fstP "'Iff
N
TKB OOXITTIDTIOMai UIIOI-AI EUOKjniHT Off THE LATS.
B.F. BOHWEIER,
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XLI.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 0, 1SS7.
NO. 40.
'
V
One S't Day.
Tilk ni t of 1 Smenb". when JT
Of arui, k'.-k! sunnhine fill tlie ky of
t.sm,
Au.l a "' borrowed from some morn
vf J une,
gtirs the brown grasses and the leaflww
upray.
On the utirrtl r""' r''reJ Pines
Lay their ! shafts of shadow; tbe
Mnall rill,
Singing a pleasant ong ofiummet still,
AHle ,,.i;ver. .l.iwn the Mil-slope hlne.
jbi.l.ed tlieblnl-Toicesanilthehum of bees,
lu The tl.in grass, the cricket, pipe no
m.-re;
i; it still tlm niuirrel hoards his winter
..tore,
An.l lrip- lii nut-shells from the nhag
burk trees.
Soft y lt,,rk Krin hemlocks whisper:
At,..v, the spire of yellowing larches
W L. i tlie woodpecker ami bome-lovlng
cr .'-v,
AnJ j o ami nut hatch winter" tbreaedefy.
O gru.-i"" l-iuty, ever new ami old!
O siglii an.l sounds of nature, douWy
dear
Wh'ti tin low -sunshine warns the cloa-
nii year,
Ot iio i n tieltl an.l waves of arctic
!!
C.,,-e i.. my Ic-art I f M each lovely thing
lLe 'rt day yields; and, not dlacon-
-..I.lte,
Willi tl. i .ltu ja'ience of tbe wood I
W .lit
tur I. Li uri.l l l.'S-'t" ben God glvea tta
i riul
mii-ili:-a;ei cherub.
I am a l my wits end- As I write,
my cm-h of razors I open before iue;
the hrght blades, unduuned, alas! and
uudulie.l bv u- virgin a they came
from the cutler's forge, lie reaily to my
hand; but my hand shrinks from the
last, the (l peiale stroke. At 45,
health, money, a wife, children (though
against U.em I well tuny bear a grudge),
even, I tuav say, honor and an unblem
ished reputation, are not things to I
uluiu.l.iiie.l without a struggle. Yet
life ami all the rent are embittered to
me hy cue misfortune, whicli no efforts
bave enabled me to overcome, uo stoi
cism has availed to disregard; and, ha. I
I the courage, priest a. 1 am, 1 would
strike the blow, and sutclde) should
drop the merciful curtain upon the
pit, ful farce of my existence. Let uie
see !f penning the tale of my woes Will
nerve my hand to end them.
Vet the tale will but move the world
to laughter. My fe b:w long pooh
poohed me and unreti una "not to think
of it;" as weil urire ti l eel not to think
of sk unintr, or the fu.lptive cur to Cis
rew'ard the kettle tiel o ita tail. Jlut
then slie is suppoi fje .ppeatauce of
L WUTA.l A.I V . . . n . T
1 " .mJlll1 lint. (UIIIIP
i
bad ha.
are satistled." Ah! I know
- ..irut u.til cnwv nrA mere
nien nevei
L
ton ... ;r-,"i'
nitKkt.j . ;.o(J .a the possesalon or gray
hairs aiul Kouty toes, they know they
can trifle with me as they please.
I can scarcely bear to divulffe my
secret to tho.e who do not know me
aad it, hut I must. My curse Is this,
I, a man or 4", a husband, the father
or a great lota of a lad and a gawky
girl, a triest in lioly orders and a
bachelor r divinity, have the face, the
fitrure, the voice, and the carriage of a
cherry cheeked boy of 11. Ah I you
may laugh, but none can know what I
endure till they have tried it. Just
cons der. 1 look like a nice, healthy,
lower school boy. My cheeks are pink
and smooth; my Lair Is yellow and
rough and plenty of it; my waist is
slim, my back is flat; I walk with a
epriiigy step; at times involuntarily 1
run, and 1 believe I still could beat any
alto lu my old school choir.
It was not till after I left Oxford
that I became conscious of my afflic
tion. At college many of u do like
boy, and act like boys too. My post
whs naturally the pleasant one of cox
of the college eight, aud although raft
rueu and barges guffawed privily when
I came down to the boats, and little
boys from the to vi pith mimicked my
shrill, imperative voice, still I was
petted and popular, as cox ! by virtue
of his ollke, and I w; happy. They
carried me shou bigh round the
quad and jced me ou the table at
to pipe my treble songs, and,
1 felt like a titmouse beside the
giants of my ciew, I was but fulfllling
djj steersman's mission. Those, in
deed, were golden days. But from the
time I announced a determination to
take orders, trouble grew up around
nie. Tutors said they doubted if I
should have "euough Influence;" clergy
men, to whom I applied for a ti:le,
seemed skeptical of my "seriousness;"
and wi.eu 1 called ou the examining
chaplain to the bishop of my choice
and explained the object of my visit,
the good man looked puzzled, but
smiled kindly and asked with a aurtout
point .!e zeie a'r if I didn't think I had
better have not troubled to coma to
linn till I was withiu more measure
able distance of the earliest age for
ora uatloti. And at that moment I
At that time, indeed, I knew I
looked boyish; but then I often felt
w'yish, and not being a vain peacock,
1 gave little critical study to my ap
pearance; vanity is not try besetting
and in those days I did not stare
gloom!. y lu the glass for the purpose of
detecting souie hope, some promise of
dg. cr. indeed, for any other purpose,
fliouwu U'ow the middle height, I am
not a dwarf, a,; as yet the awful con
ictiou ot the trutu fcaj not forced
itself npn m(? 1 did not know ijow
ctuldl.ke a front I presented. At last,
bowever, 1 obtained a curacy in a par
u.":, w here we had a fine old church, a
ioiwkaV-,.!ie choir, and several other
purates, au.l, Citing my vicar kiudly,
ca las wife poaituly affectionate, I
Jttisd down to my work aud looked
lorwurj tu happy and beneficent life.
W itJun a week my hopes were crushed.
Tber lfell me a calamity which has
Wt dm ever since a blighted and dls
Pirlu."!' 'W'g,
I hiui ju, ea ordUicI, and I was
0 full of tu sjletZr'1' V2 tbfl. ';
J of my new position. J T4
nnisliej itKi,i1.i.kn,M.iif. ..
wut half an h..ur was to elapse before
nutms. I haj taUen a subordinate
jrt in iiidissolubly joking a bashful
"Jur try a3s to a ery bemu3e(t looting
ruy from the plow tail, and was wait
M ?ly 8url'''ce for the service in
i was, so to speak, to make a
"first appearance." The weather was
hot, and I laid nalde my stole and hood
for a while; for I was as proud and
careful of their untarnished rustling
glory as a mother of her first born; and
I stood at the vestry door chatting to
my vicar and two of my fellow curates,
who were making their mystical toilet
within. On a sudden I beard a very
sweet girl's voice saymg, ,4Ou, I do
wish I could make out this window
there should be some one to explain
it," and looking down the church I saw
one stout elderly lady and two slim
young ones examining a window of
Ananias and SappMra. I looked again
at the girls, and oh, joyl 1 recognized
two fair Americans who bad appeared
in Oxford duriug my last term there
and bad been the objects of my passion
ate and heart stricken devotion. Never
had I forgottea them. Cajolery and
Intrigue had once brought me into the
same room with them, but before X
could find an opportunity for an Intro
duction they were gone, and I saw
ti em no more. Xow was my time,
straight I tripped down the steps of
the chancel and presented suyself before
them like a knight errant, as I thought,
coming to deliver a distressed maiden.
"Vou would like to know what the
subject of the window Is?" I asktsd
blandly. "It is very old glass and very
quaint; allow me to explain it." and I
sailed fluently oa. 'Dear mel" cried
the elderly lady presently, when I came
to a pause, '-how interesting! What
a very happy idea to have the church
shown in tins way, and what very nice
Choristers there are here; so intelligent
aud well behaved 1" I thought this
rather irrelevant aud was puzzled, but
all praLteof the church just then was
honey t me, and I said complacently,
"Yes, tlie? choir b very good, we take
great pains, and great attention is paid
to discipline." Why the young ladies
should have tittered, or th old lady
hare looked so aIl-abroad, I could
uot guess; but as people were beginning
U come into church in considerable
numbers 1 drew toward the chancel
steps, discoursing us 1 went, and then,
as we reached the chancel gate, 1
paused. Intending, before we parteJ. to
make some allusion to nave met mem
in Oxford The elderly lady, however,
mistook me. She stopped at the foot
of the steps, where her heal was still
slightly above aiine. -and bringing her
haud out of her poctot. where sue had
been fumbling, slipped a half crown
mto my palm and 6aid, "theie, my lit
tle man, that will do; you've got it all
very nicely; now I must just give you
one kiss, uiy dear," and with that I,
yes 1, was kissed publicly on my own
chancel steps, under my own rood
screen, berore the eyes of my own pas
tor aud tock. "Oh. yes! dear little
fellow," cried the young ladles, "he is
so pert and cunning," and they too
kissed me w.tu great goodwill. I stood
with cheeks aud mouth agape, the half
crown still In my haud, watching them
as they complacently retreated down
the aisle. Then, when they hal disap
peared, roused by the titter of ladles
-r-.( her.'Taws ot my iei.u -"-
rplioes of the vestry.
It was useless to remain in that par
ish. .The conduct of the congregation
uext Sunday, when I stepped forth to
read the lesson, proved that to demon
stration. Ot course such a story had
spread like wlldtire. The church was
crammed, aud when In reading about,
David, who was "ruddy aud withal of
a beautiful countenance " I came to
the words, "Look uot ou his counte
nance or on the height of his stature,"
there arose such a stifled laughter as
sounded like the wind among dry
leaves. I stopped short, consumed with
shame aud mortification, unable to see
the book for tears, aud then, with an
astuteness I did not know 1 possessed,
Judiciously faiuted away and was borne
out like a child in the aims of the
basso blacksmith.
It was a skillful stroke and might
have retrieved me, but I could not
brook to remain there longer. By the
assistance of the archdeacon and the
consent of the bishop, who tried hard
not to laugh white he gave it, I was
traferred to another county. But
though no like blow lell ou me there. I
saw the attempt was useless. Did I go
to school to catechise or exhort the
boys, my presence was the signal for
disorder. As a matter of course my
authority was disregarded. Girls chat
ted under my nose, boys extracted from
dirty breeches pockets pegtops and
toifee before my very eyes, and even
looked to me for encouragement, and if
the master was forced t'J come to the
rescue aud cane a lad, the ingenious
youth would appeal to me, with an air
that said as plain as words, "tme, you
know what alley-tors are? Why don't
you put a stop to this grown up tyr
anny? Have you no fellow feelings?"
At baptisms mothers refused to let me
officiate upon the brawliug Infant,
vowing "they weren't agoln to let that
tlieer careless boy play no tricks with
that blessed baby." My ministrations
provoked hilarity at funerals, and once
an irate virago, with whom I was ex
postulating on the wickedness of her
ways, soused me ut ck and crop, clerical
hat and all. into her soapsuds and
washtub.
With much pain I dropped my holy
calling. Marriage and a literary life
absorbed some years. I strove heaven
knows how earnestly to corrtct the
vice of my appearance, but the more 1
advanced in life the more absurd mat
ters grew. Occasionally glimpse of
hope ouly proved delusive and plunged
me back again into a darker despair.
If I have tried one ratent Infallible
whisker producer 1 have tried twenty.
I have been a mine of wealth to bar
bers, fluids that would make an elm
plank shaggy simply make my cheeks
look chapped. Many a time have I
gone to rest daubed with pomade, only
to find In the morning that it had fled
from my chin in the night to seek a
more hopeful ground on tbe pillow.
Once a alight downy efflorescence made
Its appearance under my jaw, and for
days 1 was almost delirious with joy,
and walked Uie streets with, my chin
In tbe air to show my maniy beard.
Alas! like Jonah's gourd, it withered in
oue night, as it grew. Suddenly It
dropped off aud left my face hairless as
the sole of my root. A 40 I still looked
UkBut "though I looted as If time had
stood still with me. In fact it baa made
as good haste as with other folks. My
wife is half tall again as I. nd twice
as heavy. When I glre her myarrn
she puts her fingers r1?
rop!e are ceasmg to Uke her f or
-e .nd think I am her grand-
my nou ' . bopeful young
child. I am blesw - awkward
. hn and a bony,
gTrT wno loks already over the crow
It my head and has to stoap down to
kiss me. TheboyIdo Uilnkanx
ordinary creature, lie is not mow than
16, but he looks as much older than his
age as I, so to speak, look younger than
mine. He is tail and burly, aud has a
mighty mature and lumpish look. Tlie
beard which fate has denied me adorns
him, and with a double portion, and,
now that his voice has broken and set
tled itself into a kind of hoarse bray,
boyish is the last word to apply to him.
I took him down the other day to
Ilarlhoroiigh school to enter hitn there.
My railway journey was neither more
nor less of a misery to me than usual.
An economically minded ticket Inspec
tor remarked considerately to my son,
"Id have passed hlui with a half ticket,
sir! You need't have got a whole 'un."
I went to the refreshment room and
asked for a four of whisky. The young
lady behind the bar leant over and
cried, Ob, you horrid little boyl I
shan't give you nothing but a glass of
milk and bun, not if you was ever so.
To think of the likes of you wanting
fours of Scotch, indeed I" and a burly
countryman standin? by smote me on
the back till I cho d. and guffawed,
"Haw! llawl Thee rt a good 'un. J
lolkes thy cheek, little chop," and in
trying to force on me a drink of his
beer contrived to pour some half pint
into my iiecfc and waistcoat and tlten
cursed me for his own clumsiness. The
bookstall man treated me with polite
iadlfference and paid no more attention
to me than to a spaniel. Finally,
when a erim old lady got into our
smoking carriage she fixed me with a
a stony eye and said, -Oh! you nasty
little boyl smoking at your agel Where
do you expect to go to?" and proceeded
to take my pipe away from me; while
the other passengers said, "Well, ha is
too young to be smoking, for sure,"
and that lout of a son of mine went
black in the face with laughter and de
clined to come to the rescue.
Harlborough was reached at last,
and we walked up to the headmaster's
house. With some difficulty and two
half crowns I induced the incredulous
butler to usher us in, and having got
rid ot his drU notion that it was, as he
said, "a 'oax." 1 found I bad cast out
the first devil only to have a more
wicked one take bis place; for now he
winked locoselv and bade us "come
this way, young geule'men," and ac
uallv noked me in the ribs before going
round the screen and ushering us into
the doctor's presence. J was wild witn
wrth at the indiguity, "Xoctor," said
I. fiercely and shrilly. "I must protest.
itwist sir ." lie dared at me haugh
tily, and then, turning to my lout said.
"Is this some larcer it, sir, as i no im
pose, you are bringing your little
brother to enter him at the school, let
me say that we have the meaus," and
he swished his band through the air,
"of correcting tliat unbridled and in?
subordinate demeanor which the loss,
uo doubt, of a father, and the absence
of parental control, has induced in him.
I sea." aald he. as the gaby turned
crimson, and shuffled from one foot to
the other, "jour brother's perUesa not
unnaturallv discomposes you; believe
me, I attach no blame to you, and
thjuk," he added significantly,
md.xkjq rewedv'.
y V mm, l s, : - Sgy.i . I
t said 1 win not repeat. Let me uot
forget that I am a clergyman, and that
it is my duty alike to forgive my ene
mies and to eschew bad language; but
for the nonce my language was very
bad indeed, and very wrathful: and the
matter was made all tbe worse by the
fact that tbe doctor was but a young
man. "Sir," 1 cried, "I took an honor
able degree at Oxford when you were
still being birched at school, and was a
priest in holy orders before you were in
coat tails. How dare you gibe at my
personal appearance, air? How dare
you make a mock of my infirmity? You
seem so Inhuman, aud so ludwcently
fond of the most degrading part of your
duties, that I would gladly leave this
grinning oaf with you, and then he
would get the thrashing he deserves for
exulting m his father's discomfiture.
But then I should have to speak vlth
you, sir; to speak with you! and I will
not lower myself by having anything to
do with you; evil communications cor
rupt good manners, sir, and I will not
stoop to imperil my own good breeding
by communicating with a pedagogue,
who, instead of a hchoiajr and a gontle
man, appears to be a coxcomb aud a
boor;" aud with this tirade I llung out
of the room in a rage, ana my son slunk
out at my heels.
I was speechless with fury till we
got some distance from the house.
Then, looking up, I saw that my
wretched boy was sniggering still, and
in my mortification I struck blm with
my cane. There were several ot the
lads about, and be, poor fellow, was
high and mighty in his new tail coat.
and he ft.lt lho indignity. He lost his
temper, as I had lost mine, and, turn
ing on me. ha boxed my ears. This
was too much. To what depth ot con
tempt must I have fallen! I dropped
on a bench and burst into tears tbe
bitterest tears, I think, that ever man
shed.
j gave him money and sent him home
alone, and than I wandered away in
indescribable wretchedness. I was
blind to all that passed; I neither saw
nor cared where 1 went. I could not
even pursue one train of thought, how
ever miserable. Hoi that any oblivion
came mercifully to relieve me from my
sufferings. I passed through moment
after moment of exquisite pain, but
each seemed isolated, and to be endured
by itself separately, aud without any
continuity with either tlie moments
that went before or those which folr
lowed after, liow the time went I do
not know, but after what I thought
was a great while I found myself sit
ting by a dull, dark stream, staring
gloomily into it. I do not kuow what
was passing through my mind; perhaps
no settled thought bad formed itself;
but 1 was in a very abyss ot despair.
Suddenly I felt a little hand thrust
into mine, and a ohlld kissed me. j
looked up and saw a village girl ot 7 or
ft years old, very plain but for a pair of
wistful eyes, who gazed pitifully at me
and said, "l'oo boyl" from her lips
I did not wince at the reproach of
youth. Slowly I came out of tbe dark
mood in which I was ready for I know
not what rsh act: ana in talking to
the little girl, and feeling her hand
confidingly in mine. I gradually found
composure and resignation. She was
very sby, and even stupid, and, when
I got her to speak, her voice was coarse,
and sue talked in a villainously pro
vincial accent; but still, by her mute
kindliness' and fellow feeling, she had
saved me from what I dared not con
template, and I owed her a debt of
gratitude which I could not pay.
Alasl phase milder momenta were
not for long. At last I reached home,
and found the boy. who had preceded
me. had told his story from his own
point 6! Tiew. nd my wife, perhaps
rightly, took his part. "I suppose,"
she said with atuif censure, "I bud-
I, (a ......ana tn hn(M th.f. Vnil arfi
ashamed of yourself, but I am ashamed
or yon. JsO wonuer jou iooa jiku
baby when you give way to such child
ish tempers. At your age to mind
what you look like! You dont act
like a man ana you aon't aeserve u uo
(r.tail IiL-a nn And tti strike the
poor boy before the whole school! Oh,
It was too baa i"
tint It was not dis
creet to tell me so, and she does not
Knew wnat i reel, iier cuiuiug "
I.OTt.i,lt hoolr oil n-isr nl.l hlttorneas and
gloom, and I think if I were now on
that river bank again, not even tne lit
tle trirl would save me. But men are
weak, and for the present, for want of
a convenient way over to the other
side, I must stay on this and abide my
life as best l can. ueu j am gone, u
I go, this narrative may perhaps lead a
few to think not too harshly ot me.
DOXK WITH LAUEDO.
A Mexican Mother and Her Child
Grasping Mature of a Mexican
Landlord.
The picturesque scenery led us the
Erst morning after our arrival in
Laredo to walk around the streets, and
peer into houses In a way which we
would bitterly resent In any one who
came to our country for the same purr
pose; but as it is a time honored custom
of American travelers, we undertook
it bravely, though I must confess that
1 felt halt ashamed.
1 did try to hire a guide, but as we
wanted to start out long before any of
those who served in that capacity were
awake or would rouse, we relied upon
our own wits and started out. We
found several churches, but some of
them were so old the little woman
gathered up her skirts in disgust and
declared she wouldn't enter, and the
others were 9Q pew that she decided
that they were not worth aeelng; but
early as was the hour, there were
numbers or Mexican women of all
classes going into or coming out of
them, aud I must confess to seeing
several that I thought beautiful, w.th
lovely dark eyes, luxuriant black hair
a superb walk, but my Tittle vnuuuii
declared that their complexions were
like old paste and their forms like
cows, so we d;d not quite agree, and
turned our steps down a narrow street
where she soon uttered an exclamation
ot delight. She had found a baby 1 It
is astonishing what ft sort Of Masonic
attraction a baby causes between wo
men. They don't know why, but so it
is, and in a moment tbe little Ameri
cano was seated on a rude bench hold
ing the baby and talking Volapuk to It.
The mother and baby both understood,
and both smiled with delight,'
By and by I suggested that she leave
the baby and come back to the hotel
for breakfast, but no; she was going to
stay there and see the house the in
terior; aqd she did. The shy Mexican
womau took btr in and set her down
ou a cot made ot r uotto woua m, J m.w
hide, with wood mattresses and pil
lows, and with coverings of red satin,
mmA ' n covered again with that beau
tiful hand made lace which none but
these women ean maka. There were
thre Immense camphor wood trunks,
studded with bra.s uUa, and from
these the woman took out piles of
snowy linen undergarments, all elab
orately worked in exquisite patterns,
some of the work; being over a foot
deep.
She made the visitors understand
that these were In part done by herself
aud part by her ancestors as far back
as four generations, and she delighted
the little woman by making her a
present of a napkin with the coat of
arms of Mexico worked in t,is tqshion,
which is done by pulling out threads
and sewing others in bo that tbe pat
tern is formed in open work. The little
woman retaliated by taking off a gold
locket and tying It around the baby's
neck.
While we were talking with her I
say talking because we certainly all did
talk, though no one but tbe baby
seemed to take real comfort from the
conversation we heard the most un
earthly shrieks aud screams and groans
and sltouts approaching, The littlo
woman turned pale, but the Mexican
laughed, and as we neared the door we
saw an ox cart coming down the ill
paved, dirty and deserted street. It
was of tbe most primitive construction
and the wheels were simply sections of
logs with axles of wood, and these
wheels turning on those axles, which
never beard of grease, made that awful
noise, and the driver's shouts to his
oxen added the touch of the master.
We seized this occasion to leave and
went back to the hotel, having seen all
there was in Laredo and finding It
hardly worth tbe trouble. We asked
for breakfast and found It wasn't cus
tomary 1 But we got some chocolate
and bread, and at noon got some soup,
some matton stewed with peas, some
beans boiled first, then fried in suet,
and some sweetmeats which were very
gooi, We decided to g on tq Mon
terey that evening, and so asked for
our bilL The price was $4 a day for
one person, but 14.50 apiece for two,
because it always makes more work for
two than one.
Laredo is a nice enough border town,
but I think one appreciates it more the
further he gets away. Tbe type is dis
tinctly Mexican, with jnst enough of
Yankee about it to spoil it for a Mexi
can town, and not euongh for a good
American one. However, it may grow
up with the country if Texas develops
as it ought.
Industrial t'sra or Oil or Birch.
A Belgltn inventor has devised a
process for tanning textile fabrics
which renders them waterproof and at
the same time, it is said, proof against
decay, while their suppleness Is not di
minished and their weight not appre
ciably Increased. Arguing from the
high state of preservation in which the
bands which surround tbe beads of
Egyptian mummies are found to this
day, and which are impregnated with
a kind of resin, the inventor had re
course to the substances extracted
rrom tbe birch bark, and which are
now used to perfume Uussla leather.
When the fine white bark of tbe
birch tree is distilled it yields a light
oil, nearly a fourth part of which con
sists of the special phenol, or carbolic
acid, which gives the well known odor
to Russia leather. It' is now found
that the residue, or green tar, of the
birch, which is obtained from Kos
troma, ylelds neither acid or alkaloid,
and forms, with alcohol, a solution of
great fluidity, which, however, when
once died, is not cted upon by air
cohoL It is this substance which will
unite with the most brilliant colors
that are used by the inventor tor treat
lag textile fabrics
A VERY SINGULAR RIVER.
An Anomaly In Nature But Little
Changed Since the lay of Ita
Birth.
As I said. I know not what to call
this Saguenay. Bivers have banks.
but it has none; for lofty and precip
itous cliffs, mountains of rock, preci
pices that rise 1,000 feet sheer upward
from the tide and beetling crags these
cannot, without misuse ot language,
be called river banks. Nor Is it fit to
call it a stream, for a stream is a line
of flowing water smaller than a river,
and tlie Saguenay is from one and a
half to two miles wide, and from 400
to 1,000 feet in depth, and all this
monstrous depth ot water is in mo
tion. Nor is it an outlet merely, for
Into it flows the surplus water of
Lake St. John. But this lake is
shallow, not deep, and but little
more than half the length of the
Saguenay, and hence its flowage, large
as it la. Is but a tithe, nay, only a
hundredth part of what the latter
holds and pours into the St. Lawrence
daily. Hence, if we call the Sague
nay a river,, it is not because that
word describes it or Is a proper title
lo it, but because of its strange char
acteristics. It stands an anomaly in
nature, and there is no better name to
give it than to call it a river.
Its waters are colored, nor is their
color like to any other river I have
ever seen. They have been called
black by many writers who would have
written ot them, but they are not
black, but rather a transparent brown,
like as common water is when
looked at through a smoked glass. I
say transparent, for they ate very pure
and clear, aud, dark as they are, the
eye sees deeply and easily into them.
A white stone or piece of tin can be
perceived at a great depth as deeply
down as they might be in the waters
pf the iioilcou, whicu 1 have often
thoueht were the purest and cleanest
in the world. Moreover, the sun
Iveams penetrate its dartr brown, cur
rents easily, and tbe long lances of
light shot into the brown depths by
the solar rays look as tbe sunlight looks
when shining through the stained
windows of great caluedrata.
Whence its waters get this strange
quality, this Indescribably gloomy aud
sinister tinge, none can say, and sa
vants do not even pretend to guess.
for all the currents which flow into it
are mountain streams and crystalline,
and the contributions of the sea which
the tidal lift pours into it are clear
and blue of tint. Nor can it come
from any coloring matter released by
nature's chemistry acting upon lt3
rocky walls and bottom, for the na
ture qf these is knawn, and plain
granite quarts and gneiss are the dom
inant structures. But whatever be
the cause of it, the color of its
waters is, as I have described, a
brown, with almost a purple tinge,
and has tq the eye, seen from a dis
tance, a most gifwponin loos, gloomy
ana sinister, as if it came from some
other world than ours, whose waters,
unless discolored from causes discov
'TitZXilu .to lie, wre -pure aawL aparkllng.
Imagine, now, a yast- valuuie of this
strange looking water, twd miles in
width, 1,000 teet in depth, pouring out
between a monstrous opening between
contiguous mountains, made by some
mighty throe of nature, travailing in
agony, to bring forth an awful birth;
an opening which is not simply a rent
made through a lofty range, but as if
a long, high ridge of primeval rock
rock old as the beginning of the world
running north and south, had been
split apart along its entire length of
forty miles, exactly in the centre, apd
the twq h;;lve3 wedged violently apart
until the lagged, precipitous, cavern
ous sides stood two miles asunder, aud
through this tremendous opening,
through the very centre of this huge
ridge of rock, a vast, deep, almost
fathomless volume of gloorcy colored
water bogau to How, and you have in
your mind a fairly good picture of what
the Saguenay was at its birth, and
what it is to-day.
For of all rivers on the globe this,
from necessity, has changed the least.
Here and theie the' frost and heat,
tlie snows and rams of 10,000 years
have worn down the sharp edges and
rounded the flinty verge of overhang
ing precipices; here aud there the
and wear ot centuries have deposited
83 much of soil that trees can And a
foothold, but save this all is to-day on
either hand, as you sail up its darkling
tide, as it was when first bora in na
ture's darkest hour and sternest aony,
its gloomy currents began bo boil and
whirl and flow. Every other river on
the face of the earth has changed its
banks and bed, but this strange river
has changed not a.t all, aad cannot
Change until the end of time.
A Desperate Woman.
I bad only myself to blarrie for hav
ing introduced my husband to Natha
lie Maroa, the beautiful cantatrlce. We
had been school girls together, and
when I became Marlon Halplne's wife
it was but natural that I should want
her to know tbe man 1 loved. Luck
less day far me when they met. It
Edemed to me that from that
very hour he became tired of me. 1
know 1 saw very little of him, and it
was whispered to me by many obliging
friends that he spent most of his time
iu her society.
For a while I mourned over my lost
love, but my pride came to my rescue
and I resolved to be brave and not
show that I was wounded.
I had made the acquaintance of a
very handsome Italian during this
period of my husband's apparent de
sertion. His name was Lanzetti and
he was a very accomplished and talented
man, and we were thrown a great deal
together. Even If he did make love to
me sometimes I felt I was not doing
wrong in allowing it. I felt reckless
and tormented at Marlon's indiffer
ence. I remember one night that he called
on me he found me in a particularly
excited mood. I was very glad to see
him and he must have noticed it.
His eyes burned into my very aouL
'Neilina," be said, "did you ever
think Marion Ualpiue deserts you to
make you leave him, so that he can go
his own way?"
"What," I exclamV'am I so Wind?"
X rise to my feet, and then stagger
back and should fall to the floor did
not Lanzetti catch me in his lithe
young arms. "Is it can It be? Do
you think that my husband wishes me
to go away?"
"Xeliina carlssima!" his kisses are
raining down upon my wbito, cold face,
"It Is sol"
"Then," I say, feebly, but with
Heaven knows a strong purpose in my
heart. 'Lanzetti. I will go with joul
Not for love ot yon. but for very love
of the man who desires to be rid of me!
Do you understand?"
"Ah, so that yon go with me are
mine! tbe rest will follow, Nellina. No
time must be lost. This very night, an
opera night, and therefore you have
naught to fear, we must fly! Be ready
at v o'clock. Lrive some ball or recep
tion as an excuse to your maid, and
descend Uie steps. In the carriage I
will wait my darling, and in a few short
weeks, Italy. Joy rest for thee and
me, my sweet I"
I listen to him as in a dream. As in
a dream I move about my rooms
mechanically all that day, touching fa
miliar trifles with trembling fingers.
They are all the things that speak to me
of the love my husband wooed me with.
And that husband! Moody, absent
minded, silent. No more tbe Marion
Ua.'pine whom I married only six short
months ago than, well, than I am like
unto that Nellie Dampier who became
his wife.
He is home to dinner that evening,
but throws down his paper to go out
again very shortly after our silent meal
is concluded.
"You are going to the opera?" I ven
ture. It Is the very first tim that I have
ever asked my husband a question as to
bis goings or comings.
'The opera?" he repeats after me,
listlessly. "No; 1 seldom go now-a-days,"
"I thought you liked Marca in 'Mig
non,' especially?"
"Marca is not going to sing to-night.
I see by the papers that she is indis
posed. Why Ild you ask me?" be says,
with something of the old look in bis
blue eyes.
"I don't know!"
My fingers tremble as I raise my
glass to my Hps.
"You will l well entertained,
doubtless, as usual by your friend Lan
zetti. By tbe bye, Klleu, there is such
a thing as going too far.''
"Indeed',"
There is Just anger in my heart, but,
Heaven help mel I love him and can
not stab him with a retort when I know
1 shall never look upon bis bonny face
again,
uuooa evening!" he says, coolly, but
I cannot answer. I only bow my head
and the hot tears scald my eyes.
The soft tinkle of the clock on the
mantel arouses me. Nine o'clock Lau
zettl awajts m without. Not stop
ping for a last glance, not hesitating to
think or reflect, or even to say "I-are-well!"
to my home, I fling a heavy,
fur-line. i cloak over my rich evening
dress and fly like a guilty thing down
the broad corridor and the staircase.
I met quantities of people whom I
know.
The ball boy meets and gives me sev
eral letters. Three are for me and one
in Nathalie's handwriting for Mr. Hal-
pine. "Is Mr, Ualplne not In?" I
ask."
"No, ma'am; but as you will see him
at the ball."
"To be sure," and I rush out into
the street. A carriage is waiting and
Lanzetti is Inside, He Jumps out and
addresses the driver. ,"DriveTat once
to the Northern Depot. I shall"
He falters, Marion Halplne's hand is
upon his shoulder.
"My dear slrl Mrs. Halpine," turn
ing to me, ."will you oblige me by
returning to the hotel?"
But I db not move. I stand there
paralyzed, and see my husband give
the young Italian a terrible shake and
then a kick and what more do I see?
This: the beatiful blond curls of Lan
zetti fly off into the middle of the street,
and datk i ich braids fall about the re
vealed face of Nathalie Marca.
"Great HeavenI" Marion ttgers
back in horror and alarm.
I know nothing any more for iuhhv
a long hour. When J finally awaken
my husband la bending over me, and
on hia face la written the story of a
great and wondrous joyfulness.
"Nelly, oh, my darlingl"
He takes me in his arms and holds
me to his heart.
"Y hat t3 it?" I whisper. "Tell me;
It seems as though my brain were upset.
Marion, explain it all to me, dear I"
"This, dear! This is the tale, a
strange enough one, I am sure: For
two mouths I have been the recipient
of nctcs. letters from Nathalie, telling
me of her love, as she had told me of it
in the old days. I took no notice what
ever. 1 seldom saw her never except
when she came here, and then she con
trived to have me always at her side,
as a clever, determined woman can
"Marion, your absence from home?"
"Dear, I bare been plunged almost
irrevocably in a vortex or ruin. I staid
at my ciflce late at night, trying to re
gain what I bad lost,to retrieve myself,
and kept silence lest my little girl
should worry too. Then Lanzetti ap
peared upon the scene, Nathalie's billet-doux
grew more numerous, more
pressing. They Insinuated your faith
fulness, her Immovable fidelity, Lan
zetti's fascinations, the on-dits ot ten
thousand Mrs. Grundys.
"Last night I was desperate! When
I came back unexpectedly to tbe hotel
and beheld you standing on the pave
ment with that man as I presumed
him to be heard the directions whicli
he gave the driver, Nelly, I did what I
did not dream I was doing I struck a
woman Your Lanzetti was none other
than Nathalie! Think of the woman's
desperation! Her art to originate and
carry out so stupendous a plot! Seeing
that yon were not Interested in any
one, she disguised herself and set about
tbe task of reformation, thinking to
win me to her side when I discovered
your treachery. She meant to leave you
to go on to New York by yourself, a!,
leging some excuse, and then come here
to me!
"The note which was In your hand
last night Informs me of your flight,
and of her undying love for dear littlq
Nell! your most unworty husband and
lover! Dear heart, will you forgive me
for my coldness, harshness?"
"Forgive you?" I echo; "there is
nothing to forgive you, Marion; but to
think ot tbe two months that wert
stolen from us by Lanzetti?"
"Think of the years to come with
which Lanzetti will have nothing what
ever to dol"
Drying Up the Zuyder Zetv.
The question of drying up tbe Zuy
der Zee is being actively discussed In
HolUnd. The Koyal Institute of En
gineers purposes holding shortly a pub
lic meeting of their body at Amsterdam
to thoroughly examine tbe scheme foi
carrying out this idea by connecting,
by strong dykes, all the Islands that
form its outer fringe, and so perma
nently excluding all inflow from tbf
North Sea.
VALUABLE SHELLS.
Arrival or a Cargo or 3,000 Ponndk
or Pearls.
A cargo of about 3, GOO pounds of
pearl from tbe rhilliplne Islands ar
rived recently, and it will no doubt,
soon be converted into artistic shapes
for the adornment of fashionable man
sions. One of tbe latest affections of
the wealthy Is the addition to their
household gods ot artistically executed
sea and landscape paintings in oil upon
mother of pearl shells. It is doubttui
if one of tbe hundreds who purchase
them, or five out of tbe thousands who
admire them In tbe show windows ou
Broadway or elsewhere, have the re
motest idea that nature formed these
shells for any other purpose than to be
used in this style ot adornment.
A large importer of shells aud a
manufacturer of pearl goods, in conver
sation with a reporter, expressed as
tonishment at the profound ignorance
of so many persons in regard to the
different localities from which ieail
shells come, and the hundred and one
purpose for which they are used.
"How many kinds are there used in
your business?" asked the reporter.
TUE YARIOCS KIXXJS.
'The shells which possess a com
mercial value are known to the trade
as the Manila; Australian, Bombay,
Japan, East India, Trocus, Chinese
snail, black and red ear, and l'anam i.
Several of these species are pearl bear
ing shell; and are only obtained by pro
fessional divers at the imminent risk of
their lives. Many of these bivalves are
very heavy, weighing sometimes eight
or ten pounds. Tbd moment the na
tive gets one ashore he forces it open
and ; carefully removing the living in
habitants, carefully searches fur any
it may contain. Not only the shell, at
and about its hinge, but the meat or
fish within is thoroughly examined,
lest the pearl might be secreted, as is
frequently tbe case, in the body. This
examination over, the shells are lail
aside to dry, having first been thor
oughly cleaned. The finest shell for
manufacturing purposes comes from
the Fhlllippine Islands and ia called the
Manila. It ranges in price from s.xty
to seventy-five cents a pound, and is
used for making dress and shirt but
tons, pistol stocks, cuff buttons, parasol
and umbrella handles, ien bandies,
studs, and scores of other articles. A
thin veneering isals j made of it, which
is worth f 1 3 a pound, and is used for
inlaying the covers of albums and fancy
cabinet work. These veueerings are
fairly dazzling with rainbow hues, and
when lightly polished are exceedingly
beautiful. When we have got all these
articles of the shell there Is a very little
of the shell remaining."
"Is there any difflculty'or dauger at
tending the gathering of these shells?"'
"I should rather say there wan.
There is one species of shell shaped like
an ear, called the silver aud red ear, in
the aides of which are small holes, ai.d
through these, by means of long suck
ers the fish fastens himself to a rock.
When the tide has pretty nearly run
out the natives go down among the
rocks and, watching their opportunity,
catch hold of the upper shell which the
shellfish keeps open. Unless he suc
ceeds in the first instance in pulling it
from its resting place the animal will
close its shell in a second, and the
man's fingers will be held in a vise like
grip. In that case the unfortunate
pearl gatherer will have to stand up to
his kuees In water unless be cuts off
his imprisoned fingers, for the shell
cannot be pried open, nor can three
men, with their united strength, pull
hia suckers from the rock. The shell
is ao hard that it is next impossible tc
smash it. There the poor fellow if
held In agony until the tide rises, when,
unless he frees himself by chopping oil
his finger ends aud leaving them for
the animal to dine on, he is sure to be
drowned.
PEARL MAXUFACTDKlXQ.
"After the shells have been thor
oughly searched for pearls, they are
cleansed and packed in cases oi about
two hundred pounds each, and Bhlpe.d
to England. France, or this country.
Great ingenuity and long experience
are required to become an expert iu
pearl shell working. When a manu
facturer receives an order for a lot of
cuff buttons be is sometimes obliged tc
overhaul dozens of cases in order tc
obtain those of the required thickness,
and then not more than three or four
buttons can be drilled out of the heav
iest shell. But then nothing goes to
waste, for small buttons aud other ar
ticles are made from the thinner
parts, and then, by means of a circular
saw, the 'scrap' is cut for inlaying or
veneering. 1'istol stocks require the
very heaviest shell. A pearl worker in
New York, having some time ago re
ceived an order from an army officer
for a pearl handled revolver, was
obliged to overhaul nearly a whole ship
load before he could find two shells of
the required thickness. He received
5100 for that, pistol stock.
"The business of parl manufactur
ing Is comparatively new iu this coun
try, and the profits are so large that
there is a tendency to monopolize the
industry. In consequence all sorts of
devices are resorted to in order to ob
tain tbe advantage. Some tune ago a
large bouse in New York bought a cargo
of pearl shells to arrive at 7i) cents a
pound. While the vessel was in transit
the market fell about 40 cents. It was
a lucky thing for the house that the
vessel foundered off the Cape of liood
Hope, for the concern would certainly
have foundered bad the bhip come
safely to port. Manufacturers here
prefer waiting for lota of arl shell to
arrive at New York direct from the
fisheries, instead of ordering from
London, knowing that the shells are
assorted there aud the choicest picked
out for the English and French mar
kets. There aie several large manu
factories of pearl work in Newark,
l'hiladelphla, German town, and in this
city, and since the establishment of
this industry here the importation, of
pe;l buttons from England has greatly
fallen off."
A Japanese woman has discovered
that rheumatism is caused by a bug
that burrows under the skin.
A negro la Amerlcus, Georgia,
bought a trunk at a store for $1.50.
An hour afterward he returned and
said be guessed he'd got too much for
his money. The trunk was filled with
the 8 tore-keeper's stock ot Mackinaw
straw hats that had been packed away
In it for the winter. They were
worth from $75 to f 100.
Cincinnati has a woman who
faints every time the fire bells rin;.
SEWS IN BRIEF.
In Mexico they have special fun
eral cars over the horse car routes to
the cemeteries.
Ti.e Brazilian Government has
prohibited meeting in favor of the
abolition of slavery.
Berlin is the onlv latere German
city that refus to velociiedists the
fieedoni of the streets.
On the leg of a dead pigeon re
cently found on the iSt. Lawrence
river was a silver pound, inscribed
"U.71."
Many of the principal streets in the
central part of l'aris are haviog their
former stone pavements changed to
wooden ones.
Knapp is rather a small town in
Northern Wisconsin, but it will have
a toboggan slide 1 mile long iu dera
tion, next winter.
To iier litter of three kittens a
Kansas cat a ided two young rabbits,
and later three young raccoons, all of
which she Is nursing devotedly.
At the late Medical Congress In
Vienna all the doctors who pjioke on
the subject were in favor of crema
tion as a way of disposing of the dead.
A pair of rubber hands have been
attached by a Newark (X. J.J dot-tor,
to the wrists of young Walter Alexan
der, whose hands were cut off by com
ing in contact with the machinery of
the Belleville Rubber Works.
A large jelican, with abiil as long
as a coal dealer, was captured near
Crete. Nebraska, recently. It meas
ured six feet from tip to tip of wings,
five feet from the tip of. its bill to the
tip of ita tail, and weighed twelve
pounds,
A hive of bees was found under a
cornice that was being repaired re
cently on a house m Salem, Massa
chusetts, aud after the instcts had
been smothered, a store of honey,
amounting to a tub and a half, was
secured.
The discovery of a wild cat in the
vicinity of (Quaker Bridge, West
chester County, New York, has relieved
souie tramps of suspicion that connec
ted them with extensive dlsapiearaiices
of poultry belonging lo farmers in the
neighborhood.
A young truckman of New York
fell asleep while fishing the other day,
and m that condition arose, walked
overboard and was drowned. He was
given to somnambulism, ai d Is said
before to have had several narrow es
capes from death.
An intelligent horse is spoken of iu
the Lynn (Massachusetts) Jke. It was
minus a shoe whin stabled for the
night, but next mniing walked off
of its own will to the blacksmith and
was waiting its turn to be shod when
found by the owner.
Many Ohio farmers are said to
have been caught ou promissory notes
which they signed while supposing they
were only putting- their names to
I.-dges prtsented by a sad-looking
Ki.iu, binding him not to kill any song
uuua lur a year.
A new treatment f..r consumption
Is being prescribed by old wtt'ers on
tte suakc-iidJen Sliawai.uiik Moun
tain, in New York, cor.s:t::ig in the
patient cutting ofl the head or a
"rattler" and eating what is called
the "heart" of. the reptile.
, Miss l'hoelw Couzins, it U an
nounced from St. Loiris, has Wen n;
pointed United Stales Marshal for that
District. Mie is a daughttsv of the de
ceased Marshal, and is said to have di
rected the executive affairs of the office
for some time p;ist.
1 A shower of stones rattled against
a house in Sumpter County, Georgia,
one night last May, It is slated, as
though at legu'.ar intervals. The
mysterious fusilade has been repeated,
even in the presence of neighbors. No
explanation has yet been found.
' While in Buffalo, consulting an
eminent suigeou as to what should bo
done about having his teeth out (a false
set that he declared he had swallowed),
a Jamestown (X. Y.) man received a
despatch stating that his tcelh had
leeu found where he bad unconsciously
dropped them.
The inspection of ni"at in Berlin
is a very important matter. Twelve
veterinary surgeons are employed to
stamp it before slaughter, and forty
microscopic samplers are continually
engaced in examining the meat ex-los-d
for sale. Besides these 10) ex-IM-rts
are employed in various duties,
twenty -six of whom are women.
The wiTe or a Nevada, Missouri,
man had ten young chickens. One
day at noon a hawk iouuced down
upon them and carried oil one, but did
not go far before a lot of crows got
after him. The next night at roosting
time the lost chicken came home. It
still bears the marks of the hawk, but
Is otherwise'all right.
A Maine woman, who takes pleas
ure lo her poultry, has adopted a sim
ple but excellent method of keeping her
chickens at home. She ties a small
corn cob to one leg. allowing it to dan
gle at a distance of about six Inches.
The fowl can scratch and get about
with ea?.e, but, it Is said, will not at
tempt to fly over palings or squeeze
through a crack.
A new law that went Into force
September lo throughout 1 "mania re
quires all keejiers of restaurants at rail
way stations of the third und fourth
class to provide a cup of g'Hd, hot
coffee, without milk or sugar, for 5
pfennigs (about 1 cents in our
money), arid the same with milk and
sugar lor double the price.
The jailer of the l'ueblo county
jail, Colorado, iiermitted one of the
prisoners to play the violin evening.
The other night the scraping began at
an early hour and was kept up continu
ously and vigorously until late, when it
ceased. Iu the morning the jailer
found that, under cover of the
music, four prisoners had sawed off a
portion of a window casing, worked a
big stone out of place and escaped.
Otter Belt, one of the greatest of
Comanche chiefs, died in the Indian
Territory recently. Five minutes be
fore bis death they hel 1 hira erect and
rigged him out in his best war cos
tume. They painted him red. set his
war bonnet on hia head, tied up his
hair lu beaver skins, aud laid him down
just as he died. Then bis five wives
took sharp butcher knives, n!ashed
their faces with long, deep cuts, cut
themselves in other places, and beat
their bleeding Wiles and pulled their
hair. They also burned everything
they had, tepees, furniture, aud even
most or the clothing they had on. A
big crowd of bucks looked on and killed
ten horses, including a favorite team
of Fress AdJington, oa whose rauche
Otter Belt lived.
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