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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. VII. KIDGWAY, ELK COTOTY, PA., THURSDAY.- OCTOBER 25, 1877. KO. 36.
" " ... ... -,.-,. , . , - - .i. i . , . . . . . , .
Girl and Woman.
BY FANNIE B. ROD1N80N.
" Be will come, will come," she aid
And her breath wan like the aonth,
And the sun lay on her head,
And the morning ronnd her month ;
And she smiled across the sea
In her girlhood's surety.
"He will come in ship of state,
Like a conqneror to his own,
With a bearing kingly, great,
That shall lean to me alone
Laying all his glory down
For my kingdom, sword and crown.
" And the sword I shall restore
For the high deeds yet to be,
Bince no life of knightly yore,
Vowed to rarest ministry,
With his prowess shall begin
Who has wifely arms to win.
" But the crown I'll fling afar,
Smiling soft to hear him say,
Love, there shineth star nor bar
Like your smiling on my way ;
Leaves of bay would fall and fade
Where your lightest touch hag staid."
"Other maidens may be fair ;
He will whisper close and low,
That my love's beyond compare
With the beauty they bestow )
While because he stoops to me,
I shall grow most fair to gee."
Bo I left her on the shore
When the dawn was growing day
And the white ships, drifting o'er,
Leaned and listened to her lay ;
And the waves, to others dumb,
. Laughed and whispered : " He will come.'
Bo I found her on the shore
When the harbor lights were dim
And the expectant curves of yore
Something sweeter seemed to limn ;
Still she waited love's surprise
With the youngness in her eyes.
Still the murmured : "He will come :
Days and sails are drifting by ;
Other ships go laden home,
Bright with golden argosy ;
And the chip for which 1 wait
Droppeth anchor soon or late.
"I shall know him, though he stands
With the slain years fronting him ;
Though he reach untendcr hands
Of a warrior worn and grim ;
Though the smile I go to meet
Shine through tempest and defeat
" For the billows will have brought
All their burden to his strength,
And the winds have fed his thought,
Till his kingdom 'stretch at length
1 rm the power and peace of seas
To all loves and mysteries
"And leeauso October holds
Mora of spring-time than the spring,
And because all harvest folds
Doth the bu 1 and blossoming,
Hu shall And my patience sweet
And my nnvowed f.iith complete."
Ho I left her on the shore,
Does ho come? I oikly know
That the n.oou for evermore
Draws the ti.les, and, swift or slow,
Bound, or biirrcd, or flowing free,
Every river findj its tea.
LAUREL SPRING.
I whs having rny till of fashionable
life. A hnud's-brendth from me there
were diamonds Hashing, there were
priceless silks gleaming mid trailing
aloug a polished floor, there were lights
and perfume mid music, aud a splendid
company, smiling uud graceful and
gracious, were going through the figures
of a quadrille. Others were promenud
ing; others were chatting in gay groups.
Just past the window where L stood, a
pair of these radiant creatures swept at
this moment, the lady coquetting with
her jeweled fun. I could hare put forth
my hand and touched her as she passed
so near, and yet so far apart from me.
A stately picture, set in a costly frame,
having nothing in common with such
every-day, toil worn folks as the people
who stood looking on from without, and
among whom Jacob and I, lured by the
lights anil music, had stolen up.
It was the piazza of the grand hotel at
Liaurel bpring, aucl a grand ball was in
progress. Ah, how beautiful it all was !
It seemed like a kaleidoscope of ievJla,
flashing, changing, alluring, as I stood
there at the window looking through
IIow should I look in just such a silk?
how would Jacob appear in just such ft
white vest and elegant dress suit ? I
looked up at Jacob. lie was a tall,
brawny fellow, was Jacob, and he was
my husband, and I hod got so used to
seeing him in that blun shirt working
afield that I could not fit him into the
fashionable rig to my satisfaction.
But I said, ecstatically: "Don't they
look beautiful, Jacob ?"
But Jacob answered never a word.
He stood there at my side, looking on
absorbed.
Again the music sounded, and the
splendid movement on the floor kept
time to it. It so wrought upon me that
m spite of my Quaker bringing up,
ieu my lieart Dealing quick, ana m
feet putting themselves in motion.
" Oh, ieu't it beautiful I" I said again,
clasping my hands by way of steadying
myself.
"It's a grand play," said Jacob,
gruffly, " and I suppose we've got a
right to applaud it if we like."
"Ah, but, Jake, jealous old Jake,
whv don't you own up that it's beauti
ful?" "Pshaw!" said Jacob, impatiently;
" T see nothing beautiful about it. It's
all a commercial affair the whole thing
bought and paid for. These shoddy shop
keepers and officeholders and oil-diggers,
and heaven knows what all, send their
women folks here to keep trade going
for nothing else under the sun but to
bargain and haggle and ogle for places
and power and money."
" Then it's business," said I, admir
"gl.T ; for I was determined to lure
Jacob out of his moodiness. "Well, I
never have seen business look so fair and
desirable, Jake unless, "I added, laugh
ing, "when I've eaught a glimpse of
jrou.( working afield in your old straw
"Ah, that's different story a differ
ent story indeed," was the grave reply.
"That's business of another sort,
Mattie; grinding, hard work, and too
much of it. And this summer, confound
it I failure at the end of it all. Ah,
Mattie, you don't know what a load I've
carried under that old straw hat I"
Ah, but I did. Many a time I had
seen Jacob working afield with a shadow
on his face that was not made by the
brim of that old straw hat.
He was revolving bitter things now, I
knew, as he stood there a spectator of
the revelry.
"Little Mattie," said he presently,
" you've as good a right to be there as
the rest of them, my wee woman."
I laughed. I did not want to be there,
and I had no desire to represent oom
inercial interests. But Jacob was grasp
ing my arm with an almost painful grip.
"By heavens I" he said, his gray eye
lighting up with a strange fire, "I
thought so. There's Stephen Bisdala
yonder 1 the villain that robbed me the
villain that got my land in his grip, with
his mortgages and his trust-deeds, and
satan knows what. He's there with the
best of 'em the man that got a fore
closure on ine, and left me to scrape and
screw witli the fag end of all my acres,
and to grind a living out of the rocks I
A gentleman is he, with a diamond stud
and a gold chain bought with the money
for which I've been a bond-slave for life.
But I'll have it out of him 1" As Jacob
uttered these words he lifted his hand
and struck sharply the broad window
sill. My heart gave a great throb. I
thought that every one in the great
assembly must stop and stare at us. But
the music sounded loudly, the dancing
went on, aud no one seemed to heed us.
As we went down the steps I saw " Jig
ger Jim," the village idiot, grimacing
and gesticulating and mimicking the
dancing, with a group of village folk
nodding and applauding and urging him
on, and I was glad that no one had heard
Jake's words.
Jacob had been reputed a little wild ;
n good many wise old folk had shook
their heads when we came together. It
was said he had run through with all his
thrifty father's money, had been wasteful
and speculative nud dissipated, and had
none of the thrifty qualities and fore
handedness deemed po essential among
the orderly farming people of Laurel
neighborhood. Some said I would surely
repent if I married him. Had the time
for repentance come now ?
Well, we had not been prosperous this
year, and Jacob's farming had been
inarred by drought and blight.
Well do I remember the aspect of that
blighted corn field, from which we had
expected so much. It reminded me of a
troop of weather-beaten soldiers that I
saw once returning home in the latter
days of the war, jaded, dispirited, and
with ragged banners trailing in the dust.
No music, no cheers of welcoming
voices, no hats off, to welcome their re
turn. So, wearily, with dejected heads
and thin long leaves unlifted, our corn
Held trailed on the hill-side.
Something of this demoralization had
perhaps entered into our household a
sort of nameless shadow, a bleak and
blighting something, against which no
energy and no activity could avail. We
were young, you see, and had, as it were,
just commenced life, aud it was .hard to
know that things were going wrong with
us from the beginning.
But Jake was still a hero in my eyes,
aud I loved him well, aud it was to lure
him a little from the impalpable gloom
that was settling about ua that I pro
posed this evening stroll.
It was late when we returned, but
Jacob seemed in no wise inclined to re
tire. He walked about, restless and
reticent . The place seemed too small for
liim ; his tall figure seemed to contract
its limited space, as he moved to and fro,
till it was almost a relief to see him step
from the doorway and silently stride
down the road. It was no new thing for
him to walk off the "blues" in that
way ; aud I never intruded upon these
moods, when he appeared to mentally
net me aside as one' who could not share
in the thoughts that were urging him.
Generally he came back out of these
morose fits more loving and kinder than
ever, and this was joy enough.
But to-night I was restless too. I
wandered down to the gate and watched
his tall figure as, with a deep shadow
stalking after it in the moonlight, it dis
appeared down the turn of the road. I
fell into a reverie standing there a
reverie of I know not how long duration.
I was roused from it by the appearance
on the road of Jigger Jim's distorted
figure. We were very good friends,
Jigger Jim and myeelf, and lie had once
siguified his high appreciation of our
friendship by presenting me with a huge
brass button. His glee, when I pinned
this ou my dress like a brooch, was in
describable. This time he stopped in
the road and doffed his cap a courtesy
only extended to certain dignitaries of
the village on rare occasions. Jigger
understood " manners," but deemed
them too good for ordinary use. He
was in high spirits, apparently; laughed
his strange guttural laugh, pointed to
the moon sparkling above us, then to
his breast, and was hugely pleased when
I indicated that the diamonds he had
seen down at the ball were like that.
fr Then, elevating his claw-like fingers, he
iWuve a great leap, as if to gra6p the
serene planet, and pointing to my shawl
and drapery, left me to infer that he
would like to see me bedizened with
something as lustrous as the moon and
the diamonds. Smiling as- the harmless
fellow went his way, I bethought me
that it was late, and began to wonder
why Jacob did not come back.'
I concluded, after a while, that I
would stroll down the road and meet
him it was so solitary at the house, and
the night was so alluring. After you
passed a certain turn of the road you
came almost in sight of the sea shore.
People said this was a bleak and solitary
place in winter time. Now it was rarely
lovely. I gave a long, free breath as I
looked. No wonder Jacob lingered
abroad on such a night as this. So
smiling sweet was the scene that I forgot
the weight upon my heart, and wan.
dered on aimlessly, childishly, thinking
of nothing but its beauty. A little way
up, the dusk shadow of the rocks out
sharply into the silver of the shore. I
could imagine that on stormy days this
place might wear a forbidding aspect.
In old times it was said that smnairlAra
had lurked about those rocks, hidden in
their overhanging ledges, and creeping
to their cave in that very shadow. A
useful shadow it must have been to them,
I said to myself. How could any one
discern them, as (hey lay there on the
sand, watching for their boat ? Peering
into the shadow with this thought on my
mind, I felt my heart for a moment al
most cease beating, for there on the
sands, in that very shadow, a man lay
asleep, apparently. The next moment
it occurred to me that Jacob, wearied
out with his day's work had fallen asleep
down here. He had done so once before,
poor f el tow, though that was before
nightfall.
i approoched very cautiously, thinking
perhaps he might be playing a practical
joke on me, as he used to do sometimes
in the old days.
But it was not Jacob. The sleeper,
whoever he was, was not so tall ; he was
slight, and elegantly dressed, apparently.
But I went no nearer. Something thrilled
me like an electric shock a weird
and preternatural telegram. This was
the man whom Jacob hod pointed out to
me, lying here prone and insensible.
And where was Jacob ?
Then I gathered courage and ap
proached him. I touched him with my
trembling hands, but he did not move.
It was Death, then, keeping watch by
the moonlit shore Death that had lured
me on to come down and meet him here,
terrible and face to face. I turned and
fled down the sands, wildly, with flying
feet, to escape the vision of terror that
chased me as I went.
At my own threshhold, stunned and
fainting, I sonk upon the stepping-stone.
A figure standing in the doorway stooped
and lifted me up.
" Why, Mattie ! why, how is this, my
lass ? I thought you safe in bed 1"
I withdrew from the embracing arms ;
I stood aloof, shivering and gasping.
" I have been down down to the sea
shore "
" And something has scared the wee
woman," said Jacob, in his most win
some and soothing tone. "Well, rest a
bit, rest a bit, poor little birdie."
The sweetness and softness of his
voice as he said these words seemed to
me like that of one who feels the hour of
eternal separation draw near. He came
toward me.
I held up my hands beseechingly.
"Do not come near me now, Jacob. Oh,
not now, for I have seen I have seen a
terrible sight down on the sands. Stephen
Risdale"
Jacob's face gathered color, his eye
shot fire. " Did he insult yon, the vil
lain ?" he said.
"He is dead," I answered, sharply
and suddenly.
"Dead!" repeated Jacob. "Oh,
come away, come away, Mattie ; the
moonlight has made yon daft."
" I wish that it had," I cried, bitterly.
"Oh, I wish that it had."
Jacob picked up his hat, which lay
upon the shore.
"Come, Mattie," he said, "let us go
down that wny again; it's some ill
shadow, I doubt, has unsettled your
nerves. Come !"
He took me by the arm, not roughly,
but hastily, and hurried me up the road
at a breathless pace. It was not long
before we came to the great shadow of
the rock where I had seen the figure
lying. But it was not on the spot where
I hud left it. A strange relief, the light
ness from a terrible load, came to my
heart it seemed as if I had really been
dreaming.
Jacob laughed. "Yon fairly scored
me, little woman," ho said.
At that moment I heard a rustling in
the bushes fringing the foot of the rock,
and turning my strained eyes thither, I
saw a figure sitting there. It made the
blood tingle in my veins, that sight, for
this drooping recumbent shape was a
living man, at least.
It was, indeed, Stephen Risdale, and
when Jacob awkwardly but determinedly
drew near, we saw that he was stunned
and brunisri, that the frill of his shirt
was torn, and the splendid diamond was
gone from his breast.
Looking down from the rocks at that
moment I saw the broad warped face of
Jigger Jim. He nodded to me know
ingly, putting his finger to his lips, then
uttering one of his ear-splitting yells,
scrambled out of sight.
" What sort of idiots are all you people
nere, gospea tue victim, as the ape
like figure disappeared, " that you let a
crazy dog like that prowl around with
out a keeper ?"
Jacob mado some gentle answer. He
was thinking, perhaps, of the hard words
he had spoken that evening. He touched
the injured man teuderly with his strong
hands, and helped him to his feet.
" We are all idiots, more or less, I be
lieve," said Jacob.
Stephen looked about him warily.
" He was coming back to finish the job,
I suppose, if you had not come to the
rescue."
We took Stephen Bisdale to our own
house that night and cared for him ten
derly. It was loug before he fully recovered,
but nursing him was a real pleasure to
me. I was full of rejoicing. This man
who might have been a vision of terror
to me all my life, this man whom we had
fo strangely and unwittingly rescued
this was but a man after all, and not a
fiend. Sickness cleared away some fogs
from his brain, and rendered his mental
vision clearer. He had done wrong ; he
was willing to make restitution. That
acquisitiveness which is the moral con
dition of a shrewd business man melts
like frost in the fever of illness.
Stephen swore that he would have Jig
ger shut up from fnrther harm-doing,
and he did so. But the diamond which
Jigger had secreted baffled all search.
It was only by long manoeuvring and a
craftiness rivaling his own that it was
finally recovered.
One day, with secret trembling (al
though I knew that Jacob and Stephen
were following within call), I allured
him up the crags overhanging the water;
and there, with frantic gesticulations and
inarticulate mouthings, and idiotic
shouts of laughter, the jewel was deliv
ered to my keeping, and I carried it
home like a princess, Jigger Jim clap
ping his hands with satisfaction to see
it flashing on my breast. He had stolen
the gem for me, poor Jigger, and I was
sorry to reward him so treacherously.
He had stolen it for me, and Stephen
Bisdale declared it should be mine for
ever. It is mine. I see it shining now in a
harvest of plenty from our restored
acres. I see it flashing in Jacob's glad,
bright eyes. Stephen Risdale, when he
came up this fall, declared that ours
was the brightest little place he ever was
in. And well it may be, for there is no
shadow now there never will be again
between Jacob and myself. Harper's
Weekly.
Cutting a Medicine Stone.
The News of Charleston, S. C, has
the following : A number of ladies and
gentlemen assembled at the tent of Gen
eral Hunt, in Summerville, recently, to
witness what is seldom seen in America,
or in any other country the cutting
and dissection of a bezoar, or medicine
stone. At the appointed hour the beau
tiful gem was placed on the table, in
spected and admired by all present.
Professor Holmes then gave a short des
cription of the bezoars found in Eastern
countries, comparing them with those of
America, or more properly of South Car
olina. The name bezoar was, he said,
derived from the Persian words "pa za
liar," which signifies against poison. In
the East they are called medicine stones ;
in Africa, hag stones or charm stones.
The specimen exhibited on this occasion
is about the size of a large hen's egg, of
a mottled yellow color, with a tint of
brown, having its entire surface highly
Eolished. The polish is natural, coused
y the action of the muscles of the stom
ach of the animal in which it was found
upon each layer of mineral matter de
posited. A piece of scantling having been pre
pared and mortised with a cavity just
large enough to contain the stone, it was
imbedded therein firmly with plaster of
Paris, the better to prevent flaking or
crumbling, to which, from its laminated
and brittle structure, it is peculiarly lia
ble. With a very fine and highly tem
pered saw, it was then cut longitudinally
through the middle, which took but a
few minutes. During the cutting some
little excitement was evinced as to what
the nucleus or contents of the stone
would prove to be.
Upon opening the bezoar the nucleus
proved to be a large aud perfect acorn,
which several gentlemen present imme
diately recognized as that of the white
oak. It was covered by four layers of
laminae of a mineral substance, com
posed generally of phosphates aud car
bonates of lime and iron, and some silex.
The mold of the acorn is very perfect,
having all the external markings of the
fruit. There are two impressions, ap
parently made oy the teeth of the animal
before swallowing the nut. Acorns are
favorite food of Carolina deer. During
the autumnal months their tracks are
almost always to be found under the
oaks of the forest which have borne
acorns.
This is the third specimen of a bezoar
that has heen cut and examined by Pro
fessor Holmes, aud we believe tile only
cues ever "dissected in America. The
The nucleus found in the flist bezoar
was a flattened ball or buckshot with a
fragment of the skin and a few hairs ;
the animal had undoubtedly been woun
ded six years before it had been killed,
as there were six layers or laminae of
mineral matter surrounding the buck
shot. The second bezoar cut contained
a pebble of quartz.
A Literal Rendering.
While Mark H. Duncan had charge of
the academy at Bridgetown, he gave to
one of his Latin classes direction that on
the following day each scholar should
bring in a Latin rendering of his own
name. If any of them should be at fault
he would prefer that they would not
seek assistance from others, but come as
near to a proper rendering as they could.
On the next day, ns had been direct
ed, the members of that 'class brought
forward eacli a slip of paper with his
name written thereon in Latin. Mr.
Duncan looked them over, and smiled
more than once. At length he took up
ft slip bearing the following :
"Johannes Nemus Homo."
After scratching his head over the
problem for a while, he read it aloud,
and asked who wrote it. An aspiring
youth, from the region of the Crooked
River Interval, arose, and acknowledged
himsels as the author.
The preceptor beckoned for him to
come forward.
"My young friend, did you write this
for the Latin rendering of your name ?"
"Sartin!"
"Johannes Nemus Homo?"
" Eggszactly."
"But, isn't that a little for-f etched ?
a little over-done?"
' Really, sir, I can't see it. My name
is John Woodman. Johannes is Latin
for John ; Nemus is Latin for Wood ;
and Homo is Latin for man. Ain't that
so?"
The preceptor, in a certain sse, felt
himself cornered, and after a little
thought, while the school tittered, he
tapped his finger upon his forehead sig
nificantly, remarking at the same time :
"Ah, John. I'm afraid there's some
thing loose up here 1"
"Shouldn't wonder," returned John
Woodman ; and then tapping his own
forehead in like manner, he added, with
emphasis, "but it's all right up here,
you bet!"
Duncan was cornered then, surely ;
and he allowed Johannes Nemus Homo
to resume his seat without further argu
ment. But that was not the end. Years have
elapsed since that day, and even now the
man who keeps the store at Woodman's
Corner is often called by his old school,
mates, "Johannes Nemus Homo."
Sour dfrapes.
There is a grope arbor in front of a
house on Macomb street, and the tempt
ing clusters of black grapes make more
than the pedestrian's mouth water. A
boy about ten years old softly opened
the gate yesterday forenoon and passed
in. When he came out, fifteen seconds
later, he was only sixteen inohes in ad
vance of the family dog, and he seemed
greatly embarrassed.
" Hello, bub, been in after grapes ?"
asked a pedestrian.
" N-no, sir," stammered the lad ; I-I
went in to see if they wa- wan ted to adopt
an orphan, but they didn't s-seem to
o-oare niuoh about it !"
"I see they have grapes in there,"
observed the man.
" Y-yes, sir, but grapes ain't good this
time o year they p-pucker the mouth
all up.' Detroit Free Frett,
Learn Your Business.
A young man in a leather store used
to feel very impatient with his employer
for keeping him, year after year, for
three years "handling hides." But he
saw the use of it in after years, when in
an establishment of his own he was able
to tell by a touch the exact quality of
the goods. It was only by those thou
sands of repetitions that the lesson was
learned, and so it is with everything in
which we acquire skill. The great army
of "incapables" is large euough ; we
should none of us willingly join its ranks.
The half-informed, half-skilled in every
business outnumber the others, dozens
to one. It was a good suggestion, wor
thy of being remembered, which Daniel
Webster mode to a young man who
aBked him if there was any "room in
the legal profession." " There is always
room," said the great statesman.
The better you know your business
the better your chances to rise. If you
drone through your allotted tasks with
out keeping a wide awake lookout on all
that goes on about yon your progress
will be needlessly slow. You can gather
much information by making a wise use
of your eyes and ears, and, perhaps, be
able to surprise your employer in an
emergency by stepping into the "next
man's" place and discharging his duties
satisfactorily.
A fine lit'tlo lad, some twelve years
old, was employed in a telegraph office
in a Southern town last year when the
yellow fever raged so fearfully in that
section. All the operators were down
with it and others sent on by the com
pany were attacked. No one knew that
the lad understood the business, but he
had picked it up and kept up communi
cation between the town and the outer
world all the time the fever lasted.
Ex-Governor Morgan was once a clerk
in a store in Waterford. A trip to New
York was an event in those days, but the
young man had proved so faithful that
he was intrusted with several commis
sions, among them being one to buy
corn. He came back in due time in the
old stage coach, and inquiries were made
about the corn. The price was very sat
isfactory, but the old gentleman was
afraid it could not be good at so low a
price. A handful which the young man
pulled from his pocket convinced him,
but what was his amazement to find that
he had bought two cargoes.
"Why Edwin, what shall we do with
it ?" he asked in consternation.
"I have disposed of all you don't
want," said Edwin, "at an advance. I
stopped in stores as I came along. I
could have disposed of three cargoes if I
had had them.
The profits were clear, and his employ
er said the next morning, " We will let
some one else do the sweeping," and
Edwin was made a partner, though un
der twenty one. If you have a talent for
business it will be found.
A Russian "Sport."
Nothing perhaps more strikingly ex
emplifies the physical fortitude of the
Russian peasants than one of their na
tional sports a Strang mixture of Brit
ish boxing and Japanese harikari. The
nature of this sport will appear from the
following description: by a traveler in
Russia of what he witnessed : A stalwart-
Rubh, some six feet high, was being pun
ished by mi adversary fully six inches
shorter than himself in a most atrocious
fashion. The blows fell upon his head
and face one after the other, being dealt
with a slow swinging deliberation and
received with such apparent thankful
ness that for some moments our aston
ishment was too great to inquire of the
admiring spectators around what it all
meant. We were told, to our no less
surprise, that this was a Russian boxing
match the object being, not for the ad
versaries to inflict the greatest amount
of punishment npou each other, but to
see which one received the greater num
ber of blows before calling for quarter.
On another occasion, we learn from the
same authority, the actors were a stal
wart Boyard and a still more stalwart
serf. The contest took place in the vil
lage inn, on a challenge from the Boy
ard. The trial was to bo proceeded with
by turns of three blows each, the Boyard
commencing. He dealt the serf a tre
mendous blow full in the mouth, cuttirg
his lips and bruising them almost to a
pulp. The second blow was dealt
on the nose, which forthwith disap
peared. The third closed up one of his
eyes, but not a sound did the victim ut
ter, nor did a musclo twitch in his man
gled face. The Boyard now put himself
in position to pass his examination ; but
whether he was simply acting as one of
those choice dessert fruits that are put
on the table on the tacit understanding
that they are not to be touched, or
whether the serf was too conscious of his
power could not be satisfactorily deter
mined ; anyhow the serf, having raised
his fist with an ominous swing, brought
it with a tremendous sweep against the
edge of the massive porcelain stove and
knocked a piece out of it the size of a
man's head, observing at the same time
that he did not wish to mess the room
with the " master's " brains. After this
horrible description we need not wonder
at auy tales of Russian endurance.
The Grain Yield of 1877.
The grain crop of the United States
this autumn is a vast increase over that
of any preceding year in the history of
the country. It amounts in the two
principal 'cereals, wheat and com, to
325,000,000 bushels of the former, and
1,280,000,000 of the latter, according to
the careful estimates of Mr. Walker, the
statistician of the New York Produce Ex
change. The increase in England's im
portation of breadstuff's from this conn-
try in the year ending Aug. 31, 1877,
amounted to almost as much as the
average of her importations during the
ten years preceding. Of corn alone she
took out 33,000,000 bushels. Her total
importation was about 80,000.000 bush'
els, of which 60,000,000 were from this
country, and 20,000,000 from southeast
ern Europe. The importation of corn
into Germany, France and the United
Kingdom promises to increase lartrelv.
as of late years a general tendency to re
sort to it as food for stock, instead of
oats and cut feed, has been manifest It
is found to be one-third cheaper, in Eng
land, than the material hitherto employ
ed for that use. Germany's supply will,
however, be drawn mainly from Hun.
era rv A7.. 1. tt. .
BUKUOINE'S SURRENDER.
Aa Interesting; Accaant of thetl'apltnlatlon
Merlin or Burgoyne and Uates Mill,
taty leneroflty and Delicacy.
At eleven o'clock on the morning of
the 17th of October, 1777, the royal
army left their fortified camp, and form
ed in line on the meadow just north of
Jnsn (Jreek, at its junction with the
Hudson. Here they left their cannon
and small arms. With a longing eye
the artillery man looked for the last
time upon his faithful gun, parting with
it as from his bride, and that forever.
With tears trickling down his bronzed
cheeks, the bearded grenadier stacked
his musket to resume it no more.
Others in their rage knocked off the
butts of their arms, and the drummers
stamped their drums to pieces.
Immediately after the surrender, tlio
British took up their march for Boston,
whence they expected to embark, and
bivouacked the first night in their old
encampment at the foot 'of the hill
where Frazer was buried. As they de
posited their arms, they passed between
the Continentals, who were drawn up in
parallel lines. But on no face did they
see exultation. "As we passed the
American army," writes Lieutenant
Anbury, one of the captured pincers,
and bitterly prejudiced against his con
querors, " I did not observe the least
disrespect, or even a taunting look, but
all was mute astonishment and pity ;
and it gave ns no little comfort to notice
this civil deportment to a captured
enemy, unsullied with the exulting aid
of victors."
The English general having expressed
a desire to be formally introduced to
Gates, Wilkinson arranged an interview
a few moments after the capitulation.
In anticipation of this meeting, Bur-
goyne had bestowed the greatest care
upon his whole toilet, tie had attired
himself in full court dress, and wore
costly regimentals and a richly decorated
hat witn streaming, plumes. Uates, on
the contrary, was dressed merely in a
plain blue overcoat, which had upon it
scarcely anything indicative of his rank.
Upon the two generals first catching a
glimpse of each other, they stepped for
ward simultaneously, and advanced until
only a few steps apart, when they halted.
The .English general took on his hat.
and making a polite bow, said " The
fortune of war, General Gates, has made
me your prisoner." The American gen
eral m reply, simply returned his greet
ing, and said, "I shall always be ready
to testify that it has not been through
any fault of your excellency." As soon
as the introduction was over, the other
captive generals repaired to the tent of
Gates, where they were received with
the utmost courtesy, and with the con
sideration due to brave but unfortunate
men.
After Riedesel had been presented
to Gates, he sent forhis wile and children.
It is to this circumstance that we owe
the portraiture of a lovely trait in Gen
eral Schuyler's character. " In the
passage through the Americun camp,"
the baroness writes, " I observed, with
great satisfaction, that no one cast at us
scornful glances ; on the coutrary, they
all greeted me, even showiug compas
sion on their countenances at seeing a
mother with her little children in such
a situation. I confess I feared to come
into the enemy's camp, as the thing was
so entirely new to me. When I ap
proached the tents, a noble-looking niau
came toward me, took the children out
of the wagon, embraced and kissed
them, and then, with tears in his eyes,
helped me also to alight. He then led me
to the tent of Ueueral Hates, with whom
I found Generals Burgoyne aud Phil
lips, who were upon un extremely
friendly footing with him. Presently
the man, who had received me so kindly
came up and said to me. It may be era
barrasBing to you to jline with all those
gentlemen ; come now with vonr chil
dren into my tent, where I will give you,
it is -true, a frugal meal, but one that
will be accompanied by the best of
wishes.' ' You are certainly,' answered
I, ' a husband aud a father, since you
show me so much kindness.' I then
learned that he was the American Gen
eral Schuyler."
The English and German generals
dined with the American commander in
his tent on boards laid across barrels.
The dinner, which was served up in four
dishes, consisted only of ordinary viands,
the Americans at this period being ac
customed to plain aud frugal meals.
The drink on this occasion was cider,
and rum mixed with water. Burgoyne
appeared in excellent humor. He talk
ed a great deal, and spoke very flatter
ingly of the Americans, remarking.
among other things, that he admired the
number, dress, and discipline of their
army, and above ail, the decorum and
regularity that were observed. " Your
fund of men," he said to Gates, " is inex
haustible ; like the Hydra's head, when
cut off, seven more spring up in its
stead." He also proposed a toast to
General Washington an attention that
Gates returned by drinking the health
of the Jung of England. The conversa
tion on both sides was unrestrained,
affable, and free. Indeed, the conduct
of Gates throughout, after the terms of
the surrender had been adjusted, was
marked with equal delicacy and magna
uiminity, as Burgoyne himself admitted
in a letter to the Earl of Derby. In
that letter the captive general particular
ly mentioned one circumstance, which.
he said, exceeded all he had ever seen
or read of on a like occasion. It was
that when the British soldiers had
marched out of their camn to the place
where they were to pile their arms, not
a man of the American troops was to be
seen, General Gates having ordered his
whole army out of sight, that not one of
them should be a spectator of the humil
lation of the British troops. This was a
refinement of delicacy and of military
generosity and politeness, reflecting the
highest credit upon the conqueror.
As the company rose from the table.
the royal army filed past on their jnarch
to the seaboard. Thereupon, by preoon
certed arrangement, the two generals
stepped out, and Burgoyne, drawing his
sword, presented it. in the presence of
the two armies, to ueneral Uates. The
latter received it with a courteous bow
and immediately returned it to the van.
quished general. JIarper't Magazine,
in the play of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," is a
we now witn two cnuaren.
Items of Interest
The point of death The bayonet.
A porter in a Southern hotel was worth
$250,000 five years ago.
The greatest heat which the feet will
bear in water is 100 degrees.
Oxford. Ala., a town of 1,200 mnapi-
tants, boasts of more than twenty men,
whose weights exceed 200 pounds each.
Eggs are kept fresh for years in Soot-
land by rubbing them with oil or bntter,
when newly laid, so as to stop the pores.
Why are some women very much like
tea-kettles? Because they sing away
pleasantly, and then all at once boil
over.
The grounds surrounding the war
monument at Berlin are to be paved with
stones from the several battle-fields of
the Franco-Prussian war.
A North Carolina girl pierced her ears
in order to get a pair of earrings, and
got instead a four-and-a-half-pound tu
mor, which a surgeon has removed.
Norristown Herald: "Old Windica-
tions" is what the Graphic calls him.
There is a great deal of blow abot him,
that s a fact ; and he often dis-gusts us,
too."
Girls, whose opinion about such
things is always valuable, say there is
too much shirt collar and too little young
man in the present fashions to suit their
taste.
" now to Make a Good Boot Last,''
says an exchange. Tlie beBt way is to
leave the boot up stairs in the back room
closet. It will then last till the mold
grows over it.
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat has
come to the conclusion that the only way
to bring out a full vote in that city would
be to advertise, "A fried oyster given
away after every ballot."
Rhinebeck Gazette: It is true that
philosophy can account for most things,
bnt it has always failed to figure out a
cat's reason for placing its tail where the
dining-room chairs can alight on it.
One of the smartest women in New
York is said to be Miss Juliet Corson,
superintendent of the New York cooking
school. With her lives Dr. Sarah U.
Brayton, a lovely, intellectual woman,
and an excellent physician.
SHE UNDERSTOOD HIM.
A pensive mood came over me ;
I remarked with many a sigh,
" The frost and cold will soon be here,
The landscape change to brown and sere,
And all things green will die."
She looked sweet sympathetic,
And the tears stood in her eye.
As she murmured in a voice divine,
l'lacing her lily hand in mine,
" I'm sorry, bnt Good-bye."
Speaking of the hard times which pre
vailed in this country thirty-five years
ago, Mr. Ticknor wrote to Sir Charles
Lyell, nuder date November, 1843 :
" There has been great sutlenng m all
our States, and in some like Indiana and
Illinois, a proper currency has disap
peared, and men have been reduced to
barter in t he common business of every
day life. What you saw in Philadelphia
was nothing to the crushing insolvency
ot the West and South. The very post
oilices felt the effects of it men with
large landed estates being unable to take
out their letters, because they could not
pay the postage in anything the govern
ment olhcers could properly receive.
Words of Wisdom.
Ho is a wise who never acts without
reason, and never against it.
The begiuning of auger is foolishness,
and its end is repentance.
He who pretends to be everybody's
particular friend is nobody's.
If you do what you should not, you
must bear what you would not.
The imagination is of so delicate a tex
ture that even words wound it.
If we lack the sagacity to discriminate
nicely between our acquaintances and
our friends, our misfortune will readily
do it for us.
It is not so easy as philosophers tell
us to lay aside our prejudices ; mere
volition cannot enable us to divest our
selves of long-established feelings, and
reason is averse to laying aside theories
it has once been taught to admire.
Hath any wronged thee ? Be bravely
avenged ; slight it, and the work is
begun ; forgive, and its finished, lie
is below himself, that is not above an
injury.
It is often better to have a great deal
of harm happen to one than a little ;
a greut deal may rouse you to remove
what a little will only accustom you to
endure.
The great man should retire occa
sionally from the stage to avoid weary
ing admiration ; for however brilliant
the sun may be, it would be wrong for
it never to set.
A Hundred Scents on the Dollar.
The other day Mr. Middlerib stopped
at a grocery and bought some onions,
giving the grocer a two dollar bill.
Among the change handed back to the
customer was an old one dollar bill. It
had been taken in that morning for kero
sene oil, and there was just a dash of the
oil on it, that had been spilled in the
morning. Then the grocer had laid it
on a pile of codfish while he fixed the
stopper in the oil can. Then he had it
ou his hand while he cut off a couple of
pieces of cheese, and the cheese on the
bill struggled with the codfish and kero
sene for pre-emince. Then it got a lit
tle touch of mackerel and a little tinc
ture of stale egg on it, and at last the
grocer stuffed it into his pocket along
with a plug of tobacco, and finally,
when Middlerib got it with his onions,
he held it to his nose once or twice,
sniffed it with an investigating air, and
at last walked out of the store with a ,
cheerful countenance, saying : " By
George, we're all right now. Good
times are here again, and the govern
ment is paying one hundred scents on
the dollar. Burlington Hawkey e.
Facts Worth Knowing.
Keep tea in a close chest or cannister.
Keep ooffee by itself, as its odor affects
other articles.
Keep bread and cake in a tin box or
stone jar.
Cranberries will keep all winter in ft
firkin of water in a cellar.
Oranges and lemons keep best wrapped
n paper and if possible laid in ft drawer
4