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®l )t tUcchli) Constitutionalist
BY STOCKTON & CO.
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Down-trodden France has her “ comforters ”
in the times ot her sore distress, just as Job
had, and this is the way their comfort is ad
ministered by Punch:
“Nous Sonnies Trahis.”
♦‘We are betrayed !” Even so, by whom ?
Not by your Generals alone, or worst,
By all that should have stood twist you and
doom:
Most by yourselves, with willful blindness
curst.
Tour Emperor betrayed you, when he sowed
Battle-seed broadcast, and laid at your door
Red swathes of fields the scythe ot death had
mowed,
And husks of War’s steel flail and bloody
floor.
four Ministers betrayed you, when they said
That all was readiness to face the foe,
Though foul corruption on your strength had
fed,
i As white ants eat great boles that seem to
grow.
Your Publicists betrayed you, when they lashed
The sides of your intent, til, to reach Rhine,
Through fence of faith and policy vou crashed,
And overleaped the bounds of “ mine ” and
“ thine.”
Tour Orators betrayed you, when they passed
Before your weak eyes wbat a mirror seemed,
But was the mockery of one, which glassed
Not what you were, but what you would be
deemed.
Tour Journalists betrayed you, when they
dressed
The falsest fancies in the fairest show;
With new forged He confronting lie confest.
And calling you, that should have cried, to
crow.
Your Officers betrayed yon, Guard and Line,
Swagg’ring with cut.-ide Ehow of men of
war,
But lingering O’er the absinthe and the wine,
With talk of battles from the battle far.
Tour Rank and Fie betrayed you, who de
spised
> The thoughtful mind, the brain that grasps a
' whole:
Who eager elan, desperate dash, o’erprized,
And spurned at discipline and self-control.
Your Visitors betrayed you, when they praised
Tour tawdriness as taste, your filth as fun ;
Much that wag worst in you to virtue raised,
Still seeking what they had done well to
shun.
And You betray Yourselves, when still you
shut
Tour willful eyes, and will not see the truth,
With your own hands your stoutest sinews cut,
Despise your age »nd sacrifice your youth.
Striving and shouting, “ Vive this!” and
“ Vive that I”
While she, whose live you live, France,
bleeds to death:
And while fierce factions on her blood wax fat,
In struggle waste your strength, in shrieks
your breath:
And scatter charge of treason in blind rage.
Confounding false and bad with good and
true,
Till in despair your Generals quit the stage,
And break the sword that should your foes
undo.
I Ere for the realm ol France and her soiled flag.
Disaster can be checked, and suffering stayed,
She must learn to face truth, bate boast and
brag,
And, beaten, say, “ We’re beat," not “ We’re
betrayed.”
[From,the Milwaukee Sentinel.
The Household Angel.
Her name shines not In bannered field,
Where Right and Wrong so boldly war;
Nor rings her voice in any cause
Which men and women battle for ;
Yet in her presence, subtle, sweet,
You long to kneel and kiBS her feet.
No wondrous romance wreathes her life ;
Nor hath she led a martyr train ;
Nor beautiful nor rich is she.
But poor, and—some would call her plain:
Yet in her two dear eyes you see
A beauty shining constantly.
No silken robe enfolds her form ;
Nor dainty leisure bath her hands ;
| Her jewels are a simple ring;
A ribbon binds her hair’s smooth bands;
Yet in her garment’s simple grace
Her soul’s regality you trace.
No gift has she to shake and thrill
A thankless world with warbled songs ;
And art that wakes the ivory keys
To other hands than hers belongs;
Yet in her words of tender cheer
A richer music charms the ear.
She walks in humble ways of life
That lead ofltimes thro’ gloom and shade;
And cares and crosses, not a few,
Are on her patient shoulders laid,
Yet smiles and drinks each bitter cup,
And keeps her brave eyes lifted up.
And homely ways she wreathes with grace,
Harsh duty turns to loving rest;
And cheery hope and steadfast will
Are at her side, in work and rest;
Yet never dreams she you can spy
The angel looking from her eye 1
Hissing’s No Sin.
Borne say hissing’s a sin,
But I thinks it’s nane ava—
For kissing has woun’d in this warld
Since ever there was twa.
Ob, if it wasna lawful,
lawyers wouidna allow it;
If it wasna holy,
Ministers wadna do it.
If it wasnn modest,
Maidens wadna tak’ it;
If it wasna plenty,
Puir folk wadna get it.
Wedding Presents.—lt U stated that
Miss Terry, the young Cuban lady who
married Senor Roberts, the Bpantsn Min
ister at Washington, on Monday, la New
York, received from her American friends
we lding presents to the value of #40,000.
(since the “ Diamond Wedding” at St.
Patrick's Cathedral, In 1850, when the Cu
ban millionaire Oviedo was married by the
late Archbishop Hughes to Miss Bartlett,
no bridal has so deeply agitated the fesh>
jonable world of New York as that on
Monday.
[Fiom the New York Sun.
The Circus Rider's Life.
THE TRAINING OF GYMNASTS AND OF PER
FORMING ANIMALS—THE ENORMOUS COST
OF A CIRCUS.
To become a good circus rider it is ne
cessary that the art should be prsrticed
from childhood, in order that the performer
may acquire the requisite balance, as it is
termed, or thj trick of adapting the posi
tion of the person to the motion of the
horse. Small children catch this faculty
in an incrediby short time, and soon come
to feel almost as much at ease while stand
ing on the horse’s back as when on the
ground; while, as they grow up in constant
practice, each year as it passes gives them
more and more confidence, and an addi
tional sense of security while executing the
most difficult feats. It is nearly impossi
ble for a fnll-grown man or woman to gain
this balance; but to children reared in the
business, the movements required to main
tain their equilibrium comes as naturally
as those of walking or running. The
younger the child when he begins his les
sons, the greater is the probability of his
acquiring a perfect balance.
HOW CHILDREN ARE TRAINED.
The training of children for the circus
ring is not attended with anything like the
danger that is generally supposed,"as every
precaution is taken to guard against acci
dent. This is necessary not only from
motives of humanity, but also from self
interest; for if a child, when beginning his
practice, is unlucky enough to g» t severe
falls, he becomes cowed and cowardly, and,
being in constant dread of injury, is too
timid to willingly attempt any difficult
feats, and too much frightened to accom
plish them successfully if induced to make
the attempt. When a child is first put upon
a horse he has a belt aronnd his waist,
attached to which is a ring or loop.—
Through this ring a cord is passed, one
end of which is fastened to the pommel of
the pad, or broad saddle used by circus
riders, while the other is held by the in
structor, so that however often the pupil
may miss his footing, he is prevented from
failing to the ground. To accustom the
pupil to the movements of the horse, h i is
at first placed astride of the animal’s back
and practiced in that position until he can
hold himself firmly and easily in his seat,
without bounding or swerving from side to
side. If the pupil is a girl, she is taught
to ride with her feet hanging over the near
side of the pad. The next step is to accus
■ tom the child to the movement of getting
upon his feet while the horse is in motion,
and then returning to the first position.—
This getting on and off the feet is kept up
for a long time, until it can be accomplished
with ease and ceitalnty. Then the pnpil
is taught to balance himself in different
positions, to stand on one foot, and to
leap. When the child has acquired suffi
cient skill and confidence, the safety cord
is dispensed with, and he is instructed to
leap from his horse to the ground, great
pains being taken with this point in order
that he may be able to save himself from
injury in case of a stump on the part of the
animal he is riding, ora “miss” on his
own. After this, the course of instruction
pursued depends altogether upon the ability
of the teacher and the progress made by
the pnpil.
GYMNASTS AND ACROBATS.
Nearly all the novel features introduced
In circus performances daring the last
twenty years have been of a gymnastic
and acrobatic character. The most notice
able of these, the flyiDg trapeze, was the
invention of the famous Leotard. The
ordinary double trapeze was first given in
this country at the Hippodrome, where
the Fifth Avenue Hotel now stands; It Is
done in all the gymnasiums at the present
time. Still vaulting, or throwing a great
number of somersaults consecutively from
a spring-board, one of the attractions of
the old-time circns, is seldom witnessed
now, having given way to the more ex
citing act of soraersaultiDg over horses. It
would pay to revive It. Gymnastic per
formers are more plentiful than riders, as
they can learn the buxines! at any age so
long as they have strength and activity,
as has already been stated, equestrians
must begin their practice in childhood.
Some of the finest gymnasts in the country
entered upon their physical education after
arriving at man’s estate.
CONCERNING CLOWNS.
In old times, the clown was always a
fine performer, often the best in the com
pany. The ludicrous gravity with which
he would bangle at and burlesque the feats
of the other then suddenly
pitch in an.l outdo them all, never failed to
make him the first favorite with the spec
tators. But we seldom see one of his
stamp nowadays. He has given way to the
talking clown, who is generally the most
dreary personage imaginable. Yet there
are a few of these who can make consider
able fun ; a few who can tell original jokes
occasionally, and a very few who can
speak the English language correctly.—
There is one variety of the tribe, how
ever, that is altogether intolerable, and
not to be endured—the preaching clown,
an individual who gets off stupid, smutty
jokes, and lectures his audience upon their
moral duties. This species is not so plenti
ful now as a few years ago.
now craccrs performers are paid.
Circus riders can well afford to stand a
good many hard knocks during their ap
prenticeship, in consideration of the high
salaries they receive after they have learned
their business and come of age. First
class riders get all the way from $75 to
$350 per week for their services, with their
expenses while traveling; but it must be a
aider of extraordinary merit who can com
mand over SIOO per week, while almost
anybody who can keep on hiS feet three
times around the ring can get from S2O to
S3O. Pretty good riders get from SBO to
S6O per week, with traveling expenses.
Female riders receive from S3O to $l5O per
week, according to their ability and their
ihrewdueaa in making an engagement. A
good rider who lias throe or four smart
children or apprentices can command a
very largo salary. Mon who throw somer
saults over horses are called Jeapers, and
sometimes get $75 per week for that act
alone, doing no other j>erformance. Gym
im»U usually go In couples, and receive
from #3O to #l9B per week fbr the two.
Contortionists get from #9O to #BO per
week for kinking themselves. Clowns
usually command from #9O to #IOO per
week, according to ability and imputation
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 14. 1870.
A clown who is well known and popular
through the country, is worth more than
an equally good one who is unknown, as
his name on the bills is an attraction, the
clown being the most important personage
in the show, in the eyes of rural amnsement
seekers. One noted clown has received a
salary of SI,OOO per week for a season of
seven months; but this included the servi
ces of some apprentices, the use of various
horses and animals, and the use of his name
as the ostensible proprietor of the circus
with which he traveled.
THE HABITS OF CIRCUS PEOPLE.
It is the generally received opinion that
circus people as a class are dissipated and
immoral. This is uDjnst, so far as a large
portion of the profession are concerned.
Circus people are very mnch like other
folks—there arc good, bid and indifferent
among them. Some are strict teetotallers,
others take an occasional glass, and there
are those who go beyond the bounds of
moderation in their use of strong drink ;
but, taken as a body, circus performers
will compare favorably in regard to so
ciety with almost any class of traveling
men, the itinerant clergy perhaps excepted.
One thing is certain, namely: that habitual
and excessive indulgence in intoxicating
liquors would soon unfit a circus rider or
gymnast for the pursuit of his vocation.
The female performers nearly always marry
men in the circus business, and generally
make good wives and mothers. The male
performers, if young and good looking,
have many opportunities for Intrigue, as
there are always silly women upon whom
silk fleshings and glittering spangles exert
a singular fascination; and it is not to be
supposed that the heroes of the saw dust
circle are more virtuous than the majority
of mankind.
CIRCUS nORSES.
It is seldom that a blooded horse is seen
in the circus ring. Strong legs, a broad,
flat back, a short, easy gait are the chief
requisites for a circus rider’s steed; but
color is also a consideration, piebald or
“ calico” horses being deemed the most at
tractive, and after them those which are
spotted, cream-colored, and pure white.—
For the manege, or “ high school” of equita
tion as it is generally termed in Europe,
thoroughbred horses are cosnidered the best
as they are more intelligent, more graceful
in their movements, and more stylish than
animals without a pedigree. The process
of training a circus horse to run in the
circle is very simple. The head is bronght
into the proper position by straps extend
ing from the bit to the pad, and the horse
is exercised with a long rein until he is
accustomed to the routine of galloping
aronnd the ring, which is usually about
forty-two feet in diameter. Then tbe rider
mounts him and endeavors to familiarize
the animal with the pressure in all sorts of
positions; leaps in the air, coming down
heavily, so as to accustom the horse to the
shock, that he may not skirt from under
the rider when the latter alights upon the
pad. The horse is then run under “objects,”
sucli as paper hoops, strips of muslin, and
the like, until he becomes entirely indif
ferent to them, and other simple means are
used to render him steady, trustworthy,
and uniform in his gait—the latter a point
of great importance, as it is impossible for
a performer to ride a good act unless his
horse runs steadily and true. In training
trick horses, nearly every trainer has a
system of his own; but it may be mention
ed that Rarey’s method, of tying np one of
the forelegs of a horse, in order to handle
him the better, has been practiced in cir
cuses from time immemorial. The training
of manege or dancing horses wa* reduced to
a science by the celebrated Boucher ot
Paris, who wrote a book on the subject.
CIRCUS ADVERTISING.
Traveling circus companies are noted
for the lavish use they make of printer’s
ink. A complete set of pictorial bills used
by a single company will sometimes cover
a boarding, or bill board, 12 feet high and
150 feet long, no two bills being alike.
These are usually printed in very high
colors, and often represent •he most im
practicable feats that it is possible for a
highly imaginative artist to conceive.—
Programmes are distributed in advance of
the troupe in immense quantities, and the
advertising columns of the local press are
used extensively. Circus advertisements
are frequently very comical. Managers
are exceediggly fond of see : ng their exhibi
tions advertised in high-flown language,
and the men they employ to write up their
shows generally pile up the superlatives
without regard to expense, and drag in all
the jaw-breaking words possible, whether
they are appropriate to the subject, or, in
deed, whether they have any meaning at
all. Some very remarkable French occa
sionally finds place in circus bills; as, for
instance, the announcement that a cele
brated lady rider would “ electrify the au
dience by appearing in her unparalleled
coup d’etat on her swift-coursing bare-back
ed charger.” The public are indebted to
circus literature for the common word
“equestrienne,” which is not English, cer
tainly is not French, bnt which is simply—
circus.
CIRCUS EXPENSES.
The expenses of a first-class traveling
circns are very great, running from S6O)
to SI,OOO per day, according to circum
stances. A large company will comprise
from eighty to one hundred men, including
performers, musicians, grooms and tent
men, all of whom have to be boarded as
well as paid for their services. There are
also from eighty to one hundred horses to
be provided with hay and oats, sometimes
even more. The licenses in some States
are enormous, there being first a United
States license for each State visited, then a
State license, next a county license, and
finally a corporation license, in addition to
which, until the first of October last, the
managers were obliged to pay a Govern
ment tax of two per cent, on their gross
receipts, whether they were making money
or losing it. In some States no licenses
were required except those of the United
States and of the corporation. In other
respects the expenses of a circns vary
greatly from dsy to day, according to the
locality visited, in the rent of ground, the
cost of advertising, the rate of hotel bills,
Ac., so that no manager can tell precisely
what his dally expenditures sre until the
end of the season, when he can strike t
general average. Taking Into considera
tion the expense of wintering, the deterior
ation of the live stock, the wear and tear
of wagons and equipments, and Interest of
money Invested, there are not any first- j
class oompaoles that can really make any I
great amonnt of money on an average re
ceipt of SI,OCO per day. There are only a
few first-class establishments in the coun
try. The majority of the traveling circus
es are run at a much less expense. Bat a
small circus has to pay as much ground
rent and as heavy a license as a big one,
and it must be a very small affair than can
be run at an expenditure of less than SSOO
per day.
HOW THE BUSINESS FAYS.
The majority of those who undertake to
make a fortune by running a circus, if they
have not a heavy capital to back their en
terprise, after more or less years of toll
and anxiety close their career through the
intervention of the sheriff. One enterpris
ing manager in the West has been sold out
every Fall for the last-twelve or fourteen
Years; but, with indomitable energy, he
has appeared every Spring on the road
with anew moneyed partner and anew
show. Perhaps his perseverance will be
rewarded in the end. The circus business
is very uncerfain, as it may be affected by
contingencies which the shrewdest mana
ger cannot foresee, snch as the weather,
competition, and other influences of great
importance.
CIRCUS ROWS AND RIOTS.
Twenty years ago the papers were filled
every Summer with accounts of disturb
ances occurring at circus performances,
often attended with loss of life. It was a
common practice with country roughs to
make up a party and attack the showmen,
merely for the fun of a free fight; but of
late that species of amusement has become
unpopular, and now circuses seldom have
any difficulties of this kind while exhibit
ing in the Northern States.
WIIAT BECOMES OF CIRCUS RIDERS.
It is popularly supposed that circus
riders and gymnasts are a very short lived
people, but it is not so. The notion prob
ably originated from the fact that the per
formers whom people see are nearly alwavs
young or middle aged ; but a grey-headed
athlete doing ground and lofty tumbling
would hardly be an attractive sight, and
therefore performers generally retire from
the arena as age comes upon them, even
though they may retain a good share of
their pristine activity. There are excep
tions to this rule, however, as in the cases
of Joe Pentland, who was pitying clown
when the oldest inhabitant was learning
his a-h-abs, bot is as active now as ever,
and Mr. 8. r. Stickney, the veteran ring
master, both well known to New Yorkers.
Mr. Stick neW was for many years an enter
prising and-successful manager, and his
name was familiar to circus-goers in all
parts of the Uolon. He is now as straight,
as an arrow, does not dye his hair, and
would readier pass for 45.
A CIRCui RIDER’S CHIEF AMBITION
-la to have a Mrcus of his own. Next after
that, the longing of his heart Is for a nice,
well-stocked farm. Westchester and Put
nam counties are fall or retired showmen,
nearly all of whom are iasy in their cir
cumstances, and some of whom are wealthy.
Among these may be found gray and
grizzled farmers, who twenty-five or thirty
years ago were wont to appear before ad
miring multitudes, In all tbe glory of tights
and tinsel, as gay and dashing athletes.—
Many performers Invest their savings in
farms, as a provision for old age, long be
fore they think of retiring from the ring.
Os those who essay management, some are
successful, while more lose all they embark
in such a venture. Two of the wealthiest
circus proprietors in the world, both Ameri
cans, began life as apprentices to the busi
ness, and have worked their way np with
out the aid of backers, while there are many
performers who have accumulated a com
petence from the interests they have ac
quired in successful companies. Among
the performers who appear in this city
every Winter are men who own valuable
houses and city lots, and have fat bank ac
counts. Os coarse, there are many who are
not so fortunate ; bat these, when age In
capacitates them for the exercise of their
profess on, asnally find employment about
a show in some business capacity, or drift
into some other occupation that will afford
them a comfortable livelihood, unless they
have child-en who are able and willing to
provide for their wants.
Seventy Languages at Home.—Ou
Thanksgiving Day, when the students at
Georgetown presented SSOO for the Pope,
Archbishop Sp tiding, In reply, among other
things, said:
For the Holy Father, I thank you most
sincerely. Your speaking in four languages
makes this a sort of miniature council. In
the great council at Home there were those
who spoke seventy different languages; and
it is an illustration of the wisdom and
sagacity of the Catholic Chnrch in estab
lishing Latin as the language of the church;
for at this great council, where so many
dialects were represented, there was but
one tongue spoken, as there was bnt one
heart and one faith. I had the pleasure, if
it may be called a pleasure, in such hot
weather as we had in Home, of hearing fonr
hundred speeches in Latin, delivered in one
day; some long, most of them eloquent,
and trimmed of figures of rhetoric; for it
was required thatthey should confine them
selves strictly to statements of facts and
ecclesiastical precedents. It was hard to
make any appreciable precedents; the grave
and reverend scignors were very hard to
please, and sometimes they were a little
angered by speakers who indolged In flour
ishes of rhetoric instead of facts.
Four hundred speeches without rhetoric
in one day, and in Latin too! Our talking
counsels, after this, like Captain Scott’s
coon, must come down.
The New York Pott says: “ Brel ilartc’s
literary path leads over very and»« -erous
ground, where profanity borders ver close
ly upon wit, ami coarseness is cotcrr 'nlous
with humor. He walks adroitly upon the
verges. His imitators—who are becoming
numerous—appear to stumble across the
line at every stop. They seem only to have
learned the slang and the oaths of his voca
bulary, and we trust that tboy will soon
meet with the Inevitable fate of servile
mediocrity— the contempt of an Intelligent
public.
Mr. Jonathan Dnnalaon, one of the moat
prominent citizen* of Decatur county, diet!
>m the night of Friday, 25th alt.
Why Woman Weds.
Some close observer of our social rela
tions, having looked abont among his mar
ried female acquaintances, ventures to give
the following list, witfi an attempt to indi
cate the real reasons which inflnence too
many to marry:
MARRYING FOR A HOME.
Number one has married for a home.
She got tired of working in a factory, or
teaching school—she thought married life
on earth was but moonlight walks, buggy
rides, new bonnets, and nothing to do.
Well, she has got her home; whether or
not she is tired of the incumbrances, this
deponent saith not, 'inasmuch as this de
ponent docs not positively know.
CONSULTING FAMILY INTERESTS.
Number two married because she had
seven young sisters and a papa with a nar
row income. She consulted the interests
of her family. Perhaps she would better
have consulted her own interes s by taking
in light washing or going out by the day
to work.
SHE LIKED THE SOUND OF MRS.
Number three married because Mrs.
sounded so much better than Miss. She
was twenty-nine years and eleven months
old, and another month would have trans
formed her into a regular old maid. Think
how awful that would have been.
WANTED SOMEBODY TO PAY HER BILLS.
Number four married because she wanted \
somebody to pay her bills. Her husband |
married for precisely the same reason, so .
they are both repenting at leisure. \
NOT GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND.
Number five married because Fanny
White had a nice new husband, and she
wasn’t going to be left behind. Pity if she
couldn’t get married as well as other folks.
MARRYING FOR MONEY.
Number six married because she was
poor and wanted riches! She never count
ed on all the other things that were insepa
rable from those coveted riches.
SHE LIKES TO TRAVEL.
Number seven married because she
thought she should like to travel. But Mr.
Number Seven changed his mind after
wards, and all the traveling she has done
has been between the well and the back
kitchen door.
MARRYING FOR SPITE.
Number eight married out of spite be
cause her first love had taken to himself a
second lovel This piece of retaliation
might have done her good at the time, bnt
in-the long ran number eight found it did
not pay.
WANTED SYMPATHY.
Number nine married because she had
read notWS and “Granted sympathy.”
Sympathy is a fine thing but it cools down
at a rapid rate If the domestic kettle is not
kept boiling, and the domestic turkey is
undone. Novels and house-k :epiug don’t
run very well together in harness, to use a
sporting phra«e, and number nine’s supply
of sympathy didn’t hold out very long.
MARRYING FOR LOVE.
Number ten married because she loved
-her hnsband with all her heart and all her
soul. And she loves him still, and will
probably continue to love him, and is the
happiest wife in the world—so she says.
We have all'the right motive at last—
one which, when sanctified by a desire and
resolution to improve and elevate each
other, and to live trne and holy lives be
fore God, cannot fail to call down the
blessings of heaven. But sad is the fate of
those who marry from wrong motives—to
escape their share of life’s work, or to get
something for which they have nothing to
give In return.
Court Incident.—One of the prominent
ornaments of the bar, celebrate- 1 for bis
genial disposition, found himself about the
close of the war washed ashore, high and
dry, pecnnlarly, in the city of Richmond,
where he was forced lo hang out his shin
gle and commence practice in the Hustings
Court. One of his first clients was a youth
who h id been arrested at the instance of a
respectable negro man of family for having
“rocked” his house, and severely injured
bis daughter with a stone thrown throu'di
the window.
At the exami.-atlon, old Pompey was put
upon the stand, and proved the charge in
such undeniable tsrms that It would have
gone hard w.th our friend’s client, hud
It not been for the following cross-exurnin
atlon:
Lawyer—You say one stone came into
the room where you was sitting with your
family, and struck your daughter?
Pomp.—Yes, boss.
Lawyer—Where did it strike her ?
Pomp.—(Silent for a while) I don’t like
to tell, boss.
But 7°“ mnst t»H. 1 demand
again, Where did It strike her ?
Po™P —Hat all foolishness, boss. I tell
you it hit her. I dont like to tell where
fore dese ladles in court.
kawy? r : -B «! ,t y°« mist answer. Where
aia it hit her?
Pomp.—(Slowly.) On de bnzzum, boss.
Lawyer—Well, how severely did it In
jure her?
Pomp.—Oh, quit dis foolishness. I ain’t
gwine to tell.
Lawyer—Again I must insist upon my
question being answered. Did it injure
her. J
Pomp.-(In despair.) No.sah! It did not
Injure her, but it broke three fingers of a
gentleman wat was payin’ ’tcntlon to her.
The case was dismissed immediately for
want of jurisdiction.
Disappointed—Mr. Connelly, a Mis
sourl gentleman,” who had an engage
ment to be hanged on the 25tb, Is disposed
to be querulous. On being informed that
.. ha< i bee “ commuted, be said;
t the d—dest country on earth,
and has the poorest laws. I have been ly.
ng here in prlsou for months. My oxeci
tfon, for Which everything has been made
ready, baa been twice put off, and now I
am going to the penitentiary for life, in
stead of being hanged, as I wanted to be,"
BlllSk Trade in Wh*at— Ninety thou
*aud bushels of wheat have been offered
on Cbauge at Ulcbutcud, Va„ since tlio
first dsy of July in excess of the amount of
l**t year, and
“*°*** Uto amount offered in
1889 fojr the ssum period.
VOL. 29. NO. 60
The Skunk in Asthma. —The following
extract from a letter lately received makes
' mention of an addition to the materia tnediea:
• “ Dr. P., of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, some
! forty years ago, related to me, among other
- incidents of early frontier life on the Ohio,
' his experience of a novel remedy involun
tarily taken. The doctor had from child
hood been a martyr to asthma; it was the
rock ahead for which he was continually on
the lookout. One day—lt most now be
seventy years ago—in travelling the rounds
of a country practice, and while yet a dis
tance from any shelter, a storm of rain
bnrst suddenly upon him. He rode at fall
speed for the nearest cabin, distant some
miles, and reaching there, drenched to the
skin and gasping for breath, he dismounted
and made the best of his way to the door.
As he entered he met the inmates of the
cabin rushing pell-mell out in the rain,
holding their noses and giving expression
in every possible way to the most extreme
disgust. He was not long in discovering
the cause for their actions. The dogs had
chased a polecat under the floor, and the
whole atmosphere was loaded with its hor
rible efflnvian. It was a choice between
polecat and asthma, and Dr. P. chose the
former and remained in the house. To his
suri rise the constriction of his chest began
to disappear with the first inhalation, and
In ten minutes he was free from every trace
of the paroxysm. As soon as he could do
so he procured the musk bag of one of the
anima s, and prepared an alcoholic tinc-
ture. The scent of this never failed to
avert promptly a parox ,sm of this disease,
and ultimately the remedy, or time, or both
combined, effected a permanent cure. He
assured me also that he had success fully
used It in i ases similar to his own. Belong
ing, as it does, to the same class as musk
and castor, but infinitely more active and
efficient, if its odor be taken as a criterion
of power, it may prove a valuable antts
pasmodic. I have seen cases of hysteria
upon which, from a safe distance, I should
have been delighted to witness a trial of
its powers.”— Am. Practitioner.
We find the above in the Medical Gazette.
The Doctor’s experience, which has also
been that of others, indicates that even
that detested American animal, the sknnk,
has an important use. '1 he same medleal
action has often been obtained in asthma •
by the use of “ sknnk cabbage.” In that
very singular perennial plant, which blos
soms before it leaves out, nature seems to
have drawn from the soil and the air all
the elements which go to make np the pole
cat’s weapon of defense, and wonderfully
combined them in a vegetable form. The
juices and the stench of the “ sknnk cab
bage" (tgmploearpui fattidus) seem to be
very closely related to, if, Indeed, they are
not absolutely Identical with, the offensive
substance contained in the mask bag of the
polecat; and the fluid extract of the root
of the plant, or the dried root itself given
in a pulverized form, has long been known
for Its antl-spasmodte properties. Its effi
cacy in asthma has been shown in very
miny cases. We have seen it tested. It fe
said to be useful also in whoopiog cough
and bronchial affections. It should be
used, however, only under competent med
ical direction. —Hartford Timet.
The “ Zona Libre.”—A few days since a
dispatch from Havana was pnblished an
nounclng that the Mexican Congress bad
decided by a large majority, despite the
strong opposition of Minister Romero, to
continue and extend the zona Übre or “ free
zone. As this dispatch mystifies many
readers who In these busy times do not
think it worth while to study Mexican
lolltics, and as the matter wifi probabiv
be brought up at the ensuing session of
the Congress of the United States, a word
or two of explanation will not te out of
place. The history of the “free belt” is
simply this: Ever since the treaty with
Mexico, by which our southwestern border
became the line or the Rio Grande, that
rlv-r has been the basis of more or less
smuggling operations; but during our late
war these operations were carried on to
an unprecedented extent, and great quan
tities not only of the ordinary commercial
articles, but of arms and ammunition, were
smuggled across the Rio Grande and used
by the Confederacy. When the war was
over, those officials who had tasted the
fruits of smuggling continued to pluck
them ; and in order to assist their efforts In
this direction, the Mexican Congress de
creed that a certain strip of land on the
right bank of the Rio Grande shonld con
stitute a “free belt”—that is to say It
should be a kind of entrepot for traders and
no duties should be levied on merchandise
while remaining in that region. Their own
custom houses were established on the
edj?e of this belt. The practical effect of
tills legislation was to directly encourage
smugaiing; and so finely did it operate in
this direction that our revenue officers and
the people ot Brownsville made (treat com
plaint against the tona libre. But abont a
year ago the Mexican Congress not only
confirmed the establishment of this tno
belt, but extended It much further than be
fore—far up beyond the head of navigation
and past the Texan frontier. ”
f WathingUm Star, November a«WL
Removal of the Remains of Lady
Fenwick.—The Olden Time was commem
orated at Saybrook, Conn., on Wednesday
November 28, by the removal of the nr
mains of Lady Fenwick from the spot
where they were buried In 1648, 222 years
ago, to make room for the terminus of thq
Valley Railroad from Saybrook-to Hart
ford. The new plate is Inscribed:
Lady Alice afsley Boteler,
Wife of George Fenwick,
Died 1648.
Lady Fenwick, as she is called, was the
daughter of Sir Edward Apsley, and the
heir of her brother; who was the last of the
Apsleys of Apsley. Her first husband was
Sir John Boteler, commonly called Lord
Boteler, and from him she took her title,
which ahe kept to the time of her death.
She sailed from London near May 20th
1689, with Mr. Fenwick, whom ahe had
lately married. Whitfield was a follow
passenger. They arrived July 18th. and
the delight of the captain at the appearance
of the harbor gave the names of Fair Haven
and New Haven to the towns on the shore
Lady Boteler gave Whitfield all the cows
that were brought over, and he carried
them with him to Guilford. From the allu
sions to his wlfb which were found in Gov
•rnor Fenwick's letters, we find that here
was a character of great cheerfulness. Hite
lived hers only nine rears, m which time
throe ehlldren worn horn, the fort was
horned in 1887, and It Is said Lady Bowler
w M burned "Ul* Us iuUrsdea , ’.ZTZ.*