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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: