iiiiifa
itf 'itt
Will Jil
B. F. SCHWEIER,
THE CONSTITUTION THB TJSION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS.
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XXVIII.
MIFFLIN1WN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., SEPTEMBER 23, 1S74.
NO. 38.
Poetry.
MFAXIftll OSU.
BT HELX-f a. COXANT.
Ou Iipa of blooming youth
There tremblee many a aiKu,
Which lives to breathe a troth.
Then silently to die.
Thou, who art my desire.
Thy languishing sweet love
lu aujha npon thy lips shall oft expire.
I lore the sapphire glory
Of those starry depths above,
Where I read the old, old story
Of human hope and love:
I love the shining star.
But when I gaze on thee.
The fire of thine eyes is brighter far.
The fleeting, fleeting hoars.
Which ne'er return again.
Leave only faded flowers
And weary days of pain;
Lteught recedes from view.
And never more may pass
Sweet words of tenderness between us two.
The gentle breeze which plays
On the water, murmuringly.
And the silvery, trembling rays
Of the moon on Uie midnight ses
Ay ! all have passed away.
Have faded far from me.
Like the love which lasted only one sweet day.
Harper s ilayaanr.
"THE EARLY BIstD.-
Daintily over the dew-wet grass.
Tripped bine-eyed Hilly, the farmer's lass,
Swinging her milk-pail to and fro.
As she murmured a love-song, soft and low.
Many a suitor Milly had.
From the squire's son to the herdman's lad;
But she smiled on all with a merry glance.
And gave each wooer an equal chance.
Now faithful Donald, the herdman's lad.
The more he loved her the more was sad.
"For what with the squire's son." thought he,
"She never will turn s thought to me !"
But down in the meadow he raked the nay.
When Hilly went singing along that way.
He watched her pass, and she cried, in jest;
" 'Tia the early bird' you know the rest !"
Then suddenly Donald grew so bold
That the "old. old story" was quickly told;
And blue-eyed Milly was nothing loth
On that summer morning to plight her troth.
")h ! foolish Donald !" she cried, in glee,
'To wait so long for a hint from me !
Then merrily over the dew-wet grass
Tripped Donald and Milly, his own sweet lass.
-V . Y. Indepmlsnl.
Zf iscellnn.y.
A Strong Witneiifl.
Some years ago lawsuit occurred
oat West, growing out of the destruc
tion of quantity of standing corn, be
longing to a Mr. Wilson, by hogs
owned by a Mr. Brown. Lotte owned
eight hogs, and Wilson declared that
they were all, in his fiield, and that,
consequently, the havoo was immense.
Brown protested that he did not believe
any of his hogs were in Wilson's field,
bnt if any at all certainly not more
than one or two, and therefore the dam
ages could not have been so great as
represented,
Wilson had a witness on his side
named Jerry Parker, not a very bright
young man, bnt noted for having a
wonderful imagination. He came in
late, and had not a very distinct idea as
to how the case stood, but he had a
very vague notion that it was for Wil
son's interest to make the number of
hog appear as large as possible.
When he took the witness-stand he
was questioned by v ilson lawyer,
who asked ;
"Jerry, did yon see the hogs in Mr.
Wilson's corn-field, on the day in ques
tion ?"
"Yes. I did replied Jerry.
"Do you know exactly how many
there were ?"
"No, I didn't count 'em I but 111 take
my oath there warn't less than thirty."
The consternation of Y ilson and ins
lawyer at this unexpected reply, may be
imagined ; and it was not lessened when
Brown's lawyer arose and said .
"Your honor, as my client has only
eight hogs, it is very evident that those
which destroyed Mr. Wilson's corn be
longed to some one else, and I there
fore ask judgment for the defendant."
The court granted this request, and
poor Wilson by having too strong a wit
ness, lost the case
Pwelry.
One of the rarest qualities to be
found in poetry is the originality which
springs from the poet being overcome
and mastered by his subject. Most
poets necessarily choose their subjects,
and having chosen them, do their best
to identify themselves with what they
describe, and te use the materials thus
provided as vehicle by which they
may teach or charm mankind. Some
event in personal history, a love or a
loss, may indeed for a moment carry
the poet away on the tide of spontane
ous emotion; but this cannot happen
often in any life, not even in tie life of
a poet That an interest so profound,
an absorption so complete, should be
produced by any set of events, that a
waiter should feel as if his life were
only given him to utter what is swell
ing in his breast, is, and must be some
thing accidental and extraordinary.
But when it is present it always com
mands and arrests the attention of
readers. The strength and sincerity
of emotion give an irresistible power
to what is written. No strength of
emotion or absorption in a subject will
necessarily make a writer a great poet,
for to be a great poet is the summing
np of a vast variety of great gifts; but
it will make the poem in which it is
embodied a remarkable poem, provided
that the expression of feeling is not
wholly inadequate, and that the sub
ject is in itself one the elevation of
which others can realize by sympathy,
even though they may not see how
they themselves could possibly be car
ried away by it Saturday Jl"t iew.
From Maggie Mlrhler Diary.
They who are led by their "feelings"
are like paper kites driven by the wind
quite as likely to be cast down one
moments as to be elevated the next
Praise from the wise man is like bread
to the starving it encourages life.
Hope to the downcast is .'ike a raft to
the shipwrecked it bears hip over tha
$ulf of despair and often rewards him
with a pleasant shore.
Suspicion is like a magnifying glass
through it most triflng atoms are
made to appear of false magnitude.
Assistance from the selfish is like a
pin neither can mend difficulties with
out a stab.
To need a coat is a better condition
of circumstance that to need aprinci-
w
An enemy's sword is apt to be well
sharpened.
LESTER'S FOBTISE.
BT A WILMINGTON LADY.
It was sunset on a lovely evening to
wards the close of June, when Amy
Lester leaned from her uncle's carriage
to take a last look at the home she was
leaving forever.
She had lived since her earliest child
hood with an uncle who fairly idolized
her and now he had died, and contrary
to all expectations, had left the whole
of his princely fortune to his sister, to
whose home Amy was now going.
It was through blinding tears that
she looked back, for this aunt who had
offered her shelter was proud and cruel,
and Amy instead of being received as a
daughter, was to be merely the com
panion of her haughty cousin Maude.
While these thoughts were passing
through her mind, the carriage stopped,
and looking out she found she had ar
rived at her future home. There was
no one at the door to welcome her save
her uncle who with joy beaming on his
countenance assisted her to alight, and
having sainted her in a kind and
fatherly manner whispered in her ear,
"my poor Amy you need not expect
much welcome in there, (pointing to the
house) but be assured that you will al
ways find a staunch friend in your
uncle," his eyea filled with tears as he
spoke, but he hastily wiped them away,
ana Detore sue bad time to thank him,
the door opened and she was in the
presence of her relations, her aunt
merely gave her the tips of her fingers.
without deigning to speak while her
cousin Maude lightly kissed her on the
cheea, and thinking that she had done
ail that was necessary she drew back
and stood at some distance from Amy.
looking at her as if she were a living
curiosity. The tears sprang to Amy's
eyes at this reception, but she forced
them back, and with proud composure
leaned against the wall as if waiting to
see what would be done next "Dinner
is waiting," said her aunt "the servant
will show you to your room, and when
you nave laid aside your wrappings,
you can come down and dine with us.
but remember, this is the last time you
will be permitted to be so familiar, bnt
I suppose it will not make much differ
ence, for being a servant yourself you
will not object to eating with them.
Amy's eyes flashed fire, and drawing
herself up proudly she replied, "Aunt
Esther you may call me a servant and
treat me as one, bnt never, though you
should close your doors against me,
would I so demean myself as to sit at
the table with your servants." Her aunt
pale with anger, was about to strike
her, when her husband sprang forward,
seized her hands and holding them
firmly, said, "I have hitherto remained
silent and have listened with patience
to all the affronts which have been
heaped upon this innocent child and I
will now speak as master of the house.
Amy will not only eat with us now but
always, and more than that she will ac
company us to Saratoga next week, and
Amy, my dear, if your wardrobe is not
sufficiently filled, you can let me know,
and your aunt will see that you are
j properly provided for not a word now ?"
(as Amy was about to thank mm) "but
be off and get yourself ready for dinner
as quickly as possible, or it will not be
fit to eat," so saying he rang for the
servant who conducted Amy to her
room, he followed her with his eyes
until she was out of sight and then re
turning into the room he repeated to
himself, "poor child, poor child."
When Amy reached her own room,
having dismissed the servant she could
restrain herself no longer, and throwing
herself on the bed she gave vent to a
paroxysm of tears, having relieved her
mind somewhat by this means she sat
up and looked around.
It was a small room with but one
window there was a strip of carpet at
the foot of the bed which looked as if
it had been in use for several genera
tions, besides the bed. a bureau with a
small mirror attached to it a toilet ta
ble, one chair, a wash-stand and an old
bnt capacious closet comprised the
whole furniture of the room, and after
unpacking them, she again threw herself
on the bed and sobbed herself to sleep.
The house was all confusion for the
remainder of the week owing to the pre
parations for deparatnre, nevertheless
Amy did not escape the taunts of her
aunt and cousin, but sue bore them in
silence, resolving that on her return
home she would apply for a situation as
teacher in some Academy, never dream
ing of what was in store for her :
At length the day of their departure
arrived, and its close found them enter
ing one of the principal hotels in Sara
toga. "O, dear, me, how glad I am
that we are here," said Maud, throwing
her satchel on the hall floor, "Amy pick
that np and take it up stairs, for I am
not able I am so tired." "I cannot do
it Maude," said Amy, "you see that my
arms are already too full, and although
you may think it I can assure you that
I am not made of iron." "Mamma just
listen how impudently Amy is speaking
to me, Amy I command you to pick
that up." "Excuse my impertinenoe
Miss, said a young man stepping for
ward, who had witnessed the whole
scene, "Allow me to assist you, and he
picked np the satchel as he spoke, and
turning to Maude he said. "Good even
ing Miss Meredith, will you present me
to this young lady." Maude started
and turned pale, for the stranger was
none other than Mr. Carl Evans, the
rich and handsome young lawyer, over
whom all the young ladies were in
ecstacies, Maude included. "O Mr.
Evans, I am delighted to see you," said
Maude, have you been here long."
"Only since yesterday," he replied, and
then repeated his former request She
bit her lips with vexation, but replied,
0 certaintly, I had forgotten about it
Mr. Evans this is Amy Lester, my wait
ing maid, she is a distant relation of
ours but ia very poor," then turning to
him laughingly, she said, "now assist
her if you wUL" He made no reply, but
with a little smile lurking around the
corners of his fine mouth, he relieved
Amy of her load and and requesting
the waiter to lead the way, he strode up
stairs, followed by the two girls, one
filled with antonishmentthe other anger,
and having deposited the bundles safely
in a corner of the room, he retired, not
however before speaking to Amy and
requesting that their acquaintance
might be continued.
One evening when they had been in
Saratoga about a week. Amy was sitting
on tha veranda, with her hands folded
on a book in her lap, and listening
dreamily to the musio coining through
the open windows, when she was startled
by the sound of footsteps and looking
np she beheld Mr. Evans beside her.
"O how yon frightened me Mr. Evans,
she excloimed. 1 am so sorry, he said,
I did not mean to do so but seeing you
thinking so deeply I thought it would
be pleasant to know what those thoughts
were sine they seamed to be so
pleasing to yon, may I share them.
"Q certainly," she said, "I was think
ing how happy the angels must be, for
they are listening constantly to mnsie
buu ui unrea everyiuiug is peaceiui
and happy. O, would I were there."
one leaned her cheek on her hand and
sighed deeply, looking np she beheld
him gazing earnestly npon her, she
blushed, and was about to retire when
he said :
"Miss Lester will yon walk around
the porch with me a few minutes; I
have something to ask you." She
suffered him to lead her away, and when
at some distance from the crowd, he
said. Miss Amy, I have noticed how
cruelly you are treated by your rela
tions, do you think you could love me
well enough to leave them and be my
little wile 7 "air. vans l can not
listen to you, for in speaking thus you
are prompted by pity and not by love."
"No, no, Amy, listen to me, I confess
the first day I did pity you, but since
then I have seen your goodness and
patienee, and I love you now, my darling,
deeply passionately, do you love me, will
you be my wife. O think, darling Amy
before you render me miserable for
life." Well Carl, she said, I love you,
but this is so sudden that I can not
give you my final answer until to-morrow,
so an revoir till then," and before
he could utter one word of remonstrance
she was gone.
"Ah, well, I will try to kill time till
to-morrow by going to bed," and light
ing a cigar he went if not to bed, to
his own chamber where he will leave
him for the present
The next morning Mr. Meredith
came into the private parlor, where the
family together with Mr. Evans were
seated, glancing hastily around he espied
Amy, and going np to her he said,
"Amy, good news, good news 1 your
late uncle left another will in which you
are the sole heiress of his wealth, it was
discovered only yesterday in a bundle
of old papers. Esther, Maude, why do
you not congratulate little Amy on her
good lortune, lor my part 1 am glad,
not only on Amy's account but also on
my own, for this reason, that I may
give up playing the gentleman. Well
Amy what have you to say about it
"Well uncle, in the first place 1 have to
thank you for this both great and good
news, and your kindness since I have
been in your house, secondly, I forgive
sunt Esther and beg her to accept half
of my fortune, to Mr. Evans I will an
swer yes to that question he asked me
last night and I want Maude if she will
consent, to be my brides maid.
A .viarvelona F.Hcape.
About ten years ago I was employed
as night watchman in a sugar refinery
in Greenock, a town where there are
probably more sugar refineries than
any other in Britain. That in which I
was engaged was the largest in the
place, and on account of its size tin re
was another watchman beside myself.
His name was Blackwood; he was a
widower; and his only son, of about 12,
used often to come and sleep in the
little room where we kept watch. There
was a large Newfoundland dog that
was let loose at night, and used to walk
ail over the refinery, and was worth
half a dozen watchmen. Our principal
amies, ui course, were 10 guaru against
thieves and fire.
" e Went there ftt
eiguiociocaain gni,ana8iaia uiiBixBtroD(. constitution, however, served
in me morn ng, at wnicu nour the men
came to tneu work, ine little room
where we sat was made especially for
the watchman. There was a fireplace
in it though there was never any need
of a fire, for the sugar house was al
ways so hot that any additional heat
was unnecessary. Except two hard
benches, and a shelf in the wall for a
lamp.the room had no furniture. There
was no inducement for watchers to
go to sleep there. Blackwood's boy,
when he came for the light, nsed to lie
on some sacks and his father's great
coat in a corner. Blackwood and I
took in some cheap periodicals, and we
used to read out these, or a newspaper
in turn, till two or three o'clock, and
then we dozed until it was time for ns
to go. All our sleep had to be taken
during the day. There were cheap
trips on the Clyde in those days, as
there are still, en Saturdays. Black
wood had promised to take his son a
sail, and asked me one day if I would
accompany them. I did so; and went
to Loch Lomond, and spent a very
pleasant day, and returned just in time
to go to the sugar house. It was in
tensely hot weather at the time, and
having done without our usual sleep,
we felt very tired. The heat of the
sugar house was not calculated to re
fresh ns, and we could hardly keep onr
eyes open. We tried reading.as usual,
but it was useless. Before 10 o'clock
Blackwood had fallen sound asleep. I
determined to keep awake, and intend
ed, after a couple of hours or so, to
rouse my companion, and take a sleep
myself, for I felt that it would be im
possible to keep watch all night I
must however, have fallen asleep un
consciously, and have remained so for
several hours. I dreamt that I was in
the cabin of the steamer in which I had
been that day, and that it was full of
smoke, and that I was being suffocated,
and could not get out 1 awoke as if I
were struggling for life, and found the
room filled with a stifling vapor, and
felt an intense heat and I heard with
out the crackling of flames. The sugar
house was on fire.
Blackwood was still asleep, and I
knocked him np, and opened the door
of the room. A cargo of raw sugar and
molasses had just been taken in, and
this was piled np on each side of the
vaulted passage that led from the main
door of the rennery. This mass was on
ore. and was sending out dense vol
umes of smoke; on the other side of ns
were wooden stairs, which led to vari
ous parts of the building, and these
were also in names. The rennery Had
evidently been on fire for a long time,
and we could hear the shouts of the
people without We were surrounded
by the flames, and the heat was so
great that it was certain we could not
survive long. Blackwood and I looked
at each other in dismay. His boy ap
peared to be calmer than either of us,
and suddenly cried out, "Father, the
beer cellar !
The men who worked in the refinery.
on account of the great heat to which
they were subjected, had a daily allow
ance of beer, which was kept in a stone
cellar about twelve er fourteen feet un
der ground. It was to this place the
boy referred. The top of the stairs
which led to it was surrounded by fire,
bnt we at once rushed to it and de
scended the steps. In passing the
flames at the top of the stairs, my face
had scorched ana my hair singed. The
door of the cellar was locked, but with
the strength of desperation, we dashed
ourselves against it and burst it open.
How cool it felt, after the fearful heat
of the furnace we had just left I But
how long would it remain so, was the
question that Blackwood and I consid
ered in a few hurried words. We had
hardly closed the door when we heard
the frightful crash of the falling roof of
the rennery. and pieces of bnmt wood
came hissing and crackling down the
stairs. We rolled two barrels behind
the door, which we did not fear would
catch fire, as it was covered with iron,
and then we waited, while it began to
grow hotter and hotter. It was quite
dark there, althongh we were so close
to the bright flames. I could hear
Blackwood praying as he knelt on the
floor of the cellar. He was a good man,
I believe, and well prepared for the
death that met him that night I soon
felt the choking stench of burnt sugar,
and on putting my hand to the floor, 1
was burnt severely. The melted sugar
and scalding molasses were flowing
down the stairs, and filling the place
where we were. The floor sloped con
siderably, and I retreated to the end
farthest from the door. The heat was
growing intense, and the vapor was
stifling. I became unconscious, and
how long I remained so I cannot tell.
When I recovered my senses the heat
had gone, and there was about six
inches of water in the place where I
was lying. This had come from the
fire-engines, and was lake-warm. I
could not feel this with my hands, as
they and my face were fearfully
scorched; but I did so with my toDgue.
I had called on Blackwood, but there
was no answer; and, by wriggling over
with great pain for a few y aril 8, 1 found
both he and his son dead. The scald
ing sugar had reached the place where
they were, and had apparently stopped
there, lcould feel the hardened cake
under the water. I conjectured that
they, like myself, had become uncon
scious, and had been burned to death
by the boiling sugar. In the agony I
was enduring, I envied them. Death
had no alarms for me then.
The time during which I remained in
this place seemed like weeks. 1 had no
hoe of escape, and as I knew above
there must be an immense mass, formed
by the parts of the building which had
fallen. 1 had not strength even to
reach the door. At last, when my pain
had decreased a little, I fell asleep, or
fainting, I cannot tell which; but when
I awoke I felt somewhat relievl, and
a longing for life. I managed jo get
some beer, which revived me consider
ably. I tried to open the door, but
was unable. The silence which per
vaded the place, and the consciousness
of the presence of the tw dead bodies,
had their effect on my weak state, and
I knew I was becoming delirons. I re
member I laughed hysterically, and
began to shout When I stopped, I
heard a faint sound far above me, this
made me perfectly wild. There was a
hammer.which my hand had accidently
come against, and I took it and began
beating an empty barrel in frenzy.
Then 1 heard a shont from above, but I
was mad now, and I remember, as if it
were yesterday, that I attempted
to strike my head with the hammer,and
then I lost all recollection. When I
regained my consciousness, I found I
was in the infirmary. They told me
that when the men were clearing away
the rubbish, they heard a sound, and
remembering the cellar, had dug down
to it They thought at first that we
were all dead; and it was not till a med
ical man had seen the bodies, that it
wa8 aiscovered that there was still some
iife ieft in me-
I lay there for months and was never
..ruuttail - A vnnv ,n.1
me in eooA Btead:and I was at last able
to fill a good situation, which the own
ers of the refinery kindly procured for
me in England. Ten years have passed
since then, and I am glad to say very
few effects have remained of that ter
rible experience.
A Chapter ou Dos.
After Milton, the civic dog finds him
self born too late. History held the
record of a day when the poet might
have soared of freer wing in the high
reason of his fancy, with his garland
and singing robes about him. The
traditions of a dateless ancestry must
stir poor Tray to memories of a time
when his race was honored and beloved
of man; nay, worshiped and entreated
with sacrifices.
No occidental dog of well regulated
mind desires to revive that uncomfort
able distinction. Bnt mastiff and ter
rier, bound and spaniel, shepherd and
Spits, Newfoundland and Saint Ber
nard, may boldly stand for justice in
memory of the services of their kind.
And even that nameless poor relation
of prosperous canines.the "yaller dog"
of country huts and city alleys, might
beg for mercy. For these patient,
faithful, taciturn creatures have been
the unselfish friends and servants of
man since that unamiable savage.roam
ing the woods naked, suddenly be
thought himself to make a coat of his
companion's skin. In fact your dog
is your only nnquestioning and abso
lute lover. A man must bs agreeable
to be thought agreeable by his friends;
tender, to be cherished by his children;
filial, to be deeply desired even by his
parents. Rut hisdog will cling to him
through evil report and good report;
suffer, starve, die at his hands, and
count itself happy in the opportunity.
No animal has been half so celebrated
in history, and none has half so well
deserved that immortality. Was it not
a dog that Plato swore by ? Did not
the dog Alcibiades cost seventy minas,
and astonish Athens even more by his
sagacity than by his beauty? He
seems to have been the only creature
whom the coarse caprices of hjs master
could not alienate, and certainly his
wrongs would have justified his seces
sion. That modern General, greater
than the Greek, William of Orange,
loved his dog as well and treated him
much better
The Merry Monarch, who kept faith
with no man, and believed in no wo
man, cherished his dogs with a tender
ness that showed a possibility of genu
ineness in that pinch-back character.
Perhaps he inherited the trait from his
grandmother. Queen Ann of Denmark,
who tended a whole menagerie of these
pets, and paid a very pretty animal
bill to worthy Master Heriot, the court
goldsmith, for their gold and silver
collars and emblazoned blankets. It
was reserved to that lady's successor,
her present Majesty of England, to un
earth the ugly terrier of Skye from its
modest retirement, and present it to a
sycophantic world, not as a pheno
menon, but as a fashion. In short,the
names of the royalty, nobility and gen
try that have become famous as the pa
trons and enconragers of dogs would
satisfy Mrs. Jarley herself of their
claims on genteel attention.
But literature also has made them her
own, and art has loved them. Who
thinks of the great Sir Walter without
Maida 1 What lover of Mrs. lirowning
has not a tender thought of Flush?
How can heroic little Miss Milford be
separated from her beloved spaniel?
Who of us ever read that perfect his
tory of Bab and His Friends without a
suspicions mistiness of vision ? Who
is not grateful to the invisible beloved
Schneider for the constant comfort
which that tenderhearted, undeserving
scapegrace, Rip Van Winkle, finds in
his dumb companionship? To how
many of us are not the only remem
bered events of the evil reign of King
John the signing of Magna Charta and
the death of Oelert, the hound? To
how many does the mention of contem
porary English art bring np, first, the
dogs of Landseerf What countless
stories of canine sagacity, fidelity,
courage, self-sacrifice, crowd all our
memories to justify that pithy saying
of Hamerton, "I pity the man who" can
live a dogless life ?"
Never was there a more pathetical
exnioitionoi persecuted innocence t!iau
the condition of the typical dog to day.
And. as usual, it ia Madame Bumor,
ignorant and bigoted, who has wrought
the mischief. Thus it is. Ages ago
the long-headed Egyptians, careful in
all things, observed that the Nile rose-
annually with the heliacal rising of a
certain brilliant star. This star they
named Sillor, the File. And because
its coming warned them to their ter
races above the reach of the flood, they
politely typified it as a dog, or a man
with a dog's head. The Latins adopted
the star as Sirins, but forgot, or never
knew, the significance of its name, and
tony and fable assigned it an increas
ing influence on the heat, and a conse
quent balefulness. Hippocrates and
Pliny reported the popular belief that
on the day of the rising of this star
wine turned sonr, dogs went mad, all
other animals lsgan to waste, and man
to droop. The Komans even sacrificed
a brown dog to the evil-mined lumi
nary to appease Lis rage. We moderns
go farther, and seemed inclined to slay
the whole race because the imaginative
Egyptians complimented a useful star
with canine attributes.
It is probably useless to remind the
believers in the malevolence of Sirins
that that slandered orb twinkles at the
comfortable distance of two trillions
two hundred billions of miles from our
proper planet, and that the illustrative
cannon ball, traveling at the rate of
fonr hundred and eighty miles an honr,
might reasonably desire to rest before
the end of the five hundred and twenty
three thousand two hundred and eleven
years which it mnst take to reach there.
Under these circumstances certain
minds would doubt whether the ap
pearance of the dog-star kindled the
tires of our blazing July and Angust
And their donbt would gather strength
from the well-known fact that the pro
cession of the equinoxes constantly
pospones the heliacal rising of the ill-
repnted summer visitor, and, in the
course of five or six thousand years,
will bring about its annual advent in
frosty November.
Science declared long ago that hy
drophobia was not a midsummer mad
ness, and that the practice l muzzling
i dogs was a nseless cruelty. Every
year, notwithstanding, the large cities
are subject to an epidemic of panic ter
ror eoui-erning rabies, and of panic
barbarity toward its possible or impos
sible victims. Perhaps it is not too
much to say that the fostering of the
lowest instincts of the gamin by the
establishment of the dog pound, the
system of rewards for dog taking, the
publication of the horrible details of
! dog torturing and the spectacle of the
selfish and crnel vindictiveness of a
whole community toward one dumb
'Animal tliraf.m a m-utl .1 1 1 rrc r Ia
society than the unhindered bite of the
maddest of quadrupeds that kills the
body, and after that has no more than
it can do.
Let us have a spasm of sense.
Worthless and dangerous ours should
doubtless be dispensed with, but quiet
ly, privately and painlessly. Ail other
dogs have a right to their harm 'ess ex
istence. They have a right, also, to
an nnmnzzled nope and unlimited
water. Thus cared for, July develops
no more rabies in the poor creatures
than January. Men are certainly more
irritable in the blaze of midsummer.
We have no right to expect a superior
virtue in the uncatechised dog. if be
is teased and trifled with, he very prop
erly remonstrates in the only way open
to him. It is wisdom to "be patient
with him as with one another, and
leave fellow-dog and fellow-man as
much as possible to themselves on
these scorching days. A mad dog is a
most horrible fact, and well nigh an
unknown one. A mad man is hardly
more agreeable, and, alas, by no means
uncommon. Just now there seems to
eome hundreds of thousands in this
city alone, and a mental quarantine
from which they could be discharged
only when cured appears a more neces
sary restraint than a dog-pound.
Chrintian Union.
A Mexican Town.
A recent letter-writer says that one
Mexican town will generally serve as a
pattern for all, though there may be
individual departures from the rule
The oddest feature of Mexican houses
is the spouts which carry off the rain
from the roof. These spouts are of clay
ware, are cylinders, and some two or
three inches in diameter at the mouth
which projects over the sidewalk, or
where the sidewalk often should be.
With their glazed, dark-red color, these
conduits look just like so many cannon
thrusting their muzzles out some two
or three feet from the front walL The
stranger who first sees these spouts can
compare them to nothing so filthy as
the cannon planted in a breastwork and
thus, as he casts his eyes along a block,
the latter looks for all the world like a
fort But let him be underneath them
when a genuine Mexican thunder show
er comes on. and the discharge will be
of a character that will leave no doubt
in his mind either as to quality, or
quantity. The roofs of houses are here
made flat, generally of tiles, overlaid
with tin or asphalt, or other kind of
material. The floors are of red tiles,
some two or three inches thick, and
about nine inches square. Some of
the ceilings of the better class of houses
are formed of tiles of some design or
figure, in some of tha floor tiles are
figured and various patterns.
A California I'pas.
About one half a mile over a moun
tain from Bartlett Springs there is what
is called the " gas spring. This is
probably the greatest curiosity of the
mountains. The water is cold, but
bubbling and foaming as if it boiled,
and the greatest wonder is the inevita
ble destruction of life produced by in
baling the gas. No live thing is to be
found within a circuit of 100 yards near
this spring. The very birds, if they
happen to fly over it drop dead. We
experimented with a lizard on its de
structive properties by holding it a few
feet above the water ; it stretched dead
in two minutes. It will kill a human
being in twenty minutes. We stood
over it five minutes, when a dull, heavy,
aching sensation crept over us and our
eyes began to swim. The gas which es
capes here is the rankest kind of car
bonic acid, hence its sure destruction
of life; also quenching of flame in
stantaneonsly. Cnhim (CaL) Independent.
. !
In the ObiKrrer, the Rev. Charles P.
Bush, D. D., gives an interesting ac
count of some remarkable savages
which have come under his notice :
The beautiful Island of Sumatra, two
and a half times as large as all New
England, is inhabited by about 4,500,
000 people, among whom hardly any
missionary effort had as yet been made.
Parts of the island were in possession
of the Dutch, and other tribes were in
habited by independent tribes of prin
cipalities, among whom the Botta peo
ple, or Butacka, were represented as
the most Intelligent and interesting; a
tribe or nation of about 350,i)iH) souls,
ocenpying the interior central portion
of the island, immediately south of the
Atchenese, with whom the Dutch are
new at war.
The Bataks were generally mild and
inoffensive, though fierce and revenge
ful in time of conflict In one respect
they were the most remarkable people
anywhere to be found educated can
nibals. They had a written language
and books, and most of the peopl
oonld read, and yet thsy were canni
bals. They had an alphabet of their
own, consisting of twenty-two letters and
R, , m. -. ,
w w uju-fc beasts, who have learned to look upon : so many words into his thoughts that
quite original, yet simple and melodi- , jonrneT a9 . task the dog, .voat he always obscures and frequently con
ous, much like the Italian, written like ! M -.,,,, i,. .nA thVm. . 3
our own, from left to right, and easily
learned, and much nsed in all that re
gion.
I heir books are written on the inner
bark ot a species of palm tree.their pen
consisting of a mere twig, or a fibre of
a leaf, their ink made of a certain gnm
and the juice of the sugar cane, tor
orilinary purposes they also wrote upon
smooth bamboo sticks, sometimes two
inches in diameter and two or three
feet long, making a letter, it might be
big enough to knock a person down
-ouvenieut for lovers delivering their
own epistle if they should not be gra
cionsly receiveiL
Their literary works were really nu
merous and yet not very wise, consist
ing largely of books of divination, jug
glery and tne most absurd fables about
the origin and destiny of the great
Hatta nation. It will le seen, there
fore, that thev had some ambition. If I
, - ,, . ..
they should receive the Gospel they
-v t... , e .c ,v
i. i . Yi i i
uiuern. rcniues, uiucu vi me isiauu !
was nominally Mohammedan, and.
t . i i . . . i i i. .i .1 i ,
. j- . . ,
one above and one lelow-oue goo.1
A till AHA liarf lnf tliiiir iilaaa v -
,wj
ami uncertain, auu mey leu
pay greater homagi
evil spirit than to the good, as they had
l -'
most to lear irom him.
And yet, strange enough. French in
fidelity aud intidel books had found
their way into that conntry. The mis
sionaries met one of the former, who
denonnced the Bible as "all a lie," al
though he confessed that he had never
read it, but boasted that he had read
Voltaire's insane tirade against it no
less than ten times.
And, after all, this cannibalism was
of a modified type. They did not seem
to feed on human flesh for mere love of
it; nor was it their settled habit,as with
some other people, to have regular
feasts;but portions of the flesh of their
enemies, slain in war, were tasted, as if
in revenge, or as denoting complete
triumph. The missionaries we,e, how
ever, invited to one feast, for which a
boy seven years of age had beeu seized
and killed and roasted, to be eaten for
the sins of his father, committed six
years Lefore the little fellow was born.
The missionaries respectfully declined
the invitation.
Thai fir prune.
I have not Wen very successful, says
Max Adeler iu the Daiibury Neivs.wiili
my exM'riiiH'ur in grape culture. I
bought a vine some time ago, anil the
inaii w ho sold the cutting to lne en
joined nie to lie careful to water it
thoroughly everv day. I did so. but it
didn't seem to thrive, fine day I asked
my nei'lilMir, Pitman, what he thought
was the matter with it. and w hen I
mentioned that I watered it daily he
said :
"He gT.icious, Adeler, that'd kill any
one ! A grapevine don't want any ar
tificial watering."
Then he advised me to discontinue
the process and to wash the vine with
soapsuds in order to kill the bugs. .My
anxiety to know why it didn't thrive
was relieved some time afterward by
overhearing a man in the cat s remark
that "some men kill their graiteviucs
by tin ir mimed toolcry in piiitiu soap
suds on 'em.'' He said that all a gr.i)H--vine
WHiited was to have the eaith
arou.id it loosened now and then with
a spade. Then I U j.mii to dig around
niv vine every morning, but one day,
w liile engaged in the exercise, Coolcv
came and leaned over the fence and
said :
"Adder, you'll kill that there vine if
you don't stop digin' at it. Notion'
hurts a vine wnss than tlist in tinT the
soil around the roots, now mind me.
That vine don't want liothin' but to lx
trained up on a trellisan' fastened with
wire.'
1 ordered a trellis that aftcrnon,:ind
tied tender shoots of the vines to the
cross pieces. The jobcost me -'A. hi
the following Tuesday I read in my ag
ricultural paM-r that if a man wants to
ruin a graH-vine, the quickest wav is
to tie it up with wire, as tne oxidiza
tion destroys the bark. So I took oil
the wire and replaced it with string. I
was talking alHiut it to the man who
came over to bleed my horse for the
blind staggers, and he assured me that
then; was only one sure way to make a
gravevine utterly worthless, and that
was to run it up ona trellis. In France,
he told me, the vineyard owners all
trained their vines on poles, and that
was the right way. So I got the axe
and knocked the trellis to pieces, and
then fixed the vine to a bean-pole.
Still it didn't thrive very well, and I
asked a nurseryman near me to
V!n'
and look at it. He said he con
come, lint he knew what was the mat
ter with that vine as well as if he saw
it. It wanted pruning. I ought to cut
it down within ten feet of the roots
and then manure it well. I did cut it
down, and emptied a bag ot gnano
over it; but as it seemed sort of slow, I
insisieu on ine nurseryman coming
over to examine it. He said that Ins
fee was? 10 in advance. 1 paid him
and he came. He looked at the vine a
moment: then he smiled: and then he
said, "By gosh, Adeler, that isn't a
grapevine at all! Its a Virginia
creeper."
o l have kind ot knocked ott on
gmie cultuie and am paying more at
tention to mv rahhnee.
A return has been issued showing the
number of dogs registered in Ireland
in the year 1873, and the receipts and
expenditure under the dog regulation
act of 18G.J. The total number ot dogs
registered was 302,307 ; the amount of
license duty received was 30,230, and
after payment of 12,039 for expenses
incurred in the administration of the
act the surplus of jC 18,191 was paid
over to the counties, towus and town
ships.
1, . ..i T' i "a"iruV'K the team, a strap was put
agreed to protect the Mohammedan re- a,K(llt Jlis nock Ue WjW u.iX , t
ligion from all assault and interference posj
from without; but the Battas were ( The poor fellow drooped his tail an 1 '
simple heathen and beyond Dutch hu illtelijK0Dt countenance expressed ;
control. They believed lu two gods. ; ;..,., .i; ......'. it., i
Column.
The nrsoET Doos of Siberia.
Poor fellows ! Hungry from morning
until night ; hungry all the time except
during the short snmmer, when they
go a-fishing and help themselves ! I
wonder how their drivers would like to
wait all day long for the first sign of
breakfast ; bnt that is just what the
Siberian dogs who live at home are re-
qmreu to uo even wnen tney travel ail , . . . , .
aT ' That man is voted a bore who per-
Dismal fate to be kept at starvation j talku botut nimst;i' wUen TO,
point so long, and then to get only a , Wlsh to Ulk nt yourself
small piece of dried salmon to slaep ! Sjras women get up a reputation for
upon. If some wise dog would travel ; amiability by taking a little boy into
to that region and howl a little about j the omnibus with them and making
emigration I th.nk there would soon be : him stand up and give his sent to some
too many dogs about tiix. Mr. Bush, i body about twenty times during the
who traveled through a portion of trip.
Siberia a few years ago, tells us tnat
when a journy over the frozen rivers
of Siberia is about to be made the
natives are astir at daybreak, and having
called and whistled their dogs they
harness them no in pairs to lone seal
thongs, fastened between two trees,
preparatory to attaching them to the
sleds. With the exception of a few
u 1 1..-;..,- i i ; i , l
c,iiiuuii-JllWllC, llUUt-lUlllUt i
are wild with excitement and delight at .
seeing the light sleds dragged from
heir shelter. They sometimes set up a
barking yelping and howling that may ,
be heard for miles on the still air. and ;
are so eager for the start that there ,
danger of the seal-thong being broken.
and the whole band rnshiug off pell-!
: mell without the sleds. JIr. Bnili tells
j ot one poor little dog who excited all his
sympathy : "In making np tne teams
only thirty dogs were selected out of
the large number in the village to draw
out three sleds. Of those left behind
one poor little fellow had manifested
the greatest delight at the prospect f
journey. Nonej.imped higher or barked
louaer luan he. and iroru the commence -
wrui u tne rep;tiai.iou iiv up
reaily to le harnessed.
wuen he saw that tlie others were!
attached to the thong, and that no
attention had been paid to him. he
i aiieiuion nan oeen pain
j walkeJ to the team' a0l,
nth an nir
i : i.
'I'liri I'aiaut iwt uis fi(iet) in lllf
o( patierj(.a. took his
! l:n.. tt. . r i...: i
Nliii.,..l T.. ...-.,f i.; I
I ' ' ' ... lit . it. A I i.il ill riu l. V I ' IJ1
. l iii. u i n u t uinui'iniiuiuirui, .it
! evidently felt the denial as acutely as
I . J
i couM an u,)rnan being. rifteen,
i twenty, and sometimes thirty dogs are
ottn , li ... I
atta.-hed to one fled. "1 he characters j A standing antidote for poison by
of these dogs are as diversified as those oak, ivy, etc', is to take a handful o"f
of human beings. They are possessed quick-lime, dissolve it in water, let it
of great intelligence au.l acuteness. ; stand half an hour, then paint the poi
frequently outwitting their masters, i a.)ned rt with if. Ti.r f,
j Some are reserved and dignified, seem- plications will never fail to cure the
jmg to fully reaiizo the obligations ' most aggravated case. Toison from
i which devolve upon them, and euterbees. hornets, snider bites. e. is in-
lcto their duties with conscientious
ze, , ,
These dogs are placed at the head of
the train to set a good example to the
young rattle-brains who follow them,
. .
Yorso Mechanics. There is no class
of the commnuity upon whom the fu
ture welfare of the country more essen
tially depends than npon the rising
generation of young mechanics. If they
iu luicuiL'rub, Buuer. luuusircoiis ana
...l...1of ., ,
7ZVi i t t -"" of conscientious duty to pay the
l J g f-preacher and the printer-two classes
enillTtZ 1 f ,'l COnJact. ? of the community that suffer more by
the mechanics, and especially the young ; P toetu r-
mechanics, will form, in conjunction! -An old gentleman in Maine is pre
with the young .armers of the country, I paring for the good time to come. He
a bulwark against monopolies and cor-' uas caused to be erected in the cenie
rnpt politicians, and save the republic. ! tery a gorgeous monument to the mem
If, on the other hand they are ignoraut, ory. of himself and wife, setting forth
idle, dissolute, and consequently poor, ' their virtues, Vc. and leaving the
ami dependent upon those who are ! dates of their deaths to he filled in
willing to trust them if our mechanics i whenever those events may happen. It
should unhappily leeome snfh a class ', ,s said that his chief delight cousists iu
they would soon be converted into the watching the throngs of gaping msties
mere tools of a few rich and artful men, assembled around the monument to
who, having first stripped them of every admire its beauty and ponder over it
sense of self respect, and every feeling sculptural adornments.
&'LtVir-nU? cfitizens' nIJ nf e! When a man has beeu out iu the
them as passive instruments for pro- worIl, . , y earnj hi mpat
nW 1 tV OWf I?blV0r bjf.t3 J drink in any other business than
l n .e.nactmpn f af, ' thatofschl-keeping. it is astonish-
tZ Z t !? B0b0dT bnt ?tal ' ir bow cornea, "d
few and base demagogues with whom , Wlth ,bat 8we he ,;atn( tJ ,lttla
they originate. ! 1 funding the principal countries of
f 1, M f hlnrJ.;rt" ,9 ' Europe, and stating the latitude and
of any other profession that "kuowl- lo ,le of rinci , citie9perhap.
edge is power.'
Blind Billy. We have a canary-bird
in onr house that we are all very fond
of. We call him Billy. He is a very
sweet singer ; dui he cannot see. ' , , -. , , , ...
, , . - . An architect says he has been in the
, Iol;R Jm f7ohe was in a cage with hnbtt for n"a:iy years of bedding hi
other birds; aud, in a quarrel, poor rating slates in hydraulic cement, in
lilly got his eyes pecked so badly, that . tead of having them nailed on dry in
he became entirely blind. The children ti, nun-l l,;K i,m ...n.
have to take great care of him ; for, if
his perch is not put in the same place
every time, he cannot find his food.
But I lielicve Billy sings mnre than
birds that are not blind. When he
hears the twitter of sparrows in the
garden, or the singing of the tea-kettle
on the stove, be seems to think it his
duty to sing. And, when his cage
nangs in a window on a sunny day in
winter, he sings as thongh he
thought :
summer had come.
Whenever I hear Billy sing, it makes
me tn ink of the two great poets, Uonier
and .Milton. They were blind ; but,
like our Billy, they sang sweet songs.
It is said that Homer had to beg for a
living. Our Billy sings for a living;
bnt he does not beg. Two kind little
girls, Lena and Lu, are careful to keep
his seed-cup fulL
When yon hear wise men talk about
the Tariff, remember this :
When the Moors held the south of
sPain tbey made all vessels that passed 1
toll at the little town of Tarifa, accord- i and lino, the bait being a worm or a
ing to the value they carried. Thence : red rag. In Switzerland they are liter
came the word tariff, found in all ally raked out of the water, precipi
European languages. It means prop- j tately retiring the rake the moment it
erly a list of roods with the duties that arrives at the border of the pooL
must be paid for bringing them into
e paid for bringing them into
the country. The dat,i is the money, i
the tariff is the list in Eastern markets, made away in tne
mmm interior of Minnesota by what is styled
the "new process for purifying mid
The deepest mine in Cornwall is Do- dlicgs" a process thus far kept se
coath, now about 360 fathoms, or 720 cret This flour is heavily bodied and
yards, from the surface. The workmen of such consistency that when thrown
descend and ascend by means of men- ' into the air it does not fly off in parti
engines, and Captain Josiah Thomas, cles, but descends into the hand in a
the manager, as an illustration of the mass. It requires one-third more wa-
healthy condition of the workings,
states that one man has been working and in kneading it into dough more la
in the mine for forty years. During bor is required. The bread, it is
all that time he has lived at Connor claimed, will remain fresh for a long
Downs, a distance of five miles from time. The yield to the bushel of grain
the mine, so that he has been walking is not known. It is claimed that by the
ten miles per day in addition to his : "new purifying process" it has been
labor, and a calcucation which Captain found in Minnesota that Spring wheat
Thomas has made shows that this man can be made into the highest price flour,
has, daring his forty years' work, 1 and that the same can oe done with the
walked 120,000 miles, which is equal to other kinds of wheat There are now
a journey five times round the earth, j about 20 miles in Minnesota in which
or half the distauce to the moon. ' the new machinery has been iutroJuced.
Ui-ifticss.
Duty on dry goods That of
llll-i
bands to buy them.
The good huti'i life is like the moun
tain top, beautiful because it is near
Heaven.
The Japanese census shows only three
thousand criminals in a population of
over thirty-three million souls.
The woild is waiting for the discov
erer who will explode water. The diffi
culty ia that water when heated goes
off in steam. If it would only explode,
IM. 1 1 . .1
" "UI 08 "r more P"e"
, gnnIowder.
The man who talks everlastingly and
promiscuously, who seems to have an
...v..,....!,,. ," : i i .
lAuauntirsc IUOKIULUS VI BIH1UU. riUIU
..D t fiml t wh fc . , u
A wU, fl
fimnUereJ horse Wl , oft deb'ftte
he jjj te
j man we t, ,
w, u, , fo
"
Help somebody worse off than yonr-
sou. au.l you will feel that yon are
' better off than yon fancied. Yon may
snoaue an angry man by bearing with
him, but not by answering him : that
. i as if the steel should try to make the
1 flint leave off giving sparks, by striking
: it again.
; Give a ram the necessaries of life and
uo wants the conveniences. Give him
: 1Il0 conveniences. anJ he craTes for th,
luxnries. Grant him the luxuries, and
j lie sighs for the elegancies. Let him
have tlio elegancies, aud he yearns for
the follies. Give him all together, and
he complains that he has been cheated
; both m price and ii.ilitT of the arti
cles.
S mo very clever inventor has suc
ceeded in applying electricity to music
an l there is a possibility that the ex
isting defective orchestras will be re
placed by musical automatons warran
ted to play with correctness. Will no
ouo invent an automaton actor who will
- -
do lr the author what the new machine
: a. i. i
r""i" uo ior me composer reu
! " independent of sticks ?
1 stantly arrested by the application of
eual parts of common salt and bicar-
; bonate of soda, well rubbed in on the
' place bitten or stung,
j
An experienced editor pays a high
and dese.red compliment to the fair
patrons of the press. "Women," he
says, "are the best snbscribers in the
wrll to newspapers, magazines, etc.
We have been editor for forty years,
and never lost a dollar by female sub-
' ;""ers. A uey seem io luaKe 11 a poi III
-:i 'n. . t - .
spelling with ease and accuracy many
of those puzzling words which always
send us to our Welxder Unabridged.
It is astonishing how we shed our
learning as we get older.
ject to be rattled by the wind, and to
be broken by any accidental pressure.
The cement soon sets and hardens, so
that the roof becomes like a solid wall.
The extra cost is 10 or 1") per cent, and
he thinks it good economy, considering
only permanency and the saving iu re
pairs. But besides this it affords great
safety against fire, for slate laid in the
usual way. will not protect the wood
underneath from the heat of a tire at
short distance.
The free trade taking place in frogs
; is attracting renewed attention in Paris.
! The markets are said to be full of their
, hind leg! strung on a piece of osier,
. and selling for a few sous a dozen ;
: when spiced and served hot, hissing
. like snails, they have nnmemns ad
: mirers. The frog is very prolific, lay
ing about 4'K) eggs ; frogs also are de
I voured in immense numbers by water
serpents, eels, pike and river fowl ;
I wolves even are said to be partial to
them. They are caught by nets during
torch-light, which dazzles them into
. , .
. new nour is maamgua appearance
ter in mixing than in our ordinary flour,