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•f m m ';jG. u m ;*vyi. L ' » % INAL
Yol. XL 1STo. 2.
GRANDMA’S SONG.
In £ year that hath passed In the sunlight
hi a “May that hatli vanished long,”
1 stood ’neath the trees of the woodland
Aim And. listened the wild bird’s song
tree-top and bushes and hollow,
With music the forest was rife.
t.nd this is the song they were singing :
“Oh Love, and Love only, is Life.’
The clouds, flecked with sunlight, sailed over
While, clasped in the arms of my lover,
My heart felt how true were the words.
I wept as a terror crept o’er me—
A fear of the world and its strife—
“Oh, Love, I shall die if you leave me,
lor Love and Love only, is Lite !”
In the years that have passed, they have faced
me
(Trouble and sorrow and strife),
But Love growing cold ne’er displaced me;
I clung to liis truth for my life.
“1 shall die—I shall die If you leave me,”
I cried as he turned to depart,
Till my tears moved the hoy god to pity
And take me again to his heart.
Oh ! the years—oh ! the years parsing over
Besprinkled with silver my hair ;
But the face—the dear face of the woodland
In a wee ltttla lover was there.
Softhfisli on my breast in the gloaming,
My heart wiih glad music was rife,
As I sang to my babe In the shadow,
“Oh, Love, and Love only, is Life 1”
Wrinkled and feeble and aged,
Tottering homeward I move,
Singing the song of the woodland,
“To happily live is to love.”
Little arms loving entwine me,
Kindly hands help me along,
I am blessed—I am blessed by the lesson
Learned from the wild bird’s song.
THE HAPPY HEW YEAR
“Happy New Year, papa !” The sitting
room doors were thrown open and a sweet
little girl came bounding in. Her cheeks
were all a glow—dancing with sunny light.
“Happy New Year, dear papa?’’ And
the next moment she was in her father’s
lap—her small arms clinging around his
neck, and her mouth pressed to his.
“Happy New Year, my sweet one!” re
sponde 1 Mr. Edgar, as he clasped the child
fondly to his heart. “ May all your New
Years be happy,” he added, in a low voice
and with a prayer in his heart.
Little Ellen laid her head in confiding
love against her iatlier's breast, and bent
down his manly cheek until it rested on the
soft masses of her golden hair.
To her it was a happy New Year’s morn¬
ing, and the words that fell from her lips
were heart-echoes. But now it was not so
with Mr. Edgar. The cares of this world
and the deeeitfuluess ot ricties, had, like
evil weeds, found rank growth in his spirit’
while good seeds of truth, which in earlier
life, had sent forth their fresh, green blades,
that lifted themselves in the bright invigo¬
rating sunshine, gave now but feeble prom¬
ise for harvest time.
No, Mr. Edgar was not happy. There
was a pressure on his feelings ; an unsatis¬
fied reaching out into the future; a vague
consciouusness ot an approaching evil.
Very tenderly he loved his little one; and
as she lay nestling against him, he could
not help thinking of the time when he was
a child, and when the new years were happy
ones. Ellen loved no placed so well as her
father's arms, When they were folded
tightly around her she had nothing more to
desire; so she lay very still and silent,
while the thoughts of her father wandered
away from the loving child on his bosom to
bis own unsatisfied state of miud.
“For years.” he said within himself, “I
have been in earnest pursuit of means of
happiness, yet happiness itself seems every
year to be still further in tbe distance.
There is something wrong. I can not be in
the true path My days ore busy and rest
less, ui/ nights burdened with schemes that
rarely cheat my glowing fancy. What is
the meaning of this ?”
And Mr. Edgar fell into a deep reverie,
from which he was aroused by the voice of
bis wife, as she laid her hand upon his
shoulder,
“A happy New Year, and many joyfui
returns 1” she said, in loving tones, as she
pressed her lips to his forehead.
He did not answer. The tenderly spoken
good wishes of his wife fell very gracefully,
like refreshing dew upon his heart; but he
was distinctly conscious of not being happy.
So far as worldly condition was concerned
Mr. Edgar ead no cause of mental depres¬
sion. His business was prosperous under
a careful management, and every year he
saw himself better off by a few thousand
dollars. Always, however, it must be a told
the number fell somewhat short of the his
expectations.
“There must be somethin wrong.” Mr.
Edg it’s thoughts were running in or.e direc
tion. A startling truth seemed suddenly to I
be revealed to him, and be felt inclined to
looke at it in all possible aspects. "Why
am I not happy ?” That was urging the
question home. But the answer was not
given.
After breakfast Mr. Edgar left home and
went to his store. As he passed afong the
street, he saw at a window the face of a
\ 108 t lovely *-hiid. Her beauty, that had in
it something of heavenly innocence, im
pressed him so deeply that he turned to
gain a second look, and in doing so his eyes
saw on the door of the dwelling ihe name of
Abraham James.
There was an instant revul-ion of feel
ing; and for the first time that morning Mr.
Etjgar remembered one of the causes of his
uncomfortable state of mind. Abraham
James was an unfortunate debtor who bad
faced to meet his obligations, among which
were two notes of five hundred dollars each,
given tojMr. Edgar. These had been placed
by the latter in the hands of his lawyer,
with directions to see them out, and obtain
the mo-t that could be realized. Only the
day before—the last day of the year—he
had learned that there were two judgments
i that would take precedence ot his, and
I sweep off a share of the debtor’s property,
The fact had chafed him considerably, caus
ing him to indulge in harsh language toward
his debtor. The language was not just, as
j )j e bnew i Q Dis heart. But the loss of his
money fretted him, and filled him with un
kind feelings toward the individual who had
occasioned the loss.
No wonder that Mr. Edgar was unhappy.
As he continued on his way, the angry iru
pulse that quickened the blood in his veins
subsided, and through the mist that obscur
ed his mental vision he saw the bright face
of the child of hi3 unfortunate debtor. His
own precious oue was no lovelier—no pur¬
er ; nor had her lips uttered on that morning
in sweeter tones the words—“A happy New
Year, papa.”
How the thought thrilled him 1
With his head bowed, and his ey es upon
' the ground, Mr. Edgar walked on. He
could not sweep aside the image of that
child at the window, nor keep back his
thoughts from entering the dwelling where
her presence might be the only sunbeam
that gave light in its gloomy chambers.
“A happy New Year, papa 1” Mr. Edgar
almost started, for the words had so distinct
an utterance to his inward ear that they
seemed as if spoken in the ambient ait. In
tancy, he had seen the troubled debtor, over
whom hung many suits, his own among
the rest, leaving the chamber where he had
passed an almost sleepless night, and com¬
ing with slow steps and sad face to the fam¬
ily fitting room. There, alone, with his
face bowed upon his breast in gloomy rev¬
erie, Mr. Edgar had seen him; and while
his heart was enlarged with pity and sym¬
pathy, the (loor opened—light footsteps
moved across the room—a child sprang in¬
to his arms, aud a glad voice exclaimed.—
“A happy New Year, papa!”
When Mr. Edgar arrived at his store his
feelings towards Mr. James were very dif¬
ferent fron what they were on the day pre¬
vious. All anger—all resentment—were
gone aud kindness had taken their place
What if Mr. James did owe him a thousand
doliars ? What if he should lose the whole
amount of this indebtedness? Was the
condition of the former s o much better than
his own that he would care to change places
with him ? The very idea caused a shud¬
der to run along his nerves.
“Poor man 1” he said to himself, pitying
ly. “What a terrible thing to be thus in¬
volved in debt—thus crippled, thus driven
to the wall. It would kill me! Men are
very’ cruel to each other, and I am cruel
wiilr the rest. What are a thousand dollars
to me, or a thousand dollars to my well-to
do neighbor, compared with the ruin of a
helpless fellow-man? James asked time;
in two years he was sure he could recover
himself and make all good. But, with a
heartlessness that causes my cheek to burn
as I think of it, I auswered : 1 The first loss
is always the best loss. I will get what I
can and let the balance go.’ The look he
then gave me has troubled my conscience
ever since. No wonder it is not a happy
New Year.”
Scarcely had Mr. Edgar passed the dwell¬
ing of his unfortunate debtor, when the
latter, who had been walking the floor of
his parlor in a troubled state of mind, came
lo the window and stood by his child, who
was dear to him as a child could be to the
heart of a father.
‘ Happy New Year, 1"
papa
It was the third time since morning dawn
that he had received this greeting from the j
same sweet lips—the third time that her |
kisses childhood’s were- given with the heart warmth of |
unselfish love.
Mr. James tried to give back the same ;
glad greeting, but the words seemed to
choke him, and failed in the utterance.
As the two stood by the window, the wife
and mother came up, and leaning against
her husband, looked forth with a sad heart.
Oh no! it was not a happy New Year's
morniDg to them. Long before tbe dawn
of another year they must go forth from
their pleasant home ; and both their hearts
shrunk back in fear from the dark beyond.
“ Good morning, dear,” said Mr. James,
soon afterward, as, with hat. and coat and
muffler on, he stood ready to go forth to
meet the business trials of the day. His
voice was depressed and his countenance
sad. Mrs. James did not say “Good morn*
ing” in turn. Bat her husband saw the
motion of her lips and the tears in her
eyes, and he knew what was in her heart.
1 he business assigned to that day was a
painful one for Mr. James. Theonlycred
itor who had commenced a suit was Mr.
Udgar, he having declined entering into
any arrangement with tbe other creditors,
coldly saying that, in nis opinion, “ the first
loss was always tbe best loss," and that ex
tensions were, in most cases, equivalent to
the abandonment of a claim. He was will
ing to take wbat the law would give him.
Pursuant to this view, a suit had been
brought, and the debtor, to anticipate tbe
result, confessed judgment to two of his
largest creditors, who honorably bound
themselves to see that a pro rata division
was made of all bis effects.
The business of this New Year’s day
was to draw up as complete a statement as
possible of his affairs, and Mr. James went
about the work with a heavy heart.
He had been engaged in this way for
more than an boar, «Qen one of his clerks
came to the desk where he was writing and
banded him a letter, which a lad had just
brought in. He broke the seal w tb a ner
vous foreooding of trouble.; for, of late
l bese letters by tbe hands of the private
HAMILTON, GEORGIA, JANUARY 12, 1883.
messengers had been frequent, and rarely
of an agreeable character. From the eu
velope, as he commenced withdrawing the
letter, there dropped upon the desk a nar
row piece of paper like a folded bill. He
took it up with almost reluctant fingers,
: and slowly pressed back the ends so as to
read its face and comprehend its import.,
Twice his eyes went over the brief lines
! before he was clear as to their meaning.
I They were as follows:
J ,, Receivcdi Jamia]y lgt) is 0 f Abra
| ham James, One Thousand Dollars, in full
ofalldemands ■■ Hiram Edgar.”
Hurriedly TT . „ now, did Mr. James T un old
lhe letter that accompanied this receipt.
^ ail ^ Ufl ^ e movec * ^ *
“Abraham James, Esq. Dear Sir:—
I was not in a right state ot mind when I
gave directions to have a suit brought
against you. I have seen clearly since,
and wish to act from a better principle. My
own affairs are prosperous. During the
year which has just closed my profits have
been better than in any year since I started
business. Your affairs, on the contrary,
are unprosperous. Heavy losses instead of
fair profits, are the result of a year’s tire
less efforts, and you find yourself near the
bottom of the wheel, while I am sweeping
upward. As I think of this, and of my
unfeeling conduct toward you in your mis¬
fortunes, 1 am mortifit'd as well as pained.
There is an element in my character which
ought not to be there. I am self-convicted
of cruelty. Accept, my dear sir, in the
enclosed receipt, the best reparation in my
power to make. In giving up this claim I
do not abandon an item that goes to com¬
plete tbe sum of my happiness. Not a
single comfort will be abridged. It will not
shrink the dimensions of my house, nor
withdraw from myself or family any por¬
tion of food or raiment. Accept, then, the
New Year’s gift I offer, and believe that I
have a purer delight in giving than you in
receiving. My best wishes are with you j
for the future, aud if, in anything I can aid
you in your arrangements with creditors,
do not fail to command my services. Most
truly yours, “ Hiram Edgar.”
Fop the space of nearly five minutes Mr.
James sat very still, the letter of Mr. Edgar
befor,e him. Then he folded it up, with the
receipt inside, and placed it in his pocket;
then he put away the inventories he had
been examining, and tore up several pieces
of paper, on which were sundry calcula¬
tions; and then he put on his warm over
coat and buttoned it to the chin, -
" Edward,” said Mr. James, as he walked
down the store, “ I shall not return this
afternoon. It is New Year’s day, and you
can close up at two o’clock.”
It cost Mr. Edgar a struggle to write the
receipt in full. A thousand dollars was a
large sum of money to give away by a
single stroke of the pen. Love of gain
and selfishness pleaded strongly for the last
farthing; but the better reason and better
feelings of the man prevailed, and the
good deed was done. How light his heart
felt—how suddenly the clouds were lifted
from the sky, and the strange pressure
from his feelings. It was to him a new
experience.
On tbe evening that closed the day—the
first evening of the New Year—Mr. Edgar
sat with his wife and children in his elegant
home, happier by far than he was in the
morning, and almost wondering at the
change in his state of mind. Little Ellen
was in his arms, and as he looked upon her
cherub face he thought of a face as beuuti
fnl, seen by him in the morning, at fhe
window of his unfortunate debtor. The face
of an angel it had proved to him, for it
promoted the good deed from which had
sprung a double blessing. While he sat
thus, he heard the door bell ring. In a few
minutes the waiter handed in a letter. lie
broke the seal and read :
“My Dear Sir :—This morning my dear
Aggy, the light of our home, greeted me
with a joyous ‘Happy New Year.’ I took
her in my arms and kissed her, keeping my
face close to hers, that she might not see !
the sadness of mine. Ah, sir 1 the day broke
in gloom. The words of my child found no j
echo in my heart. I couldiiave wept over
her, if the strength of manhood had not !
risen above the weakness of nature. But
all is changed now. A few minutes ago j
the ’Happy New Year’ was flowing to me !
from tbe sweet lips of my child, and the
words went thrilling in gladness to my .
heart. May the day close as happily for |
you and yours as it is closing for me and j
mine. God bless you!
“Abraham James. „ i j
Mr. Edgar read this letter twice and then
handed it without a word to his wife. !
“What is tbe meaning of this’ I do not
understand it Hiram "Mrs Edgar looked
wonderingly into her husband’s face.
He which she listened . eagerly .
story, to
shed his W .f ar08 " Uen e and ” lr ’ WUh tearS had 0>
, l sympathy , , ’ ’ crossed
l0ve ana in ner eyes, over
tj w!jere JR U" aa< ’ “•' ft ‘ •
ar0uti QiS nfcC ’ sai
“My good, my generous husband! I feel
very proud of you this night j hat was a
noble deed; and I thanlff you for it m the
name of our common humanity.
Never had words from the lips of his
wife sounded so pleasantly in the ears of
Mr. Edgar. Never had he known so happy
a N. w Year’s Day as the one which had
just closed; and, though it saw him poorer
;ban be believed himself in tbe morning by
nearly a thousand dollars, he was richer in
feeling—richer in the heart’s ur.wasting
possessions—than he had ever been in bis
life.
SOUTHERN NEWS.
. ts . va, , a atua, , 1H1 s ,
j e liQ tu pe i -
SI e '
Rushing, Keller & Co., of Atlanta, Ga., ^
bave b,ded
The Duke of Newcastle is visiting Savan
nah. Georgia.
| . Richmond, Va., had eight inches of snow
on the 30th ult.
j R1 t. Str«ns<= clothiers nf Mnntimm- * “
j ery , Ala .have failed.
W. H. Powers, of Gadsden, Ala., has
failed failed for for a a lame laige amount. amount
Robert McCay, a prominent merchant of
Nashville, Tennessee, is dr ad.
The Treasurer of Tennssee refuses to pay
the interest on the January debt.
g|x storo houges were destroyed by fire at
Fott Deponti Ala., on the '29th ult,
" m - * te ’ J ' es > a Nashville, 1 enn., mer
cUaut committed suicide last week,
A Zinc company with $300,000 capital
will erect furnaces in Knoxville, Penn.
Capt. L. T. Kretchman, of Little Rock,
Arkansas, committed suicide last week.
Day trains between Danville, Va., and
Charlotte, N. C., have been discontinued.
Rev, G. W. Barnes, a distinguished
Baptist minister of Belton, Texas, is dead.
fti a fight at Lebanon, Ala., last week
Dave Bullard and Henry Jacoway were
killed.
Dave Roberts, colored, was taken out of
jail at Abbeville, S, C., on the 1st and
lynched.
lion. James Houston, of Brunswick, Ga.
was fatally injured by an accidental pistol
shot on the 1st.
Sam Raines, of Dallas, Texas, who killed
his brother some months ago, has been
admitted to bail.
The Louisville Commercial has dropped
its Republicanism and adopted an Indepen¬
dent line of politics.
Capt. W. G, Raoul was elected President
of the Central Railroad of Georgia, on the
1st by 4,211 majority.
A steamer drawiug 16 feet of water and
carrying 4,000 bales of cotton, left Mobile
for Liverpool last week.
At Tazewell, C. H., Va., last week a
negro named Blniford Smith was lynched
for the murder of Chas. Kenzou, white.
The printers struck for 40 cents athous
and in the Nashville World’s office last,
Monday. New competitors were secured.
Seven record books were recently stolen
from the Clerk's Office of Fulton county,
Ga. A reward of $1,350 is offered for their
recovery.
Ariemus Ward.
Ward started with an announcement that
he would lecture on “The Babes in the
Wood.” He said'that he preferred this tide
to that of "My Seven Grandmothors.” Why,
nobody knows, for there was, of course, to
be as little.in the lecture about babes, in
or out of the woods, as about seven or any
number of grandmothers. “The Babes in
tbe Wood” was never written down ; a few
sentences only have survived of a perform
ance which was destined to revolutionize
the comic lecturing of the age. The
“Babes” seem only to huva been alluded to
twice—first at the beginning, when the lec¬
turer gravely announced “The Babes" as
his subject, and then after a rambling string
of irrehvant witticisms, which lasted from
an hour to an hour and a half, he donqjud
ed with, I now come to my subi at—The
Babes in the Wood." Then taking out his
watch his countenance would suddenly
change—surprise, followed by great per¬
plexity. Atlastrecovering his former com¬
posure, and facing tbe difficulty as best be
could.be continued: "But I find I have
exceeded my time, and will therefore mere
ly remark, that, so far as I know they were
very good babes ; they were as good*as or
dinary babies.” Then, almost breaking
down, and much more nervously : “I really
have no time to go into their history; you
will find it all in the story books. Then
getting quite dreamy : “They died in the
woods, listening to the wood pecker, tap¬
ping the hollow beech tree.” With some
surprised emotion : “It was a sad fate for
them, and I pity them; so I hope to you
good night 1” The success of the lecture
was instantaneous and decisive. The re
porters complained that they cold not write
lor laughing, and split their pencils deeper
ately in attempts to take down the jokes.
Every hall and theatre was crowded to hear
about “Babies,” and the “Lyceum” lectur
er of tbe period, “what crammed hisself
f u ll 0 f high soundin' phrases and got trust
e d for a soot of black clothes,” had nothing
to do but to go home and destroy * himself.
—Good Words
----—
Widows.
-
Why reflect on this worthy class of
women? Many wise men have married
* id o w » and have f ° Qnd tbera the bfc8t of '
wiveg For i nBt0 nce, Washington, Jefferson
arid I ranklin each married a widow t ,c
names being severally Mrs. Gun n, . r
Skelton and Mrs. Bead. Tbe lexicographer
Johnson, and the philanthropist Howard,
each married widows who were very many
years their senior, but they lived very happy
and Johnson never ceased to mourn for his
departed Tetty. Aaron Burr s first wife
was a widow (Mrs. Provosi), and as long as
she livad his fortune was in the ascendant,
Their married life appears to have b en
h*PPy> but as * n rson, it
on:j lasted ten years. The first -Napoleon
married a widow, and as long as be contin
ued faithful to her bis progress was brilliant
and suceefsafuL A very curious instance
j °f flerschel, this is found He reached in the history the of Sir ot iilty William
age as a
bachelor, hut then married a widow (Mrs.
Mary), with whom he lived in a happy con
ditiou for a third of a century. Iney had
one son, Sir John flerschel, who became
also an astronomer, ami won high distiuc
tiou. Mohammed is also on the same list,
lor at twenty-five he married the widow
Kadtjah, who was forty, and whose wealth
a "d influence were art assistance to a needy
adventurer. These facts add fresh value to
the rich widows of New York. That one ot
this number gave fifty thousand dollars to
beneficence, while another builds a cathe¬
dral, is thus published to the world as a
tribute to American womanhood.
Rothschild's Start.
Rothschild was the third son of a banker
at Frankfort. “There was not,’ he said,
“room enough for us all in the city. I dealt
in English goods. One great trader came
there who had the market all to himself; he
was quite the great man, and did us a favor
if he sold us the goods. Somehow I offend¬
ed him, and he refused to show us his pat¬
terns. This was on Tuesday, 1 said to my
father, M will go to England.’ I could
speak nothing but German. On Thursday
I started. The nearer I got to England tbe
cheap- r goods were. As soon as 1 got to
Manchester I laid out, all my money, things
were so cheap, and made good profit. I
soon found that there were three profits—on
the raw material, the dyeing, and the man¬
ufacturing. I said to the manufacturers : I
will supply you with the material and dye,
aud you supply me with the manufactured
goods.’ So 1 got three profits instead ot
one, and I could sell goods cheaper than
anybody’, In a very short, time I increased
my twenty thousand pounds to more than
one hundred thousand.
“My success all turned on one maxim. 1
said I can do what another man can, and so
I am a match for the man with the patterns
and all the rest, of them. Another advan¬
tage I had—I was un off hand man ; I made
a bargain at once. When I settled iu Lon¬
don the East India Company had eight
hundred thousand pounds of gold to sell. I
went to the sale and bought all. 1 knew the
Duke of Wellington must have it for the
pay of his army iu the Peninsula. I had
bought a great, many of his bills at a dis¬
count. The government sent to mo and
said they must have it. When they got it
they didn’t know how to get it lo Portugal.
1 undertook all that, and sent it through
France, and that was the best business 1
ever did."
History of Alcohol.
Alcohol was invented seven hundred and
fifty years ago, by the son of a strange wo¬
man, Ilagar, in Arabia. Ladies used it
with a powder to paint themaelve, that they
might appear more beautiful, and this pow¬
der was called alcohol. During the reign
of William and Mary, an act was passed
encouraging the manufacture of spirits
Soon liter, intemperance and profligacy
prevailed to such an extent that the retail¬
ers in intoxicating drinks put up signs in
the public streets, informing the people that
they might, get drunk for a penny, and have
some straw to get sober on.
In th-j sixteenth century distilled spirits
spread over the continent of Europe.
About this time it was introduced into the
colonies, as the United States were then
called. The first notice we have of its use
in public life was among the laborers iu the
Hungarian mines in the fifteenth century.
In 1651 it was used by the English soldiers
as a cordial. The alcohol in Europe was
made from grapes and sold i , Italy as a
medicine. The Genoese afterward made it
from grain, and sold it as a medicine in
bottles, under the name of “water of life.”
Until the sixteenth century it had only been
kept by apothecaries as a medicines. Dur
the reign of Henry VII, brandy was
nnknown in Ireland, and soon its alarming
effects induced tbe government to pass a.
law prohibiting its manufacture. Aboutone
hundred and thirty years ago it was used
as a beverage, especially among tbe soldieis
in the English colonies in North America,
under the preposterous notion that it pre¬
vented sickness and made men fearless on
the field of bastle. It was looked upon as a
sovereign specific. |
Such is a brief sketch of the introduction
of alcohol into society as a beverage.
-----
Assurance that Paid.
Cannf>t get - to the , store earlier .. |
3 ™
mornings, Henry? asked his employer, as
'be young man came in an hour late. '
re phed Henry, 1 hupposc
could iLI should dispense with my morning J
n:, P a,id wlthout m ->’ breaklafit ' ar ’ d :
Henry sat down in the most comfortable j
chair inrtbe counting room, lighted a cigar,
and was soon buried in the morning paper.
IIig f . r ,. p ! oyer meanwhile was hard at
work OT course, Henry was not allowed
t0 remain in tha’ sore many weeks. Bis
impudence and a-surance w re too raa-.sive.
£j e is now a commercial frav er, vi m an
i ncome of ten thousa-.d dollars per annum,
- —
Knew What Ho Was Talking
About.
Did it ever occur to you ». you > omon
made the remark about there being nothing
new under the un? Well, the lact was that
his numerous H > r j *■ 1 b
,ng to him ao “ h *' ou ' ‘ w ’ nn ! ” ‘
he merely murk red .-At co .* ^
new under t: e tun in order t >at t iey !r, ig t
be made to believe that the *a,i styms in
hats had not yet struck on.
Mr. Muckle.
The o*her night Capt. Muckle went home
intoxicated. After going to bed, he made
so many strange noises that Mrs. Muckle
became aiarmed. Muckle told her that he
must have been attacked with brain fever.
The poor woman became so badly fright¬
ened that after Muckle sank into a mutter¬
ing sleep she made a mustard plaster and
put it on the back of his neck. Mnckle
finally,became quiet, and Mrs. Muckle sank
to sleep, leaving the plaster on her hus¬
band’s neck. During the night the plaster
was displaced, but when Muckle awoke next
morning liis neck was so sore he could
scarcely turn his head.
Mrs Muckle, ashamed of what she bad
done, was determined not to say anything
about the plaster, and fearful that her hus¬
band would mention the unskilfully attend¬
ed application, she sat at the breakfast
table with downcast expression.
" This place on my neck hurts like the
deuce,” said Muckle.
“Now I’ll cuteh it,” thought the wife;
but Muckle continued—
".Strangest thing in the world how this
thing happened, 1 was standing on the
corner of the street yesterday afternoon,
talking to a gentleman on business, when
along came a lumber wagon loaded with
lumber. A long board, which I, did not
happen to notice, stuck out about ten feet
behind, and while I was deeply interested
the wagon turned the corner, and the long
loard came around and scraped the back ot
my neck, I hope that the time will come
when the people will arise and denounce
such nuisances.”
Muckle is a terrible liar, and his wife is
losing confidence in him.
Longfellow’s First Literary Success.
When only ten years old, one night he
stole out of the house with a copy of some
verses he had written—a very little poem
— in his breast pocket. He walked by the
door of the newspaper office on the corner,
two or three times, aud then gathering cour¬
age and watching the chance when nobody
saw him, he stood on his toes, reaching up
and dropping the poem in the letter box.
He hurried home with a fluttering heart, but
the next evening he walked by the office
again, from tbe opposite Bide of the street
he looked up at the printers in their work in
their shirt sleeves,each with a shaded lamp
over his case. "Maybe they are printing tny
poem," ho said. When the family nowspa
per esnw in, ho oarriod it away to a secret
corner, and there, sure enough, heading the
“Poet’s corner, were his verses. When tell¬
ing this story, long after, when honor and
fame in full measure were his, he said with
a smile, “I don't think any other literary
success of my life has made me quite so
happy since.”—Phrenological Journal.
Tho Cork Crop.
The cork harvest in Spain, France, Por¬
tugal and Italy, whence the principal part
of this supply is obtained, is becoming
every year more scanty, owing to tho greed
of growers, who have injured the stock of
trees by stripping them of their bark foo
frequently. The tree which produces the
most valuable cork does not come to ma¬
turity for a quarter of a century, and can
only be barked to advantage every eight or
ten years; but the temptation to make
rapid profits has been too great to with¬
stand, and the result lias been the injury or
ruin of many plantations. Some of the
quick growing varieties produce an inferior
porous kind of corks, but the best are the
slowest of growth. The French govern¬
ment has lately given special encourage¬
ment to the formation of cork-oak planta¬
tions in Algeria, and England is urged to
do the same in India aud in her western
colonics.
Common Errors.
Many wise sayings are incorrectly quoted.
"God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,”
was long ago attributed to tho Psalms of
David, until oft-repeated corrections have
convinced people that the sentimeutbelongs
to Maria in Laurence Sterne’s “Sentimental
Journey.” The epigram, “Spare the rod
and spoil the child,” is still often quoted as
one of the Proverbs of Solomon, and it is
rarely attributed to its author, Butler (see
“Hudibras,” Part II, canto 2, line 843).
The nearest approach to any such phrase to
be fo “" dth the rod ® httteth ^ lbleisthe hls fcon te *‘; <?«”• I,e *«»’ wbo
j' ie r ,f f f rrr)0(i t0 , pounngoi on troub
al, ‘f though Water * tbe “ often Bible supposed does not to be make scriptur
any
such allusion. Man wants but little here
below,” is an expression no older than
Goldsmiths Hermit/ though it is gener
ally quoted either as Scripture or from a
line of an anci ‘ int b ymn.
The Albatross.
This is the largest and most powerful of
a ll the lea birds, its wings measuring from
tW( , lve , 0 twenty feet Not , gince
man fej; 0 v erbr , ard f rom a veseel bound for
Australia. The sea was very rough and no
one J aref £ to try and save him. He die
appeared beneath the waves, and when he
came to the surface again, he was clinging
to the legs and wings of a huge albatross,
The hungry bird attacked the man, wbo
managed to put his arms around its neck,
a[jd f0 strangled the creature. Then be
potone arm around tbe body of the bird|
a , )d with the other clutched its feet, until
the sailors rescued him. The body of the
aloatroes floated and acted as a Ufe pre¬
server.
It takes tbe bow legged piccaninny to
make the knee grow.—New York News.
$1.00 a Year-
ALL SORTS.
Fashionable talk. Novelties in divorce
suits.
Corn is not shocked by electricity.—New
York News.
The newest royal child of Spain is named
“Ysabel.” Y, Isabell I
When a man wants to step on the scales
he goes aweigh.—Lowell Courier.
We admire spirited animal?, but deliver
us from a wildly enthusiastic mule,
The use of iron cannot incrase the run¬
ning qualities of a dog, but tin can.—Rock
land Courier-Gazette.
A member of the school board said in his
remarks: “Well children you spell well and
you reads well, but you hain’t sot sill."
The rising young man of the future is one
who will be willing to jump up and build
the morning fires.—New Orleans Picayune.
“Your language is wholly uncalled for,”
as the publisher told the author whose
work’s failed to sell.—Marathon Indepen¬
dent.
A real estate transfer made on Sunday is
not legal, notwithstanding the old saw,
“Better the day, better tbe day.”—Boston
Transcript.
Professor—“If you attempt to squeeze
any solid body it will always resist press¬
ure.” Class smiles and cites examples of
exceptions which prove the rule.
Out West they call whisky "coffin-var¬
nish.” There’s a chance here for some¬
body to work in a little one about "dead
drunk.”—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
Every day proves the power of the press.
The merchant who advertised for a boy
yesterday found a male baby on his steps
last evening.—Philadelphia Chronicle.
A Manitoba man advertises: “Wife
Wanted—Must not be over 25; good cook,
good housekeeper, and able to milic four
cows. If lady means businesu, send photo.”
The operators in mythical nfines are al¬
ways willing to let you in; but there is
quite a difference between letting you in
and letting you win.—Boston Transcript.
Life must be a perfect desert to the wo¬
men of Salt Lake? What can they talk
about? There’s absolutely nothing a man
of that city can do that is scandalous.—
Boston Post.
Whoever doubts that the newspapers
•have a mission should enter a car and see
how useful they are to the men when a fat
woman with a big basket is looking around
for a seat.—Lowell Courier.
The prophets ought to be predicting tbe
failure of the ice crop, peach crop, or some¬
thing, Some people seem to fear they will
be forgotten if they are not continually ly¬
ing.—New Orleans Picayune.
Here is probably the shortest courtship
on record : A miner in California fell in
love with a girl at first sight. She was
equally smitten with liim, and the entire
courtship was : "My pet.” "You bet.”
A gentleman should only offer his left
arm to his wife. The only time when a
lady is placed on a gentleman’s left is dur
ing the marriage Berviee, when tbe position
indicates subjection.—London Queen. It
;s generally only a temporary subjection.
Colorless women should wear no blue
save the very dark, shunning the electric
and cadet shapes.— Fashion Journal. That’s
all right. Now tell us what a colored wo¬
men ought to wear.—Philadelphia News.
Whisky has been decliniu g in prices re
cently, and yet but few men decline the
whisky. A big Pennsylvania distillery wis
burned the other day, and the loss has put
some men completely out of spirits.—Phil¬
adelphia Herald.
When a Chicago girl buys a pair of shoes
she never” fries them on in the store. She
simply H »y-to the dealer: “Ob, Mr. So
and-So, pupa wanted me to ask you to send
to the house a pair of number twelves: they
are for the hired man.”—Rochester Post
Express.
One great unpleasantness attending a
man’s getting married is bis utter insignifi¬
cance on the occasion. The bride is tbe
object of attention as the star performer of
the show, and he is regarded merely as a
necessary property.—Boston Post.
The Ruling Power.
The following story is vouched for as
true: An Irishman, who had exercised tbe
profession of “Ethiopian serenader,’ was
being attended in his last moments by bis
priest. He seemed to have been a very
good sort of a fellow, and was paying due
attention to his spiritual adviser, when sud¬
denly a change came over his face. “I
say, old boy,” he exclaimed mechanically,
assuming the stage voice, “I must ask yo»
this one question. What’s the difference
between—” “My good man, you're dying,”
interposed the priest; “ never mind that
just now." “Can’t help that," rejoined the
other; “it's such a capital riddle, and just
out. What's the difference—” And with
that he dropped his bead, and, without an¬
other word to give clew to what the enigma
was that exercised an influence so strong
in death, went to find the answer to the
great enigma of tbe universe.
Mr. Sfcrgeov has come to the honor of
having his works translated into strange
tongues. Some of them have lately been
turned into tbe Lettish dialect of Northern
( Russia; and his book "Evening by Even
i ing,” is to ge translated into TamiL