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ASK MOTHER.
Where i* the * we* test pet,
The brightest birdie yet ?
Whore are the prettiest eye*.
Moot loving and most wise t
What form of fairest mould
I* worth it* weight in gold ?
You can't imagine ? Well,
Aak mother—she can tell!
Where is the enniiieet gleam
That make* her life a dream ?
Whoee are the rosy toe*,
And Mewed little none.
And dimpled hand* and feet,
The model* all complete.
Which nature can’t excel ?
Ahk mother—»he can tell!
Who is the grandest King,
Or Queen, or anything
That may be great or high ?
Who wandered from the *ky
The best of girl* or hoy*,
To be her joy of Joy* f
Yonr gne»»—the Baby ? Well,
Ask mother—she can tell!
ARE THERE EPIDEMICS OP
CRIME ?
There are many persons who believe
as firmly in an epidemic in crime as in
disease, and they are not without reason
in their belief. The Boston Globe main
tains that there is something very start
ling in the certainty with which a mania
for the perpetration of great crimes
spreads through the country after an im
petus has been 'given. The Globe ad
mits that it cannot be accounted for on
any known theory, yet it is as persistent as
fate. No sooner has some dreadful
murder been committed with any inge
nuity of cruelty, than up start a number
of others of a similar nature, with al
most every detail a counterpart. The
theory advanced of a morbid desire
for notoriety is utterly unworthy of con
sideration. It is epidemic, insists the
Globe. The murder of Alice Bowlesby,
in New York a few months ago, and the
packing her body in a trunk by her
assassin, had hardly been flashed over
the wires, when n number of murders
and concealments of exactly the same
nature occurred, and every day brings
some new accession to tlie horrible list.
When Mrs. Wharton was accused of a
TWtrifin imdjhn of r v "*Wfing 1 tfi ft
papers were laden with oooounts of other
women who started up to poison
husbands and friends with frightful fre
quency. A woman poisoned herself in
New York with Paris green; and cases
of poisoning by the same mineral ap
peared in various section of the country.
A school boy kicks another to death
in Brooklyn, aud iu a week at
least six cases of sohool boy murder take
place in widely different parts of the
country. The latest evidence of epi
demic in crime appears to take the shape
of murders and suicide resulting from
religious insanity, and so many of these
have occurred simultaneously, as it were,
aud in differeut parts of the country,
that the matter seems worthy of atten
tion. Ohio has recently furnished two
cases of this character, and Maine and
New York each, one. In all these in
stances, where five murders and two
suicides were committed, the victims
have fallen at the hands of their nearest
blood relatives, except in those eases
where suicide was accomplished. The
peculiarity of these occurrences lies not
so much in the fact that individuals
were found ready to take their own
lives, or those nearest to them, in pur
suance of a crazy fanticism, but that
entire families have been possessed of a
singular madness, which has operated
upon all alike, and that, with a strange
unanimity, the sacrifices and the sacri
ficed have resolved upon the propriety
of expatiating some fancied sin, or making
some fancied atonement for the welfare
of the world, by the killing of one or
more ol their number. The facts here
stated are undeniable. How are they to
be accounted for ? The New York Tri
bune attempts to account for the conta
gion of crime which occasionally sweeps
over the country. That paper says :
Within the last two weeks an epidemic
of suicide among children has passed
over the country. One child steals a
small sum from Ids step-father,and in an
agony of shame kills lnmself rather than
meet the eye of his mother. Another
boy who had committed a like fault in
the shop where he was employed, puts a
pistol to his head and blows his brains
out, after writing a childish, pathetic
letter, in which he bids everybody good
bye, and tells his father lie “is not
going to make trouble in the house any
BANNER OF THE SOUTH AND PLANTERS’JOURNAL.
more.” These are but a few of many
instances where some assignable cause
could be given ; but the last is that of a
boy who, without any reason, a eheerfq),
merry little fellow, in a happy home,
puts an end to his life; very probably
because he had heard others did it.
There is, as all physiologists know, a
contagion of crime ; governed by rules
and referable to them, as any contagious
physical disorder. Huicidal manias have,
at different times, passed over certain
towns and districts until the aid of the
law was needed to arrest them. The
women of Lyons, during a certain pe
riod, drowned themselves in such num
liers that the Government interfered,
and, by tlie public exposure of the
bodies, put a summary stop to the prac
tice. In Versailles, this mania, without
any cause other than that of the conta
gion of example, reached such Light
that the number of suicides during one
year was 1,300. Other epidemics of
crime, such as incendiarism, poisoning,
the tarantula fever, which, in tlie six
teenth century drove thousands of the
Neapolitans dancing into the sea, have all
raged principally among children, hyste
rical girls and excitable boys. The causes
of such mental diseases are not hard to
find. The unhealthy condition of pub
lic thought, from religious or political
action, the morbid state of mind pro
duced by lack of any education, or over
forcing, and, more than all, the perpet
ual suggestion of any certain crime, by
the press, to brains already diseased—
every one of these causes operates in the
case of our children. They are bom, to
begin with, of a nervous race, half of
whom are debilitated by overwork, or
the use of tobacco or liquor. The cli
mate is exhausting, as no other ; the or
dinary pace of life that of a race-course.
Tlie child of a middle-class family (and
it is iu the middle class family these ab
normal conditions have occurred) knows
nothing of the seclusion of the nursery;
the frequent holidays,in which he thinks
all the world joins; the blessed igno
rances that make the English and Ger
man child's life an Eden, where his soul
and body may grow strong and healthy
together. The American boy eats his
share of his father's knowledge from the
time he can sit at the table. Tammany
rings, murders, social evils, are no mys
teries t« him ; they fill his ears at every
meal, and his eves whenever he looks
into a paper. There is usually no at
tempt to hide from him any depth
w JSfe oft m
litmily -aebts, struggles, disagreements
—are laid upon his little shoulders with
cruel carelessness, at an age when he
should not know there was such a
thing as trouble in the world. Ameri
can homes are sad and mirthless be
yond any others. The American child
is bom, in nine cases out of ten, to an
inheritance of utterly causeless gloom ;
his hard-working father and headaching
mother are so occupied in striving for
money or position for him that they
forget the careless sunny happiness
which is his birthright, and which their
selfish troubles have no right to cloud.
His own brain, especially if it be a boy
of any promise, is forced and over
wrought ; he is taught to read as soon
as he is weaned ; parents, teachers,
public opinion, spur and goad him
thenceforth without ceasing ; if he is to
go into trade his chance for education
usually stops at fifteen ; at twenty, if lie
is to enter the profession ; into these
years lie must crowd a smattering of all
sciences, knowledges, and arts.
•Nothingbut asoundbody amlthetonic
of a perpetually happy, mirthful home
life could support him through this, and
produoe a rational, strong, hopeful man
to take his part in the world, at the end.
When so many of our children have
neither, there is little reason for won
der that they are willing, for the slight
est cause, to turn aside and shirk the
road, which from the beginning has
been made too hard for them.
How to be an Editor.—A good editor
must combine the loquacity of a magi
cian with the impudence of tlie devil.
He must know how to time a horse race,
teach a Sunday School, preach a charity
sermon, run a saw mill, keep a hotel, and
brew whisky. He must be insensible to
t'.ie cruelist snubs, and manifest no sense
of anger when kicked down stairs. He
must throw modesty to the dogs, and
let the tigers howl. But, above all things
else, he must lie an adept at puffing.
He must be enthusiastic on the subject
of hams, verbose iu extolling hardware,
and highly imaginative in the matter of
dry goods. He must talk learnedly of
programmes, with a liberal mixture of
glowing words. He must be heavy on
a concert, with a capacity to appreciate
Miss Squeak’s execution of difficult
feats in tlie upper strata, and ecstatic
and eloquent iu behalf of every one
connected with it. —Aurora Borealis.
A toothpick factory at Canton, Me.,
employs more hands than all the other
manufacturing establishments in the
town. It has already consumed 100
cords of poplar wood'this season. The
machine turns out 5,000 toothpicks a !
minute.
South Carolina Medical Association.
DISCUSSION ON MENINGITIS.
Among the various topics of interest
at the recent session of the Sonth Caro
lina Medical Association in Columbia,
was a protracted discussion on the sub
ject of meningitis, in which many mem
bers took an active part. It appeared
that no specific treatment was claimed
to have been discovered by any one.
Dr. A. P. Wylie said that he had seen
the disease occasionally for thirty years,
associated with epidemic influenza, ton
silitis, particularly with diseases attended
with diptheritic deposit. He stated that
he had seen cases recover treated active
ly on general principles before tetanic
rigidity appeared to any extent; but
thought that probably when that became
marked, some lesion about the base of
the brain had taken place, which pre
cluded the possibility of entire recovery.
He furthermore expressed it as his
opinion that there might be some con
nection between this disease and dyp
tlieria, os he had seen the two diseases,
clearly marked, existing together.
Among many coses of interest de
scribed by the different members during
the discussion on the second day, l)r.
Wylie detailed some cases of Eclampsia,
puerperal and others (which had been
considered hopeless by the attending
physicians), also of congestive chills,
treated ana cured by tremendous doses
of quinine hypodermically injected in
the axillary region. He also gave the
details of some aggravated cases of tio
doloreux and threatened abortion treat
ed and cured by large doses of morphine
and atropia hypodermically administer
ed.
Immediately after the detail of these
cases by Dr. Wylie, Professor Talley
moved that Dr. Wylie be requested to
give a written statement of his experi
ence in the use of hypodermic remedies,
for the benefit of the profession.
Dr. J. T. Darby, Professor in the
South Carolina University, in seconding
the motion of Dr. Talley, stated that,
from various conversations with Dr.
Wylie, when in professional counsel anil
at other times, lie was satisfied that Dr.
Wylie’s experience was of the highest
value, that he had used this remedy
more extensively than any other person
with whom he was acquainted, and that
his success had been marked in some
very extraordinary cases. Dr. Darby,
therefore, moved that the subject be
and that a committee of three, with Dr.
A. P. Wylie as chairman, bo appointed
to report on the same. The committee
ppomted conaists of Drs. Wylie, Tres
vant and Dußose.
A Thrilling Tableau —A Surprise
Party Quite Surprised. —Certain young
ladies and gentlemen in a Montgomery
county town determined a few days ago
to get up a surprise party for the pur
pose of visiting the house of Mr. and
Mrs. Gilpin. Everything was arranged.
The provisions were nicely packed away
in the carriages, the musicians were en
gaged, and the party merrily drove to
Gilpin’s residence. It was agreed that
instead of ringing tlie bell the frontdoor
should be quietly opened and the party
should rush right into the parlor, in or
der to make the surprise the greater. It
was done. The company entered on tip
toe and stole quietly "along the entry
until the parlor door was reached. Then
it was opened, and the whole crowd
rushed in with a laugh. The merriment,
however, did not continue—not for any
considerable length of time, at least; for
the first thing observed by the visitors
was a tableau—Mrs. Gilpin sitting upon
the prostrate form of Mr. Gilpin, with
one hand tangled among his hair, while
with the other hand she pounded him
with the coal scuttle. Gilpin, mean
while, expressed his sentiments in
groans, intermingled with certain em
phatic and earnest adjectives and verbs,
which were, perhaps, natural, but cer
tainly improper. The party was more
°f a surprise than the company had an
ticipated; and when Mrs. Gilpin ob
served the visitors she rose and tried to
explain that she was helping Mr. Gilpin
to tack down tlie carpet—an explanation
which left no room for any theory as to
the method by which Mr. Gilpin’s nose
was induced to yield a copious stream of
gore, and permitted conjecture to run
wild as to why Mrs. Gilpin should hold
him down to the carpet by his hair, and
hit liis head every time, instead of the
tack, with the coal scuttle.
Polygamy, —The Senate Committee on
Territories have about concluded the
consideration of a bill to prevent
Polygamy in the Territory of Utah. Its
features are essentially the same as those
contained in the bill introduced by Mr.
Voorhees, and now under consideration
in the House Committee on the
Judiciary. It authorizes the courts to
proceed against the Mormons who
practice Polygamy, and makes the fact
of cohabitation and acknowledgment of
marriages sufficient for conviction. The
bill will shortly be reported to the
Senate for tlie purpose of having it
printed.
To Make a Fashionable Woman.
Take ninety-nine pounds of flesh and
bones—but chiefly bones—wash clean,
bore holes in the ears and cut off the
toes ; bend the back to conform to the
Grecian Bend, the Boston Dip, the Kan
garoo Droop, the Saratoga Slope, or the
Bullfrog Break, as the taste inclines ;
then add thiee yards of ruffles and
seventy-five yards of edging, eighteen
yards of dimity, one pair of silk or cot
ton hose with patent hip attachments,
one pair of false calves, six yards of
flannel, embroidered, one pair b&lmoral
boots with heels three inches high, four
pounds whalebone in strips, seventeen
hundred and sixty yards of steel wire,
three-quarters of a mile of tape, ten
pounds of raw cotton or two wire hem
ispheres, one wire basket to hold a
bushel, four copies of the New York
J/i raid (triple sheet), one hundred and
fifty yards of silk or other dress goods,
five hundred yards of point lace, four
teen hundred yards fringe and other
trimmingß, twelve gross buttons, one
box pearl powder, one saucer carmine,
and an old hare's foot, one bushel of
false hair frizzled and fretted a la rnani
ague, one bundle Japanese switches,
i with rats, mice, and other varmints ;
one peek of hair pins, one lace hand
kerchief nine inches square, with patent
holder. Perfume with ottar of roses, or
sprinkle with nine drops of the “ Bless
ed Baby” or “West End.” Stuff the
head with fashionable novels, ball
tickets, play bills, and wedding cards,
some scandal, a great deal of loss time,
and a very little sage ; add half grain of
common sense, three scruples of reli
gion, and a modicum of modesty. Sea
son with vanity, affection and folly.
Garnish with ear-rings, breast-pins,
chains, bracelets, feathers and flowers
to suit tlie taste. Pearls and diamonds
may be thrown in if you have them. If
not, paste and pinchbeck from the dol
lar store will do.
Whirl all around in a fashionable cir
cle and stew by gas light for six hours.
Great care should be taken that the
thing is not overdone.
If it df>es not rise sufficiently, add
more copies of the Herald.
| This dish is highly ornamental, and
will do to put at the head of your table
on grand occasions, but it is not suitable
for every day use at home, being very
expensive and indigestable. It some
times give men the heart-barn and causes
them to break, aud is certain death to
■.U ! *
If you have not the ingredients at
hand, you can buy the article ready
made in any of our large cities—if you
have money enough.
Necessary Amusements.— A certain
amount of harmless amusement is neces
«ary for people. No particular posses
sion, or condition, or course of conduct,
insures happiness. The rich pine over
what, when poor, they thought would l>e
sure to make them happy. He who, in
his days of toil, lias signed for leisure,
finds, when it has been obtained, that
the pains of vacuity are not less than
those of oppressive labor. Rigid ad
herence to particular systems are alike
found to disappoint their votaries of the
calm felicity which was expected from
them. But let ns think what sort of
world it would be if only one particular
tangible thing, or one particular condi
tion, or one particular course of con
duct, were to confer happiness. Evi
dently it would be a world of utter
sameness and languor, instead of the
world of infinite variety and incessant
activity which it really"is. It is then
evident that happiness was never de
signed to be the invariable concomitant
of any such particular things, but to be
a temptation toward an infinite variety
of pursuits, and a perpetual activity of
our faculties. How otherwise could we
have been active beings ? How other
wise could the whole of our faculties
have received employment ? It is true
that some things continue longer to
give satisfaction than others, and that
some of the highest of our sentiments
and affections never tire of exercise.
We do not, for instance, so soon weary
of bread, or sound animal food, or any
other of the staple or articles of life, as
of the luxuries which are more rarely
presented. Nor can the practice of any
lofty duty ever appear less excellent than
at first, but rather tlie contrary, “as
streams their channels deeper Wear.”
But, while the reason for these pecu
liarities of our economy are obvious, it
is equally clear that changes in diet, and
varieties of object and of employment,
are necessary, in order to maintain the
stimulus of" life. There ought to be !
much amusement, and ample facilities |
for obtaining excitements of an innocent
kind.
■
A young lady in Richmond, Va., who
is about to become a bride, has pro- 1
cured her wedding stockings from Paris.
They are made of the finest silk, flesh
colored, and each stocking bears the
name on the leg, worked iu gold-colored j
silk, and presenting a most novel, ele
gant and brilliant appearance. One
dozen pairs cost $504 in currency.—Ex
change.
Augusta, Ga., April 26,1872.
• Os all the national festivals and cher
; ished celebrations, this day should be
the foremost of all Southern solemnities,
and the most interesting and impressive
to the true Southerner. This day is
commemorated in respect of tnose fall
|en patriots who, for the defense of
their country’s rights and for the sake
j of their nation’s honor, suffered martyr
: dom in a just but sleeping cause. Yes,
beloved countrymen, they suffered and
• they died for u», and we have this day
, strewed their graves with the richest
perfumes of their native soil. True, it
was a beautiful offering—praiseworthy in
the sight of man and I know pleasing in
1 the eyes of God—yet there is a tribute
due to them not external but most ap
! preciative and Christian-like; we should
not forget that they bled for us, and we
should always wear their memory in
. our hearts, and we should never cease
I to pray for than and teach our children
,to love them and the principles for
which they fought. On this day we
should recall to mind the daring and
chivalrous deeds, the hard fought bat
i ties and the unlimited privations and
sufferings of the “Confederate soldier”
J for the pr iteetion of right against op
pression. And on this day, when our
hearts glow with patriotism,"it would be
a most religions and philanthropic offer
ing for the surviving fathers and mothers
! al 1 over onr land to assemble, at a season-
I able honr, their humble household and
interpret to their children the character
I and valor of the “Confederate soldier,”
and for all to kneel in reverence before
\ onr just God, and supplicate the throne
i of mercy in behalf of the immortal souls
!of those boys in “grey” who sacrificed
; their lives in tlie holy cause of justice.
All honor to our noble country-women
for their many manifestations of love
for our fallen brave. May God bless
j their holy work, and may Heinspirethem
with still greater love for this patriotic
practice of decorating our soldiers’
| graves. And mav He strengthen them
and always give them means to perpetu
i ate the memorials of our dead keros.
The above is an expression and prayer
of one who was debarred from the much
desired pleasure of visiting and assist
ing in to-day’s decoration. %*
— m
A Charitable World. —lt is a temp
tation to a temperate man to become a
>..t ‘-hur -qr*".... • mm
i ty, what genius isalmoft always attribu
ted to a moderately bright man who is
habitually drunk. Such a mechanic,
such a mathematician, such a poet he
would be, if he were only sober, and
■ then he is sure to be the most generous,
magnanimous, friendly soul, conscien
tiously honorable, if he were not so con
i Hcientiously drunk. I suppose it is now
| notorious that the most brilliant and
promising men have been lost to the
world in this way. It is sometimes al
most painful to think what a surplus of
talent and genius there would be in the
world if the habit of intoxication should
j suddenly cease ; and what a slim chance
there would be for the plodding people
who have always had tolerably good
habits. The fear is only mitigated by
tlie observation that the reputation of a
person for great talent sometimes ceases
with his reformation.
It is believed by some that the maid
ens who would make the best wives never
marry, but remain free, to bless the
world with their impartial sweetness and
make it generally habitable. This is
one of the mysteries of Providence, and
New England life. It seems a pity, at
first sight, that all those who become
poor wives have the matrimonial chance,
and that they are deprived of tlie repu
tation of those who would be good
wives were they not set apart for the
high and perpetual office of priestesses
of society. There was no beauty like
that which was spoiled by an accident,
no accomplishments and graces are so to
be envied as those that circumstances
rudely hindered the development of.
All of which shows what a charitable
and good tempered world it is, notwith
standing its reputation for cynicism and
detraction.— Charles Dudley Warner,
in Scribner for March.
Journalistic Amenities. —This is the
way tlie Ohio State Journal glorifies a
brother journalist: The most attractive
figure at the Nilsson opera, in Cincin
nati, we are told by visitors, is that of
Randell Smith, of the Cincinnati Ocl
's zvttc. Dressed in an irreproachable
lavender cravat and claw-hammer coat,
| his blonde hair flowing in frizzled
ringlets of ravishing workmanship, he is
a joy forever. His gloves are the envy
and despair of the young bucks of the
I Queen City. His generous hands are
hrst encased in a canvas covering from
one of Phipp’s sugar cured hams, to
corset them into shape; then this is
covered with green kid of the finest
quality, by the base-ball maker of the
lied Stockings. Coekerill says he would
be willing to die if he could achieve
such a pair of gloves, and Halstead
would give an eight-cylinder press to
have such hair.