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TIUIUTOIJOBRNAL
HA MILTON, GEORG IA
diknf.bs and 7wTitnrr.
A prominent American ntyuU'Mimn,
says the Loudon Wstbe., was said to take
a pride in always knocking nt any door
within which ho had an engagement
precisely with tho first stroke ‘A the
clock or with tho vary tick of his watch.
Pcrliups if that wondrous wise states
man had token tho trouble to “ tot up”
nil tlif <aids and (‘lids of time he must
have wasted in securing that pettifog
ging precision ho would liavc found that,
whatever he might hare done for otlter
peoplo's time, he had really beeuas waste
ful of his own m the veruwt sloven in
this way may Ikj supposed to be on the
allowing of very exemplary people—as
wasteful, for instance, as Lord Palmers
ton, who was known to drop in to a pub
lie dinner four hours after tire appointed
time.
When Bosville gave his fashionable
dinners in Welbeck street the guests
were always given to understand that
t ime must be observed to tho minute,
nnd that if they were not there dinner
must proceed without them. It was not
often that folks came late, for most peo
ple can bo punctual when they know’ it
is expected of them. On one occasion,
however, it happened to bo tho astrono
mer royal who came in a half minute or
so behind tho appointed dinner hour,
and found the guests coming down tho
staircase to the dining-room. “ I trust,
Mr. Friend,” said the host in greetiug
him, ‘‘that in future you will bear in
mind we don’t reckon time hero by tho
meridian of Greenwich but by tho mo- |
ridian of Welbeck street.” That sort of
thing may all be very well when it is
clearly understood that, in auctioneer*
phraseology, it is to be dinner time,
“ prompt,” but it is not every host who
can muster the hardihood for such rig
idity, even though their guests may not
bo astronomers royal. Most people |
would agree with Dr. Johnson in his
well-known dictum on tho point.
“ Ought, six people to be kept waiting
for one?” asked Boswell, who was him
self inclined to proceed without one lag
gard. “Why, yes,” said Johnson, “if
the one will suffer more by your Bitting
down than the six will by waiting."
A SERPENT'S CASTLE.
A Canada paper describes a singular
mountain rock cave, thirty miles north
nest of Winnipeg, Manitoba, where
every winter the snakes of all species in
the surrounding country resort for their
hibernal sleep.
Last winter some of the convicts of the
penitentiary were set to work to build a
wall around the entrance to the cave.
When the time arrived for the snakes to
seek their haunts they found their prog
ress impeded, and soon tho strange gath
ering was increased by fresh arri
vals from the interior, rmtil many
thousands of snakes were racing and
wriggling around the entrance, vainly
seeking an opening in tho wall. Heads
with small eyes and red tongues were
projected in hundreds from every crev
ice iu the rock, and a mast unearthly
hissing was kept up.
On tho occasion of our visit to this re
markable congregation of reptiles we
were reminded of "Milton's description
of the legions of devils which were trans
formed into serpents, ouly in the pres
ent- case tho snakes wore not so large as
those described by the poet, but the
hissing must have been equal to that de
scribed iu “ Paradise Losh”
Wiim Tucker and Ad Hitt, two Lou
isville (Ky.) boys, got their desire for
adventure in tho common way, by read
ing tire literature of Buffalo Hill and
Texas Jack ; but their choice of a field
was unusual, for they decided to go
South instead of West. They had very
little money. They could just pay for a
single ticket to Alabama, and they de
cided t hat one should travel as a regular
passenger, while the other rode in tho
trunk as baggage. The toss of a coin
settled that Hitt should go iu the trunk.
A bottle of water and some bread were
put in with him, and second holes were
bored to supply him with air. Tucker
drove to tho railroad station iu a hack,
checked his trunk and settled himself
eomfortably in the seat of a first-class
ear. But all did not go well with llitt-.
He was tumbled roughly into the bag
gage car, aud left standing on his head.
Other trunks,were piled on his, nearly
closing the air-holes. When almost
smothered, he let out his remaining
breath iu a yell for help. The lid waa
broken. The contents had lost his de
sire to room. lie confessed, and, with
Tucker, was scut home.
PHIL'S CONUNDEV ?.
A Scotchman, so Sydney Smith falsely
said, requires a surgical operation to get
a joke through his head. A writer in a
contemporary, however, tells the story
of a nnux who couldn't get a conundrum
through his head:
There was a time with the club when
conundrums and quaint play upon words
constituted the chief of the post-prandial
eujoyme n&. We hud all furnished co
nundrums except Phil; and we told him,
one evening, if ho didn’t have a good
conundrum, fresh and new, for us on the
following day, we would suspend him for
neglecting to furnish his quota of enter
tainment.
That night Phil lingered lieliind after
the others had gone, and then applied to
our steward, Michael, to help him out
from his difficulty.
“Mike, give me a conundrum—a reni
fresh one—tliat’s a good fellow. You
know I’ll do as much for you any time.”
Mike knew it, and scratched his head;
and finally evolved the following: “It is
my father’s child, and my mother’s
child; yet it is not my sister nor my
brother.”
“Goodness me! Mike, how can that
be?”
■” Why, don’t you see, Mr. Barton ?
it’s myself. I am my father’s child,
and my mother’s child ; but, of course,
I ain’t my own brother or sister, ei
ther.”
“Hi! I see! That’s good! Capital!
New, let’s see !” And ho repeated it
until lie was sure he had it right.
On the following day, over the dessert,
Phil announced:
“ Ho, boys ! I’ve got a conundrum for
yon, and there ain’t one of you that can
answer it.”
“Go ahead, old fellow. Let us have
it. Propound.”
“ Well, here it is : It is my father’s
child and my mother’s child, yet it is
not my sister nor my brother.”
They thought a fow moments, and
then one of them cried out, and the rest
immediately followed suit:
“Why, it’s yourself, of course.”
“ No,” said Phil, shaking his head.
“ That ain’t it. You won’t guess it.”
“But that is it. It can’t be anything
else. Look at it for yourself.”
“I don’t care. ’Tain’t right. You
haven’t got it.”
“ Well, then, who can it be? Tell
us.”
“ It’s our steward, Mike MacDou
uul
One cannot wonder if Russian mag
nates wo afflicted with dynamite on the
brain, but it seems odd that the craze
should spread so far os to infect quiet
English gentlemen who live- at home in
ease. Yet one of the big-wigs of the
semi-suburban town of Croydon had a
sharp attack of the malady, caused by
no less an occurrence than the delivery
at liis door of a locked cash-box. Neither
he nor any of his family had ordered
such an article, and he at once suspect
ed a plot to destroy not only himself but
his belongings, so he conveyed the box
with unheard-of precautions to the local
police station. Tho men in blue of
course concurred in liis view, and with
equal care took it to a neighboring iron
monger, who strung it up on a scaffold
pole and opened it in some mysterionsly
delieato manner. The cash-box proved
lo le quite empty, and had merely been
left by the übiquitous sliop-boy at tho
wrong house 1
ARCTIC WINTERS.
Iu a paper read before the National
Academy of Sciences, Lieut. Schwatkn
treated of “ the duration of tho Arctic
winter.” He said that at latitude 88 deg.,
20 min., 2(5 sec. (the highest point ever
reached by man, which was attained by
Commander Markham, of Capt. Nares’
expedition), there are four hours aud
forty-two minutes of twilight on Dec.
2*2. the shortest day in the rear in the
northern hemisphere. In latitude 82
deg. 27 min., the highest point where
white men have wintered (tho crew of
the Albert, of Capt. Nares’ expedition),
there ave six hours and two minutes in
the shortest day. In latitude 84 deg.
.52 min. (seventy-two geographical miles
nearer the pole than Markham reached,
and <528 miles from that point), the true
plutonie zone can be entered by man.
The pole itself is only shrouded in por
rtet blackness from Nov. 13 till Jan. 27.
The pole has about ISB days of continu
ous daylight, 100 of varying twilight,
mid seventy-seven of utter darkness.”
A young man with an umbrella over
took nu unprotected lady acquaintance
in a rain-storm, extending his umbrella
over her, requested the pleasure of act
ing ns her rain-beau. “ Oh,” exclaimed
the young lady, taking his arm, “you
wish me to bo your rain-dear.” Two
| souls with but a single umbrella, two
! forma that c topped as QUO,
LOCUST LEA VKS.
As softly as tho accents of love fall up
on the restless heart and sweetly soothe
its thirsting tenderness, now fall the
fairy snow-flakes down from the veiled
heavens.
Sweet and silent messengers from a
sinless region ! Who has watched you
descend on soft and feathery wings and
not felt his heart glow with an inex
pressible feeling, a speechless love, a
kiud of wild desire to gather you all in
his weary arniH and fold you to his
heart, and in your purity to be baptized
and lose of himself all that is earthly ?
Who has not gazed into the labyrinth
of your dreamy, downward dances and
felt his spirit mount heavenward, in a
momentary delirium of ecstasy, upon
the mazy stairway formed by your
downy wings ? lam watching you now,
and my heart borrows lightness from
your noiseless approach, and I feel in
the depth of my heart that I love you
because you are pure. Sometimes I
have vaguely wondered whether the hu
man heart is capable of loving good be
cause it is good or not, but your coming
softens me into charity. I believe wher
ever throbs a human heart there you
have a lover ; though you may be dread
ed, you yet are loved.
Float downward, sweet wanderers,
and kiss the earth’s brown breast with
your soft white lips, and from watching
eyes wrap in folds of white the still, little
forms of fallen autumn leaves; fall
softly, oh 1 how softly, in that sacred old
burial ground on yonder hill, and cover
that little mound where sleeps our baby
darling, our little Maud, who was called
from earth while yet her soul was pure
as your wings are white.
Fall tenderly around the lonely hovels
of the desolate and poor ; kiss lightly
the little white feet that wander forth
and leave their prints on your velvety
robes, while the little outstretched arms
and tiny fingers are raised to catch your
light coquettish forms; gladden with
your merry waltzes the little, loving
hearts that want and poverty have failed
to chill. Beautiful snow ! dance on to
the music of the winds; worshipful eyes
are watching you, and merrily-beating
hearts are growing wild with joyous
anticipations of the happy moments
yea will bring them ; dance on, and rav
ish those eager, sparkling eyes with
your dazzling beauty; touch the hearts
of those who welcome you, and teach
them to fellow yon in your wanderings
to the haunts of the weary and home
less win? aro'fearaing for the sunlight of
hope and affection ; who, though they
love you, are recoiling with dread and
death-like chilliness from even a touch
of your starry wings; who in life’s
utter darkness are starving for one re
viving draught from the waters of char
ity, Mrs. J. Y. H. Koons.
"CHALK YOUR HAT."
The cant phrase, “ Chalk your hat,”
which is still current in many parts of
the Union, is said to have had its origin
in a literal illustration of the words.
“Admiral” Reeside was an owner of
various stage coaches in the days before
railroads. He spent much of his time
in Washington, where, indeed, he lived
for several years. At the annual ad
journment of Congress lie would pass
his friends of the House and Senate—he
was well acquainted with all the promi
nent politicians of his era—over any
stage lino lie controlled. He would say
to an Ohioan or Kentuckian : “I sup
pose you’re going back to Cincinnati or
Louisville, and I’ll pass you through by
stage.” When he was asked : “How?”
he would reply : “ Give me your hat,”
He would take the hat, make a cabalis
tic chalk mark on it impossible to coun
terfeit, and return it with the remark,
“ That will serve your turn ; my agents
will recognize that anywhere, and won’t
receive a cent from the men whose liat
is so marked.” Reeside was right. All
his agents knew the sign at once. The
thing became so common that some fel
lows tried to imitate it, but they were
invariably detected and compelled to
leave the stage or pay their fare. In the
South aud West “Chalk your hat” still
stands for what the East styles dead
heading.—New York paper.
When a man wants to enlist in th
army of China his courage is subjected
to a very unusual test. The recruiting
officer places the candidate in a chair and
proceeds to extract a tooth, and the con
duct of the patient under this ordeal is
said to decide the question as to his fit
ness for the military service of the em
pire. If ho howls and jumps up and
down he is pronounced unfit; but if lie
smiles and exhibits generally a feeling
of satisfaction lie secures a permanent
place in the ranks.
The bee is said to be a resident of any
climate of the globe. It will prosper in
hollow trees in Canada, where mercury
will freeze in the open air, as well 04 id
the equator.
now PEANUTS AltE PREPARED
POE MARKET.
Peanuts, to be prepared for market,
are placed in a large cylinder, from
which they enter brushes, where every
nut receives fifteen feet of a brushing
before it becomes free. Then they are
dropped on an endless belt, passing
along at the rate of four miles an hour.
On each side of the l>elt stand girls, and,
as the nuts fall on the belt, the girls,
with a quick motion of tho hand, pick
out all the poor-looking nuts, allowing
only the best to puss the crucible.
Those that do pass drop into hags on
the floor below. When the bag is filled
it is sewed up and branded as “ cocks,”
with the figure of a rooster prominent
on its sides. The peas caught up by tho
girls are then thrown to one side, again
picked over, and the best singled out
and branded “ships.” These ave as
fine a nut as the first for eating, but in
shape and color do not compare with
the “ cocks.” The third grade is brand
ed as “eagles.” These aro picked out
of the cullingß of the “ cocks ” and
“ships.” The cullings that are left
from the “eagles ” are bagged, sent to
the top story, and what little meat is in
them is shaken out by a patent shelter.
The nuts being shelled by this new pro
cess, the meat drops in hags below free
from dust or dirt of any kind, and is
then shipped in 200-pound sacks to the
North, where it is bought by the con
fectioners for tho purpose of making
tally or peanut candy. It may be here
stated that a peculiar kiud of oil is ex
tracted from the meat of the nut, and in
this specialty a large trade is done
among the w holesale druggists. There
is nothing wasted, for even the shells
are made useful. They are packed in
sacks and sold to stable-keepers for
horse bedding, and a very healthy bed
they make.
A nice little romance appears in the
columns of the Springfield Republican.
One of the rosiest maidens in that city,
while hurrying to the depot to take a
train, tripped, and so gracefully recov
ered herself as to win the admiration of
a very substantial-looking old gentle
man. He assisted the young woman on
the train and to a seat beside himself.
Conversation flowed pleasantly and ac
quaintance ripened fast. On parting at
a station not many miles west of the
city, the couple exchanged addresses.
The okVgentleman proved to be a wealthy
Chicago merchant, who opened a corre
spondence with the heroine. She ap
parently wrote as agreeably as she
talked. Letters winged their way be
tween the city by river and the city on
the lake. Then came a proposition—
not of marriage, but that the worthy
son of the susceptible parent be admit
ted to the correspondence. The father
gradually drew out of the field, and the
son more than made liis place good.
Then came an offer of marriage. It
was accepted. Three souls are happy, a
brilliant wedding and luxurious home
are in prospect, and the railroad officials
have been greatly puzzled of late by the
number of Springfield girls who are
stumbling, with more or less grace,
aboard trains bound for the great and
glorious West.
PA r OF AUTHORS.
A recent English writer says: “Un
til last year, Tennyson received $20,000
a year for his copyrights. Walter Scott
received over SIO,OOO for ‘ The Lady of
the Lake,’ but Scott had to abandon
poetry when Lord Byron appeared ; and,
while Lord Byron was calculating one
morning that he had made $120,000 by
poetry, Shelley was complaining of the
printer’s bill, which he had to defray
out of liis owui pocket. Browning’s re
ceipts are not equal in a year to the
veriest newspaper hack who scribbles
bad prose. Arnold’s ‘ Light of Asia ’
will hardly bring him in as much as a
dozen political leaders * thrown off’ for
the Daily Telegraph. Journalism is
handsomely paid in London, witness the
writers of the Times, the correspondents
of the News and the Telegraph."
When the celebrated Gen. Wolfe
died, a premium was offered for the best
written epitaph on that brave officer. A
number of poets of all descriptions en
tered tlie competition, and among the
rest was one who addressed his commu
nication to the Sun, as follows :
He marched without dread or fears.
At Ihe head of his bold grenadiers ;
And what was more remarkable—nay, very particu
lar,
K_' climbed up rocks that were quite perpendieu
iicv.
Destroying the Human Stomach.
The manufacture of cheap candies
from white earth, or terra alba, mixed
with a little sugar and glucose, is carried
on extensively in New York. A census
taker, who investigated the confectionery
business, reports that seventy-five per
cent, of some candies is composed of
these substances, aud some candy,
notably “gum drops,” contains still less
sugar.* What is called a tine brand of
casHle soap has been found to be com
posed chiefly of this white earth and
grease, —Boston Journal,
A JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON.
In some ancient monkish manuscripts
in France occurs the following interest
ing story, which, has no place in the
Bible itself, though it Is in the original
prefixed to tho Proverbs of Solomon.
It appears to have been a great favorite
in the middle ages ; and w;is often re
lated from the pulpit. A King, in some
domestic difference with his wife, had
been told by her that one only of her
three sons was a true offspring, but
which of them was so she refused to dis
cover. This gave him much uneasiness;
nnd, liis death soon afterward approach
ing, he called liis children together; and
declared, in the presence of witne>sos,
that he left a ring, which had very sin
gular properties, to him th it should be
found to be liis lawful son, and that to
him, too, should belong his kingdom.
On his death a dispute arose about the
ring between the youths—and it was at
length agreed to refer its decision to the
King of Jerusalem. He immediately
ordered that the dead body of his father
should l>e taken up and tied to a tree ;
that each of the sons should shoot an ar
row at it, and that lie wdio penetrated
the deepest should have the ring. The
eldest shot first, and the arrow went far
into the body; the second shot, also, and
deeper than the other. The youngest
son stood at a distance and wept bitter
ly ; but the King said to him : “ Young
man, take your arrow and shoot as your
brothers have done.” He answered:
“ Far be it from me to commit so great
a crime. I would not for the whole
world disfigure the body of my own
father.” The King said: “Without
doubt you are his son, and the others
are changelings ; to you, therefore, I ad
judge the ring.”
[Worcester (Mass.) Spy.
Nothing on Earth so Good.
Certainly a strong opinion, said one ol our
reporters to whom the following was detailed
by Mr. Henrv Kaschop, with Mr. George K.
Miller, 418 Main St., this city: I suftered
so badly with rheumatism in my leg last
winter that I was unable to attend to my
work, being completely helpless. 1 heard of
St. Jacobs Oil and bought a bottle, after using
which I felt greatly relieved. 1\ itli the use
of the second bottle 1 was completely cured.
In my estimation there is nothinsr on earth
so good for rheumatism as St. Jacob- Oil. It
acts like a charm.
SNAKE AND FROG.
Many years ago, while in Ceylon, I
lived in a house in “Slave Island,” raised
on a high platform. Tho steps up to
the door had become loosened, and be
hind them a colony of frogs had estab
lished themselves. One morning I
watched a snake (a cobra) creep up, in
sert its head into a crack, and seize a
frog, which he then aud there swallowed.
But the crack that admitted the thin flat
head and neck of the ophidian would not
permit of the same being withdrawn
when the neck was swollen with the ad
dition of the frog inside it. The snake
tugged and struggled, but iu vain, and
after a series of futile attempts disgorged
its prey and withdrew its head. But the
sight was too tantalizing. Again the
head was inserted in the crack and the
coveted morsel swallowed, and again tho
vain struggles to withdraw were re
newed. I saw this repeated several
times, till, gaining wisdom by experi
ence, the snake seized the frog by one
leg, withdrew it from its coigne of vant
age, and swallowed it outside.— Nature.
[La Crosse Republican Leader.'
Having been cured by St. Jsenb* <hl, I
recommend the same to ail suit'erei, with
Rheumatism, says Mr. L. Shift man, - S, M
Calumet Ave., Chicago, 111.
THE PEOUK Iff ALASKA.
One of the most remarkable traits of
this peculiar peoplo in Alaska is their
aversion to salt, which they will not eat
in any form. I have seen them, when
offered a choice piece of corned-beef on
the vessel, taste it, and, on finding that
it had been salted, spit out the mouth
ful with a wry face and throw the re
mainder on the deck with disgust. No
matter how putrid a whale or seal may
be they eat it, raw and unseasoned, with
ct (dent relish.— New York Herald letter.
A ( ross Ruby.
Nothing is so conducive to u mans re
maining a bachelor as stopping lor one night
at the house of a married friend and being
kept awake for live or si\ hours by the •Ty
ing of a cross baby. -Vll cross and crying
babies need only Hop Bitters to make them
well and smiling. Voting man, remember
this.—Traveler.
There is fashion in names as in other
things. To-day country names are in
vogue in France. The boys are called
Jean, Andre, Jacques, Eustaclie, Marcel,
Claude, Pierre, Francois, and Antoine;
the girls, Claudine, Collette, Jeanne,
Yvonne, Odette, Aritte, Heliette, Jac
queline, Georgette, Miquette, and Nico
lotte.
Tle Bet Life Pr*-er*er:
Warner’s Safe Kiney and Liver Cure.
Some enthusiastic fashion writer pre
dicts a revolution in underwear. Well,
a change in such things is necessary,
once in a while.