HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL, DE SPER ANDUMi Two Dollars per Annurm
VOL. IX. RIDGAVAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1879. ' NO. 40.
- - . ... a ' ., , ., 1 1 t
)
V
I
Thanksgiving Day.
The solt gray dawn ol Thanksgiving dny
Una parted the curtains of night,
And the world Awakes with its hopes and
fears,
Beginning its life ol entiles and tears
With tho new-born morning's light.
There are cheerful hearts and lives that are
glad,
Which wnke to this day of praise;
And those whose hearts for a weary while
Have long forgotten the joy and smile
' Of life's sunshiny days.
Some of us walk in sun-lit paths,
Whore flowers grow bright and fair,
And some of us tend with tired feet
Where shadow and sorrow dally meet,
AaftJMe flowers ol lite are rare.
r
who gather the joys ol earth
ily day by day
member tho lives that are grieved and sad,
And, renumbering, strive to mako them glad,
And lighten the somber gray
Which lints the heart ol the lonoly poor,
And hides from their eyes the light
That God has meant to shine for all,
As over the world the sunbeams fall
To scatter the shades of night.
A THANKSGIVING QUERY.
" Great land o1 Goshen !" said old Joe
Comstock, " what I want to Know is,
wbiit.'s tin? use o' Thank'givin' wlien
there ain't nothin' to be thankful for?
And where's the good o' runnin' arter
an onsartainty ? A roiun' stone gamers
tirt mnaq "
" And a gangin' foot is aye gettin',"
said Si Pettingill, the country store
keeper. Not but that he agreed with his
old friend Joe in deploring the wicked
ness and willfulness of his only son's
leavinz the homestead and going out
West. Si Pettingill hated to see an
ultra, wrinkle in his neighbor's fine and
florid face, who was only known as old Joe
because there was a young Joe grown to
manhood. It was only a week before
Thanksgiving, and a quepr time for ex
tra wrinkles, but Si couldn't afford to
lose an opportunity for proving his
knowledge of nroverbs. and combating
the oracular prophecy of one by that of
anotner. ine country store was the
high center of argument. No subject
was too solemn or too frivolous, too high
or too low, too light or too profound,
for discussion.
"They do say," said Monk, the miller,
"that the lit ft and richness o' grain out
there is most amazin', and the sile is
that soft you can put yer arm clean
down to ver elbow m it. It 1 wa9
young 's Joe" And here the miller
f mused, for his friend the farmer brought
lis band down heavily on an adjacent
box of soip.
" And ain't his own land rich enough?
Ijook at there ten-acre held ot corn, and
. look at them punkins! Though, for
that matter, where s the use o' corn for
turkeys, or turkeys for Thank'givin', if
a man's own flesh and blood flies in the
face of Providence like mv Joeu"
" He ain't goin' before Thank'givin',
surely r'
"He calkilates to start to-morrow
night," said the faimer, dolefully.
Then the group about the store ex
pectorated witli mournful precision, and
hook their heads, and hoped he wou.dn't
regret suoh a precipitate abandonment
of this world's blessings. Uld doe C.om-
stock united his hue pair ot mules, and
went jolting away to the Comstock
farm, followed by the sympathizing re
marks of his neighbors. And as the
dust rolled, away, another vehicle was
seen approaching, a high-seated jaunty
affair with yellow wheels, drswn by a
long, clean-limbed creature that was out
of sight before his points could be well
discussed and criticised. In truth, the
good folks upon the porch of the coun
try store were more interested in the
couple unit were seated iasuionaoiy
aloft uoon the eav box of the wagon. A
fleeting vision of laughing blue eyes, and
yellow curls wantoning with the No
vember wind, and tho pale, dark face of
a stranger in close proximity to these
charms, caused the wise heads upon the
porch to wag again with melancholy
unison.
'"Tain't the natur of the sile that
voting Joe complains of." said one,
" Nor yet the corn, nor the punkins,"
said another : "it's that he aint got the
stomach for 'em he used to hev before
that city fellow broke his wagon in front
of the widow rsenson s door, ana took a
notion to Kitty."
" And I swan to man ef the widow
ain't that set up about it she's hevin
black Sara to do her fall wlntewashm
" She'd better not count her chickens
before they're hatched. That fellow
don't mean to marry Kitty Benson
she'll fall between two stools.that's what
Kittv'll do. She'll get shet of Joe,
andjose this city chap, alter all. Joe
was in dead eai nest, poor fellow, but
his chap s only loonn ."
Which was not altogether time.
The
"city chap had begun perhaps in
rather a trifling mood. He considered
the remarkable interest which he took
in this little rustic was all due to his
artistic perceptions. About six weeks
before, in passing through the village.
his horse had stumbled upon a big
bowlder in front ol the widow's door
and one of the big yellow wheels had
come to grief. It was the most natural
thing in the world lor Mr. Morton to
knock at the nearest door, and equally
natural that the widow should ask him
in. Kitty lay sound asleep, with her
curly head on the kitchen table, all the
yellow tangle of it tumbled carelessly
about the exquisite line of her brow and
enrvfi of her rounded cheek. Her brown
lashes just merged into the flush upon
her face, ana tier rca lips were panea
showing the white even teeth within.
" Laws a mercy !" said the widow,
with kindly curiosity, "tnere ain't no
bod v hurt. I hope?"
"Only the wagon wheel," taid Mr,
Morton.
. "And you want to git to town?
Well, now, I reckon Joe Comstock
must be up and about yet. I saw
ligat at the farm a bit ago. If Joe's up,
. he'll take you down to the railroad,
He can't he done his chores yet."
"I hope he'll bungle long enougfi
about his chores to be up when I get
there," said Mr. Morton.
He had not taken his eyes from the
'sleeping beauty, and was suddenly sur-
ftfsed to see her lift her head from her
arm and open wide her eyes upon him
while the flush deepened in her fan
and even stole down upon her throat
and the white bit of her neck that was
' Joe never bungles about anything,1
she said. '
"Is he a friend of yours r" said wt.
Morton, modulating his voice to a won
derfully gentlo tone.
"Never mind what he is," replied
Kitty, hotlv; "but he's no bungler of
that you may be sure."
Here sue euppea awny ana vamsiiuu
a dark little staircase, and suddenly
1 the charm went out of the picture.
"Tlmt. ppntrn.1 figure taken away."
said Mr. Morton to himself, as he picked
his way to the Comstock farm, "of
course the whole effect is marred ; but
it was a fine interior very tine."
That " central ngure" loiiowea wr.
Morton to the farm, and all the way
down to the railroad. lie found .foe
Comstock up and ready to accommodate
im, ano Iliva to conceue u jyiiiot Mint
op, wim no bungler: there was a quick
capacity about the sturdy hands that
handled the reins, and a natural grace
and vigor in all his movements the
little that he said was terse and to the
point, but Mr. Morton found him taci
turn and reserved after the first mile or
two. He had ventured to speak ot the
inmates of the cottage.
"I think it probable tlie joung girl
. ...... f HnUinfl nnitftr rf t-nSAntr "
said Mr. Mortoh.
" More n likely," said Joe.
" Isn't her name Benson? Kitty Ben
son?"
I shouldn't wonder if 'twas!" said
Joe. and relapsed into gruff monosvlla
bles. The road was rougn and oars:,
and the drive was exceedingly disagree
able. Mr. Morton was glad to fall.haek
upon his memory and imagination for
amusement, iiie unui lmenoi rue couiu
recall vividly enough.
Kittv had been asleep for three hours
at least, and Joe Comstock was dream
ing of her under his patchwork quilt.
when Mr. Morton reached the city. It
was long alter midnight when be got to
the reception, and at least one young
heart had lost all-zest in the entertain
ment two hearts, for an old one in the
vicinity had grown exceedingly heavy
as the hours wore away.
" It's stranee Mr. Morton don't come
Madeline," Mrs. Van Vleet said to her
daughter.
Yes. mamma," said poor Madeline
"Didn't he say he would be here,
Madeline?"
" Oh ves, mamma ; please don't say any
more about it;" and then the elder lady
walked majestically awav. the feathers
unon her bead nodding in mournful uni
son with her thoughts. And at that mo
ment Mr.Morton entered.mnkinghis way
to a group ot exquisitely dressed and
beautiful women, who received him with
enthusiasm ; there reaKy were so very
few available parties that season, and
Mr. Morton .was so unexceptional in
everv way. and had shown some de
cided, inclination to "range himself,"
and make somebody comfortable in
their mind about the wretchedly uncer
tain and procrastinating future. He was
still in the market, though his attentions
had been rather pronounced ot late to
Miss Van Vleet; out she was cold and
reserved, and must take her chance the
tournament was orien to all ; so all these
bcautilul women fluttered their fans, and
in their softlv modulated musical voices
said charming things to the tardy arri
val. But Mr. Morton, with many t
winning smile and whispered comnli
merit, went listlessly by. His' face wore
that vacuous and bored expression
which is considered in society an evi
dence of cultivation, but in trutli it was
only that he was still absorbed in artistic
reflections. He went on to the further
end! of the room, where in feverish
haughty, uncompromising but agonizing
reserve sat Miss v an V leet . Her mother
had nudged and frowned and beckoned
all to no purpose, when Mr. Morton en,
tered the room.
" You can at least allow yourself to be
seen." said her mother, acrimoniously.
" If he wants me, he can find me,"
said Madeline, with a sharp pang of fear
and distrust, which deepened when at
last he reached her side, and said, in the
most commonplace -w ay in the world
Did vou save that waltz lor me r
And when she looked up in his face
with a thrill of delight, and found no
response there, only that vague, listless,
dreamy expression, ner own beautitul
face grew almost haggard with the m
tensity of her emotion; it was all she
could do to keep the hot, wretched tears
out ot her eyes.
"Why are you so absent to-night?"
she said at last. What is it you are
thinking of ?" And then, as they were
whirling no. not whirling, but lan
guidly stepping about in the waltz, he
told her ot ms accident, and described
to her minutely the bit of interior which
had so charmed him.
And there is Svdnev now vou'll
excuse me, won't you, if I go over to
himr"
Certainly she would excuse hiia
What else could the poor girl do?
Mr. Morton leu Madeline to her
mother, and that ponderous female
eairerlv whisnered : " Has he SDoken
Madeline only tell ine dear, has he
spoken?"
"Of course not. mamma: how could
he, in the waltz P"
He was talking so earnestly
never saw him quite so earnest before
I thought perhaps he had spoken."
" He is talking just as earnestly with
Mr. Sydney now, mamma: he is inter
ested in art just now.'4 The bitterness
in the voice ot her daughter tinged
acridly the thoughts of poor Mrs.. Van
V leet. .
I shall not accept the colonel's invi
tation for Thanksgiving," she said, dole
fully. In the mean while Mr. Morton
was endeavoring generou.-Iy to give his
friend Sydney the subject for a sketch,
and the artist was listening with that
quizzical, amused air that was charac
teristic to him.
" See here, Morton," said Sydney at
last, " a horseshoe is a sign of good luck,
and your steed Bhcd one, it appears, at
the door of this rustic beauty. I believe
your heart followed it. Go in and win.
old fellow, and then send for me to paint
her portrait. I'm not much given to
interiors."
Joe awoke the next morning and re
solved once for all to make an end to
these witcheries that half maddened as
they gladdened him. He would pluck
up courage and settle the matter, so
that his dreams might be savored with
sober certainty. He knew that no great
obstacles lay in his way. His folks
were willing, and so were hers; there
was nobody to say nay but Kitty her
self, and he wasn't much afraid of that.
And if he'd only gone there and then
and asked Kitty all might have been
well ; but he must needs go home and
tlon his Sunday-go to-meetin' clothes
for the occasion, which took half the
heart out of bis resolve, and in the
meanwhile a long-limbed horse was
making quick work of the road
that led to Kitty's door, and a man
who was easy in his Sunday
clothes every day in the week whs bent
upon the same decision. The stiff collar
asped Joe's neck as fie went siowiy to
the village; his coat was too tight in
the sleeves; he grew redder and redder,
till lie knew that the doomed hanks
giving turkey gobbler's comb was
nothing to him; the perspiration rolled
from his honest rubicund face, and he
began to wish he'd find Kitty out when
he got there: he could talk to her
mother, and she could talk to Kitty, and
it would come Kind ot easier somehow.
And suddenly he stepped aside ; there
was a rush of wheels in his cars, high
yellow wheels, and a vision of some
body nailing him politely, somebody
with an easy way of wearing good
clothes, and something about him'that
would have persuaded Joe to take off
his hat to him if he hadn't been too mad
and flustered and curious and afraid.
Joe went moodily on, and suddenly his
scarlet face grew rale and the blood in
Ins veins grew cold, wnen betoro Kitty s
door he saw the high-wheeled newly
mended wagon of the city fellow he
had driven to the railroad tho other
night, and his long-limbed and newly
shod horse pawing the gi'ound before
Kitty's gate; and presently out came
Kitty herself, shawled and hooded, her
eves sparkling, tier eneeks glowing, and
beside her was the stranger, who nodded
pleasantly to Joe. Kitty nodded kindly
too. he thought, and it seemed to him
Mrs. Benson called him to come in. Joe
wouldn t be certain about these things.
His head whined around as Kittv drove
away ; it seemed to him the whole world
took a somersault, and left him. Bick and
sore, so that he could just get strength
. y . -
. I. i. ii j, . i i
10 I'rawi uome to uie larin, ana uon ins
hunday clothes, throw them in a heap
on the bed, himself upon them, and
there lie through the long October after
noon, the prey to a misery he had never
dreamed ot.
The sun went down, the fowls went
to roost, and an old hoary owl that
might have had more heart laughed
mockingly at Joe through his bed-room
window. And then Joe, who dawdled
so over the asking lor a sweetheart.
made up his mind quickly enough to
more ruetui work, tor that very night
when he went down to supper, and
never ate a mouthful, he declared to
the good folks assembled there that he
intended to go out V est to settle he
was sick of the land hereabouts,
What the plague's the matter with
thelandP" said his father. "It's the
seme as 'twas yesterday, nnd then vou
ta.kcd ol plouginn' up the meadow next
spring, aad drainin' the gully, and the
liord knows what and all. Whats
come to you now, Joe?"
Alas! what, indeed, had come to poor
loc? He never made the least effort to
regain his footing with Kitty. He gave
up an nope oi the sweet luture that had
seemed to him his birthright. To marry
Kitty Benson, and settle down on the
old homestead as his father and grand-
tather had done oeiore him. seemed ns
natural to Joe as seed-time and harvest
He never had the . slightest desire to
swerve from the somewhat tame and
monotonous life these people led from
year to year. Even now his soul was
yearning for it, when it wa3 full of re
bellion and riot, and bent upon break
ing down every barrier that lay between
the big tumultuous waves within lnm
and those of the unknown world be
yond.
The weary days went on, each of them
heavier and more desolate, in lair
wealher or foul, Joe walked and wan
dered, aimless, listless and forlorn.
choosing the most desolate places, shun
ning and forbidding all companionship
ot man and neast
It was well on in November, and the
landscape was somewhat sere and worn
The day was waning, and it seemed to
Mr. Morton as tney drove along that the
warmth had all fled from the scene about
them and nestled in Kitty's hair. There
was a subdued and timid expression in
her face that lent it an unusual charm.
'I he curves about her mouth drooped
like those of an aggrieved child, and she
had not spoken a word for tho last mile
or two. Mr. Morton could hesitate no
longer. It would be an easy thing, he
thought, to wear away the usual exu
berant gayety that d tracted from Kitty's
present charm of manner. Witii just
one little sigh for poor Madeline Van
Vleet, he shifted tho reins to one hand,
and with the other took from his vest
pocket a ring. A yellow beam of setting
sun caught tho gem, and It suddenly
shone like a star. Kitty's eyes began to
glisten in unison; but she drew back ns
he caught her hand.
" Nay, darling," he said, tenderly,
"do not tremble ; it is yours. You know
that I love you ; you will be my little
wife"
But in the meanwhile the long-limbed
animal, which had been somewhat res
tive, and required the two hands of his
driver, took advantage of this little by
play and accelerated his speed. Mr.
Morton bad not time to put the ring
upon Kitty's resisting finger, when he
found his horse pulling heavily upon
the reins. He determined to sell this
heedless brute of his. The thought lay
heavily upon his now ardent sensibili
ties that this sweet girl by his side he
had never yet held to his heart, nor had
her sweet lips been given to his own, and
now the moment was gone, and the joy
was still denied him, tor the horse went
plunging on. A curve of the road
brought the cottage in sight . Black Sam
was still whitewashing great Heaven,
not the big bowlder? Yes, nothing less:
lie had somewhitewash to spare, and
lie was lathering it thick upon this rock
in the road, making it seem big as a
mountain. Mr. Morton's face grew
pale, and not too soon the evil was
unon him in the instant he had feared
it; the horse plunged back upon his
haunches, his fine ears stood erect, his
clean-cut limbs trembled; then with one
bound he sned along, grazing the white
phantom in the road, and disappearing
in a cloud of dust. Mr. Morton olung
to the reins, and Kitty clung to. Mr.
Morton.
Mr. Morton knew now that nothing
could save them. A lew minutes tour
ot ilm furthest and all would be over,
The gully iust below the Comstock farm
was a bleak and dreary place, well fitted
for the tragedy. He remembered a
chestnut tree that hung desolate and
bare ever its brink, and broken rocks
and black pools of stagnant water lay
below. In these lew seconds, that
a nnrenthesis between lime and
omitv n whole lifetime passed in re-
m-et and retrospection. To get rid of
renrnacliful eves of Madeline. Mr.
Morton shut his own ; but Kitty's whole
heart went out in a prayer to Joe
which was answered right on the brink
of the gully by the melancholy shadow
of Joe himself, that clutched at the
head of the horse, wasdragged onward
a step or two, then pulled aside, and
finally was left victor, the beast, quite
subdued now and trembling, in a hither
of foam. Mr. Morton was tremblir.g
as well as his beast, and it was diffi
cult for him to quite understand the
exact tenor of the scene before him.
Kittv lav white and limp in Joe Com-
stock's arms; Thcr hanns were clasped
about his neck; ner nat was gone
long ago. and her curly hair was
all tumbled about her face, which was
still as white as the accursed bowlder
before her mother's door; and once in a
while she sobbed out: "Joe! dear Joe!"
and Joe soothed her, and held her closer,
and murmured: " Kitty 1 dear Kitty!"
and the yellow light of the waning
November day catching tho diamond
again, it gleamed upon Kitty's finger,
that lay caressingly upon tho sturdy
neck of Joe Comstock"; and presently
the little hand shifted about, and Kitty
saw the gem too, and slipping down
from the arms of Joe, and slipping, too,
the ring from her finger, she held it out
to Mr. Morton with that same shy, sad,
subdued and altogether irreproachable
expression that he had admired a few
luiperauiu moments smut?.
"Keep it. Kitty," said Mr. Morton;
" keep it in any case. You'll allow her
to accept this little present, won't you,
Joe?"
i' If it's all the same. I'd as lief she
didn't," said 'Joe, with honest simplic
ity.
And l am giaa Kitty aidn t get the
ring: she could wen do without it, and
there was a slim and tapering finger far
away that had grown slimmer and more
tapering lor lack of this gem. The night
of the accident it lay listlessly in the lap
of Miss Van Vleet. and it did not seem
from the apathy ot her face and manner
that any thing could induce her to lift
that fair, frail finger. The bell rang,
but hope had cheated her so often not a
hair of her beautiful head or a muscle
moved in response. She had ceased to
expect the visitor she coveted, and all
others were indifferent to her.
" I am so glad," said a voice, " to find
you alone, Madeline."
The voice was so tender it made her
heart beat, although she knew how de
ceptive that tenderness might be. How
sweet it was, nevertheless!
Another organ began to thump in the
room above, and the mild mahogany of
Mrs. Van Vleet s complexion deepened
witli anxiety and suspense as the im
portant moments .wore away. At last
the light step of her daughter was at the
door, and Madeline a face told the story.
It was radiant with ioy.
" Has he spoken?" said her mother, in
a husky whisper. " Great heaven ! has
he indeed spoken?"
" Yes, mamma," said Madeline, toy
ing tenderly with a brilliant gem upon
her finger. I
"Thank God!" said Mrs. Van Vleet.
devoutly. "Then I will immediately
accept the colonel's invitation lor
Thanksgiving." - - t ,
"And by the hoky!" said old Joe
Comstock, "we'll have a Thank'givin'
yet. I'm blest if that there boy o' mine
didn't say last night. 'Pappy, sez he,
'we'll beain a fence down by that there
gully, and drain the hull marsh by this
lime next year;" nnd I jest nodded,
for I couldn't speak when 1 found that
there Western scheme o his had gone
to thunder: and. gentlemen. I'm open
to a treat all round ; but I ask it, in all
honesty, what is Thank'givin' if there
ain't nothin's to be thankiui lor."'
Harper's Weekly.
A Girl Scalped by Machinery.
While Jennie Hall, fifteen years old,
was stooping over a piece of machinery
in a lithographic establishment in
Philadelphia, her long, dangling hair
caught in a belt, nnd in a second she
was completely scalped. The sufterer,
with the blood streaming over her face.
screamed in an agonizing voice that
could be heard a block away.- The
wounded girl, who was wild with pain,
was taken to a hosnital. Some of her
associates became hysterical over the
horrible sight. An investigation was
made subsequently, when the cause of
the accident was ascertained. It ap
peared that the girl had imprudently
been amusing herself by permitting a
lock of her hair to wrap itself around
the small vertical shaft. She repeated
this twice, but at the third essay the
lock became wrapped too tightly around
the improvised curling iron to be extri
cated and was torn from the head, most
of the scalp going with it and consider-
.1.1. - r . ' ..f r . 1 . .. r. 1 . 1 i
to the brows. In the evening the girl's
condition was reported ns favorable,
although erysipelas might ensue.
Several years ago a somewhat similar
iccident occurred to an Italian ladv. the
wife of a mill proprietor in the lower
part of the city. She was passing
through the working room where the
looms were clanking away, ner long,
beautiful hair, of which she was proud,
hanging loosely down her back. A
strand of it entangled in a shaft, and
like a fl;isli!she,too, was partially scalped
The surgeons replaced the fragment
dexterously, and perfect adhesion was
secured, so that at this day the lady
enjoys her glossy tresses as intact as
though sue naa never had the terrible
experience.
The Way Garibaldi Fonght.
"I don't believe," said MacMahon,
"that ho will ever .be a general. He
wants comprehensiveness. He cannot
foresee or provide for results in time and
space. But he is an admirable partisan
When he was in Italy with 5.000 men.
one of his spies told him that he had dis
covered a couple of leagues off an Aus
trian force of about 3,000 men, who
were not aware of his proximity, and
could be surprised and cut off. The spy
was a traitor. There were 12,000 Aus-
trians. and the spy had been sent to de
coy Garibaldi into attacking them. With
his usual impetuosity, he fell into the
trap, marched against the Austrians and
found when he approached them that
they far outnumbered him and were
prepared. Most men would have re
treated, been followed and destroyed.
He attacked the Austrians with such
vigor that they thought their spy must
wave deceived mem, ano that Uaribaldl
wa. in lorce. Ift drove them from their
position, and pursued them for a couple
of miles, when they discovered the
smallness of his numbers and turned
back on him ; his troops, active and un
incumbered, saved themselves in the
mountains.rbnnttfWty Review.
In Ootobor, when the woods are glorious in
their gcurlut drapery, is the time to seek the
autumn leaves and terns. A tevere oold is
otten the result ol sdeh plensuie triDS. Dr
Bull's Cough Syrup always eures cough and
eoius. i nee i3 esnis.
TIMELY TOPICS.
Next February will have twenty-nine
days. Except in leap year, February
never has more than twenty-eight days.
His true that next February will have
five Sundays. They will fall on the
first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second
and twenty-ninth. This occurs once in
every twenty-eight years. Its last pre
vious occurrence was in 100a, ana alter
tho next year it will not occur again
this century. The same is true of every
other day of the week. For instnnce,
February has hve Mondays once in
every twenty-eight years. This was
last the case in 18G4, and it will occur
again in 1602.
Washington's headquarters, at Valley
Forge, in Pennsylvania, are likely.
through the combined efforts of a few
patriotic residents of that locality, to be
come the property of an association
which will preserve it for all time as a
memorial of the heroic sufferings in the
camp of the Continental army. In order
to interest the public in the movement,
the projectors have issued handsomely
trepared certificates or stock at 35 1 each.
Vhen the purchase of the headquarters
is effected, it is designed to make it an
attractive spot, to collect there relics
and valuable papers relating to the pe
riod, and to lit up the house in colonial
style with furniture of a century ago.
A recent traveler had a curious ad
venture on the Coco Islands, which he
will not easily forget. As soon as the
sun had gone down and the moon risen.
thousands and thousands of rats, about
the size of a bandicot, bore down upon
him and made a raid upon his provisions.
refusing to be frightened away, and de
vouring everything in the shape of grain
or biscuit, but not touching anything
in the shape of meat. When the bags
were hung up in trees, the depredators
swarmed after them, and would proba
bly have caused a lamine had not the
convict s turned the tables upon them by
killing ana eating them in great num
bers, saying that they were exceedingly
sweet. These animals, which are some
thing like the marmot, are often called
the bamboo rat.
An association has been formed in
Westphalia for the extinction of pov
erty throughout the world. The theory
of its promoter", who are not Socialists,
is that the wants of mankind have so
increased of late years that luxuries are
now looked upon even by the poorest
classes as necessaries. L.ite, it is urged,
may be sustained and comfort insured
at a trifling cost by simply putting aside
the superfluities ol modern existence
This object can only be attained by a
complete revolution in our social and
domestic habits. Children should be
trained from their earliest infancy to
look for no other shelter than that
afforded by wooden huts. Their food
should consist only of bread and vegeta
bles, and their drink of pure vwiter. The
style of modern clothing, as regards
both men and women, is condemned as
extravagant, barbarous and unwhole
somt. One thick garment of good ma
terial tor winter, and one of slighter tex,
ture for summer, is all that is required.
It is estimated that under good man
agement on the new system 850 a vear
will be sufficient income for nny person
to exist upon comfortably, nnd will leave
11 !.. if l ' I ;.
a small margin which, 11 juiii asiue an
nually and carefully invested, will
araplv provide for all the reasonable
wants of old age.
The Australians seem to take a great
pride in the Sydney exhibition, .which
opened formally last September. The
project was set on loot by the Agricui-
ural society ot isewbouth ft ales, only
a year ago, and the government ap
pointed a committee of leading colonists,
which has since had exclusive control.
The building, called officially "The
Garden Palace." cost about 1,000.000.
and wa3 erected under the direction of
contractor, who received a commis,
sion of five per cent., the 'government
finding labor and materials. Its area is
is about seven and a half acres, includ
ing nil the galleries nnd basement. In
size it of course falls short of the Phila
delphia exhibition- the main building
of which covered twenty-one and a half
acres but it is about one-third larger
than the London exhibition of 1851,
which was considered a great enterprise
at the time. In shape, the Garden palace
is cruci form; it has lour towers, and a
piural dome 100 leet in. diameter and
210 feet high. Japan and America
occupy the space opposite Great Britain,
and fronting the nave from the dome to
the north tower. The American and
Canadian displays were incomplete on
the opening'day, but rapid progress was
being mane witn them. jNext year Mel
bourne will hold an exhibition, which
will probably eclipse this in splendor
and variety, but Sydney has reason to
ioei proud ol the enterprise she has dis
played. The Spanish Kuile.
The national weapon of the Spaniards.
says an English writer, is the knife, and
certainly they know how to use it.
Talking one day with a young man who
seemed likely to know, l asked mm
what there was peculiar in the manage
ment of the knife.
" Why," said he, with a smile, " I
could kill you, and you couldn't kill
me."
" Well." said I. " please point out the
difference between us. What would you
do first?"
"Why. I'd make you wink, and stab
you while you w'nked!"
" How would you make me winkf '
" Why, so," said he, throwing up his
left hand near my eyes.
"Well, I could do the same."
" Try it," said he.
I tried, and found it impossible to
make him wink, though I passed my
hand up and down several times so as
almost to touch his eyelashes.
His bright, black eyes, looked out at
me unflinchingly all the while. It was
clear that his eyes were educated, and
that mine were not.
I then asked him if there was any pos
sibility of an unarmed man defending
himself against onermed with a knife.
" Oh, yes," said he, " I'll show you ;"
and, in an instant, whipping off his coat,
he held the end of one sleeve firmly in
his left hand, wrapping the rest of the
coat rapidly round his forearm, and
bringing the end of the other sleeve also
into his left hand, where it was firmly
held, binding together the whole mass,
which formed a sufficient defence against
tho thrust of any ordinary knife.
I then recollected that one of the
marks of the men of the Puerto del Sol,
at Madrid, was a slashed cloak, evi
dently not so honorable in its origin as
the "slashed doublet" of the olden
.time.
Getting Satisfaction.
Half an hour before the morning train
over the Canada Southern road was to
leave yesterday, a pompous, fat man,
with several bundles in his arms, entered
the depot with a great rush and made a
bee-line for a Grand Trunk train. When
halted at the gate and asked what train
he wanted to take, he replied :
"I am going to Toledo, and if you
make me miss the train I'll sue you for
damages."
" itut tins isn't the tram for Toledo."
"Whv isn't it. sir: why in the old
Harry isn't this train for Toledo?"
loudly demanded the fat man.
' Because the train for Toledo stands
over on that track there."
"Then why didn't vou tell me so in
the first place? I'm a good mind to re
port you to your superiors, sir!"
" You'll find the superintendent up
stairs," humbly replied the gate-keeper.
"And I'll lodge complaint against you
yes, I will! Travelers have rights, and
those rights must be maintained!
The fat man rushed half way up-stairs
and the whistle of a yard engine made
him halt and turn and rush down again.
Reaching the gates of the Canada South
ern train, ho called out :
" It is your business to give warning
at least three minutes before the train
leaves !" .
"And I'm going to do it," replied the
gate-keeper; " it is over twenty minutes
yet before train time. Please show your
ticket."
" Show mv ticket! Do you suppose a
man in mv position means to steal a ride
on the hind trucks?"
"The rule is for all passengers to show
their tickets."
"I don t believe it, and I want your
name! I'll go up to the superintendent
and see it travelers have any rights iu
this depot. Your name, sir!"
"My name is Bumps, sir, and I'm a
poor widower with seven children to
support."
1 don't care a cent n you ve got
seventeen children to support. Ill
bump Bumps 'till he'll never daresass
another traveler!"
The fat man rushed up stairs again.
and was heard galloping the numerous
halls and passages and calling for the
superintendent. The janitors passed
him along until became down the out
side stairs on the public street.
"Have a hack, sir!" yelled about
forty drivers in chorus.
"No, sir no, sir!" he screamed in re
ply. "This is alia put-up job to make me
miss the train! Where do I go into the
depot?"
" Have a wagon ?" howled twenty ex
pressmen in his ears.
"Never! Never! I want to get into
the depot! If I miss that train I'll sue
the whole city !"
He was shown the public entrance.
and he made a rush for a Flint and Pere
Marquette train just making up.
"That isn't the train for Toledo!"
called several voices, and lie hurried
over to where Bumps was standing and
said:
"I'll fix you for this, sir! Let me
through this gate!"
" Ticket, please."
" Yes:' I'll show you my ticket, and as
soon as t reach Toledo I'Jl make an affi
davit of this affair and send it back to
the superintendent!"
He passed through and entered a
coach. A woman was saying that she
feared her trunk had not come down on
the baggage wagon, and he dumped his
parcels into a seat and said :
"I hope it hasn't! It will serve you
just right to miss it! A person who
hasn't got spunk enough to stand right
up to these railroad folks and let 'em
know what's what ought to lose her
trunk! They tried to bluff me around
just now, and when they found they
couldn't do it they couldn't bo too hum
ble and obliging! Go out and blast
jhem, madam blast their eyes till they
can't rest.!-' Detroit Free Press.
The Antiquity of Forks.
Among the recent finds in the explora
tion of the relics of ancient lake dwellers
oflSwitzevland, is a pair of forks, appar
ent ,ly invented lor table use. 1 hey were
fashioned from the metatarsal bone of a
stag. This gives a higher antiquity to
table forks (if they were really intended
as such)than!hos hitherto been suspected.
Other bone implements and ornaments
nre frequently found. Animal remains
arc also common. Among them are the
bones of the dog, the badger, and the
common otter. Tho latter were doubt-
less met with in the immediate neigh
borhood of the lake, but the presence of
uiu wiiu on iiim in tuts uuur uuucaie
that the lake dwellers were bold and
skillful hunters, as well as ingenious
tool makers. They were also keepers of
cattle, f'jr the most numerous animal re
mains brought to light were those of the
ot mmon cow and the moor cow, . These
exist in every stage of growth, showing
that their owners had a taste for both
veal and beef, while their fondness for
venison is proved by tho many bones of
the stag and roe discovered by the ex
plorers. Evidence of a like character
show that they were hunters of the
wild boar and eaters of the domesticated
pig, and the existence of the beaver in
Switzerland in prchistorio times is at
tested by the presence, among other
bones, ol several which comparative
anatomists declared to have belonged to
that rodent. One omission on the list is
striking. No mention is made ot the
bones of horses having been found, from
which it may be inferred with tolerable
certainty that the horse was either alto
gether unknown to the ancient lake
dwellers, or that they had not succeeded
in capturing and taming him Scientific
Amervxi h.
An Experiment In Hanging.
In the Leadville (Col.) Herald is a
thrilling narrative, descriptive of an in
cident at a mining shaft on tho Big
Evans. While tho miners were at din
ner, one of them a young fellow bet
hve dollars he could bear to be lilted
from the bottom of the shaft by mear-s
of a rope. He claimed that It would be so in Kngianaaiso, uie numoer oi tie
necessary only for him to hold his head potitors in the postal savings bank is
in such a position that ine (pressure oi
the noose would fall upon the back of
the skull. Tying the rope around his
neck, he went down the shaft and sig
naled to be drawn up. In two seconds
the foolish young man lelt las terrible
mistake. He tried to call out, but the
rope tightened and the blood tilled his
head almost to bursting. The men at
I lie lop oi uie siiait. uaving no iu.nu in
his claim, hoisted him up as fast as they
could. When he reached the surface his
.... c . . i . v i r . i . i
eyes were startin from their sockets,
ii ... i l.
111a BWUOitttu tongue - uuux num ms
moutu.and he had .been hung literally. It
was only by the most vigorous and un
wearying treatment that ho was at last
restored, to lite.
Thanksgiving."
Only a song of praiso from earth to lienven,
A keynote through the chord of time,
. Which marks another year.
Only heart thnnks tor bounteous blessings
given,
One stanza more in life's sweet rhyme,
For all which makes lile door.
Only a fond embrace of heart to heart,
An hour of bliss in childhood's homo
With " father," " mother " there;
On'y a germ ot all that makes a part
Of " giving thanks " in life to come,
Is our " Thanksgiving" here.
Mr. Chat. F. Fernald.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
The woman question : " Why did you
stay out till this unseemly hour, sir?"
Btiffah Express.
Joseph Abair, of Winooski, Vt., is the
father of a. boy six years old that weighs
one hundred and five pounds.
Cnjsar's motto was to always be first,
but when it comes to fighting a duel wo
prefer to be second. Boston Post.
" The music at a marriage procession,"
says Heine, always reminds me of the
music of soldiers entering upon a battle."
A new song is entitied " My Love She
is a Kitten." Kittens scratch like the
mischief, and so perhaps does his love.
Norristown Herald.
" We are living at present in the very
arms of tyranny, exclaimed a western
scribe. Aha! just been married, have
you? Waterloo Observer.
A maiden lady of our acquaintance
has resolved to change her name to
" Conclusions," having heard that men
sometimes jump that way.
The bureau of engraving hasn't a sin
gle ten-dollar bill in'its reserve stock,
and the Rockland Cowrter wakes up and
yells, "Neither have we."
W. T. Blackwell, the great tobacco
manufacturer of Durham, N. C, pays
more taxes to the government than any
one man in the world, to wit, $520,000 a
year, $10,000 a week, or over $1,428 per
day.
Experiments recently made on the
Lake Shore railroad prove that petroleum
can be successfully used as fuel for loco
motives with a great saving of money
beside doing away with smoke and
cinders.
A house too closely haded by trees
will be apt to suffer from dampness. In
building, let the living and sleeping
rooms, as far as possible, face toward
the south, and thus gain the advantage
of the sunshine. The sun is a great power
of health.
They were out driving. Said Theo
dore : " What tree, Angelina, bears the
most precious fruit?" Angelina "Oh,
Dory, 1 can t ten, unless it s a cnerry
tree." Theodore looked unutterablo
sweetness as he gazed into Angelina's
eyes and said, " The axle-tree, darling."
The Choctaw nation, which numbers
about 17,000 people, has forty schools
and two academies. It also pays for the
college education of twenty-two stu
dents in the States. The office of super
intendent of education is elective, and
has been held by a Choctaw for four
years.
The giraffe is a singular animal. If
Romeo" had been constructed on the
giratt'e plan, the b-ilcony scene would
nave been much more interesting. He
wotTld have been enabled to "snatch
immortal blessings from her lips," with
out barking his shins in an ineffectual
endeavor to climb up a stone wall.
Xorrislown Herald.
When two voung people, with a sin
gleness of purpose nnd doubleness of
aft'eetion, sit up with each other, and
when the clock strikes twelve, he says:
Is it possible?" and she says, "Why,
I didn't know it was so late?" you may
draw your conclusions that if the busi
ness boom continues, a unified couple
will be hunting a houseto rent in the
raring. Slculwiville Herald.
A young man not more than twenty
two years old, a son of one of our best
families, says the Burlington Hawleye.,
came into this office yesterday and offered
us three dollrrs to print a paragraph
stilting that a young girl had been
fatally poisoned, dying in indescribable
agony, from eating oysters at a church
sociable. We have enough mercy on
the young man to refrain from publish
ing his name, but the next time any man
tries to save seventy-live dollars by a
three dollnr paragraph in goes his whole
nedigree,
At the m-inclnal railroad stations in
India the native passengers nre Eerved
with water by a Brahmin, from whom,
being the highest caste, all persons may
take without defilement. He goes along
the train with his brass vessels; a sudra,
for low-caste man, stops, and in his
open hands placed together and raised
to the level of his mouth, receives the
precious liquid. The vessel of the
Brahmin is not touched, else he would
be defiled. A Brahmin asks water, and
is served with it in the t mailer vessels,
from which he drinks, there being no
defilement between Brahmin and Brah
min. Nineteenth Century.
How Many People Havo Fifty Dollars.
Some one said the other day that in
tho entire world the number of people
who hnd $50, or its equivalent iu cash,
at their command was extremely small
so small, indeed, that altogether they
would not utnumber the inhabitants
of the little kingdom of Belgium, which
has a population of 6.000,000 souls. But
this estimate anoears to be far below tho
mark in the light ol the fact that in the
savings banks of France in 1877 there
were deposited no less than $153,800,.
000 by 2,803,283 depositors, the average
sum of each depositor being $00. Tho
number of these depositors continually
increases, and they are, to a very large
extent, members of tho working classes.
very targe not less, on uie wnoie, man
two millions ana their deposits, on an
average, amount nearer to $250, the
limit allowed than to $50. In Scotland
and Ireland the savings of the people
are large and constantly increasing, in
Germany the people xlo not generally
place their savings in banks, but they
nave comfortable little sums laid away
I t . . . , . l 1 i. : ,. rpui.
I in leupoiH anu oiu Biocmiiga. xiiib,
I also, is the case in France. In this
I country the number of peaple who have
$50 at their command must amount to
. i rn.
i uuuo ns umuj na iu cituci x- ihlvc, vici
many or ureat uruain. ine worm o
working people Is not nearly so poor a
many imagine It to be. A' w Jbr
Oraphio.