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OLD SERIES—VOL. VI-XO>52.
( EDARTOWN, GA., MARCH II, 1880.
NEW SERIES—VOL. II-NO. 13.
RAI1 AND SHINE.
Toe clouds are thick and darkly lower;
The sullen sodden sky would fain
Pour down a never ending shower;
I hear the pattering of the rain,
I hear it rattle on the pane.
And then I see the mist entwining
Nor one position long retain.
Behold! the gentle sun is shining!
As though exultant in its power,,
The storm beats down with steady strain;
Upon the ivy of the tower ,
I hear the pattering of the rain-,
It swiftly swept across the plain.
And then I see the sky refining
And molten with a golden stain.
Behold! the gentle sun is shining!
Beneath the storm the cattle cower.
It beats upon the growing grain.
And as it breaks both bud and flower,
l hear the pattering of the rain-
From where the clouds too long have lain
They turn, and show a silver lining,
A splendid g ory comes again.
Behold! the gentle sun is shining!
Foiling the Widow.
Here a ring at the door-beli announced she came.”
an arrival, and presently entered a dandy j Here Fred met Susie’s warning frown,
of the first water, with diamond studs, and said:
slender cane, in black whiskers, and styl- “But Valetti told me, sir, that of all the
ish costume. ; gushing, affected women who ever dragged
“Signor Valetti—Mrs. Winston,” said a man into a proposal, Mrs. Winston was
Susie, after the foreigner had greeted the ! the worst”
Armstrongs in broken English andcompli j “Valletti!” Oh, yes, the man she is go-
mentary phrase. : ing to marry. Poor ftfllow;” said Jesse.
Signor Valetti bowed, and very soon an i There was a chorus of laughing voices at
agreeable little flutter arose in the breast of I the good old man’s sympathy, and Delia
the widow Winston, as she marked the whispered under its cover:
It was a family council of deep signifi
cance and dire import.
Delia, sitting upon the arm of the sofa,
swinging one neatiy-slippered foot to and
fro, had a pucker upon her pretty blonde
fare, only matched by the frown on Susie’s
forehead, as she, with her face between
her hands, her elbows on her knees, sat
upon a hassock, gloomily staring at the emp
ty grate.
Teddy, who was never known, in the
memory of the Armstrong clan, to have
looked serious for five minutes at a time,
had a face like a mute at a funeral.
Only Frederick looked less than gloomy,
and his face was a mixture of perplexity
and surprise.
To be sure Fred was not an Armstrong,
hut only Delia’s betrothed, and he had
been away for nearly a year, starting his
fortune in the city two hundred miles from
the spot where Armstrong’s Ferry nestled
between two great hills in Pennsylvania.
“But,” he said presently, “I thought
you were all independent of any caprice of
your uncle’s.”
Susie jumped right off the hassock in her
indignation.
“Fred Lyman, you ought to be ashamed
of yourself,” site said, “as if we were
thinking of Uncle Jessie’s money.”
Most magnificent emphasis of scorn
upon the last word.
“But, began Fred, again, the perplexity
increasing in his expression, “what is it,
then ? Hasn’t the old man a right to marry
if he likes?”
“Humph,” said Teddy, “if she likes, I
suppose it is.”
Delia understood this.
“Uncle,” she said, “is the dearest, most
innocent old darling in the world, as guile
less and loving as a child, and generous as
—as—well. I really do not think of any
body as generous. And we all love him
better than anybody else in the world.”
“Present company always excepted.”
muttered Fred.
“Nobody at ail excepted.” said Delia,
emphatically. .
Fred assumed a resigned expression, and
the familiar grin returned to Ted’s classic
features.
“She,” continued Delis, “came to Arm
strong’s Ferry for the summer, a hateful,
designing, vain piece, all affectation and
simpering, and she made up her mind to
marry Uncle Jesse's money. Much she
cares for him I”
“As if we would care,” broke in Susie.
“If he was going to have a nice, loving,
sweet wife to pet and love him! But site
will spend his money, and flirt, and make
him miserable. He is miserable enough
now. ”
“Thin as a match,” said Ted
“But if he don’t want her- what made
him propose toller?” asked the practical
Fred.
“Just as if a woman like that couldn’t
make any man propose!” criedTeil.
“Has she a local habitation and a name?”
asked Fred, of the last speaker.
“Her name is Mrs. Arabella Winston,
and she is living at the hotel, ” said Ted,
“when she is not living here. We manage
to get rid of her sometimes, ”
“And you think Jesse’s money attracts
her?”
“Sure of it.”
“If a rich suitor came?”
“She would probably give uncle the cold
shoulder.”
“Delia,” said Fred, solemnly, “if you’ll
promise not to be jeaTous, I’ll cut Uncle
Jesse out.”
“Fred, you’re an angel 1” cried Susie, “I
see it all! Signor Valetti! ”
For, during a winter tbe Armstrongs had
spent in Philadelphia. Fred had figured
in private theatricals as a foreign nobleman,
and won laurels.
“Just so,” he said now. “I have all
the jewelry and finery, the whiskers and
dandy boots, etc. Now, can we all keep it
up.”
“But you’ll have to go to the hotel,’
said Delia.
“Of course; only for a few days. I’ll do
my new wooing briskly.”
“Hush 1” said Ted, “here she comes.”
“Pave the way for me, “said Fred, and
vanished through a side door.
- “Pave the way?” said Delia, dismayed.
But Susie, ..a bom actress, if ever one
lived, nodded comprehensively.
“I’ll do that I” she said, just as Mrs.
Winston, all smiles and fluttering ribbons,
sailed into the room.
She greeted the girls most gushingly,
sighed a most plaintive sigh when informed
that Jesse had gone over to the farm, and
chatted familiarly.
“I’ve been planning this room,” shesaid,
presently. “Of course, Mr. Armstrong
will have the house new furnished, and I
can really make this room quite decent,
though the whole house is old fashioned. ”
Delia had an angry retort ready, but
Susie was too quick for her.
“It will make little difference to ifs,”
she said; “Ted will soon go to the city, and
Delia expects to be married in October,
and I—I ” eyes bent down and fingers
nervously playing with her apron.
“Bless me!” cried the widow, “have
you got a beau?”
Susie winced a little, but said:
“Please don’t speak of it. It is not set
tled at all; but we met him at Aunt Mary's
when we were in the city, and—and—of
course he has not come to this quiet place
for nothing."
“Of cou n’t.” said Ted. bluntly.
“Anybody can see he is in love with one
of you girls. And he is so immensely
wealthy.
“Don’t be mercenary, Ted,” said Susie
severely.
“Of course not, but when a man owns
half an island of sugar plantations m the
West Indies, and a magnificent estate in
Spain, and a silver mine in Mexico, besides
no end of money in bank ■”
“But, Ted, we only knew that from—”
“Aunt Mary,” replied Ted, “is not a
person to be taken in by a impostor. Signor
Valetti was introduced to her by reliable
people.”
handsome foreigners’s deference to herself
and Susie’s lowering brow.
It began to grow interesting
In vain Susie exerted herself with smiling
grace to keep the Signor's attention fixed
upon herself.
Arabella’s more mature charms, her
pearl powder and frisettes, were evidently
more attractive than the fresh, sweet face
of Miss Susan Armstrong.
Mrs. Winston had come te tea, bnt when
the signor rose to take leave, Arabella re-
“You won't go to New York, Fred ?”
“Not until we go together,” he replied.
“My traps will be here this evening. ”
Mrs. Winston appeared no more at
Armstrong’s Ferry.
There was a splendid wedding in
October, where Susie was bridesmaid and
Ted best man; but Jesse remained a
bachelor, with his niece and nephew to pet
him.
Signor Valetti was often made the sub
ject of a family jest amongst the young
membered a forgotten letter to be answered,; folks, but Uncle Jesse was never told of the
and accepted his escort to the hotel. | ruse that deprived him of his sweetheart.
The trio she left kept their gravity till; ^■—™
she was out of hearing; then, in a chorus Tunis and Cartilages
of laughter, Ted cried: j -
“Sue, you are delicious! You acted a'> We left Malta with a very fair wind, and
jealous school girl to perfection. Poor old jcast anchor in the Gulf of Tunis, at a dis-
Fredi” I tance of nearly three miles from the shore.
“He seems to enjoy it,” said Delia,; The 1 unisian flag was hoisted at the main,
rather ungratefully. „ j As the Admiralty had not supplied.us with
“Oh,” said Ted, “be sure you don’t tell! the banner of such an obscure kingdom, the
uncle. He couldn’t wear a musk to save | ship’s painter managed by his_ ingenuity to
his dear oldilife, and would be sure to lie- i work out a full modn and cresent on a red
tray himself. You must keep Signor Va-: ground. On Sunday morning a party <
letti out of his way.” -j officers landed at Goleta, which is the se:
He came in very soon, the gentle, child- j port of Tunis, and proceeded in a boat
like oldman, and the three greeted him j across the shallow lake of Tunis to the city,
cordially the girls fluttering about him to! a distance of six or seven miles. We first
make him as comfortable as usual. ' visited the bazaars. They appear to be well
One quick, nervous glance lie gave j laid out aDd are well supplied with the pro-
around the room, and then, with a sigh of duce of the east, but they are not nearly so
relief, said: | extensive or interesting as those of Constan-
“Mrs. Winston has not come?” ! tinople. Silks, Tunis cloth, dates, leather
“She came and went away,” said Delia. work > re d woolen caps and Manchester
“Are you disappointed ?" goods seem to be the principal commodities.
“Well, of course, my dear—I—I am, i Jlost of the nien we saw were well clad and
but I thiuk we can be comfortable for one i well fed The women wear no skirts of
evening without her.” any kind: they have long stockings of
“Uncle,” said Susie rashly, “are you “"f hues. Some have very handsome
very fond of her?” , head dresses, in one case a gilded coronet,
“Of—of course, my dear,” he replied, i from which depended a veil of silk
hesitatingly. j material. At first sight they appear to
“As fond of her as you are of us ?” ! have lovely complexions. On a closer in-
“Oh, no, mv dear!’” he said decidedly. I ape f° f Q il . “ ot diffl ° ult ^ detect a great
“How could 'I be as fond of anybody u t ° f . ? ur p “ d a vl8 ' t t0 the
r „,,, i,- bouse of a rich Israelite. It was gloomy;
some of the floors appeared to be made of a
kind of marble, and at the entrance there
He Never Told a Lie.
There were three of them, and they
were seated around a marbletop table in a
comfortable cafe quaffing nectar of the
gods. “I suppose,” said one of the party,
“that this honest fellow who has just cut
the wires around the cork is the blesscdest
liar that ever wagged a tongue. Now,” con
tinued the speaker, “follow me,” and he
prepared to address the bottle-bearer.
“Rainey ^this is moighty fine tiling on the
•floor?"
“Say no more,” he answered. “It is
moighty fine tiling. We have it where I
cum from. The stlireets are paved wid it,
bud it’s in colors, an' it’s made beautiful
an’ hard. The horses are shoed wid cork,
an’ they can’t chip the marble. O, it’s
foine here, to be sure; bud we bate tt
where I cunt front.”
“That will do—another quart,” was all
that was said.
The cork was hard to start, but, finally,
when Rainey had started it, the report, as
it shot toward the ceiling, was loud.
“That cork traveled a loug distance,
Rainey,” said another of the party, follow
ing with his eye the rolling stopper.
“It did," he answered complacently,
“bud you should see ’em an home. Say no
more. We have ’em where I cum from;
four quart bottles; imparial goold sale.
Whin the cork flies out, it goes half a mile,
an’ you can hearthe report across the river.
It’s a pleasant glass. ”
Ventilation.
the joker.
, , ,, “Whoever heard'of anybody leading out
A gentleman while attending church one in trumps!” he exclaimed. “Why don’t
evening found that his feet were icy cold,
*o that he had to raise them off the floor.
Calling the attention of the sexton to the
fact, the latter said with some perplexity:
“Yes, we have a good many complaints of
cold feet from others; but I don’t under
stand the reason why we can’t keep the
church warm; we surely have fires
enough.”,^
So saying, he pointed to a register in the
floor directly behind the gentleman, in the
adjoining pew. Looking around, the latter
could see that there was a hot fire in the
furnace beneath, and yet no heat came up.
When a handkerchief was laid over the
register, it scarcely stirred. The visitor
asked the sexton;
“Have you any means of ventilation ?”
“No, sir.”
£ “Are ihere no windows open ?”
f “None whatever.”
“How, then, can you expect the air to
come in here if it can’t get out some
where ?”
rThere was no repouse—the man was
nonplussed. ^‘Did you ever try to blow
i iC° a bottle ?” continued the inquirer.
“No, sir.”
“Do you tWnk, if you did, that you could
force any more air into a bottle by blowing
tlian was in it before?” He couldn’t 3ay.
Never had thought of it.
I am of my dear brother Harry’s children
—my twin brother?”
‘But—if she went away, uncle, would
you be veiy sorry?”
“Of course I would, dear; but,” looking
nervously around him, as if fearing the
widow might pounce upon him from a hid
den corner; “but we were very comfortable
happy before she came.”
“Exactly,” said Ted, in Delia’s ear;
“and we will be very comfortable anil
happy after she goes. ”
The tea broke up the conversation, and
Mrs. Winston was left out of the family
chat for the evening.
The next day Delia and Susie attired
stood four large-iron-bound mone} T chests.
We also entered a synagogue during the
time of service and the Israelites seemed
quite proud to have our company and of
fered us chairs. The Israelites in Tunis
number one-fifth of the population, the total
number of inhabitants of the city being
150,000. The Bey of Tunis does notap-
pear to have much power in these days.
He has no ships and very little money and
his men are badly armed and dressed. At
the port of Tunis we saw an admiral, who,
it is stated, has never served on a “man-of-
war.” The Bey expressed a wish to pay a
themselves for a walk, and strolled along a! visit ' t0 the Temeraire but feared lie should
beautiful shady lane, that was much fre-j be He
is over seventy years of
quented in fine weather by tl.e visitors toj age . of mmsc we avai!ud our8elve9 of tbe
the hotel. . , , i opportunity of paying a visit to tne ruins of
Suddenly turning a bend in the lane they, Carthage, situate about three miles distant
came upon two persons sitting at the foot! from Go , eta . We fir8t ill8 pected the Mon-
of a tree, the one a foreign-looking gentle-! U3t er y 0 f St. Louis, which stands nearly in
man, the other a lady of some forty yearsj the centre of the site of the ancient city.
0f rS? e ’ , /Here a French monk very graciously re-
i he latter no sooner caught sight of j ceived us and showed us all that was to be
them than she rose to her feet, and moved j The chapel is very gorgeously de-
few paces away. corated. On entering we found two little
The gentleman remained seated, how-1 black acolytes dressed in red cloaks, and
ever, and in his upturned face they recog- 1 very odd and grotesque was their appear-
uized the pretended Signor Valetti. ' ance. Near the chapel are the ruins of the
“Good morning, signor,” said Delia, j temple of Esculapius, and all over the
“May we hope to see you again soon at; grounds of the monastery there are gieat
our house?” | numbers of Carthagenian relics, which have
“Unless other engagements wjll prevent | been dug up from time to time, such as
us the pleasure of your company,” added; large stones with inscriptions (some very
Susie. ; ancient) heads of statues, fragments of pil-
The gentleman, with something like a J lars, &c. One could scarcely picture a
smile, promised to call soon, and the girls,; more complete ruin of a city. There are
bowing to the annoyed looking widow', j still to be seen the two ports which were so
passed on along the lane, careful not to j famous in the time of the second Punic
show their amused faces to Mrs. Winston! war, and as you walk over the fields you
again. ; may turn up many fragments of Mosaic
Just two weeks later, gentle Jesse, sitting pavements, marble capitals and lamps.
in his favorite arm-chair in the sitting-room, —»
Delia on a low stool at his knee, knitting,. origin of Billiards.
Susie arranging a basket of ferns near by,
Ted mending a fishing line, to complete the I ' Billiards are played so much in this coun
group, thus expressed himself: • try that the game is not unfrequently men-
“ “My dears, have you noticed any-auy tio " cd aa American, although its origin is
change in Arabella ?” i either French or Italian—it is uncertain
Ted whistled softly one bar of « The which. The game, however was imported
Girl I Left Behind Me,” Delia knitted in| lnt 2,Bntain from trance, and was known
silence, but Susie answered: ! ° Englishmen by name as early as the s.x-
“She is a horred flirt. The way she ‘ een , tb century, since Shakespeare speaks of
carried on with that foreign dandy is it-he seems to have been little less than
scandalous'” i omniscient—m several of Ins dramas. He
even portrays Cleopatra as amusing herself
with billiards, but this is unquestionably
one of the palpable anachronisms to w T hich
‘She
“Gently, dear, gently,” said Jesse,
is young ”
“Forty, if she is a day!” muttered Ted. . . , ,
“And be is handsome and accom-! he : a Pt' eans t0 kave been indifferent, and
plished,” continued Uncle Jesse,
very attentive to her. ”
and! w * llc * 1 A® scattered throughout his plays.
The game itself was in all likelihood mediae
val, but as played nowaday s is compara
tively modern. For two centuries it was
played with only two (white) balls, and
when the third (red) ball was imported into
Britain, the red winning hazard, or holing
of the red ball was well nigh the sole object
of the players The billiard table of the
present is as different as it well can be from
the billiard table of two* hundred years ago,
as persons know who have noticed their
evolution as represented by the tables of
divers eras. The greatest biliiardists are
j the Russians, Spaniards, French and Aineru
..... . . * . ... « 4l I cans, who now play far more than any-
“bhe is coming, said Ted, presently,; other natiou The ^ , nty of the game
“but without her shadow, tbe signor. > bag : ncreased CTeatlv r( . Whhin the last
“They ride out together every afternoon,
and she has only been here twice in two
weeks,” said Susie. “I am sure she almost
lived here before he came.”
» “Yes, dear, and perhaps, as he is so at
tentive, she may change her mind about
me. Do you think she will ?’’
“I hope so, for I hate her!” said Susie.
“I disliked her # when I thought she was to
be our aunt. I hate her now she has shown
her treacherous spirit so plainly.”
“My dear, said Jesse, “do not be un
charitable.
She fluttered in presently, and after some
confused apologies, asked plainly for a pri
vate interview with Jesse.
It. was not a long one, for he called them
in again soon, and gravely, but with an ex
pression of unmistakable relief, informed
them of the rupture of his recent engage
ment.
“I did not know my own heart,” sim
pered the widow,
esteem for love!”
has increased greatly here within the last
twenty years. It is said that there are now
six times as many tables in the country as
there were at the beginning of the civil war.
Europeans suppose that all Americans play
billiards, irrespective of sex, age or position.
The Catalpa Tree.
The catalpa lignomoides is a tree mdige-
“I mistook respect and! nous at the south, and is a fine spreading
tree, cultivated at the north in sheltered or
“Oh !” said Ted, “you have learned the! protected situations, as an ornamental tree,
difference ?” | Under favorable circumstances, it grows to
“Yes, I have,” was the blushing answer, i the height of fifty feet, with a circumfer-
“My heart has found its master.” \ ence of six feet at the surface of the ground.
Oh!” said Susie, hysterically, “you Its leaves are large, smooth, and resemble
don’t mean Signor Valetti?”
“Signo Valetti started for New York
this morning to prepare his house for liis
bride,” said the widow.
Susie sobbed audibly.
“And I leave by the evening train,” con
tinued Mrs. Winston, “to meet him at my
oOusin’s next week.”
“Oh, the wretch!” gasped Susie.
“I am sorry for your disappointment,
Susan,” said Mrs. Winston, blandly, “but
the heart will not be controlled. Kindred
spirits will find happiness together.”
There was au effusive farewell, and she
was gone.
“Oh, uncle!” said Susie, danciug around
his chair, “welcome back to liberty!”
And Jesse smiled as he had not smiled
all the summer.
“I can’t think how I ever came to ask
her to marry me 1” he said, plaintively.
“But I can,” said a hearty voice in the
doorway.
And Fred was greeted and dragged into
the room.
“You?” said Jesse; “why, you have
never seen her. You were always out when
in form those of the lilac. It produces a
profusion of flowers of a campanulate
shape, nearly white, delicately spotted with
yellow and violet. These are succeeded by
pods or capsules, sometimes « foot in length,
holding the winged seeds until ready for
distribution. Catalpa is the Indian name
—also, the name by which the tree is popu
larly known. It deserves a prominent
place among the ornamental trees of parks
and gardens. The ailanthus tree is a na
tive of China and Japan, large with rich
and luxuriant foliage—trunk straight, with
smooth bark. The leaves are from three
to five inches in length, witli as many as
twenty or more pairs of leaflets. It is of
very rapid growth, and has become common.
It is rarely, if ever, attacked by insects. It
produces numerous greenish flowers, exha
ling a disagreeable odor, as any one will
observe in passing the tree. The wood is
hard, compact and glossy, being susceptible
of a hard polish. It attains the height of
fifty feet and more, and is easy of propa
gation, either from cuttings or seeds. It is
extensively cultivated in England, and
“Well,” continued the gentleman, “you
It was suggested that oysters and cham- 1 would soon find, if you tried that it tras ^ ^ t>OCTL ,u
ague went well together, and that the | impossible, and neither can you force air L-a^ ll trumps.
time and place for oysters were favorable.
“Eh! Rainey?’’
“O, yes; oysthers are good an’ large
now, ” he answered, “bud we have um at
home, where I cum from, an’ they average
three to a barrel. Say no more. ”
This was “worse and more of it,” but
he never smiled—neither did he move
a muscle of his face nor wink an eye as he
told the Story. At this point he took the
check to the counter and paid the bill. On
his return, and while the party was still
shaking with laughter at the fellow’s exag
gerations, he was asked:
“Couldn’t you manage to get four of
those oystersinto a barrel, Rainey?”
“Well, it would be very hard to get four
o’ the Bandon oysthers into a barrel wid-
out stretchin’ the hoops.” he said; “for that
raison we seldom barrel ’em, bud we lays
them in the wagons. They’re very good.”
This seemed to be the extreme limit of
exaggeration, but the man was equal to
every emergency.
“How are the lobsters, Rainey?”
“Where I cum from?” he asked. “Say
no more. We don’t get lobsters here. Whin
I came heie first an’ heard them cry “Lob
sters!” an’ saw' the little red things in the
wheelbarrers an’ handcarts, I though they
wor shrimps. Lobsters! At home they
grow big as seals, an’ all one has to do is to
go out in a boat, drive them ashore as you
would a flock of sheep, an’ up to the hot
water springs. O, bud they’re beauties.
They go in on one side of the spring as
green as grass, an’ cum out on the other
side wid a coat as red as an English sol
dier’s. They are just no trouble at ail.”
“Rainey,” said one of the gentlemen,
“bring us another bottle, and take the cake.
You are the biggest of all liars I ever met.”
Looking over the company-with a sad,
sorrowful face, and turning half around
preparatory to filling the order, he answer
ed: “That’s purty hard, sir. Say no more.
I never told a lie in my life.”
you lead out with an ace?”
“O, I can play this hand.”
“You can, eh? . Well, I’ll make it the
sickest play you ever saw! Ha! took all the
tricks, eh? Well, I thought I’d encourage
you a little. Give me the cards—it’s my
deal.”
“You dealt before.”
“No, I didn’t?”
“Why, yes you did! We have only play
ed one hand. ”
“Well, go ahead and deal all the time if
you want to! I’ll make two off your deal
anyhow'. What’s trump?”
She turtied up a club. He held only the
nine-spot, but he scratched his head, puck
ered his mouth and seemed to want to
order it up. The hluff didn’t woik. She
took it up and he led an ace of hearts.
“No hearts, eh!” he shouted as she trum
ped it. “Refusing suit is a regular loafer’s
trick! I’ll keep an eye on you! Yes, take
it—and tfiat-and-that-and all of ’em! It’s
mighty queer where you got all those
trumps! Stocked the cards on- me, did
you!”
“Now, dear, I played as fair as could be
and made two, and if I make one on your
deal I’ll skunk you.
“I’d like to see you make one on my
deal!” he puffed. “I’ve been fooling alofig
to encourage you, but now I’m going to
beat you out of sight. Diamonds are trumps. **
She passed and he took it up on two
He took the first trick, she
into this church through a register if you ■ next tw0 he the and wten he
don t open a window or some other orifice I ■ out his Iagt trump she had the jokcr
bunked! skunked!” she exclaimed, as
“But,” the sexton demurred, “opening
a window would let in the cold air, wouldn’t
it?”
“You just try it,” was the response.
“Raise some of the windows of the leeward
side of the church, and see w'hat will hap
pen.”
It was done, and instantly the handker
chief lying on the register rose half-way to
the ceiling with the force of the ascending
current. The sexton stood and stared in
astonishment.
I*re got the Corkscrew."
NEWS IN BRIEF.
Siamese Floating Houses.
apped her hands in glee.
* :>u didn’t follow suit’ ”
‘‘Oh, yes I did.”
“I know better!” You refused spades!”
“But I hadn't any.”
“You hadn’t eh? Why didn’t you have
any? I never saw a hand yet without at
least one .'pade in it!”
“Why, husband, I knqw how to play
cards.”
“And don’t I? Wasn’t I playing euchre
when you were learning to walk? I say you
stocked the cards on me!”
A traveler iu Siam describes the Homing . “^°> 1 di , dn,t a P°° r i' m '
houses thus: We hugged the shore closely, do f. 1 Kn ” w * low to'lead,
and passed within a few yards of scores of ! , * " ma ^ e a I 00 ’•
floating houses, whose owners looked at us j al,d raa >’ b ? 1 don t kn ° w anything, and so
with the calm nonchalance of the Orient, j you can play alone and have all trumps
Perhaps you may not understand a floating | ev ?f y tim ®* . . . .. , ,.
house; it is built on a raft of bamboo poles, : He pushed hack, grabbed his paper,
and securely moored to strong posts in the ! whe f led , .around to the gas, and it was
mud, or on'the bank. It is a perfect house, ; naarl - v d,lrl - v f-'i hours l,efore be s “ ded
rooms, roof, and all, and the floor is about ! a ? aIn - Nevertheless, no one else ever had a
twelve inches above the yvater. There are ! ,,la P’' te uve: ( flnbs -
thousands of these houses in Bangkok, and
they are not to he despised, as they have a
You may have been on a street car when
a man or woman accidently dropped a piece
of money in the straw on the floor. If so,
you felt an overpowering desire to help re
cover it. So did every other passenger.
One day not long sinoe a woman on a
Woodward avenue, Detroit, car dropped
something while paying her fare. Shesaid
it was a dime, while a small boy thought it
looked like a cent, and two other passengers
asserted that it was a quar-er. The woman
had-plenty of help to search for it, and the
force was suddenly increased by a man who
left his seafin the rear of the car, came for
ward and got down on hands and knees and
said:
■ I always have good luck in finding lost
tilings. Are you sure it was money ?” -
•‘Oh, yes,” replied the woman.
The man poked around in the straw and
suddenly held up a big jack-knife with a
broken blade and asked:
“Couldn’t have been tins, could it ? Or
did you drop this afterwards ?”
“1 never had that—never saw it liefore!”
she tartly answered as her face grew red.
‘Didn’t, eii? Weil, bub, you can have
We’ii look a little further and see what
we can see. Here are two pants buttons,
hut I don’t suppose you dropped them, and
I’ll put them into my pocket.”
“Never mind looking any more—I don’t
care for the loss!” she remarked as her
position grew unc mfortable.
Oh, it’s no trouble for iflfe. and it be
longs to you, whatever it is. It always
vexes me to Ifa! may be ’twas
this!”
He held up a corkscrew, with the end
bored deep into a cork, and the woman
fairly rose up as she said:
“I never had that—never saw it before
never!”
“Didn't, eh? Welly I’ll pocket it, for
such things come awful handy around the
house. I’ll look a little further. ”
—The city debt of Baltimore is $35.-
023 70S.
—Napa Valiev, Cal., produced 1,700,-
000 gallons of wine last fall.
—The first coffee house was opened
in England in the year 1692.
—Algeria sends back iron in ex
change for American petroleum.
—Pansies, violets and snow drops
were blooming on Jan. 24th, in Pi.
—The total home c'ip of wool last
year amounted to 232,500,000 pounds.
—The railway up the cone of Vesu
vius is to be opened tor travel in Feb
ruary.
—The Missouri State University at
Columbia has now 438 students,"aMd is
very prosperous.
—-The school of Industrial Art iu
Philadelphia received $10,013 in 1879
and expended $18,504.
—Germany has a standing army of
410,000 and wants 20.000 more at an ad
ditional cost of $11,000,000.
—The seals in San Francisco Bay are
fast killing off the fishes, and tlieir ex
tinction is loudly demanded.
—The fir-tree flourishes in California.
It starts easily from catlings, and com
mences to bear the second year.
—There were 1,013 new novels pub
lished in England last year, and it
wasn’t a good year for novels either.
—Mr. Fairchild, who is transferred
from the Consul Generalship of’ Paris
to the Spanish mission, has only one
arm. . -rr '
—The revival in the slate fradd at
Northampton county, Pa., is very ac
tive, orders being far ahead Iiralr the
quarries.
Life in Guiana.
Holly.
Holly is a name which is often, but
wrongly, considered a corruption of the
word “holy.” The holly tree is called
“Christ’s thorn” in Germany and Scandinar
via, from its putting forth its berries at the
supposed period of the year when Christ
was born, and from its time-honored use in
decorating Christian churches. This tree,
according to a certain legend, was that in
which the Almighty revealed himself to
Moses in a flame of fire, by which it was
not consumed. Likewise, it was supposed
to have formed the wood of the cross on
which our Lord was crucified; hence it was
known as the Lignum Santo Cruets.
Many have been the traditions and super-
never-failing supply of water, are excellent
ly drained, and very easy of access. One
of their drawbacks is the facility with which
the numerous water-snakes of the Meinam
| gain an entrance; the Siamese never have
snakes in their boots, for the reason that
they don’t wear any, but they frequently
find them in their 6eds, or about their
apartments. The floating houses had their
origin at a time when the land # bordering
the river was very unhealthy, and the king
gave the order to build upon the river itself,
and not along its banks. The hollow' joints
tbe bam!>oo specially adapt it to the
construction of rafts, and it is said that this | pass our house on the way to the river,
tree first gave the Chinese the idea^f build- j Slowly, in single file, they marched past,
ing boats in compartments. the tallest leading, and the sizes diminish-
— j ing until the last was not the height of his
Masonic Emblems. ; bow. They never smiled and they im-
pressed one with the idea that they were
It is reported that a number of Masonic J little old men starting on some dangerous
emblems have been found beneath the obe- j expedition. Once we followed them, and
lisk known as Cleopatra s Needle. The ; directly the small troop was out of sight of
emblems are: A masons square of red sye-1 tbe houses, its members changed imme-
nite granite, 8 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. 3 in., and 25 diately into children. They shouted and
We reached the village of Men^paruti
late at night after a very long day’s w’alk,
and once more slung our hammocks in the
fine, open shed. Here we rested a day, in
order to obtain a supply of cassava, which
the villagers prepared for us in abundance,
They uad no fresh meat, so a hunting party
went off to the woods in search of game.
All they brought back was a small maam,
and a large striped coatamundi, whose
flesh was so pungent that it completely
spoiled the bird which was cooking in the
same pot. We were much amused by a
number of children who used continually to
x 17 in. square, laid near the northeast cor
ner ; under the end of the short section a
pure white stone, representing an apron;
under the apron an altar of red granite,
perfect m finish; near the southeast corner
another altar, less perfect, and between the
altars a spoon-shaped iron trowel of ordi
nary size. The telegram adds: “Other
laughed, pushed each other into the river,
jumped into their tiny canoes and raced
one against the other, swam about, and
were as Happy as schoolboys on a half holi
day. After their fun had lasted some time
they all crossed the river, resumed their
solemn air and disappeared in single file up
a forest path on a shooting foray. About
stones in the foundation bear curious marks j an jj 0ur afterward they returned
and cuttings, not hieroglyphics, which may ^ umphantlyv dragging another coatamundi,
be masonic; but none here are able to de- j which the little imps had managed to kill
stitions connected with this beautiful tree, j obelisk was moved from Heli- probably with a poisoned arrow. From
By the Romans it was dedicated to Saturn, j °P°^ where it is believed to have been •; childhood to old age male Indians are sel-
whose feasts were held at Christmas time, ! 861 U P during the reign of Thothmes III., • j om without a bow or a blow pipe in their
and sprigs were sent to friends with good about 1350 B. C. in the time of Tiberius, 'hands, peccaries, pumas, and panis falling
wishes for health and happiness. The ant L therefore, has stood upon the base of ' as eaS y a p re y {he man as toucans, pig-
r»—: - “three steps from which Commander Gor- | e ons and small birds to the boy. To get
ringer removed it, recently, for nearly j food ia their principal object in life. They
or quite 1900 years. Persons who are not , have few pastimes, but eujoy a dance or
Masons are disposed to speak lightly of the \ the “ha-ha” game.
claims preferred in regard to tlfe great age |
of the order. In this discovery we have j
fairly convincing proof that Masonry was J
instituted before the beginning of the! Some two years ago a physician in Sec
Persians sprinkled their children with
decoction from the leaves, to endow them
with wisdom. According to Pliny, the
flowers were an antidote to poison. The
old Druids used to deck private dwellings
with the boughs, to offer thus a shelter to
sylvan sprites, to whom .:one was afforded
by the leafless oak. Holly leaves are some
times of an ivory white, and when young
are of a beautiful pinkish color.
—The Cincinnati Odd Fellows have
contracted for a f20,000 monument over
! their unknown dead at Spring Grove
“No, you needn’t ? I guess I didn’t drop j Cemetery.
m ® u f e ^ didn’t?” | —The average amount of opium con-
I kinder think you did, for I heard sumed m China is about 12,000,000
something chink.” he observed .as lie pawed pounds per annum; probably 5,000,000
around. “Even if it’s only a cent it will j pounds more of native opiam is pro
be a cent ahead if we find it. Now, what’s j duced.
ibis?” —One-fifth of the 5,000,000 acres of
The woman almost climbed over him to i vine land in France wili be nnproduc-
get to the door and drop off, but she wasn’t I tive this year. This me ms a loss of
ten feet away when he reached the door, $30,000,000.
held up a vest-buckle between his thumb —Previous to the Revolutionary war,
and finger and called: * j the English supplies of tobacco were
“Hold on—I’ve found it—here it is!” derived chiefly from Virginia and
She started on a run down a side street, j Maryland,
and when the car started up the man tramp- j — Spurzheim died Ncv. 10th 1832. A
led the straw down and hung the buckle ou ! eulogy was pronounced over his re-
the front door with the remark: mains by Professor Follen, of Harvard
“It’s little reward any. one ever gits for ! University,
doing a stranger a favor, but secing.l’ve got j —In England, Scotland and Wales
the corkscrew, I’ll leave this here and she ! there are 2,211 Catholic priests, which
can git it or let it go into the treasury of the , number shows an increase of fifty-four
street car company.” since the rear 1877.
Where thlVonev ^ -Autograph-collecting originated in
Where the Money Goes. Germany in 1550, and first took shape
“3Ir. Swipes, won’t you split a little the torins of albums, though the
wood and go and borrow a brass kettle be- i Ranie was not then adopted,
fore you go up town ?” —John Lester Wallack has sold his
“What in the tlinnder do you want me to j residence at Long Branch, near • the
do that for?” ‘ Rowland House, to R. J. Dobbins, of
“ ’Cause I want to preserve some cherries Philadelphia, for |35,090.
to-day.’
“Cherries?”
“Yes, cherries!”
“That’s just like you, Mrs. Swipes.
You’re always spluttering and fooling
around with some nonsense like this. ”
“Nonsense—well, I guess you like pre
serves as well as anybody. ”
“I don’t either.”
“If you wasn’t too lazy to split the wood
you’d like them. *
During the past year the herrings
taken in Scottish waters and cared were
sufficient to fill 1,000,000 barrels, each
barrel containing an average of 700 fish.
—The value of land 13 so depressed in
Ireland that on Nov. 7, 1879, when
seven estates were ottered for sale, but
four were taken, while for two there
was no bid.
—The Suez Canal receipts are report-
jed to have decreased in 1878 $323,200
“Mrs. Swipes, now do be sensible. You 1 from those of 1877, and 1879 showed a
know this preserve business costs money for i still greater falling off*. About three
sugar, fruit, cans, wax, fire-wood and the
deuce knows what all. But some way or
other you never think of expense, for you’re
always buying ribbons, ruffles and fluma-
diddles; but when I want anything, such
as an easy chair to rest my weary bones—
oh, no, I can’t have it, because you have
spent all the money for duds to put on your ! ant * ^3,487 teachers,
own back.” | —At the sale ot pews for 1SS0 in
quarters of the vessels passing through
are British.
—Ohio has a school population of L-
043,320. The number o r pupils enroll
ed in the public schools is 734,657; the
average daily attendance is only 459,-
990. There are 10,874 school houses,
“Now, you think you've said it. Oh,
no, you don’t spend any money, but I spend
it all. If that’s so, where do you get money
to play pedro and come home to the bosom
of your family stone blind drunk ? Don’t
deny it, Swipes, for you know' somebody
blackened your eye-glasses the other day,
and you was so drunk you thought it was
Plymouth church, Brooklyn, Rev. H.
YV. Beecher’s, the total sum realized
from premiums w r as $27,437. The rent
al are fixed at $12,852, making the
estimated income from pews for the
year $40,2S9.
—The value of foreign exports from
the port of Baltimore last year w'as
An Old Family.
Language of the Hair.
Christian era. None of these emblems, | **® tar 7 Lvarts s favorite village of YV indsor,
alone, would prove anything; but the five w ?f called to visit a patient living
together, especially in consideration of their 1 80,116 m ^ es out of yillage.. He drove
relative position toward each other and anc * 88 was ^dc^ng his horse the
towards the points of tbe compass, prove a ( \°® r ' 1 °.P eiied > ,mcl a y°ung woman with a
good deal. Masons will observe that the • ch'ld in her arms came out. They greeted
several emblems are properly disposed, and | each other > aad she 8ald » “Oh; you are the
will also note that the finished and un _ j doctor, come to see grandmother She’s
finished “altars” correspond very exactly ! P£*etty sick. 5 ou 11 find her m the house,
with the “rough ashlar” and “perfect ash-! m a ? d . f ®l md a WOIlia n about
lar,” which are a part of the furniture of j sai “* J yo . u a F e doct< J r *
, . . 1 . 1 . _ the modern Masonic lodge. Nor can the ^ 01111 dlld grandmother m that way. In
head as if each indiuidual hair were ready ; i&ci ^ regarded insignificant that the tlie roora to which he was directed he found
to fight its neighbor, denotes coarseness. obelisk raised U pon a base of “three j aoa ^ d ^ white-h^red iady iyingon the bed,
Black hair indicates persistent resolution gf n Even am Masons, the legend wi ? h her face the other way. She was
that ascribes the founding of the order to; quite deaf, and did not notice his ap-
King Solomon, Hiram of Tyra, and Hiram, P roac h until he sat down and began to feel
the son of the widow, is not by any means
generally accepted. But with tolerably
good proof in hand that the Masonic frater-
Eacli of our features is supposed to have
language—eyes, nose and mouth. But
the language of the hair has been formu
lated in the following manner: Straight,
lank, string}'-looking hair indicates weak
ness and cowrardice. Curly hair denotes a
quick temper. Frizzy hair, set on one’s
iu accomplishing an object, also a strong
predisposition to avenge wrongs and insults
real or fancied. Brown hair denotes fondness
for life, a friendly disposition, ambition,
earnestness of purpose, capacity for business,
reliability in friendship in proportion as the
hair is fine. Very fine hair indicates an
even disposition, a readiness to forgive,
with a desire to add to the happiness
of others. Persons with very fine light
brown or auburn hair, inclined to curl or
frizz, are quick tempered, and are given to
resentment and revenge. Light brown hair,
inclined to redness with a freckled skin, is
a certain indication of deceit, treachery
and a disposition to do something mean to
a friend who can no longer be used to ad
vantage. We give the information as we
find it, aud it is about as true as such
tilings generally are.
nity actually was in existence nineteen
centuries ago, it is Dot altogether unreason-
ab e to suppose that it was founded a thou
sand years earlier. In view of the discovery
already made, it is to be hoped that the
base upon which the other obelisk (now in
“Maybe Pi
her pulse. She turned and said, “Oh, you
are the doctor. I’m not sick. It is mother
you want to see. You will find her in that
room. ” So into the next room he passed,
and at last he was in the presence of his
patient, whose daughter, grand-daughter,
great-grand daughter and great-great-grand
daughter he had encountered. He
found her so reduced by disease and
Ingland) stood, will be uncovered and ex- °^ d age (she was ninety-nine) that he
imined in quest of similar material. Saw ,"° chaneei of her firing more than a
I week. He told the family so, but at their
request left medicines and directions. Some
! three weeks after he was driving by and
There are some folks who think it awful; saw a w , oman P ic , kin S up f lpa ', “® puU . ed
wicked for a husband and wife to sit down ! uphl8 ( bo ^.. Iatendl ^ , to “ hl8
together of an evening and play cards, parent had dred, when she looked up and
while others can’t see where the ban; sald ’ “0^ .' ou are the dtxdor that c^neto
comes in. 866 me w *ien I was sick.” She is still
“Why,” said the Colonel a few days ago ' llvin S “ “ chipper " an old Iady of ninet y-
Consciousness of Duty Performed.
A Setting; Set.
j uuy, oaiu lucvAiivmci a lew uays agu j . w -
An old farmer,with a house full of boys, l when the subject of card-playing was un- n, * ,e - ou " 1 0 en
was one day tugging away at a large piece i der discussion, “does any one pretend that
of timber. Finding it rather hard work, he | »iy wife and I can’t play a few games of
called his boys one after another, at the top . euchre without disputing and arguing and
of his voice, but received no reply. Final-; jetting mad over it? Loafers can’t, perhaps,
ly, after he had no need of them, they all! but we could play for a thousand years
came. | and never have a word—yes, we could.”
“Where,” said he, “have you i>een, and j The others shook their head ina dubious
what have you been doing; didn’t you bear • way, and the nettled Colonel walked
me call?” " |straight to h stationer's and bought the
“Out in the shop, settin' the saw,” re-1 nicest pack he could find. That evening,
plied one. when his wife was ready to sit down to her
“And you Dick?” continued the farm- lancy work, he produced the cards and
said:
“Out in the barn, settin’ the hen.” " “May, I was told to-day that you and I
“And you Jack:” ' couldn’t play cards without disputing and
“Up in Granny’s room, settin’ the igetting into a tow. Darling, draw up here."
clock.”
"And youi Tom?”
“Up in the garret, settin’ the trap.”
“And now, Master Fred where were you
settin’ ?’’ asked the farmer, amused at the
peculiarity of the replies.
“On the door step, settin still,” replied
the youngster.
Mormonism gained 400 converts in
holds a good rank among ornamental trees. I Georgia and Alabama last year.
The other day, over at Alameda baths,
San Francisco, a timid and retiring looking
man waited until the Superintendent was
disengaged and then said to him:
“I debate to give anyone trouble, but
have you got a long stick oi any kind you
could lend me ?”
“No, sir; I told you so ten minutes ago,”
snapped the overdriven official.
“So you did,” replied the man: “but I
thought I’d just ask once more. I guess,
now, I’ve done my duty in the matter.
Don’t you think so?”
“What matter? What on earth are you
‘Dearest, we will not have a word of ! talking about ?”
dispute—not one,-” she replied, as she put “Why, yon see, my mother-in-law dived
sway her work. ' off down there at the deep end about half
The Colonel shuffled away and dealt and : an hour ago, and as she hasn’t come up yet
she
turned up a heart.
“I order it up,” she observed, as
looked over her cards.
“I was going to take it up anyhow,”
growled the Colonel, as his chin fell, all his
other cards being black.
“Play to that, Bhe stud as she put down
I thought I’d like to tell my wife that I had
sorter jabbed round on the bottom for her
uwnile anyway, but if I can’t, why, I sup
pose I can’t, that’s alL” And-pensively
writing her address on a tag, to be tied to
the old lady when she came up, the con
scientious wian walked thoughtfully away.
midnight, and came home witli a lantern in i $68,000,000, which was a large increase
your hand in the middle of the day. You over the business of I87S. The receipts
talk about squandering money!” i of grain alone were increased by more
than 16,500,000 bushels.
—The new Supreme Court Judge of
Pa., Hon. Henry Green, of Easton, is
An Astonished Conductor.
“Get aboard, old limpy,” said a pert con- still confined to his residence at t Uutf
ductor to an aged plainly-dressed lame place with rheumatism, and, ft is
man, standing on the front platform wait- j thought, will be permanently i£me from
ing for the signal to depart; “get aboard, .cause.
old limpy, or you will be left.” —Five of the Turkish officers who
At tbe signal the old gentleman quietly have resided for a number of years III
stepped aboard and took a seat by himself, i Providence, attending to the interest#
When the conductor, m taking up the tick-1 “f the Imperial Ottoman Government,
ets, came to him and demanded his fare he recently for Turkey via London
replied: ! and Marseilles.
“I do not pay fare on this road.” —The gold belt of Georgia is about a
“Then I will put you off at the next sta- 100 miles iu breadth, with barren in-
tion.”
The conductor passed on, and a passenger
who had seen the transaction said to him:
“Did you know that old gentleman ?”
“No, I did not. ”
“Well, it is . Mr. , the president of
this road.”
The conductor changed his color and bit
his lips, but went on and finished taking up
the tickets. As soon as he had done he re
turned to “old limpy.” and said:
“Sir, I resign my station as conductor.”
“Sit down here, young man. I do not
wish to harm you; but we run this road for
profit, and to accommodate the public, and
we make it an invariable rule to treat every
person with perfect civility whatever garb
he wears, or whatever infirmity he suffers.
This rule is imperious upon every one of
our employes. I shall not remove you for
what you have done, but it must not be re
peated.
tervais here and there. It lies north
east and southwest across the entire
northern and part of the eastern section
of the State, and loses itself in the east
ern part of Alabama. A vein near
Goshen is said to be yielding$1,000per
month at a cost of $115.
—There are four Mints in the United
States at which money is coined—in
Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Or
leans and Carson City, Nev. Tne Mint
at Denver i3 operated as an Assay Of
fice. There are also Assay offices at
New York, Boise City (Idaho), Helena
(Montana) and Charlotte, N. C.
—The first steamships that crossed
tbe Atlantic were the Sirius and Great '
Western The former sailed from Cork
April 4, 1838, and the latter from Bris
tol April 8, 1838. They both arrived in
New York on the '28th of the same
month, the Sirius being only twelve or
1 fifteen hours ahead of the Great West-
‘
among his passengers another “old limpy.” j _ Aq Imperial policy u costing Great
,ar ! Britain in increased military expendi-
Th. costliest Ot tar.. tur<!; $5,000,000 a month. The price of
The skin of mustela zihelim. known as ' empire in Germany
the Russian sable, 18 the most expensive fur , avera g e number of tramps in each
sold. The zibeltna is ot theweasel family, ! B , ork £ ouse iu 18J , was 3^ now it ls
and is about the s.ze of tbe German marten. ; 669 In 1875 one pe rson ; n isq of the
It takes four or five skins to make an ordi- po pu i a tion of Berlin was a pauper, now
nary sized muff. The best and oarkest of ” n g i n 74.
these little animals are found in Russian ; _ The statistics Bureau at Rome esti-
Lapland, \ akootsk and \ encsei. Very few , mafce3 the population of tbe Eternal
of these skins ever leave Russia, where they , C j ty . at tjj e c i ose c f the past year at
are almost monopolized by the imperial 1 2 96,232. The number of deaths in 1879
family and the nobility. A muff and boa i averaged 24.7 per thousand, which goes
of “crown” Russian sable will bring from far to ghow t hat the climate is not so
three hundred to five hundred and fifty , unhealthy as is generally claimed At
dollars. The exclusive beauty of this fur j Xaples the average number of deaths
is its rich colors, a deep brown and a jet [ n tt^e same year was 26 Der thousand,
black, with points of hair tipped with white;
the hairs are so fixed in the skin that they
can be brushed either way and will he
nicely. The Russian sable is never
made up into garments in any country ex
cept China and Russia. This fur is too
costly to be ranked as fashionable, in the
general significance of the term fashion.
Only the wealthy can afford to purchase
such costly raiment, and that article of
dress pronounced fashionable must be
within the reach of the majority of society
dressers. Russian sable is an exclusive fur.
at-Trie«te 36, at Paris 24.9, at Brussels,
33, London 27, and Buda-Pesth 32.
—The 61 national banks of Boston
represent a capital stock paid in of
$52,250,000. The banks now report a
surplus of $11,111,211, against $11,065,-
221 at the date of the previous return,
Oct. 2, au increase of $45,990. The un
divided profits amount io $2,849,833,
against $1,572,323 in October, an in
crease of $1,277,510. The current ex
penses and taxes paid amount to $37,326
in October an increase of $576,918,
