Newspaper Page Text
VOL. XIV.
POOR LITTLE BLOSSOM.
**o, dear,*l*,nj so tired and lonesome,
I wonder way Mama don’t come?
B’e told me U> it’nt #p my b'ae ey*,
And ’fore I waked up s’ed be home.
s'e was gmngto g'rraluia,
B*e lives on th j river s bright;
I ’spect oiy Mam i fidGu’in th-re,
Aud p'raps s'e won’t turn tom tonight.
u i dess Pee af ad to -tay up here
Wiy.iiit any fire or li^Ut:
Bat Dod’n ligbteti t.‘* lamps up in heaven
l *ee ’em * tviailing s .1 bright*
“I led* r.l g inw > .* i II -* Pipa,
£ kaaw he a ■•tcippd **tte st ;re ;
(t‘ ft itwat, pretA? iUW ful. if txitties
WidU he w-n 'f g t ere no more
“:rv>m j'iunj he ■> ok wh he com-ho ,
lie -dembi ‘.I t .‘.up h* M ill’:
A' 1 c *>. i lif ■• i .i • h •.r i
l i. k *1 • m peor Util- e a r
'\V ‘ . • , *jd f if; . ;
And ir: ■; ; -'G S- t.
AWi ■; ; ij.
And -Vs hr ■ i. 1,
Oat iftw W-.:T)} An*? Vi-./ -
With i’-uisa-'-vrTspsidgfd' broty'tV hat:
Out into hiby,
it r lUf ■> it -t a w;t t ttH'hl.
r.1.-sh-t—tts-. t h- j i
.’he h.t; •. *; # . U*e I op-ul,
R V f~fH l 9 I Jr.* -I
t !l i>r :i* i .tv roJ,
Bhe aj?d in th li • •**.
: Oh, Papa P* -h** w’D lni r>h reached hint.
'lUl Ml .1 , :
An l mv* i ;u gi.i l 1 is uero.
“Tin lights are mo pretty, dear P uis.
\;:d i rink that the iiiuae > sweet;
But I dess it is supper time, P p i,
And lilossom wails something to eat.’’
A insurant the bleared eyes gaize 1 wildly
Down Into the face hw*s> t an < <lca%
And then, as the demon possessed him.
He grasped at the back of a chair.
A moment -a second -’twin over.
The work of the fi; and was complete,
And the poor littic innocent Hlosa nu
Lay broken aud crushed at his fed.
Then swift a* the light came to reason,
And showed him the deed he ha-1 done.
With a groau that the demon might pity,
He knelt by the quivering form.
He pressed the pale lips to bis bosom.
He lifted the fair gulden head.
A moment the baby lips trembled.
Then poor little Bi os.so in wu# dt ad.
A I.ITKRAHY SUBPUISK.
A Pfminln Author i> #*v>v<‘rptl UnUer
Male P<*eud'nyin— Ch*rl**A Egbert
Craddock ’■ Mil* Murfree.
One of the best veiied literary iden
tities iince the t me when George Eliot
was supposed to be a man has been
that erf Chivies Egbert Craddock, the
writer of the beautiful and powerful
stories of Tennessee ma intain tfe that
have appeared in The All intic for sev
eral years past. The announcement,
therefore, made that “Mr.” Craddock
was a woman and had been the cause
of a great surprise to D . Holmes and
Mi. Howells on meeting or at dinner
at Mr. Aldrich's, caused a thorough
sensation in literary circ os.
The de elopment of this author is a
proof, not only of the wealth of liter
ary material lout Res hidden through
out the United States, in obscure re
gions. but also that the conditions ti er#
existing may* produce the genius to
utilize them. It has been known,
though not generally, that Charles Eg
bert Craddock was a pseudonym, bur
no one can have suspected that tho
rax*ter of a style so strikingly mascu
line as that in these mountain tales
was not a man. The secret ha*, until
now. been well guarded, and publishers
and editors have in tlreir dealings, ad
dressed the author as Mr. AL N. Mur
free. or M. N. Murfree, Esq , tho ob
serving editor choosing the latter form,
taking it for granted that one who bad
so accurate a knowledge of legal meth
ods as is shown In the stories, must be
a lawyer. Charles Egbert Craddock
had been a favorite contributor to The
Atlantic for several years. Mr. How
ells, when editor, was quick to see the
striking qu tlity of the stories. Tne
first one printed was “The Dancin’
Party at Harrison’s Cove.” When
Mr. Aldrich became editor, he remem
bered this story, and his first act was
to write to the author, askingfor furth
er contributions, meanwhile printing,
as soon as possible* two stories which
had been on hand some little time, un
used in consequence of a press of other
matter. Mr. Aldrich used to muse
considerably over the personality of the
author, and he once wrote asking how
the latter could have become so inti
mate with the strange, quaint life of
the mountaineers. He received a
pleasant reply of several pages, which,
however, did. not throw much light
upon the author personally. The
manuscript of “Air.” Craddock certain
ly had nothing feminine about it It
was almost startlingly vigorous, with
large bold characters, every letter as
plain as print, and strikingly thick,
black lines. Mr. Aldrich toid Miss
Murfree that he used to suppose that
•he wrote with one of those “dip”
brushes which the mountaineers use in
their habit of “dipping snuff!” So
liberal was tiie author in the use of
ink that last fall, when Air. Aldrich
was about to write to ask for the pow
erful novel, “The Prophet of the Great
Smoky Mountains,” now running in
The Atlantic , he remarked: “I wonder
if Craddock has laid in his winter’s
ink yet, so that I can get a serial out
of him?” with the idea tiiat Mr. Crad
dock must get his ink in large quanti
ties, just as other people get their coal
or floor. It was owing to Mr. Aldrich’s
urgent representation that the collec
tion of stories, “In tiie Tennessee
Mountains,” was published, the pub
lishers hesitating under fhe impression
that there was no market for short
stories collected in book form. Ilis
judgment was justified, for the book is
now in it# ninth thousand.
One day recently as Mr. Aldrich was
in the editorial room of the Atlantic
Monthly, word was brought that a lady
wished to see him. He went down and
a nleasant young la<iv, who re-
marKcu in at sue was yuanes r.goert
Craddock. Mr. Aldrich could hardly
have beeu more astounded had the roof
fallen in, and he turned and ran sever
al steps under the pressure of the
shock, before lie recovered his lisua ly
imperturbable presence of mind. He
would have been better prepared to
tied under that name a strapping six
foot Ten'essecAn than the delicate
looking lady before him. He now says
that he is inclined to doubt the sex of
all other Atlantic contributors whom
lie has not met; there are certain
things in George Eliot's writings
which, now that one kuows. one can
clearly see could have been written
on.v bv a w man; but in the writings
of Oh . es E bert Craddock there is
not tii sightest trace of feminine
inlluuice.
I)". ILdmes and Mr. Howells were
tui v astonished at meeting Mr.
■\ ck in Miss Murfree. Mr. How
• i .1 written that hecould not come,
to a o;h*r engagement, though
u:e l v*ry much to “meet Crad
a,” out lie was persuaded to come
i urgent reipi si of *r. Aldrich,
av ie called at a prominent
r s. who said: ‘ Toll Craddock
• ; round to see us.’ 1
*' u'-.l imrdiy he a violation of priv
t say that the evening was a do
me to all; that t;ie chief guest
■ i ‘ss das *‘taey” by the host,
•: if ion of tue dualit y of Miss
• and Cuartes Egbert Craddock,
w ** iio t.*ss could not lose the
from her ill i aud compromised
< * ali-a Croduock.’l
M " Murf.ee was born at Murfrees
• . 'lean., and is the daughter of a
prominent law\er, who has written
ie ant'd as autliorlty in the
e • Murtree-horo is the location
i:•.• uovei, “Where the Battle Was
i,’ . 'id tho windows of the
where t e faintly lived up to two
veai-'* igo overlook the battle-ground.
i*'u year.- ago Mr. M i free moved
*v>;n hn t iiudv to Bt. Louis, where
•y i; w live. For a numoer of years,
ft -m <iu Id hood up. M ss Muriree was
•* to usi her feet, but her health
i* n w much belter, and she can get
r iid witu slight assistance. It
seems a litt. short of marv lons that
under such circumstances the author
should have been able to gain so inti
mate a knowledge of the life of the
mountain folk and their almost inac
cessible homes and onviroment. Bou
ton Her dd.
Polk Lore for Sweetheart*.
Perhaps your affect one arc still dis
engaged, but you wish to bestow them
on one who will return like for like.
In this case there are plenty of wish
ing chairs, wishing gates, etc., scatter
| ed through the country, A wish breath-
I ed near them, and kept secret, will
: tjponer or later have its fullillment.
! But the e is no need to travel to the
| Lake country or to Finch ale Priory, near
Durham (where is a wishing chair); U
j you see a pteee of old iron or a borse
| shoe on your path take it up, spit on if,
l and throw it over your left shoulder,
j framing a wish at the same time. Keep
1 this wish a secret, and it will come to
j pass in due time. If you meet a pit
bald horse, nothing can be more lucky;
| utter your wish, and, whatever it may
j be. you will have it before the week bo
j out. In Cleveland the following
i method of db ining whether a girl will
| be married or not is resorted to: Take
| a tumbler of wafer from a stream
, which runs southward; borrow the
I wedding-ring of some gitile-wifi ami
suspend it bv a hair of your head over
the glass of water, holding the hair be
tween the finger and thumb. If the
ring hit against the side of the glass,
the holder will die an old maid; if it
turn quickly around, she will be mar
ried once; if slowly, twice. Should
the ring strike the side of the glass
more than three times after the holder
lias pronounced the name of her lover,
there will be a lengthy courtship and
nothing more; “she wiil be courted to
dead,” as they say in Lincolnshire; if
less frequently, the .affair will be brok
en off, and if tlicre is no striking at all
it will never come on. Or if you look
at the first new moon of the year
through a silk handkerchief which has
never been washed, as many moons as
you site through it (the threads multi
plying the vision), so many years must
pass before your marriage. Would you
ascertain tho color of your future hus
band’s hair? follow the practice of the
German girls. Between the hours of
11 and 12 at night on St. Andrew’s
Eve, a maiden must stand at the house
door, take hold of the latch, and say
three times, “Gentle love, if thou Invest
me, show thyself.” .She must then
open the door quickly anil make a
rapid grasp through it into the dark
ness, when she will find in her hand a
lock of her future husband’s hair.—
Btlyravia.
>m ♦
The Beggar Boy* of‘ Home.
The poor look always cold. They
are always ragged and dirty, in very
I picturesque clothes, and on their poor
| shoes lies the earth of the Lacustrine
j period; and yet what a privilege it is
i to be even a beggar in liom ! i thought
\ so at St. Peter’s on Sunday, as I heard
| Cardinal Howard sing mass on St.
Peter’s day. Cardinal Howard is a
stately prince of the church, and most
admired by the English ladies here,
who, it is said, kiss tiie hem of his gar
ments.
On the occasion of this splendid cere
mony, the choir of the Sisline chapel
answered antiphonally tho choir of the
Cathedra). The famous tenors
their best, and so did the sopranos of
St. John Lateran; and no such music
was ever heard in all the world outside
of Rome. In front of me stood the
little beggar brothers, no covering on
j their curly heads. They were enrap
tured with the music, as they well
might be, and shamed my Protestant
coolness by kueeling and crossing
themselves in the rigiit places. They
were very much in my way, anil they
smelt of poverty and ganic; but 1 en
vied them—for they can always see
Rome, while I must leave it. I gave
them a small copper tribute of respect,
and of gratitude that they had taught
me how rich a beggar might be. They
rewarded me with a smile Raphael
might have coveted, and a compliment
in Italian far sweeter than anything I
have ever heard in English.
In Old London.
Except the dealers who kept stalls on
Chepe, (a great open market-place in
the old days.) the city men of the Mid
dle Ages lived at their places of busi
ness. We can get a fair idea from
“Fitz Alwyne’s Assize” (the first Met
ropolitan Building act promulgated
1191, by the first Lord Mayor of Lon
! don) of what an ordinary master arti
ficer’s house was like in the thirteenth
THOMSON, GEORGIA, WRDNJCSDAY, APRIL 15, 1885.
and fourteenth centuries. It was neith
er very large nor very commodious.
The party walls were of stone, 3 feet
thick and 16 feet high. From them the
roof, made of tiles, or in old houses of
thatch, rau up to a point forming a ga
ble toward the street. Tho rain, run
ning down the slant of the roof into a
gutter made along the top of the wall*
was disc urged from a projecting spout
into the kennel, unless the head of a
passer-by happened to intercept the
stream. The front and back were till
ed with timber and plaster. Joists at a
height of eight feet from the ground
supported the floor of the upper and
the ceiling of the lower story. Tho
“solar,” as the first floor was called,
was probably entered, like a modern
hayloft, by a ladder through a hole in
the floor. Tiie ground floor was used
as one room, or divided into several,
according to the size of the house and
the needs of its inhabitants. Glass 'as
scarcely known in dwelling houses at
the commencement of tiiis period* and
the windows were simply holes guard
ed by iron bar and closed at night by
shutters. But before the end of Ed
ward lil.’s reign glass windows of lat
tice work were common. Chimneys
likewise were a refinement which Lon
doners generally did not adopt till
about the beginning of tho fourteenth
century. A movable stall, jutting out
into the street, formed an annex to the
front ground-floor room, and provided
a shop window, behind which the mas
ter and his apprentice could work at
their craft and keep watch over their
wares at the same time. A cellar,
re ched bv steps from too outside, ex
isted under most of the houses, lieeds
on the floor and whitewash on the walls
were usually the only internal decora
tions of w ait to our modern notions
must, have been an extremely squalid
comfortless abode—a mere hut. The
(Ju arteriy lievicw.
llow Fahrenh it Got His Zero.
Fahrenheit was a mathematician and
knew that a circle was divided into 360
degrees. He :oupd that •steam and ico
were the most natural fixed points in
temperature* at opposite poles, lie
therefore naturally divided the distance
on Ids glass tube bet ween ico and steam
into the number of degrees iu the diam
eter of a circle, which is 180. lie waul
ed an in vtrmueut which could be cheap
ly made and which would measure
above steam and below ice, so far as
would be lists! in everyday life. He
found that artificial cold could be pro
duced which would cause the mercury
to fall just thirty-two of tho spaces ho
had marked off on hia glass between
ice and steam, and ho there, sensibly or
not. placed his zero or point from which
he could Count. 11 neo ice or freezing
is thirty-two degrees above, and steam
or boiling water is the diameter of his
c ircle or 180 degrees: above ice, or 212
degrees above zero. —Uluo ttato Jour
nal.
Delayed ,
“In view of the hi cl that over 50,-
000,000 parcels of mail matter arc annu
ally delivered from this office, and
over 200,000,000 annually sent from it,
is it strange,” said Postmaster Tobey
to a Globe reporter, yesterday, “that
errors occasionally occur?
“Them i*> one thing,” continued the
Post.uastei, “taut we constantly im
press on tho minds of our employes,
and that is that they must at a 1 times
be courteous and polite, however irri
tating the pu lie may be, when sup
posing the management of the office at
fault. It would be an act of simple
justice on the part of any one who may
have Cause for complaint, real or imag
inary, to make it known to the Post
master direct, thereby giving him the
opportunity to investigate the matter,
and apply a remedy, if any is needed,
instead of complaining to tho public,
and creating a very erroneous impres
sion as to the efficiency of the service
generally.
“The statement that letters are oft
en delayed at this office is an erroneous
one. It will be seen at a glance that
the original fault is with the senders in
not prepaying at least one rate of post
age. If one full rate is paid, namely,
2 cents, no matter bow much more
postage may be required, the letter
will be delivered at once, mid the de
ficient amount collected on delivery.
If to be delivered in tho city the car
rier must pav the postage before tak
ing it from *ne office and collect it from
the addressee on delivery. This, as
you will see, occasion no delay.”
“Tlow if tho letter is addressed to a
box?”
“In that case a notice is at once
placed in the box requesting the ad
dressee to call at section three in the
post-office, pay tiie extra. postage and
receive the letter. Neither is any de
lav occasioned by this. It is not a red
tape regulation of the Boston post
office, but a postal law, requiring full
payment of postage to be made on all
mail matter before deli erv. i heso
letters 1 have referred to are known in
the department as ‘short-paid letters.’
The letters which full rate has
not been paid are designated as *hoiu
for-postage letters,’ and cannot be de
livered by law until the full postage is
paid by either the writer or the ad
dressee. Wi en the writer’s address is
on tiie envelope the letter is at once re
turned for the necessary postage, but
if the envelope does not bear the ad
dress of the writer a notice is at once
sent to the addressee.
“The latter system is certainly a
vast improvement over the former Jaw
requiring held-for-postage letters not
bearing the address of the writer to be
sent to the Dead L iter Office, from
which the addressee# were notified that,
upon receipt of the necessary postage*
their letters would be forwarded to
them. This, of course, occasioned
much unnecessary delay. The Boston
post office, under its present manage
ment, was the second office in the
country to adopt the system of card
notices I have described to you, and,
by demonstrating its advantages to the
department, it was the means of its in
troduction throughout the country.
“If a letter bearing the address of
the writer, and addressed to a street
and number in Boston, can not bo de
livered—no such party being known—
a circular is sent to the writer stating
the reason 'for its non-delivery and
asking for a correct address. On an
average about twenty-live of those cir
culars are sent out every day, and in
almost every instance they are returned
with the information that the letters
were intended for some other city.
They are then forwarded as requested.
“Charges of red tape in tfiis office
and delay in the transmission of mail
matter are not true,” concluded Mr.
Tobey, “and in all cases where letters
are detained it will be found due to
negligence of the senders.” —Boston
Globe. .
Linen CnlT* ne'il Collar#*
The popularity ot tiio tailor-made
suit lias revived the prestigf of linen
cuff# and collars; they are necessary to
its completion. All cloth suits are now
finished with a straight stauding collar
or band, braided or finished to match
the bodice, and showing just a line of
white above its edge. Tho sleeves are
narrow at the wris s, and match tho
collar in finish, the culls behig narrow
and not more than half tjedopth of
those formerly used. These narrow
stylos are known as “Jersey” cuffs*
anil are intended for narrow, close-fit
ting coat sleeves; but they can be
turned or reversed, for wear at both
ends, each end having button-holes.
Tiie long gloves are m.t a satisfactory
substitute for cuds, partly because one
does not wear gloves indoors, and t-lie
bare extent of the wrist, or fywer arm,
revealed by the shortened sleeve**, is
not neat or becoming. Sleeve-lmttons
are small and flat, plain pearl being as
good as any, and a collar-button is es
sential; but some ladies prefer that
both should be of plain burnished or
frosted gold. Both cuffs and collars
are perfectly straight in form and of
line double linen s.uiply stitched on tho
edge. The ti med-down corners and
embroidered finish have almost disap
peared from the styles approved by the
best authorities. — Dcmorcst's Month y.
Georgi; Gould.
There is no immediate prospect of
young George Gould marrying, lie is
not p.xvi g serious attentions to anv
young lady, and unless lie happens to
get unexpectedly smitten there will be
nothing to interfere with his father's
plans to make a speculator of him.
George’s going into the New York
Stock Board was his own idea. He
had been trading a little through brok
ers, and ho wanted to see how it would
seem to execute orders himself, lie
says he likes quick trailing, and has a
mind, as soon as lie gets his hand in,
to become a “scalper” for the excite
ment of the thing. The second day
George was in the room a stranger
came up to him and spoke in an under
tone about some commonplace thing.
Then the broker stepped out on the
floor and offered 1,000 shares of stock a
trifle under the market, lie did that
to “guy” young Gould by creating the
impression that the latter had declined
the stock. George got nis back up at
once, lie was not going to be made a
butt of even if it did cost him some
thing. He wasted no time, lie whis
pered to another broker standing near
to take tho stock for him, the
trader was wo!u ly disappointed at
having his offer grabbed up Without
delay.
Men of TalOnt. to tho Fashion.
A man need be n* ither rich, hand
gome nor shandy to dress elegant iy, or
even set a fashion. Though a good in
come is de irab!e, tho arrfof dro ig
lie* not in expensiy up *s-Zb. ; :
priaf.enbss, finish, and twill Ihu
something that tho world calls >tyie
and philosophers character. if n* l.
horn in a man ii can be arrived at only
with vast ] ains, and ev -n men a m j
will of etl die*'-* a* -.., well th;.;i his valet.
It is only when garments semi exactly
to express ti man’s true ielf, uncon
sciously; when they are atoneo effective
and unaffected; arc entirely harmo
nious, ea-y and upm'opriato. and,
above all, are suggest.! o minor than
conspicuous, that lany arc ur-adic, dis
tinguished and of ethical value. In
other word , what looks well o i one
mail won’t look weii on .ill ltten. But
only a few recognize the gr- al; truth or
have courasro to practice it. There
fore, the man who drosses to correctly
suit himself is cerium to produce a re
sult that will be copied by others who
admire it without regard to whether it
suits them or not. Ibis is how men of
talent set a fashion, a; and vviiy it re
quires men of talent to do it.
Lord Hertford and Lord Steyne.
The letter# of Lord Hort ord to Mr.
Croker show him to have been a shrewd
man of the world, but they do not in
the least justify the accusations against
Mr. Croker. Lord Hertford when
Lord Yarmouth was a member of tho
House of Commons, and it was prob
ably there tho intimacy with Mr. Crok
er commenced. On Lord Yarmouth’s
succession to the title in 1822 it appears
the management of the estates was con
fided to Mr. Croker. There is the fol
lowing description of Lord Hertford in
Vanity Fair: “The candles lighted up
Lord St ey tie’s shining bald head, which
was fringed with red hair. He bad
thick bushy eyebrows, with little twink
ling bloodshot eyes, surrounded by a
thousand wrinkles. His jaw was un
derhung, and when he laughed two
white buck teeth protruded themselves
and glistened savagely in the midst of
tiie grin. He had beoit dining with
royal personages and wore his Garter
and ribbon. A stout man was His lord
ship, broad-chested and bowlegged, but
proud of the firmness of his foot and
ankle, and always caresSfrig his Garter
knee.” Thomas Moore was very se
vere on the color of Lord Yarmouth’s
hair, but this did not occasion much
uneasiness, for one day as Lord Yar
mouth won a large stake at cards he
gathered up tho money, exclaiming:
“And Yarmouth’s red whiskers grew
redder with joy.” Lord Hertford was
renowned for the fetes with which he
entertained the great world, and for the
magnificent shooting which he gave to
his friends at Sudbourne, in Suffolk,
but at the same time he was anxious to
-ave sixpence. “One day when ho was
out of Parliament he came all the way
from Seymour-place to the Admiralty
for a frank to his servant in the country.
It was the depth of Autuam, and there
were no peers or members in town, so
that iio was obliged to come to me,
and the object of his letter was to give
orders for the reception of a parly of
friends which cost him at least £SO0 —
; here lie saved sixpence; and, if he had
. been tired would have got into a hack
ney conch and paid half a crown fare
in order to get this said frank.” There
is a characteristic story told of him.
When the Thistlewood conspirators had
Oceu hanged, somebody who had wit
nessed the execution went to Lord
Hertford to give an account of the
proceedings; among other tilings he
mentioned that one of the prisoners
had prayed fervently on the scaffold.
Lord Hertford said: “He and and quite
right to hedge—you should never throw
away a chance.” —TcuiyLc liar.
Wel>4tcr*# Eye#.
Mr. Allen, in his article on Daniel
Webster in the last (Jentun/, writes a
, correspondent to The Boston Adverlim r,
j mentions his “great, suit eyes,” as be
[ ing peculiarly attractive to children.
This reminds me of an incident which
may perhaps show that those eyes had
sometimes adi crent effect. Mr. Web
ster wa once spend ing the slimmer in a
town near Boston, and, as was his cus
tom, attended church regularly, both
morn ug and afternoon. On one occa
sion it fell to the lot of an unfledged
youth to try his wings in that pulpit,
lie rose, as was natural, with some
trepidation, to begin the service. This
trepidation gradually increased, till to
ward tne close of the hymn he faltered
perceptibly, and as he sat down by the
mmi-tor of the parish, he whispered:
“Doctor, l don’t know to whom those
eyes belong wuich are directly facing
me, bill they are quite too much for
me and lean not preach.” Mr. Web
ster was responsible dor an extempor
aneous discour*e that morning.
The Cent ip'do’s Bite.
A few days ago Lumen Alexander ro- ,
ceived, from a friend in Arkansas, a !
specimen of that venomous animal, the i
centipede. Mr. Alexander placed the j
articulate in a jar of alcohol aud has it |
on exhibition at his store. Almost ]
every one who has been attracted by !
it has related remarkable incidents ;
about it s family. The centipede is said j
to be one of the most poisonous reptiles 1
in existence. It is claimed that its j
sting is sure death, ami an antidote for .
its poison is among the undiscovered I
wonders of the world.
One of the stories related of this spe- j
cies is that of an ex-soldier. He says :
that when among the Ozark mountains j
a companion felt one of them crawling I
up his leg. He knew its sting was slid- |
den ami fatal, but the varmint was on i
hi n. Wluit must lie do to be saved ;
was tho question. Ho know it would :
be impossible to shake it off, because
at tho least disturbance it would plant
its fangs into his flesh. He felt it crawl
ing, and as it enmo higher ami higher
on ids limb the perspiration boiled from :
♦ very pore of his body. Every moment |
was one of agony, ami he began to re- j
aliz© that his life hung on a slender I
tnread. Finally an idea suggested
itself. He dealt the centipede a terrific
biovv, killing it; but of course at the
first touch its tangs wore inserted in his
flesh. Almost instantly he disrobed,
and with a common pocket knife made
an incision around the affected part
and removed about a pound of flesh.
This was twenty years ago. and the
man carries an ugly sear to this day;
but to tiiat sear he owes his life.
Another story more remarkable, is
briefly told. A company of emigrants
had camped in New Mexico, and one
night one of the party, who was sleep
! ing on tne ground, was awakened by a
i peculiar sensation oil his toes. Ho
j looked and saw a monstrous centipede
crawling aero## his foot. Only a few
] feet from him was the camp-lire, and
; be could see every fibre of the reptile.
| Knowing its peculiarities and the ollect
of its sling, he, too, was in a fever of
excitement. Afraid to move a muscle,
j he dared not attempt to shake it oft.
.'liter a second’s pause he reached un
der his head, got Ids pistol, and, taking
. lei J.crate aim, tired. It was a life
| saving shot lor the man; the centipede
: divided and dropped in two parts on
, cither side of his foot. But here comes
| the most remarkable part of tho story.
Within an hour after li o shot was fired
I the men heard a terrible groaning from
one of their mules picketed only a few
; yaiils away. They went to them and
| found one of them with his left fore leg
! stolen an enormous size. The
I swelling increased as did the agony
i and groans of the brute, until it died in
about thirty minutes thereafter. An
! examination was made, and it was dis
! covered Unit tiie bmlet which had sev
| - red the centipede had entered the
| mule’s foot just above the hoof, and in
| octiiufe-.i it with the poison from tho
j reptile.
The person who related the above
; incident bears a splendid reputation
i for truth and veracity, and he einpha
| sized that it was a true story, but his
audience, nevertheless, gave him a look
of suspicion. “It may be true,” said
one, “hut l’il be blamed if i’ll believe
it. ” —Louisville Courier-Journal.
i The report of the Inspector of factor
ies and workshops for the State of New
I Jersey, which has just been published,
■ says that tne c ildren in these institu
tions are lumentu -ly lacking. This
opinion is founded on questions put to
them. One of the questions was, “Who
was George Washington?” and some of
the answers were as follows: “He is a
I good man.” “He chased the Indians
I away. “He died a few years ago.”
j “He is President.” “1 saw his pict
; ure.” “lie is a high man in war.”
I “lie never told a lie.” “He discover
!ed America.” “The best man who
1 ever lived.”
New Charge Agnlnst Holler-Skating.
A stylish-drcKsed young lady, whose
features were concealed by a thick veil,
entered tho down-town office of a
prominent physician yesterday after
noon and, with some show of nervous
ness, requested an audience with him.
Tiie doctor led the way into Ids private
office* and the fair patient removed her
veil, remarking as she did so, “I wish
you would tell me what is the matter
with my face.”
In the dimly-lighted room the physi
cian was unable to discover tiiat any
thing was wrong. Stepping to the
window tho lady said, pointing to the
roguish diinpics that Nature has placed
on cheeks and chin and the little creas
es about the corners of her eyes: “Do
you see that? My face looks as though
I had been working in a coal-mine.”
Closer inspection showed the physician
that the dimples and creases as well as
the larger pores in the lady’s face were
filled with a dark, grimy substance. “1
have scrubbed and worked at that un
til lam tired, but cannot remove it. 1
am satisfied it i§ not dirt,” sho con
tinued, evidently judging from the
: hvsician's look that he was about to
te;i her to take a bath.
“I understand,” remarked the doc
tor, with a smile; “the roiier-rink
again.”
“What do you mean?” sho asked in a
troubled tom*.
“Nothing but roller-rink dust. That
18 all It is notiling serious. Try soap
and water again and use this solution
before retiring at night, and your com
plexion will be all right again.”
“O, I am so giad,” the lady re
marked, as she adjusted her veil and
departed.
“Tiiat is the latest feature of the roll
er-skating craze,” remanded the phy
sician to a reporter who had overheard
the conversation with some amusement.
“That is tho second lady who has been
to see me with a s miliar complaint
with n a week.”
“What is tho cause of U P”
“Why, yon see. the dust t.**at rise#
from ttie floor of the link is very line
Hiiu peiiuirauug, ami warn it nwttios
on ti e skin, dampened with perspira
tion. it at once finds it way into the
pores. ” Cleveland Leader *
Oae Meal n Day*
Just how when perhaps the cheapen
ing of living is ot more importance,
temporarily at least, t .an the most
finished statesmanship, the example of
a man up in Massachusetts who had
been subsisting and performing tho
average work that farmers in the rocky
eoil of the Bay State usually perform,
on one meal per diem, may be regarded
as an interesting exhibit, if not exam
ple. of what may be accomplished in
dieto-cconomics. As he is said to bear
himself with un-Yanueelike slowness
at table, the probability is that the
weight of food consumed does not
amount to more than that furnished to
and curried away in a dyspeptic shape
by the average individual at the this ty
minutes-for refreshment * railroad sta
tions. Yet it is within the possibility
that a man who has evidently devoted
so considerable attention to dietary
affairs may have so systematized the
habit and necessity as to have built out
of them scion e and art, in which case
it is not beyond belief that he has
demonstrated that in eating, or in
many other things, the truth of the
adage “tho more haste the less speed”
holds pre-eminently true. However, as
to the quality it is fair to believe that
it is not so large by one-half as what
lie would have eaten had he continued
a thrice-meal-a-day man. His theory
was at the outstart that man consumed
more food than necessary, ami really
more than is conducive lo health, and
lie seems to have proven this.—Tills
bury Telegram.
THE WIDOW'S IMLACE.
Mrs. Mark Hojikin* uud Her New House
at Great Barrington, Mans.
A paragraph was published some
days niro in which it was said that Mrs.
Mark Hopkins, of California, had de
termined to build a $5,000,000 resi
dence at Great Barriugton, Mass.
Previous to that the Boston papers had
published the report that the house was
to cost only one-fifth timt sum, and the
third and last report is that the amount
to be expended is only $500,000. It is
true, indeed, that Mrs. Hopkins is go
ing to build a residence at Great Bar
rington. It is furthermore true that it
is to be a very expensive one—the most
expensive probably in Massachusetts,
or even Now England. It will not cost
ho much as $5,000,000, but it will cost
more than $1,000,000. The plans are
completed and have been accepted.
They now rest in the hands of New
York architects, and will not be made
public for some time. Work on the
foundation of the building will be
commenced the coming Spring, and
Mrs. Hopkins expects to see it ready
for occupancy three years hence.
There is some interesting history
woven iu and about the life of Mrs.
Mark Hopkins. She is the widow of
Mark Hopkins, who was one of the
live men of California who built the
Central Pacific Railroad, and made
each a princely fortune out of it. The
others were Leland Stanford, C. P.
Huntington and tho two Crockers,
Hopkins was the treasurer of the com
pany from its organization in 18G1, or
thereabouts, till his death, in 1878.
He left an estate that was inventoried
at $21,700,000.
Ho died without having made a will
and without children. By the com
mon law Mrs. Hopkins would have
been entitled to only one-third of the
immense estate. Tho courts made her
the executrix, and she took possession,
but the two brothers of her deceased
husband, Moses and Samuel, for the
latter had died, brought a suit against
her, and secured her removal from the
executors ip of the estate, and an ac
counting of it. Tho matter was finally
compromised, Moses Hopkins, and the
sons of Samuel llopkins being content
to receive together some $4,000,01)0 in
hard cash. Mrs. Hopkins got the re
mainder, which, as already stated, now
amounts to about $.‘50,000,000. Thus
do we come to know who Mrs. Mark
llopkins is and now she became so rich.
Before Mark Hopkins died he built
the first of those palatial residences
that have since excited the wonder and
admiration of all who have in the past
ten years visited the city of San Fran
cis'o. It was constructed of wood,
like all the others of its class, but had
about it all the elaborateness and ex
travagance of some of the finest Eng
lish country houses, it was said to
have cost $1,000,000, ami at that time j
the Stewart residence in Now York i
City was tho only dwelling house in |
America that had cost that sum. it i
w:fs the Hopkins mansion that made
Nob Hill the fashionable quarter of San
Francisco. Ail have heard of the
splendid residences t at Governor
Stanford, James Flood and other Cali
fornia millionaires have since built
} there. Since her husband’s death Mrs.
! Hopkins lias purchased Menlo Park,
Ralston’s famous country place, and
I there she hue settled her adopted sou, a
young man of 2(1, who recently luar
i rietl a Mi-sCrittenden of California, a
niece of Mrs. Hopkins.
Notwithstanding all these large pos
sessions, not to speak of others on the
I Pacific coast, Mrs, Hopkins proposes to
m a Lie her home in her husband’s native
j town of Great Barrington. Mass. She
[ has always had an affection for the
place, and comes there because its peo
ple and surroundings are congenial to
' iDT taste. During recent years Mrs.
llopkins has come here to spend her
Summers. It was there that she lived
when a young girl, and there that she
was married. When she grew rich she
added the porticoes, put colored glass
in some of the windows, arid furnished
it luxuriantly. Tho carpets in eVory
i room are sn soft as down, the chairs
arc of nntlqfte mahogany upholstered
in yellow silk plush. Every bit of pot
tery, every bit of bronze, every foot
| stool, every sofa, lounge, chair, stand,
vase or whatever it may be, bears evi
dence of having been selected with
cultivated taste.
Tho new building that is to supplant
the old will be 178 by f4B feet, and will
be built of blue dolomite. It is a very
hard stone, of finer grain than granite,
and is obtained from a nerghboring
| (marry owned by Mrs, Hopkins herself.
I The exterior walls are to show flic stone
! in rough surface, with cut scams. The
| stables and the coachman’s cottage are
j already built. They are of the same
t dolomite to bo employed in the con
| struction of the residence, and look as
though they would endure through all
i the ages to come. 1 can not give a
! description of the residence for the ex
| cellcnt reason that I have not seen the
' drawings.
I The ground upon which Mrs. Hop
kins is to build her castle extends a
hundred yards alon.rr the uriueiual
JSTO. 15.
streets) and back of it* to the south 4
little, is a level meadow valley that
runs off along the shore of the flousa
-1 tonic and to tiie foot of the picturesque
i Berkshire hills on the other side. In
J the midst of this smooth meadow field
; is an artificial basin in which is a fouu
| tain from which in Summer springs a
j stream of water nearly a hundred feet
: in the air and comes down in a mist
I that is as soft as a silken veil.
Mrs* Hopkins is a woman of great
strength of character. She is well tit
j ted to care for the vast estate left her
: Both in appearance and mental charac
i teristics she is strongly masculine. Sho
is of commanding appearance, undone
i is always made to feel, when in her
presence, that she has the unmistakable
| elements of superiority. She is thor
oughly acquainted with all the ways of
business* Ims a broad grasp of financial
questions* looks after her vast interests
with the closest minuteness, and drives
a bargain with tact and economy. Her
husband was passionately fond of hors
es; so is she. Her .stable at Great Bar
rington is one of tho completest and
most comfortable in the country. Its
inmates are of the finest breeding and
movement* and are looked after by
their colored master with the greatest
care. During her visits to Great Bar
rington, Mrs. Hopkins may be seen on
the afternoon of every fair day driving
out behind a pair of the trotters, sho
herself holding the reins. She makes
long excursions about the surrounding
country, and every inhabitant, young
or old, knows her. She is the great
woman of Great Barrington; New
York World.
Ten Thousand Dollars for a Drink.
“Yoll may not believe it, but 1 oned
paid slo,i 00 for a drink of whisky,”
said a corporal on duty at the arsenal
in the mess room the other day. Tho
talk had turned to war prices and some
pretty steep figures were mentioned.
No one believed the corporal and all
laughed. But the corporal braced up
ami said:
“When I left Petersburg in ’65 1 had
$2),000 in Confederate scrip. It was
as cohi as blazes and a feller got warm
thinking of whisky. I was hard up
for a drink, and as L had been reading
a paper on tho delicious liquor, my
mind wandered to it. Before I had
gone far 1 met a traveling whisky sa
loon on wheels. Yes, a sutler, you
know. That’s wlint we called them.
I hadn’t a cent except the scrip, but 1
just went up and says:
“ ‘Stiller, have you any good whisky P*
‘That I have,’ says he. ‘Well, if you
will give me a good drink, Says I, ‘l*ll
give you $10,000.’ Well, you should
have seen him smile. lie knew it was
a gag, but just to see the thing out he
filled me a cup full of tanglefoot, which
I drank with a relish, you bet. Then I
gave him SIO,OOO. I ottered the other
SIO,OOO, but he had becu there.”
It is said that not one of the Vander
bilts is trading in Wall street now, but
when they were all speculating tho
commissions they paid to brokers are
said to ir’ve aggregated close on to
$1,000,000 a year.
- —i
WIT AND HUMOR.
A 2-cent cigarette never feels so
cheap as when it is being sucked by a
1-cent dude.
A vegetarian writes: “Immorality
lurks in mutton-chops, brutality in
beef, perverseness in poultry, and vil
lany in veal.” Same at our boarding
house.— Travelers' Magazine.
A New Jersey man wants a divorce
because his wife hasn’t spoken to him
for nearly two years. Some men don’t
know when they are well oil*.—Hen
pecked Adi tor Norristown Herald.
“Ah! you Hatter me,” lisped a dude
to a pretty girl with whom he was con
versing. “No, I don’t,” was tho re
ply. “You couldn’t be any Hatter than
you are.”— Turlington Fret Press.
To write for all t ime is the ambition
of every author. The man who origin
ated the series of negro-minstrel jokes
is tho only one up to date who has ap
parently succeeded in his endeavor.
Hon. Charles Carroll, of Shawnee
town, has our thanks for a a neat and
well-executed check. We transferred
it into bacon, and are transferring the
bacon into brawn and brains.— Benton
(7.7.) Herald.
A little Williamstown girl had the
whoopin-cough. and when she recover
ed from it she said she was glad she
didn’t die while she had the whooping
cough, because “God would not like to
i have little coughing angels.”
1 At a recent lecture delivered in a
I Massachusetts town Anna Dickinson’s
! audience consisted of one auditor and
j that a dude. Anna said it paid. Of
course it did; how was it to got in if it
didn’t payP— Yonkers Statesman.
“No interruption of business oil ac
count of the weather” is, the motto a
Kalamazoo lien nailed above her nest,
and when the mercury was 82 degrees
below zero she came off with a brood
of young chickens. Detroit (Mich.)
Post.
“What amused me most, at the op
era,” said an Arab Chief who had been
taken to hdar “Faust/’ “was one of tho
musicians in the orchestra, seated a lit
tle higher than the rest, who performed
on .an invisible instrument with a
stick.”
In a recent breach of promise suit
the “course of true love” was traced in
this manner: “Dear Mr. Smith,” “My
darling John,” “My own darling
John,” “My darling John,” “Dear
John,” “Dear Sir,” “Sir,” and all was
over.
The Lowell Times notes the fact that
the Civil War broke out and rolled
skates were invented the same year.
This is true, but the war did its worst
and stopped in four years, while roller
skate* continue to plunder and murder
even up to this time.— boston Post.
Robinson (at the window) —Hullo!
There goes that woman Brown’s so
dead sweet on! Mrs. R. (rushing up
with excitement) Where? who?
where? Wiiat, that —in the gray
Why, George, how ridiculous you are!
That’s his wife! Robinson—Exactly,
my dear!— Punch.
An irishmen, recently over, entered!
a barber shop in Main street, Danbury,
Friday for a shave. After the barber
was through ho asked the customary
question: “Have bay rum, sirP” “No,
sor—tho fact is, sor, I’ve just had a
glass of boor, an’ don’t loike mixin’
drinks.”— Hartford Times.
•‘Examiner—“Now, if I were to give
fifty marbles in charge of this boy”
(indicating tho biggest), “to divide
equally amongst you, how many would
I you each receiver” Small boy (of ex
perience)—“Please, sir, we shouldn’t
' get none at all; Vause he’d collar them
all kissel/.”— London Punch.