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A TTOANT’H PRISON HOUSE.
lln. frmlljr will. Wlilrh lh Nllilllata are
Tr. alad.
A short acoouut of the celebrated case
mates of the fortress of St. Peter and St.
Paul, in which the Nihilists are couflned
immediately after their arrest, will, I
doubt not, lie perused with interest by
your readers. Tlio writer, a Bt. Peters
burg correspondent, obtained aocess to
the casemates by a special ordor from
ono of the Grand Dukes whoso name ho
naturally suppresses. The sight of the
order when presented was by no means
acceptable to tlio commandant of the
fortress, but as it was peremptory, ho had
no alternative but to comply.
The casemates, it appeal's, are hollow’ed
out under the Neva, and directly under
the ramparts. Their only window, a lib
tie square hole, protected by a thick
barred grating, rises but a few inches
above the level of the river. A staireaso
of about ten stops leads down to them,
and, os the aide-de-camp who acted as
guide remarked, in a jocular tone:
“Many go down, but few came up
again.” It would seem that the climate
is not favorable to revolutionists. At
stated distances there aro iron doors
opening into the balls tilled with sen
tinels, who, with loaded rifle and lixed
bayonet, keep watch and ward over the
unhappy tenants of the cells which open
upon them. The doors of the cells, also
of iron, are very low.
As for the tiny prisons, they arc very
narrow quarters, square, with stone walls
and floors, and fairly damp, the water
constantly dropping about in all direc
tions. A chair, a table and a pallet of
white wood form tho only furniture.
One of the pallets was found to be covered
with a bed of straw horribly foul, but
even this, poor luxury as it was, must be
considered an exception. The prisoners,
the writer learned, were fed on a soup
mado of salted cabbage and block bread.
On grand occasions, however, they were
sometimes treated to a bit of meat and a
tclmrka, or a glassful of brandy.
The visitor was allowed entrance to a
few of the cells. Their tenants were
pale; they rose as he entered, according
to ordor, but regarded him with a fixed
look of despair. On some of the walls
characters had been traced with a pointed
instrument. One of the phrase ran thus:
“My poor mother, you doubtless
know that your innocent son is buried
alive iu this vault.”
The guide interfered and prevented
the writer from reading more. He was
shown the famous cell in which was in
carcerated the Princess Taralianova,
daughter of the Empress Elizabeth, who
fell a victim to her rival, the Empress
Catharine 11., grandmother of the pre
sent Czar. This unhappy woman perished
in the cell under tn most dramatic
circumstances. The Neva, swollen by
the melted snow, suddenly rose, and the
rushing torrent, dashing with overwhelm
ing strength against the tiny window,
broke in and filled the cell with water.
The Princess was drowned.
The cells of the great state criminals
are lined with mattrasses, and rings of
iron are placed in the walls, to which
many of them are bound when they are
not straight-waist-coated. The guide
informed the writer, among other things
that these unhappy men were asked
every quarter of an hour if they wero
present. Whenever they failed to reply,
they were barbarously punished. He
also states that in the wall of the Emperor’s
P room there is an invisible door, com
municating with a little passage, very
narrow, and leading to a subterranean
gallery, hollowed out under the Nova.
The gallery leads to the fortress, and in
case of a revolution or of imminent
peril, the Czar could disappear in a few
seconds from the Winter Palace, and a
few minutes after find himself in perfect
safety in the fortress of St. Peter and St.
Paul, the guns of which in a short time
could reduce St. Petersburg to ruins.
The palace of the Czar Paul 1., whick
is now the engineers’ school, was
similarly provided; but when the assassins
entered his room he had not time to flee,
and was struck down at the very moment
when he was about to disappear behind
the secret door which was already open.
YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS.
How Shall They He; Punished With
out tlakins' Them Worse !
[From the New York World.]
Much attention is now being given in
England to the treatment of boys and
girls guilty of offenses against the law.
Lord Derby and Lord Houghton have
spoken on the subject. Lord Derby be
lieves that in no case should boys under
14 years of ago be sent to prison, that
extended powers should be given to
magistrates to sentence boys to moder
ate corporal punishment, and that dis
tinct and separate places of detention
should be provided for young offenders,
“so that they shall not escape punish
ment altogether merely because it is un
desirable to send them to jail.” The
St. James Gazette, in some seemingly
unjustifiable strictures upon Lord Der
by’s address, the purpose of which was
particularly to call attention to the bad
results of confining young boys with old
and hardened criminals, whoso influence
more than offset the reformatory effects
of imprisonment, asks “what real dif
ference is there between ‘ a place of de
tention ’ and a prison. Who would think
4hat it made the smallest difference as
to a boy’s character and prospects in
life whether the prison in which he
was confined was or was not called a
reformatory?” Asa matter of fact it
would make a very great difference in a
boy’s prospects in life whether it should
be said of him that he was “ a jail-bird ”
or had merely been in a reformatory or
liouse of refuge. This as a matter of
repute. Asa matter of positive influ
ences, a boy who should have been con
fined in company with adult offenders
would be very likely to havo his crimi
nal propensities fostered and trained in
a way disastrous to himself and danger
ous to the community. Tho reformation
of old criminals is a thing hardly to be
looked for—certainly not in one instance
out of 100; but the ease is different, with
children generally, tho inborn villainy
of young tigers like Jesse Pomeroy, or
tho girl of 13 years who was recently
tried at Lincoln before Lord Chief
Baron Pollock for deliberately poison
ing a baby whom she nursed, being
wholly exceptional. In the long run
the true rule will doubtless be found to
be lenienoy and intelligent attempts at
reformation in dealing with children,
and rigorous confinement for the good
of society in the case of hardened adult
offenders.
Her Stepson.
A big, fat colored woman went to the
Chief of Police and told him that her
stepson had run away, and she wanted
to know where he was. “Itboddersme
to know why he left. He had every
thing he needed to make him comf’able.
I done all I could for him,” she ob
served. “Has he any marks by which
he may be recognized ?” “Well, I don’t
reckon all de marks I made on him
with a bed-slat, while de old man was
holdiu’him, has faded out yet.”
WILL W. SiNGIETOW, Editor k Proprietor.
VOL VI.
vicvsrvNii.
DY C Alt 111 K V. 8 HAW.
I am thinking of yon, darling,
A* I watch tlie dying day,
While tho twilight down aro falling
And tho light fades nlow away.
I shall think of you forever!
When tho autumn leaven aro rod
X shall fool you ouco more near mo,
I shall hear tho words you said.
When tho winter snows are dropping;
When the lmds are born again,
And tho April skies are weeping,
Ah in pity, for my pain,
I sha’l think of you, and ever,
Till the close of life’s bright day,
When tho dews of death are falling
And the light fades slow away.
The Pilot’s Story,
We had grown up together, as it were,
Mollie and I, our parents being near
and—wlueh does not always
follow—firm friends as well. They were
poor, and I suspect that fact had much
to do with their friendship, for oppor
tunities were always turning up for help
ing one another; and I have often
noticed that, when near neighbors are
well off and havo no need for mutual
help there is very seldom any friend
ship between them ; there is more apt to
be jealousy and competition.
Our parents being such good friends,
it naturally resulted that Mollie and I
followed their example. Wo wont to
school together, read together, played
together ; and, somehow, when Mollie
was 18 and I 20, wo agreed to travel to
gether all our lives, and wero very happy
in that arrangement; in fact, no other
would have seemed right or natural,
either to us or our parents.
From the earliest days of my boyhood
I had a fondness for the water, haunting
the palatial steamboats that floated on
the great Mississippi river, on whose
banks nestled the city in which we dwelt,
and, at the period to which I am about
to refer, 1 had just secured a position as
pilot on a small freight steamer.
It was not much of a position, to be
sure, nor was there much of a salary at
tached to it; but, small as it was, Mollie
and I decided that we could make it au
swer for two people, neitlier of them ex
travagant or unreasonable; beside
which, I had hopes of better times to
come, as I had received words of com
mendation from my employers, and
promises of speedy promotion.
So, early one bright morning, having
obtained a day’s leave of absence, Mol
lie and I were married, and, stepping
into a carriage I had hired for the occa
sion, we started off, having decided"on a
day’s excursion to a celebrated ey,
near by, this being all the wedding trip
we could allow ourselves ; not that we
eared in the least, however; we were too
happy to be disturbed by any shortcom
ings of sum or purse.
We had scarcely driven beyond our
own street, when we were brought to a
halt. A messenger, whom I recognized
as belonging to our steamboat company,
hailed me.
“ Here is a note for you from the
Superintendent. ”
Thus it rau:
Am sorry to hive to recall your leave for to
day, bat you must immediately go on hoard
the Mobilia, which is ready to start up the
river. The pilot is too ili to attend to duty,
and you aro appointed to take his place for the
present.
“ There goes our wedding trip all to
smash 1 ” said I, as Mollie read tho or
der.
‘ ‘ Why so ? ” she asked.
“You see I must go into the pilot
house of the Mobilia.”
“ Very well,” she replied. “We will
just go up the river instead of to the
cave. Drive on, Bob ; let us go down to
tlie wharf in state.”
‘' But you can’t go in the pilot-house
with me, little goose.”
“Of course not; but I can sit on the
deck outside,” laughed Mollie, “and
wo can cast languishing glances at each
other. ”
And so it came to pass that I took
possession of the Mobilia’s pilot-house,
my heart glowing with love and pride ;
with love, for there, just below me, on
the little forward deck, sat my sweet
bride ; with pride, because the Mobilia
was one of tho finest of the beautiful
floating palaces of the Mississippi, and
to pilot such a one had for years been
the height of my ambition.
The steamer was fitted up with a
double cabin, ono above the other—the
upper one opening upon a small deck,
reaching out toward the bow, near the
center of which, ou a raised platform,
was placed the pilot-house. This deck
was always occupied by passengers, ami
this morning it was particularly crowd
ed, for the boat was heavily laden with
people taking advantage of the beauti
ful weather to make an excursion up the
river.
Bome rough fellows jostled against
Mollie’s chair after a while, and she rose
and passed down into the lower cabin,
“to get a drink of water,” she whis
pered to me as she passed; but I sus
pect it was really to prevent the burst
ing of tho thunder-cloud slio saw gath
ering on my brow.
I saw that the insolent fellows made
no attempt to follow my dear one, so I
gave myself up to my own happy
thoughts, and, looking out on the far
distant, peaceful shores of the great
river, over wnose placid bosom we wore
moving so swiftly, there rose from my
heart a glad, silent hymn of rejoicing.
But suddenly a cry broke forth from
the cabin behind me that effectually
changed the current of my thoughts :
“Fire ! fire! fire !” A horrible cry at
all times, but most horrible of all when
it rings forth in the midst of gay, unsus
picious hundreds floating in fancied se
curity in the midst of the waters.
An instant’s awe-struck silence suc
ceeded that awful cry, and then three
hundred voices, of men, women, and
children, united in fearful, heart-rend
ing shrieks for help.
“iFire ! fire ! fire 1”
Aye ! there was no mistake about it,
nor false alarm. No one could tell how
it had commenced, but there it was
creeping along the roof of the upper
oabin, with the deadly flames greedily
lapping up every scrap of awning and
curtain they could find upon their way,
ever and anon darting long tongues of
flame down to the floor to clasp the light
BUENA VISTA, MARION COUNTY. GA„ SATURDAY JANUARY S, IMS I.
chairs and tables and settees in their fiery
embrace.
As well seek with a sieve to scoop up
tho waters of the great river on which
tho Mobilia floated, as to try to subdue
the roaring, devouring enemy that had
seized upon the ill-fated steamer.
The people darted down from tho
blazing upper cabin to the forward deck
below, where as vot the foe had made
but little headway, and there our brave
Captain—who was that rara avis “the
right man in tho right place”—suc
ceeded in partially quelling the panic.
“Keep quiet!” lie ordered—“keep
quiet, and stay just where you are, or I
will not answer for the lives of any of
you ! The steward will provide every
one of you with life-preservers; but
there is no reason for any person to go
overboard ; not yet awhile, at any rate,
unless suicide is desired. Keep quiet. I
say! Pilot, head her straight for the
land, half a mile ahead.” (We were at
least twice that distance from the main
land on either shore.) “Engineer, put
on all steam—crowd her on 1 We will
run a race with the foul fiend who has
boarded the Mobilia. ”
There was an instant’s pause, and
then, with a groan and a surge, with
the timbers creaking and straining, and
the windows rattling as though in mortal
terror, tho Mobilia gathered herself up
to run her last race.
Each passing moment the flames crept
on and on and on, never pausing in their
terrible march. Fortunately, they leaped
upward rather than downward, so that
there was as yet but little danger to the
panic-stricken crowd on the lower deck.
But the pilot-house was directly in the
track of the flames, and already their
advance guard was beginning to sur
round me, singeing my hair and eye
brows.
Suddenly there was a murmur among
the people below, and the next instant a
light form flew up the ladder leading to
the little deck by the pilot-house, and,
before I could say a word, my precious
Mollie had thrown open the door, and,
closing it again, stood at my side.
“Mollie, Mollie!” I cried. “For
heaven’s sake go back, go back! Don’t
you see how the flames are creeping to
ward us here ? Go, go, my dearest ,my
own true wife! Don’t unman me by
making me fear for you. Go down
where I can feel that you have a chance
of safety.”
“Bob Thorne ! ” she exclaimed, with
her eyes looking bravel/'str aight into
mine, “ am I your wife ? ”
“Surely, surely, thank God!” I ut
tered. “But go. go!”
“My post is here, just as much as
yours is,” she answered, firmly. “ T will
bh.y.'te.ie, Rub, and if you die, I will die,
too. We will make our wedding trip
together, my dear husband, even if it ba
into the next world. Keep to your duty,
and never mind me, Rob. There is hope
for us yet, and, if it comes to the worst,
why”—and a brave, sweet smile crept
round her lips—“ we are still together,
Hear love 1 ”
1 saw it was of no use to urge ner any
more, and, besides, something swelled
in my throat so that I could not utter a
word, so I just gripped the wheel hard,
and looked right ahead, though every
thing looked very dim just then, and my
devoted darling stood calmly at my side,
watching the flames that were creeping
closer and closer upon us, leaping
mound the pilot-house like hungry de
mons impatient for their prey.
“Thome,” shouted the Captain,
•‘come down. Lower her and yourself
over the rail. We’ll catch you. You
cannot stay there any longer. We are
very near the shore now, and the rest
we’ll take our chances for.”
It was an awful temptation. I knew
that, did I follow the Captain’s advice,
both Mollie and I would be safe, for I
was a good swimmer, and, should tho
boat not reach tho shore, I could save
her and myself ; but then, if I did this,
would I not deliberately expose every
one of the 300 souls on board to destruc
tion ? True, the boat might keep to her
course during the short space remaining
to be passed, merely from the rapid im
petus of her approach ; but, again, she
might not—and then ?
i looked at my dear wife inquiringly.
“Stick to your post, Rob !” she said.
“ No, sir !” I shouted back; “I shall
stick to my post; I shall stay here till I
run her clear on the shore, or die first.”
“My brave Rob —my noble Rob 1”
murmured Mollie.
But alas for my devoted Mollie ! alas
forme! Not the pilot-house only, but
the entire deck around it was now sur
rounded by flames. It was too late to
lower ourselves to the deck below ! The
railing was all ablaze.
My arms, released from their guardi
anship over the wheel, olasped Mollie
close to my heart; but my eyes and
brain were busy seeking for some mode
of escape from death that seemed each
instant more certain.
All at once my eyes rested on tho
paddle-box. It had" not taken fire vat;
the flying spray had saved it. I had
only to dash across the flame-swept
deck, and fling open a little door in its
side, which afforded ready access to the
wheels, to lower my precious charge to
the water beneath in safety. No sooner
thought of than done.
“Take my hand, Mollie,” I said,
“ and run with me. We shall be saved,
after all. Wrap your shawl across your
mouth. Now, now—run ! ”
Leaping down on the deck, we sped,
hand in hand, to the paddle-box. I
dashed open the little door, and, push
ing Mollie inside, passed in myself, and
drew the door close again, shutting out
the eager flames whose angry roar pur
sued us as we dropped gently down into
the shallow water and crept out from
beneath tho wheel.
Our appearance was hailed with a
shout of delight and relief, for all had
given us up as lost, and we must have
been but for the heavon-inspired thought
of the wheel-house.
Now that the danger was over, poor
little Mollie fainted ; and no wonder.
But she soon came out all right; and, as
the people began to find out that the
“bravo little girl,” as they called her,
was really a bride of only a few hours,
and that we were on our wedding trip,
tli ere was a regular ovation, followed up
by nine deafening cheers.
The island upon which the Mobilia
had been beached was low, sandy
and uninhabited, altogether not an in-
Devotrd to tho Interests of Marion County and Adjoining Sections
viting place tor 300 people, without a
particle of shelter, to pass half a day
upon, yet even in this plight there were
few grumblers iu our midst.
There was no room in our hearts for
any feeling but that of thank fulness for
our preservation from a fearful death,
and, after the peril of the last
hour or two, it seemed a small matter
to wait patiently tor the coming of the
relief boats that wo knew were sure to
arrive before many hours were past.
Though some miles from any large
city, we knew that tho burning steamer
must have been seen from the farm
houses scattered sparsely along the river
bank, and that from these notices of tlio
disaster would be sent to the nearest
town. And so it was. Before nightfall
several small steamboats arrived, and,
after that, but a few hours elapsed be
fore we found ourselves safely at home,
and our adventurous wedding trip at an
end. But its results were not ended, by
any means. The terrible nervous strain
I had endurod, combined with tho se
vere burns on my face and hands, threw
me prostrate on a bed of sickness.
When I was able to report for duty
again, two weeks later, I learned that a
noble gift from the Mobilia’s grateful
passengers—no less a sum than $2,000
—lay in the bank awaiting my order.
Not only this, but the steamboat com
pany had voted me a gold medal and the
appointment of pilot of the finest steamer
on tlioir lino.
Years have gone by since iqy brave
wife and I had so nearly journeyed out
of the world on our wedding trip. From
pilot I have como to be Captain and
part owner of one of those beautiful
floating palaces that used so to excite
my envy; but never do I pass without a
sickening shudder the little island where
the Mobilia won the stakes in the last
race—a race of fire against steam, of life
against death.
A Great Invention.
A Frenchman has invented a device by
which passengers can be put on and ta
ken off an express train while it is in 1
motion. Of course, an energetic man I
can get off an express trrfin now while it
is going at thirty miles an hour, but tho
feat is attended by many drawbacks.
The aforesaid Frenchman would have his
patent car stand on a side track, from
which it could run on the maijiline with
out necessitating the turning of a switch.
This car contains at one end a small en
gine and a big drum, connected with a
set of steel springs running the whole
length of the car underneath. A wire
rope is wound around this drum, and
when it is unwound it tightens no the set
of springs to their utmost tension. The
unwound end of this cable terminates in
a hook that is placed on a# post beside
the main track, so that asimiliarhook on
tho express train will*#, atch it. Do you
catch the idea? When the express comes
booming by the passengers are seated at
the other end of the patent ear, the ex
press hook catches the patent hook, and
rapidly unwinds tho rope from the drum,
the patent car meanwhile slowly moving
forward. By the time the rope is un
wound from the drum the car is going as
fast as the express. The small engine
winds up the rope again, assisted by the
springs, and this draws the car up to the
rear coach of the express. Passengers
and baggage are rapidly transferred, the
car unhitched, and the small engine
helps it back to the station. The experi
ment has been tried in France, and i3
quite successful. There was no shock
when the patent car started, and every
thing worked like a charm.
The Age of Onr Planet.
Sir William Logan anil his scientific
brothers declare that the age of our
planet may be placed at about 100,000,-
000 of years, geologically speaking.
This conclusion is founded on primeval
formations after the earth had cooled
and begun its sedimentary deposits.
The geological calculations touching the
sedimentary rocks, their thickness and
the length of time necessary to bring
such a result, is as follows :
Feet. Years.
Laurontian 30,000 30,000,000
Cambrian 25,000 25,000,000
Silurian 6,000 6,000,000
Ucv™ian a " diltonU f 10 > 000 10,000,000
{Jarboniferouß 12,000 12,000,000
Secondary 10,000 10,000,000
Tertiary and Post Tertiary... 1,000 , 1,000,000
Gaps and unrepresented strata 6,000 6,000,000
100,000 100,000,000
Thus it will be seen that the age of
the earth is determined only from the
beginning of the aqueous deposits.
How long the new planet was a red-hot
ball, or how long was the process of
water forming, is not taken into tlie cal
culation of geologists. Fifty or a hun
dred years of human life is but a but
terfly existence, after all.
How to Keep Healthy.
Do not neglect ventilating your bed
rooms when the weather becomes cold.
In the morning hoist the windows, taka
off the bedclothes, shake and stir the
ticks, turn the upper one over tho foot
roll. This will prevent the impure odor
penetrating farther, and they will es
cape faster while the bed is warm, and
you will not have to wait for the beds
to air when you are ready to make them.
To hot weather we sleep with all the
windows open, but do not allow the
wind to blow directly upon us. In the
coldest nights of winter wo only leave
the doors open connecting with other
rooms. On no account sleep in tight
rooms without at least a crack to admit
of pure air. Plenty of fresh air gives
health, strength and elasticity to the
lungs and body.
Keep the pores of the skin open, to
let impurities pass out freely, by wash
ing the body once a week in winter and
oftener in summer. Havo the room
warm, bathe quickly and wipe dry, and
you will not feel chilly if it lias been
done properly. If all the clothing worn
by day were aired while we sleep in
other garments, much health and com
fort would be added to life. One-third
of our lives is spent in our sleeping
rooms. Do be particular about them.
Let them be large, dry and pleasant.—
Germantown Telecrravh.
A “ lady author,” who is unfortunate
enough to live in England, says : “Lady
authors are not very highly esteemed in
these days; nevertheless, they are ac
cepted as one of the necessary evils of
the age.”
A Mexican Market.
The market, says a Mexico correspon
dent of tlie Alta-California, furnishes
an abundance of eggs, chickens, cheese
and milk. Fish can most always be had,
being brought from the Santiago River,
twenty miles distant. In my next I will
write in respect to this river. A nice
chicken can be bought for a real and a
medio (IS H4epnts), and a dozen of eggs
for the same. Tho cheese mostly used
is called panda, and comes iu tho form
of small cakes, is white and soft, ami
eaten when freshly made. Milk is
brought into town on the backs of ani
mals, and is plenty and cheap. There is
a belief that it is dangerous to drink it in
any quantity and clear; that, if a glass of
it be drank, and the person becomes
excited or angry, the chemical affinities
of tho milk and blood aro sue! 1 that a
poison is produced that creates immediate
death. Flour sells for 12 cents pel
pound. Tlie amount used is considerable,
notwithstanding that tortillas, or corn
cakes, aro a necessity in every family.
Tho bread and cakes are all furnished by
the baker. The bread is made in the form
of rolls, which are sold at 4 cents each.
Of tlio sweet bread, there is a great
variety, and each family, in purchasing,
procures the assortment. It is made
into small cakes of different shapes, and
sold at from 1 to 3 cents each.
The entire ignorance of tho value and
use of stoves of course necessitates a
simplicity in tho art of cooking, and the
excellence of the production of the
cocinera is very remarkable, when this is
considered. There is not a stove in use
in Tepic. The original, antique furnace,
that has been in use from the time of the
Spaniards, is still cherished as superior
to any modem innovation. It is simply
of brick, of convenient height, with an
opening on top to contain charcoal,
which is the only fuel used, and on top
of which the cooking utensil is placed.
An opening underneath furnishes draft.
All the cooking utensils are made by the
Indians from clay. They are all glazed;
some ornamented with colors, and are
cheap but frail. They are all sizes,
from a spoonful up to ten gallons. They
are brought into the towns on the backs
of Indians and donkeys, packed in crates,
and are offered for sale about the Plaza
on Sunday. This is an important in
dustry, as all families must use more or
less, and the constant breakage pitmtiiig
a continual demand.
Tlie Gulf Stream.
At a meeting of the Society of Austrian
Civil Engineers, Mr Carl Englohardt
gave an interesting account of (lie lititTlral
supply of heat on tlie continent of Eu
rope. He showed that certain European
countries are favored over other parts of
the world by the natural influences of
the upper Etesian winds, the desert of
Sahara and particularly tlie Gulf stream.
When the Sahara was still a sea, the cli
mate of Southern Europe and Northern
Africa was many degrees colder than at
present. Many thousand years ago,
fore the Isthmus"of Panama had been
raised above the level of the sea, the
Gulf stream flowed between North and
South America. That was the glacial
period in Northern Europe. Scandinavia
and Finland were covered with ice; moose
and reindeer abounded in Italy and
Spain, and the south of Europe was in
habited by a race similar to the Lapland
ers. The Yosges and the Black forest
were covered by glaciers. Through tlie
rising of the Central American isthmus,
the Gulf stream was turned eastward and
Europe emerged from the ice period.
In how comparatively short a time tho
climate of a country can change is proved
by Greenland, which was discovered 892
years ago, and owes its name to the ver
dant valleys and blooming meadows
which greeted tlie eye of the first settlers.
Even 450 years ago Greenland had over
200 towns and villages, and was a bish
op’s see. Through the elongation of the
coral reefs of Florida, the Gulf stream
has turned more toward the west coast
of Europe, and Labrador and Greenland
have now the climate of the Arctic circle.
The mean temperature of the most south
ern point of Greenland, is the same as
that of Norway, 600 miles further north
ward.
The deflection of the Gulf stream will
probably increase, as the Florida banks
advance to finally join the Bahama, and
Tortugas islands, and the influence of
the Gulf stream will at last be lost to
North-western Europe, a considerable
lowering of temperature, and a general
reaction in the march of civilization on
the Eastern continent. Some thousands
of years will, however, elapse before this
can be accomplished.
A Penitent Dog.
Dog stories have been so common and
so marvelous as to obtain little more
credence than “fish stories,” but the_
following is so well vouched for as to'
leave no possible doubt of its truth. A
lady in Lowell owns a very intelligent
dog, of which she desired much to havo
a picture. She accordingly took him to
a photographic gallery, and with the as
sistance of the artist endeavored to make
her pet take and keep a suitable position
before the camera. But tlie spoiled dog
was in an unaccommodating mood that
morning, and, after repeated trials, the
attempt to conquer him was abandoned
in despair. “Go home,” the lady said,
at last, pointing to the door. “You are
a bad, naughty, naughty dog.” The
culprit changed instantly his saucy man
ner, and, dropping his tail between his
legs, slunk away in confusion. All the
rest of the day he seemed to realize that
he was in disgrace, crouching in corners
and wearing a shamefaced air. The next
morning he was missing, and all search
failed to discover him. About noon he
reappeared, much elated, and having
fastened to his neck an excellent tin
type of himself. Inquiry disclosed the
fact that when the photographer went
down town in the morning the intelli
gent dog had been at the door of the
gallery awaiting admission. As soon as
the door was opened Carlo ran joyously
up stairs and leaped into the chair on
which his mistress had posed him the
day previous. Seizing the situation, the
artist made his preparations with all
possible speed, and tlie result was the
delightful picture which the four-footed
penitent had taken home, as a peace
offering to his mistress.
A 71CUNT OF SUBSCRIPTION, $1.25.
An Editor’s Hensons.
The pioneer editors of Michigan were
a frank and truthful lot of men, as can be
proven by an incident called to mind in
connection with the name of Mark Wil
liams, who gave up his life for a better
one not long ago. Mark had a paper in
Clinton County. It was a wee little
sheet with a hundred subscribers, printed
tho handiest way, and the office was so
poorly supplied that several different
fonts of typo had to be used to set up the
reading matter. One day tho paper
came out with a fierce attack on a State
official at Lansing. He was called a
robber, liar, thief and various other epi
thets, and no pains was spared to skin
him and hang his hide on the fence.
About a week from that date Mark sat
smoking beech leaves and tobacco mixed
in equal parts, when a stranger entered.
Ha was a big broad shouldered man,
with awful fists and a wicked eye, and
he got down to business by asking:
“Are yon Mark Williams?”
“Well, y-e-s, I suppose so,” was the
hesitating reply.
“And you run this paper?”
“Well, kinder run it, I suppose.”
“Very well. lam Mr. ,of Lans
ing, the man whom you abused so sav
agely in your columns last week!”
“No!”
“ Yes, I am, and I propose to give you
tlie worst mauling a Western slanderer
ever received!”
“Say, are you really Mr. ?” asked
Mark.
“ I am, of course I am, and while I am
taldng off my coat you may givo me
your reasons for publishing that slander
ous article.”
“I had two reasons, sir.”
“Wiiat are they!”
“Well, in the first place, I thought
yon were a little runt of a man, about
four feet high and about dead with the
asthma, and in the next place I thought
the loads were so infernal bad you could
never get over here!”
Tho straightforward confesson should
have saved Mark, but it didn’t. The visi
tor made a dive for him, took ont a hand
ful of hair, and when tho editor jumped
through the only window in his office he
was followed and chasod into an old
slashing, where lie had to remain hidden
until midnight. That incident shaped
his future policy, as ha one day ex
plained:
“The editorial pen is an all-fired big
lever, but I have made it a rule for tho
last thirty years not to abuse a man un
less I think I can lick him in a rough
and tumble fight around the editorial
room.”— Free Press.
Fires In Japan.
A fire in Japan is apt to he disastrous
on account of the unsubstantial nature
of the light wood, jmper-windowed
houses. One or two • steam engines,
maintained by the joint subscriptions
of the foreign insurance companies who
have agencies here and are interested in
property in Japan, and a number of old
fashioned hand engines belonging to the
Japanese Government, and managed by
natives, from the lire guard to the for
eign settlement and native town of Yo
kohama. The Hong Kong Fire Insu
rance Company, being an English house,
provide their volunteers with uniforms of
English pattern—brass helmets for the
officers and black leather helmets trim
med with brass, for the men; blue flan
nel shirts, faced with red, corduroy trous
ers, top boots and a belt, with a hatchet
and spanner on either side. The relief
men wear the American lire hat and red
flannel shirt, but in other respects their
dress is the same as the Victoria. At the
sound of the alarm bell the steam en
gines are not long in reaching the scene
of a fire, and the steady streams from
their hose as a rale soon have a very per
ceptible effect on the ilame, though at
times the'men liave to work unremitting
ly from night till morning, and when at
last the fire is extinguished the tired vol
unteers draw the engine back to their
houses and retire to the rest they have so
fairly earned by their labors. After the
steam engines are drawn off the Japs are
left to play on the smouldering rains with
their hand engines, which, though al
most useless when a lire is at its height,
are sufficiently powerful to keep it from
breaking out again. The Japanese po
licemen, though brave and quick enough,
are absolutely worthless at a lire. They
jabber and shout like a parcel of monkeys
struck suddenly mad, give orders where
they have no right to interfere, and chop
at windows and doors with their hatchets,
destroying property unnecessarily, where
in most cases it should he saved with no
other damage than would be caused by
the water pumped from the engine. Tlie
uniform of the Japanese policemen, like
that of all government officials, is of for
eign pattern, and is made of navy bine
cloth, faced with yellow; their caps,
something of the same shape as a navy
cap, have a yellow Wand sewed around
them, and a brass chrysanthemum, the
crest of the Emperor, is fastened just
above the peak. At some of tho fires
three or four hundred houses are burned
to the ground, and us many poor fami
lies left homeless. — Exchange.
Time Is "Everything.
Asa gentleman turned a corner the
other evening he came upon a little boy
who was drinking out of a tiu bucket.
“What are you doing ?” asked the gen
tleman.
“The old man sent me for beer, and I
Mght I’d divide it with him.”
‘But yon oughtn’t to do that. ”
‘l’ll tell you how that is. The sooner
i old man gets tight the sooner I get
1 licking, so I’m drinking up the beer
as to put it off as long as possible.”
—Galveston News.
Silver-Tongued Orator.
A couple of Galveston negroes were
talking politics. One of them asked
Uncle Mose: “I say, Mose, what is de
meanin’ of a silver-tongued orator? I
lias read dat spression in de paper, and it
sorter stumped me.” Old Mose, who
never failed to answer any questisn ever
3akedhim, responded at once; “Asilber-
; jraagued orator is one who neber goes
•*ck on his word when lie promis you a
jflber half-dollar for votin’ for him.”
“Dat ar species a mighty skurse in Gal
veston —dat’s all I’se got ter say.”—Gal
veston News.
Massachusetts can supply the world
with surplus females.
FACTS FOIt THE CURIOUS.
It is said that no rhymes exist in th
English language for tlie words silver,
orange, month, kiln, bilge and gulf.
It Ims been Haid that man is the only
animal that makes use of tools, hut'the
statement has been controverted, de
nervation having shown that other ani
malH do occasionally employ tools. This
is especially the case with monkeys,
which in confinement huvo been ob
served to use stones to crack nuts, and
sticks or leather straps to draw toward
them objects which lay beyond their
reach.
SiiAKsPEAtiK uses more different words
than any other writer in the English
language. Writers on tho statistics of
words inform us that ho uses about
15,000 different words in his plays and
sonnets, while tlioro is no other writer
who uses so many as 10,000. Some few
writers use as many as 12,000 words, but
the great majority of writers do not em
ploy more than 8,000. In conversation
but from 3,000 to 5,000 different words
are used.
In the city of Dublin there are 24,000
families, averaging five members, who
are each living in a single room. The
death-rate of the city is 40 per 1,000,
which is equivalent to 60 per 1,000 in
the tenement-house districts. Theso
two facts, the enormous number of fami
lies living in a single room, and the high
death-rate, prove that the horrors and
dangers of Irish distress have not lieen
exaggerated. These families of five,
shut up each in a single room, depend
for support upon wages of from 10 to 17
English shillings a week.
The ease with which the Esqui
maux of St. Lawrence island can see to
a great distance, and the marvelous way
in which news is transmitted from the
most distant points, is really wonderful.
A native will describe the dress and ap
pearance of a man who is approaching at
a great distance. A white man, even n
sharp-eyed sailor, can just make out
that it is a human figure. So if anything
occurs on the coast, if a piece of wreck
comes ashore, the full particulars will
be known in a short timo 1,000 miles
from the place where it occurred. It is
a wonderful system of telegraphy—one
native rushing off to pass the new's to
another, and thus speeding intelligence
over hundreds of miles in a single day.
From the examination of a book com
piled 2,000 years B. 0. it lias been as
certained, what lias long been supposed,
that Chaldea was the jmrent land of
astronomy; for it is found, from this
compilation and from other bricks, that
the Babylonians catalogued the staffs,
and distinguished and named the con
stellations. They observed the seventh
day as one of rest. They invented the
sun-dial to mark the movements of the
heavenly bodies, the water-clock t
measure time, and they speak in this
work of the spots on the sun, a fact they
could only have known by the aid of
telescopes, which it is supposed they
possessed, from observations that they
have noted down of the rising of Venus
and the fact that Layard found a crystal
lens in the ruins of Nineveh. These
“bricks” contain an account of the del
uge, substantially the same as the nar
rative in the Bible. They disclose that
houses and lands were then sold, leased
and mortgaged, that money was loaned
at interest, jjnd that tne market garden
ers, to use an American phrase, “worked
on shares;” that the farmer, when plow
ing with his oxen, beguiled his labor
with homely songs, two of which have
been found, and connect this very re
mote civilization with the usages of
to-day.
NO. IS.
Fascination in Man.
Having frequently seen it stated in pop
alar works on natural history, as well as
in some books of travels (chiefly Aus
tralian) that certain snakes possessed the
power of so fascinating, with their gaze,
birds and other creatures as to be able to
seize upon and devour them without any
difficulty, I am induced to inquire if
such a power is peculiar to the serpent
tribe or not, and incidentally to ask if
auy instance of its influence or extension
can be traced up the scale of creation to
man himself. Being of opinion that
such is the case, while it has occurred to
me that many of the fatal accidents that
occur in the streets of large cities, such
as London, etc., might be ascribed to
some such agency or sensation, I am in
duced to call attention to the circum
stances in these pages, and to submit the
following as my own personal contribu
tions toward the inquiry: Describing
certain incidents in the siege of Gibral
tar, Drinkwater says (“History,” page
75) “that on the9th Lieut. Lowe * * *
lost his leg by a shot on the slope of the
hill under the castle.” “He saw the
shot before the fatal effect, but was
fascinated to the spot. This sudden ar
rest of the faculties was not uncommon.
Several instances occurred to my own
observation where men totally free have
had their senses so engaged by a shell
in its descent that, though sensible of
their danger, even so far as to cry for as
sistance, they have been immediately
fixed to the place. But what is more re
markable, these men have so instan
taneously recovered themselves on its
fall to the ground as to remove to a place
of safety before the shell burst.” Al
luding to the first casualty that occvirred
at Cawnpore during the siege of the in
trencliments there in 1857, Mowbray
says (The Story of Cawnpore, page 06)
that “several of us saw the ball bound
ing toward us, and he (McGuire) evi
dently saw’ it, but, like many others
whom I saw’ fall at- different times, he
seemed fascinated to the spot,” and an
old and now deceased departmental
friend, who went through the whole
Crimean campaign, assured mo that he
was once transfixed (fascinated, he called
it) after this fashion in the presence of a
shell that he saw issuing from Sebasto
pol, and whose every gyration in the air
he could count. Other military friends
have discussed the point with me in this
same wise, and I think there is some
allusion to it in one or other of the works
of Larry, Guthrie, Balling# 11, or others
of that, ilk.— Nature.
A Montana Heroine.
One of the guests at the Choteau
House is the heroine of a first-class snake
story. While horseback riding with a
female friend, the latter encountered a
huge rattlesnake, which caused her horse
to stop suddely and refuse to proceed
further in the 'direction of the reptile.
The lady, however, dismounted, and
without 'waiting to procure a stick or
other weapon, she boldly approached his
snakeship, grasped him by the tail and
pounded the life out of him before he
had time to make an effort in his own
defense. The snake was over three feet
long and sported twelve rattles. The
story seems tough, but the lady who first
encountered the snake vouches for the
facts, and the heroine has the reptile to
show for her exploits.— Benton (M. TANARUS.)
Record. _• ______
A Texas man said he preferred to fight
ia duel rather than act as judge of a baby
show’. This is surprising, as ho could
got more fighting out of a baby show.