Newspaper Page Text
W. F. SMITH, Publisher.
VOLUME VIII.
NEWS GLEANINGS,
Lynchburg (Va.) Advance: If the
capital Was at hand there is enough iron
ore in a circle of sixty miles around this
city to run two hundred furnaces profit
ably.
Charleston (S. C.) News and Courier:
The production of cotton per acre is
greater in North Carolina than in any
Htate in the Union. Georgia is next in
the Male of productiveness.
'1 ne Cedar l£eys (Fla.) Journal de
sire* Wjcnow who can tell how the shell
mmin in that neighborhood came
there. Some of them are nearly twenty
feet high. lagging for building pur
poses discovered a variety of shells.
The Louisiana Western Railroad Com
pany has built a mammoth hotel, cover
ing a ground area of 148 by 120 feet, in
the Attalapascountry, west of the bayou
Vermillion, and a town has been laid
out and named McComb, in honor of
the president and principal stockholder
of the railroad company.
The Nashville Banner says that Liv
ingstone Hall, now in course of erec
tion, will nearly double the capacity of
Fisk University. The main university
building is five stories high. Jubilee
Hall is four stories high, with a base
ment story, and will, perhaps, be com
pleted by September, 1882. It is in
contemplation to erect another building
between Jubilee Hall and Livingstone
Hall.
Reporting the return of Okeechobee
expedition, Jacksonville, Fla., matter in
Savannah (Ga.) News says : The Kis
simmee river was carefully examined.
The lands are rich beyond expectation.
Lake Okeechobee was sounded for forty
miles. Its average depth is eight feet
The Caloosahatchie was traversed for
sixty miles in a row boat. The lands
around the lake and the two rivers are
capable of producing sufficient sugar to
supply the whole country. The climate
is delightful. Operations will be com
menced without delay.
Pascagoula (Miss.) Democrat-Star:
There is a mistaken idea amopg our
wool-growers on the coast that prices
will range up in the forties for the early
clip, based upon the assumption that the
crop will be short. It is true that many
sheep have died during the past winter,
caused by the severe weather, but'when
we consider the quantity of wool grown
in this section as compared with what is
raised in California, Texas and the
Mouther a States, the amount raised on
the coast is very small, and is not likely
to affect the general market very much.
F. H. Angomar recently died in New
York, and when his succession was
opened in the Civil District Court at
Yew Orleans, the New Orleans Times
says that it was discovered that $337
represents the entire value of his estate.
He leaves a widow and three children.
He was an inventor, a man of great en
ergy, and his process for the propulsion
of street-ears would perhaps have made
him a rich man if he had lived. He
had received all the substantial encour
agement he wanted.
The Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer-Sun
says that Columbus has a population of
nearly 12,000 within the corporate lim
its, ami that including the suburbs it
will reach between 17,000 and 18,000.
Noticing that it lias been omitted from
the census list of cities having over 10,-
000 population, the Enquirer-Suu infers
that there is an error in compiling the
returns. It says: “There is a probabil
ity that there is an error in compiling
the returns after they left here, as our
reporter, with the enumerators, exam
ined them and counted every name,
making the population of the city some
thing over 10,000. The department has
been written to, and in a few days of
ficial information will be received.”
’’'he Green Cove Spring, published at
Green Cove Springs, Fla., states the
price of swamp land belonging to the
State as follows : For forty acree, or
less, $1 per acre; for more than forty,
and not exceeding eighty > acres, ninety
cents per acre; for more than eighty, and
not exceeding 200 acres, eights cents per
acre; for more than 200, and not exceed
ing 640 acres, seventy-five cents per
aere; for more than 640 acres, seventy
cents per acre. In case of entries of land
at less than $1 per acre, the land must
’C in a body, and not in detached pieces.
Where, however, two pieces of land are
"C pa rated by lands not belonging to the
istate, they considered as contiguous
'" r purpose of sale. Many of these
'"amp lands are desirable for settle
ment-, and more of them are sold than
• 1 all the other classes put together.
Tfie terms of the State lauds are cash,
GIVING and living.
Forever the min la pouring its gold
On a hundred worlds that beg and borrow;
Hie warmth he squanders on summits oold,
Hin wealth on tbe homes of want and sorrows
Tw withhold his large** of preciohs light
Is to bury himself in eternal night
To give
la to live.
The flower shines not for itself at all,
Its joy is the joy it freely diffuses;
Of beauty and balm It is prodigal,
__ And it lives in the light it freely loses.
No choice for the rose but glory or doom,
To exhale or smother, to wither or bloom.
To deny
Is to die.
The reap lend silvery rays to the land,
The land it* sapphire stream to the ocean ;
The heart sends blood to the brain of command..
The brain to the heart its lightning motion;
And over and o\er we yield our breath,
Till the mirror is dry and image is death.
To live
Is to give.
He is dead whose hand is not open wide
To hek) the need of a human brother;
He doubles the length of his life-long ride
Who gives his fortunate place to another;
And a thousand million lives are liis
Who carries the world in his sympathies.
To deny
Ib to die.
The Tale of a Tramp.
Supper was over, and, seated before
an open wood fire, our small family bade
defiance to tlie chill frost of late autumn,
when my wife, lifting her head from the
sewing in her lap, said, in a low tone :
“ Surely, I heard a rap.”
“Or a rat,” suggested Charlie, fresh
from college, and skeptical on any sub
ject that might be broached. “ Really,
mother, if your hearing is so acute,
please count the steps of that half-frozen
lly on the ceiling.”
“ Nonsense, Charlie,” re plied his moth
er, with a smile. “But I am sure I
heard someone rap. Thesre it is again !
You must have heard that. Nettie, dear,
run to the door.”
The knock this time, though modest
and apologetic in tone, was not to be
disputed. Nettie reached out her hand
to take the candle, but was anticipated
by her incorrigible brother, who rudely
blew out the taper, exclaiming :
“ Now, then, mother, for a test of
your ingenuity ; who is this caller, and
wl lat is his or her errand ? Listen! Can
you analyze that knock ?”
“ Nonsense !” exclaimed his mother
again. “ Some tramp, I suppose, who
has seen the light from our window,
and ”
But she was interrupted by Charlie’s
burst of merriment.
“ A tramp 1 And at this season of tbe
year 1 No, no, mother ; try again. A
tramp’s knock would reverberate through
the house like thunder.”
“ Come, Charles,” interposed I, “this
is idle. You may be keeping a neighbor
waiting, or a child.”
“A little child ! ” cried Nettie, “and
on a night like this! No, brother, you
shall not detain me another moment.”
And, after a slight scuffle, Nettie
emerged in triumph, bearing the dis
puted candle.
As she paused on the threshold to re
light the candle, I may as well make
public my secret conviction that a being
nearer akin to the angels than out Net
tie did not exist. She opens the outer
door, her friendly face beaming a wel
come to whoever might be standing in
the darkness, while her gentle voice in
quires : “Who is there ? ”
We all listened intently for the reply,
that, quite in keeping with the
rap, was delivered in a low, strained
voice.
lam hungry, *eold and sick. I saw
tlie light from your window, and ”
“You are welcome, sir,” interrupted
Nettie, gravely. “And,” she added,
glancing an arch look at her mother—
“ and expected.”
The stranger, as he entered, directed
an inquiring glance toward Nettie, as if
not comprehending the import of her
last words, nor the smile that passed
from lip to lip of the family circle.
Hungry, cold and sick! There are
many such in the world, but few who
bear such genuine marks of distress.
His clothing, worn and tom by long ser
vice, hung in limp folds about his
shrinking, shivering form; while his
face, pale and contracted by physical
(or was it mental ?) suffering, might have
been taken for that of a corpse, were it
not for the dark, brilliant eyes that
burned deep in their sockets.
Nettie had conducted him into the
kitchen adjoining, and by a clever strat
agem beguiled her brother out of his
easy-chair, which, before he could in
tercept her, she had dragged into the
next room and placed at the disposal of
her visitor.
“You are too good,” murmured the
young man thankfully, as he sank wear
ily into the inviting chair.
“A model tramp!” sneered Charlie,
the loss of whose easy-chair might have
tempted him into whispering in a loud
key.
The stranger probably overheard him,
as he shielded his face with his white,
bloodless hands, and spoke no more.
Nettie flitted busily from room to
room, from pantry to cellar, on hospit
able thought intent, apparently nncou
scions of her mother’s slight coughs and
other efforts to attract her attention
when the stock of preserves was invad
ed, although a close observer would have
uoticed by the tell-tale dimples in her
cheek and the sparkle in her eye that
she was quite cognizant of her mother’s
uneasiness.
O these children ! how they do wheedle
and cajole their parents!
It was characteristic of Nettie that
when she gave she gave with >* th hand
full. She gave the cake and withheld
the crust. And so it was that when the
youpg yuan, letting his hands fall from
Devoted to Industrial Inter at, the Diffusion ol Truth, the Establishment of Justice, and the Preservation of a People’s (Jovernmont.
INDIAN SPRINGS, GEORGIA.
before bis face, beheld the glittering
tea-table, with its goodlv array of sub
stantial and delicacies, he stared at his
fair benefactress in such a mute, help
less way that it was lialf-amusing, half
saddening.
“And you have prepared this for me !
For me ! And you do not know who or
what I am. ”
“Our guest, ’ responded Nettie, gen
tiy.
“ Not but that the light”—glancing
disdainfully at his shabby coat—“ re
veals my wretchedness too plainly.”
“ Pardon me,” said Nettie, bravely ;
“ but it is the poor we are commanded
to assist; nor do I know of any duty
that yields half the pleasure.”
“The warmth of the room betraved
me into a nap,” continued the stranger,
“and I dreamed—alas! it was but a
dream—that I should go forth from this
house free from the burden of remorse
that has weighed me down these many
years. But, no; such a miracle could
not happen. I have waked once more
to misery and to the fact that I am
an outcast.”
“Hush!” exclaimed Nettie. “We
will speak of that later. You must not
talk so bitterly; for, whatever your at
tire, your address is that of a gentle
man. ”
Nettie now resumed her place with us,
and the stranger was left to his repast.
Charlie produced a highly-colored meer
schaum, and, without regarding his
mother’s entreating looks, proceeded to
fill and light it.
“Come, Charlie,” she could not for
bear saying at last; “it is not often that
I ask you fo sacrifice anything for me,
but I do wish you would give up smok
ing.”
“ No use, mother; I should think you
would know better than to make such a
demand.”
“Obey !” thundered a voice from the
open door. “Let her lightest wish be
law, or beware! My fate may be
yours 1”
Tbe deep, tragic tones in which these
words were uttered, the erect, dignified
form standing upon the threshold with
threatening forefinger pointing directly
at the object of his attack, the flashing,
magnetic eye that compelled attention
and obedience—all involuntarily re
minded me of an evening some forty
years before when I had seen the elder
Kean advance to the footlights, and,
with rapid, unexpected speech, electrify
the audience. So, too, I had seen a re
ligious revivalist single out some stiff
necked sinner in the crowd, and with
darting forefinger pour out the vials of
scriptural vengeance on the unbaptized
head.
“ The man must be mad, or a strolling
actor playing a part!” cried Charlie,
who was the first to recover from the
general amazement.
The effect of this remark on the man
was magical; the extended hand
dropped; his figure shrank and drooped
into its former listless attitude ; the fire
died out in his eyes, and his coat once
more revealed its rents, while his voice,
low ana hoarse, muttered an apology :
“Forgive me. I forgot where I was
and who I am. No, I can never forget
that. I cannot escape myself.”
Nettie’s sympathetic soul was touched.
“ Perhaps you would like to tell us
about yourself. That is, you might like
to feel that there were those'who pitied
your misfortunes. My brother is some
times hasty, but always kind-hearted.
We would all be glad to assist you if we
can.”
“My tale is one of horror, and could
gain me only your detestation ; yet why
should I shrink from the recital when
the pain I thereby inflict on myself is
the only penalty I can pay for my crime ?
“I am,” he continued, “ or rather was.
an actor, and so was my father before
me. Asa child, I mimicked the set
phrases and gestures of the actors about
me, and early learned to look upon thft
play-house as my home and the field
wherein I should develop whatever tal
ents I might possess. My father occu
pied the position of leading man at the
II Theater, and was the most popu
lar actor in town. He basked in the
glare of the theater, exerted, nay, ex
hausted, himself in the effort to please a
fickle public, and possibly looked upon
his home only as a retreat where he
might recuperate his exhausted ener
gies and equip himself for fresh
conquests. My mother naturally
looked upon the theater as a
rival, and a successful one, to the
home. Yet, for all that, she never re
laxed her efforts to make that home a
pleasant and attractive one. Whatever
her sufferings and despair might have
been, she never voiced them. Only I
remember on one occasion she had play
fully asked me what I intended to be
when I grew up to manhood, and I re
plied : ‘An actor, mamma, an actor, by
all means.’ She pressed me closer in
her arms, and I felt her warm tears on
my face as she cried out: ‘ Oh, not that,
my son! Anything but that. Choose
again, just to please your mother. ’ But
I obdurately insisted that I would be an
actor and nothing else. From that mo
ment my mother seemed to regard me
with great apprehension, and I am
afraid would have secretly rejoiced if
my first appearance had been such an
utter failure a a to deter me from taking
any further steps in that direction. But
my father aided and encouraged me.
Himself a careful, conscientious student,
he would quench my too-ardent enthu
siasm bv an immersion in the ocean of
work that lies between every artist and
his goal; and anon, lifting me np to his
own lookout, he would point out some
new and undiscovered country where
fresli glory awaited the first comer.
Alternately stimulated and held in
check, I rapidly grew in popular favor,
and divided almost equally with my
father the smiles and tears of tlie town.
Oh ! he alone who has commanded them
cJn testify to the sweetness of the
power.
‘About this time there appeared on
the scene one whom my father nervously
feared as a possible rival. He played
parts that my father considered pecul
iarly his own by right of repeated rep
resentation, and, being young, hand
sofhe and of good address, secured a
large following of friends. The misun
derstanding between this stranger and
my father was of so serious a character
that they only spoke to each other when
the demands of their profession forced
some courtesy from one or the other, and
it required all the firmness of the stage
manager to keep them to their duties.
One night, late in the season, when all
the new plays had been worn thread
bare, an old melodrama was revived, and
to my father and this new-comer the
principal parts were assigned. Each
now started out in the race to enlist
the applause of the audience. My fath
er watched the house nervously, both
off and on the stage, to see to which sido
its favor might incline. He seemed to
feel the laurels plucked from his own
and bound on a younger brow. Near
the close of the play my father was to
shoot his opponent, who was to fall dead at
his feet. You have already apprehend
ed the sequel. The gun, an old, unused
one, supposed to bp loaded with a small
charge of powdtr, went off in my fath
er’s hands, and the rival, whom he had
so lately feared and hated, lay dead be
fore him.
“ I have related this incident to show
you the cloud of misfortune that hung
over our family, and shortly aiterward
enveloped me in its folds.
“ Although probably no one actually
believed that this tragedy was other
than a sad accident, yet some there were
who, recalling the enmity between the
two men, were malicious enough to whis
per that the shooting was premeditated
under cover of the play. These rumors
coming to my father’s ears cut short his
stage career. He secluded himself close
ly at home and would see no one. One
night, I recollect, he called me into his
room, and said : *My son, it would have
been far better for me if I had purposely
killed that man, for in that case my pun
ishment would be deserved and sure.
This distrust, the averted eyes of those
who were once proud to call themselves
mylends,'' is killing me.’ He must
have spoken in a spirit of prophecy, for
on the following morning he died.
* ‘ Soon after this event I was the re
cipient of some flattering offers from
theatrical managers, and I determined
to return to the stage, although my
mother bitterly opposed it. Oh! that I
had listened to her gentle pleadings,
lint youth is proud and headstrong, and
unwilling to heed words of caution.
Was I not desirous of providing for all
her present and future needs? Had I,
although acting contrary to her wishes,
any other object than her ultimate hap
piness in view? "Would she not, sooner
or later, come round to look at things in
my way ?
“ My return to the stage was followed
by almost immediate promotion, and the
people flocked to see me in parts which
inv lather had rendered famous. Many
of my friends were anxious to see me
attempt the higher walks of my art, and
partly to please them, as well as to air
certain theories and innovations of my
own, I gave out that I would shortly es
say the role of Othello. For weeks
and months I studied this creation of
the great dramatist, and succeeded in
thoroughly identifying myself with the
part. On the night before my debut as
a tragedian was to take place I retired
early, but my sleep was disturbed by
dreams. By turns I was the fond and
tender lover, the proud and powerful
General, the crazed, relentless mur
derer.
‘ ‘ The morning dawned and developed
in my own home a more horrible tragedy
than wa4 ever conceived by dramatist,
for while I slept and dreamed a dastard
ly assasm had crept into my mother’s
chamber and strangled the life from her
sweet body. Upon her fair white throat
was the cruel imprint of the murderous
hand, and, oh, God! while I slept, un
conscious of her agony, she was strug
gling with her slayer.
“Weeks and months passed, but no
clew to the murderer could be discovered,
nor the object of the crime imagined.
My life, robbed of its truest friend,
seemed dull and melancholy. There
was but one thing left for me to do, and
that was to recall and act upon her ad
monitions, so that, if haply her spirit
looked down on me, she might bless my
efforts. I left the State and sought in a
Western State to give anew direction to
my life. But even here my reputation
as* an actor had preceded me, and I was
waited upon one evening by.the man
ager of the local theater with the re
quest that I would take the place of his
leading man on the following evening,
he being incapacitated by sickness from
appearing. The piece was to be “ Othel
lo. ” I accepted the proposal, pleased that
my name had not been entirely forgotten
by the public. The hotel at which I
stopped was overcrowded, and the land
lord informed me that I would have
to share my room with a stranger.
But the ‘stranger,’ when he came in,
proved to be an old friend, and we talked
far into the night of old times, mutual
acquaintance, but especially of my
forthcoming appearance as Othello on
the next night. I slept, and dreamed
once again that I was the veritable Moor
of Venice, breathing into Desdemona’s
ear mv vengeful, cruel purpose. I was
suddenly awakened by a temflo pull at
ttJ bair- lad
in the mlildia bi ihi floor engaged in a
struggle with my My hands
were fastened in. a vice-llke grip on his
throat, and, even I waked, nis hold
on my hair looked. nd h* helpless
ly to the floov. Ther* at* moments in
life when, like an electric flash, all that
has been and much that is to be stands
out clearly revealed, and, awe-struck, we
gaze at the fearful prospect. The mys
tery of my mother’s taking-off was no
longer a mystery ; it was these accursed
hands that had "done the deed, and con
demned me, like Ahasueras, to wander
over the world, seeking relief and find
ing none.”
With these words the young man con
cluded his tragic story, and, seizing his
hat, opened the outer door and disap
peared in the darkness. Nettie, with
white face, but moistened eyes, hastened
to the door with her purpose so clearly
expressed in her manner that Charles
cried out:
“ Hare a care what you arc doing!
You surely can’t mean to offer that
sleep-walker a bed here! Ugh ! I choke
at the thought of it! ”
Nettie shuddered, hesitated for a mo
ment only, then, leaving the door ajar,
stepped out. We could hear her voice,
but could not distinguish the words, but
his reply was distinctly audible:
“ You are light. To me it seems as if
my mother’s voice spoke through you,
bidding me cast off this burden of re
morse and return to my art, with the
resolve to win the name the future sure
ly has in store for me,”
* * * * * * * *
Several years later our family were
surprised by the receipt of a note, in
closing passes, from the manager of the
B Theater, inviting us to be present
on the following evening, when Ameri
ca’s greatest tragedian would open a
week’s engagement. The play was to
be “Othello.” We were punctual yon
hand, and were politely conducted to a
side box, whence shortly afterward we
had no difficulty in recognizing, in the
swarthy Moor who strode the stage,
Nettie’s quondam acquaintance.
Between the acts the actor entered
our box and claimed the privilege of re
newing an acquamtance so mauspicious
ly begun.
“I shall invite myself once more to
your home,” said he, “ nor will you find
me the objectionable guest that I for
merly was. Before fame and fortune
the dark specters that haunted my
brain have dissolved like the mists of
morning and left me light-hearted and
clear-visioned.”
Since then the actor has often been
our honored guest; and idle rumor has
X —is the rumor idle? What, then, do
Nettie’s blushes mean, as, bending over
•my shoulder as I write, she asks the
jucstion :
“Father, don’t you think it would
sound better if you were to christen
your story ‘ The Tale of a Tragedian ?’ ”
Fun in Camp.
The early settlers of Kentucky had to
work hard and fight often with the In
dians. Their holidays were few, but
whenever men met some sort of a physi
cal contest was .the amusement of the
occasion. A Methodist minister, who
lived in Kentucky at the beginning of
this century, tells of a curious sport he
once witnessed—a battle with fire-brands
for weapons.
He and a hundred other stalwart set
tlers were engaged in opening a road
through the forest. It was a good-nat
ured, jolly company. The men worked
hard all day. At night they sat round
blazing fires of huge hickory logs and
told stories of hunting bear and deer and
fighting Indians.
One night the story-tellers seemed to
have exhausted their yarns. The men
seemed nervous for some new excitement.
Suddenly one gave a war-whoop. A
score of yells answered. Every one
sprang to his feet.
Two Captains were chosen, and the
men told off in two companies. Each
man seized a burning brand and the bat
tle began. There was but one rule of
war—no brand should be thrown with
out fire upon it, so that it might be seen
and dodged.
For two hours the battle continued in
perfect good nature. But, as the fires
became low, burning brands grew scarce.
The rule was broken and some were se
verely wounded. The battle in play -was
beginning to be a fight in earnest.
Then came out the perfection of the
discipline they had acquired in Indian
wars. The loud voices of the Captains
cried “ Halt I” Each man dropped his
brand. “To camp !” and in a few min
utes the whole company, save the senti
nels, were “between their blankets.”
Eccentric Winans.
Mr. Winans, the son of the late Balti
more millionaire, lives in great splendor
in England, having one of the most
magnificent palaces in London, and,
with one exception, the finest deer park
in Scotland, which is kept in royal style.
He has a morbid dread of the sea,
and says nothing would tempt him to
cross it again, and neither of his two
sons has ever been in America. His in
come is nearly $1,000,000, with a pros
pect of trebling in ten yearfc. He spends
his money en prince , but himself cares
for nothing but engineering.
“Do you pretend to have as good
judgment as I have ? ” exclaimed an en
raged wife to her husband. ‘ * Well, no, ”
he replied slowly, “our choice of part
ners for life shows that my judgment is
not to be compared with yours.”
It is now estimated that the forests of
America will be all used up at the end
of another thirty years, and a man who
wants to go hunting will have to sit oa a
4i aw bridge and shoot at sailors.
SUBSCRN>TION”tf.6O.
NUMBER 38.
BITS OF INFORMATION.
Hibernia, is the Latin name for Ire
land.
Cotton Mather wrote 382 works of
all kinds.
Memphis was built by Mizraim 2,000
years and more before Christ.
The slang word “crack” (as, a “crack”
regiment) is a corruption of “crepo,” to
boast of. It is English university slang,
and was in common use in Shakspeare’s
time.
Aluminum when fused and cast in
molds is soft as pure silver, but when
hammered or rolled it becomes as hard
as iron.
N itro-gltcerine was invented by
Soblero in 1847. In 1863 Alfred Nobel,
a German, first mixed it with gunpow
der, and used it for blasting, and, after
further experiments, invented dynamite,
by mixing it with infusorial earth.
Glass was first introduced into En
gland in 674. Its use was at first entirely
confined to religious edifices, and did
not become general until the fourteenth
century. The first glass manufactory in
America was established by John Hewes,
in New Hampshire, in 1790.
The “ Riot Act ” is an English law,
providing “that if any persons to the
number of twelve or more, being unlaw
fully, riotously and tumultuously assem
bled together to the disturbance of the
public peace, shall continue so assem
bled for the space of an hour after a
magistrate has commanded them by
proclamation to disperse, they shall be
considered felons.” It is the custom in
England always to read the “ Riot Act ”
before proceeding to extremities. ,
In the ancient Egyptian astronomy,
the order of the planets, in respect of
distance from the earth, beginning with
the most remote, is Saturn, Jupiter,
Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury, the
moon. The day was divided into twenty
four hours, and each successive hour
consecrated to a particular planet in the
order stated—so that, one hour being
consecrated to Saturn, the next fell to
Jupiter, the third to Mars, and so on,
and each day was named after the planet
to which its first hour was consecrated.
The Egyptian w r eek began with Satur
day, or the day of Saturn ; and the Jews,
because of their flight on that day, made
it the last day of their week—the last
day of their bondage—hence their Sab
bath or rest from labor^.
The term “ Porte,” Which is used to
denote the administrative government
of the Ottoman empire, and includes
the Sultan, the Grand Vizier, and the
great Council of State, had its origin in
this way: In the famous institutes es
tablished by the famous warrior, Sultan
Mohammed IL, the Turkish body polit
ic was described by the metaphor of a
stately tent, whose domes rested upon
four pillars. “The Viziers formed the
first -pillar, the Judges the second, the
Treasurers the third, and the Secretaries
the fourth.” The chief seat of the gov
ernment was figuratively named the
“ Lofty Gate of the Royal Tent,” in al
lusion to the practice of earlier times,
when the Ottoman rulers sat at the tent
door to administer justice. The Italian
translation of this name was “Le Porte
Sublima.” This phrase was modi
fied in English to the “Sublime
Porte,” and finally the adjective has
been dropped, leaving it simply “The
Porte.”
The Times, of Natal, contains an ac
count, obtained from native sources by
Mr. Osborn, the British resident in Zu
luland, of the memorable disaster at
Isandlana. The description of the stand
made by “the last man” is full of pathos:
“He struggled on and on, retreating
higher and higher up in the hill, till he
readied a small cave or recess in the,
i*ocks, into which he crept, and with his
gun kept off the enemies. The ground
in front of the little cave (which was
pointed out to me) falls sleepily down,
and the Zulus, taking advantage of the
rocks and stones scattered about, en
deavored, two or three at a time, to ap
proach and shoot him. The soldier,
however, was very cool and wary, and
invariably shot every Zulu as he ap
peared. He did not blaze away hurried
ly, but loaded quickly, took deliberate
aim, and ‘killed a man with every shot,’
till at last, the Zulus now very tired, a
number of men, good shots, were brought
up with guns, who fired simultaneously
at the unfortunate man, and so killed
him. ”
A Lucky Thing.
As a citizen was feeling his way up
street one dark night he suddenly made
out the form of a man only a few feet
away. After a halt and embarrassing
silence he called out:
“Say, you I ”
“Yes.
“ Are yon an honest man ? ”
“ Yes ; are yon ? ”
“Yes.”
“ Have yon got any money ? ”
“ Not a red. How is it with yon ? ”
“I’m also dead broke. How are yon
armed ?”
“ With a club. How are you ? ”
“ I’ve got a club, too. What a lncky
thing it is that we spoke to each other I
H either of us had been a robber we
inight have killed our man and not got a
cent! ” -
Dabtus, during his reign, had an in
come of $14,500,000 a year 1 , and when
eggs went np to forty-eight cents a dozen
he growled as much as the modern
newspaper paragraphs whose income
isn't JiaH as large.
Pride, like th 6 magnet, constantly
points to one object— self; but, unlike
the magnet, it has no attractive pole, but
at ftU points repvla,