HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL DESPEIlAlsiDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. VI.
A Quiet Bit of Scandal.
When cannibal Ravages after a fight
Make a feint of the bodies of those they
have beaten,
The grisly repast yields a keener delight
From the knowledge that every uufortunate
wight
Would have deem d it the deepest disgrace
to be eaten.
Though the custom is faet dying out in VA jee,
As the Influence of Western example In
crease", In civilized countries you often may see
A cirole of friends, in the highest of glee.
All busily picking some neighbor to pieces.
And the best of it is that the neighbor Is not,
As in islands barbario, a person deceased
His flesh bas been baked in no oaldron or pot j
They don t even trouble to serve him np hot i
For the viotim still lives In the midst of the
feast.
Borne good natured friend, p'r'apB, may make
him aware
Of the nature of these hungry monsters'
employment (
And though in reply he may stoutly declare
That such vivisection won't hurt him a hair,
Yet he writhes at the thought of their fiend
ish enjoyment.
Still one comfort remains. In the isle of
Feejee
No possible vengeanoe is left for the victim ;
He's cooked and defunct. But in Europe he's
free
To seek satisfaction ; and sometimes we see
That he wounds in exchange for the wounds
which have pricked him.
Then beware, Mrs. Smith ; beware, lovely Miss
Brown j
Young Jones, whisper nothing that isn't
quite tiue;
Be a little more careful of others' renown,
For Thompson in yonder recess bas rat down
With Miss Green, and is quietly outting np
yon I
THE CONDUCTOR.
V When T was ft flp.Vinnlhnv a.nc riaad tr
ga to Loudon for tho Holidays, among
my ivo.st vowing recollections on my
return t.) Mr. Tawso's academy were tho
cries of the ouiuibus conductor. With
two forms piled one on the olher, n
sympathizing schoolfellow pei-ched at
one end as driver, it was my delight to
hang on to the extreme end and act the
"cad," with greater fluency than ao
curacy, aud ignoring strict topographical
unities. I would rattle out a long list
of destinations in the most approved
sing-song. I would " run in" imaginary
old ladies, and defraud equally unsub
stantial stout old gentlemen out of thei)
ohauge. I would exchange gay chad
with rivals, and hurl satirical remarks at
visionary policemen.
It wh not, bwwevor, my early inclina
tions that led mo into the path of life I
at present follow, but rather a hard
necessity the inability to earn my living
in any other way. I am an unfortunate
person, I am sober and industrious,
and possessed of some little ability ; but
everything bus gone wrong with me, and
I can't help thinking that I have been
the victim of some little persecution. I
made an enemy in early life, a .d I cm.
trace the elleets of his sinister influenc-
at every stop of my career.
My boyhood's home was comfortabl
nnd genteel. My mother was a widow
with a snfllcieut incoino. I was an only
son, witn but one sister, wno was five or
sil years older than myself. I was the
spoiled child of the establishment. At
fourteen I was a merry mischief loving
boy, somewhat of a nuisance, I dare say,
to my elders, but thoroughly happy ami
self-satisfied. Then an evil influence
appeared upon the scene a stout pon
derous man, 4re8SO,l in black, with
flabby pendulous cucoks, ana eyes
sunken but briett line a pis s. I hated
him from the first, and he returned my
aversion with interest. He concealed
his sentimeutB, ihowever, till ho had
lainy estatiusuea ins tooting in our
family. When D heard that he was to
marry my sister Caroline, my rage and
indignation kni vaio bounds. I abusod
him frightfully. I disgraced myself, 1
dare say ; but still although the manner
might be objeotiable, the matter was
true enough. Htvas a beast, and his
name was Balker.
He was in tho Irng trade, I believe,
and a struggling nan at that time, lie
had a family, too, jeing a widower. My
sister Caroline's prtion set him up in
business for himsili in which he after
ward amassed a tqnsiderable fortune.
His eldest boy cans to see us once, and
I thrashed him oif day soundly. He
was a spiteful sntakj and I got into nice
trouble through '.urn. whilst he never
forgave me that ;hrasuing-f-neither he
nor his father. I
Everybody, however, cried shamo
upon me for my conduct i: , respect to
Carry's engagemoi t ; fr pople hadn't
found him out as I had. Wien he had
noarly broken his neck over roord I had
slyly stretched across tho gpdVn path,
and I avowed and gloriad in he deed,
it was generally said that I nght to
have been sent to prison. Istead of
that, however, my mother ciaeDted
that he should give me a goot horse
whipping. He tied me up wit cords
and thrashed me awfully ; but ' have
the satisfaction of thinking that 1 man
aged to get hold of his leg wii my
teeth, and left a mark upon him f his
life.
When tho wedding day came, altragh
I was forced to go to church, yet ISso
lutely turned my back on the proied
ings, and made faces expressive of srn
and contempt at the little boys np inhe
gallery.
After the marriage Balker ruled r
bouse in everything. My mother wnl
gentle, weak woman, and Caroline wl
sniped lum. One of his first improy'V
meuts was to send me to a warehouse
the city of Loudon, where I had
aweop out the floors and make myi
generally useful.
I was not likely to do much at t)
and after putting up with it as long aa
uuuiu x iu uway ana went back
v motner 8 House. There, as luck would
have it, my sister Caroline he always
made use of our house as a hospital
was being laid up with an infant Bhe
went into hysterica about me, and I was
hauled off and taken back to Louden
like a criminal. Thnn, of course, owing
of Balker's suggestions, my employers
gave a very bnd account of mo and re
fused to take me back, po that Balker,
to get rid of me, placed me on board an
immigrant hhip bound for Australia that
belonged to a friend of his. Here I was
treated like a dog, and as soon as we
reached Melbourne I ran away to the
diggings. And now I was in a line that
i'ust suited me. I had no great luck,
nt was making my living and enjoying
myself first rate. So pleased was I with
myself that I must write home to
mother with a packet of gold dust and
a lot of stories about the diggings. I
was even so much mollified that I sent
my love to Carry and kind regards to
Balker.
Well, it so happened that my letter
reached homo just after Carry and
mother had fallen out, and mother had
mustered up spirit to send 'em out of
the house aud get rid of thorn. And she
wrote to me, poor woman, such a kind
letter. I was her own dear, darling boy,
and she saw row how that wily Balker
bad set her against me. But if I'd come
home now aud close her eyes all that
she had would be mine, and I should
take my proper place in the world.
Added to that the sent mo a bank post
bill for 100 to pay my expenses.
After that I felt I was bound to go,
and yet things kept tinning up that
hindered mo from starting. I had to
finish out a piece with my mates, and
then I waited for a chum of miue who
drove a 'bus to Melbourne, who was go
ing home, too; so that it was a year or
more before I found myself anchored in
the Downs, with the white cliffs of old
England shining in the distance I
landed there aud made my way without
troubling myself about my baggage,
just as I was, half sailor, half digger,
across the country to Biddlesden, where
mother lived.
I fancy I see the place now a red
brick house, with bow windows kept
wonderfully bright, wire blinds, and
green Venetians; tho strett with tuft by
the sides, aud nico trees growing here
ind there. It looked so auiet and cheer
ful, with the sun sliming brightly on
everything, that I said to myself, quite
in the poetic vein : " If there s peaee
to bo found in the world the heart that
is humble may hope for it here."
There were beautiful white steps up to
mother's door, and I walked up them
with a strange, uneasy feeling, half joy
and half foreboding. It was just four
o'clock. Mother would be sitting by
the fire. She always had a bit of fire,
except in the very hottest weather. Din
ner had just been taken away. There
would be two decanters on the tablo in
little round stands, a few biscuits, two
or three apples, and some walnuts, in
dishes of old china. Mother would
have her feet on the fender, with her
dress tucked over her knees and her
black quilted satin petticoat warming iu
the blaze. I would just pop in quietly.
" Hallo, mother 1" I should say, just as
if I'd come home from school, and slip
behind her chair and give her a kiss be
fore the old lady knew where she was.
Lord, how my heart did beat as I
softly opened the door 1 This was what
I saw the decanters were there all
right, and the dessert, and the smell of
dinner and wine, just as of old, but
there was no mother sitting there.
Carry in black on one side o' the fire;
Balker in black on tho other; little Tim-
miugs, tho lawyer, in the midale,
smacking his lips over a glass of port.
My voico died away in my throat. I
shut the door gently and went off into
the kitchen. There was Patty, mother's
old servant, putting away the silver.
She was iu black, too, and crying over
the things. She gave such a scream
when she saw me. I was a rough look
ing chap, bear in mind, and she didn't
know me at the moment.
"I'm Dick," I said, "Patty. Where'a
mother t"
"Oh," she cried, putting her hauds
on my shoulder, and looking into my
face to make sure I was speaking truth;
" Oh, dear, Mastr Dick, why didn't
you come home before ?"
So it was. Mother had been dead
and buried a fortnight ago. Balker had
smoothed her over long beforo her
death, and he and Carry between them
had made it right about the property. I
don't know what lies Balker had told
about mo, but I saw her will afterwards
and there was nothing for me except a
hundred pounds. And I didn't even
get that, for they made out that I had
been advanced the money beforehand
that hundred pouuds mother sent me,
you remember and I knew it was no
good fighting Balker about it, me that
hadn't a halfpenny.
All the knocking about hadn't knock
ed the pride out of me. Before I'd be
beholden to Carry or Balker for a penny
I'd starve; and I came very near starv
ing, too. I walked up to London
hungry and footsore. I slept under
trees in the park, and earned a few shil
lings at the docks, just enough to keep
body and soul together, till one day I had
carried a ship captain's bag from Vic
toria docks to Charing Cross for a shil
ling, and I stood at the corner by St.
Martin's church, looking at the foun
tains and the big lions, and wishing one
of them was alive and would mako an
end of me, when a yellow 'bus drove up
and a chap sings out:
" Hallo, Dick !" It was the chum I'd
come home with who was sitting up
there driving. "Jump up," he said;
and I got upon the box-seat and we had
a long talk, and finding I was doing no
good, he offered to get me a job to look
after the horses of the 'bus.
But he did better than that for me:
for, seeing that I had got some educa
tion about me, the manager made a con
ductor of me.
It wasn t that gay, agreeable job I
ouoe thought it. To be sure the line I
was in wasn't one that admits of much
elocution. "'Toria, 'toria," and
Tanma,
meaning Victoria Station
.and the Britannia Tavern, yon can't
uake much of a patter of. And as for
ikes, why, ever sinoe they introduced
ose "waybills," as they call them,
' it you stick upon the doors aud mark
fares on, you've got your pencil in
is' mouth all day loner, and can t
U I was pleased enough at my job,
.4 ai liannAfiAil f li ufr nna Anv T uraa
Q-.f OU MJ'". '- - j ......
tnn in tl I .a. ,.t V,n
H w J vuiu Ul VUV ISO lA bUO
Vt Shipton and took up the Daily
tpn, aau c&auiig my eyes -over
EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, MAY 25,
the deaths I saw announced Mr. Balker's
on the very day, too, that I had got
my situation, mere s no use mincing
iue mawer, x was aownngnt glad
" That man," I said to myself, " didn't
enjoy his ill gotten plunder very long ;
and what's more, I believe that he was
my evil spirit, and that now he's jrone I
snail mane a start in tne world." But J
hadn't reckoned upon his having a son
I had been at my new work for about
a fortnight, when one evening on our
downward journey, after we had passed
Redcap. I began to collect the fares.
There were only three passengers in the
uun. uuo ui iiueui was a pretty iresu
looaing country giri. wno, as soon as
called "Fares, please," began to searoh
her pockets. Then she flushed up quite
crimson all of a sudden. " Dear me,"
sue criea, "i ve lost my purse I" Well.
there was a man sitting opposite her
very respectably dressed, with a sallow,
waxy face, and little pig's eyes, and he
looked at her quite angrily. "Lost
your purse I" said he. "You mean
you ve left it at home on the drawing
room chimneypiece," he said, with t
sneer. Well, I could see the poor girl
was almost in tears about it, so I spoke
to her and told her that as far as the loss
of the purse went it was a bad job for
uer, out mat sue needn t be troubled
about not paying the faro, because she
could let me have it next time she saw
me. With that she began to tell me
that there was one pound fifteen ehil
iings in tne purse, ana tnat sue was
going to a place as nursemaid at Haver-
stock lull, and that the purse contained
all the money she was worth. She had
been standing waiting for the 'bus some
time, ana supposed somebody had taken
it out ot ner pocket.
I was very sorry for her, and said
what I could to comfort her, and when
we came to the Shipton I showed her
the way to the place she was going to
i i j uuKin piace. i noticed that tne sal
low faced man started when she told me
the address, and seemed to look rather
hard at her, and looked hard at me too
when she asked me who she should in
quire for to pay the money back, and I
told lier my real name, Dick Maylam,
I began now to take notice of the
regular customers, and found that the
sallow faced man traveled by us pretty
regularly. A spiteful chap he was, too.
He'd hit wildly out with his umbrella
handle when he wanted to get out, as if
conductors had no feelings in their elbow
jointi. He always offered me twopence
too for a threepenny fare on the chance
tnat I a take it by mistake.
One night, when I went to the office
on my last journey, the bookkeeper said
to me: " Maylam, you're ninepence
short in your cash to-day." " I think
not," I said; for I was always very care
ful of the cash and to keep the waybills
right, and I was so 'cute that I always
put a private mark against the last fare
on each hue, so that nobody should stick
down any figures after me.
These waybills were a Manchester in
vention, I believe, and were slips of thin
paper ruled with cross lines twelve
spaces in a row, aud B3 many rows as
there were different fares. Mine had
three rows for twopenny, threepenny
and fourpenny fares. You put them iu
a little frame that opeDS with a hinge
and is screwed on to the door of the
'bui, and every fare you draw you mark
on the bill.
Well, as soon as the bookkeeper told
me I was short in my cash, I said:
" Well, let us look at the waybills,"
feeling sure he'd either made a mistake
or wanted to plunder me, but I reck
oned them all up carefully and found
that the man was right. I must have
lost the money. I made it up out of my
own pocket, and resolved to be more
careful another time. Bnt next day it
was the same ninepence short again.
Then for two days I was right; after that
another ninepence to the bad.
" You must be careful, Maylam," said
the man, "and don't let it happen again,
for if it does I shall report you as always
being short."
But it did happen again and again,
sometimes sixpence, sometimes nine
pence, sometimes a shilling, and I
I couldn't find out how it went. I was
well-nigh driven mid by it, for I knew
I should lose my place if it happened
much oftener, and brood over it as I
might I could fathom it in no wav. I
was always particular in giving change,
and nobody could get at my money,
wnicu i nepi m tne leauier wallet pro
vidad by the company.
At last word came down one day that
I was to have the sack at the week's end,
and then I can tell you I felt downright
bad. There wasn't much chance of my
getting another place, as private owners
were few, and besides the company
most likely would refuse to give me a
character. I didn't know what to turn
to, and couldn't see anything before me
but starvation. Thoso sort of feelings
don't help a man to get through his work
smartly, and I got worse aud worse
muddled as the duy went on. People
abused me for not setting them down
where they told me, and altogether I
was well-nigh distracted.
It wa3 a damp, dismal afternoon, and
when we stopped at the corner of Ox
ford street and Tottenham Court road
there was a great rush of people to got
into the omnibus. Among them was a
lady in deep black, and with her was
our sallow-faced friend. It was dusk
and I couldn't see the faces inside, but
aa I lighted my Ump and the gleam
shone into the 'bus I started back and
turned my head away from the door.
The widow lady was my sister Carry.
After the first touch of shame, however,
J didn't care any more. Yon cet hard
ened to such things when you come to
downright want. I took no more notico
of her, aud whether she'd recognize me
I did not know. She did suro enough
when she got out at the Shipton ; she
in her black silk and handsome crapes,
all rustling and crackliug, with a seal
skin purse in her hand almost bursting
out with gold and bank notes, and me
with my tattered, greasy coat, patched
trousers, and broken boots. She
flushed up to her eyes, and I think she'd
have spoken to me but I turned my back
upon her, and the sallow man hurried
her away.
As my old chum got off the box I told
him about my getting the sack, and he
said it was a bad job, but there was no
use fretting. As we were standing there
a young woman popped her head in
quite ehameiaoed. Can you tell m,"
she san "whether a Mr. Maylam
bus conductor, comes here ?" " I'm
he, miss," I said: and then I recollected
that she was the girl who had lost her
purse. "Oh, I've brought you the
money 'lor the fare, BUe said. " Mr.
Maylam, and if you wouldn't mind ac
cepting a shilling Uh, no, thank
yon, miss, I said. Ana then we bejrun
talking; but she said that she foouldn't
stop, because her mistress didn't know
she had run out. "And what do vou
think I" she said. " That was my new
master who camo up in the 'bus with
me, that sodden complexioned gent I"
Ana wnat 8 nis name ! l asked,
"Why, Bhlker." she said. Then I saw
wl:o he must be. He must be Balker's
eldest son by his first wife the one I
had thrashed so badly a good many
years ago.
Well, I thought it all over and over
again that night as I lay awake, and
couldn't help fancying that these Bol
kers, who had been the ruin of me all
along, bad some hand in this last misfor
tune. They hated me badly enough to
ao anytning to onng me to aestruction.
although one would have thought being
an omnibus conductor was low enough
for them. Then I seemed to recollect
that every time I had been short of cash
young Balker had taken the journey
witn me. Still 1 didn t see how he could
have robbed me, and even if he had it
would never be found out now. I was
done for, and that was an end of it.
Next day Calk or traveled back with
us, getting in at Oxlord street. It was
early, about four o'clock in the after
noon, before the regular stream of busi
ness men set in; consequently, after we
passed the Redcap, there was no one
else inside. It had often happened so
before. lie always came home early,
not naving mucn to ao, i dare say,
living comiortaoie, no uouut, on my
motner s money.
" Well, v?e crossed tho canal bridge
and passed under the railway arch, and
just beyond we pulled up, of course, to
change horses. I always made a prac
tice of giving a helping hand during
inia operation, ana l was going to jump
on my percn as usual to go ana help.
when I saw a sort of wicked sparkle in
Mr. Balker's eyo that put me on mv
guard.
"Jack, I whispered to the driver, run
ning to tne iront, "iust look over the
side and pee what the man inside is do-
nig."
Well, Jack looked over for a second.
and! then he jumped off his perch and
ran behind. I ran too, and we got there
just in time to see our sodden looking
friend with a pencil in his hand, jotting
down a few extra figures on the waybill.
Well, tm went home to his friends
afterward, looking a deal more disre
putable tnan me, ana 1 don't think he'll
very soon forget his trip that day. He
ha l to gia me 50 too to hush the mat
ter up, and that win pay my passage
over to Melbourne, and leave me with a
few pounds in pocket. So I fancy, al
though the company are quite willing to
keep me on, that you won't hear any
more from me as an ill-conducted con
ductor. Chinese cheap Labor.
Before the California Senate Chinese
commission, at Sacramento, Lem
Schauu, a Christianized Chinese proper,
testified that it is practically impossible
to convert a grown Chinaman to Chris
tianity, though sometimes efforts in that
direction have been successful in the
case of boys. He said the condition of
Chinese women in San Francisco is hor
rible. They are bought and sold like
cattle, are abused by their masters, tor
tured, and often killed for attempting
to escape. The presence of the lower
classes of Chinese in this couutry is dis
astrous to both whites and Chinese. The
Chinese here of the better class desire
immigration stopped, and the whole
thing can bo done in a friendly way.
The Chinese government desires to
keep its subjects at home, and if immi
gration, which is mostly from the pro
vince of Canton, was stopped, it would
have no effect upon the commercial re
lations with China. The Chinese gov
ernment would willingly assist in stop
ping this immigration; but witness
thought they could not do it themselves.
as there are eighteen provinces,- and a
revolution in almost every province.
Christianity is not advanced by this im
migration, but if it were stopped, some
thing might be done with those who are
here.
The witness corroborated the evidence
previously given concerning the manner
in which the Chinese secret tribunals
put a price on tho lives of those offend
ing their laws, and carried out such sen
tences. As to tho contract system, he
said, when the men have no money to
pay their passage to California they bor
row, and make a contract to work uutil
they have refunded the money. When
Chinamen desire to return to Chiua the
Pacific Mail steamship company refuse
to sell them tickets unless they have a
check or ticket from the Six Companies,
or from the missionaries. This is done
to protect their creditors. Chinamen
living iu this country do not think the
Six Companies can stop immigration or
importation of lewd women and im
proper 'characters, nor have they the
power to send them back to China.
Matthew Karcher, chief of police, tes
tified at length as to the ruinous effect
of ttie presence of the Chinese upon the
rising generation, leading the boys to
disease and death, and driving both
boys and girls to crime by competition
in household and manufacturing em
ployments. Mr. Karcher characterized
the Chinese population, almost without
exception, as criminals, thieves, liars,
and perjurers.
Youthful Sorrows.
Says the Danbury News : The very
small boy has his trials and sorrows like
the rest of us. With his cropped aud
bared head he can be seen at almost
any hour tearing along after some mis
creant who has his hat, and bawling ut
the top of his voice. The very small
boy doesn't seem to understand that hn
could run faster and longer if he kept
his mouth shut. But perhaps he
wculdu't t quite bo sure of his hat.
Coral is coming rapidly into fashion
again, to the great delight of those who
happen to have the stock on hand.
The riicnomona of Death.
Dr. Frederic It. Marvin, in a lecture
at New York, (jave a physician's view of
death, his Bubject being " The Physi
ology of Death." The history of death
embraces turee periods, tne fabulous,
tbe superstitious, and the nhilosonhical.
The fabulous period was iu mythological
times, in which death was personified as
tne goddess Mors, the glance of whose
eye was fatal; the superstitious era was
tnat long period in which death was re
garded as an instantaneous chance:
stroke that came and qut off life from
the whole body at once. Ours is tho
philosophical age.
xne lecturer nau experimented on
dogs, to discover the order of time in
which the senses die. To one dog he
gave arsineous acid. The second died
instantly upon his introducing a needle
into the medulla oblongata; and the
third he bled to death. In the last, the
order of death was, sight, taste, smell,
hearing, touch; which established the
fact that the senses disappear in the
same oraer as iney ao in sleep.
The human body is an aggregation of
cells. Life is the segmentation of these
cells; death their disintegration. Each
cell dies for itself. Every moment colls
are springing into life. Every moment
cells are dying. Our bodies are com
posed of these little points. Take them
away and there is nothing left of us but
the connecting shreds. There are dead
cells in your body, and when you are
dead, there will for some time continue
to bo living ones. We shall all at some
time be resolved into carbonic acid, wa
ter, and the mineral elements.
The whole surface of our globe, said
the speaker, has been dug over 128
times to bury its dead, even not reckon
ing the long age of the world which is
given it bv modern science, and we in
hale, we feed upon elements the very
atoms that have been living human
beings before. The dead, he continued.
live again, and we greet them in the
perfume of the city, in the light flakes
of the snow, in tho thousand leaves of
the forest.
Death, the doctor says, is painless.
There is no moment iu our lives in
which molecular death is not going on
m us. The last words of a multitude
of persons indicate that mere disinte
gration is painless. To die of cold,
after the first agony is over, is a luxury.
So is drowning. The smile of death,
the placidity of death, comes to all fea
tures after tho rigor mortis. That is
over in three days.
A Dreadful Murder.
A Snanisli carderier. unninil Rnrrnnrln
. o j - -
has confessed to having murdered M.
Blannun. the nrnvrmt. of a rAlitrinna nrl
lege at Prades, his object being to ob
tain irom tne successor oi tne murdered
ua tho onm ot 500 fnmoo, whinh ha
savs he linil int.rnntn1 tn M Dlonnno
and the payment of his wages, which he
also maintains nave not been given to
him since he entered the Servian of flio
college. He relates thnt. Via
the crime in the following manner : On
April b, about seven o clock in the
morning, he led M. Til an mi a i ntri fli
garden, under the pretext of pointing
uug some necessary repairs, and on
reaching the door of a cellur seized a
gun which he kail concealed tlifnA .intra
before and fired at the old man. As M.
Blanque foil his head struck against tho
corner of the wall, and he cried out,
looking intently at his mnrrtprA AVi
Segondol poor Segondo I" The victim
his pocket handkerchief. wrminH it.
round the neck nf M TSlnn n n a n rl
drew it bo tight that the unfortunate
man was unable to cry out for assist
ance. uiu. hud nirun
of the cellar and left him there while ho
went to fetch a spade and pickax where
with to diet th ffrnvB. TIia nrmn.t
J o .uv 1- J lUUlj
wounded and gagged, could neither de
fend himself nor call for help, and was
obliged to look on in silence while the
hole was being made. '1 'rn va run rlnivn
the poor man's cheeks, he crossed his
nanus over nis cnest, aud muttered a
hoarse prayer. When a sufficient depth
had been reached, Segondo seized the
body of the priest in his arms and cast
him into the sandy hollow. M. Blanque
fell into the pit head foremost and still
living. He struggled hard to
this gavo the murderer considerable
trouble, so that in order to effect hi3
purpose he was obliged to bit. bin vin.
tim on the head with the spade. The
uiow was so violent tnat the iron made a
wound cutting through the eye and
oneniDg the tkull. Snonln tl.
a quantity of earth over the feet and
chest of the provost, whose arm made
one last desperate attempt to clear away
the soil aud raise the body ; but the
gardener kicked it down and shoveled
about two feet of sand into the grave.
He then stamped upon it, aud, after
watching the spot for about a quarter of
an hour, went back into tho college
kitchen, where he breakfasted heartily.
The next day he turned the water of a
sewer into the cellar, in order to wash
away the staius of blood. The ruffian
was taken into the college on account of
his being a Carlist refugee destitute of
all means of earning his livelihood.
An Irrepressible Girl.
A little French girl, twelve years of
age, has just been tried in the Sarthe,
Frauoo, for having smothered two chil
dren confined to her care. One of the
victims was three years, the other eigh
teen months old. It was elicited in
court that the murderess could not re
sist committing the crimes with which
she was charged. After having smoth
ered the children of her mistress she was
removed to. the hospital of La Fleche,
and there felt impelled by some unnatu
ral force to assassinate the patients.
Tho jury wished to acquit the prisoner
on the ground that she was not respon
sible, and but for the direction of the
judge, she would have been let loose on
society to continue her sanguinary
career. The judge considered that,
whether tho prisoner were responsible or
not, society bhould be protected, and a
verdict of guilty was fouud, followed
by a sentence of imprisonment.
The supposed reason why tbey call a
sensational report a "canard" is because
one canardly believe it, you know.
1876.
yewspnpers in 1776.
There were no daily newspapers in
the time of the Revolution, Edward
Abbotts tolls us. Of pome fifty papers
which were born, and lived, or died, be
tween 1748 and 1783, all were weeklies
or semi-weeklies. There were forty
three such in existence at the end of the
war. They were poor affairs, viewed in
the light of the journalism of to-day;
but, measured by their times, displayed
considerable enterprise, and exerted an
immense influence. It was their char
acteristic that they aimed not bo much
to print the news of the locolity in which
they were published as to bring to that
locality news from distant parts of the
country and of the world. In fact, the
newspapers of the Revolution had com
paratively little to do with news of any
kind. The gathering of it had not been
reduced to a systen. The publisher
waa his own editor and reporter. There
were no telegraph tolls to pay; and, had
there been, there would have been no
money with which to have paid them
News traveled to the paper by private
conveyance. It was two months coming
from Great Britain, and six months
from Constantinople. That useful and
widely known individual, " a gentleman
oi undoubted velocity, lived, however,
in the country at that time, and rendered
valuable services. The papers were
filled with political sayings, satires and
lampoons. By many of them, the larg'
est liberty of discussion was allowed;
and there were noticeable tendencies to
the freest sort of speculation. Of jour
nalism in the modern sense of tho term,
elaborated, enterprising, competitive.
lavish in outlay, and presenting a field
for the highest attainments and most
carefully acquired professional skill,
there was absolutely nothing. And yet
we must accord to the journals of the
Revolution, small, irregular, struggling
sheets that they were, tho credit of a
generally heroic spirit, and a very noble
achievement in shaping the patriotic
temper of the times.
British Newspapers.
There are now published in the United
Kingdom one thousand fix hundred and
forty-two newspapers, distributed as fol
lows : England London, three hundred
and twenty; provinces, nine hundred
and fifty-six one thousand two hundred
and seventy-six; Wales, fifty-seven;
Scotland, one hundred and hftv-two:
Ireland, one hundred and thirty -eight;
Isles, nineteen. Of these, there are
daily papers : England, ninety-eight;
Wales, two; Scotland, sixteen; Ireland,
nineteen; Isles, one. On reference to
the first edition of the useful directory
(.1840) we and the following interesting
facts, viz. : that in that yenr there were
published in the United Kinffdoni five
hundred and fifty-one journals; of these
fourteen were issued daily, viz. : Eng
land, twelve; Ireland, two; but in 1876
there are now established and circulated
one thousand six hundred and forty-two
papers, of which no loss than one hun
dred and thirty-six are issued daily.
showing that the press of that country
has very greatly extended during the last
thirty years, and especially so in daily
papers, the daily issues standing one
hundred and thirty-six, against fourteen
in 184S. The magazines now in course
of publication, including the quarterly
reviews, number six hundred and fifty
seven, of which two hundred and thirty
eight are of a decidedly religious
character.
The Road Agents.
Two stagesfrom San Antonio to Kings-
burg were stopped nnd the passengers
and mail robbed about eight miles west
oi aeguin, Texas. Passengers state that
one of the robbers rode alongside of
the coach aud inquired of the driver if
he had noticed a man on a sorrel horse
pass. He took a good look at the
coaches and passengers aud rode on.
Soon afterward three masked men, arm
ed with repeating rifles and mounted.
advanced from each side of the road,
ordered the passengers to alight from
stages and give up their weapons first
and then their money. They allowed
the passengers to retain their watches
and jewelry. The robbers then cut
open the mail bags and robbed the mails.
The passengers state the robbers secured
about SCOO in currency, four revolvers
and two Spencer rifles, which were iu
cases, besides the mail matter. There
were four men among the twenty pas
sengers armed with revolvers, but owing
to lady passengers being in both coaches
they did not fire on the robbers.
A Type Setting Machine.
Near the town of Nordhausen. in the
province of Saxony, lives a certain Herr
Henze, M. D., who has invented a new
type setting machine, of which we re
ceive the following particulars: By
means of a lever, which is worked by a
series of notes, something like a piano,
the letters are raised out of the box in
which they are kept and placed in a po
sition fixed for them. By using a very
simple mechanism a second Betting ap
paratus can be adjusted, and by this
means the sentence is twice set in the
same time. The machine is of the sim
plest construction, and yet can be work
ed easily, and performs the Betting in a
quick and correct manner. Three com
positors cannot work bo quickly and
suroly as one with such a machine. The
price of the new invention will vary
from thirty to sixty thalers.
A Singular Death,
George Drew, of Green Island, Wis.,
recently discovered, about half a mile
from the island, the body of a man
stretched out on the ice, with his head
caught between two layers of ice, one
on top of the other, and where there
had evidently been a crack. The man
had been dead some time, as the body
was cold and stiff. Near it waa a Bled.
An examination of tho position of the
body showed that the man, Vesteen by
name, had stooped to drink, lying down
for that purpose. While drinking, a
sudden movement of the ice closed the
crack, the Bide opposite to him rising
and sliding a little way over the side on
which he was just far and high enough
to catch and hold his head as in a vice,
auitoeating him. as was shown bv th
fact that the face, neok and breast were
DiaoK.
NO. 14.
The Weather.
How well these lines express the
present season :
The weathercock is danolng round,
And will not settle eat or west :
The air is chill, and most the ground,
&nd all tbe sky In gloom is dresBed.
Unoertaln spring 1 Poets were right
Who gave the female form and foe,
For change is ever your delight.
And flokleness your chieftest grace :
And now you smile to bear men say :
"I wonder if t'wlll rain to-day ?"
Items of Interest.
Of Iowa's population over sixteen
years of age, only one in 168 cannot
read.
The best animal food is said to be the
flesh of the fheep, and the best vegeta
ble food that of or from wheat.
Many persons look upon others as
they would look through tho panes of
their windows not noticing either, un
less a blemish or a flaw appears.
A Paris landlord levied on a tenant's
wooden leg for debt, and the question
was whether the property ws personal,
tools, household effects or real.
Professor Dynamic " Can you give
me an example of heat causing expan
tion, and cold contraction t" " Yes,
sir; the days are long in summer and
short in winter."
It is unkind at this season of the year
to laugh at a man who has splashes of
whitewash on his back, soot on his nose,
a frown on his brow and a leDgth of
stovepipe under each arm.
It is said that California is well suited
for the domestication and breeding of
tho ostrich, and it is quite probable that
an effort will be made to raise thesa
valuable birds in that State.
The sultan of Turkey swears off every
New Year's day, and then every thirty
first of December wonders, like the rest
of us, how on earth he managed to
squander 825,000,000 that year.
A Kansas paper speaks of " a lady "
residing near Leavenworth, who has
been divorced once, married three times,
and now cares for a mixed family of
thirteen children, none of which are her
own.
At this season, the question which in
terests a boy ia not so much' whether
his life will be crowned with glory nnd
honor, as whether his new summer vest
is going to be mode out of his father's
old trousers.
A Calhoun (Ky.) man, who lost the
power of speech by lying out doors
drunk one cold, stormy night, five or
six years ago, regained it when his house
caught fire, and nearly burned him up,
the other night.
The county of San Bernardino, Cali
fornia, has a population of 11,000, and
an area which would allow every man,
woman and child 1,000 acres of laud.
It is unnecessary to say, however, that
it isn't divided that way.
This is the season for planting gar
dens. It is also tho season for revenge.
Many a man has avenged injuries which
blood could not wipe out by keeping a
few industrious and euregotio hens after
his neighbor had laid out his vegetable
garden.
A heathen Chinee interprets the Scrip
tural passage, the "wicked flee where
no man pursueth, but tho righteous is
as bold as a lion," thusly : " The flea ho
much badce, he stand still likee stake ;
when many wicked man walkeo by, he
shootee."
A postal card was received at tho post
office in Rochester the other day with
the following address in German : " To
my cousin who lives four miles from
Rochester on a farm of foi ty acres, the
cars runs through his laud and he has
ten red heifers."
A startling rumor comes from Paris
that long gloves reaching nearly to the
elbow and requiring twenty buttors will
be essential to the peace of mind of
every well dressed lady this year 1 Also,
tnat without court plaster patches no
true toilet will be complete.
' The Alabama Planter complains that
its little garden patch Tas unprofitable
last season : " The snails ate up the cu
cumbers ; the chickens ate up the
snails; the neighbor's cats ate, up the
chickens, and we are now in search of
something that will eat up the cats 1"
A newspaper published in Bolton.
England, contains the following adver
tisement : "Wanted, immediately, an
idle, drunken carter. The advertiser
has had so many sober carters that he
wants a change ; bnt a moderately sober
one would not be objected to. Inquire.
etc"
The Two Quiucys.
While the venerable Josiah Quiucy
was president of Harvard University 'iia
son, afterwards mayor, was president of
the common council of Boston. Both
were intimately connected with the
moral and material interests of the me
tropolis of the old Bay State. The elder
Quincy had been mayor of the city,
from 1823 to '28, having been the second
incumbent of that office. It was during
his administration that Quincy market
was built, aud other important worka
carried forward. On a certain occasion
father and son were present at a social
gathering, where they were toasted as
' The Two President Quincys."
After the toast had been drank amid
warm and hearty demonstrations, the
younger Quincy the prepideut of the
common council arose. As he looked
very serious, and even solemn, the as
semblage became at once silent and at
tentive. He told them that he felt grate
ful for the kindly feeling they had mani
fested. Said he:
'I wish ajways to be courteous to
others, claiming for myself only that
which is my due; but 1 cannot tamely
submit to anything derogatory to my
own dignity. You have been pleased,
gentlemen, to allude to two President
Quincys; but I beg that yon will bear in
mind that the old gentleman at the
head of the table only presides over a
parcel of beardless boys, while I pre
Bide over a body of grand aud influen
tial men !"
Had a man been standing T.p'on the
roof of that building just then, ho
might have fanoied that an earthquake
had bpraj, beneath, bin feet.