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SCHLEY < OUNTY ENTERPRISE
A. J. HARP, Publisher.
Silent Sounds.
Yon do not hoar it* Unto mo
Ttao sweet low sound comes consol essly
j\ml, floating, floods the earth and sky
With tender tone.
• You do not hear the restless boat
Upon the floor of childish feet—
Of feet that tread tho flowery street
Of heaven atone.
At morn, at noon, at evo, at night,
1 hear the patter, soft and light,
And catch tho gust of wings, snow-white,
About my door.
And on the silent air is borne
The voice that from my world was torn—
That left me, comfortless, to mourn,
For evermore.
Sometimes floats up from out the street
The boyish laughter, bird-like, sweet—
I turn, forgetfully, to greet,
My darling fair:
Soft as the ripple of the stream,
Breeze-kissed beneath the moon's pale beam,
How strangely real doth it seem!
And ho not there.
Ah, no; you cannot hoar his call;
You catch no laugh, nor light footfall*
1 am his mother—that is all;
And Ho who said,
"I will not leave tlioo desolate,”
Has, somehow, loosed the bonds of fate
And left ajar the golden gato
Which hides my dead.
—Nellie Watts McVey.
A SINGER’S ROMANCE.
A full, rich, powerful voice, crude as
yet, and untutored, yet with the unmis¬
takable attributes of genius, a voice
which promised a glowing future.
“Sing it again, Nora—that’s splendid,”
and the singer commenced again.
Full, swelling, passionate, until the
voice died away in a trembling, weird-
like moan.
Scene. —A large, scattered workshop
in the heart of the bustling, busy city,
Time—Noon. Cast of Characters—Some
twenty or more tired shop-girls, seated
the stove, eating their plain,
coarse dinner. Not a very romantic
affair, and yet from that shop was to
come one who should weave a romance
which I know to be true.
"If I had a voice like yours, Nora, I’d
make it tell,” cried Maggie Hunter, a
good-natured girl, who sat by thc fire,
contentedly munching an apple.
“If 1 had your voice, Nora Neale, I’ll
tell you what I’d do. I’d never rest con¬
tented in this old shop, but I’d make it
earn my living for me. God didn’t give
you beauty, Nora, but He did give you a
splendid voice, and it’s your own fault if
you don't make thc most of it.” I
“Oh, do you really think it is good
enough for that, Maggie?” and Nora
turned her ilusliecl face to the speaker.
“If I thought I should ever be a fine
singer, 1 would work day and night for
it. I would be willing to wear a calico
dress all the days of my life, only to have
success at last.”
“No need of your wearing calico all
your life. Your voice will earn you silks,
if you only have sense enough to make
it,” returned her companion.
All through the long afternoon strange
faaeies ran through the head of Nora
Neale.
The sharp click of the sewing-machine
kept time to the busy thoughts whirling
through her brain, and as she walked
home in the dull, November twilight, a
firm resolution filled her soul.
w ANTED on tho floor -A aiul YOTTNG assist OIRL the Housekeeper. TO WAIT
-A pply at No. 46 Beacon street.
Nora laid the paper down. Outside
the chill, drizzling, November rain fell
drearily, making sad, desolate music;
but inside Nora's heart was full of sun¬
shine.
She knew the house well. Every
morning, for over a year, she had passed
it on her way to the shop, often stopping
to hear the sweet melody filling the air.
How many times she had wished as she
read thc name of thc great musician, that
she could go to him and cultivate the
voice God had given her.
And now, not only to enter iris house
hut to live there! AViiat matter if she
was only the girl to wait on the door!
Would she not constantly hear the glori¬
ous melody floating out on the air, and
could she not gleam some knowledge
from what she could overhear?
“No harm trying,” said Nora, ns she
folded the paper carefully and went to
her room.
‘ Yes, 1 think you will suit. The fact
’N ’ !,t >d the old housekeeper confi¬
dential, grew
“I ain't so young and spry as I
used to be. I find that running up stairs
and down stairs, is almost too much for
me, and when I spoke about it to Master
f art, he told me to get some nice, young
person to wait on the door, and run er¬
rands for me. Yes, dear, you look smart
mul trim, I think you will do.” And
Nora left the talkative housekeeper with
11 joyful heart.
A week later and Nora Neale was an
inmate of Carl Matzell’s beautiful home.
The old housekeeper was in her room,
taking her customary afternoon nap.
Nora had finished her work, and taking
some towels the housekeeper had given
her to hem, she brought them Into the
dow ding-room, and sat down at the win¬
to sew.
1 rom thc next room lire voice of one
“f Master Carl’s pupils practicing diffi¬
a
cult trill, came distinctly to her ear:
(J h! it I could only hear what he tells
b( T, then I might practice it. to-night,
■’dci he goes out.” murmured Nora, and
Nora drew the cricket softly to thc door,
just in time to hear him say, “Try that
again, Miss Morton. The voice should
linger a trifle more on tho upper tone.”
Again the clear bird-like voice of the
pupil rang out, until the delighted
teacher clapped his hands softly, ex-
claiming:
“Bravo, Miss Morton, that was finely
rendered. ’ ,f
XT JNora listened , eagerly, . until the rust- t
v ling of r silk ... warned ....... her that the lesion
was finished, , and , she , heard , i the , lady . . rise •
t oro "That
night, after Carl Matzell left the
, house, Nora having satisfied herself that .
’ ”,
tlie housekeeper , busy chatting , . loan
was /
old , , triend, . , stole, , softly . , to her , room, and ,
commenced , the , , lesson she had l'«tened ,
to that .. . afternoon.
Days T . ana . weeks , glided .. . . away, and ... bora
steadily practiced the lessons she , stole , ,
from , . her unsuspecting teacher. ,
A year had passed away since Nora
had entered Carl Matzell’s home. Thc
housekeeper was out, and Carl was away.
Seated before the open piano, Nora
played softly an accompaniment; then
her full, clear, rich tones filled the room.
Trilling, like she had heard Miss MortoD,
then bursting forth in full, clear melody.
The door softly opened, and Carl Mat- j
zcll silently took the picture in. Wait¬
ing until the singer had finished, he ex¬
claimed, softly:
“Very well done, Nora. Very well
done, my girl.”
Poor Nora; a deep Hush overspread
her face; then, suddenly, she became
pale as death.
“Never mind, Nora, a happy accident
has revealed to ine the power of your
voice. It is my wish for you to com-
mence a thorough course of instruction,
for I have every reason to believe that,
with proper training, you will become
one of the finest vocalists I have ever
heard.”
Nora knelt at his feet in gratitude, and
impetuously kissing his hand hastened
from the room.
“At last,” she murmured, “at last. To
think I shall really become what I have
always longed to he. And Mr. Matzell!
oh, he is so good!” and happy Nora burst
into a flood of tears.
Never did Carl Matzell have a more
industrious pupil than Nora, and never
was enthusiastic teacher more abundantly
rewarded. Two years from the time
Nora Neale entered Carl Matzell’s home,
as an humble maid, found her dressing
for her debut.
Nora’s voice trembled as she glanced
at the surging mass before her, but one
look at her teacher’s face reassured her,
and she retired amidst the wildest ap¬
plause.
Nora Neale rode home that night a
distinguished woman. Her appearance
had been a complete success. But Nora
was not perfectly happy. Foolish Nora
had learned another lesson. She had
learned to love her noble teacher In vain
she chided and reproached herself for
her folly.
Late that evening Carl Matzell, open¬
ing the door of the music room, was sur¬
prised to see Nora sitting in the utmost
abandonment, her head resting on tho
table, her rich robes sweeping the floor.
Sob after sob shook her frame, and
Carl watched her tenderly, pityingly,
while a deeper, warmer feeling crept into j
Iris heart. A new emotion thrilled him |
as he looked at the young girl. |
That evening he had been proud of his
pupil, had admired her as she stood b -
fore the delighted audience, but not until
he beheld her, desolate and alone, did
the love, long slumbering in his breast,
wake to full life. ]
“Nora,” he cried, softly; and Nora !
raised her tear-stained face from the ta¬
bic. “Nora, come to me;” and Nora j
sped to the open arms, thankful for the
love and protection offered her. j
Many years have passed away sine i
Nora Neale became the wife of thc noble
Carl Matzell, and every year but strength- i
ens the love they bear each other; while ■
in the whole city til re is no happier
home than that of the wealthy music j
teacher and his gifted wife.
Mtdical intelligence.
Col. AVitherspoon, to whom we have
frequently referred to as thc meanest
man in Austin, has been in poor health I
for some months past. Tho principal
cause of his feebleness is his unwilling¬
ness to feed himself with sufficient copi-
ousness.
A few days ago, while he was taking
the air, he met Dr. Perkins Soonover.
AVitherspoon thought this was a good
chance to get 6ome medical advice with¬
out paying for it.
“How do you do this morning, col-
onel?” asked Dr. Soonover.
“Poorly, doctor, poorly. For some 1
time past I have been suffering from j
weakness. Ar see, I can hardly i
you
walk. AVhat shall I take, doctor?"
“Take a hack,” replied the doctor, |
gruffly, as he strode off.”— Siftings.
She Knew Him.
Sarcastic wife—“Comin; home as
usual, I suppose?”
Fond of staying out late husband—
“Yes, certainly.”
Saicastic wife—-“Well, put this letter
3' the first mail in the morning, and if
•ft , u meet the milkman tell him s leave
two quarts.”— Jaayt.
ELLAV1LLE, GEORGIA, THURSDAY. JUNES, 1880.
THE MADSTONE.
Something about a Supposed
Cure for Hydrophobia.
I Doctors Say Both the Stone and Cures
Effected by it nro Mythical.
“Madness in doffs,” * said a physician, *
‘
“is ... mentioned .. . . the Iliad ... . of Ilomer, and
I in ’
hydrophobia . , , . . described , disease by
I /. *, is as a
j Aristotle. Dcmocritis, . . the . laughing , , .
malady 400 years before 1 the ^ Christian • ° f era.
... Hippocrates, the , father , ,, of .. medicine, . and ,
contemporary ' with . , Democrates, rccom-
mended , the sucking of , the , wound , made
i . by the . bite , . of , ralnd , •, dog. , In , the , ab- ,
a "
sence of , physician , . . to cauterize . the ..
a 1
-
wound . . the ,
or a surgeon to cut it out,
medical fraternity „ . of .. to-day , would ,, pre-
Bcribe the same remedy. The first ,, thing .
an awkward person does when he smash¬
es his Auger with a hammer is to jam the
injured member in his mouth. Persons
bitten by venomous snakes have removed
the poison in the same manner.
“The ■absorbent qualities of certain
kinds of earth or clay have led to their
use in cases of poisonous bites to absorb
the poison, or laceration of the flesh to
stop the flow of blood. When the soli¬
tary plowman encounters a nest of bees
and gets the worst of the contest he ap¬
plies a handful of earth moistened with
tobacco juice to the stings. The adhe¬
sive quality of a spongy sort of clay prob¬
ably gave rise to the mythical stories con¬
cerning the use of madstones for bites of
rabid animals. Madstones have a mysteri¬
ous history. Everybody has heard of
them, but very few persons have seen
them. The encyclopedias describe them
as light, ]9rous stones which have the
quality of adhering to a wound. Their
origin is not even hinted at, and their
peculiar qualities are not given. Medi¬
cal authorities do not mention them,
though they speak of all the different
remedies applied to the wounds made by
animals afflicted with hydrophobia.
“Tradition says the stone is flat, oval-
shaped, and of a bluish color. It is said
that it will adhere to the poisoned
wound until filled with the virus, when
it falls off. After being washed and
soaked in hot water or milk it will again
stick to the wound if it contains any
poisonous matter. It is claimed that
these stones are efficacious if applied to
the wound several days or even several
weeks after the victim lias been bitten by
the mad dog.
“The cures effected by this wonderful
stone are mythical as the stone itself.
The possessors of these magic healers
claim many lives saved from rabies. The
medical records do not mention a case.
It is impossible to lay jour hands on the
man who has been bitten by a mad dog
and saved by the mad-stone.”
Dr. George P. Cunningham has made
the study of hydrophobia a speciality,
and it is more than probable has cauter¬
ized more wounds made by dogs than any
other man in Chicago. His office is a
few doom from the Chicago avenue
police station. Every person on the
North Side bitten by a dog supposed to
be mad rushes to the station and the vic¬
tim is hurried to Dr. Cunningham. For¬
ty to fifty dog-bitten people come to him
every year, and he estimates that he has
cauterized over two hundred wounds
made by these animals. But three per-
sons whose wounds he has treated have
died of hydrophobia.
“If the raadstone is a fraud, thc medi¬
cal fraternity ought to prove it,” Dr.
Cunningham said. “I have examined
all the encyclopedias and medical author¬
ities that come within my reach to secure
some positive information concerning
madstones. I have not the slightest idea
of their origin. I can’t even find out
what they look like j have always
wanted t0 fiee ouc so that hl ratnb i ing
about 1 might pick U p a stone that look-
cd like it and mako some experiments.
j bayc never seen a person who had seen
one Xhev must have the power of a
bUC ti 0 u-pump if they can draw out thc
p 0 j S0 n that has .been ill the system two or
tbree -weeks, as it is claimed they can do.
,,j j mag j ne that a madstone has about
as much effect as a piece of blotting pa¬
per. Anything that has absorbent quali¬
ties would be beneficial, but I should
hate to risk a madstone thirty minutes
after the poison had entered the wound
even if it has the qualities claimed for it.
The virus enters the system the moment
after the bite. Not all of the poison is
taken up at once, of course, and by
promp- cauterization the remaining virus
is destroyed .”—Chicago News.
Didn’t Hurt llitn.
A hillside farmer, driving a miserable
looking horse, stopped in front of a feed
6tore and was trying to sell a frost-bitten
rooster when a man rushed up to him
and sa id.;
“Look at your i lamed old horse, up
to his eyes in my bale of bay.”
“Is it your liay?”
“Of course, it is. Take your horse
away from here. ”
“Of course I will, fur I never like ter
tramp on a man’s rights—”
“Take him away, I tell you!”
“Yes, I will. Yu, back here! AVelt,”
ho added as he climbed into the wagon
and started away, “thar’s one consolin’
thing erbout the transackshun. The hoss j
don’t, ’pear ter he hurt much.”— Arlan- }
saw Traveler.
Life Cars.
• In a little gray house with a red roof,
which stands on a desolate stretch of
beach in Oecau County, New Jersey,
there hangs an oval iron case which has a
singular history. The house is a station
of the Life-Saving Service, and the case
is tlie first life-car ever used in the world.
Its story is as follows.
After the organization of the Life-
Saving Service tvs a branch of the Gov¬
ernment, in 1871, its insjiectors visited
every part cf the coast to examine into
the condition of the station-houses and
their equipments.
One of these officers was on the New
Jersey coast during a heavy storm, when
a ship was driven on the bar. lie saw
the desperate efforts of the surfmen to
reach her in their heavy life-boat. They
at last succeeded, and took off as many
of the passengers at the boat would hold,
but in returning, it was swamped by tho
furious breakers, and rescued and res¬
cuers were washed into the sea.
For weeks and months afterwards the
inspector went about like a man dis¬
traught, intent on devising a model
for a boat which should be at once light
enough to handle in such seas, and heavy
enough not to be overturned by them.
The problem was so difficult that he was
in (lispair. But one day he startled his
companions by exclaiming, “Swing it on
a cable, and put a lid to it 1”
The idea was at once carried out. Tills
life-car was mada,—ail oval, air-tight
case closed by a lid which screws down,
and hung by iron rings on a cable ex¬
tended from the shore to the ship. On
the first day it was used, two hundred
persons escaped in it from the Ayrshire,
a vessel wrecked off the New Jersey
coast.
These care, of an improved shape, arc
now to be found in every life-saving
station. But this old battered veteran is
regarded with a touching pride and af¬
fection by the brave surliuen.
“She has done good work in the
world,” they say; an epitaph which we
would all be glad to share with the life-
car. — Youth's Companion.
Harpy-IIunting.
The Dutch planters in Java invite each
other to bat soirees. The cavernous
south coast of their island harbors my¬
riads of kalongs. or fruit-eating bats, for
their size about the most voracious mam¬
mals of our latter-day creation. In a sin¬
gle night a full-grown kalong will eat his
own weight in bananas, grapes, or
bread-fruit, and in stress of hunger will
attack any soft vegetable substance, and,
indeed, almost any organic substance
whatever, for captive specimens have
been know to devour sponges and kid
gloves. A few minutes after sunset those
harpies leave their dens, and, after cir¬
cling about the coast in shrieking swarms,
decide on the plan of their campaign,, and
descend en masse on the fruit groves of
the most convenient valley. At the first
ahum the villagers snatch up their slings
and start at a double-quick, picking up
stones as they run. Every minute’s de-
iav may cost them a bushel of fruit. But
before charging the marauders they send
their best marksmen to sdtnc vantage-
ground cm the seaward sidaof the battle¬
ground, having found by experience that
thc flying harpies will take a bee-line to
t'ne coast. A few 1 scouts then rush
in with loud yells, or open the at¬
tack by filing off a blunderbus, and in
tho next minute the answering shrieks of
the harpies rise on the air, and with a
rush the whole swarm sail away, fol¬
lowed by a volley of hurtling stones.—
Felix L. Oswald..
Cals as Bed-felloug.
In reply to the query of a correspond¬
ent as to the popular belief that a cat will
suck thc breath of a sleeping infant,
Babyhood says: “Dr. Tomlinson of Chi¬
cago, dismisses die subject Socratically:
‘AV hat good do you suppose it would do
a cat to draw into its lungs breath which
a human being has just exhaled ?’ Never¬
theless it may be said, with all respect
for Dr. Tomlinson and no respect at all
for superstition, that the warmth-loving
cat has a way of preferring baby’s crib as
a sleeping-place to any other bed or cor- ;
ner. If driven away, she will return I
stealthily again and again to the snug j
covert. She loves, furthermore, tones- 1
tie close to baby’s body, as often as not
thmsting her whiskered nose against the
velvet cheek, pink and warm with sleep.
Thus far, .she may do no harm. But
when she occasionally curls her bulk of
live, six or eight pounds’ weight upon j
the sleeper’s heaving chest mischief may
come of it. To escape thc risk of this
mischance, if for no other reason, keep
pussy away from your slumbering baby.
Indeed, lie is best off without any bed- }
fellow.”
The Doctor Nonplussed. i
A little fellow happened into Dr. |
Hutchins’ office a few days ago on an er¬
rand. The physician looked him over
and rather startlingly remarked:
“You’re just the kind of a boy I’m
looking for. I’m going to kill you.”
The small chap was not a whit abashed,
but looking wisely up into the doctor’s
face, asked:
“Do you kill many boys in the course
of tlie. year?”
The doctor il * ,n a T iarter in
of a d me. and forgot to ask for the j
change. - -Minneapolis Trihum. ‘
LITTLE MRS. DODDS.
How She Proved Herself a
Woman of Great Nerve.
A. Western Stage Bobbery tint Ended
Badly for the Robbers.
Soon after the close <> f the civil war.
and when the West was a great deal
wilder than it i- now, several of us took
the stage one day from Austin to Eureka,
Nevada. As a matter of fact, there were
five men and one woman, a dumpy little
body with rosy face and blue eyes, whose
mime was Mrs. Dodds. She lived in
Eureka, and was returning home after u
visit.
The stage route had been clear of road
agents for a long time, but as a matter of
ceremony each man carried a revolver in
a hostler belted around him, and there
may have been two or three bowie-knives
in the crowd. We got away from Aus¬
tin in good shape, and in an hour we
were ail pretty well acquainted. Noth¬
ing of particular interest happened dur¬
ing the day or early evening, but about
9 o’clock at night, while most of us were
half asleep, the stage came to a sudden
halt, and a clear, sharp voice rang out:
“If you move a foot I’ll send a bullet
through your head! Inside the stage
there! No nonsense, now! Hand thoso
pistols out butt foremost!”
He threw the door open and covered
everybody with the muzzle of his revol-
ver. Stage passengers have been called
cowards for permitting themselves to be
“held up” by one man. The time be-
tween the stoppage of the stage and the
opening of the door was so brief that
none of us could have pulled a pistol,
After that, to have made a motion would
have been to invite a shot. Any one of
us would have been a fool to resist.
“Step down here!” commanded the
agent, and one by one we “stepped.” As
each man descended he pulled his pistol
and laid it on the ground, and then took
his place in line.
“Ah! a woman here!” said the agent
as Mrs. Dodds started to come down,
“You may remain in the coach I don’t
rob women.”
She settled back, and he turned to us,
a pistol in each hand, anti briskly re¬
marked:
“Now. then, time is money. Each ol
you gents shell out, and place the boodle
on tlie ground. The man who attempts
to Swindle me will get a dose of lead.”
We began to shell. I stood nearest i
the coach, at the head of the line, and I j
placed watch and wallet on thc ground.
As I straightened up I saw little Mrs.
Dodds hitching about in the coach. In
a few seconds the barrel of a revolver
rested against the side of the open door.
The agent had iris left side to the coach,
and was about twelve feet away. If the
woman missed him she would certainly
hit one of the men in line. She must
know this, and I doubted if she would
take the chances.
“Come don’t he slow about it,” called
the agent. “At this rate you won’t get
into Eureka for a week ! 1 want- 1”
At that instant there was a flash and a
report, and he leaped clear off his feet and
fell to the ground in a heap. We grab¬
bed for our pistols and rushed upon him,
but he was as dead as a nail. The bullet
from her revolver has struck him full in
the ., and ,, he knew , what ■ hit , ,, him. , ,
ear never
We turned to the coach, and there was
..... little Mrs. ,, Dodds .. , . crying pist . like worn-
a
while , the smoking . .‘ revolver , lay , the
an, on
seat. ... We just . lilted .... . , her down , and , , hug-
ged , her , as if we were her five brothers,
’
for she had saved the crowd , a matter of
4 •plojUUU.
AVe couldn’t press a present upon her,
but when we got to Eureka we made her
husband pocket a purse of $500, and we
slipped in another hundred to buy the
little woman the nicest silk dress in tho
Silver State.— Detroit Free Press.
Determined to V’ote.
AA7e clip the following, from a Glasgow,
(Scotland,) letter: AViiat will American
voters think of the fact that some had to
walk twenty miles to record their votes,
and they walked it under torrents of rain!
i n other cases they had to cross stormy
chann( . ls in small boats . S o determined
were q,,. j le0 plc of my native place to
vote q mt q le men joined together and
hired small 8tcamcr<
In another case thc candidate himself
chartm . d a steamer for tempest’that t hc dav and on
its arrival such was the the
smal , bo „t s could scarcely get out to it.
Not to be beaten, the voters carried on
their sho ulders a large boat from far in¬ j
, and and limnchc d it for thc occasion,
Thus, by boat and steamer and road, the
new voters found their way to the far-off
polling booths, and for the first time re¬
alized they were men of national impor-
tonce.
Her Method of Revenge. !
“Here is rather a sad incident in tho
paper, my dear,” said Squildig. |
“What is it?” asked his wife. i
“A Bohemian girl in Chicago commit-
ted suicide to spite her lover,'who had
offended her.” j
“Thc foolish girl! I wouldn’t have
taken out my spite in that way.”
“What would you have done?”
“I’d have married him.”
And Squildig went down town won- !
dering how he had offended his wifs be-
fore they were married.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
It has been demonstrated by Mr. J. W.
; Slater that caterpillars are affected by
magnetic currents, which hinder their
development and even kill them.
In a paper on harbors, Prof. L. M.
Ilaupt mentions that from New York to
i the Gulf of Mexico there nro only four
j natural entrances where tho depth at
j mean low water is over sixteen feet, while
j die largest ships draw from twenty-six to
twenty-eight-mid-a-half feet. .
From recent experiments by Dr. Par-
I sons ou the disinfection of clothes and
: bcdding by heatj thc conclusion is
[cached that the germs of thc ordinary
infectioua diseases cannot withstand an
I exposure of an hour to dry heat of 220
: Fahrenheit, of
' degress or an exposure
five minutes to boiling water cr steam of
i degrees.
; 212
in the Smithsonian Institute at Wash-
ington is the small nugget of gold, a lit¬
tle larger than a pea, that first met the
eyes of John Marshall in the sawmill
raceway at Sacramento, and was the be¬
ginning of those discoveries in Califor-
ilia that have added nearly $1,500,000,-
000 in gold to the world's stock of the
precious metal.
At a recent lecture delivered in Phiia-
dclphia by a prominent scientist, the
gentleman said it takes a prodigious
amount of vegetable matter to form a
, layer of „ coal; , that , the , present growth . of ,
the world would make ft layer only one-
eighth of an inch thick, and that it
would take 1,000,000 years to form a
coa i tied 100 lect tlu'ck.
A curious phenomenon has just been
brought to light by thc removal of
j lightning rod. To the end of the rod,
| which has been imbedded in ferruginous
1 earth for about fifteen years, was found
attached a lump of iron ore, weighing
\ ninety-six pounds, supposed to have
been aggregated by tlreaetion of clcctrie-
itv from the surrounding earth.
A French journal calls attention to the
rich oil contained in thc grains of the
tong-ycou, a tree which grows in China,
This oil is easily extracted by pressure,
has a density of 0.9382, and posscssri a
variety of curious properties. It dries i
more rapidly than any other known oil,
it has also the power of solidifying un-
der the action of light and out of contact
with the air.
Tllc purified fat of sheep’s wooi, which (
i
has been introduced into the chug market
under the name of lanolin, is said to pos- ;
sess remarkable susceptibility of absorp- ,
tion by the skin. When 1000 parts of it j
arc mixed with one part of a soluble me-
tallic substance and applied to the scalp,
a within metallic few taste is noticed in is the mouth |
a minutes. It thought the j
substance will be of great value for oint-
meuts.
A number of able European scientists
have been engaged in observing the spots
on the sun with a view of ascertaining
whether they have any perceptible effect
upon thc climate of the earth. After
comparing notes, they have come to the
conclusion that as far as they have been
able to determine, they cannot say posi¬
tively whether the activity of the sun, as
shown by the spots, means a decrease of
the solar heat received by the earth or}
the contrary.
11 atesmnn.
In the legislature _P Representative 1 Rob-
, bitt, . of , Kentucky, , generally „ selects .
' a
subieot . and , occasion ... that suits him,
an ’
’
and then , , he . prepared . for , all ,,
is comers,
lie doer, not like to be interpreted . , . , when ,
, he . addressing . , the . house. T1 Recently,
is
when , the ,, galleries ,, . were filled with ladies,
modest , . member , arose and , asked , , Bob- „ ,
a
bitt:
■‘Will the gentleman yield lor a ques-
tion?”
“No, sir,” retorted Bobbitt instantly;
, ‘I do not care to have any common flow-
ers thrust into my gorgeous bouquet.”
Columns could be filled with odd bits
from his speeches.
“I’m as free as the wind3 that fan my
marble brow,” was his initial announce-
ment to the house.
referred tlie other nay to “the
county I have the honor to represent and
the county that has the honor to be rep-
‘
resented by me.”
“Don’t interrupt me,” he replied to
Major Moss; I am engaged in painting
with the pencil of Hogarth, and I want
uo daubs upon my lr.agnificant canvas.’
— Atlanta Constitution.
~~
Uninformed.
A t , bright-eyed . , little girl of bycars was
on board a Kansas Pacific tram bound
for Denver. She had never before been
bevond the the limits of her Eastern !
home and manifested unusual interest in ;
all she saw.
The wide plains and the prairie dogs
interested her, but she was most nnxiou3
,
to see a genuine specimen of that purely
Western product—a cowboy.
The train was waiting at a station in
Kansas when the longed for cowboy ap-
peared. He was a typical specimen—
wide sombrero, leather breeches, red
flannel shirt, a belt filled with knives and
pistols and a desperate-looking character
generally,
“There is a cowboy for you,” whis- !
pered a gentleman to the little girl.
“AVhat! that!” she asked in unfeigned
surprise aud evident disappointment.
“Why! I always thought a c wboy was
part boy and part cow .”—Free Press.
VOL. 1. NO. 36.
Newport News, 1880.
The huge sea monster, the “Merrimac;”
The mad see monster, the "Monitor;”
You may sweop tbe BPa , ()eer ; 0 nvard and
back,
But never a sign or a sound of war.
A vulture or two in tho heavens blue;
A sweet town building, a boatman's call;
The far sen-song of a pleasure crew;
The sound of hammers. Anu that is all.
And where nro tbe monsters that tore this
main!
And where are the monsters that shook this
shore!
The sea grow mad! And the shore shot
flame!
The mad sea monsters they are no more.
The palm, and tho pine, end the wa.sands
brown;
e far sea-sengs of tlie pleasure crews,
air like balm in this building town—
And that is the picture of Report News.
j —Joaquin Miller In Independent.
HUMOROUS.
The lawyer’s advertisement—Give me
a trial.
Felt slippers—Those applied to vicious
youngsters.
What is taken from you before you
| possess it? Your photograph.
it's tho little things that tell- espe-
I cially the little brothers and sisters.
The j e ^ ter carrier that gets around
1 quickest is the cylinder of a printing-
p regJ
, Professor (who is about to have hn
j hftjr cut )__ How told is it in this room,
j Pray allow me to keep my hat ou!
A western sight-seer being told that
the dried-up man of 110 pounds weight
was Evarts, the New York senator, said:
| “By gosh! I’ll bet he boards."
| An English paper reports that during
| recent explorations at Nineveh a petrified
j umbrella was found in one of the temples.
Near by was the petrified man who was
just about to make off with it.
Professor—Docs my question trouble
y° u i s ' r ‘ Student No, sir, not at all.
i But I am a little in uoubt how to frame
m y answer so as to give you the precise
information for which you seem to ask.
“Mamma,” said Johnny, “can any-
body liom with their mouthl 7*o,
child, I don’t think they can,” replied
the mother. - . Then, mamma, what inada
Mr. Jones tell sister he wanted to tell
her something and put liis lips to her
mouth instead of her ear?”
“Landlord,” said a Wisconsin trav-
eler, emerging from the dinning-room
after a long and fruitless struggle to sc-
cure a dinner—“Landlord, there’s one
thing you have here that’s as good as the
Palmer House, Chicago.” “I am very
glad to please you, What is it?”
“The salt.”
Natural Selection in Mankind.
“The strongest men in intellect,” said
Professor Dana in his closing lecture on
Evolution in Peabody Museum, New
Haven, “are gradually taking possessiou
of the globe, thus exemplifying natural
selection. This is seen in the spreading
out of England’s domain. Before 1859
it was supposed that that species had al¬
ways existed in the same condition in
which they were then found. Now this
has all vanished. The reasons for the
migration of animals and plants are
sweeping. All changes in physical con¬
ditions of migrations may work great
changes either good or bad. Let the
temperature 1 or humidity of a climate be
changed, , * ..... ’,. it will be for the benefit of some
and the disadvantage . . of . others. .. Thus,
cutting ° down shade ... trees will •„ strengthen & ,
the , grass which was under the tree, , while ...
’
it .. will crowd , out the , weeds. , Remains
of tropical species are found in Great
Britian, showing that it was once joined
to the continent. North America was
once joined to Europe across the Arctic
oceaD, allowing the passage of animals.
Migrating birds and stonn winds may
carry with them many hundreds of miles
small insects and seeds. The migration
of the potato bug from Colorado has been
rapid, and were it not for man’s care
there would have been a complete de¬
struction of the species of potatoes.”
Blunting the Feelings.
“Curious how one’s feelings get blunt-
ed by the sight, of blood aud horrors,”
8a y s Sir Chas. Wilson, in his new narra-
tivc of the Nile expedition. •There was
one strange incident. An unwounded
Arab - ftrmed witb a R P ear > j uul P ed U P
aild charged an officer. The officer
grasped the spear with his left hand, and
ri « ht ran 1Us SWOrd throu ? h tho
Arab’s body; and there for a few seconds
they stood, the office, being unable to
withdraw his sword until a man ran up
and shot the Arab. It was a living cm-
bodiment of one of the old gladiatorial
frescoes of Pompeii. It did not, strange
to say, seem horrible; rather, after what
had passed, an every-day occurrence. I
used to wonder before how the Romans
could look on at the gladiatorial fights;
1 do so no longer.”
No Uncertainty.
Angelina: Didn’t you promise me,
Edwin, when you went out that yhu’d
certainly be home by one?
Edwin: Yezh, my dear, ytizh, and
here I am jezh to the moment.
Angelina: Just to the moment, in-
deed! Do you know what time it ;s
o°w?
Edwin: Jezh one, my dear, ezh
Jezh heard it strike an-' over
oue over
again.— Life. S'- ■
-