NIL DESPEEANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum.
KIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1878.
NO. 36.
VOL. VIII.
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
is
-- . IJoldcn-Rod.
When fortune waves her wand of gold
O'er oitiei by the tea,
The wild sea-shore take fashion'! mould,
' And blooms in gayety.
There pleasure brings her iris throng
To fret the dark cliff's way,
And mook with airy danoe and song
The ooean',1 somber sway.
All summer long the cream-white sail
Laughs at the sea-gull's toil i
And brazen hoofs like qnlok -dropped hail
Beat the surf-haunted soil
And lightest fall where grandest meet
The trysting land and sea
Bweet tows of love, formed hut to greet
The hps of revelry.
To hide the heart's pent woes that wake,
Ob restless sea, with thee,
Whose billows set to rhythms that ache
A reckless melody ;
To hide the soul's linked -deep unrest,
With thee, Oh dreaming sea,!
Whose kiss Is on the horizon's breast,
Where heaven stoops to thee.
Is life, then, such and idle fete,
A wild swift danoe and free,
With ravished draught of wine poured late
In dream-lands by the sea?
Ah, gayety 'tis but the mask,
Subtle as sorrow's own,
To bide wan prayers that vainly ask
And tears that Bmiles disown.
KATE DALTON'S DUTY.
"Aye, sir, it all happened in one
night. Do you ask if any one was kill
ed? Yes, sir j jet thar might o' been a
great many more, bat for the Bense and
pluck o one young gal.
" You look surprised, sir, but if yer'U
Bit down for a bit in the shadow of this
old breaker, I'll tell yer all about it,
provided yer'U let an old man spin his
yam in his own fashion.
" Wal, sir, yer see this valley is an ex
hausted coal mine. The coal had been
taken out o' the workin's beneath the
spot whar this care-in occurred a long
while ago.
" Indued, sir, thar'd been three stories
or veins worked out and abandoned ; bnt
in number three they were diggin' yet,
and a good many families were still
livin' in those houses yer see below us.
That creek didn't tun so close then, and
they were not quite so broken, thon&h
they were werry old and out of repair.
Many of the miners feared a cave-in,
and those that were able moved away.
" But thar's allers a reckless drinkin'
sej 'bout these old collieries who stay
on, or haven't means to leave. Joe Dal
ton (the father o' Kate, the young gal
I'm going to tell yer 'bout) was one o'
the wuss specimens. They lived in the
cabin nearest the creek, whar only the
walls are standin'.
" His wife died when Kate was just
twenty, and left to her keer a baby gal,
two little boys and Mary, who was
'most twelve. I tell yer, sir, Kate allers
had a hard life ; for when Joe was fired
with liquor he was a perfect brute, and
mony's the time we neighbors were
afeered that he'd kill her.
"The Jittle uns allers flew to her for
protection, and ehe'd take all the blows
if she could save them.
" Joe spent what he earned for liquor,
and to support the family, Kate used to
walk two miles every morning to Mr.
Lawson's (one o' the company, sir), to
do their washin'; then come home and
toil till midnight over her own tasks.
Mrs. MyerB, a kind old soul who lived
next door, took keer o' the baby during
the day, and Mary looked arter the boys.
" You may think this isn't tellin' 'bont
the accident, but I'm coram' to it, sir.
You say you want to hear all abont
Kate ? Wal, sir, she was a werry on
common gill, though thar was nothin
in her looks to make yer notice her.
She was a thin, tall creetur, with a pale
face, but she had great black eyes, that
looked so sad if anybody grieved her, it
allers made 'im feel sorry, And it's few
would o' dared to ill-treat her save her
father, for she had a sweetheart who
was allers ready to protect her.
" He was a great brawny feller, called
John Pearson. He'd been keepin' oom-
Eany with her for a good many years,
ut he hadn't enough ahead to marry
till arter her mother died; then she'd
allers refuse to leave the children, no
matter how hard he'd coax.
"Joe Dalton took a great dislike to
this follow, and declared he'd punish
him if he came to the house, or even if
he caught Kate with him,
"About three years ago, one cold
afternoon in Maroh, as I was np on that
mountain opposite arter brush to bnrn,
I saw Kate, with an old shawl pulled
over her head, comin up the path, and
I knew fbe was goin' to meet John in a
little resting-place by the way; do I
crept to a bowery spot close by. I
know what yon think o' that, sir; but
it wasn't on pnrpose to hear what they
said, but give 'em warnin' if I saw her
father, for I know'd he'd be as good as
his word.
"Wal, sir, I could hear what they
eaid, and I must tell ye, so you'll under
stand ber doin's arterwards. John was
in werry good sperrits, and takin' both
her If e tie worn hands in his great fists,
exclaimed:
" O Kate, I've sich good news for
yer ! Mr. Jones has offered me a posi-
' tion as fire engineer of the Diamond
mines, and I'm goin' to quit this Mon-
day, and what's more, take yon with me.
Yer needn't shake yer head. Mary's old
enough to look arter the boys. I'll let
yer keep the baby; thar's no use askin'
yer to leave that behind. I shall be
able to give you a nice little home, Kate.
Next Monday night, when yer father
goes inter the:mines with the night
shift, you jine me on the other side o'
the oreek; I'll have a wagon thar, and
we'll drive off and be married. Come
now, Kate darlin', think how long I've
waited.'
" O John, I can't, I cau't !' shecried,
tryin' to draw away her hands.
"But the foolish feller thought he'd
scare her into goin' with him, bo he
aid. ' I tell yer, Kate, it isn't safe for
us to stay. That'll be a terrible cave-in
here soon, and the houses will all go
down together. The quicker we're out
o' this hole the better.'
" At this she drew away with a Bhiver
and replied, in a trembling voice.- '
" ' I know thar's danger, but father
won't heed it, so I've given up my plaoe,
and stay at home to watch and try to
save the children if it comes. You're
very good to say I might keep the baby,
but I promised mother I'd take keer o
them alL Thar'll be nothin' left if yer
go, but no smart young feller oughter
stay here, and it's no use o' yer waitin'
any longer for me.'
"But John put his arms 'bout her,
and began talkin' so low I couldn't hear,
yet I knew he was tryin' to coax her to
give in and go Monday. I could see
her face grow whiter and whiter yet she
allers shook her head, till at last he lost
his temper, and pnshin' her roughly
from him, said, in an angry voice, ' I
believe you've been fooliir me and real
ly mean to marry that drinkin' Tom
Taylor, as soon as my back is turned I'
" She denied it ; but he replied, that
Taylor was allers visitin' their house,
her father boasted of his marryin' her,
and the only way she could prove she
hadn't been playin' him false was to go
with him Monday, or he wouldn't an
swer for the consequences.'
"My blood was gettin' up, but I
waited to see what she'd do. She stood
perfectly still, and stared at him with a
scared look in those great sorrowful
eyes, then sprang away and ran with all
her might back to her own home. I
kept out o' sight till after dark, then
went to her window and looked in.
' " She had the young uns all seated at
supper, with the baby asleep on her lap.
Thar wasn't much to eat, and they soon
cleared the plates, and none noticed
that she didn't take her share. Her
father was cursin' and swearin' at her,
and the children all quarrelin' together;
but she didn't seem to hear any of 'em,
and I'll never forget, sir, the look of
pain in her eyes.
"I could hardly keep from goin' in
and silencin' her father. I w s nigh as
mad at John Pearson, for his cruel
threats 'most broke her heart, though
they couldn't make her break her prom
ise. But I know'd I'd only make mat
ters wuss, 6o I went home and relieved
my mind, talkin' it all over with my old
woman.
"'Bout twelve o'clock that night,
arter Kate had finished her work, she
went to the door to look out. It was
werry dark and cold, and as she stood
thar the ground seemed to quake be
neath her.
"She started with fright, for she
knew what those signs meant .work
in's', the miners call 'em. She turned
to light a lantern and wake the children,
when she heerd a dull heavy thud, and
then a low distant rnmblin.
"She instantly ran next door, gave a
loud knock, and colled to Bill Myers
(who lived thar) to get . tip at once and
give the alarm -jr she was sure thar
was goin' to be . cave-in.
" He oame to the window half asleep,
and told her she'd been dreamin' ; but
his ear, too, caught that rumblin' noise,
and at once knowin' the danger, he
woke up his wife, and they dressed and
ran out. And they were none too soon,
sir, for the whole surface suddenly drop
ped down from five to seven feet, takin'
the houses with it.
" Of course those who were in 'em
were terribly frightened, and rushed
out, men, women and children, just sb
they woke up, screamin' and fiyin' in all
directions.
"Bill Myers' first thought was for
Kate and the young uns, for the roof of
their house had instantly crashed in.
But she had 'em all in a group outside,
clingin' to her, the baby in her arms,
and a lighted lantern at her feet. Bill
caught up the two boys and said to
Kate :
" We must hurry out o' this quick
as we can ; but which way shall we go ?'
" ' The path up the mountain ! I'll
hold the lantern ; all follow I ' she cried,
running ahead, while a crowd rushed
arter her.
"Suddenly she stopped and gave a
loud cry, for throwin'her lantern for
ward, she saw a wide seam, into which
we would all have fallen but for her
light. Every one pushed to the edge
and looked into the blaok pit, whioh, I
believe, opened to the lowest vein, three
hundred end fifty feet.
"The faces were white with terror
that the lantern shone on, but Kate
turned quickly and said :
" Follow me ; I know another way.'
" Yet we soon found that this was not
the only seam, but many more were
opening, as if made by an earthquake,
and down one of these Goal creek poured
its whole stream into the mines beneath,
and it was fearful to hear it hiss and
roar through the fissures of the disturbed
rocks.
"Some of the people were so scart
they became perfectly crazy, and would
have run right into it but for Kate's
coolness and Bill Myers' threats if they
didn't obey orders. They two went
ahead with the lantern, and found that
the seams all opened from east to west,
so by movin' south, they brought the
whole party safely out o' the sunken
portion to the high land opposite us.
" I can tell yer, sir, it was good to
feel the solid rooks beneath yer feet,
and know there was no deep pits that
might at any moment yawn open and
swallow yer up.
"All this happened in a werry little
while, though it 'peared like a lifetime
Binoe I'd been on that mountain before.
" We were a cold, miserable Bet that
crowded into a little vacant hut Some
of the men built a rousin' fire outside,
and when we talked the matter over,
Bill Myers and two other chaps set off
by a round-about path to reach this
breaker ; for yei see, sir, we feared that
thirty men were shut up in the mines,
for none could tell how great the crush
was inside, and we knew the stream was
rapidly floodin' the different tunnels.
" You want to know if these men es
caped. Wal, I'll tell yer how some of
'em got out, for Kate Dalton's work
wasn't done yet Indeed, sir, it was
then she showed the most pluok, for
both her father and sweetheart were
down in the mines.
"It eeenis, sir, that the men had been
in the mines several hours, when the
boss, goin' from the shaft to whar they
were diggin', noticed some well-known
signs o' trouble, and ordered all to leave
at once. He told Joe Dalton to go warn
three of the men who were workin'
abreast in a distant part of the tunnel ;
then he, with the rest of the miners,
iv ere drawnup the shaft.
"They'd hardly reached the surface
when the first crash came. They wait
ed in dreadful suspense to hear the sig
nal for the others to come np ; but time
passed and the gong didn't sound, while
the heavy thuds o' f allin' earth and
crashin' o' rocks warned them that terri
ble work was goin' on beneath, and it
was probable the other men had been
killed at onoe by the powerful con
cussion. '
"While they were talkin' it over,
some discovered the cave-in on the sur
face, and alarmed "bout their families,
took lanterns and went in saroh o' them.
When Bill Myers reached the breaker,
the crush in the mines seemed to have
gone as far as it would, and the few men
left round the sHaft were disoussin' as to
whether the imprisoned men Were alive
yet, and if it could be possible to
save 'em.
" Most all but Bill Myers was of the
opinion that they were already dead.
" While he was arguing with an experi
enced miner, who should suddenly ap
pear but Kate Dalton, still holdin her
lantern, but with a face as white as a
ghost, and her eyes wild-lookin' and big
ger than ever,
" She ran to the boss and cried,
" Did John Pearson come np ?"
" But she instantly saw by our faces
he hadn't, and rushing to the engine
room, she begged the engineer to let her
down on the elevator ; but Bill Myers
held her back, while the boss told her
that the tunnels were all filled with fal
len rooks between the shaft and whar
they were at work.
"' Can they still be living ?' she asked.
" 'Possibly,' he replied ; 'but thar's
no way to reach 'em.'
" She sank back heavily in Bill Myers'
arms, and all thought she was goin' to
faint, and, sir, those rough fellers' vis
ion was werry dim just then, for their
hearts ached for poor Kate. But with
a shudder she rose up, and sorter gath
erin' her strength, as for a struggle, she
asked question after question, till she
knew the exact spot whar they were at
work, for she'd often been in the mines.
" Arter thinkin' desperately for a few
minutes, she sprang forward and cried :
" Thar's the drift at number four.
The tunnel from that opening crosses
the one whar they are. I'm goin' to
save 'em. Who will help me ? '
" Several offered, sayin' they'd forgot
all about that way; but the boss shook
his head and said :
" It's two miles in whar they were at
work. If they could have come out,
they'd 'a' been here now. All who go
in may be caught in another crush, or
drowned by the rising water.' But
more to herself than the men she re
plied, wildly:
" 'John said I didn't care for him, but
I love him too much to let him die down
there. I must save him I ' And at that
she started off and ran for the drift, Bill
Myers alone followin.
"It was a good bit off, and she did
not notice that he was comin' till she
reached the broad wooden doors in the
side of the hill. She only thanked him
with her eyes, but stopped a moment
and looked back at the mountain whar
she'd left the children.
" The mornin' sun was just risin' over
it, and the clouds above were all crimson
aud gold. Liftin' her hands towards
'em, shecried, beseechingly :
"Mother, mother, I wouldn't 'a'
left tbem to be happy, but he's perishin'
in the dark 1 I must find him or die I '
Then she ran down the tunnel so fast
Bill had to hurry to catch np with her.
"Thar wasn't more water than usual
on the sides for a mile and a half. As
they went on, Bill shouted the names of
the men ; but all was still as death, till
they began to hear the swash of a
stream forcing its way through narrow
passages.
" It's no use, Kate,' cried BUI; they
can't be livin.' We'U be drowned if we
go further. Think o' the young uns;
what would they do without you ? For
their sakes come out o' this I'
"But she looked at him like one
dazed, then said, pitifully, Come down
here a little way and give one more loud
call.' v
" To satisfy her he did, and to his
great surprise and joy, distant voices
I'dpUtni. Kate was crazy to rush forward
and find 'em, but BiU fiaid they might
miss each other if they moved ; so both
kept hallooin' and the answers came
nearer and nearer, till two men ap
proaohed from a side tunnel, and Kate
sprang forward and fonnd Pearson's
hand clasped in her own.
" It seems when her father brought
the warnin', he and Mick Coon insisted
on tryin' to reach the shaft arter they
heered the first crash, and o! coarse
were killed . Pearson and WeUs had
sense enough to stay whar they were;
bnt the drift entrance had not been used
in a long time, and they, too, had for
gotten it If Kate hadn't insisted on
goin' arter them, they'd soon have been
drowned.
"You ask if Kate married him arter
this? Wal, gals is curns ; she wouldn't
consent tiU BiU Myers and his wife in
sisted on takin' the boys, and as they
also wen t to the Diamond mines ana
became next-door neighbors again, Kate
felt as if she might be happy at last and
stUl keep her promise.
" And, sir, them boys are growin' up
wonderful smart chaps. I tell Mrs.
Myers I'm as proud of 'em as if they
were our own, and not a drop o' old
Dalton's blood in their veins. But
but I forgot ; I didn't mean toteU yer
that I was Bill Myers." Youth's Companion.
In the Tyrol, almanacs are still pub
lished with pictures instead of reading
matter, after the ancient fashion, before
types had been invented. They are very
beneficial to those ignorant even of the
alphabet who understand that the figure
of a saint means a holiday ; a plow, the
time to break the soU ; a clover-leaf, the
season for seeding ; an ax, the time to
chop wood. A hand denotes cold; a
. . . . .1 : 1 la
moutn wina ; a puouer, wu, uu ui
warm weather.
There are 72,000 wares devoted to hops
in England. To cultivate these lands
costs yearly about $2,600,000, and the
.1 f tha nmdnot for the last
thirty years has been about $15,000,000
yearly.
FARM. GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD
Take Care ef the Orchard. -Whatever
on the farm does not rise to
a certain dignity in the estimation of
the farmer, is nsuaUy sadlynegleoted,
if not otherwise abused. While every
farm has its orchard, on a great many it
is considered of very little account,
being used only for supplying home
wants. We have heard farmers go so
far as to say that it was cheaper to buy
fruit than to raise it This opinion,
however, does not find general favor, we
are happy to say ; but whUe it is usual
ly thought desirable to have an orchard,
it is frequently the last thing cared for,
if it is ever cared for. We have seen
trees in cultivated orchards shamefully
abused, and that it was permitted by the
owner could not be acoounted for, for
if a tree was worth planting, it would
seem that the owner would realize that
it was worth preserving. Not only does
the owner himself sometimes show an
astonishing disregard of the interests of
the apple trees by plowing through
the roots, and breaking the trees with
the whiffletrees, but he looks compla
cently on while the hired man does the
same thing. Sometimes a man wiU be
careless of bis own, bo far as his own
conduct is oonoerned, bnt when another
does what he does, he is aroused to see
the nature of his own misdemeanor, as
weU as one who is doing likewise, and
remonstrate. Bnt some farmers appear
to be utterly indifferent as to who
abuses the trees of the orohard, or how
it is done. They will suffer the cran
ing to be done not alone in a slovenly
way, dui in an injurious way. rne man
is sent into the tree with rough, heaw
boots, and he rubs off the bark at every
step, and does more damage than any
respectable pruning would compen
sate for ; but the pruning is often not
respectable. It is simply butchering.
If the limbs get off, however, the owner
seems satisfied.
Then, perhaps, some beautiful look
ing apple attracts his eye, or the eye of
some one eise, ana ne nnris a club
among the branches or suffers some one
else to do it One would be led to sup
pose that he thought the tree the rock
of Gibraltar. It is no wonder that a
tree treated in any such manner fails to
give its owner satisfaction.
A tree is endowed with life, and the
machinery of life. It has a circulation,
lungs and skin, and these are suscepti
ble of injury, and when, injured mtst
decrease the vitality of the tree, as the
Zjtality of the human body is decreased
by disease. While the farmer in maiy
instances no doubt thinks that our
pomologists are extravagant in their
ideas of the needs of the orchard in the
time they devote to it, it is not true, and
very muoh benefit might be derived by
all of us if we would strive to imitate
them. There are difficulties in growing
an "orchard whioh are often discourag
ing. The varieties selected are often
unfit for the locality, and other things
come up to dishearten, but it wiU pay
to deal with them all, and by pa
tience and perseverence to have a good
orohard on the farm, and to take good
care of it when it is grown as well as
while ib is growing. Exchange,
Heclpea. .
Quick Pudding. One pint milk, one
pint flour, three eggs and a little salt
Buckwheat Cakes. Mix one gill of
wheat flour with one quart of buckwheat
nour, add one large teaspoonful of tait,
then add gradually a scant quart of
warm water mixed with one gill of yeast
Let it rise all night, and in the morning
add a quarter teaspoon of carbosate of
soda, and bake immediately.
Mince Pie. One cupful lard, two
cupfuls flour, one-half cupful joe-water,
a pinch of salt; use a knife to cut the
lard through the flour until fine; then
odd the water and mix with the knife
untU no flour remains in the bowl.
Boll in a sheet and place small bits of
butter over; dust weU, fold np, and re
peat the process twice, using half a cup
ful of butter. Boll the crust thin; have
a quick oven; it wiU rise in flakes.
Laub. When a loin or any other joint
of lamb has been under-dressed, it is a
good plan to divide it into cutlets of a
neat shape, and fnUy three-quarters of
an inch in thickness, to dip these in
Deaten eggs, strew over nicely-flavored
breadcrumbs, and fry or broil them un
til lightly browned on both sides. As
there is a danger that the meat will dry
when it is dressed the second time, care
should be taken not only to cook the
outlets over a good fire, but alBO to dip
them in clarified butter before serving
them.
Apple Dumplings. Take one cup of
sour cream to two cups of buttermilk.
half a teaspoonful of soda, a pinch of
salt, mane witn these a nice light dougb,
roll and cnt it as for large-sized biscuit.
then roll the biscuit as for pie-crust;
nave your apples quartered ana steamed
until tender, plaoe them on the dougb.
sugar and spice, then gather the edge
together and press and tuck in firmly;
roll in the hand to shape them a little
long, lay them smooth Bide up on a bake
pan, moisten over the top with sweet
cream or melted batter, bake to a nice
brown and eat with cream and sugar
navorea witn lemon.
Keeplnu Grail. Through. Wluter.
NnnAlrmAii wfin tmk. larorA mionfifiaa
oeUars packed in damp moss; but farm
ers and others who wish tn nrflunA
lew lor spring grafting, may not have
simple and perfect mode is to bury them
ut urj piaoe out oi aoors, in an in-
vflrtfwl nnpn Kot Pill fVio L av1
f uU with them, nail two or three strips
across to Keep tnem in place, and then
Place the box in a hnlA rill IT Inr iYia rvnv-
pose, with the open Bide down, and burr
them half a foot or so in depth. They
ao not come in contact witn the earth,
an1 mm oi n vmfaf.l aj 11.
moisture of the earth keeps them plump
and fresh without any danger of their
becoming water-soaked. Grafts which
have become shrivelled by exposure
are thus restored and wiU grow. It ii
often advantageous to cut grafts ii
aiitiimn. as Uim is than nn ,1nnn..
, - " ' v. UUUg.I ui
their vitality being lessened by exposure
in uiivudo uuiu, nuu is ubou more con
venient to out them or procure them
irom a distance ai uua time. In mark
in 17 in a i a nai a wicn m iaoi ...
member that if the wood is wet before
writing, the names wiU last ten times as
long as if written dry. Colman't Sural
World.
The Secret of Snake Charming,
The Iiondon Dailv Telegraph says :
In India the favorite snake for exhibition
is the oobra, partly because of its more
striking appearance, and partly because,
itB deadly character being so weU known,
any trifling with it appears to the un
initiated publio the more wonderful.
Nor, indeed, do the performances of the
Hindoo snake charmer lose, on better ac
quaintance, all their marvelousness, for
courage of a high order, arising partly
from the confidence acquired by long
Eractioe, is manifested in seising and
agging the dreadful ophidian.
In most oases tne cnarmer rentiers mo
reptiles harmless by drawing their poi
son fangs, and the exhibition becomes
then merely one of the snake's highly
trained condition. On the other hand,
it often happens that the basket contains
the veritable death dealer; and a oobra
with his fangs undrawn is nearly always
forthcoming if the temptation in money
be sufficiently Strong. Bnt in the han
dling ofthe creature when once esposed
there is no hesitation, for hesitation
means death, and in the swift seizure
and sudden release there is daring of an
exceptional kind. A oobra strikes, when
it has really made up its mind to striKe,
with lightning rapidity, and to dodge
lightning successfully, requires consid
erable agility.
The snake charmers, however, when
put on their mettle, will grasp the erect
cobra with impunity, owing; solely to
the superior speed of their movements,
for by a feint they provoke the reptUe
to strike, and before it can recover its
attitude seize it below the jaws. In the
same way the ichneumon or mongoose
seoures in contest with venomous snakes
a comparative immunity. It was for a
long time an artiole of faith with writers
of popular works on natural history,
that this animal enjoyed a complete im
munity, but scientific experiment has
correoted the fallacy. A mongoose and
a cobra confined together lougnt freely,
and though the latter seemed to the eye
to strike his antagonist, the mongoose.
on being examined after it had killed
the snake, was found' to be untouched.
Another cobra was then brought on to
the scene, and, being made to close its
fangs on the mongoose's leg, the ani
mal confessed its susceptibility to the
poison by dving in about four minutes.
It was therefore by its superior activity
alone that in fair fight with the reptile
it had escaped unhurt, and to the same
cause the snake charmer owes the immu
nity that attends his exhibition. But as
in the case of the mongoose, the snake
charmer when actually bitten dies as
rapidly as any otner creature, and in
spite of bU the powers of his charms,
roots and snake stones. The Hindco
spectator refuses to believe this, and en
joys, therefore, by his credulity, a pleas
ure denied to more intelligent audiences,
for if we could only accept as truth the
charmer's 'statement that he has really
been bitten, and that red drops on the
bitten spot were actually blood exuding
from the fatal puncture, and could then
believe that the root he smelt, the stone
he applied to the wound, and the charms
he muttered were veritably counter-acting
the magio of the cobra's poison, the
spectacle would be of surpassing in
terest, since it would be a miracle.
For the cobra's bite there is no remedy
except instant amputation, and the
snake charmer himself knows this well.
As a means ot general security he con
fides in his dexterous sleight-of-hand,
but in case of accidents he carries a
broad-bladed knife.
The Symbol of Hope.
There is a bird that mariners call the
" frigate bird," of strange habits and of
strange power. Men see him in all
climes, but never yet has human eye
seen him near the earth. With wings
of mighty stretch, high borne, he sails
along. Men of the far north see him
moving on amid auroral nres, sailing
with set wings amid those awful flames,
taking the .color of the waves' light
which swell and heave around him.
Men in the tropics see him of hottest
noon, his plumage all incarnadined by
the fierce rays that smite innocuous
upon him. Amid their ardent fervor
he bears alon g, maj estio, tireless. ' Never
was be known to stoop from his lolty
line of flight, never to swerve. To
many he is a myth; to all a mystery.
Where is his perch? Where does he
rest? Where was he bred? None
know. They only know that above
cloud, above the reach of tempest,
above the tumult of transverse currents,
the bird of heaven so let us call him
on Belf-snpportiog vans that disdain to
beat the air on which they rest, moves
gradually on. So shall my hope be.
At eitner pole oi me, aDove Tne oiouos
of sorrow, superior to all tempests, on
lofty and tireless wing, Booming the
earth, it shall move along. Never shaU
it stoop, never swerve from its sublime
line of flight Men have seen it in the
morning of my life; they shall Bee it in
its hot noonday; and when the shadows
fall, my sun having set (using your style
of speech, but using mine when the
shadows disappear, my sun having risen),
the last they see of me shall be this
hope of gain in dying, as it sails out on
steady wing, and disappears amid the
everlasting light
Cured by the Sting of Bees.
The German papers tell a storv of a
woman living in the neighborhood of
Prague, who suffered bo severely from
gout in the arm that she could not ob
tain rest or sleep, and the limb in which
the disease bad settled was rendered
entirely useless. Her husband having
heard of a countryman who had been
entirely cured of rheumatism after be
ing accidentally stung by a bee. per
suaded her to try this disagreeable
remedy, which, as be pointed out
could hardly prove bo painful as the
disease. She consented, and allowed
three bees to be placed on her arm, and
to sting her in several places. Surpris
ing results ensued ; the patient soon
afterward feU into a long and deep
sleep, the first real sleep she had en
joyed for six months, after whioh the
acute pain disappeared, and when the
swelling produced by the stings had
subsided the arm recovered the power of
motion, and the gout has not since reap
peared. DruggUti' Circular,
TIMELY TOPICS.
The British consul in Pekin puts the
deaths from famine in China at 7,000,000.
The province of Shansi alone lost 5,000,
000. Here I am for you I" were the last
words of Mehemet Ali as he rushed out
from the burning tower at Jachova into
the midst of his assassins. He was
ruthlessly cut down with 200 attendants.
The latest idea in England is glass
furniture. Glass can be worked into
most extraordinary and lovely forms,
and we receive the almost inoredible as
surance that it is more durable than
wood, and is exceedingly cheap.
The Russian government has de
termined to send a scientific exploring
expedition to the lofty tableland of Cen
tral Asia, known as the pamir, or root of
the world. It will consist of a topogra
pher and two botanists, who wUl be ac
companied by an escort of Cossacks.
The imperial Russian commission ap-
Eointed to inquire into the army frauds
ave reported. They state that the
corruption and venality was widespread.
Five hundred officers, including forty
colonels, are accused by the commission
of misappropriation of money during the
late war.
Throughout France gardening is
practically taught in the primary and
elementary schools. There are, at
present, twenty-eight thousand of these
schools, each of which has a garden at
tached to it, and is under the care of a
master capable of imparting a knowl
edge of the first principles of horticul
ture. An English steamer lately made a stop
at Lord Howe Island, in the South Pa
cific It had just twenty-five inhabi
tants men, women and children who
very rarely heard anything of the rest
of the world. They were said to live in
happy content, their only complaint
being the want of a schoolmaster and of
clothing. .
It is said by the Chicago Inter-Ocean
that Senator Jones, of Nevada, when he
started for the West, in August, was, in
his own estimation, broken in fortune,
although five . years ago he was worth
five millions. Extravagant living and
reckless giving, according to the Inter
Ocean, has reduced him. The recent
lift in miningstock has, however, brought
him in a million and a half.
A curious package was retained as
" unmailable " hi the searchers' depart
ment at the New York postoffice not long
ago. It was a small tin. case containing
a very bnantifnl inseot of the spider
species, it was aaaressea to Bir jonn
Lubbock, the banker-entomologist, of
London. The spider was nearly an inch
in length. The body, head, and legs
were of a glossy black color, but the
pelvio sac was covered with a velvety
growth of fine hair of a brilliant oiange
hue. The iusect was alive, and was sup
plied with provision in the Bhape of a
lump of sugar fastened to the bottom of
the tin case.
, The Inventor of Gas Lights.
The inventor of gas lights is said to
have been a Frenchman, Phillippe le
Bon, an engineer of roads and bridges,
who, in 1,772, adopted the idea of using
for the purposes of illumination the
gases distilled during the combustion
ot wood, ne labored for a long time in
the attempt to perfect his crude inven
tion, and it was not till 1799 that he con
fided his discovery to the institute. In
September, 1800, he took out a patent,
and in 1801 he published a memorial
containing the result cf his researches.
Le Bon commenced by distilling wood
in order to obtain from it gas, oil, pitch
and pyroligneous acid ; but his work in
dicated the possibility of obtaining gas
by distiUation from fatty or oily sub
stances. From 1799 to 1802 Le Bon
made numerous experiments. He es
tablished at Havre his first therolamps ;
but the gas whioh he obtained, being
imperfectly freed from its impurities,
gave only a feeble light and evolved
an insupportable odor, and the result
was that but littw favor was shown to
the new discovery ; the inventor eventu
ally died, ruined by his experiments.
The English Boon put into practice the
crude idea of Le .Bon. In 1804 one
Winsor patented and claimed the cred
it of inventing the process of lighting
Dy gas ; in lUUo several shops in Bir
mingham were illuminated by gas manu
factured by the process of Winsor and
Murdock. Among those who first used
this new light was Watts, the inventor of
the steam engine. Xn 1816 the first use
of gas was made in London, and it was
not nntU 1818 that this invention, realle
of French origin, was applied in Francy
1 , After the Horn.
In 1866 a grand base-ball tournament
was held in Bookford, Ills., where the
first prize was a gold ball, and there
were other premiums, the last being a
huge tin horn, to the little end of which
was tied a diminutive black porcelain
baby. This trophy was designed for
the worst nine. It was late in the day
when the Detroit club and a team from
Pecatonica, 111, entered the lists. The
Pecatonica organization was the pride
and joy of the Peoatonioans, who backed
it warmly; one enthusiast in particular
ventured, as an exact chronicler has re
corded, the proceeds of the sale of three
loads of hay and a yearling calf. Hav
ing put his fortune to the touch, , the
son of Pecatonica Bat himself down upon
a fence and prepared to register by
notches upon a stick the runs made by
either party. His oountenanoe was at
first exultant then it became bland
merely, then it assumed a look of pa
tient resignation commingled with wild
surprise, the latter predominating. The
play of his fellow-townsmen had been
utterly unaccountable ; but presently
his countenance brightened, and after
he bad counted np sixty-two notches on
the Detroit side and one (unearned)
notch on the Pecatonioa Bide, he said,
with a soft, low whistle of one upon
whom the truth has suddenly dawned,
" Why, the goshblamed fools are after
the horn I
Items of Interost.
A well read officer General news.
Butter was in use 4,000 years ago.
A Vienna firm is making beautiful
slippers of woven glass.
There are in the United States nearly
800 pottery establishments.
One million hands are engaged in rais
ing and manufacturing tobacco.
Very fine sulphur has betro discovered
in great quantities at ChiUan, OhUi.
A bachelor merchant's advice in select
a wife : " Get hold of a piece of calico
that will wash."
More than one-half the population ot
France depends on agriculture as a
means of living.
"A teaoher who will preserve order
or break heads " is advertised for by a
Kansas school board.
. The Anglo-Saxons used what they
called living money, that is to say slaves,
as a medium df exchange.
Some thoughtful person thinks it is
easier to get up twith the lark when
you go to bed without one.
The youth who stubbornly says: ";I
don't care," soon finds that the world
has the same opinion of him.'
Only two-thirds of the area of Italy,
capable of production, are cultivated,
whUe the balance lies waste. .
The measures adopted in Prussia for
the extermination of the Colorado beetle
have been entirely successful.
Aggravating To think up a good
joke after going to bed, and not be able
to recaU a word of it next morning.
One style of hat for ladies is called the
"huzza." That is because it is so
cheerful for the husband who pays the
bills.
He that runs may read a great many
things concerning his character, especi
ally if he runs for ah office. Edenburg
Herald.
THREE-PLY BHYMES.
The day waB waniug, when 1, nigh by
A large and knotty oak, joke epoke
To this effect i " I know you grow
From a small sprout ont etont ;
Exouae the query But now how bongh
Your stately branches, as big pig twig
And acorns munch ?" Then the tree de
Termined not to be by fun undone,
Gave a rough bark, " Hark ! dark- ,
Eyed maiden, I'd as loaf chief grief,
Of my broad chest, rest guessed
But never told. Hold ! hold ,
Young mortal, and ere my root shoot scoot I"
Words of Wisdom.
The darkest dreams of life have had
beautiful awakenings.
None of us is consistent, because none
of us is wholly good or wholly bad.
Some men, by repeating what others
have said, fancy that they are growing
wise.
Our glorious aspirations, which give
us life, grow torpid in the din of worldly
bustle.
Youth may sow more tares in one year
than old age can ever pull up; but only
old age knows it.
There are many men whose tongues
might govern multitudes if they could
govern their tougnes.
Things may be seen differently and
differently shown, but actions are visible
though motives are secret.
Good counsels observed are chains to
grace which, neglected, prove halters to
strangle undutif ul children.
There is no happiness in life, there is
no misery, like that growing out of the
dispositions which consecrate or dese
crate a home.
It is not wisdom, but ignorance, which
teaches men presumption. Genius may
be sometimes arrogant, but nothing is
so diffident as knowledge.
To analyze the charms of flowers is
like dissecting music; it is one of those
things which it is far better to enjoy
than to attempt to understand.
If a man be gracious to strangers, it
shows that he is a citizen of the world
and his heart is no island, out off from
other islands, bat a continent that joins
them.
The pilot who is always dreading a
rock or a tempest must not complain if
he remain a poor fisherman. We must
at times trust something to fortune, for
fortune has often some share in what
happens.
The thoughts we have had, the pic
tures we have seen, can be again called
back before the mind's eye and before
the imagination; but the heart is not so
obliging; it does not reproduce its pleas
ing emotions.
You find yourself refreshed by the
presence of cheerful people. Why not
make earnest effort to confer that pleas -ure
on others ? You will find half the
battle is gained if you never aUow your
self to say anything gloomy.
A Wedding Story;
Di Murska, the opera singer, has told
her matrimonial story to a reporter of
the Chicago Inter-Ocean, prefacing it
with the assertion that she is of noble
birth, and that her success in Europe
was wonderful. A French count fol
lowed her for many years but she
spurned his offer of marriage, and he,
in desperation, shot himself. She Bays,
as to ber first hnBband :
"In our troupe was a young Scotch
man, Anderson, handsome, well educated
and an excellent pianist I supposed
that his brilliant complexion was the re
sult of health, but it was only the indi
cation of heart disease. I liked him
very weU, but never dreamed of any
thing more, though be showed me much
attention. In New Zealand, one even
ing, he feU from the piano stool insensi
ble. . I had him carried to my apart
ments, and the doctor said it was a ter
rible attack of heart disease. To move
him, the physicians said, would be fatal.
I therefore gave up my apartments and
took others, and share 1 with my maid
in nursing him, I was roused from my
oompassion to hear that people were
saying bad things of me, because I was
taking care of a sick man in my own
bouse. He heard of it, and begged me
to marry him, as he had only a few days
to live. I was foolish enough to do so.
He lingered for six weeks, and managed,
in that time, to draw a large sum of
my money from the bank, whioh he sent
to his own family." Three months
afterward, she married Mr. Hill,
"Si
i
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