Newspaper Page Text
JOHN H. SKAI.S. Editor ami victor.
Win. B. SEALS. Proprietor ami <or. Editor.
MRS. MARY E. BR¥AS,(*) Associate Editor
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, OCT., 4th, tS79.
ter. He tells ns that the British coll- ges cannot
confer degrees, and that this business can only be
done by the universities. England, with its popn-i
lation of 20,000.000. has only four universities, while
we, with our 45.009,000, have tour hundred and
twenty-five, such a« they are. President Gilman
declares thatour honorary titles have been bestowed
too loosely, and that in this country a university
distinction is like the title of “Judge” in the far
West, which is bestowed on almost.all sorts of men.
from judges of whiskey to judges of horse-races or
The Care of Girls.
Dangers of the Freedom Permitted American
Young Women,
[Boston Watchman.':
In the education of the European girl the chief i
emphasis is placed on three tilings—absolute inno
cence, habitual dependence, andamiability of tem
per. Her absolute innocence is secured by thecon-
IN THE GEORGIA CAPITOL
What is Being Done Among the Politicians. : About People and Things.
Make Haate Slowly.—This golden precept,
which was first enunciated centuries ago, is as
sound to-day as when it was first uttered, and its
application is as needfuland important to ourselves
as to the people to whom it was addressed. Frantic
haste is the besetting evil of Americans and of the
present generation. We make haste to be rich ; we
make haste to arrive at a journeys end; we make
haste to acquire knowledge; in nil the avenues of
trade, commerce, manufactures, travel, study, in
everything we ('o, we hurry along at a headlong
rate. Yet the gardner knows that those trees which
grow most rapidly are the soonest to decay; that
the brilliant flower which blooms a few weeks from
seed-time perishes at. the first breath of autumn ;
while the sturdy oak, slow In growth and develop
ment, defies the storms of centuries. Even sport
ing men have a maxim, "l* is not the distance that
kills, it’s the pace ” Would this truth was recog
nized in the managementof thebuman race as well
as in the training of animals. Admirably as are
our provisions for edneation, it must be admitted
that the forcing system is far too generally adopted.
We undertake to teach the young too much we
overwork their brains. Physicians conscientiously
tell ns this, but their eloquent warnings uttered
from time to time fail on heedless ears. The public
at large admires the brilliant precocities of schools
and universities, without counting what they cost
or come too. How many of the distinguished grad
uates of our colleges, the recipients of academic
laurels, live to fulfill the expectation inspired by
their early career? It is almost proverbial that they
are either short-lived, or, in mature life, are out
stripped by men, who made no figure at all in their
college career. It is the old story ot the hare and
the tortoise. But do not let onr readers understand
by these remarks that we undervalue education or
scholarship. By no means. Only, we should not
crowd into a tew years the studies which should be
expanded over many. We understand by educa
tion the gradual development of the mind, a never-
ending course of intellectual training and that, too,
parallel with thorough physical training.
The most prolific authors are those who make but
moderate calls upon their minds. Sir Walter Scott
thought that five or six hours a day was the limit to
which literary labor could be extended without in
jury to the brain. In the after part of his life, under
the pressure of pecuniary necessity, he far exceeded
this limit, and the consequence was that his fine
mind and health suddenly gave way. Hugh Miller
also overworked himself. Sir Edwar-i Bulwer,
Lytton, who is the antlior of sixty volumns, tells us
that he never worked more than three hours a day,
and these included his study as well as his writing
Steady, continuous labor, pursued day after day,
and year after year, produces extraordinary results.
Let us allow thirty years of literary productiveness
to an author. A man can easily write four printed
pages a day, without overworking himself. Fora
term of thirty years this would yield a product of
15,1)00 pages, or more than one hundred volumes o f
100 pages each. - * i '
We have spoken of authorship—only one form of
intellectual labor, but the same truths apply to other'
pursuits. We work with a ferocious energy in hope
of enjoying rest at some future time. But even if
total repose were desirable or attainable in this
world of unrest, where employment seems to be
the condition ot content, the capacity of enjoyment
is gone when the overworked toiler reaches the
limit he has set to labor. The remainder of his ex
istence must be devoted to patching up his invalid
frame, and prolonging an existence from which
the sunlight has departed On the other hand, the
man who has moderately taxed his brain, finds a
pleasure in the well-balanced exercise of his intel
lectual and physical faculties to the last day of a
prolon ed existence. Let us then be as moderate
in our labors as in our pleasures, sure that to “make
haste slowly” is the safest way of accomplishing a
a long and profitable journey.
The American Love of Titles.—The Mobile
Register of Alabama indulges in some sensible re
flections on the subject of titles in this country.
Foreigners, says the editor, who have visited this
country have been particularly struck with the fact
that notwithstanding our claim that we are the
Simon pure republicans of the universe, and that
the simple American citizen is t'’e peer and equal
of the proudest aristocrat of oilier lands, our people
nevertheless have a fondness for titles of distinc
tion unequalled by that of any of the “effete despot
isms” of Europe. It is true that no American citi
zen can hope to prefix to his name the title of
Duke, Earl, Marquis, or Count, but it is also true
that when distinguished mortals bearing these des
ignations arrive upon our shores from other lands,
they are regarded as favored beings who are to be
flattered and feted, and a nod or smile from whom
is something to be remembered with pride and
satisfaction. We have one title, however, in this
landoffree institutions, snobbery, and toadyism,
in common with the nations of Europe—and that is
the title oi Honorable. What wonder then thatour
people make the mosl of it. Any gentleman who
lias represented his county in the State Legislature,
or, in many localities, who has been a member of
municipal boards, or who has held any office of
trust, profit and emolument, can lay claim to the
same designation as that appearing before the names
of members of Congress, .1 udges, aud State officials.
From that time forth he is an Honorable. There is
another title, also equally popular, and essen
tially American, viz.: that of Colonel. There are
Colonels in other lands, but th ; s is the only countrv
that produces Colonels that never marshalled a bat
talion nor set squadrons in the field. A large num
ber of those who are dubbed Colonel have about
the same right to the proud distinction as the gen
tlemen had who was addressed as follows: “I be
lieve you are a Colonel are you not?” “Yes,” was
the reply, “I suppose I have a right to the title, for
my father was a Colonel before me.” This claim,
however, involves hereditary right, and therefore
no American citizen can avail himself of it. It is
true we have many genuine Colonels in the land,
but they scarcely equal in number the class we have
referred to, many of whom have had the title given
them by an admiring public as a suitable reward
for firing volleys of logic and rhetoric, aud leading
embattled lines of voters to the polls. But our peo
ple have coveted literary distinction besides the
proud titles we have referred to. To gratify this
desire collegiate degrees have been thrown broad
cast over the land. The business has, however, been
rather overdone, notably so when one institution
conferx-ed the degree of L.L. D. on Zach Chandler,
and, to put it plainly, has fallen rather into con
tempt. The literary attainments of many gentle
men who have received collegiate degrees are beau
tifully and appropriately represented by the figure
0. Two presidents of colleges have recently tackled
this question with great courage and candor at the
sessions of the Social Science Convention at Sarato-
■ ga . president Barnard contrasts the English cus-
T tom with ours, to the great disadvantage of the lat
of the settlement of personal differences of opinion, j stunt companionship of the mother, or of some el-
Both of these presidents think it possible to have . derly woman employed for the purpose. She is not i
degrees conferred by State authority, the State act- j permitted to place herself for a moment in a situa-
ing through a hoard of competent examiners. j tion where it would be possible for any one to
The Philadelphia Times, however, thinks that j tempt her. The companionship of which we speak i
these presidents are treading on dangerous ground, s not made irksome, on the contrary, it is so pleas- j
and comments on the subject as follows: “Such a j ant, so friendly, so youthful in its manner, sosym- I
radical change as is comtemplated by this sugges
tion would strike at the very root of all that is dear
to every American citizen. To have a possible ar
istocracy of titled men, with a monopoly of the
right to wear initials after their names would revo
lutionize society and would dry up certain of our
so-called “universities.” Some of these concerns
would have hardly anything worth existing for if
they could not confer degrees. With one university
for every hundred thousand people we have facili
ties for giving almost everybody some sort of a de
gree, aud there is no reason why the degree business
should net go on until it. is as common to have let
ters after a man’s name as before it. There is an
Increasing taste for the high-sounding and the mag
niloquent. Iteomes with the importation offoreign
damasks, silks and fancy goods. It grows naturally
in our patriotic soil, where one man is at least as
good as another if not a great deal better. To confer
these degrees only on examination of the person to
be honored would sadly cripple the business as well
as embarrass the victim. To call before an examin
ing board the pork merchant who has given ten
thousand dollars to some “university” would re
sult, after about two minutes of questioning him
on scientific affairs, in demonstrating his total un
fitness for the LL. D. This would make confusion
all around. It makes little difference nowadays,
except in certain very limited quarters, where a de
gree comes from. It is sufficient to know that the
wearer has it. Now that there are “Professors of
whitewashing,” and the old-Iashioned barber shop
has given way to the modern “tonsorial parlors,”
degrees might as well be freely distributed. There
was a time when “Mr.” meant a master, or a person
who was in some respect a leader of something or
somebody. To speak of a man as “Esquire” con
veyed the idea that he was a public functionary.
Now every man who wears a clean collar is ‘‘Esq.,’’
and every man, even if his neck be bare of collar or
cravat, may wear the title of “Mr-” So with “Doc
tor.” The man who sells a plaster, or pulls a tooth,
or digs out a bunion may adopt it. Among the
preachers it is hardly good manners not to call a
man “Doctor.” Doctorates of Philosophy and Law
are not quite as widely distributed, but there is a
compensation in the use of such terms as “General”
and ‘‘Mayor” aud “Corporal” which the free and
independent citizen may bestow on himself with
out cost of diploma or intervention of university.
In due time we shall all have titles, as all the goods
displayed at the Centennial show took premiums.
We will no more think of being without a degree
or two at the end of our names than of wearing a
coat without any buttons. Let the men who
have the conferring of these tokens of learning and
honor remember that our population is vast aud
that their literary anil educational niilis must order
vast quantities of parchment for diplomas if they
would keep up with the demands of the age.”
'Bail Habits.—We venture 1<> offer a few sngges
lions to those who are really desirous of break in
oil’irom their bad lijtoits, and ii 'followed faithfully
we feel assured the result will be most agreeable.
They will be of no benefit, however, to pei’sons who
are not honest in such a wish, and who are not will
ing to fry.
In the first place you must understand the rea
sons, and all the reasons, why the habit is injuri
ous. Study the subject till there is no lingering
doubt in your mind- Avoid the places, the persons
and the thoughts that lead to the temptation. Fre
quent the places, associate with the persons, in
dulge in the thoughts that lead away from tempta
tion. Keep busy; idleness is the strength of bad
habits. Do not give up the struggle when you have
broken your resolution once, twice, thrice—a hun
dred times. That only shows how much need there
is for you to strive. When yon have broken your
resolutions, just think the matter over and endeav
or to understand why it is you failed, so that you
cau be on your guard against a recurrence of the
same circumstances. Do not think it an easy thing
that you have undertaken. It is folly to expect to
break off a habit in a day which has been gathering
long years. You will find it is a herculean task,
but if you fight it in the proper spirit, and keep on
fighting in spite of discouraging failures, your ulti
mate victory is sure.
pathetic, that it is delightful, while the girl is
brought up in such absolute innocence, she is not
left ignorant of the duties she may be called upon
to perform as wife and mother; on the contrary, she
is carefully instructed concerning them. The sys
tem of companionship with the mother or with the
elderly triend whom she respects, must necessarily
create a habit of dependence and deference, and a
disposition in which amiability is »; marked trait.
Tue rigidity of the system, the care ofthe parents to
carry it out dnring every moment of the girl’s life,
is quite surprising to the American who observes it
for the first time. The writer of this was once, on
Sunday morning, laughingly refused to walk to a
church in plain sight, with two English girls, who
were sisters, the mother reminding him that it
would be an improper innovation. If any one asks
how sucli a system can exist in the light of the
nineteenth century, the mother would reply that
the light oi the preWst century is the best justifica
tion. Moreover a man who wants a wife, demands
one of whose innocence he has an absolute guaran
ty, whose amiability is unquestioned and whose
habit of deference is established, and the system is
supported by his preference for a wile who has been
brought up in the strictest conformity to its condi
tions.
The wealthier families in America, we are told
are adopting it in a modified form. How different
our care of girls has been every body knows. The
European plan is regarded with the utmost scorn
by the large majority of our people. Nor could we
follow it in all its features. Yet we have no ques
tion that a part of it might be transplanted to
American society with great advantage. Our meth
ods have certain tendences that we fear. The Eu
ropean system does not work ill. We might sup
pose that a girl brought up under it might be weak
and aimless creatures, insipid, characterless. But
the French wife, on the contrary, is proverbial In
active and capable, nor does the English wife lack
charm. The common idea that at marriage the
French woman leaps from her innocence into a liie
of doubtful propriety is true only of those ,whose
homes are in Paris boarding-houses, and whose
husbands have learned the vices of the capital.
Those who have formed an extensive European
acquaintance do not find that the system of educa
ting girls is objectionable; on the contrary, there is
a growing appreciation of it among Americans who
have examined it thoroughly. And when we think
how many of our girls will be permitted this week
to take long rides or walks in this country with
gentlemen who are not relatives, how many, when
they return from the country, will go to the theatre
in the same manner: how many will be sent in the
parlor alone to entertain the gentleman ealler: how
many next winter will go in groups with as many
young men, to dri-s in sleighs until late at night,
and perhaps to ali, at some hotel to warm them
selves and partaken? some refreshments before re
turning, we can m>k forbear a shudder. All these
things are considered apart ofthe Independence
which properly belongs to a girl. We dissent em
phatically. No mother should indulge her daugh
ters in such independence No girl should de-dre it.
The chief care in the care of a girl should be the de
velopment of a character proof against, temptation
and vice; but at least secondary interest should be
taken in external regards and restraints. In the
effort to fortify the character of her daughter the
American mother excels; and if she has paid too
little attention tc otter things, hej »ood *#{'■& will
ft ]_,uuiv.—•*- fa iUL-hul.i1 ij^OLiwebin n ***>-.
No Time to Rend.—How often do wo hear men
excuse themselves from subscribing for a paper or
a periodical, by saying that they have no time to
read. When we hear a man thus excuse himself,
we conclude he has never found time to confer any
substantial advantage either upon his family, his
country, or hitnselt; it is truly humiliating, and w e
can form no other opinion than that such a man
is oflittle importance to society.
_ i^Ali
oils when she is
avoided.
cntTnced of the dangers to be
A Texas Prayer.
A few days since a decently-dressed old lady came
into a Jersey City police station and, in a trembling
voice, solicited a night’s lodging. “Your age?”
asked tlie officer. “I shall be one hundred in No
vember,’- was the quiet answer. She was no beg
gar, no tramp; she had lost all her relations and
friends, and now at ninety-nine, supported herself
by selling pencils in the street. On the day of her
application she had failed to sell pencils enough to
pay for a bed, aud so, for the first time in her long
life, had to beg for one. If she had known better
circumstances, how poignant must have been her
pangs as she recalled them that night, if we are to
believe what Dante says: “there is no greater pain
than to recall the days of happiness in hours of
misery.” But it wae not so in the instance of this
good, industrious old lady. She thanked God for
past blessings, for preserving the life to which she
still clung, and for the temporary shelter she was
enjoying. A hundred years had not deprived her
of faith, gratitude and hope.—Am. Cidlivator.
This world is not Utopia; it is a place of rough
work, hard knocks, reproaches and all uncharita
bleness ; nothing is achieved in it except by stern
contest. It is contended by certain people that the
introduction of women into public life would soften
its asperities, but it is a fallacious dream. Men will
be more deferential and considerate to women
than to their own sex so long as they do not com
pete with them, but no longer, and the treatment
of women by women, though no worse than that of
men by men, is no better, and foi bids us to hope
that what is called the humanizing element would
be introduced by them into the labor of a public
life. It has been very finely said that woman is a
flower that breathes its pertume in the shade only!
“The brain women never interest us like the heart
women,” says Holmes.—Am. Cultivator.
John W. Forney and friends have been extended
many courtesies by Gov. St John, Mayor Case,
Bishop Vail and other officials and citizens of Kan
sas. Col. Forney lectured at the Topeka Opera
House on Wednesday night and started home yes
terday. Walt Whitman, J. M. Geist, E. K. Martin
and W. W. Reitzel accepted invitations of tha Kan
sas Pacific and Santa Fe Railroad to visit the Den
ver mining regions, going by one region and re
turning by another.
[To the Editor of the Courier-Journal.]
The following prayer was said by the Rev. Gould’
a Methodist circuit rider, in an ironshell Baptist
church in December, lSTS, in Stephens county, Cad
do creek, Texas. I vouch for its correctness:
“O, Lord, we have felt nearer thee for the last half
hour O, Lord, we see many things here we do not
like; for instance, just look at the tobacco juice in
this house. Lord, it makes us sick at our stomachs-
Lord, we do not believe t he doctrine Brother
preaches Lord, we believe him to be a Christian
and a good old man. Lord, if it had not been foi
the old Primitive Baptists, fhy word would not
have been preached in some countries Lord, Broth
er Miller has one son who is a professor. Lord bless
him. Lord, he has another sou who is a professor;
he is a nice young man; heisdoinga great deal of
good in the community. May the Lord bless him.
Lord, there is another old man here. He is a good
old Christian man. Lord, bless him. Lord, here is
Brother Tig. I know him. Lord, if lie is not a
brother one way he is another Lord, he has invi
ted us home with him, We never went, but never
mind. Lord, we will break some of his yellow corn
bread yet. May the Lord bless him. Lord, he is a
Bible reader. He is surrounded with infidels. Lord,
save him. Lord, we do hold sanctification, being
one of the richest doctrines of the Bible. Lord, we
do in part acknowledge God’s sovereignty of saving
sinners. Lord, we acknowledge partin mail's ina
bility to save himself. O, Lord, we do thank thee
for the dear gift of tliy dear Sou. Lord, we are glad
that man is his own free agent. Lord, bless the
Methodists in this part of the moral vineyard, and
save them, without the loss of one, for chiist-’s sake.
Amen.
Random .
Secretary Cobb.
Cobb's father was a very distinguished member of
Congress anil once Speaker of the House. Refer
ring lo Buchanan’s secretary of the treasury re
mind.'. me of a story current here years ago in which
the old man figured. There was a profligate young
fellow living in Rome, Ga.. named Underwood, sou
of Judge U Oder wood, of Cherokee Indian celebrity.
Not knowing what else to do with his son, the oiil
man placed him in care of his old friend
Cobb, then Speaker of the House. The Latt er look
him to his hotel and made things pretty comforta
ble for the young man, to his evident enjoyment.
One day they were walking out, when Cobb espied
Beau Hickman, the famous wit and beat, then in
his prime.
“Is that Beau Hickman?” inquired .Underwood,
and he rushed over to see him.
“My friend Cobb tells me you are Beau Hickman,”
said lie, offering his hand.
“X am,” remarked Beau sententionsly.
“Good ! I am delighted to meet you ; in fact,” ob
served the young scapegrace in a whisper, “I’m
here in your line of • business—living on my wits.
I’ve already fixed Cobb for my board bill at Brown's,
and Bob Toombs lias agreed to pay my carriage
hire.”
“Ah!” said Beau, “very good.”
“Ves; come over and let me introduce you to
Cobb, and we’ll make him set up the oysters and
wine.” Whereat Beau solemnly remarked :
“Look here, young man. what do you take me
for? Cobb is an old stager, aud is playing you for a
sucker. I know all about your case. Your lather
furnishes all the money and Cobb is spending it for
you. Told me so last night as a good joke. You
are welcome to all such fellows as Cobb; but if
there are any more greenhorns from the South like
yourself, you can't introduce me too soon!”
Dean Stanley, says the Cincinnati Commercial,
was not equal to his opportunities when he per
formed the marriage ceremony for Professor Tyn-
dal. The Dean should have asked the groom: “Do
you take this anthropoid to be your co-ordinate, to
love witii your nerve centres, to cherish with your
whole cellular tissue, until a final molecular dis
turbance shall resolve its organism into its primi
tive atoms i” That the very reverend gentleman
did not avail himself of so rare an opprtunitv is
only one among failures of mankind to turn to ad
vantage seme genial mood, of destiny and launch
the boat when the tide is in.
A small boy with a big cent in his hand stood be
fore a Michigan-avenue grocery for a long time be
fore making up his mind to enter. IFhen asked
what he desired, he inquired: “If a boy should
come here and get trusted for a stick of gum, how
much would it be ? ’ “One cent,” was the reply.
“And if a boy should come here with the cash, how
much would it be V’ “Just the same.” “Then I
guess I’ll get trusted,” quietly remarked the finan
cier, as he slipped the cent down into his pocket.
Among the many other remarkable tilings which j
will belong ro the history of the present general i
assembly, will be the fact that it held two high !
courts of impeachment for the trial of high state !
officials. One of these has been dissolved in this j
supreme tribunal, and the other, and perhaps the '
last for many years in the future, will be organized I
to-day at ten o’clock. Chief Justice Hiram War- j
ner, himself a historical figure in the annals of the !
stare, will wear the distinction of having presided
at these two courts of impeachment. He will to
day repair to the senate chamber and organize the
senate as a high court of impeachment for the trial
of tiie case against State Treasurer Renfroe. This
case is so widely different from that of the late
comptroller general that the trial of it will be at-
tended with scarcely less interest than that which
surrounded the former. Indeed, the public specu
lations upon the public proceedings which are now
impending have been wholly at sea.
The Goldsmith case furnished no precedent for
this one: it will stand upon its own merits and its
own peculiar facts, and for that reason will adopt
an entirely original line.
The attorneys for Colonel Renfroe are the Hon.
H. R. Jackson, of Savannah, and the firm of Jack-
son & Lumpkin, of this city. They were engaged
at a late hour last night in comple.liug the
answer of Treasnrer Renfroe to the articles of im
peachment. The fact that the answer is thus pre
pared and ready to be submitted this morning is
the first positive information that the treasurer
will not ask further time, but will be ready to pro
ceed at once in the ease. Of course it is not for us
here to slate the nature of the answer to be made
by the treasurer. Data as to that can only be
gathered from the course which he pursued while
the question of his impeachment was pending be
fore the house of representatives. Since the articles
embody as substantial charges only those things
which are included as unlawful doings in the report
of the investigating committee, it is presumed that
the treasurer will treat them in the court of im
peachment as he did in the house of representa
tives: that is to say, will admit the commission of
them, but deny in toto any intention to do that
which was unlawful and corrupt; and upon his fair
statements of the manner in which he came to do
the things charged, and the impressions upon his
own mind as to their propriety and illegality will
rest his case.
It is believed and confidently stated in well
informed circles that a sufficient number of the
senators will be found who don’t believe that the
treasurer has acted in an unlawful and knowingly
corrupt manner, to defeat his conviction upon the
articles. The managers on the part of the house
are gentlemen of superior ability and untiring
industry, and will be prepared to present the case
of the state in its fullest and most conclusive char
acter. They.will insist strenuously and with vigor
upon the truth of their charges.
The only question remaining will be that of his
culpability, and the proper judgments which should
lie rendered in the premises. These questions are
solely to be decided by the senate.
There will lie nothing left, for the managers to do
but to accept and abide by the decision of the court.
It is not at all improbable that this may be the
direction the case will take. This morning the high
court of impeachment number two for I879, will
prove but an ephemeral affair and dissolve itself in
the shadows of the evening.
THE SCHOOL COMMISSIONER’S CASE.
Yesterday afternoon the committee to investi
gate the office of the state school commissioner met
in the rooms of that department. Commissioner
Orr was before the committee, and was questioned
with regard to the expenditures in his department
aud as to the relations of the Peabody fund to the
general school fund of the state. Commissioner
Orr has been indignant over the order to investi
gate his departments, and to the people of the state
who know him the official proceeding has appeared
10 be uuecessary. Not a breath of suspicion of
wrong-doing was ever at: ributed to him id. any
position dUiftyg it long, Visefin ami aonqi’anDrOTe.
It is but fair to the committee to state that no*e of
.them lias suspicioned in their investigation 1 the
finiiii • of any wrong in the conduct of the office;
and tue truth of the matter is that their only effort
is to ascertain whether those affairs are being con
ducted upon the most economical plan. They are
seeking only to know iliat the $4,700 expended in
that department are necessary to its practical op
erations.
It is to be regretted that 011 yesterday the com
mittee and the commissioner did not understand
each other better, as it appears that there was
some clashing of an unpleasant nature between
them. *
Pending the examination of the commissioner,
lie made several speeches to the committee, in
wuich he did not endeavor to conceal his annoy
ance, but expressed himself quire plainly. One
member of the committee became so offended at
the language of the commissioner as to retire from
the committee room in a state of disgust. The
result of the meeting was to refer the books of the
commissioner to a sub-committee, who are to ex
amine and report upon them from 1S75 to the pres
ent dace.
With reference to the Peabody fund the commit
tee desired some information concerning its rela
tion to education in the state, and the information
was given by the commissioner, with the qualifica
tion to tiie committee that it was a question they
had no right ;o ask, and that it was answered from
courtesy and not from a recognition of that right.
It appears from the statement of the commissioner
that his traveling expenses to the amount of prob
ably $1,500 have been paid out of this tuud in pur
suance of an agreement bet’weeu himself anil the
trustees that lie was to make addresses throughout
the state in furtherance of the cause of popular
education.
After the adjournment of the committee some
explanations were made to the commissioner to
correct his ideas of the objects of the committee,
and it is honorable to him to state that he ex
pressed the keenest regrets that there should have
been any misunderstanding, and that any of his
remarks should have proven iu the slightest degree
offensive.
THE AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE.
The committee investigating the department of
agriculture held a meeting last night, which lasted
some three hours, ami at which additional testi
mony was taken. Tnis is the first regular meeting
of the committee in upwards of three weeks. The
testimony taken last night was that of J. Heniy
Smith, formerly an employe in the department, of
whom certain inquiries had been made at a former
session of the committee. At that time lie was un
able to furnish the desired information, anil that
was given him to investigate tiie subject matter of
inquiries upon the books of the department. Last
night the questions were asked and answered, but
the nature of them anil their effect we are unable
to state. It may be proper to state that the resig
nation of Dr. Janes will have no effect upon tiie
proceedings of the committee, as the .nves.igation
will proceed the same as though he was still the
commissioner, and the retort be made upon uis
actings and doings as such modified only by the
one tact of his not now being in office.
CAPTAIN NELMS’S CASE.
Nothing new could be ascertained on yesterday
concerning the probable action to ensue in the case
of Captain Nelms, principal keeper of the peniten
tiary. All that the reporter was able to gather
was from a gentleman who had spoken with the
principal keeper upon the subject of his reported
intention to resign his office. In that interview
Captain Nelms is represented to have said that he
had not the slightest idea of resigning his office—
that he had done nothing which, in his opiuion,
should induce him to resign or authorize his re
moval.—Constitution, Sept. 25.
RANDOM TALKS.
A young woman of Staten Island, named Jessie
Bailey, is trying to have tiie marriage of the King of
Spain with the Archduchess Christina put off on
the ground that the King is engaged to her. But
the poor young woman is crazy on this subject, like
a great many others of her sex.
Mrs. Daniel Martin is now going to school in
Bellefonte, Ala., to her granddaugher. This may
seem a tall story, bat it isn’t. Mrs. Martin is only
sixteen years of age, and recently married the very
old, but very vivacious grandfather of Miss Martin
the Bellefonte public school teacher.
BY MARY E. BRYAN.
No wonder tiie pastoral Greeks and Romans dot
ted their harvest time full of golden gala days—
days for holiday, games, and religious rejoicing, for
gayly-piped praises to Ceres and Silenns, and offer
ings of corn and wine upon shrines of these deities
of the field and vineyard. No wonder the Aborig
inal Indians had their corn dances under the mel
low harvest moon. For the Harvest is peculiarly’
the time for thanksgiving. Earth is then a great
altar, teeming with visible and tangible thanks for
the suns and dews and rains that have visited it
during its last revolution, through space and re
newed its vigor. Men who are shut in an atmos
phere of dust, and smoke and brick and mortar, for
get the Earth, their mother, and lose sight of the
fact that they still draw sustenance from her breast,
though they no lo-gerlie upon her bosom or feel
her pure breath, or look in her fair face. The bus
iness that brings them the gold they love, owes its
vitaliiy to her. For. all tiie wheels that revolve at
the bidding of industry, all the spindles that turn,
all tiie sails that are spread, all the machinery that
moulds and blasts and stamps and casts to supply
the wants of the world and to keep up the circula
tion o' trade—all owe tiie origin, and the continu
ance of their activity to the Earth—to the harvest
yield vouchsafed by the great mother. Yet we
have no more festivals, not even the corn dances of
our Land’s primeval children. Our few fete days
are commemorative of war and bloodshed, or they
mark political eras and occasions. We have the
Fourth of July celebrated in a coarse and senseless
manner, without an atom of poetical or patriotic
significance; and we have those drunken Satur
nalias, c died election days, in which decent wo
men must stay in doors, while tiie business of
treating and bribing, of drinking and cursing and
abusing goes on. Yet the Earth is as sweet and
generous as ever. Such a harvest as she has given,
us tiiis year! I did my private thanksgiving—
ponred out my wine and oil to Ceres—last Sunday
I walked over the fields and admired the beauty
and abundance of the varied products. The yellow
pumpkins—the poor man's gold—lying in rich
nuggets among the great leaves! the late water and
musk melons nestled here and there at the feet of
the corn; the corn itself, the stalks shorn of their
blades, which were heaped here and therein pyra
midal stacks, but still bearing their long, brown
ears and their garlands of bean vines thickly strung
with young green beans, and with the velvety, ver
milion-spotted older ones. Farther on the feet rus
tled among dry pea* planted among the corn; and
then entered upon a wide patch ofthe delicate lady
peas, beloved by the feathered gentlemen who are
fond of asking of “Bob White” if they are “ripe.” A
bevy of those whirr up as we approach and scud
away to the oak-covered hill. More pumpkins and
striped, crook-necked ‘cashaws’ in the next patch,
and then we climb the fence and are waist-deep in
a cotton field, bronze-green like a sea at sunset, and
streaked as with foam, where the staple is hanging
from the bursting bolls, “as if somebody was milking
them,” says our small companion.
Then we pass by the woods pasture where the trim
Jersey lies ruminating under a poplar tree, and
sheep and hogs are making a meal upon the mel
ons that have been tossed to them. Then comes
the vine-matted, purple-flowered potato beds,
where I am shown a lien-nest brimmed with eggs;
and round by the lot where the new colt is caper
ing under the quietly admiring eye of his mother*
Then sitting down to rest under the oak trees in
the hack yard, I look on while the chickens and
dneks are led from twe vegetable abundance left
over from dinner, and wonder, meantime,, at the
productive capabilities; of a little farm, and at the
short-sightedness of people who will invest their
capital in some uncertain city business, toil amid
dust aud noise and live in rented lodgings when
they might win comfort, health, and modest com
petence on some little farm, whose vieid would he
honest and unstained, and; whose Rvalue would be
enhanced year after year by accessions of stock and
poultry, of fruit trees and vine.
It is pleasant to have a vague opinion confirmed,
I always had an idea that Becky Sharpe was Thack
eray's favorite cliaracter-that the creator of this
shrewd,bright, verastile, tricksy spirit, liked lierin
spite of her wickedness and pitied her inevitable
downfall, though as behooves a literary puppet-
mover—who should be impersonal as Fate—he
metes out her punishment without any pitiful com
ment. But his secret liking for her shows itself in
voluntarily—at least I always thought I detected
an “amused sympathy.” And now the notion is
confirmed by the admission ofThackery as given
in a pleasant gossipy paper published in the Apple-
ton’s Journal. It is from the pen of that gallant
soldier and clever writer, JohnEsten Cooke, and
is called an “Hour with Thackery.” The hour al
luded to was passed with the English novelist du
ring his visit to America in 1855. Mr. Cooke called
upon him in 1 he private parlor of a hotel at, Rich
mond, and while the two smoked tlie cheerful weed,
they held a rambling, informal talk, in the course
of which, Thackeray said: “Becky Sharpe made my
fortune. I married early and wrote for bread; and
‘Vanity Fair’ was my first successful work. I Rue
Becky iu that book. Sometimes I think I have
some of her tastes. I like what are called Bohe
mians, and fellows of that sort. 1 have seen all sorts
of society—dukes and duchesses, lords and ladies
authors and actors, and painters—and, taken alto
gether, I think I like tiie painters best, and ‘Bohe
mians’ generally. They are more neutral and un
conventional; they wear their hair on their shoul
ders if they wish, and dress picturesquely and
carelessly. You see how I made Reeky prefer them
and that sort of life, to all the fine society she moved
iu. Perhaps you remember where she comes down
in the world toward the end of the book, and asso
ciates with people of all sorts, Bohemians and the
rest, in their garrets,”
“I remember very well,”
“I like that part of the book. I think that part is
well done.”
Hiawaiian Flower Girls.
The Hawaiians are passionately fond of flowers.
Bevies of happy, rollicking, native girls climb the
sides of the mountains or explore the picturesque
gorges in search of the choicest specimens and
having gathered enough to supply the market for
the day, they dash down to Honolulu, riding horse
back, man fashion, at a terrific gait. They are
sure to bedeck themselves first with ‘leis’ or
wreaths of flowers, which encircle their foreheads
and hang suspended from their necks like so many
necklaces glittering in the sunlight. Suspended
from the neck, also, and flowing down their backs
are great streamers of ‘maile’ wreaths, plucked
from a deliciously fragrant and perpetually green
exotic, without the aid of which no Hawaiian belle
is robed in the height of fashion. Arrived in Hon
olulu, the flower girls select some shaded nook or
corner along the public streets, and sitting by the
half-dozen or more, dexterously assort the various
Hovers and string them together until the lei is
completed. As soon as the girls get fairly at work
they make the leis with surprising rapidity, and
spread them out fantastically so as to attract the
greatest attention and invite the Hawaiian public
to patronize them by its most Platonic forms, and
their love chants are usually successful in drawing
custom. At the time that the famous Count Roch
efort went through the Hawaiian capital, he was
while walking along, literally covered with wreaths
by a charming native beauty.
Operas at reduced prices have proved successful
in London.