Newspaper Page Text
EASTMAN TIMES.
A Baal Live Country Paper.
rrBLISHEP EVERY THFBBPAY MORNING
—BY—
R.9.BimTOKr. *
TKKMH OF 81BSCRIFTIOII i
One copy, one year #2.00
One copy, ei* months 1.00
Ten copies, in clube, one year, each 1.60
Single copies Sets
THE COLORADO MAUD MULLER.
L
“ Maud Muller, on a Bummer’s day,
Baked the meadow sweet with hay.”
Her clustering tresses, backward flung,
Adowu her graceful shoulders hung.
Beneath her rustic hat of straw,
Her eyes shot glances that would thaw
An ice-berg's frozen heart; or, felt
Their fire, the snows would melt
Upon yon cloud-capped pile, Pike’s Peak,
Aud trickle down his rugged cheek.
Her lips, like ripe, red cherries gleamed;
Her cheeks with health and beauty beamed.
Her hands, oh ! dainty brown were they,
And deftly raked the new-mown hay.
Her form, perfection’s self enthroned:
A breathing Psyche, golden-zoned.
11.
The judge came riding slowly by;
A tear stood in his bright blue eye.
His thoughts were on the checkered past;
Five loves, five graves, aud on the last
The wild flowers scarce a fortnight old
His latest, keenish anguish told.
Nor wealth, nor power, nor law’s renown,
His stately home in Denver town,
His fellow-townsmen’s love aud praise,
The proudest fame, the greenest bays,
Held aught of happiness for him.
For death, the spoiler, cold and grim,
Had snatched with all their wifely charms,
Five loviDg spouses from his arms.
Ah ! wretched man ! Five times bereft,
To him what earthly joy was left?
in.
With heavy heart and tearful eye,
The judge came riding slowly by,
When, liko a sudden burst of light,
*• Maud Muller” flashed upon his sight.
Oh ! Love, mysterious power divine!
What, elasticity is thine!
He gazed entranced. Straight from the skies
She seemed to his enraptured eyes,
A gift from Jove, from heaven sent,
To cheer this vale of discontent.
Such sweet simplicity! such grace!
Such queenly form, such peerless face !
Ho gazed, he sighed his heart away,
He kneeled before her on the hay,
And breathed a tale of deathless love
That must have moved the gods above.
She softly smiled and looked away,
Still raking up the new-mown hay,
Then paused; and grandly, like a queen,
She pointed o’er the meadow green
To where a stalwart yeoman stood.
“ Thet’s Bill,” she said; “ob-arve him good !
Unlesss you've got oncommon grit,
I guess, old chap, you’d better git!”
DOCTOR FOSTER S FEE.
“ Well r
Dr. Foster’s sister was not given to
expletives; the significant “well ” saved
breath, and answered the purpose of a
dozen questions.
The doctor showed liis appreciation
bv a prompt response, but abbreviated
m it.o game degree.
“ Bpasn. g >
Miss foster go Z od at her brother with
a comprehensive satiny, and, with the
wisdom for which women, are remark
able, she silently awaited the volubilitv
consequent upon this convae.
She brought him his slippers—not
one of the hundred and fifty pairs an
nually sent him by the grateful young
lady patients and widows wdiose lives lie
had saved so frequently during the
year, but a pair presented by herself ;
his dressing gown, also her own loving
work ,; then she resumed her seat oppo
site him at the table and looked at him
from under her half-closed eyelids. She
detected something unusual in his man
n r, and she knew the less cuiiosity she
exhibited the sooner would his anxiety
to unbosom himself bo gratified.
“ What a desirable physician’s wife
7°]] would make,” lie said, after a pause.
“ You never ask questions !”
A peculiar smile passed over her face
but she made no answer.
Another long silence ; then lie said,
impatiently, knocking the ashes from
Lis cigar:
“ Horrible night out!”
" It is, indeed, I hope you will not be
called out again. What a disagreeable
profession yours is, not omitting the
danger surrounding it.”
“ \\ ith all its dangers and unpleas
antness it has a charm for me above
every other. Saving a soul is grand,
but saving a life, using nature’s secrets
to conquer her enemv, is a power so
>cautitul, that the petty inconveniences
only enhance the fascination. ”
“ Fine theory for a young’ enthusiast,
but for a man who has practised as long
as yon have, I should think the glorv
were pretty well worn off. You didn’t
seem to bring any of it back with you
from your last visit.” J
“Oh ! you prac ical female ! while I
a.lmne the rainbow, vou measure the
c epth of the mud. You women alwavs
! rJ in extremes. It is a happy thing we
_ r ,f n , ofc J°. Bin gularly constituted—we,
io uifiet so many disappointments, or
life s tnwdmill mrald bo run by a blue
set of misanthropes.”
Miss Foster did not appear hurt at
his vmws. She knew how he had labored
ana suffered to gam the foothold that
ieu mm to his present prosperity,
and how, not this position alone, but
re , a 1(le nl of his profession had
given him courage to struggle—and con-
an!uS® <1U l i< r tl 7 rea cjied over the table,
them l lDg b ] B iand * n her two, oressed
you wiii V 1 S gly -u ayi ? g ' <<J understand
anxietv V dear ’ but 1 cauuot control the
when L° r your welfa rc and safety
pe0n1..".! ' 1 go amongst such inhuman
P you have just come from.”
a firmer^ra^ 1 dldclutch m J oa ne with
borhood g R 3B 1 n u? r ? d the neigh '
but if yoi/lni H a - !UDOUS location *
can reran t ./bink a moment, you
tack or threlT’ lf i T y ’ instanoes of at-
Thev ri? ed daiJger to one of hb.”
crod, or possibjl h ° ld you 8a ‘
y'v a l?able4home- ,?OW 3<m
who accept a raH°* lt ° f ten ’ tbe doctor
has no
brother. J 63 h>se,” answered her
< a e J
jty has ST • l J r ° fchei i? P ros P er ‘
borious glorv ” Uta H , ldeas of y° ur la *
Foster. 1 ’ qui °aly answered Miss
doctor, 1 ' 6 Z®,? are . again,” laughed the
tion, the disagree°ab?e 3pt 7 lth< !, nt qiles *
w b°le as a matbS* nd CoDdemu the
somebody ii ls t ~ur r , course. I wish
you would Kohhl tnalfgood enou gh for
aud teach von y ° U ?P matrimonially
“ Thank Ton go , od ther e is i n us/’
“ Come* ais n„ said , M,,s Poster,<lrily.
**• X b i e want
pire&flatters
Two Dollars Per Annum,
VOLUME 11.
it is to Lave the “mighty man” come
down from his eialted estate, in the
realms of masculine conceit, and call
her into counsed.
vise you,” replied Miss Foster, with
pleasing dignity.
As I was hurrying along this even
-10 n a for whom I was
called, I was turning over in my mind
whether it won'd not be a charity to
lot such miserable offsprings of vice and
crime die.”
“ What a hideous thought.”
Oh, 1 did not slacken my pace in the
the least, during the undecided state of
mind. T was merely revolving the idea
for future consideration.”
‘ Is this the subject that requires my
advice ?” J
“ Do be patient*; I’ll get to that by
and by. As I was saying, 1 expected to
find the child in a state of strangula
tion, by the frantic endeavors of two or
three dozen tender-hearted neighbors,
as is generally the case with that class
of people, each closing around the poor
thing to prevent a breath of air reaching
the sufferer ; one holding it by the feet,
head downward, another beating it on
the back, another throwing hot water
on its head, while still another applies
cold water to its feet, the rest vieing
with each other who should get their
finger down its throat the farthest to
superinduoe the much-desired stom
achic reaction, so indispensable to their
own well-being after certain spiritual
oonsolations.”
“ Poor little creature !” exclaimed the
sister.
“ Those children invariably survive,
however, unhappily for the state of so
ciety and themselves, if they ever real
ize kieir condition on this earth. I was
prepared to scatter such a mob when I
entered the wretched tenament, follow
ing my directions. I knocked at the
door, rather surprised at the silence
within. It was opened by a young wo
man.”
The doctor stopped short here, and
seemed to become lost in a vision pre
sented to his mind’s eye.
“ Was she white? and did she have a
clean face?”
“ Wry white ! very clean, very !”
“ Was she dressed clean and neat?”
“ Scrupulously so!”
“Was she rretty?”
“ That common term is not suited to
her at all. She had the most exquisite
face I ever saw. Her eyes, without
knowing their color, haunt me with an
angelic expression. I cannot get rid of
them. I cannot account for it. They
seemed to appeal to me for help, and
yet there was nothing in her manner to
indicate anything of the kind ?”
Miss Foster sat thinking and study
ing her brother’s face, then she asked :
“ What about the child, was it hers ?”
“ T <1;,! not think of asking
li6r. oho held douo Jill tlifit wus nocos
sary ; it had probably eaten something
indigestible, and it resulted in a spasm.
She said in her fright she had hurriedly
begged the first peison she saw outside
<>f her door to run for a doctor, but re
gretted it because she had no money to
pay me, and she knew very well how to
mauage in such an emergency.”
Here the doctor, in a shame-faced
sort of way, drew from his vest pocket
a handkerchief, if the bit of laoe and
fibres of linen may be named such, and
laid it on the table before his sister
That lady examined it, and pronouDO
ed it real.
“ That has been stolen,” she decided •
“it never cost less than fifty dollars!
Ve y likely it would have been disposed
of if the initials had not been worked
in.”
Where? let me see,” exclaimed the
doctor in an excitement quite unusual.
“F. T.”
He gazed at the letters a long while,
then he folded the little web of lace
into a minute package aud placed it in
a covered compartment of his pocket
book.
“ What are you goiug to do with it ?”
“ Keep it until, she comes for it.”
Miss Foster went over to him, felt
his pulse, his brow, his hands, sat down
again with a dark frown on her face,
sayiDg :
“If your confidence in this strange
person is not a feverish fancy, there
must be something eke the matter with
you. Did she say she would redeem it?”
“She did, and I really long to see her
sweet face again, as one longs for a
touching melodic or a beautiful pic
ture.”
“ How came such an exotic in a filthy
marsh ?” tartly questioned Miss Foster.
“That, I shall leave for your woman
ly good sense to discover. You will do
me the favor to visit her to-morrow,
and aid in such a manner as tlie case
calls for. She is certainly not an ob
ject of charity in the ordinary sense—
but—why multiply words ? I can place
the matter in your keeping. You can
judge and manage with a delicate tact.
My kind would spoil in bungling.”
How well he knew the rather rigor
ous exterior of his old maid sister cov
ered a heart tender and warm, a mind
above harboring little jealousies or
blind condemnation.
The first thought in her mind the
following morning was this strange
charge.
“ Who knows how sadly this woman
needs a woman’s sympathy and aid ?”
she said to herself as she sat beside her
brother on their way to her.
He left her there, knowing she was
familiar with poverty and feared no
harm in her missions of mercy, this not
being her first trial by very many.
Passing through a multitude of dirty
faces, both old and young, agape with
curiosity, very likely hungry 'also, as
bad whisky was cheaper than bad bread,
Miss Fc ster reached her destination.
She found everything as her brother
had described, clean, what there was;
only a few of the most necessary arti
cles ; three chairs, a table, a bed and a
stove, not Fillje’s best either.
Seated at a table holding a child of
about eighteen months old on her lap,
was the young woman in question.
Putting the child from her she rose,
placed a chair for her visitor and in a
ladylike and dignified manner asked her
how she could be of service.
“ That remains to be seen,” pleasant
ly replied Miss Foster.
“ I came at the request of my brother,
Doctor Foster, who called here last;
evening, to see if we could serve yoii.”
The young woman looked at Miss
Foster, and that lady returned the gaze.
EASTMAN, DODGE CO., GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1874.
An invisible power established confi
dence between the two.
“ God knows I need help some way,”
replied the young woman, taking the
child on her lap again, caressing its
silken hair meanwhile.
“Are you alone?”
“ Yes, Susie and I are all that are
left; the others all died with the yellow
fever at Memphis a few weeks ago. A
kind soul who used to wash and help
about the house at home brought us
with her to St. Louis, until the horror
was over. This is her room and the
people you see around this place are
her friends. I am a perfect stranger,
not one dollar do we own ; grateful for
even this shelter until we can return
and gather the remnants my dead par
ents left in the confusion and distress.
Grief for the dead and care for this lit
tle one is all that is left me in the wide
world. You can well imagine I thought
u Hiking but safety for ourselves,
when it was to be obtained, and flight
from the horrors I was helpless to miti-
* ever be able to for
get?”
, !*} ou . are only one of many, poor
cfiild, who must carry in their hearts
the memory of this terrible time. If
you arc friendless, the God who per
mitted your sorrow will also heal it,
and new friends will rise up to help the
worthy and protect the orphan. We
do wish to forget a grief, dear, but we
know time will lighten it.”
Miss Foster’s voice had the true ring
of feeling as she said this, and the
young woman saw the first tears shed
in er own s i Q ceher trouble.
Ihis child is your sister, I judge?”
My sister, yes ; three others, father
and mother, all were taken from me in
one day. How we escaped a touch of
the fearful disease is a marvel. We
were led to the boat by the kind woman
with what we had on, nothing more;
we have been here two weeks, an eterni
ty it seems, and still there seems no
prospect of a safe return. But thank
ful as I am for this woman’s goodness I
believe I should die before another such
time could elapse in this place. We
fear to go out, and still I don’t like to
leave Susie in this close air constantly.”
“You must go right home with me !”
“Oh! You are an angel, and vour
confidence in me shall not be abused.
Until I caD go home, we will be as little
trouble as possible. Perhaps I can
make myself useful. Oh, dear madam,”
said the girl between her sobs, “you
cannot, who perhaps have never known
what it is to be so utterly alone, you
cannot know how sweet it is to have a
friend once more. We were so lone
some, so wretched, weren’t we, little
Susie ?” said she patting the little one
on the cheek in pleasurable excitement
And so Miss Foster took her charges
home, and her br ither.was not a little
startled when the sweet blushing face
and the haunting eyes met him at the
dinner-table that day.
When he had heard all the particu
lars, he said in tender admiration :
“ Sister, you’re a fine woman, a wo
man of quick perception and excel ent
judgment; how wise it was to bring
them here. I’m sure I never should
have thought of such a thing.”
The old maid and the young doctor
lost much of their quiet comfoi tby this
addition to the little household ; but
they appeared to gain a vast amount of
pleasure in the company of the little
girl. Miss Foster endured the disar
rangement of her household affairs with
an amiability quite remarkable, took
the greatest delight in making pretty
little garments, and actually became
frolicsome herself occasionally.
*‘U. T.” or Fannie Talbot, proved her
self :.is lovable in character as her face
indicated, and Miss Foster’s “quick
perception” noticed that her brother
stood in danger of suffering a severe
loss, anatomically speaking, but the
same faculty that made this diaooverv
also observed the article had fallen int'o
tender hands, while undergoing the
same privation. 6
In the mean time the doctor had ta
ken measures to have the young ladv’s
property protected, and sent a respon
sible party to attend to all her affairs
when it was safe to do so.
“Dear Miss Foster,” said the young
lady one day, 4 ‘don’t you think it is about
time for us to relieve you of our trou
blesome selves ?”
“ Do you want to leave us ?”
“ Want to leave you ? You have ta
ken us to your heart aud home without
question, cared for ns, cheered us, as if
you had known and loved us always,
aud all our trust!”
“My dear, if people would accept
more of that which has an ill seem
ing on trust, they would find much
more that was trustworthy. But
suppose you go into the doctor’s study
and redeem your handkerchief, and ask
him what he thinks about your leaving.
You had better follow his advice.”
Fannie knocked at the study door and
was invited to enter. She stepped in
side—and hesitated—
“ I came to redeem my lace handker
chief.”
“You will have to pay dear for it,”
said he coming towards her.
“ Fannie !”
That was all—but she looked dread
fully guilty when he led her to his sis
ter a little later, who simply looked
happy and said with quiet meaning ;
“As one longs for a touching melody
or a beautiful picture.”
Cannon Made of Ice.
A hollow cylinder will bear a greater
st’.ain than a solid one. Many of us
know by experiment what a hard pres
sure an egg will resist when placed end
wise between the hands. This curious
strength in a round but weak substance
is due to the exact, orderly arrangement
of their particles, i. e., in perfect curves.
A memorable illustration was seen in
the mock artillery set to play guard in
front of that creation of imperial whim,
the ice palace of Catharine, of Russia.
Before the palace stood six cannons of
ice, and two mortars, formed like cast
pieces. The cannons were six-pound
ers, which are commonly loaded with
three pounds of powder ; these, howev
er, were loaded with a quarter of a
pound, and carried a ball of stuffed
hemp and sometimes of iron. The balls,
a distance of sixty paces, passed through
a board two inches in thickness ; the
ice of the cannon conld not have been
more than three or four inches in thick
ness, and yet it resisted the force of the
explosion.
In God }t~e 2'rust .
CHINESE WOMEN.
What a Lady of Kank Thinks ol Her
Almond-Eyed Sisters.
The Chinese harem is nothing like so
closely kept as the Mohammedans, yet
ladies of rank and position do not re
ceive visits or hold any conversation
with gentlemen who are not immediate
relatives. Two Chinese merchants, or
mandarins, however closely allied’ in
business or pleasure, would never see
each other’s wives, or pass in that por
tion of the dwelling into which I was
absuit to be admitted. The middle class
of Chinese women mix freely with their
own countrymen, as also foreigners,
whereas Turkish women must be quite
degraded to appear before a man with
out the yashmack. Probably the differ
ence is that the Chinese regards this
practice of mixing in familiar inter
course with the other sex as unlady-like
and unbecoming, while the Turks re
gard it as immoral.
Thus, a little love-making or intrigue
might possibly be carried on in a Chinese
establishment without fatal consequen
ces, when such a proceeding in Turkey
could have no other termination than a
sack and the Bosphorus for the lady,
and a poniard for the lover. So strict
is this mode of justice, that even allied
armies consent to yield up any such of
fender of the Mohammedan law. To
be sure, in a Chinese house any love
making. except by pantomine, would be
attended with insuperable difficulties.
Certainly, no tete-a tete could take
place with the smallest degree of com
fort or safety, there being no doors to
shut, and no boudoir where the prying
eyes of half a dozen wives could not
spy around a corner ; but the Chinese
rarely experience love as a sentiment.
They know nothing of the “sad and
mad, but, ah !so sweet!” of the poet’s
love, and are married in the adolescent
state. Affection and passion exists, but
very little romance.
There are no lovers’ walks, no paths
being wide enough to admit of two
walking comfortably together; no buggy
rides, no sleigh driving, no umbrageous
bowers, or chiro-oscura corners in
churches, cars or theaters. There
seems to be too many people in China
for any two to get a private nook for
themselves. Nevertheless in spite of
paganism and polygamy, it is my opin
ion that a Chinese woman is both mod
est and moral. She is married young,
and is rarely unfaithful to her husband,
taking meekly a first or a fifth share of
affection. If he dies she remains a
widow, and seldom marries again. If
in the lower classes, she works for her
own living until her children can sup
port her ; if in the upper giade, she re
mains an inmate of her husband’s fam
ily. The virtuous conduct of a woman
through a long life is more highly
esteemed in China than any other coun
try. Temples are raised in honor of
virtuous women, as, in other countries
monuments are erected to heroes.
In the temple consecrated to pure
women there is a female figure upon
the altar, the goddess of chastity—l
should prefer saying the patron saint, as
I believe it ought to be—and around
her, in small frames, are inscribed the
names of such women as had been
faithful to their widowhood UDtil th.*y
have attained the age of 60. Sometimes
they are virgin widows, their husbands
having died immediately after their be
trothal. In this event the girl goes
through the marriage ceremonies with a
paper bridegroom, aud is then escorted
in the usual way, to the residence of his
people, where, if she lives all of her
life true to his memory, she becomes
one of the elect in the temple of chas
tity, and is honored for her celibacy.
On the other hand, the custom is not
unknown, though comparatively rare,
for a wife to destroy herself on the
death of her husband. She will invite
all of her friends to a banquet, array
herself in scarlet, and, in the presence
of her guests, rush to a rope which is
suspends l , mount a chair or table, put
her head into a noose, kick over the
chair and hang herself without any one
interfering to stop her. Such is the
extreme devotion to the husband in
China.— Viscoxintcss Avonmore.
An Ohio Giant.
A Cleveland paper relates a number
of anecdotes illustrative of the strength
and size f Abner Mcllrath, whom it
dubs a giant. It appears that Mcllrath
is sixty-one years of age, and is six feet
seven and a half inches, standing in his
boots, fairly proportioned in form, with
out an ounce of waste flesh. He was
and is a giant in muscular strength as
well as physically. He has lifted 1,700
pounds of iron, and a blow with his
massive fist and long arm was so power
ful that on one occasion, when some
twelve or fifteen sailors went out to bis
place to “ raise a muss,” he thrashed
the whole lot and threw them one bv
one out of the door, just as one could
throw so many babies, and that
operation he dared not double his fist
for fear his blows might prove fatal to
some of the rowdies. “ Abe ” formerly
carried on the business of a cooper, and
used to come to town with his load of
barrels. On one occasion, while stop
ping at the “ Red Tavern,” lately known
as the “Jackson House,” and which is
now torn down, a snob from town who
was out there with his turn out, in the
shape of a dvery horse and buggy, got
into a difficulty with Abe, and having
insulted him in some way or another,
Abe resented it by lifting the buggy
right up aud straddling it across the
fence, and then got on his wagon and
drove off to town, whistling as though
nothing was the matter and leaving the
luckless dandy to get his buggy off the
fence as best he was able.
Chinese Trust,
In all places in China you may see a
string of coolies rushing through tbe
streets carrying loads of money. There
is not a policeman to be seen, except
occasionally at the gates or in time of
trouble. You may see a shroff with a
lot of dollars in a flat tray, examining
them intently as they pass, click, over
his thumb ; sometimes a posse of idlers,
consisting of chair - bearers, coolies,
cooks and servants, all looking on.
There does not seem to be even the sus
picion that any one might attempt to
kick the tray over and bolt with what
he could get in the scramble. Why,
even in that nest of niqnity, Hong
Kong, you mar see at that most com
fortable of building, the Oriental bank,
a lot of Chinamen counting and exam
ining, perhaps, thousands of dollars that
are being paid to them, and some of the
greatest scoundrels unhai ged passing
constantly: perhaps they think the men
in the streets would most likely be hon
es' enough to catch them, but it is
rather doubtful if they dare. Money
and valuables are exposed in a way that
would never be dreamed of in'England;
and the simdarity of dress, the narrow
ness aud crowded state of the streets in
China, all would aid in the escape of a
robber.
The Untutored Negro in His Native
Wilds.
Tho whole of my experience in Cen
tral Africa says that the negroes, not
yet spoiled by contact with the slave
trade, are distinguished for friendliness
and sound sense. Some can be guilty
of great wickedness, and seem to think
little about it, others perform aetions as
unmistakably good with no great self
complacency, and, if ore catalogued all
the good deeds or a 1 the bad ones he
came across, he might think the men ex
tremely good or extremely bad, instead
of calling them, like ouiselves, curious
compounds of good and evil. In one
point, they are remarkable—they are
honest. Even among the canuibal Man
yuema a slave-trader at Bambuare aud I
had to send our goats and fowls up to
the Manyuema village to prevent their
being stolen by my friends’ own slaves.
Another wide-spread trait of character
is a trusting disposition. The Central
African tribes are the antipodes to some
of the North American Indians, and
very unlike many of their own country
men who have come into contact with
Mohammedans and Portugu se and
Dutch Christians. They at ones per
ceive the superiority of the strangers in
power of mischief, aud readily listen to
and ponder over friendly advice. Af
ter the cruel massacre of Nyangue—
which I unfortunately witnessed—four
teen chiefs, whose villages had been de
stroyed and many of them killed, fled
to my house and begged me to make
peace for them with the Arabs, and then
come over to their side of the river
Lualaba, divide their country anew and
point out where each should build a
new village and cultivate other planta
tions. The peace was easily made, for
the Arabs had had no excuse for their
senseless murders, and each blamed the
other for the guilt.—Dr. Livingstone.
Curious Scenes in a Church.
There seems to have been a great
deal of sport at the annual public meet
ing in connection with the Pastor’s Col
lege, held recently in Mr. Spurgeon’s
Tabernacle. The pioceedings, says the
Pall Mall Gazette, having opened with
prayer, and fcue speeches having been
delivered, a song calle l “The Life
boat" was sung by a gentleman who
explained that it was sung in America
“to endeavor to touch the hearts of
hardened people who would not listen
to regular and well known hymns.”
This admirable song, which, it is stated,
“ has a moral or religious termination,”
was a great success, and brought down
showers of applause. Mr. Spurgeon
next introduced Dr. Hillier, who, he
said, had been a soldier, and could play
every wind ins rument in existence. He
asked him to show the audience how he
drew people together when he wanted
to preach the gospel to them, and con
cluded with “come along, doctor.”
The doctor thus urged, did “come
along,” and having played “The Last
Rose of Summer ” with variation-?, on a
clarionet, addressed the meeting, say
iug that he was under a misapprehen
sion, as he expected he would have to
make a speech upon “ the holy stick ” he
had j ust lai 1 down. He then, to illustrate
the lack of musical taste in those who
conducted the singing in churches of
the present day, told a story of a north
ern church where a difficult tune was
chosen, the refrain of the hymn being
repeated once or twice. The last line
of the first verse was “ And bow before
His throne.” The result of the selec
tion was that it was rendered “ Aud
bow-bow-bow,” “ And bow-bow-bow,”
“And bow before His throne.” This
story produced “roars of laughter,”
followed by a brief address and a liymu,
and the proceedings closed with the
benediction.
An Alabama Poker Hand.
Bill J , the sheriff of Colbert
county, Ala., a zealous poker-player
and a prosperous Teutonic merchant of
Tuscumbia, named S , were travel
ing on the cars, and in order to pass
away the time, engaged in a game of
euchre. After playing some time, the
jolly Dutchman left h ; s seat to get a
drink of water, and Bill, knowing that
he, too, had a penchant for poker, took
advantage of his absence and dealt him
a hand with four kings in it, and turned
up the queen for a trump. Returning
in a moment and lifting his hand, S. at
once conceived the brilliant idea* of
playing the hand pt p-Ao*, au j accord
ingly suggested it to Bill, who consen
ted, provided that he might be allowed
to discard one of his cards and take up
the queen. To this S. at once agreed,
and the game proceeded. Says S. :
“ Bill, I bets you five dollars.” in turn
Bill raised him ten dollars more.
“Well,”-said S., “fifteen dollars will
joost pay mine expense und some odder
tings, and I calls you, Bill at the
same time exhibiting his hand with four
kings, and reaching for the money.
“Hold on,” says Bill, “I have four
aces !” Nervously and in silence, the
astonished Dutchman gathered the cards
and shuffled them for a moment or two.
Then, with his chin resting on both
clenched hands, and his eyes staring
into uncertainty, he exclaimed : “I say,
Bill, joost you told me vot de duyfel
dot queen had to do mit dot band ?”
And up to this hour his mind is per
plexed continually to find the part that
card had played in the game.—Louis
ville Journal.
—The St. Augustine Press says the
manatee, or sea cow, continues her dom
icil in Bar creek. Fishermen have again
reported it, and citizens are anxious to
go after it; but the owner of the land
which encloses Bar creek claims it as
his property, and has forbid any one
from meddling with it, under a prose
cution for trespass. The mouths of
the creek are to be stooped by strong
fences, and the animal kept there for ex-
• Payable in Advance.
NUMBER 18.
hibition next season. It will be remem
bered that two or three years ago a very
large one was seem in St. Augustine
harbor. It came up t the water bat
tery of the fort, where it remained un
till pelted away by the boys, Fisher
men report them as having been fre
quently seen in the harbor.
THE NIAM-NIAMS.
C lustomsof a Sitignlar Tribe ot Sirgroes
in Central Africa.
Dr. Schweinfurth lived among these
Niam-niams long enough to make a very
thorough study of their character. He
possesses such large insight that even
here among cannibals we find him
searching out the good and the human
in these creatures, who seem but little
above the beasts, and declaring them to
be men of like passions with ourselves,
equally subject to the same sontiments
of grief and joy, and even with a keen
appreciation of humor. With the ex
ception of their appetite for human
flesh, their customs are substantially
the same as those of other wild African
tribes. They wear very little clothing,
and spend all their energy on their
head-dresses. A remarkable but com
mon head-dress among these curious
savages is made by a hoop, which is
fastened to the lower rim of a straw hat.
Single tresses of hair are then taken
from all parts of the head and stretched
tightly over the hoop, producing an
effect like the rays of glory which adorn
the pictures of a saint. This elaborate
coiffure demands great attention, and
much labor must be spent upon it every
day.
Whenever a Niam-niam has lost any
very near relative, the first token of his
bereavement is shown by his shaving
his head. His elaborate coiffure—that
which had been his pride and his de
light, the labor of devoted conjugal
hands —is all ruthlessly destroyed, the
tufts, the braids, the tresses, being scat
tered far and wide about the roads iu
the recesses of the wilderness.
The time of these people, when they
are not at war with sui rounding tribes,
is divided between hunting and tilling
the soil. Sweet-potatoes and yams are
easily cultivated and, the tobacco crop
is large and of excellent quality. All
the Niam-niams are great lovers of to
bacco. They never chew, but smoke
the fragrant weed from neat little clay
pipes. Of all the plants which are cul
tivated by the natives of Central Africa,
none excites a feeling of greater inter
est than tobacco, suggesting, as it does,
a curious conformity of habit among
peoples far remote. Although the wan
derer in the wilderness may not eat the
food of his African entertainer, nor
drink his curious decoction of various
herbs, he still can sit down and smoke
with, him, enjoying a feeling of brother
hood in that particular at least. It is a
sure indication of the foreign origin of
this plant that there is not a tribe from
the Niger to the Nile which has a native
word of its own to denote it.
The Niam niams show much skill and
artistic taste in moulding clay and in
wood-carving. They manufacture all
kinds of dishes and bowls, and water
flasks of divers patterns, some being
really beautiful in design. They ap
pear to have an instinctive love of art, and
musicians rejoices their very soul. The
little mandolin, which they carve from
wood, is the most perfect musical in
strument found among the wild Afri
cans. It has five or six strings, arranged
on strict acoustic principles, with screws
for tightening and timing them. The
music of these little instruments is
wild, melancholy, and monotonous, but
it thrills the inmost nature of the na
tive. There is a singular class of pro
fessional music among the Niam-niams
which seem to be a grotesque echo of
the wandering troubadors of olden time,
These musicians present a remarkable
appearance. They are always decked
out in the most fantastic way with feath
ers, and covered with a promiscuous ar
ray of bits of wood and roots, and all
the pretentions emblems of magical art,
the feet of earth-pigs, the shells of tor
toises, the beaks of eagles, the claws of
birds, and teeth in every variety. They
wander about from village to village,
reciting tales of ancient heroes as well
as their own adventures, never forget
ting to conclude by an appeal to the
liberality of the audience, reminding
them that a reward either of copper
rings or be ;ds would be thankfully re
ceived.—Harper's Magazine.
The Philosophy of Rain.
To understand the philosophy of this
beautiful and often sublime phenome
non, so often witnessed and so very es
sontial to the existence of plants and
animals, a few facts derived from ob
servation and a long train of experi
ments, must be remembered:
1. Were the atmosphere here, every
where and at all times, of a uniform
temperature, we should never have
TftlTl, nml o* fijao'n*. Tiro wa, icr t* l/ee/x 1/cJ
by it in evaporation, from the sea and
the earth’s surface, would descend in an
imperceptible vapor, or cease to be
absorbed by the air when it was once
fully saturated.
2. The absorbing power of the at
mosphere, and consequently its capac
ity to retain humidity, is apportionately
greater in warm than in cold air. The
air near the surface of the earth is
warmer than it is in the regions of the
clouds. The higher we ascend from the
earth the colder do we find the atmos
phere. Hence the perpetual snow on
very high mountains in the hottest
climate.
Now, when from continued evapora
tion the air is highly saturated with
vapor, though it be invisible and the
sky cloudless, if its temperature is sud
denly reduced by cold currents de
scending from above, or rushing from a
higher to a lower latitude, by the mo
tion of a saturated air to a lower lati
tude, its capacity to retain moisture is
diminished, clouds are formed,' and
rain is the result. It condenses, it
cools, and like a sponge filled with
water and compressed, pours out the
water which its diminished capacity
cannot hold.
—“ The most difficult thing to reach
is a woman’s pocket, especially if the
dress is hung up in a closet, and
the man is in a hurry,” says the Danbu
ry Nows; but the women themselves
have a different opinion on the subject.
EASTMAN TIMES.
KITES OF ADYERTIfiINfI !
spacx. Im. j Bm. 6m. 12 in.
One Bquire $4 00 $ 7 00 f 1000 S 16 00
Two squares.. 625 12 ooj 18 00 00
Four squares 975 19 01)) 28 00 *9 00
One-fourth coL. 11 R 0 22 601 ,34 00 46 00
One-half col 20 00 82 &0 65 00 80 00
One column 85 00 60 OP I 80 00 130 08
Advertisements inserted at the rate of fIJSO per
square for the first insertion, and 75 cents for each
subsequent one. Ten lines or less constitute a
square.
Professional cards, $13.00 iyr annum; for Ml
months, SIO.OO, in advance.
FACTS AND FANCIES.
—A Memphis paper savs of a little
girl who died there : “ Sue’s jumping
the rope with the angels to-day. ”
—A Nashville man broke his leg
while trying to get a No. 10 foot into a
No. 8 boot, but he says he’ll do it or die.
—When that girl baby' born in La
Crosse with two perfect tongues grows
up, there will be difficulty in getting a
husband for her.
—ln the last two years forty English
steamers have entered Norfolk, Va., har
bor, bringing 2,550 English passengers
and more thau $5,000,000 of wealth to
the country.
—A young, unmarried clergyman, of
Brookport, Penn., offers twenty cords
wood for a good wife. He retains just
enough for crematory purposes, in case
she isn’t a success.
“l’m so thirsty!” said a boy at
Work in a corn-field. “Well, work
away,” said his industrious father.
“ You kuow the prophet says : ‘ Hoe,
every one that thirsteth.’ ”
—Prof. Snell, of Amherst college,
says that his records show that the last
April was the coldest one in thirty-six
years, the temperature having been sev
en degrees below the mean.
—A Savannah dancing master has en
tered suit against the Savannah and
Skidaway railroad for SIOO damages,
from the failure of the train to take him
to his dancing class on time.
—Daniel Pratt now comes to the sur
face to say that no man can strike a
harder blow by spitting on his hands
first, and that it is a useless custom
which he would like to see abolished.
—A Denver (Colorado) physician pro
tests agaiust eastern doctors allowing
their patieuts in the last stage of con
sumption to go to Colorado. The air
is rarer, and contains less oxygen, and
is too trying if the disease is far advan
ced.
—Four Springfield ladies enjoyed
themselves, Sunday. They sat and
heard their minister tell what good wo
men their husbands’ first wives were,
and admired the memo ial windows by
which the sorrowing man had commem
orated their virtues.
—A Scotch postmaster, puzzling out
a very uncertain superscription to an
Irish letter, jocosely remarked to an in
telligent son of Erin, who stood by, that
tho Irish brought a hard set of names to
Scotland. “ That’s a fact, yer honor,”
replied tho Irishman, “but they get
harder ones after they arrive here.”
—lt was an unfortunate idea making
the new ten-cent scrip so much like the
fifty cent scrip. It is no pleasant sen
sation, after hurrying from a store and
all the way home under the impression
that you have beaten somebody out of
forty cents, to find you have the right
change after all. We may be a little
prejudiced, but it strikes us this is tak
ing an uugenerous advantage of trust
ing nature.
—“ Haven’t I got a better undershirt
than this? It’s split clear down the
back,” is what a Tipton man snarled at
his wife Sunday morning. And when
the lady looked in and saw her indignant
husband standing with his arms Tun
down the leg3 of his drawers, and look
ing for some place to put his head
through, she shrieked aud ran out of
tho room to conceal her emotion.
—A darkey was trying to steal a goose,
but a fierce dog raised an opposition
and Sambo retired. The next night he
tried it again, but a violent thunder
stoim interfered, and just as he had
captured his prize the lightning struck
him and nearly frightened the poor fel
low to death. Dropping the goose, he
ran off muttering: “ Peers to me dere
am a mighty lot of fuss made ’bom a
common goose !”
—A New Hampshire farmer wanted a
farm-hand, and was applied to by an
Irishman who wanted to work. The far
mer objected to engaging Pat on the
ground that two Irishmen previously in
his employ had died on his hands.
“ Then you object to hiring me for that
do ve?” said Pat. “Faith aud I can
bring you ricommendations from mr ny a
place where I’ve worked that I never
played such a trick !”
—A couple recently applied to a New
Jersey justice to be married. On cate
chising the lady the justice learned that
she had a husband living, and had never
been divorced from bim. The young
man thereupon declared that the ob
stacle was insurmountable, and the cer
emony could not take place. “If that
is all’the trouble,” said the would-be
bride, “ I’ll just take my little pi tol
and shoot that nasty husband of mine
on the spot.”
—Dr. Beard is of opinion that the in
tellect reaches its maximum develops
ment at the age of forty, after which
it begins to decay. He not only thinks
that men lose intellectual power after
this age, but tliat tliej- ; bccomo worse,
often much worse, as they become old
er ; that they lose their moral enthusi
asm, or moral courage, or capacity of
resisting temptation and enduring dis
appointment, and frequently sink iato
senile debauchees.
A nice young man in’ Des Moines
got married not long ago. He had
worked his way to the bottom of the
drawer, and got reduced to the last
clean shirt. He thereupon rose earlier
than usual one morning, and kindled a
fire. When hanging on the kettle, he
made a noise on purpose to arouse his
wife. She immediately peeped over the
blankets, and exclaimed: “My dear,
what are you doiDg ?” He deliberately
lesponded : “ I’ve put on my last clean
shirt, and I’m going to wash one far
myself.” “Very well,” replied she,
“ you had better wash one far me, too 1”
—Sufferers, whose unhappy lot in life
it has been to live next door to a musi
cal family, will appreciate a story that is
told of Von Rulow, the eminent German
pianist-. An aspiring genius had been
sent to him to receive some lessons in
music. On the youth’s return home, he
was asked his opinion of the master.
“ Well,” said he, “he is a great teacher,
and gave me fine lessons, and, better
than all, he is the most pious man I ever
saw.” “ How do you make that out?”
“Why, all the time I was playing he
would repeat, ‘Good Lord, what sin
have I committed, to deserve this
punishment ?’ ”