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vr THE HESS TABLE.
UT OEOBUK T. LANIOAN.
At thf i.nm* tabic t>rooA*d tlhnoo.
And the flr* flickered low,
And tii* gu*Mut nces.cd thinking aadiy
Of home and Jong ago;
And the Genera, bad*' tU* Oantain,
Bearded and bronied and fiale,
** Com*, give ue oaie of your atorloa, - '
And toe Captain told thiatal*:
“Tli* PHANTOM OF TIU: TTCOH.
* l It wu a mltry unimer, aom* twenty yar ago,
When the emigrant train left Texae, bound for New
MexJoo.
Btroag men and gentla women tlireaecoro were m
the baud,
And ulgb ae many children left weefoot-prialßlntUo
sand.
•* Northward they traveled elowly, and bitter waatlio
road.
The run. a hall of Are, in tho bnwon hcavan glowed;
Tli bmioh were like rod plowaharet bonetth a mar
tyr a feol;
And the thorny aplkee of cactua drooped, phrivelea
In Urn heat,
“ There waa no wind till evening, and then Ita
fevered breath
Like that waa of the angel that hear* the brand of
death;
And the moon, a Aery droeoant, ewooned In the aky
afar,
A* it had I wan tha raddaned blado of hla balefnl
darn tar.
“ And a* a they traveled northward, within ita noudy
bed.
The river alirauk away from them as If with guilty
dread,
And narrower grow tho water, and shallower, until
'ilit* river had dwindled to a creek, tho crock to „!
muddy nil.
“ 7 hen her* and there a languid ]>ool in
cursed lands,
Aad theft tlwuivor-brtd was naught but rocks and
arid lands,
And the little water that they found by drggiug long
and deep /UK
Waa bitter as that on sea-side rocks tide la
at the neap.
Aa*d a* Into the flinty earth the trnecberoua river
sank,
Fewer the following foot-prints upon tu bnrolug
Imnk i
Twenty beheld the n*d sun rise, flftotti flagged faint
at noou,
And only ten went into camp under tho lurid
moon.
u And twice again the red moon sank, twice rose th*
copper Kin,
And tb* ten that staggered on were eight, wore five,
w ere three, were one.
On® mail waa left of the emigrant train that twoshort
eeka agu
Had loft tho Texan valley bound for New Mexico.
“And as he tottered northward acron the endless
sands,
ilia blood-ahot ejes still shading with thin and
blistered hands,
fcr tl.Un from out tbs desert, up to the cloudless
akb-t*,
A Mist and awful figure the traveler saw aria®.
“It was tho watery mirage. There ahlmmcr to Ills
view
Fleecy oaaeados dowu falling ami lakes <*f deqxsit
blur.
But though he strains to reach them, and drspera:*
Htaggnra on,
Ever a step beyond him the vision is withdrawn.
“ Ever before him hovers, and senna to bar tho way,
The Phantom cf the Pecoi. a cloud of dusty gray;
It* mocking eyei glara on atm, and through the fer
vid air
Its voice of doom makes answer to Ida question of
despair.
“The dying wanderer listens the Phantom apeak Ida
game,
And moves Ida crackling lips in vain one piteous
prayer to frahie;
And the awful vision mutter! on the salt sand as ho
ninka,
1 Don’t you think that It’s a long time—s long time
between drink*?’ ”
The General started from Ida chair
As lie had felt a wound.
“Captain,” ha said, *• you're right, I swear—
Send tho decanter round.”
t- Hu rjM-t'a Mapminr.
A THRILLING INCIDENT.
Tn the winter of 1870 I hud oooiwtion
tn go from Green Bay to Chicago on tlio
W. railway. At Oshkosh \v> were
joined by a delegation of lawyers on
tlieir way to Madison, the capital, to at
tend the Legislature, then m session.
They woro ail men of more than usual
intellect, ami of exceptional character.
Two were ex-Judges of tho Circuit Court,
and one I had seen Chairman of tlio
Young Men’s Christian Association.
The party found Heats near together,
and after the salutations were over and
*:!> n .ivK July discussed they began to
look about Hu uv, u# to while away the
tune. After awhile provosod
a frame of eiirtls. No sooner stun u.n
doue. Two seats were turned apart so
as to faeo each other, a cushion improv
ised for a table, and three of our law
yers, including Hie Chairman of the
Young Men’s Christian Association, and
a Chicago runner, on good terms with
them, were soon deep in the mysteries
of a game of ouclier.
I was surprised to see Christian gen
tlemen and Judges of law and equity,
leaders of society, makers of public sen
timent, lawgivers for a great State, di
rectors of public morals, supposed to bo
public exemplars of all that is good und
guides to the young, thus setting pub
liuly tlieir seal of approval to a most
dangerous ami evil practice. To be
sure they played for stakes no higher
than the cigars for the party. But it
seems to me that, in the eyes of all dis
creet persons, this dot's not change the
act nor lessen tlio danger of its example,
but rather heightens it; ns from the
less to tlio greater is the invariable
counts of crime. But I did not intend
to moralize on paper, but was about to
ray that while I was filled with such
thoughts an these one of tlio party grew
tired of tlie game, and our remaining
Judge wns invited to take his place. I
saw the blood mount in an honest, blush
of disapproval to his manly face, and ho
iwsiiaied and drow book. But the game
had liocome interesting and his oxoitbd
companions urged him. “Come,Judge,
take a hand,” they cried, “we can’t go
on without yos.” So the Judge slowly
rose from his seat, inwardly condemning
tlio sot as X evidently saw, aud stepping
forward took a sent among the players
and the game wont on.
I hod noticed an old lady in a sent to
the rear of the players, who hail got on
board at Meuaana, I believe. Gray and
bent with age, she hail sat abashed, and,
with SJres closed, secured asleep most of
the’ lime, until the train, stopping at
Oshkosh, took on board the company
of lawyers. She then underwent a
change, aud became greatly interested
in the company, looking from one to tiro
other, as if she recognized them all, or
was trying to rteall their faces. When
the game of cards was started she Lo
carno very restless, would hitch uneas
ily about in har seat, take up the hern of
her tod&d npron and npi'vousiy bite the
threads. Onoe or twice 1 thought she
wiped her eyes under her * * Shaker bon
net,” but oould nut tell. She acted ao
strangely, I became more inter
ested in her than in the plnyors, and
watched her closely. She got up after
a time and tottered forward, holding on
to the seats MS. she posted. She Igushed
against Judge in passing, but ho
had become interested in the game and
did not noLce her. tUnftung tins yktor
tank at last, she drunk a oup <1 water,
and tool a seat near the door, with her
back to the players. But . she did apt.
long rerpahs there; rising again with
difficulty, sne tottered back toward her
formej, seat, but reaching the players
she paused directly in front of them,
and, now greatly excited, threw back her
bonnet fjom her te-e and looked around
the company. Her action at once ar
robtel their attention, aud pausing in
their play they all looked up inquir
ingly.
Gating directly is the lace of Judge
I , site snid in a tremulous voice, "Do
' you knew me, Judge —— ?"
i ’ “ No, mother, I don’t rememlier yon,”
' said tho Judge, pleasantly. “ Where
; have we met?"
“My name is Smith," said she ; " 1
waa with my poor three days, off
| and on, in the court-room in Oahkosli,
! when ho was tried for—for—for robbing
1 somebody, and you are the same man
that sent him to prison for ten years,
; and he died tliero Ust .Tune.’’
All faces were now sobered, and the
passengers begun to gather around and
i stand up, all over the car, to listen and
‘ soo what was going on. She did not
j give the Judge time to answer her, but,
till he took to going to town and got to
playing keard.s and drinking, and then,
j somehow, ho didn’t like to work after
j that, but used to stay out often till
moruin’, and hr’dT>lecp so late, and I
couldn’t wiikethim when I knowed he'd
1 been out so late; the night afore. And
! then tho lann kinder run down, and
! then we lost tho team; one of them
I becoming more and more excited, she
j went on : 11 Ho was a good lx>y, if you
dill send him to jau. Ho helped us
j clear the farm, and when father was
took sick and died he done all the work,
! and we was getting along right smart,
got killed when he’d bin to town
1 one awful cold night. He staved late,
and I supiiose they had got cold stnndin’
out, and got skeered and broke loose,
' and run most home, hut run agin the
fence and a stake run into one of ’em,
j and when we found it the next moruin’
I it was dead, and the other was stnndin’
! under tho shed. An’ so after awhile he
I coaxed mo to let him sell the farm and
buy a house and kit in the village, and
j he’d work at carpenter work. And so I
diil, ns we couldn’t do nothin’ on the
farm. But lie grow worse than ever,
and after awhile he couldn’t get any
work, and wouldn’t do anything hut
gamblo and drink all the time. I used
to do everything I could to get him to
quit and be a good, industrious boy
ugain, but he used to get mad after
awhile, anil once he struck me, and tlion
in the morning I fonnd that lie had tn
, ken wliat little money there was left of
j the farm, and hud run off. After that I
J got along as well as I could, cleanin’
house for folks, and washin’, but I
didn’t hear nothing of him for four or
live years; but when lie got arrested and
wns took up to Oshkosh for trial, he
writ to me.”
By thin timo there was not a dry eye
in tlio ear, aud tlio cards had disap
peared. The old lady herself was weep
ing silently anil speaking in snatches.
But, recovering herself, she went on :
“But wliat could I do? I sold the
house and lot to get money to litro a
lawyer, aud I believe he is here some
where," looking around. “Oh, yes,
there lie is, Mr. ,” pointing to Law
yer , who had not taken part iu tlio
play. “And this is the man, lam sure,
who argued ngiu him,” pointing to Mr.
—, the District Attorney. “And you,
Judge *—-, Sent him to prison for ten
years ; s’pose it wtffc right, for the poor
hoy told me that he really did rob the
hank, but he must have boon drunk, for
they had all been playing keards most
all night and drinking. But., oli I denr,
it seems to lie kinder as though if lie
hadn’t got to playing koards lie might
a been ulive yet. But when I used
to toll him it was wrong and bad
| to play, he used to any, “Why,
: mother, everybody plays now. I never
; bet only for the candy, or the cigars,
or something like that.’ And when we
heard that the young folks played
keards down to Mr. Culver's donation
party, und Hguire Bing Was goin' to get
a billiard, table for his young folks to
play on ut homo, I couldn’t do nothing
at all with him. Wo used to think it
awful to do that way wlien Iwas young,
hut it jist seems tu mo as if everybody
nowadays was goin’ wrong into some
thing or other. But maybe it isn't right
loi ..... talk to you. Judge, ill this
way, but H ji. i .....mod to me as if the
very sight of those keards would kill
me, Judge ; I thought if yon only knew
how 1 felt, you would not play on so ;
mid then to tliink, right here before all
these Voting folks 1 Maybe, Judge, you
don’t know how younger folks, especially
hoys, look up to sneli as you ; aud then
1 can’t help thinking that, maybe that if
them that ought to know better than to
do so, and i hem us art' higher lurnt, and
all that wouldn’t set sioh examples, my
poor Tom would lie alive and earing fol
ios poor old mother; but now there
ain’t any of my family loft but mo aud
my poor little grau’chile, my dead
darter's littlo girl, and we are going to
stop with my brother in Illinoy."
Tongue of man or angel never preached
a more eloquent sermon than that
gray, withurodold lady, trembling with
old ago, excitement and tear that she
was doing wrong. I can’t recall half
she said, as she, jxxir, lone, beggared
widow, stood before those noble-looking
moil, and pleaded the cause of the rising
generation.
The look they boro as she poured
forth her sorrowful tale was iudosoribu
ble. To sav that lliev looked like crimi
nals at the Imr, would be a faint descrip
tion. 1 can imagine liow thev felt.
The old liulv tottered to her seal, iuid,
taking her littlo grand child in her lap,
hid her face on tier neck. The little one
stroked her gray liair with one hand nd
said : “ Don't cry, ganniu, don’t cry,
grnniua.” Eyes unused to weepiug
wore ro<l for many a mile ou that jour
ney. And I can hardly believe that one
who witnessed that scene ever touched
a card again. It is but just to say that
when the passengers came to themselves
they generously responded to the Judge,
who, hst in hand, silently passed
through her littlg audience.— PnsMf-
Irritm Slimier. *
Adelina Patti.
Adelina Patti was Ixonj at Madrid,
April 9, 1843. Her full name is Adelina
Mari* Cloriuda Pntti-Nicolini She was
educated at New York, and on Nov. 24,
1859, she made her debut as a singer in
Donizetti's Lucia di Bammennoor.
She made her first appearance at Lon
don, May 14, 1861, in La Ftmnam
bula, and Nov, 16, 1862, appeared at
Paris in the same role. Patti afterward
sang at Paris, London, St. Petersburg,
and in some of the leading cities of
Europe with great suoceas. She was
married at London, July 29, 1868, to the
Marquis de Caux, but the union was an
unhappy one, and the parties separated.
The Marquia, although a titled indi
vidual, was not all that was to be ex
pected, and was long virtually supported
by his wife. Not long since Patti was
married to Nicolini, who is singing with
her. •
Tilt Chicago Hotel World says,
“There is still too much of the a la
business in bills of fare.” There is in
deed, and not enough of it in the little
sample dishes that the waiter brings.
Pomme de Terre ala jardemere and
pork and beans ala New Englandienne
may bo ever so fine, but if there is only
a te&spoonfnl of them dabbed onto a lit
tle elate it is a vexation of spirit. No
one likes to open his mouth for 4 camel
and swallow % gnat. It is wrenching a$
Ui Old awry,
A Relic.
Running our hands into the pockets of
an old spike-iaii coat tho other day, pre
paratory to turning over the venerable
garment to a poor man who needed a
■pike-tai! coat to herd sheep in, we fonnd
a relio of bygone days that took ua buck
over tho rugged path on which we had
journeyed for the past teu years ; hack
through sun-painted valleys and through
the sloughs of despond till we stood
again where we did before the past de
cade with its burden of sorrows and its
seldom joys hail made ita impress or. oar
brow.
It was only a soiled and worn ball pro
gramme.
Looking upon it, the mist of gather
ing years lifted from the still features of
the post like the pall that hides the calm
lineaments of tho dead, and out from the
silent tomb of buried memories came
back that regal night w<: spent in the
heart of the forest, with the wealth and
beauty of nature’s children gathered
about the cam)) fire, while the seductive
strains of the Htrauss waltz, played on a
camp kettle and a Ute base drum, filled
the air.
The programme reads on the outside
as follows:
GRAND DRESS BALI,.
Hr.i.Her Wau Inset
; and ;
'. Raw Doo Heei'r.u.
: ,ni ,
: . July 15, 1(f72.
War Whoop Job Print.
Opening the programme, we find in
addition to several tiand painted grease
spots and the oilor of smoked bacon, the
following list of dances" with our part
ners:
Grand March around tho Firewater Barrel
Maiden with the Till Ear,
Scalp Waltz Cleopatra Colorow
Flying Trapeze l/uarili ille ......Veni Vidi Vici
Colorow.
Hoopla Hchottische Tay-To-Ila-Smith (34
brood belle).
Dancers (free for a11).'... Honi-Boit-Qui-Mal-y
Prune Bbavano.
Tomahawk* Waltz Daugliter-of-the- Coo
ii.g-Hlixsanl.
SUPPER.
(Guests are requested not to throw discarded
bourn at the musicians or change their clothing
in tho ball room. They might take cold.)
Quadrille deMexicans.. . .Ma-wah-tan-nf-hau
ska continued on fourth page.
Maniac Polka Daughtor of-Anonymous
pale face.
Firewater Reel .Daughter in- law-of the -
Full Moon.
Waltz (half mile dash) (Omitted on account
of fatigue.)
Scalp Qtiadriile (scalp to be furnished by visit
lug paleface)... .(Omitted on account of nn
avoidable absence.
Grand - Knock -Down - and—Drag-Out - Waltz
Quadrille with Butcher Knives (Omitted.
Didn’t have any butcher knife.)
— Boomerang.
The Inroads of Civilization.
Avery graphic and pathetic descrip
tion of the inroads soon to be made by
civilisation is given by an old man iu
Tennessee! “But this liyur country’s
all a goin’ to change. It's a goin’ to be
most everlastui’ly improved , you see.
I shan’t never be improved; I’m too
old. But the old ways is coming to an
end. Thev’g men bayin’ up thousan’s
of acres of this land. They’ll bo rail
roads built directly, hither an’ yan,
moro’n’U do anybody any good. They’ll
cut off the woods for fuel mi’ lumber,
an’ they’ll bo mines an’ quarries up
liyur, they say. An’ they’ll bo mean,
dirty littlo towns laid out, all about.
Then, instid o’ people drinkin’ a little
healthy whisky, us we’ve always done,
they’ll lo forty times ns much niiser’-
ble pison stuff sold an’ drunk, an’ who
ever drinks it’ll begin to steal an’ lie.
I reckon they’ll he some mighty fine
houses built som’eres along this river,
nil’ they'll put big scientific locks on to
their doors, an’ thieves ’ll come up from
Cinciunater and Ohat’noog’, an’ break
into ’em. They aint never been a lock
'i to a door in these mountains, llut
thoy s goin’ to he the ull-flrodest im
provement* ..‘miit hytir, an’ I s’pose our
people’ll Torn to sir.j too; lmf to .to
keen up an’ live. An’ they'll lv. B oine
o’ them city women liyur, I reckon,
from them big places, with their flue
feathers, uu’ their dresses a druggiu’ on
to the ground, an' thoy’ll be tlie devil
to pay among our young mon. That’s
what they call civ’lf/zation, ain’t it,
strnpger ? I tell ye this country ’ll soon
he improvin' like hell, but T shan't live
to see much of it, I reckon.”
Natural Foes Living in Harmony.
Among other animal stories, Kingston
relates the case of a parish or outcast
dog that was thrown us fooil to a caged
tiger in India. The dog stood on the de
fensive in a corner of the cage, ntnl ns
often as tlie tiger attempted to molest
him, seized it by the lip Or neck. The
tiger was hungry, but eventually, find
ing tlie dog so tough a customer to
tackle, it relinquished its onslaughts,
and came to on understanding with the
foe. When n mess of rice and milk was
put into his cage, the larger bruto will
ingly shared it with its courageous op
ponent; mid henceforth they became
staunch friends; the dog would run iu
and out tlie cage, evidently looking upon
it ns his home, mid indeed, making it
such, until tlie tiger’s death left it oiice
more homeless and friendless.
Good Humor.
Surely nothing can bo more unreason
able than to lose the wilt to please, when
we ore conscious of tlio power, or show
more cruelty than to choose any kind of
influence before that of kindness and
good humor.
He that regards the welfare of others
should make his virtue approachable,
that tt tnay be loved and cripied; and he
that considers the wants which every
man feel*., qr will feci, ot external as
sistance,- sniiht rather wish to be sur
rounded by those flint love him. than
those that admire his excellencies or
solicit his favors ; for admiration ceases
with novelty, and interest gains its end
and retiree.
A man whose great qualities want tlve
ornament of superficial attractions, is
like a naked mountain with mines of
gold, which will be frequented only till
the treasure is exhausted. Samticl
Johnson.
A husband living in one of the suburbs
of New York brought home one after
noon three red wagons and a rocking
horse for the children. His wife wel
comed him with delight, kissed him,
and putting her face confidingly to his,
whispered, “Darling, you have been
flirting on the tTain a long while. Now
that the girls have seen you with tlio
horse and wagons they know that yon
are a married man!” Smiling lovingly
upon her, be replied, “I bought a ticket
to the .strawberry festival of old Mr.
Jones, the Sunday School Superintend
ent, and he brought them along in the
tr-in with him.”
Dxar girls, whenever a young man
gets so soft that he can be dipped up
with a spoon, the best thing for you to
do is to dip him up and pour him out
over the baok fence, —Bampton.
A Pew Parlor Games.
The games that follow are not all of
them particularly new, but they are
very pleasant, and are quite worth trying:
One player says: “Have you seen my cat?’’
The next replies: “Yes, I’ve seen your
oat. “Do you knew what my ent is do
ing ?" “ Yes, I know what your eat is do
ing." "Doit." Aad then if the player
neglects to purr or scratch she pays a
forfeit. Of course, that game may be
varied considerably by choosing any
other animal.
The Interrupted. Reply. —The com
pany are seated in 'a circle, when one
whispers to her right hand neighbor.
Say that she asks : "Of wliat use is a
book?" The nnsvojr would naturally
be: “To read.” But Instead, she asks
another question of her right hand
friend, and when the questions hare
gone around the last answer is given
aloud—of course producing much
laughter among the party.
Puzzle Muni/:, —One player leaves the
room, and the rest determine on some
thing he must do on his return. Say
he lias to ounce around the room to dis
cover a hidden person, or to touch a
particular object. When be enters he
is informed by song or piano when he is
near or far from his object; the singing
or playing becoming louder or softer as
Ire approaches or recedes from the solu
tion. With little trouble this may be
made a most amusing game. It is, in
fact, but a moderation of the old nur
sery frolic, “ Hot Boiled Beans and
Bacon."
The Traveler. —The traveler leaves
the room, and then the company deter
mine on the country he is to visit, and
prepare accordingly. Hay he is to guess
Germany, you have a Btmlent with a long
pipe, a book anil spectacles ; Turkey, a
lady in a turban, reclining on a sofa
cushion ; Lapland! a tent with natives
sitting round a fire. This may lie made
by a few chairs turned upside down and
a table-cloth thrown over them, the na
tives wrapped in shawls, etc. The trav
eler comes in at a given signal, and
must guess the country show or pay a
forfeit.
The Key of the King's Garden. —
The plan is for one to give a sentence :
“ I givo you the key of the King’s gar
den.’’ The next person repeats the
works with an addition i “ I five yon
the string that holds the key of the
King’s garden.” Then the third adds :
“ I give you tlio scissors to cut the string
that holds the key of the King’s garden."
A fourth : “I give you a patent file to
sharpen the scissors to cut the string
that holds the key of the King’s gar
den.” A fifth : “I give you a box to
hold the patent file to sharpen the scis
sors to cut the string that holds the key
of the King’s garden,” and so on till one
player fails and pays forfeit.
The Secret that Travels. —A game of
the simplest character, hut which among
young people will often be found to af
ford genuine amusement. It has its ad
vantage—that any child can join iu it
without having previously possessed a
knowledge of the pastime. The players
sit around a table ; or at least, dispose
themselves in a circle. One player
starts the game by whispering a sentence
iu the ear of the player on the right
hand. This sentence is tkesecret. The
player, to whom the socretlias been con
fided, tells it to his right-hand neighbor,
anil so on, all around the table circle.
The last player repeats aloud the sen
tence as he understand it, and then the
first player gives out the sentence in its
original form. Asa general rule, it will
be found that in passing from one to
another, the words have been so altered
as to be almost uureoognieable.
A 4 ‘ Postil ” of Martin Luther’s Time.
We accidentally discovqjfed in this
city, not hing since, n “postil” of Martin
Luther—that is, a series of sermons
written by him to he rend to congrega
tions by ministers who were not com
petent to prepare sermons for them
selves. It was published iu 1532 by
Louis Lufft, of Wittenberg, who, by the
way, was the printer of all Luther’s
works during the lifetime of that re
former. The hook is composed of three
volumes bound in one, tlio binding being
full calf with fancy brass corners and
brass clasps. Tlie binding, either from
age or stain, has u very dark brown ma
hogany color; and, although 351) years
old, carries its age lightly, being well
preserved through all its changes and
mishaps. It is printed from old German
text in wooden type, and profusely illus
trated with highly illuminated woodcuts,
the illumination Whig done by hand
with very bright colors and gold and sil
ver leaf. To us the most astonishing
feature about the hook is the fact that
these colors seem to huve retaiued all the
brightness which they had when put on
—not faded in the least. The same is
true, too, of the large fancy initial let
ters at the beginning of each sermon.
The gold loaf was used principally iu
forming the halo about the head of the
Savior, or on the urns and other vessels
used aliout the temple. It was also em
ployed in decorating the garnieuts of the
high priests and of the wealthier classes
represented. These garments are said to
tie of styles worn by Germans in Luther’s
time, and make a very curious display.
Viewing the eugruving as a work oi
art, simply, it is amusing to note how
, literal the artist has lieen in his interpre
tation and illustration of passages of
scriptures. For instance, the illustra
tion of the passage which sjieaks of cast
ing tbo beam oatTif our own eye before
attempting to pluck the mote from our
brother’s. Tlie Savior is represented as
directing the attention of his disciples to
a mun at some distance who is about to
pick from the eye of another something
which looks like a very small pin; while
from his own eye a great stick of timber
projected diagonally toward heaven.
The devil, when cast out in one in
stance, is shown as a sort of flying non
descript with bat’s wings, a vulture’s
beak, and mammoth claws, these last
two appendages being painted black,
while the body of flie tiling is green.
This ‘ ‘postil” came into the hands oi
John Hartman, an old German who lives
in Amelitli, this county. He purchased
it in Bavaria, Germany, of a Tyrolese
family for the insignificant sum of ten
cents iu 1850. He himself is a perfect
book-worm, sud we are told that ip his
log cabin at Amelitli he hsis old books oi
great value, they all being of a religious
and moral character. —Bay City Press-
Voltaire was once affected with some
thing which he. called decay of the
stomach but which would probably be
better termed debility of the atomaah.
or paralysis of the digestive function.
For nearly a year he took no other
nourishment than yolks of eggs, beaten
up with flour and water, and thus was
cured. This diet is thus prepared:
Beat up an egg in a bowl, add six table
spoonfuls of cold water, mixing well
together. Then add two tablespoonfuls
of farina of potatoes, mix again
thoroughly, and add as much boding
water as is necessary to convert the
whole into a jelly. It can be taken alone
or with the addition of a little milk.—
lh. Facte' t Health Monthly,
ii ni rlplnl i WC
Bed Wash fob Bricks.—To remove
the green that gathers on bricks pour
over them boiling water in which any
vegetables not greasy have been 1 shied.
Repeat for a few days, and greell will
disappear, for the red wasli melt one
ounce of glue in one gallon water J while
hot add alum size of egg, one-lialf pound
Venetian red, one pound Spaaish brown.
Try it; if too light, add more red and
brown. If too dark, water it.
To Paint ax Old House.— Take
three gallons water and one pint flax
seed ; boil half an hour ; take it off and
add water enough to make four gallons ;
let it stand to settle; pour off the water
in a pail, and put in enough of Spanish
white to make it as thick as whitewash ;
then add one-half pint linseed oil; stir
it well and apply with a brush. If the
whiting does not mix readily add more
water. Flaxseed, having the nature of
oil, is better than glue, and will not
wash off as readily.
To Soften The Hands. —One can have
the hands in soapsuds with soft soap
without injury to the skin, if the hands
are dipped in Vinegar or lemon juice im
mediately after, The acids destroy the
corrosive effects of the alkali, and make
the hands soft and white. Indian meal
anil vinegar or lemon juice used on
hands when roughened by cold or labor
will heal and soften them. Rub the
hands in this; then wash off thoroughly
and rub in glycerine. Those who suffer
from chapped hands will find this com
forting.
Staini.no Wood.— Apple, pear, and
walnut wood, if fine-grained, may bo
stained black by the following process.
Boil in n glazed or enamelled iron vessel
with water four ounces of gronnd gall
nuts, one ounce of logwood chips, and
half an ounce each of green vitriol and
crystals of verdigris. Filter while
warm, and brash the wood over with
this rapidly. Dry and brush over with
strong cold solution of acetate of iron,
and dry, Repeat this several times,
and finally dry in an oven at a moder
ate temperature, and oil or varnish.
To Wash White Lace Edging.—
Have a quart bottle covered with linen,
stitched sinoathly to fit the shape. Be
gin at the bottom and wind the lace
about it, basting fast at both edges,
even the minutest point, to the linen.
Wash on the bottle, soaping It well,
rinse by plunging in a pail of clear
Water, and boil as you would a white
handkerchief, bottle and all. Set in
the hot sun to dry. When quite dry,
clip the basting-threads and use the
lace without ironing. If neatly basted
on, it will look nearly as well as new—
if not quite.
Washing Made Easy.—l soak my
clothes over night; in the morning I fill
my wasliboiler half full of water, and
place it on the stove to heat, throwing in
a handful of soft soap, or abont two
ounces of hard ; I then wring out the
soaked clothes, soap the dirty parts, and
by this time the water is hot j put them
in and let them boil fifteen minutes,
stirring often; I now take out anil put
them in cold water, wash ouf the suds;
if any dirt remains, give it a few rubs
and it is gone; I rinse them good in
plenty of water, and my clothes are as
white and clean as those that have gone
through a long process of rubbing. I
have washed my clothes this way for
ten years, and they have never turned
yellow. _____________
facts,fob the curious.
The tarnishing of silver when exposed
to tlie air is due to sulphuretted hydro
gen, the metal having a strong attraction
for sulphur,
Oysters can live twenty four hours in
an exhausted receiver. Tlie flame of a
candle goes out in one minute, chnrcoal
in live minutes,
The horns of the water-snail are hol
low tubes, and when it draws in its horns
the eyes disappear down tlie tabes.
When the “optics” are needed again it
is only necessary for the muscles round
the tube to contract, and so to squeeze
the tip gradually out.
Strutt, an English authority on
games aud amusements, speaks of a
Yorkshire jumper, named Ireland,
whose i lowers were marvelous. He was
six feet high, and at the age of 18 leaped,
without the aid of a spring board, over
nine horses ranged side by side.
Examine the thread-slime how we
will we can find in it no mouth, no
stomach, no muscles, no nerves, no
parts of any kind. Yet it eats and
breathes and grows. When it is too
largo to be comfortable it splits in two,
and each half goes its way as a living
animal.
Topham, an Englishman, born in 1710,
was possessed ot astonishing strength.
His armpits, hollow in the case at ordin
ary mon, were with him ful} of at uncles
■nd tendons. He would take s bar o,
iron, with its two ends held in liis hand,
place the middle of the bar behind his
neck, and bend the extremities by main
force until they met together.
One of the most curious railroads in
the world is a ten-inch gauge road run
ning from North Billerica, Mass., to
Bedford. It was first hooted at by the
people, but was completed, making a
length of about eight and a half miles.
There are eleven bridges. The rails
weigh twenty-five pounds to the yard.
One grade is 155 feet. The cars and en
gines are constructed so as to be very
near the ground, giving them greater
safety. The cars have an aisle with one
seat on each side, in the same manner
as ordinary cars have two seats. The
cars weigh but four aud a half tons, t>r
diuary cars weighing on an average
eighteen tons. Trains run at the rate of
twenty miles an hour with perfect
safety. The engine is placed behind
the tender, giving it greater adhesion
to tlie track. They weigh eight tons,
and draw two passenger and two freight
cars. The cost of the road was about
$4,500 per mile.
In Colorado is a ten-acre field, which
is no more nor less than a subterranean
lake covered with soil about eighteen
inches deep. On the soil is cultivated
a field of corn, which produces thirty
bushels to the acre. If any one will take
the trouble te dig a hole the depth of a
spade handle, he will find it to fill with
water, aud by using a hook and line fish
four or five inches long may be caught.
The fish have neither scales nor eyes,and
are perch-like in shape. The ground is
a black marl in nature, and in all proba
bility was at one time an open body of
water, on which accumulated vegetable
matter, which has been increased from
time to time, until now it has a crust
sufficiently strong aud rich to produce
fine corn, although it has to be cul
tivated by band, as it is not strong
enough to bear the weight of a horse.
Wliile harvesting, the hands catch greai
strings of tiah by making a hole through
the earth. A person rising on liis heel
aud coming down suddenly, cau s-e the
growing com shake all around hue. Any
one having sufficient strength to drive a
rail through the crust w{Lf find, on re
leasing it, that it will disappear alto
gether.
t
A Queer Ornament. !
A Washington' lette? says ; “At a
recent reception my attention waa called
to an ornament unique in the way of i
oddities and worn by a lady, the wif e of |
a naval officer. It was a long brooch or :
lace pin consisting of the rattles and
button ot an unusually large snake, set i
in a knife edge setting of pollened gold.
There was a loveiyAace above it, and :
the grisly jewel caught together the
edges of an exquisite lace scarf, out the
rattlesnake trophy was rather discouoeri
iug to some delicate ladies who withdrew
from the wearer with fanciful shivers,
when they saw what the thing really was,
In explanation of such a strange orna
ment, it is said that while standing with
her husband at some station on the
Florida coast, the lady’s only child, a
little daughter,, was saved from the
deadly snake when all coiled and ready
to spring upon her. The man who killed
the snake and saved the girl s life was
handsomely rewarded, and the mother
having obtained the rattles sent them on
to Tiffany for mounting. This pin is
always worn by her in grateful remem
brance of the event, and at the largest
balls, the great receptions, and the swell
germaus, the rattlesnake trophy appears,
resting its gray and ugly joints against
the fair, white skin of the lady’s throat,
and clasping the folds of her finest laces.
There is an Indian belief that if a set of
rattles are worn oil the head blindness
will always be prevented, and there is a
trapper’s belief that the dust from a
snake’s rattles will cause blindness and
terrible ills, and much other rattlesnake
lore that is called up by the well-versed
whenever this famous breastpin puts in
an appearance. It is noticeable then
that the young ladies who wear the most
life-like and expensive of the enameled
snake-bracelets coiled around their
wrists, or gold adders, with diamond
eyes, aronnd their throats, are the very
ones to shrug their shoulders and call it
" queer ” for any one to wear a part of
a genuine snake as an ornament.
Lemon Culture in Florida.
Florida lemons have not generally
found favor in Eastern markets, owing
to their large, thick skins and inferior
flavor. A few individuals, however,
who believed the soil of Florida adapted
for the culture of that fruit as well as
oranges, have been experimenting with
lemon seedlings imported from Sicily
and Messina, and planted them, it is
claimed, with perfect success. A writer
from Lake Poinsett says :
‘‘The lemon produced had much
of the size! of the old Florida fruit, but
was thin-skinned, of bright golden color,
and juicy beyond comparison. They at
once took rank in market as the best
lemons that were offered, and commanded
a premium, Hales are reported for cer
tain months of last season at #12.25 a
box of 160 lemons. A peculiar fact of
lemon culture is that the imported lemon
can not be raised in Florida from the
seed. Any seed will do for the stump,
but to produce the perfect fruit the
stump must be budded from the im
ported tree. The advantages of lemons
over oranges are that the trees bear
sooner l , they bear larger crops, the
fruit ripening continually for eight
months, instead of a few months as is the
case with the orange. Another advan
tage is that the season is longer than the
mange, and the opportunity for market
ing at good figures better.
“Since the culture of the lemon has
become general the Floridians have
learned the method of preparing the
fruit for the market. The evenness of
size so notable iu a box of foreign
lemons is secured by the use of a ring
or ‘ sizer. ’ On the Mediterranean lemons
are never left on the tree until they get
their color. Au attendant goes to each
tree, passes a ring over each lemon, and
when it fits the ring it is clipped anil
put in a packinghouse, wliere the bright
yellow color is given them by subjecting
them to fumes of sulphur, A packing
house of this sort has been established
by a Mr. Bean, at Jacksonville. He
buys the lemons when green at about a
cent anil a half each, gives them the
artificial coloring, and sells them for a
handsome advance.
Honor.
Trustee Fullback arose to secure in*
formation. He wanted to know if honor
compelled a colored man to nccept a
challenge to fight a duel. If not, what
would honor compel him to do in case
an enemy halted at his gate and dared
him to come out of his house and get
mashed.
“ Honor am cams thing, Brudder
Pullback,” replied President Gardner.
“ In case you are a Letter: shot dan your
inemy it am honerable to meet on de field
an’ kill him. If you think it will sartin
to kill you it am honorable to excuse
yourself on de ground. of havin’ a game
leg. If I made an inemy an’ he cums
along to my cabin ah’ spits on his hands
an’ hops up an’ dowr. an’ calls fur me to
come out to be pulverized, Ize gwine to
consider befo’ I go out. if lam party
sartiu dut I kin wollop him, Ize gwiue to
feel honor hound to rush out an’ break
his nose. If he looms up like a sidehill,
an’ if he ’pears to hev lots of science,
Ize gwiue to send my ole women out dar
to tell him dat if lie doan’ fly outer dat
she’ll call de hull perleeee force • an’ put
him whar de calves can’t bite him.”—
Detroit Free Press.
Density of the Earth.
Herr von Jolly, of Munich, has been
applying the balance to ascertain the
density of the earth. The balance used
was placed in the upper part of a tower,
aud from each of the scales depended a
wire, through a zinc tube, having a sec
ond scale at the lower end, 21,005 metres
below. These lower scales were 1 -02 in.
from the ground, so that a lead ball one
metre in diameter might be brought nn
der one of them. A bodv.brought from
an upper scale iuto a lower one has an
increase of weight corresponding to its
degree of approach to the earth’s fcenter
and to the increase of acceleration. When
the lead ball is brought under the same
lower scale its pull is added. The differ
ence of the implements of weight, with
and Without the lead ball, indicates the
amount, of pull of the latter, and the
quotient of this pull and that of the
earth alone furnishes a means (with
the law of gravitation) of comjiaring
the density of the earth with that of the
lead, and, the latter being known, of de
termining the mean density of the eartiL
The author finds the mean density to be
5‘692, with a probable error of not moro
than o'o6B either way. This agrees more
oar lesa with other determinations; but
from the mean of those with the torsion
balance it diverges about ten per cent
A new electric lamp has appeared in j
Paris, which ia called “sunlight, ” on ac
count of its mellow lustre. The light is
formed by inserting two carbons in holes
lored into a block of marble in such a
manner that the points of the carbons
are separated by a thin partition of the .
marble. An electric current is passed ■
t hxough the carbons, and in traversing the
shell of marble causes it to become
white hot, emitting a most agreeable
light, |
ITEMS OT
CoFTF j MbAriX
Thf. word alderniau is derived fron,
the Saxon ‘ ‘oaldorman,"
BcTTEß.waa used by tho early Romans
as medicine, never as food.
Tit/ daebafcff, or While,- kfc
n lscuoMßQßs IxiaAaod.rw.saiawiiM aiaail,
After roan, the whale’s worst enemy
is the grampus, whioh attacks it sav
agely.
Twelve million five hundred thousand
acres are devoted to cotton in the South
ern States.
Some five billion feet of lumber are
annually taken away from the pine region
of Michigan.
The brain cavity of the elephant is
very small in proportion to the size ot
the skull itself.
The value of waste paper collected
from various offices in, England and sold
for the public benefit averages $50,000 a
year.
An old Saxon catechism explains the
fact of the sun turning so red just ns it
sets by saving that it is then looking into
hell.
According to Darwin, there is a
species of monkey which can sing a
complete and correct octave of musical
notes.
In Siam there is a race of cats with
tails only half the ordinary length ami
often contorted into a kind of knot
which cannot be straightened.
One tribe of Indians never will cut a
stick that lias been on fire. They say
that the fire has a spirit which has en
tered the wood aud will get cut.
Anaxagoras, the Rhodian, held that
earthquakes were nothing but a sort of
cosmic tlatuleuce winds which had
strayed into caverns where they could
not find an outlet.
Two large war-vessels, with their guns,
powder and shot and $150,000 in „.oney,
were once refused for the largest known
diamond belonging to tho Rajah of
Barued.
No fewer than seven different lan
guages are spoken on one side of Lake
Nyassa iu Africa, which is only 350
miles in length, and natives from the
Southern end cannot understand those
at the Northern.
A serious plague among ostriches has
been spreading over South Africa for the
past few years. A post mortem examin
ation disclosed the fact that the disease
was caused by myriads of minute worms
adhering to the coat of the stomach. Tho
importance of the discovery may be es
timated by considering the fact that
ostriches are worth from $75 D to S9OO a
pair.
lx a Southern seaboard district of
China, wild silk worms are found, which
feed on the camphor tree, and their silk
is utilized in a singular manner. When
the caterpillar has attained its full size
and is abont to enter the pupa state, it
is cut open and the silk extracted in a
form much resembling catgut. This
substance, having undergone a process
hardening, makes excellent fish line and
is generally used for that purpose in the
Paklioi District. ________
HISTORICAL.
Algebra is said to have been invented
about 170, A. D.
The punishment of the galloys origi
nated under the Greek Empire.
A Quaker affirmation was first ac
cepted as a legal oath in England iu
1696.
One hundred and ten whalers were
sent out from the port of New Bedford
in 1876.
Count Philip, of Nassau, was trepan
ned twenty-seven times as a euro for
lieidaclie.
The English law condemning suicides
to burial by the highway, and mutilation
by a stake, was abolished under George
IV.
In tile fourteenth centmy, to maintain
a lion in the Tower of Loudon cost six
pence a day; while human prisoners
were supported for one penny.
The Christian custom of legacies for
the relief of tlie indigent und suffering
replaced the Pagan custom of bequeath
ing sums of money for games in honor
cf the dead.
For nearly two hundred years after
its .establishment in Europe, tlie Chris
tian community exhibited a moraljwirity,
which, if it has been equalled, lias never,
for any long period, lieen surpassed.
In 711 the Mohammedans, sailing from
Africa, landed in Southern Spain, and,
in the space of three years, conquered
the country, with tlie exception of a few
inaccessible regions in the Northwest.
The Canadian House of Commons
passed a resolution in 1881, to exempt
beet sugar from excise duty for eight
years. This was for the purpose of en
couraging the manufacture of beet sugar
in Canada.
In the long period between the irrup
tion of the barbarians and the revival of
learning in the fifteenth century, three
liersons are to be remembered for their
efforts to keep learning alive—Albertus
Magnus, tlie Abbess Hildegard, and the
German student Rabanus.
Hansom Cook, the inventor of an
auger for boring at an angle of the
wood without starting with a gouge, hit
upon the idea of examining the lips of
the worm, called the wood-borei', with a
microscope, and from this model made
the anger, which was very successful.
In’ the fourth century tlie pTaefeof
Syunaaehns, one of the most estimablo
Pagans ot his age, collected some Saxon
prisoners to fight iu honor of his son.
They strangled themselves in prison,
and Symmaehus lamented the misfor
tune that had befallen him from their
“impious hands,” but endeavored to
calm his feelings by recalling the pre
cepts of philosophy.
Composition ou an Egg.
In the hen’s egg the composition of
tlie albumen (the white of the egg) is :
Water, 88 part; pure albumen, 12;
mucus, 2.7, and salixe mi. ter, 0.3, in
cluding soda with traces of sulphur ; or,
according to Dr. Thomson, water, 80;
albumen, 15.5; mucus, 4.5; ash, 0.475.
The yolk consists of a variety of con
stituents : Water, 41. 486 : a form of al
bumen called vitelline, 15.76; margarines
and oleine, 21.304; cholesteriue, 0.438;
oleic and margerie acids, 7.226 ; phoe
phogiyceric acid, 1.2; muriate of am
monia, 0.034; chlorides of sodium and
potassium and sulphate of potassp,
0.277; phosphates of lime and magnesia,
1.022 ; animal extracts, 0.4 : and" 0.553
of coloring matter, traces of iron, lactre
acid, etc. . .
A dealer in was invited
by a friend into a New York restaurant,
where liver and bacon were served to
them. After chewing on it for a while
the rubber merchant said, “How curi
ous it is that, although I live out of
town, these restaurant people know me.
aud know that I deal ia these goods,
too.”