isfiii i Iff (A x i n m. WW F. SCHWEIER, TEE OOHSTmmOI THE UHOl-AXD THE ESTOBOaCEHT 01 TEE LAWS. B. Kdltor and Proprietor. XXXIX. MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. MARCH IS, 1SS5. NO. 12 .OVI WOKH9. ,. -i!S cot but liti!e, I.,.v:r.: r. hi! if if ;i,r v-hW ami weary t f ir fin tnte. v tnrt.K'' I" " ..", and null? ;'';,I.P.'.,....J in vain. v..,c,l,-:,r.-f'i.n1.iiiT, , Mrdt-Ks 1 vv Br..w, - , "', !." lH-.-i.le you, heir cta-ermg suiislilue 1, os.'Mi aiir a Howi-r. - .Br'-f'' ni:! '' j'",r,""-vi u-a-r aii thr way, r i t ,,,-ri- to !m a snniit'iiue a-'.k'.i.-l C..U.U il-iv. r,B:'L.,-'.-ii. w.wd.iy brother, , ., r.M -t uie vml go. T.i -.if Oil' ifvca ; .iii tei; Iheiu so tatsTKM AKi' or abbeylands. I J. I "i Arthur w.ll not accost -vut s.tiiitt dear?-' I asked, ;.( (.yen .king ui from my work. ,.vv:ir'!-iiiiu Ireland. I have ...nW.ii':. -lit iliiii something bad will omeof it ifli" does. It will worry Ldn-adfully, Maggie, if you and the fM Jrni-o ! live in that wild half Uir aroi " place. The house looks as it it w" I t;llltlie aooilL um r-.no, 111 llf its slate v towers and niagniti- Why. half the windows cent i-aixa't- ..i i jti.i th other half hro- v maiueu M,.. - v.,,' v u must not let Arthur go. 'rT:e. c-IuM. wake up; you're dream- irjj'i'l chat trt-sng such nonsense! House .'I. .Lit and finish that sleeve. I'm so Hiiions to get this little frock finished Wore Arthur comes home," 1 said, jjrilj plvmg my own needle. "You ud u"t" to" sleep m tlie afternoon, 'li ' iia've I lvn asleep. Mils?" asked Bv s:iT. 1. "'kins; at we with a ver U,".ulM. thoughtful countenance. "I d not think 'veu closed my eyes a:id vrt I saw and heard " 'f nt-re tiicre. dear! Keep your day drram till Arthurcomes home; he'll en- it hut I'm too busy. Jiesides, I dmteareal-out liearing dreams told; 1 get a "''' creepv sort of sensation du uiv ba-k. Moreover, they're all nonsense, you know, and really mean DOtl.ilJe." "Kut" o!! me one thine. Maffcie," siiil L. v s.ster earnestly. "Has there Urn no talk of Arthur going to Ire land, of li:s liviuir in in that great houi ith all the turrets and win dows:"' "V.iu silly child, do you suppose there istlie Irast c ham e of his leaving Ieeson Brotlieis iio', when lie's almost a part ner in tin linn? And, of all places on tliefatt-of the earth, I think Ireland is Arthur's i-t aversion. Do you know. E lie. I shall h; very cross w ith you if vki do not trv to conquer that absurd kabit you have of making your dreams realities ami fretting about them. ot one has ever coine true yet." "That's no reason they may not some dav. Maijie dear, "replied Ellie gravely; .taini iwieed L can't help thinking Lhiugs and seeing and bearing things too. Tief that sieeve is finished; and now put away the work. Arthur will be hen? presently." Ami, l.ke all inconsiderate people, be hates amateur dressmaking, lie tlinks four active, energetic, destruc tive little people can be clothed by map c. Von must accustom Ernest to mdi orations, Ellie; prepare his mind befnrehaMi for a sewing-ruachme and pT,-tual needlework unless indeed Ernie becomes so rich that you can af ford to (k--;-iise with economy alto gethr." 'I'm af aid there's not much pros litof that. Masigie," replied Ellie, in her quiet calm way, which left one in d.iuk as to what her individual wishes lere with regard to Ernest Hamilton a;Hi his future putspects. Tl.er.we Imth bustled about and niade tlie r.Kim tidy for my husband's coming; for Arthur is terribly particular, aud cannot endure the faintest semblance of amu.litle. Afterwards, at my sug grstiou. my sister went up-stairs to put lierMiinr lm ks in order she had been winning ttitii thechiltlreii and to make lierself a little smart generally, as a wee binl had whistled to me that very likely Ernest would come home to tea with Arthur. 'Arthur is Lite this evening," I 'said aloud. a I rang for lights and vigor ously !,kt-d up the tire. "Dear me, l'W El'ie's silly dream troubles mel I wider if tVit- is anv chance of his go ii"? to Ireland?" "Uf whoe goiiisj to Ireland?" asked Arthur, wlm had euteied unseen, laying tns hand u;.n my shoulder. "What W y.rn talking aliout, little woman?" '"Kilie had a silly dream, dear, and I've kept thinking about it. She fancied we were ruing to Ireland to live in a peat tumhieilown castle." "I'-side ;e Wltn jgh u;iis the wk and the sea beyond such a beau hful eountrv, hut such horrid eople! I th.ini:!it iiiey killed you," supple iiienteil E'.lie. entering the room, ful loweilhy Ernest Hamilton, "aud and t -ire to ti. irrand old house. It was a pity, although the place was in '"ins. You are not going to Ireland, are you, Arthur?'- and she laid her uiij n.n ,ls arll alKi iked up at with sad troubled eyes. '"Why. of course I'm not going, you sniyclii'.d: What earthlv business could k uie to Ireland? No my dear, I'm tixtuie i oxford street, aud more ,""!'' tl' so in future, for Mr. Leeson "fsired his solicitor to draw up the arti rf partnership to-dav; but bv Jove, "rather nun thing! we had a lot drawings sent in to-dav to 1 en Ivedof su, , a tumbledown old Irish U situated in such wild, grand jiry. lake and all, as Ellie describes. Lid vuu see them, Ernest?" i!v'.T.'i3'"r'i''Ile'1 f-mest rather gl 'J took siine instructions a 00m- about Uieifl. ' Are there two square towers, and a assive arched doorwav covered with 'u- carviii'Ts?" asked Ellie breath- ,-v' "Aie there trees greiit trees jjj" "2 y pai, in Uiem, as if some had 1 Pulled up bv the roots? Are some J1 windows lmanied up?" ere. there, my dear! Those are "nirKs and tokens of a score of Irish Jjuw-ari,l English castles too, for a njau'r- You must have copied tjTT such sketches at school; you . nud the various characteristics ij. ? rched doorway, quaint carv- "U, valley, wood, water, ft actera Ogle's sketch-bjok at this pres- iT l.ml"it,''8aid Arthiirmiilw Il.tnt s exercised in your mind, Ernest ; ior soodnt-ss sake, cle;ir up your wwied face, Kilie. You look as sol- j,jT u you see" a ghtl" father Uve seea twenty ghosts than what I did see," replied Ellie.with a smile. But,despite all hereffortsto be cheer ful and like her uiual self, a troubled thougtitful look lingered in her eves which irpiexed and worried me, and Miiicu 1 could not lorget. It was only when Arthur returned to the utirtuer ship subject, and we gaily discussed the advartages that wouid arise from it that Ellie's dream ce ,sed to haunt me; ana, as no one ever hinted at the sub ject again, I soon forgot- all aliout it. Five ytars passed awav five sliort happy years blessed by Providence in mauy ways, and darkened by only a sin gle trouble little Ellie, my youngest darling, was takeu from us. For a while I felt as if I could not lx re signed, 6he was the sweetest and pret tiest of alt- ihe hx.'k at least so 1 thought; and I indulged in very wild and wicked repiuings. I felt it all the more Um. beeause just then I lost my dear sister Elbe. She married Ernest Hamilton, and they went abroad. Ernest was not at all strong. The doc tors (.-ave his malady no name, but they strongly advised his giving up work and try ing a few years of complete rest in tlie Sjuth of Fiance. His uncles made hiui a liberal allowance, and, had it uot been for her husband's 111 health, 1 think dear Ellie would have been su premely happy. She was not a very gushing" corresjK)iident,but she never uejlected us. and was devotedly at tached to my children. But one day 1 was rudely awakened from all my pleasant dreams by the startliug intelligence that Ieestm Bros. and Goring had faile 1. The first shock of such news was terrifying; but I had no idea of the real meaning of it til! Arthur told me, some days after, with tears and bitter self-reproaches, that failure meant absolute ruiu a"d perhaps disgrace, that there was nothing to be saved from the general wreck, and that he, more than anyone else, was to blame that he had sjieculated rashly and madly, aud lost everything. I comforted him as well as I could, poor fellow, and assured him that I knew he had acted for the best, what ever other people might think. 1 en treated him to rouse himself and meet his troubles like a man, and emulate my bravery; though in truth I felt an ab ject coward when I thought of the fu ture not on aronnt of tlie poverty I could face that but the disgrace which poor Arthur feared lay behind. When the affairs of the firm were investigated, however, Leeson Brothers and (ioring emerged from the wreck honorable hut ruined men that is, the great bulk of the loss fell upon their own shoulders, Arthur's esiiecially; aud that consoled my dear husband more, I think, than anything else. My littie fortune, bringing me in about fo ty pounds a year, was settled on myself, and on that we should have to exist till Arthur found some occupa tion. Our household was broken up, our servants were dismissed, and we went into cheap apartments. Some of Arthur's friends behaved nobly to us in our trouble; for they all seemed to real 17 that he had been ill-advised and up fortunate, not careless or wicked. Oue offered to keep Willie at school till we could recover ourselves a little; another promised to do the same for Fred; and a third offered Arthur a situation iu Ireland as a steward to Sir llexlmoud Blake of Abbe) lauds. "The place is remote, unsettled, not in any snse of the word a sinecure," Sir liedmond said in his letter, "but the salary is five hundred pounds a year, and the expenses are tritlmg. If you decide on accepting the situation, 1 should like you to commence on your duties at once. Mind I warn you be forehand thai you will require both pa tience and resolution, and perhaps a little courage; but an Englishman aud a man of business is not often lacking iu those qualifications." "I'll go, Maggie," said Arthur, after reading the letier for the third time "Yes, I'll accept this situation. In the present depressed state of trade I couldn't do nearly so well in London. Five hundred pounds a year in Ireland is a lame income, and, as Sir liedmond says, the expenses are trilling. Y'es, we'll go, dear." "Very well, Arthur,' I replied. "It seems hard to have to eo away from the children, but I suppose it cannot l helied. We must make the best of it, dear, and it may not be for very long." "Not an hour longer than I can help, Maggie. Iet me only accumulate a little capital, and I'll begin again." And then Arthur wrote off at once, ac cepting the situation A month afterwa'ds, with our two youngest children Miuuie and Jessie we placed at school, as we had learned that there would I only very meagre opportunities for educating them in the place to which we were going and oue trustworthy servant who had nursed all my little ones. Arthur and I started for Abbeylands, full of hope and bright anticipations for the ruture, cheerful in spite of parting with our loved ones and the breaking up of our happy home, At last e reached Abbeylands, after a quarter of an hour's drive through a sort of iark on the shores of the lake. The house itself stood slightly on a hill, and commanded a magniliceut panora mic view of the surroundins country for miles With the sea to the back and the lake in front, Ablieylands seemed to rest on a sort of bridge bet ween them. It was a glorious old house, though i a i.ittalile state of decay. Each side of the principal entrance was Hanked by two enormous square iowrs; aim au arched doorway adorned with rich carv ing admitted us into a wide hall, in whii li a turf fire smouldered dreamily on the wide hearth and filled the room with a strange, not unpleasant ouor. a l,iMi-l v man rose uu trom me suauow of the chimney corner and advauced to meet us with a rude courtesy. "Y'er the new agent, Mr. Goring; wav in sir Welcome to Abbeylands. ma'am! I'm Miles Kelly the bailiff." "Ah yes! I've heard of .you from Sir Redmond. 1 hope we shall work together. Miles, for the good of the ten ants aud the good of the property," said Arthur cheenlv. I hope so, sir; but sorra much good there is in either one or the other." was tue rather gloomy reply. " W ould you like to look at the rooms we made ready for you, ma'am? They're not very comfortable; but we did our best-my wife an' me. There s hardly a room in rhe house lit for a dog, much less a Christian, to live iul" "I dare sav we suau manage., i olaucing cu'riouslv round the sitting Toom into which Miles had conducted i i,.h would have rivaled any old curiosity shop in Wardour street for the beauty, variety, ana '"""- "; its furniture. There were failed tapes "li Plesiastical-looking chairs. fr-igmeuU of Turkey carpeeked out with home-made straw mats, a chimney niece adorned with eqxuisite frescoes upporting some battered tin candle sticks and shining canisters. Rare old pictures were side by side with accounts of some sort roughly chalked upon the wainscot heavy gold-embroidered vet vet hangings on windows where every other pane was broken, and the orifice suineu with straw, paper, or rags, l'er vadiug all was a strange, mouldy, un earthly odor. That was supposed to be the drawing-room. The great ball we had entered first was the dining-room. Our bed-rooms were all on the same ll-Hir, and of a piece iu point of furni ture. After inspecting the rooms, we re turned to the hall, and bad some supper; and then, when the children were gone to bed. Miles Kelly came up and gave us some particulars of our new home. and explained to Arthur a few of the dithculties he would have to encounter. "I only hojie you may be able to do some giod, sir, au' get the projierty into something like order; but I'm afeard it s no use. 1 ou see the place has been goin' to rack an' ruin this twenty year. Tlie last agent stayed only two iays." "Why?" 1 asked curiously. M iles waved his hands, shook bis heat! slowly, and continued speaking to my husband. "He hadn't much pluck, sir. You see Abbeylands belonged time out of mind to the Llynches, an' the next prop erty is Blakeville. Old Sir liedmond in' the Minor that is, young Mr. Llynch's father had been great com rades in '.heir young davs- Sir liedmond. in fact, ruined Mr. Llynch, seut Abbey lands into the Eucumbered Estates Court, an' young Sir Redmond bought it. But for the last twenty years he's been able to do nothin' with it. The !eople alxut hate him, an' can't bear to think of his father bavin' been the ruin of young Mr. Llvnch, an1 then his buy- in' the place, II is own tenants love him no better, for he's a bad landlord that's the thruth, sir. As for the Ab beylauds tenants, tisu't so much that they caut pay their rent as that they wont; they caut abear the notion of Mr Llynch's money goin' to a Blake, an' the rents of Abbeylands bein' paid to a iTotestanu" "But Sir liedmond purchased the properly," said Arthur, with a good deal of wonder in his voice; "surely he had a right to the rents?" "Yes, sir, he purchased the property an he might better have left it alone. Any other master would better become Abbeylands tlian the son of the man that drove it to the hammer. 1 hough I'm Sir Redmond's servant, an' take his wage ves, au do his work too, sir I thiuk there's a dale p be said on the side of the tenants. Anyhow, their meauiu' is right, an' they'd serve the Minor ou their hands an knees." 'Where is young Mr. Llynch now? asked Arthur. An expression of the deepest sorrow and dejection passed over Miles s face. He bowed his head, waved his hands with a gesture of despair, and remained silent for a few moments; then he looked up with a sort of proud defiance. , "Young Mr. Llvnch. sir. is imprison. Marcus Joyce Llyuch of Abbeylands is a convict. He got five years for bein' a a Feuianl That's what's become of him. thanks to the BlakPS of Blake ville. You 11 find all the books in the oflice, sir, an' I'll meet you there any time you like in the mornin'. You might as well see that the firearms are all right; an', if you was to lave that double-barrelled gun at the side o' the lied, it would do no harm. Good night, sir " "Good night, Kelly," said Arthur, with a contemptuous smile about the firearms. "The people are not going to murder me before they know what I've come for. You mustn't talk like that, or you'll frighten my wire." "Bedad, sir, if she doesnt learn to take such thritles aisy, shell have a mighty bad time entirely of it at Abbey lands!" returned Miles; and then, with a resiectful bow aud a rather pitying smile, he left the room. Our first night was passed in perfect peace and security not even a suspic ious noise troubled us and for a whole week the eoplerefrained from showing us any active hostility. Society there was none. The great families round about, even if they were at home, would not condescend to visit an agent's wife. The Doctor was a Roman Catholic, and a devout believer in the martyr Llynch, and consequently scowled at us, and, I verdy believe. would have refused to visit us had we been ill. In fact, I was utterly alone But after the first week my solitude was broken iu upon in anj thing but an agreeable mauner. Whenever I went out, even for a sliort walk, I was followed by some sul len, dogged person, male or female, wno passed close to me, whispered some ut terly unintelligible words In my ear, and then moved on stealthily. I spoke to the people in English, in my native North-country dialect; but they eitner could not or would not understand me; and, though I felt certain, from the ex pression of their faces, that their words w ere either a warning or a threat, I said nothing about it to Arthur, for I could see that he too was troubled aud sorely perplexed. But his courage showed no siirii of irivinir wav. he was not fright ened, and neither as L Each day however made matters more unpieasaui. Everv mornine a threatening notice of some sort would be found nailed to the hah door sometimes an ill-spelt letter. sometimes a rude but suggestive draw ing of a coffin, sometimes a death 's-heaa aud cross bones, and such cheerful as surances as "If MistherGonn'doesn't lave Abbeylands, he'll be suit carriage free to the next world; his ticket is tuck. an' he might as well lay his measure for a wooden overcoat;" or else the warn ing ran "Misther Gorin', if ye have auv sinse ye'll lave while there's breath in ver liodv. We have nothin' agin you; but the Abbeylands nnts'll never go to a B;ake. If ye have any regard for yer wife and childer, go afore the bullet grows co wld I" Arthur applied to the police and to the nearest magistrates, but tney did not afford him either much comfort or protection; so he resolved to take such precautions as he could, and trust to Providence for the rest. But it was very little we could do. when every per son rounl us was an enemy,either open or disguised. Our does were poisoned, the horses ham-strung, the farm-buildings wrecked, even the very charges drawn from the firearms in our bed nxmi; and Arthur was never sure of any weapon, except the revolver he car ried aboul him. Existence was a daily, hourlv anxiety; still Arthur never thought of giving up. He meant to master the unruly tenants of Abbey lands or die in the attempt. One day, after we had been about two months in. Ireland, I vas startled at hearing the sound of wheels near the principal entrance we generally used the east door: and on going to Uie win dow I saw my sister Ellie alighting from a post-car laden with boxes. I was ac tually dumb with surprise and pleasure, unable even to welcome her. "You are astonished, Maggie," site said, after counting her belongings and paying the driver. "But I thought you would like to have me with you, and here I am. Ah, bow well I remember the place!" "How is Ernest? How did you get away, Ellie?" I asked curiously. "Is he better?" "Poor Ernet! Y'es, he Is better. He's dead, Maggie! You didn't know. dear, that he's been in a mutton de sante for the last twelve months, incurably mad. He has been mad ever since I married him. He died a few weeks ago. Don't talk to me about hi in just yet. dear; it is all too dreadful. How do yoa like Ablieylands? How do you get on with the barbarians?" "I don't think they're so very bar barous, Ellie only misguided and ig norant. They seem gentle and tracta ble enough, except on one or two points" "Hum and frightening women seems to be one of their amusements!" my sis ter cried with flashing eyes, when I had related everything that had happened since I came to Abbeylands. "They sha'n't frighten me, Maggie that's very certain; still I wish you hadn't come here. You look ten years older Do you remember my dieam long- ago, Maggie?" "Which dream, dear? Y'ou've had so many." "About the tumbledown old house in Ireland. It was just like this. I re member it quite distinctly. There dont look scared! I dare say I've seen a drawing of it somewhere. I've brought you a present, Mag." "Of what, dear? Something useful, I hope." "Very so far as I can judge;" and Ellie produced a beautiful six-chambered revolver, from which I drew back in nervous horror. "It's a beauty, Maggie; and you must learn to use it. I've one for myself too. Well set up a target on the lawn, and practise for an hour every morning. I've been told ou good authority that the finest peasan try in the world' are as frightened of firearms as sheep of a shadow. Lei them .just hear us bang away for an hour every morning, and they won't trouble us with any more verbal warn ings, I think." Ellie was riprbt. After a few days' practice at the target the peasantry gave us a wide berth, keeping whenever they could out of pistol range, and always regarding us with terror aud wonder. "The White Divils," Miles told us they were in the habit of terming us. It was a clear frosty night with a cut ting wind from the west. We bad sat up late cliatting over the events of the last six mouths, wondering when hos tilities would cease, and we might have the children to spend their holiday with us. It had been a very sad Christinas Eve, the first since the break-up of our home; and we went to rest in rather gloomy spirits, Ellie last as usual. She atone took a final survey of the prem - ises, in spite of Arthur's entreaties. I had not been many minutes asleep, when I was roused by a gentle shake. "Maggie, wake up, dear! Arthur, the house is on lira!" "On fire, Elliei The children, the children!" "They are safe, dear. Get dressed as quickly as you can. Wrap up well; it is a bitter night. e must leave the room by the window. The corridor is impassable, and the flames are spread ing rapidly 1 Arthur, take your pistols!" But Arthur was already lost in the hot blinding smoke of the passage. He bad rushed out of the room half-dressed, with the keys of the office in his hands, intent on saving the rent books, what ever else might be destroyed. With Line's assistance I got out oi the house; and not a moment too soon, for the flames were spreading rapidly; and, finding the children safe with the serv ants, I rushed off iu search of my hus band. For a moment I saw him stand at the window of the office, surrounded by a fierce ruddy glow of flame. In an other moment he was by my stde.black- ened, scorched, with a numlier of books, aud a large cash-box in his hands. "Take these, Maggie. Guard them with your life!" he cried; and then he disappeared through the window again, and seemed to be swallowed up in tlie leaping flames. What occurred during the next few seconds 1 cannot rightly recollect. I felt myself rudely shaken by the shoul ders, some of the books aud the cash box were jerked out of my bands, and then came the report of a pistol by my very ear, and a low groan. Die books fell all in a heap at my feet. At that moment Arthur appeared at the open window, dragging the Insensible form of a man after him. A portion of the roof fell in with a terrible crash, a mass of flame lea(ed up against the clear sky, a hundred tongues of fire were thrust out of the windows of Ablieylands and reflected in the still dark waters of the lake, there was a fierce glow of heat, a blind ing shower of hot smoke and sparks, a loud sullen roar as the wind fanned the flames, and 1 became insensible. When I awoke to consciousness I was lying in a close carriage, well wiaped up in blankets. Arthur was supporting my bead, Ellie aud the children were opposite, and I could hear Miles on the box cheering Sarah, my nurse. We were being driven to Blakeville; for Abbeylands was only a sullen, smoking mass of ruins. "The books, " I said faintly, "I dropied them, Arthur." "They are safe, dearest," he whis pered, "thanks to our brave Ellie. Thank Heaven, we have all escaped un hurt!" "Are you quite unhurt, Arthur? I feared you would never escape from those terrible flames!" "My dear, the flames were not n ar me and. except for ashes and smoke, I m all right." "And that man you dragged out who was he, Arthur?" "That I don't know, Maggie; and I never want to know." "But you saved his life, Arthur I'm sure you did; and perhaps ic was he who set hre to the house." "Very likely; however, he's escaped. and, Maggie dear, I dont want any thing more said on that point. I don't know who the man was I dont want to know. Do you understand? Here we are at Blakeville. 1 wonder if they will take us in?" I was too faint and weary to conjec ture; but they did take us iu most hos pitably; and, to our surprise, we learned that there was a member of tb family there young Captain Blake, Sir Red mond's nephew, just returned with his regiment from foreign service. In a few hours we were all comfortably in bed, feeling secure from any further annoy ancefeeling Indeed that the worst of our troubles were over, and that in some mysterious way the best thing that could possibly have happened to us was the burning of that tumbledown old home. Five more years have passed away, ard we are in Ireland still, with no im mediate intention of leaving. A pleas ant comfortable modern residence stands in the park, at a picturesque dis tance from the ruins of Abbeylands. Sir Redmond is no longer master; he was killed by a fall from his horse four years ago; and Captain Blake, now Sir Harry, is master of Blakeville. My sister Ellie is his wife; he fell in love with her for her bravery on the night of the fire. There is an elderly man, with one hand, who is generally to be found about Blakeville, carrying my sister's garden basket, or leading her pony, or bringing me messages a grim, stern, silent man, wh is nevertheless devoted to Lady Blake, though it was she fired the shot that lost him his right hand and saved the Abbeylands rent books on the night of the Ore. There is another retainer a yoiing stalwart fellovr with snow white hair and very feeble sight (he al ways wears a green shade over his eyes, Elbe says, because his lashes aud eye brows have been completely burned aw-.y) who is generally in attendance on Arthur, and who follows him about with a dog-like fidelity. Ellie and I quite believe that be is the man who set fire to the house on that memorable Christmas Eve, the man whose life Arthur saved at the risk of his own, and then allowed to escape. If so, I think he is not ungrateful. The people round about are no longer liarbarians or savages; they show us the simple, grateful, droll side of their character, instead of the cunning, sul len aud revengeful. Their great griev ance seems to have passed away with the old house, and my husband is as much liked and respected as he was hated and persecuted before. He is no longer the steward, but the .master of Ablieylands; aud the tenants seem wil ling enough to pay their rent since it does not go to enrich the Blakes, of tiiakeviiie. As for Ellie's dream, if it had any thing whatever to do with our adven tures in Ireland and she firmly believes that It had it has had a much pleasanter sequel than could possibly have been expected. ram mod Wealcs. Sixty years ago, and even later, the shortest path to fame and a wealthy wife in Bo8ton was a course in the Harvard College Divinity School. A previous graduation from the college war. a great, but rot indispensable help. Its 'est substitute was the attainment of ; Harvard Pro.essrship. In this ca, Ihe ministerial program might be oTjrr.M. - Pts', the rk-i merchant of Boston, who objected to the sons of their wealthy neighbors as extravagant and dissipated, and who were equally averse to making sons-in-law of their impecunious, if promising, clerks, re garded young Unitarian divines as both respectable and safe. Edward Everett found it easy to woo and wed the daugh ter of the millionaire Peter C. Brooks; Jared Sparks espoused the wealthy Miss Silsbee of Salem; George Bancroft, who was then & preacher, also married money, and a second Miss Brooks smil ed on the offers of the Rev. N. L. Frothingham, father of the noted radi cal of our day, the Rev. Octavins Brooks Frothingham. Tlie Rev. Andrews Norton, father of Charles Eliot Nor ton, married a second Miss Eliot, and lived to be one of the ablest of Unitar ian polemics, assailing with equal en ergy old-fashioned orthodoxy and Em ersonian transcendentalism, which he stigmatized "as the latest form of in fidelity." I might extend the list of fortune - winning clergymen, but the above-named specimens are sufficient. The professional route to matrimony has often proved a very successful one, though, of course, there never have been as many empty college chairs as pulpits to tempt the ambitious scholar. Neither George Ticknor nor Henry W. Longfellow was a graduate of Har vard. The poet received bis bachelor's degree at Bowdoin College, Maine, and afterwards became a professor there. He married his first wife in his native State, and was a widower when he met abroad the pleasing and wealthy Miss Appleton of Boston. His first over tures were unsuccessful, but as all readers of "Outre Mer" and "Hyper ion" know, his devotion and growing reputation triumnhed at last, and a Harvard Professorship and a fortunate union were secured at nearly the same time. Water Aero a Dntit It is illustrative of our times that the English government, as part of its plan of bringing the Soudan under control, has contracted with an American firm to run a line of pipe across the desert rrom Suakin to Berber to carry water. The distance is 200 miles and the tanks will be placed about thirty miles apart. It Is claimed that 150 gallons of water a minute can be delivered by this method. This will overcome a serious difficulty, and while it will require guards along the line, it will not lie a serious matter to maintain these. Should a railroad be built, England will have the facilities not only for main taining military contral, but also for commercial development. Thus as suc cessive steps are taken, each under the compulsion of necessity, the revelation is made of new possibilities in the de sert regions of the Soudan. In time artesian wells will provide abundant supplies of water; but pending this, the pipes proposed will amply meet present needs. Modern skill is meeting the number less emergencies of the race and facili tating the conquest of the material world. The new revelation of means whereby supposed lnsuperahle difficul ties are overcome seems to just meet emergencies that have hitherto not re quired solution. It has become neces sary to have speedy, certain" and easy communication with the Upper Nile. The cataracts prevent the ascent of the I river, and the route from Suakin to Beiber across the desert, is the only one feasible. At once the difficulties are considered. The route will not admit of the passage of a marching column without great difficulty and suffering. The hick of water and the sands of the desert are the trouble. The water dif ficulty is to be met by the method we have in use for transporting oiL and the sands will be traversed by iron rails. Why We Din a. W Ds In civilized countries all the world over the order of a plain coarse dinner is nearly the fame. Soup, fish, meat, vegetables and dessert form the staple dinner of tlie classes of men whose work is more than mechanical, the men who live by combined physical and in tellectual labor. In the countries of the North, dinner is prefaced, as in Russia, by a "zakowska," or a "bite and a sup" of some stimulating solid liquid, while in the nations that follow the French customs a salad generally follows the meat preparations. Why this should be, why everyone should not simply bolt a whole meal of corned beef and cabbage as aday-lalor-er does, or why we should not do as Na poleon and Dr. Samuel Johnson pre ferred eat a jumble of jelly, fish, neat, pudding and all, in one mess is a sub ject of frequent surmise. Dr. Bruntonv an eminent English physician, in a lecture on "Disorders of Digestion," has made a clear exposi tion of the reason why we dine as we do. Soup comes first, he says, because the extractive matters of meat, of which it usually is made, supply to the gastric follicles of the stomach the power to secrete an abundance of pepsirie neces sary to digest a full meal. Fish, fol lows as a sort of stop gap, to more fully preiiare the stomach for the serious work of digesting meat, and fish is eaten because its muscle fibres are very short, easy separable, and hence more easily dissolved by the juices. Why we eat meat no one should need to be told. No other substance so fully supplies the waste of tissues and blood caused by work. It is the fuel that keeps the machine at work. Vegetables are used with meat because they supply inor ganic salts that the system needs, and they play a considerable part in restoring the wasted albuminous material of the human tissues. Bread and cheese, puddings or other sweets, aud fruit and nuts used as dessert, play their part by stimulating the nerves of taste, which in their turn cause an abundant flow of blood to the nerve centres of the stom ach, which require an abundant supply in order to furnish the needed gastric juice for digestion. So the average dinner of a well-circumstanced family is not only satisfy ing to the apietite and to taste, but it is in strict accordance with the require ments of physiological science. The meal of the laboring man are uot so elabor ate, and they do not need to consist of a sequence of articles of food, because his brain is not called upon to act so constantly as that of the intellectual worker, and he only requires food that will afford nourishment for his muscles, and this may be of the coarsest kind, as the labor be indulges in should Mot affect his stomach so as to call for deli cate care or ampering, as his blood is naturally in a healthier condition than that of him whose lalKr is sedeutary. So nature makes her compensations and gives a natural reason for our dining as we da 8otn Folate la finsliiMa Law. If a notels lout or stolen, It doe not release tlie maker; be musTax 1L. ii' the consideration for which it was given and the amount can be proven. Principals are responsible for the acts of their agents. Each individual in a partnership is responsible for the whole amount of the debts of the firm, except in cases of spe cial partnership. An agreement without consideration is void. A note made ou Sunday is void. Contracts made on Sunday cannot be enforced. . A note by a minor is void. A contract made with a minor is void. A note obtained by fraud, or from a person in a state of intoxication.caunot be collected, A receipt for money is not always conclusive. The acts of one partner bind all tlie rest. The maker of an "accommodation" bill or note (one for which he has re ceived no consideration, having lent his name or credit for the accommodation of the holder) is not bound to the per son accotnmitdated, but is bound to all other parties precisely as if there was a goxl consideration. Checks or drafts must be presented for payment without unnecessary delay. If the drawee of a check or draft has changed his residence, the holder must use due or reasonable diligence to find him. If one who holds a check, as payee or otherwise, transfers it to another, he has a right to insist that the check 1 presented that day, or at farthest, ou the day following. A note indorsed in blank (the name of the endorser only written) is trans ferable by delivery, the same as if made payable to bearer. If the time of payment of a note is not inserted, it is held payaMe on demand. An indorsee has a right of action against all whose names were on the bill when he received it. If the letter containing a protest of non-payment be put into the post -office, any miscarriage does not affect the party giving notice. II two or more persons as partners are jointly liable ou a note or bill, due notice to one of them is sufficient. If a note or bill is transferred as se curity, or even as payment of preexis ting debt, the debt, revives if the bill or note be dishonored. All claims which do not rest upon a seal or judgment must be sued within six years from the time when they arise. Fart payment of a debt which has passed the time of statutory limitation revives the whole debt, aud the claim holds good for another period of six years from the dale of such partial pay ment. If, when a debt is due, the debtor to out of the State, the "six years" do not begin to run until he returns. If he af terward leave the State, the time for ward counts the same as if he remained in the State, An oral agreement must be proved by evidence. A written agreement proves itself. The law prefers written to oral evidence, because of its preci sion. Ignorance of the law excuses no one. The law compels no one to do impos sibilities. A contract made with a luuatlc is void. It is a fraud to conceal a fraud. Signatures made with a lead pencil are eood in law. "Value received" is usually written In a note, and should be, but it is not necessa y. If not written, it is pre liimed by the law or may be supplied by proof. No consideration is sufficient in, law, tusilleiil in its nature. . When there is too much bouse, there is always toe little home Good houe keeping is by no means as rare as good homekeeping. It s of fa' less impor tance. A certain amount of drudgerv must be gone through with, daily, in any calling; about three-fourths of life isdrudgery. One-fourth can be rescued from the toil and moil of the world by management and thought. The most lirficult and the most necessary lesson for a housekeeper to learn is that she must assert her individuality. It is useless to try to please everybody. Many things in our homes are done directly with "an eye single" to our neighUirs. Work must lie pruned down and loped off until it matches strength, for the latter refuses to be enlarged by any imount ot thought. It is a nice point to adjust this balance properly. It requires much giving ut aud letting go. What shall we give up? Ay, there's the rub. Everything seems so important. Things must be kept clean, there is no doubt about that; but the number of things to be kept clean san be greatly diminished. Wisdom would suggest the minimum consistent with comfort and refinement. In many homes there is an embarrassment of riches in the shape of conveniences ami petty treasures that must lie kept in order, stealing time that might be be stowed with protit and satisfaction upou the higher things of life: people, books, art, nature and all the subtle excel lences that make life worth living. Each must solve for herself the ques tion of simplifying living in order to ennoble domestic life. Every woman knows ber own complexity. The same things do not press with equal weight upon all. On general principles, how ever, it is safe to say that 'There's too much worry goes to a bonnet. There's too much ironing g'es to a shirt." There are too mauy preserves; too many ruffles and tucks aud elaboration in the making and trimming of gar ments, that add labor and do not add to their beauty. Woman's fetters are largely seif- made. Carvings, upholstery, brasses, bronzes, that cause frowns, back-aches, irritability and heart-aches, are a poor investment of money and time. Things, more than people, bring women to the verge of despair. The endless round of imagined duties causes chronic over work among women, produces the sad dest results to them and those depen dent upon them for rest and comfort. "There is nothing in the world I dread," said the Household Philosopher, "like a thoroughly exhausted woman. No amount of personal comfort ever com pensates for such a state of affa:rs " Of course not. What constantly tired woman is capable of generous sympathy and ready help, or of companionship? Can she divide care and double jy? The better part of the life cries out for warmth and tenderness; but the women who should give it are blindly wasting themselves on material things, polish ing the outside of the cup without a thought of the wine within. To conquer prej'id:cc, s"jrmoiii "l i .at ion and overcome hahiisof mind aud body, implies force of will and power of effor'. This rame conquering and overcoming' is nts-n-v to the true emancipation of wou.t j.. Th Coloaaal StatoM of the PaciEe. Quite lately fresh a tent ion has been directed to the extraordinary remains which are found on Easier Island, which lies about 2,300 miles west of the coast of Peru, withiu easy sail of San Francisco. Everybody rememliers the colossal statues which are found in pro fusion on this island, monoliths repre senting men forty feet high and nine feet across the shoulders. Tliev are j made of the country rock of the island. but it is quite eviuent that they are not the work of the natives, who are a low race of savages, without tools capable of carving in stone or machinery suita ble for moving heavy weights. The question is, how did they come there? It has been suggested that Easter Island is the remains of a submerged conti nent, which was inhabited by a civilized nice. But Sclater. w hose theories are regarded with respect, makes Easter Island the terminus of the souther migration of mankind from his fancied continent of Lemuria. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with his studies it may be ex plained that Sclater was a believer in the hypothesis which ascriles to man kind a single origin from a single race, according te the Bible. He held that Paradise, from which all men originally came, was a continent lying south of Ceylon: to this continent be gave the name of Lemuria, from lemur, which meaus a ghost but which name Lin naeus gave to the race of monkeys. Sclater believed that from Lemuri man migrated into Africa, into Asia, thence into Kuroi and America, and likewise into Polynesia, one st re-am of emigiants pushing their way as far east as Easter Island. It is evidently worth while to study these Easter Island statues and See what light they can shed if any one the early history of our race, and nowhere can that study 1 prosecuted to such advantage as in San Francisco. The Navy Departmeut would probably be quite willing to direct one of our shljis of war to collect two or three of the colossal statues and bring them here, if we provide a place for their recep tion. This exhibit alone would draw swarms of visitors to San Francisco. Chinese Women. There are a numlier of Chinese women in Denver. The most of their time is given to the adornment of Iheir persons, which, however, are not ren dered particularly charming by the pro cess. Her head is a sight. The hair is waxed until it is stiff and shiny. Then it is pulled out in waves and puffs over the ears, and caught up in the back with a mass of gaudy wax and palter flowers, together with dangling orna ments, colored gkvs aud brass, suppos ed.to be diamonds and solid gold. No covering is worn on the head at any time. The ladies generally carry a par asol, and always appear on the street with an immense red or yellow silk handkerchief in one hand. " Whatever may be said against the Chinese cos tume," says a white woman, "it is cer tainly a healthy and comfortable one. These Chinese ladies must be more comfortable in their wide, loose trou sers than American ladies are in their trained or clinging skirts." For stomach cramps, filacer ale or a teaepoonful of the tuicinre of ginger in a half a glass of water in which half a teaspodnfol oi soda baa been dis served. Mrs. General Thumb will marry ajvu next May. England has 5M peers. D voroes are o: coming common ia Scot land. At Vienna I'll people com mit'.ed, suicide in 14. ; Iowa has 01.0 horses, or one for every ten jierfons. 1 New York has at least loO profes sional tea-tasters. ' . A nun must often exercisp or fast, take physic or be sick. i The liquor license has lei: raised to S.'niO in Columbus. G.v I.i'm'on contains 2,(.KX clergymen and S.Ti'O drinking places. " High gas bills are also being com plained of by Baltimoreans. ' An insufficient watr supply is also complained of in Albany, Ga. ! Texas claims to have the finest pub lic school system in Ihe country. ' Ohio has 3.1 colleges Seven times the numlier in Massachusetts. Italian composers produced forty new operas ar.d operettas last year. The colored people are shortly to have a roller skating rink in N -w York. England possesses mir ing com panies with a capital ot ilt.O'iJ.tiOT. The Senate of Nebraska, numtter ing :i3 members, employs 70 jiersons. t The University of Michigan has l."77 students, ISO of whom are wom en. A war betwe'i rival stage and horse cars owners is raging in Trenton. N.J. Great Britain possesses y--, thea tres. Tweutv-three were closed during 1SS4. "Lasso competitions" are among the amusements in frontier settlements of Texas. A list of bad tenants is posted in the offices of the real estate agents of Chicago Of the young ladies in tlie Normal College iu New York, 2"i per cent, aro Jewesses. The shipbuilding prospirt is grad ually assuming a brighter outlook iu Bath. Me. German public schools are about to adopt Hawthorne's works for the study of English. Sites of old lake dwellings have been discovered on the eastern coast of I Yoikshire. This country has fi.SoS Imiiaii chil dren in Ito.iniiiig schools and o.l.s iu day schools. The French government paid the) inventor of oleomargarine 10,ooo francs for his work. The tax on commercial travelers Is N-ing done away with by many of t!i Georgia towns. Haverstraw, N.Y..is credited with Wing the greatest brick manufacturing; c,-ntre in America. A recent census gives the popula tion of Japan as lg,' of whom ISj-KMO'J are males. - N;n," boys !e-. rted t f -r. the training ship N'e-y Ham; - hire, now lying in Newport Harbor. Fifty eight mil'ion dollars is the estimated value of the finger rings of this country actually worn. The membership of the G. A. R. in Vermont includes about one-half of .eieraas residing iu the State. The p; vv of certain kinds of box wood has incrt a-cs rv r-odembty incon sequence of the roller skai.n,: "raze. Counteneit silver dollar are in circulation iu Willlamsport, Pa., mnvh. to the annoyance of business pevple. For salting the railroad tracks an employ of a Boston comp my was arres ted recently, and fined ii" and costs. Mellxuirne, Ark., with a popula tion of 2", has four churches, any one of which will hold the entire population. liarn burners have lieen remarka bly numerous in Huntingdon county, much to the annoyance and loss of far mers. Tlie kws of cattle from the cold in some sections of Indian Territory reaches as high as sixty per cent., it is reported. A Jersey City man has recovered a verdict of $-3 aga.nst a Palace Car Com pany for the loss of an umbrella left in the car. A unmber of steel field pieces re cently forged at the arsenal, Osaka, Japan, have been served out to the Im perial Guards. Instances of human beings being attacked with glanders are becoming more frequent, no less than three such cases being reported from Illinois. An octavo volume of s:icred songs In shorthand, picked up by the British Museum, Is discovered to lie the work of James Ward, the English painter. Seventy Hungarians are to be shipped back to Europe from New Y'ork this week, as they are without means of subsistence or friends to keep them. During the past week two more new cigar factories were added to the already large number in Key West, F'a. They will employ about 1;X) oper atives. It is estimated that two large par ties given in Boston recently were pro ductive of the distribution of two hun dred thousand dollars among artisans and others. An unusual number of foxes are roaming through New Jersey ,esiecially m AVarren county, where the farmers have suffered great los through their depredations. Bach, who was organist in Cot hen from 1717 to 17tM, is to have a monu ment to his memory erected by the towus-ieople to celebrate his two' hun dredth birthday. Less than 2"0 of the more than OK) places mentioned by the Bible in Pales tine, wast of Jordan, are said to remain unidentified by the Palestine Explora tion Fund stair. A famous inn at Bath, England, called the Sedan Chair, has lieea de molished. Under the cellar a line mo saic pavement has beea found beIoii ng to Roman times. An enterprising stage manager in London has hail his stage grass manu factured of feathers dyed and then sewn into mats, the whole haying a must realistic effect. A bill introduced m the Michigan Legislature provides that the occupa tion arid politics of each candidate shall appear on a voting paper giving tb names of all candidates. The value of 4he Dshmaws. and shark's fins exported from India to Chi- last year was Rs.CX).00. Thevalu ,nf the produce of Bombay mUls,ranptly ' acotton twist and yarn, exisxttd to Chi na was Rs. 10,200,010.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers