t
II . .'
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
Two Dollars per Annum
NIL DESPEKANDUM,
X
VOL. XII.
Ihc Courtier's Reply,
An old Norse king, one dark and stormy night,
Bat with his courtiers In his windy halh
The oak logs blazed, and shafts of ruddy light
Wavered like moving spears along the wall.
Without, like some old Viking armed for war.
The tempest wandered In his robe of rain
Or, rushing with a clamor from afar, '
Itoarod through the castle, and was gone
again.
The monaroh ftnd his bearded courtiers sat
All silent round the lire, with downcast eye,
No sound within was heard, save when a rat
Scampered across the floor, with dismal cry.
But suddenly a bird, wet-winged and bright,
Flashed over thorn, and vanished as it came.
Ont of the night, it vanished into night,
As brief and beautiful as a falling flame.
"Such," wild the king, "such is thia life of
ours
A moment's passage throngh a lighted room;
One taste of this swoet breath then death
devours
Life's transient day in its eternal gloom.
A moment no one spoke ; then, with a tear,
An aged courtier hastened to respond :
"Trao, sire, the tired bir.l did not tarry here,
Because the nest God gavo it lay beyond."
James Buckham, in Lippincott.
PAMELA'S FACULTY.
They talked over Deacon Sample's
death in the sewing-circle. It was very
ead that he should havo died. So sud
denly, too, of pneumonia, poor man.
But firs. Calkins, at whose house the
society met that week, couldn't help
thinking that it would have been a very
dull meeting if he had not; for since
everybody had found out j ust why Luke
judkins had been obliged to mortgage
his farm, and Dr. Saunders' marriago
with his housekeeper had become an
old story, there was absolutely nothing
to talk about. It was also providen
tial that he should die just after plant
ing was over, and before haying had
begun. He w as growing very deaf, too,
and was always shiftless. Being a dea
con, of course he was prepared, and
there was really not much to mourn for,
exoept that now Pamely would have to
take care of herself, and Pamely hi.d
no faoulty. Euthy Ann could go on
keeping school, as she had done for
years, and the twins, luckily, were mar
ried. Pamely was the only one that
was left unprovided for. Pamely was
one of the kind that always was unpro
vided for the kind that had no faculty.
The farm was all run out; and if it
were not, Pamley wouldn't know anv
better than to expect to raise pump-J
Kins on a pea vine. If she was a
farmer's daughter she didn't know but
what potato s came up of their own ac
cord, and weeded ftnd dug themselves.
Mrs. lohabod Badger (generally Known
- Mis' Ichabod) thought it probable
that Vje even exposed that they
washed tnemsolves andjtttf?'6 'nt0
the dinner pot. Aud it "s evident
that she sot a sight more hf posies than
she did by garden sas Sho was always
littering up the hoe with weeds and
stuff out of the woos, and she drew
pictures whe she'd better have been
drnwir oandles or making soap. Sje
took affer the Spencers her mother's
folks. One of them wasn't half witt 3d
and wrote verses, and another painted
pictures and never amounted to ar.y.
thing. And Pamely was headstrong;
she never seemed to pay any attention
to good advice She was always as
pleasant and amiable about it as conld
be, but she would go light on in her
own way. This was like her father;
when they tried to dismiss the Rev. Mr.
Oaldwell for unsoundness of doctrine,
Deaom Somple he wouldn't agree to it.
Ho didn't get excited and call hard
names as the others did, but though they
argued and argued he wouldn't be con
vinced. Mis' Ichabod was of the opinion that a
committee of ladies ought to call npou
Pamely and advise her to go and keep
house for old Hiram Hutchinson. Ho
had a large farm and two invalid
daughters, one afflicted with spinal dis
ease and the other with epilepsy; so
'twas a bard place, and of course she
would keep everything at sixes and
sevens, not having any faoulty ; but old
Hiram was willing to take her, because
he was very close, and she wouldn't ex
pect much. And Mis' Hosea Blodgeft
added that as Hiram was a widower
nobody knew what might happen. He
was over fifty and hard to get along
with, but then Pamely couldn't be far
from twenty-five, and ought to be will
ing to make a sacrifice for the sake of a
home, lieu Seaverns, who used to keep
company with her, had gone off to sea
1176 years before, and had probably got
drowned, to say nothing of being a
shiftless good-for-nothing, and surely
there was no man in Brimblecom who
wanted to marry a girl without faculty.
Before the meeting adjourned Mis'
Ichabod, Mis' Hosea Blodgett and Miss
Nancy Perkins, the postmistress, were
appointed a committee to labor with
Pamely.
There was no doubt about the zeal of
the committee. Bright and early the
next morning so early, in fact, that
the breakfa'-t dishes were not washed in
any town except B .imblecom the three
ladies presented themselves at the
Iront door of Deacon Semple's late
residence; front doors were reserved for
state occasions iu Brimblecom. The
committee, after consultation, had de
cided that this was an occasion which
rendered the use of the front door ap
propriate. Keturah Grant, who had been maid-cf-all-work
in Deacon Semple's family
for half a century, hobbled to the door,
and admitted them to the eitling-room;
end there was Pamela, with a Rreat
bunch of weeds buttercups and clover
Qnd white weeds painting, actually
painting, at that timo in the morningl
She wore a high-neoked and long
sleeved apron, which wus bedaubed with
paint, and on her nose was a smirch of
bright yellow.
The committee with one consent
heaved a deep sigh.
" Seem' Soripter commands us to be
kind to the widow and the fatherless
we thought we'd oome and tell you
that old Hiram Hutchinson wants a
housekeeper," said Mis' Ichabod, who
had been chosen chief spokesman it)
view of the "flow of language for
whioh she was renowned.
Pamela turned an innooent, puzzled
faoe upon Mis' Ichabod a very lovely
face, with a pure pale fikin, and soft shy
brown eyec, though in Brimblecom,
where rosy-cheeked beauties were the
fashion, tbey had never thought of
calling it so.
' Oh, the widower I I couldn't think
for the moment what yon meant. Poor
man I I am sorry if he can't find one.
But nobody could expect me to give no
Keturah, surely I She Is growing lob
old ; and she wouldn't leave me, any
way." The committee looked at eaeh other.
Their mission seemed a Rome what diffi
cult one to perform. Was Pamely so
innocent as she looked ? Mis' Ichabod
had a dreadful suspicion thut she was
deep, and she resolved not to be
daunted.
"We thought yon might like the
place yourself, seem' yon was left so
kind of dependent," she said.
"I? Oh, dear I I haven't the least
bit of faculty, you know ;" and Pamela
laughed merrily.
"Them that hain't any faculty have
got to try to do something if they
don't want to be objicks of charity,"
said Mis' Ichabod.
" I don't think Brimbleoom will ever
have to take care of me. If it does I
am such a little thing that it won't cost
much."
There was a suspicion of a flush on
Pamelas cheek and a tense look about
her month that the committee did not
observe. They only saw her laugh, and
they arose in high dudgeon.
" I hope the time won't come when
you won't find it a laughing matter,"
said Mis' Hosea Blodgett, who was
determined not to come away without
smng anything ; that would be so
humiliating to tell of.
"Oh, I hope not," said Pamela,
sweetly.
" That was the very worst thing about
Deacon Semple you never could make
him mad," said Miss Nancy Perkins, as
she opened the gate. And though the
other members of the committee
wouldn't acknowledge it, Pamela's
resemblance to her father in that
respect was the thing that they had
found most aggravating in their inter
view with her.
Before they reached their homes they
repented that they had not said more,
but there was something iu Pamela s
manner that made it seem an impossi
bility. The committee could not ex
plain it clearly. Pamela had been quite
pleasant and polite, but they didn't care
to go again. However, they quito
agreed that the matter ought not to rest
there, and they were willing even anx
ious to go and confer with Mr. Stock
bridge, the ministor, upon the subject.
Perhaps he could be induced to advise
her. She would not dare to be so high
and lniftiity witii ti.o naiciator
The Iirv. Mr. Stockbridge was a grave
and dignified man of nearly forty, who,
when he had first come to Brimblecom,
ten years before, had had the caps of
half the young ladies of his parish per
sistently set at him. They had now, if
they had not wholly abandoned the
cap-setting, learned to "draw it mildly,
lest it were all in vain," for the minister
had never shown the slightest signs cf
being caught. He seemed somewhat
embarrassed when t ho committee visited
him and made known their errand. As
Mis' Hosea Blodgett said, in describing
the interview to her friends:
"He kinder turned re J, and then he
kinder turned white, and he looked all
ways for Sunday, jest as if we'd said
something that wa'n't proper. And
whtn he said anything, which wa'n't for
as much as a minute, he up and said
jest as good as to say that he didn't
consider 'twas any of his business.
But Mis' Ichabod she jest talked and
argerfied beautiful about how the town
would have to take care of her, and
bein' her father was a deacon the
church ought to do its duty, advisin'
and laborin' with her if she was
headstrong and set np, and she con
vinced him with a few words that I
let fall as 'twas given me to speak
and he said h'd go and talk with
Pamely acoordin' to the best wisdom
and judgment that was given him.
When she Bees him a-comin' she'll
dowse her peak, for there's nobody in
Brimbleoom that ain't afraid of the
minister."
Within a week the committee waited
upon the minister to hear the result of
his advice to Pamela. It was very hard
to find him at home ; they tried four
times before they succeeded. If he had
been anybody but the minister they
could not have avoided the painful sus
picion that he slipped out of the back
door when he saw them coming. And
when at last they did find him at home
his report was not altogether satis
factory. " Miss Semple did not care to accept
the position of housekeeper to Mr.
Hiram Hutchinson," he said, as if
Pamela were the greatest lady in the
land, and conld pick and choose posi
tions. But then he was a minister, and
ministers couldn't be expected to talk
just like common people.
"What is she a goin' to do, then?"
demanded Mis' Ichabod, severely. " I
don't know of any other chance for
her."
" I I offered her a position, but she
declined that also," said the minister.
The committee looked thunder
struck. " I do hope it wa'n't to keep sohool,"
said Mis' Hosea Blodgett, recovering
herself suddenly, "for she hain't a
mite of faculty, everybody knows. Why,
I asked her once if she understood
mathematics, and she said she could do
addition if you gave her time. My An
gelia understands mathematics, and be
sides beautiful learnin' she's got a real
faoulty for keepin' school."
"It was not a position as school
teacher," said the miniuter.
" She oould kind of get along with
house work, though she haiu't any
faculty. I hopo the folks ain't very
partiokerler," said Mis' Ichabod.
" As 6he declined the position it
does not seem to matter whether they
are or not," said the minister.
If Mis' Ichabod had not stood very
much in awe of the minister he would
have then and there received- a piece of
her mind," aa she afterward declared;
11IDGWAY. ELK
"for if there was anything that pro-!
voked her beyond endurance it was a
oiosemouthed person. But as ho was
the minister there was nothing to do
but to tare leave of him with a cold
ness and dignity whioh should give
some token of their displeasure.
As if he couldn't tell tbem just as
well as not who wanted to hire Pamely
to do housework! But there was one
comfort the committee knew there
was nothing going on in Brimblecom
that they couldn't find out.
And jnst after she had expressed that
opinion Mis' Ichabod was so overcome
by some sudden thought that she fairly
gasped and leaned for support against
the town pump, whioh providentially
stood in her way.
" I heard that Joanna Leaoh wanted
to go home because her sister's twins
had the measles. The minister wanted
Pamely to keep house for him!" she
gasped.
" Well Mis' Ichabod, if you hain't
got an nnderstandin' worth havin'I And
though I never breathed it to a mortal
before, I've had my suspicions that the
minister wa'n't all he'd ought to be,"
exclaimed Mis' Hosea Blodgett.
" I never knew a man to have one
white eyebrow for nothing," said Miss
Nancy Perkins, darkly.
Before night the repart had spread
all over Brimbleoom that the minister
had asked Pamela Semple to keep house
for him. Mr. Stockbridge was certainly
the last person to be suspected of an
impropriety, but appearances were de
ceitful. He surely must know that he
ought to have a housekeeper who was
at least fifty, and it was eminently
proper that she should be toothless,
cross-eyed and disfigured with the
smallpox, as Joanna Leach was. If
Pamela were an especially capable per
son, the case would be somewhat differ
ent; but to be willing to bear with a
housekeeper who had no faculty he
mutt have a personal regard for her.
The oldest inhabitant could not re
member such an excitement in Brimble
com. The Rev. Mr. Caldwell's herosy
had been tame, and the report that Dr.
Saunders had another wife living only
mildly exhilarating in comparison.
But several weeks went by before
any sound of it reached the minister's
ears. Happily for him Brimblecom
had a wholesome fear of the minister.
But at length, owing mainly to the
efforts of MiB lohabod, Mis' Hosea
Blodgett and M'ss Nancy Perkins, it
was decided that at the next church
meeting one of the deacons should
question the minister concerning the
matter. Such a crying scandal mmt
no longer remain uninvestigated.
It was a great; day for Brimblecom.
There had not been such an attendance
v.t a church meeting sinoe the Rev. Mr.
Caldwell's trial for heresy. Mrs. Dea
con Simmons said it seemed so much
like county conference that she got up
at 4 o'clock and went to baking a
great batch of pumpkin pies before she
remembered what she was about.
If the minister had any idea of what
it nil meant ho gave no sign, and when
Deacon Simmons, with awful solemnity,
and with a long preamble concerning
tho duty of a minister to set an example
to his fleck in righteousness, asked him
if he thought it seemly and beoominf;
to ask tho daughter of their late Deacon
Ephraim Semple to become his house
keaper, the minister quietly replied
that he had never done so.
The committee looked at each other,
and everybody else looked at them. Miss
Nancy Perkins felt, as she afterward ex
pressed it, as if she "would like to go
through to Chinyj" but Mis' Ichabod
bore up nobly, and Mis' Hosea Blod
gett reliod upon Mis' Ichabod.
" Didn't you tell a committee oon
sistin' of Mia' lebabod Badger, Mis'
Hosea Blodgett and Miss Nauoy Per
kins that you had done so?" pursued
Deacon Simmons.
" I did not," said the minister, with
an air of bland and innocent surprise
This was too much for Mis' lohabod.
She arose, and shaking her fore
finger impressively at the minister,
deman led :
"Didn't you tell ns that you had
offered her a situation to keep house ?
And who in this livin' world could it
be that wanted a housekeeper but
you?"
"You misunderstood me," said the
minister, with great politeness. " I
said I had offered Miss Semple a posi
tion, and it was not to teach school."
Mis' Ichabod sat down, because
nothing occurred to her to say, and for
a time there was silence. Then Deacon
Simmons arose and said, like a second
Adam :
" I hope you won't take no offense,
nor think nothing more about this,
Mr. Stockbridge. It's somethin' that
the women-folks have got up amongst
themselves, and I guess it don't amount
to but dretful little."
"To relieve any further curiosity
about the matter," said the minister,
looking straight at the committee,
"perhaps I had better explain al
though it is an explanation whioh a man
doesn't often maka in public that the
position which I offered Miss Semple
and which she declined was that of
your minister's wife."
Mis' lohabod always averred that if it
hadn't been for a bit of cinnamon which
phe had on her tongue she should have
fainted then.
The church meetinsr broke np sud
denly, the sentiment which Mis' Hosea
Blodgett expressed being apparently
the sentiment of all that she should
have died in five minutes if she couldn't
have got out where she could talk it
over.
" Don't talk to me about that girl I"
exclaimed Miss Nancy Perkins, with
deep feeling. "There sever was a man
that it took so much faoulty to get as
the minister."
" And she wouldn't have him? De
pend upon it, there's more in that than
meets the eye. She's deep," said Mis'
Ichabod.
"What do yon think Mis' Moses
Gregg whispered to me in meetin'?"
said Mis' Hosea Blodgett. " She says
Pamely sells the pictures she paints for
money sends 'em off to the city. And
besides supporting her and Ketury
she's a-goin to pay off the mortgage on
the farm."
"1 hain't never been sorry that I was
brought up t3 work," said Mis' lohabod.
"Vanity and folly may prosper for a
COUNTY, PA., THtlllSDAY, JUNE 1.
season, but we all know where the
downward path ends. If Pamely Sem
ple hadn't been sent away to that acad
emy she might have been as likely and
well-behaved as any ghl in Brimbleoom
if she hadn't any faculty.'
And with these remarks Mis' Ichabod
withdrew herself from the connoil.
On the even tenor of ber way went
Pamela, working early and late with
her brush, and before long a report
found its way to Brimbleoom that she
was considered a remarkable artist, and
some things were evident to Brimble
oom senses; the mortgage was being
paid off, the crops were in a prosperous
condition, and old Keturah was renew
ing her youth.
Brimblecom began to be proud of
Pamela. It almost forgot that it had
ever been afraid she would become a
pauper. Nobody seemed to remember
that she had been thought to have no
faculty nobody but the committee.
One or two persons were actually
heard to say that it was a pity she
wouldn't marry Mr. Stookbridge, but
perhaps she had a right to look higher
than the rest of the Brimblecom girls.
Mis' Ichabod always shook her heSd
with mysterious meaning when Pamela
was mentioned, aud said, grimly,
" Them that lives the longest will see
most."
Ono day triumph came to Mis'
Ichabod.
The committee were in the postoffice
Mis' Ichabod and Mis' Hosea Blod
gett were often so kind as to assist Misg
Nancy Perkins in assorting the mail
when in came Mrs. Deacon Simmons,
who was fat and scant of breath, and in
such a state of excitement that the
committee had, all and severally, to
fan her vigorously before her news
could be extracted.
" Don't you think, as true as I'm a
livin' woman and not a corpse, as I
might expect to be, heariu' such up
settin' things and hurryin' so "
"Go on, go on! don't lose your
breath I" cried the committee, in chorus,
fanning vigoronsly. " We'll never
breatho it to a soul."
" Oh, it's all over Brimblecom. That
good-for-nothing cretur, Ben Seaverns,
has come back without hardly so much
as a coat to his back, andtherheumatio
fever. Been cast away on a desert island
and eat up by cannerbals 'most which
nobody can't say wa'n't exactly like him
and nothing but skin and bones, and
the doctor says most likely won't never
be good for anything again, not to men
tion that he never was. And Pamely's
took him in, and she and Kentury's
a-nnssin' him up. And that ain't the
worst of it; the minister went up and
married 'em ! She's took that good-for-nothin'
cretur to take care of for life
her that might a-had the minister I"
" They never got me to believe that
ohe had any faculty," said Mis' Ichabod.
Harper's Dnztr,
A Boatman's Inadvertency.
The man was remarkably cool and
quiet under exciting conditions a per
fect specimen of self control. Phleg
ruatio in temperment his tranquillity
could not be disturbed by anything
short of an earthquake, and in that
even he would be the last man to lose
his Belf-poBsession. My friend's boat
man was directly the opposite of this.
He was small, thin, unfleshy, nervy,
quite tonguey, and, when in his judg
ment occasion warranted it, much given
to the use of savory adjectives and
scriptural misquotations. Returning
home toward evening, when within a
mile of the hotel, my friend hooked a
largo muskallonge. He had out close
to a 100 feet of lino, when the fellow
struck with a force that had the effect
of an eleotrio shock. The dominio
gathered himself up for the contest, for
it was manifest from the start that tho
fish meant, fight, and fight he did most
nobly. He would rise, break the sur
face and then dive down,
down, deeeper down, nntil the line
stood nearer a perpendicular than
a horizontal; then, rising again, he
would surge to the right and then to
the left. Meantime, hand over hand,
the dominie was Shortening the distance
between himself and the fish, till only
about twenty feet remained, when the
struggle was renewed with increased
desperation. At this juncture the little
nervy boatman lost his self-control, and
seizing the line he tried his skill at pre
venting the fish from going under tho
boat ; but, no use ! nnder the boat he
went, and rapidly rising, he soon broke
tho surface on the other side, displayed
his full length above the water, dex
terously threw the spoon a rod away, and
bowing a long farewell to his would-be
captors he returned to the deep to enjoy
his well-earned freedom. The little
boatman dropped the limp line, and,
standing erect, gesticulated with both
arms violently, swore ,vooiferously, and
relieving himself for a few moments
thus, he stopped suddenly as if struck
by a thunderbolt, and apologized for
his inadvertency, telling my friend that,
"for the time being, he forgot that he
was a miniiter." "II x," in Outing,
How the Put cut Paid.
Among the leading medical special
ists of the Frenoh capital is a fashion
able physician who professes to cure all
the ills that flesh is heir to by olfactory
treatment. A wealthy Briton not long
ago crossed the Channel on purpose to
consult him. Having asked his visitor
a few curt questions respecting his
symptoms, and subjected him to care
ful auscultation, the doctor extracted a
bottle from a drawer in his writing
table, uncorked it, and handed it to the
Englishman with the words, "Smell
it !'' adding, as soon as his command
had been obeyed, "That is well. You
are cured." Whatever surprise the pa
tient may have inwardly experienced at
being relieved of his malady with suoh
astounding prpnepitude and ease, he ex
hibited no external sign of amazement,
but, adopting the laoonio style of his
professional adviser, ejaculated, " How
muoh?" "A thousand frano'," was the
reply; whereupon, producing a bank
note to that amount from his pocket
book, he held it under the doctor's nose
for a fow seconds, saying, "Smell it."
The astonished E-toulapius mechanical
ly complied. "That is well. You are
paid," calmly observed the English
man, pocketing the note: "I have the
honor to wish you a very good-morning."
So saying, he bowed politely, and
quitted the room.
SCIENTIFIC H0!ES
A frozen plant may be sometimes
preserved if plentifully drenched with
eold water, because the application of
the liquid produces a neutral thaw.
A healthv fro will remain alive for
days after the whole of its blood has
been withdrawn from the vessels and
replaced bv a solution of common
salt.
One may become so accustomed to
opium as to be able to drink daily a
litre of laudanum, twenty drops 01
which would be a strong medioinal dose
for a non-habituated for son.
From observations made during many
yeais in Senegal and other Intertropi-
cil regions In Africa, Dr. A. Uorre is
inclined to believe that the African
blacks are destined in oourse of time to
disappear and be supplanted by Euro
pean emigrants.
An Antwerp firm has patented a means
of automatically playing musical instru
ments by pneumatio and electro mag
netio appliances. The pneumatio ar
rangements are for sounding reeds, and
a tiheet of card, perforated according to
the tune, makes and breaks eleotrio
contact as it travels. '
A French chemist is said to have ob
tained a dense, black gum from the
outer layers of the birch tree baik by
distillation, possessing all the ordinary
properties of gutta percha, and having
the additional merit of resisting the de
teriorating influence of air and the cor
rosive action of acids.
In seeking for a substanoe whioh
would destroy the mioroscopio animals
in water without injuring it for drink
ing purposes, Dr. Langtelt found that
citrio acid (one-half gramme to every
litre of the water) killed all the living
organisms, except cyclnps and those
with thick epidermis, within two min
utes. For the photography of birds in their
di.erent positions in Hying Marey em
p'ovs an instrument like a rifle in shape,
iug twelve successive images per
s ond, each image being taken in the
1-700 part of a second. In bright sun
light the time of exposure is reduced
'o the 1-1500 of a second. These views
furnish au analysis of the motion of
birds in flight which could not be ob
tiined before the perfection of the pro
cesses of instantaneous photography,
The Center of Population,
What statisticians understand by the
term center of population, it may be
well to explain, is the point at which
equilibrium would be reached were tho
country taken as a plane surface with
out weight, but capable of sustaining
weight, and the inhabitants distributed
over it in nnmber and position as thoy
are found at the period under consider
ation, each inhabitant being supposed
to be of equal weight, and consequently
to exert pressure on the pivotal point
in direct proportion to his distance
therefrom. The first censns of the
United States, taken in 1790, showed
the center of population to be on tho
eastern shore of Maryland, about
twenty-two miles from Baltimore, and
near the thirty-ninth parallel of lati
tude, From that point it has moved
westward at the average rate of about
fifty-one miles in a decade, never devi
ating as much as a degree to the north
or south of the thirty-ninth parallel.
In 1880 the center was near the vil
lage of Taylorsville, Ky about eight
miles west by south of Cincinnati, the
westward progress being fifty-eight
miles, and the deflection to the south
about eight. The census of 1890 will
probably discover it in Jennings county,
in Southeastern Indiana. If there is no
great change in the rate of Western
movement of population, the central
point, still traveling, as it doubtless
will, on a line closely corresponding to
the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude,
will not cross the Mississippi river nn
til 1950, when it will be found not far
from the month of the Missouri. It is
not improbable, however, that it will
never reach that stream, but will re
main nearly stationary somewhere in
Southern Illinois. There are large
areas of country iu the far West unfit
for habitation, save where deposits
of the precious metals are
found, and other considerable
areas where grazing.whioh supports but
a scanty population, will always be the
chief industry. Tho increase of popu
lation in the trans-Mississippi region
may not, therefore, muoh more than
counterbalance the inorease in the older
settled portion of the country after the
close of the present century. In esti
mating the changes and progress of the
future we must not forget that, marvel
ous as is the growth of the new West,
it is only a little more rapid than that
of tho great middle region between the
Hudson and the Mississippi. The State
of New York, it must be remembered
added 700,000 to her population be
tween 1870 and 1880. Pennsylvania
400,000, and Ohic 532 0C0. The in
crease in each of these old States would
made a Western State as populous as
Nebraska. JSeia York Tribune,
Made a Mistake,
An insurance agent caned into an
esiauusument me omer aay with a
large acoount-book under his arm,
Walking np to the proprietor in a busi
ness sort of way, he inquired :
" How's business how's stock ?''
" Oh, business is very dull," replied
me tradesman. ron my word, sir,
haven't got $900 in the house. Terri
ble dull 1" and he paused and looked
inquiringly at the visitor.
" Only $900 1" said the insurance man,
in surprise.
H Ton my soul, sir, I don't believe
there is a dollar more look for vonr
self," and the man looked very sad and
signed.
" Then, sir," said the insurance man.
with a good deal of warmth, "how does
it oome that your stock is insured in
our company for $4,500, eh ?"
"Oh! ah I beg your pardon!" eX'
claimed the dealer, in confusion.
"Thought yon was the taxmanl
was sure you was the tax-gatherer, or,
pon my soul, I would not have said
that, when, in faot, my stock is worth
tun s,uou. jjooic for yourself, sir."
In buying a orpet for d suability
onoose email ngures.
1882
ATTEMPTING SUICIDE.
A btriklns Incident Id the Career af Jesse
J arnca.
An Adairsville (Ky.) correspondent
of the Louisville Courier Journal nar
rates this striking incident in the career
of the notorious outlaw, the late Jesse
James :
While so muoh is being said and
written about Frank Bnd Jesse James, I
am forcibly reminded of an incident in
connection with them in which I was a
party. It may prove not uninteresting
to your readers and serves to illustrate
some of the characteristics whioh their
notable caieer has rendered so promi
nent since. At the time of which I
write Jesse was suffering from the
effects of a gunshot wound in
his right breast, and from the
long-continued discharge was rather
thin and in feeble health, and was spend
ing some time with his uncle, Major
George B. Hite, who lived within two
or three miles ol Adairville. In a fit
of despondency, produced partly by his
low state of health, and partly, as I
afterward learned, by his bitter opposi
tion to the prospective marriage of his
siBter Susie to Allen Parmer, whom she
afterward married, Jessie determined
to commit suicide, and impelled by his
impetuous nature lost no time in his
efforts at executing his desire. For
this purpose he rode to town and pro
cured.sixteen grains of morphine, which
he took at one dose immediately on his
arrival at his uncle's, whioh was late iu
the afternoon of a January day. When
he felt the drug beginning to produce
its effects and he deemed it too late for
any remedial efforts to prove effective,
he called his brother Frank and sister
Susie to him, advised them of what he
had done, and gave such directions in
regard to messages and trusts as he
wished.
Frank, in order, if possible, to frus
trate the design, immediately posted
a messengei after a physician. It was
about 7 o'clock P. M. when I ar
rived, and found him apparently in the
embrace of death, in a profound stupor,
insensible to his surroundings, except
under the influence of the strongest ex
citement, pulse slow, full and very for
cible, and respiration of that heavy,
slow and stentorous nature oharaoteristio
of opium poison. There had been some
degree of tolerance to the drug acquired
by a resort to it for some weeks previ
ously to mitigate the violenoe of the
Bnfferings incident to the wound above
referred to. I found willing and very
capable assistants in Frank and Susio,
whose attentions and ministrations woro
unremitting throughout the night. In
addition to the usual remedies it was
imperatively necessary to combat the
narcotic influence of the poison by all
sources of mental and physioal ex
citement that could be brought
to bear. I shall never forget the
powerful excitement he evinced and tho
prompt response ne continued to mane
when Frank would whisper to him cer
tain warning words as if certain per
sons very obnoxious to mm were
coming aud it was necessary to escape.
Whenever he would seem sunk into tho
fatal narcotism Frank's cabalistics
would for hours bring him to his feet,
and he would call for his pistols and
flourish them while carried around tho
room between two assistants, every few
seconds relapsing into profound slum
ber, even while walking, but instantly
aroused again by the same talisman.
His eyelids seemed to have millstones
suspended from them, and it was im
posnible for him to keep them open.
About 4 o'clock A. m. all efforts to keep
him awake proved futile; his pulse
had reduced in volume to a mere
thread, his breathing was feeble and
very slow, and it seemed the death
angel was hovering over him. I
sat with my finger on the pulse
for perhaps half an hour, when it began
to show evidences of improvement in
volume, with greater regularity, and
with more frequent and natural breath
ing. When this improvement had
continued till there could be no longer
any donbt of its existence, the fact was
communicated to the relatives and
friends. Within an hour he was sleep
ing a natural and refreshing sleep,
which he really very muoh needed from
the exhaustion induced by his long
continued forced efforts to keep awake
and moving.
By 6 o'clock he aroused and recog
nized his friends, and by the time
breakfast was announced he was ready
for a hearty meal. When conscious
ness was thoroughly aroused he ex
pressed considerable emotion of joy
that he had failed in his efforts at self
destruction, and was profuse in thanks
to Mrs. Hite and all parties for their
strenuous efforts through the long
night to restore him. He evinoed both
shame and contrition for the act.
Opium In the United States.
Except China, it is said, the United
States suffers more than any other from
tne curse oi opium, its ravages are
chiefly among women. But neither sex
is wholly free from the power of the
evil. In the thriving city of Elmira,
N. Y., which when the census of
1880 was taken had 20,541 population,
it has been assertained that there are
150 confirmed opium eaters, and fifty to
100 more persons who use morphine
frequently and are likely to beoome
habitual users of the drug. The statis
tics were obtained by a reporter of the
Elmira Advertiser, who questioned the
druggist cf the town. They are not
exactly correct of conrse, but are
more likely to underrate the
number of persons in Elmira who
have formed or are forming the opium
habit. But if they are nsed as a basis
upon which to reokon the extent of the
opium evil in the United States, it
would be necessary to reokon ten opium
eaters to every 1,000 of population.
This reokoning would give in round
numbers 500,000 as the number of
persons who use the drug, three-
fourths of them regularly and the
other fourth frequently. And the curse
seems all the more terrible when it is
remembered that most of these viotims
are women. The wretched opium dupes
would make a city as large as Chicago
if gathered together from all parts nf
the country. It is evident that reform
ers are needed to work against the use
of opium in the United States almost
ii uu quite as muon as against the use
ui eiruujj uriHK, i - . ,
NO. 15.
Oh. Angel Sleep.
Oh. annel. on whose drowsy head
'a poppy-wreath hangs heavy and red,
Come when the night's blaoK snaaows creep,
And fold your white wings' rustling sweep.
(Enter my room with enowflake tread,
Snd hover near my weary bed,
Where, since I knew my love waa dead,
The whole night long I toss and weep.
Oh, Angel Sleep,
Under your pinions wide outspread
Shelter me, till my soul is led
iURU lUIUllil .Un. 1 1,1 H J uta.n ...... , I
Through whose dim shade his spirit fled,
That I with him sweet tryst may keep,
Oh, Angel Bleep.
HUMOR OF TAE DAY.
The biggest thing on ice The profit.
Garden sass Soolding over the back
fence.
How to make a dnll scholar smart
Flog him.
It is not safe to call a woman a
weathercock because she is a little
vane.
He had a violet In his coat,
And in his hand a rose ;
Bnt the so were quito inferior to
The " blossom" on his noBe.
A fashion paper says cornmeal rubbed
In the hair will clean it. But nobody
wants to take so much trouble to clean
cornmeal.
Transparent leather is now being
made iu Germany, and it is likely that
the pedestrian of the future will be able
to see his neighbor's oorn growing.
New York Commercial.
. An Albany paper tells of a woman in
that city who woke her husband during
a storm the other night and said : " I
do wish you would stop snoring, for I
want to hear it thunder."
It is now reported that the egg whioh
Columbus made stand on end was of a
very inferior quality, and that it was
not the feat that surprised the men of
scienoe so much as the odor of the egg.
Now that the tile-painting is a little
out of fashion, and there is no demand
for this tomfoolery in art, its adepts are
off in the country painting tho virtues
of various patent medicines on barns,
fences and rocks.
"Yes," said tho doctor, "I'm
wretched; absolutely miserable. What's
the matter? Why, I predicted that
Gallagher couldn't live anyway, and
here he's gone and got well. No, I
haven't any personal feeling that I
.want Gallagher to die, but there's ray
reputation ruined."
"Mamma," said a wee pet, "they
sung I want to be an angel' in Sunday
school this morning, and I sung with
them." "Why, Nellie!" exolaimed
mamma, "could you keep time with
the rest V " I guess I could," proudly
answered little Nellie ; "I kept ahead
of them most all the way through."
Penurious Miss Burr.
The will of Miss SaruhBurr, who
died in New York recently, and who
gave thousands to charitable institu
tions, was before Surrogate Rollins, an
effort being made to prevent its pro
bate. The examination of James Mo
Odbe, formerly a servant of the late Miss
Burr, was held before Surrogate Rol
lins. He said that Miss Bnrr'a memory
was very bad. When a question was
asked her she forgot it before she oould
answer it. hue told him to get her
medicines at any place where they could
bo got " without money or price." He
was obliged to toll her that the medi
cines woro obtained for nothing at the
Believue hospital, because otherwise
Rhe would not let him go for them.
He bought everything which was
used iu tho house, She always
bought everything he bought
costly, and he always told her that
things cost less than thoy did; for in
stance, he told her that a steak eost
twelve cents when it cost thirty-five
cents. Miss Burr spent almost all her
time in the kitchen, lying on three
chairs opposite the ran ire: about all she
did was to eat and sleep. Miss Burr
never allowed a fire to be made in any
part of the house except the kitchen.
The gas wa only lighted in the kitchen
and sometimes in the hall. She died is
the kitohen on a sofa. The only persons
present were witness and his mother
and the doctor. The only dresses
which she had were brought
into court. They were . of
very common material, very dirty,
and faded and worn. The table which
Fhe used iu the kitchen is a small pine
one, which never was painted ; it is
covered with a heavy coating of dirt.
Miss Burr's coffee was made in an iron
saucepan, which is badly burnt and
battered. Four spoons used by her
were aho in court. They are apparent
ly of pewter or lead, and look as if their
size had been greatly reduced by long
use. Tt knives which she used looked
as if they had been made out of an old
iron hoop.
The description which MoCabe gave
of Miss Burr's habits was hardly cred
ible. The witness faid ttafc Miss Burr
did not know the dy of the week or
of the month. Once when the sun was
shining she asked him whether it was
raining. Miss Bnrr was careful in mend
ing things. She once mended a porous
plaster.
A Romance of the (juitenu Trial.
The Washington Slar srtj s : During
the Guiteau trial tho newspaper corre
spondents and others who made daily
visits to tho court-room became much
interested iu a young hdy with a
pretty face who eat daring the
trial at a table beside Mrs.
Scoville. It was an cauis of beauty in a
desert of bald heads and unrnmantio
pencil-drivers, immediately in front of
the judge's stand. This young lady was
the daughter of Dr. Rico, of Murton,
Wisconsin, Mr. Seville's family phy
sician, who declared Guiteau to be
insane, and became so much interested
in the proceedings that he remained
here throngh nearly the whole trial.
Dr. Rice and his daughter May stopped
at the Tremont house, and there Miss
Rice became acquainted with Mr. Fred,
Ccwie, the son of Mr. George Oowie.
Since the trial ended Mr. Oowie has
found mysterious business that has
taken him out to Wisconsin onoe or
twice. On the last trip, however, he
settled the business and returned to
Washington with Dr. Rice's daughter,
who now bears the name of Oowie,