-"y -- a ' ' tt - - $ illlllll tlii B. F. SCHWEIER, THE COXSTITCTIOS THE CXIOX AXD THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. Editor and Proprietor. VOL. XXVIII. M IFFLINTOAVN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., FEBRUARY 25, 1S74. NO. 8. www Poetry. Ilrndis Hearts and Hand. BT WEOKUB W. BC56AT Hds that think, and brarta that fsri, Hindu that tan th bnsy whssl. Hake oar life worth Using litre, la thla mimdana hsmltr-hera; Heads to p'an what hands eaa do, Uearta to bar n' brsr'lT through, Thinking bead and tolling fcani Are Blasters of tha land. When a thought becomes a thing. b bit hands maka hasunera ring, CntU bo Dent work baa wrought Into shape tks thinker's thooghl. Which will aid to cllUlie. And make natloaa great and wise. Lifting to a glory height In thia ago of tboaght sad light. Miracles of science show With tbelr l ght the way to go ; Touch a tube of gaa, and light e'loaeomi like the atari of night ; Touch another tabs, and lo ! sUreama of crystal watsra )w; Touch a telegraphic wire. And your tboaght has wings of Are lliil to honest hearts and hands. And to the head that understand ; Quids that dare to truth subscribe. Hands thai never touched a bribe ; litarts that hate a deed aajuiO, Hrarta that other hearts can trust ; Heads tbat p. as for others' weal. Heads poised over hearts that feel. MisceHany The I"- of Both HansU. 'n..'r noorl.nr l.in.Vun.l Tse vonr 1 ... - - - - ; right hand" are injunctions that the j .11 ' ' 4 . .. 1 enii.i nears jrotn me jrn, u.i . . i .ii 1. a. 1 1 ix'iore lie is oiu euouu iu uuucimiuu I lie sunken words, the outstretchd hand is put back and the coveted r "Why " he asks as soou as he is old enough to demand a reason for the i slight put upon the unolTending mem- j her. I "Decause," replies mamma, sagvly, ; "it is awkward," or, "it isn't polite." Why it should be awkward or impo- lite to use the left hand, mamma never , thinks to enquire. Xlntt the exigences I of military discipline in some righting ; ae of Jorgouen uarDansra maae 11 i necessary that all men should give pre- ! f , renee to the same hand, or some other j r,,,.al Iv se and potent reason estab-, hshed the custom at a time when one skillfal hand was enough for one per- , sou, mamma neither knows nor cares; nor does it occur to her that times ; change and that a good rule for one , generation may be a bad one for another. J lrant that social convenience is favored ; l.y the uniform use of the nKht hand . for certain purposes, that is no suthcient ; reason for suiKirdinating the lelt. band nana in an luings, e-.atijr w ueu conditions of our lives and occupations make it very freqnent.y imperative that the untrained left hand shall learn to do the work of the disabled right hand, From the nursery the boy goes to sehoo . and here ine same nureasonao.e prejudice awaits him. Through instinct. ! accweuT or capr.ee. negii ui ih-u , oeu arrangeu luere, a x , 8een th Lonsekeeper impeding them, or peneU with his left hand and his being alone to sharing my own l&Tger i an(j their contents had left a hlzy im knuekles are sharply rapped for it bed-room with two of my bridesmaids. ; ion of olJ .undion. brocades, W hy should he not .be taught to write ; It looked bright and cozy as I came m ; olj.tiMue9 gnes, hoops, and hoods, and draw with both hands ? It wonld ; my favorite low chair was drawn before verT ?utioQlot Vhich pnt ns in a take but little if any more tune ; and if j the fire whose rosy light glanced and Uto eicitemeut- M MouUrie it did.it wonld only keep him busy .flickered on the glossy dark walls, which waB Snmm0ned. lookinp- duly horrified durinar moments which he would other-1 wise devote to idleness or nusehiet i The acquisition would never be worth-' less, and it micht be of immense con- venience to him. He mierht never have ; nnAi.;.n - . ia .1 ..i.liln nanQifv I after the fashion of the popular scientist snd teacher whose two-handed black ; board sketches are such a delight to his auditors, and who is said to pursue his ! microscopic studies with a pen at one j side and a pencil at the other, drawing ! i,.i n.l wnnr, with tl.oi "im """ I wu-as1.1 IxA f I-OA ex f anv itKimon t tr rpst a! otner as the development 01 uis buujbci at ,t9 brightest ; the little church and . . , . 1 i may require; nevertheless his two-fold iet cbchd beyond the lawn f?18.1.0" VlZtf skiU would ever be a possible source of fair anj caim beneath its rays ; CI7 havock- . Ia mmf " tbe. satisfaction and advantage to him. He the Lm of the white headstones here fl?Pr .was covered wlth PJes of 8llk9 and hand exhausted by protracted use with-! romjuJed me that life is not all peace "Meg, cried little Janet Crawford, out any interruption of his work ; he i and jOTthat tears and pain, fear and '. dancing up to me, "isn't it a good thing wonld be less likely to be disabled by j parting have their share in its story to live in the age of tulle and summer trilling hurts ; and, in case one hand but it did not The tranquil happiness : Bilks ? Fancy being imprisoned for life were stiffened by heavy labor, the other j with wbich my heart was full, over- j in.a fortress like this!' holding np a might be kept in readiness for delicate flowed in some soft tears which had no i thick crimson and gold brocade, whale manipulations, for writing, drafting and tinge of bitterness ; and when at last I boned and buckramed at all points. It the like. did lay down, peace, deep and perfect, thrown aside, and she half lost Ta Imw-A cnain mnra ill a n nnA Tn fjl- : still flfbaniP. 1 fo tlow in on me with the i herself in another chest and was silent .utw,n. or;7on l.n.t. Ai.iljtv to hamllo ! tools with either hand, as occasion de manded, gave him constant advantages over his one handed mates, not only in the avoidance of fatigue, but in the performance of nice work and the over coming of difficulties, hard to come at by those restricted to the use of a single hand. The right handed man who can nse a hammer or a knife readily with his left hand, or can tie or untie a knot when his right hand is otherwise en paged, will find frequent use for his skill. Indeed the advantages . we miss throngh the non-cultivation oX the neg lected member are infinite in number and of incessant recurrence. They are among the taxes we pay to custom. it would be useless to recommend the nature to undertake the culture of their left hands. They have been "left" unused and untrained too loner: and . . - - the proper time for such work is in ; childhood and youth, when the muscles . are tractable and time abundant AUl need it be nseless to urge parents to encourage such training on the part of their children, or, at least, not to dis courage it ? Alas, I'our Nrhiller! Twenty years after Schiller's death a ' certain burgomaster, Schwabe, took i into his head to get Schiller's head as j a precious relic. He had the vault , opened, where the remains had been laid with those of ten other mortals, but to his dismay the coffins had all ; 1 ? .,.. tl,.M vaa nntkinn . bnt a confused mass of bones at the j There came at last the sound of a halt- tain quite away, and in the now fast bottom of the vault He took home ; ing step, the tipping of a crutch upon waning light could just discern the the eleven skulls, numbered them, j the floor, then stillness, and slowly, figure of a girl m white against a dark ranged them in a row, and invited every gradually the room filled wi h light a back-ground. Robert rang for a lamp, one in Weimar who had been personally pale, cold, steady light Everything " and when it came we turned with much acquainted with Schiller to come and ! around was exactly as I had last seen it I curiosity to examine the painting, as to see them. The visitors were taken one i in the mingled shine of the moon and j the subject of which we had been mak- see them. The visitors were taken one by one into the room, and invited to write down their opinions as to which was Schiller's skull, without the oppor tunity of consultation. All agreed upon the same number, and then Professor Schroter. of Jena, after much difficulty. ! sorted out the bones of the skeleton from the heap, and the whole was placed i in the library at Weimar. It is evident that the ideas of the present day in ! regard to the sanctity of the grave were; not then prevalent. Goethe wrote some I beautiful lines to the skull, and every- j thing was pretty and pleasant ! V1C1 county, kind known to have been shot so near Philadelphia for many years. It was shot by two Philadelphians, C. D. Sny der and H. H. Marqnet A large eagle was recently shot in the ' the stunted lorm. x saw n u cietuij j uua uu iruUUU v ;" inity of Spread r.agle, Delaware i as 1 now see the pen wnicu wnies uicto i bup hsuwuub, " . "."" TV.;. tl.o first hir-,1 nf th!.nr,?a in1 tho hand which CHldeS It I lien A .reoovereu in)m iuuk uixu THE CEDAR CLOSET. It happened ten years ago, and it stands oat, and ever will stand ont in my memory, like some dark, awful bar rier, dividing the happy gleeful years of girlhood with their foolish petulant Borrows and eager innocent joys, and the bright lovely life which has been mine hince. In looking back, that time j seems to me shadowed by a dark and I terrible brooding cloud ; bearing in its I lurid gloom what, bnt for love and patience the tenderest and most untir ing, might have been the bolt of death, or, worse a thousand times, of madness. As it was, for months after, "life crept on a broken wing," if not "through cells of madness," yet verily "through i naunts ol horror and fear. O, the j weary, weary days and months when I I longed piteously for rest ! when sun I shine was torture, and every shadow filled with horror unspeakable ; when my soul's craving was for death ; to be allowed to creep away from the terror which lurked in the softest murmur of the summer breeze, the flicker of the shadow of the tiniest leaf on the sunny grass, in every corner and curtain-fold in my dear old home. But love con quered all, and I can tell my story now, with awe and wonder, it is trne, but quietly and calmly : Ten years ago I was living with my OLly brother in one of the quaint ivy grown red-gabled rectories which are so j picturesquely scattered over the fair breadth of .England. V e were orphans Archibald and I ; and I had been the busy, happy mistress of his jfrtty home for only one year after leaving school, when Robert Drave asked me to be his I wife. Robert and Archie were old friends, and my new home, Draye's . t . , - - i Court, was only separated from the nircnntiorA liv An nl.l tmtv wall a lnwr i , - limn ern.l.lAil tl.tftr vltlpli Ailmitr4il n of the manor ; and it was he who had given Archie the living of Draye ir the Wold. It was the night before my wedding- Jay, and our pretty home was crowded with the wedding-guests. We were all gathered iu the large old-fashioned drawing-room after dinner. When Robert left ns late in the evening, I walked with him as usual to the little gate lor wuai ne caued our last parting; we lingered a while under the great walnut tree through the heay sombre branches of which the Sep ember moon joured its soft pure light. With his astgoo.l-n.ght kiss on my lips and my heart full of him and the love which warmed and glorihed the whole world for me, I did not care to go back to share in the fun and frolic in the draw- ing-room. bnt went softly np stairs to my own room. I say "my own room. but I was to occupy it as a 'f1"'00111 i to-night lor the nrst-time. pieasam souiu room, , richly carved cedar which gave the atmosphere a spicy fragrance. I had : chosen it as my morning-room on my I arnval in our home ; here I had read. and sung, and pain ed and spent long sunny nours wuue j.rcu.oaiu was uu, , in his study after breakfast. I had had prave the room its name, me uedar t Closet. JfV" tM,y m wa8f b.U8y ""P"1"? , rtoUet-table ; Isent her away, and , down to wait for my brother who I , my sat knew would come to bid me eood-nicht 1 1 fi rto rr a ira Ka.l nnr lafit ftrcl.lA t .1 1 L in my girlhood's home ; and when he! left me there was an incursion of aU my bridesmaids for a "dressing-gown gos- j sip." -vThen at last I was alone I drew back ! the cnrtain 8nJ carled mvsolf np on the ! , 1 , rrL7, l -.n lOW, WtUe WlUllOW-BCUl. Alio UAWJll Ofl i .i t . i iu- a - I , mnnnlwimi which filled the room, shim- mering on the folds ol my bridal dress, which was laid ready for the morning. I am thus minute in describing my last waking moments, that it may be under stood that what followed was no creation of a morbid fancy. I do not know how long I had been asleep, when I was suddenly, as it were, wrenched back to consciousness. The moon had set, the room was quite dark ; I could just distinguish the glimmer of a clouded, starless sky through the open window. I could not see or hear any thing unusual, but not the less was I conscious of ah unwonted, a baleful presence near ; an indescribable horror cramped the very beatings of my heart ; with every instant the certainty trrew that my room was shared by some evil j being. I could not cry for help, though 1 k ww vaa tl-MiA an.) T knuw aiuiic a i i . " . , " - - tnRt on(J tUrongh the death-like gtilnes8 wouj j bring njm to me ; all I ! . 11 .1 VA. 4n nuTn mTA intn CVUIU wa the darkness. Suddenly and a throb I stnnir throutrh every nerve I heard ! . . . and Archie decided for me. and I al- Heft , irom the sunny parsonage lawn to me ,n , m . . ... - M tll tov i old, old park which had belonged to the I . , ... T broodej .ii-nti- anJ ' I rrva for rvnrnrioa 11 .hert w-u lord ' wonla. wlule I pKMHIed BllCnllV and " distinctly from behind the wainscot against which the head of my bed was j placed, a low, hollow moan, followed ! on the instant by a cackling, malignant langh from the othej side of the room, If I had been one of the monumental figures in the churchyard on which I had seen the quiet moonbeams shine a few hours before, I could not have been more utterly unable to move or speak ; every other faculty seemed to be lost in tltA onA intent t TR 1 Tl D f PVfl II Till PUT. : fire, and though 1 heard at intervals ! the harsh laugh, the curtain of the bed hid from me whatever uttered it Again, lor hnt. distinct, the nitenns moan broke forth, followed by some words in ! a foreign tongue, and with the sound, a figure started from behind the curtain dwarfed, deformed woman, dressed in a long, loose robe of black, sprinkled ! with golden stars, which gave forth a dull, fiery gleam, in the mysterious ; light ; one lean, yellow hand clutched j the curtain of my bed ; it gbttered with ; jeweled rings ; long black hair fell in J ... t i 1 1 1 1 The face was turned from me, bent swoon, great lassitude and intense aside, as if greedily drinking in those ! nervous excitement followed ; my lU anguished moans; I noted even the ness broke up the party, and for months steaks of gray in the long tresses as I ' I was an invalid. When again Robert s lay helpless in dumb, bewildered hor ror. "Again !" she said hoarsely, as the sounds died away into indistinct mur murs, and advancing a step she tapped sharply with a crutch on the cedar wainscot ; then again louder and more purposeful rose the wild, beseeching voice ; this time the words were English. "Mercy, have mercy 1 not on me but on my child, my little one ; she never never harmed you. She is dying she is dying here in darkness ; let me but see her face once more. Death is very near, nothing can save her now ; but grant one ray of light, and I will pray that you may be forgiven, if forgive ness there be for such as you." "What, vou kneel at last ! Kneel to Gerda, and kneel in vain. A ray of light ? Not if you could pay for it in diamonds. Yon are mine ! Shriek and call as you will, no other ears can hear. Die together. You are mine to torture as I will, mine, mine, mine ! and again an awful langh rang throngh the room. At the instant she turned. O, the face of malign horror that met my gaze ! The green eyes flamed, and with some thing like the snarl of a savage beast she sprang towards me-, that hideous face almost touched mine ; the grasp of the skinny jeweled hand was all but on me ; then I suppose I fainted. For weeks I lay in brain fever, in mental horror and weariness so intent, that even now I do not like to let my mind dwell on it Even when the crisis was safely passed I was slow to rally ; my mind was utterly unstrung. I lived in a world of shadows. And so winter wore by, and brought ns to the fair spring morning when at last I stood by Robert's side in the old church ; a cold, . latino 1 V tJ, aiUJUSb UUnllllUU UllUtJi -M. . fc to refuse, nor consent to ! ..... ' . -. . passive, almost nnwilling bride. l anything that was suggested ; so Hobert 1 . . . . . ceaselessly on the memory terrible night To my husband I told all one morning in a sunny Bavarian valley, and my weak, frightened mind drew strength and peace from his ; by degrees the haunting horror wore away, and when we came Lome for a happy reason, nearly two years afterwards, I was as strong and blithe as in my girl hood. I had learned to believe that it ; rtn.1 all rtjun Tint rliA Aris tint Hip : commencement of my fever. I was to ! be undeceived. j Qur mtle d Lter LaJ come to ns ; . the f anJ now CLrist , mQ3 was Jth ouJ firsk Cllristma. at ; , j the huse wag full of u , Jt delicious old-fashione,l Yule; i, j ,.i.,r i,, . ; of uue8S jnd Towara8 j - y a hgavy fall o 8now ia i uich k t n8 alf i80ner8 . bnt even ! K fl ' ., ' , body suggested tableaux for the even- there was a debate and selection of gnljject d then came tLe le of wL t , short notjc wfl coula n;e th Jre88eg M has. 'banJ , raiJ 0n18ome mT8teriou9 oakeu che8tg which he knew haJ heea f to , fa turret-room, IT. ,Qmi-i i, : . Aomtinn nt ht tn hr m relics the most sacred, but seeing it was ineviubl sLe maUed the way, a st in u and fo, j of-h'er protest in every btuT silk dress. "ft a charming old place, was the exclamation with variations as we entered the long-joisted room, at the further end of which stood m goodly &L ither ri" nS. Inn al? J8"'" r 5Pkfn C'8, approval, poor Mrs. Moultrie unlocked - - f. .,. ,1 VelveiS. Then "Look, Major Fraude 1 This is the very thing for you a true astrolo ger's robe, all black velvet and golden stars, if it were but long enough ; it just fits me." I turned and saw the pretty slight figure, the innocent girlish face dressed in the robe of black and gold, identical in shape, pattern and material with what I too well remembered. With a wild cry I hid my face and cowered away. "Take it off! O, Janet Robert take it from her 1" Every one turned, wondering. In an instant my husband saw, and, catching up the cause of my terror, flung it hastily into the chest again, and lowered the lid. Janet looked half offended. but tue cloud passed in an insiani wnen 1 kissed her, apologizing as well as I tfonlii Unh lunchpd at ns both, and . o voted an adjournment to a warmer room, where we could have the chests hmnoht trk 11 Q to nilftark ftt le.Snre. " " - - - " ; Before going down Janet and I went into a small ante-room to examine some old pictures which leant against the wall. "This is jnst the thing, Jennie, to frame the tableaux," I said, pointing to an immense frame at least twelve feet square. "There is a picture in it," I added, pulling back the dusty folds of a heavy curtain which fell before it "That can be easily removed," said my husband, who had followed us. With his assistance we drew the cur- in g odd merry guesses wiuie we waiieo. The girl was young almost childish very lovely, but O, how sad 1 Great tears stood in the innocent eyes and on the round young cheeks, and her hands were clasped tenderly around the arms of a man who was bending towards ner and did I dream? iNo; there in hateful distinctness was the hideous woman of the Cedar Closet the i same every distorted line, even tothe starred dress and golden circlet The swarthy hues of the dress and face, had at first caused us to overlook her. The same wicked : 1 1 UAnnJ mT liMvt aoamsH tl r And than AHirAfi rtAr- love and patience had won me back to my old health and happiness, he told me all the truth, so far as it had been preserved in old records of the family. It was in the sixteenth century that the reigning lady of Draye Court was a weird, deformed woman, whose stunted body, hideous face, and a temper which taught her to hate and villify everything eood and beautiful for the contrast offered to herself, made her universally feared and disliked. One talent only she possessed ; it was for music ; but so wild and strange were the strains she drew from the many instruments of which she was mistress, that the gift only intensified the dread with which she was regarded. Her father had died before her birth her mother did not survive it ; near relatives she had none, she had lived her lonely, loveless life from youth to middle age. When a young girl came to the court, no one anew more than that she was a poor relation. 1 he dark woman seemed to look more kindly on this yonng cousin than on any one that had hitherto crossed her eombre path, and indeed so great was the charm which Marian's goodness, beauty and innocent gaiety exercised on every one, that the ser vants ceased to marvel at her having gained the favor of thjir gloomy mis tress. The girl seemed to feel a kind of wondering, pitying affection for the nnhappy woman ; she looked on her throngh an atmosphere created by her own sunny nature, and for a time all went welL When Marian had been at the court for a year, a foreign musician appeared on the scene. He was a Spaniard, and had been engaged by Lady Draye to build for her an organ said to be of fabnlous power and sweet ness. Throngh long bright summer days he and his employer were shut up together in the music room he busy in the construction of the wonderful in strument, and she aiding and watching his work. These days were spent by Marian in various ways pleasant idle ness and pleasant work, long canters on her chestnut pony, dreamy mornings by the brook with rod and line, or in the village near, where she found a welcome everywhere. She played with the chil dren ; nursed the babies, helped the mothers in a thousand pretty ways, gossiped with the old people, brighten ing the day for everybody with whom she came in contact Then in the even ing she sat with Lady Draye and the Spaniard in the saloon, talking in that soft foreign tongue which they generally used. Rut this was but the music be tween the acts ; the terrible drama was coming. The motive was of course the same as that of every life drama which has been played out from the old, old days when the cnrtain rose upon the garden scene of Paradise. Philip and Marian loved each other, and having told their happy secret to each other, they as in duty bound, took it to their patroness. They found her in the ! mnsic room. Whether the glimpse she : caught of a beautiful world from which ! she was shut out maddened her, or, whether she, too, had loved the for eigner, was never certainly known, but through the closed door passionate words were heard, and very soon Philip came out alone, and left the house without a farewell to any in it When the servants did at last venture to en ter, they found Marian lifeless on the floor, Lady Draye standing over her with crutch uplifted, and blood flowing from a wound in the girl's forehead. They carried her away and nursed her tenderly ; their mistress locked the door as they left, and all night long re mained alone in darkness. The mnsic which came out without piuse on the still night air was weird and wicked beyond any strains which had ever be fore flowed even from beneath her fingers ; it ceased with morning light ; and as the day wore on it was found that Marian had fled during the night, and that Philip's organ had sounded its last strain Lady Draye had shattered and silenced it forever. She never seemed to notice Marian's absence, and no one dared to mention her name. Nothing was ever known certainly of her fate, it was supposed she had joined her lover. Years passed, and with each Lady Draye's temper grew fiercer and more malevolent She never quitted her room unless on the anniversary of that day and night, when the tapping of her crutch and high-heeled shoes was heard for hours as she walked np and down the music-room, which was never en tered save for this yearly vigiL The tenth anniversary came round, and this time the vigil was not unshared. The servants distinctly heard the sound of of a man's voice mingling in earnest conversation with her shrill tones ; they listened long, and at last one of the boldest ventured to look in, himself unseen. He saw a worn, travel-stained man ; dusty, footsore, poorly dressed, he still at once recognized the handsome gay Philip of ten years ago. He held in his arms a little sleeping girl ; her long curls, so like poor Marian's, strayed over his shoulder. He seemed to be pleading in that strange musical tongue for the little one ; for as he spoke he lifted, O, so tenderly, the cloak which partly concealed her, and showed the little face, which he doubtless thought might plead for itself. The woman, with a furious gesture, raised her crutch to strike the child ; he stepped quickly backwards, stooped to kiss the little girl, then, without a word, turned to go. Lady Draye called on him to re turn with an irojerious gesture, spoke a few words, to which he seemed to listen gratefully, and together they left the house by the window which opened on the terrace. Tbe servants followed them and found she led the way to the parsonage, which was at the time unoc cupied. It was said that he was in some political danger as well as in deep poverty, and that she had hidden him here until she could help him to a better asylum. It was certain that for many nights she went to the parsonage and returned before dawn, thinking herself unseen. . Rut one morning she did not come home, her people consulted to gether, her relenting towards Philip had made them feel more kindly to wards her than ever before ; they sought her at the parsonage, and found her lying across its threshold dead, a phial grasped in her rigid fingers. There was no sign of the late presence of Philip and his child ; it is believed she had sped them on their way before she had killed herself. They laid her in a sui cide's grave. For more than fifty years after the parsonage was shut up. J Though it has been again inhabited no one had ever been terrified by the! spectre I had seen ; probably the cedar closet had never before been used as a bedroom. Robert decided on having the wing containing the haunted room pulled down and rebuilt and in doing so the truth of my story gained a horrible confirmation. When the wainscot of the Cedar Closet was removed a recess was discovered in the massive old wall, and in this lay mouldering fragments of of the skeletons of a man and child I There ooull be but one conclusion drawn, the wicked woman had impris oned them tnere under pretense of hid ing and helping them ; and once they were completely at her mercy, had come night after night with unimaginable cruelty to gloat over their agony, and when that long anguish was ended, ended her odious life by a suicide's death. We could learn nothing of the mysterious painting. Philip was an artist and it may have been his work. We had it destroyed, so that no record of the terrible story might remain. I have no more to add, save that but for those dark days left by Lady Draye as a legacy of fear and horror, I sjould never have known so well the treasure I hold in the tender, unwearying faithful love of my husband known the blessing tbat every sorrow carries in its heart, that "Fvitt rlin.l that sr-iada aboire Aud Tcileth love, itaell la luve." Centenarians. Aged Americans were not so numerous in the bills of mortality last year as they have been in preceding years ; but the following, from the Boston Traveler will be found interesting: Masculine centenarians begin with Andrew McDonald, New Orleans, 104 ; and then come Robert Mcintosh, Brook haven, X. H., died on the day he com pleted his 102d year ; Obadiah Baldwin, Crown Point, N. Y., 101 ; Lawrence Merserau, Union, N. Y., in his 100th year ; Peter Benton, Yoluntown, Conn., (colored), 100 ; John Collins, Charles town, Mass., 11S years and 11 months ; Baziel Crowd, Preston, X. S., 103 years; Thomas Gill, Underbill Centre, Yt, 101 ; ttt-1 ti .ii ..1 imi 1-1 William Hullett. Mount Tabor. Yt. 100 years and 10 months ; Peter Shenfessel, Estell county, Ky., 109 years and 2 months ; Stephen Philbriek, Tamworth, N. H., 102 years, 1 month and 20 days ; Frederick Bates, Richmond, Maine, IOj years and i months ; Purling Plane, Belvidere. Dlinois, 107 years ; , Walkup, Kentucky, 100 years ; John J. Snider, Statenville, X. C, 10G years who served in the British army during our Revolutionary war, though he must have been very young then, and at Waterloo, and yet died in an American almshouse ; Joseph Goslaw, Milloury, Mass., 10:5 years, 3 months, and 28 days; David Gowen, near Nashville, Tenn., Ill years; John McCrilles, Gosbsn, X. Ii., 100 yean, 2 months, and 21 days ; Ephraim Talbot, Plain field, Conn., in his 100th year long a leading citizen of Providence, R. I. ; William Miner, Xorthampton, Mass., 102 years ; David Styles, Dubuque, Iowa, 101 years and 4 months ; Elihn Emerson, Leicester, Mass., 104 years and 3 months : John Ripley, Bath, Me., in his 100th year ; George Washington TT II . -1 i TT 11. 1 Hall, Gilmanton, X. H., supposed to be in his 100th year frozen to death, in the house where he Jived alone ; John ' persons of eminence had had their com Duff, New Bedford, 100 years ; Sampson ; miseration appealed to in a similar way. Gross, Athol, Mass., colored, in his j Police officers (there were no police 100th year; Abraham Wheeler, Derby ' men in those days) were sent to keep in his 100th year was a fifer at Lundy's I order iu Berners street, which was nearly Lane ; and Robert Sixbury, Le Roy, j choked with vehicles, jammed and inter New York, 110 years and 7 months. j locked one with another ; the drivers Feminine centenarians commence were irriated, the disappointed trades with Mrs. Honor MeGuire, Boston, j men were exasperated, and a large crowd 100 : Lucy Studley, Hanover, Mass., in her lOiUh year; Dolly Hoyt, Fre mont, X. U., in her 100th year ; Jlrs. Rebecca Teuney, Chester, N. II., in her 100th year ; Mrs, Mary McGrath, New York city, liX) years and 1 month : Mrs. Bertha Tozier, Athens, Me., 107 years aad 8 months; Mrs. Peggy Mitchell, East Machias, Me,, 100 years; Mrs. Jane Gordon, Sharon, Mass., 104 years a native of Scotland ; Mrs. Susan Gould, Isle La Motte, Yt, in her 100th year; JVlrs. ikjtsey Hamilton, .roids- borough, Me., 104 vears ; Mrs. Beulah Hunt, Randolph, Mass., died on the day she completed her 104th year ; Nancy Harvey, Baltimore, Md., 117 years ; Mrs. Xancy Cady, Oxford,Mass., 105 years for the last ten years of her life an inmate of the almshouse ; Mrs. Xancy Harris, Swift Creek township, X. C, 110 years ; Mrs. Arrena Treplett, (colored), Washington, D. C, in her 100th year consequently, not a nurse of General Washington, but she was one of his slaves, so tbat it may be said that he was her nurse, as he was the nurse of his country. Watch! There is no period in a Christian's life without peril of sin. A wily foe at tends his steps, watching with sleepless vigilance for opportunities which may be made occasions for his falL The only security for the child of God, therefore, throughout his entire pilgrimage, is in nnrelaxing watchfulness. As the cita del is only secure against surprise and capture, when faithful sentinels, with panscless step, pnrsue their steady tread along its walls and before its gates, so, the soul, the temple of the Holy Ghost s alone impregnable against the Prince of Darkness, when all its powers, clad in Gospel mail, guard every avenue, with incessant vigi lance, against, the entrance of evil. But there are seasons of peculiar jeopardy, when nnusual perils beset the Christian, and so insidiously, as to threaten his safety with more than or dinary promise of success. We are passing through such a season now, and there is need of the note of warning which we sound from the head of this article. We have seen and heard enough already to satisfy us that with out great caution, the Adversary will gather rich spoils from the present panic." The scarcity of money will be a strong tcmptr.tion to many to disre gard the sacred obligations by which they are bound to support the cause of God in its various departments. The pressure is so creat, the future so threatening, the necessity for retrench- ment so imperious, and "withholding j mam tli am in TT. ni.f di nnsh vnnrA z-nn I more than is meet" so much more con sonant with natural inclination, than the self-denial which enhances the gifts we lay npon God's altar, that, without weariness, many good people will be seduced into the sin of "robbing God" who would shrink from wilfully bring ing upon their souls so grievons a crime, This is the supreme peril of the times ; let Christian people guard against it Be sure that you are personally cramped ! by the prevalent stringency, before yon ! make it a plea for withholding your dues from the Church or the claims of charity. If really straightened, ace to it that personal gratification is post poned to the claims of Him whose stew ard you are. It is right to be provident, but it is safe to give when the cause of God presents its claims, so long as there is anything with which to respond to its demands. The widow of Sarepta passed a "crisis" incomparably more trying than any we experience or are ever likely to encounter ; and passed it safely, by dividing her scanty store with the prophet ol the Lord. mere is in- finitely greater danger of damaging your j soul by treacherous dealing with duty, than there ia of impoverishing yourself by excessive contributions to the Lord's treasury. "Take heed then, and beware of covetuousness," which has a power ful ally in the present monetary stress. There is blessing or disaster for ns in these trying times, according as we use them. Let us watch against the evils they threaten, and enrich our experience with all the spiritual benefits they are capable of yielding. Sixty Year Ago. One of the most annoying hoaxes ever recorded was that which, about sixty years ago, was known in London as the Berners street hoax. It drew the atten tion of the newspapers at the time ; then of the magazines and the annual Regis ter ; many years afterward (in connec tion with a biographical notice of the hoaxer), of the Quarterly licvicw; and more recently, if we remember rightly, of the "Ingoldsby Legends." Berners street is a quiet street of hotels and shops, with private-looking windows ; in 1810, it was still more quiet inhabited by well-to-do families living in a genteel way. One morning, soon after breakfast, a wagon-load of coals drew up before the door of a widow lady in that street, and soon afterward a van-load of furniture ; then came a hearse with a coffin, and a train of mourning-coaches. Presently ar rived two fashionable physicians,a den tist, and an accoucheur, driving up as near as they could to the door, and wondering why so many lumbering vehicles were so near at hand. Six men brought a great chamber-organ ; a coach maker, a clock-maker, a carpet-manufacturer, and a wine-merchant sent specimens of their goods ; a brewer brought several barrels of ale ; curiosity-dealers brought sundry knick kcacks. A piano-forte, linen, jewelry. wigs and head-dresses, a cart-load of potatoes, books, prints, conjuring tricks, f .1 -11- .1 feathers, ices, jellies, were among the things brought to (or left near) the house ; while mantua-maiiers came with baskets of millinery and fancy articles, and opticians with telescopes. Then, after a time, trooped in form all qnar ters grocers, coachmen, footmen, cooks, house-maids, nursery-maids, and other servants, come in quest of situations. To crown all, persons of distinction came in their carriages the commander-in-chief, the archbishop of Canter bury, a cabinet minister, the lord chief jnstice, the governor of the bank of England, the chairman of directors of the East India company, an eminent parliamentary philanthropist, and the lord mayor. The last-named function ary one among those who speedily saw that all had been victimized by a Ripran tic hoax drove to Marlborough street police-office, aud told the sitting magis trate that he had received a letter from a lady in Berners street, to the effect that she had been summoned to attend at the Mansion house, that she was ex tremely ill, that she wished to make a deposition npon oath, and that she ; would deem it a great favor if his lord- ! ship would call upon her. All the other eujoyed the malicious fun. Some of the vans and goods were overturned and broken ; while a few casks of ale became a prey to the populace. All through the day, until late at night, did this extraordinary state of things continue, of the terror and dismay of the poor lady aud the other inmates of the house. Every ono found directly that it was a hoax ; but the name of the hoaxer was not known till long afterward. This, it appeared, was Theodore Hook, one of j the most inveterate punsters and jokers of the day. He had noticed the very quiet character of Berners street nd the name of Mr3. on a brass plate on on 3 of the doors ; he laid a wager with a brother-wag who accompanied him, that he would make that particu lar house the talk of the whole town. And he assuredly did it He devoted three and four days to writing letters, in the name of Mrs. , to tradesmen of all kinds, professional men, distin guished personages, and servants out of place ; all couched in a lady-like style, and requesting the persons ad dressed to come to Berners street on the appointed day, for reasons specially stated. Hook took a furnished lodging just opposite the house; and there posted himself with two or three companions on the day in question, to enjoy the scene. He d;med it expedient, how ever, to go off qnickly into the country, and there remain incorf. for a time. If he had been publicly known as the author of tbe hoax, it is probable he would have fared badly. The Work or Fence and V.'ar, A striking correlation exists between the results of the present rppid develop ment of the industries of war and of peace. The spinning-wheel and hand loom and the skilled fingers of needle women, have given place to spinners and looms acting almost automatically, and to sewing machines that require nothing more than a guidance of the material under the needle. Spears, ar rows and battle-axes have given place to the breechloading mitrailleuse, the rilled cannon and the torpedoes of modern warfare. In both war and peace men have been removed further and fur ther from being the direct agents of ultimate results, and yet in both war and peace the demands made npon the labor of men have maintained an almost equal advance with that of the apparatns simplifying their work. The condition of workers has been somewhat bettered, bnt with the invention of new machinery has grown up a demand for finer and mor plribnmL fabi-ira and with the in- vention of new cannon and torpedoes t it " ir r . uas grown up me invention oi stronger resisting forts and vessels. In peace the army of intelligent workers who prepare the way for the laborers has been con stantly and largely recruited from the latter class. In war tho bravery and skill of the fighters has been made sec ondary, of the intelligence of the peace- f ni mechanic But in both war and ICace there is still work to be done, and, fortunately for humanity, the conditions preeedent'to success study and energy remain the same in both. Mechani cal inventions' instead of robbing men of useful incentives to thought and labor, have only made them more ne cessary to the individual, and throngh the individual to society. Snprrlition. The Duke de Montpensier has jnst lost a son of fourteen. There is an odd superstition in the family of Orleans that no child of that house borne between eight o'clock and midnight will live to be twenty years of aire. Louis Philiippe was so much impressed with the family tradition that after the birth of each of his numerous progeny, none of whom happened to arrive in the dreaded hours, he used to walk about rubbing his hands joyfully, and exclaiming, "After all, we are safe on the score of time." The young scion just deceased was bcrn at nine o'clock in the evening, to the great distress of his parents. Youths' Column. Willi's Xrw Sled. Willy lives at the top of a hill. His father works in a shop at the foot of it Last winter he bought Willy a new sled. It is painted red ; and its name is "Snow-bird." Every noon, when the weather is pleasant and the sliding good, Willy puts on his overcoat, jumps upon his sled, gives a push, and away he goes down the hill to call his father to din ner. "Come, papa, dinner's ready," says Willy. Papa comes ont of the shop ; Willy hops upon his sled again, hands papa the cord, and is drawn up the hill, papa acting as the horse, and Willy as the driver. "Get up, pony, get up !" shouts the driver. One day an ox-team was coming np the hill just as Willy was going down. Willy could not stop snow-bird ; neither could he steer it out of the road. What should he do ? The man who was driving the oxen was a kind, good farmer, and had a little boy at home who called him "papa." When he saw Willy coming down the hill so fast, he walked ahead of his team, ami caught the sled just in time to save Willy from being run over. Front a window of his shop, Willy's father had seen his little boy's danger. He came running up the hill, all out of breath, and was very, very glad to find that Willy was unhurt After thanking the kind farmer, he took a seat beside him on the ox-team ; and the two men talked about their little boys as they rode along while Willy, seated on his own little sled, which he had tied to the big ox-sled, followed close behind. And so the strong oxen drew them all to the top of the hill. The Xirrry. As IssTr.rTivE XewToy The Jiur- . i nal of the Franklin Inilnfr, has an article desribing a new philosophical toy, called the Opeidoscope, which is thus described : "rake a tube of any material, from one to two inches in diameter, and anywhere from two inches j to a foot or more in length. Over one ; end paste a piece of tissue paper or a 1 thin piece of rubber, or gold-beaters' skin. In the center of the membrane.! with a ,1mn f mn..;tao-. fit..n s hit nf looking-glass, not more'than an eighth of an inch square, with the rellu-cting side ontward. j "When dry take it to tho sunshine i and with the open end of the tube at the mouth, hold the other end so that the beam of reflected light will fall npon the white wall or a sheet of paper held in the hand. Now speak, or sing, or ' gospel, ana searen wneiner yon can nnd toot ia it The regular movement of ! anything like it in your own life. Have the beam of light with the persistence ; you anything of His humility, meek of vision presents very beautiful and : ness, and benevolence to men? Any regular patterns, that diJer for each ! thing of nis purity and wisdom, His different pitch and intensity, but are ' eoctempt of the world, Hi3 fortitudo, quite uniform for given conditions. I His zeal ? "If a tune like Auld Lang Syne is When, where, and how to pray, tooted slowly in it, care being taken to , When ? Always, "without ceasing." give the sounds the same intensity, a Where ? In ail places ; especially that series of enrves will appear, one for each ; place which, being sanctified to this sound and alike for a given sound, ' use, is therefore called the house of whether reached by ascension or de-! prayer. How ? From the heart, "lift seension, so that it would be possible to ing" up pure and clean hands." That indicate the tune by the curves ; in is to say, in faith and in love. Our other words, it is a true phonauto- j prayer, feathered with these two wings, graph." ' flieth straight into Heaven. The toy is simple enough, but from i A Cincinnati lady, writing from Wash snch simple contrivances important ington.says! Boston draws herself up philosophical discoveries hive often- severeW, scans your cerebral develop times had their origin. , ment through her eyeglass, and coolly ' asks : "What do you know ?" New Wht are Male Lrids most Beacti- j l'ork displays her silks and diamonds, FTL ? Have you ever wondered why and pertly asks: "What are you worth?" the male of so many species of birds is ' Philadelphia, with prim hand and so much more highly colored than the pnrsed-np lips, asks: "Who was your female? A good many persons have grandfather?" While Washington stops wondered, and formed theories about ; between the waltz and the German to it The one that seems to be most j inquire, "Can you dance ?' likely right is this : They say where In the Jistrict of champagne, France, the male bird is gay and showy he does the cnltlTation of .nails for the Paris no un8aiiiiura.ii nuig ou me eg? to hatch them ; but where both of the parent-birds are much alike, and both of a sober tint, each takes a share in the work of incubation. A bird of dull color is not easily noticed among the yiw, -.nu .c .to, i .ii B.yUUU, nonsa on back for a promenaUe . it nests mere, lo t sre, ij a 7 ; tractors buy up the molluscs. Villi nil u iiwrA. u-ttn c iwhc bu ueauv, ; fi.m n vjn.l ..r -.--ir f.uon should happen, all of a sudden, to spy galads. thTm mint par3w c. When a bright-red mother bird on a nest, he u e h to through a ring of would not stop to think before he would j , certain sizo the' are fit for the table send a pebble speeding after it and, i SUDnoscd to be. when it was too late to think, the, beau tiful creature might be killed; and how sorry he wonld feel when he heard the other bird mourning for his dead mate, and thought of the pretty eggs, and t!-.e little birds that might have been but for his temptation, and now can never be. We shall find, as we go on to study nature, how God takes care for fully piled. The watchman says that the preservation of his creatures. Does during the night the man did the work not this care in coloring the sparrow, to j according to his instructions, stepping insure her safety, look some like the , carefully over the things on the floor, answer, before it is said, to the prayer, i The watchman spoke to him several "Lead us not into temptation, but de- times, but received no answer, and as liver ns from evil ?" And who knows soon as the job was done the somnam bnt this is for tho good of the boys as bulist went home. The night worker well as the birds ?" " noticed a feeling of lassitude the next . . ! morning and was unable to work during , tho day. iiiEFi ipos rvr.iiTx. liu von ever hear of trees upon stilts? A lady who had been reading a book called the "Desert World," told a little bird about it and the little bird brought word di rect to me. In Guiana and Brazil, the lady said, are found the immense for- . , . . . i . , - . . ... ests wmch supply the whole world with nearly.ll the dye wood, ,n use, and the most beautiful timbers forcab.net work. Ihese trees love the sea air, so they H these swamps grow immense quantities i of mangroves, their dense foliage seem- ; ing to lloat on the surface of the water I p i, i-1 i . v -i - . shun ftiA ti.Ia ta in fin, whon it ia nnr. when the tide, is in, bnt when it is out the branches present tho appearance of i growing out oi xne sines oi prostrate trunks of trees, which are gnpported on immense crooked stilts. These stilts are the bare roots, which are obliged to seek the keep rich mud for nourish ment at the same time that they must support the trunk and branches at a height that the tide cannot affect them. The manjrrove swamps are the haunts ! of many curious creatures, which are here almost perfectly safe from pursuit for the tangled masses of roots are a more effectual defence than the strong est walls. The iron works of the United States I employ 910,000 operatives divided as . follows: 42,000 in preparing ore and j fuel; 25,000 in preparing fuel for rolling mills ; 42,000 in rolling mills ; 23,000 in ! blast furnaces ; 3,300 in bloomeries ; fin 000 in manufacturing articles. The ; pig iron manufactured was valued at $75,000,000 last year ; the produce of forges and rolling mills at 863,000,000 and other manufactures at $702,000,000, a grand total of 3900,000,000. ir i Z I , y , i quite recently on the Mount of Olives, without haying their roots and trunks : t Ur tromhe .ito of Bethany, their washed oy the sal water, which would , Uate f christiatl u n'a kill most if not all of them. Between ear, Th ;w th these great forests and tue i open ocean f cjiri8tin Jewgand it 8tart stretch vast swamps which at low tide . connection with the locality in are only marshy, but at high tide are tt wero di8COTeretL to me owiw aa n H'i i In tiiA b n urn . cuvereu witn sevprai ieet vi wut. iu A;iviotie! A new race-track is to be laid out te.ir Cincinnati. It is proposed to arm the Italian troops with repeating rifles. A cannibal's epitaph "Write me as one who loves his fellow-men." Postal cards are now much used for playing chess by correspondence. "How did you enj'oy Christmas?" writes a little girl, adding, "our turkey was a goose." An old farmer says: Talk about drain age, the surest drain on a farm is a mortgage at a high rate of interest Mark Twain says that in the higher latitudes of Feejee "it's so miserably cold that a man can't tell the truth." A family of eight brothers, named Lengle, in Dauphin county, average six feet four and a-half inches in height A York county fisherman has been fonnd sewing catfish heads on mullets' bodies and selling them as genuine cat fish. Mrs. Scott-Siddons sold flowers at the Springfield Bazaar the other night and made all the youths in town forget there was such a thing as a panic. Scotch keeper (to young sportsman) "Ye hae shot a bov." Young sportsman " Good heavens t Is it possible ? What shall I do?" Keeper (immovable) "Gie hiui a shullin." Jove and his attendant deities must be sadly disconcerted, for by the con struction of a new railroad in Greece, ' the locomotives run within sight and almost wiiiun uearing oi Aioum uiym pus. Signer Dominiceti, the composer of the ortera "Morovieo " which has made ! such a success at Milan, was a conduc I tor of a tronpe in this country twenty years ago, and, the season proving dis- astrous, took to mining with fabulous i 1 1 . results. j Dim Boucicault is delighted with his ; first impressions of California, and has told a reporter, confidentially, that if the winter days were always like those they are now having out there he wished he might "enjoy them forever." But, then, it is so far from Paris, . . . . Caleb Ctishinir, being seventy-four Jw old, and thi3 year being 4, he j be said to be in harmony with the ago. r urthermore, even - numbered years are considered fortunate and pros perous ones all of which might be claimed an indication that he would make a good Chief Justice. Look into the life and temper of Christ, described and illustrated in the martet has latterly become a nrofitabla product, they bringing about fifty cents per hundred, and are in great demand as a delicacy. During the summer. ! catch the njlil3 the- cra. con- enclose A queer case of somnambulism oc enrred recently at a factory in West field, Conn. One of the workmen being instructed in the evening to carry into the shop the next morning a quantity of wood lying outside, was surprised when the time came to find it all care- Letters from Palestine state that Mons. Oannean, a French explorer, while on his way to Jerusalem, visited the site which he had previously iden tified with the biblical cityofGezer. Here he was fortnnato in being able to i i ii.A -.1 i. -i i : i bl Bill IU liaik 1UO picU Ul U1Q VICt VlfcT tUe po9itions of the housea and 8nbl . nrb Jernsalem he ha9 elamineJ Lnmber of Jadea-Oreek sarcophagi. -(K ;.; ti.- 5 -11111 lUVlllIblVllB, A 1 11 1 ! !. 1 U 1UUUU nwvnw nomAaa nf Uimon f.awf Kn .n.l T l'nw.a t-iM,. t ; ' kswJI- mpmWll th'flt th' n.m ' u- t,i-, very common among the Jews at that J 0 date. Walter Kimball, who was City Comp troller in Chicago five years ago, has had a fortune thrust upon him in rather a singular manner. It is his, and yet not his, nor will any one else take it Dnring his term of office several of the railroad companies desiring to take a part of the Lake Park for depot pnr- Pses. mat,e bargain for it, agreeing pay for the lot, of which -00'!w was PalJ " instalment Then certain property-holders stepped in, and an injunction was issued re straining the city from disposing of its lands. The case is still pending. Meanwhile the City Treasurer refused to receive the 8200,000, the railroad companies refuse to take il baca, and so as the city certainly does not own it, Mr, Kimball has the use of it for the present, while the prospect is that he will be able to retain it for an indefinite period. As it is not likely that when called upon to pay it over any demand can be made for interest Mr. Kimball has a chance of feathering his nest very handsomely without any transgression of the law.