r 1 A Willi HENRY A. PAflSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL. DESPERANPTJM. Two Dollars per Annumu VOL. VII. ' KIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1877. NO 7; r 1 1 . i r "God Knows." Oh ! wild and dark was tho wintiT night, When the immigrant ship went down, Bui just outside of the harbor bur, In night of the ntartled town ! The winda honied, and the noa roared, And never a soul could sleep, Save the little onus on thuir mothers' breasts, Too young to watch and wiop. No boat could livo in the angry surf, No rope could reach the land ; There wero bold, brave hearts upon the Bhore, There wan many a ready hand : Women who prayed, and mun who strove When prayers and or!i were vain For tho huh rose over the awful void And the silwico of tho main ! All day tho watchers paced the siuida All day they soan:ied tin- deep j All night tho booming minute guns Echoed from sleep to steep. ' Give up thy dead, oh, cruel Bua !" They cried athwart the apaco But only a l ally's fragile form Escaped from its stern embrace ! Only one little child of all Who with tho Bliip went down, That night, when the happy babies slept 80 warm iu the sheltered town ? Wrapped in tho glow of the morning light, It lay on the shifting sand, As fair as a sculptor's marble dream, With a shell iu its dimpled hand. There wore none to tell of its race or kin, "God kuoweth," the pastor said, When tho sobbing children crowded to ask Tho name of the baby dead. And so wheu they laid it away at last Iu the churchyard's hushed repose, They raised a stone at the baby's head With the carveu words " God knows !" Julia C. li. Dorr, HI. A'ichulas fur April. THE OUTSIDE CARRIAGE, A Railway Reminiscence. Ofteu, going home bv the night train. it is my lot t j travel ulone for a greut, part of tho way. It is a slaw, often stopping train thut i go by, and people get in and out ; but generally, before the journey is fiu'shed, I find myself alone u:id fitting with my face to the engine, in a corner by tho window. I look out into the dark night ivid watch tho car riage outside a specter carriage, that is e npty like this, except for some one sit ting in the corner, close by my elbow, the brim of whose hat I can just see as I lean forward. Perhaps, if I cared to look round the corner, I might see his face, but that I don't wish to know. Let hi n be u mystery. Tho carriage travels patiently but swiftly alongside. Its light flickers like a beacon among the tre s. Its windows and its seats are like ours; but it is a part of the landscape, too, and anything wo pass mixes itself up with it. Some times in a dark overhanging cutting the carriage outside shines forth quite real a 'id distinct; sometimes in the open country it becomes dim and uncertain, and only its lamp, like stars, indicates it is still there. Then it comes into sud den being again, marked with the brick work and dripping walls of some dark tunnel, and then vanishes altogether, broken up and destroyed among the flaring lights of a station ; but it is wait ing for us still outside, as we know full well, and when we pass once more into darkness appears as before. One night, on my journey home from London, tired and depressed, my heart being heavy with forebodings of evil, aud no comfort for me anywhere, dark ness and gloom encompassed me. All alone iu the carriage, I sat gloomily thinking, with my eyes vacantly fixed on the carriage outside. How much better yonr lot, I thought, thon mine, my friend whose hat brim I can just see tho point of; how much I would give to be you, looking in at this carriage of wood and leather, with its flickering greasy lamp and its sad, sor did passenger you, who travel outsjde among tho trees and twinkling star I What do yon know of the ills of life, of its lonoline3S and oppression ? You do not care for its doledout joys, for its troubles that come in double liandfuls. There may bo truth for you, looking out from non-being to being; there be none for me, looking out from that which is to that which is not. I grew quite in love with the thought of sitting in the carriage outside; but thero was no way to it that I could see; I could only gaze into it longingly and observe its light, now shining among the dark trees, for wo were passing through a wood. Suddenly I discerned in the further window of the carriage outside, a human face, palo and ghastly, pressed against the shadow of the glass. It was there but a moment, and when I turned to look in the real window of the real carriage I could see nothing. I let down the g'ass of the opposite door and looked out, thinking: that somebody must have been standing thero on the foot-board ; but there was no one. Presently tho train camo shrieking into a junction station, where there were lights and passengers waiting, and bar maids in towering hair, chattiug at the refreshment bora with young men; and I lost f-ight of the carriage outside, and almost forgot the face that I had seen. But when once again in the darkness the face reappeared, peering iu at the window of the carriage outside, and this time it staid a moment longer; but onne more, when I turned to the reul win low, there was nothing there. Then I saw no more of it, and I reach ed home and didn't think any further of tho phantom face, having so many other troubles thut were not phantom' at nil, but r3al und urgent. On the very next night I was traveling home from London by the same train. 1 remembered when I took my seat thut I hud this delusion, as I thought, about the face, aud I looked out for a carriage that was well filled. As we rode along, however, passenger after passenger loft, and I found myself alone. Coming to tho pine wood, I turned my eyes reso lutely away from the glass; but as the train flashed through it, I thought it would be better that I should no longer void the scene, but look boldly into the glass, and thus dissipate the idea that there had been anything but a mere ner vous fr.ney in tho apparition that t had before seen. I saw the face again, peer ing through the window of the carriage outside. Theu I begnn to think that my friend who sat o: tho other side of the pnnel was perhaps not enviably situ ated after all. There are shade attend ant ou shadows, it appears, and ghosts have other spirits to haunt them. This face that was glaring in upon the man outside, had it any representative in the world of sense ? I could not tell; but as soon as we had passed the lighted junc tion I seated myelf on tho opposite side of tho carriage and put the- window down. At that moment there was a vio lont concussion. I was thrown forward against tho opposite side of. the carriage, aud for some moments, although not un conscious, I did not know much of what was going on about me. When I came thoroughly to myself I found that thero had been an accident ou tho line. The cutting through which wo were passing had given way, block ing up the track, and the engine had been thrown off. No one was seriously hurt, fortunately; but it would be some hours before tho line was cleared suffi ciently for the train to proceed. The passengers could walk back to the junc tion and wait till tho line was clear, or they might sit still in the carriages that had not left tho hue. For myself I pre ferred to remain by the sido of tho ruil way and watch tho operations for clear ing it. By-and-bye the moon rose upon the scene. Wo were in a cutting of loose, sandy soil. On the top of the banks was a fringe of trees, which, I found, formed a portion of a wood of consider able size. Several small trees had fallen down with the sand that had slipped from above. The land-slip had made a gnp in the bank, aud there was a sloping mass of debris between the top of it and the level of the lino. Three or four plate layers were already busy at work shoveling away at the sand, and the officials had telegraphed for a lot of bal lastmcu, who would be down in half au hour. The night was fine, and the moon, as I have said, had already risen. Tho dark firwood above looked mysteriously inviting. I mado my way up the slope of the bank, and found myself iu the gloom of the wood. There was a foot path, I Baw, that led into the darkness. The pleasant calm below, the fresh fra grance of the firs, the whisper of the winds among their tops like the murmur of an agitated sea, the dim vistas on either side like the uisles of some dark ened minster these things led me along. and I followed the path into tho recesses of the wood. It did not lead ino far. Iu about half mile I suddenly came to an opening in the wood, and found that I had reached tho railroad at another point ; in fact, this was tho main line, and tho path formed a diagonal to the right angle producod by it and tho branch along which the train had run from the junction. As I stood peering out from between the stems of two young fir trees, looking up and down the line, I became conscious that somebody w,.s watching me from below. There was a small signal box by the side of the line, which .was not, as fur as I could see, connected with tho signal ; and from this box I was pretty certain that I had seen a human head protruded aud rapidly withdrawn. Curiously enough, too, the glass window at the side of the box, which ought I thought to look up or down the line, looked sideways, so that anybody in the box could watch tho wood without being himself perceived. Now I felt con vinced that somebody was watching mo from this window. I determined to make certain. There was a kind of track side ways down the cutting, which was not a deep one, and I lightly descended this to the level of the rails. It was darker here than in the wood even, for the moon had not yet cleared the tree tops. I proceed ed cautiously along, crossing the line so as to get on the blincT sido of the signal box, and I had almost reached it when suddenly a figure sprang from tho box and I saw a steel barrel glisten in some stray ray of light. "Who goes there ?" shouted a soldier'B voice right in my ear. "A friend," I said calmly, although I was a little startled. My challenger had a policeman's lamp hung to his belt, the light of which he turned full upon me. "I beg your pardon, sir," he said; " I didn't startle you. I hope ?" " You did a little" I said. " I didn't know that our railways were so well guarded. What's your regiment, sentry ?" " Oh, I'm not exactly a sentry," said the man with a sort of laugh. And yet ho looked like a soldier ; he had a car bine in his hand, and wore a military cap. " What are you, then ?" I asked. " I'm a warder of the eonvict prison." "Ah," said I, "then you are looking out for somebody." " Perhaps I am, sir," said the man, reservedly. "All right; good night," I said, and thought to myself : "If you are, I hope you won't catch him." For my own part, I know of no more wretched fate than to be entombed in one of our English convict prisons. j Their order, their science, scrupulous cleanliness, their inexorable system, appal the soul fur more than clanking I chains and noisome dungeons. I don't i know whether, after all, I hadn't as soon i be a prisoner as a warder. The prisoner must stay there ; it is wonderful how a j mind that is at all healthy reconciles it self to the inevitable ; but to be a warder, I and know that you can get out at the j sacrifice of your bread and butter . Iadeed, gracious powers, I should think ! that tho temptation to dance a jig down the corridors and snap your fingers at the governor's beard would after a time become irresistible. Well, all this time" I'm standing on the lino cud a train is coming along. ' I don't care to stand too close to one of those lumbering avalanches, with a whiff of the sulphurous breath of the engine in my face, and I, reach once more my porch on the top of the bank. Here she comes, laboring and streaming, and si nding forth flames and red smoke, us working engines do. A good train, evidently. Are there distinctions of classes among engines, I wonder ? The rough-working one, which nsea bad language and smells unpleasantly j your middle engine, whioh deals the be white ateam, and is shiny with bras and is quite respectable ; and your high caste engine, which drags royal person ages and special trains, and goes to race meetings and meets distinguished for eigners nt Dover, and is fed with the finest coke and supplied with ' per fumed waters I This, at all events, is one of the lower orders j and yot it is not a good train that it is drawing ; it is a train of empty trucks crowded with men. Ah, yes, it is the ballast train, bearing a gang of men to clear the line, and thut is a signal to me to make my way through the wood once more, or else I may be left behind. And yet somehow I didn't liko plung ing into tho wood; it seemed so dark and lonely. It was far safer, however, than walking along the line, where I might be knocked down unawares by a strange eugiue. At that moment I remembered the face I had seen in the window of the carriage outside. For the first time it struck me that the two points where the foot path impinged on the line were the places at which the phantom face had ap peared. It almost seemed as if it were some ghostly creature that haunted the wood. I felt a momentary tremor at the thought. My nerves were a little shaken, and this harmless pine wood was to me as some baneful enclosure from which I could not escape. That was folly, of course; a few minutes would bring me safely to the spot where the train stood. I did run, as my blood be gan to chill. But midway in the wood I was stopped. Bight in my path, staring at mo with distended eyes, was the specter face. The moonlight broke through an open ing in the forest, and there it waited for me. I perceived nothing but the face at the moment, but it belonged to a figure a pale, gray figure. I was not exactly frightened, but o little awe struck. At moments such as these it isn't the rea soning faculties that are occupied, but the inherited fantasies, the influence of traditional superstition. ' I remembered that a spirit must bo spoken to before he would speak. " Who are you, and what do you de sire ?" I cried. "Keep your distance," muttered a voice, " or 1 11 drive my knife into you. All in a moment the explanation of tho affair flashed into my mind. This was no phantom, but on escaped convict. " My friend," I said. I am no police man; I am a harmless traveler. Let me pass; I'll not betray you." " How can I be sure of that ?" said the figure, in a deep, husky voice. The situation, I feared, was one of im minent peril. For I was not far from the laud slip. I could hear the men's spades at wprk, could hear their voices. Should I shout for help? No, not that. I thought of the man standing on watch with his loaded carbine, ajjd tho figure looked so haggard and miserable that I felt sorry for him und felt inclined to help him. Aud yet he might attempt to cut my throat. "I'll give you my word I won't betray you," I said. "Put your knife away; I don't like the look of it. " " Well, I'll trust you," said the man, looking at me keenly for a moment. " After all, it doesn't much matter. I'm tired of this work, God knows, and you can get the reward if ye please. " "Thank you, I'm not a thief taker," I said, for I didn't like the man's tone. " Who was it said the word of thief to me ?" he cried fiercely. " I beg vour pardon," I replied quietly. " I ought to have said ' mur derer,' I suppose ?" "By japers, there's some one that will say thnt of me before long if ye rouse meto desperation," said the man. "Come, pass on, whoever ye are." " New, look here," I said, " if you'ro not either a thief or a murderer, I'll help you. I suppose I oughtu't to have offered this. I dare any my duty, strict ly defined, is to assist the officers of the law to recapture convicts; but my sym pathies are always for the mice against the cats, possibly beeuuse I'm something in the way of a mouse myself, und know the fierce touch of Grimalkin's claws." "You'll help mo!" cried the man, seizing me by the hand it wasn't a felo nious kind of a grasp either. " You're a good fellow; but how ? Look you here," he' said, taking me by the arm; "I've been out of yonder pandemonium for three days, and all that time I have not tasted food or drink except the aeonis I've picked up from the ground under the oak yonder, and the raindrops that I've sucked from the leaves. I had a burrow, mark you one that had been made for mo beforehand and that I crept into when the hue and cry was first raised; but it's all iu ruins now; the earth has slipped and buried it up en tirely. And they know I'm iu the wood, and at every fifty yards round it there's a man with a firelock; but I'd not mind them if I'd the strength to run when I got out, but I haven't. I can hnrdly crawl. I thought to get away lust night, and risked my life by jumping on the train as it passed; but there was no empty carriage I could creep into, and the train was running into the station, and I jumped off. And then I tried again ot the other end of the footpath by my hole in the ground, but missed my footing and fell backwards just as I hail reached a carriage, and but that the train was going slow, I'd have been killed. The night was dark, by good luck, and nobody detected me, and I crawled back to inv hole and lav there all this dav. and when night came on again I thought I'd try once more. You see the men's eyes are off the wood for a -minute when the train comes past. Well, 1 aid it to. night; I jumped safe and clean on the footboard, and found an empty carriage, crept in and hid myself under a seat. I could hear the peelers jabbering to one another, and they took stock -of every man that got into the train, and then the doors were slummed to and the train went off, and says A: "Mike, you're free 1" And then there was this miser able stoppage. I bore it till then, and then I broke dowh. It seemed as if the powers of .heaven were against me, You'd best leave it to me, sir !" Listen," I said, " the" watchers kuow I haTe entered the wood; they will watch for my coming out. You shall put on my overcoat ; it will cover vou down to your knees ; and my hat you must take my hat ; and here, you'd bet ter take my ticket, too," I said, rather ruefully, handing out my return tioket. " Mr oarruffe was me mwate compart went, seoond from the engine, Thera'i a railway rug of mine on the seat ; wrap it round your legs, and if anybody looks at you, the convict trousors won't show. Go and take your seat, and read the paper till the train starts, and I'll stay I 41. i It was wonderful with what alacrity my friend carried out all my suggestions. In another five minutes I was standing all alone in the wood, shivering in the chill October breeze. What a lonely vigil that was ! And yet there was a warmth at my heart that Prevented my feeling desolate, although knew I had broken the law and hod likely done a very pernicious action. I heard the train puff away, and with it passed my chance of getting home that night. Probably if I should put my head outside the wood I should le pop ped at like a rabbit at a battue but I meant to stay in the wood for a while. A fir wood is a nice, dry, fragrant place to pass an hour or two in. There are ants, unfortunately, that build great conical nests out of the twigs that are scattered so thickly on the soft, hollow sounding flooring fierce combative brutes, who bite like demons;. and in the night one is Bpt to stumble over these colonics. But here was a nice, clear spot, where I could lie with my back to a broad timber fir and try to snatch a little sleep. I awoke with a start. A man standing over me, a man with a lamp in his baud, the light of which flashed into my eyes, had awakened me. It was the warder I had seen before. His face was distorted with passion. " Confound you 1"' he cried, " you have ruined nio with your cheating wiles; but I will be even with you, scoundrel. I will kill you and pretend that I shot you trying to escape."- He clapped his carbine to my car; there was a loud report a series of re ports. " Now. sir. if von please, your ticket," cried tho guard, his lantern flaring full upon me, and I came to myself with a gulp and a start. After all, had I been taking a journey in the outside carriage ? Jielgravia. Riissiun Wives. A story has been going tho rounds of tha French papers illustrating the status of married women in Russia. The simple woman in this case seems to have imagined thut she might get from a Rus sinu magistrate some sort of protection against a husband whose favorite pastime it was cruelly to torture her. She had been voked bv her plavful husband to the Bhafts of his cart, and driven along for sixteen versts, m. double harness with the horse, under tlie furious blows of a heavy whip. Having survived this ordeal, she was brought home again, her head was shaved, and after she had been smeared all over with tar she was rolled in feathers, and then turned out of the house. In this plight she resorted to the person whom she fondly imagined to be most benevolent, or at any rate the least savage, in the village. She went to the priest, but, instead of obtaining any shelter or relief, was rudely struck by the pious man, who called the hus band and advised him to administer fresh casticration. It would have been well for the womon if she had taken the broad hint offered her by this reception at the priest's residence, and had re turned homo to suffer in silence the tor ment to which she was fated. But she was ignorant of Russian law, and she could not persuade herself that she was utterly without remedy in such a case as this. So she jyent to law, and brought before the court both the husband and the priest. Hero the procuruteur gen eral at onco declined to enter into any argument on the subject of the husband, explaining thnt the whole matter was one of merely private family interest, and thut husbiind and wife could always come to an understanding among them selves without the interference of the law. The priest's case was a little more difficult. But the worthy man repre sented thnt facts of this sort occur often and inevitably among the lower "orders" in Russia, whereupon tho court without further discussion acquitted both the ac cused persons. Fashion Notes. Fichus grow in favor. Coiffures are still very complicated. Cornet tail trains are the latest novelty. Amber ornaments are coming in vogue. The Breton is the costume of the mo ment. Bunting parasols are among the spring novelties. The newest form of ribbon bow is the Maltese cross. The newest cravats have plush or ehenille stripes. Damask surah is much in demand for composite toilets. Two pretty house shoes are the Fene- lon and the Charles IX. Mandarin yellow feathers crop out on pagoda shaped bonnets. The Normandy bonnet, with a Marie Stuart brim, is the favorite. Lace is extensively employed in the garniture of .London muluiery. The revival of the fichu is hailed us a blessing to the lace producers. Linens collars aud cuns iu various shapes are still most fashionable. Small black lace points are worn in various ways by Parisian women. New designs in chenille and wool loops md fringes are seen every weeli. The first empire dress, with short waist and Josephine belt, grows in favor. Many of the new paletots, jackets and polonaises close diagonally in front. Shades of tilleul, sulphur, geranium and lavender in flowers are the favorites. Many of the new pocket handkerchiefs are beautiful works of art in their way. "That's Flat !" In the Daily Xews we observe an advertiser announces this wont: "A Flat Wanted (where there are other flats)' in a very good part of London," etc. My dear sir, in the very best parts of town you may readily meet with any number of flats. But perhaps it is a widow who makes the announce ment. One at a time, madam, or some of the flats might bwjn too ibktn I BUSINESS PROSPECTS. Knconraslna Outlook In the World of Trade -Inrrennrd Activity la the Dry Uood Mae. Since the settlement of the vexatious Presidential ouestion. savs the New York Herald, there are highly encour- ogmg indications of a revival ot roue to the same degree of activity it once en joyed before panic, want of confidence and hard times generally settled over tne country. Nearly every business man of note who has been addressed on the sub ject speaks hopefully of the future. There is a heolthier spirit ot connaence gradually spreading itself through the business community, as trade is being placed on a surer basis than ever before. The laree urv cooils nouses teei tne Deno- fit of the change most sensibly, as in the vast variety of their wares there is some thing to suit every class of customer. "Our business," said a gentleman con nected with a Broadway house, " is the best trade barometer you can find. If a man s business be dull he must econo mize, and his wife or daughter cannot go to the dry goods merchant quite as fre quently as betore. wnen nusmess ; brisk a man naturally opens his pocket book to his family and we reap the bene fit of it." How does vour business compare with that of lust yenrl" " Verv much better. 'mere nas not beeu a fulling off in any one department and a decided gain in some. A few weeks of fine weather will have a wonderful effect on our trade, and I have not the slightest doubt but that it will continue active fur into the summer. It is about time, too, for a change. I have seen some of our customers, who in former years would look at nothing short of a high priced article, come down to calico, and grumble about the price at that." Do vou think that the settlement ot the Presidential question has had any thing to do with encourogiug trade ?" Undoubtedlv. Anything tnat tenus to harass or disturb the public mind in jures business, especially a national question like that ot deeming wuo sunn be the Chief Magistrate ol tne republic, But. then, the revival in trade was bound to como; it was impossible for htamiation to lost much longer. At the other leading houses opinions exactly coinciding with the above were expressed. The openings or the displays of spriiur fashions this seuson were more liberully patronized, and the attendance was much larger than for some years past. There is also a decided improve ment in the wholesale dry goods trade, as the orders from the country dealers are pourinc iu with eratifving celerity. One merchant wns convinced that the country was fast avmroachiner au era of prosper' ity and thut the duys of wild specula tion and wanton extravagance had do parted forever. "It is better for all," he said, "that the business should at last be fixed on a firm, sound basis than to bo conducted in the reckless manner of former vears. It was in the natural course of things that business not built on a solid fouudution could not resist the shock of adversity, and we must reach hnrdnan some time or other." Another gentleman said that the revival in trade m the lull wouiu us- tonish every one, as there is plenty of money in tho country, and when confidence is restored it will be put in active circulation. He wus very tanguine ou the question of our export trade, saying it would increase steadily until it regained its highest staudnrd. With a good market for our wares and money coming in constantly irom jmr customers across tho Atlantic, business, he thonght, would be brighter and more enduring. The decrease in prices gen erally is considered by some merchants as a good sign, as it tends to bring every thing back to unte-wnr rates, and is a strong barrier against speculation. Al together, the prospects of trade are re garded by some of our prominent mer chants as very c ncouraging. Handy Interest Rules. For finding the interest on any princi pal for any number of days. The nnswer l .J i.. - It.... in euen cuhb ueuig in uumn, pt-iuiui.u iixv two right hand figures of the answer to express it in dollars and cents: Four per cent. Multiply by the num ber of days, and divide by seventy-two. Six per cent. Multiply by the num ber of days, separate the right Lund figure, and divide by six. Eight per cent. Multiply by tho number of duvs, and divide by forty five. Nine per cent. Muliiply by the num ber of days, separate the right hand fig ure, and divide by four. Ten per ceut. Multiply by tho num ber of days, and divide by thirty-five. Twelve per cent. Multiply by the number of davs, separate the light hand figure, anil divide by three. Fifteen per cent. Multiply by the number of duys, and divide by twenty four. Eighteen per cent. Multiply by the number of days, separate the right hand figure, and divide by two. Twenty per cent. Multiply by the number of days, and divide by eighteen. A Poet's Heart. Apropos of Paul de Musset's biog raphy of his brother Alfred, they nro telling a very pretty story of tho poet and Mile. Rachel, who, thirty years ago, was the greatest actress of Paris, und perliaps of the world. One day she in vited Alfred do Musset to dine with her, and the rest of tha guests were all nota bly wealthy men. Rachel wore a very beautifnl and valuable ring, which was noticed and vastly admired. "Gentle meu," said she, suddenly, "seeing that you admire the ring so much, I shall now offer it for sale by auction. What will you give for it ?" In a moment the bids ran up as high as 3,000 francs. But De Musset was silent. " And you, my poet," said theuctress, " what will you give t " I give you my heart," was tho reply. "The ring is yours," was the reply; nor could the afterward, when the jest seemed to have goue far enough, be persuaded to take it back again. She eaidi " By Jcrt , but it is m jest. You have given me your heart, and I would not return It Ux hundred thousand erewnsi You emot taks it book," GEN. rLEASONTON'S RECIPE. A Scientific Exnnilnntloa Into the niaeGlnna Kemedy. Much as some people are inclined to laugh over General Plensonton and blue glass, there are princples underlying his experiments which may some day work as astounding results as those effected by the experiments of Franklin, Galvau1, Volta, Watt, or others of notorious fame. General Pleasonton states that he was induced to experiment with blue glass because certain physical facts made him doubt the commonly accepted idea that the sun is a hot, burning body, emitting tho heat we feel in the sunlight to the earth. Aeronauts who ascend very high in balloons complain of intense cold in the upper regions of our atmos phere. The Bummits of mountains in the tropics, directly under the most pow erful rays of tho sun, are covered with perpetual snow. The ordinary effects of heat are conduction, radiation, reflec tion, refraction and undulation, nil of which tend to reduce the power of heat. Now, from the fact that on the surtace of the earth more heat is felt and observed than when we approach nearer tho sun, it is very evident that heat does not emanate "from tho sun, beeuuse we all know, that we always feel warmer as we approach a hot object. Berides, from our knowledge of the results of combus tion, no explanation can be given of the condition of the sun, as for nearly six tho isnnd years no diminution whatever cnu be detected in its brightness, and wo can discern no indication that it will not continue in the same undiminished splendor for six thousand years more; but with a burning sun, of the bulk the sun is known to be and with the great power it is known to have, an inexhaus tible supply of fuel would bo neeueu, and very perceptible changes would be discerned. This inexhaustible amount of fuel is not compatible with a limited and finite sphere, as the sun, and we have no evidence that the sun is under going any decudence. I would suggest thut since blue rays seem to have so many beneficial results iu tho nursery, hospital and hot house, a greater amount of good results may be obtained il, in stead of using flat blue glass, which merely gives a blue tinge to tho light, the gl'uss be clear white, but of prismatic form, bo as to separate the blue ray en tirely from the other colored rays com posing a beam of light. It appears to me that if there be any virtue in General Pleasonton's experiments with blue class, the good results would be more discernible than in commingling blue rays with the other ravs, which is cer taiuly done wheu light is allowed to pass through blue glass. Let a beom of light be passed through some convenient sized prism, and let tho blue ray, which will then be divided from the other colors, foil only on the diseased member or limb, or on some plant experiuientea with, free from all the interfering man ences of the other colors. And. in this way, experiments may be made with the other colors composing a beam of light, the effects watched, and perhaps some important results may be obtained which may be usefully npplied in the arts, manufactures and vorioiifi pursuits. Very respectfully, 'Lawbenck S. Benson. Sorving the Fatherland. According to the conscription laws of Germany every youth upon attaining his twentieth birthday is required to enter tho array and servo three years. This does not apply aloto to those residing in the mother country, but also to those of German birth who have not been ex patriated, but whose business or in clination has called them abroad. For some time post many young Ger mans who had not become tlenational 'zed, und therefore were liable to con scription, have upon attaining the re quired ago crossed tho ocean and pre sented themselves before their respective district " befehlshaber " for enlistment in the "landwehr," but in many in stances only to find themselves rejected on account of physical disability. Thus they had the expenses of a useless and costly trip thrown upon them in their desire to obey the laws of the fatherland. To obviate this, the German government some time since instructed their repre- .. ... ..... sentutive in this country (o appoint a medicnl examiner to pass upon the physi- cal condition of those who should pre sent themselves for inilitarf duty. To this position Dr. Tellkoppf has been ap pointed. Before the German consul at New York, Mr. Fred. Hinckel, appeared seven young men ready to serve their time. They were examined by the doc tor in the presence of the consul, as the .law directs, and five were passed. They will take the next German steamer for their native land. An Officer of Nerve. TllA nPnlfllrt HJrirln cava PnnfinAmont is irksome, so tho prisoners attempted to escape from the stoneyard again yes terday. One Charles Jones, a negro from Detroit, is the ringleader of the in surrections since Buster Kelley was emancipated. The plan yesterday was to escape by tearing up part of the floor in an obscure part of the building. Super intendent Van Ettan was alone, the other officers having all gone off to par take of a Sunday feast. As soon as he heard the noise he went into the hull where the convicts, fifteen in number, were congregated. They gathered around him in r menacing manner, as they knew that he wus alone and that they hud him at a disadvantage. He reached in his pockets to get this revolver to be prepared for them if they should attempt a mutiny, when, to his consternation, he fouud he was totally unarmed. He realized that he was at the mercy of a mob of fifteen as desperate criminals as were ever con fined in a penal institution, and that among them was the well known McCul- loin, who has become the terror almost of the officers. He showed nc signs of alarm, but looked the sterner, and, un locking the cell doors, ordered the men to go inside, standing with his hand in that empty pocket in which there was not so much as a jack knife. The prison ers, supposing 'that he was armed, sul lenly obeyed, little dreaming how com pletely he was in their power and how easily they couhl have escaped by the use of vio!no enough to overpower one trivj Coffined In. a Trance. A St. Paul paper says : During the past winter Jonas Nilson lias been em ployed nt one of the lumbering camps, until about three weeks ago, when a , portion of a tree fell on him while he wns engaged at chopping in the woods, inflicting injuries which were believed to bo fatal. Nilson wos carried to the . . . J r. . u camp by his companions, imu niir a period of extreme Bunenng no ueguu to fail, finally becoming unconscious and pulseless, and the pallor of death overcoming his countenance. The men at the camp naturally concluded that their unfortunate companion was dead, os no sign of life could be detected. The body of the supposed dead man was put. in the only coffin which could be procured a long dry goods box sent by wagon . t jthc nearest railroua station, and tnence forwarded to an old personal friend of Nilson's, John Peterson, who resides near the brickyard in that city. The coffin and body, after arriving in Minne apolis, were conveyed to the residence of Mr. Peterson, according to directions, but were kept lor two (toys to anow time to prepare for a decent burial. Whilo the body was in the rucio conin at the residence of -Mr. Peterson an other old friend called to see it, and gave the corpse a close and critical examina tion. Something about it produced a profound impression upon the visitor, and he suddenly looked up with a pleased but startled expression and exeiaimea : " Why, Jonas Nilson is not dead !" Whilo the majority of those present did not place much confidence iu the remark, all agreed that an attempt to bring the body to life would not do any harm, even if it iailed in accomplishing any actual good. Nilson's body wos lifted from the coffin, placed in a comfortable bed, and restoratives carefully adminis tered. Under the treatment a trace of life's healthy blood revealed itself on the pallid surface of the body, and at the eid of two hours the eyes of the sup posed dead man gradually opened and rested upon those present. The rays of returning consciousness mid intelli gence were plainly discerned by the by standers. The astonishment and joy were so great that at first no ono ven tured to speak to the resurrected lum berman, but at last one ventured the question : " Nilson, are you cold ?" Without moving his body, but with eyes resting upon his interlocutor, Nil son faintly answered with the single word, "Yes." The friends then redoubled their exer tions, and a physician was summoned. Nilson was made as warm and comforta ble as possible. Since the date of his resusciution, the attention bestowed upon him has been tender and unremit ting, and he is responding to the friend ly offices of those around him with evi dences of gradual but certain improve ment. A THevr York Prize Fighter. Joseph Coburn, the prize fighter, who has been sentenced in New York to im prisonment for asaalting two police offi cers, came to this country from Ireland while quite young, learned the trade of mason aud bricklayer, and became what is known as a good mechanic. He soon, however, developed into a "sport," prac ticed sparring and. became a barroom fighter. Although endowed with moro than average physical strength, he dis played a fondness for pistols and other dangerous weapons, and was known among his associates as a cowardly bully. His pugilistic record embraced prize v fights with "Patsy" Flynn, "Con" Fitz gerald, "Australian lvelly, Harry Gnb ben, Edmund E. Price, now a practicing lawyer at the Tombs, and others of the same class. In November, 1858, Coburn, in company with two other desper adoes named Henry Drake and Paddy Duffy, while engaged in a quarrel in West Houston street with Officer Samuel Davidson, now of the Fifteenth precinc4;, Btabbed him in the breast.inflicting a dan gerous wound. To this offense Coburn pleaded guilty, and was sent to State prison for three years and six months. He only served a portion of the term, however, being released through politi cal influence, and on obtaining his dis charge resumed his old practices. He rtiiiii'fi ill Niii'f.Ksinn n nuninfip rtT irnr . .. - - AV8, " " ."' 4" Uy "the fancy." Ho speedily began to lose his reputation as a prize fighter, and lost caste with his admirers after his fizzle with Mace in 1871. He was accused of brutally ill-treating his wife or mistress Kitty Coburn, and finally shot her "ac cidentally," inflicting a wound from which she subsequently died. He was also charged with shooting at a disrepu table woman and was the hero of a score of other cowardly assaults, the victims in which dare not make complaint against him. In addition to this he was indicted for striking a car conductor with the butt end of a pistol, and for assaulting an un offending citizen about a year ago, and at the time of his nrrest kept a low "free aml enBy" at T Thirty-third street and Broadway. New York Times. A Toad Story. Dr. Macdonald, of Ward's island, lec tured about the delusion of the insane. Speaking of persons who imagined themselves to be horses, birds, etc., he said: A lady believed she had a toad in her stomach and grew very ill in consequence. Her physician, after vainly endeavoring to coax her out of the idea, gave her an emetic, and while she was vomiting, dexterously slipped a toad into the basin j i .j . .. ami ca:ieu ner attention to it. xor a time she wos cured, but a few weeks later she had the same symptoms as be fore, and insisted that the toad must have given birth to some young oues, which were still in her stomach. The doctor, however, persuaded her that this could not be the ca?e, since the animal she hod thrown up was a mnle. This effected a permanent cure. Internal jealousies are so ttrong in Egypt that several men are appointed to do the work of one, in order that each nationality may be represented. Au Englishman and Frenchman attend to the taxation ; two Englishmen and one Frenchman control the railroad service; an Englishman, an Italian, an Austrian and a Frenchman regulate the publio debt; while representatives of twelve natiorftlitia eoeupy sett on th judicial neiicri
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers