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HAWKINSVILLE DISPATCH.
VOL. XI.
Professional Directory.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW.
ISAAC L. TOOLE;
Attorney at law,
Vienna, Qa.
Will practice in the counties of Hnus
)o, Dooly, Pulaski, Macon, Sumter and
Worth. Also iii die Supreme Court of
Georeia, and in the United States Circuit
and District Courts within the State All
business entrusted to his care will receive
prompt attention. tebl-tl
O. C. HCRNE,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Hawkinsville, Georgia.
Having arranged all his other business.
Will give exclusively his personal atten
tion to the practice til Pulaski, Wilcox and
Dodge counties', and elsewhere by special
trap loyment.
The Criminal practice, a specialty.
Jan. 4, 1877. jan4-ly
WOOTEN A UUSBEE,
iTTORNiH AT LAW,
VIENNA, GEORGIA.
aprl3-tf
C. C. SMITH, '
Attorney and Counsellor at Law,
And Solicitor in Equity*
kcVILLE, ... - GEORGIA.
Refers to Ron. Clifford Anderson, Capt.
itohn C. Rutherlord and Walter B. Hill,
Esq., Professors of Law, Mercer Universi
ty Law School, Macon, Ga.
Prompt attention given to all business
'intrusted to my care. mar 23 6m
EDWIN MARTIN,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
PERRY, GEORGIA.
Will give immediate and careful atten
tion to all business entrusted to him in
Houston and adjoining counties
Office in Home Journal building on
public square. aprl2 tf
IIOLLIN A. STANLEY,
Attorney at law
Dublin, Georgia.
Will practice in all the counties of the
Oconee Circuit. From long experience iD
th Criminal Practice, much of his time
Will be specially devoted to that branch of
■is profession. feb24-tf
JACOB WATSON,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Hawkinsville, Georgia.
WILL practice in the counties of Pu
laski, Dooly, Wilcox, Dodge, Tel
fair, Irwin and Houston. Prompt atten
tion given to all business placed in my
hands pr §*
LUTHER A. HALL,
Attorney at law
AND REAL ESTATE AGENT,
Eastman, Ga.
\\T ILL practice in all counties adjacent
Y V to the M. & B. railroad, th Su
preme Com t of the State and the Federal
Court of the Southern District ol Georgia.
For parties desiring, will buy, sell or lease
,y real estate, or pay the taxes upon the
ame in the counties of Dodge, Laurens,
tVilcox, Telfair and Appling. Office in
lit Court House. aprlolf
J. H. WOODWARD,
I'TORNEY AT LAW,
Vienna, Ga.
STILL practice in the Superior Courts
T in lh* counties of ooly. Worth,
ilcox, Pulaski ami Houston, and by
scial contract in other courts. Prompt
’ icntion given to collections. meh4t;
fa..... ■ . ■
O. RYAN. T. B MITCHELL.
RYAN & MITCHELL,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS,
Hawkinsville, Ga.
VILL practice in the counties com
prising the Oconee Circuit, and in
t * Circuit and District Courts of the
baited States for the Southern District of
•ieorgia. feblltf
j. M. DENTON,
Attorney at law,
I)RACTICES in the Brunswick Circuit
and elsewhere by special contract,
tfflcc at residence, Coffee county, Oa. P.
■ h address, Hazlehiirst, M. &• B. R- R-,
leorgia. tob4tf
W. IRA BROWN,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Vienna, Ga.
• PRACTICES in the Supiriof Courts of
l Oconee Circuit, and elsewhere in the
tale by special contract. Collections
• id other business promptly attended
P* 8-13-ly
JOHN H MARTIN,
ATTORNEY AT LAW
AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS,
Hawkinsville, Ga.
PRACTICES in th Courts of Pulaski,
Houston. Dooly, Wliocx, Irwin,
Telfair, Dodge and Laurens. may-tf
CHARLES C. KIBBEE,
ATTORNEY a T law,
Hawkinsville, Ga.
WILL piactice in the Circn't and Dis
trict Courts of the United Slates
‘or the Southern District of Georgs, and
n the Superior Courts of Houston, Dooly,
Pulaski, Laurens, Wilcox, Irwin and
Dodge counties. June 291 y
JOHN F. DELACY,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
EASTMAN, GA.
Will practice in the counties of Pulaski,
D..dge, Telfair, Laurens, Montgomery,
Wilcox, and Irwin, of the Oconee Circuit,
and Appling and Wayne, of the Bruns
wick Circuit.
Prompt attention given to all business
entrusted to bis care. junl7 tf
DR. T. P. WALKER. DU. P. M JORDAN.
Drs. Walker & Jordan,
Having associated themselves in the prac
tice ..f incdiclne, would respectfully offer
their professional services to the citizens
of Cochran and vicinity Office on Second
Street, next door to postofflee. At night
Dr. Jordan can lie found in his room in
(he rear of his office. mar 22 1y
DON’T FORGET IT.
All those who have not yet re
newed their subscriptions to the
Dispatch are reminded of the impor
tance of doing so at once, if they
expect the weekly visits of our paper
to continue. Anew book will be
Opened in a few days, and We are
afraid some of our old patrons will
not have settled for another year;
One dollar will pay for the Dispatch
for the balance of 1877.
JUDGE WARNER FAVORS A CON*
VENTION.
Judge Hiram Warner, one of the
Judges of the Supreme Court, has
written to the LaGrange Reporter a
letter favoring the calling of the
Constitutional Convention. We copy
as follows:
What are the present condition
and circumstances of the people of the
State? At the close of the war mill
ions of dollars of their capital invest
ed in slave property which had been
accumulated by the labor, industry
and economy of several generations,
was suddenly destroyed and swept
out of existence. '1 hat property so
suddenly destroyed, constituted al
most the entire capi.al upon which
the credit of the people was based.
After the destruction of tbeir capital
invested in slave property to the
amount of millions 6f dollars, what
did the people have left ? They had
been plundered of their stock and
other property until nothing was left
but tueir worn out land, and that was
very greatly depreciated in value in
Consequence of the destruction of
their other property.
Such was the condition of the peo
ple when the present constitution of
the State was made for them ; and
under ite provisions and legislation
authorized by it* the expenses of the
State government were increased
from twenty-five to fifty per cent;
and up to this time, the General As
sembly has not shown any disposition
to reduce them, and judging the fu
ture by the past, it will not do so
under the present constitution. The
expenses of a private family should
be regulated according to its means
and ability to pay them; the same
principle i applicable to the expen
ses of the State government in view
of the condition of the people.
The convention had better be
called now when the times are hard
than in more prosperou times, for
the reason that it will be more apt to
frame a constitution adapted to the
condition and circumstances of the
people. There are many amend
ments and alterations which, in my
judgment, ought to be made in the
present constitution ; but as I do not
expect to have everything as I might
wish it to be, am willing to trust the
convention to framrf such a constitu
tion as, ii their wisdom, will promote
the present and future welfare and
prosperity of the people of the State.
To assume that the contention will
not do this would be to say that the
people of Georgia are not capable of
self-government. Let the conven
tion be called, and let the people see
to it that the best and most, experi
enced men are sent to it.
Very respectfully, your obedient
servant, Hiram Warner.
It was a very ingenious device b
which the Russians carried eight gun
boats overland in sections to the
Danube and put them together in the
river. The superiority of the Turk
ish fleet in the black sea rendered it
impossible to send them there by
water. This little fleet gives them
control of the section of the river
where they are to cross. It shows,
too, the fullness ol Russia’s prepara
tions for fight. That this necessity
could have been foreseen and pro
vided against indicates that ether
needs have been equally met. It
has been said that the Danube can
not be crossed by pontoon bridges,
but a people that can carry eight
gunboats from Moscow to the Dan
ube, and put them in the Water in
a feW days, can build a bridge suffi
cient for all military purposes.
While a murder trial was in progress
at Annapolis. Maryland, last week,
at which a number of negroes had
assembled to testify, a cirehs pro
cession passed the court house, A
Stampede of the newly enfranchised
and court officials ensued, and the
hall of justice was soon emptied of
all except the Judge, jury and pris
oner. The latter, a negro, expressed
his disappointment on his counte
nance at being unable to become a
spectator of the “grand procession,”
It is false economy to purchase
articles simply because they arc
“cheap.” One good, Gurable article
will be ten tin.es cheaper than four
of those that break at the first
handling.
The first thing a young man does
on seeing a friend with anew hat on
is to take it off and serenely try it
on his own head. When a young
lady sees an acquaintance with her
new bonnet on, s' e just lifts her nose
and serenely wonders “where the
thing got that fright.”
The Pierson Pioneer says: “The
farmers are all very busily engaged
gathering their sheep and taking ad
vantage of the fair weather to Kill the
grass. From what wo can learn
there is very little cotton planted,
most all being planted in corn and
sugar catie,”
Ihe Egyptians represent the year
by a palm tree, and the month by
one of its branches; because it is the
nature of the tree to produce a
branch every month.
A man’s temper is most valuable
to himself, and he should keep it.
HAWKINSVILLE. GA., TH
The Stone by the Roadside.
Where the town of Randolph now
carries on its biisy traffic* Egbert
Bacon’s farm was once located.
Egbert Bacon was my grandfather.
His farm covered more than seven
hundred good acres, and he consid
ered hi nself wealthy, as he un
doubtedly was. He started in life a
poor bov, and his honest accummula
tion was the result of his toil; .
Grandfather was a very peculiar
ffiah. Many persons considered him
penuriuus, but he was really liberal ;
and from the fact that his charities
were given with secrecy, people sup
posed tiiat he never contributed to
good works; It was in hid old age
(and he lived to a great period) that
a company of speculatdrs bought his
land, because of the fine water power
that ran through it, and as soon as
they erected the mills the place
began to go forward until Bacon’s
farm was a thing of the past. I can
recollect when the first mill was
built, and I well remember my bdyish
curiosity in watching the mechanics
who worked upon it.
My grandmother was about the
same age as her husband. She did
not long survive his death, and I
missed a good friend and counsellor
when she left me. Grandfather ex
pected me to be a farmer, but as I
never had any taste for hard work,
my thoughts and inclinations went
another wav. Of course he was not
at all pleased with my stubbornness,
but my good grandmother always
stepped between me and his w.ath,
and shielded me much from his dis
p.easuie.
The old gentleman was a sturdy
man at seventy years. He invaria
bly dressed in brown clothes, and
wore so broad a brim to his low
crowned hat he might easily have
been taken for a Quaker at first
fight. But get him angry once
(and his irritability was easily
aroused) and he would let fly such
sharp vehement sentences that it
was sometimes difficult to imagine
they were not profane.
I was nineteen years old and was
deep in love with Sallie Miller, the
young lady who played the organ at
the Cross Roads Church, and was the
finest dancer among the girls tn the
country. Grandfather had con
ceived a disli e for Sallie because
she was a rmjpician. He had no ear
for music, and was not “moved by
di-cord of sweet sounds,’’ and noth
ing so quieklv excited his ire as to
scrape a violin within his hearing, or
strike a ehord upon the piano,
Much against my own grand
fathers inclination, lie permitted me
to enter the law office of Mr. Smart,
as a student. Had it not been for
the good offices of my grandmother
I should not have had the wish of
my heart gratified. But she smoothed
the way for my grandfather’s con
sent. But he never ceased to ridi
cule me for my pretensions, and
positively refused to give me his
consent to marry Sallie Miller. It
would not have been a wise thing in
me lo cross the old gemlen an's
whims for I was his heir ; and he could
have found another without much
difficulty, so 1 never urged my case
but h-’moied him in every way I
could think of.
“What are you thinking about,
father,” she inquired. She always
Called him by that name.
“I was thinking,” he slowly re
plied, taking the pipe from between
his lips and Cropping both lmnds
Upon his knees, “that a few years
hence, and one won’t see good old
hickory logs burning upon andirons.
Stoves and grates, anil that, infernal
coal that makes gas enough to suf
focate a household, will supply the
place of our old-fashioned fires.”
I ought to have held my tougoe,
for he was not speaking to me; but
I wanted to show off some of my
smartness, and so I replied :
“Oh ! my dear sir, there is really
no occasion for having a stove which
permits the gas to escape. We have
now gas consuming stoves, and one
is not troubled in the way you sup
pose.”
"Pray, Mr. Smartness, permit me
to inquire how lono you have been
possessed cf this valuable informa
tion ? I have known it for some
years, or rather have heard it said,
that these stoves were gas burners,
but it’s all a lie; there’s not a word
of truth in it. I’ve known them to
send out as much gas as would Kill
an ox, if he were confined in the at
mosphere. Now, sir, dou’t you feel
like a fool ?”
“Come now, father,” replied my
grandmother, ‘‘don’t be so severe on
the boy,” (she called me a boy to
the day of tier and ath) ; “he onlj told
you what he heard, no doubt, and of
course every one is liable to make
mistakes, especially about such mat
ters.”
"That puts me in mind,” con
tinued my grandfather, “of asking
you how you are coming on with
your piauo-playing friend.”
“1 scarcely see her, except on
Sundays.”
“Hilmph I” returned my grand
father, clearing his throat. I didn’t
lik - the ejaculation. I often heard
it before, and 1 regarde i it with the
same apj tehension that a mariner
does an ugly cloud that rises up to
the windward,
“Humph f” he continued, blowing
a column of smoke toward the china
ornaments on the mantelpiece, “what
are yen good for ?” He looked
squarely at me as he' asked the ques
tion.
He evidently expected a reply, so
I answered him by saying that as
yet I didn’t know;
“That’s candid, at all events,” he
replied. “I’ve been thinking a good
deal about you of late, and it oc
curred to me that yon might make a
poor lawyer after all. And you
know what a poor lawyer'
is. You remember SimmOnsj
the man who used to board about
upon the farmers during the sum
mer time ? Well, he was what they
term a poor lawyer. He hadn’t
braids enough to make his piofes
sion support him, and was ready to
do writing or saw wood to help to
eke out a livelihood.”
“Our grandson has brains,” tartly
interrupted my gaanoinother. “My
side of the family contained no fools,
and yours, father, were what was
termed cute men.”
“There’s a beginning everywhere,,’
jfeturned the old man, puffing vigor
ously at his pipe. “There must be a
beginning.”
Having delivered this remark with
an emphasis which left no doubt
that he believed it, he went on :
- “Can you take that clock to
pieces (there was an old-fashioned
clock standing in the corner of the
room) and put it together again ?”
“I’m no clock-maker,” I replied.
“That is to say*” rejoined he,
“you have no mechanical ingenuity.
One need not be a clock-maker to do
that. I have done it and can do it
again; and I am no clock-maker.”
“How unreasonable you are, fath
er,” suggested my grandmother.
“He did not appear to notice her
remark, but continued:
“Can you turn a somersault ?”
“I never tried,” I replied.
“Then you are not as expert as a
clown. For the life of me I can’t
see what good you are going to do in
the world.”
“And I can’t see,” said my dear
old grandtaotuer, “what occasion
theie will be for the boy to mend
clocks or turn' somersaults. To hear
you falk, one would think you had
nothing to leave him but your ad
vice, and that is not of the most en
couraging nature.”
“A young man should rely on
himself,” returned my gradfather.
“Riches lake wings. I’ve managed
to hold my property together pre'ty
well, but how do I know he will do
so when you and I are gone ? He’ll
marry Miss Miller. What sort of a
wife will she make him ? Smart
with her heels, no doubt. Nimble
with her fingers at the old organ,
but those won’t serve to keep a fami
ly from going headlong to destruc
tion.”
“Sallie Miller is a very prudent
and useful girl,” replied my grand
mother, “I dou’t see what you find
amiss in her.”
“Don’t you?” he replied. Then
he relapsed into silence, and snaked
and looked into the fire
By and by he got up and walked
out ol the room, and then mv dear
old granomothei took my hand and
held it in her own, and told me not
to fret, that she would bring my
grandfather to think better of my
sweetheart.
I thanked her ever so much, but I
had little hope that she would be
successful.
About tiiis time my grandfather
was selling some property' in the
town where I was reading law, and
it became necessary for him to go
there to sign some deeds and re
ceive the money for the sale. At his
request I accompanied him.
It was nearly eyening when his
business was finished, and we set
out on ohr return home. Four
thousand dollars, the proceeds of the
sale, my grandfather carried in bank
notes on his person, as it was too late
to make a deposit in bauk. The old
gentleman was in good humor, and
talked pleasantly as we drove along
My mind was full of schemes just at
that time, as to how I was to sup
port Sallie Miller if I married her be
fore mv grandfather died. I lit le
dreamed that ere we arrived home a
way would be opened to me. We
were going down a steep hill, and it
was now quite dark, when the horse
stumbled and fell, and in an instant
a shaft was snapped in twain. I
sprang out of the wagon and grand
father quickly followed.
The horse in his fall bad become
entangled in the harness, and lay
helpless upon the earth. The moon
was just rising ar.d gave but an un
certain light, the sky was full of
fleecy clouds, but still it was light
enough to perceive grandfather drop
the package of $4,000 as he stooped
down to five the hofse; There it lay
at mv feet and he was unconscious
of h s lost. Another instant I had
picked it up and holding !t behind
me irresolute how to act. You will
understand that I didn’t mean to
steal it, but somehow or other I bad
an indistinct idea that I coiild make
the occasion serve my aims. There
was a largo flat stone by the roadside.
I had trapped a rabbit there once,
and I knew there was a considerable
cavity beneath it. An instant later
the $4,000 was deposited in the bole.
The shaft being tied up we got on
our way again, but it was midnight
ere we arrived ai home.
Grandfather had not been within
doors five minutes ere lie discovered
the loss of his money. He didn’t
get angrv, but was Lightened. It
was the first time in my life I had
witnessed him alarmed.
“I’ve lost my money,” heexclaimed,
as he drew his hand from his coat
pocket. Then he slid down, like a
helpless child, into a chair and the
cold perspiration broie out in large
drops on his forehead. His face be
came Very white. Grandmother was
standing by his side;
“Never mind,” she exclaimed,’
“grandson wdl go back and look for
it, and I dare say will find it too.”
“Four thousand dollars don’t lay
long on my road, however unfre-’
cf dented, and the road we traveled to
night lias always someone passing
over it: No, the money wori.'t Ve=
found. All 1 me;” and the old man
lay back ftf his chair like one ill.
For an instant my heart re
proached me,-and I was almofft ready
to ttdtTeSS my (rick, f. r my grand
fifiW looked the picture' 6f despair.
. &° n <f saddle' a hoVse and
Pe F yew ArnWt bwv*
SDAY MORNING, MAY 31, 1877.
lost it when the horse was being
freed from tbe harness. ’Tis ouly
three miles back and the moon is
now up. It won’t take me long to
ride it.”
“I think I’ll go with you,” replied
the old man.
“Don’t think of it,” I replied.—
“Trust me, grandfather ; if I can’t
mend a clock or turn a somersault,
you will acknowledge I was always a
good hunter. I’ll bet you anything
you dare that I’ll recover every dol
lar of your money.”
“Do you think so?” he asked,
grasping me by the hand. “You
must not mind what I said to you,
about being good for nothing. You
are my grandson, and my boy heir,
too. All I have will be yours some
day.”
“There is one thing you won’t
agree to let me have,” 1 replied.
He waved his hand.
“I know what you are going to
say,” he answered. “Well, your
giandmolher has been talking to me
on the subject. Go, along, my boy,
bring me back the four thousand dol
lars, and I’ll allow you to marry Sal
lie Miller;”
I made A spring for the door arid
was hurrying to the stable, when the
old gentlemau followed me.
“Remember my conditions, the
four thousand dollors I lost. Find
that for me, and you can marry Sal
lie Miller, and I’ll provide for you!
But if you fail to bring me the money,
I say nay, and perhaps for a good
while to comei”
I flew along ihat road as fast as
good horse flesh could carry me, but
felt like a guilty wretch, as I knelt
down by the stone, and passed my
hand beneath it. A gleam of happi
ness crossed my heart as I held the
package ill my hand.
My first impulse was to huriy
home as fast as I had hither. But
reflecting that my speedy return
might throw a suspicion on the affair,
I allowed the horse to walk nearly
the whole distance.
Grandmother met me -t the door.
She said my grandfather had been
counting the minutes since I left.
He was still in the sitting room.
I held the package up, and grand
mother kissed me.
“You are a good boy,” she said,
“and I’ll see that your grandfather
does the light thing about Sallie Mil
ler;”
“Here you are, sir,” I shouted com
ing into the old man’s presence, and
plac'ng the package in his hands.
“Thank heaven !” he devoutly ex
claimed. “I had given it up; my
boy. Did you have much of a search ?
Where did you discover it ?”
“Just where I said you lost it
O.i the spot where we broke the shaft."
Grandfather examined the package
and found it all light. Then he
hugged me, and pulled my ear say
ing:
“Now, you scamp, you can marry
Sallie Miller Bring her home here,
for she no doubt requires a good
deal of instruction in house-keeping,
and your grandmother wil, make her
fit to keep your house from ruuhiog
to W'aste.”
* * * * *
Readers, these things happened
many years ago All the land marks
about th ■ farm have long since passed
away ; but there is still a large, flat
stone by the roadside, as one rides
out from the town of Randolph, and
I never gaze upon it without recol
lecting how intimately my destiny
and that rock are connected.
A GAME OF BLUFF.
Writing of the epidemic of draw
poker in Washington during the
war, a correspondent says: One
night I was sitting by the chair of a
player who was a:i old acquaintance
and a Virginian. It was A pretty
high game, the chips being lives,
teniy-flve3 and fifties. At one stage
of the game somebody got to raising
before the draw, and in a minute or
two there was as much as a thousand
doijars on the board. When the
hands were helped one man took one
card, another stood pat, another took
two cards, and so did the party he
hind whose chair I was sitting.
They all bet before he did, and the
amount put up by each wa, if I
remember, five hundred dollars
straight. When it came to my
friend’s turn, he went into his breast
pocket, pulled out a wallet, and
fished thence a certified check or
draft for $3,500. Going to a desk,
he wrote his name across the back,
resumed his seat, threw the paper in
the center and Said :
“Gentlemen, I’ve been 'turned cut
of Virginia. I was once a man of
wealth, hut the war came and closed
me out. I settled up my business
the best I could, and that certified
check for $3,500 represents not only
the fortune I once bad, but it is
every dollar I have in the world. I
see that five hundred dollars the
gentleman bet, and the balance of
tins check—three thousand dollars.”
The man who stood pat,- as he turned
up his cares and showed a big flush,
said: “I lay down mine.” Anoth
er laid down a full. Tbs next three
aces. My frti nd raked down the
pile and then showed his hand. He
had a pair of fours.
There were three deaths under one
umbrella at Newbern, N. C., on the
last Sunday evening in April. At
the close of the service at the col
ored Bethel church a thunderstorm
passed over the town, and two young
girls took refuge under a colored
brother’s umbrella, which had a steel
handle. There was a vivid flash, and
in an instant there were three life
less bodies prostrate on the sidewalk.
The coyer of the umbrella was partly
burned.
Any work; no matter how humble,
that a mafi honors by efficient labor
will be found important enough to
secure respect for himßelf and credit
for biw name.-
A Presentiment of Evil;
—OR
THE ROBBER UNDER A BED AT A
COUNTRY TAVERN.
My hair must, I think, have turned
White in a single moment. Let me
tell you about it, said Mrs. Hartley,
a lady of thirty or thereabouts, wit h
a pleasant and singularly expressive
face, her head covered with a luxu
rious mass of hair, silvery white,
commenced the following narrative :
‘Ten years ago, this very day, I
was married. My husband’s business
was such that he was not able to
leave the city for any considerable
length of time; so my dreams of
a wtdding tour on the Continent
were unrealized, and I was compelled
to content myseli with a few weeks’
travel in the West.
‘Alter having visited several of
the principal cities we came across
an old iriend, who, with his wife,
was also in search of pleasure. One
evening, at dark, we found ourselves
at a little settlement a few miles
from Milwaukie. It had commenced
to rain, the night bade fair to be
very unpleasant, and to complete
our misery, wo discovered that the
driver we had hired to take us to
Milwaukie was either terribly stupid,
or a little intoxicated—the latter
seemed most probable. My husband,
after questioning him in reference to
the locality, found that a short dis
tance further was a tavern, where we
could spend the night.
‘This was very acceptable news to
me, for I had grown exceedingly
nervous at the approach of the storm,
as well as at the lateness of the hour,
and the singular behavior of our
guide ar.d driver.
‘My husband’s ‘Shall we stop or
go on ?’ met with a hearty 'Stop by
all means,’ from the whole party;
and after a few moments more slow
groping among the dripping trees,
we halted before a little wayside inn,
which, at first appearance, preserted
rather a comfortless aspect. The
room into which we Were ushered
was large, square and well lighted;
a cheerful fire crackled upon the
hearth, presenting a striking contrast
to the chill drizzle outside.
‘lt did not take long to remove our
wrappings and order supper, and in
a few moments a good, substantial
repast was laid before us. After
having sat an unprecedentedly long
while over our coffee, our friends,
Mr. and Mrs. Withers, were placed
at one end of a long hall, or passage,
and we at the other.
‘This is cozy,’ said Frank, prepar
ing to retire. ‘The whole get up of
this place reminds me of our country
houses at the East. I haven’t had
anything taiftc so good since I left
home as my supper did to-night.
Plain, clean, substantial, and enough
of it, and this ain't bad,’ glancing at
the snowy dimity, and high feather
bed. , ‘But what’s the matter with
you ?’ lie continued, amazed at receiv
ing no reply.
‘A strange nervousness had all at
once taken possession of me, and the
sensation was so new that I was ab
solutely frightened. It was the first
time in my life that I had ever expe
rienced such a feeling as fear, and I
was too proud to admit the truth, so
evaded his query by declaring that I
was utterly fagged out, and needed
sleep; Just then a knock was heard
on the door. My husband answered
the summons.
‘Would be kind enough,’ said a
V' ice, which I immediately recog
nized as onr landlord’s ‘to come with
me to the next house ? A poor fel
low lias sent for someone to read
the Bible. He is in the last agonies,
sir, and I am sorry to say no one
here can do it, and I have made bold
to come and ask you. It seems a
shame to have the poor fellow step
out without a single crumb of com
fort.’
‘l’ll be with you in a moment.,’ re;
plied Frank ; and with a ‘Thank you,’
which was altogether too cringing
for my tasie, the man turned away.
‘Bur, Frank, you are not going !’
1 exclaimed, in horror, as be drew on
his boot.
‘Why, Lis, what a question ! who
would refuse such a request ?’ he re
plied, without looking at me. Of
course, lam going. It isn't possible
my little wife would say a word
against so simple an act of kindness ?
God only knows wfcat straits wc may
be reduced to in our last hours. ‘A
clip of cold water in my name,’ and
•As ye do it unto the least of one of
these,’ remember.’
‘With a sob, which I could not re
strain, I hid my face on the pillow.
‘Well, I declare you are nervous,’
he continued, leaning over the bed to
comfort me. ‘You are actually trem
bling. Now, he a good littie girl
and bolt the door after me. It isrr’t
at all probable tiiat I shall be gone
over an hour,’ and without another
word, he slipped his watch, pocket
book and one of his pistols under my
piffow, and was gone.
•Oh, that dreadful presentiment of
evil, and nothing else, that made me
so unwilling to he left alone. I tried
to say, ‘Frank, I will not allow this.
If \ou insist upon going, I will ac
company you,’ but in some incom
prehensible manner, I was withheld.
Probably my anxiety to stand well
in the estimation of my husband,
caused me to restrain further exhi
bitions of timidity.
‘He had told me to fasten the door
but I dreaded to step out ot bed. It
seemed as if some great, black hand
was ready to grab at my ankle;
but I knew It must be done, and af
ter a moment’s hesitation, I leaped j
out, turned the .key. drew the holt, i
and with the speed of aii antelope,
tucked myself down again into the I
comfortable feathers.
‘Sleep 1 I might as well have tried
to sleep in the regions of the infer
nal, couldn’t e'ose my eyes even.
There was a painful sensatiou of its
being necessary to keep myself close
togeth -r. My feet seemed so far
away from my bead that I was com
pelled to diaw them carefully up,
and when at last my knees touched
ray chin, and there was no further
curtailing possible, I tried to define
what I was afraid of; but the more
1 tried the more wretched and per
plexed I became. I could see noth
ing—hear nothing; but a warning
of dangei had been wafted to my
soul, which that soul felt, but could
not understand.
‘A cold perspiration started from
tny face, but I dared not lift .my hand
to wipe it off. Every sense seemed
preternaturally acute. After a space
of time, Which seemed to me like an
eteiiiity* I distinctly heard a slight
rustlibg under the b and. Still I stirred
not. Again and again it was re
peated, and f at last discovered that
somebody was trying to remove
from his hiding place. The cause of
my boiror was then plain. What
should I do ? Bush for the door, and
attempt to alarm my friends at the
other end of the passage? To save
ruy life, I could not move an inch !
Still, the strange movement beneath
me. It appeared as if my right
hand were taken, without the least
volition of my own, and laid upon
the little destroyer under my head.
‘My eyes seemed riveted on the
foot of the bed, where, ill a little
while, a hand appeared—a long
black hand, which grasped the rail,
as if in this way to assist its owner
to his feet.
‘Slowly-—as I had seen figures ap
pear before a trap-door on the
boards of a theatre—the horrid tiling
assumed proportions. Not for a sec
ond did I remove my eyes.
‘The head was small, covered with
long, perfectly straight black hair ;
tiny bead-like eyes, glistened like
those of a serpent. The creature’s
mouth seemed literally to spread
from ear to car, while the thick,
crimson lips gave a crowning hide
ousness to the most terrible counte
nance I ever saw or imagined.
‘My band clutched the murderous
little weapon.
‘Tuevnetcli moved slowly toward
me, keeping his horrid eyes fixed
on my face, with a leer, impossible
to describe, proclaimed that he
thought his job an easy one.
‘Gold, lady—gold—watch— gold !
Right away, now ! Then Bill buggy
you !’ muttered the brute, advancing
another step.
‘With a steadiness tint would
have done credit to a professional
shooting at a target under ordinary
circumstances, this right hand drew
out the little pistol, aimed—fired;
and in a second’s time the giant,
with a piercing shriek, reeled and
fell.
‘lt appeared to me that a legion of
men came running up-stairs. They
tried the door.
‘This I thought a part of the plot,
of course; My husband had been
beguiled into leaving me, and I was
in a den of thieves. So there 1 stood
by the door ready to shoot the first
person who crossed the threshold.
‘They entreated tube let in.
‘Whoever attempts to enter this
room is a dead man!’ I answered
with my mouth to the key hole.
‘Lot me in, Lis, please I said a
well known voice. ‘Bella, open the
door. What can be the matter?
There is nothing to hurt you from
the outside, Bella, darling, open the
door 1
‘And I did.
‘My God! What is that?’ came
from every member of the house
hold, as the dead body met their
view.
‘And, my God! what is this?”
said my husband, taking my hair
which had turned perfectly gray,
which hung about my shoulders, into
his hand and bursting into tears,
‘Oh, darling ! why did I leave you ?’
was all the poor fellow could u'ter.
‘The man was a villain who had
several times escaped the penalties
of the law, on account of what it was
pleased to term his idiocy.
‘So there was no conspiracy I ven
tured to ask, after taking a long
bi'eath.-
‘None at all,’ replied Frank. ‘The
poor man we went to visit died while
I was there.’ —The Cricket on the
Hearth.
BRINGING THEM TO BEPENTANCE.
In a neighboring State there
lived a family named Beaver, con
sisting of the old mail and his four
sons, who had often laughed to
scorn the advice and entreaties of a
pious though eccentric minister, who
resided in the same town. It hap
pened that one of the Beaver boys
was bitten by -a rattlesnake, and was
expected to die, Slid the old clergy
man was sent for in a hurry. On
his arrival lie found the young man
very penitent, and inxious lo be
prayed for. The minister called the
family tegether, and knelt down and
prayed in this way : “O. Lord ! we
thank Thee for rattlesnakes. We
thank Tliee because a rattlesnake has
hit Jim. We pray Thee send a rat
tlesn ,ke to Lite John; send one to
bite Bill ; send one to bite Bam ;
and, O, Lord! send the biggest
kind ofa rat'lesnake to bite the old
man, for nothing hut rattlesnakes
will ever bring the Beaver family lo
repentance.”
#
As the bathing season has. com
menced, and persons ;e liable to
drowning several times this summer,
the following hints will tell hotf to
bring them to. If the drowned per
son be a politician, whisper in his
car that he has Just been appointed
to a fat office. If a mairied woman,
tell her that her husband is j :st
speaking softly to the woman she
hates. If a young man, toll him
confidently that another fellow' is
after his sweetheart.
NO- 22
RUSSIAN WIVES.
A story has been going the rounds
of the French papers illustrating the
status of marred women in Ilussiu.
The simple woman in this case seems
to have imagined that sbq plight get
from a Russian magistrate some sort
of protection against a husband
whose favorite pastime was cruelly,
to torture her. She had beep yoked
by her playlul husband to tlje shafts
Of his cart, and driven along for six
teen versts, in double harness with
the horse, under the furious blows of
a heavy whip. Haying survived this,
ordeal; she was brought home again,
her bead was shaved, and after she
had been smeared all over with tar she
was rolled in feathers, and then,
turned out of the house. In this
plight she resorted to the peison
whom she fondly imagined to be
most benevolent, or at any rate the
least savage, in the village. She
went to the priest, but, instead of ob
taining any shelter or relief, was
rudely struck by the pious man, who.
called tlie.,.husband and advised him
him to administer fresh, castigation.
It would have been well for.the jvo
man if she had taken the broad hint
offered her by Ibis reception at the
priest’s, residence, and had returned
home to suffer in silence the torment
to which she was fated. Bttt she
wrs ignorant of the Russian Hw, and
she could not persuade herself that
she was utterly without remedy in,
Such a as this! So she went to
law, and brought before the court
both the husband ami the priest.—
Here the procuateur general at once
declined to enter into any nrgumeut
on the subject of the husband, ex
plaining that the whole matter was
one of merely private family
and that husband and wife could al
ways come to an understanding
among themselves without tin inter
ference of the law. The priest’s*
case was a little difficult. But the
w rtliy man represented that facts of
this sort occur often and inevitably
among the lower “orders" in Russia,
whereupon the court, without furth
er discussion, acquitted both the ac
cused persons.
Cincinnati Commercial, 7t ! i lust.] t
SEWING MACHINE MONOPOLY ENdED.
At noon to-morrow the great m Or,
nopoly on sewing machines expires,"
and from that time forward the most
improved machine will be sold for at
least one-third of the former prices."
The only patents on all sewing ma
chines that will remain in force will
bn on the minor details. The vital
points, such ns the vibrating needle
and reciprocating shuttle, the vibra-,
ting needle and rotating books, a con
tinuous feed in connection with the
above weather wheel or what is
known as the foremotion feed, will
expire. In other words, the combi
nation Consisting of Grover & linker,
AVheeler A Wilson, Ilowe and Sing
er companies, will come to an end.—
They owned the John Bachelor pat
ent, which was the only one besides
the A. B. Wilson, and which was
valuable as a continuous feed motion.]
The profits of this patent have been
not less than $4,000,000. In 1851 or
’52 the combination was formed, by
which the patent belonging to the
several companies were made com
mon use of. A stipulation was made,
however, that no machine should be
sold for less than an agreed price,
which has always been about six
times the first cost. They would also
license other companies to manu
facture other machines for a fe# from
three to twenty dollars per machine,,
according to the number manufac
tured, and then only when the com
bination price was adhered to In the
sale of the same. So strong has been,
ibis combination that it virtually con
trolled the price of every machine in
the country. Tho Bachelor patent
was twice extended. A year ago the.
combination raised a million of dol
lars t 6 get It extended. The ablest
lawyers in the country were retained,
and appeared before the Congres
sional committees. Since etlbits
have been made to get a pient on
some minor detail by which the,
rriunopoly could be continued. It is
the testimony of any reputable per~
son acquainted with the auhjeqt
that these machines have been turned
out atacost 0f58.15, and that s2o*oo
at the outside for a retail price would
give all hands a large profit.
THE LATEST CAT STORY/
The Elmira (N. Y.) Gazette say's :
We are told on trustworthy authori
ty that a gentleman of this city, liv
ing in the lower part of the town, re
eently went to the woods and finding
a nest of young squirrels brought.
tliemlotliehou.se, where thefo tire rC
two felines each having a “litter” of
kittens One of the tabbies took hfr
own legitimate children and putting
them in the nest of the other (by
whom they were taken care of as f
though they had been Inr own flesh
and Idood), went to the place where”
the three squirrels were, and took
them one by one to her own iiuisery
and since has been nursing and
caring for them as a mother. The
like of this was never known before/
The P eedent’s “policy” comes tho
nearest tc it of anything, for he may
lie said to have turned out Republican
kittens and put in Democratic squir/
rcls.
•— „
The following is a court scene in’
Columbus: “A day or two ago/
while Judge Crawfard was engaged'
In the investigation ofa case, a tall '
jeans dressed man elided tip t 0 the’
Judge’s Stand and in a defeienti 1
whispering long asked.-' “Is this the
Jedge?” Upon deceiving a reply
the affirmative, our country friend
said: “Well, Jedge, I has lost a fa
voi'te beast, and J.cuin to git you to
asa this congreg-li in if any of them
had heard or seed her. She is a'
mighty nice bay filly. There Is a
hi|i of folks here, and / want vouV
fiK i Iks question now/*