HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. IV. 1UDGAVAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THU11SDAY, SEPTEMI3EII 17, 1874. NO. 29.
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I
America 1o Iceland.
Wo conic, the children of thy Vinland,
TL c youngest of Ibo world's high peers,
O land of steel, and hour, and saga,
To greet thy glorious thousand years !
Across that sea the son of Erik
Dared with his venturous dragon's prow
from shores where Thorflun set thy banner,
Their latest children seek thee now.
Hail mother-laud of skalds and heroes,
Iiy love of freedom hither hurled,
Fire in their hearts as in thy mountains,
And strength like thine to shake the
world 1
When war and ravage wrecked the nations
The bird of Bong made thee her home;
,' The ancient gods, the ancient glory,
Still dwelt within thy shores of foam.
Iloro, as a fount may keep its virtue
Where all the rivers turbid run,
The nmnly growth of deed and daring
Was thine beneath a scantier sun.
Hot apart, neglected, exiled,
Thy children wrote their runes of pride,
With power that brings, in this thy triumph,
The conquering nations to thy side.
What though thy native harps be silent,
The chord they struok shall ours prolong
Wo claim thee kindred, call thee mother,
0 laud of saga, steel and song !
Bayard Taylor.
THE BOYS AT KEECUWOOD.
' The little cbnu needs breakinc in
That's what he's bora for wants tough
ening, you see, and I feel it's my duty
to help ou tiiat part of his education
niyseli. '
" Duty " and Kit eavo a little sniff.
He was standing against a maple, whoso
iruuK was not straighter than Jbis firm,
bojish buck. "I wish, Rique Ramon,
that your duty would make you take
Koine fellow ot your owu size ; you're
always pitching into the small fry.
"Perhaps you'd enjoy my pitching
into you.
" If you think so. try it."
" Anyhow, Kit, didn't .1 have a set-to
With the deacon last year? And he
wouldn't fight mo ; didr.'t dare to do
it I"
" I don't know about the dare.' "
"Well, I do," cried Henrique. "I
tell you, the d .-aeon's a regular muff.
He's a cow:r j. That's why he wouldn't
light.
" Perhaps you think it looks like a
coward to dive into twenty feet of water
to hsh out Tom Murphy s little boy.
The rest of us didn't see it that way.
Nonsense 1 You always hated Charlie,
ana you Know it.
(Charlie and the "deacon " are one)
Kit and Henrique were the two old
est boys of the twenty pupils in Dr.
Vose's school. I suppose you might
pick out a couple like them on the side
walk of any city when the nine .o'clock
school-bell rings.
Kit whs gray-eyed, frank-faced, and
always in motion ; .Rique had a pale
face, very red lips, and a flash of the
eye which matched the jet black of his
curls. He had a figure all curves, which
fell naturally into indolent graces of
posture, a figure as flexible as that of a
Japanese contortionist. Kit had joints
of steel, had loog, clean-cut limbs, and
a spring in his tunc.
"Kit jumps over; Rique crawls
through," said a younger boy, one day
at a fence.
This was just tho difference between
the two. Kit was frank and open
Rique, though not a really bad boy, was
greatly spoiled by a rich mother, and
was in dancer of becoming a self-in
dulgent and not wholly trustworthy
character.
" I say, youngster," he exclaimed, as
a small boy stepped down ironi the
piazza, and stood near, "where did you
drop from
It was a piuk-and-white face, which
crew less white and more pink at the
question. Thereupon, Rique grasped
the small white arm, as he went on,
"Look here! What's yonr name?
Where did you eome from ? Speak
out. lou can talk, 1 suppose t
" I'm Appleton Bernio Appleton.
JUy mother lives in .Philadelphia.
"Philadelphia? Rique replied, to
the nuiet, well-bred little voice. " Well.
now, I take it Philadelphia isn't a good
place to raise infants ? Is that why
your mother sent hers here ? Hope she
sent a high-chair along.
" Rique I"
Kit's indignant protest was flung out
in this interjection.
"Well, what?"
"Let the little fellow alone, can't
you ?"
" Why, yes ; if you make such a fuss
about it. There, go along then. If
you're in need of anything you've only
to go to Kit over there, tie a nurse to
all the babies in Beechwood."
" Hush up 1" and Kit looked after the
little retreating figure.
" I'll be whipped if the child has
been taught to walk. Don't you Bee ?"
sneered Rique.
" I see he's lame," Kit answered,
coolly.
"Putting on airs," Rique muttered.
" Now, I suppose he'll go off and cod
dle that baby up. He'll adopt him di
rectly, and we eha'n't any of us be able
to touch a hair of his head from this
time forth. Never mind ; I'll have my
chance with the young cub yet."
Bernie was the child whom Henrique
declared needed "toughening," and
his gentle reply to his questions only
gave his tormenter a stronger desire to
undertake this "part of his education."
As for Kit, Rique was right iu imag
ining that he would take the little stran
ger under his wing. From the hour of
this afternoon, when he found Bernie
moistening his cambric handkerchief
with hot tears, curled upon the hay,
beside tho nest of an astonished ban
tam, and comforted him with rough,
kindly boy-comfort, from that hour the
child had a strong defender. Bernie
was a home-boy. He had been ill a
great deal, and the widowed heart
whose treasure he was had bled sorely
at sending him among strangers.
" I should mind it less," Mrs. Apple
ton had told Dr. Vose, " was my boy
strong. But a fall last year caused this
lameness, besides giving a shock to hia
whole nervous system. He is an excep
tionally sensitive child ."
The good doctor smiled and consoled
her, and now he smiled again when he
saw Kit's guardianship.
" Why don't you come with mo, you
little rascal ?" asked Henrique ; and
when Birnie avoided him, he vowed
again to " toughen him some day."
" I'm going with Kit ; I'm fond of
Kit," the child answered.
" Go along by all means. Kit's train
ing to superintend a foundling asylum.
Good practice his is I But I'll be even
with you before you're a hundred years
old, my lad."
Rique had a natural though thought
less fondness for tormenting any crea
ture that came into his power. He
stoned frogs to " see 'em squirm ;" he
cut off wasps' bodies, to see how long
they would live after it; and he did
actually enjoy " breaking in " small
boys. In addition to this, he disliked
Bernie, because the child had wounded
his owu self-love, and because he bus
pecter'! that the Appletons were of bet
ter blood and breeding, than tho raoe
of which he came.
I do not mean that Rique Ramon ex
plained all this to himself, but it was
the truth, and I must tell it to you in
order to account for what followed.
There was at Beechwood a rough fel
low one Jack Casey whose native
village had become too hot to hold him,
and who by reason of misdeeds had
been sent, as a last resort, to Dr. Vose.
He was an evil-faced fellow, with
high cheek bones, heavy brows, and
the coarsest black nair. It was Jack
whom Rique drew into his room one
February evening, and shutting the
door, addressed,
" Look here, Jack, to-night's our
time."
"For what ?"
" Don't be a goose I Time for sea
soning that young moon-calf, Apple
ton. The doctor's cone in town, and
Kit Banning with him. They aren't
coming back till the ten o'clock train
to-morrow, so we're all right. It's just
the best kind of a night for our pur
pose, too. The thermometer is way
down to nowhere, and I tell vou we can
have one good haze."
"Its the old plan you snoke of.
Rique?"
Of course it is. I ve cot the todq
ready. I brought it out of the barn
just now, before Tom locked up. All
you need to do is to get up and come
along when I scratch on the outside of
your door so. Eleven o'clock, sham.
We must wait till Haston is asleert. and
tho old lady and all the fellows."
Beechwood had been built for a fam
ily mansion. Afterwards it was re-
- "I 1 "1 1 1 mi
moueiea ior tne scnooi. There were
no large dormitories, but many small
rooms, and eacu one of the twenty pu
pils had his chamber to himself.
Away at the farthest end of the main
building, open in c off the hall, were two
bed-rooms. One of these was Kit s,
the other Bernie's. . Tnis will show
why Rique had waited for Kit's absence
before carryg out his project.
Bernie was asleep, with his yellow
curls tossed about, and the moon shin
ing through tho window upon his pil
low, A poor little kitten which he had
adopted was coiled up at his feet.
Suddenly a shake of the shoulder awak
ened him, and the child saw two figures
standing ai the side of the bed.
"Keep still. Don t scream if you
know what's good for yourself," said a
low voice. At the same time Bernie
felt a handkerchief bound tightly round
his mouth. " nere, now, slip on your
drawers and come along. It'll be the
worse for you if you try to make a
fuss."
Poor, little, shivering, frightened
child I More dead than alive, wonder
ing what it all meant, wondering if he
was ever to see his mother's face again,
he felt himself led by these mullled
figures out into the dim hall and up to
the open window.
Jake and Rique had disguised them
selves by means of hat-brims turned
down and coat-collars turned up. Ber
nie had no distant idea, save that the
house had been attacked by robbers,
and all the rest killed.
But what were they doing to him ?
Ho saw a rope, and felt strong hands
binding it about his trembling body
and under the arms. Then he felt
himself lifted to the window-ledge.
Now be quiet, or you II get your
brains knocked out," said the taller of
the two. and the next instant the little,
delicate, lamo, mother-loved boy was
tossed out of the window, and held
dangling in the terrible cold of that
February night between the heavens
and the earth.
The tormenters lowered the child and
raised him, lowered and raised again,
in this horrible see-saw of torture.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong," sang Rique,
under his breath. " Hope he's enjoy-
lug this, snoumn t wonder u his
white fingers got toughened a bit.
Look here, Bernie Appleton," extend
ing his head out into the night, " how
do you fancy it down there ? Having a
swing an lor nothing, mat s what you
are, my fine lad."
Jack put out his head and looked
down, too. No answer came up from
the child hanging below. It was a
bitter night. The very stars had an
icy glitter. The moon was about set
ting, and shone large and round across
the frozen lake.
I sav. Riaue. its fearfully cold.
You ain't afraid the young one '11 '
"Afraid? Bother I what a anybody
afraid of?"
" Nothing : only what if we should
haul him up a bit. and then let him
down again?"
All right. Heave away. tnen.
There ! Why, pull, I say. Pull, why
don't you, Jack ? '
"lam pulling pulling as hard as X
can."
" So am I, and the rope don't give a
whit. What's the matter down there, I
wonder? See here, Jack, there's
trouble" peering anxiously out and
down. "Here's a go I That miserable
rope is caught away down there, above
the first story, on the lightning-rod."
' lou don t mean it I What are
we "
Jack stopped. The two boys stared
at each other through the shadows.
Then Rique exclaimed, " I know," and
bent forward again, speaking in a loud,
hoarse whisper,
" Appleton I"
Only silence followed.
" Appleton I I say, Bernie I you're
caught. Just put your arm out, can't
yon and jrk the rope off that nail by
the lightning-rod. It's close to your
hand.'7
No answer. Through the clear night
came tne rusu ana snrieK oi the mid
night train out from the citv.
"Bernie I you can hear; come, just
grau tne rope and pull it oil, and we'll
have you back up here, quick as wink."
Still silence, and that dead weight
hanging away down below. A frightful
possibility, a horror of dread came
creeping over the minds of the two
boys.
" O Jack, you don't suppose it isn't
he can't be dead 1"
"What shall we do? He will be;
he'll freeze there in ten minutes more.
I'm going to call the master call
Haston."
" Stop ! Wait ; no, I'll call the dea
con." Two minutes, and Charlie Newman,
the sober, silent boy, whom Rique
called a coward, and whom he had for
months ridiculed, was beside them at
the window. The two bed-rooms were
at their left hand ; at their right was
the roof of the wing a steep roof hay
ing a dormer window opening out upon
it. The window at which Bernie hung
was just at the angle of the maiu-build-ing
and the wing.
" Can't we bring a. ladder ?" asked
Jack.
" All fastened up iu the barn. Be
sides, no ladder of Dr. Vose's is long
enough to reach this floor."
" There's but one way," said Charlie;
" I can go round and climb out that
dormer window, crawl along over tho
eaves-trough, and nnhook the rope that
way."
" You'll fall and break your neck."
" Give me two or three yards of this
rope to tie round my waist ;" and al
ready Charlie had Rique's knife and
was cutting the rope. "Jack, come
with me ; Rique, you hold on to that
end."
O, what an age it seemed to Rique as
he stood there alone, grasping the rope
from whose other end was suspended
what ? A living or a dead child ? Was
he a murderer ?
" O, what a horror of trouble this
mischief .has trot mo into I" he cried to
himself.
mi 1. - 1 i-r .
j.uuu ue groauea. lie grovelled on
his knees before the window. He dared
not think what the end might be, the
nigui with its learlul cold, the fright
Bernie must have gone through, the
. i rrii. . . .
uey say ne nas been sick so
much, thought wretched Henrique.
v, way aian 1 1 thinK of all this be
lore ? lhere, Charlie has got round."
Just across the angle formed by the
main building 'and the wing was the
dormer Window nryl nnt, frrim it nr
creeping cautiously Charlie s rather
heavy figure. The boy whem Rique
had called a " mull, was risking limb,
not to say life, in his ellort to save
Bernie, and to shield his tormentors
for, of courso, it would have been the
simplest thing to have aroused the fam
ily and told all. But that Charlie would
not do, even when he remembered how
luque had abused him.
Out upon the icy roof he crawled
on, little by little, where a misstep
would send him far down ; on to the
very edge of the roof, came the brave
boy.
O Charlie, do be careful," urged
Rique; and then, scarcely daring to
breathe, he watched until he saw the
shadowy arm outstretched, felt the
rope strain under his own grasp, and
then heard Charlie say,
" There, Rique, it's all right. Draw
him up."
All right ! Rique doubted that. The
rope to be sure was straightened, but
alas for that limp, motionless weight
at the end of it I
An instant, and the child's helpless
body was at the window ; the next,
Rique felt a strong grasp drowning him
backward, and a voice said, sternly,
"Leave him to me. Ramon, go to
your own room."
It was the doctor, who had come
home ou the late train, and who had
reached his own house just in time to
witness the final movements of this
midnight torture.
" My own room ? O, Dr. Vose, can't
I wait and see how Bernie is ?"
For reply Dr. Vose motioned with
one arm towards Henrique's chamber ;
with the other he clasped little Bernio
to his bosom, walking with him down
the dim hall.
The house responded with the sound
of feet that went and came in haste.
Doors opened and shut. Across the
snow-Waste of the plain a horse and
rider went rushing yillageward. Then
they returned with one pressing hard
behind.
" It is the dontor," said Henrique to
himself.
Then he stolo out on the landing.
People were hurrying back and forth
in the lower hall. Presently two men
came out, and stood whispering just be
low him.
" Had the child been a robust child,"
said one of the two (" it is Dr. Farley,"
thought Rique), " the result might have
been different ; but the little fellow was
so delicate. With such a boy the fright
and the fearful cold could scarcely be
anything but fatal. Doesn't take much
to kill such a little fellow."
" Kill," fatal," " he was " These
fearful words, what did they mean ?
To Henrique only one thing murder I
He dragged himself back to his room,
shut the door, and locked himself in
there with the horror of great darkness
upon his mind.
Hour after hour passed, and the
winter dawn looked in on a boy flung
prostrate along the floor, his eves
dilated with terror and remorse. No
word of mine, no words of a far better
narrator, ever can can tell what that
night was to Henrique Ramon.
Rique," came a whisper, with the
first ray of sunshine at the door.
Rique, let me in."
"Well?" gasped Rique. in frozen
desperation, as Charlie faced him. The
wretched boy had risen to unfasten the
door, and now stood showing a
ghastly, scared faoe with a hunted look
in the eyes.
" Don t tell me ; X know."
"Can you hear him awaynp here?
It is awful. He thinks he's up in the
air, and can't get down again. Poor
child ! talks all the time abont it, and
pleads."
"Talks? Bernie? Why, I thought "
Rique seized Charlie's arm "I
thoucht he was dead I"
" O, no, indeed. Dr. Farley says it's
a dreadful shock, but he thinks he'll
be round again iu time."
Even Charlie could not comprehend
why Henrique should fling himself on
his knees and cover his head in the bed
clothing. He did not know of that
lower deep iu which the wretched boy
had been struggling during these last
hours.
" And Dr. Vose ? What do yon sup
pose he'll do with us ?" asked Jack, an
hour later.
" As though I cared what he does to
me, if Bernie will only got up again,"
answered Rique.
And Bernie did " get up again." The
first time he went out, it was to be
wheeled in an invalid's chair up and
dowD the south verandah, with Hen
rique pushing him Henrique, into
whoso face had come a new look. I
think it grew there during that night of
horror, and the day of thanksgiving
which had dawned after it.
" Of course Dr. Vose will expel Ra
mon," said half the world, and the resi
duary half replied, " Of course he
ought to do it."
But Dr. Vose, after an hour's talk in
tho librarv with Henrique tho day after
tho trouble, came to another decision.
As for Henrique himself, ho scarcely
thought what was to come to him now
that he had been saved the worst
doom.
" I tell you, boys," he said, the first
time he went upon the play-ground,
"you may say what you please. You
can't any of you hate, me worse than I
hate myself for this perfoimance ; and
whatever you do, I've made up my
mind about one thing. I wont have a
hand again in breaking in' small boys.
That's all.
Rique turned and
his head bent down.
" Ramon, I say."
" Come back here.
was walking off,
A voice called,
It was Charlie.
1, lor one,, am
ready to hush up, so long as you you've
said so much. Bygones are bygones,
and there's my hand on lii..
The others came up and shook hands.
one by one, and Ramon tore himself off
at last, to rush into the house and no
to Bernie's room, where he threw him
solf down and whispered
" I could have gone through a good
uogging easier ; they were so Kind.
"Some one else is kind ;" and Bernio
put out a little haud to stroke the black
curls, for the two were fast friends
now.
On the play-ground Bernie was never
seen without his "guardian," as the
boys said, close at hand. "Bygones
were ,, bjgones" sjyefortwo'jthings ;
of horror, the other was Bernie's start
ing up sometimes in his sleep, and cry
ing out in terror, "Please let me down !
Please don't drop me 1 O, I'm falling,
I'm falling 1"
" He will not get over that foryears,"
Vt. Carrey said. "It was a fearful
shock. A little more and ho would
have been unsettled for all time. A
narrow escape."
And this " narrow escape " was the
first and last of hazing among the boys
at lieechwood. l outi s vompamon.
Newspaper Advertising.
Whoever would be heard in a crowd
pleading his own cause, about his own
business and in his own interest, as
against all competition, must thrust
and push and squeeze and crowd until
ne has secured a position wherein he
is a little taller and more conspicuous
than his fellows.
The newspaper advertiser occupies a
similar situation. He knows that com
petition among business men has
everywhere shown the necessity of
keeping his name and occupation be
fore the public if he would secure the
largest success. It is acknowledged,
eveu by those who profess not to adver
tise, members of the learned profes
sions who protest against the system as
being something unworthy of their
calling, but they too advertise in some
way ; they publish a book, and adver
tise that, write letters to the newspa
pers about the coming comet, or de
liver lectures, or do anything in fact to
keep their names before the public in a
manner that seems to them to be at
once dignified and effective.
But nowhere has the value of this ac
cessory to a successful business been
more fully recognized than in this
country. The active determination
with which men engage in all kinds of
commercial occupations has forced
them to see that publicity is essential
to success. It is this habit of the great
mass of the publio to rush into print
that has made room for the business of
advertising agents, securing to the ad
vertiser the benefit of advice and skill
in a branch of business frequently in
volving large outlay, and requiring
great experience, discrimination, and
natural and acquired skill.
A Rapid Raise.
Captain Sutter, an ex-officer of
Charles X's. Swiss Guards, who had
been forced to emigrate in 1830. had
settled in California and founded a lit
tle colony, which he called " New Hel
vetia." In the year 1847, he entered
into a contract with a Mr. Marshall to
have a saw-mill built for him on a
branch of the Sacramento river. Dur
ing the progress of the work, a little
girl, the millwright's daughter, picked
up a shining yellow lump under the
mill race, and showed it to her father
as a pretty stone. Marshall took it to
Captain Sutter, who at once recognized
the' preoious metal, made careful in
vestigations and soon found that the
whole country, watered by the Sacra
mento river and its numerous tributa
ries, abounded in gold. San Franoisoo
was then a wretched village containing
400 inhabitants ; and in a few years the
population rose to 40,000 ; and it is now
a magnificent city, the capital of the
western world, the terminus of the
longest line of railway ever planned or
executed, and the rival ot New York in
the greatest contest of cities for the
seat of government of Amerioa. And
all this has been brought around in
twenty years by a few tons of gold.
A Word to Adventurers.
A friendly bit of advice to those who
intend visiting the Black Hills gold re
gions, says a correspondent, may not
be out of place. The simple mention
of the existence of gold in any new seo
tion of country, is enough to Are the
imagination and unsettle the mind of a
great many persons, who are always
waiting for something to turn up.
Somehow there is a fascination in dig
ging gold directly from the earth in
stead of getting its equivalent by other
forms of labor. The effect of the re
ports from the Black Hills, therefore,
may be to create, especially in the
West, a new gold fever, which, like all
such diseases, must have its run. Rea
son and wholesome advice have little
power to check the malady when once
it has begun. Possibly they may be
of use in preventing it.
To those, therefore, who contemplate
an immediate rush to the Black Hills
gold district, let me administer a friend
ly caution, based on two or three con
siderations. First, that the country is
the recognized home of powerful bands
of hostile Indians, who have sworn to
repel any intrusion of the white man.
This country is a part of their reserva
tion. Until it is purchased from them
by the Government they have a prior
claim and a perfect right to protect it.
Be assured that they will do it. That
they have not met and opposed tho
present expedition is nothing in the
argument. They were informed of its
object, which was not to settle but
simply to explore. They knew also its
great strength, and feared an encoun
ter. Small parties of whites entering
the Hills in defiance of the red man's
right, as well as the laws of the Gov
ernment, would find themselves be
tween two fires, and would be pretty
sure to be burnt by one of them. The
scalp-dance is a favorite pastime of the
Sioux, and a few unprotected miners
might easily afford them material for
this sport.
Secondly, though I have no reason
to doubt the truthfulness and skill of
our miners, and the correctness of their
reports as to the extent and value of
tho gold field, yet it must be remem
bered that the yielding area, so far as
determined, is not great ; nor can it be
said with any certainty how long it
would last. The results thus far,
though promising and satisfactory,
have still been local and superficial. It
would not be surprising if the field
should prove both extensive and rich.
uut only further exploration and ex
periment can establish the fact. Those
who seek the Hills only for gold must
be prepared to take their chances. Let
the over-confident study the history of
Pike's Peak. The Black Hills, too, are
not without ready-made monuments for
The Sea-Cow.
Both the Indian and St. Lucie rivers
of Florida are filled with a course, rank
grass, which takes root at a depth of
trom twenty to thirty feet, and rises to
the surface. It is called menatee grass,
because it is eaten by the wonderful
menatee or sea-cow. Florida is the
only spot on the North American con
tinent where this animal is found. It
is amphibious and herbivorous, and
weighs from 800 to 2,000 pounds. It
suckles its young, and has a head like
a seal, a nose like a cow, flippers like a
sea-lion, and a tail like a whale. Such
is the description by those who have
seen it. Of immense strength, when
at bay it can easily knock a boat to
pieces. The body is powerfully built.
The bones are like iron, and the ribs
are short, thick, and heavy, and as
white as ivory. The menatee is very
shy. Once in a while one is shot.
Several have been netted. One was
captured a year ago and taken to Savan
nah alive, but it died within a few
months. The meat is eaten by the
people living on the upper Indian river,
and is said to be sweet and palatable,
Indians are extremely fond of it.
While on the way up from Lake
Worth, two men named Moore and
Hammond had a narrow escape from a
menatee. They were sailing at twilight
ia one of the sluggish and tortuous
lagoons leading to the Everglades.
While rounding an abrupt curve in a
mangrove swanip they startled a mena
tee. The monster was sleeping under
some low branches. Thinking itself
cornered, it made a rush for the boat.
Fortunately the water was deep, and it
slipped under the bow. Its back, how
ever, scraped the keel, and the craft
was lifted from the water. The mena
tee lashed the waves with its tail, barely
missing the boat, and raised such a
swell that she half filled with water.
Two as pale-faoed men as you ever
looked upon baled liar out and con
tinued their journey.
Years ago an Indian river hunter was
caught in a similar fix. The sky was
overcast and the night very dark. A
frightened menatee shattered his boat
and she went to the bottom. The hun
ter caught the boughs of the over
hanging mangroves and tried to pull
himself ashore, but was barred by a
network of roots. All night long he
clung to the mangroves. Clouds of
mosquitoes and sandflies surronnded
him and he suffered almost intolerable
tortures. At daylight he managed to
get into the swamp, and after incredi
ble hardships worked his way to a
point opposite Jupiter light, where he
muue iiimseu uearu uuu was rescued.
Salient Points of Character.
The world generally takes men at
their own apparent estimate of them
selves, Henoe, modest men never at
tain the same consideration which bust
ling, forward men do. It has not time
or patience to inquire rigidly, and it is
partly imposed upon and carried away
by the man who vigorously claims its
regards. The world, also, never, has
two leading ideas about any man.
There is always a remarkable unity in
its conceptions of the characters of in
dividuals. If an historical person has
been cruel in a single degree he is set
down as cruel and nothing else, al
though he may have had many good
qualities, all not equally conspicuous.
If a literary man is industrious in a re
markable degree, the world speaks of
him as only industrious, though he may
be also very ingenious.
Flogging Round the Fleet,
A well-known English gentleman
Mr. James Silk Buckingham lately
deceased, was about sixteen years old
when he volunteered on board an Eng
lish Bhip of war, where, howover, he
soon became disgusted with the severity
of the discipline, and deserted. The
scene which impelled him to take this
course was the "flogging round the
fleet " of a deserter. '
Tho poor fellow had been impressed
find torn from his wife and children.
He had deserted, and, when recaptured,
he struck the officer who took him. The
merciful sentence of the court-martial
was that he should receive twelve lashes
at each vessel in the fleet. A boat from
each vessel attended the execution, and
Mr. Buckingham was in one of these.
He says : " The prisoner was in the
launch, one of the largest boats of his
own ship, in the center of which was
erected a triangular framework, made of
handspikes or poles. To this he was
fastened, by the arms being extended
upward and outward, and his wrists
bound tightly to the framework by
cords, his body boing perfectly naked
to the waist.
" In this boat there were about a
dozen of his own shipmates, the officer
superintending the punishment, a lieu
tenunt of his own ship, and surgeon of
the same, whose duty it was to see that
the punishment was kept short of in
flicting death.
" On reaching the leeward ship, the
launch hauled alongside ; and at least
twenty boats, in one of which I was
stationed at the bow, clustered round
tho vessel on the starboard side, a few
yards only from the launch, so we
could see every lash that fell, and hear
every shriek and groan of the sufferer.
" From the ship there descended an
officor, with two boatswains' mates, and
an assistant surgeon. The naked body
of the victim was exposed, and we heard
the order given: ' The prisoner was to
receive a dozen lashes from each ship.
Boatswains' mates do your duty 1
"The strokes of the lash fell heavily,
and at what to me seemed long inter
vals (a minute between each at least).
Tho very first brought blood ; the suf
ferer restrained his utterance till about
tho fifth or sixth ; but then the pent up
agony had vent in a shriek, enough to
rend a heart of stone.
" At the end of the first instalment of
a dozen lashes, the victim's back was
one mass of lacerated flesh and blood ;
and over this spread a blanket, which,
we were assured, was steeped in vine
gar and brine, as some said to augment
the suffering, as others contended, to
prevent mortification.
"The boats now all fell into line'
each towing the one next behind her at
an interval of about a boat's length
with the prisoner in tow, all" $u"rflflg
against a stiff head -wind to the ship
next in order to windward; occupying
from fifteen to twenty minutes.
" Here the same horrible scene was
repeated, and so onward till about ten
or twelve ships had been visited, there
being six or eight more to go to ; when
the victim having several times fainted,
and his voice ceased to give forth either
shrieks or groans, he was reported by
the surgeon to be incapable of bearing
any further infliction, and was ordered
to be rowed ashore to tho hospital, be
fore reaching which ho was discovered
to be dead ; and some declared that he
had received the last heavy lashes on
his body after the spirit had quitted its
earthly tenement."
Before the fleet sailed Mr. Bucking
ham deserted, and was fortunate enough
to escape re-capture,and its consequent
repetition of this disgusting and dis
graceful scene, With himself for the
principal actor.
Appearances Deceitful.
Landlords and waiters, who form
their estimate of men from looks and
clothing, deserve to fall into blunders
which mortify their self-conceit. A
capital case of this kind happened re
cently in Germany.
A stranger who arrived at Ragatz to
enjoy its healthful springs was heard
at the depot to inquire for a vehicle to
take him to some hotel. It was a gen
tleman advanced in age, plainly clad ;
iu fact, his clothes discovered an un
usual simplicity. On his arm he bore
a traveling-gown, and his baggage was
by no means very extensive. He had
been referred to the Ragatz hotel, but,
being somewhat absent-minded, he
mounted the omnibus of the Spring
hotel, at which place it loft him.
The porter scrutinized him closely,
assigning him rooms on the third story.
Soon a waiter knocked and presented
the hotel register, in which the old gen
tleman signed his name and returned
him the book. The waiter read the
name, when, eyeing the guest at first
with surprise and then in doubt, he ran
forthwith to the proprietor of the hotel.
Having scarcely observed the name of
his guest he ran up stairs, and, enter
ing the room with a low bow, stam
mered some kind of an apology, saying
that the saloons of the entire first story
were at his disposal.
"I thank you, my friend," answered
the stranger ; " I find myself very com
fortable here, indeed ; and, besides,
these rooms are cheaper."
Our host retreated, and the stranger,
who retained his rooms on the third
story, was a person of no less conse
quence than General Field-Marshal
Moltke.
London Newspapers.
The Danbury man does not have an
exalted view of London daily newspa
pers, for in one of his letters he says :
They are rather slow concerns, are
these London dailies. They crowd
their advertisers into repulsive limits ;
they mix up their matter without any
regard to classification ; they publish
but a beggarly handful of American
news ; they report in full the most in
significant speeches ; they don't seem
to realize that there is such an attrac
tion as condensed news paragraphs ;
they issue no Sunday paper, and but
one or two havo a weeklj ; they ignore
agriculture and science, personals and
gossip ; they carefully exclude all
humor and head-lines, and eome to
their readers every week day, a sombre
and mournful spectaole that is most ex
asperating to behold.
Items of Interest
There are 800,000 more women than
men in England.
A California hotel has water tanks in
the attic, and is proposing to cultivate
fish there in sufficient quantity to sup
ply boarders.
A lazy fop asked his physioian what
he considered the best size for a man.
" Exeroise 1" exclaimed the sturdy dis
ciple of Esculapius.
A Roman Catholio priest of Darm
stadt, Gormany, has been sentenced to
eight days' imprisonment for introduc
ing politics into the pulpit.
" Grandma, why don't you keep a
servant any longer ?" " Well, you see,
my child, I'm getting old now, and
can't take care of one, as I used to do,
you know."
One-sixth of America's population of
about 30,000,000 it is said cannot read
or write ; 5,000,000 out of a total school
population of almost 13,000,000 receive
instruction.
A gentleman who lauded from au
Erie express train in Brooklyn attracted
universal attentian by the magnificence
of his diamond breast pin. He was
supposed to be a hackman from Niagara
Falls.
Quito a crop of carbuncles and malig
nant pustules appeared at Varennes,
France, brought from tho Beance in
sheepskins ; but they were stamped
out by iodine injections into the cellu
lar tissue.
It is reported that some peoplo at
Port Henry, N. Y., use nitro-glycerine
for catching fish. It kills everything
within fifty feet, and from fifty to seventy-five
pounds of fish are taken at a
single explosion.
The kicking to death mania has ex
tended to Ireland. A mau named
Noiau, in the county of Meath, recently
received fatal injuries by being kicked
by some persons who are not yet fully
identified with the crime.
It is quite usual for a Colorad
farmer to be aroused in the night b
knock on the door, and it is quite usual
for him to open the door and shoe, the
stranger before asking any questions.
The stranger is most always some one
who deserves killing.
Bazaino's bargain was apparently
made with a steams'ip company at
Genoa a gentleman nd lady char
tered a little steamer for an excu.,ioH
along the littoral, witl privilego to stop
at any point for any ime, to be paid at
so much a day.
They tell of an Admiral's wife at
Newport who walked to church, and
found herself so stared at that sue
thought there was something wrong
about her black mourning dress. When
SufiJflf.yiflj'turokj;.. found out
herself was walking.
Give a man the necessaries of life and
he wants the conveniences. Give him
the conveniences, and he craves for the
luxuries. Grant him the luxuries, and
he sighs for the elegancies. Let him
have the elegancies, and he yearns for
the follies. Give him all together, and
ho complains that he has been cheated
both in price and quality of the arti
cles. An eight-hour man, on going home
the other evening for his supper, found
his wife sitting in her best clothes', on
the front stoop, reading a volume of
travels. " How's this ?" he exclaimed'.
" Where's my supper ?" " I don't
know," replied his wife. " I began to
get your breakfast at six o'clock this
morning, and my eight hours ended at
two p. M."
Benito Sarona of Now Mexico, went
to Arizona, recently, and stolo two
horses. He was followed by three
frontiersmen. They overtook him,
bound him to a sapling, whipped him
till blood flowed, slit his ears, and left
him tied in the wilderness. A man
named Martinez released him, and iu
less than a week he stole Martinez's
saddle, but gratefully left his horse.
A bequest of $150,000, made two
years ago by Dr. E. R. Johuson to es
tablish a charitable institution lor col
ored people at New Bedford, Mass.,
has failed of its purpose by the iact
that one condition was that his daugh
ter should leave no " heirs," when he
probably meant "no issue." Tho
daughter has died without children,
but her mother is her heir and gets the
property.
Mr. Higgin. Q. C. sitting as Assis
tant Judge at the Liverpool Assizes, on
August 14, sentenced a young Wigan
collier, named John Glover, who had
all but kicked to death au old man of
eighty-four, to ten years' penal servi
tude. Mr. iliggin had consulted Air.
Justice Archibald, who agreed with him
that a very heavy punishment was nec
essary to put down this brutality in
Lancashire.
A disconsolate widow in the west
ern part of New York State, daughter of
a former noted railroad officer, repairs
to the tomb of her husband every even
ing at sunset, enters the vault, and
seats herself in a chair formerly used
by the departed, where she remains
sometimes ' several hours, always an
hour, and she has done this, with
scarcely an intermission, for two years
since her husband's death.
Boarding House Spirits
Milwaukee has a boarding house
that, to say the least, is not a desirable
home for those who love quiet. Spir
its have taken possession, and create a
furious uproar. The phenomena have
been observed by many witnesses, and
are of a various character. Eggs,
sausages and crockery-ware fly about in
the air indiscriminately. A currant pie
took a walk about the room, and then
deliberately burst into pieces, scatter
ing the crust and fruit over the room.
Stove-ware, dishes, sticks of wood,
Eails and furniture seem suddenly im
ued with life, and perform furious an
tics. A domestio in the employ of
Mrs. Giddings, in whose house these
demonstrations occur, is a somnambu
list, and to her influence all the dis
turbances are attributed. When she is
out of the house no manifestations oo
our, but when she returns they com
mence with redoubled energy. Physi
cians and spiritualists are much inter
ested in the ease.