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Leary Courie -. r» •
LEAKY, GEORGIA.
Webster aud the Boy.
Daniel Webster was a man of gener¬
ous impulses, which he freely indulged
in, no matter how costly the indulgence
might prove. The following anecdote,
which, as a correspondent says, lias
been heard by few, illustrates this char¬
acteristic of fine the carriage great statesman. that needed
H iving a re¬
pairing. lie sput it to a shop near his
house. Wishing to supervise the work,
he frequently called at the carriage-
maker's to see that the repairs were
done as he wished, and sometimes made
suggestion* to the workmen.
At one'Of these visits a little fellow
was giving the carriage its first coat of
paint. Mr. Webster spoke to the boy
■about his work, offering two or three
hint-. Bnt the bashful lad was so dis¬
cern tod by the fact that the groat
man was addressing him that lie
dropped the pot of priming. The lead-
colored mass ran over his clothes and
ruined them.
A ‘pri.nti lad in those days received
no money and but scanty clothing. The
boy * face showed his dismay at the
thought of wearing his disfigured gar¬
ni'
b Webstar, taking in the situation
«! mn said to the boy’s let employer, lad
“Mr. J!., I wish you would this
itfa mo for a few minutes. ” Then
conic
addres ing the liny, said :
“Come, my bov, put on vour cap and
follow rne.”
Die blushing lad followed the great
imt to the shop of a neighboring tail¬
or. “Mr. Brown,” said Mr. Webster to
<1. rn, .'•n of the shears, ” I wish you to
Iih-i iro this lad for a suit of clothes.
Let the material be good, and get them
xca i as soon as possible, and send it, put the
bill to mo. While you are about
in a cap and a couple of shirts.”
‘ “N w, day lad,” said Mr. Webster,
turning to the astonisl^ed Yuli will boy, probably “mu
buck to your work.
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 rne when you
meet me. I shall always bo glad to see
yon.” that day I out-and-out
“I rom was an
Webster man,” adds the boy—now an
old man—whenever he tells the story.
1 he freckled faced boy outgrew his
euit of clothes and became a man
noble physique in and jtiapdsome vicinity of features. Marsh¬
One day lie was the
field, and, being dressed in his
unit, 1 bought lie would call on Mr.
Webster.
Acting upon the impulse, I 10 soon
found himself crossing the marshy lands
near tire 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 tho reply. tho youth
As the gunner drew near,
saw tnat it was Mr. Webster himself.
It \Y&: not, however, until ho hod told
the story of the now clothes that Mr.
Webster recognized iu the young man
tho boy to whom he had been so gener¬
ous. Then, extending his hand, ho
Bftid:
“Well, sir, I am heartily been glad during to see all
you. Where have you
those years? Como up to the house
ftml I will get off this rig and have a
chat with you.”
The invitation was accepted, and
when, after a long call, the youth left
Marshfield, ho was a stronger friend of
Daniel Webster than ever,— Youth's
Com 1 anion.
The Value of Boiled Water,
-
' t Y S , • . ., °w$r .
_______
; ■/.' M !' “ Mattieu Will
•
called . , attention to the danger of
drinking water full of organic
t!cs. Such water, lie says,
nutriment to those microscopic
alums, the inieroeoeci, bacilli, bacteria,
<?tc., which rife now shown to be
Hooted with
do the whole of the poisoning business,
These little posts are harmless,
probably nutritious, when cooked,
in the nriv and wriggling state people arc
ribh prolife in the blood of
are in certain states of what is
“receptivity.” They (the bacteria,
nobody can bo quite sure to
class he belongs, or may
belong, or whether the water
to his household js free from
poisoning organisms, cooked water is
safer beverage than raw water
Refleetiug on this subject, says Mr.
Williams, I have been struck with
curious fact that has hitherto
notice, viz., that in the country
over all others combines a very
reiSnefM rzr ordu,a ^ 11 dnnk
, , " mV tlavoved ,
, f he ! e 1 f° 1 l Ie
th Clu e e seem, m ■ , fact, to
.
ieen t e inventors of
beverages. Judging from travelers
counts of the state of the rivers,
lets and general drainage and
tion arrangements in China, its
tion could scarcely have reached
present density if Chinamen were
ers of raw instead of cooked water.”
Harpee’s Weekly relates the story
♦hat when, last spring, Bishop Williams
(of Connecticut) and his clergy desired
to honor the anniversary of the meeting
of clergy which dispatched Seabury to
England in quest of informally episcopal orders, in the
they wished to meet
same room of tee old house at Wood¬
bury, now occupied by an ancient dame.
might The old lady, when of asked the if the for clergy
iiave the use room a re¬
union and 6 npper, replied, after I’m some
hesitation: “Well, I dunuo. op¬
posed to dancin’. They can come if
they won’t dance.”
WEA VINO THE WEB.
•This morn I will weave my web,” abc said,
As she stood by the loom in the rosy light,
And hor 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
Whose 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;
“f-'o fadeless and strong will I weave my web
'Jhat perhaps it will live after I am dead.”
But the morning hours sped on apace:
The air grew sweet with the breath of June,
And young Love, hid by the waiting loom, j
Tangled the threads as he hummed a tune.
“Ah! life is so rich and full!” she cried,
“Aud morn is so short, though the days are
long!
This noon I will weave roy beautiful web—
I will weave it carefully, fine and strong.”
But the sun rode high in the cloudless sky;
The burden and heat of the day she bore;
And hither and thither she came and went,
While the loom stood etiil 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,
Aud my heart grows calm in the silesce
wide!”
So, one by one, the hours passed on
Till the creeping shadows had longer grown
Till the house was still and the brecaes slept,
Aud her singing birds to their uosta had
flown.
“And now I will weave my web,” she said,
As she turned to her loom ere set of hub,
And laid her hands on the shining threads
To set them in outer, one by one.
But hand was tired and heart was wi ak.
“I am not as strong as I was,” sighed she,
“But the pattern is blurred.and the colors rare
Arc 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 criwl,
As lower and lower sank the sun.
She dropped the shuttle, the loom stood still;
The weaver slept in the twilight gray,
Dear heart! Will she weave hor beautiful wek
In the golden light of a longer day?
Up the Flue.
.,,, You t , have . .
mus some rare experiences
to tell ns, Mrs. Boswell, said persua-
save Lieutenant Russel, while we waited
for the mail stage. You havo been at
^ U * r ° nb ® 1 ’ P oi,t ®vev «mce Captain Bos-
well n wfe stationed here ?
lu:\c been here eight years,
glorified’her i "face tb 0 «H^avTlUsMl
term I really nil thinkteat many t W I had ordenls an id ventured hcre lm
the East, before I married the Captain,
equal to anything that I have experi- 1
diced ' ” aud
“Well, will vou relate it, 8
u«?” nrr/ed Russel
“Thank you,” said our little hostess,
“I don’t mind "
Three of us were sitting in an inner
appartmentof the small frontier hostelry.
The barroom was packed have With miners,
and we had chosen to onr suppera
served by ourselves, as we had col ap-
pointed to go on to Custer City in
“it was in 18-,” she began; “I had
just, piade the acquaintance of Captain
Boswell, ns he, having some business
matters to arrange with father, had
called at our place several times. Fin-
ally, there cine a .arc day in autumn,
and lie and father were closeted the
papers, m—tdJS doing amuSpte
My father at the time was a great
deal of business as an attorney.
“At. tea-time father said to me; ‘Bess,
you won't mind an evening alone, so long 8
as Thomas is about, will you ?’
“I said no, for although committed there were
mnnv robberies being in the
neighboring cities, private families in
the suburbs felt no fear. Our house was
a mile from t ho oily proper, and half a
mile from neighbors continued either way ,‘that
“‘We find,’ lie the
0 fl I ,tftin hns B ot t0 lumt «P «ome more
papers concerning the estate before ho
Cftn give Barron a Whitcomb's satisfactory office’ titV
We shall go search to Judge be successful
and onr may so
that eleven o’clock will find us home
again. Still, we may be detained longer
Shan’t I call and tell vour Cousin
to come down and spend the night ’ with
yon?’ '
„ ,vt , 1 t coli,riu . ,. hctorily an-
y 1 ' 8 ’ rfewe; I not
^°? ad - * ^ r as you am
o'Mm/rJZn obon p
i r oten!s , v Aiv, <{ l !‘ "Y J i' o" ' S , ° ls ie 8 U1:hl 0i, 'R lie <o
r ’
are likely to be 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-
<■ ‘Where „ y0 ur money left ’’
“ ‘In your father’s desk'in the library.
Then he looked with a tender, inquiring ‘ ”
8 , laa fe mtomv . , faee , (how tee „ little , wo-
“Ti Pi ’a * ^ memory) and
YYri ,r a ; 1 v you ore iu the least
“I told him, honestly that I was not
afraid. I never had that strata of tun-
’ di Y' bl my make-up peculiar to woman-
kind; and so they rode away.
“I sang about my work as I put things
in shape around the room, aud viewed
the brilliant sunset, without a fear or
care,
“Thomas, our new man-of-all-work,
was very busy pottering about the
grounds, tying up grapevines and mulch¬
ing evergreens. I knew there was some
coarse aftermath upon the hill that
father was anxious to have put on tee
strawberry beds aud seeing Thomas go
up t&ere with his basket 1 tied a scart
over my head, took another basket and
went up to help him.
“As 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 momeut’s pause and then went
down the hill and was soon concealed by
a turn iu the highway. Thomas?’ I in-
H < Who was that,
quired. Oh, miss, it from tho
• ( < was a man
mills, saying that my brother has had a
bad fall on the dam and is bellowing for
me to come and see him. His legs are
broken entirely.’ will do?’
n f Wimt you
“ ‘I told the man I conld not come to
see him to-day—but if I went, miss, I
would 1 x 5 sure to be back by 11 o’clock,
if not earlier. ’
“ ‘Yon may go, Thomas, if your
brother is hurt so bad. Papa will not
be away long.’ lady-’
(i < Bnt, my young snoh
• l I Never mind mo in a <• fme a*
this. ’ I always was very tender-hearted.
‘Yon 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. 1
took up the two baskets and went sing¬
ing to the house. hour by the window,
‘‘I sat an open
enjoying intensely this this being cool alone, and
the quiet beauty of autumn
evening. wonder this,”
“Perhaps you will at
and the dimples played around her singing pretty
mouth, “ but little birds were a
new song the in sweet my heart, echoes. and the quigt let
me hear
“Bat 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 mv father’s
key from its aocustomed place, unlocked
the dosk, found the package of $5,000,
and, placing it in my bosom, relockcd
the door and returned to the sitting-
room. I did not light a lamp; I had 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 but had the
cheerful open lues later on;
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 clear the rubbish and make re¬
pairs, but the work, half done, was
suspended on account of the arrival ol
Captain Boswell and this important
business affair.
"I would have enjoyed immense! v to
kindle a sparkling fire in the huge wide
fireplace, but as affairs were I could not. i
g 0 j mused in darkness for hours,
really took no heed of time, until mv
quick ear caught the sound of a footfall
approaching, close up to the doorstep I
could havo taken my oath. It was so
light ftn ec ,} JO that I sprang to my feet,
th iukinR tbut my C, m » in M j%.
wl,en , fnth . “ C1,lled . > and returning
, lat "’ Lni1 Com ° d ™ n to 8tfly Wlth
W1 th a smd ? *°
, knock, albeit T I was a bit jealous of
j her pretty face; but no knock came, and
the ^oes died out, and altogether I
concluded I had deceived myself m re-
to Anyhow, I would light
the lamp. I did so, and was startled to
fUU’U 10 o’clock. I was sufficiently
^ my reverie to want a book
c library shelves. I toolf up my
la “? al » d went singmg into the room,
\ aine< ] f l ®, dt : Bir f d volume,
, ,
on
y ? thousand mmd thoughts
0 YmiU™ r ^ v n U gft f “ on ®
n , nl , :l « cftoi't «• of the will
> 0 W f, tho r ’ for , B0Ug whu , a 8 ' h ‘ uu I and Bn \ famou ** u 8 * ?> } to tc the *> k
SrT\] r ° m T boi ° d
1 k f th ! llbra ?7 door f {oT
T I remembered the lateness t
•
^¥ nr aad the probability that all the
mnintowUM ' 0 ( 1 1 ,!0 *** fo °t ?'! ste P mi< s lu - Ti^T’ the dooryard 1 r< i*
? esh ’ P liageut sme11
° Y °* sn J oke in t « b ? room, A scent
that was not in the room when I
mmievTfmv 1 my hosom^ b< ° 1 S<5 ®
Do you wonder that my brain reeled
.Y y lu ‘ art slo Pl >C( t beating for an in-
f tant . ? besides . whoever the robber was,
bo would soon begin work, not knowing Captain
b °w early my father and tee
™ lght return - And 1 should be mur-
derod : Somewhere within a few assassih yards
or a few feet of mo tee robber
waa concealed—either iu the recess be-
h,ud tllc cabin et, or under the long,
<lril P ed > P a P« r strewn table,
“A faint sound outride nearly made
me set down the lamp; still and I had nneon- sing-
sciously left my first song * was b
mg: ’ •
‘For his bride a soldier won her,
Aud a winning tongue had he.’
“I knew that temporary salvation—
power and liberty to leave that room,
even—depended upon my appearing un¬
conscious of the robber’s proximity. found
“I got ont of sitting-room. the library and hasty
myself iu the the door the A key ab¬
glance at lock. showed
sent from the
“Treachery ! revelation
‘ ‘I wonder teat this new
did not suffocate me. The man on tlie
highway—the injured brother—Thomas
had betrayed ns. He had overheard
about the money. A robber was in the
house and another was outside. My
retreat would l>e 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
faint creak of the library door at the far
.end of the long hall. around
“One swift, despairing glance extin¬
me, one wild idea of escape, and I
guished the light upon the table, and,
crouching in the fire-place I rested oue
foot upon the andiron, and swung out
the iron crane, stepped the other foot
upon the strong support and rose up
iuto tlie flue. Something touched my
head. Thank God! It was the rope
with which the dislodged bricks had
been hoisted ont. Grasping this like care¬
fully with my hands I held myself a
wedge in the opening. If I had envied
large, noble-looking women before, I
now had reason to be thankful for my
diminutive form and ninety odd pounds
of avoirdupois. think
“I had little time, however, to
of anything except the imminent danger
of knocking down a fragment of brick or
mortal - , and thus discovering my hiding-
place, for the clock began with sonorous
peals to strike eleven. Under cover ol
its echoes there were quick, soft steps
iu the hall, and the bolt of the outer
door was withdrawn. The huge flue
must have acted like a telephone, fori
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;
but 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 aspirated again. Thomas,
“ ‘Confound her!’
‘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 ont of
every pore of my body. The dust of
the creosote had penetrated my mouth
and nostrils, and I had to take one
hand from the rope in their absence and
place a finger upon my lips to prevent
sngezing. the watch¬
fi l Come harry,’ was angry and I
word exchanged between them,
heard the stairs creaking as they oscend-
to m J chamber. Thomas was famil¬
iar with all the house.
“Why did I not drop down and escape
outside ?
“First, then, they had locked the ont-
er door and withdrawn the key to pre¬
vent a surprise from without. Second,
(here 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. and his
“Oh, why did not my might father be hours
companion return ? It
first.
“They had found mo 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 finally they
rummaged the lower floors, and
returned to the sitting-room.
‘“I saw the light here last,’ said
Thomas, moving with his lamp across
the room, ‘ana here is the lamp on the
table. ’
“ ‘She must have got out.’
« -No; I watched for her, and every
window is fastened on the inside.’ Then
h ® continued ; Curse her ! shoe 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.
“ ‘Shall we search more !’
“‘Its no use; wovo turned over
everything under which a mouse could
ule.
ff < What, then ? Shall we waylay the
o3d man and fix him ?”
<< t They haven’t the money; it was left
here.
i 6 < The cellar,’ suggested the voice.
“Once more they ^“76 clashed ont only to
return in hex; now; for there was
the trot and rumble of a horse and car¬
riage on the bridge between us and the
city. ‘Stay,’ urged the stranger, ‘trump
i (
up some kind of a story, and we may
secure the money yet. ’
“‘I would,’ returned Thomas, ‘but
tee girl’s a witch, and I am just as all sure the
that she is somewhere near us
time, and would hand me over to jus¬
tice’— and
“Ihere was a scamper outside, the
the sound of feet running toward
river came down the wide mouth at the
top of the chimney. Father and Cap¬
tain Boswell drove into the yard and up
to the door, just as the clock struck 12 .
CC i Thomas!” called mv father, in his
ringing tones, ‘come and take care of the
horse. ’
“Receiving no response from his usual
punctual factotum, he sprang up the
steps, and uttered an exclamation of
horror at. finding said the he, £oor five open. certainly
“ ‘Boswell,’ down the hill.’ saw
a light here when we came
“‘Quick, Jason,’ said the captain,
‘there has been foul play here.’
if i Foul play ? My God! my poor
little girl.’ call, bnt the
a i Father.’ I strove to and soot,
first attempt, choked cough. in dust
ended Where in anysterical that? What is it?’
<< i is
called my distracted father, and both
men dashed for the library. descend, but the
“I now strove to
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 slicking
my toes in here and there I went up the
chimney hand over hand.
“Agile as a cat, when I 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.
it i Will you get me a ladder, here.’ please,’
said I. ‘I want to get down from
if ( A ladder. Jason,’ shouted the cap¬
tain, ‘the little girl is on the roof.’
ii ( For the love of heaven, girl, how I
came you there?’ said my father, as
landed upon the ground and began shak¬
ing the soot from my clothes.
“ *1 went np there through the chim¬
ney, papa. But you had better put up
the horse—you 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. absent only
4 * ( Now,’ said father, being
a moment or two, without letting me
have time to mop the smut from my face
and 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. • ,, - CUlat , . a .
mvf-Jhe^ if i Y’fi * 1 ,,, hnvp ton -f TY t
“He kept his word, Thomas got a
term in \he State prison.
“When I gave the Captain his money
I should have burst ont into the’ hysterical
sobbing only I remembered soot in
tj me to prevent shading mvself in
black crayon; and Captain Boswell be¬
lieved that stature aud bulk were not al¬
ways certificates of the best materials,
and”-- M‘it
“And,” finished Dan, onr jester,
may Ire said, Mrs. Boswell, that you ac¬
tually fine to his arms.”
She smiled and Irowcd as the sonor¬
ous tomes of the driver came in among
“Stage ready, gentlemen."
Hunting a Wolf on Snow Shoes.
Here is fyr occurrence that took place
in the highest part of Norway: A
Finn, who was herder to a large num¬ his
ber of reindeer, had lost some of
master’s deer by the attacks of a big
wolf, which one day caught one belong¬
ing to himself. The deer taken by the
wolf was the best one belonging to this
man— his pride and joy, so he swore
that the wolf should pay for it wifclrhis
life, aad, knowing another that meal, it would soon
come back for he kept on
the watch with a gun, accompanied by
another deer-herder, both in their usual
skin dresses anti on snow-skates.
The wolf duly came and the hunt
commenced, at first over a plain, where then
the animal gained a little ground,
up hill a little, so that it had still
greater advantages; but as the descent
commenced the Finn gained, his coni-
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 he threw his skin cloak
away, and was thus able to increase liis
speed; but, as he still felt that the wolf
had a chance of escaping, he also
dropped his rifle, knowing that his com¬
panion would pick it up. the
This enabled him to get nearer to
thief, and, as the ground again began his
to be on the descent, he was sure of
prey. In the middle of the falling
ground he overtook the wolf, and, while
passing it, lifted his 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 in
as marked and subtle as do plants
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 their 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 knowledge we
have on the subject, say why trail some
plants climb and others creep, or
grow strong and erect any more than
we can say why some men were born
black, others white. 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,
sogio bj; means Gib-tendrils,,-sente-by W Aee
their steins, and others what
known as adventitious roots, such as the
ivy, bignonia, etc., etc. Each genus
has 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 rapid and
vigorous. If it has none, it will 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 compass, mov¬
ing usually like the hands of a watch
with the sun; during the day these rev¬
olutions are performed, until on the an part average, has
every two hours, ver* interesting
found a support. It is
to watch the movements of the 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 makes finds a
support, it grasps it, and 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,
but take the most convenient object.
Others will onlv take just such an ono
as suits them; conspicuous in this class
is the mauraudva. 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
or " t, “" sh *
Looks Just Like It.
A lawver of Cohoes, bemg before a
court in Kingston, N. Y.. the other dav,
was privately asked what kind of a place
Cohoes was, when he returned the fol¬
lowing answer: “I will explain it by
telling you a little story. One time a
Cohoes woman exhibition was in Kingston, and she
went to an which was a pan¬
orama show. One of the pictures shown
was intended to represent chaos, and
the word ‘chaos’ was written below the
pict ure. The Cohoes woman was a 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.’
Ax apple in perfect preservation, al¬
though ninety-six years old, is in pos¬
session of a gentleman in Ulster county,
N. A. As it rounded up from the
blossom of the parent stem, in the
early summer of 1787, a bottle was
drawn over it and attached to the
branch, and after the apple had ripened
the stem was severed and the bottle
“■ ~ ■■
He who seldom speaks, and with one
calm, well-timed word can strike dumb
the loquacious, is a genius or a hero.
A T)FM 4 PIT A TIT S’ QPRTiVft OX UiiAVJ.
HOW ITS PECULIAR PROPERTIES
WERE DISCOVERED.
Water That tins Pertifyln* Properties
Pound in California. §
- a
TFrom the San Francisco Chronicle.]
In Livermooro Pass, Alameda county, and
on the old road from Diably, Haywards stands the
Sau Jose to Mount
Mountain House. The region round
about has a celebrity as having 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 hia tales of foreign travel, and
which is likely to prove a bonanza to
him. Within a comparatively recent
date an artesian well was sunk upon his
grounds, with a result to challenge
amazement. The 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 had the
carelessness of some one the water
been permitted to run during the night.
Highly indignant at the sight of se
muon water being wasted by negligent
workmen, he gazed upon a pool of it
near the overflowing trough with grow¬
ing rage. Iu the pool of water the irate
eyes of Mr. Zimmerman detected several
largo 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 gatheretl employees, and,
stooping down, he the scat¬
tered vegetables into his hand. By an
involuntary impulse he attempted to
press off one of the “spud’s” eyes. It
was impossible to do so, and on examin¬
ing it more closely Mr. Zimmerman at
once saw that a radical 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 ax they ex¬
hibited a stony fracture similar in looks
to that of fossil wood. Thereupon, as a
natural result, this discovery followed a
series of interesting experiments, each
of which strengthened Mr. the Zimmerman’s feeling of
thankfulness in
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 this structure
of one room. Within was a zinc
tub, connected with pipes leading from
the well. In this receptacle dogs and have These been
placed small fowl, cats.
animals after being immersed for three
or four days continuously, would stand became per¬ The
fectly rigid and alone.
enthuiastic proprietor is convinced that
tliay 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 of this the spring
have l>een known to a few, but 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 capital organize enough a stock company this
with simple to make
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 .London Tele-
(traph who went to the Yellowstone
k recently, winch was he astonished in Dakota. by the He
' 5 _S ms saw
wr _
mu lbe P^pcular .- , farm , inspected
we was
. mdes s< l ua, '<p It was one vast
ie to of wheat; no division _ of any kind
a PP eauri ff excep. roans for wagons and
lor8 f 8 - ibc morning we visited it
Y ° eon ?“ euce reap¬
■ g alld <f ie hundred 7 machines waited
t0 beg,n ’ What »
^ 1 1 , ^ arme s who , were
.h,‘“' ” j
u T T plj am f ed , * While the
n . f fJL 8 transported over
tiem 2o,000 to 30.000 bushels dailv
employing some thirty-five to fiftv rail¬
way cars. It was estimated that this
3 ear tnc yieid would be about twenty
bushels per acre, bnt, if a careful sys¬
tem of farming were pursued—anything
like thorough English calculation—the
outcome would be 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 39 round. peat, retaining moisture all the
year
Japanese 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 of the
surface. There are professions other nations, re¬
gard for the people of rebellion
but the late Satsuma was a
formidable outbreak of the anti-for-
eign sentiment. The edicts against
Christianity have never been abolished.
The jreople 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. Some of the leaders of
public opinion believe that, with a few
iron-clads and torpedo-boats for a navy,
Japan will take its place amoDg the
great nations of the earth, and be prac¬
tically independent of Western civiliza¬
tion.