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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.