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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL frESPEltANitiM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. TH. ftlDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, TA., THUHSDAY, FEftlttfAllY 7, 1878. NO- 51.
- " "" in . i ttr im.pi. i M
Mrs. Lofty and I.
Mrs. Lofty keopi a carriage,
So do I;
She has dapple grays to draw it,
None have I;
She's bo prouder with her coachman
Than am I,
With iny bine-eyed laughing baby,
Trundling by.
I hide his face lest the should see
The cherub bov an4 envy me.
H6r fine hnsband has white fingers,
Mine baa not;
He could give bis b ide a palace
Mine, a cot.
Hers comes home beneath the star-light--
Ne'er caresses eboj
Vine obmes in the purple twilight,
Kisses me,
And praya that He who turns life's sands
"Will hold bis loved ones in bis hands.
Mrs. Lofty his her Jowo's,
So have I;
She wears hers upon her bosom,
Inside I;
tho wil' l.ave hers at death's portal,
By-and-by;
I shall bear my treasure with me
When I dia,
For I have lovo, ai-d she has gold
She counts hr wealth mine can't be told.
She has t'ioe who love her station,
None have I;
But IV ,ae true heart besidi me
Glad am I.
I'd not change it for a kingdom,
No, not I j
God will weigh it in His balance,
By-and-by,
And tl'en the difference He'll define
'l'aixt Mi s. Lof ty'n weaith and mine.
LOVE AND FROST.
There was beauty enough to bo found
in Mittaska valley, what with the river
Bud the lake and the forest-crowned
hills, at least in Bummer time ; and even
the dry, cold r'gor of a Minuesota win
ter could not take ii all away. Never
theless, there was nothing 'else there
balf bo beautiful as Norna Ericson.
Her withered, old Norwegian father
bad settled himself on n good-euougb
piece of land, awoy up above the head of
the lakt-, miles away from Mataska vil
lage, and no one could Bay he had so
much as one friend more, at the end of
a five-years' residence, than the day the
first timber was cut for his house.
A thoroughgoing miser was old Jan,
and his crusty selfishness included not
only his enrthly goods, and tbe gift or
use thereof, Rud his own not very desir
able company, but also his one jewol of
a daughter.
Rarely was Norna seen in the village ;
almost never at nil at any merry-making
of the neighborly country folk ; and old
Jan Fcemed io take an ogreish sort of
pleasure in preventing her from enter
taining visiters young men especially
ot his own house.
And so, the move Noma's beauty
grew rnd became known among them,
the more unpopular was old Jau Ericson
nimsiij the freo-hearted settlers of the
Muraska valley.
And yet there were those who had
succeeded iu breaking through or climb
ing ovr the odd old miser's wall of re
serve. John Tinner had done it, by his
father's advice ; for Judgo Tinner was
.Tan Eric-sou's lawyer, and he had more
than once hinted to his son and heir
that Norna had other and more solid at
tractions than her beauty.
If, therefore, any fair occasion offered
to Fend a message to the Ericson farm,
John Tinner had been generally quite
rendy to oblige his father by carrying it,
and more than once he had even ventur
ed on n brief call without any special
errand.
As fur Taul Wood, on the other hand,
cither ho had not eufficient cunning to
invent errands, or his prido forbade any
subterfuge, for be had positively and
openly braved, more than once, even the
harsh discourtesy of old Jan, in his un
invited, unabashed intrusions.
If Paul did not pretend to vie with
J ohn Pinner in dress, wealth or apparent
prospects, he was certainly a line, manly
specimen of a young Western farmer,
and his dark curls and almost swarthy
features wore a plefsant contrast to even
the ripe blonde Norse loveliness of Norna
herself.
One bit of strategy it seemed that Paul
had btooped to, for more than onco
Noma had been surprised that he had
been " out a-hunting in that neighbor
hood " on the vei-y days which old Jan
had chosen for a bit of teaming on the
furthest edge of his possessions, or a
trip to the store at the village.
, Nobody ever knows how such things
como to be common property; bui, some
how or other, Judge Pinner and his son
were made aware that they had reasons
for distrusting Paul Wood, nd he had
been made to teel the fact vf ry sensibly,
more than once.
Thero had been an added bitterness
the past autumn, in the fact that John
Pinner's nomination to the State legis
lature had only resulted in showing the
folly of the Mataska valley people, for
the stupid fellows had known no more
than to choose Paul Wood instead ; and
even Norna Ericson had said she was
glad of it.
There came a day, however, in the
early winter, when Paul would have
given his political honors and his best
horse, perhaps even his farm to boot, to
have known why it was that Norna sud
denly became as distant and repelling as
old Jan himself.
Not a word would she vouchsafe him,
though he met her a full half-mile from
the house, and walked to the very door
by her side.
He did not give the matter up, even
then, half so much for the volly of bit
ter abuse with whioh the old miser
greeted him, as for the icy look of indif
ferenoe with whioh Norna marched
straight on into the house, and closed
the door.
There was really very little "give np"
in Paul's composition; but he met John
Pinner, before he had left the farm a
tnile hehind him, and there was a look
on John's face that suggested a good
many ugly thoughts to the sore heart of
the discomfited youth.
The next dnv and tli nprf nnd tn
fact, a good many days after that, were
decidedly unfavorable to courting of any
sort.
It was weather to have "bred a cool
ness" in a blast f urnaoe. First, there
came a driving northerly storm bring
ing untold freights of drifting snow from
the Arctic regions, till all the country
was buried under a genuine "Mtnneso
ta blanket." No roads, no paths no
use in trying to make any, almost
And then there followed & cold snap,
that ntterly exhausted the expressive
powers of the thermometers. The only
way to get fee mercury low enough was
to hang it down a well. Thirty, thirty
live, and some said forty degrees below
aero only, when people are half frozen,
they are apt to exaggerate.
Anyhow, there were terrible stories
of sufforing, here and there, and nobody
cared to Btir far from home "until the
frost should let go its hold a little."
John," said the careful judge, on
the third day, when the abating storm
began to let in the frost "John, don't
you think you'd better go and take a
look at the Ericson s ? I don't believe
the old man was ready for this."
"What! You ain't in earnest t" ex
claimed that ardent lover. " Ten miles
through these drifts I Do yeu want me
to bury myself T"
"Well, maybe you're right; but I
wouldn't wait too long. They'll be
breaking out the roads in a day or so,"
replied the judge.
But more than " a day or bo " went by
before the Mataska people cared to at
tempt a good deal in the way of road
making, and iu the meantime the Erio
sQus " bad not been ready for this."
With endless supplies of timber-land
close by that is, within a mile or so,
and geuerally fine winter weather to
haul in what he might want, old Jau
could never see the policy of making up
much of a wood-pile.
Besides, a huge provision for warmth,
such as his neighbors made, offended
Jan's keen seDse of economy. They
would surely waste what they had bo
much of.
When, however, the old man saw the
storm beginning, the even unusually
bare condition of his pile of chips
struck him with a sudden dismay, and
he at once started for the forest with a
yoke of oxen.
It was a rash thing to do, for a man of
his age; but he had counted on his
thorough Scandinavian toughness to
carry him through. And so it did; for
at supper-time ho fought his way to the
house again, through the heaping drifts
and the blinding rush of the storm; bnt
he camo alone, for his team and their
load were hopelessly stalled and snowed
under.
There was fuel enough on hand for
that night, with economy, and old Jan
cheered Norna with the promise of what
ho would do on the morrow. And Norna
tried to be cheerful; but the howling,
dismal tempest without was only too
well in keeping with the dismal state of
her Own internal feelings and thoughts.
The night went by and the morning
came, and the storm still raged; but old
Jan Ericson did not go out to cut wood.
He did not even leave his bed, fcr ex
posure and cold and over-exertion had
done their work on his rheumatic old
limbs, and imprisoned him only too effec
tually. Poor Noma's heart sank within her,
for she knew that such attacks were apt
to bo tediously long, and even food
might fail her, as well as the means of
cooking it.
She was a brave girl, and she made out
to go to the barn and the stables that
day, so that the stock did not suffer; but
the few fence-rails and odd pieces of
timber she was able to bring in enabled
her to make but a poor defense against
the fast increasing cold.
Moreover, old Jan was chilly, and
fretted and complained of the absence of
the grand old fires he had been used to
in his youth, among; the distant hills of
Norway.
That was a terrible day for Norna, and
when another morning dawned, she
looked out upon the white and more
than Arctio desolation around tho house,
with a feeling near akin to despair.
Still, with true courage, the Beauty of
Mataska faced her troubles, waded
through the drifts, fed carefully her one
feeble fire, attended to the querulous
demands of unreasonable old Jan, and
wondered, now and then, if the people
at tho village would ever dream of send
ing out to look after them.
Then there followed another long,
dark, miserable night, and Noma could
not get a wink of sleep till toward morn
ing, for thinking of what might come.
She did not even rise at once when
the tardy light began to come through
the thickly frosted panes of her window.
Why should she, when she had nothing
to make a fire with ?
" Would it not be better to burn the
furniture than to freeze? She could
make a cup of coffee, at least, with the
kitchen chairs."
Just then she heard a slight sound in
the adjoining room, and wondered if her
father conld be stirring.
It was an effort even to rise and dress
in that stinging cold; but Noma was
brave, and in a few minutes more she
was ready to fuoe the labors and perils
of tho day.
Her heart was heavy enough when she
laid her hand on the kitehen-doorj bnt
when she opened it she fairly started
back in astonishment, for a blast of
warm air, balmy with the breath of
blazing pine, smote her in the face.
Not the cheerless, chill, deathly deso
lation she had expeeted was the ample
kitchen, but the high-piled hearth
blazed and crackled with a moH un
wonted prodigality of pine, oak and
hickory, while heaped on either side of
it were ample supplies for at least that
day'" consumption, whatever might be
the condition of the thermometer.
Norna did not believe in miracles, but
she thought of her bedridden father,
about to be frozen to death but for that
pile of wood, and she just sat down by
the window for a good, wholesome cry
before she set herself to work at getting
breakfast ready.
The tea-kettle had evidently filled
itself, and started for a boil on its own
account, and Noma's curiosity took her
at once to the door, to Bee what solution
of the puzzle might be found outside.
Not a sign of human life was there, bat
somebody had been at work with a
ohOvel, for there was a very decent path
way cut as far as the barn.
Tracks, of course, here and there, but
big boots are too nearly alike to tell tales
to the eyes of any one less acute of vis
ion than tm Indian trailer.
Still, Norna wondered and wondered
how all that wood Could ever have got
there. .
CtettiUg into the house was easy
enough in a region where wooden latches
take the place of combination locks, but,
whoever the unknown benefactor had
been, he must have possessed wonderf ul
faculties for silence,
There was magic in it, and Noma
called to mind the old Norse tales she
had heard of good-natured demons of the
forest ; but, then, all that belonged to
Norway, and not to Minnesota.
Later in the day, as Norna paced here
and there among the drifts, she got one
hint, at least, for those broad though
deep dents in the surface of the snow
drifts could only have been made by
snow-shoes,
When she finally found her Way to the
stables, Noma Baw that her work there
had all been done for her, and a got d
deal more, and that even an old wood
sleigh had been dug out of the snow, as
if in anticipation of future use.
Inside the house the " food question "
was fast becoming an important one, so
closely had the narrow and stinting
policy of old Jan permitted the current
supply to run down ; but, for all that,
Noma Ericson sang all day the quaint
and musical rhymes of her northern an
cestry, which her mother had taught her
years before.
Bitter, bitter cold it was without, but
the bountiful provision of the unknown
friend left little to ask for within, and
the vary dancing blaze itself seemed to
laugh in mockery of Noma's curiosity.
The long night came again, of course,
and Norna tried hard not to go to sleep,
so that she might listen.
Youth and health forbade any such
doings, however, and Noma woke in the
morning, not to find her fire alight, but
all preparation made outside, in the
shape of heaps of fuel.
It was evident, moreover, that Jan
Ericson's remaining ox-team had been
having a night of it. Well they might
be jaded and used up, for, not only had
some pitiless driver forced them to help
him break a road to the timber through
a mile of drifts, but to haul home again
a very respectable load.
All that was a later discovery ef
Noma's, but the first thing to greet her
eyes, as she swung the door open, was
tho carcass of a goodly deer that hung
against it, and nhe know very well how
much better venison-steaks are than ut
ter starvation. They are a good deal
better 1
The next day and the next went by,
and the terrible cold seemed to have
griped everything with a hand of frozen
steel.
Again and again did Noma Ericson
shiver and turn pale, as she thought of
what would surely have been her fate,
but for her unknown helper.
Old Jan was able to Bit up now, and
grumble at the sad necessity of burniug
so much good wood, just to keep warm !
In reply to Noma's speculations as to
who had sent it, however, he testily re
plied :
I knowed Judgo Pinner would keep
an eye on us. That coffee you say was
left this morning camo from Jones's
store at the village. I knowed it soon
as I tasted it. It's what the judge al
ways buys, aud it's two cents a pound
more than I want to give. "
True enough, Judge Pinner had by
no means forgotten his client, and at
last he Bucceeded in stirring up John's
chivalry and his own, now the roads
were becoming a trifle better broken,
and the mercury ventured a few points
higher up in the gloss.
It was with more than a little misgiv
ing that they started, and they decided
to tuke some of their neighbors with
them, " in case they found anything bad
had happened at old Jan's."
Bitter cold yet, but when the double
team of Judge Pinner pulled his com
fortable, closely packed sleigh in sight
of Jan Ericson's homestead, the curling
smoke from the chimney promptly dis
pelled all their fears.
" Hurrah for old Jan 1" exclaimed the
jndge. "Jack Frost didn't catch him
napping."
Great was the surprise of both and
son, however,when the old man hobbled
out to meet them, to bo greeted with
such a torrent of what seemed to be
genuine gratitude for the kind attention
they had shown during his illness, and
all they had saved him and Norna from
during the cold snap.
Just at that moment a man on snow
shoes came plodding down the road, but
nobody thought much about him, and
John Pinner mustered self-possession
enough to answer :
"Well, of course, we were anxious
about you and Norna, and we've come
now to see if there's anything else we
can do. How's Noma?"
"I'm pretty well, thank you," said
that young lady herself, from the door
way. " Father, you should thank Mr.
Pinner for the venison and the coffee."
The man on snow-shoes had half
halted within hearing distance, and
could not Lave lost a word of Jan Erie
son's thanks, or the dubious protesting
and yet acknowledging acceptance
thereof by the Pinners.
"Is that yon, Mr. Jones?" again in
terrupted Noma, addressing the "store
keeper," who still sat muffled up in the
sleigh. "I'm glad you've oome. I
want yen to read something for me."
"All right!", exclaimed the gallant
merchant, springing out into the snow
to take a large slip tf brown paper from
Noma's extended hand. "Where did
that oome from ?"
" Read it read it !" said Norna.
" Paul Wood ! That's plain enough ;
and it's in my own handwriting. Oh, I
remember, I did up a whole lot of things
that day for one and another, and I put
the names on 'em, bo's not to git 'em
mixed."
" Ob, that's it, is it ?" said the beauty.
"I see now. ' Father, John Pinner got
Paul Wood to buy the coffee for him and
bring it out Mr. Pinner, how much
did you pay Paul for working all night
in tke storm I Did you tell him not to
forget about tie venison and the rest ?
It wm real good of you, 'Twaj good of
him, too, to give op his conrtiug in the
village all through the cold snapi"
"What's that?" snddenly exclaimed
the inan on spow-shoes. untwisting a
huge fur muffler from his head as he
spoke what's that about courting in
the village?"
John Pinner was evidently chilly,
judging by the way his teeth chattered,
and it was really a very cold day; but
Norna Ericson's face was all in a bright
warm glow. ;
" Paul !" She exoiaiined " Paul
Wood I Oome right In now ! Come
and warm yourself by tbe fire that would
have been out for ever if it hadn't been
for you. Father, John Pinner and the
judge would have let us freeze and starve.
It was Paul that saved us. Oome in,
PauL Mr. Jones, you come too, and
the judge and John may come if they
want to."
"John," dryly remarked the store
keeper, " don't you think, we'd better go
home while the sleighing's good ? This
is Paul's day. Elected again, suro's you
live I"
There was no doubt Rbout it. Paul
Wood was Norna Erieson'B "elected."
Reckless Competition.
A couple of stationers living opposite
to each other in a seaside resort on the
south coast of England recently got at
loggerheads. One ot them, in order to
draw his neighbor's customers, piled
his window with shilling packets of note
paper marked at elevenpence. People
stared, walked in ana purchased. The
next morning, when the other man's
shutters were taken down, the window
was filled with shilling packets of note
paper marked eightpence. Day by day
this little game went On, one under
Belling the other until prices gradually
dropped to sixpence, fivepence, four
pence, threepence and twopence.
By this time the town caw and en
joyed the joke ; and, notwithstanding
the efforts made to keep the Bales down,
by taking at least ten minutes to seal or
tie up every purchase, the two stationers
were heavy sufferers, and every man,
woman and child in the town was stocked
with ensugh note paper, to last them
half a lifetime. However, the fight
went on, each man devoutly wishing he
had stuck to his legitimate trade, and
hod not tried to undersell his neighbor.
The following morning the "UJ."day
found tho opposite window with the
shilling packets Id. This was too much.
Within ten minutes an enormous pla
card obscured the windows of the other
man, bearing in huge letters, the words:
" Go to tho fool opposite." -But the
"fool opposite " had had enough. In
a few minutes the penny ticket disap
peared, and in its place the old price,
one shilling. . In a twinkling down came
the poster bearing tho obnoxious words,
and an exactly similar placard appeared,
announcing that " the price of a shilling
packet of note paper is one shilling."
And thus the war of extermination
ended.
A Minnesota Hotel.
A Farmington correspondent of the
Easport Sentinel writes as follows : " I
rode to the first-class hotel ; it was a
covered frame on btilts, and barely par
titioned off inside with laths. Every
one washed from the same tiu dish, and
wiped upon the Bame towel ; tho fare
was tough steak and tougher biscuit ;
the beds were mere boxes on legs, and
filled with coarse meadow hay. No
doors to the rooms, nor nails to hang a
coat, no stand or even chair to put a
lamp on ; but mine host just dropped
some grease from his dip upon the floor,
into which he inserted his candle, and
bade me make myself comfortable. Now
I had hired the " private room " at an
extra price, with no understanding that
it was to be all my own for the night,
aud, of course, the only safety for the
money was to put it to bed. So you
may imagine my serenity when ot twelve
midnight iu bounced a straggler in long
boots ; the landlord had sent him np, he
said, as mine was the only bed with but
one in it. In the morning I
found that about forty persons had
been lying right auross the long entry
between the rooms, with only here and
there a blanket among them, aud they
snored on as I walked over them. After
breakfast the landlord told us all to
come out and square the house into
place it had been moved on its bed in
the night by the wind. Leaning on a
long rail as a lever, we all bore our
weight upon it. and the first-class hotel
came into place again. But now, mark
me, that place is a county seat, has a
court house and other tine buildings,
witli churches, two newspapers, and
really more than one " first-class " hotel.
And this is a sample of hundreds of
places on the prairies.
The English Channel Tunnel.
Operations connected with the sub
marine tunnel have already been com
menced on the French Bide of the chan
nel, several pits having been sunk to a
depth of 110 yards. At the same time
the French and English committees
have definitely drawn up the conditions
of working for the route. The property
of the tuunel is to be divided in half by
tho length ; that is to say, each oompaay
is to possess half of the line, reckoning
the distance from coast to coast at low
tide. Each company will cover the ex
penses of its portion. The general work
of excavation will be done, on the one
hand, by tho Great Northern of Franco,
and on the other by the Chatham and
Southeastern companies, the two latter
having each a direct route from London
to Dover. All the materials of the
French and English lines will pass
through the tunnel in order to prevent
nnnecessay expenses and delay of trans
shipment, as in England and in France
railway companies use each other's line,
and goods can pass from one line to
another without changing vans. It is
understood that au arrangement will be
established for a similar- exchange of
lines between all the EugU?h and conti
nental railway companies y hen the tun
nel is completed. The tuqiel will be
long to its founders. At tin expiration
ui miriy years ine government will be
able to take Dosession of the, tnnnl mn
certain oouuiuons. jummn Journal. .
The Empire of Japan in foade of Hfton
. , - i -r
FARM, GARDEN ASD HOUSEHOLD.
Unto, aoA Way of t'sliiTbet.
Dr. Edward Smith saysi It would not
be possible to exaggerate the value of
eggs as an article of food, whether from
their universal use, or the convenient
form in which the food as preserved,
presented aud cooked, and the nutriment
they contain. Again he says: There is
no e?g of, a bird known Which Is not
good For food, or which would not be
eaten by a hungry man; The white of
eggs consists of nearly pure albumen,
oils, sulphur and water. Albumen is
considered tho most important single
element of food. It is feund in all com
pounded animal structures, and in the
vegetable productions most valuable for
food, though in a modified form.
There is great difference in the value
of different eggs, as there is in their size
and flavor. Well fed domestic fowls
yield far richer food in their eggs than
common wild fowls. Many Suppose
that raw eggs are more easily digested
than those that are cooked, but for the
most persons this is not the case, if the
eggs are not cooked improperly. Dr.
Smith thinkB it is a mistako to give a
mixture of raw eggs and milk to in
valids, such a mixture tending more to
hinder than to promote digestion. Dys
peptics often think that they cannot eat
eggs at all, and it is the case that deli
cate stomachs do sometimes suffer
greatly from eating any but tbe freshest
of eggs. When we cannot be sure of
the age of the eggs provided, it is always
safer to break them before cooking.
For invalids the very safest way is to
drop the egg from the Shell without dis
arranging its form, into water boiling in
a shallow disk A few minutes boiling
is sufficient, and no dressing is neces
sary, except a trifle of salt for those who
eat anything salty, though, of course,
good butter and pepper may be added,
or the egg may be carefully laid Upon
toast. For a family of children, it is
often more convenient, in all respects, to
sa ve eggs in scrambled form, or in ome
lets, than to cook them separately.
Aome children are notional, and will not
eat the white of an egg, others think
they dislike the yolk, but when both are
cooked together they think nothing
about it, but eat with pleasure all they
can get. In most receipt books, the
directions tot scrambling eggs advise a
good piece of butter with which to cook
the eggs, seasoning them with Bait and
pepper, and with chopped parsley, if
you choose. But if for any other reason
yon prefer it, you can use milk instead
of butter, and for children, this is best.
The proportions used for an omelet are
very good a cup of milk for six eggs.
This increases the quantity. The eggs
are broken bnt not beaten, and are
stirred simply to mix well, and to pre
vent burning while cooking.
Ilonaeliold Hints.
Paste for Cleaning Metals. One
part of oxalic acid and six of rotten stone;
mix with equal parts of whale oil and
spirits of turpentine to a paste.
To Clean Marble. Ti.ke two parts
common soda, one part pulverized pum
ice stone, one part finely powdered
chalk; sift the mixture through a fine
sieve and then mix with water; rub it
thoroughly over the surface of the mar
ble, and the stains will be removed; then
wash the marble over with soap aud
water.
Shaving Soap. The Drvgginta' Cir
cular gives the following formula for a
shaving soap: Take white soap, four
ounces; spermaceti, one-half ounce;
olive oil, one-hulf ounce; melt them to.
gether and stir till nearly cold; scent
With suoli oils as may he most agreeable,
UsrFt'L Information. The washer
women of Holland and Belsrium. bo rro
verbially clean, and who get up their
unen so ueautiiuily wlute, use rcllneu
borax as a washing powder instead ol
soda, in the proportion of a large hand-
nu oi pulverized borax to about ten gol
lons of boiling water. They save in soap
nearly one half. All other large wash
ing establishments adopt the same mode.
For laces, cambrics, etc., an extra quan
tity of the powder is used, and for crino
lines (required to be made very stiff), a
strong solution is necessary. Borax being
a neutral salt, does not in the slightest
degree injure the texture of the linen;
its effect is to soften the hardest water,
and therefore it should be kept on every
toilet table. To the taste it is rather
sweet, is used for cleaning the hair, is an
excellent dentifrice, and in hot countries
is used with tartaric acid and bicarbon
ate of soda as a cooling beverage. Good
tea cannot be made from hard water; all
water can be made soft by addirg a tea
spoonful of pulverized borax to an ordin
ary sized kettla of water, in which it
should boiL The saving in the quantity
of the tea used will be at least one-fifth.
Scientific American.
A Bite.
Iu Chili there is an elderly farmer who
is passionately fond of sport especially
fishing and hunting aud he has a son
who is a chip of the old block in that as
well as in other respects.
One day last summer the old gentle
man left home, but before going set his
boy at a job he. wob anxious to have
done. Returning sooner than he was
expected, ho found that the boy was
missing.
" Where's- Tom?" he growled, as he
entered the kitchen.
" Gono fishing," said the girl.
"Fishing! the rascal; I'll fish him
when I catch him."
And away the angry old fellow went
for the brook. Comiug within hailing
distance of his hopeful son, who was
bending eagerly over the stream, the
father yelled: x
" Tom I you scoundrel, Tom I"
There was a deprecating movement
of one hand on the part of the boy, whr.
did not, however, turn his head. Still
more angry the avenging parent came
nearer and bawled out
" I'll learn you to stay home and work
when "
"Sh! Bhl shl father," said young
Isaac Walton. " I've got a bite."
The old fellow's passion perceptibly
cooled at that announcement, and, lucky
for the boy, the latter just then hauled
up a handsome perch. This was too
much for the dad, who sprang forward
and helped unhook the fish, and then
" Tom, have you got another hook ?'
- Victory perched on the boy's fish line.
TItQchetterN. y.) Sunday Herald,
town versus country.
Comparative Orowth ef Urban and Hnral
Popnlntlotit
8cribnei Monthly for January con
tains an article on the coniparatiyo in
crease of urban and rural population in
the United States; but it only gives the
chief cities, leaving out the large town
and village population. Tho Cincinnati
Commercial has tried to supply this
omission in the case of ten States, and
It points out the following among the
consequences of excessive urban growth :
1. Concentration or population.
2. Concentration of wealth.
3. Breaking down the great middle
class.
4. The increase of the poor at a very
much greater ratio than that of the popu
lation. 6. The increase of the power of re
alized wealth.
6. Increase of mortality and effemin-
7. increase oi vice ana crime,
8. Physical and moral degeneracy.
9. Increasing peril to free institutions.
Accurate statistics, carefully and hon
estly handled, are indispensable to a full
understanding of our economical, social,
political, moral and educational rela
tions. We have made a somewhat tedi
ous scrutiny of the State of New York,
and separated the entire town popula
tion from that of the purely rural, and
find that the grand aggregate to have
been in 1870, 2,824,986, against 1,652,
317 in 1850. We have now the follow
ing: 1870. 1850.
Total population 4,382,750 3,097,894
Urban population,..;.... u,t,ym i,toz,ii7
Rural popnlition 1,557,773 1,415,077
Inoieaso of tMal population 1,283,365
Increase of nilian population 1,172.069
Increase of rural population 112,699
Increase per cent. Total, 43; urban, 71;
rural 8.
A thorough analysis for the whole
State of Massachusetts gives a rural in
crease during the two decades, of but
seven per cent., against au urban in
crease of ninety-two per cent. Were all
the town population of Pennsylvania
gathered up, the rural increase would be
found to have been about ten por cent. ,
and the urban 120 per cent. In Illinois,
a comparatively new State that was
chiefly settled during the two decades,
we find thirteen cities and towns of over
7,000 people in 1870 that can be com
pared with 1850. The aggregates are:
1870. I860
State population 2,639.891 851,470
Urban 418,475 06,187
Kural.. 2,091,416 785,283
Increase of State popnlation 1,687,421
Increase of Urban popnlation 382,288
Increase of rural popnlation 1,3U6,133
llural, 166 per cent.; city, 679 percent.
Were all the towns and villages of the
State sifted out, the rural increase would
be found to have been much less than
166 per cent. Ohio is a fair average be
tween the o'd and the new States. After
Bcanning all tho townships of Ohio, and
separating tho village, town and city
population from the grand total of the
State, we have reached the following re
sults: 1870. 1850.
Urban population . 1,000,000 480.000
Purely rural 1.C55.260 1.5 )0, 829
Urban increase, 52".000 l'Sperct.
Itnr al increase 164,081 11 perct
The aggregates for ten of the princi
pal northwestern States are as follows:
1870. 1850,
Ten Slates 20,088,7(17 12,192,0:
Seventy cities b,141,23 a.l'JKa
Cities deduct d 15.846,842 9,99375
Increase of population 8,7!Hi,735
Incrc-a-ec f urlian population 2,913,768
Increase of rnr.l populalldn 6,852,907
Increase per cout. total popnl tion, &,'..;
city,137; rural, 58.
These States are New York, Miisea
chnsetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin
aud Michigan. The great lesson from
these fact is that efforts to prevent the
increase of vice and crime, and to miti
gate the calamities of poverty in our
cities, should bo increased in proportion
to the increase of concentration. The
philosophers and philanthropists can
study the problem at their leisure, and
the more they study the more they will
find it necessary to do in order to coun
teract the unfortunate results of this
tendency of population.
A Forgetful Bridegroom.
An absent-minded gentleman in St.
Paul, Minn., recently applied to the
county clerk for a marriage license.
" What's the brides name ?'' asked the
official. The bridegroom paused,
coughed, stuttered, sneezed, blew his
nose, scratched his head, and finally
stammered : " I can't recall it, but I'll
go aud ask her." Having obtained the
desired information, he returned and
paid the fees for the license. A few
days afterward he took his bride to a
minister's house, and proclaimed his
anxiety to be married on the spot, 'l'he
minister said that he would marry them
if they had procured a license. The
bridegroom rummaged in his pockets
and found it not. He had forgotten to
bring it with him. "I must have the
warrant," said the minister solemnly.
The bride handed her prospective lord
the keys of his trunk, and he set out for
his house to letch tho document. Tho
marriage ceremony was finally per
formed, but the lady was ill tt eaee.
" What comfort can I have,"she mused,
" if he can't remember anything. " She
forsook him that very nfteruion, and
hastened home to her mother.
An Infuriated Monkey.
A tame monkey, belonging to a baker
named Hartz, in Atlanta, Go., fiercely
attacked a little child, two years old, of
a citizen named Harris. A brother, five
years old, was carrying his two-year-old
sister, when the monkey assailed him,
tearing with fearful force the child from
his arms. The alarm was soon given,
and several parties came to the rescue.
The animal seemed terribly enraged, and
was tearing the child's flesh with a horrid
ferocity. He was attacked with clubs
and sticks, but only after a severe beat
ing would he relinquish his grip, Tt
was found that the enraged beatt had
torn the flesh terribly on her left arm,
and inflicted very severe wounds, ; They
were not considered fatal, but it is cer
tain that but for prompt aid the ohild
would have been torn to pieces by the
iuf uriat4 peast.
Items of Interest.
The governor of Missouri offers
$10,000 for a sure remedy against hog
cholera.
It cost the Northampton (Mosb.) bank
$30,000 to arrest and convict the men
who robbed its safe.
Printers seldom follow the hounds,
and yet the chase takes no imposing
form without them.
A householder iu Charleston, S. C,
was fined the other day for allowing hia
chimney to take fire.
The Central Pacific railroad company
have ordered 700,000 trees to be set out
along the line of their road the coming
season.
Turkish soldiers have recovered from
their wounds in a marvelous manner, in
many instances, owing to their strictly
temperate lives. , ,
By a Michigan court it has been de
cided that oysters are fish; but very few .
people, howover, will, think of going
fishing when they want oysters.
Japan has no system of patent laws.
The Japanese, with their native skill and
ingenuity, copy very successfully many .
of the machines sent to that country.
The Turk has an immense horror ol
amputation, preferring death. For a
long while Osman Pasha refused to allow
the surgeons to dress or even examine
the wound in his arm.
One of the largest shoe firms in Bos
ton has just concluded an arrangemen '
with the Peruvian government to fur
nish 35,000 pairs of men's shoes. The
firm had previously filled an order for the '
same government for 10,000 pairs of
shoes.
John Fletcher, of Tennessee, fired at
his nephew with a double-barreled shot
gun a few days ago, and shot out nearly
all of his teeth, destroyed both of his
eVes and shot his nose off. The phy
sicians think that the youth will live,
thus disfigured and totally blind.
Captain Boytou has ochieved another
great feat in swimming, having descend
ed the Loire from Orleans to Nantes,
where he was received by an enthusias
tic crowd assembled to greet his arrival.
He seemed quite worn out from excess
of fatigue and his wrists were Bwelled
and painful.
The very latest "Turkish atrocity" is
to be Been in Cheopside, in London,
where a peripatetic vender of penny
wares is carrying about a trayful of
" Bulgarian cars," made of fleBh colored
india rubber, and imitating, with fright
ful fidelity, a human car severed from a
hi'inan head.
In some parts of Maine huge flocks of
geese feed by day in the fields with only
asmall boy to attend them, returning
home under his charge in the evening,
as they march down the roads they drop -off
by detachments without confusion,
and proceed soberly of their own accord
to the houses where theyl dge.
What's in a name ? J Chinaman in
San Francisco found the. e were thirty
days. He stole a 'Frisco man's door
plate and fastened it to his own door as
an ornament, ne didn't know that the
name would betray him, as he thought
that was merely carved on for the beauty
of the thing. Tho Chinaman now lan
guishes in the bastile, another victim to
the mysteries of English orthography.
In northern China, people of all ages
are dying of actual starvation by tkon A
sand. The famine extends over a dis-""
triet which includes at least 5,000 villa
ges, and it is eaid that at least 500 die
daily. Houses are pulled down in every
villugo to sell the timber and thatch
in order to get food. Those who can get
husks and dry leaves ordinarily used
for fuel, are considered well off, Most
of the toor voting crirls have been sold ;
old men, middle-nged men and young
men, and children die daily oi starva
tion and others freeze. The dead can
not get a burial ; they are too many,
and none can afford the expetse ; so
they are cast daily into large pits, 'ine
people at Shansi are said to be living on
the corpses of their fellow beings who
die of starvation. And the strong are
killing the weak for the sake of obfoun
ing their flesh for foou. '
Twenty Years Trying to Move.
Twenty years ago a gentleman living
along the Tennessee line, not more than
thirty-five or forty miles from Glasgow,
concluded to move to California. The
proposition met tho cordial assent of all
hiafani ly. Everything was shaped to.
ward the removal. When the time came
tho land was unsold and some business
remained unsettled. It was agreed that
the mother and remainder of the family,
except the father, should commence the
move, which in those days consumed
months in making. The father re
mained to fettle np the affairs and sell
tho farm, intending to start as soon as
he could wind up. The gentlemen set
himself to work, but found it an up-hill
business to adjust his affairs, and could
find no suitable purchaser for his land.
Two or three years passed in fruitless
efforts to get ready to leave, and eventu
ally the muttering of war was heard,
and speedily the blaze "of civil dhcora
caused all nope of family reunion to
vanish until tho conflict should pass.
The war over things were in no 6hape
for immigration. Time passed on until
the gentleman has reached an old age,
and infirmities have taken hold of him,
and now the probability of the family
meeting beyond the grave is all that
lights up the hopes of either wing of
the long separated family. The family
were bound together by the strongest
ties, end the long separation has been a
most painful one. It is certa'nly a mos
singular history Glasgow (.Ky.) Timet
The Leech.
Recent observations on the compara
tive auatomy of this little animal, have
made known to us that just within its
mouth it is furnished with three little
jaws, triangularly arranged, on each
side of which are inserted a row of very
minute, sharp-pointed teeth, much re
sembling the teeth of a saw. Each jaw
has its upproprtate muscular apparatus
for its: peculiar action, and thus is ex
plained the constant shape of the wound
observed after the application of this
very cseful animal 4nnal of Chwilt'
try, . ' .
r saJh
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