(3 yi-tX-
Willi
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL DESPERANDUM..
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL.' V.
ItlDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA, THURSDAY, AHUL 29, 1875.
NO. 10.
Arabesques.
Whon all the panes are lmn with front,
Wild wizard-work of silver late,
I wheel my sofa on tl Tug
Before the ancient c'.iliuiicy-place
'And, banking in tlie fire-light's glow,
I hear the hemlock chirp and slug,
Aa if wit hi u it ruddy core
It hold the lia,py heart of spring.
Fdiilou.u never nang like that,
Nor ho of Shiraz, Ml be sworn.
I loiiiitfo, ft'id Mow white rings of smoke,
A.iil wawjU them, lightly npward borne.
The curling wreaths like turbane seem
Of Bilent ulavea that come aud go,
Or viziers, packed with craft and crime,
Whom I behead from time to time,
With pipe-stem, at a single blow.
And now and then a fragrant cloud
Takes gracious shape, ,at my desire,
And at my side my lady ejtands,
Unwinds hor veil with-tfuowy hands
A shadowy shanea breath of fire !
O love ! if yom'were only here
liesido me in this mellow light,
Though nil the bitter winds should blow,
Aud all the ways be choked with snow,
'TwoiiM be a true Arabian night 1
THE JEALOUS WIFE.
Nearly three centuries ago an exten
sive portion of that part of the country
which lies on the Wallachian banks of
tho Dmmbo belonged t-j Demetri 0., a
powerful Boyard, descending from one
of the Greek princes who had been
driven from Constantinople at the fall of
the lower oinpiro. He was wealthy,
generous, and magnifloo .t, tho father of
a promising son- -who, at the period this
history relates, was eighteen years old
and the husband of tho most beautiful
woman in tho country. Thyra C. was
looked upon as the happiest and most
envied of her sex; and she might have
justified tho general belief, for nature
had endowed her with mental powers
no less remarkable than her personal
perfections, had it not unfortunately
happened that, amid tho countless roses
with which bar path in life had been
strewn, ono sharp thorn had lurked and
picrcud hor to tho heart, rendering her,
in tho intolerable anguish it occasioned,
regiiuVioss of the many other blessing!
wlii di had been showered upon hr.i
in a word, sho was of a suspicious and
;joalous disposition; passionately attached
to her husband, aud, to all appearance,
devoted to her child, she, neverthe
less, lived in a constant distrust of hiui,
which his character aud manner were too
well calculated to justify, for his general
admiration of beauty was a matter of
notoriety. And although, from a knowl
edge of his wife's disposition, he had
taken such precautions m his infidelities
towards her that she had never yet been
able to detect him in a love intrigue, she,
nevertheless, felt so persuaded that he
was constantly involved in such pursuits
that she became a prey to vague jealousy,
which embittered every hour of her
existence.
At last her suspicions appeared to find
an object on which to settle. Among
hor female attendants was a young and
pretty Trausylvanian, namod Neda,
whose superior education had rendered
her a favorite with her lady: All ntonce
tho damsel becamo neglectful of her du
tios, alwent in mind, aud inattentive to
tho wishes of. her mistress; when repri
manded by her, she betrayed violence
mini hauteur. Thyra threatened to dis
miss her from her sorvico. Tho prince
opposed such a measure; and in propor
tion as the displeasuro of his wife was
evinced towards tho delinquent, the
voico and manner of her husband
softened iu her favor.
This was more than sufficient to fire
the suspicions of tho princess. Eager
to ascertain tho reality of that which she
dreaded, and resolved to rush ivpon
knowledgo that would break her heart,
she forgot her dignity so much as to
play tho eavesdropper aud spy over her
attendant, for some time without any
result. One day, however, when the
young girl had been sent for by her, and
had neglected to attend tho summons,
Thyra treacherously crept up a back way
to her menial's chamber, or room door,
and noiselessly stationing herself outside
of it listened to what was passing within.
A murmur of voices in the room con
vinced her that Neda was not alone, and
almost immediately that of tho suspected
damsel broke upon her ear iu accents
the purport of which could not be mis
taken. "Leave me," she said, "for heaven's
Rake, leave mo ! If my mistress were to
know of yom" being here, I should be
lost forever. Already she suspects and
watches me, and 1 live in a daily terror
of her discovering a lovo which would
draw upon mo her eternal enmity. Go,
Prince go, Demetri ! This evening so
soon as 'tis dark, I will contrive to steal
out to the fountain in the sycamore
grove meet me there at eight your
pretext of absenting yourself from home
will prevent the princess from suspect
iug thatTwe"
Here the voice became fainter, as the
person speaking moved toward an oppo
site door ; tb.3 footsteps of a man were
plainly to ' be distinguished moving in
the 8 ime direction. Thyra could hear
no more she strained her eyes to the
crevice of the door at which she was sta
tioned, but saw nothing. Her heart
overflowing with tumultuous passions,
.she was for a moment tempted to burst
open the door, and confound the guilty
one who had presumed to rival her in her
husband's lovo ; but listening again sho
f olt assured that the room was empty,
and a moment's reflection showed her
that, by a few hours' delay, she might
render her vengeance more signal and
complete. She, therefore, returned iu
the same stealthy manner to her apart
ments, shut herself up, and took meas
ures accordingly.
Her determination was to prevent the
possibility of Neda quitting the house,
and then to disguise herself in the dress
of a serving damsel, and to personate
the perfidious attendant at the rendez
vous at the sycumore grove, whiah she
beard arranged by her. These medita
tions were interrupted by a message
from the prince, apprising her that he
should be absent from home the remain
der of the day, and should probably not
return until late that night ; and this
message, all tho additional proof of the
calculating treachery which her faithless
husband swupied not to eeise toward
hor, M Ifcu last drop that overflowed
the cup. The exasperation of her out
raged feelings know no bounds and slie
remained in aolitudo in her apartment,
that no member of the famiJy might
notice hor agitation.
An hour before sunset Neda was sum
moned to h, lady's presenco, and re
ceived an order to remain near her and
complete some embroidery, with which
sho herself had been occupied.
Not daring to disobey, and hoping to
finish her task before the hour of ap
pointment with her lover hail arrived,
the young girl set down to her work with
unwonted alacrity. The room in which
they wero was an upper chamber, and
formed the last of a spacious suite, hav
ing no eutrauco but the one which pre
ceded it. Not long after Neda was seat
ed at her embroidery frame, the princess
arose and quitted the room, locked the
door of it, and leaving her attendant a
close prisoner there, with no possibility
of egress until sho herself should release
her, she proceeded to Neda's chamber,
where she selected a suit of her clothes,
hastened to disguise herself in them, and,
throwing a veil over her head, quitted
the house, and directed her steps towards
the trysting place.
It was lato in the autumn, tho days
were shortening visibly, tho evenings
were cold and gloomy, night closed iu
immediately after sunset, aud there was
no moon to illuminate tho dull, gray
sky. Thyra was tho rirst to arrive at the
rendezvous; and, under the influence of
never-slumbering suspicion, she fancied,
when sho found herself alone, that her
scheming had been discovered, and her
husband would defeat her plan of ven
geneo by not appearing; but a few
minutes sufficed to undeceive her. A
quick, light step approached. What
eagerness was iu that tread, and how in
dignantly did her heart throb as she
listened to it. The obscurity was so
complete that she could not even dis
cern the outline of the person who drew
near; but the perfume of ambergris,
with which her husband's hair and gar
ments were always impregnated, floated
upon the air, and a low, counterfeited voice
breathed forth the words: " Hist ! Neda;
are you here, love ?" directed her toward
him.
She stretched forth her hand, with a
whispered "Yes," aud grasped some
thing which she recognized as the em
broidered pattan worn by tho princely
house of C. In the next moment the
arms of the impatient lover were thrown
around her, nnd sho was drawn toward
him iu a passionate embrace. Trans
ported to fury by the tender endear
ment, which she knew was not intended
for herself, but for on unworthy rival,
aud breathing only the deadliest ven
geance for her wrongs, the outraged
wife thrust her hand into her bosom,
drew from thence a poignard, and, rais
ing it on high, plunged it into the faith
less heart that beat against her own.
The blow was dealt with such unerring
aim that the victim could only utter an
. indistinct sound, and, relaxing the grasp
with which he held her so closely em
braced, fell heavily to the ground. 'Thyra
drew her breath and listened a moment;
a gurgling noise in the throat of the mur
dered man was all that sho could dis
tinguish. Then followed a death-like
(Tilence. Terror aud remorse suddenly
overcame her for the deed, which, in a
moment of frenzied excitement, she
had perpetrated, and turning hastily
from the fatal spot, she rushed toward
her home.
Tho first object that met her eye when
she entered tho house was her husband !
There ho stood unharmed, Burrounded
by his attendants, nnd in his riding
dress, just as he had alighted from his
horse, and a tranquil smile upon his
lips as he inquired whether the princess
was in her apartment.
"You here i" she shrieked, running
up to him. " I have not killed you,
then. Thank, heaven, I have not killed
you 1" And sho fell gasping at his
feet.
" The princess !" ejaculated her hus
band, bewildered at the sight of her
disguise, and her violent emotion; nnd,
raising her from the ground. " What
means this frenzy, and why are you so
strangely disguised if"
But she answered him not. With hor
distended eyes wildly fixed upon him,
she passed her hands repeatedly over his
bosom, and muttered to herself: " No
poniard, no wound I and yet I struck
him there, and felt his hot blood gush
forth upon my hand. Ah! see," she
continued, shuddering, " there . it is !"
and, holding up her hand as she spoke,
the crimson drops that stained it attested
the truth of some fearful deed being
connected with her mysterious self-accu-Batinn.
"Thyra, dearest love," said the
Boyard, iu soothing accents, "sometliiug
has terrified you; but you are safo now
I am hero to protect you. Tell me,
what is the meaning of this agitation ?
Whnt is the meaning of this blood ?"
"You, Neda the sycamore grove!"
she uttered in broken cries. " Were
you; not there, now just now to meet
her?" '
The prince shook his head in silent
consternation.
"Whom have I murdered then?"
burst from the lips of the unhappy
woman, with a thrilling shriek; and,
starting, she fled with the speed of a
manioo toward the fatal spot from which
she had recently returned.
The prince and his attendants qui'.kly
followed her, some of them bearing
lighted torches, but such was tho speed
which the frenzied state of her feelings
lent to her movements that they only
overtook her at the moment of her reach
ing the fountain. There she suddenly
stopped, as though rooted to the spot,
and, shuddering, pointed to the ground.
The prince advanced hastily to her side.
His attendants followed, and, raising
their torches, discovered at the margin
of the fountain the body of a man ex
tended on his back and weltering in his
blood. The ghastly face was turned up
ward, and as the glare of the torches
fell upon it an exclamation of horror fell
from the lips of all present, and Thyra,
leaning forward, recognized her victim
with a thrill of agony which caused all
the blood to chill in her veins and her
pulse to stand still.
At that one glance the whole truth
flashed upon her with terrible clearness,
until she comprehended, when too late,
the fatal error into which her blind and
mistaken suspicious had plunged her.
There lay her son, her only child, her
beloved Pometri( batllod iu the blood
th.it welled forth from tho death-wound
lier murderous hand had inflicted. He
it was, then, wb sn boyish passion had
been reciprocated by her young attend
ant ; he it was for whom Neda had de
vised the love meeting which had that
morning changed her own jealous fears
into dreadful certainties, He it Wivs, oh I
God, upon whom lwr imaginary wrongs
had just been so barbarously avenged !
The similarity of names, of dress, hnd
deceived her. Why had she not thought
of this before? Why? Does suspicion
ever pause to reason or reflect ? Is not
jealousy blind as love (whose dark
shadow it is said to bo) ? All this passed
through her mind with tho rapidity of
lightning, as that one awful glance re
vealed to her the- extent of her crime.
No words escaped her hps, but, as if
struck by a thunderbolt, she fell heavily
forward by the side of the beloved sou
whose life had fallen a sacrifice to tho
rash and ungovernable suspicions of the
jealous wife.
The first use that Thyra made of her
returning faculties was to cast herself at
the feet of hei husband, aud make a full
confession of the feelings which had
driven her to commit so desperate a
deed, imploring death at his hand in ex
piation of her crime. But death, which
would have terminated her earthly tor
ments, was a boon which the exasperated
husband was resolved not to grant her.
" Woman," said he, "you shall live to
die a thousand deaths every day. You
shall live to curse tho day on which you
were born. You shall live to expiate,
iu lingering torments of mind, tho misery
you have inflicted on me.
Aud, inflexible in his determination,
he caused his unfortunate wife to be con
veyed to the Rock of Babake, where, in
a rudely constructed stone chamber, she
was condemned to drag out a miserable
existence, without being suffered to ex
change a word with any human being, and
with no compauiouship save her own
wretched thoughts. Her senses failed
under her severe punishment; but mad
ness, instead of bringing oblivion to her
woes, seemed to have imparted new
activity to her faculties of suffering.
Every evening as darkness covered the
earth, the poor maniac fancied herself
again an actor in the dreadful scenes
which staiued her soul with tho foul
guilt of murder; and tho frenzied
shrieks she uttered during the night
were heard from afar, wakiug tho echoes
of that dreary solitude until daylight
brought with it a temporary cessation of
her agonies in tho calm of exhaustion.
One day, at last, when her attendant
who daily brought her supplies of food
entered her prison, she had disappeared.
Every part of tho rock was searched, but
no vestige of her was to bo found, nor
could any trace of her bo discovered to
account for her mysterious evunishmeut.
A Parisian Theft.
In England and France, when they can
have Americans to help them, they can
get up as systematic a robbery as tho
United States itself can offer. A Paris
money changer joins to his business a
trade in expensive nick-nacks. Nearly
each day for tho last six months an
American has made small purchases in
the shop. With tho ease and volubility
of his pleasant race, this gentleman hail
fallen into a habit of exchanging long
gossips with M. Delapierre, who looked
on him as one of his best customers.
The other morning the American ar
rived as usual with a friend. M. Dela
pierre had just taken out a bag of money
and valuables, which he placed in the
window while talking. There is, of
course, a money-changer's grating be
tween it and the shop. Pressntly en
tored a third person, who bought a silver
teapot, which the assistant packed up
and carried to the address given. When
he had gone the American produced a
claw, su 3h as gas globes are set upon,
and said carelessly to the money changer:
"I wish you would see if you have a
glass to lit this claw." SI. Delapierre
went with him into the back shop and
sought a globe to match, leaving the
friend alone. It appears that he imme
diately opened the grating, seized the
little bag of valuables, aud called ont:
' ' Haven't you found a glass yet ? " The
American came back, chose some small
articles to be sent home, and then went
oil" quietly with his companion. Not for
half an hour afterward did M. Delapierre
discover his loss, which amounted to
12,000, half of it in bank notes and
gold, and the rest in chocks and nego
tiable paper. A theft bo patiently con
cocted, so audaciously carried out, eays a
Paris paper, is worthy of notice. Like
our own bank forgers, these men had
plainly some capital, besides cool brain
and cold resolution. They could afford
to wait six months, and to buy silver tea
pots and trifles of that sort.
How to Cross the Street.
If ladies who see a team approaching
as they are crossing a street will glance
to see whether tho driver observes them,
and finding that he does, will walk along
as though there was no danger what
ever, they will bo much more safo than
they generally are at present under such
circumstances. Mauy ladies get fright
ened on seeing a team near them, go
ohead a little, dodge back, glance about
them with a look of extreme bewilder
ment, and then make a grand rush, as
likely as not going in the direction they
should not go, the driver of the team
meanwhile reining his horses first to tho
right and then to the left, anxious to
avoid inflicting injury, but unable to
guess even where the lady will jump to
next.
He Won.
A Paris paper contributes a story of an
Englishman, now residing in Paris, in
the enjoyment of a large fortune, for
which he was indebted to his prowess
as a member of the Oxford crew some
years since. Puriug the race his boat
was apparently losing, when his uncle,
shouting from the bank, promised him
the hand of his daughter should Oxford
win. Stimulated by the promise, Mr.
Oxon induced his comrades to further
and successful efforts, and he was re
warded not only by the hand of his
cousin, but also by the inheritance of
his uncle's fortune, which had been
hugely increased by the betj upon the
race.
4 New England Farm.
It is the popular opinion that no
mouey can be mads on the Ho-called
worn ont hill-town farmsAf New Eng
land, but tho experience otMr. William
C. Warren, of Windsor, Massachusetts,
is to the contrary. His farm contains
two hundred acres, a little' more than
half cleared land, and cost him $i,500.
The stock kept tho past year was sixteen
cows, two horses, three heifers and hogs.
He worked up his own milk into butter
und cheese on account of distance from
the factory. His working force consisted
of himself pud wife, and daughter and
boy twelve years of age, and one hired
man. His sales of butter and cheese
for the year ending February 1, 1875,
wero $1,161.70; pork, $115; calf hides,
$15; apples and cider, $20. Total,
$1,311.70. His outgoes were: hired
mau (seven months), $150; taxes, $92;
for meal fed not raised on farm, $13.74.
Total, $285.74, leaving for the labor of
himself and family and interest of his
capital invested a balance of $1,025.96.
His cheese has sold at the door at an
average of thirteen cent3 per pound, and
the butter at an average ot thirty cents
per pound. In years of higher prices he
has done much better than the past year.
He has lived on three different farms iu
Windsor during the last thirty years,
has always driven a good team, lived
well, worked steadily, and steadily made
money, leaving each farm better than he
found it. He has steadily pursued the
system of keeping only a moderate
stock of good native cows and of keeping
them well; of doing his own work as far
as possible, and of raising the provisions
for his family and the grain and roots
for his stock as much as possible on his
own farm; never hesitating, however, to
buy meal when his own granary runs
low. There are many farms in the town
that will keep as much stock and more
than his that can be bought for from
$2,500 to $3,000, with not as much wood
on them, not as good buildings and not
so sheltered as Mr. Warren's. It will
be seen that the income, counting in
pork and calf hides sold as well as but
ter and cheese, was $80.73 per cow.
Counting out the meal bought lor stock,
reduces tho average to $78 per cow;
again counting out, in addition to meal
bought, the interest on tho land -at seven
per cent, and still you have $58.31 left
per cow. How mauy dairy farmers liv
ing on laud that cost from $50 to $200
per acre can reckon out interest on laud
and meal bought for cows, teams and
hogs and show an averago of $58.31 per
cow left ? And if you cannot do it, why
is your laud worth so much, aud why do
you still say nothing can bo made farni
nig back on the hills i
Useful Knowledge.
A man walks three miles' in an hour;
a horse trots Beven; steamboats run
eighteen; sailing vessels ten; slow rivers
flow four; rapid rivers seven; moderate
wind blows seven; storm moves thirty
six; hurricane, eighty; a rifle ball, one
thousand; sound, seven hundred and
forty-three; light, 190,000; electricity,
280,000. A barrel of flour weighs 190
pounds; a barrel ot pork, two hundred;
barrel of rice, six hundred; barrel of
powder, tweuty-fivo; firkin of butter,
fifty-six; tub of butter, eighty-four.
Wheat, beans and clover seed, sixty
pounds to the bushel; corn, rye nnd flax
seed, fifty-six; buckwheat, fifty-two;
barley, forty-eight; oats, thirty -five;
bran, twenty; timothy seed, forty-live;
coarse salt, eighty-five. Sixty drops
make a drachm, eight drachms an
ounco, four ounces a gill, sixteen gills a
pint, sixty drops a teaspoouful, four
teaspoonfuls a tablespoonf ul or half an
ounce, two tablospooufuls an ounce,
eight tablespoonftils a gill, two gills a
coffee cup or tumbler, six fluid ounces a
teacupful. Four thousand eight hundred
and forty square yards, an acre, a square
mile, six hundred and forty acres. To
measure an acre: 200 feet on each side,
makiug a square acre, within an iuch.
There are 2,750 languages. Two per
sons die every second. A generation is
fifteen years; average of life, thirty-one
years. Tho standing army in Prussia,
war times, 1,200,000; France, 1,300,000;
Russia, 1,000,000; Austria, 825,000;
Italv, 200,000; Spain, 100,000; Belgium,
95,000; England, 75,000; United States,
24,000. Roman Catholics iu the United
States, 5,000,000. Mails in New York
city ore one hundred tons per day. New
York consumes six hundred beeves
daily, seven hundred calves, 20,000
sheep, 20,000 swine, iu winter.
The Centennial.
Governor Hartranft informs us that
the State of Pennsylvania has appropri
ated a million of dollars to the Centen
nial, the city of Philadelpliia has given a
million and a half, and it is probable that
"a further sum of one million dollars
will, within a few weeks," be devoted to
the same object. This amounts to three
and a half millions from one State alone.
These appropriations do not include the
private subscriptions from individuids
in Pennsylvania, which will probably
amoiuit to another million. This is cer
tainly a noblo work for one State to do,
says the New York Herald, and that pa
per adds: We trust tliat our own State
will not be tardy. The government has
appropriated a half million, which, how
ever, will be devoted to the display of
the various departments or the general
administration. New York will certainly
aim to make a display worthy of supre
macy as the Empire State. We cannot
afford to be under obligations to our
friends in Pennsylvania for the opportu
nity of so doing. It is not the habit of
New York to be dependent upon others
where either her honor or her interests
are concerned. We trust that the Legis
lature will vote an appropriation that
will enable New York to make an appearance-
at the exhibition worthy of our
greatuess aud the magnitude of the oc
casion. Willing; Boy. A Detroit Free Press
newsboy about ten years old ran after a
pedestrian and urged him vehemently to
purchase a paper. The man made no
answer until the boy had followed him a
whole block, and then he halted and said:
" Boy, if you don't stop aimoying me I'll
call a policeman." "Don't go to any
trouble," replied the lud. "Buy a pa
per of .me aud I'll sail polieemaa Je
you."
A SISGtt.Vn TTEAI'OX.
The Nntlven ot AnMrnlln, nnd the 1'ne they
AInke nf the " Hooinrrnnn."
A traveler tells us something of that
(lingular weapon used by the uatives of
Australia, the boomerang. He saw them
used by the natives. They ranged from
two feet to thirty eight inches in length,
nnd were of various shapes, all curved a
little, and looking, as lie describes them,
something like a Wooden new moon.
They are made of a dark, heavy wood,
and weigh from one to three pounds. In
thickness they vary from half an iuch to
an inch, and taper to a point at each
end.
One of the natives picked up tho piece
of wood, poised it an instant, and threw
it, giving it a rotary motion. For the
first hundred feet or more it went
straight ahead with a deep, humming
sound. Then it tacked to the left, and
rose slightly, still rotating rapidly. It
kept this latter course for a hundred
feet morP, perhaps, but soon veered to
the left again, describing a broader
curve, and a moment later fell to the
earth six or eight feet in front of the
thrower, having described neorly a circle
in tlie air.
Another native then took the same
boomerang and cast it, holding it with
tho same grip. It took the same course,
but made broader curves ; and rtS It name
round, the black caught it handsomely
iu his right hand.
Another native next threw it, and
lodged it on the ground about twenty
feet behind him, after it had described a
circle of two hundred yards or upwards.
After him they all tried it, and' but one
of them failed to bring tho weapon back
to the spot where they stood.
Caruboo, a native, thou selected from
the heap of boomerangs unother one,
and cast it with a sort of jerk. It flew
very swiftly for forty or fifty yards,
whirling like a top. Then it darted into
tho air, mounting fully a hundred feet,
and came over our heads, where it seem
ed to hang stationary for a moment, then
settled slowly, still whirling, till he
caught it. Two others of the blacks then
did the same thing.
Meanwhile I had with ray knife shaved
a little of the wood from the convex side
of one of the boomerangs. This one I
now offered to one of thorn to throw. Ho
took it, without noticing what I had
done, poised it, but stopped short, and
with a contemptuous glance nt my im
provement threw it down, exclaiming:
" Hale Inulyery!" (no good.)
The others then looked at it curiously,
but it was a bale bittlgeri also to them.
Not one could be induced to throw it.
Myers asked them why they did not
use it, but they could give no definite
answer. It was plain that they did not
like the way it poised, when held iu tho
hand; yet I could not distinguish anv
ililterence whatever between tins anil tho
other weapons.
Burleigh then walked to a distance of
two hundred feet or more from the blacks,
and bid Carnboo throw to him. Tho
native looked to him a moment rather
curiously, then comprehending what was
wanted, he selected ono of the heaviest
of the missiles, and turning half round,
throw it with great force iu a direction
almost opposite from that where Burleigh
stood.
The weapon sped smartly for sixty or
seventy feet, then tacked iu nu instant,
and flew directly at Burleigh, and had
ho not most expeditiously ducked, he
would have received a hard thump, if
nothing worse. It struck the ground
twenty or thirty paces beyond. This
feat brought out a broad grin, nnd some
thing like a chuckle, from tho whole of
them. Carnboo even intimated that he
would like to try another cast, but Bur
leigh expressed himself fully satisfied.
Mr Addition (another of our party),
however, offered to "takoa shot," but
not too short range. We wero standing
m front of one of the store-houses.
Carnboo placed Addition in front of the
door, aud stood with his back to him,
with Addition's hand on his shoulder.
Nono of us knew what sort of a ma
neuver he had in mind, not even Myers.
Standing in this position, the black
threw tho boomerang straight ahead.
Immediately it curved in the air. Then
it disappeared around the right corner of
tho building, and before we had time to
guess what was meant, came round from
the other end (having passed completely
around the store-house), and gave Addi
tion a sounding rap on the back, which
made his eyes snap.
What Compound Interest Does,
"Save tho pennies and tho dollars
will take care of themselves," used to be
the advice the wise old gentlemen gave
to the boys. As our excellent savings
banks are ready to help thoso who are
so wise as to lay up their savings, the
young people especially can find food for
profitable reflection in the following
table, showing the product of week'y
savings at a compound interest at six per
cent., and deposits commence interest
the first day of each month:
il each week for 5 years, amounts to $ 300.06
2 ' " " 5 " " " 600.12
3 " 5 " " " 900.18
5 " " " 5 " " " 1,500.20
1 each week for 10 yeard, amounts to 703.32
2 " " " 10 " " " 1,406.64
3 ' " 10 " " " 2,109.95
6 ' ' " 10 " " " 3,510.60
$1 each week for 15 years, amounts to 1,213.30
i ' 15 " " " 2,486 60
8 ' " " 15 " " " 8,729.00
5 ' ' " 15 " " " 0,216.50
il each week for 20 yearn, amounts to r,-973.67
2 " " 20 ' " " 3,947.34
3 " " 20 " " " 5,921.01
5 " " " 20 " " " 9,808.35
The Western Wheat Crop.
The winter wheat iu the West has been
smothered. The sudden thaw and raius
in the latter part of February, followed
immediately by heavy sleet and intense
cold, a report from Chicago says, have
been mainly instrumental in killing, or
" smothering" as it is called, the great
quantity of whiter wheat planted all
over this western country, in some
parts oi the country the farmers are
plowing up their fields sowed with wheat
last fall. This is in the uplands. In the
lowlands, where there is some moisture
there is hope of a partial crop, but not
one-third of a crop exists in the entire
Northwest. One broker, who has
traveled extensively through Illinois,
Wisconsin, aud Michigan, says he could
eat all tha wheat which will be grown iu
those States,
Tiling Around tho Honse.
My entire household, including th"
In'rod girl, is full of satisfaction to-night
over thi fact tho. I have just "riven tho
ax-handle firmly into tb x and wedged
it there, so that it cannot nudef fnyr cir
cumstance come ont. It may read like
a small matter to yon, but do you know
that that helve h id been loose for nearly
five yoars? Y'-s, for five years that ax
liafl flung itself across the ya-d whenever
I struck n heavy blnw, leaving tho helvo
in my hand, nnd I suppose I have de
cided more than a thousafid times to go
iu and get a hammer and chisel and fas
ten tha helvo iu. I was thrown down
and had my arm broken by tho ax flying
off, two hired girls had their noses
broken, we spoiled the stove-boilers',
nearly killed three boys, and yet I didn't
get around to fix the ax until to-day.
Foster was telling me the other day
that he had finally glued that knob on
to the bureau drawer, and ho seemed
greatly relieved. I remember when that
knob was knocked off almost seven
years ago. I was helping him move the
bureau when the Occident occurred, and
I never was in the house afterward with
out hearing Mrs. Foster say :
"Come, Henry, haven t you got
time to fix that knob on this even
ing?" " Yes, Martha," lis would reply,
and yet it was Beven years before he got
nt if.
Seven or" eight year ago my neighbor,
Mr. Goodwin, found tt tvw among his
cabbages one day, aud in driving her
out sho jumped over the gate and broke
one of the hinges. He went in aud got
a hammer, screw-driver, and screws to
repair damages, but his wife called him
into breakfast just then. After break
fast he hadn't time, and so it ran nlong
until the other day. Ho passed through
tho gate an average of flva times per
day for about seven yers, or thirteen
thousand times in all, and lie ha .1 lifted
it up, carried it around and bothered
for half a ffiinuto each time. Thirteen
thousand times he said to himself that
he would fix that confounded gate, and
yet he didn't do it until the other day.
Some twelve or thirteen years ago I
was taking dinner with Turner, over on
Adams avenue, and his wife called at
tention to the fact that she had that day
broken the handle of her big seven
pound flat-ir n, and that she must get
another. The other day I met her on
the street, and she told me she had re
planed the flat-iron at last. For thirteen
years, fifty-two times per year, she had
used that brokenlmmllpd iron to smooth
down her washing, and every tinio she
hail said to herself that sho would go up
town next day and order a new one.
Bristow died last week. We wero
warm friends, mid I was with him to the
last. After ho had ealM tho family up
one by one, and shaken bauds and said
goott-bye, 1 saw mat mere was yei kowk
thing on his mind. I admonished him
to trust mo if he had a dying request,
aud he grasped my hand aud replied :
"I've been trying to find titno for the
last seventeen years to take the butcher
kuifo down to the shop and have it
ground, and if it wouldn't bo asking too
much of you, I wish you'd soe to it !"
I promised him, but it may be twenty
years before I get tho knife to the shop,
und ten year's before I call for it.
I can remember when old Mrs. Bag
ley died. She had a china teapot iu her
house which had belonged to her grand
mother, but sho had always kept it in
the drawer becauso the handle was bro
ken and wanted cementing. She gave
tho teapot to n neighbor, who waited
five years for a bottle of cement, than
four years more to iiud time, and finally
knocked tho spout off while trying to
mend the handle.
I don't supposo any of us would for
get tho day a note was duo, but if the
knob should drop off a chamber door,
I expect that George Francis Train
mierht be elected President before we
would find time to replaco it.
The Arts of a Hundred Years Ago.
One hundred years ago what a man
discovered in the arts he concealed.
Workmen wer3 put upon oath, in the
name of God, never to reveal theprocess
used by their employers. Doors were
kept closed, artisans going out were
searched, visitors wero rigorously ex
cluded from odmission, and false opera-
tious blinded tho workmen themselves.
I ho mysteries of every craft were
hedged in by thickset fences of empiri
cal pretensions and uulicial aturmation,
The roval manufactories of porcelain,
for example, wero long carried on in Eu
rope with a spirit of jealous exclusive
ness. His majesty of Saxony was espe
cially circumspect. Not content with
the oath of secresv imposed upon his
work people, ho would not abate his
kingly suspicion in favor of a brother
monarch. Neither king nor king's dele
gate might enter the tabooed walls of
Meisson. What is erroneously called
tho Dresden porcelain that exquisite
pottery of which the world has never
seen tho like was produced for two
hundred years by a process so secret that
neither the bribery of princes nor the
garrulity of the operatives ever revealed
it.
Other discoveries have been less suc
cessfully guarded, fortunately for the
world. The manufacture of tinware in
England originated in a stolen secret.
Few readers need to bo informed that
tinware is simply thin iron plated with
tin by being dipped into the molten
metal. In theory it is nu easy matter to
clean tho surface of iron, dip it into a
bath of the boiling tin and remove it en
veloped with the silvery metal to a place
for cooling. In practice, however, the
process is one of the most difficult in the
arts. It "-as discovered in Holland aud
guarded from publicity with the utmost
vigilance for nearly half a century. Eng
land tried in vain to discover the secret
until James Sherman, a Cornish miner,
crossed the Chanuel, insinuated himself
master of the secret, and brought it
homa. Tho secret of manufacturing
cast steel was oluo stealthily obtained,
a'ld it is now within the reach of all ar
tisans. Tho Parisians devour 100,000,000 of
apples ever winter. An eminent French
physiewn thinks that the decrease of
dyspepsia and bilious affections iu Paris
is owing to the increased consumption of
this fruit, which, ho maintains, is un
admirablb prophylactic and tonic, as
well m a very nourishing and utvily
aigeutea article oi looa.
Items of Interest.
" Orthocrammania." is whot they aro
calling the rage for spelling matches.
An Oneida mau advertises for a peddler
who won't swear. Next ho will want ft
boy with feathers on his legs.
A corn whisk will take off anything
on your coat, and corn whisky will take
off the coat oi your stomacu.
A Christmas disappointment "It s
lovely doll, dear grandpa and grandma;
but but I'd been hoping it would bo
twins."
Thoinfaut sovereign of China ascended
the throne nuder the honorary title of
Kwang Hu, the best translation of which
" continuation of glory.
Tho grasshoppers in tho Western
States are around tho railway statioi s
these warm npnntr mornings, to see who
comes to purchase seed wheat.
Hartford doesn't enre obout a spelling
match as lone as she can go out and
look at this sign, which is put up near
the stone bridge: "Bolior and Engiu
for salo."
It don't make any difference whether
poems on " spring are written on one
side of the poper or on two sides. They
stand tho same chance of publication
either way.
A little girl at Richmond, Ind., tho
other day, swallowed a glass earring.
She lav ciirht davs with it in her bron
chial tubes and then coughed it up so
that a surgeon cut it out. Her recovery
is expected.
The most convincing evidence that n
merchant is enterprising and up to tha
times is afforded by tho liberality with
which he advertises. That's the way it
strikes newspaper readers, and they aro
tho best customers.
Broom corn was introduced into our
country by Dr. Franklin. Vhilo ex
amining a corn whisk (imported) he ac
cidcntly found a single seed, which he
planted in his garden, ana irom wnicu
the corn was propagated.
The largest and wealthiest village m
the country is Kalamazoo, Michigan,
which lias 11,350 inhabitants, live rail
roads, several millions of manufactures,
and half a dozen banks nnd colleges. It
has never applied for n city charter.
A tramn iu a lock-up was overheard
describing to a crowd of his brethren tho
best places for getting lougmgs ami ioou
between New York and Boston, illus
trating his remarks with a rough chart
which he had prepared as the result of
his experiences.
A clerervrnan in ono of our Eastern
cities was met by a seedy-looking man
with a flask of whisky in his pocket,
who inquired: "Sir, is this the nearest
road to the almshouse? "Ao, sir,
replied the clergyman, pointing to tho
bottle; "bntthotis."
xhero is a young ieuuw m xuxnu....
whoso future depended upon tho result
of the Brooklyn trial, because tho girl
he loved promised to marry him if Bee
cher was pronounced innocent; other
hIio rleclared that her confidenco in
man would be destroyed and sho would
never wed.
A shin at sea sprung a leak. Tho hole
in its bottom was just one foot square.
There was but one board on tho ship thw
was sixteen inches long and nine inches
wide. It had precisely the requeue
number of square inches, and the car
penter cut it in two pieces only, nnd
these two pieces jusi mteu i"
How did he do it ?
He Advertises There.
When a man is very anxious that tlm
public should know something -for in
stance, that he has lost some bonds and
wants to recover them, says the Adrrr
tieing Gazelle, his very first impulse,
whether he bo a regular advertiser ov
not, is to fly to the newspapers. Yon
never hear him say on such occasions,
" What's the use of advertising ?" Ho
simply sits down satisfied, as though
the thing were accomplished and the
bonds "all but" back into his hands
once more. But when it comes to busi
ness aud he is told he shoidd advertise,
he seems to forget all this or very many
merchantfi do, and reiterate, " what's tha
use of it," etc. Now here are two pur
poses to be served, exactly alike, . c, td
make known his wants to the public, and
both are to some extent of a kind, for in
one he offers a reward, and in the other
large inducements. Yet he too often
fails to see the connection that underlies
all advertising transactions, and illogic
ally makes up his mind that what is
good for the gander is not good for tho
goose, and bo remains, more or less, as
far as his regular business is concerned,
in the condition of the latter.
Life and Death.
The Carlisle table of mortality comes
as near the truth of the grave fatality of
a community, perhaps, as at present
possible. This table is tho result of
observations, continued for mauy yeors,
as to the population of Carlisle, a city in
England, and is used as an authority in
life insurance calculations in America
and Europe According to this table, of
10,000 children born:
3,540 die iu
3,910 "
10 years.
20 "
4.858 11 80 "
4,9'ia " 40 "
6. 60S ' 50 "
6,357 ' 63 "
7.599 " 70 "
9,047 " 80 "
9,81 90 "
9,991 100 "
9,999 ' 104 '
Leaving one of the 10,000 persons
living at the expiration of 104 years.
All Sinners.
A curate, preaching to the women of
his parish, in the interior of Colombia,
said: "There is one among my audience
of so scandalous a behavior that I have
resolved but no, I will give no names,
because that would not be Christian
charity. But I will just throw my bon
net at her, that you may know who she
is." 'The good curate then took off his
bonnet and made as if ho was about to
throw it, shouting, "That is the vilo
woirau I" All the women present held
clown their heads to avoid the bonnet.
" Dion immcneo I" exclaimed the cure ;
" I thought there was only one sinner,
I but I mo eonsciencQ ocus all of you."