HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum. rrrrrrrrrrrrrr"""- 1 ' 1 ' - -1 - - ... 'i ' - - . i... i i.... t . i i . . - - ,. .T ..- - I... j. i .. - ' - i VOL. IW' ' RIDGWAY. ELIv COUNTY, PA... -THURSDAY... JULY,. 2,. 1874. . . .. . , NO.. 18. 51 jr Grave, ' I dream now of a little grave, O'er which the dew-wot graese wave ; Now half-way hid by falling showers And drifting floods nf app!e flowers i Jow lying rc-eii beneath the nun, That pauses, when the clay Is done, To prers one kins upon the mound, Then hurries through the golden deor. And Hies on his unondiug rouud, T bring na dawn and day once mors. Thc-y laid her there beneath the buds : I never kne-.r when it was done: Far on the orient Bummer floods I wafted on 'neath moon and sun, And never dreamed that they had laid The still sweet face I loved bo well, Beneath the green where violets Btrityed, Iu blue-ojed sadness, through the doll. Ah, me, and I am weeping still 1 And phe is sleeping there below, Lulled by the low-voice whip-poor-will, And covered by the apple blow. A daiy benda its snowy head, Above my darling )n her reBt ; And weeps ig sweetness o'er my dead, And drop'j it8 petals on her breast. MISTAKEN IDENTITY. Cases of personation and mistaken identity disp'ny a great deal of simi larity, while at the same time they seem to possess the peculiarity of impressing Abe general public with the belief that each fresh oase is distinctly sui ne.nr.rix. How often in the past two years have we nearu sucn comments on the Tich borne easo as the "most wonderful piece of imposture," ' most extraordi nary case ever heard of," etc., whereas. iu iiiui, ii we except tne immense amount of time consumed in uuttintrin the evidence, and in summing up, it canuot compare with many earlier ones. Of these we will recall the circum stances of two interesting impostures of this nature. Although one took ipinee three hundred years ago, and the other some one hundred and fifty ve irs later, they have both been so fully re ported that the facts in each are ns ac cessible as those to more recent rues, while their very age may give tlicm a certain freshness. They are both French cases, and here we may pause to note the Tact that from the- time of Perkin Wp.rbeck down, the Orton case is the only important case of fraudulent impersonation reported in Euglaud. There have been cases of imposture, where the claimant sought o establish his identity with some mr- ticuliir status, such as the great case of omyin vii. jsinytn, where he claimed to be the son of Sir Hugh Smyth, when, in fact, no such son had ever existed. But of personation, pure and simple, where n claim is made of identity w ith a real existing or pre-existing person, the English Reports are utterly barren. Why this should be so is a paradox. The Anglo-Saxon race is ns much as any other given to wander off for long periods c f time, thereby giving rise to the very combination of circunidtanccs which invites imposture of this nature. The tame complete absence of cases of personation marks the Teutonic records of causes celebrea. But to return. Martin Guerre, a peasant of Artigues, after a married life of some niiie yer.rs, disappeared one day, leaving behind him his wife and a yonng child. The cause of his departure was some petty theft ironi his father, whose anger at its discovery he wished to blow over before m -iking his reappearance. His wife was privy to his departure, and it was supposed at the time that after he had ben absent some eight days, he might return in 6afety. As matter of fact eight .years elapsed before any thing more was heard of Martin Guerre. His wito and ll his friends had by that time given him up for dead. At length, one evening in the year 1555, a man presented himself iu the village as Martin Guerre, and had no sooner announced himself than he re ceived a joyful recognition and welcome from his uucle and four sisters. The oiiginal Martin, it seems, had not been a devoted husband, and his wife's re ception of liim was not so enthusiastic. But he folded her to his arms, asked many and anxious questions about the child and his growth and improvement in the past eight years ; said he had sown all his wild oats, and had come home to settle down as an ornament to society. He appeared somewhat changed by years and toil, nor was thi3 extraor dinary, for theorigiual Martin, although nine years a benedict, was very young when ho disappeared. He certaiuly bore a strong resemblanoe to the long lost husband, and seemed perfectly familiar with private circumstances which could be known only to the lat ter, including some which transpired during the honeymoon. A rehearsal of these reminiscences overcame whatever hesitancy his wife at first exhibited, and they lived huppily together for two years. The claimant was of course put into possession of all the property of the original Martin, including some lauds inherited from his father. All went well with him, until in an unlucky hour he became involved in a quarrel with his uncle, who had been among the first to recognize him on his arrival at the village. Angered at his nephew, Pierre Guerre urged his niece to institute pro ceedings against her supposed husband for imposture, to which Bhe quickly consented. As the new Martin had made a fur kinder husband than the old one, his wife's conduct is only explica ble on the supposition that two years' intercourse as man and wife had en abled her to judge more correctly as to his pretentions, and had finally con vinced her that he was not her hus band. He was accordingly, brought before the Court ol Rienz, and, as he had two trials, the proceedings dragged on for several months. With the details of the evidence we need not delay, but will give a brief glance at the more im portant points. The claimant himself told a perfectly smooth, straightforward story of his wanderings, and, unlike Orton, never once contradicted himself or made an error iu his statements, as far as they could be verified. He replied unhesitatingly and accurately to every question of family history, and when he eft the bar at the end of his long in terrogatory, he left behind him a strong impression of his truthfulness. His wife denied his identity, but could give no rear on for so doing ; nor is this remarkab'ij when wo consider the remarkable r semblance ho bore to Martin Guerre. The differences between the two men were more mental than physical. Nearly 200 witnesses testified in thj course of the two trials. Of these more than fifty who had been intimately ac quainted with Guerre, including his four sisters,) swore that he was the original Martin. An equal number swore that he was not, but was in reality a certain Arnould" Dutilh, a peasant, from a neighboring village. Sixty witnesses could give no opinion at all, Although acquainted, many of them, with both patties. All this' evi dence was given in detail, with constant references to peculiarities of stature, face, gait, etc. But in this branch of the case the most extraordinary fact of all was the number of similar marks which Martin was sworn to possess, and which were also present on the claim ant's person, ...... When we recnll the 6tress which was laid at the Tichborne trial on the " brown mark" and the " tattoo marks," and then notice the wonderful similari ty of marks in .this case, we will be forced to the conclusion that whoever relies on such testimony to Bupport his case leans upon a broken reed. The theory of the tremendous force of evi dence, which a cumulation of similar marks must have, is familiar under another form in the argument of design in the creation, illustrated by the in stance of the finding a watch, it as sumes that while the possession of a similar mark is of little weight in iden tification, the possession of. each addi tional mark strengthens the identifi cation on a geometrical ratio. This theory is still popular, despite the numerous ' instances in which it has caused gross errors, and it is hard to impress on tha minds of a jury that it has proved a false guide too often to be trusted. Such cases as Guerre's and the Ricard case (which we will allude to below,) have made the evidence of marks of little force to the legal mind Martin Guerre was sworn to have had these marks : (1) the trace of an ulcer on one cheek ; (2) a scar on the right eyebrow ; (3, 4) two teeth broken in the lower jaw, (5) a drop of extravasated blood in the left eye ; (6) the nail of :his left forefinger miBsing; (7, 8, and 9) threo warts on the left hand, one be ing on tho little finger. If we as sume the probability of identity as es tablished by ordinary resemblance of face and figure to be x, these nine coin cident marks would, by the law of geo metric increase, make the probability of identity or the odds in favor of the claimant's being the genuine article, 512xtol. No wonder the judges were perplexed. What would have been the result of the case, it is hard to guess, but at this 6tage of the proceedings there appeared a detts ex rnachina in the person of a one-legged soldier, who calimed to be Martin Guerre. He was confronted one by one with the witness es who had sworn to the identity of the other claimant, and they all at once ac knowledged their error. His sisters, weeping, asked his pardon for having mistaken him, as did also his wife. In spite of this the other claimant in sisted that he was the true man, and the two were confronted and examined simultaneously. It is a noteworthy fact that the real Martin seemed to know less of his own private affairs than tho false one, and had it not been for the fact that at last, upon conviction, Dutilh confessed, we might still be in doubt ns to which was tho true one. He had been tempted to undertake tho per sonation by his strong resemblance to Guerre, with whom he had become ac quainted while in the army, and the fact that he was his comrade for years, enabled him to learn all his secrets and thus he had been able to deceive even his wife. The other rase we give is in most of its details the exact reverse of the above, while it resembles the Tich borne case by reason of the many and gross mistakes made by the claimant in giving his recollections, and also by his gaining at the outset a wide-spread popularity, and the support of rich, in fluential, and numerous friends. - M. de Caille and his wife owned es tates at Manosque, in Provence. As they were Calviuists, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, compelled them to quit France, while their prop erty went to the Catholio next-of-kin. They settled at Lausanne, in Switzer land, where the father was living at the time the suit was brought. The moth er died in 1C90. Of five children three boys and two girls the sons and one daughter died before the snit was brought. The eldest son, Isaac, died in 1696, at Vevoy, aged thirty-two. In 1699 one Pierre Mege, a soldier, presented himself before the Intendant of Provence and asserted that he was the same Isaac ; abjured the Calvinist religion, and claimed the estates. In the story he told on tne Erst trial (for, like Arnould Dutilh, he had two trials) there were the following in accuracies : Hecalledhimself Andre; the real name was Isaac. He called his father Eutrevergues ; his real name was Brun De Chastelane. He said his mother's given name was Susanne ; it was really Judith. Ha said he was twenty-three years old ; Isaac's age, had he lived, would have been thirty-hve. lie said he was only ten years old when he left r ranee : isaao was then twenty-one. He did not know the street or numher of the house where his family lived in Manosque. lie said his lather had only three children ; he had five. He did not know the color of the eyes or hair of his sister, nor of an aunt who had lived with the family at Lausanne. He said his father had a black beard ; it was red : and that his complexion was brown and sallow, whereas it was remarkably fair. Moreover, the evi dence of his father, who was living at Vnvav. was tnken fihowinff that his son had died in his arms. Here, surely, was enough to damn his case, especially as the Parlement before which he was tried was, under the ancitn regime, composed of men of education and abilities, possessed of means to buy their position, and ex perienced by the constant hearing and weighing of evidence. But here, again, the overpowering weight of the evidence of personal identity carried all before it. At Manosque, at Caille, at Rongon he was confronted with many who knew Isnao, and knew him intimately. One hundred and thirteen swore positively that he (plaintiff) was he. The court, by a majority, decided in his favor, and the people who had espoused his cause greeted the decision with loud cheers. Having thus obtained possession of the estates, he might have retained them undisturbed, had not his ambition carried him so far as to marry a yonng lady of good family, who was a relation of oue of the Judges on his first trial. This step raised a storm about his ears from a most undesirable quarter. And here a new actor appears on the scene. In the story he told of his adventures when he first appeared there was one remarkable incident. He appeared as Pierre Mege, a soldier, and said that some years before he had visited the wife of the genuine Pierre Mege, and represented himself as her husband, who had disappeared some time before ; that she knew he was not her husband, but, rather than remain n grass-widow any longer, she was willing that he should pass ns such. Extraordinary though tho story was, the fact that his wife remained quiet during the first trial encouraged the belief that his statements were true. Now, however, that he had married another, the offended wife rose in wrath and denounced him as the real Pierro Mege, a soldier, a convict, and a galley-slave. A new trial was had, and the customary conflict of evidence of identity was again witnessed. Nearly 400 witnesses were examined. One hun dred and ten, (including twelve old nnd constant comrades, twenty-one donies tios in the service of the De Caille family, and four nurses, who, at different times, had had charge of him,) swore that he was Isaac. One hundred and eighty two (including his father, his sister, and the undertaker who had buried him) swore as positively that he was not Isaac. One hundred and thirty swore that he was in reality Pierre Mege, while the evidence of his irate wife conclusively showed that he was an impostor.. In the course of the trial allusion was made to a still moro remarkable im posture. It had been urged on behalf of the claimant that he must be young De Caille, or he would not have dared to set up his claim during the life of his father, and while nn infinity of living witnesses could prove it fijlso. To this M. Do Bliniere in reply, gave an no count of an adventuress, who in 1028, went to Limoges and entered a nun nery, passing herself off as Henrietta Mari-i, sister of Louis XIII., and wife of Charles I., of England. The people in the vicinity were entirely deceived. Louis XIII., then at the siege of La Kochelle, Bent a commission to examine her. She conducted herself with the greatest effrontery, related the history of the English court ; gave the names of tho principal lords and ladies who waited on her, and stated that she fled from England because she was perse cuted for her religion. Everything was connected in herjunswers, she maintain ed that the was the king's sister, tnd signed her examination " Henrietta De Bourbon." As the real queen was at that very time on the throne of Eng land, visible every day at tho English cwurt, the imposture was of course ex posed, but many thought it could not be nn imposture, for the very reason that it was so palpable a cheat. Recent events in England have pro dnced several brochures on this subject of mistaken identity from prominent members of the bar. The strictness of tie English law with regard to contempt of court has prevented their publication till the conclusion of the Tichborne case, and the accumulations of some two years are now at onco made public. It is a subject which certainly deserves careful attention, for, like insanity, it is a perplexing question for the jury man. No system perhaps is superior to the ono now in use of procuring all the evidence attainable and subjecting it to a searching analysis, but an improve ment might be made in the canons, which govern in weighing evidence of this nature, at least so far as it relates to marks and personal resemblances. A suggestion by Mr. Joseph Brown, Q. C, that evidence Bhould always be pre sented to the jury of causes celebrea of a similar character, while perhaps im practicable from its making the pro ceedings too volnmnious, would no doubt have good effect. The case of Ada Ricard, alluded to above, is briefly this : A body was found in 1861, floating in the river near a Jersy City pier. It was supposod it might be the oorpse of a notorious woman, one Ada Ricard, who had dis appeared some time before. Her puta tive husband and others identified the body to the perfect satisfaction of the authorities, not only . by the facial re semblance, but also by the following marks, which Ada had, and which were all found on the corpse : 1. A habit of wearing very heavy earrings had slit the lobe of one ear, and they had both been pierced higher up. 2. She had a pecu liar cicatrix in a lower limb. 3. She habitually wore stockings two sizes too large for her feet. 4. She had a beau tiful nnd regular set of teeth, with the exception of one lower tooth, which was absent. The corpse had lost two lower teeth, but a "closer examination showed that one had been knocked out in the course of the death struggle, and was still adhering to the gum. No sooner, however, had the police satis fied themselves as to the identity of the corpse than Ada herself made hear ap pearance, having wandered off to New Orleans for a few months. Renewed efforts having been made to ascertain the identity of the murdered girl, a woman from one of the Eastern States next claimed the body as her daugh ter b, ana laeutinea it by tne very marks which had led the detectives to suppose it was Ada Ricard. By this time, however, she learned that her daughter was sick at Bellevue Hospital, and the corpse has never been identified. Itiis double error should lead us to adopt the proposition of an eminent x.ngnsn lawyer : No amount of resemblance, and hardly any amount of similitudes in combination, cau be safely received as prooi oi identity." The New Fire Tlug. ' ' : Conshohochen. Penn., says Max Adeler, is a "city set on a hill," or rather on the side of a hill. It stretches from the Schuylkill river np the inoline to the-top, which is about loll leet above the water level. Last summer they de termined to introduce water to the town, and they began by erecting a huge reservoir upon the summit of the hill, just beyond the village. When the work was done and- the reservoir pumped full of water, Mr. Bunder, who lives down near tho river, had a patent lire plug of his own invention placed in front of his house. One day. before the water had been turned on by the oompany, Bunder had his uncle Horace up ironi tne city to dinner, and lie tooK the old gentleman out to explain the fire plug to him. After unscrewing the top and examining the interior, Bun der s uncle took a seat on tne plug and began to discuss with Bunder the questions of " Oe?arism and the -depression in the price of pig iron." In the very heat of the controversy, the Superintendent up nt the reservoir turned tho water on for the purpose of washing out tho pipes. Two minutes afterwards, Bunder saw his uncle Hor ace suddenly shoot twenty feet into the air, followed by a column of water six six inches thick j nnd during the suc ceeding quarter of an hour while the fountain continued to play, old Horace Bunder remained on the top of that column, bouncing about with his legs pointing in quick succession to nil points of the compass, and to the earth and the sky, sometimes standing upon his head, sometimes resting on the pit of his stomach, sometimes with - the water in the small of his back, but never for a moment at rest. Bunder tried to turn the patent valve ia the plug but it wouldn't work, and he could only stand there and feel sick as he waited for his venerable relative to come down. At last the old man did descend all of a sudden, landing upon his back in the mud. Any other man would have expressed himself in violent language, but Horace merely rose, squeezed the water out of his hair, picked up his hat and shook it, glanced contemptuously at Bunder, went up and kicked the pa tent fire plug, jammed his hat firmly over his eyes, took the four o'clock train to town, and before he changed his clothes altered his will so that 810,000 that he intended for Bunder goes to any man who will invent an infernal machine which will exterminate Bun der's patent rights, for that fire plug can bo had at a sacrifice. A Toting Bride Burned to Death. In Cincinnati, says a local journal, a young man of twenty-seven, named John Vaudenburg, was married to Anna Sowegman, a young, girl not quite sev enteen years old. After the wedding the couple rnovd to u suite of rooms in the rear of 72 Richmond street. Everything appeared bright to the newly married pair. The girl was young, good looking and ami able, while the husband was a first-class tailor steady, sober, trustworthy and capable. The bride and groom gave a little party to their immediate friends, iu their neatly furnished apartments. Nothing was spared to make the day a pleasant one ; all were dressed in their best, the bride. wearing her light nnd airy white wedding dress. The feast went merrily on, when, about half-past seven o'clock, the new housewife discovered that the contents of the coffee pot weira getting low, so she hurried down stairs to the kitchea to make some fresh, leaving the hus band and guests laughing and talking alone. The fire in the kitchen stove had died down, nnd the little girl, in her haste to get back to her company, thoughtlessly picked up a can of kero sene and poured some of the oil upon the fire. Instantly the fire communi cated to her gossamer dress, and in a second she was completely enveloped in the flames. The kitchen she was in was soon on fire too. She rushed out, but could not get free from the fierce embrace of death. Her screams com pletely paralyzed the company above. They sat still an instant, then ail rushed down into the yard. Mr. Rickoff was first, and soon threw his coat around her, and then a blanket was added, but the fire still smoldered and burnt up everything except the waistbands of her skirts aud her white wedding slippers. The poor girl was carried up stairs to bed, and Dr. Brown summoned. He prescribed for her, but ptonounced the case hopeless. Indeed he might well ; she was burned completely j there was not a square inch upon her whole body that was not browned by the horrible fire. She lay on the bed and fairly writhed in pain. Two Sisters of Mercy watched her and nursed her, but their efforts were in vain. Death was a happy release. Tho husband was severely burned about tho head aud shoulders ; terribly so, but not necessarily fatal. Saving Chicken Feathers. Cut the plume portion of the feathers from the stem by means of ordinary nana scissors, rue tormer are placed in quantities in a coarse bag, which, wnen lun, is ciosea ana suuiectea to a thorough kneading with the hands. At the end of five minutes the feathers, it is stated, beoome disaggregated and felted together, forming a down perfect ly homogeneous and of great lightness. It is even lighter than natural eider down, because the latter contains the ribs of the feathers, which give extra weight. A quantity equal to about one and six-tenths troy ounces of this down can be obtained from the feathers of an ordinary sized pullet, and it readily sells in Paris for about two dollars a pound. The down thus obtained is said to form a beautiful cloth. For about square yard of such material a pound and a half of the down is required. The fabric is found to be almost indestructi ble, as in plaoe of-fraying or wearing outa t folds it only seems to felt with a greater degree of tightness. In addition to these valuable qualities, the fabric takes dye rapidly and is thoroughly waterprooi. The explosion of a 1ottle of soda water in the hands of George Fecher of Atlanta, Ga., severed an artery and put the man's life in danger. HYDROPHOBIA. What It Ii and what Causes it. The New York City Sanitary Com mittee give the following facts regard ing hydrophobia, a subjeot whioh is attracting so much attention at this time, owing to the immense number of people who have suffered and died from the terrible disease: ''..' Hydrophobia is a disease peculiar to nnimals of the canine and feline raoes, the dog, wolf, fox, cat, etc Its origin, except by actual inoculstion, is un known, it may be inoculated by lick ing a raw surface as well as by a wound with the tooth. Its occurrence and Erevalence are not materially affected y the seasons of the year, nor by cli mate. It is' perhaps slightly more fre quent in the spring months, but it oc curs alike in the coldest regions of Canada and the hottest districts of the East and West Indies. Of those bitten by nnimals known to be rabid but a small percentage are affected, namely, five to twenty per cent. This is largely duo to the fact that the saliva of the rabid dog is so far removed by the hair of the animal or clothes of the person bitten that none of it enters iu the wound. The mnle dog is far more liable to be affected than the female. Pet dogs conlined to the house and family are as liable to develop hydro phobia as dogs at large. The muzzling of healthy dogs and those allowed in the streets is at best a most imperfect preventive measure. If the animal is rabid he can readily inflict a wound with the metallic muzzlo, and thus in oculate the victim. If he is not rabid the muzzle will prove a species of cru elty and annoyance far more likely to produce canine madness than to pro tect against it. It would prove far more effective against the nuisance of the roving herds of vagrant curs in our streets if the ordinance forbid any dog in the street which did not wear a col lar having the owner's name and resi dence engraved upon it. It might also p:ove of much service if the public were better informed as to the early symptoms of hydrophobia in tho dog. These symptoms are thus given by an eminent veterinary surgeon: There are no premonitory signs of an attack of the disease in the dog. When the period of incubation (three to seven weeks) is passed, the animal is restless, dull, watchful, and snaps at dogs, other animals, or men, which come in its way. It shuns the light, but with much slyness seeks an opportunity of escape, and roves about town or country, mani festing extraordinary powers of exer tion nnd marked insensibility to blows and ill-usage. The habits of an animal may not change completely at first, and the recognition of persons it has been in daily contact with is sometimes very remarkable. The dilated pupils, tho manner iu which the eye3 follow any object moved before them, aud the pe culiar modification of the bark, which is more of the nature of a howl, are among the characteristic symptoms. xhe appetite is lost, thirst often con siderable, and the animals usually drink without difficulty. The coat is staring, Bkiu-tight ou the ribs, abdomen tucked up, head depressed, and nose pro truded, with a dirty mouth and tongue, and sometimes a discharge of mucous and saliva from tne sides of the mouth. In a certain number of cases the ner vous symptoms are very prominent at this period, and the lower jaw drors from raralysis of the muscles connect ed with it. The howl is then lost, hence the name of dumb rabies. Emaciation and craving after filth, which is swal lowed with some difficulty, are among the noticeable symptoms. There is a singular absence of any msuked accel eration of tho pulse and breathing dur ing the disease ; the animal sinks, often paralyzed in the hind quarters, and dies somewhat tranquilly from tho fourth t j the eighth clay. Dogs or cats suffering from these symptoms should be at once de stroyed. Linen Suits. The linen polonaise worn with a skirt of a different mateiial has taken the place of the plain linen suits to a great extent for ordinary traveling and every day purposes, says a fashion writer. hat are called " tourist outfits are imported, consisting of a loose linen polonaise belted in at tho back, a skirt of striped cambric, and a linen satchel strapped with leather. These are not so bad for country ex cursions and such light uses, but for traveling, a black skirt is best ; a black silk or mohair, with which can be worn a black straw hat and black Russia leather belt. More dressy linen and batiste suits are elaborately embroidered or orna mented vith a mixture of braid and embroidery, and there is an abundance of embroidery upon linen sold by the yard, black upon gray, white upon dark blue, chocolate upon brown, which may ba applied to the plain linen fabric by ladies wno wish to make it up in exclu sive designs. The tight-fitting, rather loud style of polonaise, or redingote, of last year, with its large pockets and deep, wide cuffi, has disappeared. The best styles this year hove French backs (narrow without side forms) and loose fronts, which are if-ld in with belt or sash, The skirt is long, the form simple, am' pie and graceful, the skirt tied back in stead of bunched up. Its Cost. Mr. Hammond, the re vivalist, ppoke to a man standing in a crowd at Quincy, 111., a short time ago, inquiring how he felt. "Do you see anything green ?" said the man, point ing to hii eye, as much as to say he was not a subject for conversion. "No, my friend," Mr. H. replied, "but I see something red your nose and it cost $5,000 to paint it, if you paid for the drinks." In Trouble. A Burlington Board of Trade man got into trouble by letting his business weigh too heavily on his mind the other night. His wife heard him murmur in his sleep, " Ella, dear Ella," fondly and tenderly, aud as her name it Mehitabel, she awoke him with a bald end of a hair brush, and asked him whof "I was thinking of 'Ella Vator," the wretched man said calmly, and chuckled off to sleep again. AMONG THE DOGS. Scenes at the New York Dm Ponnd ai Tola bjr m Kcflorlert An extraordinary and pitiable.though at the same time ladiorous scene, pre sents itself to the notice of the observ er. More than 300 dogs are chained to the flooring of a long, tolerably broad, room, care being exercised to leave a passageway for the attendants, and for visitors who come to rescue their favor-, ites. For two days the strong arm of Municipal law detains the unmuzzled Tray caught wandering in the streets. During that time the owner may re claim him and take him away on pay ment of three dollars. At the first sur vey the eye, in- its glancing sees noth ing but curs, tho great majority of whioh are quito young puppies, born the present year. Some are playing, some are howling, some are sleeping. But, walking down the aisle, a more careful view shows that there are qjiite a number ef dogs of race, of genteel animals, so to speak, among the hun dreds. And here one notices a re markable thing. Almost all the street dogs choose a chum from among those around him, and tho two play together and sleep side by side in the most friendly way. They are so tethered that any one dog could make friends with at least half a dozen, but there is manifest selection. Now, the pets will not make friends, but hold off on their dignity. The writer notices an unhappy Skye terrier with a head and body like a mop, who stands up and barks with anger, and snaps at all the other dogs near him. Not far off is a noble old watch dog, great creature, beautiful in his ugliness', with a strong look of the mastitt about him. Mis friend did not like to put a muzzle on the fine old fel low, knowing how ridiculous and rea sonless such a procedure was. He has been caught taking a nap somewhere, and has waked to find a string round his neck and a big loafer choking him by dragging him along the pavement. He is all right, however. He has been bespoken by a man who will pay the money, and take him according to the regulation if his friends do not claim him during lorty-eight hours. He passes all the time in sleeping or observ ing silently the company he is in. This he does with his head down between his outstretched forepaws, his eyes glancing fiercely from side to side. Let him out and give him five minutes with the greasy tramp who kidnapped him, and there would be a job for one of the Coroner's assistants. Nut far from the door is a pitiful case. It is a hne spitz dog, who is suf fering from some disease, nnd his friends gave a man fifty cents to bring him here. They think it may be hydro phobia. Perhaps it is. It is dreadfnl to see that dog fighting against his malady. He is trembling fearfully, nnd has a spasmodic motion of the ribs. He endeavors to stand erect, but can not, and falls back with a piteous look of mute anguish. He has never barked nor howled, but from the moment he was brought here has been fighting with his malady. He has become dreadfully thin, and looks in his emaciation like a famished Arctio wolf. His friends evi dently sent him here that he might be killed in a merciful way and sutler no pain. The dogs around him know that he is in anguish, and occasionally lick him ; and he looks at them so intelli gently, so gratefully, that one can un derstand how great a pet he must have been at home. He cau neither eat nor drink. When the pails of water and of soaked bread are passed around, he does not look at them, but perseveres in his ceaseless endeavors to get up, He Keems to have a dim belief that if he could onco stand he would be nil right, and would be permitted t go home. What a dreadful howl that little poo die does make. He is also a pet, but he has been sent here for biting one of the household. After the two davs have expired, if he has shown no symptoms of rabies, he will be consignee! to the care of a livery-stable man. ouch were the orders of his owners. This will be a lesson to him to moderate his little temper. He is a very intelligent little beast, and comprehends that all is not well. Close to him is a Scotch terrier, a very gentlemanly dog, who is evident' ly annoyed at the howling o the poO' die, which he considers ill-bred. Ho is lying all his length along the floor, meditating. He takes the water offer ed him gratefully enough, but refuses the food with a disdainful sniff. Some body will take him, even if his friends do not claim him. There is an old Irish man, master, one would think, of a pea nut stand, who is in want of a good dog to drive away the bad boys. He has already expressed his opinion to the wnter that the dogs are all curs " Shure there isn't a rale good, blooded wau, among the whole lot." But he changes his mind -when he sees this Scotch terrier, and makes whistling ad vances of amity, to which the dog does not in the least respond. Now pride will have a fall, if master does not come to the rescue, and this scornful dog will have to eat very dirty puddings, Up in the remote corner are the sluts, Among them is a miserable cur, not larger than a puppy herself, who has yeaned and brought forth upon the hard planks two wretched little things not halt the size of rats. Only think of the brute who had no compassion upon her trouble, and dragged her here for the sum of fifty cents 1 It is horrible to see her licking her unfortunate lit ter, and suckling them as best she may looking up into the face of every one who approaches her with a timid glance of deprecation, like the mute appeal of a real beggar asking pity for Christ's sake with his eyes only. She is a most lamentable specimen of a cur ; there is neither strength nor comeliness, nor race about her, and her pups are prob ably as worthless as herself. Une can' not see them, for she hides them with her paws, her motherhood giving her some prophetio sense of danger. Will she be tanked? The offioial is non committal, but shrugs his shoulders with a meaning that is ominous. She is a pariah, a dog-waif, a canine flotsam and jetsam. She exists in defiance of the laws of supply and demand. There is no hope for her, and she and her pups will soon sleep the death-sleep of sunocauon by tne oarDonio acta Items of Interest. Nibbles says (hat Sleek, the bank clerk, was always considered a very up right man until he sloped. An Eastern rmDor intimates that Treasurer Spinner acquired his habit of profanity while learning to read hia own writing. Tl is a notorious fact that the men who essay to manage the opinions of the world, invariably neglect their do mestic affairs, nnd allow tnem to run to ruin. An Illinois court has just decided that property pawned as security for money is not absolutely aud wholly forfeited when not redeemed at tho time agreed ipon. From one grain of muscle taken from deceased person in Flint, Mich. , who hod died of trichina spiralis, 102 tri chinoa were taken, looking like snakes under a 200-power lens. Miss Skillings gives notice to owners! of some seven acres of the best part of Portland, Me., that she owns the prop erty ; and the lawyers are taking off their coats and preparing for battle. An account of a deer-hunt in Poca hontas county, West Virginia, in the neighborhood of the headwaters of tho Ureenbner river, says that 8 deers ana two bears were killed by a party of eight gentlemen. In these days of coal monopoly it is a fact of interest to know that near Montreal peat is prepared for fnel to the amount of 18,000 to 20,000 tons annually, and that it finds a ready mar ket in the city. A Tempting Inducement. Cheerful agent for life insurance company : "The advantage of our company is that you do rot forfeit vour policy cither by be ing hanged or by committing suicide I Pray, take a prospectus i A man who was seen coming out of a Texas newspaper office with a split nose, with one eye and with one ear, explained to a policeman that he enter ed" the office simply to inquire if the editor was in. "And he was in," the victim mournfully added. A little six-year-old daughter of a Rutland clergyman watched Barnum s street parade with great interest the other day, and finally slid to her papa : "If I wa'n't a minister's little girl I could go to the circus, but I suppose I must set an example to the whole church now." There are many fruits which never turn sweet until the frost has touched them. There are many nuts that never all from the bough of the tree till the frost has opened and ripened them. And there are many elements of life that never grow sweet and beautiful till sorrow touches them. " I say, Sambo, does ye know what makes de com grow so fast when you Eut the manure on it?" "No, I don't ardly." " Now, I'll jist tell you : when de corn begins to smell do manure, it dou't like de 'fumery, so ill hurries out ob de ground, an' gets up as high rs possible so as not to breathe de bad air." Since the breaking of the Williams burg dam no fish have been seeu m Mill River, alttiougu it was iormeriy well-stocked with them. After the disaster, many suckers, eels, and small er fry were scattered along tne meau ows, nnd such as escaped death thus on dry land were probably killed by the nltu and poisonous quantities oi me slimy deposits which have been so many years accumula'ing in the numer ous mill-dams. What a Great Flood Means. The following is an extract from a recent letter from a planter to his agent in New Orleans : " I regret that I have nothing favora ble to write from this section (uoeuff Prairie). We are under water, nnd have been for the past six weeks. There is nothing doing except bonting stock from one high place to another, nnd, as you might suppose, they are now nearly all dead. The water is falling slowly, but has only receded six inches in all, which does us no good yet. A fall of two feet more would give us some re lief. Many have had to leave their homes and put up rude tents to afford shelter to their wives and little ones, while they returned to their homes witU the purpose, in most instances futile, of saving their stock and household ef fects. Chickens and turkeys are ou tne housetops. Passing through the coun try in boats the stench from the dead stock is terrible, nnd much sickness must necessarily follow the great calamity under which we are now suf fering. Most of the fenoing is washed away and cannot be recovered. A great proportion of the work stock is already dead, and that left, if any should be left, will not be able to work, for the end is not yet. The water is eighteen inches higher than in that memorable year we hear our 'old people talk about, 1828. A description of the flood here ia quite impossible. You canuot conceive you would have to be here to realize the extent of the distress. Tne Hor rors of an overflow are awful to read about, but if yeu could see and realize what we have seen and experienced the past six weeks see your favorite cows dying of starvation, and in the water perhaps drowning, lowing to you for help ; your oxen, your horses, mules, Berkshire hogs, sheep, fencing timber, lumber for building purposes, all being swept away by the merciless flood, and no power to stay or prevent it ; the work perhaps of your whole life snatched from you in a day you would then fully realize our distress. " The good people of New Orleans and other cities both North and South have kindly and in a Christian-like spirit come forward to the assistance of the districts. Some provisions have been and are being distributed in this section, and let me say they are very much needed. I ask for nothing for myself am able to take care of myself and family, at least for the present but there are a great many people as good as I am or anyone else who are not able, and the whole colored popu lation will starve if some comprehen sive system is not adopted to provision them the coming summer."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers