Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Lu k )i tVi a D estruction of American I Forests. lour own country we have gone i9Joe forests in a kind of freebooter style, cutting and burning more than we could cut, acting for the most part as though all the while in a frolic or a fight, until now at length, after a cen tury or two of this sort of work, we are waking up to the fact that our once boundless woods are disappear ing, and that we are likely to suffer no little loss hereby. But it is only the few who seem now to have any adequate sense of our condition as af fected by the threatened Iosb of the trees. In a recent publication, issued by authority of one of our Western States for the express purpose of at tracting settlers from European coun tries, the statistics of its great lumber production are elaborately set forth, accompanied by the assurance that the present enormous consumption of trees for this purpose may be contin ued ten or fifteen years longer before the forests will be destroyed. The cool unconcern in regard to the future shown in this is very noticea ble. “After us, the deluge.” A cor responding feeling, though working on a much smaller scale, is seen in the advertisement, and of a class often ap pearing in our older States. “Brace up, young man. You have lived on your parents long enough. Buy this farm, cut off the wood, haul it to mar ket, get your money for it, and pay for the farm. The owner estimates that there will be five hundred cords of market wood.” And so, all over the country, on the large scale and on the small, and the ax is laid at the roots of the trees, and our forests are disappearing. It is estimated that 8,000,000 acres of forest lands are cleared every year, and that in the ten years previous to 1876, 112,000,000 acres were burned over simply to clear the land. Marlborough's Meanness. There is probably scarcely a single ancient or noble family—the terms are not quite synonymous—which does not possess a muniment room, the con tents of which have never been edited or calendared, and it fairly makes the mouth of the historical student water to think what treasurel*bf history and of antiquarian gossip lie thus buried. Now and again a noble lord graciously puts his name to a small compilation, or permits some laborious antiquarian to rummage amongst his family ar- ehives, and the little that is given to the world in this way creates an irrre- sistible longing for more. One such volume was prepared some sixty years ago for the gratification of the then Earl of Bridgewater. Only a small number of copies were printed ; the book itself was never published, and present form it naturally belongs category of libri rarisaimi. If of the house of Egerton iduced to reprint it, and to to it from the stores of family aper prepared at Woreley, he would ,A) a service to literature and to the ublic generally, the value would not be easy to over estimate. the meantime it may be worth hiletopick from this book of “Family Anecdotes” a few of the most strik ing. The Egerton family, as everyone who is well up in his Burke or Debrett ought to know, has intermarried with about half the peerage, andPhas alli ances with every one of those great governing families whose predomi nance has given such strength to the Nation in time of political storm and stress. Among these families, that of Churchill is not the least distin guished. The family traditions preserved by the Earl of Bridgewater chiefly relate to the avarice of the great Duke of Marlborough. When in the early years of the eigh teenth oentury, the Earl of Peterbor ough was in command of the English forces In Spain and Portugal, he found great difficulty in obtaining the neces sary supplies. In order to rectify mat ters he returned home; but on appli cation at headquarters he found all his demands held over for further consid eration, whilst the Duke of Marlbor ough obtained all he wanted without the smallest difficulty. “Much dis gusted withal,” says Lord Bridgewa ter, “he threw himself into a sedan chair, and drew the curtains at the sides as well as at the front, that he ight not be known or seen. The pulace took up an idea that the per- in the chair was the DukeofMarl- ough; they gathered round it d bless the Duke of Marlborough bless the Duke of Marlborough!” tlemen,” said Lord Peterborough, pushing down one of the windows, “I am not the Duke of Marlborough.” “O yes,” said a spokesman of the mul titude, “you are the Duke of Marlbor ough ; we know you well enough.” “Gentlemen,” said Lord Peterborough, “1 am not the Duke of Marlborough, I tell you, aud I will give you two con vincing proofs that I am not. One is tnat I have but a single guinea,” and he turned his pockets inside out; “the other is that I give it to you ;” and he threw it among them. On the eve of a great pitched battle, which was to be fought under the joint command of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the lat ter waited upon the Duke after dinner to settle the plan of action for the fol lowing day. “The Duke had taken up his headquarters at a small house, which had a little garden before it, and a coach-road. Prince Eugene was received in great state. In driving out of the coach-road it struck Prince Eu- gene that there was one manoeuvre which he had not notified to the Duke. “Drive me back again !” He skipped nimbly int o the house; and in the drawing-room where he had been re ceived he found the Duke of Marlbor ough perched upon a chair, with his handkerchief under his shoes, and whiffing out the candles of the middle piece of lustre. Commercial and Financial. Break in a Steamship Combination. The English steamships are carry- ng coal to Havana for $1.25 per ton and returning with sugar at $4 per hogshead. Early in the year a combi nation of English steamship owners agreed to carry the entire sugar crop at $3.50 per hogshead, but as several of the large consumers were interested i n American sailing vessels the scheme ell through. Monthly Oil Frodnotion. Titusville.—The monthly oil le- port published in the Titusville Herald show's that 380 new wells were com pleted during March, with a produc tion of 8924 barrels over last month. On the last day of the month there were 8 dry holes, 433 new rigs up and 408 wells being drilled. Inorease of Qrosa Bate on Cattle. New York, March 31.—The follow ing announcement was made by Com missioner Fink : “The Standing Com mittee (trunk roads) have agreed to increase the gross rate on cattle to fifty cents, commenting April 10th, and dressed beef to sixty-four cents per 100 pounds, basis Chicago to New York. Horses, mules 'and sheep re main as at present, sixty cents, until further notice.” BUSINESS-FAILURES. The Number and Extent of Them for Three Months Fast. The report of the business failures throughout the United States for the three months ending March 31st, as compiled by R. G. Dun & Co., of the Mercantile Agency, is as follows: Eastern States, 292; Middle, 508 Southern, 700; Western, 523; Pacific ,nd Territories, 167; total, 2190, b I nf pi am 971 This is a large increase over the corresponding quarter of 1881, when the failures numbered 1761, with $24,447,250 of lia bilities. The increase of loss by bad debts this year is therefore 25 per cent. In 1880 the liabilites for the first quar ter werebut $12,000,000, but in 1879 they were $43,000,000 and in 1878, $82,- 000,900 for 3655 failures, so that, as compared with the first quarter of 1878, the first quarter of 1882 shows to go >d advantape, with 1165 fewer failures and $52,000,000 less liabilities In the Dominion of Canada the failures for the quarter ending March 81st, 1882, were 206, with liabilities of $2,653,000, as compared with 166 and $2,026,000 liabilities the corresponding period oblast year, Homewhat of an increa^f but there is a decrease of near^rSO per cent, both in number a nullabilities as compared with the st quarter of 1880. Corn. The scarcity of corn is influencing a steady upward movement in values in all markets. There was an advance of fully two cents per bushel a# the Commercial Exehango yesterday and a corresponding improvement at New York aud Chicago. As indicated by the report of the Department of Agri culture,nature has apparently cornered this market more effectually than manipulation could do it. Ingalls & Co., wholesale boot and shoe dealers at Louisville, Ky., sur prised their creditors, most of whom are Boston merchants, by making an assignment to O. G. Holt. Liabilities $7000, assets Verbal Errors to [be Guarded Against. The following examples of the more common errors in the use of words are from “The Verb ilist,” by Mr. Alfred Ayres: Accord for give, as “the information was accorded him.” Aggravate for irritate; aggravate is to make worse. Allude to for refer to, or mention. As for that; “not as I know of,” for “not that I know.” Avocation for vocation ; a man’s vocation is his business, avocations are things that occupy him inciden tally. Balance for rest or remainder. Character for reputation; one may have a good reputation, but a bad character, and the two words should never be confounded. Dangerous, for In danger. A sick man is sometimes| mostjabsurdly said to be dangerous, when it is only meant that the poor fellow is himself in dan ger—a very different thing. Demean, for debase, disgrace or humble. To demean; [one’s self is merely to behave one’s self whether ill or well. Dirt, for earth or loam. Donate for give. execute for hang, as[ applied to the criminal. It is the sentence, not the man, that is executed. Healthy, for wholesome; an onion plant may be healthy but when you pick onions there is no more healthi ness or unhealthiness to that although it may not be wholesome as an article of food. Illy, for ill. Inaugurate, for begin. Kids, for kid gloves. Learn, for teach. Liable, for likely or apt. Loan, for lend. Pants, for pantaloons or (better still) trousers. Partake, for eat. Plenty, as an adjective, where plen tiful is meant. Real, for very, as “real nice” “real pretty.” Reside for live ; residence, for house. Retire, for to go to bed. Seldom or ever, for seldom if ever, seldom or never. Some for somewhat; “she is some better to-day.” Stop, for stay ; “where are you stop ping ?” This is one of the vilest of vulga risms. Summons, (the noun) for summons (the vex^j). Those kind of apples, for that kind. Transpire, for occur. Vulgar, for immodest, or indecent. Without, for unless. Stage rriglit. How Many Eminont Lecturer! are Affeoted by it. I went the other evening and caught Robert J. Burdette, of the Burlington Hawkeye, in the ante-room of Chick- ering Hall, just before going upon the stage with his funny lecture. “A—h!” he exclaimed with a tremendous in Miration. “Well, but I’m glad you have come. Now talk to me! talk to me!” and he continued walking up and down the floor after shaking hands. “What’s the matter? What ails yon? What do you mean?” I said. “Are you rehearsing ? Have I inter rupted you ? Do you want to be left alone?” “No! no!” he exclaimed eagerly, walking up to me; “don’t leave me. Don’t go away.” “What on earth is the matter?” I asked. “Scared !” he said, with a querulous laugh. Then I laughed. “You don’t believe me. It’s true though. I’m afraid to go on the stage.” “Pshaw man ;” I said. “Why you are joking. You have lectured for years.” “Yes—seventy-five times this win ter—but it don’t make any difference. I have to go through this absurb ex perience every time. There’s no get ting used to it.” “How does it make you feel ?” “Feel? Light as a cork. If I were outside I could fly right over this building. Honestly and seriously, if I kusw I had to die to-night I should pray that the Lord would take me just before I went on the utage.” “Many have the same experience. That's some satisfaction,” I suggested, “if uAery loves company.” “Yra,” he said, “I told Beecher about my troubles and he said, ‘I can tell you one thing for your con solation ; you’ll never get over it. I suffer every time I go before an audi ence and I’m afraid of my own con gregation.’ But his experience doesn’t give me much comfort.” “Does your fear vanish when you get on the stage?” “No ; it lasts some time, usually. I poke around among the audience for a familiar face, and when I find a friend I lecture right at him, and don’t notice anybody else. Gough tells me that he does the same thiug. He says he often finds himself talking to some sympathetic and responsive little group’in one corner, telling his stories to them alone, as if they were in a little room together.” He looked at his watch. “It’s most time to go on the stage. If it was re spectable I’d run away. The notion of feigning sickness often comes over me, as it does over school boys who want to play hookey. Are you my jailor ?” looking up at a gentleman in a swallowtail who seemed waiting for him. “Yes ; you have four minutes yet.” “Can’t I get a reprieve?” asked the culprit, forcing a grim smile. “Not this evening. Any other evening. You remind me of Theodore Tilton. When he appeared here, though he had lectured five hundred times, he was so frightened that we couldn’t get him on the stage for a long while. The hall tilled up, the audience clamored, and he, hesitating to face them, walked up and down his room, deaf to our entreaties, wash ing his hands with invisible soap in imperceptible water. Finally we got him through the door at half-past eight.” I told Burdette that Wendell Phil lips assured me once that he had simi lar experience; then I slipped around into the orchestra. The funny man came on the stage, began in a tremu lous voice, and his troubled eye wan dered over the great audience till he found friends, with whom he quietly settled down and made nimself at home. The Latest Modes. The London Gypsy hat is a great success. Pyramids of narrow flounces are stylish for grenadines. Rich embroidery on silk or satin ruffles, close Venetian patterns, wrought upon thosa of net, bordered with showy Spanish lace frills, are used upon the new parasols. Pretty and new bangle bracelets are in the shape of vines with leaves of green enamel and scarlet berries made of mock gems. These twist around the arm after the style of the ugly ser pent banghs. Gold and silver appear as parts of decorative effects in both dress and millinery. Real gold thread is most lavishly introduced into colored em broideries designed for elegant cos tumes and evening wraps. The wealthiest and most fashiona ble women in this city are seen in fine cloth walking costumes, simply stitch ed and exquisitely fitted. Wool suits on the promenade are much more attractive than wrinkled, half-worn toilets of silk or satin. At a fashionable church wedding recently the bridesmaids were dressed in short dark-green velvet dresses with large Gain' sborough hats ot the same trimmed with green and gold ostrich plumes. They wore long tan-colored mousquetaire gloves, and bunches of crimson roses fastened under the chin and carried in the hands. Deep collars and shoulder capes are becoming more and more fashionable. A pretty spring model for a young girl is the incroyable pelerine of plush, with two simulated collars trimmed on each edge with a narrow puffing of satin. In front the cape is fastened with a bow and long ends of wide satin ribfeon. These capes are also made of moire or velvet. Whatever the material may be, the capes are in variably of a monochrome color. “I know,” saida little Canton girl to her elder sister’s young man at >ne supper table, “that you will joi our society for the protection of litt.e birds, because mamma says you are very fond of larks.” Then there was a si lence, and the Limburger cheese might have been heard scrambling around in its tin box on the cupboard shelf. The Tennessee Legislature convened at Nashville, in extra session, to redis trict the State into ten Congressional districts. The woman at Belleville, Canada, who opened her husband’s grave to bury a pet dog on his coffin, says she shall never nmrry again, and we almost believe her. Jonathan Niles and his Fife. In 1778, while the American army was encamped at Tappau, on the Hudson, General Lafayette had com mand of the advance, his particular duty being to guard the water front, and in order that any attempt on the part of the enemy at surprise might be guarded against, Lafayette issued orders that there should De no noise of any kind by the troops between the hours of tatoo and reveille. Jonathan Niles was one of Layfa- ette’s musicians, and his instrument the fife. He was a son of Connecticut, and he had a maimed and disabled brother, who was a cunning artificer, and who, among other quaint things, had made the fife upon which Jona than played. it was so constructed that it could be blown to the shrill and ear pieroing notes that belong with the drum, or it could be so softly and sweetly breathed upon as to give forth notes like the gentle dulcimer. One evening Jonathan wandered down by the water’s edge, and seated upon a rock, gazed off upon the darkly flowing, star gemmed flood. His thoughts were of home an* the leved ones; and anon c: memories of the old songs that been wont to gladden the fireside. Unconsciously, he drew from his bosom, and plaeed it lips. In his mind at that m< was a sweet song, adopted fro;' zart, which had been his me favorite. He knew not what To him all things of the prese shut out, and he was again a sitting at his mother’s feet; cliarm was not broken until a ro blow recalled him to his senses. “ Man, what are you doing ? General may be awake. If he sh hear you—ah !” It was a sentinel, and even guardian of the night afterward con fessed that he had listened to the ravishing music for a long time before he thought that it was his duty to stop it. On the following morning an or derly came to the spot where Jona than had been eating his breakfast, and informed him that the General wanted to see him at headquarters. Poor Jonathan turned pale, and trembled. He knew that Lafayette was very strict, and that perilous times, even slight of military orders were p verely. As he rose to his feet, of the previous evening can whispered into his ear :— “ If it should be about Jonathan, don’t you be alarm a soul save you and me knows thing about U; I can swear to that. Ho you just say it wasn’t you. Btick to it, and you will come out all right.” Jonathan looked at the man pity ingly. “ What! My mother’s son tell a lie like that? It would be the heaviest load I ever carried—heavier than I ever mean to carry, if I have my senses.” He then went to the General’s ters, a tent pitched in a comma site, overlooking the whole li had to guard. Lafayette was pacing to ai sad and moody, as though thoughts were unhappy. “ Comrade, who are you?” “ Jonathan Niles, General.” “ Last evening I heard mur by the river’s bank. Were musician ?” “ It was I, General, but I k what I did. I meant not t your ordtr. I sat and t’ home, and of my mother, an The General started at the soun that word, and the shadow on hi9 f~ grew soft and ethereal. “ Of your mother ? And I though of mine. It was a theme of Mozart’ and was my mother’s favorite. If you will be so kind, go bring your instru ment, and play for me that strain here in my tent. It will do me good. In the after years—even to his dj ing hour—the man loved to tell th story. Though he would never ur the truth of it upon any man, in coi federation of so mean a tiling as t benefit that might result, yet he co not put ^ away the thought that sweetest and most blessed memo all his soldier’s experience been lost to him, the opportunity to occasion of al might, to so opporJMMtnd