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t
THE C053TITUTI0S TH1 U5I0H AHD TO 5T0BC11KT OF IH1 LAWS.
Editor and Proprietor
B. F. SCHWEIER,
MIFFLIOTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA.. SEPTEMBER 28. 1876.
NO. 39.
coram rest.
In; from the roar and the rattle.
The dost and the din of the ton.
Where to lire ia to brawl and to battle.
Till the etroog treeda Um weakling down!
Away to the bonny green hilla
Where the sunshine aleapa on the brae.
And the heart of the greenwood thrills
To the hymn of the bird on the spray.
Away from the smoke and the smother,
The nil of the don and the brown.
The posh and the pleeh and the pother.
The wear and the waste of the town !
Away where the eky shines dear.
And the wild breeze wanders at will.
And the dark pine-wood node near
To the fight-plumed birch on the hiU.
Away from the whirling and wheeling
And steaming above and below.
Where the heart has no leisure for feeling.
And the thought has no qoiet to grow.
Away where the clear brook parte,
And the hyacinth droopa in the shade.
And the wing of the fern nnoofla
IU grace in the depth of the glade.
A Second Wire.
White and silent, in the centre of the
darksome room, lay the source or ail tne
darkness, the sobs, thi black veils. "She
looks peaceful, doesn't she ?" murmured
an aunt to a sister who was dropping
bitter tears. "At last! at last!" The
words sounded as if they were (round
between closed teeth.
Mr. MiMSTie stODDed beside the coffin :
he was taking a last look at the face that
had smiled at him through a brklabveli,
fifteen years before.
"See how moved he looks !" whispered
Mrs. Brown to her daughter. "Ah!
she was a high-strung creature not
iuat the one to make a man happy yet
how attentive and polite he was to her!
There is not a better man in Kosevme.
"It seems as though be could not get
away from that coffin," remarked Mrs.
Prism to Miss Prune. "Oh ! she was a
high tempered girl! But they seemed
to get on well of late years. He always
got her everything she wanted. What
a fine looking man he is!"
Just then occurred a sudden move
ment. "It Is that sister of Mrs. Ma
gogue, Julia More. She came near
fainting; her aunt took her out;" the
mourning crowd explained to each
other.
Outside:
on so, dear,
a minute."
"Julia! Julia! don't take
Ilere, here come in here
Mrs. More drew her niece
into a conservatory, and dipping ber
handkerchief into the tinkling fountain
she soothed Julia's temples. She ceased
the spasmodic hand clench ings, but still
glared at her aunt out of hot, dry eyes.
"There, there, cry now, dear; it will do
you good," said her aunt, still laving
her face.
"I can't cry, aunty ; but you did well
to bring me out ; in another moment I
should have sprung at that hypocrite;
I should have turned him round to those
maudlin women. I should have said:
There is her murderer! There is the
man who swindled her out of her prop
erty; who broke'her heart and wore out
her life !' To hear those women go on
about her 'high temper.' My poor darl
ing ! 'Not fit to make him happy !' Ah,
1 wish I had the making of him happy
for a little while!"
Several maids and widows had a
thought of the handsome widower
which fitted into the identical words,
but not into the gritty accents used by
his sister-in-law.
"Don't, July dear," pleaded Aunt
More; "I didn't hear anybody say any
such thing; and I hope Margaret was
as happy as most wives. At least, she
is resting now, and perhaps the peace
of heaven has already washed away the
scars of earth. Do try to compose your
self, and let us go back."
They went back, but we need not
follow them into that dusky atmos
phere, heavy with tuberose and helio
trope, the flowers of love and death.
A little over a year afterward, Mr.
Burt Magogue might have been seen
bidding a reverent good night to a
cherub face, at the door of a charming
country house. Stepping back into his
carriage, he noticed a friend waiting
lor the horse car.
"Come with me, Ross?"
"Thanks ! you're a good fellow, Ma
gogue." "As the coachman drove back to the
city, Mr. Boss remarked :
"This opera going is costly business
to a poor devil, if the lady lives in the
country, especially if it rains; but you
are not a poor devil."
Magogue laughed ; "I don'tcare what
I spend in the campaign, so I come out
victor."
"Then you have begun a campaign in
earnest, have you ?"
"You're right."
"Dear me! Which one is the be
sieged? Miss Erminia? She has fine,
dark gray eyes like like your wife."
"I know. It is not Miss Erminia."
"Miss Helen? She is an accom
plished, handsome girl."
"Too accomplished; she has too many
opinions of her own. I've had enough
of that."
"You want an echo?"
"Well, if vou like to out it so, I do
want an echo. I want a little, artless,
affectionate, docile, clinging sort of wo
man. I am going in for Miss Effie."
"Miss Effle! Why, she's hardly out
of school."
"Harcllr. I know what I want."
"She would scarcely be much of a
companion."
"I don't want companion."
"But she is a dear little thing to pet
sweet, timid eyes, quivering Hps you
can't speak to her but the color rises In
her face. What flossy, flaxen curls she
has? On the whole, why dou't you get
a Skye terrier V
"I know what I want." repeated Ma
mtnie. a dark smile on his fine features.
o
Presently a new engagementenliv-
ened the Koseville tea tame.
"Sn soon ?" alrhed Miss Prune.
"Soon?" echoed her brother, "why,
his wife has been dead a year; she
wouldn't be any more dead if be waited
three." " -v
"So childish I" said Mrs. Prism.
"That's just what he wanU," said Mr
Priam, "a tweet, little, clinging, docile
thing."
"An echo?"
"Yes, an echo. I guess he had enough
of independent opinion in his first wife,
if the truth were known."
"So handsome he Is, fascinating and
so rich," said Mrs. Shrimps. "It is a
fine thing for Effie Keene, youngest of
the three-"
"His first wife had a good deal of
money," said Mr. Shrimps. "I've heard
say that he kept her pretty short,
though."
"Of her own money?" asked Mrs.
Shrimps.
"My dear, after she married him it
was her husband's money. I think she
was inclined to be extravagant. A high
spirited, self-willed thing she was as
Margaret More. I don't think they
were very congenial; and I am afraid
this If not going to be any better a
sweet, pretty, babyish thing and prob
ably spoilt."
Julia More saw her brother-in-law
one day. He was In a jeweler's store,
gently fitting a gold ring upon an el fin
finger. All Julia knew of her sister's
nnhappiness she knew by a blind, cer
tain instinct; the scene before her
caused an Intolerable pang of reminis
cence. Then she glanced again at the
slight little figure, the sweet-eyed,
cherub face, and the tall, dark form
Impending over them. Pity devoured
her heart. "Poor child! poor child!"
And old nurse, who had reared all
the Keene children, watched the pair
sauntering up the steps that night.
-'Eh ! a fine handsome man he is, and
how sweet to her! But he'd better
have taken Miss Erminia or Miss Helen.
Poor Mr. Magogue!"
But Mr. Magogue had found exactly
what he wanted at last. When he tried
to explain to her that Tilden, presiden
tial candidate, had never been mixed up
with Mr. Beecher's affairs, but was "the
man who, more than any other man in
the country, represents" how sweetly
she shook her flaxen curls !
"Don't try to put all that Into my
poor little head. Which man are you
for?"
"Tilden."
"Then I'm for Tilden."
This was delightful to a man who re
membered seeing his first wife, when
an erratic child, weeping passionately
because Buchanan was elected Instead
of Fremont.
Mr.Magogue considered it unfeminine
for women to interest themselves In
politics. To be sure the fair child,
Francis WaUingham, first attracted her
knightly lover by her intense Interest
in a certain phase of politics. But then
her lover was not Burt Magogue, but
Philip Sydney.
Mr. Magogue and Miss Effie Keene
were to be married in the spring. Sweet
Effie could scarcely make up her . mind
to leave the country where she had
been reared, where all her friends
lived, and go to bve in the city, which
suited Mr. Magogue's business.
"We will go away on our tour, my
pet," said Magogue, at one of their last
partings under the stars. "When we
come back you can make up your mind."
The smile that adorned his features
after his back was turned was not one
which his bride elect would have recog
nized. Her predecessor knew it well.
On the tour she was ail sweetness,
gaiety and grace. Coming back they
stopped at her father's. The next
morning Mr. Magogue addressed tllle:
"Dearest, you know I would like to
consult your wishes in this as In every
thing; but my business requires that
we should live In the city."
"Does It truly, dear?" rolling up her
sky-blue eyes; but how bad that is, for
you know my health will not stand the
city."
Mr. Magogue s brow darkened. j
"You know," said his bride, sinking
upon a cushion, rolling her flossy head
upon bis knee, "how I would love to
live in the city, so as to suit you, but
you tee 1 v:Ould die there. Ton don't
want me to die, do you? bo, li you
really can't live in the country, I shall
have to stay at papa's, shall I not? But
you'll come out and see me, won't you."
And she rolled up the long-lashed eyes.
He was angry, baffled, bamboozled.
but he stooped and kissed her. lie
hired a pretty house In the country.
As to living at her father's not for
him ! How could he be master in his
own house, there?
But he was not quite satisfied. He
had a vague sense that he was not hav
ing his own way; he scarcely knew
why. To his first wife he had banded
out her own money discreetly; from
her he had required a strict account of
every cent. But this was such a child
ish creature! He would teach her,
though, in time; there was no doubt of
that.
Was that she in that jewelers shop 7
Impossible! But it was his Effie, and
the jeweler was just handing her a box.
She caught sight of her husband's ex
cited eyes; she skipped toward him at
the door.
"O, look here, dear!"
She held him the open box; on the
white satin sparkled a cross of alternat
ing sapphire and diamond.
"Effie! I told you I could not afford
that!"
"Oh. don't look at me like that!" she
pleaded, shrinking, rolling up her lips.
"I know yon said you could not afford
it; so I borrowed the money of cousin
Charles; he said he would as soon lend
it to me as not. For these sapphires, I
must have them; they just match my
eyes; they belong to me; see?" With
such a smile.
But Magogue could have kicked him
self for smiling back at her as he did ;
but what was be do with such a child ?
Thinking it over, he began to see that
he was being cajoled; be, Burt Ma
rogue. He must put a stop to this; it
was time he came out in a new charac
ter, or men would call him doting,
"Cousin Charles." Indeed ! Where was
he drifting?
A day or two afterward Mr. Magogue
was riding home in an unpromising
humor. Some of that first wire's money,
very wisely Invested, he thought, had
lust sunk out of sight and reach. This
annoyed him. He was a man who
needed a good deal of money. Kene of
your goody-goody, two cent fellows
was he. The the long, dull, country
ride annoyed him. What a fool he had
been to give in to ber about living in
the country. "She must have a lesson,"
he said, shading his head, grasping his
whip, and touching up his gray horse.
Another turn brought him round .into
the broad elm-arched avenue that led to
his door.; Arriving there, what does he
see? '
A groom with two horses; one beau
tiful, snow-white, bearing a lady's new
saddle. --"
Burt Magogue sprang up the steps;
he crossed the piazza at a stride, the
ball at another ; he looked In at the ante
room door. A lady was glancing at the
long mirror; a petite lady, smiling at
the petite double In navy blue riding
habit with silver buttons, navy blue
velvet hat with ostrich plume, a flame
of geranium at her throat, a silver
mounted riding whip In her little hand.
"What does all this mean, madam?"
shouted the flower of Koseville chivalry.
She turned round, bowed, walked np
to him:
"What did you say to me, sir?" she
asked graciously.
"I asked, what you mean by this?"
She laughed a silvery laugh. "Oh !
Why It means that I am going out to
ride. I like riding. Cousin Charles
went with me yesterday to look at a
horse. He says he is a splendid fellow,
and you see how handsome he is. The
bill for him will come in to-morrow.
Don't I look nice, dear?"
He clenched the whip still In his
hand. "I'll pay no bills for any horse;
that is going back where he came from
with the groom. And you, madam
walk up stairs, take off that gear, and
put on something decent, and then come
down to me."
She looked up at him, lips apart, from
under the curled, navy blue rim of her
riding hat; then clapped her tiny bands
and burst into sweet peals of cherub
laughter.
"Madam, are you mad ? Do you think
you can behave like this? You didn't
know my first wife, she's dead." He
spoke in an ominous tone that lowered
the color in Effie's rounded cheek; her
lips curled back like those of a child
when first confronting some strange,
unpleasant animal.
Burt Magogue went on : "She was a
spirited, high-tempered thing, but I
brought her down. Would you like to
know how I brought her down?"
"Yes I should," she answered with
that curious.fearless glance, just touched
with something that might have been
dismay had It not been more like scorn.
"How did you do it ?"
"I conquered her with the lash !"
Little Effie shuddered and looked
down. Her delicate face was working
with horror, with pity for her prede
cessor, with terror for the gulf sud
denly open at her feet, swarming with
the misbegotten wrongs that follow the
meeting of irresponsible power and
weakness. Or was it only terror for
herself, hopeless in the power of her
natural protector, lowering over her in
his vast superiority of physical strength ?
He wished she would look up; these
baby faces can be as baffling as the time
less brows of Sphynx. At last those
golden lashes lifted ; the timid eyes rose
up and up, until they met his ; they gave
him a disagreeable sensation; he would
revenge it upon her some day though
she was almost too pretty to be crushed.
"You did did you ?" She had taken
in his remark, it seemed. Then she
walked up to him, clenched her fist to
the size of a magnolia buJ,and fixed him
with eyes whose cherub blue was lost
in a glitter, like bayonets in the sun.
"Well if you ever lay so much as
your least finger's weight on me don't
you ever shut your eyes again, for the
first time I find you asleep I 11 cut your
throat from ear to ear. So hear me
every saint in heaven !"
She turned at the door and flung back
laugh : "This U your second wife !"
With this "echo" she left him.
A horrible sensation clutched Burt
Magogue. He fought it as if it were
paralysis. What was it? And what
being was this that he had marrried
this mocking, spirit-like thing whom
he could not terrify? He knew all
about women yes, the bravest of them ;
flighty, provoklne, but nervous; "na
turally subject to fears ;" docile as sheep
to one who showed them a little resolu
tion. What manner of woman was
this? He turned quickly at a sound
without. "There she was mounting that
snow-white sted,and there was nothing
reassuring in the smile she flashed him
ere she whirled off in a night-cloud of
draperies. Was she some witch sent by
Hecate, queen of night and of the dead ?
Burt Magogue believed just as much in
one religion as he did in another; you
see mortal flesh and blood it could not
be that had threatened him with Effie
Keeno's soft lips, and transfixed him
with her liquid eyes. Could it be some
unsleeping ghost arisen, taking posses
sion of a sweet familiar shape ! Faugh !
why bad he ever read those uncouth
horrors of Hoffman and Tieck and Ed
gar Poe? Burt Magogue
has always defied the supernatural.
Can a shadow of it keep him so docile
as he is to his elfin wife? Why, the
men growl now and then : "He Is get
ting to be the mere echo of his 'echo.'
A DlaralMeel Laewrer.
"Do you know where I could get a
harvest hand ?" "Yes ; do yu see that
man across the road holding the awning
post in front of that saloon? Well, go
tor him, he wants to work." 1 hey met
and commenced negotiations. "What
do vou pay for your harvest hands?
"I pay from 1 50 to"2 50. It depends
all on the man." "Well, sir. I gues9
I am your man ; I want work, but
whether I work or not depends alto.
irether on the wages." "1 live nine
miles from here, and if you go out with
me in the morning and work one day,
then we'll. fix the wages satisfactory,
"Is there a cover to your wagon ?" "No,
sir, no cover, but a nice spring seat.
"Xo cover I" yelled the laborer, do you
think I'd ride nine miles in an open
wagon to get work in the harvest field !
Why you must be sick! Stranger, 'pull
down your vest.' "Denver .etet.
A rrmrk arbeasete Beware) XI eel-
The London Globe says: "The Pre
fect of the Seine has just hit npon a
scheme which, as the French papers
say, interests in the highest degree the
fathers of families. The idea is ex
plained in a letter addressed to the Mu
nicipal Councilors, who are, it appears,
expected to find the necessary funds. It
is proposed to reward the good boys of
the higher class municipal school in
Paris by giving them, not books nor the
ordinary school prizes, but a ten days'
trip to the seasi le. The place selected
for this year is Dieppe, and arrange
ments have already been made for se
curing the school-house there for the
use of the excursionists. Here they will
take up their abode, accompanied by
the Director of the school, the Professer
of Natural History and other masters,
and everything will thus be done to
make the sojourn at the seaside instruc
tive as well as agreeable. Of course, the
fifty who are selected out of each school
to make up the party will indefinitely
prefer the natural history lectures, the
company of the director, and the accom
modation of the empty school house, to
the miseries of home during vacation.
If this should by any mischance turn
out to be not the case, it might be advis
able on a future occasion to try the
effect of a similar system on the fifty
worst instead of the fifty best boys. This
system would have one decided advan
tage over that which the Prefect of the
Seine has now devised. It would be far
more welcome to the parents. For
whereas the good schoolboys are gener
ally given to reading or study, or real
work of some kind, and do not make
much trouble in the house, the conduct
of the fifty worst boys of a school In
their respective homes is a thing too
dreadful to contemplate. If the Prefect
could devise some means for cribbing,
cabining, or confining in an effectual
way these disturbers of domestic tran
quility, he would earn the gratitude of
society in general, and more particular
ly of the parents and next-door neigh
bors of the juvenile marauders."
settling a K eetty aeeaaat.
A merchant once had a dispute with
a Quaker respecting the settlement of
an account. "Hie merchant was deter
mined to bring the matter into court, a
proceeding which the Quaker very ear
nestly deprecated, using every argu
ment in his power to convince him of
his error: but he was inflexible. De
sirous to make a last effort, the Quaker
called at his bouse one morning, and In
quired of the servant if his master was
at home. The merchant hearing the
inquiry and knowing the voice, called
out from the top of the stairs, "Tell that
rascal I am not at home." The Quaker,
quietly looking up at him, calmly said,
"Well, friend, the Lord put thee in a
better mind."
The merchant, afterwards struck with
the meekness of the reply, and having
more deliberately investigated the mat
ter, became convinced that the Quaker
was right and himself wrong. He re
quested to see him, and after ackuowl
eding his error, he said, "I have one
question to ask of you how were you
able, with such patience, on various oc
casions, to bear my abuse?" "Friend,"
replied the Quaker, "I will tell thee. I
was naturally as hot and violent as tuou
art. I knew that to indulge tins tem
per was sinful, and I also found it was
unprofitable. I observed that men in a
passion always speak loud; and I
thought that if I could control my voice,
I should repress my passion, l nave
therefore made It a rule never to let my
voice rise above a certain key, and by a
careful observance of this rule. I have.
by the blessing of God, entirely mas
tered my natural tongue." .
Such good, frank philosopny was not
lost upon the merchant In after years.
aavlaa- MMe.
At the opening of the century the
public facilities for anatomy were less
than now; so then robbing the church
yard was quite a trade, and an egotist
or two did worse they killed people for
the small sum a dead body fetched.
Well, a male body was brought to a
certain surgeon by a man he had often
employed.and the pair dumped it down
on a dissecting table, and then the ven
der received his money and went.
The anatomist set to work to open the
body; but, in handling it, he fancied
the limbs were not so rigid as usual, and
he took another look. Yes, the man
was dead; no pulsation either. And
yet somehow he was not cold about the
region of the heart.
The surgeon doubted ; he was hu
mane man ; and so, instead of making a
fine tranverse cut like that at which the
unfortunate author of "ManonLescaut"
started out of the trance with a shriek to
die in right earnest, he gave the poor
hotly a chance; applied hartshorn, vine
gar and friction, all without success.
Still he had his doubts; though, to be
frank, I am not clear why he still
doubted.
Be that as it may, he called iu his as
sistant, and they took the body into the
vard. turned a high tap on, and dis
charged a small but hard hitting column
of water on to the patient.
Xo effect was produced but this, which
an unscientific eye might have passed
over: the skin turned slightly pink In
one or two places under the fall of wa
ter.
The surgeon thought this a strong
proof life was not extinct; but, not to
overdo it, wrapped the man in blankets
for a time, and then drenched him again,
letting the water strike him hard on the
head and the heart in particular.
He followed this treatment up, till
at last the man's eye winked, and then
he gasped, and presently he gulped, and
byP-and-bye be groaned, and eventually
uttered loud and fearful cries as one
battling with death.
In a word, he came to, and the sur
geon put him into a warm bed, and as
medicine has its fashions, and bleeding
was the panacea of that day, he actually
took blood from the poor body. This
ought to have sent him back to the place
from whence he came the grave to wit;
but somehow It did not; and next day
the reviver showed him with pride to
several visitors, and prepared an article.
Resurrectus was well fed, and, being
a pauper, was agreeable to lie In that
bed forever, and eat the bread of science.
But as years rolled on, his preserver
got tired of that. However, he had to
give him a suit of his own clothes to get
rid of him. Did I say years? I must
have meant days.
He never did get rid of him; the fel
low used to call at Interval and' demand
charity, urging that the surgeon, had
taken him out of a condition in which
he felt neither hunger, thirst nor mise
ry, and so was now bound to supply hi
natural needs. . .
e)aeer ftapersUtlea.
Of omens there are still enough and
to spare even In tills sceptical genera
tion of ours, when the law of evidence
are somewhat better understood than of
old, and there Is a rather wider demand
than the old for causes to precede re
sults. Grave, thoughtful, educated peo
ple still refuse to sit thirteen at table and
resort to all manner of old devices and
puerile tricks to avoid the fatal number,
and so to cheat the future. Crossed
knives are a sign of fast approaching
orrow, which even uncrossing them
with the left hand will not wholly ar
rest; and the salt spilt between two
friends Is a sure presage of disturbance
In the amicable relation. It may be
a little mollified by throwing a pinch
over the left shoulder, but the sign is
more sure than the act of modification.
So, too, the fire burning persistently
on one side of the grate for many' days
together fortells, without fail, the de
parture of one of the house inmates;
and boots or shoes placed inadvertently
on a table as surely fortell a serious
quarrel as surely as does the loaf of
bread turned on its face bring misfor
tune in France. The origin of this su
perstition was told to the writer as dat
ing from the "executioner's loaf." It
was part of thejpriveleges of Monsieur
de Paris, Monsieur de Lyons, Monsieur
de Bordeaux, and all the other terrible
messieurs in the business, to receive ra
tions of bread from the local bakers.
These, to mark the loaf assigned, turned
the face downwards, and not the boldest
spirit aniorg their customers would
have touched or taken that loaf. It was
a loaf accursed, full of misfortune and
distress; and had any one but the mon
sieur in question eaten it, there is no
saying what might have happened.
Hence, to turn the bread face downward
is a porte malheur to the French, and
the English offend their feelings by
their ignorance of the superstition.
The one unlucky magpie flying across
the path can make the gay heart heavy
if some business is on the point of being
begun ; perhaps the omen may be aver
ted If, after a rapid, triple nod, and
crossing the ground with the left foot,
the fowl, as Poe would have called it,
flies to the right; but,if after this exor
cism it flies to the left, all hope is at an
end, and the misfortune Is as certain as
the funeral met when you have set out
on any expedition is the certain herald
of disaster. The bridal procession which
meets a funeral train bad better turn
back and break the bond before it is
ratified. Xothiug but sorrow can come
of a marriage which has such a woeful
forecasting, just as the christening par
ty which also meets with a funeral
might as well order the coffin instead of
the cradle, for the child will not live,
however robust it may be now, and
however wise the cares bestowed on it.
LoHilun Times.
Hetaals Career f Cripple.
English papers give interesting par
ticulars of the success which has marked
the life of Mr. Walter Wren, who has
come prominently Into public notice by
the great success which has attended
his pupils for their competition for the
India civil service. His prosperity Is
the more remarkable as he has long
been a hopeless cripple. Recently
while canvassing Chelsea for an elec
tion to Parliament, Mr. Wren in the
course of a speech which he made, men
tioned that his condition was due to a
kick which he received from a bully at
school for whom he was fagging. He
did not, however mention, all the facts.
Soon after he received the blow, it was
found that be was most seriously in
jured, and his prospects seemed utterly
blighted. He refused, however, to ad
mit that he was beaten in the battle of
life, and rejected an offer of 2 a week
which was made to him. He determined
to proceed to the university and become
coach" if be succeeded as well as he
hoped to do. At Cambridge he acquited
himself with great credit, and since he
left the banks of the Cam for the banks
of the Thames, he has become the most
successful "crammer" of the day. He
is wheeled from room to room ; although
he can walk a little, his favorite position
is to lie horizontally on a coach. He
married very well, and has a family of
six or seven children, and besides a
very good house in London, he has an
estate in Berkshire.
Seattle la Hewfeaadlaad .
As a natural and somewhat curious
feature it is mentioned that the island
of Newfoundland, thongh abounding In
game, Is not Infested with reptiles. The
absence of snakes and toads in Ireland,
for many years has been tbe subject of
comment; but we believe the peculiar
condition of Xewfoundland has attrac
ted but little general attention. Cap
tain Chearlney writes : "In Newfound
land there Is not a snake, toad, frog, or
reptile of any sort. There Is not a squir
rel on the island, no porcupine, moose,
or minx ; whereas, with the exception
of the porcupine, wanting in Cape Bre
ton, Xova Scotia, all these creatures are
found In the neighboring provinces.
The Arctic hare is found In Xewfound
land, but neither in Cape Breton nor
Xova Scotia." Captain Hardy, an En
glish officer, calk) attention to other de
ficiencies. He visited Newfoundland
at midsummer, and could not help re
marking the fact that fireflies were not
to be seen there; while In Nova Scotia
they swarm by thousands, their scintil
lations adding beauty to the pall of a
quiet night. The island is full of bogs
and swamps, which renders It difficult
to account for the total absence of rep
tiles.
The decrease of the whaling inter
est is marked. New London, Connec
ticut, which thirty years ago had one
hundred whalers, now na nut ten,
Tne "Literary Feller aaa Ike Palttl-
elaa.
Nobody likes to be ridiculous. We
doubt If even one of them literary fel
lers like to appear ridiculous, even in
the eye of a regular politician. The
literary feller la not a great deal com
forted by the fact that the regular poli
tician is intrinsically a much more ri
diculous person than himself. The
trouble is, that the regular politician is
not conscious of his ridiculousness,,
while the other man is. Tbe literary
feller in politics feels that he Is an amus
ing object to his temporary associates;
but these associates have little idea that
they themselves ever afford amusement
to the man of letters. The Irony of
The Nation" does not touch the amuur
propre of the strongest man in the 401st
ward.
The fact is, that while the literary
feller 1 In actual contact with the poli
tician, he does not feel the politician to
be so extremely ridiculous. He sees
him dealing vulgarly but effectively
with people of his own stamp; he sees
that he is shrewd, prompt, practical.
The gentleman politician feels himself
at a disadvantage in a primary, or a cau
cus. He may be quick to criticise, but
he may not be quick to suggest. He
comes home from the primary and
writes an Ironical "article" for some
magazine; but thebitternessoftbe irony
Is Intensified by a grain of chagrin.
It is when the literary feller goes off
on his mid-summer holiday, that he gets
quite straight with the politician in
bis own mind. It is then that the poli
tician is seen to be, with all bis shrewd
ness, an exceedingly short-sighted, not
to say woolly-brained person. It Is then
that he sees the politician proclaiming
upon the house-tops the 'thing that the
literary feller had spoken in the ear in
closets, and had been pityingly smiled
npon for speaking. In the mid-summer
holiday of 1876, for instance, he sees the
two great political parties pledged and
repledged before tbe country to perform
the literary, sentimental, ideal, and un
practical deed of tying each its own
hands so tightly, that it can never again
carry out Its projects by the old time
honored and familiar methods. He sees,
moreover, that tbe shrewdest politician
on each side knows that there is no hope
for his own party, unless the ceuntry,
by hook or by crook, can be made to be
lieve that kit party Is the one most wil
ling, and most able to perform what, in
moments of contemplation, must appear
to him in the ghastly light of hari-kari.
Scribner.
BlBKiae;.
Singing requires of the vocal organs
functions very different from those re
quired for speaking. Furthermore, a
good physical constitution and perfect
regularity in the functions of the organ
ism, are of inestimable value to the
artist. In tbe emission of the voice the
respiratory movements must be per
formed without strain or effort; tbey
must be regulated so as to make the in
spiration short and easy, and the expi
ration slow and prolonged. There is a
struggle between the organs which re
tain breath and those which expel it;
practis, youth, and good health, are
the conditions npon which an adjust
ment must be based. In the highly
gifted artist the larynx holds its ordi
nary position notwithstanding the vari
ations of intensity and pitch of the
sounds produced. Being implicated in
some of tbe more energetic movements
of the tongue, it rises or falls, but to no
purpose. The larynx of the singer,
while fixed in its position, multiplies
its performance; the suppleness of all
its parts is a matter of prime impor
tance. The vibration of the local lips
and tbe resonance of the vestibule de
termine the timbre of the glottic souuds,
the configuration of the pharynx of the
buccal cavity, by modifying the sounds
formed in the glottis, produces the tim
bre of the voice. This cannot be altered
to any considerable degree by even the
most powerful effort of the will. Pro
fessors of singing injure their pupils by
prescribing in too absolute a manner
tbe mouth arrangements which they
themselves find most serviceable. Each
individual must follow Nature, and M.
Mandl had good reason for begging
singing-masters never to forget this
truth. Popular Science Monthly.
Heraldry la Ea-laad.
When the Herald's Colletre was in
corporated, it took npon itself not only
tlm reo-nlation of arms, but also the
ordering of those sumptuous funerals
in which tbe bad taste ot our lore
fathers delighted. If a great man died,
the body was sometimes kept lying in
state for weeks. More frequently, now
ever, the remains were privately in'
terred. without Domn. or heraldic dis
play, and some time afterward a mag-
D lucent nearse was ereciea in iuo
rhnrrh. hmg round with the aims.
crest, and motto of the dead and his
ancestors, and tbe family and retainers
went at night by torch-light to near a
funeral sermon in praise of tbe virtues
of the deceased. For all this display
heraldic knowledge was needed, yet so
perverse were tbe gentry around that,
instead of employing Holme and
Smetbley to superintend the pageant
and paint the banners, they often ens-aired
what the Senior Deputy Herald
calls "poorsnaks. bedge-paynters, and I
take it. Diasterers." toaoioe oiazonry
for them, i his was nnoearaoie to me
men in euiuuiit. . uu wcv; i .uuu
of their fees : and long and bitter were
their comnlaints to tbe authorities in
St. Paul's Churchyard, urging that
aharn measures should be taken with
tne arms-painters, ana insi toe peopie
who had these stately funerals provided
for their relatives should be compelled
to pay the accustomed fees to Messrs.
Ilnlme and Smethlev. whether they
availed themselves of their service or
not. There were, however, difficulties
in the way which tbe members of tbe
college fully understood, but which
were not so clear to these men who
felt themselves defrauded. Tbe her
alds, since their incorporation, bad, it
is true, jurisdiction over arms and other
heraldic insignia; but it was well un
derstood by themselves, and by all
others who bad information on the
matter and heraldry wss then one of
tne necessary accompnsnmenis ot an
Enelish gentleman that there were
number of families whose rights to
bear arms were unquestioned, of whom
ttjje heralds had no notice in their
books. Many members of tbe higher
families were too proud to arkoow
ledge them. There is a tale told of
ceitain northern squire who. when
served at the instance of Sir William
Dngdale with a summons to attend bis
visitation, to prove his arms and pedi
gree, replied : "Tell this new knigbt
that the IVatertons bore the thre
bloody ereacents for five hundred year
before the usurper Richard incorpor
ated his college, and that the Water-
tons will continue to bear them a thou
sand year after some righteous king
baa suppressed it." Whether this be a
fable or, as we think more likely, a
slightly decorated version of a real
messaire. it is is certain that many ot
the nobler of tbe untitled houses did
not acknowledge the authority of the
heralds. With the lesser gentry it was
much the same. 1 heir arms might not
have got into rolls or printed volumes,
but they possessed plate-carvings and
embroidery which showed that they
had borne them in days gone by ; and,
as their position was well known and
acknowledged among their own neigh
bors and kinsmen, they were little con
cerned to avail themselves of the ser
vices of tbe London office. Then, as
now, the chief occupation of the her
alds was with tbe new men, who
wanted, as far as armorial bearings
could do it, to be put on the same plat
form with the older families The
Athenaenm.
The 6 irt efttah.
A writer to Tintley't Jfaoazine
dis-
courses on the "Gift of Gab :"
To make a good after-dinner speech
requires a special talent. A man may
be eloquent on paper and ready and
witty among his friends, but tbe mo
ment he ries to propose a toast or to
return thanks be generally manages to
make a mess of it. Thackeray could
not do it his nervousness quite over
came him. Theodore Hook, with all
his rattle in private, was a failure. Even
Jeffrey felt at sea; and Froude is in
sipid. Dickens was an exception. He
was always ready, always bright, and
at his ease: and, when he could be
secured, was the best chairman any
cause or committee could find. Dining
has become one of our recognized
modern institutions; and, as no public
dinner is complete without its accom
paniment of speech-making, it follows
that there is not even a provincial com
munity which cannot boast of its local
orators. Any country newspaper will
give us an idea of the nature of the
utterances of many who believe their
forte to be an ability to talk, and who
are always ready to discharge their
wind-bags at "Mr. Chairman" and the
reporters. . No municipality is more
profuse and ostentatious in iu hospital
ity, or more honored with the presence
of guests of distinction, than that of the
metropolis. Yet even of this greatest
of dining bodies it has, alas! been said
that the "good things of tbe corpora
tion as a rule, are those that go in at
the mouth, and not those which come
out of it." When so man v are given to
talking, how rare it is to find a good
istener! It is an art as much as taili
ng is; but it is little understood and
much less practiced. A good listener
evinces intelligence and manifests an
air of respectful attention. Even if he
has previously heard the narrative, or
is familiar with the knowledge that is
being imparted, he exhibits a certain
amount of interest. Let him tell us the
difficulty of this acquirement who has
tried to practice it on all occasions,
however uniuteresting the communica
tion and however tiresome the speaker.
Uneducated people experience con
siderable difficulty in expressing their
ideas fluently and correctly, 'l hey are
guarded in their choice of words, some
times from a fear of rudeness, but
generally from a natural reticence or
diffidence. They express their feelings
n an artless way. and often convey
their impressions more suggestively by
their simplicity then if they aspired to
grammatical precision. Have you ever
observed the courtship of a couple in
the humbler walks of life? You in
similar circumstances would discourse
without an effort, to an interested
listener, on literature, or sentiment, or
the topics of the day. For lack of the
resources whicn training anu education
supply, they exhibit their attachment
by playfulness and innocent diversion
by pushing, or pulling, or chasing or
teasing, with the accompaniment of
laughter and screaming; ami an mis is
to them as natural and as mutually en-
oyable as intellectual conversation is to
more fortunate individuals who possess
the gift of gab.
A Wen Thackeray Dlda't Like.
There was one member of the club
whom Thackeray did not like, and
some of who-e failings he referred to
not giving the name of course in the
'Snob Papers." mat person was Al
bert Smith, the author of the "Scatter
good Family." "Christopher Tadpole,"
etc. Mr. Smith exhibited some pretty
panoramas of "Mont Blanc," and the
"Overland Route to India," and accom
panied them with lively lyrical elu
sions of his own composition. These
brought bim fame and money, and this
accumulation inflated him terribly. He
talked of dukes and marquises as if they
had all been school-fellows or were nrst
cousins. He never gave them their
titles is speaking of them. "Argyll
and "Breadalbane" were intended to
disclose his familiarity with these peers.
As he waxed rich, or was supposed to
have a good account at bis banker s, he
was assailed witn importunities irom
poor acquaintances, and even strangers,
He therefore caused a civil negative
to be lithographed and forwarded to
applicants of all degrees; and he fre
quently boasted at the "Garrick" that
. . . . v . , t -v i. : .
ne nau sent on iwemy rr uj i
was thoroughly snobbish, lie nad some
good points, however. He was upright
in his transactions. Rather than pilfer
a good ioke or iokelet, which some one
in the trade might throw off in com-
oanv. Albert Smith woul.l ask politely :
"Are you going to use that bon mot?"
"How use it?' " I mean do you intend
to have it published ?" "I never dreamed
of such a thing." "Then, if you will
allow me. I will annropriate it." And
down went the jeu d'esprit into his
note-book, to be afterward worked up
for "Punch" or some other periodical
for which he wrote. Watery.
Why Chi ass
r Pls-Taile
The history of Chinese cities is told
bv the Rev. Julius Doolittle, a nna-
innarv in China, as follows:
J he nrst r.mperor oi tne present ny
nastv. who began to reign in 1044, hav
ing usurped tne in roue, ueiermineu to
make the tonsure of Manchuria, bis
native country, the token of the sub
mission of tbe Chinese to bisanthority.
He ordered them to shave all tbe bead
except the crown, and allowing the
hair on that part to grow loug aud
dress it according to tbe custom of
Manchuria. The Chinese had been ac
customed, under native Emperors, to
wear long hair over the whole head,
and to arrange it in a tuft or coil. Tbe
change was gradual, but finally pre'
vailed through tbe Empire. At first
tlinMe who shaved their heads and con
formed to the laws, received, it is said
a nre sent of a tael ot silver, after I
while only half a tael, and then only a
tenth of a tael, and afterward only an
egg arid finally even an egg was not
allowed. Tbe law requiring the peo
ple to shave the bead and braid the cne
was not often rigidly enforced by tbe
penalty of immediate death, but it be
came very manifest that those who did
not conform with the wishes of the do
minant dynnasty wonld never become
successful in a lawsuit against those
who did conform, nor would they sue
ceed at tbe literary examinations.
KTWS IS BBHT-
Texas raises 800,000 bales of cotton
this year.
The unveiling of the Seward statua
in New York has been postponed for
several weeks.
Since the immigration movement
began more than 2,125,000 Irish people
have landed in New York.
The Capitol at Washington will be
open on Sumlay hereafter for the con
venience of Centennial visitors.
The Wagner orchestra at the Bay
reuth festival numbered one hundred
and sixteen, including thirty-two vio
lins. A young seal was shot at Middle
bury. Vt., the other day, which the
people believe escaped from Barnum's
museum.
There are no less than 1,200 Chris
tian congregations In the Island of
Madagascar, numbering 260,000 wor
shippers. A Baltimore youngster fell into an
indigo tub the other day and crawled
out fully qualified for membership in
the boys In blue.
The freshman ciass at Wesleyan
University, Middletown, Ct., numbers
sixty-two, a larger number than has
ever before entered.
Baltimore has over fifty oyster and
fruit-packing establishments, and sev
eral hundred thousand dollars are in
vested in tbe business.
A bear seven feet long was shot
near the Twin Mountain house the
other day, and a big panther Is scaring
the people of Springfield, Vu
The Eastern shore of Mayland has
sixty thousand acres of peach trees,
and the yield the present season is es
timated a 5,000,000 bushels.
A factory for the manufacture of
sugar and syrup from watermelons has
been established on Andros Island,Cal
lfornia, in the San Joaquin river.
Ex-Mayor J. Y. C. Smith of Boston
a rather poetical person of an eccentric
turn, is building an open-rront tomb,
with seats and a table, in tbe beer
garden style.
The Rev. Arthur Mitchell, of the
First Presbyterian Church, Chicago,
has voluntarily relinquished $1,000 a
year of nis salary on account of the
bard times.
Nebraska has more than doubled
her population since 1870. The State
now contains 2.7,47 inbabitanU, as
compared with 122.9U3 in 1370, and 4,
4'M in 18.M.
The bridge across White river, on
the Wisconsin Central Railroad, is the
largest wrought iron one In the world.
It is 1.525 feet long, 107 feet high, and
cost $200,000.
Tecuinseh's grave has been discov
ered near Ridgetown, Out., and the re
mains have been exhumed and taken
to Niagara to be deposited in the vault
at Brock's monument.
Daniel Hull, the oldest living loco
motive engineer in rYnnsvlvauia, re
sides in Chanibersburg. He was born
in Strasburg, Lancaster county In 17',
and commenced railroading in 1334.
A party of Freemasons from Glou
cester, Ma-j., while on a fishing excur
sion In IStiO threw overboard a bottle
containing their names. Lat week it
was washed ashore at Rockland, -Me.
Gen. Joe Lane the candidate for
Vice-President in ISO'J with Breckin
ridge, is a farmer in Oregon. His sou
Latavette Lane, is a representative in
the present Congress from that state.
The 81-ton gun at Woolwich, with
a charge of 270 pounds of powder, will
send a three-quarter ton bolt with suffi
cient force to be driven through three
feet of solid iron at a range of one
thousand yards.
The ancient church of All Hallows
in Broad street, London, is to be pulled
down. Milton was christened in it,
and in 1555 the rector, Lawrence Saun
ders, was executed for heresy by order
of Queen Mary.
A very singular method of elec
tioneering has leen adopted by a couple
of residents of Munroe, Mich., who
have agreed to run a foot-race, the
loser to vote for th others candidate
for the Presidency.
The great imperial bell made out
of the French cannons taken by the
Germans and placed in the tower or
the Cathedral of Cologne, cannot be
made to ring in a tolerable manner.
The sixth effort has proved a failure.
Ground has been broken at Hart
ford for a new Catholic Cathedral of
Gothic architecture, 154 feet long, with
a spire 250 feet high, which is to be one
of the b?st ornamented and roost im
posing church buildings in New Eng
land.
A Mississippi letter savs many of
the negroes think that "Wheeler A
Wilson" are the I'resldeutiai candi
dates of the Republican party, and are
promising themselves a new sewing
machine, instead oi tne traauionai luriy
acres and a mule.
John Anderson, the first man to
make the ascent of the great South
Dome in the Yoseroite Valley is a
quiet young Scotchman who lives her
mitlike In a small nouse near tne sau
dle of the dome, to which he is con
structing a stairway of 1000 steps.
C. P. Haseltine, of Stevens Point,
Wis., has a cranberry marsh of B40
acres under cultivation. If the berries
are not destroyed by early frosts he ex
pects to gather three thousand barrels.
which will tie snipped uirect to i.iver-
Dool. Five hundred persons will be
employed in gathering the berries.
Mr Sipley, a noted hermit, of
Pike County, Pa., is dead. He was
formerly a wealthy merchant of New
York City, but failed in business. His
reverse so preyed upon his mind that
he fled to a wild, desolate place, sev
eral miles from any habitation. There
for thirty-five years he has sustained
himself by fishing and bunting.
Chicago is greatly delighted over
the announcement that A. T. Stewart
t Co. have leased three blocks of build
ings on Wabash avenue In that city
with the intention of turning them
into one vat establishment, in which
they will have from $2,000,000 to $4,-
000.000 worth of merchandise, imported
expressly for their western bouse.
A correspondent, who says that the
widow of Millard Filmore has a great
deal of silver to spare, recalls the
fashion In which the pair would drive
out during the ex-President's lifetime.
Mr. Fillmere would attire himself in
glossy black broadcloth, a high hat,
high, stiff, white collar, and a pair of
white kid gloves, and In this guise ride
down Delaware avenue, In Buffalo.
Two professors of Urbana univer
sity discovered last week in a mound
In Champaign county, Ohio, eight
human skeletons, twelve feet under
ground, enclosed In a wooden tomb.
One was a child's skeleton, with a
string of shells around the neck. While,
the professors were burrowing, one
side of the shaft gave way and a scien
tist was buried, bruised, and nearly
suffocated. As soon as he was dug out
he called for a spade and went at It
again.