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Leigh Hunt.
He is a man of thoroughly London
make, such as you could not find else
where,and I think about the best possi
ble V- - be made of his sort: an airy,cro-
chety,mosfc copious clever talker, with
an honest undercurrent of reason, too,
but unfortunately not the deepest, not
the most practical—or rather it is the
most unpractical ever man dealt in.
His hair is grizzled, eyes black-hazel,
complexion of the clearest dusky
brown; a thin glimmer of a smile
plays over a face of cast iron gravity.
He never laughs—he can only titter,
which I think indicates his worst de
ficiency. His bouse excels all you
have ever read of—a poetical Tinker-
dom, without parallel even in litera
ture. In his family room, where are
a sickly large wife and a whole shoal
of well-conditioned, wild children, you
will find half a dozen old rickety
chairs gathered from half a dozen dif
ferent hucksters,and all seemingly en
gaged, and just pausing, in a violent
hornpipe. On these and around them
and over the dusty table and ragged
carpet lie all kinds of litter—books,
papers, egg-shells, scissors, and last
night when I was there the torn heart
of a half-quartern loaf. His own room
above stairs, into which L alone I strive
to enter, he keeps cleaner. It has only
two chairs, a book case and a writing-
table; yet the noble Hunt receives you
in his Tinkerdom in the spirit of a
king, apologizing for nothing, places
you in the best seat, takes a window
sill himself if there is no other, and
there folding closer his loose-flowing
“muslin cloud” of a printed night
gown in which he always writes,
commences the livliest dialogue on
philosophy and the prospects of man
(who is to be beyond measure “hap
py” yet) ; which again he will cour
teously terminate the moment you
are bound to go: a most interesting,
pitiable, lovable man, to be used
kindly but with discretion.
A Haunted Express Car.
Exqress managers say that Wells,
Fargo & Co.’s express car No. 5,
which runs between San Francisco
and Ogden, is haunted. They have
been so much annoyed by the pranks
of a malignant ghost that they were
greatly relieved when the car w as re
cently sent to Sacramento to be rebuilt,
making no doubt that the evil spirit
would be exorcised. In this they are
disappointed, for the messenger who
accompanied the car upon its first run
after the repairs were completed, w 7 as
put to a deal of trouble by the invisi
ble tormentor. The ghost came in
and tumbled the boxes of freight
about, tolled bells, and made sweet
music, and called the messenger by
name. The last trip the car made
before it was taken from the track,
the messenger heard strange noises on
the roof. His thoughts were on his
duty, and he came to the conclusion
that robbers were awaiting an oppor
tunity to enter the car. He cautiously
opened the door and took a look at
both ends, but found everything
q uiet. He could see nothing unusual,
and returned, closed the door, and
was walking back to the mailing table,
when down came a box of cooked
shrimps and a band box. The freight
was rattled about, and finally left
where it was originally. The mysteri
ous din was continued until the train
was nearing Terrace station, in the
eastern part of the state, and the mes
senger had about made up his mind
to take to the sage brush, when all
was still again. On one occasion,
when a corpse was in transit, the head
and trunk of a man’s body was seen
to rise up from the coffin, take a good
look around the car, calling the mes
senger by name, and then vanish.
The car was in the train several years
ago when an accident occurred, just
Truckee, killing Conductor
Ifrsfall and an express messenger,
[a since that time these mysterious
Loises have been frequent.
The Influence of Sap.
Dr. Hammond says when you
tick your finger in your ear the
mring sound you hear is the circu-
^tion in your finger. Probably when
?u stick in a led-pencil the same
iring which you then hear is the
Irculation of san in the penoil.
loltalr®.— Great crimes have seldom
[Committed except by celebrated
lusses. That which makes,
^ways will make, of this world a
tears is the insatiable cupidity
^ho indomitable pride ojimen.
fci imp like great Aties have
£s and pit fMp In their
A Land Agent's Story.
A pretty good story is told about
Land Agent Milner, of the Atchinson,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, who one
day had a party of Eastern farmers in
tow, trying to sell each of them a farm
in tl e rich Arkansas valley. Milner
had taken them into his light wagon,
and behind his spanking team of bays
had given them a grand ride, lasting
all day. He had done his best to
make them enthusiastic by rehearsing
the stories which he had at tongue’s
end, of the marvelous crops of the val
ley, but to all intents it was ‘love's
labor lost,’ for they w T ould not ’thuse.
This annoyed Milner, but he had his
revenge in his reply to one of the
party, who, with a sardonic smile,
asked:
“Well, Mr. Agent, is there anything
that wouldn’t grow here?”
“Yes,” replied Milner. “Pump
kins wouldn’t.”
“What!” exclaimed the cynical
land -buyers together, “pumpkins
won’t?”
“No,” said Milner. “There are
men in this country who give $250
an acre for land that would mature a
crop of pumpkins. They never have
been able to get a crop since I’ve been
here, aud that’s ten years.”
“Well, how strange!” “Why is
it?” said land-buyer No. 1.
This was Milner’s chance, and
with a serious expression he replied :
“Well, sir, the soil is so rich that
the vines grow so fast they wear the
pumpkins out dragging them over the
ground.”
The Fall in the Value of Money.
The complaint that money will not
go so far in our generation as it did a
generation ago is frequent enough,
although the compensating truth that
money, on the whole, is made more
quickly nowadays than it was form
erly is not so frequently dwelt upon.
The general sinking of the value of
money was most Instructively and
pleasantly illustrated in a paper read
by M. Avenel a few days ago in Paris
before the Academy of Sciences. His
subject was confined to the period of
Louis XIII.—1610 to 1643. A tolerably
brilliant housekeeping, with ten ser
vants, could be easily managed, as M.
Avenel tells us, upon a yearly income
of 12,000 francs. This is proved by the
account books of Cardinal Richelieu’s
niece, Madame de Pont Courbay, who
had exactly that income, and main
tained herself, her two daughters, and
no fewer than sixteen servants in the
style corresponding to the high place
and power of her eminent kinsman.
A nobleman with a revenue of 100,-
000 francs was held to be amazingly
wealthy. This was the appanage, M.
Avenel says, of Gaston, the King’s
brother, and also of the Due de Rohan.
The Constable de Montmorenei, the
richest nobleman in France, gave his
daughter only 300,000 francs as her
dowry. Queen Henrietta Maria, the
wife of our Charles I. brought about
300,000 francs into her English home
as her wedding grant. The rents of
the most splendid houses in Paris
were extraordinarily low—measured
by the scale ot two centuries later.
Then the English Ambassador in
Paris only paid 2,000 francs a year for
the hire of his imposing hotel.
“Digitated Stockings” are Dis
cussed in England.
They occupy a conspicuous place in
“the clothes of the future,” and the
innovation has been cordially wel
comed in many quarters. A lnedical
contemporary thus gravely pro
nounces in their favor: “They would
be more comfortable, more healthy—
giving better play to the foot and se
curing increased breadth and space
for expansion across the base of the
toes.” All this is very well, but the
universal undigitated stockftig need
not fear its rival. It has long since
driven out of the field the ancient
stocking with a stall for the big toe ;
and if a two-toed stocking could not
hold its own, what chance is there
that a five-toed innovation will make
much way ? The toes are already
cramped in the modern boot, and
they would bo squeezed still tighter
digitation is to prevail, for there is no
hope that fashion will prescribe broad
toed boots merely to make room for
the stocking of the future. Besides
busy people perhaps find life short
enough already without adding to the
demauds upon their time that of in
serting each toe in a separate stall.
Greek Fire.
“Greek, fire”—or, as it is sometimes
called “Saracen fire ’’—was the most
important war material men had be
fore the invention of gunpowder.
Twice the city of Constantinople was
saved by the use of it. It is said to
have been invented by a Syrian, who,
deserting from the service of the
ealiph, revealed his secret to the em
peror. The ingredients, if not also
the mode of darting the fire, were
kept a secret for upwards of 400 years,
and it is quite uncertain now what
were actually the component parts of
that which, Joinville says, “came
flying through the air like a winged,
longtailed dragon, about the thickness
of a hogshead, with the report of thun
der and the velocity of lightning; and
the darkness of the night was dis
pelled by this deadly illumination.”
It is generally considered, however,
that “the fire” was composed of
naptha, mingled in certain propor
tions, now unknown, with sulphur,
and with pitch obtained from ever
green fir. This mixture, iguited and
blown or pumped through long tubes
of copper, which were mounted in
the prows of galleys, and fancifully
shaped into the form of monsters,
produced a thick smoke with a loud
explosion, and a flame, fierce and ob
stinate, which no amount of water
could extinguish. When used for the
defense of walls, it was poured in large
boilers from the ramparts, or was
hurled on javelins by means of tow
which had previously been steeped in
inflammable material. Against it the
bravest soldiers went in vain ; their im
agination recoiled from a thing so
subtle and terrible. Horses fled from
it in dire fright; ships were burnt by
it; there was no way of standing
against it.
The Greek emperors, sensible of the
enormous advantage which an of
fensive weapon of such a kind gave
them, invested it with a mysterious
history, and appealed to the supersti
tion of their subjects for the pres
ervation of the secret of the man
ufacture. They said that an angel
had revealed the composition of Greek
fire to the first Constantine, for the
express purpose of maintainiug the
superiority of the empire over the
barbarians; and that whoever be
trayed the secret to foreigners would
incur not only the penalty of treason
and sacrilege, but the special ven
geance of the Almighty. In tne
twelfth century, however, we find it
u&ed by the Mahometans in their
wars with the Christians, and from
that time it came into prettv general
use, uutil the invention of gunpowder
put it out of date, and caused an entire
revolution in the art of war.
Five carloads of workmen were
wrecked on the New Mexico and Ari
zona Railroad near Crittenden, Ari
zona. One man was killed and eight
Luri
Legal Experience.
Good Grounds for Divoroe.
My first case in Alabama was that
of au elderly citizen, who heeded not
war’s stern alarums, as he was beyond
the military claim to service; but his
courage took a wider range—he de
termined to wed,and he wedded. She
was buxom, “fat, fair and forty. H?
agile, but three-score years and ten.
They had been tied in the bonds afore
said some six weeks, when my client
put in his appearance. It was war
times, corn was high, $5 a bushel, and
the bride brought a dowry of six acres
of the cereal. This realty on the one
hand,and a great force of volition on the
other, established in the bride a dispo
sition that argued “rule or ruin,”
hence, she dominated, and Tillston
had the experience, and this is how
it happened: “‘Mr. Tillston, drive
‘Bet’ out of that corn in the field and
put her in that pen.’ Bet weighed
some three hundred pounds aud had
tusks that would have shamed a boar of
the Ardeunes. Now, General, here was
a snap. I said to Mrs. T.,‘I am mor
tally afraid of that swine, Bhe don’t
know me.’ ‘Mr. Tillston, if that sow
aint in that pen in five minutes your
carcass will be spread over this planta
tion.’ This was said under the gleam
ing light of a foot and a half carver.
My thoughts clattered through my
brain like a troop of Sheridan’s caval
ry. A ferocious looking beast in front
that I wished had ‘gone down in the
sea’ when the others did, that we
read of in the good cook, and in the
rear—‘Hades hath no fury like a
woman scorned,’ and an improve
ment on this is, when she wants a
sow ‘whooped’ out of her cormdig-
giugs, that she proposed in her anger
to defend against the whole brute
creation. I advanced upon the enemy
in front keeping one vigilant optic
upon the consort in the rear,
ision of
ness that appals me even now—made a
demonstration. I turned at day, Mrs
T. was closing up the interval, yell
ing like a dervish, ‘Drive out that
sow, Mr. Tillston, drive her I tell
you!” Gnashing in front of me, and
howling in the rear. Ivory and steel,
I shudder, General, at the memory.
Crunching or cold steel. Events were
nearing—the gap was closing.” “Well!
well 1 give us the finale.” “It wasn’t
exactly that, General, it was a fence
on the right flank, and I straddled it
quicker than you could scorch a feather
in the bottomless pit. ‘Snaking’ it
for a rod to keep clear of the creek, I
found a soft place and ‘lit’ with the
war cry in my in ears of, ‘You Till
ston ! you Tillston ! you Till—ston !
you Till— ! I’m afraid I’m going
to have chill, let’s take a little per
simmon brandy. Do you think I’ve
grounds for a divorce?” “Yes! but
you’ll lose your interest in the plan
tation.” “Yes, but I’ll save my ba
con.” This conclusion was too logical
and was an offset against the loss of
the corn patch. As “saving one’s
bacon” in the South meant somethiug.
The divorce was obtained, and Tills
ton has not ventured his animated
bark amidst the tempestuous billows
of the oceau of matrimony since.—
National Union, Pkila.
Canals on the Planet Mars.
The Rev. T. W. Webb, author of
“Celestial Objects for Common Tele
scopes,” writes thus to 1 he London
Times respecting Schiaparelli’s discov
ery of “canals” on the planet Mars: It
has long been known that the surface
of the planet Mars is bo mapped out
into brighter and darker portions as to
suggest the idea of continents and
oceans, and the analogy thus implied
with the arrangements of our own
globe is strengthened by the existence
of brilliant white patches, as of snow
or ice, situated at r r near the planet’s
poles of rotation, and varying in extent
with its changing seasons, as well as
by occasional differences in outline or
coloring, which may well be explain
ed by the supposition of a vaporous
atmosphere.
In the autumn of 1877 and spring of
1878, a number of minute, straight,
black or dusky bands were detected by
Schiaparelli, traversing and subdivid
ing the supposed continents in various
directions. These have been called
from their aspect “canals,” though, of
course, their scales entitles them rather
to the appellation of straits, or very
long, narrow arms of the sea. A few
of these had been previously seen by
various observers, but to the Italian
astronomer belong, d the credit of de
veloping and delineating them as a
system. At the ensuing return of the
planet in 1879 ’80, they were again
detected and drawn by him, with very
little difference. But duriug the course
of last January and February lie has
been so fortunate as to perceive the
duplication of these dark streaks by
the addition of parallel lines of similar
character and length in no fewer than
twenty instances, covering the equi-
torial region with a strange and mys
terious network, to which there is
nothing even remotely analagous on
the earth, aud which leads us at once
to see how premature have been our
conclusions in this respect, and how
far we still are from any adequate con
ception of the real constitution even of
our nearest neighbor but one in the
solar system.
Carlyle on Walter Scott.
Sir Walter Scott died nine days ago.
Goethe at the Bpriiig equinox,
Scott at the autumn one. A gifted
spirit then is wanting from among
men. Perhaps he died in good time,
so far as hie own reputation is con
cerned. He understood what history
meant; this was not his chief intellec
tual merit. As a thinker, not feeble
—etrong, rather, and healthy, yet
limited, almost mean and kleinstad-
tisch.
I never spoke with Scott (had once
Borne small epistolary intercourse
with him on the part of Goethe, in
which he behaved not very courteous
I thought,) have a hundred times seen
him, from of old, w riting in ^ic Courts
or hobbling with stout speeAlongthe
streets of Edinburgh ; a lalge man,
pale, f^ggy face, fine, detfi-browed
gray eK an expression A>f strong
honiely^^^ligenco,of huim Aiul good
perhaps (in lBr years
among ^^Bwrinkles), of Jilness or
wcarine^^^ solid, welldj^HWectiml
tl^Hei of all
this (leU^^^exaggerut^^^^^^^pd
's a
The Dispensary.
Remedy for Burns.—According
The Practitioner a simple an I eff'ec
tive remedy for removing the p<»in
wounds caused by burns or scalds, i]
saturated solution of bicarbonate
soda in either plain or camphorat^
water. To apply the remedy all that
is necessary is to cut a piece of lint or’
old soft rag, or even thick blotting
paper, of a size sufficient to cover tl
burned or scalded parts, and to keep I
constantly well wetted with the so< cl
lotion, so as to prevent its drying.
this means it usually happens that
pain ceases in from a quarter to hi'
an hour, or even in much less time!
When the main part of a limb, sue
as the hand and fore-arm or the foot!
and leg, has been burned, It is best]
when practicable to plunge the part at
once into a jug, or pail, or other con
venient vessel filled with the soda
lotion, and keep it there until the pain
subsides, or the limb may be swathed
or encircled with a surgeon’s cotton
bandage previously soaked in the sat
urated solution and kept constantly
wetted with it, the relief being usually
immediate, provided the solution be
saturated and cold.
Male and Female Longevity.—
The recent official returns in regard
to the health and mortality of the'
population of Europe have supplied the
statistical department at Vienna with
the means of making some interesting
determinations in respect to longevity.
It results from this, that of 102,831
individuals who had exceeded the age
of ninety years, 60,303 were womenl
and 42,528 men. Again, the superior]
longevity of women is exhibited b]
the greater chance, it seems, in the
cases of women, of attaining or ej
ceeding the hundredth year. Thi
in Italy, there are found 241 femall
centenarians for 141 male, and in Aus-j
tria 229 women for 183 men. There
are also, in Austria, 1,508,359 sexage-|
narians, or 7.5 per cent, of the popula-j
tion.
Light and Color as Affecting
the Vision.—Dr. Croft, in discuss
the question of color as affecting
or deficient eyesight, expresses’
opinion that in some cases spectac]
fitted with yellow glass afford
relief to the wearer than do those
vided with blue glass. Tests
with the Argand burner show tl
affords ihe steadiest and best li|
and it is believed that the arrangemei
which is least trying to the eyes is
be obtained by the interposition ofJ
shade so placed as to screen all direi
light rays from the eyes, at the saij
time, of course, that adequate illumir
tion is obtained at the place requir
for work, a tinted paper is found if
fatiguing to the vision than if
paper is of a pure white color.
London
Fogs — Their
tion.
Fori
In a recent lecture, Pr(^ Ej
Frankland stated that six
tons of coal are probf
London during the
and the quantities of
any sulphorous acid
the air as products of tl
are euormous, These
to form the London fogsj
plies the basis of all
vapor particles become
tar, which renders them!
nent; dirt is necessary to 1
while su%horus acid it.
land illustrated these poind
iment. To prove the effect of
the air he filled a large flask
moist air freed from dirt by filterinj
then cooled the flask, when a slig{
mist was formed which disappeared
a moment; repeating the experimei
with air containtng its normal char£
of dirt, the fog was more dense an?
lasting. Tarry masters render
persistent by retarding eyaporatf
He believes that the general substi]
tion of anthracite for bitumiuo^^
would do much toward freeing
metropolis from its fogs, as the dia
charge of tar and soot into the atmesj
phere would thus be vastly lessened.
Thlkmail train
Vallej^^ilroad
track n
iug of a rai,
broken tie.
mail car a
thrown do
Jacob Mill©
was dangeroui
£he White Wat
irown from t'A
by the t(T
expre.
injured;
ner, the baggage-master, was baf
about the breast, and Brittln£
tlje postal clerk, and about t^
iers, wore slightly injured.
*atsy Devine, who murderec
Ifjllow, wjflHftld.