Newspaper Page Text
The Oglethorpe Echo
LEXINGTON. GA.
Friday Moriilnit
re 1
H. A. Keyser, Mho lectured recently
before the Boston Scientific society,
stated that a diamond worth $800,000 is
being cut in Amsterdam the chief city
of the world for such work—and that
♦he gem is to be given to Queen Victoria
on the fiftieth anniversary of her ascen¬
sion to the throne.
A wonderful and little known flower
has been on exhibition at the Philadel¬
phia Horticultural society’s rooms. It is
called the moon flower, and blooms in
the evening. From a small bud an inch
and a quarter in diameter comes a beau¬
tiful flower four inches in diameter. The
development requires less Hum an hour,
and the buds can be seen opening.
I Even the English people have woke up
to the fact that sparrow- arc nature s
feathered thieves and tramps, and should
be shot and killed at every possible op
portunity. J The London Academy. in the
course of a long article, 4 i says: Do no,.
let him increase. Jfe carries deatruction
with him wlierever he goes, and leaves
devastation to mark his path. From
? I 1 v... "
' '
upon as the enemy of man.”
From English mortality statistics ex¬
tending over a considerable period, Dr
William Ogel finds that the death rate
among clergymen is lower than that in
other occupations. If the mortality for
the three years 1880-82 among ministers
be represented MO, that among farmers
will be denoted by 031, among lawyers
by 841, and physicians by 1,122. The
high mortality rate among the doctors is
a source of alarm to an eminent medico]
authority, and is regarded as demanding
the most thorough investigation.
The French have looked with alarm
ujioii the steady export of Pereheron
horses to the United States,but the most,
prominent breeders there now say that
lie progeny of these horses, raised in the
United Btates, are an itiiprovemcmcnt on
their sires, and Hint it is profitable to re¬
import. It is known that Napoleon III.
used to import Pereheron horses from
Vermont for the jtostehuises which lo¬
used so much, as General Flenry, his
master of horses, found them much sii
jicrior to the Mecklenburg horses more
generally in use.
The amount of capital invested in pot¬
teries in this country now is $8,000,000,
and the value of last, year's product was
about the same. Between $1,000,000
and $0,000,000 are paid in wages, and
the wages hero arc about 100 per rent,
higher Ilian those paid abroad. At (lie
same time with the improvement in quid
ily of our home made crockery ware,
there has been a great reduction, amount
ingto nearly fifty per cent., in the price
of it. Everything in the pottery line
that is used in this country is now made
here, from plain “stone china” and drain
tiles lip to the thinnest and most highly
decorated table ware and the most beau
tiful ornamental tiles. The value of the
imports of both the coarser grade* of pot
tery and the finer wares has fallen off
within five years.
Sacramento luis been holding a “Citrus
Fair." where were exhibited the fruits of
Northern California. There were shown
nut only the citrus fruits lemons, limes,
oranges, ami a curious large showy fruit
called the “piimalo” but also olives,
grapes, fresh straw berries, almonds, chest
nuts, walnuts, pecans, pears from tbe third
crop grown on the same tree last year,
Japanese plum, all loaded with fragrant
flowers. The San Francisco Chronicle
says: “The tea, pnmalo, ripe olives,
licorice, cotton, aud other unusual ex
liiliits of California products can he de
pended upon with surprising regularity
to bring forth from visitors, ‘AA by. (didn’t
know California grew that!’ The licorice I
exhibitor chipped up sum.....' the roots
for visitors to sample, as there wasa large
percentage of visitors who always asked
incredulously, Ms it real licorice?’ The
ripe olives were also a surprise to visitors
The table olive is such a firm, bright
green fruit that to sec a dark, purple, soft
and luscious looking little fruit labeled
olive is a constant surprise. They are the
ripe olive, such as are pressed for oil. and
though they look tempting, are likely to
lorn the taster more nearly inside out
than anything else ho could put iu his
mouth. ”
An interesting fact with regard to
damage from lightning lias been evolved
from u study of insurance statistics in
(Serm&ny. It ap\u*ar* that during tlu>
years betwwn 1850 aud 1880 the light
ning r i<k- have increased threefold: that
is, out of any given number of buildings
three Knits as many would be struck by
lightning during 1880 as were struck
during 1850. Two causes for this extra
ordinary increase suggest themselves:
A change of meteorological conditions,
or the more common use of metals in
constructional. Investigations have.
however, failed to develop a .satisfactory
m*—. <>"• "■«
from meteorological A {,tnil turns any proof as
to increase of storm produce* sta
tistics to -how that in those district*
w lu-re most metal is v.sod altout build
the largest number of , .. lightning .
mgs
strokes are recorded. On the other
hand, l’ro(. Bezold finds that iu Bavaria
thunder storms have increased both in
number and intensity. An investigation
of the subject iu this country would )>e
interesting, particularly in regard to the
safety afforded by lightning-rods. Me
teorologieal changes are continually going
on, and whether danger from lightning
has increased three fold, as in Germany,
would lie worth knowing.
4
Regarding the growth of cremation,
the Modern Cremnt.ist says that the Buf¬
falo Cremation society has erected a
furnace on (be Italian plan; that a err
mation furnace has been completed at
Pittsburg, where natural gas will be the
fuel; that Cincinnati has an organization
that is building a furnace; that a society
has b -en organized in San Francisco, and
will build soon; that Baltimore lias a
live organization, embracing many pmmi
nent citizens: that Philadelphia's society
is several years old, and composed large¬
ly of German business men; that New
Orleans has one of the oldest societies in
this country; that San Antonia will soon
build a crematorium, and that Daven¬
port, Iowa, Detroit, Los Angeles, Sacra
rnento, Boston and Worcester have or¬
ganizations, and are contemplating the
building of crematoriums.
'Ll”' newly introduced Japan chestnut
promises to lie a fruit, of great value-. The
chestnut is one of the most nutritious of
fruits, In fiiirts of the Southern States
it lias l»;cn found profitable to reserve
tracts of native chestnut timber and to
fenc- them in as feeding parks for swine,
in which they will fatten rapidly and
‘
cheaply and make the . sweetest . and , , be t
of pork. As a fruit for human eonsump
tion the chestnut holds a high place, and
a large quantity is imported from Kit
r "D " r 1 s J moos , gro i a . 1,1 i ,
. .
nut trees is quite as profitable as an apple
orchard, and the Japan chestnut is
proved to be. the best of its kind. It i
■ '. ... ' ' '' „„,i ' t i„.
frin, .’ of ■ bet ter quality than the ' . .
is .mo
jiean kinds, !t is a small tree, bears at
three years old, and the nuts are large
and of better quality than those brought
hither from Haiy. It is a handsome
lawn tree, and its moderate size and lmbit
of growth fit it well for this purpose. As
an orchard tree planted for profit, too. it.
promises to be of great value, It is as
easily grown as the native kind and mu:
reeds well on a sandy loam soil.
Tn a pamphlet received from Charles
tv. Garfield. Grand Rapids, the secretary
of tlie Michigan Horticultural society,
lias been collecting interesting informa¬
tion relating to the State, legislation in
the interests of horticulture. From ibis
reliable little pamphlet U learned bow
nuieb assistance is rendered to the vuii
oils horticultural societies by tlnir re¬
spected (states. The Massachusetts Hor¬
ticultural society, although one of the
most useful as well as the most prosper
ous organizations devoted to horticulture
in the country, has never received assisi
mice from State legislation. The Massa¬
chusetts State Board of Agriculture,
however, which devotes a goodly share
of attention to horticulture, is supported
by the State. New York gives nothing
directly to horticultural societies, but
appropriates $20,000 per annum to its ex¬
periment station. It is very fair to add
Hint at tlie station much time and money
are ex pended in the interests of hovt icu!
hmilists, Tbe New Jersey experiment
station receives $8,000 annually, and
a portion of this amount goes to
sustain horticultural interests. Tin
Michigan horticultural society, while
accomplishing efficient work, has done
this without other direct aid from the
State legislature than t he publication of
its report. Its agricultural college has
received due support, and the horticul¬
tural department has received much at
tent ion. Vermont has au annual allow¬
ance of $3,500 for agriculture, horticul
lure and forestry. The Illinois Horti
cnltural society has $2,000 per annum,
and Indiana from $(100 to $->00. Iowa
gives $1,000. $200 of which is awarded
in premiums for growing forest trees.
The government of Kansas makes sutti
cient appropriation to cover the expense
of publishing the annual report and
forestry manual in goodly numbers, L
has also been of assistance in Hie aid of
forestry. Nebraska gives $1,000, Ohio
gives $1,000. The Horticultural society
of Georgia is an obi one, and lias don.'
valuable work by increasing the, variety
<)f fmit (iro a U cts and encouraging the
, anizaUou (1 f local societies. The State
^ m)( • , w H „, to it , j 10r t!«•«,
t urn I societies.
Kerosene Mine.
New South AA ules possesses in the A'ale
of Hartley mine a valuable kerosene de¬
posit. The mine is situated in one, of
the most picturesque parts of the colony,
about eighty-three miles northwest of
Sydney, in the Blue mountains, at an al¬
titude of 3,118 feet above the level of the
sea. Tbe railway up the mountains has
aided greatly in the establishment of a
number of important industries there.
The ironworks at East bank are carried
on successfully, and tlie coal deposits arc
inexhaustible. The kerosene shale found
there is said to be the richest in the
world. Considerable quantities of it are
in 1W Urge oitirs ol IhiM'oWWs for
the purpose *»f enriching gas. It U also
exported for the sum' purpose to Holland,
Java, and the States on the Pacino slope
of the United States. Only the better
1 ((Ua ; itv of t he mineral is exported, the
j scraps and inferior portions lieiug re
tabled for the extraction of oil. 1 be
seams arc from one foot to two and a
| half in thickness. coal/and It is much is usually more difti
oult to w inc than got
I out without picks and pointed rods. It
does-not run down readily into blocks.
| 1 but has to be -eparntcil piece by pita c,
Sara
lmrns w ; t |,' ., steady flame, like a candle,
and emits a strong odor of kerosene.
The company working the mine, beside
their operations at tin* mine, have ex
, tensive oil works at AYaterloo, where
th( , v ma mifaeture kerosene lubricants,
paraffine, etc.—/»xm.
K Hopeless Case.
Mother--*'! think, Clara, that young
Mr Sampson is fond of you.
! j Vlother-“Bl'eau'se h’e'was ““long
glove last night." '
, iu ie buttoning your “Ah,
Clara (hopelessly six-button i gloves, yes, mamma: know.
but they are had buttoned the you fifth
and when he one
| he asked me if that wouldn't be enough. "
i — ,A>-« York Sun.
LIFE—IN SIX ACTS.
BABV. MAXHOOD.
Sighing, and ci-ving. Cooing, wooing,
Night day: Future wife:
Winking, blinking, Gashing, blushing.
Full of play. Tied for life.
BOY. MIDDLE AGE.
Fooling, schooling, Slaving, craving. wealth;
Getting tall; Hoarding striving,
Growing, rowing, Driving, health.
Playing ball. Broken
YOUTH. OLD AGE.
Fussing, mussing, Ailing, failing,
Over a tie: Day by day;
Lacking. sparking. The undertaker
On the sly. Ends the play.
—Boston Globe.
Caught in His Own Trap.
Mr. James Fox was the junior partner princi
in the firm of Plntnley <fc Co., the
pal solicitors in the somewhat dead-alive
old cathedral town of Slumborough. He of
was a smart, well-set-up young with carefully man
two or three and thirty, silken
trimmed black whiskers, a man
ner, and an unlimited flow of more or
less entertaining small talk. Hence it
came to pass that he was an exceedingly
popular man among the ladies of
borough, both old and young, and had
his views lain in the direction of matri
mony, he would have hud small difficulty
in inducing any damsel or widow to share
h » But the handsome solicitor was
ambitious; ’, his share in the business aid
not atprp ;nt brillg h5nl more than a
moderate income, and he. had long a#o
determined that when he married be
must consider not only beauty but more
solid advantages.
Heiresses, however, were not plentiful
; n Slumborough, and so, although fluttered Mr.
Fox’s attentions frequently commit him a
bosom, he was careful not to
self too far, and not even the local gos
sips could fairly say of him that he had
knowingly raised false hopes. There was,
indeed, one young lady w ho had made a
deep impression upon the solicitor’s
heart, but she was the daughter of a
country magnate, with whom poor Mr.
Fox was not even on visiting terms. He
had met her at the. annual hunt ball, and
she had danced twice with him, but her
mother bad doubtless warned her against
him. Miss Laquerton, however, was
lovely and rich, and Mr. Fox was not a
man to (»e easily discouraged, lie knew
that if he could only afford to cut the
offiee and blossom into a landed good proprie- chance
tor, he would have just, as a
with her as anybody else, so he watched
patiently in the hopes of one day discov
ering tbe road which leads to fortune and
success.
The firm of Pluiulev & Fox was a
highly respectable and old fashioned con
cern, which avoided litigation, and kept
almost entirely to family business. Plum
ley was a fairly good lawyer, but. Fox's
legal knowledge was of lie most limited
character, and he was much too lazy to
take the trouble to increase it. b« it
came to be understood betw een them,that
while Plumley did the office work, Fox
kept the them clients in amusing good humor them with by call- his
ing oil and
jokes and stories. The business was
technically termed “keeping the
lion together,” and it suited Mr. Fox
very well indeed. It was while he was
lints keeping the connection together
that Mr. rich Fox made. the. acquaintance named Mrs of a
certain old widow lady,
Johnson, and so well did he play his
cards that before long Plumley A Fox
became Mrs. Johnson’s family solicitors,
land agents and confidential advisers,
The firm made a pretty good thing out
of Mrs. Johnson. In accordance with
the usual arrangements Plumley trails
acted the business, and Fox became a
constant visitor at her house, and worked
his way into her good graces by his won
derful There powers of another amusing accomplishment conversation.
which was yet solicitor
stood our in very stead,
and this was an accurate knowledge of
chemistry and medicine, which he had
picked up as a boy at the office of his
uncle, a chemist. The horrible smells
young Fox bad created in lii.s experi
inents, and the ugly stains lie had made
on his hands, determined him to forsake |
medicine for law , but lie never entirely
forgot his early experience. He could
talk fluently about every known drug
and disease, and about a a great- great 1
many which had not yet been
discovered. He diagnosed Mrs. John
son's symptoms at least as well as Mac- ;
Bolus, have the Scotch doctor,and her had would even \ j
prescribed angrily for threatened not kick the stal- him
w art Sent to
if he did so. But he retained a very
prominent ions, and place began in the old whispered lady's affee
t it to be about
that he had an excellent chance of sue
vending to her very considerable prop
ertv. uj, |
The disposal of Mrs. Johnson's money
was a matter which had long furnished
speculation of unfailing interest to the
town of Slumborough, and tilled many a
yawning gap in conversation at after
noon tens. Mrs. Johnson had but one
relative in the world, Miss Lizzie Rob
erts, the daughter of her lute sister. This
young lady, however, it was agreed, had
not'the slightest chance of being men
tioned in her aunt's will. A handsome,
well-bred girl, sho w as left at her pa
rents’ death to make her own way in the
world, life inheriting nothing but the battle
of and the dislike of Mrs. Johnson,
who had not seen the child since it
quitted its baby clothes. This strange
antipathy ft was traceable, as people said.
times gone bv, when Mr. Roberts,
Lizzie's father, then renowned for his
manly beauty, bad been an assiduous
visitor at the house of Air. Johnson's pa
rents. She being the eldest daughter,
and taking all his attention for himself,
had felt it keenlv ns a personal insult
when her sister -dared to snatch him
away;" and even later on, after having
made a much more brilliant match here
self, she could never forgive ihis early
defeat. Death even had not buried the
grudge, which had not unnaturally '
passed from mother to child.
How far this saying may have been
true Lizzie or had not, one thing is certain, poor
not the ghost of a chance of
ever seeing a single penny from her aunt's
money box ; her claims were clearly quite
out of the question. There remained, then,
oulv Aliss Kellie Brown. Mrs. Johnson's
tedv companion, and Mr. J ames Fox
Mr. James Fox knew from his partner.
who had cautioned him in a friendly way.
that Mrs. Johnson was not leave'the goiire to divide
her fortune, but would whole
of it to her “ truest friend." though she
had evidently deserved not made up her mind as
to who that title. More
otu-e had Mr. Plumlev been summoned
to draw up a new w ill so slight an an
novaiu <• as a cold nip of tea
caused her to destroy the one in Ati-s
Nellie’s favor. Then two davs* neglect
on the part of Mr. Fox and a constant
•upplvof hot tea at the hands of Miss
Kellie a-uiin reinstated this Hdv in Mr«
Johnson's goo.1 graces \[ r p 0 \ there
fore, had good cause l'e- anx^'v is to
what would be the i .van -tate of affairs
when the old ladv liras finally called upon
to join the majority.
•• AA ith such an old woman.” he said to
h.msclf, • who is ready to make a new
will any day and to burn it the next, there
is no dependence; one's future found, hangs
upon a whim; a remedy must be
The safest thing would of course lie to
make love to Miss Kellie; she is rather
• thirtyish ' and not altogether
still, if she were to get all the money site
' would
be anything but undesirable.”
So Mr. James Fox set to work at once
to make himself agreeable toMiss Biown,
yet without going too far; for he had by
no felt means it forgotten Miss Laquerton.buthe strings
was better to have two to
the bow. and therefore he determined to
do his best to keep Miss Kellie in good
humor. This lady however, was not so
easily satisfied as the solicitor expected,
for now he had once begun to pay her at
tentioriK, she wanted a decided offer of
j ! marriage, and not being able to get it she
took refuge in a stratagem.
This consisted in suddenly making the
discovery in that Mrs. Johnson's health was
absolute want of some German waters
—in fact, she decided that it was quite
dangerous for her to spend the spring in
England, with all the changes of heat and
cold. The old lady was therefore fully
'• persuaded to yield to such tender solid
; tude, and away the couple went, leaving
Mr. James Fox in a rather awkward di
lemma. What was he to do? If he
wrote cool letters to Miss Kellie, she
, would be offended, and all his chances
would be lost in the event of her inherit
; ing Mrs. Johnson's property; the'part on the
other hand, if he played of her
lover, he committed himself and irave
her the materials for abrcach-of-promise
1 ease should the good lady die when his
name only figured in her will, and should
; he then turn his attention to Miss Laquer
ton. What, then, could he do?
j '(’he worthy Fox was baffled for a
moment, but after deep deliberation he
hit upon a great idea which his chemical
1 studies suggested to him. Chuckling to
himself he went to a chemist's shot), jmr
j chased several drugs and mixed and re
i mixed them until a magnificent black ink
was produced, in which had the grand being ad
vantage that about ten days after
committed to paper it would fadeaway,
without leaving the slightest trace. Em
boldened by the happy result of bis ex
■ periments. he became at once the most
j tender and zealous correspondent any
j woman could wish for. His letters, in
t fact, overflowed with promises of ever
lasting devotion. Miss Kellie beamed
with joy, for she was now convinced how
true and unselfish was the attachment of
her admirer.
Under the circumstances it was not
surprising that the German waters good speed- that
ily did Mrs. Johnson so much
her careful nurse considered the cure
could be shortened, and accordingly the
couple returned to England much earlier
than had been expected.
j Whether, however, the waters had
really disagreed with the old lady, or
j : something quite clear, else but bad upset after their her was return never to
soon
England her health and complained strength bitterly began
seriously to fail. She induced her
thut Miss Kellie had to un
i dertakc an unnecessary and useless jour
ney, and ever since she had neglected her
altogether. The end of it was that one
day, in the height of her anger,she made burnt Mr.
the then existing will, and everything she
James Fox sole heir to
possessed. This decision seemed to have
exhausted her remaining energy, for she
died wot many days alter. appraised of
Mr. Fox, who had been
the state of affairs by bis partner and
friend,almost lost his senses; still his ex
citoment did not prevent him front invest-.(
ing some money in hat-bands and crape,
and looking as mournful as if the sorrow
ol'the whole, world rested on bis shoul
ders. Miss Kellie, too, melted away in j
tears, and could ’only be comforted by her
Jamie, as she now called Mr. Fox. But j
the latter seemed to have turned quite i
(bill with grief. lie did not appear t«> J
understand her at all, and as day he by day j
she became more demonstrative, grew ■
less affectionate. The afternoon before
broken-hearted, the funeral Miss and Kellie amid was her extremely sobs ]
re
marked how comfortable and happy she
had always been with her late friend. To
her astonishment Mr. Fox attempted to ,
comfort her by saying with cool civility,
“I hope you may soon me ■t again with
such a happy home- as you have had here j
till On On now.” heaving hearing this this Aliss Miss Nellie's Nellie's tears tears sud sud |
denly dried up, and, with eyes dilated
with astonishment aud anger, she cried:
“It is you whom 1 expect to make i-- m e
this happy home!”
Mr. Fox, however, simply shrugged that
his shoulders, saying: “I do not deny 1
may have once bad such ideas; but of
late I have grown wiser. Everything
alters in this world: why, then, should
not our opinions not do the same? This
is what we call progress,
Upon this he bowed and left Miss
Nellie crying and fainting in an arm
chair. till .
He did not hear anything of her
a few days later, when a gentleman
called upon him saving that be bad been
entrusted with Miss Kellie Brown's af
fairs, and suggesting that, further, perhaps would Mr.
Fox. before they went private
prefer making some arrangement marriage
about his breach of promise of
w ith his client.
“And what proof of that promise so?” asked has
Miss Broxvtt except her saying
Mr. Fox.
“Oh,” answ ered the young man, “1
have seen a box full of letters from you.
“Have you read them?” continued Mr.
Fox, sarcastically. the otther, “but I
"Not yet,” replied
have seen the box.”
“Well, you bad better go and read
them first before you take any further
steps, and if you can find a single line
from me to Miss Brown 1 am quite n il
ling to let her have ample damages with
; onf their being aw arded by a court of
law.” diabolical .
There was something so defender
about Mr. Fox that the young
of innocence found it best to retire for
the present, leaving his opponent to rub
; his hands triumphantly and build castles
in the fair about the country seat and the
' horses and carriages he was going to buy
in order to dazzle Ali-s Laquerton. w hom
he felt felt justified in seriously thinking
j about now. meanwhile _ been in _
; Miss Nellie had
! formed of the conversation at Air. Fox's
• office, and. with an indignant exclama-
1 tion about "*ueh incredible untruths.
she w ent to fetch her letter box. There,
sure' enough, were the letters, all in lit
tie. packets, neatly tied up in blue and
pink ribbons: but. strange to -ay. she
could not see an address; and. oh. henv
when she undid the packets they
contained nothing but paper- ait white
paper, without a single won! on it. Hu
wilv lawver had evidently deceived her
' bv demoniacal trick.
-ome
The The shock shock was was so so great great to to the tne poor poor
’ love sick lady that she had scarcely the
courage to show herself when the writ
was to be read; but -be rallied at last,
i hoping against hope that it might still with be
in her favor, when she could treat
1 scorn and contempt her faithless lover
attd his paltry damages, he considered
i - Air. Fox. although
himself already master of the house and
' everything in it, felt considerably ex-
eited on the morning of the day ap¬
jaunted for the reading of the will, and
when Mr. Plunder, as chief executor, sat
down and slowly got his spectacles out.
bis junior partner came over so faint and
his heart fluttered to such an extent that
be fancied all his hopes and beautiful
castles in the air were crumbling away friend in
a dream. Why did not his old
at once read the document? 'Why did he
make the suspense so unbearably long? the
Why did he continue to stare first at
{taper in his hand, then at those around
him, and then once more at the paper,
without uttering a single word? And
then at last, when he did speak why did
he stammer, "I—I do not know, I see
j nothing-in but— fact, it is the same paper,
i
Could it be? Yes, sure enough, had there
was the paper on which the will been
wade out, but there was nothing upon it
now; it was merely a blank, a white
| sheet! did
•• Good heavens! With what ink
: you write out that will ?'-' burst out at last
| Mr. Fox.
j “With what ink?” repeated the old
gentleman, indignantly. “ with your ink.
j As I found the inkstand up stairs deadly dry,
and the old lady was in such a
hurry, I rushed down myself to hall, get I some, took
and seeing your bag in the
from it the little inkstand which you
always carry about.” deadly pale, and with
Mr. Fox turned
out saying another word vanished, like
his ink, before anybody had found him to
ask for an explanation. When the rest
; of the company had composed them
selves again, Mr. Plumley said:
“ I know that the testatrix had de
sf roved all former wills, so there is none
; at all in existence, and bylaw, therefore.
the property will go to the next of kin.
I know, also, that Mrs. Johnson had no
relatives whatever except Miss Lizzie
Roberts. She is consequently sole heir
ess .—London 2’rutA.
Passage of Eels up Stream,
Says an English exchange: The pass
age of young eels up stream is called
“eelfare” on the banks of the Thames;
and it has been thought by some that
the term “elver,” which on the banks of
Severn is used indiscriminately for all
young eels, is a corruption of the word
“eelfare.” in the Thames this eelfare
takes place in the spring; in other rivers
in tbe summer; and some idea of the
numbers of these young eels may be gath
ored from the record of Dr. William
|{ 00 ts, who lived at Kingston in 1832.
He calculated that from sixteen to eigh- the
teen hundred passed a given point in
space of one minute of time. These baby
eels travel only by day, and rest by night.
Jn large, and deep rivers, where they
probably find the current strong, they
form themselves into a closely-compacted long-extended
company, “a narrow, but
column,” as it has been described; but
ju p-ss formidable streams they abandon
tl,Is arrangement, and travel, each
0 ne more or less at bis own sweet
w ill, near the bank. The perseverance
of these little creatures in overcom
ing the obstructions they may encounter
j s quite extraordinary. The large flood
gates, sometimes twenty feet high, would that
are to be met with on the Thames, bar
be sufficient, one would imagine, to darn
the progress of a fish the size of a
mg needle. But young cels have a
wholesome idea that nothing does. can stop As
them—consequently nothing
011(! writer says, ascend .speaking flood-gates of the way and
j„ w liich they “Those which die*
suc p jjkc barriers:
-pick to tlie posts; others, which get a
little higher, meet with the same fate,
until at test a sufficient layer of them is
formed to enable the rest to overcome
the difficulty of the passage.” The mor
tality resulting from such “forlorn hopes”
greatly helps to account for the differ
ence in number between the upward
migration of young eels and the return
of comparatively few down stream in
the autumn. In some places these baby
ee ls are much sought which after, and fried, are
formed into cakes, are eaten
On one occasion, at Exeter, two cart
j oaf j s 0 f little fish, not larger than darn
needles, were sold, each cartload
weighing four cwt. They were sold for
fourpence per pound.
How to Kill tin- Bines.
Generally speaking, if you are troubled
with “the blues,” and cannot tell why,
you may be certain that it springs from
physical weakness. Instead of lying on
the sofa and courting painful ideas if
you arc a desperate valetudinarian, lover, a hypoelion- should be
driac, or a you
„p anil stirring yourself. The blood of
a melancholy man is thick and slow,
creeping sluggishly through his veins
like muddy water in a canal; the blood
id your merry, quick, brisk chirping philospher broached is
clear and as newly
champagne. Try, therefore, to set your
blood in motion. Try, rather, what a
smart walk will do for you; set your pegs
| u motion on rough, rocky ground, or
hurry them up a steep, swing cragged hill;
build stone walls; an ax over a
pile of hickory or rock-maple; practice turn a
grindstone; dig ditches;
"ground and lofty tumbling;” pour water
into sieves with the Danaides, or with
Sisyphus, “up the in short, high do hill anything heave a huge that
round stone;”
will start the perspiration, and you will
soon cease to have your brains lined with
Black, as Burton expresses it, or to rise in
the morning as Cow per did. “like an with in
frog out of Acheron, crowned
the ooze and mud of melancholy.— Pro
fessor Matluws.
- “ - -
A < osniopolitan Mexican Capital.
A letter from the city of Mexico to the
Boston Herald says: This city of start
ling contrasts continually presents some
phase of life which arrests attention,
standing with a traveled friend at a
street corner, he said: “This is Calcutta,
Cairo. Madrid and New York rolled into
j one!” Telephone wires cross and re
cross above one's head, the electric light
flashes at this night from all sides, telegraph horse
ears dart way and that,
messengers hasten about with despatches,
the brilliant cafes are thronged with
young chaps about tow n, clad in the lat
. -t English fashions, ladies go about in
Parisian toilets, and while you are think
ing that York this and may, for all you know, be
New some modern European
city, there goes past you in the street a
figure clad in white trousers and tunic,
bearing a burden on its back, and then
you forget electric lights, telephones and
street cars, and arc ready to believe that
you may be in some interior city of Hin
dost an.
____
0 ^ , ... our.
o e i
It scUvtmg flour, first look to the
color. It it is white with a yellowish
straw-color tint, buy it. If it is white
w w ith nu a a bluish omisn cast cast or or with witn black uiucKspccKS specks
in it. refuse it. Next examine its adhe
stvencss. Met and knead a little of it
between your fingers, if it works soft and
sticky, it is poor. Then, throw a little
lump of dried flour against a smooth sur
face: if it falls like powder it is bad.
Lastly, squeeze some of the flour tightly
’ in your hand, if it retains the shape
] given by the pressure, that. too. is a bad
sign.
A MERRY MEDLEY.
HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM
j VARIOUS SOURCES.
j | Took After Him—Whistling En¬
couraged— Was Acquainted with
Her—Mam Rallied—He Hadn’t
Been at Gettysburg.
<; g ' no longer attentive to Mbs
. .y
<gwf liWe « ar that Tam gentleman! exaetlv You see
j didn - t th e oW and the
, , , . £, w
j p ave en to!d it was because
the father took after you.”— Bingham
ton Republican.
Whistling Encouraged.
Black—“They tell me your xvife is
quite a xvhistler.”
White—“She is. Whistles most of the
time.”
Black—“And you allow it? . Don . t it .
annoy you?” and
White—“It don’t annoy me, as
for allowing it, I encourage her in it.”
Black—“Why?”
White—“Because a woman
whistle>and talk at the same time.”—
Globe-Democrat.
He Was Acquainted With Her.
Jenkins went to hear a lecture recently
on Napoleon Bonaparte and when it. xvas
over be stopped at a cigar store to bear
is discussed.
•‘I tell you,” said Bilderstone, “Napo
Icon was the greatest general that ever
controlled an army, and only the might¬
iest genius, tbe most heroic valor could
have induced him to cross the Alps.”
“Fudge,” replied Jenkins, ‘The Alps
ain’t nothin’. Just let him come up to
my house and try to cross my wife once,
when her dander is up, and if Nap. don’t
think he is only a grain of sand on a lim¬
itless shore, then I don’t know the Bona¬
parte family, that’s all.”— Merchant-Trav¬
eler. '
Mam Rallied.
“It-r-rr!” went the telephone in the
Gratiot Avenue station the other day,
and when the captain called “hello!”
voice inquired:
“Are you the police?”
“Yes; who are you?”
“A boy. There’s a big row up here!”
“Where?”
“On St. Anbin. I'll tell you if it’s
necessary to send the wagon.”
Things telephone were quiet for a moment, and
then the rang again.
“Well, how is it?” asked the captain.
“Purty serious, but I’ll telephone you
again.” interval three minutes
There was an of
before the captain was rung up again.
-Well!”
“You needn’t send the wagon. There
were three of ’em. They had lost a
goose. They said we had it. Mam
called ’em liars. They sailed in. They
got mam in between tbe woodshed and
the goosepen and made the hair- fly, but
main found a club and rallied, and you
orter see them women climb! Mam holds
the fort and the goose. Good-bye!”—
Free Press.
He Hadn't Been at Gettysburg.
“No. 1 didn’t lose thst leg in the war,”
replied a stranger yesterday, as he loaned
up against the cold wall of the postoffice.
“I used to claim that my leg was shot off
at (he battle of Antietam, but one day
something happened to curemeof highway in lying. I
was stumping along the Ohio,
and stopped at a farm house to beg for
dinner.
“Where did you lose that leg?” asked
tbe woman.
“ ‘At Gettysburg.’ husband.’
“Sit down till I call my
“He came in from the barn, and I was
asked where my regiment was stationed
in the battle.
“In the cemetery,’ I replied. Bill in
“‘Oh! Well, my son was the
cemetery, too. FI l call him in.’
“Bill soon came in. and he wanted to
know what behind. particular said gravestone it Scotch I took
shelter 1 was a
granite monument. grunted Biil. ‘Afy brother
“ ‘Oh!’
Bob was behind just such a stone, and
I’ll call him in.’
■re “Bob came in, and he swore a mighty
oath that he was there alone. He sort o’
pre-cmjvted that monument, and vemem
bered the inscription to a word. How
ever, to give me the benefit of a doubt,
I was asked to name my company
regiment. ’Company B, Fifth Ohio,’ I prompt
“
ly answered.
“Oh! Brother Jim was in that com
panv. I'll call him in.”
“Jim came in. took a square look at
me, and remarked :
“•Stranger, our regiment during wasn't
within 200 miles of Gettysburg
the war!’
“I said Twenty-fifth'. Of course the
Fifth wasn’t there.’
“‘Oh! I’ll call in my brother Aaron.
He was in tbe Twenty-fifth.’ called wooden
“Aaron came in, me a
legged liar, and I was pitched over this the
fence into the road. They've got war
business down so fine that you can't go
around playing roots on the country no
i more, and the best way is to own right
up that you got drunk and got in the
way of a locomotive.”—Jf • Quad.
i -
A Horse Trade.
G. AY. Bulger is one of the best horse
traders in Western Texas. Not horse long
\ since he offered for sale a large thinks bay he
to Colonel Witherspoon, who
knows all that is to be known about a
horse. Colonel Witherspoon bought the
horse at a yery low price. Gilhooiy, who
happened to be present when the trade
was made, took the purchaser aside and
said to him:
“Colonel AVitherspoon, how did . you
come to let yourself betaken iu on that
horse? Don't you see that he is lame in
his left hind leg?’’ inked a»4
Colonel AVitherspoon w
whispered to Gilhooiy. blamed bit in that _
“I am not fooled a
horse. 1 know he is lame, hut his lame
ness comes from a nail in his hoof.
just have that nail pulled out. and then
the horse will not limp and will be w orth
twice what I gave for him. Its a
j bargain and don’t you give it away.”
j Gilhooiy whistled and remarked,
• “Well, you are a shrewd one after all.”
i “It will be a cold dav when I get left
I on a horse trade,” replied A\ itherspoon,
a< he led off his limping purchase.
i Next day Gilhooiy met G. AA. Bulger,
“Bulger, you are not a< smart at a
horse trade as I thought that you horse were. for You
] Pt AVitherspoon have half
j i what he is worth." of that?”
“Are you sure
“Certainlv --------- I am. That lameness comes
from nail "*■ in '' his ’ hoof. A
a
i will pull the nail our. cure up the sore
place, and the horse will be worth twice
| what he paid you.” replied
j know “1 don't all about think so.” that nail in Bulger, the horse's “I
1 hoof. I drove it in myself.”
j - You did?”
1 wanted p* on t- be
lieve that thc nail that HUS 1 aim
limp, keep but bei^latne h^fis lame after before. that nail He is oat. will
on
He always will be lame. Do you see
now?” I'm glad
“Well, I think I do. ’
nie. ves, When I want to buy
you told a
horse I know who not to buy from. —•
Texas Siftings.
They Were Genuine
A man came to Little Rock several
days ago for the purpose of starting bis a
daily newspaper, but as be lost all
money under such, sounds as “card 21
and ace of spades,” he was forced to sell
his jewelry. At last he was driven to
such an extremity that he offered to sell
j}; sma r C k’s autograph. He said that be
would take ten dollars for the card which.
bore his signature. He hated to part
with it, but he saw no other chance of
getting “I don't money. for Bismarck’s signa
care
ture,” said a gentleman, “for 1 believe in
patronizing home institutions. Kow. 111
£ ell you wbat I'll do. -I am Arkausaw collecting
the autographs of well known
men an d I’ll give vou five dollars for the
. He
signature of the secretary of state.
I is verv peculiar and has often refused
me bit bv persistence you might get it.”
j The mail said that he would try. He
\ went away> and a fter au hour hud passed,
I he returned. i
“Did you get it!” I
“Oh. yes.” have much trouble?"
“Did you first that
“Considerable. He swore at
{ should not have it, but I went to work
, yielded.
j 0 n him in earnest and at last he
Here it is,” handing the gentleman a
card.
“Kow let me see Bismarck’s signature.
Ah," he added, when the great, Ger
man’s “fist” was shoxvn him. ■ TIis
handwriting resembles iSiat of our seere
tary.” ‘That’s fact., there is resem
a some
blance.”
“Are you sure the signatures are genn
ine?”
“Oh, I know they are. You may have
both of them for fifteen dollars.”
“Cheap enough.” What do say?”
“Dirt cheap. I don’t you
“As I said before, care any¬
thing about Bismarck, but if I knexy the
secretary’s autograph to be genuine, I
would buy it.”
“I’ll sxvear it is genuine. Why, I saw
him write it.”
“You may’ be honest, but somehow I
suspect you.” so?”
“Why I the secretary of state.”
“Because am
—Arkanww Traveler.
Native Houses of Alaska.
The houses of the natives arc much
the same in all divisions of Alaska- The
dwellings are thus described: A circular
mound of earth, grass growing and lit
tered with all sorts of household utensils,
a small spiral coil of smoke rising children from
the apex, dogs crouching,
climbing up or rolling down, meal stray mot- the
sels.of food left from one to
other, a soft mixture of mud and offal
surrounding it ali. The entrance to this
house is a low, irregular square aperture, aud
through which the inmate stoops,
passes down a foot or two through a
short low jia«sage on to the earthen floor
within. The interior generally consists
of an irregularly-shaped square circle,
twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, receiv¬
ing its only light from without through
the small smoke-openiiig at the apex of
the. roof, which rises, tent-like, from the
floor. Tbe fireplace is directly under this
opening. Rude beds or couches of skin
and grass mats are laid, slightly
raised above the floor, upon clum¬
sy frames made of sticks and
saplings or rough-hewn planks, and
sometimes on little elevations built up of
peat or sod. Sometimes a small hall-way
with bulging sides is erected over the
entrance, where, by this expansion, utensils room
is afforded for the keeping of
and water vessels and as a shelter for
dogs. Immediately adjoining most of
these houses will be found a small «um
mer kitchen, a rude wooden frame,
walled in and covered over with sods,
with an opening at the top entirely to give vent
to the smoke. These, are above
ground, rarely over five or six feet in
diameter, and are littered with filth and
offal of all kinds; serving also as a refuge
for the dogs from tlie inclement weather.
In the interior regions, where both fuel
and building material are more abund
ant the houses change somewhat in ;tp
pearance and construction; the excava- the
of the coast bouses, made for
purjiose of saving both, disappears, and
gives way to log-structures above tbe
ground, but still covered with sods. Liv¬
ing within convenient distance of timber,
the people (inland) do not depend so
much upon the natural warmth of
mother-earth. — Chambers' Journal.
Whalebone.
“There is no article of commerce that
varies more widely in its market price
than the whalebone,” said a dealer to a
reporter for the New York Maid and Ejc
press recently., “In January it may sell
for two dollars a jKmnd and in the fol
j ow jng June for five the dollars price a pound,
Twenty-five years ago pound. It varies was sev- in
en tv-five cents a
price according to the catch, and this in
f U r n depends find ujion whaling the luck grounds of the sailors, closed
If they the
by ice, meet with shipwreck, or for any
reason fail to catch whales, the price will
go up. This makes it a very speculative
business and we can never tell what our
gtock is worth until we hear of tire
catch.”
“What part docs whalebone chiefly
conie from?”
“The main supply is brought from the
North Pacific whalers and comes in in
November. A smaller quantity, comes
f rom the South sea and arrives about
June. Now and then a small supply
comes from David's straits and Hudson’s
bav AVhales are caught there at all sea
soas 0 f the year, and the bone coming to
New York is apt to disturb the price,
The supply comes which from New the Bedford
and San Francisco, are great
-^-hale ports of this country. A great
amo unt used to come from Nantucket,
but the shallowness of its harbor and the
greater convenience of New Bedford
drove its trade aw ay. On board ship the
s i aps 0 f whalebone, as thev are termed in
mercantile phrase, aredone up in bundles
j Q ftwo market hundred in rhat pounds each and cutting are sent
to whalebone there shape. In about up
is a loss of twenty
p C1 - cent, on the raw material. The hair
is worth ten cents a pound for mixing
with horsehair for upholstering pnrposes,
and it is sometimes used in the manufac
ture of brushes."
Courtship and Marriage—A Novel its
Three Chapters.
cusp. i.
M-nid one.
chap. n.
Alaid won.
i/SAP. in.
Alaid one.
— Ri?:J’Ur.