The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, March 06, 1875, Image 2
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HE r 'REE UITIZEN.
E.^A". WEBST^R^^Edit?r and ,l?r,oprietor. . A Weekly Paper Devoted to Temperance, Literature and Politics.
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VOLUME i: ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, SATURDAY, MARCH b\ 1875. , NUMBER 30,
BEST.
BY ALMOST P.AUNKS.
Durn lon-, oh light, Burl let the darkness ml.
liri ellenoo bo worro fitful Bounds hrwe boon ;
Let soul to body be no moro a mate ;
Let each, too tired, bo sweetly desolate.
Ye?, lot tho noni, e'en aa a too-loved brido,
Tarn gently from ita sacred body's side;
Love Blumber more than love ; turn ond be atlll,
No'.v that they both, or not, have bad their w.ll.
What mattera it? they both aro tired to death.
They, married with tho breathing of a breath,
Would gather vip tho feet and bo at rest, 1
Content to bo oblivious of tho beat ;
And happior ?o all discord lo elude,
All bitter pain, in that great FoMcltnde f
That rca?iics like asea, cool, lnnnile.
O'er folded banda and lips to nie nm ry Bweet.
A Poa of grassy wsvea, foam-fringnd with flow'rH,
Tho tenderest gift of any of oura ;
?'or lo, tho last of all, with floral wile
Wo woo ibo mutent thing, tho grave, to amllo 1
If ono gooa gladly at tho close of tho day,
*f*nf s all tho playthings of his world away
Pulls down tho curtain. lays his aching t >t I
And weary body ou a downy bed.
Dlveated of all taro, but robed in Bleep,
"Vol any one win make it cauro to woop ;
Then nitor uno Birth, if there bo no breath,
What test la kindlier tban the sleep of death?
O soul, we each have wparlod ! Let us turn
Both brea-t from breast Them 1B no moro to learn.
There {nay bo dawn beyond the midnight's pall,
But now 'sweet rest li; bolter-boat of Ml;
HETTIE'S FIRST VALENTINE.
I? ?wns : a'dover's i raeol ing; a .dovers*
parting, when Robert Orey, walking
ncroBB the fields in Ibo Bummer twilight,
found Hettie Ucl mos nt tho etilo wait*
mg for^-him; . :There was noiiRht'?vbor
eje? when thoy caught eight of his tall,
strong figure coming toward, her, no
ami le ou her lips when ho 'stood noar.
her waiting frr her to speak. Humbly,
yet scarcely with the humility of a
lover, he looked into" trie faco before
him, BO very young und fair, HO Bteru
and pale, rino looked at his hnndsomc
face, hia tall form,.and a.shudder shook
h?r from liend to foot. Very small,
very Blight, lhere was yet a dignity in
.irr "voice and look as"she said in a low
tono,: /e,i tnrf&teta 'iriHi*"i it
" I came to meet jon once more, as
yon reqn?s*?ed*, Rotiert, brit you must
not think to move mo from my r?solu-,
tion."
You cast me off, then," lin said,
sadly and very, .very bitterly.
" lt .is "your own Sf^JL'' .
"But, Hettie, t'nm not tho only man
who sometimes takeB a glass more than
is.good for him," he pleaded.
.* Yon are the only man that could
work misery <to mebydraukenness." sho
tttfirW Ht ? i^lyujaH?, 'i tero ly.... LflTiT. isl^irt.
^..^j-ivovd, Robert,' but it is a true ono.
You were taken homo from the ball on
Thursday evening helpless from iutoxi-r
cation."
"But, nettie, it was a fc?tivo timo.
AU tho young men wero more or less
^o^ex the influence of liquor."
.'.No', ull, Robert. Thank Heaven,
nome of tho mothers and wives ve. c
reared that anguish."
" Como, Hettie, rJps't.be too hard -*n
?.. "ff rlnao y~>t 1t?j..-,j-.i ? --*Oi*y ?Oi'fcQiiV'"
"It has happened'once too often,
-Robert, for you and for. me. I. told
yon I would never marry a men who
need liquor, and I will keep my word.
How often have you deceived me I will
not ask. Thursday evening I Baw
you.*'
"It shall not happen again, Hettie;
upon my bonor^ it shall not ! "
"Will you sign the pledge?" she
asked, a hopo for the first time lighting
her soft brown eyes.
"Bind myself that way i .No?!, Yon
must trnst mc, Hettie. 1 f hink ft mon
r-igns himself a .coward when ho puts
his narq? to such ? paper, as if he was
afraid ol his own rosolntion."
" Twice yon have trusted to your res
olution, ana I havo trusted you. Twico
you have failed'to keep your promise."
The young voice waa har I and stern
again. But n moment later Hettie
spoke in a gentler voice.
" Itobert," she Raid, " yon have
known me only-at? ft nursery governess
to Mrs. Reid's chiidron, an orphan and
alone in the world. Yonr love was a
generous one, for you are above mo in
position., have wealth, and might marry
a far handsomer and richer girl than I
aro."
"I jove you," was the Vitrtple reply,
and there wero tears in Hettie's eyes as
sho heard it. >'- *
. "Because I bclicvo you .love mc,
Robert, I will tell you what I hoped
m i \> ht nc vor have been known here., "My '
, liome is so far away, r.ll I loved there
liayp' been dead for three weary .yosrs,
and I hoped tho annie might bo buried
forever. Bnt, Robert, listen, my father
died a drunkard's death after living a
diunkard's'Jife'for-fourteen^cars. I
cen remember, though dimly, a hand
Bomo hmiHu, my mother handsome and
happy, well dressed, with every com
fort within hor reach. I can well re
member tim gr ad ii al downfall from cnn
homo to another, o<teh poorer than tho
Zrujt, tho warro, comfortable clothing
growing nhabbior ?md shabbier, tho
bountiful labio growing moro and more
scanty. Worst cf 'nil, Robert,child as
I waa, I could seo^theT. chango from a
noble, uptight manhood to the brutality
oka drunkard. 1 havo seen my-moth/jv
cowering Under blows, wbilo I shrank
and shivered in a hidden corner. I
hnve seen little brothers and Bisters, '
one ufti r another laid-in rudo cofflnH,
victims of want and sui?ering. I have
neon my mother die, bidding rae oaro for
tho driveling, prematurely old man,
filling into his second childhood from
drink. Tho end came when he died
raving in the madness of delirium lire
men's, and when I turned my back upon
his grave I mcdo a vow to my heart
that sooner than tie my life to the
flbivo of drink I would oin?, f t with ray
o wn hand,"
"But, Hettie, ihai?was an extreme
cr.se. Your fatti?r was. you say. tho
elnvo of .drink, ^,-w>H never be n?y
xu?ute*-,'-' -'. J?at
5,1 It ia your.masternow, si nco twice it
has made you break a solemn pledge to
. me."
M But, Hettie, oan't.you understand ?.
A man may take occasionally a little
moro perhaps' than his head can bear,
and yet never fall into the pitiable state
5'on have described. Heavens, Hettie !"
ie oried impatiently, his temper paling
nnder the Bte'ady resolution oMho face
that could bf ao gentle and sweet, "yon
pay me a poor compliment when yon
want mo to bind myself by a written
pledge not to mako a beast of myself."
"I did not come here to exchange
compliments," said Hettie, cadly, " but
to toll you that I will never take up the
urden that o rushed: ray ?mother into
her grave, voluntarily, . Never with my
oyeB open will I link 'my lifo with that
of a man who ever touches one drop of
liquor. It is useless to repeat tho old
arguments, Robort. Moderate drinkers,
occasionally intoxicated, may live for
yeara only moderato dvickers, bu 11 will
nover bo tho wife of any man who has.
not bound himself by a pledge never to
touch. liquor in any form.
" A total abstinence fool I" sneered
Robert, now thoroughly angry.
"A total abstinence mau," sho said
firmly.
"I hope you will bo able to find the
soft fool who will put his manhood un?
dor your thumb.'- For myself, I will
nover bind myself .to a temperance
pledge 1"
"What!" ho argued, " shall T, tho
riebest man in M-, who could marry
almost any girl in my own set, bind my
self to absolute slavery for a nursery
governors, a girl who has hot one penny
beyond tho salary MrB. Reed pays her,
a drunkard's child, by her own confes
sion ? Nevor ?"
He waa-very angry, and like most an
gry men, very unreasonable. He forgot
to think^of the long courtship by which
Hettie was won, of the gentle maidenly
reticence that had been ono of her great
est charms, of her own modest estimate
of tho merits that had1 won him. He
forgot the times without number when
he had compared her in hil heart with
all the maidens he knew-, finding her
even prettier, sweeter, i?ore winsome
than auy. He forgot how he loved her
in his anger at her resolution.
And Hetty, . walking slowly homo
ward, resized &at with her otvu hand
sho had thW?t ?S?^'be brightness out of
hard life."' Sbolbved Robort. : Hot' be
canse ne was iiob, could* give her a
wea'th; had abe loved biui, bul for his
tender chivalry;for her/his noble intnl
h ct, his loving eyes that had sought
her >wn with Bitch constant devotion.
She had believed him all noble, true
and manly when she bad put ber - little
hand, in Ids strohg one and promised to
be his wife.
Six Jp ig months of betrothal had
pasfcdlbefore tho summer . evening
when tabs- turned from Tum. ria she
d>bouglrt, forever. - . And enly irt the last
few weeks bad she known of that fear
ful, "deadly foe to her hope of happi
ness who was fastening his fatal hold
npon her lover. -The first tine she
heard of Robert Grey intoxicated, a
deadly despair grasped her heart. She
thought of life-long martyrdom from
which she had oeoaped so littled time
before, and she wrote to. her lover
sternly forbidding him to see her again,
and thgn spent night after night weep
ing for her lost love.
But Robert Grey wonld not accept
his dismissal, and pleaded so penitently
that love conquered, fear, and Hettie
believed that neyeV- again wonld he
yield to tho temptation. Again thc
9^>ry eam?4o her, and half maddened,
uttW?lit?g t?&elieve the solemn pkdgc
brhjgan, jM^aWtl begged him io come tc
herTHd^^iovn away the lie. But thc
third tim? she had s en him ! Too well
she knew what the red, wild eyes, the
[ thick utterance, tho reoling step be.tok
i ened. Only in answer to the most earn
eat petition had she nerved herself tc
grant one moro interview, and it hac'
ended in Robert's anger and the fail un
of her own last hope.
Bbc knew Robert Grey had a sense o
honor" as ke?n as hor own. That In
had failed in bis promise to her wa
becouso he looked upon it aa a pledg
merely given to answer a girl's fool isl
whim. Once bound beforo men by
written pledge she felt sure he wonk
keep it at whatever cost to himself. S
fdio hoped to win him to sign such*
pledge Tboro was a strong tcmpei
unce rovival in M-at that very tjmt
ond on this ibo built a hopo not know
inc it was her weakest hold.
For Robert Grey, yoting, wealth;
and popular, loo-fed upon all this tem
pofsnce" preaching ali directed agaim
tbo'lowrr oIass,-th ' sots who rolled i
gulera, the freqnontors of villago ta\
ems. That he, a gent .lem ni, shout
I ?'nee his name to such a plodge na then
wre'ajiofl woro porinndod to sigr
?(.?.me d to bim in a measure to, plac
himsolf upon their lovel. Theiv, as h
told flt ttie, ifrwas a confession of weeli
!:<?:-s against which ali of his mnnhoo
revolted. . ...
The summer days woro- away, an
these two, loving each other fondly
met but eoldom, only to exchonge coi
Strained greetings; Hettie snflbre
most in her qniet, uneventful lifo ; bi
Bho had been educated in a hardschoo
and boro her pain patiently, fihe gre
paler, and more quiet, but there wc
.nono to notice any change. While el
was faithful to her duties to Mt
Reed's nursery, ehe waa sure of a hom
*nd if there wa? no lore there but thi
of the children,she taught, HO, to
there was uo cno'to comment upon b
languid atop or palo cheeks. If ni
sp'-nt t'?ahy nlghfs in weep ng, no o;
BOCO bc an explanation so dong
j'Mary'e grammar was recited, and Ali
said'her A B O's.
I But whon tho wintor sei ia? Hot
SK ^g'^;^;^;xw IK^?^>^: ,v^tv
bad another wrenoh at hor heart-strings.
Without a word of farewell, Robert
Grey lelt M-to travel. No one knew
exactly npon wlmt errand the yonng man
had gone. He had been in business, and
had left that with an agent, giving no
hint of when he would retnrn, or whither
ho was bonnd. Orphaned, wealthy, aud
free, he had no permission to seek, li in
aunt oaring for his house as ehe had
done since his mother died in infanoy.
Hettie had not realized how hope had
still been strong in her heart until
Robert was gone. While she could soe
him, though they met almost as strang
ers, she prayed and hoped ?till tbat bo
wonld return to her, and give her the
pledge he would value' most as hiB safe
guard. Bat he had gone in anger, and
the little governess looked a very hope
less future in the face. She was a
woman whose love, not easily won,
would be given for a life-time, and no
thought of another, to roplooe Robert,
ever came to her faithful heart. She
had given him np boeanse she thought
duty demanded the sacrifice, bnt she
could never ceaso to love him. Winter
festivities left bor often alone. Mrs.
Reed took tho child ron to their. grand
mother's for Thanksgiving, and again
for Ohristtiias week. In all 'this timo
Hettio was loft in charge of tho house.
Homo Christmas .gifts wore put upon
her dressing table, testifying tho chil
dren's love urjd Mrs, Reed's appr?cia
tion of her care; but though Hettie vnl
ued theso^highly, they could not fill tho
dreary void in her heart.
Sometimos in her lonely weeping uko
3HOB ti on od the resolution RUO had
?ought only duty, wondering if her
storuneFS had driven Robert moro into
the path she wished him to avoid,
whothor her influeuco might not have
oaved him. Then she remembered her
mo thor's prayers, her patience, her
pleading, and felt how powerless a wo
man ?B when drink is her rivtd.
January wore away, and February
was half gone, when ono morning Alice
Reed, in the midst of her babes, ex
claimed :
"It is Bl- Valentine's day, I wonder
if I sholl have a valentine !"
"Papa will bring the mail atdinnpr,"
said ten-year-old Mamy, gravely? "I
know cousin Ben will send UB a valen
tine ; he always does."
" Will you have one,- Miss Hettie?"
questioned Alice. '
"No, darling, I think not," Hettie
said, smiling.
'?-:X&&t irtitftT piipi^r^ngit?-!??^:, iii
uer, and tho children rushed out tb
moot him, not tte li curd him say :
"Take this letter to M?6B Hettie,
Mamy." ..'X / .
A letter foi hor V There was no ono
in the wide world^to write a letter to
Hettie, except^-. IA'wild hope snraoar
in her heart. CouTI Robert have whit
ten? \
Ir, wa? a bulby letter, and Mamy,
eager lu str? "if ittfr f?itjmr lind a valen
tine for her, loft Hettio alone to open it.
y.-^letter, closely written, was inside,
end. folded within this a temperance
pledge, and at the foot of it tho bold
sigfOtnre, " Robert Grey."
The letter was Hettie's first love-let
ter, and I have co right to intrude npon
her pi,vacy ; but in the spring, Robert
Grey came back to M- to fiud In's
bride, who put her hand in his, loving
ly, trmtingly, won by the love that had
prompted tho sending of her first valen
tine.
The Suez Canal.
A lottor from Ciiro to the Eastern
Bndge?-, dated the '1st December, says:
" The present s*~?Le of the Suez canal is
far !fGm ?al-.infan'-ory. Tho canal is
neither completed nor in good repair,
and if matters are ieft as they-are nt
present it will become .tjaglesB in a .few
y?ars. It is broad eriotrfdi to accommo
date three steamers abreast, bnt ita
depth is fo variable that ore ship only
can pass through it at a time. When a
vefsel comes from S nez tho ships c >m
ing from Europe must wait at Port Slid,
and if the ship getsapronnd on the sand
the whole communieition is Btopped
until it is set afloat again. Tliis, ol
courso, causes great, injury to tiade, and
complaints aro freqnont. The ohio!
caneo of tho evil is tho want of money.
Tho Engliph, who uso tho o mal more
than any other nation, hnvo long beer
thinking of gctiing tho cinal into theil
-own hands, but a majority of two-thirdf
of tho shareholders is nf cissaryin ordei
to chango tho management, and ns th<
viceroy is the pospessor c f one-third ci
the fharo?,- he has practically tho oust
ing vote. It is true that ono th.?rd ol
tho abaros are a'so in tho poss. Bsion o:
Englishmen, bnt tho attompts whicl
have boen made-to indue.) -he viceroy
tc dinposo < f his sharei have hithcrtr
b eli fruitless. Tho 'kb on ive evidently
fon red that Enplmd will becora.*" tot
lowerful on ibo canal, and thirofon
wo'crH the. alalu?. quo. As for M. Di
lirs^ops, ho continu? 8 to send protest
ii Consioutinople about tho canal duet?
und his Annnora aro becoming ?erv
every day. Tho co*t of tho mein'enano
of tho canal and di o lging-works is froo
15,000,000 to 20 000,000 francs a year
wrii'e hin total receipt? this year bav
only amounted to30,000,000 francs, am
it ,is *ory une?! tain whether tuey 'vi!
to maintaiued at that figure. Mei
oh rm te. boro are uoaniraoafly of opinio
i hat something must be done to prc
vent tbitunefnl work from beiug ruiner
and that M. De Lesseps ni; on ld ci du
be allowed gif aler Jreedom of actioi
or bo given an oppottunity of se.lin
the shares to a new company."
-According to Kepesy, the Burgee
to the Austrian Polar exp?dition, chooi
late, as a beverage, proved most vail
nMe of all; the preserved meat ar
j vegetables in tins hoing also of tl
greatest sorvleo in enetaining tl
I Ktangth pud )? ni vit*.
Tall 8 er vants.
Mr. <Uonway, in bis last Commercial
letter, says ; ' There is no doubt that
the English nobility have a way of em
ploying servants which offers grand op*
portumtieB to rogues. Tn most oases
the outside of the servants is the chief
thing. If the coachman or footman is
good inking in his livery and of tbe
required dimensions his charaoter is
not inquired into. . A -well-known duke
recontly advertised for a foo in um of
exactly- five feet elovon and p, . half
inohca in hoight, wh'osesolo business it
would be to stand at the back of his
coach beside another of like station.
A yous'i, now in tho employ of a lady
of my acquaintance, applied for the ad
vertised, position, and says that his
character was not asked for ; he was
taken ir lo tho soi vants' hall and meas
ured, 'find ' dismissed for lacking the
half ii?oh demanded by the duke.
Thero h a passion for tallness in ser
vants, aud of one noble family at least
it is n rule to admit no man servant
under B'S foet. Thore aro six of fcheeo
eminent personages in their fine man
sion. '.Che English servants are good
looking.'.- neat, and constitutional fiun
koys and flunkeycsseB. They aro voiy
shrowd, and havo thoir class mles as
well defined nu trados-nnions. Down
ing strcots does not possesB more
pigeon holes and rod tape than a man
sion of fh? wealthy. An uppor house
maid would die at the stake before she
would do a bit of work that came with
in tho province of tho under house
maid. A swell butler wouh\>-throw np
his pos'tion in the face of the Lord
Chancellor himself if ho wore oxpected
to black his own boots. Thore are
ninny boys of thirteen kept in brass
buttons, and in many an instance the
solo duly of this boy is to brtiBh the
clothes 'and boots of the buller the
master of the house having his own
separate; valet, pi course it is not
pride wjdeh has made the inflexible
laws of etiquette among these servants,
by whiolf they refuse to step out of an
official j&ooye of function. It ?B tho
determination ot their close to pre
serve th?v, conventional number of tho
Berva???". required lor any first-olass
hou3?ho"?h They particularly dislike
servants; from .other countries, ospe
ciully thi( tuermwas, because ifkwell paid
and welV. if catgut they will do anv thing
request*.^ ?vf-them."
he Effect of Exercise.
It ?8 ,??i?(i by"observation thni/lliOT
effect of#4training," or the porsistont
uso of ? tunast?? oxcrciscs, is to enlarge
tho hortrjt' and lungs both in size and
eapaoit- ''' Archibald MoClaren, suptr
intondeufr of tho Oxford pymnasium,
and autljor of " Physical Education,"
pays1: '.)yhoof the army officers sent
to me fe,y bo instructed in gymnastics
gained nw inohea in girth around the
durst, 7M[C9B thou three tuMntb*." Thnt
this gr^yth is ?iu^ frxplainsd by tho
mere*'?v'iiU'gemcnt of the peotioral
mnsnlosj is proved by the increased
volume m air which the lungs are en
abled tetoxpire, as is demonstrated by
the sparomcter, and post mortems
abundatjtly show an increased capacity
as welii.M size in the heart and large
blocd rassels. The lunga inorease in
length and brear.th, forcing the ribs
outward and the diaphragm downwards.
It is foi: this reason that athletes and
gymnasts aro enable to make prolonged'
and violent exertions withont getting
out of wind. " Tho, capacity of the heart
and central arteries being enlarged,
they can accommodate more blood,
i heir contractile power being inoreased
by this, new demand upon .them, they
are enabled to nena uu the ou?rent i
throngh the lungs with increased ve- j
locity, and thus by their greater capac
ity are able to oxygenize the blood as
fast as it is supplied to them, and so no
congestion takes place, and no incon
venience is felt. The normal capacity
of the lungs of an adult male is about
200 cubic inches. It is computed that
an enlargement of three indies around
the ohest gives an increase of fifty
inches of lung capacity.
By the Pacific.
When the tide is out, Panama lies
stranded-au inland town. It looks
odd lo see vast troops of buzzards
blackening hore aud ihore tho sea
weed --bm thoy are the toavengera of
the tropics ; their lives protcotod by
law, and thoir swift scent for carrion is
really tho protection of the people from
miasmas that else would copu bo pesti
lence. | Panama is a demo little pince,
huddled upon a rocky peninsula jutting
into the Sea from tho bare of tue vol
susie * A ;? co ii. Ijcavipfj tho pier, one
follow^ a rather straggling street, which
winda! among negro lint*, grog-shopn,
and many outious varieties of nat
calato and live (-tock, until it deliver*
him wjihin tho walls-no gatos are visi
blo,. n*r does any one cxacl ly Know when I
ho g?\n inside, qxoep? by a v.iguo fool
ing that ho i? in-wh3ro semblances of
paving ar>d aide-walks appear ; thoro is
an occasional comer with ils side street;
the. Y one on indn'go in vorandan, some
times- of th?ee stories ; queer looking
srhopp,-inclading some where beef is
sold by tho yard-got thicker ; miller,
donkeys; dogs, poultry, pigs, pioknnniu
nie?, grinning gula and turkey buzzards
abound, and hero and thorn an old
church ia seen, until, of a sudden, yon
are in the pinza ; the cat her] ral, with its
two towers with their shell-ornamented,
pyramidal termini, on nhose lofty sum
mits-as well as ia all inferior crevices",
ledges, and all other possible places
grass is 'growing, and plants ate flour
ishing and blooming with the most as
tonishing nonchalance, is on your loft ;
the not very magnificent state house
and palace of justice is on your tight,
and beyond it is what is left of the old.
and what ia finished of tho now "Grand"
hotel of: Panama. The average travel
er finds little beauty in his surround
ings; bat there is' a certain newness
about the picture wliioh pl oases him-'
for the sense of novelty is a pleasure in
itself. -,
The Polar Wave.
Tho cold weather we have been having
of late in those latitudes is as the balmy
breath of the Moy time in comparison
with what I they' have been 'having in
Montana, according to a correspondent,
" Writing from.Silver Bow,' in that ter
ritory, he 'kays'that- th?' previous mid
night the thermometer marked fifty-six^
degrees below zero. That was the nighty,
when Chinamen and whisky froze, aa'
reported by telegraph. > During a movere
cold snap; in-Iowa some years ago,
when the mercury ranged for many clays
between fourteen and thirty-six degrees
below'zero. tho teamsters used, sb it
was currently reported, before starting
on their long trips to buy a 1 gallon of
whipky, bore a hole through it and sling
it by a string to tho coupling pole of the
wagon ; then they could knock off a
piece with a bat ched when they wanted
a drink; The Montana correspondent*
tells of his success in freezing mercury.
A tnmblor full of tho ordinary fluid
metal was exposed to the air on a cold
night. At forty degrees by tho ther
mometer it was still fluid ; at forty-one
degrees it had begun to harden on the
outside; at forty-two degrees it was
solid. Of courso spirit thermometers
aro employed there by weather observ
ers. Ono of thom, a very-careful mah,
wishing to bo accurate, ordered a spirit
thermometer from New "kork, to be
made with special attention to correct
ness m.the scaue. It o me in due time,
and was a very fine instrument, but was
only graduated to thirty degrees below
zero. The disgusted meteorologist pro
nounced it. a good enough summer ther
mometer, but not calculated fornorth-r
er n Mon tana.
-E?j-Ut
A Chinese Comedy,
The San .Francisco Call speaks of a
performance by a newly imported troupe
of Chinese actor's and gymnaste as fol
low-* : "The piece presented was evi
dently in the low.comedy line, judging
from tho great merriment of the audi
ence, excited by the dialogue ; but the
loading features were tho grand military
spectacles, jugglery, and acrobatic per
formo noes. At different times Qu?nese
soldiery, of Ibo old style, appeared
apotjtho ?tag? . _?U-. . . ~,{*.T??~ ?
or titty, and exhibited tho modo o." war
fare with spears and other ancient weap
ons, '?he fencing exorcises nnd com
bats with the doubla swoxc?s display
marvelous dexterity and agility, and
demonstrate that the Chi nam ?in on his !
native heath, and with his own stylt? of i
weapon, 1a a dangerous antagonist.
Tho mode of corabel with batel?/-* and,)
mf-at-chopper* and inc utility xii the)
c'lmberfiomo^bftiuboo suiol? are oleo
displayed." .Titfe ji^glery, which cbn->
s'ats in runmfcrr <$oh" other tbioagh
with swords ana Tartars, braining on?
another "with me?t-ax?o, etc., is %'?rill'--'
ing, brit rather ghastly in its effect, and
most wonderfull deceptive. The blood
is seen streaming down tho naked bodies
of the apparent victims in appearance
that is wonderfully real, and, after be
ing decently slain in one of the terrille
eombatB, it is quito surprising to ob
serve the deceased arise again, atd go
prancing off the stage with a meat
cleaver stuck in his skull."
A Parisian Extravagance.
Writes a Paris correspondent : "Fur
..11_-i ..i-: i" .3"ll i_
Ilium; aUU UlCUOlto ?VA V. VT ?A UUUDoa mu
in great request this winter, and a large
wholesale house that is exclusively de
voted to this branch of production has
done a larger trade thu year than ever
before. This honso employs GO hands,
male and female, all the year round,
and turns ont this class of toys to the
amount of ?80.000 per anniim. The
cher pest 1 set' cf ' furniture' turned ont
by this firm consists of a box made of
deal, a gloss decani or, two dishes, and
four pluto? of china, two glasses, a pew
ter dish cover, two knives, forks, and
spoons ; the whole for three sons.
From thia price the tots mount up by
Hgubrr gradations until they roach the
ab .iud price of ?240; no fewor than j
six ' sets' dolls' house-lutings have boon
sold this winter by this Arm at this
price. Thoso miniature articles, care
fully arrauged in cases of morocco
loather, consist of every varioty of ob
ject in Bilver, silver-gilt, Ano porcelain,
sparkling orystal, doliente loather, cost
ly woods, ivory, bronze, silk, velvet,
&x, tho whole thing being of tho most
exquisite workmanship. Tho same
house rolls tho highest classes of dolls,
with their trousseaux, at thc modest
price of ?120 eaoh."
ORIGIN OF THU Aymminus.-A poor
larmer io Scotland, in 1750, finding it
almo.-.t impossible to subsist, took grent |
i aniH to nave Ins chi hin n drive his
co.v where sho could eat the richest and
! hieket t. grasp, to house her in tho wiu
tor, nnd to feed her vith carofnlly-stored
hoy ; in tine, look unheard of caro of
bis cow. The grateful animal rewardeel
her owner with a fine calf and an unne
U'il abundance of milk, and tbua the
celebrated breed of Ayrshite cows was
produced, though it was ?i?$ till about
the first of' the pretest century that it
was brought tn perfection.
-Human intellect, though varying in
capacity in different individuals, na? i tn
limits in all plans of enlargement by
acquisition ; and those limits cannot be
transcended without oggrogate deterior
ation in distracting tho attention, over
loading tho memory or overworking the
brain and tnpping the foundation*!- of
health.-Jacob JJif/clow, M. />,
FACTS AND JP ANGIE S,
-A Now York map waa recently sen
tenced to three mon tbs* imprisonment
for barbarously killing a cat. " '"..
-Cincinnati girlB ref URO to kiss their
beaux who were shaved by fomale bar
bers, and so tho enterprise was starved,
to death.
-A woman recently died in Alabama
leaving, to somebody, it is said? an inher
itance of no less than* 287 hoop-skirts.
That woman was as well hooped as an
imported barrel of French brandy.
-" I'd like to . give something tb the
poor,1' remarked a Toledo Hdy. M It's
hard times- and they must be suffering,
but I've got to use, this $dU) to buy an
other switch."
-There's nothing in women, after
all. Gail Hamilton and George Sand
have both said they would willingly
relinquish their talents if the sacrifice
would make them pretty,
ri ~A gentlemen by tho name of Hor
ott has been haunting the approaches^
to a certain now?paper office in 8an
Francisco, looking for tho editor who
called his Clara (nco Morris) a "Blondo
Bonanza."
.-Walt. Whitman has. begun to sing
about tho cold weather. Warbieth
Wait : -
I howl a whoop,
And with tho howlmont of the whoop I yip ?
yawp,
And willi a million ohill-betlnglod "velue I bow
me to Ihe winter'a sovereignty ; . ,- .
O bitesomo breeze ! 0 qna&esomo waves ! and
all conglomerate elements of gelid Ihlnge!
-An observant nBher in one of th
theaters hos got BO he can toll a man's
business by the woy he asks for pro-,
gramme. A real estate man wants a
*' description of tho play," a hotel pro- .
priotor *' tho bill of fare," a politician
the run of tho play," an editor " the
points of the plot," and-a lawyer al
ways asks : Will ypu bo good enough
to hand me a bill of particulars ?". 5 .: 1
-In one of th* covais,-lately, there
was a long ?nd .heated discussion be
tween the counsel RS to "whether a wit- !
ness should be allowed to. HUH wer the
following question: "What'did Mary
say?t" I Three, judges .took .?early an
hour to decide the point, and at Inst
answered it. .The -'question was put to
tho witness by tho, defense, :and tha
.rep'- \l and sweet- "Not
wor .,'fol : .:
V -iid well-bred "?a?<v
. - io j,u.r.,.. .
tbdy tty lo be pleased ; il anybody tries
to astonish thtjn they have Ihocuitrte&y
to bo ne'tonishi'd ; if peoplo.become tire
pome, thoy 00k I ?x??bo Jy elso to playo
or sing, or whai gfik) .but they don't
cnticine " And Jiuai Raskin holds that
this in tbe way it nltoV?d bo in the world <
as well as int'hodr?wing-room. .Hedoes
not like critics ; anti jct what oise is he
himself?
- A ooincideneo in tho matterof names"
will bo uoticoob ? in tho fjenatn of tho
forty-fourth congress. There will bo "
two .Camerons, two Joneoes, and two
Morrilla, and, with tho exception of a
t. .two- Johnsons~Senator Johnston, pf
Virginia, and S??otor Johnson, of Ten
nessee. Did not the term of Mr. Ham
ilton, of Maryland, expire on'tho Ith of
March next, thero would have boen no
lops than five couplets of similar names
in the senate.
-It's a deep mystery-the way the
heart of a man tnriis to one woman, out.
of all the rest ho's reen in the world,
nnd makes it ensier foi him to work
seven years for her, like Jacob did for
Rachel, tooner tbau havo any other
woman for tho MAIUK. X often think of
these words : "And Jacob nerved seven
years for Rachel, ?W?^thoy. e'er.'yied but
a few days, for tho loy?} he hadfor her."
-Qcoruc J'Jlliot, ~
-A doh old widower of Oswego told
a young girl there to drop her other
beaux. She obeyed. He often took
her ont riding, and assured her that
" when we got ready we eau go off. sud-'
don like, and surprise .tho gossips/*''' ,
Tho young lady old. not demnr. Then*
tho rich old wJdox^Br popped off very
sttddeu like, nnd married a ii eh old'
widow about his own -Mp. The jory is
' sked for $15,000 damages.
-Dr. Wilkes, in his rrecont work on
physiology, remarks, that " it is esti
rrfated that the bonos of every -adult
person requires to be fed with lime
enough to make a marble mantle every
eight months." lt will bo perceived,
therefore, that in the course of about
ten years ench of tts oats three or four .
mantlopicces and n few sots of front
door steps. It ia awful to think of the
consequences if a man would bo snub
off from his supply of limo for a whilo
and thea get loone ina cemetery. An
ordinary tombstone would hardly bo.
enough for a lunch for bim.
-In a few remarks upon tho action
of lightning-conductors, Sccohi, the
woll-known astronomer, describes tho'
storm of November, 1872, in which tho
cathedral and palace of Alatri were
struok by lightning, these structures f
having been free from ?uoh visitations
for many years. The damng . done on
this neoniiion wac, as he shows, due in
great measuro to the fact that the light
ning-rods, insiead of being direotly
connected with tho metalio guttt rs^and
other portions of tho roof, were isolated
from them. Tho fluid, therefore,
Fought to make ita own way to such'
other good conductors aa were near.
After quoting other instances, he ex .
pteased the opinion that tho condition*
most favorable to safety consist in min
ing the lightning-rod directly to all the
metallic portions of the roof, and es
pecially to the rain-water pipes, in or
der that greater facilitv may no offered
to tho eleotrio ilnid in its pansage to tho
I eartfui