I ' lr fit toi IENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor .and Publisher. NIX. DESPETCAKDtJM. Two Dollars per Annum. VOL. VI. KIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY; JANUARY 4, 1877. '.1 i The letters at School. One dy the letters wont to school, And tried to lenrn each oilier They got bo mixed 'twas rpnlly hard To pick out oii6 from t'other. A went hi first, and Z went last : The rest all went between them K, L and M, and N, O, V I wish you could have Been them 1 IB, C, D, 5 and J, K, I,, . nnm -psora wen tncir iwrcer : . 7 Q ;-, T I L'rieve to nn-jr "-UJ very naughty letters. Of course, ere lonp, they enme to words What elue could be expected ? Till E made D, J, C and T DeeidrJly dejected. Now, through it oil the Consonants Were rudest and uncouthcHt, While all the pn tty Vowel girl Were certainly the smoothest. And simple V kept far from Q. With face demure and moral, " Because," she said, " we are, we two. Bo apt to stnrt ajpiarty-1 !" Hut spiteful r said. "I'ooh for U !" (Which mnilo her feel quits bitter), And, calling 0, L, E, to help, lie really tried to hit her. Cried A i " Now, E and C, come here 1 If both will aM a minute, Oood r w ill join in making peace, fir else the mischief's in it." And BinilaiK E, the ready sprite. Said : " Yes, and count me double." This done tie, Bwcot;Y.oe Rhone o'er the scene, ;or.c was nil the trouble ! And g Meanwhile when U and 1' made up, Hie Cons'iiants looked about them, And Uiused the Vowels, for, you see, They couldn't do without them ! 6Y. Aichvla. THE RIVER WAIF. A STORY OF THE THAMES. , ' " i calm, still evening. The1 It was brtiiul bosom of the Thames was scarcely rufllid by the little breeze that stirred the drooping fails of some of the river craft. Over the city and over the forest ; -fnuisfa, the round full moon was rising. , Touching the dome of St. Paul's, it j glnnc;'l iowu over roofs mid under bridges till it lay a broad path of light ! on the sleeping river. The gna lamps! flickered iwid look.nl pale before its light, aud-tnnny a v. cany pedestrian, hurrying ' across thoM'lwded bridges which Hpan the. -i-iver, paused a Moment to gaze at the.fu'.l-orbed globe which even to weary i 'eyes was . woiubvtvj revelation of j beauty. j Tt was dark under the bridges, and tlie : 'vutev lapping :r.3t tlie,iiers had some- ; thing mournful in its sound, tine of thr Wlow river U;m'h was just passing into Joiin Jliiggs, litr owner. in: t tlie tiller, guarding his ; . carefully through 'Ieu:"'lieM. 'w his uejihew Ben . ij seat- ed, pull , -Ste wnnn'iiit "Stci one long oar. , Ben !" called out the master, y it. is," and Ben drew iu his oar i 1 Out uto the lit'ht aamii tlie boat wly creeping, eagerly waU-hed e figure standing on one of the 'irs. As tliev came cioser, he by a watc ?r bent t to them a feeble piping hail. Jn i Briggs shaded his eves with his IihikI'. pets'! "Why, bless my soul f' Pop Bring her near, Ben, so Le can .board." I com Tli'ii a strong hearty shout wab sent b;ick' in answer, while the boat's head siqwiy vurneu lownru me stair. yjoiin Briggs took his pipe out of his iMithJto welcome the new comer. hy, Po)pets, we was gettiu oueasy j Ayouii Briggs took his pipe out of his j.KUiu you, mo an lien, we thought yu'd got lost, mebbe." "Mr lost' Why, dad!",nud they both laughed heartily : huge enjoyment ottlu! joke, the thin treble of the'ouo ringing pleasantly through thd gruff bass of the other. " Well, Poppets," and John Briggs ! resumed lus pipe, " wot has you bought . fur us, fur 't won't be long afore w ! wants our supper." . ; ihe little boy knelt down beside his , basket which he had set with great care in ! a corner, and touching each parcel as he : took it out with a caressing little pat, he went rapidly over his list. . xnere s ine rouacco, nun, auu uie tea -. enmg ; but Ins uncle frowned him into sudden gravity, then nodded kindly at : the rlusked. easier face " It's all right, mv lad. Cresses is ; worry g,,,.l for the health, as my old motner nsca to sny." They 'in ,! pretty to eat 'most," said the boy, touching theih tenderly. " Vellv Poppet's, what'll we have for supper, so Leiu' it's your watch?" "Oh, d:i(7herrin's! They're so good, and I ni awful hungry "Werry good, my lad. Here, utow- ---' o- i - , uro loj.en, who gnnneum appreciation of tlie never lulling joke, "you hear the ' cup 'in. He snys hcrrin's for supper, and : consequently herrm s it is." ; Aow, cap in, said John Briggs, ' gravely, "if so bo UH y.jj miml tlie ; tiller a bit, 1 11 take the oar, nn' by the j tune Ben s got supper we 11 be rem ly to iri' ii-i , 1 i ...... iul.i ,ose me moon, , 'Vivemig the masts and smn soars of many vessels crowileil m tha ,l..t-. i. ' . "i". The ,7F , ,,,U,J""7 "w ; aim isen, ins i 'T . W"B Youed sound asleep , the 1i'1npetH W:ere1 BPutfa 0,1 a Coil (,f I 3??f rPlmJ'0tb Ll8 tbe ll"'l. rough hand of the other. : " xeu,m.V'?u.t t'mt night," breeze nof niueh more'n to-night, for I hui' just hk- racrs. WT..n i i JfiJl -. U '-", "HO RI14U uiui.u iuuc. Den I'm it iii n - ...... r. i.u, mm muiuii mill iii-iim n iinii x uppeiS, X Ul SUrO I (1 1111 tOOK tO pll'Klll 'h, dad! I got some cresses. They looked I pockets. Somehow I felt just like a ; so green-and pretty,. like the fields ; I got thief. Well, you goes about, lookin' as j - Via vh of that." big as anybody, an' I was just laughin' j i aii: no; iauf,-ueu .oeii, wjio wus nsi- . nt myselt lor 1)0111 BO onensy 'hout vou. o l.'ftlr K; "i"aui , drawing Jnm see you looking back fur me, an' I'd i SjjJTIr'T11 t,ie toldH didn't see you, ftn' walk WeU t ," , ' m lU1' ke no notice, an' so you got to ia tit , T1" ; n ft ud JUBt alo"e. "ow there ain't nobody can line uiip, u ciear lull uioon im' a light i .1.. it ltftfv Until mv l-tiniiru 11 i iw,.ivH . t . .T "I'l" an' I was pullin' worry slow, for I was feelin' uncommon low. Poppets, cob of ! bavin' buried my little girl ami her mother i that werrywime week." Here tlio child neBtled his head dow n ; on the speaker's nnn. He always did I when tin's part of the story was reached. ! "Well, Poppets," stroking his hair 1 ffUy, "as I was snyiu', we was driftin' ' ilowu slow an' steady like. When we I come under London bridge the moon was shinin' worry bright indeed, an' as I 1 looked back kind o' natural like to see if we was goin' to clear the bridge, I sees ! somcthin' lloatiu' on the water, right un j der the bridge, Poppets floatin' up an' j down with the tide." "Yes, yes, dad, go on I" cried Pop pets, eagerly. " Av, ay, 'lad 1 Pin goin' on. Well, ; says i : Hullo Ben, here's Bomethiu' ! wants lookin' to,' an' Hen he comes j rimnin' for'ard; an' liy-nn-bye wo gets i the Boinethin1 out, an' then we finds a j Hhawl, an' then we finds some more clo'cs and arter a long time we finds a baby, an' that baby was '' i ''And that baby was me!" cries the child, delightedly. Go on. dnd !" ' "An that baby was mv Poppets" stooping to pat the boy's check. " Well, : then. Hen an' me took you off wot you i was lyin' on " (hejdid not tell him poor J baby that it was his dead mother's heart), " an' we rubbed you and wrapped i you up warm, an' by-and-bye von begins i to cry; an' my ! how yon did go on, Poppets ! Says Hen to me, shun tin' out i cos 1 couldn't hear cos of you 'Uncle,' ! says he," ' did you ever hear such a screecher?' An' says I : 'No, lien, un' I I hfilipfl T iw.vm ulinll mftim Villi llmv !'nugh, Poppets, but Ben an' me didn't , mnpl wi,ju that night." " Dad," said the child, suddenly, "did you ever know my mother?" John Briggs turned away with a little embarrassed cough. "Pve seen her, PoppetB ; but we wasn't werry inti mate, so to speak." " 'Cause you said this " touching a little ring hanging from his neck by a fadt.'d ribbon: "was hers, and she left it forme." "Well, Poppets, mi' ho she did; she I. ufli-rv vsiuiiinf nll. i'ii.it.ii . rr.ii mother, aK" she didn't want to have nothin' to leave you, I s'pose.'' "What was 'slit; like ?" quei-tioned Poppets. "Well, she wns all dressed in blank w en I see her, witli a widow s cap on She was a werry nice woman, I makes no doubt, Poppet's, but die got poor mi' werry discouraged afore she died." Then seeing another question moving yu the child's lips, he went tai hastily : " Look here, lad; this here Mh't goin' on with our stoiv. Wellj-ou just screeched and screeched, till Ben an' me was 'most worn out, but I wouldn't give you up no, I wouldn't; an' you was that hungry, there was no satisfvfn' vou: so I a-yn one lny: 'lieu,' says !.. c:i .an' buy a goat;' to Ben he goes an' buvs a g,,ut, an' the next day overboard it goes, mi' l,.n niter it. un' irets near bein' .ii'nwujocl m tun-unlit or ItM iieni so con trary, ell, at hift I ti:kes you to a 1 woman 1 known, an' I asks herwtV the : matter. "She looks at you awhile, an' then says she: ' He do creech like a good one, don't he?' An' says I: ' Noliody knows that better nor me, mum. ' " Then she looks at vou atrain. nn' ' savs she: 'His mind wants aniusin'. Unit's it,' says bhe. " 'As how, niuni ?' I says. "'Lord love you, man,' says tihe, ' 'how should J know? You'll have to i find out. Children is werry different . aboi't that,' she rays. " So I walks oil' with you in my anus,' : not huviu' learned so werry much arter all. Howsoinever, I makes you a soft ball. ' au' I hangs it by a string, an' you'd lie ; dubbin' at t tha there with your httle ' ;ts, like a kitten for all the world. Vrt.'r a while, you gives up sereeehin'. m:' you'd laugh to me so pretty like, vou ui.- l the paiu in my heart "wonderf ul; ! lm w'en vou gin wed, I sent vou to ' ; school evenni s, and my ! how proud you i was w'en you coiihl read to yer dad, an' ! I yer dad, Poppets, was just as proud, ' i every bit. Then urter a while, you say . j you wants to do soniething to fielp yer : j old dad, so I takes you to the shops uud i i shows von wlint. to lmv nn' tlu.ii v.m says you wants to go alone, so one 'dnv go alone it is. Well, niter you'd got started I savs to Ben: Ben,' twvs I, I'm nwlul oueasy 'bout Poppets.' An' ! savs he: 'I knowed it; s'pose you go! arter him.' So off 1 starts. Well. I 1 kept you in sight for a good bit, sneakin' 'round comers an skulkin' behind bar- ; rels, for I didn't want vou to see me, ve i gee. It i it kept at that Imsinf ss long -j when all at onet I see a lot o' bovs stop you, an' one on 'em tried to take ver bas- Let. but vou held on to that Mii''bv.ini' bye a bitr fellow stons no an' snvs he- ' T say, youngster, uist trive un ver basket. or I'll punch yer 'cad,' an' then you be gins to cry, nn' says you: ' Oh I wish dnd was here !' "I was only waitin' for that, so I sings out : ' Stand by, my hearties ! ' an' I makes a rush an' knocks over the big fellow with a cuff on his ear, an' then they all takes to their heels like a lot of inev nn Hint's ui ineir jieeis llKe little fishin' boats if a man-o'-war bears, down on Vm. Well, you walked on quiet for a bit, : lm- then you snys : 'Dad, how did yon come here?' . Well,' snys I, 'Poppets. I thought I'd like to take a walk.1 'Now, dad,' j you say, lookin' straight at me, 'voui know you come to look arter me.' Well,' i had to bay l ikl. You thought awhile, I i. ..' n..i i'l an then says you: ' Dad, s'pose you do that fur a little, fur I ain't sroin' to trive it up' says you, clutching ver little basket 'an' then some just as safe tliinkiu' you're there, an' yo.r always was a terrible strange child, iw'b f - "So we does that, nn' sometimes I'd "And thut s ul! about ine, dnd?' " An' Uiafs nil about vou yet awhile, : my lad." The shadows were denser under the ; ; bridges, and the water lapped the piers ; a lit tle more quickly, for the tide was . coming in. lied and green lights were 1 twinkling in the rigging of the vessels, ! and the crowd in the streets was thin- ! ning, and still John Briggs and the child sat talking together. Once and again the child's thoughts j would turn to his dead mother, anil ho I would ask earnest, puzzling questions, i and always gently, always skillfully, would the' other lead him away from tlie I subject.' " There ain't no use tellin' the child i his mother was drownded," he had said ; to Ben long before. ' If she fell in a I purpose which ain't no ways unlikely, t 4ltmii T..i.i.1iii lii'i.l.riia Imili a .Iwinil fill j temptation to folks as is worrited in their : minds he mustn't never know it; an' if j she foil m by accident, which may be, too, why he'd always be tliinkiu' if there'd been somebody there they might ha got her out, so we jist won't tell him ; at all." ; They hud sat silent for some t ime, when i suddenly the child spoke. " Now, dad, I'll tell vou a story, such j a nice, nice one," said Poppets, w'ho had i hoen gusunfj for a long time at the moon i siiiiiing so quietly down on them. ' "Ay, hid, that'll be prime ! Aliy, : come to think. Poppets, you've never i told ver old dad a story yet, r old dad a story yet. ' "Well,' I'm going to now," answered ! tho child, nodding his head gravely. "Once upon a time that's the way all I the stories begin in the fairy book you bought me, dad." " All right, deary ; now Uicn, go on. ; ' Once upon a tune " Once uiiou a time, there was a irood. good man, who was very very lonely, .ause of huvm' buried his little girl and j tier niotner. ; " That's me," said the listener, under i his breath, "only I don't know abont the 'good.'" "ilium, dad ; you mustu t stop me, warned Poppets, shaking his head at j him. " Well, this good man was sailin' on the river one night, and he was feelin' very low and very unhappy, and he was savin' to himself : ' There ain't nobody i left, and I wish I wasn't left either.' " i Why, Poppets !" said John Briggs, ' with a gnsp, " how'd you know i" j " Never mind ; I know. Well, he was i tliinkiu' this, and the moon looked down i at him, and she knew till about it, and 1 uhe'd sparkle up the water, and shti'd ' smile at him, and still he didn't notice ' nolhiu'. So she kept tliinkiu', thinkin' ' what the could do for this good, good man. And by-and-bye a beautiful angel came along, holding a little girl ; and ; the little girl had long yellow curls and blue eves, and she called the pretty angel i ! 'mother.'" ! The child paused a little, for the lis- , : teller had shaded his face with his i hand, and Poppets' little tender fingers ' : went ii to stroke it gently. ; ('"in ot the regiment or its officers, as j . " Wei!, then, the moon and the angel ! iniuvidnuls, are settled. Evf-ry new ofli : talked about the man ; and by-and-bye tile ' t"'ri entering the regiment is' proposed niiKin made a little bout out of the moon- ! before this court, and even though his light, mid she put a baby in it, and then ' examination be passed, must receive it , she set it fiiiliu', siiilm' ilowu it streak of ""miimoni vote before obtaining his ! light till ii came to the water ; njid there ! C4iii)inission. All offenses are compliu'ned : it wus rockin' up and down, and the 0 this court, and 1 presume if an ofti- ni.'.ou Wiitehin it. And then another ; in !,','i'l comes along, and she savs to the . 1 . . ' . . K. ' nn noil : - w neie nave you sem my oany And tho moon savs : ' I've sent it to . that good, good man, t ' be a comfort to Iniii.: " An' rio you are, my blessed Poppets !" murmured the other,' fondlv. "Hush, dad; I'm not ilone. So the moon and the two angels and the little girl all stood watching the man. And when ho came to the bridge, the moon shone out very bright and showed him Al.., l.'lil 1. .1- 1 .1 . 1 .1 ine nine uiiiiy; itnii iney saw nnn tllliO it up and hold it in his "arms, and then the two angels and the little girl went away together. Well, the baby was a very bad baby for a while, and almost woro out tho good, good man; but he i took care of it nil the time. And by- ' and-bye it grew to be a little boy, and ( then the man used to send it to school iu the winter, so it could leant to read i for him nights. And after a while he lef this little boy go errands for him and oh, how glad the little boy was to do it ! for he used to lie awake nights, wonder in' what he could do for this good man. Well, the little boy grew nnd grew till he got to be a big, strong man, and he worked hard and saved up his money; and one day he and the good man, wl'io had got to be nn old man then, left the bout with Ben, who was a very good man, i-.m And they went off together. I and they got a little homo by some j trees, and n pretty -field near, with but- tercups in it, nud ft brook with cresses, Dad, think o' that ! And the little house had a garden-, and the young, strongman used to work in it; and then he used to uiiiig nn iiuiuH oi nice mings to ine out man, who sat in a big chair by the door. ; And they had a goat no, n row ! Dad, ! wasn't that good? Wait, dnd. the story's most done. And they lived there to- gether n long, long time, and the little uoy uiai iiaa grown to ne a Dig, strong j ilerotl ana executed nccording to order man was so very, very happy, 'cause now i and must be accepted and paid for! he could take care of him. And the old j Thereupon the duchess took ft fearfid je man he was happy too, and there was ; venge. She wrote to M. Worth : " I uoboby in all the world he loved so well j shall take and pay for the dress, but not as the littlo baby the moon had sent him. j wear it. I send you this by my cook; you And often and often, dad, the two nngels will be so good as to alter 'the costume so and the little girl used to come there j that it will fit her." And now that cook tlw.i.rrl. H..i ........... 1 .... 1 .1. A. . .. . ....., .,.....(,.. .1. .iuuuk iiiim iiuii . tne out man couiun t seo tliein; and they . most exquisite creations, and the cream were all so happy, 'cause the good, good of the joko is that the blow has been ef man was lumpy too. And that's all. fectual, and Worth thinks himself dis Dad, do you like it ? Why, thai, you i graced. ore cryin' !" . . "Bless my little Poppets !' nnd ..., , - , t, ,, " .la 1 " stopped to kiss theflushed cheeks 0l,C of 01(1 Si Vns. aeii; - -a agiuii t An..' utill 41m iniu.ii ul.na u..fll.. i Old Si, says the Atlanta llcruld, went moon shoue softly, to the theater to see the magician per 5en' had long ago turn- formunoo the other night. Next day we i, and the two were left asked him steadily down. Be bled into lus mink, and the two were left alone together. Poppets had laid his head on his protector's breast, and was watching, half asleep, the sparkle of the light upon the water. Soon the bells rang out over the city, chiming the hour of twelve. Poppets was asleep. The other only drew him n little closer ; he had often slept tho nignt turongn so ueiore. in Jus drcains, .1 .-I'l-i : it . r.n . the cluld was seeing the little cottage of his hopes, and far into the night John ! Briggs sat holding him and puffing I M.-.1 ..I 1.!.. ..in l'i T I 1 ' n ! sueiuiy lit urn .jjjti. at. ivfitJiat). Chip straw, so mucli nseil for bowiet, is the braided bark of a willow grown in Xnuice and xseigmm. its whiteness is j so perlshubh tlmt it will change over i n;ght, becoming the cream cvlor geuer- ally seen. ; I'ltiquelte In Hie Oniinn Army. ; The cavulry is the favorite arm of tin : German army, the Uhlans, rich in the prestige of the late war, being especially popular, while the two crack regiments ; nre the Garde do Corps and the first Garde CuirnssieT. These are composed of men selected for their size, their offi cers bear the oldest names and their ap pointments are the very best. We be lieve they are the heaviest cavalry in En rope, the average weight carried by each horse being 850 pounds, and their ap pearance in pure white uniform, with cuirass and helmet of polished brass, is very striking, even superior to that of me imgiisu u-uarcis. There is creat j rivalry between them; one has the heredi- j , tnry Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, the j other a prince of Hohenzollera, nnd thre j , is almost an equal distribution of lesser ; . notables. Each is given an opera box, j ' 0110 under, tho other opposite, tho etn- j peror's, and they only agree in affecting j : to ignore each other. Other regiments ; are jealous, and say they are too fine for ! use, and it is a fact that the emperor : would not allow them to engage during , ; l,le r reuon war. oo in tlie triumphant ! entry to Berlin at the end these troops alone were receiveil in dead silence, and ' the mortification rtuiklea yet. Their offl- I cera have in tlie extreme bo both the uride and cuprit dr. ror characteristic of their profession and order. Two of them were left cards upon a certain Graf, but through mistake they were deliv ered to the greaten't banker in Berlin, who occupied v the floor be low. Delighted with the attention he immediately asked tlem fo dine, but j they coolly returned the invitation with n ourt message, saying the cards had not neeu ielt lor lum. 1 his banker, by the way, was taken by Bismarck to Versailles to arraugo about the indemnity in 1871, and the story goes thut when the latter named tho sum of four milliards. Jules j I'avre exclaimed the thing was absurd, that " it would take frcwa tho birth of I Chnst till now merely to count it." ! "That's no consequence, "said Bismarck, I "we have a man here who' counts back to I the birth of Adam." An instance similar j to the above I heard of a cuirassier. The i mess were discussing whether or no they might go to a certain concert-room iii j uniform. Finally one said ; " I guess i we can go, the Kaiser has been there. " ; "Ah, yes," said another, "but not in i our uunorm." ' j This w earing of uniforms in question- able places is a matter ahout which all j officers are exceedingly particular, itfid I tlie sensitiveness about their honor and good mime from whjeh it springs has de veloped what is called the "Court of Honor," the most curiovs I know in German society. Each reiriment has its i court of honor, composed of all its ofti- by which all mutters affecting the !'r were seen in the parquet of a theater, for instance, he would be promptly sum .....1 .1 . 1 . iin-eijuiiieii, lor no man ill uniform ever sits out of r sus our oi the boxes or The principal function of l in iconics. the court, however, seems t lu tlm supervision of all matters connected with J dueling. If an officer becomes involved, ; he lays the matter before the court of 1 honor, and they proceed to investigate it. j If they find their comrade to have been in the wrong, he is directed to tender an apology-. If, however, ho has been iu- ,llf.!.l 41.... 1 A . . . ' iuv- jiiiiL-reu io investigate tlie I ''haraeter of the offender. If his posi-: tion is found to be such that they can j tight as equals, the'fouit directs the! l,ul to tnte -place, nud the officer must ! light. If he refuse, the court has the i P'wer evrJgieaHhier hh nlld if he; ughta, W7f5vu power furnishes liiui ! with from two mouths to live years' ini- j prisonment, which pleasint; predicament ! naturally produces the most wilting effect. There is nolaticle of law to authorize such nn insh tnticm, and it exists only by the jJsmRiiu authority of the princes, Worth nnd the Irute , Duello. Worth is in trouble again with a spirited Parisian duchess this time. TT had, after a full fortni Jit's ei and an infinite deal of assistance on the i lady's part, designed a, toilet of toilets, ! 'magnificent, unique. Not long afterword j ; the duchess, while at her milliner's, was ' surprised rather than pleased to discover ' i displayed on the milliner's sofa tlie exact ! implicate oi her cortume the shades, the same trimmings, everything. The milliner also patronized Worth. Tho pat rieian. furious, sent word to M same Worth that she did not. he returned reply that it had been or-! uii ut-i tiny out iippears in one ot Worth s i Old Si, says the Atlanta 7crW, went ....... . . nuked him "Did you see that man handle that money last night ?" " I did, fer a fact !" " He made it come and go in all sorts of ways V" " Young boss, dat man's pow'rful slick wid silber muuney !" " What did you think of him. Si ?' " Dat man fool'd 'round dar wid dat ! mullnev he .roused Up my 'spishions, lie did " ' Suspicions of what ?" "Hit teks lots of practiss fer to mak ft haf doller 'pear an' dis'pear in dat stile." "Of course." " Dat's what meks me hab a 'spishun dat dat white man wuz one time do casheer oh a freednieu's bank an" I jess want to liauuel hiin a few mlnnits, sho'. vou born." AVIuit Causes l)iihlhorlii. The origin of diphtheria, said President Chnndlerof the 'ew York board of health, isamysteiy. llost New York physicians, I believe, think that the sewer gases started it. It is ft germ disease, like smallpox, nnd is commum'cable. It often seizes robust children who, at the funerals of playmates, or in school or church, are exposed to its direct in fluence. The diphtheritic poison, impregnating the air passages of the patient, affects the entire system. Tho au? passage- im pregnation speeilily changes into inflam mation, accompanied by the formation of membrane. Fever next follows. The poison begin to net as soon as it falls upon the tissues of the air passages, but doesn't sensibly affect the patient uutil two to live days Inter. Then he feels great prostration, his throat is dry, and he has pricking pains iu swallowing. The throat reddens, white membrane ap pears in patches, and tho glands swell. In fatal-cases the fever increases, the throat inflammation spreads, nnd general exhaustion follows. The diphtheritic poison clings long to rooms and may occasion death months afterward. Diphtheria prefers, seeming ly, children between one and ten ; the average age of its victims now is abont two years. Neither heat nor cold, rain nor drought, affect it. Cleanliness and pure air everywhere in a dwelling tend to avert and mitigate it. Where it exists no child should be permitted to kiss strange cliildrcn, par ticularly when they have sore throats, or even to play with their tops. When any child in ft family has ft sore throat, the other children should be kept rigidly npart, in dry, well ventilated roorus. Every throat affectiou should be prompt ly treated. The sick child should be watchfully nursed in a well ventilated, sunlit room. Men who live on Fifth avenue nre as tonished that their children die. It is not at all marvelous ; half of the houses there aro not fit to live in. One-half of their owners, I au confident, have never been in their own cellars. They fill their drawing-rooms with satins and gilding, but give no heed to the drain pipes. Often S5 would have saved a loved child'H life, if seasonably spent in repairing a defective drain pipe. A few days ogo I went into the cellar of a great brown stone house. The cur rent of sewer gas, rushing directly up to the bedrooms, put out my caudle, and left me to grope my way out in darkness. The Appropriation Bills. A Washington dispatch says : Uy January 20 all tho appropriation bill's will be before the House and most of them will have been passed. Two things are already certain, the sum total of the appropriations will be from $10.000,000 to S12,rM0,(KH below the expenses for this year, and 811,0(10,000 below tho ap propriations for the year before, and the deficiency bills will be, so far as in formation has reached Mr. Holmnn, be low those of imy year for ten years past. The estimates for deficiencies 'are princi pally confined to the departments of jus tice, navy nnd war, and iu the last they are largely due to the moving of troops. Tho deficiencies in the legislative ex penses are smaller than for eight years past. That of the House is not likely to bo over 828,000. A very considerable saving has resulted from the fact that the contingent fund has been entirely abolished in the House, and cannot be drawn upon by resolution at pleasure. Aside from the decrease in deficiency bills, the Uest proof of tho success of last year's reductions is demonstrated in the fact that they are continued this year, and, should the expenditures of the government be administered upon the same principle, reductions can bo re pented yearly, so that the appropriations for the current expenses of the govern ment will be reduced in three years from $147,000,01)0, which they no'w are, to 895,000,000 or 8105,000()00, including in this sum the pension list. This year tho appropriation bills are ' passing at about the figures of last year and with out debate. Those in the hands of tho committees were placed in the hands of sub-committees during the recess. The most important reduction of the winter is' to como in the Pension bill. The House has made it a rule to pass this bill pre cisely as estimated by the pension bureau, although it has been felt that the ex penses incident to the disbursement of the pensions were extravagantly large. The Senate committee on appropria tions has passed an amendment to the bill, however, which will reduce this particular item, and when tho bill comes back to the House still further reduc tions will be made in the same direction, amounting iu all to several hundreds of thousands. The Body Finders of the Seine. The Paris correspondent of the Phila delphia Tcljzr'ajih tells the following : I must m.n the strangest, perhaps, of nil tliefflrange methods of gaining a living which are in vogue iu Paris, and that is the trade of body Under. The authorities of Pirns pay ton francs re ward for every corpse tl'int is discovered in the Seine und brought to the morgue, As the wages of the poor boatmen who ply on the river are extremely small it will readily be seen that such an addi tion to their petty earin'uflpria not to be despised. But as bi.JJffnoat sometimes far down the Seii,'ijeyoud the reach of the boatman employed in the upper part of the river, these boatmen have or ganized a regular traffic wJRi those who ply their vocation far down the streiun, and who, if they find a body cannot well leave their regular work to bring it to Paris. The down stream bodies are therefore purchased at five francs each by the up stream boatmen, the profits being thus fairly divided. It may easily be imagined with what care 'these men watch the river for some indiention of the presence of the mortal remains of some poor suicide, who, if he were good for nothing when living, is worth fully ten francs now UitCThe is dead. These lwdy finders formV valuable adjunct to the police force, and instances h ave been known of one individual bringing in two and three bodies in a single day. The innocent blush more frequently than tho guilty; the face of the latter u uot so easily red. Same (Jucer People. There w a young man in the neigh borhood who is always melancholy, and always out of work. The other day he was asked by a kindly disposal man whether he could find no work. "Sir," said he, " the only thing that slurs mv happiness is my appetite. Can I help it?" "No." , . ."The only thing that appeases my appetite is my food. Can I help it ?" "No; certainly not." " The only thing that procures me food is money. Can I help it ?" " Of course not. Everybody has to buy food." '"' The only way for me to get money is to work. Can I 'help it ?" " That is the best way to get it." "But, sir," and here the tears came rolling down his cheek, " there's the rub. Work spoils my appetite, and I haven't anything elBe to live for." Bight over that way that is, south there lives n man who receives a half dozen old bedsteads every day. If this man was in business it would not matter, but as he is not, it makes one inquisitive to know what he does with them. To satisfy my hankering, I accosted him one day. "Yon see," said lie, "I am a man used to thinking. I am in quest of a discovery that will benefit me and the world, "in plain words, I am testing the iiopular mind on bedbug powders. I lave a splendid preparation of that ma terial, and if you want a bottle I will let you have it cheap; but to go to the bedsteads, I buy those to see how ninny use powder." " The result ?" I eagerly inquired. " Ib shocking, to say notliing of the barbarous habit of not keeping bugs; nine out of every ten use coal oil." The other of tho queer people with whom I have come in contact, is an old lady living in ft neighboring village. The other day she was told that eight mules were killed by lightning in an adjoining county, where her husband works. " Good gracious," she exclaimed, clapping her hands over her head ; " I felt it in my bones that something had happened to John." A Slorut of (JrnssIiopjx rN. At ten o'clock at night there was nn immense number of grasshoppers pass ed over and through Washington, Mo., a local paper says. The uight was very dark but the " hoppers " came butting against tho buildings, rattling against the windows, entering the houses at the open windows nnd doors, and playing havoc wilh the over superstitions," for many persons had gone to bed and were iu their first sweet sleep, ns the "hop pers " commenced to rattle ngaiiii.t the glass of the windows and jump about rooms, making an infernal small noise like unto n parcel of bibv v-ipirits out mi their first spree. It waa a strange expo ience for those wfio wero awake and took the pains to go out doors and listen to the odd small noise that filled the air, produced by the concussion of their wings and the butting of their heads against any obstacle iu their way. As far as could be judged from the noise they made, they were in great force, and came from the north going iu a southern direction; but many thousands came to grief in town, either giving out through fatigue or the many accidents of attempt ng to makt- a night trip without good pilots, as the next morning thousands of dead and maimed grasshoppers were lying about loose on the streets, in the yards and houses. They were of tlie largest type of Rocky mountain species, some of them measuring fully three inches in length from "head 'to toe." They evidently came across the Mis souri river, which at tho place is fully three-fourths of a mile wide, and those that did not perish kept on toward the land ofthe perpetual green. Whul Is Believed. It is said to be the belief in the Semite, says ii Washington dispatch, that tho House will insist upon the observance of the following programme for the open ing of tl.'O certificates of the electoral vote, esp chilly in the treatment of the doubtful ones likely to come from some of the Southern States : The House will take the position that nl'ter the President of tlie Senate has opened the certificates in the presence of tlie two houses, without discrimination and without other declar ation, than the mere fact of what they stato as to the result of tlie elections, there his duties end, and i will remain for the two houses to decide what shall be done with the conflicting certificates. The House will resent positively tlie -sumption that the president of tlie Senate has any authority whatever to decide which of two sets of conflicting certifi cates shall be Selected. There will be, so says a prominei Republican senator, no appeal from the decision of tho president of tlie Senate, but when this condition of affairs is reached a representative will rise and announce : " I object ;" whereupon the two houses will separate for consultation, and as soon as a decision is reached as to what shall be done it shall be announced and further action will be accordingly taken. He further soys : " It is an errouous opinion of Senator Morton that an appeal will be taken from the decision of the president of the Sen ate, and if not sustained by both houses of Congress will full. He adds that there is no such motion to be made, and that it would be futile to take any such posi tion in case of a disnJeeme'iit from the decision of the president of the Senate at the counting of tlie electoral vote." That Policy. In all policies of lile insurance these, among a host of other questions, occur: "Age of father, if living?" "Age of mother, if living ?" A man in the coun try who filled up nn application made his father's age " if living" ono hundred and twelve years, nnd his mother's one huudred and two. The agent was amazed at this, and fnneied he had se cured an excellent customer; but, feeling somewhat dubious, he remarked that the npplioant tame of a very long-lived fami ly. "Oh, you see, 'sir," replied he, " my parents died many veais ago, In t if living ' would be aged, as there pi. t down." "Exactly I understand," sa'd the agent. Detroit Free Pressings A Detroit tailor solemnly and earnestly remarks that no true patriot will try to make ft suit of clothes last him over tlirea months. It would be interesting to know just what thoughts rush through the mind of ft man who sits down on a ceil of hot steam pipes to rest. Senator Norwood, of Georgia, is nn old newspaper man. lie killed four weekly papers m one year, but started a fifth ns if nothing hait happened. There may have been cases where some one was to lilame for a boiler explosion, nnd where the engineer had not " just inspected everything and found tilings al right." A St. Louis exchange has struck an original idea. It says : " It is generally thought that either Tilden or Hayes will be President after the fourth of March next." The two Pennsylvania miners who lit their pipes and tlien proceeded to divide a keg of powder were not budly mangled. The fact was, neither one has yet been found. Church fairs aro good things They teach a man how to preserve a look of deep humility while paying out two dol lors of his hard-earned money for a ten cent pincushion. The Journal of Cficmis(r) advises all people to eat celery when they can get it, and onions between times. Says it quiets your nerves. But ono onion eater can unsettle the nerves of a whol street car load, A hen may look serene and happy as she sits on a snowdrift, wings spread ont nnd head up, but we all know that she's simply trying to keep up appearances, and tl'int there is a powerful aching down . around her heels. How English Cheese is Made. Probably the best as well ns the most famous English cheese is Cheddar, tlie excellence nnd sweetness of which de pends ns much upon the niaungeincnt of the processes of manufacture aa upon the quality of the material used. It is made principally in Somersetshire, and is produced in the following maimer: The evening's milk is placed in cooling vats so that it will be brought to a tem perature of nbout sixty deg. by tlie fol lowing morning, when the morning's milk is added, and the temperature rais ed to about eighty deg. The large vat which contains tlie milk is gently heated in the water bath; and when tho milk readies the last mentioned "temperature, sufficient rennet is added to' cause coagu lation iu nbout forty minutes. Some whey is added to hasten tlie development of Lictic ncid, and finally, when the curd , has become sufficiently firm, it ia cut with curd knives. It then contracts rap idly, expressing the whey; and in idiout twenty minutes it becomes quite linn, when it is broken into small pieces by a wire shovel breaker, and the temperature raised to ninety-eight deg. The whey is now drawn off, nnd the curd left' for about twenty minutes longer, when it becomes a coherent, partially solid mass, . When firm enough, it is removed, broken into thin flukes, and t-.pread out to cool. After the lapse of another twen ty minutes, it is turned oer and left until it attains a peculiar mellow and flaxy condition, well knov.u to the expe rienced cheese maker. Bv this time the temperature has been reduced to about seventy deg. The curd is now put into a hoop mid pressed gently for about fif- . teen minutes to drive out the whey, by which a too rapid fermentation is pre vented. It is then taken out, cut into small bits by a curd mill, and then salted with one pound of salt to lifty-six pounds of curd. The curd is now again placed in tlai hoops nnd kept under process for from twenty to twenty-four hours. It is then removed and the sharp edges pared off, after which it is turned, bandaged, and put in the press again for a day or two longer. The temperature at which it goes to press is a matter of great impor tance, because, if too high, fei'meutatiou with evolution of gas is liable to take place and make the cheese porous. Cheddar goes to press at about sixty-five deg. While in the curing-room, which is kept at seventy deg., the cheese is rubbed with melted butter and turned over daily. Old Leather Made Into 'ew. On old used leather, savs a Scotch pa per, there have been various schemes of utilization. By dissolving the leather by steam and certain acids, it ia possible to produce printing rollers for cotton fabrics; but it seems preferable to cut the leather iu pieces, mix them with a cementing liquid, and then squeeze tho whole into a mass of different thick nesses, according to the process re quired, such as material for making up the soles and heels of boots and shoes. With a quantity of paste and the force of a steam engine, shreds nre made to assume tho appearance of cakes cf leather techic4illy, pancakes or pasted stock which are largely used in the wholesale shoe mamU'acturo of Massa chusetts. There is another method iu that country of using up shavings and scraps of leather. These are gronnd to a powder resembling coarse snuff, and this powder is then mixed with certain gums and other substances so thorough ly that tho whole mass becomes a kind of incited leather. In a short time this dries a little, and is rolled out t the de wed tliickuess, perhaps one-twelfth of an inch; it is now quite solid, and is said to be entirely waterproof. There nre various processes patented for melt ing down leather waste and producing largo sheets of Artificial leather, possess ing waterproof qualities, but we have not space to go into any account of them. j In Texas all doctors are required nn , der the new law governing the practice oi meiucine io oppear ueiore tlie county board of examiners appointed by the dis trict court and stand au examination in chemistry, anatomy, physiology and wio teria tnediea before "they can collect their bills. Any one violating this law is unuie to ie indicted, nned and impris I oued. . Tlie total production of he t root sugar in Europe ia now estimated to tou hidcrably exceed 1,000,000 tons. , i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers