HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. , NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
YOL. IX. RIDGAVAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1879. , NO. 12.
. . i 1
i
II
May Baskets.
Open the window, Margie,
. And draw tho Bcreen away;
My lile is ft dull December,
But my heart's as young as May.
listen ! The laugh of ohildren I
Tin a foolish thought, I know,
But it minds me of one May morning
Seventy years ago,
When a merry troop oi ohiklron
'" Wakened the quiet street
With babble of talk and laughter,
And swinging, like censers Bwoot,
Tho dear Old-time May-baskota,
Kibboned, nnd pink and white
With the blossed bloom that gladdened
Tho gloom of the Pilgrims' night.
And I know by the robin's carol,
And the tender green I see
In tho tops of the dear old willows,
That the May will como to me.
Margie, the scont of May-flowers !
I surely, surely know
That one s weot breath! Conld the south
wind
Bring it so fnr ? They grow
A mile away on the hillside.
Bnt there's a knock at the door;
Oh tor an hour of quiet,
To live my May-days o'er I
What's this T " From Karl and Carrie."
Oh, lot my chair be rolled
Just there into the sunshine
And give me them to hold !
I knew their breath, dear Margie;
Forgive these foolish tears,
But God has sent these May-flowers
Across the seventy years !
Mary A. Lathbury.
A Man Without Enthusiasms.
I think that neither of us could have
analyzed or satisfactorily explained our
mutual attraction, but it is certain that
my old class-mate Manson and I were
fast friends. He was :i most lovable
fellow, but had begun, long before our
college course came to nn end, to show
that apparent Tack of interest in life that
distinguishes what we call a blase man ;
and this at times to a degree at once
amusing and exasperating.
Not long ago a party of us, in the
pleasant smoking-room of a Pacific;
steamer, were talking about one of our
fellow-passengers rather a poor speci
men of this class then of the class it
s;lf; and the oldest member of the little
group, who had been lighting his cigar
very deliberately with the little wire
which one dips in spirits of wine, re
sumed his seat with the remark, delivered
with great emphasis :
" Well, gentlemen, it's a dreadful thing
for a young man to have no enthusiasm.
The expression brought Manson toiny
mind. I do not know why I had not
thought of him before, but reminiscences
now crowded in rapidly upon mo and I
sat for some moments looking out at tlx;
blue waves of the Pacific, nnd oblivious
of tho nice points of the discussion.
Finally it seemed opportune to me to
narrate to the party some of the circum
stances under which my friend nnd I had
been thrown together.
He was, as our old schoolmaster once
said. " fortunate in his choice of a father,"
nnd I feared that the tendency which I
have mentioned would be developed by
a life of virtual idleness: and when we
had parted, and I only knew of his do
ings through his letters, and those of
mutual acquaintances, there was every
reasju to believe that my forebodings
were correct. He made a short trip to
Europe, a region which he described is
"slow," and then nominally entered on
a business life. His abilities were ex
cellent, and his perceptions quick, but
after lie had been for some time partner
in a firm, a friend wrote me that when
he met him in the street, and asked him
where his office was, he received the
reply :
" I don't know. They've moved since
I've been there."
I was traveling some years later from
India to Europe. We had a fine steamer
from Calcutta, and some most agreeable
people on board. It was just tbout the
time that some of the officers who had
served in the mutiny were getting their
furlouirh. and fine fellows thev were.
My room-mate, a stout, jolly-looking
man with red side-whiskers, was in tho
Residency nt Lucknow. nnd was Buffer
ingfrom a wasting disease, but he was a
good shot ana they count not spare mm ;
and he used to tell me how. when they
had loaded his rifle, they would prop
him up on his mattress until he could
sight a seuov and then sink back again
All these men had been through terrible
experiences, but they were delighted at
going home, and were generally in the
highest spirits. I remember thai they
would not "turn in" at all the night
that we ran up tue uuit or huez, and
they were eager to get ashore in the
morning. We went up to the hotel
built around a courtyard, and found a
French woman singing " II Bacio" in
tho shrillest of voices to the aecompani
ment of sundry instruments played by
compatriots in fez caps. - Even the
squalid bazaar seemed preferable to this,
and we were turning to go thither, when
T saw. lpjinina- against a pillar niv old
friend Manson ; and but that he had a
"puggery" on his hat, he looked for all
the world just as he had looked many
or " Favorita" in the old days at Boston
when the supernumeraries were all from
our class. I was delighted to meet him,
presented him at once to my party, and
insisted on his going to Cairo with us.
He assented with the remark that he
could not be more bored there than he
had been at Suez. My companions ap
preciated his fine qualities, and, as they
grew better acquainted, were disposed
to " chaff" him a little about his eccen
tricities. Some time before we reached
our destination he had been telling us
his experiences on arrival in Egypt. He
had intended to go to Bombay, but had
changed his mind nt Suez the day before
we arrived.
" Fellows talked to me about grand
Cairo," said lie, " called it an epitome of
the "Arabian Nights," "Portal of the
Orient," and all that sort of thing. I
began to think that I might amuse my
self for a day there. Our steamer was
ate ; we were sent through bv express,
remaining ten minutes in the Cairo sta
tion ; and all that I saw of the " Portal of
the Orient," looking with sleepy eyes
through the window of the railway
carriage, wan tin Englishman in a tweed
euit and a sun-hat, standing before a re-
ine out: "Two
and sixpence for a bottle of sodawaterP
Gracious!'"
Soon after that he went to sleep, and
just as we rolled into the station I re
member that one of tho party awakened
him by shouting in his ear: "Passen
gers for Sodom and Gomorrah will
change cars!"
We had hardly time to see the mqsque
of Mehemct All and buy some attar of
roses, when we were hurried off to Alex
andria, so that our only sight of the
Pyramids was from the train. None of
us were "griffins," but those majestic,
structures command interest at all times,
and then wo had borrowed that won
derful book, "Our Inheritance in the
Great Pyramid," from tho captain of the
steamer, and read it carefully, so that we
were as enger as schoolboys. I shall never
forget the scene which ensued. We
were craning our necks to get the first
sight, and two or three of us cried out,
"There they are I" Manson had been
leaning back in his sent with an exr
pression of weariness on his countenance,
lie raised himself slightly with his
hands, took one look, nnd sank back in
his old place with the remark: "One
more sensation gone !"
It.
The summer of 186- was an unusually
hot one in China. Residents of Shang
hai passed their time in an artificial tem
perature produced by " punkahs" hung
over desks, dining-tables and beds in
deed, in every practical situation. The
despotic, implacable sun rose each morn
ing as if invigorated for a new career of
persecution, and mocked nt bamboo
shades, ' blinds nnd even tiled roofs.
Crews of vessels coming up the river
were driven from nloft, and strong men,
like theJShunamite boy in Scripture, cried
out, "My head! niyhead!" In the lat
ter part of September came the first re
lief cool nights ; then, at last, refreshing
days. I was dressing one morning, with
a serene satisfaction in the thought that
I might put on a flannel instead of a
linen coat, when my. " boy'! announced,
"One piecee gentleman hab got down
side; wantchee see you." Stretched out
on an extension-chair on the veranda I
found, on descending, my friend Manson.
Responoing to my delighted nnd surprised
greetings, lie told me that he had sud
denly made up his mind to visit the far
East, and had started without reflecting
that lie would reach India and houthern
China nt just the wrong time. He had
been nearly dead with heat, narrowly
escaped a sunstroke nt Canton, and was
caught in a typhoon between Manilla and
Hong Kong. I had a room made ready
for him, found him a good Canton ser
vant and introduced him at the club.
Ho was unanimously voted a success.
10 people as busy as we all were with
the new season's teas, a perfectly lazy
man was a refreshing spectacle; nnd his
languid indifference nnd dry conversa
tion were declared extremely " good
form."
In a few weeks I made up my mind to
take a two or three days' holiday nnd
enrry out a cherished plan of a boat
trip on the Ynngtsze, and Manson agreed
to accompany me. We had a large
house-boat" of Chinese model nnd rig
a fair sailer and very comfortable; and
our two Canton boys Ah Wing nnd Ah
How and our cook were sure to give
us good living. 1 was obliged, on ac
count of the illness of my " lowdah." or
captain, to engage a new one nt short
notice. 1 did not know much about him,
and did not like his looks, but 1 never
dreamed of nny trouble with him or the
crew which he ongnged. There was a
gun-rack in the cabin, and I hud put in
a couple of Enfield rifles belonging to
tho volunteers and two Sharp's rifles
from the hong, thinking that we might
compare their periorniance at a target.
Manson, to my amusement, added to the
armory an elephant rifle, carrying a
heavy ball, which he had brought from
Ceylon, and his own old Kentucky hunt
ing rifle, which he had been " backing,"
he said, agninst all others. I laughed at
this battery (little thinking what I was
to owe to it), and threw in a couple of
revolvers to complete our assortment.
I shall never forget the sail down the
Wongpoo, or Shanghai river, that plens-
nnt afternoon, lo appreciate the cool
breeze from the southwest one must
have endured the sufferings of the sum
mer, nnd it seemed to blow rather from
some breezy upland " at home," than
from the low-lying, damp paddy-fields
As we left the settlement behind I felt
like a boy having a lirst holiday, and
even fancied that the ordinary sunset re
minded me of some of the gorgeous ones
I had seen in more lavored latitudes
We passed Woosung and the dilapidated
earth-works below, rounded Paoushan
Point, nnd ran a long way before we an
chored for the night, in the morning
we were under way in good season, and
bore for the north snore. v e had our
coffee nnd toast, and were sittmg aft,
when Ah Wing, my favorite servant, as
clever and " plucky " a boy as ever wore
a pigtail, came atwto speak to me
" Master, said lie, "jussee now mi see
two piecee junk come. Mi thinkee he no
good iunk. Mi fear he b long lallee-loon
(they are ladrones or pirates). Mi askee
that lowdah he mouf no speakee ploppa
(his mouth does not answer me nrop
erly). He say iunk b'long he flen (is his
friend). Mi welly fear he no good man."
I ran forward and looked at the two
junks. We had changed our course and
were running west, with the wind on
our beam. They were coming toward
us, but both considerably to the north,
and one more so than the other. Their
character was unmisiaKaoie. as was the
expression on the lowdah's face. He spoke
a few words of pidgeon English, and on
my telling him to turn, said with a grin;
" jno wantcnee go back Mianghai."
There was not a moment to lose.
had not even time to explain matters to
Manson. It anything can make one
think and act quickly, it is the approach
of Chinese pirates. I jumped down the
companion-ladder, seized it large revol
ver, loaded and capped, concealed it un
der my coat, and told Ah Wing to come
forward with me. As I passed Manson.
who was coolly smoking, and asked no
questions, I whispered :
" Stand by the helm, and wait for the
word, in case of need.
I told Ah Wing, in as mild a tone as I
could command, to tell the lowdah that
he bariPmisunderstood me, and that
wanted him to turn around. He was off
his guard, and replied in a papid Chinese
sentence, and with a chuckle.
"He talkee no wantchee," said Ah
Wing.
Tho man was nothing to me nt that
moment but a mad dog. Why I did not
blow his brains out I do not know. I had
hacked up to the rail and could put my
hand on a sort of belaying pin. I think
I even calculated the force of the blow
that laid him out on the deck, before the
villainous gnu was off his face. The
were nve men in the crew. One was
steering, two I pitched down the little
hatch, which I secured.
The others.
thorough I
ghly frightened, did
as Ah Wing,
not a bad sailor himself, told them.
Manson put the helm hard down, and in
a moment we had come about, the sails
were drawing, and we were well to wind
ward, and under full headway. I gave
my revolver to Ah Wing, with directions
as to what lie was to do; and no " Cau
casian " could have obeyed more prompt
ly and intelligently. Wo dragged the
lowdah aft, and pinioned hands and feet,
in anticipation of his coming to himself.
Manson had tho helm, and I asked him
to give it to one of the crew. Ah Wing
was then told (and to this day, I re
member how curiously the pidgeon Eng
lish contrasted with the grim nature of
tho communication) to make it clear to
the helmsman, that if the boat went one
inch to leeward of her course, and to the
two sailors that if they moved, except
under orders, from the positions in which
they wore placed covered by tne revol
ver they were dead men.
" Yousnbeduef" fvou perfectly under
stand) I nsked Ah Wing.
lie was one ot the tew umnamen wno
have what tho plainsmen happily call
sand, or dogged grit, and I saw it in his
eye as he cocked the revolver and replied :
Alia lightec (all right)! mi can do."
" At your leisure,' said a cool voice,
"perhaps vou will tell me what this is
all about," Mid Manson lighted a fresh
cheroot. I explained to him that we
had barely escaped destruction by treach
ery, and were even then in a (lire strait.
We could not expect to sail as last as the
pirates, and our only hope was in their
being so far to leeward, and in range of
our rifles. I was perfectly sure of my
man. and there was positively none in
mv whole acquaintance whom I would
so readily have with me as my old friend,
the bhise, indifferent, dilettante Manson.
He shook me by the hand, and said in a
heery voice, wholly unlike Ins ordinary
one:
All right, old fellow, we'll beat
them."
A more impetuous though eouallv
brave man would have been far less effi
cient. Indeed, nothing could have been
finer than his behavior. The rifles, six
in number, were brought up and laid side
by side on the top of the cabin. Ah How
told me that he "sabe loadee that gun,"
and to my great surprise, our old fat
cook ("Buddha," we used to call him,
as his countenance expressed the idea of
eternal silence and rest) volunteered his
services in this line as well. Then we
settled down to ourwork.no old Paladin
or Viking ever more collected and delib
erate, and at the same time showing more
of the (jawlium ccrtaminis than our old
used-up, bored member of the class of
185-. Could we keep those junks out of
iingal range until we reached a place of
safety? They had high sterns, and the
steersman could be plainly seen. Man
son took his Kentucky rifle, knelt down
:iway aft and aimed slowly and careful-
y. Almost simultaneously 1 succeeded
n "drawing a bead" on a large man in
the bow of the junk nearer to us. Just
as the rifles cracked she fell off visibly
and lost way before the dead steersman
could be replaced, nor was the large man
again visible.
" I am afraid I can't do as well with
the elephant rifle," said Manson, " but I
can try. Let us both fire continually at
the steersmen." vc did so, with vary
ing success. Ah How nnd the cook
loaded rapidly nnd well, but the rifles
were soon somewhat heated, nnd the
ireech-loadcrs missed fire several times.
The junks were heavily manned and
could quickly fill the places of those
whom we shot. Thev nlso arranged
some kind of protection for the helms
men, although we pierced it more than
once. 1 began to feel terribly wolhsli.
and so filled with rage nt our antago
nists that 1 could only with dilhculty
control myself sufficiently to aim delib
erately: but my friend never showed
signs ot an acceleration ot his pulse. As
regular as clock-work he took the gun
from the Chinamen, and never fired a
second before his aim was perfect.
We rested a short time at last to take a
survey of the situation, and could not
disguise from ourselves that it was ser
ious. The junks were nearer, nnd we
were still quite a long way from Paou
shan. There was nothing for it but to
go to work again, and we did. For ten
minutes or more wo kept up an inces
sant fire, nnd, although we evidently
did much damage, the distance between
us and them had been perceptibly les
sened. We must soon expect to hear
the report of jingals. It came in a
moment more, nnd the clumsy ball fell
but little short of us. Manson turned to
me, still cheery and cool.
"I believe there is a foreigner there,"
said he, "who is directing and inspiring
them. He has escaped us thus far. if
I can get a sight ( ( him and can hit him,
I believe we shall get rid of this junk.
Since you picked off that last steersman
of the hindmost one, she has fallen off
decidedly. Well, that is not so bad,"
he continued, asajingal ball struck the
mast. He asked All How to let him
load the Kentucky rifle hiirself, and
measured out the oowder, wrapped the
ball in a scrap or buckskin and rammed
it carefully home. Then he knelt down
and watched his chance. All this time
Ah Wing had kept his eyes and the re
volver on the steersman, and our boat
had done her best. Thejingal balls
were netting uncomfortably frequent.
nnd it was only .a small satisfaction to
me to have sent an Enfield bullet
through the head of one gunner, just as
ho was getting ins signt. ah at once I
heard the report of Manson's rifle and
the quiet remark irom him :
"llabet "
T saw the iunk fall off, saw manifest
confusion on board, saw an opening for
two or three good shots, and had seized
a fresh irun, when I heard Ah How
Cl'V
J , , . . 11--
' Master, IiaD got steamer, weny
npnr " '
Hardly one of us had glanced ahead
for half an hour. As for the steersman
and the crew, they had clearly but one
tliurtif nnd that was to save their
heads. It was with a strange feelingof
relief and satisfaction that I saw 11. M.
gunboat Petulant puffing along toward
us. Tn five minutes she was alongside,
and I saw my friend Lieutenant Gra
ham's jolly face over her rail.
"What the deuce is the row, old fel
low?" he asked in a perplexed way. I
n-rrJnSnprl m briefly as nossible, and told
him that I thought we had almost fin
ished the job, but he was welcome to
it. He could hardly wait
"You won't come with us, then?
Wall rrd-hve. old fellow. See you in
oi.'..Pi Vnll Briwil ahead! Beat to
quarters! Look sharp now, and clear
away the bow-gun !" ,
In less than five minutes we heard its
report, and the shot cfash into the
junk's side. We had had fighting
enough for that day and concluded to
push on for home, The lunks had pone
about, but we knew that they were
doomed, nnd the roar of the broadside
soon informed us that it would be quick
work. Ah Wing never moved. He
would have kept that revolver pointed
nt the Chinnmen until doomsday, had I
not told him that he might put it awny.
Ah How and "Buddha" took tho
guns below, nnd made everything tidy,
nnd we had hardly rounded Paoushan
Point when Ah Wing came up nnd said:
" That cook makce enquire what thing
you likee chow chow eat;.
T , ' 1 1 i ll.. 4 1, n
We had a jolly dinner the next night.
Lieutenant Graham and a couple of his
officers came just in time. They had
handed the survivor oi me .junKS crews
over to the Chinese authorities, in whose
care our rascally lowdah also was. They
had made short work of their fight, and
had no casualties. When the cloth was
removed, I tried to get Manson to make a
speech, but the only thing I could get
him to say was that he was never less
bored in his life than during the skirm
ish. I have not seen him for years. He
drifts between the Old and the New
World, and when I last wrote to him I
quoted Hawthorne's expression about
tne danger of doing so until the only in
heritance left him in either was the six
feet for his final resting-place. But, as
I had before insisted to my group in the
smoking-room, it is a great mistake to
judge by appearances, nnd I am surer of
nothing than that I shall never see a
finer fellow, on this side of Jordan, than
my friend, the man without enthusiasms.
Scribner.
Slightly Sarenstlc.
Tho professor of geolory and miner
alogy came along after the hard fisted
miners had found a rich gold mine nnd
said he: "There is no doubt but that
gold is here in large quantities. If you
find it rich it will pay." This was in
California.
A little before this some hardy pro
spectors loaded a little mule with flour,
bacon and tools. They traveled many
miles north and finally found a rich
mine in Cariboo. The professor of
geology nnd mineralogy cune along and
said : " Everything hereabouts, judging
from the formation of the country and
the gangue rock indicates the existence
of gold." .Then the miners forgot that
they had discovered the gold themselves
and they gave nil the credit and bowed
down before the professor, ihen some
miners went south to Arizona, and alter
starving for witnt of food nnd choking
wiui inusi. aim a iu oi uieu mnmier
being toasted head downward by the
Apaches, they lound a ricii silver mine.
Shortly afterward dow c.vme the professor,-
and said he : " Tho metamorphie
and plutonic rocks hereabout certainly
point to the existence of argentiferous
ores." And as usual the diners and all
around about forget they had discovered
the mine, nnd gave all the credit to the
professor. Well, he followed those
simple miners around to Utah, New
Mexico, Pike's Peak, Nevada and Fraser
river, and everywhere they dug first he
came afterward, looked down the hole,
with a book under his arm, said some
hard words, nnd everybody straightway
said he had found the mine and that no
mine could be a true vtin until it had
icon scientifically dedicated by a pro
fessor. New York Graphic. '
Humnn Tlorns.
There are certain tisagrceable people
in this world who seem to take a special
delight in annoying others by reminding
them ot things they Wiiiul willingly for-
;et. they are humin thorns, lorever
torturing their fMlow-men for the sake of
torture, lias a man met with a misfor
tune in business, they are forever recall
ing the fact, lias a man in times that
are gone wandered Into devious paths,
they nre forever raninding him of it.
often by congratulating him that that is
past, lias a man Uundered, they nre
orever telling him what "might have
icon." W hen the thorn is ol the mnscu
lino gender, there is one way of getting
elief. lie can be lnocked down and
taught manners. Whm the thorn is of the
feminine gender, the case is dillerent and
not so easily disposed of. But t'auseur
hears of one such scourge in petticoats
who got her deserts trie other evening,
It was at a little partv. where some score
of people where gathered together. The
thorn sat near a young man who, in days
gone by, had been guilty of foliies that
cost him dearly. He had put them all
behind him. But the thorn took occa
sion to recall them, in a subdued and
confidential tone. The victim, who had
been subjected to the same torture before,
spoke un so that all could hear:
"Madam," he said, "lor nve years 1
have been trying to forget all that. You
have been trying to remember it. You
have succeeded better than I. I congratu
late you." The thorn subsided.
Kessenger's Komicalities.
A lover ol a certain cut ot beetsteak is
like a plucky prize-fighter, always ready
ior anouier rounu.
The most economical man is reported as
living in the second ward. He took a
bung-hole to the cooper to have a barrel
made around it.
An exchnnge asks: "Why do the horns
of a cow grow up nnd the tail down?" We
suppose it is because the horns do not grow
down and the tail does not grow up. If this
is noi uie answer w give it up.
A Roman savs he has figured out the
cauHe of the failures that overtake business
men. When he went to school he waB
taught that the world was the shape of an
orange round, but a little flattened at the
r idles. J le says that is where the trouble
ies. If the world had not been flattened
at the poles everything would have gone on
all right.
A painter, who had already put seven
coats of paint on the walls, remonstrated
with the lady of the house because she
wanted him to put on another coat, just to
change the tint a little. hy not put on
more?" she said. "What will be the
harm?" "Well, madam, if you keep on,
you will take up all the room with paint,
and then you will have no space for your
furniture." Butehe insisted, and at last ac
counts he was still painting. Home Sentinel.
A fnur vaava anr1 anl . m n,,li nm
JLnio " " flUlll
know to-day, a placard in the bedrooms
of a large hotel at Prague stated that
"Guests are requested to communicate
to the landlord all complaints arising on
thier sides." At Pesth to-day a placard
in a much-frequented inn announces:
" Gentlemen are requested not to flatter
the female servants on the stairs, as many
.!... 1 . 1 1 l , .. -
uisiics nave inus uu oroKen.
Eminent counsel" Yes, gentlemen of
tne jury, you win on, l know you will
restore my persecuted client to the arms
of his wife and little ones, who " The
court" i our client is a bachelor."
TIMELY TOPIC.
Three years ago an Englishman named
Hebron was convicted of murder, nnd
narrowly escaped the scaffold. The man
Place, who was hung recently, confessed
that he had committed the murder for
which Hebron was undergoing punish
ment: and now the British government
is taking steps to compensate Hebron for
the wrong done to him by the law.
When the Union forces were captured
at Plymouth, N. C, during the war, the
colors of the Sixteenth Connecticut reg
iment were torn up and distributed
nmonsr the officers nnd men to save theln
from the Confederates. Many who had
these relics were taken to Southern
prisons, out tiiey Kept inoir trusts care
fully. It is now proposed to gather as
many of these pieces as possible, arrange
them in suitable form and place them
iimong the other colors at the State
House.
The death of Mme. Bonaparte and the
story of her marriage that it naturally
revi ves brings to mind the French mar
riage laws. It will be remembered that
the nearest she could come to getting her
son legitimized was the official declara
tion that he was "a legitimate son of
France." This was rather more vague
than satisfactory ; and the occasion is a
fit one to call to mind the perils of mar
rying a Frenchman. No Frenchman
can marry without the consent of his
parents, or, if they are dead, of his
grandparents. If ho is over twenty-five,
and they refuse, he may send them,
through a public notary, three respectfully-written
requests two weeks apart,
and then the mayor can authorize him
to proceed. If. however, he is a person
of political prominence, this publicity of
ianiuy uinerences is mci-iy miouiueii uy
custom, nnd the scandal of such pub
licity must be avoided by the abandon
ment of the proposed marriage. That is,
the greater man the son is, the greater
is the hold ot ins parents upon him.
In a memorial to Congress relative to
the coming census of the United States,
the superintendent of the census of 1800,
Mr. Kennedy, gives the following statis
tics as nn illustration of the stupendous
results from a single hive of bees, trans
ported to the Pacific coast less than
thirty years ago. From the single county
of San Diego, California, in 1870 there
Was shipped the astonishing figure of
i or,n nnn nminilR Tn 1877 tln were in
that county 23,000 colonies of bees, nnd
m one tlnv. Mentcm her 0. 1878. there were
shipped from that port 78 barrels, 1.053
cases and 18 tons; and that from and in
cluding July 17 to November 10, 1878,
less than lour months, that one count v
exported over 1,000 barrels, U,5"ll cases
and nearly 20 tons. He who would
drike out (from the census report) the
item of honey, could not have known.
so great has the interest in this product
become, that many people in tjalilornia
have from 500 to 1,000 hives, nnd that
over 100 people in one county have each
more than 100 colonies ot noes. Accord
ing to the Txmdon Ac of January. 18,
there arrived in November at Liverpool
80 tons of honey, the product of the bees
ol one individual, nnd that a Mr. Hodge,
in the first week of January last, landed
100 tons at a lxmdon wharf, the produ.-t
of California. Tho nnnual product of
honey has grown to 35,000,000 pounds
annually.
A new experiment in surgery has been
tried in the New York Charity Hospital,
where two ounces of humnn' milk were
injected into the veins of a female
patient suffering from several abscesses.
At the conclusion ot the operation the
doctor in charge said : " The patient
will sutler no harm from the operation.
and possibly she may bo benefited.
However, I think that I have seen
enough to convince me that the trans
fusion of milk should be abandoned ns
nn unsuccessful operation. I think we
will stick to blood hereafter." Another
patient, also a young woman, was then
subjected to the operation of blood trans
fusion. She was in the last stage of
consumption. The blood was furnished
by a strong male attendant at the. hos
pital, who had already been bled four
times in the same cause. He warned tho
doctor that this was the last time that ho
would consent to the operation, saying
he was getting too old to bo able to spare
any blood. About three ounces of blood
were drawn from his arm, and the oper
ator delibrinatod it bv stirring it with
a glass rod and straining it through a
piece ot linen. Ammonia was then
mixed with the blood to prevent it from
coagulating, nnd wire was taken to main
tain the temperature at the normal
standard. Then a vein was opened in
the patient, and the blood injected
A Bath in the Dead Sea.
A correspondent, after bathing in the
Dead Sea, describes his experience in the
following words: The water, which is
quite clear, and nearly the color of the
Niagara river below the falls, seemed to
hie a little more bitter nnd salty than that
ol salt lake, although brighter and more
attractive to the eye when s .en close nt
hand. Its supporting power struck mens
a little greater, also, than that of Salt
lakeas the body floated more easily, and
the difficulty of swimming was greater
on account of the inability to keep one's
feet under water. So large a quantity of
salt is held in solution that the water has
what is called. I believe, a "ropy" ap
pearance, much like that of a ulate of
well-made tanioca soup. 1 observed.
however, that when we civmo out of the
water there was not so large a deposit of
salt crystals on the body as alter a bath
in Salt lake and the feeling of the skin.
instead ot being dry and prickly as 1 ex
pected, was rather oily and sticky. ' Our
dinner that night was seasoned with salt
made from Head Sea water bv solar
evaporation. It was a little lighter in
color than the best article of brown sugar
Its ervstals wero larco and hard. and.
though foreign substances were evidently
present in considerable quantity, it was
not unpleasant to the taste. 1 was told
that two quarts of water will produce
one quart of salt, but this is probably an
exaggeration. To complete the statistics
of this remarkable body of water, I may
add. what manv ot mv readers mav al
ready know that there is no living tiling
ot any kind in it: that even the drift
wood brought down by the floods in the
Jordon is speedlv cast upon its shores :
that its length is about forty-five nnd its
greatest width about ten miles; that it is
over 1.300 feet at its deepest point: and
that the immense quantity of fresh water
poured into it daily is undoubtedly taken
ud bv evaporation, as its great depth be
low the basin of the Mediterranean must
FJt'
reclude the idea of a subterranean out-
et.
A paper looks well in a morning wrap.
per when it goes to tne postoiuce.
FARM, GARDEN A5D HOUSEHOLD.
STUAWiifcitut .TkM.y. Soak it box of
gelatine in cold water, sny one
pint. When thoroughly softened, ndd
five ounces of white sugar, two
quarts .of strawberry syrup, and
put over tne uro until tne genuine is
perfectly dissolved. Pour from the ket
tel into molds or small jars, nnd you
have a most beautiful nnd pleasantly
flavored jelly. This recipe is meant for
cool weather; if Used In summer, re
duce the quantity of syrup by one-half.
Stuawiikkhy Sykui. Make a syrup
In tho proportion of three pounds
of sugar to half a pint of water
Boil nnd skim until clear. Have ready
the strained juice of field strawberries.
Allow two nnd a half pints of strawber
ry juice to the half pint of water. After
you ndd this, let it boil hard for not more
than five minutes. Take it from the fire
before it looses its fine color, and pour
hot into self-sealing glass jars. This
syrup preserves even the odor of the fresh
strawberry when opened months after
ward, nnd flavors ice-cream delightfully.
With the nddition of a little bit of poke
berry jelly, tho delusion is perfect; you
fancy that you nre enjoying fresh straw
berry cream. No sweetening is needed
for the cream but what is supplied by
the syrup.
STitAwnEiuiY Tapioca. This makes
a most delightful dessert. Soak over
night a largo toacupful of tapi
oca in cold water; in the morning put
half of it in a yellow-ware baking-dish,
or in tho porcelain one of a silver pudding-dish.
Sprinkle sugar over the tapi
oca; then on this put a quart of berries,
sugar, nnd the rest of the tapioca. Fill
the dish with water, which should
cover tho tapioca about a quarter of an
inch. Bake in a moderately hot oven
until it looks clear. Eat cold, with cream
or custard. If not sweet enough, ndd
more sugar nt table, and in baking, if it
seems to dry, more water is needed. A
similar dish may be made, using peaches,
pared and sliced, instead of strawberries.
Pineapples, pared and grated, are also
excellent with tapioca.
STltAWIiF.liltY Shoutcake. This makes
a very nice nddition to the tea
table, or can bo used as a dessert
Take one quart of sifted flour, stir very
thoroughly into it half a teaspoonful of
carbonate ot soda; then one teaspoonlul
of cream of tartar must be well mixed
into it. a tablesnoonful of butter, one
teaspoon fill of salt, nbout a cofl'ee-cupful
ot water. Jt is best mixed with a Kline.
cutting it through nnd through, nnd if
possible do not put your hands into it
except in rolling it out. The mass should
be as moist as you can well manage.
Roll it smoothly out, making two round
cakes of about half nn inch in thickness.
Bake in a quick oven. When done, split
the cake open : put the slices in a large
dish; butter them ; cover each slice with
berries and sugar; finally making tho
berries the top layer. Pour cream over
all.
I'agtitres Green,
The practice is fast gaining ground all
over the country of seeding down for
permanent pastures a variety ot grasses
instead of heavily sowing one or two
favorite sorts only. Grasses are selected
which possess the property of springing
up rapidly alter having been bitten down
and resisting the tramping ot cattle.
The selection is nlso made with a view
to a succession of ripening crops rather
than of varieties which blossom to
gether, ns in fields to be mown, that the
stock may be supplied throughout the
year with such grasses as will be young,
tender and succulent. This arrangement
is quite practicable, inasmuch ns there
is no month of spring or summer in
which some ol tho grasses do not attain
perfection the month of March ex
eepted. Again, care is observed that
the varieties nre suitable to the land
for which they are designed.
As in meadows, so in pastures, clover
should bo a constituent. It will, it is
true, disappear in two or three vears.
leaving other grasses in possession of the
'round, but not until it has accomplished
incalculable bencht. isiuo grass, especi
ally on light, dry soils, is highly recoil
mended for pasture; meadow foxtail
early and rapid in growth, is otherwise
desirable. Orchard grass is ono of tho
most valuable of all grasses, comini
earlier in spring and remaining later in
autumn twan any other. Ked-top
grass is an excellent permanent grass
as is crested dog s tail, ihe grasses re.
commended for lawns add further do
sirable varieties for pastures,
A mixture lor permanent pasture nd
vised by Flint ns certain to repny in
the ndditional yield for the greater orig
inal outlay lor tho seeds, consists of
yellow oat grass, one pound : meadow
foxtail, hard fescue, tali fescue, meadow
fescue, red top, J une grass, wood meadow
grass nnd rough-stalked meadow grass,
two pounds each ; timoth v.three pounds
orchard grass, four pounds; white
clover, five pounds: Italian rve grass,
six, nnd perennial ryo grass, eight
pounds. Commissioner Killcbrew.
his book on " The Grasses of Tennessee,
furnishes the following list of long-trie
pasture grasses as an aid to inexperi
enced larmers: Kentucky blue grass,
wire grass, spear grass, rough-stalkei!
meadow, orchard grass, meadow fescue,
meadow toxtail, sweet-scented .verna
grass and white clover
Tho importance of having the groun
well tilled nnd thoroughly prepared by
liberal manuring before seeding down
is too evident to need remark. Rules
pertaining to the time and manner of
sowing meadows are equally applicable
to pasture, with tho exceptions already
made apparent. New York World.
Itose Culture.,
One of tho first secrets of success with
the rose in guarding against its several
persistent inseet enemies, such as the
rose-bug, green-fly, rose-slug, etc., is to
keep the plant healthy and in vigorous
growth. To insure this, a rich soil is in
dispensable. Ix't it ho composed ot old
decomposed sods or thoroughly rotted
manure, ihis earth should never be
permitted to bake; but should be kept
h... l-l- l r -a; 'i' 1 . i t
ii iaiuo uy iiequeni suiring. 4 lie npins,
or green-ny, nr&t attacks tne young,
tender shoots, feeding upon their juices.
The pests may be killed by placing a
barrel over the Infested plant and burn
ing tobacco in a flower-pot or other
vessel underneath. The rose-slug, that
green-bodied, jelly-like pest that feeds
upon the surface of the leaves, leaving
only the veins nnd ribs, mav be kept in
severe check, if not destroyed, by dusting
the plant with fine coal ashes. ' The
rose-bugs may bo brushed off into a pail
of water, or picked off separately by
hand and destroyed. As much as lias
been written about th culture of the
rose and about the insect enemies and
their destruction, the aliove, in our ex
perience, embodies the whole story.
liurat New Xorker
t'helldonisma.
Chelldonisma is the swallow song, an
old popular song of the return oi tn
swallows, which the boys of Rhode
went about singing, of which the retrain
meant, "He has come, has come the
Wallow 1" It is reported by Atheneous
about A. D. 200.
Hark ! Hark to hear
The burst of cheer
That brings again the budding year !
Through air, through earth,
liosounds tho mirth,
And hills ring with tho merry birth;
Tho swallow chirps his twittering tone,
And tho Rhodian lads prolong
With minstrel strain thoir jocund song
Ilelth', helthe, chelidon.
Adown tho vales,
The dingles, dales,
The breath of melody exhales;
And happy lanes and proud-pied plains
Swell ont the pomp of glad refrains J
And hark ! abovo tho swallows' tone
Ilelth', helthe, chelidon.
Glad chanticleer
Chants out his cheer,
His paen piping to the year;
The boys' blithe voice
Makes mirth its choice,
And all the happy hills rejoice.
Hark ! Listen to the swallows' tone
Hclth', helthe, chelidon.
Tho earth's great heart,
With throb and start,
In universal joy takes part j
And clouds that fly
Athwart the sky
Couching in fleecy clusters lie;
And oh ! how sweet the swallows' tune
Helth', helthe, chelidon.
The spring, tho spring
Makes Nature sing,
And life and love are on the wing,
And lads and lasses caroling;
Solt in mid-air the swallows' tone
On earth
Helth', helthe, chelidon.
Harper' Magazine.
ITEMS OF IMEREST.
Prime butter A billy goat.
The combing man The hairdresser.
It is better to give than to receive a
bill.
It is the duty of gate posts to stand by
each other.
The train of night is stopped by the
break of day.
A rule of arnica comes in with the
base ball season.
Gauze derives its name from Gaza,
where it was made.
In a circus procession the man in the
van may bo in the rear.
T'lirty-six different kliuio or fish re
aught at Muscatine, Iowa.
There is tartc in England of a company
for insurance against, blindness.
The wav to n.ako potatoes come up is
to take them by the tops and pull them
"P- ...
Ruling passions nre strong in death.
The last movement a mule makes is a
kick.
Tho legislature of Delaware divorced
thirty-four married couples nt its recent
session.
T wonder whatimakes my eyes so
weak," said a fop to a gentleman. "They
are in a weak place," responded the lat
ter. Mistletoe bough The involuntary bow
vminor man makes when obliged to
mizzle in advance of the too of her angry
parent s boot.
Tim Vow York 7i'raM savs : " hince
the wealthy young lady fell in love with
and married the driver oi a Dixuiaciun-.
car, all the drivers on the various lines
go to work in the morning with a clean
shave and with shining boots."
Men arc capable of taking a peculiar
kind of revenge against tho women who
nre weak enough to believe them perfect.
For a few months before marriage they
sue for the lady's hand, but for all the
years after marriage she is compelled to
sew for them.
The people of Pctrolia, Pa., recently
witnessed the unusual spectacle of seeing
nn oil train shoot through the town with
tho rapidity of lightning and a number
of the cars on fire. With considerable
difficulty the balance of the train was
saved iust beyond the town.
The man who eats gooso eggs for the
championship of America lives in Indi
ana, where human industry is more than
ordinarily diversified. This man de
voured twenty-four consecutive soft
boiled goose eggs in twenty-four consecu
tive minutes, and at the conclusion of
this genteel entertainment he offered to
eat a goose also. Unfortunately,
nature has made no arrangement ly
which this champion could eat himself,
and his last proposition couldn't be en
ter! ai ned .1 'h ihulelph ia Times .
During the prevalence of a gale in
Virginia City, Nev., recently, tall pillars
of sand were to be sen waltzing about
on the deserts far to the eastward, show-
ng that things were also rather wild that
way. At times such ciouns oi uuss rose
above the desert that the Humboldt
ange nnd other high mountains in that
direction were hidden from view. No
doubt any one who might have happened
to be out on these deserts would nave
found the entertainment but ittle infe-
ior to that afforded by the salnd storms
of the great desert of Sahara.
SlipperVThrorring.
The ancient custom of throwing an
old slipper after the bride as she leaves
i i ' . ; 11 s i i
licr iiomt) is tun m iimny piacca re
lieved to bring luck to the happy couple.
But it may be a question whether the
old shoe was thrown for luck only. It
is stated in Holy. Writ that "the re
ceiving of a shoe was an evidence and
symbol of rejecting or resigning it."
The latter is evidence in Deuteronomy,
twenty-nun cuapier, wnere the cere
mony of a widow rejecting her hus
band's brother in marriage is by loosing
his shoe from off his foot. And in Ruth
we are told that " it was tho custom in
Israel concerning changing that a man
plucked off his shoe and delivered it to
his neighbor." Hence the throwing of
a shoe after a bride was a symbol of re
nunciation of dominion and authority
over her by her father or guardian, ana
the receipt of the shoe by the bride
groom, even if accidental, was an omen
that the authority was transferred to
him.