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N°rtl) G;eoi‘<tiai|, PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY -AT- bklltox, ga. By JOHN T. WILSON Jr, P er “»“> » CMU for ■!> toonths; 25 cents forthree months. to R^H e Jh*J B7 /rOm Beliton are requeued “* me * wilh » 8011 »mount», of mousy a, they osn pare, 'ram 2cc. to $1 NEWS GLEANINGS. There wete 26 deaths in Pensacola during the month of June. An epidemic in Pulaski county, Ky., is sweeping oft' the dogs. The glass factory at Moss Point, Mis sissippi, has commenced operations. The wheat crop of North Carolina is about twice as large as was expected. The Springfield coal pits of Henrico county, Virginia, live been sold for $286,000. Three men recently killed in ten days 300 alligators in the Aliska lakes, Flor ida.' Judge McGehee has ten century plants in bloom on his place, thirteen miles from Madison, Florida. Tennessee is fast taking foremost rank as the leading wool growing State of the South. From 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of toma toes are beins shipped daily from Chat tanooga to Cincinnati. One man in Tampa. Florida, has five varieties of the Japan persimmon, ami also a Chinese prune. Sam Clay, of Bourbon county, Ky., has sold from his farm this season 15,000 bushels of blue-grass seed. Over $1,0)0,00!) in the Texas state treasury to the general revenue, and the total cash balance edges closely to $1,800,000. In Hernando county, Fla, the earna tion pink, the ca.Ha lily, the verbena, honeysuckle and the woodbine bloom all the year. Since the season in Charlotte, North Carolina, $500,000 worth of steam en gines and other improved machinery has been sold. Andrew Fitzpatrick, of St. Autus tine, Fla., recently found on the coast in St. Johns county in one evening seventy dozen turtle eggs. Every dollar of taxes paid bv the colored people of Texas, and every dol lar of fines asses ed against criminals by the circuit courts of the State, goes into the colored school fund. A marble mine has been discovered on the farm of Eph. Erwin a few miles from Columbia, Tenn. The theory that a negro can m»t he sun-struck is. overthrown. A plantation darkey was a victim at Madison, I.a. Thirteen new babies hare made their appearance on one street in Warrenton, Georgia, thu year. The republic still goes on. The negro church of Cedar Grove. Bibb county, Ala., was burned recently by white incendiaries. The next night the white church was burned bv black incendiaries. An aerolite or meteoric stone fell with a fearful report near Mr. Jack Pearson’.-, near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, tearing up the ground with a tremen dous hole. Mr. Pearson is going to dig for it. Over 2 0,0 0 feet of lumber was cut by the St. Simon’s mills, Brunswick, during the m mth of May. The nine forests of Georgia would give out in the course of time with many such mills running. There is an Englishman living in Pen field. Greene county, Ga., who makes a good support for buns. If and a help less sister by working a single acre of land. Os course, he lias it very rich, using only asp ide in • ultivation. As soon as one crop c »mes <>:| he plants an other. This shows what energy can ac complish under adverse circumstances. Mr. tV. B Williams caught out of the Canoochee river two hundred and thirty fishes, nearly all of v hich were jack. His mode of catching them is very sim jje, but reliable. He takes a bateau and builds fires to it, conducts it near the bank of the river and strikes the water with a piece of wood, at which the fish b”<>nm frightened and jump out of the water towards the fire when the boat catches them. In many parts of Oglethorpe county are vast bed- of kaolin, only used by our good ladies to whiten their hearths with. This is a very valuable mineral, and when purified sells for S4O a ton It is largely used to adulterate sugar candy, floor, etc., besides supplying other more legitimate needs, ft an swers the purp >se of lire brick, and will some day be worth a fortune to lanu owners lucky enough to have banks of it on their firm* Large quantities of it are shipptd fr„m m nr Am u-ta to the North of l .ir q . The North Georgian. VOL. IV. BOWLEGGED JOJC. In the dark and gloomy shadow Os a rflff in Colorado Bat Bowlegged Joe, a chieftain of the Utaa; Frown as black as French oil blacking O'er bin features (beauty lacking) Bomber hung— the buck was mad, you bet your boots 1 For his jointed, howling wh.'opera Had been scattered by tbs troopers In a scrimmage on ths range an hour before; And hie heart was filled with sorrow When he thought that, on the morrow, The* might come and wax it to his crowd some more. Round him stood his warriors savage - Heroes bold of many a ravage On the smokehouse of the settler far below— And their murderous eyeballs glistened As they silent stood and listened To the curses of infuriated Joe. Suddenly the chieftain pointed Skinny finger, ugly Jointed, At the homes of tettlers far out on the plain. “There,” he cried, “the pale face dwelleth, And my nostril murder-r-r smelleth, While thoughts of gory vengeance fire my brain !” With a yell that loud resounded ‘.Mid the mountain peaks, he bounded Tobis feet, and danced us ne'er he’d danced before. Waa’t the war-dance he was dancing? O! what meant that fearful prancing? " ould he flood that settler's peaceful home with gore ? Was the dance preliminary To a swoop down from his eyrie, Or did the aborigine but jest? Jest? Ab.no! a thousand swarming Insects were his bronze hide wanning He'd been sitting on a yellow-jacket's nest. Kit Ad an is. Progress of Christianity. The Rev. Dr. Dorchester delivered an address in Wesleyau Hall, Boston, on the progress of Christianity, Papal and Protestant, in the a hole world, since 1500. Vutil the present century, said the lecturer, there were no trustworthy data of the world’s population. Prior to 1830 it was variously estimated from 042,000,000 to 737,000,000. In 1850 it was reckoned nt 1,000,000,000. Prof, tiehem's estimate makes thi present population 1,4.37,000,000. The progress of Christianity from the fourth or fifth century up to 1500 was confined almost entirely to Europe. The nominal Chris tians in the world in the third century numbered 5,000,000 ; up to the eighth century they had increased 30,000,000 ; in the tenth century 50,000,000 ; in the fifteenth century 100,000,000; in the last 300 years the increase has been 200,1100,000, or us much as in the pre vious fifteen centuries. In 1880 there were 410,000,000 nominal Christians. In 1500 there were 80,000,000 Catholics, 20,000,000 Greek Christians, and no Protestants; in 1830,110,000,000 Roman Catholics, 70,000,000 Greek Christians, and 42,000,000 Protestants ; in 1880, the respective numbers were 209,200,000, 88,000,000 and 113,700,000, showing an increase of 80 per cent, among the Pa pists, 26 per cent, in the Greek Church, and 176 per cent, among Protestants. The probable number of nominal Christian* m the world in the year 2000 was esti mated by Dr. Dorchester at from 1,200,- 000,000 to 1,950,000,000. The popula tions living under Christian govern ments in 1500 numbered 100,000,000 ; in 1700, 155,000,000; 1830, 388,000,000; 1876, 685,000,000; divided as follows: Papal, 80,000,000 in 1500, 90,000,000 in 1700, 134,000,000 in 1830, 181,000,000 in 1876; Greek, 20,000,000 in 1500, 33,- 000,000 in 1700, 60,000,000 in 1830, 96,- 000,000 in 1876; Protestants, none 1500, 32,000,000 in 1700,194,000,000 in 1830, 408,000,000 in 1876. Os the 52,000,009 square miles of the earth’s surface 32,- I 000,000 are under control of Christian I governments, and 20,000,000 under Pa gan and Mohammedan. Os the area un der Clmstian domination, 14 500,000 square miles are ruled by Protestant governments, 9,51X1,000by Roman Cath olic, and 8,500,000 by the Greek Church. But France, Italy and Mexico are in a transition state, and the next thirty years will settle the question as to which side 75,000,000 people are to lie counted upon. In 1800 the Bible was print din one-fifth the languages of the world ; it is now printed in nine-tenths. Three million Bibles had been printed in 181X1; 160,000,000 in from 200 to 250 language* and dialects have since been circulated. In the Sunday-schools in 1830 there were 2,000,000 officers, teachers and schelurs ; there are now over 14,000,000. In the Protestant foreign missions in 1830 there were 70,289 communicants; in 1850, 210,957; in 1880, 857,332. Add ing those at missions not reporting, the aggregate would probably bo 1,050,000 communicants and 2,51X1,000 hearers and adherents. Os the 857,332 communi cants, 663,813 were formerly Pagan, and 193,319 Papal, Jewish, or Rationalistic. Amusing Blunders. Blunders on public occasions are often as mortifying ns they are amusing. For instance : At a military dinner in Ireland, the following was on the toast-list : “May the man who has lost one eye in the glorious service of his beloved country never see distress with the other.” But the person whose duty it was to read the toast accidentally omitted the word “distress,” which completely changed the sentiment, and caused no end of merriment by the blunder. Another instance may be quoted, if on It to show how careful people should be in expressing themselves on public j occasions : A church in South London had been I erected, when a dinner was given, at the conclusion of winch the health of the builder was proposed, when he rather enigmatically replied that he was "more fitted for the scaffold than for public speaking.” A healthy city must have a perfect ttewsge system. BELLTON, BANKS COUNTY, GA.. JULY 14. 1881. The Pueblo Indians and Their Religions Beliefs. The word Pueblo means villages; and the tribe of Indians that have lived in this region take their name, Pueblo, from the fact that they lived in Pueblos, or villages. The Pueblos have some peculiar ideas of the future. They believe that nt death they will be carried away in some mysterious manner to a place beneath a vast underground lake, where melons and peaches and beautiful maidens and horses are in never-ending supply for the good. The Zuui Indians have a tradition that they were placed where they arc in order to be out of the reach of the deluge, of which they have some account. The tradition relates how the Great Spirit set them apart as a chosen people, and preserved them while all other tribes and nations wdro drowned. They also believe that all the people of the earth are descended from the Zuui thus caved from the deluge. This tradition has its parallel with that given us in the Sacred Scriptures. They also believe that in Pecos (a vil lage) Montezuma was bora; that ho grew up with extraordinary mental powers; that lie traveled a great deal and taught the people many gqod things; that ho usually rode on the back of an eagle and always went ahead of those who trav eled with him, and thus was, as was the star to the wise men of the East, a guide to them both day mid night, ami, whenever the eagle stopped at night, there was planted an Indian Pueblo. The sign where the great capital should be built was the alighting of the eagle unnn a large cactus-bush, and there devour ing a rattlesnake. This, tradition has it, was on Montezuma’s journey south, and was his great and last journey. The eagle stopped w here the City of Mexico now stands. The Mexican Government has adopted the alighting of the eagle as the design of the national seal, and thus made memorable the legend. The same design is also stamped <>u Mexican coin. Montezuma never returned from his southern trip, but in some mysteri ous manner passed away to the hind of the blessed, and since leads bis people by his spirit. The City of Mexico was founded in 1325.— New Mexico Cor. Chicago Tribune. Among the Turks. As to the character of the Turks, it. has been said by one of the highest con sular authorities that the pooler and humbler lie is, the better he is. As ho gets money and power, ho deteriorates. In tiio lowest classes you may and do meet with honesty ; in the middle c,hiss es, seldom; in the highest, never. Tim 'Turk, above all, is a good host. In deed, hospitality is enjoined by the Ko ran. We may well take a lesson from him, too, in politeness, especially in conversation. If you are privileged t<> have an interview with a Turk, yon will find him a good listener; he never in terrupts, and never wastes words to make talk. When he has finished, he asks permission to go, mid vanishes. He is not given to the. odious, because! abused, custom of the “shake-hands.” Hit salute, the Teinenas, is most grace ful. He makes the motion us if to sweep the ground with his right hand, bringing it t:> his heart, lips and fore head, thus indicating that all he bus on earth is yours, as well as showing his friendliness and constant thoughtfulness for your welfare. Listen to a true story illustrating the Turk in nil his dealings, whether com mercially, politically, or as a diplomat ist. A peasant was summoned before the Cadi for stealing a sack of onions. “Now wo have then on the hip, mid thou shalt know wind it is to incur our displeasure. Bismillah! Choose, slave i —wilt thou pay 1,000 piasters, receive 100 blows of the bastinado, or wilt thou ent tho contents of the sack of onions ? Quick ; choose ! ” “Gracious Lord, I have no money wherewith to satisfy thee; I fear the bastinado, and w ill choose rather to oat my onions.” He ate, and was fain to stop, and pre ferred the bastinado. After Borne fifty strokes ho repents, and thinks he can find somewhere in his house 500 pias ters. But this money was not enough to release him from his troubles ; ho ate more onions, thou there was alittle more bastinado. Eventuallyhe received eighty strokes, ate nearly ail the onions, and paid the penalty of 1,000 piasters in full. A Wicked Man’s Diary of His Wife's Temper. Monday—A thick fog; no seeing thronghit. Tuesday—Gloomy and very chilly; unseasonable weather. Wednes day—Frosty; at times sharp. Thurs day—Bitter cold in the morning ; red sunset, with flying clouds, portending hard weather. Friday—-Storm in the morning, with peals of thunder; air clear afterward. Saturday—Gleams ot sunshine,with partial thaw; frost agein at night. Sunday—Alight southwester in the morning; calm and pleasant at din ner-time ; hurricane and earthquake at night. Wanted to Find Out. A burly ruffian, who has already served five or six sentences, is brought before the police. Just as they are about t< begin the examination, “Mr. President, ho vs he, “my lawyer is indisposed. J call for a delay of one week.” “But you have been caught in open misdemeanor, your hand in the pocket of the plaintiff. What Could yonr lawyei say for you?” “Precisely, Mr. President; I’m quit< l curious to know.”-*-Paris paper. ■ Ax old lady nays it is remarkable tin number of people willing to take foreigi missions, and she fears tho home mis 1 siunary cause will Buffer, Cobblers Who Went Beyond Their Last. No one but a shoemaker could have thought Coleridge serious in his strange saying that the shoemaker’s bench had produced more eminent men than any other handicraft. The Shoe anil Leath er Reporter has, however, compiled a “ bill of particulars '’ in the shape of a list of famous cobblers, which seems to act ns mi effectual estopel on all jealous craftsmen. Hans Christian Andersen, who needs no introduction, may head the list, and Hans Sachs, of Nuremberg, w ho, though he made shoos all his life, yet also made 6,000 poems, plays, farces mid rhyming fables, may be put next. Sir Cloudosley Shovel was a shoemaker until he enlisted in the navy, and sowas Sir Christopher 'Minns, another English Admiral. John.Hewson, one of Crom well's Colonels, and a signor of Charles l.’s dentil-''arrant; Samuel Bradburn, the “ Demosthenes of Methodism,” ns well as a Bishop; James Lackiuton, whose catalogue of publications reached the total -enormous for that time—of 30,000 volumes, in 1787—a1l these were cobblers nt first, if not at the last. Con tinuing the English list, William Gif ford, whoso memory is preserved }>y a complimentary allusion in Byron’s “En glish Bards and Scotch Reviewers,” and whoso body is buried in Westminster Abbey ; George Fox, the arch Quaker; William Carey, a missionary famous a century ago, and who read the proofs of the Bible in twentv-seven Oriental lan guages; Samuel brew, “the Locke of the nineteenth century,” whose experi ence a.s an author led him to formulate the sad truth that “ the man who makes shoes is sure of his w ages, but the man who makes books is never sure of any thing;” Thomas Holcroft, whoso name is not nearly so well known ns that of a single one of his plays, “Tho Road to Ruin the Bloomfield brothers, whom Byron thus apostrophized : Yw tuneful cubblorn, Bull your notes prolong, < <Hiipu-u at once a nHpper and a Bong; John Pounds, whom school-children cried at being turned away from—all those and )es;icr lights too numerous to mention were English shoemakers. Coining to our own country, Roger Sherman, one of the “signers,” leads the list in time, but Vice President Hen ry Wilson in rank. Beside these were Coiigressmeu Sheffeyand Noah Worces ter, not the lexicographer, but the founder of the Massachusetts Peace So ciety. And ex-GoVs. H. P. Baldwin, of Ms- in, and William Claflin, of Mas- . ■ ■'’■i.'if they n made shoes, at least den.it in them largely enough to bo iminod here. Altogether, tho list insuffi cient ly imposing and convincing to justi fy a verdict in favor of Coleridge’s say ing. How to Dross the Children. The capacity of our ancestors to ac .■>ommodate fhomselveii to every climate lependi d not. only on their physiological facility of adaptation, but also on their skill in protecting themselves by artifi cial means from the inclemency of tho higher latitudes. Houses and clothes urea files' ing if they answer this pur pi. e by n close imitation of nature's own plan in sheltering hor children from nt nv spheric, vicissitudes, but in degree an they deviate from that plan their hygi enic. disadvantages balance, or even out weigh, the gain in other respects. A Bwailow’fl nest protects her brood from cold and rain without debarring them from the, fresh air; a human domicile, too, should combine comfort with tho advantage of perfect ventilation, and our clothes, like the furtt n squirrel ortho fea'ln r-niaiitlo of a Jmwk, should keep us warm mid dry without interfering with tho cutaneous excretions and the free movement of our limlis. Measured by these standards, the win ter dress of an American schoolboy is nearly the best, tho summer dress of the average American, French, and German nursling about the worst that could be devised. At an age when the rapid de velopment of tho whole organism re quires the utmost freedom of movement, our children me kept in the fetters of garments that check the activity of tho Imly in every way; swaddling-clothes, in*!' r hirts overshirts, neck-wrappers, trailing gowns, garnitures, flounces and shawls reduce the helpless homunculus to a bundle of dry goods, unable to move or turn, incapable of relieving or inti mating its uneasiness in any way save by tlie use of its squealing apparatus, aiii.l consequently squealing violently from morijing till night. Outdoors, in the baby carriage, “cold draughts” have to lie guarded against, and a load of extra •wrappers completely counteract the benefit, of the fresh air ; faint with nausea and suffocating heat, the little dummy lies motionless on its back, re plendent in its white surplice, a fit candidate for the honors of a life whose every movement of a natural impulse i will lie suppressed as a revival of bar barism, and an insurrection against the ■ tatutes of an orthodox community. I Hence, in a great degree, the dispropor : tionat.e mortality in all northern coiin i tries of Christendom among infants I under 2 years. In Spanish America, wherd infantile diseases are us rare as in | Iliudoostan, babies of all classes and sizes toddle about naked, nearly the year round; and the Indians of the I Tamaulipas, between Tampico and Mat amoras, raise uu astonishing number of brown bantlings who are never troubled v, ith clothes till they are big enough to '■any garden-stuff to the city, where the police enforces the apron regulation.— /'opnlar Seicnei. Monthly for June, Wasn’t it rough on Ella, just as she I was telling Frederick, at lunch, how ethereal her appetite was, to have tlie . <>); bawl out, “Say, will ye have yiT pork and beaus now, or wait till yer fel ler’s gone ?” A Welsh Opinion of Royality. It is, we think, to be regretted that the Prince of Wales has declined to allow J liis name to be used in connection with 1 the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The loyalty of the Welsh people is beyond $ question, but when they ask a little favor t it ought, if possible, to bo granted. As there must have been reasons why his , Royal Highness declined to have any- j thing to do with tho Eisteddfod it seems J a pity they were not stated. We make j these remarks because the refusal of the Prince to patronize the Eistoddfod has not only created a sore feeling in tho Principality, but it has also exposed him to vulgar abuse, and has given the en emies of the Monarchy the opportunity of attacking not merely tho Prince him self, but also the Queen and the Royal family. Thus, a contributor to a Welsh news paper elegantly declares that, the inci dent has “shortened Royalty's life in this country fifty years.” “Already,” he continues “the Welsh press have been heard to grumble, not only loudly but angrily, at this ungra cious conduct of him who some day hopes to be called His Most Gracious Majesty. In the columns of an English daily last week appeared an article which, though not (because of the old absurd veneration for Royalty so long prevail ing) so outspoken as it might have been, may yet be considered tho first mutter ings of a storm which will one day burst as surely as it is now brewing. Men, who, if yon had spoken to them sneer ingly or slightingly of the principle of Royalty A few months back, would have turned away from you in disgust, are now beginning to se.O through the mists of prejudice, and to question tho use of the thing. When not only the utter uselessness, but the positive evil, of that which they have to pixy so dearly for shall become apparent, then will it and other fiaileries and sins be sent packing. As a beginning in the right direction, allow mo to suggest tho dropping from all toasts lists of the insane custom of drinking the healths of the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the rest of the Royal family. Welshmen have (although not for the first time) received proof positive that none of them are of any use to Wales. Even the musical and literary members of that family the* fiddling Duke of Edinburgh and the studious little Leopold, whom the ir reverent believe to be in training for the Arbishopricof Canterbury—have thought themselves above patronizing Welshmen of like pursuits with themselves.—Lon don Fiyaro. The Daughter of Ethan Allen. In his reminiscences of Montreal, in the Star, of that city, Mr. J. H. Dorwin writes: “I. have one more little event to j mention, one that is scarcely worth re cording, only that it interested me very much nt the time it happened, and re calls the name of a mini somewhat re nowned in the Revolutionary War, and connected with an important event in Montreal’s history. On the 10th of December, 1819, there died nt tho Hotel. Dieu, on St. Paul street, a nun known as Sister Allen. Her full name was Murgarct Allen, and she was tho daughter of the famous Colonel Ethan Allen, who, it will bo remembered, accompanied Montgomery in his invasion of Canada in 1775, and attempted, with a small detachment, to surprise Montreal, but was defeated and captured and sent, to England in irons. She came from her home in Burlington, Vermont, in 1808, | when twenty-four years old, and thus | spent eleven years in the nunnery. I | never knew of her presence here until i one afternoon I heard on the street that [ a daughter of the brave but unfortunate old soldier had just died in the Hotel Dieu, and I hurried over to see her. Her body was lying in state in the chapel, and, it being my first visit to a Convent, the solemn stillness of the place, the wax lights burning beside the coffin, the nuns kneeling there repenting prayers lor the departed soul, and above all 'the thoughts called up by the name and presence of the dead woman, all i made a strong impression upon me. > The body lay thus for three days, and | was visited by a great, many people, i She was one »f the most beautiful women, ; even in death, that I ever saw, and be- I longed to one of the best families in New England, and why she left the world to become a nun I never knew. It was strange, too, that the daughter should seek refuge in the very city which the father had invaded, and whore he met with his worst misfortune.” Village Tree Planting. Our enthusiastic young minister, with an eye and a heart for what is beautiful and good, devised the plan, and it, was executed to the letter. The sturdy far mers, old and young, gathered on an ap pointed afternoon, and planted a goodly number of trees, elms, maples and ever greens, about the church. At the close of the day, the ladies pro vided a sumptuous repast, and the even ing was spent in social enjoyment. Years have passed away, and so have many of those whose hands wrought so worthily and cheerfully on that autumn day. The youths and maidens of that time are mature men and matrons now. Fifteen years of toil and care have sprink led gray hairs on many a head; but those trees are growing and increasing in vigor every year—and now, in their youthful prime, east a grateful shodow over man ai d beast. -Connieticut Cour aril. The Firmnan's Journal suggests that the netting which trapeze performers use to break their fall in case of accident might furnish a valuable hint to the fire (jepartußmt officials. jNfofth Published Every Thursday at BELLTON, GEORGIA;' HATES OF 'oVBSCRIPTIOF. Olie year (52 numbers), $1.00; six months <26 numbers) 50 cents; three mouths (13 numbers), 25 cents. Otffos in t'le () >,-ter'»til C i;, wJi) of th depot. M). 28. HUMORS OF THE DAY. “Bear with me for a while,” is what Bruin said when ho affectionately em braced the tramp. Winn the coming man wear a stove pipe hat? is asked. Not unless ha smokes, replies the Elmira Free Frcsn. He had been telling her stories of him self, and hud done a great amount of bragging. When he had finished she kissed him and murmured, “This is a kiss for a blow.” A Connecticut man has invented a pipe that will light itself. This is an underhanded attempt to force bouse painters to find some now way to kill time. - Coston Post. “Now I lay me down to sleep,” said little Toddlepins. Then stopping a min ute, “hut I ain’t going to pray for mam ma’s sole to keep, ’cause it hurts. ” He is regarded as the Bob Ingersoll of tho fam ily. “JSsthetio Damsel.” The most charming decoration for a plate is a good piece of beefsteak with well cooked po tatoes and just a sufficiency of gravy. It’ll lay over trailing vines or a sunflower any day, -Boston Post. “Tun ripest peach is on the highest free,” says James Whitcomb Riley. James shows his ignorance. - The ripest peach is in tho bottom layer of the bas ket every time, nud it is generally about nine shades too ripe. New York's latest lah-da-dah: “Do you play the piano?” “No; I don’t play the piano, but my sister Hannah, who is in Savannah, she plays the piano in the most charming' niannah.” “Haveaban ana?”—Fete York Star. Tun difficulty originated in this way. Said Gallagher t > Ragbag—“l heard a story just now that was funny enough to make a jackass laugh. Let me tell it to you.” “Don’t yon slur me in any sueli remark ns that;’’roared Ragbag, angrily. “ How many of you are there?” asked a voice from ail upper window, of a sere nading party. “Four,” was tho reply. “Divide that auioiig you,” said a voice, ns a bucket of slop fell “like tho gentle dew of heaven,”'on those beneath. The Norristown Herald is accounta bly for the statement that a New- York “ninetv-nino cent store” was robbed of eleven'gold bracelets, six watches, throb diamond pins, fourteen gold brooches and’fifty-four finger rings. The loss is estimated at §2.20. — Oil City Derrick. Said Maguire to Finnegan—“ When von see dio aclii'ig like a fool, tell me so.” And Finnegan said he would. And in about half an hour he called out—“ M aguire, you’re making a fool of yourself.” And then Maguire got mad and thumped Finnegan. It always works that way.— Boston Post. Can auy one, tell us why a woman, emerging from a crowded car, always makes believe she is going to get out at one aide of the platform, until two or three men have jumped oil'in the mud, and then stops off at the other side. She always does it, and we want to know the reason why.—Philadelphia Bulletin. A conundrum—“ What is the differ ence between a man going to Plymouth Church and a lover about to propose?” asks the Boston Courier. Don’t know,— Boston Post. Then you had better go back to school. Ono is going to see Beecher and the oilier, to beseech her.— Philadelphia Bulletin. Thkiie is lots of enterprise in this world. A Chicago saloon-keeper offers prizes to persons who take the greatest number of drinks at bis bar in a given time. And it may not be long before enterprising undertakers offer premiums to families in which there are the largest number of deaths during the. green ap ple and cucumber season. — Norristown Herald. The Influence of Foe. Poc, like Pope, threw himself into a war with dunces. He hit and thrust at them vigorously; he exposed a score of cheap popularities ; he was merciless to the inexpensive reputations then readily acquired by every tootlcr on the whistle of Miss Eliza Cook. Since the time of Poe American literature has wonderfully advanced in the acquisition of force and polish. American novelists, for exam ple, almost give us lessons in careful elaboration of style, in reticence and in well-calculated effects. American poets are, perhaps, too numerous. That they i get a hearing as they do, and appeal to i a really-large public, says much for the : interest of the people in contemporary verse. - In form, in the mere art of versi i tying, even the minor American poets of to-day show wonderful versatility and deftness. Commonplace is much less successful than it was of old. Jn fiction, analysis is almost too careful. We can not but think that this rapid ripening of the American muse (who was a raw, un- I informed school girl in the life-time of j Poe) is due in part to the influence of that critic. UJs method is as unlike the method of Mr. Matthew Arnold ns pos sible. But he exercised the same kind of influence.- Dike Mr. Arnold, lie in troduced some tinge of French thought and of French literature into the work i mauship of his countryman. Perhaps | he was not a wide reader, and the ele- I merit of affectation in his nature may he i detected in his quotations of obscure ; Latin authors and in his Oriental allu sions. It, is hard to say how much knowledge was implied iu these allu sions—how rich the mine was from which Poe dug these sparkling fragments. Still, he judged the writers of his coun try with some knowledge of other litera tures. As he was quite ruthless in his criticisms ho did good, but at his own cost. — Jrmdon News. Dahkness, solitude and remorse are grim and In* telid company.