The Elk County advocate. (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, October 23, 1879, Image 1

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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL DESPEEANDUM.
Two Dollars oer Annum.
VOL. IX.
RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY; PA., THUKSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1879.
NO. 35.
My Lovers.
I have four noble lovers.
Young and giillnnt, blitbe and gny,
And in all the land no maiden
Hath a goodlier troupe than thoy!
And nev cr prineess, guarded
By hnig.ii 8 ol high degree,
Knew sweeter, purer homage
Than my lover, pay to me!
One ol my noble lovers
Is a self-poised, thoughtiul man,
Gravely gay, serenely earnest,
Strong to do, and bold to plan!
And otitis sweet and sunny,
Pure as crystal, true as steel,
WitbT a soul responding ever
When the truth makes high appeal!
And another ol my lovers,
Bright and debonair is he,
Brave and ardent, strong and tender,
And she flower ol courtesy!
I.nst ol all, an eager student,
Upon lofty aims intent!
Manly iorce and gontle sweetnoss
In his naturo rarely blont!
But when ol noble lovers
All alike aro dear and trno,
And her hoart to chooso rcluses,
Fray, what can a woman do T
Ah, my sons! for this 1 bless ye,
Even as I myselt am blest,
That I know not which is dearest,
That I care not which is blest!
Julia Dorr.
RANKIN BROTHERS.
A KEMAUKAUI.E l'ASSAUE IN THE HIS
TORY OF THE HUM.
Harry Rankin was married. His
elder brother nnd senior partner, George
Rankin, now, for the first time, fully
realized the fact. True, lie had that
very mornin ; arrayed himself in un
wonted finery, had cone to church in
an uncommonly solemn frame of mind,
and assisted at the wedding. He had
even gone go far lvs t0 print a brotherly
kiss upon the lips of the bride, as site
and Harry set out on'thcir bridal tour.
Still ho had not fully mast red the fact
that Harry Rankin was married until
now. lie poked his tiro into a blaze
and planted his chair fairly in front of
it, by way ol asserting ins sole occu
pancy of the hearth. Around him were
all the bachelors' traps that he ant'
Harry h:ui accumulated during their
long joint tenancy of the room, lie did
not inventory tln-ni in his mind he did
not sec tln'in, for he was looking at the
lire still they were there, and lie knew
thev were ihrre and fed- their influence.
He felt that the room would never be n
homo again nothing but a hermitage
This is worse than having a tootl
drawn. Bant he to litmseJt. it wns
dull enough 'here with him, after ho got
to prosing eternally about Eva, and
both 'ling me with his ground plans for
cottage houses. I thought I should h
clad when it would all be over, and I
should have heard the last of Eva nnd
double parlors and winding stairs, but
now that it is over ami 1 nave heard tin
last of it, I don't seem to be very lively
The old den will never be itself again.
The firm of Rankin brother is dissolved
so far as this place is concerned
shall have to carry on this branch of tlx
establishment alone. I suppose I shali
fctuseti 10 it auer awinic, out jusi now
feel like a fellow's left leg when tin
surgeon carries oil the right one in
sack. I ought to write three or four
letters to night, but there's no use in my
trying to do anything. If I do I won't
accomplish as much as a bluebottle fly
on a wooden god's nose. I shall have to
resort to opium, or chloroform, or
Joscpkus, or something, to get to sleep
in this haunted chamber to-night."
With these choerlul reflections and
many others of the same sort, lie whiled
away the evening until about nine
o'clock, when the solitude became bo
oppressive that lie sallied forth, stick in
hand, and .walked by starlight until
about eleven o'clock, after which ho
turned in and slept soundly
The interesting event mentioned in the
above paragraphs did n""t prevent the
- - i . -r i. - c t i .
senior nii'iu ijt;i ui tue juuj uj inimui
brothers from resuming his uniform
routine of habits nnd duties the next
morning. At precisely eight o'clock.
his long-established breakfast hour, lie
took las accustomed chair at the hotel
table, and was supplied with his Im
memorial breakfast of toast, coffee and
medium boiled eggs
The rustling ol a lady's dress called
his attention from his breakfast to the
opposito side of the table. There sat
his brother's bride,
"Why, Eva," said he, "you here?
Did vou miss the boat? Where's Harry ?"
"Sir!" said the lady, with u stare of
unutterable astonishment.
" How does it happen that you didn't
gel oft'? You had ample time to reach
the boat. Did the carriage break down
n Hio wav to the landing.'1" said Mr
Rankin, a little discomposed by the
nniMzerl look of the lady, it is true, but
Btill confident' that he was addressing
his brother's wile.
By this time the lady began to see the
true state oi me case.
" You mistake me for some other per
crn 11 fln.M she.
It was now Mr. Rankin's turn to be
amazed. The lady before him bo ex
nr-tlv rnsemhled his brother's bride in
J- every line of her face and figure, every
trick of countenance, lip and eye. that
? lio felt more disposed to doubt her sanity
j? :i than her identity. There was the same
.iirbt. lithe figure, the same smooth
brown hair, the self-same hazel eye, the
identical high, clear loreneau ana petite,
w criivitiiplln lower face.
" Can it be possible that I am mis
taken? " said lie. " I took you for my
brother's wife. The resemblance
most extraordinary, and if there be any
dissimilarity in your personal appear
ance and here I cannot perceive it. 1
.i.in't believe I should ever learn to dis
tinguish you. Your voice, even, is the
vprv counterpart of hers."
An old gentleman, who was seated by
the young lauy, iieie vuua. up mo cuurcr
ant-inn.
" My daughter," said he, " has been
, annoyed oy me unusual aegree oi atten
tion she has received since she came
here last evening. lier every move
ment has been watched by several curi
ous people. Probably the resemblance
nuniA
.markable resemblance could hardlv
exist in the absence oi any family rela
tionship.
" The lady I referred to," said Mr,
you speak oi nan ueceiveu outers as wen
as yourself. May I inquire the maiden
nftneiauy juu nueas oir oucn a
Rankin, " was called Eva Noble until
yesterday, when she was married to my
brother. She is the only child of Judge
Noble of this city. By the way," con
tinued he, brightening up as a new
thought struck him, " I have heard
that Eva had a twin sister wno was lost
in the woods here when a mere, babe,
mst able to run about. That was long
before I came here. The site of this
city was then a wilderness for the most
pars, xne Btory goes uiat wi n iams "
strayed off into the forest, that search
was made for her many days in vain,
until her discovery, alive or dead was
despaired of, and that no vestige or
trace of her was ever found."
" Did vou ever hear the first name of
this lost child mentioned?" said the
old gentleman.
' I may have heard it. but I have for
gotten it if ever I did. "
Here a lady boarder at tno same tabic,
who had been an attentive listener to the
whole conversation, cleared her throat
and interposed.
" The name oi tne lost cnua, saia
she, " was Ella, I have heard Mrs.
Noble and the judge speak of her many
times. "
Mv dear. " said the old gentleman to
the young lady, " I'm afraid I shall have
to give you up at last. " Then turning
to Mr. Rankin, he said:
" When this young lady was apparent
ly about three years of age, she was
found with a family of Indians in Cen
tral New York, where I then resided.
The Indians claimed to have found her
in the woods, lost and nearly famished,
many days Journey, as they said, to the
westward. They professed to be will-
nsr to give her ud to anv white person
who would take lier and take care of
her. They had plenty of children of
their own, so they said, ana no oc-
asion to steal other people's. Hav
ing no children of our own, my wife
and I were glad to adopt the littlo stran
ger. When she was about twelve years
old my wifo died, nnd since then she
ind I have got along together as well
is we could. Her clothing when
she came to us was marked 'Ella N.' in
several plnces. It was badly worn nnd
soiled, but my wife carefully preserved
t, thinking it mtgiit lead to lier identi
fication. You have it with you, have
you not, Ella?"
i cs, sir, " said tne young lady, re
treating to her room with evident emo
tion.
There were about a dozen people at
the table, most of them regular board-
rs and residents of the city. When the
strange young lady made her appear
ance among them, they Had all sup
posed that she was Harry Kan kin s
bride, nnd were on the qui vivo to ac
count lor lier appearance tnereand then
with a strange old gentleman. Of
i urse thev were eager listeners to the
ibove conversation, and of course the
lews of the probable discovery of Judge
Noble's long-lost daughter, and her
marveious likeness to her supposed sis
ter, traveled fast. The lady who had
volunteered to give the first name of the
lost child was at Judge Noble's house at
the earliest possible moment, and the
judge and his lady were at the hotel in
less than nail an Hour from the time
when Mr. Rankin sat down to break
fast. The young lady's history, and her
uarvelous likeness to their remaing
daughter, would have satisfied them
that she was their child, if the little
garments in which she iiad been found
had been not preserved. These Mrs.
Noble instantly n cognized as her own
handiwork; nnd her husband and the
old strange gentleman smiled nnd ex
changed glances when they "heard the
mother apologizing to the daughter for
tne coarseness oi ner miant wardrobe.
You see, my daughter." said the
f.ood lady, " tho country was new then.
and the ways of the people very plain
and primitive. There was but one store
here, and that a very small affair no
dressmakers, no milliners, no nothing.
l our father was not rich. We kept no
servants. I was a young mother with
no experienc, and with a double por
tion of work and care that is, you un
derstand, you and your sister were
twins. You and she could spoil more
good clothes than any one woman could
make and keep in order. That's why
you happened to have on such coarse
little things when you were lost."
" This Western world has changed a
good deal since that time," said the old
gentleman, "ouch a loss and finding
would bo simnlv impossible now.
The newspapers would herald the child's
disappearance, in all its known particu
lars, from one end of tho land to the
other. Now about these little clothes.
My wife was greatly impressed with
their original elegance, though they
came to her hands badly sailed nnd tat
tered, one was especially struck with
the fact that each article was marked as
it was."
" The little one's clothing was marked
with her nrst name in lull at my sugges
tion." explained the judge. "You see.
sir, the two children were so exactly
alike mat nooody dud tneir mother
could distinguish tnem and it is my
belief that she was sometimes mistaken.
So we had everything belonging to them
marked witn tneir nrst names in lull,
to avoid contusion. "
"May I inquire." continued the.iudge.
" the name of the gentlemm to whom
we are so deeply indebted?"
"I am Jonas Cummings, the origin'
ator of the railroad which first brought
your city into notice, as I am vain
enough to believe. You and I have
been occasional correspondents these
many years, though we now meet for
the nrst time."
"And father," said the voung lad v.
now for the first time taking an animated
paj't in tho conversation, and blushing
and stammering over her difficulty in
calling a strange gentleman "father,"
"if you only knew how kind he has been
to me, you wouldn't blame me. even
now that I have found my true father
and mother. He has SDoiled me with
his indulgence, as you will find, I am-
airaia. i win try to be a good daughter
to you. and always call you ' father,' if
you piease, sir. nut won't you let me
continue to call him ' papa,' as I have
done so many years?"
" My daughter," said the judge, with
emotion.. TI shall - value you in
proportion to your gratitude and affeo
tion for your benefactor. If he has
spoiled you with indulgence, as you say
he has and as I can easily believe from
what I know of him. though Wfl nnw
meet for the first time it is well that
your 6ister was married and gone before
you cjme, for it would be inconvenient
to have two spoiled girls, two only
daughters, in the same family. Besides,
if your sister had not secured . rnmhand
before you came I don't believe she or
you ever could have got one. What
man would be bold enough to mntn w
to one of two girls that he couldn't tell
apart t I don't see, for my part, bow be
could possibly make up bis mind which
lie wanted."
Mr. Cummings and Mr. Rankin took
dinner with Judge Noble and his lady
and their newly-found daughter that
day. Mr. Rankin had never been a vio
lent admirer of the lady whom his
brother had wooed nnd won nnd wed.
He had regarded her as a very nice girl
and a very suitable match for Harry.
Further than that he had never commit
ted himself in his own mind in her
favor. Now that ho was seated by one
whom he could not possibly have dis
tinguished from her had she been thera
and similarly dressed, he began to be
sensible of charms which had quite
escaped his attention before. In fine, he
went away from that dinner party a
smitten man.
It was agreed that Mrs. Harry Rankin
should not be informed of the discovery
and return of her sister until she came
back from her bridal tour, and her
mother undertook to communicate this
arrangement to every person who would
be likely to correspond with her in the
meantime.
Mr. George Rankin was a very fre
quent visitor at Judge Noble's house,
where he was so cordially welcomed
that he soon made bold to propose to
Miss Ella. He was frankly accepted
by the young lady, to the undisguised
satisfaction of her parents.
After some little demur on the part of
the young lady and her mother, it was
arranged that the wedding should come
off before the return of Harry and his
bride, which arrangements, was duly
i . a I. .1 1 . r
carrion out. j. oriuai tour was out oi
the question as Mr. Rankin could not
leave his business during his brother's
, Tt 1. f L.J1. A 1 t
ansence. no mi'i ma urine look a lur
nished house, and proceeded to estab
lish a home forthwith.
When Harry and his bride returned,
they were received by Judge Noble and
his lady at their house. As soon as tho
first rush of questions and answers be
tween mother and daughter had sub
sided, George and his bride appeared,
and the latter was duly presented.
Harry's astonishment at finding his
brother married to a fac simile of his
own wifo, though very great, was not
to be compared to the amazement of his
bride. She seemed to be confronted
with her own image in a mirror. Ella,
though fully prepared forthe interview,
was also strangely impressed with this
first sight of her sister. She seemed to
see her own features on another face, and
to hear her own voice from the lips of an
other. To their husbands and parents
the Jextraordinary likeness of the two
ladies was astonishing and bewildering.
but to the ladies themselves it was magi
cal and almost uncanny. It was at first
hard for either of them to regard her
double otherwise than as an apparition.
Harry was the nrst to speaK. "Oeorge, '
said lie, " I knew you trusted my taste
more than your own, but 1 really did
not expect you to duplicate my wife !"
" It must it must be Ella!" said Eva,
in a suppressed tone, such as one invol-
utarilj adopts when overwhelmed with
astonishment. Where where was she
found?" - - -
When the whole story had been duly
told to the newly-arrived, the sisters
went up to Eva s old room and there
made such changes in their toilets as de
stroyed their previous identity. They
then presented themselves before their
husbands, and required them each to
take his own wife in to dinner and
make no mistakes.
Rankin & Brotherwere obliged to sur
render at discretion and confess that
they could not recognize their own
wives.
Since then the ladies have been care.
ful to dress so differently that their
husbands and the other members of
their families should be able to distin
guish them, but their wonderful like
ness still causes perplexity in their large
circle ot acquaintances. be. L.ouis illus
trated Mtirazinc.
A Wonderful Georgia Parrot.
Some months ago, says a correspon
dent of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1
met a gentleman from Alabama who
related the following parrot story,
which I believe to be the best I ever
heard : Dr., of Montgomery, Ala.,
owned a parrot during and after the war
that was tho pride and wonder of all
Montgomery county. The doctor, like
all physicians, was frequently called out
at night by some one's " halloo " at the
front gate. Polly learned this, and one
ntght when the doctor answered a shrill
"halloo" by coming to the door and ask
ing what was wanted, Polly answered
from a buncn oi rose ousnes: "He I nil
ha! I fool the doctor that time; hi! he
ha!" Polly received a sound thrashing
for this trick and was Quite sullen for
a week or so, when one dark, rainy night
the doctor woke up to hear some one at
the gate repeating his "halloo" fre
quently. Going to the door he asked
wno was tnere. a rom tne top oi a tan
Lombardv poplar the parrot screamed
out in fiendish glee: "Ha! ha! ha! You
can't catch Polly this time! You can't!
you can't ! ! you can't ! ! ! " All the doe-
tor's persuasive arts were called into re
quisition to get the narrot down from
her high perch, but she cor Id not be de
ceived, coaxed or flattered into doing as
he commanded or entreat t d her. She
resolutely kept her perch all night in
the rain, and waited until 1 c started off
next morning on his daily leund before
she ventured down.
Tho doctor had a little boy aged
about two years, for whom the parrot
formed a strong attachment. Warren
was the child's name, and by-and-bye he
fell sick. The parrot moped around and
appeared to be quite melancholy. At
times, when the child was left alone for
a few moments, Polly would hop up on
the edge of the cradle, and, spreading
out her wings, she would vibrate them
like fans, and ask as she had heard the
nurse ask: "Poor babv iiany want
water? Baby sick? Baby hungry? Poor
babyP Polly's so-o-o sorry."
Finally the child died, and the par
rot slunk awav for the two days preced
ing the funeral, and was neither seen
nor heard. On returning from the
cemetery, the family met it, waddling
along the middle of the road, repeating
to herself in the tenderest and most
mournful manner : "Where's little War
ren? Poor baby! Baby sick? Baby
sn-n-n aorrv ."
She was picked up and taken back
home. but. never snoke another word Un
til the day of her death, when she
cried out, " Hawks, hawks," and the
npxt minute was whisked away in the
talans of a monstrous chicken-hawk
that had been watching for an oppor
tunity to carry her on for several nours
Snuiv.alv'li tha warm breath of summer
diedawaywhen ooughs and oolds, those avant
couriers of dangerous cum,
selves. Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup always cures
them, and most quickly too.
HORACE GREELEY.
Two IVevr and Good Stories of the tireat
Journallnt.
The New York correspondent of the
Indianapolis (Ind.) Journal writes:
Narrating something of my conversation
with Mr. Reid reminds mo of an inter-
sting talk I had the other day with
Professor V. B. Denslow, of Chloago,
concerning Mr. Reid's great predecessor.
Professor Denslow was the chief editorial
writer on the Chicago Tribune when I
first met him, ten years ago, and won
derful spirited, bright and attractive ar
ticles did he contribute. He had been
for two vears previous financial editorial
writer of the New York JVifeune, but the
offer of a higher salary had transferred
his brilliant pen to us namesake on tne
lake. In 1873 lie left it on account of ill
health, which resulted in a distressing
insomnia, and no lias since done little
newspaper work except to write the
series of long exhaustive and scholarly
articles on " Modern Thinkers," now
running in the Chicago Times.
I well remember wnen I lirst met
Mr. Greeley." said Denslow. "I was
just twenty-one and had recently been
admitted to the JNew lork Dar. 1 was
at the residence of one of my first clients,
Mr. Partridge, publisncr, wnen Greeley
called. When I went into tho room
with his hands under his coat tails, look
ing nt some pictures. 'Mr. Greeley,'
said Partridge, ' this is Mr. Denslow, a
voung attorney.' ureeiey uttered a short
grunt of recognition, but did not even
look around. I, embarrassed, shrunk
away to one corner of the room and took
a chair. He went on around the room,
looking at pictures and what not, nnd in
about live minutes when his t ack was
turned on me and I thought he had for
gotten me, he suddenly, without looking
at me said : ' Hem 1 So you're an attor
ney, are you?' I confessed it. 'I hate
lawyers,' he exclaimed emphatically. l
hate lawyers; they do more mischief
than their heads are worth !'
" ' I suppose they are a necessary evil.
I suggested, deprecatingly.
Wholly unnecessaryr lie insisted
I suppose you will acknowledge.' I
said, 'that they promote good order and
remove impediments to good govern
ment?' Just the contrary! just the con
trary !' he squeaked, in his old falsetto ;
they cause disorder, and they are the
chief obstacle to good government!'
" I thought the man was crazy. ' Per
haps you will tell me,' I suggested, ' how
debts would be collected without law
yers.' "Don't want 'em collected! don't
want 'em collected !' he squeaked; 'if A
lets B have his property without pay
ment, I don't see why C, D, E, F and all
the rest of the alphabet should be called
on as police to get it back! wo debt
should be collected by law. It's mon
strous! Let a man trust another man
at his own risk. Even a gambler pays
his debts that hp.isn't legally obliged to
pay, and calls them debts of honor; but
men will nut their uroDertv out of their
nonets to prevent tfee'legal collection of
their grocery bills. Abolish all laws for
the collection of debt, and that would
abolish most of you lawyers good rid
dance!'
" It seemed impossible to talk with a
man witli sucn eccentric notions."
And this story of Professor Denslow's
reminds me of the method by which
Seilheimer got on the Tribune ten years
ago. " 1 Drougut a letter irom my uncle.
Thad Stevens," said Seilheimer, " and up
to Greeley s cubby-holo I went. There
ne sab wiui ins cnair iiireii lorwara,
writing away rapidly, with the paper
close to his nose. The boy thrust mus
tard between his nose and the paper but
he knocked it awav without looking ud. I
waited and waited until I had been there
an hour. Greeley never looked at apybody
aim rareiy spoke, w uen I oung want
ed him to sign anything he brought it
nnd thrust it unceremoniously between
his nose and the mnnuscript, nnd held
it there till Greeley signed it. At last I
thought I would try that with Stevens'
letter to him. which lav on the desk un
opened. I opened it, and slowly slid it
along en the desk from the right, the
signature uppermost. He took no notice
cautiously pushed it a little further.
Scratch, scratch, scratch he was obliv
ious. I timidly advanced the document
till its edge overlapped his writing, but
when he came across the paper the next
time he pushed it away an inch or two
with his pen and kept on. Emboldened
now, I waited a moment; then, when he
reached for ink, I deliberately pushed
tue letter uu it covered up his manu
script. He looked down, saw the signa
ture, and gently pushed it off again,
merely saying in a high, shrill voice,
How's J. nadi" I told him, and that
had brought him the letter lor him to
read, but he was again absorbed, and
could not induce him to again permit
his voice to fall on the auditory nerve or
my iiuuf;c uii uis leuun. AiLer wailing
another halt hour. 1 withdrew.
" i oung gave me a place and I went
to work. Mr. Greeley never came to the
office on Saturdays, but remained at
Chappnqua. One Saturday I was sur
prised to see him come inand go to work.
Presently he came out and looked around
surprised. Where's loungP' he asked
Where's Winterr Where's Sam?
fWilkinson). I saw that tho old man
was puzzled and had mistaken the day
Saturday ?' he bsked with a start. I
think it is.' I answered, as if doubtful.
The revelation irritated Mr. Greeley, for
ne thundered out, as nearly as his curi
ous voice could be said to imitate thun
der, 'Oh, you think it is, do you? you
think it is? And who the are you?'"
I have omitted the theological term
which Mr. Greeley introduced to render
ma exact meaning piam.
An Interesting Enterprise.
A number of prominent citizens of
New xork, have formed a company,
with a capital stock of $2,000,000. for a
conservatory and zoological garden in
that city. They have purchased a tract
of land bounded by tho Harlem river,
St. Nicholas avenue, One hundred and
fifty-fifth and One hundred and fifty,
ninth streets. There are three plateaus
upon the land of which the highest
point is nearly 155 feet above Eighth
avenue. The land has been purchased
for $400,000, and surveys have been
made by an Austrian engineer and land
scape artist at an expense of $10,000.
The plans have been prepared by Wm.
Mertanez, who laid out the zoological
garden in Philadelphia and other simi
lar places of resort. Arrangements have
been made to set at work about 500 la
borers who are to be engaged in form
ing the topography of the ground to the
contemplated buildings. The proposed
building will be among the largest and
most elegant in the country.
Awful Scenes at a Railroad Wreck.
Tli a pnnAnoinr nf t.hn Wacner slecuing
cars attached to the express train, which
collided with a freight train, a ; Jackson,
Mich., gives the following account of the
terrible disaster by which hfteen persons
were crushed to death in a twinkling:
Mv train was made uo of three Wag
ner sleepers, the St.Nicholas.Fort Wayne
and Uxter, with lorty passengers. v e
did not get away from Detroit until
about 10:30 o'clock, being fifty minutes
- . .IT 1 ' I . 1 . J
opuinu time, w e ran line iue uemn
all of forty-five miles an hour to make
up, until pulling into Jackson yard, when
we slacked up to twenty-five miles. I
was in the rear coach, the Dexter, that
is shackled at Detroit for Grand Rapids,
kind of drowsing, when I felt a slight
shock as though the engine had revers
ed. Many a time I have felt a hard r
jar from common causes, but I noticed
the train came to a stand very quickly,
and I stepped out to see what was the
trouble. There was a brakeman hurry
ing past with a light, and he said in an
swer to my halloo of " what is the mat
ter P" that the train was smashed up. I
jumped off and ran ahead and saw the
terrible sight. Engines lay side by side,
up against the banks, the boilers together
as you jvould lay your fingers. Both
cabs were off, and I noticed that one
steam-lwx was stripped, the steam es
caping from the vent with a shrill roar.
Baggage and smoking cars were shoved
together a little, but not much, while the
two next cars were completely telescop-
1 T . 1 lfl- 21. . 1.
i never saw anyiuiuK use n, iucj
being jnmmed through each other. It
was horrible beyond any words of de
scription or imagination. The first car
11 -ll . .1 l-i. t Jl .1..!.
was wen nueu wuu emigrant, uuu uyn
f roans, cries and shrieks made me sick.
did not stay long, as I had my own cars
to look after and could give no assistance
there. It was right m the village, occu
pied by road employees, and more than
a thousand people seemed to be helping.
The engineer of our train was "Mat"
Gilbert, and the nreman omitu. i did
not know the latter's first name. Both
men were killed outright. Gilbert had
both legs cut off and bowels torn out. I
c m't bear to think of it as I saw him
lying with his hot life s blood shining
in the glare of the many flaring lamps.
Smith was cut and torn beyond recogni
tion. I went back and found many of
my passengers fiot even awakened, and
they were a good drai vexed nt Deing
hastily aroused. 1 threw-out oeoding.
towels and mattresses as fast as could be
done with the help of the porters. From
the little looking around I saw there was
a siding right there, with a ireignt train
on it. Our wrecked cars lay upon them,
and after awhile the freights werecleared
and our cars shifted.
Mr. William B. Clano. who. with lis
wife, occupied a middle berth inthefirit
sleeper, was first apprised of the disas
ter by being violently thrown from his
eoucli upon the floor. Mr. Ulapp said:
I gathered myself into a standing posture
as soon as possible, but was unable for
live minutes or so to make an exit from
the car, owing to the confusion. Upon
reaching the platform the scene revealed
was a sickening one. The lady inmates
of the sleeper?, who had scrambled from
their couches, and hp.d the horrible spec
tacle and its enormity suddenly revealed
to their vision, alternated their sobs with
prayers to be removed from the ghastly
sight. The first of the victims to whom
my attention fvas directed was a flaxen-
liatred little girl ot perhaps nve years.
Tho right side of her face had been cut
away as if severed by some sharp instru
ment, while the child s limns were
tightly wedged in the debris. A short
distance away was a mass of six human
beings, jammed and disfigured almost
beyond recognition, with arms and limbs
in their nakedness protruding in the last
quivers of death. Still a little further
along were the bodies of the fireman
and engineer of the express train, under
a mountain of splintered wood and warp
ed iron. " For the sake of a mother,
save tho child!" came the husky voice
of a young woman as she drew the atten
tion of a group of lookers-on to n little
boy wedged in among tho wreck a few
yards off, who cried piteously to be liber
ated, while its mangled head and shoul
ders swayed in its struggle for life. Of
course, such scenes as these unfitted the
stoutest heart for the work needed. As
morning wore on, however, tho passen
gers, tho railrond hands and those at
tracted to tho scene, entered upon the
work of extricating the unfortunate
ones. The ordeal was one I hope never
to pass through again.
Tools Great Men Work With.
It is not tools that make the work
man, but the trained skill and perse
verance of the man himself. Indeed,
it is proverbial that the bad workman
never vet had a good tool. Some one
asked Opie by what wonderful process
lie mixed his colors. " I mix them with
my brains, sir," was his reply. It is
the same with every workman who
would excel. Ferguson made marvel
ous things such as his wooden clock,
that accurately measured the hours by
means of a common penknife, a tool in
everybody's hand; but tnen everybody
is not a Ferguson. A pan of water and
two thermometers were the tools by
which Dr. Black discovered latent heat ;
and a prism, a lens and sheet of paste
board enabled Newton to unfo'.d the
composition of light and origin ot color.
An eminent foreign savant once called
upon Dr. Woollaston, and requested to
be shown over his laboratories, in which
science has been enriched by so many
important discoveries, when the doctor
took him in a study, and pointing to an
old tea tray, containing a few watch
glasses, test-oapers. a small balance and
a blow-pipe, said: "There is all the
laboratory I have."
Stothard learned the art oi combining
colors by closely studying butterflies'
wings ; he would often say that no one
knew rrhat he owed to these tiny insects.
A blunt stick and a barn-door serve!
Wilkie in lieu of pencil and canvas.
Bewick first practiced drawing on the
cottage walls of his native village.which
he covered with bis sketches in chalk.
and Benjamin West made bis first
brushes out of the cat s tail.
Ferguson laid himself down in the
neids at nignt in a blanket, and made a
map of the heavenly bodies, by means
ot a thread witn small beads on It,
stretched between his eyes and the stars.
Franklin first robbed the thunder cloud
of its lightning by meant of a kite made
with two cross-sucks ana a silk hand'
kerchief.
Watt made his first model of the con
densing steam-engine out of an old an
atomist's syringe, used to inject the ar
teries previous to dissectidn. Guilford
worked his first problem in mathematics
when a cobbler's apprentice, upon small
scraps of leather, which he beat smooth
for the purpose, while Rittenhouse, the
astronomer, first calculated eclipses on
his plow-handle.
TIMELY TOPICS.
The towing of vessels on canals by
means of locomotives has recently been j
successfully tried in France. A railroad
is laid on the tow-path, near the side of
the canal, on which are run small loco
motives of four or more tons, according
to the weight to be pulled. One man
mnnnges the locomotive. Vessels are
thuB drawn at a speed of two miles or
more an hour about twice the mean
rate of a horse upon the tow-path. Tho
locomotive has drawn an empty vessel
six miles an hour, but such speed in
jures the banks of the canal.
The speed of carrier pigeons appears
to depend as much on the clearness of
their sight as on the strength of their
wings. The London Spectator relates
that in an experiment recently made
with some Berlin pigeons, on a clear
day, a distance of over 300 miles, from
Cologne to Berlin, was accomplished in
five hours and a half, er at the rate of
sixty miles an hour ; while the most ex
pedition of a group let loose tho next
day a day not of the same kind took
twelve hours to reach Berlin. Hence it
would appear that in the latter case a
good deal of the pigeons' time was taken
up in exploring the country for land
marks, as was some of Mr. Forbes' in
his ride from Ulundi with news of Lord
Chelmsford's victory. It is not instinct
but sight by which the carrier pigeon
guides its flight.
Calistoga is a famous mineral spring
resort, sixty-eight miles from San Fran
cisco. It was intended to be the Sara
toga of the Pacific coast, the name being
an abbreviated combination of California
and Saratoga. The waters are princi
pally sulphur, iron, soda and magnesia.
Some of them will boil an egg in two
minutes. Over one is built a pretty sum
mer house . It is called the chicken soup
spring. Here the guests resort, after a
bath, with pepper, salt and crackers, and
if you are very liungry and of an imagin
ative turn of mind, you may, perhaps,
bo induced to believe that nature hits
indeed prepared in her subterranean
kitchen this delicate decoction for lier
visitors. After people have been in
California awhile they learn not to be
surprised at anything that comes from
the heavens above or the earth benath.
The colony of New Zealand has a very
extraordinary prime minister in the per
son ot hir tieorge tirey. This gentle
man was twice governor of the Cape,
and then appointed to the goverment of
New Zealand. When his tenure of the
latter office expired he elected to remain
in the colony, and took up his abode in
a remote locality, an island, where he
lived almost exclusively among the
Maories, with whom he cultivated the
most intimate relations nnd domestic
ties. He has now been for some time
governor, but of late serious dissensions,
assuming the character of violent per
sonal antagonisms, have arisen in the
cabinet, and the retirement of the
premier is expected, tsir tieorge is a
man of force and ability, but decidedly
eccentric, both in character and habits.
New Zealand, whose area is estimated
at 122,000 square miles about that of
the British islands is divided into
eight provinces, each of which is gov
erned much after the fashion of one of
our States, while the general govern
ment consists of a cabinet of five officers.
In ore of the suburbs of London, the
other day, a medical district officer
called in to see the children of a man
named Bailey sick with an eruptive dis-
le, declared that they had small-pox
d ordered the whole family to go into
hospital. When they had been there a
fortnight they were discharged with the
consolatory assurance uiat the doctor's
diagnosis was erroneous, that they never
as a matter of fact had small-pox, and
that what the children had caught was
chicken-pox, nn innocuous form of in-
iiiiiuu uiseae. inus inu wnoie iamiiy
had been exposed for a lengthened time
to the contagion of a most mortal and
loathsome malady; the bread-winner
lost liis situation and two weeks' pay.
and the local authorises, by way of
compensation, magnanimously offered
the sum of five shillings in monev. two
shillings worth of groceries and four
loaves of bread. A family is broken up,
tt house disinfected at considerable cost,
and no end of mischief done because an
incompetent health officer could not dis
tinguish between variola and varicella.
The moral is obvious.
Tho Slave of Drink.
I need not dwell any longer upon the
moraiity-sapninz enects ot particular
diseases, but 6hall simply call to mind
tne proiound- deterioration or morni
sense and will which is produced by the
long-continued and excessive use ot ar
conoi and opium, mere is nowhere a
more miserable specimen of degradation
of moral feeling and of impotence of
will than tho debauchee who has made
himself the abject slave of either of these
pernicious excesses, insensible to the
interests of his family, to his personal
responsibilities, to the obligations of
duty, he is utterly untruthful and un-
uusiworiy. acu in we worst eiiu mere
is not a meanness of pretense or conduct
that he will not descend to, not a lie he
will not tell, in order to gain the means
to gratify his over-ruling craving. It is
not merely that passion is strengthened
and will weakened by an indulgence as
a moral effect, but the alcohol or opium
which is absorbed into his blood is car
ried by it to the brain and acts injuri
ously upon its tissues; the chemist will,
indeed, extract alcohol from the besot
ted brain of the worst drunkard, as he
will detect morphia in the secretions oi
a person who is taking large doses of
morphia. Seldom, therefore, is it of the
least use to preach reformation to these
people until .they have been restrained
forcibly from their besetting indulgence
for a long enough period to allow the
brain to get rid of the poison and its tis
sues to regain a healthier tone, loo
often it is of little use then : the tissues
have been damaged beyond tne possi
bility of complete restoration. More
over, observation has shown that the'
drink-craving is oftentimes hereditary,
so that a taste for the poison is ingrain
ed In the tissues, and is quickly kindled
by gratification into uncontioleable de
sire. Fortnightly Review.
A hog scraping machine which has
just been tested in Chicago worked very
satisfactorily. A hog was killed, placed
in the machine, and almost in an instant
came out with only a few odd hairs on
bis bead and legs. Seven hogs were
passed through the machine, and each
one came out as hairless as could be de
sired.' With a few of improvements.
the machine is expected to finish off
0,000 bogs in ten hours.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Euery man has his prejudices and
every woman her bias.
Mince pie for 1880 will be composed
of the usual fourteen ingredients.
A bunch of choice ostrich feathers
was recently sold for $337 a pound.
An old dealer says business is just now
moving in tho furniture line. Picayune. .
The small bov who got slightly scalded
was only a son-burnt. Afctti York News.
Chicago kills six hogs for every min-.
ute of every hour of every day in the
year.
The Sultan of Turkey spends $10,000,-
000 yearly upon himself and his 800
wives.
There is one consolation in being
broke. You have nothing to lose, and
everything to gain.
A lame farmer was asked if he had a
corn on his toe. " No." he said, " but
I've got lots on the car."
If Edison can render sound availablo
in so many ways, why doesn't he utilize
the howling wilderness? Saturday
Night.
Major Thornburgh, who was killed by
the Ute Indians, wtis one of tho best
rifle shots and horsemen in the United
States Army.
" So ends my tail," as the beo said to
the boy, at the same time giving him a
practical illustration of how' he con
ducted business.
Pennsylvania has eighty incorporated
county agricultural societies, thirty-one
of which have representation in its
State Board of Agriculture.
The difference between the man who
girdles a tree and the one who entraps
Bruin in its branches is this : One bares
a tree and the other trees a bear. Bos
ton Transcript.
Becauso a newly-married couple sit
upon opposite ends oi the sofa and throw
sheep's eyes at each other in silence, it
is no sign of fear or bashfulness. They
are simply unspeakably happy. Water
loo Observer.
Switzerland has been visited this year
by ;i,400,000 strangers, a number
which exceeds by several thousands the
average of the last four years. Of this
total one-fifth are said to be English,
Germans and Austrians; five-tenths
Russians, one-twentieth French and
Danes, three-twentieths Americans, and
other nationalities one. tenth.
Forests and Meteorology.
An important paper in Polybiblion on
this subject gives the result of observa
tions made during the last six years
under trees and not far from the edge of
a forest, and also in the plain and far
from all trees. 1. Forests increase tho
quantity of meteoric waters which fall
on the ground, and thus favor the
growth of Borings and of underground
waters. 2. In a forest region the ground
leceives as much and more water under
cover of the trees than the uncovered
ground of regions with littlo or no
wood. 3. Tho cover of the trees of a
forest diminishes to a large degree the
evaporation of the water received by the
ground, and thus contributes to the
maintenance of the moisture of the latter
and to the regularity of the flow of
water sources. 4. The temperature in a
forest is much less unequal than in the
open, although, on the whole, it may be
a little lower ; but the minima are there
constantly higher, and the maxima
lower than in regions not covered with
wood. These observations have been
made in the neighborhood of Nancy, and
by the pupils of the school of Forestry of
of that city, under the direction of M.
Matmeu, sub-director ot the scnooi.
On the other hand, Mr. Fautrat, when
sub-inspector of forests at Senlis, made
during four years, but on a different
method, observations on forestial meteo
rology which fully and completely corro
borate in certain respects those of Mr.
Mathieu. The laws which seem to fol
low from the figures given by M. Fau
tral. as well as an inspection of the
curves which graphically represents
them, are as follows : I. It rains more
abundantly, under identical circumstan
ces, over forests than over non-wooded
ground, and most abundantly over for
ests with trees in a green condition. 2.
The degree of saturation of the air by
moisture is greater above forests than
over non wooded ground, and much
greater over masses of Pinus sylvestris
than over masses of leaved species. 3.
The leafage and branches of leafed trees
intercept one-third, and those of resin
ous trees the half of the rain water,
which afterward returns to the atmos
phere by evaporation. On the other
hand, these same leaves and branches
restrain the evaporation of the water
which reaches the ground, and that
evaporation is nearly four times less
under a mass of leafed forest than in the
open, and two and one-third times only
under a mass of pines. 4. The laws of
the change of temperature out of and
under wood are similar to those which
result from the observations of M. Ma
thieu. The general conclusion seem to
be that forests regulate the function of
water, and exercise on the temperature.
as on the atmosphere, an effect of " pon-
deration" and equilibrium. Xowo
Times.
Words of Wisdom.
Feeling
is no criterion of
right or
wrong.
Adversity
is the balance to weigh
menus.
To him that lives well every form of
life is good.
We must not look around on the uni
verse witli awe, and on man with scorn.
Love, like firo, cannot subsist without
continual movement ;. so soon as it ceases
to hope and fear it ceases to exist.
Love and enmity, aversation and fear,
are notable whetters and quickners of
the spirit of life in all animals.
No man is called on to lose his own
balance for the advancement of the
world in any particular direction.
Logic helps us to strip off the outward
disguise of things, and to behold and
judge of them in their own nature.
The law of food is, that man should
eat what is good for him, at such times
and in such quantities as nature re
quires. An act by which we make one friend
and one enemy is a losing game, because
revenge is a much stronger principle
than gratitude.
The sweetest music 1b not in the ora
torio, but in the human voice, when it
speaks from its instant life tones of ten
derness, truth and courage.
Have the courage to show your re
spect for honesty, in whatever guise it
appears, or your contempt for dishonest
duplicity, by whomsoever exhibited.