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Thras months „ „ 40
Mmmwpmpnr Law MIom,
1 *1 Ab 7J*»° b who take* a papsr ragular-
lj from tfia postofflos— whether directed to
his name or •mother’s, or whether he has sub*
•enbed or not— Is lesponsibU for the amount.
S. If a person orders his paper disoon tinned
be mmt pay all arreerafss, or the publisher
may centiane to send it until payment is
made, and collect the whole amonnt,whether
the paper is taken from the office or not.
*. The court* have decided that refusing
to take newspapera or periodioale from the
poetoffloe, or removing and leaving them
uncalled for Is prfma facie evidence of In-
natiotnrl fraud.
SOUTHERN NEWS.
Bclmn, Ala., is growing rapidly.
Tomato cider is a new drink in Texns.
A negro woman 103 yearn old died
npnr Fort Valley, Qa.
Nashville ships fifteen car loads of
lumber northward every day.
Five negroes were elected to the Geor
gia legislature at the recent election.
The ladies of Macon propose to make
a vigorous winter campnign in the tem
perance cause.
The people of Clarendon, Texas, arc
building abode houses. They are made
of sun-dried bricks.
A colored couple wero married in the
l>oor-houscatBarne8ville, Ua., the groom
110 years old and the bride only forty.
The three richest men in Georgia ore
Joseph E. Brown, of Atlanta, and Fer
dinand Phinizy and John A. White, of
Athens.
Barnum is having bad luck in Texas.
An elephant, two tigers, a giraffe, a train
ed oxen and a number of smaller animals
in his show have died.
The tobacco outlook has increased the
value of timbered land in Buncombe
county, N. C., at least fifty per cent,
within the last three years.
In Schley county, Ga., a freedman,
with one mule, this year inode twenty-
three bales of cotton, weighing over 500
pounds each, and 200 bushels of com.
A young man died at San Antonio,
Texas, after | icking cotton from the ef
fect o' poison put on th^ cotton to kill
insects. His brother is ill from the same
cause.
A colored girl named Lizzie Hampton,
in Union county, S. C., has given birth
to twin children, which arc joined to
gether by a union of the breast bone,
having but one naval, but supposed to
have two sets of intestines'confined in
one cavity.
R. A. Hyslop, a gentleman living in
Norfolk county, Va., recently captured
an prdinary live turtle possessed of two
well-formed heads. The turtle was
brought to bay in the woods by iv dog,
and is considered such a curiosity that
Mr. Hyslop has decided to send it on to
the Smithonian Institution at Washing
ton.
Leprosy exists to a considerable extent
in the parish of Lafourche, La. Au at
tempt to make in official investigation
was lately resisted with arms, the * lbpers
and their friends believing that the suf
ferers were to be isolated on an island in
the ocean. The report of the physicians
is that the disease is not gaining ground.
Baton Rouge, La., has no public
schools open. The same is true of St.
Landrey, and the'Democrat, of the latter
parish, says: “We have school officials,
State and parochial, all the time, but no
schools. What is the use of having an
organization that accomplishes nothing ?
The public school system of this State is
a delusion and a snare.”
Samuel Hawthorne, who killed McGee
at Vicksburg in September, has been sen
tenced to the penitentiary for life by a
jury of twelve colored men. This is the
first case in Mississippi in which a white
man lias been convicted by negroes. The
jury is said to have exibited every evi
dence of marked attention, and brought
in their verdict intelligently.
The Vallambrosa Place, near Dublin,
Ga., once the home of Gov. George M.
Troup, but recently the residence of Col.
Robert Wayne, who married a grand
daughter of Gov. Troup, was destroyed
by f)|B. The family pictures and fine
old silverware were all lest, and many of
the historic oaks were killed by the fire.
Col. Wayne lias suffered losses from fire
four times within eleven years.
In Tennessee, under the law of 1874,
no liquor con be sold within four miles
of an incorporated school of learning,
unless located in an incorporated town
or city. The friends of temperance are
taking advantage of the enactment in
some portions of Shelby county by secur
ing charters of incorporation for schools
in their neighborhood, in all cases near
some little village where the ineb iating
fin id is dispensed.
The King’s Mountain Centennial As
sociation reporta a surplus of funds re
maining after defraying the expenses of
the recent celebration. It . has deter
mined to build an iron railing around the
monuipent and construct a dwelling-
house on the mountain near by for the
keeper of the monument, who is to be
selected hereafter. The Association is a
perpetual organization and it lias been
determined to maintain it, holding meet
ings from time to time as may be required
for this purpose.
Personal Security.
“Will you do me a favor?” said
young Brooks to liis wealthy friend, Sim
eon Hansom. “What is it, John?”
said Hansom. * * I wish you ‘ would lend
me £20, sir.” “Call at my counting-
house,” rejoined Hansom. John wat
not long in paying his respects, ‘ * Wnat
security can you give me, young gentle
man?” “My personal security, sir.’
“Very well, get inhere," said Han
som, lifting up the lid ’of a'largo iron
chest “ Get in there I ” exclaimed
John, in, astonishment, “what for?”
“ Why, this w where I always keep my
personal securities.”
W. N. BENNS, JAMES D. RUSS, Editors,
“ LET TliJ^RE HE LIGHT.”
Subscription, $1.50 in Advance.
VOLUME V.
BUTLER, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1880.
NUMBER <i.
CASTLES IN THE Alll.
11m mot® complete on life’* turbulent stre
11 that they enjoy, Aid thoy use It ori«ht,
Or bllM
Than that they ei.
Nor cover Sol’* rays with cerulean blight.
But I think that the man who no’er dream* 01 a nay
When hie name shall grow groat and hiasorrows do-
cay
I* unworthy tbo form that he boars and tho mind
That was made to explore In tho mints uucouflnod.
For, when tho dark hairs of tho droamer are gray,
And his tottering limbs speak of “ passing away,”
If the oantlca he built were but cent lea of air,
Yet ploasant It wan when ho built them fair;
And tho memory of day* when hin fancy had flight
Will noftou tho shadows of swift-oomlng nlglit,
And he'll oagorly turn to that beautiful laud
Where tho co*tlc» arc built, but not built on sand.
Thoreau Outdone;
OR,
How Jc88ie and I Camped Out.
Jessie and I wero not sisters. O, no.
Pretty pink-and-white Jessie lived at
Beechwoods, some miles out of historic
C , while I was Cousin Nan, down
from tho city to spend tho summer holi
days iu the grand old place, where we
two worked our own sweet will through
tho long bright days; for was not
“ Brother Fred" in a distant city practic-■
ing liis profession, and was not Aunt
Kato tho most indulgent of hostesses?
It would be hard to imagino a greater
contrast than Jessie and I presented in
outer aspect. She, with her fluffy,
orirnpy waves of golden hrur, peach-
blossom complexion and pansy-purplo
eyes, beside my glossy jotty braids, my
tawny olive face, with a smothered red
burmug in either cheek, and my large
dark orbs, was no more striking differ
ence than her slight, fairy-liko form be 1
side my own goodly stature.
. But, despite all this, our tastes were
very much in common, and our mimls
wont to run in the sclt-samo grooves,
though Jossio would persist in looking
up to “ Cousin Nan” os a very prodigy
of learning—a walking encyclopedia, in
fact, to tho uncalled-for detriment of her
own well-stored littlo head.
it was 1 that brought Thoreau down
from tho city—tho whole set—deeming
them suitable mental pabulum for our
country summer. We nod been rooding
“ Walden,” and became thereby so im
bued with a love of nature, pure and
simple, and such a distaste for tho artifi
cial refinements of civilized life as to look
with disdain upon such modem appli
ances ns cushioned chairs,, lace curtains,
and temptingly cozy couches; even turn
ing away frota the dainty repasts where
with Aunt Kate was wont to regale us,
with muttered exclamations such as
these: “O, tho 'hurry and waste of
life,’ ” “ We are ‘ lost in the whirlpool of
a dinner;’ ” and refused the wonted sol
ace afforded by . the morning paper, al
leging, in excuse, that “all news, so
called, is gossip.” And Jessie began to
pity her father openly for having “ in
herited liolYsea nnd lauds,” find for be
coming,-ns she was pleased to style it,
“ a serf of the soil,” until genial Uncle
Nod lifted hands and voice in comical
amazement, crying out, “What ails the
girls, pray tell ?” “ They read altogeth
er too much, ” was Aunt Kate’s rejoinder;
“they must have more company.’
Whereat I exclaimed, theatrically,
“ Company I r ‘ What is there that can
bring two minds nearer together ?’ ” And
Jessio chimed in with tho assertion of
having 1 “ known many coats but few
men.’ ’ And what was there for Aunt
Kate to do but leave the field in despair
ing silence ?
One morning we received a letter
that—Thoreau, notwithstanding—was
“ worth paying the postage on,” for was
it not from certain other cousins of ours,
and did it not oontain glowing recounts
of their delightful “camping-out” ex
periences? • This communication was
the metaphorical “last straw,” and wo
sat in gloomy silence—a silence broken,
at last, by a triumphant exclamation
from Jessie:
“ I have it!” Then, seeing my in
quiring look, she proceeded to a more
thorough explanation of her plan.
“You know that little cottage down
by Clear brook, Nan, where Jim, tho
gardener, used to live? Well, it is in
good repair, not far away, but quiet and
secluded, and just the place for us to
camp out.”
Seeing the gloomy delight in my face,
she went on : “ We can take our books
down there and study ns well as not.
There is my German and your English
literature that we’ve scarcely looked into
—what with our drives, our sails, and
our toilets ’’—which was literally true,
for Beechwoods was known far and wide
for its hospitality, and tho “fair women
and brave men ” of C; wero well
content to sojourn there for days at a
time.
Of course I gave enthusiastic assent,
but queried doubtfully,
“What will Aunt Kate say ?”
Jessie shared my look of doubt fop
an instant, but quickly added :
“ Never mind; I can coax her over.”
Which proved to be the case, for
hard, indeed, must bo tho heart that
could withstand the pleading look in
those pausy-pnrple oyes—though for one
instant the prospect was . rather dark,
until Uncle Ned camo to the rescue with
his hearty,
“Let the midgets go, Kato; the old
hut is safegohdugh, and they’ll enjoy it.”
And I think-the memory of certain of
liis boyhood pranks rose very pleasantly
before him just then, prompting a half
wish*to share our retreat.
So it wad settled, and Jessie and I de
voted the remainder of that day to on
inspection of our new home. 1
The cottage, which wo cliristened'
“Walden” at first sight, in honor of
our ilhistrfous ' prototype, was a small
one-roomod edifice, destitute of paint,
but mantled with a most luxurious
growth of woodbine. A fence, with di
lapidated palings, inclosed the small
garden spot wliich sloped down, to the
banks of Clear brook, with tho stretch
of beech woods on one baud that gave
name to the place—-said bit of wood
land having been left in tho earlier days
for convenience, but in these later and
more degenerate days for “ effect. ” But
whatever the cause, the resiflt was one
! to us, namely, that of producing the ire-
( quirea air of retirement 09 well as tho
wherewithal to build our morning fire,
for we refused all such modern con
veniences as oil-stoves, classing them
among the snares of civilized life, and
turning in preference to tho more-primi
tive camp-fire.
Clear brook was, as its name signifies,
a limpid streamlet flowing with dimpling
laughter past our sylvan homo, and hid
ing itself jn tho shady woodland depths.
“Walden” was scarcely a quarter of a
mile from the house, but,'owing to tho
fact tliat one was obliged to ascend a
considerable rise of ground, and descend
its opposite • slope before reaching it,
gave it an air of complete seclusion.
Jessie, taking command at once, de
tected the latent capabilities of our
newly-acquired possession and issued
her orders with the air of a General to
tho “neatrhanded Phillis,” our attend
ant.
“Oh, it will be just perfect, Nan,
when the floor is cleaned and the win
dows washed 1” cried Bhe, standing in
the doorway, wreathed alxrat with wood-
bino tendrils, ns pretty a picture as need
bo seen, adding, as one spray, more dar
ing than tho rest, tangled itself in her
fluffy crimps, “I must have John come
down and trim-those vines away.”
The next day was given by tbo ser
vants to the cleansing of tho little cot
tage, and by us to the ransacking of thp
wide, roomy garret for suitable furnish
ings therefor. Wide, dim and low-raft •
orod was tho Beechwood’s parrot, and
filled with relics of by-gone days a
very treasure trove, where one might
wluJp away the hours.
There was many an old arm-chair,
with moth-eaten cushions and carved
frame-work, that I would fain have tak
en, but Jessie was a stern disciplinarian,
and met all my proposals with :
“Simplify I simplify! Nan, remeni-
Tier Thoreau I” until our outfit at the
last was limited enough to suit evon our
oracle. The bedstead Mas of ancient
device, and was to be graced by a most
amazing patch-work qiult of the pattern
yclept by our grandmothers, the “risifig
sun, wherein that luminary is seen dis
played in the most gorgeous reds ami
yellows. This Jessie lmd unear tiled
from an old chest, fmyiflg.:
“ This will brighten the rpom up, as
well as being more primitive.”
Then there were tho two “rockers”—
a Windsor one, with ragged patch-work
cushions, and a somewhat treacherous
“cane sent,’’ which two wore respective
ly christened for “solitude and friend
ship,” while the third, a relentlessly
straight-backed affair, was unanimously
dedicated to “society.” But tho tri
umph of our “setting out” was to bo
found in “tho three-legged table,”
which we persuaded ourselves to be an
exact counterpart of tho one possessed
by our prototype at tho other, and more
famous, “Walueu,” and prized accord
ingly.
It was a somewhat late hour that af
ternoon that found us on route for our
now home. , Before us, down tho shaded
path, went faithful John, driving tho
wagon, loaded high with onr household
IKJssessious, while Jessie and I followed
after, heavily laden with tho numerous
books of reference tlnft we proposed
consulting during our retirement
“Truly, Jessie,” quoth I, with my
eyes fastened upon tho shabby outfit
before us, “Thoreau was right when he
said, ‘The more a man has of such
things, tho poorer he is.’ ”
To which Jessio assented ns well as
might bo consistent with the united en
deavor she was bravely making to carry
tho numerous volumes wherewith she
was laden, and at the same time keep
those sunny, wind-tossed crimps from
quite blinding her.
But our joupey was soon ended, and
all our possessions heaped upon tlin
grass, “like the contents of a gypsy’s
pack.” Nor was it long before order
was brought out of chaos, and tho faith
ful John departed, leaving we two girls
alone in the 1, forest-shadowed dell, with
the echo of liis lusty singing fleatiilg
pleasantly back to us in the low after*
noon lights that flooded the spot.
Very cozy tho little room looked with
its plain, dark curtains at cither win
dow, for we were not quite up (o “Wal
den ” usage yet; its table and cliairs,
and the neatly-made l>ed, with its
brilliant covering, and very well con
tent were we as wo drew forward that
self-same table and proceeded to spread
upon a half newspaper the daintiest of
lunches, and with quickened appetites
to disenss the same.
“Make the most of this; Nan,”
laughed Jessie, “for to-morrow We bid
farewell to the ‘flesh-pots of Egypt,’
and return to life pure and simple."
It was growing late, and two very
tired girls resolvod to defer all senti
mentalizing in the moonlight until some
future occasion, os they locko^l the door
and fastened the windows, thereby dis-
olieying one of the first tenets of “ Wal
den ” law, but obeying Aunt Kate, who,
utterly oblivious to our reiterated^assur
ances of amplo courage, saw to.it witli
her own eyes that locks and “ catches ”
of modern contrivance rendered onr little
domicile safe, and retired for the night.
Weary as we were, however, we were
long in wooing slumber to our eyelids,
for the Bounds qf tho night were about
us, all, from tho chance crackling of a
dry twig to the rippling of tho little
stream, sounding strange to our unac
customed ears. We wore aroused next
mornirfg by a full flood of sunlight strik
ing across our closed eyelids tfnd awoke
at onoe to the fact that wo were too Into
for spectators of the regal advent of the
king of day—that one scene of our lit
tle theater had been played to tho music
of bird songs while we slept. Regrets
wero unavailing, so wo made a hasty
toilet, and Jessio, standing in the open
door, cried impulsively:
“ Oh, Nan ! this is delightful; come
on! ” and the little rogue, kilting stdl
shorter her short gray skirts, sprung
down the mossy bank to dip her lingers
in the sparkling waters of Clear brook.
I was not long in following her example,
and, os we wundered up tho smooth
green slope ogdin hand in hand, Jessio
laid:
“ No wonder Thoreau camo out in the
woods to ‘find what life had to teach.’
Nowhere else, I am sure, can one front
tho ‘essential facts of life.’ ”
‘“Essential facts!’” quoth I dis
dainfully,, “‘essential facts!’ What
fact do you suppose life holds for most
of the girls' of onr acquaintance more
essential “than the adjusting of their
crimps, or tho snaring of some knight in
tlioir artful toils. ‘Essential facts,’in
deed 1 ”
To all of which did Jessie assent, her
own yellow tresses meanwhile rippling
and waving in a manner to distract less
fortutiato girls, and her own pansy-
□ pie eyes a maze whore many n heart
been lost all unrccked of by their
owner.
Arrived at our littlo domicile, how
over, wo wero confronted by tho very
“essential fact” that breakfast must be
prepared by our own hands, and not
only that, l)ut the foundations of tho re
past must be laid from the very begin
ning.
There was our gypsy fireplace. Jolin
had arranged it tho night before ; two
forked sticks with a third one laid across
in these natural angles, upon which a
kettle swung suggestively over tho cool,
green sod ns yet unsenrred by any flame.
Wo had refused, disdainfully, that snmo
functionary’s offer of gathering “ a bit
of brush to start it wid, mum,” lfefused
it in tho light of long, delightful rambles
in that same woodland which now lay
white and dewy before us, rambles
wherein wo would collect dry twigo and
lielien-covored bark, wherewith to build
our morning fire. But now? Woll,
“distance lent enchantment to the viow"
in this as well as many other eases ; but
there was no time for dallying, for al
ready our appotites were quickened be
yond their wont, and Jessie, gathering her
skirts about her, cried :
Fill tho kottle, Nan, and go after the
roasting ears. I’ll get tho wood and
build the fire,” adding, as she vanished
in tho dewy depths, “ You’d better get
somo potatoes, too, whilo you are about
it; they’ll roast with the corn."
The little witch, what did she mean ?
Had she forgotten that my city training
rendered mo all unfit for such a task,
and was she oven now laughing at my
perplexity ? But there was no help for
It; so, taking basket and hoe, I started
for tho field of action, namely, tho corn
field, where, nothing deterred by the
showers of dew that fell from tho broad
leaves, I gathered a goodly quantity of
that esculent viand, and then turned
my attention toward tlio potatoes. Hero,
owing to my inexperience, I was not
quite so successful, but, after numerous
struggles with the unwieldy (at least in
my hands) weapon, I camo off in somo
degree conqueror anil returned iu tri
umph, bearing my sheaves with me. The
scene, however, which met my eye was
by no means an encouraging one. Jessio
had returned from her woodland ramble,
and the evidences of her toil were to be
seen in tho few dry, knotty twigs scat
tered About her as sho knelt before a
very small smoky tongno of flame that
flickered in the socket uiul threatened to
expire momently. Hearing rny footsteps
sho looked up eagerly, her pretty eyes
red and tear-filled from the eddying
smoke, and a half quiver in her voice ns
Bhe cried:
“ O, Nan, what shall I do, this fire
won’t burn ? ”
“You want more kindling, child,”
said I briskly. “Here, this fence is all
falling down, ’twill not bo much the
worse for a few more pickets," and, drop
ping basket and hoe, I seized tho hatchet
and soon reduced one of the nforeHnid
pickets to suitable size, through which
timely aid tho aspect of things was
changed to such on extent that our ket
tle was soon boiling and bubbling mer
rily away in the most approved gypsy
fashion. We consigned both corn and
potatoes to its doptlis, being too hungry
for any slower method, and unanimously
decided it was too late for any further
efforts in the culinary lino, ns wo drew
our threc-lcggod table to the open door
way and prepared to discuss onr sorely-
needed repast. Never. I tldnk, did corn
and potatoes taste 1 letter than those
eaten with laugh and jest that quiot
summer morning; albeit many an ear
of tho former, owing to my lack of
knowledge, was decidedly young and
“green," and many of the latter tubers,
owing to tlio same cause, wero in a state
of infancy.
“But, Nan,” said Jessie, ruefully, iu
a pause of our merrimont, os our morn
ing troubles camo back to her; “we
oan’t have all this trouble every day
»l>ont a fire. What did Thoreau have
'or kindling ? ”
“Green hickory, split fine ; don’t you
remomber?” answered I, promptly.
'* I’ll tell you what we’ll do, though :
Cover the fire every night; damp grass
and leaves will be just the tiling ; then
rake it open in the morning, and start
it with some of this old fence.”
Which Wo did, and successfully, too.
“Nan,” said Jessie again, this timo
somewhat hesitatingly—“Nan, what
will we have for dinner ? ”
“Dinner I” echoed I, iu dramatic
tones; “dinner I are wo never to l>o freo
from that, not even in these solemn
woods? What did Thoreau have ?”
“Corn bread and molasses ; the bread
simply meal and water kneaded hard,
and baked before the fire,” answered tho
little puss, demurely. I winced slightly,
for Fm somewhat epicurean in my
tastes, and the witoli know it. “I
thought that would be pretty dry, though,
so I’ll make ours thin and bake them
fresh evory time. See ! I’ve borught »-
griddle.”
“And, Non, I’ve something etae to
show you,” slio said, triumphantly lead
ing the way down to Clear brook, where
she displayed a small butter jar sunk for
more than half its depth in tho coo!
water, and I, firm disciple though I
of Thoreau, uttered no word of protest
at this daring innovation against Walden
rules. .
After this our days slipped quietly,
sweetly pust; the three-legged table was
well laden with books—so well, indeed,
tliat, as meal-time circled round and we
removed them from thence to bed or
chair, or vice versa, Jessie was wont to
refer mournfully to thw “ two pieces of
limestone ” that Thoreau had, but throw
away, because he found tliat ho must
“duBt them.”
Our slight duties dispatched, it was
two very prim young lathes in the plain
est of garbs and the smoothest of braids
guiltless alike of “wave" or “crimp”
—at leapt, mine were; Jossio’s, little
witch, were a» distraetingly pretty as
ever—that sat down at that self-same
table, armed respectively with “ Taino ”
and “ Ollendorf, to “con each lesson
o’er. ” We weye feqt gijls, Uqweyer, and
many a pleasant interlude or dreamy
wonderment and girlish gossip floated in
whenever Jessio found a German verb
hard to conjugate, or I paused iu some
unavailing search after a now authority
bearing ou the subject at hand.
Happy, helpful days were tliev, varied
by ail occasional walk up to the house
when the coast was clear, or sometimes,
standing on tho crest of the little rise
just behind our cottage, we would sur
vey tho graveled sweep of Beechwoods’
carriage drive through an old field-glass
Jessie abstracted from “Brother Fred’s
room,” and laughingly comment on the
frowning faces some of the fair inmates
of tlio cushioned barouches carried
away with them upon learning “The
girls have pone farther in the country
for seclusion and study,” for Beech
woods was a most delightful place for a
week’s sojourn, as they well kuow ; but
Aunt Kate, once won over to our side,
protected us manfully, so that none in
vaded our solitude.
But everything must have an end, and
so did the pleasant davs that had graced
our week’s stay at Walden, aud we awoke
ono morning to hear a quick shower
pattering against tho windows.
“ Dear, dear; our fire will be all out!
What shall wo do, Nan ?”
“Do? I don’t know. Go up to the
house for breakfast, I suppose. Every
thing will bo too wet to kwdlu it nguin. ”
“ Go up to tho house !” echoed Jessie,
indignantly. “Indeed, I shall do no
such thing. Haven’t they been telling
us all this time that the first storm
would bring us buck? I’ve no doubt
they’re expecting us, and that plates are
laid for us this very minute (which we
afterward found to have been the case).
Go bafck! I’ll go hungry first!” and
Jessie looked very determined aud pret
ty, indeed, ns she finished her toilet and
announced that the rain was over.
“There’s blue sky over yonder, Nan ;
get your rubbers and come on;” aud
suiting tlio action to tlio word Bhe sallied
forth, and I followed suit.
Just os we expected, every spark of
tho provoking fire, that we had covered
so jealously the night before, was out.
Muking the best, however, of a bad mat
ter, we set to work bravely, and that
devoted fence Buffered ns never before.
But it was slow work. Everything was
drenched and dripping, and wo were
inexperienced hands—so inexperienced
that after nil hour of toil breakfast was
still a fair but distant prospect; and the
faint aud struggling flame we lmd con
jured up flickered dolefully, aud threat
ened every instant to expire in smoke.
This was the state of affairs when,
Jessie having taken her turn in the
chopping department, I was bending
with uu anxious face over the llro.striviug
to place at the greatest advantage a new
relay of kindlings, I was startled by tho
ringing sound of un unmistakably manly
voice, exclaiming:
“Well, I never! if there isn’t Jess!”
followed simultaneously by au ecstatic
little scream from Jessie, of:
“Brother Fred, where did y:•« v \a..,
from ?” as she dropped Ivi- uplifted
liatehet and rushed to m. r cC him. I rose
to my feet hastily, only to find myself
confronted by a tall, dark, aristocratic
gentleman, whose smile of recognition
brings deeper roses to my cheeks ; for
was not this same gentleman Mr. Archer
from the city, and one of tho greatest
lions of the last season, and my quondam
partner for more than ono German dur
ing tho previous winter? I place my
hand in his outstretched one, only, how
ever, to withdraw it quickly as I discover
how many and deep ore tho marks it
displays of ite recent conflict with that
refractory tire, and an added color springs
to my face, lest that also bear tho same
traces.
“This is Nan, I know,” said tall,
\doude Fred Cumcron, releasing himself
from his little sister and turning toward
mo—“as much of a gypsy ns ever, I
see "—and—well, his greeting was very
brotherly, indeed.
“But what does it mean, Jessie? you
girls out here at this hour 011 a rainy
morning ? anything wrong at the house ?”
and a look of anxiety darkened his face.
“Nothing wrong, but where have
you gentlemen been, pray tell mo, and
Low did you arrive ip this nut of tlio way
place, at this time of day ?”
“Been camping out; took a fancy to
come up home and bring Archer ulong ;
walked up from tho station to surprise
tho folks,” replied Fred, briefly.
“Camping out! thaj w just what we
are doing, Fred, Nan and I.”
“Did you ever, Archer 1" said Fred,
appealingly, but that gentlemah, with
tne relics of Boston conservatism still
clinging to him, answered never a word,
only smiled aggravatingly—whereat I,
aroused, answered coolly—using the
very words of our oracle—“Wo came out
in tho woods because wo wished to live
deliberately, to front only the essential
facts of life, and find out what it lind to
teach mj. ” A look of astonishment grew
in their faces.
“ Yes,” chimed in Jessie, quoting from
tho same source, “Wo wero tired of
cabin passage, and wished to go before
the mast, and on the deck of the world.”
“Thoreau, us I livo,” cried Fred, ami
tho look of astonishment deepened.
“Yes, Thoreau," said Jessio, calmly,
but mischievously.
“No man (or woman, either)can ever
unfold tho possibilities of his own intel
lect who does not at least checker his
life with solitude.”
Mischievously—I say—for tho scene
was, to sav tho lonst, slightly amusing.
Time—early morning, and a ruiny ono at
that. Place—tho river bank overarched
by dripping trees. Properties—a gypsy
firo-pluce, a smoky fire—two young
ladies engaged in attendance upon it,
aud pausing in this occupation to quote
from the classics was somewhat aston
ishing 1
A look of amazement, mingled with in
terest from Mr. Archer at this last quota
tion—wondering, doubtless, that a young
lady should read other than the lutest
novel, or tho newest socioty poem.
“Ho you read Do Quincy,- Miss
Cameron ? Ho is ono of my friends, too!’’
“ Yes, I admire Do Quiuoy very much,
but Thoreau is our oracle just now ; let
mo bid you welcomo to * Walden.’”
And Mr. Archer’s oyo brightened as
he caught sight, through thy open door
of our ponderous volumes, but I inter
rupted here with a dolorous cry,
“Tho fire lias gone out; what shall we
do?”
T*ue enough, that proyqJtiPa fire, tak
r efforts, hod
ing advantage of a lull
disapi>cure'i in smoke.
“ O dear, we’ll have to go up to tho
house, I suppose, after all our trouble.
Just see how I’ve hurt my hand.” And
while Fred examined critically the littlo
pink palm I related our “ moving ad
ventures.”
“A fire, is that all?” said ho at their
close. “ I have not camped out in vain
all these summers," and his ready knife
soon reduced another picket of tliat
devoted fence to the requisite size ; and
ere long a spnrkling blaze rewarded his
efforts.
“ Why need we go up to tho housed”
queried Mr. Archer. “No one knows
we are coming, and I quite long for one
more out-door repast. Besides, we have
been ‘roughing it’ so long os to be
scarcely wonted to civilized life os vet.”
“Capital!” echoed Fred. “What
have you girls got for breakfast?”
“Corn and potatoes roasted in the
ashes, and corn-bread and molasses.
You remember Thoreau’s bill of faro ; it
is ours, too,” replied Jessie, demurely,
with a glance at Mr. Archer as she si>oke.
But the gentlemen professed themselves
entirely satisfied, and I said, oracularly,
“He that eats must work, and if you
gentlemen stay you must pay the pen
alty. Cousin Fred, there is the bosket
and hoe, your post will Ik? the corn field
and potato patch. Mr. Archer, this fire
will need constant replenishing, so you
may gather sticks.” lluving thus as
signed them their station, Jessie and I
turned our attention to the matter at
hand, and after much merriment and a
great deal of waiting, wu sat down to a
very creditable repast of the above-men
tioned articles, further reinforced by
Boston crackers and co)d tongue from
tho gentlemen’s lunch basket. Wo had
moved the table out under the trees,
and wliut with improvised seats, the I
novelty of the situation, and the laugh- !
ter and jesting consequent thereupon, j
passed a pleasant hour.
Jessie aud I (lined at the house that
day, but, positively refusing any further '
concession to the world, ret unfed to our
solitude and interrupted studies—
studies, however, doomed to more than
one interruption of the same nature, for
the gentlemen professed themaolves to
be as much in love with Walden cottage
an- 1 lifo therein as we ourselves, and \
countless wero the fishing parties they
instituted, and delicious tho chowders
they concocted, and many were the !
hunting expeditions from which they re
turned laden with small game, to he
cooked in hunter's fashion, but most ap-
petizingly, at onr gypsy fire-place, and, '
I fear me, Taino and Ollendorf were
most sadly neglected the while we gained
in the art’of angling, or took long wood
land rambles, from which wo returned 1
with happy faces, and brows crowned ■
with wild flowers.
It might also have been noted about j
this timo that sundry changes t<x»k
place in our attire, numerous bright
ribbons and fresh lawns taking tho place
of our somber serviceable grays, almost
without our knowledge.
It was on one of these self-same ram
bles late in the month, when Fred and I
had fallen behind Jessie and Mr. Archer,
which,-by the way, hud happened very
often in these latter days, and some way
thoy never seemed to miud it either !
It was ou ono of these rambles, I say,
tliat Fred bent his liandsomo blonde
head very low and whispered—though
why should ho whisper, there was no ono
to lionr?
“We ore.going back in three days,
Nan; our vacation is more than pust.
Hhnll you care very much ?’’
And I, startled by the sudden an
nouncement, lifted my eyes quickly to
his face, which was not *ut all pruilcnt
under the circumstances, and lie read
wlmt he chose in their depths, and then
—but there, I shall not toll you a word
he said, that is my secret, I only know
tlmt a few minutes after Fred was very
near, and I was turning a jeweled circlet
on my finger, and seeing it through a
mist of tears tliat dimmed its glitter
strangely.
“ The timo is very near, Nan ; don’t
you think you had better break up at
Walden ?" This brought mo to myself
with a start, as I exclaimed, remorso-
fuHy:
“ What will Jessie say?”
“ There is your answer,” laughed
Fred, pointing down u long reaeli of
trees, at whose farther end could bo seen
tlio glimmer of pale blue lawn, with a
most unmistakable coat-sleeve outlined
agninst it, while the jetty locks of its
owner were iu dangerous proximity to
tho other’s blonde crimps. Foiled at
this point, I tried another :
“ Three days ! why, I could never got
ready in tho world.”
“ Nothing to wear!” said Fred, light
ly ; “don’t tell me. What does your
oracle, Thoreau, say about it—‘If you
have any enterprise before you, try it in
your old clothes I’ ”
Ho what could I do? And Jessio
found herself helpless before the same
arguments, and. throe days from that
time, we were whirling away from C—,
ou tho fast express, cro the inhabitants
of that eity lmd fairly recovered their
breath nt the astounding announcement
of a “double wedding in high life,”
upon such short notice 1
Tlio Grape aud Wine Industry.
This industry in tho United States is
assuming largo proportions. The fol
lowing estimates are approximately cor
rect : Missouri has 1,000 acres of the
vino iu cultivation, producing lost year
500.000 gallons of wine; Sandusky,
Ohio, and vicinity (including tlio Lake
Erie Islands), 4,000 acres producing 16,*
300.000 pounds of fruit; California00,000
acres in grapes, representing in money,
including land, (300,000,000. Vinicul
ture iu this country is yet iu its infancy,
out tho increasing disasters to tho vinos
)f wine grapes in Europe is yearly bring-
ng it into greater prominence. The
quality of American vines, moreover, is
iteadily improving through experience
iml the increasing amount of capital em
ployed, and from present indications tho
wiiio industry of this country is destined
50 attain very largo proportions in tho
ot distant future.
A man (55 years old lias been found in
Harrington, Me., who lias been out of
tho State only once, has been on a
steamboat only onco, and nover was in a
city until he visit# d Portland, which ho
“reckoned wasim much of a place for
1 farms,” ' i
Killing a Jaguar.
The wildlRs ol South A merica are very
viige, and when, aroused know no fear.
One night a hungry party of explorers,
camped in n Brazilian forest, heard au
uproar of grunting, squeaking aud clash
ing of tusks.
“ Pigs!" exclaimed all with joyful
ness ; “ now we’ll have a dinner I”
Snatching their guns, they crept cau
tiously toward tho sounds. Coming to
the edge of a clearing, they saw a jaguar
standing on au ant hill, about five feet
from tne ground. Hurrcunding him
were fifty or sixty wild hogs, furious in
their efforts to get at their enemy. Tho
jaguar, with his tail stuck well up in the
air, and his legs close together, stood
balancing himself ou the liillock. As
the infuriated pigs threatened one side
or the other, ho would turn around aud
face them. He was evidently uneasy,
aud only waiting for a chance to make a
rush and escape. In a moment of forget
ful ness, the jaguar slightly dropped his
tail. Instantly a pig seized it and
pulled ; then another, and another, and
the beast was dragged from his perch to
tho ground. Thu battle was terrible.
Tho yellow body of tho jaguar rose up
above tho grunting, squealing mass of
l>igs, and his powerful paws struck dead
ly blows. Then ho fell—the uproar sub
sided, and tbo herd dispersed. The party
of explorers walked to tho battle-ground.
Fourteen dead pigs were lying ou tho
field, but no jaguar or its remains
were seen. Presently ono of the party,
picking up a fragment of something, ex
claimed,
“Hero’s tho tiger!”
It was a bit of tlio jaguar's skin. IIo
had been torn to pieces and devoured by
the savage hogs.
A Forbidden Land.
Tho only forbidden land on the faeo
of tho globo is tho kingdom of Corea.
Loosely speaking, there are not many
men in tho world who core whether the
country is open or shut. But there are
enough who do care to make it very un
comfortable lor tlio Ooreans, who would
much rather livo in a haul forbidden to
strangers than to be liable to constant
ruriptious of foreigners, with their pro
posals for trade; their outlandish notions,
and their strange influences on domestic
manners, speech and religion.
Nearly over since the world began, so
far us we know, with but few interrup
tions, the kingdom of Corea has been
shut up from tho rest of tho population
of the globe as hermetically as if it
wero ono of the subdivisions of tho
moon’s surface. Until very lately, tlio
only information which we have had
about the country, its population, physi
cal peculiarities and its history, has been
derived from tho tales told by a Dutch
sailor who was east away upon tho
Corean const more than 200 yer*-s ago.
A few writeiB, like Beibole and Du
Haldo, picked up much indir- infor
mation in China and Japan L ... ship
wrecked Coreans, who are supposed to
have told as many lies, thoucrh of a dif
ferent character, as Henrik Hamel, tho
shipwrecked Dutchman, after In* suc
ceeded in getting away from the Coro
nas, wlio had kept him as a curiosity for
nearly tweutv years. As we are apt to
magnify the greatness of the unknown,
the prevailing belief through the civil
izod world has been that Corea is a land
flowing with milk and honey, teeming
with riches of all kinds, aud filled with
gorgeous palaces and cloud-capped
towers, the liko of which have not been
since tin* days of Kubluh Klmu and his
Oriental splendor. Cupiditv has, there
fore, been added to curiosity, and tho
commercial world is eager to* break into
tho forbidden land, to funstick its rich
store-1 louses, aud to gaj>o in wonder at
its marvelous monuments.
Dense Population of Africa.
Although wo have not, nor are wo
likely to have for years, any accurate
statistics of the population of the in
terior of Africa, there is very littlo doubt
that wo have greatly underrated it.
Much important information has lately
been gathered ou the subject, especially
concerning the distribution ami density
of that far-off land. In tho great lake
district, for instance, there are terri
tories as thickly settled ns many Eu
ropean states, relatively small ureas
possessing millions of people. The negro
regions are by far tho most populous,
while tho desert portious are tho re
verse. A French geographical society
gives tho estimated figures of various
subdivisions of that continent as fol
lows : In the Homlan the population is
80,000,000, or about fifty-three persona
to the square mile. Tho town of Bida,
on tho Niger, for example, contains fully
90,000 inhabitants. Eust Africa is rated
at 30,000,000, and equatorial Africa at
some 40,000,000 souls. A lato authority
on ethnology sets tho negroes as numer
ically 130,000,000; tho Hamites, 80,-
000,000; the Bautns, 13,000,000; tho
Foolah, 8,000,000; the Nubians, 1,500,-
000; tbo Hottentots, 50,000, making a
total of 172,550,000. These figures—
only approximate, of course—are con
sidered too low by both German and
British geographer^ tho former esti
mating tlio population as liigh as 2U0,
000,000.
Tlio Small Days of Chicago.
New York and Boston, about 250
yours old, have respectively 1,000,000
and 350,000 inhabitants. Chicago mode
up her half million in littlo over forty
years. In New York and Boston ono
sees the graves of eight generations, and
tlio relies of colonial times. In Chicago
Mr. Gordon H. Hubbard is now living,
un active man, 78 years of age (and
looking 00), who came to the spot when
there wero but two houses there.
Tho site of this great eity, a favorite
ono with tho Indians, was oarly visited
by some of those splendid old “pioneurs
of Franco in tho Now World,” who have
been made famous in this generation by
the pen of that accomplished au<l t gonial
historian, Mr. Turkman. Old Pore
Marquette was there in 1673, and re
turned iu tho winter of 1674-75. It was
also known to Joliet (for whom a town
not far oil'is now named), Hennepin, and
La Halle. The name is of Ipdiuu origin,
uhcecaqua meaning “strong,” and be
ing also tho term for a kind of wild
ouion found on tho shore of tho luko in
old days. The place is first known to
geography ns the “ Fort Ohecagon" of 1 a
French map published toward tho end*
of tho seventeenth century. Fort Dear-'
born was built by our Government in
180-1, and the lute John H. Kinziy, an
eminent pioneer and citizen of Chicugo,
celebrated- tho Jb'st anniversary of his
birthday on its site, his father, having
arrived throo days before, in company
with Maj. Whistler aud liis command.
Tho Fort Dearborn mussacro, perpe
trated by the Indians, wua in 1812, and
the bones of tlio soldiers were lying un-
buried near tho shore when yoqug Kin-
zio returned from Detroit in 1816.-—
Jlatper'a Mapaitlne,
The decline of tlio drama is pfobably
owing to tho fact that the publio never
bc£k but about one-tenth of a ^luy; tii?