- ...jr ... ( J- HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher NIL DESPER ANDTJ M. Two Dollars oer Annum. VOL. VIII. MDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THUBSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1878. NO. 28. ifllfl h If if . fl I The Foreclosure of the Mortgage. Walk right in the settin'-room, Deaoon it'l all in a muddle, yon lee, But I hadn't no heart to right It, bo I've jest let everything be. Besides, I'm going to-morrer I ealk'late to start with the dawn And the house won't seem bo home-like if it'l all upsot and forlorn. I sent off the children this tnornln' : they both on 'em begged to stay, But, I thought 'twould be easier, mebbe, if I was alone to-day. For this was the very day, Deaoon, jest twenty year ago, That Caleb and me moved in t so I couldn't f orgit it, you know. We was so busy and happy I we'd been mar ried a month before And Caleb would dear the table and brush up the kitchen floor. He said I was tired, and he'd help me i but law 1 that was always his way Always handy and helpful, and kind, to the very last day. Don't you remember, Deaoon, that winter I broke my arm ? Why, Caleb skursely left me, not even to 'tend to the farm. Thero night aud morula' I saw him, a-eettln' so elose to my bed, r And I knew him in spite of the fever that made me so wild in my head, He never did nothin' to grieve me, until he left me behind Yes, I know, there's no use in talkin', but somehow it eases my mind. And he cot such store by you, Deaoon, I needn't tell you now, But unless he had your jedgment, he never would buy a cow. Well, our cows is gone, and the horse too- poor Caleb was fond of Jaok. And I cried like a fool this mornin' when I looked at the empty raok- I hope he'll be kindly treated t 'twould worry poor Caleb so If them Joneses should whip the cretur but I s'pose he ain't like to know. I've thinkiu' it over lately, that when Mary sickened and died, Her father's sperit was broken, for she was alius bis pride. He wasn't never so oheery ; he'd smile, but the smile wa'n't bright, And he didn't care for the cattle, though once they'd been bis delight. The neighbors all said be was ailin', and they tried to hint it to me ; TheyM lulled of a church-yard cough ; but, oh ! Via blind are thoBe who won't see. I fctvor Leliced he was goin' till I saw him r-!u:.i' here dead. There, titk's 1 don't be anxious, Deaoon ; I haven't no tears to shed. I've tried to keep things together I've been slavin' early and late But I couldn't pay the int'rest, nor git the farm-work straight. MU Ul uuuiM X Vtf gUUO UOUlllUUCMau, M4V At UM farm Bhould sell For enough to pay the mortgage, I s'poso 'twill be doing well. I've prayed ag'innt all hard feelin's, and to walk as a Christian ought, But it's hard to see Caleb's children turned out of the place he bought ; And readin' that text in the Bible 'bout wilows and orphans, you know, I can't think the folks will prosper who are willing to see us go. But there I I'm keepin' you, Deacon, and it's nigh your time for tea. Won't I come over ?" No, thank you ; I fed better alone, you see. Besides, I couldn't eat nothin' ; whenever I've tried it to-day There's eomethin' here that chokes me. I'm narvous, I s'pose you'll say. "I've worked too hard?" No, I haveu't, Why, it's work that keeps me strong ; If I sot here thinkin' I'm sartin my heart would break before long. Not that I care about livio'. I'd ruther be laid away In the place I've marked beside Caleb, to rest till the jedguient-day. But there's the children to think of that makes my dooty clear, And I'll try to follow it, Deaoon, though I'm tired of this earthly speer, Oood-by, then. I shan't forgit you, nor all the kindness you've showed ; 'Twill help to cheer me to-morrow, as I go on my lonely road, For What are you sayin', Deaoon. I needn'i I needn't go ? Tcu've buught the mortgage, and I can stay if Stop t say it over slow. Jest wait now just wait a minute I'll take it in bime-by That I can stay. Why, Deaoon, I don't see what makes me ory I I haven't no words to thank you. If Caleb was only here, He'd seen a head for speakln', he'd make my feeliu g dear. There's a picter in our old Bible of an angel from the skies, And though he hasn't no-great eoat, and no spectacles on his eyes, He looks jest like you, Deaoon, with your smile so good and trew, And whenever I see that picter, 'twill make me think of you. The children will be so happy ! Why, Debby will 'most go wild: She fretted so much at leavin' her garding be hind, poor child ! And, law ! I'm as glad as Debby, ef only for jest one thing Now I can tend the posies I planted there last spring On Caleb's grave : he loved the flowers, and it seems as ef he'll know They're a-bloomin' all around him while he's sleepin' there below. Mr. JS. T. CorbeU, in Barptr'g Uagatint. AFTER MANY YEARS. "It's always the same thing, cutting wood, fetching water, and running er rands for mother's boarders. It's Here Toml' 'There Tom!' 'Look sharp, boy!' from morning until night, till I'm fairly discouraged. Most of them are civil enough, but that detestable CoL Monk ton speaks to me as if I was a dog. I'm as much a gentleman born as he, though . , s naru for her, brought up as she was in wealth and lnxurv: and if it wun't tk.t i a HUB. Deeds so much, I'd leave here Bwrrow," she to- The lad's bright, handsome fnce grew dark and sullen. He was half reclining under a tree, gazing out over a vest ex panse of rippling waves J for Fair-view, where his mother lived, was a seaboard' village, It was not a fashionable resort, by any means, but a kind of fishing hamlet, where persons of small means und quiet tastes came for their summer holiday. "I'm full seventeen, and am Just rust ing away here," he continued. "I could do better for mother and mvself anv- where else. But I'm nothing here but a waiting-boy for that tippling, red-faced Monkton. What a drunken beast he is, with his bottle of whiskey every day I And I'm to fetch it to him, and be sworn at II lie s out of temper 1 Mother's al ways talking to me about my furious temper, and it is violent. I knows but somehow old Monkton makes me bad all over whenever I go near him." "What are you doing there, you lazy rascal ?" shouted a horse, cracked voice from an upper window which overlooked the tree uuder which Tom Oourtney was lying. "I sent yon after my whiskey au hour ago, and there you are yet. Better be off, or I'll make the place warm for you!" The boy sprang up, his face crimson with rage and mortification. The furi ous temper his mother deplored had mastered him. "Go aftor your liquor yourself 1" he cried. "I'm ashamed to be packing your dnuhs through the street. It s a d internee to mother's house to have a tippler like you in it, and I won't be your lackey any longer." Col. Monkton for a few minutes seemed dumb with astonishment. But his first impulses when he recovered his senses, was to hurl a large water-pitcher at the boy's head. It missed him, but, striking against the trunk of the tree, was shivered. At the uoiso, two gentlemen who were bonrding at the house put their heads out of their windows, and Mrs. Courtney, Hastening through the front yard, en denvnrod to lead her son into the house. " Eor my sake, my boy 1" she cried, in an agony. He unclaRped her hands, and shook his list at his antagonist, his eyes.blaz ing with rage. " Yes, I repeat, you're a disgrace to any decent house with your oaths and vulgar words, and drunken ways. If you were not an old man, I'd horsewhip you oiat of it I " I'll go in now.mother. I've said what I Lad to say. "Yes, mother," he repeated, when they were in her room, " he is a disgrace, and you know it, if he is the only one who pays liberally for his board." "Couldn't we hove got rid of him without all this trouble?" said the mother, still trembling and unnerved by jhe soene. " O Tom, Tom 1 after all . ll V- control, is that ungovernable temper of yours always to master you V Tom hung his head. "But, mother," he said, "I couldn't stand the names be called me. 1 sup pose the Oourtney blood is not quite out of my veinB, if we do keep boarders, You see now it's best for me to leave here. I'm nothing but a servant, and an ill-used one at that. Any stout, strong boy can do all I have to do, It will be best for you, too, mother, in every way. if you d only think so. 1 11 make money for you ; and then you won t be always dreading that L shall get you into trouble by my temper." Mrs. Oourtney shooklher head sadly. " You won't leave your temper behind, my boy, I'm afraid. Bnt perhaps you are right. I may have kept you here too long. Uut on, Tom, it e so bard to give up all 1 have in the world. She was a widow, and he was her only child. In his delight at his mother's consent, Tom was utterly unconscious of the pain it cost her to give it. He was riotous in his expression of delight. He clasped his arms around, her neck and kissed her careworn face. " Mammy mine," he cried, "you've made a man of me I Look upon our fortune as made. You shall play the lady once more, and wear velvet and lace as in the old times that is, when my ships come in. "Oh, you needn't smile I They're bound to come in Eome day, for I've made up my mind to succeed, and you say yourself 1 never fail when I try. Yes, you've saved me, for there was murder in my heart when that old mman abused me. I don't think anything he could say now could move rue." " You don't eh, you young vagabond?" cried the well-known hoarse voice ; and turning, Mrs. Oourtney and her son saw Col. Monkton standing on the threshold, with a large horse-whip in his hand, and his red face purple and swollen with passion. " Can't be moved by anything I say, eh?" And the colonel advanced into the room. " Perhaps, young sir, some thing I can do will move you. I'll teach you to insult gentlemen I" And before Tom Oourtney fairly took in his meaning, a cutting lash descended upon his shoulder. With a ory like that of a furious ani mal, Tom threw himself upon his an tagonist. Col. ' Monkton was an old man, but tall, and being still powerful, the straggle was a violent one. The screams of the widow brought the other gentlemen from their rooms ; but when they entered, Tom had freed him self from CoL Monk ton's grasp, and pushed him violently against the wall, upon striking which, he had fallen heavily on the floor, where he was now lying in an unconscious condition. breathing with a strange sound. " You've killed him, I believe," said one of the gentlemen who had been ex amining the fallen man. " At least, I think be s dying. Here, Miles, ruu for the doctor. He's at the next oottage." " O my boy ! my boy 1" moaned Mrs. Oourtney, wild with terror. Bewildered, and hardly knowing what he was doing, Tom fled from the room. ' You've killed him!" rang in his ears as he ran towards the beach. Was he indeed a murderer, he kept asking him self as he hurried on. i Borne distance from the shore a schooner was preparing to saiL " It a the Minnie," be muttered, " bound for Galveston. I beard yes terday she was short of bao'U. I'll l'ip on her." As in a dresnv. hS hastened down to his o b little skiff, looking around with terror to see if he was pursued. He loosened the rope, jumped in, and in a few minutes was on board the Minnie, and soon out of sight of Fairview. Then for the first time he realised his situation' and his mother's desolation. At thought of his mother's tears, he would have returned at any hazard; but it was too late. In the meantime, the physician who had been summoned hastily entered the room where Oolonel Monkton still lay, everyone being afraid to move him. "Just what I expected," said Dr. Lyle, bending over the purple swollen face. " These cholerio, stout, drinking old men generally end- in this way. Apoplexy, madam, and not the first attack. This one, I fear, is going to be fatal. ' Then it's not ohl it's not " And Mrs. Oourtney, unable to finish her sen tence, gasped for breath, " Whet does she mean?" asked Dr. Lyle of ore of the gentlemen present " Her son Tom had a scuffle with the oolonel when he fell, and she was afraid he had hurt him." Dr. Lyle turned again to the prostrate bodv and examined it carefully. "Not a bit of it, madam," he said. "I dare say his fit of passion and the exer tion hastened the old man's end. But it was bound to come. I told him yes terday, when he complained of his head, that unless he threw his liquor out of the window, and held bis temper in check, be wouldbt live six months. True prophet, you seel" Mrs. Courtney tottered to her room, and there on her knees offered up a fervent prayer of thanksgiving that from blood-guilt, at least, her son was free. But now, alarmed at his absence, she searched for him, in the house, the garden, and then, with swift steps, she went through the village, asking every one she met if they bad seen I om. No, he had not been seen that morn ing. Old Nathan, a weather-beaten sailor, who had just brought in a load of fish, heard her question, aud answered it. 'Lookhv for Tom, mistress ? I seed him, about an hour ago, goin' aboard the Minnie, jest as she was gettin under way. Sb.e s iest started on a cruise, But I wouldn't take on, mistress. Tom's a bright boy, and a handy one. He'll most like come back twice the man he was when he started. So he had gone, and with a fancied load of guilt on his poor young shoulders! Mrs. Oourtney felt as if her burden was more than she could bear. She had a faint hope he would write to her, and for days, weeks and months she haunted the post-office. At last she went as if mechanically, and without asking a question would look at the nostmnRter. He understood the lnnkr ana would answtu, "Nothing to day, ma'am." Bnt about six months after -Tom's departure, she had no sooner entered the office than a letter was placed in her band. "Come at last, ma'am," said the cheery postmaster, "and it's Tom's handwrit ing. Hit right down here and read it, You're all in a tremble, and you can't walk uome yet. Yes, it was from Tom. He was in Galveston, and had made several trips on tne Minnie to dinerent ports. "Do you know, mother," he wrote, "L ye been afraid to write to yon, fear ing it might give the clew to my where abouts. But I've a friend here, a young lawyer, and be tens me i was a simple ton to run away as l did. Col. Monk ton made the first attack on me, and no law could bring me in guilty of murder. "I've often wondered how the one blow which knocked him up against the wall could have killed him. It was the first I gave him after I got away from his grasp. I know I'm really guilty. I wanted to kill him, and his blood is on my hands. "I'm going for a long cruise on the coast of Africa, in the Albatross, and when I return I'll come back to Fair view. For I feel that I muBt see you, whatever the consequences may be. "I will write when I can; but as I do not know the course we are to take, or the ports we are to touch at, I cannot tell you where to address your letters. In two years I will be at home." Thankful for the letter, Mrs. Courtney took up the broken threads of her life, and tried to fill it with the old interests and the old duties. But the two years spread to four, and no further tidings came fiom Tom. The mother's hair turned gray, and her eyes lost their light It was such a weary work waiting and watching for what never came ! She knew by heart all the shipwrecks on the African coast, and the plagues which desolated it Where so many lost their lives, how could she expect her boy would escape ? Hod he been alive, he would surely have written. ' I shall never seen my boy in this world," she would think in her hours of despondency. The seventh Christmas after Tom's departure found Mrs. Oourtney not only sick, but without means to de'ray the necessary expenses of her illness. It was raining and blowing without, and the invalid shivered over her wretched fire of drift-wood, just brought in by a kind neighbor. "It's come at last," she murmured, with her sad, patient smile" the pover ty I've fought against so hard and so long. I had hoped to die and be with my boy before this hour came upon me. But why should I murmur ? He doeth all things well ? I will trust Him even if He"- As she spoke, the door was thrown open, and a figure sprang forward. It was muffled up, and the face was bronzed and changed, but the mother knew her eon, and lay Bobbing in his arms. No questions were asked or answered. It was enough for them both that they were together once more. But after a long time he told of the loss of his ves sel, and of a long tedious sickness on the ooast He had written and sent money when he could, though the letters never reached her. "But I've risen, mother, till I am now first mate of the Vampire, and your bad days are over. Yes, I heard in the village that old Monkton die of appo- plsxv, acd I va tpai i aid sol kill him. I thank Him, too. that I am cured of my terrible temper; or, at least, that it never quite masters me now. It has been a cruel lesson to bo'.h of us." And Mrs. Oourtney shuddered. But why to yon, mother?" he oried, vehementlyi ' You, innocent and good, should hot' have suffered for my wrong doing. That docs not seem to me right or juBt." " Hush, hush, my boy j she answer ed, solemnly. " O my son I my pride in you and my weak over-indulgence deserved chastise ment. But all my sorrow is forgotten now; and God is indeed good to US both.' Edison arid the Unseen Universe. Hitherto man's knowledge of the ex tent of the universe has been bounded by the limits of vision. During the day, when the range of sight is narrowed by the sttn's excessive brightness, we see but a minute fraction of the little world we in habit At night a wider reach of vision is possible, and some thousands of stel lar and planetary bodies are added to the domain of positive knowledge, thus enlarging enormously man's idea of the magnitude of the universe. But the in crease of knowledge which darkness re veals is almost infinitesimal compared with the wider view of the universe opened up by the telescope; and every addition to the telescope's penetrative power brings a larger and larger universe within our ken. Thot the most powerful of telescopes enables us to reach the limit of the uni verse no one imagines. See as muoh as we may, more perhaps infinitely more lies beyond. So, at least, all experi ence leads us to infer; but our positive knowledge ends with the limit'of vision. Must this always be so? Hitherto science has given no hint of the possi bility cf exploring the vast and mysteri ous beyond, from which no visible ray of light has ever been detected, or is ever likely to be detected, by the most far reaching and sensitive of optio aids. But bow there comes a promise of an extension of positive knowledge to fields of space so remote that light is tired out and lost before it can traverse the inter vening distance. A new agent or organ of scientifio sense for space exploration has been given to the world in the tasi meter, by which it is possible not only to measure the heat of the remotest of visible stars, but, Mr. Edison believes, to detect by their invisible radiations stars that are unseen and unseeable I Mr. Edison's plan is to adjust the tasi meter to its uttn st degree of sensitive ness, then to attach it to a large tele scope, and so explore those parts of the heavens, which appear blank when ex amined by telescopes of the highest penetrative power, li at any point in suoH blank spacA t.w imto' uHot an accession of temperature, and does this invariable, the legitimate inference will be that the instrument is in range with a stellar body, either non-luminous or so distant as to be beyond tbe reach of vision assisted by the telescope; and the position of such body can be fixed and mapped the same as if it were visi ble. Seeing that the tasimeter is affected by a wider range of etherio undulations than the eye can take cognizance of , and is withal far more acutely sensitive, the Erobabilitities are that it will open up itherto inaccessible regions of space. and possibly extend the range of our real knowledge as far beyond the limit attained by the telescope as that is be yond the narrow reach of unaided vision, Possibly, too, it may bring within human ken a vast multitude of nearer bodies burnt-out suns or feebly-reflecting plan ets now unknown because not lumin ous. Scientifio American. Foreign Bodies in the Nose and Ears. Dr. Mason, in a lecture on the Sur gery of the Face, published in the Lan cet, says that foreign bodies, such as cherry stones, locust beans, brass rings. slate pencils, screws, buttons, pieces of wood, peas,-etc, are not unfrequentlv met with in the aural and nasal cavities of children, and even of adults. Suoh substances have been known to remain in one or other of these cavities for near ly a lifetime, causing little or no incon venience. Thus a case is related of a lady from whose nostril a foreign body was dislodged during the aot of sneez ing. It was found to be a button which had belonged to her little brother when they were both infants. Another case is recorded in whioh a piece of slate penou was removed from the lad v s ear. and which had been put there when she was at school forty years before. And a third instance, in which a cherry stone bad been in an ear for sixty years. A case is recorded of a gentleman, acred forty-one, from whose ear a piece of cedar wood was removed by syringing. The patient remembered distinctly the fact of an introduction when he was a boy at school, at least thirty years previous. No attempt had been made to extract it, and it had not troubled him until now.- It occasionally happens. however, that a good deal of inflamma tory action is set up by the foreign bodv. as in the case of a girl who was nndi r the author's care in the hospital, to which she had been admitted on account of a small stone in her ear. She subse quently had paralysis of the facial nerve. A case is reported of a child who not only had facial palsy, but died of menin gras, caused by tbe presence of a locust bean in the ear. Living larvae have been found in the meatus of the ear. Dr. Routh publishes suoh a case. The patient was a gentleman who three years before was tormented by a fly near his ear. Convulsions followed the pres ence of the larvae, but the patient re- ooverea, aitnougu be remained deaf. Dr. Blake of Boston, has seen four suoh oases. A case is reported which shows the curious course taken by a pin that had peen introduced iTto tne external meatus. It passed through tbe middle ear. roba bly along the Eustachian tube, and was extracted by the patient from her throat dj booking it with ner nnger. " A little four year old, bright eved K'ti, wao nas iiuiiu a luue garden ali for herself, was asked by an older sister j i 5 , , i i . u sub oian s expeu guoa many p route from it Sde quickly replied with great diomitv What ara vnn inlVino .Knn prophets for on week days ? Don't you Irnnw ila nil Inn, m rtn a. x uvn vuvj mtt "ft", ai(if WOUI Q oeaven in enanow oi nrs j- TIMELY TOPIC. A WAafain lmif liifiiirnnrt enmnanv r-A- cently paid $19,000 for damages to crops in one .Minnesota county. Franoe and Switzerland exhibit more Clocks attd watches at the Paris Exposi tion than all the other countries put together. The entrails of cattle are now manu factured into cord, rope, round and flat belting, and other material where extra ordinary strength is required. fiena Willis, a colore! (tirl. died a few minutes after being baptized in Wilkes county, Georgia. She was overheated when she went into tne water. An Tllinnin lawver. who charged a widow $25 for making out a bill of sale, reduced his bill to 03 after the widow's brother had taken off his coat On one day recently there were sixty- four steamers, fifty ships, seventy six brigs, 223 barks, and 142 schooners, lying at the port of New York waiting for cargoes. A woman of Steele County. Minn. had her husband and son killed by light ning five years ago. She married again. and ber second lord was killed oy ligut bibg last week. A man recently died in his bed at Peckham, England, from suffocation produced by eating a hearty supper. The undigested food had risen and choked him to death in his sleep. The longest daily mail and stage line in the United States, 1,600 miles from Fort Worth, in Texas, to Fort Yuma, on the Colorado river, has been formally inaugurated with a procession of Con cord stages drawn by 200 horses. Figures founded on the nominations made indicate that there will, be 800 regular candidates in the field for the 293 seats in the Forty-sixth United States Congress, although in many southern districts there is no opposition to the Democratic candidates. It is a very remarkable circumstance in the native country of wheat that oats, barley and rye should be entirely un known. This has led to the opinion by some naturalists that all our cereal plants are artificial productions, obtained acci dentally, but retaining their habits. whioh have become fixed in the course of ages. ' Annordinsr best "utlioritioo, the entire population of the earth is now 1.439.145.300. broadly divided as fol lows: Europe, 812,398.480; Asia, 831,- uuu,uuu; Africa, 2UD,Uiy,500; Australia and Polynesia, 4 411,300; North and South America, 86,1 16,000. The human race as a whole is increasing slowly in numbers. The publisher of an esteemed contem porary on Mouut Washington prints the names of the young men at the hotels who work off on a hand press the great est number of copies of his paper in a given time; muscular summer boarders covetous of fame flock to the office, and thus he saves the cost of a steam engine or a mule. JVtw York World. A discussion of the question, " What is inspiration I appears in the Beptem ber-Oclobf r number of the North Ameri- can Review. The writers will be the Rev. Dr. F. H. Hedge (Unitarian), the Rev. Dr. E.A. Washburn (Episcopalian), the Rev. Ohannoey Giles (Swedenbor- gian), the Rev. Dr. J. P. Newman (Methodist), Most Rev. Dr. James Gib bons, Archbishop of Baltimore, (Roman Uathouc), and John Jnske (Independ ent) Forty-five millions of pairs of sewed shoes and 55,000,000 of pairs of pegged snoes were made and sold by tbe manu facturers of the United States in 1877, and eighty-five per cent, of the work done on these shoes was done bv machine ry. The uppers are cut out by hand. simply because of the variableness of the quality of the leather in the same skin. The soles are cut out by machine ry, and tbe binding, pasting, closing. crimping, stitching, heeling and polish ing are all done by machinery, without iuo am oi numan nanus. " Well, the duce !" remarked Mr. R. Townsend, of Newport, Ky. , when, hav ing asked for supper at a Cincinnati notei be received no change back out of a one dollar bill. Then, as if in a dream, be went to tbe dining-room and consumed two cups of coffee, three plates plain bread, two plates fried mush, one plate corn beef, one plate chicken, one plate'oold ham, two plates loin of veal, two platesi broiled beef, three plates broiled ham, four plates fresh fish, three plates fried eggs, two plates fried potatoes and one plate of baked potatoes. The olerk figured it out that, at restaurant prices, Mr. a. rownsend was 93.05 ahead. A Girl who Conld Throw Stones, A Nevada man writes to the Virginia City Territorial Enterpriae as follows : "The writer once knew a family in which there were six bouncing girls without a break. Being very poor, the father had taken the eldest to assist him in out of door work. To this she seem ed to take naturally, and eventually be came an adept in mowing, reaping, tree felling, and even snow-shoeing one of the most difficult of things to acquire command cf. Although fully equal to the boys of her age in doing the above work, there was only one thing in which sbe showed a decided superiority, and tnat was in stone-throwing. The pre cision and velocity with whioh she could hurl one of hose missiles was to me, who was a year or two her junior, a source of never-ending wonder and admiration. As a proof of ber skill, she brought home three partridges. (ruffled grouse,) killed in one day with stonea," Snperstltion About Precious Stones. The moonstone, was. as its name im plies, venerated from its supposed lunar attraction. It is oqe of the prettiest, though most common of precious stones in Ceylon( Pliny desoribes it as con tainingan image of tho moon, "which, if the story be true," he observes, "daily waxes or wanes, according to tne siaie of that luminary," Chalcedony hung about the neck dispersed sadness, and if a person carried one perforated with the hairs of an ass run through it, he would overcome all disasters. Crystal dispelled witchcraft The chrysoprasus gladdened the heart; the chrysolyte ex pelled phantoms, and, what was more serviceable, rid people oi tneir iouies. The onvx in the Middle Ages was be lieved to prevent ugly dreams by night, and law-suits by nay. xne jasper was a charmer of soorpions and spiders, was worn as a talismau by the Roman athelete; Burton, in the Anatomy of Melancholy, tells ub that, "if hung about the neck, or taken in drink, it much resisteth sorrow and recreates the heart" The same qualities were attribu ted to the hyaointh and topaz. The crys tal has been the most popular of all oracular stones; a favorite stone was the beryl, "which," says Aubrey, in his Misoellanies, "is a kind of crystal that has a weak tincture of red ; in this ma gicians see visions." The custom was to consecrate, or "oharge" them, as the modern term is, for whioh purpose set forms were used, which are described in Reginald Scott's Discovery of Witchcraft The famous crystal of that princeof quackery, Dr. Dee, is preserved in the Asliraolean Museum at Oxford. The properties of the rubies were endless; bruised in water it was a panacea for all complaints; it had the peculiarity, whenever worn, of discovering its presence by its luster, which would shine through tbe thickest ciotnes. j-owerea agate was an infallible remedy for "all the ills that life is heir to." Pliny quotes the Magii, as teaching in Persia that storms could be averted by burning ites. The amethyst would prove a boon to modern tipplers, if, as me an cients asserted, it prevented intoxication. The sapphire and the emerald strengtn ened the sight, a property said to have been also possessed by the turquoise ; but it could confer a still more wonder ful gift on its wearer: "Whovever, says Van Helmont, " wears a turquoise, so that it, or its gold setting, toucnes the skin, may fall from any height, and the stone attracts to itself the whole force of the blow, so that it cracks, and the person is safe. Tbe Romans regard ed the diamond with superstitious rev erence, and Pliny tells us that it baffles poison, keeps off insanity, and dispels vain fears. Ben Mansnr, alluding to the electric properties of the diamond, says! "It has affinity for gol l, small par ticles of which fly towards it. It is also wonderfully sought after by ants, who crowd over it as though they would swallow it up." A marvelous curative power was supposed to exist in a dia mond belonging. to the Rajah of Matara, in the Island of Borneo, tbe Malays be lieving that a draught of water in which it hod been placed would cure every dis ease. The Dead-Point In Mind Tenison. It is a" common subject of marvel that criminals in the presence of immediate execution are usually self-possessed, and often exhibit singular composure. The doomed creature sleeps through the night before his violent death, and rises composed to pass through the ordeal. Tho exceptions to this rule are few, and there is no reason to suppose that the individuals who display greater emotion, or who are prostrated by the agonizing prospect of death, feel their position more acutely than those who preserve control of their demeanor, it is a preva lent but a groundless error to suppose that the state of mind in wbiob most capital offenders meet their doom is one of scare or paralyzing amazement They retain every faoulty, taste, consideration and even fanoy. They frequently give tokens of especial thonghtfulness, and are punotillious in the observance of rules and the adoption of measures to minimize their own pain.and tbe trouble and sympathetic suffering of those by whom tbey are surrounded, or who will oe left burdened with their memories. Mentally and physically the criminal, during the last few hours of his life, in the immediate presence of a cruel death, is self-possessed and tranquil. His pulse is even less disturbed than those of tbe officials who are compelled to take part m his execution. Why is this? The answer will be obvious on reflection. The mind has reached what may be designated a "dead-point" in its tension. The exoitement is over, the agony of anticipation, the trembling doubt be tween hope and fear of esoape has ex hausted the irritability of the mind, and there is, as it were, a pause, an interval of passive endurance between the end of the struggle for life and the bitterness of remorse and agony of disappointment which may begin at death. In this in terval the mind is released from the ten sion of its effort for self-preservation, and almost rebounds with the sense of relief that comes with certainty, even though the assurance be that of impend ing death. In the pause there is time and opportunity for the recognition of surrounding circumstances, whioh have been, as it were, overlooked in the yearning for life. The clearness of mental vision, the cognizance of detail at suoh a moment, are remarkable, not only on account of the strange circum stances under whioh they occur, but in degree. Men and women who have for some time previously exhibited no trace of delicacy or refinement exhibit charac teristic traits of thonghtfulness. They are, so to say, lifted out of themselves and placed iu new conditions calculated to awaken feelings of courtesy, which seldom fail to respond. The mental state of a criminal during the hours pre ceding execution presents features of interest to the psychologist, and, rightly comprehended, it is to be feared they would throw new light on the supposed preparation these unfortunate persons evince for a fate whioh, being inevitable. they at the final moment are able to meet with a composure in whioh hypoc risy or aelf-deoeption finds the amplest soope. Lionoon jjaneet. A man is not a man when he's a , . , - - .... , Itnaying. Items of Interest Parts of speech The lips. Ahard thing to sharpen the water' edge. Every base ballist should have a Btrik ing face. What a dressmaker may boast of I am engaged to sew and sew. "Oan storied urn or animated bust" exceed in eloquence the words, "No Trust " Exchange. A man may doubt his ability to climb a picket f enoe, but a growl from a dog will inspire him with confidence and alaority. When Barnum receives word from one of his agents that a sea-lion has been captured, he simply telegraphs back, "Tanks, gentlemen, tanks." An Iowa farmer, worth $19,000, start ed out four years ago to secure legal revenge on a neighbor. The lawyers have his all now, while he has revenge. A man bet another ten dollars that he could tell him how much water to a quart went over the falls of Niagara in a year. The bet was taken. " How much ?" was the question. " Two pints to a quart, " replied the first, as he pock eted the wagef. pAbYiiia. Wide seas wait for our ships. In the grey dawn we'll sail away, This wealth of sonl and lips I leave with hopes that die to-day. Cling, sweet, close to my heart, Joy will die out with morning light When seas bear ns apart We'll weep for moments lost to-night. Look up with yonr Bad eyes And chide me, love, for every tarv And say, " though night-time flies Let sorrow sleep till morn Is here." The poison so freely used by the Ital ians in tbe seven teenin century was called "aqua tofana," from the name of the old woman Tofania, who made and sold it in small flat vials why;h she called manna of St Nicholas, on one side of which was an image of the saint She carried on this traffic for half a cen tniy and eluded the police, but on being detected confessed that she had been, a party in poisoning 600 people. Numerous persons were implicated by her of all ranks, and many of thorn were publicly executed. All Italy was thrown into a ferment, and many fled, while persons of distinction, on conviction, were strangled in prison. It appeared to have been used mainly by married wo men who were tired of their husbands. Four or six drops were a fatal dose, but the effect was not sudden and therefore not suspected. It was as clear as water, but the chemists nave not agreed aoouc its vc il composition. A proclamation of the Fope described it as aquaiortis dis tilled into arsenic, and others considered it as a solution of crystallized arsenic. The secret of its preparation swas con veyed to Paris, where the Marohioness de Brinvaliers poisoned her father and two brothers, and sh",with many others, were executed, and the preparers of it were buried at the stake. What He Was Alter. A strong, healthy-looking young man entered the County Clerk's office and gazed respectfully around. Hany Thompson, the Chief Deputy, t-tepped up and blandly inquired of the stranger if he wished any business transacted. Tho young man, when 6poken to, started back as though dreading an as sault, but he soon recovered himself, and said in a whisper: " Yes, sir I called to spe I wanted to have a little talk how much - is it, anyhow?" He held a soft cloth hat in his hand, and kept turning and twisting it about as he spoke; his face had growu terril ly rod, and big drops of perspiration were standing on his brow. "What is it you want?" asked the olerk. The man looked at him pleadingly, but struggled in vain for utterance. His eyes bulged out, his face grew red der, aud the veins in his neck and on his forehead swelled till they looked like great knotted cords. He twisted the hat convulsively and then straightened it out again, and then he pulled the new lining out of it and dropped it on the floor. Then he picked it up all dusty from the flotor and wiped his steaming face, leaving a dirty streak after each wipe. Finally it seemed as though the Eoor young man had qnite recovered imself, for he looked cheerfully around the room, and then turning to Mr. Thompson, remarked in a pleasant and confidential tone: " Well, it is real warm for this sec tion, isn't it?" " Very warm, indeed," replied Mr. T. " It is a good deal hotter than we have it down in the valley, and somehow I've always had just the other notion about it that the higher up you got, the cooler " "Yes." said Mr. Thompson; "but about that business of yours." Another fiery blusb that looked as if it would scorch the oollar off his neck. followed this remark, but the stranger held up bravely. He leaned on tbe desk in an easy, careless sort of way, and began to toy with a mucilage brush. " The fact of tbe matter is, that I wanted to " Here he paused again, and medita tively jammed the mucilage-brush into the ink-stand. " What the deuce are you doing with that brush?" asked the clerk, somewhat impatiently. "OU, by George excuse me," stam mered the man, as he hastily withdrew the brush, spattering the ink all over the clerk's shirt bosom, and as if it had been molasses dripping from his fingers, thrust the brush into his mouth, daub ing himself with ink and muoilage, and then bolted from tne omce. "That's about the worst case I have ever seen," remarked Mr. Thompson, as he wiped a big ink spot from the star board side of his Roman nose. "Crazy as a loon," said Alderman Orndorff, who had been an interested spectator of the whole soene. "You ought to eend a policeman after that man." No; he'a not exaotly craBj," replied Thompson. "I knew from the atari that he wanted a marriage lioense, and I thought I'd have a little quiet fun; but he's broke the line now and gone off with the hook.1V Virgtni a City (Ntv.) ChrwioUt,
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