HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL DESPERANDTJM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. IV.
RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 1875.
NO. 49.
V1
C'omo To Me I
Come to me !
Come to me in thy brightness and sweetness,
Come to me in thy spirit's completeness,
Come on the wings of love's magical fleetness,
My hoart longs for thee.
'Come to me !
Come when my feelings are solomu and prayer
ful. Come when my heart is weary and careful.
Come when my eyes with sadness are tearful,
My soul yearns for thee.
Come to me 1
Come when the morning in brightness emerges,
Come when the noontido with ardoncy urges,
Come when the night-billow solemnly surges,
My being calls for thee.
Come to me !
Oh, haste in thy coming oh, darling one,
quicken,
Oh, come to thin breast with care sadly stricken,
I wait for thy coming 1 languish and sicken
For sore need of thee.
Come to me !
Though time divide, though distance dissever,
Soul may meet sonl in loving endeavor ;
Come to me, come to me, now and forever
I'm waiting for thee.
Come to me !
Let me but feel thy true arms around me,
My soul shall know peace that seldom hath
found me,
No peril shall chill, no sorrow shall wound me
Leaning on thee.
A JURYMAN'S STORY.
We hail been out of court twenty-four
hours, nnd Btood eleven to one. The
case was a very plain one at least, -we
eleven thought bo. A murder of pecu
liar atrocity had been committed ; nrj
though uo eye had witnessed the deed,
circumstances pointed to the prisoner's
guilt with unfailing certainty.
The recusant juror had stood out
from the first. He acknowledged the
cogency of the proofs, confessed his in
ability to reconcile the facts with tho
defendant's innocence, and yet, on every
vote, went uteadily for acquittal. His
conduct was inexplicable. It could not
result from a lack of intelligence; for,
while ho spoke but little, his words were
well chosen, nnd evinced a thorough un
derstanding of the case.
Though still in the prime of manhood,
his locks were prematurely white and
his face wore a singularly sad nnd
thoughtful expression. Ho might be
one of those who entertained scruples as
to tho right of society to inflict the
death penalty. But no, it was not that;
for, in reply to such a suggestion, ho
frankly admitted that brutal men, like
the vicious brutes they resemble, must
be controlled through fear, and that
dread of death, the supreme terror, is,
in many cases, the only adequate re
straint. At the prospect of another night of
fruitless iniprwounient we began to grow
impatient, aud expostulated warmly
against what seemed an unreasonable)
captiousness; nnd some not over kind
remarks were indulged in as to the im
propriety of trifling .with an onth like
that under which we were neting.
" Aud yet," the man answered, as
though communing with himself, rather
than repelling the imputation, "it is
conscience that hinders my concurrence
in n verdict approved by my judg
ment." " How can that be?" queried several
at once.
" Conscience may not always dare to
follow judgment."
" But here she can know no other
guide."
" I once would have said the same."
" Aud what has changed your opiu
ion." " Experience 1"
The speaker's manner was visibly agi
tated, and we waited in silence the ex
planation which he seemed ready to
give. Mastering his emotion, as if in
answer to our looks of inquiry, he con
tinued :
" Twenty years ago, I was a young
man just beginning life. Few had
brighter hopes. An attachment, dating
from childhood, hnd ripened with its ob
ject. There had been no verbal decla
ration and acceptance of love no formal
plighting of troth ; but when I took my
departure to seek a home in the distant
West, it was a. thing understood, that
when I had found it and put it in order,
she was to share it. Life in the forest,
though solitary, is not necessarily lone
some. The kind of society afforded by
nature, depends much on one's self. As
for me, I lived more in the future than
in the present, and hope is an ever
cheerfid companion. At length the time
came for mnking the final payment on
the home which I had bought. It would
henceforward be my own ; and in a few
more months, my simple dwelling, which
I had spared no pains to render inviting,
would be graced by its mistress.
"At the land-office, which was some
sixty miles off, I met my old friend,
O . lie, too, had come to seek a
fortune in the West ; and we were both
delighted at the meeting. He had
brought with him, he said, a sum of
money which he desired to invest in
hind, on which it was his purpose to
settle. I expressed a strong desire to
have him for a neighbor, and gave him
a cordial invitation to accompany me
home, giving it as my belief that he
could nowhere make a better selection
than in that vicinity. He readily con
sented, and we- set out together. We
had not riddon many miles, when George
suddenly recollected a commission he
had undertaken for a friend, which
would require his attendance at a public
land sale on the following day. Exact
ing a promise that he woidd not delay
his visit longer than necessary, and
giving minute directions as to the route,
I continued my way homeward, while
he turned back.
"I was about retiring to bed on the
night of my return, when a summons
from without called me to the door. A
stranger asked shelter for himself and
his horsfor the night. I invited him
in.. Though a strauger, his face seemed
not unfamiliar. He was probably one of
the men I had seen at the land-office a
place, at that time, much frequented.
Offering him a seat, I went to see his
horse. The poor animal, as well as I
could see by the dim starlight, seemed
to have been hardly used. His panting
sides bore witness of merciless riding;
and a tremulous shrinking, nt the
slightest touch, betokened recent fright.
On re-entering the house, I found the
stranger was not there. His nbsence ex
cited uo surprise ; he would doubtless soon
return. It was a little singular, however,
that ho should have left his watch lying
on the table.
"At the end of half an hour, my guest
not returning, I went again to the stable,
thinking he might have found his way
thither to give personal attention to the
wants of his horse. Before going otit,
from mere force of habit for we were as
yet uninfested by either thieves or
policemen I took the precaution of put
ting the stranger's watch in a drawer in
which I kept my own valuables. I found
the horso as f had left him, and gave
him the food which he was now suf
ficiently cooled to be allowed to eat; but
his master was nowhere to be seen.
As I approached the house, a crowd of
men on horseback dashed up, and I was
commanded, in no gentle tones, to
' stand I In another moment I was hi
the clutches of those who claimed me as
their 'prisoner.'
" I was too much stupefied nt first to
ask what it nil meant. I did so nt last,
aud the explanation came it was terri
ble I My friend, with whom I hnd so
lately set out in company, had been
found murdered nnd robbed near the
spot nt which I, but I nlone, knew we
had separated. I was the last person
known to be with him, and I was now
nrrested on suspicion of his murder. A
search of the premises was immediately
instituted. The watch was found in the
drawer in which I had placed it, nnd was
identified as tho property of tho mur
dered man. His horse, too, was found
in my stable, for the animal I had just
put there was none other, I recognized
him myself when I saw him in the light.
What 1 said, I know not. My confusion
was taken ns ndditionnl evidence. And
when, at length, I did command lan
guage to give an intelligent statement,
it was received with sneers of in
credulity. " The mob spirit is inherent in man
nt least, in crowds of men. It may not
always mnuifest itself in physical vio
lence. It sometimas contents itself
with lynching a character. But what
ever its form, it is always relentless, piti
less, cruel.
" As the proofs of my guilt, one after
another, camo to light, low mutterings
gradually grew into a clamor for ven
geance; nnd but for the firmness of one
man the olllcer who had mo in charge
I would doubtless have paid the pen
alty of my supposed offense on the spot.
It was not sympathy for me that ac
tuated my protector. His heart was as
hard ns his office; but he represented the
majesty of the law, and took a sort of
pride in the position. As much under
the glance of his eye as before tho muz
zle of his pistol, the cowardly clamorcr
drew back. Perhaps they were not
sufficiently numerous to feel tho full
effect of that mysterious reflex influence
which makes a crowd of men so much
worse, and at times so much better, than
any one of them singly.
" At the end of some months my trial
came. It could have but one result.
Circumstances too plainly declared my
guilt. I alone knew they lied. The
absence of the jury was very brief. To
their verdict I paid but little heed. It
was a single hideous word; but I had
long anticipated it, and it made no im
pression. As little impression was made
by the words of the judge which follow
ed it; nnd his solemn invocation that
God might have that mercy upon me
which man was too just to vouchsafe,
sounded like tho hollowest- of hollow
mockeries. It may be hard for the con
demned criminal to meet death ; it is
Btill harder for him who is innocent.
The one, when the first shock is over,
acquiesces in his doom, nnd gives him
self to repentance ; the heart of the
other, filled with rebellion against' man's
injustice, can scarce bring itself to ask
pardon of God. I had gradually over
come this feeling, in spite of tho good
clergyman's irritating efforts, which were
mainly directed towards extracting a
confession, without which, he assured
me, he had no hope to offer.
" On the morning of the day fixed for
my execution, I felt measurably resigned.
I had so long stood face to face with
death, had so accustomed myself to look
upon it as merely a momentary pang,
that I no longer felt solicitous save that
my memory should one day be vindi
cated. She for whom I had gone to
prejjare a home, had already found one
in heaven. The tidings of my calamity
had broken her heart, She alone, of all
the world, believed me innocent ; and
she had died with a prayer upon her
hps, that tho truth might yet be brought
to light. All tins I had heard, aud it
had soothed as with sweet incense my
troubled spirit Death, however un
welcome the shape, was now a portal,
beyond which I could see one angel
waiting to receive me. I heard the
sound of approaching footsteps, and
nerved myself to meet tho expected
summons. The door of my cell opened,
and the sheriff nnd his attendants
entered. He held in his hand a paper.
It was doubtless my death-warrant. He
began to read it. My thought were
busied elsewhere. J. ho wortls lull ana
free pardon ' were the first to strike my
preoccupied senses. They affected the
bystanders more than myself. Yet so it
was: I was pardoned lor an onense 1
had never committed t
" The real culprit, none other, it is
needless to say, than he who had sought
and abused my hospitality, had been
mortully wounded in a recent affray in a
distant city, but had lived long enough
to make a disclosure, which had been
laid before the governor barely in time
to save mo from a shameful death, and
condemn me to a cheerless and burden
some life. This is my experience. My
judgment, as yours, in the case before
us, leads to but ouo conclusion, that of
the prisoner's guilt ; but not less confi
dent and apparently unerring was the
judgment thut falsely pronounced my
own."
We no longer importuned our fellow
juror, but patiently awaited our dis
charge, on the ground of inability to
agree, which came at last.
The prisoner was tried and convicted
at a subsequent term, and at the last
moment confessed his crime on the
scaffold.
The man who could not express his
feelings sent them by mail.
Alloy's Composition.
LOBSTERS.
It is cowrius about these fellers that
they never git their nntchorel culler til
they have been biled nwile in ot water,
but wen thave been dun that they git
red like Benin waeks, but you wuddent
stick a nouvloap with lobsters. Wot I
won to knoe is what lobsters ii, for thy
nint fishes, nnd they nint beef tsrr, nnd
they nint a bird, cos they don't lay eggs
and fli. Its no good askin my father,
cos hede sny you go nnd fetch me a
nice one biled, and lie see if I can fine
out for you, Johnny. He helpB me lit
tler, my father does, about ritiu this
than nil most any boddy, and I don't see
ho is much use any how. If I was my
mother I wnd thro him a wny.
A wicked feller he thot it wude be a
funny thing to give his girl a booquay of
posies with a lobster into it, wieh wude
pinch her nose, but wile he was a takin
it to her house ho forgot and smelt it his
own sef, nnd wen he was a howlin cos
the lobster hnd got him, a pleaseman
come up and said wot was the matter.
But vt'en he see tho lobster a hangin on
the mans noze, for the flours had fel of,
he said the pleaseman did, wy don't you
use ahanchkif, you dirty feller, aud wou
the man said how can I, the pleaseman
he said you shet up, I was a tokkiu to
the lobster.
Uncle Ned he says lobsters is the best
drivers in the world, for there nint no
nniinnl but wieh wil go wen a lobster
takes hold of their tails and tells 'em to
gee up. Once there was n lobster nnd a
dog, nnd they fot a fite. But fore they
began the lobster, wieh was in the water,
got down close to the bottein, and snid
now come on. But the dog it snid you
know wel enuf I cant git at you, you got
to come on your own self. Then the
lobster it said how coud it git out on the
bauk, you put your tail iu the water
and give me a lift. So the dog did, aud
the lobster tuko hola of the dogs tale
and piutched as hard ns ever it coud, nnd
the dog ptruek out a cros tho fiels, yelp
in pretty loud I can tel you, and dron
the lobster behine. Wen it had ran til
it cudden go no more it stop, and there
wassent no lobster left excep jus ono of
its cloz, wieh fel of wen tho dog stop.
Then tho dog see it and said you mean
little feller, you have spile a nice fite be
tween mo and a lobster !
Wen you see a lobster iu the water it
is nil ways on the pint of swimmin real
f.ist, for it keeps a backiu aud a backin
to git a good start, bu' I never see one
yit wieh cude make up its mine to be
off. One kind is call a grnyiish, tho
mose fokes col it crollish. If I cuddeut
say things right Ide sell out, tlints how
I look nt it.
A Swiss Washerwoman.
To n smoke-stained Londoner the ex
quisite purity of the homespun Swiss
linen is a constant wonder and reproach.
And yet scarcely a wonder, if he chance
to sit by the lako side, say nt Brienz, on
a sunny morning, and watch the pro
ceedings of the little Swiss maiden in
straw hat nnd black velvet bodice with
the silver chains, who is plying her oc
cupation of laundress. She had paddled
her boat far out into the lako and is let
ting it drift with the current. In tho
boat besiilo her is a pile of freshly-washed
linen, glistening like snow in the sun
light. But its whiteness does not con
tent her. As the boat moves lazily
along, each separate piece of linen is
thrown into the lake and trailed slowly
through the blue water, blue us ever
painted. Still she is not quite satisfied.
She takes perhaps three or four hand
kerchiefs in her hand nt a time, and
literally throws them overboard in such
a manner that the spectator on tho bank
cannot but breathe a fervent hope that
they may not be his own property. But
before he has time to frame his wishes
into words she has caught them again
with a dexterous sort of lercrdmain,
and the process is repeated ngain and
again. And all the while the black vel-vet-bodiced
maiden, with the glittering
silver chains and pins, showy sleeves and
round, white arms, if she be a true
Brienz maiden, is singing like a very
nightingale.
The Other Daughter.
During the war of the Revolution,
while the British occupied the city of
New York, an English officer of rank
gave an entertainment to which several
American officers, who were prisoners,
were invited. Among them was Colonel
John Lowry, of Concord, a man emi
nently distinguished for his bravery, and
for his many good qualities of head and
heart, but uncouth in speech, unrefined
in manners, and not at all versed in the
polished ways of society. He had been
a sailor in other years, and the stamp of
the sea was still upon him. The English
officer who was host of tho festive occa
sion had two grown-up daughters one
of them distinguished for her exceeding
and faultless beauty, while the other was
not only quite plain, but had a glaring
defect in one of her eyes.
After tho removid of the cloth many
sentiments were drank, and among them
several highly complimentary to the
beautiful daughter of " Our Host." Col.
Lowery, with tliat chivalrous devotion to
the fair sex which is characteristic of
truly brave men, feeling that the other
daughter had been sadly neglected, when
called upon by the host, gave as his
sentiment
"Your daughter, sir."
" Which one f " asked the parent.
" The one with the cock-billed
sir !"
Well-meaning and gallant, but
plain-spoken.
eye,
very
Death Traps.
The case of the typhoid epidemio at
a school in Burlington, N. J., deserves
mention as one of hundreds of similar
occurrences and from similar causes.
The water is reported as foul, the out
houses were neglected, and there was
neither proper drainage nor ventilation.
It has always been remarked that " mys
terious visitations of Providence " follow
such violations of the simplest laws of
health. Cleanliness must go before cut
ture, and neither French nor music will
do pupils much good if they are not
provided with pure air and clean water
and protected from poisons. There are
death-traps enough without having them
set in boarding schools to snatch our
daughters away at the most interesting
penoa oi me.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.
How They Appeared to nn Editor-
The
Pronprrtit Alienrt.
There are indications that some of our
largest manufacturing interests begin to
feel the relief of getting down to hard
pan, says the Springfield Republican.
There is great difficulty iu securing a
continuation of the agreements to cur
tail production. Those industries, par
ticularly, which have reduced wnges be
gin to feel themselves in neeord with the
reduced scnle of profits and production.
The pnper manufacture is no longer car
ried on at a dend loss, at least, nnd the
cotton mills nre generally resuming full
time, with reductions iu wages. The
market for cotton goods has been re
lieved of the surplus and, iu general, the
textile markets are not overstocked with
manufactures. During the year, raw
cotton has fallen 11 percent, iuprice.and
the manufactured article quite as much;
brown sheeting, forinstance,l'2percent.,
prints five or six per cent., and denims
12 J. Both the manufacturing and the j
trading interest have weathered the
double embarrassment of a dull year and
a great cotton crop successfully. Never
theless, it is not to our credit that
foreign nations should Btill be able to
supply us with 23, 239, 000 worth of
cotton goods, as they have the past year,
through the port of New York-nloue.
This is a reduction of 35,400,000 from
the importation of the same class of
goods two years ngo. Again, our ex
portation of cotton goods is nothing to
what it may become under fair financial
conditions. All told, it amounts to only
3,000,000, and a very small share of this
goes to the rest of America. We buy
880,000,000 worth of sugar and tropical
products from Cuba, for instance, aud
sell her only $63,000 worth of cottons.
Now, it is evident that every breech
clout and shirt in the American tropics
ought to come off from our looms.
Improvement hi manufacture is most
discernible in woolens, although tho
woolen manufacturers claim to be more
depressed than the cotton. American
dress goods and cloths are gradually
superseding the foreign. American
silks', too, nre received with increasing
favor. The importation of silks nt New
York for the past two years hns fallen off
one-fourth in value, and not, we suspect,
in amount, as the reduction iu the price
of silks must have sustained the totnl
consumption, if not increased it: It is
singular injustice, by the way, that this
most serviceable of all fabrics should be
habitually denominated ns " gew-gaws."
One of the most striking features of
American manufactures at this moment
is the rapidity of their western develop
ment. The prosperity of the West dur
ing the past year has greatly aided that
development. The Chicago Tribune
claims that nearly the entire bulk of the
ready-made clothing sold in that city,
amounting for the past year to 12,000,
000 wholesale, is made up iu that city
and employs from 3,000 to 5,000 hands.
The Chicago makers conform tho char
acter of the clothing to the climate of
the consumer, whether it bo Michigan or
Texas, whilo eastern makers attempt to
strike un average, they say. The first
western felt-hat factory has just been
opened at Chicago. Nearly all the men's
heavy wear of boots and shoes soul m
Chicago are now manufactured there.
This business has grown fully one-third
in tho past year, and competition with
the East has been greatly aided by a re
duction of 15 per cent, in wages. Tho
reputation of St. Joseph-made boots is
not second on tho plains to those from
any quarter. The boot aud shoe manu
facture is likely to tend westward, where
the hides are aud where the lenther will
ultimately be tanned. A great cluster of
iron industries has gathered at Chicago,
which have produced, this past year,
820,727,000 worth of goods, against
32,100,000 in 1873, the reduction being
in the price rather than iu the quantity
of tho goods manufactured. Furm im
plements and wagons show a great m-
creaso, but carriages, which are of the
nature of luxuries, a fallmg on ; 15,000
reapers have been made, an increase of
one-third, which is attributed to the
English demand for American macliines
to take the place of the striking agri
cultural laborers. This is a curious con
troversy of private interests, that the
English farm-hand, striking for higher
wages and threatening to immigrate to
America, Bhould be beaten out of his
position by American reapers and other
products of Yankee ingenuity. We shall
hually corner poor Hodge, and make him
immigrate to us or starve. This theory
has some confirmation iu tho returns of
tho bureau of statistics, which show that
of the $3,310,000 worth of agricultural
implements sent abroad, last year,
$371,000 went to England; 1,353,000
also went to Germany, doubtless dis
placing some of the countless Uertnan
immigrants to this country.
ihe wide geographical distribution of
the few manufactured goods which we
export indicates that the whole world is
open to us, when we have reformed our
currency and moderated and simplified
our tariff, so that it will not defeat its
own object. To give a few additional in
stances: 1'083 railroad cars went abroad,
last year, averaging about 1,500 each iu
value, some of them going to England
and Germany, many of them to the
Dominion, and 286 to Chili; of the 17,
700,000 of iroti and steel goods, Eng
land took 1,250,000, two-thirds of which
was steel, while Germany took about
the same amount, two-thirds iron, aud
nearly every country in the world took
some; 1,500,000 worth of sewing ma
chines is not included in the above, half
of which went to England and Germany.
We believe that without any legislation
to foster special interests, but simply by
our return to a sound currency, healthy
industrial conditions and honest admin
istration, we shall be able to extend the
sphere of our international trade vastly.
On the other hand, England is now in
the depths of a coal and iron depression
quit as great as that in America. Men
are left out of employment by the hun
dred, though in some cases, by returning
to ten hours a day and submitting to
great reductions in wagei, works are
kept open. At Sheffield this state o
affairs is attributed to continental com
petition and the introduction of ma
chinery, as well as to the failure of the
American market. The hammer-men.
for instance, employed in the manufac
ture ef iron rails, have been dispensed
with by the introduction of machinery.
The labor straits in South Wales and the
north of England were not exaggerated
by ns in anticipating them, the other
day, and at last accounts there was little
prospect of a settlement.
Thoughts for Saturday Night.
Temptation is never dangerous until
it has an inside accomplice. Sin within
betrays the heart to the outside assail
ant. If to-morrow you should want, your
sorrow would come in time enough,
though you do not hasten it J let your
trouble tarry till its own day comes.
Tho joy resulting from tho diffusion of
blessings to all around us is the purest
and sublimest that can ever enter the
human mind, aud can be conceived only
by those who have experienced it.
Idleness is tho dead sea that swallows
up all virtues, and the self-made sepul
chre of a living man. The idle man is
the devil's urchin, whose livery is rags,
nnd whoso diet and wages are famino
and disease.
What we habituate ourselves to ad
mire, we love to associate with ; and
what we associate with, we gradually
imitate, nnd ndopt its features into our
loves. They who associate with the
good are much stronger than they who
alone go out to fight the evil.
Enjoy the present, whatever it may
be, and' Je not solicitous for tho future ;
for if you take your foot from the pres
ent standing, aud thrust it forward to to
morrow's event, you are in a restless
condition. It is like refusing to quench
your present thirst by fearing you will
want to drink the next dny.
Wero the happiness of the next world
ns closely apprehended as the felicities
of this, it were a martyrdom to live ; ami
unto such us consider none hereafter, it
must be more than death to dio, which
makes us amazed nt those audacities that
durst be nothing and return unto the
chaos ngain.
Every true hero grows by pntieuce.
People who have always been prosper
ous are seldom the most worthy aud
never the most strong. He who has not
been compelled to suffer hns probably
not begun to learn how to be magnani
mous, ns it is only by patience nnd forti
tude that we cnu know what it is to over
come evils, or feel the pleasure of for
giving them.
Taking a Cold.
This is the season for taking cold first
a few snapping cold days, then a long
spell of damp, foggy weather, so mild
that winter garments feel oppressive,
and yet one does not dare to take them
off. When some unfortunate sits with
throbbing brow, stuffed head, sore
throat, and a vexatious little cough,
when alternate chills aud fever fits run
over his whole body, and he feels
" most minerahle," if anything in tho
world can interest him, it is the flood of
remedies suggested by sympathizing
friends, or tho "certain cure for colds"
which meets the eye in almost (yery
newspaper of tho day. Pages would not
be sufficient even to give a brief mention
of nil these remedies allopathic, homeo
pathic, hydropathic for a "cold" is
one of tho most common as well as one
of the most uncomfortable of the ills to
which flVsh is heir. Not long ngo we
read somewhere nn article on " How to
avoid taking cold" a practical point
which everybody would like to under
stand for his own personal comfort.
The general idea advanced was that
when the body is at its prime, with
youth, vigor, purity of blood, nnd a
good constitution on its side, no ordi
nary exposure will cause any unpleasant
effects; indeed, ordinary precautions
against colds may be disregarded with
out danger. But when the blood is im
pure, the body disordered, and the rigor
of life begins to wane, then colds will be
developed often upon the slightest pro
vocation nnd without any known expos
ure. It frequently seems as though no
degree of cure will prevent a person with
a feeble constitution from "taking
cold," as it is termed. To be secure
from this evil the vital processes must be
strong aud in healthy action. Conse
quently tho best way to avoid taking
cold is to build up a good constitution
by obeying all the laws of health. ThoBO
who are permanently nnd incurably weak
and feeble must doubtless submit to
their fate. They must carefully guard
against exposures and even then will
doubtless be afflicted with " colds."
Forgiveness of Injuries.
An editor of a weeklv paper, published
in a little village in Missouri, called at
the White House, nnd was admitted to
Mr. Lincoln s presence. He at once
commenced stating to Mr. Lincoln that
he was the man who first suggested his
name for tho Presidency, and pulling
from his pocket an old, worn, defaced
copy of his pnper, exhibited to the Presi
dent an item on the subject. "Do you
really think," said Mr. Lincoln, " that
announcement was the occasion of my
nomination?" "Certainly," said the
editor, " the suggestion was so oppor
tune that it was at once taken up by
other papers, aud the result was your
nomination ana election. "Ah ! well,
said Mr. Lincoln with a sigh, and assum
ing a rather gloomy countenance, "I
am glad to see you aud to know this, but
you will have to excuse me, I am just
going to. the War Department to see
Mr. Stanton." " Well," said the editor,
"I will walk over with you." The
President, with that apt good nature so
characteristic to him, took up his hat
and said, "Come along." When they
reached the door of the Secretary's
office, Mr. Lincoln turned to his com
panion and said, " I shall have to see
Mr. Stanton alone, and you must excuse
me," and taking him uy the hand he
continued, " Good-bye; I hope you will
reel perfectly easy about having nomi
nated me ; don't be troubled about it ;
I torgive you.
War Claims Against the United States.
On the first day of January, 1874, the
unsettled balance iu favor of the State
of New York, of its war claims against
the United States, was 1,209,286.11,
Since that time another installment of
over 34,000 has been presented to the
Treasury Department. In the unsettled
balance above stated, is included a claim
for 131,188.02 interest on Comptroller's
bonds, which cannot be paid without
legislative action.
Clipping Horses.
The man who really loves his horses,
says 7trf, Field and Farm, does not re
quire to be told that the clipped animal
suffers severely if allowed to stand tin
covered in the bleak air of winter. But,
nnfortunntely, there nre a good many
people who have come into the possession
of quick-stepping horses who have no
real affection for the animals whitii serve
them, and in whom the delicate sense
of humnuity fojilunted. Those people
care more for show than comfort, aud
they will keep a clipped horso shivering
all day in the chilly streets. In some
cases they may tie a small blanket over
tho loins, but it never enters into their
heads to more fully protect the shorn
equine. Now, clipping is an excellent
thing when practiced with judgment, but
it is nothing short of cruelty when made
indiscriminate. The heavy horse which
does slow work should never be deprived
of his natural coat of hair. As he has to
face all kinds of weather and does not
warm his blood by violent exercise, .a
long and thick coat of hair is essential
to his health and comfort. But with the
light, active horso it is different. We
take him from the warm stable, give him
a merry spin over the road, and for tho
time being are done with him. If his
hair is long tho lungs nre taxed more
severely iu nernting the blood, the pores
of the skin in a measure being clogged
and nt the end of the drive he is envel
oped in a wet mnss. To thy him we
must rub him for hours with cloths, nnd
subject him to other inconveniences. If
we do not rub him dry, ho will shiver
nil night iu his stall, just as you, Mr.
Querist, would do were you compelled
to try aud woo balmy sleep between a
pair of wet blankets. It is directly the
opposite with the clipped horse. Vhen
putting forth his best effort he breathes
freely, perspires naturally, and, as there
is no hair to absord the moisture, he
quickly gets rid of the sweat dr.ops. You
put him into his stable after n hot
drive, and then, with a little grooming,
he is ready for the blanket and a com
f ortabe night's rest. It stands to reason,
however, that the clipped horse should
not be tied under a roadside shed with
out being carefully covered with woolen
clothing, nor should ho bo forced to
shiver through a stretch of two hours in
the carriage traces waiting for my lady
to finish her gossiping call upon
some gossiping friend. If you clip
your carriage horses, you should make
it your business, on descending to tho
pavement from your coach, to see that
your driver -throws heavy blankets over
the shorn animals. To allow tho poor
equities to stand unprotected in the cold
winter air is to practice downright
cruelty.
A Marvelous Escape.
One of the most marvelous escapes
from death we have ever had occasion to
record, comes to us from San Benito,
California. A few nights ago, as two
little boys, sons of Judge Brown of- that
locality, were sleeping in a cabin a short
distance from their father's residence, a
limb of a tree fifteen inches in diameter
at the butt, broke off and fell, striking
the hut point foremost, completely de
molishing it. A stub of the branch,
some six inches iu diameter, penetrated
tho bed on which the boys were sleep
ing, passed between them, going through
the bed clothes aud mattress, through the
floor and into the earth at least eighteen
inches. Neither of the boys wero in
jured, excepting a lew slight scratches
Tho cabin was torn to pieces, and the
boys were bo completely covered in tho
dtbrix of boards and branches as to be
unable to extricate themselves until as
sisted by their father, who was doubtless
only too glad to perforin that duty.
That the little fellows were not crushed
to death is ono of those Btrangely for
tuitous circumstances which very rarely
occur.
Taking Account of Stock.
The New York Times, referring to
the fact that merchants uro now . busy
taking stock to discover their assets, and
balance their books. for the year, re
marks : " The probability is that the
stock-accounting this January will show
a great decrease in tho amount of goods
on hand in the . city. In tho country,
too, stocks are generally light. This re
duction of stocks throughout the coun
try, tho stoppage or diminished working
time of the manufactories, and the dis
posal of the stocks in the hands of New
lork merchants, have brought the mar
ket into a healthful condition, and pre
pared it for rapid improvement in nil its
branches when renewed activity springs
up. 1 his is a view of the situation that
the business man has the best of ground
for taking, and from which ho can gather
justifiable hope for the future, even
though his balance sheet for tho year
1874 does not show that large sum of
profit which it had displayed on pre
vious Januarys.
A Prompt Congressman.
A newly-elected Congressman of Wis
consin is much annoyed because of this
story about himself in the Beaver Dam
paper : The Hon. read in the paper
that Congress was to assemble JJec. 7, bo
he packed up his clean linen, and, with
his wife and one or two children, started
for the National capital in time to claim
his seat in the House of Kepresentatives
at the opening session. Alter his arrival
there it did not take him a great while
to learn that school would not begin
tor him until the 4th of March. He re
turned home after an absence of about
three weeks, and finds it hard to con
vince his friends that he was only just
visiting m Missouri.
The Dog Star.
The observations of Sirius, the dog
star, have been made by Mr. Wilson, of
Rugby, whose results vary materially
from those heretofore obtained by Auwers
on the continent. Sirius revolves about
a faint companion star whose mass, ac
cording to Mr. Wilson, is nearly equal
to that of our sun, while the. mass of
Sirius is.twice as great. The minute ap
pearance of the companion is not due so
much to its inferiority in size, therefore,
as to the superior brilliancy of Sirius
200 times greater than that of the sun
caused by its higher temperature
The high price at which ice was kept
during last summer makes it not un
pleasant to hear that some of the corn-
ponies burned their fingers by holding
I )t up.
The Golden Side.
There is many a rest on the road of life,
If we only would stop to take it t
And many a tone from the better land,
If the querulous heart would wake it.
To the sunny soul that is full of hope,
And whose beautiful trust ne'er faileth,
The grass is green aud the flowers are bright,
Though the wintry storm prevaileth.
Items of Interest.
Advice to husbands Settle ns much
money upon your wife ns you can, for
her next husband, poor fellow, may not
have a sixpence.
You may do a man a thousand favors
and offend him once and ho will never
forgive you for the one offense ; it out
weighs all the favors.
An Indiana judge hns decided thnt if
a woman will shorten pie crust with but
ter at thirty-eight cents a pound, her
husband has good cause for divorce.
That farmer understood human nature
who Baid : "If you want to keep your
boy nt home, don t bear too hard on tho
grindstone when he turns the crank."
ray up all the little bills withcut growl
ing, and remember, during the new year,
that little extravagances inevitably bring
their penalty. If it is hard to make the
ends meet, don't try to cut such large
garments from such a small supply of
cloth.
A party of famished immigrants from
South Carolina arrived at Dallas, Texas,
the other day. The starving mothers
could hardly hold their half dead infants,
and the wailing of the children for
warmth aud food was piteous ill the ex
treme. Ou arriving nt Calais on her wny to
make the grand tour, an English lady
was surprised and somewhnt indignant
at being termed, for the first time in her
life, "a foreigner." "You mistake,
madame," said she to the libelor, with
some pique, "it is you who are the
foreigners. We are English."
Iu Sacramento one day the people
were puzzled and amused nt Boeing tho
police compel every Chinaman to stop
and show the bottoms of his feet. The
officers would hold up one foot, after the
manner of a horseshoer, and critically
examine the sole of the shoe. The ex
planation was that a shoe store hnd been
robbed by Chinese burglars, and tho
dealer's stamp was on nil the etoleu
goods.
" You have a pleasant home and a
bright fireside, with happy children Bit
ting around it, haven't you ?" said the
judge. " Yes, sir," snid Mr. Thompson,
who thought he Baw a way out of the
difficulty. " Well," said the judge, " if
the happy children Bit around the cheer
ful fireside until you return, they will
stay there just 43 days, as I shall have
to send you up lor imu tune." Vm.
Times.
Mrs. KenniBton, who hnd been mar
ried only n year, and was only seventeen
years old, was left by her husband in
Nobleboro, Maine, while he went on a
business' visit to England. The other
day she received news of his death, and
hor grief was intense. She had a bottle
of composition for removing freckles,
ono of the ingredients of which was an
acid, and of this she drank enough to kill
herself.
Sothern said in a speech at the benefit
of a certain stage manager in Birmmg
ham, England ; " He and I attacked
tho dramatio profession ou tho same
night some twenty years Bince, ho as a
irompter, I as tho ghost iu 'Hamlet.'
Ho was then the very worst prompter I
ever saw. After the performance ho
gently and most kindly intimated to me
that 1 was the most learlul actor he ever
witnessed."
Iu Search of His Valise.
An individual, who made his appear
ance at one of the principal hotels in
ban Francisco a few days ago, evident
ly seemed to be a little bewildered.
He was well-dressed and seemed to be a
man of some intelligence. He was first
observed scanning the arrivals in the
register, but as Boon as he could catch
the eye of the clerk ho mado him a sig
nal to indicate a desire to speak to him.
When the clerk came he remarked to
him, " Strauger, I've lost my valise and
I want to know if it is here. The clerk
said ho did not know, and inquired of
liim when he left it and what kind of a
valise it was. " Well," says the stranger,
I got ill last night ; came from Nevada;
went to some hotel ; went out wit the
other fellows aud took a drink ;' went
back to the hotel, left my valise and then
we all went out around, you know, and
we took so many ' smiles' that I really
don't know whether I left it here or nt
some other hotel, and just thought I
would inquire at all of them until I found
it. M'os I here last night ?" The clerk as
surred him that he had never set eyes on
him before, and th strange individual
turned slowly away, remarking, iu an
undertone, " I reckon I may as well give
it up ; this makes tho sixth hotel 1 ve
been to this morning, and they all Bay
they never saw me before."
Another Mother of Criminals. The
Kingston Freeman says : " The Marga
ret spoken of in the papers as the found
er of a long race of criminals, has a
relative iu Ulster county, at present in
the county jail, by the name ot Phoebe
Itobinson, better known perhaps as Aunt
Phoebe Kobinson. .Her maiden name,
we believe, was Delamater. She is forty
five years old, has had thirteen children,
the greater number of whom have been
inmates of various prisons in the State,
four of them now being hi the House of
llefuge. She has one child with her in
jail, about two years old, which she has
named Napoleon Cossar Bonaparte."
Washing Cotton Goods without In
juring the Color. Add to rain-water
so hot that the hand cannot be held in
it an amount of wheat barn equal in
weight to one-eighth of the fabric to be
cleansed, and after stirring well for five
minutes, add the goods; stir them about
with a clean stick, and bring the whole
to a boil. Allow this to cool until the
articles can be washed out as uaual, after
which rinse them well, and dry. They
will be as pure as if soap had been used,
aud it is said that the colors will be uninjured.