B. F. SCHWEIER, THE CONSTITUTION THB UHI05 AND THB IHFORCKMEST OF THB LAWS. Editor and Proprietor. VOL XXX- M IFFLI NTO WN, J UN I ATA COUNTY, PENNA., SEPTEMBER 21. 1S7C. NO. 38. MARGY BROWN. lUnir r.ron! MarR Brown! CeUl pray, your wondrous smiling ; nere xwm-iliiug so beguiling II1ToariiUt1'tIlnwbiUD8 ill my precious time away ; ..a i niiMt not. cannot stay. ,k? la darker getting. ffhd my ou' 14 ind it seem, th to declare Boweof Mursy lirown! Beware ! JUrgy down: Mar;ry Prown ! l not touch me with your finger ; ponotletitseutlyliniicr k Br hand, aud do not hinder jliM-hiri: can I leave yon o? 5m the daIi'lit now u dying, Ind th elufioirs thick are lying l nJtrwth the elm tree, vieing With tii hJe of yonr dark hail? Beware, old Mursy Brown ! Beware! JUrfT Brown ! 3Irgy Brown ! S rou not the darkness crawling ? Hear too uot a soft voice falling ? Bui'. It my mother calling, CaLing for her laggard eon -, Send me from yon, pretty one: Tarn way that brown eye shiuiug Hit it in nrr soul entwining Cndefined and undefiuing ii0T t onf-ht that I most not share Beware, eweet Mars? Brown ! Beware! jUr7 Brown ! Marsy Brown ! Who K he who linden! yonder ? On what mission does be ponder? When I part from you I wonder, Bargy. will he come to yon ? poes he lore you, Margy, too ? Sweiheart '. it was only jesting. Xhii bit hat-te from you waa pressing. I will rtay. my love confessing, rfuii my heart, it says, ' Beware! Some one ee tliat ehe is fair Tale cue of Margy Brown ; Take care ! Bertha's Mercy. Mrs. t. Symington's magnificent unainc-room flooded with liglit from z'.toerins chandeliers, furniture of soft ji.-i?sy plush, the color of the Heart ol a nse;" soft sounds of a fountain splash in the conservatory, and sweet de vious perfume exhaling from aisles Jrireau J exotics and tropical pine. That was the scene that wild January n'ilit when the storm beat without, ulcold an J misery and want stalked.a jrim triumvirate; when little Bertha Agincourt nestled further down among if plumy cushions of the easy-chair 4ehJ found wheeled in fror.t of the .brery open tire burning so redly be- hi the polished silver bars. A grave-faced girl, shy, blushing and urnlest, with womanly eyes of tender iti, that mirrowed her pure sweet i...:lits as faithfully as a lakelet does jSssi.iiig sunlight. A quiet, loneiy ::tk creature, only sixteen, who had vise from a dear, happy home among v England hiils to take up the nnlen of life with brave hands, though Unkind all unused to the warfare, i:Ji stunt heart, for all there were jiies when it overflowed through the I ft, frank eyes. iie hid only been a week at the St. jniii.gtons only a week away from ir widowed mother and the plain lit- liome that was insufficient to give .-r living longer; only a week, and lng enough to learn the luxury of :MT and elegance; not long enough skaow how miserably inferior she ta.- held to lx', w ith her sweet, gentle the result of innate nobleness, the "urge, florid, fashionable daugh rruftlie house of St. Symington Juiiiata St. Svtnin-'ton. with ner coal- jukLair streaming down over her jfiiiit -ilk dress, and her jewels glit- urig with almost barbaric splendor as It sill into the drawing room that 5'irmy January night, followed by the -rt.r, k?s intrusive parent. Juauita's shiiuuieriug trail was piiig over the Muquet carpet, and vs-'l its pleasant rustle suddenly as wsiw B-rtlia nestling, all unobserv 's'.j, in the sacred precincts of the ?ii' plush chair. Hainma ! diil you ever? The idea coming in here! Tell her at tcewhat she is to do, with you?" Mr?. St. Srniington shrugged her ituMers ju-t a little deprecatingly. "En'ily, 1 haven't the heart to Juan ' I can't see what harm there is, if child want" Jtmma shot her mother a glance :r a her Mack eyes. "Nonsense, mam ma! If you can't Uit liarir., I can. If you won't tell -rtoleavr, I w ill. Uke a hawk aln.ut to pounce on a ! "tttijte, Juanira failed across the room 'Hoiked down at the pretty bowed j'! of the girl, as I-rtha sat leaning ' her elh.jw looking into the mass of "Hi Ao'iiuourt, you seem to be ig "'fnit of tLe fact that tliis apartment 5 t intended for the servanU. Be ?1 a to retire to the school-room, !,jw proper plaee, w here it is umler """iyou will pass your evenings in "future. Oh! lr. Kedmond, good ""g: How delighted we are to see Juanita turned coldlv away ,r,ith mortified girl to greet the Um gentleman wlio had been ad- W"1 X niornent tu.far it . u "Owed a.l t.vit- -Tiiaulta's ex- "a land ftheswe-t, sliame-fl ushed face of .'"wfiohad arisen from the easy -:sir. You eonipniiend, Miss Agincoun?" u,Hlta'g inineriona vnirw irtlv ar- Ktlie flying fIH)tstep, and a con- , ' unintelligible answer came in a w "urried tiitiirno oa Tt,.rttk (lifln Sttth impudence ! the next thing I a cook and lnainma's waiting r'11 ue coining in when they're j. " Kedmond, have Jlvou li-ara Milkmaia-g Marriage Song?' " . " while tin. !nS over the keys of the piano, and . . ftrouir voice rose in t aic. chorus of th tmlliid. and Guv -oond listened gravely, little Bertha Hvuiug on tlie noor or ner own ld rno, : :, x.t break. 1 U DATA,, e-. t . T. 'Brt s uere, never: x n " fj-maid or a kitchen ffirl before I'll stay here and be insulted by Juau Ha St, Symington insulted because I went into the drawiDg-room! If I'm not good enough to sit in there, am 1 fit to teach little Waldbery his letters ?" Poor, innocent, ignorant child ! she had yet to learn that this was a very qtreer world: 'A young lady, Rose?" Dr. Guy Redmond looked up from a ponderous volume of medical lore he was studying his grave thoughtful face showing its strength and beauty as the full glare of the light fell on it. "A young lady, sure, Mr. Guy. Leastways, a lady, anyhow, young or old. She's all so bundled up you can't scarcely see her." Dr. Kedmond arose as the colored servant disappeared, aud went into his office where a sweet, low voice ad dressed him as he closed tlie door. "You are Dr. Redmond ?" He bowed and took his customary seat. "I am troubled about my throat, Dr. Redmond, and as my living depends upon my voice, I am more than anx ious to know if I am seriously threat ened." lie listened, as if half familiar with her tone, her face, then the momentary personal Interest merged into custom ary professional solicitude. "You re a singer, then? Tell me the symptoms, please." "Oh, no, I can not sing, but I use my voice almost as much as if I were. I am a teacher I used to be a nursery governess in Mrs. St. Symiugton's family, and I came to you because 1 once saw you there." A sudden remembrance rushed over him : now he knew the cause of that sad, momentary, half recognition. And tills was tlie pretty, startled little girl, whose blue eyes and sweet drooping mouth had haunted him for mouths after he had seen and pitied her in her confusion, that January night a year agone almost. Involuntarily Dr. Redmond smiled. "I remember Miss Agincourt. And now you are teaching?" She smiled in answer to his courteous friendly way. "Teaching aud very hoarse at times with a continuous aching sensation in my throat and a tendency to cough." Her accurate description of her symp toms at once turned the current of con versation; and when, twenty minutes later. Bertha Agincourt left tlie office with a tiny package of powders in her muff it was with a new strange light shining in her eyes. "How good he is ! He seems like a friend I have always known." Guy Redmond's brown eyes watched the slight, graceful figure past the window. 'Poor child ! in aix month ehe will not speak above a whisper for all future time! I wonder what she will do?" Gradually the acquaintance, at first purelv professional, rijiened into per sonal friendship; then into warmer In terest, until on the day when Bertha lieird her fate from Dr. Redmond's kind, pitiful lips they had grown to be very near to each other. 'This huskiness permanent! never speak again! O, Dr. Redmond, don't tell me that!" she wailed forth her complaint so piteously, as she listened w ilh blanching cheeks and quivering lips. "lou know mat l nave uoue an mai lies iu human ower to do, Bertha. You know it hurts me to see you take it so to heart, child, and yet I am not sorry." He was looking carefully at ner. "Xot sorry! Xot sorry that I am w orse than useless until I can learn another way of earning my bread ! Oh, Dr. Redmond, I thought I thought He had both her rebellious hands in his now, and was half-smiling in her tearful face. "You thought what, Bertha I know you never have thooght what I have what I am thinking now wiiai a uari- .. Ka f,i. lllg little wile you arc " e ! You will be, wont you dear ? His wooing was quiet, but so intense that its very solemnity startled her. His wife she his wife! The raptu rous tears welled to her eyes. "Oh, Dr. Redmond !" "ever but Guy in the future Bertha Kiss me darliusr. and tell me you do not regret giving up your school to teach me how to be a better man ! Little Bertha, I will make you very happy, lr I may! May I?" And her breath almost hushed with ecstacy, the lonely, brave little girl ac cepted. The heaven of happiness she dreamed of, she had never dared think would be her own ! . "You will go down to dinner, then, to-day, dear? If you knew how much better you were looking, and how rtrt to and Ora are clamoring for you." Dr. Redmond caressed the delicate .i,fc of his wife as she leaned against, tlie lined cushions of the easy chair- pretty, fair as five years ago, wuen sue fia.l married ll.IU. She smiled as if in indulgence of his tenderness, "I wonder whether the children or nana is roost anxious I should go down ? Confess, now, Guy, you begin to oe jealous of this little stranger's monop- nlw of mv time. . . i.o TinV nalm of a wee ftlie lumucu m. j I . kk 1,-Sn.r cradled in a low-canopied crib at her side, and spoke in a low, hushed whisper, that had grown to be .. .ml melodious to her hus band's ears-that other people thought . j ..if ol .miction, wnue mey t.-- dered how well Mrs. Redmond bore it. The doctor leaned over - u: Kir then tlie motlier, lllBwvj,. it,,w I do not think even young Guy Agincourt could make me J-" t?. t d want vou down stairs to-day. Among other reasons, it is time you nurseryma d, wno came m j fn,J't seen her once, and lam u,u a.. j t been for cousin w name-would have neen 9t -Annie is always good, nd I II go down, dear, if you think it best, m! make the poor woman comfortable, although I really think you ought to have seen her." Doctor Redmond shrugged his broad, fine shoulders. "If you knew how busy I've been, and how miserably hidden tlie . lady keeps herself, you'd not think so". Then Bertha, we'll see you at 2 the pretty house-mother as usual." It was 1 when Mrs. Redmond went down stairs, the very ideal of a dainty, high bred lady, In her elegant Invalid costume, and surrouuded ou every side by all the luxuries mouey or taste could provide. . Bertie and Ora, her little daughters, eame flying to meet her as she entered the uursery, on a visit preparatory to dinner. A tall, plainly-dressed woman arose to cheek their exuberant delight. "Children don't giod heavens ! are you Mrs. Redmond?'' Bertha smiled and bowed. "I am Mrs. Redmond, Mrs. Greyson. If you know me you have the advantage, although although" she paused, and the color flew to her pale cheeks "it can not possibly be that yon are Miss St. Symington?" "Yes, Juanita St. Symington, w ho drove you out of her mother's parlor because you were nobody but a nursery governess! Mrs. Redmond this She almost gasped the words in her painful suspense and bitter remem brance. .. . Bertha laid her fair, white hand on the plain sleeve of tlie woman. "Try to forget whatever happened ur pleasant. Remember that this is truly your home, Mrs. Greyson, where you will be received and treated as an equal, by myself, husband and guests. And now are you ready for dinner? the bell will ring very soon." So, like coals of fire, was Bertha's mercy her sweet, tender womanliness on Juanita St. Symington's head while among the bitterest drops in Mrs. Grey son's cup Is the belief that by her own hand she made all the happiness of Mrs. Redmond's life a happiness she had often hoped for herself, but that, with many other good things, had been de nied her since tlie day when Fate took Fortune in hand and banished her from the home where Bertha Agincourt's destiny began to shape its course. Porrelala aad. Potter jr. The manufacture of notterv was one of the earliest of the arts practiced by man. irom the Lake dwellings of Switzerland and the sepulchres of Northern Europe, many of which be longed to the stone age, rude specimens of pottery have been produced, and the potter's wheel was knowu to the Egyp tians 2,500 years before Christ. Chinese authors fix an equally ancient date as the period when pottery was invented in China, but a long interval separated this discovery from the first manufac ture of porcelain proper, which is con sidered to have commenced under the Han dynasty (200 B. C 87 A. D.) But like the art of printing in China, the progress of the manufacture of porce lain was slow, and, like painting also, it may be said to have first flourished under the Tans dvnastv. (A. D. 61S (107.) Each period was marked by the production of a distinct kind of porce lain, and among the descriptions most hiirhlv esteemed in China, is one. the product of a somewhat later date, which is described as being "blue as the sky, shiuin? as a looking-glass, thin as paper, and giving a sound like a musical stone." That those vases were of this color was due to an order ol the reign ing Emperor, who directed that the porcelain for the palace should be made "blue as the sky after rain, when seen between the eloin!." During the succeeding dynasties the manufacture was iiicreasinclv developed, and at the present day there are no fewer than fifty places at which there are porcelain factories, the chief of which is at Keng-te-chin, in the province of King-se. The word "porcelain" is Euroean possi bly Italian and is supposed to have been derived from the similarity of the glazed surlace to that of the cow rie shell (porctlana) w hich itself took its name from its form (por-rlla, a little pig.) The little Chinese bottles, wlncli were stated by Rosscllini and others to have been found in undisturbed Egyp tian tombs dating from not less than 1.800 vears B. C, were beyond dispute manufactured subsequently to the eighth ceuturv of our era; and some pieces which bear the date of the eleventh century are reproductions oi tne last century. ftaperstltloa akaf Friday. i ht.ro are mar.v who are very suter- Btitlons reeardinjr Friday, but the fol lowing facta compiled by an exchange must eniivince anv one that his super stition against Friday as an unlucky day, is an error. It was on Friday, tne JJ ot August, uo) tiint Columbus sailed from the harbor of Falos, for the new world. It was on Friday, the 12th or Octoner, w h first saw land after sixty-five tut" t days of navigation. It was on i riday, the Hth of January, h.m, maw started on his return to announce the result of his search. It was on Friday, the 15th of March, 14'J2, thai ne uis- K,iiwl in Andalusia. It was on Fridav that he discovered the American J - T-"!.l l.f continent. It was on xnuay l.. Henry VII. gave John Cabot his dis patch from the voyage which resulted ,. f v- A ni urir In the discover " rt rrl.lar. September 6th, 1505, Men- dez founded St. Augustine. On Friday November 10th, 1620, the Mayflower ioomharked a few emigrants on American soil at Trovincetown. and on Friday, December 22d, 1620, that the passengers finally landed at Plymouth Rock. It was 0.1 Friday, February 22d 1732, that George Washington was i I it was on Friday, June 16th, 1773," the battle of Bunker Hill was fought, and on triday, ucwoer in, - i,.r the surrender of Saratoga took' place, the event which decided France to give ner aiu w mc cviumeo. .to.- ...nn of Arnold was discovered a lie on Friday. Yorktown surrendered on Friday, nd on Friday that Richard Henry Lee read the Declaration of Inde pendence to the . onunenuu voiigrcM. rarlsaa Belle. Ancient coins, the delight of the con noisseur, and the antiquary, are prized as well by the diligent historian for the light they throw on very much of the unrecorded past. Even, so a bundle of old deeds and documents serve to Illus trate in a great measure the burinese rules and habits of the several genera tions iu which tney are drawn. One of our most respected citizens placed in my hands some time ago, a number of deeds, bills of sale, quit claims, etc., pertaining to the progenitors of the pres ent inhabitants ol Newark, and varying iu their dates from 80 to over 160 years ago. So far from being dry and unin teresting, I found the perusal of many of those quaint old papers so instructive as to the manner in w hich some things were done in the olden time, that 1 venture to present a few brief extracts. Some of the oldest of these deeds were executed in the reign of (jiieeu Anne, and one concludes as follows: "In witness whereof, we have hereto sett our hands and affixed our seals this ISth day of December, in the year of our Lord, Annoque Domini one thousand seven hundred and twelve, and in the eleventh year of the reign of our Sover eign Lady ANNE, by the grace of God, over Great Britain, France and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, &c" The wife of the gentleman who execu ted this deed, was obliged to make her mark, and it is noticeable that others among the early settlers of Newark,' not a large number however, used the sign of the cross (a good enough emblem snrelv) to signify their Inability to write their own names. One deed of 85 years ago conveys to a Mr. Caleb Wheeler, Jr., for forty pounds good and lawful money, a nigger boy named Dick, aged about 11 or 12 years. Another paper endorsed "A hill of iit for Tom," is of as late a date as 1S11. This for the sum of three hun dred dollars, puts a certain individual, his heirs, executors, etc., In full posses sion of a nigger man known as Tom. Tom must have been a bright active fellow, and doubtless felt a pardonable degree of pride in reallizing his high commercial value. He brobably stuck up his nose at those miserable niggers w ho were sold for merely a hundred or a hundred and fifty dollars, and gave tnem to understand that they must know their places, and not to presume to approach his lofty plane of Ethiopian society. Had he been a contemporary with "Frank," he would have snubbed him most effectually, be it known to all "Christian people," that a Mr. Hezekiah Johnson, in the year 1750, sold his nig ger man named "Frank." for the paltry sum often shillings, lawful currency. Now, as niggers were sold with the clothes in which they stood, we might suppose that the purchaser made money, even bad ha Immediately given "Frank" his manumission papers, tak ing care, however, in the first place to bring the slave's external man down to the fashion of the Adamic period; that is, very much as mankind dressed in Eden prior to the fall. But what are we to think of a human chattel being sold for ten shillings; what conclusions are we to arrive at ? Was he like some biting, kicking, balking quadruped of a horse, not worth his fodder? or we will charitably conclude that "Frank" was ixesibly a birthday-present to a friend, and the ten shilling might have been introduced merely as a legal con sideration money. Another old document purports on its hack to be a cUime from Mr. David Og- Icn. This was given In the year 17:15 and in tlie eleventh year of our Sover eign Lord George, by the grace of God, ol Great Britain, France, Ireland, htng Defender of the Faith, Ac. A deed drawn in the reign of our Sovereign Lady Anne, Queen, Defender of the Faith; being over 160 years old opens w ilh a greeting "to all Christian People," enjoining upon such or them "to whom these presents shall come" to know w hat a certain Mr. Troat did. in the way of deeding away proerty. The legal gentleman who drew up this deed (probably long since deceased) de lighted in a redundancy of letters. He was evidently a friend of the alphabet, for he gives us chaiues for chains, heires for heirs, assignes for assigns; and, so pertinaciously does he keep this up that he even profanely gives us a 'damn' for an Innocent and useful dam. I his very iioorly comports with the pious apiwal to all "Christian People" in the outset. But it Is w ell perhaps to acquit this good gentleman of all intentional profanitv. He unquestionably desired to give a good length to his legal docu ment, that he might thereby with a lair show of reason proportionally swell his charge of pounds, shillings, and pence for services rendered. In the year of our Lord 1783, Mr. Ne hernia Wade in a purely Republican deed, without mention ofKing or Queen, fells for one hundred aud fifty pounds his nigger girl named Bess, aud her two children Die and Cato. A deed was executed by James Ward in the reign of George the second, and in the year 1737, is witnessed by Abraham Kitchel and Aaron Burr. The last named minister was of course the esteemed pastor of the First Presbyteri an Church in this city, and father of the scheming unprincipled politician of the some nature, who was once Vice President of the United States. After reading Dr. Stearns' glowing eulogy of the Rev. Aaron Burr, in his history of the First Church, the accidental discov ery of the autograph of the latter, in an old time-worn deed executed 138 ago, was to my mind a matter of con siderable interest. The mere name of Aaron Burr is sgggestive of a thousand historical recollections. While the fa ther and pastor, as is well known, was distinguished for his piety and varied accomplishments, tlie son was notorious for his profligacies and selfish ambition. "A bill of Ktil for Harry," so endorsed is the last paper to which I shall at present refer, lie was sold by two in dividuals (one rejoicing in the good name of "Freeman") in the year 1785, for one hundred and ten pounds, York money. That a Free-man should sell a human being asa slave, seems like doing but little honor to his own name, We might justly inquire why not make the poor darky a free-man too, instead of telling him to Mr. Wheeler; but doubtless Mr. Freeman and his co-partner in the ownership of Harry bad a ready argument at their tongue end to show that the niggers deserved all they" got and more too, for the unseem ly conduct of their great progenitor Ham, at the time his father the patri arch Noah, got somewhat the worse for liquor. The .tew eat I'aahlaaaale Baart la Ea Klaad. A very curious sport is gaining ground in this country. The use of cormorants for fishing purposes has been practiced for centuries by the Chinese, who care fully train these birds to deliver their prey uuinjured to their master, Instead of appropriating it to their own use ; and from China and other Oriental coun tries it has been brought to England. Cormorant-fishing recalls, in a measure. the old days of falconry, with the ex ception that, while tlie feats of the trained hawks and falcons were per formed in mid-air, the performances of the "6ea-crow," as the French call it, takes place in the water. With a ring placed round their necks to prevent them from swallowing their booty, though well-trained birds will dispense with this restraint, the cormorants plunge at a given signal into the water, and hard ly ever fail to bring up a finny prize. Their broad-webbed feet and their thin, keel-shaped body admirably adapt them for swimming and diving ;and they will often use their short, stiff wings as an additional means of: propulsion. So sw ift are they, and so sudden their de scent, that the nimblest fish can not es cape them. If they seize their prey otherwise than by the head they ascend to the surface, and. quickly jerking It into the air, will adroitly catch it as it falls headforemost. The appearance of a number of cormorants thus engaged, and regularly bringing their booty to their owner s hand, Is a very pleasing sight. Thus employed they will con tinue fishing, with but litttle Intermis sion, and with the occasional encour agement of a handful of the smaller fry, for several hours together. Otters in deed can be trained to act in a similar manner; and, if this mode of fishing is likely to become at all general, it will necessitate a new reading of certain acts of Parliament. Under the salmon fish ery acts, for Instance, a duty is payable on "instruments" used for the capture of salmon, and it may become a question for the lawyers whether "cormorant" can properly be called an "instrument" if engaged in pursuit of salmon, while it is only an "aquatic totipalmate bird" at other times. There are, at any rate, few kinds of sport which are not open to objections from which cormorant fish ing is free. Cormorants must have fish to eat, and it is no more cruel to let them M thwMelvea in the presence of ad miring spectators than to catch the fish first of all in a net. It is even superior to the ancient falconry, since the winged prey of the hawks is a more sensitive animal than the finny prey of the cor morant, and the fish do not probably feel any pain in their ignominious de scent, head foremost, into the capacious beak of their captor. Iadepeudeat Jaaraallsm. A Detroit youth, of fourteen, sold fif ty pounds of old iron and a piece of lead pipe, a few days ago, and received enough money to carry out his long cherished idea of establishing a weekly newspaper which should represent the interests of every section of Michigan. He was willing to commence low down and work up, and he established an of fice in the cellar of his father's house, purchased tw o quarts of "pi," hired his si.-ter as an apprentice, and work w as begun on his first number. The hoy had an idea that an indepen dent journal would pay best, and his first edition, which consisted of seven copies of a sheet about as large as an envelope, was devoted to items of a per sonal nature. It was rather a family sheet, also, seven of the eight item in it being hits at his father and mother, and the lone one was a bit of ail vice to his school teacher. While he was out hunting up adver tisements and soliciting subscribers his father laid the type away to shoot cats with, and when the editor and proprie tor returned he was given a woodshed interview and then wedded to the han dle of a lawn mower. He was yesterday "hollering" over the alley fence to one of his friends that he couldn't be crushed out nor fright ened off the track by no bloodthirsty mob, but the prospect for a new paper is dubious. The l line la EasllnB. Hehoola. The London 1'elegrapk, referring to some recent canes in the Indon Police Courts, says : "It would be desirable to know whether schoolmasters and schoolmistresses are to tie permitted any longer to slash with canes the hands of little school children. There may be some members of the London School Board who have read Sir Charles Bell's "Bridgewater Treatise on the Hand," aud, in such a case, they may have learned that the member in ques tion is an exquisitely delicate and com plex piece ot human mechanism, which may be thrown out of gear by a very slight abrasion. If, nevertheless, the cane wielded by powerful adults on the limbs of weak children is to be consid ered legal, it is manifestly a gross mockery and perversion of justice, and a waste of public time, that Magis trates should be called upon to investi gate the complaints made by the Farents of boys who have been caned, (stands to reason that a thin cane cuts a boy. that a thick cane bruises him, and that in either case his body must be w healed, and he must undergo a certain amount of torture. It is per fectly idle to talk of moderate and 'excessive' chastisement. A couple of stripes will send a nervous child into hysterica, whereas a strong and obtuse boy would nnderaro a couple of dozen without flinching. If the law is to up hold the cane, let the law prescribe the number of blows. The London School Board seems to be fond of experiment alizing; and it would perhaps be desira ble that the Legislature should assist them in trying the experiment of con ducting their schools wholly without corporal punishment." A wild horse, bearing tlie dead body of a man securely strapped to its back, dashed into Waco Texas, a few days ago. Art CrltKlaaa. A well-known artist has for the last four or five months been throwing his whole soul into a landscape which is now on exhibition in a Chestnut street window. ' It is called a fine painting by art critics, yet what are art critics in number to the great public, no two of whom see or criticise alike? There was a crowd around the picture yester day, and a bootblack took a square look at the painting and said: "Purty good river he painted, but it runs up hill. Wonder If that artist didn't ever go fishing?" There was a pause, and an elderly gentleman with spectacles on remarked : "What strikes me is that all those six cows should be switching their tails the same way and at the same time." The crowd looked closer and it was the general opinion that the artist should have switched over some of those tails. "It's very nice," said a young man with a sore eye, "but look at that log house from a builder's point of view. Why, it is so far out of plumb that it will fall over and hurt some one before night, and that chimney wouldn't draw If there were forty fires below." There was a long period of silence as each one of the crowd lined the walls with his eye. Then an old woman cautiously remarked : "No matter about the bouse or the cows or th river it's a nice picture. I got two chromos that I paid a dollar apiece for, and I dou't believe they are a bit better than this !" There was a woman at her side with a head of cabbage in a basket, and she put in : "If I can find a nice smooth board anywhere I'll have my husband make three or four pictures like that!" There was another long silence, and then a sedate man, whose garments were fast going to Time's hospital for old clothes, elbowed the boys back with a great show of authority, and re marked : "You folks don't know anything about art. You had better go and crit icise a lamp-post or a street sign. There the painter has used up three yards of factory muslin, a whole day's time, and more'n two shillings' worth of paint, and you ignoramuses come around here and go to abusing his picture !" A Tradllloa rsaratoca Lake. . There is an Indian superstition at tached to this lake which probably bad its source in its remarkable loneliness and tranquility. The Mohawks be lieved that its stillness was sacred to the Great Spirit, and that if a human voice uttered a sound upou its waters, the canoe of the offender would instant ly sink. A story Is told of an Englishwo man, in the early days of the first set tlers, who had occasion to cross this lake with a party of Indians, who, before embarking warned her most impres sively of the spell. It was a silent, breathless day, and the canoe shot over the surface of the lake like an arrow. About a half a mile from the shore, near the centre of the lake, the woman, wish ing to convince tlie Indians of the erro neousness of their superstition, uttered a loud cry. The countenances of the Indians fell instantly to the deepest gloom. After a minute's pause, how ever, they redoubled their exertions, and in frowning silence drove the liglit bark swiftly over the waters. They reached the shore In safety, and drew up the canoe, w hen the woman rallied the chief on his credulity. "The Great Spirit is merciful," answered I he scorn ful Mohawk; "he knows that a white woman cannot hold her tongue!" Har per's Slitynziut. M. Phaalom Feaa. Aproos of the stories of haunted houses and ghostly doings, to which the prevailing spiritualistic mania has given rise, a corresjiondent gives the following, vouching lor its truth : There is a gentleman who visits our city once every three years, whoexcites a great deal of interest on account of some peculiar circumstances which al ways attend him. His personal appear ance is striking rather tall, with head firmly set on broad shoulders, iron gray hair, brushed off from a full, w hite for head, well-cut features, and eyes dark, with a strange inward expression. He takes rooms at one of our first class ho tels, and remains three days. The first is spent in giving directions for a banquet to be served iu his private apiKtrtments, and he is particular to the minutest detail. The second day he superintends everything, and his face wears an anxious look. At about four o'clock he retires to his dressing-room, after giving a last injunction to the ser vants to be in attendance at the appoin ted time. The hour approaches; the table is re splendent with silver, crystal and flow ers; the servant stands expectantly waiting, yet no guests have arrived. At length the doors of the inner room open, and the strange gentleman enters his face flushed and head bent, as if listening to some remark addressed to him. With polite gestures he Indicates seats to numerous guests, and at last seats himself at the head of the table. With a motion to the astonished servant he signifies bis wish to have the covers removed and the different course served All is profound silence, and yet the host appears to be engaged in earnest conversation, frequently bowing and smiling toward different parts of the table. At length the wine is poured, every glass is filled; and as this is done the host rises, holding his glass high above his head. Instantly every chair is filled with lovely women and courtly men, sparkling eyes look love to eyes that speak again, and rosy lips seem ready to part with rippling laughter. Soon the ladles disappear through the door float, as it were, out of sight and the gentlemen remain. Conversa tion seems to be renewed, when sudden ly the gaze all is riveted upon two young men who appear to be very angry. They both rise excitedly, one draws a dagger, uplifts his arm. and with de scending motion buries it in the bosom of a beautiful girl who has rushed in and thrown herself la front of the in tended victim. Jewels gleam on her polished throat and amid the shining gold of her hair, while her life blood, like a crimson thread, slowly trickles over the snowy whiteness of her dress. Every face is filled with a look of horror, and with a cry of agony the host falls back in his chair insensible, and as he alls the guests fade away and vanish into air. Nearly all of the servants have long since fled with fright, but a few, allow ing their curiosity to overcome their fear have remained to the end. They now summon assistance, and the strange man is carried to bis bed. For a long time all means of resuscitating him fail, but at length, with a deep sigh, he opens his eyes and moans, "Oh, it is all over-" Then he falls into a deep slumber, and so remains until the after noon of tlie third day, when he makes his appearance at the office, calm and collected, calls for his bill, pays it without the least demur, orders a car riage, and is driven to the Grand Cen tral depot, and there we lose sight of him until three years roll over our heads, when we feel sure he will visit us again. There are many stranger tilings hap pen than ever appear in print, and this probably would have become one of them had not the public become excited over the Eddy mysteries and fairly roused our scientific men to investigate the indefinable something that steals up stairs after us every-day people, and lays its cold hand upon us in our sleep. The circumstances here related can be corroborated by a number of people if necessary. Dr. , who has been a witness of them, has a theory which may be a right one after all, chimerical as it may seem at first. In this case he thinks the gentleman has in reality gone tli rough just such a scene as has been described, and that probably the young lady was his daughter. The dreadful shock her loss produced acted in a pe culiar way upon his brain. It must take three years for some unknown force to work within him to the point when he feels compelled, perhaps as a sort of relief to repeat as far as possible the event. When the wine appears his inner force must be reaching to culmi nation, and the vision so intensly vivid in the mind, is projected into or upon the atmosphere, like a reflection in the glass, so that it becomes visible to all who may be present. When he falls the force is expended, and the phantas magoria disappears. The prolonged in sensibility followed by a deep sleep is an effort of nature to repair exhaustion and restore equilibrium. The largest Raaaa la tala t'anatrjr. The surveying party sent out to sur vey tlie Okefenokee Swamp report that it measures one hundred and forty-two miles in circumference, aud with the sinuosities, one hundred and eighty miles around. This va.-t formation, thir ty miles long and twenty-seveu miles wide, is the largest swamp in the Uni ted States. It lies in the southeastern part of Georgia, but partly in North Florida. Here is the Suwanee river, made famous by the old negro nielody of "Old Folks at Home." It traverses a large section of upper Florida, is bor dered with valuable cypress and other timber, and empties into the Gulf at a point about eighteen miles north of Ce dar Keys. Okefenokee Swamp was, for generations, a refuge for runaway slaves. Indians have lived there until recently, cultivating gardens; and in the depths of the jungles and forests are thousands of hears and a great many Florida "tigers" the cougar, or Amer ican panther. One curious experience of the surveying party was to rind them selves at one time, while in the midst of a great swamp, suffering for w ater. The discovery of a large number of mounds, "probably built by a race of men existing before the Indians," is al so reported. Several skeletons were taken from them, but some crumbled as soon as exposed to the air. Aaeleat aad Madera Xola. There is an element in the prose fic tion of the last century which places it in strong contrast with the novel of the present lime. We are now inclined to regard the novelist as before all things an artist. His work is judged by tiie laws proper to imaginative literature, and success or failure is reckoned by reference to a staudard which would have been scarcely understood by the w riters or by the public of an earlier time. On one point in particular modern critics are wont to be unfail ingly severe. The novelist is not per mitted to be a teacher of morals. Pardon may be granted for other faults of style or knowledge, but the fault of attempted instruction is deemed unpardonable, and the writer who now undertakes to deliver saee counsel on the rewards of virtue or the perils of vice is at once and confidently judged to be ignorant of the first principles of his crai'u This modern view of the requirements of fiction is curiously opposed to the practice of the writers of the last cen tury. There, at least, we find no doubt in the mind of the author as to the propriety of instrncting his readers. The novel was understood to be the vehicle for discursive comment upon manners and morals, ami the element in fiction now held to be supreme occu pied then only a subordinate place. The gift of characterization, since discovered to be the one enduring element in those cumbrous works of Action, was held at the time to be subject to the power.of the essayist; the individual personages of the history slowly emerged from a world of wise and witty comment offered independently by the author; and when we strive to reach the motive of one of these earlier novels, it is impossible not to feel that by the novelist himself the facts of the story were regarded mainly as useful machinery by the aid of which be might deliver himself of a store of pregnant criticisms upon meu aud man ners. The fortune and fate of the hero formed no doubt an object of interest to him; and we may note everywhere iu the literature of the eighteenth cen tury the signs of a new pleasure in being able to describe and imitate the minutest facts of real life and to trans fer them into the mimic world of fiction ; but all this side of his labor was evi dently deemed of less dignity and con sideration than the functions of a moral instructor. London Saturday Sniew. KIWS D! BRIE?. There are one hundred and twenty Chinese students in Hartford. A colored woman has been ap pointed postmaster at Terry, Missis sippi. .tsMOr - A bed of ochre of pure quality and ereat value has just been discovered at Kussell, Mass. The tide of emigration for Texas and Kansas shows a very marked in crease over last year. When a Wisconsin man dies with out heirs, bis property goes to the school fund of the State. A. S. Abell, proprietor of the Bal timore Sun, is seventy years old, and is said to possess $10,000,000. Twenty-nine States will chose their Congressmen on the 7th of November next, the remainder at various periods. Prof. John Wise is a philosophical man. He says that lightning rods are of no more good than so many pine sticks. Smallpox is becoming scarce in England. The last annual report gave only 600 cases for the whole of Eng land and n ales. John Fitz has just been arrested in Owensboro', Ky., and taken to Mis souri on a charge of murder committed eighteen years ago. The amount of fractional currencr outstanding at the time the act provid ing tor its redemption in stiver took ef fect was 10,000,000. The C. C. C. which stands for Champion Centenuial Cucumber, is in swanton, t. Jt is five feet two inches long and still growing. A Milwaukeean moves that the hickory tree be made an emblem of the United States, as the oak is of England aud the laurel of Greece. The Author of "St. Elmo" is the only American writer of fiction to whom a publisher will pay $15,000 for a novel ou receipt ot the manuscript. Dom Pedro desires to Induce Rus sians to settle in Brazil instead of this country. He offers 160 acres of land and the certainty of one year's subsist ence. Alfred Johnson, commander ami crew of the dory Centennial which has just crossed the ocean, was 57 days at sea. He landed at Abercastle Pem brokeshire. A Holyoke, (Mass.) boy, whose spine has been weakened by illness, runs on all fours like a dog. His health is good, and he hops over the ground at a lively rate. In the show window of a Chicago pawn-shop is exhibited a magnificent diamond set, said to have been thn proerty of the Empress Eugenie. It is held at $25,000. Dion Boucicault is about to restore at his own cost, the dilapidated build ings of the grammar school in which Oliver Cromwell was educated. The estimated expense is JL!)00. Penikese Island, which John An derson gave to Prof. Agassis for a sum mer school in natural history, now re verts to Mr. Anderson, who proposes to make it his summer residence. Manchester, N. n., claims to be the only manufacturing city of New England where the mills have been operated without interruption on full time and w ithout reduction in wages. In Ireland only 68,758 persons out of 5,4U0,4:5own any laud at all, and of these only 32,614 have more than an acre, the remainder owning among hem au only i),Wo acres, chiefly house property. Sir Julius Benedict, of London, U now seventy-two years of age. He has sent out to the world nearly 8,000 pupils, and has conducted, at the very least, 100,000 concerts In his career of fifty years. Among the postoffices established in Pennsylvania the past week were three of the following names: Autumn '.eaves' and "Haidee, in Wayne County, and "Bouquet," in Westmore land County. One thousand Young Men's Chris tian Associations are known to be in existence on this continent, and tabu lated reiMrts of eight hundred and twenty one of these are published in their Vear Book lor 1S76. The Engiih school boards have es tablished savings banks to teach the children providence, ami the banks have now upward ot ss.nuu oeionging to the children. Of this sum $6,000 be longs to London school children. A South Carolina man has been keeping statistics of the duels fought or arranged for in the state since the war, and he savs that threK-fourts ol them were about women, and that most of the contestants bore the title of major. The managers of the Botanical Gardens at Manchester, England, have latelv leeii agitated about the question of oiening the gardens to the public on Sun. lays. It has at last oeen settled in the affirmative bv a vote of 1S5 to 65. At a recent meeting of representa tives of the various unions of New York, the secretary of the organization who ha all the means of knowing, re ported that the members of unions had dwindled from 73,000, in 1&52, to about lo,000 ill 13,6. Iii Newark, N. J., the other night. burglars broke into a store where hats are manufactured. They carelessly Ironped a match into a lot of chemicals and a tremendous explosion followed. 1 he thieves escaped, but they were ter ribly frightened. The bankers of Peru seem to have a very hard time. The Government failed to sell its guano last year, anu the bankers were forced to advance about $1,000,000, and were promised that they should be reimbursed out of the proceeds ol the nrst sale. A strong effort is being made to se cure the division of California into two States. The proposed division is on the line ot Santa cruz county, giving fourteen countries in the South for the new State, with 30,000 voters and a hundred millions taxable property. The hair of a woman, nearly 90 years of age, who died oa Martha's Vineyard, was wholly woven in with false hair which had not been removed for over 30 years, and was held in place by 180 pins. One article of her dress was held together by 308 pins, though her bureaus contained 98 new dress patterns of all kinds and qualities' anme of them bought 64 vears ago. aud one elegant brocade silk could be traced back 200 years. Mr. C. L. Wilder, of Lancaster, Mass., claims to have the largest tree in Massachusetts on his estate. It is in a perfect state of preservation, not having a dead leaf or branch, and .Its limbs hang in arches of symmetrical beauty. The owner of the tree says be measured it five years ago and it was twenty-three feet in circumferance. A recent measurement finds the trunk to Ko iuntr.thm and one half feet in circumferance at a distance of three feet from the ground.