The Forest Republican. (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, October 14, 1885, Image 1

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    THE FOREST REPUBLICAN
Ii patillahed every Wednesday, hj
J. S. WENK.
Ollino la Bmenibaueb & Co. 'a Building
ELM STREET, TIONESTA, Pk
RATES OF ADVERTISING.
One Square, one Inch, one Insertion. f 1 00
One Square, one Inch, one month I 00
One Square, one inch, thrco month. I "4
One Square, one Inch, one year 10 00
Two sq;inr, one year If 00
Quarter Colnmn, one year 10 SO
Half Column, one year BO 00
On Column, one year ...........100 00
Legal adTertl.ement. ten cent er line eack la
rtloa.
Marriage and death notice, eratl
All bllli tor yearly adTwHemnt colloctra quar
terly. Temporary adrerUfementa moat b pm In
ad ranee.
Job work caah on dellTerr.
r t i . s A J 4v I ! v II .!v
Ttrmt,
SI.BO per Year.
No unbicrlptlom received for ft shorter period
than thrr mnnth.
Oorriioiiilonc aollclted from all parte ef tin
country. Mi netloe will be taken of nonynwui
cemmunlcaUoDa.
VOL. XVIII. -NO. 26.
TIONESTA, PA., WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 14. 1885,
$1.50 PER ANNUM.
A Cs
II4
tHE STRENGTH OF THE HILLS.
My thoughts go home to that old brown
house,
With Its low roof sloping down to tho
east,
And Its garden fragrant with roses and
thyme,
That blossom no longer, except in rhyme,
Where the honcy-boi's used to feast.
Afar In the west the groat hills rose,
Silent and steadfast and gloomy and
fray,
I thought they were giants, and doomed to
keop
Their watch, whllo tho world should wake or
Bleep,
Till the trumpet should sound on the
judgment day.
1 used to wondor of what they dreamed
As they brooded there in their silont
might,
While March winds smote them, or June
rains foil,
Or the snows of winter thoir ghostly spell .
Wrought in tho long and lonesome night.
They remembered a younger world than
ours,
Before tho trees on thoir top were born,
When the old brown house was itself a tree,
And wnsU) were the fields whore now you
s.e
Tho winds astir in the tassolled corn.
And I was as young as the hills were old,
And the world was warm with the breath
of spring,
And the roses red and the lilios white
Dudded and bloomed for my heart' delight,
And tho birds in my hoart began to King.
But calm In tho distance tho great hills rose,
Deaf unto ruptures nnd dumb unto pain
Bince they knaw that Joy is the mother of
(Jriof,
And romemborod a butterfly's lifo is briaf,
And tho sun sets only to rise again.
They will brood, and dream, and be silent, as
now,
When the youngest children alive to-day
Havo grown to be women and men, grown
v phi,.
And gone from the world like a tale that is
toid,
And oven those echo forgets to-day
Louise Chandler Moullon, in Harper.
AN UNMASKED SHARPER.
A BTORY FROM THE FRENCH.
They were discussing the latest scan
dal. A young man of good connections
bad been ignominiously expelled from a
club. Playing in collusion with a pro
fessional gambler, he had cheated at
rnrda find in a fnw mmiH.a Yi..A ... n
,.,loansiderablo sum.
i1h x'i'And hug he killed himself?" asked
t rri one.
evnj'1'" rePl'c(l another. "Do men
themselves for so little nowadays?
f10.as different in tho good old times."
i,.,in tho good old times, as you cull
i iieoi," said old General Hov, those who
i.yiiuopieu mo caru-suarpcr s proicsstou
J killed themselves no inoro than do thoo
of tho prcscut time. A few exceptions
mere may iiavo iecn among thosu who
were delected tit tho outset. But if tho
lirst attempt succeeded, they did as they
do to day, they quickly accustom them
selves to their degradation. Ah, it is so
easy! When respect for his own good
name will not restrain a man at the lirst
step, it is entirely dead within him, and
even n scandal will not revive it. By
the way, I can tell you of a curious ense
in point, wlrro the hero blew out his
brains, but it was not a suicide. No,
strange as it niay sound, it was not a
suicide. Listen:
"It was some fifty years ago. The
press of that time was not tho terrible
gossip that it is to-day, and sensational
news never passed certuiu bounds. There
were not fewer scandals, but the scan
dals were less known. In fact, I think
thero were rather more. Not that we
aro moro virtuous, but the fear of pub
licity is certainly a great check.
"Among tho elegant young fellow9.
tho gilded youth of those days, who fur- I
nislied the greater part or the scandal
ous gossip by their eccentricities and
duels, was a young gentleman attached
to the Ling's household. 1 shall call him
tho Yicoiuto Roland. The namo was
not an illustrious one; in fact, the vi
comto was tho fruit of one of those
mixed marriages introduced by Napoleon
I. General Comte Holand, whoso heavy
cavalry charges are matters of history,
had married the daughter of the Marquis
de Bransac, a member of one of the
wealthiest and most powerful families of
France. His son was i lien about twenty-six
year of ago. Ho hud uot the ro
bust, plebeian beauty of his father, who
had been one of tho handsomest men in
the army. His was rather the delicate
ond distinguished giace of his mother,
whose idol lie was. Having loved her
husband passionately, tho countess was
now wrapped up in her son.
"Tho extravagaut lifo led by the son
had caused a quarrel between the parents.
The countess lived in the Buiusac Hotel,
one of the finest in the Faubourg Saint
Germain, while the general, secluding
himself in a little chateau in the forest of
Senart, passed h s time in the pleasures
of tho chase. They say ho had ill-treated
his wife, but it was utterly untrue.
The fact is that tlrere had beeu between
the general and his wife two terrible
scenes.
"The first was caused by an idea which
took possession of the countess. She
found this name 'Holand' too plebian for
her son, and tormented her husband to
obtain the king's authority to add to it
that of DeBransac. The geueral ener
getically refused.
"'My name has sufficed for me,' said
he, 'for me who have made it famous.
It will dt for this lino gentleman, my
sou. If Ne docs not find it brilliant
enough, let him try to add to its luster.'
''The fecond scene was brought about
by tho vicomto abducting a ballet
dancer, and by a duel and a debt which
wero the consequences of this little af
fair. The general brought the son be
foro his mother and roughly reproved
him for his folly. Instead of supporting
her husband, the countess mado excuses
for her son. "Women always aro Indul
cent toward tho man in a love scrape.
"As the general told his son that his
fortune was not sullicient to maintain
such scandalous nbsurditics, tho coun
tess unhappily interjected:
" 'Oh, tho fortune of tho Do Bransacsr
will amply sullice for him.'
"She had not calculated tho effect of
her sneeDh. An hour later the general
left tho hotel nnd went to his chateau;
at the end of a week tho family notary
informed tho countess that her entire
personal fortune was nt her disposal,
i'ho separation was complete, and the
general lived alone on the fifteen thou
sand francs which constituted tho rev
enue ho received from his own fortune.
"Tho son made ducks and drakes of
her fortune. At the end of six months
tho countess was half ruined, and the
energy of the notary alone saved her from
her son's extravagances.
"All at once it became known that
the Vicomto Holand no longer belonged
to the king's household, and that ho
had handed in his resignation as lieu
tenant in a cavalry regiment. That is
what was given out, but rumors of a dif
ferent character were afloat. The coun
tess no longer appeared in public, but
confined herself to her hotel. In a few
weeks she seemed ten years older.
"Tho vhomte, after a voyage of some
weeks in Italy, returned to Paris, took
apartments in the Hue de la Chaussee
d'Antin, and lived tho lifo of an idler on
tho pension of a thousand francs a month
allowed him by his mother. It would
bo little to day; but at that time ;it en
abled a man to make quite, a figure in
the fashionable world. Ho passed his
timo between lovo adventures, the
theatres, and the green table. Then
little by little his eleganpe and his
eccentricities began to be talked about.
Clubs were not as plentiful as they are
now, but tho gilded youth and tbe
gamesters had a few of them where lovers
of tho green cloth could amuse them
selves. "One evening when the Vicomte
Holand, after having won a considerable
sum from one of his friends, offered him
his revenge, his opponent rose, and.
pushing away the cards, looked at him
in a singular manner.
"'Well, no, Roland,' said he; 'what
with your luck with women and yout
luck with cards, you have too much
luck for one man.'
"Holand, though somewhat choleric,
demanded no explanation, and contented
himself with laughing.
"Some days after, the prefect of
police announced himself to the general
at his chateau. What passed between
them I do not know. Ail that is known
of tho affair is that they returned together
to Paris.
"At 11 o'clock of the evening following
that interview, tho vicomte was seated at
a tablo playing ecarto. He had just won
ten successive games from an English
man, who, passing through Paris on his
v;ny home, had been introduced at the
club by one of the members. Holand
had a considerable sum before him. The
loser had just risen, and before leaving
the tablo had bowed thrice, when an el
derly gentleman approached the table.
" 'Will the Vicomte Holand permit me
to take tho geutlcman's revenge?'
"Tho young man paled. It was his
father.
" 'As you are a bold player, I offer you
a bold game. It will be useless for you
to say that it is too high. Head.' And
the general handed him a note folded
twice. 1
"The vicomte glanced over it and
shuddered visibly.
" 'Do you accept?'
"He bowed. The general seated him
self opposito his son, cut a king, aud
dealt the cards. Ho won the first hand.
When it was the vicomtc's deal, he
trembled slightly and a strange light
shone in his eyes; nevertheless he played
on. The general won again.
"Tho vicomto rose, pale as a ghost,
and iu a smothered voice said:
" 'In an hour, sir, I shall havo acquit
ted myself.
"He left tho room without another
word.
"On the following morning the guar
dians of tho Hois do Boulogne brought
in the body of tho Vicomto Holand. His
head was blown to pieces, his hand still
grasping the pistol. In a portfolio was
found an unsigned scrap of paper, on
which wero tho words:
: The loser will blow out his brains. :
"The pretended Englishman was an
accomplished card sharper, sent by the
E refect of police. The three bows had
cen the sign agreed upon between him
and tho general to indicate that the vi
comte had cheated.
"Tho game was one for life and death
between father and son. Both were dis
honored the son by his own act, tho
father by the son's. But this dishonor
whs a secret, which threatened to become
an open shame. Death could stifle it
tho son's death or the father's, for the
stern old soldier would himself have dis
graced his son had that son not kept
their pact. The price of the general's
secresy was his son's life." Argonaut.
Dr. Bowman says that from experi
ments made in washing bright haired
wool in different temperatures he found
that wool which looked bright when
washed with tepid water was duller when
kept for some timo in water at 1G0 de
cree? Fahrenheit.
Cremation in Paris will soon bo avail
able for the general public, at the small
cost of $3 for each operation.
MANY TONS OF LETTERS.
wssnrrs best to awd prom thb
WASHINUTOir OFFICIALS.
Fifty Tlioiivnnd a. Pay to the Prel.
drnt Alone )for an Immenae
Dally Mall I Handled.
The President of the United States le
ceiyes daily an average of 50,000 letters,
which, as a rule, aro answered, or their
receipt acknowledged on tho day of do-
livery. To enable him to cope with this..
vast, correspondence, in icu ot which re
quires not simply a formal reply, but
considerable research and special knowl
cdge.the executive is furnished with about
ten thousand clerks, who, for conven
ience, are divided into seven depart
ments, according as their work has to
do with our foreign relations, the army
or navy, tho liacal machinery of the gov
ernment, its internal relations, tho pos
tal scrvico, or tho administration of
justice. The heads of these seven prin
cipal departments are asked by the Pres
ident to meet him once or twice a week
at the White House, and form what is
known as his cabinet. At these confer
ences tho moro important business of the
departments is discussed, so that the
work may be done promptly and har
moniously; and so well regulated is the
system that it is not necessary for tho
President to see personally but a very
small part of tho executive correspond
ence. Two or three sacks only, out of
the tons of mail matter that is dumped
every morning on the floor of the Wash
ington city postoflice, goes to the White
House.
This postoffice is the third in tho coun
try in volume of business, though Wash
ington is only the fourteenth city in
population. This is on account of the
enormous official mail that passes
through Postmaster Conger's hands.
During the fiscal year which ended Juno
30, 1855, the letters received were in ex
cess of 25,000,000, or about 70,000 daily,
and of this total it is estimated about
seventy per cent, goes to the depart
ments. The refluent tide is even larger for the
outgoing delivery includes all the publi
cations of the government. Statistics
in this field would be staggering. They
would be on such a huge scale that the
figures would lose their meaning. On
some days, for instance, during tho busy
days of Congress, 2,000 large sacks,
mostly of executive documents, will pass
through the office, and the average for
the summer months is 20,000 sacks a
month. Much of this is registered, for
greater safety, so that tho work thrown
on tho city force is pradigious.
Evidently, then, the Washington post
office is a busy place. Tho busiest time
of the day for tho incoming mail is early
in the morning, when the great night
mails arrive From 7 till 9 o'clock tho
office seethes with activity. Shortly be
fore 0 o'clock tho mail wagons for the
departments nnd the outlying bureaus
are hauled up in the rear of the office,
and the mail is handed out to
them for distribution. These vehicles
aro of every description, from heavy,
red, circue-like vans to neat covered carri
ages, which have a strong suspicion of
wilight and Sunday excursions about
hem. The heaviest mail generally goes
o the postoffice department, due to tho
outine correspondence between tho de
partment and tho 50,000 postmasters of
tho country. Each postmaster has oc
casion to write at least four letters each
quauer to tho department, thus involving
amass of 200.000 letters every ninety
days, or more than 2,000 a day from this
cause alone. Then there is an equal
volume of business in the dead letter
bureau, where all uncalled for, mis
directed, or unintelligible letters are
sent. The other two departments that
receive enormous mails are the interior
and tho treasury. The mail for the pen
sion bureau of tho interior alone often
mounts into tho thousands.
All tho departments have a mail room
where tho letters are received and sorted.
In the larger departments theso rooms
have quite a postoffice look of their own,
and exceed in tho volume of business
transacted the figures of many towns of
considerable size. Here the sacks are
opened and the contents distributed into
trays or boxes which represent the office
of the secretary and the ditlcrent bureaus.
When thus sorted the letters go to tho
chief clerks, who go through tho pile,
whether "confidential" or not. Heads
of depa'tments are not supposed to have
anyguilty secrets, and they certainly have
not the time to read all tho missives
which come to them us confidential mat
ter. So tho clerk rips open everything
aud many "confidential" letters drop
into his waste basket. Communications
on business matters tha clerk tosses into
wicker trays, and these are borno by
messengers to the chiefs of division and
the heads of rooms having special super
vision of the matter. If, however, tho
letter is seen to bo important, it is sent
up instead of down, and eventually may
find its way to the desk of tho secretary,
or even to tho President. In the ordin
ary routine, however, a letter goes first
to tho city postoffice, then to the de
partment, and then, step by step, to the
chief clerk of the bureau, the chief clerk
of division, and the particular clerk who
is assigned t- attend to its subject mat
ter. Then, in due progress, the reply goes
back, on thick white letier paper of offi
cial size, elaborately headed, uud gath
ering endorsements as it proceeds red
marks and blue marks, numbers and
dates, circles, squares, and crosses till
it is finally pigucd, folded, and mailed
again. Necessarily thero is some red
tape, for unless a rigid system was fol
lowed there would be fatal confusion iu
a week in all the large departments.
These mysterious marks pllhavo a mean
ing, as tho careless or stupid clerk Cuds
out soon enough, for by them every step
is registered aud a blunder traced back
to its source.
The last hour or two of each office day
iu the departments is devoted to finish
ing up the correspondence and signing
it. The latter means greSt drudgery to
the secretaries and their responsible sub
ordinates. Some days thcBo officers sign
their names for two hours as rapidly ns
they can write, with a messenger at thcit
elbow to pass them sheet after sheet, and
blot tho signature as fust as it is scratched
off. Rarely are tho contents of the let
ter noticed. It comes to tho desk through
the proper channels, and is assumed to
bo correct. If not, the one who suffers
by tho error will be pretty likely to com
plain. Of course, tho "more important
correspondence is treated moro care
fully. Aud now the reply begins its travels.
Again the department wagons, from the
heavy red vans to the neat carriaaes,
convey the sacks to tho city postoflice,
where they are emptied and the letters
hurried from clerk to clerk. One ar
ranges them in piles, then tho canceling
stadip and post mark are put on, and
then the first rough distribution by States
and chief cities begins. At the city
postoffice, also, a further distribution
takes place to ease the strain on the rail
way postal clerks. About 20,000 post
offices are located by Iwe most direct
railway line3, and letters are distributed
for theso lines, thus saving the railway
clerks from a vast task that would have
to be done very quickly.
The great official mail goes out to the
North and West at 10 o'clock at night,
but as much matter as possible is sent at
4 o'clock to help the railway clerks.
Thero are few busier spots than the
postal cars on the 10 o'clock train be
tween Washington and Baltimore.
The government mail consists almost
entirely of scaled packages, so that little
need be said of the methods of handling
the lower grades of mail matter. Some
paacels go open, however, and these are
handled in connection with newspa
pers, samples, books, shoes, horned
toads, and other bulky articles. The
size of these parcels does not admit a
pigeon-hole basis of distribution. The
clerks therefore stand in the arena of a
mimic amphitheatre of labeled pouches
rising about them in over-lapping tiers,
and toss the bundles into the gaping
mouths of the sacks. . It looks easy but
it is a special art. Ono calm elderly
clerk, who has tpent a life 'shooting
pouches, has a perfect aim. Neu York
Sun.
Some Weather Signs.
Cats Tho cardinal point to which a
cat turns and washes her face after a
rain shows the direction from which the
wind will blow. Cats with their tails up
aud hair apparently electrified indicate
approaching wind. If sparks are seen
when stroking, a cat's back, expect a
change of weather soon.N When a cat
washes her face with her back to the
fire, expect a thaw in winter.
Buzzards A solitary turkey buzzard
at a distance indicates rain. Buzzards
flying high indicates fair weather.
Crows One crow flying alone is a
sisrn of foul weather; but if crows fly in
pairs, expect tine weather.
Geese If the breastbone of a goose
is red or has many red spots, expect a
cold and stormy winter; but if only a
few spots are visible the winter will be
mild. If domestic geeso walk east and
fly west expect cold weather. When
geese or clucks stand on one leg expect
cold weather.
Roosters When the roosters go crow
ing to bed they will rise with watery
head.
Spiders When they are seen crawling
on the walls more than usual indicates
that rain will probably ensue. This
prognostic seldom fails. It has been ob
served for many years, particularly in
winter, but more or less at all times of
the year.
Snakes are out before rain, and are,
therefore, more easily killed.
Electricity Increasing atmospheric
electricity oxidized ammonia in the air
and forms nitric acid, which affects milk,
thus accounting for souring of milk by
thunder.
Lamp wicks:
The nightly virgin, while her wheel she plies,
Foresees the storm impending in the skii-s;
When sparkling lamps their sputtering lights
advance,
And in their sockets oily bubbles dance.
Corns giving trouble indicate bad
weather. When corns ache rain follows.
Logs An easy splitting log indicates
rain.
Milk makes cream most freely with a
north wind.
Rheumatic diseases:
Therefore the moon, the governor of floods,
Palo in her auger, washes all the air
That rheumatic disease! do abound.
Co flee- Drunkards.
"What a bright-eyed man," said a re
porter who leaned against tho cashier's
desk of a restaurant near tho public
buildings one day last week. The man
in question had just paid a ten-cent check
and slipped out of the door with a jerky
movement and a swinging of tbe cano he
carried which decidedly endangered tho
people's peace.
"Bright-eyed? Yes," said tho cashier;
"he's a coffee drunkard."
"What's a coffee drunkard?"
"A man who comes in hero four times
in two hours, as that man has done this
morning and does every morning, and
takes a half pint of coffee erery time, is
a coffee drunkard. Bright eyes! Well
I should say so. That man's condition
all the time is the same as that of a man
who is getting over a big 'batter.' I
mean his nerves are up in 'G,' his mus
cles are all a quiver, and his mental vision
is abnormally clear. He is living at a
2:0H rate."
"W hy does he do it?"
"Has to. Must have a brace. Used
to drink rum. Had to quit that, aud
now does worse. He never sleeps, they
tell me."
"Do you know many such men?"
"At least half adozeu." rialadclyhut
Print.
ECLEXTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
Continued investigation confirms the
belief that the English sparrow destroys
vegetation instead of protecting it from
insects. One observer has reported to
Miss E. A. Ormcrod, tho English ento
mologist, that tho crops of fifty sparrows,
killed in one summer, contained but two
insects.
Angle-worms, fish, etc., are often
caught up into the clouds by revolving
storms, and then dropped again many
miles from tho place where they wero
taken up. Small fish have often been
found in puddles of water in village
streets, to tho astonishment of people
who were unacquainted with the phe
nomenon. Tho simplest and best test for clucose
1fl sugar is to ulace a little of it under
the low power of a microscope. Magni
fying forty times is quite sufficient, nnd
less will do. Cane-sugar under this
power is distinctly and beautifully crys
talline, and each crystal looks like rock
candy. They are clear, bright ond beau
tiful. Glucose, on tho other hand, has
a dull, opaque appearance, like a lump
of tallow. Once seen, It will bo easily
known ever after.
Narcolepsy is a name that has been ap
plied to a raro and curious malady, the
main feature of which is an Irresistible
desire to sleep, coming on suddenly at
irregular intervals the spell lasting but
a short time. It may be due to a spasm
or fit-like action in the nerves controlling
the circulation of blood in tho brain,
producing in that ono organ an effect
similar to the loss of consciousness in
epilepsy, but not affecting the remaindei
of tho body ns the latter disease does.
In an article on windmills, the Sclentifit
American says: "An 8.3-foot wheel w'ill
raise 3,000 gallons of water daily a dis
tance of twenty-live feet. Its first cost,
including tho pump and a plain tower,
is about $150. A 10-foot wheel will
raise about 9,000 gallons of water a day
a like distance, and cost $180, including
tho appurtenances above mentioned. A
12-foot wheel will raise 16,000 gallons of
water a day the above distance, and cost,
with tho sme appurtenances, $210. So
up, from 14 to 10, 18 to 20-fcet diameter
of wheel, which costs about $1,200 and
will raise about 100,000 gallons of water
daily the specified distance."
Minnis Hadcn, a colored blacksmith of
Montgomery, Va., has lately invented a
piece of very simple machinery by which
the striking hammer is easily and effec
tively worked by his foot, while ho has
both hands free to hold his iron and use
the small hammer. To a listener the
blows come as naturally and as rap
idly as if there were two men handling
the hammers in the old-fashioned way,
but there is a difference. The machine,
by an easy motion of the foot on the
treadle, strikes a harder blow than any
man can strike, andean be made.atwill,
to strike as light a blow as may be
needed. But the use of this simple and
cheap device in the blacksmith shop is
not half. It can be just as easily used,
and will find a largo field of usefulness,
in driving a drill or blasting rock.
Terrible Scene at a Bull Fight.
A Madrid correspondent says: At the
bull tight which took place in Vittnria a
few days ago a sceno occurred which is
seldom witnessed on theso occasions.
The first bull having been dispatched by
the primer espada Lagartijo, tho car
casses of bull and horses dragged away,
and the blood marks covered with fresh
sand, the signal was eiven for the second
bull. Tho beast appeared at the en
trance, looking suspiciously around him,
and as a torero ran past him, he rushed
out, more like a tiger than a bull, and
with such impetus that clearing the bar
rier by a flying leap he alighted in tho
midst of tho terrified crowd. Those
nearest to tho barrier jumped or loll
hendiong into tho arena, while others
were tossed into tho air. Ladies in tho
palcos screamed and fainted, while the
bull kept driving furiously into confused
crowds of men women "nnd children,
killing some, and wounding others very
severeiy. A company of civil guards,
which were drawn up in line to keep
order during tho bull tight, ran oil.
When the bull had cleared half the plaza
of its occupants, he paused to take
breath and look at the ureu:i, which was
full of spectators. Finding at hst u gate
opeu, ho trotted out to tho piomeuade,
sending several men, women ami chil
dren Hying in tho uir. At last he was
brought down by three shots tired at
him by a civil guard. When calm had
been restored, the people very deservedly
hissed the civil guards and toreros for
their cowardice.
A Strong Cigar.
"Don't cave if I do, stranger. Thanks.
Strong? Yes: to lable. Strongest cigar
I ever smoked? (Puff, pull.) So, '(ain't
(pull, puff.) Not by a long shot. What
was the strongest cigar 1 ever smoked?
Well, I'll tell you. It was so strung
that it knocked some of my teeth out.
Yon don't bcliove it? Wait till you hear
tho particulars. It was way buck in
IStiS. I was with the Army of tho Po
tomac, aud we we wer; closiu up on Lee
in Hichinond. I was on picket duty one
night when I got to hunkerin' for a cigar.
"It was ngainst orders to smoke on
the picket line, but I couldn't stand it,
and so 1 dove into the trench and lit my
weed. Then 1 returned to my beat,
happy as could te. It was a very dark
night, an' everything quiet, an' I was
just flatterin' myself that there was no
danger in a iiuoke, when whisli! bung!
and that cigar of mine went to pieces un'
I felt a prickly pain in my mouth. I
felt, an a couple o' teeth were gone.
Pretty strong cigar, that. Eh? Loaded?
No; but tho ritie of that 'ere Johnny Kcb
sh irpshooter was, and light here on my
cheek is whero the bull cuiu out. If the
ash hadn't fell off that cigur I would
have two more teeth in my head to-day."
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE AND DEATH.
Beautiful faces are those that wear .
It rnattnrs little if dark or fair-Whole-souled
honc.ity printed there.
Beautiful eyes are those that show,
Like crystal panes where hearth fires glow,
Beautiful thoughts that burn below.
Beautiful Hps are thone whose words
Leap from tho heart like the hearts of birds
Yet whoso utterance prudence girds.
Beautiful hands are those that do
Work that is earnest, and brave, and true,
Moment by moment a long life through.
Benutiful feet aro those that go
On kindly ministries to and fro
Pawn lowliost ways, if God wills it so.
Beautiful shoulders are those that boar
Coaseless burdens of homely care
With patient grace and daily prayer.
Beautiful lives are those that bloss
Silent rivers of happiness,
Whose hidden fountains but few may guess.
Beautiful twilight at set of sun,
Beautiful goal with race well won,
Beautiful rest with work well done.
Beautiful graves where grasses creep,
Where brown leaves fall, where drifts lis
deop
Over worn-out hands oh, beautiful sloopl
IICJIOK OF THE DAY.
Should a kite bo made of fly-paper!
"I take she pledge and keep it," says
the pawnbroker.
The fruit most frequently to bo ob
served at picnics the pear.
You cannot call a sailor a eluggcr bo
cause he boxes the compass. Derrick.
"Can any ono suggest a sure prevent
ive of sea-sickness?" asks an exchange.
Certainly; stay on shore. Pud:
Only eight American poets havo lived
beyond the ago of sixty years. This
shows the power of the press. Merchant
Traveler. THE LATEST CRAZE.
Now the maiden sits in bar easy chair
And drives away melancholy
By plying her needles and knitting a pair
Of scarlet silk hose for -her C'hollv."
Boston Courier.
The planets havo been weighed and
the moon blocked out into election pro
cincts, but tho heft and capacity of a
boy's pocket still remain unknown.
Chicago Ledger.
When a cold wave comes
Then business hums.
Sew York Mjrniny Journal.
But when it thaws
There is a pause.
Gorham Mountaineer.
Can't you give us some war reminis
cences?" asked a citizen of an old fel
low in a party of ex soldiers telling
stories. "No, I believe not," ho an
swered promptly, "you seo I've only been
married six months." Mertliaut-Trao-eler.
They were walking on the beach, and
as Claude held her little hand ho mur
mured: "I love to be with you, Claribel,
it seems so bright and I foel so much
fresher." "Do you, dear? I should not
think that possible." And then he
dropped her hand and turned sadly
away, his sighs keeping timo to the
surges as they lashed themselves to foam
on the pobbly beach. Hidon Traix
tcript. He met her in the garden,
And she was all alone.
His arm he folded ro:iuJ her waist,
And said she was his own.
He on her lips imprinted
A kiss with trud love's zost.
And then, with pa-ision's fervor,
Her sott white hand he pressed.
Bhe screamed, and then his ardor
Was in a moment dished;
For iu tlmt soft white hand she hold
An ogg, that now was smashed.
. tioslon Gazette.
Is the Air Colorless?
The Challenger has dredged from the
bottom of tho ocean fishes which live
habitually in great depths, and whoso
enormous eyes tell of the corresponding
ly faint light which must have de
scended to them through tho seemingly
transparent water. It will not be as fu
tile a speculation ns it may at first seem,
to put ourselves in imagination in the
condition of creatures under tho sea, and
ask what the sun may apponr to bo
to them, for, if the fish who h;id never
risen above the ocean-floor wero an in
telligent being, might he not plausibly
reason that the dim greenish light of his
heaven which is all ho has ever known
was tho full splendor of the sun shin
ing through a medium which all his ex
perience shows is transparent.
We ourselves are in very tact, living
at the floor of a great aerial sea. whose
billows roll hundreds of miles above our
heads. Is it not ut :my rate conceivblo
that we m:iy have been led into a like
fallacy from judging only from what we
see at the bottom? May we uot, thtt is,
have been led into the fallacy of assum
ing that the intervening medium above
us is colorless because tho light which
conies through it is bo?
1 freely admit that all men, educated
or ignorant, appear to have the evidence
of their senses that the air is colorless,
and that pure sunlight is white, so that
if I venture to ask you to listen to con
siderations which have laieiy been
brought forward to show that it is tho
sun which is blue, and tho air really acts
like an orange veil or like a seivo which
picks out the blue and leaves tho white,
1 do ho iu tho conlideuce that I may ap
peal to you on other grounds thun those
I could submit to the luimitivb mau who
has his senses alone to trut to: for the
educated intelligence possesses those
senses o i null y. and in addition tho ability
to interpret them by tho light of reason,
and before this audience it is to that
interpretation, that I address myself.
Pro. J.ait'jlei, in Popular Science Mjidhlj.