B. F. SCHWEIER,
THE G05ST1TUTI05 THE TWIOI AID THE EIPOECEMErT OF THE LAVS.
Kilitor ami Proprietor.
VOL. XXXI.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1S77.
NO. 45.
TENiERHISS.
-Not onto every heart ia Ood'a good girt
Of simple tenderueea allowed ; we meet
With lore inn n; fashions when we lift
' First to oar lips life's waters bitter sweet
IjOTe eODM ntinn IU with MaidllHa nnw
Of curbleaa la-wm and with hjWniwil1
It plan around like April's breeze sod ahower.
ur caun nowa, a rapid stream, and still
It cornea with nleeeedneee to the heart
That welcomes it aright, or bitter fate!
It wrings the bosom with so fierce a smart
That love, we err. ia era. lr than hi
And then, ah bp, when love has ceased to bless.
our broken hearts cry out for tenderness.
We long for tenJernea. like that which hong
Ab mt ns lviug on oar mother's breast ;
A nellish feeling that no pen nor tongoe
Can praim aright, since silence sings it beet.
A love, as far removed from pass ou's beat
As from the chilliness of its dying fire ;
A loie to 1 an on when the failing feet
Begin to totter, and the eyes to tire.
In youth's brief bey-day hottest love we seek.
The reddest roue we grasp but when it dies
God grant that later bloseoms. violets meek.
May spring foroa beneath life's Autumn skies
God gra it some lovinz one be near to bl
Our weary way with simple tenderness
Ike Brennan s Watch.
"Ef you think your cousin is a scoun
drel, young man, why nay the word, if
its necessary to say anything. It's
mean to shake and sigh, and shake a
man's good name awav with a shake of
vour head that's w hat I think." And
Ike Brennan pushed back his Panama,
and looked with anything hut approval
iimui Lyman Sneed, leaning, in spotless
white duck, against the China tree.
In spite of his dapjier appearance he
w as not a pleasant young man to look
at. He had that uncertain, nervous
w ay so irritating to the honest and pur-
Ks i ul, and it stood written on his face
that he had not loved a living soul. No,
. jiot even the pretty Nona Duval, whom
he quit Ike to go and meet. He thought
he loved her, hut no feeling that pos
sessed him was a more thoroughly sel
fish one.
His cousin, Dick Burleson, loved
Nona that was quite sufficient to make
I.ynian Sneed sure that she was neces
sary to his happiness, so he went
eagerlv now to meet her. Ike watched
him up the street, muttering:
"Of two evils choose the least, but
I've aller noticed that women, of two
men, choose the worst ; wonder if little
Xona'll do that same thing Her father
rode through many a fight by my side
calculate I'll take sides here yes,
sir."
He rose slowly, lifted his rifle, and
went trailing up the hot avenue. He
was on the lookout for Dick, and very
soon found himself among a lot of
rougli teamsters who were loafing in
one of the principal stores. Dick was
reading to them a Xew York paper, and
hacking up his own side of some politi
cal question w ith considerable fervor,
The men were pulling their beards and
listening with that true Texan phlegm
w hich might at any moment into un
governable passion.
Ike waited until the end of one of
Dick's flowing periods, and then said
''Thar, Dick, that'll do for the busi
ness of the L"-nited States; supposing
now vou eome with me and look after
your own a spell."
It was so unusual for Ike Brennan to
meddle iu any one's affairs that Dick
gave instant heed to his invitation, and
with a final broadside of splendid adjec
tives for his own party, he joined Ike,
and they sat down together ia the first
quiet, shady seat.
Lyman Sneed is playing the mis
chief with your good name, Dick. It s
against my habit to look after anybody's
but my own, but I've reasons contrary
this time."
"Lvman Sneed ! He is, is he ?" And
Dick instinctively put his hand on the
leather sheath that held his knife.
"N'n tools. Dick, of that kind. It's
me that's making this quarrel, you
know, and I let nolxxly do my fight
ing."
What did he say?"
"That is it; he says nothing you can
get hold of. Pities his uncle pities
Nona Duval and is sorry you w ill "
"What?"
"He don't say shakes his head and
shrugs his shoulders, and the shaking
and shrugging stand for drinking,
gambling, or anything you like to
make it."
"I'll tell Lyman Siieed "
"You'll say neither good nor bad,
I ick. Lyman is like a pine coal if he
don't burn lie blackens. Only don't
throw your chances away for Lyman to
pick up that is just what he w ants you
to do give in a bid to the old man ; he
thinks all creation of you, and if you
won't try to please him, why Lyman
will, tha't's all."
"I m not going to take niy politics
and my opinions from uncle Jack Bur
leson no, not for all his hog-w allow
prairie, and his cattle and gold and
gold thrown in."
"He is an old man, Dick. Life is a
country Jack Burleson has got pretty
thoroughly over stands to reason he
knows more 'an you."
"He contradicts me half the time for
the very sake of a fight. He does not
go to court now, and he has no lawyers
or juries to bully. But he won't make
Dick Burleson say black is white to
please him you bet he won't."
"Dick, you are right, darned efyou
youarn't! But old Jack is wise and
good, and knows a sight more'n is writ
in book. Say 'yes' w hen you can."
"Sure." ,
"And don't meddle in my fights,
I ick. If Lyman Sneeds needs a hiding
I know just how much w ill be good for
him."
Dick saw that the conversation was
over, and, looking at his watch, saw
also that he was behind oflice hours.
As it happened, a numler of trifles had
irritated the old lawyer, and Lyman's
lifted eyebrows and ostentatious dili
gence irritated Dick. He flung his
books on a desk, dashed his hat In a
corner, and lifted his feet to a com
fortable attitude. His big boots and
loose flannel hunting shirt gave his
uncle great offense, and he said so.
' Dick replied that "he had been talk
ing with the Lavacca teamsters and had
forgotteu to dress."
"Lavacca teamsters, indeed ! I don't
see what makes you run after every
drover that comes in town."
"I was getting their votes for my
side, uncle; and making friends against
the day I want their votes for myself.
A flash of keen pleasure shot into the
old man's eyes; but he was too full of
fight to abandon the dispute. He first
attacked Dick's politics,tben his personal
appearance and abilities, w ithout being
conscious how- provoking he was.
One bitter word followed another, till
ali three men were on their feet, and
Lyman, with a little scream, had rushed
in between his uncle and cousin. Dick
laughed tiproarously at the interven
tion, and kicking him out of his way,
saiu :
"Good-bye, uncle; I'm not going to
quarrel any more w ith you. The world
is big enough, I reckon, for both of us
and our opinions."
He went straight to Ike. who was
sitting just where he had left him, and
saiu :
"Ike, tell uncle in a couple of days
that I've gone West, and that there's
no ill blood between us and, Ike,
watch Xona for me uutil I come after
her."
"You are bound to go, then?"
"Yes, the old mad is fire, and I am
gunpowder; we are better apart
that's all."
"Go 'long, then; I'll watch what
you leave behind."
"Dick felt unhappy enough at leav
ing Xona. She lived alone w ith her
father, aud he was not always the best
of protectors. Dick spent the rest of
the day by her side, and left town in
the cool of the evening in no very
despondent mood. Xona had promised
everything he asked of her, and all the
rest seemed possible.
He had some land and cattle on the
San Marcos, and he purposed putting
up a pretty house there gradually,
mainly with his own hands. Ia two
years he would sell someof his increase,
furnish it, marry Xona, turn grazier,
and run for the Legislature. When he
went back he would put 'all right'
with his uncle, aud, being so far apart,
they could keep right ; and if not, am:
he lost his share of Jack Burleson's
estate, made money was better than
given money anyway.
For a week after Dick's departure
the old man hojied against hope, but
one day, when Ike Brennan carelessly
asked, "When is Dick coming back
from the West?" then he knew that
the lad had gone to shift for himself.
and, lonely as it left him, he thoroughly
liked Dick for doing it. After this Ike
and the Judge spent much time to
gether. Ihey kept up a perpetual
quarrel, but they were well matched,
and, after a year's disputing, the vic
tory on every single point was a dis
puted one. Sometimes, at the end of a
long argument, and a long silence, the
Judge would say, "Have you heard
anything?" and then Ike, shaking his
head, and shaking the ashes from his
pipe, would rise and go away.
Early in the second year the Judge
had au accident that completely inva
lided him, and, after some mouths' de
cline he quietly passed away. Singu
larly enough there was no will found,
and Lyman Sneed took possession of
everything. Xo Dick apeared to dis
pute his claim. Ike smoked away in his
old shady corner, and smiled qneerly to
himself when he saw how diligently
Lyman began to improve the city lots,
and how cleverly he collected and in
vested the outstanding accounts of the
estate.
In all but one way Lyman's fortune
prospered X'otia still refused all his
attentions. But as soon as the Judge
was dead he began to use stronger
means of persuasion. X'ona's father
owed him a large sum, and their home
was mortgaged for its payment. Lyman
soon let father and daughter see on
w hat terms only the Duval place could
he saved, and the father cared too much
for his own indulgence not to press
with ail his power so desirable a method
of clearing off his liabilities.
Xothing of this plan, however, came
to Ike's knowledge, until one night,
old Duval, in a fit of intoxication, re
vealed it. Then he went home full of
anxiety, He had no money that would
touch X'ona's needs, and he had not yet
heard anything from Dick. "I'd give
twenty of my best cows to know if the
fellow w as alive or dead," he said, as
he pushed open the latchless door of
his log cabin. A man wassitting in his
own chair fast asleep.
"Dick at last!"
Or:e soul owned another, and Dick
opened his eyes and answered :
"Here I am, Ike."
'You tormenting youngster, where
have vou been ?"
'Everywhere, Ike, and precious
little I got, either. At last I went to
Yuba and Xevada, and tried hard to
make my pile. Two months ago Jim
Harrison strayed up there and told me
uncle was dead and Xona going to
marry Lyman Sneed. I couldn't stand
that, and so I came along with what I
hail."
"How- much?"
"Only $8000."
"That's enough. I guess you'll find
yourself richer than you think."
me next morning .ou ..
pletely amazed Lyman Sneed by enter
ing his office, accompanied by Ike
Brennan. and paying in full every
claim which he had upon the Duval
nlace. but he was still more amazed by
an official notice to meet next day the
heirs of Jack Burleson, and hear his
w ill read. He found at the place ap
pointed Dick Burleson, Xona Duval,
Ike Brennan. and three of the princijal
citizens of the place. The w ill, leaving
url v evervthine to Dick, was witnout
a flaw. Lyman simply received $100
for each month during wlncn ne iiaa
taken care of the estate.
"He took very eood care of It, gentle
men," said Ike; "just as good as if he
thought Dick would never come back.
He has earned his money, you bet. But
I'm glad my watch is over very. I
have been kept too wide awake for any
thing, between a pretty woman and a
clever lawyer."
The Land Crab of Jamaica.
This crustacean is found in other
parts of the West Indian Islands liesides
Jamaica in limited numbers. In the
latter island they roam in large nuin
bers, furnishing food for many months
of the year to a mass of the population,
and truly they are delicious, as the
most fastidious epicure admits on the
first taste. They are iu size about four
to six inches in length by three broad,
and weigli about eight ounces each.
They live in holes iu the rocks in the
mountainous parts of the island, and at
certain seasons of the year (from March
to May) collect in vast armies, and
march down to the sea-shore to wash
off the spawn. At this time they are
very fat, and filled with a rich mass of
eggs, aud are then in their priiuest con
dition as food. . They march straight
on, not turning out of their way for
any obstacle. If they meet a house
they try to climb over it, and numbers
fall and are killed in the attempt. On
arriving at the seashore the females go
on to the beach, w here the waves can
dash over them, and wash off the spawn,
which at that time has come through
the apron under the crab. As soon as
that is accomplished, they return to the
mountains, and are then quite thin and
unfit for food.
The spawn is thrown by the waves
on the beach, and hatched by the sun
The young crabs are quite red, and be
gin to travel towards the mountains as
soon as hatched. The road and ground
is perfectly covered with them. A per
son walking will crush hundreds at
each step. They will come into the
dwelling houses, and have to be swept
out by quarts at a time. Chickens,
birds and pigs feast on them. They
will only travel after a shower of rain
aud while the ground is wet, hiding in
the holes under stones at other times,
Traveling only in this manner they are
long in getting up to the mountains,
and grow to a good size before they ar
rive there. Their food consists of roots
and leaves, but they will eat bananas,
corn and even carrion, if they come
across it. They shed their shells once
a year, stopping up their holes liefore
doing so. Iu this stage they are quite
defenceless not being able to move tin
til the new shell gets hard. They are
very fat then, and if dug out make a
luscious dish. These crabs are of dif
ferent colors some black, red and yel
low, and others sotted. Like oysters,
they are not eaten in the months that
have not the letter r. Some knack is
required in catching them, as they can
give a good severe nip with their claws.
When they once lay hold they will
rather leave the claw than let go. They
are caught by grasping tliciu by the
back, so they cannot turn the claw to
nip. As they only come out by night,
they are hunted with torches. Sime
negroes are expert in catching them,
often getting a barrel full in a few-
hours. They are sold at two or three
for a cent. They can be kept for a long
time in cages, fed with corn, Ac, and
used as required. These crabs could be
introduced into Florida. They would
thrive in the palmetto thickets, and
serve as a wholesome, delicious food for
our people. They are quite harmless
never injuring any cro costing noth
ing in any way, but are a great addition
to the ioor man's larder.
The perihelion passed the equator
about the year 5000 B. C.
In 1811 the printing-machine was in
vented by Koenig; it perfected 000
sheets in an hour.
Mersenni described the reflecting
telescope in 1539, and Hall made the
first achromatic in 1730.
The cold at Tabreez, in Persia, is so
intense in February that persons are
constantly frozen to death.
Wakes and annual feasts were estab
lished by the Teutons in celebration of
the salnt's-day of the parish church.
The Red Sea is as hot as any part of
the world. The thermometer ranges
during fourteen hours of the day from
94 to 112 degrees.
In 1819 Belzoni visited EI Wah, the
oasis containing the temple of Jupiter
Amman, It is in ruins, but he was not
allowed to approach it.
In 55 B. C. Britain was invaded by
Caesar, who landed in Kent, and after
marching beyond the Thames and
building Dover Castle, withdrew the
Romans.
Mohammed Ali in 1819 made a canal
in two months 43 miles long and 90 feet
wide by 13 feet deep, and on which he
employed at once 250,000 men.
In X'ew South- Wales the coldest
month averages 54 degrees and the
hottest 75 degrees. It rains about 100
days in the year. The northwest wind
is a scorching sirocco. The air is gen
erally dry, but' the night dews are
heavy.
Achraet the First, who died aged 29,
in 1617, kept 3,000 women in his seraiigo
and 40,000 falconers in his hunting es
tablishment. He erected the famous
mosque In the Hippodrome.
The wall of Adrian ana Severus, built
to prevent the irruptions of the Scots
and Picts, extended from the Tyne to
Sol way Frith, and was 90 miles long,
12 feet high and 8 in thickness, with
watch-towers.
From the twelth to the fifteenth cen
tury the barons of England were so in
dependent of the sovereign that they
often made formal wars on each other.
They tried causes and administered
justice in the Baron's Court, in the great
hall of their castles, and had prisons
within them and they also coined money.
HumlUtv.
The loveliest, sweetest flower (humili
ty) that bloomed in paradise, and the
first that died, has rarely blossomed
since on mortal soil. It is so frail, so
delicate a thing, it is gone if it but lotik
upon itself; snd she who ventures to
esteem it hers proves by that single
thought she has it not. Mr$. E. Fry.
The municipal dog tax of Paris is
estimated at $133,860 for 1876. It baa
increased in thirteen years u per cent.
Leaves of Gold.
One night when the earth was so
sileut that the footfalls of the guardian
angels who passed to and fro could
almost be heard, and when the grand
canopy of Heaven blazed with bright
stars, au old man who had made bis
bed on the grass under a lone tree on
the commons awoke with a shiver. The
chill night air had crept through his
faded and worn garments, aud pinched
his flesh. He sat up, and looked about
him with that longing expression in
his eyes which comes only when men
feel that the earth is fast passing away
from them forever. He had no friends,
Even the wandering dog which passed
near liiin growled angrily as it caught
the flutter of the old man's rags in the
gentle breeze.
When a tree becomes old and with
ered aud ready to die, men despise it
They forget the beauty it held for
years, and they give it no praise for the
grateful shade it offered to thousands,
They would have its shade and strength
aud beauty endure forever, forgetting
that every living thing must grow
older day by day and at last die.
Men had forgotten all the good words
ever spoken by this old man. If he had
smoothed the rough paths of the poor
if he had turned the wicked into better
paths if his kind words had filled de
spairing hearts with new hojies he had
no credit for it in the hearts of men
They had sneered and scoffed at his
slow step and his many tatters, and
they had laughed in derision as he fell
u ou the hard earth. Xo sailor, cast
upon a lone isle in the great ocean, see
ing ships sailing to and fro, but none
ever turning toward him, could have
felt such isolation as this old man felt
With his long, gray locks with his
rags and tatters with his wounded and
aching heart with his kuowledge that
his hours were numbered he turned
his pale face to the bright stars and
mused :
"AVhen the leaves flutter dowii I
shall die, and like them 1 shall be for
gotten by all men. They will bury me,
but they will not mark my grave. They
may write my name iu a book but no
one will ever turn to it. Let me die to
night; let me lie no more when the
golden leaves flutter down to the chilly
earth !"
Shivering in the keen air of the mid
night he held his face in his hands and
pondered and prayed. Few hearts had
sinned less, even when smarting under
the sense of the world's ridicule and
neglect few hearts had deeper long
ing for the blessed rest of heaven. By
and by the air no longer chilled him.
lie grew warmer and his old heart
grew larger, and as sleep came back to
his eye-lids he-whispered.
"If I ever wronged one human being
iu God's great world may the angels
forgive me !"
llie frost was creeping onwards from
the north creeping over hill top and
orchard and meadow so softly that the
blades of grass hardly quivered. It
crept to the tree and lingered for a mo
ment in its branches. The green leaves
shivered, then the green faded away,
little by little, and lo! each leaf was
robed in gold ! They quivered in their
joy and gladness as the breeze whis
pered :
"i he old man below you is dead : lie
was waiting for these golden robes to
come to you. I will waft you down,
and you shall cover his gray head with
such a crown as no king ever wore."
And while the leaves were floating
down to glorify what men had despised,
an angel in Heaven turned the golden
pages of a book and wrote : "Earth has
sent another soul to dwell with us and
find eternal joy and peace!"
Word, and What ofThemT
The physicist classifies substances as
gases, liquids and solids. A very ac
curate analogy may be instituted by
saying that thoughts are gases, words
are liquids and actions solids.
They all have an effect upon him
witli whom they originate and upon
him to whom they are communicated.
In this view of the case the tongue
becomes a peculiarly dangerous mem
ber. Most people are willing to grant
this, so far as it has to do with others
than with him w'ho uses it, but few
people seem to understand that it has
an influence upon him who owns it.
The truth in the case is not affected
by their not knowing it. Words go out
from us but they leave an impress
behind them. The mind is affected by
them. It is plausible to suppose that
no speech however jocular or however
serious was without effect on the mind
of the speaker.
A man in a half determined state of
mind can forever settle a question by
talking on the subject even though he
talk to himself only.
Xot only so, but the idea is more fully
illustrated in many other cases in life.
The man who habitually uses slang,
thinks slang and acts slang.
He who constantly engages in light,
frivolous conversation gets to be very
accurately described by the common
phrases "frivolous fellow," "light
headed" &c.
Life becomes a farce to him who con
tinually seeks the ludicrous in conver
sation. To him who is given to excessive hy
perbole it becomes a lie.
A man may speak falsely until he
can no longer distinguish between the
false aud true.
The great sin of profanity consists
not so much in using certain combina
tions of articulate sounds, which men
call profanity as in the fact that by this
utterance, men destroy their capability
or faculty of reverence.
He who uses indelicate expressions
becomes vulgar at heart.
'If any man offend not in words, the
same is a perfect man, and able also to
bridle the whole body. Behold we put
bits in the horse's mouths, that they
may obey us, and we turn about their
w hole body.
Behold also the ships which though
they be so great and are driven of fierce
winds, yet are they turned about with
a very small helm, whither soever the
govenor listeth. Even so the tongue is
a little member, and boasteth great
things. Behold how great a matter a
little fire kindleth ! And the tongue is
a Are, a world of iniquity: so is the
tongue among our members, that it dr-
flleth the trkole hotly, and setteth on fire
the course of nature; and is set on
fire of hell."
Laws against swearing were strictly
enforced during the times of the Com
monwealth, and with the largest pos
sible interpretation against the accused.
We are reminded of the reproof that
Sir Walter Scott puts into the mouth of
Cromwell, "What can it avail thee to
practice a profanity so horrible to the
ears of others, and which brings no
emolument to him who uses it?"
Every oath was counted. For a single
oath the fine was Vs. 8d., but the charge
was reduced to 3s. 4d. each ''on taking
a quantity." Humphrey Trevett, for
swearing ten oaths, was committed till
he paid 33s. to the poor of Hart
ford, John Huische, of Cheriton, was
convicted for swearing twenty-two
oaths aud two curses at one time. Of
course, the greater number of these ca
ses were disposed at petty sessions
without being sent for trial. One jus
tice returned the names of the persons
whom he had convicted of swearing
since the previous session. We are not
left without examples of what was con
sidered swearing in those days. Wil
liam Heardiiig, of Chittiehampton, for
saying two several times in court,
upon my life," was adjudged to be in
the act of swearing, for which he paid
6s. 3d. ThoinaButland was fined for
swearing "on my troth." Gilliert
Xorthcott, had to pay 3s. 4d. for saying
upon my life." Thomas Court iss was
fined for swearing in court, "God is my
witness." and "I sjieak in the presence
of God."
Christopher Gill, being reproved by
Mr. Xational Durant, clerk, "for hav
ing used the oath God's life in dis
course," went aud informed against the
minister himself for swearing.
Cutting a Medicine Stone.
A number of ladies anil gentlemen
assembled at the tent of General Hunt,
in Suuimerville, recently, to witness
what is seldom seen iu America, or in
any others country the cutting and
dissection of a bezoar. or medicine stone.
At the appointed hour the beautiful
gem was placed on the table, iiisiected
and admired by ail present. Professor
Holmes then gave a short description
of the bezoars found in Eastern coun
tries, comparing them with those of
America, or more properly of South
Carolina. The name bezoar was, he
said, derived from the Persian words
"pa zahar." which signifies against
poison. In the East they are called
medicine stone; in Africa, bag stones
or charm stones. The specimen ex
hibited on this occasion is aliout the
size of a large hen's egg, of a mottled
yellow color, with a tint of brown, hav
ing its entire surface highly polished.
The polish is natural, caused by the
action of the muscles of the stomach of
the animal in which it was found upon
each layer of mineral matter deposited.
A piece of scantling having been pre
pared and mortised with a cavity just
large enough to contain the stone, it
was imbedded therein firmly with plas-ter-of-Paris,
the better to prevent flak
ing or crumbling, to which, from its
laminated and brittle structure, it is
peculiarly liable. With a very tine and
highly tempered saw, it was then cut
longitudinally through the- middle,
which took but a few minutes. During
the cutting some little excitement was
evinced as to what the nucleus or con
tents of the stone would prove to lie.
L'pon opening the bezoar, the nucleus
proved to be a large and perfect acorn,
which, several gentlemen present im
mediately recognized as that of the
white oak. It was covered by four lay
ers of lamin:e of a mineral substance,
couiiosed generally of phosphates and
carbonates of lime and iron, and some
silex. The mold of tiie acorn is very
perfect, having all the external mark
ings of the fruit. There are two im
pressions, apparently made by the teeth
of the animal before swallowing the
nut. Acorns are a favorite food of
Carolina deer. During the autumnal
months their tracks are almost always
to be found tinder the oaks df the for
est which have borne acorns.
This is the third secimen of a bezoar
that has been cut and examined by
Professor Holmes, and we believe the
only ones ever dissected in America.
The nucleus found iu the first bezoar
was a flattened ball or buckshot with a
fragment of the skin and a few hairs;
the animal had undoubtedly been
wounded six years before it had been
killed, as" there were six layers or la
mina? of mineral matter surrounding
the buckshot. The second bezoar cut
contained a pebble of quartz. Charlem-
toit Xeirt.
Sand Showers.
The singular phenomena of sand
showers occurs every year in China.
During the showers there is neither
cloud nor fog in the sky, but the sun
is scarcely visible, looking very much
as when seen through smoked glass.
The air Is filled with a fine dust, enter
ing eyes, nostrils and mouth, and often
causing serious diseases of the eye.
This dust, or sand, as the people call it
penetrates bouses, reaching apartments
which seem securely closed. It !s sup
posed to come from the great desert of
Gobi, as the sand of Sahara is taken up
by whirlwinds and carried hundreds
of miles away. -
The Chinese, while sensitive to the
personal discomfort arising from these
showers, are resigned to them from a
conviction that they are a great help to
agriculture. They say that a year of
numerous sand showers is always a
year of large fertility. The sand prob
ably imparts some enriching elements
to the soil, and it also tends to loosen
the compact alluvial matter of the
Chinese valleys.
Xothing Is so beneficial to a young
author as the advice of man whose
judgment stands constitutionally at the
freezing point. Douglas Jerrold.
Itinerant Commerce of Constantinople.
Almost the whole of the itinerant
commerce of Constantinople is carried
on by easants from the provinces ami
the tributary States, who come up to
the capital to seek their fortunes, re
maining for various periods ranging
from several months to as many years,
according to the distance and difficulties
of transit from their native villages,
where they have left their wives and
families. They revisit their homes
from time to time, then return to their
labor, until, having amassed a suffi
cient sum on which to retire, they set
tle down in the "Memlcket," (the native
place,) to cultivate the ground, and end
their days among their own people
These street merchants and laborers
are estimated at between 00,00 and
70,ooo, of whom a small proortloii
only are genuine Turks, the greater
number being Armenians; the last, a
sober, honest, and industrious body of
men, are the "hammals." or street lor
ters, whe are also employed as the
guardians of banks, counting-houses,
ami shops, besides which they take ser
vice willingly as household drudges in
their leisure hours. Other Armenians
are the "sakas," or water-carriers, and
in both capacities they are memliers of
an organized society, tinder the direc
tion of a chief of their own appointing.
It is among these "hammals" that the
descendants of the ancient Kings of
Armenia may principallv be traced,
ant! the name of many a humble indi
vidual staggering under his load, or
counting the copiers gained by his
hard day's toil, is high-soundiiigenoiigh
to suit the most exalted destiny : Tigh
ranes and Argashcnz, (Artaxerxes,) it
may lie, carry between them the port
manteau or sedan-chair which Is their
joint projierty; Tirldates, Balthazar,
and Arizdaghez are bringing water to
your cistern, while Mithridates stands
by with a leathern hump upon his
shoulders, ready for the first load that
may offer. The Albanians are also
numerous; they are the sellers of
"Mohalibe," "Khalwah," (sesame seed
and honey,) "salep," and of a sort of
fermented acid drink, much favored by
the Turks. The "bakals" (grocers)
and the makers of stove-pipes and of
iron work in general come from Kaise
riah, (Osarea in Asia Minor,) while
Maitos opposite the Dardanelles and
other places in Rouinelia sends us car
jienters, and Yanina and Salon ica
masons. The w.od-cutters are mostly
Turks, from the neighborhood of Treli
izouil and the interior of Anatolia, and
it is also the Turks w ho manufacture
and sell the sweetmeats so attractive to
the public of all ages. Greeks and Bui
garians arrive from the barren slopes of
the IMndus mountains to pass a season
in selling fruits and vegetables, and
many engage as milkmen, and as jour
neymen gardeners, carrying about
plants and flower, out of w hich they
make a lucrative trade. The Persians
are the principal donkey-drivers of the
capital ; they and their patient little
beasts form an important element in
the moving panorama of the street
scenes, as, in default of sufficient roads
and proper vehicles, it is the fate of the
little donkeys to stumble along, en
eased in monstrous planks, or bearing
their heavy panniers loaded with brick
and stone. The Kurds work as ham
mals of an inferior degree; they are
much employed about the quays and
Custom-house in unloading vessels, aud
are supjMised in a general way to be de
voted to coal, while the Montenegrins
aud Croats flourish spade and pickaxe,
in companies and under the orders of a
chieftain, to whom they pay feudal
olieilience. Temple liar.
The I'ahappineae Of Childhood.
There is a common way of talking of
the period of childhood is If it were one
of perpetual happiness. Grown up
people are so far removed from their
early days, that in many cases, they
seem to forget what they endured as
children. They think of themselves as
having been happy, strong, free from
care, light hearted at least in contrast
with the various conditions of life and
thought in which they now find them
selves, it seems as if they had been so;
and they speak of happy childhood as if
entire happiness were the normal con
dition of human beings in the early
stages of their existence.
It is probable that there are some
persons who can look back upon an un
interruptedly happy childhood, and,
when that ia the case, they have mem
ories to be stored up which are, indeed,
priceless in value. But it is true, in
far more cases than the popular reckon
ing allows, that childhood is a period
In which there is very little of positive
happiness, and very much of actual
suflering and unhappiness. Xot only
are there the small griefs incident to
the discipline necessary for childhood
the petty disappointments which seem
so keen, the self denials which appear
so great, the restraints as to the exercise
of will which the necessary rule of
home or school imposes but there are
far keener sufferings than these. There
are the cases of children whose whole
life Is one of suflering, of actual or im
pending illness, who may, perhaps, by
constant care, grow up to be men and
women in tolerable health, but who
never can look back on a time when, in
their childhood, they were strong and
well. People are apt to think that such
children as these have their compensa
tions in the extra care snd love given to
them ; but, let anyone who has had ex
perience of such a childhood look back
to it, and say if the unhappiness of ill
ness did not render life very sad. There
is, above all, tho unhappiness of mis
managed and misunderstood children.
There are children of peculiar tempera
ments, whose whole lives are rendered
a burden to them by the fact that the
persons set over them, either parents,
guardians, or teachers, have been desti
tute of sympathy for them, and have
not thought it worth while to try what
a change in the plan of managing them
would do. Harriet Martineau and the
young Brontes seem to have been chil
dren misunderstood; and their strong
natures struggled through into brighter
lives, yet there as hundreds, nay, thou
sands, of children, set down sullen,
dogged, obstinate, and treated with
harshness, who live lives of dull
wretchedness because they do not know
what is wrong with them, and no one
takes pains enough to try to set things
straight for them and make them
happier. Again, there are clever chil
dren weighed down by utterly unintel-
lectnal surroundings, forbidden to read
because reading is "a waste of time,
kept to mere mechanical work, and
never allowed to Indulge fully their love
of study. At one period of her child
hood Mrs.'Somerville seems to have
suffered a good deal from this.
Of course, nothing could be more un
wise than to allow all the' whims and
fancies of children to have their way
unrepressed. Such a course of action
would merely add the misery of undi
sciplined will to the others which chil
dren suffer. But that childhood is often
a time great, even of morbid unhappi
ness, is a statement that no reflecting
persons, especially those who have had
much to do with children can deny.
We have been led to the consideration
of this subject by the recent sad occur
rence of the suicide of a young boy
one of the pupils of a great public
school. He complained of having been
badly treated by a boy older than him
self; he ran away twice from school ; he
had been punished and flogged for mis
behavior, and the poor child found
refuge from what seemed to him an
unavoidable accumulation of miseries
in death by hanging. He was said to
have been. obstinate; it was also de
clared that no terrorism could have been
exercised over him without the know
ledge of the superior authorities of the
school. But the fact remains, that to
the poor lad life had become so miser
able that he could endure itjio longer.
The jury gave a verdict of ''temporary
insanity," but what a revelation of un
happy childhood does this bring before
us! Cases of the commisson of suicide
by children are, after all, not very un
common. How sad must have been the
condition of these poor sufferers ! Child
hood to them was all unhappiness.
The lessons for parents, and for all
who have to do with children are obvi
ous. I bildren are as different in their
natures and temperaments as grown up
people are, and they are infinitely more
sensitive, making thera easier both to
manage and to mismanage. Children
cannot be governed by any stern, un
varying rule; they must be treated
according to the difference in their
characters. Above all, children who
appear morose, obstinate, unhappy,
should not be made more so by punish
ment they are wretched enough al
ready. To alleviate, not to-increase, the
unhappiness of childhood should be the
aim of all who have the well fare of chil
dren at heart. The Queen.
Indian 1'onjurora.
One of their tricks is to make the
dried skins of a cobra live. They allow
the beholder every opportunity to see
how it is done, and at the last stage of
jugglery but one he may examine the
basket to see that nothing but the ser
pent skin is in it. A white cloth is
taken by the juggler aud placed over
the basket after having been well
shaken, so that you may be assured
nothing is in it. A pipe is produced
and with it a horrible noise, similar to
that made by all snake charmers, and
not unlike the sound a cracked ami
badly-made bagpipe would emit, is
made. Xo one goes near the cloth or
basket except the almost naked man,
who can not possibly hide any live
snake in his sleeves, for the simple and
sufficient reason that he has neither
sleeves nor jacket. The sheet is lifted,
and on the lid Wing opened a most dis
tinctly energetic serpent is discovered.
Xo sooner is it stirred than it rises on
its tail, spreads out its hood, ami strikes
with its fangs and tongues at the
charmer. The snake gone, a strong,
stout girl comes forward, makes a deep
obeisance, aud then, stepping back,
throws a man weighing full l-"0 ounds
over her shoulders. Xor does she stop
here, for she seizes her victim once
more, places him crosswise on her back
and then tosses hiin into the air as
though he were made of feathers, and
not a broad-shouldered human being.
Turning backwards on her feet, she
picks up straws with her eyelids,
throw ns somersaults and lifts weights
which would astonish the ordinary
acrobat. While she is thus jierforming
jugglers are turning pebbles into birds,
birds into eggs, and eggs into plants;
men thread beads with their tongues,
join innumerable pieces of cotton into
one long cbrd, keep half a score of
sharp knives in the air at once, throw
cannon balls with their toes, and spin
tops on the end of twigs.
Japan and Her Population.
Japan, on its four thousand islands,
inlets and rocks, with an aggregate area
of about 155,01)0 square miles, has a pop
ulation of 33,625,673, which is greater
than the population of the I'nited
States was according to the census of
I860. The population in the principal
inlands is much more crowded than
these returns would indicate, as many
of the islands are only sparsely settled.
Xew York, Pennsylvania, iKdaware,
Maryland and Ohio represent a territory
equal in area to that of Japan, but the
aggregate ipulation of these States in
1870 was only 11,473,879 not much
more than one third of that of Japan
to-day, and jret these States are among
the most thickly populated in the Union.
In Japan there are 216 inhabitants to the
square mile of territory; in the States
mentioned above, taken as a whole,
there are only 74 inhabitants to the
square mile. The Japanese are au in
dustrious and enterprising people, and
they are making rapid strides in the
introduction to their country of the
better features of European and Ameri
can civilization. They are preparing
new for the first of a aeries of annual
industrial exhibitions, of which advan
tage should be taken by American man
ufacturers. Japan is a distant market,
but the United States is nearer to It
than any other great manufacturing
country.
ThlerVs Personal Appearam-e.
It is almost as difficult to get a correct
idea of Thiers's personal appearance,
from those who have attempted to de
scribe hiin, as of the great Xapoleon. We
know that Xpoleon, alter it had been
taken for granted for half a century
that he was brilliantly handsome, was
described by Miclielet as positively
hideous "a brown, stubby little bar
barian." By-the-way, a writer in the
Spectator once spoke of an odd resem
blance between Thiers and Xapoleon,
which he thought he bad discovered.
Princess de Lieven thought Thiers fine
looking, for all his short stature and
dumpy figure. "The most brilliant,
lively, and amusing," of all the states
men of the Orleanist era, she called him.
On the other hand, the cynical Greville
does not conceal the unflattering result
of his observation of him. " I dined
with Talleyrand on Friday," he says;
" a great dinner to Thiers, the French
Minister of Commerce. A little man,
about as tall as Shiel, and as mean aid
vulgar looking, wearing spectacles, and
with a squeaking voice. Talleyrand
has a high opinion of hiiu. He wrote
a history of the Revolution which he
now regrets." Another writer describ
ing Thiers, says : " In external appear
ance it is impossible to conceive a more
ignoble little being. He has neither
figure, nor shape, nor grace, nor mien ;
aud truly, to use the most unsavory
description of Cormenin, he looks like
one of those provincial barbers who,
with brush and razor in hand, go from
door to door offering their saevttettt.
His voice is thin, harsh, aud reedy; his
aspect sinister, deceitful, and tricky ; a
sardonic smile plays about his insincere
and mocking mouth ; aud at first view
you are disposed to distrust so illfavored
looking dwarf, and to disbelieve his
tory. But hear the persuasive pygmy,
hear him fairly out, and he greets you
with such pleasant, lively, light, voluble
talk, inters persad with historical remark
personal anecdote, ingenious reflections,
all conveyed in such concise, clear, and
incomparable language, that you forget
his ugliness, his impudence, insincerity,
and dishonesty." Another puzzles us
with a picture in sharp contrast with
the foregoing; "His small figure is
precisely what you would select as the
most appropriate and expuisite type of
the honest french citizen; his hair,
very fine and of a lustrous whiteness,
falls around a forehead of large size,
smooth, without wrinkles, whose
brown tint betrays a life of travel and
his southern birth, The cheeks are full ;
the mouth an unbent bow, ready to dart
courteous arrows; the eyes, shining
beneaeh the eyebrows, are so lively and
eloquent that they seem to light up the
spectacles; their expression of attractive
good-nature extends to the smiling
lips."
The impression of the writer, who
has seen and heard Thiers more than
once, is less depreciatory than the first
of these estimates, and less agreeable
than the last. To us he appeared a
short, thick-set, square-headed, bristling-haired,
puguacious little man, with
a good deal of sparkle and a good deal
of obstinacy, brimming with irony and
" fight ;" nervous, petulant, uneasy, and
charged throughout his diminutive body
with a seemingly Inexhaustible vitality
and force a physical trait well fitted
to his strong, determined, and bellicose
character. Kather German than French
in physiognomy, he was all Gallic ami
all Marseillais in his impetuous vivacity
and demonstrative manner. Most
engaging, no doubt, in conversation
and while talking in the social circle
showing at once his brightest and uiot
amiable side, it was evident that he
best enjoyed political life, especially
when that life was freely checkered by
a pandemonium of strifes of the forum.
To see him in the tribune, with his cup
of eoffee or his glass of claret by his
side, his handkerchief in his hand,
and his coal-black eyes glaring out
from beneath the big, square spectacles
which he always affected, was to see
him when his fullest force and genius
were in play. He was a good hater;
and probably never an orator lived who
felt more keenly the luxury of forensic
cambat than Thiers did in his old-time
contests with the prim and austere
Guizot, AppUtont Journal
The l-Di,nlivr" Mania.
There is no use in getting into a heat
over drawing-room furniture. We
shall spare ourselves much discussion
if we can agree upon certain definitions.
In the first place, "art decoration," as
it is commonly used, is a confusion of
terms. The most of our decoration has
nothing to do with "art;" it is merely
following a fashion, indulging in a
taste for ornament, and may tie guided
by not the least knowledge or feeling
for art. There is no art in sticking a
lot of colored figures upon a jar and
putting on a coat of varnish. There is
no art in painting a jar or decorating a
jar, unless the decorator is an artist.
We are in danger of running the sub
stance for mere show. The ornament
ing of our houses is all right, if we
don't babble too much about art and
x'Hhetic culture, and fancy that we
are artistic when we have not learned
the first rudiments of real art.
The sin of the age, especially here in
America, is superficiality. And this
decorative mania illustrates it. A short
cut to art seems to have been discovered
just as years ago a short cut was found
to painting in what was called " Grecian
painting" a disease that raged most in
the rural districts, and left Its "pit
marks" in so many desolate homes.
Xow It seems possible for everybody to
be an " art decorator" in her own house
and in the houses of all her friends.
In one respect we do not object to this,
as we shall say presently, but the danger
is that It shall have a mere run, like
the fashion of a garment, and pass away
without leaving any marks of real cul
tivation. It is a superficiality taking
the place of real culture, which can
only be obtained by patient study.
There are sixty-one National batiks
in Boston.
I
r
SW