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W. T A*. "IrsUHALK,} Editors and Proprietors.
NEWS OF THE WEEK.
EAST.
An illicit distillery in Brook 1 yn, New
York, lias boen seized, together with a large
amount of whisky and materials for its man
ufacture. The property seized and destroyed
is estimated to be worth $75,000.
St. Joe, a small oil town in Butler
county, Pennsylvania, was destroyed by fire
last week. Twenty-five dwellings, two drug
stores, and several livery stables, were con
sumed. The fire originated in a defective flue.
WEST.
The western railways propose to cut
off all indemnity to employes for injuries re
ceived in the service.
An Omaha t< legram says the officers
and branch societies of Nebraska, in behalf of
the grasshopper sufferers, are receiving con
tributions to meet immediate demands. It
is proposad to send a car load a week of
provisions and clothing to each of the six
principal stations in the western counties,
where the crops were destroyed, of the lib
eral contributions now arriving. Nine cars
of supplies have already been forwarded.
Twenty-five or thirty buildings were
burned at Greencastle, Ind., last week. Four
squares were destroyed on Indiana street, with
tho exception of the First National bank. It
is supposed to have been the work of an in
cendiary. The loss is estimated at over $400,-
000, with a small amount of insurance. No
lives were lost but many were injured. Kim
ball’s planing-mill was set on fire. Citizens
pursued two incendiaries in the court-house
yard.
Information received from Southeast
ern Nebraska shows that thousands of people
are in a starving condition. One saw many
who had nothing to eat but baked squash and
pumpkin and salt. Others had lived on baked
flour and water, one meal a day, for weeks.
Ten thousand people in this state will need aid
sufficient to keep them from starvation and
freezing to death this winter. Hundreds are
naked and on the verge of starvation, with no
moans to leave the state.
SOUTH.
A large fire is raging in the great
Dismal Swamp.
Kains & Co.’s'grocery,
Miss., was burned Oct. 31st. Loss $25,000;
insured for SB,OOO.
Richland county, S. C., has returned
1,231 dogs, for taxation at a value of $6,814,
while 1,740 sheep are returned at a value of
only $2,605.
Rev. Dr. James Barclay, missionary
from the Christiau church to Jerusalem, died
on Wednesday last, at the residence of his son,
near Huntsville, Ala.
Gov. P. H. Leslie has issued a proc
lamation offering an aggregate reward of
about $9,000 for the capture of the masked
men who recently shot a young negro girl in
bhelby county, Ky.
A delegation from Mississippi has
succeeded in inducing the Leamington Agri
cultural Union of England to send over an
agent to prospeet that state with reference to
an extensive migration of farm laborers.
Hon. Jeremiah White, one of the
owners of the Houston (Texas) Cos. Democrat,
was shot and killed by John H. Hubbard,
Friday last. The act was a deliberate assas
sination, no offense, it is alleged, having been
given.
Mrs. Anna Moseley, wife of Col. B.
M. Moseley, a grand-daughter of Governor
Dowling, of Virginia, committed suicide at
Anchorage. Ky., by throwing herself in front
of a railroad train. It was probably caused
by temporary insanity. She had been mar
ried ten days.
The Louisville Courier-Journal pub
lishes a review of the trade in leaf tobacco
for the past year, showing Louisville to be the
largest market for that staple in the world.
For the past year the sales aggregated 69,970
hogsheads, against 53,056 for the twelve
months previous, the total amount of sales
being $7,677,710.
A tiro at Memphis last week destroyed
the residence of Hon. Jacob Thompson, corner
of Lauderdale street and Hernando road.
A portion of tho furniture was saved. It is
believed the house was first robbed and then
set on fire. Mr. Thompson and family are
absent, attending the Episcopal convention in
New York. Loss, $15,000; no insurance.
FOREIGN.
John Laird, the well known ship
builder, died last week, aftor a protracted ill
ness.
The cotton crop in the presidency of
Bombay promises to be the largest ever re
corded, and a fortnight in advance of last
year. Ticking has fairly begun.
A correspondent at Bombay, tele
graphs that it is estimated that two thsusand
persons were killed in the town and district of
Miduapore during the recent cyclone.
Von Armin, when released, was merely
required to guarantee that his absence should
not cause any delay of proceedings in the
case. He is not bound to remain in Germany.
Ctrdinal Cullen aud the entire Catho
lic Episcopate have issued pastoral letters
denouncing the late address of Prof. Tyndall
at Belfast, before the British association, as a
revival of ; aganism.
On the trial of Kullman, physicians
were called to testify in regard to the wound
of Bismarck. It appears that he received a
severe norvous shock, and one doctor testified
that the mere exertion of writing now ex
hausts him.
A dispatch from Hong Kong says the
latest advices from Pekin and Yeddo are of a
pacific nature. The general belief is that war
will be avoided. The Japanese government
has intimated thaUChiuese residents in Japan
will not be molested, if war is declared.
The trial of Kullman has been con
cluded. After tli9 testimony as to the mental
condition of the prisoner, the president of the
court summed up the medical testimony to
the effect that at the time of the assassination
as well as at present, Kullman was accounta
ble for his acts but to a limited degree,
Kullman was found guilty as found in the in
dictment, and sentenced to imprisonment for
fourteen years. In hepe of correction, a year’s
suspension of his civil rights and the price of
the surveillance.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Internal revenue receipts for the
month ending Oct. 31st, 5924,827 ; for the fis
cal year, $35,642,493.
Hereafter, any official of the treasury
department, becoming a candidate for an
elective office, will be held to have resigned.
The secretary of the treasury has is
sued a call for five million dollars of coupon
bonds —five-twenties—to be redeemed Feb. 3
at which date interest wild cease.
The secretary' of [the treasury has
directed the assistant treasurer at New York
to sell $500,000 gold each Thursday during the
month t November, the aggregate amountto
be $2,000,000.
Gen. Humphreys, chief of engineers,
lias recommended the appropriation of one
hundred thousand dollars for the enlarge
ment of the Louisville and Portland canal
accoi'ding to the plans heretofore reported.
The cable of the direct United States
company, which parted and was lost, while
being laid by the Faraday, has been picked up
by that vessel in latitude 50:31, longitude 24:19,
at a depth of 1,871 fathoms. It was spliced
to the portion remaining on board the Fara
day, and the work of paying out has again
commenced.
Fhe bark Abbey Bacon, from Malaga,
ai rived at New York, last week, having on
board Capt. Leary, with his wife and child,
and crew, comprising seven men. of the
THE STANDARD AND EXPRESS.
echooner Doubtlees, which left St. Thomas on
Oct. 3, with salt for Lunenburg, Nova Scotia,
and went down in a gale the night of Oct. 25.
The rescued persons were four days in an
open boat, living on half a biscuit and a little
water each day.
The attention of the postmaster-gen
eral has been called to the fact that the sala
ries of postmasters in large towns and cities
are entirely out of proportion to the work per
formed. A comparative statement of salaries
at many prominent points is being prepared
for the purpose of exhibiting the facta in the
case, and it is the intention of the postmatter
general to make such recommendations in re
gard to the salaries as the actual duties per
formed in each case seems to call for.
Gen. Benet, chief of the ordnance
department, says, in his annual report, that
not less than a half million dollars should be
expended at the national armory, not only as
a measure of economy, but to make a better
selection of weapons in case of war. Cer
tainly not less than a half million cf the best
arms should be manufactured as rapidly as
the monetary condition of the country will
permit. Gen. Benet recommends the estab
lishment of a grand arsenal, in the vicinity of
New York, for manufacturing purposes.
THE PUBLIC DEBT.
Regular Mont lily Statement-Decrease
in October SOHI,4H.
The public debt statement has just
been issued, of which the following is a
recapitulation:
Bonds at 6 per cent $1,182,183,250
Bonds at 5 per cent 538,525,200
Total $1,720,708,450
DEB V BEARING INTEREST IN LAWFUL MONEY.
Lawful money debt $ 14,678,000
Matured debt 20,748,960
DEBT BEARING NO INTEREST.
Legal tender notes $ 382,075,267
Certificates on deposit 52,525,000
Fractional currency 48,151,024
Coin certificates 22,070,400
Total without interest $ 504,821,692
Total debt $2,256,095,712
Total interest 37,115,670
CASH IN THE TREASURY.
Coin $ 9.089,241
Currency 16,397,770
Special deposits held for redeup
tion of certificates of deposit. 52,525,000
Total in treasury $ 159,011,011
DEBT LESS CASH IN THE TREASURY.
Debt less eash in treasury $2,139,061,761
Decrease of the debt during the
past month 681,434
BONDS ISSUED TO PACIFIC BAILBOAD COMPANIES.
Principal outstanding $ 64,623,512
Interest accrued and not yet paid. 1,292,470
Interest paid by United States.. 24,325,396
Intel est repaid by transportation
of mails, etc 5,497,253
Balance of interest paid by the
United States 18,828,143
Report of the New Orleans Cotton
Exchange.
The "cotton exchange committee on
statistics and information have submit
ted the following crop reporttfor Octo
her :
Louisiana. —Our letters from this
state date from the 14th to the 23d in
clusive. A light frost was reported in
one parish. The weather was univer
sally reported as favorable. A little
over one-half the crop is reported as
having been picked, and with the con
tinuance of favorable weather the crop
will be picked out by November 10th
to December Ist. The yield as compared
with last year will be somewhat greater,
the answers averaging an increase of ten
per cent. The staple has been injured
by dry weather, which, at the same
time, has enabled the crop to be picked
cleaner and brighter.
Mississippi.—Thirty-one letters from
twenty counties, report little or no in
jury to the cotton plant from frost.
The weather is favorable. From one
half to two-thirds of the crop is picked,
and with good weather picking will be
finished between the 15th and 20th of
November. The majority of the re
ports estimate a decrease in yield as
compared to last year of about 25 per
cent. Most of the reports complain of
the quality of the crop, the lint being
light ind short, and consequently a less
than usual yield of lint from the gin
is had.
Arkansas.—Universally favorable
weather for picking is reported by all
of our correspondents. The frost on
tho thirteenth and fourteenth of the
month seems to have done but slight
damage on account of the forwardness
of the crop, one-half to two-thirds of
the crop being reported already boused,
and the finish is expected on the first
of November for the uplands, and be
fore Christmas for the bottom-lands.
The unprecedented drouth of the past
summer has evidently injured the crop
to such on extent that the finest picking
season will not help tho damages. The
yield is estimated from twenty-five to
sixty-six per cent, decrease, the aver
age being thirty per cent., as compared
with last season, though it is expected
the late planting in the river bottoms
will be better than at present repre
sented.
Whore Did Columbus Land !
Harper’s for November has a clever
article on the Bahamas, which says :
In all probability it was not Cat Island
which Columbus named San Salvador,
but Watling’s Island—a smaller isle a
little more to the southward and east
ward. The facts in the case are these :
Contrary, probably, to the general
opinion, it has never been definitely
known which was the islaud entitled to
tho honor ; but about fifty years ago,
when historians were busy with tho
history of Columbus, they undertook
to settle the question by comparing his
journal with the imperfect charts of tho
Bahamas then existing. Navarettefixed
on Turk’s Island, which latter investi
gation has proved to be erroneous,
while Irving, supported by the strong
authority of Humboldt, argued for Cat
Island, and since then this has been
generally accepted as San Salvador,
and is so designated on our charts to
this day. But the English reversed
their opinion some time ago, and trans
ferred the name of San Salvador to
Watling’s Island, and it will be so found
on their latest charts. The reasons for
this change seem conclnsive. Lieut.
Beecher, of the English navy, proves
conclusively that Cat Island answers the
conditions required better than any
other island lying in the track of Co
lumbus. His two strongest reasons
against Cat Island are that Columbus
states that he rowed around the north
ern end in one day. The size of Cat
Island makes this phy-ically impossible
there, while it is quite feasible at the
other island. He also speaks of a large
lake in the interior. There is no such
water on Cat Island, while such a lake
does exist on Watling’s Island.
W ind Power.
We have often thought that we might
make greater use of the wind as a mo
tive power. There are 12,000 wind
mills in Holland and Flemish Belgium,
each doing from six to ten horse-power
service, according t> the strength of
the wind, and working twenty four
hours per day, and every day in the
month during the rainy season, and
when the snow and ice are melting and
the streams are high. The annnal cost
of the wind-mills in Holland is $4,000,-
000. Twenty times that sum would not
operate steam-power sufficient to do the
work, for all the coal consumed in Hol
land has to be imported from Eagland
or
It is base to filch a purse, daring to
embezzle a million, but it is great be
yond measure to steal a crown. The sin
lessens as the guilt increases.
LIFE’S LESSON.
I said, my life is a beautiful thin*?,
I will crown me with its flowers,
I will sing of its glory all day long.
For my harp is young, and sweet, andjstrong,
And the passionate power in my eong
Shall thrill all the golden hours.
And over the sand and over the stone,
For ever and ever the waves rolled on.'
I said, my life is a terrible thing,
All ruined, and lost, and crashed.
I will heap its ashes upon my head,
I will wail for my joy and my darling dead.
Till the dreary dirge for the days that are fled;
Stirs faint through the dull, dumb dust.
And over the sand and over the stone,
For ever and ever the waves rolled on.
I said, I was prond in my hour of mirth,
And mad in my first despair.
Now, I know nor earth, nor sky, nor sea
Has heed or helping for one like me,
The doom or the boon comes, let it be,
For us, we can but bear.
And over tho sand aud over the stone,
For ever and ever the waves rolled on.
And I thought they rang, “ We laugh to the sun ;
Wo shimmer to moon or star;
We foam to the last of the furious blast;
We rage when the rain falls fierce and fast;
But wo do onr day’s work ; and at last
We sweep o’er the harbor-bar.”
And I learnt my lesson mid 6and aud Btone,
As ever and ever tho waves rolled on.
WHO WAS HE?
On a dreary November afternoon, in
the year 1866, Mr. Blonger, senior mem
ber of the well-known firm of Blonger
A Cos., machinists and manufacturers of
marine engines, established in 1803, was
sitting before a blazing fire in his office
in the east end of London, when a visi
tor was announced. “ Show him in,
James,” said the old gentleman, and
continued the perusal of the Times. A
moment after the door opened, and a
young man, apparently about twenty
four years of age, plainly attired, en
tered and stood hat in hand, awaiting
the leisure of the gentleman, who
merely glanced at the stranger, and im
mediately resumed his paper, evidently
thinking his visitor to be a person of no
importance. After a silence of a few
minutes, Mr. Blonger laid down his
paper, and, looking up, abruptly said :
“Well, my good sir, what do you
want with me ?”
“Are you the elder Mr. Blonger?”
inquired the stranger, with an unmis
takable American accent.
“ I am.”
“ I heard of you, and came to see you.
I understand that you transact a large
and successful business, but it is not on
that account that I have called upon
you. lam told that you have consider
able influence with the chief persons in
this government, and it is for that rea
son that I pay you this visit.”
Mr. Blonger placed his gold-rimmed
spectacles on his nose, and gazed in
mute astonishment at his visitor, who
continued :
“ I am the inventor, or discover,
rather, of a secret of nature, a process
which will revolutionize the world,
which will reverse natural laws, which
will inaugurate anew order of things ;
a discovery, the results of which are so
vast that no human mind can compre
hend them. In short, I can suspend
the law of gravitation.”
At this monstrous assertion a look of
alarm appeared upon the countenance
of the listener ; but as he compared his
own brawny frame with the slight fig
ure of the lunatic before him, it gave
plaoe to a contemptuous smile, as he
answered, somewhat impatiently :
“Well, well, my dear sir, perhaps
you can—perhaps yon can; but I am
not in that line of business, and you had
better apply to somebody else. ”
The young man went on with imper
turbable gravity : “I can swing the
mightiest man-of-war England possesess
into the air with my little finger. I can
lift the largest cannon at Woolwich like
a cork ; I can—”
“ Yes, yes, I know—but I am busy
now,” replied the manufacturer, rising,
and advancing toward the bell to sum
mon a servant.
“ Wait, Mr. Blonger,” said his visi
tor, in a tone of such deep earnestness
that that gentleman hesitated in spite
of himself —“ wait a moment. 1 am
not mad. I know yon do not believe
me, and I don’t wonder at it; but I will
show you that what I say is tine.”
He laid his hat upon the table, and
drew from the breast-pocket of his coat
a g.istening blue wire. There was an
iron anvil in a corner of the room. He
wound the coil of wire round the anvil
in a moment, lifted it like a feather
from its place to the middle of the
apartment, and then stepped proudly
back. The anvil floated like a bubble
in the air.
To say that Mr. Blonger looked as
tounded and aghast would convey but
a mild idea of the expression of* his
countenance at this moment. It was
one of absolute horror. He stood gaz
ing first at the anvil and then at the
man, and at last, with a sigh of relief,
he ejaculated, “Perhaps this is only
jugglery,” and dropped into a chair.
Tlie young American snatched the coil
of wire from around the anvil, and it
fell at once with terrific force, crushing
in a portion of the floor. “I beg yonr
pardon, sir, but is there any jugglery
about that, think yon?” he asked with
a smile, and also sat down. The con
versation that ensued was long and
earnest, and resulted in this conclusion:
Mr. Blonger was to notify one or two
personal friends in the cabinet, several
scientific men of high repute, and two
or three foreigners, the whole number
not to exceed twelve, that he wished
them to meet him in order to investi
gate in concert a wonderful discovery
in science, the nature of which would
then be communicated. The young
stranger agreed to repeat his experi
ments on the occasion of the meeting,
and explain the process by means of
which they were accomplished ; for the
present he declimed to make any fur
ther revelations.
On the night of the 23d of Novem
ber, 1866, there assembled in St. George’s
hall, in London, three members of the
English cabinet, fonr gentlemen well
known in the scientific world, two prom
inent Frenchmen, and two Italians—
eleven in all, exclusive of Mr. Blonger.
At the earnest solicitation of that gen
tleman, these persons had come to meet
they knew not whom, and see they
knew not what. On the platform, at
tho end of the hall, lay a small cannon,
a heavy piece of iron shafting, and sev
eral large iron wheels. What these
articles were for they could not imag
ine. At half-past eight o’clock the
young man arrived, end was introduced
by Mr. Blonger to his friends, as a
young American who did not care to
have his name announced. The stran
ger was dressed in a rough suit, the
worse for wear, and wore a slouch black
hat. His hair was brown and straight,
his eyes were large and bright gray in
color, and his face was as destitute
of beard as a woman’s. He was above
the medium height and very slender,
and his age was apparently about
twenty-four years, though he might
have been older. He was evidently
bnt little used to the society of distin
guished persons, and at first appeared
somewhat embarrassed at his position,
but there was an expression of firmness
about his mouth that showed a strong
will and a habit of having his own way.
When he spoke, it was with the air of a
man who knew the ground upon which
he stood, and his manners were those of
one who felt that he was the inferior of
no’man.
The janitor having been dismissed and
the door locked, Mr. Blonger proceeded
to explain to those present why he had
called them together. His young
American friend, he said, had con
vinced him that he was in the posses
sion of a prodigious secret, of the mag
nitude of which they could judge when
I it was presented to them.
! The whole affair at this point came
CARTERS Y’ILLE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11. 1874.
near being broken off in disgust, by an
unexpected r< q lirement, which the un
known stranger exacted. He declined
to proceed unless all present entered in
to an agreement not to communicate
what they might witness to any living
person for a period of ten years, with
out gaining his consent. The Right
Honorable G was on his mettle at
once. He washed his hands of the
whole matter, and desired to retire im
mediately. The others were eqnally
indignant, and expressions not consid
ered elegant in high society were heard.
It required all Mr, Blonger’s sagacity
to quell the storm. But the young man
was immovable, and at last, at the ear
nest solicitation of Mr. Blonger, the
guarantee was given. The stranger
then took the stage, and the auditors
the seats immediately in front of it.
“ Gentlemen,” he began, “ from what
I have noticed of yonr incredulity this
evening, I am satisfied that if I should
inform you that the attraction of gravi
tation could be so suspended that ob
jecti upon the earth’s surface would
have absolutely no weight, and, further,
that I waR in possession of the simple
means whereby this end could be ac
complished, you would only greet my
assertions with jeers and ridicule. I
shall therefore show you what I can do
first, and talk afterwards. You see in
my hand this coil of wire, blue like
tempered steel. This cannon weighs
nearly three tons. I wrap the wire
around it. If you listen carefully you
will hear a burring sound, similar to
that made by an electrical machine.
But that has nothing to do with the
matter. Theends of the wire are joined.
This cannon now weighs no more than a
soap-bubble. You see I move it about
through the air with my band, with two
fingers, with one. Here is a strong
oaken chair. I place the cannon upon
it, and when I withdraw the wire mark
the result. The chair goes crashing to
pieces on the floor, under the weight of
three tons of iron.”
This conclusive proof of the grandest
discovery ever yet made by man brought
every person present to bis feet. The
young exhibitor alone remained un
moved. “ How is it done ?” cried they
all. “ How did you make this wonder
ful discovery?” They now looked upon
him with the awe one feels in the pres
ence of a superior being.
He raised his hand and requested si
lence. “ The action of this simple
wire,” he said, “is not confined to me
tallic substances. Its effects on all ob
jects are tin same. I put it round this
wooden bench, as you see, and the
bench weighs nothing; around this chair,
and the result is the same. Here is
this large iron shaft and these wheel#
You perceive that it affects all alike.
Perhaps you think it has no power over
living substances. Yon are mistaken.
I will agree to put this little piece of
wire round mv waist, and step from the
dome of St. Paul’s. I will show you.”
A ladder extended from the floor to
the lofty oeiling of the hall. The stran
ger climbed to its very summit, adj usted
his belt, and sprung boldly off. He
slowly unclasped the ends of the wire,
so that they scarcely came into coutaet,
and descended gradually and safely to
the ground, to the infinite relief of the
spectators, who gazed horror-struck at
the scene.
“Thusyou see, gentlemen, “said he,
again ascending the stage, “ what pow
ers lie hidden in nature, until they are
accidentally stumbled upon. You all
think that there is some power contained
in this wire. I must tell you that the
wire has but little to do with it. And
yet I will agree to go down to any of
your sea-ports, and put this wire, or one
like it, round any of your old seventy
four-gun ships we read of, and lift it
into a dry-dock, with a line no stronger
than pack-thread, if the wind is not
blowing at the time. This wire, at
which you all gaze so curiously, has no
power in itself. It is only the means of
communicating a power; still,' no man
shall examine it, except under certain
conditions ; and this brings me to the
point I intended to make by calling gen-'
tleman of yaur high standing and intel
ligence here to-night. I wish to sell my
knowledge to the English government.”
“ And why to the government ?” cried
the Bt. Hon. B. I and the Hon. Mr.
S , in a breath.
“ Because no private individual is
rich enough to buy it. I onoe thought
to dispose of it to my own government,
—that of the United States, —but I
shall not enter into the reasons why I
abandoned that idea, and came here.
Besides, it becomes public property af
ter ten years. I would not agree to sell
the right under any conditions for a
longer time. The benefits of the dis
covery are universal, and in justice be
long to mankind, and mankind shall
hove them.”
Said a member of the cabinet:
“ Your idea of selling such a discovery
to the government of Great Britain
seems chimerical; and, I may add, it
savors of selfishness to keep your
knowledge from the world. But may I
be permitted to ask how mnch you de
mand for yonr knowledge?”
Here the young man rose to his feet
in an excited maimer. “ You talk of
selfishness,” said he; “I know what it
is to labor and to suffer, to be lost amid
mountains, and tormented with thirst
upon deserts. I have labored hundreds
of feet under ground with pick and
shovel for my daily bread. I got tired
of it; I swore off. I hold in my posses
sion what will make me independent for
life, besides conferring inestimable ben
efits upon my fellow-men, and I in
tend to use it so far. Selfishness, indeed !
What did Morse or Fulton make from
their inventions, except what was given
them as a charity, after they let their
knowledge go out of their heads ? No
charity for me. I hold my disoovery
alone, and I will part with it only on my
own terms. You ask me what I demand
for it. I want $5,000,000.”
“ Five .millions is rather a large sum,”
Prof. T ventured to remark.
“ A large sum ! Have you taken into
consideration what this discovery is
destined to accomplished ? Why, I tell
you, it will revolutionize the world.
Take the dock-yards of Great Britain
alone. What, think yon, will be the
saving in a year, when every object,
from the greatest to the smallest, can be
moved to any distance, without expense ?
How long will it take to build your
largest edifices, when your blocks of
marble weigh nothing ? Oh, gentlemen,
when you have considered this subject
as I have done, you will stand overpow
ered with the magnitude of the resnlts
that are to follow. Think of its effects
upon means of transportation. When
there is no weight to carry, may not
even the air be navigated ?”
“ Do you object to informing us how
you happened to discover this mighty
and mysterious secret of nature?”
“ Mysterious ! Why, it is so simple
that any child can understand it. I
stumbled upon it. Since I have discov
ered it, I wonder that it is not found
out a thousand times every day. But,
gentlemen, are yon aware that I doubt
whether I am really a pioneer in this
field ? There are books, written thou
sands of years ago, which I read when
a boy, which have led me to believe
that this is one of the lost arts, though
it was known perhaps only to a favored
few. I feel sore—very sure—that the
simple law by which the attraction of
gravitation is suspended was known in
ancient Peru, Arabia, and perhaps in
Egypt also, and went down into oblivion
with other lost arts, in some general
catastrophe. The same law I rediscov
ered while working in a silver mine,
1,000 feet under ground, and my knowl
edge I am ready to communicate, under
the conditions that I have named.”
“But should you die in the mean
time, would not your discovery be again
lost, and the world ba deprived of its
benefits ?”
“ Oh, not at all. I have taken care
of that. Whether I live or die, or
whatever may happen to me, within ten
years from the present time the world
will be fully informed upon the sub
ject.”
After some farther consultation, a
select committee was appointed, to meet
in three days, to fully investigate the
secret, and take some .action upon the
proposition of the stranger, who, after
reminding all present of their promise
of secrecy, departed—and was never
seen again.
Several months ago, a distinguished
gentleman, a resident of a great Ameri
can cits received the following commu
nication from a prominent solicitor in
London :
No. Old Broad Street, (
London, Sept. 1873. )
an Italian, who was the confidential clerk of
one of my mnch esteemed clieuts—Signor
Snzziui, of the house of Suzzini, Isola A Cos.,
of London, Naples, and France—died sudden
ly, leaving in writing the statement which ac
companies this letter. What transpired at St.
George’s Hall, in November. 1866, concerning
a subject of tho most absorbing interest to
those present, has been kept a profound
secret, under a solemn pledge, but, owing to
the strange circumstances of tho case, and
the almost certain death of the remarkable
stranger, supposed to be an American, whose
re appearrance has been awaiied with the
most intense anxiety for years, by those in
formed on the subject, Signor Suzzini has con
sidered himself so far absolved from his obli
gation as to convey to some trustworthy baris
ter in yo ir city the information herein con
tained.
All communications received from you will
be kept strictly secret; but, in any event, if
you succeed in discovering the bank, impress
upon the managers the supreme importance of
carefully preserving, at all hazards, the docu
ments committed to their charge.
I have the honor to remain, etc..
GEORGE MATHIOT MARSHALL.
The following is the statement of the
Italian clerk :
“In November, 1866, n very impor
tant congregation came together at St.
George’s Hall. Strange things were
seen. I was there. Much money was
to be gained. A young man—a Yankee
—had a secret in bis pooket. It was a
wire worth millions. He left the hall.
It was a dark night—fog and smoke,
thick and black. I followed him. Down
Regent street, under the gas-lamps, he
went on foot. I followed him. Across
the Haymarket, across Leicester Square
—it was 11 o’clock—and through a dark
and narrow alley toward St. Martin’s
Lane. I could have done it there, but
others came by, and I shnnk back into
the gloom. Through St. Martin’s Lane
to the Strand, down the Strand to the
turning to Waterloo bridge, still I fol
lowed him. I saw he was going to cross
the bridge on foot. I crossed the street
and got ahead of him, and, in the mid
dle of the bridge, I hid myself behind
the parapet. By and by my man came
along, slowly walking, his hands behind
him, and his eyes bent upon the ground.
When near me he paused, and looked
toward St. Paul’s, whose huge bulk
loomed up still huger as the moonlight
tried to struggle through the fog. I
was near enough to hear him. He said:
*O, mighty mouument, the pride and
glory of an empire, thy reno an is gone
forever. All I see around me, though
the work of centuries, is but the amuse
ment of a child, the labor of a day.
How powerful am I! ’ —here I stole up
behind him, without noise— * in future
ages my name shall be— ’ My stiletto
fell between his shoulders, and he drop
ped like a lamb. His pockets yielded
up a coil of wire and a bundle of
papers, aud bis body went over into the
river. Ah! I knew how to do it. I had
done it often before at Ferrara, on
the Po.
“ The secret was mine. I was frantic
with excitement. I hurried home to
my apartments, double-locked the door,
turned up the lamp, and examined my
prize. It was the wire—the identical
wire—which bad swung a cannon in the
air, not two hours before. I was impa
tient to test its powers. I seized an
iron poker from the hearth, wrapped
the wire around it, poised it aloft, let
go, and it fell clattering upon the floor.
Again I tried, and again it fell. I tried
different articles. I wound the wire in
every imaginable shape, and stilt the
same result. Morning found me hag
gard and exhausted with my labor and
unsuccessful. Business at the office
prevented further attempts until even
ing. I worked fruitlessly until mid
night, when suddenly I thought of the
papers I had also seized. Fool that I
was, not to have thought of them be
fore. They undoubtedly oontained an
explanation of the secret. I tore them
open with eager fingers. All were
blank, except one, and it contained the
following : ‘ Knowing the uncertainty
of life and the dangers of travel, I have
on this day (July 7th, 1866) placed in
the vaults of a reliable banking-honse
in the city of a sealed packet con
taining the details and explanation of
the means by which the laws of grav
itation are rendered inoperative. In
ease of my death or failure to return,
the officers of said bank have explicit
instructions to open said packet, on
May Ist, 1876, and spread the facts
therein contained to the world. My
knowledge is at present confined to
myself, but will not long continue so,
as I shall soon proceed to Europe, to
impart my information to the most re
nowned scientific men in the world.
My only object in making the bank a
depositary, is to provide against acci
dent, and seeure tn the world, beyond
all peradventure, the benefits of this
mighty secret.’
“ There was no name nor signature.
After this, I labored for months in vain
to discover the socret workings of the
wire; until at last it occurred to me
that the stranger had said at St. George’s
Hall that the wire itself had no power,
but was only the means of communicat
ing a power. Infuriated to the last de
gree, I threw the coil which had cost
me so mnch misery, anxiety, and sus
pense, into the Thames, one night,
where it could tell no tales. When I
am dead, the company who assembled
at St. George’s Hall on that eventful
night may be requested to cease their
painful wonderings at the failure of the
mysterious stranger to return. He wili
never come back, gentlemen. The
Thames received his body nearly eight
years ago.”
This finishes the case at present.
But in what banking-house is the inval
uable packet of papers deposited, who
was the man, and, in May, 1876, will
tlie ancient but lost secret of suspend
ing the law of gravitation become again
known to the world ?
Awful Experience in a Nevada Mine.
In the Lady Washington mine, near
Virginia City, a blast was arranged and
the fuse lighted. Two miners got into
the bucket to be hoisted two hundred
feet up the shaft, the fuse being long
enough to give ample time under ordi
nary circumstances. In this instance,
however, the ascent was delayed by
some mismanagement of the machinery,
and the men were suspended in awful
danger, with no means of averting it.
They laid themselves in tho bottom of
the bucket and awaited in terror tho
explosion. “It seemed like an hour,”
said one of them, bnt was really about
five minutes. When the blast did ex
plode the bucket was lifted several feet
by the rush of air, and it fell back with
a violent shock. A shower of shattered
rock rained on the cowering miners.
They were hauled up at length, insen
sible with cuts and bruises, but they
will recover.
Wheat allowed to stand two weeks
in the shock waiting for the thresher
will lose ten per cent, in value, four
times the oost of stacking.
FUNERAL RITES.
How Hie Dead art Disposed ol by Differ
ent Peoples.
We are so accustomed to bury our dead
that it is only by an effort that we can
conceive of ourselves as disposing of
them otherwise. Yet the practice of
mankind has differed widely in this res
pect. And in every nation the tradi
tional mode acquires a sanctity, from
association with the moßt solemn and
tender moments of life, which induces
us to look with horror on any alterna
tive method. When Darius found an
ludian tribe who ate the bodies of their
dead, they were not less shocked at the
idea of burning corpses than the Greeks
in his train were at the horrible canni
balism of the Indians. Even when the
breath has left the mortal frame, the
cold remains of those we have loved
are not less dear than when they were
animated with life; but custom alone
creates the direction in which that love
manifests itself, and each direction is
alike but an unavailing protest against
the inexorable law which dissolves the
ashes of the departed into fleeting gases
and crumbling dust.
The Egyptians embalmed their dead.
The Hebrews buried them out of their
sight. The Greeks sometimes buried
and sometimes burnt, the latter mode
gaining the ascendency as civilization
advanced. The Persians, if we may
trust the hints ’of earlier aud the asser
tions of later writers, seem to have
gathered their dead together on the top
of a low building, and there left them
to the birds and winds of heaven. Bu
rving, burning, embalming, these are
the three great alternatives adopted by
humanity for the disposal of their dead.
But there is scarcely any modification
of these methods which iias not found
its adherents ; and there is scaroely any
conceivable substitute for them which
has not been practiced somewhere. The
posture of burial has been varied, in
many places it being thought decorous
to bury in a sitting attitude. Some
Red Indian tribes expose their dead on
the blanches of trees ; the Ethiopians
inclosed them in pillars of crystal.
Maritime nations have sometimes hon
ored their chiefs by laying them in state
in a ship or canoe, and burning •or set
ting it adrift. Sacred rivers are the
chosen burying-ground of some ; others
commit their dead to the sea alone.
Some leave the corpse till it decays,
and then bury the bones : others remove
the flesh from the bones immediately
after death, and then dress and adorn
the skeleton. Burial alive is by some
thought a mark of affection : exposure
to wild beasts is the chosen custom of
by no means barbarous races. The In
dian tribe above referred to finds maDy
parallels. Nor was it always thought
necessary to wait till death supervened.
There is grim humor in the picture
given by Herodotus of a tribe where,
when any one fell sick, “ his chief
friends tell him that the illness will
spoil his flesh; and he protests that he
is not unwell; but they not agreeing
with him, kill and eat him.” (Thalia,
89.) Horrors like these, however, can
scarcely be classed among modes of
sepulture ; nor, perhaps, is it necessary
to mention the tribes that drink their
dead, having first reduced them to pow
der. Suffice it to say that there is no
mode of disposing of dead bodies so
singular, or so revolting, that it has not
been adopted in good faith by some
among the interminable varieties of
savage races.
Among civilized nations, however,
burial (tinder which we may'inolnde em
balming) has divided with cremation
the allegiance of custom. It would be
improper to regard the first as the char
acteristic of Semitic, the second cf
Aryan races. For, though Lucian speaks
of burial as the mark of barbarians,
burning of Greeks, it is beyond ques
tion that burial remained to the last an
alternative in Greece and Rome. It
would rather appear that burial is the
first rude suggestion of decency,
prompting the mourner to lay the dead
body reverently away rather than leave
it to moulder unheeded ; and that es
burial is recognized to be incomplete,
embalming and cremation are the two
alternatives suggested. The Egyptians
regarded fire as a wild beast; and, as
Herodotus tells ns, they preferred em
balming to allowing the bodies to be
torn by wild beasts or consumed by
worms. The Greeks preferred the alter
native "of speedy destruction. Crema
tion was with them, though not the uni
versal, the solemn and honorable form
of sepulture. A corpse .cast np by the
sea migbtbeburiedby a benevolent pass
er-by ( three handfuls of dust were held
equivalent to burial, and laid the weary
ghost) ; in time of danger, or f>r want
of means, a body might be oommitted
to the earth. But mourning friends
who wished to do the last sad honors to
the deceased followed him to his funeral
pyre, and cherished the ashes which
survived the flame in vases of costly
make.
Don’t—Please Don’t.
Don’t tell the little one, who may be
slightly willful, that “the black man
will come out of the dark oellar and
carry it off if it does not mind.” Don’t
create a needless fear to go with the
child through all the stages of its ex
istence.
Don’t tell the little five year old
Jimmy “the school ma’am will cut off
his ears”—“pull out his teeth”—“tie
him up”—or any of the horrible stories
that are commonly presented to the
childish imagination. Think you the
little one will believe anything you tell
him after he becomes acquainted with
the gentle teacher who has not the least
idea of putting those terriblo threats
into execution ?
Don’t tell the children they must not
drink tea because it will make them
black, while you continue the use of it
daily. Your example is more to them
than precept; and while your face is as
fair as a June morning they will scarce
ly creuit the oft-told tale. Either give
up drinking the pleasant beverage or
give your children a better reasen for
its non-use.
Don’t tell them they must not eat su
gar or sweetmeats, because it will rot
their teeth. Pure sugar does not cause
the teeth to decay; and sugar with
fruits is nutritious and healthy, not
withstanding the “old saw” to the con
trary. The case of city children is
often cited, as if the cause of their pale
faoes and slight constitutions were an
over amount of sweetmeats with their
diet, when the actual cause is want of
pure air anil proper exercise.
Don’t tell the sick one that the med
icine is not bad to take, when yon can
hardly keep your own stomach from
turning “inside out” at the smell of it.
Better by far to tell him the simple
truth, that it is disagreeable, but neces
sary for his health, and you desire him
to take it at once. Ten to one he will
swallow it with half the trouble of coax
ing and worry of words, and love you
better for your firm, decided manner.
Don’t teach the children by example
to tell white lies to each other and to
their neighbors. Guard lips and bridle
your tongue if you desire to have the
coming generation truthful. Truthful
ness is one of the foundation stones of
heaveD. Remember the old, old Book
says, “no liar” shall enter within the
gates of the beautiful city. There is
no distinction between white lies and
those of a darker hue. The falsehood
is an untruth, whether the matter be
great or small.
Chicago statistics show that 30,000,-
000 bushels of com have been shipped
eastward througli Chicago alone since
the beginning of the year. The vast
amount, as well as that which has gone
by other routes and to other markets,
has netted the farmers of lowa and Hli -
nois probably thirty cents per bnshel,
and on the something over 200,000,000
bushels of corn raised in the two states,
has probably given them from $6,000,-
000 to $8,000,000 more profit than usual
on the corn sold within the last seven or
eight months.
Leprosy in Canada.
In the Arcadian village of Tracadie,
near the month of the Miramicbi rivt r,
says the Toronto Globe, there have
been lepers for the last eighty or ninety
years. A hospital for their benefit is
supported by the local government. A
correspondent of the Church Journal,
who has recently made a visit to the es
tablishment, says the lazaretto, though
well kept as far as it goes, is much too
small to furnish the requisite accommo
dation. The sexes are kept apart, and
every thing is done for the comfort of
the unfortunates that is possible with
the means placed at the disposal of
those who manage the institution.
The leprosy from which they suffer is
elephantiasis grocorum , so called from
its tendency to make the limbs swell to
elephantine proportions. The disease
is understood to have been brought
there by a French vessel, which, on its
return voyage from Smyrna, touched at
the island of Mitylene and took in a
large quantity of clothing aud other
stores, aud on her way to Beaubaris
Island—a French military port—she
was wrecked near the mouth of the
Miramichi. The people in the neigh
borhood played the part of wreckers
and helped themselves to the clothes
cast ashore, which, it is supposed, were
tainted with leprosy, the consequence
of which was that the disease soon broke
out among them. Another account is,
that the vessel in question brought two
lepers from St. Maloes, and that every
leper known in Tracadie descended from
one or the other of these men.
The prevailing opinion there is that
tlie disease is not contagious, but sim
ply hereditary. The people have no
dread of it, and persons engaged about
the lepers for years never contract the
disease. Not only do the lepers marry
among themselves, but snch is the feel
ing among the poor French in Tracadie
that there is no repugnance in many
ca-es among perfectly healthy people to
taking lepers for husbands or wives.
The taint generally manifests itself in
every alternate generation. In this way
the disease has become permanently
seated in the locality, while the general
poverty and not very cleanly habits of
the French population tend to extend
and intensify it.
It first shows itself in the form of
small white spots on the breast; then
the face assumes a puffy appearance,
and there is much pain, languor and
drowsiness. The fingers become crook
ed, the neck swells, the limbs show all
the symptoms of dropsy, the nails fall
off, and, at last, the throat and lungs are
attacked, and the sufferer dies, a mere
mass of loathsome disease. Its dura
tion varies from five to twenty-five
years, according tc the strength of con
stitution.
The New Italy.
The fact is that Italy, thongh its gov
ernment is one, contains within itself
differences as great as those which exist
between England and Ireland. The en
ergy of the country belongs to the north.
Not only is this the case at present, but, j
speaking roughly, it has been the case
for centuries. The great names, which
are really what we in England under
stand by Italy almost belong to the upper
half of the peninsula. If the traveler
would know what Italy really is, he
must move about both in the north and
in the south, both in the towns and in
the country. In the north, especially
in the towns, he will find activity, intel
ligence, moderate trustworthiness and
fair punctuality. In the south he will
need great patience and fairness not to i
give up the Italians altogether as a set
of rascals. The political feelings of
those dissimilar districts are just what
might be expected. The northern Ital
ian has sufficiently advanced to under- ,
stand and value freedom ; the southern, j
except under unusual conditions, knows ;
nothing of different governments, ex- i
cept that they tax him differently. It !
is, therefore, to the north of Italy that
the lover of freedom and progress will j
turn ; and there he will find a spectacle
pleasing to his soul. A system of rail
ways has been created, affording accom
modation which compares favorably
with that of many European countries.
In the streets of Milan and in the port
of Genoa he will will find stir and bus
tle enough to persuade him that he is
back in England. New edifices are ris
ing, new streets being laid down. New
vessels are being added monthly to the
commercial marine. Around, the coun
try is a perfect garden. The display of
articles of feminine dress at the weekly
markets of the smaller towns testifies to
the substance of the contadini. Villas
stnd the hills for miles in the neighbor
hood of the centers of wealth. And as
if the power and capacity of the Italian
mind were to be most signally exhibited
on the northern and southern ap
proaches of its most favored domain,
the magnificent engineering works of
the Mont Cenis and of the Genoa and
Pisa railways belong to this same dis
trict. It is, perhaps, known to few of
the many English who intend to visit
Rome in the coming winter that the
line hitherto used will then no longer
be the direct route. The coast line
from Genoa to Spezzia, which English
engineers pronounced impossible, and
which the greatest English firm of con
tractors refused to have anything to do
with, is actually finished, and will be
opened within the course of a few
weeks.— Louden News.
A Lightning Team.
The New York correspondent of the
Boston Journal says in his letter:
“ Trotting horses to New York are what
race horses are to London. If a horse
has speed he will bring any price. The
arrival of a fast team produces an im
mense exoitement on the streets. The
men who keep the market in a turmoil
are the men who buy the fast trotters.
It i3 not difficult to buy a single team
that is fast. The story that Vandeibilt
kept a standing offer of SIO,OOO for a
irst-class horse is a canard. He could
get speed at any time, if he would pay
for it. The old commodore wants
something besides speed. He wants a
fast horse—a horse kind and quiet—
that will drive on slack rein—one per
fectly safe—and at a low figure. But
to get a fast team is a difficult matter.
It is so difficult to match horses in the
spirit and motion and bottom. There
is one team in this city that always
produces a sensation on the road ; one
of those is the horse Connors, owned by
J. F. Merrill, of Boston. This horse
is black as jet. The other horse is St.
James, belonging to Rochester. He is
mahogany in color. The two horses
are of the same height—about fifteen
hands. The recorded time of the team
is 2:225. Connor’s record is 2:195.
St. James’ record is 2:18. It is said
that he has shown the speed of 2:17.
This team was sold last week, and Budd
Doble was the purchaser. Everybody
knew that he did not buy it for himself.
It turns out that the real buyer was a
California miner ; he made an immense
fortune in about ten days by ihe rise of
the Ophir mining stock. It is said on
the street that for an hour or more he
made a million a minute. The price
paid for th j team was $40,000. The
team left yesterday for the Pacific coast.
applause waits on success; the fickle
multitude, like the straw that floats
along the stream, glide with the current
still, and follow fortune.
How They Played it Jon Dongberty.
One day last week four or tve De
troiters went into Macomb county to
shoot squirrels and kick their shins
against logs and fence rails. They had
just eaten a cold*lnnch in the wools one
noon, wh none of the party, a young
man named Dougherty, stretched out
on his back, palled bis hat over his
eyes, and gave his mind np to the work
of assisting his body to catch a little
rest. The remainder of the party hav
ing an understanding before band, qui
etly withdrew, one by one. One of
them passed around to a bnsli, near
Dougherty’s feet, and took a tin rattle
box from his pocket. Another stood
close to the young man’s legs, and, in a
suppressed voice, when the signal was
given, whispered :
“ For Heaven’s sake ! Dougherty,
don’t move so much as a finger! A big
rattlesnake is right under your leg 1”
Dougherty was flat en his back, eyes
covered, arms sprawled out, aud his
voice trembled as he replied :
“ My God ! what shall I do ?”
“Keep perfectly quiet! It is your
only hope ! If you eve* raise a finger
he will dart his fangs into you !”
The man with the rattle-box gave it a
shake, and reached out and laid a club
across Dougherty’s legs, while the
other man moved off about twenty feet
and exclaimed:
“ Heavens ! what can we do ? If we
shoot we may kill Dougherty !”
The club was rolled'off on the ground
and the victim whispered :
“ For mercy sake kill it J”
The club was rolled over his legs
again, the box shaken, and the man
whispered back :
“Be qniet or it is instant death ! I
think the snake wants to go to sleep,
and if yen will keep still you will be
all right.”
The box was shaken, the club moved
around, and finally the “ snake” st emed
to Dongherty to settle down on his
breast. He dared not whisper foi fear
of rousing it, bat one of the men called
out:
“There! it is asleep? We’ll move
away and wait for it to glide off!”
The whole crowd moved over behind
a bank and laughed and rolled and tore
up the dirt until they were exhausted,
while poor Dongherty lay there like a
log, not even daring to draw an ordinary
breath. The sweat ran down his face,
and started out from his body until his
shirt was wringing wet. The fellows
took their guns and tramped away, leav
ing him thus, and were gone ao hom and
a half. When they returned Dongberty
was sitting np, having discovered the
joke about five minutes previously.
He didn’t have a word to say, but t aere
was a whole unabridged dictionary in
his eye. They spoke to him, bnt for an
answer he rose up, shouldered his gun,
and made a bee-line for the highway,
and none of the party has met him
since. —Detroit Dree Press.
Western Railways.
The Nation, in a valuable article on
railroad manuals, has the following in i
regard to western railroads :
Not a dividend is paid by any road in
Michigan, and but one in Indiana. Illi
nois bo ait s five dividend-paving con pa- 1
nies, Wisconsin one, and lowa three;
but Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and
almost all the southern states, an a
dreary, hopeless blank.
Indeed, it requires some study of fig
ures to enable us to realize how all- j
absorbing the mania for railroad invest
ment of the last six years really was.
It was a simple craze. Under the stim
ulus of the land-grant system, it swept
through the country like a first-cl ass i
epidemic, and is probably in its effects j
to-day occasioning not less quiet suffer
ing. Kansas was the very hot-bed of
the disease, and a very few figures,
drawn fr >m these manuals, will illus
trate the madness which prevailed as
regards that region, which differed only
in degree from others. Ten years ago,
Kansas had no railroad at all; it now
has little less than 2,5001 miles, about
33 per cent, more than Massachusetts,
with one-third of her population; in
other words, Massachusetts has seven
times the population of Kansas in com
parison with its railroad mileage. But
the Kansas railroads were built on the
sale of their bonds, not on their stock
capital; accordingly we find them
loaded dow with over $70,000,000 of
indebtedness. The interest on none of
this is now paid, but as long as money
could be borrowed with which to pay it,
it did not average less than 8 per cent.,
or $5,600,090 per annum. All that the
Kansas roads in their best condition
ever pretended to earn was about
$3,400,000, or less than five per cent, on
their bonded indebtedness. Nor indeed
did they ever earn that amount or any
thing which approached to it. The
claim was that in a business which aver
aged but $3,800 per mile in gross re
ceipts, the net receipts were no less than
40 per cent, of that amount. To one
accustomed to dealing with railroad ac
counts, such a claim is simply prepos
terous. To produce such a result, the
operating and construction would be
muddled beyond all comprehension.
This is the time for liquidation ; the day
for doctored balance-sheets is, for the
time being, gone. Kansas, like many
other of the western states, is poor and
sparsely settled. To its railroad system
it can contribute but very sparingly
even for its population. It is probably
safe to say that the cost of operating
and'maintainingthe Kan as railroad sys
tem will consume for years to come 75
per cent, of its gross receipts. The
problem will then be how to at
most $3,000,000 per annum pay 8 per
cent, interest on $70,000,000 of princi
pal, besides a large amount of accrued
and unpaid coupons which Jare covered
by the mortgages.
The Modocs.
So completely have the Modocs dis
appeared frem public notice that the
visit to Yreka, Cal., of a small delega
tion of their tribe on a twenty days’
leave of absenceTrom their reservations,
has excited considerable interest in
their fate. From the Yreka Journal we
gather the following facts regarding
them at the present time : “ The tur
bulent, discontented, war-like Modoc
disappeared when Capt. Jack, Schon
chin, Boston Charley, and Black Jim
were executed on the scaffold at Fort
Klamath, and those now in existence
are leading quiet and peaceable lives in
the different reservations to which they
have been assigned. Schonchin’s fol
lowers are living at Yainox, a bleak and
dreary district seventy miles northeast
of Fort Klamath. They number about
120, including women and children.
Jack’s people, numbering about 170
penons, are settled in the Indian Terri
tory, under the chieftainship of Scar-!
faced Charley. Some sixty of the tribe,
who had not been engaged in the hostil- j
itirs against the whites, and were
friendly to them, are living in the new
country of the Modocs, which formerly
was a part of Siskiyou, in the lava re
gion, There is no perceptible increase
in their population, and in a few years
they will undoubtedly have ceased to
exist as a distinct tribe.”
The British, French, Belgian, Gar
man, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian,
Turkish, Grecian, and Syrian branches
of the Evangelical Alliance have issned
an invitation for the universal observ
ance of the first week in January, 1875,
from the 3d to the 10th, for prayer in
behalf of the whole world. Subjects
are designated for each day. A similar
programme will be prepared for the
United States,
VOL. 15-NO. 46.
SAYINGS AND DOINGS.
Oct on the Fly.—
J. Smith is dead. That fine young man
We never shall see more;
He’d been a member of the club
Since eighteen sixty-four.
His nose was Roman, and his eyes
Continually were peeled:
He made a splendid umpire, and
A beautiful left field.
His hair was red and “shingled” close;
Much sunburnt was his face ;
He never shone with more effect
Than on the second base.
Thongh not a matrimonial man.
He dearly loved a match;
And, like his sister, had but few
Superiors “on the catch.
Out of one hundred men you run
against, you will worry
ing themselves into low spirits and in
digestion about trouble that will never
come. 3
In Savoy the rivers Arne, Dranse and
Fier have been poisoned to kill fish,
which the queer fishermtn, who operate
in this style, gather up dead on the
surface.
Eveby year of our lives we grow more
convinced that it is the wisest and best
to fix our attention on the beautiful
and the good, and dwell as little as pos
sible on the evil and the false.
Adirondack Murray hasn’t put much
spirit into his sermon lately. The fact
is, when a man has to take care >f eight
fast horses all the week he can’t put in
many heavy licks for the Lord on Sun
day. N
At a recent meeting of a society com
posed of men from the Emerald isle, a
member made the following motion:
“Mr. President, I move yees whitewash
the ceiling green, in honor of the owld
flag ’” . • .
Wine growing is an important indus
try in the colony of Victoria, Australia,
and the government has forbidden the
importation of European vines for bear
of introducing some of the prevailing
diseases. _
The editor of the Guardian of Health
writes, “O for the fire of our grand
fathers !” Most men are satisfied with
the unsettled coal bills of the present
without sighing for a grandfather’s fuel
to owe for.
Frugality may be termed the daugh
ter of prudence, the sister of temper
ance, and the parent of liberty. He
that is extravagant will quickly be
come pocr, and poverty will enforce de
pendence and invite corruption.
According to an official report, there
were no less than 433,295 cases of chol
era in Hungary last year. Of this num
ber 237,718 reoovei ed, 182,549 died, and
the remainder were under treatment.
The deaths were therefore about 43 per
oent.
If the old man will insist on taking a
smoke after going to bed at night, the
sooner the house is insured for twice its
value the more complacent will be the
feelings of the relatives who stand by
when the firemen hunt among the ruins
for his bones.
An extraordinarily large turnip was
dug in a garden at Salt Lake the other
day, which, on being cut open, disclosed
a large-eized frog, well and hearty,
whioh tumbled out and hopped off; just
as if he was not the creature of a won
derful phenomenon.
Nineteen years ago a Tennessee fath
er refused to let his yountr daughter go
to a candy-pull, and she disappeared.
The other day she returned, lifted elev
en children out' of the wagon, and en
tered the house and took off her things
as coolly as if she had not been gone
over a day.
Sewing machines are opposed in
China on the score that they cheapen
labor. Several tailors in Hong Kong
who tried to introduce them were
mobbed. In America Chinese cheap
labor is derided, and in China Ameri
can cheap labor by machinery is forci
bly repudiated.
M. Decboix, chief veterinary surgeon
of the French army, gives the equine
population of Europe as follows: Rus
sia, 1,800,000; Austria, 3,100,000; Eng
land, 2,666,200; Germany, 2,500,000;
Turkev, 1,000,000; Spain, 650,000; Hol
land, 300,000; Belgium, 260,000; Swit
zer] afli. 110,000; and Fiance, 3,633,600.
One hundred years ago Louis XVI.
had just ascended the throne of the
Capets; there was no American repub
lic ; the colonization of Australia had
not begun ; there were fifty years more
to wait for the first railway, and no
body had distmbed the world with
such a notion as communication by
telegraph. .. _
Many years ago Gardiner Brewer, the
recently deceased Boston millionaire,
offered his daughter an annual income
of SIO,OOO upon condition that she
would remain single. Miss Brewer had
sufficient Boston brains about her per
son to accept the offer, thongh she’s
been head over ears in love so often
that the bare recollection of it makes
her dizzy. , , ~ _ T
Among some notes on duels the .New
York Post gives the following: “ Rich
ard Somers, a lieutenant in the navy of
the United States, a gentleman of mfld
manners and of a kindly nature, in
dulged in three duels in one day, and
lost so much blood from wounds re
ceived during the first two that he was
obliged to remain seated throughout
the third engagement. He is said
to have perished in the Interpid fire
sketch, before Tripoli, in 1804.”
Gambling was invented by the Lydi
ans when under the pressure of a great
famine. To divert themselves from
dwelling on their sufferings they invent
ed dice, balls, tables, etc. It is added
that, to bear their calamity the better,
they used to play a whole day without
intermission, that they might not feel
the effects of the watt of food. The
invention intended as a remedy for
hunger is now a very common cause for
that evil.
Said one girl to another, as they were
going to school, “We’re too early; we’ll
have to loaf around there until the
doors are open.” “Loaf around? re
plied the other, “that is not a pretty
expression.” 11 Well, I’d like to know,
said the reproved girl, “how I’m to
learn to talk proper, when I have three
brothers harping about ‘cbm music,
‘cheese it,' ‘whoop ’em up,’ ‘that is not
vour racket,’ and all that sort of talk
all the time.
Hygiene for the Aged.
In a recent clinical lecture at Guy’s
Hospital, London, Dr. Habershon dis
cussed the hygienic measures by which
the lives of the aged may be prolonged.
He urged that in prescribing for old
people a uniform warm temperature
should be advised, supporting his coun
sel by allusion to the case of his owir
mother, who survived to the great age
of 102. During the winter months of
the last year of her life she refused to
leave her bed, alleging that only there
could she keep warm. To this habit
the doctor ascribed her unusual longevi
ty. He also cited, in proof of his posi
tion, an instance in which on old man,
going out into the cold and fog, died
simply from the shock of the chill upon
his system. A degree of cold whioh
would produce merely unpleasant sensa
tions in usual cases would often lead to
fatal results in one whose circulation was
enfeebled, and whose vital force was
diminished by age. Dr. Habershon also
recommended that aged persons should
eat more frequently than others, as
their meals were generally sparing.
Those who wake at about 3 or 4 o’clock
in the morning should have some nour
ishment at hand, and not wait until the
ordinary breakfast honr to take their
first meal of the day. The interval be
tween supper at night and breakfast in
the morning is too long for persons in
declining strength.
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