Newspaper Page Text
W.T. HALK,} mmd Pr **rUtor..
NEWS OF THE WEEK.
EAST.
Prof. Blanchard’s anti-secret society
convention at Syracuse, N. Y., organized
itself as the National Christian Association,
and agreed to establish anew party to war
against secret societies, intemperance, tobacco
and kindred evils.
At the annual meeting at the academy
of the West Point alumni, Prof. Church in
troduced a resolution, which was unanimouly
adopted, inviting all graduates, both south and
north, to join in the anniversary dinner next
year, on June 17, the anniversary of the bat
tle of Bunker Hill.
I VEST.
The Indians in Alaska, according to a
letter, are fighting it out among themselves.
The bridge over tlie Mississsppi river
at St. Louis is completed, and railway trains
have passed across.
Grover (dem.) is elected governor of
Oregon. The legislature k about equally
divided between the democrats, republicans,
and independents.
The farmers of Illinois and Indiana
have held political conventions the past week,
and made up state tickets for the ensuing
elections. Those of Indiana took the name
of independents.
A Kansas paper says : “ The historic
$7,000 package which Col. York flourished in
the memorable joint convention of the Kansas
legislature is again engaging public attention.
Mr. Francis, the new state treasurer, has re
ceipted for it, and reports it among the list of
valuable papers in his keeping. What to do
with it is the all-absorbing question. York,
who surrendered it as bribe money, will have
none of it. Pomeroy claims that it was given
to York in trust for Page, who has relinquished
all claim to it. Hence, there appears to be no
owner.”
The troubles between the coal miners
and operators in the Hocking valley, Ohio,
are fast approaching a crisis. The strike has
now been going on more than two months, and
no work has been done by the union miners
during that time. One proprietor has gath
ered at Columbus between four and five hun
dred colored men, principally from Richmond,
Memphis and Louisrille. A large quantity of
improved muskets, revolvers and ammunition
lias been purchased. It is designed to put all
the men into one mine and distribute arms to
each one to protect themselves. Some of these
men are desperadoes, used to rough usage,
and if molested there will be desperate work.
SOUTH.
Rains in Georgia have been general
and the crops are reported as fine.
Canton, Missouri, burned last week.
Loss about $30,000, insured for SIB,OOO.
The Montgomery Advertiser says the
wheat crop in Alabama will be much larger
than for many years past.
A murderer was lynched in Harrison
county, Kv., below Cincinnati, a few nights
since, his clothes soaked in c oal oil and the
body burned.
Tom Norris, who murdered and rob
bed a flatboatman about a month ago, was ta
ken fiom Winnsboro, La., jail, Saturday night,
by thirty disguised men, and hvyjg.
The Macon Telegraph reports that
the com crop in Georgia is doing well. Cotton
is still small, and at least one-third less planted
than last year. A full crop, therefore, is im
possible.
Ed. Lucas alias Scott, a negro, was ar
rested near Shreveport. La., for complicity in
the Elliot murder. While being conducted to
town he waß taken from his captors and hung
by vigilants, being the third person hung by
them for this murder.
Miss Sallie Smith, abont seventeen
years of age, a student of the female school
at Oakland, Ky., was fatally burned last week
during the school exhibition exercises. She
was standing on the stage near a coal oil lamp
which exploded and at once enveloped her in
flames.
A special from Sardis, Miss., says a
negro named Mose Gregory becoming inceu ■
eed at his wife, attempted to shoot her and
shot his daughter, Emma, aged 13, and killed
her. On being arrested he admitted the kill;
ing. saying he tried to kill liis wife, and would
kill her yet.
A special from Rockport, Texas, says
it has been ascertained that the murderers of
Swift and wife were two Mexicans. Mrs.
Swift was stabbed in nineteen places, her
throat cut to the neckboue, and shot in the
face. Mr. Swift was equally butchered, ex
cept that he was not shot.
Judge Graham of Charleston, S. C.,
has decided that the action of Gov. Moses, as
charged in the indictment for larceny, was of
ficial action, and if it was a crime it was com
mitted by him as governor, and ordered the in
dictment, as to Francis T. Meses, Jr., to be
quashed, and the case as to him stricken from
the docket.
A special from Pine Bluff, Ark., states
that as Gen. King White was riding on one of
the main streets in a buggy lie was fired upon,
by a man named Derry, and slightly wounded.
Gen. White returned the fire, wounding Derry
badly. Ten or twelve shots were fired. The
dispatch says Derry is a Brooks man and au
employe on Senator Clayton's place.
The jury in the Grant parish, La.,
case, have brought in a verdict. Crinkshank,
Hadnot and Erwin are declared guilty of con
spiiacy, but recommended to tbe mercy of the
court; of the other charges they are declared
not guilty. The remainder of the accused are
acquitted. All the prisoners were again locked
up, to be tried on other indictments similar to
those upon which they have just been tried.
The penalty for conspiracy is not over $5,000
fine, or ten years imprisonment, or both.
Dr. Ely McClellan, assistant surgeon
of the United States army, has been detailed
to carry out the provisions of a joint resolu
tion of congress, directing the secretary of
war to detail a, medical officer to investigate
and report upon the epidemic of cholera of
1873, under the direction of the surgeon gen
eral of the army. He is now on a visit to the
southern states in the prosecution of the duty
assigned him. and has arrived in Nashville
with a view of obtaining a complete -record of
all cases of the disease which occurred in that
city during last year.
At the recent meeting of the cotton
exchange convention at Augusta, Ga., Mr.
Proudfit, of Memphis, read a preamble, reso
lution and argument adopted by the Memphis
cottcn exchange. The paper is very lengthy,
and covers the whole subject of cotton pro
duction and consumption. It recommends
that the convention petition congress to make
annual appropriations sufficient to furnish ac
curate information in reference to the cotton
crop, the appropriation to be placed with the
department of agriculture and the signal ro
reau, and to be used specially for the purpose
of obtaining information as to the acreage
usually used in planting ootton, the number of
laborers employed, the average of annual
production in each siate, the condition of the
cron from the time of planting to the final
gathering, and providing for the publication of
more accurate reports. It also provides for
establishing signal stations from North Caro
lina to Texas, to be used in the charge of com
petent officers, whose duty it shall be to report
the rainfall and telegraph every Friday to the
secretary of the neareet cotton exchange, all
the information to be consolidated by the New
Orleans exchange and distributed to the vari
ous exchanges throughout the country.
FOREIGN.
The yellow fever prevails in Havana.
General Concha has began active
preparations against the Carlists in Navarre.
The American pilgrimß have pre*
ented to the pope SIOO,OOO in money, beeides
THE STANDARD AND EXPRESS.
a coffer of gold nuggets from American mines.
They leave Borne the 29th inst.
Dispatches from India report serions
famine riots in the districts near Dajeeling, in
Sikkim territory. The troops were obliged to
fire on the rioters, a number_of whom were
killed and wounded.
A dispatch from the Spanish frontiers
says numerous bands in the Basque provinces
have revolted against Don Carlos, demanding
peace. Don Carlos has ordered that upon
capture they should be shot.
Senor Zabala, president of the Span
ish ministry, has authorized the generals
commanding the national forces in the north
to gra it pardons to the Carlists who give in
their submission to the government.
The Moniteur holds England respon
sible for the e-cape of Rochefort and his com
panions, and declares that the British govern
ment cannot refuse to enter upon an inquiry
as to whether one of its subjects, in assisting
the convicts to escape, has not transgressed
international law.
French papers publish a letter -writ
ten by the bishop of Laranda, upon the mas
sacre of Christians at Zong-Ting church. The
bishop says that with his mission were eighty
thousand Christians, but ten thousand have
been strangled, burned or drowned, and he
adds he has no hopes of escaping martyrdom
himself. This startling communication bears
no date, but is generally credited in France.
Liberty of speech is not one of the
blessings now enjoyed in Germany. A sen
tence of imprisonment for a year and a half
has been passed upon a deputy, Herr Most,
for certain speeches delivered by him at some
meeting of workingmen. The most serious
charge made against him was that he had de
nounced a standing army. 'I his was regarded
by the minister of war, Von Kameke, as an in
sult to the members of the army, and the
prosecution was set on foot at his request.
The London Times, in an article on
the American pilgrimage to Rome, expresses
surprise that a race priding itself on its
shrewdness and precision of thought should
indulge in such antiquated superstitions.
Probably after contrasting" the desolation and
wretchedness of the late papal states with the
cultivation and fertility of America, they, as
an eminently practical people, accustomed to
judge of institutions by their results, will find
their minds disabused.
In consequence of the order of tlie
captain-general of Cuba, designating the daily
premium which will be paid on gold, many
brokers have given up business. The govern
ment has firmly tesolved not to issue anymore
bank bills on account of the treasury, but it
cannot disregard the peremptory financial de
mands made upon it for the coming campaign
against the insurgents, and to meet the same
has decided to issue bonds to the amount of
$5,000,000 at eight per cent, interest per an
num, to be funded in six months, and se
cured on income from the Havana lottory.
The London Times publishes a dis
patch from Berlin, which gives the probable
action of the congress which will assemble at
Brussels next month, to consider the snbject
of international rights in time of war. The
Times’ correspondent says: “The congress
will codify the recognized usages of an inter
national law in so far as they affect the actual
conduct of war. Anew code is to be en
acted, in the form of an international
treaty, which promises to beeome the
first law common to the whole civilized world.
The draft of the treaty which is to be sub
mitted to congress has been prepared. It con
tains sixteen clauses, which state in detail the
rights and obligations.of belligerents, from
the mutual claims of belligerent states down
to the relations of those states to private indi
viduals. They also specify what classes of
arms shall be legitimately used in war, and
make regulations for the treatment of pris
oners.”
GENERAL.
Baron Yoa Verder Heyt, formerly
German minister of war, is dead.
M. Rochefort, Paine and Benedict
have sailed for Europe. A few Frenchmen,
known communists, were at the dock to see
them off.
The London Times argues that it is
time for the various Europen powers to re
cognize the Spanish republic. The Garlist
insurrection is clearly unable to maintain
itself.
Senor Mantel 10, whose appointment
as minister to the United States was some
time ago announced and afterwards contra
dicted, has been ordered to proceed to Wash
ington without delay.
The senate has confirmed J. C. Ban
croft Davis as envoy extraordinary and min
ister plenipotentiary to the German empire,
from July 1, 1874, when the resignation of
Hon. John Bancroft will take effect,
Four passengers of the Amerique,
about whom nothing has been heard since the
abandonment of the vessel, have arrived at
New York. They are Madame and Mile.
Kivoire, from St. Louis, an old lady named
Salanier, and a little boy named Provost.
Information has been received at
headquarters of a movement on the part of
the Comanche and Cheyenne Indians to
make war against the whites in general and
the people of Texas in particular. They
evince a determination to move against the
Fort Sill reservation and agency, and after
committing depredations there, to move for
ward on the road.
The Swartara, with the scientists, who
are to watch the transit of Venus, on board,
has started for the south Pacific. She carried
200 persons, 26 of whom comprise the scien
tific party. She will reach the last of the as
tronominal stations on Chatham Island about
the first of December, and wait there until af
ter the observations on the 10th. Her voyage
is expected to last a year and a half.
CONGRESSIONAL.
In the senate, on the 9th, a joint res
olution providing for the termination of the
treaty between the United States and Belgi
um, of? July 17th, 1858, was adopted A bill
was introduced to establish the Commercial
railroad company. It proposes to incorporate
the Commercial railroad company, wjth a capi
tal of $200,000,000, to construct and operate
a railroad with four or more tracks, from New
York city tc the cities of Chicago and St. Lou
is, dividing its main line at such points as
may be found best to reach these cities, with
the right to extend its road to any point on the
Mississippi river above St. Louis. The road is
to be commenced within two years, and fin
ished within twelve years of the enactment
bill The committee on territories reported
favorably on house bill to enable the people
of New Mexico to form a constitution aud
state government, for the admission of said
state into the union on an equal footing with
original states, and it was placed on the cal
endar. .. .Consideration of the moiety bill was
resumed and continued till the close of the
session,
In the house, on the 9 th, the Louis
iana contested election case came up, and re
sulted in declaring that neither of the con
testants (Sheridan and Pinchback) were shown
by the testimony to have been legally elected.
....A bill was passed incorporating' the wes
tern with the eastern judicial district of Ai
kansas The Geneva award bill was debated
till the hour of adjournment.
In the senate, on the 10th, a bill was
introduced to abolish the board of Indian
commissioners... .A bill was reported relating
to telegraphic communication between the
United States and foreign countries. It au
thorizes the secretary of state to grant permis
sion to any citizens or association of the Uni
ted States to connect this country by cable
telegraph with any foreign country "conceding
to our citizens the same rights and privileges
for landing aud working telegraphic wires as
it has granted, or may grant, to its own citi
zens ; provided, however, that the permission
granted to foreign citizens shall be subject to
any and all rights of property and state juris
diction in and over cables to be landed on our
shores The resolution to pay W. F. Sykes,
late contestant for a seat in the senate from
Alabama, $3,000 as salary went over The
moiety bill passed and the senate adjourned.
Ia the house, on the 10th, the com
mittee on ways-and means reported adversely
on the following bills : To abolish the tax on
cigars, tobacco and snuff : to repeal the tax on
deposits in savings’ banks; to repeal the taxes
on distilled spirits and tobacco; for the issue
of convertible bonds; to impose an income
tax; to repeal the duty on salt A bill for
the relief of owners and purchasers of lands
sold for taxes in insuri ectionary states was re
ferred The German award bill was taken
up, tbe question being on the substitute of
fered by Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, reject
ing the claims of insurance companies, which,
after a spicy debate, was adopted, and the
house adjourned.
In the senate, on the 11th, house bill
to admit, free of duty, articles intended for the
centennial exhibition was passed A memo
rial of workingmen of Pennsylvania was re
ferred, asking for the restoration of leu per
cent, duty on iron and steel, and for free
banking The resolution to pay Sykes, tho
Alabama rejected senatorial contestant, $6,-
500 was voted down, as was also a motion l’o
insert $3,000 as the amount of compensation.
The currency bill brought on further dis
cussion, and without reaching a vote the sen
ate’adjonmed.
In the house, on the 11th, the civil
service rules were the principal subject of dis
cussion, and were generally denounced by the
speak eta as ineffective.
In the senate, on the 12tb, the bill to
incorporate the eastern and western transpor
tation company, with authority to construct a
railroad from the coast of South Carolina to
the Missouri river, was referred to the com
miitee on railroads The consideration of
the currency question was'resumed, and, after
debate, the report was agreed to—32 to 23.
In the honse, on the 12tli, a bill was
passed appropriating $500,000 to enable the
secretaiy of war to execute the acts of April
23, 1874, and May 28, 1874, for the relief of
persons suffering from the overflow of the
Mississippi river, and of the Tombigbee,
Warrior and Alabama rivers, and of the Ten
nessee river Debate on the civil appropri
ation bill consumed the remaining hours of the
session..
In the senate, on the 13th, the com
mittee on transportation reported adversely
on the house bill providing for the construc
tion of the St. Philip canal, and the committee
was discharged... .The committee on trans
portation reported an amendment to the river
and harbor appropriation bill, which provides
for tho appointment by the president of
a board of engineers, to be composed of two
from the army, two from the coast survey, and
three from civil life, which board shall make a
survey of the mouth of the Mississippi river,
with a view to determining the best method of
obtaining and maintaining a depth of water
sufficient for the purposes of commerce,
either by a canal from said river to the waters
of the gulf, or by deepening one or more of
the natural outlets of said river The com
mittee on privileges and elections reported
favorably on house bill to provide for the
election of congressmen at large for Alabama.
A number of bills of a private nature
were passed, and the senate adjourned.
In tlie house, on the 13th, considera
tion was had of the civil appropriation bill,
which includes the fullowing items : Custom
house and post-office at Memphis, $50,000;
court-house and post-office at St. Louis, con
tinuation, $750.000; custom-house at Knox
ville, furniture,etc., $20,000. Adjourned.
In the senate, on the 15th, the bill
regulating the removal of causes from state
courts to the circuit courts of the United
States was passed—33 to 22 A bill was re
ported bo provide for the appointment of a
commission of engineers to investigate and
report a permanent plan for the reclamation
of alluvial basins of the Mississippi river sub
ject to inundation The senate proceeded
to the consideration of the resolution instruct
ing the committee on appropriations to re
port amerdments to the river and liarbor ap
propriation bill, for the survey of four routes
from the Mississippi river to the Atlantic sea
board, aud an amendment for the survey of
the routes was agreed to.
In the house, on the 15th, senate bill
appropriating $145,000 for the construction of
a bridge across the Potomac river near the
Washington navy yard was passed A bill
extending the limits of expenditures on pub
lic buildiugs was defeated, and the house ad
journed.
How Thermometers are Made.
The glass tubes, as received, are
about a yard long. A boy picks them
with a hard steel knife, and breaks them
into the length required. The bores,
which are flat, are compared, by means
of a lens, with those of ten standard
sizes, and the tubes assorted according
ly. They ate then passed to the blow
pipe table. Each glass-blower has a
foot bellows, and uses an oil lamp.
Melting the glass at one end of a tube,
he blows it into a bulb by pressing the
sides of a hollow india-rubber ball at
tached at the other, proportioning the
size of his bulb to the bore of his tube,
and ascertaining the size by using a pair
of callipers. While the bulb is hot,
the tube is inverted in mercury, which,
as the bulb cools, partially fills it. The
tube is then withdrawn and a short
india-rubber tube attached at its open
end. Into this mercury is poured ; that
in the bulb is boiled to expel the air,
which rises up through the mercury in
the india-rubber tube, and an atmos
phere of the vapor of mercury now fills
the glass tube and bulb. As this con
denses, the mercury in the india-rubber
tube takes its place, when this tube,
with any mercury remaining in it, is
removed. The tube is now warmed,
and the open end of the glass tube her
metically sealed.
The bulb and a portion of the tube
are immersed in melting ice, and the
height of the mercury marked; they
are then transferred to a bath at 62 de
grees Fahrenheit, and the height mark
ed ; next to a bath at 92 degrees Fah
renheit, and the height again marked.
The length of the three spaces of 30
degrees each are now carefully measur
ed. If they are exactly equal, the bore
of the tube is assumed to be uniform,
and the degrees laid off on the brass
scale of the thermometer are all made
of the same length. If the spaces of
thirty degrees each are not found to be
exactly equal, theD, by means of a high
ly ingenious dividing engine, the de
grees on the scale are mtde to increase
in length as the calibre of the tube
diminishes. When the plate has been
divided, and the figures and letters
punched, it is passed, laterally, between
two rollers, to remove the burr left by
the tools. Were it rolled lengthwise,
the accuracy of the dividing would be
impaired. The plate is then silvered
and lacquered, the glass tube attached,
and the whole slidden into the well
known japanned tin case.
Rescued From the Jaws of Death.
Niagara Falls on the morning of June
Ist, was the scene of a terrible excite
ment in consequence of a painter named
McCullough, who was employed in
painting the bridge leading from Goat
island to the Three Sisters, having fall
en from the bridge into the rapids be
low. He drifted with the current to a
point within forty feet of the falls,
where he found anchorage in the mid
dle of the stream that separates the is
lands by coming in contact with a rock,
to which he clung. In a few moments
the news of the accident spread like
wildfire through the village, and an im
mense crowd of spectators gathered to
look at the unfortunate man’s perilous
situation, from which it seemed impos
sible to rescue him. McCullough had
given up all hopes of being aided; his
arms and body were fast becoming be
numbed and losing their hold on the
slippery rock, when a shout went up
from the throats of the spectators which
told him that aid was nigh. In that
vast crowd which had assembled on the
islands and bridges there was but one
man who was willing to risk his own
life in trying to snatch a fellow-creature
from out the jaws of death. Tom Con
roy, a guide at the Cave of Winds,
jumped into the rapids, and, holding in
his left baud the end of a rope and
swimming down the current, he reached
McCullough in safety. He immediately
tied the rope around himself aud the
nearly exhausted man, and they were
both safely landed ashore in a few mo
ments. McCullough was badly bruised
about the head and body.
CARTERSYILLE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24. 1874.
OVER THE RIVER.
Over the river, over the river,
The river silent aud deep,
When the boats are moored on the shadow shore,
And the waves are rocked to sleep;
When the mist, so pale, like a bridal veil.
Lies down on the limpid tide,
I hear sweet sounds in the still night-time
From the flowing river’s side.
And the boats recede from the earthly strand
Out o’er the limpid lea—
Over the river, the deep, dark river,
My darlings have gone from me.
Over the river, over the river,
Once in the summer time,
The boatmau’s call was fai'tly heard,
Like a vesper’s distant eh.me;
And a being fair, with soft dark hair,
Paused by the river’s side
For the snowy boat with the golden oars
That lay on the sleeping tide;
Aud the boatman’s eyes gazed iuto hers,
With their misty, dream-like hue;
Over the river, the silent river.
She passed the shadows through.
Over the river, over the river,
Scarce fifteen moons ago,
When a pale young bride, with fair slight form,
Aud a brow as pure as snow ;
And music low, with a silver flow,
Swept down from the starry skies.
As the shadows slept in her curling hair,
And darkened her twilight eyes ;
Still the boat sped on to the spirit shore,
■ With a motion light and free—
Over the river, the cold death river,
My sister has gone from me!
Over the river, over the river,
When the echoes are asleep,
I hear the dip of the golden oars
In the waters cold aud deep;
Aud the boatman’s call, when the shadows fall,
Floats out on the evening air,
And tbe light winds kiss his marble brow,
And play with his wavy hair ;
And I hear the notes of Azrael’s harp
As they sweep over the liquid lea :
Over the river, the peaceful river,
They are calling, calling for me,
HEART-TRUE.
“ It is such a bother to be poor ! ”
There had been a long interval of si
lence in Mrs. Jameson’s sitting-room,
when Genie made this exclamation.
“What is the new [bother, Ger
tie ? ”
The pleased voice and tone of kindly
inquiry made the young girl blush
deeply as she replied :
“ O, mamma, never mind ; I was only
thinking aloud.”
“ Thinking of what? ”
“ Of some velvet flowers I saw yes
terday, which just matched this rib
bon,” and Gertie held up a bonnet she
was trimming. “ Velvet flowers are so
lovely for a winter bonnet, and this one
needs something.”
“ 1 am sure it looks very nice,
Gertie.”
“Nice,” said the girl, scornfully em
phasizing the word ; “yes, it is very
nice, and that turned silk is nice, and
the short si ck made out of your old
coat is nice, and cleaned gloves are
nice, and—”
“Why, Gertie ! ” cried her mother,
in a voice of amazement.
“But there is nolhing stylish or
handsome in cleaned gloves and re
trimmed bonnets, and old cloaks turned
into sacks, and so I say poverty is a
bother.”
“ Gertie, put away that bonnet and
come here. Now, little daughter,”said
the widow, gently, “ tell me the mean
ing of this sudden tirade against pov
erty ; of the restless tossing I heard
from your room last night; of the nerv
ous unquiet of my contented little girl
since yesterday ? ”
There was no reply.
“Gertie, what did Leon Payne say to
yon last evening ? ”
“He asked me to be his wife.” The
words were jerked out hastily.
“ And you answered— ”
“Jane came in to shut up the parlor,
not knowing he was there, and she
stayed ; so he got no answer at all.”
“Buthe must be answered, Gertie.
He spoke to me and I told him it must
rest with you.”
“Mammal’’this after a long, deep
silence.
“He is very rich. When he marries,
his wife can have every luxury. If—if
it is I, we can have you with us, and
Jane need not teach that horrid school
any longer. We were on street
th other day, and stopped to look into
a jeweler’s window, and he pointed out
the kind of jewels he would wish his
wife to wear. I need not wear old
silks then, mamma.”
“Then you intend to accept his
offer? ”
“I don’t know; you see, there is
Harry.”
“ But Harry cannot offer you jewels.”
“No, poor Harry! If be had only
three thousand dollars, Mr. iDgrabam
would take him into the firm. He told
me all about it last week. But think
how long it will take to save three thou
sand dollars, and of course his wife
must save, and pinch, and economize
till he is able to spend more freely.”
“Yes, dear, there would be no vari
ations on the turned cloth and re trim
med bonnets ; no velvet flowers, no jew
els.”
“ But such a noble, true heart; such
tender love!”
“ Leon Payne loves you.”
“As much as he loves anything be
yond his own pleasure and comfort.
He is so thoroughly selfish, so hard,
and thinks so much of himself. It is
his wife that must be handsomely
dressed, ride in her carriage, and re
flect credit upon his choice. Mamma,
he loves me because I am pretty and
can sing well, and can manage his
house nicely. Harry loves me because
it is L”
There wa s a violent jerk at the door
bell at that instant that called her to
the door. She came back with flying
feet.
“Two valentines, mamma! I had
forgotten it was the fourteenth.”
“ Two ?”
“ Yes, oh, mamma, look !”
She had torn the cover from a dainty
package in her hand and opened a mo
rocco case inside. Upon the black vel
vet lining lay a parure of glittering dia
monds, flashing up, where a stray sun
beam fell upon them, into a glorious
sea of color.
“ Leon Payne !” cried Gertie. “ Are
they not exquisite ?”
Mrs. Jameson’s lips quivered a little
as she looked at her daughter’s flushed
face and bright eyes, and her heart sent
up a silent prayer for the future, trem
bling before her eyes.
“Look at the other,” she said
quietly.
“ Only a copy of verses,” said Gertie.
“Violet eyes and all that sort of thing.
But are not these diamonds magnifi
cent? It is the very set I admired so
much when we were out the other day.”
“Gertie, it is 11 o’clock, and I must
go to Mrs. Lewis’. Little daughter,
you may have callers while I am out.”
She drew her child into her arms, and
looked with anxious love into her eyes,
“Gertie, my daughter, be true to
your own heart.” And so she left her.
True to her own heart. Gertie Jame
sou sat down to ponder over those glo
rious waves of light before her eyes;
the copy of verses lay open on the little
work-table, and Gertie sat musing.
Pictures of the past came in succession
into her memory.
It was ten years ago, but she could
still remember the day, since her father
had been called to the shadow land.
The luxurious country home where she
and Jane, her eldest sister, were born,
was sold and they had come to the city.
Her mother, one of the best amateur
pianists of her time, ha 1 begun to teach
music, and they had lived upon her
earnings until Jane was old enough to
take the French class in a large semina
ry, aud Gertie to have singing schollars
at home ; but even with these additions
their income was very limited. Close
economy, Sflf-denial, humble fare and
quiet dress, Gertie could recall much
more distinctly than the wealth her
father had squandered.
Where did Harry Clarke come upon
the scene ? Gertie scarcely knew. He
was a step eon of fcer mother’s brother,
and had come to the city to make his
fortune. Far away in the central part
of Pennsylvunia nestled a small farm
where Harry was born, where father
and mother had died, and which was
the boy’s sole patrimony. The rent of
his domain scarcely sufficed to clothe
the young clerk, but he had been win
ning his way in the house of L & Cos.,
and now, if he could make three thou
sand dollars, might be partner. The
farm might bring part of that sum;
where was the rest to come from,
queried Gertie. Yet over Harry’s mem
ory picture the little maiden lingered
lovingly. There was no part of her
life so pleasant to dwell upon as that
where he figured. Long walks and
talks, duets over the old piano, chats
by moonlight, firelight and gaslight.
He was so tender and loving, so hon
orable and true, so respectful to her
mother, so tender to Jane, and so
ready to advise or assist Jane’s
betrothed, a fellow-clerk, who was wait
ing the turn in fortune’s wheel that
would enable him to marry. Was not
such love as he offered worthy of any
sacrifice ?
Leon Payne came to the scene only
six months befoie this musing fit upon
Gertie. She had met him at a party
and had bewitched him by her pretty,
piquant beauty, her grace and voice.
He had dazzled her by his handsome
face—Harry was not handsome, poor
fellow, Gertie sighed —and wealth.
But the young girl knew, with a wo
man’s intuition, that under the courtly
manners, flattering attentions and devo
ted air, there was a hard, selfish nature,
a cruel jealousy and a suspicious and
hot temper Yet he was so rich, and
Gertie knew all the torture and misery
of genteel poverty.
“Be true to your own heart!” she
said aloud as she arose and walked
across the room. “Do I love Leon
Payne ? If he should lose his wealth
would I be a true and loving wife to him
still ? Could I wear old bonnets for his
sake ?”
She took up the diamonds and put
them on while she spoke. They flashed
brilliantly against the deep crimson of
her neat dress and heightened the effect
of her young, fresh beauty.
“If he were poor ancl ill could I
work for him—as I could for Harry ?”
It burst from her lips in a sort of cry,
and she tore off the jewels and replaced
them in their velvet bed. “I could
bear all this for Harry but not for Leon
Payne. I will be true to my own heart. ”
’*******
The winter was gliding into spring
when Mrs. Jameson sat in a luxurious
house ou street, waiting the com
ing of two brides. The parlor in which
she waited was richly furnished. Vel
vet carpets covered the floor, velvet cur
tains draped the windows, long mirrors
threw back the light of large chande
liers ; costly pictures in heavy gilt
frames hung upon the walls. Above
large bedrooms were filled with hand
somely appointed furniture. In one
room, laces, velvets, flowers and silks
fit for a royal trousseau filled drawers
and wardrobe; the dining-room was
spread for a rich and varied repast, and
the widow’s own dress, though only
black silk, was rich and handsomely
made.
“My little Gertie,” said Mrs. Jame
son, softly, “ how will she ever reign
over this palace ? ”
A quieter home, but pleasant, too,
was waiting for Jane, nbose husband
had received an anonymous gift tbat
enabled him to accept a business open
ing long looked upon as an unattaina
ble felicity. But Jane was to spend a
few days with Gertie before going to
her own home, and the mother looked
for two brides, as Isa and before.
It was nearly midnight when the car
riage drove up. Gertie was the first to
her mother’s arms, and then, as Jane
took her place, the little bride stood in
the center of the long parlors pale with
astonishment. She had tossed off her
bonnet, and the soft gray traveling
dress of the mistress of the house
seemed oddly out of place.
“ Where am I?” she gasped at last.
“ At home, my darling,” and her hus
band passed his arm around her waist.
“ Home ? ”
“It is not such a very long story,”
he said, looking down into her won
drous eyes, “ but I did not tell you be
fore, because I wanted to see if you
loved me.”
She nestled close to him, letting her
head fall upon his bosom.
“ The farm, Gertie,” he said softly,
“ was full of oil. ’
“ Oil ! ”
“ I sold it for more money than Leon
Payne ever possessed. Now, Pet, run
up stairs ; mother will show you the
room, and let me see how some of the
finery there suits you.”
“ But it is nearly midnight.”
“ Never mind, we want a queen to
preside over this supper.”
Mrs. Jameson led the way, while
Jane and her husband stood as bewil
dered as Gertie had been. Suddenly
the bridegroom started forward to grasp
Harry’s band.
“Are we not brothers?” said Harry
quietly.
There was a little talk then, with
husky voices and moist eyes, and Jane
was still looking grateful into Harry’s
face when the door opened and Gertie
flashed in. All the light had come back
to her eyes, the rich color to her cheeks,
and the shining silk revealed snowy
arms and shoulders, wfiile rich lace fell
in folds around the sweeping skirts.
Upon her clustering curls rested a
wreath of white flowers, and rare brace
lets clasped her wrists. She made a low
reverence to her husband.
“ Lovely !” he cried ; “ but, Pet, wear
the diamonds to-night.”
“What diamonds ?”
“ The ones I sent yon for a valen
tine. ”
“You sent me, Harry! I sent them
back to Leon Payne.”
It was certainly ten years later when,
one evening a! one of Mrs. Clarke’s re
ceptions, Mrs. Leon Payne said to her,
pointing to her jewels :
“It was the oddest thing about these
diamonds. Somebody sent them to
Leon for a valentine, years ago. He
never could guess where they came
from, for, of course, the lady must have
been wealthy, though why she sent a
lady’s parure to a gentleman is a mys
tery. Are they not lovely, Mrs.
Clarke ?”
“Very lovely,” said Gertie, and
smiled as she thought of the day, ten
years ago, when she was true to her own
heart.
Not Easily Frightened.
An old French shoemaker, who boast
ed that nothing could frighten him,
was put to the test by two young men.
One of them pretended to be dead, and
the other, going to the shoemaker, in
duced him to “sit up” with the sup
posed corpse. The shoemaker was in a
hurry with some work he had promised
to have completed the next morning.
So he took his tools and leather and be
gan working beside the corpse. About
twelve o’clock at night a cup of black
coffee was brought him to keep him
awake. He drank it and resumed work-
About 1 o’clock, the coffee having ex
hilarated him, forgetting that he was in
the presence of death, he commenced
to sing a lively tune, keeping time with
his hammer. Suddenly the corpse
arose, and exclaimed in a hollow voice :
“When a man is in the presence of
death he should not sing !” The shoe
maker started, then suddenly dealt the
corpse a blow ou the head, exclaiming
at the same time: “When a man is
dead he should not speak. v It was the
last time they tried to scare the shoe
maker,
WHALING.
A Stranded Leviathan Captured in Karl
tan Bay.
The fishing season has opened earlier
than usual this year at South Amboy,
and the piscatory inhabitants are con
gratulating themselves on so auspicious
j a commencement as the capture of an
! enormous whale. Last week Job Spain
saw, a short distance from the shore,
what appeared to him to be a sloop bot
tom upward. The water was not more
than five feet deep, and the supposed
boat had grounded on an oyster-bed.
While Spain was speculating as to the
probable fate of the crew, the object
began to move perceptibly, and several
lets of water were thrown into the air.
Job rushed to the house of Capt.
Roberts and surprised that mariner be
yond measure by assuring him that
there was a whale in the oyster-bed. A
single glance at the dark, glistening
mass, rising four feet out of the water,
assured the experienced captain that
the creature was indeed a leviathan of
large dimensions, hard aground. Arm
ing himself with a gun, a hatchet, and
a considerable quantity of powder and
ball, he jumped into a boat and started
upon one of the most remarkable fishing
excursions within the range of his ex
perience. Arrived within a few yards
of the monster, he took a steady aim
and planted a ball under its fin. The
bullet sank beneath the skin and a jet
of blood spurted out, but for all the
effect produced upon the whale the en
terprising captain might as well have
fired into the trunk of a tree. How
ever, he tried a second shot and a third,
and continued to practice upon the crea
ture until its sides looked like a target
after a German shooting festival. He
thinks he would have finally have slain
it had his ammunition and daylight
held out, but in the absence of any more
lead he seized his trusty hatchet and
prepared to renew the contest at close
quarters.
Again and again, that murderous blade
sank deep into the side of the monster,
and every stroke was followed by a re
sponsive spasm. It was warm work,
and though the captain has few equals
with oyster-tongs, after he had cut a
hole in the creature’s side about four
teen inches long by eight wide and a
foot deep he was glad to rest. The
whale was apparently as fresh as ever,
and showed no signs of going into his
final flurry, though he evinced an over
whelming desire to get off the oyster
bed.
Meanwhile Bloodgood, having heard
of the event, had not been idle. He
had gone to Samuel Ney, the village
blacksmith, and made him blow up his
fire and manufacture a stout iron spear
ten feet in length. With this formida
ble weapon hot from the forge, he was
now seen approaching the shore accom
panied by Ney. Capt. Roberts saw
them coming, and renewed his onset up
on the whale, enlarging the hole several
inches, but failing to kill the crea ure.
The blacksmith evinced an amount of
cool discernment in the face of danger
not unworthy of his French namesake
of martial renown. He directed Blood
good to spear the whale in the hole made
by the captain’s hatchet. The hint was
acted upon, and four feet of iron sank
into the whale’s blubber. The struggle
was not long in doubt after that. With
the skill of Arctic voyagers, the three
men kept out of reach of the monster
in his dying “ flurry,” and in ten min
utes he was a dead whale. Not all the
rowboats in South Amboy could have
towed him off the oyster-bed, but a
steamtug fastened a hawser to him and
dragged him ashore, where the united
efforts of the inhabitants hauled him
out of the water.
The whale was found to measure 48 J
feet in length, 9 feet through the body,
and thirty feet in circumference. The
hea i was 10 feet long, and the tail 14
feet. The gills, from which the whale
bone is produced, were 91 feet long.
Before night it was all cut up and the
blubber tried out. Much of the oil was
lost, but it is estimated at least twenty
barrels remain, which will realize about
Jf5650. The whalebone is worth SIOO.
When the remains were being taken to
the fields to be buried, two yoke of oxen
were hardly able to drag the upper
part of the head, and one yoke were
fully employed in removing the snout.
“ Codflsli ’’ Aristocracy.
The gentty of New York have noth
ing to boast of in their lineage, for
their origin was invariably humble. The
original of the Hones was a German
sugar refiner, who wrote his name
Hunn, and probably lived on sausages
and beer. Philip, his son, when the
old man got rich, changed the name to
a prettier shape, and took a position
among the gentry. He was a fine look
ing man and was a successful dry goods
auctioneer, in which business his firm
reached wealth and distinction. He as
sociated with theGrinnells, the Irvings,
and others of the more cultivated soci
ety ; but on his death the family sank
again, and now we hardly hear of it.
The Brevoorts are descended from old
Henry Brevoort, a Dutch market man
who had an estate of about twenty-five
acres in the upper part of the city,
which he cultivated with his own hands.
The land was very sterile and required
patience and untiring labor, and the slen
der crop of corn, peas,radishes, potatoes,
etc., was hardly sufficient to give the
family a support. The son Henry grew
up an associate with Washington Irving,
and of course had no turn for garden
ing. This he did not heed, for about
the time he came of age the land was
worth SIO,OOO per acre for bui'ding lots,
and it soon be re a crop of houses.
Borne of the farm was retained until it
became worth $300,000 per acre, and it
is now worth double that rate, for it is
included in the Fifth avenue, which is
the most valuable of the abodes of
fashion. The old gentleman lived to
be nearly ninety, and retained his old
habits until the last, but the Bon be
came a fashionable man. He did not long
survive his father, and the third in gen
eration is the present Carson Brevoort,
who occupies a high social position,
and is one of the trustees of the Astor
library. I might track up the lineage
of all our leading families, and find
each one starting from some humble
origin. It is foolish and unwise to in
dulge id iamily pride, and in this city
it is peculiarly snobbish to do so, for
we are all sprung from the c-ommon
classes. — Cor. St. Louis Republican,
The Way the Cable Talks.
An operator sits at a table in a room
darkened by curtains. On his desk
stands a little instrument named the re
flecting galvanometer, the invention of
Sir William Thompson, without which
Atlantic telegiaphy would be as low pro
cess, not exceeding two or three words
per minute, instead of eighteen or twen
ty, the present rate. This delicate in
strument consists of a tiny magnet and
a small mirror swinging on a silk thread,
the two together weighing but a few
grains. The electric current passing
along the wire from Valencia reflects a
spot of light on to a scale, in a box
planed at the operator’s right hand,
where, by its oscillation, the spot of
light indicates the slight movement of
the magnet, follows every change in the
receiving current; and every change,
great or small, produces a corresponding
oscillation of the spot of light on the
scale. A code of signals is so arranged
by which the movement of the spot of
Light is made to indicate the letters of
the alphabet. When receiving a message
from Valencia, the operator watches
the movements of the light speck,
which keeps dancing about over the
scale on his right. To his practiced
eye, each movement of the spot of light
represents a letter of the alphabet, and
its fantastic motions are spelling out
the intelligence which the pulsing of
the electric current are transmitting be
tween the two hemispheres. It is truly
marvelous to note how rapidly the ex
pel ienced operator disentangles the ir
regular oscillations of the little specks
into the letters and words which they
represent.
SOLANUM TUBUROSUK.
Bate of the Introduction and I'st of
'the Tuber in Kurope.
The potato ( Solanum tuburosum) is
a native of America, and is probably in
digenous from Chili to Mexico. The
wild plant differs little from the culti
vated, except that its tubers are small
er. It was first introduced into
Europe early in the sixieenth century,
by the Spaniards, who discovered it in
the vicinity of Quito. From Spain it
spread into the Netherlands, Burgundy,
and Italy ; but was for many years cul
tivated as a curiosity, and not as an ar
ticle of diet. In 1565 it was carried
from Spain to Ireland by Capt. Hawkin -,
a slave-trader ; and in i585 it was taken
to England by Sir Francis Drake ; but
it attracted little notice until it was a
third time imported from America, by
Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1623. Thomas
Heriot, a mathematician, and one of the
adventurers who accompanied Sir Wal
ter Raleigh in his voyage of discovery
to this country, gives the following
description of the plant: “ The roots
of this plant are round—some as large as
a walnut, others much larger; they
grow in damp ground,—many hanging
together, as if fixed on ropes. They
are good food, either boiled ©r roasted. ”
The plant to which Shakspeare alludes
in “The Merry Wives of Windsor,”
where Falstaff says :
Let it rain potatoes and hail kissing comforts!
was the sweet potato, which was a great
dainty in the days of Elizabeth.
In his “ Her ball,” published in 1597,
Gerarde mentions the potato, and re
commends the root to be eaten as a del
icate dish, and not as every-day food.
In the time of James 1., potatoes were
furnished for the royal table at the rate
of 2s. per pound. Through the suc
ceeding reign and the commonwealth
they remained extremely scarce, nor
were they generally cultivated until
more than a century after their importa
tion from Virginia. So little was the
plant esteemed that London and Wise
do not mention it in the edition of their
“Complete Gardener,” published in
1719; and Bradley, an extensive writer
upon hor.icultural subjects, states,
about the same time, that “ the potato is
of less note than horseradish, radish scor
goners, beets, and skirret.”
Toward the close of the eighteenth
century the value of the potato came to
be appreciated in England ; and in Es
sex county, in 1796, 1,700 acres were
planted with the tuber for the supply
of the London market. In Scotland the
importance of the potato as an article
of diet was discovered much earlier.
In 1728 the cottagers and small farmers
began to cultivate it generally. The
severity of the year of 1742 stimulated
its culture, and it soon thereafter was
relied upon as a serviceable crop. Some
of the Scotch were at first hostile to the
use of the plant on religious grounds;
for, said they, “potatoes are not men
tioned in the Bible.”
The potato came into cultivation in
Germany and France about the same
time as in Great Britain. In some parts
of Germany the government promoted
its culture by compulsory regulations.
The potato is closely allied to the
wholesome egg-plant and tomato, and
also to the unwholesome tobacco, and
to the deadly nightshade and henbane,
and to stromonium, and belladonna, and
the mandrake, of Scripture. These
plants are all ranged together in the or
der Solanaceae; and, though some are
used as food or as an agreeable stimu
lant, all possesses, in a greater or less
degree, the same poisonous properties.
An extract of the leaves of the potato
is a powerful narcotic, ranking between
belladonna and.conium. Henbane is a
dangerous narcotic at the time its seeds
are forming, although comparatively
inert at an earlier period. In some
countries its leaves are dried and smok
ed in lieu of tobacco. The deadly qual
ities of belladonna are well known.
Every part of the plant is poisonous.
It is supposed that Shakspeare refers to
this herb in the line, “ The insane root
that takes the reason prisoner.” Oil of
tobacco is one of the most violent of
known poisons. The ground berries of
capsicum form the pungent condiment
known as Cayenne pepper.
The family Solonaceae includes up
wards of nine hundred species, which
are scattered over most parts of the
world, within the Arctic and Antarctic
circles.
Carrying Babies.
The Asiatic Indian woman carries her
baby in a blanket hanging in front some
thing below the waist; the Bengalese
woman, with the child astride low
down upon her left hip, and her left
arm supporting its back. The figure
seems quite indifferent as to the difficul
ties in this style of carrying, which must
be a highly artistic performance if done
so cleverly in reality.
The Egyptian woman carries hers in a
stately manner, the child sitting astride
her shoulder, with its hands upon her
head, and without any clothing to speak
of.
The Brazilian woman carries hers
in a somewhat similar manner, also
in full undress, it sitting astride her
neck.
The Chinese baby is carried upright
upon the back, in a blanket; and the
South African in a bag in front formed
by a blanket, round the hips of the
mother.
The Lower Australian woman carries
hers by swinging it in a blanket over
one shoulder upon her back, while
the North Australian woman carries
hers bound upon a board, after the style
of candy models in confectionery stores.
The Lapland baby is carried in a
sledge-shaped cot, made of leather. It
seems to have been chucked in feet fore
most, and then a frame tied over the
opening for its face, whether to prevent
it from crawling out, or to keep the dogs
from kissing it, is more that can be im
agined.
The most unique style of all is that ©f
the Esquimaux woman, who wears wide,
high-top boots, and puts the baby, right
end foremost, down in the outside of one
them, and doubtless, according to Dr.
Kane’s description of her style, carrying
her cookiDg and eating utensils in the
other.
The North American woman carries
her papoose strapped to a board, and that
strapped upon her back by a band over
the forehead.
Commanded Belknap, of the United
States navy, has submitted to the de
partment in Washington an interesting
report of deep sea soundings in the Pa
cific ocean made by him for the purpose
of ascertaining the most favorable route
for an ocean-telegraph between Japan
and San Francisco. The greatest depth
reached was 3,287 fathoms. It is the
opinion of scientific men concerned in
the survey that a continuous range of
submarine mountains extends from Ja
pan to the Sandwich Islands. Six
peaks, ranging from 7,000 t.j 12,600
feet in height, were measured.
“ Phebe Couzins doesn’t dress like
her brothers of the bar,” says the
Chicago Tribune, by way of commenc
ing an item. That’s undoubtedly true;
she dresses by putting on her clothes
over her head, while they don’t, and,
what’s more, they can’t. But what busi
ness is it of the Tribune’s, anyhow ?
LOCOMOTION.
What Oar Ancestors Knew About
Traveling.
The Boston Transcript, in an article
cn locomotion, remarks that the canal,
turnpike, plankroad, steamboat, rail
way, river and mountain tunnel, and
electric telegraph, are of comp iraiively
recent production in the western hem
isphere. Julius Csesar (B. C. 27) occu
pied eight days in journeying from the
river Rhone to Rome, 860 miles. At
the commencement of the Christian era,
fifty-six miles was considered a good
twelve hours’ journey by the cjsium, or
postchaise. The news of the fall of
Maximin (A. D. 244) was carried to
Rome from Aquileia, 320 miles, in four
days.
Postchaises were introduced by Tra
jan, A. D. 100. Carriages were known
in France in 1300, when but two existed
in Paris ; in 1550, there were bit three
in that city, and those were of r ide con
struction. Henry IV. had one, but it
was without straps or springs. A strong
cob-horse ( haquenec ) was let for short
journeys; later, these were harnessed
to a vehicle called coche-a-hvxjuenee,
hence the n; me hackney-coach. These
were let for hire in Paris in 1650, at the
Hotel Fiacre. They were known in
England in 1555, but not the art of
making them. When first made in
England, during the reign of Elizabeth,
they were called whirlicotes. Omni
buses were invented at Nantes in 1826,
and were introduced into London in the
year following by an enterprising coach
proprietor named Sliillaber. They
were introduced into New York in 1828.
John Winthrop, the founder of New
England in 1630, and who died in 1640,
never saw a stage-coach. In 16 50 there
were but six in England. Two days
were occupied in passing from London
to Oxford, fifty-four miles. In 1669 it
was announced that a vehicle called the
“flying-coach” would perform the
journey between sunrise and sunset. It
excited as much interest as the opening
of anew railway a generation sgo. In
1737 the mail from London arrived at
Edinburgh with only one letter in it.
Even as late as 1760, it took four days
to pass from London to Liverpool, two
hundred and ten miles. It was not
until 1825 that the daily line of coaches,
established between the two cities, rc
complished the distance in forty-six
hours. And even as late as 1835 there
were only seven coaches which ran
daily between the two cities.
In 1631 Sir Roger Saltonstall was six
weeks upon a journey from Salem to
Jamestown. In 1636 Rev. Mr. Rogers,
the Becond minister of Ipswich, was
twenty-four weeks on a voyage Irom
Gravesend to Boston. The firs; stage
coach in America started from ihe site
of No 99, North street, Boston, for
Portsmouth, in 1661. The first line of
stage-coaches between Boston and New
York was established in 1732, a coach
leaving each city once a month ; four
teen days were required to complete the
journey. The first line of stage coaches
from New York for Boston started from
the Fresh Water, now the sit© of the
Tombs, in 1772.
In 1776 the news of the repeal of the
stamp act was eight weeks crossing the
ocean. The first express agent from
Boston to New York carried an account
of the destruction of the tea ir, Boston
harbor. He left Boston on Friday af
ternoon and arrived in New York on
Tuesday afternoon. In 1773 Josiah
Quincy, father and grandfather of the
mayors of that name of Boston, spent
thirty-three days upon a journey from
Georgetown, S. C., to Philadelphia.
In 1775 Gen. Washington war eleven
days in going from Philadelphia to Bos
ton. Upon his arrival at Watertown he
was met by a committee of citizens and
congratulated upon the speed of his
journey.
The first regular communication e
tween Boston and Gloucester was es,
tablished in 1788 by Jonathan Lowe
who ran a two-horse open carr: age be
tween the two places twice a week each
way. Besides the Gloucester coach,
only four stages ran into Boston at that
time. In 1802 the mail-stage started
from Boston for New York on Monday
morning at 8 o’clock and was due in
New York at noon on Friday. The
news of the battle of New Orleans, Jan
uary 8, 1815, was twenty-nine days
reaching Philadelphia. Sixty years ago
the regular mail-time between New
York and Albany was eighty days. As
late as 1824 the United States mail was
thirty-two days in going from Portland
to New Orleans.
The news of the death of Napoleon
Bonaparte at St. Helena, May 5, 1821,
reached New York on the 15tb of Au
gust. The news of the death of Gen.
Washington at Mount Vernon, Decem
ber 14, 1799, reached Boston on the
tenth day after its occurrence. The
news of the death of Thomas Jefferson
at Monticello, July 24, 1826, reached
Boston on the fourth day afterwards.
The news of the death of I'resident
Harrison, on the 4th of April, 1844,
reached Boston on the third dsy after
ward. The news of the death of Presi
dent Taylor, on the 9th of July, 1850,
was known in all the principal cities of
the Union within one hour after its oc
currence. __
Astor, Stewart, Vanderbilt.
The New York correspondent of the
Cincinnati Commercial writes : The
three richest men in America are Wm.
B. Astor, A. T. Stewart, and Commo
dore Vanderbilt, all residents of New
York city. Astor’s wealth is mainly in
real estate and its revenues; Vanderbilt’s
in railway stocks and their dividends ;
Stewart’s in goods, houses, stores, fac
tories, lands and stocks. The aggre
gate wealth of each one of them is sup
posed to be somewhere between $75,-
000,000 and $100,000,000. which looks
rather heavy. Nobody know3 exactly ;
they cannot tell themselves, within a
million or two. Those who know most
about their affairs put the figures high
est, and they say that the income tax
return of a few years ago, which showed
each of them to be worth between
twenty and thirty millions, gave no
proper idea of their real wealth. Astor
lives unostentatiously ; Vanderbilt lives
in a three story brick house on a third
class street; and Stewart lives in a mar
ble palace in Fifth avenue, more mag
nificent than any other residence on the
American continent, and equalled by
few in any of the great cities of Europe.
Astor and Vanderbilt are New Yorkers
by birth; Stewart is a native of the
north of Ireland. Astor is a large,
heavy man of seventy, with strong
features, find a rubicund face like a
parchment, and gives the impr ?ssion of
being hard-up ; Vanderbilt is a tall,
slim, handsome, proud-looking man of
nearly eighty, straight as an arrow.
Astor has heirs to his estate; Vander
bilt has children to whom he can leave
his fortune ; but Stewart is childless.
Astor’s public benefactions are con
fined to something like a couple of
hundred thousand dollars, which he
gave to the Astor library, and the
golden candlesticks, nine fee'; high,
which he recently gave to Trinity
church. Vanderbilt has never made
any public benefactions, except a
steamship to the government during
the war, till very recently, when he
gave a milion dollars for educational
purposes. Stewart has always had the
rt putation of being close-fisted ; but he
must be credited with his million-dol
lar “ Home for Women,” which will be
completed next year.
Smokers and chewers may take time
ly warning. In closing an ad Iress in
New York, the other day, Dio Lewis de
clared that, “When this war against
whisky is over, we shall go for tobaooo.”
VOL. 15-NO. 26.
SAVIMIS AND IKH-ViS
- Dollars and sense do not necessari
ly travel together.
Why is marriage like a paying
job ? The ring fixes it.
Hood called the slamming of the
door by a person in a passion a wooden
damn.
Virginia pays $19,000,000 per annum
for whisky, but cannot meet the annual
interest on her debt.
Prussia, since its adoption of the
Manser rifle, has been selling its old
needle guns to China. *
What are the most unsociable things
in the world ? Mile-stones. You never
see two of them together.
There is a Brooklyn man who wears
mourning for his mother-in-law. He
wears it on the lining of his coat.
The young lady out west who re
ceived SI,OOO damages for a kiss, is said
to be spoiling to be damaged again.
Pretty good land can be bought in
South Carolina for five cents per acre,
but there’s $24 back tax on every acre
of it.
The Kentucky topers, who signed a
petition to have whisky put down,
thought it meant put down to five cents
a glass.
There is nothing more calculated to
weaken a boy’s moral character than to
get his fishing-hook fastened to a root
in the river.
The difference between perseverance
and obstinacy is that one often comes
from a strong will, and the other from a
strong won’t.
In life it is difficult to say who do
you the most mischief —enemies with
the worst intentions, or friends with the
best.— Bulwer.
Mr. Kavanagh, a member of the
British parliament, has neither legs nor
arms. He holds his pen in his mouth
when he signs his name.
In England a man who spent all his
money in a dram shop, leaving his wife
to starve to death, has just been con
victed of manslaughter.
Mrs. Grant cried, Nellie cried, Sar
toris looked sad, the president blew
his nose, and then the newly-married
conple went aboard the steamer Bawl
tic.
Thebe is as much greatness of mind
in the owing of a good turn as in doing
it; and we must no more force a re
quital out of season than be wanting
in it. — Seneca.
“ Gasoozling” is anew slang word,
meaning to “honeyfugle.” If any one
shouldn’t know what “ honeyfugle ” is,
we explain that it is the synonym for
“hornswoggie. ”
This is a very rash spring. Nine out
of ten men who carry red noses lay it to
“something throwing out a rash/’
There’s more lie about this nose busi
ness than there ought to be.
In Maine, recently, by the advice of a
clairvoyant, a body was exhumed and
reburied with the face downward, as a
means of staying the ravages of con
sumption in the corpse’s family.
Look Ahead.—
A pelican, flying home one day
With a fine fat fish from Oyster Bay,
Was met by a crow who had sought in vain
For something to still his hunger’s pa ; n —
And who knew that fish was good for the brain
So he slyly said, “Why. friend, what's in you,
To carry a fish at a full neck’s length ?
Is that any way to economize strength ?
I call it a waste of muscle and sinew.
Just throw your head over your shoulder, so—
You distribute the weight over all your frame,
You can carry a double load of game.
And thus, without tiring, home you go! ”
The pelican did as his false friend bade.
But striking a bough he came to wreck,
And down lie fell with a broken neck,
And the crow had a royal dinner of shad.
I wrote this fable for three little men,
Whose names are Willie and Arthur and Jack ;
And this is the moral, clear and plain :
“When you run forward, don’t look back.”
—John Hay, in SI. Xicholas.
They have dumb pianos in London,
for the benefit of those who wish to
learn Thalbergian fingering; and our
experience teaches us that they make
better music as a general thing than the
other kind.
The expenses of the Tichborne trial
to be paid by “the present baronet”
amount to £92,000. This sum does not
include the expenses of the trial for
perjury, which are to be paid by the
government.
The rubber which lines the tail of a
lady’s dress is a bad thing for a man
with weak lungs. It makes so much
noise over the brick pavement, that the
young man is compelled to whisper his
sweet nothings in a voice of thunder.
The standard authorities on English
ceremonial enumerate no fewer than
ninety-seven different kinds of men, be
tween each of whom there is a percep
tible gradation of rank—not oonnting
common people, who have no rank at
all.
An ardent lover, pouring ut his
passionate devotion in verse, spoke of
that night when, walking with his
sweetheart, he “kissed her under the
silent stars.” In print he was made to
say that he “kicked her under the cel
lar stairs.”
In Indiana the bride never expects to
go on a wedding tour. She steps into
the old quill-wheel, her mother stuffs a
bag of dried apples under the seat, her
father ties a cow behind, and the happy
couple roll away to the cottage of the
bridegroom.
It is a beautiful sight to attend an
Arizona wedding. The bride in white
—the happy groom—the solemn minis
ter—the smiling parents, and from
twenty-five to forty shot guns standing
against the wall ready for nse, make np
a panorama not soon forgotten.
Well, this is a stunner. Two young
ladies of Chicago, daughters of a respec
table physician there, have been arres
ted for carrying on a wholesale confi
dence game, by collecting money in the
name of a local half orphan asylum. It
is estimated that they have oollected
$30,000 daring the year or more in
which the game has been going on. The
thing worked well enongh until they
ran against the same victim twice, and
then came the collapse.
Chicago is bound to keep ahead.
Just look at this : A large building,
divided into “ flats ” for honsekeeping,
has been put np on the north side of
the city. Is roof—which is very
strongly built and excellently drained
—is covered with earth and decked with
some forty or fifty trees, which are
growing luxuriently. It is a garden on
a house-top. Nobody not living in the
house can go to it. There will be mu
sic there in the evenings and —need it
be added ?—beer.
The Czar’s Nose.
There has certainly, however, been a
deterioration in the physique of the
Russian imperial family since the time
of Nicholas. Nicholas was undoubted
ly one of the very handsomest and no
blest figures in Europe, and his fea
tures and expression were as command
ing as his physical bulk. The present
czar ia tall and comely in his wav, but
be is cast in a less stately and heroic
mold than his father. His face is amia
ble, but without much dignity. It is,
in fact, rather soft; and the nose, which
in Nicholas was majestic, in his son has
begun to decline into the little round
button which is seen on the fiat Gal
muck faces of the grandchildren. The
old saying, “Scratch a Russian and yon
come upon a Tartar,” is applicable here
in another sense. The short, dumpy
stature, bullet heads, flat faces, and
small eyes and noses of the czarowitz,
the duchess of Edinburgh, and She
Grand Duke Alexis, are unmistakably
of the Tartar type. —London Letter ,