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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.