S- ttttTI ft I "
CLEARFIELD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1G, 18-50.
VOL. 2. NO. 36.
BY S. B. ROW.
THE ivy.
BT CHARLES DICKENS.
Oh. a dainty plant is the Ivy green,
That creepeth o'er ruins old !
Of right choice food arc his meals, I ween,
In his cell so lone and cold ;
The trail must be crumbled, the stone decay'd,
To pleasure his dainty whim,
And the mouldering dust that years have made,
Is a merry meal for him !
Creeping where no life is seen,
A rare old plaut is the Ivy, green !
Fast he Btealeth on, though he wears no wings,
And a staunch old heart has he :
How ciosely he twineth, how tight he clings,
To his friend, the huge Oak tree!
And slily he traileth along the ground,
And his leaves he gently waves,
As he joyously hugs and crawletb round
The rich mould of dead men's graves.
Creeping where grim death has boon,
A rare old plant is the Ivy, green !
TVhole ages have fled and their works decay'd,
And nations have scattered been ;
But the stout old Ivy shall never fade,
From its halo and hearty green.
The brave old plant, in its lonely days
Shall fatten upon the past ;
For the stateliest building man can raise,
Is the Ivy's food at last!
Creeping on, where Time has been.
A rare old plant is the Ivy, green !
"THE WIFE FOR ME."
Horace Hastings was a sober, sensible, en
terprising bachelor, of some seven-aud-twenty
years, who, having obtained an excellent repu
tution for his industry and integrity, and hav
ing made himself useful in the mercantile firm
ia Boston, with whom he had served an ap
prenticeship, was at length invited to a part
nership in the firm. Tor some time he had
been encouraged to anticipate this elevation,
and he soberly and energetically entered upon
the new dalles of his position. "When busi
ness crowded be had bnt little leisure to mourn
over his celibate condition ; but when the hur
rying season was over, and hours each day
hung heavy on his hands, he could not help
thinking how delightful it would be, had he a
house, and a gentle wife of his own. His pe
cuniary circumstances now warranted such
luxuries, and he resolved to marry when he
found a lady just suited to his mind.
Near a country village in Maine, not a thou
sand miles from Bangor, lived an old friend of
his father's ; and being on a collecting tour in
that region during the autumn months, he de
termined to accept an oft-repeated invitation
to spend a few days with the old gentleman,
and sent a note announcing his coming.
At the appointed time he reached the resi
dence of his old friend, and found that the
family were prepared and pleased to receive
him as a guest. In the parlor were two young
ladies well dressed and quite handsome. lie
was duly introduced to Miss Jane and Char
lotte, and found them accomplished and sen
sible yonng ladies. Being just now very sus
ceptible to the tender passion, he was easily
pleased, and exerted his power to render hira
fcclf agreeable to the flattered maidens, lie
succeeded of course. Sensible men of his age
and prospects always do when they try. And
his eye wandering in conversation, Irom one
handsome, intelligent face to another, he
caught himself several times mentally inqui
ring, " Which would make the better wife ?"
The mother and a neat-looking maid were
seen several times passing from the kitchen
preparing supper. The girl wh set out the
table and spread the white stainless cloth, and
arranged the plates, seemed to do it gracefully
aud quietly, as if she had made such duties a
Btudy as a science, aud won a glancing of ad
miration as a very neat and pretty servant a
model of a 'help.' Altogether, he thought it
was a charming family. When they it at the
cheerful supper, and tasted the light home
made bread, and the sweet, fresh butter, and
the thinlr sliced home-cured beef, the hot,
well flavored tea, the excellency and good
taste manifested in the whole ordering, he fe
licitated himself upon having found so pleas
ant a home, even if it was only for a few days
After the supper was over and the table was
cleared, a third young lady, very neatly dress
ed, entered the room, and was formally intro
duced to him as one of the sisters, Miss Sa
rah. He was not a little surprised to find that
the neat servant-girl whose handiwork had won
his admiration, was one of the sisters. He
found her sprightly, cheerful, and accomplish
ed, and he thought a little more graceful than
her sister Jane, who was older, or Charlotte,
who was younger than herself. He thought a
little more meanly of himself for having taken
her to be a hired girl in the family, but not a
whit more meanly of her for having revealed
hersell in that capacity. And his perplexity
was somewhat increased as he sat down n his
bedside in the chamber to which he was shown
by Lis host, and said to himself, "Which of
fhe throe ?"
In the morning, after a night's sound sleep
for he was not sufficiently in lore io keep
Lisa awake he entered the breakfast-room,
and was soon joined by the two young ladies
who had first welcomed hirn. Sarah was not
risible; but when they had sat down at the ta
hie, and Jane had poured the coffee, Sarah
came smiling in, behind a clean white apron
and with a steaming pile of buckwheat cakes
ia her hand, which, from the hue of her
cheeks, she had just been baking. If there
was a blush on her cheek, any eye might see
it was forced there by the fire, and not by any
sense of degredation, on account of the ffic3
she so gracefully filled. She greeted the guest
with a welcome sniilo, deposited her load of
edibles, and returned to the kitchen, whence
she tripped again in a few moments, with an
other plate of cakes, most beautifully baked
by her own skill. Horace ate a large quantity
of them, more than enough merely to satisfy
hunger, because of the beautiful little hands
that made them. And then he wandered over
the farm with the old man, and prated of hor
ses, and cows, and crops, as though he knew
something about them, as well as broadcloths
and calicoes. At dinner time Jane and Char
lotte were in the parlor waiting for him, and
Sarah, as usual, was bustling about the kitch
en. "I do wish," said he, sotto voce, "that
one of those girls would take Sarah's place iu
the kitchen a little while, that I might find out
some of their house-keeping qualities, and
that I might have a little more chat with her."
But he waited for such a change in vain,
though he found some opportunities of con
verse, and discovered all he wished to know
just then, about her mental qualifications and
acquirements ; and, at the close of the fourth
day, just before he got into bed, he slapped
the white counterpane emphatically, and said
to it as there was nobody in the room at the
time, I suppose he must have spoken to the
counterpane or the bed-post "She's the girl
forme."
The next day was the outer limit of his vis
it ; and, as he stood at the window alter break
fast, ho saw Sarah with that witching white
apron, trip down into the orchard to shake
down some apples, for it was baking-day, and
pies were to be made. Horace strolled out
after her, and shook the tree, and helped to
pick up the apples, and carried the basket as
they returned slowly to the house. What he
whispered in her ear she never told, but she
seemed not displeased, though evidently sur
prised, and a little frightened.
A year after, Horace was at the house ot his
old friend again, and this time Sarah was not
so much in the kitchen. There were great
preparations for a wedding to go forward, and
in a few days Sarah became Mrs. Horace Has
tings ; and now, in a splendid Boston mansion,
she fully justifies the wisdom of her dear hus
band's choice, by being to him a most excel
lent wife, and a superlative housekeeper.
Goward'a Register.
As Americas sop. The following excel
lent fable is said to illustrate the enlistment
difficulty between Pierce and Lord Clarendon.
We rather incline to opinion, that Bingo is in
the White House ; and though rogue as he is,
he has not courage enough to resent even a
personal insult, much less a national one :
Tlie Bull Dog's Jlpology Bingo, the bull
dog and Carlo, of the Newfoundland breed,
had once been close friends, ' but the former
being of an overbearing disposition, and much
given to sheep-stealing, a coolness had grown
up between the two. One winter's day Bingo
encountered Bruin the bear with a lamb in his
mouth, and boldly attacked him to take away
his prey. The bear, however, gave him so
tight a hng, that he barely escaped with his
lite. Bingo now looked to his old comrade
for help but Carlo plainly told him that he was
quite indifferent in the quarrel, and did not
care a bono which whipped. The bull-dog
then endeavored, in Carlo's absence, to entice
away his family of pups to the war, but was
detected in the fact, being surprised in the
very kennel of his neighbor. Carlo loudly
demanded redress and security for future good
behavior, but the other gravely dropping the
corners of his mouth, replied as follows : "My
young friend, you have no cause of complaint,
for three reasons firstly, because I came into
your premises quietly; secondly, when you
came back I left directly ; and thirdly, the ex
planations I have given you are a sufficient
apology, and no reasonable dog can demand
more."
Moral. Only a bold rogue will make an
apology out of the insult.
Madcap Boy3. To be born, to be a feeble
infant, is an ordeal through which all must
pass. To be a boy, is an absolute pre-rcqui
site to manhood and boys will be boys, let old
and wise people say what they will. They will
feel, and think, and act like boys. They will
skate on the ice, ride down hill, be frivolous
and jolly, play all sorts of antics, do a great
many things which, to the sobriety of age,
look like folly. Bat what of that ? Who would
clothe boyhood with the dignity, invest it with
the gravity, or endow it with the wisdom of the
finished man ? To do so would be to rob life
of its brightness and glory- to take away its
spring time to plunder it of its flowers to
silence the voice of gladness to still the mu
sic of its singing birds, and to banish its love
liest sunshine.
Claimant to the British Throne. A gen
tleman named Parker, was recently taken into
custody, he having sent letters to Queen Vic
toria stating that he was the Prophet Elijah,
and requiring her Majesty to surrender her
rights and dignities to hira as the prophet cho
sen of God, cautioning her that if she refused
he should enforce his claim at the point of the
bayonet. When apprehended, he stated that
he was mentioned in the Old Testament, and
again in the Revelations, and that God intend
cd to confer unlimited power and wealth upon
him in this kingdom. He was removed to
Bethlehem Lunatic Asylum. Ho is very re
spectably connected, and has a brother a bar
rister in the Ttmple.
ETHAN SPIKE'S VISIT TO PORTLAND.
"Portland is the all darndest place I ever
seed. I was there in 'C8, to see a little about
my going to the Legislator, and sich a rum
time as I had you never hcarn tell on. Did I
ever tell you about the ice scream scrape I
had?"
We answered in the negative, and ho re
sumed :
"Wal, I'd bin down thar two or three day'g
pokin' about in every hole, an' tho't I'd seed
everything there was to be seed ; but one day,
toward sundown, I was goin' by a shop in Mid
dle street, that looked wonderfully slick
there was all manner of candy an' peppermints,
an' jessamints, an' an' what-nots at the win
dows. An' thar war si'ns with gold letters on
to them, hangin' round the door, telliu' us how
they sold soda mead an' ice cream thar. I says
to myself, I have hcarn a good deal about this
ere ice cream, an' bow I'll bo darn'd if I won't
see what they're made on. So I puts my hands
in my pockets an' walked in kinder careless,
an' saj-s I to a chap standin' behind the coun
ter : " 'Do you keep any Ice screams here ?'
" 'Yes sir,' says he, 'how much '11 you have?'
"I considered a minit on't, an' says I, a
pint, sir.
"The young feller's face swelled out, an' he
liked to have laughed right out, but after a
while he ax'd i
" 'Did you say a pint, sir'
" 'Sartin,' says I ; 'but p'r'aps I don't mind
takin' a quart.'
"Wal, don't you think, the feller snorted
right out. Tell yer what, it made me feel sort
o' pison, an' I gave him a look that made him
look sober in about a minit, an' when I clench
ed my fist an' looked so at him, hero Mr.
Spike favored us with a most diabolical ex
pression, he hauled in his horns about the
quickest, an' handed me a pint of the stuff as
perlite as could be. Wal, I tasted a mouthful
of it, an' found it as cool as the north side o'
Bethel Hill in January. I'd half a mind to
spit it out, but just then I seed the confection
er chap grinnin' behind the door, which riz
my spunk. Gall smash it all, thinks I, I'll not
let that white livered monkey think I'm afeard
I'll eat the darned stuff if 't freezes my in-
Iiaids. I tell ycr Wliat, I'-i vathcx tjiinn'd a
bar, or whipp'd a wild cat, but I went it. I eat
the whole of it in about a minit.
"Wal, in about a quarter of an hour, I begin
to feel kinder gripey about here," continued
Ethan, pointing to the lower part of his stom
ach, "an' kept on feclin' no better very fast,
till at last it seem'd as though I'd got a steam
ingen sawin' shingles in me. I sot down on
a cheer an' bent myself up like a nut cracker,
thinkiu' I'd grin and bear it ; but I couldn't set
still I twisted and squirmed about like an
angle worm on a hook, till at last the chap as
gin me the cream, who had bin lookin' on
snickerin," says to me :
" 'Mister,' says he, 'what ails yer ?'
"Ails me !' says I, 'that ere darn'd stuff of
yur'n is freczin' up my daylights.'
" 'You eat too much,, says he.
" 'I tell yer I didn't' screamed I. I know
what's anuf, an' what's too much, without ask-
in' you, an' if you don't leave off snickerin'
I'll spile your face.'
"He cottoned right deown, and scd he didn't
mean any hurt, an' ax'd me if I hadn't better
take some gin. I told him I would. So I tuk
a putty good horn an' left theshop.
"Arter I got out, I felt better for a minit or
so, but I hadn't gone fur afore the gripes took
me agin, so I went into another shop an' took
some more gin ; then I sot down on the State
House steps, and there I sot an' sot, but didn't
feel a darn'd mite better. I begun to think I
wus goin' to kick the bucket, an' then I tho't
of father an' mother an' old Spanker that's
father's old boss an' when I thought that I
should never see them agin, I farely blubber
cd. But then I happened to look up an' see a
dozen boys grinnin' an' laffin' at me ; I tell
you what, it riz my dander that had got down
below nero rite up again. I sprung at 'era
like a wild cat, hollcrin' out that I would shake
their tarnal gizzards out, and the way the lit
tic devils scampered was a caution to nobody.
But arter the excitement of the race was over,
I felt wurs agin, an' I couldn't help groanin'
an' screechin' as I went along. .
"At last I tho't I'd go to the theatre, but
afore I got lherc the gripes got so strong that
I had to go behind a mectin' house an' lay
down and holler. Arter a while I got up an'
went into a shop an' eat half a dollar's worth
of biled istcrs with four pickled cowcumbers,
and wound up with a glass of brandy. Then I
went into the theatre and seed the phys, but
I felt so tarnally that I couldn't see any fun in
'cm, for I don't think the isters and cowcum
hers done mc any good. I sot down, laid down,
and stood up, but still it went on gripe, gripe.
I groaned all the time, an' once in a while I
was obleeged to screech, kinder easy. Every
body stared at mc, an' somebody hollered
'turn him out,' once or twice. But at last, jist
as the nigger Orthello was going to put the
pillar on his wife's face to smother her, there
cum sich a twinge thro' me, that I rally tho't
I was bustin' an' yelled out: oh! dear! oh!
scissors !' so that the old theatre rung agin.
Sich a row you never seed ; the nigger drop
ped the pillcr, Deuteronomy or what-you
call-her-therc bis wife jumped up oft" the bed
an' run, while every body in the theatre was
all up in a muss, eome roarin', some Iafhu',
some swarm'. The upshot of it was, the per-
lice carried me out of the theatre an' told inc
to make myself scarce.
"Wal, as I didn't feel any better I went up
into & shop close by, an' called for two glasses
brandy ; arter swallerin' it, I went hum to the
tavern. I sot down by the windor an' tried to
think I felt better, but t'was no go ; that bles
sed old ingine was wallowin' away inside ; so
I went out an' eat a quarter's worth of istcrs
an' a minco pie. Then I went back an' told
the tavern-keeper I felt kinder sick, and tho't
I'd take some caster ile, a mouthful of cold
meat an' a strong glass cf whiskey punch, an'
then go to bed. He got the fixin's, which I
took an' went to bed.
"But, I tell yer what, I had ruthcr a poor
night. Somctimcs'I was awake groanin', an'
when I was asleep I'd better bin awake, for I
had sich powerful dreams. Sometimes I tho't
I was skinnin' a bar, and then by some hocus-
pocus 'twould all change to t'other side, an'
the fatal critter would be a skinnin' me.
"Then agin, I'd dream that I was roll in
logs with the boys, an' jist as I'd be a shoutin'
out : 'now then ; here she goes !' everything
would get reversed agin I was a log, an' the
boys were pryin' mc up with their handspikes.
Then I'd wake up an' screech an' roar then
off to sleep agin to dream that Spanker had
run away with me, or that father was whoppin'
mc, or some other plagy thing till mornin'.
"When I got up I hadn't any appetite for
breakfast, an' the tavern keeper told mc that
if I was goin' to carry on screamin' an' groan
in' as I had the night before, my room was
better than my company.
"I hain't,' said Mr. Spike in conclusion, "I
hain't bin to Portland since, but if I live to
be as old as Methusalem, I shall never forget
that all fired ice scream." '
Tub Artesian Well. The great Artesian
well in Paris, which is bored in the centre of
the Court of the Abbatior, goes 1,700 feet into
the bowels of the earth, and the column of
water, nine inches in diameter, rises in a cop
per tube 112 feet above the surface. From
this clttvation it descends by means of another
tuba to the ground, and is conducted to the
resorvair alfhe Pantheon, whence it is distrib
uted for the use of the inhabitants. thts
peraturo of the water is constantly at 80 deg.
Fab. It holds several salts in solution, among
the rest iron which colors glass submitted to
its action and is highly charged with carbon
ic acid gas. This is the deepest well yet bored
and the facts connected with it servo to ex
plode the old doctrine that such wells were
mere examples of a jetof watcrhaving its head
on some mountain or high table land, passing
under ground, and springing through the out
let up to the height of its head. The supply
of water from this well is 3,400,000 gallons ia
21 hours.
Lxxcn Law is Virginia. A man named
Win. Ilornbeck, living in Lewis county, Va.,
for the alleged ill treatment of his family, was
lynched by the young men in the neighbor
hood, one night last week. The Weston Her
ald says : ; !
no was taken a few nights since, by a par
ty of men, who stripped him of his clothing,
and rode him for a length of time in that con
dition on a rail ; he was then taken to a brier
patch and made to run through it. Whenever
he evinced a disposition to move less slowly,
a stout paddle, bored through with auger hclc3
was applied, which accelerated hjs movements
most astonishingly. This exercise being over,
a coat of tar and feathers was applied, which
Mr. Hornbcck was made to wear much against
his will. Duiing this operation ho tried to
faint, but a delicate touch of the paddle soon
restored him to consciousness; after which he
was 'left alone in his glory.' "
Persecution is Tuscaxt. The correspon
dent of the London Christian I'imcs says, the
criminal prosecution against the Protestants
at Fontedcra, temporarily suspended through
the remonstrance of Lord Normanbj', has been
recommenced, and is now engaging the atten
tion of the Ministry of Justice. Indeed cspi
onago and persecution arc the natural fruits of
the season, and in Catholic States you may look
for their appearance in Lent with as much cer
tainty as for the first green peas. .Vigilance
is unusually stimulated by the notice of the
government that no less than 10,000 persons
have left the Roman Catholic Church ! Exact
ly the same number of foundlings are, at the
present moment, supported by the foundling
hospital at Florence.
At the late session of the Baltimore Metho
dist Conference, the Rev. Henry Smith stated
that sixty-one years had passed since his en
trance upon the itinerancy, in 1791. At that
time the number f Methodist ministers in the
United States did not exceed the roll of the
present conference ; and he thought the num
ber of Church members now in the Baltimore
Conference was equal to the entire member
ship in the country at the time ho entered
upon the work. ' ' ' '
Singular, if True. A French paper says
it has been accidentally discovered that in ca
ses of epileptic fits a black silk handkerchief
thrown over the afflicted persons will restore
them immediately. We should like to know
the result of a trial.
RICHNESS OF RUSSIA.
Few persons in this country have any just or
definite idea of the immense wealth and re
sources of Russia. Even the extent and value
of her fisheries are not properly estimated.
It is stated that 500,000 individuals are em
ployed about them, in th Lower Wolga and
Northern Caspian. The sea coast fisheries in
the Black Sea, Sea of Azoff, the Baltic and
White Sea, arc great and productive. All her
noble rivers everywhere abound with fish, and,
owing to the numerous fasts in the Greek
Church, the consumption of fish in Russia is
very great. .
There are in the Russian empire 542,177,248
acres of land in forests. These are of im
mense value, and as communications are open
ed up throughout the country, they will be
come still more valuable. There has been im
mense wastage in times past, but of late years
tho government has appointed special officers
to look after them, to preserve them from un
necessary destruction. Russia is one of the
best wooded countries in the world. The
quantity of timber yearly consumed must bo
immense, when we recollect that nearly all the
houses throughout the Russian Empire arc
built of wood.
Tho number of horses in Russia exceeds by
7,000,000 the total numbers in France, Aus
tria, Prussia, the United States aud the United
Kingdom together; about 14,010,000. The
value of the whole must be very great. Sad
dle horses sell from S00 to a 1,000 silver rubles
each ; and with the exception of the numbers
that roam the eastern provinces, say 4,000,000
a peculiar and hardy and valuable breed
the Russian horses are of an excellent quali
ty. Their cavalry horses arc equal to the Eng
lish, and superior to any other in Europe.
The number in Russia present to our view a
force equal to 129,000,000 effective men. Ta
king them at half the average value (32 10s)
of horses in the L'nited Kingdom, or JC1C Cs.
each, the total value will be jC35 4,750,000.
Tho total number of cattle iu tho Russian
empire exceeds by nearly 6,000,000 the total
number in France, Austria and Prussia (24,
823,384,) and their value is also very great.
At half the average value of those in the L'ni
ted Kingdom, the amount at X7 each will be
4-ji7,ooo,000.
minerals . the most Taluable and useful
kinds abound in Russia. co runa in va
rious places ; but there ia a district of coun
try on her southern frontier, extending nearly
in a like parallel with the northern coast of the
Sea of Aral and the Caspian, and to the north
of tho line mentioned, between both, where
salt is found of the finest quality in such abun
dance that it is sufficient to supply the whole
world for millions of years ! Immense beds
of sulphur have lately been discovered about
Saccamara, on the banks of the Wolga ; and
vast gold fields, richer than those in California
or Australia, have lately been discovered a
round the sources of the Lena. Silver is most
abundant at Nartshinsk, on the Chinese boun
dary. There is good reason to believe that all
Siberia abounds with the precious metals.
Very large fields of gold have been found in
various parts of Russia, especially in the iron
districts. To tho westward of the Ural moun
tains and the Don, in the government of Eka
terinosly, a vast field of tho very finest of an
thracite coal has been found, and is now work
ing to a great extent. Tho gold produced in
tho Ural mountains was, in 1S51, JC3,5O0:00.
Sometimes it is much more and nearly double.
Beside gold and silver, Russia has a vast ex
tent of iron mines, yielding that metal of the
very finest quality. There are also large mines
of platina, copper, lead and zinc.
Remarkable Abstisence trom Foon. Sam
uel Hcnly, who resides in Virginia, has totally
abstained from food for fifly-scvtn days ! and
he may yet survive several days. For some
time he has been in a rather melancholy mood,
and about two months ago he refused to cat,
and since that time has not taken anything ex
cept water, and strange to say, he is still alive,
though reduced to a mere skeleton. Neither
physicians or friends can induce him to take
anj' nourishment. He declares he can swal
low nothing, though he docs every now and
then take a drink of water. He will doubtless
persist in this delusion until he starves to
death. He is a respectable former, about 41
years of age, and has a wife and six children.
CooKixa Without Fire. The last invention
is a plan for cooking w ithout fire, described in
the Scientific American. The invention is a
combination of tin cookiug dishes, placed one
above another, the bottom of one vessel fitting
on the top part of the dish below. In lower
dish of all, a small quantity of quick lime is
placed, and then, by means of a tube, cold
water is introduced upon the lime. Chemical
action generates intense heat, whereby the ar
ticles on the dishes arc quickly cooked, ready
for the table. - -
A Slit-pert Creditor. Tho Jackson Mis
sissippian' says Mississippi "owes a debt to
the Pierce Administration," and Prentice
wants to know whether that State means to is
sue bonds to secure its payment, and if bo,
what will probably be their market value 7
The following notice was affixed to a shop
in Leeds, England: ''This Ouse 2 Lett.
Hinquir Necks Dear." .
Charcoal ass Fertilizer. For two years
past I have used some Cfly loads each season
of refuse charcoal, and being fully convinced
that it pays, I wish to recommend it to my
brother farmers. I have tried it on grass, corn
and potatoes have tried it alone, and in the
compost heap, and in all situations it has
proved faithful to its trust. As a top dressing
for grass, it gives a green color and luxuriant
growth. Applied to half an acre of early po
tatoes the last summer, the yield was 75 bush
els of as fine healthy potatoes as could be de
sired, that sold readily for one dollar per
bushel, and yieided the best profit of anything
raised on the farm.
The virtue of charcoal mainly consists in
its absorbing power. The purity of the air
around a charcoal pit has long been known,
and the colliers, notwithstanding their smutty
appearance, are robust men. The secret of
this purity of the air and the health cf the col
liers, lies in the fact that charcoal absorbs
from the air the ammonia and other noxious
gases, unsaitcd for our lungs, but just the food
for plants. Every god housekeeper knows
that if her boiling meat gives forth an unsa
vory odor, a piece of fresh charcoal put into
the pot will not only sweeten the air, but will
remedy the taint of the meat. In the same
manner it acts when applied to the land. It
absorbs from the air those gases offensive to
our nostrils, bnt tho main food of plants.
And this it will do, not once only, or for one
pcason, but very possibly for a century. Where
an old coal-pit has been burnt, tho land never
seems to wear out, and the first settlers point
to the coal bottoms that are Cfly years old,
still by their exuberant vegetation marking
well the spot where the wood was Convcitcd
into coal. A fertilizer so lasting is well worth
6ome expense at the outset. "But where can
we get it, some may ask.- If any charcoal pits
are burned in your vicinity, tho bottoms will
furnish three or four loads each of refuse char
coal, mingled with burnt soil. The latter is
highly valued also as an absorbent. Around
furnaces and blacksmith shops, the waste char
coal also accumulates, and in many Instances
may be had for the carting. It may be found
also around engine houses, thrown out from
locomotives. If none of these resources aro
at hand, then use the best substitute possible,
which is muck, or swamp mud, and double the
manure heap by composting, and if the croj3
arc not doubled, tueu
experience is vain.
Country Gentleman.
The Holt Lance. The lance which opened
the side of our Divine Saviour, is now kept at
Rome, but has no point. Andrew of Crele,
who lived in the seventeenth century, says it
wa3 buried together with the cross, and St.
Gregory of Tours was kept at Jerusalem. For
fear of the Saracens, it was buried privately
atAntioch, in which city it was afterwards
found, and wrought many miracles, S3 Robert
the monk and many eye witnesses testify. It
was first carried to Jerusalem, and then to
Constantinople, and at tho time this city wa3
taken by tho Latins, Baldwin II. sent the point
of it to Venice, as a pledge for a loan of money.
St. Louis, king of France, redeemed it, by
paying the sum for which it was pledged, and
had it conveyed to Paris, where it is still kept
in the Holy Chapel. The rest of the Ianoe re
mained at Constantinople after the Turks had
taken that city in the year 1192, when tho Sul
tan Cajazet sent it by an embassador in a rich
and beautiful case to Pope Innocent VIII, ad
ding that the point was in the possession of
the king of France.
A Yankee. He is self-denying, self-relying,
aud into everything prying. Ho is a lov
er of piety, propriety, notoriety, and tho tem
perance society. He is a dragging, bragging,
striving, thriving, swapping, jostling, hustling,
wrestling, musical, quizzical, astronomical,
philosophical, poetical, and comical sort of
character, w hose manifest desiiny is to spread
civilization to the remotest corner of the earth.
Her Sphere. "Arnan discovered America
but a woman equipped the voyage." So eve
rywhere, man executes the performances, but
woman trains the man. Every effectual per
son leaving his mark on the world, is but
another Columbus, for whose furnishing some
Isabella, in the form of his mother, lays down
her jewelry, her vanities, her comfort.
A private letter lrora Earmim to agentleman
in Boston, concludes as follows : "I have no
inducements to struggle again to acquiie
wealth ; for the enormous debts against me on
account of the clock company will overshadow
mc to the grave. I have paid and secured all
my private debts."
A learned young. lady,. the other evening,
astonished a company by askiug for the loan
of "a diminutive argenteeus, truncated cone,
convex ou its summit, and semi-perforated
with symmetrical indentations."
She wanted a thimble.
A Frenchman, anxious to 6baw a fellow
countryman the vigorous style of one of our
poets, translated "Hail, horrors, hail," as fol
lows : "How do you, horrors, how do you dol"
The jolly chap who married a fat old lady
with one hundred thousand dollars, says it waa
cot his wife's face attracted bim no much as
her fie re. - . . .