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THE WEEKLY.
CONYERS, . . . . GA.
WEA VINO THE WEB.
•• This morn I will weave my web,” she said,
As she stood by the loom in the rosy light,
And her young eyes, hopefully glad and clear,
Followed afar the swallow’s flight.
“As soon as the day’s first tasks are done,
While yet I am fresh and strong,” said she,
“I will hasten to weave the beautiful web
Who.-,e pattern is known to none but me.
“I will weave it fine, I will weave it fair,
And ah ! how the colors will glow !” she said;
“fo fadeless and strong will 1 weave my web
That perhaps it will live after I am dead.”
But the morning hourB sped on apace;
The air grew sweet with the breath of June,
And young Love, hid by the waiting loom,
Tangled the threads as he hummed a tune.
“Ah ! life is so rich and full!" she cried,
“And morn is so short, though the days are
long!
This noon I will weave my beautiful web—
I will weave it carefully, fine and strong.”
But the sun rode high in the cloudless sky;
The burden anil heat of the day she bore;
And hither and thither she came and went,
While the loom stood still as it stood before.
“Ah ! life is too busy at noon,” she said;
“My web must wait till the even-tide,
Till the common work of the day is done,
And my heart grows calm in the silence
wide 1”
So, one by one, the hours passed on
Till the creeping shadows had longer grown
Til! the house was Btiil and the breezes slept,
And her singing birds to their nests had
flown.
“And now I will weave my web,” she said,
As she turned to her loom ere set of sun,
And laid her hands on the shining threads
To set them in order, one by one.
But hand was tired and heart was weak.
“I am not as strong as X was,” sighed she,
“But the pattern fs blurred,and the colors rare
Are not so blight or so fair to see !
“I must wait, I think, till another morn;
I must go to my rest with my work undone;
It is growing too dark to weave,” she cried,
As lower and lower sank the sun.
She dropped the shuttle, the loom stood still;
The weaver slept in the twilight gray,
Dear heart 1 Will she weave her beautiful web
In the golden light of a longer day?
Lip the Flue.
“You must have some rare experiences
to tell us, Mrs. Boswell,” said persua¬
sive Lieutenant Russel, while we waited
for the mail stage. “You have been at
this frontier post ever since Captain Bos¬
well was stationed here ?”
“Yes; we have been here eight years,”
she replied, with the rare smile that
glorified her face. “I have passed
through many trying ordeals here, but
I really think that I had an adventure in
the East, before I married the Captain,
equal to anything that I have experi¬
enced,” relate and oblige
“Well, will you it,
its?” urged Russel.
“Thank you,” said our, little hostess,
“I don’t mind.”
Three of us were sitting in an inner
appartment of the small frontier hostelry.
The barroom was packed with miners,
and we had chosen to have our suppers
served by ourselves, as we had ap¬
pointed to go on to Custer City in com¬
pany. “It in 18—," 6he began; “I had
was
just made the acquaintance of Captain
Boswell, as he, having somo business
matters to arrange with father, had
calli'd at our place several times. Fin¬
ally, there carpe a rare day closeted in autumn, tho
and he and father were
greater part of the day, overhauling
papers, memoranda, deeds and receipts.
My father at the time was doing a great
de’al of business as an attorney.
“At tea-time father said to me: ‘Bess,
you won’t mind an evening alone, so long
as Thomas is about, will you ?’
“I said no, for although committed there in were the
many robberies being private families in
neighboring cities,
the suburbs felt no fear. Our house was
a mile from the city proper, and half a
mile from neighbors either way.
44 4 We find,’ he continued, ‘that the
Captain has got to hunt up some more
papers concerning the estate before lie
can give Barron a satisfactory title.
We shall go to Judge Whitcomb’s office,
and our search may he so successful
that eleven o’clock will find us home
again. Still, we may be detained longer.
Shan’t I call and tell your Cousin Milly
to come down and spend the night with
you?’
Cl I No—yes,’ I contradictorily an¬
swered. ‘Do as you please; I am not
timid in the least, with Thomas about.’
“ ‘But Captain Boswell is going he to
leave five thousand dollars here until
returns.’
it i Does anyone know about the money ?’
it t Only ourselves.’
“ ‘Then I am not afraid. Besides, you
are likely to he back before graveyards
yawn and thieves do walk abroad.’
“Thomas brought the horse round,
and while father spoke to him I touched
the Captain's sleeve:
44 4 Where is yonr mouey left ?’
“ ‘In yonr father’s desk in the library.
Then he looked with a tender, inquiring
glance into my face (liow the little wo
man’s cheek flushed at the memory) and
said: ‘Little girl, if you are in the least
afraid we will not go to-night, although
it is absolutely necessary.’ I not
“I told him, honestly, that was
afraid. I never had that, strata of tim¬
_____ peculiar to woman
idity in and'so my make-up
kind; they rode away.
“I sang about my work as I put things
in shape around the room, and viewed
the brilliant sunset, without a fear or
care. ruau-of-ad-work. wnri
“Thomas, our new ...
was very busy grapevinesland pottering mulch
grounds, tying up i knew riu rt was som.
ing evergreens, aftermat up^n uie
r •
ooaxse put the
father was aoious to have on
trawherry beds, and seeing I nomas go
■ tied scan
np there • rttu his basket 1 a
over my head, took another basket and
went uu to help him.
*«Ab I passed up the hill I saw a man
in the highway speak to him. I hesita
ted about going on, but the man made
only a moment’s pause and then went
down the hill and was soon concealed by
a turn in the highway. Thomas?’ I in
*4 I Who was that,
quired. ‘Oh, miss, it from the
*‘ was a man
mills, saying that my brother has had a
bad fall on the dam and is heUowing for
me to come and see him. His legs are
broken entirely.’
44 4 What will you do ?’
“ ‘I told the man I could not come to
see him to-day—but if I went, miss, 1
would be sure to be back by 11 o’clock,
if not earlier. ’
“ ‘You may go, Thomas, if your
brother is hurt so bad. Papa will not
be away long.’ lady-’
“ ‘But, my young
“ ‘Never mind me in such a case as
this. ’ I always was very tender-hearted.
‘You may go, and 1 will run right back
to the house. ’
“He talked a few minutes more, was
profuse in his thanks for my kindness,
and then started down for the city. I
took up the two baskets and went sing¬
ing to the house.
“I sat an hour by the open window,
enjoying intensely this being alone, and
the quiet beauty of this cool autumn
evening. will wonder this,”
“Perhaps you at
and the dimples played around her pretty
mouth, “ but little birds were singing a
new song in my heart, and the quiet let
me hear the sweet echoes.
“But directly I chided myself for be¬
ing rather careless, as the road was a
thoroughfare, and a chance straggler
might surprise me. I arose, closed my
window, and obeying some strange, im¬
pressive power, I walked through the
hall into "the library, took my father’s
key from its accustomed place, unlocked
the desk, found the package of $5,000,
and, placing it in my bosom, relocked
the door and returned to the sitting
room. I did not light a lamp ; I bad no
need of a fire, as that from the kitchen
stove warmed the sitting-room suffici¬
ently in this mild weather.
“The house was old-fashioned, very,
with a fireplace in the sitting-room open¬
ing up into a chimney of capacity suf¬
ficient for a foundry stack. We had
cheerful open fires later on; but the
house being an ancestral pile was getting
somewhat dilapidated, and the partition
separating the flues in the large chim¬
ney had fallen in. Men had been sent
out to dear the rubbish and make re¬
pairs, but the work, half done, was
suspended on account of the arrival of
Captain Boswell and this important
business affair.
“I would have enjoyed immensely to
kindle a sparkling fire in the huge wide
fireplace, but as affairs were I could not.
So I mused in darkness for hours. 1
really took no heed of time, until footfall my
quick ear caught the sound of a
approaching, close up to the doorstep, 1
could have taken my oath. It was so
light an echo that I sprang to my feet,
thinking that my Cousin Milly, absent
when my father called, and returning
later, had come down to stay with me.
“1 sprang up with a smile to answer
her knock, albeit I was a bit jealous of
her pretty face; but no knock came, and
the echoes died out, and altogether I
concluded I had deceived myself in re¬
gard to them. Anyhow, I would light
the lamp. I did so, and was startled to
find it past 10 o’clock. I was sufficiently
aroused from my reverie to want a book
from the library shelves. I took up my
lamp and went singing into the room.
“I obtained the desired volume,
stepped down from the stool, and—
“If ever any one felt themselves dying
I did at that moment. My song died on
my lips, while a thousand thoughts
seemed to flash into my mind in one
instant. Involuntarily I gasped, anil
then with a strong effort of the will
power, for which I am famous, I took
up the song again and sang it to the
close.
“Among other things I remembered
that the lock was off the library door for
repairs. I remembered the lateness of
the hour and the probability that all the
people were in bed and asleep. I re¬
membered the footsteps in the dooryard,
and—there was a fresh, pungent smell of
tobacco-smoko in the room. A scent of
smoko that was not in the room when I
was there and placed the package of
money in my bosom.
“Do you wonder that my brain reeled
and my heart stopped beating for an in¬
stant ? Besides, whoever the robber was,
he would soon begin work, not knowing
how early my father and the Captain
might return. And I should be mur¬
dered. Somewhere within a few yards
or a few feet of me the robber assassin
was concealed—either in the recess be¬
hind the cabinet, or under the long,
draped, paper strewn table.
“A faint sound outside nearly made
me set down the lamp; still I had uncon¬
sciously left my first song and was sing¬
ing: *
‘For his bride a soldier ■won he.’ her,
And a winning tongue had
“I. knew that temporary salvation—
power and liberty to leave that room,
even—depended upon my appearing un¬
conscious of the robber’s proximity,
“I got out of the library and found
myself in the sitting-room. A hasty
glance at the door showed the key ab¬
sent from the lock.
“Treachery ! revelation
“I wonder that this new
did not suffocate me. The man on the
highway—the injured brother—Thomas
had betrayed us. He had overheard
about the money. A robber was in the
house and another was outside. My
.retreat would he cut off. How thoughts
ran riot through my mind ! How would
•they kill me? Would I suffer long?
At this instant I was sure that I heard a
fail! t creak of the library door at the far
end of the long hall.
“One swift, despairing glance around
me, one wild idea of escape, aud I extin¬
guished the light upon the table, and,
crouching iu the fire-place I rested one
foot upon the andiron, and swung out
the iron crane, stepped the other foot
upon the strong support and rose up
^ flue Somet ] lil)g touched my
head. Thank God! It was the rope
^ wb}ch the dislodged bricks had
j- oiste d out _ Grasping this care
fuljy with my hands I held myself like a
^ edge in the opening. If I had envied
j ftr g (> noble-looking women before, I
nmv had rc -ason to be thankful for my
diminutive form and ninety odd pounds
’of avoirdupois.
“I had little time, however, to thmk
0 f anything except the imminent danger
c ,f knocking down a fragment of brick or
mortar, anil thus discovering my hiding
place, for the clock began with sonorous
penis to strike eleven. Under cover of
its echoes there were bolt quick, soft the steps
in the hall, and the of outer
door was withdrawn. The huge flue
must have acted like a telephone, for I
heard every sound with fearful distinct
ness. First there was a pause by the
door of the sitting room, then breathing
in it, then whispering. distinctly, when he
“I heard Thomas
said:
“ ‘She isn’t here; she’s gone to bed;
hue the money is in the library.’
“ ‘Be cautious,’ advised a strange
voice, ‘and we may not have to hurt
her.’
“They carefully retreated, and my
heart struck off the seconds against my
ribs in a way that was suffocating, for I
knew that their search would soon be
over, and what then ?
“In less than five minutes they were
whispering in the room again.
“ ‘Confound her!’ aspirated Thomas,
‘she took the money with her.’
“ ‘Then we’ll have it if ’
“The pause meant all that words could
convey.
“The cold sweat was coming out of
every pore of my body. The dust of
the creosote had penetrated my month
and nostrils, and I had to take one
hand from the rope in their absence and
place a finger upon my lips to prevent
sneezing.
“ ‘Come hurry,’ was the angry watch¬
word exchanged between them, ascend- and I
heard the stairs creaking as they
ed to my chamber. Thomas was famil¬
iar with all the house.
“Why did I not drop down and escape
outside ?
“First, then, they had locked the out¬
er door and withdrawn the key to pre¬
vent a surprise from without. Second,
there might be a third confederate out¬
side. But the most important reason
of all was, it seemed to me, that I never
could get out of the aperture that had
allowed me entrance into the chimney.
I ran the risk of discovery and death in
any case.
“Oh, why did not my father and his
companion return ? It might be hours
first.
“They had found me absent from my
chamber and the adjoining rooms. They
no longer used extreme caution. They
hurried from one apartment to the other.
I could feel the jar of moving furniture,
and closet doors were opened hastily.
The upper part of the house was ran¬
sacked," and then they came down stairs
upon the run. Time was precious to
them now. With direful oaths they
rummaged the lower floors, and finally
returned to the sitting-room.
“ ‘I saw the light here last,’ said
Thomas, moving with his lamp across
the room, ‘and here is the lamp on the
table. ’
“ ‘She must have got out.’
(4 4 No; I watched for her, and every
window is fastened on the inside. ’ Then
he continued ; ‘Curse her! Bhe’s a
witch!’ and baffled they stood and
poured oaths after me, ‘I’d like to catch
her now.’ How he ground it out between
his teeth.
44 4 Shall we search more !’
“ ‘It’s no use; we’ve turned over
everything under which a mouse could
hide. ’
“ ‘What, then ? Shall we waylay the
old man and fix him?”
“ ‘They haven’t the money; it was left
here.’ •
“ ‘The cellar,’ suggested dashed the out voice. only to
“Once more they for there
return in hot haste now; was
the trot and rumble of a horse and car¬
riage on the bridge between us and the
city. urged the stranger, ‘trump
“‘Stay,’ kind of story, and
up some a we may
secure the money yet.’ Thomas, ‘but
“‘I would,’ returned
the girl’s a witch, and I am just as sure
that she is somewhere near us all the
time, and would hand me over to jus¬
tice’— and
“There was a scamper outside,
the sound of feet running toward the
river came down the wide mouth at the
top of the chimney. Father and Cap¬
tain Boswell drove into the yard aud up
to the door, just as the clock struck 12.
“ ‘Thomas 1” called mv father, in his
ringing tones, ‘come and take care of the
horse.’ usual
“Receiving no response from his
punctual factotum, he sprang up the
stops, and uttered an exclamation of
horror at finding the door open.
44 4 Boswell,’ said he, ‘we certainly saw
a light here when we came down the hill.’
44 4 Quick, Jason,’ said the captain,
‘there has been foul play here.’
“‘Foul play? My God! my poor
little girl.’
“ ‘Father.’ I strove to call, hut the
first attempt, choked in dust and soot,
ended in a hysterical cough. it?’
“‘Where is that? What is
called my distracted father, and both
men dashed for the library.
“I now strove to descend, but the
movement brought down bushels
of mortar and broken bricks from all
sides, and closed up the flue. I be¬
thought me of the rope, and by sticking
my toes in here and there I went up the
chimney hand over hand.
“Agile as a cat, when Y reached the
top of the low chimney I sprang down
upon the roof and began calling loudly
r father.
“You should have heard them run
through the house and halloo before
they located my voice. At last the
captain came out of doors.
44 4 Will you get me a ladder, please,’
said I. ‘I want to get down from here.’
“‘A ladder, Jason,’shouted tho cap¬
tain, ‘the little girl is on the roof.’
,,. For the love of heaven, girl, how
came yon there?’ said my father, as I
lauded upon the ground and began shak¬
ing the soot from my clothes.
“ ‘I went up there through the chim
nev, papa. But you had better put np
the horse—yon will have to groom him
yourself to-night—and then I will tell
all about it. ’
you “The Captain led into the house,
me
for I was trembling violently.
tt i Now,’ said father, being absent only
a moment or two, without letting mo
have time to mop the smut from my i'aco
aud hands; ‘now tell us what this means
—my little girl climbing the ridgepole
like a cat at midnight ?*
“in a few moments matters were ex¬
plained. the villain!’ ejaculated
“‘Thomas, if I have
my father; ‘I’ll have him to
bunt tbe two continents for him, and he
shall have his deserts.’
“He kept his word. • Thomas got a
term in the State prison. Lis
“When I gave the Captain money
I should have burst out into hysterical
sobbing only I remembered the soot in
time to prevent shading myself in
black crayon; and Captain Boswell be¬
lieved that stature and bulk were not al¬
ways certificates of the best materials,
and”
“And,” finished Dan, our jester, “it
may be said, Mrs. Boswell, that you ac¬
tually flue to his arms.”
She smiled and bowed as the sonor¬
ous tones of the driver came in among
As:
“Stage ready, gentlemen.”
Hunting a Wolf on Snow Shoes.
Here is an occurrence that took place
in the highest part of Norway: A
Finn, who was herder to a large num¬
ber of reindeer, had lost some of his
master’s deer by the attacks of a big
wolf, which one day caught one belong¬
ing to himself. The deer taken by tlie
wolf was the best one belonging to this
man—his pride and joy, so lie swore
that tlie wolf should pay for it with his
life, and, knowing that it would soon
come hack for another meal, he kept on
the Avatcli with a gun, accompanied by
another deer-herder, Loth in their usual
skin dresses and on snow r -skates.
The wolf duly came and the hunt
commenced, at first over a plain, where
the animal gained a little ground, then
up hill a little, so that it had still
greater advantages; but as tlie descent
commenced the Finn gained, his com¬
panion being not quite so quick. Un¬
fortunately, the descent was not long
enough for the shepherd to get near
enough to shoot, and a long plain lay
before them, so lie threw his skin cloak
away, and was thus able to increase his
speed; but, as he still felt that the wolf
had a chance of escaping, he also
dropped would his rifle, knowing that his com¬
panion pick it up.
This enabled him to get nearer to the
thief, and, as tlie ground again began
to be on the descent, he was sure of his
prey. In the middle of the falling
ground he overtook the wolf, and, while
passing it, lifted liis staff and gave it
such a heavy stroke on the back that the
animal at once fell exhausted, and was
dispatched with his dagger. The story
is quite true, and shows whit skill in
snow-skate running is possessed by the
Finns, and how little they fear a single
wolf.
The Intelligence of Plants.
Climbing plants, in all their move¬
ments, manifest a degree of intelligence
as marked and subtle as do plants iu
search for food. Plants are said to be¬
come climbers in order, as it may be
presumed, to reach the light, and to ex¬
pose a larger surface of tlieir leaves to
its action, and to that of the free air—
an arrangement classed with the various
economies of nature. We accept the
supposition with indifference, because
we cannot, from any real kuowleilg ■ we
have on the subject, say why some
plants climb and others creep, trail or
grow strong and erect anymore than
we can say why some men were born
black, others whit \ The why and
wherefore of the various forms or colors
is not the subject under consideration;
it is what they do, and how they do it,
that now interests us. Climbing plants
differ materially in their mode of ope¬
rations; some climb by their leaves,
some by means of tendrils, some by
their stems, and others by what are
known as adventitious roots, such as tho
ivy, bignonia, etc., etc. Each genus
lias a method of its own to which it
adheres with the greatest tenacity.
The growth of any climbing plant
depends largely upon its means
of support; when proper, ones
are furnished, its growth is will rapid and
vigorous. If it has none, it try to
invent one of its own; failing in this, it
will throw out branches from every
joint, and assume a half-shrubby form,
with but little vigor. In looking for an
object to fasten itself to, either leaf,
tendril or stem may be seen to bend to
one side and to "travel slowly round
toward all points of the c ompass, mov¬
ing usually like the hands of a watch
with tlie sun; during the day these rev¬
olutions are performed, until on tlie an average, has
every two hours, part
found a support. It is very interesting
to watch the movements of tlie various
classes of climbing plants, as some of
them not only show remarkable intelli¬
gence, but a degree of independence
and perseverance worthy of imitation.
The moment any climbing plant finds a
support, it grasps it, and makes one
turn round it in an incredibly short
time, apparently in order to establish
its claim. Most plants are not very
particular in their selection of a support,
hut take the most convenient object.
Others will only take just such an one
as suits them; conspicuous in this class
is the maurandya. Here we will re¬
mark that if you excite any leaf, tendril,
or vine seeking support by touching or
rubbing the part with a small stick, it
will, within a few minutes, change its
position as though it had secured a
home.
Looks Just Like It.
A lawver of Cohoes, being before a
•ourt in Kingston, N. Y.. kind the other day,
was privately asked what of a place
Cohoes was, when he returned the fob
lowing answer: “I will explain it by
telling you a little story. One time a
Cohoes woman was in Kingston, which and she
went to an exhibition was a pan¬
orama show. One of the pictures shown
was intended to represent chaos, and
the word ‘chaos’ was written below the
picture. Tlie Cohoes woman was 5 little
near-sighted, and seeing the word chaos,
took a look at the picture, and then re¬
marked to her companion, ‘Why, ” it’s
Cohoes, and looks just like it, too.'
“I telii you," said the bad boy, con¬
fidentially, to a group of youthful
friends, “my mother may seem small—
don’t believe she’d weigh more than i
do, in her stocking feet—but her slip¬
pers are heavy, you bet I”
A REMARKABLE SPRING.
HOW ITS PECULIAR PROPERTIES
WERE DISCOVERED.
Water That Has I’ertifySna: Properties
Found in California.
rFrom the San Fx-aneisco Chronicle.]
In Livermoore Pass, Alameda county,
on the old road from Haywards and
San Jose to Mount Diablv, stands the
Mountain House. The region round
about has a celebrity as havipg been
the rendezvous of a gang of Mexican
desperadoes of the worst stamp. Its
proprietor, Mr. Zimmerman, a veteran
of the Mexican war, is well known by all
of the pioneers and travelers of that
section, among whom his linguistic abil¬
ities and his skill as raconteur have
rendered him a general favorite. But
circumstances have made him the pos¬
sessor of a secret which surpasses
any of his tales of foreign travel, and
wdiich is likely to prove a bonanza to
him. Within a comparatively recent
date an artesian well w r as sunk upon his
grounds, with a result to challenge
amazement. Tlie water was desired for
irrigating purposes, and one morning
after all the work about it had been
completed, Mr. Zimmerman went out
to survey this new addition to his prop¬
erty. He observed that through the
carelessness of some one the water had
been permitted to run during the night.
Highly indignant at wasted the sight of so
mueli water being by negligent
workmen, he gazed upon a pool of it
near the overflowing trough with grow¬
ing rage. In the pool of water the irate
eyes of Mr. Zimmerman detected several
large potatoes lying where they had
been dropped on the way to the kitchen.
Naturally of a provident disposition,
this discovery increased his disgust for
the wastefulness of the gathered employees, and,
stooping down, he the scat¬
tered vegetables into his hand. By an
involuntary impulse ho attempted to
press off one of the “spud’s” eyes. It
was impossible to do Mr. so, and on examin¬
ing it more closely radical Zimmerman at
once saw that a change in the
nature of the potato had taken place.
It could no longer be classified with the
vegetable, but with the mineral king¬
dom. The potato, in fact all the pota¬
toes he had picked out of the pool, were
completely petrified, but quite unlike the
potatoes petrified through being carried
in the pockets of rheumatic people,
each one retained its size and outward
appearance. When broken in bits by
repeated blows of a heavy similar »ax they ex¬
hibited a stonv fracture in looks
to that of fossil wood. Thereupon, as a
natural result, this discovery followed a
series of interesting strengthened experiments, each
of which the feeling of
thankfulness in Mr. Zimmerman’s
breast that he had not used the well
water for drinking purposes; also that
the discovery had been made in time to
prevent the destruction of his garden
and orchard from irrigation with this
peculiar fluid. As a preliminary to this
experiment he built an airtight structure
of one room. Within this was a zinc
tub, connected with pipes leading from
the well. In this receptacle have been
placed small fowl, dogs and cats. These
animals after being immersed for three
or four days continuously, became per¬
fectly rigid and would stand alone. The
enthuiastic proprietor is convinced that
they will so remain during all time. At
any rate he has fitted up an apartment
with glass cases, in which he has pre¬
served his specimens. For some time
the wonderful properties few, of this spring
have been known to a but the facts
leaked out a few days ago through the
misdirected zeal of one of the initiated.
As might be supposed, there is a move¬
ment afoot to organize a stock company
with simple capital enough to make this
bonanza artesian well yield its benefits.
Preparations are now being made to pet¬
rify human bodies which after a certain
length of immersion in this spring shall
be as stone statues. It is an idea of the
company that bodies may be utilized as
statues for drawing rooms, parks and
gardens or with arms extended for torch¬
lights or gas jets on street corners. It
may be a trifle hard to induce conserva¬
tives to fall in with the plan, but an at¬
tempt will be made.
An Immense Farm.
A correspondent of the Loudon Tele
(/raph who went to the Yellowstone
Park recently, was astonished in Dakota. by the
big farms which he saw He
wrote:
The particular farm we inspected was
twelve miles square. It was one vast
field of wheat; no division of any kind¬
appearing except roads for wagons anil
horses. On the morning we visited it
the harvesters were to commence reap¬
ing and one hundred machines waited
our arrival as a signal to begin. What a
sight! Two Scotch farmers who were
with us were simply amazed. While the
harvest lasts there are transported over
the Northern Pacific line to Buffalo, as
the objective point, by way of Dulutli,
frem 25,000 to 30,000 bushels daily,
employing some thirty-five to fifty rail¬
way cars. It was estimated that this
year the yield would he about twenty
bushels per acre, but, if a careful sys¬
tem of farming were pursued—anything
like thorough English calculation—the
outcome would he thirty bushels. The
top soil was eighteen inches to two feet
of the finest loam, absolutely free from
grit or stones of any kind. The sub¬
soil is- peat, retaining moisture all the
year round.
Japanese j ", Progress.
A resident of Japan, in a recent let
ter, says that the country is not making
so much progress as is generally sup
posed. The change is mostly on tlie
surface. There are professions nations, of re
gard for the people of other
hut the late Satsuma rebellion was a
formidable outbreak of the anti-for
eign sentiment. The edicts against
Christianity have never been abolished,
The people really have a contempt for
foreigners, and the Government is fast
discharging those of that class in its
employ, and the number at present is
very small, home of the leaders of
public opinion believe that, with for a few
iron-elads and torpedo-boats a navy, the
Japan will take its place among
great nations of tho earth, and be prac
tically independent of Western civiliza
tioo.
Webster ami the Boy.
Daniel Webster was a man of
OUS impulses, which lie freely LluW^
m, no matter how costly the
might prove. The following a,
which, as a correspondent savs I”
been heard bv few, illustrates +i f las
acteristic of the g^eat state™ ^ ,
Having a fine carriage that needed
pairing, he sent tosuperSK”^ it to a slim, e '
house.. Wishing ,. ,
he makers frequently to see called that the at the renal clrial’ 8
done as he wished, and sometimes ad!
suggestions to the workmen. n de
At one of these visits a little fellow
was pamt; giving Mr. the Webster carriage its fir st ,111
about lus work, ofiering spoke to the fln-I bov
lnnts. But the bashful two or dfs
concerted by lad was so Ie
the fact that '
man addressing the ll at
was him that
dropped the pot of priming. The lead
sE&cr °™' ““ «
A prenti.-e lad in those days received
no money and but scanty clothiim The
boys t lought lace ot wearing showed lus his disfigured dismay at th!
ments. gar
Mr. Webster, taking in the situation
at once, said to the b ,Vs employer;
Mr. R I wish you would let this'lad
come with me for a few minutes ” Then
addressing “Come, the hoy, ; said;
my bo y put on your cap and
follow me.”
The blushing lad followed the great
man to the shop of a neighboring"tail
or. “Mr. Brown,” said Mr. Web -ter to
the man of tlie shears,” I wish
measure this lad for a suit of clothes
Let the material be good, and get them
ready as soon as possible, and send the
bill to me. While you are about it. nut
in a cap and a couple of shirts.”
“Now, my lad,” said Mr. Webster
turning to the astonished bov, Tun
back to your work. You will probably
meet me often and will know me. But
I shall not remember you, as the years
will change your appearance, But
remember to speak to me when you
meet me. I shall always be glad to see
you.”
“From that day I was an out-and-out
Webster man,” adds the boy—now an
old man—whenever he tells tlie story.
The freckled-faced boy outgrew his
suit of clothes and became a man of
noble physique and handsome features.
One day lie was in the vicinity of Marsh¬
field, and, being dressed in his best
suit, thought he would call on Mr.
Webster.
Acting upon the impulse, lie soon
found himself crossing the marshy lands
near the statesman’s home. A roughly
dressed man was wading in a shallow
pool, with a gun on his shoulder.
“Hallo!” shouted the young man;
“can you tell, sir, where I can find Mr.
Webster?”
“Wait a minute and I’ll come to you,”
was tlie reply..
As the gunner drew near, the youth
saw that it was Mr. Webster himself.
It was not, however, until he had told
the story of the new clothes that Mr.
Webster recognized in the young man
the boy to whom he had been so gener¬
ous. Then, extending his hand, lie
said:
“Well, sir, I am heartily glad to sea
you. Where have you been during all
these years? Come np to the house
aud I will get off this rig and have a
chat'with you.”
The invitation was accepted, and
when, after a long call, tlie youth left
Marshfield, he was a stronger friend of
Daniel Webster than ever.— Youth’s
Companion.
Tlie English Language.
Fifty years ago a knowledge of the
French language was indispensable to
travelers on the continent. It was tlie
language of European society, and all
who laid claim to culture thought it as
necessary to speak French as tlieir na¬
tive tongue. English was then re¬
garded as an insular language, and ig
norance of its literature involved no
discredit. The tables are rapidly supplant turn¬
ing, and English bids fair to
French as the popular tongue of
Europe, and even tlie world, A Rus
sian priest, Father Dillgentsky, who
has been making a journey round tbe
world, says: glorious future. It is
“English has a the universal lan¬
bound to become
guage of science, trades and industry.
There have been three great epochs talked in
which all the educated men
Greek, Latin and French, respectively. epoch of
“Now we are entering the
English. The Greek was too limited,
both in area and age. The Latin world
was larger than the Greek, hut its field
—politics—was too narrow. The French
era was diplomatic. Now the EngL-h,
or Anglo-American epoch, will embrace
tlie world. The English-speaking higher poli¬ na
tions lead the world in the
tics, and in industry and trade; and
they are unsurpassed by any nation m
scientific, religious or philosophical
thought.
Government Wit.
The following is the formal report of
a yonng pension examiner, presented m
all seriousness, on a pension claim
need not he stated that tlie letter entw
of the division returned it with instruc¬
tions to the writer:
Sm: In tbe Jacob claim Fresh, for invalid 3d independent l ,ei P 1 “ 1, ’ 0 ,.f;
389,963, of J P' AitU
cavalry volunteers, the hand-to-han c a ! m M
he was engaged in July'2? a ^ ^
Huttonrifle 1 1863, and that, write
m said tight, he was cut in the right
shot, in the left arm and leg. r
inadmissibie without ^ is therefore
.*,!?Si* wUh’the return of this letter, to
ptiiVe, under with oath, his what saber; caused wha.Ki^^ hiinmj a
into a fight it he 8
saber was * ]i a nd tight with
lie' liad hands; present whether there
w ;, rc any witnesses managed ® ,j\
fighting fight;how with ne his sa er\ v saber as a
believes t i ie
whether he wither shot it; hov it ^otany^f tlie
who fired the first siio whether ^
fired; , ^ gal)er .
“ “ever SneAe^onghtlt other and sab v-betber
, had fought any
should be shown by sbo “ I or the
whether the soldier should also be
saber Aot the so '^^ a distance o
handles 0 was '- ivt
apart or the saber -
__
^ very respectfully.