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The Covington Star.
J. W. ANDERSON, Editor and Proprietor.
Beyond.
Ringed with blue mountain*
Oft, when a little lad,
Dreamed I of aomething g
Hidden beyond:
Ships and shining aea,
Towns and towers haunted
Dreams made me glad—and
■m Life lay beyond!
Ringed with blue welkin,
Oft now, as when a lad,
Dream I of something glad
Hidden beyond;
Something I cannot see
Haunts and entices me;
Dreams make me glad—and sa.
What lies beyond ?
-William Canton in Good Wordt.
SCARRED FOR LIFE.
Some classes of men, like rival can
|Bte Jpidales, seem to be born enemies, just
it is with some animals—cats and
flogs, for instance. When troops are
•tationed in a German university city,
|®he officers and students are certain to
luarrel. The same cordial relations ex¬
ist between them that might be expect
®^d I ind to prevail it a few Texas centipedes
tarantulas were placed in a bottle
I Ind shaken up well. In the year 1861
[ [he students at the Polytechnic School
If Carlsruhe, Baden, Germany, and
■
i' he army officers stationed at that city
[pere in perpetual session, to speak,
% they were fighting almost every day.
there were several students’ societies
|t kie the Polytechnic School; the Saxonia,
Franconia and Bavaria, and when
tie members were not lighting duels
|mong themselves or drinking beer,
tiey were having “personal difficulties,’
Is David Crockett used to call such
pint Bie discussions, with the officers of
army of the Grand Duke of Baden.
I During one of these street exhibi
w pons a corps bursch of the Saxonia
lame very near being made acorpse by
In officer, who made use of his sword
in the street and on the person of his
Intagonist. As it was, the student’s
pat, Bashed a borrowed one, was cut and
in several places. Whenever
pe students and officers met in the
|eer saloons, if they were sober
fnough to converse at ali, they used
language towards each other that
jroulil not be tolerated in this countrv
putside of the halls of congress.
Tlie bad feeling finally culminated
pi a duel between Lieut. Von Holz and
I student named Baum, a member of
he Bavarian society, which unpleas¬
ant affair is the subject of this sketch,
h“ writer being an eye witness. The
luarrel started at a masquerade ball.
They called each other bad names, and
lung diatribes and beer bottles, mak
■, good line shots across the table at
^Vch other. Next morning Baum sent
« challenge to the lieutenant, who re
Jpied that it would afford him pleasure
tp murder Baum, but it was below the
dignity of an army officer, who was
*pso a baron, to figli* vith a plebeian;
, therefore, was compelled promptly
d defiantly to refuse the challenge.
■ Several more street fights occurred,
of which failed to calm the excite
Ilent. When the dueling societies
^Bard ^Kht there that Lieut. Von Holz would not
was a wild yearning on the
^Bn Bd t of all the his students to challenge him
friends. A secret caucus
^Has Sfunication held, and the students sent a com
to the colonel of the regi
»ent, begging him as a special favor
■ |tt> pick out seven of his officers who
xpeded students exercise and excitement, and
would pick seven of their
^pimber who were suffering from the
line cause, the idea being to have
liven duels with sabres.
I The dueling sabre is not a safe thing
to fool with, as it never misses fire,
■apd <a»"eful, in the hands of men who are not
accidents are certain to occur.
B>e officers appreciated this fact and
Bused to go into joint session at all,
with sabres, but they offered a com
Iffomise. There was in Carlsruhe at
Aftat time an army officer who besides
* epjoying l lackleg the and high blackguard, reputation of being
Sv a generally,
ldso r lar ^ a We for being nearly
; *B ven fe et ta "- Now, in a sabre duel
Ijpe man with the long arm has all the
jPvantage toport over the man with the
arm. The former can carve up
e latter at his ease, while the other
^■ndidate 8»ith cannot reach far enough
his sabre to make the connection.
■ le army officers were so kind and
^■nsiderate, apything and so utterly opposed to
savoring of unfairness, that
relaxed theirdignity to the extent
proposing that their blackleg, Count
SLeiningen—that was his name—
■■th u long
a range rifle requesting an
•ntagonist with an Indian eluh to
♦flckle him at a thousand yards. The
■udents met again in secret conclave |
sent back a very sarcastic commu
Ttigation. suggesting that when Count
I4iningen’s friends had sawed him in
two the proposition would be taken up
the table on which it had been
z wed Then as a some matter more of course. street fights
One afternoon a few days after the
proposition for Count Leiningen to
offer up the short-armed students in
succession I happened to be strolling
down the principal street of Carls
ruhe when a carriage stopped in front
of me and a head was stuck out
through the window. I recognized
the head as being the porsonal proper¬
ty of the senior of the Bavaria. “Come
in here,” he called motioning with his
hand. I obeyed without hesitation.
The carriage door was closed, and the
vehicle rolled on. There was in the
carriage, besides the senior of the
Bavaria, Herr Giesen, another mem
her of that dueling club, and Ilerr
Baum, the student who had the row
with Lieut. Von IIolz. In the bottom
of the vehicle were three or four bask¬
et-handled dueling sabres.
“We want you as a witness to the
duel that is coming off right away.
You are the first corps bursch I’ve
seen on the street, and as there is no
time to lose I’ve just picked you up,”
said the senior.
“So Baron Lieut. Von Holz has
changed his mind about fighting with
plebeians,” I replied.
“No, he hasn’t changed his view's,
bnt Prince William, the brother of the
grand duke, changed them for him.
Prince William gave our little lieuten¬
ant to understand that if he did not
fight he would be kicked out of the
army. That’s what brought him to
his milk. So he went over as soon as
possible. He is waiting for us now,
witli his seconds and an army doctor,
in the gasthaus zum adler. It is going
to be a very serious matter and I want
a witness to see that they don’t crowd
us or lie about us afterwards. These
military men are great strategists.”
In a few minutes we drove into the
court-yard of the hotel and carried the
weapons up stairs. On the large danc¬
ing seal, where the dispute was to be
arranged, where three gentlemen,
Lieut. Von Holz, his second, and a
doctor. The latter was unconcernedly
threading a curved needle to sew up
wounds. On the table was a basin of
water and a sponge, also an open case
of instruments. The Germans are
very business-like in all their under¬
takings.
Lieut. Von Holz, the cause of this
prospective trouble, did not impress
me very favorably. He talked through
his nose, which he held up in the air,
possibly to facilitate his flow of elo¬
quence. It was a very large nose,
with large nostrils that looked as if
they were looped up at the sides. He
was rather short and stout, and looked
far from enjoying himself. On the
other hand, the lieutenant’s second
presented an interesting appearance.
He was a fierce-looking, little old man
with shaggy eyebrow’s, a hooked nose
that gave him tne appearance of
being a cross between a rat terrier and
a bird of prey. He was a venerable
surgeon relic of the Napoleonic era.
Of our party Baum supplied the
good looks. He was a dark-haired,
blue-eyed young fellow, and as
strong as a lion. Giesen, the senior of
the Bavaria, was a big, broad-should¬
ered, red-whiskered giant, whose face
was adorned with various and sundry
scars that he had acquired at different
universities. Giesen approached the
Napoleonic veteran and informed him
that Baum would be ready in a few
moments. There was a brief consul¬
tation in a corner of the large dancing
room.
“Now, my dear boy,” said Giesen,
laying his hand on his principal’s
shoulder. “If I had known about this
before, I would have taken it off your
hands; but it is too late now. You
have never practiced with a sabre, and
unless you do precisely as 1 tell you,
you will be cut all to pieces, for your
opponent knows how to fence. You
must not fence him at all. You are
stronger and quicker than he is, and if
you climb right on him, and cut away
at him as hard as you can, you
will throw him off his guard. Don’t
give him time to cut back at you. As
soon as I give the word, run right up
to him, and make use of your natural
advantages.”
Baum nodded his head. There was
a look of determination in his knit
brow and set mouth. The opponents
took their places in silence opposite
each other about fifteen feet apart.
The program was that at the word of
command they should advance on
each other. It was agreed that Giesen
should give the word.
“Fertig-los,” said Giesen in a loud
voice.
The words seemed scarcely uttered
before Baum was upon his antagonist,
dealing out a succession of terrific
blows that could not be parried. Lieut
Von Holz began to move backwards,
but Baum followed him more furious
ly than ever, until the lieutenant had
reached the opposite side of the room,
“Halt,” called out the Napoleonic
veteran, interposing his sabre. The
combatants paused and took their for
mer places
COVINGTON, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1880.
“1 had supposed this duel was to be
carried on according lo the code, but
I see I am mistaken. Your man
should keep his proper distance,” said
the old veteran.
“And I,” retorted Giesen, with a
magnificent sneer, “supposed that this
room, which is nearly fifty feet square,
was big enough for these gymnastic
exercises, but I see I am mistaken. If
Lieut. Yon IIolz cannot lind room
to maneuver, I expect he will have to
go out in the open air, where there is
more scope for his strategic ability.
As it is I have no objection to the door
being opened, if it will make him feel
more comfortable.”
pered a few words to his principal,
probably suggesting that he use his
sabre more and his legs less. The lat
t„ and .aid n. „
ready.
That . was splendid, , .. . ,, whispered
Giesen to his man, who was eager for
the second round. “Just hit a little
quicker, if you can. He will stick
this time. The next round will settle
it.”
Once more the word was given.
Once more the student rushed at his
adversary. This time the lieutenant
did stick. There was a fierce clashing
of blades. The lieutenant uttered an
exclamation of pain and reeled back¬
wards. His white shirt was covered
with blood, which gushed from his
head in streams. One of the sledge¬
hammer blows of the student had
caught him fair and square on the left
temple, the wound extending around
the outside corner of the left eye,
through the cheek across the nose,
which was laid open the breadth of a
finger, and into the right cheek. The
cut was at le<ast an inch wide, and
probably much deeper, several large
arteries being cut. The doctor, assist¬
ed by the old veteran, had his hands
full to stop the flow of blood.
‘•I presume,” said Giesen, leaning
over to look at the wounded man,
“that there will be no more military
exercise today,” and leaving Lieut.
Von Holz in the hands of his friends
;---j x----- -
That night there was a “commers,”
or general jollification, at the club
room of the Bavaria, at which, there is
reason to fear, more wine was drank
than was good for the health of those
who participated.
It was six weeks before Lieut. Von
Holz showed his aristocratic face in
public places, and if he is still in the
land of the living he can be readily
identified at long range by the scar
across his face, which is convincing
proof, if any is needed, that occasion
ally main strength and awkwardness,
when backed up by pluck, triumph
over skill.
Dyes from Cemmon Plants.
The great variety of eolors and dyes
obtained from common plants, grow¬
ing so abundantly almost everywhere,
is apparently known to but few per¬
sons except chemists. The well-known
huckleberry or blueberry, when boiled
down, with an addition of a little
alum and a solution of copperas, will
develop an excellent blue color; the
same treatment, with a solution of
nut galls, produces a clean dark brown
tint, while with alum, verdigris and
sal ammoniac various shades of purple
and red can be obtained. The fruit of
the elder, so frequently used for color
ing spirits, will also produce a blue
color vhen treated with alum. The pri¬
vet, boiled in a solution of salt, furnish¬
es a serviceable color, and the overripe
berries yield a scarlet red. The seeds
of the common burning bush, "euony.
mous,” when treated with sal ammoni
ac, produce a beautiful purple red.
The bark of the currant bush, treated
with a solution of alum, produces a
brown. Y r ellow is obtainable from
the bark of the apple tree, the box, the
ash, the buckthorn, the poplar, elm,
etc., when boiled in water and treated
with alum. A lively green is fur
nished by the broom corn,
A Duck Hunter’s Odd Craft.
A man in South Bend, Ind., goes
duck shooting in an odd craft, which
he calls an “invisible boat.” He has
cut one-third of an entire boat’s length
down to the waterline. The remain
der is made water-tight, and in the
stern a mirror (twenty-eight inches
high and forty-eight long) is placed so
that the glass reflects the water in
front and the decoys. Behind the mir
ror the hunter sits and paddies his
boat toward tiie ducks, making his ob¬
servations through a small spot In the
mirror, from which the amalgam has
been removed. As the boat moves up
to the ducks they can see their own
reflections in the mirror, and in some
instances swim toward the boat.
When the hunter is near enough to
shoot he drops the mirror forward by
loosening a string and gets two effect
ive shots—one at ttie ducks on the
water and one as they rise.
CHILDREN’S COLUMN,
Grewn-Bp Land.
Good morning, fair maid, with lashes brown,
Can you tell me the way to Womanhood
Town?
Oh, this way and that way—never a stop;
’Tis picking up stitches grandma will drop,
Bis kissing the baby’s troubles away,
BE learning that cross words neier will pay,
Bis helping mother, ’tis sewing up rents,
Bis reading and playing, ’tis saving the cents,
Bis loving and smiling, forgetting to frown,
Dli, that is the way to Womanhood Town.
Just wait, my brave lad—one moment. I pray;
Manhood Town lies where—can you tell the
way?
Dh, by toiling and trying we reach that land,
A bit with the head, a bit with the hand—
^ 'b always '“king the weak one’s part,
"La by giving the mother a happy heart,
’ T “ by keeping bad thou * hta 8uJ 8011008 j
„h, that 1, 111. ... to Manl.ood Town.
And the lad and the maiflwi ran hand in hand
j . ro their fair estates ip theVown-up Land.
—City and Country.
Two Ways.
The snow lay on the branches, the
ground was growing white, and the
Bun, which had been so bright in the
morning, was hidden by a gray sky.
From his perch in a tree a forlorn
bird looked out on the wintry land
scape.
“What a dreary day!” it piped, dole¬
fully. “Not a leaf left on the trees
for shade or shelter, not a thing on the
bare branches to eat, and now the
ground is so covered with snow that
we can’t pick up anything there.
Likely we’ll starve to death this win¬
ter. The sun that was so bright in
the east this morning is nowhere to be
seen now, when it’s needed most.
There is nothing pleasant anywhere.”
“What pretty white snow!” cawed
another voice, cheerily. “And we
have such a cozy box of a house that
we needn’t mind its coming; it will
only cover up the roof and make it all
the warmer. It covers the ground,
too, to be sure, but what a good thing
that there is a granary so near that
w r e needn’t want for plenty to eat!
This snow will make the g-ound all
WiO 11C Ill'll iui next y
There! it’s growing lighter in the east;
and if the sun sets clear, we shall have
a line day to-morrow. IV hat a grand
old world this one of ours is, where
things fit into one another so nicely!”
Those two birds were side by side I
on one perch on the selfsame tree, but
they were looking different ways.—
Forward.
-
Clever Horses*
Some of the ingenious feats of the
more clever horses have a close re
semblance to human actions. Take
the following case, narrated by Mr
Smile3 in his “Life of Rennie, the en
gineer.” “A horse called Jack was
one among many employed at the erec¬
tion of Waterloo bridge. The horse
was accustomed to draw the stone
trucks along a tramway to a place
where the stones were required, A
beer shop was, of course, opened near
the works for the special use of the
‘navvies’ and other workmen, The
driver of Jack’s truck was an honest
sort of fellow, named Tom, who had
one special weakness—an inability to
pass the beer shop without taking ‘a
little.’ Jack was so accustomed to
this that, though a restive animal, he
waited contentedly till Tom came out
0 f his own accord, or until the appear- |
ance of an overlooker startled the man
into activity. On one occasion, how
ever, when the superintendents were
all absent, Tom took so long a spell at
the ale that Jack became restive, and
the trace fastenings being long enough,
the animal put his head inside the
beer-house door, and seizing the aston
j s hed Torn by the collar with his teeth,
dragged the lazy man out to the truck,
Every man there understood the ac
tion of the horse, and great became
the fame of Jack among the host of
workers.”
Mrs. Lee mentions a horse which,
having to cross an opening on some
planks, and these having become slip
pery by frost, scattered with its feet
some loose sand lying near over the
ice-covered timbers, and thus secured
a rough surface and a firm footing,
This is precisely what a man would
have done under the circumstances.
Sorry He Ever Got One.
“Mr. Dusenberry, what are these
automatic couplers which are being I
introduced ?”
“Don’t interrupt me, my dear. See
—I’ll have to go over this whole col
utnn of figures again.
“But what are they, Mr. Dusen
berry?”
“What are what, my dear?”
“Automatic co|plers.” We’ve
“Oh! Yes, I know one of
tl em in the house, and 1 ve always re¬
gretted getting it.”
-Where is it?”
“In the Bible. Our marriage certi¬
ficate, my dear .”—phifadelphia Cali.
I
THE FUNERAL OF A KING.
Ceremonies Attending the
Burial of Alfonso XII.
Unlocking the Coffin and Shouting in the
Dead Monarch's Ear.
Arrived at the Escurial, the special
solemnities of the occasion took place.
As the funeral car approached, the
door of the monastery was closed. The
lord chamberlain knocked three times.
A voice inside demanded, according to
the prescript, “AVho wishes to enter?”
The lord chamberlain replied, “King
Alfonso the Twelfth.” At this an
<»««•
P nor of the monastery appear
e “- , T1 'e body was theh borne into the
UrCh and P Jaced on a raised bier be ‘
, SrS’jES,'
“Huntsmen of Espinosa, is this the
body which you received on the death
of King Alfonso?” “The same,” re¬
sponded th chief huntsman. “Do you
swear it?” “Yes, we swear it,” This
assurance having been added to the
testimony already given with inde¬
pendent formalities by the king’s phy¬
sicians, confessor and minister, the
lid of the coffin was let down, not,
however, as yet for the last time, and
the bier was covered witli the four
cloaks of the noble orders of Spanish
chivalry. A thousand tapers lighted
the chapelle ardente, and had, it is
easy to imagine, a splendid effect in
association with the vast and sombre,
though richly decorated, interior of
the ancient pile, and the crowds of
sorrowing friends and subjects mov
ing silently about the wreathed pall.
A mass was said and the “Miserere’
sung, and then the coffin was raised
once more and carried by titled lieges
of the realm to the entrance of the
stairs leading down to the vaults.
Here the most striking part of the
melancholy pageant occurred. No one
descended the stairs to the vault ex¬
cept the coffin bearers, the prior of the
monastery, the minister of grace and
justice, and the lord chamberlain. The
coffin was placed on a table in a great
taining the deceased rulers of Spain,
who sleep in huge marble tombs dis
posed all round. It must have been
a thrilling moment for some at least of
those assisting when the lord cham
berlain, unlocking the coffin, which
was covered with cloth of gold, raised
the glass covering from the face of the
dead king, and, turning to his compan¬
ions, demanded silence and attention.
Then kneeling down, he shouted three
times in the monarch’s ear, “Senor,
senor, senor.” The monarch answered
not; the “right ear,” soon to be “filled
with dust,” heard only the sounds of
another world. But the last appeal
addressed to him in this fashion must
have had, for those standing at the en¬
trance to the vault, an awful
seeming of response; for it is said
the echo of the triple summons was
caught by them and seemed a cry
of despair, as it no doubt was a wail of
anguish, for it came from the lips of
the Duke of Sexto, King Alfonso’s fa¬
vorite companion. The sovereign ly¬
ing dumb, the duke rose, and follow¬
ing the ritual, said; “His majesty
does not answer, Then it is true the
king is dead.” The conclusion as
framed appears somewhat loose, but
it is part of the programme. Locking
the coffin once more and for the last
time, the lord chamberlain broke up
his wand of office and flung the pieces
at the foot of the table whereon the
coffin lay .—London Advertiser.
To the Hemet.
“If I had been Solomon,” said a
curb-stone philosopher, “I don t think
1 would have sent the lazy man to the
ant.”
“Where would you have sent him ?“
inquired a man with a drooping nose,
who needed shaving badly.
“I would have sent him to the hor¬
net.”
“And what good would that have
done?”
“A great deal, my friend. One hor¬
net would have taught him more about
enterprise in five minutes than he could
have learned from a whoie colony of
ants in three weeks by the closest kind
of observation. If you want to limber
a man’s joints in a hurry, send him to
the hornet every time, and you won’t
miss it. The hornet means business
the very start, and don’t you for
getdt.”— Chicago Ledger.
Not That Kind of a Day.
Mamma—Clara, you have not been
a good girl to-day. Now, instead of
helping to throw stones at that poor
old rag-peddler, you should have told
your playmates that it was wrong.
You should try and do somebody a
kindness every day. You know the
rhyme;
Count that day lost whose low descending snn
Sees m thy hand no worthy action done.
Ciara—Y’es, mamma, but to-day was
cloudy, and there wasn’t any son.
VOL. XII. NO 10.
Teaching Deaf Mutes to Speak.
Deaf mutes may be taught to speak
and to understand articulate speech by
merely watching the motion of the vo¬
cal organs. This method is by no
means novel, as it lias long been prac¬
ticed in some of the schools of Europe,
and the earliest attempts to teach the
deaf and dumb to speak appear to
have been as successful as those in
modern times. It is recorded in his¬
tory that a deaf man was taught to
pronounce words and sentences by ac
English bishop in the year 685, and
from that time isolated classes of the
same sort are mentioned till the latter
part of the eighteenth .century when
a school for the teaching of articulate
speech to mutes was started in Ger¬
many. The method of this teaching
Is very simple. It consists merely in
training the pupil, by imitating the
position and action of the vocal organs
of the teacher, to utter articulate
sounds. This, it is found, is not a
very difficult task for the pupil, but it
is extremely tedious, requiring long
and unintermitting practice, and the
greatest patience on the part of the
teacher. In Germany this art of lip¬
teaching lias been much more success¬
ful than it has ever been in England or
America, perhaps because the German
language is more adapted than the
English to acquired speech on this
plan. It seems to be generally ad¬
mitted, however, by all schools that
have tried this method of instruction,
that though it is often highly success¬
ful in special cases by the help of
much individval teaching, it can not
be used to any effect in large institu¬
tions where class instruction is abso¬
lutely necessary. Another system,
however, has been introduced of late
years into English and American
schools. It is called visible speech,
and was invented by A. Melville Bell,
a professor of vocal physiology in Eng¬
land in 1848. It consists of a species
of phonetic writing, based not upon
sounds but upon the action of the
vocal organs in producing them. The
characters of this universal alphabet
reveal to the eye the position ot these
organs in the formation of any sound
In 1869 this alphabet was first applied
in England to the instruction of deaf
mutes, and in 1872 it was introduced
by Professor Abraham Bell, the son of
the inventor, into the Clarke Institu¬
tion at Northampton, Mass., where it
is novy the only system of articulation
teaching used. Professor Bell soon
after opened a school for instructing
teachers in this system in Boston,
which, we think, is still carried on.—
Chicago Inter-Ocean.
“The Swamp Angel.”
When General Gilmore laid out his
plan of operations against Charleston
S. C., and its defences in the summer
of 1863, he decided to plant a battery
in the marsh, at some point whence it
might be possible to reach the wharves
and shipping of the city with shells,
The marsh here was a bed of soft
black mud, sixteen to eighteen feet
deep, overgrown with reeds and grass
traversed by tortuous, sluggish water
courses, and overflowed at high tide.
Here, at a point midway between Mor¬
ris and James Islands, fully five miles
from the lower end of Charleston, on a
strong platform of logs, placed direct
ly on the surface of the marsh, but
strengthened beneath the gun plat
form by piles driven through the mud
into the solid sand below, and filled be
tween with sand, was planted the bat
tery. It mounted a single gun, an 8
inch rifled Parrot gun. The gunners
were protected by a sand-bag parapet,
Au 8- 24 > 1863 > General Gilmore de¬
manded the surrender of Charleston.
The demand being rejected fire was
opened from this gun upon the city.
Several shells did reach the lower part
of the city, and caused much damage
by exploding among the warehouses
there, but no persons were harmed.
The Swamp Angel, however, did not
long continue to terrify tho Charles¬
tonians. Being fired at a considerable
elevation, with a charge of sixteen
pounds of powder, and impelling a
projectile weighing 150 pounds, it
burst at its thirty-sixth discharge.
As Fort Wagner, fully a mile nearer
the city, was taken, September 7, and
its guns turned against Charleston, the
marsh battery was put to no lurtlier
use.- Inter-Ocean.
Youth, Age and Knowledge.
“Yes, sir,” said Jones to Smith, “as
non grow in age and experience they
advance in knowledge.
“I don’t think so,” replied Smith.
“Don’t think so? That's rather
singular. The opinion I hold on the
subject is the universal opinion.”
“It may be, but I have my own
opinion, nevertheless, and it is that
the younger we are the more we know,
When I was a youth I knew twice as
much as my father. Now I am aged
and I don’t know half as much as my
son .”—Boston Courier.
What la Life,
What is life?—a rapid stream
Rolling onward to the ocean. v,
What is life?—a troubled dream,
Full of incident and motion.
What is life?—the arrow’s flight,
That mocks the keenest gazer's eye.
What is life?—a gleam of light
Darting through a stormy sky.
What is life?—a varied tale,
Deeply moving, quickly told.
What is life?—a vision pale,
Vanishing while we behold.
What is life?—a smoke, a vapor.
Swiftly mingled with the air.
What it life?—a dying taper,
i
The spark that glows to disappear.
What is life?—a flower that blows,
Nipped by the frost, and quickly dead.
What is life?—the full blown rose,
That’s scorched at noon and withered.
Such is life—a breath, a span,
A moment quickly gone from thee.
What is Death ?—O mortal man!
Thy entrance on eternity.
HUMOROUS.
A fresh roll—the actor’s new par.*
The ghost of a smile—Smelling the
cork.
An auctioneer does as he is bid, a
postman as he is directed.
A friend in need is a friend —who
generally strikes you for a quarter.
Vesuvius is no pimple, and yet it is
very frequently in a state of erup¬
tion.
A belle differs somewhat from a
cowboy. The more powder she uses
the less dangerous she grows.
“I’m dyeing for love?’ remarked
young Jinks, as he put a little ad¬
ditional color to his moustache.
When a miner has been eaten by a
grizzly, the western people speak of
him as being admitted to the bar.
“IIow do you tell a fool when you
see one?” asks a correspondent.
How! By the kind of questions he
asks.
Girls who wish to have small, pret¬
ty-shaped mouths should repeat at
frequent intervals during the day.
“Fanny Finch fried floundering fish
for Frances Forbes’ father.”
„ , U'AhjI'HfW h et irl”:’ r “!« »u?i¥iA, hwr
you tell lies?” “Of course not, my
child.” “Mamma, does papa tell lies?”
“Certainly not.” “How is it, then,
that you don’t always agree?”
A gentleman generous in his con¬
tributions for church purposes, but
not regular in his attendance upon
public worship, was wittily described
by a clergyman as being “not exactly
a pillar of the church, but a kind of a
flying buttress, supporting it from the
outside.
The “Moxa” Remedy.
Although tattooing is confined to
the lower orders of the Japanese,
round white spots are to be seen on the
skin of almost every native of Japan
in all ranks of life. These spots are
known, Dr. Baelz tells us, as “moxs,”
and they are produced by burning the
flesh in a peculiar way, with the ob
ject of curing some disease. The be
fief in the efficacy of moxa is univer
sal in Japan, and the Portuguese and
Spaniards must have adopted the same
faith, in its power to alleviate or cure
deep-seated pain for they introduced
both the treatment and its Japanese
name into Europe. This is said to be
the manner in which moxa is prac
ticed in Japan. In May the leaves of
the Artemisia cainensis are powdered
and dried, and the mass is cut into
small blocks or pieces. One of these
pieces is laid on the body and set on
fire so as to burn slowly away. At
first the operation naturally produces
a sore, more or less deep according to
the intensity of the heat. The sore
soon heals, but there is left a sear for
ever. Those who have been subjected
to this “remedy” say that it is by no
means so painful as what would be
supposed in the absence of actual expe¬
rience.
The Healthiest Looking Went First.
Two years ago I escorted a lady
from’ the West with two of her chil
dred to see Dr. Hammond, to whom
one of the children was submitted un¬
der the belief that she had epilepsy.
The doctor examined her closely, burn¬
ed her back along the spine, and gave
g eneral directions for her treatment,
directing that she be brought back to
him again in a year. We were about
going away when Dr. Hammond asked
if the other child did not need treat
ment. She was the picture of health
an( i i* 16 mother said as much laugh¬
ingly, never thinking for a moment
tbat the second child w as in any way
ailing. Dr. Hammond, how’ever, calle-.
the child to him, and made some litth
examination of her, especially abou r
Gm I 00 !! 3 an< ! ^old the mother slu
.
ought to be very careful of that child’
health. That was two years ago. Th*
child treated for epilepsy is no*
strong and healthy; the other chill
has been dead a —New Tor /
Tribune.