HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dol,ar8 Per Annum.
VOL. VI.- EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, FA., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1876. NO. 29.
" Cover Them Oyer."
Cover them over with beautiful flowers,
Deck them with garlands, those brothers of
ours,
Lying so silent, by night and by day,
Sleeping the years of their manhood away.
Years they had marked for the joys of the
brave 1
Years they must waste in the moldering grave.
All the bright laurels they waited to bloom
Fell from their hopes when they fell to the
tomb.
Give them the meed they have won in the past;
Give them the honors their future forecast ;
Give them the cbaplefs they won in the strife,
Give them the laurels they lost with their life.
Cover them over yes, oover thom over
Parent, husband, brother and lover I
Crown in your hearts those dead heroes of
ours
Aud oover them over with beautiful flowers.
Covor the faces that motionless lie,
Shut from the blue of the glorious eky,
Faces once decked with the smiles of the gay,
Faces now marked with the frown of decay ;
Eyes that looked friendship and love to your
own,
Lips that the thoughts of affection made
known ;
Brows you have soothed in the hour of dis
tress Cheeks you have brightened by tender caress.
Oh 1 how they gleamed at the nation's first
ory 1
Oh! how they streamed when they bade you
good-bye !
Oil ! how they gleamed in the battle'd fierce
flame I
OKI how they paled when the death angel
came 1
Covor them over j oh, cover them over,
Parent, huoband, brother and lover !
K.as in your hearts those dead heroes of ours,
A: nl cover them over with beautiful flowers.
Cover their hands that are lying untried,
Crossed on the boeom and low by the eide,
lliinds to you, mother, in infancy shown ;
Hinds to you, father, clasped close to your
own j
Hands where yon, siater, when tired and dis
mayed, Hung fur piotection and couneel and aid ;
llauda t1;at you, brother, in loyalty knew;
llnnds tl.at you, wire, wrung in bitter adieu.
Iiravtly the musket and saber they bore,
Words of affliction they wrote in their gore.
Graudiy they grasped for a garland of light,
(.'atcliiuR the mantle of death-darkened night.
Coser them over ; oh, covtr them over,
1' ir.;nt, liuubaud and brother and lover 1
Crown in your hearts those heroes of oura,
And cover them over with beautiful flowers.
Cover tho feet, that, all weary aud torn,
lli.hor by ooniiadi.s wire tenderly brrne, .
Foot fiat havo trodden the flawiry ways
C.mo by your ovn in the old l)piy daya (
Fot thai have pressed in life's opening morn
liDees of pleasure and death's poisoned thorn.
S.viftly they ruihcd to t!io help of the right,
Firmly they stood in the shock of tho fiLt.
Ne'er eha'l tho enemy's harrjing tramp
Buicmou thtm forth from their death guarded
oamp
Ne'er till the bugle of Gabriel sound
Will they come out of their couch in the
ground.
Cover them over ; yes, cover them over,
Parent, httsbaud, brother and lover!
liough were the paths of those heroes of cure
Now oover them over with beauiiful flowers.
Cover the hearts that have beaten so high,
iJaaten with hopes that were doomed but to
die,
Hearts that have burned in the heat of the
fray,
Hearts that have yearned for the homes far
away,
Hearts that beat high in the charge's loud
tramp,
Hearts that fell low in the prison's foul damp.
Once they were swelling with oourage and will;
Now they are ly ng all pulseless and still.
Oi.ce they were glowing with friendship and
love i
Now their great souls have gone soaring
above.
Bravely their blood to the nation they gave !
Then in her bosom they found them a grave.
Cover them over yes, oover them ovor,
Parent aud husband, brother and lover!
Kiss in your heart those dead heroes of ours,
And cover them over with beautifu lowers.
Covor tho thousands who sloop far away,
Sieep where their friends cannot find thom to
day, They who in mountain and hillside and dell
Best where they wearied aud lie where they
fo'l.
Softly tlie giass-blndcB creep round their re
pose, Sweetly above them the wild flow'ret blows.
Zephyrs of freedom fly gently o'erhead,
Whispering prayers for the patriot dead.
So in our miud we'll name them once more,
Bo in our hearts we'll oover them o'er.
Rotes and lilies and violets blue
Bl jom in our souls for the brave and the true,
Cover them over ; yes, cover them over,
Parent, husbaud, brother and lover !
Think of those far-away heroes of ours,
And cover them over with beautiful flawers.
When the long years have rolled slowly away,
E'en to the dawn of earth's funeral day,
When at the archangel's trumpet and tread
Bise up the faces and forms of the dead,
When tho great world itslai-t judgment awaits
When the blue sky shall swing open its gates
And our long ooluruns march silently through
Fast the Great Captain for final review,
Then from the blood that has flowed for the
right
Crowns shall spring upward, untarnished and
bright
Then the glad ears of each war-martyred son
Proudly bhall hear the good tiding, ' well
done."
Blessings for garlands shall ccver thtm over,
Parent and husband and brother and lover.
God will reward those dead heroes of ours,
And cover them over with beautiful flowers.
Carleton.
When a patriotio Scot sowed thistle
seed in Australia to remind him of home,
he bestowed a very left banded boon on
bis adopted country. Nor is the rabbit
just now regarded with favor at the anti
podes. They have multiplied so prodi
giously, especially in New Zealand, as
to become a perfeot pest, and one reason
for this is, that nature there has provided
no polecat or weasels to destroy them.
IN THE LUNATIC ASYLUMS.
Until a very recent date, says an arti
cle ou the subject of insanity in Scrib
ner'a Month, the insane in all coun
tries, for upward of two thousand years,
have been treated barbarously. Harm
less lunatics were permitted to wander
about the country, the sport and bntt of
men and boys. if they becatuo at all
troublesome, they were tied up mid
whipped out of their madness," and
were then thrown into loathsome dun
goons, secluded and neglected. Indeed,
it has been snid by a writer who made
tho subject his lifelong study (Oonolly),
that there was not a town or village in
all the fairest countrios of Europe in
which such enormities were unknown.
The earlier institutions prepared for the
care of insano were gloomy prisons of
tho woTst description. In Franoe, we
are told that attendants were selected
from the notorious criminals and male
factors, and to the tender mercies of
these unhung wretches were committed
the sick and infirm insane. These at
tendants, nearly always armed with
heavy whips, and sometimes accom
panied by savage dogs, had unlimited
sway over the poor creatures committed
to thtir care. They were free to impose
whatever puniahment they chose, and as
a consequence chains, manacles, stripes,
uucleanness, starvation, and even the
garotte were characteristic of these es
tablishments in Europe.
An elaborate report upon tho condi
tion of the insane in France wns pub
lished some years ago, in which there is
a history of the condition of the insane
prior to the time of Pinel. It would
appear from this aud other reports that
some of the insane in the large hospitals
Bicetre and Saltpetriere were confined
in cells attached to high terraces or else
below the surrounding enrth, both being
damp and unwholesome. These cells
were six feet square; air and light were
admitted only by the door, and food was
introduced through a small wicket. The
only furniture was a narrow plank fast
ened into the wall and sometimes cov
ered with straw. At tho Saltpetriere
many of the cells were below the drains,
and large rats made their way into them,
and often attacked and severely injured
tho insane, aud sometimes were the oa
casion of their death.
Dr. Pariset describes tho condition of
the iusauo in the Bicetre as cvon worse.
He found the vicious, tho criminal, the
wild and noiiy, all mingled together and
treated alike. lie describes them as
wretched beings, covered with dirt, kept
m cold, damp, narrow cells, with scarce
ly a ray of light to cheer them, and with
neither table, chair nor bench to sit
upon. The patients were loaded with
chains, and were defonueless against the
brutality of their keepers. The build
ing resounded day and night with cries
an j yells aud the clanking of chains and
fetters. No efforts were made to enter
tain or amuse them no authority over
looked this dreadful place. There were
no flowers, no trees, not even a blade of
grass, that could be seen; the nnfortu-u-.ites
were as in a tomb.
Such was the condition of tho insane
in France, when Pinel, moved by the
unhappy state in which he found human
beings, began a reform which will ren
der his name immortal. Having fiBt
obtained consent of the government, he
rntered upon his errand of mercy. His
first act is described as follows: There
were about fifty whom he considered
might without danger be unchained, and
iie began by releasing them, with the
mo!b precaution of having previously
prepared the same number of waistcoats
with long sleeves, that could be tied bo
hiud if necc sary. The first man on
whom the experiment was to be tried
was an English enptaiu, whose history
no one know, as he had been in chains
forty y ars. Ho was thought to be one
of the most furious among them. His
keepers approached him with caution, as
he had in a fit of frenzy killed one of
them with a blow of his manacles:
He was chained more rigorously than
any of the others. Pinel entered his
cell unattended, and calmly paid to him.
" Captain, 1 will order your chains to
1)0 taken off aud givo you liberty to walk
in tho court if you will promise me to
behave well aud injure no one." " Yes,
I promise," said the maniac; " but you
arc laughing at me." "I have six
men," answered Pinel, "ready to eu
force my commands if necessary. Be
lieve mo, then, on my word; I will give
yon your liberty if you will put on this
ai.tcoat."
Ho submitted to this willingly with
out a word. His chains were removed,
and his keepers retired, leaving thedoor
of tho cell open. He raised himself
many times from his seat, but fell again
upon it, for he had been in a sitting 1 os
ture so long that he had lost the use of
his limbs. lu a quarter of an hour, he
succeeded in maintaining his balance,
and with tottering steps came to the
door of his dark cell. His first look was
at the sky, aud ho cried out enthusiastic
ally: " How beautiful I" During the
rest of tho day h was constantly in mo
tion, walking up and down and uttering
short exolamations of delight. In the
evening, he returned of his own acoord
to his cell, where a better bed had been
prepared for him. During the two suc
ceeding years that he spent at the Bi
oetre, he had no return of his previous
paroxysms, and even rendered himself
useful by exercising a kind of authority
over the insane pr.tients, whom he ruled
u his own fashion.
Bat this maguifioent reform was slow
in making its way. Nearly forty years
after Pinel begun his work in the Bice
tre, the asylums in other ports of France
still continued their brutal and inhuman
treatment. Esquirol, who succeeded
Pinel, visited nearly every asylum in
France, and labored indefatigably to
belter the condition of the inmates.
Writing in 1818, he says that he
found th insane in many places naked,
and protected only by straw from damp,
cold, atone pavements, without fresh
air, without light, with6ut water, and
chained in "caves" to which wild
beasts would not have been consigned.
Some were fasti ned to the wall by
chains a foot and a half long, and this
method was said to be peculiarly calm
ing t There was no medical treatment,
and the attendants employed coercion
and flogging at will.
In England, as lata as in 1800, things
were no better. Lunatics were believed
to be tinder the influence of the moon,
at particular phases of which they were
bound, chained and whipped, to pre
vent paroxysms of violence. At some
of the asylums, patients were led unsus
pectingly across a treacherous floor,
whioh gave way, and the patients fell
into a " bath of surprise," and were
there half drowned and half frightened
to death. The celebrated Dr. Oullen
said, the first principle in the treatment
of lunatios was to produce fear; and the
best means of producing fear was by
punishment; and the best mode of pun
ishment was by stripes.
Some of the German physicians want
ed machinery by which a patient, arriv
ing at the asylum, should be suddenly
drawn with fearful clangor across a
motal bridge and over a moat, then sud
denly raised to the top of a tower, and
as suddonly lowered into a subterranean
cavern; and they also promulgated the
view that if the patient could be made
to alight among snakes, lizards and
other hideous reptiles, it would be bo
much the bettor t -a
In some places the patient was chain
ed fast to the wall, and water was ad
mitted to tho cell, slowly rising abont
the poor creature until it seemed certain
that he would be drowned. Another de
vice, which was known as a " safe and
effectual remedy," and about which
there was some dispute as to who was
entitled to the credit of being the inven
tor, was a contrivance which might bo
exiled a cross between a chair and a
couch, in which a maniac or a melan
cholic was bound fast; it was then ro
tated at various speeds up to one hun
dred times in a minute, until tho poor
wretch, fainting, with bloodshot eyes
and suffused face, was dragged from
this torture to recover as best he could.
It was recommended that, in special
cases, it should be used in the dark,
with unusual noises and disgusting
smells.
At Bethlem, the committee found gal
leries containing ten women, each
chained by arm or leg to the wall. Ech
had a blanket dress, but nothing to
fasten it upon tho body no shoes nor
stockings, and all weielost in imbecility,
dirt and ofl'cjnsiveness. Many women
were locked iu their cell, chained to
tho Will!, without clothing, and with
only t-ne blanket for covering. In the
men's wing, some patients were chained
up to tho wall, side by side, without
clothing of any kind "tho room had
the appearance of a dog kennel."
In one room they found a patient who
has been described by Esquirol in his
work on mental diseases. This man,
Noriis, wig powerful, and had been
violent. Ho was fastened by a long
chain passed through the wall into tho
keeper's room, so that he could be sud
denly dragged up to the wall whenever
tho keeper's fancy led him to do so.
To pievent this, poor Norris muffled the
chain with r,traw. Then a new torture
was invented. "A stout ring wa4 riv
eted around his neck, from which a
short chain passed to a ring made to
slide up or down on an upright massive
iron bur, more than six feet high, in
serted into the wall. Ronnd his body,
a strong iron bar, about two inches
wide, was riveted; on each side of the
bar was a circular projection, which
being fastened to and inclosing each of
his arms, pinioned them close to his
sides. The patient could indeed rais9
himself up, but he could not stir nor
walk one step, and could not lie down
except upon his back, and when found,
he had beeu in this condition for twelvo
years. And this state of things existed
iu England thirty years after Piuel's re
form in Franco I
Up to this time, the asylums in Eug
land havo been described as menageries
for wild beasts, where straw was raked
out, and food thrown in through tho
bars; and where, in some cases at least,
the wretched inmates were exhibited for
money. There was no veutilution, no
medical treatment, no kiuJues3, no
effort to relieve or beguile the disorder
ed imagination, no effort to foster a sin
gle kindly expression; every emotion
and passion was witnessed by a dozen
or more patients in all conditions of
mental perturbation, and even the death
moau was mingled with the frantic
laugh of surviving patients.
The frightful condition of theso poor
unfortunates is to be ascribed in part to
the fact that insane people were be
lieved to be under the displeasure of
the Almighty that the disorder being
mental was therefore properly a subject
for priests and metaphysicians to cope
with. The priests aud magi, not tuo
ceeding well iu their undertakings,
gradually allowed them to pass over to
the metaphysicians, who, while ably
discussing the essentials necessary to
eoi stilute tho ego, and launching tomes
at each other upon the important matter
as to whether a man existed or not, al
lowed afflicted humanity to sink lower
and lower, until not only his bodily
wauls were wholly neglected and ho
was most snamefully abused, but even
tho existence of his soul was ignored
and he came to be regarded as of less
amount than the brute.
These are but brief glances at the
condition of the treatment of the insane
almost down to the present day. While
all other sciences and pursuits Lad, hun
dreds of years before, started on the
highway of advancement, with most
brilliant results, that of the management
of insanity remained in the darkness of
superstition and empiricism until
after tho dawn of the nineteenth
century. Now, the United States,
England, France, Germany and Italy
are radiant with elegant buildings,
fitted up with modern appliances for the
relief of these suffering people, from
which the demons of superstition Tiave
been exorcised, and in their places have
been called iu the angels who come down
and trouble the health giving waters.
RAiiiKOADS. We learn from tho Rail
road Manual that out of 691 railways
only 166 pay dividends. These, how
ever, though less than one-fourth of the
railway system in number, embraco
many of the more important and costly
lines. The dividend paying roads have,
in the aggregate, 21,829 miles in opera
tion, and stock amounting to 81.047.-
687,832. The non-paying roads have
46,930 milos in operation and 81,150,
773,449 in stock.
We all do more harm than we intend,
and less good.
Railroad Conductors.
A reporter who interviewed a railroad
man learns the following incidents about
the peculations of conductors: The
peculations of conductors are only
proven by the use of what is technically
known. as "spotters," and the results of
their investigations are often as disas
trous to the conductors as they are satis
factory to the directors. A few years
ago a railroad iu Pennsylvania was
' tested," and over 8100,000 were recov
ered from conductors on the same, of
which $80,000 were from one of the most
popular and moBt trusted conductors.
The company then introduced the sys
tem of paying their conductors $100 a
month, and, in addition to this, setting
aside for each one $300 in stock per an
num on whioh the dividends were paid.
This stock the conductor could neither
transfer nor hypothecate, but at the end
of a certain term of years, if he was hon
est and remained with the company, the
stock was made over to him. The result
was that in a test of this road, made two
or three years subsequently, it was
found the company were not losing $400
a year.
Of course there is much said and not
a little written against the injustice of
subjecting conductors to the operations
of " spotters." On another road, "test
ed" at tho same t'me as the one men
tioned, a majority of the conductors
were discharged. They made a howl
about the matter, said the "spotters"
were liars and thieves, and all sorts of
things. They compared notes with
their brother conductors on the road
which had borne the test so well, and
met with but little sympathy from the
latter, who had been personally compli
mented by their president for the excel
lent report given of them by the ma
ligned "spotters." Ergo, rogues kick
where honest men can rest in comfort.
From the returns of conductors it is
impossible to single out the honest from
the dishonest, and it often happens that
the trusted man is the rogue while the
suspected man is conscientious and ex
act to a cent. The men who divide the
cash fares between the company's treas
urer and their own pockets on
courage the payment of cash fares ou
the train in many ways, and so may
turn in more money than the honest
conductor receives on the same run, aud
still retain a large percentage. I knew
ono case in which a conductor put up a
job to have tlie ticket agent away ou a
night when a whole opera troupe went
out on his train, and from the cash re
ceipts of this ono operation, skillfully
spread over three months' reports, ac
tually turned in more money than any
other conductor, and kept more for him
self. Another case, showing how a shrowd
man can circumvent any of the methods
introduced by the railroads for their
protection, was that of a conductor run
ning out of St. Louis, who had a little
dialogue with another. The latter said
he wasn't making anything since the
road had commenced using round-trip
tickets, while the former said he was
making more than ever. How was
that? "Why," said he, "I watch out
for men at the stations who have round
trip tickets, and after they get on the
train I don't notice 'em. When they
come back I collect their tickets, and
the next time they go they think I shall
skip 'em again. So they don't buy any
ticket, and that's the timo I strike 'em
for cash 1"
Josie Mansfield's Mansion,
Says the New York Express : A large
brown stone mansion on the north side
of Twenty-third street, between Eighth
and Ninth avenues, for many years was
tho noted residence ot Josie Mansfield.
It was in this dwelling that many of the
prominent members of the old Tammany
and Erie railway rings met aud enjoyed
tho gorgeous generosity of Col. Fisk
and the society of Miss Mansfield, for
she could charm when she pleased, be
ing well educated and thoroughly in
formed upon general topics, aud her
conversational faculties perfectly culti
vated. She was at that timo the beau
tiful houri of that peculiar paradise, and
reigned supreme. Here, especially on
New Year's day, sho held high and
festive court, surrounded by every ap
pointment that wealth could contribute
and tuste suggest. Her personal ap
pearance was perfectly gorgeous, and
tho dimly lighted rooms fairly in
toxicated the senses with tho perfume of
the bewildering profusion of the choicest
natural flowers that the liberal purse of
her patron had furnished. Her court
upon these occasions was attended by
eminent judges, prominent lawyers and
doctors, politicians, authors, actors,
brokers, railroad kings, sporting gentle
men, officeholders, office seekers, and
Bohemians, all vieing with each othtr
in paying homage to tho power and
beauty ot tins Uyprian queen.
Tho last New Year's day that she held
her court seemed to excel in brilliancy
and tho distingue throng that crowded
her salons any that hid preceded it, and
she fairly outshone herself. Among the
gayest of the gay two persons in particu
lar were noticeable, and as they quaffed
the sparkling wine and drank to her
health aud beauty, they pledged also to"
each other eternal friendship. Alas I
how soon was one to realize that "a
thing of beauty is not a joy forever,"
and the other to taste the paugs of a bit
tor death 1 But so it proved. Toward
tho close of that New Year's night the
two stood together and chatted merrily.
When the next New Year's day
arrived, what a transformation scene
had taken place ! One of those three
porsons was sleeping the fleep of death
away off in a narrow cell in a country
churchyard ; the other iu a narrow ceil
o' a walled prison, with no sleep bnt the
fevered sleep of an over excited brain,
and in a condition worse than death
could bring ; and she perhaps beauti
ful yet now wretched, and if not a
sleepless outcast, certainly with no home
a wanderer in a strange land and among
strange faces. Since then that house
has changed bauds several times, and
th it New Year's night was the last that
revelry held her court there. Col. Fisk,
from the first to the last, expended
$47,000 for and upon it, and a short
timo ago it was sol I for $30,000, and is
now the property of Mme. DaVivo. It
is a superb maudou, and its decrease in
valuation is caused, not by reason of its
former associations, but by the present
immense depreciation in real estate.
GREAT RIYER8 CROSSED.
Th uapealon Bridges, the niackwell's
land Bridie, and the TunnelBride
Incident.
The New York Sun says : The two
days' adventures on the wires that have
been thrown over the East river recall
to the engineers some of the dangers in
making other bridges. Engineer Far
rington, who helped build the Niagara
bridge, says that while there were three
cables reaching across the river, hang
ing loose, one Sunday a workman named
Bennett, while under the influence of
liquor, walked across from tower to
tower upon one of these cables, holding
another cable by his hands. A high
wind blew, and as the man nearod the
middle the cables swayed fearfully, and
those on shore expected to see him fall.
The cable upon which he was walking
saggod considerably at the middle of the
span, so that he could hardly reach the
one above, his hold of which his life de
pended upon. The cables swayed in
opposite directions, so that the man was
often thrown from his balance. Then
he held on by feet and hands, stretched
from one cable to another in almost a
horizontal position. But he clung to
the cables, and by little less than a mira
cle got safely to the opposite shore.
While the Cincinnati bridge was in
process of construction, in the Presi
dency of Andrew Johnson, tho Presi
dent, cabinet, and army officers took an
excursion up the Ohio. Chief Engineer
Roebling conceived a plan cf saluting
the party. He sent a workman named
Carroll to the middle of the span npon a
boatswain's chair, with an American flag
and a bottle of wine. When the steamer
was directly beneath, Carroll was to
wave his flag and driuk tho health of
the President and his companions. Car
roll reached the desired point safely
with flag aud bottle, aud, as the steamer
approached, filled a glass that he hod
taken along in order to do the thing in
a proper mauner. But the glass, the
bottle, and tho flag were more than he
could manage, aud tho bottle slipped
from his grasp, aud falling, struck the
deck of the steamer within a few feet of
where the party stood.
Tho proposed Hudson river bridge
at Anthony's Nose, above Pcekskiil, is
t j be 1,665 feet between towers, and is
to bo 155 feet above the river surface.
It is to be suspended by twenty cables,
made of 70,302 miles of Eteol wire, and
will be strong enough to uphold 24,000
tons. The towers are to be wrought
iron, with granite foundation piers ; the
cables and backstays of the best steel,
in links and pins, not wires. The rest
of the work is to be of wrought iron of
tho best quality. The auchorage and
foundations are iu solid rock. The
bridge will not encroach upon the water
way of the river at all, and cannot for a
moment interfere with navigation.
Work is soon to be begun on it.
Tho Blackwell's island bridge is to be
fifty feet wide, and the structure, with
its approaches, will extend from Third
avenue to a corresponding distance on
the other side of the river. The road
way will bo continued across Black
well's island at a height of about 140
feet above the present level. The height
of the stone piers above high water to
the level is to be 135 feet, aud tlie
height of tlie towers above the piers
will be about 150 feet. The span of the
east channel is to be 600 feet, and that
of the west channel will be 670 feet.
On the Astoria sido the approach will be
carried along tho center of au avenue
150 feet wide.
' The Hudson river tunnel and its ap
proaches, to bo built by a company with
$10,000,000 capital, from Jersey City to
New York, is to bo 12,000 feet loug.
The greatest depth of water uudtr
which tho tunnel is to be bored is a little
over sixty feet. The borings show that
tho soil through which tho tunnel will
pass is favorable for tunnel construction.
The tunnel walls wid be constructed
of hard brick and cement, three feet i:i
thickness, circular in form, twenty-six
feet in width, aud twenty-four feet in
height, with a double track railroad.
The Brooklyn bridge is to have the
longest single span of any bridge-in the
world. The span between the river
abutments is 1,600 feet. In " Murray's
Hand Book of France," a bridge is no
ticed crossing the Dordogne at Cubsao,
on the road between Tours and Bordeaux,
having a single span between abut
ments of 1,640 feet. In other respects,
however, the French bridge bears, no
comparison with the American.
Cableiug Across the Atlantic.
How long does it take to transmit a
message through the Atlantio cable ?
The New York Journal of Commerce
has been investigating this question,
and, simple as it looks at first sight,
there are many singular aud interesting
points in the answer, t When tho elec
tricity is applied to the cable at ono end,
two-tenths ef a second pass before any
effect is felt at the other end, and three
seconds are consumed before the full
forco of the current is in action. The
first signal is felt 'in four-tenths of a
second, but the following ones go
through more rapidly. As many as
seventeen words have been sent over
the Atlantio cable in one minute; fifteen
can usually be sent under pressure, and
twelve words a minute is a good work
ing rate. Messages of twelve words
have been sent all the way from New
York to London in two minutes. A fact
not yet explained by the scientists is that
the electricity does not move as rapidly
from New York to London as in the
opposite direction.
Spurious Wines.
The wines whioh are offered in the
American hotels, marked as Chateau
Margaux, Chateau Lafntte, and so on,
are chiefly spurious mixtures made in
Cette. Indeed, the United States is
said to be the largest purohaser of
these adulterated wines. They are
manufactured very skillfully, and it re
quires a trained palate to detect them;
their effects, however, soon betray them
in headache, dullness, and disordered
stomach. I citations are made of cele
brated brands according to order, and
when the guest is invited to drink a
Chambertin or a Laffitte at one of our
hotel tables, he generally swallows a
nemicai preparation.
" Girls, Don't lo It.
"Don't do what" our fair readers
will ask. There are a great many things
yon ought to do, and a still greater num
ber that you had better not do. Fore
most and prominent among the latter is
to reform a drunkard by marrying him.
Depend npon it, if yon cannot keep
him sober during those days of the
average woman's strongest influence
over wayward men, the season of court
ship, the chanoes will be against sup
cess. Some women have succeeded in
this labor of love, but there aro 10,000
failures to one success. It is a field of
missionary labor that few of the sex are
fitted to enter. If John gets drunk
onoe a month while he is billing apd
cooing, depend upon it he will require
semi-monthly seasons of Bacchanalian
recreation when he becomes a Benedict.
A man who gets drunk is necessarily a
bud or foolish man when he is nnder
the influenoe of liquor, and is very apt
to soon become a bad man whether
drunk or sober. The romantio idea,
that a woman who .can reform a drunk
ard is deserving of a crown of glory, is
all the veriest bosh. They would be
shocked by tho suggestion that a man
who marries a fallen woman and re
stores her to a life of virtue would be
deserving the praise of all mankind.
The latter would bo a much ender task
than the former, and more likely to
succeed. Tho debasement in one case
is generally incurable, and scorns the
influence of kindness or affection, while
in the other the opportunity to escape
from a life of degradation would in
most cases insure hearty co-operation
with the missionary in such a field. But
the drunkard, as is generally the case,
may be addioted to a numbor of other
vices, each one of which ought to be
considered as repulsive as that of drink
ing. Still, the experiment is tried by new
votaries, who think they can succeed
where others failed. It is a terrible de
lusion. Love and devotion are power
less on a drunkard. Nothing but an
iron will and a firmness that few women
possess can check tho career of a man
who has once taken hold of strong
driuk. He must become subject to her
will, and be restrained from his evil
courses by a power stronger than love
or kindness. There are enough men
who become drunkards after marriage
for all reasonable purposes cf experi
ment, without taking them f;Jiy trained
iu a career of vico and debauchery.
Therefore, we say: "Girls, don't do
it!"
An Old Soldier.
General Chanzy, governor of Algeria,
has spent nearly all his life there. Once
(his rank tnen was captain) ho was
blockaded in a block house by a swarm
of Kabyles; his communications were
cut; the garrison first was put on naif,
then on quarter rations, but still tlie
stores went down. Puzzling his brain
how to supply the commissariat, Chanzy
walked up and down, tapping his saber
against a superb pair of boots he had
ju-t bought before leaving Algiers, At
tue same time no heard a trooper whist
ling the familiar air : "Ah! il a des
bottes, Bastienl" "Thunder!" said
Chanzy,-"but that creature has given
me an idea. JUy children, he added
aloud to the men, " when all gives out
wo will feed ou my boots. They will
last two days." Happily next clay ro-eu-
forcemonts and a pupply train arrived,
and the famous boots were spared, but
the general has kept them ever since,
It was Chanzy also who was returning
from a raid aud overheard his men
growling over a forced march. " It's
woll enough for him," they said; "ho
goes on horseback and can stand forced
marches." A little while afterward the
general halted tho column. " Now,
boys," ho said, " you shall have a square
ratal. Turn loose a dozen sheep, there I
Whoever captures one keeps it." In a
trice tho sheep were scouring over the
desert, but the men, breaking ranks,
were after them, and, after a lively
chase brought them back in triumph
Chanzy was waiting for them. ' There ! '
he said; "since you can run so fast to
nil your bellies, you cau last this march
out. And he tacked five miles to it.
A Sew Confidence Game,
Confidence men are always inventing
some new scheme to swindle the nuwary
grauger. Every day at the second clflss
hotels, where grangers and urovers make
their headquarters, the clerk is ap
proached to to show some unfortunate
the way to tho police station to recover
his lost wallet. The latest devico is for
one of these sharpers to get himself up
to look as much like a granger as possi
ble, and then stand around the hotel
uutil he can make the acquaintance of
his victim. After doing so he invites
the victim to take a walk, and tells him
that there are so many sharpers about
that he had better leave his pocketbook
with the clerk of the hotel. The sharper
takes out his pookttbook, shows a largo
amount of bills and the victim hands
him his. He ties a string around them
both, takes them to the desk and re
ceives a check for them. They stroll off
together, and finally the thief leaves the
grauger standing in some saloon, while
Lo goes out to see a friend. Tne gran
ger waits, and while he is looking for the
return of his friend, the thief presents
his check and gets both of the pocket
books. This trick has been played a
number of times of late in Chicago.
What He Would Do.
An immigrant was arguing strongly
iu favor of an equal division of property
in the blessed land of his adoption.
"Well, suppose such a division were to
take place, said his opponent, "how
much do you think would fall to your
share ?"
"Why, I don't know exactly," re
plied 'league, "bnt I should suppose
something like two thousand dollars,
more or less."
" Well, what would yon do with your
portion when you got it I" asked the
other.
" Why, I'm the man as would spend
it, would I not t"
"And when that was gone, what would
you do next ! demanded the other.
"What would I do next!" returned
the equalizing philosopher. " Why,
what should I do, my jewel, but be after
having another division I"
I Will Scream.
"I'll scream if you touoh me 1"
Exolaimed a pert miss
Whose lo?er was Boeking
An lnnooent kiee.
By this prudiBh conduct
Cold water was thrown
The lover drew backward
And let lier alone!
" I'll eoream if you touoh me
She hollered once worn.
He oried : "I'm not near yon'.
And found it a bore.
Bhe quickly subsided,
Grow tender to view,
And whispered quite Boftly :
" I'll scream till you do 1"
Kerns of Interest.
Tho constitutions of twenty-eight of
the States recognize the existence of
God.
The sublimity of moral heroism is
voluntarily to pick out the poorest ear
of oorn iu the diiih.
We knew a man once who objected to
sleeping on a straw bed, because, he
said, it was beneath him.
"Pa." said a little fellow to his un
shaven father, " your chin looks like tho
wheel in the music box.
Georgia has forty cotton mills in suc
cessful operation, running full time, and
paying handsome dividends.
Caasar conquered the world, but he
could not hit a fly on his nose three times
in five, any more than the rest 01 us.
From a euido book : The coachmen
of Paris are very kind to their horses,
especially when engaged by the hour.
Solf-resnect is tho crown of humanity,
which, helii too tightly, trembles on the
head, and, falling, leaves the king a
beggar.
There is said to be something con
soling lor every ill in this life. For in
stance, if a mau is bald headed, his wife
can't pull his hair.
A Brize of $500 is offered by the Geor
gia State Agricultural Society for a pre
ventive or cure of hog cholera; and an
other of $200 for chicken cholera.
A nhvsician advertises in the news
papers that ho has no power over his
appetite for alcohol, and that he will
prosecute anybody who Eclls him any.
Mr. Lonefellow has been chosen poet,
and ex-Gov, Seymour orator, for the
centennial celebration ot tne surrender
of Burgoyne at Saratoga, on October 18,
1877.
A Capo May correspondent thinks the
diminished proportions of the ladies'
waists nowadays confirm the story of
Adam that it took only one of his ribs
to make a whole woman.
It is said that before the Prince of
Wales started, for India he was placed in
a conservatory heated to au Indian heat
to test his powers of endurance. Ho
fainted at the first trial.
Loudon is now supplied with " Mar
seilles butter." It is produced at a
large stearino candle factory at Mar
seilles, equals in appearance the finest
Epping or Dorset, and keeps well.
One of the boys tells of a scarecrow
mado by Uncle Ben. It not only scared
off every crow that saw it, but one crow
was so frightened that ho brought back
tho corn he had stolen three days be
fore. A bill passed by tho Texas Legisla
ture, authorizing sheriffs to shoot any
person against whom any offense is al
leged, if he should fail to halt or sur
render when called upon, was vetoed by
Gov. Coke.
A book agent was recently shot in
Texas, whereupon the Worcester iVess
heartlessly and malignantly remarks
that " there is a universal demand all
over the country for moro book agents
in Texas."
If the grapevine has suffered in some
regions of France, and particularly in
the south, the damage caused by the
cold is now ascertained to be iot so con
siderable as had been at first supposed.
The quantity, perhaps, is not all that
could be desired, but the quality
promises to be excellent.
In a certain school, during the parsing
lesson, the word "waif " occurred in
the sentence. The youngest who was
up, a bright eyed little lellow, puzzled
over the word for a few moments, and
then a bright idea struck him. "I can
parse it positive waif ; comparative
wafer; superlative, sealing wax."
Jn consequence of the continuanoo of
the drought iu China, the imperial au
thorities prayed fifteen times with great
ceremony for rain. As rain did not
come, an edict wasissued forbidding the
slaughter of animals for. three days, it
being supposed that the harmony be
tween heaven and earth would thereby
bo re established.
Washing Dresses.
There is no doubt, tays a Saratoga
correspondent, as to the desirability of
wearing washing dresses in summer, and
it is a matter of surpiise to good people
who live in their own homes and have
their own laundresses, and can put in as
many fluted dresses and skirts in tho
wash as they please, that the fashionable
w.imen who live in hotels and go to the
watering places avoid them, and stick
to silk and woolen tissues, when these
useful fabrics stick to them. But tho
reason is found in the length of the
bills. A cotton or linen drei s does not
cost so nfuch in the first place, but it is
a bill of expense right straight through.
A little friend of mine cried when her
bill for washing three dresses came home
the other day; it was $19.75. She had
thought herself au Jait in theso things.
She had considered she was making
ample allowance in appropriating $3 as
the expense for the most elaborate, and
$2 each for the others-, and had strug
gled with her desire to have her drestes
nicely " done up " and her prudence for
a long time before finally taking the
step, and she could hardly forgive her
self for not discovering exactly what the
cost would be before venturing. " It is
the last time I will ever have a washing
drees as long as I live, she said. Ytt
these were nothing compared with the
cost of "doing up" the dresses which
are masses of delicately plaited rufllep,
puffing and lace.
II