m a f it' tfl 11 i k n w m ii
B. F. SCHWEIER,
THE CeSSTITCTION IHB C5I0N AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THB LAWS.
Editor and Proprietor.
YOL. XXIX.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., FEBRUARY 3, 1S75.
NO. 5.
POETET.
LOVE 1D REST.
BT If ART B. DODGE.
Love is sweeter than rest. "II ex ry Timeod.
"Rent will noon be Granted, dear.
Think of all the Libia
When you reach that brighter sphere.
Lifted free of this !
llocue aud rest, and palms, and peace !
Verily, euch gain.
O'er the looses of release,
ISalanoee the pain !'
"Yea; bat human lore to me
Is so near divine.
That my heart clings yearningly
Even to life like mine.
Love is sweeter far than rent
That aloue I know
And the soul that love mc beat
Will not let me go."
"Home, and rest, and heaven, dear
Love in in them all !
Teuderest love in giveu, dear.
In the Saviour's call;
He would lift your face to hia.
Fold you to hia breast.
Teach you wiiat a crowning 'tm
When he off era rest !"
"Rest is Bwoet how well I know
Itewt that follows care
When the tired sun droppeth low,
Aud beside my chair
Listens one while I rejieat,
I'.y her love caressed;
'Ah, my darling, love is sweet,
Sweeter even than rest ! 1 "
"Yet, beloved, more tlian we
I'udemtand, he gives
l"u to him who trustfully
In his promise lives;
Measure all the bliss we can.
Still must be believed
Never has the heart of mau
Perfect joy conceived !"
"True, ah, true, and well I mark
All your words would teach
And my soul beyond the dark
Stretches forth to reach
Faith yet fuller, more complete. .
While my lips attest
It is love makes heaven sweet -
Love is more tliau rest !"
IM ELLA XT.
IMKplajr.
A love of display is treated by most
persona as a harmless kind of weakness,
and those who do think, speak of it in
a charitable, commiserating manner,
as something to be expected from those
persons who have no real jewels in their
heads. This view is certainly a most
mischievous ODe, and if all would fully
realize the terrible train of evils arising
from an inordinate love of display, the
failing wonld tie treated with as mnch
severity as a crime. The basis of this
vanity is a disposition to pander to the
superficial senses and to pass for more
than mere worth, which is essentially
vulgar and dishonest. To well bal
anced, rightly-instructed mind one
quiet virtue in our friend or neighbor
is worth all the diamonds that glitter,
and in contemplation will bring us more
real happiness.
In summing np the evils of the dis
position, we find legions in its wake.
In private life it will cause as to over
look and undervalue real merit in our
servants, and neighbors. It will create
an inordinate desire for wealth, making
us hard, selfiish, grinding and cruel.
It will cause us to ignore the claims of
humanity, neglect our children, who
should receive onr most valued time
while being fitted for the business of
lifd, and, in fact to fritter away time
which should be used for higher, more
imperative and substantial duties. If
shown in the language of onr conver
sation, it is ridiculously disgusting,
and reveals a streak of littleness which
we would be too happy to conceal if we
could see ourselves as others see us.
In public matters it shows itself accord
ing to the vulgarity and unsubstantial
character of the people, and leads to
the building of grand structures, be
fore the wealth of the country will jus
tify such an outlay, while really deserv
ing institutions perish for lack of means
and the unfortunate poor starve for
want of bread. Then the necessity for
economy is felt ; it will strike at the
roots of our most serviceable institu
tions in public as well as private life,
compelling those who have compara
tively little to get along with mnch
less. In religion it manifests itself in
fine churches and nseless decoration,
while the widow and orphan are turned
into the street to prey upon the society
at large. This trait is never the ac
companiment of true greatness. We
have all seen persons who had spent
their whole lives in impressing the
world with the magnitude of their pres
ence upon this earth, the effort requir
ing eternal vigilance and a vast expen
diture in goods, and these very persons
will literally shrivel up with contempt
for their own insignificance when in
the vicinity of true worth, wisdom and
culture, it the time expanded in the
gratification of this frivolous vanity
was conscientiously used in making
ourselves wiser, better and more use
ful, as individuals, we should be much
more prosperous and honest, and as a
people vastly happier.
Don't ! the Step.
It is, perhaps, well for us that we do
not count up in early life the number
of steps, many of them weary ones, we
shall have to take in treading the long
road that reaches from the cradle to
the'grave. It is well for the; young
housewife that she does not estimate
the number of million of dishes she
will have to wash during a period of
house-keeping forty years long, in each
of which years the table must be cleared
and the dishes washed a thousand
times. It is well that the poor seam
stress does not count the number of
miles of seam and gusset and band,
band and gusset and seam her tired
fingers must form till the lamp of life,
like the table lamp, gives out. It is
wise and well that sue, who sits from
one year to another in the same little
room, does not realize that her hand
movas, in forming siitches, more miles
than a steamship travels in crossing
the Atlantic.
PhonpboroiiM Sleet.
Among the results of extended ex
periments, conducted by Euverte, to
ascertain how much phosphorus may
be added to steel, the following seem
important: Bybringingsuitablequanti
ties of substances containing phos
phorus in contact with iron of different
kinds spiegeleisen, for example
treated in a Siemens-Martain furnace,
he found the resulting metal to be
malleable, and generally of good
quality, and he also determined that
cast-steel may contain a certain amount
of phosphorus without losing its quality
aa respects its tenacity, and that steel
containing 0"003 of phosphorus and
01)015 of carbon affords most excellent
nils.
LOV1XG THE HOVEY.
HOT THE Max
"Uncle Coleman, I'm going to marry
Lucia Frothingham 1"
"Eh ? What 1"
Uucle Coleman put down his news
paper, pushed his spectacles up on his
loreneaa, ana glared at his nephew.
"Goinir to marrv Lucia Fmthinnr.
ham !" he cried, after gasping awhile
in sheer dismav. "You idiot 1"
"Thanks," was the cool reply. "I
know you do not like the lady, but
where there is a strong mutual love
"Strong mutual fiddlesticks !" inter
rupted Lucie Coleman, contemptuously.
"You may love her : she is nrettv ami
fascinating, but what she loves is your
oaua account, my Doy. i Knew it would
be so when Aunt Jennie left vou a cool
hundred thousand. But boys, will be
Doys. umy lor goodness sake, wait a
year or two before you saddle yourself
T,(i, . -f
"I am twenty-one sir," (with an im
mense air of dignity.)
"I am sixty-four I Now, Frank, do
hear reason. Lucia Frothingham is a
fascinating woman, touching the
thirties, if not already over the line a
finished flirt, and as mercenary as she
is pretty. 1 know her, and I tell you
her affection is centered upon Aunt
Jennie's legacy, and the half million in
prospective at my banker's."
"Uncle Coleman," cried his nephew,
hotly, "I never thought of it, much less
spoke of it."
"I don't suppose you ever did.
Having always hal an independent in
come, I don't think you ever counted
on a dead man's shoes. But Miss
Frothingham was educated in the hard
school of genteel poverty, and a rich
husband is the prize for which she has
studied and toUed. for well, say ten
years. She was in society before you
were done playing with tops and mar
bles." "Uncle Coleman, yon are speaking of
my betrothed wife, remember."
"Hem !"
"Years are of no consequence where
there is true love."
"Hem !"
"And I love Lncia as she loves me."
"Not a bit of it."
"To-morrow she goes to Saratoga,
and if you can spare mc I will go too."
"And the business in Hartford f I
should advise yon to attend to all
matters belonging to yonr aunt's estate
as soon as possible, Frank."
"It may keep me in Hartford a
month," said Frank, disconsolately.
Coleman Burke looked with a pitying
affection at his young relative, such a
boy yet in many matters, though he had
reached "man's estate."
"A month that mny settle vour whole
fortune," he said. Remember men do
not fall heir to a hundred thousand
dollars more than once in a life-time."
"1 bupiiose I must go."
"It will be best. Besides," added
Uucle Coleman, dryly, "it will be a
good test of your lady love's constancy 1"
"I am not afraid of her forgetting
me, said frank, loftily.
"Yen are actually engaged ?"
"Certainly ! I bought a diamond
ring at 's yesterday, and put it on
her taper finder last evening."
"Hem! Well, the fool-killer hasn't
been here lately, that's certain. There,
be off and let me fiuish my paper iu
peace. You will go to Hartford ?"
"Yes."
But after his nephew left him Cole
mau Burke left his paper lie idle upon
his lap, while he fell lutoa fit of musing,
often interrupted by impatient ejacula
tions. He was a man, as he had said,
past sixty and had been a childness
wido ver, for thirty years, while four
little graves beside that of his wife,
recorded the heart history of his life.
When he had lived louely and a sin
cere mourner for many long years, hia
brother and wife died, leaving Frank,
a curly-headed boy, to the cure of his
uucle Coleman. AH the long-seated
fountains of love in the desolated heart
ojieued to pour out their affection upon
the child. He was truely the very sun
light of the old man's existence, aud
though his manner had been cynical,
his heart been sorely wrung by the an
nouncement of his engagement, bnt not
from any paltry jealously or any merce
nary motive. Had Frauk loved a true,
tender woman, were she a beggar, his
uncle would have given her a father's
love and welcome. But by the light of his
own brief married happiness he read
the misery in store for his nephew, if
he married Lucia Frothingham a flirt,
extravagant aud selfish. How to save
him was costing the old man torturing
thought. Active opposition would only
strengthen what was now but a boyish
infatuation, and yet saved he must be.
Suddenly a light broke over Coleman
Burke's face, aud he rose from his chair
and went to a long mirror in the room.
The reflection was not calculated to
waken vanity, yet the old man smiled
well pleased.
"If I can only carry it out, it will be
proof positive, he thought.
Short, fat, nearly bald, with specta
cles, and a cane, Coleman Burke was
certainly a strong contrast to the tail,
handsome young fellow, who had won
Lucia for his promised bride, yet he
said aloud :
"I'll cut him out ?"
A week later all the fashionables at
the C Hotel, at Saratoga, knew
that Coleman Burke intended to take a
wife. What bird first bore the news
upon the scented air no one could have
told you, but there was no lack of in
formation about the elderly bridegroom
in prospective. Everybody (that was
anybody) knew that Coleman Burke
had retired from business years before,
worth half a million of money, and had
made fortunate investments since. That
he was decked in fashion's latest styles,
wore diamond studs and ring, carried a
switch cane, drove fine team and oc
cupied expensive rooms at the hotel,
all could see for themselves.
Very soon after he came, another fact
was patent to all observers that he was
very attentive to Miss Lucia Frothing
ham, the belle of many seasons.
Mrs. Frothingham hoped in her heart
that Lucia would not be fool, and
would remember how far Mr. Coleman
Burke's pocket-book outweighed his
nephew's ; also that an eld man's dar
ling was far more apt to have every whim
gratified than a young man's slave.
Having delivered this material lecture,
the widow dilated upon the expenses of
the Saratoga trip, and was rather
marked in her emphasis upon speedy
subjugation of the elderly adorer.
And Miss Lucia bragged her fair
sloping shoulders, threw over them a
cloud of black lace aud descended to
the porch Mr. Bnrke waited to escort
her for a drive. His manner of wooing
was certainly more business like that
sentimental. Where Frank had grown
eloquent over the beauty of the liquid
dark eyes, his uncle dilated upon the
suitability of diamonds for brunette
beauty. Where Frank tenderly quoted
poetry descriptive of the slender grace
of the willowy figure, his unole thought
velvet was the most becoming wear for
siigm ngures. as they drove, the fat
old gentleman asked her oninion of his
horses, also obtained her description of
we mosi suitaDie carnage lor a la ly s
exclusive use. Likewise he expressed
contempt for an India shawl folded upon
a seat near the lake, as one far below
the quality he would purchase to deck
a laay s shoulders
Sometimes.indeed, as Lucia informed
her affectionate parent, "he was a little
spoony, pressing her hand and rolling
up his pale, blue eyes over the rims of
his spectacles, like a fat old porpoise."
Uut as a rule, he was simply devoted
in a constant attention. A bouquet of
rare nowers in the morning, followed
by call ; a drive in the afternoon ; a
walk in the evening, or an offer of
escort duty at a ball, became the usual
daily routine. But the elderly wooer
was an energetic and persistent one, and
even Lucia, vain of her conquest, was
bewildered by the rapidity of the court
ing. Only a fortnight ago, she had but
a bowing acquaintance with Mr. Burke,
and now he had positively offered a
parure of expensive cameos for her ac
ceptance. "A letter from Frank 1 Coming to
day !" mused Mr. Coleman Burke, read
an epistle handed in at his door." "Sur
prised to find me away from home.
Hopes I have seen his dear Lncia in a
kinder light than the one 1 had
previously had. Hem yes well"
And so Mr. Burke mused and
muttered as he donned his most ex
quisite suit, his most dazzling necktie
and fastened a boquet in his button
hole.
"Bless my soul. Uncle Coleman, what
a swell you are !"
And then Frank was in the room and
the two exchanged cordial greetings.
"And Lncia?" Frank questioned,
"is she well?"
"She was perfectly well last evening
when I took her for a drive."
"You?"
"Certainly. You do not suppose I
have failed in attention to my future
niece, do yon ?"
"You like her better than you did,"
continued Frank, pleadingly 1
''See here, Frank," the old man said,
suddenly wheeling reund from the glass
to faee his nephew. "I have a bargain
to make with yon. If, within an hour,
I prove Lucia false, mercenary, and a
traitor to her promise to you, will you
give her up ? Stop I If she is true.
loving and faithful I withdraw my harsh
words, and will give her the love I al
ways hoped to give your wife.
"But how can you find out ?" said
the young man astonished at his uncle's
energetio proposal.
''It is yon who are to find out. I am
already satisfied ! Yon are to go to the
centre window of the small drawing
room, on the east porch, and listen to a
conversation I am to have, by appoint
ment, with Miss Frothingham."
"Eavesdropping. "
"Never mind that grand air of con
tempt. I am to have my way for jnst
one hour, and you can take yours after
ward for a life-time. Will you go ?"
"If you say so."
"Oo, then."
Just a little later Miss Frothingham,
all smiles and white mnslin, sailed into
the east drawing-room to greet her
elderly admirer. With an air of deepest
devotion he raised her hand to his lips
aud greeted her with a flowery compli
ment, "I presume," he said, in a low, ten
der tone, "you are at no loss to guess
why I have ventured to summon you
here. Yon must have understood the
meaning of my attentions. Need I tell
you how dear you have become to me !
Need I speak of the love you have in
spired ?"
"Yon are so kind" she murmured.
"I am contemplating a speedy return
to the city, and I wish to arrange for
the wedding, if I can obtain any ex
pression of yonr wishes. Do not ob
ject to an early day ?
"Any day will be supremely blest,"
she said, softly, "that makes me your
wife."
"My wife I Bless my soul, my
nephew told me"
"On ! Mr. Burke, you do not imag
ine I have encouraged that boy !' with
an accent of most magnificant scorn.
"He is an amiable young fellow and I
have been kiud to him. But love between
myself and a boy of that age is simply
preposterous."
"I am aware the disparity of years "
"My dear Mr. Burke, do not speak
of that. To me there is a dignity and
nobility about a man who has passed
middle life that can never be attained
without the experience of years. Be
lieve me, your having a slight advan
tage of me in age will bnt increase my
affection."
"You are only too kind. Then I may
tell Frank that yon"
"Why talk of Frank ? Surely yon
may choose a wife without your nephew
interference."
"I choose wife 1 My dear young
lady, what are you talking about I I
have no intention of seeking wife."
"No intention of seeking wife I
Have you not just made me an offer of
marriage !"
"Not at all," was the cool reply. "I
was nndcr the impression that yon
were engaged to my nephew. As Frank
is my nearest relative and my heir, I
was anxious to win the affection of his
promised wife. But since there is no
engagement between you "
"Oh, Mr. Burke yon must have mis
understood me. My on!y fear was lest
you should not sanction our love.
Dear Frank has often spoken to me of
yonr fatherly love for him. You will
not repeat to Frank th 3 conversation we
have had ? I my confusion yon will
forget my wild words ?"
"But 1 shall not ?"
The blinds parted as Frank spoke,
revealing his white face and anger
lighted eyes. Miss Frothingham
screamed and Uncle Coleman said
quietly :
"Are you convinced T
"Fully! The boy. Miss Forthing
ham, thanks yon for showing him the
folly of trusting in the love of a co
quette. Yon have given me a sharp
lesson, Uucle Coleman ; but I thank you
that my Ufe has not been blighted by a
woman's treachery.
The pale face vanished. Uncle Cole
man, with a ceremonious bow, took bis
departure while Lucia Fronthingham
went into genuine hysterics on the
sofa.
Uncle Coleman joined Frank on the
porch, and Unking his arm in his
nephew's said kindly :
"Forgive me the pain I cause yon,
for the love I bear you,"
"I thank yon," waa the reply. "Yon
have saved me a life of misery by show
ing me a mercenary woman's treachery.
I shall never feel any emotion bnt
gratitude that yon proved your words."
Josh Billings says : There is two
things in this Lie wnich we are never
prepared for, and that is twins.
The Cultivation of Oyster.
The usual method of studying oysters
and the oyster trade is to swallow a
dozen raw at a market stand, interview
the wholesale dealer in regard to the
number he handles and where he gets
them, chat for half an hour, perhaps,
with the master of an oyster sloop then
clinch the whole with such information
as may be gleaned from the nearest
encyclopedia. This is the reporter's
method. Much interesting knowledge
is gained thereby ; but, as we have
already seen, more is missed. The most
important feature of the business, the
cultivation of oysters, is invariably
overlooked.
Having seen that, so far from being
unknown in this country, as commonly
reported, oyster breeding is an industry
at once extensive and very important,
let ns visit the oyster farmer at home,
and study the methods of his business.
their object, and the effect they have
on the development of our mncn prized
and most delicious product of Neptune's
kingdom.
First, to the breeding ground.
To the casual visitor, sailing over an
oyster plantation, it is the blankest of
all cultivated areas. He sees but a
waste of water, with here and there a
protruding pole, and is bnt vaguely
impressed when assured that as far as
his eye can reach the ground is covered
with crops in various stages of maturity.
Strange farming, nnder twenty feet of
brine I In the middle of a broad bay.
perhaps a mile from shore, our tidy
craft is put about, and our skipper says
we are over a "patch" of twenty acres
devoted to this year's spawn. For miles
around the Sound is staked off for oyster
beds, and hundreds, perhaps thousands
of acres, belonging to other oyster
farmers, are in use aa breeding grounds.
As we drift across onr twenty acre field,
a dredge is thrown over, and a moment
after the quivering rope tells that the
dredge is at work on the bottom. We
drift a boat's length, and the catch is
hauled in a bushel or so of empty
shells, half a dozen crabs, any quantity
of amber-colored "gingles," and per
haps two or three oysters.
"Nothing here !" you are tempted to
say ; but look closer. Every one of
those empty shells, every object that
has not escaped through the meshes of
the net, is covered with rough brown
creatures the size of one s finger naiL
They are oyster spat, that is, young
oysters of this year's spawning, now
three months old. They first become
visible to the naked eye when about a
week old. A gingle the size of a nickel
coin carries half a dozen ; a nodule of
coral as large as a walnut bears twenty ;
on half an oyster shell yon count fifty
or sixty, perhaps a hundred or more, if
you have patience to distinguish the
little ones. Who can number the thou
sand on a square yard, the million on
an acre, every inch of which is. sown
with promises of futnre stews and
fries ?
As we pass to other grounds, the
dredge is cast on the gravelly shell
strewn bottom of a swift channel, in a
quiet cove, in deep water aud in shal
low ; each time the dredge is filled with
rubbish interspersed with old oysters,
clams, scallops, and other denizens of
salt water. Here and there a bright
shell, a pebble, or a bit of coal will
show an oyster spat ; but a whole
dredge full of stuff will carry fewer
than a single oyster shell from the
breeding ground. It is the old story of
Nature versus cnltivation.
At spawning time last summer, the
waters over the several areas were
equally filled with microscopic oysters,
millions of which were sent adrift by
each prolific parent. They swarm free
and independent, like other young
people, for awhile ; but the time soou
came when they had to settle for life.
At this critical stage of their existence,
those on the breeding ground were
plentifully provided with enticing rest
ing places, in the shape of clean shells,
gravel, and the like, and they settled in
myriads. Those which had Nature for
nurse had to take their chances, and on
the uncultivated grounds the chances
were relatively few, notwithstanding
the season was an uncommonly favor
able one for natural beds. The fur
nishing of clean stools for the young
spat is thus a matter of prime impor
tance in oyster culture, and it is of
equal importance that the stools are
provided at the right time. The period
of spawning varies with the position of
the bed, the depth of the water, and
other conditions, from J une to August.
The precise time for each bed must be
discovered "with the kniie," that is to
say, by dissecting the oysters. By
this, which is purely an American
method of breeding, it matters little
how deep the water may be ; shells and
gravel will sink through a hundred feet
as certainly as through ten. The shal
low breeding places employed by the
French would not answer at all in our
climate, no more would their costly
and clumsy contrivances for fixing the
spawn. There the securing of a few
hundred thousand spat is acconnted a
great achievement. Here it is the least
of the oyster breeder's labors to obtain
boat loads of them. The trouble is to
defend them during the five years of
their development.
Examine one of the spat-laden stools.
It is obvious that such a crowd of
oysters cannot come to any size in so
small a space. If left to themselves,
few could survive the struggle for exis
tence, and they would be pinched and
meager. The oyster farmer does not
permit such a waste of seed. Yonder
sloop, which has been beating back and
forth across onr breeding ground, is
nearly laden with a worthless-looking
cargo, in reality a wealth of seed that
would be a small fortune to a foreign
breeder. The business of her crew is,
primarily, to keep watch against inva
sion by starfish and other foes of the
young oysters. Their coarse-meshed
dredges bring up quantities of spat
covered shells which are kept for dis
tribution on other grounds, quite as
many spat as can thrive on the ground
being attached to stools small enough
to slip through the dredges. Next
summer the year-old teed will be sim
ilarly thinned, the clusters broken np,
and the surplus transplanted. The
same process will be repeated the year
after ; the next year the entire crop will
be lilted, it happening that the oysters
thrive exceedingly well on this particu
lar ground np to their third year, after
which their growth is too slow for
profit. Transplanted to more favorable
ground they increase in size and thick
ness very rapidly.
By thus ohooaing grounds specially
suited to the several stages of the
oyster's development, the breeder is
able to hasten the maturity of his crop,
besides securing a higher average of
size and quality in the product. On
firm gravelly bottom, for example,
where a free circulation of water is
maintained nnder and around the
oysters, a crop will accomplish as mnch
in fonr years as in five on mud, and the
quality will be much superior. Oar
time is too short, however, to enter
upon anything like a thorough study
of oyster grounds and their effects npoxt
the growing oysters. They vary as farm
lands do on shore, the oystermen of any
locality being able to recognize, at
sight, the oysters of different beds
within gunshot of each other, often
those of different parts of the same
bed. A novice can tell by its plumpness
the cultivated from the natural oyster.
Even when the latter has had the bast,
of advantages, and has attained the
rounded outline of the perfect oyster it
invariably lacks the depth of body,
the thickness of meat, which the culti
vator strives to attain. It will be very
apt to lack, also, firmness of flesh and
delicacy of flavor.
Encouragement.
There are very few men, women or
children who will not do better and be
better for a little judicious encourage
ment. Indeed, it is absolutely neces
sary to their welfare. Every kind of
worker, whether in the pulpit, class
room, desk, or workshop (and that
includes editors), will be more thriftv
and skilful for a little lubrication by
the way of sensible and timely expres
sions of appreciation, when his work is
worjny oi it.
We do not mean that fawning and
iiatierin? eulogies must ue iorever ex
pressed, anil eople be treated like
spoiled '-allies who will cry most
lustily if the sugar-not is not in eon
stant use. There is a wide difference
In-t ween judicious praise and baby-talk.
What we mean is: when a minister.
teacher, or scholar is niakine prober
riioiis 10 no inn umy, aim is making
anything like due protrress, let liuii
know iu a quiet and Bulsliied wav that
yon notice it and appreciate it. 1 hous
ands of persons, both young anil old,
are languishing in their work for the
want ot a little encouragement.
A good many persons have the faculty
of quickly discerning when a thing is
done right or wrong. If it is done right,
they have nothing to say. But if there
is any flaw or shortcoming, they deem
it an important duty to sneak of it iu
deprecating tones and manner, and
they leel that their consciences would
deranged if thev failed to rebuke
the fault. The consequence is. they
are regai dedos scolds a sort of human
currycomb; and the more sensitive the
objifts lieing curried, the more wincing,
laying back of ears, and occasionally
kicking, results from it. The best way
to curry, it is said, is to use a brush.
I he currying process may tie neces
sary, and therefore not to be dispensed
with, it is the manner of doing it that
makes it for liettcr or worse.
Every observer of human nature
knows that the fault finding, scolding
style provokes a reliellious spirit in
those who are the subjects of it, aud
esjiecially when that style is the pre
vailing style. 1 hey may even know
that llicy deserve it, but, alter all, when
their good work is passed by in silence,
and their imiierfcctious loudly con-
leiuned, it is not well received indeed.
it will discourage und drive away such
persons.
1-et imperfections lie bointed out aud
duly corrected, by all means and level
up the account by giving due credit
where credit is due. Sensible people
are never hurt by a little timely encour
agement, and it is ulsmtas good a plan
as any to make the other kind sensible.
Lubricate! Don't scold!
A Boy" Adventure.
Just at the close of the war of 112. a
United .States uian-of- war entered Bos
ton Harbor. the Commodore was
known as a bully of the first water.
Entering a barber shon in Boston, aud
ti tiding no one but the boy was present,
he demanded in au insolent and over
bearing way:
here is your master!
"Not down yet, sir."
"Well, 1 want to lie shaved.1
"1 can shave you."
-Youf"
"Yes, sir."
"Well you may try it, but look here,
my youngster, laying his loaded pis
tol down iiihiii the table "the first drop
of blood you draw on my faee I'll shoot
you."
"All right" was the reply.
The Ihiv shaved him and did it well.
After the ojieiatiou was through, the
bully turned to him and said, us lie took
up the pistol :
asu t you at raid I
"No, sir," retorted the Isiy.
"Didn't you believe 1 would shoot
you T
"l es, sir."
"Then why wasn't yon afraid!"
The Ihiv very eoolv renlied. "Because
I had the advantage."
"Advantage, lmwr demanded the
irate bully.
Why, said the boy, with thentiuost
nonchalance, "if I should have drawn
blood. I should have taken the razor
and cut vour tin oat from ear to ear!"
The bully turned pale, but never for
got the lesson.
Reverence Tor Old Hats.
It is singular how a rich man
will
cling to an old hat.
It is not born of his veneration lor
anthjuity, for rich men revere what is,
or may be, and not what was.
A man with millions in his rollers
will go for months without fur enough
on his beaver to furnish Winterquarters
for a mosquito.
He scours it with his coat sleeve
morning and night, and is mad enough
to make his mother-in-law a present,
f. anybody accidentally tumbles it on
the floor.
hen he enters Ins onicehe carefully
hangs it up on the peg and casts a
warning look at the boy witu the
duster.
When he takes it off at home in the
evening, the children pass round it
timidly, and his wile surveys it as
scornfully as if it were a poor relation.
.Nothing but the death ot the man or
the decomposition of the hat can part
these true friends.
And even in death he has been known
to go so far as to order this relic to be
buried with him.
It will probably be one of the most
exciting spectacles of the Judgment
Day when the rich approaches to beg
for merry in a venerable tile that
wouldn't bring 4 cents at auction.
Beauties ofShadows.
The thadows all day long play at
silent games of beauty. Every thing
is double if it stands in light, the
tree sees an nnrevealed and muffled
self lying darkly along the ground.
The slender stems of flowers, golden
rod. wayside asters, meadow daisies.
and rare lilies (rare and yet abundant
in every nice, level meadow) cast forth
a dim and tremulous line of shadow,
that lies long all the morning, shorten
ing till noon, and creeping out again
from the root all the afternoon, until
the sun shoots it as far eastward in the
evening as the sun snot it westward in
the morning. A million shadowy ar
rows such as these spring from Apollo's
golden bow of light at every step. Jr ly
ing in every direction, they cross, in
terlacing each other in a soft net-work
of dim lines. .Meanwhile, the clouds
drop shadow-like anchors, that reach
the ground, but will not hold ; every
browsing creature, every flitting bird,
every moving team, every unconscious
traveler writes along the ground in dim
shadow.
Entertaining a Ranch Angel.
A few evenings since there dropped
into an np-town hotel a man about five
feet eight, with heavy chin-whiskers,
and with rather an intellectual cast of
countenance, but slightly nnder the in
fluence of liquor. He was attired in
rather a seedy and patched suit, but
clean. He wanted lodging for the night,
and inquired of the landlord, if he could
"bunk" with him. The landlord, not
liking his condition and appearance,
told him"he guessed not." The stranger
took a seat and entered into conversa
tion with some of the boarders. The
landlord discovering during the evening
that he was an educated man, re
membered the saying of "entertaining
angels unawares,'' told him he might
stay if he paid in advance. The stranger
at once took out about ten dollars in
currency and tendered a five-dollar bill
for payment, The landlord soon after
took him to bed and left him in his
room, but stationed himself where he
could see the occupant of the room.
The stranger after taking his boots off
got down on his knees in front of the
bed and delivered the Lord's prayer in
a most impressive manner, after which
he prayed for all the inmates of the
house, for his friends and for his
enemies, that they might te preserved
from all danger and that they might be
happy. He then arose and commenced
undressing, in the meanwhile talking
to himself and making expression aloud
like the following : "What a fool I
hsve been :" "Some thieves might have
picked me np ;" "I wonder if I have
got it?" The last remark being ex
plained by his taking two large rolls of
bank bills from different parts of his
person, which he put nnder his pillow
and soon got into bed. The landlord
says he never heard the Lord's prayer
repeated in a more impressive manner.
The stranger is a heavy lumber-dealer
from the upper Hudson. Troy l'ren.
Happy H unhands.
It is a man's own fault if he is un
happy with his wife, in nine cases ont
of ten. It is a very exceptional woman
who will not be all she can be to an at
tentive husband, and a more except
ional one will not be very disagreeable
if she finds herself willfully neglected.
It would be very easy to hate a man
who, having bound a woman to him,
made no effort to make her happy ; hard
not to love one who was constant and
tender, and when a woman loves she al
ways strives to please.
The great men of this world have often
been wretched in their domestic rela
tions, while mean and common men
have been exceedingly happy. The
reason is very plain. Absorbed in them
selves, those who desired the world's
applause were careless of the little
world at home ; while those who had
none of this egotism strove to keep
the hearts that were their own, aud
were happy in their tenderness.
No woman will love a man the bet
ter for being renowned or prominent.
Though he be first among men she will
only be prouder, not fonder ; and if she
loses him through this renown, as is
often the case, she will not even be
proud. But give her love, ap
preciation, kindness, and there is no
sacrifice she wonld not make for
his content and comfort. The man who
loves her well is her hero and her king.
No less a hero to her though he is not
one to any other ; no less a king though
his only kingdom is her heart and home.
A Poor Man' rhrislmas Villa.
The story of the widow's mile was forci
bly brought to the aitenlion of a bay ion
household, says the Journal, on Christmas
Jy. During the past year a poor, feeble
old man bad culled dai y for food. He was
kindly treated, and never left the kitchen
without expressing his thanks to the ser
vants. Meantime a queer little old colored
woman in the family had given him the
soubriquet of "Lanrus." Christmas after
noon the mistress of tne household heird
uproarious laughter in the kitchen. When
"old Aunty" went up stairs to the family
room, inquiry about the uproar el. cited the
following:
Aunty "Why, bress you, missus, ole
'Lsrarus' guv us all a Christmas gift !"
Missus "Who is 'Laiarus,' Aunty?"
Aunty "Why, bress you chile, he's the
poor old man you'uns been feedin' so long,
lie jess had his dinner, an' what you think,
lie guv us all a Christmas gift '."
Missus "Well, what did he give you,
Aunty V
Aunty "Why, bress you missus, he guv
all he could, I spect. He guv The. twenty
ole shirt buttons ; and Maggie, he guv two
rows of pins, and me he guv one row of
pins." (And here Aunty fairly exploded,
hut between her paroxysms she added):
"Hut Lor' bress you, missus, 'twas a 1 poor
ole 'Laiarus' had I spect, an' it done us a
heap o' good, and Maggie and me a got so
many pins I guess we'll feel mighty aturk
UP-" tmm
The Danee.
Dancing itself is a harmless and
healthful amnsement when not carried
to excess ; bnt the seeds of death are
too often sown in the ball-room, not
from dancing, but from the circum
stances nnder which it is carried on.
For instance, what can be more likely
to produce apoplexy or some serious ill
ness than the practice of eating ices
when thoroughly heated by violent ex
ercise.
Again, the atmosphere of many a
ball-room, crammed, as it often is, with
three times as many people as it can
comfortably contain, is enongh of it
self to poison any one not acclimated
to suffocation by previous training.
Then there are the sudden changes of
tempature to which young ladies, in
sufficiently chid, are exposed on leaving
the heated rooms as they retnrn home,
overtired and in precisely the same con
dition nnder which such changes ot
temperature are likely to affect them if
they have any tendency to lung disease.
The late hours, also, which are neces
sarily kept in the season, cannot be
otherwise than prejudicial to the health
of both old and young, and probably
cause many illnesses that are nnjustly
credited to other sources.
Scolding.
What good does scolding do ? It does no
one the least service, but it creates infinite
mischief. Scolded servants never do their
work well. Their tempers are roused, as
well as the mistress's, and they very often
fail in their duties at awkward moments,
simply to spite her and to "serve her out."
Very wrong in them doubtless; but human
nature is frail, and service is a trying insti
tution. It does no good to husban 1 or child,
for it simply empties the huuae of both as
soon as possible.
A farmer from the interior districts
of Michigan brought barrel of flour
to Detroit, some months ago, and
shipped it with the address, "Queen
Victoria, Windsor Castle, England."
He waited long and patiently for an
autograph letter of thanks, and was
very much chagrined at learning, the
other day, that his flour had been sold
at auction, with a mass of unclaimed
freight, some time before.
lOCTHV rOLl IM.
The Busd Giiu. and her Bible. A
ttle girl who lov ed the Bible dearly
became blind, and when she could no
longer see to read it she only loved it
more. A kind friend gave her a New
Testament, printed for the nse of the
blind, in raised letters, which she could
feel with her fingers, and so niak out.
Never was a child more delighted than
she. It was a touching thing to see
her, every movement she could spare,
passing her fingers slowly over the
page, as her lips silently uttered the
precious words. Bnt her touch was not
quick enongh for her ; her finger-ende,
poor child ! were rough, and sometimes
she had to stop a long time over a word.
So one day she took a penknife and
lightly pared away the skin from just
the tips of her fingers, hoping that so
her feeling would be more tender, anil i
she could get on faster. What was her i
distress iu finding, after a few days,
that her skin had grown again, but so '
hard that she could not feel the shape 1
of a single letter ! She tried and tried. !
bnt all in vain ; then bursting into an
agony of tears, she pressed the much
loved pages to her lips, to bid them, as
she thought, a last farewell. But as
she did so, she suddenly found out that
her lips had the feeling which her
fingers had lost. The letters, the
words, were quite plain ! I cannot tell
yon her joy that she still could read.
And hundreds of times since the blessed
book has been held to her lips, not in
sorrow for a farewell kiss, but in thank
fulness and joy, that even she can read
the words of everlasting life.
I t thl hlwagii volume rver lie
I'l" to ni) lus.r -!! Urtr my eve ;
To Ijff'a Unt tiiir my tbUk'!td ruX'K
AuU Ur tuv I'UtMro lw ntt"
Poweb of Kindness. A driver be
longing to the (treat Northern lUilway
goods station, had occasion to pass np
the Quadrant Itoad highway. New York,
to deliver a package. Ou 'approaching
one of the houses, he was seen by a
lady in the window, who immediately
said to same friends staying with her :
"Here comes the kind driver ; do
come and see what power he has over
his horses."
The friends aecordinclv ivimA tn tlm
window, when the driver in question.
was ssKeu oy tne lady to "shake hands
with his horses. With great good
humor he at once complied. Standing
in front of the pair of horses, he palled
out :
"Tom, shake hands."
Instantly the near horse lifted up his
right foot. After a shake tlm drier
said :
"Now, Tom, the other foot."
L0 Went tllA f,Mt irwfurittv T1..i
drfver then went in front f tl,u nl,u
horse, when a similar scene occurred.
.remaps, however, tue most pleasing
incident remains to be told. Retreat
ing backward several vur.la fti,m rh
horses, he cried out :
Now, lorn, turn around and come
on."
Instailtlv tliA liomd nnll.i.1 owav .1
- j - - r- "
tllttir load, tnrneil th van rriun.l n.-i'!,-
ont the slightest need of so much as the
crack of a whip, and followed the clever
as me uog wouiu tne BUepuerd.
oucu an mNiauce shows clearly bow
especially with the horse, simply by
the power of kindness. iKtru'it Advr.r
tistr. Orioin of Great Mem. St, Andrew,
apostle, was tue son of a fisherman ;
St. John was also the son of a fisher
man ; Pope Sextus V. was the son of a
swine-herder he was also one ; Aris
totle, of a doctor ; Boccaeio, of a mer
chant ; Columbus, of a woolcomber ;
John Bu.it h, of a fisherman ; Diderot,
of a cutler ; Cook, of a servant ; Hanip
den, of a carpenter ; Talma, of a den
tist ; Gesner, of a'bookseller ; Salvator
lioea, of a surveyor ; Euripides, of a
fruit-woman ; Virgil of a baker ; Hor
ace, of a deuizen ; Voltaire, of a tax
collector; Lamothe, of a hatter;
Fletcher, of a chandler ; Masillon, of a
turner ; Tamerlane, of a shepherd ;
Qainault, of a baker ; Kollin, of a cut
ler; Mohere, of an upholsterer; Kos
seau, of a watchmaker ; Sir Samuel
Bowditch, of a silversmith ; Ben Jon
son, of a masou ; Shakespeare of a
butcher; Sir Lawreuce, of a custom
house officer ; Collins, of a hatter ;
Gray, of a notary ; IScattie, of a la
borer ; Sir Edward Sugden, of a bar
ber ; Thomas Moore, of a swordmaker ;
Rembrandt, of a miller ; Benjamin
Franklin, of a chandUr; Cardinal
Wolsey, of a butcher ; Napoleon, of a
farmer.
A Wonderfvl Clock. An old trav
eler's tale has it that a certain Hindoo
prince once owned a strange clock. In
front of the clock's disk was a gong
swung upon poles, and near it was a
pile of artificial human limbs. The
pile was made up of the full number of
parts necessary to constitute twelve
perfect bodies ; but all lay heaped to
gether in apparent confusion. When
the hands of the clock indicated the
hour of one, out from the pile crawled
just the number of parts needed to
form the frame of one man, part com
ing to part with quite a click; and
when completed, the figure sprang np,
seized a mallet, and, walking up to the
gong, struck one blow. This done, he
returned to the pile and fell to pieces
again. W hen 2 o'clock came, two men
arose and did likewise ; and at the
hours of noon and midnight, the entire
heap sprang np, and marching to the
gong, struck, one after the other, his
blow, making twelve in all ; then, re
turning, fell to pieces as before.
Bad Habits. As the biiow gathers
together, so are our habits formed. No
single flake that is added to the pile
produces a sensible change ; no single
action creates, however it may exhibit
a man's character ; but as the tempest
hurls the avalanche down mountains,
and overwhelms the inhabitant and his
habitation, so passion, acting upon the
elements of mischief, which pernicious
habits have brought together by im
perceptible accumulation, may over
throw the edifice of truth and virtue.
The Alphabets. The Sandwich
Island alphabet has 12 letters ; the
Burmese, 19 ; the Italian, 20 ; the Ben- ;
galeae, 21 ; the Hebrew, Syriac, Chal-:
dee, and Samaritan, 22 each ; the
French, 23 ; the Greek, 21 ; the Latin,
2 ; the German, Dutch, and English,
26 each ; the Spanish and Sealvonic, 27
each ; the Arabic, 2S ; the Persian and
Coptic, 32 ; the Georgian, 3j ; the Ar
menian, 3$; the Russian, 41; the
Muscovite, 43 : the Sanscrit and Ja
panese, 50 ; the Ethiopia and Tartarian
202 each ; the Chinese less than 50.UU0. '
An important fact has been estab
lished in the tea trade since the panic,
namely, that Japans are rapidly taking
the place of Oolongs. During the past
two seasons, it appears that the ship
ment of blacks have increased only
from 5,000,OX pounds, while those of i
Japans have increased from 8,000,000
to 17,000.000 pound, and those of greens
from 5.0U0.000 to 17,000.000 pounds.1
V RUTHS.
The weight of fish must be determined
by the scales.
A literary class Builders. Thev are
! always finishing stories.
"The Worst of Wives," by the author
! of "lhe Best of Husbands."
I "Oroweth Down as a Carrot," by the
! author of "Cometh up in a Flower."
We would willingly have others per
fect, and yet we amend not onr own
faults.
If a man has but one idea, what need
has he of a Webster's dictionary con
taining 20,tX) words.
Bartholomew Christofori, of Padna,
was the inveutor of the piano-forte, ac
cording to the Italians.
"Too thin has become obsolete.
"Not sufficiently materialized" is the
latest form in which this idea is clothed.
A lady just been appointed by the
English Registrar General to the office
of Deputy Registrar, the first case of the
kind iu the history of the department.
A Californian puts in a good word
for John Chinaman on the ground that
he his never been known to become a
book canvasser or a life insurance
agent.
A three cent stamp will now carry a
letter from any part of the United
States to a Canadian city, and a single
Canadiau stamp will perforin the same
service the other way.
An attorney having died in poor cir
cumstances, one of his friends observed
that he hid left but few eflVs-ta. "That
is not much to be wondered at," said
another, "for he had but few causes."
There is no royal road to snccess.
Dream only of the crowuing pinnacle,
i and it shall appear only in thy dreams.
Attend to-day to the monument's foun
dation ; the piunacle itself may appear
to-morrow.
From the Sweden comes the an
nouncement of the discovery of a new
exphwive agent called vigorite. Eight
ounces accomplished by experiment
what would have required double the
quantity of dynamite.
During the year 1ST t more than C6,
0ill steerage passentrers left this country
for Eurotie. The New York Commis
sioner of Emigration believes that
about llillil, or two-thirds of the whole
nnmber, intend to be permarueut ab
sentees. There is a marked revival among the
Mohammedans of Lucknow. Old de
serted temples have been repaired, aud
are crowded with worshippers. Street
preaching has been resorted to, and
schools have been oieued in which the
doctrines of Islaniism are taught.
The Aft'i Cnfifurnin says : "Raising
cork trees seems to be au approaching
industry of California. They are said
to grow very rapidly amoug the foot
hills. At Auburn there are a nnmber
of these trees, three or four years old,
that have bark thick enough for an or
dinary cork."
The Patent Olliee has granted a pat
ent for a dummy, for dry goods mer
chants, to enable them to make a
large show on a small stock. It con
sists of a block of woo, I, neatly done
np in a cover of cloth, tabled and rib
boned to represent, in exterior appear
ance, a full package of real goods.
The great staircase of the new Opera
House in Paris, tliongh effective and
; striking, is said to be greatly over-
doue. It is literally one mass of gold,
i bronze, marble, aud onyx, combined
with the richest drajieries, with statu
1 ary ami hnge mirrors, ami every-thing
that the most lavish expenditure and
elaborate ornameuts can bestow.
A very remarkable character has died
suddenly iu Paris Sophie, the cook to
! whom the lato Dr. Veruon was indebted
for his reputation as the first dinner
1 giver in Paris for something like half a
eeutnry. Sophie generally used to
come iu after dinner and be compli-
mented, and, in her humble way, be
I came acquainted with almost every
! man and woman in Paris, from Mile.
1 Mars, and Mile. Rachel, Taglioui, and
Klsslers, down to modern stars from
; Talma to Regiur.
Hitherto Parisian bank-notes have
i been burnt at the rate of about three
I hundred thousand a month, mnch to
the di'tgnst of people near the bank,
I who complain bitterly of the air being
I impregnated with the filmy remains of
I the paper and of the disagreeable smell.
It is now nnder consideration to adopt
the plan of tearing the notes into mi
nute fragments, and then reducing them
into a pulp, from which fresh material
can be prepared. This, it is said, will
further have the desirable effect of sav
ing a considerable sum of money.
The making of Egyptian air-castles,
cut circular by compass, and folded in
eight creases to form a globe, furnishes
employment for fashionable young
ladies of au industrious turn of mind.
. They are composed of paper of various
! bright colors, and when formed into
: globe-shape, are strung upon a cord,
! five or six different colors together,
and hnng in a portion of the room
! where a gentle current of air will set
: them in motion. They get "excited"
' at length, aud go whirling around wiud
i mill fashion, eventually all tangled np
, in a pretty little snarl forming bnt one
: glolie in appearance.
j King Cakoban's war club has been
' sent as a present to Q leen Victoria,
throngh Sir Hercules It ibiuson. It is
1 abont 3 feet 6 inches in length, and
: made of dense, hard wood, stained
black, and highly polished, resembling
in shape a stout, well-rounded walking
club. Round the handle are a group
of cocoa palms wrought in silver ; fern
i leaves gradually entwine upward
toward the head, with doves carrying
1 olive leaves in their mouths, and the
top or knob is surmounted by a crown
all of solid silver. It was formerly
used as a mace by the self-constituted
Government from whose hands Fiji has
now been wrested.
Ninevah was fourteen miles long,
eight miles wide ami forty-six miles
around, with a wall 100 feet high and
thick enough for three chariots abreast.
Babylon was fifty miles within the
walls, which were seventy five feet
thick and 100 feet high with 100 brazen
gates. The temple of Diana, at Ephe
sus, was 420 feet to the support of the
roof ; it was loo years iu building. The
largest of the pyramids was HU feet in
height and HJJ feet on the sides. The
base covered eleven acres. The stones
are about sixty feet in length, and the
layers are are 20S. It employed 3M,
000 men in building. The labyrinth of
Egypt contains 300 ch am bers and 12
halls. Thebes, in Eypt, presents
ruins twenty-seven miles around, and
contained 350,000 citizens and 480,000
slaves. The temple of Delpbos wax so
rich in donations that it was plnndered
of $., 000,000, and the Emperor Nero
carried away 200 statues. The walls of
Rome were thirteen miles around.
it
I,