NIX, DESPERANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
YOL. IV.
HIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1874.
NO. 14.
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
; , , , The Swell.
On tlio walk a bat did Jio,
And a gallant chap tailed by,
' And he cut a lively swell
He was clerk in a hotel t
. And he gave that hat a kick,
And he came acroea a brick.
Now npon a crutch he goes
Minus half a pound of toes.
Moral.
When you see a person thrown
By misfortune or by vice,
Help him thrice or seven times thrice,
Help him up, or let alone.
If yon give the man a kick
. You may Btumble on a brick
Or a stone.
-
, Fate is Table to frown,
And the beBt of us go down
And in just a little while
She is liable to smile,
And the bad luck and th vice
Beeui to scatter in a trice.
And to hunt their holes like mice.
And the man you tried to kick
Now has changed into a brick.
TWO QUEEN'S.
One rainy evening toward the close of
April, 1791, a ponderous old traveling
coach toiled wearily Bp the hill, the
summit of which is crowned by the
ancient town of Jougne, on the road
between Lons les Saulniers and Besan
con, the capital of the province of
Franche-Conite. There were two wo
men in the vehicle ; one, tall, hand
some, and exceeding elegant, occupied
the seat facing the horses ; the other,
who eat opposite to her, was a young
peison of Bprightly countenance, whose
simple costume and deferential manner
announced her at once to be either
a waiting-maid or a dame de coinpagne.
From time to time one or the other of
the two travelers would thrust her head
out of the carriage window to urge on
the postillion or look back down the
road apparently to see whether any one
were following.
Notwithstanding the entreaties of the
ladies, and his own best endeavors,
Maitre Jacques, the postillion, failed
miserably in his attempts to induce his
two heavy Flemish horses to get into a
trot, let alone a gallop. The road was
bo bad, the rain so blinding, the ruts so
many, the mud so deep, that the best
the poor beasts could do in response to
their master's oaths and loud cracks of
the whip was to give an occasional jerk
forward, or a stumble, and then resume
their wonted funeral pace.
" Heaven help me, Susanne 1 This
dreadful journey will never end ; we
can not possibly reach Besancon to
night," observed the lady who sat with
her face to the horses. " Mou Dieu;
how 1 wish we were all over it and safe!"
" Madame is too nervous ; that gen
tleman on horseback we have seen at
the last three stations, and who has
followed us, has frightened her. Be
lieve me; I am sure he is no spy ; he is
too nice for that. I am persuaded that
he is only fascinated by madam's
charms, and has not recognized her.
Oh, he i3 no more a sane eulotte than I
am."
In a few moments more the carriago
rumbled through the narrow streets of
Jougne, and presently stopped under
the porte-cochere of the hotel of the
golden lion.
" Will tho ladies get down," said the
jolly innkeeper as he stood with the
half opened door in one hand and his
cap in the other, bowing with extra
civility to his two now guests, and do-
detained nil night under his roof, for
travelers had become very rare in those
troublesome times. "Will the ladies
get down ? Supper will be ready at a
moment's notice."
' Certainly, we want it at once, and
let it be a good, substantial meal, for I
can assure you, we are really hungry,"
answered the tall lady, as sho jumped
out.
Susanne, loaded with rugs and satch
els, followed her mistress iuto the
house, and the two travelers emerging
from the shades of the hall entered the
brilliantly illuminated dining room. A
fire erackeled cheerfully on the hearth,
and the large apartment, with many
little tables covered with snow white
cloths and shininer class, looked ouite
cozy. The ladies taking off their wraps,
seated themselves by the fire, and
presently the landlady drew in front of
them a table on which she placed two
snfoking bowls of broth.
The bright light of the fire threw its
cheerful glare on the countenance of
the tall lady, and showed her to pos
sess such a rare and stately beauty that
the worthy landlady, on returning to
the kitchen, proclaimed to her satellites
that she never before had seen so
queenly a passenger "C'est une veri
table reine" (she is a perfeot queen. )
' " I'll warrant she's some fine court
marchioness on her way over the front
ier," said she, " and, poor soul, I would
be the last to prevent her flight."
Her costume was simple, consisting
of a gray petticoat and a flowered
" chintz overskirt, made in the fashion
' recently so popular and styled " Dolly
: Varden." Her attendant, whom she
cailea susanne, was a pretty ana un
pretending young woman, belonging to
the vivacious class of French serving
maids immortalized by Moliere and
Beaumarchais as soubrettes.
The two travelers had scarcely tasted
their first spoonful of sonp when the
: doors of the apartment were thrown
open, and a fonctionnaire of the pro
visionary government, wearing his tri
colored scarf, entered. Striding up to
the table at vbioh the two ladies were
seated, he drew from his pocket a let
F ter, and fixing his eyes with vivid in
i terest on the tall lady, made a mental
comparison between her countenance
and that of some one described in the
- document he held in his hand.
' What is your name, citoyenne ?"
' asked he, suddenly, in a tone of au
thority. " May I ask, first, sir, who it is I
shall have the honor of answering when
I do give my name?" returned the lady,
who, although she had become exceed
jngly pale, retained her self-possession
in a remarkable manner, for it was no
joke for a woman of position to fall
into the hands of fonclionnairea in
those days. .
" I am the Mayor of Jougne."
"In that case, M. le Maire, I am
Madnme do Pryne."
" Have you no papers about you no
passport ?"
"Mon Dieut Tes no ; that is of
course I have, but. in my trunk,"
answered the lady. "We are only go
ing to BeBancon. This is my maid,
Susanne ; we are two women traveling
on business. I have an engagement at
Besancon ; and really, M. le Maire, I
had no idea passports were necessary
when traveling in France."
"You said you had one in your box.
Very well, Madame de Pryne, allow me
to see this passport."
" Willingly ; call in your men and
let them bring my largest trunk ; all
my papers are in it."
The order was given and the box
opened.
"It is useless your troubling your
self, citoyenne. Seel Look at these
grant! trains, these alone suffice to
prove that you belong to the court, and
intend emigrating into Switzerland,"
cried the mayor, as he threw out of the
box on the table several magnificent
robes of velvet, one of which was lined
with ermine. " And here here my
suspicions are more than confirmed.
Ah! ah! Madame de Pryne! that is
your name, is it? and you wear a
crown, do you ?" exclaimed the mayor,
as he suddenly rose from his inspection
of the box's contents, brandishing in
one hand a crown studded with large
gems, and in the other a sceptre. " Ab!
ah!" laughed he exultingly, " Madame
de Pryne, so you were going over the
frontier with the crown jewels of
France ? I know who you are."
" Who ?" asked Madame de Pryne, as
pale as a sheet.
" You are Marie Antoinette, of Aus
tria, some time queen of France. In
the name of France and the law I arrest
you."
" Without any further proofs ?"
" Certainly ; I do not require them."
"Will you not at least look at my
passport ?"
"Bah, a borrowed passport," said
the mayor in an impatient tone. " You
had better give yourself up, madame,
without any further ado. Believe me,
it will be for the best."
"TheD, sir," the lady answered,
rising majestically from her seat, and
assuming an imperial attitude, " I am
the queen."
It would be difficult to imagine a
more noble figure than that of the un
fortunate princess as she spoke these
four words. Seeing that Susanne was
impatiently about to interrupt her, she
silenced her by an imperative gesture,
and then reseated herself with much
dignity in her chair. So queenly did
she appear at this critical moment of
her existence, that, staunch republican
as lie was, the mayor of Jougne forgot
all about egalitc, bowed low before his
fallen sovereign and retired at once to
give the necessary orders for her
majesty's detention and to announce
the news of her capture to his fellow
citizens. In less than an hour the mayor re
turned accompanied by a dozen or so of
the municipality. They found the
queen calm, and even cheerful. She
acknowledged their deferential manner
toward her with royal grace, and when
informed that the upper floor of the
hotel was placed at her service until
further instructions were received from
Paris, followed them thither with so
quick and even gay a step that several
of them afterward remembered it as an
instance of unusual self-command.
Having assembled his fellow-functionaries
in the saloon of the inn, he
made them a patriotic speech, in which
he invoked the spirits of Brutus and
Cato, and wound up by proposing that
the "patriots of Jougne form them
selves into a battalion of true republi
cans, and, placing Marie Antoinette of
Austria iu their centre, lead that arch
traitress before the national tribunal.
Possessed as they were of her crown,
sceptre, globe, and royal mantle, they
could carry these emblems of fallen
despotism in their triumphal proces
sion, and offer them as a holocaust on
the altar of liberty."
An address to the national assembly,
statiug their intention, aud giving the
most minute details of the queen's ar
rest, was forthwith written out and
signed by the entire conclave, and dis
patched immediately to the capital. To
this letter was added a private one from
the queen herself, and so artfully was it
sealed, that do what they could it was
impossible for them to read a single
word of its contents. Having dismissed
the council, the mayor went once more
to the queen, to inform her of what had
been determined.
While he was conversing with her
majesty, a gendarme hurriely entered
the chamber in a state of great excite
ment. " M. le Maire I M. le Maire I we have
arrested Polignao or Lamballe !"
" Ah 1" exclaimed the qu6eu, " it is
that young man."
"What young man?" inquired the
mayor.
A gentleman who followed our
coach, that is all," answered she, in
some confusion, seeing that she had
evidently committed au imprudence by
this last observation.
" Let him be brought tip here im
mediately," commanded the mayor, and
in a few moments a tall and remarkably
handsome young man was dragged into
the appartment by two guards. His
clothes were dripping wet, he had lost
his hat, and his soiled cloak dragged
on the ground behind him.
" It is the same," whispered Susan
ne ; " Perhaps he may help us."
" Please God !" murmered the queen.
No sooner was this young gentleman
disengaged from the hands of his cap
tors than, throwing himself on his
knees, he raised her hand to his lips :
" Pardon n.e, madame. Had I but sus
pected it was the queen of France to
whom I presumed to raise my eyes, I
would have died rather than have so
far forgotten what was due to my sover
eign, especially in her hour of trouble.
I am a gentlema by birth, the Count
de Millettes. Unaware of your majes
ty's true rank, I followed your carriage,
struek by your surpassing beauty and
enslaved by its power, hoping through
persistence to be favored with one
glance of pity, if not of love. Jfow
that I reoognize my error, as your ma
jesty's most humble servant and sub
ject, my life is at your servioe, and I
crave only your gracious pardon."
" 01), you have it, oount ; I grant it
willingly, and only see in your con
duot," answered the queen, smiling,
but with au evident meaning, for she
fixed her keen eyes on the kneeling gen
tlemau in a manner that forbade his
answering "I see, sir, in your conduct
only a proof of your desire to serve an
unfortunato woman and a fallen
queen."
"It is well," broke in the mayor.
"Notwithstanding all appearances to the
contrary, this young man evidently
forms a part of your cortege, madame.
He is arrested and shall share your ap
partments. The chamber at the end of
the corridor, sir, is yours. You have,
however, free access to the queen
whenever she desires your presence,"
and bowing civilly the good mayor
withdrew for tho night.
When the door was closed on the
mayor the count was about to withdraw
also, but the queen prevented his doing
so, entreating him to remain and par
take of supper with her, which was
presently served. During this meal
the queen became exceedingly lively,
and the merry laughter of the impris
oned sovereign and her new friend bo-'
ing heard outside in the corridor led
the guards, when changed, to announce
to the publio " that her majesty was a
singularly fearless woman, for, notwith
standing the danger she was in, she
laughed like a true daughter of Mo
mus, and was having a fine time of it
with the prinoe."
The sixth aud last day of her cap
tivity at last arrived. The answer from
the national assembly reached Jougne
toward noon, and the queen was at
breakfast with the count and Susanne,
whed the mayor entered her presence,
followed by the whole municipality and
several guards. The good mayor was
flushed with excitement, and iu his
hand he held the as yet sealed docu
ment. Arranging all his colleagues ac
cording to their various oflioial grades
in a semicircle around him, he ad
dressed the queen, who rose to hear
him, with a stately and majestio air :
" Marie Antoinette of Austria, we have
this morning received the following an
swer from the government of Paris,
and hasten to communicate to you its
contents. " Here the worthy magistrate
broke the seals and read: "Citizen
niayo.. Marie Antoinette is still in
Paris, and has never left it. Let Made
moiselle Sainval, actress of the theatre
Francais, pass on to Besanoon, where
she has an engagement."
Had the earth opened at his feet, the
mayor of Jougne could not have looked
more utterly dumbfounded. "So you
have played us a trick, have you, Made
moiselle Sainval ?" rxied he, furiously.
" My dear M. le Maire, allow me to
remark,'.' answered the quondam queen,
" that it is you who have played me a
trick. Had you but examined my pass
port, as I told you, you would have
found that, although I have been qneen
of Tyre, Sidonia, Greece, Jerusalem,
Borne, and Mesopotamia, I have never,
up to the present time, laid claim to
the throne of France, even for a single
night. You, however, have forced me
to play a part which docs not belong to
me for six days and nights in succes
sion, and an irksome role it has proved.
Confess, now, that it is not my fault if
you have mistaken the crown and scep
tre of Melpomene for that of Gaul. But
since I am free to proceed to Besancon,
perhaps you will order my carriage to
the door, for as soon as I have finished
my breakfast I intend to be off. Bon
jour, messieurs," added she, bowing to
the mortified council as it withdrew.
Suddenly recollecting herself, she cried
out, "Eli, may the count go too ?"
"To the deuce if he likes," answered
the mayor snappishly as he slammed
the door.
Mademoiselle Sainval turned grace
fully to the count and said, as a sweet
smile illuminated her beautiful face,
" My dear count, when you have done
justico to that omelette, perhaps you
will give me your arm and lead me
down to the coach. Oh, how I wish
that poor queen had left Paris while I
was enacting her part, which I did in
hope that these people, believing the
paste to be a real diamond, would have
let the true jewel pass 1 Poor, poor
queen I Auona, susanne I let ns go.
Count, you have served me as sover
eign of France; will you not still con
tinue to be my squire as tragedy
queen ?"
The count bowed low, raised the fair
actress' hand to his lips. Then, lean
ing on his arm, and followed by her
faithful maid, Mademoiselle Sainval
swept down the staircase to the car
riage in which the count took his seat
opposite Susanne.
An Affecting Incident.
A man named John Wilkinson died
recently at lialeigh, Tenn., regarding
whom the Appeal relates the following
affecting incident of the battle of
Chickamauga : It was late in the after
noon, when the fight was most desner-
ate, and the soldiers on both sides were
in utter confusion, where the dead lay
thickest, and groans of wounded men
were commingled witn tue snouts of a
reckless soldiery. John's horse fell
under him. He had been riding the
animal three years, and borne by him
safely over many battle fields. There
was a strong attachment between the
man and animal, and when he stood be
side the fallen horse he saw that the
wound was fatal, a ball having Dene-
trated the horse's body. The horse
seemed, in faot. already dead, while
John stood by almost paralyzed with
grief. He was ordered to leave the
spst by an officer who witnessed the in.
cident. John lifted his holsters and
saddle from the animal and went away.
The poor horse, devoted to his master,
raised his head and lifted up his 'body.
and making a desperate effort to follow
John, neighed faintly. John dropped
his burden, ran back to the horse, and
putting bis arras round Bultan s neck,
kissed him. The nerves and muscles
of the faithful, affectionate horse were
greatly relaxed ; he sank down slowly,
and died quietly and peacefully, with
out a struggle, as John used to say.
perfectly blessed that his head rested
on his master's bosom. John never
told this story of his muoh-loved steed
tiiat lus eyes were not Oiled with tears.
ENGLISH MATRIMONIAL CLUBS.
One of Them Gets Into Court and Some
Cnrlou. Developments are Made. ;
Clubs, says a Now York paper, are
usually supposed to retard rather than
odvance, marriage. They supply young
men with amusements which keep them
out of the society of young ladies, and
they furnish married men with so many
excuses for remaining out at night as to
entitle them to be put under strict legal
surveillance as Boon as women can en
force their convictions by their votes.
It would, therefore, seem to be a pecu
liarly happy inspiration which induced
a number of young men in Lnverpoel,
England, to associate themselves in a
club for the promotion of matrimony.
We say " seem," because a solitary in
stance which has oome to light in the
Divorce Court of the results of matri
monial selection on the club principle
does not warrant entire confidence in
the plan. The constitution and by-laws
of the Matrimonial Club were not read
in court. The only indication given of
its mode of working is conveyed in the
statement that it was intended to ob
tain wives with fortunes for its mem
bers. If we may judge from the mem
ber who has lately attained an unenvi
able notoriety, the club was composed
of young men who had no fortunes of
their own, but who nad no misgivings
about their ability to attract the
heiress of the period. In what way the
club net was spread for tho golden fish
of which they were in quest can only be
vaguely conjectured. Perhaps they
paid fees to needy fashionable people
fyr introductions into the desired
circles ; perhaps they lent out a set or
two of club diamonds to enable aspir
ing clerks to cut a figure beyond their
means ; perhaps they even furnished
suitors likely to be successful with ad
vances to buy costly presents withal,
subject to repayment after the close of
the honeymoon.
Whatever were the functions of the
club, to obtain perfectly accurate and
exhaustive information regarding mar
riageable ladies with fortunes, or to
assist in making tight legal "settle
ments " for the impecunious suitor,
does not appear to have been among
them. Such, at least, was the experi
ence! of one Watson, a ship-broker's
clerk and member of the Matrimonial
Club, who, some years ago, wooed and
won the daughter f a deceased Liver
pool merchant, possessing 400 a year
in hor owu right, with expectations of
succeeding to more. A few days after
marriage, Watson found that his wife's
fortune was settled on herself, and that
he could not touch or interfere with it.
Greatly disgusted thereat, he asked for
any papers she might have, and finding
among thou a certificate for jC676 in
vested in a building society, he had it.
straightway transferred to himself.
After this it frequently struck the noble
minded Watson that 100 a year was a
very paltry sum, and that could he only
have a few thousands all to himself, he
could distinguish himself in business.
Hating failed to obtain this, he applied
himself to the cultivation of matri
monial brutality. He took to drinking,
and to the habitual use of violent lan
guage; he took to keeping bad company;
then he proceeded to answer his wife's
protests against this sort of thing by
such cheerful pranKs as tearing skin
from her arm, biting her in the neck,
grinding her beads into powder, and
biting a piece out of a glass. One night
he came in the worse for liquor, and,
swallowing three bottles of champagne,
fell back dead drunk, condemning his
wife to the delightful vigil of watching
mm all night. Three to nve years en
durance of this kind of life naturally
wearied out his wife's patienoe, and,
after a narrow escape from being mur
dered with a carving-knife during one
of hor husband's drunken fits, she fi
nally left him.
Alter tins event, tne ex-member of
the Liverpool Matrimonial Club de
parted for New Orleans, taking with
him a child who formed the sole living
issue of this ill-starred union. He was
undefended in the suit brought by his
wife for a judicial separation, but it is
hardly possible that the proverb about
the absent being always in' the wrong
should apply to his case. His wife's
testimony was fully corroborated, and
the daughters of our sunny South may
safely be recommended to beware of
this insinuating person by the name of
Watson, who has lately arrived in their
midst. The field for matrimonial clubs
for the trapping of heiresses is, we sus
pect, less extensive among the society
upon which he has bestowed, himself
than on his native shores.
Houston's Skeleton.
The life of bam Houston, says an
" old stager," has yet to be worthily
written. A more adventurous and
checkered career was never run by an
American. He was affianced in early
life to an accomplished and charming
lady, and before the consummation of
the marriage he fled from his homo and
civilization, and sought refuge with the
Chickasaw tribe of Indians. There he
remained for more than two years, con'
forming to the habits and modes of
life of the Indians. He was adopted
into the tribe, and chosen a chief, and
was said to have exerted a very whole'
some influence upon the savages. There
was a mystery surrounding his aband
oning the lady to whom he was con
tracted in wedlook that was never so
fully solved as to satisfy the curiosity
of his Tennessee neighbors. He never
spoke on the subject or allowed his
acquaintances to interrogate him. and
as he was not a man to be safely affront'
ed, care was taken to avoid all allusion
to it in his presence. The truth is, the
lady was attaohed to another gentleman
whom her friends would not permit her
to marry, and they persuaded or con
strained her to contract an alliance with
Houston. She stated the facts to him
at the last moment, appealing to his
forbearance and generosity to spare
ber the pain of the connection. Hous
ton was fall of chivalry and delicate
tenderness, and he took the most effec
tive mode of relieving her. But the
affair tinged his whole life. He never
forgot her, and much of the eocentrioity
and waywardness that marked his con
duct after he went to Texas, and as
long as he lived, was the result of this
pauetio incident.
THE MILL KITER DISASTER.
Incidents of the Calamity as Described
by an ICye Witness.
THE FLOOD.
The reservoir broke at fifty minutes
past six on Saturday morning. , At
seven there was a column of dust and
mist a great rumble, aud the bank
shoved down the stream. In a moment
the whole reservoir of water, forty feet
deep and a mile long, came seething,
boiline down the culoli. it came like
the rapids of Niagara, scattering where
it touched, and destroying everything
in its way. The valley of Mill stream
is only a gulch with deep sides. It was
covered with houses aud shops. Every
inch of level ground for ton miles from
Williamsburg to Northampton was built
upon. There was no chance for the
water to spread out. It came pent up,
thundering, hissing through the gulch.
In front of it was a cloud of mist, ris
ing like a cherubim. On the top of
the flood were houses, trees, timber,
and the debris of the whole valley.
It looked hko a ledge of moving
rocks. Mammoth trees bowed down
before it, or snapped like a reed shaken
in the wind. There was no ..time for
preparation no time for reflection.
The water came and swallowed up.
The people on the low places were
no more, and the people on the high
places wrung their hands.
In ten minutes it was passed, and in
a half hour Mill stream was in its chan
nel again. The people came down
from trees, and from high banks only
to find their families and friends dead
and gone, and their houses desolated.
Where ten minutes before was a beau
tiful cottage with vines and trees, and
fountains, and playing children, now
was a heap fo stones perhaps the bed
of a creek.
A HARD CASE.
Mr. ' Broulette came into the
Florence Hotel this afternoon. He is
a poor shoemaker, whose family worked
in Warner's button factory at Leeds.
Have you found your baby I asked
a bystander.
"Ho, 1 have not found tne baby, but
I have f ouud my wife and three chil
dren. We are looking for the baby
now," replied Broulette with a sigh.
Mow old were your children f 1
asked.
"One was nineteen, one seventeen,
one sixteen, and then came the baby
all drowned !" and then he buried his
face in his hands, but no tears came
into his eyes. They had a dry, hard
look, as if his grief was bordering on
insanity.
'My poor man, J. said, "you nave
been up all night. You are tired and
hungry. Come into the hotel and get
something to eat."
He looked np strangely a moment,
then burst into tears. It was the first
sympathy that he had received, and a
kind word melted his heart. Every
body were too busy taking care of their
own loved ones to help tho poor shoe
maker.
On several occasions to-day I have
seen men laying ont their own wives or
children, and often searching for them
in the piles of debris which line the
river bank.
The disaster is so startling that it
becomes a sensation. People do not
cry. Grief is inadequate. They stare
vacantly, run their hands through their
hair, and hold them over their aching
eyes.
THE REV. 3. P. KIMBALL.
Meeting the Key, J. P. Kimball in
the morgue, where lay about twenty
bodies, I asked him to describe the
flood. "16 was this way, said JYir.
Kimball : " I heard a confused roar
and stepped out of the house. Some
one tapped the church-bell, and then I
saw a big bank of timber and loam
and spray coming down the valley. I
heard voices cry, 4 Eun for your life !'
several screams, then u confused mur
mur. Then the flood covered up tue
village. I saw a few people iu cham
ber windows saw nouses tumble over
the flood saw the brick bank fall
down and float away, and then the
water went down."
" How loner did it last? I asked.
" Oh. about fifteen minutes. In half
an hour the flood was down, and in an
hour the river was in its old channel,
Did you see any especial acts of
heroism ?
No. There was no chance for hero
ism. There was no accidents, it was
all one accident. A struggle to get
away ; then water all around ; then
death. No man had time to think of
wife or children. There was no reflec
tion."
"Will you preach to-day? ' I asked
" No, I cannot preach. My church
is a morgue. Twenty dead bodies lie
stretched out cn the benches. God is
preaching the sermon to-day."
A SUDDEN STAMPEDE.
To illustrate the suddenness of the
flood in Williamsbunr. I tell an inci
dent about Mr. William Brown and
Mr. Donn Dean, who were drawing
lumber across the valley :
"As we reached the middle, said
Brown, "I saw a big bank of smoke
about twenty feet high. I thought it
looked queer. Then I heard a roar, and
my horses became frightened and stop
ped. Then I saw trees and houses
tumbling over, and I shouted :
"For uodfl sake, uonn, cm mose
traces cut em quick 1
" Donn cut em and in a minute we
were on their backs and off to the high
ground. As we turned back a house
tumbled over on to my wagon, and
suppose it is in the Connecticut river
now. in a moment more. air. urown
was carrying the dead bodies of his
neighbors into the morgue.
THE DEAD.
It is strange hew badly the dead are
disfigured. Almost every face is braised
black and blue in innumerable places.
This was done by the timber and drift
wood. In many instances even the bark
of the standing trees is peeled from
their roots to the highest branches,
Not a vestige of the bark remains. In
one instance a little boy's head was
found in one place, while they have
been unable to find his body.
In the temporary morsrue in Williams
burg are the bodies of gray-bearded
men, beautiful girls with long flowing
hair, and infants with eyes wide open as
if iu a trance.
DESTROYED.
Mr. Skinner says the section destroy
ed by the flood can never recuperate
without aid from the State. Indeed,
the destruction has been so complete
that no employment can be given to the
laborers this season. Every dam, flume,
dyke or wheel for ten miles is destroy
ed, Bnd only the walls of two mins are
standing. New villages will have to bo
built and a new roservoir beforo the
work can go on again.
The Story of a Hero.
A Pittsburgh paper, says tho New
York Tribune, contains one of those
commonplace histories of heroism in
the discharge of ordinary duty wnicu
wo note with emphasis from time to
time, not only beoause of their own
stirring meaning, but for the indication
they give of the tone and temper and
the ruling motives of the great under
mass of American society ; the men and
women whoso names never fiud their
vay into the papers ; never even enter
into calls for publio meetings or chari
table subscriptions ; who go through
life with one days's meals, and work
with no better prospect than to begin
another the next morning ; who know
nothing of the college graduate's lofty
resolves or aims ; never analyzed their
own souls aesthetically ; would set down
Longfellow's Psalm of Lifo, or Car
lyle's Thoughts of Living as sentimen
tal bosh, yet, when occasion demands,
live and die in their cheap homes, be
side their tools or their engine, simply
and grandly as though all the years
gone before had been a solemn, prepar
atory vigil. Take this young fellow
Sutton, for instance a subordinate" of
some kind or other on a railway train.
The conductor sent him to the rear to
flag another train coming up behind.
On his way he fell on the track and was
run over by five cars and the caboose. .
His legs were completely cut off above
the knee, but, remembering his or
ders, he cleared the track of the dis
membered portions of his own body,
and taking a flag out of his pocket,
waved it until he had stopped the ap
proaching train. Without this, a col
lision would have been inevitable.
It is only necessary for us to repeat
the story. All our college and school
boys have histories of countless heroic
deathB stored away with the rest of
their book lore. They can tell you how
Cato paused, sword in hand, and So
crates wuited to sacrifice a cock so
coolly did these old sages watch
Lfeath s coming. Their eyes win nasn,
and their ingenuous faees redden, and
their hearts beat to loftier measure
thereafter at the hackneyed recital of
how Nelson died in the first breath of
his great victory ; how kings have died
like kings, on the scaffold, a spectacle
for the attentive world ; how unnum
bered young heroes leaped to meet
Death, as though ho bore crowns for
them. Such facta of history are en
nobling and good for any American boy
to learn and remember, be the book
Latin or Englinh. But the notice in
the morning's paper of this poor rail
way workman throwing his own sev
ered legs from the track, and signaling
the train before he lay down to die, is
of more import to him than all the
others, and more wholesome in its
meaning.
Securing Salmon Eggs.
A correspondent writing from tho
Maine salmon breeding ponds says :
The fish are dipped out of the pens one
by one, and brought to the principal
operator, who sits on a stool with a
shallow tin pan before him. lirst a
female salmon is taken in hand, and
her ecrtrs pressed out into the pan with
out any water other than that contained
in the viscid fluid that comes with them
from the fiBb. In clear water tho eggs
would soon lose the capacity of I ecuu
dation, but in their natural fluid they
retain it for a long time. As soon as
the fish has yielded all her eggs she is
slipped into a bag and weighed, placed
on a bench and measured, marked by
attaching a small stamped metal tag to
the back fin, and placed in one of the
pens, where she soon recovers from her
exhaustion, and whence in due course
of time she is turned out into the brook
or carted down to the river. The eggs
are also weighed, and then replaced be
fore the operator, who now takes a male
salmon and presses his milt into the
same pan. This is the most important
part of the whole process, for without
the fecundating influence of the milt
the eggs would never develop into nsii,
It was formerly the practice to let eggs
and milt fall from the fish into a dish
of water : bnt the milt, when in water,
loses the power of aoting upon the eggs
even quicker than the eggs lose the ca
pacity of being acted upon, and it thus
oiten Happened tuat tne miiniaie con'
tact essential was not enected soon
enough to insure fecundation. From
this cause a large percentage of eggs
commonly failed. A Russian gentleman
made the discovery that if water were
kept away from the eggs until fresh
milt nad come in contact witn mem,
nearly all were fecundated. This is the
method pursued at liucksport, and with
such success that, on the average, not
more than two or three per cent, of the
eggs fail to be fecundated. The rate of
f eoundation is obtained by very careful
observation.
Signing with a Cross.
Persons who cannot write sign their
names, as is well known, with the mark
of a cross. Such mark, however, can
be easily imitated, and how, in ordinary
circumstances, are forgeries to be de
tected ? In the following, picked from
an American newspaper (1818), there is
perhaps a solution of the difficulty, A
wealthy merchant in Chili could not
write, and he signed with a cross.
bill upon him with a forged cross, on
being presented lor payment, was re
fused. A lawsuit ensued. The judg(
before whom the case was brought
asked the merchant how he could tell
that the mark was a forgery. In reply
he said the proof was a secret which he
would reveal to him privately. He then
explained that in signing with a cross
he drew the pen along the side of his
thumb, so that each limb of the cross
was the side of his thumb in profile.
The proof was deemed satisfactory.
I The holder of the bill was nonsuited,
Items of Interest.
A passenger on a steamship, says
Birdey, must be either seasick or de
spised. It is not pleasant to be de-
pised.
It is now asserted that Santa Fe, in
New Mexico, and not St. Augustine,
Fla., is the oldest settlement in the
United States.
Lons stories tire the listener. Your
shot-cun only kills the woodcock a few
yards off ; the same lead iu rifle ball
knocks a grizzly at a mile."
Granite and macadam are to be ban
ished from the city of London, the
Street Committee have determined to
lay down in future nothing but asphalte
or wood7
If you wish to live to eighty-live in
tho full enjoyment of all your faculties
go to bed at 9 o'clock, eat twice a day
moderately of plain food, and drink ac
cordingly. "If Ibaveten cents a day from my
drinks." ruminated old Kednose, "it
will be $36.50 a year, and in fifty years
it will be 81,825, and then I can marry
Mary. Dear Mary I"
A Savannah daucing master has en
tered suit against the Savannah and Skid-
away llailroad for $100 damages from
the failure of the train to take him to
his dancing class on time.
A gentleman of Louisville has a dog
a pointer. The dog ran up the steps
of a bouse and refused to come down.
His master followed and found " A.
Partridge" on the door plate.
A French surgeon proposes to pre
vent the spread of hydrophobia by
blunting the teeth of dogs and cats
with files, pincers, or like instruments.
This would .prevent bites which would
break the skin.
It is pleasant to see a young creature
come into a hall, scat herself for admi
ration, look happy for five minutes, and
then wake up to the dismal conscious
ness that there is a rip in the middle
finger of her right glove.
A Miss Anna Short, of Hazel town
ship, Alexander county, 111., was bitten
by a spider a few days ago, and in a
few hours her whole body became so
terribly swollen that no hope was en
tertained of her recovery.
A Western paper says dealers iu but
ter classify it as wool grease, soap
grease, variegated, tessalated, cow
grease, boarding-house breakiast, in
ferior tub, common tub, medium roll,
good roll, and gilt-edge roll.
Tho romantic youth who hankers to
be a canal boat driver and encounter
typhoons, and so forth, ought to know
that every canal boatman is knocked
down an average of twenty-one times
pur uionili. So says the iioekport
Journal.
One of the most recent advertising
novelties in London is a system of
printing advertisements npon eggs, and
in several of the windows of the pro
vision merchants may be seen a quan
tity of them inscribed with all manner
of notices.
A young man calling himself Minis
ter Jewell's son has been living very
handsomely lately in various parts of
England and Ireland, and several trades
men have sent their bills to St. Peters
burg. The Minister desires an intro
duction first.
An old negro woman was arrested
and brought before the Mayor of Mont
gomery, Ala., for picking up some drift
wood at the edge of the river, tier de
fense was that God sent tho rain that
raised the river that brought the wood.
The Mayor thought it a good defense
and discharged her.
In a Sunday-school, tho other day
when the basket was handed round or
a collection for the heathen, the teacher
was somewhat surprised to find a bank
note in it. Closer examination revealed
the fact that it as a counterfeit. Tho
inquiry among the boys brought to the
front one who acknowledged having
handed in the spurious scrip. " Yes,"
ho said, " but 1 didn't think it made
any difference to the heathen ; they
could pass it off."
What Bogs Destroy.
Dogs destroy each year more prop
erty in this State alone than is stolen
by all the rogues in the Union, Con
gressmen included. In our town the
question wnetner sneep or aogs are io
predominate is in a rapid process of
solution. Within a very brief period .
less than CO prime breeding ewes
from three flocks, worth $10 ahead,
have been killed by curs of low de
gree. We formerly kept 5,000 breed
ing ewes. The destruction Dy aogs
has made many farmers abandon sheep
husbandry. At present our flocks num
ber 000 ewes, and these tne aogs win .
probably soon slaughter. As thousands
of farmers in this State might keep
small flocks of sheep say from 25 to
75 advantageously, I advise a more
strict dog law for their protection, and
the election of a dog constable in eacn
town to enforce the same, thus making
a saving to the Empire State in sheep,
lambs, wool, mutton, and manure, of at
leaBt 3,000,000 per annum. E. El
phee, Secretary Montezuma Farmers'
Club.
Welsh Rabbits.
It is a common habit of etymologists,
when a word is troublesome, to alter it
a little, so as to put sense into it. One
of these clever scholars (the great mis
take of philologists lies in being too
clever) was puzzled that a Welsh rab
bit should mean a piece of toasted
cheese, so he decided that it must be a
corruption of Welsh rare-bit. The pnb
lio believed him, and took to spelling
it accordingly, so that even now the
best edition of Webster's Dictionary
gives it as " properly Welsh rare-bit.
Now, the whole of this is stuff and non
sense ; the very name rare-bit is a no
tion, and Welsh rabbit is a genuine
slang term, belonging to a large group
which describe in the same humorous
way the special dish, or product, or pe
culiarity of a particular district. For
examples', an Essex stile is a ditch, and
an Essex lion a calf ; a Fieldlane duek
is a baked sheep s head ; Glasgow mag
istrates, or Gourock hams, or Norfolk
capons, are red herrings ; Irish Apri
cots, or Munster plums, are potatoes ;
Gravesend sweetmeats are shrimps,
and ft Jerusalem pony is a donkey.