The Elk County advocate. (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, January 29, 1880, Image 1

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    HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDTJM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. IX. BID Gr WAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JAKUAEY 29, 1880. NO. 49.
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Porseyerance.
One step and tlion another,
And the longest wnlk is ended ;
One stitch and then nnothur,
And the largest rent is mended ;
One brick upon another,
And the highest wall is mado;
One fluke upon another,
And tlio deepost snow is laid.
So the little coral workers,
By their slow and constant motion,
Have built those pretty islands
In the distant dnrk-bluo ocean;
And the noblest undertakings
Man's wisdom hath conceived,
By oft-repealed effort
Have boen patiently achieved.
Then do not looked disheartened
On the work you have to do,
And say that such a mighty task
You never can get through ;
But just endeavor, day by day,
Another point to gain,
And soon the mountain which you feared
Will prove to bo a plain!
Koine was not buildod in a day,"
The ancient proverb teaches,
And nature, by her trees aud flowers,
Tlio snino sweet sermon preaches.
Think not ol liir-ofl' duties,
But ot duties which are near,
And huviug onco begun to work,
ItesolVe to pei severe.
they wandered about the horizon, drink
ing in the beauty and tlie grandeur ot the
scene. She had some light, fleecy ar
rangement a nubia, I believe it is called
wrapped loosely about her head and
shoulders, and her hair, in whose meshes
the sunbeams seemed to have caught.
peeped from beneath, helping to frame
a face stamped with innocence and pur
ity. Young, people always get senti
mental in the evening, when surrounded
by quiet, and I was no exception to the
rule, and almost before I knew it I was
toying with the little hand, so white
and soft, lying carelessly on the flinty
quartz.
"is elite," 1 said, alter a few moments,
" don't you ever long to leave this rough
place and go back to the Easf"
"iNotnow, Bhe said.slowly, "though
I mieht under some circumstances."
" Why not now ?"
Oh. because because I don't want
to leave papa."
" Is that the real reason?" I asked.
her shyness and evident avoidance of
my eyes giving me hopes that set my
heart beating with quicker pulsations.
41 T.if lla (tr Hnurn " alia aoirl niilnt-ltr
its she arose.
" No, not until vou answer me." and
I caught again the little hand.
She drew it from mv grasp, and. with
a saucy "Coine," started down the
trail and I hastened to follow. I made
several attempts to renew tlio conversa
tion on the way, but Nellie always
turned it off from the subject nearest
my heart ; and yet when I left her at her
father's door she shyly extended her
hand, and I thought I detected a soft
pressure as l took it in mine. A mo
incut, and she had vanished, and I no
ticed a rosy flush on her pretty cheeks
and an unusual light in her tender eyes
1 went nacK to my little cabin with a
strange admixture of certainty and
doubt in my feelings, and a quickening
ot pulse that made me oblivious to my
rough surroundings.
After supper I lit my pipe and
sat
"STACY'S GAL."
The colonel, I think, was the first
person to propose to her. He did it in
the oratorical style for which lie was
noted in the camp and was promptly re
fused, much to Ins own and the boys
astonishment. 1 believe the judge was
the next, but as lie had forlilied his
courage with a large quantity of whisky
his breath was strong enough and his
words thick enough to ensure speedy
rejection, lie was considerably mor
tified at it and never able to explaiii the
cause of his defeat, but when a Mexican
woman drifted into the camp shortly
afterward and engaged in washing for
the men the judge ;tried his liaHd again
and was accept o i. It took him a month
to set loose from the bonds and he
swore he would "never give any otl.er
female critter :v cb'inec to hook him
again," and he carefully avoided all
Indian fiu:ivs and homrly scnoritas
who neen.-ioiinily passed through Min
eral City. After the judge a dozen or
more of the buys offered 1 heir hands and
liu tnnes to " Stacy's g:il" and hired in
precisely the same manner, while old
Stacy himself quietly chuckled and "bet
on his cal every trip, "a- lie afterward
explained.
She had come into camp a week or
two previously to the greatest surprise
ot everybody, including her father
Old Stacy a good many years belurc.
sorue eight or ten, had lost his wife, and
so gianlt was Lis grief that be could not
be induced to remain longer in tlie place
she I ti I made, a litt le heaven for hi n
So lie placed his daughter his only
child in the fashionable) female semi
nary ot the Slate, provided her witl
everything that was necessary for her
comfort or li.ippiniss, and then struck
out for the -San Juan silver mines to for
get his loss among the excitements and
privations ot the frontier, olaey was
one of the fortunate few out of the tin
uckv many that enter a mining country.
and in a few years ho was possessed of
properties yielding linn an excellent in
come from their hard, white quartz.
Ile regularly corresponded with his
daughter, and kept her supplied in
pocket-money far in excess of her needs
or requirements, hut he never went back
on a visit, aim wncn that young lauv
was duly graduated with high honors
she determined to seek out her long
absent paternal progenitor. With an
independence and courage, the wonder
ment of the boys, she traveled across the
plains, took passage on the stages and
IIIJ.IUJT "ivy iuiikihi V4HJ UU IIU1DC
back, the nrst white woman in camp
' and the object of the shy adoration of
the men.
It was some time before the boys
could stana tneir ground and face tier,
instead of scampering awav at her an.
proach, as had hitherto been the case;
but the estern miner is not long in
getting accustomed to strange things.
and it was not over ten anys alter her
arrival that the cotonei immolated him
self on the altar of ins affections. En
couraged by li is example and unterri
lied by his unceremonious defeat, the
boys one after another tried their hick,
though, as I have before mentioned,
with no better success.
Stacy was a partner of mine in the
Ajax mine, in which there were three of
us interested, and as we were doing con
siderable development on the vein I
was of necessity much in his company
and consequently in that ol Ins daughter.
She was a very pretty girl, with dainty,
delicate ways far more be lilting a house
on Walnut street than a rough mining
camp: but she loved her father with an
earnest, clinging affection that would
not listen to iter leaving him, and so she
continued to reign queen of Mineral City
all through the summer ot 1870
I don't know when it was that I was
unduly attracted toward Nellie. I think
it was when she asked me to call her
thereafter by that name. She made the
request so innocently, so sweetly, and
so tenderly, alleging that as I was her
fathers partner, a irentlemnn liv birth
and education, and such a kind friend to
tier
me to say Nellie, instead of Miss Stacy,
which sounded so formal, tl int. T punm
very nearly adding other words to the
name t hat our short acquaintance would
not justify. After that I spent most of
mv evenings with JN'eine, and sometimes
of an afternoon we took delicious little
rambles together on the mountain sides
and into the heavy timber lining tho place for a pretty little thing like she is,
valley or canon of the Uncorapahgre. you know."
une evening, as we were returning iseiiie going to leave camp! is
home, we stopped to rest on the rock- Jove, that wouldn't do. No, if she 1
upon my roughiy-hewn door step. The
sun had gone down,, but yet there
was light enough forme to see her cabin
and notice her father standing in the
doorway chatting with Mineral Bob, the
est prospeetcr in camp and the third
owner with Macy ana myself in the
Viax. I turned my head and saw the
lights in the shaft-house of tlie Big
(iinntmine on lied mountain gleaming
awav in the distance; I heard the clang
ing blows of the blacksmith at his forge
a he sharpened the tools for the morn
ing's work, and the deep boom of the
blast in tiie Littlo Kmily mine came
floating through the still night air. Then
my eyes wandered back to the cabin
which held Nellie. Bob was still there,
his tall figure and broad shoulders con
tracting greatly with the little old man
in the doorway. What was he doing
t here so long, 1 thought, and I pufled
tit v pipe viciously as I saw Nellie a mo
ment later join the two. The night set
tled down and the cabins faded from
view, their presence only revealed by
ilie lights shining through the little
square windows or the sparks streaming
out of the stone and mud chimneys. It
was getting cool. too. and 1 knocked
the ashes out of my pipe and reentered
mv little home and stirred up the
smouldering embers on the hearth. An
hour went by and the moon sent its
beams across my little table, with its
tin plates and cups; across my earthen
and iw.ky floor, touching liglitiy mv
books on a shelf at the head of my bed
and resting softly on the rolled-up coat
that served me for a pillow. I turned
on my stool and glanced out of the
window. The tops of the surrounding
timber were silvered by the moonlight,
and the cabins stood out against the
dark background of the tall spruces.
Ilie sound ot singing came up from, tlie
saloon, nnd the wind signed tittuiiy now
and then. And so I fell into a sombre,
reverie, and Nellie was tlie center about
whic h all mv thoughts revolved, rres-
ently there was a Knocking at my door,
and at my invitation Mineral Bob en
tered.
Hello! Philadelphia," he said, "I
kinder thought you wasn't in."
Why P" I asked, rather sorry of tlie
interruption, though Bob was good
company, and no one could look into
his merrv. blue eyes and pleasant face
covered all over with a luxuriant, rich
brown beard, without feeling better and
ess out ot spirits.
Oh, 1 sort of calculated you'd be
somewhere around the girl. How's
your chances, partner? (jood, ehr"
'Come in, uon, ano stop your non
sense. Here, nil your pipe and sic
down."
Bob laughed good-hum oredly and.
pulling up a stool, sat down near tho
tire and, as lie titled his pipe, said :
" i vo dropped inon a little business
ibout the Sunshine, vou know." allud
ing to a mine of his and one of the best
in the camp. " You know I'm obliged
to sink ain't got no chance to tunnel.
and the surface water ia getting '.lie best
ot me. Must have a pump, if 1 want to
t o anything this bailing water out by
the bucketful when she's coming in near
as fast is oi no account. i ou Know
that?"
I nodded assent.
"Well, then, Philadelphia," as lie
lighted his pipe and gave two or three
vigorous puns, " l want to see what
kind ot a dicker I can make with you
about running the mine. I ain't got the
money to get an engine and pump.
though I guess i could borrow it, and
besides I've got to go East on business
inside of a week, and I don't want to
leave the Sunshine idle I can t aflord
it."
Wbv don't vou sell her to old
, it would be ever so much nicer for Stacy?" I said. " He's got some ready
to say Nellie, instead of Miss Stacy, cash."
" But lie s going out shortly and wants
to sell his own mines."
"Going out Stacy?" I demanded.
wondering why Nellie had never alluded
to it.
" Yes, going to take that gal of his
back to the States. This ain't no tit
"He said tho other day." continued
Bob, as though he were carefully weigh
ing the proposition, " that he'd sell to
me on time if I could get a good man to
go my security."
Would he take me, do you unnkr--'Taka
vou? A great sight sooner
than any oilier man fn camp."
"Well, then, Bob, you give me a
mortgage on the mine, and it his figures
are not too in gti I'll indorse your note
and turn vou over mv. interest beside.
The mine is solid yet, I guess, though I
haven't been to it for a week.''
"That's the gal's fault." grinned Hob;
' but it she wasn't good I wouldn't
want to buy. I believe I'll go down
nnd see the old man it won't take
long," nnd Bob buttoned up Ins coat
and started out.
Half an hour later Bob returned with
the necessary papers by which Stacy
conveyed his third interest in the Ajax
mine to him tor eight thousand dollars,
jayabie within thirty days. 1 indorsed
Job's note for the amount, lie assuring
me that if tlie mine continued to pay, as
it had in the past, fie could easily take
it up when due, besides which, I rea
soned to myself, that I would soon be
Stacy's son-in-law, nnd, in case of Bob's
failure to meet the note, tlie old man
would not be hard on me. I also trans
f rred my third interest to Bob tor a
like amount, and secured myself for
both sums by a mortgage on the prop'
crty, and so I went to bed that night
and dreamed of the little wile 1 soon
expected to have.
I saw Nellie tlie next day. and thougl:
she smiled sweetly and blushed most
prettily I wasn't satisfied, as owing to
her getting things in readiness for the
trip next morning there was no oppor
tunitv for a ouiet little conversation.
told Stacv I was going out. nnd he
laughed and said Nellie had spoken of it
and lie " didn't know but what it was
a good scheme for his gal, 'cause it could
hardly be expected that me and Bob
would be good company;" nnd so the
matter was settled and I collected my
traps together, and those I din't care to
take with me. 1 distributed among tlie
boys. They all knew what I was going
out for, and good-natured witticisms
wei e freely indulged in at my expense.
But I liked it. and rather enjoyed my
triumphs over the colonel and the
judge and the others who had tried to
win tho little treasure that I had carried
oft, but had miserably failed
1 sat in my cabin that evening the
last I should ever spend in Mineral City
and somehow I got terribly blue and
out of spirits. It felt like parting with
old friends. Every tree and every rock
seemed to have a hold on my affections,
and tlie rough logs of my little home
had a warm place in my heart. I
ouldn t shake oft my low spirits, and so
I went down to see my littlo one and
from her sweet face and pretty eyes
Iraw the.cousolation I felt I needed. I
found her looking tired from her ar
ranging and packing efforts, but she
seemed most glad to see me, and we sat
on the doorstep ana were soon chatting
in a warm, confidential way. As I was
about to go I took her little hand in my
nig palm and said :
" Are you really glad that I am going
out with you?"
"You kuow I am," she said, earn
estly, her eyes dropping nnd her soft
little fingers involuntarily pressing
mine, and somehow before I fully real
ized what I was doing I had leaned for
ward and pressed a hot, passionate kiss
on her pretty lips, and with a little ex
clamation expressive of surprise and
not. of anger she turned nnd vanished.
I was a happy fellow that night.
Our trip was begun the next morning
and in due course of time we all of us
ciuno to a halt in New York. What a
delicious time I had had of it, and how
considerate Stacy and Bob were to me.
They never intruded their presence, but
let me have .Nellie to myself, as though
ihey had no connection whatever with
us. I felt grateful to them and medi
tated often upon what I could do to
show my appreciation of their thought-
lulness and good feeling. .Nellie was a
little paradox, however an enigma
FOB TIIE FAIR SEX.
crested summit of Mineral Point. A
few hundred feet below us lay the little
mining camp, its log cabins looking
doubly picturesque in the gathering
gloaming The blue smoke was curling
trom a dozen e blarneys as the men pre
pared their evening meals ; and here and
there, over the various trails, a blue
shirted miner.with pick and drills across
his Bl ouldtr. came striding hnmi Th
f un sinking behind the Wasatch moun
tains, one hundred and sixty-five miles
distant, cast great long shadow
the. surrounding peaks, and veiled the
ravines and gulcheu ia deepening dark-
ue.-e.
Nellie tat on the cropping of
By
If ft
I would, too. I shouldn't lose her, now
that l had all nut won her, so I said :
" I tell you, Bob, 1 don't know that I
shall stay much longer myself. Per
haps you would like to make me an
offer for my interest in the Ajax and let
nie attend to your business in the East,
if I can; I would be very glad to."
"No; much obliged, partner, but no
one can do what I am going out for ex
cept myself. Same time I might be able
to handle my own property better if I
had the Aiax too, seeing as bow the two
claims join each other on the same vein.
I wonder if o'd Stacy would sell out
cheap enough r '
couldn't solve. I had proposed to her
half a dozen times on our way East,
but though she showed that her heart
wn mine and permitted me to squeeze
her hand, whisper soit nothings and
kiss her good-night when she retired.
sue would give me no answer to my
pleadings, out Kept me oit with a
coquetry in itself most attractive. And
so the days spun around and I seemed to
be no nearer than when we left the old
mining camp, and I got irritable and
out ot sorts, ana one day rseilie sug
gested that 1 had better run on nnd see
my family and get sweetened up a little,
and 1 savagely replied that I would, and
I should not return until she sent for
me, etc., etc. She smiled sweetly, and
looked tenderly out of her pretty eyes,
audi took the train, for Philadelphia,
in a terrible temper, and yet feeling sure
that I. would he back again within
forty-eight hours, and 1 was. I asiccd
the clerk to send up iiy card, nnd he
said it would be useless, as the lady,
with her father and the other gentle
man, had left the nigiit before, for the
houtn, lie thought, liiey had leit a
letter forme, however, and 1 snatched
the letter, and tore it open. There
were several enclosures, reading as fol
lows:
Thursday.
My Deab Charley : You must par
don my terrible flirtation with you of
the past few weeks, but ibwas the last
I should ever have and vou are the
dearest of fellows to finish upon. 1 dare
say you win leei a little vexed, but
you'll get over it, Charley, and when
Uob and myself get settled down to
housekeeping which I trust will be a
long time yet you must come and see
us and be a good friend to your penitent
Nellie.
The next was :
Dkak Philadelphia : You've had a
good time with my intended wife and I
haven't interfered; ou indorsed my
note for $8,000 and I won't cheat vou
out of it. I Crusted you and you came
to "time;" you trusted me and hero I
am smiling. 1 enclose with this mv
note that you indorsed and deeds con
veying to you the whole of the Aiax
She's pinched, Philadelphia, and ain't
wortnacuss. lou saoe nowtnebusi
negs that called uie East, eh? Ta, ta.
Mineral Bob.
I have never seen them since. I
don't want to. I went back to the old
camp the following year. The boys
don t teasa me now, but 1 thrashed two
of theoi and got thrashed by three be
foro this silence on the subject was ob
served. rntladelphta 2wte.
Fashion tfotes.
let lace is very fashionable.
White is very fashionable for full even
ing dress.
Beige is the fashionable material for
young girls.
Perforated kid lace tops appear on
new kid gloves.
Curls drooping from the back of coif
fures are revived.
Black gauze gowns set off jewelry bet
ter than any others.
Real acorns nicely varnished are sold
to ornament baskets.
Tulle is the fashionable diaphanous
fabric for ball dresses.
Costumes of Lyons satin and camels'-
hair are pretty and elegant.
Creamv white bonnets are more worn
than any ethers for full dress.
Bows of piece brocade stitched with
gold thread are worn in the hair.
.Tersev waists and fur skirts are worn
for skating costumes in England.
Sicilienne wears better than pure silk,
not being likely to become shiny.
Young ladies who dance wear short
dresses escaping the ttoor an round.
Smoking .jackets are lined witli one
bright color and faced with another.
Jersey webbing in navy blue and myr
tie greca. may be bought by the yard.
Cashmere colors appear in tlie trim
mings of many handsome white bonnets.
Long Branch scollops are stiff little
curves of hair that look as false as they
are. .
Little bonnets of black plush, looking
like gentlemen's hats, are worn a great
deal.
Loops of braids at the back of tho
head are giving place to loose fluffy
curls.
Ruches, ruffles, and fraises in the
neck are more fashionable than linen
collars.
oung ladies wear their corsage bou
quets on one side of the neck, near the
shoulder .
Walking suits are now made of the
richest velvet brocade, combined with
Lyons satin.
White jet and white Spanish lace ap
pear to be lavorite decorations oi wmiu
dress bonnets.
A new l.ind of cashmere is very thick
and soft, and feels like ordinary cash
mere doubled.
Anvlhing mav be worn that is pretty
or becoming without putting the wearer
out of fashion.
There never was a season when so
great a variety was seen in tlie style ot
rcssing the hair.
Gold thread traceries around the de
signs of white Spanish laces appear on
ate importations.
White silk and white gauze form the
composition of many elegant evening
dresses this seneon. .
Spanish slippers have the heel and
sole made in one piece, and increase the
height considerably.
Satin sunflowers ara worn in the hair.
They are made in Paris, and their price
is something astounding.
Small Japanese fans with long handles
arc more fashionable than large Japan
ese fans with short handles.
Young girls wear waistcoats of some
bright silk and wool mixture with gray
or brown or drab beige suits.
A fancy dress ball held at York, Eng
land, tlie other day, was the first that has
been held in that city since 1835.
Dahlias of varipgMtcd colors will be
worn as spring advances, both as bonnet
decorations and corsage flowers.
Silk fans are made up over pasteboard,
decorated with painted flowers and fin
ished on the edge with plaited ribbon or
lace..
Tidies of colored cotton flannel wiih
borders of a lighter tint, and corner
pieces of a contrasting color, nre pretty
and cheap.
Tulle dresses looped with sprays ot
apple blossoms, rosebuds or daisies,
make the most effective ball dresses for
young girls.
A small bonnet and a large tie tre the
fashion for street wear. Some of the
woman is the conundrum of the nine
teenth century." An American editor
adds: " We can't guess her, but will
never give her up no, never."
Mrs. Marietta K. Benchley. wl dow o
Henry W. Benchley, who was lieutenant
governor of Massachusetts shortly be
fore the war, died recently in New York
and willed her brain to Dr. liozier, ana
her skeleton, after dissection, to the
woman's medical college.
A lad v of Evans ville. Ind.. who had
been grossly insulted several times in
the streets of that place, finally drew a
hatchet and sunk it in the ctieeic oi tne
insulter, cutting through to tlie bene.
This is one way to bury the hatchet,
and it was a pretty good one.
Marie Louise, the second wife of the
great Napoleon, was in the habit ot
amusing tlie ladies of her court at their
private soirees by turning her ears
almost completely round, and in a man
ner closing them up. She did this by a
peculiar motion of t'ue jaw, and she is
said to have prided herself on the ex
ploit not a little.
A pretty miss of eighteen, who belongs
toTa good family in Utiea City, Ind.,
and has been well educated, has recently
been released from fail, where she was
awaiting trial tor kleptomania. The
most influential people in the country
united in nn appeal for the dismissal of
tin indictment, and the court giaaiy ac
quiesced in n nolle prosequi.
The enormous quantity of so-called
kid glover; is greatly in excess ot the
nmniint nf leat her afforded bv the skins
of all the young goats annually killed to
supply the demand. There has long
been quite a trade carried on in Paris by
the gamins in rat skins, who have much
profitable sport in catching them at tlie
mouths of tlie great drains ot the city.
Real kid skins come from Switzerland
and Tuscany.
Cabinet Recreations.
. Tlie members of tlie cabinet sometimes
have very amusing interviews with la
dies, as the following will illustrate:
Young lady" Mr. Secretary, I have
called to sec if you can tell me when
Captain is to be ordered away, and
w here he will go to?"
Secretary "I really do not know
D.i vou wish liim ordered away?"
Ynnnir ladv "No. indeed" (this with
a very conscious look and a slight in
crease in color); "only, if you were, I
would like to know, you know ; for you
kpp" milling out her handkerchief and
putting her little gloved finger in Uer
mouth, a la Maggie Mitchell, "you
Know Mr. , now don't you?"
Secretary " How should IP"
ladv" Then I'll tell you
(this with a look of determination).
" I'm going to marry him, and if you
are going to order hini off why we want
to tret, married heforc. That is all."
Secretary" I have not thought of
Ol UCUJlg IlllU U.WUJT, mm omvr uc la v-
ing to engage in such pleasant business
will not."
Young lady "Oh! Mr. , ain't you
good? I'm so glad. Now 111 have
plenty of time to get ready."
Another young laiy sends in ner car
and is admitted, when the following
colloquy takes place:
l oung lady l nave caned to see i
you will not give permission to Lieu
tenant to come here from A ?'
Secretary "Any of his near relatives
siekP" scanning her closely.
Young lady "JSo, sir. llis triends
want to see him so much, and you can
have him come if you wnnt to."
Secretary "Oh! I see how it is. If
you will say you are his sweetheart, he
shall come.
Young lady--" Yes, sir, lie. is!" say
ing this with both hands hiding her
face.
The secretary says that he gave per
mission to that olhcer to come, tele
graphing to hint to that effect within
the hour. All secretaries are- not like
the one we are speaking of, so young
ladies must not presume upon the above
incidents : for they might not be as suc
cessful as our two fair fi lends were.
Waxhinyton LtUer.
TIMELY TOPICS.
If longevity, as a nationnl character
istic, be a fair test of the healthiness of
a country or the tough vitality of its
people, then Greece may claim to beat
the civilized woria on the score oi its
sanitsrv perfection. Of all countries in
turope it seems to possess tne greatest
number of what may be called very old
people that is to say, of people from
ninetv vears of age and upward; out
of a population of 1,457,894, it has of
these veterans no fewer than
Emigration at the port of New York
for 18711 was larger than for any pre
vious year since 1872. Returns of the
commissioners of emigration show that
for the year ending December di, i7U,
there were landed, at Castle Garden, a
total of 175.589 emigrants, of whom
135.070 were aliens. In 1878 the total
arrivals were 121,369, of whom 75,347
were aliens. The principal nationali
ties of the emigrants who arrived last
year were : Germany, 33,564 ; Ireland,
22,624; England, 21,555; Sweden, 12,
394: Italy. 7,220; Scotland, 6.087; Nor
way. 4,993; Switzerland, 4,u8.t; Kussia,
3,103; trance, 2,331.
A sportsman explains why he re
ceives the many sea-serpent stories with
a grain of allowance. He was hunting
on the shores of a lake in the wilds of
Michigan, when he saw what lie be
lieved to be a monster snake, fifty or
sixty feet in length, and ten or twelve
inches in diameter, with humps on its
back two feet in length. At first its course
was almost directly toward his place of
concealment. When he was about to
run for his life, the " serpent," then a
few rods away, changed its course, and
resolved itself at once into a colony of
otter swimming in single file. His in
ference is that sea animals may some
times travel in tho same manner, and
give sailors the opportunity of drawing
the longbow.
The suit of Budd Doblc vs. tlie South
ern Ohio J; air association, ot Dayton,
Ohio, has just been tried before the
United States district court for that dis
trict. The suit was brought to recover
$2,250 from the association on n con
tract, in compliance with which that
amount was to have been paid for an
exhibition of speed by Goldsmith Maid
on the track ot the association, Sep
tember 30, 1875. The association
claimed that it was not an exhibition
of speed, the time being 2:2!M, 2:24,
'Jt luA. The plaintiff made a plea for a
judgment for a ijnantum mcruis. that is,
tor so largo a proportion ot the con
tract price as the performance was
worth, if not the whole amount. The
judge decided, as a point of law, that no
such partition could bo made in aspecial
contract, nnd that the claim must stand
or fall in its entirety. A great deal of
expert testimony wns taken as to tlie
oierit oi the performance, but the jury
failed to agree.
Practice What;. Yon Preach.
Advice is cheap, tlie market's full,
O'er ready some to teach,
Whilo o'er the eyes the wool they pall,
Nor practice what they preach.
The monstrous " beam " is never seen,
The " mote " provokes their screech,
Tho while seductive vice they screen,
Nor pinotice what they pi each.
Sweet charity take by the hand,
Fair justice's height to reach,
Where others Blip, you firmly stand,
And practice what you preach.
Precept is good, example's best,
Be chary Mien of speech,
So livo that very lite attest
You praotioe what you preach.
Quiney Modern Argo.
The annual reports of tl'C English and
Scotch co. operative stores are now being
published. The profits divided among
the members of the societies range from
one shilling three pence to two shillings
eisjht pence on the pound sterling of pur
chases made during the year, and seem
to average about two shillings, or ten
per" cent. Stating the amount in dol
lars, a member of one of these co-opera-live
stores, about which Mr. ITolyoake
gave so much interesting information
during his late visit to this country, re
ceives at tlie end of tho year $1 in the
way of profit for every $10 worth of
goods he l.ns bought. This is clear gain
to him, for he gets his goods at the reg
ular market prices, and is besides as
sured that what lie buys is of good
quality nnd free from adulteration. The
Manchester Co-operative Wholes- le so
ciety, from which the co-operative
stores buy their goods, is a federative
nstitution composed ot 584 societies
comprising J(l5, Kit members, it tins a
capital of $705,000 on which it pays five
per cent, interest, nnd its proltts nre di
vined aniongthc branch societies in pro
portion to tlieir purchases, just as the
societies divide their profits among the
individual members.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
One concern in Maine has an order
for 10,000 gets of croquet.
Wilkio Collins, the novelist, says lie
has earned $150,000 with his pen.
Eighty-five per cent, of the members
of the Utah legislature are polygamists.
Half a million people visited the
Philadelphia Permanent Exhibition last
year.
Tlie Denver (Col.) Ilerald says that
the mines of Colorado last year yielded
$25,335,483.
New York city's asssessed valuation
is $946,527,000, an increase ot $29,
293,000 during the last year.
The thrifty man will always put
something away for a rainy day, even if
it is nothing but a stolen umbrella.
Picayune.
Over two thirds of the baseballs
manufactured come from a Boston firm,
who are now making 10,000 dozen an
nually. The leather for covering ia
tanned by their own workmen.
,1. R. Ilolloway, of Marion county,
Tenn., grew 1,500 bushels of peanuts
last year, and considered it a very
profitable c:op. Everything about the.
peanut can be utilized. The vines and
leaves make a most excellent fodder.
To ascertain the length of a day and
night multiply tlio hour at which the
sun rises by two; the result will be tho
length of the night. Multiply the hour
at which the sun sets by two, and the
result will be tho length of the day.
It is said in Arizona that a miner,
doubting tiie capabilities of a certain
assayer, got nn old potato, dried it
thoroughly, pounded it up fine and then
submitted the powder forassny, and tlie
result of tlie assay gave a yield of $10
to the ton.
There are 150 varieties of grass in Ne
braska, luxuriant in growth, excellent
in nualitv. and they are among the
grandest resources of the State. They
f:i
ties are twelve inches wide, and nearly
cover the chin.
White satin duchesse and white satin
antique, which is only another name for
silk plush, compose a large number of
white wnnets.
Large scoop front Diractoire bonnets
of plain or furry felt are picturesque and
stylish, but they make any face look
needlessly older.
English corduroy is the most fashion
able material for little boys' suits.
Mixed cassimercs aud Scotch cloths nre
the next in favor.
Fur turbans are worn by young ladies,
trimmed witli bands of feathers, or
when fur bands are used, with a wing or
fancy feather on one side.
New silk handkerchiefs for tlie neck
nre in pale shades of blue and rose, and
edged with plaitings of Breton, Langue
doc or Valenciennes laces.
The novelty destined to the greatest
popularity in fancy spring goods is the
printed India cashmeres, in small multi
colored pine patterns over a light ground.
Snoods, simple ribbons passed through
the hair and knotted at the side with
pendant ends, are revived. They are in
the richest Oriental colors, and finished
at the ends with gold fringe or tassels.
or .iuartz ana i lay stretched out at her if ho ii at all anxious to set awar.
ivvii waicumtf uvt puny, wnar eyes m i pen to aim lor you.''
Oh, I guest so," I laid ; " especially
Bleak, chilly March and November are thi
two worst months ol the ear lor those miner
ing with pulmonary dic:us. Keep Dr. BuU't
Cough Syrup near by, aud such sufferers will
b alls to brsTS the rough weather without
v aaai. ras tuu.
JVews o:xl JVoies for Women.
There arc 25.000 English women in
India.
New York ladies are developing an
exceeding fondness for the violin.
One female cook in a Wisconsin lum
ber-camp has already caused two Bui
cides, one stabbing affray . and fifty
three fights.
In Cheyenne. Wyoming Territory, a
jury composed entirely of women re
cently rendered a verdict in a case ot
the death of another woman.
Miss Drever, a young lady belonging
to fashionable society in San Francisco,
has shocked her friends by announcing
her betrothal to a Chinaman.
The wife of Gov. Van Zandt, of Rhode
Island, is a daughter of Albert G. Greene,
whose name is widely known as the
author of " Old Grimes is Dead."
In a paper lately at the State fair on
the " Industries of Indiana," it was
stated that sixty per cent, of all the but
ter, cheese and sugar produced in Indi
ana is the work oi women.
"Man," lays Viotor HufV'Wai tb
conundrum f tbt cightbtb century
A Man Survives a Braining.
John Harris, who had Iuh head split
open by a falling axe at the new Yellow
Jacket shaft, some two years ago, is
again on the Comstock. Although that
axe fell about 100 feet upon hhf head,
and lie lost in consequence a strip of
skull-bone four inches long and two
nnd a half inches wide, he lias taken
that head to England with him and
brought it back, and thinks a good deal
of it and witli it yet. llis is one of those
exceptional cases in surgery of which
there are not half a dozen in tlie books,
ana winch ranss witn that where a
tamping iron, blown by a prematurely
discharged blast, passed Ihroughaman s
head from chin to crown, ana yet lulled
to kilt, mm.
The gash made by this axe in Harris
head was large euough to kill half a
dozen men. When the bones were4nken
by the surgeons from the wound tho
large vein between the lobes of the brain
sent a torrent of blood gushing forth
It was stanched with lint and the man
rallied. The surgeon feared to remove
the lint lest he should bleed to death.
nnd it remained some two weeks till it
became so far decayed as to force its
removal. Contrary, to expectation no
blood followed, nor was there any sec
ondary hemorrhage from the wound.
Harris has pretty much recovered from
the effects of the accident. He says he
experiences no head trouble whatever.
but he has a hitch in his walk, a sort o
jerk, a let-go-and-rJipnHm6veme"nt,
which is the result of the hurt, lit is
a wonderfully good man for one upon,
whom the experiment of dropping an'
axe 160 feet upon his head was success
fully tried. Gold Hill (Nev.) Xews.
r.re the herdman's stock in trade, and
rat steers, mutton, wool and dairy pro
ducts are the net results.
Wheelbarrows are in very little de
mand in Brazil, "owing to the almost
universal practice of carrying burdens
on the head." Not long ago the Ameri
can consul saw a sturdy negro carrying
a wheelbarrow on his head through tlie
streets of llio de Janeiro.
One hundred years ago, during the
winter of 1780, the weather was so cold
that some of the harbors along tlie coast
were frozen over for nearly six weeks.
In Marblehend harbor several vessels
were frozen in from the last of Decem
ber to the middle of February.
A subscriber in the Norristown Herald
asks: " Will the last shoe be made on a
shoe last?" The Herald says we must re
Kr him to Proctor. He is the only person
in tlie country we believe he is still in
this country who knows what is going
to happen 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
years hence.
A submarine diver was in the Grant
procession at Philadelphia He stood
on a platform wagon, wearing his huge
brass helmet, rubber suit and heavy
leaden plates. The weight was very
burdensome in tlio air. though just the
thing for water, and lie has since died
fioru the effects of it.
When a life insurance agent comes in
and tells you that only last week a man
insured with him lor ir:u,mvi nu
Leap-Tenr Difficulties.
He was a nice young man, with cane.
high hat and patert leather boots. He
strolled leisurely down Fourth avenue,
..n: .1 : . : K. .,nnn n njnnlMun .1
pulling umilLiiy ujjuu n iiuiTi.i;, iut i iinuiv.t ...... -- - , . . j
occasionally twirling the waxed ends of one premium, and to-day he is dead ann
lit. mrmaf nniin ip vna ncoAflrpn rv n i ma i imnv uun 1111: muni-,, ...
with a florid com-
doesn't
make, us any more anxious to insure,
though it may be a convincing argu
ment in favor of the beauties of the sys
tem. Boston Post.
stout woman
plexion.
"Top of the mornin' to ye, Mister
Charley," said she.
" Good morning, Mrs. McGuinness,"
said the nice young man.
" Me darlint boy, would ye" and
she bestowed a bewitching smile upon
lii in. He dodged out ot her rench. 1 he
recollection that it was leap-year rushed
upon him. He answered :
"Madame reaiiy lean ti am very putures ot nature in language hluhui
sorry it I cause you pain but my affec- simple and eloquent. In "The Camp
ttons nave nireany oeen nesioweu upon 0n the Hill lie writes:
another and, madamc 1 can't 1 can t
marry you."
She gazed at him in astonishment,
nnd then said, indignantly: "Who axed
ye to marry me! The idea of tlie likes
of me, a poor lone widdy, witli four
children to support by wnshin', axin1 ye
to marry me. I jvas only goin' to ax ye
frr tliat: Hrtllnp fi,r WftfihinO'
A Farmer Poet.
A farmer poet lias blossomed into
song in England and publishes under
the title of " Wet Days" a series 01
poems, which give effective and graphic
What it Costs to Ran a Locomotive.
Tho New Jersey Central Railroad
Company keeps a record of the cost of
running locomotives. It shows that an
average day's distance traveled by a
locomotive is 100 miles. The work for
a month is 2,600 miles ; but some loco
motives exceed this, as in the case of
No. 121, which in December last made
6,180 miles. In doin$ this 133 tons of
cum were useu ana unriy seven gallons
of oil to kevp the machinery in order.
Tlie company says that $12.86 is the
average cost for 100 miles for men, fuel
and repairs. In the case of No. 121 the
cost for ' repairs for the month was
$22.58.
Said one ot society's smart ornaments
to a tady friend: " Ibis is leap-year, ana
I suppose you'll be asking somebodY to.
marry you P" "Oh, no,'rWa tbereplj,
" toy finances won't perfti tiro to twit,.
for that dollar for washin'
He sighed and gave her a dollar, and
walked sadly away. New York Sun.
k Female Bandit.
Tlie district of Saranzaro, in Southera
Italy, has recently been overrun by n
horde of bandits, under the leadership
of a lovelv damsel. Maria Croci. This
adventuress, whose personal attractions
are reported to be little short of soul'
Riihdnini? bv those who have been for
tunate enough to escape irom ner
clutches, was formerly the bride of a
mountaineer, who occupied a distin
guished position in the band at present
commanded by her. This fellow met
with his death bv the rifle ot a carabin
iere, whereupon his afflicted betrothed
!i x i.:- ;..nA i i..,..!
T 1 1 1 K t 1 II 1 1 1 1 n VUU. IttlBCU lb I.W TT v
heaven, and vowed to avenge his cruel
fat e. Elected captain of the association
bv her departed s comrades, she lias be
come the terror of tlie whole district.
where she has earned a reputation lor
ubiquitousness. by the rapidity of ber
movements. She burns a farmhouse
one day, plunders a church the ame
night, and carries a nunnery by assault
before she retires to her well-earned re
pose. Troops are out after her in half a
dozen directions, but she has hitherto
managed to evade them
A youni man recently had a nose
crafted in a New York hospital. W
have teen notes bud and blossom, but
ntter hrd of grafting thm btfoiti
There's something better than keep there; tor
onco on that mossy eod
ou leavo the world, behind you and are lace
to liice with God.
There's a pool by the cuirn on the top, whero
the wild ducks used to be,
And a lark from the Roman camp used W
sing and soar over me;
thought him tlie hill's own spirit it would
bave been shame to kill;
erhaps you may here his song ere you reach
the top ot the bill.
1 know tiod's everywhere; la the city and iu
the Exchange,
As well as the hill and the moor, wherever
mortal can range;
But ah! the pure sky yonder, no Biuoke ob
scaring tlie blue!
Man's not the same in the city, and God may
be different, too.
This Is" from another poem, tailed
Birds' Songs:"
Birds are tho only happy things;
They sing through rain or sun content.
Our songs tm prayers, not thanksgivings,
Fear, hope or envy's fltlul vent,
Impertinent regrets tor wings
We could not use, for riches spent,
For chances given and thrown away,
Or something wanting night and day.
The London Standard says of thes
poems: There is in them somethind
more than rhyme and rhythm: they ar
instinct with humanity. They have ii
their wav a charm which will tell uiori
with the multitude of readers than riJ
orous conformity to tho artiitio ner
of any parucuior isnooti
J