iiMi &iiiel jagfe ill
B. F. SCHWEIEB,
THE OOlSTTnmOl-THE THnOH AUD THE E5T0E0EMEHT OF TEE LAVS.
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XXXIV.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1SS0.
NO. 40.
MY OLD EOML Lrj ' . . , . . . -
jue ramp is broken, the chain is roety,
And the water, once pure, U fetid and musty;
Tne rohia that sung on tlie nodding spray.
Grew weary of scenes and flew away ;
Xhf brambles have covered the ivy Tine,
Aud in throngh the shattered windows twine.
The stoop is broken and fallen down.
And covered with moss ' the threshold brown ;
Xhe etorm sweeps wild throngh the open door,
And the rank weeds spring through the broken
6 or;
The roof is f k n out aud in,
Xhe c walljws ui iu ii. j twdight dim.
The a;ple tree stands by the garden wall.
And :u its dead tranches, knotty and tall.
lUn. the tod we threw in childish glee.
To kwx-k the apples from the tree;
Ihe tree is dead, aud on the hill
Tue rtt!eaa feet in det'h are sHll.
Aud in the borne that ouoe was mine,
Wbtu I was young and in my prime.
There's nothing to me that seems the same
But tbe babbling brook at the footof the lane,
Which- as it murmur, teems to say :
You and your home are old and gray.
O. fva fair '. Oh, hearts S3 strong !
Ye iu the grave have lain so long.
Aud yet I almost seem to hear
Your merry voices ringing clear,
Happy and glad, full of joys
Were ti.e days when we were girls and boys.
GooJ-byr, old home ! in the shadows dim
I'll Mdly sing my evening hymn
T?t we sang together when we were yonng,
Aud tbe patu of life had just begun,
Tbe pain is ended by all save me,
Aud I with my lust ones sjon ehall be.
Apple Blossoms.
( )ne Monday morning ia May when Mr.
Caster, of the law firm of Castor &. Brush,
t-Ltered his office he found on his desk a
bunch of fragrant white flowers with that
iV.ii a! e flush at the heart that makes apple
blossoms so irresistible.
"Apple blossoms, sir," his clerk explain
ed. "I spent Sunday in the country, and
brought them down, thinking you might
like to see some.
Mr. Castor's preoccupied face lighted up
with pleasure. Thank you, Mr. Clark,''
he said. 'Get some water, will you, John !
We must keep them as fresh as we can. I
thai! want to take some home to my wife
to-cig'uU There, that looks quite country
like, doesn't it, Clark I " Arranging the
Moss, mis to advantage against the law
tuviks and falling back a little to look at
the effect.
Clark smiled, and Mr. Castor went to
wo k at his law cases. But something was
the matter with him. His thoughts would
go wondering off to the green meadow by
the tide of the river where Clark told him
he had broken the fragrant branch.
I wonder," he soliloquized, "whether
it is anything like that meadow where
pshaw! what am I thinking of ! In a case
of ejectment vondcr if I could sing
-Annie Laurie used to know that tune.''
Aud he hummed softly to himself:
"Cave me her promise true."
jus: S the door was thrown violently open
and John Edson, the most quarrelsome man
in New York, as his friends and enemies
both agreed, burst in.
What's the matter now, Mr. Edson?"
asked Mr. Castor, rising to offer his client
a seat.
-Matter? Matter enough, sir! But if
he thinks I'm going to submit to the rob
bery by his knavery he'll find himself very
much mistaken ! My brother, sir, my own
brother think of that, sir! is trying to
cheat me out of my share of our paternal
property. I want you to take iteps immedi
ately to stop his proceeding. He threatens
to bring in a bill against the estate that will
swallow up every cent but what's that I
Apple blossoms! Where did you get
those?''
.r. r.rfc lirouiriit them down this
mi nine. Sweet, though rather out of
r.i.ro in a lawyer's office, dont you
think?"
-i .irm't know." said Mr. Edison,
thoughtfully, taking up the tumbler and
smelling the fragrant things-
lhf? LTOW ?"
"Where did
-l"n in a little country village in Con
necticut. Wars: is from the country, you
k-ow, and I should think from his descnp
, ;,. ,t-s r.uite a tretty place. Green mead
ows and river, you know, and all thai sort
of thins. But what do you want me to
"Wait a minute, can't you?" said Mr.
Edson, impatiently. You lawyers are al
ways in a tearing hurry."
Mr. Caster raised his eye-brows, but
nw no verba answer to his rather incon-
while Mr. Edson leaned
back in his chair and looked at the apple
blossoms. In a minute he started up anu
i ,; i.nri api-oss hifl eyea.
Ul UilwU sj - -
think of old times, ne
said. 1 nearly broke my neck once climb-
: . ,i, tree for blossoms lite mat
to"give to Lucy Baird, the prettiest girl in
srh.joL I fell from the top branch and my
brother-I never had but one, sir-picked
- a mP home. He was real
lilt liU OJiLi tOJiivw - .
good'tome aU the long time I was sick,
?, t i,.'H have died for me then,
just to think that now we should be
Liar, vou needn't do anything about this
......... ;..i rt r1 least.
go him. And say- rather 6hly
ou couhln't spare me a UtUe twig with .
J Jw of those blossoms on tt could youf
.. - rr wire off a branch
Mr. castor wms.j v
... :. l.ir but he watched r-
departure with . comical smile on
his counvenance. d
l- hinwtms are doio u
, TeMid laughingly to
work in this office, he saio
dark. "I've lost one vromvu
my own miau u" v " -
to my ddu"
hilitr. Its eviaeiiw
' r meant to
that law and flowers were -
. ... . .i .
.Mr. Edson, for his enl.
his brother's offlce and entered mm
hesitation. The brother, man
Edson, with one of those stern, teu
pressed face, which , doB't
HlS eves rMtwt - :
rtant longingly on the apple blossoms; but
Ihe next moment he drew ..i.
coldly, "Did you wish to aee m,"
"Yes, George," answered KHn n
mg the flowers awkwardly, "I came to see
about that raatter-that-iw
you know. It's a nitv a.m S.Jj,
about it and-and-well, I don't care.
You're the oldest and had the hardest row
to hoe always, and I guess hkely there was
rully my snare spent on me when I was in
college; and see here, old fellow I'll do
whatever you say if you'll speak to vour
lawyer and send him up to my offlce. "
there was a moment's silence, and the
young Edson, lookins down, mw hi.
brother put his hand to his throat as if he
were choking. The next moment the elder
spoke almost as awkwardly as his brother
had done.
'It wasn't the money I cared for. but
but I wanted the old place. 1 well, 1 had
some associations with it."
The young brother started. Associations!
"hat associations of pleasure could George
nave with the placet There was none.
couiu te none excent tlimw w.ih I
Baird, who had been for one short year his
own wife, now laid away in Greenwood.
lie sprang forward, "George, did vou care
lor herr lou could have won her if you
nau tneU, and you knew it. She cared for
me first because I was your brother. Did
do you mean to say you have gave up
lue chance of winning her for mef"
For a minute or two the Edsons might
as well have been a couple of Frenchmen
meeting after a long separation. The elder
was the first to recover himself.
"There, there, John," he said, n exactlv
the same way he used to sneak when thrv
were boys together, "I've been hard, but
you see I never had a wife to soften me,
and I intended to pay you for your share of
the property at first but well, it's no use
talking it over. Of course you didn't know,
but I kept thinking you might have known
if you wanted to. But there, never mind
that now. Did you know that Midland
bonds are going up J I'll make a good
thing out of them yet."
I can't stay," answered Edron. opening
the dcr, "but I'll see you again. Couic
up to dinner with me, won't you ?"
"I will," answered the brother, heartily.
and with a cordial hand-shake they part
ed. The younger brother went straight houie
and put the precious branch of apple blos
soms, which had been a divining-rod to
him showing where the richest treasure of
a brother's love lay hidden, into a glass and
set it where he could see it often. The
older as he turned to his desk again saw
three petals lying on the floor. He hesita
ted a moment, and then stooped and quick
ly gathered them up, layirgtheni reverent
ly in bis pocket-book.
Fraylus on a Bace Tiack.
In the late hurdle race at Brighton
Beach, Coney Island, one of tbe liorses
named L. L. was mounted by a lad named
Kcarns, who had worked around the stables
for a few weeks. He bad never ridden in
but one hurdle race previous to yesterday.
When he reached the oackstrstch L.
was third in the race. Leaping a hurdle
his feet caught in the top an 1 he went over
ic a somersault, Kcarns striking his head
grit on the track and the horse falling on
him. The horses followiag dashed over
the hurdle, while a chorus of -Ohs!" arose
from the crowd on the other side of tbe
track The horse soon rose and walked
away, but his rider lay motionless in the
dirt, ilany thougni ne was ueao, anu a
string of jockeys, stable boys and idlers
started acru the field towards the boy. In
theliue towered the tall form of young
Father Douiihertv. H ith the natural love
of his countrymen for horse-racing he had
been watching the equme contests. nen
the Fa: her came to where tie ooy lay,
with his bloody face turned to the sky and
his lilac and red colors covered with dirt,
he sw that the boy was insensible and ap
parently dying. Kequesting the jocKeys,
stable boys ana omera 10 uc u"
reverend father offered up prayer for the
boy, annointm? him ani performing other
services of his Church for the dying. The
scene was strikingly impressive. Horse
men and riders who had never knelt in
h..rr.n nlieved the request of the
Hliltll J -
. . i .( .rnoat anil
hard
faces softening in sympathy for the crushed
1 a...,-. , w
1 1 . i r. i'ir imiuuu. ,..
iockey. All this was unanowu n.
crowd on the quarter-stretch and grand
stand. Shortly afterward a Jockey re
turned to the crowded stretch and remarked
to a companion: "I guess Kearns will die,
for they all knecUd on the track and
prayed for him over there."
aimpaonbarfs Cumuurnm.
Simpeonsburg is not noted for his activ-
, ite the contrary. At me
r evening he ; energy
"Bovs. whr am I like a torpedo" A.ier
hi recovered from the sheck produce
rSpsousburg's unwonted activity the
mi 'vSVS3
??iIE !. '
it was t"--, L Vwm twisted. Simp
.njahing till its neckwas melii
gonburg shook ig said it
Uke animation. Oneou elther
WMtd another ventured the guesa.
went off, anaap"1 blasted nuis-
in undertone, bad to di-
ance. ma7t fam himself no Ion
be could jiuSe ne was full
ger. He said it was be
f of them acknowledged to Sunp
every one ot them i acan
JSSi "pdjpson mighuiy
M inktnt rbegP-
. .1 h. are said to be pro-
Winking P?rr-aiiner : One nega-
duced in the louow5 - - , eves open,
ia taken wn u with
another without
the eyes anuu of the paper,
printed on OPP0". Held before a
registered very "Variable source of
-,ona nitnln
WM . - in Ilia . I I I I f
very
The eel, like the catfish, lives in the
mud on the nver bottoms, and many
methods are adopted to capture the slippery
wriggling fellow. The bob is merely a
bunch of common ground-worms, kn't
upon a string with a needle. J-spearing
is also a favorite pastime with many, but
as it requires wading in mud and water to
hunt out his habitation, it is withal dis
agreeable and dirty. The eel is very tena
cious of life, and ean be kept for many
days after being caught. His home is
under the stumps, in the hollows, in mud
bauks, around the bridge and wharf
pilings, and under bunches of long river
grass. The usual method employed to
take the eel is with the float, or "cork"
line. The line of hemp is from eight
to twelve feet lone, with small hook and
sinker of lead. The float may be either of
wood, cork or quill. The hook should be
three inches above the sinker, the latter
lying on the bottotn. The float should
be adjusted in such a manner, after the
depth of water has been ascertained, so
that it will swim in a perpendicular posi
tion on the surface. Worms are acknow
ledged to be the best bait for float-lines,
and it should be firmly fastened on the
hook, as the peculiar shape of the mouth
of the eel enables it to strip the worm from
the hook by sucking. The bite of the eel
is a succession of gentle nibbles, and it is
difficult to tell at times that you have
hooked one.
Fine wire may 1 substituted for the
hemp line, and it is peculiarly ai'apted to
el fishing. Every boy knows from experi
ence, tlie dilficulties and troubles he has
encountered by having the hue slimed and
twisted and tied into countless and intri
cate knots by the contortions of his cap
tive. It requires care to keep the wire
from kinking by repeated winding and un
winding, but it helps to release the hook
from the mouth and obviates the annoyance
of having to stop fishing to wash the line or
unravel knots. The cork may be held in posi
tion on tbe wire by inserting a small piece of
stick between the hole in the cork and
wire, or the cork may be entirely dispensed
with, at the option of the angler. Another
method, and one frequently practiced in
our local waters, is the "eel-pot," although
it affords no real amusement beyond the
setting and taking up. An old demijohn,
after having tho particles of glass removed
from the willow casing, is tied in some
convenient spot over night. A string, with
a few worms or a piece of meat tied to it,
is inserted in the mouth. The eel passes
into the mouth and once in he becomes a
prisoner. When it is taken up in the
morning, you are frequently rewarded for
your pains by securing six or eight eels.
1'he most effective method of skinning an
eel is to roll it violently in the saniL This
loosens the skin; then, with a knife, make
an incision ntir the head, grasping the
head in the left hand, seize the skin with
the right one, and pull bard but regularly,
and it will come off without difficulty.
Inappropriate Hymns.
Hymn singing is not always appropriate
to occasions, and leaders often majte singu
lar selections. A minister preached i
solemn sermon on the judgment, and gave
out at the close
1 bat awful day will sorely come
which the choir sang to the lively air
"Coronation, "Brother," said the preacher
to the chorister in the vestibule, ''why
didn't you sing Yankee Doodle?' "
At an immersion baptism on the bank of
a river, as each candidate, male or female,
emerged dripping from the water, the
people interjected the favorite revivalist
chorus;
They look lite men in uniform.
They look like men of war.
At a protracted meeting one of tlie
hardest families in the neighborhood by
name Ransom were persuaded to go to
the front as subjects for prayer. The re
joicing people shouted lustily in prospect
of half a dozen much needed conversions
The year of jubilee is cone;
iieturn ye ransomed s.nuers, home."
This made old Ransom mad. He took
it as a personal insult, got up from his
knees and took his bedraggled better half
by the arm, saying aloud: "Come on, old
woman, they dont want the like of u; here;
come on, Imys and gals, "and led the whole
tribe out of church iu naming dudgeon! An
English leaders set the adventhjimn.-'Chrit
the Lord is Risen To-day Hallelujah!" to
the Tyrolese waltz, and Southern camp
meeting Christian sung, "When I Can
Read My Title Clear," to the minstrel
melody "Wait for the Wagon and We'll
All take a Ride!"
i:ce.' .u tlie fcartu.
Th- f.5Ml 11 ul f!m Fa, :? situated
on the i .... '-h tarates the
r.lWrf tiie IVrano lrom Cherry alley.
in Stroud's township, on the south side of
the ridge, three miles west oi that place
and five miles from the Water Gap. Tlie
ridge on which it is located begins on the
Delaware nver, aud runs west ior iweniy
five miles, embracing such eminences as
"Shawnee Hill," "Fox. Hill," "Crystal
Hill," and others. The cave is elevated
about eight hundred feet above the river
level, at what is known as Mosler's knob,
and from it a most picturesque view can be
obtained.. Lately Mr. T.. Duncan Faret,
M tl Tannite enmoanv has be-
umuvui . -j
conie interested in the cave, and has had
several men employed for some time in ex-,-oviiiintr
it. and some very interesting dis
coveries have been made. Recently, Dr.
Leidy, of the Academy ot Natural sciences,
of Fhiladelphia, and Dr. T. C. Forter, of
Lafavette college, Easton, arrived and
made researches in the cave, so iar as u
has been explored. The entrance was at
-. .1,. ..ft m.-nnletelv hidden bv deposits
of clay and animal and vegetable matter,
but now it has been opened so ituu iue
hnut sixteen feet square. The
Uiwui" .
bottom of the cavern was found to be cov
ered with a thick deposit ot clay, on tne
. r hih vm a deDosiL vary in e in
depth, of a dark substance, and on this is
an incrustation or nme wuicu u
. wif rJ th rave. It is the deposit
irom ujc w. - . - .
of rich, dark material that particularly in
terests the scientists, ana w uus ui. wj
and Dr. Forter gave their attention. They
found many indications of the presence in
. i . t sin, time nr another of many
IXIC tac m. vv -
animals, some of wuicn were wnuu
. ht thre hv a nimals of prey, and
zuhprs used it for their dens. Among the
bones of animals found were me ja-uoue
01 uie ' -
; 1 Nuninimt. WOOdcbUCk. I OX, Wlld-
. .1. - MMnnn El'lHIk We&&ei. IKBTO,
Squu.cH r-r---7. ... ...
cat, elK, aeer, -
or more turtles, uie wuc
3 .... ..ihmi nf snakes in larce Quanu-
anu me m-w.i - -
Ues. Other bones will doubtless reveal the
f mKer animals. The most in-
tUstiug specimen found, Jf .
the head and teem oi e'fc.-"
tU... .iAc. nhioenti and a large pec-
cJnr (Dicotylu compressus), neither of
which has ever been found belore in Penn-
vlvania. Besides inese were wuiw "
which had been burned and split evident
. rr k f h aborieinea. who aouirht
IV LllS u. o ' 7
tie marrow in the bones. Indian rehes
fn amomr them beuie polianed
needles and bodkins, sea-shells, and
fragments of quartz, which hail been used
as ornaments. A flint spear-head was
picked up far back in the cave, imbedded
in the clay. How it came there is a mys
tery, unless some Indian, entering the cave
and finding a wild beast there, attacked it,
and this spear, hurled at the animal, miss
ing its aim, sped far back into the recesses
and there remained until found by the
scientists. No other traces of any kind
which would indicate that tbe portion of
the cave in which the spear-head was found
had been visited by man or beast were dis
covered, and hence the theory as to now it
came in the lonely spot. Dr. Leidy has
taken his specimens along with him, and
will make a report of his discovery to tbe
scientifie world in due time. As yet the
lower deposit has not been removed, and
it is thought it will reveal more interesting
facts for the scientists than the middle
layer. The cave has been explored to a
depth of one hundred and fifty feet, and
one can with ease walk the first one hund
red feet. After that stooping is required
at times. The indications are that the part
thus explored is only a hallway, from
which entrances can be made, after the
earth and deposits have been removed, to
larger and more remote chambers, which
already appeared at different points. The
top of the cave is a limestone arch, which
reflects many brilliant colors when the
fight of the torches flash upon it.
Fish Manures.
As with other manures, so with fish
manure, there is a choice of soils to which
it may be best applied. The soils from
which highest results might be expected
from applying fih guano, are those defi
cient in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and
in which the stimulating effect of the de
composition of fish may render other ma
terials available for plant food. Soils that
have been treated repeatedly with nsh
guano, phosphates and the v annus forms
of bone manure, are often overstocked with
these elements, and are deficient in potash;
while it is also true that many soils art
natural ly poor in potash. Of couise it will
at once be seen that to apply fish manures
to such lands and neglect to apply the
other necessary elementa wanting in the
fish, would be to lose not only both money
and time but very likely the crop. But
here the rule that would obtain in the use
of fish manures, is that which would also
obtain with any other kind of fertilizer in
the hands of a careful farmer, and that is
that the dencienccs of a given soil are best
ascertained by actual trial, not only with
different manures, but with various crops.
The best form of fish manure is the dry
ground fish guano, free from oik The
water and oil left in the "scrap" as the fish
conies from the press, add weight and bulk
without in any degree improving its value.
But experience has proved that the coarse
fish-scrap, as it comes from the oil ficto-rit-s,
cannot be uniformly spread; is not
easily diffused by tlie moisture of the soil;
is acted upon by a few roots of g-.owing
plants, and becomes slowly available to the
roots that do find it. The divided dry fish
is, however, easily spread, is diffused by
rains, and is thus made accessible to a
large number of roots, and can be ab
sorbed by them when they reach it. Per- j
haps one of the best methods of using the
tUh-scrap oy farmers, is to use it in a com
pact with muck, good manure, ashes, lime
and vegetable refuse, fermenting the whole
mass by the use ot urine. There is a higher
and more practical consideration connec
ted with this subject to which we have not
alluded, but which is of vast Importance
to the agriculture of .New England, and it
is one which it is the main object of this
artxie to enforce; and that is the greater
use of fish manures by our own farmers.
At present its principal use is by the manu
facturers of phosphates and other forms of
commercial fertilizers, by whom it is used
for supplying the nitrogen and phosphoric
acid to their manures. It is also sent in
bulk by the cargo to enrich the lands of
France and Holland. Is it too much to
expect that at no distant day, some effort
mav be made successful for furnishing
their fish-scraps in s.mie portable, concen
trated form to our own farmers? To this
end we hope to see some earnest concerted
action put in operation at once.
Executed on His Wedding Day.
On the 22d of August a melancholy mar
riage cerennny was celebrated in tbe prin
cipal jail of Madrid. Some days previous
ly a young man named Alvarez Ouva and
his mistress, with whom he had lived for
several years, were tried for murder by the
criminal tribunals in the Falacio de Justiz,
and having been proved guilty, were sen
tenced, the former to death by the garote,
the latter to ten years' imprisonment with
hard labor. Shortly after the condemna
tion they craved permission of the authori
ties to be united in matrimony ere the dread
sentence of the law should be carried into
effect, in order that their only child, a Utile
girl five years old, should be legitimized.
1 heir petition was granted, and the jail
chapiuin pronounced the blessing of the
church upon their union on the morning of
the day appointed for Alvarez s execution.
Having duly exchanged nngs and pro
nounced vows of mutual fidelity "till death
should part them," they took an eternal
and affectionate leave of one another, after
which the bride was removed to the scene
of her future punishment, and tbe bride
groom was conducted to the condemned
cell, where, having confessed his sins and
received absolution, he was pinioned and
conveyed to the scaffold. A few minutes
later he had ceased to live, imrely no
grimiher expiation of a capital offense
has ever been suffered by the most atrocious
of criminals than to be inexorably strangled
on his wedding morning by the public exe
cutioner. ...
That Spaa New I'mhreuaj .
If all the flustered grandpas and grand
mas knew how much ihey contribute to the
humor of common life and the keen enjoy,
uient of children by the fun they innocent
ly make while hunting for their rpectacles
while they are all the time perched on their
heads, they would often be quite reconciled
to such mistakes. A victim of the same
description was a good old lady who had
just finished her shopping in one of the
Boston dry goods stores.
"There I " she cried, in an excited voice,
"I should like to know what's become of
that auibrill 1 sot it up agin the counter
when I come in, and afore I could turn
round it's gone and it was only on a Mon
day that 1 gin four and six for t."
"What kind of an umbrella was it.
ma'am?" asked the polite clerk in his
blandest tones.
"A spick and span new gingham, young
man," was the response, "with an iv'ry
handle on t and a
"Like the one in your hand, ma'am, for
instance'
"Sakesalivel" she exclaimed. And oue
might have thought she saw a serpent
rather than her own "spick and span
gingham," with "iv'ry handle" clutched
fast in her hand, oue colored up lute a
druggiist's window, and went off amidst
unintelligible excuses. She never felt so
flustered in all her days, as ah told Jemima
Ann when ah got home.
"Well, my boy, if you want a tiger
you've come to the right place, for this
and the bit round Fort Perovski are almost
the only spots on the whole river where
there are any left; indead, I might say the
only spots in all Central Asia, except the
great jungle of the lli. two days' journey
; north of this."
So spoke CoL Petroff (the Russian com
mandant of the little outpost of Tchinaz.oo
the Upper Syr-Daria), to his excited junior
officer, laeuL Galkin, who had made up
his mind that the first duty of every right
minded officer was to shoot a tiger single
handed, and that life would be a blank to
him till he had done so.
"And what's the best way to get at
themt" asked the young man, with a flash
ot excitement on his handsome face.
"Well, if you're so anxious to make
their acquaintance." said the veteran, smil
ing at the lad's eagerness, "there are sev
eral ways of doing it. First and foremost,
you can just follow the beast's trail till you
come upon him, and then shoot him down;
but that s rather dangerous, and not very
certain either, for tbe trail's apt to get
blurred in among these big reeds."
"Well?"
"Well, secondly, you can drift along the
bank in a'boat, and fire at 'em as they
come down to drink: but that's not always
certain, because, if there's a moon, they
see yon and r 'an away, and if there's not,
you can't see them at all. Thirdly, there's
the cage."
"The cage?"
"Yes; you shut yourself up in an iron
cage among the reeds, with a big bit of
horse-flesh beside it by way of bait, and
when the tiger scents the meat, and comes
after tit, you fire at him."
"Capital 1" shouted Galkin, with a loud
laugh; "that's quite a new idea. The cage
be it by all means."
. "Well, I wouldn't begin with that, if I
were you, my boy," said the Colonel,
gravely, "for it's a risky business at best.
A tiger-hunt's very good fun so long as it's
you who are hunting the tiger but when
the tiger takes to hunting you, it alters the
case a good deal."
However, Galkin was not to be moved,
and daybreak next morning found him in
his cage among the huge reeds (tall
enough to overtop a six-foot grenadier with
his capon), through which, as they sway
ed in the morning breeze, he caught a pass
ing glimpse, every now aud then, of the
broad, shining river, and the little tumble
down mud hovels aud clustering trees on
the opposite shore.
The most trying part of an exciting ad
venture is the wailing for it to begin, and
so our hero found it; but, luckily, he h-;d
not long to wait. The Central Asian tiger
has a keen scent fur prey of any kind, and
tbe warning crackle of the reeds was
speedily followed by the gliding out of
a hiiite gauut yellow body, straight toward
Gal kin's ambush.
D spite his perikns ro.'ition(for the caia
wasaprettyoluone,und its rusty bars seemed
hardly to be trusted against the rush of a
full-grjwn tiger), Galkin could scarcely
help laughing at this curious reversal of
menagerie rules the man in the cage, and
the wild beast walking round it to look at
him. But he was not the man to let either
the joke or the danger unsteady his hand.
He aimed carefully at the vital spot behind
the fore-shoulder, and let fly.
The huge beast leaped high into the air,
rolled over on its back, and, after a few
convulsive kicks, lay dead before him.
Hurrah ! I'p sprung Galkin, quite forget
ting the cage in his excitement, and hit
bis head such a bump against the bars that
for a moment hardly knew where he was.
The shout was answered by a long snarl,
ing cry, and out from the reeds broke a
second tiger, evidently young oue, al
though quite big enough to have finished
our tnend with oue bite. Galkin felt for
his cartridge-pouch, to reload for a second
shot, when, lo! no pouch was to be found.
And now, to his dismay, he perceived that
it had been off when he jumped up, and
was lyinz outside the cage, where it had
rolled over a slight descent of the land
quite out of his reach.
Here was a pretty piece of business.
But, if the hunter was at a nonplus, the
tiger himself seemed to be no less so. This
cross-barred machine, with a motionless
human figure inside of it. (for Galkin,
finding himself defenseless, remained its
still as a statue), was a complete puzzle to
him. He had never seen anything of the
kind before. It might be a trap. Who
could tell?" On the whole, he appeared
to think that his wisest way was to begin
with the horse-flesh, which he soon dis
posed of a somewhat disagreeable hint to
Galkin of what might shortly befall him.
Breakfast over, the tiger-kitten seemed
to wax froheksnme. . He leap"d up against
the cage, and put his fore-paws on the top
of it, bringing his face so nearGalkin's that
the poor Lieutenant almost felt the hot,
rank breath. Suppose the bars were to
give way !"
But what did happen was almost as bad.
Overbalanced by the beast's weight, the
cage rolled over, and the unlucky officer
along with it; while the tiger, delighted
wilu the sport, and evidently thinktug the
whole affair a toy uieaut for his own
special amusement, patted it about with
bis huge paws Uke a cat playing with a
mouse, tumbling it over once or twice, and
buinpling poor Gaikin against the bars till
he was pretty well bruised. AU at once
there came a tremendous crash, as a thick
clump of reeds gave way, and splash down
into the nver went cage, Galkin and all !
Fortunately for our hero, there was a
mud-bank close to the shore, so that the
water only came up to his belt; bui, even
so, to sit waist-deep in a cold river for an
mdehmte tune, with a tiger mounting
guard over him, was anything but a plea
sant prospect. Morever, the tiger, which
was standing on the bank above, with a
face of great disgust at the kss of its toy.
seeuitd strongly inclined to leap down alter
it; iu which case the sportsman would be
rolled over in deep water, and drowned at
once.
Just at that moment came the sharp
crack of a rille. The tiger fell headlong
into the rive,r while Galkin,looking up.saw
a boat coming toward him, pulled by - two
Tartars, behind whom appeared the grin
ning face of his friend, the Colonel.
"I hope you like your day's sport, my
boy," chuckled tho old soldier.as he opened
the cage and pulled out his half-drowned
comrade. "1 was up stream, looking lo
see if I could find any game worth tiring
at, when 1 heard the crack of your piece,
and I came along to see what had happen
ed; and, on the whole, I think it's just as
weU 1 did."
Kovel CseTthe Telephone.
It is well known that if a long dry tube
open at both ends be held over a jet of
burning hydrogen a musical sound is pro
duced, the pitch and quality of which vary
with the length, thickness and diameter ot
the tube. It has been proposed, to adapt
such a tube to a safety lamp underground
in the mines and to place it near a tele
phone in coinmunicHtiou with another in
the manager's office on the surface. The
alteration of the sound due to a greater or
less admixture of gases with the air of the
mine would warn the manager of th state
of tbe atmosphere in the working.
San Francisco society is just now honored
by the presence of a lady whose history is
of more than ordinary interest. She is no
table, not only on account of being the wife
of the celebrated American artist, H.
Humphry Moore; but for her beauty, inlel
ligence and high family connections. A
brief sketch of her life cannot but prove
interesting: Isabella de Cistue was born in
Saragossa some twenty years ago, of purely
Uastuian parents. Iter father was CoL
Cistue, one of the sons of Baron de la
Mengleha, who belonged to one of tlie most
aristocratic families of Spain, and her grand
mother held the high position of a lady of
honor to tbe beautiful and powerful (jueen
Maria Louisa, so fondly remembered by
the Spaniards. She is also a cousin by
marriage to the ex-Queen Isabella, two of
her cousins having married the two brothers
of the royal personage. Senorita de Cistue
was sentat an early age to the College of
Loretto, in Madrid, where she received a
finished and brUiant education, graduating
before she was sixteen years of age, becom
ing proficient in three languages and a tho
rough mistress of the piano, harp and guitar.
When Isabella was but a girl hve years old
she met a girl of her own age who was deaf
and dumb, but who was well learned in the
mute language. The two children formed
a strong attachment for each other, and Isa
bella bogged that she might be taught to
converse with her little friend. About this
time her eldest brother came home from
college on a long vacation, bringing with
him a friend of his, a handsome young
Spaniard of abont seventeen years of am,
with the title of marquis. This young
nobleman was also deaf and dumb, and
from him the young Isabella learned to
converse with her fingers and subsequently
became the constant friend and protactor,
in her childish way, of her dumb little
playmate. Time passed on; tbe heroine
grew to be a lovely young lady of the true
Moorish type of beauty. Her coal black
hair, beautiful flashing black eyes, and
clear, rich olive complexion became a theme
for the poet and the painter in Grenada,
where she resided after having left school
in Madrid. A favorite walk of hers was
thruoghthe Garden of the Alhambra, where
many an hour was passed, chaperoned by
some of her family, but generally by hei
grandmother, then no longer the handsome
maid of honor.
Oue dav, as the two ladies were walking
in a secluded but most beautifully romantic
spot of the garden, they suddenly came
upon a gentleman of about twenty-four
years of age, of medium height, rather florid
complexion, large, soft and sneaking blu
eyes, light auburn hair and deiicat -ly shaped
mustache. He was sketching what after,
wards became a fine work of art, known as
"View of Grenada." L'pon the approach of
the ladies the artist arose and handed to the
dazzling young Spanish beauty her handker
chief, which had fallen from her hand.
Their eyes met, she passed on and the artist
resumed his work. Upon several subsequent
days they accidently met. The artist was
less attentive to his work, and a Spanish no
bleman who had been a suiter for the hand
of the young Senorita, received less encour
agement. About a month after the first
meeting in the garden, while the artist was
pacing up and down in his studio, a gentle
man friend uauiel De Costillo called upon
hiin. To him the artist unbosomed himself.
He declared he could do no more work until
he had painted a picture of the young lady
whose appearance had so strangely affected
him. Then taking De Costcllo's arm they
went out and wandered to the Alhambra
gardens. There he again saw the object of
his infatuation. She was conversing in the
deaf and dumb language with the Spanish
marquis who bad taught her the band
manual years back when she was a child.
I; CosteUo, knowing the marquis, intro
duced him to tbe artist, and the marquis
then pn sented his companion?, who were
Isabella and her grandmother. Much to
Isaliella's surprise, she discovered that the
handsome young artist was deaf and dumb.
And then she found greater happiness in the
use of the dumb language than she had ever
before experienced. At his earnest solicita
tion she sat for a portrait, which she now
has in her possession, and though titled
suitors sought her band, and she was even
invited to become maid of honor to the
then reigning Queen Isabella, she cheerfully
renounced all this pomp and brilliancy and 1
bestowed her heart and hand on the deaf I
- .1 1. . : , 11 11 1 ,
wiU uuuiu aiuaimu uim, a i. iiuuiyiuj
Moore is well known in San Francisco,
where he Uved from early childhood up to
1865, at which time his father, who will be
remembered in the firm pf Moore & Folger,
died. He was twenty-one years of age
when his mother, who is now living in this
city, accompanied him to Europe, where
for thrue years he labored hard at his pro-
: : 1. .. ...... I , . .r i. tt: :
painter in France Geronie. It was while
in Grenada that he met with Fortunv,
whose style of work is foUowed by him.
Mr. Moure's name was forcibly brought to
1 forril, v hroui'ht tn
the minds of his California friends some
two years since when he sent to this coast
on exhibition his celebrated work, "Almab,
the Eastern Dancing Girl." Mrs. Moore is
devoted to her husband and proud of bis
talents. She is his constant companion in
his studio, and day after day, in winter and
summer, whatever else nny claim her at
tention, from 4 until b o clock she devotes
to a study of his canvass and the work of
her husband s brush during the cay. In San
Fraucisco, as weU as all over the world
where they have traveled, the interesting
and happy couple have been received in the
very bist and most brilliant society, and
they will long be remembered after they
have bid California adieu.
WeUlnie the Kopes.
When the immense obelisk, which
stands in tbe Square of St. Peters at Rome,
was to be erected, it was found that its
elevation required the most powerful mach
inery and the highest skill iu engineering.
Thousands assembled to witness the achiev
ment, and in order to prevent any interfer
sence with the work, the Pope issued a
special bull, inflicting a heavy penalty
upon any one who should speck before the
engineer announced the great work was
accomplished and all danger was over.
Slowly the massive column rose, as round
and round the windlasses were whirled.
The crowd pressed in, gazing with silent
admiration. It is near to its place a few
feet more now a few inches only, and it
will stand for ages. But suddenly it stops.
The strain upon the ropes has been greater
than the engineer expected they relax.
They refuse to carry the mass any farther
nay even to told it where it is. It sways
with threatening motion. The crowd Is
paralyzed with awe the engineer is be
side himself. It is a fearful moment. But
hark! a cry. An English sailor, watching
the scene, and in hi. excitement, forgetting
the dreadful bull, shou's aloud. "Wet
the ropes.' .That lawless order was instant
ly obeyed. Water was dashed upon the
cables. At once they became strong and
taut again, and soon the column, which
threatened to crush the crowd below, was
firmly fastened in its place. It is needless
to add that the saUor was pardoned and re
warded inread of being punished.
Horse racing on Boston Common
was complained of In 17o9.
A little round-shouldered man with a
large beak nose and long black hair stood
before the railing ef the Police Court
in New York, in a pair of shoes which
had recently been introduced to. each
other. The prisoner was informing a
court officer that the country roads were
in a good condition for walking, when
his remarks were interrupted by Justice
Smith.
"Richard Tub, who are you?" asked
His Honor.
"WeU, Jedge," said the little man, I
might be a wire puzzle peddler or a boss
millionaire, but I ain't. Who d'ye s'pose
x ami
His Honor pave it ur
"Why, I'm Dick Tub a wanderiu' tourist.
wot hain't got nothin' to do but travel tor
my health. I worked in Chicago for
while, but made so much meuey 1 had to
atop so s 1 could spend it.
"You must be getting rich?"
"That's where yer head's level. I've
been collectin' the dust in heaps rleht alone.
My clothes are full of it. Whv. I've walked
all the way from Oil City to New York by
way oi trie.
"Took a roundabout way, didn't you?"
"Kinder. You don't get me in Jersey if
I know myseX I would 'not be caught
there for a good deal. I'm too weU posted
on the law. Cold wittles and sleepin in a
hayloft suns me well enough thout run
nin' myself in a Jersey jail for six months.
r i ape the melons am t good, and maybe
I havn't prospected so's to know where
they're getting 'ripe.' "
"Studying farming, no doubt?
'That's just it, Jedge. I never see a
man like you. Why yer seem ter read my
thoughts like a book. Yer orter hear the
insinevations of some j edges."
Oh, then you have been in Court before?"
"Only a few times."
"Richard, I'm afraid you're a bard case."
said Justice Smith. " hat have you to say
to the charge of drunkenness and vairran-
cy?"
"I m N G. for sure."
'"So I thought. You can prepare to de
vastate the melon patches for fifteen days
on the Island."
As the prisoner was led away he mutter
ed mournfully. "That's just the way. We
ain't got cjticated men on the bench. Any
man orter know that G.' stands for not
guilty. ' "
On KrconI
A little old man known around the foot
of Woixlland avenue, Detroit, as "John"'
was hunted out in the office where be
works by a stranger, who said he came
from Oswego and had news to com
municate. The news was nothing less than
ihe death of John's brother by drowning,
and the stranger happened to be on hand to
witness. Old John stood for a few minutes
as if trying to realize the fu I extent of the
calamity, and then remarked
"Poor George, 1 hadn't heard from him
in ten years You say he fell off tbe
wharf?"
"Yes; he was piling lumber, and bis foot.
ing gave away and he went into the water."
"Did he laU quue easy? '
"I guess so. 1 dont think the fall hurt
him any."
"How many times did he rise to the sur
face before going down to stay?"
"Twice, 1 think."
"Do you think he had his senses?"
"Oh, yes."
'And from where you stood you could
have heard all be said?"
"Oil, yes. I was not a hundred feet
away.
"Now then," continued old John as he
braced np and got a new bold of his shovel
handle, "wiU you answer me something in
connilence?"
"I wUL"
"Then, sir, tell me if my poor brother
hurrahed for Hancock or Garfield before he
went down the last time?"
This struck the stranger for a minute,
but he answered by saying that George
didn't hurrah for either of the candidates
as he heard.
"Maybe not maybe not," sighed the old
man "maybe he was what they call on the
fnnrMk a ...1 rl;,ln' b nA .1,.! Iu. .. .... 1 1 iik
lue Dimocrst8 holer with the ft bli.
Poor g,, rm , bit he didn't
,,:,...,, " ,.,.
1 .- -...x..
Torpedo Balluoa.
A scientific gentleman warns the country
and the Government, of a new and terrible
engine of war that may possibly come into
use and against which New Y'orz would be
,
lOOn.
utterly defenceless. It is the torpedo bal-
A vessel lying out of reach f any
. . . , - .T. - , . . "
' ,B', cuui" "!!'
,n 10 aa"ft' but aeronauts,
i)j-uj pouuu
" r . .-t.. v
dropped by a well known and cheap me
clii.ncal contrivance at such time as may
be determined upon after the distance and
the velocity of the wind have been esti
mated. It will readily be seen that a ves
sel barely in sight of land, and after only
the rudest calculations could not send out
any such fiendish missiles without doing
great damage to life and property some
where within the great area covered by
-New iork, Brooklyn and Jersey City. It
is poor comfort to think that other large
cities of the world aro eqiully exposed 10
such terrors, and even London and Paris
are not far enough from the seaboard to es
cape barm. A general agreement between
civilized Powers, such as was made re
garding explosive bullets, should promptly
nip this danger in the bud, but until this is
done the safety of New York, Boston,
Savannali, Charleston and other seaboard
cities should be secured against such dan
gers by tbe strengthening of our navy to an
extent that would allow a strong force to
patrol the waters outside our important
seaports, keeping dangerous visitors at a
distance or disposing of them at sight. At
pnseiil, our naval force is so small and
scattered that the most insignificant Power
that owns a single war ship and chose to
be ugly, could, in a few hours, destroy
property costing as much as fifty new
naval vessels would.
Science at Dinner.
Xat ure describes and illustrates a sim
ple experiment involving the elementary
principle of tbe centre of gravity which is
capable of evoking roars of laughter at a
dinner table If a dish of snipe has been
served up, the head with its long beak may
be fixed in a cork ; and then two forks
being thrust into the sides of the cork and a
needle having been fixed into the lower
end of it, the cork can be balanced upon a
coin laid on the top of a wine Dottle, and
can be spun slowly around while the
snipe's head nods at the various members
of the company in turn, and finally stops
opposite one ot them. By making a slit
at the bottom of this cork, putting in a
sUver quarter, and balanceing this upon
tbe point of a needle which rises out of
another cork in tbe neck of the bottle the
apparently impossible feat of spinning a
a twenty-nve cent piece on the point of a
needle caa be performed with the greatest
Henry Strader is a conductor of the
Er.e Railwav. Like Judge Ridgway of
Lackawaxen, he is an enthusiastic lover of
the art of angling. Uuhke the great
Lackawaxen fisherman, whose fondest de
ligut it is to lure the pouting-lipped but
somewhat plastic sucker to his toils he
fiuds his supreniest pleasure in casting the
treacherous fly that tempts the obstreperous
black bass to its death. The hot weather
has greatly interfered with Mr. Strader's
indulgence in his favorite piscatorial past
time, there being a little more work ia it
than he is constitutionally capacitated to
endure with the thermometer at ninety
degrees.
"If somebody would get up an attach
ment to a rod that would throw tbe fiy and
land the fish," said he, the other day, "he'd
make an independent fortune. I'd get one
and go out and bring iu a tubful of bass
this afternoon. "
"Attachment be busted!" said Charley
Lock wood the engineer. "Why don't you
Just put a good-sized dobber on your line,
get some young frogs for bait and stiU-fish
for 'em i With that UckJe and bait you
can bet you hold the wmuin' hand agin
anything the whole caboodle o' black bass
in the Delaware can pick up agin you."
Strader said he didn't inucu. believe in
bait fishing, but he wanted some boss and
he'd try the frog and dobber. He gave a
boy a quarter to get him a couple of dozen
of young frogs. They were nice little
green fellows, two inches long. Hank
bought the biggest dobber he couid find. It
had a goose quill through it aud was all
painted green. (A dobber is a pear-shaped
piece of light wood that floats in the water,
attached to the line.. It keeps the bait iu
proper position in the water and disappears
when a fish seizes the bait and starts away
with it. ) Jlr. Strader went down to the
river, found a shady place on the bank,
put a frog carefully on his hook, threw in
and wailed for a fourpound bass. The
frog went to the bottom aud the dobber
looked like a green bland.
The siill fisuernian must have patience.
It may be an hour before a bite wiU come
along, but the angler is always in momen
tary expectation of seeing in momentary
expectation of seeing his dobber go under
the wa'erwitha '"swish," and that sustains
him. About three bites an hour is the
average. Mr. Strader waited. A half
hour went by. No bite. A small boy in
a bout in the middle of thj river was null
ing iu a bass about every tea minutes.
hat d ye bait with ?" Hank shouted
to him.
Frogs! "the boy hallooed .back, as he
landed a two-pounder in the boat.
Hum. thouiut it was fuuuv that he
didn't get any bite. But he didn't believe
in pulling up bail every Utile whip slilch
to see what was the matter. 'Til get a
buster by aud by," he said.
An hour aud a half passed. The four-
pound boss hadn't been ho ked yet. The
sun was gelling low behind the Pike Coun
ty hills. SlraUtr began to gel disgusted.
It crept along towaid Ihe supper hour.
'Blamed it I'm going to lose my supper
for ail the bass iu ti.e nver," said he, at
last.
He arose and pulled up his line. When
the dobber was lilted from the water he
was amazed to See no line hanging below
it. The next instant he wanted to swear.
Cosily perched on the big green dobber sat
the little greee frog. He had become tired
of waiting for a bile, too, aud hod left the
watery depths and boarded the dobber.
"Tnat's frog and dobber fishing, is it?"
said he. "Well, the next time I go a
frog aud dobber fishing I'U stay at home
and try it in atub."
Mr. Strader went home by the backway.
He bought a ten-cent mackerel at a gro
cery store aud had fioh tor supper, any
how. Atmospheric Dut.
Every one is aware that the alaii)sphere
holds quantities of du,st iu suspension. The
dust betrays its presence by settling upon
our clothes, furniture and olber objects, but
on account of the minuteness of its particles,
it cannot be seen as it floats in t he air except
under the iUumination of a strong light, as
in the case of a sunbeam shit ing into a dark
room. Besides the n ruins of dust which
may be seen in this manner, there are
others that can be perceived only through
the microscope, aud others smaller still,
little nothings Uke nebulosities in the sky,
which seem to become more numerous as
they are sought for with more powerful
instruments. These bits of dust, lifted up
and carried hither and thither by the atmos
pheric currents, must not be overlooked,
for they play a part of considerable impor
tance in tcrrostriol economy, and give rise
to real geological formations. Clouds of
impalpable dost, foiling from the air in
considerable abundance, are not uncom
mon in some countries, aud have been no
ticed in ali periods of history. Showers of
blood have also beeu mentioned quite often
from the times of Homer down; they are
showers of rainwater made muddy by the
atmospheric dust, and bearing a yellow or
reddish deposit. Showers of dust, both
dry and wet, arc quite frequent in the
Cape de Yerd Islands, and are called red
fogs by the sailors. They are also common
in Sicily and Italy, and occur so often in
some parts of China as hardly to attract
remark. The Chinese account for them
by saying that the dust is hi ted up by whirl
winds in the desert of Gobi, is tarried by
Hit aerial currents into tbe higher regions
of lb atmosphere, fails at a distance, and
is then swept up by rainwater aud carried
by the rivers to be dt p jsitcd at the bottom
of the Yellow sea. A shower of very fine
dust which fell in southern France in Octo
ber, 1644, was found, by the analyses of JL
Dumas and the microscopic tesis applied
by M. Ehrenberg, to be CJiuposed ot fine
sands of Guiana aud to contain the charac
teristic diatoms and microscopic shells of
South America.
Cull Again Jdho.-
The politest man by all odds in Montana
is a Helena merchant. At hssoie cus
tomers get larger average of salutations
of mouth and motion, of words, snides.
bows, and scrape thau elsewhere in all the
great trade circle. of the Noituweit. His
patrons hail lrom ete-y walk in life, and
lrom every race of peoole, and poluentss
lavishly dispensed to all is wasted only oc-
coaionliy upon the few. An exceptional
case the other day was an almond-eyed
Mongolian, who entered ami called for aa
article in the merchau'.'s line of trade.
"A dollar and a half, John," with the
usual smile and bow and ail the rest.
"Doileetwo bus." said tbe heathen.
"A dollar aud half, John," seriously as
before.
"A dollee two bits," repeated the
Chinee.
"A dollar aud a half, John," reiterated
the merchant, ambiiag outside the counter
and intercepting the retreating customer.
Reaching for tlie heatLen's ear, the mer
chant nearly lifted him off the floor, and a
Vtgorjus application of shoeleaiuer landed
huu in a hurry on the sidewalk followed
by the polit salutation at parting, "Go4
day, John ; call again, John."
Aft
s (
i 1
I", !
t
'it
could, Iehd what I
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