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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. *. * • a