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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.