IK ILIII Ik III I . i - ' 11 '., ' " -mnmnmnmnmwmam mmm ... , ' , 1 - 1 "am B" F SCHWEIER, THE GOISTITUTIOI-THE USTOI-AID TEE EaTOXOEXEIT OF TEE LATS. Editor and Proprietor. VOL. XXXY. MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1SS1. NO. 38. - 1 . LIGHT AT KVENTIDK. Tne day has ben dark and doleful - A day of wind and rain, With the sound of fhortlj lagers Upon the window-pane ; And never a gleam of aonahlne The oold fray sky hai crowed In thia day for aad remembrance For what oar Urea nave loot. Weary with Tain regretting For thlnga that eould not be. Weary with eoontlng orer The grave In memory, I opened the Book of Comfort, And In lta pagea read What one of the grand old propheta In time of trouble said. I heard like a Toice from heaven. The royal singer' song Of faith in Sternal Goodaeaa To triumph oer wrong. The day may be wild with tempest. Bat in patient trust abide. And remember the sweet old promise of light at the eventide. And lo! as I read the chapter So dear to the weary heart, saw the clouds at sunset Like cnrtalns swing apart. And it seemed like a gUmnw of heaven. That touched my eyes like balm As I sat in the sunset glory Repealing the sweet old psalm. . THE ASTIQTE DK8K. It was the last week of the year, when, one morning, I read aloud this Advertisement: WAVlKn To boy an antique desk, liberai price will be paid fur one aaufactory in every reaped "Oh, Lucile!" I cried, "this is your chance. Ton can now retrieve your fallen fart ones." And I tossed the newspaper across the breakfast table." Lucile read the advertisement again, and looked ever with a sigh to where, lietween the windows, an old desk, snch as the newspaper descrilted, occupied the post of honor. "I should feel as if I were selling my grandma's bones," she said, decisively. "Well, I don't believe your grand mother," I began, "would blame you if she knew " Here Ruth stopped me with a look, and began telling something that had happened in the store that day. Ruth was saleslady in the cloak deparment in one of our great city establishments. I taught school, and Lucile had been the French instructor in a young ladies' academy. We kept house together until quite recently in two rooms in the third story of a New York house. We had our own furniture, and cooked our own meals over a little gas stove. To who had been motherless from childhood, and to those, to whom the word "home" was a word with no meaning, such a life was very pleasant. Lucile was a dark-eyed, graceful French girl, who had once seen better days, though she was quite reticent to us; about it. She was so innocent and Iteautiful that Ruth and I loved and guarded her as if she had been our younger sister. Ruth was sturdy, in dependent, and New England born, and so true-hearted and brave that we look ed up to her in everything, and felt safe under her protection. As for me, I was Mollie, born in the sunny south, wilful, high tempered, but capable of deep feeling, they said. The war had ruined the fortunes of my family, and my life had been full of hardships ever since. I do not think three girls could have been more unlike. And yet we led a very tranquil, happy life, until a month or two before the evening of which I write; when a cloud had appeared on onr horison. That night Lucile came home flushed and indignant It took but little ques tioning . to discover the cause. The assistant principal of the shool had long annoyed Lucile with his attentions, and her stndied avoidance of him did not seem to make any difference. He dogged her steps, wrote her notes, and sent her flowers, until the poor girl was nearly crazy. At last, unable to endure it any longer, she had refused him per emptorily. Two days later she received her dismissal, and that, too, without a recommendation. "Never mind," said Ruth, encourag ingly, "yon need a rest, and Mollie and I need a housekeeper. This is your home, you knew." The girl's dark eyes filled with tears. "You are very kind," she sobbed out. "But, ah ! it is this that makes me think of the old days in France, when grandmama was alive. We lived in the country, you know, and in such a beautiful little chateau. And the neighbors were so kind, especially those in the next place. Ah! what pleasant days I had," she added, recalling it with a sigh, "playing in the meadows with their son, Henry; and what pretty fetes they gave. But then granma lost her fortune; and she was too proud to aay where she was known, and she came out to America and died. You know the rest Oh, you are very kind." We tried, after this, to get her anoth er situation, but were not successful. Finally, I found two of my scholars who wanted to take French lessons, and this kept np her hopes. That night after I showed Lacile the advertisement, she left the table and went to the desk, passing her hand lovingly over it It was a quaint, old fashioned thing, iilaid with different kinds of wood, in the style of the last century. It had belonged to Lucfle's grandmother, and to 'ie family before, and was the only relic she possessed of her happy childhood in France. I knew what her feelings were when I suggested the idea of selling it, but I knew still better that she needed the money sorely. There was an unpaid doctor's bill that haunted her, which Ruth and I dare not pay on account of her pride. The next night was X ew Year s eve, and when Ruth and I came home the desk was gone. There were traces of tears on-Lucile's cheeks, but she made no complaint We said nothing; but we leu all the evening as if there had been a funeral in our little homa. The next day. Lucile told us about it It seemed that some wealthy gentleman wasiunusning bis house, in the an tique style, and had commissioned his agent to find him a desk. The agent came, and looked at it; was delighted, as well be might be; paid a large sum, and had it carried away. That evening, Lucile sat playing low, soft airs on the piaao we had rented, when a rap at the door startled us. I rote to open it A tall handsome young man with an unmistakable foreign air, stood there. He bowed with high bred grace, and inquired, with a slight accent, for the young lady who had sold an antique writing-desk, the day before. Lucile, who had started at the sound of the voice, came forward. Her dark eyes shone; the color flushed into her cheeks. "Henri !" she cried. She had ex tended her hand, but drew it back in stantly, and stood there blushing and trembling. The gentleman started, gazed eagerly at her, and then clasped her hands in both of his. "Lucile! Lucile!" he cried. "Mon Dieu, what a pleasure:" His eyes shone with delight as he spoke. Lucile, after a moment turned to us. "Oh, girls, nly think," she said, "it is Henri, my old playmate. You re member my telling you of the boy who was so kind to me. Often and often we children played in the library, where the old desk stood. Many an hour we have spent puzzling our heads over its quaint inlaid ornaments. Ah! the dear old days " She broke down. She could speak no more. The memory of those old days and of all her troubles since she had been left alone overpowered her. She turned away her head to hide Ler emotion. Monsieur Lamont pressed her hand, bowed over it, and kissed it in his foreign fashion. Then looking around at us, he told us the rest of the story. How he had come to this coun try for a few years to establish a branch business for a Paris firm; how his mother had come with him; how he had pur chased and fitted up a house to suit her fancies; hor, when his ageut had brought him the desk, his mother and be were struck with the resemblance it bore to the one they had seen so often in France. "We were both sure it was the same," he said; "there could not be two, and behold! I am here." Madame Lamont came, too, the next day. We were not so blind but we could see the little romance which was unfolding under our eyes, and we re joiced that such a happy future was to be the fate of onr dear girL Never did the course of love run smoother. The mother and son were of one mind, and hurried matters as fast as possible. ' So it was not many months before Ruth and I were alone, and Lucile was mistress of a beautiful home. In a few years they are to go back to France, and, though we shall miss Lucile, we shall know she is living once more in the dear old chateau, which her husband, meantime, has purchased. So the New Year's eve that opened so sadly ended in a happy New Year. Bottannllk for Bans. Joe and Commodore Rogers were brothers and blacksmiths. They had a great reputatioa for being practical jokers. One day Joe bought an old fashioned churn for the purpose of manu f ictnring their own butter; and as the cromodore was a widower, and lived with Joe, all such work as churning naturally fell to him. One day, after supper, the first churning was got ready, and the commodore was invited to churn. "Hold on," said he, "till I go down and get some tobacco' He went, and while he was gone Joe did the churning, took out the butter, and left the buttermilk in the churn. The commodore returned, looked at the churn, took off his eoat and remarked: "Wa'al, old churn, it's you and L and here is for ye ! After churning couple of hours, he remarked that he "guessed it would be cheaper to buy butter than to make it" "I think so," said Joe, "if you are go ing to churn it out of buttermilk." The commodore's remarks were unfit for publication. A few days after the churning pro cess, Joe put one end of a small bar of iron into his forge-fire, gave the bellows three or four pumps, and stepped into the back shop. While gone, the com modore heated the iron to a black heat, then changed ends with it, and stepped out the front door to watch the progress In came Joe, took up the iron, but dropped it instantly holding up his burned hand, and roaring with pain. "Put on buttermilk, Joe. It's good for a burn V said the commodore, as he mads a masterly retreat, amid a shower of bouquets, composed of hammers, coal, and horse-shoes The Complaining Tree. In the deep and almost impenetrable forests of Nubia is found a tree that ut ters at times the most mournful and plaintive notes. Sometimes these sounds are shrill and clear, at others die away to an almost imperceptible whisper, as if some captive spirit were complaining of its lot The effects is singular, weird, and startling, until the cause is known. The tree is a species of Acacia, and the sound is produced by cup-shaped galls or secretions of some sort The wind in passing through the tree produces the whistling noise referred to. A man who resides in the suburbs of Oil City, reoantly purchased some oleo margarine. He didn't know it until he had eaten it That mad hint mad. Of course it did. People don't like to eat butter and Urn find out it was oleomar garine. Wall, he sworn he would be deceived no longer. He would make his own butter. He bought a cow. He milked the cow. That is to say, his wife did, but as man and wife are one, in reality he milked the cow. In time cream rose on the milk. It rose in goodly quantities, and was collected by the wife. On Saturday evening as the man was starting out to spend the evening, the wife remarked: "You must come home early so as to get up in the morning and churn the butter before going to church. He said he would. He came home early in the morning. About two o'clock. His wife remarked distinctly: "Now sir, I want you to prepare " "Two pair -hie ns good." That was sufficient She soon after rose. He retired without the formality of removing his boots. She was mad. He was sleepy. Being mad, she churned the butter and put it away, leaving the buttermilk in the churn. Being sleepy he did not hear her. Before leaving for churoh she wiped the outside of the churn, concealed the butter, and laft the bu'-termilk in the churn. She also left a note, telling him the churn was already for him to commence operations. He said: "D d d dash'er churn." "It was a dasher churn. He feared his wife, as all men do, aud commenced churning. He commenced at nine o'clock. At half -past nine he looked to see if it was "coming. It did not appear to be. At a quarter past ten he looked again. Result of inspection not encouraging. At twetty minutes to eleven, perspir ing freely, he happened to think of the bottle of brandy kept in the house for medtsinnl purposes. The butter was not coming, neither was his wife. But the brandy was forthcoming. He drank heavily. At a quarter to twelve he stopped again, and made another examination. Result was to warrant another drink. He was getting mad. At half-past twelve he took a lunch, and commenced churning. At ten minutes past one be looked to see if his wife was coming. She was not nor was the butter. At half past two he could stand it no longer. And therefore took another drink. Then he churned five minutes. Then he swore a few minutes. Next he took his gun and loaded it At twenty minutes past three he drop ped down completely exhausted. Ten minutes later he had demolished the churn with the hatchet, and was just going out to shoot the cow, when his wife came in almost breathless and put him to bed. BeUhanar aad hl Brother Bill. Belahasxar Smith had a very bad and very dangerous habit of walking in his sleep. His family feared that during one of his somnambulistic aaunterings he would charge out of the window and kill himself, so they persuaded him to sleep with his little brother William, and to tie one end of a rope around his body, and the other around little William. The very first night after this arrange ment was made, Belshazser dreamed that a burglar was pursuing him with a dagger. So he crept over to William's side of the bed, stepped over William's slumbering form, jumped out on the floor, and slid under the bed. He stay ed there a while, and then, his night mare having changed, he emerged upon the other side of the bed, and got under the cover in his old place. The rope, it will be observed, was be neath the bed; and it was pulled out, too. Early in the morning, Belshazzar, about half awake, cronged over against William. To his surprise, the movement jerked YViiliara dear out of bed. Bel shazzar leaped out to ascertain the cause of the phenomenon, and at the same time his brother disappeared un der the bed. ' Belshazzar hardly awake, was scared, and he dived beneath the bedstead; as he did so he heard William skirmishing across the blankets above his head. Once more he rushed out, just in time to see William glide over the other aide. Belshazzar just then became sufficiently conscious to feel the rope pulling on him. He comprehend ed the situation at once, and disengaged Perhaps little William was not mad. He was in the hospital undergoing re pairs, for about three weeks, and when he came out he had a strange desire to sleep alone. Belshazzar anchers himself to an anvil now. Ahaat sbM Heels. It t. aaii I hot mu can alwava te!l a sensible woman by the bee of her - boot There is the high heel, booked in under the instep, which indicates giddiness, bad t.. ati4 . want nf culture: then there la the medium heel, which indicates a desire for fashion, and yet an objection to excess; iu thor ia the ladv-like. small bed. sllfhtly curved, not quite to low as the heel of man's boot bat, yet low enough, and placed in me proper pwiura iw ow that lialinlM mod breeding, rood sense and delicacy. Young roea should know this, ana juage nacuruiagir. Delusion. That milk is a compound of water, ehalk and sheep's stomach. Milk al ways comes from the cow a great way from the cow. That brass band niusio is unpleasant to the ear. We know of a man who has lived for years next door to a band-room and has never uttered one complaint in all that time. He is a deaf mute. That railroads are intended for the enefit of corporations. They are in- tendeded for the benefit of the people the people who hold the majority of stock. That a small boy hates an overcoat He likes it so well that he dislikes to wear it That whistling is disagreeable. It is always agreeable to the whistler. That druggists are extortionate in their prices. They pay such high sala ries to their clerks that they are forced to sell their goods at one thousand per cent above cost in order to make any money for themselves. That the market is overburdened with spring poetry. The waste basket cap tures so much of it that very little of it comes on the market That any fool can write poetry. It is only a fool here and there that can do it That women go to church to see other women's Itonnet. They merely go to show their own. That a boy thinks he knows more than his father. He only prides himself on his superior intelligence. That a widow wears weeds to catch a husband. She would rather catch a man who is not a husband. That a silver watch will tell the time just as well as-a gold one. A gold watch will tell the time ten times to a silver watch's once, and lie just as fresh as ever. The shopkeepers never mark their goods below cost They frequently mark them dowa much below what the goods cost the purchaser, especially if he le a particular friend, you know. That the sell-conceited man thinks everybody is a fooL He does not in clude one person in that category, name ly, himself. That extemporaneous speakers pre pare their speeches beforhand. They get somebody else to do that That the average married man dis likes mairiage. He is all the time yearn ing for another opportunity to enter the sacred state. That poretts love their children be cause the little ones are so much like themselves. That is just what they punish them for. That people hate to Le laughed at Look at the low comedian, for instance. That it Is hard to attend to one's busi ness. Lots of people think nothing of it, and have plenty of time to attend to the business of a score of others. Death, Divorce, Bankruptcy. "No, George Jones, I cannot marry you." The speaker was a fair young girl of scarce thirty summers; the tone was sad, yet unyielding. "And why not Maria," asked George Jones, whose deep black and blue eyes and flashed face showed that he had not been too good and great to have made a dizzy run with the boys the night before. "Can James Smith or John Robinson make you any better husband than I can, fair girl ?" "Listen, George. I am, as you know, the only daughter of a daring specula tor in low price stock. ""My father," said the devoted damsel, with a far-away look of filial pride, "has often made as much as SI 0 on a single turn in Washoe fancies. He is now," she added, with a deep blush, "bulling the market I un derstand from non-official sources that you are poor ; that you breakfast on a free lunch route and dine at twobit ro tisseries a convincing proof of Common stock poverty. Farewell, George ; it can never be," "Stay, Maria, and know who and what I am. My Storey County hatchet is sunk deep in the cherry-tree of truth, and like my illustrious initial namesake, I am no dazzling economist of facta. Five years ago I arrived at Reno, per emigrant train, and walked over the Geiger grade to this city of stove-pipes and other men's wives. Since then I have worked in the Seorpion ; sat pa tiently for three months as inner guard in the Carson Mint and never missed a pay-day ; twisted brakes on a V, T. gravel train ; graded fpr a week on the Dayton narrow guage ; I have been a waiter at Even's ; started a daily paper at Genoa ; taught school in the Fourth Ward ; in common with about four mil lion of other scientists, I discovered the present comet, and now I am no longer poor." What ! Do I hear correctly you have gold?" "Aye, proud girl and a pocket check book on the Nevada Bonk." ''Do you belong to the railroad ring ? Are you building a narrow-guage or work ing tailings at Dayton ? Have you struck a copper-mine in Goose Creek section ? Are you running a quartz-mill at Red Canon, or a smelter at Corson ? Tell me, George whence came this wealth ; 1 perspire with anxiety." "Two weeks ago I had a dead point on stocks from an insider ; he gave it as a great favor, and told me to buy every thing " "Well!" "Well, I did not I coppered him.' "And so " "Yes, and naturally I'm now richer than he feared or hoped I ever would be." "Then, George, I am thine tl one till death, divorce, or your bankruptcy." The Germans have invented morocco paper. V'acle Jake Bsmmmlej. In answer to inquiries Uncle Jake Hammersley, of Pennsylvania, recently said : "I'm the boy that can tell you some good stories and not depart from flie truth, ber. What do you want me to relate?'; ''Where were you born, 'Uncle Jake,' and what is your age V "I was born at North Point, Pennsyl vania, in 1814 where my father first set tled. When I was about fourteen years of age my father moved up Kettle creek and settled on what is kown as Hammer sley's Fork and cleared up a little farm. It was a dence wilderness then and there were no settlers near us. He lived to the age of ninety years and my mother reached a great age also." "Did you learn hunting early V Yes ; we had to learn in those times, ior the wolves were so plenty that they came up to our door and killed sheep right under our eyes. The woods, too, were full of deer, and many a time I have seen the creek literally swarming with them as they came in to eat the moss which grew on the stones. I could kill four or five of night and thought nothing of it "How many deer have you killed dur ing your lifetime ?" "Well, I never kept an exact account, but whenever I tried I killed from fifteen to twenty-five of a season. In fact, I never made an effort to kill a large num ber, as they were so abundant in those days that there was no difficulty in get ting all the venison we wanted. To keep within bounds and speak truthfully, I have no hesitancy in saying that I have killed three hundred deer during my lifetime, and I expect to kill a few more, although they are pretty scarce now." "Did tou ever kill an elk 7 "Oh, yes ; I killed five before they be came extinct, I sent the horns of a big fellow to Henry Clay many years ago. They were splendid. The Cornplanter Indians hunted them very close and they were, soon nearly all destroyed, The elk is a curious animal and hard to hunt They make a strange noise, a little like the bellowing of a bull, when running in herds. I have heard them often. "As to the bear, I have killed one hundred and twenty-five. I killed fifteen for three seasons in succession, and I have taken sixteen from that high moun tain opposite Renovo. I generally trap ped them and then shot them. I used to get fifteen cents a pound for bear meat and I have received from S3 to $15 tor the skins. That was in 18C5. The largest bear I ever killed weighed five hundred pounds undressed. I have kill ed many that weighed from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty pounds. I could estimate the weight of a bear very closely. The rule among old hunters is that when a bear's hindqnar ter's weigh ninety or ninety-five pounds the forequarters will dress one-half more. I know this to be a good rule from experience. A bear is always heav iest forward." "What other animals have you kill ed?" "Well, let me see. I want to tell you nothing but the truth. I have killed be tween seventy-five and eighty cata mounts. I killed ten in two years. Caught them nearly all in bear traps. I have also killed four panthers, the largest of which measured ten feet from tip to tip, the next nine feet, one eight feet and the other seven and a half feet" "Did you ever have any encounters with these savage animals ?" "Never. They generally Kepi their distance. One night a panther tried to take the carcass of a deer from me that I had killed and dressed, but I fought it off. It was evidently very hungry. I consider myself a first class shot. The best gun, and indeed it is my favorite to-day, is an old-fashioned single ball muzzle-loading rifle. It was made m Wheeling by a man named Long and it is over sixty years old. It originally carried forty balls to the pound. I have it yet and would not exchange it for any of the new-fangled rifles now in use, although I have a very fine double-bar reled one." "Were you ever frightened while en camped in the wilderness at night by panthers ?" "No, sir; they are generally sny. Those hunters who tell about being at tacked generally imagine such things. The great night owl has frightened more hunters than animals. They make a horrid noise when everything is still. I remember one once that had a voice al most as loud as a coarse car whistle, and it knew how to use it" "What other animals have you kflled?" "Well, I remember killing five wolves." "Any foxes?" "Foxes ! They are not worth count- ing. by, X caught ten last iaii, ana during the last forty years I am sure I have killed five hundred." "Any otter or beaver 7" "Oh, yes, I have shot many otter on Fettle creek and also beaver. I can't tell how many. Never kept any account of them. They were plenty on that stream forty years ago. At one point they had a dam and populous colony. Very few now remain. When the lum bermen invaded the wilderness and logs were floated down the creek they fright ened the beaver away. "How did you enjoy yourself in the wilderness in those early days !" "Splendidly, sir ; I tell you we got all the game and fish we wanted. The very best. Trout were abundant in the streams in those days. They were not all caught in one season by those city chaps. You could go out with a common rod and line and catch ten or fifteen dozen in a few hours. But you can't do it now." ''When you were living cm Hammer- sley's Ford did yom lumber any ?" "About 1830 Simon Pfouts and myself bought a tract of land oa the Cross Fork of Kettle creek and made lumber rafts for four years, which we run to market n the spring. It was then that I learu ed to be a pilot business that I have followed for many years. When lumber ing we keep ourselves supplied with venison without any trouble. I suppose we killed one hundred deer. Those were jolly days, indeed ! We were not troubled with any of the fashions and follies now prevailing. We were stout, rugged and hearty, and enjoyed our selves. "Where is Pfouts now?" "He still lives on the creek. His father was of the first settlers. He was here before my father, and he lived to very great age. I must tell you a little incident in the life of young Pfouts I speak of. If you ever see him just ask him if he remembers the time when he seized the tail of an ox and was dragged across Kettle creek in the slush-ice and the sound thrashing he received from his father for the trick. All the lumbermen in that reigon know Pfouts." 'How long did you live in the wild erness?" I remained there till i was over thirty years of age, when I returned to this place, where I have resided up to the present time, engaged in farming during the summer season and hunting in the full and winter. I am going up to Young Woman's creek to hunt bear this fall and winter. I have three camps up there, and if you will come up and stay a few nights with me I will show you how hunters rough it in the wilder ness. We live well, better than you city fellows ; I mean we have more substan tial food in the war of fresh game. I tell you it is delicious as we cook it in the camp." "Uncle Jake" is a remarkable man. Although sixty-seven years of age there is scarcely a gray hair in his head and he is as active as many men of forty, His hunting reeord of wild animals killed during the past forty years may be sum med up as follows : Deer, 300 ; foxes, 500 ; bears, 125 ; catamounts, 80 ; elk, 5; wolves, 5 ; panthers, 4 ; total, 1,019. As to the smaller game he kept no record of the number killed. Origin ol Kursery Rhyme. '"Cinderella; or, the Glass Slipper," is a very old story. Thousands of yean ago it was told to boys ana girls. 1 be origi nal read that an ea;le stole the slipper of a very pretty Egyptian lady and bore it off. The eagle dropped it and some one carried it to the king, who made it known all over his kingdom that he would marry the lady whose tiny foot It should fit And so Cin derella, the cinder-girl, became queen. In France, Germany, and this country the story has taken several shapes, and has al ways been a favorite. 'Little Jack Ilorner" has the following history: In England, in the reign of Henry VIII., there lived a air. ilorner. llenry, the king, wished to tear down all the fine monasteries and abbeys of England, sell their lands and pocket the money. This Horner was butler, or something, to an old abbot who thought he would gain favor with llenry by giving him twelve of his very test and richest monasteries. So the abbott sent deeds of them to the king by this John Homer. But Horner thought as he "sat in the corner" of the carriage on his way to the king, that be would see what all those great papers which he was carrying should mean. "He pat in his thumb and pulled out a plum" . e., be opened and read the deeds, put the one for the largest piece of land in his own pocket. gave the rest to the king at London, and came borne and told his master .hat Henry V1IL, for bis fidelity, had made him a present of one of the large tracts of land. "Blue Beard,'' tea, is very old. He is supposed to be Giles DelavaL Lord of Rajs, and was Marshal of Franc in 1-129. "Jack, the giant-killer," came from India. He breaks forth in all sorts of doing all over the story-books of the young. And so of "Jack acd the Bean-stalk. "Babies in the Wood" is a very touching story. I think the origin of this may be considered a very old ballad, which tells of Richard 111. murdering bis own dear little nephews. The story of "Little Ked Kiding-iiood" is found in the German, but not exactly as we tell it In England. I must now tell you or the meaning of an old nursery rhyme: "Four and twenty blackbirds made into a pie;" these are the four-and-twnty hours of the day; the pie" is the space between the earth and the sky, the flat looking ground being the bottom crust the buds in between, and the sky being the concave top crust "W hen the pie was opened, i. when day began to break. "The birds began to sing," i. &, the tours too bogin merrily. "The king in the parlor counting out money," the "king" is the sun, the monarch of the day. There he is enthroned a the sky. He is said to be counting out money, because the sunshine is gold-color. See how he counts it out flings it about him, the beautiful golden sunshine. "The queen upstairs eating bread and honey. UI course, if the king is the sun, the queen is the moon. I he maid in the garden, hanging out clothes.'' This "maid" is Aurora, the goddess, net ol the day, out of the dawn. Now, nip jumped a little bird and nipped off her nose.'' The little bird who did this very ungallant thing is, of course, tie first hour of the day, for Aurora, or dawn, die appears as soon as the king, or sun, arises. Farmer Bea's Sarins;. Little roosters crows loud. Every cloud doesn't bring a storm. Light hean of wheat stands straight Gnarly apples don't pay for their fod der. Oats in the meader goes in with the hay. Cornstalks in the weeds li'ble ter git cut up. A lying tongue puts a patch on its neighbors. Robin in the tree top's better'n a fifty- cent barometer. Weeds in the corners be as bad as holes in the pockets. You can't tell by the blossoms which of the apples will be wormy. 'Ton can't guess by the size of the calf what butter's worth pound. Chicken hawk never says nothin', when it's going for the chicken coop. Hats were first made in England by Spaniards in 1510. Othar Tomfoolery. "I have some queer experiences with persons who want novelties in my line,' said a manufacturer of Fulton street, New York, of burglar alarms and elec tric indicators. "About the funniest I think, was one in which a charming young Brooklyn lady figured. A wealthy old bachelor fell in love with her. She became enamored of his wealth, and consented to marry him. Well, he pro vided her with a splendid home. She lavished money on furniture, dress, jewelry, aad entertainments. Then, I am not sorry to say, she contracted the burglar scare. I was called in to fit every door and window in the house with the most expensive burglar alarm. Why, you can't raise a window an inch, or open a door, when the alarm is set without creating a tremendous din. The bride was delighted. She then wanted electric calls for her servants put in every part of the house. I put a contri vance under the dining table, so that with a slight pressure of her dainty foot she could summon the cook or the wait ress. Why, she even had a wire laid to her bureau and the side of her bed. Her infatuated husband hod a round sum to pay, but he seemed to be pleased be cause his bride was." "I believe you manufacture burglars' alarms here; do you not ?" asked a ta'L dark, elderly and well-dressed gentle man, who entered at that moment "Yes, sir," the proprietor answered. "What can I do for you to-day, sir?" "WelL" the gentleman said, "I live at Bay Ridge. My burglar alarm got out of order, and would not work last night Can yon repair it to-day ?" "No, sir, I cannot send a workman down there so late in the day. But I will have one there early to-morrow morning. Will that do?" "Xo, sir; no," the gentleman replied. "It won't do. I wouldn't sleep another night, sir, without my alarm. So that much of my business is disposed of. Xow for another matter. It requires an electrician possessing gumption, sir. Do you think you have any, sir?" Well, I natter myself that I have; the proprietor replied. I have a wide porch, and a long one, too," the gentleman said. "I have a number of chairs on that porch, and some of those chairs have been stolen. I want to be around the next time the rascals come. Can't you devise some burglar alarm attachment for these chairs ?" and he looked piercingly at the proprietor. "I could easily put a piu in the floor under one leg of each chair. When the choir is moved the pin will start up and complete the electric circuit ringing the alarm." "Humph !" observed the gentleman; "very good. But suppose that those chairs were blown away by a gale in the night, wouldn't I be roused to meet burglars?" ''Yes, sir. But may I ask why you do not have the chairs taken indoors at night ? That would be infinitely simpler and less costly." 'Indeed," replied the gentleman, coldly. "But I have my own ideas, sir, and I like to have them carried out I don't want to have the chairs Uken in at night, and, what's more, I won't I want them protected by a burglar alarm, and I propose to have them, too. Can't yon suggest a plan by which they could be connected in a lump with the alarm?" "Nothing easier. Fasten the chairs together, and one wire will do." "Xow, I've asked for your ideas," the gentleman went on complacently, "and got them. The next thing is to give you mine. I propose to have those chairs hoisted up by wire ropes on a platform, and to have a wire run to the platform. If any rascal cuts that wire, why, then there will be a tremendous alarm, and I can get on the scene of action. How's that ? How does that plan suit you ?" "Admirably, sir, was the proprietor's reply. "I will go down myself to your place,sir,and see that everything is done satisfactorily, and' his visitor had meanwhile hurried out "111 make you pay roundly, too, for yourplatfdrm, and your wire rope, and your connecting wire, and your other tomfoolery. Why Stone WalU ara Damp. The wails of a stone house and some times of a brick house are covered with dampness. This is due to the very same cause by which dew is deposited on grass, or moisture on the side of a glass, or a pitcher that is filled with ice-water and is brought into a warm room. The walls become cold, and as stone is a non conductor of heat they remain cold for a long time. When the weather changes suddenly from cold to warm, the air be come filled with moisture for the warm er the air is, the more moisture it will absorb. When this warm air strikes the cold walls the moisture is deposited on them, and as the warm air is contin ually coming in contact with the wall, the dampness accumulates until it ap pears like dew upon them and pours down in streams at times. It is easily prevented. Xo plaster should be put directly on the brick or stone, but fur ring strips should be nailed to the wall and the lath put on these. Cellars are frequently made very damp in the same way by too much ventilation in waim weather. The warm air pouring in is cooled, and its moisture is deposited on the walls and floor until they are so wet as to surprise the housekeeper, who wonders how it is the cellar will not dry, and the more it is aired the wetter it be comes. In the Pakbot district of the Province of Kwangtung, China, wild silk worms are found that live on the camphor tree. Just before the caterpillar is stoat to enter the pupa stage of its existence the natives cut it open and extract the silk in a form re sembling cat-gut ' NEWS IN BRIEF. The first Inciter match was made in 1829. The brst balloon ascent was made in 1783. Thimbles were an invention of the Dutch. The first iron steamship was built in 1830. The Ohio State fair niade a profit of $10,000. King Kalakana has left Parin for London. Senator Edmunds is said to be fail ing in health. Queen Mary is said to have died of a broken heart Petards were invented by the Hu guenots in 1576. There are 331 different styles of bicycles now in use. A Protestant church has been open ed at Oaxaca, Mexico. The net profits of the Cnnard hue last year were $965,000. It is estimated that there are seven millions of Jews in the world. Tesmer, a German phvsician. first advocated mesmerism in 1766. The vellum of book bindings began to be stamped with designs in 1010. Iowa has 400 creameries, whose machinery is valued at $1,000,000. Christian IX. of Denmark is about to visit Russia, Germany and France, -Arcliibald Forbes is coming to America on "a farewell lecture tour." Indiana shows up. for 1881. 3.100.- 000 acres of corn and 3,179,075 of wheat There are 20,000 seed of oats in a pound and 686,400 seeds of white clover. Cadmus brought the invention of letters from Svria to Greece about 2549 A. M. The Czar. Alexander II.. it is said. left $25,000,000 on deposit in London banks. Louisiana has a school popnlution of 290,036. Of this number 139,657 are colored. Queen Isabella of Spain is staying at Spa, where she styles herself Princess Isabella. According to Dr. Gunther there are 7,000 species of fish now known to rueti of science. The transfusion of the blood of one body into that of another was first at tempted in 1667. One pound of iron, worth jCI ster ling, when made into watch-springs is worth JEoO.UOU. In 1779 the British peerage con tained 21 dukes, and in 187? precisely the same number. - Mr. Gladstone has one danghter married. Her husband is Head Master of Wellington College, Mr. Charles Xordhoff while in Eu rope visited the field of Waterloo, where his father fought under Blncher. For some time after the Xormau invasion slaves comprised part of the exports from England to foreign ports. It is said that Gaston County. N. C, contains more whisky distilleries than any other county in the United States. The small-arm factory at Enfield was established in January. 1857. In ten years the number of arms made was 616,828. There are 13,516 Christian converts in China. The gain during the last three years has been at the rate of forty-two percent Scotland derives $1,500,000 per annum as rental for sporting grounds. The Duke of Westminister pays $10,000 for one tract During the last six months there were, according to the official statistics. 63 murders and 53 robberies in the beau tiful island of Sicily. , The United States army of 25,000 men have a medical staff of some 200. The navy, with 8,000 men. has a medi cal staff of about 1,000. John B. Raymond of Fargo, Dakota. says that he has harvested this season $50,000 worth of wheat from a form that cost him $50,000 a year ago. The value of the annual product of gloves at Glovers rille and Johnstown, A. I., it is said approximate $8,000.- 000 and is constantly increasing. Mr. Gladstone It reading the Re vised New Testament in connection with the Greek text in order to satisfy him self as to the work of the translators. The greatest length of the United Stares from east to west is 2.800 miles : greatest breadth from north to south. 1,600 miles ; average breadth, 1,200 miles. The coinage of the United States Mint at Philadelphia during the month of July amounted to 1,420,000 pieces. valued at SS06 'O0. Of this amount 300,000 pieces were silver dollars and 620,000 cents. The improved Industrial Dwellings Company of London has just paid a 5 per cent dividend, and it was stated that the death rate on their premises was 16 7 in the thousand, against 23 4 in London generally. John Hrncock's chair, in which he sat when he signed his name to the Declaration of Independence, now stands in St Paul's church at Norfolk, Va. It was built for a huge man, which Jolin was by all measurements. The State debts amount to $250,- 632,000, an increase of only a little over fifty millions since 185Z. In 18 10, how ever, the State debts were $352,866,000, and the: large decrease is owing chiefly to scaling and repudiation. In the last 16 years more than $700, 000,000 has been paid on account of the national debt of the United States. The sum total of the national debt (interest bearing and non-interest bearing) re maining is $2,043,424,946.36. There are 7,092 publio houses and 4,425 beer houses in London. During 1880, 29,868 persons were apprehended for drunkenness. Of these. 15,998 were males and 13,870 were females. The averrge of ai rests for drunkenness seems to be diminishing. The assessed valuation of real and personal property in the United States illustrates our rapidity of growth in a vivid way. In 1824 the valuation was $2.574,940,000 ; in 1852 it was $6,117,- 531,013; in 1860, $12,044,083,615; in 1870, $13,898,096,899 ; in 1880, $16,258, 064,100. The number of young women who receive university degrees in France is said to be increasing yearly. The Fac ulty of Caen has just eonfered for the first time upon a woman a diploma of letters and rhetoric. Of 7552 who ap plied for teachers' certiflcatea last year, 5022 received them.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers