' ' ' - " " 1 : : p ! j ; :
ile ill toiifi ' Slltietfe
A
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL.-VI. MDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1877, NO 49
,
The Object of a Llfr.
To eat, drink and be merry, becauee to-morrow
we die
The Master's talent to bury a gift laid Idly by j
To scrape with grim persistence the grains of a
golden store i
To dig for a baro subsistence, ihat keeps the wolf
from the door.
But whether in purple and riches, we feed on the
fat of the land,
Or up to the middle in ditches, live hard by labor
of hand,
To wrestle for rnso and pelf, in a hunger of
-v great and small.
Whereas " Kverv man fi.r liii:iseif, and Oud,
if T will, for n all,''
With greed tht carries pollution of base and
pitiful iilruY',-.
Can tills be the true solution, the cud and aim
of a life?
Xo. Surely sparks tele tial tho su.mhhn share
with Ui,
Uy instincts coarse mid beitial can uevei Vo
stilled thus !
And surely within the portals, that bar their
brighter spheie,
They yearn for fellow immortals, though grov
eling worm-like here.
The helping hand to reach us, that guide - with
tender care,
The loving lesson to teach us, of a holier future
tltfcre j
To whisper how fair and ample the field we hus
band below,
To till of the great example, the Man of com
passion and woe ;
Of footprints left behind Him, who straightly
walk with God,
VTho bend their backs to labor, and bond their
knees to pray
Iu honest lovo for their neighbor, His one
command obey j
Who freely bear for others tho burden sorrow
hath laid,
Accepting all for brothers that need a brothor's
aid
Rejoice in the gain resulting from every mile
stone passed,
travel the 'road, exulting, that brings them
homo at last.
-(?. J. W'hyte Metritis, in Temple Ear.
THE RAT'S TALE.
He was a levee Rat. And be was being
kicked, implied, dragged, jostled back
ward nul forward, by the stevedore's
men, like a ragged shuttlecock. Every
one had a curse mid a blow for the
" Eat," mid lie would, have suffered se
verely had not a lady on her way to the
steamer observed it and called the atteu
tion of her tre. rt, tiie captain of the
boat, to the unfortunate. The young
Ti.it was rescued, and, at the lady's- re
quest, taken on board the ship and his
injuries attended to.
" What is your name, little boy ?'' asks
the lady, as she sees her protege taken
0 re of.
"Dick."
".Are vou huu'-rrv, Dick ?"
"Ki-tW !"
"Only rather?" in a tone of disup-
pointment.
" ' Either,' " explains the cajytaiu, "in
tliat tone, means " 'very.'"
The lady takes a plate and fills it with
cold chicken, stuffing, salad, bread and
what not, adds u knife, and fork, and
gives it to Dick.
The kuife and fork are no nse to him.
He squats on the deck, and eats with na
ture's implements. He has no idea of
gastronomic combinations. First he eats
the chicken, then the stuffing, then tho
salad, then the bread; and this done,
takes a long breath, and looks up with a
lcok that says more, as plainly as Oliver
said the word. More he gets, from the
samj kind hnnd, which he watches wuh
dimly awakened feelings of delight, and
tilled he takes his departure.
The party remained on board till about
six o'clock, and by the time it broke up
everyone had forgotten the "Bat;" but
as Mrs. Austen was crossing the levee,
lie ran up, much to the annoyance of her
companion, who had had enough of his
company.
" I say," says tho Eat. " Do you like
him V" with a chuck of his thumb toward
the steamer.
" Captain Gilbert ?"
" Ycb is he your feller?"
" Get out, you scainp !" cries the gen
tle man, indignantly.
"Let him speak, Fred," the lady
pleads. " No, Dick, I am married, and
this is my husband; but Captain Gilbert
is our kind friend. I crossed with him
once, and he was very good to me when
1 was sick."
" You'd hate for anything bad to hap
pen him ?"
"Why, of course! to him or to any
one else."
"Wot, to me?"
" Indeed I would, my poor boy. Oh,
Fred ! see how wistful he looks ! Mayn't
I give him some of Charley's left-oif
things ? I Lave a little boy at home,"
she goes on, seeing assent in her hus
band's eyes " about your size."
Ho they bid him follow them, and more
wonders are in store for him. He sees
Charley. He is taken up to the lady's
own room, where the promised things
are produced and tried on over his rags.
Here lie stands, lost in admiration. The
great broad bed, with its satin coverlet,
iti lazy lace bound pillows, and snowy
mosiruito bar held back by silken ropes
of tli. same color as the little knots
which, J'ere and there, light up the
varied greens of the fern spread carpet ;
the armoirs with their plate glass doors ;
the dressing table all a-glitter with crystal
and with gold, and a score of crincuia
crankumn, such as he never before be
. held j the pictures on the wall ; the
' flowers iu the balcony ; tha perfume of
the place (no fixed odor, but a combina
tion of all sweet things), bewildered the
Hat. If he had ever heard of fairyland
he would have thought himself there.
He had never heard cf fairyland, or of
the enchanters, giauts, dwarfs, genii,
and nil the dear old myths which sur-
round its beautiful princesses and the
" exemplary third sons of its kings.
A drunkard who would drop a dime as
he staggered from the barroom was the
nearest approach to a good fairy that
DicaTlrnew. He gazed about him be
wildered, and some dim sense of shame
stole over him as he saw his own reflec
tion m the looking glass doors.
. tbi things " are selected.
"Better not," says the lady. ' Put
them on iu the morning. Conio here
again about ten o'clock, and we'll see
what can be done for you."
He submits, and goes down reluctant
ly, with two whole suits of Charley's left
lilt clothes bundled up in a large hand
kerchief and fifty cents iu his pocket.
As soon as the hall door closes after him,
the brute instincts of secrecy and evasion
pull his jelly bag hat over his eyes and
send him off at a run.
Outside a barroom at the corner is a
policeman. Here was a victim worthy
of his " steal," so lie immediately gave
chase, shouting " Stop thief 1" and firmer
1 his revolver at the fugitive.
' Our Hat gave in at the second shot,
j and was walked off in triumph to the
I station.
j
, Captain Gilbert spends the evening
with his agent, and returns to the ship
! about eleven o'clock. .
" Sony to say, sir," begins the chief
: t.flleer, " that most of the men are
j ashoro."
"Without leave?"
A shrugof liis shoulders is his answer.
"Whose watch is it?"
"Mr. Andrews'."
. "Send him here. How's this, Mr.
j Andrews ?" asks the captain, angrily.
I " It's not my fault, sir. They don't go
j over the gangway, They crawl over the
; aide, and on to the beams of tho wharf.
! It's impossible to stop them."
I The captain knows New Orleans, and
j being a just man, has no more to say.
, It is very provoking ! He is going to
j sail to-morrow, and those men will come
on board drunk or stupid with the effect
! of drink. Home of them, perhaps, won't
! come at all.
The weather for the last few days has
i been oppressively hot, and now there is
! hope of rain. The sky is dark and low,
and the fault evening breeze has gone
j down. The captain goes to his cabin,
which in on dock, and tries to read, but
: the mosquitoes won't let him, so he gets
i into bed, tucks in his bar, and sleeps the
Bleep of a tired ninn.
! "Something makes him conscious that
. tvvo bells (one o'clock) are striking.
I hen he h ears a whisper : "Cap n! Cap u!
close by his side. In an instant he has
hi.s revolver ready, and is in tho act of
striking a match when the whisper says:
" Hush! it's me, Dick. Don't sav a word;
don't light a match. Hush ! fs there a
man named Phil Wood in your crowd ?"
" Yes, a fireman ; but lie deserted last
week." The captain whispers too.
" Have you got specious aboard?"
" Specious? Ob, specie, jou menu."
" Wot 's that?"
"Money."
" I thought so ! Well, cap'n, Phil
Wood and iie more is after that there
specious, and they 'a aboard now."
" Good God ! Why didn't you tell me
before ?" gasps the captain.
"P'licemau chevied me, 'cos I'd got a
bundle that the lady give me. Took it
away, he did, and locked me up," ex
plains tiie Eat ; " but I got out."
" On board row, do you say V" asks the
optain.
" Yes, and at work, too. Listen !"
What tho captain her.ra sends him out
of his berth with a spring.
"Fire that," he says, thrusting a pistol
into Dick's hand, " and run forward,
shouting help as loud as you can
j scream. Tiien he darts out on deck.
I And no time to spare 1 The thieves
j have overpowered and gagged the man
on watch, have cut round the fastenings
i of the hatch leading to the specie room,
and already two boxes are out mid ready
j for spiriting away.
Dick does as he was told, and then
rushes buck. Four of tho thieve3 are
on deck, firing at the captain, who has
dodged behind the cabin skylight, and is
shooting steadily. Dick has five shots
l.-A'l. I il. l .K....1 ..J..-
it'll, ami UH'fe ite ui&ciiiuyi.'5 tmu iiult j
rue other, witn nis eyes sum, as last us
he can pull trigger. It is a brisk affair'
while it. liitts; which is until the chief
officer, doctor, steward and some others
(aroused by Dick's shouts and the firing)
come upon the scene. Then such of
the thieves as can do so, jump overboard
for their retreat forward is cut off.
Three remain; one the leader dead,
another with his thigh splintered, and a
third with sevcrul balls in non-vital parts
of his body.
The first thing done is to release poor
Mr. Andrews, whom they find still insen
sible from the blow on the head which
had put him torn du combat. By this
time the police have come, and are search
ing the ship, lest others of the thieves
might be hiding.
"What's that in the wheel house?"
says the chief officer; "bring a light
here. Ah! it's another of them; turn
him over. Oh, Lord ! Captain, look
hero ! Here's gratitude ! If it isn't
that Eat that tho lady"
"My God !" cries the captain; " I for
got all about him ! Is he hurt ?"
"Shot through the body, and serve
him right," is Mansfield's reply. It
struck tho speaker " silly," as lie after
ward said, to see the sLpper fall down
on his knees beside the "Eat," lift his
head upon his shoulder, and, in a voice
hoarse with emotion, say : " Are you
hurt. Dick? Oh, Dick! Are you tad.
j my boy ? Don't start. I'm your friend,
j the captain, Dick speak to mo !"
I "Is the p'lice gone?" he moans.
! "They sha'n't hurt you, Dick no one
j shulL Oh, doctor, come and attend this
i poor bravo little fellow. Any drop of
I his blood is worth more than the lives
of those scoundrels. Do your best for
him, and send for all the surgeons in the
city if they can help poor Dick I Poor
little faithful chap!"
The wounded thieves are carried off to
the charity hospital by the police. Dick
is taken to the captain's cabin, and
placed in his bod. The ship's doctor
does hia very best for him. The most
famous surgeon in the city comes and
looks grave. Captain Gdbert never
leaves him.
"Say!" Dick's voice has become
very loiv and tremulous "was that
there money yourn ?"
" No ; but it was in my charge."
" You'd a got thunder if you'd a lost
it, eh ?"
" I should have been ruined."
" She wouldn't ha' liked that."
" She ? Who do you mean, my boy ?'
" The lady her as you was good to."
The captain turned aside, and tried
hard to swallow something which had
never passed his lips.
"Was it for her sake," he asked,
"that you did this?" -
' She sed she'd hate to have anything
bad come to yon," replies the Eat, " cos
you was good to her when she was sick.
Two nights ago I heard Phil Wood and
his crowd talking about robbing a ship
of specious. They sed they was going
to 'tiee all the men ashore with drink,
and there'd bo only one man forward be
sides the cap'n. There was to ha' bin
one put at the cap'n's door to knock him
on the head if he came out I didn't
know for sartin it was your ship, aud I
was a-comiug to ask if you had specious
when the p'licemau chevied me. "
" Who was it that shot you ?"
"Don't know. When I see the p'lice
I crawled away to where you found me.
I was skeard they'd think' I belonged to
t'other crowd."
The Eat is skin and bone, and nervous
as a cat. He has lost more blood than
he could spare from that slighter wound
on his arm. He had so constitution to
fall back upon, aud to hold him up while
nature fights the shock and the fever
which follow his more grievous hurt.
Grievous, indeed! though the ball did
not quite pass through his body ; better,
perhaps, if it had. It has pierced the
lower lobe of his right lung, and is
lodged somewhere in the muscleB of his
back. If he could sleep, or even be
brought to remain quiet, he might have
a chance. He cannot bo quiet ; whether
it be pain, or whether it be surprise at
such wonders as being fanned, having
lemonade to sip, and so on, I cannot say.
He :' s incessantly on the turn and on the
watch ; nor will any drowsy syrup in the
doctor's chest quiet him.
When the lady comes early in the
morning, the Eat 'is sinking slowly. His
face brightens up as he sees her, and he
begins to ask about Charley.
"Oh, my poor boy," she says, "let
us talk of better things. Let us talk of
God."
" God ?" he repeats, with a look of
wonder.
" Can it be that you have not heard of
God?"
" I've heard," Dick replies, you bet !"
The lady stands aghast before this
awful ignorance. He only knew the
name of God iu curses !
" Wicked men take his name in vain,
Dick," she says. " God made this world,
and all that is in it; God is all that is
good and merciful. God sent his only
Son to save us."
" He didn't savo me much," is the
Rat's commentary.
" He will save your soul, Dick. He
called little children to Him, and wel
comed them to heaven."
" Was that afore the war ?" asks Dick,
gravely.
" Long, long before the war."
" Well, things has got mixed since
then. Ain't He coming no more ?"
"It's no use, Jennie," says her hus
band, who had followed her into tho
cabin and overheard Dick's struggles
with his first and only lesson in divinity.
" these things cannot bo taught all "at
once."
" Oh ! but it seems so terrible," she
cries; " and he dying ! If I could only
teach him to sny a prayer !"
"And do you really think that re
penting a form of words which he would
not understand, could do any good ?"
asks her husband. "Xo. Let mo try
if I can rouse a thought to work upon.
So Mr. Austen takes his wife's place at
the head of the cot.
" Dick," says he, " tho doctors' tell
me that unless there comes some change
and they don't much expect any be
fore night, you must die."
" Will it " hurt bad?" asks the Eat, a
spasm of fear passing over his pinched
face.
" That I cauuot eay. Some people
die quite quietly go off in their sleep,
as it were. Well, Dick ! what do you
think happens then t"
" The funeral," replies Dick, prompt
ly. " Some has a fireman's funeral, and
music; and some gets took off in the city
van. Shall I be took off in the citv
van ?"
" No, my boy; I'll answer for that.
Hut let us go back to the death. Where
will vou go when vou dio ?"
"Into tho coffin."
" Your body will but your soul?"
" Wot's that ?" asks Dick.
"Pray for him, dear," says Mr. Aus
ten to his wife, down whose face tho
tears are streaming, " that is all you can
do."
t .
" I say don't you cry like that," says
Dick, when sha resumes her seat by liis
Bide. Childlike, ho puts up his hand to
withdraw hers from her eyes. He touches
it with awe. It does not break or fly off,
and nothing is done to him for his dar
ing. Encouraged by such immunity, he
ventures to give it a little pat, and 'then
the face which he is watching intently is
lit up with a smile through its tears.
Into his unloved life into liis half sav
ago mind, dawns the first idea of a caress .'
He clasps the lady's hand and draws it
down upon his heart. He draws it down
and presses it there with both of his lit
tle brown puds. Then he leans back with
a, long drawn sigh and shuts his eye3.
Three years have passed, and Capt.
Gilbert's steamer is again at her wharf,
and again Mr. and Mrs. Austen are go
ing to lunch on board. As the lady is
stepping down from the gangway, a well
grown, handsome boy, in a blue' flannel
kuickerbocker suit, and straw hat with
the ship's ribbon, comes shyly forward.
" Why, this is never Dick !" she ex
claims. "Dick all over," says the captain,
proudly.
" Oh, Dick, how you have grown, and
how improved !"
" There was plenty of room for that,"
laughs the quondam Eat.
Then the captain takes her aside and
explains. "He's been at school ever
since he got well, and he has learned
more than other boys do in double the
time. Oh, he's smart ! I'm educating
him now for my own profession, and I
believe ho could pass for a mate to-morrow."
; What name have you given him ?"
asks the lady, drawing circles on the
deck with the point of her parasol.
" My own. My wife thinks as much
of him as I do; and as we've no children
of our own, why "
" Captain Gilbert, you are a good
man !"
" A lucky one, anyhow," he laughs.
This is the end of the Rut's tnle.
Some scraps from a lunch table, kindly
given, stood between a man and ruin;
and the tender touch of a woman's hand
saved a boy's life that's all.
E-v-c-r-y Sight.
" E-v-e-r-y night ! Here it is half-past
one o'clock I It's a wonder you came
home at all ! What do -yaw think
a woman is made for f I do believe if
a robber was to come and carry me off,
you wouldn't care o-n-e cent. What is
it you say?" "City council business
must be attended to l" " City council
business ? How do I know j-ott go to
the city council ? Docs tho city council
meet e-v-e-r-y night? They don't
meet but once in New York. . Oh, yes
out e-v-e-r-y night. Twelve o'clock
one o'clock two o'clock. Here I stay
with the children, all alone lying awake
half of the night waiting for you.
Couldn't come home any sooner? Of
course you couldn't, if you didn't want
to. But I know something; you think I
don't, but I do; that 1 do. I wish I
didn't. Where were you Monday
night ? Tell me that. Hie marshal told
mo the city council didn't meet that
night. Now, what have yon got to say ?"
"Couldn't get a quorum !" "Well, if
you couldn't, why didn't you come
home? Out e-v-e-ry night hunting
for a quorum. 15et you wouldn't hunt
me this late if I was missing. Where
were you Thursday niglt and Friday
night? There was a show in town,
wasn't there ? Do you always put on
your best vest aud a clean shirt to go to
the council? What did you buy that
bottle of hair oil for and 'hide it ? Oil
for your hone, indeed t Who ever
heard of hair oil f or a whetstoue ? So
you think I didn't see you in the other
room, brushing and greasing your hair,
and looking in the glass at your pretty
self ?" " A man ought to be decent 1
" He ought, ought lie? Yes, indeed, a
decent man ought to be; a decent man
will stay at home with his wife some
times, and not be out e-v-e-r-y night.
How comes it that the city council didn't
meet but twice a month last year?"
" Trying to work it out of debt !" " YeB,
that's probable very; laughing and jok
ing and smoking and swapping lies will
work a debt off, won't it ? Now I
want to know how much longer
you are going to keep this night
business ? Yes, I want to know 1 Out
e-v-o-r-y night. City council, Freema
sons, End Men, Odd Fellows, shows,
hair oil and it's brush and brush until
you've nearly worn out the brash and
your head, too. What is it you say ?"
" It helps your business to keep up your
social relations !" "Ah, indeed ! You've
got relations here at home, sir. They
need keeping up some, I think ! What
did you say aliout ' catching it ' the other
niglit at a" euchre party ? Fellers, it's
twelve o'clock, but let's iy.a while
longer; we won't catch it any worse
wheu we get home.' A pretty speech
for a d-e-c-e-n-t man ! ' Catch it !'
' Catch it !' Well, I intend you shall
catch it a little. What'n that you say ?
' If I wouldn't fret you so you would stay
at home more !' Well, si', do you stay
at home a few nights and try it. Per
haps the fretting would stop. Out
e-v-e-r-y night because I fret you so.
What's'that, sir?" " I know ladies who
aiu't always scolding their husbands !"
" You do,' do you ? How come you to
know them? What business had you
to know them ? What rjght have yon to
know whether other women fret or not ?
That's always the way. You men thiuk
that all the other women are saints but
ronr wives. Oh, yes saints, s-a-i-n-t-s.
I'll have you to know, sir, that there
isn't a woman in this town that's any
more of a saint than I am. I know them
all, sir a h-e-a-p bettor than you do.
You see the sugar and honey side of
them, and thej- only see the honey
and sugar side of yon. Now, sir,
I just want you to know that if you don't
stay at home more than you do, I'll
leave these children to get burnt up, and,
I'll go out e-v-e-r-y night. When a poor
woman gets desperate, why, sir, she is
desperate, that's all."
Sulphur for Scarlet Fever.
Dr. Henry Pigeon writes to the Lon
don Lancet as follows: The marvelous,
success which has attended my treatment
of scarlet fever by sulphur induces me to
let my medical 'brethren know oi my
plan, so that they may be able to apply
the sumo remedy without delay. All the
cases in which I used it were very well
marked, and tha epidermis on the arms
in each case came away like the skin of
a snake. The following was the exact
treatment followed iu each case: Thor
oughly anoint the patient twice daily
with sulphur ointment; give five to ten
grains of sulphur in a little jam three
times a day. Sufficient sulphur was
burned, twice daily (on coals on a
shovel), to fill the room with the fumes,
and, of course, was thoroughly inhaled
by the patient. Under this mode of
treatment each case improved immedi
ately, and none were over eight days in
making a complete recovery, and I
firmly believe iu each case i't was pre
vented from spreading by the treatment
adopted. One case was in -a large
school. Having had a large experience
in scarlet fever last year aud this, I feel
some confidence hi my own judgment,
and I am of opinion that the very mild
est cases I over saw do not do half so
well as bad cases do by the sulphur
treatment, and, as far as I can judge, sul
phur is as near a specific for scarlet fever
as possible.
The Influence of Pictures.
A room with pictures in it and a room
without pictures differ by nearly as much
as a room without windows. ' Nothing,
we think, is more melancholy, particu
larly to a person who has to pass much
time in his room, than the blank walls
and nothing on them; for pictures are
loopholes of escape to the soul, leading
it to other scenes and other spheres. It
is such an inexpressible relief to some
persons engaged in writing, or reading
even, on looking up, not to have his
Hue of vision chopped square off by an
odious white wall, but to find his soul
escaping, as it were, through the frame
of an exquisite picture to other beautiful
and perhaps idyllic scenes, where the
fancy of a moment may revel, refreshed
aud delighted. Is it winter in your
world ? perhaps it is summer in the pic
ture. What a charming momentary
change and contrast I
The King of Dahomey's Amazons.
A correspondent of the Loudon Stand
ard, writing about the preparations of
the king of Dahomey to resist the Brit
ish troops iu the event of a war for the
liberation of the European captives at
Whydah, says:
Meanwhile the king is by no means
idle. Bodies of troops are assembling at
the various towns, while at Kana the
whole flower of the Dahoman army is
being brought together. Enids are
being made upon neighboring towns in
the hope of obtaining any stores of pow
der or rum which may be there. Be
sides this, when a few successful de
scents upon helpless villages hove been
made, the Dahoman warriors will be so
filled with glory that they will rush on
to certain death under their excitement.
Troops have been known to "charge" a
thicket of acacias, prickly pears, aloes
and similar thorny shrubs when under
this frenzy, coming out on the other side
bruised and bleeding and often maimed
for life. This they will do to show their
"love" for the king, nud there is no
doubt that nuder the influence of victory
and trade ram they would make a des
perate resistance. Still, their courage is
but of an evanescent nature, and it re
quires but a very few well sustained,
steady volleys from our rifles to put to
flight, or at least to cover, serious odds
of dusky warriors.
As to the fighting powers of the Ama
zons, there can be no doubt that they
will be equal to, if not surpass, those of
the men. At the attack on Abeokeuta
the ditch was filled with their bodies, as
they fought like she devils, for perhaps
of all objects an unsexed woman iB the
most horrible of any. The "outside"
and "inside" rival each other in their
deeds of bravery, and many an Aniazo
niau caboceer caresses the whitened
skulls of those who have fallen before
her arms, exciting the envy and jealousy
of her less fortunate outside warriors, if
a struggle does come off, hi which our
meu are pitted against these far famed
warrioresses, it is to be hoped that they
will remember that bullets shot out of
guns whoso triggers have been pulled
by these " sisters of the lion" kill just
as surely as those fired by their sterner
(!) brethren. Even the Dahomans ac
knowledge that their savage, fiendish
actions in a fight almost cause a shudder
in themselves, and if they should ever
become pitted against white troops
their frenzy will carry them to any
lengths. Let them, therefore, not be
treated as mero ornamental adjuncts to
tho court of a savage king, but rather as
the corps who are the " Old Guard " of
the Dahoman army.
May They Be Happ). ,
There is nothing more depressing or j
mortifying to a young man than- to bo I
jilted by a girl. His agony seems unen-
durablo when she not only throws him j
overboard but also ships a rival. His j
case may become desperate if, after she j
has named the happy day, and he has j
boutrht the nucf. secured mtui? weddniar i
raiment and engaged tho parson, she
give3 him the slip and marries another j
fellow. Some meu think of firearms or
cold poison under such circumstances,
but not so a St. Louis young gentleman
named Hieklaud. Miss Jennings had
consented to marry him. Tho day was
fixed, was near at hand, the viands
cooked, the wedding dress complete, and
the minister notified. But tho very dav
betore the expected wedding Jliss Jen-
ning weut out at evening, married a Mr.
Gather, and by midnight the couple w ere !
speeding away on their bridal journey. I
Dul Mr. llickland despond and grow
desporate ? He told the parson to bo on j
hand just the same, forthwith proceeded i
t' tho house ot las athanced, asaed m hoodlums and kuocKed down anil noaten,
marriage the hand of Miss Havwood, ! but got awav from them aud took refuge
.t T I.'. 'l 1 .1.1 t.ll .
mere resnung, was aeceptou, loiu uio oiu j
people to keep tho viands hot, fetched
the parson, and, while Mr. and Mrs. Ga
ther were hasting away, a merry company
witnessed the wedding of Mr. llickland
and Miss Haywood. The supper was
the most elegant which had been lately
nerved iu all that region, and love clasps
his hands in joy over two wedded pairs
instead of one. Mr. xlicliland is a pirn-
osopher. May he and his bride live long
and be happy.
The Unknown Genius' Diary.
J ahu art. Bless me ! Another year
gone. That's tho forty-third I've wasted.
This mwst not go on ; I must do some
thing, oud I must show them that I can.
Ha! ha! They will see.
FEBiu'Aity. Hang it, it's February !
After all, it'H only a month lost. Still, a
mouth is a mouth. Now for it.
March. It seems to me I could do al
most anything if I settled down to it.
Now let's settle.
Apritj. Well, I can't begin on the
first. That would be rather too much of
a joke.
Mat.
June. I fell in love last month ; and
this month
Jclt.
August.
September. I say, look here, you
know ! time's getting on.
October. I've settled down to it now
iu sober earnest. It is to be no eph
emeral work, to be read lightly, cast
aside, aud forgotten.
November. The friend I have read
the first chapter to says it has all been
done before. How is this ? How dare
anybody presume to forestall me ?
December. I see now that wasn't my
line. Which is, though ? Next year !
"It Might Have Been."
The Burlington Ilawkeye has this :
Sometimes, what a dreamy, far away pic
ture of the beautiful hail been it calls up
in your memory, when you have loved a
fair young girl with all the fervor and
passionate ardor of a manly nature, when
your very soul has caught the inspiration
of her presence, and her facs has been
for you the realization of all that was
tender and fair a-id pure, and when the
loss of this prize has swept over your
heart liko a sirocco of agony, and left it
dry and bitter and hard, ten years after,
to look over as alley fence when hunting
for your runaway boy, and see her in the
back yard of a corner grocery, with a
draggled calico dress' pinned up over a
red fl innel petticoat, a man's hat perched
on her head, and stretching a fl ipping
shirt over a line, while she holds two
clothespins between her teeth.
Comuio-lorc Vanderhilt's Secfct.
The great success of the late Commo
dore Vanderbilt in steamboating and
railroading, whereby he amassed a larger
fortune than any other private person
during a lifetime.'haa naturally awakened
a strong desire to learn the secret of his
uniform and most surprising achieve
ments. The commodore himself, when
questioned upon the subject during the
latter years of liis life, gave various ex
planations of it. To one young man,
who was about entering upon the career
of a Wall street broker, and who had
sought his counsel, he said : " Sonny,
don't never sell what yon haven't got,"
which was an excellent piece of advice
for a stockbroking adventurer, notwith
standing its defective grammar. To an
other he said : "Sam, don't never put it
into any man's power to ruin you." And
this might be put in letters of gold over
the desk of every one who takes financial
riska, whether 'in Wall street or else
where, and it would be an excellent
maxim also for a politician, To another
aspirant for fortune, who had asked his
advice, he said : " Don't never buy what
you can't pay for."
These were, three admirable maxims
for business, adds the New York Sun,
and he probably acted through his long
and successful career in strict conformity
with them. He never speculated, nor
made any rash ventures. But his favorite
maxim, the one upon which set the high
est value and most seriously inculcated
upon those who were on the most inti
mate terms with him, was a condensa
tion of one among the wisest of the pro
verbs of Solomon : " In all labor there
is profit ; but the talk of the lips tendeth
only to penury." The commodore had
probably never read this goldeu proverb,
and he can hardly be said to have para
phrased it in putting it into his homely
advice: "Keep your mouth shut." This
was what he said to his young grandson,
upon whom he based his hopes of found
ing a dynasty, only a few days before his
own mouth was closed forever. He had
been giving the young man some words
of serious advice, and he ended by say
ing : "But, above all, keep your mouth
shut." He used to sav that he owed
most of what was called his good fortune
to the practice of keeping to himself
what he meant to do until ho had done
it. And this has been the rule of all
great men who have done anything dur
ing their lives to excite the wonder and
admiration of their fellow beings.
Tho Unfortunate Chinese.
The San Francisco Alia says : We re
gret to chronicle the outrages and coword
i n i . ,,w,v.,..i;.
01linnmpn dnily-inl 0r public streets,
tho publication of which places our
municipal government and people in no
enviable light either at home or abroad,
We ask, iu the name of justice, why it is
that these people arc beaten and mal
trer-'.d'at high noon on our streets, and
"no arrests" invariably recorded ? On
Aew lear s clay tnese peoiue were us
saulted aud beaten in different localities,
ou crowded streets, in this Christian
city, and we have not heard of an arrest.
We give a sample : A Chinese boy, not
over fourteen years of age, was attacked
by a gang of street Arabs aud pelted
with broken bricks, ono striking him in
the mouth and cutting him terribly. He
was knocked down and beaten in a most
cruel manner. To add to the outrage, u
crowd of men gathered and urged on the
hoodlums. A well known citizen, pass-
ing in a carnage, stopped ami weut to
the assistance of the Chinaman, when he
was ordered to stand ImoK and not mter-
fere. " No arrests." Ou Third street a
Chinamau was act upon by drunken
in a saloon, out w as ejecieu ny me piu;
prietor. A largo crowd collected, and
when the Chiiiaman camo out ho con
cluded to show fight, and went for one
of his assailants armed with a door rug,
which he laid over the scoundrel's
shoulders until he beat a retreat. " No
arrests." On Kearney street one of the
j large plate glass windows of Ching Lee's
store was demolished l.y a rocs weighing
I ten pounds, which went crashing through
the beautiful china wit ro exhibited in the
window. " No arrests." Another China
man was knocked down and beaten on
Pacific street ut twelve M. " No arrests.'
Fond of Oyster.
The starfish is reddish, looking some
thing like a sea spider. He is a connois
seur and a glutton. Ho has the shape
of a five-pointed star, from three to six
inches from tip to tip, but sometimes
grows to ten inches. The starfish travels
in schools, although solitary feeders are
occasionally to be found. His modus
operandi is as follows : A school will
settle down on au oyster bed. Each fish
will taeklo au oyster and surround it
with his feelers. 'When the oyster opens
his mouth to feed the wicked starfish de-
; liberately sticks his feelers inside and
pulls out the oyster. 'J.nen na eats it ana
then tackles another oyster. A starfish
can beat any man eating raw oysters.
Last summer and fall they committed
many ravages in the East river and at
Oyster bay. Oystermen now are on the
lookout for the starfish. They often rake
over their bods and if auy starfish ore
found they are raked off and carried ashore
for manure. Sometimes schools of star
fish are found three or four feet thick.
Such a school will ruin an oyster bed in
a few hours. Sometimes the starfish will
sidl iu and spoil an oyster bed and then
ko off and leave ono next to it untouched.
In every oyster bed two or three are sure
to be found. The starfish commits his
devastations in the winter. They mostly
frequent the East river, City island,
Oyster bay and Cow bay.
For War,
Both Eussia and Turkey are eagerly
buying up American revolvers and rifles.
By the Colt machinery bought by Gen.
Gorloff, already 3,000,000 rifles have been
turned out. Eussia has imported 100,
000 Smith & Wesson revolvers and 20,
000,000 cartridges, to say nothing of the
400,000 cartridges manufactured daily in
Eussia from American machines. Mean
while Turkey has contracted in Ehode
Island for 800.000 Martini-Henry rifles.
y of which 250.000 have alreadv been shiu-
i ped. and 100.000 more are readv for ax-
j port,
Frost Work.
The frols have como with noisoless tread,
The vangtlard of the snow t
The sumach woars the robe of rsd,
And all the forest learts, though dead,
In gold and crimson glow.
The exiled Hummer bu ds have flown,
And o'er each empty nest
Tho breathing winds make ceaseless roam--
A half umittored monotone,
A sigh of vague unrest.
Items of Interest.
An exchange says a mon going homo
from a dry lecture" ia a returning bored.
A man lately inquiring for letters at a
post-office was told there were none,
upon which ho asked if there was not
another post-office iu the place.
I beseech you, says Horace Mann, to
treasure up in your hearts these, my port
ing woods : Be ashamed to die until you
have won some victory for humanity.
There are at present about 350 wells
iu Canada capable of producing oil, but
owing to the dullness of the market,
only about 200 of these are in operation.
There are fifteen refineries, chiefly ot
London.
Tho skating being now very good,
toothache and cholera morbus have ap
peared among the boys, just after school
begins, in the nature of au epidemic,
and threatens to sap tho foundations of
our educational system.
" Do you reside in this city ?" asked a
man of a masked lady at a masquerade
party the other evening. He felt sick
when she said to him, in a low voice :
" Don't be a fool, John, I know you by
that wart on your thumb." It was his
wife.
A Paris journal says that Baron, tho
singer, is of an unusual height so tall,
indeed, that when he went the other day
to consult a doctor about a severe cold in
the head, tho physician said: "My
friend, you must have got your feet wet
last year."
The litigation between tho trustees cf
the Lick estate and the heirs has been
amicably adjusted, the natural son of tho
testator receiving $333,000, from which he
is to pay 72,000" to other heirs in various
amounts. The estimated value of tho
property is $3,300,000.
A divorce had separated Mr. and Mrs.
Ivottmeyer, of Cincinnati. He called on
her, said that ho had come to say good
bye, and pretended to offer to shake
hands; but when he got near enough ho
disclosed a knife in his extended hand,
and stabbed her to death,
There is a remarkable difference in tho
climato on the hills and in the valleys
around Santa Eosa, Cal. In the valleys
there have been sixteen severe frosts in
succession, while iD tho thermal belt on '
the hills bordering on the valleys the
tomato vines are not yet killed.
A gentleman in a stage coach, passing
through tho city and observing a hand
some edifice, inquired of the driver what
building it was. The driver replied :
"It is the Unitarian church." "Uni
tarian !" said the gentleman ; " and what
is that?" "I don't know," said Jehu ;
" but I believe it is in the opposition
line."
Highwaymen have been audacious of
late near St. Louis, and two policemen,
heavily armed, aud dressed liko farmers,
were sent out to make a capture. They
were assailed by robbers, as they had
hoped to be; but otherwise their mission
was a failure, for instead of capturing
the gang, they were themselves stripped
of everything that they had worth tak
ing. The people of Los Angeles took a
very unique method of preventing a
threatened influx of Chinese laborers.
A party of six hundred arrived there a
few days ago and camped near the new
depot. The citizens immediately started
a report that the peculiarity of the cli
mate causes tho nose to grow to a for
midable length, and that the Indians in
variably seize Chinamen by their elon
gated appendage and wring their heads
off. A few minutes before the time for
the departure of the train the Chinese
seized their baggage, dashed it from the
cars, and stampeded over the hills and
out of sight.
Surprlsers Surprised.
A Baltimore paper says : As Chorles
Mules and his wife were in their home,
the door was opened in answer to a
knock, when in rushed pell-mell twenty
masqueraders in the most grotesque and
horrible costumes possible to imagine.
Mrs. Mules was seated with a child upon
her lap. Tho little one becoming fright
ened screamed, and the mother, who
recognized among the masqueraders
many of her most intimate friends, male
and female, vainly endeavored to quiet
it. Mr. Mules owns an enormous New
foundland dog, which at once bounded
up stairs and made an attack upon the
intruders. There is no record of any
former panic where the means of egress
were taken advantage of more quickly than
on this oco ision. In two and three-quarter
seconds the house was clear, and the
street, for two blocks either way, was
filled with flying figures of every descrip
tion. A devil slipped on the ice as a
harlequin ran over him followed by a
clown. A negro crawled on hia hands
aud knees under the steps of an adjoin,
ing house, and other characters scattered
in every direction. Mules says if they
ever get that party together again he
will be glad to see them, and will chain
up the " purp."
Festivals for 1877.
Septuagesima Sunday January 28
Quinquageiiimi bhrove Sunday.. February 11
Ash Wednesday February 11
Quadrageaimi-lst Sunday in Lent. February 1"
Ht. David Maroh 1
St. Patrick March 17
Annunciution Lady Day March 25
1'alm Hunday. March 25
Oood Friday . ....March 80
Faster Sunday April 1
ixw nunaay April 8
Bt. George f April 23
Rogation Sunday May 6
Ascension Day Holv Thursday. .May 10
Pentecost Whit Sunday May 20
Trinity Sunday May - 27
Corpus Christ! May 81
SLJohuliiiptift Midbumuier Day. June 24
Bt Michael Michachnan Day . . September 29
St. Andrew November SO
First Sunday iu Advent Deoember a
St. Thomas Deooniber 21
Christmas Day DscemUr 25