Newspaper Page Text
TORS. WILLIE.
BT MARQABZI- KTTXKCB.
One summer of my fifty-five
I And in Mera’ry’s pagea
Ab bright ip though U had not been
Kmdirined for many ages.
It peiiaed (I was n aturdy chap,
n hoe yean* acaroe numbered seven)
At an o]l tariu-houae on a hill
That seemed to me near heaven.
And there a tittle maiden lived,
Who had been christened Millie;
But when w* mot and loved they called
Her little Mre. Willie.
Oh, wlrnta cunning tot she waa,
A* sweet aa ripest borriea,
With blue-gray eyosaiid dimpled chin,
And check* aa red as cherries!
Among liar tangled cnrla the gold
Of aun was wont to linger,
A ring of gold, a mite, she wore—
My gift—on one small finger,
And every morning early' I
A rose, or pink, or lily,
To fast/ n in her pinafore,
Brought little Mra. Willie.
And through the daisied fields and lane
When it aa* pleasant weather,
Ah gay at* birds, hand clasped in hand,
We and wander olf together;
Or by the sparkling brook we’d ait,
And watch the shining fishes;
Or play beneath the old oak-troea,
With aoru cups and dbhea.
And did a cloud obscure the sky,
Aim make the air grow chilly.
Off came my Jacket to In wrap
Dear little Mrs. Willie.
And when the paJe moon rose, and In
Th" west tlio sun descended,
The katydids song loud to tell
The happy day waa ended.
We UtiK'i iug kianed, and slowly said
<i,H*d-nJglit in tones of sorrow:
Then wht]>erod, with a sudden light
In sleep* eyes, “To-morrow 1”
And 1 could hear her pray, the nights
Were then so calm and stilly,
“ Bless Willie!” and in turn I prayed,
“Bless little Mrs. Williel”
BepU rober came. The maple leaves
Were turning when we parted.
Hhe wept, hut 1 kept back my tears,
Though Just as broken-hearted.
Of course we thought to meet again,
But bu t again, ah, never!
The good-by said that autumn morn
Was good-by said forever.
But many times in dreams I’ve heard
The crickets chirping shrilly,
Whl’e I have roamed up hilJ, down dalo,
With little Mrs. WUlieu
Yea. of my summers fifty-five
The one that made mo seven,
Spent in the farm-house on the hill
That seemed so near to heaven.
Was fnr the brightest. And the love
Wo children gave each otlior,
Bo true, oo pure, I’m vory auro
We Dover gave another.
And even now on rose-sweet nights
(perchance it may be silly.
For sho must be quite fifty-three),
I b* my prayers add fervently,
“ Bless little Mrs. Willie 1”
—flarper’l Weekly.
TWO WOMEN IN BUSINESS.
liV HISI.EN WILMANB.
Iu the spring of 187 G, finding myself
in n position where it was necessary to
make some exertion for my own living,
being a “lone, lorn widder," nud l>eing
also averse to the kind of work usually
delegated to my sox, I formed a partner
ship with another woman whose situa
tion was similar to my own, and wo went
into the poultry business together. My
partner Hue, Susan, Hooky or Husannah
was a spinster (punster, according to
Mr. Weller) and just one of the nicest,
sweetest, ‘ ‘ bestest and tip-topiest ” old
maids that overlived. Hhe grew in my
affections every hour I lived with her,
until at last she stood before mo the
perfect incarnation of all the primitive
virtues. It was from her that 1 learned
to distrust the worth ot those qualities
in men and women that hail always held
my imagination captive, and decided
that education and genius and raro gifts
could never briug down the seale against
the pure goodness of a simple, trusting
and loving soul, such as hers.
After we biul ilooido.l ..lmt we wished
to do, it required a vigorous “looking
about" totind the place wo wanted. But
we did tiuil it on the banks of Clear
lake, well up toward its northern bound
ary. A farmer who occupied a largo
tract of land, and had built a tine house
near the center of it, left his old ouo
standing iu an isolated cornor, the pict
ure of loneliness and despair as seen
from the eyes of tho rich, but a very
haven of rest for two tonqxmt-tossed and
homeless women, such as we were. And
then it was on tho banks of the lako a
fact that made amends for many disad
vantages. Oh, that lake, thirty miles
long and ten milos wide, dotted with
evergreen islands. It comes back to me
now, like the memory of a lost paradise.
My soul grew visibly and constantly be
neath its influence. It taught tho lesson
of repose. It sought to induce in its
beholders the attitude of the angels.
Behold us, then, settled, with 100
liens, liftcell ducks and a dozen turkeys.
Mr. Worth sold us a ton of wheat “on
tick,” and we were equipped. Thedneks
took to the water, where they seemed to
earn their own living, as they treated
our store of provisions with contempt.
They waddled home every night to be
shut up, and we found their eggs in tho
pen in the morning. We sold our liens’
eggs, and set the hens on duck eggs.
As we kept an account of all our trans
itions, I will now refer to my book.
which I still keep, in remetnbranoe of
some of the happiest days of my life.
I find that on March 20 we had forty
liens sitting on ten eggs each, 400 eggs
ia all, with seventeen young ducks
hatched out. On April 20 wo had thirty
six liens sitting on ten eggs each, and
327 nice, healthy young ducks. A month
later closed out tho duck factory, with
680 small fry on hand. Iu the meantime
tho turkeys had not been idle, though I
am freo to confess to this day my hopo-
less Ignorance of tho turkey character
and my inability’ to cope with the insti
tution on its own grounds. The ways
of a turkoy hen are mysterious and past
finding out; she is either the most eon*
eliminate idiot on the universe or else I
myself am slightly touched. Her va
garies are such that no mind in its nor
mal condition can apprehend them.
What tho hallucinations of delirium
tremens would do to heln one out I do
not know, but as a last resort I hang my
-hopes on it nutil I stall see it tried.
One turkey hen Jo whom we had given
thirty-six y oung turkeys was in tho habit
of wandering off wherever a vagrant
fancy led her. At last it entered her
simple m.ddle to sleep away from home.
Jow, as tho country abounded in “ var
3’.lints,” we considered her conduct reck
less. unworthy, and in the highest de
cree reprehensible. We expostulated
wvith her in vain. She would meander ;
her whole soul was given to tho explora-
ion of unknown places. Many a mile
uid we tramp through the warm spring
rain to save the lives of those little tur
keys. The duty became burdensome.
We heard of a sheep dog about ten miles
nway that could be had by going for.
Hue said it was just the thing wc need
ed. She had no donbt Providence had
Kent it to us. i had an idea that Provi
dence had better liave sent it ten miles
farther while it was in the business, but
held my peace in perfect content, as
Hue had proposed borrowing a horse and
iroing for him herself.
It was a beautiful day the dav she
taade the trip. One of the many beau
tiful days of the heavenly climate of
California. I was alone, but not lone
tome. -The spirit of growth transfused
me. How could it be otherwise when
buds wore bursting and grass growing,
when nature’s sweet soul was climbing
to expression in leaves and flow
ers, and voicing itself melodiously
in the hum of insects, the calling of the
lambs and the splash of the lake waters
on the low, rocky shore. It was on that
day tlio first installment of blackbirds
made their appearance. They covered
the live oak by the door, and ground out
their little unvaried tunes in the richest
contralto.
Nothing gives more pleasure than to
see things grow, but living things most
especially. Our little (tricks were apor
potual study. Many of thorn were indi
vidualized by special characteristics, so
much so that we named them according
ly. We had Grady, Tiny, Hand and po
ny Express. A friend in San Francisco,
hearing of our poultry venture, sent us
two dozen l’ekin ducks’ eggs. Wo raised
seventeen clucks out of these egg Hand
sold them for $3 apiece. The little ducks
of the brood were a curiosity. Their
eyes were small and deep-set, giving to
them a very shrewd appearance ; their
cheeks bulged out and hung down, and
all they lacked of making themselves
fnc similes of bloated lager-beer vend
ors’ signs, such as project from “Gam
briuus’ halls,” was only a pipe apiece for
them.
But I must not forget our dog. It
was dark when the sound of horse’s hoofs
rang out on the hard, shelly lake-shore
road. I had some venison, pork anil
potatoes stewing together on the stove,
and a lovely elderberry pio scalloped
and ruffled to distraction was cooling it
self on the table. I rushed out of the
house and lifted " our treasure ” to the
ground. But Hue had more treasures
than one. Tied behind her saddle were
several small roso bushes well rooted,
and about a dozen grape vines. It is
natural for women to long for flowers,
and I. confess my hope of these roses
projected itself so far into the future,
and behold through the medium of im
agination such a paradise of flowers, that
I could hardly sleep that night for think
ing about them. In the morning wo
planted thorn. We were not troubled
by tho selfish thought that the
place was not ours: that wo were
sowing for others to reap. Perhaps tho
blossedncss of giving pervaded our souls
at that time; at all events wo were just
as happy as wo could l>e, and that was
enough. The puppy watched our work
with the deepest interest. Ho shifted
his position as we moved from place to
place, looking intently with round eyes
and ears lopped forward into every hole
we (lug. When wo had finished and were
resting from onr labors became walking
in at the door with ono of our finest, roso
hushes in his mouth, which- ho laid at
Hue’s feet, the expression of his face in
dicating perfect confidence in the appro
priateness of his action. Of course we
did not permit such conduct to go un
punished, and gave him a very small
whipping, so small I fear lie did not un
derstand it; for ho never rested a mo
ment from his work until ho hud un
earthed several times over everything wo
planted. I was a little inclined to drown
him, but had not the nerve to do it. It
was not only the plants he destroyed; he
carried my panned out ono day and re
duced it to a skeleton; he destroyed a
package containing a dollar’s worth of
sugar, for which wo had paid in eggs; he
fore a volume of poems to pieces, and
wore out the trail of my morning gown
riding around on it as 1 moved about tho
house. Hue laughed in tho jolliest man
uoi at all these mishaps, aun always took
her pet’s part in every quarrel' 1 had
with him.
But Hue had a tin-top, level-best Sun
day-go-to-meeting bonnet, tho most cu
rious specimen of head architecture ever
seen, and she valued it in proportion to
its queernoss. But one day something
happened. We had been in the burn
for an hour, and, coming book, wo no
ticed the strango appearance of tho
front yard. There seemed to have been
a sort of eiroumserilxHl snow-storm in it.
Examination revealed the fact that every
snow-flake was woven of fine white
straw. A light began to dawn. Suo
lushed to the spot where her bonnet
had been. When I came in and saw
her good, honest face stretched out
longer than I hail ever seen it before, I
felt so bad I laughed myself quite sick
out of pure sympathy.
However, tho day came when that
dog took anew departure. Ho was very
imitative; he soon saw how wo combust
ed business, and, being energetic, intel
ligent and loving, he began to take the
work off of our hands. He herded tho
turkeys amt lirouglit them homo every
night. He took charge of the ducks
and chickens, and if from weakness ouo
fell liohiud lie brought it to us tenderly
iu his mouth. He became the friend
and protector of the “ two lorn widders
iu their lonely old castle by the lonely
old wood," and was deeply and tenderly
appreciated.
I am sure we brought little science
to lie or on our poultry raising, but we
made a very fair success of it. We lived
comfortably amt happily and realized
nearly S3OO when we sold off our surplus
stock in tho fall. We thought it much
better than taking positions in estab
lishments not our own. We were freo,
and we appreciated the situation. And
then the occupation itself was full of in
terest Never a day passed we did not
find something to laugh at among our
numerous family. Wo hod frequent
visits from Mr. Worth’s two little rowdy
oliildren, who were in full sympathy
with every phase of chicken life, particu
larly the absurd part of it
Ono day after we had missed them
from the room for about two hours, and
supposed they were at home, Billy eaiuo
came iu quite excited aud opened con
versation with Sue. I was at the sew
ing machine, but heard it all quite
plainly.
“ Sue,” he commenced, “Sue, Sue,
O’u 1 Sue ! Mo aud Kute's been fightiu’
two chickens.”
“Yes, honey,” said Sue, in her moth
erly drawl, reaching up the words iu the
middle like a cat's back.
“ Mino was a dominie, and hern was
a block one. Both of 'em were mighty
little cluqis, von lHit; won’t much lnore’n
weaned; ana the black ’uu was the
spunkiest feller you ever saw. Both of
'em had the sand, but the black ’un was
the grittiest chicken in Lake county.
I’ll bet big on it. Sue.”
“ Yes, honey.”
“We fit ’em right out in the suu,
where it was hot enough to bile ’em.
We wanted to see how much they would
stand. Sue.”
"Yes, honey.”
" Well, they fit aud fit and fit. Tho
dominie was a little the biggest and got
the bulge on blackcy in the start; but
blackey, he just kep' a packin' for dear
life, a whalin' away nt dominie till he
oouhln t stand up, and then ho lay down
and fit. After he fit awhile a lavin’
down he gin oat, and he lay there wateh
in the doroinio chaw him up. Pretty
soon, when the dominio thought he’d
got him all used up, he started to leave,
but, Sue-”
“Yes, honey.”
“ The dominie had got so weak kisself
that he had just straddled off and reelod
round like he was drunk ; and before he
got furder enough— wot with bulgin’
forard and staggering backard—little
blackey put out his bill and caught him
by a wing futher, and held his hold till
dominie got on his feet agin and turned
round and licked him over. Now.
Sue.”
“Yes, honey.”
“Every time the dominie whipped
him and started off, little blackey would
do the same thing. He was clean tuck
ered out all but his eyes (and he could
just barely turn them in his head) ani
his bill. And you ought to a been there
to a seen him stretch out his little, weak
neck, with not a feather on it, and take
dominie by the wing or the tail every
time lie tried to leave. I never see such
grit in my life, Sue ; cos, you see, Hue,
he knowed he couldn’t move, and ho
knowed that every time lie caught hold
of dominie and held on he’d get licked
agin ; but ho kept a doin’ it, Hue.”
“ Yes, honey.”
“ Till at last the dominie was clear
wore out a whippiu’ of him and fainted
dead away, and lay with his mouth open
and his tongue a lollin’ out. Then
when blackey saw that tongue a layin’
alongside a kind of piert look hopped
into his eves, and ho stretched his little
weak neck out and caught it in his bill.
This kinder waked tho dominie up,
Hue.”
“Yes, honey.”
“And he squacked murder, Sue.”
“ Yes, honey.”
“ And tho best was that whichever
squacked first would he the one that
was whipped ; and tho way I raked tho
pilo of red beans was just sinful, Hue ;
and Kate’s as mad as a March hare and
gone home to tell ma.”
" But you don’t mean to say that you
took all your sister’s beans, do you ?*’
“Yes, honey.” (Words roaclied in
imitation of Hue.)
“And do you really moan to keep
them ?”
“ Tom, honey."
“ Well, now /” said Sue, laughing. “ I
don’t know what to do with such a hoy
anyhow.”
Wo carried our poultry business
through another year anil with still
greater success. Wo would probably
have been engaged in it yet but for a
male biped, who, perceiving how well
sho could live without him, made tho
discovery that he could not live without
her. This dissolved our partnership,
and terminated a never-to-be-forgot
ten period of my life.
Carelessness In Ordering Hoods.
Mistakes frequently occur because of
tho careless way many merchants have of
ordering goods. Homo forget to state
the number, quality, size, shape or color
of the articles desired, and where price is
a necessary element of description they
omit to mention that. Such buyers,
somehow, seem to have the impression
that tho jobber knows nil about his wants,
and will send the right goods, no matter
how careless may bo his method of or
dering. Tho blame for the uncertainty
and mistakes which naturally grow out
of tho careless ordering by the merchant
belongs to him, yet, when the wrong
goods come to hand he feels disposed to
find fault with the jobber. If a man was
to draw up an ordinary contract relative
to a business matter, ho would think that
great cure and circumspection w ire nec
essary. What is an order hut a contract
for so many goods? If the purchaser
was iu fiauie an agreement f,r „ „uuciiot
worth SIOO, he would use the strictest
care to see that tho boundaries mentioned
and that the correct price was inserted
and nil tho conditions of the agreement
set forth. A man ordinarily knows just
what ho wishes to order. He usually
knowns the number of the article, if it is
numbered. He can tell whose make it
is, and give such other intelligent de
scription us will give the wholesale house,
from whom he orders, the necessary in
formation to enable them to send such
goods and such only as ho desires. Mer
chants often omit to take a copy of their
orders, a thing they should bv all means
do. This enables them to know what
engagements they have out and prevents
duplicating their orders. Besides, it is
a cheek upon tho practice of shifting
bills. The merchant orders a gross of
knives l. hen the gcxxls arrive ho finds two
gross, lie is uncertain whether lie or
dered one or two gross and consequently
is in no position to insist upon a return of
the surplus goods.
If it is worth while to send an order nt
all, it certainly is worth one’swltilo tosee
that it is properly made. Tho praetieo
of careless ordering is much more preva
lent than most persons suppose. No doubt
a great deal of tho carelessness arises
from the rush and confusion of trade,
some of it from over confidence iu the in
tegrity of the jobber, and not a little
from pure laziness. It is easier to set
down and run off an order, than to take
tho pains of looking up catalogues for
names and designations. But these gen
tlemen find that their ease is purchased
at the expense of paying freight- charges
on the goods that have to bo roturned be
cause of such carelessness. It certainly
is better to uso the utmost care iu giving
orders for goods and avoid the delays, in
conveniences and mistakes which arise
from the lax method so frequency em
ployed.—Chicago Commercial Adver
tiser.
A Lively Adventuress.
A young woman who was brought up
at Bradford, Canada, without auy knowl
edge of her father and mother was
finally taken to an insane asylum, from
which she escaped and became an ad
venturess of the dime novel character.
First she figured as an “escaped nun,”
and found lecturing m that capacity
vi ry profitable. Then she was a perse
cuted missionary from China, where she
had achieved immense success in build
ing up tho Lord's kingdom. After this
•he tried to elope with a fourteen-year
old boy, the heir of considerable prop
erty. Then she declined into a con
sumptive, deceiving, by means of a red
chemical hid in her cheek, the physicians
themselves, who thought she was sub
ject to hemorrhages. She has been a
frequent guest at liidenu Hall, the resi
dence of Lord Lome, and was detected
just in time to prevent her marriage with
s rich and brilliant lawyer of Ottawa.—
l>etroit Free /Vest.
In England, w hen a man is drunk, ho
is “oila fool;” in Chicago, he is “ou a
hoorah;” iu St. Louis, lie has a “dash too
much up his nose;" in Kansas Citv, he
is “ giunod up for all that’s outin
St. Joe, “the benzine has the upper
hold in Omaha, he is “on it bigger’u
an Injun ;” in Denver, he “ slnug in a
bowl too much;” in Cheyenne, “the
duffer's got it iu the neck,” and iu Lead*
ville, “ the galoot’s on a roarer ngin !”
“Cane bottomed chairs," re ideated
the countryman, studying the upholst
erer's sign. “ Cain bottomed chairs, did
he? I want to know ! Can't hardly be
lieve it, but, then, these 'ere city chaps
knows. Won’t our dominie be took
back, though, when I tell ’em."—Yonk
ers Oatette.
BITS OF INFORMATION.
Among the Greeks the death punish
ment of certain criminals was aggravat
ed by tho denial of funeral rites.
In early days of printing books the
paper was only printed on one side and
the blank sides pasted together.
Tile turkey got its name from the be
lief that it originated in Turkey. But
the big bird is, in fact,* a native of North
America,
In 1584 “cages and stocks,” for the
punishment of oflenders, were ordered
to be set up in every ward in the city of
London.
Hippocrates, bom at Cos, 4GO B. C.,
was the first person to apply himself to
t-lie study ot physic as the sole business
of his life.
It was the Emperor Charles V. who
invented the title of “your Majesty,”
sovereigns having previously been ad
dressed as “your Grace. ”
Blind Tom has been an idiot from
childhood. Ho played aa well when
7 years old as at present. He play snow
something like 7,000 pieces.
Easter eggs symbolize tho resurrec
tion, and they are colored red in aHu*
sion to the blood of redemption. The
custom dates back to the ancient Hin
doos, Jews, Persians and Egyptians,
and it was symbolical of the maundane
egg from which, according to an ancient
tradition, the earth was hatched. It is
said also to refer to the recreating pow
ers of nature, which begin to bo dis
play ed in the Easter season.
Dr. Franklin invented a stove hi
1745. Previous to That time there were
stoves in Holland and Germany. Frank
lin’s stove, however, was a great im
provement on all that had preceded it.
In 1771 he invented several other stoves,
one for burning bituminous coal, which
would consume its own smoke and had
a downward draught; and another, in
tended for the same purpose, having a
basket grate or cage, with movable bars
at tho top and bottom, supported by
pivots at the center, and which, after
being filled and kindled at the top,
could be inverted, and so burn from the
base. The next inventor of stoves,
ovens and heating and cooking appar
atus was Count Rumford, who between
1785 and 1795^tlcvised several improve
ments, (ill intended to economize fuel
and heat. It may bo stated that the
box stove now In the State House at
Richmond, Va., bears date of 1770,1s
one of the so-#allod Holland stoves, and
was probably imported from England,
as the castings, though rude, are super
ior to the American castings of that clay.
For cooking purposes Count Rumford’s
cooking stoves or ranges, lined with fire
brick or soapstone, and with a ventilat
ing oven, which had been introduced
into New York as early as 1798, and into
Boston about 1800, were gradually com
ing into use, aud between that tine and
1825 there was, considering the period
and tho obstacles, considerable activity
in this branch of manufactures, which
havo beeu increasing annually over
since.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Lake Superior, at its surface, is 600
feet above the Atlantic, and at its bottom
573 feet.
It is estimated that over 10,000 per
sons are employed in the laundries of
New York.
M K.vr to rice, Indian oorn is used
by a larger number of people than any
other grain.
Old sails are made into tho paper used
for bank notes, and old ropes reappear
as brown paper. *
Two thousand human beings and over
50,000 head of cattle aro annually killed
by snake bites in India.
The variations in the rainfall of India
involves the food supply-, and is a ques
tion of famine or plenty.
Chinese dentists attribute toothache
to tho guawing of worms, and profess to
extract the same from decayed teoth.
Cvclones usually occur toward tho
end of spring and in the fall—the periods
of change of direction in the monsoons.
In IS7B over 400,000 eggs of California
salmon were shipped to New Zealand,
where they arrived in excelieut condi
tion.
The experiments In cotton raising in
Kansas have been very successful. One
planter shipped 100 bales of excellent
quality.
Florida lizards are said to possess,
in a remarkablo degree, the powor of
changing their color at will, the process
occupying about a quarter of a minute.
A red passion-flower, secreting honey
in the glands of its young leaves, was
found guarded by a species of ant, which
consumed tho honey and drove away all
other insects.
1\ RrssrAthe sunflower has a practical,
if not an testhetical, value. It is culti
vated for the oil it yields. The oil is used
in cooking, as well ns in lamps, and for
making soap and paint.
Tiie paper makers of England import
annually eighteen or twenty tons of rags.
Some English ones requiro no bleach
ing at all, while those of Italy bear
away the palm for dirt.
A Strawberry Patch in a Barrel.
Persons who live in cities, and only
have n small yard whore tho sun shines,
eau have nice berries enough for family
use without being troubled by weeds.
Take a hogshead, or cask, and commence
six inches from the bottom, and with a
two-inch augur bore it full of holes six
inches apart. Then fill up by degrees
with rich dirt, nnd ns you fill up sot a
strawberry root in the dirt, with the
Town or loaves out of the augur hole,
and when it is filled to the top you eau
set a row around the top; but leave a
hollow in the center, so that when you
wish you can pour in soapsuds or liquid
manure, so that you can force them to
grow very large, and they will be nice
and clean. It would be more durable to
have two or three iron hoops ou the
hogshead. Parsley can be raised the
same way. The above is more useful
than a rustic stump in the yard.—Fann
ins; World.
1 lorGAT.—' ‘ Tidyou notiss, Anknss, how
ta Toctor who iss come to take ta place
of old 'footer Munro for a short time
kept hiss head puried in his liants during
ta long prayer in ta kink thiss morning?”
Angus—“Oyes, efferybody was lookin’
at 'im, nut it was peoause—so I wass told
—he is troubled with a locum latent in
his heart, a tisease which means vou must
‘hold ta place’ affected.” Dongal—
“Ohwat nonsense! It is hiss own self
that is ta locum latent, which is a tegree
he w ill have took at Colleteh, ant not a
tisease at all, Anknss McKilvery; and it
iss your iknorane* that iss ferry superior
mirover. ” _
A man, or one of tiie lower animals.
eomiH'lled to breathe for half an hour an
atmosphere containing 1-779 of carbonic
acid, alwvorbs that gas in such quantities
that ODe-half the red blood corpuscles
eombire with it, and become incapable
of absorbing oxygen.
CBOWISG OLD.
At six—l well remember when—
I fancied all folks old at ten.
But, when I’d turned my first decade,
Fifteen appeared more truly staid.
But when the fifteenth round I’d run,
I thought none old till twenty-one.
Then, oddly, when I’d reached thatagf,
I held that thirty made folki sage.
But when my thirtieth year was t>ld,
I aaid: “At two-score men grow old I”
Yet two-score came and found me thrifty,
And so I drew the line at fifty.
But when I reached that age I swore
None could be old until three-score 1
And here I am at sixty now,
Aa young as when at six, I trow I
'Tis true, my hair Is somewhat £ray,
And that luiea cane to-day;
’Tis true, these rogues about my kneo
Say “Grandpa!” when they speak to moJ
But, bless your soul, I’m young aj when,
I thought all people old at ten 1
Perhaps a little wiser grown—
Perhaps some old illusions flown;
But wond’ring still, while years hare rolled,
When ia it that a man grows old ?
Vandyke Brown in the Clipper.
Answers fo Correspondents.
The Milwaukee A'un gets off an ex
cellent travesty on tho “Answers to Cor
respondent’s” column. Hays the Sun:
Wo have long regarded, with consum
ing jealousy, the department of answers
to correspondents which appear in some
of our contemporaries, and which regu
larly make just an even column. People
from all over seem to write to editors for
information, and we have decided to wait
no longer, but occasionally have such n
column.
Melbourne, Australia, (Sun office) —
“Can you inform a large number of your
readers here why the first day of Janu
ary is called New Years day? E. G.”
Yes. It is because it is tho first day of
the now year,
Manitoba, (Sun office). —“Can you in
form an appreciative reader, through the
medium of your valuable paper, who is
the author of a poem called ‘Beautiful
Snow?’ ,T. A.” We should say we
could. We wrote it ourself, and we re
collect that during its composition, while
every emotion of our intense nature waa
surging aud seething with the divine af
flatus, a party named Wm. Patterson
came into the room interrupting us, and
we hit him in the eye with an ink stand.
We understand that Patterson is looking
for us, pretending that he doesn’t know
who struck him. The son of a gun knows
well enough who struck him.
Key West (Sun office)-“tH. G.”-Not
having Ayer’s almanac for 1882, and hav
ing mislaid the one for 1881, we are un
iride to give you the exact date of Martin
Van Buren’s death/ It occurred, we un
derstand, some yeaTs ago.
itskata, Russia (Sun office) —“Mirza”
—You are mistaken about “Grandfather’s
Clock.” It is not a dirge. Here in
America it is sung as a popular song,
but if its translation into Russian has
seemed to clothe it in an air of melan
choly it is your language that is at fault,
not the music. The author is an Ameri
can, hut will be delivered up if proper
application is made through the Stafe
Department at Washington.
Cape Horn (Sun office)— “Patigonian”
—You are mistaken. Men have been
sentenced to prison in this country for
stealing ns small a sum as §IO,OOO,
though of course such instances are rare.
However, it is only when justice catches
a man when running off with a ham or a
loaf of bread that she throws her whole
soul into the enormity, and fires him
througli the moon..
Han Stucco, Mexico. (Sun office)
“Gomez”—Jay Gould, whom you are
pleased to denominate as “the invidious
foreign devil” who is cutting up your
country with railroads, is not ‘* an ana
conda,” but is known hero as a success
ful railroad magnate. You are right,
however, in your surmises. When the
tide of Northern civilization begins pour
ing into Mexico you will he obliged to
wash yourself; we do not see any other
way. But why not change your methods
in order to conform to the new order of
things ? Why not give up cattle steal
ing and highway robbery, and fit your
self for a bank cashier ? Tho only dif
ference will boa little extra outlay for
soap.
Correspondents should send in plenty
of inquiries. What we can’t find in the
almanac, we can generally strike in the
encyclopedic; and if we can’t answer the
question at all, we can easily chuck it in
the waste-basket, and invent a question
that we can answer.
Abraham Lincoln’s Parent’s Marriage.
Captain J. W. Wartman has been able
to secure what Ward Lamon and other
biographers were unable to secure, a re
liable record of the wedding of Abraham
Lincoln’s father aud mother. The fol
lowing affidavit on the subject will ex
plain itself:
“I, Christopher 0. Graham, now of
Louisville, Ky., aged ninety-eight years,
on my oaih, say: That I was present at
the marriage of Thomas Lincoln and
Nancy' Hanks, in Washington County,
uear the town of Springfield, Ky.; that
one Jesse Head, a Methodist preacher, of
Springfield, Ky., performed the cere
mony. I knew the said Thomas Lincoln
and Nancy Hauks well, and knew the
said Nancy Hauks to have been virtuous
and respectable and of good parentage.
I do not remember tho exact date of the
marriage, but was present at the marriage
aforesaid; and I make this affidavit
freely, and at the request of Captain J.
W.Wartman, to whom, for the first time,
l have this day incidentally stated the
fact of my presence at the said wedding
of President Lincoln’s father and mother.
I make this affidavit to vindicate tho
character of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy
Hanks, and to put to rest forever the
legitimacy of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
I was formerly proprietor of Harrods
burg Springs. lam a retired physician,
and am now a resident of Louisville, Ky.
I think Felix Grundy was a'so present
at the marriage of said Thomas Lincoln
and Nancy Hanks, the father and mother
:>f Abrnham Lincoln. The said Jesse
Hoad, tho officiating minister at the mar
riage aforesaid, afterwards moved to
Hsrrodsbnrg, Ky., and edited a paper
there, and died at that place.
1 ’ Chiustofuer Oolcmbus Graham.
“Subscribed and sworn to before me,
Ibis March 20, A. D. 1882.
“N. 0. Butler.
‘Clerk United States Circuit Court,
First District, Indiana.
“By J. W. Wartman, Deputy Clerk.”
—Evansville Journal
Wanted Advice.
A Hartford man went to a lawyer for
advice. After receiving the retaining
fee the lawyer said:
“State your ease.”
“Well, sir," replied the client, “a
man told me to go to h—, aud I want
your advice.”
The attorney took down a volume of
Connecticut statutes and, after turning
over a few leaves, answered:
“Don’t you do it. The law doesn't
compel you to." — Hartford limes.
THE FIRST VIOLIN
Made of Antedllnxlan Wood, and Played
In Richmond, lnd.
[From the Bicbmond (lnd.) Palladium.]
Harry P. Cain, the leader of the G.
R. L. Serenading Club, and a violinist
of some note, has recently come into
possession of a rare treasure. It is noth
ing less than a violin made of wood that
grew before the flood. Some forty years
ago workmen engaged in digging a email
mill-race through the farm owned by
Daniel Bulla, northeast of J. R. Pres
ton’s residence, discovered, at a depth of
six or eight feet beneath the surface, the
trank of a tree in a good state of preser
vation. It was lying across the line of
the race, aud they had to cut out a piece
of it several feet long before they could
go on with their work. Geologists say
that the country around Richmond was
once covered with water in which huge
icebergs floated, or that immense gla
ciers like those of the Swiss Alps trav
ersed it. The course of the ice from
north to south cap still be traced by
grooves on the bedrock. The gravel that
underlies tho soil is supposed to be the
debris that was carried down by the ice.
Traces of orcanic matter, such as wood
and grasses, lying on the hardpan below
the gravel, indicate that there was a
vegetation older than the gravel banks,
and some profess to believe that the
frozen water that covered the land at
that timo was a part of the flood men
tioned in the Bible. Whether it was
or not, it certainly occurred many thou
sand years ago, and the tree, which the
stratification of the gravel shewed to
have been deposited when it was, must
have rested there ages ago. It was con
iferous, but none of the woodchoppers
to whom it was shown, and none of the
persons who have seen it since, have
been able to tell what variety it was.
The nearest kinsman to it that now
grows in our forests is the red cedar.
The wood was carefully laid away, and
was shown as a curiosity. One day
Edward Parks, a collector who has sup
plied .the cabinets and museums of
Richmond with some of their finest
specimens, heard of it, and went to see
it. Before he came back he had induced
its owners to part with it. Mr. Parks is
an enthusiastic musician, as well as a
collector and amateur geologist, and the
idea occurred to him that the wood pos
sessed all the requisites for making a
fine violin. It was light and porous, the
grain was coarse, and the cells were
large. Putting it under his arm, he
went around to A. B. Clark, who was
engaged in repairing a Cremona that
was captured in the siege of Mexico by
Professor Barnes’ father. Clark was de
lighted. It was the very thing. He hau
models of the old Cremona, and in the
course of three months he had given the
finishing touches to the new violin, The
belly was of the old antediluvian wood,
and the batik and neck of wavy maple,
cut in Pennsylvania fifty years ago, and
rafted down the Ohio to Cincinnati, and
carried on to Dayton for an old cabinet
maker who was never able to use it.
The figure of tho old instrument was
followed exactly, and when the new one
was finished it was an exact fac simile
of those built by Stradivarius. When
the how was drawn across it the two
connoisseurs went into ecstades of de
light, The glue was barely set, and the
varnish was still green, but when they
played the room was filled with the rich
est, sweetest melody. There was an ab
scence of the thick, raw quality that
marks a now violin. The notes came
out sharp and clear, and when the lower
strings were set vibrating they gave out
rich, mellow music, that reminded them
of the violins of Aruati and Guarnerius-
Sheep liaising.
The sheep industry in the United
States is vast and important, and in the
consideration of which there are two
partially distinct, and at the same time
interlocldng interests. Sheep were in
early times grown almost solely for their
wool, and with the annual shearing came
the year’s income ; but in later times,
and never so prominently as now, the
carcass is looked upon as an important
item in sheep husbandry. Mutton as a
cheap and acceptable pleat has of late
grown greatly in popularity, and mutton
now stands as one of the two important
factors in the successful raising of sheep.
In view of the fact that the merino is
essentially a wool-producing breed, with
a fleece of the finest and best quality, it
is evident that the pure-blood merino,
though it may supply our manufactories
with the material for the finest of woolen
goods, on the other hand cannot
satisfy the butcher. The sheep having
to both feed and clothe its keeper, it is
an important question : What is the
best breed of sheep to do this ? Evi
dently not the pure-blooded merino.
Though the growing of tho pure-blooded
merinos has its place, and an impor
tant one, and the demand for their wool
indicates the prosperity of manufacture
of the finest goods, it is by the crossing of
them with other breeds in which the
flesh-producing qualities predominate
that a sheep best for both meat and wool
is produced. A cross-breed is the one
that in most localities is to pay. The
merino is slow of growth and small of
carcass when mature ; but when crossed
with a rapid grower, one that matures
early, is a high feeder, and lays on flesh
rapidly, but not remarkable lor its wool
either in quantity or quality, a sheep is
obtained that pays for itself in its wool
of prime quality, and fumisnes a good
quantity of mutton as a profit. Of such
character are the crosses of the merino
with tho Cotsvvold and the South-down.
But with the great mass of American
sheep on the Western plains, wool is the
important product, and here the cross
must be with the merino upon the
“native”—a race of sheep which has
grown out of a variety of early impor
tations to tliis country—an intercrossing
of various breeds in which many of the
good points have been lost. In this field
the merino has a great work to do to
raise the yield of wool one, two, or more
pounds per head, and give it a higher
value.
Educated Women.
Educated women have a wide sphere.
There is, indeed, 6ome discussion as to
its exact bounds. Some doubt, for in
stance, whether they have a legitimate
function in the pulpit. Our own view
is that character and ability are God’s
chart of duty. But, whatever may be
decided in regard to the pulpit, there
is one field where educated women are
in demand. That is the home. The
educated woman is the best wife, the
best mother, the best housekeeper, tho
best economist. The “coming men”
could afford to pay all the expenses of a
full training for their future wives merely
for the greater good they would receive
from them. In these days we pity tho
ignorant mother. Six years of hard
study aro well invested, if for nothing
more than to be able to answer a thou
sand questions which curious youngsters
will be asking in a few years.
Flourens, the French physiologist,
fixing the complete development of man
at twenty years, teaches that he should
live five times as long as it takes him to
become an adult.
Ceramic Artfulness.
There are a good many humbugs in
the world, and art circles are as often
deceived by them as are less aesthetic
people. A London collector recently re
fused to pay $5,000 for a pair of roseDii
barry vases, which he had bought of a
dealer for old Sevres, affirming that they
were spurious, and that the seller had
tempted him to buy by exaggerating the
price he himself had paid for them.
There were pretty strong grounds for
suspecting that the seller’s figures were
exaggerated, and good judges were
equally divided as to the genuineness or
apuriousness of the vases. The jury,
however, held the buyer liable for the
full amount.
Sevres is not the only ware about
which there is much uncertainty. Con
noisseurs often go into ecstasy about
“old Satsuma,” but Professor* Morse
who has lived in Japan, declared in a re
cent lecture before the Lowell Institute
of Boston, that Satsuma is not held in
any special estimation in Japan. There
are four kinds of it—the gray paiuted
the gray inlaid, the brown, and the light
colored or yellow. The Japanese claim
that the yellow clay was not discovered
until the present century, and that there
is no ancient Satsuma pottery ; all arti
cles of real Satsuma are small, and have
no stamp upon them ; and plates with
heavy rims, cups with handles, and sau
cers and pitchers, have absolutely no ex
istence in genuine Japanese pottery.
Two rare old articles of genuine Satsu
ma ware which were obtained by the lec
turer with great trouble and expense,
were made seventy-five years ago. The
larger articles sold as ancient Satsuma
are from two to four years old, and are
principally sold in Tokio, and are rubbed
with charcoal dust to give them an ap
pearance of age.
The Professor also declared that he
had himself stood beside an agent of an
American firm which deals in “Satsuma”
ware, and heard him give an order for a
great quantity of this “ancient” pot
tery, directing the designs, and telling
the maker to put on plenty of decora
tions, no matter what. These large
pieces are regarded by the Japanese as
abominable paraphrases, and a name is
applied to them which signifies that they
are made solely to be exported. They
are, for the most part, not Satsuma at
all, but Awat.n, and the decoration is per
formed by children and cheap workmen
of all kinds.
There are a good many fine specimens
of Satsuma, not a few of large size, to
be found in all our American cities. The
amount paid for some of these will ap
penr much magnified in tho light of Pro
fessor Morse’s revelations. If he is to
be credited, there are other Japanese
arts than the finishing of pottery, which
collectors and all purchasers would do
well to study.
A Few Verbal Errors.
The following examples of the more
eommoii errors in the use of words are
taken from “Tho Yarbalist,” by Mr.
Alfred Ayres :
Accord for give; as, ‘‘the information
was accorded him."
Aggravate for irritate; {o aggravate
is to make worse.
Allude to for refer to or mention.
As for that; “not as I know,” for * ‘not
that I know.”
Avocation for vocation; a man’s voca
tion is his business; avocations are
things that occupy him incidentally.
Balance for rest or remainder.
Character for reputation; one may
have a good reputation, but a bad char
acter, and the two words should never
be confounded.
Dangerous for in danger; a sick man
is sometimes most absurdly said to he
dangerous, when it is only meant that
the poor fellow is himself in danger —a
very different thing.
Demean, for debase, disgrace or hum
ble. To demean one’s self is merely to
behave one’s self, whether well or ill.
Dirt, for earth or loam.
Donate, for give.
Execute, for hang, as applied to tho
criminal. It is the sentence, not the
man, that is executed.
Healthy, for wholesome; an onion
plant may be healthy, but when you
pick an onion, there is no more healthi
ness or unhealthiness to that, although
it may or may not be wholesome as an
article of food.
Illy, for ill.
Inaugurate, for begin.
Kids; mjLkid gloves.
Learn, tor teach. ;
Liable, lot likely or apt.
Loan, for lend.
Pants, for pcfhtiMppns, or (better still)
trousers.
Partake, for cat.
Plenty as an adjective, where plenti
ful is meant.
Heal, for very: as “real nice,’’ “ real
pretty.”
Reside, for live; residence, for house.
Retire, for go to bed.
Seldom or ever, for seldom if ever, or
seldom or never.
Some for somewhat; “ she is some bet
ter to-day. ”
Stop, for stay; “where are yon stop
ping?” This is one of the vilest of
Briticisms.
Summons (the noun), for summons
(the verb).
Those kind of apples, for that kind.
Transpire, for occur.
Vulgar, for immodest or indecent.
Without, for unless.
Tlic Family Purse.
The money question between husband
and wife is one of the most serious draw
backs to married happiness, and it is
time it was adjusted on a more just and
equal basis. The life of utter depend
ence which some women lead is crushing
and degrading. Men do not realize tho
titter helplessness and vacuity to which
the system condemns woman. Now,
does anybody believe that it is necessary
for the welfare of the family that she
should go to him for 25 cents every time
she needs it for car-fare or a spool of
thread ? To ** ..gin. or just to taKe uei
imtiecifity in money matters for granted
before she has been tested? Is it not
just such women, who are left by the
failure of some speculative craze to their
own resources, with the burden of a
family upon their inexperienced shoul
ders, who often display wonderful
powers of energy and calculation, in
addition to thrift and persevering in
dustry, which ought to put all such men
to shame?
Women, as a general rule, can make
one dollar go as f. a- two in the hands
of men; and many conceited individuals,
who now consider that the social system
bounded by four walls of their dwelling
would cease to revolve if they were taken
out of it, would find great happiness and
great pecuniary advantage in putting the
control of all the interior details of their
homes in the hands of their wives, with
a division of the income equal to the re
quirement.— Woman'B Journal.
Musical notes were first printed in
the year 1502. The first authentic use
of a musical instrument constructed on
the principle of the modern organ was
in the year 755.