HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPEIl AEfDTJM. Two Dollars per Annum. VOL. IX. IlIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUAHY 8, 1880. NO. 46. . j ' i : . . " V W i . Along the Way. Though tangled hard lifo's knot may be, Ajid wearily we rue it, The silont touoh ot lnthor time i Some day will sure undue it. Then, darling, wait; Nothing is late In the light that shines forever. Wo laint at heart, a Iriend is gone; We chafe at the world's harsh drilling! We tremble at sorrows on every sido, At the myriad wnys of killing. Yet, say we all, a sparrow lall, The Lord kecpoth count forever, t ltiVkcepcth count. We oomo, we go, TfVe speculate, toil and taller; Ertit the measure to each of weal or woe, ' God only can give or alter, lie sendeth light He sendeth night. And chango goes on forever. Why not take lile with cheariul trust With laith in the strength oi weakness T The slcndorest daisy rears its head With courage, yet with meekness. A sunny face Hath holy grace, To woo the sun iorevor. Foiever and ever, my darling, yes Goodness and love are undying; Only the troubles and cares oi earth Are winged lrom the livst for flying. Our way wo plow In the furrow " now;" llut utter the tilling and gi owing, the sheaf Soil tor the root, but the sun for tho leal And God kcopeth watch forevor. Mary Mapct Dodge. JUST IN TIME. Dinner w:is over at List, and Mr. Walter Currie, Knglit-li commissioner at the up-country station of Ilulta-Bagh, in Northern India, hud gone out upon the veranda with his wile and his two guests the colonel and major of the th light infantry to enjoy the cool of the evening. On three sides the house was sur rounded iy its compound, a large in closed space, serving the purpose of a courtyard; hut the fourth was only separated hy a small patch of garden from tiiu public, road, along wliieli a number of native women wen; passing witli their lilt lo pitchers on their heads. Ttie sijjht of them naturally turned the eon versa! ion u; on a favorite subject with till Anglo-linliin. viz., tlic char acter of the natives, and the best method of dealing Willi tin m "There's only one way," said the colonel, emi liatieally. " Tell 'cm what they're to do, make "em do it. and thrash 'em well if they don't. That's my way." " Well. 1 venture to differ from you there, colonel,'' said Mr. Currie, quietly. ' I've had to do some thrashing (nee or twice, I own, but most of my native servants teem to get along very well without it, and they serve me excel lently, f assure you.1' "I wish you'd hern in my place, then," retorted the colonel; "you'll have changed your opinion, I war rant. Why, the year before last, when Iliad charge of two battalions of the rascals down at Sutteepoor, because there wasn't another queen's officer within reach just like my confounded luuk! There was no getting anything done unless I did it myself. Hy Jove! sir! I had to be everything at once my own quartermnster.ir.y own sergeant- major, my own caterer, ann " And "your own trumpeter, Colonel Annesley?" asked Mrs. Currie, with an arch smile. The colonel's broad face reddened ominously, and an explosion seemed imminent when a sudden clamor of angry voices from the road below drew them all to the front of the veranda. The cause of the disturbance was visible at a glance. Two half-drunken English soldier-, swaggering along the road, had come into violent contact with a native boy who was running past; and one of them, enraged at the collision, had felled the poor lad to the ground, and was unclasping hi own belt with tho evident intention of beat ing him unmercifully. "Serve the young whelp right." shouted the colonel rubbing his hands; " that's just what they all want." The other officer, Major Armstrong popularly called Major Strongarni - was a huge, brawny, silent man, whose forle Jay in acting rather than in talking. Durinif the whole discussion lie had sat like a great bronze s'.atue, never ut tering a word ; but at the sight of this man ill-using this child, he woke up rather startlingly. To leap to the ground twelve feet be low, to dart across the garden, to vault over the high stockade beyond, was the work of a moment for the athletic ma jor; and in another instant he had raised the fallen boy tenderly from the ground, while saying to the formost sol dier, in the low, compressed tone of a man who means what he says: "Be oil with you!" , "And who the deuce are you, bhovin' yernose in where you ain't wanted?" roared the infuiiated ruffian, to whose eyes the major's plain evening dress bore no token of his being an officer; "jistyou " The sentence was never finished. At the sound of that insolent defiance, Armstrong's sorely-tried patience gave way altogether, and tho powerful right hand which had hewed its way through a whole squadron of Sikh cavalry, fell like a sledge-hammer upon his oppo nent's face, dashing him to the ground as if lie had been blown from the mouth of a gun. "Well done, Major Armstrong!" shouted Mr. Currier lrom above. "You deserve your name, and no mis take." At that formidable name, tho soldier took to his heels at once ; and Armstrong, without even looking at his prostrate antagonist, proceeded to examine the hurts of the boy. The latter was sorely bruised in many places, and the blood was trickling freely over his swarthy lace; but the little hero still did his hest in ciaml erect, and to keep down every sign of mo ih a vmii-ii lie was enduring. " You're a brave lid, and you'll make a soldier some day," said the major to him in Hindoostance. "Come with me, and I'll see tL.it no one molests yeu again." Tim lad seized the huge brown hand which Lad defended hira so bravely, and kissed it with the deepest reverence ; and the two walked away together. Six months have come and gone, and Mr. Currie's hospitable house presents a very different spectacle. The pretty garden is trampled into dust and mire, and the bodies of men and horses are lying thick among the fragments of the half destroyed stockade. All the windows of the house are blocked up, and through the loopholed wans peer the muzzles ot ready rities, showing how steady tho besieged gar rison Btands at bay against the countless enemies, whose dark, fierce faces and ? littering weapons are visible amid the mlf-ruined building and matted thickets all around. The Sepoy mutiny of 1857 is blazing sky-high over Northern India, and Colonel Annesley is blockaded in Hut-tee-Bagli, with a certainty of a hiefcous death for himself and every man of the few who are still true to him, unless help come speedily. Day was just breaking, when two men held whispered counsel in one of tlie upper rooms. " No fear of tho water running short," said Major Armstrong; " but even upon half-rations the food will be out in four davsmorc." " And then we'll just go right nt them, and cut our way through or die ior it!" growled the old colonel, with a grim smile on ins ironmce, lor, witli all his harshness and injustice, Colonel Annesley was "grit " to the backbone. " We niuptn't say anything to them about it, tnousrii. added he, with a side glance nt Mr. Currie, who, standing in the further corner, was anxiousiy watching the thin, worn face of his sleeping wife. At that momenta loud cheer from be- low startled them both, and the next moment Ismail (the " major's boy," as every one now called him; burst into the room, with a glow of unwonted ex citement on his dark lace. " Sahib." cried he, "there is hope for us vet! A detachment of Ineleez (Eng lish) are coming up the other bank of the river; if we can send word to them as they pass, we are saved!" "How do you knew?" asked the maior. easrerlv. "I heard the Sepoys sav so, while I was lying hid among the bushes yon der," ans wered the lad. " Among the bushes yonder?" roared the colonel, facing around. " Have you really been in the midst ot those cut throat villains, listening to what they a., A 9 XV li n t ptrni ft l (t vrtii fir, flint, fnr-1 ' "I did it for Sahib Armstrong's sake," replied the boy, proudly, " because he was good to me. The colonel turned hastily away to hide the flush of not unmanly shame that overspread Ins liard Juce; ami Armstrong smiled slightly as lie heard him mutter: " Hy Jove! these chaps aren't so black as they're painted alter all. ' " Hut if the troops are beyond the river, how can we communicate witli them ?" asked Mrs. Currie. who. Awak enrd by the shouting, had risen and joined the group. "They may not pass near enough to hear the firing, and we have no means of fending them word." "Fear nothing for that, mom-sahib" (madam) said the Hindoo t.oy, quietly ; " I will carry them word myself!" "Bit how can you possibly doit?" cried Mr. Currie, thunderstruck by the confident tone in which this mere child spoke of atask from which the hardiest veteran might wen have shrunk. " Listen, sahib.'" answered Ismail "I will slip out of the house, and make a dash into the enemy's lines, as n 1 were deserting from vou to them: and you can tell your people to fire a shot or two niter me with blank cartridge, as I go. Then the bepoys will receive me kindly, and I'll tell them that you re ail dying ol thirst, and that they need only wait one day more to bo sure of you, so that they won t care to make another attack. Then, when they have no suspicion, and think I'm quite one ot themselves, I'll steal away, ana slip across tho river. "Hut are you quite sure the Sepoys will believe you:" " asked Major Arm strong, doubtlully. "I hey ii believe this, anyhow," re plied the bov, deliberately making deep gash in his bare shoulder, and staining ins white frock with the blood as lie glided from the room, followed by Armstrong. The plan was soon explained to tho men below, and a moment later Ismail's tlark figure was seen darting like an arrow across the open space in front o the building, followed hy a quick dis charge of blank cartridges lrom the marksmen at the loopholes. The sound ot firing drew the attention of the Sepoys, several of whom ran forward to meet him. In another instant he was in" the midst of them. " I can scarcely see for those bushes," said Colonel Annesley ; "but he seem to be showing them the wound on his shoulder, and telling them it was our doing " At that moment an exulting yell from the enemy came pealing through th still air. "That's the story of our being shot of water, for a guinea!" said th major; " it was a very good thought of his. If it only delays their attack two days longer, there may be time for help to arrive yet. Slowly and wearily the long hours of that fearful day wore on. The heat was so terrific that even the native soldiers of the garrison could barely hold their own against it, and the handful of Eng lishmen were almost helpless. Had the Sepoys attacked then, all would have been over at one blow ; but hour passed after hour, and there was no sign of an assault. At length, as afternoon gave place to evening, a movement began to shov it self in the enemy's lines. Their cur Is of smoke, rising above tLe trees, showed that the evening meal was in prepara tion ; and several figures, with pitchers in their hands, were seen going toward the river, among whom the colonel's keen eye soon detected Ismail. "By George!" cried the old soldier, slapping his knee exultingly, " that lad's worth his weight in gold! There's his way down to the river right open to him without the least chance of suspicion! Why, he's a born general nothing less!" Every eye within the walls was now turned anxionsly upon thedistant group, fearing to see at any moment some movement which would show that the trick was detected. How did Ismail mean to accomplish his purpose? Would he plunge boldly into the river, without any disguise, or had he some further stratagem in preparation? No one could I Suddenly, m Ismail stooped to plunge anv. his light wooden dipper into the water, it slipped lrom his hands, and went floating away down the stream. A cry of dismay, a loud laugh from tho Se poys, and then the boy was seen running frantically along the bank, and trying in vain to clutch the vessel as it floated past. " What on earth's lie up to?" grunted the colonel, completely mystified. "I-see!" cried Major Armstrong, tri umphantly, "there's a boat yonder among the reeds, and he's making right lor it. w en done, my Drave noy i Hut at that moment a yell of rage from the Sepoys told that the trick was discovered. Luckilv those on the bank had left their pieces behind, or poor Ismail would soon have been disposed of; but tho alarm instantly brought up a crowd of tbeir armed comrades, whose bullets fell like hail around the boat and its gallant little pilot. i-iet us nre a volley and make a show of sallying out," said the colonel ; " it'll take their attention lrom him." Hut in this he was mistaken. The first rattle of musketry from the besieged house did indeed recall most of Ismail's assailants, but at least a dozen were left who kept up an unceasing fire, s.riKing me ooat again ana again. All at once the coionel dashed his gliis" to the floor with a frightful oath. Between two gusts of smoke he had seen the boat turn suddenly over, and :o whirling away down the dark river, :eel upward. "There's an end of tho poor lad." muttered the veteran, brokenly. "God bless him for a brave little fellow. And now, old friend, we must iust die hard, for there's no hope left.-' m m v m The first few hours of the night passed quietly, and the exhausted defenders, utterly worn out, slept ns if drugged with opium. But a little after mid night the quick ears of the two veteran officers the only watchers in the whole garrison, except the sentries themselves caught a faint stirring in tiie surround ing thickets, which seemed to argue some movement on the part of the enemy. Listening intently lor a lew moments they felt certain that they were right, and lost no time in arousing their men. The scant y stores of food were opened once more, and, crouching together in the darkness, the doomed men took what they fully believed to bo their last meal on earth. They're coming!" said Major Arm strong, straining his eyes into tho gloom through a loophole. " I hear them creeping lorward, though 1 can t see tliem. What the deuce was that?" ex claimed the colonel, suddenly. "It looked like a fiery arrow flying past." its worse than that," said the major, in a low voice. " lhe rascals are shooting lighted chips of bamboo on to th? roof to set it on lire. Send the women up with buckets to flood the thatch there's not a moment to lose." " 1 11 go and sec to it myself!" cried Mrs. Uurrie, hastening out ot the room. But the power of this new weapon had already heroine fatally manifest. The house was an old one, and dry as tinder 'roiu the prolonged heat, and as fast as the flames were quenched in one place they broke out in another. When day dawned, tho fire had al ready got a firm hold of one corner of the building, and a crushing discharge was poured upon all who altempted to extinguish it, while the triumphant yens oi the numan tigers below told that they felt sure of their prey. "It's all over with us, old fellow," said the colonel, grasping his old com rade's hand; "but, at least, we shall have done our duty." " (Jive me one of your pistols,'' whis pered Mrs. Currie to her husband, in a voice that was not her own. "I must not fall into their hands alive." At that moment Major Armstrong was seen to start and bend forward, as if listening intently; for lie thought although lie could scarcely believe his ears- -that he had suddenly caught a faint sound of distant tiring. In another instant lie heard it again, and this time there could be no more doubt, for several of the others had caught it likewise, and a gleam of hope once' more lighted up their haggard faces and bloodshot f yes. Louder and nearer came the welcome sound, while the sudden terror and confusion visible among the enemy showed that they, too, were at no loss to guess its meaning. Then high above all the dine rose the well-known " Hurrah!" and through the smoke-clouds broke a charging line of glittering bayonets and ruddy English faces, sweeping away the cowardly murderers as the sun chases the morn ing mist. "That boy's worth his weight in gold," said Colonel Annesley, as, a lew hours later, he listened to Ismail's ac count of how he had dived under the boat and kept it between himself and the Sepoys, that they might think him drowned. "He's the pluckiest little fellow I've ever seen, and, although lie belongs to tlie major, I'm going to take my share of helping him on, by Jove!" A Precoclons Boy. Robert Harris, a little five-year old hoy.whose parents lived nearSenatobia, Mississippi, has given evidence of re markable intellectual powers. He can read and converse fluently, using choice words and in a pat way. liclore lie had reached his third year he had read the second and third renders, and had mad') some progress in arithmetic, showing a remarkable aptitude during the time in spelling and other branches of knowledge. While in his fourth year he read the fourth and fifth readers, learned a good part of tlie mul tiplieation table and spelled from Web ster's common school dictionary almost any word eiven him. He reads news papers, and has considerable knowledge in general information und current events. "Do animals havo fun?" asks some utiobserving individual. Of course they do. When a row switches her tail across the face of a man who is milking her, steps along just two yards and turns to see him pick up his stool and follow, she has the most amused expres sion on her face possible, and if she can kick over tho milkpail she grows posi tively hilarious. New Haven Register. The gentlemen who essayed to serenade Miss L. a lew evenings since should have had " clear" throats, and their eflorls would have b en better appreciated. Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup is the best remedy eitant for a " thick " or congealed conditiun of the throat and bron chial lubtt, giving instant relist. The Dumb L'rentnres. The 65,000 dogs ol St. Petersburg bring to the city treasury $130,000 per year, $2 being the tax upon each dog. A dog washed from a passing schooner recently swam ashore, a distance o nearly four miles, near Watch Hill 11. 1. A setter dog in Lee county. Ala., at tacked a large hawk in a barnyard and whipped it in a fair fight. A Bath (Me.,) cat after several un successful attempts to catch a pigeon, put corn kennels on the sidewalk before a post, behind which she hid, and soon had material enough for supper. An aged dog committed suicide at Manchester, N. II., by walking into the water and laying down till the tide came in and drowned him, notwith standing all his master's efforts to get him out. Mr. Tupper, a farmer who lives above Columbus, Ga., has given us the follow ing rat story : He was going out to his corn crib the other morning, he says. when lie saw a large rat, with head erect, carrying a full-sized car of corn in his mouth, while at the same time his tail was wrapped around another large ear which he was dragging behind hiin. Friday, a gentleman living in Leeton. Ga., had his eye-glasses yanked from his nose and devoured by a mule. A wit ness of this remarkable spectacle says tho mule seemed to know of the defect ive vision of the gentleman, nnd waited deliberately for his approach, taking off the glasses and gulping them down as if they had been a delicious morsel ot hay. At New Philadelphia, Ohio, a huge dog in attempting to scale a high fence into a yard, missed his calculations and landed at the bottom of the well, sixty feet deep. The family thought the water rather " riley" next morning, but could not account for it. About noon the hired girl upon looking into the well discovered apairof gleaming eyes staring at her from the bottom. Help was obtained nnd the dog drawn up. He was in the well about fifteen hours, and kept alive by swimming all the time. A cockatoo who has seen half a cen tury of shine and shade was presented by his master three years ago to the zoo logical gardens, Philadelphia. Upon his return from Europe recently the gentle man went to the gardens, and standing where the bird could see him, called him by name. The cockatoo nt once recognized his voice, and flew about the cage in a state of intense excitement. When the former master went up to.the cage the bird became almost frantic with joy. The door of the cage was opened and the bird at once perched upon the visitor's shoulder and per formed many tricks which he had learned in the old days. A Xew Tork Fireman's Brave Deed. In September, 1808, the residence of .lames (jordon liennett, lounder ol the New York Herald, was on lire. Tlie ac tion of the New York lire department on that occasion pronrpted Mr Bennett to place in the hands of three trustees, on April 13.1WJ.81.500, the income of which they were directed to use in procuring annually a gold medal, to be struck from a die, and conferred on the fireman who may bo best entitled to that reward. Al though but ten years have elapsed since Mr. Bennett placed this trust in the keeping of the trustees they have had made and presented fourteen medals. Daniel J. Meagher, foreman of a hook and ladder company, was the last re cipient of tho medal; the Ftory of the brave act for which v. was awarded to him being told as follows: At midnight on the second day ot May, 1878, fire was discovered on the upper floors of 28 East Fourteenth strni t. The alarm was sounded for station 33'J. Foreman Meagher, of Hook and Ladder uompany J. with ms (oinuian.il, was in front of the burning building in less than two minutes from the time the alarm was sounded, and on Ins arrival he saw a woman partly hanging out of the lourih fctory window, tie ordered a forty-two feet ladder placed against the building, ihis was done, but it proved to be about ten feet short. lie ordered that it bo placed on the highest step of the front stoop. Fireman Flood ascended the ladder, which was still too short to reach the woman. At this point Fire man i lood unfortunately seriously nv jureu his loot, severe pain tor a mo ment paralyzed his efforts. Foreman Meagher, takina in the situation at glance, oidered that the ladder be held erect and away from the buiidinir. so as to get all the length possible. He then ascended until he stood on next to tlie top round of the ladder, fifty-two feet from the sidewalk. His head was just even with the feet of the woman. lie uttered some words of encouragement, ana in a calm but decided manner di rected her to hoid her limbs and body as rigid as possible. Then, all being ready, he told her to drop. She did so. lie caught her in one arm. steadying himself by the power of his legs and one hand on the top of the ladder. He passed her to his comrade, Fireman Flood, who, notwithstanding the intense pain he wns suffering, carried the fright ened woman to the sidewalk in safety. For this act of cool, well-planned and determined bravery the trustees decided that the Bennett medal for 1878 should be awarded to Foreman Daniel ,T. Meagher. A Fatal Rhlrt-Bntton. Dr. Sander, a physician, of Elberfield, Germany, died recently from the effects of a singular accident, which conveys its own lesson : One morning in 1874, while dressing, he contrived in some way to get a bhirt-butfon between his teeth. Unconsciously, while laughing, the but ton slipped into the back of his mouth, and thence into the larynx. All the ex ertions of his surgical fiiends to remove it were vain. It was ascertained that it sank into the right lung, which soon became irritated. Spitting blood en sued, and he was himself looking for ward to his death as not very remote. He removed to a villa he had near Frank fort-on-the-Main to pass his last days in quiet. Hero he was surprised by a fit f coughing, accompanied by spit ting of blood, in a paroxysm of which the button was ejected His health rapidly improved, and in a few months, regarding himself as ciuite cured, he re sumed his professional work, and endeavored to gather up the threads of his former practice. But last year un mistakable symptoms manifested them selves that the lung had not fully re-c-jvered from the presence in its sub stance of a foreifn body for several months. He Bpent the winter in the south of Europe, but returned almost wcrse than he went. He gradually wnsted away, and sank a few any ago. London Timu, TIMELY TOPICS. An American physician who has given attention to the study of alcohol ism, said in the course of nn address re cently delivered before a learned so ciety: "There are constantly crowd ing into our insane asylums persons fifty to eighty years of age, who in early life were addicted to the use of alcoholic liquors, but who had reformed, and for ten, twenty or thirty years have never touched a drop. The injury which tho liquor did to their bodies seemed to have all disappeared, being triumphed over by the full vigor of their manhood, but when their natural force began to de crease, then the concealer mischief showed itself in insanity, clca.,y demon strating that Hie injury to their bodies was of a permanent character." Gen. Tom Harrison's Texas brigade, composed of two Texas, one Tennessee and one Arkansas regiment, was proba bly the last brigade under fire during the wnr, as it was engaged witn ivortuern troops between ltaleigh nnd Salisbury, N. C. just above Chapel Hill, on April M, 1865. the day that the armistice was leclared. The Hag cerrled on that nay by one of the Texan regiments (the Eleventh Texas volunteers) is now in the possession of John Halford.of Doni son, Texas, who was a member of that regiment at the time, and who concealed it and brought it home with him in the back of his jacket. This is probably the last Southern flag fired at by United States troops. It, is a small, silk Con federate flag, and still in good condition, there beins only one small tear in it, and that was done tho last day it was under fire. When Mr. Gladstone was making his ercat speeches in the British parlia ment on the loicign policy of the gov ernment, he used to turnisli much inno cent merriment to the members about him by the production of what looked like a pomatum-pot, tho contents of which ho from time to time absorbed. Nicht after niErht he brought this crojkery with hira, formally produced it from his coat-tail pocket, ana piacea it within reach on the table. Then everyone knew that he was going to make a great speech. After much dis cussion nnd an agony of curiosity, one of his parliamentry brothers ventured to ask what the mysterious mixture might be. Mr. Gladstone very frankly told him that it was simply an egg beaten up in a glas of sherry, though why it should havo been carried about in a pomatum-pot remains unexplained to this day. The vital statistics of New York city for 187'J present some instructive results. Thu mortality of the city keeps pace with, it it does not advance taster than, the city's growth in population. More than one-half the entire number of deaths are recorded from tenement houses. While more than half the people of the city are of American birth, the marriage records of lhe year show only 3,872 native grooms out of a total ol 8,4tia, though the native-born brides turn the scale on the other side with the number of 4,722. According to the State census of 1875. tho German em pire furnished sixteen per cent, of the inhabitants of the cit'-; according to tho bureau of vital statistics, men of German birth represent twenty-live per cent, of those married during the past year. The Irish, though representing nineteen per cent, of the city population, furnished only nine nnd one-lialf per cent, of the men and ten per cent, of the wonirn who got married. An analysis ol the birth record would, a local paper thinks, tend to emphasize the lads which point to the gradual Tcutonizing of New York. There has come up a discussion in the press the world over, on the system of bridging large spaces of water in a simi lar manner to tlie Frith of Tay, in Scot hind, the s.'cneoftho dreadful railroad disaster, and no doubt most learned opinions will be expressed on the sub ject. The bridge where the awful ac cident happened is built on a precisely analogous plan to tlie Victoria bridge across the St. Lawrence and tho bridge across the Menai straits, running be tween Wales and the Isle of Man. lhese bridges havo Btood many years, whereas the Tay bridge is only two years old. But, tavs a New York paper. we must not forget that the Sixtli Ave nue elevated road is merely an elongated Tay bridge, built on the same plan and made of iron as that was. If any part of that structure gave way wo should have another justsuch an accident. The only difference is that in place of falling into the water the unfortunate victims would fall on land. We cannot contem plate without a shudder the possibility of such an accident at such a spot as liutu street and Eighth avenue, where the road curves at the lieiirht of 100 feet from the ground, that is to say twenty feet higher than the bridge over tho Tay We trust a calamity of this sort may not happen, but the learlul experi ence in Scotland should prove a lesson to the directors ot the Metropolitan road. Not a day should bo allowed to pass without testing tho entire track from one end to the other. Words of Wisdom. Common sense makes no parade. No wise man ever wished to be younger. Self reliance is quite distinct from self- assertion. What maintains ono vice would bring up two children. It is a good thing to learn caution by the mistortuneol others. Nothing is more dangerous than Iriend without discretion We hand folks over to God's mercy. but show none ourselves. There are calumnies against which even innocence loses courage. Better be upright and want, than wicked and have superabundance. It is the nature of the humaa disposi tion to hate him whom you have in jured. The key to every man is his thought. Casual thoughts are sometimes of great value. Those days are lost in which we no good ; those worse than lost in whido wo do tvil. ch People teldom impfove when they have uo other model but themselves to cony after. The mind of youth cannot remain empty; if you do not put into it that which Is good, it will gather elsewhere that which is tvll. Horrors of a Chinese Prison Shanghai, says a cor espondent, looks very pretty from the water, but the vision is dispelled on landing. The streets arc in some places not more than six or seven feet, wide, and the houses overhang, so that they nearly touch over head, utterly shutting out the sunlight; and. in addition to being narrow, nre roeking with filth. The sedan chairs are the only means of conveyance used here. They arc carried by two men, who. whenever they have a customer, start off on a run, chanting in a sort of sing-song tone: " Heavy lugerl Heavy luger! Oh. ga! heavy luger!1' In some of the principal thoroughfares T saw a constant stream of sedan churs, the bearers chanting all in time and kteping military step and a picturesque pro cession it was. Shanghai old town is completely walled "in, and the gates are just as I have seen them in pictures. Over one gate were the heads of six criminals, with the pigtails swinging to and fro with the breeze. After passing through this gate I made up rr.y mind to avoid the disgusting sight and enter the city by another road, but tho gato through which I passed this time had four heads over it, ana 1 am told that all tho gates are decorated in the same manner. I went to see six Chinese pirates be headed yesterday. Tho open square where all the executions take place was filled with Chinese of all ages and con ditions, nnd a few Europeans among them. The prisoners were the most forlorn starvelings I ever saw, and be trayed no more fear at their approaching fate than if they were to be spectators of an execution. A huge Tartar officiated as executioner. Ho was armed with a native sword, ar.d stood on a small plat form in the centre of the square. A fter the criminals, with their hands tied be hind, had been taken upon the stage the executioner took one of tho pirates by the arm, brought him to the edge of the platform, hit him a sharp rap with his hand on the head, which caused the poor fellow to bow his head, and then the executioner's sword went up, was poised in the air a full half minute, nnd with a 3weep the glittering blade de scended, and the poor criminal's head went flying off in one direction, nnd the body in another. One by one the others met their fate in the same way, the 1 al tar making a very short, business-like ob of it. merely turning to receive the plaudits of the crowd alter each Ik ad rolled oft, and responding by a grin which showed every one ot his teeth. But the stolidity of the poor wretches was beyond description. Not a muscle quivered, and even when waiting for the blade ot the executioner to lau l couia not detect a sign of emotion. The crowd seemed to eniov tho sight immensely. and set up a yell of delight at each cut ol the Tartar s sword. 1 am tola that executions are common heri: Sickened with the sight, I went down one of the roads, and coming to a prison went in. Of all places in this world, 1 believe there is not one where so much abiect wretchedness can be seen as in Chinese prison. Trie criminals serving out sentences get- nut one men a week from the authorities; the rest of the ime they are fed by their friends, if they have any, or by the contributions of visitors, or they starve. I had not viiuch money with me on going in, but came out penniless, the poor creatures so work d on my feelings, borne ol the prisoners had lost a hand, others were leavilv ironed, and all wore the same pinched, starved look. 1 saw three women in process of execution for niur tering a man. they were hanged by the neck in a kind of wooden stocks, so arranged that their feet could just toucl the ground, and were lett in this condition till dead. Sometimes death ensues very soon, but oftener a nay or two will pas-; before the poor wretch dies, as there i no pressure on the neck. I was glad to get away from this place, too. Hut t piteous tones of the poor prisoners beg. ging lor cumshaw (a prcsunt) ring m my ears yet. Immensity of the Stars. It is known that the stars are true suns, that some of them are hirg'-r than our own sun, and tnat around these enormous centers of heat and liuht re volve planets on which life certainly exists, our sun is distant lrom us 38 000,000 leagues, but these stars are dis lant at least 500,000 times as far a dis t..nce that, in fact, is incommensurabl and U!. imaginable for us. Viewed witli the unaided eye, the stars and the planet look aiike; that is, appear to have tlie same diameter, liut. viewed through telescope, while tho planets are seen to possess clearly appreciable diameters the stars are still only mere luminous points lhe most powcilulof existm tcieseepes, that ot .Melbourne, whir magnifies 8 000 times, gives us nn image ol one ot our planets possessing nn ap parent eiiametcr oi several degrees Jupiter, for instance, which seen witl th 3 naked eye. appears as a star of the nrst i. agmtude, with a diameter ol forty-live degrees at the Iinost. will i the telescope have its diameter multi plied 8,0QO times, and will be seen as if it, occupied in the heavens an nngle 100 degrees. Meanwhile a star along side of Jupiter, and which 1o the eye is us bright as that planet, will still be a simple dimension less point. Neverthe less, that star is thousands of times more voluminous than the planet. Divide the distance between us and that planet by 8,000, and you havo for result a dis tance relatively very small; but divide by 8,000 the enormous number of leagues which represents the distance of a star, nnd there remain a number of leagues too great to permit of tho stars being seen by us in a perceptible form. In considering Jupiter or any of Hie planets, we are filled with wonder at the thought that this little luminous point might hide not only all the visible stars, but a number 5,000 fold greater for of stars visible to our eyes there are only about o.uuu. .All the stars oi these many con stellations, as the Great Bear, Cassi opeia, Orion, Andromeda, all the stars of tho zodiac, even all the stars which are visible only from the earth's south ern hemisphere, might bn set in one plane, sido by side, with no ono over hipping another, even without the slightest contact between star and star, and yt they would occupy so small a cpace that, were it to be multiplied by 5,000 fold, that space would be entirely covered by the disk of Jupiter, albeit mat disk to us seems to Deaninappre ciablo point. Prof. J. Vinot. m " If you marry Grace." exclaimed an irate lather to his son. " I will cut vou off without a cent, and you won't have so much as a piece of meat to boil in the pot." "well, replied tho young man, " Grace before meat," and he ira roediite'y went in search of minister. Saturday Nijhti ITEMS OF INTEREST. Courtship is a draw game marriage ii a tie. Ciiicwo Journal. The United Slates produced during 1879 $38,()0,000 in gold and $40,812,000 in silver When a thief snatches a watch and transfers it to a confederate, he does so merely to pass away time. New 1 ork News. The exports from the United States to Great Britain for the last year exceed those of the previous year by over $55 000,000. ' During tho past year 121 persons com mitted suicide in New York city. Forty three were drowned and 1,015 met their death by violence. I think the turkey has the advan tage of you," said tho landlady to the inexpert boarder who was carving. Guess it has, mum in age." At Gateshead, England, a case has come to light of a female Fagin, wife of a clerk, who compelled her children, by readlui threats, to pick pockets. Cheap eating houses, where one can get a substantial meal, including coffee, forfiftn cents, may be looked upon as one ot the best economic lcalures of Cincinnati . Augustus and Nelly were walking 1 hronsih the meadow, one bright summer day: And merrily laughing and talking, tVlien some toadstools thoy saw hy the way. Do the toads really use these to sit on ?" Said Nelly " now don t make a pun, Gus, ll you do, like the subject we've hit on, 1 II deem it (lio meanest ot lun-Uus." Boston Journal of Commerce. A page of the Czar's diary, if we mav believe the San Francisco News Letter, runs as follows: "tfot up at 7 a. m., and ordered my bath. Found four gal- ons ol vitrol in it. and did not take it. Went to breakfast. The Nihilists had placed two torpedoes on the stairs, but I did not step on them, lhe coilee smelt so strongly ol prussic acid that I was alnudto drink it. round a scorpion in my left slipper, but luckily shook it out before putting it on. Just before stepping into the carriage to go for my morning drive, it was blown into the air, killing the coachman and the horses nstantlv. I did not drive. look a light lunch off hermetically sealed American canned goods. They can't fool me here. Found a poisoned dagger in my favorite chair, with the point sticking out. Did not sit down on it. Had din ner at 0 I", m., and made Baron Laischou nowonski taste every dish. He died he fore tlie soup was cleared away. C n- sunied some Baltimore oysters and some London stout that 1 have had locked up for fivo years. Went to the theater, ar.d was shot at three times in the first act. Had the entire audience hanged. Went home to bed, and slept all night on the roof of the palace." A Woman's Impressions of Salt Lake. A letter from Utah, written by a lady. says: mere are hordes ot women in shaker or slat sun-bonnets and calico drosses scant in length, breadth and thickness; whole tribes of half-grown boys and girls, hoodlums with hardly an exception; young men sullen and vicious-looking; young women, care worn and degraded ; every woman with a baby at the breast and two or three hanging on her skirts; more halt, blind and lame than I ever saw in all my life. But the grave ot isrighnm is dilapidated to the last degree. " Not a wife has planted a shrub or seemingly shed a tear. A commonp'.ace, flat little granite slab marks the spot where the great prophet rests. His grave is distinguished lrom tlie others by being adorned with the decaying and odorous remains of a very dead cat and some broken pieces of old dishes. Those may strike you as rather unique cemetery orm nicnts, but I guess, on tlie whole, they are good enough for old Biighain. One ot the numerous Mrs. Young lives near us. She is a relict of the departed prophet. It seems very strange to hear that this Mr. So-and-Sohe has three wives and this is the home of So-and-So; his last wile lives here. 1 notice, too, that tho last and best-looking and youngest wife generally lives in the best house nnd the best stle. Tho first wife lias to go to the Endowm' nt house and give her hus band away every time he. is married. But for all that, the poor creatures al ways let you know with nn air of some importance when they do happen to be the first wives. Imagine a state of societ y where it is no cause of comment to having a married man paying atten tion to a young j;irl. Think of the bit terness and heartache of il . There were about 7.000 people in the congregation the day we were there. 1 had a very strong impression that the whole 7,000 needed a bath of good strong soap suds, but doubtless that was the idea of a very carnal mind. Origin of Plants. Madder came from the East. Celery originated in Germany. The chestnu Mine from Italy. The onion originated in Egypt. Tobacco is a native of Vir ginia. The nettle is a native of Europe. The citron is a native of Greece. The pine is a native of Atuerica. The poppy originated in the East. Oats originated in North Airica. Kye came originally from Siberia. Barley was found in the mountains ol Himalaya. Wheat is sup posed to have come und to havo grown simuitaneous'y in Tartary, north ot the Himalaya mountains. Parsley was nrst known in Sardinia. Sunflower was brought from Pciu. The parsnip is a native of Arabia. The potato is a native of Peru. Cabbage grows wild in Si- be-ria. Buckwheat came from Siberia. Millet was first known in India. Tlie apple and pear are from Europe. Spin ach was nrst cultivated in Arabia. The muiberry tree originated in Persia. Tho horio-e-hestnut is a native of Thibet. The cucumber came from tlie East In dies. Tlie quince came from the island of Crete. The radish is a native of China and Japan. Peas are supposed to be of Egyptian origin. The garden. cress is from Lgypt and tho Last. Horse radish came from the south of Europe. The Zealand flax shows its origin by its name. The eioriander grows wild near the Mediterranean. The Jerusalem artichoke is a Brazilian production. Hemp is a native of Persia and the East Indies. The tomato origi nated in South America, but was known in England as early as 1587. Dodoens, a Hollaed agriculturist, mentions tLe tomato in 1583 as " a vegetable to be eaten with pepper, salt and oil." The bean is a nativo of Persia. The let originated in Africa and Asia. The cabbage came from England Cayenne pepper came from the tropics; tttf owir varieties from the West Ineiiis. -lhe sweet potato csme from tvopifilAmtnca and wu early iotredd'ed JnW Euro-
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers