Juniata sentinel and Republican. (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, January 07, 1874, Image 1
A itH 111 I? V .? ! S ! f B. F. SCHWEIER, THE CONSTITUTION THE CSION AXD THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. Editor and Proprietor. VOL. XXVIII. MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., JANUARY 7, 1S74. NO. 1. Pootry. The Merlins. Brllo, Bob! Hiw are 50c. DaaT I'm r lad to Me yu to-dav ; It's bn uaav a lomg year sow Sines yon and I were at play. Let's fro and hava a day of it, Aad imagiae onrslves bsya again, Wnea we aaed to play around the o!d chwl-boaa That stood tbere ia the laae. A luaf, long time ago it'a bora, Aad we've both gone through a lot ; I'to beea right saceassfol ia bU, a ad yoa, 1 belieTe, have dm. Well, I believe thia lift's picked oat (or a, "It's bat a game of card, I'vs bald one of the winniag baada, 80 here goea my regards. Ya're all the same to me, Bjb, The aame aa yoa were yearn ago ; to fill them ap agaia, landlord There that'e enough J aat ao. I went to Califoraia, Bob, When the "gold raver" broke out, lad had a little aaasnal lack That's bow I got my start. Toa had a good business, I boilers, Bat It fetched yoa in flfly-asvea ; Lost eeerytoUg yoa had, yoa aay, F.fty taoasaad and elesea ? Those panics are fearful things. Bob, Aid I dua't sea) why they should be. In a great coaatry like onrs, Whsn every one's equal and free. Bat yoa and I are b ti to-day. So we'll lease the subject pass, And tbisk of oar ly-goae days Ome here, and fill ap your glasa. We'll go and hant the '-boys' ap. That Is, tbo-e that are alive ; We've outlived a f x4 many. Bob, Let's sea, we're sixty-fiver Rest. Rest la act quilting This bay career ; Beet Is not Biting Of self to one's sphere. 'Tie tbe brook's motios. Clear without au-ife. Fleeing to oceaa After lis life. 'Tls lov'.ag and serving Trie highest and best ; 'Tie oa ward, aaewervlcg ; And this is trmt net. CoctW. 3Iis-;oila.ny. Sermons by the Hoar. "After the Reformation," says a wri ter, "long sermons came into fashion. The medieval and pre-Reformation di vines contented themselves with a homily varying from ten to thirty min ntes in length ; bnt the Hcguenots, Waldenses, Puritans, Covenanters, In dependents, and other protesting bod ies, conceiving it their duty to assert and maintain those relating to doctrines and discipline, made tueir sermons ar gumentative, and sometimes spnn ont tbe argument to an inordinate length. The hour-glass literally corresponded with its name, for it ran for one hour before the 6and had all passed through; and the preacher claimed his full sixty minutes. Sometimes he was provided with a half-hour-glass, which he used when a shorter sermon was to be preached. It was about the middle of the seventeenth century, when i'untan sermons occasionally reached the enor mous length of two hoars, that the honr-glass limit was applied. Many pulpits were furnished with iron stands for the reception of tbe honr-glass. One such is still existing at Comton Bassett Church, Wilts, with fleur-de-li handle for turning the glass when the sand had run out. Another, at Hurst, in Berkshire, has a fanciful wronght-iron frame, with foliage of oak and ivy, and an inscription, "As this glass runneth, so man's life passeth." At Cliffe, in Kent, is a stand for an hour glass on bracket affixed to tbe pulpit. The parish accounts of St fcatherine, Aldgate, contain an old en try, 'Paid for an hour glass that hang eth by the pulpit where the preacher doth make a sermon, that he may know how the hour passeth away, one shil ling;' and another relates to a behest of 'an hower-glass, with a frame to stand in.' One preacher had exhausted his sand-glass, turned it, and gone through three-fourths of another run ning ; the congregation had nearly all retired, and the clerk, tired ont, audi bly asked bis reverend superior to lock up the church and put the key under the door when the sermon was done, as he (the clerk) and the few remaining auditors were going away. Hugh Peters, after preaching an hour, turned his hour-glass and said, I know you are good fellows; so let'a have another glass.' Daniel Burgess, an eloquent Nonconformist divine in the early part of the last century, let his hour-glass run out while preaching vehemently against the sin of drunkenness. He re versed it, and exclaimed, 'Brethren, I have somewhat more to say on the na ture and consequences of drunkenness ; so let's have another glass, and then ,' which was regular toper's phrase. A rector of Bibury used to preach two turns of the glass ; after the giving ont of the text the squire of the parish withdrew, smoked his pipe, and returned to the blessing." Youug Female Clerks. A London paper says : "The experi ment nf omnlovinc vonrur ladies as clerks in an insurance office has been tried and found eminently successf ul in the case of the Prudential, on Ludgate HilL For more than a year and a half tbe little band, beginning with ten, now reaching thirty-six in number, and in truded to be still further reinforced, has been working steadily, and giving entire satisfaction to the managers. The rooms occupied by them are light and airy, separated altogether from those occupied by the male clerks in the es tablishment, and furnished with conve nient chairs and desks. The lady clerks, who are of various ages, from eighteen to thirty, seem to eDjoy excellent health and spirits, and are unanimous in agree ing that regular employment, if moder ate, is peculiarlv salutary. They are extensively ladies, strictly so-called, , the daughters of professional men. They arrive from their various homes at Lud gate Hill at ten a. h., stop work for an hour at one o'clock, and leave the office at five r. m. Several holidays in the year are allowed. The work is chiefly a simple kind of copying, requiring only careful attention, good handwriting, and intelligence to decipher names of persons and places the Welsh one es pecially affording a limitless field for conjecture. The salary of these ladies is small, beginning (inclusive of certain fees) at 32 per annum, and being raised 10 each year np to 60. It would appear, however, that there are abun dance of candidates to be found for each chair ; and of course, as the work is as well done as by male clerks, the advantage to the Company must ;be very great indeed. It should be added that all directions for the work pass through the hands of a lady superintendent THE POWER OF PRE J r DICE. " AX WAT 8 HEAB BOTH 8TDCS OP A 8TOET. "And so Mr. Burton is really going to marry again," said my cousin Caro line, as I took my work-basket and seated myself beside her. "And who is the happy person ?" I asked. "Happy, indeed ? Who would think or expecting happiness where step mothers are concerned ?" she exclaimed. "But is not the lady amiable. Caro line?" "As to that I do not know," was the answer ; "I am not acquainted with her. But I really think Mr. Burton a cruel man. He cannot have his child's hap piness at heart, or a strange woman would not be brought into his familv to destroy the merry days of Clara. I do not believe that a good stepmother ever existed. "Why, Caroline, you speak very warmly, and without much experience, I fear," said Mrs. Marshall, a friend who was visiting in the family, and overheard the observation. ; "Perhaps I do," replied Caroline, "But candor compels me to say that I have witnessed more discord and nil happiness produced in families by step mothers, than from any other one cause." "But you should recollect, my dear, that your remark might be qualified somewhat There are exceptions to every rule. Do yon not suppose that there have been stepmothers who loved children not tbeir own, and were equally beloved by them in return?" asked Mrs. Marshall, earnestly. "I will not dispute that yon may know of such eases, but I cannot say aa much for myself," said Caroline, firmly. "I may be prejudiced, perhaps." "I think I could convince yoa that yoa are, somewhat ; but I fear my re marks on this disagreeable theme would not be listened to with much pleasure," rejoined the visitor, looking archly at Carolina "Ton wrong me, Mrs. Marshall," said the latter, with warmth. "I am perfectly willing to be convinced that my sentiments are erroneous on this subject And look Maria has laid aside her work, aud I know will listen glaiily. Is it not ao, cousin ?" Having signified my assent, Mrs. Mara hall commenced : "For the sake of convenience, I shall put my relation in the first person. When I was ten years old my mother died. I did not realize her loss : bnt when I saw her borne to her last resting-place, and the earth thrown over her, I sobbed as though my heart would break. Her health had always been delicate, and I was petted and indulged quite too much for my good. Being an only child, I was almost idolized by both parents ; but the beneficial influ ence my mother ever exerted over me, prevented evil consequences. Was I dutiful, and unusually attentive to my lessons, her affectionate words, a fond kiss or a smile of encouragement was sufficient reward. Was I remiss in duty or careless, the grieved and reproachful glances from her mild, expressive eye. would immediately soften my feelings ana make me obedient. iat tne pure, disinterested and fervent love of a fond mother is never valued until we are de prived of it by death. "The sorrows of childhood are not lasting. My father turned to me in his grief and loneliness, and for a time I was happy. 1 was confided to the care of a woman who had lived in the family since my mother's marriage. She had acted in tbe capacity of nurse and com panion to the latter, and was very fond of me. It wss probably this circum stance that prevailed upon my father to leave me so much in her society. She was rather an ignorant woman, and had many superstitious notions and preju dices, one of which was a violent anti pathy to stepmothers. "How this dislike originated, I know not ; but her ideas on this subject were repeated so often in my hearing, that naturally I also imbibed the same opinions. I was taught to dread noth ing so much as a stepmother ; one that would usurp tbe place of my dead mother, and no doubt treat me un kindly. "One year passed away. My father began to absent himself oftener than formerly. His absence would have passed unremarked by me, had not the suspicious looks and changed manner of my nurse awakened my apprehen sions. Suspicion soon became certainty. A rumor spread abroad that I was soon to have a new mother. Although I was but a child, I was unhappy. This, however, was kept from my father. " "Alice,' said nurse to me one day, 'people say that your father is going to bring home s new mother for you. I am very sorry, for he has forgotten your poor, dear mother sooner than I could bave thought But do not cry, Alice ; I shall stay, if they will let me, on pur pose to take your part, and onoe in a while put by little cake and a few sweetmeats. You shall have one friend to look after you,' she added, kissing my cheek, down which the tears were slowly coursing. " 'O nurse, I cannot will not like her I Why should father do so ?' I ex claimed, sobbing bitterly. 'She will not let me sit in the parlor, nor read any books, nor' " 'But you can sit with me darling,' interrupted nurse ; 'so don't make your head ache with crying, it win ao no good.' "While I was thinking of this thoughtless and ill-timed speech, my father entered tbe room, and affection ately kissed my forehead. 'What is the matter, Alice ? What has gone wrong ?' he asked. "I made no reply, for I did not wish to tell the truth. " 'Come and sit on my knee, Alice ; I want to talk with yoa,' he continued. "I rather reluctantly obeyed. " 'Since your dear mother left as, he resumed.'! know you have been very lonely and unhappy. I have been thinking, my child, that if yoa had some one to love and care for you with a mother's affection, it would be much pleasanter. Should you not like a new mother, my dear Alice ?' " 'I do not want another mother! She will not love me, and I shall not love her,' I sobbed, burying my face in my hands. "Mrs. Hammond, who has been talk ing to the child? asked my father, sternly. 'Such feeb'ngs come not with out cause. "The person addressed did not dare speak her mind, and therefore made some evasive answer. It did not seem to satisfy my father, for he sat quite silent for a long time, looking distressed and disappointed. "Alice, he resumed, smoothing down my hair, affectionately, 'be always good and obedient, and no one can help loving you. Mrs. Hammond, I trust I need not remind you that I wish the lady I shall bring here aa my wife, treated with due respect' " 'He need not expect that I give np my authority,' mattered nurse, as my father left the room. 'If he does. he will find himself much mistaken. I'm not used to being dictated to.' "Thus were my dislike and fears aug mented. The dreaded day came. I was sent for to see my new mother for the first time. X went down reluctantly. fearing, I knew not, and timidly entered the apartment Had I heard nothing to her disparagement, I must have been prepossessed in her favor, She young and beautiful, and her bright black eyes sparkled with good-humor and happiness as she sat by the fire, gayly chatting with my father. " 'And so this is Alice.' she observed. as I slowly advanced. 'Sit by me, my dear, and tell me all about your books and lessons. We shall become very good friends, I think, when we are bet ter acquainted.' And my stepmother gently took me by the hand, and pressed her lips to my forehead. "I could not have disliked her. I could not have resisted that winning. pleading way, had I not made np my mind not to be pleased with her at all vents. I drew back without a word of greeting or response. My father looked surprised and mortified, and my mother somewhat disappointed. '"Can yoa not speak, Alice? Yon are not usually so silent' said the former, as if excusing my taciturnity, " 'Do not urge her, Edward. I am a stranger, you know, and she is not aware I loe her even now,' she replied ; while a smile, which must have been a sad one, played over her countenance. "My father gave me permission to retire, and I availed myself of it with more pleasure than I dared manifest Days and weeks passed away. My mother endeavored by every means in her power to gain my good-will. She interested herself iu my employments, smiled pleasantly upon me, and spoke words which are ever acceptable to young and confiding hearts. "But all in vain. We had no feelings in common, and I was indignant that she should ask or expect that I would regard her with other sentiments. " 'Why do yoa shun me, Alice ?' she said to me one day. 'Will yoa not love and regard me as a mother ? You are tbe same to me as my own child. I would do anything to make you happy.' 'You are not my mother ! Mrs. Hammond says so ; tny mother is dead !' I exclaimed, bunting into an agony of tears. 'I shan't try to love you, for it is very wicked. Oh, why did my mother die? "And flintrins the arm which was passed around my waist from me, I ran to my own room. I wept oh, how bit terly 1 Jealousy of my father's divided affection mingled with my indignation at what I termed her unjust demands. I thought until my brain seemed on fire, my head whirled, my eyes grew dim, and I knew nothing more. "When reason returned, I was first conscious of a soft hand arranging the Eillow, and bathing, with cooling quid, my fevered brow. The clothing was lightly and carefully placed over my emaciated form, and the soft step and gentle voice told of a discreet and attentive nurse. The weakness ol in fancy was upon me ; I could neither speak, nor raise my heavy lids, which seemed of leaden weight But I dis tinctly heard every sound ; each word of suppressed conversation was balm to my ears. " 'Thank God, Edward 1' said a voice, in a whisper. 'The physician has just gone, and he says there is a favorable change. Do not despair, my husband ; Alice will yet be restored to us. Hope for the best Continued watching must have fatigued you why not try to ob tain a little sleep Y " If my child lives, to God and you will she owe her life,' replied my father, with solemnity ; for I recognized his voice. 'Her own mother could not have watched her with more untiring assid uity and disinterested affection, For nearly two weeks you have scarcely left this sick chamber ; let me prevail upon you to take some rest Alioe seems easier now, and I will remain alone with her,' he added earnestly. " 1 am not fatigued, Edward.' was the gentle rejoinder. 'I will remain until evening, for she might awake and find no one near her. I hope she may yet regard me with different feelings. I must try and win her love.' "Was I dreaming, or did my step mother speak ? Could one whom I had disliked, alighted, and repelled, think and feel as she had spoken ? The tone expressed sincerity, but her actions testified more than words. Yes, the truth came home to me with powerful force, that I had grieved and wronged a loving and affectionate heart ; I bad allowed bitter and revengeful thoughts to take root in my bosom, and poison the peace of my young life. "I sighed unconsciously, and with an effort opened my eyes. My stepmother sprang to the bedside, and with look of anxiety took my hand within hers, and bent over me. Our eyes met I could not resist the impulse whioh com pelled me to raise my arms and clasp them about her neck, as she bent to kiss me. My tongue waa loosened. The tears rained from my hitherto closed eyes, as I murmured : "Forgive me, forgive me I You are my good, kind mother I " 'Do not talk, my dear Alice,' she replied, soothingly, wiping away the tears. 'You have been very sick, but with good nursing will soon be well again. I see you will love me yet and that we shall all be happy in future,' she added, smiling ; but this time it was anything but sad smile. "'And how can I see my darling Alice safe again, aud hear her asking your forgiveness, without following her example?' exclaimed a voice. It was Nurse Hammond, who had entered nn peroeived, and thrown herself at my mother's feet 'It was I who have done all the mischief,' she continued. 'I taught her to dislike yon and ail step mothers. But your kindness to a motherless girl has won my heart You are not so heartless aa I imagined. I will not get up until yon forgive me, too.' And her earnestness attested to her sincerity. "I forgive everything, Mrs. Ham mond. Let all this be forgotten be tween us,' replied my stepmother, while tears dimmed the lustre of her beautiful eyes. " Trooa leeiing is resiorea, ana i leei quite satisfied,' said my father, stepping forward, with a countenance radiant with happiness. 'But we must not for get our patient our darling Alice. Sleep will be the best prescription for her "Another kiss from father and mother and I was left alone with Nurse Ham mond. In my excited and nervous state, aleep waa absolutely necessary. I waa weary and exhausted ; but in the course of two hours I awoke much re freshed. I grew better rapidly, and soon left my bed. I daily became more and more attached to my stepmother. Aa the dark veil of prejudice fell from mv eves. I saw her worth : and. child as I was, appreciated her self-denying attentions. Nurse told me of the days of care, and sleepless nights ol anxiety that she passed at my side. "Need I tell you, Caroline," resumed Mrs. Marshall, after a short pause, "that the identical Alice was myself, and the dreaded stepmother was my own? "And you learned to love her ?" asked Caroline. "As an own parent Gratitude and love took the place of dislike and aver sion. To the day of her death I expe rienced nothing save kindness at her hands. Her memory is revered, and her virtues remembered." "You have nearly convinced me, I must confess," said Caroline, thought fully. "I shall view the subject in a different light in future." "Do so. And when you hear step mothers disparaged, and their conduct censured, hear both sides ; for in nine cases ont of ten they are blameless. Kest assured, Caroline, they are more sinned against than sinning. Boils. A boil is generally very small at first snd a fellow hardly notices it; but in a few days it gets to be tbe biggest of the two, and the chap that has it is of very little account in comparison with his boil, which then "has him." Boils ap pear mysteriously upon various portions of the human body, coming when and where they "darn please," and often in very inconvenient places. Sometimes a solitary boil is the sum total of the affiic tion.but frequently there is a "rubishin lot ol em to help the first one. If a boil cornea any where on a person, that person always wishes it had come some where else, although it would puzzle him to tell ust exactly where. Some persons called them damboils," but such persons are addicted to pro fanity, the proper name being boiL If a chap has a boil he generally has a good deal of sympathy from others "in a bom." Whoever asks him what ails him laughs at him for his pain to an' awer, while many unfeeling persons make game of his misfortune, or boiL It is very wicked to make fun of persons with boils; they cannot help it, and often feel very bad about it Physicians don t give boil patients very much satis faction as a general thing, although young physicians just beginning to practice are fond of trying their lances on them. Boils are said to be healthy." and jndging from the way they take hold and hang on and ache and burn and grow and raise Cain generally, there is no doubt they are healthy and have strong constitutions. They are generally very lively and playf ull at night and it is very funny to see a chap with a good large one. pro specting around his conch for a place where his boil will fit in "without hurt ing." Boils tend to purify the blood," strenghten the system, calm tbe nerves, restrain the profanity, tranquilize the spirits, improve the temper, and beau tify the appearance. They are good things for married men who spend their evenings from home, as they give them an oppertunity to rest their night keys, and get acquainted with their families. It is said that boils save the patient a "fit of sickness," but if the sickness is not the best to have, it must be an all fired mean thing. It is also said that a person is better after he has them, and there is no doubt that one does feel better after having got rid of them. Many distinguished persons have enjoyed these harbingers of good health. Job took the first premium at the county fair for having more acbers under cultivation than any other person. Shakespeare had them, and meat boils when he said, "One woe doth tread upon another's heels, so fast they fol low." Anecdote or Jlaeready. One of the few anecdotes relating to the life of Macready, the actor, is the following, printed in the London Or chettra : Half a century ago, while playing in Birmingham, England, Mae ready passed a burning house in a poor neighborhood. "While the flames as cended," says the narrator, "a cry arose that there was a child asleep in one of the upper stories, but no one tried to save it The representative of Corio lames. 1rginius, and Holla instantly doffed his coat which he gave in charge to a bystander, and rushed into the burning dwelling, returning in a few moments with the almost suffocated in fant Nobody knew him, and the event would probably nave been forever con cealed had not the holder of the coat disappeared with it An act so noble succeeded by a theft ao disgraceful found its way into the Birmingham newspapers ; and while the whole town was ringing with praise of the rescuer and calling for his name, public execra tion was directed against the mean thief. While curiosity was at its height the thief entered a pawnbroker's shop in the town for the purpose of pledging the garment Happily the person to whom it was tendered, having seen an account of the fire, examined the coat minutely, and discovering something to fix the ownership, detained the pos sessor of the stolen property, and thus the good Samaritan stood revealed." Boston Flower Mission. They have a delightful charity at Boston, called the "Boston Flower Mission," the object of which is to lighten up tbe sick wards of hospitals with gifts of flowers, aud by their pres ence to cheer tbe heirts of the poor suffering patients by their fragrance and beauty. Daring the past five months the ladies of this mission have received nearly eight hundred contributions of flowers and one hundred and thirteen of fruit snd in the same period the number of their flower distributions exceeded thirteen thousand, and the fruit distributiens nearly reached six teen hundred. The wealthy in Boston sent liberally of the flowers and fruit from their conservatories for this gra cious charity, and great numbers in the adjacent cities joined to swell the beau tiful and heart-gladdening gifts. One person, who is known in Boston as "the Pansy-man," during the past flower season, brought in over six thousand of the beautiful purple flower after which he ia named, which were distributed among the sink "for thoughts." This ia a graceful charity, and certainly is of the kind that ia "twice blessed." A Cemetery that Lacked Symmetry. Some people have a ghastly way of blending business with sentiment One of our residents who waa ahowing our cemetery to a visitor, in answer to note of observation, observed : "Yea, it ia a very fine place, considering its age and opportunities; but there are not enough graves to give it symmetry and tone, ut that will be overcome in time, we hope." Dnmava at School. The first day of going to school was a moat impartant occasion. A new suit had been ordered, made out of a riding coat of his lather s, which was of a cafe au lait color. He expected that it would produce a remarkable effect and thus attired, proceeded, at eight o'clock on Monday morning, to make his first visit The anxious mother had fitted him out with school books, also new the "Epitome Histoire Sacre," and others those little primers, half-bound in dark marble papers, familiar to all who have had their schooling in France. He had entered the court through the large archway, when the door was sud denly closed behind him, and he found himself among a noisy mob of school boys, who at once proceeded to make him go through the new boy's probation of practical joking of a very rash kind, lie was hustled, deluged with water. and played other tricks which had the effect of destroying all his new finery. Utterly mortified at this reception, he could only sit down and cry bitterly. Presently entered the abbe, having come from saying mass. He found all his pupils gathered round the new boy, who was sitting crying on the steps, and asking each other with an appearance of genuine wonder and interest what could be the matter with him. The abbe pushed through the ring of little hypo crites, ana, nxing his glass in his eye, bent over the sobbing child to ask what ailed him. Alexander looked up. and was about to tell, when he suddenly saw a whole range ol menacing fists threat ening from behind the master, and checked himself with an abrupt cry. The abbe turned round sharply, and found them all smiling. "Tell me what it is all about," he said. "We cau't make out," they said ; "he has been crying in that way ever since he came." Indignant at this misrepresentation, Alexander then blurted out the whole story of his treatment, and appealed to the state of his new clothes in proof. "Very well," said tbe abbe, "I shall punish you for all this ; you shall have no recreation to-day, and plenty of fer rules too." These were at once admin istered amid groans of Buffering ; but there were fierce glances directed at the new boy. while muttered denunciations of "Informer," "Spy," came to his ears and began to alarm him. There was no mistaking these symptoms: a heavy reckoning would have to be paid for his indiscreet revelation. Four o'clock came and the end of school ; the abbe said a short prayer and dismissed the class. Alexander for a moment thought he would invoke his protection or get the humpbacked sister to take him home ; but he felt that this would only be temporai-v aid the ahhe or the ni li ter could not always see him home. The school poured ont into the street With a beating heart he gathered up his books as slowly as he could, in the faint hope that they might have gone away home before him, and then descended into the court He found the whole school gathered on the steps in a sort of semicircle or council, evidently wait ing for him, while a young champion, named Bligny, to whom had been de puted the duty of avenging the school, was standing at the steps, coat off and sleeves ready turned np. At this alarm ing spectacle the new boy was seen to falter and stop short, on which a yell of execration burst forth. He felt himself ready to drop, and a cold sweat burst out on his forehead. The situation was. however, desperate ; there was no es cape. With a sudden impulse be re covered himself. Cowardice often finds bravery its most effectual resort, and in many of his duels, when he was grown np, Alexander behaved courageously from much the same motive. He de scended the steps, addressing his enemy; "So that's the way, is it?" "les, that s the way it is, said tbe other sneerirnrlv. who waa a ann of a cloth-seller in the town. "And to you want to fight?" "Yes. I do." "Oh. you do, do you?" "Yes, I do." "Well, then there I lie had got to the bot tom of the steps ; in a second he had laid down his books, stripped of his jacket, and had fallen on his enemy. Ah, so you would, would you 7 take that and that 1 and that, and that?" Surprised and taken aback at this rea diness, where he expected to find "shrinking, the cloth-seller s son was staggered, overwhelmed, and finally borne down, receiving a blow iu tbe eye, and another in the mouth. The day was gained, and the victor charac teristically saluted by his lately hostile companions with shouts of applause. As they respectfully made way for him to pass ont they neard him muttering "vVhenl'm when I'm ," which they interpreted significantly. He was never persecuted again. The Belles of Seville. Seville women justify the reputation tit beauty more thoroughly than those of any other Spanish city; prettiness is a more appropriate term to specify their personal attractions. They resemble each other to a surprising degree, as in all pure races of a marked type, iheir eyes, fringed with long black lashes, produce an effect of white and black un known to our colder, less passionate clime. It teems as if the sun had left its reflection in those magnificent orbs. equally noticeable in the face of some two years old child and in the gipsy girls of France. The gleaming and glan cing and the burning of these eyes has very expressive word in Spanish called ojear, which is full of subtle meaning, (although these eye-thrust, so embarrassing to strangers, have noth ing particularly significant The large, ardent velvety eyes of a young Sevil- lane glance upon a dog in the street with the same intensity she would be stow upon some more worthy object The exquisite smallness of the ladies' feet ia too well known to dwell upon; many could be easily held in a child's hand, and the fair Andalusians are last ly proud of this quality, and wear shoes accordingly, not differing so very much from the Chinese shoes. Belgravia. Belgrave square, though its man sions are tenanted by the old nobility and gentry, is comparatively new. It is, however, the most gorgeous, if it be the youngest of Ixmdon squares. I he central space is large, the grounds well planned, tbe waits and water well dis posed, and the shrubbery of smooth- leaved evergreens, so common in .Eng land, and very beautiful. It is situated between town and country, Hyde Park lying behind it St James' Park be tween it and the city, ana tne great thoroughfares in the vicinity being more like roads than streets. Tbe massive, protruding porches of the houses, the effect of which ia heavy, are made into hanging gardens, from which, even in winter, breezes come down redolent of a hundred varieties ot flowers. But the whole place is stiff and dull. Let us leave it As Leigh Hunt's cobbler said, "What's the use of walking in such fine places ? Let us turn down some back court" A Spanish Slanxhter-bouse. A gentleman in New York city, who was lormerly a resident of Santiago de Cuba, thns describes the slaughter house there, and the manner of exe cuting prisoners : At a distance of several hundred yards from the harbor is the prison where the captives are confined. It is a low, gloomy looking structure, only two stories in hight, and is built of stone or granite. From this place the prisoner often goes forth to execution. These executions always take place in the slaughter-house, about three-fourths of a mile distant It was there the Virginius victims ended their lives. On the morning of an execution, the battalion of volunteers are sum moned at an early hour from the bar racks, and proceed'to the prison. The prisoners are led forth, bound, and the solemn procession then takes up its death march. In the van are the musi cians, whose only instruments are the drums, which are beat with a low, omi nous sound and measured regularity. The slaughter-house is a low white washed structure of forbidding aspect an adobe house with a steep roof, which projects far beyond its walls on either side. Around this building is a trench, into which the waters from the roof full. It is about two feet deep. Ou the upper side of this building the proces sion halts and forms a hollow square, with the prisoners in the center. The side next the slaughter-house is opened, and the victims are led to the border of the trench. Here they are bound band and foot, though their eyes are left uncovered. They are often re quired to kneel along tbe trench with laces turned toward the wall. In the midst of the hollow square stand the Colonel and the priests. The duties of the spiritual advisers being at length performed, they retire with the Colonel and at a signal from the latter tbe whole company fires. The uufortunate victims fall forward into the trench, some dead, some dying, others only slightly wounded. The artillery force, who have been stationed in the back ground, now advance and drive their clumsy carnages carelessly over the victims. Several times is this part of the ceremony repeated and it is by that j time supposed that all are dead. The dead Wiigjus are then heaped with corpses auioug which is sometimes seen a still quivering body. A half mile away they are buried, and trie soldiery disperse to their barrack. 1 he slaughter-house is scarred and battered with bulleU on its northern side. Here are inhumanly slaughtered persons of ail ages and both sexes. The Spaniards show no mercy to gray-haired patri archs, to women, or to children. Three years ago a little girl 4 years of age was led forth to her death. The offense was a refusal to make known her father's hiding-place. The days of ex ecution are gala days in the city. Hun dreds of men, women and children pour forth from it9 streets and press forward in the throng. As the victims fall dying in the trenches these crowds push madly forward to view the bleed ing bodies, the military give way for a moment, and not until that moment arrives are the appetites of the blood thirsty spectators sated. Xcut York Tribune. Postage Stampei. As soon as postage stamps emerge from the hydraulic press, they are gummed. The paste is made from clear starch, or its dextrine, which is acted upon chemically and then boiled, form ing a clear, smooth, slightly Bweet mix ture. Each sheet of stamps is taken separately, placed upon a flat board, and its edges covered with a light metal frame. Then tbe paste is smeared on with a large whitewash-brush, and the sheet is laid between two wire racks and placed on a pile with others to dry. Great care is taken in the manufacture of this paste, which is perfectly harm less. This gratifying fact has been conclusively proved by an eminent chemist After the gumming, another pressing in the hydraulic press follows. Then another counting ; stamps are counted no less than thirteen times during the process of manufacture. The sheets are then cut in half, each portion containing one hundred stamps, this being done by girls with ordinary hand-shears. Next follows the perfora tion, which is performed by machinery. The perforation is first made in a per pendicular line, and afterward in a horizontal line. Another pressing fol lows this time to flatten the raised edges on the back of the stamps made by the dies, and this ends the manu facture. Peruvian Way or Keepingdn Appearances. A writer says the Peruvians in Lima resort to the most remarkable means to make both ends meet Daily, and al most hourly, there knocks at the door of our house in the calle-hone, or side entrance to our back-courtyard, a little Chinese or Cholo boy, with a mysteri ous bundle under his arm. This boy is the "small servant" of some (hitherto) well-to do native family. Asking to see the mistress, or the young ladies, or even addressing himself to tiie head of the house (which, I claim, is, or should be a man), he opens his bundle, tied np in a shawl or table-cloth, and exposes a dress, well worn and soiled ; a white skirt, befrilled and beflounced, and having been worn since it last saw the laundress ; a pair of child's shoes ; it may be a diamond ring or pin ; under clothes of all kinds ; a manta or veil for the head ; every conceivable article of wearing apparel, even to a set of false teetb, and false curls, and liquid cosmetics ; and, in a solemn, genteel manner, he relates that Signora or Sig noretta Somebody (fictitious name), his mistress, has been very ill, and has be come entirely out of money for present necessities, and desires you to purchase this little article, that sho can easily disperse with, for the trifling sum of bo many soles. He will generally take anything yoa may offer him iu cash. This same programme is enacted over and over again daily. I have often said to these family servants, "Why do yoa always say your mistress is sick ? Why not tell the truth, and say that they need money to keep np appearances ?" But they have been taught too well and practiced too often. There is nothing under heaven that these Peruvian wo men will not sell to keep up the pecu liar style in which they have been liv ing. They will have but one dress and one manta in all the world, and not a bed or chair in the house ; but that manta must be of as fine quality, and the embroidery and lace on it as per fect as if they were not driven to all these petty meannesses and lies to keep np appearances. A raitrnArl (rain in F.no'uml ravntlv ran through a flock of sheep, killing ! the salary of the Lord Mayor is to be thirty of them. The train was running ' increased from $35,000 to 850,000. The at the rate of fifty miles an hour, d j Lord Mayor, however, is expected to according to an English paper "con- spend all his salary in municipal enter tinued its journey uninterruptedly." tainments, "Votitlis Column. Tub Scarlet Tufted Woopfeckes. Tap, tap, tap ! What a busy little creature, 1 the brown birdie with a scarlet crown 1 See her running up the trunk of the large elm by our door, striking the rough bark with her long beak tap, tap, tap ! stopping a moment, her pretty head held sideways as if listening, then hop ping so fast half around the tree, and tapping again, with now and then a blithe chirp. Pretty, useful little wood pecker ! While she gets her daily food she is keeping, tiny as she is the great elm sound and fair. Well may we love the birdies, one and all, for their beauty and song and the many sweet lessons they bring us, as they wing their way from bough to bough, seek their daily bread and nurse their tiny broods in wind-rocked cradles lessons of love and kindness and industry and trust in a Father's care. There is a northern legend of the woodpecker that though it is hardly fair toward the bird, is yet a pretty story. It runs in this way : Long ago, when St Peter was trav eling about and teaching tbe people, be j was poor, and often went hungry. One morning at sunrise he came to a cottage where a woman in a brown dress and scarlet cape was making cakes. He asked her for a single one, and at first she said yes, and rolled out a small cake. She put it down to bake, but kept look ing at it, and soon concluded it was more than she wanted to give. So she kneaded out another, a smaller one; but when it was baking, that, too, seemed large to her. All this time Peter was waiting quietly, patiently, though faint with hunger. She took the tiny bits of dough, put them to gether and rolled out a tiny cake, thin as a wafer ; but when it was baked, she wanted even that "My cakes seem small when I eat them myself," said she, "but they are too large to give away, for all that" So she put even the wafer-like cake on the shelf. Then Peter made indignant answer : Thou art far too selfish, too mean, to wear a human form, to have a home to shelter thee, clothes snd food and fire. Thou shalt live hereafter as the bird.-! do, build iu the trees, and get tby living by const int labor, boring, boring, all day in hard, dry wood." Then up through the chimney went she without a word. Out from the top flew a woodpecker. The little scarlet cap was still on her head, and her dress, changed to feathers, was covered with soot And from that day to this so runs the legend she has been in the wood tapping trees for a scanty living, and every child knows her sooty dress and scarlet hood. Now, though it is only a legend, and the woodpecker is as good as she is pretty, it will be worth something to us, when we see her, to remember the story, if it lead us to shun every form of selfishness, and pity and help the needy as far as in our power You may Lot be changed to a bird, though yon live as selfishly as yon can, but you will be changed to a smaller thing, a mean and selfiih man. Chil dren's Hour. Magical Box. A magician has lately been giving a series of performance, some of which are as surprising as they are entertaining and amusing. One of them is as follows : A common empty packing box, with a lid hung by iron hinges, is placed upon the stage, and a committee from the audience asked to examine it They report that it is a firmly made packing box. After a thorough examination, outside aud in side, they take a rope and tie it up, passing twice around the ends and sides, passing it through the staples for the two padlocks, and then tie the ends firmly, and seal them with sealing wax. They then envelop the box in a canvas, which covers all six sides, when another rope is added, tied and sealed. Surely the box is safe from any attempt to get into or out of it without removing the ropes I The assistant then comes forward with a canvas sack, open at one end. This is examined by the committee and by the audience It is then placed over the head of the assistant, and tied be low his feet and the knots sealed. He is then laid on the box, and the box surrounded by a screen. In two and a halt minutes the sack is thrown over the screen, the knot and seals un touched. The screen is instantly re moved, and the committee, after exam ining the seals and finding them un broken, commence untying the ropes and removing tbe canvas. The box is opened and the man found inside 1 Kin-dero.uitex is a term applied to Froebel s method of teaching children. Its object is to combine instruction with amusement so skillfully that the child shall be developed harmoniously in body and mind without fatigue and with only pleasurable effort This is accomplished by what is called object books, but things, and is taught to give the name, the shape, the qualities, tbe colors, the uses, aud perhaps the origin ot the various objects around him. This method of teaching is admirably set forth in "Caikins's Primary Ooject Lessons." There are object-teaching aids, consisting of forms, cards with all the tints and shades of the various colors, aad a great deal of like material that can be obtained at educational agencies. The system is gaining ground iu our large cities, and there are Kin dergarten schools in New-Yurk and Boston, where teachers are trained in this new method. Ponco, on Italian Blind M.ui"s Brrr. ! Several persons, male and female, join hands so as to form a circle, and one person, who is blindfolded, is placed in the center, with a small stick in his or her hand. The players dance around the hoodwinked person, who tries to touch one of them with the wand, and if he succeeds, the ring of people stops. The player then grunts like a pig hence the name of the game crows, or imitates some animal, and the person touched must endeavor to imitate the noise as closely as possible, without discovering his or herself. If the party touched is discovered, then the hood winked player transfers the bandage and the stick to that player, and takes the vacant place in the ring of persons, who onoe more resume their dance, until another player is touched. Not anything should I destroy Which others may for good employ; Not even tread beneath my feet A crumb some little bird might eat Children Hour. SSSSSBBBaSBBaSHHBBBBSWaSBS The corporation of the city of Lon- don is arranging a salary gb. by which "Varieties. Be cheerful, but not light ; familiar, rather than intimate ; and intimate with a very few and on good grounds. How many think to atone for the evil they have done by the good they intend to do, and are only virtuous in the pro spective. A good thing about the coffee-and-cake saloons. You can't get any liquor at them ; and the coffee is not strong enough to hurt anybody. A Mrs. Hayden, of Sharon, Vt, has a peony root in her garden that is over eighty years old. She has seen it blos som seventy consecutive years. The wife of a man in Paw-Paw, Mich., who left home, threatening to commit suicide, will probably soon be discov ered to have only been to her pa-pa. Two young ladies in Michiaran have done all the housework of their homes and supplied themselves with handsome new winter dresses by picking sumac. If a man would keep both integrity and independence free from temptation. let mm Keep out ol debt. Vt. t ranklin says, "It is fcard for an empty bag to stand upright" To read the superscriptions on coins: Lay your coins upon a piece of hot iron; the dates will be so visible as to be plainly read. The iron must be red hot, and the coins must be read while hot Seraphinnis is a Russian monk who latterly foanded a society to which wo men were admitted on condition that they cut off their hair. The beautiful appropriateness of this will be per ceived when it is stated that his brother was an enterprising hair-dresser. Jones was thrown into a state of won der by the sign "ladies' felt slippers," which he discovered when passing a shoe store. He can't understand it. He says children felt slippers in bis day I often enough, bnt ladies generally wjre them, except when they were removed for cause. A gentleman, while walking in his garden, caught his gardener asleep under a tree. He scolded him soundly for his laziness, and ended by telling him such a sluggard was not worthy to enjoy the light of the sun. "It tsd for that reason exactly," said the gardener, "thut I crept into the shade." Mistress (Suding the housemaid for the third time hanging about tha drawing-room d -sor) "Miry, what are yoa here listening at the door for ? Haven't you any work?" Mary "Oh, if you please'm, I don't mean no 'arm it's that 'eviugly music !" X. B. The man was only tuning the piauo ! The San Francisco Chronicle declines to answer a correspondent who asks where Cain got his wife, because, "Cain died some time before many of u were born, and such idle curiosity regarding the family affairs of a deceased prson we regard as reprehensible, and calcu lated to offend the sanctities of domes tic life." We hear a good deal of an elastic cur rency, but nothing that seems to more nearly meet the requirement than that suggested by a correspondent to the Journal of Commerce, which is at onoe simple and efficacious ; it is this print all the money on India rubber. No one can say that we should not then haye an elastic currency. Anthony Trollope made speech re cently in presenting prizes to the suc cessful students of the Liverpool Insti tute in which he stated "novels to be the sermons of the present day, or, at any rate, the sermons which were lis tened to with the most rapt attention. They are tbe sermons in the hands of all young and poor, rich and old. The whaling fleet on the Western coast has had a successful season in the Northern Pacific, where there are about 40 vessels engaged in whale fishing. Thirteen vessels have returned to Sau Francisco with 9550 barrels of oil, 100, 900 pounds of bone, and 10,250 pounds of ivory. The average take was 800 barrels of oil, 8000 pounds of bone and 8iX) pounds of ivory. The success or failure of whalers is largely dependent upon the season, and the extreme open ness of the Northern seas during the last season not only secured safety for the vessels, but enabled them to follow the whalers into the higher latitudes. The reason why an assembly for dan cing is called a ball is now believed to be found in an old German cnstom,Iong since obsolete, and from a German pa per we make tbe following extract: "This custom consisted in the assem bling in the villages during the Eister holidays, of all the marriageable mai dens, in order to present to each new made bride at whose wedding they had danced, a beautifully ornamented ball. When this ball, after being borne on a gaily decorated pole in solemn proces sion through the village, had been pre sented to tbe young bride, she was thereby laid under obligation to furnish free music for the evening to all who might wish to dance. From this fes tive custom is derived the expression to give a ball.'" Persimmon coffee is much preferred to tbe burned bean variety, in Georgia. A gentleman of that State has taken out a patent for making it and describes his process as follows: "My mode of preparation consists of steaming the fruit for half an Lour iu a boiler, aud after cruHhing them, I throw them into a tank of water, and the seed are easily washed ont, as their own specific grav ity carries them to the bottom, and the pulp can be floated off. The seed should then be spread ont in tbe sun to dry lor three or four weeks, an I then parched ! and ground similar to any other coffee care being t-iken to have them parched sufficiently to grind easily. The seed by this process can be obtained where the fruit is plenty, at a coot of two cents per pound, and if properly prepared are equal in all respects to good Java coffee." The New Bedford Mercury tells the folloiring wonderful tale of college haz ing: it oecnrred, u we rememoer cor- rectly, in lSfrL It was noticed by some sophomores mat two country poys naa begun their housekeeeping in a room on halls, with a miserable apology for a bed, no carpet, no table, and only two chairs as the sum total of their outfit It was learned, also, that they proposed to board themselves, and had only a few dollars for their food daring the term. Oa this hint they acted. One night the poor, trembling youths were summoned by a soph," who waa not over-courteous, to go to a room up stairs. Up-stairs they went, expecting to be dealt with without mercy. They were detained there an boor or so, not being molested, bnt only quizzed by one of the 'sophs' in the room. Then they were dismissed to their own room. When they entered it was over a niea new carpet There was a tasteful bed stead and appurtenances, a study table, chairs, a lamp, a book-case, a stove, to., and in a closet they found provi sions for several days." 1 V 0 I'M li r