Newspaper Page Text
the mercury.
„ aeoond-clMs matter at tha San-
K “ de^viUe Poateffloe, April 37, 1880.
Sandentilio, W«hii»»U» 6a.
rtmusnBD bt
JERNIGAN & SCARBOROUGH.
the mercery.
A. J. JERNIGAN, Prophietoii
DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, AGRICULTURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
•1.60 PER ANNUR
G w. H. WHITAKER
dentist,
SaadanyUla, Oa.
Ter mb Cash.
Ollloo at hi* reaidenoo on Harria Street.
April 3, 1830.
B. D. EVANS,
Attorney at Law,
April1880.
Sandersville, Ga.
DR. WM. RAWLINGS,
Physician & Surgeon,
Sandoravillo, Ga.
V onico at Sandoraville Hotel.
Apftl 10, 1880.
E. A. SULLIVAN,
NOTARY PUBLIC,
Sandoraville, Ga.
Special attention given to collootion o(
fttaitus.
Offloc in tho Court-Houso.
0. H. ROGERS,
Attorney at Law,
Snndoravillo, Ga.
Prompt attention given to all businesa.
Odlco In nortliweat room ol Court-House.
May *, 1880;
C. C. BROWN,
Attorney at Law,
Sandoraville, Ga.
Wilt practice in the State and United Statei
SourW.
Offloo In Court-Honao.
H. N. HULLIFIELD,
Physician & Surgeon,
Sandenville, Ga.
Offlca next door to Mr*. Bayne’* millinery
■tore on Harris Street.
DR. J. B. ROBERTS,
Physician & Surgeon,
Headway Ole, Ga.
May he oonmited at hie oAoe on Haynen
, n. wwww Ull UHjnOlt
■treel, in the Masonta Lodge building, from 9
into l p m, and (rota I to Ipm; during
other houre at hie residence, on Chnroh street,
trhon not piot.uwionally * n V"rvii
April 3 1880.
Watches, Clocks
AND JEWELBY
urinig i|
JERNIGAN.
POSTOFFICE HOURS.
7:00 to 11:30 a. m,
1:30 to 6:00 p. m.
K. A. Sullivaw, P. M.
Subscribe for 1 the MERCURY,
Only 9I.6O per annum.
PUBLISHED BY
JERNIGAN & SCARBOROUGH.
HUY YOUR
Spectacles, Spectacles,
FROM
JERNIGAN.
one gennine without our Trade Mark.
t0-N
Music,
Music.
JERNIGAN
FOB
VIOLINS,
ACCORDEONS,
BOWS,
STRINGS,
—Rosin boxes, etc.
Machine Needles,
OIL and SHUTTLES
ulen r.'.m' 8 °* Machines, tor sale. I will
1 er parts ol Machines tluit get
broke, and new pieces
are wanted.
A J. JERNIGAN.
ju cat!i'. T l ! ve puUliaht.r. engravings
i’Jst :,i', r ., 10wln S how boilers look
Jorr-n’; . "'•{ have exploded. T!, ! s
. The ioJ
m
jul
<Joesn\ v,.,.' have exploded, a;, b
'Thai j: .hit the case at al 1 .
lnv - a li;,ii.‘r "C'\ H . a Picture sl owing
to txi,‘ just before it is going
'o i ,ttnulti then ienrn when
fjilcr 1 ' ,10 way .— New Ilmen
I'M Hirf(m(p, H ,v'';' ar i njf >uufacturera who
"."he r ,,, j P ri seto exhibit their wares
A'iM.nd , .. . 't (: 'national exhibition in
J' 0 * tiii.i \. ol ,?t'L rocc Y ing Kre,vt praise
"Mgiblc, larco H1 i d what is more
’ 1Ug0 or aers for their goods.
THE MERCURY.
PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY.
NOTICE.
vsr- All communications intended lor thie
paper must be nooompanted with the lull
name ol the writer, not necessarily lor publi-
cation, hut aa a guarantee of good iaith.
We are in no way responsible for the views
or opinions of correspondents.
Christmas Anthem.
Maidens, mothers that may lie,
Bring your wreaths to deck the shrine
Ol tho Mother-Maid divine
With her Child upon her knee;
Shout your silvery songs ol praise
For tho birth ol better days.
Mothers, come! I soo confessed
In your glances doep and mild
Tho adoration ol the Child.
Cuttle, your ohildren at tho breast;
Lilt your prayerful songs ol praise
For the birth ol better dkys.* y
Children, oorno with confidence,
Seek the benediction mild
Ol this gentle little Child,
Who was love and innooonoe;
Lisp your guiloloss stags of praiso
For tho birth of hotter days.
— Phillip O. Sullivan.
BERYL'S CHRISTMAS.
Christmas eve, and Gaining. It had
rained from early dawn steadily and
without cessation, and now the night
had fallen and it was raining ntill.
To the eyes ol the girl that stood in
the west window of tho little villa
among the elms, it was unspeakably
dreary. She had stood there a long
while watching tho hoTaeg witli their
laden vehicles spinsh through tho mud.
'•‘rid the pedestrians, laden too, hurrying
along the swimming pavements; und
now she pressed her face against the cold
pane, and great tears fell slowly from
hi r eyes. Site turned away In a moment
and buried her face In the cushions of a
jtvan that stood near, and cried a* if her
lien11 would break.
The little tire in the grate fit >kered
fitfully on the walls and pictures of the
preitv room; the rain dripped down on
rite veranda and pattered against the
pane; and the girl Bobbed among the
pillows, tho firelight just touching tho
disordered masses of bronzed hair, and
ilto blender form that shook with the
intensity of iter grief.
Tito little French clock on the mantel
chimed seven and site lifted her te r-
Haintd face, and pushed back the heavy
hair witli two small white hands.
“I wonder if there is another girl as
miserable as I,” she exclaimed, as so
many girls havo exclaimed beforo her,
end as so many will exclaim again. “ I
who have every thins ih the world to
make mo happy—health, a happy home,
and iriends; and yet, because I have
luarrcled with ore of these, everything
is less than nothing to me. Such a little
fling to quarrelnbout! He knows lam
jealous, and lie lifts no right to praise
Coral Gilbert when site is everything
hnt l am not.”
She was nctvous, slipping a dainty
imethyst Up an i down one slender
i igt r, and the firelight catching it drew
pile, violet Humes from it. “Yes, and
i rmd this back without a word—
without one loast little w rd, Just a
enr ago to-night lie took it from me,
oid uroiiilsed to keep it until I sent him
nek llie otto he had given me. If I did
i nd hi* back, what light had ho to rc-
urn mine? He kuow I would be sorry
•vhen l lmd time to think; lie know, too,
1 didn’t mean onc„;word of the hateful
•■ltd- 1 wrote him; and 1 ltaveu’t seen
lint for six weeks, and he is going to
'ik.' Coral Gilbert to tho party to-night
T almost wish I wasdead.” The bronze
brown tresses were recklessly crumpled
tautest the cushions again, aud the rain
ontsHo seemed weeping in s.vmpnthy
with hor.
Tin iv wir, a olatlov of glad childish
voices in the hall, a ringing of happy
laughter, a rush of little feet, and Beryl
Dean had just time to jump up, wipe the
tears away and smooth her hair hastily,
when the children burst in without
ceremony.
“Story, story!” they cried. “You
promised, Bury, you know.”
“ Yes, I remember," site answered,
gently. In a moment the petulant,
grieving child had become the quiet,
womanly girl. “ Hnvc you had a pleas
ant time this afternoon P”
“Jolly!"
“ Ijovely 1”
“ Delightful 1"
“ Aunt I/nxiso is the nicest woman in
the world.” .... .
“Not nicer titan sister,” Baby Jessie
said, loyally. „ ,
“ Oh, no, indeed, of course not, they
all said, and then Harry rolled a great
onsy chair to the grate and drew Beryl
into it affectionately, and sat down on a
little hassock at her feet and leaned
against her knee; May sat down on one
of the arms, Daisy on the other, and
Baby Jessie clambered into her arms.
And so they sat ih the cheery firelight,
and Beryl told them wonderful stones
of Christmas tide and the Christ-child,
her sweet, low voice often broken by
eager questions, and Mrs. Dean came
and astonished them beyond measure
by telling them it was nine o clock and
bed-time ; loving and with kisses and
good-nights for the elder sister, they
trooped off. . _
But that night the white pi low under
the bronze hair was wet with hot, girl
ish tears.
Christian day, and stiil i* 1 ri , l ' n , e ^’
would it never cease? Long before
dawn the children had rushed into her
room wilh “ merry Christmas on their
lips. “Everything we wanted, we
have,” they cried. “ Come down to the
break fast-room and see all your lov ■ y
presents.” And she went down with
pale cheeks and heavy eyelids, but with
smiles and cheerful words over the
pretty things tiiat had been lavished
upon her, Only the mother noticed
that there were large shadows under the
dark eyes, and the face was very pale,
and the red lips often trembled as she
looked from the warm, cozy breakfast
room, out to the wet, gray£
leaned down sorrowfully to the sod en
earth. The thougbtfu little ^roman
said nothing, but Beryl felt in many
ways that the mother's love was a very
tender and precious thing. ,
Mrs. Dean had some household cus
toms that were as changeless wjketaws
o; the Medes and Persians IIeiamiy
spent Christmas day at home, always
They went to church always.
The beautiful Christmas sermon ieu
on a very sad and murmurousb
day; and as Beryls sweet, P ,, j
voice arose in the first w ^ „ - t
Kuow that My Redeemer L'vetU,
trembled so she was frlgh '™^hing
with a strong effort forg w wicked f
but the grand chant. How w „ tobe
must be,” she thought to. t „ V o ffn
ssssa**-™
H r ’ sbe aroso ,or the first time
she g anced down at the congregation;
Back with her heart beating
tumultuous!y as sue encountered a pair
°i yi a lo° k lrig up into lnrs How
thorn ri^i b ? cl1 , slnco tlle bad seen
them. Flushed and trembling she ran
down the stairs nnd hurried to the oar-
riage with a celerity that grontlv sur
prised Mrs. Dean.
‘ If I could only make some unfortu-
.baPPy, I think I could bo happy
myself, site thought, nervously. “ I am
So selfish and egotistical in my sorrow,
no wonder I never have ntiy rest or oom-
as a sudden feidea crossed
nln lk ,5? w ' I will go and seo Mrs.
Hull. Poor old lady, she will bo lpne-
some to-day.” »
And so while tho late dinner was in
preparation, and the chi'dreu in the
nursery perfectly carried away by some
^ eavv Pl fih t 81 ‘ U H tly atti /crt herself in
ft heavy oloak, and went clown into the
and Tel 1 v",!nh 1<?<I ’ l basket wilb chicken
ana jelly and grape? and fcVorvthinff
would bo likely"!)
< |ir,!Z. • 10 - ,'Pctite; nnd took her way
„gu the wot gray day to a little
cottage a mile or lwo awey where dwelt
Mr9, Hull, a childless widow, destitute
and alone In her helpless old age. She
found her, patient and ur,complaining,
laid up with n bud attack of rheumatism
—tho lire almost out in tho clcau little
room.
The withered old fade brightened up
when Beryl enrno in. “I have come to
w'th ycu an hour or two, Mis.
Lull, she said, taking off her water-
proof and brightening up the littlb lire
until it binned and flickered in the
cl:e»riest ihanner
“And hero 1b your Christmas," wrap
ping a thick woolen elmwl about her,
an-i putting a pretty white cap nnd
handkerchief on her own pretty self,
and laughing ar.d dimpling in the most
dehghtful manner at her little surprise.
“ And you and I nl'e lohave Itincliron
togclaer; I couldn’t wait to have it at
home, so I brought it with mo. I hope
you 11 excuse my unceremonious entry
with my bundles. I dare say mammn
will besenndalized when I tell her about
pur picnic,” nnd Beryl laughed ono of
her pretty merry laughs,not earing to see
the tears in the old eyc3-.
“ This is like the larks wc used to
have at school. A whole year since 1
was rt, schoolgirl,” with a heavy sigh,
“ I haven’t enjoyed life half so much
since. Girl-liko forgetting the summer
that was fairer than any poetic idyl to
her young heart; forgetting the bright
autumn days that were happy and
dreamful and filled with a dclihious
peace; only rnmembeting the and win
ter days that had come in witli storm
and tears and misunderstandings.
She put fresh coverings on tho bed,
lifting the pain-twisted form tenderly in
hor strong young nrms; she bnthed the
linnds and face, and combed the grny
hair gently, nnd hushed the grateful
words that were her portion, by draw
ing a liltie table to the bed nnd 'cover
ing it with the contents of her basket,
keeping up a ruhliing stream of gay girl
ish chatter* Then she propped the old
lady up with pi'lows, and drew the one
elmir to the table for herself, poured out
a cep of hot fragrant lea which sho had
made for Mrs. Hull, and waited on her
much more assiduously than slio wouid
h ive dono for any of her mother's ek-
gant friends.
“ Mamma will be nnxious about me,”
she said, at last. “I am afraid I mu-t
go,” putting on her rubbers. " I’ll just
step into Mrs, Dunn’s and tell her to
send Maggie over for an hour or two, so
you won’t bo lonesome, and I’ll come
again in a day or two. I think you’ll
bo around all right, soon. Tho ‘ foe-
ness,’ ns my little sister Jessie says, is
very bad for the rheumatism.”
She bent over the little while bed and
kis- ed tho wrinkled forehead gently.
“God bless you, dear,” the old lady
said. “You have mado this a happy
Christmas for mo.”
And out in the wet streets Beryl was
wondering how Mrs. Hull could boro-
signed to her poverty and loneliness,
and happy ns well as content. Then she
s olded herself heartily lor her restless
ness nnd the sore place in Her heart.
“ I know it makes mamma sad to see
me so disconsolate. 1 must certainly re
form. I’d begin this very minute.”
She ran up the steps blithely .
“ IIow long before dinner ?” she called
to Nora.
“Half an hour, miss.”
“Can I dress in Half an hour?” she
queried of herself. “I must,” reso
lutely.
She llew to her own room.
“ I have taken no interest in my ap
pearance at all lately; one would think
I was a perfect beauty to judge by my
nonchalenl attire, and could afford to
slight the ‘arts of the toilet.’ Christ
mas night! I must reform.”
Surely no fairer Christmas vision
gladdened any eyes in all the wide city
that night than the slim girl-form that
ran down the broad stairs into the bril
liantly-lighted parlors half an hour
later. Trailing robes of gauzy black,
white arms and shoulders shining
through, vivid scarlet blossoms at
rounded throat and in the shining hair.
Bright fires glowed in the grates;
beautiful odorous llowers trailed over
the table and mantel and bracket; and
as she turned to a long mirror to see the
“effect of her train,” the dinner-bell
sent its silvery summons through tho
house.
Mrs. Dean came into the drawing
room, her gray silk rustling softly, look
ing pleased as she noted tho pretty pic
ture her child made. Mr. Dean, silent
and a little abstracted, followed, and the
children c.une down the long stairs with
laughter and merry nonsense.
Beryl was bright and animated as she
had not been for weeks, and even the
servants below smiled at the gay bursts
of mirth that floated down occasionally
from the dining-room.
But after an hour or two, when tho
children had gene upstairs again, and
mother and father had gone to tho
library, memory, which is never still,
awoke in her heart again.
She had drawn a low easy chair to the
grate, the work had fallen from her idle
hand, and the dark eyes were watching
the flickering tire.ight steadily.
How many pictures it showed her!
umi in each there shown ono face. Dark,
imperious eyes that could be so tender,
grave lips that could smile so rarely, the
one face that had lillei hor life for a
year. She remembered tho many hours
that this face had shone upon her The
boating on the river; the drives along
the country roads; the fingerings in the
moon-lit, flower-scented old garden; the
leaves they had gathered in the gorgeous
autumn; the books they had read, and
the songs they had sung together in the
chili winter evening.
It all camo back to her, this chill
winter ni-'ht, and the tender, girlish,
undisciplined heartwas sorely wrenched.
“ How could I have been so mad as to
give him up without a word ol expla
nation? But he did not care for mo, or
he would have written or corao before
this 1 l know I shall be miserable all my
life.because I was so foolish.soohlldish.”
Tho soft eyes slowly filled with tears.
There was a ring at tho door-bell just
then, but Beryl did not notice it. A'
moment later a step came along the hall
nnd stopped in the open door, but Beryl
heard it not.
It was a pretty picture—the luxurious
floWcr-fllftd room, and the fair pensive
girl looking ihto tflc tire.wrappea in her
revery,
The proud face of the man, who saw,
softened and grew tender, as lie looked—
another moment he stood beside her
clinlt*. .
“ Beryl."
Tho fair startled face was lifted to him
as sho half aroso.
‘•My darling,” he wild, ns he saw the
grieved red lips nnd tho tears in tier dark
eyes. He drew her to Him closely and
kiBsed her while brow tenderly.
‘ My i\ttle one, did you tliihk I oould
lot ibis night go by, and not see you?”
Furnishing a Home.
If you wish to llaVo yotlr suirotind-
ings make d good impression, with
economy, tluhi is but one short and easy
rule to lollow 1 BUy everything of the
simplest sort; get your stone china of the
plainest shapes, eschew acorn tops for
your sugar-I owl, and scroll .handle* for
your tureens, dnn figured borders for
plates. Get straight-legged chairs, witli
as little molding as the makers nll;w,
buy your carnpts and lounges of small
and thodeUt hgurings, don’t get that
vivid crimson carpet because it “ looks
warm,” or you “ have an eyo for color,"
or that red and white, or the green and
white panel pattern because it is the last
out. Take the oldest, cueapbst thing in
the shop, if it is in taste and will look
well with the rest of your belongings.
So many old styles are coining up ngain
that youfs will have a chance of being
modish any day, and If they suit each
oilier, they will please, in spite of the
style ol your immediate neighborhood,
which may be tho remnnms of a city
dealer's Btock, out of date three years
ago. Have plain bevels to the wood
work of your house, instead of headings
and gtoovings which only hold the dust
nnd swell the carpenter’s bill. But in
sist on deep window seats and low base
boards,nnd don’t allow any grained paint
about your house. Plain pnlnt, well
vnmished, looks better and keeps nice
louger and doosh’t always repeat “ I’m a
sham, I’m a sham,” like the pretended
oak and walnut. Buy at second-hand,
third-hand, restore paint and glue tilings
yourself, ana don’t he afraid of honest
haud-Hni8hed pine without either paint
or varnish. Tho prettiest tffects in sum
mer houses arc gained from yellow
Georgia pine, and the white pine, fin
ished with clear sholiac. The simplest
‘omis prevail in seme of the new fund-
urc. An expensive oak dining tab;e ol
newest pattern is square, with turned
corners, and a support which is a square
nillarwith brnces, plain as the rudest
Saxon could desire, but beautiful in its
clear wood, sand papered and hand fin
ished to almost marble smoothnebs.
such a table sells for eighty dollars al
i he most fashionable makers in tho city.
A set of chairs with straight turned
maple uprights and legs, with basket
seats of the old pilgrim fashion, cush
ioned with Momic cloth and 1. igued and
in bclowcd arc pretty enougli for any
silling room, and such s.mple, original
pieces give an air of taBte and research
i, > a room worth any mere lashion.—
Shirley Dare.
Greasing the Sea.
t’he expression “ to pour oil on the
troubled waters” is generally regarded
ns a metaphor or figure of speech, illus-
t ating tho action of some persuasive
peacemaker,softening the angry passion-
of contending disputants. On the other
hand, the mollifying inlluence of oleagin
ous liquids upon the waves was long ago
demonstrated as a scientific fact, and the
equinoctial gales would probably havo
been kept in subjection ere now, on the
high seas, but for the uncertainty of tin
weather nnd the estimated expense U
oi ling an area ns limited even as the ba;
of Biscay. It would appear, however
that a gentleman of Perth has solved
the problem of economy as applied to
greasing the se«., and that in future
ships may carry with them, at a com
paratively trilling cost, a sufficient sup
ply of oil to nullify the rigors of the
fiercest cyclone. A narthern contem
porary states that a series of experi
ments have lately taken place in the
north harbor, Peterhead, with the most
satisfactory results. The experimental
ist filled some bottles full of 111 and
sank them to the bottom of the harbor
while a gale was blowing. Presently
the oil was released, and, floating to the
top of the raging billows, stilled them ns
if by a miracle. As a consequence of
this experiment, it is thought in the
neighborhood of Perth that oil can be
laid on continuously by pipes to the
bars of all exposed harbors, so as to
enable vessels to gain port in safety in
the midst of the most violent hurri
canes. The invention would he invalu
able if applied to the channel passage
in dirty weather. Day by day we are
taught that there are no bounds to the
conquest of science over nature, and
now that we can oil out the gluy
wrinkles of the stormy ocean, we need
not despair of b ing able, sooner or
later, to warm the north pole with other
wise waste steam and fertilize tho great
desert by artificial irrigation.—London
Ideyrajh.
Tile shamrock.
It is certain that at an early period
Ireland or Scotia was noted for its lree-
dom from obnoxious animals, for St.
Donat of Fesulac sines:
No savage boar with lawlosslury roves,
Nor ravenous lion through the peaoelul
groves;
No poison hero infeots, no scaly snake
Creeps through the grass, nor Irog annoys
the lake—
An island worthy of her pious race,
In war triumphant, and' unmatched in
peace.
People havo a just pride in their
national emblems, and that of Erin is
the little shamrock, adopted according
to the legend, becuuse St. Patrick used
it to render more intelligible to his sim
ple hearers the mystery of the Trinity.
But though less striking than the fleur
de lys. the rose, the thistle, or even the
leek, the small leaved clover is no un
worthy badge. It has a similar namo
among the Arabians—“8hambrakh”—
aud it was regarded with superstitious
reverence among the ancients. The
Petsians held it sacred, and Pliny tells
us that no serpent would approach if,—
Exchange.
TI1ELI TOPICS.
From the inquiries conduotod by Prof.
Hermann Cohn, of Breslau, since 18«6,
it appears that short-sightedness is
uirely or never born with those subject
to it, and is almost always the result of
strains sustained by the eye during study
in enrly youth. Myopia, as it is called,
is seldom found among pupils ol village
schools, nnd its frequency increases In
proportion to the demand made upon
the eye in higher schools and In colleges.
A better construction of school desks,
an improved typography of text books
and a sufficient lighting of class rooms
arc tho remedies praised to abate this
malady.
Arrangements hare been conoluded to
take the census ol all the organizations
which include ns a part of their fatth
and practice the non-combatant nhd non-
litigant pritcinles This will include a
count of the Quakers, Dunkards, Men-
nonites nnd the many minor organiza-
1 ions in the country holding poacc views.
The supervision of tho work will be in
the hands of Dr. Honry Randall Watte,
of Now York, and the practical * part
will be done by Howard Miller, of Lew-
ishurgi Penn. Professor Miller was
supervisor of census of the Eighth Penn
sylvania district, and, upon the com-
plctloh of the difficult nnd important
task he lias undertaken, the fiumericnl
strength and geographical distribution
of this class of people will be known.
Showers of sand havo occurred fro
quently In Sicily and Itnly, nnd their
origin has often been mnde the subject
of speculation. An examination of tho
sand revealed the preseiicC of round
gra ! ns of meteoric iron. Similar grains
of iron arc also found in the sand of the
desert of Sahara. M. Tac.liini, putting
this rind that together, maintains that
it is highly probable that Sicily ,md
Italy do not receive their “ sand rains ”
from any more distant placo than our
own earth, that the particular region
from which tho saud comes Is tho Great
desert, nnd that the agencies which
transport it are simply cyclones.
The census of Now York city presents
many Instructive and suggestive figures.
Piero are in Now York 95,068 moro fe-
nalre than males, the totals being:
Males, 690,782; females, 816,815. The
native population of the city increased
204,345, wiiile Hie foreign gain was oaly
59,740. The proportion ol the foreign
born to the whole population was forty-
four and one-half per cent, ten years ago.
Now it is only thirty-nine and two-
thirds per cent. “ This,” the Sun says,
“ shows that emigration is mostly pass
ing us by and tending Westward."
l’liere is nnother interesting and sugges-
iva fact brought out by* the census.
Males havo Increased faster than females
in New York since 1870. Then there
were 1,001 females to every 1,000 malos.
Now the proportion is 1,042 females to
1,000 males.
A French chemist asserts that he has
concocted a substance by means of which
tenants in Ireland, or elsewhere, who
will not pay their rents, may be evicted
without difficulty, and without ttie ex
penses attendant on legal proceedings.
The mixture is in the form of a powder;
a small quantity of it. Bprinbled before
suurisc on pnrts of tho land adjacent to
the tenant’s dwelling, will render it ab
solutely impossible for any human being
to remain within halt a mile of the spot
whore tho sprinkling has taken plncu for
at least seven days, when the process
should, if necessary, be rcpeald. The
effect of the powder is to produce violent
nausea anti other feolings of so unonm-
fortab .e a kind as to bo quite unbearable.
Tt is, however, not dangerous to life, and
produces no injurious effects on cattle.
The number of new buildings now go
ing up in New York on Fifth avenue
along the Central park and on other
avenues from 80th to 110th streets is un
precedentedly largo, and it wifi not be
long before that portion of tho city will
be occupied by solid blocks of stately
stone mansions. Never in the history
of New York were such magnificent and
costly structures' in course of erection.
The lasto of New York’s rieh men in the
manner of house decoration, outside as
well as inside, grows more luxurious
every year. Some are not satisfied with
American work or American material,
but must have both from abroad. They
actually insist upon having men brought
over from Europe to carve the stone
traceries and figures on their house
fronts. A magnificent building at the
corner of Filth avenue and Sixty-ninth
street is making very slow progress on
this account. Every figure must be cut
by imported workmen, and as it takes
time to get men from the other side, and
they don’t always suit when they come,
there is, of course, much delay with the
work. It is tlio same case with the
costly new Vanderbilt buildings. The
ornamental work must wait till
“nvtists” from Europe are ready to do
it.
PROMINENT PEOPLE.
Murk T wain says there is something
very fascinating about science—it gives
you suclt wholesale returns of conjec
ture for such trifling investments of
fact.
The fisherman of Great Britain have
reason to be greteful to the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, for site is said to have
expended the snug little sum of $500,000
in efforts to improve the condition of
the poor and deserving of this class.
Miss Louise McLaughlin, the discov
erer of painting under tlie glaze on pot
tery, realizing that art, like health, was
free to all, told her process to other
artists, explained it to reporters, and
even published a book giving directions.
A man has now taken her process and
patented it!
M. Gambetta ten years ago was one of
the handsomest men in France. His
face wmut face of fine lines and spirituel
contours; his figure was lithe and grace
ful. He is still a man of striking pres
ence, but be has no more the almost
poetic good looks of his youthful days.
Victor Hugo is described as still very
active, red-faced, at. d with short, stubbly
gray hair. He is a great taiker, and it
is related of him that once, when he
used to be intimate with Louis Pbillippe,
tho two talked everybody to bed, and
the king had to take a candle and light
the poet downstairs.
J. F. Russi and others, of San Antonio,
Texas, having protested against the
playing of fhe army bands at concorts,
General Sherman answers that as even
in despotic Russia soldiers are allowed
to earn an extra penny by any craft they
may have, he sees no reason why our
own soldiers'should bo deprived of no
simple a privilege.
CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS.
Some odd Variations In the Popular IHytli
of the llappy Henson.
In the north of Germany and on tht
Rhine it is St. Nicholas on his donkey
accompanied by his servant Ruprcchi
who makes his rounds on Christum
eve. The little ones expect tho tnyste
rious visitors to fill the dishes whir'
they place on tho window-sills, or th
shoes and stockings which they thnul
up the chimney, with his gifts. They
go to bed with the firm determinatem
not to fall asleep and miss hearing the
donkey's bray which is to aunounet*
tho arrival of the bountiful pair. How
ever, timv are not allowed to leave their
beds until ear y daffn, when a general
scramble takes place. With ah(tttls”of
delight or sobs of disappointment, the
various receptacles for the expected pres
ents are examined and the several papers
undone in which the gifts nre tied up to
prolong the suspense. Some, reveal the
eovotod sweets, the long-desired picture
book, the prayod-for fairy doll; others
contain palpablo hints of the patents’
displeasure in the shape of n birch rod,
a written reprimand, etc., or tiro empty
altogether. Tho lucky recipients ate
congratulated; those under a cloud
laughed at, nnd harmless fun reigns su
preme throughout the house.
Inasimi'nr way St. Nicholas day is
celebrated in Franco on tho sixth ol De
cember, and in Lorraine the role of
Rupreeht is played by I’ere Foutettard,
preceding 8t. Nicholas, who is seated
on the Inevitable donkey, in hh official
robe, With mitre, cross and long Ik nrd.
In the|south of Germany St. Nicholas
appears in poison on Christmas eve or
sends his bearded servnnt, Ruprcclit,
wrapped in furs or Blankets—the more
ogre-like the better—witli a birch rod in
his hand and a well-filled bag or basket
on his back. Beforo distributing bis
gifts, which conslsbof apples, walnuts,
oraflgetq penny dolls nnd similar trifles,
ho examines the children about their
behavior since last Christman, reward
ing the good ones and expressing his
displeasure by tho character of his
presents—bits of wood, stones or raw
potatoes — to tiie naughty onos. ltu-
preoht Is appealed to by tho pnrents'rnnny
weeks previous to Christmas for keep
ing in order the youngest members of
the family.
In Alsnce the Christmas messenger
appears a* Lady Bountiful, clad in
white, her face powdered with flour. Oa
her long auburn hair, mado of tow, she
wears a crown of gold paper surrounded
wiflt lighted wax tapers, holding in one
hand a silver bflll nnd lit the other a
basket filled with presents. She, too,
is suppose to arrive on a donkey, and i
accompanied by Hans Trapp, the in
dispensable bugbear, wrapped in bear
skins, tho blackened face hidden under
a slouch hat, and in his hand a birch
rod. Anxious to conciliate even the
donkey, the children place a bundle ol
hay behind the door for its accommoda
tion and a glass filled with wine ns wel
come for the lady and her attendant,
singing a quaint old Gorman rhyme:
OhriFP.htklmlelo, Clirisolikiiulolu,
Kumm clu zuo tins oryn!
Morr liann e Irisoh’s llutiblndule
Un ait e Glasole Wyn.
•K Ulndolo
Fit’s Esselo
Fir's Kindule
. E Glasole,
Un beto kottne mot' an,
the explanation ol which may servo as
an amusement for n holiday nfternoon.
The proceedings of Hans Trapp are
about the same ns thoso of Kncclit
Rupreeht; but the Lady Bountiful in
tercedes for tho nnughty ohildren on
their promiso of amendment and places
iter gifts under tho Christmas tree.
A Terrible Story of the Sea.
In a lately published book, written by
Rear Admiral Werner, of the German
navy, a strange story is told of the way
in which many years ago, in 1H30, a
French man-of war went down witli all
hands on board in West Indian waters.
The ship had been in commission fo:
two years on tho Antilles station, and
during the whole of tho lime her captain,
who is described as an incarnation ol
cruelty, had exercised bis ingenuity in
tormenting in every possible way both
the officers and men of his crew. So
well had he succeeded that t!ie lives ol
all on board had been rendered a burden
to them, while tho caotain himself was
hated witli an intensity of which proa’
wat soon to be given. Orders at leugtl
came for the ship to return home No!
long after the anchor hud been weigher,
it became evident that a heavy squall
was coming down on the sit'p, and the
captain directed the officer of tHo watch
to shorten sail. The orders were given
but not a man moved. Again the orders
were repeated this time by the captain
Himself; but still not a man moved,
“This is mutiny," cried the captain,
aud then a hundred voices answered:
“We will not shorten sail.” In vain the
terrified captain appealed to the officers
to support him- They stood silent, md
neither threats nor promises availed to
make man or officer move, save only t
few who were noted as spies and favor
ites of the captain. A few minutes more
and the squall struck the ship. In u
moment the vessel was thrown upon her
beam-ends. “Cut away the masts!’
shouted the captain; but still not a man
moved. In another minute, however,
thu rigging was carried av/ay, the masts
went by the board, and, thus relieved,
the ship righted herself. Then the long
suppressed rage of the crew broke forth,
and rushing aft, they seized the captain.
A few minutes more and ho would l ave
followed the rigging, but the first lieu
tenant, going below, opened the door of
tho magazine and fired his pistol into it.
There was a loud report and the strip
was no more. An hour afterward an
Ameri.an vessel passing over the spet
picked up one of the crew, who told the
story of what had happened and died
shortly afterward.
Probably fifty years hence there will
be abundance ol trees in the \Vest. Ag
riculturists are rapidly awaking to the
necessity of plantltg them. Tne Fort
Scott and Gulf railroad company has be
gun tho planting of hundreds of acres
of trees on its lands. A Boston capitnl
ist has engaged a company of raisers ol
forest seedlings in Illinois to break and
plow a large' area in Kansas, und
plant no less than 2,720 trees to the acre,
and cultivate these until they shade the
ground. At tho end ol that tims— say
ten years—the plantations will be de
livered over to the owner. No trees leas
than six feet high are to be counted.
The Fort Scott railroad has adopted thh
plan, one advantage of which i3 that
the tree enterprise will be attended by
experienced men, whose inter*st it will
be to make as much of a success of it as
possible.
1’itrp Culture for Farmers, MBS/
Tho Philadelphia Ledger has been
studying Professor Baird’s report of tho
work of llte United States fish commis
sion; nnd makes some remarks upon
one feature of that work—namely, tho
introduction of enrp. It says. Tho
business of water farming ba9 %lready
da rules and it* profits. It makes an
>ld farmer stare t.> be told tbutaquarter
■ it an acre, laid down in water, will
bi itig ii.m in more profit, in food rais
ing. 1 linn a quarter of an aero cultivated
in any other way. Also that corn fed
to carp brings in twice or tllreo times
ibe mures in mod Mint the same number
of bushels fed to pigs or other cattle
does. Tho earn is a vegetable feeder, so
! hat it ran auppo: t itself in l lie vegetable
growth* and < o"> 'rvto of ponds and
streams But it thrives and increases
enormously when requtarly fed ns other
stock is fed. It docs its own grazing if
it is ) t a one; but it can be fattened for
the market on broad crumbs or cabbago
leaves. Its .most profitable tood, how
ever, is boiled dry co"n—that is, corn
out of tlm corn-crib, dried on the cob
and then boiled.
Lph t than four years ago nbout one
hundred ar,d thirty European carp, Bo
itemi n and others, were brought alive
to this country and given a homo in tho
ponds ol the commission at Washington.
These have increased so rapidly that tho
commission recently found itself in pos
session ol 150,000 of these desirable fish,
which nro being distributed over the
country to thoso who apply for them.
About 6 ).0‘ 0 young fish, in lots of
twenty, Have already been distributed
throughout New York, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Ohio, Missouri*? Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Michigan, (Jonnoetiout, Ten
nessee, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi.
There nro 3,(K 0 apnlicu'.ions still to ho
supplied in turn. The progeny of twenty
ina few years i* sufficient to stock a
tlvo-ftcrc pond, but tho quarter-acre
ponds arc sufficient to begin witli anc to
work for market and table supplies.
The carp breed at two to three years of
ngc, and I heir growth is nn rapid as their
IreundUv is great. Tho “four-year-
olds" in tho government ponds weigh
from ten to Aftern pounds. As so many
f'artm is Imvo pwida upon their grounds,
nnd so many more ntignbijuive them, wo
think that tho culture of the carp should
become a source of supply in numerous
farmers’ households nnd by-nnd-bye a
valuable Bourco of income.
Popular Science.
11 i t a noticeable fact that tho animals
otlglnally found in America were not
30 lit’ go nor so strong as thoso of tho
old world. .Ileuses were originally
imported here lrom tho custcrn contin
ent, though now found running wild in
nearly all of its parts.
f ri tion tapers arc now made in Eng
land from a mixture of ono ounco salt
peter, ono half ounce powdered orris
root, ono eighth-ounce minium, and one
ounc p pbosphbrua; on the latter being
dissolved, one or two ounces of castor
oil are added, the quantity varying ac
cording to the resultant tenacity of
llexibinty required.
Thoso nations of tho Caucasian race
wlticli have become inhabitants of tho
torrid zenu in both hemispheres, al
though thoir descendants have been for
centuries exposed to the most activo in
fluences of the climate, have never ex
hibited the transformation from a Cau-
cassian to a negro complexion. Hence
climate is believed to have no perman
ent influence upon tho color of the
human family.
When potatoes are frozen the amount of
sugar they contain is doubled, the starch
undergoing a corresponding diminution
wiiile part of ttic protein passes from
the eoagulable into the soluble lorm.
During the process of roltlngtthe potato
loses half its nitrogenous constituents
and tho whole of the augur.
The minute fines aud furrows on per
sons’ bands arc likely to receive a far
inure t setul attention than the observa
tion of the great lines of _fortune
tellers. There is reason to believe that
the spiral whorls on the thumb and tin-
grr points nro peculiar to individuals
and race •, and may be as certainly used
to define the olliuological class or posi
tive identification of tho being possess
ing them ns the measurements oi the
skull or the examination of a photograph
would he. Doctor Henry Faulds, of
Tsukiji hospital, Tokio, Japan, in an
interesting, but sometimes illogical and
confused letter in the Nature, directs at
tention to tills subject in a way which
will, however, attract tho attention of
linturalists and students of the theory of
development and heredity. The value
of well-based rub's of hand-marks in
j udiclal inquiries can hardly be over-
osttmatcfl.
Snake aud Frog.
Many years ago, while in Ceylon, I
liv>d in a house in “Slave island,”
raised on a high platform. The step3
up to the door had become loosened,
and behind them a colony of frogs had
established themseivcs. One morning
i w atched a snake (a cobra) creep up,
insert its head into a crack nnd seize a
frog, which he then ud there swallowed.
Bat the crack that a Imitted the thin fiat
bond end neck of tins ophidian would
not permit of the same being withdrawn
when tho nock w u swollen with tho
addition of the frog inside it. The
snake tugged and struggled, but in vain,
and alter a series of lulilo attempts dis-
g-rged its prey and withdrew its head.
But the sight was tootnntalizilig. Again
the head was inserted in the crack and
the coveted mordel swallowed, ana
again tho vain struggles to withdraw
were rt newed. I saw this repeated sev
eral times, til), gaining wisdom by ex
perience, the snake seized the frog by
one leg, withdrew it from its coigneof
vantage and swallowed it outside.—
Natur c.
Length of tho Human Step.
At a ret ent silting of the. French Acad
emy of Sciences, Monsieur Marey read
a very interesting papt r, giving the re
sult of his experiments with a machine
for measuring the length and rapidity cf
a man’s stride in walking. Marey found
that a numbr r of circumstances modi
fied the length of the step. The step is
longer going up hill than going down;
longer for a man cat eying a load than
for ot e unloaded; longer with low
heels i ban with high heels; and longer
for a nmn wearing thick soles and those
which project slightly beyond the toe
than lor one wearing short and flexible
soles. It wa3 fount! that while the Heel
might be lowered indefinitely without
detriment to the gait, tho sole could not
be xnnde perfectly rigid nor prolonged
too far without 'interfering with the
speed and ease of the wearer. Experi
ence alone was able to determine the
oxuot length aud thickness necessary to
produce the beat results: