The Wrightsville recorder. (Wrightsville, Ga.) 1880-18??, August 09, 1884, Image 1

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l 0 T <e -— > ^ N -1 Jm ra ra t, I: t: --ft. ~ :rr ......A T W i- A ♦ VOL. V. SCANDAL MONO Eli S. Do you hear the scandal mongers Breathing poison in whisper, Passing by, a In a sigh ? Moving cautiously and slow, Smiling sweetly as they go. Never noisy—gliding smoothly like a snake; Sipping Through here and sipping there. the meadow fresh and fair, Leaving subtle slime and poison it) their wake. Saw ye not the scandal monger As she sat, Beaming brightly ’neath the roses In her hat? In her dainty gloves and dress, Angel like and nothing less. Seemed she—casting rrniles and pleasing words about. Once she shrugged mul shook her head, liaised her eyes and nothing said When Bhe spoke of friends, aud yet it left a doubt. Did yon hear the scandal monger At the hall, Through the music, rhythm, beauty, Li glit and all ? Moving litre and moving there, \\ itli a whisper light as air, Casting shadows on a sister woman's fame— Jnst n whisper, word or glaneo. As she floated through the dance, Aud the world is busy with a spotless name. You will hear the scandal mongers Sometimes but often Everywhere. men, women, Yet their tongues drop foulest Young and fair, And they spend their leisure time slime, Casting mud on those who climb by work and worth. Shun them, slum them, ns you go— Shun them whether high or low. They are but the cursed serpents of the earth. Mab’s Keepsake Mai) and I bad been idling about in Tuscany for some weeks with Uncle ■Wallace, and we had many plans made for more extended journeyiugs, when our undo was suddenly obliged to re¬ turn to England on pressing business. As w'e could not and would not accom¬ pany him, he installed us in a quiet little hotel, gave us a liberal allowance of pocket-money, and left us with strict injunctions to remain quietly where we were until his return. Wo were to make no excursions requiring longer than a day’s absence—for Uncle Wallace highly disapproved of ladies traveling alone in foreign countries. I was quite old enough to chaperon Mab whithersoever she cared to go, but, not being argu¬ mentative, I agreed to keep her and my¬ self iu strict seclusion until her uncle rejoined us. But, after three days of our own society, we both grew horribly mopisb. Mali had made crooked little sketches of the old cathedral till we both hated the sight of the hoary edifice, we had tried all the cakes in the little confec¬ tioner’s, and had read our small library twice over. “Effie, there is to be a rural fete at San Vito on Wednesday, aud I’m go¬ ing,” Mabel announced on the fourth dav. U * “San Vito is eight hours from here,” I said deprecatingly. “I don’t care if it is eighty.” “But think of your promises to Uncle ’Wallace not to go anywhere,” “We shall be away only one night; and 1 shall die of the ‘blues’ if we don’t have some amusement.” I remonstrated to the utmost of my ability, but was overruled in the end, as I knew I should be. Mab, having had her own way ever since she was a baby, was not likely to relinquish her sceptre at the ripe age of twenty. So the next afternoon, armed with shawl straps and a small valise, we betook our¬ selves to the railway station aud bought tickets for San Vito. “Mademoiselle should inquire care¬ fully the hours of the trains, as the time¬ tables are often inaccurate on this line,” said our smiling landlord as we de¬ parted. Our only fellow-traveler in the coupe was a gentleman of about thirty. He was reading the Times as we entered, but I noticed that he seemed to take more interest in Mab’s pretty face than in the news. Yet he was not the least impertinent, and he apparently imagined that his furtive but comprehensive glances were quite unnoticed. Every one admired Mabel—she was like a sea-shell, or a tea-rose, or any delicately tinted lovely bit of nature— and I could not blame this man for being only human. He had pleasant dark eyes, with plenty of length fun in them, limb, sleek dark hair, a good of and a look of the patrician about him from the toe of his well-fitting boot to his finely shaped hand. As the stranger had been thoughtful and kind concerning the disposal of our luggage and the arrangement cf refrac¬ tory curtains, politeness demanded that I should address him, and we were soon chatting together like old friends. He gave us his card, on which was en¬ graved, “Sidney Weir, Oaklands, Kent,” and be gleaned from our conver¬ sation that the Misses WarburtOD, of Exham, were his traveling companions. It suddenly occurred to me that I was playing the chaperon very badly in making such advances tried to a perfect Mab stranger, and I to frighten into becoming propriety and reserve; but, when I flattered myself that I was looking my sternest, she actually gave Mr. Weir her pretty little hand to hold while he told her fortune in the pink palm. bric-a-brac having The subject of come up, Mr. Weir produced a curiously carved little silver whistle from liis pocket, winch he said had once saved WRIGHTCVILLE, GA., SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1884. his life in India. It had a peculiar shrill note, very penetrating and striking for so small an article, and, used as o signal of distress, it had brought help when he was overpowered by the ene my. He seemed pleased with Mab’s warm admiration of'the whistle, and, as she was returning it, he said simply : “I should be so pleased if you would accept the little toy as a keepsake. I shall only lose it if it continues to jingle about with my keys and small change; and perhaps it would serve as a charm to wal'd off danger from you on some occasion. It’s duty to me is done.” Mali hesitated; but, seeing the disap¬ pointed look on Mr. Weir’s face, she took the little trinket, with a smile of thanks, and fastened it to one of her bracelets, I thought it a bold, forward thing to do; but I knew that my opinion or displeas¬ ure Would make hut little difference to my younger sister. It was growing late as we drew near the little station of Gimino, where we should have to change carriages for San Vito. Our companion’s destination was a town further along the Gimino line; so we would soon he obliged to separate. I and was secretly Mab pleased; but to Mr. Weir the time was slipping away al¬ together too quickly. Arrived at Gi mino we made the unpleasant discovery that the San Vito tiain had gone on without us, and that there would be no other till 5 o’clock in the morning. “What will you do?” asked Mr. Weir. “I have ten minutes to spare before my train goes; if I could be of any service to you in engaging a room at the hotel, or in any other way, I should he most happy.” “I think it would be better not to goto the wake hotel,” said the Mab; “we should never up for early train and we have not the time to wait for the next one.” “Yes,” I answered, “wo could get some refreshment here, and stay in the waiting room till our train comes. It is eleven o’clock now, and the time is not so very long. We can take a comforta¬ ble nap in the waiting room. ” Something in Mr. Weir’s manner be¬ trayed that he did not quite approve of our plan but he was too polite to say anything against it. He called a waiter to attend to our wants and, in answer to the second sharp call from the locomo¬ tive, took his leave, lingering long over the hand-shako with Mab, and disap¬ peared “I wish in the hadn’t darkness. he gone. I feel lonely in this strange place,” said Mab, with a little shiver. “Nonsense, child! It would have been obtrusive and indelicate if ho had remained. You forget that we are only friends of a day. Why should he alter his plans for us ?” I spoke boldly, but I, too, was very ill at ease. The little coffee room was gradually filling with rough looking men, who watched ns—the only women in the place—furtively and curiously, speaking a language we but little under¬ stood. The hotel was a mile distant and we could not take refuge in it at that hour of the night even if we had known the way. “Mab, how foolish of you to wear your diamond ring on a journey of this kind—it attracts attention !” I said, in an undertone, as the light caught the brilliant on her linger when she raised her coffee cup, 1 happened to glance out of the win¬ dow at that instant and, to my horror, saw a man with evil black eyes and griz¬ zled hair staring intently at. Mab and me with a wicked look about him which I could not forget. As I caught his eye he slunk away in the darkness, and pres¬ ently the railway porter came to escort us to the waiting room. “It is against the rules of the road to allow the waiting room to be occupied at night,” he began, “but if you will be content without a light, and with both doors locked on the outside, I have no objection to your waiting there for your train.” This was appalling,to be locked up for five hours in a shabby little Italian wait¬ ing room in total darkness. By feeling the man we prevailed upon him to allow us to bolt the outer door on the inside so that we should feel a little less like prisoners. walks and down the “The guard up platform till morning, so you can feel quite safe,” said the porter consolingly, as ho wished us good-night and shut the door of the dark little den upon us. I fortunately bethought me of some wax matches in the valise, and lighting one for a moment we took in the situa¬ tion—a mean little room with a door on two sides, hard benches round the walls and a long table. Surely not an invit¬ made ing apartment for repose. We ourselves as comfortable as the circum¬ stances would permit and tried to forget our position in sleep. But I became preternaturally wakeful. Here were we, two unprotected women, dropped down .at this little station for all the long night hours. Suspicious characters were lurking about, and we might be robbed and murdered without our friends ever knowing of our fate. In the midst of my cheerful reflections it consoled me a little to see the gnard pass by slowly at intervals with his lantern gleaming on the red band of his cap. Suddenly, my ears sharpened by the silence, I heard a stealthy step approach the inner door of our prison, and the quiet grating of a key in the lock was distinctly audible. My heart seemed to stop beating with fright, the and then, to my unspeakable the evil-looking horror, door softly opened and man, with the grizzled window hair, whom of the coffee-room, I had seen through the crept in with a dim lantern in his hand. “Listen 1” he said, iu a hoarse whisper, fixing me with his wicked eyes. “If you are quiet I .will do you qo harm, but if you screain or mase tne least dis¬ turbance I know how to silence you. I want the ring your friend’s pretty finger wears, and whatever money and other valuables you hate about you. Make no resistance, as you value your life! I suppose 1 grew very white and trembled, for Mabel said, in a surpris¬ ingly firm voice— “Don’t faint, Eilie, but give the man the valise to search; our lives are worth more thau the trumpery it contains.” The robber set his lantern on the ta¬ ble and began undoing the straps of Our valise, placing it ou the iloor before the door at which he had entered. Where was the guard outside that his light did not shine again through our window ? He might have rescued us; but he did not come. “Eftie,” said Mabel, in a whisper to me—she need not have whispered, for the robber could not understand our language—“I without am not going to give up my ring a struggle. This man evidently thinks the oilier door locked on the outside aud safe against our opening it; otherwise he would not lot ns stand so close to it. 1 havo my hand on the bolt now; there—I have slipped it! I am going to dash the robber’s lantern from the table with this bundle of shawls; in the darkness we can rush out upon the platform and call the guard. Don’t lose your head, or try to detain me, for I am quite resolved. He ready to iiy when I give the signal.” Before 1 could recover from my as tonishment at this bold plan, there was a crash volley of glass upon Italian the lioor, dark¬ ness, a of oaths aud my sister and I were tearing madly down the deserted platform. “Guard ! guard 1” wo shrieked, with all the energy of despair, but from some would inexplicable cause he could not or not hear us, though we saw his form quite plainly in the distance. Steps were heard in pursuit of ns and the angry curses of the burglar reached our terror-stricken ears, when an in¬ spiration seized Mabel. She put her little silver whistle to her lips and blew till its peculiar note rang out liken clar¬ ion on the still air. The sounds of hasty footsteps ap¬ proaching from another direction be¬ came audible; but whether they were for good or ill wo could not tell. Mob had lost her courage and was leaning Oil me, half fainting, when a voice calling in English “Hallo! What is the mat¬ ter? What are you rascals doing?' seemed to put new life into her. Two men ran toward us, one of whom, to our amazement and delight, we recog¬ nized ns Sidney Weir, our traveling companion. We him clung to him, and hovered over with tears, hysterical laughter am] incoherent thanks, and did not notice that during our explanations both rob¬ ber and guard disappeared. Mr. Weir said that ho had felt uneasy at leaving us alone in the little station, and, find¬ ing another belated traveler, they had whiled away the night smoking and walking up and down upon the road near at hand. He lmd not told ns of his change of plans, as it might annoy us. When he saw the rough set of men who collected about the coffee-room, lie was very glad he had waited, for he thought we might be subjected to annoyance, if nothing whistle worse. The sound of Mabel’s had reached his ears as a signal of distress, and he would never feel suf¬ ficiently thankful that ho had given her the little toy. “Wliat I fail to understand is this ras¬ cally guard deserting his post so shame¬ fully,” said our rescuer, ringing a huge bell which hung near. Presently an astonished group of waiters and porters gathered round us with lights and began asking us a thou¬ sand questions. One of the newcomers stumbled over something lying in a dark corner. “What is this?" ho cried; “Moser, the guard, in a drunken sleep ! He will lose his place for this, and deserves it, too 1” It was afterward discovered that An¬ ton Moser, the real guard, had been drugged by his two lantern ruffians, one of whom while had stolen and cap, the other made his daring attempt upon Mabel and me. We had lost all interest in the fete at Ban Yito, and, like frightened, disobedi¬ ent children, our only wish was to re¬ turn home, if the little hotel that we had left could be called home. Sidney Weir accompanied us; and, when Uncle Wallace returned, he found a suitor for Mabel’s hand awaiting his approval. The approval was not witheld, as Mab’s face idol. betrayed that her heart had found 'ts Gen. Webb’s Duel In 1843 the late General James Watson Webb was challenged to fight a duel by Thomas F. Marshall, then a member of Congress from Kentucky. They fought near Wilmington, Del., at ten paces. General Webb did not want to fight, as he was the best shot in the country. Considering his adversary’s life at his mercy, he informed Marshall’s friends that under no consideration would he take his life. Marshall, how¬ ever, insisted on fighting, and although he wounded General Webb in the knee, the General fired both shots under Mar¬ shall’s feet. On General Webb’s return to New York ho was indicted for fight¬ ing a duel and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. A petition was immedi¬ ately circulated for his pardon, and two weeks afterward he was pardoned by the Governor. No, TnE plumber is not a man who picks plums, in the ordinary sense, but somehow ho manages to gather a good many during the winter season, AFTER THE FINNY TRIBE. cAtciuNG ms Fiusl' Titotm The l.tvrllmt Day’s Sport IhiU nit Amateur New York Plsht-riimii had Ever Enjoyed. “I have a friend in Sullivan county, * says a well known New Yorker. “He wrote me that he was about to be mar¬ ried, aud desired me to be present on the occasion; ‘Ah !’ said I, ‘here’s my op¬ portunity. I will go condole with my frieii 1, aud at the same time woo the pleasures of the rod.’ I saw my friend sacrificed, and then said : ‘Now I will seek the mountain brook.’ My friend fitted me out with all the arrangements that were necessary for the enjoyment of tho gentle art. He drove me to the brook and showed me liow to east the cruel barb, tipped not with the deceptive fly, but entwined by the gyrating denizen of tho fresh-turned turf, He also instructed mo iu the proper way to act when I lured some credulous trout upon my hook. Then he left mo and I started in. It was a nice creek. It flowed through a meadow at the place where I began. The sun was a trifle bright aud genial, as you may have observed by this reflected light in my countenance. I whipped the stream for several rods without coaxing any trout to Licky-te-brindle try tho bait, but suddenly 1 1 got a bite. down the creek went the biter, it took all the line off the reel, aud then took me. Down the creek I went after it. I was on shore, for tho water looked cold, and I thought I might do just as effective killing from the shore as by wading. After I had run down stream something tho like an eighth of a mile fish suddenly doubled and tore up stream. Then up T weut as fast as I had gone down, until I thought I would havo to drop the rod and let the fish have his own way with it. Just then the fish slopped, and I reeled back the liue, a little piece of work in the way of angling that hadn’t occurred to me before. I had the line well taken in and stood close ou the edgo of the brook when the fish started for shore to¬ ward the spot where I was standing. It never stopped, but climbed right up on the land, and before I recovered my head my leg was being neatly wound up in a water snake that could have been sold for a yard, good measure. I took somo of the best steps the Highland fling can produce, dropped my rod aud made rail¬ road time toward a fence that loomed gratefully up on the further side me field. The snake dropped me then, and after I had gone half way across the field it occurred to me that it might not be quite the proper caper to leave my friend’s tackle to be gorged by a snake, and I went back. The snake was mov¬ ing off with line, rod and all. I drew my knifo aud cut about four feet of the line off aud gavo it to the snake. ‘ ‘ Well, that tussle rattled me a little,but I made up my mind it must be only a touch of fisherman’s luck and I tied on another hook, tangled it up with a worm and once more wont for the ripples. By and by I had a bite, I guess, and yanked the hook. It came out of the water with a ‘swish,’ and sailed up in the air like a sky rocket. 1 gave the rod a twitch to throw the bait in again. I felt it come to a sudden pause in tho air, and then ‘whi-z-z’ my reel began to go. I looked back. If I was a real, genuine trout fisherman of course I wouldn’t expect you to believe this, but wliat should I see but a swallow traveling skyward with my hook iu its mouth. It liad swooped down on tho worm as it was in the air and had hooked itself. It was the work of a few minutes to reel the swallow in, likopulliug down a kite. It was only hooked in the bill and I freed it without much trouble. “ ‘And this is trout fishing ?’ I re¬ marked to myself. ‘An hour on tho brook and all tlie trout I’ve baergod are a snake aud a swallow.’ Then 1 lashed the brook some more. I came to a nice foamy pool that swept along tho edge of a high bank on the opposite side of the creek. I thought surely I must catch a big trout there. And I did. It scared me when I got it out on the ground. \s I was admiring its beauty I heard a voice liehind me. ‘See here, young fel¬ ler,’ it said, ‘do you know what o' you’ll git if you don’t make tracks off this here land. If ye don’t, I kin tell ye.’ “I turned around. The owner of the voice was a liorny-fisted son of the plow. He told me he’d give me five minutes to vacate the premises. As he was backed up by a fellow-tiller of the soil I said I would depart at once. I started to re¬ trace my steps, but that was against the rules of the property, and do you know those farmers made mo give them the trout I had caught and wouldn’t allow me to get off their laud except by plung¬ ing across that brook, which was up to my neck, and clambering up the high bank ou the other side? I had been keeping myself dry all along because the water was so cold ! “That settled it. The charm of front¬ ing was washed away entirely. Arcadian simplicity had won the day. I followed down the creek until I came to a road that my friend said would lead to las place. I sat down on a rock in the sun and busied myself in wringing some of (be water out of mo. As I sat there cogi¬ tating aud making some very em¬ phatic remarks connected with trout fishing and its devotees, I was attracted by a noise in the bushes off to my right. I looked around. There, standing in the middle of the road not thirty feet away, and all three of them looking as if they were two laughing They at me, said was it a big two bear miles with cubs. was from where I sat by the roadside to my friend’s house.' That may quicker bo, but I never traveled two blocks than I covered that distance. the They went back and got my boots and fishing tackle, Trout fishing in Sullivan oounty is exciting, but bobbing for eels over in the Hackensack is good enough for me.” WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. Fretieh Peasants Who Sell Tlicte llafv Onee lu Pour Yenrs. [Prom tlxo Boston Herald,1 “Human hair goods are worth more now than they ever were,” said a dealer who does a large business in such arti¬ cles. “All classes of ladies wear them— young, middle aged and old—some for use, but more for ornament. Men wear wigs only when they cannot help their it. Women wear false hair to add to charms. Short hair is in demand now, in the form of Lisbon and sea foam waves aud frizzes, and the favorite color is chestuut brown. The golden shade, so much in fashion a few years ago, has fallen fifty per cent, in price.” “Where does the supply of artificial hair come from ?” “Nearly all little from France and Ger¬ many, with a from other parts of the Continent and England. The largest quantity and best quality is from Franco. It is not the hair of dead persons, as many imagine, but comes from the heads of living peasant girls. It is gathered by peddlers, who buy it for a triffe—a silk handkerchief or some other trifle which pleases the fancy. There are in France regular ‘hair raisers’—that is, girls who have their hair cut for sale every four years.” “What is the most expensive kind ot aair ?” “Natural silver white, like this, is worth $18 or $20 an ounce; so you see it is worth more than its weight in gold. Bleached white hair is worth only $3 an ounce. Natural hair of ordinary shades is worth from $5 to $20 a pound, except the hair collected by ragpickers, which brings only from $1 to $3. The value of different colors of hair depends ou the fashion. Yellow hair not golden is almost useless to us. ” “I suppose there have been great im¬ provements made in your art of late years ?” “Yes, indeed. You could tell the old fashioned wig a mile off, but now I can make a wig that will defy detection. A great many top pieces are worn by men, like this.” Hero the hair dealer, greatly to the surprise of the reporter, lifted up what hair was to all appearance the natural on the top of his head, and disclosed a omnium hH **» *». LilLarcS “I suppose you sell a good many light colored waves to dark haired ladies ?” “Ah, you may see many a pretty blonde on the street with black eyes, which she cannot hide, and black hair, which she can. Fashion rules all. Jiwt now the color is medium brown, but there are constant changes in style, enough to keep one ‘on the go’ all the time.” Forests and Rainfall. At a meeting of the Society of Engi¬ neers in Pittsburg, Col. T. B. Roberts read a paper on “Forests and Rainfall.” He claims that the destruction of forests has no effect whatever in decreasing rainfall, but tends rather to increase it. “The records of many years oil five oi the most important rivers in Europe show that there is no evidence to sup port the theory that floods are increas¬ ing in height and frequency.” overflow, In re¬ gard to the Ohio river he says ; “It will be observed from the records that the flood of 1884 was only four inches higher than that of 1832, fifty-two years earlier. Between tho years 1851 and 1867, inclusive, omitting two years of which no records were kept or preserved, there were eight floods rising twenty-fivo feet or more, anil five reached the thirty-foot mark. The mean high water for the sixteen years was twenty-four and seven-tenths feet. During the second period, from 1868 to 1884, inclusive, there were only four floods rising to the height of twenty-five feet, and not till the last flood did the river rise to thirty feet or over. But there seems to be nothing in these records on which to establish any theory either for increase in the height of floods, or for less low-water discharge due to the destruction of forests, or to any other cause. The excess of rain, the condition of the earth, were suffi¬ cient to account for the unusual flood of •884.” Every Antiquarian Knew It, The Boston Advertiser is responsiblt for the following story; A good story is told of a couple ol Hinghnm antiquarians. both named The Lincoln, two old gentlemen, rivals iu friendly each striv¬ were long outdo a other way, bringing ing to the iu to light points of antique interest, aud each fond of airing any discovery before the other. One morning the two met in the cars, when one said to the other, with an air of one who condescends to impart valuable information: “Do you know, I have discovered that there Lincoln?” are ten ways of spelling the name of “Nonsense,” retorted his rival, with brisk conclusiveness, “there is only one way to spell it. All others are tho mere mistakes of ignorance, as every antiqua¬ rian could tell you.” A Vermont watch man recently he stole went and paid for a $5 stated that he eighteen years ago. He to free his mind, as he had been in hell ever since he stole it. If it takes years of hell to make a Vermont man give up $5, there appears to bo a for the belief that somo Vermonters penurious.—itoston Post. NO. 12. ODDS AND ENDS. A cubit is tw'o feet. A pace is three feet. A fathom is six feet. A palm is three inches. A league is three miles. Thebe are 2,750 languages. Two persons die every second. Amebica was discovered in 1492. Sound moves 743 miles per hour Envelopes webe first used in 1839. Telescopes were invented in 1590. A square miie contains 040 acres. Light moves 172,000 miles per hour. Toledo, Ohio, is discussing plans for new parks. There are 7,600,000 farmers in the United States. A citizen of New Orleans is making a fortune selling iced tea. The Bank of England spends $50,000 a year in lunch for its clerks. London has a greater population than the entire Dominion of Canada. TnEiiE are now thirty-nine United circuses traveling through the States. Thebe are 180 women enrolled ns students in the University of Michigan. Queen Victoria paid $200,000 for a pearl necklace for her married daugh¬ ter. The Philadelphia Press the states that many scientists believe in sea ser¬ pents. It is estimated that the Pennsylvania wheat crop of 1884 will reach 12,350,000 bushels. The estate of the late T. Bigelow Lawrence, of Boston, is valued at $982,897. The U. S. Senate has voted to give the letter carriers a two-weeks’ vacation annual ly. A new species of the army worm has made its appearance in New York and Pennsylvania. Fifteen Massachusetts girls are about to undertake a tramp of 300 miles iu the Adirondacks. Pink lilios of the valley are now grown in Germantown, Pa., as freely ns the white ones. Philadelphia has prohibited the fir¬ ing of crackers, squibs, etc., within its limits July 4th. The annual convention of the Ameri can 'RcmlrGra* A.caf\mafian will La 1u».W of Saratoga, on August 13 and 14. It is said that among all the Mormon converts at Salt Lake there is not a sin¬ gle French woman. The taxable valuation of Connecticut is $448,774,879, an increase of $6,532,- 313 over last year. The population of Texas is 2,000,000. The largest city is Galveston, with inhabitants. The Imperial Canal of China is tho longest in the world. It is 2,100 miles long, aud connects 41 cities. Little boys in Mexico who obey their teacher in school are awarded by being allowed to smoko while they study. In tho Mesilla valley, in New Mexico, apple trees bear the second year from the seed, and grapes the third year. Twenty-five dollars is the penalty for every wild duck shot in New York State between May 1 aud December 1. Jules Verne is off for a cruise in the Mediterranean on board his yacht, St. Michael, to find materials for a new story. Twenty years ago the number of Protestants of all denominations* in Paris was 15,000; the total at present is 44,000. Recent returns show that the savings banks of New Hampshire have $3,000, 000 moro in deposits than they had one year ago. It takes 50,000 rose blossoms to yield an ounce of attar, and the genuine arti¬ cle costs $100 por ounce at the place of distillation. The ruined cliff city discovered last summer in Arizona, which occupied the sides of a canyon, has been named Walnut Canyon. The tax valuation of Chicago is, real and personal, about $133,000,000; that of Cincinnati for the same year (1883) was $169,000,000. According to the San Franoisco Chronicle the removal of beards from ladies’ faces has become a lucrative pro¬ fession in that city. The Boy Who Didn’t Walt. A Western paper tells a good story of a young fellow who on the spur of the moment said a thing that will live in history. There was a sailboat upset out in tho bay, and men were clinging to it in the hope of being dock rescued, and a crowd rushed to the to procure small boats to go to the relief of the wrecked crew. A young fellow jumped into a boat and was just about to pull off, when his father came upon the dock, and seeing iris sou about to undertake the perilous trip, the father said; “HerO., you better not go. Let some one take the boat who understands it.” The boy looked at his father, then looked at the men struggling in the water. It was, for a moment, a question in the boy’s mind what to do. It was a strug¬ gle between duty to the parent, and duty to the men who were liable to lose their lives if not rescued at once. To obey the father, come ashore and get out of the boat, and let others get in, would hav9 taken valuable time, and would have subjected “Herb.” to com meets that he could not have stood, “Father, I fell in there once, myself, and did not want to wait for some one to learn boating before they came to my relief, and I am going.” and he went,