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A LIGHT HEART AND A TRUE.
Bomebody has no Valentine;
A simple country lass is she.
Anil in a lonely place she dwells
Iu lowly cot beside the -ea.
Jii't seventeen her years; her hair
la golden, an 1 her eyes are blue.
No witching tieauty he; but ah:
Bh<' has a light heart and a true.
Somebody w >t k- the whole day lon f
Her hands, thongh small, are sti'ong and
brown,
And la k. he fears th ■ da nty torch
Tint mni lens have who live in t >wn
Somebody sings from morn t .ll night
Songs that are ■ an e worth listening to
And n< t a talent has th • but
She h i a light heart and u true.
are for wealth;
S uriel. *ly brinks from pomp and pride;
Her lover might be poor, and yet
f or him h<r door would open wide.
Somebody ■ ar, a cotton gown;
Homebody's wants are very few,
.Non who will ba her Valentine,
And gain a light heart au 1 a truoi
TWO VALENTINES.
It was a typical winter day. A fine,
powdery now was falling, and a fringe
f icich s adorned t lie steep gables of
bam and farm houses. The big cotton
wood t roes along the ro idsidc rattled and
shook dismally.
I ut in spite of the cheerless prospect,
Malvern Traverse whittled cheerily to
him i If as lie breastc I the driving wind
and made 1 1 is way through the dry, fast
faliing snow toward his home.
“1 11 put it under her door to-night,”
he was saying to himself, with a smile in
his ha/.el gray eyes. ‘T want her to be
sure and get it the day before St. Valen
tine s Day. ‘The first person you sre on
the Pith of February is going to be your
valentine T hat’s what die said herself,
and I'm bound I shall be the first one she
see.-. If she’s willing to be my valen
tine, she’ll be at the window—”
Here his meditations we e interrupted
by the sudden opening of the door as he
rein lied the threshold, and by a sharp
voice exclaiming:
“Hurry in, fur pity sake, Malvern, and
don t be a letting a snow-bank inter the
house!”
And Malvern obediently hurried in” as
lie answered, with a smile:
.‘ No danger of that, I’riscilla. There
ain’i quite a snow-bank on the porch
yet. ”
“There's mighty nigh it, then! ’ grum
bled his si.-dcr in-law. “Hut you don’t
seem to mind a-tramping over to the
postoflicc in such a storm, and all fur
nothin’, I’ll be bound! Git, any let
ters;”
“No,’’ returned Malvern, meekly.
“I told you so!” retorted Mrs. 1 rise'll
la, iu a tone of triumph.
She was a wor.hy widow, and wield
ed the domestic sceptre in her ba lielor
brother-in-law’s establishment with wis
dom and moderation. Hut as there is no
rose without a thorn, Mrs. Priscilla’s
really excellent qualities were rather
diinnic 1 by the possession of a sharp
tongue.
“I told the truth,” smiled Malvern to
himsolf, as ho sought the privacy of his
own apartment. “She didn’t ask if I
got a valentine, so of course I wasn’t
obliged to tell”
And carefully taking a laige, square
envelope from his overcoat-pocket, he
drew out, the contents and examined it
carefully.
It was a very pretty valentine, with a
fancy border surrounding a wreath of
lorgei-me-iiots and orange-blossoms,
which cue rcled a pair of cloves with sil
ver wings, represented as billing and coo
ing affectionately.
< *n the reverse side was a simple coup
let in print:
“As to the oak-tree clings the vine,
.So my true heart will cling to thine!”
1 he sim l, was not a very appropriate
one; but in Malvern’s eyes it was the pink
of excellence.
lie was a very ba-hful man—so bash
ful, in fact, that he had passed his
thirtieth birthday, and was still a bach
elor.
1 his fact was a thorne in the side of
his si-tcr iu-law, and many and sharp
were the lectures she had delivered to
him on Uio subject; but alas! with no
avail lie could have shouldered his
musket and gone i ito battle without a
t emor. I lit when it came to making
love to a pretty girl, lis heart and nerves
both failed him.
And yet Malvern—; oor fellow!—was
in love. He had of late mustered up
sulficient courage to escort Electra Fever
sham and her stepmother to church, aud
to a sociable or other u errymaking, on
fccvo.al occasions. But to his misfor
tune, Lie it told, he found it easier to
pay attention to the elder lady than to
the daughter. And. as a consequence,
the gossis s of the town had begun to
connect his name with that of Mrs. Ig
nat ia Fever-ham, much to their own
amusement.
Now i lectra was the prettiest girl in
the village, with her sloe-bkvok eyes, and
checks that muaheil the scarlet chrysan
themums she wore in her nut-brown hair,
while her stepmother was a showy and
not uncomely woman, with a sharp eye
to the main i h nee. and no decided ob
cot ons to adopting some other name in
the place of Fovershun.
Malvern Traverse, though bashful was
not wanting in derision, and he had re
cently determined that if he could only
be reasonably well as tired that Electra
'voul i not refuse him, he would manage
to “make her an offer" in some fashion.
And now she had sent him a valentine.
He was certain it was from her; indeed.
lem •’ '\y, tlie yo ihT postmaster, had
w inked significantly as lie delivered it,
remarking, in aloud whisper, that “Miss
Fevcrsham posted it!"
And with thb encouragement, Malvern
had laid his plan .
* *
It was the morning before Valentine's
Day. and Electra was baking buckwheat
cakes iu the kitchen.
Her stepmother believed in early
break.asts anl Electra was up before
day.ight ni the sh rt winter mornings.
The savory odor of broiled ham
greeted Ms. i-'eversham as she came
briskly clicking down-stair*, a plaid
breakfast, shawl hugged tightly around
her 'houl res.
“Ahem is that snow sifted under the
door ” she a-ked herself, as she reached
the bottom stop.
A closer inspection assured her it was
not.
“Why. it's—it's a valentine!”
And hastily seizing the missive, she
stepped into the parlor to examine it
privately.
“For Electra! Well, I declare! Who's
it from. I wonder There's no harm in
opening a valentine, so I'll just see what
'tis.”
And carefully prying open the envel
ope, Mrs. l eversham beheld a tastefully
dec rand sheet of rice paper, on the in
ner side of which were some written
words, xvLi h she .ro ceded to read
“Mis* Electra: 1 shall pass your u -me
at sum is x to-morrow morning, st. Valen
tines Day. It' 1 see your face at the w iu-
THE* MONROE ADVERTISER: FORSYTH. GA., TUESDAY* MARCH 1, 1887.—EIGHT PAGES.
dow, I shall take it as a sign that yon are
willing to accept mo as your valentine.
Yours sincerely. MaLTER.x Traverse.”
“Oh, indeed!” Mrs. Ignatia grew red
in the face as she comprehended the pur
port of the words. “So it is her he's
l>een coming to see. hey? I'll have a
finger in tint pie, Mr. Malvern Trav
ers:! 111 take charge of this document
myself. Ard it won’t be Elect rat face
you'll sec at suniise!”
And carefully cereting the valentine,
she hurried out to th warm dining-room
and the waiting breakfast.
An hour or two later, Mrs. Fevcrsham,
arrayed in her bin k calico riding shirt,
her second best shawl and hat, appeared
in the kitchen, where Electra was mop
ping th. floor.
“I’m going over to see old Mrs. Dim
ity. I heard she was sick,” she an
nounced. “And I shan't be b.vk to din
ner, so you needn’t mind cooking any.
There's enough cold cakes left over from
breakfast for you.”
And Electra made no comments, hav
ing more discretion than to question
anything her stepmother chose to say or
do.
It was a short time after the dinner
hour when Mrs. Fever-ham returned.
“The old woman’s pretty sick, an’ I
promised you might go over an’ stay all
night, an’set up, if need be,” she in
formed her daughter. You can walk
easy enough, fur the snow ain’t very
deep. ”
Electra had no objections to make,
and indeed it vould have made no dif
ference if she had, as her will was sel
dom consulted.
DM Mrs. Dimity lived with her son
and grandson iu a sm ill but cosy cabiu
situated iu the very heart of the wood
land.
She welcomced Electra cordially, but
disclaimed the need of having anyone sit
up -with her.
“But I’m glad to have someone to
talk to,” she added, “and to look after
tilings a little, dim Tom has the chores
to do, an’ wood to chop, an’ little Sammy
gits awful tired staying in the house with
me.”
“I’m a-going to ketch a squirrel in the
woods for a pet,” cried Sammy, seizing
his cap and mittens and rushing o.T, for
getting to close the door in his eager
ness.
Electra and Mrs. Dimity chatted fot
awhile, when the old lady fell asleep,
and after a time Sammy came back.
“I didn’t ketch the s purred,” he an
nounced, “but look a-here what I found
in '.lie tree!”
And drawing a crumpled paper from
hisjpockct, he laid it in Id ctra’s lap.
“Miss Electra Fevcrsham.” Why, it
was her own name! And with some
natural excitement she examined tliocon
tentsof the cnvelapc.
A valentin > from Malvern Traverse?
Electra’s cheeks burned as she read the
written words.
Hut how could it have got in o the
tree ?” -he wondered.
Sammy could throw no light on the
subject, except that he had climbed a
tree after a squirrel, and putting his hand
into a hollow of th trunk ho found the
paper.
“And now I will not be at the window
to s e him?” thought Electra, with a
pang.
Then the thought came into her mind;
“Could she have been sent away on pur
pose ?”
And suddenly th : truth flashed over
li r—her stepmother lpid discovered the
va'cntinc ad secreted it.
E ectra felt a thrill of indignation at
the th right. .
“It must be so,” -lie rlec'ar and. “But
I will let him know something.”
it was growing bit \ and Electra was
getting supper in the itle kitchen, when
Jim Torn came stamping the snow ftoni
his feet.
He was not alone, for Electra could
hear him t liking in loud, good humor, and
tones.
Presently the kitch n door was flung
wide open, and Jim Tom was saying:
“Walk right in, Malvern, an' git a
good warm fore you go. ’ Then to Elec
tra he said; “Here's some chicken jelly
Malvern has brought to mother; his sis
ter sent it. I’ll jest turn ’em over to
you fur I'm in a hurry to do the chores.
Stay to supper. Malvern.”
And away he rushed.
But Malvern did not stay to supper,
lie stayed long enough, however, to learn
that Electra intended t > remain all night,
and that she would have to walk home
in the morning.
“Let me come and take you home in
the buggy,” he urged.
And Electra consented.
Airs. Fevcrsham 1 oked vainly from
lier w indow at sunrise the next morning.
No living creature appeared. But a
couple of hours later she was more sur
prised than pleased to behold her daugh
ter ad Mr. Malvern Traverse driving lei
surely up to the hou re.
“Well, I declare;! ’ she began, angrily,
when the latter had driven away.
But Electra coolly drew out the inter
cepted valentine, and exhibited it to her
astonished step-mother, who thereupon
concluded it would be wisest to hold her
peace.
But it was not until Alalvcrn and Elec
tra were married that the former dis
covered his precious valentine had been
sent by Mrs., instead of Miss, Fever
sham.
Truly, the ways of Cupid are past all
finding out, and the mischievous little
god lias many and divers expedients for
assisting the course of true love to run
in a smooth channel.— He’e.t Whittle a
C ark.
An Emigrant’s Inscription.
The following lines were written with
pencil on the walls of the old Blandford
Church, Petersburg Ya., over 100 years
a_o. by an Irish emigrant traveling
through the United States for pleasure.
Ilis name was never known. The verses
were afterward written on stone and re
main a tablet iu the oil rums of the
iLurch to this day:
Th hi art crumbling to the dust, old pile!
Thou art hastening to thy fall,
An 1 aroun 1 thee, in thy lonelines?,
Clings the ivy to thy wall.
The worshipers are scattered uow
Who knelt Lefore thy shrine,
And silence reigns where anthems rose
In days of “Auld Lang Syne.’’ ,
And sadly sisrhs the wandering wind.
Where'oft in years gone by
Prayer rose from many hearts to Him,
The Highest of the high.
The tramp of many a busy foot
That sought thy aisles is o'er:
And many a weary heart around.
Is still forevermore.
How doth ambitious hope take wings;
How droops the snirit now;
We hear the' city's distant din—
The dead are finite below.
The sun that shone upon thy paths,
Now gilds their lonely graves;
The zephyrs which on re fanned their brow?
The grass above them waves.
Oh could we call the many back,
Who've gathered here in vain;
Who've careless roved a* we do now,
Who'll never meet again!
How would err weary hearts be stirred.
To meet the ea rues' ga e
Of the level .- and the beautiful—
The lights of otter days!
AGRICULTURAL
TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE
TO FARM AND GARDEN.
Loss of Appetite in Pigs.
Fattening pigs easily lose their appe
tite by reason of overfeeding, and this
checks their growth and is a waste of
feed. To avoid this result it is well to
change the feed occasionally for a day
or two now and then. When corn is the
regular Hod bran makes a wholesome
and nutricious change, and it may be
given with boiled potatoes without any
cessation o: the lattening. Figs will
fatten more quickly the more food they
can be induced to eat and dige t, and a
variety of food tends to this result, both
encouraging the appetite and helping di
gestion. To restore the appetite cloyed
with corn, we would suggest, a lew
days’ feeding with potatoes and corn
boiled together until the potatoes are
mushed, and then some bran or mid
dlings stirred in. If when cold it is too
thick warm water should be added uulil
it can be eaten easily. Add a little salt,
not more than a teaspoonful to a feed for
each pig. —Nero York Time*.
Why the Butter Doesn’t Come.
Ist. Because of some disorganized or
unhealthy condition of the cow.
2d. On account of the unwholesome
food and water supplied.
!id. Want of proper cleanliness in
milking and setting the milk.
4th. Lack of right conditions in the
raising of the cream—pure air and proper
temperature.
Oth. The cream not raised and
skimmed in due time.
Oth. Cream not churned at the proper
time—kept too long.
7th. Cream not allowed to free re—in
jured still more in thawing.
Bth. Cream too warm when churned.
9tli. Cream too cold.
10th. Churn not a good one.
11th. Lazy hand at the churn. Some
persons have the churn around nearly all
day, summer or winter; take a few turns
and then stop; fool around and begin
again. Cannot make good butter so.
Use a box or barrel churn; begin mod
erately and continue so till no more vent
is needed, and then go oa at a good
pace, without stopping till the butter
conics. When the cream is perfect and
the temperature i- right, about sixty-five
degrees in winter, for a batch of butter
weighing twenty to thirty-five pounds,
twenty or twenty five minutes should be
ample time for churning, in the manner
described. Since this complaint in but
ter making is tnore common in the win
ter season, I should expect to find the
cause in the reasons given above in No.
4 to No. 9. —Practical Farmer.
Overfat Cattle.
The question has again come up that
oferfat cattle are not profitable. Of
course they are not profitable. No one
cares for fat except so far as the mar
bling of the lean meat is concerned. This
is accomplished perfectly when the ani
mal becomes fat, as, for instance, on
Hush pasture supplemented with some
additional food of a more condensed na
ture. Hence the steer or the sheep that
will lay on the largest amount of lean
meat in proportion to gross weight of
carcass, the meat bong well marbled
with fat, is the most economical to the
butcher, and, of course, to the con
sumer.
The reason why it is best for the
.butcher is that tallow is the cheapest
product of the carcass and the butcher’s
price for the lean meat to the consumer
is the relative average dilference in
weight between the fat and lean. Never
theless, the butcher, where he has the
opportunity, selects those carcasses that
will give the most lean meat of the de
sired quality. Does the consumer profit
by this?. By no means. ‘ The butcher
necessarily fixes his price on the average
of lean meat. When he gets a carcass
rich in lean meat it is simply a windfall
to him.
In the case of hogs it is somewhat dif
ferent. Swine lay on fat naturally. The
muscle is pretty much a fixed quantity.
There is always more fat than lean, and
the lard is not much less in price than
the lean meat. Hence vesy fat hogs are
the rule. The difference betxveen the
very fat hog and the moderately fat one
is trifling per pound. Tnc fat is a
merchantable commodity in lard and
in side pork at prices very nearly cor
responding to that of the lean. The fat
of beeves, however, is mostly sold to the
tallow chandler—when not worked up
into fictitious butter—for about what it
is worth for soap-making. —Chicago Tri
bune.
Farm anti Garden Notice.
Lettuce matures better in hot beds
than in green houses.
She p keepers should make both their
wool aud mutton as good as possible.
Anoint the legs of fowls once a week
with kerosene to cure them of scaly legs.
Wool and the sheep who bear it are
more highly prized than they were two
years since.
Wood ashes make celery grow strong
—and mo-t other vegetable products for
that matter.
To rot and fine straw, it should be
stirred about, and the swine can be made
to do this work.
A common hoe, stiaightened out by a
blacksmith, makes a cheap and excellent
imp'ement for chopping roots for stock.
No dairyman should keep more cows
than he can feed well; and no farmer
should till more acres than he can farm
well.
Feeding charcoal tc pigs is healthful,
and should be practiced by all pork rais
ers. Charred corn cobs are good for
them.
A New England experimenter finds
that feeding apples to milch has
the invariable effect of lessening the flow
of i*ilk.
The Farm Journal says careless driv
ing never is a safe way, for the oldest
and safest horse will sometimes get
scared.
Keep your milch cows in well bedded
and well-sheltered stables. These should
be thoroughly cleaned and the bedding
daily renewed.
Early-blooming fruit buds are kept
back by scattering manure or straw un
der the trees to prevent the snow from
blowing away.
Roots are not so suitable for stock
food in this country as in England, on
account of our cold winters. There are
many good substitutes.
Whether prices be up or down, prime
mutton sheep are always salable, and at
good prices. The markets are never sun
plied with choice mutton.
We are oppos 'd to salting butter by
the use of brine iu washing, as tine, good
salt is better and more convenient, says
the Cincinnati Commercial-Gaxette.
Farmers are getting out of the notion
of fattening on noth'ng but corn. Corn
is good, but when intermixed with some
other grain, bran, etc., the ration is bet
ter.
Farm profits vested in permanent im
provements return larger dividends than
when deposited in banks or invested in
other directions. A farm cannot be too
highly improved.
With fattening cattle a very small ra
tion of water once a day will be sufficient;
milch cows should be induced to drink
twice a dav. The water shoul 1 be warmed
in chilly weather.
Fresh-ground oyster shells and fresh
ground bone about the poultry hou
and a warm breakfast of ground corn
me il will greatly help the hens to in
crease their power to lay in winter.
In planting a n:w orchard some grow
ers plaut peach trees between apple trees
in the orchard or garden. *lll6 peach
grows and bears quickly, yielding
largely before the apple trees need the
space.
Weeds, in growing, take from the soil
the same plant food as do the plants of
our crops. Dry xveeds contain potash,
phosphoric acids and other plant food
stored in the stems. Hake them up and
burn them.
When covering plants for winter it
should be remembered that some plants
may be killed by too much protection,
and such covering should be around the
plants rather than over them, the object
being to prevent sudden thawing and
freezing.
Cows need light, not only for their
own health and comfort, but because
good butter cannot be made from iiie
milk of cows kept in dark stable3. Air,
light, cleanliness and warmth are four
essentials of a cow stable where cows are
kept for profit.
Gilt-edge butter cannot be produced
unless the udder and teats of the cow
and the hands of the milker are washed
before milking the cow. The milk must
then be removed from the stable a s quick
ly as possible, ax it will absorb odors as
soon as it becomes cool.
The consumption of food by dairy
stock is paid back in a three-fold way—
milk, growth of stock, and the value of
the manure, which last often balances
the first cost of the food. It is in that
respect that stock-raising is superior to
exclusive grain growing.
The milk supply of breeding sows
kept in pens during hot weather is very
apt to be curtailed by lack of drink. It
is surprising to most observers for the
first time to note how much more water
sows will drink which have suckling
pigs than is needed by others fattening
on the same field.
One of the most convenient properties
to be looked to in purchasing or leasing
a farm is good stock water. But water
less farms can sometimes be supplied by
artesian xvells. The water ram, too, so
seldom used, is inexpensive, and is not
liable to get out of order, while it will
force xvater a considerable distance.
Meats for the consumption of a small
family can be smoked by suspending the
hams from bars laid across a large barrel,
open at both ends, set over a smoulder
ing fire. Corncobs make a good smoke,
and bay leaves and juniper berries burned
with them give the meat a slightly aro
matic flavor. Cover the barrel while the
smoking is g >ing on. So says the lowa
Register.
The use of brine among the butter
makers is becoming more popular than it
used to be, and is now used by some in
washing the butter, and in some cases
the salting of the butter is confined to
the use of brine in washing. It is found
that if butter is washed with brine, and
no freshwater is subsequently employed,
the butter will be made as salt as many
people like it, and as salt as it ought
to be.
There is no such thing as luck in the
pou'try business. The person who waits
for Air. Luck to raise his chicks will be
badly left at the end of the season. The
luck that awaits anyone depends entirely
on his judgment, experience, the time
and labor spent, as well as the money in
vested. Success can be achieved by th:
industrious, but don’t trust to luck, or
you will get fooled every time. He is a
mighty treacherous old man.
.Many fail with camellias in tlio house
only because of not understanding th ir
needs. They grow naturally in damp,
shady places, and the conditions found
here should be approximated in tha win
dow. Give plenty of water at all times,
but should the drainage in the pots be
defective it must be remedied by using
plenty of (Manage material in the bot
tom of each, An excellent way to grow
the camellia it to set the pot inside of a
second one, that is enough larger than
the one the plant is in, to allow of an
inch of sand between the two. This se
cures agreeable moisture. The leaves
also should be moistened on alternate
days with a light spray of water or by
sponging the surface. Fifty to fifty-five
degrees of heat suits the plants at this
season
Suicide by Animals.
On the sub ect of suicide by animals
R. 11. Busk writes to Notes and Queri;*:
I am disinclined to believe in deliberate
intention of suicide in so-cal’ed “ani
mals,"’for one reason among others, be
cause I think if they are capable of en
tertain.ug the idea they would take ad
vantage of it so often, to be rid of the
miseries the human animal inflicts on
them, that the present doubt would not
exist. AVould not half the cab-horses
crawl into the Thames, and would not
high-spirited mongrels devise means of
being beforehand with the policeman’s
truncheon? Nevertheless, 1 have just
been credibly informed of an authentic
instance. A gentleman with whom I had
a slight acquaintance, residing not manv
doors from me, went last winter to the
south of France on a visit to relations.
He was out of health, certainly, but it
was quite expected that the change of
climate would restore him. His “faith
ful dog” did not “bear him company,’’
but remained with his wife and friends.
The hopes of his recovery proved falla
cious, and when the news of his death
came it was an unexpected grief. The
dog seemed fully to understand the na
ture of the bereavement, and shared the
grief of the family to such an over
whelming extent that one day it went
to an upper window and jumped out,
killing itself in a very distressing way.
I may add the dog was a small terrier.
Horses Saved by Choking.
In hauling ice from a pond near Mon
roe avenue, in the eastern outskirts of
the city, the other day, the teamsters
drove upon a strip that had been cut,
and suddenly found themselves, together
with team and load, submerged in water
eight feet deep. The men found it an
easy matter to get out of the water, but
they could barely keep the horses from
drowning. They were deliberating as
to a xvay of rescuing the animals, when
8, A. Crandall, of Spring street, sug
gested the novel idea of choking the
horses, declaring that if this were done
they would turn up their heel- and float
like a bladder. It was done, and the
horses were promptly floated upon a
s did cake of ice. Mr. Crandall says he
saw this idea executed with success by
au ice dealer in Minnesota last winter,
and thinks it well worth remembering.
—Rochester Post-Expres*.
REVENUE CUTTERS.
AN IMPORTANT BRANCH OF THE
NAVAL SERVICE.
Its Origin and Development—Num
ber of Vessels and Men Em
ployed in the Service —The
Numerous Duties.
In a recent interviexv xvith a prominent
officer of the United States revenue cut
ter service a reporter from the New Y'ork
Commercial Advtrtiier obtaiued the fol
lowing interesting information regarding
that active and effective arm of the gov
ernment :
A bill authorizing the creation of the
corps, the building of ten cutters, the
commissioning by the President of forty
officers, and appropriating $23,827.50 for
building, arming, equipping and man
ning the war vesseP, passed both houses
on the 23d of April, 1790, aud xvas the
birth of the revenue cutter service. The
frigate Constitution was launched Octo
ber 21, 1797, and was the first vessel of
the national navy. This gives the reve
nue cutter service a seniority of more
than seven years over the navy.
The revenue cutter service is little
short of 100 hundred years old, aud has
participated in every war in which the
country ha3 been iuvolved, except the
Algerine. The service to-day consists of
thirty-six vessels, together xvith four
others detailed for duty in connection
with the life-saving service, xvith 21(5
officers, including captains, lieutenants,
engineers and cadets, and 775 sailors,
including petty officers.
The vessels are complete in their arma
ments of great guns, rifles, revolvers,
cutlasses, etc. The officers are required
to be proficient in the kuoxvledge of
gunnery, military drill, manual of arms,
and to instruct and exercise the crews in
the use of all arms carried upon a vessel
of war. The discipline maintained on
board ship is that usually prevailing on
vessels of xvar. The ranks of the officers
are recruited from young men, who are
compelled to pass searching examinations
in ail the English branches. A training
bark, stationed at New Bedford, Mass.,
receives the aspirants, where au aca
demic course is followed, the course of
study being modeled on that of the
naval academy.
The revenue cutter service is a part of
the military force of the Government, and
is the strong executive arm of the Treas
ury Department. It is charged at all
times with important duties in the en
forcement of the customs revenue iaxvs
and the laws governing the vessels of
the merchant marine, etc. Congress has
specially provided that reveuue cutters
shall be accounted a part of the navy at
the pleasure of the President, aud has
conferred assimilated naval rank upon
the officers, who are commissioned by
the President and confirmed by the
fenate, retaining their commissions dur
ing good behavior, the same as officers of
the army and navy.
Among the duties of the service may
be briefly enumerated the following:
To see that the laws pertaining to the
licenses, enrollments aud registry of ves
sels are obeyed; that the laxvs requiring
life-saving appliances to be kept on the
merchant vessels are complied with;
that steamers in the merchant marine
carry the necessary evidences of inspec
tion by the proper officers as to hulls and
machinery, and that their officers are
properly licensed; that merchant xresseis
comply xvith the laxv as to name and
hailing ports, etc.; that passenger ves
sels comply xvith (ho laws prohibiting
overloading xvith passengers; that mer
chant vessels at night carry and exhibit
the lights required by law; that the neu
trality laws are not violated or evaded;
that the timber reserves of the United
States are not plundered; that the seal
fisheries are not invaded; that unlawful
traffic in firearms and rum in Alaskan
waters is not indulged in, and that the
quarantine laws of the United States
and of the several States are enforced.
This service must also rescue shipwrecked
whalers in the Arctic, and occasionally
look after missing Arctic explorers. Its
officers also prevent piracy on the seas;
they suppress mutinies on board vessels
of the merchant marine, and are fre
quently called upon for this purpose.
The vessels constitute, xvhen detailed for
harbor duty, au ever ready and efficient
floating fire deparment for the protection
of shipping in the harbor. Its officers
report upon any absence of buoys or
lights upon the coast.
The revenue cutter service carries on
the humune provisions of the law in aid
of shipwrecked marines on the seacoasts
and the great lakes, the vessels cruising
on this duty always iu the inclement sea
son, when most other Government ves
sels are in harbor. They assist the life
saving service,and it is due to the talent,
training and care of the revenue cutter
officers, who in a great measure have
that service in hard, that it has gained
the popularity and efficiency it at pres
ent enjoys.
The revenue cutter service aids the
light-house establishment, the toast sur
vey, the fish commission, the oeean tele
graph lines and every commercial inter
est of the country, as well as all scientific
’enterprises com ng xvithin the scope of
its operations. It is the active and pow
erful coast guard of the country, always
on duty and alxvays equipped for service.
By skill and good seamanship it aids in
saving $ 5,010,000 worth of property im
perilled by the sea every year.
During the last five years the revenue
cutters have cruised 1,075,000 miles and
upward in the performance of patrol and
lookout duties; assisted 8(58 vessels in
distress, the \*alue of which, together
xvith cargoes, amounts to $13,926,826.80,
and saved 750 lives.
The record for 1886 is as follows:
Miles cruised, 344,681; boarded and ex
amined 28,301 xresseis; sei ed and re
ported vessels for violations of law,
whose fines aggregated $651,199; assist
ed 313 vessels in distress, with 2, -88
persons on board, the value of vessels
and cargo amounting to $6,738,569, and
154 persons were saved from watery
graves.
The cost of maintaining the revenue
cutter service averages $850,000 per year.
Paper Bottles.
Paper bottles were patented in America
in 1883. Their sale was not extensive
at first, but now that European patents
have been secured, covering nearly all
fields of probable competition, the con
trollers of the patents, we are informed,
intend to manufacture the bottles in
large quantities. In the item of freight
alone they will effect a saving of one
third less xveight than the glass or sto re
ware, and are, on the xvhole, less liable
to breakage. —Journal of Commerce.
Her Onestion.
Dear Jack! you've often said to me,
In speech that doth imply
Love’s poesy, that I'm indeed
The “apple of your eye.”
If 1 intoxicate you, then,
As you insist, alack!
Am I to understand it's cause,
I am your apple, Jack <
Yonkers Curette.
WORDS OF WISDOM.
Net every one that dances is glad.
Slander like mud, dries and falls off.
History is the preserver of good deeds
and the avenger of bad.
Wisdom listens m confidence, but is
seldom confidential in return.
To have what we want is riches, but to
be able to do without is power.
Curses are like processions; they return
to the place from which they came.
Deference is the most complicated, the
most indirect and the most elegant of
all compliments.
To smile at the est which plants a
thorn in another’s breast is to become a
principal in the mischief.
In love, as in everything else, experi
ence is a physician who never comes un
til after thedisorder is cured.
Secrets are poor property*anyhow; if
you circulate them you lose them, and if
you keep them you lose the interest on
the investment.
Nearly everybody has it in him to be
bett r than he is. Improvement is
chiefly the regulation of the propensi
ties and passions.
A good man is the best friend, and
therefore is first to be chosen, longest to
be retained, and indeed, never to bo
parted with, unless he ceases to be that
for which he was chosen.
The roses of pleasure seldom last long
enough to adorn the brow of those who
pluck them, and they are the only roses
which do not retain their sweetness after
they have lest their beauty.
Judge no one by his relations, what
ever criticism you may pass upon his
companions. Delations, like features,
are thrust upon us; companion-, like
c lothes, are more or less our own selec
tion.
Making Great Guns.
England’s big guns are made of bars
coiled spirally and welded into a solid
mass by the hammer, says a correspond
ent of the boston Herald. These red-hot
furnaces contain a straight bar; at a word
the door is slightly raised, and with
huge nippers its head is seized by loops
made for the purpose. A steam winch
draws out the glowing mass and brings
it to a horizontal capstan fixed before
the door. A water hose is turned upon
the loop, and while it blackens under the
chill, a stalwart fellow, wielding a heavy
sledge, fixes the loop on a nut projecting
from the capstan wheel. Then the ma
chine revolves with resistless force,
curling the hot metal round and round on
its drum neatly and smoothly, and as
easily as girls wo dd wind ribbon. So
the coil is formed, whether for the
breech piece or the body of the gun or
for its jacket. This again is cooled, and
after a while is refined for welding under
the hammer.
You ought to sec this Woolwich ham
mer. It weighs forty tons sheer weigh,
and when it drops it falls forty feet on
to a block that rests on spiles, massive
masonry, and enormous quantities of
iron. Between two great shafts this
hammer is suspended, a solid block,
which, driven from above by steam and
gathering impetus as it falls,strikes with
a force of many hundred tons. A veteran
workmen has charge of this massive
hammer. lie starts and drops it by a
touch of his thumb and finger. I saw
an open-face watch laid on the block;
then he dropped the hammer, and he
stopped it just in time to break the crys
tal—and nothing more. They call this
last opera*ion of the furnace the “great
heat,” and about every monarch there is
in Europe has seen it, just as I did yes
terday. While lam wondering what
they thought about, the furnace to be
emptied is flaring with impatience.
Through the interstices of its great door
blue, red and purple flames are leaping
out. A huge crane swings round a pair
of pincers, at the end of which a dozen
Britons cluster. The door rises a little, the
white light blinds us, and, although I
am at least twenty yards away, the
heat burns my face uncomfortably.
Water is thrown into the awful gap, and
then the men perceive their prey. The
huge arms part and firmly close, the door
rises to its fullest extent, a clash of the
crane gear, a shout from the men, and
out it comes, easily and softly, a mon
strous coil. The crane swings about and
places it upon end upon the anvil. Then
the hammer falls, shaking the solid floor
beneath us, crushing the red-hot mass
inches down at a blow, welding its coils
together so that they can never part.
But the inside hollow has been knocked
out of shape by this process; so, when
the tube has been reduced to its proper
length, a solid mandril is def ly slij ped
between the hammer and the iron. Eor
two or three blows the contracted coil at
tempts resistance, but it gives way, and
the mandril slips to its base, as into but
ter. Then the great pincers are used
again, and it drops the mass on its side,
where again it is battered and struck all
round. The irregularities caused by all
this hammering are afterward removed
by the plane, and then the gun is made
by other machinery.
A Lioness Saves Her Keeper.
Superintendent Newell, of the Broad
way horse-cars, was formerly the lion
tamer in a circus in which the late Presi
dent of the road, Mr. J; mes W. Foshay,
was Treasurer. Newell once had an en
counter with the lion, which, in an un
guarded moment, jumped upon him and
seized his left shoulder it its mouth,
burying its teeth in his fiesh. Newell
e ndeavored to defend himself against the
infuriated beast, which hgd never taken
kindly to him, bv clutching at him with
his left hand, while with his right he
sought to keep at bay the others by rais
ing the whip. He said he could feel the
hot breath of the lion on his cheek, and
dared not madden him by assault lest
he might make a more furious attack.
All of a sudden a lioness, which had al
ways been friendly, made a bound and
clutched the lion by the throat and bore
him to the floor in a struggle, thus ena
bling Newell to escape. The marks of
the struggle are still conspicuously visi
ble on Mr. Newell’s shoulder.— Ne-c York
Time*.
“Smiths” in the Federal Army.
The Smith family was largely repre
sented in the army of the Union, and at
one time there were upward of GOO in
the army of the Potomac. On one of the
regimental rolls in the Teutonic division,
which gave names and birth-places, were
entered: “Giovanni Hmithi, Italy; Juan
Sinithos, Spain: Hans Shhmidt, Hol
land; Ivan Sc’nmithiwe-ki, Poland; Jean
Smeets, France: lon Skimmitton,
Greece,” and twelve John Smiths born
in this country,be ides one whose native
land was whom it was re
corded. “name i Patrick, but say- that he
is called John for short.’’— Ben: Perley
Poore.
The carrier pigeon service in Paris is
most carefully organized, and the latest
census shows that t ere are 2,500 trained
birds, which can take dispatches in and
out of the capital in the roughest weath
er. Some are taught to go to the neigh
boring forts and towns, others to distant
parts of the provinces.
BIRD COURTSIIir.
IIOW SOME LOWER ANIMALS
DO THEIR WOOING.
Cranes Cutting Pigeon-wings Be
fore Their Sweethearts—A South
American Bird Circus—The
Great Bustard's Antics.
Any one who lias taken the trouble ol
uad the perhaps undue curiosity to make
a studj* of couitship muss have made th
amusing discovery that there was a re
markable similarity between the action
of the loving swains of high and low life.
As an example, in some of the African
tribes when marriage is proposed by the
dusky lover the coy maiden puts him
through a course of physical sprouts that
is considered a test of his capabilities as
the protec tor and supporter of a family
He appears before her and her friends and
goes through a series of ground and lofty
tumbling that would do credit to a pro
fessional athlete—leaps into the air,
strides along to show liis walking pow
ers, and throws his limbs this way and
that to show the development of muscles;
finally, if he makes a good exhibition,
he is accepted, and ever afterward tlia
woman does all the hard work, the groom
having demonstrated, however, that he
can do it if pushed to the wall.
Among the cranes, especially the sand
hill cranes,almost exactly the same thing
can be seen in mating season, and if any
one can approa h a flock at this time
they will be repaid by a most remarkable
sight—a veritable bird circus. A rela
tive of mine had a large marsh upon his
estate, and here the great birds made
there summer home; building their cu
rious nests there, and rearing their
young. The marsh was surrounded by
high grass, and it was his practice to
creep through and watch the birds un
observed. The antics they went through
it would be impossible to describe—now
they would caper along in pairs,stepping
daintily with the winning gait of the
ideal exquisite, lifting their feathers or
wings, taking short steps and gradually
working themselves up to a bird frenzy
of excitement, when they would leap into
the air and over each other's backs, tak
ing short runs, this way and that, all for
the edification of the females standing
by, and finally, after a scries of these ex
hibitions, different birds selected their
mates.
Among the birds of the Western Hem
isphere the cock of the rock ranks next
to the crane in the strangeness of itsevo
lutious. The bird is confined to South
America, and is about the size of a small
pigeon, lias a bright orange web in the
male, with a plume-like arrangement
upon the head. It is a proud bird, prin
cipally, building its nest in rocky places,
not frequented by man. At the com
mencement of the breeding season a par
ty of birds,numbering from ten to twenty,
assemble, and selecting a clear space
among the rocks, form a ring or circle,
facing inward. Now a small bird takes
its place in the center, and begins to hop
about, toss its head, lift its wings, and
go through all the strange movements
possible, that appear to be watched witli
great interest by the rest. When the per
former is thoroughly exhausted he re
tires to the circle, and another bird en
ters the ring, and so on, until all have
been put through their paces, when the
pairs probably make their selection. ()f
--ten the birds are so exhausted after their
dances that they can hardly fly, lying
panting on the rocks.
In England the courtship of the great
English bu-tard is a rare sight, the mag
nificent creature performing most of its
love antics in the air, making great
swoops downward, almost touching the
ground, then rising aloft to hover over
his mate, uttering a peculiar cry, then
alighting and vicing with the turkey in
its proud aspect. The great Otis Ben
galiensis struts about like a peacock,
humming the while in a curious series of
notes, supposed to be dulcet tones ad
dressed to the female bird.
In the water birds we tind many curi
ous courtships, especially in the albatross,
that is a most devoted lover and mate.
Evin when the female is on the nest he
will stand by, and go through the most
extravagant motions, and uttering curi
ous shrieks, which sound like laughter,
in return for which the lemale gently
caresses him with her bill. The nest of
this bird resembles that of some flamin
goes, being about two feet in height, and
ten inches in diameter, the top falling
over the edges so that when de-erted by
the birds they form convenient seats,
and are so used by sailors, who hunt the
bird to secure the legbones for pipestems.
Near the borders of Southern Califor
nia is found a bird called the sunate that
has a strange courtship. It is about the
size of a magpie. During the mating
season four or live b’rds collect together
and seem to vie with eich other in the
extravagance of their posturing—wooing
now in rows, now single, in a regular
dance, and, by way of music, uttering
loud discordant s.juawks. Their long
tails are lifted high in the air during this
performance, and their entire behavior U
remarkablc invtiie SX-troTnc. "There is
hardly a family of birds but what we
find has some such peculiarity, leading
to the conclusion that there are certain
traits that are very much alike in all
form®, from man downward. —San Fran
ci-C'j Call.
A Compromise.
A man and woman were loudly disput
ing in a doorway on Gratiot street yes
terday when Detective Boberitz happened
along and asked what was the trouble.
“It's just this,” replied the farmer.
“She’s my wife. We live out here about
seven miles, and she’s had the toothache
for three days and nights. We drove in
this morning to have the tooth pulled,
and now she wants to back out.”
“But it has stopped aching,” protested
the wife.
“Yes, but it will begin again as soon
as we get home.”
“No, it won’t.”
“But we can’t drive fourteen miles and
lose half a day for nothing.”
“You might have your tintypes taken,”
suggested the detective. “That will be
the next thing to having a tooth pulled.”
“I’ll agree to that,'’ promptly replied
the wife. “I'm willing to suTer, butit's
no use to pull a tooth unless it aches.”
“Well, we’ll do that, then,” observed
the husband, “and I'm much obliged to
you. stranger, for the suggestion, 'there’s
a place right over there, and I guess we
can be performed on and get home in
time for dinner.” —Detroit Tree Press.
A Onecr Habit.
You know Judge Hiram Warner for a
long term of years graced the supreme
court bench of Georgia. Every time the
Judge would wa k down from the bench
at the close of a term he would remark
solemnly:
“I will now lea- e the gay and festive
scene.” •
He was never known to Jmit theabovo
announcement. —Atlanta Constitution.
At < t ueen Victoria’s table there ari
three servants to every six guests.