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SLJd, J. H. ESTILL,
#ddrefi ^ Savannah. Ga.
^ HOW TO KEEP LENT.
Is this a fast, to keep
The larder leane
And cleane
From fat of veals and sheep?
Is it to quit the dish
< if desh, yet still
To fill
Tlie platter high with fish?
Is it to faste an houre,
t >r rag’d to go,
< >r show
A downcast look and sorore?
No: tis a fast to dole
Thy sheaf of wheat
And meat
I nto the hungry soule.
It is a fast from strife.
From old debate
And hate;
Tt» circumcise thy life;
To show a heart grief-rent,
T< > starve thy sin,
Not bin;
And that’s to keep thy Lent.
Georgia Affairs.
The Sandcrsville Owner is easily pleased.
It declares that it will receive subscriptions
in anything that man or horse can eat, and
will not even refuse greenbacks or the
ancient dollar of our daddies.
Fanning prospects are reported as being
ven fine in the Western portion of Wash
ington county. Cotton lands are generally
fertilized and ready for planting as soon as
the time arrives for depositing the seeds of
the fleecy plaut. The improvement lu
fencing is far in advance of anything seen
since the war. Farmers generally are in
•rood heart and arc looking forward hope
fully to the future.
Mr. J. II. Ilolsey, of Butler, Ga., has in
vented a very simple arrangement for split-
tin^ rails, which is calculated to be of great
utility. It opens the largest and toughest
logs in five to eight minutes at a trifling
Ninety thousand dollars of six per cent,
bonds of the Georgia Railroad and Banking
Company were sold in Augusta on Monday
for ninety-five cents on the dollar. On
Saturday also ninety-five thousand dollars
of these bonds were sold, making a total
sale in the two days of one hundred and
eighty-five thousand dollars.
Mr. T. R. Respass, of Schley county, has,
by the liberal use of fertilizers, raised on a
patch of five acres of naturally poor land
fifteen thousand pounds of seed cotton,
from which he estimates that he realized
sixty-six dollars and two cents net per acre.
Throngs of idle negro boys from twelve
to eighteen years of age congregate daily
upon the streets of Quitman, whereupon the
Rqmrtrr loudly demands an enforcement of
" the vagrant laws.
Schley county boasts of a remarkably
active old citizen in the person of Rev. W.
R. Singleton. He put up with his own
hands a few days ago, without any help, 125
panels of fence ten rails high, and all of
green rails.
The passage of a “cow ordinance” is be
ing pleasurably anticipated at the next
meeting of the Augusta City Council.
There is a lady living in Dalton who never
leaves her home except on Memorial day,
and then she visits the Confederate ceme
tery.
Cobb and Forsytli counties each furnish
fine fox hunting. A visit there would
enable the Queens county, N. Y., fox hunt
ers to show of what metal they are com
posed.
Mr. 0. T. Jennings, of the Glade Mines,
informs the Gainesville Southron that he is
now ready for mining operations on a large
scale. The ditches are all finished, and they
have an abundance of water upon these ex
tensive and justly celebrated mines for all
purposes. Says that paper: “If the results
at the Glade are not gratifying to all con
cerned we shall miss our guess.”
The heavy winter rainc have rendered the
roads about Gainesville almost impassable in
several places. Steps are being taken to
rectify the difficulty.
The M. Ds. say that Thomasville is dis
tressingly healthy.
Sandcrsville Courier: “We regret to learn
that a destructive fire got out from some
burning log heaps on the plantation of Col.
W. G. Robson, on Sunday evening last, and
extended to several farms, doiug considera
ble damage. We have not yet learned the
full particulars, but are informed that Mr.
Robson lost at least ten thousand rails, and
that his gin house caught tire several times,
but by the persistent efforts of his neighbors
it was extinguished. We are informed that
so rapid was the spread of the lire that the
women and children along its line of march
had to fly for life.”
In response to the conundrum “What will
destroy cut worms?” a farmer of Tennille
gives the following: “First, and best—»°ow
a small quantity of salt in row before plant
ing seed, which will destroy the worms.
Second—After plants have come up put a
small quantity of salt around the plant near
the stalk, and work it In. Too much salt
may have a tendency to injure the plant, but
a reasonable quantity will not. I have heard
that the china berry put liberally over the
garden will effectually keep out the cut
worms, and also prevent the fly from injuring
turnips. If you are troubled with the green
worms on cabbage, a small pinch of fine salt
on the bud of the plant early in the morning,
while the dew is oil it, will’stop Us ravages;
and it -houla be put on there as often as
may be required to stop them, being careful
not to put too much on at one tune as it
would injure the plant.”
The Sw&inshoro Herald is agitating the
subject of improved mail facilities at that
point. It says: “The petition for a daily
mail from Midville. No. 9'£ Central Railroad,
to Swuinsboro was forwarded last week, and
we earnestly hope the prayer will be granted,
as bi.;h the gove rnment and people will be
benefited thereby. The demand for addi
tional mail facilities at this point increases
every day, and is imperative. Since the
mail w a^ increased from weekly to seini-
werkly the amount of mail matter has more
than quadrupled, and a proportionate in
crease- will follow should the government
give us a daily mail. Our county is growing
in importance every day, population increas
ing. and all we ask of the authorities at
M ashiugton is, give us justice. We have
been long neglected aud left to plod our
way as host we could. Have asked but lit
he- generally got less, and were a long time
in getting that. That a county such as ours
should be without a single daily mail in it
should no longer be the case. The country
needs it, the wants of the people demand it,
we believe It will be granted.”
Chronicle and Constitutv*nalist, 19th: “Last
Sunday morning a little boy, ten years of
a £<\ got off the morning passenger train and
mad<* some inquiries about his uncle, who,
be said, had written to him to come to Au-
fusta, anti b a( j promised to meet him at the
depot that morning, lie said that his name
Tommy Cowan and that of his uncle
Wa> George Roberta, who came to Augusta
mini Atlanta about two mouths ago. As he
"V unable to find his uncle, the police took
criargc of him and gave him comfortable
quarters at the barracks until he should de
cide what to do. He is a bright, smart little
fellow. He says that he was staying with a
Mr. Snow, in Atlanta, who was very reluc
tant for him to come away, but be thought
It was his duty to come when his uncle sent
for him.”
From the Hem we learn that chicken
thieves are prowling around Augusta quite
extensively. It says: “Thursday night a
faid was made on the substantial chicken
bouse of Mr. Ed. Perrin, on the Columbia
road, five miles above the city, aud some one
carried off twenty very fine fowls. A hole
was made in the brick basement by the thief
60 that he could enter, anu the bricks were
afterwards replaced. The following night
(Friday! six more tine fowls were stolen
from the same premises. No clue has
been obtained to the thief.”
In.t.nre* of Wit, Humor a Qd Re
partee,
J. H. ESTILL, PROPRIETOR.
SAVANNAH, THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1878.
ESTABLISHED 1850.
Grace Greenwood Is very Indignant at Mr.
Stephens for his wise speech on the oc
casion of the late unveiling of the emanci
pation picture in Washington. She says: “It
is such men as Alexander Stephens who arc
more dangerous to Republicanism than your
Hookers, Hewitts and Hamburg Butlers.
>> ith all his seeming fairness and undoubted
good feeling he admits no radical principle
for which we contended, confesses to no
radical error od his own side: he throws a
sort of misty glamour about the lost cause,
and clothes the ghostly skeleton of seces
sion in the mantle of statesmanship, and
draws over that loathsome‘body of death,’
chattel slavery, royal drapery of State rights
and divine rights.”
Augusta Evening Now. “The Atlanta men
are of the opinion that if the Augusta canal
was in Atlanta, New York wouldn’t be a
circumstance to her greatness.”
Dalton Wizen: “A son of Mr. Wilson Nor
ton, of this county, arrived in this city a few
days ago from the far West. He has been
living in the region of the Rocky Mountains
for a long time, aud has returned to Georgia
full of lively incidents of Western life. We
trust he may make old Georgia his home
in future.”
A gentleman writing from Murray county
gives a very pleasing description of the
climate, resources, etc., of that section of
Georgia. He says: “Perhaps Murray i6hard
to excel for a healthy climate and natural
surroundings, which are calculated to make
any one pleasant and comfortable, who will
use industry and economy. Thousands ad
ded to thousands of bushels of good wheat
have been sold from our county during the
past season; also, an unusually large pea
crop has been gathered and sold. Our corn
crop, perhaps, was never better; and as to
stock. Murray county has an abundance.
But the Murray cotton is the main topic. *
* * * * We might safely say Murray
produced in 18«i a surplus of over oue
hundred thousand dollars worth of pro
ducts.”
Cuthbert Messenger, 6th : “The Randolph
County Agricultural Society held a regular
meeting in the court house yesterday. The
meeting was an interesting one, and we are
glad to see that the movement is growing in
interest.”
Horse stealing having developed itself
somewhat in Clarke couuty, Mr. S. Barwick,
an intelligent and successful farmer now
living in the suburbs of Athens, suggests
the following plan to prevent the evil :
“Let ever}’person in the county owning a
horse join themselves together bv proper or
ganization, and select a responsible commit
tee, whose duty it will be to make
an assessment of fifty cents each
(more or less), and deposit it in
the bank as a reward for any horse
stolen from any member of the organization,
and for the thief with evidence to convict.
Of course all would not wish to belong to
this organization, but a sufficient number
could be obtained to render the horse pro
perty of the members absolutely safe. It
may be said that an assessment of this kind
would raise seven or eight hundred dollars
and that this amount would be too large.
Mr. Barwick claims, however, that the ob
ject is to prevent the crime and to secure
conviction when it is committed.’'
The Athens Weekly Chronicle pays us the
following high compliment: “Among our
exchanges not one is more welcome than
the Savannah News. As its name implies,
it is full of the events of the day and of all
that is of interest to the outside world,
while its local department is a photograph
of the incidents which transpire within the
limits of the beautiful city. We wish that
every paper in the whole country would imi
tate its lofty dignity, and thus raise the
press to a standard which it deserves.”
“The Morning News,” says the Thomas
ville Times, “notices the fact that the tide of
travel is already turning uorthward. This
is the great and, in many instances, fatal
mistake which health-seekers make. It
would be better that they had not come
South at all thau to rush back to meet the
chilling blasts of early spring.”
JUDGE LEONARD S CUBAN MIS
SION.
A Romance in Real Lite End** in Do-
■pondency and Death.
A New York Times special from Wash
ington says: The visit of Judge Leonard
to Havana was purely personal and pri
vate, and was of a peculiarly interest
ing, delicate and romantic character.
Some time ago, at the city of New Or
leans, he met a young lady, a native of
Cuba, who was visiting this country with
her parents, and between whom and
Judge Leonard a warm attachment sprang
up, which ripened into love. A marriage
engagement was the result, but the pa
rents of the young lady, in consequence
of her youth, opposed the match, and
Judge Leonard was not permitted to see
the object of his affections except in the
presence of her parents. When the time
arrived for the departure of the
Cuban and his family from New
Orleans the young lady manifested
some reluctance to return home,
but an arrangement was finally made by
which she and Judge Leonard were to be
permitted to hold free and unrestricted
correspondence through the mails. After
her departure Judge Leonard wrote her
several letters, to which no answers were
received, which naturally annoyed him
very much, and gave rise to the suspi
cion that his letters had been intercepted
and the young lady prevented from com
municating with him. After a long in
terval lie received a brief letter from the
lady, which simply stated that she had
not heard from him since her return to
Cuba, and that she could not hear from
him. This bi ief letter bore evidence of
having beeu hurriedly written, and its
broken and soiled condition led Judge
Leonard to suspect that it had been carried
some distance by a negro to be secretly
mailed. After writing other letters and
waiting anxiously for replies, he became
convinced that the parents of the lady
were not acting in good faith, and he
determined to visit Cuba. A week or
two Itefore his departure he called on the
President, and, informing him of liis
trouble, requested the President to write
a personal letter to the Consul General
requesting him to ascertain, if possible,
the situation and whereabouts of the
lady. The President did so. aud in due
time Judge Leonard received a cable dis
patch from Havana, which informed
him that “Maria had been sent to a
plantation in the country.” This dis
patch was not signed by the Consul
General, but bore the name of a party
unknown to Judge Leonard. This added
to his perplexity, and he determined to
set out at once for Cuba. He called on
Senor Mantilla, the Spanish Minister at
Washington, and making known to
him his trouble obtained a letter
from that official to the Captain General
of Cuba, recommending him to do what
ever was proper to aid Judge Leonard in
his delicate mission. The sympathies of
Mme. Mantilla were also enlisted in
behalf of Judge Leonard, and that lady
wrote such a Tetter as a lady should write
in such a case, urging the Captain Gen
eral to do everything possible to unite
the lovers. YV’ith these letters Judge
Leonard sailed for Havana, where he
duly arrived. Nothing has been heard
from him directly until to-day, when a
friend in this city received a letter writ
ten by him from Havana on March 7th,
in which he said he had seen the lady in
presence of her parents. No details jus
to the success of his mission were fur
nished, but from the general tone of des
pondency pervading the letter his friend
believes he failed to obtain the consent
of the parents to his addresses to their
daughter. p
A Child Boiled to Death.—A
shocking accident occurred on Friday
last to Andrew Harman, a two-year-old
son of Jacob Harman, residing at 23
South Washington street, which resulted
fatally on Saturday. The mother of the
child had placed in the back room a
wash-tub containing boiling water, and
during her temporary absence the child
approached the tub.' and leaning over
lost his balance and fell headforemost
into the scalding water. Its screams
were-heard by Mrs. Harman, who came
at once to his rescue, but upon Liking
the child from the water his hair and
skin was comDletely scalded, and dropped
from head and body. Dr. Dausch was
summoned, but at an early hour Satur
day morning death ensued.—Baltimore
Gazette, 18th.
Max Maretzek has won a verdict of
over five thousand dollars from a Phila
delphia manager who engaged Maretzek
to lead an orchestra dunng the centen
nial exhibition and discharged him a
week after he had begun.
SKETCHES OF FLORIDA.
No. 9 -11% Superior Climate.
A gentleman for whom I have great
regard, and who is very jealous of the
claims of Georgia, writes to know why
I didn’t give Thomas county 44 a show
ing ” in my previous article about inva
lids, as that piney-woods section is noted
for its curative virtues.
Our friend forgets two important facts.
First, that the Morning News has a
widely extended circulation in Florida,
and is liberally supported by the citizens.
In return, it is our duty, as well as our
privilege, to seek in every proper way
the advancement of the best interests of
that State, when not in conflict with
those of our own commonwealth.
Secondly, our friend loses sight of the
fact that these are “Sketches of Florida,”
although I have quite frequently, in
passing, made reference to the advan
tages and attractions of South Georgia.
There can lie no question as to the value
and desirableness of these attractions and
advantages to Northern and Western im
migrants coming to the South in search
of a milder climate. Too many tests
have been made, and with abundant suc
cess, to allow of any doubt in the matter
at this late day.
As to Thomas county for consump
tives, 1 have repeatedly referred to that
section in my correspondence and
sketches, as a most desirable home for
such invalids. If not beyond the reach
of recuperative and health-restoring in
fluences, they will hardly fail to find
there the relief which they may seek in
a mild winter climate. But it
must be remembered that Georgia is not
Florida And while many sensible peo
ple care nothing for a name, there are
hundreds who would not for the world
say they had 44 spent the winter In Geor
gia.” Going to Florida, in these times,
for the winter, is like going to Newport
or Saratoga for the summer. 44 We shall
spend the winter in Florida” is the re
frain that follows “O, what a delightful
summer we had at Newport!”
Still, I know’ of many wealthy and re
fined families, people of sound sense in
weak bodies, who have spent several
winters at Thomasville, Bainbridge, East
man or Savannah, who derived just as
much real benefit and were quite as
happy and comfortable as their more
aristocratic neighbors who could not
lx: induced to stop short of the famed
“Laud of Flowers.” To the class of
visitors who like constant change of
scene and society, this course is natural,
and cannot well be avoided. The cities
above referred to, while they offer every
advantage desired by a certain class of
invalids, would uot be found agreeable
to this other class of visitors beyond a
brief sojourn, going to or returning from
Florida.
The semi-tropical climate of the “Land
of Flowers." whose gentle, balmy
breezes, heavily ladened with the sweet
perfume of orange blossoms, in many
portions of the State almost constantly
fan your brow’ and delight your senses,
is au attraction that no other section
of the South can present in such
luxurious piofusion. The mild
and beautiful weather in South Georgia,
w’hile it is invigorating and healthful to
invalids, does uot possess the mellow
richness and peculiar fragrance which
permeates an atmosphere where the or
ange aud other tropical trees are as nu
merous as the stars iu the heavens. Then,
again, the extent of territory cmbiaced
in this genial warmth of summer, besides
being more varied in its attractions, is
much greater than that of South Georgia.
The same class of people who tire satis
fied with Thomasviile, Eastman and Sa
vannah, are content to spend a whole
w’inter at Mouticello, where fragrant
flowers and pretty girls abound, or at Tal
lahassee, the “out-of-the-way” capital of
the State, aud yet a charming city, “set
on an hill,” ove r whose stately mansions
of “long ago,” the bracing breezes of the
Gulf sweep with a soothing, invigorating
influence on their broad and tireless
wings.
But that other class to which I have
referred, who arc content only with a
constant shifting of scenes and change
of society, the St. John’s river is the
great Mecca towards which their weary
yet ever moving feet are sure to turn
when the birds of the colder climes wing
their flight southward. They seek the
music and the dance of the St. James
Hotel, or the cver-joyous social circles of
the Nichols House, at Jacksonvilc, or the
same round of pleasures, with new scenes
and fresh faces, at the Clarendon Hotel,
at Green Cove Springs, or the St. Augus
tine Hotel or Florida House, ut St. Au
gustine, or the Putnam House or Larkin
House, at Paltaka. This is their
“charmed circle,” in which they revolve
during the winter months, finding relief
in an occasional trip to Fernandina,
Gainesville, Sanford, Enterprise, Mag
nolia, or up the Ocklawaha river. Con
firmed invalids, however, lead a more
quiet and less changeable life.
Sidney Herbert.
The Czarina of Russia had not seen
the Czarowitz, her husband, for eight
months when she surprised him lately by
meeting him unexpectedly at Dunaburg.
She arrives first—a bright young lady, re
sembling her sister, the Princess of
Wales, but looking rather stronger. An
onlooker gives an animated description
of the scene : Though courteous to all,
the Czarina is evidently nervously im
patient for the arrival of her husband.
She has not much longer to wait;
all at once the shouting outside
begins, her face becomes radiant,
and, wrapping herself in the mag
nificent rotonde of blue fox fur, she
hurries to the platform, amid renewed
hurrahs and clamorous cries of joy. Her
eyes are eagerly fixed on the two red
globes pf the approaching engine—there
is a shrill whistle, much puffing of steam
and the train rolls slowly into the station.
The Czarowitz, little guessing the sur
prise iu store for him, descends, saluting
as he passes the long file of soldiers draw n
up on the platform. Suddenly he sees
her; then all else is forgotten—the sta
tion, the soldiers, the crowd of people—
and the wife is in her husband’s arms,
held in a long embrace. Then, like a
roar of thunder, louder than the last,
burst forth deafening shouts, mixing up
with the national hymn.
A telephone concert was given Satur
day night by choirs of the Methodist
Episcopal churches in Baltimore located
in private houses in the northwestern sec
tion of the city, to the Methodist Episco
pal Church at Waverly, where an audi
ence capable of appreciating music of
such a character was gathered. The choir
of Mount Vernon Church, Jacob Taylor
leader, w r as stationed at the residence of
A. G. Davis, No. 429 Madison avenue;
the Madison Avenue Church choir was
at the residence of Archibald Wilson, Jr.,
Mosher street, near Fremont, and another
church choir was placed at the residence
of Alex. Bowers, George street, near
Fremont. At these three stations an
thems, solos, duets, etc., were sung, and
were received at the Waverly Church
with great clearness and precision. The
sound was not throw n into the room, but
was heard through telephone attach
ments held close to the ear, about tw enty
of which were in active use for several
hours. The line was connected with the
residence of Dr. Alan P. Smith, Frank
lin street. The choir of Govanstown M.
E. Church sang several times at the Wa-
verly Church, and the music was plainly
heard at the Baltimore stations.—Balti
more Sun.
A Descent.—Two of the prominent
men of Trenton, N. J., who were a few
days ago highly respected, have sunk
from the upmost social strata to mingle
w ith the dwellers of the slums now in
carcerated in the State prison. The two
men to whom this reference is made are
Walter J. Bartlett, late City Treasurer,
whose malfeasance has caused his lodg
ment iu the pris6n, to remain there for
two years. The other is Jacob R. Freese,
the banker, whose improper usage of de
positors’ money sends him to the jail for
five years.
LETTER FROM OUR TRAVELING
CORRESPONDENT.
Tlie Key*- The Channel— It* Dewtruc-
lion b> the Federal Army — IU
Wonderful Prosperity—The Build
ing* aud Their Character—Indian
.Hound*-Atwena Otle-Faber’* Ce
dar Hill*.
Cedar Keys, March 16.—Editor Morn
ing News: I have been sojourning here a
day or two and have become inter
ested in the people and the history of
their towm. Like all new towns, the
population have not become fixed and
staid in their character yet. The lines
have not been closely drawn socially, and
hence there is a free and easy communi
cation Ixffween all classes. They com
prise several nationalities, and in the
interchange of ideas there is necessarily
a quaint commingling of languages. I
find some very intelligent and well in
formed people among the inhabitants, as
is the case in almost every town, and my
stay here has been made pleasant by the
attention and courtesies given me. I am
especially under obligations to 3Iajor
John Parsons and Dr. R. H. McDvaine.
The Keys consist of a large number of
islands, bearing different names, and of
various sizes, the names designating
some incident or legend in the history of
the various localities. The largest island
is the one on which the main part of the
town is built, and takes its name from
the number of native cedar trees which
used to ornament its banks. The channel
is about seventy-five feet wide, and per
mits, at high tide, the larger steamers to
approach the wharf. There are upon this
one island about eight hundred inhabi
tants.
During the war the Federal army took
possession of the island, every inhabi
tant having abandoned it. They destroyed
every house, save a small storeroom
which belonged to Messrs. Parsons &
Hoiles, and cut down all the timber on
the island for wood. So, when the peo
ple returned to their former homes, they
found nothing but ruins. At the close of
the war, with a determination that was
sure to win, they went to work, and all
that is here now has been produced since
the war. The only objection to many of
the buildings is that they were con
structed in too much haste, and are
now showing evident signs of
dilapidation. This may be owing in
part to climatic causes, as the decay of
wooden structures arc greater here than
farther North. Still, it is evident lhat
the buildings in many cases were hastily
put up, aud without much regard to
convenience or comfort. They are being
replaced by better aud more durable
structures. It being almost impossible
to obtain brick at any reasonable cost,
the citizens are using a material known
as concrete or tabby. It is similar
to coquina, which is so popular in St.
Augustine. In fact, it is the same, artifi
cially produced out of shell and sand.
There is an abundance of this material
right on the ground, for the island is
made of nothing else. Dr. Mcll-
vane says this material in proper
proportions moulded into a wall can
be built at the rate of ten feet for every
ten days, and when finished is in every
respect equal to brick or stone, at a cost
ofjless than that of a wooden house, with
lumber at ten dollars per thousand feet.
He is demonstrating his faith by his works,
and has now in course of construc
tion a large hotel building of this ma
terial The walls have reached above the
first story, and the workmen arc busily
engaged in pushing forward the work.
The doctor claims the following advan
tages for these structures over that of
wood, and as they may be of interest to
many of vour readers I append them:
First. They are more durable. This
is so obvious as to require no demonstra
tion. Any one who has examined a wall
of concrete after standing Ion" enough
to harden will be satisfied that it is fully
equal in this respect to brick or stone.
We know of concrete walls with the in
terior wood-work and roof burnt out,
still standing and so perfect as to need
only to have those parts supplied to make
them good houses.
Second. They are cooler in summer
and warmer in winter than any wooden
house can be made, and no more liable to
dampness than brick.
Third. They furnish no crevices or
cavities to serve as harbors for rats,
mice or other vermin, which in ceiled
and pliistered houses are such a common
source of trouble and annoyance.
Fourth. They are alisolutely cheaper.
It is well ascertained by careful experi
ment that the cost of such buildings at
Cedar Keys is within ten cents for each
square foot of wall, nine inches thick,
including door and window frames. At
this rate the walls of a house 50x25 feet,
and twenty feet high, would cost £>00.
the size and number of the openings uot
adding to the cost.
Where the water is liable to rise on the
work, cement should lie substituted for
lime in preparing foundations. The out
side finish may he of a kind of lime, put
ty or plaster called mastic, which may
be painted aud finished so as to resemble
granite, brown stone, or any other mate
rial or colored plaster.
There arc* quite a numlx?r of these
houses now in course of erection in the
town, and one or two completed. The
experiment thus far has proved very sat
isfactory, and others will commence to
build of this material at an early day.
The proportions of the ingredients of a
good concrete mixture are as follows:
Good shell lime 2 parts.
Broken shell 6 parts.
Sand 1 part.
Water Q. S.
This is conveniently mixed by means of
a horse mill, similar to those used for
mixing mud at the brick yards.
The island is about two miles in length
and somewhat in the shape of a horse
shoe. There are three Indian mounds
on the island, varying in height, and
upon which many houses are now going
up as residences. These mounds are
composed of shell anti sand, aud in dig
ging through them, many specimens of
arrows and flint and crockery are to be
found, and my friend the Major wanted
it distinctly understood that these were
not relics of a pre-historic are, but were
just such utensils as the Indians used
when he first came among them. The
hill part of the Keys is d* lined to be
come a delightful place for homes, and
lots are ranging high already.
The whole island was purchased by
the Transit Railroad Company, I under
stand, and Col. Yulce, the President, lias
reserved a lot on the main street, on the
hill, and one facing the water on the bay.
for hotel purposes, and offers to give
these lots to anyone who will erect a
first class hotel upon them. And in ad
dition to this he proposes to furnish
transportation free for all the material
used in its erection, over the railroad, as
also free transportation for the furniture
necessary to equip the house. Here is
an opening for some enterprising hotel
man.
The Gulf and Island Houses are both
kept better than their outside appearance
would indicate, but neither house will
meet the demands of modern travel.
Their tallies are good enough—equal to
many four-dollar per day houses, hut
their internal arrangements are not equal
to the occasion, and will lx? less so when
this new route Is fully opened up to
Cuba.
Atsena Otie is the name given to the
island just across the channel, and signi
fies Cedar Tree. The whole island was
covered with cedar trees. There are now
about three hundred inhabitants there,
employes mostly of the two large mills
upon the island. One mill is confined to
sawing pine lumber for the foreign
market, the timber liemg brought from
the interior by rafts. Some confusion
recently has taken place as to the owner
ship, and the employes have been the
sufferers. It is now in course of adjust
ment. The other mill belongs to the
celebrated Faber Lead Pencil Company.
Through the courtesy of their agent, Mr.
Henry Winter, I was conducted through
this establishment. He employs fifty men,
girls and boys. The timber is brought to
the island in rafts from all along the
coast ; much of it, no doubt, has been
stolen from government lands, and
sold to this company. First the log is
cut into scantling, about 4x10 inches;
then into blocks, just the length of the
pencil; thence it is sent through other
machinery, and it is stripped into pieces
wide enough to make six pencils, and in
this process the material is inspected
and the worthless thrown aside, the
strips being reduced sometimes just wide
enough to make two pencils. These
strips being one-eighth to one-quarter of
an inch in thickness, they are bundled
and carried to the packer, who places
them in a box large enough to contain
sixty gross of pencils. These boxes arc*
made strong, and are shipped first to
New York city, and then to Germany,
where they are manufactured into pen
cils. This mill ships from 35,000 to
40,000 cubic feet of cedar each year. My
letter is too long to give further detail,
but this industry is worthy of encourage
ment, furnishing employment for so
many. Jack Plane.
The Tea Plant
Johnston Station, A. & G. R. R., i
March 19, 1878. )’
Editor Morning News: I send you for
publication a short description of the
Chinese tea plant, as it is but little known
in our country, and as its cultivation is
beginning to attract the attention of our
people.
An extract from the Impcriai Magazine,
taken in 1827, says Dr. Lettsom in his
botanical description of the tea plant
thinks it most probable there is only one
species, and that the difference between
the green and bohea teas depends on the
nature of the soil, culture, age, and the
manner of drying the leaves. He adds
that it has even observed that a green tea
tree, planted in the bohea tea country,
will produce bohea, and vice versa; and
that on examining several hundred
flowers, brought both from the bohea
and green tea countries, their botanical
characters have always appeared uni
form. Dr. Lettsom also says the infusions
of bohea and green tea will preserve
pieces of beef when immersed in them.
This extract says the reason why the gout
aud stone arc* unknown in China is
ascribed to the use of this plant. An
eminent physician in this extract imputes
the amazing population of China among
other causes to the general use of it.
This extract also says tea is extolled as
the greatest of all medicines; moderately
and properly taken it acts as a gentle
astringent and corroborative; it strength
ens the stomach and bowels and is good
against nauseous indigestions aud
diurrlneas: it acts also as a diuretic aud
diaphoretic. It refreshes the spirits in
heaviness and sleepiness, and seems to
counteract the operation of inebriating
liquors. It further says the Chinese are
always taking tea, especially at meals.
The most moderate take it at least three
times a day, others ten times or more. It
is the chief treat with which they regale
their friends.
Rev. Mr. Allen, Methodist missionary,
writing from China, says tea seems to
have lx.*en used in China as early as A.
D. 350, but was uot geneially appreciated
till about A. D. 800. He also says there
are two kinds of shrubs, denominated by
botanists Tliea Bohea and Thea Viridis;
but they are supposed to be the product
of the same species. The Chinese them
selves will tell you that the shrubs can
not be distinguished, they are so generally
alike; but closer observation will discern
that the leaf of the black tea, Thea
Bohea, is long and pointed, while that
of the green tea, Thea Vindis, is shorter
and roundish, caused, as the natives
suppose, only by difference of soil,
and that it is not au annual
but a perennial, and lives to a great
age. Some trees iu the tea districts,
pointed out, aud said to be more than
a hundred years old. He says, again:
“The southern provinces, in and about
the latitude of Georgia, produce the finest
qualities and generally supply the foreign
market.” A writer in the Patent Office
Report 1850and 1851 says: “I have taken
up a tea tree some forty feet high, aud its
branches extending over a space of six
teen feet in diameter; its root was about
three feet nine inches in length, with a
few straggling fibres growing out from the
main.” Such may be grown here by let
ting only one stock grow in a place, on
very rich land, and it kept properly
pruned; but it is best to let the plants
grow as shrubs—the leaves can then be
more conveniently gathered. In China the
flowers open early iu the spring,
and continue for a month. The seeds
do not ripen perfectly till December or
January; here the flowers open in Sep-
teinlxr' and continue till frost, but the
seeds do not ripen till November of the
following year. In China, Mr. Allen
states, the flowers are inodorous; here
they are fragrant. By roasting, rolling
ami manipulating, the most volatile part
evaporates, which is water; the leaves
wilt, the juice exudes, becomes inspis
sated and adhesive, causing them when
sufficiently rolled to retain the twist pro
duced by this process, producing at the
same time a pleasant flavor in taste and
smell. By this condensed operation the
leaves can lx? more closely compressed in
vessels suitable for domestic use or trans
portation. Tea should be well dried be
fore packing, otherwise it will mould.
Infusions of the green leaves or when
dried in the shade are perfectly harmless,
but not so agreeable to the taste.
It never has beeu proved that tea
possesses noxious properties, although it
has been in daily and almost universal
use for a thousand years. It may be
made deleterious by taking too much,
when the reaction being too great pro
duces sleepiness, but this may sometimes
be desirable. As to the quantity that
may be imbibed at one time w ithout iu
jury depends on the temperament of a
person. Some can indulge more than
others, hut no one should drink more
thau will benefit. I have seen it stated
that tea has been known to kill smail ani
mals. Probably that tea contained some
foreign substance, as is the case with a
large portion of imported teas; or too
great a quantity was given. Salt is a
valuable article and great use made of it,
but it will destroy life when too great
quantity is taken inwardly. Again, what
kills one animal will not kill another.
Tea, being such a great luxury, possess
ing so many valuable properties, ought
to be extensively cultivated in our own
country. It may truly be called a sor
row-healing lx?verage, for it relieves
thirst and dissipates sorrow.
Wm. Hughes, Sb.
A Home Destroyed by Fire.
Egypt, Ga., March 19.—Editor Morn
ing Neics: Allow us to express through
your columns our sympathy for Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Brewer, intheirmisfortunej
On Sunday morning about ten o’clock,as
we were seated on the piazza of Mr. E.
E. Foy, at No. 4 station, a small
volume of smoke was noticed in the
direction of Mr. Brewer’s residence,
and, as we watched it, it soon became a
dense volume of black smoke, which
caused us to suspect that Mr. B.’s house
was on fire. Mr. Roundtree, a resident
at this place, rode over,and came back in
great haste and informed us that Mr. B. s
residence was about burnt up. and that
no one was at home that he could see.
With Mr Foy, 31 r. Fox and several oth
ers we immediately rode over to the place.
When we arrived the roof was falling
in. By tearing down the fence we pre
vented* tlie further spread of the
flames, but the house, with all
the furniture, bedding, clothing, and
everything belonging to the family was
totally consumed. The family were ab
sent on a visit, and hardly had left the
place an hour before the smoke was dis
covered. They are now preparing to go
to housekeeping a few miles from here,
and we hope the generous citizens of this
section of % Old Effingham will, as usual,
give them a helping hand. Some have
already done so ana I hope their example
will be followed by all.
Respectfully, * Biddenback.
Divorces.
Providence Journal.
We notice that there is a law in Geor
gia which requires that a suit for divorce
from the marriage relation shall be con
tinued through"the three terms of the
court. It seems to us a wise law. for it
gives time to consider reasons and esti
mate consequences, inasmuch as three
terms of the court will run through
eighteen months. It decides, moreover,
that there is some importance in a mar
riage bond, and that it is not to be dis
solved in a hurry, on a figment of jeal
ousy, or a freak of passion. If the Leg
islature of Georgia has not been conspicu
ous for the wisdom of all its enactments,
it is entitled to credit for passing a law
which may be a help to domestic com
fort and happiness.
It is a trite proverb that men and wo
men marry in haste and repent at leisure.
If the bride and bridegroom looked seri
ously upon their vows and obligations,
and regarded the flowers of their nuptials
as emblematic of the bright links which
would bind them together in the new
condition the bloom of the wedding
would not so often be obscured by the
shadow of the divorce. They ought to
read what Jeremy Tailor says about
marriage, and the reciprocal duties of
husband and wife. The injunctions of
the philosophic divine, joined to their
own common sense, might prevent the
influence of those misunderstandings and
bickerings which often lead to a rupture
of the pleasing bond.
Perhaps the law in Georgia might
have been fully as wise if it had decreed
that no marriages should take place
which had not been settled by an ac
quaintance and courtship equal ’ to the
period required for a reasonable divorce.
A law of this kind might interfere with
many unions prompted by love at first
sight, but in the end it would prove a
benefit to the contracted relations. It
lias been often said that “matches are
made in heaven,” but it has been added
by some sarcastic observer that
they are often “dipped in a ivarmer
place.” Whatever we may wish to
think, we have sometimes been obliged
to believe that there was truth and a
point in the sarcasm. The many appli
cations in the courts for a separation
from bed and board show clearly that the
warm passion of the heart often super
sedes the cool of the judgment. 3Iarri
age in any case, as the world goes, is a
sort of lottery, and it is only after all
things have been fixed at the domestic or
ecclesiastical altar, and life has entered
upon its daily round of responsibilities
and cares, that the husband or wife comes
fully to realize that the result of the turn
ing wheel has been a blank or a prize.
8o we consider that the law of Georgia
should have begun at the beginning. It
should have taken cognizance of that pur
ple atmosphere which is often so bewil
dering to young eyes, and it should have
decreed that the imaginary union of
hearts should Ik? tested by a process of
time, which would make the final act of
junction only a ceremony and type. The
darts of Cupid 4ly thick and fast, and
they are blind in their aim. No one can
tell how’ soon his heart may feel a w’ound.
The tender muscle may congratulate itself
in its isolated independence that it is “as
a lodge in a garden of cucumbers,” but
before the thought has passed it has be
come a “besieged city.” And the multi
tude of years, although it may be said to
bring wisdom, is no fortress against the
tender passion. If youth is full of sus
ceptible imaginations, old age pre
serves the memories of its early fan
cies and feelings. Abraham was
not a young man in common accepta
tion when he made Sarah his wife.
And, to come down to modern times,
Thomas Lord had passed the bound of
four-score years when he yielded to the
charms of a fascinating widow. If there
was some trouble in both these marriages
in years which should have been full of
experience and wisdom, it only shows the
need of forethought and carefulness in
the* union of youthful hearts. And for
this reason it seems to us that the law
of Georgia should have taken note of
marriage in its first premises. It should
have decreed that the connubial bond
should not be sanctified by justice or
priest until the experience of the ac
quaintance of the bride and bridegroom
had been matured out of the buddings
of fancy into the sober flower of discre
tion. Some cynical celibate once wrote
as follows:
“The happiest life that ever was led
Is always to woo and never to wed.’*
It was a foolish verse, betraying at the
same time a want of knowledge and the
animosity of an envious and jealous
mind. Perhaps there was some founda
tion for the sharp humor of the poet in
the frequent separations of married
couples, but he seems to have forgotten
that in any question the argument rests
on the general rule and not on excep
tions. And so we come to the conclu
sion of our essay, which is this, in a few
words, that those who feel an inclination
to enter into a compact which should
bind them during their life should take
time to revolve and estimate the conse
quences and chances. If they .consider
carefully and wisely, without lx?ing blind
ed by their own wandering fancies and
imaginations, they need not concern
themselves in regard to the laws of States,
or care whether a divorce in Georgia may
take eighteen months or eighteen years.
The Use of Whiskers to a Cat
The sense which of all others is most
deficient in the cat is that of smell. In
this she differs most markedly from the
dog. It is said that a piece of meat may
be placed in close proximity to a cat, but
that if it is kept covered up she will fail
to distinguish it. This want is, however,
partly compensated for by an extremely
delicate sense of touek, which is pos
sessed, to a remarkable extent, by the
whiskers, or vibrissa?, as well as by the
general surface of the skin. These bris
tles are possessed to a greater or less ex
tent by all cats, and arc simply great de
veloped hairs, having enormously swol
len roots, covered with a layer of
muscular fibers, with which delicate
nerves are connected. By means of
these latter, the slightest touch on
the extremity of the whiskers is instantly
transmitted to the brain. These organs
are of the greatest possible value to the
cat in its nocturnal campaigns. When it
is deprived of the guidance afforded by
light it makes its way by the sense of
touch, the fine whiskers touching against
every object the cat passes,and thus acting
imprecisely the same manner as a blind
man’s stick, though with infinitely greater
sensibility. Imagine a blind man with
not one stick, but a couple of dozen, of
exquite fineness, and these not held in
his band, but imbedded in his skin, so
that his nerves come into direct contact
with them instead of having a layer of
skin between, and some notion may be
formed of the way in which a cat uses
its whiskers.
In regard to medical treatment of
diphtheria there is much disagreement.
Some favor local applications, others
dose their patients. Dr. E. N. Chap
man, an old physician of Brooklyn, who
has devoted many years to the study of
diphtheria, and who has had much suc
cess iri his practice, recommends the ad
ministration of alcohol. Alcohol, he
says, is a poison antagonistic to the
poison of diphtheria. He avers that the
percentage of deaths can be reduced to
one in fifty. It neutralizes, he says, the
diphtheritic poison, sets free the nerves
of animal life, subdues the fever and in
flammation, destroys the pabulum that
sustains the membrane, and cuts short
the disease. Like any other antidote, it
must be given promptly at the outset. It
does not act as a stimulant, nor produce
any of its ordinaiy effects. Dr. Chap
man sustains his position by citing
numerous cases in which this treatment
has been successful. He says that
during the past winter he has only lost
one case out of forty.
BOLD SAFE BURGLARY.
A Village A routed in the Early Horn
ing by a startling Explowlon.
Buffalo Courier.
As has been announced in a brief dis
patch, a daring robbery was successfully
perpetrated early last Sunday mornin"
upon the banking house of Messrs. Blod
gett Stebbins, at Pike, Wyoming
county.
About four o’clock the citizens of that
quiet hamlet were awakened by an explo
sion that shook the entire village and
caused the echoes to resound from the
neighboring hills and valleys. Citizens
living near rushed into the street, and
were ju*t in time to see three men run
from the bank building and disappear in
the surrounding gloom. The whole
town was soon in arms, and, stopping
only long enough to see that the burglars
had been successful, about sixty sturdy
sons of the village, headed by Mr. George
A. Green, President of the Vigilance So
ciety, started in hot pursuit. The pur
suing party tracked the burglars to Grif
fith’s Comers, a small hamlet about three
miles east of Pike, where all trace of
them was lost. The entire country for
miles around was patrolled by armed
men all day Saturday, Sunday and 3Ion
day, but up to the present time no one
lias been apprehended. All the highways
leading across the Genessee river were
closely watched, as w’ere the various
stations on the Erie and Buffalo, New
York and Philadelphia railways.
Tiie burglars had burned up or carried
away about one thousand fine hundred
dollars in cash, and some government and
railroad bonds. In one comer of the
room a package of one thousand dollars
in currency, uninjured, was picked up,
and about one-fourth of a mile from the
bank, some burned greenbacks wen-
found. The bank building is a frame
structure of small dimensions, standing
alone, and situated iu the centre of the
village. An entrance* was effected bv
prying open a side window. A clock
hanging against the wall w’as taken
down and had stopped at 11£ o’clock
Friday night. The safe, a handsome
one weighing about four thousand
pounds, was moved some distance into
the room, evidently for the purpose of
being more accessible. The safe was
opened by ripping up one of the bands
across the front and taking it partially off.
Two small square holes were worked
through the outer shell of the safe with
twist drills, and by means of jimmies
the bolts w’ere pushed back and the
outer door swung naturally upon its
hinges. The operators then tried to re
move bodily the money chests inside bv
means of wedges and jimmies, but fail
ing in that, they wedged the door suffi
ciently to make a small crevice, and put
tied tlie whole over except a small aper
ture, through which, by means of a small
bellows, the air was exhausted aud the
finest powder forced into the box.
When all was ready the outer door was
closed and the powder exploded, throw-
ing the contents promiscuously about the
office. About a pound of the finest gray
powder, so pure that it could not be
made to soil the whitest linen, a pair of
bellows, four twist drills, two double
jimmies, and various other tools usually
used by professional burglars were left
lying indiscriminately about the prem
ises. 31 r. Blodgett is a brother of 31 r.
James Blodgett, of Hermitage. N. Y.,
who was similarly robbed of $12,000 a
few* years ago.
A Fable.
From, the New Orleans Times.
There was a young 3Ian who went to a
Baby Show, and afterwards went to Play
billiards with a Tough old man to whom
one cock-Tail is a small Thing. And the
young Man went home later and finally
went to Bed full of mixed drinks and
two dinners, one which he lost to the
Tough man and oue which he ate at
home to keep up appearances, and he
had a dream. lie thought he was in a
deep Forest by a Hunter’s lodge. A
place Black with shade and damp with
Dead leaves. He saw an Owl nine feet
Ion" from the end of his tail to his lieak.
Ana the Owl flew Softly and made the
dead leaves flutter with the wind from
his wings. (The young 3Ian assumed
that it was a He Owl although,
in fact, he had no opportunity' to decide
that point.) He was nine feet long and
of a soft brown and spotted Hue
The young 3Ian thought the Owl was big
enough to eat a goat and that it was his
duty as a fearless citizen to kill him—the
Owl. And the young 3Ian slipped up
with his revolver and took aim at the
Owl and pulled to the amount of Seven
teen pounds on the trigger; but it did not
go Off. The young 3ian considered that
he had compromised himself in the eyes
of the Owl and that his revolver was
Busted. So he did not know what to
Do at that moment. Then the Owl
flew away to a big dead tree, just as
easy. Then the young Man followed
ami saw two other Owls on that big
de;ul tree. These Owls were also nine
feet long and of a soft brown and spot
ted Hue. And it was on a Hill
side above the Hunter’s lodge. There
were lumps of ferruginous Quartz lying
all about, angular rocks and deadly' it
throwm with force. He took up Some
of Them and thought he would throw
Them at the three Owls. And all at
once the three Owls changed into three
apothecaries with brown Spotted dress
ing gowns on them. They were stand
ing w ith their Heads together and with
their backs to the young Man—in an
Apotheke with a glass roof. The young
Man immediately threw a rock at the
Three of them, and it struck a brown
apothecary’ on the shoulder and glanced
off, and fell on a table and broke a bottle
and started some kind of a small Blue
flame. But the apothecaries went
on with their Legislature, humping
their shoulders and shoving their noses
up close and Bobbing their heads. Then
the-young man threw another Lump of
ore and it hit a brown apothecary’ on the
side of his head and glanced off and
mashed some jars and set several crooked
streaks of Blue fire agoing all around in
the A potheke. And the three soft Spotted
apothecaries formed a committee to see
about the Fire which had the appearance
of being about to burn everything up,
whereupon the young 3Ian turned and
ran down the Hill-side into the darkest
Place he could fine} in the Woods. And he
wandered about wondering what would
■be done about It and when he would
be Hung., Afterwards he thought he
wrould go back to the Hunter’s lodge
and see what would turn up. No sooner
had he got there when a Deputy sheriff
handed him a plate with Six Gas Bills
on it, every one of which the young
3Ian considered a w’arrant for his arrest.
He Fumbled over them to rain time to
Think, and the Deputy sheriff Rolled his
Ey’es. He thought it was no use to dis
pute the gas Bills and he w’as about
to weakeu and write “guilty”
on all of them with a Blue
pencil, when another Deputy sheriff
came in with an armful of fine Blue tis
sue paper, enough to make Nine volumes
of the Congressional Globe, all printed in
agate type. And the Deputy sheriff said
this was A description of the Outrage he
had committed, and he should Read it
and make up his mind wha* he w ould
Do about it. The young 3Ian tried to
find the beginning of it and he could not
and he thought he Would die. And then
he woke up and pulled the blanket away
from his wife who was Rolled up in It.
3Ioral—Don’t play billiards with a
Tough old man about dinner time and
don’t throw valuable Ore at Owls.
A GOOD STORY.
Alex. H. Stephen* and Boh Toomb*.
At a law society’s dinner the president
called upon the senior attorney to give as
a toast the person whom he considered
the best friend of the profession. ‘ Cer
tainly,” was the response. “The man
who makes his own will.”
Houston Telegram : 4 ‘A negro woman
was missed from Dallas in January and
no clew could be obtained of her until a
clairvoyant told her friends her husband
and two other men had pitched her from
the bridge into the Trinity river. They
believed the medium implicitly^ and
searched the river until they found the
body.”
For hauling a seine
In the British main.
And catching a few minnows and whales,
For pay in vain
They asked Jim Blaine
For he don t weigh fish in scales.
New York World.
A doctor named Rovston had sued
Peter Bennet for his bill, long overdue,
for attending the wife of the latter. Alex
ander H. Stephens was on the Bennet
side and Robert Toombs, then Senator of
the United States, was for Dr. Rovston.
The doctor proved the number of his
visits, their value according to local cus
tom. and his own authority to do medical
practice. 3Ir. Stephens told his client
that the physician had made out his case,
and, as there was nothing wherewith to
rebut or offset the claim, the only thing
left to do was to pay it.
“No,” said Peter, “I hired you to
speak in my case, and now speak.”
31 r. Stephens told him there was no
thing to say; he had looked on to see that
it was made out, and it was.
Peter was obstinate, and at last 31 r.
Stephens told him to make a speech him
self if he thought one could be made.
“I will,” said Peter Bennet, “if Bobby
Toombs won’t be too hard on me.”
Senator Toombs promised, and Peter
began:
‘ Gentlemen of the Jury: Y'ou and I is
plain farmers, and if we don’t stick
together these ’ere lawyers and doctors
will git the advantage of us. I ain’t no
lawyer nor doctor, and I ain’t no ob-
i ’ections to them in their proper place;
>ut they ain’t farmers, gentlemen of the
jury.
“Now this man Royston was a new
doctor, and I went for him to come an’
to doctor my wife’s sore leg. And he
come an’ put some salve truck onto it
and some rags, but never done it oue bit
of good, gentlemen of the jury. I don’t
believe he is no doctor, no way. There
is doctors as is doctors, sure enough, but
this man don’t earn his mon^y; and if
you send for him, as 3Irs. Sarah Atkin
son <lid, for a negro boy as was worth
$1,000. he just kills him and wants pay
for it ”
“I don’t!” thundered the doctor.
‘‘Did you cure him?" asked Peter, with
slow accents of a Judge with the black
cap ou.
The doctor was sileut, and Peter pro
ceeded:
“As I was sayin’, gentlemen of the
jury, we farmers when we sell our cotton
has*got to give vally for the money we
ask, and doctors ain’t none too good to
be put to the same rule. And I don’t
believe this Sam Royston is no doctor,
no how. ”
The physician again put in his oar
with: “Look at my diploma if you think
I am no doctor.”
“His diploma!” exclaimed the new-
fledged orator, with great contempt.
“His diploma’ Gentlemen, that is a big
word for printed sheepskin, and it didn’t
make no aoctor of the sheep as first wore
it, nor does it of the man who now
carries it. A good newspaper has more
in it, and I p’int out to ye that he ain’t
no doctor at all. ”
The man of medicine was now in a
fury, and screamed out: “Ask my pa
tients if I am not a doctor!”
“I asked my wife,” retorted Peter,
“an’she said as how she thought you
wasn’t.”
“Ask my other patients," said Doctor
Royston.
This seemed to be the straw that broke
the camel’s back, for Peter replied with
a look and tone of unutterable sadness:
“That is a hard saying, gentlemen of
the jury, and one that requires me to die
or to have powers as I’ve beam tell
ceased to lie exercised since the Apostles.
Does he expect me to bring the An"el
Gabriel down to toot his horn before his
time and cry aloud: ‘Awake, ye dead,
aud tell this court and jury your opinion
of Royston’s practice?’ Am I to go to
the lonely churchyard and rap ou the
silent tomb, and say to um as is at last
at rest from physic and doctor bills:
‘Git up here, you, and state if you died a
natural death, or was buried up by some
doctors?’ He says ask his patients, and,
ereutlemen of the jury, they are all dead!
Where is 3Irs. Beazly’s man Sam? Go
ask the worms in the graveyard where
he lies! 31 r. Peake’s woman Sarah-was
attended by him, and lu*r funeral was ap-
p’inted, and he liad the corpse ready.
When* is that likely Bill as belonged to
3Ir. Mitchell? Now in glory, a’ express-
in’ his opinion on Royston’s doctorin’.
Where is that baby gal of Harry Ste
phens’? She are where doctors cease
from troublin’ and the infants are at rest.
‘Gentlemen of the jury, he has et
chicken enough at my house to pay for
his salve, and I furnished the rags, and
I don’t suppose he charges for niakin’ of
her worse, aud even he don’t pretend to
charge for curin’ of her, and 1 am hum
bly thankful that he gave her nothin’ for
her inwards, as he did his other patients,
for somethin’ made um all die mighty
sudden .”
Here the applause made the speaker sit
down in great confusion, and in spite of a
logical restatement of the case by Senator
Toombs, the doctor lost and Peter Bennet
won.
The Great River of China.
V correspondent writes from Hankow,
China, to the New York Times:
44 The regular navigation of the Y’ang-
tse Kiang by steam Is an affair of the last
fifteen years, and was originally an Ameri
can enterprise. The river is well adapted
to steam navigation, as it Is one of the
largest streams in the world. The Ama
zon holds the firct place, the 3IississipDi
the second ; and the Y'ang-tse the third.
There are many persons W’ho think the
Y’ang-tse should be placed before the
3IisMssipni rather than after it, as they
contend that its volume is greater. I am
almost inclined to s : de with them, and
at all events shall decline to say that they
are not correct. I am familiar with the
Mississippi, from St. Louis to New Or
leans, and during my voyage up the
Y’ang-tse I have been trying to determine
the question of relative size. Uertainly
the fluvial pride of China looks as large
as our own, and appears to carry as
great a volume of water. In the
lower part of its course it spreads
out to a great width and forms
a broad estuary for more than one
hundred milej. * Here, at Hankow, six
hundred and odd miles from the 9ea, it
equals the 3Iississippi at Natehez or
Vicksburg, and ita current is said by
steamboat Captains to be only a little less
than four miles an hour. Yesterday I
took a Chinese sampan to cross from
Hankow to Wo-chang, the city on the
southern bank, and opposite to Hankow-
on the northern. I had two boatiqen,
and they rowed fast and well Tiiey
made straight across the stream, allow
ing the boat U> drift with the river, and.
on reaching the opposite shore tuey
pulled up stream where the current was
slight. We lost a full mile in the down
ward drift ip crossing where the river
was about a mile and a quarter in width.
As you look dowrn upon the Y'ang-tse
from the pagoda at Wo-chang or
from the summit of the hill that domi
nates Hankow, you are profoundly im
pressed with its'magnitude, and are not
surprised that the Chinese generally called
it Ta-Kiang—i. e., “Great River/'
“The flat, reed-grown banks of.the
first hundred miles of the Y’ang-tse forci
bly remind you of the swamps of the
Lower Mississippi; the reediness contin
ues through much of the second ;ind
even the third hundred miles, and disap
points the traveler who had looked for a
succession of villages and a dense popu
lation the entire distance along the river.
One hundred and fifty miles from its'
mouth the estuary of the Y’ang-tse con
tracts to a river, and the far-famed Sil
ver island rises in view’. Islands in mid
stream, a steep hill of rock, perhaps three
hundred feet high, crowned with a pa
goda and covered from base to summit
with trees and bushes and rich grass on
which summer houses and more substan
tial dwellings are here and there stippled.
A little distance beyond we have a Vicks
burg or a Memphis spread over a range
of undulated hills and backed by a lof
tier range that gives a serrated horizon
against the misty blue sky. But its name
is not Vicksburg'or Memphis; it is Chin-
kiang, and we know from the crenulated
wall that surrounds it, the pagodas there
rise above it, and the junks and sampans
at its water front that the city is Chinese
and not American.”
,'Je wonder some industrious collector
of Ann has never given us a book atom
witnesses. The strange statement® ex
trnordinary admissions, prompt ret ^"
funny mistakes crooked answers,and Si
distortions of the Queen’s English. h<£rd
in the courts would make a P lethoric Voh
ume of amusing reading.
The immaculate elector who was sure
he had not breakfasted at a candidate^
cost, because he had never breakfasted
inhislife a-ways taking his m™
meal in the middle of the day and his
neighbor, equally certain on ih» same
score, because he had, twenty yearn be
fore. made a resolution never to eat
drink at any one's charge but his own
had as little chance of being be^vX
the Scotsman assuring a Parliamentary
committee that his countrymen were
•'unco modest, or the Irishman who
swore the last time he saw his sister was
eight months ago. when she called at his
house and he was not at home.
An Irishman, examined before a Fish
ery Commission, seemed so inclined to
avow anything, that one of the commis
sioners asked if there were any whales on
the west coast ? 44 Is it whales *“ said
p at. “ Sure we may see m by the dozen
spouting like wather-engines all over the
place.” “Are there many dog-fish’”
was the next question. •• D’ogs. begj>rra'
ye’d say so ad ye passed the night here
Sure we can t sleep for the harkin’ o’
thim.” “Do flying fish abound here’”
queried another gentleman. “Flving-
tish is it ?” quoth the veracious fellow
“ If we didn’t put up the shutters every
night there wouldn’t be a whole pane o’
glass in the house for the craters batin’
against thim !” When he came up for
his expenses. Pat tried to coax something
extra out of the commissioners, on the
plea that he had sworn to everythin"
their honors “axed” him.
Irish witnesses art not usually so
tractable, no small amount of patience
being required to extract a definite
answer to the simplest questions. No
thing pleases your fun loving Irishman
better thim to bother a lawyer, and the
Irish courts have known many a dialogue
like this: “Y’ou are a Roman Catholic?”
“Ami?” “Are you not?” “Y’ou say I
am.” “Come, sir; what’s your religion?”
“The true religion.” “What religion’s
that?” “My religion.” “And what is
your religion?” “My mother’s reli
gion. “What was your mother’s
religion?” “She tuk whisky in her
lay.” “Y’ou bless yourself, don’t
you?” “When I am done with you I
will.” “What plate of worship do you
goto?” “The most convanient.” “Of
what persuasion are you?” “My persua
sion is that you won’t find out.”
“What is your belief?” “That you arc*
puzzled.” “Do you confess?” “Not to
you.” “Who would you write to if you
were likely to die?” “The doctor.” ' “I
insist upon your answering me, sir. Are
you a Roman Catholic?" “lam.” “And
why didn’t you say so at once?” “Y’ou
never axed me. Y ou said I was a great
many things, but you never axed me;
you were drivin’ crass words and crooked
questions at me, and I thought it was
manners to cut my behavior on your own
patthern.”
An examiner’s perseverance is not al
ways successful in eliciting the desired
answer. “Was there anything in the
glass?” asked a counsel of a somewhat re
luctant witness. “Well, there was some
thing in it,” he replied. “Ah, I thought
we should get at it in time,” observed tin*
triumphant questioner. “Now. my good
fellow, tell us what that something was.”
The good fellow took time to think over
it; at last he drawled out: “It were a
spoon.” Equally unsatisfactory, from a
legal point of view, was the following
short dialogue: “Y’ou have property, you
say; did you make it yourself?” “Part
ly.” “Are you married?” “Y’es.”
“Did your wife bring you anything?”
“Yes.” “What?” 4 Three children,”
The witness had the best of that bout.
And the lady was too much for the law
yer when they tried conclusions in this
fashion: “On which side of the street
do you live, ma’am?” “On either side.”
“How can that possibly be, ma’am?”
“Why, if you go one way it is ou the
right side, if you go the other it is on
the left” The information imparted was
as little to the purpose as the answer to
the question, “When you called upon
3Ir. Roberts what did lie say?” propound
ed to a voter before an election commit
tee. Ere the man could open his mouth
to reply, the question was objected to.
For half an hour counsel argued the mat
ter, then the room was cleared that the
committee might consider the subject.
After the lapse of another half-hour the
doors were opened, and the Chairman
announced that the question might be
put. All ears were strained to catch the
impending disclosure. But the moun
tain did not bring forth even a mouse.
“What did 3Ir. Roberts say?" asked the
counsel, and the witness replied: “He
wasn’t at home, sir, so I didn’t see him.”
The New Y’ork Nation makes the fol
lowing sensible comments upon the late
exposures opened before the Committee
on Land Claims of the Senate. A law
sending all claims to the courts of the
United States most convenient to the
claimants and witnesses would relieve
Congress and, the departments of much
labor and close the doors now so open to
fraud. The Nation says: “The YlcGar-
rahan mining claim, now nearly twenty
years old, has come up in a new way. At
a hearing before the Senate Committee on
Public Lands the New Idria Company,
3IcGarrahan’s opponent, put in evidence
the claimant’s private correspondence
touching the manner in which the claim
was pushed before Congress. This tends
to show that the means used to advance
hi9 interest were bribery of members of
Congress by gifts of stock, and the em
ployment of all sorts of men ‘near
the persons’ of politicians high in
office, with a view to secure the
influence of the latter. (>ne of the letters
threatens a terrible exposure of Judge
Black, who is now counsel for the New
Idria Company, aud must be mightily
amused by it. There have been so
many revolations of bribery and corrup
tion at Washington of late years that this
one is hardly likely to excite more than
a passing interest. The ‘charges’ will all
lie denied, with the usual protestations of
innocence, and there will be an end of it.
If the case would serve to fix the atten
tion of the public upon the importance
of some measure for keeping such claims
out of Congress, the scandal would be
hardly matter for regret. So far from
the means used by 3fcGarrahan to press
his claim being unnatural or due to his
exceptional wickedness, they are those
which suggest themselves at once to
claimants of pertinacity and intelligence
who have to do with such a body as
Congress. The moral of it all is rein
all claims to the courts. If this had oeen
the law, the McGamban scandal would
never have been, heard of, for his claim
was long ago rejected by the Supreme
Court, llut this, instead of disposing of
the claim, only sent the claimant back
to Congress.”
The Russian Government has officially
estimated its loss of suldiery 1
eighty thousand, hut there ’
probably, quite as large a lossoi .
subjects, other than mintaiy, fro®
dies arising out of the war. At
dropol, owing to the passage thr< K
town since the war began, of setenty
thousand sick and wounded. .
neglect of the sanitary authonti _
the requisite precautions, tn
much disease that ali who can
the town; the death rate *nts
fifty-five in one thousand. -
all the doctors of
fT&Tu The Turkish
prisoners from Armenia are
or less infected with disease. a»
ever they go epidemics folio ,
train. At Penza small-po* nd^
are so rife that public ^oob andmsti-
tutious have beeu closed hj - n
order. The official rej^rt fP Petera _
valid to every house. -' uu , m f th
Pe^ian Ci|n^u. n amon|
capital-J
month ago ten thousand
wounded were at Sistova a “5^
moval, so many of whom w ^
from typhu9 that it wa3
have typhus specials to carry
afflicted.
The Czar is said to be
emaciated and wasting awa.v P - ■.
is intimated that he has not long to live.
After Victor Emanuel thePope^ After
the Pope the Czar, ho they 0 .
Roman-off after another-