It I i i i 4 HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum. VOL. V. RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, N.0VEMI3EH 25, 1875. NO. 40. Si Tlic Old flnrn. Tho looHtcrBtnlhs on the mangel's ledge, IIo hus ii tail like a "cimiter's eilgw A maral-al phuno on his afghnn neck, An ! aiia:'s stride on bis quarter deck. Hp ru'ei tho roost and he walks the bay, Wi'h a dreadful cold and TurkiaU way. Two broadside b fires with Lis rapid wings, The sultan proud of a line of kingB One guttural laugh, four bursts of horn, Five ru8y syllables rouse the morn. The Saxon lambs in their woi'en tabs Are playing with the a, b, abs. A. e ! r, n ! All the cattle spell Till they make the blatant vowels telJ, And a half laugh whinny fills the stalls As duwn the rack the clover fall. A dove is waltzing round his mate, The chevrons blaok on his wings of slats, And showing off with a wooing note The satin shine of his golden throat It is Ovid's " Art of Love " retold In a binding fine of blue and gold. Ah, the buxom girls that helped the boys The nobler Helens of humbler Troys As they stripped the husks wit 1 rustling fold, From sight-rowod corn as yellow as gold, By the oaudle-light in pumpkin bowls, And the gleam that showed fautaatio holes In the quaint old lantern's tattooed tin, From the hermit glim set up within j By the rarer light in girlish eyes, As dirk as wells or as blue as skies. I hear the langh when the ear is red, I see the blu-h with the forfeit paid, The ceder cakes with the ancient twist, The cidar cup that the girls have kissed. Ai d I sec the fidd'er thrcngh the duk, As he tw.ui:;s the ghost of "Money Musk ! The boys and girls iu a double row Wait f ace-to-f nco till the magic bow Hindi whip tho t-.ine from the violin And the merry pulse of the feot begin. THE ENCHANTED STONES. A Ilolldny Story. Iu the couutry of Vannes, near the sen, lies tin village of Plouliinec, in a dry, sterile tract of land, so unproduc tive that it affords scarcely grass or herb age enough to keep tho cattle alive, and where the swine even look half starved and tliiu. Instead of cultivated fields there nre raooi lauds only, and forests of pine trees. But 1 he country is covered with an iiuni':ise number of stones, largo and small, whi.-h would furnish Materia enough to build n grout city. The largest of the-ie stones hail in oldeu tiruos been planted by the dwarfs in two long rows in order tit form au avenuo. At a short distauce from this stately avenuo flowed a river, and near its banks in former times lived Marcinne, the richest of the people thereabouts. His larder always contained a bountiful sup ply of salt pork and black bread, and on Palm Sunday, at the consecration of the laurel, he invariably wore, in honor of the ceremony, a pair of new wooden shoes. Marcinne was proud, and his petted and indulged sister llosa had hitherto re fused tolihi.cn to any offer of marriage, because none of her admirers had suffi cient we.--.lih to gratify her ambition. Among It sn's many adorers was one, a worthy Obrihtimi youth, named Bernec, who had lo t his parents when young, and receiving for his inheritance only his father's good will, was obliged to sup povt himsi if by tho work of kh hands. When ho entered tho parish as an arti sau's npprentico he was a lad, and Rosa but a little girl. Under his eye she had grown to be a fair and beautiful maiden, Hud he deemed her the loveliest creature in tho whole laud. The people of the parish, h.nvover, knowing how matters stood, would frequently tsiiy : ' Berneo loves 11 sa, bnt ho can never win her ; truly, a hen-tic might as well hope to 'liter heaven." lint liosa proved not insensible to Bernee's evident devotion, and t-he secretly eturn:!d his love. Above all, her brother too had a liking for tho young fellow, and was more tha i half inclined to grant hioi his sister's hand. One Christmas eve Marcinne, having invited to Lis Imuso all the youths and maidens lioni the neighborhood, had hospitably prepared for their entertain ment a generous repast of sausages, wheat ponidgo and honey. But the weather proved unfavorable. A storm howled ami shrieked and whistled around, so that only a few of the bidden guests cmne, and even these did not ap pear until a lute hour. The moment thy arrived diuut r was nerved. All except Kerut o iewed with complacency the smoking fausages and wheat porridge upon the LeartU ; ho alone gave no heed to either, but had only eyes for the blushing countenance of his beloved llosa. Just as the company were seated the door opened, and au old man entered. Although clothed in beggar's rags, he walked iu without the slightest cere mony, and requested something to eut. No one gave him a word of greeting, such as ordinary beggars would receive ; for this strange being was feared aud nlmnned by all the parish. He was never Keen ut church, aud it was believed that he was a sov.;crer, who could cast a spell over auimuls, blacken the corn in tho e r, and that he even had power to change a person who displeased him into u wvbr-wiilf. Not during t do other wise, Maicinne bestowed upon the old man a portion of the repast, and gave Liin a seat by the fire. Whou, alter satisfying his hunger, tho beggar inquired where he should sleep, Marcinne directed him to a stable occu pied by his scrubby donkey aud very at tenuated ox. There directly between these uuiuials this miserable being lay down, iu order to keep warm. He placed a pillow of moorland gross under his head, aud was well nigh lost in slumber when twelve strokes announced the hour of midnight. Scarcely had the last stroke sounded when the old donkey shook his long ears, iud turning to the lean ox, asked, iu friendly tones: "Well, cousin, how hast thou been since last Christmas ?" Tho u- a sideward glance at the beggar, did not immediately an swer. Finally, he gruffly paid : "It ia hardly worth while to take advautnge of the speech which the Godhead has given ns at this time, when we must talk in tho presence of such a contemptible churl." ' Thou art very proud, cousin," briskly rejoiued the donkey. " Surely, if any one has a right to be vain, it is thy humble servant, whose shoulders once bore our Savior when he went to Jerusalem. Yet I think all this is of lit tle consequence; and, besides, dost thou not see thnt the beggar is asleep ?" " Yes," responded the ox, " so it seems. But were he awnke, I conld tell him something that he would be glad to hear." " Indeed I" said tho donkey, pricking up his ears. "Yes," continued the ox, "I could show this old beggar how a large for tune might be made next New Year's night." "Ah I how so?" the donkey in quired. ' Why, knowost thou not," exclaimed the ox, "that all the stones that have been sleeping for a hundred years at Plonhiuec will be permitted to go down to the water aud drink at that timet Aud moreover, what dost thou think can bo scon when these stones are away?" " Eh ?" said the donkey, thoughtfully shaking his head. " How forgetful old age makes one I Oh, yes 1 now I re member, gold and dazzling jewels lieuu derneath those stones, imbedded in the earth. But what of that? They cannot be removed without endangering one's life; the stones return so quickly that, should a person be foolhardy enougti to make tho attempt, he would be crushed before he could convey his treasures to a place of safety." "Aha I" interposed the ox; "not if he possessed two talismans the cole wort and a clover with five loaves." " And likewise, if my memory serves me," added the donkey, "an immortal soul must be sacrificed, else all the treasure would turn to dust." " Yes, yes," assented the ox. " The sorcerer should not forget that the evil one will require of him a Christian soul." Thus the ox and the donkey conversed together until moruing. And the old man listened to all that wns said, and thought to himself: "Well, this is news! Now I'm in luck ! Much obliged to you, my dear animals !" By daybreak the beggar arose and de parted in quest of the colewort and the tive-leaved clover. This search lasted a whole week, as he was obliged to go far into the country, where, the climate be ing warmer, plants kept alwavs erreen. Just before the New Year he returned to Plouliinec. He looked much like a weasel who had effected an entrance into a dovecote ; for this wicked old sorcerer had fixed upon the Christian whose sold was to lie given the poor worthy Ber nec. Strange to relite, tho first person whom the beggar spied, on reaching the moor, was this good youth. Ho stood before tho largest stone upon the heath, and was busily engaged in carving there upon a largo cross. "God help you!" cried tho old r.or cercr, with a treacherous smile. " Do you intend to make a home for yourself in that great stone yonder?" " No," ouswered Borneo ; " but hav ing nothing at present to do, I thought I would carve a cross on this unholy stono, that Gal might look down kindly on my work, and sooner or later remem ber me." " Ah ! have you any request to make of God ?" asked tho beggar. All christians hove a soul to save. the young man replied, in a serious tone. " And have you nothing to ask of Him iu regard to llosa ?" urged the other. Borneo was silent for a moment. At last he exclaimed: " Then you know all. Well, if I am poor, it is no sin love .Rosa. Mar cinne, however, would never take as a brother-in-law one who has fewer pen nies thau he has dollars." " But what if I should givo you as many pounds as he has pence 1" said the old man, in a subdued voice. "You?" cried Bernec, somewhat dis concerted. " Yes, even I," the beggar calmly re peated. " And what do you desire in return?" asked Borce?. The other answered: "Only a place iu your prayers." But will the performance of the task that you will givo me interfere with my soul's welfare ?" inquired Bernec, etili distrustful of the beggar. "No; it will require only courage," was the reply. Hearing this, Berneo dropped his chisel, aud impetuously cried: "Tell me what I shall do ! I would risk my life a hundred times to gain liosa at last." " Listen to me, then," said the beg gar, speaking in a mysterious tone. The youth was all attention. He heard the story of the journey of the stones to the river, but not of their destructive return; lie was told about the hidden treasure, yet naught of the dangers that attended its removal; and, furthermore, as you may well suppose, he learned nothing from the perfidious old man of the blood that must flow the price of the gold. Bernec, sure that God would protect him, determined to act accord ing to the old beggar's advice. " Old man, I call Heaven to witness," cried he, that I will avail myself of this opportunity, and also aver that you have a claim upon me which I shall never, never forget. Only leave me now to finish this cross, and at the appointed time I will be with you." Berneo kept his word. An hour be fore midnight he was on the spot. The beggar was also uhere, furnished with three large bags, one of which he held iu his hand, while the two others wore slung over Ids shoulders. Berneo aud the beggar remained there iu silence for nearly an hour, the youth thinking the while of llosa and his good fortune ; the exultant old sorcerer sat near, gloating over the kindly face of his victim. Suddenly a loud rumbling aud clatter was heard on the moor. Midnight had struck, and the stones had awakened from their long sleep. Over and over they shook themselves, then rolling from their beds, started for the river pell mell, like drowsy giants, making their way over the heath. Thus they moved along on their er rand under the light of the stars, and at last were lost from sight. In a twinkling the beggar was on his feet and hastening with great rapiditr to the moor. Even Berneo could hardly keep pace with the old man, who seemed to have acquired on the moment the power and agility of youth. When they reached the heath Berneo uttered a cry of astonishment, and devoutly crossed himself. In every bed which a stone had occupied was a hollow filled to the brim wth gold, silver, and very precious jewels. They glittered and sparkled in tho starlight like dew in the sunshine of a summer's morning. The old man at once commenced filling the sacks that he had brought. Berneo had only the pockets of his jacket. He had stored away all that he could in these recepta cles, and the beggar had well-nigh filled his bags, when a rushing noise was hoard iu the distance, like the roar of an advancing hurricane. The stoue3 had drank, and were coming back I On they came, flying at their utmost speed, aud sweeping down every thing before them. Bernec looked up and cried : "Wo are lost!" " I am not," said tho sorcerer, waving tho protecting talismans. "These will save me. But thou must die ! Had 1 not tho soul of a Christian at my dis posal, I should not be permitted to bear off these treasures. Thy evil star con ducted thee to me. Forgot llosa think of thy doom 1" As tho stones drew near the old beg gar held up his talismans, and directly they gave way on either side. Bernec's life was now in great danger. He sank upon his knees, and closed his eyes. But the largest stone of the number now dashed forward aud planted itself in front of Bernec. At this unlooked-for reprieval tho young man raised his head. Tho stono before him was tho ouo on which ho had carved the cross. Thus consecrated, it had no power to harm a Christian. It now served as a shield for Bernec until the other stones had re gained their places. Then, leaving its post, it skimmed over the ground like a bird. The old sorcerer, dragging along his threo heavy sacks, was directly in its way. The stone kept on, swerving neither to the right nor to the left. Iu vain the sorcerer held out his talismans ; the stone, now a Christian, was proof against every unholy charm. Bernec, oft reviving from the Rtupor into which he had fallen, saw that the stone had passed over and crushed tho beggar, and was now settled in its accustomed place. When the youth had recovered from his bewilderment he immediately appro priated to himself the contents of the three sucks that lay by the liteless form of tho wicked old beggar. He thus be oamo the possessor of great wealth, and Marcinne, well pleased, gave him his sister's hand, so that there was no longer any drawback to the happiness of the worthy youth. On the following Christmas the old donkey and the lean ox talked a long time togpther about the gay and bril liaut festival that attended tho marriage of Bernec aud llosa. Old Time Detectives. A New York paper speaking of tho in efficiency and corruption of the detec tives of the present time relates this anecdote of a detective of the last genera tion : One of our banks kept losing money, only in small sums, yet the loss was constant and mysterious. A cele brated detective was called in. " Let everybody leave the directors' room," he said. " Send in everybody, ouo by one, who has had a chance to steal." So tho president, the cashier, the tellere, tho bookkeepers and clerks had a private interview with tho detective. Every ouo iu the bank knew the pur poso of the visit, and all but ono wero slightly nervous and uncomfortable under the searching questions of the chief. The last who entered was a nephew of the president. He walked in cool, unembarrassed and indifferent, and with au air that said "proceed." He was dismissed as wqjl as tho rest. The detective said not a word, left the bank, and in one week returned. He had been shadowing the president's nephew. In a clear, fair hand, was written out the whereabouts of the young man for tho past six days, the company he kept, what he drank, the hours he spent on the road, his night orgies, and all his movements by night and by day. No body in the bank knows to-day that the piesident's nephew was tho thief. That his health was not good, that he was traveling in Europe, and that his place in the bank was filled by another, was well known. The bank was saved from robbery, the family from dishonor, the detective commended for his skill and prudence, and was all the happier for a check of 81,000. A Change of Taste. " Samuel Day, your smartness will strike iu some day and be the death of you I" was the greeting of his honor of the Detroit police court. Samuel stood ou one leg and looked foolish, ond the court continned : " You were here a month ago, aud your breath smelt of onions so terribly that I hustled you out without regard to the interests of justice. You havo re turned with the same odor about you, expecting the same results, but, ah ! my boy, my taste has undergone a radical change. In four short weeks I have learned to love the odor given out by the shiny onion, and I welcome you here 1 If time allowed I would like to have you stand there all day and breath at me; but it won't, and I shall have to send you to join the procession which keeps lock-step while marching to meals." " Whad di do ?" inquired the prisouer. I can't look up your history just now, Samuel. You have beeu here for wife beating, drunkenness, and Jupiter knows what else. The charge this time is disturbing the peace, and I know that if there was any to disturb you are guilty. Go iu and sit down and chew away on your onion, and be glad mat l didn't make the sentence six months." A California butoher has found an Indian arrow head well imbedded ia the liver of an ox. Relation of Dwellings to Health. Dr. Efcia M. Hunt, of New Jersey, read a paper before the American Pub lic Health Association on the " Relation of Dwelling Houses to Health." In modern houses, he thought, the circula tion of air was too much impeded. Foundations that should be made porous became house-dams to keep back the Eressure of water from without, or the asements became literally drains, fatal to health, and breeding fungoid spores. He censured whitewashing and calci mining, as processes inferior to painting, and objected to partitions between front and rear rooms and intermediate closets without transom windows permitting of currents of air being passed through from front to rear. Basement halls were but reservoirs for unsuitable air, to be conveyed by stairways and passages to the upper floors, and the time was anticipated when a cheap and simple form ot elevator would do away with stairs altogether, and give more freedom for basement ventilation. Fireplaces should also be mado available for venti lation. Porosity iu . building materials, that would admit atomized air while ex cluding draft, was insisted on as a pro requisite. A plan was given in which the stairways communicate with tho building at all tho stories from a rotunda outside, and tho halls are utilized for airiug aud warming, from the roof as well as from the front and rear. Tho importance of roofs in city houses, as available for sunlight and sun heat with in, was insisted upon. We uro to get the house in all its appointments into a state which, as to its construction, shall conserve health and not make us so en tirely dependent for inside appliances. While we are not able in this life per fectly to Iteep all' the sanitary com niandents, it is woll to know them, that wo may be able to comprehend them. Wo are building worso thau we know, and able to build better than we do. Modern science can upbuild enduring health as well asenduriug structures. Our houses are too often organized obstacles to the public weal. " Sweet home " has more than poetio significance. Healthy homes have more to do with valid citi zenship and national destiny than rulers ponder. Tho blessings which belong to pbilanthrophy and hygiene bo upon those who conserve the welfare of tho American household. Winter Shoes for Ladies. Twenty years ago it was no uncommon thing to see a lady walking on snowy and wet pavements in shoes of prunella with the thinnest of soles. About that time a lady for now mauy years one of our foremost fashion writers, determined to wear arid writo sensible shoes into fashion. Gradually her examplo aud her teachings won disciples and imita tors. Now in New York in tho winter season cloth shoes are never scon unless as a badge of poverty, and rarely are they seen even in the summer time. Thick-soled kid, morocco and pebble goat for street wear have long been worn. Within a year or two an advance has been niadecven from thi:, and now ladies are wearing on the street boots of calfskin lined with flannel or kid, with broad Scotch soles and broad low heels. 11 the skirts aro woru long, over even these shoes should be worn a pair of neatly-fitting waterproof gaiters, to keep tho ankles free from dampness. Thus shod, rubbers, except in very wet walking, are unnecessary. For carriage wear very handsome and comfortable shoes are made of quilted beaver, lined with flannel and edged with fur. Ia very cold weather everybody who can afford them wear arctics. Any ingenious woman can make a pair for herself with little trouble. Let her cut a pattern to fit over her shoe, and with this as a guide cut out the uppers from whatever pieces of thick cloth sho may have in the house. An old felt hat will furnish ma terial for the soles, and over the shoe when it is done rubber sandals may bo nicely fitted and sewed. -If those shoea aro made to button high up above tho ankle, they will prove a great protection to the lower extremities, in snowy weather, aud when their value is once known will be considered indispensable. For house wear slippers aro not suita ble from September until June, unless one is confined to the house all the time and remains in a uniform temperature. Cloth and kid boots may very properly be substituted for calfskin and pebblo goat wheu one comes in from the street. If the hand were kept as constantly and thickly covered as tho foot is, how sus ceptible it wou'.d be to every change of temperature ! The removal of a thick warm shoe and putting on a thin slipper in its stead has often laid the founda tion of permanent and incurable. disease. Tribune. Making Christmas Presents. A very old practice and one still re spected is that of giving presents. The practice is as old as the visit of the three kings, Melchior, Jasper, and Balthazar, to tho manger. How pleasant this cus tom is can be attested any day. Stop at any street cornor during Christmas week aud watch the crowds that hurry past, They are hastening to spend money, not to make it, and their countenances plain ly indicate how much pleasure there is in planning the innocent deceits and gay : i - i i t. HurpriaeB wuicu auu ho mucn to every Christmas gift. And the joy with which. on Christmas eve, the mothers steal at midnight to fill their darling's stockings as they dangle from the mantlepiece is only equal by the breathless delight with which in the early morning their children patter barefooted over the floor and feel, for they cannot yet see, to tho uttermost stocking toe to discover what banta (Jlaus has brought them. Fortu nately as much Christmas happiness can be bought with a little money as with a great deal. The child is not particular about tho costliness or its playthincrs. and with his elders it is the act of giving as a proof of remembrance and affection which is or ought to be, more valued than the gift itself. He Will He Will. Every Son of Malta will remember the interesting part of the ceremony of the order as follows : " Will you lie in wait for the ememy of our noble order and steal upon him un awares?" "1 will." Omnes " He will he he will steal." THE CATTLE DISEASE. A Herri of Over Two Hundred Until Nearly Destroyed by Organic Poison. Prof. James Law's report on the cat tle disease on the farm of .James W. Wads worth, near Avon, N. Y., shows that tho herd, consisting of 277 cattle, was brought from Canada, and all did well until suddenly five died, and other cases of death followed at tho rate of from three to eight a day. The symp toms are described in detail, as well as the condition of the bodies after death. Tho manager of the farm and two Ger man workmen who opeued several oi tne carcasses, suiTereu from malignant pus tule. The first symptoms in all three were tho eruptions on tho hand of small papule, which increased to a vesicle, burst aud dnod up. while a new crop ap peared around the point of desiccation. iho two older men. aired from thirty to forty, had considerable erysipelatoid in filtration of the hand and arm, with high fever, nausea, great languor aud mus cular pains. They ultimately did well, however. It was evident that the devel opment of these malignant symptoms was from inoculation from the diseased cattle. Tho professor then goes on to show that the cattlo suffered from organic poison, having been Drought in a wretch ed condition to tne luxuriant grass bot toms of the Genesee valley, under which was a subsoil of impervious clay, and over which the river flowed hi the spring, There was no artificial drain age, and the water escaped by evapora tion only. The contrast in temperature between day and night also aggravated the disease. The report adds : The most universally acknowledged causes of tho malady in animals are : irlothora, or a state of the blood highly charged with organic element? ; an im pervious soil or subsoil; a very rich sur face soil; inundations ; a period of heat and dryness calculated to foster decom position of organic matters to a great depth in the ground, and a great con trast between the day and night temper ature, and in this case all combined to produce one of the most malignant types of the disease. It may be added that while this affection is communicable to all animals by inoculation, it can scarcely be said to spread iu any other way, and it is therefore to be looked upon as essentially an enzootic disease. We must go to such places as tho inun-l dated margins and deltas of largo rivers, dried up lakes and marshes of the rich and pestilential Russian stoppes, to find any approximation to the disastrous out breaks in man and beast which blacken the history of past ages. Une hundrod of the best steers were turned on a higher pasture with a grav elly subsoil, two died, and tho rest made a prompt and permanent recovery. Revenue of the United States. The actual receipts to the United States treasury from all sources, from Juno 30, 1801, to June 30, 1871, exclu sive of loans and treasury notes, was as follows: Customs, 1,5173,710,367.91.; internal revenue, 31,950,323, 723.S0 ; direct tax, SU, 810, 189. 37 ; pnblic lands, $22,151,958.02 ; ' miscellaneous, 8230,084.982.9-1 premium on loans and sales of gold coin, $192,557,117.40 ; total, $1,395,638,341. Beginning with the year 1866, there has been a continu ous repeal, gaining year by year, of such iuternal taxes as were most opproiisivc, or at least as give rise to most complaint, until at present few subjects of taxation remain. The taxes are now levied upon distilled spirits, fermented liquors, manufactured tobacco, snuff, and cigars; upon articles embraced in schedule, upon such occupations, upou banks, checks, deposits, circulation, aud capital of banks. Iu a table exhibiting the sums collected during the several fiscal years from 18C7 to 1875, inclusive, it ap pears that dnring the year ending June 30, 1874, collections were $102,644,746. 98, while the collections for the year ending June 30, 1875, were $110,545,- 154.23. The collections for tho former years were, in consequence of the duties repealed from year to year, less than any single year since the system went into operation, except the first 1863 when tho collections were $41,003,192.93. The increaseof 1874-5 is duo in part to tho increase of duties laid upon distilled spirits, manufactured tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes, and in part to the taxes collected under the laws repealed, extra ordinary efforts having been put forth to collect the delinquent taxes due from banks and bankers, railroads and other corporations, and taxes duo on incomes, legacies, and successions. Tho receipts under the act of March 3, 1875, up to and inclusive of June 30, 1875, from the dmorout articles subject to an increased tax, which were distilled spirits, cigars, cigarettes, and manufactured tobacco, were $3,203,818.85. Keep the Pot Dolling. The French have what is called the pot au feu an iron pot kept constantly upou the nre, into which is put from day to day all the wholesome remnants of food, meat and vegetables, which in the United States are thrown away. All of these are put into the pot au feu, water, seasoning aud fragrant herbs are added, as required, and the constant simmering a solvent for even the toughest of Texan beef extracts eery particle of marrow even, and the bones come out as clean and white as if they had been bleached for years in the sun. This ex plains what a writer meant when he wrote of the forty millions of France living on what the forty millions of America throw away. The French live twice as well as our farmers. A Mlsfortnne. A young man living in Halifax, N. S.. is the victim of a singular misfortune, which may result in the loss of his life. Picking his teeth with a straw, a piece of it lodged between two teeth in such a manner that he could not get it out. It annoyed him for some days, but ot last the pain ceased and he found that the straw had worked under his 'tongue, where it soon began to cause pain, and finally resulted in the tongue becoming swollen and inflamed, while , symptoms similar to those of diphtheria appeared in his throat. He at once sought medi cal advice, but his case is considered very critical. A Fu'tire Millionaire. Tho boy stopped a Reading Eagle re porter on Bingatnnn street and asked whether there was not " some ono to home that wanted a few toys." The little vendor had a well-worn basket and in it was a variety of toys, not exactly rude in shape, but which were evidently not made by expert hands in a regular toy manufactory. " Whero did you get your toys ?" was asked of the youug merchant. " Well, sir, we makes 'em to home, pop and me, and I sells 'em, and gets what I kin for 'em." " What's your name and where do you live, and how long have you been in the business?" " We used to live up iu Locust alley, but wo moved now over into Irishtown. Been livin' there two days already but gittiu' tired of it. My name's Sam, and pop's name's pop, that's all the name I knows 'xoept Wilby. We's related to all tho Wilbys in Lancaster county and down near on to York. Been livin' in Roadin' over a year now. Pop got out of a job at laboriu' and we whittle .out these 'ere toys at night an' I sells 'em durin' the day. Keeps pop in and amounts to somethin' in the end." Many of the toys were mado of pine wood and glued together. Tables, chairs, rocking-chairs, chests, bedsteads, cradles, boats and a variety of knick knacks of that kind wero in the assort ment. Then there were other toys that had been bought at the notion stores, consisting of tin whistles, cups and saucers, wooden animals, trees painted ed and green, tops, little doll babies and other things to numerous to men tion. " Where do you sell your goods?" was asked. " Well, I kep off iu tho back streets and watch whenever I see little girls go into a house. Some day I'm goiu' to bo a rich man and pop says to me that some of the rich merchants iu Readiu' first started ont by luggin' around a basket sellin' tapes and pins." "How much can you average a day profit?" " That depends ou tho day and what luck I got. Yesterday was- election day aud I got iu fifty-seven cents. Some days I get ninety cents, aud last Satur day I had one dollar aud ten cents. That's big, but it don't come often. I don't care, though I just so I get along. I'm goiu' to be rich some day. No driuk.3 for me. I don't chew and I dou't smoke, and I don't spend no money. I'm goin' to commence at the savin's bank soon, if times brisks up. Then I'm goiu' to hawk around shoe strings, tapes, soap, indigo blue, balsam de nial ta, and other stuff what the women wants. . This sellin' toys is only a start er. But if times brisk up I am goin' to commence and make money right." A Long-Separated Familv Reunited. A story has just como to light that reads like a novel. Mr. John Rodman, a mechanic, was a sufferer by the great Are of 1800 in Portland, Me., and moved with his family to Harlem, New York, whero he had a brother residing a widower with a small property. Soon afterward Mr. Rodman wont to Val paraiso, leaving his wife, son and daugh ter with his brother. At first he sent money home, and then his letters ceased. The brother died, and hi3 little property was eaten up by lawyers iu tho settle ment. Tho widow, with her young son aud daughter, returned to Portland and became a seamstress. Tho latter part of 1873 an English captain took the son, a boy of fifteen, to sea with him. The vessel was wrecked iu the gulf, aud all were supposed to bo lost. Tho mother was taken sick, but a physician of Port land took charge of her and afterward rendered her much aid. A short time ago Mrs. Rodman saw an advertisement in the New York Herald that if tho wife of John Rodman, form erly of Portland, would apply to a certain New York law firm, she would hear of something to her advantage. Her doc tor advised her to go to Now York, and she went with her daughter. There she interviewed the law firm, aud ascertained that the husband had failed to hear from her before she failed to hear from him. He had been with Myers, tho great American railroad speculator, and made a fortune, and wanted his family, if possible, to join him in New Orleans, for which placo he was about to sail. The mother and daughter went to New Orleans, arriving there a day or two be fore the vessel by which Mr. Rodman was expected. While out walking tho daughter was insulted by a young dandy, who thought tho two women were un protected. A young sailor knocked the dandy into the gutter, and as he turned disclosed the features of tho long-lost son. It seems that after his vessel was wrecked he was picked up by a Norwegian ves sel and carried to a port iu that country. Thence he went to Calcutta, thence to Southampton, and arrived in New Orleans the day before. A few days af terward the father arrived, and the long-separated family wero reunited and happy. Where the Sun Does Not Set. A scene witnessed by sme travelors in the north of Norway, from a cliff ele vated a thousand feet above the sea, is thus described: At our feet the ocean stretched away in silent vastness; the sound of its waves scarcely reached our airy Tookout; away in the north, the huge old sun swung low along tho horizon, like the slow beat of the pendulum in the tall clock of our grandfuther's parlor corner. We all stood silent, looking at our watches. When both hands came together at twelve, midnight, the full round orb hung triumphantly above the waves, u briduo ef gold running due north, span ning the water between us and iiim. There he shone in silent majesty, which knew no setting. Wo involuntarily took off our hats; no word was Baia. com bine, if you can, the most brilliant sun rise and sunset you ever saw, ana tne beauties will pale before the gorgeous colonne which now Ut up tb.e ocean, heaven and mountain. Iu half an hour the sun had bwuiut ud percepiibly on bis beat, the colors cLunged to tiiose of morning, a fresh breeze nppled over the flood, one songster after another piped up in the grove behind us we had slid into another day. Items of Interest. O Reckless ship captains are mOt apt to be wrecked. '( ' , A wifo who has her own will may ono day find fault with hor husband's. None but cowards habitually color their beards. Tho bravo dyo but onco. A Philadelphia girl has broken her engagement, becanso her lover "mado fuu of the Centennial." Whero there's a will thero'u a way. But where there's no will, the heir at law has it all his own way. You will frequontly hear a msn say that ho does not like pastry, and yet he has a finger in everybody's pie. The newest envelope for fashionablo people opens like a book and requires a seal or monogram as big as a heu's egg. It would bo well enough to have a few more Doctors of Laws. Most of the laws in this country aro ailing half tho time. It is said there are more lies told iu the sentence: "I am glad to see you," than in any other six words in the Eng lish language. Miss Ida Demorest, whom the Grand Duke Alexis considered the handsomest woman in tho United States, has mar ried a Nebraska dootor. M. Quad's new book, " Quad's Odds," is selling even better than the publishers anticipated. Quad is tho fuuniest mau that ever handled a pen. It is demonstrated that the weight of the earth is 5,855,000,000,000,000 tons, yet some people think they tilt it up whenever they walk abroad. A court in Indiana has recently de cided that there is no limit to the num ber of persons whom a girl may sue, simultaneously, for breach of promise. Merchants yon should never lot Your advertising red ; Your big white hands wore never made To, hang into your vest. A London custom house officer says that his experience convinces him that women as a rule would rather smuggle their gloves and other knick-knacks than receive the same as a present free of cost. . A youug woman who inquired iu a Lebanou (Ind.) bookstore for "Good -' Morals and Gentle Manners," was in formed by the proprietor that he didn't have 'em, as there was no call for 'em nowadays. This is the kind of weather that makes the dashing young man wish that instead of spending a dollar and a half for that massive diamond pin last Bummer, ho had judiciously invested it in a pair of. wiuter drawers. "You're ol ways off at nights, Lean- der," said Mrs. Spilkins reproachfully the other evening. " Yes, my dear," replied Spilkins. ' You'll remember even when I first proposed, you con sidered me a pretty good offer. The stove was cold, The kettle wouldn't boil, Ho she tilled the can And put on a little oil. Gone to meet the man who blew out tho gas. It is very desirable to be a good-. reader. A clergyman is said to have once read the following passage from the Bible with the emphasis and pauses thus : " And the old mau said unto his. sons, saddle me the ass ; and they sad- ' died him." A Canadian journal makes the ro markable suggestion that the ground in which Guibord's .body is to bo buried be enrsed only to the depth of four feet; because the new grave will be mado di rectly over that of Mme. Guibord, who was a " good Catholic." It was a diplomatic husband who pro tested to his wife: " My dear, if it doesn't make any difference to you, don't say brute' and ' dolt 1' Uso terms milder, if not less incisivo. If I must have curtain lectures, let them at least be damask curtain ones." Robert Collyer in his lecture told this story: He was at a children's party ono Christmas eve, and on seeing a little boy sitting in one corner who was not danc ing, he approached him, and asked him why ho did not join the others and dance. "I'm not danthing," said the boy solemnly, " because I don't think dan thing ith the great end of life." The Hindoo Holy Books forbid a woman to see dancing, hear muHic, wear jewels, blacken her eyebrows, eat daiuty food, sit at a window, or view herself in a mirror, during tne absence oi iier husband ; and allows him to divorce her if she has no sons, injures his property, colds him, quarrels with another woman, or presumes to eat before he bos finished his meal. Nelson was made au admiral in tho British navy in a peculiar manner. He was only a captain at the time, and fifty third on the list. The government had guessed that he was a man of great abilities and wanted his services. Ac cordingly fifty-three admirals were named, of whom fifty-two were at once placed on half pay, and the hero of Trafalgar came to the front. It is interesting to learn, through the testimony given at the inquest ou an Indian in Manitobo, just how the Indians there are supplied with whisky. This individual went into the store, aud without saying anything, laid some money on the floor; then he went out, and the dealer, happeuing around there, found the money, picked it np, set a bottle of whisky on the floor, and went to sleep. Shortly the Indian chanced iu there again, lound tne wnisKy, stole w, drank it, and died. The Vote of Cities. The State cf Ohio would have gone Democratic, and Gov. Allen would have been successful in the Lite election, but for the majorities given to the Republi can ticket in tho cities of Cincinnati and Cleveland. The State of Pennsylvania also would have gone Democratic, and Pershing and Piollet would have beeu successful, but for the Republican majority in the city of Philadelphia. The State of New lork would have gone 'Republican, and the State ticket of that party would have been successful, but for the Democratic majorities in New York and Brooklyn.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers