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THE WASHINGTON GAZETTE.
XX.
THE BEST SHOW.
How an Arkansas Kan Slipped Into Bant
Jons.* Qo.pel Tent
{\rkeotaw Travels!.)
Martin Griggs, known in eastern
Arkansas as Bad Martin, veas in Lit
tle Rock the oilier day. Ho did not
throuirh evil deeds, gain this unenvi
ble name, bnt won it by his parox
ysms of rage and by his almost cease
less habit of swearing.
‘•Martin’'said a friend “they tell me
that you have professed religion V
“Yes, Abe, it's a fact. I ain't cussed
none fur more than two mouths.
Wy sail, tuthcr day when the old
spikctail boss bit a mouthful o’ hair
outen my head, I gritted my teeth,
qut I didn’t enss a sulphurous streak,
but I smiled after awhile an’ quietly
took the hair out .of the old Spike
Tail's mouth. ‘Here, mother,’ said I,
handin’ the hair to my wife, ‘you cau
stuff you pin cushion with this.' ”
“What was the cause of this great
change ?”
“Sam Jones and the Lord.’’
“You heard Sam, did yov?’’
‘•Oh, yes. I went up to Nashville
to make arrangements for soilin’ a lot
of Arkansaw whisky foi Robertson
county. I hadn’t heard a sermon
since I was a boy. My wife, she
couldn’t git me to go to church. Wall,
the first night arter I got to Nashville
I was walkin’ round and seed a big
tent. ‘Hello! - thinks I, "here is a
show. I’ll jest go in for I ain’t seed a
peart house in a long time.’ My, I
never did see such a crowd. Folks
jammed agin ene another like they
wuz a foe red thar wan’t goiu’ to be
seals enough. I screuged my way
along.hut couldn't find the tickot wa
gon. 1 seed sich a crowd pourin’ in
that I niout slip in an’ I done it as
slick as a whisle. Hooked round for
the animals but couldu’t see none, so
.1 tuck a seat and waited fur the fun to
commence. Putty soon a smallish
sort of a feller hopped up. Thar’s
the ringmaster, thinks I; he’s gein’
to tell us about the concert that’ll
take place alrter the show is over, but
bless you, he commenced to give out
a hymn. As wicked as I was I could
lit help but think that he was carry in’
the burlesque a leetle too fur, but
what was my ’stonishmont when the
fslks took up tha hymn and commen
ced to sing it. I leaned over to an
old fellow that sot close to me and
whispered : T live out in Arkansaw
whar a man that has the cramp be
cause he wants to fight so bad can al
ways find ’commodation, but they
don’t jump up and fall down on the
gospel this way.’ The old feller look
ed mighty hard at mn, but he didn’t
say nothin.’ Airier tho singin’ some
feller put up a putty good sort o’pra’r
I whispered to the old man an’ said
that it was a blamed shame. The old
feller looked at mean’said that if I
didn’t hush he would have me put
out. This riled me. I told him that
thar moat be men enough in the show
to put me out, but agin they got
through somebody would ruther go
home than to stay an’ laugh at the
clown. Then he perlitcly told me
that it was no show, that Mr. Sam
Jones, the great revivalist, was going
to preach. I thanked him for his in
formation, tuck a chaw terhackcr an’
le’ut back, concludin’ that it didn’t
cost me nothin’ an’ that I could stand
it till they'passed the hat around.
When Sam commenced to preach, I
chawed my tcrbackor an’ didn’t pay
no attention to him, but putty soon it
appeared like he wus playin’ on a
banjer. I stopped chawin’ and look
ed at bim. Then be tuck up the pul
tiest flute I ever beam. I flung out
my lerbacker an’listened. The fust
thing 1 knowed he bad put down the
Ante an’ tuck up a fiddle. Laws a
massy, I never heard sach music in
my life. I commenced to git sorry
that I|had ever swapped hosscs on
Sunday, an’it twan’t long till I would
give a putty ef I hadn’t p’izened Wel
ler’s dog. I thought o’ things that I
stole when I wuz a boy—thought o’
the thousand o’ lies that I had toie an’
the tears commenced to run outen my
eyes. I thought o’ my wifo, how
true an’how patient she had always
been, an’ how often I had hurl her
feelin's; thought o’ iny children—an,’
oh, Lord, the face o’ my little boy
that I whipped a few days before he
died come up belorc me. I couldn’t
stand it any longer. I drapped on
my knees an’ cried, “Oh, Lord, have
mercy on me, a sinner.’ I did’ut
care who was lookin’ at me. I
wouldn't have cared if the whole
world had been thar. I humbled my
self ill the dust, a’ deep in my Heart
I vowed that never again would 1 do
anyihiug wrong. A flash of warm
light entered my soul. A great glad
ness spread over mv heart, 'iliar
standin’close to me, was Sam Jones.
He retched out his hand an’ said :
“Brother, the Lord has been klud la
VOU.’
“I don’t know how I got outen that
tent, but I know that while I was
walkin’along the street, every body
seemed to want to shake hands with
me. I went straightway to the depot
and tuck tbo fust traiu tor homo.
When my wife seed me .cornin’, she
walked slowly to meet me but, sir, the
blessed woman, scein’ something
in my face uttered a shout and rushed
into my anus. Right thar 1 atoned
for cvey time I had hurt her foeliu’a
That was tbe best show I ever went
to, Abe—it was a show whar every
uifui had a chance. I ain’t doue noth
in’ wrong since, an’ as told you, I
didn’t cuss when Spiko Tail bit a
han’ful o’ hairoffeu the top o’ my
head.”
THE CHEROKEE miOKIB.
Milton Turner cx-United States
Minister to Liberia, and a man ot note
among the colored people has return
ed from the Indian Territory, where
he went by invitation to meet the
Dawes Senatorial committee In be
half of the Cherokee freedinen. He
state that the committee met at Vin
ceton ind examined a large number
of witnesses as to the claim of 7,000
freedmen of the Cherokee, who had
been debarred frem receiving their
share of $300,000 paid to the Chero
kee Nation by the government for
land ceded to it by the Indians. The
money was withheld from the freed
men on the grouud that they arc not
of Cherokee blood. Turner’* argu
ment before the committee was that
under the treaty ol 1866 freedmen
have all the rights of native born
Cherokee, and he says the committee,
after making m thorough examina
tion ol the whole questiod, will re
port to Congrese next winter recom
mending that these freedmen be paid
their pro lata of the 1300,000, which
amounts to SIIB,OOO. The same con
dition of things exists In the Choc
taw nation and the same action will
be probably taken here. Turner also
succeeded In getting an allowance of
forty acres ot land to each of four
thousand of Choctaw freedmen ar.d
all rights ef citizens. These negroes
will vote for the first time at the elec
tion for officers of the nation which
takes place nevt moth.
JUST AB BIHDIHO.
A colored brother removing from
Coweta to Meriwether brought along
hischurch letter. Settling near Rocky
Mount he concluded to become r mem
ber at Bethel, a colored church near
him. It to happened that in the same
pocket in which reposed the certifi
cate of church membership was also
deposited last year’s guano note. In
handing In hi* letter to the church
the brother made a mistake and gave
his guano note instead. The church
clerk not being a very good reader
never detected the error until several
months afterwards. Being at a loss
what to do about the matter he call
ed upon aleanied white brother in
the settlement for ad vie*. Tim white
man counseled that the matter be al
lowed to strnd, saying that a gnano
note was more binding than anything
else in the world. It forbid him even
to take B homestead against ills reli
gion and if one lived up to the note’s
requirements he thought the church
ought not to complain. So the gnano
paper entitles the colored applicant to
full membership at Bethel.—Meri
wether Vindicator.
An old negro, from the Indian Ter
ritory, passed through Acworth a few
days ago, on his way home. He claims
to have a large tract of land in the
Choctaw Nation and he is going to
take his family there to settle on it.
He says the Indians are very good
people to live among, but they want
all the “sculla” (money) he makes.
He is sharp enough, though, to keep
what he makes, so he says.
A 13-ycar-old girl applied to Lieut.
Roberts for a place in the Guard*
house, at Columbus Tuesday night,
to sleep. She was drunk.
WASHINGTON, GA., FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1885.
LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL. • r
Our Clever Young Country Woman's Po
eltion In London Society— list Downs
And Dp*.
A clever scries of articles, entitled
“Societv as it is, by one who is in If,"
is now running m an English society
weekly. The latest of these is devot
ed to tiie now celebrated young lady
who was Miss Jerome of New York.
Says the writer:
Among tho many American wives
wno have been married into tlie En
glish aristocracy Lady Randolph
Churchill wasoueoftlic first. ’VVliteii
now nearly twelve years ago Lord
Randolph brought back his beauilftH
wife it was still considered a bold*
thing tor an Englishman of any nemo
or position to marry an American and
the old and wise beads were shaken
over this new departure of the scions
of tho English houses; but at the
tinto Lord Randolph was quite a
young man. He had not been elected
to Parliament and was entirely un
known except as a smart boy who
had left at Eton the reputation of a
cjieerv laugh and amiable manners
and had brought from Oxford a rep
utation rather for liveliness than a
love of study. Lady Randolph was
received in London with good man
ners, which is indeed extended to all
comers, bnt with a certain reserve
held to be appropriate towards one
who had Invaded the sacred precincts
of the British aristocracy. She soon
however,considerable way with those
with whom she bccamo personally ac
quainted for she was, as she still is
extremely beautiful, very graceful,
admirably dressed and possessed of a
very ready and upon occassion, of a
very bltlog wit and oflhe fullest ca
pacity for using it to advantage.
Bho did not, indeed become what is
called a popular woman but there was
no lady in London who was more ad
mired for her personal qualities, and
there is every reason to believe that
she would have made a steady if a
slow progress had it not been that for.
a few years, in consequeuce of events
to which it is not nceossary further
allude, her husband became obnoxi
ous to the se. which then affected to
reign supreme in London. The rg
suit was immediately seen. The beau
tiful well-dress witty Lady Randolph
was solemnly banished from the great
circles in London, and it was only
those who were so independent as to bn
able to despise tlio flat of superior
society, or to ignorant as not to know
that the flat existed, who extended to
her the reception which her position
gave her every right to command.
Lady Randolph accepted the situa
tion with equal ease and dignity. Nor
did she for one moment flinch, or
ever give to others tho opportunity of
winning a triumph orcr her. But
now all this has changed. Lord Ran
dolph, with his usual discretion, has
bided his time, and with a courage
even greater than his discretion has
made hie way over all obstacles to a
foremoat position in the Conservative
party. Society has for some time
foreseen his rise and the establish
ment of his power, and gradually
Lady Randolph has been fully reinsta
ted into its host grace: bat it was not
until quite recently that it had been
seen, in this instance, how greatly
succeaa succeeds. The personages and
hostesses who four years ago did not
dare to avow that Lady Randolph was
on their list at all now vie with each
other in professing their unbound af
fection for her and seeking her good
grace*. The whole situation is altered
and Lady Landolph has taken up the
position, which she is eminently fitted
to aioro, of a leader of London Soci
ety.
It Is not a pretty chapter on our
London liistoiy and it is all the less
pretty because tho discredit of it lies
with those native social authorities
to allowed themselves to be governed
by a dictarial set, and all tlie credit of
it lies with tbe beautiful young
American who had come over as a
stranger and who with her brilliant
qualitties found herself so long treat
ed with coldness and even wife dis
dain. Were Lady Randolph less dis
creet than she is she might now onjoy
an unmeasured triumph over those
who formerly slighted her, but she is
generous as well as beautiful, pru
dent as well as willv, and it will be
found that she will hear with a rare
grace the new and splendid position
to which she has stepped.
No woman is more able than she
to aid her husband career by lier own
talents and abilities and though per
haps she mav smile secretly at those
who are now so anxious to pay her
court, she will most certainly receive
them with graee and favor and will
add to the distinction ot Lord Ran
dolph’s position the still further dis
tinction—that he possesses a most
beautiful and accomplished wife.
BOUND REASON IN Q.
Capital may bo put in labor ami
manure without the slightest fear of
loss and With great certainty of prof
it. Iu England fifty dollars per
acre is not an unusual amount,even for
tenants who rent land, to expend upon
one acre. There tho scarcity of land
forces farmers to make the most of it
—causes lavishness In the use of la
bor and manure. In this country
land and was formerly cheap,and labor
not excessively dear; lienee the temp
tation to utilize all tho land possible.
Bnt now the conditions are changed;
tho land has lost its virgin fertility,
labor has become dear, though nomi
nally cheap, and our true policy is to
curtail the use ot tho latter by culti
vating smaller areas, put money in
manures instead of labor, and push
the lattor (manures) just as far as
pratlcable. AVliat matters it if the
to anure put on an acre of land, is
worth livo limes tho cost of land pro
vided it pays! What boots it if the
unthinking and tho uninformed cry
out against the enormous sums paid
out for fertilizers? Wo hesitate not
to affirm, that with good judgment
and prudence controlling their use,ten
times tho money now spent for them
might bo invested in them
with handsome profit. Instead of $2
to $5 por acre, $lO, sls or S2O per acre
in fertiliizers would be nono 100 much
for profit after tho land lias been
brought in condition to receive It.
Many believe that commercial fer
tilizers have ruined the country, that
homemade manure is tho only reli
ance. Wo indorse most cordially the
value of tho latter theoretically and
pratically, it lias shown us its great
worth, and we take it for granted
that every thrifty farmer accumulates
all of it he possibly can. But wlieu
he has done this he feels the neod of
more manure than he has and it is
just here where fertilizers comes in.
They make home made manures go
so much farther. The compost heap
constitutes the farmer’s stronghold.
Lay tho foundation in a deep soil
filled with humus, and then have
faith and nerve to put money freoly
in manures. That briefly describes
the road to prosperity.
IN THE SPRING.
The country school tcaelicr had
been telling her scholars about the
seasons and their peculiarities, audio
impress their youthful minds with
the facts, she questioned thorn on the
points she had given. She had asked
several questions, and finally reached
the bad boy iu tho corner.
“Well, Johnny,” she said, “have
you been paying attention?”
“Yosum,” lie answered promptly.
“I’m glad to hear it, Johnny. Now
can you tell me what there is in the
spring.”
“Yesum, I kin. but I don’t want to.
“Oh, yes. you do. Don’t be afraid.
You have heard the other scholars.
Bea good boy, now, and tell us what
there is in the spring ?”
“Wy—wy—mum, there’s a frog, an’
a lizard an’ a dead cat in it, but I did
put '9m there. It was George Win
ters, for I seen him do it.”—Merchant
Traveler.
A PASTOR FIGHTS A DSI EL.
(Oaligiißni’ii M*tHeirr, July 8)
A Protestant pastor, M. Duclaud,
Republican deputy for the Charente,
fought a duel yesterday on the Bel
gian frontier with M. Rulhiere, editor
of the Suffrage Universal, a Bonapar
tist journal published at Angoulemc.
His seconds were MM. Lockroy and
Clcmeneeau, those of his adversary
being MM. do Loquiessie and Barbo.
Tho weapon selected for tho encoun
ter was the sword. M. Rulhiere was
wounded on the right forearm, and
ho is now suffering from severe hom
orrhage. M. Duclaud, who is sixty
five years of age, was congratulated
by hiscolleaguog on his reappearance
in the chamber yesterday. This is
tho first lime we have heard of him
iu public, and wo heartily congratu
himupon his feat of arms, which, wo
trust,are fully in accord with his
Christian principles as a minister of
the gospel.
KRB.KATR OH ABE SPRAGUE.
Some Recollections of That Pemone Been
ty. Her Only Aot of Indiscretion.
[Prom the Connell Bluffs Nonparsll.l
The despicable efforts of certain
journals to continue the unjust perse
cution of the lady whose name
heads this article are constantly meet
ing with rebuke. An old Washing
ton detective who was in a position
to know the inside of this matter, both
political and social, furnishes the
Nonpareil with some facts in the cel
ebrated divorce case which at one
time attracted so much attention.
When Chief Justice Chase succeeded
in marrying his accomplished daugh
ter Kale, to Governor Sprague, then
United States Senator. Sprague was
suppose! to bo immensely rich and
soon after commenced house-keeping
in grand stylo upon a farm owned
by tho Chief Justice a few miles
out from the city of Washington. An
attempt was made to imitate the
landed aristocracy of England in the
management of this rural retreat.
There was a head farmer or steward,
with a large force of understrappers,
and the farm was polished up like a
lawn at a summer resort. There
was a lodgokeeper, a butler, a house
keeper, a head chambermaid, a gov
erness, a musical instructor, a hostler,
a stable boy, a head gardener, etc., a
forco of more than forty persons. The
farm soon became the favorite resort
of socioty and literary people, as well
as of .politicians. Mrs. Sprague was
a charming hostess and her house
was a sort et refuge from the noise of
tho city and tho vexation of political
lifo. Senators, Judges, men of all
science and letters wore daily visitors,
but no persons were there at
frequently as Carl Schurz, Conk
ling, Bayard, Kernan, Thurman, Pot
ter, a member of the House from New
Jersey, ene ot tho purest men in Con
gress at that time. When the divorce
rase was commenced skilled detec
tives were employed by Governor
Spraguo’s attorneys to intorvlew this
army of domestics for the purpose of
breaking down the character of Mrs.
Sprague. Nearly Ml of tho entire
force were at different times ap
proached and importuned both
with monry and with promises of po
litical preferment by Sprague’s agent,
who represented to them that
Sprague was a man of great wealth
aud that by hoipiug him as witnesses
in his suit they would get good pay
and that he would give them contin
uous employment at double tho wages
they were then getting. One man
who had married a German girl that
had been Mrs. Sprague’s maid and
had travelled with her when abroad,
was offered three thousand dollars to
swear that Conkling and Mrs.
Sprague hail in Boston and other
places been guilty of indiscretions.
The miserable husband tried to pur
suade his wife to swear to all they
wanted, but her sturdy German
character revolted and she refused to
be a party to the perjury that was
asked of her. And to the credit of the
honesty of the entire army of servants
working for the family, not one was
to be found who would or could testi
fy to a single exception, and this one
testified that on one occassion she had
on one occasion she had seen Mrs 1
Sprague—for a moment enly— sit on
Carl Schnrz’s lap, which act was too
ridiculous for belief and was only cal
culated to provoke an incredulous
smile. Ono and all said Sprague was
a drunkard. Isaac, an educated an
intelligent colored man who was
Sprague’s body servant said that he
had known Sprague to have drunks
of three days duration, and that when
able to walk he would follow Mrs.
Sprague about the premises, using to
ward hnr vulgar and indecent epi.
theta, and that her usual custom was
to simply get out of his way. What
a foarful penalty has this poor woman
paid for her father’s towering ambi
tion.
The longest cotton row in tho coun
try, and probably in the world, says
a Tarboro, South Carolina, paper, is
on the Shiloh farm of Messrs. Slaton
A Jeffries. Tho row begins in the
center of a hundfod acre field and
goes round and round, spiral like, un
til tho entire field is gone over. To
side up the cotton on one side requires
only five and a half days. In this
field Air. Jeffries estimates that he
will, during the cultivation of tho
crop, save at least tlie use of one horse
for three weeks.
NO. 31
A BRIDEGROOM'S SUICIDE.
doing np Into a Mountain. He Shot Him
self In Bight of His Bride,
Sheakdoah, Pa., July 12—Sunday
suicides are alarmingly on the increase
at this place. Not more than a mouth
ago Miss Jennie Yarnell, an accom
plished young lady, shot herself
through the heart in her bed-room at
her residence on Coal Street,dying in
stanUy.Thrce weeks prior to this two
died by their own hand, and to-day
Charles Dver, an outside foreman for
the Philadelphia and Reading Coal
and Iron Company, committed sui
cide on the Kingtown mountain by
shoo'ing himsolf through the heart.
Dyer was a young man of much
promise, and had been married a few
weeks only. Eight months ago he
came here a perfect stranger, and to
all appearance was an industrious
young man. He soon obtained em
ployment as a waiter and bar-lcnder
at the Merchants’ Hotel, which place
he risigned to accept a foremanship
at one of the neighboring coilierie*.
He mingled in good society, and soonr
made the acquaintance of Miss Lizzie
Warnick. Several weeks ago they
were married, and their affection for
each other indicated extreme happi
ness. Early last week Dyer became
downhearted aud complained of feel
ing ill. Nothing was spared to revive
his drooping spirits, but without ef
fect. He remained in doors all the
week, but this morning he felt some
what better. Just before dinner he
embraced his bride, and, after kissing
her, he said;
those are the last, dear Lizzie, you
will ever get from me.” Ho smiled
and jokingly addd:
“I am going to take a walk to the
mountain. Yon remain at the deor
and I will wave to you.”
Tho unsuspecting woman was so
overjoyed at the change, which she
thought was for the better, that she
forgot the remark he had previously
niade and watched her husband walk
through the garden to a hillside a few
hundred yards distant. When he
readied the point where he was going,
two ladies happened to be sitting
there, to whom he said:
“I am going to do it now.”
Ho stood up erect, waved his hand
kerchief three times to his wife, who
stood in the doorway, drew from his
pocket a revolver, pointed it to his
breast, and deliberately tired, killing
himself Instantly. The two ladies
were so overcome wi*h fright that
they were unable to move from tho
•pet, while the wife ran wildly to
her husband’s side. The neighbors
quickly gathered round and took
charge of her, while the dead mam
was removed to his home. His wifa
soon entered the room, knelt by his
side, and piteously implored him to
toll her why he had broken her heart*
was ne response and the half
distracted women was removed.
When tho excitement was over an
an examination proved, to the sur
prise ef evory one, that Dyer had
another wife with four children im
Port Carbon, who had instituted le
gal proceedings against him. This
was jvhat preyed on his mind and
drove him to suicide. Tho deepest
sympathy is felt for the unfoi tunato
bride, who has not yet attained her
twentieth year. Dyer was about 33
years of age.
ACOKBT OOMINQ.
We take the following from a lato
issuo of the Courier-Journal: “You
may look out for a brilliant comet in
the Southwestern heavens early In
August or the latter part of July,"
said Prof. John M. Klein, Kentucky’s
as!romenter, “Upon what theory do
you base such a prediction ?” I asked.
“Well, the fact of the matter is I have
noted for several nights the unmistak*
able path of tho comet. Look IDo
you see that great streak in the heav
ens resembling somewhat the milky
way ? It is the path or orbit of a
great comet and that streak of light
is the gaseous matter that tollews in
the wake of a cemct. It is impossi
ble to see it at present, as it travelein
the orbit of the sun, whose brilliant
light during the day prevents the hu
man eye from seeing it. The deflection
by the latter part of July or August
will however, bring it aboyo the hori
zon during the early evening hours
when it will bo plainly visible and
when it will be of the first magni
tude.”