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A Good I
■One.
J. H. ESTILL, PROPRIETOR.
SAVANNAH, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1877.
ESTABLISHED 1850.
All letters should be ad
J. H. ESTILL,
Savannah. Ga.
1
Affairs in (itM)rffia.
Anthony Goole expiated the crime of mar
ker l y hanging at Ellijay yesterday. The
murder was committed in Gilmer county in
November last, and though a strong appeal
w3; . made to the Governor for executive
e’emency, he refused to interfere with the
tir-t .•sentence of the law.
\ negro named Charles Holmes, who
burned three stores at Eatonton in January
] a8 t, was arrested at Social Circle on Tues-
d& - aud turned over to the Sheriff of Pat-
nam county. His conviction is certain, as
there is positive proof of his guilt.
Mr. Wall Rainy, of Houston county, at
tempted suicide at Perry ou Saturday last
by taking a heavy dose ol' laudanum. A
doctor and an emetic saved that life he
would have destroyed.
Father and son will help make the new
constitution for Georgia. Joe Warren, of
Savannah, and his father, General Eli War
ren, of Houston, are delegates to the Con
stitutional Convention.
Mr. N. W. H. Gilbert was waylaid and at
tached by two negroes near his home, in
Houston couuty, last week, aid received
several painful wounds on the head from
c’.ubs in their handB. Their object was pro
bably murder.
Newton county now boasts of a ladv fifty-
six years old who recently presented her
husband with twins.
.Mr. II. R. Hannah, of Gwinnett county, a
well to do farmer and an esteemed citizen,
committed suicide on the 15;h instaut by
shooting himself through the head with a
pistol. No cause is known for the rash act,
but for some time past his despondency had
been noticed by his friends.
The Hawkiusville Dispatch has at last dis
covered the model freedman and now he is
Immortalized : “Ho lives in Pulaski county,
and Richmond Phillips is his name. Rich
mond is a healthy, robust miD, and has
been farming on Mr. knell’s plantation
across the river, four miles from Hawkins
ville, during the past nine years, and, re
markable to relate, it is said that during
nine years ho has not neglected his dnty a
day, nor ‘been to town* a single time.”
Major Whaley, of Jesup, whilst in
Brunswick in attendance upon the fair,
somehow “fell among tnieves,” and had his
watch and chain and about thirty dollars iu
cash taken. By judicious silence, he suc
ceeded iu recovering the stolen property.
Toe residence of Mr. E. B. Cook, of Mil-
mi, Calhoun county, was destroyed by fire
oue day last week. The fire was the result
of accident, caused by a defective stove
pipe.
Oalhouu county ca:n9 nearer polling her
entire vote in the recent election than any
other county in the State. The negroes
wen; thoroughly aroused on this occasion iu
consequence of the deception practiced
upon them by certain political aspirants
who claimed to be against the calling of a
constitutional convention.
Mr. Joab GillioD, of Gordon county, has
drawn as many beads and killed as many
deer as any Buffalo Bili ; Kit Carsou or Red
skin Scalper ever did, aud m doubt about
it. lie lives on the Chickasawhatchee, the
native haunt of the antlered braves, and is
as happy as any city bre 1 man driking julep
from a blue glass. He says he has, by a
strict and certain count, killed six thousand
and two deer in his life.
Last Friday morning a pack of dogs got
among Mr. J. J. Lawrence’s goats in Mit
chell couuty. Out of seventy-five, he has
now left only eight or ten, Oh, for a dog
law.
Thad Allen, a colored man, wno has a
iarm near Athens, dropped dead in bis field
while cutting wheat last Tuesday evening.
He was a hard working man, sober and
honest, and was held in esteem by all who
knew him.
A female thief named Jennie Scott was
trr. sled at Eastman, on a charge of the
theft of & watch at Jacksonville, Florida.
She was on the Macon train, ^ud when dis
covered by the Marsha! she was occupying a
seat and indulging in a flirtation with a
ha .dsoine and well known lawyer of North
ern Georgia, who is also a member of the
L giblature. The traiu stopped for dinner,
ami leaning on the arm of that gentleman,
he escorted her to the hotel, and when tho
couple arrived in the sitting room, the Mar
shal politely made his business known, .and
the lawyer as quickly vanished. There is a
moral in this which will be apparent.
About one hundred negroes voted in
Mitchell couuty on the 12tb, after being in
formed by the Sheriff that he had exocu-
*iims against them for taxes. They will be
indicted at our November court.
Mr. J. G. Hisscher, an esteemed citizen
of Houston county, met his death on Satur
day night iu the following manner: “About
'fcu o’clock he went out into his garden U*
drive out some animal wuicb he supposed
was molesting his vegetables, when re
turning to the house he fell over a chicken
v: K»p which was in the garden walk. Oue
corutr of the coop struck the lower portion
of Li* abdomen, producing internal in
juries ot such a serious nature as to produce
death.” *
The Fort Wdey Mirror has tho following:
“The Central Railroad authorities have em-
?. '}>d a detective force to travel over the
Tailr-ad to note auy inaccuracies of the con
ductors. Oue passed through this place on
his way to MacoD, and nearly every passen
ger and traiu hand knew his business. He
■* a very nice detective who cannot preserve
hi- iucognito. Ills name isn’t Green but it
ought to be.”
Tbe Gwinnett Herald says: “During a
be v y rain last week a large, finely devel-
'med bull frog tbit would have made a
Frenchman’s mouth water for a week, fell
iu one of the streets of our village. He
was seen by several gentlemen, who are
uow anxiously discussing where he came
from.”
The New York Commercial Advertiser
editorially says : “Mr. John H. Parnell, of
Jjfcst Point, Ga., has forwarded to Mr.
Brenteno, of Uuion square, an invoice of
Peaches grown in the open air. They are as
t08> and fresh as cheeks of seventeen, and
&8 j’licv as a pair of lips a little older.”
1 he Walton County Videtle man is a hu
morist. He says : “When the foreman of
tho A-.lanta Constitution, caliopes through
t e tin telephone for ‘more copy* the ‘eleven
able* £a : miv blow the foam back from the
edge ot a quart measure and reply, in un-
tuftl -<i tou’e : ‘Hammer another Black Sea
°u the war map and give it to ’em again.’ ”
Th«* llasvkingYille Dispatch says : “ If we
had two nice banners we would send them
*° Dooly and Montgomery counties, as a
j-onipiiment to ‘h^se people for their spleu
Jiu majorities for a convention. Dooly gave
* majority of G37 aud Montgomery a round
*haj >rity of 400. This shows their love for
h^ Radio J constitution of 1868, under
‘•hick Bullock filled the Executive chair
plundered the State.**
U( J^ B from the Hawkinsville Dispatch:
thl Aunt Sallie Manning left Hawkiusville
Vi- W wee ^ b ago to visit her old home in
/HPQia, and, if possible, find some of her
P^ple. It has been about thirty years
A UQt Sallie left Norfolk, and daring
uat long period she felt an ardent desire
J® re turn and once more view the scenes of
, er £a rly days and mingle with those she
Lew. Since the war she has been icdustri-
jJJJ 8 an< * frugal, and with care had accumu-
® money sufficient to buy h*r a little
ome oaths street below Messrs. Ferguson
• ^ • 8 B tore, and had some money extra.
ttlQ first of last month she made
a t * rra S ei nents—cooked rations, bought
the ^ rom Hawkinsville to Macon, and
wh ere Procured a through ticket to Norfolk,
Qere arrived in due time. Aunt Sallie
Rays she was perfectly astonished to find the
streets of Norfolk ‘turned aud crooked about
po much since she was dare befo. All do
folks ’peared strange. Dar was lots a new
bouses put up, and big ships on de waters
and nobody ’peared to know her.* She at
once began searching for her white people,
and after long inquiry found that the old
folks were dead, but that her young ‘mis
sus, de little gal dat she used to nuss
and think so much of, was still living.*
She at las - found her ‘little missus’—an
aged woman now, with her second husband
and foor children. As soon as she saw old
Mammy Sallie’ and recognized her, she
ran to the old woman, threw her arms
around her, and embraced and wept over
her as if she were her real mother. There
can be no doubt but that it was a tender
and affectionate meeting after so many
years. Aunt Sallie’a next search was for
her husband, and she finally found
him living iu the country near Nor
folk-married again—and he and his
wife eujoyii g life as if they had been
united all tiitir lives. ‘Well, Aunt Sallie,
what did you do then ?’vre asked. ‘Nuffing
at all. He say to his udder wife dat he was
agwine to come home wid me, and be
would a come if he had de money.’ ‘Well,
Aunt JSallie, you are now satisfied.* ‘Yes,
bless de Lord, I’se satisfied now dat I’so
seen de old country ana de folks, and i’se
gwine to try to make some more money to
live on. I’se worked hard all dis time to
save money jest to go back to old VirginDy
to see my people. But my boy—I’se never
seed him yit. Da say he went to ’Orleans.’ ”
Wesleyan Female College.
Macon, June 21.—Editor Morning
Mews: Wesleyan College is correctly
styled the mother of female colleges. It
was the first chartered institution de
voted exclusively for the education of
young ladies in the world, and yet it is
only forty years old. She has granted
diplomas to over a thousand young
ladies, many of whom to-day adorn the
highest circles of society, and are found
foremost in all benevolent and charit
able works that enhance the happiness
and ameliorate the woes of mankind.
A parchment bearing the signatures of
the President and officers of this college
is a sufficient guarantee to introduce a
young lady into any literary or social cir
cle having for its basis the only true
principles—moral and intellectual culture.
Just after the diplomas were conferred
by President Bass, the following young
ladies of the graduating class received the
award of beautiful gold medals:
In General Excellence—Misses Lula
Mobley, Etta McElrath, Annie Murray,
Minnie Wood.
In Painting—Misses Doria C. Davis and
Annie Powers.
In Vocal Music—Miss Jennie Harnber-
ger and Carrie Hill.
In Instrumental Music—Miss Annie
Murray. This was a surprise to the
young ladies and they received them with
gentle grace and sweet modesty.
We omitted to say in the proper place
that the college hall was most beautifully
ornamented with oil paintings and Cray
on sketches, the work of the young ladies
in the art department of the college,
some of them of the very finest execu
tion.
These optional branches in the college
receive a very general patronage upon
the part of the regular pupils, and de
servedly so, for the services of the best
teachers are always secured.
The next term of the college opens
the third Wednesday in September.
Yours, West Mabtxn.
Savannah District Conference 31. E
Church South.
Whitesville, June 21.—Editor Morn
ing News: This body convened here on
Thursday at 9 a. in., Rev. A. M. Mann,
D. D., presiding officer. It is composed
of tho clergy and a delegated laity from
the Methodist Churches in seven or
eight counties contiguous to the Cen
tral Railroad, representing a member
ship of about five thousand.
The opening sermon was pieached by
Rev. R. A J. Corley, of Trinity Church.
It was full of point, pathos and power.
The attendance is very good, though
the Conference is not full. Ample ac
commodations for all guests are made by
the good citizens of Whitesville and
vicinity.
The pastors of the Savannah churches
rendered reports yesterday at the after
noon session. They reported progress iu
almost every interest of the church.
We see present Revs. Corley, Wynn
and Simmons and Messrs. Miller, Hous
ton, Bolshaw, G. Heidt, Porter, Wiley
and Anderson, and Rev. E. Heidt.
Rev. Mr. Simmons preached an earnest
discourse last night to an attentive con
gregation.
Several pastors presented their reports
this morning, most of them very en
couraging.
The venerable Dr. Lovick Pierce
preached this morning at 11 a. m. from
I. Thes. 1 oh., 8 verse. His voica was
feeble, yet sufficiently distinct to be heard
all over the house. His expositions of
scripture are very clear and with his bold
and forcible style his mere talks are
samples of what were once the grandest
sermons delivered by any living man.
Yours, Wesley.
General A. R. Lawton.
[From the Atlanta Constitntion.]
We print elsewhere a communication
from a prominent citizen of Georgia sug
gesting that General Alexander K. Law-
ton, of Savannah, be made President of
the Constitutional Convention, and we
allude to it here for the purpose of en
dorsing every word that is said in favor
of the General. There is no purer
patriot, no truer Georgian, no honester
man, no more accomplished gentleman
than A. K. Lawton. His distinguished
abilities are generally recognized through
out the State, and his large political and
parliamentary experience peculiarly fit
him to preside over the deliberations of
such a responsible body us the Constitu
tional Convention.
The name of ex-Govemor Charles J.
Jenkins has also been mentioned in con
nection with the Presidency of the con
vention, and in what we have said of
General Lawton we would not by any
means be understood as endeavoring to
exalt him above the noble old Roman
who was bo true and faithful to Georgia
when she needed true and faithful sons;
bat we feel sure that neither of these
distinguished citizens will allow their
names to be used in opposition to each
other. They will each endeavor to sub
serve the interests and the will of the
people, and to that extent only is either
ambitious.
IE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION—WHO
SHALL BE PRESIDENT ?
Editors Constitution: TUe foregoing
question is one that demands the seri
ous attention of every delegate to the
convention, as well as of every good and
intelligent citizen throughout the State.
The convention will be one of the most
important and far-reaching events in the
history of Georgia and to effect the noble
purposes for which it is designed, calls
for the highest intelligence, the most un
selfish patriotism, the moEt devoted
loyalty to truth and right of which the
representative men of our Stato are
capable.
The existence of these qualities beiDg
granted, it is next of ihe utmost impor
tance that they be exercised in strict
conformity with the canons of statesman
ship and wisely directed for the conven
tion, and the welfare of the common
wealth. The presiding officer should be,
in the first place, a man of unquestionable
patriotism, a man whose record is without
a blemish in the past or in the present, a
man who has rendered signal service to
the State, a man of firmness, tact, great
ability, of towering personal influence,
sanctioned to rectitude of character, and
thoroughly versed in parliamentary laws
and usages. A man who cannot fill this
special measure to the brim will fail to
realize tbe importance and dignity of the
station, and disappoint the hopes as well
as the stern demands of the people.
The object of this brief article is to
direct the eyes of the people to tbe dis
tinguished Georgian, who will, in every
respect, illustrate tho imperatively essen
tial qualities we have named and honor
the high office of President. We allude
to General A. R. Lawton, of Chatham.
No eminent man in our State enjoys more
fully the esteem and confidence cf the
people, and his election to the Presidency
of the Constitutional Convention would
be bailed with delight and satisfaction by
all classes. Let the patriot, conservative
and representative Georgian be called
unanimously to preside over the delibera
tions of this convention of the peo -
pie. North Georgia.
A PERILOUS TRIP.
The Halr-I.iftln* Bide »( Two Nevada
.Vlioertt fa a Alining Flame.
A correspondent sends an acconnt of
the perilous journey down the mountains
of two Nevada miners, who made the trip
in a mining flume. The flame is owned
by Messrs. Mackey & Fair, and is located
in the mountains near Carson City. It is
about fifteen miles in length, leading
from a lofty elevation down to the plain,
and crossing in its course deep ravines,
skirting terrible precipices and chasms,
and presenting many sharp curves. It is
fed with water from Lake Tahoe, and
empties into a creek near Carson City.
This flume, said to be the longest
in the world, is used to carry down
timber which is cat on the moun
tains. There are several places in
its course where the incline is slight, and
visitors are occasionally treated to a short
trip over these inclines in a boat con
structed for that purpose. The two men
who took the trip were workmen, who
some months ago conceived the notion of
shooting down the entire length of the
flume. To carry out this foolhardy ad
venture they constructed a strong boat,
sharp at the bow and square at the stern,
and fitting the flume closely enough tfc
keep it steady. The men describe
the trip as something terrific. The
heavy boat got a fearful headway,
and the men had no means of stop
ping it. In shooting round the
carves they thought it would jump the
flume and precipitate them into the
chasm that yawned beneath. Down the
steeper inclines the boat sped with more
than express traiu velocity. The fifteen
miles were passed in less than eleven
minutes ! From the foot of the moun
tain to where the flame empties, the in
cline is gentle, and here the boat grad
ually lost its terrific headway, and at
length glided smoothly into the creek.
Unharmed, but scared almost out of
their senses, the men stepped ashore,
and one of them was heard to remark
that he would not make that trip again
for ail the silver and gold in Nevada.
A PRIEST’S LUCKY ESCAPE.
SUICIDE IN A PAWS SHOP.
Attempted AaMasniantlon of Father Hits,
hnrrlf*. of St. Joaeph’n Church.
The New Persecution of the Jews.
If it is true, as stated in our New York
dispatches, that the management of the
Grand Union Hotel, at Saratoga, have es
tablished a rule excluding Jews from that
hotel, it will be likely to damn the Grand
Union with an immortality. It is carrying
narrow religious prejudices a long way, to
proscribe any particular sect by saying a
member thereof shall not break bread un
der the hallowed roof of a place of public
entertainment, when he pays his bills
regularly and conforms to such rules as
apply to all other guests alike. It may be
that the publio have not rights that a snob
bish Saratoga hotel is bound to respect, but
we are to learn for the first time that an
inn keeper in this country has any business
to inquire into the religious opinionsof his
guest before permitting him to contract
dyspepsia at his table, or a typhus fever
under his miasmatic sheets at the cost of
smail fortune for the luxury. We pre
sume there is self-respect enough among
the Jews to prevent any overwhelming
number of them from patronizing that in
stitution, bat we shall be surprifed and
m'>oh misconceive the American sense of
right, justice and decency if many people
of any sect, Jew or Gentile, endorse with
their presence and patronage a hotel man
agement whose business is regulated upon
this narrow-guage principle. One vir
tue of the Jewish people may be appro
priately referred to in this connection—
their cleanliness. There are no people
more scrupulous in this matter as to their
persons and the preparation of their daily
food It is a virtue which some watering
place hotels up that way might pattern
without impoverishment, even among
Christians. SVe are afraid Judge Hilton
has not improved upon the plan of his
predecessor, tbe late A. T Stewart and
is not the man to keep a hotel.— Nash
ville American.
The Philadelphia North American con
fesses that some “ masked villains have
been murdering people in their beds in
Pennsylvania, and thereupon makes the
wild suggestion to the unprotected Penn-
sylvanians that “an excellent guardian
for the house is a dog, who should be kept
in doors at night, with the privilege of
roaming through it. A little, wide-awake,
balking dog, or a lamp kept burning,
will cause burglars to give the house a
wide berth, aud any experienced police
man will vouch for the truth of the state
rnent. Let our friends in the country
bear that in mind.” A dog will not stay
the progress of the professional Pennsyl
vania assasin, who commits murders, as
last week, at the rate of three or four a
a day. The North American is in the
habit of promptly suggesting the use of
the United States army when it hears ot
a “masked villain ” in a Southern State.
As Pennsylvania is admitted to be over
run by “masked villains,” suppose the
North American calls on Hayes for
“ troops,” since the State authorities do
nothing to protect the people.—Courw-
Journal.
A Well Managed Swiudle.
[Detroit Free Press.]
Yesterday a man clad in the garb aud
having the general style of the frontiers
man called at Mr. Eppstein’s pawnbrok
er’s office, on the cornerof Woodward and
Jefferson avenues, aud said he would like
to make a dicker.
“Well, sir, what can I do for you?” in
quired the urbane attendant.
“I’ve got some gold here,” said the
stranger. “I'm hard up, and want to raise
some money on this ’ere pile.”
He took from an inner breast pocket a
smalt pasteboard box, carefully lifted the
cover off, aud disclosed to the pawnbroker
a handfui of gold nuggets.
“Where did you get that?” inquired
the pawnbroker.
“Dug’er myself,” was the reply.
“How much do you want for it ?”
“Oh,” returned the miner,”I don’t want
to sell it; only want to make a temporary
raise. I guess $150 will see me through
for a few days, and when I git home I'll
send for it.”
The pawnbroker tested one of the nug
gets, found it twenty-one gold, and aftei
weighing it and finding the pile worth
$174, he offered to advance $100 on it.
“ ’Twon’t do, mister,” 6aid the visitor.
I must have $150 or nothing.”
“One hundred dollars i9 all I can leDd
you on it,” replied the pawnbroker, hand
ing back the box aud its precious con
tents.
The owner replaced the cover and its
treasure back into his pocket and started
toward the door. At the threshold he
halted, appeared to be debating with him
self for a moment, aud at length turned
again to the pawnbroker.
“ Well,” said he, with a careless air.
“ take it and give me the one hundred
dollars. I’ll make that do.” With that
he handed out the box once more, re
ceived a ticket and one hundred dollars in
cash and disappeared. An hour later Mr.
Eppstein thought he would have a look at
tbe gold, and took it out of the safe. To
make assurance doubly sure, he again
tested it. The first nugget proved to be
silver, very neatly gilded. Another and
another were examined in like manner
until the whole had been gone through,
and every nugget was found to be of the
same character, the whole being worth a
fraction over four dollars.
The trick was now transparent. The
pretended miner was ready a very clever
swindler, who had two boxes, one contain
ing the pure gold and the other the gilded
silver, which he exchanged at the time be
pretended to decline the offer of one hun
dred dollars. He made his escape, and
Mr. Eppstein philosophically pocketed
his loss of ninety six dollars.
The Cactus Plant for Paper Making.
The “desert palm,” or cactus plant,
which is indigenous to the soil of Cali
fornia, has, after thorough examination,
been found to contain qualities, when
reduced to certain form, tnat place it as
an important factor in paper making. We
some time ago gave an aocount of a fine
quality of paper manufactured from the
article at Philadelphia some time ago,
and have now to add that the prospects
of an important business being estab
lished are very premising. At Los
Angeles, Cal., a mill for reducing, the
cactus to proper shape for paper manu
facture is fully established, and its suc
cess is beyond all doubt by the owners.
If success proves as anticipated thou
sands of acres of land in the State now-
covered with this forbidding plant will
be utilized, and the Pacific slope be
enabled to make all the paper it needs
out of its own vegetation. To make paper
the material is first carved in block, then
pressed down a shute to a shedding ma
chine, then boiled in immense vats and
baaten up into pulp in ray engines. It is
afterward treated in the usual way. The
palm grows in alkaline deserts where there
is notan average annualrainfail exceeding
four or five inches. The whole Mohave
Desert, from Tehichipa to the Colorado
river, probably about forty thousand
square miles, contains large groves of this
tree. It attains an average height of
about fifteen feet, branching at the top,
and will average about six inches in
diameter. Its particular advantages as a
paper-producing plant consists in the fact
that the whole body of the tree is fibrous,
and that after the earthy matter is re
moved every portion becomes paper pulp.
—N. Y. Bulletin.
Mrs. Partington says that just before
the late war circumstances were seen
round the moon nightly, shooting stars
perambulated the earth, the desk of the
sun was covered with black
and comics swept the honzon with the r
operatic tales. Everybody said that n
profiigated war, and sure enough war did
oorne.
Ihe Famine iu India.
There is no change for the better in
India. The famine has not abated, and
affairs everywhere are becoming critical.
The price of grain is advancing, most of
the Burmese rice crop has been secured
for English consumption, anu there is no
rain. The condition of the people on the
relief works is gradually deteriorating.
In eight districts where the annual death
rate of the winter season is not usually
more than 20 per 1,000, it ranged from
37.3 to 148 3 in December and from 62.6
to 118 7 in January. Many of the deaths
are due to starvation, or diseases en
gendered by starvation, but these are
debited to “cholera.” The best authoii
ties estimate the total loss of life that will
follow from famine at a million, and
think that the Madras census of 1881,
with its 30,000,000 souls, will show
if not a retrograde a stationary
population. A fact is cited by the Lon
don Times' correspondent which upsets
the assertion that periodical famines and
pestilences are necessary to keep down
the redundant population of Hindostan.
The remarks ou this head, the corres
pondent holds, would be pertinent to the
-ubj-ct if the famine had displayed itself
in the most thickly populated districts of
the country, bnt, as a matter of fact, the
most thickly populated districts have
been able not only to grow food enough
for their own necessities, but to export
to places where there was scarcity. Tan-
jore, for instance, with its 540 inhabitants
to a square mile, has known no famine
nor distress beyond that incidental to the
raising of prices of food from 100
to 200 per cent, above the or
dinary rates; while Kurnool, Cnd-
dapah and Bellarv, with only 130, 160
and 150 inhabitants to a square mile, have
felt the pressure most severely. There
is no evidence of any value to show that
the population in India is beyond the
capacity of the land to support. Every
pound of grain consumed in the famine
tract of the south during the present
scarcity has been supplied by India itself;
and while an enormous local failure of
crops over an area inhabited by 20,000,-
000 of people has prevailed, India has
still been able to add largely to her ex
ports of wheat to Europe. There is
nothing in the condition of the famine
stricken district to point to over-popula
tion, and when the famine is over it may
be found that the districts are suffering
from want of people to till the soil.—
N. Y. World.
Last night a patrolman of the Ninth
Precinct was summoned to the pastoral
residence at St. Joseph s Church, No. 40
West Washington Place, and there found
James Brennan, aged fifty, a malster, of
No. 147 Christopher street, in the grasp
of several gentlemen, who accused him of
attempting to assassinate Father Fitz-
harris, one of the parish clergy, who ex
hibited a severe cut on the inside of the
third finger of the left hand. The officer
received a long shoemaker’s knife from a
gentleman who had disarmed Brennan.
Brennan is a stalwart, muscular man. At
the Charles Street Station House he said
that Father Fitzharris was his debtor,
and that he went last night to collect a
bill that had been owing for some time,
and that when Father Fitzharris denied
the debt and endeavored to expel him
from the house he drew a knife and
stabbed him.
A reporter of the World found Father
Fitzharris at his devotions. He was
quite cheerful and ridiculed his injury,
which was hidden by a finger-stall. In
explanation of the 8ffair he said: “I
was going to an urgent sick call in King
street, and passed from tbe chapel, which
is in the rear of the honse, to the front
door. Some one was pulling at the bell,
and just as I opened the inner folding
doors a man intruded himself, muttering
incoherently, and made a downward pass
at my body. My left hand was grasping
the door-handle, and I threw it up and
received a slight cut, as you see. As
soon as I was aware that the man had a
knife I grappled with him. I am pretty
muscular, although of small stature, and
although the man made several lunges at
me, I evaded them and managed to get
hold of the man by the right cuff of his
coat. Meanwhile I shouted for help, and
several gentlemen and one of the priests,
who were in the reception-room, ran out,
caught bold of the man and he was dis
armed and held nntil a policeman came.
I never saw the man before to my knowl
edge, and from his actions believe him to
be demented. As soon as he was locked
up I attended the sick man in King street
and administered the usual rites.”
Brennan behaved rationally enough at
tbe station-house.—N. Y. World.
DelniU of a Recent Romantic Traced? In
Ml. imnls.
The Advantage of Pine Forests to a
Country.
Some interesting observations have
lately been made by M. Fantral on the
influence of pine forests on the quanti
ty of rain received by a country, the by-
grometrio state of the air aud the state of
the ground. It is proved that pines have
the property of condensing vapor, and
that In a much higher degree than leafy
woods. Thus the quantity of rain which
fell over a pine forest during fourteen
months was 840.70 mm., as against 757.75
mm. on the open ground three hundred
metres off, showing a difference in favor
of the forest of more than ten per cent,
cf the latter quantity. (In the case of
oaks and witchelms the difference was only
five per cent.) The mean saturation of the
air above the forest was ten-hundredths
more than at any other station, (sixty-
three against fifty-three.) The quantity
of rain received by the lorest ground was
471 mm., while 369 mm. was intercepted
by tho trees—i. e. 0.43 of the water pre
cipitated. Though the open (sandy)
ground received 757 min., there is reason
to believe that the forest ground really
conserves more water. These data show
what services may be rendered by pine
forests on burning, sandy or chalky
plains, which the want of water renders
unproductive. Such forests, too, are a
powerful remedy against inundation.
The Doom of Turkey.
If we may believe astrological predic
tions, the dissolution of the Turkish Em
pire. at least in Europe, is at hand. In
1854, at the time of the Russian war, the
following was extensively circulated
among the newspaper press. It is an old
prediction, and was first published about
the middle of the fifteenth century, A.
D. 1450:
In twice two hundred years the Bear
The Ore* cent shall assail,
Bnt if he Cock and Bull unite
I he Bear shall not prevail.
So far eo good. The Bear (Russia) did
assail the Crescent (Turkey), but France
and England (represented by the Cock
and Bull respectively) united with Tur
key, and the bear was foiled. But the
prophecy continues:
In twenty years from that set out.
Let Islam know and (ear,
The Cross shall wave, the Crescent wane,
Dissolve and disappear.
This would indicate that the disruption
of the Turkish Empire is about to take
place. We have not long to wait for the
fulfillment of the prophecy, which already
bids fair to be realized.
A Chinaman at an Auction.—This
morning at an auction sale on C street, a
lot of worn-out household furniture was
under tbe hammer, when a Chinaman
who had been carefully watching opera
tions for some time, put in a bid of “two
fcittee” for an old, dilapidated washstand.
“Two bits, do I hear the three?” shouted
the auctioneer. There was a long pause,
broken at last by the Chinaman bidding
again: “Three bittee.” The crowd
laughed at the Celestial for raising his
own bid, and the auctioneer, taking in
the situation, sang out: “Three bittee, do
I hear the four ?” and looked over at
John. There was another long pause,
but at last “Fo bittee” came from the
Chinaman, and a roar of laughter went
up, in which even a number of old
women joined so heartily as to almost
shake their false teeth out. Still the
auctioneer held on to the washstand, and
the Chinaman, determined to secure it,
bid five, six, seven, eight “bittee” suc
cessively, and it was finally passed over
to him for a dollar. He received it with
a smile of awful dimensions, remarking,
“Me ketchee washstand, you bettee, heap
cheapee. ”— Virginia Chronicle.
Wearing the Ribbon
Wherever you walk in the streets of
mo-t of the smaller cities and towns of
the West you will find nearly every third
person yon meet decorated with a red
ribbon, every sixth with a white, and
every tenth with a bine. The blue is worn
by members of the “Murphy” League, an
organization that differs slightly from the
Red Ribbon in the framing of their con
stitntion and form of pledge. The white
ribbon is worn by women and youths
under eighteen, and might be termed the
badge of a side degree of the Red Rib
bon League, women and children not be-
ing allowed to enter into full communion.
Ihe difference between the form of the
Murphy or blue ribbon pledge, and the
Reynolds, or red ribbon, is only slight, as
will be seen by the following comparison:
the murphy pledge.
I, the undersigned, do pledge my word
and honor, God helping me, to abstain
from all intoxicating liquors as a bever
age, and that I will, by all honorable
means, encourage others to abstain.
the red ribbon pledge.
We, the undersigned, for our own
good and the good of the world in which
we live, do hereby promise and engage,
with the help of Almighty God, to ab
stain from buying, selling, or using alco
holic or malt beverages, wine or cider in
eluded.
The signatures to the pledges every
where are immense in numbers, and
1 quor dealers are feeling seriously the
result of the temperance movement.
A Chinese Idea oe Hell.—The sixth
court is situated at the bottom of the
great ocean north of the Wnchiao rock.
It is a vast, noisy Gehenna, many
leagues in extent, and around it are
sixteen wards. Iu the first ward the
souls are made to kneel for long periods
on iron shot. In the second they are
placed up to their necks in filth. In the
third they are pounded till the blood runs
ant. In the fourth their mouths are
opened with iron pincers and filled full
of needles. In tbe fifth they are bitten
b> rats. In tbe sixth they are enclosed
in a net of thorns and nipped by locusts.
In the seventh they arc cru-hed to jelly.
In the eighth their skin is lacerated and
they are beaten on the raw. In the ninth
their mouths are filled with fire. In the
tenth they are licked with fl-imes. In the
eleventh they are subjected to noisome
smells. In the twelftn they are butted
by oxen and trampled on by horses. In
the thirteenth their hearts are scratched.
In the fourteenth their heads are rubbed
till their skulls come off. In the fifteenth
they are chopped in two at the waist. Iu
the sixteenth their skin is taken off and
roiled up into spills.—Shanghai Courier.
The Manufaciube of Leatherette.—
A substance of comparatively recent ori
gin, termed leatherette, on account of its
resemblance to Morocco leather in many
r, spects, is to all accounts destined to as
sume a position of some importance as a
rival of real leather for bottom linings
of light shoes and slippers. A corpora
tion is already organized to manufacture
the article on a lage scale somewhere in
New England, and the secretary has
made overtures for proper machinery in
Europe. The Shoe and Leather Reporter
says “leatherette is composed of a strong,
fibrous felt, naturally grained, and is fin
isbed in diced work, pebble or straight
grain, patent leather, or, iu fact, any
other finish, and any color to resemble
morocco, and is used for bookbinding,
belts, boxes, pocketb toks or hat linings.
For bottom linings for slipper leather,
ette is coming into use, and ansv'ers ilie
purpose very well in light work, and is at
least 50 per cent, cheaper than any other
material. The price, all gummed for
shoe bottoms, is 16 cents for a sheet
containing 4 1-6 feet, or say 4 cents a
foot. The colored stock, not gummed, is
sold at 18 cents a foot.”
Heroism has assumed a ten form with
Ihe breaking oat of the national game for
the season. The Boston papers dismissed
with a paragraph tho heroic men who
rescued a family from the fourth story of
a burning bnilding, a few days since, but
one of them fairly glows with enthusi
asm over the courage displayed by “Cap
tain” Spalding, of the Chicigos. And, in
good sooth, it was a daring deed the
Captain did. Standing firmly np to his
duty as pitcher, he was Btruck in the
breast by a “hot one” square from the
bat. An ordinary man would have faint
ed at once. Not so the gallant Captain.
He first grasped the ball and “put it to
first,” thereby putting out the striker,
and then, with his duty accomplished,
calmly fainted away. History records
but few such instances. Casabianca’s
feat, even, sinks into insignificance when
compared with it, for while it was a cour
ageous thing to stand on the baming
deck, there wasn’t any use in doing it.
A SISTER’S DISGRACE.
How It wan
AYpofrd by
Brother.
a Kentucky
More Higher Civilization.—A novel
funtral took place in this city yesterday.
A pet canary died a few days ago, to the
great sorrow of the family who owned
him. It was dressed in a handsome em
broidered white dress, and laid daintily on
its left side in a fancy box, which was
covered and lined with white tarlatan.
Tbe foot board of the box was taken oat
in order to allow tbe embroidery—several
inches deep—to hang out; and one little
yellow wing was made visible over the
side of the box. On each sidt of this
miniature coffin stood the little seed cups,
with their half-eaten contents. Around
the cops were arranged some delicate
bine forget-me-nots. All these—the cof
fin with its precious contents, the seed-
cups and the forget-me-nots—were placed
inside the case, which was tastefully
trimmed with white tarlatan, and stood
on a table before an open window. Yes
terday the funerel rites were performed,
after which a procession formed in line,
the mourners coming first, and an appro
priate tombstone will be raised.—Ha
ford Timet.
[St. Lonis Republican.]
Late yeaterdav afternoon a man walked
into the pawn shop of J. Meyers, No.
317 Market street, and asked to be shown
some revolvers which were exposed in
the case. The proprietor and his wife
were engaged in tbe back part of the
store, and their son, a clever boy, waited
on the customer. The latter behaved
himself much as another man might, and
there was nothing in his action to attract
special attention. He was keen after a
bargain, as are most men who go into a
pawn shop to trade. The boy was keen
for it, too, and he soon discovered that
his customer was determined to have a
revolver at all hazards. Finally one was
selected and a price agreed upon, but
the boy had no cartridges for it. The
customer said he would not take it
airless they would throw in the cartridges
to load it with. The boy said there was
none in the house. The stranger was in
no hurry. He’d wait till the boy could
get some, so rather than lose a bargain
tbe clerk ran out and bought some. He
returned quickly and the cartridges,
32-100 gauge, just fitted the cylinder.
TUe weapon was loaded and handed over
to the customer, who had thus far shown
no money. When he tock the pistol
again the boy noticed that his customer
seemed to act a little queer. He was a
large, powerful man, with smooth shaven
face, and might have been about forty
years of age. He wore a dark suit and
white shirt, with ligtht shoes and a stiff
black hat. He was evidently a laboring
man, and an able bodied one. too.
As the loaded weapon was handed to
him he looked at it all over. On top both fell to
of the guard over the cylinder was
engraved the word “Avenger,” the trade
mark by which the style of weapon is
kuown. The word caught the man’s eye
and seemed to affect him instantaneously.
The boy was waiting to see him pull out
bis money and pay tbe stipulated price,
but he did nothing of the kind. Instead
of that, he simply raised the weapon in
his right band, cocked it, and pointing
it to his right temple, fired before the
frightened boy could comprehend his de
sign. The effect of the shot was as
though paralysis had seized the man.
Every joint seemed to loosen at the flash,
and he dropped down petfectly limp and
lay at fall length upon the floor. The
blood poured out profusely from a
wound on each Bide of the head, for
the ballet had passed clear through,
and after leaving the left side of the man’s
skull, had broken a pane of glass.
People heard the shot and rushed into the
shop, filling it with a curious crowd in
ten seconds. In his pockets was found
the .-am of thirty-five cents and nothing
else. There wa3 nothing to identify him
—no scrap of paper, no mark on his
brawny arms or broad chest. Many came
iu and looked at him, then went away.
In the lining of his hat was the maker's
mark, “Allard, Chicago.” The hard,
worn palms of the man’s hands indicated
that he was used to sturdy work. The
face was evidently freshly shaven, which,
taken together with the fact that no pa
pers were found in the pockets, would
seem to indicate that he had gone delib
erately about the job with the determi
nation that his identity should remain a
secret.
[Cincinnati Enquirer, 18th Inst.]
The officers of an up-river steamer,
which arrived yesterday, bring the partie-
nlarsof a serious shooting affair which oc
curred on Sunday, near Fairview, Bmcken
county, Ky. The particulars, as far as the
reporter could glean them, are as follows:
Bradford is on the Ohio river, about
twenty-five miles below Ripley, Ohio. A
young girl named Boyd, from the latter
place, has been in the habit of paying
frequent visits to friends in Bradford.
Here she became intimate with a
physician named Lytle, a resident of
the place. Tbe girl returned to her house
recently and set her family crazy by
stating that she bad been seduced and
ruined by Dr. Lytle. On Sunday last her
mother and brother proceeded to Brad
ford for the purpose of investigating the
affair and cowhiding the Doctor. To
save the girl from shame by marriage,
about two o'clock in the afternoon young
Boyd, the girl’s brother, met Dr. Lytle
on the street, and stopped him, saying.
“Doctor, you mast marry the girl or
die.” To this choice of what the Doctor
considered two evils, he replied: “I
would sooner die than marry the girl.”
and he turned on his heel to walk away.
The brother pulled out his revolver, and
said as he began firing, “Yon will die
now, then.” The first shot entered the
body near the right shoulder, penetrated
the lungs and lodged in the breast bone,
making an ugly, and it is thought a fatal
wound. Before yonng Boyd oould fire
the second shot, Lytle turned and faoed
him, and started toward him, Boyd
firing and the ballet entering the left
arm at the wrist and ranging toward the
, elbow. Lytle clinched Boyd, and
the ground with the Doc
tor on top. The blood gushed from the
wounded man’s mouth aud covered Boyd
with blood. At this stage of the fray a
brother of Lytle's roshed up, snatched
the pistol from Boyd’s hand and was about
to blow out the brains of his brother’s
inarderous assailant when he was pre
vented. The combatants were dragged
apart, the Doctor was carried into a store
close at hand, aud while this was being
done, Boyd made bis escape and has not
yet been captured.
The late steamer from up the river last
night brought a continual ion of the above
story, with further information as to
some of tho details. It appears that a
brother of Dr. Lytle married one of the
Boyd girls, a sister of the one tbe Doctor
is charged with seducing. Charley Boyd,
the shooter, crossed the river and made
his escape in a buggy, driving to Ripley.
No clue to his whereabouts has been dis
covered.
The State of Europe.
Making due allowance for the notorious
uncertainty of rumors at a time of gen -
r-ral apprehension, it is not to be regard
ed as at all improbable that the Czar,
stiffened as his policy evidently is by
Bismarck, should at this stage of the
war with Turkey be desirous of learning
England’s precise intentions. Having
proclaimed his own as wtll as protested
against being wrongly suspected of what
he does not see fit to announce, he turns
squarely about and questions the English
Government. And the accompanying
rumor that Bismarck thinks as the Czar
does about it, namely, that Eagland has
helped the Turks as long as she ought
without showing her hand, goes to
strengthen the current belief that the
great German is in sincere sympathy
with the designs of Russia. The Czar
makes complaint of England’s moral sup
port of the Turk, but for which it is
charged that he would not hold out so
strenuously. The instructions to Couut
Setiouvaloff are said to be to represent
to the English Government the Czar's
disipproval of such ’ a policy, and
to state distinctly that open hostility
would be preferable to this current state
of donbt. If Berlin believes that the
Czar will force England to declare herself,
that is because Berlin knows too well the
secrets of the pending performance. That
again strengthens the belief of an under
standing between Berlin and St. Peters
burg. Lord Derby would only exasper te
the Emperor of Rnssia all the more by
returning no answer to Schonvaloff’s
inquiry, preferring to watch the course
of events in silence. So that if Russia
persists it looks threatening, though
Eogland will doubtless prepare night and
day for the worst that may happen.
Simultaneous with the Russian demand
occurs the explosion in the French
Chambers. The extraordinary message
of President MacMahon to that body
produced an outbreak that is unprece-
dented in the history of legislative
bodies. Gambetta was the central figure
in tbe.tumultuous scene,and he bore him
self courageously. He laid all the
present troubles at the door of the
Vitican, and he predicted that in case of
the que-tion of a Presidential successor
being opened Thiers will certainly follow
MacMahon. The Senate will probably vote
dissolution, and the Republicans claim
that in spite of the machinations of the
Ministry the new Chamber of Deputies
will be more strongly Republican than
ever. Germany is watching the proceed
ings in France with intense interest.
That government has taken the contract
to keep France quiet while the life is
being crashed oat of Turkey; but if
Russia chooses the critical moment in
I’ranee to force an answer from England,
between Germany and Russia, an alli
ance may unconsciously be formed for
France and England. Bismarck has
Italy fixed for his purpose, without
doubt. But Austria will be more
than inclined to assert her foil rights on
tbe Danube, if she finds that England
aid France are with her against Russia;
and wi;h France to fight Germany in
front and Austria in the rear, with Eng
land backing Turkey against Russia, it
would practically become a general
European war forthwith, with Russia,
Germany and Italy on one side of it The
larger drama may open at any hour. The
signal gnn may come either from France
or England, bnt when it sounds it will
start a world to its feet in arms. It will
be a conflict such as has not been known
since the opening of the century.—Boston
Poet.
A New Sort of Ocean Commerce.—A
new, novel and expanding commerce is
being conducted on the southern island
coasts of California—to-wit: the capture
of sea lions. A few years ago there were
several standing rewards for these ani
mals, and it was a rare thing for one to
be taken. “Now,” says the San Fran
cisco CaU, “the business has been re
duced to a science by Captain Mallet,
who follows it for a profession, having a
regular outfit of vessel, crew, and all
the necessary appliances to insure saccess
in his undertakings. The objective point
of his chief operations is the Channel
Islands, from which he has carried off a
large number of the amphibious brntes.
A Santa Babara paper relates that he re
turned from an expedition thither a few
daya ago with no less than twenty-five of
the lions, among tbe number a female with
her cub. This lncky ‘catch’ is to fill an
order from Europe. Thus, it will be
seen that if our showmen are compelled
to go abroad for forest denizens to occu
py their menagerie cages, the zoologists
have got to come to us for their sea mon
sters; and the snpply now promises, un
der the skillfnl manipulations of Captain
Mnllett, to keep pace with the demand.”
The Situation iu France.
While the Eastern war is dragging its
slow length along and becoming at times
monotonous to all but the parties im
mediately engaged in it, the news of the
“crisis,” a-’ it is called, in France is a
welcome variety in the foreign intelli-
gc nee. “Crisis” is perhaps too strong a
word to express the French situation.
The Presidency of Marshal MacMahon
till the end of his septennate seems to be
fixed beyond a peradventure. He has at
bis back the largest and most
efficient army that France has seen
since the days of the First Napo
leon. There is no reasonable pros
pect of an armed revolution which could
not be easily suppressed by the Execu
tive with this overwhelming force, which
will obey its venerated and beloved lead
er as one man. The Marshal has re
peatedly announced his design to pro
tect the nation against itself, if nece's
sary, and there is little doubt that he
will keep his words good while he holds
office. With such a man at the head of
affairs and such an army at his call the
revolutionists, if there is any party to
whom this name can be properly ap
plied, have no hope of saccess.
Bat there is no talk of a revolution.
France is at this moment only going
through a phase of political excitement
common enough in England and the
United States, and in all countries where
constitutional government prevails. It is
the old collision between conservative
and radical principles, the existence of
which is a proof that the legislators and
the people take a hearty interest in na
tional affairs and are not unfit for free
institutions. It would be a bad sign for
France if the popular Assembly were
merely the servants or tools of the Ex
ecutive, and did not at times question his
policy. The majority of the Depu
ties do not like the President’s new
Ministry, and would refuse to vote the
usual government supplies as long as it
lasted. Their dislike also extends to tbe
President himself, and' it is not probable
that aLy concession that he would make
would satisfy them. The situation be
tween the Executive Department and
the Assembly is something like that which
arose last year in this country between
the House and the administration. The
cable reports “tumults” in the Assembly
growing out of the differences, but that
body is notoriously the most disorderly
gathering of its kind in the world, not
excepting our own House of Represents
lives. The Assembly might be excused
for becoming very much excited when
it received the news of the Piesident's
intention to dissolve it and force the
members to seek a new election from
their constituents. We can imagine how
an adverse majority in Congress would be
infuriated if our President had the power,
with the consent of the Senate, to send
the House at any time back to “the
country.” This power is conferred upon
the President and the Senate of France
by a provision of the constitution. It is
a conservative measure, the value of
which remains to be tisted; but it is ex
pected to prove an admirable means of
settling the troubles that have arisen.
President MacMahon is confident that the
people of France will sustain him and so re
turn a conservative Assembly. The Radi-
cal element claims to represent the voice
of the nation and professes to have no
fear of the result, and boasts that its
strength will be increased in the next
Honse. Both sides will find fall vent for
their emotions in public meetings and
addresses—after the familiar American
fashion—and the voters will then decide.
If they support the Radical wing, the
Executive, who 3eems honestly desirous
to avoid all civii dissensions, will proba
bly adapt his policy by some compro
mise to tbe new order of things. But in
any event he is not likely to resign.
These political disturbances in France
are chiefly significant as they may affect
the relations of that country with Ger
many. The German empire is jealously
watching her neighbor and interpreting
every move she makes by the light of
German interests. It pleases Ger
many to think that the conservative re
action in France loo greatly encourages
the clerical and monarchical party, from
which the Germans apprehend a
possible war of “revenge ” in the future.
It is from that side, stiangely enough,
and not from the supremacy of republi
canism in France, that Germany takes the
alarm, real or pretended, which she mani
fests. Whatever may be tho designs of
the influential conservatives who have al
lied themselves with President MacMa
hon, he, cf all men in Franoe, may be
counted on as a friend of peace. He is
doubtless prepared to make any sacrifice,
short of his own honor and that of France,
to avoid misunderstandings with the sus
picions Teutons. It will not be the fault
of France, under his Presidency, if war
again breaks out between the two coun
tries.— N. Y. Journal of Commerce.
The Hinsdale botcher move past last
Monday. Moody ran out. “Beefsteak?”
“Yes.” “When killed?” said the evan
gelist, approaching the cart. “Yester
day.” “I don’t want any meat killed on
Sunday.” Butoher drives on, soliloquiz
ing eotto voce. Returns Thursday, pass
ing the Moody reaidenoe, full drive.
Moodv hails him again. “Beefsteak ?”
“Yes.” “Bring in ten pounds.” “We
don’t take money earned on Sundays !”
and butcher drives on. Appears Monday
morning again. Moodv on the watch.
“Beefsteak ?’’ “Yes.” Lays in a large
stock; no questions asked.—Springfield
Republican.
Club men are giving themselves np to
set-back euchre a good deal in these sul
try summer days. Set-back euchre is a
nice game for a high thermometer.
Everybody remembers the Chinaman's
description of poker—“Golly, heap dam
bally game. Chineeman hab four klingy
and a lace; Mell'can man bab four lacey
and a kling. Hi-yah! Three weeks'
washee gone likee woodbine!” This
description does not apply to set-back
euchre. If John were to play set-back
enchre for a while he wonld doubtless
concede that it is a “heap dam bully”
game, but he wouldn't play four kings
with the fervor he throws into them in
poker. It is eminently a game to be
played with Jacks. Yon want twenty-
four of them in each sleeve, and you set
very little value on kings, which are at
best only a snare and a delusion. The
attractive feature of set-back is that the
other three fellows play against you and
that they always hold cards enough
among them to lay you cut. It is an im
proving game, a fine, wholesome and
severe discipline for the emotions. A
man who sits five hours without winning
a single “pot,” being invariably euchred
on the vrry brink of victory and when,
according to every hnman calculation,
he ought to succeed, is a man
fatly prepared to do himself credit
at the martyr’s stake. Say yon
have both bowers, ace, queen and ten of
trumps; yon naturally play for four
points. The only trumps left are the
seven, eight, nine and King. If any of
the other three players holds one of
these, or if one of them be in the eleven
unused cards, you are sure to make your
five tricks. Nothing can prevent it. Soyon
boldly call “Loneand lead your right
bower. A malevolent grin is observed
upon the face of the person at your left.
He responds with the sewn, the
others not following suit. Then
you play yonr left bower. Malevo
lent person grins again and throws
the eight. Ace ! M. P. fetches a nine.
You look at him with gaunt eyes. He
assumes a fiendish air of sadness. Yon
play your Queen and he fingers Ground
for one awful second in his hair and pulls
out the King ! You are busted, floored,
sat upon. The usages of society do not
allow you to seize that malevolent person
and eviscerate him, so you sink back in
your chair and wonder what the Spartan
boy with hiB trumpery fox would say in
such an emergency.
Set-back, we venture to declare, is the
meanest, most provoking, exasperating
game known to man. When yon get a
really big hand that conldn’t possibly be
beat, some other fellow is sore to play
ahead of yon. Wheuyouget one of those
delusive and bewildering hands that
would entice a saint but which is sura
to be massacred, the other players, by
some devilish unanimity of impulse stand
aside and let you gallop on to ruin. And
yet, men will sit around tables with long
cobblers at their elbows and play this
horrible game for hours and hoars,
fondly imagining that they are keeping
cool and enjoying themselves! It may
have its uses as a preparation for the
next world, it may be convenient as a
means of wreaking bitter vengeance on
your enemies; but as a “game,” as a re
laxation, from any standpoint of pieasnre
or recreation, it is a ghastly, grinning
mockery. We can understand how a
man, disappointed in all dear things,
tired of life and yearning for the Tomb,
may rent a sword of proper size and fall
npon it. We can sympathize with the
lively hari kari aud make allowances for
juggernaut. Bnt how men can take to
set-back euchre as an occupation, can
pioi.ote it and encourage others to re
sort to it, is a conundrum whioh reduees
us to helpless awe. We use strong lan
guage, but we are not angry—only sad.—
N. O. Times.
I'oison from Lead.
Lead poisoning has been traced to
many unexpected sources. Cider, beer,
or even water, drawn through leaden
pipes; soda or mineral water from leaden
siphons; cosmetic washes and hair restor
ers; snuff from leaden envelopes; sugar
plums colored with lead-chromate; liqnors
produced from leaden-wormed stills;
wines sweetened with litharge, or bottled
with a casual admixture of shot used in
the cleansing process; pickles and pre
serves absorbing lead from the glazing of
earthenware vessels—these and other in
sidious vehicles are known to have con
veyed damaging doses of tbe cumulative
poison into the systems of susceptible
persons. Very lately, however, a new
and peculiarly potent method of
administering the metal has at
tracted medical attention, which
can scarcely fail to be of interest
to the general reader, forasmuoh as tbe
most rigorous abstainer from liquor,
snnff, pickles, cosmoties, confections and
similar vanities habitually consumes, as
well as prays for, his daily bread. In the
rural region of Taunton, England, not
long ago broke oat a sort of saturnine
epidemic, affecting a number of families
with agonizing colics, blue lines on the
gumH and concomitant symptoms of un
mistakable import to the professional eye.
Analy-is of drinking water, preserves end
other potables and edibles failed to reveal
the source of the evil, until the health
officer of the distnet found a connecting
link in the chain of cases, in that
all the families in question sent their
grist to the same mill. On inspec
tion of this establishment it was
discovered that numerous cavities, which
time and constant attrition had formed
in the surfaces of the millstones, were
filled by the ingenicus process of pouriDg
melted lead into them, sc that the flour
returned to the customers constituted a
more than homceophatic trituration of
“plumbum metallioum,” whioh, when
conjoined with the inherent heaviness of
home-made bread, fully accounted for
the griping torments above alluded to.
In the oourse of the public investigation
it was stated that at the time of the
health officer’s visit “there were
about ten pounds of lead npon
the surface of the millstone, and the
cavities were all filled up with the
same metal,” and it was farther intimated
that this was “by no means an uncom
mon way of repairing millstones,” sub
ject, however, to a correction from a
practical member of the Sanitary Board,
who remarked that, instead of tbe metal
in substance, millers commonly employed
a mixture of red-lead and borax.” We
are not informed whether a similar eco
nomical method of prolonging the utility
of old millstones prevails in this en
lightened republic, but the possibility of
imbibing lead in fionr as well as in drink
ing water may be profitably borne in
mind by those who do not wish to “eat
their bread in fear and drink their water
in grief.”
Highwaymen in England.
With a tournament club to revive the
good old times, London has no right to
be astonished at finding amateur highway
robbery taken np as an amnsement by
her gilded youth. No longer ago than in
the days of Horace Walpole ladies used
to decline invitations to Strawberry Hill
for fear of being stopped on the way
home by minions of the moon who might
or might not be as civil as Claude DuvaL
In those days, however, highway robbers
rode handsome horses, went well armed
and knew how to use their horse pistols.
Their modern imitators seem to be a
white livered set of fellows, who go out
to their work in cheap oabs and run away
from a horsewhip. This is shown by the
following story from the Pall Mall Ga
zette :
Another attempt at highway robbery
on Blackheath is reported. It is stated
that a few minutes before 11 o’clock on
Monday night Mrs. Amelia Potter, of
tbe Redlands, Shooter3’-bill road, and
Mrs. Poole, her daughter, were being
driven home across Bluckheath, wheu
two masked men suddenly appeared in
front of the carriage and called upon the
driver to stop. At the same time they
presented pistols at the heads of the
coachman and the groom. The former,
instead of stopping the horses, began to
thrash with his whip the man who had
hold of the reins. The man then let go
his hold of the horses and ran away with
his companion in the direction of Green
wich. The masked men are described as
“of short stature, well dressed, and hav
ing the appearance of men belonging to
a rather superior order of society. ” The
coachman says he believed they alighted
from a fonr wheeled cab which he saw
near the spot. Their description corres
ponds with that of the mob who last week
stopped a carriage on Blackheath, and
succeeded in obtaining a gentleman’s
parse and money. Since that time the
police have made 6very effort to discover
the perpetrators of the robbery, and a
large force of constables has been sta
tioned each night upon the heath. At
Romford a farm bailiff named Wood
was a few nights ago knocked down in
the outskirts by two men and robbed ot
his parse.