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St
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B. F. SOHWEIER,
THE 00I8TITUTI0J-THE UHOJ-AID THE EITOSOEMEIT OP THE LAW8.
Editor and Proprietor.
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MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMlfel. 10, ISS4.
VOL. XXXVIII.
NO. 37.
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LIFE'S GOOD NIGHT.
How tenderly touching though sad,
s the i mliu, serene death of the old.
How unlike the fading of happy youth
K'cr the blossom its leaves untold ;
Hut when the duties of life on earth.
Have each been nobly done,
And when afar down the horizon
Touches the sinking suu ;
When the purple twilight shadowy falls
OVr the future and the past.
When memory, with dim eyesight,
O'er the backward shadow cast.
Can scarce e'en spell the records
Of the vanished uights and days ;
Or gather up the taujjled thread
Of life's bright tuoruing wavs.
When Mirroumled by friends and kindred
IVath comes, like a musical strain.
Like the swtx-t, low tone of Aeolian harp.
In the tj ilit wind's sad refrain.
If the day has been long and weary
" l is then that the end is sweet.
When the tired head shall be pillowed,
A ud rested the weary feet.
K..r life is a ohadowy, winding road,
A nd we travel a little way ;
Tis at best a few short steps we tread
To the land of brighter day.
Tis but from the tiny cradle,
Vitb its lullaby of love.
To the narrow bed 'ueath the willows.
And the wak'ning in realms above.
We all must stop at the "Wayside Inn,"
To the old it seems pure and bright,
While the death-call sounds to the ears
of age
Ttut a c.iiiu and sweet "good night."
And thefurroughs from out the placid brow
l'.y the hands of love are pressed,
Amid riowers and tears, we yet luus feel
Uuw sweet to the Aged is Rest.
UEtP WAXTEU."
We want a girl I Now, do not start,
gentle reader, (of course all readers are
gentle" it's a peculiarity that mod
em writers always endow them with,)
and imagine that we are developing
cannibalistic symptoms, whick induce
us to call for "a girl" with a view of
Laying her served up in any manner ;
neither do we wisb to awaken recollec
tions of our bachelor days (the time
when we were always in want of a girl)
tor Mrs. O'Pagus has given us a large
enough dose of that kind of a girl to
last a lifetime. Xo I When we say
"We want a girl I" it would be more
clearly expressed if we said "We want
a young female to assist Mrs. O'Pagus
m housekeeping and domestic duties
generally." And do not fancy for an
instant that this "want" is a novelty in
our establishment. Oh, dear, no I We
have been wanting them, on and off,
(and generally having them on and off,)
for the hist three years or ever siuee
our domestic dynasty has been estab
lished. We have repeated thisdemaud
at intervals of several months some
times every two or three weeks, and
even so often as twice in one week. Of
course we know we are not alone in this
cry of distress. But we are alone, and
far lieyond all competitors, in the inis
lortunes attending the comings and go
ings of our helps ; and we are positive
no romance can furnish a greater vari
ety of incidents and accidents thau the
hired girls have furnished our family,
and still continue to. As another evi
dence of our ill-luck in this respect, we
are now again in want of a girl, and
repeat the old ciy : "We want a girl !"
Uf course, we can imagine tliat some
prosjiective "pater fsniilias" will ad
vise "advertising." We canhearsome
iiiexi icuced young female inhabitant
of the honeymoon say : "Why dent
joii go to an intelligence officer" Grac
ious wers I Why, we have sat in in
telligence offices from nine until one
o'clock ; we have ueglecid business ;
and Mrs. O'Pagus has allowed the meat
to be so well done that it looked more
like the joint from a mgro than the
round of beef it was bought for I And
ti.eu we were compelled to return borne
empty-handed, heavy-hearted." Weare
now on the yearly list of every select
intelligence office In the city, and sev
eral that neglected to have the word
"select" painted on their eigne. As for
"advertising," we have taken so much
money to Sixth and Chestnut stree s
that we have long wondered why the
proprietor of the Ledycr has not added
another wing to his building, and called
it "ihe O'Pagus grant;" or, at any
rate, made us a life-member on his ad
vertising list. The obliging clerk be
hind the counter, who attends the
dumb-waiter and sticks the wa.Vrs, no
sooner sights Mrs. O'Pagus thau he
writes down : "Girl wanted ; small
family; no children at present," &c
Yes I We have tried every way, and all
kinds. We have had half-grown, full
grown, and overgrown ; white, black,
and variegated; Irish, German, French,
Swedish. Scotch, African, and Ameri
can. We have had then single, mar
ried, and divorced ; withcousins, and
without ; some endowed with beaux by
the dozen, aud some destitute of a sin
gle "follower;" all sizes, shapes, and
aires. And as for names, we have hail
all the names in the Bible and Webster's
Unabridged (that would serve as a han
dle) at home in our kitchen. Of Marys
we have had about twenty i Katies
about eighteen ; Sallies about seven
teen ; Lizzies, sixteen ; Bellas, twelve ;
Bridgets, ten ; Annies, nine; Julias,
eight; Gussies, seven; Jennie-, live ;
Carolines, four; and at least two or
three each of Hannahs, Fannies, So
phias, Juries, Beckies, and other Christ
ian names not so common, with now
and then a colored Cleopatra or Semir
amis. We can no more remember the
names and faces of the girls who have
already graced our house, thau could
Brigham Young remember the time he
courted his first half dozen orao I We
cannot enter a grocery or a cigar store,
or a German lager beer saloon, without
lieing greeted by some female with the
words : "Why, Mr. O'Pagus ! how do
vou do ? Why, don't you know me f
I'm Mary," or "Katie," or "Lizzie,"
or some other one of the numerous
names that have at one time or other
ligured in the domestic vocabulary of
our home. But Mrs. O'Pagus knows
them alL. .Let her but clap eyes on one
of her former airy belles, and she will
say : "Why, that is Fanny, who used
five pounds of cooking sugar in one
weekl" or, "There is that wretch
Beekie, who left the week after she got
her Christmas present !" Or in church
she will suddenly start up and say:
"i.ook, Arry 1 There is our first Sarah,
w ith the veiy feather in her hat that I
gave her when I bought my violet vel
vet bonnet last fall I" Once, in a crowd
coming out of the theatre, she shocked
us with her sudden exclamation;
"There 1 Arrv, is that Caroline we had
last spring, with the very dress on I
gave her a week before she ran away I
1 feel like going and making her take
it off right here in the street 1" But
she didn't. Still, Mrs. O'Pagus was
with them all day, engaged them and
discharged them, so she ought to re
member both them and their peccadU-
iost or our girls had no "followers
.3n they were engaged. We once had
a girl (ooe of our Bridgets, we believe)
w no came to the house, and. in an
swer to Mrs. O'Pagus' question as re-
garus "loiiowers," said she hadn't "a
'friend' outside of Ireland I" AmFIhe'
very next day a first-cousin hail arrived.
and was sitting in the kitchen in his
shirt-sleeves, with a very short clay-'
pipe stuck in a very wide mouth, su
periiiteuding Bridget and the ironing.
The way that cousin made the voyage
irom Ireland in one day was beyond
our comprehension. Bridget explained
that this was not the cousin from Ire
land ; this was a cousin from her
mother's side. He worked in a sugar
refinery at night, and could only call on
his relatives and friends in the day
time. After a few months had elapsed.
Bridget and her sweetly reQuiug cousin
got married ; and she was succeeded by
a Pennsylvania German girl named Liz
zie, who cooked as if shecouldnt count
three. But she could for she never
accused Mrs. O'Pagus of giving her
four dollars, instead of three, at the
end or her week. Lizzie, the first few
weeks, earned the title of "Paragon ;"
aud Mrs. O'Pagus began to think she
had secured a jewel. Lizzie only had
one peculiarity. Every evening about
eight o'clock, she got drowsy and sleepy,
aim went to iter room. This was, how
ever, considered rather praiseworthy
than otherwise and was attributed to
her being brought up in the country.
One evening Mrs. O'Pagus returned
home, aud would hardly believe her
eyes when she beheld her jewel Iter
ltrnjm stretched out, and forming a
right angle on the floor, with a brandy
bottle in her hand from which the spirit
had flown, and her hair streaming down
her back like a fashionable school-girl
of the period I This was too much for
Mrs. O'Pagus. Lizzie had also evi
dently had foo -jnttch 1 Mrs. O'Pagus
was touched by the scene. So was Liz
zie not only touched, but movetf at well !
On examination we found that our
Bucks county diamond had emptied all
the ale and brandy-bottles in the cellar,
and had replaced them, carefully corked,
rilled with pure Schuylkill water I That
shook our faith iu girls from the rural
districts. After a long intermission we
decided to advertise, aud see if fortune
would not favor us. As Mrs. O'Pagus
said, she "couldn't understand it I
Other people bad girls three and four
years. " She bad no small children, and
her husband was "not handsomethat
is, not daugerously so I" So we adver
tised. Xow, we had frequently adver
tised liefore, and bad plenty of re
sponses. Some of the applicants had
promised faithfully to come the next
inornmg. The last time we had occa
sion to use the press to engage help Mrs.
O'Pagus hired several, with the under
standing that they were to come the
very next day. The next day came and
went. The girls also icciif, but never
came I So this time Mrs. O'Pagus de
cide 1 to pro lit by her experience, and
engage every girl that appeared. Five
auswered the advertisement, and all
five were engaged. That evening Mrs.
O'Pagus was offering bets, with odds,
and no takers, that no girl would come.
But they did come all five of them
came aud all live wanted to remain.
We shall never forget that morning 1
The scene was aui mated in the extreme
They apiared to represent all parts of
the globe, and Mrs. O'Pagus had the
whole world tochoose from. That morn
ing we formed some idea of how it was
at the tower of Babel. Three brought
their escorts, staggering under trunks
that would have shamed Cape May
belles ! One had ordered her baggage
to be brought at night, and the other
had had her wardrobe all on at the
time. Well, we settled it by keeping
one, paying three a week's wages each,
and sending the last one next door.
Xow, the one we kept vras selected
by Mrs. O'Pagus because she appeared
neat, could trash vchite shirts, and do
fluting, and also because we pitied her,
as she said she was an orphan. Her
name was Maggie, Well, Maggie had
been with us about four weeks, and had
given no cause for complaint, when one
night (it was just about, half-past one)
we were awakened by a fearful ringing
at the door-belL We opened the win
dow and asked "Who is there ?" "It's
us. sir 1 Hoes Miss Stagg live here ?"
"Xo I" we exclaimed, and closed the
window. We were just getting asleep
and dreaming we heard the dinner-bell,
when we awoke and found it was the
front-door-bell again ; and, raising the
window the second time, the same voice
saluted us with : "Hon't Margaret
Stagg dont Maggie Stagg live here?"
Now, we had never heard her surname;
so we answered : "There is a Maegie
here. Her name may be Sugg. What
do you want herfor.thistimeof night?"
"Well, we want to see her. Her father
is very sick, and sent'us." Here
was a novelty, indeed I ' 'An orphan
with a sick father, who sends a couple
of niesseugers at lialf-past one In the
morning ; By this time Mrs. O'Pagus
had been attracted to the other window,
where she satjsith a watchman's rattle
in one hand and a pitcher or water in
the other, ready to rattle either or both
at the slightest provocation. We told
them if they did not leave the place at
once we would call the police 1 They
left The next morning we had to make
the tire ourselves. That nice girl who
was so neat, and who could trash white
shirts, and do fluting, had eloed over
night with the wash from the line and
the messengers sent by her father's
ghost I But that was our luck I If we
had selected any other of the five, she
would have acted precisely the same
way. Maggie was but another expon
ent of our usual Ill-luck with female
help. Well, we were discouraged. Mrs.
O'Pagus said, "Defeated, but not by
any means dismayed I"
Our next venture came recommended
by the minister's wife. She was from
the interior of the State,- and her sister
was female major domo of the reverend
"entleman's household. Here we surely
hail good grounds for the hopes we en
tertained of obtaining a good, useful
girL "From the interior of the State,"
recommended by the clergy, never
lived out before, and as homely a mor
tal as imagination could paint I Her
name was BeUe 1 She was oui first of
that cognomen, and, as far as appear
ances went, had no claim whatever to
the title. The ravages of small-pox had
left her pitted and marked, and with a
face as full of holes as a large-sized
nutmeg-grater t In shape she also re
sembled ttat useful but not by any
means ornamental utensiL Well, site
didn't elope at night, although that was
probably the only time she could have
got any one to run off with her and a
very dark eight it must be, at that!
She was with us just four months ; and
we had just remarked that day to silly
(that's Mrs. O'Pagus) : "You see, my
dear you see how easy it is to keep a
girl when you only get a-hold of the
right kind I"
But never call a day a happy one un
til you have seen the end of it. Mrs.
OTagus had gene with us to spend the
evening with her "dear mother," and,
returning home about ten o'clock, we
were rather surprised to see a bright
light illuminatiug the parlor-shades.
But a greater surprise was in store for
us; tor on entering we beheld our Belle,
"our gill from the interior, recommend
ed by the clergy," striking an attitude of
graceful defiance with a red table-cloth
turown around her a la Norma, her
head adorned with a porcelain lamp
shade, aud In her hand a small, brush
aud a large tin cup tilled with black ink,
with which useful liquid she was so bus
ily engaged drawing heads aud busts on
the parlor wall that she was entirely
oblivious to our presence. Mrs. O'Pa
gus didn't faint, although she would
have been justified in so doing, for there
was her pearl-color paper with eold
leaves, which she considered a living
monument to ner good taste, all daubed
aud tilled with hideous caricatures and
head-pieces, one labelled "Cromwell,"
another "Shakspere," still a third "Gen
eral Washington," whose head was
nearly joined to one labelled "Jack
Sheppard," and so on through a long
list of celebrities, and the length of the
lar"lor wall. As soon as Mrs. O'Pagus's
anger could find utterance she shrieked
out, "In heaven's name I Belle, what
are you doing "f" Xow this was in re
ality a useless question, for it was too
evident what she was doing and tad
been doing. So tre turned to Belle, and
said in a mad ner which iu the master of
the house always commands resjiect,
"What do you mean by this shameful
conduct '("' She whirled around with
a "Begone, vagrant 1 I have just re
ceived a letter from my cousin. Queen
Victoria, notifying me that Prince Ar
thur and the liuke of Wellington will
be here this evening to meet the King
of Abyssinia aud Martha Washington,
for the purpose of learning bow to mske
mince-pies, and I am ordered to arrange
this parlor to look like Windsor Castle.
I think this picture is too gay." Aud
with these words she gave the oil-painting
of Mrs. O'Pagus's mother a daub
with the brush, extending from the left
eye downwards to the waist. "His
Highness is fond of fresh air," she con
tinued, and with this she dashed a Hue
glass vase through the window. Then
turning to Mrs. O'Pagus, who all this.
time stood there horror-stricken and
speechless, she continued: "And now
get you gone! Get some ham aud eggs
for her Majesty's envoys I And you.
sir, attend to the wine cellar." Then
she stopied short and sing :
"I wlHb I hsd a mnt of irln.
Aud iiiw bail a pHlud,
Aliitleutiliu-a aTatrl lu.
Alul a MUta. lu but 11 ruuud ! "
We waited to hear no more we just
started and made htr "stir around,"
and then discovered that the poor thing
was out of her mind, and we were out
of iwckct to the amount of the wall
paier and sundry trifles. We ascer
tained, afterward, that she was subject
to these attacks in the fall of the year,
and her affectionate relatives had man
aged to get her off their hands early in
the summer without taking the trouble
to mention this trilling infirmity to any
one. Wedidntgoto the minister's wife
for any more girls. In fact, we re
mained in a state of helpless domestic
inactivity for nearly six months. We
have new paier in the parlor now, but
Mrs. O'Pagus always shudders when
she thinks of Belle. We cherish the
hope that our book of experience in this
resiect Is full, and what we don't know
about the troubles and tribulations of
"female help" Is not worth Knowing.
We now merely await the result of our
present venture; aud the fates only
kuow if the chapter then to be added
to the "chronicles of the hired girls of
the period" be one of horror, or one
likely to make some amends for all the
misery we have endured.
Cremation Im Japan
There is one nation, now the oldest
empire in the world, where cremation
is an established usage, and where the
government, with Bhrewd appreciation
of the advantages of sanitary laws, have
of late years carefully fostered it. This
is Japan, where crematories, establish
ments under government control are
to be found in all the chief .cities. In
Tokio the principal place of cremation
is situated at Shen jo, a subuib reached
through long lines of busy streets.
After an hour's drive through a lane
of busy life, we came to the silent bouse
where the dead awaited the last service
ortlie living. It stands a little apart
fromthe main road, a building of a sin
gle story, with an innocent looking tall
chimney, and might be connected with a
pottery or a small iron foundry. We were
first received in the house of the mana
ger, where tea was served in priceless
porcelain cups of Kutani ware. The fur
nace, if so imposing a name may be used
for the process so simple, stood a few
paces from the house. On entering it
therejwas nothing to be seeubut what ap
peared to be two butter tubs resting on
a few faggots of wood. There wens
two cavities about two inches deep and
were filled with shavings. According
to municipal law, no burning is to be
done before half-past six in the evening.
It still wanted two minutes of that
time; but under the circumstances the
manager thought it would be safe in
antiiating the hour, and the shavings
were fired.
One of the men, kneeling before the
glowing flame, fauued it with a piece
of wood. It caught the dry faggots,
greedily licked the sides of the tubs,
rose high in the air, and then, with a
hoirible thud, the bead of the barrel
burst outward. Quick as thought the
men seized a large piece of wood lying
by in readiness and hid from sight
whatever might have protruded. It is
the boast of the skillful cremator tiiat
the contents of tlie barrel are never
exposed to view. A heavy matting of
wet straw is laid over the barrel before
the fire is ignited. As Uie barrel burns
away, this falls in and rovers the body.
Iu three hours the work Is done. Every
particle of flesh is burned away, and
there remains only the skeleton. The
bones and teeth the relatives collect
and give them sepulturrt .
There are three classes of cremation
at this establishment. In the first
class the body is burned separately, a
charge being made of seven yen(ii).
In the second class the charge is only
ten shillings, the.differeuce being that
two or more, according to the briskness
of trade, are burned at the same time.
The third class pay $1.00, the semblance
of a coffin being provided by the two
being disinsed with. It will be seen
that, as compared with the most mod
erate scale of ordinary burial charge-s
cremation is cheap. As far as I could
gather, it is this that recommends itseii
to the class of Japanese, generally the
least wealthy, who avail themselves of
the resources of the establishment at
Sheu-jo and kindred institutions. '
Hiding Whirlwind.
"You see that big stone yonder, close
to the bridge ? Well, just at that ver
spot I was as nearly killed as any mm
ever was who lived to tell of it."
The announcement was a startling
one, and made me look at my traveling
companion with more attention than I
had yet given him.
We were winding slowly up a Feem
Ingly endless hillside In a queer litfte
cart just big enough to hold ourselves
and our flat-faced Tartar driver, who
kept cheering on his stumbjiug horses
with a succession of yells worthy of a
hyeua. All around us huge dark green
mountain ridges, wooded to the very
top, surged up like rolling waves, while
along the steep rocky slope on the othur
side of the valley ran like a long gray
seam, the railroad, along which we
ought to le traveling at that moment.
But about a week before my arrival the
whole hillside behind us had suddenly
flopiied over like the leaf of a bonk, and
carried the railway track aud everything
belonging to it with a rush right down
' into the valley.
"I was an engine-driver on the line
when it was first oiened." resumed my
companion, seeing that he had attracted
my attention, "and it wasu't bad fun
either, on the whole. The language
was rather a puzzle at first, I must con
fess; but after a while I picked up
enough to make myself understood,
and then I went along well enough.
"My Russian mate was a very good
fellow, and we were soon like two
brothers together, although we never
managed to get hold of each other's
names properly. He was called 4 Yakov
ivanovitch,' or James the son of John
(it being the correct thing in Ruseia to
call every one by his own name and the
name of his father), but as 1 couldn't
quite bring my U .gue round to 4 Yakov,'
1 turned it into Jacob. Then he.again,
having heard me called Mack' by some
body, turned that into Yack, and so we
remained Yack aud Jacob to the end of
trie chapter.
"In the fine Summer weather, when
there was no snow to block the line.and
when the hills were green and the sky
was bright overhead, we quite enjoyed
our work. But there was one place
that we never liked, and we always
breathed more freely when we had got
past it. I dare say you can guess which
bit it was that piece of steep hill-side
that I showed you just now, away
t'other side of the valley.
"If the line bad gone up zigzag, as it
ought, it would have been all right; but
they must go and run It up as straight
as they could, so that twas just like
climbing the side of a house. Fact !
our steam wouldn't help us there, and
we had to be wound up or let dowu by
a wire rope, like that new railway up
Mount Vesuvius. Of course we couldn't
help thinking of what would happen if
the rope broke ; and although I don't
call myself a coward, I can tell you my
heart was in my mouth every time we
went over that place.
44 Well, one day we were Just getting
ready to start the down-train from
Titlis, when up came two big trucks
loadd with Government stores, which
we were to take in tow. I thought at
once of that bit of h ill-side, and what
a strain this extra weight would be upon
the wire rope. However, there were
our orders, and we had to obey 'em ;
so we hitched the trucks on, and amay
we went,
"I remembered afterward that Jacob
seemed gloomy and out of sorts that
day for the first time since I'd known
hinOust as if lie had a guess of what
was coming, poor feliow ! However,
all went well till we came-to the steep
bit where the wire roinj was. And then,
just as we were a little way down it,
there came a shock that threw me off
my feet, and away we flew like a bullet
from a gun. The rope had ptrted !
44 After that everything seemed just
like a bad dream, when you keep on
falling aud falling for thousands of
feet, without ever getting to the lot
tom. The rush of the train, as it flew
along like a mad thing, took my very
breath away, and turned me quite sick
and Kiddy ; but 1 had just sense enough
lett to remember that there was a cleft.
m our way, with a bridge over it, and
Close to that bridge a great heap-of soft
earth ; aud there 1 made up my mind to
jnnu fff.
"I felt cold all over at the thought of
what was coming but there was nothing
else for it. I shut my eyes, and out 1
flew like a rocket. But the rush of the
train had given me such a send-off, in
stead of alighting upon the earth heap
as I intended, I shot right across the
bridge and gully and all, and pitched
headforemost into another pile of loose
earth on the opposite side.
" When I came to myself again, and
looked down into the valley, the whole
place where the pretty little station had
been was just like an earthqnake. The
train had leaped from the rails just op
posite the platform, torn it up. like a
bit of paper, and gone through the house
behind it as a cannon-ball might go
through a pane of glass. The broken
timbers, the locomotive, cars, trucks,
stores, and what not were all tumbled
together in a "heap, the bare sight of
which was enough to tell me what bad
become of poor old Jacob. Ugh I I
cant bear to think of it now.
"When all was over, and things be
gan to be got to rights a bit, they went
up and measured that flying leap of
mine, and the whole length of it from
point to point was good tliirty-seren feet
and sometbigg over. It's a fact, al
though perhaps you mayn't belie v it ;
but 1 can't blame you if you don't, for
if it hadn't happened to myself I
wouldn't have believed it either."
Ife oa a Hue. Mud Flat.
On the northern coast of South
America, and to the eastward of the
Orinoco-delta, there lies a huge mud
flat. In our geographies it is called
Guiana, aud in romance'' and history it
is spokenf as the Spanish .Main, but
to the commercial world and to 'the
leople generally it is knbwn as Hemer
ara. Back of tbia mud flat, at a dis
tance of from 30 to 00 miles, commen
ces the dark forest of GuiaHa, which
stretches in an almost uninterrupted
band over the equator aud down to the
Amazon River. This mud il.it and this
forest have their history, and a strange
and romantic one it is. But, for the
present at least, I will have to omit the
romance and try to give you, au ideatf
a very matter-of-fact city, hose inter
est now centers in its chief exports-
sutrarand rum. Georgetown, the cap
ital of British Guiana, lies upon the
right bank of the Demerara river, al
mint at its mouth, lie population, they
tell me, is about 44,0UU, of which some
45,000 are colored, yellow, black or
brown, for the majority of its citi'zeus
come from distant climes some from
China, many f ron$" Africa, and thous
ands from the southern provinces of
India. in approaching the Guiana
coast, if your captain has bis bearings
correctly, the taller buildings of
Georgetown and the masts of vessels in
the harbor will appear over the horizon
before the land itself Is seen ; for, as 1
have said, Guiana is a mud flat, and its
coast lies four feet below the level of
tne sea, the salt ocean being only kept
off the larnl by an extensive system of
dykes. As your vessels iu ikes her way
tlirouirh the mud-colored waters and ob
jects begin to assume distinctness you
will see directly under your bow, on a
little artificial eminence, the tumble
down fort which guards the mouth of
the Demerara river. To the left will
b i seen a long stretch of sea-coast,made
ai parent only by the line of courulu
trees which grow along its edge, and by
the tall chimneys of sugar estates.scat
tered here and there; while to the right
will appear the same monotonous sceue
ending on the western horizon with the
Island of Wakenaam, which lies direct
ly in the mouth of the nver Essequibo.
Sailing around the little Hrt and going
perhaps half a mile up the river you
will drop anchor before the city itself,
the sight of which will certainly not
prepossess you in its favor, especially
if the tide is up and the long slopes of
green ooze left uncovered by the reced
ing waters are In view.
The day will, without doubt, be hot
for all days are hot in this Southern
laud and you will be besieged by
shouting negroes in bright colored
boats, who will worry you more in one
minute than our much-maligned hotel
runners would in an hour, but the tor
ture will end sometime, aud you will
eventually find yourself on one of the
numerous 44stllings," or wharves, sur
rounded most likely by sugar hogsheads
and rum puncheons, and a disorderly
crowd of coolie porters.and negro don
key drivers, all anxious to take you and
your baggage to some hotel. There
are only two hotels iu the place the
"Tower" and the "Deuierera Ice
House" so that no great eflort is re
quired to make a choice. Both are
equally bad, and neither can compare
in accommodations or table with many
less pretentious establishments to l
found through "the islands." Perhaps
this may in a measure be accounted for
by the opposition which they receive
from the numerous clubs which aresup
lorted here by everylsxly who is any
body, and supply solid and liquid re
freshments to a vast majority of the
white men of Georgetown. Perhaps
the best place to get an idea of the
strange life here is in the Stab rock
market. This handsome buildim;. cov
ering a whole square, faces Water
street; aud runs Kick to the river. It
is roofed with corrugated iron, and
such portions of it as are enclosed are
of stamped met;il. The interior is di
vided off into stalls, which are rented
to Portuguese, negroes aud coolies.and
are occupied for all sorts of purposes.
Down one side are. the fruit-venders,
mostly fat, comfortable looking negro
women, each with huge baskets ol fruit
before her. loudly soliciting patronage
from the passers-by. In these baskets,
and hanging from a frame work, are
all sorts of extraordinary looking fruits
grana:!illa., paw-paws, alligator
pears, sapodillas, mangoes, guavas,
water-lejuons, and star apples, to say
nothing of the familiar orange, pine
apple, aud bauana. These latter are of
various sizes, the smallest here and in
"the islands" called a "fig," being the
favorite. This little banana, of less
size than a man's thumb, has a most
delicious, slightly acid Taste, aud is as
far superior to our common banana as
can be imagined. Back of the fruit
stalls, and covering the whole of the
rear of the building, are the fish and
vegetable markets, and many a curios
ity they contain fish of queer appear
ance and strange names, querryman,
gilibacca, pacu, cartabac, and so on;
vegetables like the yam and yuca,
which take the place of our potatoes,
and plantains in enormous buuches.the
staple food of the poorer classes and
Indians. Occupying the center of the
market are Ihe stalls of Portuguese
traders dealers in all manner of cu
rious things, paddles, parrots, ham
mocks, moHkeys, common groceries aid
bright-colored cloths; while to the right
of these i a space-taken up by coolie
women who sell the smaller fruits, lit
tle cakea or dodoes, and sweetmeats of
various kinds. What a sensation one
of these coolie women would create in
an American city. SmalPand grace
ful, with exceedingly pretty fares, great
black eyes, and a complexion little dar
ker than some of our brunettes, dressed
in a flowing garb of most gorgeous
colors, and bedecked from head to foot
with solid gold and silver jewelry, they
are indeed a novel sight. I have seen
one coolie girl here a common fruit
seller in the market-place who wears
daily nearly $1,000 worth of rlngs.bruce
lets and bangles on her person. Hardly
less interesting than the women are the
coolie men; tliin, lank, sad-faced fellows,
di"eeed ina variety of ways, according
to their iositlou m life; some with noth
ing on but a dirty breech-clout and a
huge turban, aud others snugly clad in
rolies of snowy whiteness and soft 'St
texture; all barefooted aud barelegged,
and many with strings uf coins around
their necks, the result, perhaps of
years of hard labor on the planta
tions. The 4!UMns Fortune.
Queen Victoria is about to make a
new will. Her Majesty possesses an
immense fortune.. The estate of Os
bonie"is at least five times as valuable
as it was when it was purchased by the
Queen aud Prince Albert about forty
years ago. The Balmoral property of
her Majesty now extends over 30,000
acres. Claremout was granted to the
Queen for life in lsGS, with reversion
to the country; aud her Majesty pur
chased the property outright three years
ago for JET8,000. Probably its market
value is not much unddr 4.1o0,000. The
Queen also possesses some property at
Coburg, and the Princess Uohenlohe
left her the villa Uohenlohe at badea;
one of the best residences in the place.
With regard to personal property, Mr.
XieldVIeft the Oueen over JtUOO.OOO.
aud the projierty leftT by the" Prince
Consort is believed to have amounted
to nearly JL'000,000; but the provisions
of bis willhave been kept a strict secret,
aud the documeutf has never been
"proved." The Uusen must also have
saved a vast sum out ot her income.
which has alwavs been very well man
aged. Since the death of- Uie Prince
Consort, the general administration of
the Queen's private affairs has been
confided to Lord Sydney, who is a con
summate man of business.
Flour is novf, being made out of
wood.' "
Alternuou l4lina.
Two authorities, no less exalted than
the Archbishop of Canterbury and the
Catholic Archbishop t Caiciunattl,
have recently pronounced in the strong
est manner against afternoon and even
ing wedilingji. The Kuglisli primate
has announced th.it hereafter he will
refuse his conent to such weddings,
except in extraordinary cases, and the
Catholic prelate declares that they are
the cause of most divorces. B.itli of
these gentlemen have excellent oppor
tunities for learning the effect of the
custom which they condemn, and nei
ther of them is at all given to baseless
or visionary theories. We must con
clude, therefore, that they are right iu
their opinion, and that with a large
section of English-speaking people mar
riage is a sort of a post-prandial amuse
ment employed to relieve the tedium of
the afternoon or to provide some gyety
for the evening. A man, having finished
his day's work, diverts himself and his
friends by taking a wife ; or it may be
that in some cases the evening affords
an opportunity for a runaway match
which would never occur in broad day
light. Elopements might indeed take
place liefore noon. Horses are as tieet
aud railroid trains as convalent then as
later in the day. The trouble is we
presume, that men have not the -heart
to take so decided and vigorous a step
before dinner.
At first thought it seems almost in
credible that the time ot day when the
ceremony may occur should determine
people's conduct iu so serious and last
ing a matter as that of matrimony, and
one's respect for human nature is not
increased by a knowledge or the fact.
If it be a fact, however, the part of
wisdom is to make use of it by regulat
ing, through the law, the frequency of
marriage ; amlnn a certain unconscious
and blundering manner this has been
done. Thus iu England, au over-populated
country, the law is, as everybody
knows, that marriage may nut take
place after 12 o'clock noon without the
secial license, of which the primate
intends to be very chary hereafter, and
the payment of a sum beyond the means
of any but the rich. In the United
suites, on the other hand, a country
which has been thought to need a larger
population for the development of its
resources, no limit haslieen placed upon
the hours at which weddings may law
fully occur, and hence their frequency.
The ix)ssible applications of this prin
ciple, however, are many and startling.
Let as suppose, for instance, that our
lawmakers should prohibit all mar
riages except such as were solemnized
during the ordinary dinner-hour ot the
community. Would anybody's affection
survive such a test as that ? Or, worse
yet, the Legislature might forbid all
marriages that took place let us say
alter e:ght o'cl'R-k in the morning.
Would any man be married before
breakfast '( Could the thing be done ?
Mie's imagination revolts from the idea.
Now and then, perhajis, in the country,
in summer-time, wheu the dew was on
the grass aud birds were singing, a cou-
pie might be joined in holy wedlock by"
a hungry and disgruntled priest ; but
no city people would ever be married,
and none iu the country except at mid
summer. "When I think of country
houses and country walks," said Thack
eray, "l wonder that, any man is leu
unmarried." But when we think ot
marriage before breakfast, as euforced
by the State, we wonder that the plan
never occurred to Malthus as lieing
more merciful than war and more ef
fective thau the plague.
The Docli. American Horse.
It has long been accepted as a theory
by our transatlantic kinsmen tlut vice
in animals is almost always the rnultof
an unkindness aud maltreatment re
ceived by them from their human com
panions, and that the paucity of vicious
horses in the United States is to be
explained by the gentleness, and, so to
speak, the familiarity with which the
noble animal fs treated in every part of
the union. There can be little doubt
that in no country is the intelligence of
quadrupeds more "developed and cultiva
ted than iu the United'States, where it is
well understood that by kindness alone
can their characteristics, traits, disposi
tions, and qualities be fully drawn
tlorth. Xothiug is rrore common, for
me
having entered a shop by the curb-
sone s edge, in the midst or the crowu
and turmoil of Broadway, one of the
most crowded and noisy thoroughfares
upon the face of the earth. Before
descending from his buggy the master
says a word or two to his horse, and
leaves him standing in the street witn-
out restraint. . The sagr.cious animal,
whose eyes are not shielded by blinkers.
and who is not tormented by a Procus-
trian liearing rein, understands perfect
ly tliat he is expected to wait until his
master has transacted his business, ana
wait, accordingly, he does, sometimes
for hours at a tiuie, and without regard
to the winter's cold or summer's heat.
Again, in the widest parts of the West
ern and Southern States there is not a
farmer who thinks anything of driving
his horses by night over wooden
bridge full of holes, caused by many
plauks having dropped into the stream
beneath. The careful beast, who may
or may not have crossed the bridge on
many previous occasions, feels his way
hi the darkness, and his head having
been surrendered to him by the driver,
steps carefully and with as much pre
cision as a dancing master. Whenever,
indeed, a horse is found possessed of a
violent, or, to use an old xorkshire
word, a "mischancy," temper in the
United States, the odds are in favor of
his beiug imported from abroad.
Stand Firm.
Singularly great presence of mind for
a lady was displayed by'the wife of the
adjutant tot the oiith regiment of Mad
ras Infantry, stationed at Cannanora.
Awakening in the middle of the night
and feeling thirsty, she rose "to get a
glass of water. In putting her foot on
the floor she stepid on something cold.
aud in a moment she felt the slimy coil
of a snake around her ankle. Instan-
taneouslyjt flashed across her that as it
had not bitten her, she must have step
ied uuon its neck, and 'she pressed
down her -weight firmly upon it, as it
writhed and made effort to get free.
Thus she stood tili her husband struck
a light. "Stand firm," said he, as soon
as he saw her terrible situation, and the
strong-nerved lady did so until he had
taken a razor, and putting it down to
her foot, cut the snake's head off.
"Will you have, a email piece of the
light meat or a small piece of the dark?-'
asked Bob's unole, as he carved the
turkey at dinner. I'll have a large
piece of both," replied Bob,
m.dKing the Mado
In March. gold was discovered
in Yreka Flats, and in a few weeks
several thousand miners were working
there and on Greenhorn Creek. In the
summer following, a number of men
took up claims in Shasta Valley aud cut
hay for the Yreka market. Besidessthe
old teams used in hauling tti hay .to
town, they all ranched a number of
horses, mules and cattle belonging to
Aemselves and parties in the mines.
The Modoc Indians made occasional
forays into the valley, and drove off
small bauds of stock to their country, a
hundred miles to the eastward. Much
stock that was no doubt stolen by white
thieves was charged to the account of
these savage marauders, and it is very
questionable if they were guiity of half
of the thefts ascribed to them. Late in
the summer they stampeded a corral of
animals near Butteyville, and made off
with forty-six fine mules and horses,
many of them belonging to the jwck
train of Augustus Meamber, then on
his way to Yreka with a load of goods.
That this act was committed by the
Modocs there was ample evidence to
show. A comjtany of twenty men was
raised, consisting chiefly of miners from
the vicinity of Yreka, to follow the
thieves into the heart of the Modoc
country, punish them for their roguery,
and, if possible, recover the stolen
proierty.
Ou the afternoon of the second day,
having penetrated into the celebrated
Itva Beds south of Tule Lake, about a
dozen Indians were discovered, some of
whom hastened to warn the village of
danger, while the others took shelter
behind rocks and juniper bushes, and
discharged their arrows at the advanc
ing party as soon as they came within
range. A bushwacking contest was
maintained for a long time, the savages
falling steadily back toward the village.
This was situated on a plateau and
along a crescent ledge of rocks, where
the ground sunk abruptly to a depth
of about twenty feet. Within the ledge
was what appeared to be the smooth
bed of a stream. It was about thirty
feet wide and one hundred yards long,
with a shelit incline terminating near
the middle of the ledge, where a cave
oiiened into the rocks. Here the in
habitants ut the village had taken
shelter, tying their horses iu front of it,
where they couid protect them with
their arrows while- lying concealed in
the cave. The whites oieued tire upon
them from the top of the ledge of rocks,
at a distance of a humlrttd yards, and
the savages returned the fire, shooting
their arrows with siuli force and preci
sion that several of the men were
wounded. They soon discovered that
their shields of tule rushes were not
bullet-proof, and retreated within the
shelter of Uie cave with the loss of
several warriors. One stalwart brave,
probably a Medicine Man who desired
to exhibit his supernatural powers,
emerged from the cave so enveloped in
shields that he resembled au animated
basket. Kehind their protecting fronts
he felt so se Hire tiiat he walked boldly
forth aud defied his assailants, only to
lie laid low by a well aimed shot from
the bluff above. After this exploit not
an Indian ventured from the cave again.
How to dislodge them from then; hole
become the next question. The men
were out of provisions and could not
besiege the cave, the rocky and desert
country affording no game or other
means of subsitence of which they could
avail themselves. A smudge was sug
gested. Hurriedly gathering logs and
brush, the men cautiously pushed them
over the edge of the bluff at the mouth
of the cave and set fire to the heap.
The Indians could not prevent this, for
they were closely cooped up in the cave
by the ritles of the men who stood guard
op(osite. From out the dark recesses
of the cavern the imprisoned savages
maintained a close watch upon the be
siegers, and each head or arm that was
exposed in adding fuel to the blazing pile
was saluted with a shower of arrows,
aud one of the men was severely woun
ded in this way.
The heat and smoke rushed into the
entrance in such volume that any one
but a Modoc Indian would have been
suffocated or roasted. They prostrated
themselves usin their faces to breathe
the little fresh air tliat came in along
the -bottom of the cave, and with a
slaughtered by their enemies. The
attack upon them had been so sudden
and unexpected that they bail forgotten
to take water along with them into
their retreat. The place of shelter,
also, was small, and had no outlet or
means of ventilation save the entrance
through which they were receiving
such generous donations of heat and
smoke. They"could have held out but
little longer, when they were overjoyed
to see their persecutors take their de
parture. The men had kept up a roast
ing fire for twenty-four hours; but being
out of provisions, over a hundred miles
distant from any source of supplies,
and not knowing the terrible straits to
which the enemy had been reduced,
they had rolled a last contribution uou
the burning pile and taken up their line
of inarch for Yreka. To rush out into
the fresh air, scatter the blazing logs
and brush, aud moisten ther parched
throats with cooling draughts of water,
were the first acts of the savages. They
were too thankful for their escape to
think of pursuing or annoying the
white men further.
. Unit Hlna Won.
Tie was looking at a new house on
Cass avenue, Detroit,- the other, day,
and rubbiuK his hands and chuckling
so gleefully that some one asked him if
he bad saved $-00 under Uie architect's
estimates.
"Oh, that isn't my house, but I was
planning how I'd get even,"
"With whom ? . . -
"The owner. I've known him twen
ty years. We used to be the best
friends in the World, but for the last
seven years I've thirsted for revenge
on him. Now I'm going to have it,"
"How ?"
'He bought that lot, not knowing
tliat I own the next one. He's -building
a home. He's got it set back for a
lawn, and he's put on a bay window
for a view up the street. Next week I
will begin .building a cheap house
U rent. I'll take the line between us
for the south wall, and I'll bring ray
front out ten feet pearer - Uie walk.
Result : Shut in no air no sunshine
no view no redress revenge !
What's the use -of shooting or stabbing
a man when you can hurt him worse V"
"I nonet that you always sit at
your wife's left, Mr. Miggs," "Yes,"
frankly returned Miggs, - 4that'a the
aide her glass eye ie on,"
XEWS IN BRIEF.
Paris is to have a baby show.
There are 40,000 news venders in
England.
Buffalo is to have $1.50 gits after
October 1st.
London has an average of 2,000
births a week.
Vanderbilt's household expenses
are $250,000 a year.
California produces figs eight
inches in circumference.
The most fashionable ladies now
wear scarcely any jewelry.
The famous Ihirk la"y of New
England was May 10, 1780.
Crossing stores ou her avenues are
pressingly needed in Atlfcntic City.
The rents of Frerch flats are on
the diminuendo scale in 'ew Y'ork.
There are 1."5-S,ii0. masonic lodges
in the world, with 1 l,lt0,51.J members.
A cave full of honey is saiikto
have been found near Santa Barbara,
Cal.
Xew Y'ork marketmen sav the
crop of potatoes will be very short this
year. -
The confectionery trade of the
United States amounts to $.12,000,0nO
yearly.
It is said that over three million
trees were planted in Great Britain in
1SS3.
Consumption causes more deaths
than any other disease does in Sew
Orleans.
The wholesale cost of the oysters
consumed in Xew York yearly is $',
000.000. Two slight earthquake shocks
occurred at Santa Barbara, Cal., ou the
4th iust,
Over four hundred silk mills, it Is
estimated, are in operation in this
country.
A church at Cowela, Ga., has in its
membership 2'i members who all belong
to one family.
Leadville', CoL, contains seven
churches, all "high" over 10,OUO feet
above sea level.
Some of the medical professors of
Vienna are delivering lectures in the
English language.
A prairie wolf, captured in Epplng
Forest, has been added to the collection
in the London Zoo. -
In 1S7." there were 1-V newspapers
and periodicals published in Japan.
Now there are 2.000.
Louisiana h;is in the neighborhood
of forty-eig'jt billion feet of pine
limner iu ner lorests.
The five Peers who are members of
the English royal family never vote on
political questions.
Seven Chicago policemen. It Is
said, have been sent to luuatic asylums
during the past year.
A sheet of fire from 75 to SO miles
long was receutly raging on the prairie
near Shoshone. Idaho.
There are 5."V 11 miles of tele
graph in the world, of which 103,940
are in the United States.
Hartford. Coun., which covers a
large territory, is to have mounted
letter-earners in a few days.
The ralace which the city of
Marseilles presented to Xapoleou III is
now used as a cholera hospital,
A gold nugget, worth 51.50, was
found in the craw of a chicken killed a
few days ago at Sacramento, Cal.
Pickerel are said to be so rapidly
dying off in Umbagog Lake, Me., that
the shores are lined with dead iish.
The agricultural statistics of Ire
land continue to show a steady decrease
in the number of separate holdings.
The gold mining fever is rising iu
the vicinity of Villa Uica, Ga., where
three companies are already at work.
Rubenstein's new opera, "The Tar
rot" (libretto by Hugo Wittmann), is
to be produced in Hamburg, November
1st.
The property or the Trinity Church
Corporation, Xew Yolk, is said to
reach the immense figure of Jihkixnj -000.
An odd sort of straw hat is made
from sea grass. The maker says tiiat
ram strengthens aud impioves tito
fabric.
It is estimated that typhoid fever
causA 15 per eent. of the annual
numljer of deaths in England and
Wales.
Wife-beating never gets epidemic
at Stocktou, CaL, where "JO days in the
chain gang is the penalty for that
effence.
Of the 471 laundries doing busi
ness in Chicago, lso are owned by
Chinese, 54 by married women and
by widows.
Oysters two feet in diameter aud
weighing sixty pounds, including the
shells, are said to be found occasionally
in Puget Sound.
Seventy-three tons of raspberries
were shipped from Xorth Troy, Texas,
this season. Seven and a half tons
were shipped iu one day.
-a-The manufacture of ice seems to
be an Important industry in Texas,
nearly all the laiger towns having
factories foPits production.
Xew Y'ork, with seven gas com
panies, still continues to pay the same
price for the illumiuaut that it ' did
when ouly one was in existence there.
The Mayor of Carrolton, Ga., has
published uoUce that "dissolute mn
and wouceu" will not be allowed to
live there "except in the chain gang."
Virginia City, Xev., has just
adopted a curfew ordinance. The tire
bell taps at eight P. M., and all minors
w ho do not get home at that hour must
suffer arrest,
The tomb of Thonixs JeffersoD,
according to a Charlottesville paper, is
airaiu suffering at the- hands of relic
hunters who have resorted to the chip
ping process.
A collection of water snakes found
at sea, ten miles from land, has been
resented to the California Academy
of Sciences by the captaiu of a
Hawaiian vessel.
The wine drank 1n Paris last, year
would give an apportionment of forty
seven gallons to every man, woman
and cuilil in the population, a total of
lu7,42G,OUO gallons.
Four aud a-haif millions yt letters
were sent to the dead-letter utlice last
year, and of that uumb?r uearly 2O,0UO
had beeji mailed without stamps and
12,000 w ithout any address.
The number f dos kept in Great
Bntaiu apiears, from Uie return of the
dog licenses, to be decreasing. . Last
year, as compared with LvQV tno
liceaises fell from f roin iKW.300 to 894.
W3. :.
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