, HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NTL DESPEllANDUM. Two Dollars er Annum. ' , 11 '- : - .. ..I 1 -- VOL. VIII. RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA.,- THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1879. NO. 51. " : V '( - k Two Drummers. A LEOXND OF TUB HOAD, It wai two rival drummers The merits that did blow Of safes were in 8t. Louis made And safes from Chioago. They chanced upon a merchant Who fain a safe wonld buy, And iu the praise of their houses' warea The drummers twain did Tie, Kaoh striving to tee which could construct The moBt colossal lie. Up spake the St. Louis drummer: " Once a man a oat did take And locked the animal in a safe Of onr superior make. " They made a bonfire round the safe With tar and kerosene, And for four-and-twenty houra it bit red ' With raging heat, I ween. "The fire went out, the safe was cooled, And I will fotfeit five Hundred good dollars if that cut Did not come ont alive." Then mild opfpske and answtred him The Chicago safe agent: " With our safe one day we did essay The same experiment. " We placed the safe seleoted on Of coals a fiery bed, And pitched-pine we heaped in coal-oil steeped Till the iron glowed bright red; And in forty-eight hours we ope'd the safe, And, alas I the cat was desd I" " Was dead ? Aha 1" bis rival cried, With a triumphant breath; But the Chicago man replied: " Yes, the eat wss frozen to death 1" No word that St. Louis drummer spoke, But silent he stood and wan, While the Kansas merchant an order gave To the Ch cago man. Better Late Than Never. His name was John Holt ; and, more over, he looked like bis name, or like the imnge which the sound of his name, in a musical ear, wonld call np in the mind. Physically he was so well pro- fiortioDed that his weight could scarce v be guessed, and so broad -shouldered that yea had to set him beside another man in order to realize his superior height. His skin was fair and his eyes bine, but the hair, which had been tow colored in his childhood, had deepened to brown. John Holt's face was not one of those which are called expressive, but wore, in rrpose, pretty nearly al ways the same look. Mrs. Holt had a large and valuable farm just on the borders of the town. Streets had crept gradually about her fields and surrounded tbem on three sides ;on the fourth woodlands stretched back toward the east. Why she should give the control of this place to John, instead of to one of his sharper brothers, was a puzzle even in her own mind. The only reason she could give was that John was steady and more likely to re main at home than the others were. John was in love with pretty Nellie Cramer, a neighbor's daughter ; but one day when he started t l tell her df his passion she stopped him ebort WTth a laugh and a "Nonsense, John I" He never got angry with bet. How could he ? But sometimes 0 shadow would drop over his face, and he wouldn't have much to say to her for a time. Then, when she weut to him with htr coaxing ways, and laid her little hand on his arm, whispering: "Now, don't be vexed, John; Hike you so much; bnt I don't want you to talk nonsense," he would look down and smile, though not very brightly, and promise to try to avoid nonsense in the future ; euding his promise with a sigb. "Dear me I I do wish you wouldn't sigh so, John I" the girl would say, pet tishly. " It m iikes me feel melancholy to hear yon One would think I had done something dreadful to you." Then John Holt would smile again, still less brightly, and promise to tiy not to sigh any more. Such little scenes as this were mere asides, however. Nellie usually paid but little attention to John, being chiefly occupied in dancing, flirting and quar reling with his more showy brother Frank, or with any other gay fellow who was so unfortunate as to be taken with her pretty face. For Nellie was an in corrigible flirt. It was only when she had no one else to talk to, or wanted to pique some other lover, or when she wanted some real service, that she went to John, who was sometimes pleased and sometimes hurt to see that she came to him only when she wanted help or advice. " You are a sort of grandfather, you know," she said one day, giving his arm a squeeze. " I have an idea that you are about seventy-five years old. How old are you, John ?" "I am only one-third of that," he said, smiling. " I am only a month past twenty-five." "Possible? Well, you must have been very old when you was born. lie bides, twenty five is old to me. I am only nineteen. Now yon come and hear my story and tell me what to do. I came over here on purpose to see you." John followed her obediently through the garden and down to a bench under the shadow of the beech grove on the lawn; and when she took her seat there he leaned against the trunk of a tree and waited, looking down on her. "You see, John," she began, "I've had an effer." John Holt was tanned that summer, but through the brownuess one might have seen a faint blush run over his face. Nellie didn't see it, for she was looking down and rolling her apron tas sels, a very bright color in her own faso. There was a moment's silence after thin announcement, and seeing that he waa expected to say something, John presently said "Yes?'' " bJf y.ou don,t want to advise me, I won t trouble you," the girl flung out rising in a pet. 0 ' " Come back Nellie," he said, kind ly. I am not cross, only tell me what you want" bha seated herself again with a lit tit guitar is bar lip, " " I want you tell me what you think of James Lee. Tell me if yon think I'd better marry him. Tell me if you think he cares enoagh for me to go just where I say and live where I wish." The color waved again in John Holt's face, and he drew a quick breath. Some impulse to speak seemed to come upon him. Glancing np for his answer, Nellie saw the change and added a word: " Yon see, John, I like Albert Leigh ton better than I do James." The color and light droppod out of his face again, and a rim of even, white teeth pressed tor an instant his under lip. " Then why don't yon marry Albert Leighton ?" he asked, looking up into the tree that spread over his head, and reaching to break a slender twig. "He never asked me to," she an swered demurely. " I suppose he means to, doesn't he ?" naked John, looking at her with a glance that might be called almost haughty. "How can I tell?" Nellie pouted. " Men are so queer. The most of them would rather wait to be asked, I think." "If you want my advice, I will give it," John said, twisting and flinging away the little twig in his hand. " If you like Albert, don't keep James Lee in suspense. You have no right to do it. You can't seriously think of mar rying one man when yon prefer another, f Albert likes you, as I believe he does, take him. He's a good fellow." " You think so t" the girl said, look ing up suddenly. "I think so," he repeated, turning away. " Now let's go np to the house." She rose and walked quietly up by his side, her fair, girlish face a little pale, her eves downcast. At the gate she stopped. "I will not go in, now," she said, in a low tone. " I will go home." He merely bowed, and looking back after a few stops she saw that he had not entered the honse, but was stealing off toward the barn. The next week James Lee commenced 1 violent flirtntion with Bessie Holt, John's sister, and in a month the two were engaged. Nellie laughed and turned the light of her smiles upon Al bert Leighton, a handsome, dashing fel low, who had been crazy about Lee for the last six months. John Holt said nothing, but was rather cool about his sister's engagement " Yon see, suspense would have killed bim," Nellie whispered, mischievously. "I hope he isn't marrying my sister out of pique toward you," John said, wldly. " If I didn't think Bessie loved iiim too well to give him np, I'd tell her. " "Ard betray my confidence, John Holt," Nellie exclaimed. "I tell you, he is like most of you men purely self ish. He didn't care a fig about me. I think he seems to like Bessie." " When are you going to get mar ried ? " he asked abruptly. The question came so suddenly that for once the girl lost her composure. A crimson blush swept over her face, and she dropped her eyes without being able to speak a word. Of course, the recovered herself in a minute, and protested that she bad no thought of mnrrying. Any woman would have dune the same. But the blush had convicted her in John Holt's eyes, and he scarcelv heard a word that she said. It was winter, and while they talked they were waiting, with half a dozen others, for a large sleigh that was com ing to take them out to a party given by a friend eeven or eight miles off in the country. Even before Nellie's blush had faded, the trampling and jingling at the gate attracted their attention, and Albert Leighton put his head in at the door to call them. Bessie and her lover came forth from an adjoining room, an other group came up from a distant window, and they all ran gayly out and and bundled into their placer. The party passed off as such things usually do. All seemed to enjoy them selves ; Nellie was lovely as a pink and full of mischief, Leighton waa attentive, and John Holt was cheerful and kind to everybody. He was fully as quiet as usual, to be sure, and rather avoided Nellie Cramer, but it is doubtful if any one but herself noticed that. It was twelve o'clock when they start ed to go home, and the moon had set. At first their gayety held out, bnt after a mile or bo fatigue and want of sleep began to tell upon them, and one by one they fell into silence. "John," Nellie said, "there is just room for me on the seat with you. May I come there ? It is cold here." He made room for her in silence, and she left her discomfited escort and took her place next that strong shoulder. Then silence fell again ; bnt after awhile, in the darkness, John Holt was aware of a light pressure against his arm, then a soft, plaintive whisper stole into his ear. " I am so sleepy, John 1" He turned a little why not? they were old friends and lifted his arm to the back of the seat, took the h6ad softly and tenderly to his bosom. And so she lay in that faithful and tender clasp till they drew near home ; then, with one whispered word of loving gratitude, " Nobody is so good as you I" she drew away, and took Albert Leighton's hand to step out at her own door. After a stir in his own mind, John Holt concluded that Nellie and Albert had quarreled. He sighed, since she could not hear and so be annoyed, pitied the girl, and then went steadily about his work. The waters of his soul were too deep for babbling. When spring came, for the first time in his life John electrified hiB friends. He was going to California. The an nouncement was made quietly but firm ly, and he stood like a rock, against which expostulation beat itself to spray. He gave good reasons, and absolutely maintained his right to choose for him self. You have always said, mother, that you wished I were more venturesome," be said. "I am going to please yon now," " But how is the farm to get along without you ?" she objected. " Frank understands everything and can manage." Mrs. Holt took courage, and, breaking over some little awe, which, in spite of her talk, she felt for her son, spoke ont: "John, ba that Nell Cramer jilted you?" " Jilted me I" he said, flushed as much with anger as with surprise. "What do yon mean, mother ? We have always been good friends, but never any more. I never gave her the chance to jilt me. " " Then, why don't you give her the chance?" persisted his mother, who did not choose to give np, now that the ice was broken. " Nell is a good girl, if she does flirt a little. I always thought that she liked yon, only that yon were too slow to see it. Then, Nell has got a little money of her own that wouldn't be amiss." " You are entirely mistaken, mother," he said decisively. Don't let ns say any more about it" " Oh, you great fool !" muttered the mother, looking after him as he went out " Waa there ever a man so blind I He is no more fit to live in the world than an angel ont of heaven is." Then, seeing Nellie Cramer passing the street, she lifted her voice and called her in. The girl came in, wondering at such a peremptory summons. " Come and sit by me I" commanded the matron, and Nellie obeyed. Mrs. Holt scanned her from head to foot; the neat, trim figure, in its snugly fitting paletot of dark gray, the green bonnet, that brought out her fresh, clear color with a new luster, and the fair, bright face, ' ' Did yon know that our John is go ing to California?" said Mrs. Holt, abruptly, her keen eyes on the girl's face All the color faded ont of it in an in stant, and Nellie Cramer dropped into a chair as suddenly as if she had been shot She sat there and looked at the other with her strained eyes, but said no word. " Yes," said Mrs. Holt, unable to re press a slight smile of satisfaction at this proof of the correctness of her sur mise, " yes, he's set on going, in spite of all that I can say. He is going in a month or six weeks. Let me see; this is the middle of April. He says he shall start by the first of Jnne at far thest." That smile of Mrs. Holt's was an un fortunate one. Nellie had always feared those sharp eyes, and now the thought flashed upon her mind that John's mother was trying to expose and morti fy her. A woman's pride will do a great deal for her, even when her heart is breaking. It brought the color to her face again, and strengthened her trembling limbs. It steadied her voice and her eyes. Mrs. Holt was puzzled aud disconcerted by the sudden change. " I'm so sorry 1" Nellie said, in atone of fearless regret. " We can scarcely get along without John. He seems such a stand-by. But men ought not to be tied at home, I think. If they choose ' to go, tbey should be allowed their own 1 way. There he is now, in the garden. I am going out to speak to him of it." " Try to coax him to stay, Nellie," said the mother, in a tone of more en treaty than perhaps she had ever used in her life before. " He is a good son, and I can't get along without him. I think you can keep him if you will." This prayer wcnld have been effect ual, but for the memory of that smile which rankled in the girl's heart. Had she not given John Holt everyvencour agement, if he had cared abodt her ? Had she not said and done things so affectionate toward him that shj had blushed with shame thinking of them afterward ! John was no fool, and if he had cared for her, he might have under stood. He had probably been trying to put her back. With these thoughts burning in her heart, Nellie Cramer went directly to John Holt as he walked up and down the garden. He stopped, seeing her, and looked wistfully into her face. Though he had denied Lis mother so decidedly, her words had not been with out weight Women understand each other. Conld it be possible? And there was Nellie coming down the walk. Her head was erect, and her face per fectly composed, though slightly pale. " I am so sorry," she began. " Your mother has been telling me your plans. Of course, you know best what is good for you, and I have been telling her to let yon have your own way. But we ah all all be sorry to lose you, John." That was all. He gave a last grasp at bis self-command, and held it. There was a short formal conversation ; both so engaged in making a pretense of be ing kind and friendly, and just as usual, that each could not perceive that the other was also making a pretense ; and four weeks after they parted with tol erable composure, and John Holt went to California. He stayed there five years, and sent his mother her gold spoon. He stayed three years longer, and then came home himself. Nellie was Nellie Cramer (till, they told him, and was much sobered. Some way she hadn't seemed to care much about flirting for several years. Her father and mother were deuu, and she was keeping house for an unmarried brother. There were hints that the new minister went to see her very often, but Mrs. Holt didn't believe that Nellie wonld look at him. John listened, ana, when evening came. tooK ins nac and went out for a walk. No one but his own family aa yet knew 01 his retnrn, and he was re solved to see himself the effect of his coming on Nellie. The soft spring twi light was settling down when he reached her house, ana as ne warned quietly np the path a slight figure sat in a window, looking out, eiDging lowly to herself in a mournful reverie. She did not see him; but when he came nearer he saw her face clearly. The round outlines and bright color were gone, but be was forced to own that she had grown far more beautiful. The chastened luster of the eyes, the firmer, sweeter closing of the mouth, tne purer ana more per feot outlines all belonged to one who had eaten of the bread of sorrow, and had found a blessing in the bitterness, Something swept over bis heart with passionate foroe some regret, some longing, he Bcaroe knew what If he had suffered at losing her eight years hofnre. he felt that such a lose now wnnl.l kill him. He quietly entered the open door, paused on the threshold nt tha room where she sat alone. She atill aang aoftly, but, as he looked, ;riitil- and became tilent "Nellie I" be would have said, bnt bis voice was only a w cos per, He went forward into, the shadowy room. "Is it yott, James?" he said, half turning, expecting her brother. John took a etep nearer, and this time his voice did not fail. 1 "Nellie I" J She started, half arose, hesitated, then, as he took one step nearer, sprang with a glad cry into his extended arms. "I thought yon would never eome, John I" she sobbed. "Were yon waiting for met" he asked, " Did you eare for me before I went away ?" "Then and always, John. How could yon be so blind ?" . John Holt smoothed her hair tender ly, for one moment of silence; then ex claimed, as though some great truth bad suddenly dawned npon him. " I deserve it I I always thought them wrong, but they were right. I was, indeed, a great fool." . Funerals In New York. "Is there as much extravagance in funerals as there nsed to be?" inquired a New York reporter of an undertaker. " Oh, no I I suppose few trades Buffer more severely from the hard times than ours. Persons who nsed to spare no expense at the funerals of their dead now calculate every penny, and in all oases, except, strange to say, the very poor, the desire for display has given plaoe to strict economy. There are ex ceptions, of course, bnt they are few and far between. In the past twenty years an almost entire change has been worked in one essential of funerals. I mean the carriages. In old times it was customary for families to send out funeral invitations, and provide car riages for those who came, bnt now the Eractioe is for friends of the family to ire their own carriages. This custom was in vogue among the Irish many years ago, but now it is gaining ground among the Germans and Americans. It is no uncommon thing in Irish funerals for four friends of the dead persons to hire a carriage and attend the funeral, and the Germans are rapidly adopting the same economical habit Since 1869 the falling off in the number of carriages baa been gradual, bnt steady. Then a hearse followed by one hundred car riages was not regarded as a rarity ; now if half that number of carriages were in line persons would wonder who is dead. The French and Italians generally bike to provide carriages for those invited to funerals, but the former are gradually settling into the Irish-American custom, "But, talking abont poor persons' funerals," the undertaker resumed, after having opened a case and gazed for a while in silent eostaoy at a' group of polished caskets, " yon ought to go to a colored person's burying. You have no idea how provident and methodical the better class of colored folk 1 are as to their funerals.- Why, in ths neighbor hood alone they have established a num ber of burial societies that are well sup ported. The principle of these institu tions is mnch like that of the building associations so popular in Philadelphia aud other cities. The members pay so much each per month nntil a certain sum is reached. Should death overtake them before that sum is paid, the society buries them out of its surplus funds. I know of colored women who belonged to turee or lour of these societies at one time. One that we buried last week had a burial fund of $200, and every cent of it was spent on her funeral by the heirs. Poor things I They in herited nothing. Bnt in all colored funerals, mostly, the family hires the carriages, and friends are invited pretty much aa they would be to a feast The undertaker is handed a list of those who are to ride to the cemetery, and seats the persons accordingly. So thoroughly is each detail arranged, that the load for each carriage is designated, the pre ference being given first to relatives and then to friends." Results of Aerial Navigation. Ilf i T?. f"1 fifoltnon f lia nnaf nvitfia in Soribner of this subject, which he confesses to be his "hobby." The paper is in a half humorous, half serious tone, bnt discusses practically the causes of failure heretofore and the desiderata of final success. Mr. Stedman speaks thus buoyantly of some of the nltimate results of aerial navigation : Not only by these processes of con struction, bnt also by the power and freedom gained through their snocess, a delightful reflex influence will be ex erted npon the esthetics of life. Poetry and romance will have fresh material and a new locale, and imagination will take nights unknown before. Land scapes painted between . earth and heaven must involve novel principles of drawing, color, light and shade. Music, like the songs of Lohengrin, will be showered from aerial galleys. In every way the resouroes of social life will be so enlarged that at last it truly may be said, "Existence is itself a joy." Sports and recreations will be strangely multiplied. Rioh and poor alike will make of travel an every-day debcht. the former in their private aeronons, the latter in large and multi form Btrnotures, corresponding in nse to the excusion-Doats of onr rivers and harbors, the " floating palaces " of the people, and far more numerous and splendid. The ends of the earth, its rarest places, will be visited by all. The sportsman can change at pleasure irom tne woods ana waters of the North, the runwavs of the deer, the haunts of the Salmon, to the pursuit of the ticer in the jnngle or the emn in the Aus tralian bush. An entirely new pro fessionthat of airmanship will be thoroughly organized, emolovinor countless army of trained officers and " airmen. " The adventurona and well to-do will have their pleasure yachts of the air, and take hazardous and de lightful cruises. Their vessels will differ from the cumbrous aerobata in tended for freight and emigrant bnsi. ness, will be christened with beautiful and suggestive namesIris, Aurora, Hebe. Ganymede, Hermes. Ariel, and the like and will vie with one another in grace, readiness and speed. When dees the rain become too famil lar with a lady r When it begins to pat- m uu urns muh POTATOES AND DIPHTHERIA. Novel Theorv of a Nebraska Doctor, who ('Inline niphikerla la Frodarrd br Ex ecutive Use of Potatoes. Melville C. Keith, M. D., of Lincoln, Neb., writes to the Chioago Inter-Ocean as follows: Some seventeen years ago the attention of my father, Dr. Alvan Eeith, late of Augusta, Me. , was called to the fact that children who were not fond of the tuber known as Irish potatoes were not subject to attacks of that mnch dreaded malady diphtheria. Following out this hint, he advised families of his friends to avoid the use of this vegeta ble among the children, and nntil his decease he was accustomed to make the assertion that rotten potatoes produce the throat disease known as diphtheria. It may not be inappropriate to remark that he was considered a very success ful practitioner in the treatment of this disease. In 1805 the writer visited San Fran cisco, and was tbere engaged in the practice of medicine nntil 1867. Daring that period of time he had an opportun ity of fully testing the truth of the statement of potatoes being a producer, or at least an approximate cause of the condition known as diphtheria. In 805 cases in and abont San Francisco, the foot was noted that every one who had the trne diphtheria was an eater of Irish potatoes. The writer is well aware of the presumptive charge of novelty, to say the least of the assertion, and for this reason has hesitated to place himself on record. The condition of many fami lies in the West, and more especially in this State and Kansas, urges the under signed, as a matter of interest to the hu man family to make pnblic a series of observations for the past two years in the West During this time thirty cases have come under my direct supervision and prescriptions. More than 200 have been carefully inquired after, and in every case it has been proven that the diphtheritic patient had been a potato eater; and in a large majority of in stances the patient had been known as an excessive eater &f the tuber. A rule to hold good should he valid from both sides. The undersigned made the fore going statements to a very intelligent lady of this city, now a teacher in a dis tant city, and the result has been that where the diphtheria prevailed fatally last year they have (by the influence of this lady) largely refrained from eating potatoes, or only eaten them to a very moderate extent, and the disease is al most unknown. In my practice in this city and county the offer has been to treat any one free of compensation, if they wonld avoid the use of Irish pota toes. As a sequence not one of the pa tients who was not a potato-eater has been threatened with the disease. In many of the inland tewtis of this State, the writer has patients, and in some of the infected districts the families of those who have learned of this simple preventive have escaped any attack of throat disease, although the potato-eaters on either side of them have unfor tunately had caseB of diphtheria which resulted fatally. It would not be in accoi dance with the well-known proclivities of medical men if the writer did not have a theory to account for these facts, and a special treatment to correspond with the belief of the constitutional cause. He has; bnt the theory, like many others, is only partially developed or proven, and conld easily be argued. The facts, em bracing a period of seventeen years and a knowledge of 1,100 cases, are, in the writer's estimation, incontrovertible, and may be summed np as follows: The writer maintains that the person who does not use the tuber known as Irish potato ean never have the disease known as diphtheria: that in every case of diphtheria (true) will be found an habitual eater of Irish potatoes. The Laundries in New York. The manager of one of the larger lanndries of New York lately raid that there were between five and six hun dred important lanndries in the city. counting steam lanndries that do the work of large manufactnrers of white goods and of hotels and restaurants, and the hand laundries doing house hold work. The first steam laundries werestatted in Boston, in 1853. Several steam laundries in New York employ from 100 to 150 hands. The Empire laundry, doing the work of fifteen hotels and restaurants, turns out 40,000 pieces a day, or more than 1,000,000 a month, washed, dried and finished. These pieces include sheets, pillow oases, white towels, silver towels, brown towels, brown table cloths, white table cloths, napkins, curtains, jackets, aprons, counterpanes, blankets, bed covers, pillow covers, chair covers, table covers, crumb cloths and dollies. In the per formance of this work there are used 84,000 worth of soap, 81,000 worth of starch, 8250 worth of bluing a year, and the pay roll amounts to $25,000 yearly. Another laundry manager said that the amount of private washing done in tne public laundries has increased im mensely since the establishment of the first large publiolanndry, the New York, at Bergen, N. J., in 1866. The largest are the at. JJenis, California, Home, Stuyvesant and New York. The work they do is mainly for persons living in flats, boarders, bachelors, and transient hotel guests. Notwithstanding the great facilities offered by the public laundries, most housekeepers prefer to have their washing done at home. The public laundries that do private wash' mg do not nse steam or any machinery except the simple "patent wringer" and " housewife s washboard," because no machinery ever invented could do the necessary fluting, puffing, scallop ing, and doing np. The charges range from seventy-five cents to $9 a dozen. The laundry business requires very little capital ; the work is simple and the terms are invariably cash. No class of business men lose so little money from bad debts as the laundry men, and the reason is plain ; they always have ample security for their bills in the clothing that they wash, and clothing is never returned nntil the bill is paid. It is estimated that from one and a half to five million dollars are invested in laundries in New York, giving em ployment to from ten to twenty tbon Bifid persona. Care of the Eyes. The sight in most persons begins to fail from forty to fifty years of age, aa is evidenced by an instinctive preference for large print ; a seat near the window for reading is selected J there is an effort to plaoe the paper at a convenient dis tance from the eye, or to turn it so as to get a particular reflection of the light ; next the finger begins to be plooed un der the line read, and there is a winking of fie eye ns if to clear it, or a looking away at some distant object to clear it : or the fingers are pressed over the closed lids in the direction of the nose, to re move the tears caused by straining. Favor the failing sight as much as possible. Looking into a bright fire, especially a coal fire, is very injurious to the eyes. Looking at molten iron will soon destroy the sight ; reading in the twilight is injurious to the eyes, as they are obliged to make great exertion. Beading or sewing with a side light in jures the eyes, as both eyes should be exposed to an equal degree of light The reason is, the sympathy between the eyes is so great that if the pupil of one is dilated by being kept partially in the shade, the one that is most exposed cannot contract itself sufficiently for pro tection, and will ultimately be injured. Those who wish to preserve their sight should observe the following rules, and E reserve their general health by correct abits : 1st. By sitting in suoh a position as will allow the light to fall obliquely over the shoulder upon the page or sew ins. 2d. By not using the eyes for such purposes by any artificial light. 3d. By avoiding the special use of the eyes in the morning before break fast. 4th. By resting them for half a min ute or so while reading or sewing or looking at small objects ; and by looking at things at a distance, or up to the sky ; relief is immediately felt by so doing. 5th. Never pick any collected matter from the eyelashes or corners of the eyes with the finger-nails ; rather moist en it with the saliva and rub it away with the ball of the finger. 6th. Frequently 1 ass the ball of the finger over the closed eyelids toward the nose ; this carries off an excess of water into the nose itself by means of the little canal which leads into the nostril from each inner corner of the eye, this canal having a tendency to close up in con sequence of the light inflammation which attends the weakness of the eyes. 7th. Eeep the feet always dry and warm, so as to draw any excess of blood from the other end of the body. 8th. Use eyeglasses at first carried in the vest pocket attached to the guard, for they are instantly adjustod to the eye with very little trouble, whereas, if com mon speotacles are used such a process is required to get them ready that to have trouble the ryes are often strained to answer a purpose. 0th. Wash the eyes abundantly every morning. If cold water is nsed let it be flapped agaicst the closed eyes with the fingers, not striking bard against the balls of the eves. 10th. The moment the eyes feel tired, the very moment yon are conscious ot an effort to read or sew, lay aside the book or needle, and tike a walk for an hour, or employ yourself in some active exercise not requiring the close use of the eyes. Theatricals la China. The Celestial empire has much the resemblance to an immense fair, where, amid a perpetual flux and reflux of buy ers and sellers, of brokers, loungers and thieves, you see in all quarters stages and mountebanks, jokers and comedians, laboring uninterruptedly to amuse the public. Over the whole surface of the country, in the burghs and villages, rich and poor, mandarins and people all, without exception, are passionately fond of dramatic representations. There are theaters everywhere; the great towns are full of them. There is ne little vil lage bnt has its theater, which is usuallv opposite to the pagoda, and sometimes even forms a part of it In some cases the permanent theaters are not found sufficient, and then the Chinese con struct temporary ones, with wonderful facility, ont of bamboo. The Chinese theater is extremely simple, and its ar rangements exolnde all idea of scenio illusion. The decorations are fixed, and do not change as long as the piece lasts. One Wviild never know what tbey were intended for, if the actors did not take care to inform the public, and correct the motionless character of the scenes by verbal explanations. The only ar rangement ever made with a view to scenio effect is the introduction of a trap-door in front of the stage, for the entrances and exits of supernatural per sonages, aud goes by the name of the 'Gate of Demons." Cat's Customs. Cats are not supposed to have the in telligence of dogs, says an exchange, and yet if we observe them we find that they are capable of a great degree of reasoning. A cat belonging to ns had a kitten, which, when it had learned to drink milk from the saucer with its mother, was given to a neighbor. For many days after the old cat never drank more than a certain quantity of the milk given to her, leaving the rest for the kitten, which she hourly expected to retnrn. After a time, finding the kitten did not come, she resumed her habit of drinking the whole of the milk placed in the saucer. We were calling at a cottage when an old cat came iu. " Ah I" said the woman of the honse, "she has been to see what our neigh bor b cat has got for her. She is too old to hnnt for herself, so our neigh bor's oat will keep a mouse or a bird for her, and she goes regularly every morning to see what there is for her," Another cat we have seen who has been taught tricks in the same manner aa a dog, and if her master places her on the table and says " Die," she will lie quite motionless, and not move a paw or her tail nntil he tells her to get np, when she jumps up immedi ately ana is as irisay as ever. " I walked the floor all night with the toothache," said he; to which his nn feeling listener replied: "You didn't expect to walk the tiling with It, did your Quiet Liven. In a valley, centuries ago, Grew a little fern leaf, green and slender Veining delioate and fibers tender) Waving when the winds crept down so low. Bashes tall, and moss and grass grew round it, Playful sunbeams darted In and found It; Drops of dew stole down by night and crown ed it; Bnt no foot of man e'er oame that way, Earth was young and keeping holiday. Useless I Lost t There oame a thoughtful man, Searching nature's seorets far and deep: From a fissure In a rocky steep He withdrew a atone o'er which there ran Fair; penoilings, a quaint design, Leafage, velnings, fibers clear and fine, And the fern'a life lay in ever; line t So, I think, God hides some souls away, Sweetly to surprise ns the last da; 1 ITEMS OF INTEREST. Reigning favorites Umbrellas. Excellent wash for the faoe Water. Wanted A life-boat that will float 00 a sea of troubles. Gloves were first worn by onr hand cestors in the tenth centnry. What is the size of the needle that carried the threads of discourse ? Brown thinks that all-absorbing tales should be printed on blotting-paper. , The onion originated in Europe. So important facts leak out one by one. The eldest son of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert Victor, in fifteen years old. A nnmber of horses have been poison ed in Kansas by being fed raw castor beans. If a word spoken in time is worth one piece of money, silence in its time is worth two. Toads and frogs were originally intro duced into the Sandwich islands to'ex- terminate cockroaches. Examination of 8,000 grammar school pupils at Boston shows that abont five per cent of the boys are color-blind, and only about one-half of one per cent of the girls. In Egypt mummies feed the fires that propel the iron horse on the railroads. These dried-up human bodies, are said to make a very hot fire. Their supply is almost inexhaustible. " There is nothing impossible,' ex claimed a man who was discoursing on Edison's achievements. That man, to fin J out how egregiously he is mistaken, has only to attempt to cut his own hair. A great many years ago a poor beg gar explained his ragged appearance by observing: "I have no money to bny new clothing, and mend I CRn't." And his class have been called mendicants ever since. The Cornish folk in England are noted as wonderful pie makers. They even serve vegetables in this manner, and the laboring classes, in these hard times, are said to exist largely npon a curious compound known as " turnip turnover." When a snowball as bard as a door knob bits yon in the back of the head as yon are crossing the street, no matter how quiokly you turn, the only thing yon can see is one boy, with the most innocent face and the emptiest hands that ever confronted a false accusation. Hawkeye, " Will ye love me thus forever ?" and she looked into his eyes With a glance that seemed a token Of the fervor of her sighs. "I wndn't guaranty it," With a smile responded Fat, " For I'm batdly av the notion That Til l&Bht as long as that '." Bnrdette, in a letter to the Ilawfaye, magnanimously allows the palm to the East in the matter of Revolutionary re lic, but in the next breath is inclined to take it back. He says: "I remember in 1876, when we had the great centen nial tea-party at Burlington, that I saw more Revolutionary relics at Union hall than I have seen in all New England. And they were better looking relics, too. Those I saw in Old Sonth church were very old and battered and faded, and altogether shabby-looking, while the Iowa relics had a bright, fresh, modern look to tbem, that was much pleasanter to contemplate." . A Remarkable Funeral. One of the most remarkable funerals ever seen anywhere was that of the stu dent who was eUot in Wnrzburg, Bava ria, by an officer of the city guard. He was arrested while on a lark. and. at tempting to run from his captors, waa deliberately shot in the back at close quarters. Great public commotion fol lowed, the general aversion of the Ger man people to the insolenoe of the military being stimulated by this act to the highest pitch. A mass meeting was called, at whioh a petition and address to the government were adopted, de manding the severest punishment for the "frivolous and brutal assassina tion." The fnneral waa attended bv nearly a thousand students and by the entire faculty of the university. The body had been lying in state in the hos pital during the day, and as darkness set in it was borne forth with fnneral mnsio, followed by the long procession of students, bearing torches and flags draped in mourning. It was carried Blowly through the main streets of the city to the railway depot, where a spe cial mm was waning to convey it to the home of the young man's parents. The return of the procession waa through the streets along whioh the Btudont had taken his way on the fatal night Op posite the main garrison, to whioh the offioer who had shot the student belong- eu, iue proceBBion oame to a halt and formed a hollow square, in the middle of which the standard bearers with their draped flags stationed themselves. Then while the flickering torches east fantas tic shadows over the plaza, the "Gande amns" was sung. With the last words of this student song all burled their torches simultaneously to the ground, and in darkness and silence the multi tude dispersed. The report having spread that the commander of the garri son to whioh the guilty offioer belonged hal expressed his approval of the mur der, he received challenges to duels from half a doaen 1 indents. 1
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers