o
ifiili
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor Und Publisher.
' NIL DESPEBANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
YOL. V.
RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1875.
NO. 42.
Kitty's Christmas E"e.
Christmas is really coming,
Arid Santa Clims out tonight !
Even the winds are happy,
Towing the flakes so white,
Of the heRUtifnl, heantifnl snow storm
Come quick to the window and see t
I know yon are only a dolly,
But then you can look with me.
And we'll wuuder if, np in hoaven,
The angels have stockings to All,
And whether good Santa Claus fills them,
As they lie, In their cribs'so still.
Do yon think they use'olouds for their pillows,
And, instead of a candle, a star'?
I am sure I would like to go np there,
If it wasn't so very far !
But papa and mamma would be lonely,
And Carlo, and Pussy, and yon
O, yon dear, darling dolly, I couldn't I
You're a love in yonr mantle so new ;
Bat then, you must take it off now, dear,
And lie in your snug little bed ;
I will slip off yonr pretty silk stockings,
And hang them right here at your head ;
Then I'll go to the chimney corner.
And call ip to Santa Claus there,
To bring jou a muff, and a bonnet,
And a ribbon to tie in your hair
Sinyi.
" Ko sleep, sleep, sloep, little dolly,
Sauta Clans always is kind ;
Sleep, sleep, eieep, little dolly,
Santa Clans rides on the wind j
Sleep, Jeep, sleep, little dolly,
Sleep till the black hours break ;
Sleep, sleep, eleep, little dolly,
nd never, till morning, wake,"
There ! I've pulled the wire of her eyelids,
And dolly in fast asleep !
Whet Santa Claus comes in the nighttime
81e won't even got a peep ;
Bu t there inu't a spring to my own eyes,
Nor a wire for mamma to pull,
Nor a bit of need for my sleeping,
For to-morrow is no more school.
So I'll jump into bed, at:d cover
My eyes which are wide awake,
And when Santa Clans comes down the chimney
A look at his things I'll take ;
And then if his face is gentle,
And the way is all clear and right,
I'll steal while ho isn't thinking,
And kiss him with all my might.
But I haven't yet prayed to the Savior,
To ask him " my soul to keep ;"
Yes, I'll pray j but, instead of "1 lay me,"
rieane don't let me go to sleep !
For I want to eee Kriss with his candies,
And his pack that is full to the brim ;
And I'm sure that my prayer will be answered,
So I'll sing him my new Chiibtmas hymn.
I'll sin? it over and over,
To fill np the long, long time,
Till I henr the tramp of the reindeer,
And the bells with their merry chime.
Oh, how could I ever sleep tbrongh it,
And only of Santa Claus dream ?
But I'm tired, so I'll just begin it,
That dear little Christmas hymn.
Siny.
"Jesus, the blessed Child-king,
With a beautiful Christmas tree,
lias come to the earth from heaven,
And the gifts of His love are free
To the poorest child in the kingdom
To yon, little stranger, and me.
" Jesus, the blensed Child-king,
Holds flowers in His loving hand,
And the fragrance is scattered around
Him,
All over the wide-spread laud ;
His service is sweet and easy,
' To love ' is His own command.
" Jobbs, the blessed Child-king,
Has sUr in His tree, to light
The way of the little pilgrims
To heaven "
Is Kriss in sight ?
But no, 1 am 0"'y dreaming ;
I dream, I di -ara
Q-o-o-d n-i-g-h-t.
Mary B. Dodge.
The Latest Trick.
A noted thiol once told Chief of Police
Beck of Milwaukee, the shrewdest of
flee iu the country, that their business
was as much of a profession as any
science can he. " If a safe is made,
or a new lock invented, our profession,"
the thief said, "must be a little in ad
vance of the inventors hence noted
thieves are always smart men. It is
true they might, as you suggest, make
, a living by turning their sharpness to a
h'gitimntu business ; but notwithstand
irtg our mechanical abilities, we are men
of limited "culture, and thieving offc-rx
greater inducements to us than any
other profession would do." This it
now the generally acknowledged idea of
professional rascals, and it is illus
trated by a case just reported. A rascal
procured the letterhead of an insurance
company in New York and wrote to the
agent in Elizabeth apprising him that a
general manager had been appointed for
the State, and requesting him to extend
proper courtesies on his visiting Eliza
beth. This letter purported to be signed
by the president of the company. Next
day the swindler made his appearance,
and after examining the books, asked
the agent to cash a check for $125. The
latter was only too happy to accommo
date the agreeable manager, and received
a worthless strip of paper.
Care of the Ear.
In his treatise on physiology, Hinton
gives us to understand that the passage
of the ear does not require cleaning by
as; nature undertakes that task, and in
the healthy state fulfills it perfectly.
Her means for cleansing the ear is the
wax which dries up into thin scales and
peels off and falls away imperceptibly.
In health the passage of the ear is never
dirty, but an attempt to clean it will in
fallibly make it so. Washing the ear
out with soap and water is bad; it keeps
the wax moist when it ought to become
dry and scaly, and makes it absorb dust.
But the most hurtful thing is the intro
duction of the corner of a towel screwed
up and twisted around. This proceeding
irritates the passage and presses down
the wax and flakes of skin upon the
membrane of the tympanum, produoing
pain, inflammation and deafness. The
washing should only extend to the outer
surface, as far as the fingers can reach.
rECCAMLLE.
FBOM THB FRENCH.
It was iu Faris after tho events of
1830. The leading question of the day
was to persuade Austria to accept the
revolution of July, and the change of
dynasty. To conduct this diffloult
negotiation, the government had chosen
Marshal Maison, a brave old soldier of
the empire, but more used to the tactics
of war than to those of diplomacy and
politics. The marshal accepted reluo
tantly the post confided to him, and,
before his departure, he turned his
steps toward the hotel of Prince Talley
rand, in order to receive from the
Machiavel of the Rue St. Fl.oreutin his
last secret instruc tions.
He met with poor success. The
Priuoe wis affible cmough, but tho
marshal oould not glt him to talk busi
ness. He wrdti converse on every
other ubyt but the very one the
marshal Was most anxious to engage in.
a "..is me mnrsnai lost all patience.
' Sacrebleu 1" ho cried : " for more
than an hour you have been telling me
stories that do not concern me. and
showing me toys that I despise I And
wiienever 1 try to talk of my mission
jou instantly beat a retreat. Do you
know that I strongly suspect you, M. le
i-riuce, oi making a lool of roe 1
"Your mission!" replied Tallevrand.
calmly. " Ah 1 of course, my dear
marshal, let ns tall of it. Why did yon
not mention it sooner?"
"How sooner ? For more than an
hour "
"I did not understand. I was afraid
of boring you by talking business.
What I did was for your sake, for yon
know that business is my element, lou
were about to remark
" That I am about to leave for
Austria, and that "
"Austria a fine country I a very fine
country 1
"And that in Vienna"
" Vienna, a charming city 1 I
am
conudent that von will like it 1
" I will see M. do Metternich "
"An excellent good fellow, though
perhaps a little ceremonious. We led a
very joyous life together. That reminds
me of an adventure "
"Allow me to observe, M. le Prince,
that we are talking of my mission."
" Well 1"
" What am I to say to M. de Metter-
uich r
" What are you to say to him t"
"Yes."
"I really do not know."
" What I you do not know ?"
" I had not reflected when I told you
that. You will say to him"
"Well?"
f Onlv one word."
" And that is?"
"Peccadillo!" .
" Peccadillo ?"
"Yes."
" Permit me to take my leave of you,
M. le Prince," said the marshal, perfect
ly beside himself, taking up his hat and
going toward the door as he spoke.
"1 wish you a pleasant journey.
Above all, do not forget to say Pecca
dillo' to Metternich, and to say it from
me."
The marshal departed in a tremen
dous rage, and Prince Talleyrand re
turned to his library, rubbing his bonds
Arrived in the Austrian capital, the
French envoy was extremely well re
ceived ; he was loaded with all sorts of at
tentions, and entertainments without
end were given to him , but of any in ter view
with the minister thera was not the
slightest question. More than once al
ready he had solicited an audience,
and his request had always been
refused under one pretext or
another. Driven out of all patience by
these delays, he solicited an audience in
such a pressing manner that it was at
last accorded to him. The day was fixed
as well as the hour.
"At last," thought the marshal. "I
shall be able to explain myself."
At the moment lie entered the minis
ter's cabinet, Prince Metternich wa in
the act of crushing a dispatch between
his fingers. On seeing the marshal en
ter, he glanced at the clock, and said :
" Marshal, 1 regret deeply that I am
able to give you but very little time.
His majesty the emperor has sent me an
order which summons me to him in a
few moments ; I can only devote half an
hour to you to-day. Another time I
may be more fortunate."
" A great many things may be paid in
half an hour," thought the marshal.
A creat many things may bo said in
half an honr, it is true, and, above all, a
great many things foreign to the subject
under discussion. Talleyrand had al
ready proved that to the marshal, and
Metternich prov d it to him anew. It
was impossible for him to introduce a
single word of politics during the thirty
minutes that the interview lasted.
" I am obliged to leave you sir," said
the minister ; the half hour is past."
" The die is cast, thought the mar
shal ; "I have nothing more to do but
to return to France.
Suddenly a thought struck him. M.
de Metternich was on the point of leav
ing the room.
" I have a message for you from fll.
de Talleyrand."
" What is it ?"
The marshal hesitated.
What is it ?" repeated the minister.
" Peccadillo," said the maishal, in
desperation.
At these words, M. de Metternich let
go the door knob, which he had already
grasped, and quickly retraced his steps.
" Peccadillo, did you say t"
"Yes, M. le Prince, from M. de Tal
leyrand." " Oh, then that is very different.
Why did you not say so before f To
day it is impossible for me to remain
with you, because, as I have already told
you, the emperor is waiting for me, but
to-morrow I will receive you, and we will
converse long and seriously, and believe
me, sir, I will do all that is in my power
to aid the success of your negotiation."
The marshal remained utterly bewil
dered by the mysterious effect of the
name he had pronounced. That even
ing there was a ball at the court. M.
de Metternich approached the marshal,
humming, as he did so, an. old opera
air.
He seemed in high good humor, and
conversed for a long time with the
French envoy. The next day the prom
ised interview took place. Shortly after
ward the marshal returned to Franoe,
having accomplished his mission in the
most satisfactory manner possible. It
now only remains to us to solve this
riddle, which is what we are about to do.
In 1814, three statesmen, namely,
MM. de Talleyrand, de Metternich, and
de Nesselrode, were met together in
Paris, and were engaged in settling the
grave questions which had arisen out of
the fall of Napoleon and the entrance of
tho allied powers into France. Those
grave interests took up nearly all their
time, and yet they occasionally found
means to escape from the preoccupa
tions of diplomacy, saying among each
other: "Let us put off serious matters
till to-morrow " g
cne aay me mree diplomats were
assembled at a gay dinner. The conver
sation, after roving from one frivolous
subject to another, finally turned upon
women.
"Oh," said Prince Talleyrand. "I
know a marvel of beauty to whom noth
ing is comparable."
"I," said M. de Metternich, "know
a woman who is fairer than the fairest!
" And I," said M. de Nosselrode, the
envoy of Russia, " can cite a person who
certainly has no rival I"
" There exists apparently three incom
parable beauties," then said M. de Tal
leyrand, who hod spoken first; " but I
do not doubt that mine is the handsom
est of the three."
"No; it is mino."
"No; mine."
"It is easy to see that you do not
know the person of whom I speak. "
" Nor you the one whom I mean."
"If you had seen mine, you would
not talk so enthusiastically of the beauty
of the others."
Thus commenced, the conversation
gradually grew animated, and finally do
generated into a quarrel.
We are absurd, gentlemen," said at
length M. de Talleyrand; "there is a
very simple means of solving the diffi
culty; let us bring these three mysteri
ous beauties together."
"An excellent idea, but difficult of
execntion."
" Not in the least. This is opera
night ; I offer you my box. Each of ns
will write to his goddess, and, when the
three are met together there, we will
arrive."
"Bravo!"
Talleyrand rang, and sent for pen,
ink, ana paper. Each of the men wrote
a note and gave it to a footman, ordering
him to take a circuitous route when he
left the hotel, in order to baffle the cu
rious in case he was followed.
Another hour passed, and then the
three guests set off for the opera. Ar
rived at the door of the box, M. de Tal
leyrand motioned to M. de Metternich
to enter first, who in turn went through
the same ceremony with M. de Nessel
rode. Each of them repeated :
" After you, sir."
"M. le Prince, I could not think of
it."
As last, Prince Metternich entered.
In an arm-chair at the front of tho
box sat a solitary lady.
"What does this pleasantry mean,
sir ?" asked M. do Metternich, brusque
ly, of Piinco Talleyrand, who followed
him.
"I was about to ask you the same
question," said, at the same time, M. de
Nesselrode.
" And I was about t8 address it to you,
gentlemen," replied Talleyrand.
"Why did you send off my to
only?"
"It was mine."
"You meau mine."
" Frankly, gentlemen, I do not un derstand
the situation."
" Here is the explanation," then said
tho fair unknown ; and, drawing from
her glove three little foFled papers, she
presented one to each of the three states
men. All the notes bore the same
address. That address was " Pecca
dillo." When MM. de Metternich and do
Nesselrode were about to leave France,
they met for a last conference with
Prince Talleyrand.
"We are about to separate," said the
latter. " Do you not think that it would
be as well to establish ameans of under
standing each other from afar as we do
when we are together?"
" We can write."
"A letter may be lost, and that is
compromising."
"Wo might establish a correspon
dence in cipher. "
" That has the same drawback. There
are keys to all known ciphers."
"Let us invent a new alphabet."
"That is not much more certain."
"Then what can we do?"
". Might we not, as is the custom dur
ing war, fix upon a common watchword,
and accord all credit to the envoy who
shall repeat to any one of us this word
from one of the others?"
"Let us choose a word, then. But
what shall it bo ?"
" Let us see."
"Patriotism?"
"Bad."
" Fraternity ?"
"No."
"Loyalty?"
" Impossible."
" Then what can we take ?"
" A proper name would be best."
" Very well, then, let it be a proper
name but there are so many. Could
not a mistake arise through a lapse of
memory?"
" I have it, gentlemen I have it !"
said Princa Talleyrand, at that moment.
" I will give you a name which neither
of us three will ever forget, I am cer
tain.
" What name is that "
" Peccadillo 1" Applelon's Journal.
Behaved Well.
A resident who reached Detroit by a
noon train, the Free Press says, after
an absence of two weeks, was met at
the depot by his eight-year-old son. who
loudly welcomed him.
" And is everybody well, Willie?"
asked the father.
" The wellest kind," replied the boy.
" And nothing has happened ?"
" Nothing at all. I've been cood.
J ennie's been good, and I never saw ma
behave herself bo well as she has this
ime I"
A MURDER CASE REYIYED.
The DturasNl-in In New York Relative tm
Colt the Murderer ol Adam The Btary
the ftlnruer.
The disonssion relative to the hanging
of John O. Colt in New York many
years ago has been revived with renewed
interest, and everybody who knew any
thing about the ease is reporting it for
the papers. A well Known physician
writes to the S'im as follows :
I knew Colt personally. He was not
successful in business. He was a very
handsome man, very poor, very proucl,
very ambitious. He owed money to
Adams, wno frequently caueu upon turn
for payment, and who, like the Dr.
Parkman murdered by Dr. Webster was
importunate at a time when payment
was an impossibility. In the heat of
(Jolt 6 excitement, he struck Adams on
the head with an ax, fracturing the skull
ana causing immediate death.
At that time Colt occupied a room in
the building at the corner of Broadway
and Chambers street, now Delmonico's.
His neighbor iu the next room was a
gentleman who taught the art of pen
manship in twelve lessons. The missing
Adams was the town's topic of conversa
tion for several days. At last the writing
master remembered that he had heard in
Colt's apartment the sound of a thud,
as of a body falling heavily upon the
floor, and that he had seen Colt carrying
an empty box into his office and after
ward down the stairway to the sidewalk,
whence it was carted away. The writing
master began to suspect that the box
contained the body of Adams. He
notified the detectives the police de
partment of New York then included
only four or five experts and the de
tectives advertised for the carman who
had carted away the box. He respond
ed with the information that the box
had been taken to the dock for shipment
to New Orleans in the packet Montezu
ma. The vessel was to have sailed with
the morrow's tide. She was detained,
her whole cargo discharged, and in a
box in the hold was found a body identi
fied as that of Adams.
Colt was tried, found guilty, and sen
tenced to be hanged. Two or three days
previous to the day appointed for his
execution the sheriff informed the pub
lic that he had received a $1,000 bill in
closed in an anonymous note, requesting
him to aid Colt to escape. A vast
amount of indignation was expended
upon this attempt to bribe a public
officer.
On the morning of Colt's intended
execution the woman who had been his
mistress for three years was admitted to
his cell, accompanied by a clergyman.
The marriage ceremony was performed
in the cell of the condemned man. Colt
then requested that he might be left
alone for two hours in order to prepare
for death. The request was granted.
Attached to the tombs was a lofty
wooden structure, about one hundred
feet high, supporting a fire alarm boll.
At the top of the tower was a fire obser
vatory, for the accommodation of the
"look out." This official had invited
several friends to visit the tower in order
to see the execution. The visitors, as
was said, accidentally upset tho burning
Btove, and set fire to the lofty structure.
Be this as it may, the tower burned with
fierce rapidity. In the prison there was
a scene of wild excitement, The scream
ing of women and boys, the rush of
frightened children, the clanking of the
two score fire engines, the shouting of
the firemen, the cries of - terror from
Erisoners who feared that they might be
urned alive within their cells, the
crash of falling timbers from the tower,
the yells of the rabble from the Five
Points all this was not soon forgotten
by those who saw it.
During the excitement of the fire a
hearse containing a coffin was driven
into the prison yard. The sheriff and
attending officials waited upon the con
demned man to bring him forth to the
gallows. In the cell was found nothing
but a dead body, with a dirk knife
through the heart. An inquest was
held over the remains, and a verdict of
suicide returned. Tho hearse was
driven away. Colt was never seen or
heard of more.
There were not a few of tho "know
ing ones " who would look w.se when
ever the affair was mentioned, and ask
what pauper body had been brought
into the Tombs and carried away as that
of Colt. For my part I believe what I
read when I know that it is true. I
think that Colt killed himself.
The Garden of the Gods.
Pasting through the majestic gate
way of the Garden of the Oods in Colo
rado, says a writer, you find yourself in
the weirdest of places; your red road
winds along over red grounds thinly
grass grown, among low cedars, pines
and firs, and through a wild confusion of
red rocks; rocks of every conceivable
and inconceivable shape and size, from
pebbles up to gigantic bowlders, from
queer, grotesque little monstrosities,
looking like seals, fishes, cats, or masks,
up to colossal monstrosities looking like
elephants, like huge gargoyles, like
giants, like sphinxes eighty feet high,
all bright red, all motionless and silent,
with a strauge look of having been just
stopped and held back in the very cli
max of some supernatural catastrophe.
The stillness, the absence of living
things, the preponderance of grotesque
shapes, the expression of arrested action,
give to the whole place, in spite of its
glory of coloring, spite of the grandeur
oi its vistas ending in snow-covered
peaks only six miles away, spite of its
friendly and familiar cedars and pines,
spite of an occasional fragrance of
clematis or smile of a daisy or twitter of
a sparrow, spite of all these, a certain
uncannyness of atmosphere which is at
first oppressive. I doubt if any one
ever loved the Garden of the Gods at
first sight. One must feel his way to its
beauty and rareness, must learn it like
a new language; even if one has known
nature's tongues well, he will be a help
less foreigner here. I have fancied that
its speech was to the speech of ordinary
nature what the Romany is among the
dialects of the civilized, fierce, wild, free,
defiantly tender; and I believe no son
of the Romany folk has ever lived long
among the world's peoplo without droop
ing and pining.
A Batch of Anecdotes.
Ah
Understanding. Yesterday
morning after an old lady had taken a
seat in the train going west a young
man came along and inquired if he could
have part of the seat. " I guess you
can," she replied, " but you want to un
derstand me first. No chewing tobacco,
no swearing, and no soft soaping around
so's to get a chance to pick my pocket."
After thinking the matter over he took
a seat on the woodbox.
A Bad System. " No, sir no, sir,"
remarked an old Detroit collector, " this
carrier system should never have been
tolerated for a day. Why, sir, seven or
eight years ago if I had a bill against a
man I d come to the post-office, and be
likely to nab him the first thing, but
now he hires a room on somo fourth
floor, has his letters shoved under tho
door, and while I'm up there knock
ing away he's looking through a gimlet
hole and grinning like a Chicago alder
man !"
Those Sad Leaves. She, a girl of
seventeen, walked under the maples a
month ago and gathered the golden
leaves and said: "Oh, leaves, you re
mind me of crushed hopes and scat
tered plans." He, her father, found
them in a nail keg the other day and
shook them down in a corner of tho
woodshed and said : "There, that dog
has got just as good a bod as any canine
in this town I"
General Instructions. A Griswold
street lawyer employed a new boy the
other day, and when the lad asked for
instructions the attorney replied :
" Your instructions are to be taken in
general. Keep the office clean, borrow
coal whenever you can, and under no
circumstances must yon ever lend my
umbrella to a lawyer.
Power of Imagination. The other
day a Detroiter took home a book con
taining several anecdotes showing the
power of imagination, and after reading
them to his wife he tenderly said :
" Now, Angeline, you may some time
imagine that you hear me kissing the
servant girl in tho other room, and you
see how base it would be to. accuse me
of such a thing." " John Henry," she
replied, in a smooth voice, "if ever I
imagine such a thing you'll need
a doctor within fifteen minutes, no mat
ter what that book says !"
Where She Was. In a Baker street
car yesterday some men were talking
about the nerve of William Tell in shoot
ing an apple off his son's head. To vex
an old lady who was listening one of
the men said: "That was Mr. Tell;
but what did his wife amount to why
doesn't history mention her?" " I'll
bet a hundred dollars !" called the old
lady in an excited voice, "I'll bet a
hundred dollars that she sat up half the
night before patching that boy's trowsers
so he'd look decent to go out!" De
troit Free Press.
A Strange Effect.
Nineteen years ago, Henry Ludding
ton, i farmer, living two miles west of
Galesburg, Michigan, was mowing grass
on his marsh, when, stooping over to
pick up a bush that he had cut off, a
" massasauga " that lurked behind it bit
him on the wrist of his right arm. He
instantly killed the reptile, and hastened
to the house to apply the usual remedies
in such a case. The wrist and whole
arm commenced swelling, and finally
turned spotted like the snake. The
remedies used finally subdued the
swelling, and the wrist became appaient
ly well. But every year since that,
about the same time in the setison that
the snake bit him, his wrist has com
menced swelling, the swelling extending
up his arm to his shoulder, with sicken
ing pain, and remains so for two or three
weeks, when the swelling about tho
wrist would gather to a head and burst.
It would then gradually quiet down, aud
he would be relieved from all pain and
trouble from his snake bite, until the
time in the year when it first occurred
and then the pain and swelling would
commence, his arm turn spotted, and he
would suffer this distressing affliction
and swelling fcr two or three weeks
again. The pain and swelling do not
seem to abate, bat are rather on the in
crease each year.
At a College.
Something of an excitement arose at
Princeton (N. J.) College over the ex
pulsion of about forty students for dis
obedience of college laws. It seems that
for some time past a secret society has
been in existence among the students,
which was fast gaining headway and
dangerous influence, notwithstanding
the faculty did their utmost to ferret out
the root of it. When the existence of
the society was discovered and its spirits
and aims exposed, the members of it
were ordered to break it up. This they
stubbornly refused to do. The faoulty
worked hard to dissuade them from their
amusement, but finding that it was all
to no purpose measures were then taken
to make an example of the leading organ
izers by expelling them. Two-thirds of
the number expelled belong to the senior
class. Many of the other students com
plain that the faculty has acted hastily
and without sufficient cause, and threaten
to create trouble unless their expelled as
sociates are reinstated. It is feared that
the boat clubs, base ball, and gymnastic
association will have to be disbanded for
some time in consequence of the expul
sion of so large a number of students.
Besides those already expelled, it is said
that more will soon be subjected to the
same fate.
Resigned his Country.
Sam Lee, the Chinaman who is in jail
at Eureka, awaiting the action of the
grand jury upon a charge of house-breaking,
is hugely disgusted with his country
men, who appear to have deserted him
in the dark hour of his misfortunes. He
repeatedly sent for his Celestial friends,
but none of them responded to his call,
and a fow days ago, while brooding over
the ingratitude of his Celestial brethren,
in a moment of desperation he seized a
butcher-knife and severed his cue close
to the scalp, and as he handed the dis
membered braid to the sheriff, he ex
claimed : " Cuss Chinaman. Mo all
same now Melican man."
KA.SPER IIAUSER.
The Troe Htory f the Mna at Mystery.
Like the " Man in the Iron Mask,"
the identity of the unfortunate Kaspar
Hauser, the foundling of Nnremburg,
has formed the subject of much specu
lation. To the present, the mystery
hanging over his origin remains un
dispelled, and the whole affair is beset
with so many anomalies and contradic
tions, that it is almost impossible to
form even a well-grounded conjecture on
the subject. The following are the as
certained facts pf the case: " Between
four and five o clock in the afternoon of
the 26th of May, 1828, a young lad, ap
parently about sixteen or seventeen
years of age, was found in a helpless and
forlorn condition in the market-place of
Nuremburg,byacitizenof that town. He
was dressed like a peasant boy, and had
with him a letter addressed to the captain
of the Sixth regiment of horse at Nnrem
burg. Being conducted to this officer
and interrogated, it soon became evident
that he could speak very little, and was
almost totally Ignorant. To all ques
tions he replied : ' Von Regensburg'
(from Regensburg), or Ich woas nit (I
don't know). On tho other hand, he
wrote his name in firm, legible characters
on a sheet of paper, but without adding
the place of his birth, or anything else,
though requested to do so. Though
short and broad-shouldered, his figure
was perfectly well-proportioned. His
skin was very white; his limbs delicately
formed, the hands and feet small and
beautiful the latter, however, showing
no marks of his having ever worn shoes.
With the exception of dry bread and
water, he showed a violent dislike to all
kinds of meat and drink. His language
was confined to a few words or sentences
in the old Bavarian dialect. He showed
entire ignorance of the most ordinary ob
jects, and great indifference to the con
veniences and necessaries of life.
Among his scanty articles of clothing
was a handkerchief marked K. H. ; he
had likewise about him some written
Catholic prayers. In the letter which
he carried, dated " From the confines of
Bavaria, place unknown, 1828," the
writer stated himself to be a poor day
laborer, the father of ten children, and
said that the boy had been deposited be
fore his door by his mother, a person un
known to the writer. He stated further,
that he had brought up the boy secretly,
without allowing him to leave the house,
but had instructed him in reading, writ
ing, and tho doctrines of Christianity ;
adding that it was the boy's wish to be
come a horse-soldier. The letter in
closed a line, apparently from the
mother, stating t)at she, a poor girl, had
given birth to the boy on the 30th of
April, 1812, that his name was Kaspar,
and that his father, who had formerly
served in tho Sixth regiment, was dead.
The poor boy having been taken before
and attended to by the magistrates, his
story was soon made known to the pub
lic, and he himself became the object of
general sympathy. Binder, a burgo
master, exerted himself, in particular, to
throw some light on the obscurity in
which the origin of the young man was
involved. Iu tho course of many con
versations with him, it came out that
Hauser, from his childhood, had only a
shirt and trousers ; that he had lived in
a dark place underground, where he was
nuable to stretch himself at full length ;
that he had been fed on bread and water,
by a man who did not show himself, but
who cleaned and dressed him, and pro
vided him with food and drink while he
was iu a state of natural or artificial
sleep. His sole occupation was playing
with two wooden horses. For some time
before he was conveyed t Nuremburg,
the man had come often to his dungeon,
and had taught him to write by guiding
his hand, and to lift his feet to walk.
The narrative gave, rise to various sup
positions aud rumors. According to
some, this mysterious foundling was the
natural son of a priest, or of a young
lady of high rank, while others believed
him to be of princely origin, or the vic
tim of some dark plot respecting an in
heritance. Some incredulous persons
believed the whole affair to be an impo
ition. On the 18th of July, 1828,
Hauser was handed over to the care of
Professor Daumer, who afterwards acted
the part of his biographer.
The history of his education is re
markable in a pedagogic point of views
as his original desire for knowledge, his
extraordinary memory and acute under
standing, decreased in proportion as the
phere of his knowledge extended. His,
intellectual progress, on the whole, was
small On the 17th of October, 1829,
he was bleeding from a slight wound on
the brow, which ho said had been in
flicted by a man with a black head. All
efforts made to discover the perpetrator
were ineffectual. The incident excited
a great sensation; Hauser was conveyed
to the house of one of the magistrates,
and constantly guarded by two soldiers.
Among the many strangers who came to
see him was Lord Stanhope, who be
came interested in bira, and sent him to
be educated at Anspach. Here he was
employed in an office of tho court of ap
peals, but he by no means distinguished
himself either by industry or talent, and
was gradually forgotten, till his death
again made him the subject of attention.
This event took place under the follow
ing singular circumstances: A stranger,
under the pretext of bringing him a
message from Lord Stanhope, and in
forming him of the circumstances of his
birth, engaged to meet Hauser in the
palace garden at threo o'clock in the
afternoon of the 14th of December,
1833. The hapless young man was faith
ful to the rendezvous, but he had scarce
ly commenced to converse with the un
known emissary, when the latter stabbed
him in the left side, and he fell mortally
wounded. He had, however, sufficient
strength left to return home and relate
the circumstances of his assassination,
aud three days afterwards, on the 17th
of December, 1833, he died. Among the
many surmises current regarding the
unfortunate Hauser, the latest is that he
was the scion of a noble family in Eng
land, and that his dark and mysterious
history, with its atrocious termination,
had its origin in this country. But
nothing beyond mere conjecture has
ever been adduced in reference to the
subject. EeynoMa' Newspaper,
It is a good thing for men to revolve
questions in their mind, if they have
Items of Interest.
TiuiMau ladief are said to "look like
pencil! covered with raiment."
History classes, it is said, will take
the lact of spelling schools this winter
A single bolt of lighting in Dakota
lately killed fourteen horses and five
steers.
Complete success is said to have at
tended the attempt in Paris of raising
aud training zobras for domestio pur
poses. Marian Singer, daughter of the over
married sewing machine inventor, has
appeared on the stage in San Francisco,
in burlesque.
Mathial Powell of Duncansville, Pa.,
a naval hero of the war of 1812, and
ninety-six years old, walks two miles
twice a week to see his barber.
A happy thought that never occurred:
Mother (in continuation) " And so the
wicked Pharaoh ordered that all the
baby boys should be killed. Madeline
" But, mamma I didn't any of their
mothers say they were girls ?"
The National Grange, Patronaof Hus
bandry, loaned last year $2,CG0 to sub
ordinate granges throughout the South
and West, to aid them in recovering
from local pests. A total paying mem
bership of 762,263 is reported.
A West Indian schoolboy, after he has
committed his lesson to memory, crosses
aud recrosses the pages of the book
from which he has learned it with a
" lucky bean," after which he feels no
responsibility, as according to a prevail
ing superstition his lesson cannot fail to
be perfect.
The examination of the body of Lex
ington, the great Kentucky race horse,
revealed that the part of the skull under
the left eye, where the trouble seemed
to be, was filled with at least a quart of
masticated food, that had been forced
into the cavity through an opening in
the upper jaw, made by the loss of a
tooth.
They got up a mock marriage for
amusement at a party in Portage county,
Ohio, the other evening, but a real mag
istrate, who was among the guests, per
formed the ceremony, and it now ap
pears that the couple are legally mar
ried. At last accounts they hadn t quite
decided whether to accept the situation
or get a divorce.
There are in England and Wales one
hundred and fourteen local prisons, or
one to every twenty-two square miles of
territory, equal to one to every 200,000
people. Some are nearly if not quite
empty at times. Through 1874 eight
had an average of ten prisoners ; thirty
three others had only fifty ; and only
thirteen had upward of four hundred.
Baron Edmond Rothschild and Count
de Turenne of France, two gentlemen
representing 8500,000,000 of property,
nave arrived in can .Francisco. They
travel, dress, and lodge plainly ; are ex
ceedingly inquisitive ; and as they are
to spend a month in the State, every one
is endeavoring to learn what financial
enterprise they have in contemplation.
" The Young Idea." Mamma :
" Whatever are you a crying for.
Anuie ?" Annie (who has suddenly
burst into tears) : " Because because
you've taken my orange." Mamma :
" Why, you asked me to have it two or
three times." Annie : " Yes, I know I
did : but I thought you would eay no,
thank you, and give me another one as
well."
There is no such poverty in South
Australia as is known in England. If a
workingman is healthy, sober, and in
dustrious, his family can have good meat
two or three times a day, bread made of
the finest wheat, and fruit and vegeta
bles are abundant and cheap. During
the fruit season, incredulous as it may
sound, tho very pigs are fed on peaches
and milk.
Mr. Jones " What a wonderful col
lection of walking sticks, Mr. Brown !"
Mr. Brown " Well yes ! there are
ninety-six of them. And what makes
the collection really interesting is that
every one of them has a history. Take
this one for instance labeled No. 1. In
1837 I happened to be " (Mr. Jones
suddenly recollects he has a train to
catch, and bids a hasty farewell.) ,
William Ogg's twelve-year-old girl, in
Georgetown, Ohio, became provoked at
something that her baby sister had
done, and slapped it. Mrs. Ogg in turn
chastised the elder child. This so in
censed the girl that she immediately
we it to the river' the Big Miami with
a bundle of clothes under her arms,
and, first throwing the clothes deliber
ately into the river, jumped iu after
them, and was drowned.
A Fire Vug.
George H. Forward, a farm hand at
Hadlev Falls. Mass.. has surrendered
himself to the sheriff, and asked to be
kept from incendiarism. He burned
Henry Strong's house and barn about a
fortnight ago. He says he arose in the
night, took his lantern to go and feed
the stock, when the impulse came on
him that there must be a fire, and that
he must set it. This impulse had such
influence on him that he could not resist
it. His first feeling was to set his own
barn on fire, but then the idea seized up
on him to go to Mr. Strong's. With his
lantern he went up across the lot to the
rear of Mr. Strong's barn, and kindled
the hay between the cracks in the
boards, and then ran rapidly home.
Seeing his work was effectual, he was
the earliest to give the alarm. When he
saw the buildings blazing he would have
given anything to undo his work. He
has attempted to destroy himself since,
but could not. The strange story of
Forward is probably correct, as persons
living across the river on the heights
above say that they saw the light of a
lantern moving in a field.
What is Libel. In a suit of Repre
sentative Kasson, of Iowa, against the
State Register, for libel, the court, in
instructing the jury, held that the pub
lication being by a newspaper in the
Congressional district concerning a can-"
didate, was privileged ; that an elector
had a right to acquaint his fellow-eleo-tora
with anything which he knew, or
had reason to believe, to be true con
cerning a candidate unfit for the posi
tion he sought.