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LILLIE IDLES;
on,
ABDUCTED BI THE BUSH
WISIEI.
A Story oi the War in
' the Southwest.
BY ARVtDE 0. BALDWIN.
CHAPTER IX.
a. SAD EETUKN.
A slight wound was across his breast
Where he had come in contact with thet
wire, but as it had given way under tho
great strain of the two anim ds his injuries '
were slight.
The tension of the wire when it parted
threw the ends beyond the road. As he cast
his eyes in the direction of the rascals who
had got him into this terrible plight, he saw
that they had stopped and were now return
ing. He got his gun and crawled behind the
dead horse. The carcass offered him pro
tection and a rest for his gun.
Brushing the dust from his eyes and face
bo that his s : ght would be clear, he awaited
the return of the marauders. They came
Slowly a.ong, appearing to enjoy the dis
comfiture of those who, they supposed.
Were now at their mercy.
When they arrived sufficiently near for
our hero to make sure of his shot being
effective, he ran the barrel of his gun out.
raised his head, and his eye glanced along
the barrel. In an instant more he pulled
the trigger, and a bullet sped on its way to
the foremost man s brea-t! He staggered
in his seat and appeared dazed. Then he
suddenly turned his horse’s head down the
road and started off'. He was reeling like a
drunken man, and it was easily seen that he
was done for. After going a short distance
he failed to recover, and over he tumbled.
One foot hung in the stirrup as he fell, and
the frightened animal continued on a run,
dangling the lifeless body as he went. His
companion quickly raised his gun, and a
bullet struck the carcass near our hero. He
then turned about to make his retreat, but
before he got under full headway another
phot from John’s unerring rifle rolled him
to the ground a corpse.
John secured his horse after he became
positive that his last antagonist was beyond
doing further harm, and leading him to
where his comrade lay, limp and lifeless,
he placed the body on the horse and slowly
and sorrowfully wended his way home
ward.
John believed the two bushwhackers were
dead, but that would not compensate him
for the loss of hie friend, if that young man
was verily dead. He war placed in a trying
position. How could he break the news to
the stricken family when he returned home
with the lifeless clay?
He knew that it would bo almost death to
at least two of the women when they saw
the body of the son and lover.
He could not bear the thought of his
b.eing the means of darkening the lives of
those he loved so dearly.
As he approached a dripping spring that
fell from an overhaging rock by the road
side he stopped and began to think.
•‘lt may be possible he is not dead,” he
thought, “aud if he is not, this water may
revive him. At any rate, I’ll try.” And he
gently took the body, aud carrying it close
bv the dripping water deposited it on the
leaves. He then wet his handkerchief and
bathed the face and brow of his injured
friend.
He called to him and implored him to tell
him he was not dead, but no reply came.
Sick at heart, but not completely discour
aged, he worked on, and when about ready
to give up in despair he noticed the con
traction of a muscle.
“That must mean life!” he exclaimed,
pnd redoubled his efforts. In a few
piomt'Uts more the eyelids and mouth
jnuscles began twitching, and John was
overjoyed, for he knew then that his friend
was not dead.
The eyes were beginning to slowly open,
and John was soon again looking into them
with undisguised happiness.
“Where am I, John?” were his first
words.
“Not far from home. How are you feel
ing, Henry?”
“Why, lam all right!” He tried to
raise himself; but a groan escaped him
and he sank back.
“Not so fast, Henry. I’ll have to help you.
You are hurt.”
“How did it happen?” He asked.
“1 will tell you after a little. Keep quiet
now. ”
The sound of a horse’s footsteps could
be distinctly heard coming up the road.
John seized his gun, and was prepared
for the worst. He raised himself so
that his head was above the bank, and not
a hundred yards away saw a solitary horse
man riding one and leading another ani
mal. As quick as a flash John’s gun was
raised, but it only remained there for a
second, for he recognized in the person ap
proaching the anxiously sought for Jeff.
H e long rifle was on his shoulder, and he
appealed as if the world was a pleasant one
to him.
“Halloo, Jeff!”
Tlie muzzle of the old gun was immedi
ately brought over for use.
"Down with your gun, Jeff! None of that!*
John commanded.
Jeff looked undecided.
“It is I, Jeff! John Eddies.”
The arm dropped. A look of sheepish
ness and gladness came into the negro’s
face at this announcement, and he quickly
dismounted. It was no time nor place for
explanation, and no questions were asked.
With Jeff's assistance John had but little
difficulty in getting Henry into a saddle.
The two men rode by his side supporting
the limp, weak form. It was with far differ
ent feelings that John rode along on his
return to the mansion from those that he
had when he left it so full of life and with
his friend by his side, in the early morn
ing.
When they arrived at the mansion gate
they found the household in an uproar. The
negroes came running to them weeping and
wringing their hands. Then the mother
■tottered to the porch quaking with anguish
and unable to speak.
Henry was tenderly taken in and placed
on a couch, and soon was comparatively
comfortable.
John paid but little attention to the tu
multuous crowd, for he supposed their
wailings were caused from seeing young
in such a terrible plight, and tried
to quiet them by telling them that no limbs
were brokan, and, unless he was injured
internally he would soon be up again.
“Lillie! Lillie!” was the cry, and he now,
for the first time, noticed her absence.
“Whither had she gone?”
He looked inquiringly from one fo the
other, but no answer to his appealing look
wasjnade,
•‘‘There is she—Lillie whore is she?’’ lie
fiercely dem a ,ded.
“Goao, gone. The robbers have come
uid stole i er away,” was the answer.
This new caa.uity Manned h m, aud ha
sank into a chair with the weakness of a
child.
Calamity upon calamity came upon them
now. but this one was the worst of all.
When John began to reason he knew that
it must be the work of that arch-villain,
Wcodsley, for, now that the opportunity
had come when his baser nature was unre
strained by law, he soon developed the
natural beut of that nature, and villainy
predominated.
John could hardly be restrained from
starting immediately on the hunt for he
stolen girl, but the old mother, with teats,
pieaded with him not to be rash, but to
wait until his judgment overcame his augei
aud desire for revenge before ho should try
to recover the stolen child. “O, John! If
anything should happen and I should lose
you both, I could not stand the blow. This
is nearly killing me, and I surely cannot
live if anything serious happens you. ”
Henry arose at learning the sail news,
and unless he had been held back would
Lave tried to leave the bed and house in
quest of her he loved.
The afflictions came so often, and were
so severe, that the old people feared they
would go mad.
It seemed that all the troubles of this
wicked war were heaped upon the inuoceut.
They were to bear the burdens and carry
the grief.
Gladly would those poor old mothers
have parted with life rather than cariy their
sorrows, that seemed too great to bear, but
their love for their children, who were con
tinually menaced by danger, was such that
life was sufferable for their sake.
When John was away from Henry's bed
side he was restlessly pacing the floor.
They were all pleased and greatly relieved
when evening came to find Henry was
much improved. He sat up and his appe
tite was unimpaired. He fretted aud chafed
to think that he was powerless to ilo any
thing to help the unfortunata'girl who was
now in the hands of the bushwhackers.
It was observed that John was making
preparations for a trip. He got arms ready
and sufficient food for a long tramp. Jeff
took a seat by ihe oid firplace and began to
mold bullets. When he had finished his
task he repaired to the kitchen and again
presented the familiar “poke" for tilling.
Syiva was not there to select for him the
food she knew he liked best, but he Knew
the reason, and so, when Nancy filled the
sack, he appeared satisfied and thanked
her.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
Getting Justice.
Lee Meriwether relates a very amus
ing and yet annoying experience which
he had in Switzerland in attempting to
obtain justice. He says that, while he
was taking a stroll early one morning, he
stopped at one of the numerous small
inns and ordered a glass of milk. “Cold,
sweet milk,’’ he said twice to the waiter,
as otherwise they bring, as a matter of
course, either hot or sour milk—two
favorite ways of taking milk among
the Germans. To his surprise the
waiter brought a pitcher of boiling hot
milk. He continues the story as follows:
I repeated my order for a glass of cold
milk. The waiter said he had none. I
arose to go.
“What!” he exclaimed. “You will
not pay?” and without waiting for a re
ply lie snatched my hat from my head,
and gave it to the proprietor, who at
that moment entei'ed.
I looked at them with a sort of ad
miration. Never had I seen such pure
assurance; never men with so free and
easy a method of collecting payment for
goods neither ordered nor used.
Gazing some moments at the good
natured host and his waiter, I took down
his name and number, and repaired,
bareheaded, to the police station. There
I related my story. The officers consult
ed, and finally decided the matter was
not within their jurisdiction.
“Go,” they said, “to the Friedens
richter” (peace justice).
The Friedensrichter was a grave, bald
headed man. As I was about to state my
case, the learned man raised his hand
and bade me stop.
“Do you not know,” he asked “that
fee must first be paid ?”
“But, sir, I have a charge of assault
to make. Must I pay lor notifying an
offioer of a breach of the peace?”
“You must. The fee is two ana a half
francs.”
This was paid. I wanted light on the
subject, and requested the address of a
lawyer. The Friedensrichter gave me
one. Half an hour later I knocked at
the door of the man of law, only to learn
that he was way serving his annual three
weeks in the army. The maid, however,
told me of another lawyer, and he, upon
payment of a fee for legal services, told
me the law was upon the milkman’s side,
but that I could go to the “Gerichtpra
sident” if I desired further informa
tion.
I went to the Gerichtprasident. He,
too, said the law was with tbe hot-milk
man. Then I went to the rascally land
lord.
“I pay you.” I said, handing him the
money aud taking my hat, “I pay you,
not for the milk I did not order and did
not drink, but for information you have
been the means of my acquiring.”
“What information?”
“That a strauger may be assau tod
here without redress. ”
The churl laughed scornfully; but I
got even with him. My first act on reach
ing Germany territory’ was to send
the polite Swiss landlord a large package
by express; the charges, about one dol
lar and fifty cents, I did not prepay.
There was nothing in the package ex
cepting a lot of sawdust, and a sheet of
paper with this single line ;
“Zum Andenkeu an den Mann dessen
Hut Sie gestohlen haben” (Souvenir of
the man whose hat you stole).
At Her Tongue’s End.
lie—“Of course, you are interested
in politics?” ,
Mie —“Intensely.”
He —“Which side is going to win?”
She —“Well, judging from what 1
heard papa say last night, Mr. Delegate
has got a run on his ahead ticket, and
Mr. Convention, of Illinois, if he can
carry the Chairman of the gavel-box by
a constituent, will ”
He—“.lust Latch Gordon play ten
nis I” Tiiies.
The so-called civilized world spent
years in trying to break into China.
Now it is makiug strenuous efforts to
keep the Chinese from breaking out.
REV. DIi.JTAL.il AGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE’S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: “In Good Humor With Onr
Circumstances.”
Text:—“Be content with such things as
\je have." —Hebrewsxiii, 5.
If I should ask some one: “Where is Brook
lyn to-day:” he Would say, “At Brighton
Beach, or East Hampton, or Shelter Island.”
“Where is New York to-day?’’ “At Long
Branch.” “Where Philadelphia?’ “At Cape
May.” “Where is Boston?” “At Martha’s
V ineyard.” “Where is Virginia?” “At the
Sulphur Springs,” “Where the great multi
tude from all parts of the land?” “At Sara
toga,” tiie modern Bethesda, where the angel
of health is ever stirring the waters. But,
my friends, the largest multitude are at home,
detained by business or circumstances.
Among them all newspaper men, the hardest
worked aud the least compensated; city rail
road employes, and ferry masters, and the
police, and the tens of thousands of oderks
and merchants waiting for their turn of ab
sence, and households with an invalid who
cannot be moved, and others hindered by
stringent oircumstances, and the great mul- *
titude of well to do people who stay at home
because they like home better than any other
place, refusing to go away simply because it
is the fashion to go. When the express
wagon, with its mountain of trunks directed
to the Catskills or Niagara, goes through the
streets, we stand at our window envious and
impatient, and wonder why we cannot go as
well as others. Fools that we are, as though
j one could not be as happy at home as any
-1 where else. Onr grandfathers and grand
mothers had as good a time as we have, long
; before the first spring was bored at Sara
; toga, or the first deer shot in the Adiron
[ daeks. They made their wedding tour to
j the next farmhouse, or, living in New York,
: the celebrated they event by an extra walk on
! the Battery.
Now, the genuine American is not happy
until he is going somewhere, and the passion
is so great that there are Christian people
with their families detained in the city who
come not to the house of God, trying to give
people the idea that they are out of town;
leaving the door plate unscoured for the
same reason, and for two months keeping the
front shutters closed while they sit iu the
back part of the house, the thermometer at
ninety! My friends, if it is better for us to go,
let us go and be happy. If it he best for us
to stay at home, let us stay at home and be
happy. There is a great deal of good com
mon sense in Paul’s advice to the Hebrews:
“Be content with such things as ye have.”
To be content is to be iu good humor with
our circumstances, not picking a quarrel
with our obscurity, or our poverty, or our
! social position. There are four or five grand
i reasons why we should be content with such
things as we have.
: The first reason that I mention as leading
to this spirit devised in the text, is the con
sideration that the poorest of us have all that
| is indispensable m life. Vl e make a great
: ado about our hardships, but how little we
! talk of our blessings. Health and body,
j which is given in largest quantity to those
i who have never been petted,and fondled,and
! spoiled by fortune, we take as a matter of
! course. Rather have this luxury, and have
it alone, than, without it, look out of a
i palace window upon parks of deerstalking
j between fountains and statuary. These peo
ple sleep sounder on a straw mattress
than fashionable invalids on a couch
of ivory and eagles’ down. The dinner
of herbs tßStes better to the appetite sharp
ened on a woodman’s ax or a reaper’s scythe
than wealthy indigestion experiences seated
! at a table covered with partridge, and veni
! son, and pineapple. The grandest luxury
; God ever gave a man is healta. He who
; trades that off for all the palaces of the earth
i is infinitely cheated. We look back at the
| glory of the last Napoleon, but who would
| have taken his Versailles and his Tuileries if
with them we had been obliged to take his
gout? “Oh,” says some one, “it isn’t the
grosser pleasure) 1 covet, but it is the gratifi
cation oi an artistic and intellectual taste.”
Why, my brother, you have the original
from which these pictures are copied.
What is a sunset on a wall compared with
a sunset hung in loops of fire on the heavens?
; A\ hat is a cascade silent on a canvas com-
I pared with a cascade that makes the moun
! tain tremble, its spray ascending like the
! departed spirit of the water slain on the
rocks? Oh, there is a great deal of hollow
affectation about a fondness for pictures on
; the part of those who never appreciate the
i original from which the pictures are taken.
I As though a parent should have no regard
for his child, but go into ecstasies over its
photograph. Bless the Lord to-day, oh, man!
oh, woman! that though you may be shut
out from the works of a Church, a Biers tad t,
a Rubens and a Raphael, you still have free
access to a gallery grander than the Louvre
or the Luxemburg or the Vatican—the royal
gallery of the noonday heavens, the King’s
gallery of the midnight sky.
Another consideration leading us to a
spirit of contentment is the fact that our hap
piness is not dependent upon outward cir
cumstances. You see people happy and mis
erable amid all circumstances. In a family
where the last loaf is on the table, and the
last stick of wood on the fire, you sometimes
find a cheerful confidence in God, while in a
very fine place you will see and hear discord
sounding her war whoop, and liospitaliy.
freezing to death in the cheerless parlor I
stopped one day on Broadway at the head of
Wall street, at the foot of Trinity church, tc
see who seemed the happiest people passing.
I judged from their looks the' happiest peo
pie were pot those who went down into Wat
street, for they had on their brow the anxie
ty of the dollar they expected to make; noi
the people who came out of Wall street, id
they they had on their brow the anxiety
of the dollar they had lost; nor the people
who swept by in splendid equipage, for they
j met a carriage that was finer than theirs.
I The happiest person in all that crowd, judg
ing from the countenance, was the woman
i who sat at the apple stand knitting. I be
lieve real happiness oftener looks out of the
; window of an humble home than through
the opera glass of the gilded box of a theatre.
I find Nero growling on the throne. 1 find
| Paul singing in a dungeon. I find King Ahab
i going to bed at noon through melancholy,
j while near by is Naboth contented in the pos
session of a vineyard. Hainan, Prime Minis
. tor of Persia, frets himself almost to death
■ because a poor Jew will not tip his hat; and
Ahithophel, one of the greatest lawyers of
| Bible times, through fear of dying, hangs
h mself. The wealthiest man, forty years
ago, in New York, when congratulated over
bis large estate, replied: “Ah! you don't
know how much trouble I have in taking
; care of it.” Byron declared in his last
I horn’s that he had never seen more than twelve
happy days in all his life, Ido not believe
he had seen twelve minutes of thorough sat
isfaction. Napoleon I. said: “I turn with
disgust from the cowardice and selfishness of
men; I hold life a horror; death is repose.
AVhat I have suffered the last twenty days is
beyond human comprehension.” While, on
the other hand, to show how one may be
happy amid the most disadvantageous cir
cumstances, just after the Ocean Monarch
had been wrecked in the English channel, a '
steamer was cruising along in the darkness, j
when the captain heard a song, a sweet song,
coming over the water, and he bore down
toward that voice, and found it was a Chris
tian women on a plank of the wrecked
steamer, singing to the tune of “St. Mar
tin's:”
Jesus, lover of my soul,
bet rae to Thy bosom fly,
While the billows near me roil.
While the tempest still is high.
The heart right toward God and man, we
are happy. The heart wrong toward God
and man, we are unhappy.
Another reason why ve should come to
this spirit inculcated iu the text is the fact
that all the differences of earthly condition
are transitory. The houses you build, the
land you culture, the places in which you
barter, are soon to go into other hands.
However hard you may have it now, if you
are a Christian the scene will soon end.
Pain, trial, persecution never knock at the
door of the grave. A coffin made out of pine
boards is just as good a resting place as
one made out of silver mounted mahogany
or rosewood. Go down among the resting
p aces of the dead, and you will find that
though people there had a greater difference
of worldly circumstances, now they are all
alike unconscious The hand that greeted
the Senator, and the President, and the King
is still as the hand that hardened on the
mechanic’s hammer or the manufacturer’s
wheel. It does not make any difference now
whether there is a plain stone above them
from which the traveler pulls aside the weeds
to read the name, or a tall shall springing
into the heavens as though to tell their vir
tues to the skies.
In that silent land there are no titles for
great men, and there are no rumblings of
chariot wheels, and there is never heard the
foot of the dance. The Egyptian guano
which is thrown on the fields in the east for
the enrichment of the soil is the dust raked
out from the sepulchers of Icings and lords
and mighty men. Oh the chagrin of those
men if they had ever known that in the after
ages of the world they would have been
called Egyptian gu uio.
Of how much worth now is the crown of
Ca-sar! Who bids for it? Who cares now
anything about the Amphictyonic council or
the laws of Lycurgus? Who trembles now
because Xerxes crossed the Hellespont on a
bridge of boats? Who fears because Nebu
chadnezzar thunders at the gates of Jerusa
lem? Who cares now whether or not Cleopatra
marries Antony? Who crouches before Fer
dinand, or Boniface, or Alaric? Can Crom
well dissolve the English parliament now?
Is William, Prince of Orange, King of the
Netherlands? No, no! However much
Elizabeth may love the Russian crown, she
must pass it to Peter, and Peter to Catherine,
and Catherine to Paul, and Paul to Alex
ander. and Alexander to Nicholas. Leopold
puts the German scepter into the hand of
Joseph, and Philip comes down off the Span
ish throne to let Ferdinand go on. House of
Aragon, house of Hapsburg, house of
Stuart, house of Bourbon, quarreling
about everything el~,e, but agreeing
in this: “The fashion of this world
passeth away.” But have all these dignita
ries gone? Can they not be called back? I
have been in assemblages where 1 have heard
the roll called, and many distinguished men
have answerer!. If I should cal! the roll to
day of some of those mighty ones who have
gone I wonder if they would not answer. I
will call the roll. I will call the roll of the
( Kings first: Alfred the Great? William the
Conqueror! Frederick II! Louis XVI! No
answer. I wifi call the role of the poets:
Robert Southey! Thomas Campbell! John
Keats! George Crabbe! Robert Burns! No
answer. I call the roll of artists: Michael
Angelo! Paul Veronese! William Turner!
Christopher Wren! No answer. Eyes
closed. Ears deaf. Lips silent. Hands pal
sied. Scepter, pencil, pen, sword, put down
forever. Why should we struggle for such
baubles?
Another reason why we should culture this
spirit of cheerfulness is the fact that God
knows what is best for His creatures. You
know what is best for your child. He thinks
you are not as liberal with him as you ought
to be. He cfiticis »s your discipline, but you
look over the whole field, and you, loving
that child, do what in your deliberate judg
ment is best for him. Now, God is the best
of fathers Sometimes his children think
that he is hard on them, and that be is not as
liberal with them as he might be. But chil
dren do not know as much as a father. I
can tell you why you are not largely affluent,
and whv vou liave not been grandly success
ful. It is because you cannot stand the temp
tation. If your path had been smooth, you
would have depended upon your own
surefootedness; but God roughened that
path, so you have to take hold of
his hand. If the weather had been
mild, you would have loitered along the
water courses, but at the first howl of the
storm you quickened your pace heavenward
aud wrapped around you the wgrm robe of a
Soviour’s righteousness. “What have I
done?” says the whoatsheaf to the farmer;
“what have I done that you beat me so hard
with your flail?” The farmer makes no
answer, but the rake takes off the straw, and
the mill blows the chaff to the wind, and the
golden grain falls down at the foot of
windmill. After a while, tho straw looking
down from the mow upon the golden grain
banked up on either side the floor under
stands why the farmer beat the wheatsheaf
with the flail.
Who are those before the throne? The
swer came: are they who, out wP
great tribulatDff, had their robes washed and
made white in the blood ot the lamb.”
Would God that we could understand that
our trials are the very best thing for uS. If
we had an appreciation of that truth, then
we should know why it was that John
Noyra, the martyr, in the very midst of the
flame, reached down and picked up one of
the fagots that was consuming him, and
kissed it, and said: “Blessed be God for the
time when 1 was born for this preferment.”
They who suffer with Him on earth shall be
glorified with Him in heaven. Be content,
I then, with such things as you have.
Another consideration leading us to the
spirit of the text is the assurance that the
j Lord will provide somehow. Will he who
. holds the water in the hollow of his hand
a low his children to die of thirst? Will he
| who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and
all the earth's luxuriance of grain and fruit,
allow his children to starve? Go out to
! morrow morning at 5 o’clock in the woods
j and hear the birds chant. They have had no
breakfast, they know not where they will
dine, they have no idea where they will sup;
but hear the birds chant at 5 o’clock in the
| morning. “Behold the fowls of the air;
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
father into barns, yet your heavenly
'ather feedeth them. Are you not
much better than they?” Seven thousand
people, in Christ's time, went into the desert.
They were the most improvident people I
ever heard of. They deserved to starve. They
might have taken food enough to last them
until they got back. Nothing did they take.
A lad, who had more wit than all of them
put together, asked his mother that morning
j for some loaves of bread and some fishes.
They were put into his sa hel. He went out
into the desert. From this provision the
seven thousand were fed, and the more they
ate thp larger the loaves grew until the pro
vision that the boy brought in one sachel was
multiplied so he could not have carried the
fragments home iu six saehels. “O,” you say,
“times have changed,and the day of miracles
has gone.” 1 reply that, what God did then
by miracle, He does now in some other way,
and hy natural laws. “I have been young,”
said David, “but now lam old; yet have I
never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His
seed begging bread.” It is high time that
you people who are fretting about worldly
circumstances, and who are fearing you are
coming to want, understood that the oath or
the eternal God is involved in the fa,ct that
you are to have enough to eat and to wear.
Again: I remark that the religion of Jesus
Christ is the grandest influence to make a
man contented. Indemnity against all finan
cial and spiritual harm! It calms the spirit,
dwindles the earth into insignificance, and
swallows up the soul with the thought of
heaven. O ye who have been going about
from place to place expecting to find in
change of circum-dances something to give
solace to the spirit, I commend you, this
morning, to the warm-hearted,earnest, prac
tical, common sense religion of the Lord
Jesus Christ. “There is no peace, saith my
God, for the wicked, ” and as long as you con
tinue in your sin you will be miserable.
Come to Christ. Make Him your portion,
and start for leaven,and you wi'l be a happy
man—you will be a happy woman.
Yet, my friends, notwithstanding all th«B j
inducements to a spirit of contentment, I
have to tell you this morning the human
race is divided into two classes—those who
scold and those who get scolded. The car
penter wants to be anything but a carpenter,
and the mason anything but a mason, ana
the banker anything but a banker, and the
lawyer anything but a lawyer, and the min
ister anything but a minister, and everybody
would be happy if he were only somebody
else. The anemone wants to be a sunflower,
and the apple orchards throw down their
blossoms because they are not tall cedars,
and the scow wants to be a schooner, and the
sloop would like to be a seventy-four pounder,
and parents have the worst children that ever
were, and everbody has the greatest mis
fortune, and everything is upside down, or
going to be. Ah! my friends, you nevei
make any advance through such a spirit as
that. You cannot fret yourself up; you
may fret yourself down. Amid all this grat
ing of tones I strike this string of the GosyOl
harp: “Godliness with contentment is great
gain. W r e brought nothing into the world
and it is very certain we can carry nothing
out; having food and raiment, let us there
with be content.” . ,
Let us all remember, if wa are Christians,
that we are going after a while, whatever be
our circumstances now, to have a glorious
vacation. As in summer we put off our gar
ments and go down into the cool sea to bathe,
so we will put off these garments of flesh, and
step into the cool Jordan. W T e will look
around for some place to lay down our
weariness; and the trees will say: “Come
and rest under our shadow;” and the earth
will say; ■“Come and sleep in my bosom;”
and the winds will say: “Hush! while I sing
thee a cradle hymn;” and while six strong
men carry us out to our last resting place,
and ashes come to ashes and dust to dust, we
will see two scarred feet standing amid the
Droken soil, and a lacerated brow bending
over the open grave, while a voice, tender
with all affection and mighty with all
omnipotence, will declare: “I am the resur
rection and the life; he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
Comfort one another with these words.
A THLRLOW WEED STORY.
How lie got Around the Famous
“Nephew of his Uncle.”
It will be remembered that early iu
the war Mr. Weed was despatched to
Europe on a special diplomatic mission
connected with the capture of Slidell and
Mason, the fitting out in foreign waters
of rebel cruisers, the blockade of South
ern ports, &o.
His first objective point was the
French Court, and he landed at Havre.
He remained in Paris some time in con
sultation with our Minister and others.
Then he crossed the channel, and while
in London was the special guest of the
great American banking firm of Pea
body, Morgan & Co.
One morning, while sitting in the
private office of the firm, Mr. Morgan
showed him a copy of what purported
to be a circular letter, which was ob
tained by Mr. Morgan at the Foreign
Office.
This letter which had been sur
reptitiously sent from Paris, foreshadow
ed the position which Louis Napoleon
was to assume in his message to the
Chamber upon Amorican affairs. Mr.
Weed quietly pocketed the copy, packed
his bag aud immediately left for Paris.
Ho was well acquainted with one of
the prominent bankers in Paris, whom
he had known while the latter was a
merchant in New York. The banker
was a favorite at court, and on his
arrival Mr. Weed proceeded to the
banker’s chambers. He showed him the
copy, which included this passage in
the forthcoming message:—“The filling
up of the harbor of Charleston, B. C.,
is an unparalleled instance of civiliz
ed barbarity, and it is time tlie Europe
an Powers sLould interfere/’ Ac., Ac.
The banker read it carefully then
paused. All at once he exclaimed.—“l
have it! You know that tlie Emperor
prides himself upon following directly
in the steps of his illustrious uncle.
Now in the great Napoleon’s reign pre
cisely tlie same thing occcurred by order
of the Emperor.”
“But have you proof of this ?” asked
Weed. “Here it is,” replied the banker,
as he took down a book and opening to
the page where the order was given by
Napoleon to fill up the harbor of Cher
bourg in order to prevent the approach
of an English fleet.
“Now,” continued the banker, “I will
arrange for a meeting between you and
the Emperor to-morrow at ten o’clock.
You take this book with you and keep
your finger on the page, but look out
for Mornv.” _ -f—- —
“M ill you not aocompany me?” asked
Weed.
“No, that would destroy the effect.”
The next morning Mr. Weed present
ed himself before the Emperor, who was
surrounded with officials, whom he dis-
I missed, saying; “I have special business
i with a foreign Minister.” All retired
but Morny.
Louis Napoleon could talk English as
well as French, and Weed at once plung
ed into the matter by showing the Em
-1 peror the copy he had brought with him
I from London. Turning to Morny, the
, Emperor said, “Wo have been betray
ed.” It proved so, as an under secre
tary had been paid the sum of 10,000 f.
to furnish a copy to the English.
Napoleon then proceeded to justify
his proposed measure by saying that
sinking stone barges in the harbor of
Charleston, thus shutting out the port
from the commerce of the world, was
unprecedented in the history of civiliza
tion.
“No, Sire,” remarked Mr Weed.
“Your illustrious uncle did the same
thing.” s
“When and where?” demanded Napo
leon.
Weed then opened the book and point
ed out the paragraph.
The Emperor was silenced. Weed
saw his advantage and pursued it.
“Sire, ” he said,“there are four cruisers
fitting out in French waters to carry the
rebel flag.”
“Napoleon paused for a few moments;
then, turning to Mr. Weed he remark
ed: “Not one of them shall leave a
French port.”
Mr. Weed retired from the presence
of his majesty, well satisfied with the
result of his visit, and returned immedi
ately to London. The obnoxious clause
in the Emperor’s speech was stricken
out and the would be rebel cruisers
never left a French port. —Bouton Traced
ler.
Life In New York.
Hired Guide—We must cross tho
street here.
Stranger—What for?
“A square further up the wagons are
so thick we can’t get across without
losing a leg.”
“Well, we are over now. What are
you waiting for?”
“I’m watching for a chance to walk
in the gutter. This building is a tene
ment house, and tenement house walls
fall every’ once in a while.”
“Whew! We got safely by that build
ing. See here, what are you starting
in that direction for?”
“We must walk around this block; the
Rtreet here is underlaid with steam
heating pipes aud they are always ex
ploding.”
“Stop a moment; I’m tired out.”
“Great Scott! Don't lean against that
telegraph pole. Its got electric-light
wires on it. You must have been
brought up in the woods.”— Omaha
World.
TREED BY ALLIGATORS,
A THRILLING HUNTING EXPERI
ENCE IN THE EVERGLADES.
A Carnplnar Party Seeks Safety in
In the Tree tops—A Battle Amonf
the Saurians.
A party of hunters from St. Augus
tine, Fla., recently had an experience at
Cypress Lake which would never hav®
been known had the colored boy who
accompanied them been as reticent
about the matter as the hunters them
selves. The following is the story
which the youth told a correspondent of
the Chattanooga Times: The jfiirty had
just stolen several young ’gators from a
nest, and were on their way back to
their campon the shore of the lake. As
they hurried on they heard the loud
grunts and roars of the saurians on each
side of the island, but they were entirely
unprepared for the sight that burst on
their vision as they reached the shore.
The beach shelved gently down to the
water’s edge, and for several rods from
land the water was shallow. Standing
upon its fore paws beside its plundered
nest was an immense female alligator,
puffing and blowing, while right around
and advancing in front of the water were
over a score of others, all roaring and open
ing and snapping their capacious jaws
with an ominous sound, the strong smell
emitted filling the air for yards around.
As soon as the btutes saw the butchers
approach in the dim light they advanced
on them with every indication of the ut
most anger and rage, seeming devoid ot
fear. The boys fir d several shots, se
verely wounding one or two, but tho
sound and flash seemed only to arous®
still further,the wrath of the reptiles,
and the hunters fled back to the tent.
The rest of the party, who had be m pre
paring supper, etc., heard the uproar
and came out, followed by Charley, the
colored boy, who confessed that lie felt
rather shaky, as he had never himself
seen alligators so thoroughly enraged be
fore. The re-enforcements came up, but
on seeing the scores of ’gators crawling
do they decided to retire.
On going back to the tent they found
it nearly surrounded by ’gators, who had
crawled" up from the opposite side, aad
the outlook was rather bad for the nerv
ous persons. The deer that they had
hung before the fire soon fell into the
coals, and the smell of burning meat
permeated the air and seemed to make
the saurians still more savage. Soon the
party saw a circle of fiery eyes ranged
nearly around their tent, and the situa
tion was indeed growing desperate.
“This won’t do, boys,” called out
Charley K., who aspired to be the leader,
“we must make a break for it or those
imps will make pie meat of Ho.
at once and then go for those stubs over
there,” said he, pointing to some half
dozen dead lightwood trees and cypres®
knees that rose up some ten. feet or so
near by. The next moment the rifles
rang out a volley, and the boys rushed
forward through the lane their shots and
sud len onslaught had made, and in less
time than it takes to write it they were
“shinning” up the trees of refuge. >
Charley, the colored boy, got left in the'
sudd.ee rysh and came near meeting his
death, for as he sprang over a big ’gator
it rose suddenly on its fore feet, tripping
him up and throwing l\im directly in,
front of an old saurian, who opened his'
jaws wide at the tempting morsel so 'op
portunely thrown in his way. But
Charley was game, and diving under the
one which had caused his fall, he leaped
on the backs of the closely-packed rep
tiles, and on reaching the shore jumped
into tha ’ - Ao imriptus of his rush
carrying it from shorg.
As soon as the alligators
from tlpj rush made against them they
piuilged furiously forward, and in a few
minutes the meat hanging on the spits
and iu front of the tent was torn into
hundreds cf pieces, the fierce animals
fighting one another for the choice bits
like so many hungry dogs. Their huge
forms floundered around, and iu a second
the tent was leveled and the space was
occupied by a moving mass of the hide
ous brutes, moving around in the semi
darkness, blowing, puffing and roaring,
the strpng, musky odor nearly stifling the
hunters on their narrow and uncomfort
able perches. If ever hunters were fair
ly “treed” they were. They were all
sitting astride of old dead limbs, on tbe 1
stubs, all in the compass of a few yards.
Two of them had their rifles, but only a
few rounds of cartridges. There they
sat, and when the first fright had worn
off they shouted out to each other to see
if all were safe. After repeatedly call
ing “Charley,” “Charley,” a faint hello
was heard from off the water, and
“Heah I am” came to their ears. They
could do nothing, however, so sat still
and endured the long hours as best they
knew how.
Meanwhile the scaly reptiles moved
over the island in oountless numbers,
jostling against one anotlier, and hissing
at times like so many gigantic geese. Tho
tent was leveled, the canvas was torn
and trampled, the dishes, crockery, etc.,
broken, and pandemonium generally
raised.
About 2 o’clock in the morning, as the
tired hunters were nearly falling down
from sheer fatigue, a horrible din under
neath startled them into a full sense of
their still great danger. A fight began
in the center of the mass between two
huge specimens, and soon others joined
in, till they thought from the horrible
gnashing of teeth and the dull thumps
of the flail like tails of the’gators that
fully a half hundred were engaged in the
deadly melee. Snarls, roars of pain and
loud bellowing* filled the air, and the
rushes of the immense bodies were dimly
discernible, the whole forming a
indescribable, terrible and sickening.
As soon as the light of day appeared
the reptiles retired and the hunters de
scended from their wearisome roosts.
And such a sight as greeted their eyes
they say cannot be well described. Their
camp had disappeared, everything being
trampled into the ground or tom to
pieces, while the scene of the combat
looked as if a plowing contest had taken
place there. Light alligators were left
dead on the spot, while pieces of tails,
paws and other signs of the conflict wera
scattered about by scores. Charley was
seen at a distance of half a mile from
shore, and it was some time before he j
could be induced to laud. The huntetj
suffered te’-’dbly from mosquitoes, and ,
their face. 1 - presented a woful appear
ance. Hastily securing all possible of
their camp equipage, they left the scene
of their peculiar adventure and pulled
lustily for home. .