, , . . . - , . - - -. 13. F. SCIIWKIEIt, THE C05STITTJTI03.-THE TUnOU-UTD THE EUTOECEYENT OP THE LAWS. Editor and Proprietor. VOL. XXXII. MIFFLINTOWX, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1S78. NO. 20. THE TWO ARMIES. Hie life' unending column pxurs. Two marshalled hosts are seen Io armies od the trampled shores Xlit death flows back between. One marches to the drum beat's roll. The wide-mouthed clarion bra;, And bean upon a crimson scroll Oar glory ia to slay." one i jovea in silence by the stream, W' ih sad yet watchful eye. 1"1'0 as the patieut planet's gleam, 1 bat walks the clouded sky. Along in front no sabres shine. o blood-red pennons wave ; lis banner bears the single line, Our duty is to save." For those no death-bed's lingering shade At honor's trail -el call ; With knitted brow and uplifted blade. In Glory's arm they fail. For these no flashing falchions bright, Sor stirrjjg battle-cry ; The bloodless stabbers call by night Each answers, 'Here ml!" For those the sculptor's laureled bust. The builder's marble piles ; The anthem's pealing o'er their ditot. Through long cathedral aisles. For these the blossom-eprinkled turf That floods the lonely graves. When Spring rolls in her sea-green surf In flowery foaming waves. Two paths lead upward from below. And angels wait above. Who soaut each burning life-drop's flow. Each falling tear of Love. Thongh from the Hero's bleeding breast. Her pulses freedoaa drew. Though the white lilies iu her crest Sprang from that scarlet dew. While Valor's haughty champions wait Till all their scars are shown. Love walks unchallenged through the gate To sit beside the throne. The Mistress of the Mansion. W-U, Bridget, what do you think of the bride "r" Oh. she's a pretty youngthing; but it' she had known as much as you and I do of her husband's mother, she never would have come to live with her. She's a perfect hyena; and if she doesn't bring the tears into those blue eyes be fore the honeymoon is over, uiy name isn't Bridget ! Why she's the most im pudent person I ?ver knew ! She over hauled all her wardrobe yesterday, be fore she could pet here; and, as I passed through the hall, I heard her muttering to herself, 'Silk stockings humph I milled underclothes! Won der if she thinks I'll have them ironed here? Kmbroidered nightcaps! silk dresses! Instruction and ruin!"' -I'll tell you what, Bridget, there never w as a house, built big enough for two families to live in; and you'll find out that this won't Ir I reckon." What! tears, Emma tears?" said the young husband as he returned from the counting-hoti-e oue afternoon, about a month after marr'nge; and, w ith a look of anxiety, he drew her to his breast. "Tell nie, you do not so soon rejient your choice?" The little rosy mouth was held up temptingly for a kiss; and in the con fiding countenance of his young wife he read the answer hi heart w as seek ing. "What then, is your pet canary ill? Can't you dress your hair to suit you? Or arc you ia despair because you cau't decide m w hich of all your dresses you look prettiest?" "Don't be ridiculous, Harry!" re plied Emma, laughing and crying to gether. "I feel uervous, that's all. I'm so glad you've come home !" Harry felt sure that was not all; but he forbore to question her, for he was sure she would tell him all in good time. The truth was, Harry's mother had been lecturing her daughter-in-law all the morning upon the degeneracy of the times; hoped she would not think of putting on all the fine things her friends had been so foolish as to pro vide for her; times were not now as they used to be; that, if Harry gave her pocket-meney, she had better give it to her to keep, and not be spending it for nonsense; that a young wife's place was in her husband's house; and she hoped she would leave off that babyish trick of running home every day to see her mother and sisters. Emma had listened in silent amaze ment. . She was a w arm-hearted, aflectionate girl, but she w as very high-spirited. The color came and weut rapidly in her cheeks, but -he forced back the tears w hich were starting to her eyes, for she had too much pride to let her mother-in-law see them fall. After old Mrs. Hall retired, she sat for a moment or two recalling her words. "Babyish to love my own dear home, she mused, " where I was as merry as a cricket from morning till n!ght! Where we all sang, and played, and read, iu mother's dear room, and father and mother thehappiest of us all !" Then she rose and paced the room. Baby ish ! I won't be dictated to !" repeated the young wife, " I'm married, if I am only nineteen, and my own mistress!" And the rebellious tones would come in spite of her determination. But then the thought of Harry dear Harry whom she had already learned to love so w ell. Her first impulse was to tell him. But she had too much good sense. And so she smiled and chatted gaily with him, and hoped he had set it down to the account of " nervousness." Still the hours passed slowly when he was absent on business; and she felt uneasy every time she heard a step on the stairs, lest the oid lady should sub ject her to some new trial. " I w onder w hat has come over our Emma ?" said one of her sisters; she has grown so grave and matronly. I half-hated Harry w hen he carried her off; and 1 quite hate him now, for she's so sedate and moping. I desire to keep my neck out of the matrimonial noose !" Shortly after this Emma's mother sent her some little delicacy, manufac tured by herself, of which she knew her daughter to be particularly fond. Mrs. Hall brought it into her room, and set it down on the table as if she were testing the strength of the dish. " I wonder if your mother is afraid you'll not have enough to eat here?" she said. One would think you were a child at a boarding-school." Emma controlled herself by a strong effort, and made no reply, simply taking the gift from her hands, with a nod of acknowledgement. Every day brought her some such petty annoyance; and her father-in-law, who was old and childish, being quite as troublesome as his wife in these respects, it required all Emma's love for Harry to carry her through. She still adhered to her determination, however, to conceal her trouble from her husband; and though he noticed she was less vivacious, perhaps he thought the mantle of matronly dignity so becoming to his young w ife that he felt no disposition to find fault with it. In the meantime, old Mrs. Hall being confined to her room with influenza, the reins of government were very un willingly resigned into Emma's hands. What endless charges she received about the dusting, and sweeping, and cooking, ending always w ith the solilo quy, as the door elosed upon Emma's retreating form : " I am a goose to tell her anything about it. She's as igno rant as a Hottentot ; it will all go in one ear and out of the other." And the old lady groaned in spirit as the vision of the nose of the tea-kettle pointing the w rong w ay, or the sauce pan hung on the wrong nail flitted through her mind. Emma exerted herself to the utmost to please her, but the gruel was always " not quite right," the pillows not ar ranged easily behind her back, or she expected to find "Bedlam let loose" when she got dowu stairs, and various other encouraging prognostics of the same character. ' Emma," said Harry, one day, "how should you like living five miles out of the city? I have seen a place that just suits my fancy, and I think of hiring It on trial." Emma hesitated. She wished to ask : " Does your mother go w ith us?" but she only said, " I could not tell, dear Harry, how I should like the place till I saw it ; but I fear it would take you too much from me. It would seem so odd to have five miles distance between us the whole day. Oh, I'm very sure I shouldn't like it, Harry!" and the thought of her mother-in-law clouded her sunny face, and in spite of herself a tear dropped on her husband's hand. "Well, dear Emma, now I'm very sure you will like it," and his large dark eyes had a look she did not quite understand, even with all her skill and practice iu reading them; and so I'm going to drive you out there this very afternoon ; and we'll see," said he, gaily kissing her forehead. Thither they accordingly went. "Oh, what a little paradise, Harry! Look at that cluster of roses! What splendid old trees! See how the wind sweeps the drooping branches across the tall grass! And that little low win dow latticed over with sweet briar; and that pretty terraced flower-garden oh, Harry !" " Wellj let us eo inside, Emma." And, applying a key he held in his hand, the door yielded to his touch ; and they stood side by side in a rustic par lor, furnished simply, but yet so taste fully. Tables, stands and mantles, covered with vases, sending forth fragrance from the sweetest of wild flow'ers; the long white muslin curtains looped away from a window, whence could be seen wooded hill, and fertile valley and sil very stream. Then they ascended into the cham bers, which were as unexceptionable in their appointments. Emma looked about in bewildered wonder. " But who lives here now, narry ?" " Nobody." " Nobody ? What a tease you are ! To whom does all this furniture belong and who arranged everything with such exquisite taste? I have beet, ex pecting every minute to see the mistress of the mansion step out." "Well, there she is," said Harry, lead ing her gaily to the looking-glass. " I only hope you admire her half as much as I do. Do you think I've not seen my high-spirited little wife struggling w ith trial day by day, suffering, enduring gaining the victory over her wn spirit, silently and uncomplainingly? Do you think I could see all this, and not think she was the dearest little woman in the world?" and tears and smiles strug gled for mastery, as he pressed his lips to her forehead. " And now you will have iiolody to please here but me, Emma. Do you tniuk thtt task will be difficult? The answer was highly satisfactory to the husband, as the reader may rest assured. . A Yankee Trick. " What do you charge for board ?" asked a tall Green Mountain boy, as he walked up to the bar of a second-rate hotel in New York; " what do you ask a week for board and lodging?" " Five dollars." " Five dollars! that's too much, but I g'pose you allow for the times I am absent from dinner and supper?" " Certainly, thirty-seven and a half cents each." Here the conversation ended, and the Yankee took up his quarters for two weeks. During this time he lodged and breakfasted at the hotel, but did not take either dinner or supper, saying his business detained him in another, portion of the town. At the expiration of two weeks he again walked to the bar and said: " S'pose we settle that account I m going in a few minutes." The landlord handed hira his bill : "Two weeks board at five dollars ten dollars." , , , Here, stranger," said the Yankee, "this's wrong you've not deducted the time I was absent from dinner and supper 14 days, two meals per day; 28 meals at 37? cents each $10.50. If vou've not got the fifty cents that is due to me, I'll take a drink and the balance , In cigars " The Needs of Nurses. In a recent lecture upon "The Needs of Nurses," Dr. Yanderbeck, said "nearly every home has at least one who is willing to be a nurse, and al though this is ineritable, yet it w ill not do when the time comes to work iu the sick-room. I do not believe iu natural- born nurses and doctors; it takes prac tice as well as a natural intuition to be come an efficient nurse, and vast labors of preparation are also necessary. The best nurse is one having natural ability, plus thought, study and experience. It is not excusable in our time to be igno rant of the duties of a nurse, as many papers are devoting columns to the sub ject, and various institutions are dis cussing the question to its fullest ex tent. The speaker gave numerous il lustrations where Ignorance in the sick-room had proven fatal. He con tinued : We will first consider the room, and the question will arise, is any room good enough? Xo; any room is not good euough, a large room is the best and plenty of ventilation is necessary. There should not be any carpets on the floor, and if it is to be a siege of sick ness, you should go to the trouble of removing them, and taking out all the furniture not in immediate use. It should not be too high up, and for the very aged it should be as near the ground floor as possible. In case of contagious disease it should be isolated as much as possible from the rest of the house. If it is in the country it can be very convenient to have a pleasant out look, but in the city it is sometimes more difficult, and in the latter place it should be iu the front of the house when convalescent, and the rear when the patient is an invalid. As regarding ventilation, it is absolutely necessary to see that there is a sufficiency of fresh air; for if it is necessary for a well person to sleep in a pure atmosphere, how much more necessary that the dis eased person should breathe the pure element. Then see that there i- no noise in the room ; see that the doors do not creak, that the nurse does not talk too much, that there is not too much w ater used in cleaning the room. Should there be any flowers or plants in the room ? Yes, most certainly ; and here, I expect, there are many who will difl'ei from me, but I say flowers are very beneficial to a patieut. There should be light, but it is not necessary to break out the windows aud substi tute blue glass, that is entirely useless. In regard to the bed, there should be two of thein, and if there is no oppor tunity for this, you should have one large bed. so that one side can be made up while the otheris being used. The best attendants are those who are near ami dear tothe sick, although there are in these days many professional nurses who arc very good, but the very lest is one w ho has some affection for the invalid. We should steer clear of per sons who are always over-nursing, others who are long-faced aud always lookii gon the dark side, and then there are others w ho are the very opiosite, and are telling you continually that you are not sick ; then there are the melancholy, the superstitious, the slo venly, and above nil the meddlesome nurse. All of these should be avoided, and never listen to the latter class, be cause they are the very worst. In cases of dying do not be constantly feeling the pulse and the limbs of the patieut, and keep crying "they are growing colder," and using some similar ex pressions; this is a horrible thing, for in many cases the senses of the dying are very acute. Never whisper in the sick-room, except to the patient; to the other persons never speak in any thing but an ordinary tone of voice. Again, never deceive a dying person, and yet, never be abrupt about break-j ing bad news to them. The nurse who is sitting up with the patient should al ways have a lunch about midnight, so that you have something to break your fast from supper to breakfast. Incases of contagious diseases, the nurse should sit between the patient and the open window, and thus prevent any daner ous results. The lecturer spoke at some length of disinfectants and the various diets suitable to patients. In closing he said that a nurse should be health, refined, educated, and not a gossip, and he should be able to furnish food for the mind, for nature has brought the mind and body in contact, and all the physician has to do is to watch the course of nature aud prescribe accordingly- The Equine Wonders at the Aquarium. The current attraction at the Aquari am New York, is of uore than general public interest. It consists of a troupe of ten Broncho horses, whose evolutions constitute a genuine novslty. The fas cination which pertains to ordinary circus performances has been height ened in this instance by the adoption of a novel and ingenious plan. Briefly stated. It is to present an equestrian entertainment divested of the mere mechanism of the "ring." Extraneous aids are disregarded. The horses appear without riders. They are neither "checked," driven or directed, but per form evolutions which are wholly the result of training, and perform them without assistance. These horses were originally wild on the plains, and have undergone all stages of subjection until they are now under complete control. To what extent they may be carried is shown in some of their marvelous feats. The horses first execute a military drill, forming into line, answering the roll-call and march ing in single and double file, and in platoon, counter-marchlDg and execut ing other martial tactics. A handker chief is passed along the entire line from month to mouth. At the conclu sion of this, Picconina, who is perhaps the most spirited of the ten, compels the others to leave the ring in succes sive order, without a word of direction or assistance being uttered by any one. Then two horses open a lid of a box and find a handkerchief concealed therein, which is delivered to theowner One horse make choice among flags of different colors, such ones as the audi ence select, and afterward leaps through a burning hoop. Another animal fires off a pistoljrom a sack strapped at his flunk, and still another unties with iu teeth a handkerchief tied alternately ou one of his fore and hind feet. But the most difficult trick accomplished is the act of "see-sawing." A horse mounts a plank oscillating on a fulcrum, and. although the board is scarcely two feet in width, balances himself in the centre until it reaches a horizontal position. When he has the plank completely at rest, he inclines toward oue eud, and by letting the other fall, enables a sec ond horse to mount. The equilibrium is again established, and for some fine the two horses "see-saw" in the most approved style. They then change places without leaving the plank, aud finally disiuout separately. The horse Flora rolls ou a barrel up an inclined plane a most difficult feat, for the hoofs of the animal are so con stituted as to render impossible any grip on the substance. But more diffi cult still than this is the process of roll ing the barrel down the plank. Nettie is the chief leaper of the Bron cho troupe, clearing lour horses and a leuce at a bound. All the horses arc of great strength and grace of move ment, aud under most perfect training. The attractions of the place are like wise enhanced by a troop of educated dogs. A dog's pantomime of the droll est description is enacted. Oue dog steals a brass collar from another; a third one goes iu pursuit of the offender and overtakes him. Meau while, a noose has been slipped around his head. Two other dogs erect a gallows. The dog who has hold of the end of the noose, draws the thief after hira, and by jump-1 ing over the cross-bar ot the gallows, is euabled to pull the rope taut and thus raise the offender from the ground. The thief is then let down, to all ap pearance dead. Three dogs bring a wagon for a hearse. The dead criminal is deposited therein, and the tuueral cortege proceeds froji the place of exe cution, w liiie the brass collar is restored to its rightful owner. The intelligence shown by these dogs is surprising. Slutksearee Statfe. ShaksiR.-are's stage was strewn with green rushes, just as the private rooms were in the richest houses, for carpets were as yet seldom used. Sometimes it was matted over as it was for the play of ZV nry III., the night the Globe was burnt down. The curtains of silk or worsted did not draw up as they do now, or let down as in the Rouian theatres, but opened in the middle, and sliding with rings attached to an iron rod, drew back like window orbed cur tains of the present day. The boys of tiie theatre lent out stools at Cd each to those gallants who wished to dazzle the groundlings w ho stood iu the yard or pit. Some lay ou the rushes, aud played at cards or smoked; others drank wine or beer. The 'prentices in the cheap 2d gallery, cracked cuts and nibbled apples just as they do now. The prologue w as cencrally spoken by an actor who wore a long black velvet cloak, perhaps originally intend ed to indicate that a tragedy was to follow, and then worn indiscriminately to usher in cither comedy or tragedy ; a trumpet blown three times preceded his apearance, and a trumpet served also as a signal for the music, that was not placed, as now, in a row before the foot lights, but in stations over the stage boxes. In the rear of the stage there was a raised platform or balcony, and this had also curtains w hich could be drawn so as to conceal the actors who were in it ; here Christopher Sly would sit to see the Taming of the Sltreic, Julia receive her adventurous lover and Henry VIII- to watch the insults heaped upon Cranmer. There was never but one play per formed iu the day, and that was acted in about two hours. This, perhaps, is the chief cause of the Elizabethan drama. Sometimes Tarleton or Kemp, the best low comedians of the day, came on between the acts, dressed in russet or motley, and danced a jig to the souud of the pipe and tabor, singing as they danced, either such a long as Sir Topas in the Ticelflh Xiyht, or a squib extem porizing ou the events of the day ; those who, after this, were still hungry for amusement, could visit the beer-garden or the cock-pit. At the end of the performance the actors fell upon their knees and prayed for the health and prosperity of their patrons, or the Queen, a custom retained in the "God save the Queen" that forms the last line of English playbills. The play commenced at one or two. Plays were exhibited on Sunday, in spite of all the just denunciations of Puritans. Elizabeth herself visited a theatrical exhibitions at Oxford on Sun day, and James I. allowed plays to be acted at Court on the same holy day. Sunday was a favorite night for masks. An indignant Precisian had once the hardihoodto indict the Bishop of Lincoln for allowing a comedy to be acted in his house on a Sunday, the night after con secrating a chapel. A Champion EaUst. The. Reading Time and Dispatch. claims the championship in this line for an ex-Chester countian, who is a resident of that city. It relates that he an Ornish festival in Lancaster county some years ago, and at the meal put under his vest the following inventory of edibles : 3 plates of bean soup, 4 large slices of corn-beef, 2 hnnks of roast beef, 6 slices of ham, 6 soft-boiled eggs, 10 potatoes with jackets on, 3 deep plates of mashed potatoes, one dish of cold-slaw, one dish of cooked tomato sauce, 16 young onions, one dish of boiled apple suitz, one dish of peas, one dish of beans, one dish of turnip sauce, one dish of prunes, one-half an oyster pot-pie, bread and butter, cottage cheese, apple butter, peach butter, pot cheese, apple pie, peach pie, blackberry pie, cherry pie, ring cake, pound cake, sponge cake, marb'.e cake, oranges, ap ples, six cups of coffee, four glasses of milk, water, etc. Trying IU Henry Crook came to Detroit from the East to keep books. He found all the books so well kept that he had no opportunity. Then he tried to get into the postoffice. He tried to get in at the basemont window, but got a broker: head. He then decided to start a bank, but a policeman started him. He made an offer of flO.OOC for two propellers and a schooner, tried to buy out a brewery, and was about to set up in business as a diamond broker when he concluded to get drunk and tbeu not to taste another drop for fifty years. At dead of night a song was heard from the bowels of the darkest coal shed on the w harves. He 6ang in bass, baritone, alto, tenor, and several other styles, and it was some little time before the officer could tell whether the noise was that of a conflict between two seal ions, or a buzzsaw working on scrap iron. " You'd better go up," suggested the court, as the prisoner stood before him. "Hain't I gone up 'nuff already?" asked the man as he surveyed himself. " Is this a cold world ?" queried the court. " Cold ! Why, judge, I druther be turned adrift on the ocean in a canoe than to walk this town with empty pockets and a hungry stomach ! The glass looks blue to me; the handsomest women are alligators in my sight, and I feel like wringing the neck of every meek old man I meet !" " Well, I've sent you up for thirty days. You'll get a square living and a good bed for a mouth anyhow." " My revenue my hour of vengeance shall come !" exclaimed the prisoner. " And so will a clean shirt, I hope!" quietly observed his Honor as he bowed him to the care of Biiah. Slurried by Death. It was near Chadd's Ford, Pa., and at a beautiful romantic spot. There is a turbulent stream running between high banks, on which stunted willows grow, while further down, at the water's edge, the weeping variety of the same tree dips its greenish tresses iu the musical water, which has hushed its riotous noise to almost a requiem since the death of George Rickett and Mollte Dolbvll "as fine a young man and as pretty a girl," the farmers say, "as you will find iu all Chester county. This is how they met their death. Mollie was one ot those pink-and-white dairy maids that you sometimes meet in the grazing regions of Pennsylvania. Her hair was bonny brown, but with just a glint of black in it, as if it had been gently touched by a raven's wing. She was light-hearted and as merry as the lark with which she arose, the lark that caroled above her head as she looped her neat dress about her entrancing ankles, aud skimmed into the stone dairy where the painted pans were ranged in rows and the yellow pots of butter flecked the cool water. The trouble with Mollie was that she had two lovers one George Ricketts, a stalwart farm-hand, aud the other Hugh O'Dounell, a sullen, red-whiskered man, employed on the small drawbridge over the Fox Run that we have spoken of. This draw was seldom used save for a lazy schooner that came up to get terra-cotta pipe from a manufactory above. The two men knew that they were rivals, and Mollie knew it, too, being sore troubled in her white soul as she stood Saturday evening before Lent in the porch of the house where she lived, and promised to take a ride on the morrow with George not a ride in a buggy nor a sail in a boat, but a rattling ride on a hand-car, a practice which is frequent on these lonely lines, whose rails vibrate but seldom under the crunching advance of the engine. It Is un necessary to describe the band car, that flu the rails, is worked by a crank, and when stared goes like wind. The car had been loaned George by a band of laborers who were making re pairs about a mile above. He had dusted it neatly, and when the pretty girl reached him by a short path through the woods, he had arranged the vehicle so cleverly, with a cushion for Mollie, that it did not seem unlike Cleopatra's barge. She was in her Sunday best, and she laughed lightly in the sunshine as George swung her into her seat and then leaped to the bandies. There were no Sunday trains; there was no danger. Mollie crossed her tiny feet, felt the exhilaration of the movement, as George's swelling arms produced the terrible momentum, and saw her neat skirts blown about by the rushing wind beneath the platform. On, on they went, the glistening rails ringing, the bonny brown hair blown about, and the Fox Run bridge near at band. Ou that bridge Hugh O'Donnell bat smoking bis pipe The draw was open, although no drifting schooner was in sight. Some evil bird bad whispered to Hugh the Sunday trip of his rival with Mollie. He determined on murder at once. This Is the reason the rusty draw was open, while Hugh sat in his sentry-box on the other side, smoking bis pipe, and watching up the converg ing lines of metal that seemed like satin ribbons tied iu a bow by the perspective. He did not have to wait long. First came the rumble the far-off sound that dies away while it increases and then, swinging suddenly around a curve, the hand-car, bearing the girl he loved and the man he hated. He drew another whiff of smoke, and looked calmly at the tumbril of death, with its arms whirling wildly, since George bad trusted to the steep grade and the appalling acceleration he had given the machine to accomplish the passage of the bridge, and had sat down alongside of Mollie with his arm around her. Just as they neared the draw, which was never legally allowed open on San day, he turned his head, and his face became white. Mollie felt the chill circle her waist as his blood froze in his arms. He, sprang to his feet and tried to seize those revolving handles, which were only a blur and a mist. He thought of throwing the girl off, but before he could think of anything else, the car took the 1 iap, and as Hugh O'Donnell sat f mowing in his sentry box, he saw the upturned faces, pallid with agony, but pressed close together, go down with the hand-car to the deep pools and cruel rocks of Fox Run, and as he did so, he said : "Curse you!" and lighted another pipe. They found him there, but mad not raving mad, but iu that lympathic state of mania which is beyond reach. On the shore below, held by the gnarled roots of a willow, were discovered the bodies of George and Mollie. In the moment of death she had thrown her arms about him, and as the sun-light filtered through the surging branches and fell upon the upturned faces, they seemed like bride and groom in the sleep of happiness. So they were, but Death had been the minister. A Big Snake. There exists in the central portion of the Amazon an enormously developed species of aquatic Boa-constrictor which is known to the natives there by the name of tuevrvju, but the facts concern ing the habits of this large reptile are as yet exceedingly scanty. Bales in his charming work, "The Naturalist on the Amazon," makes incidental mention of it, but seems to have been unable to gather sufficient material to clear up the many doubtful and inter esting points connected with the man ner ot life of this most gigantic of tropi cal Boas, which is asserted to attain to the length of 35 feet. He writes that it is apt to attack occasionally man him self, and cites as corroborative an inci dent occurring in Ega, where a boy barely escaped from being crushed to death by the encircling folds of one oi these monsters, which had ' quietly crawled into the boat where the boy had been asleep. Hi cries brought his father to the rescue, who, by bis intre pidity in attacking the snake, saved the boy's life. A private letter from Mr. Rhome, a planter near Santarem, has b -en lately received in this country, in which this gentleman, kindly comply ing with the request made especially to bim for this purpose, adds a few highly interesting items, which are so much the more valuable on account ol their authenticity, and the many oppor tunities granted to bim, by his long residence in the Central Amazonian Valley. We extract, from among a number of equally interesting observa tions and comments upon the fauna of that region, a few portions in reference the Bja. Mr. Rhome writes as follows : "The Boa or tucurvju that I have no ticed lives upon animals, birds aud fish. We have bad ducks taken away by them in the canal that passes through our yard, and have killed them while lying in wait. They come very frequently near the houses in search of food, and we killed lately a large-sized one in the bath-house. 1 was there along with a man who put his foot In the water to wash off some mud, when we noticed this Boa gently raise up his bead to catch the man's heel. We attempted to hold it by means of a couple of stout spears, but bad, after this ineffectual attempt, to call upon a man with an axe to aid us, who dispatched this unwel come visitor. He measured IS feet. They sleep upon the river shore, or on the floating timber and grass as well as in the overhanging trees, but may, with ease, remain under water a long time without coming to the surface The young are found in the creeks and pools near the higher lands, and are frequently captured. We, killed a few days ago, a small, six-fee t-loug specimen by spearing it first and shooting it after. Such a snake may drown a small child. A man can easily despatch quite a large one w ith his knife even alter it has coiled Itself around him by cutting through one of its coils, when he will at once find himself released. They are not feared on account of their bite, but of their great crushing force by means of coiling themselves around their prey whether animal or man." It appears from these statements thit life iu tropical homes has its drawbacks when their bath-houses have such un welcome and rather formidable visitors. It also proves, what is of more impor tance, that these creatures are by no means altogether harmless, but will, if tempted, attack man himself as readily as the larger or smaller animals living in the river, the adjoining marshes, or near the precincts of houses, if these should be located, as in the case of Mr. Rhome, rn the banks of a side branch of the main river. Sunset in the Harts Mountains. Standing on the cliff, eight hundred feet above the valley, we looked down into its quiet shadows, where tiny cas cades went leaping over the stones to swell the stream, aud across to Uexen tanzplatz a broad open plateau still higher than the Eosstrappe and far away we saw the weird form of Brock er, dimly visible behind its misty veil. Meadows and green pastures lay now in sunshine, now in shade from the light clouds floating above; level plains studded with cities and villages stretch ed away, and were lost in vapor. We were hemmed in by mountains, some of which were so gaunt and stony that the smallest plant could not grow there on, while others were gay with blossoms and rich with foliage. Suddenly one peak after another was lost in rain ; showers were falling all about us, the drops glistening like gems in the sun shine. The valley lay in darkest gloom, and we were In the midst of clear rays from the setting sun. Soon the tops of the trees the pale birch, the dark green firs, pine, oak and beech were brightly defined against the sky, when the clouds burst into a sudden glory of red and gold; a rainbow rested on the mountain tops, spanned the valley, crept down the sides and was lost in night far, far below. Elsewhere in the- world there are loftier heights, softer landscapes, grander water-falls; but in variety of of tint and depth of color, none of them can surpass a sunset on the Rcestrappe. A Modern Kins; Lear. The tragedy of King Lear is not un frequently played, In spirit if not in letter, by those who never read the sad representation of filial ingratitude. Gen. Gesnola, the explorer, met with a modern King Lear on the island of Cy prus. It is the custom of Islanders for a father, when too old to work iu the fields, to settle his whole fortune upon his sons. It often happens that the son with whom the old man elects to live, ill-treats his father, and compels him to beg his daily food. Hadji Jorghi, following the ancient custom, settled all his property upon his sons, and supported himself by dig ging among the tombs for such explor ers as employed him to hunt for trea sures of art. In the days of his prosper ity he had become surety for some rela tive. The debtor could not pay, and. according to Turkish law, Hadji must pay or go to prison. He had nothing; his sous would not aid him, aud so he was arrested, marched fifteen miles.and thrown into prison. There he remained two months, uncared for by govern ment or sons, until a physician pro cured his release by representing that the old man would die if longer con fined. When released, he journeyed slow ly back to his native village, hungry and broken down with grief. The next dav after his arrival he tottered to the tombs. Not returning home a search was made for him. He was found crouclred in an excavated tomb, his knees drawn up and his eyes fixed. He had gone beyond the reach of filial in gratitude. Gobing and Gobana;. There was an interesting case before Judge Wilson in Cincinnati the other day. A man by the singular name of Gobing was charged with committing an assault and at the same time batter ing an individual answering to the re markable patronymic of Gobang. The names having such a striking similarity, the Judge had some diffi culty in establi-hing which was which, and a stupid witness in the case added considerably to the confusion : " Now tell me," said the J udge, " who was the aggressor in this case?" Witness" Whose he ?" Judge " Who's who" Witness" A. Gressor?" Judge " 1 mean the man who struck the first blow." Witness "Gobing. He hit him Go bang" smiting his fists together to show how he did it. Judge " Dil Gobang hit back ?" Witness "No, he didn't hit him in the back." Judge" How did he hit him?" Witness "He hit him, Gobang !" another fistic pantomime. Judge " Well, was that all?" Witness" All of Gobing?" Judge" No all of the tight." Witness " With Gobang?" Judge "I'll Gobangyou if yon don't auswer my questions properly. You ain't so stupid as you appear. Now commence and tell what you know about this fight, or an officer will Go bing you down stairs and lock you up." Witness " Well, your honor. I stood talking w ith one of the men " Judge" With Gobing?" Witness "No, with Gobang; and the other fellow came up and hit " Judge" Gobang?" Witness " Xo, this was Gobang that came up, and then it was Gobiug!" fists smiting together " and Gobang" another smite 'first one and thei the other, and then they clinched and went down, he on top." Judge" Gobang?" Witness "No, Gobing. And then I tried to pull the o'her fellow off " Judge" Gobing?" Witness " No, no, Gobang. Then the police came up. and, your honor, that is all I know- about it." Judges "And a very remarkable story it is too. Case dismissed. Gobing and Gobang can go." Witness "Aud where shall I go, your honor?" Judge " Go-hang !" The Playlus; ot an Empress. More than a hundred years ago the great country east of Germany, known as Russia, was ruled by the Empress Anne. It is a very cold country and the winter is very long. The capital is St. Petersburg, and through it the river Neva runs. This river freezes in winter, and the Ice is frequently so solid that it will bear an army of several thousand men with all their heavy guns and mortars, and these be discharged with out so much as cracking the ice. At the close of the year 1739, during an extremely cold winter, the empress ordered one of her architects to build an ice palace. The great square in front of the royal palace was chosen for its site. Blocks of the clearest ice were selected, carefully measured, and even ornamented with architectural designs. They were raised with cranes ami care fully placed in position, and were cemented together by the pouring of water over them. The water soon froze and made the blocks one solid wall of ice. The palace w ag fifty-six feet long, seventeen and one-half feet wide, and twenty-one feet high. Can you Imagine anything more beautiful than such a building made of transparent ice and sparkling in the sun? It was surrounded by a balustrade, behind which were placed six ice cannon on carriages. These cannon were ex actly like real metal ones, and were so bard and solid that powder could be fired in them. The charge used was a quarter of a pound of powder and a bail of oakum. At the first trial of the cannon an iron ball was u-ed. The empress with all her court was present, aud the ball was fired. It pierced a plank two inches thick at a distance of sixty feet. Besides these six cannon in front oi the palace, there were two mortars which carried iron balls weighing eighty pounds with a charge of one quarter of a pound of powder. Then, too, there were two ice dolphins, from whose mouths a flame of burning naptha was thrown at nigUt with most beauti ful effect. Between the cannon and dolphins, in front of tiie palace, there was a balustrade of ice ornamented with square pillars. Along the top of the palace there was a gallery and a balus trade which was ornamented with round ball. In the center of this stood four beautiful ice statues. The irames of the doors ami windows were painted green to imitate marble. There were two entrances to the palace, on opposite sides, leading into a square vestioule which had four windows. All the windows were made of perfectly transparent ice, and at night they were hung with linen shades on which gro tesque figures were painted, and illum inated by a great number of candles. Before entering the palace one natur ally stopped to admire the pots of flowers on the balustrade, and the orange trees un whose branches birds were perching I'binkof thelabor and patience required to make such perfect imitations of nature in ice! Standiug in the vestibule, facing one entrance and having another behind, oue could see a door on eit'ier hand. Let us imagine ourselves in the room on ihe left. It is a sleeping-room ap parently, but if you stop to think that every article in it is made of ice you will hardly care to spend a night there; and yet it is said that two persons actu ally slept on the bed there for an entire night. On one side is a toilet-table. Over it hangs a luitror, on eah side of which are candelahra with ice candles. Sometimes at uight these caudles were lit by being dipped in naptha. Oa tha table is a watch-pocket, and a variety of vases, boxes, and ornaments of curi ous and beautilul design. At the other side of the room we see tlu bed buu with curtains, furnished with l,e;u and a cover-lid and tw pillows, on which are placed two night-caps. By the side of the bed on a foot-stool are wo pairs of slippers. OppOiile the bed is the fireplace which is beautifully carved and oruameu;eJ. Ia the gra e lie sticks of wool also made of ice. which are sometimes lighted like the candles fey having naytha poured over them. The opposite room is a dining-room. In the center stands a table on which is clock of most wonderful workman ship. The ice used is so transparent that all the wheels aud works are visi ble. On each side of this table two beautifully carved sofas are placed, and in the corners of the room there are statues. On one side we see a sideboard covered with a variety of ornaments- We oien the doors and find inside a tea- set, glasses and plates which contain a variety of fruits and vegetables, all made of ice but painted in imitation of nature. Let us now go through the opposite door and notice theother curious thing-, outside the palace. At each end of the balustrade we see a pyramid with au opening in each side liite the dial oi a clock. These pyramids are hollow, and at night a man stands inside of them and exhibits illuminated pictures at the grand openings. A Revolutionary Relic Bridgeton, N. J., boasts of a negro Inhabitant named Jeremiah Welles, who is 112 years old. He was b.rn In 171W. in the old tavern kitchen at Cantweli's Bridge, on tiie Appoquimiiiinic Creek, in St. George's Hundred, Necast!e county, DjI., and when a mere bat was sold a a slave by his father to th proprietor of the tavern. At the age of nine he as sold to a Mr. Abey Cole, with whom he lived iu bondage for twenty-six years. He remembers the breaking out of the war of the Revolu tion, and fcai a perfect recollection ot many occurrences of those stirring times. During his slavery days with Cole he married and raised four chil dren, three of whom are living now. In 1-3D he married a Miss Susannah Buck, he being seventy-three aud she eighteei years of aae, by whom he had one daughter. With this daughter, who Is thirty-live years of age, he now lives. The old negro shows the marks of his great age in his shriveled skin and attenuated b nly. Although he has drunk whiskey and used tobacco all his life he does not betray any marks of dis sipation. He has a deep chest, sinewy limbs and a strong, clear voice, while the grasp of his hand is as firm and as steady as it was half a century agi. His eyesight, however, is very poor. Tweha years ago, the oue huudredth anniver sary of his birth, he was made a citizen of tiie United States. The Hero of Fifteen Duels. Paul de Cassaguac is the champion swash-buckler of the Paris press. His recent duel with M. Thompson was his fifteenth encounter, but he hu,J never yet killed anybody. The author of "The Member tor Paris" has kept a record of these duels, from which it appears that the fiery gentleman has fought with Henri Rochefort, Aurelein Scholl, Gustave Flourens, who was killed under the commune; Lissagaray, the historian of the commune; Arthur Kane, ex-ineiuber for Paris, and Edou ard Lockroy, member for Aix these ami other adversaries being all Repub licans. Among those with whom he has declined to fight are Lieutenant Lullier, now in New Caledonia, who publicly slapped his face; and M. Clemenceau, one of the members for Paris, w ho is renowned as a swords man, and is the more dangerous from being left handed. M. Gamhelta has been challenged by M. de Cassagnac, but disdained even to answer bim. In 1SC7, M. Yermorel raked up some un savory scandal about the elder Cassag nac, and published it day after day. The son, burning lo avenge his father, but finding he could get no redress, waylaid his enemy at the door of the latter's office aud spat in his face, for w hich breach of the peace he was sen tenced to imprisonment. San Francisco is to have a grand musical festival next month, commen cing on the 23th, and lasting three days.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers