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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPEBANDUM. . Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. .VII. RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, TA., THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1877. . NO. 14. '
: : j I
The Lady's Song.
How do yon make your songs ?
My lndy Baid to mo.
Take pen, and lot me see
now much to art belongs
How much to nature. Well ?
You really cannot tell ?
Do you go seek your thought?
Or does it come to you ?
What is it like when caught?
What in the first to do ?
How can I help you, pray? t
For my life I cannot see
But kissing my hands is not the way
To capture thought or me !
Vnu wait till the melodies come
That sing in your inner ear?
But how if you do not hear?
How if your heart in dumb ?
Compel it to speak? You may,
But not my heart to-day !
If yon lmd made a song
Tcrhaps you might, who knows ?
Perhaps I may ore long
Believe I am the rose
You bleed for, nightingale ;
But you with all are smitten,
l'on't si;,'h and look so pule,
But read what you have written
Only my words to yuu,
And in ihyuie, toe, I declare !
Be still, yon rumple my hair.
Let go my hand I do !
The Magic Slippers.
If any one had wanted to find Eva Arnold,
they would have had to look behind a shady
and fragrant hedge of wild roses and grape
vines. There sat tho witeh; as her brother
Allen called her, with a book in her hand, and,
wonderful to relate, a grave look upon her
face.
"I do wonder if that tradition about onr
family is true. I will ask grandmother all
about it when I see her."
' I do wonder if that tradition is true," said
little Eva, again, Just as she was about to sink
to sleep. " Jf it is true, and the shoes are yet
in existence, I will borrow or steal them, and
that as soon as possible."
A great cloud of dust, and a great rattle of
whei-ls heralded the approach of tho coach.
And in that ;uach was Eva's long looked for
schoolmate, Gertrude Wayland. At the gate
of Farmer Arnold's substantial mansion stood
Eva, wi lting eagerly to catch the first glimpse
of her friend. Her brother Allen, hidden in a
secure nook, was also looking out with no little
ciuiosit v to nee the red-haired divinity, so much
vaunted by his siter.
" After ill," said he to himself, as he walked
toward the brook with his fishing apparatus un
der his arm, ' I did not dislike the looks of her
as nnii'li as I thought t should, but that is no
reason that I shonlil fall in love with her." And
Allen, who had no small share of vanity, laugh
ed alond.
' Now, Allen, I've caught yon at last," cried
Kva, triumphantly, as she discovered her
nrotner reading under the favorite hedge.
" Now stand up and let me introduce you to my
friend Gerty, the best of schoolmates!"
Allen arose and greeted the divinity in the
graciftil and self-possessed manner natural to
him. For t ic lirst time he had a full view of
her faee by tho mrrning light. It was not a
Iwantilul face, not even a pleasing face at first
sip lit, end Allen was a keen admi er of beauty ;
but it was a peculiar face, such a one as makes
iui impression upon fine's mind not easily for
gotten. Eva's faee was Hushed with her morn
ing wa'k, but G jrti'iide's was remarkably pale ;
there was, too. a soberness and dignity about
her, which was entirely a stranger to Eva's
character. Allen, as he entered with much po
liteness though ith little zeal into a conversa
tiou in which Eva took the principal share, se
ere ly wondered how two such dissimilar char
acters could have f' irnied such a close friend
ship. But he concluded that there was no
accounting for women's whims.
" You must drive us over to grandmother's
to-day, Allen," said Eva. "I positively must
go there to-day."
'Well, then, if that is the case, I will drive
you over, and as women never can keep a
secret, in the course of time yours will come
out, and then I shall have my laugh."
" Agreed," said Eva, "only drive us over."
It was a pleasant drive of five or six miles,
yet Allen, who usually took the principal part
in a conversation, wus remarkably quiet, listen
ing to the chat of the two girls without at
tempting to interrupt it.
Her ha ir was not red after all, it was really a
pale, golden color, and floated around the
white face, as ho had seen it in some pictures.
After all, sho was unlike any one else he had J
ever known, and she had the sweetest voice
lie iiau ever heard. But tho idea of falling in
lovo with her was really too absurd to contem
plate. "Grandniothor," said Eva, after a long
silence, which she employed in contemplating
the movements of a very pretty little foot,
which tupped nervously upon the floor,
' Grandmother, I wish you would tell us the
legend of the magic slipiiers, which I beard
onco when I was a very little uirl. It's a tradi
tion about our family, isn't it '"
" Why, child, it's only a silly story about a
pair of slipper. No one believes it now-a-days."
"But the story, grandmother, if you please,"
''Well," said tlie old lady, as she adjusted
her spectacles, " they say that an ancestor of
ours was once climbing a steep and rugged hill
and found near the top a poor man, covered
with wounds and nearly dead with cold and loss
of blood. Onr ancestor curried him home in
his arms and tended him carefully until he was
recovered. When the stranger grew strong and
well, they discovered that ho was a very hand
some man, with eves remarkable for tlieir bril
liancy. When he was going away he gave to
the wife of our ancestor a pair of slippers.
There was nothing remarkable about the slip
pers themselves, but as the story runs, they
wore endowed with a rare gift by the stranger.
Any woman in his belief aclress' family, whose
feet these slipper would tit, provided also that
she were a true hearted woman, while she wore
tho magio slippers, would have all the wishes
made at that time realized. But there are but
few of our family whose feet the shoes would
fit ; from those who have worn tliem, however,
there have come wonderful stories of their
great virtue. But as for me, Eva, I have an
idea that the story is all nonsense. The slippers
would never begin to fit my feet, and I never
had any faith in them, so that no wishes of
mine ever were realized in that way."
"But have you really got the slippers, grand
mother ?" said Eva, eagerly.
' " I did have them, when I was young ; per
haps they are in the attio somewhere now.
But, bless my heart, child, you're not going to
hunt after them V"
"Yes, grandmother, I really think they
would tit me, and I should like to try them."
Buch a looking, and such a devastation never
was heard of before. Grandmother would
have been struck dumb if she could have seen
her attie during the progress of the hunt
Gerty set herself to putting to rights what Eva
left in disorder, but it was no easy Job. Sud
denly Eva uttered a cry of delight.
" I've found them," cried Eva, triumphantly;
now I wonder if they'll fit."
Ani-away ran the madcap, covered with dust
and a nest of bewildered spiders.
"I declare," said grandmother, "if they
don't fit you exactly ; one would think thev
were made for you."
And sure enough they fitted exactlv. Eva
took them off very soou, and folded them up
in their wrapper, remembering that grand
mother had said that she who wore them must
be a true hearted woman. Hhe wanted time to
think whether she were true hearted or not
It so happened that Eva had no more oppor
tunities for trying on the slippers while the
visit lasted. Bo she carried them home with
her. Allen did not make his appearance to
drive them home, but in his stead one of the
farm laborers. .
"Oh, Gerly," cried Eva, as the farmhouse
came in sight, "I am so clad we aro at home;
now I shall try mv magic shoes."
But Eva'i usually quiet home was in a great
state, of excitement. Something unusual
s'-cmed to have happened, which affected all
the household, though in different ways.
" What has happened?" asked Eva, 'anxious
ly, of Allen, when she found him alone upon
that evening,
" Why, the trouble Is, that we are in danger
of losing onr old homestead. Borne one has
set up a claim to it, the falsity of which cannot
be proved, because that an ail-important paper
has beon lost. We have searched the house
through, but our search has been useless. One
hope still remains, that the paper may be at
grandmother's ; it might have been carried
there among other papers. To-morrow I will
drive over, as I am very anxious about the
affair. The Iosb of this farm, after so many
yeafti of hard labor bestowed npon it, will al
most kill father."
The next day was an anxious one to Eva,
and in sympathy with her, Gerty was an iojs
also. Bhe talked of going home, but Eva
would not allow it. The little lady had no idea
of having her schemes spoiled by such a move
ment. Tho long afternoon wore away slowly, as the
girls watched the return of Allen from his
search. Afternoon changed into evening, and
the evening wore into the night. The faniily
concluded that Allen was not coming that night,
and accordingly they separated with no hope of
seeing him till morning. But Eva felt con
fident that Allen wonld return that very night,
so sho sat up waiting for him. walking' to and
fro restlessly, and listening for the sound of
his wheels. Hhe fancied Gerty was asleep
upon a sofa where she bad persuaded her to
lie down a few momenta before. No one in
the house was stirring.
" Now I shall try mv magic shoes," said Eva,
alond, to herself. " 1 do hope and pray that
I am true hearted."
One slipper was a little rebellious and would
not go on easily, but Eva managed at last to
get her foot into it. Then as Gerty seemed
sound asleep, and could not hear, she ven
tured to speak her w ishes alond.
" First andforemost," saidEva, "sinceithas
been the greatest hope of my heart for a long
time, r do wish that my brother Allen would
fall in love with and marry Gertudo Wayland.
Secondly, I wish that t'le paper which proves
onr right to this house of my childhood may
be speedily found, and that my father may be
as happy in the possession of that which his
cheerful labor has endeared to him, as it is
possible to be."
There was indeed the sound of wheels out
side, and Eva ran down to meet Allen, without
ever thinking of her slippers or wishes, rihe
met him at the door, and at the first glance his
an- ious face told her that his search had been
useless.
" No hope left, Eva," were his first words.
" Sooner or later we are likely to lose our
homo. Grandmother has searched her house
from cellar to attic, and there is no sign of the
paper."
Wearied and depressed, Allen cast his eyes
downward, and they rested upon Eva's em
broidered slippers.
" What a fanciful pair of slippers, Eva," said
Allen, suddenly roused from his weariness.
" Did you embroider those, little sister V"
' No," said Eva, a little embarrassed ; " they
are not mine."
Wondering a little at Eva's evident confu
sion, Allen was about to relapse into his former
anxious mood, when his sister took off one of
l he slippers, with the remark that it was much
tighter than the other, she wondered why it
didu't fit. Allen took up the slipper mechani
cally, and commenced examining it. There
seemed to be something in the toe, which oc
cupied considerable space. Listlessly Allen
pulled out that with which the toe was stuffed,
and was only a little surprised when he dis
i mired a neatly folded paper. He opened
I he paper much in the same way as he had
taken it from the slipper, and then suddenly
l.va was struck with unmingled wonder, to see
l.er lately sad brother jumping around the
room in a way that savored much of insanitv,
I've found tho recious paper, Eva," said
Allen, at length, overtm i.ing a table and all its
contents, in his great joy.
Suddenly the affair became clear to Eva.
home mischievous person at grandmother's
must have stuffed the paper into the slipper,
without ever dreaming that he was doing mis
chief. One by one the family came trooping
down stairs aroused by the great noise of the
overturned table. But none felt that they
had paid too dear for their trouble, when they
heard the rood news.
" Gerty, I'm a thin believer in traditions, and
especially that of the magic slippers," said Eva,
one day.
" Because both your wishes were realized,"
said Gerty ; " especially the first, which seemed
very improbable."
' You're a traitor," cried Eva.
" Not at all," was Gerty's reply. " I couldn't
help hearing your wishes' that night, for I was
not asleep, as you supposed."
In the process of time Allen and Gertv were
married, and Uttle Eva, trusting and true
liearted, went on her way with a hnn belief
in the magic slippers.
Fashion Notes.
ivory combs are worn in tho
Yellow
back hnir,
The Breton glove h:is a .row of buttons
around the top of the wrist.
A new lawn game, "Vexillo," is said
to be a great improvement on croquet.
White lace (shades with monograms in
the center lire among the novelties for
window curtains.
The " bangle " or porte bouheur
bracelet in silver still holds its sway over
the afi'ectiouB of young Indies. We have
had bells and stars and coins, and now
the last is a handsome kerchief holder,
attached by a slight chain, and tho shoji
jiu; bangle which has a pencil depend
ing from it, fastened to a long chain.
whi:h can be gracefully looped np when
not in use.
Small handkerchiefs, trimmed with
lace, or silk ones wilh borders, have
taken the place of luce scarfs, and will
be used with spring mantles on the re
moval of furs. When trimmed with lace
they are not square, but are more than
half square, the upper edge being turned
over to form a straight collar, which is
bordered, like the lower corner, with
lce Valenciennes, duchess, clnuy or
cashmere.
Horses Ealing Meat.
The hunters' horses, on the plains of
Colorado, have been known, not only to
eat meat, but to become quite fond of it.
At night they are often tied to the
wagons, and four of them have frequent
ly been known, during Very cold weath
er, to eat one hundred pounds of buffalo
meat before morning. As the meat is
plentiful and cheap, the hunters do not
object. A party of hunters on the
South Platte had a fine stallion, that had
been captured from a" band of wild
horses, but by kindness had become
very gentle and tame. Its love for meat
came near causing his death. The hun
ters had been out placing strychnine
baits to poisou wolves. A small amount
of this dreadful poison is concealed in a
piece of meat, and the meat stuck upon
a stick. As the hunters placed bait
after bait, they noticed that several were
missing, and at length discovered that
the horse was eating them. Death
would certainly have ensued had not the
men quickly administered an excellent
antidote, in the shape of several pounds
of melted grease and butter. j
A FEW STORIES.
Same of I he Jnkrn They Tell
In
New
Ilmnpshlre Town.
The i lust cm Journal prints a letter
from Hopkington, N. H.,in which the
following old-tune incidents are des
cribed: Years ago there lived in this
town two individuals noted for their ha
bitual indolence. Publio opinion was
undecided which was the lazier. One
day a wag annouueed that the doubtful
point had been settled, an effective test
having been applied. In response to
particular inquiries he stated that the
two men had been made to stand under a
dripping roof, their heads tipped back
so they would receive the rain directly
in their eyes. The plan attested the fact
that one of the doubtful individuals
would wink when the descending ele
ment impinged upon his naked eyeballs,
while the other wouldn't budge tho
breadth of an eyelash. Wo presume r11
cavil ceased in the face of this remark
able explanation.
There used to be well known here a
brace of judges of prominence in the
eailier history of the State. They were
Judge H. and Judge S. Judge II. was
gotten up after the pattern of a broonv
handle, and Judge S. bore a corporosity
of decided corpulence. One day, when
spending a leisure hour together, the
conversation of the two gentlemen turn
ed upon the subject of transmigration of
souls. Judge S., who was a most incor
rigible joker, remarked: "Judge H.
do you want me to tell you my opin
ion of what will become of yon if that
doctrine is true ?"
"I should be very glad to hear your
opiniou," replied Judge H.
"Well. I think you will do one or the
other of two things; you will either go
into a verv small humming bird or else
into a devil's darning-needle," suggested
Judge S.
"Since you have been so good as to
give me your opinion of my future
chances," said Judge II., "Iam going to
make free to give you my opinion of
yours.
"Go on," said Judge S.
"I think," observed Judge H., "yon
will go into one of these big squash
bellied garden toads, and won't have to
change much either."
We give another one from Judge S.
Oue of the churches of the town was
destitute of a pastor. Brother A and B
were speaking together about the matter
of a supply. Judge S. overheard, and
suggested: "I know where you can get a
minister and have a deacon thrown in."
Brother A, who was also something of
a wag, replied : "That's nothing; if you
go down to Audover, where they have n
mill, they'll give you a minister and
throw m two deacons."
Brother B, a more serious man, dis
liking to hear Brother A speak so lightly,
suggested: "Don't you think, Judge S.,
it would be a good thing if Brother A
should go down and go through the mill?"
"It were no use to try," said Judge
S., "he'd go out at the smut."
We will tell just oue more btory. The
bar-room or oflico, of a country hotel is
most always a familiar resort of loungers.
Tho fact was the same years ago, when a
certain landlord, in the north part of the
town, experienced some annoyance from
winter loungers, who sometimes forgot
to close tho door after tliem when they
came in to enjoy tho fire. Once a wag
came in, and the landlord, observiug he
left the door ajar, called out instantly:
"Do you know what that door was made
for ?" The wag turned, surveyed the
door with a most imperturbable counte
nance, and answered: "Seventy-live
cents or a dollar."
The Toy Land of the Tyrol.
Wood carving is the chief occupation
of many a mountain village, both in the
Tyrol and Switzerland; but in no place
has it been carried to greater perfection,
or been entered into more thoroughly by
the inhabitants, than at St. Ulrieli. One
branch of it, indeed the manufacture
of wooden toys, particularly dolls may
be considered almost a specialty of the
district; for the httie town of St. Ulrich
is tho great storehouse from which the
chief toy traders of Europe we might
almost say the world draw those rich
and inexhaustible supplies which bright
en so many nurseries and gladden the
hearts of so many little ones. The art
is said to have been introduced into tho
valley about the beginning of the last
century, since which time it has been the
principal employment of the inhabitants,
malo and female, old and young alike;
for ancient grandfathers and grandmoth
ers mny be seen steadily pursuing the
vocation that has been theirs from their
earliest years; as soon as the little boys
and girls can bo safely trusted with
knives, they begin their rude endeavors
to carve the form of some animal or toy
which is the peculiar line of tho family.
This is one of tho odd things in connec
tion with the trade, that, as the general
rule, each family or group of families,
has its own special department, from
which thev do not deviate. Some carve.
some paint, some gild; the painters often
working only in one particular color;
while the carvers constantly btick to the
manufacture of one or two, or at the
most of half a dozen animals, of certain
toys or certain portions of tops and dolls,
and so on through all the endless ramifi
cations of their Liliputian industry. It
is a most curious sight to watch them at
work. They use no models, and work
entirely by rule of thumb, long practice
having made them so perfect that they
turn out the tiny articles without the
slightest hesitation, every one as pre
cisely alike as if they had been cast in a
mold.
How the Women Voted. .
Describing fin election for school
tm.it.ien in Denver. Col., on the seven.
teeuth inst., the Xeirt of that city says :
Three hundred and twenty-three votes
were cast by women, and some laughable
incidents occurred during the day. The
married ladies aimosi mvariuuiy gave
tlu.lr lmuiiiind's initials, and one of them
wanted to vote for her husband, " who
couldn't come," she said. Several
ladies in giving their names added very
earnestly that they didn't want them to
"go into the papers." Only on,e vote
was challenged that of a young miss
of eighteen, who knew she was old
euough to marry and thought she was old
enough to vote.
FIRES IN CONSTANTINOPLE.
Turkish Firemen and Fire Enainea Hcenea
Uurins a Fire.
The cry of " Yankin war " is the
Turkish for " fire." It is heard less
frequently now in Constantinople than
in former years, when fires were an every
night calamity. For sometime the
building of wooden houses has been
strictly forbidden; a kind of fire brigade
has been organized, and the people
manifest their ill -humor in some other
way than that of incendiarism. Never
theless a week scarcely ever passes
without a flro. Scarcely is it discovered
from tho watch tower on the heights of
Gandilli, than it is announced by the
firing of five, seven or nine shots from
the battery there established; at the same
time fignals indicating its precise locali
ty ore made by flags during the day
and lauterns during the nigbt to tho
watch towers of Galata and of the
Ma kent in Stamboul. Before the heavy
booming of the Krnpp guns has died
away, runners dressed in rod, and carry
ing a short lance in tlieir hands, start in
all directions to announce to the different
ministers of tho porte, whose duty it is
to attend at every pre, and to the police
and military authorities, the situation of
the fire. In former times it was also
tho cus'oin for the sultans to nttend on
similar occus'ons, and one of the odalisks,
dressed also in red, had the special duty
of announcing to the sultan, if he was in
the harem, tho outbreak of a fire. Of
late years this custom has died out, and
only the ministers of war, marine and
police are bound to be present, the
grand vizer even of our days dispensing
with that fatiguing duty, except in rases
of great emergency. As soon as the
runners are passed, the watchmen ap
pear with their heavy clubs, which they
strike against the pavement, shouting ut
the same time at the top of their voices
the cry of " Yankin war 1" adding the
name of the locality where it is raging.
A few minutes afterwards the " sakas,"
or water carriers, with their heavy
leathern pouches, ore seen running to
the scene of the conflagration; for there
are no convenient water pipes or plugs
to be opened, and the whole supply of
water consists in what the " sakas " can
collect from the neighboring wells or
public fountains
The tire engines oon appear, escorted
by the " tulumbadgis," or firemen. The
" engines " are mere squirts carried bv
four men. To each engine are attached
some thirty or forty "tulumbadgis;"
with their chief, and a runner or crier.
who, armed with a short lauco, precedes
them mid makes way for them. If tho
engines are very small they aro very
numerous, and it is not uncommon to
see in the space of an hour sonic forty
or htty, with their escorts ol Bremen,
pass through tho narrow high street of
IVra. As to the tulumbadgis, they are
all volunteers, and taken from tho low
est dregs oi the Turkish population
overgrown shoeblacks, bankrupt Inciter
matches sellers, livery stable boys, and
conductors of donkeys form tho great
minority of these active anil promising
gentlemen, who receive no pay except a
suit of clothes at the Bairam, and are
supposed io live upon the backsich or
gratuities which they receive from the
people whoso" property they have saved,
and who in reality live on plunder. In
consequence of this system they are
most zealous in their attendance and
their desiro to be the lirst on the spot;
and it is a strange sight to see these
rnfiiuns, half naked, rushing through the
streets, changing the bearers of the en
gine from time to time, without slacken
ing their speed, and yelling all the time
to make tho people, the dogs and the
donkeys get of their way. If two com
panies of these barbarians meet by
chance such is their desire to be lirst on
the scene of tho promised plunder that
a sharp race ensues between them, and
if victory is doubtful they come to blows.
The engines are generally followed by
companies of soldiers iu fatigue dress,
carrying long hooked poles, which are
used for pulling down the houses, and
this is, in truth, the most effective and
easy way of mastering a fire, for tho
houses, being mostly built of thin
planks, aro easily pulled down, and thus
a waste space is made round the already
burning property.
At the scene of the lire, tho sight is
much the same as in all countries on
thoso occasions, except that the noise
and confusion are increased by tho fact
that the f urnituro of the houses of a whole
street is being removed at the same time,
the inhabitants never waiting for the
conflagration to get near tliem, as it
runs along among the wooden houses
with fearful rapidity. These peoplo and
their furniture, or at least the part of it
which is not robbed in the confusion by
tho firemen or the earners, are con
ducted to some open space, where, under
tho guard of tho police, they sit down
on their property to wait with true Tur
ish calm and patience to sae what fate
will do. At hit the fire is mastered, or
dies out of itself, according to the zeal
displayed by the firemen, who if largely
paid by the proprietors of the threatened
house?, will sometimes do wondurs with
their diminutive engiuee, or will refuse
to work altogether, and then a new
body of plunderers appear in the shape
of numerous fellows armed with spades
and long sticks with iron hooks, who,
notwithstanding the efforts of the police,
rush among the still smoldering cinders
in search of coins, of jewels, or of iron
and brass fittings, etc. Gradually the
cinders cool down, and then the cats ap
pear in search of their homes, and after
ward the street dogs, who drive them
away, and hasten to secure a nice warm
hole in the cinders where to lay down,
and these remain at last masters of the
ruins, as they were before the masters
of the bring streets.
" The Society of the Love of Jesus" is
the name of a new religions guild in
London. Excepting the vicar, all are
females between sixteen and thirty years
old. No member is permitted to read
any book which has not been submitted
to the vicar or the lady warden; dress
must be simple, modest, and not ex
travagant; no improper places of amuse
ment are to be visited, and no church at
tended which is not in communion with
the Church of England.
A fashionably dressed young lady in
New York stood on Broadway and had
her shoes blacked by a professional artist.
CHINAMEN AT THEIR MEALS.
The Kinds or Food that They Eat In Han
Francisco Luxury and Poverty.
A San Francisco correspondent of the
Cleveland 1'laindcaler writes: It is a
mistaken idea that Celestials eat nothing
but roast rats and rice and a few other
articles of plain and cheap vegetable
food. This is about the extent of the
bill of fare among the laboring classes,
just as corned beef or cabbage is among
our unwashed element. Of course they
eat roast hog all Chinamen, rich or
poor, do. It is a part of their religion,
mst as it is of the Jews, to eschew it.
To the Chinese is accredited the dis
covery of the excellence of roast hog
meat. When a Chinaman dies, among
other thingB placed on his grave is a
sumptuous dinner or whatever he mRy
call it. The chief feature of these edi
bles is a whole hog roasted. The better
class of Celestials luxuriate in swell din
ners of canvas-back ducks, shell fish, tea
costing $4 or $5 per pound, conserves,
and many other unimaginable toothsome
edibles only known to the Chinese epi
curean. The first-class restaurants are
beautifully adorned with red paint, red
paper, and other gingerbread wol-k, and
at evening dozens of Chinese lanterns
swing from the verandas and entrances.
Most of the food used by them is
brought from China, especially rice and
tea. The tea used among the laboring
class is even better than the article
palmed off on us. They are experts at
preserving fish and fowl so that they will
keep almost any length of time. But it
does not make much difference to John
if it should become a little stale it
would give an additional flavor. Tho
aristocracy eat, or rather gormandize,
for two or three hours, and tlieir dinners
arc about as costly as our feasts of reason
and flow of champagne. When distin
guished guests ore entertained, the
feast is enlivened with music that is,
they eat of a course or two and take a
recess of twenty or thirty minutes, walk
into the parlor, and listen to the most
enchanting strains possible to conceive,
will return to the dining-room and again
tackle the edibles.
Tho poor class Chinamen do not live
in state. For instance, you go to a Chi
nese laundry about nine o'clock in the
morning, and there you will see the fes
tive board, without a spread, iu the mid
dle of the room. Xfoik has ceased and
every heathen has squared np to take a
hand. In tho center of the table is a
large tray full of rice. Every man has a
tin plate and two chopsticks. They aro
of walnut wood, of about the size and
complexion of glove stretchers, a little
flattened at the Aid, so that they can
scoop up rice. Each Chinaman backs
liis plate to the tray and piles as much
rice on tho plate ns ho can heap up.
They are all chattering away ut the same
lime. In a short space of time the rice
has disappeared. Ordinarily it would
seem a. difficult feat to get the rice to his
mouth by means of his two chopsticks.
With him it is no trick at all. He lifts
his plato up close to his mouth and then
t.ives the stick a kind of a twitch, like
c:amming wadding down a gun. Each
Chinamau has a small teacup holding
about two swallows. When the sinner
at the head of the table has turned him
out a cup John swallows it at one gulp,
without wincing, and tho tea is smoking
hot. They pour it out as they drink it.
In larger cups tho tea would get cold.
Chinese barber shops are even moro
numerous than among the Caucasians.
Every Chinaman has his head shaved at
least once a week. In addition to this
his neck is sjiaved, the dust is cleaned
out of his almond shajied eyes, the eye
brows trimmed and penciled, his nostrils
are renovated and fumigated, and tho
wax is probed out of his ears.
Their queues aro combed and braided.
This tonsorial and cleaning operation is
regarded as a sacred duty, otherwise
John would not incur the expense. The
instrument used to shave the head is a
half-moonlike concern, or rather like a
scythe on a smull scale. Barber shops
are invariably located in a cellar, and the
customer can be soon below, sitting in a
doorway, on u stool, while the artist is
going round his sculp like a cooper
around a barrel.
At the entrance of a Chinese shaving
shop, on the pavement above, is a four
legged frame about a foot and a half
high. The legs are painted green, and
the knobs on the top of the legs are
painted red. This is to the Chinaman
what the striped barber pole arrange
ment is to us.
Insects Formed from Leaves.
A plant has been newly found out in
Lukhipur (Hiudostan), the leaves of
which turn very much to the shape of a
grasshopper in proportion as they grow
old, till all the parts of the insects so
formed become fully developed; and
each leaf forming, a separate insect
issues ojit in a very beautiful appear
ance. This plant is known to grow by
itself, and no second plant has yet been
seen to grow from it. A gentlemiui in
whoso Louse that plant was found to
grow, noticed it from time to time, and
carefully watched the progress of the in
sects forming out of the leaves. One
day seeing certain loaves in form of in
sects fly out from the plant, he came to
a resolution of getting hold of some of
them if possible, iu order that he might
show them to his- friends, who would
not otherwise believe him. With this
object in view he set about the task in
earnest, and in a short time succeeded in
producing two or three insects to the
utter astonishment of his friends.
Melissa Wilson's Markniauskip.
Miss Melissa Wilson, of Sheridan,
Oregon, has made herself famous by
killing her second panther. Sho was out
locking for a cow, and found where a
fiunther or beor had killed a large sheep
iclongiug to her father. The animal
had dragged it some three hundred yards
up a mouutaiu. Melissa returned home
and took her small rifle and her father's
dogs. She then went back to the place
where the sheep hod been killed, and put
the dogs on the track. They soon tie e 1
a large panther np a lofty fir tree, and
Miss Wilson put a bullet right between
his eyes, bringing him down dead at the
first shot.
Times must be improving, for the rag
gatherers all agree that their business is
picking np.
The Wonders of Colorado.
Startling developments are constantly
being made in Colorado, and it would
appear that wonders are never to cease
in that distant State. The Mountaineer
of a recent date furnishes the following
account of strange discoveries mado in
the southern part of that region :
We have inst received a call from Mr.
L. Allen, an elderly gentleman from
Rochester, N. Y., who came to Colorado
about a year ago. By the advice of
physicians Mr. Allen was instructed to
keep in the open air as much as possi
ble, and so has traveled extensively
through southern Colorado, prospecting
and viewing the country. He gave ns
the particulars of a strange discovery lie
made on one of his tramps, but declined
at present to state the exact locality;
mentioning only that it was some dis
tance south from Pueblo. At the place
mentioned several large mounds or foot
hills appear rising from the plains, and
situated some distance from the moun
tains. Mr. Allen visited these, and the
first thing peculiar he noticed was what
appeared to be a petrified cocoanut. It
was much larger than tho ' ordinary fruit
of this kind, but almost perfect in form
ation. The three eyes of a cocoanut
were plainly to be seen. On breaking
open the strange stone or petrifaction
the shell appeared perfect, being some
half inch in thickness, and the inside
was composed of white crystal quartz.
Mr. .Allen continued his investigations
and discovered a number of other speci
mens similar to the first; also others re
sembling other kinds of fruits. Some of
these contained what appeared to be
seeds embedded in qunrtz. Specimens
of petrified wood in large quantities
were also found. The mounds or hills
appeared to be made up of loose, sandy
soil, and shells were found of great va
riety and quantity. The strangest part
of the discovery, however, was yet to
come. In digging into the side of the
hill Mr. Allen unearthed what seemed to
be a perfectly petrified sea turtle, and
before closing his investigations about a
dozen of these were discovered, almost
perfect, and no doubt they are genuine
petrifactions of sea turtles such as are
found in the Paoific. From the numer
ous specimens of shells that aro found nt
various places on tho plains, and num
bers of which can be found and are
found in this vicinity, many persons are
led to believe that the great plains' on
which we live were at one time the bed
of an immense ocean, and this discovery
would tend to confirm that theory.
Seventeen-Year Locusts.
The seventeen-year locusts have ap
peared in large numbers in certain parts
of New York. They first emerge from
the ground in the form of a large grub.
The wiygs appear soon afterword, when
tho locust settles iu the nearest tree.
Tho noise made by the insects is a con
stant shrill humming. They do not eat
growing crops, as many suppose, nor do
they in any way resemble the ravenous
locusts of the West. They devote tlieir
time to working in the "branches and
twigs of all kinds of trees. They plow
little grooves in the limbs, the tender
bark next the wood. Their perforations
iu the trees kill the branches and the
foliage soon turns yellow. In 18G0 the
locusts did not appear until June, when
the trees were iu full leaf. In ttfo weeks
the woods looked as though they had been
sub j ected to the frosts of November. From
all appearances the locusts will be as
thick as they were in that year. Stories
of the poisonous nature of the sting of
this curious insect, which did duty in
18150, creating much alarm, have been
revived, but the seventeeu-year locust is
harmless to man and beast. It is an
inch and a half long when full grown.
It comes out of the ground tail first, and
has on it head white marks forming a
perfect letter W. In 1860, believers in
signs and superstitions declared that tho
appearance of this cabalistic sign denoted
war. In that year the locusts did not
entirely disappear until late in the falL
People remember their appearance also
in 1843. They were so thick then that
the trees were thrashed with whips, and
dead locusts carried away by tho bushel.
They do no permanent injury, but inter
fere greatly with the year's fruit crop.
A Singular Tradition.
St. Stephen's day, in the Isle of Man,
is given over, among a great part of the
population, to a cruel custom, that of
hunting wrens with sticks and stones ;
and, when they succeed in capturing
one, it is tied to the end of a long pole,
and carried around the country. The
custom arises from a superstition, dating
far into the past, of a fairy so beautiful
that all the youths of the island went to
look at her, and then she would sing
such wondrous songs that they followed
where sle chose to lead them, which was
into the sea ; for she was cruel and
wicked, and led them, one after another,
to their death, until ct length scarce a
young man was left, and trouble was in
every man's home for the brother or son
that was missing. At length there came
a knight, who, vowing vengeance, laid a
deep plot for the destruction of this
wicked lady. He seized her by her long
hair, but as he stood over her with his
drawn sword, she suddenly changed into
a tiny wren, flying away from under his
very fingers, and so escaped with a.
mocking song of triumph; but by some
power greater than her own, the wicked
lady fairy was compelled onco in ivery
year to reappear in the island iu her ae
suined form; and this is on St. Stephen's
day, when the young men of the super
stition island hunt after her with a vivid
memory of their ancient wrongs.
A Novel Hon f shoo.
The Paterson Guardian states that
one of the horses in a livery stable got
into a funny predicament. He had wan
dered into a vacant stall, where there
was a lot of old trash, and among other
tilings there was a teakettle, and iuto
this he stepped, of course. The fit was
a tight one, so that tho. kettle went on
easily enough, but it would not come
off, and there was the horse, holding up
his foot and jumping around ou the
other three legs, not knowing what to
make of the new-fashioned shoe. It was
with the greatest difficulty that the tea
kettle could bo removed from the ani
mal's foot. It had to be pretty well
broken np before it could be got off at
all.
' How's your father?" came the whisper.
Bashful Ned the silence breaking t
"Oh, he's nicely," Annie murmured,
Smilingly the question taking.
Conversation flagged a moment i
Hopeless, Ned essayed another )
" Annie, I I "then coughing,
And the question, " How's your mother ?
" Mother 1 Oh, she's doing finely 1 '
Fleeting fast was all forbearance,
When hi low, despairing accents,
Came the climax, "Hows yonr paronts .'
Items of Interest.
Arkansas has cool winters and Hot
Springs.
A wedding trip Stumbling over the
bride's train.
Six hundred thousand acres of the best
land in India are devoted to the cultiva
tion of opium. .
The Detroit Free rress wants some
one to invent a machine to pronounce
those Turco-Russian names.
England has annexed the Transvaal
republio in South Africa, despite the
protests of the president and some of the
people.
A young lady being asked, upon her
return from church, what the text was,
unhesitatingly replied : ' ' Blessed are the
dressmakers 1"
The largest alligator ever seen in that
portion of Georgia about Macon was
killed in a small lake, and measured
eight feet in length.
Students of Russian history state that
for severol hundred years no quarter of
a century has passed without the annex
ation of more or less territory to Russian
dominions.
The editor of the St. Louis Republi
can recently insisted that poets must be
brief. The next day he received the
following, entitled "The ballad of tho
Merchant ": Trust Bust 1
A Tennessee paper that prints a coffin
over its death notices has cast a gloom
over its marriage notices, in the same
column, by inadvertently putting the
picture over the lint of hymen's victims.
An Iowa paper tells of a smart wife
who helped her husband to raise seventy
acres of wheat. The way she helped
him was to stand in tho door and shake
a broom at him when he sat down to
rest.
" Do you think your father is going to
move out soon ?" inquired the owner of
a rented house of the son of his tenant.
"Reckon so," was the reply, "we'vo
begun using the winder frames for fire
wood." Two church members in Atlanta, Ga.,
quarreled over the question of the con
trol of money raised to convert the
lieatlwni, and came to blows in front of
the church while the congregation was
dispersing.
Brighain Young takes all the New
York dailies. He reads the articles
headed: " The Doom of Mormonism,"
(about seven each day) and then he tele
graphs to tho New York elder: " Send
mo three more wives."
An old woman who is crossing tho
street has a narrow escape from being
run over by a hearse " I am not at all
superstitions," she says to her rescuer,
"but it had seemed to me that it would
bo unlucky to be killed by a hearse. "
A school law recently adopted in Mis
souri requires school boards to give the
preference to colored teachers for colored
schools, and prohibits the employment
of a white teacher for a colored school
when a competent colored ouo can bo
had.
Interesting triangular struggle in the
Western States A Congressional com
mission are gathering grasshopper data,
tho farmers are gathering grasshoppers,
and the grasshoppers are gathering the
crops. The odds are three to one on tho
grasshoppers.
A youth went to a printer to ask the
Erice of wedding cards, and said that he
ad been introduced to a handsome girl
the night before who was worth some
money, and thought he would look
around to see how much the wedding
fixings would cost before proposing.
When the first newspaper was started
in Japan the editor asked a Japanese
gentleman if he wished to have the paper
sent regularly. " No, I thank you," ho
replied, " I have a copy." The gentle
man of the old school had no idea that a
newspaper contained fresh matter every
issue.
A blacksmith recently met with a singu
lar accident. He was engaged in shoe
ing a colt which had never been shod,
aud in driving a nail, while holding the
foot against the right knee, drove the
nail through the hoof fully three-fourths
of an inch, the point entering his knee
pan some distance into the bone.
A Kentucky dentist undertook to plug
one of the back teeth of a favorite mule.
He bored and bored until tho drill strin.l
something that seemed to lift the ani-
mnl'a crnl vindif. r( Ha iinrrna iri,nln
the way the coroner explained it, and
since then a wild lnnle hna heon ornPnrt.
ing up and down the country, seeking
ior iresu worms io conquer.
rPl i prn iu cnl1 i Via a v.ova 1. 1.
actually existing near Berlin, which can
enlar within, octagonal without. The
reliefs mitftiilA Ami nfatima uUlnn 41
v vvu T UAUa IUO
roof, ceiling, the Corinthian capitals are
papier-macne, rendered waterproof by
saturating iu vitrol, lime water, whey
and white of eggs.
Owls are of immense service as vermin
destroyers. An English gamekeeper
found an owl's nest with one young bird
in it. He visited it for thirty consecu
tive mornings, and in that time removed
from it 105 rats, forty-nine mice, eleven
ulirew mice, two robbing and one spar
row. This was. and well it micht hav
been, over and above what the owl's con
sumption demanded.
A cow stealer iu Pike county, Miss. ,
who had been captured by a party of
men, was recently punished in a novel
manner. They killed the cow, removed
the viscera, placed the thief inside with
only his head out, and then sewed him
iu securely with a rope. He remained
there'four Jays, and was then taken out
almost dead, having had a difficult tusk
in preventing the buzzards from picking
out bis eyes.