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VOL. XIII.
NEW BLOOMKIE1L.3D, PA., TUESDAY, APItlL B, 1871.
NO. 15.
THE TIMES.
In Independent Family Newspaper,
It PUBL1BHD1VHRTTUHSDATBT
F. MORTIMER & CO.
BUllSCIlirTION P 11 ICE.
(WITHIN THB C0CHTT.)
One Year II 2
81 Months, 75
(OUT Of TBI OOUNTT.)
One Year. (Postage Included) II M
Hlx Mouths, (Postage Included) 85
Invariably In Advance I '
W Adrertlslng rates (urnished upon appli
cation. $eledt roetfy.
DOT STUPPORN PONY.
Mlt bier I growt so belly
Dot too much the walkln' pe i
So I pyed me of von pony,
But dot pettier be sheat me,
Bote eyes of blm vas llmpy,
Bote tecksof him yaspllnd;
But dot rot proke of me mine heart
Dot pony ras ouklnd.
He keeck Just like a stupporn mule,
Oop, town, pe tore, pehlml,
Und how I cure dot pony )
I rolt oop In my mind,
Dot svmpntee yas nonsense i
Bhust eferydlnks he preak :
Yen sutten koomed ron grand I tee,
I tole you how I make,
I beetched him mlt de shatters,
But, outside In, Instet,
Ills het oop py dot wagon.
His dall where yas his het.
Den one, doo, dree I selling him,
Ach, Hlmmol, how he keeck I
But Ten he Und he noddlngs stroock,
He stopp dot pooty queeuk,
Den looks he opp astoundet,
Oxlted pooty bad ;
Den suetten makes he packwards
Like at of he vas mat.
I laugh ai of I ras tying
Ven I see him go dot vay i
Den ou his haunch he ttoomples town,
As he ras going to bray.
How shamet he look, Tateflerl
I tole 111 m Tot I dinks;
Doo dears drop oult his eyepall: ,
Mlt krlef his dall be vlnks.
Aroundt all ride I toorn him,
His het before him now,
Und streecks he trlves as goot und kind
As he Tas been mine frau I
A TRYING SITUATION.
MANY years back, a young man
came out of a little bouse at the
eastern end of a town by the sea. There
was plenty of life and gaiety at the other
end of the town, which was livened by
one or two barracks, a fort and a castle.
But the eastern end was very poor, and
would have been quite lonesome but for
the fishermen and their boats. The house
from which the young man came was
beyond even this homely bustle, and was
little more than a wooden hut tarred to
defend it from wind and weather.
But the young man who came out was
in the full dress of a military officer,
though that was screened from a first
view by the long gray cloak that the
wild March wind made so necessary.
He was young, and his face was fine
ly cut, and would have been pleasant
but for a look of stern aud painful sor
row,not unmixed with bitteriiess,whlch
seemed strangely incongruous with his
years and his dress.
He walked on quite through the town.
Whenever the houses broke apart one
caught the glimpse of a wild, flat coun
try, dotted here and there with weird
trees in Indian file ; and the youth look-
ed wistfully towards these desert fields,
as if he would fain have struck away
acrops them instead of going on, as he
did toward the grim old fort.
Yet there, it was clear, festivity was
going forward; and friendly voices
greeted him as he passed the gray old
portal. And then, over his sad, stern
face lie dropped a mask of gaiety, and
though he relapsed into silence at times,
he was as polite and conversable as the
best of them.
There was a preparation for a dinner
party in the fine, stiff, old hall, with Its
rows of military portralts,and lis dingy,
blood-stained banners. The castle, the
barracks, and the fort Itself, had eagerly
furnished guests to welcome the visitor
of tho day, a grand old general recent
ly returned from honorable victories in
the south of Europe.
,After dinner, when ceremony was
fairly thawed, the good old geneial, In
the kindness and pride of his heart dis
played a little box,whluli had been given
to him by some grandee of Spain. I
think it must have been too small for a
snuff-box, and was probably one of those
tiny trifles in which fashionable folks
used to carry com (Ha and lozenges. At
any rate this box was Bet with diamonds
and colored gems of rare value, aud as
it passed from hand to hand, flashing
brightly in the lamplight, while the
old warrior told dread stories of cam
palgns and of the daring and honor of
his men.
But suddenly, at the end of a story so
thrilling that all heads had been craned
toward him, while the military servants
had thronged the door in rapt attention,
the simple question was asked :
" Where Is the general's Jeweled
boxy
Nobody knew ; everybody said he
had silently passed It on to his fellow.
The general begau to rummage his own
pockets, lest it had found its way back
to him and he bad half-unconsclously
put it away. No, it was not there, and
the brave old lighting face looked a little
blank, as he murmured an excuse about
" how the loss would vex Lady Eliza
beth." " But it cannot be lost, general," said
the officer in command of the fort. "In
this room It was but a few minutes ago,
and in this room It must be still. Let
the servants at the door come in ;
though, to the best of my belief, not one
of them has approached the table since
the box was brought out. Let the door
be made fast, and let our search be
thorough."
The candles were brandished to and
fro, under the tubles, under the chairs,
round the table drapery. But from no
point flashed out the brilliant beauty of
the little box.
" Still It must be here," Insisted the
commandant, " and surely no gentle
man will think his honor infringed if
each in turn is asked to empty out his
pockets upon the table. 1 myself will
be the first do so. And the servants
Bhall be the last."
Nobody could be expected to demur at
so simple and sensible a proposal, backed
as it was by the honest old officer in
stantly rattling out some crown pieces,
and a tobacco pouch, half pence, and an
old pipe. One after another, the gentle
men on either side of the table followed
his example, while sharp but not un
friendly eyes took eager note of strange
pieces of personal property ,and of dainty
three-cornered notes, which might serve
in the future as material for badinage
and quizzing.
But one drew back when the com
mandant made his proposal. The young
man who had walked in from the
eastern end of the town dropped sud
denly into his seat whence he bad risen
in the first eagerness of the search. He
passed his hand once or twice through
bis hair, leaving it wild and straggling,
And then he watched blankly, as the
fruitless search drew nearer and nearer
to himself. Within five minutes one or
two officers were whispering to each
other that most any simpleton might
bave seen he did not expect it to be
found.
His turn was the very last. "Ensign
Hanson," said the commandant, steadi
ly. Ensign Banson was certainly the
first who required to be called upon by
name.
The youth arose, and, though the rest
of his face was deadly whiteness, there
was a spot of burning red on his cheek
"I do not think any gentleman should
be asked to do this," he said. " I will
give my word of honor that the box is
not upon my person. I did not keep it
in my bands even for a moment ; I
merely took it and passed it on."
11 Too high-minded even to look at
such gewgaws," sneered a spiteful old
major under bis breath.
" What men high in the service and
old enough to be bis father have already
done, Eusign Banson may safely do
also," said the commandant, with a se
verity whleh was not unkindly, for
young Banson looked such a boy among
the crowd of men, mostly stout and mid'
die-aged ; and the very suspicion sud
denly lowering over blm mode the old
officer think of his own lads, growing up
and not quite sure to do well for them
selves after all.
" I would never have asked It for the
sake of my box," observed the general,
leaning back In his chair, and Inwardly
wondering what Lady Elizabeth would
say of his carelessness. ,
" But we asked it for the sake of
our honor, general," said the command
ant, testily.
" And we do not seem to bave asked
it needlessly," whispered the spiteful
major.
" I will not do this thing I" cried the
young ensign, passionately; and he
looked wildly around the group ns if he
sought for one face that would compre
hend and compassionate bis misery.
The face that looked the kindest was
that of the old general himself, partly
because It was not bis hospitality that
was outraged, partly because his genial
nature was terribly shocked at finding
anything of his the cause of such a
wretched act of dishonor.
" If the general will come with me to
the ante-room," said the young man,
,l I will convince him that I have bare
ly touched his box. But this public ex
posure I will not submit to; our consent
was not asked and"
" Certainly not I" " Out upon you!"
General, you must not think of in
dulging bis Insolent request," were the
only sentences audible in the general
hubbub that rose on all sides.
But the general rose :
"Oentlemen," be said quietly, " I've
never yet refused to listen to an enemy's
petition. If you can satisfy me, sir,
perhapB your comrades will take ray
word for you."
There was a murmur of very reluc
tant acquiescence, as the ensign bowed
and waited respectfully to follow the
general to the ante-chamber. They had
not disappeared behind the heavy cur
tains before all sorts of surmises were
whispered around the table, guesses and
hints so wild and so sinister as to do
credit neither to the beads nor hearts
which originated them. The general
and ensign stayed a longer time in the
ante-room than would have sufficed to
search the ensign's pockets twice and
twice over. Not a sound could be beard.
If any conversation was going forward,
it must have been in'a very low voice.
The two gentlemen were away for near
ly half an hour. All the military ser
vants bad been subjected to the com
mandant's rigid scrutiny, and then dis
missed. It might be as well that none
" but the gentlemen of the regiment"
should know exactly what the end was
The delay grew first awkward and then
awful. Even the whispers and rumors
flagged into un intense and excited
watching.
At last the general and the ensign
came out. The ensign's face was still
very pale ; what flush remained upon it
bad now mounted to the eyes. The old
general was blowing his nose.
" Ensign Banson has thoroughly sat
isfied me," he said, in bis most gentle
voice. Never mind my box. It has
vanished by one of those mysterious ac
cidents that will happen some times.
It will be found some day. And now,
gentlemen, perhaps as we have been
thus broken up we shall not settle down
again very comfortably to-night. I hope
we shall see you all at the castle before
Lady Elizabeth and I leave for Lon
don."
" General," said the commandant,
drawing blm a little to one side, " may I
sincerely trust your great generosity has
not led you to"
" Sir," cried the old general, " can you
imagine that any mistaken idea of
kindness would cause me to make you a
companion of thieves? Oentlemen,"
he went on, seeing that the company
were not aware of this little by-play.
" I pledge you my word that I am sat
isfied of Ensign Hanson's honor; and
whoever dares to doubt him makes me
to be his accomplice."
And the old general seized the young
ensign's arm and marched with him
from the banqueting-room, while every
one sat dumfounded, till the spiteful
major remarked that wonders would
never cease.
There was nothing more to be said. It
was discovered that Ensign Banson was
not only invited to the castle with the
other officers, but was also asked there
by himself and actually was believed to
bave taken tea with the general and
Lady Elizabeth in their deepest retire
ment.' For the general's sake, rather
than his own, his brother officer's con
tluued on courteous terms with blm ;
and he had always been shy, and belt!
himself so aloof, that perhaps he did not
discover there was but little cordiality in
their courtesy. And presently he ex
changed into another regiment, wbich
went on foreign service.
He was away for several years, and in
the fortunes of war he got rapidly pro
moted, so that when be returned home,
though he was still young,, b was no.
longer a poor nobody.
When be landed in his own country
he found a letter awaiting him, written
by one who bad sat near him at that
memorable dinner party, and who was
now residing in the old castle where the
general and Lady Elizabeth had been
guests. This letter pressed blm, in the
warmest terms, to spend some of his
earliest days in England at this very cas
tle, and to give many old friends who
were in the neighborhood an opportu
nity of meeting and congratulating him.
Ensign Banson, now Colonel Banson,
cmiled a little strangely when be read
bis invitation, but be wrote a very po.
lite reply and accepted It.
Once more he sat in the stately old
banquet-room of the fort. This time he
bad not walked in from the bleakest end
of the town, but bad been taken from the
castle in the chariot of the castle owner.
But as he took his seat in the chair of
honor, he noticed that every face at the
table was, in all Its changes, familiar to
him. All of the guest at the former
dinner were not there. Many of those,
indeed, he well knew, were sleeping on
battle-fields far away. But nobody was
at this dinner who had not been at the
other one.
Once more the dishes were removed
and the servants withdrawn. The guest
of this evening was no wonderful story
teller, like the good old general, who has
now passed to bis rest. Colonel Banson
was as taciturn as Ensign Banson was
shy, and he even let the conversation
flag and never seemed to notice it.
" Colonel," said the eldest gentleman
of the party, speaking with visible ef
fort, and giving a slight cough, to veil
his embarrassment, " Colonel, I think
we all remember another time when we
fllncwl tncroflinr tioro "
" Certainly ; I remember it," answered
the Colonel, lifting his gray eyes with a
cool light In them.
" Colonel, we fancy you think some
of us did you ill-Justice then. At least a
lady says you felt so Lady Elizabeth,
the good old general's widow. If what
we are going to do Is any way painful to
you, I hope you will pardon us, for we
are only following her counsel. Colonel,
there was a box lost that evening. Here
it Is."
Yes, there It was, gleaming once more
in the light which danced gaily upon it.
The Colonel looked at it calmly, and
asked :
" Where was It found V"
His composure was exceedingly dis
concerting. Another gentleman, feel
ing that the first had done his part, now
took up the parable.
" It was found in the very chair in
which you are now seated, colonel," he
suld. " You will remember that the
general sat there on that night. It
must have found its way back to the
general's own band, and in the interest
and excitement of bis story telling be
must have Intended to slip it back into
bis pocket, which, if you recollect, was
the first place where he sought it. In
stead of that, it evidently escaped the
proper orifice and dropped into the cov
ering of the chair, that covering was
very thick and heavy, and hung In lap
pets about Its legs. Part of it was un
sewn, and this box dropped between the
damask and the lining and remained
there safely and unseen, till the chair
was recovered lost year."
"Gentleman," said the colonel, with
his accustomed calmness, though bis
Hps trembled a little, " I cannot wonder
if some of you thought my conduct sus
picious. I thank you heartily for show
ing me your brotherly delight that those
suspicions were unfounded."
At the bottom of the table sat the
spiteful old major (he was on half-pay
now, and more spiteful than ever) aud
be thought within himself that there
was no telling whether Ensign Banson
bad not taken some subsequent oppor
tunity of getting riii, of his dangerous
booty into the hole in the damask, and
that mystery could not be called cleared
up, unless the colonel had explained
why he had demurred to the search.
And this spiteful old major would have
said as much to bis net neighbor, if be
himself bad not been so terrible deaf that
be could not regulate- bis own voice be
tween a confidential1 whimper and a .
mighty shout.
The colonel safe hi silence for some
minutes. Then he recalled himself with
a start, and drawing something from his
pocket, said quietly ;
"Gentlemen, I, too, have something
to show you."
All pressed forward as he carefully
unfolded the soft paper packet and laid
something ou the table. What was it 1
What could It be?
It was a bleached skeleton of a chick
en's wing.
" Gentlemen," be said in that same
quiet voice, which no longer sounded
cold and stern, but rather full of strength
and sweetness," when I was here before,
I waa a poor, fatherless lad, owning
nothing in the world but my poor little
pittance of pay. I fear I was an eyesore
to some of you. 1 think you felt my
appearance did not do justice to the dig
nity of our regiment. I believe I often
looked rather shabby, but really I could
not help it.
"I bad only one relation in the world,
and that was my mother's sister. After
my mother died she had been as a moth
er to me, but when our home was final
ly broken up, there was nothing for it
but she must be a governess in a stran
ger's house. And she did her work
courageously and cheerfully enough, till
her health failed, and nobody wanted
the service of a sick woman.
"She had always been good to me,
and we two had only-esch other in the
world. I could not help ber as she
ought to have been helped, but my pay
would at least provide her such a main
tenance as a poor workingman cau give
to a poor working woman.
"I took my aunt to lodge with the
wife of the miller's man, in the little
black cottage beside the mill. She was
a very kind, cleanly woman, though
rough and plain in her ways : and my
poor aunt used to call herself very bappy
there. But she could not eat the simple
food my scanty means could procure.
And the good landlady used to break my
heart by suggesting that her appetite
might be tempted by chicken or game,
or such luxuries beyond my utmost
reacn.
"All the day of that memorable dinner-party
my aunt bad been very feeble
and failing. When I left ber I really
wondered whether she would be alive
when I saw her again. My soul revolt
ed at the sight of dainties that were no
good to me, and which I could not con
vey to her who seemed dying for want
of them. Suddenly a bright idea seized
me. I took a letter from my pocket
and spread it on my napkin, and then,
by an adroit movement, transferred a
wing of a chicken from my plate to the
paper, and thence smuggled it to my
pocket."
The listening guests began to look at
each other with enlightened eyes. - The
spiteful old major felt that a very full
explanation was being given and he
was glad he was deaf, and need not
hear it.
"Gentlemen you can all imagine my
feelings when such unlooked-for circum
stances threatened to expose my poor
plan. Gentlemen, there are some of you
who were, like myself, young then;
whom It would bave been as bard to
meet, after such a discovery, as it would
have been bad I really stolen the
jewels."
"Heaven forgive us, Banson ; but I
can't say you are wrong." said one
brave gentleman, who bod been a fash
ionable dandy in those days, but who
has a wife and six children now.
"Gentleman, I did not fear the old
man, honored and enriched by a grate
ful country. The men who had fought
the best battles of life have a pitiful
respect for the poor and friendless. To
blm I could lay bare my poor little
secret. But my place then was among
the young, who, having never conquer- .
ed, always despised the defeated the
vain giddy youths, extravagant with
their fathers'money, and"
"Oh, come, Banson," cried one officer,
"It is your turn now, with a vengeance.
Please to remember that to-night we are
the abject and defeated and be merci
ful." The Colonel laughed. And they
could not tell wether it was good faith
or subtile irony that lie rejoined, "You
are right," aud then went on :
"In the little room yonder, I told my
sad story to that good until who is gone.
And I folded up my queer treasure again
for I could not leave it behind to bear
witness; aud, besides, having paid such .
a terrible price for it. And she ate it for
her supper that very night; and next
morning, almost as soon as it was light,
there was the general hammering at the
cottage door with a basket of fowls and
fruit carried in bU own band. And,
then and there, I took this little chicken
bone, and vowed that I w ould keep it
till the snuffbox be found, and I myself
was such a man among men that uone
would smile at my poverty, or even
despite my weakness."