Itatca of Adsu... Oue Square (1 in h,)one Insertion - , One Square " one month - One Square " three months - 6 ( One Square ' one year - - 10 0 Two Squares, one year - 15 Co Quarter Col. " - - - Wl 00 Half ' - , - 50 (HI One " " - - - - 100 00 I(al notices at established rates. Marriage and death notices, gratis. All bills for yearly advertisements col lected quarterly. Temporary advertise ment must be paid for in advance. Job work, Cash on Delivery. a--" .A. 18 Pi:BLIWIEIl EVKIlY Wi:i,N,AY MY W U. I ) IT XX. OFFICE IN ROBINSOT 4 BDNNER'8 BU1LDIKO ELM 8TREET, TIONESTA, FA. TKRMN.f2.00 A YKAK. wiXZP"'m rw,' ''oil for H M.orter I -nod than three months. Correspondence solicited from nil parts 'l.o country. N ,. wi ,,"5 " anonymous communications mot wpwcm. . M VOL. X. NO. 38. TIONESTA, PA., DEC. 26, 1877. $2 PER ANNUM. 1 t A Merry Christ inns! ' A morry Christmas to yon all! " In panning now from mouth to mouth, From cant to went, from north to south, From lowly oot and Hlately hall. " A merry Christmas to oh all !" In shouted by the cheerful host ; The window burred agaiiiHt the front, We toast the Hoason, great and small. A merry Christmas ! HiihIi no breath Of revelry must pierce the gloom Of yon ler chamber from that room The spirit ban passed out with Death. Tlio widow clanpa her child, a kIhh I jresl upon ltn rosy face A choking nih a clone embrace " A morry Christmas V" What in thin ? "A Chriatmas partylet us go !'' A wand'rer hopeless drops to die ; Ilia brothers heedless pars him by. Half frozen in the freezing snow. A morry ChriHtm&a ! What a few ltomalu of those it welcomed last ; Another year has o'er Mg pass'd And left us, wife, the only two. The childish laugh wo held no dear, The toys that made us ouoe more young, The infant armi (hat round na clung, . Have vauish'd with tho passing year. 1 - But Christmas merry is and those '' Who strive to make It so do well ; For who oau ov,r fitly U-U '' , What ooiufort from this season flows y - '' A merry Christinas !" lot ua bless , ' The season when our LirJ was bora ; uj d nbly blest the Christmas mora That gave us " Chi id our Highteousiiess." " A merry Christ aias to you all !" Let it rosotind from mouth to mouth, From ua.t and west to north and south, To h mble oot to stately halL The Story Writer. AN EDITOR S CHRISTMAS REMIXISGKJfCE, I am au editor ; and .one bitter .cold m miing, a few days before Christmas, i i the year 18--, I sat as usual at my dusk. Among the Leap of manuscripts I was daily compelled to examine many, of them desultory, untidy, ; and unstitched, defiant of spelling, subver sive, of grammar, and with neither be ginning, middle or - end was one, writ ten on the softest cream-laid French white paper, in a childish lady's hand, on lines which had been carefully erased afterwards. It was a little story of no great literary merit, bnt there was an aroma of youth mid of sweetness in every line. There was a promise in it. It was like the light in tho sky before the sun had risen on a tine day an omen, a portent of sunshine and warmth, but no more. I put it down as if I had touch ed the potal of a ros ' T!icre was a tiny scented note beside it of course full of italics : "Dear Mr. Editor: I send you a little story. I niu only sixteen, and papa and niamma do not know anything about it, but ploaso tell me if it be worth' anything. I want it to be print ed ; I wan t to be paid for it. It is not for mypelf, though, but I want the money to give my dear little brother a nice little birthday present. I am, dear Mr. Editor, vonrs, etc., Emily- ." Then came the adJress and signature. The writing of the note was lss neat und regular than the manuscript. Hut there was the same fragrance of duiuty youth about it. I held it a long time in my hand. I am an old man ; at all events middle aged, perhaps something more ; but lay heart is younger than ray appearance. Little distillations came, or Seemed to come, from the paper I held. It was with no common feeliug of interest that I sat down and wrote my answer to the note. I returned the manuscript, bnt I wrote gently and tenderly. I gave it as my hope and my opinion that, with a little more cave and study, the youthful writer would achieve a success. I even promised to print that identical manu script if it were a little revised or cor rected, and I pointed out how it might be made available. I opened the window of my den after I hud written my note. The weeds piercing through the flags below had a less dreary look than they had ever had before ; a gleam of snu Bliine shone on them, and their frosty verdure borrowed something of Pieoiola brightness from it. I posted my letter and the manuscript to the address named, and went home, wondering if ever I should boar (roni the writer again. With that, however, all thoughts of the manuscript passed away. The author was too timid to reply. On Christmas Ere I was asked os usual to dine with an old friend of mine at frit. John's Wood. He was a married man, with a pleasant comely wife, and several small children, male and female. "The children are not coming down to dinner," said my hof-tess, "for they - r a e' 1 wards." I bowed and was delighted, both at the anticipation of pleasure to come, and of 'privation for the first time of consid erable present annoyance. I need not say I was then a bachelor. When we went upstairs after dinner, we found the fidililiar-ilittru U'Lioli .liui.l.l fit fl'OIlt from tho back room closed. They were opened alter a while. The Christinas hymn whs sung, and a tree of the uo,t "brilliant splendor was ....... .,!. 1 . . i . i I (cioiv.-i. uu n uruncins wem living gifts worked and embroidered by the children for their parents. Tho three little girls and their governess hod done it all. While my friend and his wife were embracing and thanking the children, I had time to notice the governess, She Was very young, almost h child herself. A mass of bright hair was gathered up in great waves at each sid 5 of her head, and fastened in a loose thick loop be hind. The bright curls were so arranged lis to reveal the ear. The ear and cheek were, I should rather say they are like those painted by Leighton in his " Painter's Honeymoon. Need I say more of their ravishing loveliness ? Hut the pretty blue eyes looked as if they had cried a great deal, and there hod been recent tears, for the eyelids were somewhat swollen. . She was not sad, however for she played on the piano for the children and for me, their old god father, to dance to, and she joined with us in a game of blind man's buff. When the children retired, she retired also. " What a charming person," I said. "Hue is most excellent," said, my friend. - " Although she is bo young, Miss is the bread provider of her family. Her father and mother have, according to the cant phrase, seen better days ; in fact, they are people of, good birth, and once had A good fortune. They have'a son and daughter ; the son is a fine fel low also Both the son and daughter give the greater, part of their earnings to their parents ; , but the son has not been very, fortunate. My little gover ness, she ia only seventeen, (my chil dren are so young they do not require a prim regular governess,) does' more with her salary, mediocre as it is, than her brother can do with his hard work. He is a clerk in a bank." , "And she helps him also, I suppose?" " I dare say she does, but I have nev er inquired, for she is full of reticence and reserve en these point, I only know she would , set up all night, and work like a horse all day, to help both her parent and her brother. She is going home to-morrow ; and he, I fear, cannot afford the expense of the journey. The parents live now in Scotland." " Could we not help him ?" I said, bashfully. . . v My friend emiUd. ' Bolh brother and sister spent Christmas at home. My good fortune threw me a good deal after this with my friends' gover ness. Must I say from that Christmas Eve I was never heart whole ? The following Easter we were en gaged, and before the Christmas Eve which followed we were married. ; What iu aim and a hope my life has now ac quired I . We have a littlo suburban home, and leave my wife every morning to pursue my editorial , labors, and return every evening, forgetting my work and my worries, knowing that the sweetest heart and the fairest 'face I have ever known await me in ray modest but happy home. I never heard again from the author of the manuscript which had so much in terested me ; and, truth to tell, had never thought of her since that Christ mas Eve. Two or three years have passed since then, and we .have two babies. Their mother is always playing with them. She often puts her delicate, slender white hands nnder my baby girl's foot, and the baby makes believe to stand on it. What a picture it is ; it is like a rosa-bud laid on A white camelia. - As I walked up and down the room reading a scratchy, scrawly mauuscriit, and fumbling over it in desperation, for the tiresome person who had sent it had by some ingeuious carelessness mulcted it of its List page, my thoughts flew far and' wide, and, by some association I cannot attempt to explain, the pretty manuscript from tho youthful writer who had sent me no more was recalled to me Unconsciously the manuscript I held faded from my mind, and the other was present with me. 1 wondered what had ! become of her had she written any more ? where and how was she ? Every moment I became. more and more possessed with the memory. 1 was so happy myself that I felt for all who seemed to have care and struggle iu their lives, I looked out the address to which I hod written before, and wrote to the unkuown a few lines. I said that time had passed, that the youthful in experience which had prevented the paper she had sent from being accepted must now be corrected, and that I should be glad and willing to see anything else she had written, if she had written any thing since then. Within a few days I had an answer. The writing was in a feigned hand, quite unlike the round, hesitating, girlish hand I remembered. The words were, however, as sweet and innocent as the tirst had been. The note ran as follows : "It is so good of you to remember me, but I do not write any more. I am so-happy. I have a dear, good, noble husband. Oh, these womanly exaggera tions, I thought, as I sat in my editorial chair. And such darling babies ! I wrote, for I wanted to help my dear ones, but they have been better helped by others than I could ever have hoped to help them. God has given them a better friend than 1 could be. If yoa seek to know me, you shall do so. If when you go home you see a woman with a rose iu her hand, hold out yours. You will know me." I smiled at'the romantic fervor cf this reply, and a faint desire arose that my wile and t)he writer of the letter should know each other, and then I went ou with mv btupifviitff avocations. Ah I went home. I confess I looked iilvout for a woman with a rose in her hand, but, us might uutuvally oe sup posed, neither in cabs nor omnibuses did such an apparition manifest itself. As I entered my own door I gave an impatient shrug at the idea of having been thersnbjeot of a foolish jest. Bnt whom did I see standing within the tbrrshold of my home? My darling, with her fair, child-like face aud bright hair ; love, and joy, and youth crowning her with n triple crown, and iu her hand was a rose ! ' Dear husband," she said, as I kissed her, "I think I loved you from the mo ment I had your kind, indulgent, thoughtful note. I had written that absurd little story for I sadly wanted a little money to pay for Gerald's return home at Christmas, to be with papa And mamma, and I had a foolish notion I could write." "And you were disappointed, my pet. What a savage I must have seemed !" "No; I felt how foolish I had been, ane I cried heartily, but I thought vou good and kind all the same. And Ger ald got home, too. and we had a happy" Christmas after all." I kissed her. " But are yon never going to write a story for my magazine again ?" "I do not know," she said, archly. " Meanwhile, you can write ours, if you like." Fashion iu Fans. . Fans are of all kinds, from the rich white satin fan for bridal occasions, with its covering of Alencou or old point, to the sober, dark-colored pocket fan with Russian leather sticks. The newest fans for evenings are mostly white, wilh introductions of color in the shape of very small flower blossoms, such as lilies of the valley with faint yellow . stems and forget-me-nots, or pompon rosebuds ; these are nestled in the mtyabout tojs and so arranged as to form a bunch of flowers when the fan is shut. The black fans of this kind are equally dressy, the flowers intro duced being of the brightest tints of scarlet or yellow, and very Spanish in effect. Other fans have tiny flecks of oolor introduced in harlequin shades, aud very pretty when in motion. The sticks of these fans are iu ivory, ebony or bone. Fans with cherry wood sticks are a novelty, tipped with silver ; Vienna wood fans are finished iu the same way, aud are as pretty when folded as unfold ed ; the tops have prettily-painted de signs in the Watteau style, sometimes painted very carefully, according to the price of the fan ; or the top of sat;n is embroidered Iu flosses ; or net is stretched oi them thickly embroidered with glittering beads. Dark green is a favorite color in fans this year, the mara bout top and the satin being often of tho tone of color of the principal fall goods. ' " - 1 - Chatelaines worn with colored fans pra of silver or oxidize J silver, A favorite design for the clasp is the Japanese fan or a half-opened fan ; the Japanese fan is a marked feature in the decoration of many other articles now worn as acces sories. Evening fans for ball dresses are attached by ribbons matching the dress orj trimmings, by chatelaines of fine flowers or by chains of gold or some other jewelled design which adds richness to the dress. . Stanley and His Kofe Book, Says Stauley iu a letter describing his African explorations : A terrible crime in the eyes of rifany natives Wlow the confluence of the Kwango and the Congo was taking notes. Six or seven tribes confederated together one day to destroy us, because I was "bad, very bad." I had been een making medicine on paper writing. Such a thing had never been heard of by the oldest in habitant. It, therefore, must be witch craft, and witchcraft must be punished with death. The white chief must in stantly deliver his notebook (his medi cine) to be burned, or there would be war on the instant. My notebook was too valuable : it had cost too many lives and sacrifices to be consumed at the caprice of savaeres. What wus to bo done? Iliad a small volume of Shakespeare, Chandos edi tion. It had been read and reread a dozen times, it had crossed Africa, it had been my solace many a tedious hour, but it must be sacrillced. It was delivered, exposed to the view of the savage warriors, i' Is it this you want? 1 " l'es." " Is this the medicine that yon are afraid of?" "Yes; burn it, burn it. It is batl, very bad; burn it." "Oh, my Shakespeare," I said, "fare well !" and poor Shakespeare was burnt. What a change took place in the faces of those angry, sullen natives 1 Ir a x; ..1. i i'i - mi lime ii was nae auomer juDiiee. me eountry was saved; their women iftid little ones would not be visited by cal amity. Ah 1 the white chief w as bo good, the embodiment of goodness, the best of all men." Meteoric Stones. Within the last eighteen years twelve falls of meteoric stones have occurred in the United States, of which specimens have been collected. Eight of these falls took place in the prairie region of the West, extending from Ohio to Kan sas, and from Kentucky to Wisconsin, inclusive. Prof. J. L. Smith, of Louis ville, gives a map of this region in the American Journal of Science and Arts, showing the locality of each fall, ond he states that the aggregate estimated weight of the eight was 1,000 l ilo grammes, equal to more than 2,300 pounds. Going back further, and tak ing a period of sixty years, Prof. Smith fluds that there have beeu twenty well noted fulls in the United Stated, t-n of which wire iu the same regiou, and those ten weighed twenty times as much as the ten which otvuired oiiteitle its liuiitx. What and How Wild Animals Eat. Here is the bill of fare of the menag erie of the Botanical Garden of Paris. The guests are numerous, varying gen erally from 1,100 to 1,200. Their tastes ore naturally different, according to the divisions and orders to which they be long. In the first place, come the flesh eaters, the lions, tigers and bears. These each consume about cighfeau pounds of meat in twenty-four hours. The hyena, although a much smaller animal, receives because of its greater voracity eleven pounds. Only eight pounds are allowed to the panther. The great eater of tho house is the elephant, which consumes 1C5 pounds oi bread, carrots, grass, straw and bran. After such a repast he may well be thirsty, And from eight to ten barrels of water are ready to satisfy his herd. ThehippopotamnBis inferior in height to the elephant.'bnt not in appetite. His rations are like those of his neigh bor of the proboscis, only the bran is replaced by a coarser quality, which is cooked. The bears would accommodate them selves to this regimen, but they have meats, which are less dear. The rhinoceros absorbs daily about 110 Eounds of nearly the same nourishment; e has also rice. The other quadrupeds, such as the giraffe and the bison, notwithstanding their great height, require much smaller quantities of food, of which barley, hay and bran form the principal parts. The deer, antelopes, sheep And goats receive hay and glass. The annual expense of fooi for the museum is $7,812, which iS about $22 perddr. Tno bill of fare of the Zoological Gar den of London differs little from that of Paris. Fish, however, are .used iu greater quantities iu the former. They are designed for the birds and marine animals that live upon them in a state of freedom. All the fish brought for food are carefully examined, as a sea-dog came near strangling himself one day with a fish which had several hooks in its mouth. The sea-dog eals gluttonously otter, on the contrary, eats slowly ; the and chews carelully before swallowing, The most creedv lovers of lish are the pelicans. The keeper throws the fbh into a pond ; then opens the gate and leaves the passage free t6 : the pelicans, who rush iu aud the fish are devoured iu an instant.- Dainties are generally reserved for the monkeys. Turnips, cooked potatoes, apples, oriiuges, nuts are given them, and all divided into small bits." The monkeys usually eat together, which often causes very comical disputes, much to the delight of spectators. The birds of prey are fed with rabbits, guinea pigs, eggs, insects and sometimes small birds. The serpents have gener ally but one meal in a week. Their din der, which they take seven doys to di gest, sometimes consists of a dozen rabbits, twenty young guinea pigs and as many birds, and rats and mice which are given them alive, this being essential to tho health and preservation of these terrible reptiles. The venomous ser pents are fed solely with rate and guinea pigs. Those poor little creatures suc cumb quickly after the reptile has bitten them. The great pachydermatous auimals, such as the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and the elephant are fed in Londou as iu Paris.. The last receives cabbages aud a few crackers, a delicacy that he accepts with much pleasure. Every evening a new bed of straw is made for him. In the morning his cell is thoroughly cleansed, aud the straw must be re newed. A visitor one day observed to the keeper, " Here is a very clean beast, and very careful of her lodging ; she would make an excellent house keeper." " Oh, no," answered the keeper, " she eats her inattrass every morning." Frightening the Monkey. The inhabitants of Kabylia, Northern Africa, are much troubled by the dep redations of monkeys, who in countless numbers infest the hilly forests. The unfortunate farmers or market garden ers who live ou the mountain slopes wage a continual war against these marauders, which is foredoomed, how ever, to endless failure ; for the inhabi tants were Darwinites long before Mr. Darwin was heard of; and they dare not for their life kill oue of the creatures regarded by them as their ancestors. So the monkeys increase aud multiply without the chance of becoming thinned off by any fatal battue. The only thing that can be done to guard against their attacks is to frighten them away, und this is effected by some very cunning aud curious devices. It is found that i occasionally, after a successful raid upon some garden, a few oi the less hardened offenders ore overcome by the pleutetmsness of their feast, lhe potent juice of the grapes or of the figs gets the better of their reason or of their bodily Activity, And they remaiu stretched ou the ground, to be capturei by the furious proprietor, when a mild but iu siduous puuibhment is inflicted upon the prisoners. Their necks are hung with siua'l bells or rattles, and they are turned loose at the forest edge, when the panic created by their appear ance is such as to frighten all their kiue folk aud acquaintances away into the depths of the wood. It bells cannot be ! procured another process lias been iu i vented that of clothing the captured ! ape iu a stout waistcoat of red stuff and then letting him run. The effect is 1 magical, aud long after the ostrucinod l aiiicial has died or got free from bin hhivihli badge the depredators hold alool fioin the dangerous district. Eff YORK'S BABY SHOW. Infantile Winders n Exhibition Campet In Hnble and thrlr SnrruniHn. The recent opening of the baby show in New York is thus described in the columns of the World of that city : The baby show opened in Midget's Hall, in Fifth avenue, at 9:5)0 yesterday mora ing. It was a gathering to be remarked in several of its features, but most re markable was its suggestion of wisdom. At the hour of its opening the babies were fresh, wide-awake, uuvexed aud absorbed. No laggard twin, clipped of its vitality, had fallen into a leaden and precarious sleep, and the noisiest boy had not yet opened his mouth or got his preposterous legs into the throes of irresponsible motion. The flush of the vigor of morning was on the faces of all, aud the alert intellect peered out of eveiy baby's eyes. Under the circum stances, with every infant deeply seri ous, silent and absorbed, there never was such a gross display of facial wis dom. The babies were assorted and arranged iu the large hall on the second floor, which was trimmed profusely with American flags. . At the Fifth avenue end were the twins. On the side to wards Fourteenth street were arrayed single babies and all babies with defects and remarkable histories, while babies of different merits sat on the side op posite and were strewn casually through the center of ftie hall. The whole num ber of babies entered is nearly four hun dred, and all these will be out doubtless by to-morrow ; but yesterday the show opened with 250. There will be several Bete of triplets, and arrangement a have been made and will probably come to fruition with a phenomenal Brooklyn father for a quartet. The management requires the presence of babies and their mothers from nine iu the morning until ten at night, though wearied babies are dismissed or put to bed ou the floor above and their places supplied with fresh and vital specimens. Nurses are supplied to assist and relieve the moth ers ; also intelligent and instructed women to explain and interpret to visi tor?. In the hall above a lunch is al ways spread for mothers and nurses, and there are cribs and baby-jumpers for the soothiug and reiuvigoration of speci mens. , A number of prizes are to be given, the recipients to be determined by popular ballot. Every visitor will find attached to his ticket a coupon with printed instructions as t what qualities are to be voted for, thus: ' Hand somest mother," "prettiest baby," "finest triplets," "prettiest twins," "greatest novelty," and the four babies in order who are next prettiest. Each child and mother has a printed card with a number, which the visitor, having made his selections, ascertains aud writes upon his coupon, depositing the same in a box afterwards. The handsomest mother is to have a prize of a gold watch and chain, and money prizes ranging from $100 down are to go to the elected babies. As for other qual not men tioned on the coupon, they to be de cided by a selected committee. Yesterday the show was well crowded with visitors. Elderly gentlemen came a plenty, and chuckled over the marvels of comeliness and fatness which they fouud, and ladies in silks and seal-skins pondered and consulted. The twins and the fat, pretty babies got most notice ; the babies with defects were studied mostly by the reporters. In nearly every case the mother sat with the child, and was ready to tell everything con cerning it. Two conspicuous mottoes hung on the walls, oue being: "What is home without a baby?" and the other : " The hand that rocks the cra dle is the hand that moves the world." A Porcelain Fiddle. Venice is considerably excited at present over a very unusual sort of a riddle, the only one of its kind, proba bly, ever made. The manufacturer of this porcelain fiddle was formerly a workman iu a Saxon orcelain manufac tory. After his return, old and feeble, to his old heme, lie attempted to cany ont a long cherished project for making a fiddle, the box of which should be ( f china. With the aid of a boy, it is stated, he luis in fact succeeded in producing a fiddle of this kiud, which dias a tcue of rare purity aud astonishing richness, combined with charming liarmony and extraordinary power. The box part, or resonator, is exceedingly light, and the strings are made of. metallio wires, while the bow, departing from the usual form, is curved, making almost a semi-circle. The success of this clever Venetian, who had eujoyed the Advanta ges of the skill acquired iu a German porcelain factory, may be the means of directing musicians to the advantages of the clear, ringing, but fragile .diina and glass, for similar uses in acoustics. St-ientitie American. IMMire, the highest happiness ou earth, is seldom eujoyed with perfect satisfaction except ia solitude, ludo louee and indifference do uot always afford leisure, for true leiture is fre quently found iu that interval of relax ation which divides a painful duty from an agreeable relax recreation ; a toil some business from the more agreeable occupations of literature and philotophy. Two Waterbury (Couu.) teamsters w ere so mad because oue wouldn't turn out of a narrow courtway for the other that they sat on their wagons facing each other all day, aud unnitohed the horses after dark, leaving the wagons still there. But about daylight next morning each stole around and took his cart out of the way. Items of Interest. The noble horse leads n life of whoa. It is a wise cow that knows its own fodder. The language of the suspender is sup posed to be, " Brace up !" In the case of Sitting Bull, absence makes the hair grow longer. Any kind of weather suits Michigan, so tho bureau needn't be backwards. If Sitting Bull could have his way about it, the American nation would have no Indian summer. A person wha hail been listening to a very dull address remarked that every tiring went oi! well especially the au dience 'Is it proper to say, ' I see the sun rising,' or 'I see the sun rise?'" he osked. " Sir, the proper thing is to get home before it rises," replied his friend. A mob in Winnemucca, Nev., threat ened to destroy the railroad station and a train of cars if the company did not remove a passenger who had the small pox. - The lady whom Stanley was to marry has wedded another. What shall it profit a man if he finds 15,000,000 hea thens and losses his best girl ? y. Y. Jlerald. i A Chicago inventor recently made a small fan-wheel, to be placed in the hat, to keep the head cool in warm weather. He set it going in his own hat, and the first thing he knew his hair was wound up in the machinery. The spring was very Btiff, and before he could release himself a part of his hair was pulled out by the roots. A contemporary tells young ladies how to arrange their hair in a fashion able style. "Let it all down," it says, " and comb it out with a crosscut-saw. Then go up on the roof of the house, aud there stand still while the wind plays (whatever is appropriate) with it. Then catch up the black with a bow of ribbon, and allow the front to stay as it is," " Simplicity" is the sweet title of an Association of ladies jm.t formed at Leipsic, Germany. The object of this association is to promote simplicity-in dress, and to make war upon luxury. Members must pledge themselves not to have any trains or false hair not to wear tuniqnes, pol uaises or other frivolities. The dresses must be plain, and only a simple embroidery or trimming at the eni of tbe costume is permitted. The War iu Turkey. The campaign both in Bulgaria and Armenia is not only very active, but at a very critical juncture just now. Osmau Pasha, to the vurprise of many military critics, still holds out iu Plevna, which, by this time, he has rendered impregna ble to any successful capture by assuult, but everything indicates tuat his stock of provisions me about exhausted, and that he cannot, therefore, maintain his present attitude of bold defiance aud in-, domitable resistance much louger. Meantime the army under Snliemnu Pasha aud Mohammed AH is at length moving to the relief of the besieged geu eial, aDd considerable lighting has al ready taken plucV between them aud the Russians to the disadvantage of the be siegers so far as it has progrepsed, and a great battle is inevitable within a few days which will either lesult in the re lease of Osmau Pasha's army, and the defeat of the. Ruh-tians in Bulgaria, or the defeat of tin? Turks, the capture cf Osman and his army, and the further advance of tbe invaders to Constantino ple by the passes of the Balkans to com mence the siege of Adrianople. This is the position of the belligerents snbstan tudly in Europe, aud a few days will be decisive of the result of the campaign. Oa the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus iu Armenia the war is of lees moment. At last acoonuts the Russians are besieging Erzeroum, from before which one of their assaults had beeu recently repulsed. One f th most extraordinary phases of the present war, like the Franco-Prussian strife, is the comparatively insignfi eant part played by the fleets of the be ligerents. In fact, this whole war, like that to which we have referred, has beeu one of surprising and unexpected evente. Weary Amid the (.litter. A Washington letter hoc this : A lady whose husband held one of tho highest places in the government stood in her magnificent home attired for her weekly reception. " How gladly would I give up all the fiuery, show and insincerity of this public place aud go back to the rexmis I lived iu when we were first married. I would throw my silks nud diamonds away and sit down to my supper of chip'beef aud tea at sunset, and afterwards take a long quiet walk with Will, aud rest ou the stump iu the moonlight, and tell my little plans for the future, and what I had done every hour whiU he was gone, and know that we were alone iu the world, living only for each other. Those days seem like days iu heaven. I work harder now thau any slave ; often three hundred calls to re turn iu a single week, receptions or parties every night ; see the tame people, hear the same talk, eat the shiuo things, come home disgusted, wonder what. I am living for, w here I will go when' I die. 4 Bettie, I uniht have Hon. and Secretary - here to morrow ; I must get their influence ; you must talk music to the secretary, and vou must ask lion. about mouo- lith ; monolith is his hobby. Do your bet. i ueed their help.' So it i always. Help, influence, .power smile in my face, intcivbt in my t uer, living a lie; feeding mv ' busks."