The Eastman times. (Eastman, Dodge County, Ga.) 1873-1888, May 28, 1874, Image 1

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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 ?’ ”