANdUII. Two Dollars per Annum.
1 ; " - i ,
VOL- HI. BIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1874. " NO. 49.
Tho Bride.
From the altar gently load her,
She who now is all thine own ; i
Let her feel thy arm shall shelter,
When earth's stormy winds o'ercomo.
Holy rows have juBt been spoken,
Tows so soft they scarce were heard ;
Never let love's charm be broken
By a thoughtloss, angry word.
Kiss the bride so lovely, lightly
' On her pale and blushing brow ;
Hope's fond star is shining brightly
O'er life's ftitnre prospects now.
Let thy arm go gently wreathing,
Like a garland round her zono ;
To thy heart she's gently breathing
Of an Eden in your home !
Bless her! wife, and angel-maiden !
Thine, till death alone Bhall part !
Richest freights of love must laden
Her dear trusting, youthful heart !
Bless her, wife ! who Btauds united
To her virgin-heart's first choice!
Let her laborB e'er be lighted
By thy cheering, hopeful voice !
LtTTHEIt O. Rioos.
AXNAfiEL BROWN.
When I consider the difficulty 'with
which I manage to snpport a rigid and
penurious household on an income
which, although small, accrues regularly
and is paid to the day, I am all the
more astounded at the way some people
contrive to live. There s my friend
William Brown, now. He is a married
man, hns half a dozen children, lives in
a nice little house, always Las some
w thing hot for supper, and a glass of
-uxor for himself and a mend afterwards.
and yet, as far as I know, he has no
income whatever, tie s an old school
fellow of mine, which gives him a kind
of claim upon me ; and ever Bince I
Lave renewed my early acquaintance
with him he called upon me some
years ago, when I first entered the Civil
Service as a junior clerk, to request my
interest with the authorities to procure
him an appointment of some kind ever
Bince then he has been out ot employ
ment and on the lookout for an open
ing. I m afraid that, in the self-im
nortance of youth, I gave William a too
exalted idea of my influence with the
" authorities" whoever they may be
that I patronized him a little, and held
out some hopes, however vague, that I
might possibly come across something
that might provide him with the
wished-for opening. Indeed I may say
that I was as good as my word, and did
put him in the way of obtaining a pub'
lie situation of some emolument, hav
ing succeeded in placing his name on a
list of candidates for an open compe
tition for a situation in the Excise, for
. . . ; . which the poor fellow was uncommonly
grateful. It turned out, by the way,
.'. ' that the limit of age for these situations
' ' was from eighteen to twenty, and Wit
liam was getting on to thirty-five. But
' " ' this obstacle, which would have proved
fatal, I should have thought, didn't
seem to daunt William at all. he was
thirty-five, it was true; but he had had
a brother once who was dead, poor fel
low, who, if he had lived, would have
been inst the right age, and it was evi
dent he was wronging nobody by
making use of the baptismal certificate
and other papers that would have been
poor iiob s if he had been alive.
He showed indeed, such energy and
address in overcoming the many diffi
culties that presented themselves in
making this arrangement, that I thought
it argued very well for the fellow's real
qualities, and that such industry and
such perseverence would, if they once
found an opening, be sure 01 success,
But unfortunately, as he told me after
wards, the time and energy he had do-
voted to overcoming these preliminary
difficulties had prevented his giving
himself to the necessary preparation for
passing the examination itself, He
was plucked in the Bale of Three a
rule, he informed me, tnat isn t ot the
slightest use in mercantile affairs, and
is indeed considered quite obsolete by
men of business. But still, as 1 told
him, "William, you ought to have got
it up. Obsolete and stupid asi might
have been the system of examination,
he ought to have accommodated him
self to circumstances he ought to have
gone in for the Kule of Three ; for it is
a very simple thing. You put your
figures in a row with dots between
them, and if the answer comes out
wrong and it docs sometimes, tre
mendously you may be sure you've
put the wrong figures in the middle,
and you must alter 'em. But I've found
that mercantile men, as a rule, are pig
headed. William was a mercantile
man ; he had been a clerk in a draper's
counting-house ; William was pig
headed. He wouldn't go in for the
Rule of Three, and, "Then William,"
I said, "you must abandon all thoughts
of entering the publio service of your
your country." He did so with the
greatest philosophy, not appearing
much cast down by his ill-success.
The next time I met William, he told
me he was in the building-trade. I
couldn't learn that he had done any
thing in the way of building himself,
but he was on commission, he told me.
At all events, he had succeeded in ob
taining a very nice little house, the one
he at present inhabits, and on such ad
vantageous terms that he had three
landlords, each one of whom forbade
him to pay any rent to the other. It
was true that they had occasionally
varied their proceedings by putting in
an execution, as they called it, upon
William, who, however, with his usual
resource, had hit upon an ingenious
way of defeating their" maneuveis by
a bill of sale, the operation of which he
explained, but I can't exactly reool
lect the particulars.
William came to me one day in a
state of jubilant excitement. The open
ing had come at last. William was on
the high road to fortune. When ex
plained, the opening was found to con
sist of an operation, and in the building
trade. It consisted in buying houses
and selling them again at an immense
profit. Really on paper it looked most
promising; but then one must make
allowance for the sanguine nature of
projectors. There was one little requi
site, William added, a very trifling
obstacle capital.
" Now, you know," he said, ' you
can't expect me to have capital."
" Certainly not," I said.
" I look upon my family," William
went on, "as my capital. The children
I've brought up and educated, they
rperesent an immense fund, but it is at
present sunk unavailable, in fact.
Yes, I didn't see how they could be
turned to account.
" Then," went on William, " the
question arises, how is the thing to be
met ? Clearly by somebody advancing
the requisite capital putting himself,
as it were, in the place of the original
investor, sharing his profits without
sharing his risks; but that advantage,"
said William, " I'm quite content he
should have. Now the question is,
where to find the man ?"
"Yes, there it is; there must be
plenty of men who'd be glad of such a
chance; but I can't thiiik of anybody at
present."
" I thought of you once," said Wil
liam; " but I dismissed the idea. No;
it wouldn't do for you."
" Oh, I don't see that," I said, " if
the amount were a reasonable one."
" Reasonable I" said William; " it's
ridiculous. Fifty pounds. The half
share in a fortune for fifty pounds !
Bah 1 the thing's absurd."
Now it so happened that I had a lit
tle more than fifty pounds to my credit
at the London and Westminster Bank,
on deposit, and they'd just reduced the
interest to two per cent., which was
disgusting ; but still I'm such a
cautious bird that I wouldn't give Wil
liam an answer till I'd an opportunity
of consulting an old friend of mine, a
lawyei of large practice in the city.
And, strange to say, he didn't think so
highly of the scheme as William did ;
and yet they were both clever men
but sometimes these lawyers are over
cautious. " Don't let him have the money with
out good security," he said ; " personal
would do one good name beside his
own."
I told William this, and he didn't
raise any difficulty at all thought it
quite a proper, though needless pre
caution ; and he named to me a man,
one Wilks, whom I knew very well, and
to be a good responsible man. There
was no doubt of his consent, but as a
matter of form it would be as well to
ask him. In the course of the next day
I had a note from William, saying
laconically: "All right will come to
morrow night." So I withdrew my
deposit, and waited at home to meet
Master William.
He came next night in the highest
spirits.
Well, 1 ve succeeded admirably ;
better than could have expected. In
point of fact, I shall no longer want
your help. Still, I shall be ever grate
ful to you ; and some other time I may
have another good thing open."
" Then you've got the money," I
said. " Well, William, I'm glad ol it.
It has put me to a little inconvonience
withdrawing my deposit, and so on ;
but never mind that 1 m glad your
friends have such confidence in you."
" I haven t got the money yet, but
I'm to have it to-night ; in fact Wilks
entered into the matter at once in the
handsomest way. ' Look here,' he
said; 'I dare soy our friend Malam
hasn't any too much cash at his banker's,
but I know him to be a good, honest fel
low ; now,' he said, ' I'll advance the
money.
"That was very good of Wilks," I
said.
" Wasn't it? no 'consulting my law
yer ' there, Malam ! Come, old friend,
only my joke, you know ; but he says,
1 11 advance the money, and JVlalam
shall be security.' It comes to just the
same thing, you see."
" la it the same thing i 1 said doubt
fully.
I haven't got a mathematical head,
and these commercial transactions gen
erally bother me. It seemed very much
like the same thing, only reversed, but
then was it?
" But is it the same thing, William ?"
I said again.
" it g precisely the same thing to
me," cried William.
" les ; but to me t
" Oh, it's much better for you you
don't have to part with the money, you
see."
" Yes," I said, "it seems very much
better, as you say, but then it isn't
quite what we agreed to. I don't sup
pose the difference is material, but as I
have consulted my friend, the lawyer in
the extensive practice in the city, about
it, I don't think it would do for me to
alter the arrangement he pointed out
without asking his opinion as to the
alteration.
Now I could see William was a good
deal annoyed about this, but what couf d
I do?
William took away his papersin a
huff, and I didn't see him again for a
year. Yes, it was at least a year after,
that Wilkins the messenger came into
my room when I was having my lunch
eon half a pint of porter and an
abernethy and gave me a little bit of
crumpled paper done up into the form
of a note. " There's a young person in
the waiting-room says she'll wait for an
answer."
'Dear Malam," said the note, "will
you send me a sovereign by bearer, my
daughter Annabel, your gad-daughter,
for a particular purpose ? Don't fail !"
"I'll see her myself, Wilkins," I re
marked to the messenger, and went out
into the waiting-room. There are gen
erally a good many people in the waiting-room,
and so there were on this
occasion people waiting for an inter
view with the heads of departments
and there, perched en the table, swing
ing her legs with the greatest non
chalance, was my god-daughter. Anna
bel Brown. I must say that I felt a lit
tle twinge of remorse to think how I'd
neglected my duties towards he', never
haying troubled myself to see whether
she was confirmed, or anything of the
sort. But she was a fine, well-grown
girl of seventeen or so, and indeed
showed how fast she had grown taller
and broader by her garments, which
were rather short, and displayed more
leg than was altogether seemly, and
also didn't meet in front as well as they
might have dene.
" Well, 'Enry " she said, when she
saw me she was immersed in an army
list, bat looked up and greeted me with
a smile as I enter! "how about the
skiv ?"
I was a good deal embarrassed, be
cause everybody looked at us and grin-
ned ; and young Saunders, who is my
junior and loses no opportunity of
mntung nasty remarns about me, hap
pened to be in the room nnpnldno tr a.
friend, and watched ns sardonically.
You've read, I daresay I haven't my
self, I confess, but I've heard him men
tioned in society of a monster called
Frankenstein, who haunts somebody
very much. Well, it struck me, this
was exactly my case. William was
Frankenstein, and here was a MiRS
Fronkenstein, and how many more
heaven only knew I a monster-brood, I
said to myself, and bit my lips, and was
very angry.
"O, I understand," said Annabel,
misinterpreting my silence. " Usual
thing ; left your purse at home, eh ?
Or have you just paid a heavy bill, and
not a farthing in the house ? All right,
'Enry; don't apologise, I beg. Bless
you, I'm used to it."
" Well, as it happens," said I, "Miss
Annabel" I put the Miss in very strong
to let it appear that we weren't blood
relations " as it happens, I have left
my purse at home."
" Really now," she said. "Without
any kid ? Then look here ; I'll go
ieren it lor you.
" I couldn't think of that," said I.
"Then feteh it yourself." said she.
"But I can't leave here until four
o clock."
" Then I will wait for you," she cried.
" O, don't mind me 1 I can amuse my
self very well. It's rather fun watching
mese old bioKes pop jn and out, like
old rats you know the look of a very
old rat wheu it is worn and gray. Well,
your men in publio offices look just like
that when they get old not so cunning
though O no I" said Annabel, with a
lauffh.
And Cropper, our chief clerk I be
lieve Saunders had sent him in on pur
pose was standing iust behind us. and
well, he does look exactly like an old
rat. But what was I to do with this
fille terrible f
"But you can't stop here," I said,
"unfortunately. I'm afraid: at least.
it would be thought not the thing, you
unow.
" O, bother that ; but look here then,
I'll go and wait for vou in the Dark.
Lend me a penny ; you shall have it
duck in a weeK nonor, you Know I
and I'll get a roll and go and feed the
ducks, and I'll meet you. Where shall
i meet you t
"O. that won't do at all." I said.
" Look here," I cried, in desperation :
" tell your father I'll come up to-night
wimout lau to see him, and explain
mailers to mm.
" And bring the skiv ? she cried.
"O yes, yes."
Did I make a mental reservation,
then ? Heaven forgive me if I did.
" That's a promise, then. You'll
come ; only you won't see father, 'cause
he's in quod."
" O, dear," I faltered Cropper was
listening to every word " O, dear,
how did that happen ?"
"O, it's nothing," she said ; "only
county-court. But it's too bad, isn't
it ? They tell us imprisonment for
death is abolished, and then look how
they serve us I It's a shame " cried
Anna Del, looking round for the sympa
thy of the bystanders.
It was more than I could endure. I
hurried her out of the building ; she
insisted on kissing me on the steps in
full view of the Horse Guards and St.
James's Park, and left me more dead
than alive. I was afraid Cropper would
say something. I should have hit him
if he had, I was so savage ; and there'd
have been a pretty row.
I went up to Clapham that night, and
a most heart-rending scene I witnessed.
I'm not good at pathos, so will leave
that to the imagination, only adding
that I was so overcome that I lent them
the "skiv," and promised to see all
William's creditors on the morrow and
arrange matters with them. And then,
as if by magic, the scene cliai ged. My
sovereign had set the house a-going
again. There was a nice little supper
lamb's-fry and new potatoes, and
plenty of capital stout, and a bottle of
Irish whisky ; and, after supper,
Annabel dashed off some jolly pieces on
the old rattle-trap piano ; and then I
got excited, and wanted to dance ; and
then mother sat down to the piano and
played to us, and Annabel and I waltzed
rouud the garden by the light of the
moon. O, it was delicious I I never
spent such an evening in my life. When
the bells struck midnight, I was walk
ing up and down that little garden with
Annabel on my arm, and positively I
was making love to her. That was the
beginning of it.
I'd always had the impression that I
should marry well. All my friends had
told me so. "Henry," they'd say,
"with your position and advantages,
you ought to marry well." But hero I
was, thirty-seven nearly, and no nearer
to it than when I started. I was be
ginning to lose the hair on the top of
my head; I'd two false teeth; instead of
making my way in society, I was fast
losing the few friends I formerly had.
And then Annabel was delicious. Once
having made up my mind that I liked
the girl, I was soon convinced that it
was my duty as her god-parent to see
that she was nicely dressed, and I pur
chased her lots of pretty things, for
which she was very grateful, and would
give me most sweet kisses. And as she
came often te see me en her father's
business, the fellows at the office began
to talk about her, and chaff me. And
Saunders, too, fell most desperately
spooney over her; and that decided me.
When I found Saunders was looking
after her, I went in.
Her father called when I was in this
state of mind, and wanted to borrow
twenty pounds for a particular purpose
a purpose that would return the
money fifty-fold to him hereafter. I
thought this a good opportunity to
speak my mind. I told him that I
would lend him this sum for this one
occasion, as I had certain views with re
spect to his family, which I would ex-
Elain to him hereafter. But I bound
im by a most solemn promise and a
written undertaking under a penalty of
fifty pounds never again to apply to me
for any advance. This was a stroke of
policy, you see, because if he'd become
my father-in-law, I should have other
wise been continually exposed to these
annoying applications. William is a
very sensible fellow at the bottom, and
took all I said in good part, and pock
eted the twenty pounds with many ac
knowledgments and protestations.
A few days afterwards I had a note.
"Mrs. William Brown requests the
honor of Mr. Malara's company to a
drjeuner at ten a. m. on Saturday, the
2d June." It was a holiday at the office,
and I was very well pleased to go down
to Clapham, fully making up my mind
to speak to Annabel and offer her my
hand and heart. I made myself very
smart, chartered a hansom cab, deter
mined to do the thing in good style,
bought a bunch of flowers for my coat,
and another bunch for Annabel indeed,
it was half-past ten. There was a small
crowd, outside the house of boys and
loafers, and the window of the front
room was wide open, and I heard the
manly voice of William. He was mak
ing a speech :
" Ladies and gentlemen, having
drunk the health of mydeardanghterand
son-in-law Wilks, the next toast I have
to give yon is the health of a very old
and valued friend to whose kind and
fostering care I owe much of the com
forts of my life. I am not going too f i r
in saying that probably but for his kind
ness the feast we are now assembled at
would have had no existence. He is
not here, alas I My friend holds a po
sition high in the councils of his sover
eign. You know the critical state of
publio affairs; I fear my friend is un
able to leave his post "
" Stop, stop I" I cried from the door
steps, where I had remained transfixed
with emotion.
" My benefactor I" cried William,
suddenly ceasing his address and run
ning to the door to meet mo. "Henry,"
he sobbed, his voice choked with cham
pagne and emotion, " I owe this to you.
Benefactor, friend "
" O, stop that I" I cried. " Is she
married, Annabel, my Annabel ?"
" Dear Henry, yes, to Wilks ; all
through your kindness to her she at
tracted the attention of that good and
wealthy man. Come and give them your
blessing."
Confusion !" I cried, or perhaps the
word was stronger, and hurried back to
my cab.
And that was the last I saw of Anna
bel, dear Annabel Brown.
A Young Pompeii In California.
California boasts of a Pompeii on a
small scale. It is the town of Meadow
Lake, on the Sierra Nevada range, 8,000
feet above the level of the sea. The
spot on which it is situated is full of
gold, and in 1806 there was a great rush
thither, 1,200,000 feet of the land being
taken up in the summer of that year.
By spring of the next year, the Cali
fornians had become perfectly wild over
the golden prospects of the region, and
during May and June notlessthan 4,000
people found their way up there, and
the real estate went up like a kite, sixty-by-eighty
lots bringing from SI, 500 to
82,500. A stock board was formed, and
the bulls and bears made the wilderness
hideous with bidding for the stocks of
the various companies. Over 3,000,000
was spent on those rocks which never
yielded more than $100,000, though
they were full of gold, and a town of
GOO houses was built. The trouble was
with the ore, in which there was Borne
substance that would not yield to the
usual process, and in addition, the snow
was not unfrequently 25 feet on a level,
terrible storms being comuonas late as
June. All at once the poople saw that
nature had played an awful practical
joke upon them, and they abandoned
the town so percipitately that a recent
visitor there walking on snow-shoes
through the streets on a level witn the
second stories, looking into the win
dows, saw the furniture standing just
as the last occupants had used it.
The Magnolinn Drama,
Some one who has visited the Chinese
Theatre in San Francisco says: "Battle
sceues are the stock ingredient of the
Chiuese drama, and are conducted on a
principle totally at variance with all
our modern ideas ol warfare, it is no
uncommon feat for the hero to dismiss
his army, and, single-handed, conquer
the enemy, merely using his soldiers as
a pursuing force. The stage, which is
limited, in that the orchestra occupy
nearly the whole of it, is merely a plat
form flanked by tho walls of the house,
lit up by some four or five footlights
and two attenuated gas-pipes, pendant
on either side of the house, which ter
minate in numerous gas-jets far more
useful than ornamental. In the rear a
screen, festooned with spears, armor,
musical instruments, and diabolical
characters, serves as a partition to veil
the dressing-rooms and green-room
from the eye of the casual observer,
and two curtained doors are the means
of exit and entrance. It has never been
our misfortune to hear the overture, if
one be played, but judging by the de
scriptive music and singing during the
progress of the play, which would make
an excellent accompaniment for wander
ing minstrel cats, nothing has been
lost."
Cannon Made of Ice.
A hollow cylinder will bear a greater
strain than a solid one. Many of us
know by experiment what a hard pres
sure an egg will resist when placed end
wise between the hands. This curious
strength in round but weak substances
is due to the exact, orderly arrangement
of their particles,!, e., in perfect curves.
A memorable illustration was seen in the
mock artillery set to play guard in front
ot that creation of imperial whim,the ice
palace of Catharine of Russia. Before
the palace stood six cannons of ice, and
two mortars formed liked cast pieces.
The cannons were six-pounders, which
are commonly loaded with three pounds
of powder ; these, however, were loaded
with only a quarter of a pound, and car
ried a ball of stuffed hemp, and some
times of iron. The balls, at a distanoe
of sixty paces, passed through a board
two inches in thickness ; the ice of the
cannons oould not have been more than
three or four inches in thickness, and
yet it resisted the force of the explosion,
Six Nights on an Icc-Fleld.
With the details of the adventures of
a portion of the Polaris crew on an ice
floe in the Arctio regions still fresh in
the memory of our readers, they are
not likely to be very much startled by
the announcement that two men have
survived six days of starvation nnd ter
ror on a floating ice-field in Saginaw
Bay. The story of these persons, and
the incidents connected with their dis
appearance, is nevertheless deeply in
teresting. On the 31st of December
they left their wives and children at
Bay City, Mich., for a brief vacation,
which was to be spent in fishing and
shooting. Having reached a favorable
spot on the bay shore, they took to the
ice, and had spent several hours in
spearing fish, when it was suddenly dis
covered that the ice had parted. They
endeavored to eseape.but foundtlieguif
too wide to be passed over in safety.
The mass of ice soon began to drift,
and carried tkem many miles from the
shore. A man named Rundell, who
had succeeded in reaching a place of
safety, instead of calling for help and
going to their assistance, turned his
back upon them and never rested a
moment until he arrived at home. In
deed, to such an extent was he " de
moralized " by excitement, that it is
said he even abandoned his own com
panion to his fate. The two men find
ing themselves thus cut off, immedi
ately set about the work of chopping
away an ice-cake large enough to bear
their weight, and handy enough to en
able them to pole themselves ashore
upon it with their spears. The water
beneath them was then but eight feet
deep.
Although they labored with all their
mijiht, the wind blew the ice-field into
deeper water before they could discon
nect themselves from it. On the third
day one of the men, while crossing
from one ice-cake to another in a hand
sleigh, went down between them, and
would have been drowned but for the
spear of his companion, with which he
was drawn out of the water. Not till
the fourth night did they try to get a
little sleep. While rolled in blankets
in front of their hand-sleighs, they were
wakened by the cracking of the ice
within two feet of them, and had barely
time to move further away, when the
place on which they were sleeping also
cracked and gave way. After that,
sleep was not again thought of. On
the fifth night, the wind had so acted
upon the ice that it was reduced to a
thickness of three inches. Holes wera
constantly breaking in it. The casta
ways had almost despaired of life, when
the wind changed and the ice began to
close. On the seventh day they dis
covered, to their joy, that the hard
frost of the previous night had made an
avenue of escape. Shortly afterward,
they were espied by a kind-hearted In
dian, who, at the risk of his own life,
crossed the new ice in a hand-sleigh,
and rescued them. From the time of
the parting of the ice from the shore
until their deliverance they had had
only one meal, and that consisted of
raw fish. In spite of this faot, how
ever, they were able to walk to a farm
house, where they were cared for.
If the story ended here the people of
Bay City would have occasion only for
rejoicing. Unluckily, however, there is
another side to it, and that is of a very
melancholy character. Shortly after
the report was circulated that two men
had been carried out into Saginaw Buy
upon a cake of ice, six of the bravest
and most generous-hearted men of the
neighborhood, nearly all married and
fathers of families, procured a fishing
boat and immediately began to search
for them. On the first night out it is
supposed that they encountered a heavy
gale and were capsized, inasmuch ns
the boat has since been found close to
the shore, bottom upward. For some
time subsequent to the finding of the
boat, it was thought that the men had
succeeded in getting on the ice, but
after days went by without intelligence
of them, this was given up, and they
are now mourned as lost. The people
of Bay City, of course, may be depend
ed upon to show, in a substantial man
ner, their appreciation of tho act which
brought sorrow and desolation to six
happy homes. The life-saving and
other benevolent societies will find this
case worthy of their attention, and for
humanity's sake it is to be hoped that
between the different sources the fami
lies of the dead heroes will be liberally
provided for.
Returning an Umbrella.
If we study closely into the matter,
says the Danbury A'etvs, we will cease
to wonder why more borrowed umbrel
las are not returned. Did you ever un
dertake to return a borrowed umbrella ?
You got this umbrella the night before.
It was raining in torrents at the time,
and you could not very well do without
the shelter. It was to be returned the
next morning. So you promised anil
so you honestly intended. The next
morning breaks with clear sky, the sun
comes forth and floods the earth with
its radiance. There is not a fleck of
cloU'J visible anywhere ; there is not
the faintest indication in the atmos
phere of an approaching disturbance.
But the change in nature great as it is,
is no greater than the transformation in
that umbrella. The night before in the
dashing rain it was a most appropriate
companion. At every step through the
dismal wet you thought of it with keen
pleasure. But now it is a strikingly
awkward contrivance, bristling with
animosity toward all out dcors, and you
eye it with undisguised disfavor. The
more you think of escorting this object
down street through the bright sun
shine, of obtruding it like a noisome
shadow among a grateful and delighted
people the more repulsive it appears
to you. In desperation you look about
for a cloud something that will in the
eyes of impartial men at least, save you
from contempt but you do not find it.
Then you look about for a boy anxious
to distinguish himself as a soape-goat,
but don't find him. With a heavy sigh
you turn your back en the obnoxious
umbrella, and go to business. It needs
rare oourage, indeed, to return an um
brella in the glare of the bright sun. A
man may manipulate Congresses, cap
ture countries, conquer disease, control
the elements, and yet laok the nerve to
propel a borrowed umbrella through
the rippling and dancing sunshine,
Skclch of llie Siamese Twins.
The Siamese Twins, Eng and Chang,
up to the time of their death resided in
North Carolina. They were born at a
small village on the coast of Siam, in
the year 1811. Their parents got their
living by. fishing, and until 1829, when
Eng and Chang were brought to the
United State?, they made their living
by selling shellfish. Their mother bore
seventeen children. At one time she
gave birth to three and never less than
two. But none of these children were
deformrd.
The Twins were united at the ante
rior part of the chest by a prolongation
of a kind of fleshy band tho size of the
hand. This band of flesh is abput two
inches broad and four inches think.
The whole mass is tough and capable
of being considerably extended. One
could whisper in the car of one of them
without the other hearing, while vola
tile salts applied to the nostrils of one
had no effect on the other; and while
pinching the arm of one excited no sen
sation in the other, still if you but
stick a pin in the exact vertical centre
of this connecting link both would
flinch from the hurt. The Twins were
seldom observed to converse wiih each
other. They played a gooj game of
draughts, made pretty much the same
moves, and at the same time, and quite
frequently played against each other.
After attracting a vast amount of at
tention among scientists and physiolo
gists in tho old world, they married two
sisters, and settled down near Salis
bury, N. C, on a well-stocked planta
tion. Iii addition they had at one
period nmple funds invested through
their agent in New York. During the
war they continued to reside on their
plantation, and lived in the same quiet
and harmony as ever, until some few
years afterwards. Of course, no one
ever thought of drafting them and their
negroes prospered. The brothers prob
ably never would have had any diffi
culty, but that their wives, though sis
ters, turned away their hearts. Up to
the period that each had five children
all prospered well enough, but one of
them had a sixth, and this awoke envy
and jealousy to such a degree that the
twin sisters, not being bound together
like the twin brothers, would no longer
live under the same roof. The brothers
were, it seems, nbout fifty-four years of
age, but one, wo believe, the smaller
and feebler of the two, looked, it is
said, ten years older than the other.
They could turn either back to back or
face to face, but that is as far as the re
markable bond that united them per
mitted. It was almost certain, os their death
showed, that should either die the
other could not survive, as there was an
artery as large as tho femoral artery
that connected them. A few years since
they corresponded with some of the
leading surgical operators in London,
as to tho possibility of the umbilicus
beiug cut, so that in case of the death of
one, the life of tho other might be
saved. At the request of a London sur
geon they visited that city, and many
experiments were tried to determine
the safety of such an operation, but
they returned again to the United
Stales with tho understanding that no
surgical operation could ever bo suc
cessfully performed.
Tho twins wero both members of the
same church, having united with a small
Baptist church in their neighborhood,
of which they were considered very
worthy members.
A liaine for a Winter's Evening.
Perhaps it is not exactly a game, but
it might be easily mado into oue. I
don't know what to call it either, unless
it bo a "Journey by the Fireside." The
idea is this : Some one selects an ob
ject, any common one whatever, and
questions the others. Take, for illus
tration, the first thing before me my
lamp. See what a lot of questions may
come out of this. What is the lamp
made of ? What is brass ? What is
zinc ? Where does it come from ? In
what shape is it found ? What color ?
Docs it melt easily or not ? What is it
used for besides to make brass ? So the
same series or longerof questions about
the copper. Tho base of the lamp has
lead ruu into it to make it heavy, and a
whole lot more can be learned about
that. Then tho chimney and shade are
glass, and probably but very few can
tell much about so common a thing as
that. The wick that is, of course,
cotton. What is cotton ? what part of
the plant ? where is it grown, and all
about it ? why is the wick made hol
low, in tho form of a cylinder ? Then
the oil there is quite a story about
that. Here is a single article in the
room that would keep a lot of bright
boys and girls profitably at work a
whole evening. Such a looking-up of
dictionaries and other books before
boiiw of the questions could be prop
erly answered ! and no doubt some of
the older people would find then: selves
at their " wit's ends " to answer all the
questions that could bo put. I hope
some of the boys and girls will try this,
for they will find out in the first place
how littlo they really know about the
articles they handle and use every day,
and in the second place they will find
that these silent common things, like
some silent common people, have a his
tory if they can be only made to tell it.
To Remove the Taste or Bitter Medi
cine. The licvue Medicate states that
sugared substances in concentrated
solution much diminish bitter tastes.
Thus, while the infusion of gentian is
excessively disagreeable, its sirup can
be very well taken if it bo not diluted
with water, thus weakening the action
of the sugar. But the body that seems
to enjoy this property in the highest
degree is liquorice. By its aid we can
almost immediately dispel the. bitter
taste of quinine, colocjntu, aloes, quas
sia, etc. ; it is only necessary to chew a
morsel of liquorice root. Aloes may
thus be powdered and sifted without
inconvenience. The liquorice must be
kept in the mouth for a longer time in
proportion as the bitterness of the sub
stance to be overcome is intense or its
solution more concentrated.
Seventeen thousand people are living
on charity in Chicago this winter, ac
cording to the Inter-Ocean,
Facts and Fancies.
It costs $101,000 for a year's sweep
ing out and watching of the Treasury
building at Washington.
The law association of St. Louis ro-
jected an applicant for admission, the
other day, because he had advertised
to procure divorces "with secrecy ana
dispatch."
How strong is a mother's love I An
Edinburgh woman paid two dollars
postage to send a shirt to her son in St.
Paul, where he oould nave bought it ior
forty cents.
The New York Evening Mail is re
sponsible for the statement that there
is one member of Congress who has not
a plan for the resumption of specie pay
ments, but it withholds his name.
A wonderfully sensitive signal-man
on an English railroad has committed
suicide because he had a lingering ap
prehension that he was remotely con
nected with a certain fatal accident.
An authority in the matter gives the
total pine resources of North America
as 248,440,000,000 feet, and states, fur
thermore, that the pine crop east of the
Rocky Mountains will be used up in
five years.
The port of San Juan. Nicaragua.
which twelve years ago was one of the
safest and best in Central America, baa
been gradually but surely destroyed, BO
that now it is almost impossible for ves
sels to get in.
The London Time correspondent at
Cartagena writes that the Government
troops, pn entering the town, shot eight
insurgents who were trying to escape.
The occupation of the town was other
wise bloodless.
Judge W. E. Keller of Kentucky, who
presided at the trial of the Harrods
burg shooters, startled the spectators
the other day by ordering the court offi
cers to search every man present for
concealed weapons.
Iowa papers stoutly deny the exist
ence of a frightful degree of destitution
alleged to exist among the farmers in
the northwestern part of the State, and
boldly insinuate that the whole thing is
a gigantio swindle.
Well, this was aggravating I A happy
Hartford couple had a silver wedding,
and among the gifts received was a fine
silver tea set. Alas 1 they had to give
it up the next day. It was left by a
mistake of the expressman.
A Paris correspondent says it is a cur
rent joke there that no titled person
may be too old or ugly or impoverished
but that he may hope to pick up an
American girl who will give him heaps
of dollars to become Madame la
Duchese or Madame la Baronne.
There is a story of Judge Drier,
which everybody delights in, how he
set aside the uujust verdict of a jury
against an unpopular man, with this re
mark: " EDter the verdict, Mr. Clerk.
Enter also, ' Set aside by the court.' I
want it to be understood that it takes
thirteen men to steal a man's farm in
this court."
At Marsh Farm, Twickenham, Eng.,
four children named Hadley had been
sent out by their mother for a walk.
and while they were watching some
ducks behind au open fence, a gentle
man on a visit to Mr. Keevil, the far
mer, not observing them, fired off a gun
at a small bird and wounded three of
them. The eldest, who had his young
est sister in his arms, was shot in the
leg ; the next was shot in one hand and
in her face ; and the third received
wounds on the forehead and arm, two
shots having entered immediately over
the eyes, while the other child escaped.
They were not, however, very seriously
injured.
Bazainc's Departure from Paris.
The following details of the departure
of Marshal Bazaine from Paris to un
dergo his sentence appeared in the
Paris Firjaro : "On Thnrsday even
ing, Marshal Bazaine quitted Trianon.
The following day he arrived at his des
tination, after a journey extending over
four nnd twenty hours. The most
minute precautions had been taken to
keep secret his departure. Early in
the morning the prisoner, who had pre
viously been weraed of his approash
ing removal, was allowed the privilege
of an interview with Madame Bazaine
and his children, which lasted upward
of two hours and a half. After the de
parture of his wife, the Marshal busied
himself in the preparations for his long
journey. He refused from that time to
receive any other visits, and passed the
remaining portion of the time left open
to him in arranging various papers,
which he committed to the care of his
friends. At dusk a close carriage, sur
rounded by a detachment of gendarmes,
arrived to take charge of the prisoner.
The escort was commanded by a Col
onel of the gendarmes, who, however,
did not appear in uniform. The In
spector of the Prisons of Seine-et-Oise
was present at the departure of the pris
oner, whose guard was then placed un
der the charge of a director of the Peni
tentiary service, to whom was commit
ted the duty of seeing him daily con
signed to the fort on the Isle of St. Mar
guerite. The arrangements for the de
parture were so well managed that the
people of Versailles did not know of it
till the day after. At the station of
Villieneuve-Saint-Georges, where the
express train at ordinary times never
stops, there were none but railway ser
vants on the platform. Here the Mar
shal had but a few moments to wait
before the train came up, and he went
with his guard into a carriage attached
expressly for them. The passengers
put out their heads as if surprised at
this unusual halt, but the secret was
kept during a great part of the journey.
At Lyons the train made a halt of
twenty-five minutes, of which the Mar
shal availed himself by taking a cup of
coffee. At the Presidency news was re
ceived in the afternoon of his arrival
at Marseilles. No incident of any in
terest was reported, the Marshal having
dined at that city without awaking at
tention. In the same manner was the
voyage continued, and at 9 o'clock in
the evening the Minister of the Interior
received a dispatch announcing the
arrival of the Marshal at the fort on the
Isle of St. Marguerite. The embar
kation having taken place at night no
disorder had occurred."