3 i i 'A ill giiiiii B. F. SCHWEIER, TBI COH8TITUTI05 THI THIOH A5D THI ENFORCEMENT OF THI LAWS. Editor and Propi-i VOL. XXX. MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25. 1876. NO. From the Wasp. IT KOTHTE'S HAKKL Such beautiful, beautiful hands ! They're neither white nor small ; And Jon. I know, would kvmI; think That thy are fair at all. I've looked on handa whose form and hoe A sculptor's dream mubt be ; Tet are those axed, wrinkled band Most beautiful to me. Such beautif ol. beautiful hands ! Though heart were w-ary and sad. Those patient hands kept toiling on. That the children uu.hl be glad. I alwars weep as looking back To childhood's diMaut dav. I thiuk bow those bauds rested not, When mine were at their play. Sorb beautif ill. beautif ol bands ! They're growiu feeble now. For time aud pain hare left their mark On baud, and heart, and brow. Alas ! alas ! the neariug time. And the sad sad daj to me. When 'neath the daisies out of sight. These hands will folded be. Bat oh. beyond this shadow land. Where ail is bright and fair, I know full well these dear old bands Will palms of victory bear ; Where crystal streams through endless years Flow over golden sands. And where the o.d urow yonng again, I'll clasp my mother's bands. "Wanted a Young Lady." BY P. F. II. "But, Charlie, dear, are you sure you will not forget me amidst the amuse ment ami gay eties of London ?" 'You may rest satisfied, my darling Xell, I shall never forget you; and lei us hope the time is not fur distant when I may be able to return nd claim my little treasure for my dear wife." The last speaker was a young barris ter, Charles Maiden, who, while on a visit to a country aunt, bad endeavored to allay the ennui arising from the dull ness of a rustic village, by falling in love, or making believe to, with pretty Xellie May. Xellie wag one of the numerous olive branches of a hard-worked curate, and her fair, graceful form and unsophisti cated country manners had proved ir resistible attractions to the rusticated Londoner. They were now on the platform, waiting for the train that was to carry MalJeu away from love and beauty. Xellie's innocent eyes glistened with tears of joy and nope, as, loudly pres sing his arm, she responded : 'AuJ you will be sure and write very, very often, Charlie dear?" "Of course, uiy darling! And now one ki-s and tlieu good-bye !" The desired embrace was given and returned as the train came puffing aud wheezing into the small station; and iu five minutes Maiden was whirling along ou bis road back to the modern .Babylon. lie wrote pretty regularly for the first three weeks after he reached town ; and then, as time wore on, his letters became notes; and then evan these grew few and far between; until at length, after the anxious Xell had re ceived uo reply to three successive epis tles, the correspondence ceased alto gether. Upon his return to town, Maiden had proceeded to his usual chamber in the Middle Templt, and, for a few weeks, had kept to the many good resolutions made while aw ay from temptation. But by degrees he had drifted back into the usual Irregularities always opeu to a student if he chooses to adopt them. Shortly after his return he had been introduced to Arthur Harcourt, whose friends had desired him to get called to the bar, and who had taken chambers in Essex Court for that purpose. Xow Maiden was very poor, and his new acquaintance being exactly the re verse, he 'considered the friendship might be made conducive to his bene flu So he had exerted himself to please, and with so much success, that for some weeks they had been nearly con stant companions. One morning llarcourt was seated in his chambers, euJeavoring to allay the pangs of his head by copious libations of soda water. Maiden haj just come in, and had been seated on Hi sofa for a couple ol minutes, when llarcourt spoke. "L'pon my word, Charlie, I'm tired to death! I wish you could thiuk of something that would relieve the mo notony of existence." "I'm 6ure I hardly know what to suggest," he replied, reflectively. "Let's oee; fishing is in season; what do you say to having a day at West Drayton ?" "A fool at one end of the rod, and a worm at the other. Too slow," re plied llarcourt, with Johnsonian bre vity. "What do you say to hiring a skiff, having a pull up the river and dining at Richmond?" "Dou't care about making a toil of a pleasure; rowing, this weather, is only fit for galley-slaves." For a few minutes there was silence, and the students pulled contemplatively at their Havana. At length Maiden cried out, "Eu reka! I have it, Arthur! Suppose we put an advertisement in the paper for a young lady to take charge of a single gentleman's establishment? Let ap plicants come here; if we offer the in ducement of a high salary we shall have a couple of hundred, and the ne cessary examination will be great fan !" "It's not a bad idea; but won't it be rather cruelly disappointing to them?" remarked Harcourt, who was naturally of a kindly disposition, which Maldeu was doing his best to spoil. "Xot a bit of it," replied the other. "If you feel any scruples of conscience you can pay them their expenses, and it will be a good morning's work for some of them." "I don't altogether like the idea, Charlie; it doesn't seem manly to me, you know, to" "Xonsense!" interrupted Maiden. "For goodness sake, llarcourt, don't begin preaching I Let us decide that it hall be dona. I'll draw np the adver tisement, and if we put it in to morrow, why we can let the people call the fol lowing day, which will be Friday. Will that suit you?" "If you really think It's all right Friday will suit me as well as any other day; but " "All right there, that's settled. Xow I'll go and have the advertisement in serted. By-the-by, you may as well let me have five pounds if you have them handy, for I want to pay the newspaper people, and I'm rather short." Maiden generally was short; never theless, llarcourt handed over the re quired sum, and with a careless "Au revoir!" be to k himself off. The next day the following appeared among the "Wants" in the leading daily papers : WTAHTED. . yonng lady, amiable and ac Vf compusbed. and ot prepossessing appear ance, to take the eaUre c hirxe of a geuileuiaos household heiereo;-s exchanged. Salary . Apply Friday, between 11 and x. ground door, Nu. , Kaaex Court, Middle temple. On the Friday morning the friends had break fasted together, and toe laun dress had just cleared the table, when Maiden said, "There's eleven striking! We shall have a rush of them directly t" At that moment a faint tap was heard at the door of the room. "Hallo, there's one of them! The laundress must have left the 'oak' open. Come in !" The door opened, and in walked a young lady, dressed in a neat black stuff costume, with a small felt bat, from nnder which fell a quautity of golden brown hair. As she entered the room, ber gaze was timidly directed towards the car pet; but she had scarcely arrived at the table in the centre of the room, when Maiden suddenly exclaimed, "Confound it! Xellie May, by all that's unfortu nate!" Xellie looked up in astonishment at the speaker. For a moment she was nnable to utter a word, and then, recalling her ener gles, she said, "Mr. Maiden, what does this mean? I came here in answer to an advertisement. I neither expected to see you X ay, sir, any explanation of your conduct is unnecessary! Al low me to take my leave. I wish you a good morning!" And, with a dignified bow, Xellie passed from the room. Scarcely, however, had she reached the front door ere a mist seemed to come before her eyes, and, losing all ber strength, she would have fallen to the ground had not llarcourt, who had followed her from the room, supported her round the waist. The fresh air and the knowledge of her position brought her to herself once more. Coloring deeply, she gently removed his arm from around her waist, but, as she did so. staggered and almost fell again. Offering her his arm, llarcourt said, "Allow me to see you to a cab, Miss May." "Thank you'" replied Xellie, grate ful for his assistance. "I have not been very well lately, aud the sight of Mr. Maiden recalled some unpleasant re collections." Calling a four-wheeler in Fleet street, llarcourt carefully banded her in, aud still more carefully did he note down the address which she gave the driver. About a fortnight previous to the in sertion ot the advertisement, Mrs. Rich ards, a widowed sister of Mr. May, wrote and invited Xelly to speud a few weeks with her. As Mr. May had noticed that his daughter had lost her color, a-d had not appeared very well lately, he accep ted his sister's iuvitatiou with grati tude, and Xellie was dispatched up to town. While staying with her aunt, she had observed the auuouiicemeet, and acting upon Mrs. Richard's advice, had deter mined to apply for the situation, with the result related. The next morning, about twelve o'clock, as Mrs. Richards was employed with some needlework, and Xellie was at the piano, the servaut of all work opened the door aud said, "Please, inarm, here's a gentleman as wants to see Miss May" And, closely following ttilsannounce ment, in walked Arthur llarcourt. who, bowing to both ladies, turned to Xellie with a smile and said, "You must pardon my intrusion, Miss May; but I could not resist calling to inquire after your health, and also to explain and apologize for the cruel hoax of which you were yesterday the victim." He then proceeded to explain how Maiden and himself had fabricated the advertisement that had attracted her. Before llarcourt had finished his con fession, Xellie hal glanced more than once at his handsome person ; and wbeu he finished, she determined that it was her duty to forgive. By the time he had brought his visit to a conclusion, Mrs Richard had dis covered that she had formerly been ac quainted with Mrs. Harcourt, Arthur's mother, so, when he rose to take his leave, be received an invitatiou from the elder lady to repeat his visit, which, if eyes speak the truth, was certainly not negatived by the younger. On his return to Essex Court, Har court found Maiden seated in his arm chair, enjoying a cigar, to which be bad helped himself from a box on the table. Walking up to the fireplace, Harcourt leant against the chimuey-yiece, and steadily observing the smoker, observed, "I have but now returned from Miss May's, where I have been to apologize for yesterday's business." "O ! been to see little Xellie, have you?" replied Maiden, with indiOer ence. "Ah, she's not a bad sort, but an awful fool. I had great fun with her down In the country, but I soon got tired of ber; ahe'amuch too atten tive, you know. She " Harcourt sprang forward, and with bis expressive features working with excitement, exclaimed "Silence, sir, if you aay another word agalust the girl, I'll pitch you neck and crop out of the window!" For a moment Maiden gazed at his oomrjanlon in astonishment; but he I looked so thoroughly in earnest, that he saw that be was not to be played with ; so, with a tinge of sarcasm In his tone, be quietly observed : "Really, ' Arthur, I was not aware the fair one had so vehement a champion. I should have been more careful in what I said." "And I advise you to be more circum spect in the future, Mr. Maiden. If, as I suspect, you have ever behaved in an i ungeutlemanly manner to that young lady, I tell you plainly I shall not be too anxious for the pleasure of your soci ety." "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Maiden, as be slowly rose, and commenced putting on his gloves. "How the fellows at the club will laugh at the idea of" Harcourt frowned, and interrupted him, saying, "I warn you once for all, Maiden If I hear you have been ut tering a word respecting either Miss May or myself, I'll give you the soun dest thrashing a man ever had." Upon my word," replied Maiden, ad justing bis hat, "the young lady in question ought to feel herself highly honored ! Fancy the exclusive Arthur Harcourt becoming enraptured with a country parson's daughter?" llarcourt, clenching his fist, advanced a step towards him ; but Maiden, con sidering discretion to be the better part of valor, had left the room. It was about three months after Harcourt's first visit to Mrs. Richards' that Xellie and he were seated alone in the drawing-room, llarcourt had ouly just arrived. "I am sorry, Mr. narcourt," observed Xellie, "but my aunt has gone out shop ping, aud will not return for a couple of hours." "And I, on the contrary, am pleased to hear it, Miss May; for it gives me an opportunity of asking you a question, and one to which I require an answer." "Indeed !" replied Xellie, innocently. "I shall be most pleased to reply if it be in my power." "It Is in your power," said narcourt; and then, seating himself beside ber. he took her hand, and continued. ''Ever since I first saw you, Xellie, 1 have loved yon, aud my affection has increased day by day; aud now I want to ask you if you can reciprocate the feeling sufficiently to give me this dear little baud to be come my wife? You do not' reply," continued be. "May I take silence for consent !" "But will you take me after what I told you passed between Mr. Maiden and myself?" "Yes; undoubtedly I will !"exclaimcd he. "Only say that you love me !" . "I do!" replied Xellie, softly; "and aud you have made me very happy !" When Mrs. Richards returned from shopping, she was not a trifle scauda lized to discover her niece reclining in a gentleman's arms. But while Xellie ran away upstairs, all smiles and tears, to hide her confu sion, Arthur explained matters satis factorily to her aunt. In two mouths the wedding took place with the usual accompaniment of bridesmaids, tears, cake and toasts. Arthur Harcourt has not yet brought his wife home from the south of France, whither they went for their honey moon; but, judging from his letters, he has not yet repented of advertising for a "Young Lady." The ward Service. They are a steady-going, conservative lot the old Cunarders, and never do their business w ith a flourish or spasm neither the owners nor the officers. The line, which includes over fifty large steamers, remains exclusively in the hands of the firm that started it. There is no stock jobbing or patronage about ic. The men employed are selected for their worth, and not at the instigation of any meddlesome director. The chiel consideration in building the ships is strength, and the second consideration is speed; but strength is never sacri ficed to speed or appearances. The manager in Liverpool is Mr. Charles Maciver, one the founders whose son is one of the members of Parliament for the town a straight shrewd, practical man, with a personal knowledge of nearly all his officers, and a still more intimate knowledge of bis shij. lie exacts the strictest attention to duty, aud never pardons an error in this di rection. He often drives down to the docks and inspects the steamers in port from the stoke-hole to the wheel bouse. The hour of his coming Is never known, and if a.iy man is found away Irom bis post that man might as well resign. An officer (Mr. G ) died in Liverpool recently, who had for niueteen years held the same position in the set vice, while others bad been promoted over his head. He was a sober man, an ex perienced sailor, and a skilful naviga tor. Many wondered why he never rose, and some tell this anecdote in explana tion. One iilghtold Mr. Maciver drove down to the Uuskisson Dock, and asked, on one of the steamers, lor the officer in charge. The wa'.chman stated that he bad gone on shore, but would be back in an hour or two. "Who is it?" asked Mr. Maciver. "Mr. , sir." "Very well; when Mr. G comes on board, tell him to take my carriage aud drive to my house." When Mr. G reached the house he found Mr. Maciver seated in bis library. "You were absent from yonr post to night, sir; I wanted to see you sir; that's all." And Mr. G was bowed out by the Implacable old Scotchman, in whose eyes a neglect of duty was the worst possible oflense, and never from that night to the day of his death was he promoted to a more responsible po sition. On another occasion, Mr. Maciver was on board one of the steamers as she was passing from the river into dock, and stood watching some sailors haul ing a rope under the direction of a mate in uniform, who was helping them with a will. Mr. Maciver was cretly pleased with his zeal, but, touching him on the shoulder, said, with affected severity "We do not engage you for that kind of service, sir!" Tb mate relinquished the rope at once expecting a further re proof ; but during the next week he was promoted from the third to the second rank. Clrls' In any modern school catalogue or newspaper list of ladies names which you may chance to meet, you find an endless Iteration of the favorite Inflec tion U; as if the beauty or attractive ness, if not the respectability, of the young ladies, in some way depended on this liquid and endearing termination, la tlie short space of one page of the catalogue of a prominent young ladies' college, a school of much higher pre tentions than the average seminary, and whose students are of a more ad vanced and thoughtful age than mere seminary students, one mar find, (as we have satisfied ourselves Ly t "tag) at least the following varieties, . : Jennie, Xannie, Hattie, Minnie, Mar gie, Xettie, Xellie, Allie, Addie, Lizzie. Lord Dufferln, the present dignified Governor-General of Canada, has lately chosen to bring this tendency into no lice (and so we suppose it prevails in Canada, too) by making it a special to pic iu his address at the late commence ment of a young ladies' school in Que bec. But he credits the habit, or its exaggeration, to the United States ; and thinks the practice, when it becomes a "national characteristic," is "not with out significance." Some future philo logist, perhaps, may pick it up as a remnant of that period when the young women of our most cultivated circles bore the badge ( belittlement and pa tronage, and infer therefrom that the Oriental type of Infantile helplessness had certainly survived to this era even in Western lands. He will most likely conclude (aud does not the evidence tend in that direction?) that, in our Centennial time, the true idea of "A perfect woman nobly planned. To warn, to comfort, and command," was not so much as suspected or sought after. We do not remember that any journal of "Woman's Rights" and en franchisemcnt has ever thought it per tinent to speak of this subject; but surely it bears a direct relation to the mental growth and capacity of the sex. The literary mom de plume of a feminine author indicates to some extent the force of her mind ; and we know just as well what to expect from the Lillie Linwoods and Mattle Myrtles, as we do from the George Eliots. You can scarcely pen a mre suggestive satire against the helpfulness and indepen dence of woman than to wrap her up iu such terms of daily coddling aud child ish endearment as the pet names against which Lord Dufferin protests. For in stance, persistently to call the two great cliiefttins of woman's advanced statu, Lizzie Cady Stanton, and Susie B. Anthony, would crush, at one stroke, the revolution they have so much at heart. Under such sweet persiflage it would sink into languid irobeciility, tnd furnish fresh food for laughter. Scrib net. "Xaa-glBf; Wives. The London Liberal Seview thus dis courses: Constant dropping wears away a stone a id a peevish wile will destroy the temper of the best husband living. It is a pity that a number of good ladies do not see this, the probability being that if they did they and their mates would enjoy greater happiness than falls to their share. Probably more misery results from fretful wives thau any other cause. It is comparatively easy to get ou comlortably with a pas sionate person, provided that one uu derstauds that person's character; but it is next to hopeless to look for peace where one is tied to an individual of the "nagging" order. There are times, no doubt, wbeu one is able to make light of her querulousness, and laugh at ber grumbling, but then there are others when these jar with the most exquisite discord upon the soul. The man who is low spirited, who is perplexed and worried by a day In which business has been trying aud unsatislactory, when he reaches his home longing fur solace and sympathy, is not in a position to have a catalogue of grievances, for which he is unjustly held to be directly or indirectly responsible, poured into his ear. The misfortune is, however, that a fretful wife attacks her lord at all seasons, and so at last compels him to lower his standard of imperturbability and rival her in irritableness. When she has succeeded in doing this the chances are that she makes herself ad ditionally miserable upon the score of the sharp words to which he treats her. No doubt she derives a good deal of sat isfaction from the reflation that she is a poor, ill-used, long suffering martyr; but this must be small com Tort to the remorseless tyrant who, one is some times led to believe, spends his days in regarding her with a callousness which 1 positively brutal, but who is, in a gen eral way, not so formidable a person as he is made to appear. Probably, in deed, this person, is disposed to resent the self-importance with which she airs her martyrdom, and exhibits his power as a despotic tyrant. At any rate, in the majority of cases h can hardly fail to see the irony of the situation, and to reflect bitterly thereon. Despotic ty rant though he is reputed to be, he knows very well that he has com para tively little authority In his own house, albeit that he is nominally the head thereof. Bitter experiepce has taught him that if he ventures to chide his children he will probably be pulled up sharply; while if he presumes to in dulge them in any without having first received the maternal sanction, he will scarcely fail to be told that he is utterly spoiling them. It is pretty much the same in reference to bis servants. Yet, with strange inconsistency, his better half is continually urging him to do ter rible things with both her children and her servauts, upon the plea that she can do nothing with them, the former, es pecially, being past her control. Pre sumably she spends her life in slaving upon his behalf. At any rate, if she does not, her oft repeated ana most ear nest declarations are unreliable. Yet, if he presumes to bint that her domes tic management Is not quite perfect- that bis dinner, for instance, might be more to his liking, and that bis house hold bills might advantageously be lighter she is up In arms at once, and be learns that it la useless to try to please him, and that, though he Is un able to appreciate a good thing, all the world (herself Included) are very prop erly convinced that she is one of the very best, though one of the most ill reputed managers of a house and home living. Then, again, if he has done something, or heard something, or seen something, which he fails to tell her perhaps because he deems it uuim port ant, perhaps because he forgets all about the matter and a knowledge of what he has done comes to her ears, straight way she sinks to the gloomiest depths of despair. She bewails over the cir cumstance that she enjoys not his confi dence, much though she deserves to do so, and draws many dismal compari sons between the way in which she and a number of other less deserving wives are treated. In short, she is never with out a grievance even the cut of her husband's coat or the color of his trou sers will supply her with one and she takes very good care that her grievan ces shall be displayed to the best advan tage. A fretful wife is, however, more than a mere manufacturer of grievances, she being one of the most severely critical persons extant. Her children are ever lastingly writhing under the lash of her satire and invective which she can use with great energy for an atonish nly long time while her poor hus band is continually exposing himself to her taunts and stern admonitions. In what way tbey offend and in what way he outrages the proprieties it is not easy to indicate, owing to the fact that the grounds upon which she bases her ob servations arc often so microscopic that they are patent to no senses except her own. As a matter of fact "he is one of a large class of people who make them selves miserable by fretting over trivi alities which would look ridiculous if they were set down upon paper, and her life is made up of petty troubles, any one of which would seem absurd if it were described aud stated to be a trial but which, when they are added together and carefully made the most ol. may possibly constitute a respecta ble sura total ol misery. At all events, for the credit of the fretting ladies, it is to be hoped so. Those who have sat at a dinner table or iu a room with a thor oughly peevish wife know how she can make her miseries as she goes along, apparently out of nothing at all, and how intensely disagreeable she can ren der herself. These persons will nut be surprised at the tact that her hu-band becomes prone to neglect her society, aud thereby supplies uer with a real grievance. The wouder would be it he always took kindly to sharing his do mestic hearth with her, and became passionately enamored of the occupa tion of escorting her from place to pUce, about the lack of inclination which he displays in this direction, se vere complaints are soolten made. Af ter all it is not surprising that many bard worked men find it more pleasant to join social circles, the members ol which, whatever they may think, never say disagreeable things to each oilier, than it is to stay at home aud listen to the w hi nes of women about matters of which they do not take the slightest interest- Tiiough husbauUs wish lo put up with the li.tii unties ofttieir Hives they are but human, and when they re ceive provocation, must, iu some cases, lender a more lorcible than polite maia of disgust of the same. lagealwae Ceinaaa Inventions. A nartford gentleman recently re ceived from a friend in Germany sam ples of several recent inventions in that country, with a view of introducing the articles into the United Slates. One is a gun cane, resembling bamboo, and the ouly feature In which It dffers from an ordinary cane in appearance is a small steel handle, pressure on which discharges the weapon. The barrel, rifle, is of 30 calibre, and the muzzle, when the cane is used in walking, is stopped by a piece of gutta percha with a steel ferule. To load the weapon the cane is pulled from either end, and the parts slide apart about two inches, un covering the chamber in which the cartridge is placed. On closing the parts together the gun la ready except to set the trigger, the firing mechanism working on the same principle as a needle gun. Another pretty Invention of German silver is about the size of an opera brand cigar, and occupies less space in the pocket than a match sate. It is a tolding cork-screw, and on separating the parts of the German silver case, cylindrical In form, the screw comes out, aud by partially pushing the case together, the screw is firmly set in po sition, its square shank fitting into a square slot in the case. A patent stopper for wine or liquor bottles is made of porcelain, an Inch long, with rubber rings mid way. On placing this in the bottle and turning t ie stopper the rings are expanded, hermetically sealing the bottle and making it impossible to remove the stopper by pulling. Another stopper ol the same kind has a key at the top. Ou turning this key the rings are expan ded, and then the key being re moved, it is impossible for any one to get the stopper out without a duplicate key. The gentleman showing this in vention says that it is used iu Ger many to prevent servants and others from taking wine irom bottles that have been opened and ouly partly emp tied, and that this practical method has brought it into large demand among the economical people in that country. Aaeeatry withe Fern. The earliest mode of writing was on bricks, tiles, oyeier shell, stones, ivory, bark, and ieaves of trees, and from the latter the term "leave of a book" u probably derived. Copper and brass plates were very early in use; and a bill of feoffment on eopner was some years since discovered iu India, bearing date one hundred years B. C. Leather was also nsed, as well as wooden tablets. Then the papyrus came into vogue, and about the ighth century the papyrus was eupeiseded by parchment. Paper, however, is of ureal antiquity, especially anion the Chinees; but the first paper mill in Eugland was built in 1586 by a German, at Dar.ford, in Kent. Xeverthele, it was nearly a centnry and a half namely, in 1718 before Thomas Wat kins, a stationer, brought paper making to anything like prl ect loo. i The first approach to a pen was the stylus, a kind of iron bodkin; hot the Romans forbade ita use on account of iu frequent aud even fatal use io quar rels, aud then it was Dade of bone. S a baec. Gently, reeds, pointed and split I like pens, of the present day, were need In fact, London has already become a sort of white elephant, putting iu possessors to their wits end. The Ir regularity and amazement of iu streets infinitely exaggerate the virtual area of the city, and it was a lucky day for postmen that saw invented the contrl vance of dividing up the unwelldy mu nicipal carcass into fore-quarter, hind- quarter, rib, and sirloin, clumsy and arbitrary though the division was. And the chief aim of Londoner is, having got biggest town in the world, to make It as practically small again as possible. I do not reter merely to their under ground railways, their cibs, 'buses, and tramways, their ferryboats, messengers, and telegraphs, but to the tendency and reason of all their ways of living. The London of the dwellers in Cheapside and Lombard Street is a place of nar row dimensions; many an American village is larger. The crowd with and past which they daily hurry to their business is but part of the ordinary fur niture of the streets they never think of moralizing bout it. Their mind holds the idea of their cab or 'bus, ot their office, of their restaurant, of their club, and that is all, so far as London is concerned. Add the houses at hich they dine out once a week or month, and there remains nothing. May-fair is equally limited wiihin itself. They ride in the Row, they stare out of Pall Mall windows, they show themselves at one another's parties, and atthetheatre, the shops in Regent and Bond Streets. Of Pentonville and Whitechaiel they know nothing. There are London clique and style, as pronounced and provincial as any Beacon Street or Pumpkinville. The typical cockney is not a great but a small man. The very pressure of the immensities around hi:a crams him into a certain narrow groove, whence to budge would be explosion. I cannot walk London streets in a turban, or in lone-tailed blue coat with brass buttons, without exciting general remark, and the hostility of the police. This is not what we would expect; a Kaffre naked from the Zambezi should be able to dine at the Athetneum and dawdle in the Park without causing so much as a butcher's boy to turn his head. London, from this point of view, is a pretty fair enough ; a set of baby features imbedded in broad acres of meaningless flesh. It does not all mean one thing; if you pick it up it will fall In twenty pieces. It is cosmopolitian on the surface, but only so. It Is not an immeasurable unit, with St. Paul's for a centre, as it is made our to be iu the title-picture of the Il lustrated Loudon AVte. it is a bun dle of sticks, not a single giant bole. Were it otherwise, what a tree Yggdra sil it would be! whose terrible roots would brain all the sap out of the rest of the world in another generation. But. by a w ise decree of Providence, gi tuts of body have seldom been giants of soul, and London does not prove the rule by bing the exception to it. The Tower of Babel could ascend only so far, and Loudon, spread bow much it will, reached long ago the limits of i-S great ness. Perhaps it was formerly greater than now, both comparatively because there are other giants abroad in these days; and Intrinsically because the in crease of its skirts has diminished its central vitality. Yet, after all subtrac tions ad detractions, there stands Lou don, unrivaled, inconceivable, Invlnci ble. It is an anvil, on which all men hammer out their refl.-cliou without fear of cracking It. Applcto' Journal. Faeaaaa Early Blsera. For very manv years a learned Frenchman, M. bureau de la Malle. took special notice of the time at which various birds left their beau anil begau their snugs or betook them selves to the duties of the day. For thirty years this gentleman was in the habit, dm ing a good part of the spring and snmmer, of goiug to bed at seveu o'clock iu the evening, iu order that he might rise again at midnight aud be ready to watch the very earliest move ments among his feathered friends. By nuiloriuly Heating the birds who nuilt in his garden and grounds with kiudnetia, giving tbem food aud protec ting them from harm, M. de la Malle had made the birds into real friends, and be could move about quietly among the trees and shrubs without exciting any alarm on the part of those who would other ise have leen quick to notice his approach and be beyond his reach. The most common birds whose hab it were noted by the gentleman in question appear to have "turned out" iu the morning of May aud June at the following boors : The greenfinch from one to half-past one. The linnet from two to three. The quail from half-past two to three. The blackbird from half past three to four. The red-headed linnet from three to half-past three. '1 he sparrow from five to half-past five. The tomtit from five to half-past five. It will be seen that the greenfinch was the earliest aud the sparrow one of the latest risers among the birds ob served. Who would have thought that the sparrow would he both the most dishonest aud mischievous and the most lazy of birds flam afraid other thieves are lazy as well. Of course, the rule which M. de la Malle laid down, as above meutioned, was subject to exceptions. Sometimes the birds rose even earlier, and the rea son is tbns suggested in an interesting extract from the naturalist's state ment : "On the fourth of June the red headed linuet and the blackbird commenced their song at half-past two in the morniug. Struck with the ano maly. 1 wrnt to inspect their nesu. and fooud their broods. 1 thought at hi at that it was a manifestation of parental joy; but 1 soon became convinced of my error. The necessity of laboring more hour to feed the increasing family bad hastened their rising by an boar and a half; and I could see. by the mooultgbt, the pareDU constantly occupied iu seeking on the grass aud flower-beds, the insect which were to serve as nourishment for their offspring." Sometimes the bird are deceived io the hour. Thns a lionet awoke at half-past twelve and began to sing on a tree close to the window at which the naturalist had placed bis lamp. It bad mistaken the light of the lamp for thai of the sun; but very soon per ceived it error, and, con fust d and ashamed, went to sleep again. A tame blackbird, which was in the habit of returning every evening to ita cage, left banging in the court, waa forgotten one evening, and the cage wa not taken indoors. At midnight when M. de la Malle' lamp waslighted, the blackbird woke up and began to ing the air he bad beeo taught. Im mediately the wild blackbirds in the garden and shrubbery answered the songs, and from midnight till morning both wild and tame biids sang away as U in emulation. 1 wouder whether the habit of get ting np very early ha anything to do witn the birds being able, to sing so beautifully. Snppose me of oor young reader try the experiment, acd. by getting up early, see if tbey cannot improve their voices- L-mruttan Weekly Oriental arnawea. In America love, precede and pre pares the way for marriage at least this is our theory of courtship. In the East marriage precedes and prepares for love at least this Is the Oriental theory of the wedded sUte. It quite accords, therefore, with the Eastern ideas of the marriage relations that wo man should enter into it an age which to us seems very uufit; and this prac tice of early marriages is also favored by the fact that women reach their ma turity at a much earlier age than with us. They are at the height of their bloom and beauty at fifteen or sixteen. They are often married at thirteen or fbu rteen , and sometimes as early as eight or nine; and Dr. Van Lenney mentions one instance of a wedding which he at tended in which the bride was so young that she was carried about in the arms of her relatives. Xaturally courtship Is done by proxy, and the young men are cheated out of what the American regards as one of his most sacred, in alienable rights. The duty of looking up for the young man a suiubie wife, which even in our own society the mother, aunts, or sisters often assume, is in the East, by universal couseut, devolved upon them. Womanly nature is essentially the same the world over, and we may safely assume that they are nothing loath to perform the duty which social custom intrusts to them. For this purpose tliey sally forth In a body on their tou of inspection, call at any house whir h aflor!s reasonable hope of containing a suitable inmate, are invariably greeied with the utmost courtesy, and ushered at once Into the reception-room; the young lady is summoned, and presently enters, bearing sweetmeats and water; she is arrayed in all the finery and jewels which belong to her dowry ; nor is it considered a breach of social pro priety to inquire with particularity re specting her marriage portion. This fraiiknc-s prevents some of the awk ward discoveries which sometimes c cur with us alter marriage to mar the happiness of the honey-moon. If the preliminary negotiations are sat is I ac tory, a bargain is made between the parents, in which the amount paid by the husband or ou his behalf, either to the bride or to her parents, is denni'eilv agreed upon. This, which under the Mosaic la was fixed at a uniform rate at fifty shekles. or twenty-five dol larsvaries among the modern Jews with the condition of the bride's family while among some of the Circassian tribes and the Tartars, as among the African savages, the daughter, when she reaches a marriageable age, is sold to the highest tdilder. The parties are considered as affianced as soon a- the marriage contract has been agreed to but the nuptial ceremony is sometimes deferred tor a considerable period, during which time the bride and groom are not permitted to see each other; their sole intercourse with each oiher is through the intervention of a ''friend of the bridegroom." The wedding dress is even more a matter of import ance with the Eastern bride ihan with us. The preparation of her loilet, in the presence of female friends, often occupies a large part of two days. The wedding-veil, tlie DriUal crown, me dodos, or cap, are some of tlie emblems donned for the bridal ceremony. The costumes are ofteu rich and gorgeous beyond expression. Fashion, as inter preted by an Oriental milliner quoted bv Dr. Van-Leiiuep. prescribes the characteristics of an ideal wedding- dress. It should measure six yard troin the shoulders to the end of the train; the long sleeves should sweep the door; the material is siik; it Is elab orately embroidered by a party of pro fessional embroiderers under the diiec tionofachief The sum paid for su uerinteiidini; the needle-work on a single robe referred to by Dr. Vau-Len-uep was five hundred dollars, while the charge for tne work done by the subordinates was two thousand five hundred dollars, and the entire cost ol the dress was ten thousand; nor must it be lorgotton that labor in that country is very much less expensive than iu this. The marriage festivites last often for a week, and in many sections of the East the old practices are still main tained. The bridegroom, with a pro cession, suru with music and torches, by night, for the bouse of the bride, where after a show of resistance, aud sometimes quite a struggle, she is taken possession of, and borne away to her future home. This resistance by the coy maiden is curiously illustrative of the marriage custom of many coun tries, and iu various forms Iroiu that of African societv, in which the bride groom chases the fleeing bride, cap lures, and carrie her away bodily, to that of the Nesiorians, where the bride remains in a corner of the church until the time comes for the joining of hands w hen she is dragged half across the building by maiu strength toward her intruded husband, who is allowed to seize ber band only after a vehement struggle, during which the officiating clergyman stands passively by. Har pers MagatiM. Stacrlaa Eallea. A Russian criminal condemned to exile, is sent away with very little ce remony; but when an omcer ot me army, or any person of note, has been sentenced to banishment for life, he is dressed in full uniform and led to the scaffold in some public place. In the presence of the multitude, and of cer tain official appointed to execute the sentence, be is made to kneel. His epauleu and decorations are then torn from bis coat, and his sword broken over his head, to indicate that be no longer possesses rank aud title. He is declared legally dead; bis estates are confiscated to the Crown; and his wife. if he Is married, can consider herself a widow, if she chooses. - From the scaf fold be sun on hi Journey to Siberia. Hi w ife and children, sister, or mother, can fol'ow or accompany him, but only on condition that tbry share his banish rueut, and cam.ot return to Europe. A St. Petersburg newspaper asserU that Russia has at the present time near ly l.(XV,0u0 meu nnder arms, and 2,670 Held pleoes, and that the army can be Increased to Z.ow.ouo men wtinout call ing out the reserves. HXW3 Dl BRIX7- The wholesale oyster trade of Xew York amounts to $13,0oU,000 auuually. The Cherokee arw already civil ized. Tbey ran ;a,50J behiud during toe last n-ai year. Tne British Government has spent about seventeen million pounds In ir rigation works in India. Richmond, Va., has given more to the Custer monument fund than any other city, except New York The Hartford Accident Insurance Company, In which Mark Twain was a heavy owner, is winding up Its affairs. A mackerel eight and a half feet long and weighing SCO pounds was the o'.her day caught off Newport, Rhode Island. An immense iron pavilion will soon be erected in Boston, in which to bold the revival meetings of Messrs. Moody and Sankey. Jersey justice is tempered with mercy. They occasionally serve up apple dumplings to inmates of the I rentou Slate Prison. In answer to an advertisement in the San Francisco papers lor boys to pick hops, no less than 2,600 young sters presented themselves. Randolph Rogers who is to design the crow niug figure on the aome of the Capitol of Connecticut has sailed for Rome to prepare his studies. Lieutenant Governor Hubbard, who will succeed Senator Coke as Gov ernor of Texas, weighs 3&i pound aud is six feet and four inches high. There are seven clairvoyant shops in Chicago, at any one of which vou can see your Itevolutionary ancestors at $1.30 per head, strictly in advance. In the history of the jurisprudence of the State of Virginia tne Supreme Court's records show that but one case ol divorce was ever brought before it. This year the gain in the popula tion of California, by sea and immigra tion has been 25,400 the smallest gain during the same period tor four years. The census takers of the Young Men's Christian Association, of Jersey 'ity, report that there are thirty-live saioous to every caurcti in that city. The catch of the Xewfound'and fisheries, this year, is below that of last year, but there is sufficient increase in prices to make up for the deficiency. The Cornell University Boat Club has decided to challenge tlie winner in the Oxford-Cambridge race next March to t four-mile race over the English course. --The 2600 breweries In the United States pro. luce yearly 2S5,0oo,000 gal lons of malt liquor. Most of them have been built within the last twenty live years. The time actually occupied in the perlormance of Wagner's IVngy at B.iyreuth, not Including wastn and other intermissions, was 13 hours and j0 minutes. Mr. and Mrs. Flietwood of Texas held a iiationtl convention, and nomi nated Mr. Fleetwood lor President of the United S.ates and Mrs. Fleetwood for Vice -resident. B.nleii Baden has not suffered a loa of suurner visitors in consequence of the auolition of gambling. The iiuuitH-roii the -trangeis' reisier Sep tember 6 was 31, 5U1. Stau:on, the bicyclist, has jut de feated the French champion Camilie I'liuitlet, by some eighteen yards iu a tifty-m.le race, in 3 i. 11. u. 8s. though the weather was windy and showery. The bridge of the Boston Water Works over Charles river Is suported by the large-t arcn, ex. -opt one, in the world. It uie-tsures 134 leel In length an I 60 fro. n the Keystone to the water. Only twelve institutions for teach ing dentistry exi-t iu Ibis country, and the total number of degrees given by them is about three thousand. Yet there are Hi teen thousand dentists in the country. r About twenty miles from Salem, X. C. is a mountain in which are quar ries of a stone which is both flexible and elastic. It appears to be made up of sand so loosely dovetailed that both. flexion and exteusiou are easily accom plished. A mammoth set of scales, said to be the largest in the world, has been erected at Ashley, Luzerne county. Pa. It is one hundred aud titty feet long, with the ordinary railroad width, and can weigh me huudred tons of coal. Il cost $5,000. There are in this country 6.900.0n0 farmers, 1,200,000 trades people. 2.700.- 000 mechanics, 2,600,000 professional men. 4.1.000 clergvmeii, 40,000 lawyers, 128 822 teachers, 62 000 d.K-tor. 2,000 actors, 6.200 journalists, 1,OVIO,000 labor ers and 175,000 domestic servants. Samuel Coms'ock. of Xorwalk. Conn., went to California in 14'J, and had not been heard Irom until within a lew days, when his friends, who be lieved him long ago dead, received a letter from him saving that he was mining for quicksilver in California. The manufacture of iron in the west is rapidly increasing in amount. Iu Chicago alone there are two of the ten Bessemer steel works in the United states, and these made 85,000 tons of the 291,000 to.is of the Bessemer steel rails manufactured iu this country last year. A colossal bust of Horace Greeley has been made by Charles Calverley. It will be of bronze, and will be placed in Greenwood Cemetery. It represents Mr. Greeley as he was ten or twelve years ago, and "the old white over coat." is used, instead of the toga, for dignity ot enect, Herr Knipp calculates that his latest gun will penetrate the twenty four inches armor of the English iron clad Ind.'Xible at a distance of 1.800 metres, or will go through 14 Inch ar mor nve or six miles off, and throw a projectile weighing 620 kilogrammes completely over Loudon. The Sundish monument at Dux bury will probably be finished next season. The base is thirty feet and the top Dlteen feet thick, and it Is already tttiv-iiine feet high and can be seen twenty miles away. Over $15,000 have been spent ou ir, and a mammoth fair is to be held in Boston next winter to raise the balance. Mrs. Hiram Powers is now in Cin cinnati, rbo has been absent from America thirty-ni. e years. When she left her home, Cincinnati contained but 50.000 pceple; now it ha nearly 2o0, 000. She intends to return to Italy iu November, six of her children are living, and two of the son are follow ing the professiou of their father. Dr. Sears, President of the Board of Trustees of the Peabodv Educational fund, speaking of '.he condition aud prospects of education in the South, says the majority of the State - have made slow but steady progress; two or three have manifested renewed interest and energy. The conviction of the ne cessity of public schools la gaining ground everywhere.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers