Newspaper Page Text
The Bainbridge Weekly Democrat
BEN. E. BUSSELL) Editor and Proprintor,
VOLUME 4.
“Here Shall the Press the People's Bights Maintain, Unawed by Influence and Unbribed by Gain.”
BAINBRIDGE.
“3 auc.
GEORGIA, TjfcfPSDAY, JULY 8, 1875.
TIMELY TOPICS.
The Union Pacific threatens a war I
against the express companies, propos
ing to mn the cars and do the business
itself. If some of the profits on expres-
pnge weie diverted to modify the
charges on freight and passengers, the
pnblio wonld bid this new movement |
Godspeed.
Chicago's new directory is ont at |
last. A comparison of names with St.
Lon is and Cincinnati shows Chicago I
40,000 in the majority. St. Lonis has
105,701 names, Cincinnati 106,977, and [
Chicago 146,133. The latter city had j
the advantage, however, being the last j
to show np.
Postmaster General Jewell ex-1
plains that the increase in the rate to be
charged for registered letters, from
eight to ten cents, has been made neces-1
vary by the fact that this branch of the
service has not been paying expenses
The law leaves the rate optional with
the postmaster general, and Creswell re- j
dnced it from fifteen to eight cents.
There were 4,500,000 letters registered
last year.
Speakino of the crops in Lor liana,
the New Orleans Picayune NL fircniable j
accounts from every quar, <Amtcd in,
representing the cro\s nfL */< ^
exceptionally mutual
feeling p-evailt^uPToelSfen employer)
and employe, and there Iffia been a be
neficent concurrence of circi^nstances to
reward the courageous energy with j
wlnoh, despite the many reverses and
discouragements of the pmt, the plant
ers have labored to secure the present |
and propitiate the future.
THK PnrK AlfD THE WALNUT.
*T THOlfAS BAILET ALDRICH.
(Neiccatllt, 1881)
A *° from ,h « RT«jr little town
_ Y* N^weMlIo, perched like A gnll by the see,
On the Klttery side (where the bulks shelve do* n
3 ° it riT * r ’" solden brown)
There towered, long since, an old pine tree.
And across the stream, in a right bee-line.
Like a sentry gnardiDg the rained fort.
Was a large-limbed walnnt, where the kine
Huddled together in shower and shine.
Nibbling the herbage, sparse and short.
__ n*.
Summer and winter those brave old trees
Watched the bine river that slipt between
?? * h « «nnsbine and drank the breeze.
Clothed like emperors, taking their ease
Now In ermine and now In green. ’
„ IV.
Many a time, when I was a lad,
I drifted by with suspended oar,
The wind in the walnut seemed so sad 5
But ab, wbat a blustering vdleelt bad
In the nigged pine on the other shore!
And often, In restless slsmber tost,
H *' ee “ fd j®,drifting down the tide,
Hearing the sfrident wind on the coast.
To die away like a murmuring ghost
In the drooping bonghs on the farther side.
Vp
Perhaps 'twas a boyish fantasy,
l'bc dream of e dreamer, half afraid,
That the wind grew sad in the wslnut tree,
through the pine like the surging sea.
With a sound of distant cannonade!
vn
Only a fantasy i Who can tell ?
But I think 'twill haunt me to the end,
SeeiDg what enrions things befell
The walnut tree, and the pine as well
For they went together, friend and friend !
1HT.
From a sullen cloud broke war at last,
And a grim, sea-dog of the quarter deck
took the gaunt old pine for a inizzen mast.
In the flame of battle Ills Spirit past,
And the mizzon dragged by the shattered
wreck
“ What’s up, Woodford,” said a deep-
bass voice, “and where is 8am to.
night?”
, *' ®®’ 8 done gone and gave his ankle a
baddish twift; that’s all. Come, look
alive there ! ” I buttoned np my coat,
felt that my pistol was all right; I had
taken it from the black bag just be
fore the arrival of the ooach. I 0 Jam-
bered in, took a forward seat, and as
somebody swung a .lantern backward
and forward, discerned that save a very
old gentleman, who seemed to be dozing
in the back, that I was Ihe only passen
ger.
’Hie driver cracked his whip and with
a terrific jolting we started at a furious
rate of speed. We had, perhaps, ac
complished five or six miles in this way,
when the tickety old affair gave a snd-
cii^ iimah h*f 0 r& oomifcg Jto- r
and dropped over from f\t to 3 >n and
excitement 6 as si
My man with the ‘ i, who
had followed me threejp*®» Gk t . «.« in
tent to take my life, bJr®ught8 -
another person (this I r ~ | ere ^^earn-
ed), was held in chargtl®* Hrfit
by the coach-driver aia£ T ®*y
and at last astonished tb “ u>l
very much by knocking tfc
and making good his esc*
I have this knife yet; 'JBkeeb Italian
stiletto, a perfect beautyjt^- temper and
carving, and keen as a rsaor.
There are many pleasing adventures in
the life of a commercial traveler, or
drummer, as they are called, bnt there
are alfeo drawbacks. ,
Alter ‘VjL
le could I
MBER 3£
■With the Union Jack »cro*a him laid,
Tbfy boie him back lo the town by the fea •
The gnna at the Yard bis rrqultm played;
And Ihe AdnnnlV coffin, it is said,
Was shaped of the plaDks of the walnut iree!
A FIGHT FOR LIFE.
It was in the latter part of November,
dripping with rain. --y*-
“WeTl have to tumble here for the
night, I reckon, gents; for the storm
latt night has blown a tree right square
in the road, and the leader has got a
rock jn his foot and can’t go on any
Pleasant prospect truly : “There’s old
Job Silver’s cabin yonder ; we can put
np with him, I gness, nntil mowin'.”
As the driver had already began to
unhitch, there was nothing to do but
beg hospitality of Mrs. Silvers, and the
old gentleman and myself scrambled
out, the former growling savagely when
he found the road ankle-deep in a
sticky mire, and the rain pouring in
torrents.
“I should like lo Ihrottle that villain,
and shoot that cursed leader on the
spot,” said the old gentleman, making
off toward the miserable shanty, to the
right some lhirty yardp. After a supper
of frizzled bacoD, fried eggs and ex
cellent coffee, which was not so bad a
eupper, eaten before a spanking fire of
birch logs, the host, a tall, grim old
man, with the face of one of Napoleon
I’s soldiers, albeit with a certain look of
simplicity impossible to a soldier, con-
dne'ed me np a rude pair of stairs to a
4LOrW?
3ley. j
The United States steamer Plvmouth I m /^ elf a j peeping apartment. The room sloped
Which is to go to the mouth of the Rio ever saw, waiting my chances at a Tittle jmtutdra'the roo/^andWM^fS’mtehcd
GmiKle to assist in preventing Mexican Arkansas station fer a seat in a coach, with two narrow beds and two chairs
rinds, carries twelve guns ; but as the wblch tbe telegraph operator assured I took off my coat aud waistcoat, and
not navigable on account of tut Wrlfo” “ a con P le tours for flung myself into bed, putting my pistol
Rlionl., Iheserviceeof tbe vessel I I ... hftte nn f, e ' m ’’ he * J ' „
can probably not extend beyond the beating a tattoo oith my feet, and for grim old man excused lus poverty
protection of Brownsville, the capital the first time in » week feeling utterly “wi°?^ a ^ ay th e candle, hl8 cowhide
• - l- l , jaded and worn ont. J shoes creaking on tho stairs as he de-
which is only | Tha flivip „„.i | scended. On second thought I took my
of Cameron oounty,
thirty-five miles from
may ascend, however,
h'tanco, provided they can be of any I inside seeming naturally to intensify I f'V," ’u'U V£ 1 ' . *“*
m. * the inky blackness outside. * Si™?* th ? d ™ D “ g „
The operator, a weary, pale-faced ?.“ de ^f a ^’. and tbe ram tb at ° n
The new system of prepayment of man » seemed glad of my company, as lova { b “fhLwj * 80Tind 1 Used t0
nat.« — - he no doubt was. noor old ^ 1() ! e 11 m I ^“d'
pontage^, on newspapers
m l “'° " H 7 of revenue, The weight of
by stamps 5®, no doabt ? as * P° or old cba P» and
thia nioaa 11 . o— | only through his instrument and an
is class of matter from the New York j occasional newspaper.
(Hwtoffioe during the first quarter of the
present year aggregated 3,745,357
pounds. The postage oolleoted amount
ed to 882,353. At this rate New York
before, or about odo quarter of the en
tire reoeipts throughout the United
States from this source.
I ascertained that the coach generally
made its trip in an hour and a half or
two honrs.
I suggested the probability that,
as the night promised eo bad,
I was awakened by the creaking of
The room un9onble3Iv"owned~a»t*? t ^
occupant than myself whether legiti
mately so remained to be discovered.
What money I had with me I carried
in the right pocket of my trousers, the
safest place by all means. I also car-
. a rxj „ au . ried a large and clumsy jack-knife, snob
city alone will pay during the year perhaps the ooach wonld lay over; I as sailors cut tobacco with. I don’t
much more than it has ever paid be- m - * rather hoped that this bnow . wb 71 should have remembered
L ■' ' might be the case, as I began to * be ^oite, bnt I did. The walking had
hate the idea of being whirled through ceafied > but I fancied I heard a stifled
that dark woods with a fierce wind breathing in the room ; this might have
twisting the branches together overhead, h^ 11 on ^ fancy. However, I gently
and smashing the dry limbs and twigs drew myself to the side next the wall,
with great noise. The operator declared between which and the bed there was
»ch to C— , i n8 fc room enough for a human body,
whatever the I and . slipped to the Coor. I think
cipal mr*T39ate (in Georgia, l736)wa8
young, p itty, and intelligent Wesley
was pleased with her and she with him
She dressed in white because he liked
it, and regulated her habits by his ad
vice ; he fell sick, and she nursed him.
He made up his mind to marry her.
Delamotte opposed the idea of a mar
riage ; Wesley submitted the question
to the Moravian elders, who advised
him to proceed no fnrther in the mat
ter. “ The Lord’s will be done,” re
plied Wesley ; bnt he w^s m a sore
strait. Sophia was nrfGpiflly piqued
and bastly engaged berBelT to one Wil
liam Williamson, and the marriage took
place, March 12. in four*days, Wesley
in the meantime having vainly nrged
her to break the engagement and marry
him. Weslev made this curious entry
in his journal
“Feb. 5—One of the most remark
able diepensatious of Providence to
ward me began to show itself, this day.
For many days after I could not at all
jndge which way the scale would turn ;
uor was it fully determined till March
4, on which day God commanded me to
F all ont my right eye; and by his grace
determined to do so; but being slack
in the execntioD, on Monday March 12,
God being very merciful to me, my
friend performed what I could not.”
And again: “March 8. Miss Sophy
engaged herself to Mr. Williamson, a
person not remarkable for handsome
ness, neither for greatness, neither for
wit, or knowledge, or sense, and least
of all for religion; and on Saturday,
March 12, they were married, this being
the day which completed the year from
my first speaking to her. What thou
dost, O God, I know not now, but I
shall know hereafter.”
About this time, and doubtless in ref
erence to this transaction, Wesley
wrote the well-known hymn beginning:
Is there a thing beneath the'snn
That strives with Thee mv heart to share;
Ob. tear it thence, and reign alone.
Commercial Sponges.
It is sad to consider how much we
lose in every walk of life through lack
of a little observation. There are few
stonemasons who, like Hugh Miller, are
led to become noted geologists by no
ting and studying the beautiful fossils in
stones they chisel. A butcher may ent
np I jeves and porkers by the hundreds,
or a fisherman spend a long life on the
shore, without noticing the most ob
vious points of interest and instruction
in the physical structure of bis victims
and only when a naturalists calls his at
tention to the beantifnl adaptations,
which have before passed unnoticed
will he have his interest profoundly ex
cited which may evtr after give him i
new motive and zest in his work. The
mo*'* ' us will nse sponges in an in-
d “ "Variety of ways, all our lives,
without even onoe stopping to think
how they were formed ; whether they
are plants, animals, or neither, or what
are their history and habits.
The ordinary Bponges of commerce,
which we nse so extensively, have bnt
little resemblance to animals or plants,
and belong to a class of organic bodies
concerning the affinities and proper
classification of which thtre has been
much donbt. And this doubt has led
naturalists to apply the question-beg
ging appellation of zoophytes, or plant
animals, to these and similar organisms.
They are now generally considered mem
bers of the animal kingdom. The parts
we use are the mere skeletons, com
posed of a kind of horny substance.
The animal itself is a soft, jelly-like,
amorphous mass, which fills up all the
intercellular spaces, lines the tnbnlar
canals, and forms a jet black or some
times a dark purplish skin on the out
side, covering the whole skeleton, ex
cepting the larger openings, which pro
ject beyond its general surface. In
this form the sponge exists in tbe water,
and, ont of its native element, is bard
and glistening/ftpijthe outside, and very
strongly rtfTimoles a piece of liver.
Tbe mode of life in this low order of
existence, which is regarded as a com
pound animal, is very simple, and we
wonld be disposed to call it extremely
nneventfnl. Sponges grow, by a kind
of lichen-like root, to some foreign ob
ject on the sea-floor, and never move
from their position; they have no
power to contract or expand their body
as a whole, or any part of it; and they
are qnite insensible to every sort of
irritation. Their only power seems to
be that of absorbing large quantities
of water, which they again yield np on
pressure without any injnry to their
texture. The water, which permeates
their whole mass, and maintains a con
stant circulation through it, keeps the
skeleton soft and elastic, brings to the
animals the air and food on which they
subsist, and carries away waste matter
it was used for this purpose, it was a
worthless sea grass, growing abon
dantly among oorals in rather shallow
water.
GOLD! GOLD!!
General Cnatar’s Report ot the Blaek
Hills Indorsed bjr Professor Jennings
Miners Taking Ont from Five to Twen
ty-five Dollars to the Pan-A Detailed
Aeeonnt ot the Discoveries.
The special correspondent of the
Inter-Ooean with the scientific expedi
tion in the Black Hills, at damp Harney,
on French creek. Caster’s Gnlob, nnder
date of Jnne 16, sends the following
telegram via Fort Laramie to-day
Gold in large quantities and of good
quality has been discovered in Castor’s
Galch, on French creek, and ale g this
stream for a distance 1 Card of
seven miles toward the J- Since
my latest adrioes-seat to from the
expedition, the plana of the scientific
corps have been entirely changed, and
Camp Denny, on East Fork of Beaver
creek, has ceased to be Hie permanent
point from whioh tbe investigation
radiates. We were to have been
throngh tbe Hills Tuesday, Jnne 9, bnt
were delayed. Col. Dodge, with three
cavalry companies as a^\*U-'_iy escort,
I
<hroom” be-
attains
almost dne
then north m n
twenty-eight da'jii-.L-^s^ 1 ' weFgh&tei
trail was struck in tbe ^ jq ^snoW
and rain. That officer's^ march
was pnrsned in a sonViv - direction
along Castle creek, where first in
dications of gold were discovered. This
event, induced Prof. Jennings, of th
scientific corps, to remain in Castle
creek valley for three days, in order to
prospect, a cavalry company being left
with them. The place at which the
geologists camped is located 1,400 feet
east of tbe 104th meridian, and was
The strike that has jnst come to an _ r
end m the Pennsylvania coal regions is I * ba *’ as ^ was tbe mad coach to
estimated to have caused a loss of 14 w ? nld undoubtedly go, whale , -
least ten m ;n: An , - , „ loss of at prospect; as to company, though, he smi,ed at th is impu’se, but at that mo
n millions of dollars to the op- fancied I wonld have it pretty much my ment tbe creaking recommenced, fol-
erators and workmen. It was all abont a | own way, as there did^ not seem to be tewed by a smothered oath, and I knew
reduction of ten per cent, in the pav of I any PASsengers beside myself. I that 80 me one was softly approaching
tlie workmen. As thev have resnmpd He talked down the platform to the b t d ’- 1 bad . “a 8 *’* 1 smile. I did
nave resume 8tation room> aQ(J oame ^ tbe | not admire the idea of a struggle m the
work at tbe rates proposed by the op- ? tatl °.u room and
pained
hem were reduced^oYh« verge of stf
►ation by their prolonged idleness.
that they have
nothing, bnt have lest their
was empty.
dark, and unfortunately my tapers were
Just at that moment a man pushed I in *?J. waistcoat, which I had thrown on
the door open and looked in; the ? ^ hair whe “ retiria g; .Nevertheless
« I linn nn nntvre G f being a quiescent
black beard. ' “ ’I ua “ succeeueu m doing very quietly
The operator, busy at his table, had 1 thon ? bt ° f . tbe . knife *&}*, and
not observed tbe intruder, and I made ’ iT k .V" m 7 wmstband,
no comment except a ya^n of general a tbmg 1 would not do Bnder tbe
Gnfnptinn J 6 same circumstances. If I had only
^ , Tire’s a' house down the road a re “ ov ® d the P iato J
fooueand ___ *• .. I qh^rter of a mile where you might stay , e nove l ls t would say, all this
et abf>f/^he sea, in the Jl 9 ight,” ventured the^ operator, list- occurred in much less time than it
mnnnt.)» 0 wn * — I ' takes to write it, or to read it either,
The liomliestV jL
Aid to live in the '
the world are J
By of Spiti, twelve j
J- . » 1U
- aya m °untains. Their faces are I lesely - turning the pages of the last
repulsive, and they wear high year’s almanac, not raising his eyes at
mother boots clear up to their bustles, I ^
fineh thev fill with flour to keep their Mine was not a 8u 8pioions nature,
-treiuitieg warm. Yet nevertheless “ d J et J teok no heart in his sngges-
raveio-o ... . ’ D J"'"® 1688 . tion, and began to think all manner of
1 s say that the men of Spiti are things about the man with the almanac.
' ls as «pt to get “ looney ” and lose A house down the road !
lieir sleep over these ridiculous crea- 1 went the door and looked out.
rrcs as are the men of more favored K T be man .„^ ho had looked in on ns
trim™ .. « , .. I: bad been sitting on the step formed by
tnons over their own beauties. There 1 ■* - - - J
as much sighing in Spiti as
I was sure it was the
the threshold,
same.
He got up hastily and walked down
the platfotm ; not glancing back. I ob-
ere is apyjjiere else. v
TfIE project of the St. Petersbure ! B f rv . ed th ® n tbat he wore a heav y capote
p uferenf>A ™ ■... .. , , cloak and low hat.
I War 8Winio , , mabonal laws The wind blew a hurricane and there
v t , ms to . “ e P* 111 abeyance, was not a star visible; as to road I
. el only Anstria, Germany, France, oould see none, nor in fact anything,
■ acd swetlen, have signified their but about twelve inches of the frosty _ . T . ,
t- - “ SSYaSSSiSiL'S’ftS
■^ powershava given m simply their i 0 i 08e d the door suddenly as if I P 0 ™ 4 -
on, while Germany has, at the had retired within. I cannot say that The burly ruffian had tom the muffler
time, sent in the amendments I it waB 11 7 purpose to watch the man in from his head, and was altogether fixing
“ Ic h she means to make to the nrelim tbe c^ 08 ^* out I closed the door. me in shert order. The dominent idea
ar 7 stipulations of the I 14 '" r “- very dark on tbe - P la tform, ex-1 in both of us now was to seize the knife
and only a very few moments had
elapsed since my first waking.
My next move was rather singular.
I had noticed a light print spread on
the bed, a gaudy piece of calico like our
attic window curtains at home,
snatched this from the bed and sprang
to the side whence the noise proceeded.
A man leaned over the bed; be
turned with a growl of rage, but being
lithe as a cat, I enveloped his head
with the calico, my hands at his throat
in an instant. Then began a dreadful
straggle, a^re rolled on the dlogr
together, My assailant dragged me
nearer the bed, and it flashed upon me
in an instant that the recovery of the
knife was in his mind.
1 felt now with my left hand for
mine ; it was gone. It had slipped ont
pued laAt - Prote 0018 I oept under the grimy window,
t year in Brussels. England, The man came back softly, and I
ls Wed known, has decided to take | scraped a wax taper to light a cigar,
psrt in it, while none of the smaller
by the bed. My ohancs was not worth
the flip of a penny, yet if anything
wonld be calculated to lend a man super
ers have as yet returned any answer
Ler way.
The black beard and a pair of glittering natural strength, it was conditions like
eyes were within two feet of me, Was these, and I astonished myself. ^j||h
he disoonoerted ? a superhuman effort, I got on top, and
He walked on to the other side of the planting my right knee on his breast,
platform leisurely. and again seizing his throat with des-
Set a l l ~ I Therain began tofall in big splashing I Potion, bad tb ® satisfaction of
inn of a W be received te° m drops, chilling me thoroughly in ten
^ ’ undertakers inclosing a check minutes. I went back into the opera-
14s.. being five per cent oommis- tor’s room; he still idled over the alms-
\ on tee amount received by the ° ac ’ «o«oely toofcing up as I entered,
ter two funomic . ■ , , Soon after there was the distant rum-
8 termshed on the bling of wheels, the trample of horses
recommendation. It had | and a few bngle tones came down
r RvsicLVN in London sends to the
rheum's
Therain began tofall in big splashing peranon, soon had the satisfactio
era, ohiiw me thoroughlv in ten I fe « bn K bl9 dntch relax, until he was
powerless as a child.
My own etreneth began to fail now,
and a cold, sickly sweat broke ont of
my body at every pore.
My would-be murderer lay very still,
scarcely a tremor betraying that there
; of raotiou there -i o from the body. _
aore than fcPLibcr. '^ii^Q-naviTuy three H wril be St-J:” 3.A™e par
-tnore uun lotumcr. 'iqjn tio—nav iruy
through another similar experience,
wrote: “I remember when I read
these words in the church of Savannah.
“Son of man, I take from thee the
desire of thine eyes with a stroke,
was pierced throngh as with a sword,
and could not utter a word more.’
Williamson grew jealous of Wesley,
and forbade his wife to speak to him or
attend his services; she absented her
self from the church for a lime, aud
Wesley refused to admit her to the
sacrament, whereupon her husband
brought an action against him, laying
his damages at £1,000. The general
conduct of Wesley was brought before
the grand jury, who found a bill of in
dictment containing ten specifications.
Nine of these related to purely eccle
siastical matters ; bat the tenth charged
Wesley with misconduct which occa
sioned much uneasiness between Sophia
Williamson and her husband.” He re
fused to plead to any except this speci
fioation, upon which he demanded an
immediate trial. This was put off for
more tbau three months, and Wesley
announced his determination to return
at once to England. He was summoned
to give bail to answer to the suit of
Williamson; this he refiu&d, and the
sentinels were ordered to prevent him
from leaving Savannah. ,\)ne Decem
ber evening, after public mayors, WA-
ley slipped away in a boR' rowed by
four fellows whom he haduiired to as
sist him, and were anxiout®^ get away
from their creditors. Tft^they took
to the swamp, where thej-' came near
perishing of hunger and cold, bnt after
ten days succeeded in reaching Charles
ton whence Wesley set sail for Eng
land.—A. H. Guernsey in Galaxy.
Northwestern Crops.
The Western Rural has collected a
large amonnt of information about the
crops in the northwest, and the follow
ing is a summary : The wheat reports
Cftarly indicate that—tl^) aorer
wheat this year in tbe western state*, tr
ices than last year. Thus in 'Illinois
but three reports indicate increased
acreage, while twice as many show bnt
ne-half as muth or even lees. In Wis
consin no reports show an increase, and
but two an equal acreage, while seven
show not more than one-half.
“ 8s
the same condition is
occurred to the physioian that he mournfully in the wind.
e ®titled to commission on funerals “There’s the ooach,” said the opera
:, 1 he received „ - tor, “and Bill Woodford’s horn. There below, and a pale light glimmered on
lv inol t * f®’ and be l 11 ' must be something wrong ; this is not the ceiling as the grim old man and two
was life in him.
There was a harried tramping of feet
lately inclosed it to the Lancet,
l a? What he ehould d o with it. He |
i dJ 18 * 1 8end back, and donbt-
te must have produced a
bd ?®. nBabon when the honest doctor
L 1 ® tt8e 4f credited with a oommis- [
be tenerals of his patients.
his run.’
Lights gleamed at the outer end of
tbe platform. The clumsy old coach
rumbled up, the driver, in a gray over
coat and woolly cap, helped to get the
or three others ascended the stairs,bring
ing candles.
We had aroused the household, al
though neither of ns bad cried ont.
As I am not a fighting character, and
mail-bag in the boot, shooting ont, my courage nothing to boast of. I think
“ This way if you please, gentlemen, I may safely acknowledge that I showed
and not an inch o’ time to ’ said a deep j the white feather when it was all over,
Michigan the acreage was ntr- *7.-“£fy
reduced. In some of the (“® Ji^fee,
increased acreage is repor?* ^
Ab to the condition, ^ are
not unfavorable, the n»jLhullo ! ^ in
dicating at least an ^prntion.
Michigan makes a poor Illi
nois stands well. WisoonsLa^ad Iowa
complain very largely, bnt general
average is not bad.
Undoubtedlv the acreage of com
] floated in tbe west was largir than any
former year. In Illinois no report
shows lees acreage than last year, with
reports of an increase of 20 or 25 per
oent In Iowa the same is true, with
several reports of an increase of 50 per
cent. Wisconsin is not a great corn
state, bnt shows an increase of at least
25 par oent in acreage. Michigan and
Missouri also show a considerable in-
Tbe reports of the condition is cot so
good as is desirable, bnt it is probable
that many of the unfavorable reports
indicate a lateness of the crop rather
than bad condition otherwise. Bearing
in mind* the comparative quantities
grown in tbe different states, our re
ports show s prospect at the middle of
June of abont four-fifths of an average
crop.
porris surface
is finer and of closer textnre than tbe
interior, that there are large apertnros
Scattered indiscriminately over the sur
face, and between these are mnch
finer openings, covering the complete
onter surface of tbe sponge. The lat
ter are called pores, and serve as chan
nels of entrance to the water, which,
after circulating throngh the body by
means of the tortnrons and branching
canals which makeup its inner skeleton,
passes ont at the larger openings.
These chimney-like apertures are called
oscula, but the name is a misnomer, for
they are, in reality, vents. They vary
in number in the different species, and
are sometimes redneed to a single one.
By what force the water is made to cir
culate through the sponge mass is not
definitely known. Some have attributed
it to vibratile cilise, planted within the
porus canals which, by their motion,
create a circulation in the water. Oth
ers ascribe it to the principle of osmo
sis, by which membranes of all animals,
and many other porns substances trans
mit fluids aud gases according to their
density and power to act on the trans
mitting substance.
When obtained for commercial pur
poses, the animal matter can be re
moved by soaking it a long time in salt
water and then—after it is rotted by
this means—rinsing it ont. This leaves
the horny skeletons jast as we nse
them.
The finest sponges of commerce come
from the Mediterranean sea. Onr best
bath sponges are doubtless from this
locality, bnt the coarser sponges we
see most commonlv are largely from
the coast of Florida or the Bahama Is
lands. Sponges are fonnd abundantly
iu tropical waters generally, and per
haps nowhere more abundant than in
the seas of the Australian islands.
They grp dually decrease in numbers
towards the colder latitudes till they
become entirely extinct. They vary
mnch in shape. Some are beautifully
shape^-^ike ,-v^ase., others Are ^ami
cylindrical, others nearly flat Tike an
open fan ; some are branched like the
opened fingers of a hand, and are called
glove sponges, and in others these
branches seem to be redneed to only
one, which is shaped somewhat lik« a
dub. These different shapes may be
long to one species, and tbe differences
are due, so far as known, to the fact
that the first mentioned are found in
deep water, and they grade, in the
order described, np to the last, which
grow in mnch shallower water,
Sponges are not confined to recent
seas, though the commercial ones are
not known to have existed earlier, be
cause tho keratose matter furnishes
hardly favorable conditions for petri
faction. In tbe oolite and chalk for
mations, sponges containing flinty spi
cules were very abundant; and in most
of the earlier formations, large spe
containing calcareous spicules abound
ed. These very closely resemble corals,
and have been mistaken for them by
some of onr beet geologists. The spi
cule or needle shaped particles, which
are often microscopic in size, are not
thrown in without order, but are ar
ranged to support the skeleton. The
horny bpongee do not Becrete or de
posit spicules, but these are sometimes
found within the skeleton in broken
and disordered form, which shows they
were taken in from without.
There is an elastic sponge, as it is
called, that is somewhat largely used
now as a substitute for curled hair in
stuffing beds, cushions, car seats, etc.,
but this is an entirely different thing
from the sponge of commerce. Before
der of the oommand Col. Dodge pro
ceeded in a southeasterly direction
nntil Gnster’s Park was reached, and
last Monday camp was reached on
Castor’s Galch and in close contiguity to
tbe stockade built by the miners whom
Capt. Mix brought ont of the Hills,
At the spring, on Gen. Caster’s oavalry
camp ground, gold of a good color was
speedily panned ont This was done in
the presence of your correspondent
The gold fever spread eo rapidly that
there was hardly one Ki the command
who had not seen and panned ont gold.
From those placers or galoh mines,
abont Camp Harney for a distanoe of
seven miles there are scattered along
French creek four different mining
parties, numbering twenty-five men,
that have taken np claims from all of
whioh good color has been
FACTS AND FANCIES.
Two PioTUBxa—
BEFORE MARRIAGE. ’
My Maggie, my beautiful darling,
Creep into my aeMW—vr ev; 'if
Let me fold yon agefU-ltfJTt*
So close I can het «>
What! these little;
One’s been prifXt.
These hands shall IK A—4
When on3fe they arHgiveft to me.
All mine, little pet, I will shie'd yon
From tronble and labor and care.
I will robe yon like some fairy princess.
And jewels shall gleam in to or hair;
Th se slippers yon gare me are perfect,
XL at dressing-gown fits to m T;
My darling. I wonder that heaven
Shonld give snch a treasure to me. ;
Eight—nine—ten—elven! my prscio'
Time flies so when I am with yon.
It seems bnt a moment Tve been he.
And now. must I say it ? Adieu.
AFTER MARRIAGE, r ■ L
Ob. Meg, yon are heavy—Fm tired\ . S
Go sit in the rocker, I pray; 4 ' MT'*-
Yonr weight seems a hundred and mnet?
When yon plnmp down in that sort of way
Yon had better be mending my coat slesyssr
I’ve spoken abont it before—
And I want to finish this novel.
And look over those bills from the store.
This dr< Hsing-gown sets like the d—1;
These slippers ran down at the heel;
Strange, nothing can never look ddCent;
I wish yon could know how they feel.
What’s this bill from Morgan’s ? Why, surely
It’s not for another new drees ?
Look here 1 I’ll be bankrupt ere New Year,
Or yonr store bills will have to grow less
Eight o'clock! Meg, sew on (Ris button - *
As soon as yon finish that sleeve ; ^'
Heigh-ho! I am so deucedly sleepy.
I’ll pile otf to bed, I believe.
—Mark Twain, apropos of a new port
able mosquito net, writes that the day
is coming “ when we shall Bit under out
^aets in chnrch and slumber peacefully,
while the discomfitted flies club together
^d take it ont of the minister.”
—A Frenchman has discovered a
method bj which he oan bring down '
rain whenever it is needed ; or, rather,
draw moisture from tbe ai~ He claims
at sprinkling of chloride of ealoinm
rv
named Camp Tuttle With the remain;* N>on t ^ e 8nrfa e ce of the groond is en
nor nf tho aommonH fVkl J1a<4<«a . . r . °
promise
greatest stress should' £7 kr
gulch gold diggings. £
When gold was discovered the
tists were at Camp Tattle, and only
arrived here yesterday evening. They
were somewhat astonished at the dis
covery. It is intended to make this
permanent camp, where the command
will remain nntil the return of the sup
ply train from Fort Laramie.
Wasteful and Unproductive Faming.
An author who brings the light of
science and experience to bear on Mas
sachusetts agriculture makes the follow
ing instructive statements : “ Farming
is an occupation in which a man with a
small capital cannot safely invest, un
less his nearness to a growing manufac
turing town renders the future sale of
his land for other than farming pur
poses probable.” If the above state
ment be true, it presents a truth for onr
consideration of almost infinite import
ance. It implies that a “man with a
small capital, ” (whioh will inolnde
ninety-nine in every one hundred Amer
ican farmer*) may profitably bny land
and wear out its fertilizing properties,
if near a “growing manufacturing
town,” and then sell it for bnilding
purposes, and clear some gaoney by
farming and gardening andG k his real
estate bargains. Bat in wf# tfeemdition
does this system of agricul^h® leave thi
soil for the support of the, gr® 8 *
tion? Hnmane society ddf^teesleey
cannot stop at the border oPM?jr”’’
erished field, garden, ox ®Vqfj3wn or
chard. Humanity livelyd ktxinust eat
often. For tbe last ff- wei £ar8 while
some farmers were bur**-^ com for
fnel in the west, Massachusetts farmers
have been paying eight dollars a cord
for common stable manure; and it is
this high price of manure that drives so
many men of industry and more or less
capital, ont of all farming business into
other pursuits. In all parts of the
United States industry, want and new
ideas keep the public in active commo
tion. Industrial revolution is the order
of tbe day. Onr author says: “ The
day of large farms with small capital
worked by individual owners, most in
evitably follow the rapidly declining
number of small manufacturers and
small dealers! Tbe enterprise of our
tirely effect ve.
—Here is an extract from a letter
written to her lover by a Montgomery,
Ala., girl: “ For yonr sake, darling, I
have quit nsing chewing gum, would
you have quit gum for me ? I wonld
not have quit gum for any other person
in the whole world.”
—According to th6 New York Mail
Mr. Bnnker, tbe early proprietor of tbe
hill of that name is not now living. It
is rather unfortunate that Mr. B. shonld
have been gathered in so soon. If he
oonld be here now to see how far his
hill has got ahead of old Breed’s it
wonld do him good.
—If a man wishes to cruelly lacerate
the feelings of an acquaintance he re
marks : “ A cow would regard your
Jaoence,” w and, upon.
le | her’hide won. ; not have to i
very mnch to make shoes for them.” v
—The most hideous women in tht>
world are said to live .in the valley of
Spiti, which is a mountair-bound, al
most inaccessible place, 12,000 feet
above tbe sea, among the Himalaya.
Their features are large and coarse, the
expression of their faces is usually a
natural grimace, and they hang huge
rings in their noses.. They drees in
thick tnnics and trousers, and their
heavy boots, coming above the knees,
are often filled aronnd their legs with
flonr for warmth.
To Maroaret J. Prf-stos, of Virginia.—
Mine eyes have never gazed in thine,
Onr hands are atrangr re; yet divine
The deathless sympathy which binds
Onr lioart h and minds.
Thon singest along ihe monntain side;
Thy golden songs are justified
By the rich mniic of their flow;
I siag below.
Where the lone pine-land airs are stirred
By notes of thrash and mocking bird;
Ihe heights befit thy loftier strain;
Mine courts the plain.
And now with jovons sylvan things
And round me ’mid the flash of wings,
The rivulet’s lapse, the breezes play,
On this bright day,
Flushed like a dryad’s tender face
With early springtime’s happiest grace,
This day of soft harmonious hours,
Made sweet with flowers.
native population is advene to the slow
methods and unprofitable returns of
snch investments. The west most feed
the east; for there the prairtss offer an
opportnnity for the aggreguf >d capital
and the congregated labor necessaiy to
the economical production of food. As
well might we hope to go back to the
old methods of textila production, or
onr large cities depend on the . well and
cistern to supply their wants with water,
or the uncertain yield of oil with light,
as to hope that the teeming millions of
the fnture are to be fed by the wasteful
and unproductive individual farming of
the present.”
—A seventeen-year-old girl was lately
brought from Alabama as a witness, to
testify in a oonrt in Carrollton, Ga.
She was called to the stand, and ap
peared in it with a large navy revolver
inckled to her waist. The oonrt and
lawyers gazed upon her in admiration
She' passed her direct examination with
very positive utterance. The lawyer of
the opposite aide waa a well-known bol-
lier of witnesses. Fun was anticipated
in tbe cross-examination, but the brow
beating attorney handled her tenderly.
He was exceedingly careful not to ap
proach the line of ooaracneaa or impolite
ness. His change ot tactics was re
markable. It was a moral lesson in
court.
My lowland mnse is blithe to send
Fair greeting to her monntain friend,
And—yearning more for leve than praise—
These wild-wood lays.
—A young lady living in the northern
part of Indianapolis has, through a
little simple vanity, nearly if not qnite,
destroyed her eyesight. A few days
ago she painted her cheeks with the
red coloring matter of some cinnamon
candy and went to a party. Daring the
evening her cheeks became very much
swollen and the poison soon after com •
mnnicated itself to her eyes. She be
came qnite blind, and, thongh receiving
tbe best medical attention the oity
oonld afford, there seemed to be little
hope that she would ever regain her eye-
igbt
—The Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer tells
of two families in Stewart county whose
lives were saved bv a gentleman obey
ing a presentiment he could not resist.
He had a foreboding that a storm would
visit that section, and that his house
would he in its path. He told others
of it, but they only laughed at him,
saying he was frightened from reading
and hearing the accounts of the late
cyclone. He gave credence to the
thought, whioh would cot go down at
the bidding, and dag a hole near the
hoose. He had co sooner finished it
thru the storm did come, and barely
had he and his familv sought refuge
therein than the tornado tore his house
to pieces. All in the hole in the ground
escaped.
—Some idea may be obtained of the
magnitude of the accommodations pro
vided for the people of London from
the following figures : Whit Monday,
the 17th of May, was a general holiday
among the working population, and the
day being fine, 94,000 persona visited
the Alexandra palace, more than 40,000
ere at the Crystal palace, 34,398 went
to tbe Zoological garden, 4,000 went to
the tower, 5,196 wait to the South
Kensington museum, 14,000, most of
them excursionists from London, went
to the Brighton aquarium, 38,000 went
by rail to Greenwich, and 10,000 want,
from one depot alone, to Gravesend.
These are official figures. The unreg
istered holiday seekers, who went to
other places, was many times larger in
tbe aggregate.