The Oglethorpe echo. (Crawford, Ga.) 1874-current, October 03, 1879, Image 1

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THE OGLETHORPE ECHO. Subscription Rfttoot One Year fill month*. - ifinmn 1.00 Three Montlii., .............. MO Term* CoeA in Urnm* forttlTely no paper ant oatU tba tan'7 la paid. Notice Hi Ten each anbesriber two waaka before the aspiration of hla time, and If ashaerlptlon la not renewed, the paper la at onoe dlacoutinned, Any person who will send na the namee of Are new anbaertbem, with tlO cash, will be entitled to ane year'a mbacrlptlon free. No clnb rates. Watering the Hills. ** He the hills from Hia chamber* ” —p§ civ.. 13. Oh ' the rippling and the foaming, Falling not from 'lawn tiil gloaming, Where the rapida are descending, as for ages they have done; On each downward platlorm taking Just a moment’s rest, then breaking Into sweet enchanting laughter at the gleeful triumph won; All the latent echoes waking With the fun ! Sweeping from their rocky portal, liobed at. once in light immortal, Bringing infinite revealings from the silences profound; How the little eddies whiten, And the longer teaches brighten, Ah the showers of brilliant dewdrops on their slivery slopes rebound; Falling into gems that lighten All around. When the unl>eamH come unbidden To behold the marvel hidden, All the waters take them captive, to adorn their raiment white; But the raml>ow tells the wonder Of the radiance lying under, And the sun in regal beauty stoops to claim his own by right, 'f ill the ripples fall asunder— Lost in light ! On the brink the mosses glisten, And the grasses stop to listen To the never-ending music of the waters flashing by; Overhead the elm-trees stately, In their hearts rejoicing greatly At the springs of welcome coolness that be neath their strongholds lie, Spread their myriad leaves sedately To the sky. When at night the stars assemble * In the far blue heavens, and tremble At their own reflected splendor, on the torrent borne away, Then the laughing waves discover How the moon—earth's timid lover— Watches for the perlect mirror they have broken in their play; Watches—with the stars above her— Till the day. Through all seasons’ varied phrases, Still the waters speak their praises Ol the Power that sweeps them outward, in their fullness to the deep; All their rush and tumult guiding, For each drop a path dividing, 1 ill in far-off breadths of ocean each its des tined place shall keep, And at last, in calm subsiding, Fail asleep. — .Mart/ Howies, in Sunday Magazine. JACK’S GREAT PERIL. I never saw such a change in a man in my life! When we last met, Jack— well, l must not give his real name, con sidering what I .tin going to relate, so 1 11 call him Jack l’allant—was, as lie had ever been since I knew him, one of the ligiiti -t-hearted. cheeriest fellows in the world, full of fun and up to every thing, ami as gentle and tender as a woman, with the courage of a lion. And now, wlmt did I find him? Even though hut, three months had elapsed, he had become a grave, dejected, saddened man —in a word, hardly recognizable, either mentally or physically. I was shocked, and of course he saw that I was. He came to see me, indeed, the moment he heard I was in town, that 1 might learn from his own mouth what had happened, instead of at second-hand. Jack had always been more or less a spoiled boy—only sons are always more or less spoiled—and having lost his mother when quite a ehild. it was not wonderful that his poor old dad made much of him. Hut he had taken tno spoiling kind,v, and beyond making him perhaps a little idle and thoughtless, it had done him no harm. There was no harm in the fellow; he spent more money than he should, hut many young soldiers do that without coming to much grief in tlm long run. and his father, a soldier before him, regarded the failing leniently, paid his bills and looked pleasant. Be yond adding that he was a rather short, dapper little fellow, Ifteed not say much more about him ; I have only to try and put into coherent shape the strange and tragical business which had so fearfully altered him. lie was coming to town one autumn evening for a few days’ leave from Gun nershoTt, where he was quartered. 1 can see him as plainly as if I had been there, springing into the first carriage that offered room, without regard to who was in it; for he was the least fastidious of men, without the slightest particle of " hawliaw” pride and nonsense, or that stand-off-ishness of manner, too usual with men in his position; ready to make himself happy wherever he was, or in whatever company. Burit so happened, it appears, on this occasion that lie got into an empty car riage; at least he thought so, for it was twilight, and he did not observe for the first moment the figure of a woman, seated in a further corner, dressed in dark clothes and thickly veiled. The sudden discovery that he was not alone rather startled him for a moment, and it may be. as lie said, that the eve ning before having been a guest night at mess, ids nerves were not quite up to their usual tone. He was not the lad. however, to be King in such a situation without making some remark to his fel low-traveler, tlumgh in this ease an un usual hesitation to do so came over him, owing to her mysterious appearance and extreme stillness. The between-lights ot the carriage lamp and the evening sky prevented him from discerning details; but there she sat. perfectly rigid, and with not a vestige of her face visible through the thick bliu k vail. ** Ahem! ahem!” he said at last, shift ing one seat nearer to her and nearly op posite; “1 hope 1 have not intruded on vou: 1 thought the carriage was empty. I may lie disturbing you. I fear.” He would say anything, in a random sort ot way. to break the ice, as he called it. No answer. A long pause. “Very singular,” he thought; and he moved to n seat exactly opposite to the figure, making another commonplace observa tion. No response, or any movement. “ Asleep. I suppose.” lie said to him self; and he sat quietly watching her, while the train rattled on for a mile or two. A station was reached and a stop page made, with the usual accompani ments of screech and whistling and slam ming of doors, but without producing any change in the posture of the occu pant of the opposite corner. The train again moved on. “ Can’t be asleep,” he muttered. “ What’s the matter with her*”’ 1 lie window was shut close; he let it down with a tremendous clatter and bang. remarking that “ he hoped, as the evening was tine, the weather warm and the carriage close” (for he declared to me there was a peculiar odor hanging about which struck him from the first) " she ' mid not object to a little air.” Still no reply. Then he said “he feared she was not well. Would she like him to pull the bell for the guard and have the train stopped again?” But nothing he could s. or do elicited anv sign of life from her -lack now boean seriously uncom fortable and alarn and on her account. He thought she could not be asleep, but bad fainted. Suddenly it crossed his mind that she was dead. Night had now closed in. but as the last tinge of twilight faded from the sky the carriage lamp gained its full power and revealed every abject more plainly than lutherto. Jack leaned toward the motionless Oglethorpe Echo. Bv TANARUS, L. GANTT. form. A long black veil, falling from a close-fitting nat-like bonnet, enveloped nearly the whole upper part of her figure; indeed, on close inspection, it hardly looked like an ordinary veil, bat more like a large thin, black silk hand kerchief. Her dress was of common black stuff, much worn and frayed, from amid the folds of which appeared the j ends of a piece of rope that must have been fastened round her waist; and one ! hand, encased in an old, ill-fitting black j glove, lay placidly on her lap. Full of uncomfortable sensations, Jack ! was about to lift the veil, when, for the | first time, the figure moved; its hand j stole slowly from underneath the folds I of the dress, and the veil was gradually | lifted and thrown up over the head. ; Involuntarily my friend shrank back into the corner of his seat, for a face was revealed to him which no one could have looked upon without a sense of awe. It was that of a woman somewhat past middle age, thin, haggard and pale to a degree wliich only death could parallel. The features, finely chiseled and propor tioned, showed that at one time there must have been supreme beauty, while, though the iron-gray hair looked a little disheveled and unkempt, the glance of the eye was steady, calm and determined. In this glance lay, chiefly, the awe in spiring expression of the face, for, in ad dition to the penetrating look, there was a persistencey in it, and at the same time a fascination, quite terrible. It fixed itself upon Jack from the first moment that eye met eye. and for several minutes not a word was spoken n either side. Presently, however, he tried to pull him self together, and to assume his usual light-hearted manner, which had thus fora minute been so strangely and unusu ally disturbed, and he said, briskly: “ I be< your pardon; I was afraid you were ill.” She slightly bent her head, but spokt not a word, nor withdrew her glance He felt more and more that it was costing him an effort to be himself. Her slow, stealthy, albeit lady-like demeanor, added greatly to the effect already pro duced, and a curious sensation w;is grad ually creeping over him, that—impossi ble as it might seem—that face was not strange to him. Little as he. with fiis temperament, was given to speculation or introspection, he found himself striv ing to look back for some event or cir cumstance in bis life which might give him a clew. Had he ever dreamed of such a face, or had lie seen it in child hood? He was puzzled, affected, quite put out. And still the deep, penetrating eyes were fixed on iiis, piercing as it were into his very soul. And the hands! what were they doing? Taking oft' the gloves as with a set, deliberate purpose; and the long, white, thin, almost claw i like fingers worked strangely and ner ! vously, slowly closing and opening upon the palm, as if preparing to grasp some thing. Again he strove to throw off the un pleasant, unusual sensation which had crept over him. “I can’t stand this.” bethought; “I was never so uncomfortable in all my life! I must do something, or say some thing to put a stop to this, to make her take her eyes off me!” He moved abruptly to the further corner of the carriage, and to the same side on which the woman sat. “ I’ll try and dodge her in that way,” lie said to himself; “she shall not sit and glare at me in this fashion!” But she too immediately shifted her place, and, rising to her full height, which was very great, went over to the seat exactly opposite to him, never for one single second dropping her eyes from liis. He looked out of the window with a vague notion of getting out of the car riage; when suddenly, passing a little station which he recognized, but at which the train did not stop, an idea struck him—an idea after his own heart—a comic idea! He availed himself of it on the instant, and assuming an ease which doubtless sat ill upon him, and which lie was fir from feeling, lie pointed with liis thumb back toward the station they had just passed, ns he said mysteriously in a hollow voice: “ Do you know that place?” She seemed to answer in the affirma tive l-ya slight inclination of the head as before. “Ah! you do. Good! Longmoor,” he went on; “then I don’t mind telling vou a secret.” He paused. (“ I’ll frighten her,” he thought.) “Criminal lunatics,” he said aloud; “I am one of them. I have just escaped from there!” He leaned forward, as if to impress her with his words; she also bent forward until her lips almost touched his ear, as she hissed into it: “So have I!” With what had already gone before, this put the finishing touch on Jack’s uneaiiness of mind. It was not. as he said, The mere presence of the woman, or the revelation which his joke had elic ited, which seared him, though the cir cumstance in itself might be unpleasant enough. “ I should have faced it right away from the first, as any man would have done, had it not been for the re markable influence her face and look had upon me; that unaccountable feeling that she was no stranger to me, it was, that unnerved, and even appalled me.” No sooner had she uttered the words, “So have I,” than Jack sprang to the cord communicating with the guard’s van, for he felt their truth, and saw in them a key to the whole mystery. But ere his hand had reached the cord, she had seized him round the waist with one arm as with the grip of a vise, and at the same instant he felt one of those ter rible hands at his throat. Every effort to release himself was fruitless; her strength seemed superhu man, and was as far beyond his as was her stature. Her face glowered close down upon liisnow. still'with the same fell expression. “The only thing I could have done,” I went on .Tack, in describing the scene to i me—and just here, he shall speak for himself—“the only means by \ 'lnch I might perhaps have made her relax her hold would have been by aiming one or two tremendous blows with my right list (which was at liberty) at her face. Had it been t* man’s, there would have been no hesitation; had it been indeed that of an ordinary woman, at such a pass I should not have hesitated to strike her, to stun her. if I could, by any means; but that face, that I seemed to know so well, yet so mysteriously, I could not raise my hand against it, and, as my arm swung up with the first im pulse to deal her a blow, it fell helpless by my side. Vain were my efforts to get her hand away from my throat; there was a terrible swaying to and fro for a minute or two, I felt tile grip of the long fingers tightening, and mvself choking. Suddenly we fell, the whole earrhige seemed to be falling—there was a fearful >erk or two, a strange upheaving of the door, a tremendous rattle'and crash—l appeaml to be thrown headlong to some great distance, and—all was darkness!” The termination of that deadly strug gle was brought about in a manner as marvelous and unlocked for as could well have been imagined. Some fifty souis, say, were traveling in that train —all, save" one, in apparent security. Jack’s life alone was in dan ger, when, lo! by one of those marvelous coincidences which do happen at times in the supreme moments of existence, the rescue came, but at the cost of many a life, which but just before would have seemed worth treble the price of Jack’s. At the verv instant tnat his might have depended upon another tightening grip or two from the hand of a maniac a frightful catastrophe occurred to the train. The tire of an engine-wheel broke and half a dozen carriages were hurled down a steep embankment. The scene that succeeded is, unhappily, of , too common an occurrence to need more than a word of reference here. Seven passengers were killed outright and double that number slightly or badly hurt, the remainder escaping, as by a THE ONLY PAPER IN ONE OF THE LARGEST, MOST INTELLIGENT AND WEALTHIEST COUNTIES IN GEORGIA. miracle, with nothing else than a severe shaking. My friend was among the shaken. He had been thrown clear of the debris on to a soft, grassy spot, half bank, half hedge; emphatically, his life was saved! But what followed it was that which caused the suffering—that wrought the terrible change in Jack. In the darkness of that soft autumn night he strove, foremost among those who had been spared, to render such help as was possibletothe less fortunate. When the official assistance came, and fires were set blazing to give light, al most his first care was to try and seek out his dangerous fellow-traveler. In the confusion nobody was prepared, of course, to listen to Jack’s account of her, even had he been prepared then to give it. She was not, evidently, moving about among the crowd; he assured him self of that; but supposing her, like him self. to have escaped injury (and he con cluded that this was likely), might she not, with the stealth and cunning inci dental to her malady, be hiding, and be thus further eluding detention, become, with her homicidal mania, as dangerous to the community at large as some fierce wild animal would be ? The thought made him shudder; he must lose no time in assuring himself of her fate. As soon as an approach to order could be evolved out of that awful chaos, he had convinced himself that she was not among the injured, Then he turned to the dead. His eye fell upon several mu tilated and motionless forms, which had been laid in an ominous row at the foot of one part o ;the embankment. Hers was not among them; he could find no tracaof her. At length, as a sfckly dawn was be ginning to make the search easier, he en deavored to discover the spot where the carriage he had occupied had fallen, and to retrace his steps (quite to the rear of the train, by the way)to the place where he found himself lying after the catas trophe. By this time lie had made known briefly to some officials that a woman was missing who had been in the carriage with him, and one or two of them followed him in his quest. Pres ently lie realized pretty well where he had been thrown; he all but identified the spot. Then lie scrambled through the hedge, and there, on the opposite side, on the sloping bank of a ditch, he beheld, lying quite still, her dark, un mistakable form. He ran forward, and, bending over her and looking down upon the marble, up-turned face, saw at a glance that there was nothing dangerous about her now —those terrible eyes were closed for ever. Except for a slight wound on one temple,whence a little blood had trickled, find the distorted but now rigidly closed Hand, which had been so lately at his throat, she looked as calm and unin jured as if she were merely sleeping, while death had restored for a brief period much of that beauty, the traces of which had struck him when her vail was first lifted. One of the surgeons here came hurry ing up, in answer to summons. “Good heavens!” he exclaimed; “here she is, then, at last! Why, she must have been in the train. How on earth did she manage it?” “Who is she?” inquired Jack, earn estly, with a strange return of the old, inexplicable sensation. “AVho ip she ? You appear to know her. Pray tell me.” “Oh, one of our inmates; she got away yesterday morning; no on? knows how;’’ was the answer. “You are from Longmoor, then. llow long has she been there? Wliat is her name?” “Oh, she has been there upward ol twenty years, I believe; long before my time,” “And her name?” “Upon my word, at this moment, I can hardly,” went on the doctor, me chanically passing liis fingers over one of the pulseless wrists before him, and with a calm hesitation wliich contrasted strongly with Jack’s earnest, impetuous manner, “I can hardly remember. I think she was committed for the murder of iier own little girl. It was a sad case, I know. Ah! her name; I have it,” went on the doctor suddenly; “her name was Pallant—Rachel Pallant.” Jack sprang from the kneeling posture in which he was as if he had been shot. Why, that was his own dead nanther's name! But, pshaw! wliat of that? Well, it was rather a startling coinci dence ; that was all. Ay, but was it all ? Indeed no! The nquest led to a revelation. That inquiry fully explained what had been the nature of the influence which the weird, pale face and strange presence had had upo my friend. The strong but subtle link, which no time or absence can quite sunder, exist ing between mother and son, had made itself felt the instant those two sat face to face, for the unhappy woman was in deed neno other than Jack’s own mother He had never been told—in fact, it had been carefully kept from him. Why run the risk of clouding for life that •iqight and happy temperament? He was only four yejrs old when the dread ful business happened. Hence he had scarcely known a mother’s care; she was lost to him and to the world as com pletely as if she had died. Nay, death would have been a mercy by compari son, and it was generally assumed that she was dead; only a very few intimate friends knew the truth. The poor lady’s mind had given way suddenly after the birth of a child, who did not live. Within a week, the homi cidal mania possessed her; by the merest chance she had been prevented from committing some frightful outrage upon her little hoy. my poor friend Jack; and restraint not having been put upon her in time—for her maiady had hardly been suspected, so unlooked-for was its appearance—she consummated her dead ly propensity upon her eldest child, a girl fifteen years of age—killed her, in a word, as she lay asleep. And here, altera lapse of twenty years, was the climax and end of the tragedy, as dreadful as anything that bad gone be fore. The order for release, when iteame, brought with it as much suffering (to all but one) as had the order for captivity. No wonder that Jack was an altered man. I have never seen a smile on his face since—though I trust that time, with its healing influence, may at least soften the blow. Length of Human Life. How long a man can live is a question that has been widely discussed. Ameri cans are generally reckoned to be short lived, compared with European nations, md they have been in the past; but they are steadily gaining in respect of age, as their material conditions improve and the laws of health are better understood and observed. Several instances have been recorded recently of persons in the United States who have died at 107, 108 and even 110. It is maintained, however, by men who liave paid special attention to longevity, that there is no well-accredited instance of any man or woman living beyond 106—that that is the maximum possibility of human endurance. It is more reasonable to suppose that there is a mistake in calculation than that the mentioned limit lias been exceeded. In Europe it is a subject of dispute as to what nation lives longest. The distinc tion has been claimed in. turn by the English, French, Germans, Spanish, Ita.ians .md Russians. Late statistics ! prove that the number of people in Eu rope who are upward ol ninety years old is 102.831, of whom more than 60.000 i are women. Of those beyond 100, there are 241 women and 161 men in Italy, 220 women gnd 183 men in Austria, and 526 women and 524 men in Hungary. The ; percentage ot old people is found to he much higher among the Germans than the Slavs. Investigation appears to show that human life fras been lengthening in the last twenty year* tlirougnout the civilised world. LEXINGTON, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1879. farm, garden and household. Planting and Transplanting, The well-known three requisites for the germination of seeds, says the Coun try Gentleman, are heat, air and moist ure, but not iiitht. In a cold soil they remain dormant; if too dry, they will not sprout, and if buried deep and com pactly beyond the action of the air, no movement toward growth takes place. The small seeds of weeds often remain in the soil for years when turned under deep by the plow; when brought again to the surface, the new and copious growth winch at once takes place has led superficial observers to the erroneous Mo tion that they have sprung up spontan eously. Nurserymen sometimes keep peach stones dormant a year when they happen to have a surplus, by placing them two feet under the soil until need ed. The depth for planting must depend largely on the size of the seed; and the general rule has been given to bury them from three to five times as deep as their diameter. This rule will vary somewhat with the nature and condition of the soil. If heavy and moist, the depth should be less than in a light, dry and porous soil. In a moist, well-pul verized soil ; most seeds, whether large or small, will grow if merely covered and kept moist; but this condition can not be commonly continued, as a few dry and warm days will dry the surface of the soil and prevent the geimination of the seed. Hence the common practice to vary this rule witli circumstances. Corn, planted early in the season when the ground is moist, will gi-ow treely if buried only an inch de#p; lyit under or dinary circumstances two inches will be better. It will find its way freely to the surface after many days when buried six inches below. Early in autumn, when winter wheat is sown or drilled in, the soil is usuaily much drier than in corn planting time, and for this reason, al though the seeds are smaller than grains of corn, it should be placed at a depth of two inches. In a dry spring corn should be planted deeper than in a wet one, and the old practice of pressing each hill with the hoe, when the work was done by band was useful when the soil was dry. When planting is done with a machine, a roller to follow the tube would be use ful in dry weather. In a dry season, as the present has been in many places,'much care is required to impart sufficient moisture to seeds when planted. If the particles of soil are dry, the small grains or lumps which com pose it will touch the seed only at a few points,and the chances for its germina tion will be small. Even if moistened by a shower, the water will be conveyed to the seed only at the few points of con tact. It is better, th eretore, to plant seed after a shower than before it, its the soil is rendered moist and yielding, and, pressing the whole surface of the seed causes germination at once. On this principle, experience has shown that un iter common conditions seeds grow much better if planted after than before the rain. The exceptions are, when the soil has been so finely pulverized that it cases the seed well on all sides while yet dry; and when the rain is so copious t hat it fills with water for a sufficient time the interstices which surround the seed. Tile Bose Bus; Pest. I Another bug has strangely increased in numbers, in the past, two years, and it promises to be more troublesome than the enemy of the potato. The rose bug has come upon us in swarms, and it de stroys not only our grape and peach crops, but our apples and plums, if un checked. The best method of checking them it is desirable to learn, if there be any method. AVe have tried hand pick ing, whale oil soap, and a variety o agents, but our efforts have been only partially successful. The white helle bore dqst is the most effective destroyer, but it is expensive and troublesome to apDlv. It occurred to us this year to take our grapevines from their supports and lay them close upon tlie ground when in blossom. This course saved our crop so far as the experiment was tried, and we present the plan for the benefit of grape growers everywhere. The insect cannot or docs not reach the blossom when the vines are in this posi tion, and no injury results to the vines during inflorescence. As soon as the fruit is formed, the danger is over, and the vines may be raised and secured to the supports. This we regard as im portant information, and it should be remembered. Our peach crop we saved this year bypassing through the orchard and jarring the trees by a blow witli the hand once or twice a day. The insects are detached from the fruit and fall upon the. ground, and do not* return to the fruit until after a considerable period of time. The better way is to place a sheet under the trees, catch the bugs and uestroy them in a pan of whale oil soap seds. —Boston Journal of Chemistry. Household Hints. Glass held level under water mav be easily cut with a pail' of shears or strong scissors. Cut a little at a time. Never wash raisins that are to be used in sweet dishes. It will make the pud ding heavy. To clean them wipe them on a dry towel. In boiling eggs hard put them in boil ing water ten m inutes and then put them in cold, water; it will prevent the yolks from coloring black. To make macaroni tender, put it in cold water and bring it to a boil. Il will then be much more tender than if put into hot water or stewed in milk. All milk vessels should, in their last rinsings, have boiling water or hot super heated steam applied, as nothing short will destroy the putrefaction which is abundant in milk vessels not thoroughly cleansed. To take out tea stains, put the linen in a kettle of cold water; rub the'stains well with common castile soap; put the kettle on the side of the stove, to let the water get gradually warm; wash it thorouglily in warm soap suds; then rub the stain again with soap, and boil; then rinse. Single cream is cream that has stood on the milk twelve hours. It is best for tea or coffee. Double cream stands on its milk twenty-four hours, and cream for butter frequently stands fortv-eight hours. Cream that is to be whipped ■should not be butter cream, lest in whipping ii change to butter. Small holes in white walls can be easily repaired without sending for the mason. Eqmil parts of plaster of Paris and white sand—such as is used in most families for scouring purposes—mixed with water to a paste, applied immedi ately and smoothed with a knife or flat piece of wood, will make the broken place as good as new. As the mixture hardens very quiekly, it is best to pre pare but a small quantity at a time. Curious Phenomenon. At the Cape of Good Hope, near Table mountain, the clouds come down very low now and then without dropping in rain. At such a time, if a traveler should go under a tree for shelter from the threatening stonu. he would find himself in a drenching shower; while out in the open space, away from any tree or shrub, everything would be as dry as a bone. Here is the explanation; The cloud or mist is rather warmer than the leaves; and so, when it touches them, it changes into dinging drops which look like dew . Fresh drops keep forming, they run together, and at lengtlp the water drips off the leaves like rain. And this process goes on un til the clouds lift and the sun comes out again. The baby oyster is not much bigger than a pin's head at the end of a.fcrt uight. and at three months old only the size of a split pea. In a year it will be come as large'as a ftve-cent nickel, arm at the end of four yearn* growth 5* fit for *fee market. ..*•>* Sheridan’s Peril. Senator Gordon, of Georgia, has been giving a correspondent of the Phila delphia Times some reminiscences of the closing scenes of the war, in which he played a loading part as one of General Lee’s corps commanders. AVe give this extract: “ I had a message from General Lee telling me a flag of truce was in exist ence, leaving it to my discretion as to wliat course to pursue. My men were still pushing their way on. I sent at once to hear from General Longstreet. feeling that if he was marching toward me we might stilt cut through and carry the army forward. I learned that he was about two miles off with his men faced just opposite from mine, fighting for his fife. I thus saw that the ease was hopeless. The further each of us drove the enemy the further we drifted apart and the more exposed we left our wagon trains and artillery, which was parked between us. Every time either of us broke only opened the gap the wider I saw plainly that the Fed erais would soon rush in between us and then there would have been no army. I therefore determined to send a flag of truce. I called Major Hunter, of my staff, to me and told him that I wanted him to carry a flag of truce for ward. He replied: “ ‘ General, I have no flag of truce.’ “ I told him to get one. He replied: “ ‘ General, we have no flag of truce in our command.” “ ‘ Then,’ said I: ‘ Then get your handkerchief, put it on a stick and go forward.’ “ * I have no handkerchief, General.’ “ ‘ Then borrow one and go forward with it.’ “ ‘He tried and reported to me that there was no handkerchief in my staff.’ “ ‘ Then, Major, use your shirt.’ “ ‘You see. General, that we all have on flannel shirts.’ “ At last, I believe, we found a man who had a white shirt. He gave it to us, and I tore off the back and tail, and rigging this to a stick Major Hunter went out toward the enemy’s lines. I instructed him to simply say to General Sheridan that General Lee had written •me that a flag of truce had been sent from liis and Grant’s headquarters, and that lie couid act as lie thought best on this information. In a few moments he came back with Major , of Sheri dan’s staff. This officer said : " ‘General Sheridan requested me to present liis compliments to you and to demand the unconditional surrender of your array.’ Major, you jvill please return my compliments to General Sheridan and say that I will not surrender.’ “ ‘ But, General, lie will annihlate you.’ ‘I am perfectly well aware of my situation. _ I simply gave General Sheri dan some information on which lie may or may not desire to act.’ “He went back to liis lines and in a short time General Sheridan came gal loping forward on an immense horse and attended by a very large staff. Just here an incident occurred that came near having a serious ending. As General Sheridan was approaching I noticed one of my sharp-shooters drawing liis rifle down upon him. I at oncecalled to him, ‘Put down your gun, sir; this is a flag of truce!’ But he never raised it. file simply settled it to liis shoulder and was drawing a bead on Sheridan when I leaned forward and jerked liis gun. He struggled with me, but I finally raised it. I then loosed it and lie started to aim again. I caught it again, when lie turned liis stern white face, all broken with grief and streaming with tears, up to me and said, ‘ AVell, General, then let him keep on liis own side!’ The fighting had con tinued up to this point. Indeed, after the flag of truce, a regiment of my men, who had been fighting their way through toward where we were and who did not know of a flag of truce, fired into some of Sheridan’s cavalry. This was speedily stopped, however. I showed General Sheridan General Lee’s note and lie de termined to await events. He dis mounted and I did the same. Then, for the first time, the men seemed to under stand wliat it all meant. And then the poor fellows broke down. The men cried like children. Worn, starved and bleed ing as they were, they had rather have died than have surrendered. At one word from me they would have hurled themselves on the enemy and have cut their way through os have fallen to a man with their guns in their hands. But I could not permit it. The great drama had been played to its end.” A Snake that Killed Cows. The largest snake ever found in Camp bell county, Ky., was killed one day re cently on the farm of Mr. Herman Carr, near Cold Springs. Several years ago a traveler along the road bordering upon Mr. Carr’s farm reported having seen a snake, at the lowest calculation measur ing ten feet, run across the road a short distance in front of him, and disappear in the brush that grew by the fence. I lie man was ad vised to join a temper nnee society, and the whole affair was soon forgotten. Early last spring one of Mr. Carr’s cows was found dead in the stall. Although not chained, the animal had the appearance of having been choked to death, its tongue pro truding and there being a heavy mark around the neck. The strangest thing was that its eyes were eaten out. All efforts to solve the mystery of its death were unsuccessful. 'About three days afterward another valuable cow was found dead and similarly mutilated. One morning Mr. Carr, on going to liis stable, was norror stricken by seeing a monster snake coiled about the neck of one of his cows, while the poor animal stood patiently, being hugged to death. At the appearance of Air. Carr the snake raised its head and darted out its fangs, and then slowly uncoiled itself and glided away beneath a large pile of hay. Air. Carr at once raised the alarm, and within an hour several dozen persons gathered. The hay was removed with large forks, and when near the center of the stack the snake was found. It was inclined to show fight and not turn tail, but all trouble was ended by a well-di rected blow on the head, wliich laid it still forever. In the den were the remnants of a young pig. AVlien meas ured the snake was found to be eleven and a half feet in length, and as thick as a man’s wrist. The skin will be stuffed and presented to the State Academy of Natural Science. —Lexington (Ky.) Tran script. flie Language of Postage Stamps. The language of postage stamps, in stead of flowers, has just been invented. Thus, when a postage stamp has been placed upside down on the left, comer of the letter, it means: “I lote yon;” in the same crosswise, “My heart is another’s;” straight up and down, "Good-bye, sweetheart, good-bye;” upside*down on the right-hand-comer, rite no more:” in the center at the top, “Yes.” opposite at the bottom, “ No;” on the right-hand comer at a right ande, “Do you love me?” in the lelt-li.ina-corner. “I hate you;” top corner on the right, “ I wish your friend ship;- ’bottom corner on the left, “I seek your acquaintance;” on a line with the surname, “accept my love:” the same upside down, “ I am engaged ;” at a right angle in the same place, “ I long to see you;” in the middle at the right hand edge, “ W rite immediately.” \\ hile this is all very good as far as it goes, tl.ose who put a postage stamp on any but the upper-nglit-comer of an envelope, must hold themselves respon sible lor all the swearing of the post office clerks'.— Albany Press. William H. Vanderbilt controls 3,620 miles of railway, and employs 27.706 men, who receive seme $1,178,000 salary , each taonth. TIMELY TOPICS. An article in the New York Sun says that Holyoke, AI: is., is the great center of the paper trade of this country. The town contains 20,000 inhabitants, of whom 4.000 are employed in the seven teen large paper mills of the place. The capital invested in tlie paper trade at Holyoke is estimated at about $5,000,000, and there are annually produced about 36,500 tons of paper. The mills are run by water power. Henry Face killed tlie young man who had wronged his daughter, at Clerken well, England, and public sentiment favored him so strongly that a fund was raised to support his family during the year and a half ol imprisonment to which he was sentenced. His escape from a worse punishment was regarded as lucky, and he went to prison in good spirits. But liis daughter taunted him with being a murderer, and in conse quence of that he hanged himself in liis cell. An association, under the name of the “ Jasper Alonumental Association.” lias been formed at Savannah, Ga., for the the purpose of erecting a monument to Sergeant Jasper, who on the 9th day of Octobor, 1779, fell in the attack of the American forces on Savannah. Tlie sergeant’s exploit in leaping over tlie ramparts of Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, during tlie hottest part of the British attack at that place, and fixing anew the flag which had been shot from its staff, will be remembered as one of thejmost stirring episodes of the Revolu tionary war. A Alissouri farmer has been figuring on the damage done by dogs in that State. In thirty-two counties 10,602 sheep have been killed. He estimates the number of dogs in thirty-two coun ties to be 462,000; that a hog will thrive on the food necessary to support an able-bodied dog, and at the end of tlie year weigh 200 pounds; therefore, if the food for these 402,000 dogs was given to the hogs, it would make 92,000,000 pounds *f pork, worth at least six cents a pound, or $4,550,000 —nearly twice tlie value of all the school-houses in tlie State, and more than twice the amount used by tlie State for school purposes. Tlie streets of London. England, have been recently placarded witli an adver tisement stating that “ the art of begging is exhaustively taught in six lessons by Prof. Lazarus Rooney, who begs to in form tlie public thai he lias founded a college for theoretical and practical in struction in medicaney.” Among other practical appliances for tlie profession the professor announces that lie keeps on hand artificial wounds and sores, assorted braces of twins, trained dogs for blind men, crutches for crip ples, and surgical bandages for wounded impostors. Information is afforded re peating tlie most lucrative streets and neighborhoods. The London correspondent of a Liver pool newspaper says: “The papers an nounced the other day that, owing to an accident in tlie machine-room, the extra double number of the Illustrated Lonond News, advertised to appear, would be unavoidably postponed for one day. Asa matter of fact, the ‘ accident ’ was a literary, not a mechanical one, the proprietor canceling several thousands of printed copies rather than allow the publication of an article by one of its editors, reflecting, as ho conceived, witli ill-timed severity and offensiveness on tlie family of tlie Prince Imperial. In stantly, on perusing the article, Mr. Ingram ordered ‘stop press,’ sacrificing over £2,000 to this delicacy of feeling.” Tlie classification of a company at one of the seaside hotels, by a child who had not troubled herself to remember names, lias a great deal of significance. To her they were “ tlie lady who whines as if she were going to cry;” “ the lady who talks about her headache;” “the jady who scolds the children for making a noise, and who plays the piano so much herself:” “the kind lady who speaks to all the strangers;” “ the ’happy lady who draws matures and lets us look over her shoulder;” “the young man who thinks he is handsome;’’ and “the boy who always offers to take you out in liis boat when nobody else will take you.” Truly, many tilings which are thought to be hid bv the wise and pru dent are revealed unto babes. The maddest newspapers of the pres ent time are those which are published in the Austrian lunatic asylums. Con tributions are received from all the in mates who have either hobbies or griev ances. Those who are afflicted witii any monomania whatever may explain their delusions and support their convictions bv argument and example. The logic em ployed in an article of a recent issue by one gentleman to disprove the belief of another that his beard was of heather and required constant watering, was so faultless and incisive as to have done credit to a Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy. Alas! he himself firmly be lieved that his own nose was made of sugar, and to prevent its getting wet, and consequently melting away, always drank through a straw. —New York Tribune. Even princes sometinr s starve to death. Recently, the St. Petersburg papers announced the death from sheer starvation of Prince Serge Michaelovie i Galitzin, employed as a censor of books, and removed by “suoreme orders” to Odessa, where he took lodging in the 1 muse of a carpenter, occupying a dark, damp room, of such limited dimensions that his coffin could not be got into it. An inquir elicited the fact that for months he had subsisted on dry bread, with occasionally a morsel of cheese or an apple. He left no effects save the rags on him when he died. His mother is a wealthy dame, resident in Aloscow. where she owns several houses, a fine mansion surrounded by a park and a fashionable nunnery. His wife—for the unfortunate nobleman was married— iiastened from Aloscow to attend the funeral, but was too late. Physical Exercise. Our greatest blessing is good health; and none can question but that our ail ments are too often catised by improper food, neglect of bodily exercise, and fre quently from injudicious and persistent drugging. When our organs have by over-exertion become weakly, and their functions] slow and imperfect, rest and repose would seem, to be required by them: but no! instead of this it is the application of the whip and the spur Let us fdr a moment glance at the busi ness and .professional man. Does he give a thought to his health in his ambitious race for wealth? Take the so-called sporting man: his motto is, too often, “A short life and a merry one.” These] llustrations, and others which we could quote we regret to say, preclude almost anything like a rational treat ment of the cause of physical exercise. Yet, notwithstanding our rather somber reflections, it is still a gratify ing truism, that athletic exercises tWth us are already assured of a bright future. They are becoming, day by day and hour by hour, more popular with the masses of the American people of all de grees and ages; their meetings, both in doors and on the greensward, are patron ized and indoi sed to an extent hitherto unknown in our fair land; and it is as suredly a great satisfaction for this generation to know that the inevitable and never-failing result will be the pro duction of a more perfect race of men, both intellectually and physically, re sulting from their being endowed, as they will be, with that sine qua non —the glorv of perfect manhood—“ a sound and vigorous mind in a healthy body,” —Brr.vlano'a Aquatic Monthly . NEW POSTAL RULES. Bmliflrntioiis In Hate* of PoNtajre and Classification of Batter. By tlie provisions of recent acts of Congress, as construed by tlie Postoffiee Department, various important modifieat tions have been made in rates of postage and in the classification of mail matter. As these changes will largely affect the mercantile, insurance and other interests and as they are at present but imper fectly understood, the subjoined detailed information upon the subject lias been obtained by a New York paper through inquiry at the postoffiee. It may be re lied upon as being in accord with the latest official rulings and decisions of the department, and as absolutely correct. The rate on commercial papers, insur ance documents, papers in legal proceed ings, etc., when partly in print and partly in writing, has heretofore been the same as on letters, viz., three cents per lial ounce. All such articles have now, with the exceptions mentioned, been assigned to tlie third class of mail matter, and as such are chargeable with postage at the rate of one cent for each two ounces, when sent in unsealed envelopes or wrappers. The exceptions are: If such articles contain writing in the nature of personal correspondence, or are in them selves the representatives of a monetary value. In these eases tliev become first class mail matter, and, ’as such, are chargeable with letter rates of postage. According to the last rulings of the de partment (wlucn reverse a number ot those recently made under the same law), the specific examples of the exceptions to third class matter are: Insurance poli cies signed and in force, daily insurance reports, insurance transfers, notices of premiums due, assignments, transfers, applications for insurance, promissory notes, attached to premiums or not, and all notices from local agents to policy holders respecting renewals, cancella tions, receipts or other kindred matter; also, all signed notes, checks, drafts, deeds, bonds, bills of lading, receipted bills, and signed receipts of all kinds. Insurance policies, canceled or incom plete; unreceipted bills, invoices and monthly statements may all be sent at third class rates of postage. Tlie former restrictions as to writing in books have been removed, to the ex tent of permitting a simple manuscript dedication, or form of presentation, to be written on the covers or blank pages. Manuscript for publication, when ac companied by proof sheets, may be sent at third class rates; but, unless so ac companied, is chargeable at letter rates. Architectural and other drawings made by hand, heretofore charged at letter rates, are now assigned to the fourth class, and may be sent on payment or postage at one cent per ounce, as may also original paintings in oil or water colors, etc. Chromos arc rated as third class matter unless mounted on cloth or pasteboard, in which case they belong to the fourth class. Postage anil revenue stamps are now in tlie fourth class. Articles of glass, formerly excluded from the mails, may now be sent at fourth class rates (one cent per ounce), provided they are secured so as to guard against injury to other mail matter in ease of breakage, and are boxed in accordance with certain instructions contained in the United States Postal Guide. Original packages of tobacco and boxes of cigars and other articles sealed by internal rev enue stamps, which were formerly charged at letter rates, are now placed in the fourth class by a decision of the department, which states that they “ will regard tlie stamp placed over the cover or opening of such packages as evidence that no matter is contained therein which is subject to letter rates of postage. All persons who desire to avail them selves of the concessions noted above will understand that they in volve certain drawbacks. For example, with the single exception of tiie packages sealed by internal revenue stamps, all mail matter not sent at letter rates must be left open to inspection by the postoffiee authorities. No articles, other 1 han let ters and postal cards, can be returned to the senders on request; nor forwarded to _ other offices, unless again fully pre paid, in ease the persons addressed* have, removed; nor can they he advertised; but, if found undeliverable or uncalled for, they will be sent to the dead letter offiefe. Alail matter of the third and fourth classes is not assorted and put up with, or in the same manner, as letters, being placed loose in canvas sacks and not in locked pouches; and, of course, whenever it is necessary, on account of unusual accumulation of mail matter or for other reasons, to give preference in dispatch, it is always accorded to letter mail. Thorean’s Thoughts. Woe. to him who wants a companion, for he is unfit to be the companion even of himself. That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another’s. We see so much only as we possess. The blue sky is a distant reflection of tlie azure serenity that looks out from under a human brow. What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch out of a free meandering brook. Do you know on what bushes a little peace, faith and contentment grow ? Go a-berrying early and late after them. There is nowhere any apology for de spondency. Always there is life while life lasts, which, rightly lived, implies a divine satisfaction. Cheap persons will stand upon cere mony, because there is no other ground; but to the great of the earth we need no introduction, nor do they need anv to us. What is peculiar in the life of a man consists not inh is obedience, but liis op position to his instincts; in one direction or another he strives to live a super natural life. When we cease to sympathize with, and to be personally related to men, and begin to be universally related, then we are capable of inspiring others with the sentiment of love for us. No fields are so barren to me as the men from whom I expect everything but get nothing. In their neighborhood I experience a painful yearning for society which cannot be satisfied, for the hate is greater than the love. Alake the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it come to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live a fast. By so doing you will be astonished to find yourself restored once more to all your emoluments. Whatever your sex or position, life is a battle in wliich you are to show your pluck, and woe be to the coward. Whether passed on a bed of sickness or in the tented field, it is ever the same fair flag, and admits of no distinction. Despair and postponement are cowardice and defeat. Alen were born to succeed, not to fail. A Queer House. An eccentric Englishman has recently built a house in the Quarter Tivoli for the residence of himself, his wife ami eight children, which is the talk of all Paris. It is circular, and has neither door nor window externally- The ap proach to it is from the ground floor on to the roof by means of a ladder, which, is moved up and down by machinery similar to that of a drawbridge. There is only one floor, and that contains eighteen apartments, more or les3 small in dimension, looking into the center, which is lighted from above by a glazed cupola. One stove for all these rooms is in the*middle, and in summer its place is to be occupied by an exquisite parterre of flowers. A circular balcony, open to all the apartments, surrounds this space. The motive for this oddity is, of course, only known to the author of it, but : everybody can see that two points are gained by it—immunity from the taxes on doors and windows, and a perfect pre ventative of any attempt at burglary. YOL. V. NO. 52. Preyentiug (he Spread of Disease. The commission of experts appointed by the Nat ional Board of Health of the L nited States to prepare a circular em bodying familiar instructions for disin fection lias made a report to the board. The report is as follows: Disinfection is the destruction of the poisons of infectious or contagious dis eases. Deodorizers are not necessarily disinfectants, and disinfectants do not necessarily bear an odor. The disin fectants to be used are: First, roll sul phur for fumigation ; second, sulphate of iron (copperas) dissolved in water in the proportion of one an 1 a half pounds to the gallon, for soil, sewers, etc.; third, sulphate of zinc and common salt dis solved together in water in the propor tion of four ounces of salt to the gallon for clothing, bed linen, etc. The com mission exclude carbolic acid, for the reason that it is difficult to secure the proper quality, and it mus‘ be used in large quantities to be of service. In using disinfectants in the sick room, the most available agents are fresh air and clean liness. The towels, clothing, bed linen, etc., should, on removal from the patient and before they are taken from the room, be placed in a pail or tub of the zinc so lution, boiling hot if possible. All dis charges should either fee received in ves sels containing copperas solution, or, when this is impracticable, should be immediately covered with copperas solu tion. All vessels used about the patient should he cleansed with the same solu tion. Unnecessary furniture, especially that which is stuffed—carpets and hang ings—should, when possible, be removed from the room at the outset; otherwise they should remain for subsequent fumi gation and treatment. Fumigation with sulphur is the only practicable method ol disinfecting the house. For this pur pose the rooms to be disinfected must be vacated. Heavy clothing, blankets, bed ding and other articles which cannot be treated with zinc solutions should be opened and exposed during fumigation as directed below: Close the room :is tightly as possible, place the sulphur in ir.in pans, supported on bricks, contained in tubs containing a little water, set it on fire by hot coals or withfthe aid of a spoonful of alcohol, and allow the room to remain closed for twenty-four hours. For a room about ten feet square at least two pounds of sulphur should be used; for larger rooms proportionately in creased quantities. Cellars, yards, stables, gutters, privies, cesspools, water-closets, drains, sewers, etc., should be frequently and liberally treated with copperas solution. The copperas solution is easily prepared by hanging a basket containing about sixty pounds of the copperas in a barrel of water. It is best to burn articles which have come in contact with persons sick with conta gious or infectious diseases. Art icles too valuable to be destroyed should be treated as follows: Cotton, linen, flan nels, blankets, etc., should be treated with the boiling zinc solution, introduce piece by piece, secure thorough wetting and boil tor at least half an hour. Heavy woolen clothing, silks, furs,* stuffed bed covers, beds and other articles which cannot be treated with the solution should be hung in the room during fumi gation, their surfaces thoroughly ex posed and pockets turned inside out. Af terward they should be hung in the open air, beaten and shaken. Die First Ride Through a Canyon. Two adventurous miners recently took a ride through the Big Horn canyon, in the Yellowstone region, never before traversed by man. Had they been able graphically to describe their adventure they would have told .a tale seldom equaled in thrilling incidents. Wishing to save two hundred miles’ travel around the mountains they concluded to try the canyon. With some tools they had in their mining camp they built a frail craft at the bottom of the canyon, having previously taken down their material of red cedar. The boat was made twelve feet long, three feet wide, and upon trial was found to carry its cargo of freight and passengers admirably. So one morn ing they untied it and pushed into the current. The rush of the river, which before starting was almost deafening,was terrible its the boat started on its journey through tli is unknown gorge. To go back was impossible; to climb the solid limestone walls which rose five hundred feet above their heads, where a narrow streak of light lighted up their course, was not to be entertained as a means of escape; through they must go, trusting to their ability to avoid rocks and to the strength of their craft to run tne rapids which they met at every bend of the canyon. The loudest halloo was heard as a whisper. (irottos, caves,unknown re cesses of nature were passed by tliese hardy navigators. In places flocks of moun tain sheep, startled by the appearance of the curiosity rushing by below them, would run along a ledge of rocks, .jump from crag to crag, where footing for man would be impossible, and disappear. Evening coming on they attempted to tie up for the night. They worked the boat close to shore, jumped out, and away went the craft carrying the guns anil provisions. With starvation behind them and hardly a foothold before them their chances of keeping on were doubt ful,_ when they luckily found two logs, which they lashed together*\vith their belts, and again trusting to the river and still more dangerous rocks they set out to search for their boat, which they found two miles below, where it had stopped in an eddy. On the afternoon of the third day, while wondering how much longer the Big Horn canyon could possibly be, they suddenly shot out into the beautiful Big Horn valley, with Fort C. F. Smith on their right. Blondin at Brussels. After a retirement of many years, Blondin, the wonderful rope-walker and “ Hero of Niagara.” recently made his reappearance in public by giving a num ber of performances at the “Zoological Gardens” of Brussels. Belgium. All doubts about his identity were at once dispelled by a series of most astounding, almost miraculous feats on the tight rope, calling forth unexampled out breaks of enthusiasm mixed with a feeling of terror on the part of the lookers-on. The rope, 240 feet in length, lead been stretched at a considerable height across the lake. Blondin opened the perform ance by appearing on the rope in the paraphernalia of a Homan warrior, bow ing to the spectators, who scarcely ven tured to applaud him, being not a little concerned about the daring man. After changing his costume for that of an acrobat he commenced a series of wonderful feats that kept the audience spell-bound. He would lie clown, stretching. himself, hi3 whole length, then he would make a daring somersault, after which he would sit down on one leg,'looking to the ground as unconcern edly as if he were resting quietly in an easy-chair on terra firma. He then walked out to the middle of the rope, blindfolded, and with his body entirely wrapped up in n big bag, to form a dance. The greater part of the spectators were not a little glad when he was through with this most danger ous terpsichorean act. To quiet the ex cited minds of the weak-nerved part of the public, he introduced his comic feat of baking an omelet in the air. He ap r peared in the robes of a cook, with a small stove and all kinds of culinary utensils. Presently he kindled a tire, put a pan on the stove, and in less than no time the omelet was ready. He threw it down, and a number of the spectators bad a taste of it. “Can you see the whole of me?” asked a fellow who wanted an entire view of the photographer. “Oh, yes, sir.’ wn the reply, “I can see scarcely anything else except the hole. You had better dose it.” The fellow instantly Pot hi* mouthc THE OGLETHORPE ECHO. Advertising Rates Space, |1 w|2w|4w|2j |3m|6 m | 1 yr 1 inch (I.OU (1.60 53.00it4.u0 (5.00 *7.00,(12.00 2 inche* 1.(01 2.50 4.0C 1 6.00: (.001*00' 18-10 3 inches..... 2.0, 3.80 4.75 7.00 8.00 14.00 23 00 4 inches 8.00 4.00 fi.OS, 8.00 10.00 16.00 rv.o" V column... 4.00 6.00 ; 8.00 10.00 12.00 20.00 30.00 X column.. 8.00 12.00 15.00118.00 22 00 35.0O 1 65.00 1 colnmn 12,00 16,00 2u,00,25,00,85.00i60.0Q1100.00 Lesal Advertisements. BUeri(T Salas, par levy $5.01 Executors", Administrator’ snd Qnsrdisn’e Sslcs, per square 3.(0 Notice to Debtors and Creditors, thirty days... 4.00 Notice ol Leave to Sell, thirty days...*.,. 50- Letters of Administration, thirty days .... *3 00 Letters of Dismission, three months 6.50 Letters of Goaxdiansbip, thirty days 4*lo Letters cf Dis. Gtnnliai-ship, 'forty days 5.00 Homestead Notices, three insertions ... 3.0 b Uule Nisi’s per square, each insertion. jj(,o The Owl’s Matins. Behold the East with gates ajar, Through wliich the morning peeps Hail, dawning light and lading star ’ Awake the world that sleeps 5 Sing heigh ho ! to whit, to whoo 1 Fair Phoebus upward leaps. The glow-worm pales her amorous lig l.t The fire-fly flickers dim. The god ol day shuts out the niglil. And lights the ocean’s rim. Sing heigh ho ! to whit, to whoo ! The world awakes to him. Xu flaming glow his orbit see. High o’er the mountain crest. Drips sparkling light from out the sea And lights the owlet s nest. Sing heigh ho ! to whit, to whoo ! I take my flight to rest. —Christopher C . - Merrill. ITEMS OF INTEREST. Love can excuse everything hut a missing shirt-button. The letter I) is truly an old salt —has been following the C for years. James Liar and Henry Slander are two of the best, citizens of Dubuque lowa Look out for a policeman, or any other man for that matter, who is dressed up to kiil. During 187 R tiicre were 187 miners killed and 602 injured in the Pennsyl vania coal mines. There are said to he only four words in the English languageending in e-i-o-n. Wnat are they? We see a great deal about “spelling reform” in our exchanges. We don’t think “reform ” is very hard to spel I . Norristown Herald. There is a man in this city so averse to being dunned for his hills that hecan’t hear to see a crowd “collect” in the street.—Rostov Gazette. The man who got into a barber-chair, pinned the newspaper round his perk arid began to read the towel may justly be called absent minded. Men spend their lives in heaping up colossal piles of treasure, wliich stand at the end like the pyramids in the desert sands, holding only the (lust of kings. A house in the Avenue de Clicliy, Paris, was lately struck by lightning, which first followed a water-pipe to the earthj and then reascended to the fourth story. How many useful hints are obtained by chance, and how often the mind, hur ried by her own ardor to distant views, neglects the truths that lie open before her. Pride is seldom delicate; it will please itself with very mean advantages; and envy feels not its own happiness hut when it may lie compared with the misery of others. Look not upon the watermelon core when it is red, and tackle it not heartily just before going to bed. A word to the wise is “nuff ced.” —Cedar Rapids Re publican. Kansas has now 559 churches, 69 of which are Baptist, 59 Congregational ist. 33 Lutheran, 22 Episcopal, 125 Metho dist, 99 Presbpterian, and 15 United Presbyterian. The Railroad Gazette says that John Iloughtaling, of Rochester, is the oldest railroad conductor in the United States. He has served forty-three years, and is now poor and disabled. Sh! Don’t give it away. We keep a bottle with a-stick in it constantly on our table. And we find that it adds much to lighten our editorial labors. It paste to keep it.— Yonkers Statesman. Editors who are bothered with fellows who just “drop in to see the papers” now save all the papers from the yellow fever districts and let the fellows read . them. It’s an unfailing remedy — New York Express. The editor of the Hastings (Minn.) New Era was attacked in his office, re cently, by three masked men, hit lie escaped from their clutches and now gives notice that he will be prepared to receive company at all hours. A gentleman learned in the origin of social customs was asked the meaning of casting an old shoe after a newly-mar ried couple as they start on the trip. He said, “To indicate that the chances of matrimony arc very slipper-y.” Teacher, to boy who lias to be correct ed frequently—“ Can you tell me where the Blue Ridge is?” Boy (rubbing his shoulder) —“No. hut I can tell you where the black-and-blue ridge is.” — Saturday Night. When yesterday I asked you, love, One little word to say, Yonr brother interrupted us; So please say yes-ter-day. —JVhrristoirn Herald. A woman in Cincinnati was arrested not long ago for horrible cruelty to her adopted daughter, aged sixteen, whom she had been accustomed to beat terribly with a whip and then put red-pepper pods and brine upon the wounds. She also is said to have crushed the nails on the feet of the girl witli a hammer and to have inflicted other terrible cruelties. Two boys in Westphali age sixteenand thirteen, lost their parents by death, and were so sorrowful that they concluded to die too. They wrote a will disposing of their money and playthings. Then the elder killed his brother with a hammer, after which he swallowed poison,opened a vein in his tyrist, and shot himsell through the heart. The small, meek'looking wife of Tom Cottrell, a Missouri horse thief, followed him we-ping out of a St. Joseph court room, after his trial and conviction. In the corridor she flew at the sheriff like a tigress, threw him on the floor, and thus enabled the prisoner to mount a mule and escape. *‘ There is a pleasure in the jwithles* woods,” I There is a witchery in summer's kiss, ! There is a spell that charms our tend’rer moods When day brings on the twilight’s benefice. I There is a richness in the morning chant Oi birds just wakened from a night's iejc-se, 'I here is a something in the onion plant That's uncongenial to the average nose. Yonkeit Gazette. The Family Hammer. There is one thing no family pretends to he without. This is a hammer. And yet there is nothing that goes to until** up the equipment of a domestic estab lishment that causes one-half as much agony ana profanity as a hammer. 1: is always an old haniun-r with a h ;ndl<* that is inclined to sliver, and always bound to aim. The face is as round as a full moon, and as smooth as glass. When it strikes a nail full and square, which it has l>een known to do, ttie act will he found to result from a combina tion of pure accidents. The family hammer is one of those rare.articles we nevtr protit by. When it glides off a rail head, and mashes down a couple of fingers, we unhesitatingly de posit it in the yard, and observe that we will never use it again. But the blood lias hardly dried on the rag liefore we are out of doors in search of that ham mer, and ready to make another trial. ' The result rarely varies, hut we never profit by it. The awful weapon goes on, knocking off our nails and mashing off joints and slipping off the handle, to the confusion of the m;tntci ornaments and breakingthe comrnandments.and cutting up an assortment of astounding and un fortunate antics witiiout let or' hin- • deranci*. And yet we put up with it. and put tiie handle on again, and lay it where ii won’t get lost, and do up our mutilated and smarting fingers, and it the outrageous tiling should happen t<> get lost we kick up a regular hullabaloo until it is found again. Talk about tin tyrannizing influence of a bad habit! It is not 1- !•<* compared to the family hems tner.— Ko nt'U y<-irr>iiM