A
- ; ..i v. " i "
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL DESPERANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
III DG WAY, ELK COUNTY, PA.j -..THURSDAY, APIUL 26, 1877.
NO. 10.
: ' Tho Sprlntf Bird.
Dear little blue bird, .
" Herald of spring;
- Swallow this cough drop
?'l'oor little thing!
Warbling go hoarsely
Of April's approach)
- Hunting around for a
Bronchial troche.
IW.litUo bine bird,
. Don'tjyou go off,
'Tie up your little neck,
Doctor that cough. '
Soon April violets,
Kissed by the breeze, 1
Will Bhiver and wince as they
Uxt to your sneeze.
Don't be discouraged yet,
Herald of spring;
Shake all the icicles
. Off from yonr wing.
1 Who knows what wonders
Cough care may do;
Sing, little blue bird
"At-chee! At-ohee!"
BARBARA'S DIFFICULTY.
That' Barbara Hawkins owed a good deal
to her step-mother was a fact that she could
not have concealed from herself if she had
tried.
Her father's house had been a very home
of discomfort during the dull interim be
tween her own mother's death and the arri
val of the youthful and winning stranger
who had been somehow persuaded bv Stpuire
Hawkins to "come and take keer of his lit
tle darter."
The history, of the next five years, in
which slic herself had grown from girlhood
to womanhood, included . all the genuine
sunshine of Barbara's life, and she knew to
whom that change, and a good many other
excellent things, were due.
Then, since the squire had been gathered
to his fathers, what a notable manager had
Widow Hawkins proved herself for the
very moderate property he had left behind
him !,
It was just there that the difficulty was
now coming in, for that which, with such
good management, had kept the two women
very nicely so long as thev lived together,
could continue to do so onfy under justthnt
state of allaim. The widow's Bhare, if set
apart by itself, would be only another name
for poverty. True, and yet what suitor, or
at least which, pne of the two now nearest
to a proper condition for consideration,
would care to " marry a mother-in-law,
and a step-mother at that, as well as a wife?
" And she understands it," said Barbara
to herself that September afternoon, "as
well rs I do. She's as polite to both of them
as if they were courting her instead of me.
I must say it's been very convenient once or
twice, for they both like her. In fact,
everybody likes her, and that's what makes
my position so very peculiar." .
A very pretty girl was Barbara Hawkins;
even prettier than her step-mother, and that
was saying something, in spite of the
widow's thirty years. .
A bit of a belle, too was the squire's
" heiress" in that unambitious rural com
munity, and by no means without some
characteristics which put the village gos
sips at times in mind of " Squire Hawkins'
fust wile."
At the present juncture, however, the
public opinion of the Dorcas Society was
more than usually perplexed. The best
judges nl Mich matters' were inclined to
" guess Bill Emmons is a leetle ahead,"
although t!.c:' was sure to be followed by the
remark : . '' But then, you know, Dan Glo
ver's got ten dollars to 'Bill's one, and he's a
mighty sight stiddier."
And Barbara was in a worse quandary
about it than the Dorcas Society knew how
to be, for at times she almost suspected her
heart of threatening an impertinent inter
ference before her head could have a fair
chance.
"She'd be entitled to a third, I sup
pose, soliloquized the fair maiden, " and
she's a wonderful hand with her needle.
There's no danger of her starving. There's
lots of folks'd be glad enough to have her
come and live with them."
And Barbara did not know it, but a train
of thought ve,ry nearly related to her own
was at that moment passing through the
mind of the widow, as she stepped lightly to
and fro aiming the household duties, of
which she kindly relieved her step-daughter.
"I don't hear the piano," murmured the
soft, low voice of the widow, "and yet I
know she wanted to practice that new piece.
Young Kmmons'll be here this evening. I
ought not to say a word in such a matter.
She's old enough to decide for herself, but
why can't she see that Dan Grover's worth
live hundred of him? not to mention his
big farm, and that's something nowadays.
I won't put that in her head, however not
for the world. I've paid dearly enough 'for
making just that sort of a mistake, lietter
have gone out to service or taken in sew
ing. That's what I may have to do when
Barbara's married."
The neat, tidy figure . paused in the
kitchen doorway as she said that,- and a
shnde of darkness swept across her face.
' ' " Live in the house with Bill Emmons for
the master of it?" she exclaimed, after a
paused. "Not I, indeed! She won't have
sense enough to settle on Dan Grover, I'm
afraid. Would I stay, then, if she did?
Not so long as , I could earn or beg any
other shelter!"
The last exclamation came out with un
necessary energy, and the widow caught up
a broom and made an immediate assault on
the kitchen floor.
The sweeping was very unnecessary in
deed. Barbara Lad clearly misunderstood her
step-mother, and the widow had also failed
to penetrate the mind of the squire's pretty
-and sensible' representative.
That was only too good a reason why the
sheet of music forwarded by Mr. Emmons
had received so little attention that after
noon. Barbara's morning walk had carried her
post the fine old homestead of the Grover?,
now the sole property of the present family
representative, and she had noted only too
precisely the renovating and beautifying
process on which Pan was expending half
the proceeds of that year's liberal wheat
crop.
Carpenters, glaziers, painters; and all
the Dorcas Society was in arms, she knew,
about the extravagant waste with which
the old-fashioned interior was transforming.
More than one village critic had added
to his other charitable thoughts the sur
mise: "Looks kinder bad for Bill Em
mons;" and Barbara herself could have as
sured them of the correctness of their rea
soning. -
She was too kind hearted, however, not
p 44 W.bewelf I " So much th better too,
for Mrs. Hawkins. Neither Dan nor I
would object to her living at the old place
till we could 1ind a buyer. I only wish
she could raise the money and buy it her
self." '
It wm, therefore, as the mistress nt the
renovated mansion behind the maples at
the turn of the road that Barbara Hawkins
was considering herself when tea time
came, and she was quite willing to hurry
back into the parlor while her ready handed
step-mother supervised their solitary "help"
in putting away the tea things.
By the time poor Bill Emmons made his
appearance, after his long day's drudgery
in the one law office of the village, where
he was the junior, and therefore perhaps
the working, partner by that time Barbara
was ready, civilly as she received him, to
wish he would postpone his call until she
could " receive him in so much better
style." And yet that night, of all nights,
the young lawyer had made up his mind to
put his fate to the test, " and win or loose it
till."
Not a bad fellow was Bill, and he had
more than once reflected how charmingly
convenient was the location of the Hawkins
homestead, and what a tremendous lift the
possession of that and the productive little
faim belonging thereto would give to a
struggling young lawyer like himself. The
fact that he was over head and ears in love
with Barbara made tho whole affair abso
lutely beautiful.
Sad was the trial to his impatient feel
ings, therefore, when all the eloquence of
which he was master and he had long
considered himself master of the situation
as well only resulted in obtaining for him
a promise from Barbara that she " would
consult her step-mother."
"Such a change it would make for her
if I should leave her?" sighed Barbara.
"Not nt all, not at all," eagerly ex
claimed Bill. " She could live with us,
vou know. Everybody likes her. I'm sure
I do. She wouldn't be in the way at all."
But vain was all he could say or do, ex
cept that Barbara's vision of the Grover
farm and hou?e may have receded some
what as she listened to the pleading of her
suitor. She almost "hoped Dan might not'
come that evening, for not only the present
situation had its charms, but it might have
itB perils as well. Dan Grover was not a
man to be trilled with, she knew, for all
his quiet, self contained ways.
And so it was with something of a feel
ing of relief that Barbara listened, at last,
to the bur of the big kitchen clock striking
nine.
It was at the same instant that the
shadows of two who were walking side by
side in the moonlight fell on the gate in "a
singularly unified manner; and then, as the
gate opened, Barbara sprang to her feet
with a slight exclamation. She had been
sitting close to the low window seat, and
she had not seen fit, or had forgotten, to
light a lamp.
There may or there may not have been
any cause for surprise, but'the way of it had
been this: No sooner were the tea things
out of the way than Mrs. Hawkins remem
bered an errand she had in the village, and
had s'.ipped quietly out to perform it. Nor
would so simple a matter have taken two
long hours, but that, just as the widow was
stepping across the little foot-bridge at the
brook, the form of a tall, broad shouldered,
vigorous man of, say, thirty-five summers
i-tood before he1, and a deep voice re
marked : '
" Bight about face, please. 1 want a bit
of a talk with you, and there'd be no
chance for it at the house."
Not a word said the widow, as Dan Gro
ver drew her arm in his, but she thought,
" If he wants to speak of Barbara, he's
right, for Bill Emmons must be there bv
this time. What a fool she is! He don't
begin to compare with Dan."
It must be confessed, however, that it
seemed wonderfully pleasant, even when
Dan tinned up the shadowy lane toward
the grove, and when he seemed dispused to
put off his express business: and to talk of
his farm and his house, and at last of, him
self. "I have everything around me fixed as
nicely as I could ask for," he remarked at
length ; " but I grow lonelier every day.
The fact is, I've determined to have a wife,
if I can jet the one I want; but there's
only one in all the wide world. I'd be
lonelier than I am now with any other."
" Why don't you speak to her, then ?"
said the widow, with a half-ehokcd feeling
in her throat. "She's a very sensible girl,
but I don't think it would lie right for me
to try to influence her. I believe a woman
has no right to marry without loving."
(juick ns lightning very different from
Dan's ordinary calm, slow style was his
responsive query: "Have you nl ways been
of that opinion? Have you acted o'n it?"
The plump, soft hand' on his arm was
jerked away in an instant, and Barbara's
step-mother was almost sobbing with angry
and wounded feeling, as she stepped back
from him, exclaiming: "How dare you!
What have you to do with that? Ask
Barbara for her secrets, if you will. Mine
are my own."
" Exactly' responded the steady minded
Dan, but his voice was shaking now in
spite of his self-control. "You have told
me part of your secret, Marian Hawkins,
whether you meant to or not. I knew you
could never have loved him. Now I will
tell you mine. You are the one woman
without whom I must forever be lonely.
Y'ou have been onlyf too faithful to Bar
bara, or you would have seen it before."
Rapid, earnest, passionate, grew the
strong man's words as he uttered them, and
he closed with a Biidden forward movement.
Before the widow knew it, Dan's arms were
around her, and even her tears betrayed
her.
It was too late for anything but to let
Dan have his own way. Such a willful fel
low he was, too. And when at last the
widow insisted on going homeward, their
arrival at the gate was signalized by just
such another theft as he had perpetrated
twenty times already, for Barbara's ex
clamation had been simply : ' Kissed
her ! 3
Never was a lamp lit so quickly in all the
world before; but, Toetween the finding and
the scratching of the match. Bill Emmons
managed to say for he was a fellow of ex-"
cellent mind " 1'erhaps, Barbara, that may
remove some of our difficulties."
And Barbara made no reply ; but when
Dan and the widow came into the parlor, it
was not easy to say which of the two women
was blushing the most violently.
"It's all right, Bill," remarked Dan. " I
don't know that any explanations are re
quired. You have our entire consent."
The visions of the newly painted house
had faded from the mind of Barbara Haw
kins, but it was Dan's remark that called
her attention to the manner in which she
was clinging to the arm of Bill Emmons.
The latter was equal to the occasion, how
iver, for he replied :
" Well, so long as I've got Barbara's I
don't mind having yours;" and then be
added, quickly s " I say, Dan, you and I
are two fellows of remarkably good sense."
So Barbara's difficulty about her step
mother's future as well as her own was re
moved from her entirely, and, curiously
enough, Dan Grover spent the remainder
nt hisnuturnl lifcin the unbroken assurance
that neither he nor his admirable wife h;,d
ever known but one love.
The Teamsters of '5H.
Mr, George Lowery, of Haverhill,
Mass., is one of the few survivors of the
body of teamsters for the murder of
whom, while under the Mormon escort,
Brighnm Young is alleged to have issued
an order ou the nineteenth of April, 1858.
Mr. Lowery is very positive that the
order had reference to the party of which
he was one, and not to the party so bru
tnlly murdered at Mountain Meadow the
September previous. The survivor states
that he was a teamster in Oencrnl John
sou's expedition ngainst Utah iu 1807.
He and eight other teamsters separated
from that command ond started for Cali
fornia. They got lost iu tho mountains,
wandered about for a month, finally com
ing out into Molnda valley, where they
were captured by a Mormon sergeant
and taken to Box Elder City. From
thence they were tnkeu to Salt Lake City.
At that point n party of forty-two team
sters were gathered, who wanted to go
to Cnliforniit, and Colonel Lee, thou iu
command there, gave permission for their
departure, turning them over to Captain
Smith, with an escort of seventy-two
men, proposing to accompany them to
Castle Rocks, a distance of 150 miles.
Before starting they accidentally heard
of the order from Brighnm Young for
their mnssncre at a point 100 miles away,
but concluded to arm themselves nnd
take the risk. They purchased guns and
ammunition of apostate Mormons, the
guns being takou apart and secreted with
their ammunition iu sacks of flour, con
stituting pnrt of their supplies. The
party of forty-two were only allowed to
take one double barreled gun aud a re
volver. The teamsters and their escorts
had separate enmps, and nt the end of the
tirst dny's march, ou entering the camp
for the night, the teamsters prepared
their guns and were.realy by morning to
give 121 shots without reloading. In the
morning the Mormons were astonished
to find an armed party in charge, but
moved on in another day's march, which
took them fifty miles away. Ou the
morning of the third day the Mormons
announced their determination to leave
the party there, instead of accompanying
them to Castle Rocks, nnd did so, return
ing to Salt Luke City. Had the team
sters been unarmed t hey would doubtless
have been slaughtered iu obedience to
Brigham Young's order. They proceeded
in snfety.reaebingCnliforniain Juue,1858.
She Couldn't Spare her Darling:.
A young couple from Lebanon, says
the Ncies, nppeared nt the office of a
squire to get married. The squire,
who had beou seen before, agreed to do
the job nt the lowest market price." The
lady, a beautiful blonde of twenty sum-'
mors, looked gay and happy, while the
couutenance of the gentleman was care
worn. The squire meant business, nnd
was just about looking up the form
book, when the thought struck him that
it was his dutv first to learn the ages of
the parties. The question "How old are
you ?" had only been propounded to the
young man, when, before lie could nn
swer, in rushed the mothers of the
groom aud bride, almost breathless with
excitement. A lively scene followed.
The young man, still in his teens, see
ing bis mother enter nnd taking in her
intentions at n glance, joined with her tit
once in protesting loudly ngainst tho
imposition about to be consummated,
exclaiming : "I was only in fun; I am
too voung yet," the mof her hammering
on the desk with her fist and crying out :
" I can't spare my boy, my darling.
He's under age. I'll prosecute the
squire if he does it."
The would-be bride and her mother,
equally excited aud wildly gesticulating,
insisted on the ceremony, saying :
" Now or never," " Squire do your
duty," "A bargain is a bargain," "No
backing out !" Meanwhile the wit
nesses (all females), who had gathered
by request fled in terror to the adjoin
ing room, leaving the bachelor squire to
tho mercies of the contending parties.
The combatants cooled down, the would
be bride agreeing to wait a few' years
longer, at tho risk of becoming an old
maid, until her intended has attained
three times seven.
What Will Be Done.
The well and entirely satisfactorily
tried experiment of young women ns
clerks at railwny stations in Euglnud,
the Rochester Union says, will be adopt
ed by the Erie railway. It seems that
Mr. Jewett, while in .hngland recently,
made a thorough examination of the
system, and was so pleased with its
workings that he intends, with the con
sent of the bondholders and officers of
the line to adopt it. We can imagine
what might possibly, probably would
occur, should he carry the innovation
into effect. Railroad ware would at once
ensue. The Erie would hardly announce
that on and after April 1 the Erie bog
gage would be checked and the Erie
tickets be sold by a corps of lovely
blondes, before the New York Central
would bill the city with brunette paper,
announcing that on the first of May a
troupe of beautiful brunettes, secured in
Europe at an enormous expense, would
smash the baggage, money purses, and
hearts of passengers via the New York
Central. Then the Michigan Southern
would put on the road not only ticket
sellers, but conductresses, brakesmisses
aud sleeping car porteresses, with special
instructions to look after the comfort of
passengers. Then the Baltimore and
Ohio would surge out with a splendid lot
of Circassian sopranos to sing iu their
parlor civts, and to otherwise relieve the
tedium of a long journey. And in fact
there is no telling where this progress
would end. Mr. Jewett had better think
of this before he decides.
Vermont. The sugar season brings
to mind the saying of John G. Saxe, that
Vermont was noted for four staple pro
ducts oxen, maple sugar, girls and
horses:
The first are strong,
The last are fleet,
The second and third exceedingly sweet,
And all uncommon hard to beat.
Two Storied.
A Massachusetts gentleman, just re
turned from over the Canadian border,
tells us these stories: He was in the
hotel general accommodation room when
two veterans of the (hotel) bar, laying
schemes for a drink, began to tell stories
to each other for his benefit. " These
are nwful hard times," said one. "I
never saw such times before, except
when I was in Ohio, an' then I was hard
Eut to 't to git along. Nothin to do. I
ad a yoke of Bteers, but they wan't
earnin' nothin'. But I lived right on
the rood the Western immigrants went
over every day. So I dug a hole in that
road at the . foot o' the hill, near my
house, turned a livin' spring o' water
into 't, nnd made a good mud hole.
Well, when the immigrants came along,
every day there would be one or more
teams git stuck in my mud hole, nu' they
would see my steers standin' out doiu'
nothin', nn' they would send up nn git
me to come an' help 'em out; an' Inlwruz
charged ns much as $5 a lift. Well, I
kep' that mud hole right up in good re
pair till I made $25,000 out on't, an'
then I sold it out for 83,000, nn' moved
up here." Story number two was the
other Munchausen's companion piece
for the yoke of Bteers. " When I was a
choppin' I could chop some, you know
an' folks used to nsk me how much I
could do in a dny. ' Have you ever tried
it?' says they. 'No, never,' says I;
never but once, nn' that wa'n' really a
try.' You see, jest to show 'em what I
could do, I got up one winter morn in'
afore light an' ground up my ax sharp,
oh, jest ns sharp, an' went into the
woods. An' I chopped like sixty till
about three o'clock iu the a'ternoon,
when I thought it was as much ns I could
pile afore sundown, an' I went to pilin'.
Well, when I had it ail piled up it
measured twenty-seven cord. An' then
I knew somethin' was wrong, for I knew
at the rate I had been choppin' it
oughter be more. So I went back nu'
begun lookin' 'round to see what the
tronble wns. An' there, right nt the fust
tree I cut in the mornin' wns my ox
hend. You see, the thing wns loose an'
slipped off, nu' I had been choppin' nil
day with the bare helve."
Precautions Agninst Fire.
If great fires or small are frequently
due to simple causes it is also true that
all such conflagrations can be prevented
by equally simple precautions. We
have only to observe how fires generally
originate in order to take the proper
measures for guarding ngninst them.
Woodwork unprotected enters too large
ly into the construction of our public
nud private buildings. It furnishes
ready food for tho flames. -.,Then wood
work should not bo tised so much and
should be guarded by masonry or some
non-conductor of flame.' .Wooden
staircases become mre-de?th traps dur.
ing fires. From their structure they
burn and carry the names rapidly from
the basement to tho top of a building
Then we must modify our stuir building
and use iron nioro extensively. Eleva
tors and dumb waiters become fire flues
of the mot dangerous kind. They
should be fitted with sliding or folding
horizontal doors on each floor, so ns to
cut off the draught nt the first alarm of
fire. Large buildings, such ns hotels,
should have coils of knotted rope long
enough to reach to the ground ready at
each window that does not open on a
regular five escape ladder. These con
bo used very quickly by tho inmates who
are cut off from any other means of
egress. All large buildings, such as
theaters, hotels, fnctories and ware
houses, where many people assemble
or are engaged, should be divided into
sections by fireproof walls fitted with iron
doors. By these means the tire cnu bo
confined to the section in which it breaks
out nnd the general danger lessened.
No storage of iu flammable materials
should be permitted iu uny but vaulted
basements with iron doors. Mutches
that ignite by friction on ordinary sur
faces should not be used. Thus, looking
over the long list, of causes of fire, we
find that they suggest preventives,
which, if wo only adopt them, will re
duco the chances of danger from the
probable to the possible. JVcio York
Herald.
A Desperate Situation.
The company belonging to Montgom
ery Queen's circus pussed through the
public streets of San Francisco. The
lust wagon in the caravan consisted of a
cage containing a lion and lioness, and
tiger and their keeper. The tiger
crouched stealthily in one corner of the
cage, the lioness in another, nud between
them snt the keeper. During the entire
parade tho lion manifested a good deal
of uneasiness at the presence of the
tiger in the cage, nnd made several at
tempts to approach it, but was prevented
from doing so by the keeper. When op
posite the Nevada block, on Montgomeiy
street, however, tho two animals man
aged to rush upon one another Then
followed one of the most exciting scenes
imaginable. The keeper rushed in be
tween the iufuriated animals for the pur
pose of separating them, and the curious
and horror-stricken crowd rushed in
stinctively toward the cage to render
assistance, were it potsible. While en
guged in separating the beasts, the lion
seized the keeper's thigh and drove his
teeth deep into the flesh. The excited
crowd on the outside then began to raise
their voices in nlarm, but the mnn whose
life was thus placed in jeopardy coolly
told them to be quiet, and seizing an
iron bar he struck the lion on the head
Beverul times, finally compelling him to
release las hold and return to ins comer,
Blood flowed freely from his wounds.
iiivins Iu.
A story is told of two worthy New
England deacons between whom a bitter
feud had long existed coue'irniug some
contested point. Neither wouli yield,
ana ine matter tmentenea to be handed
down to the next generation, when one
day Deacon Smith nppeared before his
old enemy and solemnly paid " Brother
Jones, it is a shame that this quarrel of
ours should bring scandal upon the
church. I have prayed earnestly for
guidance in the matter, and have come
to the conclusion that yon must give iu,
for I cannot,"
Riotous Soldiers.
Several companies of the One Hun
dred aud Seventeenth foot hired the
large hall of the "Heilige Geist," in
Mayence, Germany, for the purpose of
holding a ball, to' be attended only by
members of that regiment. Toward ten
o'clock, however, a ntimber of men be
longing to other regiments garrisoned
there, hussars and artillerymen, it would
seem, who were amusing themselves be
low in a smaller room open to all, went
upstairs and tried to gain an entrance
into the ballroom. But ingress was de
nied them by the doorkeepers. They,
therefore, endeavored to effect their pur
pose by force, which was in turn by
force frustrated.
Several such attempts were made in
the course of the evening, but nothing
serious occurred till near midnight,
when the officers of the One Hundred
nud Seventeenth regiment went down to
sup, leaving their men to continue the
dancing in the hall above. At this junc
t ire from fifteen to twenty men of the
husBars went up ond desired to be ad
mitted into the ballroom. This was re
fused them, nnd they instantly drew
their swords. A hand-to-hand encounter
now began, and at the same time stones
were thrown through the windows into
the room below, where the officers were
at supper, one of the missiles lighting
on the table.
A crowd of soldiers had assembled
outside, aud as the shower of stones wos
becoming thicker every moment, the
officers summoned their men from the
ballroom and made a dash out into the
street, with the object of scattering their
assailants. A violent struggle now en
sued, which gradually drew the combat
ants away in the direction of tke Schlos
splntz, where the men of the One Hun
dred and Seventeenth mauaged to get
their bnyonets from their quarters and
make a charge. From twenty to thirty
men were more or leBs seriously wound
ed, and a drummer was killed. The
governor of the place ordered nil the
men to be confined in their barracks nnd
a strict investigation to be made.
Thoughts for Saturday Nighl.
The sweetest pleasure is in imparting it.
Most pleasures, like flowers, when
gathered, die.
Amid the roses fierce repentance rears
her snaky crest.
Pleasures ore like poppies shed you
c.iu seize the flower, its bloom is shed.
The shadow of our pleasures is the
pain that seems so suiely to follow them.
There are occasions when the general
belief of tho people, even though it be
groundless, works its effect as sure as
truth itself.
Good breeding is benevolence in trifles,
or the preference of others to ourselves
in the little daily occurrences of li e.
Tho pride of the heart is the attribute
of honest men; pride of manners that of
fools; the pride of birth nud rank is often
the pride of dupes.
The prejudices of ignorance are more
easily removed thuu the prejudices of in
terest; the first ore all blindly adopted,
the second willfully preferred.
If wo would amend the world, we
should amend ourselves, and teach our
children not to be what we ore ourselves,
but what they shquld be.
None are too wise to be mistaken, but
few are so wisely just as to acknowledge
aud correct their mistakes, and especially
the mistake of prejudice.
I should entertain a mean opinion of
myself if all men, or the most pnrt,
praised and ndmired me; it would prove
me to be somewhat like them.
High Heels and Crooked Shins.
It is worthy of note that while a ma
lignant hatred of Chinese individually is
fomented under cover of hostility to their
immigration, our females have fallen in
love with Chinese costumes and customs,
in somo respects, and accepted them as
models. The pictures of Chinese ladies
to which one has been accustomed for
many years bear a close resemblance to
the American belle of the present day.
The repulsive hump, the crippled feet,
and the mincing gait of our women, if
they do not fortify the Darwinian theory
of the origin of the species from monkeys,
at least give me appearance of retrogra
ding monkeyward. The dress, uncouth
and deformed ns it is, would not of itself
deserve notice; but the high heels, crip
pling tho feet ond distorting the limbs,
are an outrage ou grace, on anatomy, ou
humanity, entitling the authors, could
they bo detected, to criminal responsi
bility. A convention of corn doctors
in the interest of their trade could not
devise a better scheme for good times.
Women whose pedals are solidified may
escape with only corns, of which we hope
and pray they may have a f u'l and tender
crop. But that a whole generation of
little girls should have their toes jammed
into the toes of their boots, to do the
work of heels, and that their legs should
be thrown out of their natural balance
and the pliant bones bent into semi-circles,
is a sacrifice to fashion which would
disgrace a nation of Hottentots. Pacific
Medical Journal. ,
Au Earnest Shepherd.
A young man who lives on a farm
near Bochnro, Australia, lately went to
sleep on a sola after a hard clay s work,
and had been lying there sometime when
he got up and went outside. His com
panions observed that ho walked with
a staggering gait, but little notice was
taken of the matter, us they expected
him to rejoin them immediately. The
somnambulist, for such he wus, passed
through three or four gates, untying and
retyiug the fastenings, which are made
of rope, and made his way to tho wool
shed. There he huug his coat upon a
nail, took down a pair of shears he had
been using iu the daytime, and proceed
ed to sharpen them. He next caught a
sheep, and had just finished shearing it,
when he was' wakened bv tho sudden
arrival of his friends, who had CJine with
a lantern to search for him. The shock
of awakening caused him to tremble
like a leaf, but he soon regained his
equanimity. The sheep was shorn as
well as if the work had teen performed
in broad daylight and the night was by
no means a clear one.
THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.
Its Exlrnl, I'opulnttou nnd Army.
It is calculated that the empire of the
czar extends over one-seventh of the
lnnd surface of the globe and represents
about one-twenty-sixth of its entire su
perficial area. It is difficult to arrive nt
the true area of Russia, on account of
ttie obstacles that present themselves to
the making of a general survey of such
an immcuse extent of country. The
nearest estimate, because it was deemed
the most accurate, wns ninde in 1874,
whereby the area of the empire was set
down at 8,404,767 square miles. It is
divided iuto two sections, the European
aud Asiatic, the former having an area
of about 86,039 square miles and a
population of 63,658,934. This does
not include either the kingdom of Po
land, the grand duchy of Finland or the
Caucasian provinces. The population of
Russian Poland is 5,705,607 nnd its area
2,210 square miles. Finland has 1,843,
245 inhabitants ond on area of 6,835
square miles, and the Caucasus 4,661,
824 inhabitants and is 7,938 square miles
in area. Russia iu Asia has an estimated
population of 6,302,412, but these in
habitants belong chiefly to the Nomadic
tribes.
The population of Russia is divided
into three great groups, besides a va
riety of national elements intermixed iu
the general mass of the inhabitants.
The Great Russians, or Vcliko Jiitss,
number 35,000,000 and occupy the prov
inces. The Little Russians, or Malo
number about 11,000,000, ond
form the bulk of the population in Pul
tava, Kharkof, Chermgof, Kief, Vol
hynia, Podolsk, Ekaterinoslaf and tho
Lauridn. The white Russians, about
3,000,000 in number, nro found in Mont
lef, Minsk, Vitebsk and Grodno. With
these groups nre the Finns, 3,038,000;
Lithuanians, 2,343,000; Jews, 1,631,000;
Tartars, 2,500,000; Slavonians iu Poland
and Lithuania, nbout 7,000,000, nnd
Armenians, 2,000,000.
From the above described population
is drawn the regular army of the Rus
sian empire. The armed force of Rus
sia is composed of an active nnd a terri
torial army. The first is divided into the
land nnd marine forces. The land force
comprises the regular troops anuunlly
recruited throughout the empire; the re
serves intended to complete the strength
of the army to n war footing and com
posed of men ou leave; the irregular
troops, such as the Cossacks nnd the
troops composed of foreign elements.
The territorial army is formed by nil
the male inhabitants of tho empire, be
tween the oges of twenty ond forty, who
are fit for military service ond not Al
ready enrolled in the active or regular
army. By n law of Jonuary 13, 1874,
the military service is rendered obliga
tory ou all Russian subjects, except in
some of the most isolated districts of
Siberia, Turkestan aud the transcaucas
ian territory. Exceptions are, however,
made in favor of certain professions,
such as clergymen, doctors, etc. Tho
duration of service in European Russia
is fixed at fifteen years that is, six years
iu the active nrmy and nine iu the re
serves. Iu Asiatic Russia the term of
service is limited to ten years, seven of
which ore spent in the octive army and
three in the reserves.
Using the AVron? Word.
People often use the wrong word in
ignorunce; on example is the use of de
pot for station. The latter is not only
the proper English word, it is nlso the
world's word. So, nt one time, they
Bnid saloon, supposing this word to de
scribe something more sumptuous than
a parlor. Happily the word saloon went
to tne baa. lu other enses there is
fairly good reason for using the wrong
word. 1'eopie generally know that
cent is not a penny; nud yet the euphony
reason for saying penny when a cent is
meant fairly justifies common usage;
cent is abrupt ana nnpiensant in sound
We say Indians, meaning Americans.
and knowing that our predecessors on
this continent nre not Indians at all, aud
that calling them the American Indians
only makes the matter worse. Our
reason is .that we wish to be considered
Americans ourselves. So, nlso, the peo
pie of the United States nre called
Americans abroad, though they have no
exclusive right to the title but what
can they call us in one word ? The pro
noun we helps us out partly, but we nre
huu iu wuui oi n namo.
To I)o Up Point Lace.
Fill a goblet, or any other glass dish,
with cold soapsuds made of the best
quality of washing soap; put in your
lace and place in a strong sunlight for
several nours, otten squeezing the lace,
anu cnangmg tne water U it seems
necessary; when bleached, rinse gently
in three or four waters, and, if you wish
it ecru or yellowish white, dip it into a
weak solution of clear cold coffee liouid:
if you desire to stiffen it slightly, dip it
into a very thin starch; provide yourself
with a paper of fine needles, recall the
form and looks of the collar when first
purchased; take a good pin-cushiou.
arrange your collar in the riuht form.
and gently pick into place, and secure
with the needles every point and figure
111 tllA lllO oa itn'n.ii'lian Sib4 imiAlinuol.
leave it to dry, and press either between
the leaves of a heavy book or lay between
two pieces of flannel and pass a heated
iron over it. Applique lace can be nicely
wnshed by first sewing it carefully, right
side down, to a piece of woolen flannel:
wash, stiffen slightly, and press before
removing irom the flannel.
Tho BlIiuT.
In England and Wales, iu the year
1851, there was one blind person to
every 979; in Ireland, one to 878; in
Scotland, ouo to every 900; nmkiug a
common ratio of one to every 950. In
Belgium the' proportion of blind to the
other population is one in every 1,316;
iu France, one in every 1,357; in the
lower parts of Germany, one in 950;
Prussia, ono in every 1,401; Suxouy,
one in 1,666; Switzerland, one in 1,570;
iu Sweden, one in 1,091. The popula
tion in 1850 of blind, of deaf, of dumb,
of insane, of idiotio, in the United
States, numbered 50,994 being one
blind person jtj every 2,868; in I860,
one in 2,519,
Items of Interest.
The governor of Missouri has signed n
Bounty bill, offering five cents each for
rat scalps.
There nre, at present, about ft dozen
newspapers in this country printed in
the Bohemian language.
"Insults," says a modern philosopher,
"nvn like counterfeit money. Wo can
not, binder their beiua ofl'ered, but we
nre not compelled to take them."
It is announced that nt a recent West
ern dinner party "nil the dishes were
over a hundred years old." Cnn it be
that there was nothing but spring chicken
on the table ?
General Grant remarked in Cincinnati
that he experienced great pleasure in
shaking a friend's hand now, knowing
that the owner of said hand was not look
ing for political favors.
An exchange has an article on "I rain
ing Oysters." Now we cant see what
need there is of training such docile
creatures. We never found the slightest
difficulty in making them go just where
we wanted them to.
The particular voung man looking for
a business to soot him, should try chim
ney sweeping. And the ambitious young
man, desiring a business in which he
may rise in tne worm, snouia secure
employment in a powder mill. He would
go up sooner or later.
A farmer iu Glenbuaiob. Perthshire,
recently met with a fearful death. He
was taking some hay to a place where
there were several cattle running loose.
In their anxiety to get at the provender
the cattle jostled the farmer so violently
that he fell and was trampled to death.
A committee nppointed by the New
York Academy of Medicine have report
ed a plau favoring co-operative dispen
saries among the laboring classes, mem
bers of the associations to pay stipulated
sums per week or month, and receive iu
retnrn the services of a regular physician
when needed.
A bed of yellowish colored paint,
covering au area of at least two ncres,
and having n thickness of lour leet, nas
been discovered near Cullman, Ala.
The paint is found to be superior to
ochre, as it cnn be worked without add
ing white lead, and cannot be surpassed
for water colors.
The Japanese desperado disposes of
his foe from behind. With two rapidly
delivered blows of his razor-like sword
he cleaves through the shoulder blades
aud ribs of his former friend or enemy,
as the case may be, and there is no more
to be said. If his aim is incorrect and
he misses his victim, he usually divides
the door post of the house or the nearest
thing that receives his impetus.
There is an almost complete equality
iu the world s sexes, lu France tins
balance is most nearly attained, where
for every 1,000 men there nre 1,007
women. In Sweden, to 1,000 men there
nro 1,064 women, while in Greece, to
the same number of males there are but
993 Greek women. In Paraguay there
are only 1,000 men to every 2,080
women, a state of things mainly due to
the ravages of the Brazilion war.
Au account of the business failure of
Si Keck of Cincinnati is pleasant reading
despite pity for his misfortune. Ho was
possessed of over a million dollars, was
president of several moneyed institu
tions, and estates were entrusted to his
management. By a reverse in au im
mense speculation he lost all he had;
but nn examination of his affairs showed
that not one of the institutions that
he might have plundered had suf
fered to the extent of a cent, and tho
estates in his hands had not been touch
ed. This is a bright examine in these
days.
Dr. Richardson, of England, who is
now recognized as a high authority on
matters of domestic hygiene, soys that
sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit is the right
degree of temperature for health, and
that those engaged in literary or artistic
work cannot possibly be too careful ou
this point. If their labor be prolonged
or severe, the temperature may be al
lowed to run up to sixty-five degrees, or
even seventy degrees. The same rule
npplies to all sedentary persons and chil
dren studying. Our rooms here are apt
to be nt least ten degrees too hot for
healthy persons.
A French authority recommends tho
use of sawdust instead of hair in mortar
to prevent its peeling off. His own
house, exposed to prolouged storms on
the Bea coast, had patches of mortar to
be renewed every spring, ond ofter try
ing without effect a number of substi
tutes, he found sawdust perfectly satis
factory. It was first thoroughly dried
and sifted through an ordinary grain
sieve to remove the larger particles.
The mortar was made by mixing one
part cement, two lime, two sawdust and
five sharp sand, the sawdust being first
well mixed dry with the cement and
sand.
More Farmers Needed.
The almost total cessation of immigra
tion which is reported by those who know
can be partially explained by the stagna
tion of business; but an important fea
ture of it can be traced to the neglect of
States and the nation to devise induce
ments for foreign agriculturists. At the
present time, when life and property
promise to be of uncertuin value in
Europe, America should be receiving
ship loads of small farmers. The indus
try, economy and thrift of these people
are sorely needed, as additional wealth
and income would result to the State
itself by the occupancy of lands which
at present yield only prairie and forest
fires, ague and rattlesnakes. It is not
enough that such desirable persons
should be offered homesteads that are too
far irom markets to be available or too
poor to have been attractive to profes
sional land-grabbers. The experience
of the general land- office is that even
native Americans are slow to avail them
selves oi the Homestead law. What,
then, can be expected of foreigners ? It
would be to the interest of every State
to make special reservations of land for
would-be settlers from abroad, decreasing
the quantity if necessary to make up for
the special value and advantages of the
land. Further inducement might with
profit be extended ; but this much, at
least, is practicable everywhere, and
would not be only inexpensive, but
profitable. Neva York Herald, .