The Elk County advocate. (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, April 06, 1876, Image 1

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    6'
Two Dollars per Annum.
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
Niii despebandum.
7-
VOL. Y I .
RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THUKSDAY, APHIL 0, 1870.
NO. 7.
4..-- c -'L..- '
(Iftifb
v.
r
Lost.
Once on a time she came to me,
As some small star from hoaven might flee
To be a mortal's role delight.
A love by day, a dream by night,
Tbe sweetest tiling on land or sea,
My liltlo daring crept to me.
A trembling, tender, fairy thing,
Too grave to smile, too sad to (siug,
Aware of earth with grieved surpriso
An alien from her native skies,
A baby angel strange to see,
My little dailiug came to me.
Bat love and loving taught her smiles,
And life and living baby wiles
The way to cling, to ooax, to kiBS,
To fill my soul with deepest bliBs;
My heart of hsarts, my life, was she,
This little love who came to mo.
What words sbe stammered, soft and low,
No other ears but mine oould know;
More gentle than a cooing dove,
More fond than any voice of love,
Bo shy, so sweet, so tenderly,
My little darling spoke to me.
I know not how to tell the grace
That dwelt npon her wiBtful face
The tinted skin, the lip's pure bloom,
The clearest eyes that knew not gloom,
The hair as soft as moth wings be,
My little darling showed to me.
Alas ! I know that all is gone,
That here t sit and grieve alone,
That every fair and gracious thing
I loved aud lost is but a sting;
Another thorn thy memory
My little darling, brings to me.
But kindly night doth pity pain s
In all my dreams she oomes again ;
Her precious lwad is on my breast ;
My happy arms caress her rest ;
I hear her words of tender glee ;
My little darling kisses me.
Ah! Kwott is night too sweet, too brief
When day recalls our bitterest grief,
The hungry heart, the longing dire
That burns the soul with vain desire,
The anoieut ory of wild distrees,
The IUchel-inourning, comfortless.
Ob, God 1 once more that face to see '
My little darling, come to me.
Hose Terry Cooke.
THE BRIDE'S TRIAL,
It is strange what different estimates
people will put on a man's character, ac
cording to the eyes with which they may
view him. In the opinion of some, Mr.
Benjamin Benedict not our hero, ex
actly, but the next thing to it, his undo
was a gentleman, a scholar and a phil
anthropist; while others, quite as well
qualified to reason aud decide, won
dered that such a monster was allowed
to walk the earth unchallenged. For
old Bon Benedict was jnst tho sort of a
man to provoko and please in alterations
a human March day, with streaks of
sunshine and chilling gusts sandwiohed
through his nature. People who knew
him liked him passing well, but it some
times took a lifetime to know him as he
roally whs.
" You will bo sure to like my uncle,
darling," Raid Hugh Benedict to his
young wife. " He is eccentric, but he is
sterling."
Rachel did not answer, but her blue
eyes were wistful and full of perploxity.
Uncle Ben, whom she had never seen,
but of whom she had heard much, was
to her an inscrutable riddle, whom she
feared moro than she was willing to ac
knowledge. For Hugh's future depend
ed to a certain extent on Uncle Ben
Benedict, and with Hugh's future her
own was bound inseparably.
Sho was a fair, fresh looking girl, with
velvety cheeks, bronze bright hair, and
features r.s correct and delicately cut as
a cameo. Hugh was quite certain that
Undo linn could not seo her without
loving her; but then these young hus
bands are not apt to be impartial judges.
She was sitting iu the firelight r.t their
lodgings, when tho old gentleman first
beheld her; and tho only warning she
had of his presence she saw reflected in
Hugh's eyea.
" My dear, how do you do ?" paid the
old gentleman, kissing Rachel on both
cheeks.
And she thought he was not so terri
ble after all.
He turned to Hugh, when he had thus
rather unceremoniously made himself
acquainted with his new niece-in-law.
' Well, young man, are you ready to
leave these rooms aud go to your new
home V he asked; for bo it known that
the old gentleman had given Hugh and
Rachel a wedding present of a new
house, wherein they were to live.
"Quite, sir," Hugh answered, very
cheerily.
"Shall it be to-morrow?"
" "Yes "
"All right."
Acd Mr. Benedict sat down to spend
the evening and enjoy himself.
"Well, sir?" said Hugh, when his
uncle was taking leave, and paused on
the doorstep to light a cigar.
" Well, nil ?" said uncle Benedict,
calmly.
"Fow do you like her?" asked
Hugh.
"How can I tell?" demanded the old
gontleramnn, irritably. "She's pretty to
look at, so is a china doll, or a white kit
ten. It isn't always the prettiest cali
coes that wash the best. Good even
ing." And Hugh Benedict, albeit he was
very fond of his uncle, did not know
whether to be vexed or not.
Early the next morning, however,
Uncle Ben made his appearance before
the young couple, breathless and eager.
"Trunks packed, eh?"
" All but the last one, uncle."
And Rachel lifted her pretty head
out of the tray, as you may have seen a
red clover blossom rise up from beneath
a child's footstep.
"I'm going to take you down to
Bloomingdale myself, my dear," said
Unole Ben. "Hugh, I want you to go
off at once with these letters. They're
of importance. I'd go myself, if I were
ten years yonnjrfir, but sudden journeys
don t arce with old bones like mine."
Hugh laoked aghast at the proposal.
IUchel turned pale,
"Cannot the b'lsinoas be potponeJ,
sir?" said Hugh, hesitating'y.
"No, it can't," replied Uncle Ben,
curtly. "If you don't want to go, pay
so. I dare say I can find some one else
to oblige mu."
" Of course I shall go," said Hugh.
"But Rachel?"
" I suppose I'm old enough to take
care of a little girl like that," said Uncle
Ben, in an aggrieved tone. ' ' You'll find
us both in tbe new residence, with the
table laid for dinner, when you come
back to-morrow."
So there was nothing for it but for
nugh to kiss his little bride a half score
of times, and commission Uncle Ben to
take the best possible core of her until
he should return.
"Foolish children I" said Mr. Bene
dict, rs he saw Rachel sobbing on
Hugh's shoulder. But there was a cheery
twinkle in his own keen gray eyes, nev
ertheless. Poor girl 1 the atmosphere had lost
somewhat of its sparkle, and the world
looked less bright, as she journeyed to
ward her new home.
As the autumn twilight began to fall,
her thoughts beeamo busy as a woman's
will at times.
" Uncle," she said, turning sud
denly toward the old gentleman, " what
sort of a house is it ours, I mean ?"
" Well," said Uncle Ben, reflectively,
" it's a cottage, I should say."
" A modern cottage ?"
" Well, no; rather of the antique or
der than otherwise."
"Oh," cried Rachel, "I'm glad; "I
despise these new, stiff, formal places,
that look as if they were merely to bo
admired, not lived in and enjoyed. Un
cle, what are you laughing at ?"
"At your curiosity, my dear," replied
the old gentleman.
Then I won't ask another question,"
said Rachel, resolutely.
But she fully atoned for that depriva
tion by sketching on the tablets of her
own fancy an endless variety of little
Gothic structures, with bay windows,
and trellises covered with climbing roses
and honeysuckles, whilo Uncle Benedict
watched hor from behind the screen of
his newspaper, with the queerest of ex
pressions on his face.
"I'm almost sorry I commenoed this
thing," ho said to himself. " If I
should be disappointed in her ! But,
pooh ! it's the only way to find out if
she is worth my boy's love!"
Presently the lutnberiug old carriage
came to a standstill ; but, to Rachel's
surpriso, in front of no fairy cot, or low
wived edifice surrounded by verandas
ana flower parterres. A . tumble-down,
nnpainted farmhouse stood a little back
from the road, with its shutters hanging
loosely by ono hinge, and one or two
lilao bushes forlornly tossing their
foliage in the wind.
"How dreary it looks!" thought
Rachel, with a little shudder. 12ut
Uncle Ben at once jumped out.
"Oonie, my dear," he said to Rachel.
"Is this the place?" she asked.
"This is the place," Uncle Ben
answered, with a sudden paroxysm f
coughing. "Gate's a little out of
order," as that useful mode of ingress
Deeame suddenly detached from its solo
remaining hinge, and fell with a crash
to the ground ; " but that's soon set
right with a screwdriver and half-a-dozen
or so screws."
Alas, poor Rachel 1 What were her
sensations as sho looked blank around
the neglected, dismal spot which was
the sole realization of her fairy dreams ?
This the homo Uncle Benedict gave
them 1 Aud for an instant our little
heroine felt as if she could renel the un
welcome gift, and tell Uncle Benedict
plainly that (die oould not spend her
days in a hovel like this.
But then came sober second thoughts.
Uncle Benedict had meant kindly, they
were poor, and could not afford to dis
pense with even the meanest of roofs
over their heads. No ; she must grato
fully accept the present in tho spirit iu
which it was given, .ud check in tho
bud all her rebellious and uuauiiablo re
pining.
"I told yon it wa? a cottage," you
know," said Uncle Ben, keenly scrutiniz
ing her face, as they stood on the door
step waiting for the' door to be opened.
" Yes, I know," said Riohol, glancing
round with brightening eyes. ". That is
a very choice climbing rose over th
window, if it was only properly trained."
"It's rather lonesome," said Uncle
Ben.
" T like the couutry," Rachel auswer
ed, hopefully.
As she spoke a slipshod old woman ap
peared to let them iu, and led the way
to the best room, a green curtained
apartment, with a shabby carpet on the
floor and a fire in the stove that emitted i
far more smoke than caloric
"Smoky, eh ?" said Uncle Ben.
" Tho draught seems to be poor,"
said Rachel ; " but I dare say it can be
altered."
" I hadn't auy idea the ceilings wore
so low," grumbled the old gentleman.
" It's partly the effect of the wall pa
per," said Rachel, with a glance at the
red and green monstrosities. " A nar
row striped pattern will improve it."
"What queer little cupboards at the
sides of the mantel 1" said Uncle Ben.
" Oh, they will ba nice for our best
china," said Rachel.
" My dear," said the old gentleman,
" I believe you are determined to be
pleased. Do you really think you shall
like this place ?"
"I shall like any place where Hugh
is," said Rachel, brightly.
She went all over the house with the
old gentleman, planning improvements,
and suggesting and contriving, until be
really began to think she would make au
Arcadia out of the tumble-down old
farm. And if she shed a few tears on
her pillow, when she went to rest under
tho eaves of the roof in an apartment
which mnst have been built for Tom
Thumb, Unole Benedict never knew it.
There was the carriage at the door
when Raohel rose from her breakfast of
bread and butter and coffee the next
morning.
" Come, my lass,'' said the old gentle
man, "I want to show you a place
further up the road, which has been
taken by a friend of mine."
The drive and the delicious September
air were like an invigorating tonic to our
wearied little bride, and a pioture await
ed them, in an- exquisite villa with its
rose-clad bay windows and picturesquely
sloping roof. Rustic iron chairs stood
under the bowing branches of the elms
ou the lawn, aud a marble Cupid, hold
ing up a carved conoh shell, scattering
bright rain into a flower bordered basin
directly in front of the gates.
"Oh, how beautiful I" cried Rachel.
"I never saw such superb Bearlet
geraniums in my life ; aud what a lovely
marble paved hsll 1 "
" You like the appearance ?"
"Oh, yes ; 'tis beautiful.
" Come iu, my dear, and see how you
like the interior," said the old gentle
man, serenely.
It was perfect, from the parlor, with
its superb Brussels carpet and exquisite
silk hangings, to the bedroom, all in
white and pink, like the .inside of a
roso's heart, and the fairy conservatory,
all stocked with camelias, heliotropes,
and rare fuchias at the south end of the
house.
" It is like fairy laud 1" cried Rachel,
enthusiastically. " Do toll me, Uncle
Ben, who is to live here ?"
Uncle Bon turned round and faced
her.
" You, my dear !"
" And Hugh, of oourse?"
"To bo sure I"
"But uncle," gasped little Rachel,
quite overwhelmed by this unexpected
good luck, " the other house"
" That's only a little joke of mine.
This is the real home, and I give it to
yon with all the moro pleasure that you
were disposed to make the best of the
bad bargain you thought you were iu
for. My dear, the contented mind you
possess is worth a thousand houses.
And Rachel felt something warm and
wet npon her cheek, like a tear, as the
old gentleman stopped to kiss her.
When Hugh came home, to find his
little wife upon the veranda, all wel
coming smiles to greet him, he ex
claimed :
" Why, Uncle Ben, this is a perfect
casket."
" But none too good for the little
jewel that inhabits it," Uncle Ben answered.
And Hugh read in the tone that his
young wife had won the capricious old
gentleman s heart.
FashioH Notes.
Fringes are now so exquisitely made,
and are sa costly, that instead of their
being manufactured to match a dress
the dress is made to match the fnuge.
Overskirts are longer than ever, al
most entirely concealing the under
Bkivts.
Wraps for spring are both sack and
mantle shapes.
Dog collars of silver and other metals,
also of shell, are worn with low necked
corsages as well as with high ones.
An attempt will be made to introduce
dark green, blue and brown grenadine
dresses this summer. They will come in
stripes and blocks, as will many of the
black grenadines.
The newest basques are simple shaped
cuirasses, very long. The plainness is
remedied by an abundance of trimmiug.
Bonnets of a network of flowers, very
fine and very like natural ones, aro
made in Paris for tbe theater.
Coat sleeves that are very close fit
ting aud have small, neat setting cuffs,
are a favorite model for house and street
dresses.
Block grenadines checked with either
gold or silver threads are the r.ewest
things out in this fabric for evening
wear.
Bonnets are as various in shape as
polonaises. The brims are hardly as
flaiing as heretofore. New damasked
ribbons and open meshed gauzes are
much used iu trimming them; flowers
are also abundantly used.
De beges ill be worn a great deal
this spring. Theso soft woolen goods
come in three different patterns for one
costume, viz. : plaid, plain and graduated
stripes, i nd usually showing three shades
of brown dark, medium and light.
Silk galloon is very fashionable.
Lace is always in vogue,
. Satin dresses are popular for dinner
reception occasions.
Fans are somewhat smaller, and are
worn at balls suspended by a ribbon or
chain from the wrist.
A now style of gip ornament lately
introduced is made in the form of tho
shoulder belts worn by soldiers. They
cross the bodice and fall below the waist,
terminating with a little pocket.
Cords for looping up the dresses are
moro worn than during the winter.
All wool camel s hair cloths show plain
aud striped goods; the latter are grad
uated from hair lines to stripes half an
inch wide.
Coarse straw and fine chip bonnets
are dyed ivory and cream tints for spriug
wear, in tne siiks, nowera anuiaoeslor
trimming them the same yellow-white
hues prevail.
A piece of soft feathor trimming, the
color of the trimming of the dress, is
worn with sof toning effect about the neck;
this is particularly becoming when worn
with white.
Satin ribbon slightly gathered, with
a bow in front and ornament attached,
is much worn about tho neck. A
piece of real lace tied at the back of the
neck and falling in long ends is also
fashionable.
Bracelets are reduced in size.
The " Ulster" is recommended as an
excellent pattorn for waterproofs for
spring and linen for summer, both for
boys and girls.
A JnouUi In a Well.
The inhabitants of the islet of Ayos
Strati, lying to the south of Lemnos, are
in a grievous state of disappointment
owing to the failure of 'a plan they
adopted some little time ago with a view
of preventing the annual visit of the lo
custs, which for some years have been a
great plague to the island. Believing
that sorcery was at the root of the evil,
they confined half a dozen women at the
bottom of a well. The Turkish authori
ties not approving of this proceeding iu-terfered-ou
behalf of the women, who
were released from the well after a
mouth's imprisonment; but although
one of them died from the effects of this
treatment, the locusts were not appeas
ed. They reappeared last summer as
usual, and devoured the crops with their
accustomed voracity.
If knee breeches come in fashion tin
largest calf vail look best.
A DEADLY PERIL.
.. V. oinnn'a Htnrr of Her Treatment by
Two Uobbers. ,.
Recently was published the stoiy of
the express robbery in Missouri and of
the manner in which the robbers bound,
gagged and carried a woman who had
become cognizant of their crimes over
tho bridge at St. Louis; of how, in a
moment of supreme agony, when about
to be hurlod ovor into the Mississippi
river, with an iron weight , attached to
her, sho displaced the gag from her
mouth and raised an alarming cry that
caused the villains to leave their victim
and seek safoty for themselves in flight.
The St. Louis Republican adds this Be
quel to tho story; ' r.
Edward Deal, alias Wilson, one of the
North Missouri express robbers, arrived
from Cincinnati, in charge of an officer.
Deal is a mere youth, tall, rather light
build and of nota pleasant countenance.
About eleven o'clock the colored woman
whom the robbers tried to murder, bo
oanse of her knowledge of their crime,
was brought to tho court. Deal was led
before her, and at the first glimpse of
him she burst out in a furious and most
unmistakable identification. " That's
him. That's tho villain who put therub
bor ball into my month I Oh, let mo at
him I Oh, you rascal 1" and at him she
would have dashed then and there had
she not been restrained by a detective.
Deal, before being led in, pulled his
slouch hat down over his eyes and hung
nis head in the most abject manner, but
said never a word. He was sent back to
his cell, and the woman then begnn to
relate in more detail than she had for
merly given the events of that terrible
Sunday when she for hours heard plans
for her murder deliberately discussed.
Her description was most vivid of how,
when she opened the door of the room
and came upon the men dividing their
spoils, they hastily covered the money
with a blanket, pounced on her, 'locked
the door and gagged her; then, after a
few moments' consultation, they strip
ped her entirely naked, and bound her
hand and foot, leaving her lying on the
floor. Then came the frightful discus
sion as to whether they should shoot
her, cut her throat, or drown her, it be
ing an agreed fact that cither course
must be pursued. She was particularly
vindictive toward Deal, because he was
up to that time a total stranger to her,
and yet ho was the mositfibusive to her,
and insisted on putting a pistol in her
mouth and blowing her brains out, and
then leaving her in the room. She says
he would occasionally come tip to where
she was lying and kick her in the t ide or
head by way of a joke, making some
jovial remark meanwhile. Once he
measured tho coal box to see whether
her body could be stowed in it, and then
walking up to her he measav'sd. off her
body, showing that it would be neces
sary to cut hor into three pieces, the last
cut coming just where her head joined
her neck. When he reached this jjoint
he drew his finger nail across her neck,
scratching a mark to cut her by, as he
told her. They threw her ou to the
bed, then rolled her off on to the floor
and applied chloroform several times,
evidently desiring to stupefy her by
bruises, without drawing blood. Deal
at one time paced up and down the floor,
with hands behind him, giving his ideas
as to how the murder had best be done,
and every time he camo to where she was
lying he gave her a kick, as though it
facilitated his reasoning. Once he
stooped down, took a lot of her hair oif
and threw it into the stove, laughing at
the way it burned. Then, seeming to
like that sort of a joke, he held her
mouth open while he took out her set of
false teeth, which he also threw into the
stove, remarking diabolically that he
"never kuew a nigger's teeth would
crackle like that." After the men tired
out of this, they relieved each other
while they wont to dinner, and finally,
just after dark, one of them put her ou
his back, they having dressed hor in
men's clothes, and carried her down to
the buggy to take her to the bridge for
drowning purposes.
United States Army Reorganization.
A Washington dispatch says : The
United States House committee upon
military nffiirs have agreed upon a bill
to reorganize the army. It does not re
duce the present effective force of the
army, but reduces the number of in
fantry regiments from twenty-five to
twenty, aud the cavalry from teu to
eight, thus reducing the number of in
fautry officers fifty-five, aud of cavalry
officers fifteen, and increases the size of
the companies and regiments. It does
away with the regimental organization
of the artillery, reducing the field offi
cers of artillery seventeen. It consoli
dates the quartermaster and commissary
departments into one, designated as the
department of supplies, making a large
reduction of officers. It provides for a
board to examine officers aud for the dis
charge of all worthless and inefficient
officers, and for an examination of the
condition of retired officers. All offi
cers who lose their places undor the bill
are placed upon a list of supernumera
ries, and are permitted to lesign with
one year's pay for each eight years of
servioa, or remain in service to perform
sucu duty as they may be assigned to.
It provides for the education of non
commissioned officers and soldiers by
the commissioned officers, and for the
promotion of non-commissioned officers
to commissioned officers. It abolishes
the office of judge advocate, fixes the
pay of first sergeants at 810 per mouth,
makes the headquarters of the general
of tho army at Washington in time of
peace, and provides that he may act as
secretary of war in the absence of the
secretary or temporary vacancy in the
office. J t provides that sutlers and post
traders shall first be elected by a coun
cil of the administration, approved by
the department commander and the gen
eral of the army and appointed by the
secretary of war. It reduces the staff of
all general officers and requires the gen
eral of the army to report reforms to
Congress aunually and to look to econo
my in all branches of the army. , The
bill is approved by the testimony of
many of the best officers of the army.
It is a reduction of abont two hundred
ofiicerH, and proposes reforms which, if
adopted, will, it is claimed, add great! v
to the efficiency of the army. .
TEMPTING A HUSIUSD.
Twenty Tlionannd Dnllnr Oflernl for Ail
oiher ftlan'a Wire A Serlom Trouble.
Some years since, while tarrying at
Shanghai and Houpr Kong, says a cor
respondent of the Greenwich Journal,
I became acquainted with Mr. King,
head of the highly respectable firm of
Messrs. King & Co. , doing business at
Shanghai. Mr. King had recently re
turned from a visit to the United States,
where he had formed an allianoe with a
blooming young lady, the daughter of
a Presbyterian clergyman residing near
Boston, who, after the nuptial ceremony
had been performed, accompanied her
lord to the celestial empire. On their
way they stopped for a few days at Hong
Kong. After e,nsoonsing themselves iu
comfortable quarters the couple were
visited by a rich mandarin. The latter
regarded the lady very attentively and
seemed to dwell with delight npon bar
movements.
When Mrs. King at length left the
apartment he said to her husband, in
broken English (worse than broken
China): "What you give for that
wifey wife of yours ?" " Oh," replied
the husband, laughing at the singular
error of his visitor, "$10,000." This
the merchant thought would appear to
tho Chinaman rather a high figure, but
he was mistaken. "Well," said the
mandarin, taking out his book with an
air of business, "s'pose you give her to
me; I will give you $15,000." It is
diffioult to say whether Mr. King was
more amazed than amused ; but the very
grave and solemn air of the Chinaman
convinced him that ho was in sober
earnest, and he was compelled, there
fore, to refuse the offer with as much
placidity as he could assume The
mandarin, however, continued to press
the bargain. " I give you $20,000,"
said he ; " you take 'em ?
Mr. King who had no previous notion
or thought of tho commercial valuo of
the commodity which he had taken with
him on his business tour, was compelled
at length to inform his visitor that
Americans were not in the habit of sell
ing their wives after they had come in
possession of them ; an assertion which
the Chinaman was slow to believe.
It was Mr. King's custom', as well as
every other commercial houso doing
business at Shanghai, to have their
clerks dine with them daily, leaving
their Chinese wives behind. Soon after
my arrival at Shanghai I was invited to
dine with Mr. King. There were a few
gentlemen and seventy-three of his clerks
seated at the table. They were all well
dressed and genteel appearing young
men; a stranger would imagine them to
be gentlemen. While seated at the din
ner table Mr. King related the foregoing
narrative with great, glee, laughing at
his young and jpretty wife, saying he had
recently discovered her full value, as he
had been offered $20,000 for her; a very
high figure as wives were selling at that
time, for the average price paid by the
clerks for an ordinary Chinese shopr
keeper's daughter was about $150, the
price being agreed upon with the par
onts before the young people see each
other; when introduced, if pleased with
each other, the bargain was at once
consummated. If the woman should
prove to be transcendentally beautiful the
parents might receive $5 more as cum
sha, or a present.
As soon aa he comes in possession of
his wife he purchases or rents a small,
light-constructed bamboo house, which,
with a liberal supply of coarse mats and
a few articles for culinary purposes,
suffices for a residence, which is kept as
neat and clean as a hound's tooth; the
wife doing, howevwr, her own house
work, washing and ironing her lord's
clothes, which are kept in perfect order.
She is very domestic, seldom or never
seen upon the street; and more true and
faithful wives never existed; in fact, they
dare not be otherwise, for their parents
would chastise them severely. The
husband seldom takes a meal at home;
the wife subsists chiefly upon rico, and
the cost of maintaining her, together
w ith her wRrdrobe, will not oxceed $30
per year.
Mrs. Kirg, being a conscientious and
energetic lady, resolved to use every
effort in her power to break up this in
famous traffic in Chinese women; but
being ignorant of the manners and cus
toms of the people in that distant coun
try, and having no backers her hus
band feeling indifferent failed in ac
complishing her meritorious object. As
a last resort, she issued an edict requir
ing evory one of her husband's clerks to
ubandon forthwith and turn off their
Chinese wives or they would not be suf
fered to dine at the same table with her.
The result can easily be imagined, for
on the following day not one of tho
clerks made his appearance at the allot
ted place of business, which placed Mr.
King in an awkward position, blocking
the wheels of his immense business.
The indiscretion of his wife came near
causing him muoh trouble and unneces
sary expense; and, strange as it may ap
pear, the clerks had the sympathy of
the whole community of Shanghai; and
however humiliating it might have been
to Mrs. Kiug, she was obliged to resoind
her edict, and when the writer left
Shanghai the wheels of business were
again in motion and everything went on
swimmingly.
Making Land In Holland.
The work of draining off an inland
sea, now going on in Holland, will take
from twelve to twenty years. About
485,776 acres will be inclosed by the
dyke, and deducting one-tenth for
cauals, there will remain nearly 440,000
acres, of which nearly 50,090 acres will
be sandy, of little use to agrioulture,
but invaluable for publio works. The
reservoirs will be made on this surfacje,
and will cover about 9,800 aores. The
cast of the work is expected to be about
$18,000,000 in gold, or about $123 an
acre for 390,000 acres. But this does
not inolude interest, which on a capital
of $48,000,000, for say sixteen years,
would be a serious matter. With inter
est computed on an advantageous ar
rangement with the government, the
cost would be $51,750,000, or $158 per
aore. The Haarlem drainage cost only
$123,andeven that did not pay, though the
laud has doubled in value since. It is
estimated that the addition of this terri
tory to Holland will increase the reve
nues $320,000 yearly. -
THE CENTENNIAL.
The ornuiiiie of the Opening- Exerrltea
en Mar 10.
T.ie general plan for the exorcises at the
opening of the Centennial exhibition on Slay
10 has been agreed upon by the executive
committee. The specially invited guests will
be nearly as follows :
The President and Vice-President.
Tlie Cabinet.
The Supreme Conrt.
The Senate and House of Representatives.
The leading officers of the army and navy.
The governors of the States and Territories
and their staffs.
Tbe Legislature of Pennsylvania.
The board of State supervisors.
The foreign commissioners.
Tbe Centennial commission and tbe chief
subordinate.
The Centennial board of Qnanoo.
The government board of finance.
The women' Centennial executive commit
tee. The judges of the exhibition.
The State Centennial board.
The city officials of Philadelphia.
This list is subject to revision. As the exer
cises are to be held in the open air, it will be
possible for a greater multitude to witness
them. About 10:30 o'olock A. M., the persons
invited having been conducted to their places,
the orohestra of one hundred and fifty, con
ducted by Theodore Thomas, will play the na
tional airs of all nations. The President of
the United States will be condnctod to the
ground by Governor Hartranft, with a military
esoort. the followiug programme will then be
carried out :
"The Grand March," written for the occa
sion by Riobard Wagner.
"Invocation of the Divine Blessing," origi
nal hymn by J. Q. Wbittior.
Original cantata Words by Sydney Lanier,
of Geo: gia ; musio by Dudley Buck, of Con
necticut. Brief presentations by the president of the
Centennial commission, reporting the exhibi
tion to the President of the United States.
Au address by the President of the United
States, which he will close by declaring the
exhibition open. Immediately tbe flags will
be unfurled, the artillery will lire a salute, the
chimes of the tower and other great bells on
tbe ground will ring and the chorus of six
hundred will render Handel's " Hallelujah."
The foreign commissioners will move to their
respective assignments iu the main building.
The Prosidonc of the United States, escorted
by tho commission and board of finance, and
the invited guests, will enter the north doors
of tho main building aod move, accompanied
by tho musio of the great organ , along tbe
great avenue iu such manner as to pass by
ea:h national commission. The prooesnion
will then cross to machinery hall and walk
down the maiu avenue to tho oenter. Then at
the signal from the President of tbe United
States the enormous engine and its thirteen
acres of uncbiuery will ha put in motion and
tbe exhibition will be open to the world.
There may follow more or ks formal recep
tions iu the judges' hall and the quarters of
tho cammissiou.
Ueins of Thought.
It is because gold is rare that gilding
has been invented, which, without hav
ing its solidity, has all its brilliancy.
Thus, to replace the kindness we lack,
wo have devised politenoss, which has
all its appearance.
Love has the tendency of pressing to
gether all the lights all the rays emit
ted from the beloved object by the
burning-glass of fantasy into one focus,
and making of them ono radiant sun
without any spots.
Shun the inquisitive, for thou .wilt be
sure to find him leaky; open ears do not
keep conscientiously what has been in
trusted to them, and a word once spoken
flies never to be recalled.
Death is the wish of some, the relief
of many, and the end of all. It sets the
slave at libotty, carries the banished
man home, and places all men on the
same level, insomuch that life itself were
a punishment without it.
Extreme old ago is childhood; ex
treme wisdom is ignorance, and so it
may be called, since the man whom the
oracle pronounced the wisest of men
professed that he knew nothing; yea,
push a cowaru to the extremo and he
will show courage; oppress a mau to
the last and he will rise above oppres
sion. Wood burns because it has the proper
stuff for that purpose in it, and a man
becomes renowned because he has the
necessary stuff in him. Renown is not
to be sought, and all pursuit of it is vain.
A person may, indeed, by skillful con
duct and various artificial means make a
sort of name for himself, but if the in
ner jewel is wanting, all is vanity and
will not last a day.
He who never relaxes into sportive
ness is a wearisome companion, but be
ware of him who jests at everything.
Such men disparage, by some ludicrous
association, all objects which are pre
sented to their thoughts, and thereby
render themselves incapable of any emo
tion which can either elevate or soften
them; they bring upon their moral being
an influence more withering than the
blasts of the desert.
The Imperial Crown.
A detailed description of the " im
peral state crown of Queen Victoria"
occupies nearly a column in a recent
number of the Court Circular. This
crown was made in 1838 with jewels
taken from old crowns, and others fur
nished by command of her majesty. It
consists of diamonds, pearls, rubies,
sapphires, and emeralds set in silver and
gold. It has a crimson velvet cap with
ermine border, and is lined with white
silk. It weighs over thirty-uine ounces,
troy. In front of tho crown, and in the
center of a diamond Maltese cross, is the
famous ruby said to have been given to
Edward Prince of Wales, called the
Black Prinoe, by Don Pedro, king of
Castile, after the battle of Najera, near
Vittoria, A. D. 1367. This ruby was
worn in the helmet of Henry V. at the
battle of Aginoourt, A. D. 1415. It is
pioroed quite through, after the Eastern
custom the upper part of the piercing
being filled up by a small ruby. Around
this ruby, in order to form the cross,
are seventy-five brilliant diamonds.
Three other Maltese crosses, forming
the two bides and back of the orown,
have emerald centers, and contain re
spectively 132, 124, and 130 brilliant
diamonds. There are numerous other
ornaments formed of precious stones,
but we will only mention the total num
ber of jewels in the crown: One large
ruby irregularly polished, one large
broad-spread sapphire, sixteen sap
phires, eleven emeralds, four rubies, 1,
363 brilliant diamonds, 1,273 rose dia
monds 147 table diamonds, four drop
shaped pearls, and 273 pearls.
A Snppzlng Swain.
BONO ADAPTED KOB THE CATARRH.
Oh, cub with me, dearest, the boodligbt is
beabig,
Is beabig so soft od the sea,
Aud long at thy lattice thy love has beed
droablg,
Beed dreabig, oh, dreabig of thee
(Te-chee 1)
Been dreabig, oh, dreabig of thee !
By bark od the Bhore, love, is tenderly rooklgj
Before rosy dawd we must flee.
Oh, wavefrob thycasebent a towel, a stockig.
To hib that is waitig for thee !
(Te-oheo !)
To hib that is waitig for thee !
Ah, sood we shall dwell amid gladness nn
broked; Far, far f rob the world shall it be.
Yes, further than Long Bradge or yet than
Hoboked,
Though all spods are wild beside thoe !
(Te-chee !)
Though all spoils are wild beside thee !
Don't do up thy bag-hair ! 'tis buch bore ro
mantig To let those rich tresses fload free.
And don't delay long, for I'm perfectly frantig
To brave the sea-billow with thee 1
(To-chee !)
To brave the sea-biilow with thee !
Ah, haste, darlig, haste; it is truly displeasig
To stand in wed grass to by dee,
And every wndce in a while to be sneezig
While dreabig, oh, dreabig of thee !
(Te-chee !)
Yes ! sneezig and dreabig of thee !
Items of Interest.
A man died in Jancsvillo, Wis., while
superintending a burial.
Mantillas of lace and cream tulle are
much worn at evening amusements.
A Chicagoau was arrested whilo fol
lowing his wife to the grave for pass
ing a counterfeit bill.
A single vessel left Mobile a few days
.igo en route to Liverpool with 6,237
bales of cotton worth $411,405.
General Sheridan's arms are said to bo
so long and his legs so short that he can
gather oatnip without getting red in the
face.
A Bostan journal says that Now York
spends $2,000,000 a year for flowers
alone, and for plants and fruits $3,000,
000 more.
The new church of St. Nicholas, at
Hamburg, just completed, is the highest
in Europe, 472 feet. The next is the
Strasbourg cathedral, 461 feet.
" "Can yon see me," said a Chicago
man to his sick wife. "Tell me, can
you see me ?" " No," she faintly whis
pered, "but I can smell your breath."
Most of the men in town prefer to go
to church in the evening. They say the
E reaching is better then. The collection,
owever, is always taken in the morning.
Petrarch, the favorite for the Two
Thousand Guineas and the Derby, has
been purchased from Mr. Spencer, his
brecdor and owner, for $52,000, by Lord
Duppin.
Columbus, Ga. , claims the position of
the Lowell of tho South. She is now
running 35,000 spindles and 1,000 looms,
besides many iron and other industrial
enterprises.
A boiling lake, two milos in circum
ference, has been found iu the island of
Dominica. It is on the top of a wooded
mountain, and is 2500 feet above the
level of the sea.
It is said that the old Romans also
loved office, but they never had the
feeling which au American constable has
never felt their shoulders carried half
the burden of government.
The Danbury Neiva says: They had
such a shower of flesh as that recently
occurring iu Kentucky in Great Britain
two hundred years ago. There's no use
in trying to compete with a monarchical
form of governmei.t.
A South Carolina boy's gun would not
go off, and he heated an iron rod,
dropped it into the barrel, and ran.
The gun fell with the muzzle toward
him, aud the hot iron was driven into
his body, killing him.
Icelanders and Mennonites from
southern Russia are cultivating farms in
Manitoba; French Canadians, half
breeds, and Scotch servants of the
Hudson Bay company congregate round
the old trading post; whilo at Kootenay
pass, in the Kocky mountains, a Chinese
settlement claims protection from the
Canadian authorities.
A scholar in a school was asked :
" How do you parse Mary milks the
cow ?' " The last word was disposed of
as follows : " Cow, a noun, feminine
gender, third person and stands for
Mary." " Stands for Mary I How do
you make that out ?" " Because," add
ed the intelligent pupil, " if she didn't
stand for Mary, how could she milk
hert"
A threadbare tatterdemalion applied
at a low inn in Paris for a night's lodg
ing. When asked to register his name
he wrote : " The Kiug of Spain." The
police were at once notified, and when
they came they asked him : "Do you
pretend to be king of Spain ?" Not I."
" Why, then, did you bo register your
name?" "Because I wish to travel
incognito."
Brussels has the largest ice house in
the world. The roof covers an area of
18,000 square feet ; the walls are double,
and filled with moss and sawdust.
There are nine separate ice chambers,
each of 30,000 cubio feet capacity.
There Diet galleries for storing meat in
hot weather, capable of holding 2.UU0
quarters. A million tons of ioe have
been stored in the building at one time.
An old oolored woman in Jackson,
Tenn., bo firmly believed herself to be
the victim of fetichism that, although
Buffering from no ailment except a die
ordered in agination, she pined away,
and seemed likely to die. The physician
put a ball of crimson yarn, smeared with
pitch, in a place where she would find it,
and suppose it had been hidden. She
was convinced that this was the myste
rious agency employed by her unknown
enemy, and, after burning the ball,
began to mend in health.