Newspaper Page Text
BLACK.
wag was Philo Freer,
acute and queer,
LgPho did as little as he could
*• To earn a scanty livelihood.
A laughing, luckless, lazy lout.
Who hunted, ftshi-d and loafod atxiut,
Or ran on errands for his bread—
Who never had a cent ahead—
A being of that cu ions kind
The traveler will always find
On coming to a country town.
Before the tavern, sitting down.
One day a showman passed that way.
Whose name was Bppanetus Bray—
An easy-going sort of man.
Who traveled with a caravan
Exhibiting where'er he went,
Boncatb a dusky canvas tent,
A two-legged horse, three-legged bon,
A woman with a wondrous wen,
A Tartar girl with fourteen toes,
That bulanoed uoitlos on her nose,
A dwarf that danced an Irish Jig,
A snake and educated pig;
And otne: things os tare and strange.
By which he shrewdly gained his change
Great things from little nothings grow.
Like " Bray's Rohemoth Moral Sho v.
One sultry day, Freer, meeting Bray,
Said to him, lit a solemn way;
“ I saw nbout a month ago
A splendid subject for your show—
\ great attraction you'll admit
The momcut I have told of It;
A man whoso face was one-half Jilath,
And 1 ran put yon on his track.
And will, ir you will promptly puy
A double X to me today.”
“Agreed," the unxlous showman cried.
“Then, follow mo,” the rogue replied.
The money paid. Through highways mean,
By by-ways narrow and unclean—
Freer led the way till Brav b gan
To wonder wboro they'd ttnd their man.
At lasi Freer paused, and. wilh u loer.
He said to Bray: “ Ilebold him horol"
The showman gazed from where bo stood.
And saw a negro sawing wood.
"You see," said Freer, wilh accent keen,
"Both fuitvee are h'u K anti 1/ixi ioe yr/so,"
—Eimene J. UnH ia t'h o cojo /liter Ocean.
Time.
Hutniui ingenuity cannot maka time.
It can only invent methods ol rneasiii
ing the hours anil minutes as they
pass. When the earth was young,
shadow's east by sun-1 earns noted the
passing liours. From these sprang the
sundial, which answered while tlio
sun shone, hut failed whiles the sky was
cloudy. Then water-clocks, or clepsy
drir, an they are technically known,
came into use. ltv tliese, Athenian
orators were wont to time their
speeches two thousand tears ago. Alter
tue water-clock came the hour-glass of
running sand, and for three hundred
years this was the common method of
measuring time. Kvcn fifty years ago
it was employed in churches to inform
“the older” when lie had preached
enough. Meantime, various rude forms
of clocks limi been constructed, hut
none of much use. Not until the in
vention of 1 lie pendulum in the middle
of the seventeenth century, and its ap
plication to clocks, diil they heroine re
liable. The clocks and watches of to
day are so numerous and cheap, that
nearly every school-boy can afford to
carry a ••time-piece. Aft all the
clocks and watches in (he world cannot
te'l (lie time of day unless regulated
with the sun. They merely show the
amount of passing time. The sun
shows what time it is, whether morn
ing, noon or night. .
Strange mistakes are often made by
relying solely on clock-time. A party
of travelers, not long ago, weru on their
way west through Arizona. Arriving
at Yuma at eight o'clock, railroad time,
they were surprised to liml the diliing
rpom clock indicating an hour earlier.
Still more were they surprised, after
having leisurely eaten breakfast, to
lenru on embarking again, that it was
but stir o'clock. Strange, they thought;
arrive at eight: breakfast at seven: ami
leave at six! Two hours gain! lint the
clocks were rigid. The first kepi .feller
sou City, .Mo., time; the second was
Yuma time; and lltc last was San Fran
riseo time.
daces east and west of each other
cannot have the same time Only those
directly north and south a re thus favored
t imid a man continually travel around
the earth, keeping with the sun, ho
might live his allotted space of “three
score years and ten’’ within a single
day. for the .-.mi would never rise or set,
to him. It would always be day. Yet
even then he could not make time. He
could not prolong his life, nor give to
the world more hours. The only way
to make time is to mn‘ of it, every
moment as it comes. Time once gone
is tiniegoue forever, whether the clock
save so or not.- - Youth,'* Companion
The Japanese Coolie.
Short in stature, compact in build,
with well expanded chest, limbs of
shapely mold, with muscles of iron en
durance, small extremities, delicate an
kels, they are a marvel of strength.
Some of these men have a mass of mus
cle in their lower limbs such aa are seen
delineated in the cuts of the gladiators
of old Romo. And it must be remem
bered that these men are from necessity
the least able to indulge iu unlimited
au&ntitiee of their peculiar food of all
le people in the land. They illustrate
the lesson that strength and endurance 1
may exist on a light and scanty diet of
rioo and vegetables, together with fish.
The Rikisha men are not so heavily
molded, being of much slighter build,
but they are also full of muscle, though
not so prodigally developed. The fa
tigue these men undergo aud withstand
eon l>e partially estimated when it iN
remembered that i( is not considered an
extraordinary feat for them to travel
forty miles a day with their seated pas
senger. No matter how hot it may he;
while the passenger is complaining of
the heat he is being whirled along and
protected by his umbrella from the rays ,
of the snu, the motivepower never flags.
The Rikislis man keeps up a pace like a
deer, his body generally hare to the sun, I
1 icing guiltless of clothiug that could
inconvenience the free movement of the
body or limbs. He takes hut the slight
est quantity of refreshment while on the
road— a cup of tea and a modicum of
rice being the extent of his gormandis
ing during the travel. And they repent
these exploits day after day, never eat- ;
ing meat
|
—The great mortality resulting from
the use of pistols by boys last Fourth of
July has led to prohibitive ordinances
in about half the cities of the oountfy.
The following, first enacted by Boston,
is the form usually followed: “No per
son shall sell to any child under ihe age
of sixteen years, without the written
consent of a parent or guardian of such
ohil<L any cartridge °* n**d ammunition
of which any fulminate is a compound
part, or any gun, pistol or other me
chanical contrivance arranged for the
explosion of such cartridge or of anv
fulminate.’' The penalty varies from a
light fine to a heavy one", with impris
onment.—FT. T. Sun.
—ln Kentucky the Legislature has
expressly provided that no religious test
shall be applied to the witness in any
civil action, but there is no statute gov
erning the question in criminal eases. In
a recent murder trial the objection was
raised to one of the witnesses that he
was an atheist, and that jfore that his
evidence was not adraisssbie The
question went tqthe Court of Appeals,
which decided jtbg.t in criminal "as well
a- civil s.tsa* nVjnqairy can oe —ade
itto the religious pelief of any wiiao**
T .
What Sltnll Farmers Eat I
1 The home departments of the agri
cultural papers have of late been criti
cising the farmers on their manner of
living, and giving them much advice in
regard to what they shall cat, the larg
est portion being a diatribe against fat
pork, till tlie reader, not acquainted
with farmers, would suppose that this
, was their principal living. We do not
propose to enter into any hygienic ar
guments as to the relative values of va
rious foods for producing strength and
health. Lmt the writer hereof knowing
something of the habits of farmers and
their families. i moved to say that on
their tables will he found, on an average,
■ food as wholesome and us well pre
pared ns on those of any class of people
We have; auil there is no occasion for
wasting any sympathy on them, tor
they uro the healthiest, strongest, and,
statistics show, the longest lived of any
class or occupation considering their
numbers.
| The voluntary advisers say that tho
fanner’s diet of pork ami potatoes and
. beans brings dyspepsia and its mils:
which would he very correct If it were
true; fortunately it is not, and from a
large acquaintance with farmers wo can
Say that this is not what ails flicm.
i One writer say-.: Farmers eat too
much tat meat and too little green food
to sustain the System in a proper condi
tion. Give a Frenchman or a German a
head of lettuce, a couple of hard boiled
eggs, with vinegar, salt and pepper, and
a loaf of bread, with a cut, of codec, and
he will fare more sumptuously than an
American upon roast meat of any kind.”
Now we know what ails tliese French
men. Such a combination of oil, salt,
pepper and vinegar is enough to kill
them. Ask any hard-working farmer
how much wheat a limn could rake and
hind on such a dinner. Another of
these hygienic writers says. “Lettuce
and onions mixed together, with only
salt, vinegar, pepper and a little sugar,
can be served at any time, with good ef
fect upon the health of (lie family.” ff
raw onions with salt, vinegar and pep
per will not produce dyspepsia, there is
no need to call in fat pork or any other
food found on farmers' tables. People
should remember that there is much of
truth in the adage: “ What is one man’s
meat may be another's poison.” The
farmer, strong, active, hard-working
and always in the open air, eats meat
and needs it, even fat meat. His di
gestive organs are strong also, and he
knows nothing of dyspepsia. Long
days and hard work, even in summer,
exhaust tlie muscular system, and good
substantial food is required 1.0 supply
the waste. This light green fodder is
good as an appetizer, but as the main
article of food will not answer, but eaten
extensively will weaken rather than
strengthen the hard worker, while the
condiments are to lie used as little as
possible.
When wc see recomeuilations to
farmers to eat only light vegetable
food, we are reminded of a story we
mice read of a fanner who kept liis
hired man on short rations, and going
out one day to the liny field s:uv him
mowing languidly and singing this re
frain:
" Bum nnilk mu! whey; faint all day."
The farmer concluded he would
change his rations and gave him a.sub
stantial breakfast tho next day. (in
going nut to (be field be saw him
swinging his scythe with great energy,
and tills time singing to fast time.
•*ffmn anil cinf*; tukcoure of yur leys.'*
And this represents pretty fairly, to
the worker the difference in the two
classes of diet.
The horseman who demands the
longest drives ami the heaviest work
from bis loams feeds them on cured hay
and old oats. The groom never feeds
the racer or trotter on new oats, no
matter how line they are. till they have
been threshed for weeks and heroine
well dried mid hard.
But tho question may be fairly asked:
What-shall the farmer oat? We will
answer this for our -elves, praolienlly,
not, perhaps, scientifically, or with any
theory as to the probable effect of this
or tlmt. on the s\ stem.
Tho farmer does his hardest work in
the summer mouths. Jn the very heat
of dog dais ho works hardest, and for
tlmt very reason needs good substantial
food, 110 cannot afford to waste any
strength in digesting a large quantity
to gut a little nutriment; nor is it con
ducive to health. Most hard-working
people need meat; well fattened,
nicely cooked fat pork in moderate
quantities will not bo hurtful. Mutton
should he used more extensively liV tho
fanner. With the icebox which manv
now have, a carcass can be easily kept
till it eati be consumed, or neighbors
can exchange with each other auil
divide into smaller portions. Well
cured ham—boiled is the best with
eggs makes a good foundation fora day
in having. A moderate quantity of
fresh vegetables in var.cty and also ripe
fruits in their season green, never—
cooked or uncooked. Green corn and
that class of food daily if desired in its
season, but always in moderation.
Although many farmers are open
to criticism in lack of product in tho
vegetable and fruit garden. iKit.h for
summer and winter use, it is asking too
much to require them to make these
their sole diet.
Tho farmer who gives his laborers
good •übstftntial foiid, not trying to
confine them to mush and milk for
breakfast ami green salad for dinner,
will get the best day's work from them.
The farmer who eats roast beef and
mutton and fat pojtk, who takes a daily
bath in tho summer, and does not over
work in the hot days, may not expect to
reaoh above threescore and ten, but tho
years will be full of labor, and he will
leave behind him a farm well tilled.—
AKiroit Post ami Tribune.
A Considerate Burglar.
The most considerate burglar ever
heard of has just placed Mrs. Merrill, of
Falmouth, Mo., under lasting obliga
tions. She was alone in her house, iuul
in the middle of the night was awak
ened by the sound of footsteps on the
stairs. * She jumped out oi bod, has
tened to the door and askod who was
there, when tho following amusing col
joquy began: “Now, don’t you bo
afraid. \Ve don't want to hurt you, and
won’t harm a hair of vour head. But
we want ¥lO, and you have got to give
it to us ” “But I haven’t any money in
the house.” “Well give u* $o then.”
“I tell you I haven’t any money at all.”
“Oh oome, new, yon must have a dol
lar. Give us that "and we will go awav.”
“No, I haven't a cent:” “Well, I sup
pose we’ll have tugo without it. Now,
don’t be scared; we don’t moan to hurt
you, and arc going away direotly. Do
you want uto leave this light burning
or shall we blow it out?” “You may
leave it burning, please." And the
burglar went down stairs, rejoined his
confederate, and they leisurely departed
through a window, carrying with them
se-cral articles of silver and jewel
ry which they had collected while
Um lady ol Use house
What Petroleum Is.
The casual visitor to the Pennsylvania
oil region, as he views the greasy fluid
gushing from its rich reservoirs, two
thousand feet below the surface, linds
himself involuntarily asking the primal
question, Where dues it come from, and
how and where was it formed? A puz
zling question, surely, and, if propound
ed to any competent and thorough
geologist, would only elicit a shake of
the head, and the brief reply that he
didn’t know. But however careful the
-ciontilic man may lie about advancing
a theory that the discoveries of to-mor
row may knock higher than a kite, the
average Yankee never allows a conun
drum of this kind to tie propounded to
him without making one or more at
tempts at guessing it. The difficult
question of the origin of petroleum has
not -coined to his prolific mind too big
to he grappled with, and at present two
popular theories exist in regard to this
interesting subject, each of which has
its strenuous advocotes.
The first of these theories holds that
tho rock in which the oil is now found is
the parent rock iri which it originated.
The Pennsylvania oil rocks are a series
of sand rocks of varying thickness, scat
tered somewhat irregularly over the
; northwestern part of the State, and
prolific, in oil atdepths below the surface
varying from five hundred to two thou
sand feet. Originally they were depos
j ited by the action of water, cither as
j long stretches of sea-bcach or immense
! sand-bars formed by eddying and
whirling currents. The advocates of
: the parent-rock theory maintain that
! along with this sand wa-s deposited or
, ganio vegetable or animal matter, which,
i by the chemical action of the succeeding
ages, has been transformed into oil and
gas, and kept stored in these hermetic
ally-sealed reservoirs until the searching
drill of the enterprising oil-operator
should penetrate its hidden chambers
and bring it forth to light an inquiring
and busy world.
In confirmation of this theory its
advocates point to tho coal deposits,
which are now generally considered to
have originated from a vast deposit of
vegetable matter which grew and
decomposed for ages, and then, by tho
combined action of heat and enormous
pressure, were packed away in solid
masses to provide the future fuel for
the world. A chemical analysis of the
two articles, coal and petroleum, dis
closes the fact that they contain nearly
the same elemental ingredients, in
slightly different proportions, perhaps,
hut practically the same, the only real
difference consisting in the fact that
one is now a solid and the
other a lluid. As the oil is
found at a distance of from one thou
sand to two thousand feet below the
prolific coal moasureS, and, if deposited
nlong with the sand rock in which it is
now found, must be many ages older
than the coal deposits, it is argued that
the immensely longer period since its
original deposit, and the higher tem
perature to which it is subjected by its
greater depth beltpv the surface, may
easily account for the chemical action
necessary to make it a lluid instead of a
solid, as in the case of coal.
The second and more generally ac
cepted theory is that the petroleum
formed by the constant distillation of
gas from the underlying carbonaceous
shales of the Silurian period, which in
the Pennsylvania oil region are sup
posed to lie at a sufficient depth to be
subjected to ft high temperature and to
he constantly generating gases. If this
theory is accepted, the conditions neces
sary for tho formation of petroleum de
posits are three fold. First, a geological
horizon deep enough lmlow the surface
to generate gases by the operations of
internal heat; second, a horizon of
proper temperature for the purposes of
condensation, and third, a reservoir for
storing the condensed petroleum. The
advocates of this theory claim that these
lower shales lie at the proper depth to
fill the first of these conditions, and that
tho gas thus generated, being very light
and of a peculiarly penetrating nature,
arises through the crevices and fissures
of tho overlying rocks until it reaches
tho horizon of condensation, which they
claim, according to developments made
by the drill, varies in distance from five
hundred to two thousand feet below the
surface. The third condition is fulfilled
according to this theory by tliese sand
rocks, which, lying within the horizon
ot condensation and being of a porous
naturo, hold tho condensed petroleum
as a spongo holds water. These rocks
nre hermetically sealed at the top hj an
impervious shell, which prevents tho
ligliter portions of the oil and gas from
escaping to the surface until this shell is
penetrated by tho oil-operator’s drill,
when it gushes forth with astonishing
force. If this theory is correct, then in
all probability the process of formation
is constantly in operation, though pro
ceeding at a very slow rate, the immense
deposits lately discovered being the slow
accretion of untold ages.
Tho advocates of this theory fortify
themselves by tho statement that, the
series of Devonian reeks In which tho
*iil deposits aro now found extend over
a great deal of territory in which the
drill fails to tind oil, and that if the
theory of original deposit of the petrol
eum-producing matter along with these
same deposits were true then tho oil
should be found wherever the rock is
found. On the contrary, they claim the
rock may exist where there are no under
lying shales to produce the petroleum
gases, or the overlying strata may be
upheaved to such an extent that the
gases may escape to the surface through
vertical fissures and thus mingle with
the atmosphere and be lost. In proof
of this they cite tho fact that no oil has
been discovered eastward of the line
which marks the beginning of the Alle
gheny upheaval, and that the vertical
fissured caused by tills upheaval have
rendered the formation of petroleum de
posits impossible in that locality. They
also cite in support of this theory tho
| further fact that no oil has been dis
covered at depth exceeding five hun
dred feet bcl-i v -v-.. level, although the
drill has per/ ‘rated far greater depths
in many in-:. and succeeded in
tapping the petroleum gases. They
argue Crem iliis rb it if the gases arc
found at great depths, but no oil, then
it follows that oil is the product of con
deusation, which can only take place
where a sufficiently low temperature ex
ists. and this is to be found only within
the limits above described. The in
quiry is full of interest to the inquisitive
mind, and we simplv present to tho
readers of 77:-- Times these two popu
lar theories for what, they are worth,
without comment or expressed opinion
—Pn’iakiphia TVm< '.
Over while Dr. Samuel Johnson, the
hterrrv la av, w.-.s * tiding verv lcarnc ’iv.
me .ft: • company laughed. W-,. i.ly
Uj.vsut. .ToUliMJn turned oil ; .in <ud
; .t provokes your rif-ic.iifty,
•m. at sUUi I. i have, I u>ii qmrdon
txom the rest of the company. ”
Letters of Introduction.
People who write letters of introduc
tion should be careful how they word
them. A merchant of this city, who
knows in are about invoices Ilian elegant
diction, was asked by a wealthy resilient
to give him a letter of introduction to a
capitalist slopping over in the city and
with whom the merchant was acquaint
ed. When the missive was ready the
gentleman took it and, instead of send
ing it up to the stranger and waiting
till he was requested to see him, he de
livered it himself; following on trie heels
of the servant who ushered him in. fie
is a very plain-lboking man and his
dress is always a semi-respectable busi
ness suit, and as he unobtrusively
handed the letter to the stranger, who
was reclining at his ease, he waited mix
in isly to open the business about which
he had called.
But the letter began with the usual
formula, “The bearer of this,” anu the
capitalist read that far, folded it up, re
turned it, and said, impatiently: “My
good man, I can really do nothing for
you; no doubt it i< the old story -large
family—been unfortunate, etc.; but you
must excuse me from giving you any
thing to-day, you really must!”
Explanations ensued, anil the two cha
grined men had a good laugh over the
affair, and the capitalist ordered liquid
refreshments, which cos! much more
than the charity would have heen which
he didn’t propose to bestow on the un-
fortunate stranger.
A more annoying mi stake occurred toa
young man, the nephevfof a well-known
New York official, who went to a town
in the interior of the State to idle away
a vacation in fishing and hunting. Pre- ,
vious to his departure his uncle remem• J
bered that the clergyman of the place
was an old college friend, and he gave
the young man a line of introduction, |
which lie dutifully took, but did not in- :
intend to present. The clergyman, j
however, had a very pretty daughter, !
and the young man bethought him of
his letter and armed with it made a raid |
on tho parsonage where the pretty
•laughter entertained him eharminarly in
the parlor, while the servant took the j
letter to the father. In a few moments
word was sent down that the reverend j
gent’eman excused himself from rcceiv- \
ing his visitor. The daughter presumed |
there was a mistake, and hastened to j
Iter fathetf, oply to be informed that his ‘
resolution was inflexible—he had laid j
the letter away—anil lie would give ro '
further explanation, but the young man
must be peremptorily dismissed, and '
the mortification of the visitor at this
unexpected rebuff may ba imagined,
lie wrote at once to his une'e, but as he
was absent from home for a week did
not get an answer. He occasionally
met the young lady, but received only a
cool bow. and at last the uncle’s letter
came. Ho was highly indignant at tho
slight put on his nephew, and demanded
of his old friend the reason. The bewil
dered thoologue read the letter sent for
the young man, apologized, and said:
“ I suppose it was a joke of your un
cle’s, but l must sav it was in extreme
ly bad taste, and— i took it literally—
here is his first,note,” and he read slow
ly through his glasses these words:
jXMir Oil I FrionM.
ThU letter will introduce iiiv nepliow. 110
is u trump. Treat him as oiin ! etc.
Yours, etc.
But the daughter reached out and
took the paper. “Let me read it; there
must be somo mistake; your eyes are
not good, papa,” stud she read as fol
low*:
Dear (Mil Friend.
Thi** letter willintmiace my nephew. lie
In a trump. Treat him as one! etc*.
“Well, well,” said the old gentleman,
laughing merrily, “why don't people
write more plainly, ami how was I to
know the difference?”
It.it the young I civ evidently did.—
Detroit Post ittul Tribune.
\ ury Nenson.
“Stranger, I take it,” observed an
elderly resident the other lay, as [
stopped and asked if there were any
blackberry trees around his way. “I
jedged so. I was a stranger myself
when 1 fust kim here. That was in tho
summer of "49. Hottest summer ever
known in these parts."’
“Anv.wnrmer than this?" 1 asked him.
“ Su'mmut, suninmt! That summer
of'dll the cedar trees melted and run
right along tho ground! you notice how
red that ere dust is ”
“ Pretty warm,” I ventured.
“Why. sir. (hirin' the summer of ’-19
we kept meat rigid on the iee to keep
it from cookin’ too fast, and we had to
put the chickens in refrigerators to get
raw eggs!”
“Where did von get the ice?”
‘•We had it le t over and Kept it in
Idlin' water! Yes sir. The tempera
ture of Idlin' v iter was so much lower
than the temperature of the atmosphere
that it kep’ the iee so eohl you couldn’t
touch it with your linger!”
“Anything else startling that sea
son?"
•• That summer of "49? Well, 1
guess! The Hackensack Kiver began
In Id’e airly in dune, and we didn't see
the skv until October, fer the steam in
the air! And lish! tish! They were
droppin’ all over town cooked just as
you wanted’em! There wasn’t anything
but fish, until the river dried up!’'
“Wb.\t. did you have then?”
“The finest oysters and clams yon
ever heard of. They walked right
ashore for water, and they’d drink ap
plejack right out of the demijohn! Yes,
sir. You call this hot! 1 feel like an
overcoat!’’
“What is your business?” I asked
him.
•• I’m a preacher." he replied. “By
the nay, you wanted blackberry trees,
.lu-l keep up the thumb hand side of
this road until you come to the pig
pasture, and there von tind the trees.
Climb up on m\ goose roust, and you
can knock down all the berre you
want, if votj can find a hole lon irennntrh.”
Cause of the Out break of Cholera in
Japan.
Up to this writing not a foreigner has
been attacked by this malady, and no
fear js entertained regarding it N far
it has lieen confined to one section,
uTic e it first appeared .and where the
Conditions were such that that or any
other malignant disease might be ex
pected to be generated. One of the
canals was deepened last fall, and the
road taken from it was utilized in filling
in the ground under the habitations of
a large section adjoining. A the eaual,
as all of them are, had be n a receptacle
for i wage running in:o it. the mud was
I re. esari!v permeated with deleterious
I ma tor. which, iu its exhalations, could
have no other effect than the re ultanr
one. Many hold :ha. iau foo i has be. u
.he ir..m fate "S'3v, bur 'hi**o.nry
w-sll hardly heu ! >k > the pr.’rM t**n
viavu from mud charge! with stwrr im
port its is vre.ent Asapervept.b'.esgcnt
in this matter. — ioionama Cor. San
Francisco thromde.
A Comstoek Hero.
The reporter had an interview with
Mr. Van Dusen. He is a rather slim
man, about live feet seven inches tall,
with a thin, dark beard, prominent nose
and lantern jaws. Indeed, he could
stand verv well for a reduced photo-,1
graph of" Brother Jonathan. But*
Van Dusen is not a Yankee. He is a
native of Michigan, and 47 years of age.
The reporter found the hero of the day
in the washroom of Fitzpatrick’s board
ing-house in Lower Gold liill, rubbing
soap on his hands, and wholly absorbed
in the occupation. He looked up with
smile surprise front his basin in the
wooden -ink when the reporter spoke to
him and said he wanted to interview
him. Van Dusen is not a talkative man,
and it was only in response to the jour
nalist’s constant questions that the story
of his adventures was drawn from him
piecemeal. While giving a hit of infor
mation as to his perilous journey, \an
Dusen would pause between splashes iu
his ba.-in, turn up his dripping counte
nance for a moment, and then industri
ously resume his ablutions. lie was
rather amused than otherwise that, a
newspaper should think it worth while
to send a reporter to ask him ab iut such
a trifle as going into a drift 1,400 feet
long, 2,150 feet below the surface, filled
in part with almost scalding water over
three feet deep and loaded with poison
ous gases that had slain two men who
had made the attempt before him.
There was no affectation about his un
co n-oiousness of his having done any
thing heroic. It was absolutely real.
“Oh, no; I’m not exhausted,” said
Van Dusen, as he rubbed his face vigor
ously with the towel on the roller.
“I’m feeling chipper—never better in
my life.”
He encountered the bodies of Bennett
and Callahan. Both were lying on their
backs. He merely paused as he came
to each corpse and passed on. “ Then,”
said Van Dusen, “ I got to the cooling
house and saw the boys.”
He seemed to think that the statement
of this fact furnished all the information
that was necessary.
“ They were glad to see you, of
course,” suggested the reporter.
“Yes, but they were a darned sight
gladder to see the ice in my machine.”
He had to leave his lantern out in the
drift, as there was a tremendous draught
in the cooling-house.
“It was pretty dark in the cooliug
house,” said Van Dusen, “and when I
went in the first thing I asked was how
many of them were alive. They said
the whole seven, and I said I was mighty
glad to hear it. ‘What do you fellows
want most?’ I says, and they said grid)
and ice. They did go for my ice. [Mr.
Van Dusen chuckled at the recollection.]
One chap—it was so dark I couldn’t
place him—laid his arm across his
breast and began hauling it out of my
machine and piling it up on his arm. 1
guess they knew what had happened to
the two boys that went down in the
morning, for they asked me if there
were any dead bodies in the drift. I
said there wasn’t, for it wouldn’t have
done ’em any good to know. They had
seen the lights that the boys carried, and
they went out kind of sudden when they
fell, of course, so it wasn’t hard to guess
what had happened.
“They had fixed things in the cooling
house and were pretty comfortable, man
aging to get tolerably cool air and
water. They wanted all the air they
could get, of course, and one of ’em
sings out to me as I was going to tell
’em on top to work the compressor. I
thought, perhaps, that there might be
one or so in the crowd that was near
giving in, and 1 asked if any one wanted
my knapsack to try to make the rillle
for the shaft, but they wouldn’t hear of
it, so I started back. Bennett walked
down the drift a ways with me. He had
his head on him and wasn't seated or
anxious a bit, so far as I eouid see.”
On the return trip one of the rubber
air tubes of his knapsack got loose, and
he had to depend upon one. Then the
foul air put his lantern out, and his only
guide as he flouudered through the last
SOfit feet of hot water was the faint
gleam of the candles of the men at the
station. One of the doctors at the mine
said that not one man in a thousand
would have achieved the feat accom
plished by Van Dusen, and that it was
marvelous that he should apparently
suffer so little physically and mentally
from so terrible an ordeal. Van Dusen
at 6 o’clock was back in the hoist
ing works, standing around with his
hands in his pockets, taking a keen but
calm interest in all the work that was
lining done toward the rescue of his fel
low* miners. —Virginia City (Nev.) En
terprise.
Lay a Fainting Person Down.
'lt is surprising how everybody rushes
at a fainting person and strives to raise
him up, and especially to keep his head
erect. There must bo an instinctive
apprehension that if a person seized
with a fainting or other fit fall into the
recumbent position death is more im
minent. I must have driven a mile to
day while a lady fainting was held up
right. I found her pulseless, white,
and apparently dying, and I believe
that if I had delayed ten minutes
longer she would really have died. I
laid her head down on a lower level
than her body, and immediately color
returned to her lips and cheeks, and she
became conscious. To the excited
group of friends I said: Always re
member this fact—namely: fainting is
caused by a want of blood in the brain;
the heart ceases to act with sufficient
force to send the usual amount
of bicod to the brain, and
hence the person loses consciousness
because the function of the brain
ceases. Restore the blood to the brain
and instantly the person recovers. Now,
though the blood is propelled to all parts
of the body by the action of the heart,
\et it is still under the influence of the
laws of gravitation In the erect posi
tion the blood ascends to the head
against gravitation, and the supply to
the brain is diminished, as compared
with the recumbent position, the heart’s
pulsation being equal. If, then, you
[dace a person ,-itting who-e heart has
nearly ceased to beat, hie brain will fail
to receive blood, while if you lay him
down, with the head lower than the
heart, blood will run into ‘he brain by
the mere force of gravity; and. in faint
ing. in sufficient quantity to res'ore con
sciousness. Indeed. Nature teaches us
how to manage the fainting persons, for
they always fall, and frequently are at
once restored by the recumbent posi
tion into wb'ch they are thrown .i/- -
i r.n .Taurno’
“What is the difference between
cameos end intaglios ? ” asked a suegess
fil broker of one of his lambs. “ Sim
ply this." replied the lamb; “ since we
. -ec -. nc acquainted my fortune is is :n
--* and vrm cheek in cvmeo That
•• •- •>. sv fortune is sunk and your
encek sta..Js oat ia relief."— Boston
Transcript,
Spend As Yon Go.
There is one lady in New York who
does not intend waiting until her death
to distribute her wealth for benevolent
purposes, only to have herself, like the
late Miss Burr, shown up in court as a
vile and dirty miser, her old clothes and
broken furniture exhibited as proof of
her squalid and menial existence, and
her intelligent capacity to give her
money away denied by the heirs and re
latives, who think it should come to
;hem instead of going to religious and
charitable objects.
Miss Catherine Wolfe i9 credited with
disbursing in the last ten years 82,W<\- |
000 of the large estate left by her
father. She has given it to a score if
institutions and societies, but all of the
most practicable and useful kind; toa
home for incurables; to a newsboys’
lodgings house; to Union College for
of poor and deserving
young men from the South ; to a school
for girls in Colorado; to an enterprise
of Christian socialism or communism on
Long Island ; to the erection of a build
ing in connection with Grace Church, of
which she is a member, mainly devoted
to club rooms for young men and young
women, where clerks, art students,
teachers and others living in lodgings
may find the best current literature,
music, bright, cheerful and elegant
club-rooms, ba'ih-rooms, writing-rooms,
etc., for the use of members, whose
dues (25 cents a month or $2 50 a year)
are so small as to lie u burden to no one,
and yet preserve the feeling of self-re
spect which relucts at using a dole; and
where, though the club-house adjoins a
church, no religious tests are exacted,
nor, indeed, any question as to one’s
belief or denomination asked; to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and to the
church of which she is a member, bv
the addition of costly and beautiful
specimens of ecclesiastical art and archi
tecture, unexampled in this country.
This has been done under her own
immediate supervision; showing a broad
and catholic taste; a shrewd, practical
sense; a want of bigotry and sectarian
prejudice, and securing to her the pecu
| liar but enviable pleasure of seeing her
| bounty enjoyed and the fruits of it
j realized while she is here and alive to
| gather all the luxury of being honored,
1 loved and admired.
The greatest pleasure which the ven
erable Peter Cooper, now approaching
a century of existence, derives from life
is the love and gratitude, the deference,
homage and affection shown him when
ho visits his “ Institute” and is sur
rounded by scores of adn'iiring pupils, of
both sexes, that are the recipients of his
bounty, and are learning art and science
and practical affairs by means of the
schools and professorships his wealth
long ago endowed. It is said that the
sight of this spectacle so touched the
sensibilities of a hundred millionaire one
day that he was almost persuaded to go
and do likewise. Unluckily for him and
others, when he got by himself this
spasm of generosity and "human sympa
thy passed off, and he set himself at
work again to pile up higher an already
huge fortune. But even his momentary
weakness was ample proof of the genu
ineness of the scene he had witnessed.
Mr. Reuben Springer, of Cincinnati,
is another of the benevolent givers who
get cash dividends of pleasure from
their investments for other people’s
benefit. His rich gifts to his fellow
citizens have made him the idol of the
city. Only the other day, in the pres
ence of a vast multitude who cheered
him to the echo, the statue of their
living benefactor, chiseled by the hand
of the son of the artist Powers, himself
derived f ora a Cincinnati family, was
unveiled to the public. It was a gift to
the city of other citizens his example
had affected. The old man is now
ready to depart in peace, for his own
eyes’have seen the glory to which men
in their lifetime attain, as a reward for
their humanity anil their practical ami
personal distribution of their wealth for
the good of their fellow citizens. It is
a noble and beautiful lesson. This is
the one Wholsome exception to the fru
gal rule, which, says you should not
“spend as you fro."—Detroit Free
PfkM.
Overfed Pigs.
There has never been a time when the
question of overfeeding live stock of every
character has received so much attention
at the hands of breeders <is is now the
case. Pig breeders are at present con
siderably exercised on account of the
fearful losses sustained from cholera,
and it has slowly dawned upon the
minds of many of the gentlemen that
perhaps tho evil practice of overfatten
mg has something to do with these
continued losses. Science lias as yet
failed to prove the truth of this assump
tion, but practical feeders and breeders
are coming to lhat conclusion, and in
many localities are governing them
selves accordingly by uiscont nuing the
practice of crowding their stock. Of
all domestic animals, tho pig goes it
upon his check, and at the ordinary fair,
or fat stock show, Ins very fullness of
cheek is too apt to govern the awards.
Consumers, however, do not indorse
these patm In. round, overfed and
stuffed porkers, knowing that good pork
cannot generally be found where ani
mals are ccmingly fed for lard pur
poses and that alone. What is required
and demanded l oth at home and abroad
is the long-bodied hog, which affords a
deep shoulder, lean ham, and sides
upon which meat instead of fa* is the
rule. There has been a growing depo
sition to stop the practice of over-feed
ing hogs, and so general has the de
mand become for good lean pork that,
notwithsanding the tmiveis 1 practice
to feed to the utmost capacity, breeders
arc now changing their views, and send
ing to market pigs that will guarantee
good-paying block qualities. It is very
reasonable to -uppose that an animal
overloaded with great masses of abso
lute fat and grease cannot boas healthy
as the one which, while sufficiently fed,
is not burdened with a mass that is only
profitable to the lard manufacturer.
Foreign dealers in American pork do not
lii'.-itate to'assert that the stock of this
country is overfed, and it is to tliese ex
porter* that tlie American breeders are
indebted for the change that cannot but
result to the benefit of the feeder, the
dcaVr and the consumer.— t.on>lo
The ‘billowing are the aggregate
am mats received for various Trinds of
stock sold by Kentucky breeders during
th • past six months, ail the sales being
public autions: 20* running horses,
®l2s,fitis; 694 trotting horses, $170,606:
4*6 Short-Horn cittle, *141,674; total.
.■?!°*,o44. The private sales, it is said,
swell the aggregate to $525,'900. These
figures show the leading position occu
pied by Kentucky as a stook-breeding
State, and speak volumes for the famous
blue-grass region. When it is consid
ered that a men can mount a horse and
ride through this famous region in one
day, the result is astonishing.— Qyuner.
rrjit.
—Some men are born slight, some
achieve slightness, but most taeq have
slights put upon them.
A Cold Welcome. j
West Chester gossips have been 1
ging their tongues at a lively rate du?'|
nig the last few days discussing the sen I
sational reappearance of William Snv H
dor, who, after an ahsence of thirteen
years, like Enoch Arden, he seeks tie
wife whom he deserted and finds that
she is wedded to another. Mrs. ][ a „ l
man Sylvester, of No. 245 Patton’s row*
is the lady in question. While attending
to her duties as janitress of the Court
house, the other day, a bronzed and
bearded stranger tapped her on the
shoulder, and, turning round, she was
confronted by the man with whom she
first contracted matrimonial relations
nearly twenty years ago. Durinv all
the years he has been absent she never
heard a word from him, and long a?o
she gave him up as dead. She looked
him squarely in the face, and as he low
ered ms eyes he nervously asked:
“Are you Mrs. Hartman Sylvester?”
“ I am. ’ Are you William Snyder?”
the lady quickly interrogated.
“ I am William Snyder, ahd I have
come to ask your forgiveness,” the lone,
lost one plaintively answered.
The meeting was not at all a pleasant
one, Mrs. Sylvester readily gave her
first husband to understand that she had
procured a divorce; had married a man
more congenial to her tastes, who acted
as a husband and father should, and
that if he (Snyder) attempted to break
up her happy home he would pay dearly
for it. After being thus apprised Sny
der settled down to business without any
more delay. He told Mrs. Sylvester
that he was about to wed a woman in
Boston, where he had been living ever
sice he shook the dnst of West Chester
off his feet, and that he was anxious to
ascertain if she would prosecute him if
he did so.
“ I always hated you. I hate you now
worse than ablacksnake,” spoke up the
incensed Mrs. Sylvester. “I don’t care
what you do, so you leave me and mine
alone. Why should you come here to
worry my husband and myself. Go
marry anybody you please; but I hope
you will treat her better than you did
me.”
Without more ado Snyder hastily un
locked a small sachel which he had with
him, and instantly placed pen and ink
before his astonished wife to draw up an
agreement not to bother him if he mar
ried again. Mrs. Sylvester sent for her
husband to consult him before doing
this. When he arrived he was intro
duced to Snyder. The latter advanced
and shook Sylvester warmly by the
hand, but he, "however, simply scowled
at the nowly-made acquaintance. He
assented to his wife drawing up the
agreement proposed by Snyder, provid
ing the latter agroed to leave West
Chester immediately .and never return
so long as he (Sylvester) lived there.
These terms proving acceptable to all
hand- 1 , the trio soon settled the whole
matter, and Snyder hurriedly replaced
his ink and paper in his sachel and took
his departure. That night he left West
Chester, presumably for his home in
Boston.
In a well-kept parlor of a neat little
dwelling in Patton’s row, on the out
skirts of West Chester, a reporter, the
other day, found Mrs. Sylvester busily
sewing, while at her feet played two
flaxen-haired youngsters, children by
her second husband'. On being pressed
to tell the story which has caused so
much talk in that town the lady said:
“One night in June, 1861), I returned to
my homo, in this city from a visit to my
sister at Coatsville. As soon as I entered
the house I called for Mr. Snyder, but
he did not answer. The first thing that
attracted my attention was the certifi
cate of our marriage, which had been
taken off the wall. I then looked through
the house and discovered that all my
husband’s clothing had been carried
off. I instantly suspected what had oc
curred. I ransacked the house from
top to bottom, hoping to find a note
from him, but without success. When
I found that he had really gone I con
cluded that it would result beneficially
to me, for during the six years I lived
with him 1 never spent a happy day.
I married him when I was but sixteen
years old, and had only known him two
weeks, so while we were together i had
plenty of time to repent the folly of our
hasty marriage. Two years after he
disappeared, and I applied to the courts
for a divorce, anil was granted one. I
never heard a word from him since tho
ni“-ht he deserted me, and so I concluded
he* was dead. In 187:5 I married Mr.
Sylvester, by whom I had three chil
dren, and with wnom I have been liv
ing happily ever since. I hope that
Mr. Snyder will never cross my pat h
again, for I have been worried enough
since his visit the other day.” — Phila
delphia Record.
Japanese r lowers.
The peony is the standard of lieanty,
as applied to the charms of the fair sej
in Japan. No higher compliment can
can be oflbrad a lady than to coin pars
her to a peony. The Japanese do not
give a glance and turn away from their
favorite flower, but will sit for hour*
contemplating a floral display. They
not only give their time to visiting them,
hut they appear to indulge in blissful in
toxication of sentiment while, they con
template their beauties. The chrysanthe
mum is also found herein great variety,
and of all shades of color and of enorm
ous dimensions. The chrysanthemum
display in Tokio every year is one of
the notable incidents of the season, and
is visited from far and near. To be de
prived of this pleasure is one of the
pains of life. The iris is also found in
great profusion, attaining a size and
beauty unknown elsewhere.. The vari
ety of shades and form of flower is
almost endless. Lillies are lillies here,
putting it beyond the boasting of any
other land to equal them. Camellias
attain the dimensions of forest trees,
1 (earing such a wealth of flowers that
with hesitation one would dare to at
tempt to state, approximately, the thous
ands that may seen upon one tree. One
could as well number the blossoms on
an apple tree. The harmony of color
that is so noticeable in everything the
Japanese make or wear is no doubt the
result of constant association with their
beautiful flowers. There must be a
large sale for the different flowers in
their season, as there are numbers of
plant peddlers constantly perambulat
ing the streets with different varieties in
pots, or in mat coverings for the protec
tion of their roots. At night, all through
the year, there are exposed for sale on
the streets large collections of plants in
flower. There are no bouquet sellers,nor
are cut flowers offered for sale on the
streets. The great passion appears to
be to see them growing and attached to
the mother plant. About the 20th Oi
April roses are in bloom. The rose hai
been widely introduced into Japan from
abroad and oontrenial home here
—Very few people arc strong enough
to remain in the" water bathing for a
long tune. A young man has just died
in Hanover, N. H., from congestion
caused by staying in the water too long,
j —Rotten Xrmteript.