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the mercury.
Kntered m tooond- olua matter at the Bandar*.
E " Title Poatoffioe, April 87,1880.
Budemille, Washington Ocmity, G*.
A. J. JERNIGAN.
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April 3, 1880.
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April 3, 1880.
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THE MERC ERY.
A. J. JERNIGAN, Proprietor.
VOL. II.
A Silver IAnino.
Thore’B never a day so Bunny
But a little cloud appear#;
There's never a lifo so happy
But has its time of tears;
Yet the sun seines out the brighter
Whenever the tempest dears.
There’s never a garden growing
With rosos in every plot;
There’B never a heart so hardened
But it has one tender spot;
We havo only to pruno tho border
To find tho forget-me-not.
Tliore’s nevor a sun that rises
But wo kuow ’twill sot at night;
Tho tints that gloam in the morning
At evonlng are just as bright;
And the hour that is the sweetost
Is between tho dark and light.
There's never a droam so happy
But the wakingmakeB us sad;
Thore’s nevor a droam of sorrow
But the waking makeB ub glad;
Wo shall look somo day with wonder
At tho troubles wo have had.
DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, AGRICULTURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE MINISTER’S SURPRISE.
A portly, oomfortable sort ot a man
in a chocolate-brown overcoat opened
the gate of Parson Rowe’s cottage one
sharp, cold morning when a heavy snow
1 ay npon the ground.
It was Squire Glover, one of the
“ pillars of the chnrch,” and he was
coming to consult his pastor concern-
ing somo chnrch matter. Justas he was
about rapping at the door it opened,
and Willie Rowe came out.
11 Just walk right in, squire, and sit
down,” says Willio. “ Pa’ll be in di
rectly."
Away ho ran, and tho sqnire stepped
in, and sat down in the little parlor,
waiting the appearance of his pastor.
Presently he heard steps and voices
in the adjoining room, and then a
child’s voice said:
" Pa, just look at my shoe. It’s all
ripped."
‘•I think it is, Laura,” answered the
parson’s tones. "Let me see—per
haps—no, it is too worn to be mended
again."
" Well, pa, please, I’d like to have a
new pair. Won’t you get ’em for
me?”
"As soon as pa can, he surely will,
daughter," said the father, in sad ton es
" Be good and wait a little, Lanra."
"I have waited ever so long,” said
Laura, "and Willie’s shoes are worse
than mine, and bo hasn’t got any mit
tens, either."
" Laura,” interrupted a voice whioh
the squire knew was Mrs. Rowe’s, "run
and feed your chickens, and don’t worry
papa now.”
The child ran out, and the parson,
never dreaming who was in the next
room, hearing every word through tho
orack of the door, said :
“ They can’t worry me more than I
am worried, Mary. I don’t say much,
but I feel all our needs, not for myself,
bnt lor yon and the children. It made
my heart ache, a little while ago, to
hear Willie ask if we could never havo
meat for breakfast any more, and
know that there wasn’t a pound of meat
in the house.”
" Nor any sugar, either, and hardly
any flour, and not a dime in the purse,
John, but for all that we won’t starve,”
said the little woman’s cheery voice.
" Have your lost your faith, John?"
"No, Mary, I hope not," came the
answer. “ But it does seem hard, when
my salary is so small it can’t be paid,
so we oould havo a few comforts at
least. Sometimes I think I must give
up here, and try somewhere else.”
"Oh, no, no, John!” pleaded the
wife. " Not yet, anyway. We’ve got
such a pleasant home here, and our
people are so kind, don’t give up yet.
Let’s try on a little longer, and maybe
help will come.”
" Well, I don’t know from whence,
Mary. I’m sorry to say so, but I’ve lost
heart lately, till I’m really not fit to
preaoh. If the Lord don’t help ns, and
that soon, I don't know who will!"
Then there was a sound of a man’s ris-’
ing, and Sqnire Glover, feeling as if he
didn’t want to see his pastor just now,
up and slipped out before Parson
Rowe came in.
And when thb good squire got safely
out of the gate his face was red, and ho
was puffing for breath.
"Well! well! God bless my soul!”
he panted, as he trotted on. “ Here’s
a pretty state of things! No meat, no
money, no shoes—why, God bless my
soul! This must be looked after. Shall
be, too! I’ll see the deacous, and if they
won’t, I will, out of my own pocket,
too, God bless my soul! That bravo
little woman shall have some help to
keep up her husband’s heart, or I’ll
know the reason!’’
Racing along, flushed and excited, he
met Deacon Jonos. He had the deacon
by the buttonhole in a minute, and after
a short consultation they both went
off to Deacon Robinson’s.
And that afternoon there was muoh
stir in Glenville, little groups constant
ly meeting and consulting in every
store, and on every corner. While th
day seemed to close in dark and chee
less in the parson’s little cottage.
A fresh snow fell that night and
erved to make 1 noiseless the sleds whioh
$1.60 PER ANNUM.
SANDERSVILLE, GA., DECEMBER 20, 1881.
NO. 38.
THE MERCURY.
PUBLISHED EVERY ill
■
-*— r;
NOTICE.
4WAll eoiimuiiieattona intended
per mnstb* aoeampantsd with th* fhfi tense <
the writer, not neoeeeerily for pabUeatta. M
as * guarantee of good Mth. ;! d i
Ween tano wayrespoMibletefld vtom#
ladotao of oorreepondeatSi .
drove softly np to the minister’s oottage
with the very first faint streak of dawn]
The inmates of the little dwelling were
all sleeping soundly, bnt one awake and
listening might have heard muffled foot
steps, whispers and oantions shoving
and pushing of heavy articles. These,
however, soon ceased, and all was quiet
until the day broke clearly and the vil
lagers arose.
The weary parson and his true
hearted little wife had lain awake late
the night before, for heavy hearts make
sleepless eyes, and they slept a little
later than usual this morning.
But at last they were all up and
dressed. The simple breakfast, oonsist-
ng of coffee, warm biscuits and butter,
was nearly ready when Willie and Lanra
took a notion to run to the front door
and see how deep the snow was on tho
.front porch.
Through the little parlor they trot
ted, Willy first, and Laura following,
to the front door, whioh, with some
liltlo tronble, they polled open.
And the next minute the cottage rung
with their hasty Bhouta
"Pa! pa! mamma! mammal do come
here ! Come quick! Run here to tho
porch, quick, both of yon I"
Greatly surprised, and slightly fright-
onod, not knowing what had happened
to the children, the good parson and
his wife rushed to the front door, up
setting the cat and the ooffee-pot in
their haste to reach it.
What a sight met their eyes! No
wonder tho children shouted I Tho
snow had been carefully swept from the
front porch, whioh was set out with a
tempting array of various artiolos.
Right bofore the door stood a barrel of
flour, on top of the barrel wero laid
two juicy hams, and astride tho hams
sat a great, fat turkey, all dressed ready
for cooking, at whioh Willio and Laura
set np a great shont.
An open barrel beyond was running
over with plnmp red apples, and a sec
ond barrel fnllof big, comfortable-look
ing potatoes and a row of crisp cabbage-
heads kept guard all around the barrel.
Then there wos a box, packed with
papers of sugar, coffee, tea and rice, a
sack of dried peaches and several cans
of fruit. And another box, when
opened, displayed two now pairs o!
shoes, just tho right size for Willie and
Laura; sundry rolls of flannel, muslin
and culico, warm stookings and mittens,
and several small articles, not forgetting
a well filled basket of nuts and candios,
whioh proved that somebody knew what
children love, and which set Laura and
Willie to danoing, like little Indians.
In the bottom of the box was a thick,
warm gray shawl, with Mrs. Rowe's
name pinned in it. And when tho shawl
was unfolded, there dropped out an
envelope directed to Parson Rowe, in-
sido of whioh they found the amount
of the delinquent salary in good, now
greenbacks, and a card upon which was
written:
“ Will our pastor accopt the little surprise
gift which accompanies his salary, with tho
love of a gratoful pouplo
' Oh, what a pleasant, pleasant sur
prise !" cried Willie and Laura to
gether.
“What a wonderful meroy, rather!'
said the mother; " John, didn’t I tell
you the Lord would help us ?"
Yes, Mary 1" answered the pastor.
“ Let us thank Him for the mercies of
this morning.”
And in the little parlor they all rev
erently knelt, and never a more fervent
thanksgiving went up than ascended
from the little circle in thn.parson’s
oottage that happy winter morning.
An Extraordinary Eunerai,
There was an extraordinary charaoter
in Yorkshire at the beginning of the
present century named Jemmy Hirst
of Rawcliffe, who was a well-know^
figure at Doncaster and York races.
When Jemmy had made his fortune as
a tanner he resolved to cut the tan-yard
and "set up as a swell ” for tho remain
der of his life. The first step he took
to that end was to procure a handsome
oaken coffin, furnished with a folding
lid, which was let into tho corner of his
parlor like a cupboard and filled wi^
provisions and liquor. When Jemmy
Hirst died, rich and full of years, he
left directions in his will that he was to
be buried in the aforesaid coffin, and
that liis body was to be carried to the
rave by eight old maids who were to
receive half a guinea apiece for their
services. The eight old maids, how
ever, were not forthcoming, and eight
buxom widows were engaged at half a
crown a head to do duty as bearers.
Tho motley procession was headed by
bagpipes and a fiddle, and the country
folks flocked in by hundreds to pay
their last respects to Jemmy Hirst, of
Rawcliffe. He died in 1826. Mr. Ellis
King, who lived in King’s Bench Walk
some eighty years ago, kept his coffin
in his chambers filled with wine and
spirits to be drunk^by'liis friends on tho
day of his funeral. The coffin ocoupied
aconspionous place in tho room and
was always solemnly toasted at his con
vivial parties the last thing before the
guests took their leave,
A SENATOR'S REMINISCENCES,
Kx-Srnntor Hendrick’s Recollections *r
Prominent Members of the United Hintcs
Senate.
An Indianapolis (Ind.) letter gives
the particulars of an interview held with
Ex-United States Senator Thomas A.
Hendricks. Daring the interview Mr.
Hendricks gave interesting reminis
cences of some of the prominent men
whom ho had met in the Senate. He
said:
Many senators whom I met at that
time were men of marked qualities. Mr.
Oollamer, of Vermont, was one of the
most ingenious and plansible debaters I
have ever heard. He was then a sena
tor, greatly respected, and exercised n
deoided influence ; in his oharaoter and
polioy he was decidedly conservative.
Mr. Anthouy, of Rhode Island, who
is yet in the Senate, was then in the
prime of his manhood, oonrteous and
elegant in his manner, never giving
offense, always devoted to his party,
and very successfully taking charge of
its interest.
I met with no man in the senate
whose qualities interested me more
than Mr. Bnokalew, of Pennsylvania,
He was modest and retiring, but when
called out by duty, n debater of rare
ability, philosophic in his habits of
thought, not combative, pnnotilious,
holding a strong position and exor-
oising mnoh influence in the Senate.
During his term he prepared a very in
teresting work, ontside of his sena
torial labors, on the snbjeet of "Minor
ity or Proportional Representation.” It
is tho ablest work on that subject that
has come to my knowledge. Mr. Buok-
alow wos singularly retiring, modest
and democratic in his habits.
His oolleagae, Mr. Oowon, was always
listened to with intorest. He was a
dashing debator, and came into any
controversy when it was at the highest,
and was able to maintain himself against
mnoh odds. Ho oamo into the Senate
a Republican, but beoame very restless
under party discipline.
One of the most interesting characters
in tho Senate of that day was Garrett
Davis. He was a war Democrat from
Kentucky. I think ho was the most
fearless debater I ever heard—not al
ways the most considerate for the causo
ho advocated.
Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, was per
haps the finest orator in tho Sonato.
During tho first part of tho war he was
a conservative Republican. By bis con-
viotions of right, and by extreme hos
tility on the part of others to his politi
cal position, ho wbb carried into the
ranks of the Democratic party, and be
came one of the strongest advocates of
the Democratic canse. As a friend he
waB sincere, ns an associate charming.
Mr. Fessenden was then at the height
of his very distinguished career. I
think Maine has never been so ably re
presented in the Senate. As a debater
ho was very remarkable—quietly, atten
tively, ho listened to those opposed to
him until ho appreciated exactly the
field of the fight; then, without note,
book or authority, ho made his reply so
olearly that ho could not be misunder
stood, and I never knew him to leave a
point unanswered. I do not mean that
his answer was always successful, but
it was always able. He was one of the
great men of his party, and held great
influence until he found himself com
pelled to separate from it in his vote
against the impeachment of Andrew
Johnson.
Governor Grimes represented the
State of Iowa. I never saw a purer man
in pnblio life. The influence of his
able and excellent administration as
governor of Iowa did mnoh to estab
lish the State permanently as a Repub
lican State. He, too, separated from
his party on the impeaohment question.
John P. Hale, of Maine, was very
much observed at tho time I went into
the Senate and very much spoken of.
He was a brilliant man, but not a
stndent, as I thought, and he had come
to repeating himBelf,
Mr. Henderson was a young senator
from Missouri, a good lawyer, a strong
debater, and very sincere in his eonvio-
tions. He also separated from tho Re
publican party on the impeachment
question.
Reverdy Johnson was the nblest
lawyer in the Senate. I, have never
heal’d any one who so readily, and with
out special preparation, announced bis
legal propositions and supported them
by exact reference to the authorities.
For a part of the time Henry S. Lane
was my colleague. He deserves to be
held in high estimation by his country
men. Passionate in his politics, but
sincere and truthful, with few superiors
as an-orator.
John Sherman was not then frequent
in his addresses to the Senate, but al
ways the same, well prepared, and left
his views distinctly impressed npon the
mind of the^body.
The most distinguished member of
the Senate was Mr. Sumner. Many of
his speeches were political essays rather
than debates. He was a man of great
learning, capable of exhaustive research,
thoroughly in earnest, never politic,
never avoided a question to accommo
date friend or foe, not even to save his
w
party; he stepped at onoe to the front
edge of a question and required feebler
and more timid partisans to follow. I
have said, and I suppose I was oorreot,
that at his death he left more of his sen
timents embodied in the laws of the
oonntry than any other man,
Mr. Trnmbull, of Illinois, was in many
respeota a distinguished man. As a de
bater he wbb very able, as a lawyer very
emineSt. He was chairman of the ju
diciary committee, and reported many
of the most important bills touohing
tbo relations of the raoes and the recon
struction of the States. He, too, left
tho Republican party upon the impeach
ment of Andrew Johnson.
Mr. MoDongal, of California, was a
brilliant and attractive man, although
not a man of muoh influenoe in the
body. Some of his speoohes made upon
the spur of the oooasion without pre
paration were as remarkable as yon find
in the best oolleotion of literary gems.
If I had a Globe I wonld like to refer
yon to one or two exquisite speoimens
I remember one oooasion when the bil
was pending in the Senate npon
the President’s veto of the admission
of Colorado. If all the sena-
tois were prosent it was known
that the bill oonld not pass. Senator
Wade oalled the bill np (bo being chair
man of the committoo on Territories at
the time) late in the evening; some
senators were not present’ Mr. Diok-
son, senatoi from Connecticut, a sup
porter of tho veto, it was annonnoed in
the Senate, was siok, and that he oould
not safely attend. Mr. Wade expressed
tho thought that if Providence had
favorod tho measnre for tho admis
sion [of that Stato, it was proper for
its friends to take advantage of that
circnmstanoe, and so he insisted that
the bill should bo taken up and passed
npon. Just then MoDougal came into
tho Senate, and without taking his seat,
bnt standing by his chair, he replied so
completely so powerfully, in a few
sentenoes, as to settle the fate of
tho bill for that eight. After Mo
Dongal took his seat Mr. Wade conld
get bnt one or two to second him in his
efforts to take the bill np. I cannot
givo yon McDougal’s speech. It oan
hardly bo repeated. His illustration of
his abhorrence of the sentiment he took
from Persian mythology—tho spirit of
good und tho spirit of evil—tho spirit
of good that brought to mankind all
blessings—the spirit of evil that ponrod
upon the race its many curses; and the
sentiment he condemned he compared
to tho latter, but in snuh beautiful,
strong and olassio language, and in
every respect so forcible, that the pro
position to take the bill from the table
received no support.
Governor Morton entered the Senate
after the middle of my term. Ho soon
took rank as ono of tho ablest leaders of
his party. He was extreme in his ex
pressions of political hostility— strength
and earnestness wore the characteristics
of his speeches.
A Carnivorous Parrot,
Thero is now in the " Zoo ” a very
remarkable bird, the Nestor notal ills,
or Mountain Kea, of New Zeulaud.
It is a parrot of strong frame and power
ful bill and claws, which were used
like those of all parrots for obtaining
a vegetable diet until tho colonists in
troduced sheep and pigs. As soon us
this was done the kea seems to have
abandoned vegetable food, and to have
taken entirely to flesh-eating. He at
tacks siok or dying or disabled sheep,
and with his powerful cutting beak
opens a passage through the back and
eats the intestines. Even healthy animals
are sometimes assailed by the Nestor
notabilis, and there are sheep-runs in
New Zealand where considerable losses
have been incurred through these
strangely degenerated birds. The speci
men in the Zoological Gardens gave as
muoh trouble to capture as an eagle,
tearing tho clothes of the shepherd who
knocked it down while pouncing on a
lamb, lacerating his hands. The kea
soorns cooked meat, biecnits, fruit or
seeds, and likes raw mutton better than
any food. He will tear the skin and
flesh from a sheep’s head after the furi
ous fashion of a vulture—leaving noth
ing bnt the bare sknll. He at one time
holds the morsels in his lifted claw,
after tho style of parrots, and at an
other grips them under his feet while
rending with his beak like a hawk.
This is a very curiouR example of change
of habit, for there is every Reason to
believe that before sheep and pigs were
introduced into New Zealand the kea
was as frugivorous in its meals as most
if not all, other parrots. He wili now
eat pork and beef as well as mutton,
and has beoome, in fact, utterly and
hopelessly carnivorous.—London Tele
graph.
Hust led Men.
According to a Milanese journal the
prefect of one of the first cities of Italy,
who is a rich land owner, has in this
civilized age, resorted to a feudal cus
tom, obliging his field laborers to wear
an iron muzzle during the grape harvest
to prevent them from tasting u few
bunches of grapes. The fact was no
ticed last year and yet the said prefect
still represents the government.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
Onr taste reoognizes a solution of one
part sulphuric acid in 1,000 parts water.
Hom silver, or ohlorido of silver,
oontains seventy-five parts silver and
twenty-five parts chlorine.
The coloring matter of the jelly-fish
has been fonnd to consist of minute
partioles imbedded in tho protoplasm.
The worm-like fish, amphioxus, has
no special heart, bnt a number of con
tractile bulbs in the veins. The eel has
an auxiliary heart in its tail.
Tho telegraph lines between Paris
and Nancy, a distance of 200 miles, are
being placed underground. The wires
aro inclosed in iron tubes, provided
with manholes.
There is in the Paris Eleotrioal exhi
bition an induction coil capable of
giving a spark forty-two inches long
and piercing n block of gloss six iuchos
thick.
M. Dolirn has introduced the tolo
phone in connection with his scientific
explorations of tho bed of the Bay of
Naples. By its nse the diver and the
boatmen overhead ore able to oommn
nioate with eaoh other quickly and in
telligibly.
MM. Molesohott and Fabini find rea
son to believe that the elimination of
oarbonio acid from animals increases
nnder the influence of light, and that
light acts not only through the eye, bnt
over the wholo surface of the body.
Observations by M. Rene Thnre show
that the telephone is remarkably sons!
tive to lightning. He stretched a metal
wiro between two houses, oonneoting
one end with the earth and the other
with a telephone. During every thnn-
dor-storm since 1870 he has been able
to hear sounds in the telephone at the
instant of the lightning-flash, and this
even when the lightning was estimated
to be twenty or twenty-five miles away.
At times the sounds beoame cnite loud.
THB HOME DOCTOR.
A poultice of fresh tea leaves moist
ened with water will cure a stye on the
eyelid.
For earaohe, dissolve ossfetida in
water; warm a few drops and drop it
the ear, then oork the ear with wool.
Aooording to a Frenoh medical journal
whooping oongh has been successfully
treated by Dr. Barely, of Nico, by tur
pentine vapor.
Dr, Foote'b Health Monthly advises
peoplo to try a newspaper over the
chest, beneath tho coat, as a cheat pro
tector in extremely cold weather.
The white of an egg, into whioh a
piece cf alum about the size of a walnut
bas been stowed until it forms a jelly, is
a capital remedy for sprains. It should
bo laid over the sprain on a pieoo ol
lint, and bo.changed as often as it be
comes dry.
A lamp of fresh lime, the size of a
walnut, dropped into a pint of water
and allowed to stand over night, the
water being poured off from tho sedi
ment and mixed with a quarter of a pint
of the best vinegar, forms a good wash
for scruf in the head. It it is to be ap
plied to the roots of the hair.
PEARLS OF THOUGHT.
Reading, study, thinking, observa
tion and sensible conversation makes
the mind grow.
Argument in company is generally
the worst sort of conversation, and in
books the worst of reading.
The discovery of what is true and the
praotice of what is good are the two
most important objeots of life.
We can’t be too muoh on our guard
against reactions, lest we rush from one
fault into another contrary fault.
Nothing so adorns the face as cheer
fulness. When the heart is in flower,
its bloom and beauty pass to the fea
tures,
A vise man in the company of those
who are ignorant has been oompared by,
the sages to a beautiful girl in the com
pany of blind men.
A person that wonld secure to him
self great deference will, perhaps, gain
his point by silence as effectually as by
anything he cau say.
No school is more necessary to ohil-
dren than patience, because either the
will must be broken in childhood, or
the heart in old age.
The Rattjo.
The heretofore despised banjo is to
be[elevated to the first rank as a musical
instrument. Some one has discovered
that it is of very ancient origin, and of
course that is much in its favor, as
many persons delight in anything that
is associated with antiquity. A relio
hunter in Egypt fonnd, or says that he
found, in the tomb of a royal family, in
ono of the oldest pyramids, a banjo of
the exact form of those played by plan
tation hands. In his opinion the
ancient Pharaohs delighted in the sweet
sounds produced by the banjo, whioh
constituted the favorite mnsio of the
country which has been called the cra
dle of civilization.
-
A Novel Little War Ship. |
A New York paper says: Ther
lies at the wharf of the Delaware
Hudson Canal company at Hoboke
very modest-looking little vessel wh
Captain Ericsson has constructed
christened "Tho Destroyer," tvl
is claimed, will make ineffectual I
no valne for offensive warfare those <
pensive and heavily-armorsd vessels,
the pride of the navies of the old
world. With this innocent-appearing
little craft he proposes to oompls
wipe ont of existence, if opporti
offers, the best vessels extant,
npon the system of whioh he was the
father.
The Destroyer is a craft of iron,
whose hull, even as she lay light on tl
water, was almost entirely submerged.
When ready for service bnt little of the
hnll wonld be above water. The house,
which is situated well astern, is of iron,
bnt no attempt bos been made to make
it impregnable, as with the house en
tirely shot away, the Destroyer is just
as seaworthy and capable of performing
the work required of it. Below the
honse it is as well protected as any ar
mored vessel afloat. Its dimensions are
180 feet long, 11 feet deep and 12 feet
wide. These unusnal proportions are to
givo her a high rate of speed, and as
her linos are exaotly alike in both direc
tions she oan move ahead or astern
with equal facility. The simple hori
zontal engine of 1,000 horse-power rest
ing on a surface condenser of abont
eight feet sqnaro, tho hydranlioally
controlled rudder, the novel steoring
apparatus, and the torpedo gun aro all
below tbo surface of the water, and as
they aro proteoted by armored plates of
improved construction, with a special
devioe to protect the machinery from
shots fired at the exposed -portion or
front of the boat, her inventor asserts
with oonfldenoe that she is indestrnot-
ible save by sunken torpedoes or boats
ot hor own kind. A frigate’s lannoh is
larger than Bhe, yet the frigate itself in
a contest wonld be wholly at her meroy,
for tho immense orsft oonld not bo
handled quickly enough to get out of
the way of the little death-dealer no
more than can the ponderous elo
phant escape from the insignifi
cant little fly thai. so terribly
annoys it. Tho armament ol The De
stroyer is a single gun situated just
above the keelson, in tho forward part
of the boat, and its muzzlo opens di
rectly into tho sea, being proteoted
from the mailing in of water when not
in use by a permanent valve hung'by an
elbow joint to the stem of the vessel,
and which is opened or closed by a pis
ton operated at the breech of the gun.
When the g tu is to bo fired this valve
is raised, und stands ont of the path of
the projectile. How, nylien tbe valve is
raised is tho water prevented from
rushing into the muzzle of the gun ? is
a query that naturally arises. And the
invontor provides against this emergen
oy by the use of a scotionnlly con
structed temporary valve of wood and
rubber cloth, which tightly fits the muz
zle and is placed in the gun before tho
projectile is, and shattered to atoms when
the torpedo starts on its errand of de
struction. “ Water must rnsh in when
tho projectile leaves the gnn, and so
sink the vesEol,” says the oritio as he
looks at the working model. Certainly
it would but for the fact that as soon m
the projeoiile is fired out the gunner
closes bis permanent valve and shuts off
the infinx, which can only be through
the gun itself. What comes in runs out
through the breech and drips through
a grating into the bilge below, from
which it is pnmped ont by a steam
siphon plaoed at the side of the gnn.
So far the explanation is satisfactory
and it is made doubly so by the initial
experiment, which showed that the
permanent valve can be dosed after
the gnn is fired, and bnt very little
water be chipped, though there was a
strong'ebb tide running direotly toward
the muzzle at the time of the experi
ment.
A Remarkable Hermit.
Abont five miles southwest of Panld-
iDg, 111., lives or e of the most remark
able hermits known. He is supposed
to be an Englishman, although on thin
point he is not communicative. He is
generally known as and answers to the
name of " Old Batch,” but bis name is
Samuel Paten. He bas not been shaved
nor had his hair trimmed for more
than twelve years. Around him are
gathered some of the finest specimens
of cattle and horses ever seen in any
country. Fat, sleek fillies and gentle
cows, lazy porkers and tame merinos
ran to him whenever he emerges from
the honse, which is simply a few pieces
of bark thrown np against a log. There
is no resemblance of a honse to it, bnt
in this worse than dog-kennel "Old
Batoh ” lives both Winter and snmmer.
He is not rude nor unlettered, but
really a refined and cultured man, when
he chooses to lay off the rude wrap
ping which he has thrown about him
self. He has traveled extensively, is a
fine lingnist, and conversant with both |j
foreign and domestio politics up to tbc
time of the closing'of- the war of the
rebellion, since whioh time he has lived
the life of a hermit,
%&