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the mercury.
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A . J. JERNIGAN,
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Watches, Clocks
And JEWELRY
BBFAIKBD BT
jsnirzcArr.
H. IT- HOLLITIXLD,
Physician and Surgeon,
SandsrsTlUs, Ob.
Office next door to Mm. Baynel millinery
itor* on Haiti* ilriifc
Q. W H- WHITAKER,
dentist,
Bandersvllle, Ob.
terms CASH.
Office *t lit* Reildence, on Harris street.
April Sd. 1880.
B. D. EVANS,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Banderevllle, Ob.
April 1,1880.
Dr. H. B. Hollifield,
I1TXI6I&I ill mwoi,
Having recently graduated at the Univer
sity of Maryland and returned home, now
oilers bis professional service, to the citizens
of Kamlorevllle and vlolnlfy. Ofllne with
Dr. II. N Uolllfleld, next door toJMrs. Bayne’s
millinery etor*.
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FOR AM. KINDS OP MACHINES, for sale.
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A. J. JEHNIGAN.
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HINES & ROGERS,
Attorneys at Law,
8ANDERSVILLE, QA.,
B 1 Piaotlce In the counties of Washington,
J.n.non, Johnson, Emanuel and Wilkinson,
*od In tiie u. 8. Courts for the Southern Dls-
«et ?f Georgia.
,. w , 11 >ct ns agents in buying, sailing or
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Oetu u° n ** d# ot Fabll ° SQRBre,
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THE
A. J. JERNIGAN, Proprietor.
VOLUME IV
DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, AGRICULTURE AMD GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
$1. 50 per Annum.
SANDERSVtLLE, GA., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1883.
IN THE TWILIGHT
As wo grow old our ycslcrtnys
8eim very dim and diRta.its
Wo gropo as those in darkened way*
Thro’ all that Is distant,
llut far-off Oayaeeem bright and clear
With aniiB that long have faded,
And faces doad ecem strangely near
To llioso that life has shaded.
As wo grow old our tears nrcfow
For friends most lately taken.
But fall as falls the summer dew
From roses lightly i-lmken,
Wheij somo char.cc word of idle strain,
Tlio chords of memory sweeping,
Unlocks tho flood gates of our pain
For Ihoso who taught ns woeping.
As wo grow old our smiles aro rare
To tlioso who greet ns daily;
Or, If sohio tender faces wear
The look tlintboauied so'gnjrly
From eyes long olosod, and we ihonld smile
In answer to their wooing,
Tis but tho pnst that shines tlio whllo—
Our power to srailo renewing.
As wo grow old onr drcaniB at night
Aro novor of tho morrow;
They como with banished pleasures bright,
Or dark with olden sorrow;
And when wo wako tho namcB wo say
Aro not of any mortals,
But tlioso who in somo long dead day
Passed thro’ life’s sunset portals.
'Widow Lockery
DY ANGELINS TEAL,
The officers were sure that ft certnin
Portlander sold beer, and they worked n
"hole dny in his cellar clawing over
drains and sewer pipes, but found no
beer. Finally they went at the well. A
h . °ne dropped out. Other stones came
down under tho blows, revealing a par-
ntion of hoards faced with chiprock.
hack of this, built into the wall, was n
hiding plnco, but empty. Thoy ripped
dp the hoards at one side, and found n
a yer of earth where should have been
®°, Bt °ne. Further digging brought
?. two barrels of beer, from which a
lne f hoso ran to tho store abovo. In
not her instance they saw a post, to
,‘' c d "'as nailed a board whioh seemed
! ft . vo f° rrn ed at ono time a part of n
!>*“• They twisted it off, and found
“ concealed a faucet in the hollow
rOfl t.
J BE Czar ok Russia moves In a mys
ds way, not only in his own domin
tcrioi
'dds, but also when he leaves them. -
Uprising that he reached Oopenhageu
®d d visit to his father-in-law, the King
. enmft rk. No announcement has
J C , n ma ‘*° °f his leaving St. Petersburg
II D8 decount had been given of the
AH*!I™ c ’: cums LmccB of his departure
a 0 m ’Uions of his subjects, excepting
Mn^i. favored persons, will be
he- 1 " i ^ W ^ en the y Lear of his being
he i° n ^ ^ ron ^ er his empire. But
him ? U ^t' 088 knows that it is safer for
In jjj” ^ “ mysterious way
I mndo her acquaintance at an Old
Settlers’ reunion. Tho club, which
hold its yearly meetings nt Oerslicm,
was composed of I lie surviving pioneers
of 18119. All persons who, either ns
adults or children, had settled in tho
tho district covered by the organisation
previous to or within that year wore en
titled to enrollment.
A group of men wore discussing wheat
prospects. They seemed to belong to
Mint elnss lu whom tho Uncertainty of
tlio farmer’s hopo had bred a condition
>1 ohronio foreboding. Ono said the
wheat was too strong, and would all he
“lodged" beforo hnrvest. Another
thought (he recent rains would produce
“rust in tho stalk.” A third predicted a
hot, dry time, that would oauso it
to “Are at the root.”
Old Both Householder had bc&n n re
markably good shot in his timo. We
paused in our saunter to hear him toll
about it. He was a grotesque old man,
with yellowish curling luiir hanging
over tho collar of his clean Calico shirt.
“I prosumo then’s a good many old
fellers hero," Bnid he, “that minds about
the doggery nank Sloan kep’ nVeb on
tlio old State road, Ho kep’ a little
stock of grocery, too, and about once a
f.irtni t he’d hovn ish&otin’-match. Ho’d
tie up bundles of tea and terbacker and
sugar, and wo’d shoot fer ’em. Well,
one afternoon in tho beginnili' OF winter
—it was tho thlrty^first of November, if I
mind right—Hank had a shoot. Ther’
was Just seventy-three of them pack
ages, and when tho match was out, and
Hntik told ’em over, nil but four Was
marked ‘S. Householder,’ Yiu. Mint
was rather fair shootin’, I tell you,
gentlemen, it’s all in tho optic nerve of
tho eye. Tiler’s where it lays,"
Tlio hand began playing on the ros
trum, and the multitiulo moved toward
the music.
‘ Should auld acquaintance be for jot
And never called to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance bo forgot
And the days of all d lang syne?"
The sweet horns seemed to speak the
very words 1
There wnH roll-call, answered to in
voices varying from tho robust, mellow
toneB of middle age to the feebler quaver
of the octogenarian. A brief biographi
cal obituary of a late member was read.
Then the orator of the day wns intro
duced. After tho spoech caiue tlio bas
ket dinnor under tho trees. The after
noon was devoted to music aud story
telling. An aged farmer named Man
ning said:
“I was the first white settler in Deer
Lick Township. Things wns middlin’
onhandy 'long nt firbt. What ’ud folks
think now of driving thirty miles for a
bag of seed u boat and two plow-pints ?
[ did that in ’87—druv it with oxen,
too. It was powerful hard work clearin'
up my .land—timber so heavy and help
so scarce. I had ono hired man that did
mo a heap of good. Ho was only a boy,
but lie was a good one, strong-fisted and
keen-witted. He'd shop all day and
study his books till ten o’clock at night.
He’s here to-day, friends, and maybe
some of you knows who I mean. It’s
Judge Tazewell, there on tho platform.
Ho split and laid up tlio rails that fenced
my first clearin’. He’s been to Con
gress since, and I'm proud to say lie',
ns honest a law-maker as he was a fence-
maker. I propose three cheers tor tie
rail-splitter of tho old Tenth district.
They were given with energy, anil
Judge Tazewell enmo down and shook
hands with Uncle Eli Manning.
Tho president of tho club then asked
now many in tlio assembly had any per
sonal recollection of a two-days’ hunt
for a lost child in tho autumn of ’41.
“Answer Sunday-school fashion, said
ho, and about half a dozen hands went
U! “Is the Widow Lockery here ?" he
next inquired.
“I reokon she is,” came tho answer in
a woman’s voice from somewhere in the
crowd.
“Mrs. Lookcry,” continued the presi
dent, “found tho lost child, and if she
will tell us all about it, I, for one, will
bo much pleased. I have a vague im
pression of the terror which the hunt
produced and tho excitoment it aroused
lu mv childish mind; but I do not re
member that I ever heard the occurrence
fully described by any one who took part
in the search.” . ,, ..
He glanced again in the direction
whence came that prompt response, and
BIV Atoll?st-rnigl it woman rose from her
seat, walked sic wly down thei aisie be
tween the rude benches, and took a po
sition facing thi .people, Skeseemedm
do hurry to beg n her story, but delib-
eratelyTook off ier starched bonnet and
laid it on the grass beside her She
m tie meet
had seen that day. T’liougii fully
seventy years old, slio was erect- as
an Indian, and gave ono the impression
of gHent physical RmVeh Hot’ iron-gmv
linlr grow loW oVct bet furetldrtd, Hull
Was gathel'ed into a groat, rough-look
ing knot at tho back of her head, aud se
cured in its place liy a brass comb. Her
complexion was swarthy, and her dark
eyes were Bhadcd by darker brows which
almost met above her prominent aquil
ine tiOstt, Her lips closed firmly, and
hor whole faco had an expression of un
speakable sadness.
“Friend* and hdgllkrtV »Lo began;
and all at Once I found myself smiling,
as I observed mony others doing. Never
before did human countenaueo so quickly
transform its expression! The dark
eyes twinkled, tho Corners of tho month
gave \ humorous curl, tlio lips parted in
speech revealed a double row of prrfcct
natural teeth, glooming with drollery,
was tho wholo changed Rhyslognomy
and 1 atlgh tef-provoking.
•‘Friends aud neighbors; Soein'nshow
Mr. Evans has sort o’ give out that I’m
the herowine o’ this tale o’terror, maybe
it would sound better for someone else
to tell it. So much by way of preface.
“It was Benjamin Nyfer's child that
wns lost. Ben started onfi mornin’ in
October to got somo griudin’ dono.
Therq wns no mill nearer than tho one
on Taylor’s Fork, twelve mile* off, and
tho way road* was then, it would take
him away 'long into tho night to get
homo. That little boy o' his'n, just five
year old, took a notion to go 'long, but
his Pa wouldn’t lot him. Ho Whipped
tbo poor little fellow in tho mornin' for
cryin’ to go; but when ho stnrted tho
child just fullered tho wagon and bawled
lo lie took in. The other young ones
told me that; nnd that precious mother
o’ his’n, instend of conxin’ him into tho
house and fryiiT him a dough horso, nnd
twistin’ him five or six yards of tow
string for drivin’-lincs, just wont on
nbout her work, and paid no ’tontion to
him till ho wAs clean out o'sight. ’Long
towanl noon Mary Ann Nyfer. tho oldest
gal, came over to my house, lookin’ real
scairt. and said Sammy wns lost. Ho’d
follered Pa a ways in the mornin* nnd
hadn’t came bnck, 1 says right away:
" ‘He’s all right. Your father’s give
iu to his yellin’ nnd took him ’long.’
“But tho gal shook her head, and re
marked:
" 'Father never gives in to nuthin’.
He’s druv him hack, and Snmtoy’s lost,’
“I went bottle Willi her, nnd found
Luke Wllhon thoro. Wo three families
lived purty clonst—all within a mile.
Luke thought just as I did, that Nyfer
had took the boy along) but the motlioi
and Mary Auh Seemed to doubt it
Wilson said ho’d go down tho road, ami
stop at Fell’s and Harder's—maybe littl,
Sam had stopped to play! Well, lu
didn’t find him, and the good feller hoofed
it OH till he inet Nyfer, throe or foil:
milesjthis side of the Fork. There war
no Sammy with him. Ho said The child
had turned back at the big shinglc-trc
stump, about a mile Horn home,
"When Bon druv np to his house,
there was quite n company of the neigh
bors there waitin’ to see if ho had the
boy. A sarcli was started that night
with lanterns and kep’ up till mornin’.
Word wns Bent fur ail near, and before
noon the next dny three townships were
on tho hunt-. Horns was blowen, hells
rung, and tho poor baby's name called
iu hundreds of voices. Tlio woods aud
swamps was scoured and every brush
heap and holler log peeked into.
“Tho sarcli lasted nnothcr night and
another dny, till ih tho afternoon
some begUtl to give out, myself among
the number. I went home and throwed
myself onto my bed with my clothes on,
and slept ns I’d never slept before.
About ten o’clock that evenin’ I woke up
sudden, just as wide awake ns I nm this
minute. My mind seemed oncommon
clear and quick. ‘That child can’t be
fnr away,’ I thought. 'He’s been with
tho rest to the huckleberry swamp this
summer. The trail leadin’ to tho swamp
leaves the mnin road not fur from the
shingle tree stump, I’d often heard
that lost children would never answer
when called, but at night, when
every hing was quiet, they’d cry and
make a noise. It seemed as though tho
hull kontry had been well scrolled, hut I
still believed he was stickin’somewheres
in That huckleberry marsh.
“Now, I don’t want anybody to think
I was a lierowine, for I wasn’t. I think
T felt moro’n common sorry for Rachel
Nyfer, because I’d had a disliko to her
for quito a spell. It growed out of an
egg trade. I wanted a settin’ of goose-
eggs; she hod some, and said she’d let
me liavo a dozen for two dozen liens’
eggs. Well, wo traded, and I s’posed it
was all right, till one day she come over
and said she thought sho orter have
about another half-dozen eggs; for she’d
opened a goose-egg shell and then broke
two hens’ eggs into It, nnd it wasn’t quito
full. ’Twould have held easy half an
other egg! I counted out six eggs, nnd
she lugged ’em home; then I told Miss
Luke Wilson aud one or two other
women that I was purty thick with, and
wp made no end of fun about it whenover
we got together.
“I didn’t like the general make up of
the woman. She hail five purty children,
out she didn’t seem to tako no kind o’
romfort with ’em; just pushed ’em ono
lido and druv ahead with her work.
Sho and Nyfer both seemed to think all
the duty they owed their young ones
was to make ’em mind from tho word
go, and dig away like all possess, to
make property for ’em. But I was there
that evenin’ when Ben came home with
out the boy, and I saw ’em stand and
look in each other’s faoes, like the end of
the world had come, and neither one
could help the other. Then bIio went
about puttin’ a bit of supper onto the
table; but when she set out Sam’s little
tin plate and mug, all the mother in her
broke loose, and she flung herself down,
shudderin’ and sobbin’ in a way I’ll
icvor forgit. Well, seem’ as how I
kinder misjudged the creetur for having
no heart, I felt pushed to make one
more try for that poor lost kid o’ horn;
so I jumped right up and siud out loud:
“ ’With the Lord’s help, IU find him
y6 “I lit my lantern and shaded it so it
let just a little light down onto the
ground. Then I went over the roau,
just as I guessed the boy had done,
turnin’ off on the trail at the big red-
oak stump, and right down to the swamp.
Jliere I pi°ppwT iBtouw, still as
lenth. Sure as there’s tnerei f«r us all I
ibovo, I heard him almost tight away.
“ ‘Oh, mn I* Such a pitifttl call! Then
io eried nnd whimpered, vbrf wenk,
-iko Ills life all! Was ’most gone',’ nnd his
lienrt 'most broke. I followed that
sound and found him easy. Ho wns
mired to his arm-pits in mud and water,
f couldn’t nt first sco hoW I was to got to
him. There wns the body of a big wal
nut tree lyin' bnck on the linrd ground,
md tho bulk wns louset I pulled it oil
in slabs Mill tlil-oWBd efii tiftto the liftm-
inocks, and so bridged ftltWaf otlt to
(lint little ynllcr head. He Struggled
wild when I first pulled liiin out; therf
gnvo up in a kind of fniut. I carried
him lirime in a huffy. There wns still a
-ox4 •any people at Nyfer #. They
undo somo milk warm, aud pdt a taste
>f liquor in it, nnd foned a few drops
town his throat, as you've done to a
shilled Jamb «n a winlerTItihoniin’. He
wns bathed and rubbed mid Wrapped in
softpfinnnin and laid in the baby's Warm
nest afore tlio fire. Nyfer nnd his wife
stood lookin’ down at him.
“ ‘Raich,’ said ho—and she looked np,
her black eyes a-swimmin’ and her faco
ill n-trembiei Then he took her into his
arms amt held her clonat—'Ilftich, we
linin't loved one another enough, and
wc hnin't loved our children enough.
There’s that that's better'd money am 1
land, and for tho rest of otir livos we’ll
try and keep holt of iti’
“And I believe they dltL Tho little
hoy hail a feVer, but bo Cable out al
right at last. Miss Nyfer died about
five years after that, and ho took tin
family and Went bnck East. Of course.
I wouldn't linvo told this story Just ns 1
have if nny of ’em hail been around. ”
Tlio people had listened closely, nnd
when Mrs. Lockery put dn her bonnet
and resumed her seat tlio hush Wns so
profound that wo could hear, high above
our heads, tlio twittering clamor of n
nest of young tnnngers, to whom the
mother-bird bad brought a worm.
Tho next to address tho assembly wns
a noble-looking old mail with silvery-
whito linir. It was Mr. Luke Wilson,
>r'Squire Wilson, ns ho was generally
mlled. Ho had a firm, intellectual head,
nnd when ho spoke his lnugungo wns
correct nnd well snokeni
“Tho Widow Lockery,” ho begnn,
“has disclaimed all right to tho title ol
heroine. I)o not let tho verdiot be ren
dered till I linAro finished Wlint I am about
to rolnte. My friend and neighbor for
forty years will, I know, pardon mo if I
for once lift tlio voil from a passage of
lier experience to which she seldom nl-
ludes, and of which many in this ntidi-
cnco haVo ncVer henrd. Nothing lias
been told hero to-day, nothing could bo
told, moro strongly illustrative of the
eovrago nnd endurnnCo of the pioneer
spirit, at least of the spirit of ono brave
pioneer.
“Ono winter evening, many years
iigo ( a strnnger presented himself at the
cabin of Thomas and Ruth Lockery,
and begged it night's lodging; He WSl
a Canadian, completely tired out, and
far from well. Neither Lockery nor h ; s
wife had it in them to turn n sick stranger
from their door; so they gave him sup
per and a bed. Tho next day lio was
unntilo to fine, and before night he
broke out With small-pox.
“Tho following morning When I went
out to feed my cattle I happened to look
toward Lockery’s, and saw on a sharp
riso of ground, about half way between
the two houses, a woman standing nnd
beckoning to mo. It was my neighbor
here. I went toward her, but while I
was somo distance away she baited mo
and told mo in a few words about tho
mnii with tlio small-pox, and chnrgeii
mo to watch the road and warn the com
munity. She said she had been inocn-
lated, nnd would not take the disease,
hut sho feared for her husband and
•hildren. That dny I rode eleven miles
io tlio nearest doctor. His wife cried,
and would not let him go. He read his
UookB for nn hour, while my horse
rested, then ho mndo up a package of
medicines for mo nnd I started back. 1
left tho medicines and stimulants on the
scrub-oak hill, and Tom came and got
them.
“As Ruth had feared, her husband
and two children were taken down.
Several out of the nearer families then
offered to take all risks and help her
nurse her sick, but she firmly refused
their assistance.
“ ‘I can get along alone,’ she would
say from her post on tho hill. ‘The
. Lord gives mo strength for all I have to
do, and this horror must not spread.’
Everything sho needed was furnished
promptly and abundantly, and this is all
.she would suffer us to do. The stranger
bad the disease in its mildest form, bui
Lockery and tho little boys, Amos and
Willy, were hopelessly bad from the
first. Ono morning the poor woman
called to me that botli the children were
dead, and told mo to have two coffin-
brought to tho hill that evening nt dark.
George Giles and I dug a short, wide
grave at a spot on tho place where bIio
designated; and that night sho took
those coffins to her cabin, put her chil
dren into them, and buried them with
her own hands ! One morning, some
three weeks later,' as I went out of my
house just at daybreak, I saw Mrs. Lock
ery waiting on tho hill. She looked
changed and bent, and her hair was
loose and flying in the wind. I can se<
it all now. The sky was such a clear,
pale gray, and she looked so dnrk and
wild against it! I ran to my old post,
from which I had hailed her daily tor
weeks.
; ‘ ‘Thomas died at midnight,’ she
called. ‘ Make his coffin as light as pos
sible to have it strong enough.’
“Then I shouted back :
“ ‘ Ruth Lockery, you have dom
enough ! Giles aud I will come to-day
and bury your dead.’ At this she threw
up her arms aud uttered an awfn
cry.
“ ‘Don’t do it, for the love of God
I’ve gone through this all alone, that nc
other place need be desolated as mini
has been. Don’t let it be for nothing.
It shall not be for nothing! If man ot
woman dares to come near that awful
house, I’ll draw my rifle on them !'
“The Canadian was by this time well
enough to render her some assistance,
and together they coffined and buned
poor Tom. They drew the body on n
stone-sled over the snow, and laid it in th»
new grave beside the other. The next
day we saw a red flame shoot up through
the timber, oa4 W9 teev Ruth fired
her cnfiifl With all tho little effects i'
contatnfefl; . Thefo Wasn’t much, to hi
Riire—fibfnlhg that (mb Valued after whn 1
had gbno before. >V(j left a pound o
nlphiir and tWo suits of olothing on tli
hill by her, Ciders. The stranger go
into his fresh gn+tnetlts after Ruth hm'
smoked them well. Then 9no cut hi
hair short, nnd rubbed his head wit
ulphur till, she Raid afterward, sh
knew he’d carry tho scent into the liex
world with him. Ho took a gnu niul i.
pnlleh of provision* and wont away,
itotnisittg Roleftmly to enter ho humai.
labttation for dt least a motltb.
Tho Weather had turned Very mild-
it wns the last of March—and Mrs. Lock
ery begged Us not to ask her in for i-
little while longer, She built lierself i
wigWaffi Of polo* and hark; wo took
her some bedding, and (or three weeki
she lived out of doors. Then she changed
her olothing again and came among us,
pure enough, wo (nought, to mingli
with the angel* of heaven. Tho penpli
got together and built her another house
nnd furnished it with everything for libi
comfort. Sho lived nlono for yonra, a
brave, cheerful, aotivoly helpful life;
then she adopted a friendless babe,
whom she reared to womanhood, anil
who Is now well married, and give s t<
Mrs. Lockery in her ol l ago n child’s
lovo and duty."—Our Continent,
SLAVES OF ABSINTHE.
rite tlrnrflv lima llerainln* a Pararlie
Drlnk-lte Kitted* n ibe Brala.
[From tho Philadelphia Press.]
It Was six o’clock in tho morning. Tho
gray dawn Wn« beginning to brook and
from ono ond of Chestnut street to tho
other there resounded tlio clack, elnck
of opening shutters as a thin man lirnced
np lieforo tlio marble-topped lmr of a
drinking palace, aud iu a nervou* voico
asked for absinthe.
Eh ?” quoriod the couooctcr of mixed
beverages,
"Absinthe," replied tho ondaverous
individual, ns lie t'olt mcchnnionlly in
liis breeches pockets for the necessary
change.
How will yon have it ?” asked the
barkeeper in a honoyed voice.
"Washed, plenso, was tlio answer.
So the barkeeper reached un and
drew down from a shelf behind nim a
small delicatcly-shnped goblet, scarcely
larger than a big acorn, nnd bnlnncod it
in an Ofdinary-sizcd tumbler, into the
small tumbler lie pouted the nbsinthe.
Over tlio nbsiiitho lie poured sottio tmre
Sohuyikill wntcr, nllowing it to fall ar
tistically drop liy drop upon the hitter
drug Until the lurger goblet was half full
of the overrunning beverage. Then lie
deftly dtimped tho contents of tho smnll
goblot into tlio larger, shook tho com
bined contents rapidly with his trained
right hand and remarked obsequiously,
ns he passed it to the customer, "Here
yon are, sir.”
Next came the reporter, who asked
the barkeeper to tell him about tbo ob-
sinthe drinks, and the barkeeper opened
his mouth and said;
Well, people have been drinking ab
sinthe for now nigh going on to twenty
years in my recollection. I think,
though, tbnt the consumption has in
creased of late. The calls now-a-dnys
are mostly either for wnshed or frozen
absinthe, or for absinthe in cocktails.
Maybe you don’t know it, but it is n
splendid thing to brace up on after
you've been out all night. It steadies
the nerves a deal hotter than whisky or
brandy, and is a strong favorite witli old
topers."
“Do _yon thiuk the consumption is in
creasing I"
“Yes, hut ohiefly among tho dudes.
They call for it, but only sip a little at r.
time. As for the gonernl run of cus
tomers they don’t take to it any more
than thoy used to.”
“When is it most drunk?”
“Why, in tho morning and late at
night, of course. A few old soaks want
it always iu their cocktails; but they are
exceptions. ”
‘Do you supply it without being re
quested ?”
“Generally I sprinkle it in the cock
tails of the ‘regulars !’ They like the
flavor.
A DEADLY DRUG.
A physician was next called upon nnd
his views requested.
“Doctor," asked the reporter, "does
absinthe exert a specially evil offectupon
the system ?”
“Yon must know that absinthe is the
distilled essence of wormwood. Its ef
fects upon the sensibilities are similar
to those produced by eating opium. Tho
real effect upon tho brain is almost iden
tical with that of hasheesh. When
taken in excess it producer softening of
the brain. For a time it strengthens
the nerves, but this effect is soon lost,
nnd the latter, from having been subjeot
to a series of false stimulations, lapso
into that unstrung state which is sure to
tie speedily followed by the strongest
and most fatal attacks of mania-a-potu.
The miserable sufferer becomes attacked
with horrible desires. His brain softens
like putty, and he dies in agony,"
A Storm of Fishes.
NUMBER 28.
The Western Union.
A. H. Seyriirttir, a telegrapher, ghVe
(ho New York State b mat* Committee,
i history of tiro Consolidations ttliich lie
-aid lino fosiflted hi tho. estnlilishgtoht
of tho present Wen fern Union Telegraph
Company. First the two-Wif* Hric be
tween Buflajo and Milwaukee, belong
ing to (lie E*Va Cornell Compnny, was
bought for two millions in Western
Union Stock. It liad cost Jl W.OOO. In
1857 the Western Union nlisoriiea the
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville
Telegraph Company, whose lilies oost
about $b)0,000. Western Union at tho
same timo Increased its capital stock to
$5,000,000, adding 81,000,000. or more
than doublo the cost of tho pfojnjrtr ac
quired. Next it pnrehnsod a lino giving
access to'the seaboard through Pennsyl
vania and tho New York, Albany and
Buffalo lino, whosh shareholders re
ceived threo share* of the" Western
Union stock to on ft of thoir own. Next
tho Atlantic and Ohio tolegfaph line was
absorbed, which cost about.$200.()00 and
was capitalized at 8000,000. For this
8800,00(1 of Western Union stock wns
paid. Noxt the Western Union absorbed
eight small lines in Ohio. In 1803 tho
capital stock of tho Western Unltrft Wns
increased to 811.000,000, nt whioh time
tho plant had coHt 8‘2,‘250,000, and with-
• mt furthor expenditure for plant the
•npital stock wns increased to 822,000,-
000, by tho declaration of a 100 per
cent, scrip dividend. In 1805 the West
ern Union nhsorbed tho American and
United States Compnnlcs. In 1874 it
purchased tho Pnciflcnud Atlantic Com
pany, taking a lcoso of 99 years and
guaranteeing the stockholders of the
Pacific and Atlantic four per cent, inter
est oai two millions of capital, which war
really aliottt sixteen per cent, interest on
tlio actual cost of tho lines which had
never paid a dividend. The Southern
Atlantic line was tensed for 99 years, nnd
llvo per Cent, interest on 89,500,000 wns
guaranteed, while it* capital stock was
inly 8338,000, and its nc'tnal cost wns
iliont 8250,000. Tho Western Union in
1877 bought a controlling interest in the
Atlantic nnd Pacific Company, whiol.
was capitalized at fifteen millions, nnd
•-.ost about throo. To get the control,
tbo Western Union bought 72,600 shares
of the stock nt 825 n share, paid for with
12,50ft slmres of'Western Union stock
and 8912,600 in cash. In 1881 the com
pany absorbed tho Atlantic and Pacific
md tlio American Union, increasing its
capital stock by 838,970,59ft to 880,000,-
ftOO. It paid (in Western Union Stock)
ear for the 100,000 shares of American
Union stock and 85,000,000 for the like
imnunt in bonds. For Atlnntio and
I'licillo stock it pnul (50 per cent., or
•58,400,000 in all. The rest of the new
took was given to holders of the old
Western Union stock. Finally it ah
orbed tho Mutual Union Company.
Western Union's wholo plant could lie
i’.q roduced for 825,000,000, but it has
mid an eight per cent, dividend on $80,-
>00,000. Tho profits for 1882 were over
.even millions.
THE LABOR UNIONS.
r imercMIntf Mnlletlca Helntlva
to Them.
P. J. McGnire, general secretory ot
tho Brotherhood of Carpenters nnd
Joiners, was examined before the New
York State Senate Committee. He said
that there were twenty-four trades
union organizations in the United States,
aud sixteen of them publish newspapers
for tlio dissemination of information con
cerning the trades they represent. Ho
said that tho membership of tlio various
irgauizations wns about as follows :
Amlgamajod Stool and Iron Workers... 42,000
Coal miners ! 36,000
Cigar makers 18,000
Slioomakers 17,000
Typographical Union 15,000
Iron mouldors 14,000
I.ocomotivo engineers 12,000
Tolegraphors and linemen 12,000
Bricklayers and stouo masons 12,000
Firemen I 11,000
Carpontors 6,700
llailroad conductors 7,000
Glass workors 7,000
Lake seamon 7,500
Mulo spinnors 5,000
Granite outtorB 6,000
Bolter makers 4,200
Upholsterers 8,500
German telegraphers 8,000
Motal workors 2,000
Stationary engineers 2,700
i rnoss makers 1,500
Horse shoers 2,500
THE MERCURY.
PUBLISHED EVEBY TUESDAY
NOTICE.
jVAII eommunleatlona Intended tor thta
paper mast be sceompanled with the toll
name of the writer, Apt necessarily, tor publi
cation, bat ae a guarantee of good Adth.
We are la no way responsible tor the views
or opinions of correspondent*. ,j
A PHILADELPHIA HEROINE.
Ilew M
Armt
Washlaeten’s
rtlle Marsh.
The const ot Mexico, near Vera Cruz,
not long ago had a shower of fishes,
causing the utmost consternation. A
similar thing happened at San Luis Pe-
tosi. Superstitious people talked about
tho end of tho world. The fishes were a
species of sardine not familiar in the
neighborhoods. A shower years ago in
Wales was of a smnll fish known ns
sticklebacks, sprinkling tho ground over
,tn area of several square miles. They
wore alive whon tliey fell; yet if caught
up by a whirlwind from any of the brack
ish ponds near the sea, in which this
species of fish abounds, they must have
been conveyed through the air a distance
of thirty miles. TVie theory of sci ntists
is that the fishes are transported with
wonderful speed through the air to
the place of deposit. In India such a
shower is known to have taken place,
the fishes varying from a pound to a
pound and a half each.
Fishy.—A Mexioan shepherd who
tends flocks near Montemorelos avers
that when he returned from shelter, to
which a thunderstorm had driven him,
he found in the field a fish over five feet
long, which appa^ntty liftfi frQB>
Total 247,600
This estimate does not include the
Knight* of Labor, an organization,
whioh, ho stnted, does not make public
the extent of its membership. Tho low*
est wages are invariably paid in the un
organized industries. As an illustration
of this fact, Mr. McGuire stated that
there aro in Pennsylvania to-day 60,000
coal and iron miners who earn less than
8280 each, per year.
Two-thirds of all tho wealth in the
United States, tho witness asserted, is in
the hands of one-fifth of the people.
Within tlio city of New York there are
ono hundred men who have it in their
power to change the value of every piece
of property, every article of merchan
dise and every pound of food.
Mr. McGuire said that from tho in
formation he had gathered in extensive
travels in America and Europe, ho hail
come to the conclusion that the condi
tion of the workingmen in this country
is in many instances no better than that
of workmen abroad. There are four
measures, ho said, which, if adopted by
the government, would remove the more
serious hindrances to the advancement
of the working classes of the country.
These aro the legalization of trades-
unions, the establishment of a National
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the adop
tion and enforcement of a law limitiuga
day’s labor to eight hours, and tho pas
sage of an act. preventing the importa
tion of laborers under oontraot.
[From theThlTadelphi* Quarterly of 1827.]
Whrm the British army fesfiT posses
sion of Philadelphia General Howe’s
headquarters were in second street, the
fourth door below Bprnoo, in a house
which was ,before occupied ..by General
CadwaUnder. Dirfajtly Opposite re
sided William and Lydia Durr ah, mem
bers of the Society j of Friends. A su
perior officer of tho British army, be
lieved to be the Adjutant General, fixed
upon one of their chambers,, a back
room, for private eomferenek, aad two of
them frequently met there with fire and
candles, in close consultation. About the
second of December the Adjutant Gen
eral -told Lydia that the# 1 xfUtid be in
the room at seven o’clock ana remain
late, and that they'wished the family to
retire eArty trr bed, adding that when
they were going they would call her to
let them out and extinguish their fire
and candles. She accordingly sent all
tho family to bod; but ns the offioer had
been so particular her curioaitu was ex
cited. Sho took off her shoe* and pnt
her ear to tho keyhole of the conclave
and overheard an order read ftfr all the
British troops to march out late in tho
evening of the fourth and attack Gen
eral Washington's army, then encamped
at Whito Marsh, On hearing this she
returned to her eh amber aud laid down.
Soon after the offioofs knocked at the
door, but she arose only at tlio third
summons, having feigned herself asleep.
Her mind wns so much agitated that
from this moment she could neither eat
nor sloop, supposing it to be in her
power to save the lives of thousand*
of hor countrymen, but not knowing
how she was to convoy tho information
to General Washington, not daring to
confide it to her husband. time
left, however, was short. She quickly
determined to mitke her way ss soon ss
possible to the American outposts. She
m'ormed her family that ns she was in
wnut of flour she would go to Frnnkford
for some; her hnsliand insisted that sho
should take the maid servant with her,
but to his surpriso sho positively re
fused. Sho got access to General Howo
and solicited, what he readily granted, a
>nss through the British troops on the
incs. Leaving her bag at the mill sho
hastened toward the American lines and
encountered on tho way an American
lieutenant colonel (Oraigt of the light
horse, who, with some of his mon, wss
on the lookout for information. He
knew hor and inqnircd where she was
going, Sho answered in quest of her
s n, an offioer in tho American army,
and prayed to the colonel to alight and
walk with her. Ho did so. ordering his
troops to keep in sight. To him she dis-
clu- ed her secret, after having obtained
from him n solemn promise never to be
tray hor individuality, as hor life might
he at stake with the British,
Ho conducted her to a house near at
hand, directed something for her to eat
and hastened to headquarters, when ho
made General Washington acquainted
with what had occurred. Washington
made, of course, all preparations for baf
fling the meditated surprise. Lydia re
turned home with her flour, sat up alone
to watch the movements of the British
troops, heard their footsteps; but when
they returned in a few daya after did not
dare to ask a question, though solicitous
to learn the event. The nAxt evening
the Adjutant Genera) came in and re
quested her to walk np to hjs room, as
lie wished to put some questions. Sho
followed him in terror; but when he
locked the door and bogged lier with an
air of majesty to be seated, she was snro
she was either suspected or had been be
trayed, He inquired earnestly whether
any of her family were np the last night
he' and the other officer m#; she told
him that they all retired at eight o’clock.
He observed:—"I know you were asleep,
for £ knocked at your ohamber door
three times before you heard me; I am
entirely nt a loss to imagine who gave
General Washington information of oui
intended attack unless tho walls of the
house could speak. When we arrived
at White Marsh we found all their can
non mounted end the troops prepared to
receive ns, and we have marched book
like a parcel of fools.’'
By Wholesale.—The Bell Farming
Company’s farm is said to be the seconc
largest in the world. It is in the Qu’
Appello valley, Manitoba, and is about
fen miles square. The capital is 8600,
000, of which 35 per cent, has been ex
pended, and the stock is held entirely in
Canada and England. Last fall, before
the railroad reached there, the company
broke several hundred acres of land, and
added to it largely in the spring, now
having a growing crop of 1,000 (Wres of
wheat w41,800 of oatfe
Left the CombinnUffit.
The combinations ot persons bearing
the name ot somebody who died a cen
tury ago and who wonld have been very
rich by now if he had lived and retained
all of the property whiaft other people
fiavo made productive are not entitled to
much respect. They aro not formed, it
may be said, for the purpose of com
manding public respect, but for the pur
pose of obtaining money. Unfortu
nately, they fail in that also. If anybody
will tell us of anybody not a lawyer who
has been pecuniarily benefited by the
claim of the family to tho estate of somo
remote ancestor, enforced by meetings
of heirs and the other familiar proceed
ings the relation will be an* interesting
piece of news. Commodore William
Bradford Whiting, who has tost resigned
his share in the Bradford Union Asso
ciation, formed for the purpose of get
ting hold of 8122,000,0(K> which Gover
nor William Bradford might have pos
sessed if he had lived till this time^hn*
acted like a Kan of sense and honor.
He resigns from the association upon
the ground that its objects did not seem
to him attainable. Even were the chase
of tho wild goose to he conducted upon
the most sportsmanlike principles, it
cannot be recommended ns a produc
tive industry.
It m said by Mr. Eaton, of the Civil
Service Commission, that (the work of
preparing rules to govern' promotions in
the executive departments will probably
occupy the commission for some time
after its meeting in September. When
the rules shnll have been formulated
they will be submitted to the President
and the Cabinet for approval, as were
the rules governing examinations for ad
mission to the Department.
„
Dr. H. F. Hamilton says that *
least onoe a day girls should have their
halters taken off, the barest down, and
■he turned loose like youug,colts. “Cal
isthenics maybe very genwel, and romp
ing very ungenteel, but on^ is the shad
ow, the other tip? ^bs^ffnoe, of Jwtfltttflj]
flwroiw,"
j c SUmKm^-fC
V r i 4 .^1
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