Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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A.n Independent Paper Devoted to the Intei-est? oi the People. l^MS iV^ ?RANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1875. NUMBER 5. .. "??'??>] Tho Wandering, flow oncoBatd to mo, I passed ^roMgli tab'city'in tUo cool-of iho year: A man In tho gardon'Y-hiokca'rrnit from a tree. I asked, ?* How Ion? baa too olty boon boro AnflBW^n^t r^i wo, ana bo piucKea>v#?y? ? iPfliw aiwfrva stood wl(6re it Bland? tj)-dav, , AukM?rSli willBfen/r f?r tqW and aye." I Fm 9fl?4rfdIyearB JroUed by, ?od tticn ?I "traveled' tno'Boir-saui? road again. No traco of a clty.thorq I found; ? .A icboiuiord sat blowing blB plpo alone, Ills flock woro quietly nibbling arouud. .IUtond, 'TJow long has tUUjolty V.ppn geno?" , Anflna answered me, aba ho piped away, " Pbo new.?nt? bloom and tbo old decay, ThlB la :r.y pasture-ground for ayo." Flvo bundrod yrara rolled by, and then I traveled tbo eolf^satuo road again. came to ECS, a .id the, WaVCfl did roar, ia fisherman tUrn .v bla'not out clear, And, v.'U'Mi heavy,laden, bo dragged it ashore. -X.TUkod,' "jHowlongbas the sea been uerof'V And bo laughed "and bo Bald, and bo laughed away; ?* As long an yon billows bavc tofBod their spray, They've Ashed and they've flsbod in this self-same bay." - Fivo bundrod years rolled by, and tben II wbled tho scU-aamo road again. . | And.tcaruoJq a forest,,vastand free,- , ? ? ?{idM -iot c?AKri stopd Id tho thicket near; 1 ? HlftfcifioTla dTitftho fo6t in a tree. J / ' vftfedu1' How Ionrf novo tbo wood* boon here?" An'ip>]| gnpiverprt, "Thej<o woods ate a cavort, for ayo; My ancestors dwelt bcrc alway, And the trees bavoi.been einco oication's day." 1 .l-'ivn hundred years rolled by, and then , < oajtravclcd-tbo sslf-same road agaio. ' And 1 found there a city, and far and near. llesonndcd tbo hum of toil and glee. And I asked, " Uo.w long bas tho olty been here, And wbero la the pipe, and tho wood, aud tbo ? .sea?" -? And they answered mo, as they mado their way, **<'fbiiig? always bavo stood as tboy stand today, And bo they will Hand for evor ami aye." I'll watt live himd-od years, and then l'jl travel tbo eolfrsaiuo road again. Tlll^BABES IN THE CLOUDS. JIihV ten 'yearn ago, there suddenly burst upon tho wostorn world a mag nificent stranger from foroigu parts, withall liia traveling glories on." It was* tho .groat comet , of 185$, on the graudtoui'iofi tho universo. It Hcomod strange that potty human life could go ori aa usual, with its oat i$&$uidL drinkiiig-,j?uiUng, i.trafijokftlg ?mirr^ToaBurhig, while that V flaming min^ati*,''- on his ivillioh-leagued cir cuit, was proaohiug tho wondors of iu finito immensity and powor, and tho nothflfgnesS of earth. 'Tho" comet no longer runs his.kindling raco, liko Vioh Alpine's honchman, with his fierycro?s, announcing war and. disaster. Herald of battlo, fato aud foar. " Kb isolihla own business, not oiirai Under tho tail of this; particular1 fi^isirrloubt'icHS many a talo of lovo whs told?iu tho light of Iiis swift splendors mnuy it tender look exchanged. Tho astronomer coolly swept tho starry Held with his glass, unawed by the irregular night-guard patrolling the heavens, and the robber and murdoror disdained the awful witness. Ho left us as ho found US?joined to our mortal idols, wise m our own conceit, weak, and worldly, and wicked, but no castaways of tho universo after all. Wo romombcr that cornet summer, not so much for its great astronomical ovent aa for two singular incidents that I moro nearly touched our human sym pathies, which will grovel in poor earthly affairs, oven v. ithin sight of tho moat august celestial phenomena. Ouo pleasant Saturday ufturnoon daring the comet's appearance, an icro naut, after a prosperous \oyngo, de scended upon a farm in tbo neighbor hood of a largo market town in one of the western status. Ho was soon sur rounded by a curious group of tho farmer's family and laborers, all asking eager questions about iho voyago and the management of the balloon. That secured by an anchor and a rope in tho hand of tho loronaut, its car being a foot or two above the ground, was swaying lazily backward and forward rr in the evening air. It was a good deal out of wind, nud was a sleepy and inno ceut monster in tho eyes of the farmer, who, with tho owner's permission, led it up to bis house, whero, us be said, ?lie could hitch it to his fence. But be foro ho had thus second it, the three ohildron, aged respectively, ten, eight, aid threo, begged him to lift them into that big basket," thnt they might ."sit on those pretty red cushions." Whilo the attention of tho aeronaut was diverted by moro curious ques tioners from a neighboring farm, this rash father lifted his darlings one by ouo into tho oai. Chubby littlo Johnny proved tbo "ounce too much" for the icrial camel, and brought him to the . ground ; aud then, unluckily, not tin baby, but the eldest hope of the family, was lifted out. Tho relief was too great, for the monster. The volatile oret.taro's spirit lose at once, ho jerked his halter out of his father's hand, and, with a wild bound, mounted into the air I , Vain was the loronaut's anchor. ?f'Ifc catight for a moment in a fence, but it tore away, and wa* oil", dangling uselessly utter the runaway balloon, which.bo swiftly and steadily roso that iu a few minutes thoso two little white faces,- peering over tho edge of tbo enr, grew indistinct, and those piteous cries of "Papal" "Mamma!" grew faint and fainter, up in thu air. When distance and twilight mists had swallowed up voices and faecs, and nothing could be Keen but the dark, cruel snape, sailing triumphantly away, with its precious booty, like nn rerial privateer, tho poor father sank cown noipless and speechless; but the mother, frantic with grief, still stretched her yearning arms towards the inexorable ?eavend, and called wildly into the unanswering void. Tho teronaut strove to console the wretched parents with assnrancos that tljo balloon would descend within thirty " miles of tho town, and that all might bo well with tho ohilron, provided that it did not coins down in tho water or in deep woods. In the event of its de scending iu a favorable tqiot, the thought that the older ohild might step out loaviog the, younger, in the .balloon, i Then it n?ght'aga?i arise and continuo it a voyage. i ?*'? ilS1 Ah, no,"replied the? mother, :" Jen nie would no vor stir from the oar 'with out Johnny in her-armfe.*'! ?'< I . The balloon passed directly over the market town* .And tho children' seeing many people in the ,streets,.stretchodj out their bands and called loudly for help. ,Bn$ (the. villagera,. though. they. BQW' tKe ibngnt'Jiitle heads,! Ireaxd. no/ calls. Amazed at the strange apparition; they might have thought the translated little creatures small nngol ? navigators, on some voyage of discovery, some lit tle pherubio venture c? their own,'asV heading toward the^ro's^ bloudlahds and' purple islands of sunset splendor, they sailed deeper and deeper, into.the, west, and faded-awayv : *? '' ? ? ??? Some company they had, poor littlo sky-waifs ! Something comforted them and iljaycd' their wild torruri?somo thing whispered that below the night and olouds was homo; that above was God; .that wherever,they .might drift or. clash, living Or dead; they Sv??ld ttill be in His domain and under His care.?, that though,''; borho:' away among tho stars, they could not be lost, for His lovo would follow them. Whop the sunlight all went away, and the great comet came blazing out, little Johnny was apprehensive that tho comet might oome too near their, airy oraft, and set it on fire with a whisk of its dreadful'tail. But when his sister as sured him-that tho fiery dragon was "as much ap twenty miles away," nnd .that God wouldn't lot him hurt them, ho was tranquilized, but soon afterward said,, V.J. wish.ho, would eonae a little nearer, bo I-could warm myself, I'm bo cold 1" ??-?,< > Then Jennie took off her apron, ana wrapped it about, the child, saying ten derly, "Thisis all sister has to make jou warm, darling, but she'll hug1 5*011 close in her arms, and Wo Will say our prayers aud you.shall go to sleep." . .'? "Why, .how can I say my. prayers be-! fore^I havo my supper?" asked* little John?y. ?'.'?' : ' . : IT. " Sister hasn't auy.suppQr for you or for herself, but wo must pray all ,.tho harder," solemnly responded, Jennie. f So |ho two'baby wanderers, alono in the wido heavens, unawed by. darkuoss, immensity and tho millions of unpity ing stars, lifted their littlo clasped hands,' and sobbed out their sorrowful, V Our father," nnd that quaint little supplementary prayer : Now I lay mo down to sloop, 1 pray tho Lord my bouI to koop; If 1 c Mould <lio boforol wake, 1 pray the Lord my *uitl to tako. " There 1 God hoard that, easy ; for wo are cIobo to Him up here," said in lioceut little Johnny. Doubtless Divine Dove stooped to the littlo ones aud folded them in per fect peace?for soon tho younger, seated ou tho bottom of tho car, with his head leaning against his sister's knee, slept as soundly ?s though ho wero lying in his own littlo bed at home, while the elder watched through tho long, long hours, and tho car floated gently on in the still night air, till it begun to sway and rock on tho fresh morning wind. Who can divine that simple littlo child's thoughts, Speculations, nnd wild imaginings, while watching through those hours ? Sho may huvo feared coming in collision with a moteor?for many wero abroad thot night, scouts and heralds of tho great comet?or, perhaps being cast away on some deso lato star island, or more dreary still, floating aud floating on, night and day, t.ll they should both dio of cold and hunger. Poor babes in tho clouds f At length, a happy chance, or Provi dence?wo will say Providence?guid?d tho little girl's wandering hand to a cord connected with tho valve ; some thing told her to pull it. At once tho balloon began to sink, slowly and gent ly, as though some oeleRtial pilot guided it through tho wild currents of air, not Setting it drop into lake, or river, lofty wooJ, or impenetrable swamp, where this strange, unchild like experience might havo boon closed by a death of unspeakable horror ; but causing it to descend as softly as a bird alights, on a 8pot where human earn and pity await ed it. The sun had not jet risen, but the morning twilight bad come, when tho little girl, looking over tho edgo of tho car, saw iho derr old earth coming nearer?"rising towards them," hho said. But when the car stopped, to her great disappointment it was not on tho ground, but caught fast in tho topmost branches of a tree. Yet she saw they wero near a house whence help might soon come, bo she awakened her brother and told him the good news, and to gether they watched and watched and waited for deliverance, hugging ea:h other for j iy and warmth, for they wero cold. Farmer Burton, who lived in a lonoly house, on t jo edgd of his .own private prairie, was a famous Blooper in gen oral, but on t hi -j part cular morning ho awoke before tho dawn, and though ho turned and turned again, ho could slotp no more. So, ?t last, bo said to l-is good wifo, whom ho bad kindly awak ened to inform her of his unaccountable wakefulnesB, " It's no use, I'h just get up aud dresn, nnd have a look at tho comet." The next that worthy woman heard from bor wakeful spouse was a ba^ty summons to the outer door. It seems that no sooner did ho stop fmth from his houso than his OJOS fell ou astrango potentons shape, hanging on a large pear tree, about, twenty yards distant, lie could see no likeness'in it to any thing earthly, aud ho half fancied that it might ba the comet, who, having put out Iiis lightj^bad; como clown Micro to Soroh. In his fright and porploxlty he id; what .every, wise man .would do in a' like extremity; ho called upon his valiant wife. Reinforced' by -her, he drew near the treo cautiously reoon noitering. t Surely a pear- troe never bore such fruit. Suddenly there descended from the thing a plaintive, trembling little voice: "Please take us down. We are:very cold;'.' .. . . , jlucu n ocwuu law.S ?GICC sail; : "And hungry, too. Please take- us down." "Why, who are yon ? And where are yon?," The first little voice said: "It's us, and. we r mined away with a balloon. Please take us down." . Dimly comprehending Iho situation, tho farmer, got ting hold of a dangling rope, succeeded in getting down the balloon. . 1 He first lifted out little Johnny, who ran rapidly a few -yards toward the house, then turned round,, and stood fov a few moments, curiously surveying the balloon. The faithful little Bieter waa so chilled and exhausted that she had to be carried into the house, where, trembling, she told the wonderful story. Before sunrise a mounted messenger -was <li spatched to the. Harwood home, with glad'tidings of' great joy. Ho reaohed it in the afternoon, and" a few hours later tho childred arrived, in state, with banners and musio, and cov ered hay-wagon and four. Joy-bells were rung iu tho neighbor ing town, and in tho farmor's brown house, tho happiest family on tho con tinent thanked God that night. It would seem that this comot had somo occult maddening influence on tho .balloons, for during its appearance there occurred in another wostern stato an involun *>ry ascension, similar to tho ono I have related, but moro tragical in its te.i inin at ion. An roronaut, whilo, if I romombor rightly, repairing tho network of his balloon, was seated on a slight wood on orosa-pieco suspended under it; tho car having bcon removed a few feet nbovo the ground by meroly n:ropo in the hand of an assist ant. From a too care less grasp this rope escaped, and in ah instant the gigantic bubble shot up ward, carrying tho loronauton his frail support; a ridor.moro helpless, that.._ Muzoppa'b?uhd to his Ukraine steed, a voyagor moro holplcss than a ship wrecked sailor alloat on a spar in mid ocean. The balloon rose rapidly, but un steadily, swaying and pitching in the evening wind. As long as it remained iu sight the form of tho loronaut could bo distinguished, swinging beneath it. And as ho was kno ? n to ho a man of uncommon nervo and proseuco of mind, it was hoped that even from his dizzy porch ho might manage to operate on tho valve, or at leaBt to puncture a small hole in (ho balloon, and thus ef fect a descent. But such efforts, if ho mado any, woro vain, as for mauy days and nights f here was anxious inquiry aud pationt search over a wide extent of country with no result. Wo gave him up. Only wifely lovo hoped on, and looked and waitod". At last, in a wild spot, iho wreck of tho balloon was found, and that was all. Still, wifely lovo hoped on, until, a month or two later, some children nut ting iu a wood, many miles away from where tho balloon wus found, discov ered, half buried iu the ground, a strange dark mass that looked liko a hoap of old olothos, but thero was a something, shapeless and fearful, hold ing it together. It was thought the loronaut parted company with his balloon by loosening his hold on tho cords above him, in desperate efforts to open the valve ; but ho may, after whirling in swilt vorticos, or plunging and mounting, through cloudy abysses of air, havo become un nerved by tho awful silence of tho up per night, by tho CDmot'a fearful com panionship, by whelming immensity and infinity, aud Wearily let go his hold, to drop earthward. Private i i.-ii Culture. Mr. Seth Green, the well-known pis ciculturist, statej that ho has invented a now method for transporting and hatching nearly all kinds of fish eggs, by which upawn can be carried for 180 days journey and can be hatched in any room in tho house. Ono million oggs, it is also said, can bo hatched by using a pail of water daily. It is believed that fish culture by private parties can bo rendered a lucrativo source of in come, provided it is followed with the same care as is exercised in the raising of poultry or any other livo stock. Hundreds of farmers havo streams and ponds on tboir lands now of no valuo save perhaps as watering places for cat tle in pasture, andyiolding a fow worth less perch and cattish, perhaps an occa sional trout or pickerel. Jf Mr. Green has solved th o most difficult part of the problem, niiuely, tho successful trans portation of tho eggs, tho mode of stocking tho waters and tho rearing of tho fish, are not difiionlt subjects of which to acquire on adequate knowl edge. Ono species of fish in particular, which is litt.e known, would probably firovo especially remunerative, Tho Mod-looked salmon is a distinct species of the fish, though so closely resemb ling the ocean silmon as to suggest the idoa that, at somo remote period, a quantity of the latter H?h, bel?g by a convulsion of ivilure barred from re turning to the soa, had propagated in their land locked quarters anil eventu ally developed into a separate variety. Tho habits of the land-locked and ooean I salmon are closely similar. Aufvdotes or Sir Walter Scott. [u8omV Old Letters,'' in Heribner'n for i March, uro accompanied by a hitherto unpub lished lifc-Bkotoh of 8lr NYaltor Scott, by the celebrate),atttsl''Gilbert Stuart- Nowton. In t!da instaUmout of " Old Lottora" wo find tho following.'.'.nocdoteii of tho author of " Wa vorloy :"J VJ, "At' rjm-past six we wont to'dine, with the* ForgusoouB. Tho dootor was quite ill with a cold. Sir Adam Fergus son, Sir* Walter Scott's intimate and confidently friend,dined there j our:. Bolves, W:?CJj.\ anil Duo of her daugh ters. " Wo had a very charming dinner, for Sir Adan; has tho moat marvelous" pow ers of description. Ho made us laugh heartily, ;)ud told us, too, a-groat many intercstim; anecdotes about Sir Walter Scott. Bh is a very remarkablo person himself. Vie is the original of Dngald Dalgetty. { - This is all I find in the old letters abc.ut tho dinner, but I must tell what I oijn recollect of the account Mrs. X. j-.ive mo in later years, Sir Adam, she said, was a tall, gray-haired man, with a broad Scotch accent. He described-'how one early morning,!in Sir WalteCScott's library, when ho and Sir Walter iriod to make the fire of peat burn, and, after many efforts, succeeded in some de /reo. At this moment one of the dog^V dripping,.from a plunge in tho lake, sc;.atoned and whined at the window, r.i lost Sir Walter let the I "puir creat|ire". in, who, coming up before tho M-tlo fire, 'shook his shaggy I hide, sending a perfect shower-bath over the finvand over u gtoat table of loose manuscripts. Sir-Waller, eyeing tho scano w.v-h his usual serenity, aaid, slowly: "Oh! dear, you've done a great deal of mif>ihinf/' It reminds us of tho talo rented of Nowton. On this same occasion of tho dinner, Sir Adam Fergusson uold of traveling with Sir Walter on l.h ? continent and going to soo tho troop* on donkeys, and he per formed both donkeys and riders with his fingen on tho table until his andi enen was in >m agony of laughter. "Forgusnoi passed tho evening with up, and wo lA :1 i-omo music. I asked him, as ho w^a so fond of listening, if j ho didn't siiV'u jiitV himself. 'Ill toll you an auccdoto bl~ "Sir Waiter Scott;' Baid Ifi, ' that will answer your question. O le night, when. I was stay ing at AbboiafordF Anni-y ^./-.ft had boon singing Iti tho nc.oomg?|^ient of her hari> a SAioh bnll aj^Mft wg^Lfor riiwf eh'urlis. ?irTvaltor turned to me, saying in a strong Sootoh accent: " Noo, Forgueson, gio us a howl.'" "' During ono of my visits there,' continued Dr. Fergusson, ' amongother guests was Hogg, "Ettriok Shophord." I heard u horrible noiso in an adjoin ing room, and, after listening Borne moinents to it, beenmo alurmcd, nnd said to my host: ** What is that Loiae ?" "Oh"saidhe, "it'snogg?just Hogg composing his verses. Ho always siugH them as ho writes them." "Though ho liked some rude strains, Scott could well attune hiB ear to softer music, and was very fond of Moore song X. Bings, that ends : " 'Short as tho Peraian'a prayor, his prayer at cloHe of day, Should bo each tow of Iovo'h repeating. Quick lot him Wor?blp boanty'u precious ray, E'on whila ho kneola that ray i* Hooting.' " Ho used to say, 'Como X., let mo have that Persian's prayor ;' and ho would listen with great doligbt to tho singing of it. " They reoallcJ au amiiBiog story of au old servant who had lived with Scott for nearly a lifetime, and became very much spoiled. Sir Walter at last, out of pationco with his sins of omission, said : " ? Donald, I think wo mimt part.' " ? Part I why V Whero'o your honor going?' "Of course peaco was mado, and Donald remained. "They told sadly of tho dear old mau returning from Italy (where ho wont for his health ), with his memory impaired. Mrs. Arkwright, who had sot his ? Pirate's Farewell to Minna ' to music, sang it to him. 4 Those are very pretty vorses, said Sir Walter. 1 Who wrote them?1 " Charles S^ott, Sir Walter's second son, is a very clover, agreeable man. I see a good deal of him at the Look harts', hero and elsewhere. Sir Walter was most proud of his eldest pon Wal tor, who is rather a dull follow, but largo and fine-looking. His father used to soy that it was enough if a boy knew how to ride and speak tho truth; those were the most important things. " Charles Scott mado mo laugh about tho visitors at Sir Walter's house and Molroso Abbey. See tho Abbey by moonlight they must, because of tho lincK: " 1 If thou would'stvlew fair Melroee aright, Go visit it by tiio palo moonlight." "' And many a tirao,' said Charles Scott, ' when tho moon was not con venient, I took a lantern to produce the olTeot." A Lock of Han*. Almost every one has at least one lock of hair cut from the head of ono now dwelliug in that silent land wheuco come no mcssngeH, no lotters, no tokens of any kind to tell of love or of romom brance. Every ono knows thnt strange emotion, half joy, half woe, with which I tho tiny relic of so much that was ouco I dear can thrill tl e soul. Only uow and I thou do wo dare to take it from its hid ing plaee, hold it in the palm, press it to the check, and use it as a talisman to recall all that we must perforce forget in the work-a-dny world for the sake of strength to do itt battlo. Wo do not know whoso hair that which you treasure may be ; whether j the flossy curl from n baby's head, the dark lock from the brow that once made your breast its pillow, a parent's gray tress, or a young lover's sunny ourL Nor does it matter, for all lovo in its essence, in that pari of it that outlives death, is alih? and equally pure, but wo know that thore is nothing like it to yon anywhere. There are no words for the thoughts it brings. They mock language. As you touch it. and gazo at it, you have nothing to-say. You feel.the thorns of your dead rose, that is' all, and the wounds they make bleed..___ Snail Culture in France. Frogs,'horses, and snails?the first are an pad but toothsome dainty, which epicures, in this country aa well as else where, dearly prize; but horses, and espeoialy snails?theBe aro articles of diet which the enlightened American re public has yet to be educated to relish. Hippophagy,. we have repeatedly ex plained, is as common in Paris, or nearly so, as the eating of beef; and the worn-out steed finds his way to the abattoir as readily as the milklesa cow or. stall-fed ox. Hence, as a mere bonne bouohe he has palled on the Gallic tasto, educated by swollen geese livers or decayed salmon rocs; a new dainty has been sought for, found, and the basis of the industry which the production has developed is snails. There is nothing peculiar about the m ol louse. It is the overy-day slimy little object of which ono finds thou sands in garden b, vineyards, and the woods. ' Switzerland and the provinces of Burgundy and Provence are the places of its cultivation. Throngs of women and children scour the country, collect ing the snails in immense num bers, and depositing them in little traots of land, inclosed .with simply a trail of sawdust. This. last tho snail despises; he cannot cross it, and avoids its vioinity as a matter of preference. Therefore, for his confinement it is as good as a atone wall. After incarcera tion for two or three days, ho is per mitted to starve, and then the plot ia laid out in patches. of turf intersected by paths of sand. Abovo boards aro hung to serve as shelter for the snails, which instinptivoly gather in largo groups. The food provided consists in aromatic plants, such as mint, or let tuoo auTT"iSr1igments of vegetables. This is fed to thorn three tiffios - a day in enormous quantities At. t'UMMMtt night days, the snails becomo cp&rtvi oh: : e, and be/udea havo attained a very. suooiilont flavor. Then comos another period of starvation for several days, after which transmission to market fol lows. Gourmands, it is said, prefer the snail when taken wild, so long as the capture is made at a particular period. After the eggs aro laid in May, tho molluscs conceal themselves under stones to avoid tho autumn frosts. There they heccome perfectly freo from excretions, and, drawing themselves iuto their shells, closo up for the win tor. It is when they aro collected in this state that their flavor is said to bo best. Parisian Balls. In Paris, when tho sun goes down and honest people get to bod, queer things take place. When tho gas is lighted, aud tho places of amascmonts open in full blast, curious sights aro to bo secu. A correspondent, who has ovidontly been doing bis duty conscien tiously, skirmishing around tho dark corners of tho city, has found come re markable dancing-halls, where Terpsi chore ovidontly delegates some of her distant relations to preside over the festivities, "wnoof the most extraor dinary of these balls," ho writos, "is that held in a blind alley, and opposite the shed whoro the guillotine is housed ; the habitues nre mostly tho gravo-diggers belonging to Pero St. Begnoul, Pore La Chaise cemetery, the tombstone mob, and tho undertakers' assistants. The proprietor of the place is a Spaniard, aud his ability consists in imitating the weoping of mourners, aud tho orations delivered at civil inter monts. There is a ball that charges no admission fee, but all who participate in a 'contre dansc' have to pay two sous each ; tho proprietor, on tho con clusion of tho dance, encircles the dancers with a cord, and who pay tho fee to be liberated, and which also serves as a noose to drag out recalci trants. Polkas, waltzes aud mazurkas are gratis, and short. Tho 'Monsters' also have their balls in tho Buo des Flandres; it is here where infant prod igies and all human phenomena moot; dancing is sb gonoral ns quarreling, and jealousy of each other's imperfoction is tho badgo of all tho tribe. Tho 'Skeleton Man' indulges in a can-can ; a man with a 'cupalo head'waltzes with a Wernau bearded like the pard; iu a quadrille a dwarf has for vis-a-viB tho woman with 'Ilsh scales' instead of skin; a kind of iMilly-Christino united mula tro.ison drowos or drown care in a polka, tho 'Caoutchouc Man,' has tho power of developing a dromedary hump, as he enjoys a mazurka with a Newfoundland dog. A Cyclop, with his diamond eyo, aots as master of tho coromouios." Grapes anb Bixjocsnbss. ? Grapes aro recommended as a on re for bilious ness. This fruit, by its ngreeablo acid ity, so acts on the system as to rolieve it of its bile, and thus removes the cause of the symptoms enumerated, and that is "cure." The immediate cause of all the discomfort is a "confined" condition of the system ; the seeds of the grapes act as an irritant as they pass along the alimentary canal and cause it to "water," just as tho eye ?* waters" if a hard 6iibsuiuco touches it. This watering dissolves the more soli.i matters contain a :1 in the intestines, " washes" them out ami the man is well. Tho covering of the grapes should bj chowed but not swallowed*. B AYINGS AKD DftlNGS. "Good many ch?dren I" echoed a Missouri tarm/a? as a traveler countod ? up fourteen ; "I just wish you'd como up to the graveyard with mo!" " Mv lecture,".aaid a. Oaiifosaiisr ator, "will bo brief." A turnip hit him on tho "divide" at that instant, and ho announced: "The meeting stands adjourned I" Corsets have been the destruction of art. There are no good models now-a days, saya the soulptors. When Powers made his Greek Slave he worked it out of sixteen different models, and then he had to go back to tho antique for his bust. OabxiYTjB, Euskin, Tennyson, Brown ing and some other distinguished Eng lisl imen are reported to have signed a memorial protesting against tho horri ble cruelties too often perpetrated un dor the pretext of scientific vivisection. Don't tell us any more about tho good^women of old. An observer who wrote hundreds of years rigb said : " Woman is a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a do mestic peril, a deadly fascination and a painted ?l." "I beb very little of you,'* said au old gentleman at a Louisville ball to a J'oung lady whom ho had not mot in a ongtime before. "I know it," was tho artless reply, 1* but mother wouldn't allow me to wear a very low-neck dross - to-night, the weather is so cold." A good joke is told of a resident of L Providence, B. I., who, failing to got : his usual supply of water, concluded the pipe was frozen, and spent'nearly a day in endeavors to thaw it out. His feelings may be better imagined than \ described when ho found that tho water had been shut off for non-paymont of water rent* Seventeen years ago a Louisville woman was told by a clairvoyant that she was destined to marry an auburn haired young man with blue eyes and a heavy moustache ; that ho would soon be rich, and that thoy should have two children?a boy and a girl. She did marry the auburn-haired man. Thoy have .five children now, tho auburn hair has disappeared from tho husband's IfeMti^uuj^Qjui getting fifteen' dollars a "Hi! Samuel, has you moved yit V" inquired ono colored man of another whom ho mot at the market yesterday. " No, l'se still in do old place," was tho answer. " But I war' told dat you war' gwino to got out ob do neighbor hood," continuod tho first. "Wall, I did mako up my mind to, but you see do family noxt door, and do family on do corner, and de family 'cross de street, have left dero wood piles out doors, and I doesn't desire to change" A hchooij teacher in Umatilla county, California, had a protty girl of sixteen as a pupil. Sho entangled his heart, aud then crnolly j iltod him. Thoreupon ho sought revengo. Catching her in a slight infraction of tho rules, ho swnng his birch branoh aloft, aud commanded her to stand up and bo whipped. Sho ran out of the door and like a deer across the fields toward homo ; but her fleetness was of short duration, and tho angry schoolmaster's hand soon grasped her arm. Her courage had gone* with hor wind, and sho offered then and there to kiss and mako up if ho wouldn't whip hor. Ho declined to compromise, lod her back to the school-house, and flogged her until blood camo through tholiack of her dress. Her hour of exultation came whon ska Baw him fined $50 for assaidt. A farmer called at tho house of a lawyer to consult him professionally. " Is t' Squeor at homo? " ho inquired of tho lowyor's wife. Ho was answorod uegatively. After a moment's hesita tion a thought relieved him. " Mobby yoursolf can gi' mo information as well as t' Squeor, as ye're his wife." The kind lady promised to do so if she found it 111 her power, and tho other prooeedod as follows: "Spoaze yo were an old white moro, nn' I should borry yo to gwang to mill with grist on yer back, an' wo should get no fardor than Stair Hill, when all at onco yo should back up, and roar up, and pitch up, aud kneel down backward, and break yer darned old neck, who'd pay for yo ? Not I?darn me if I would 1 ' The lady smilingly told him, as she closed the door, that as ho had himself settled tho case, advice would bo Biiper fiuos. Greece is abont the size of Vermont. Palestine is one-fourth tho size of Now York. Hindoostan is more than a hun dred times as lnrge as Palestine. Tho Great Desert of Africa has nearly tho ?resent dimensions of tho United tates. The Bed Sea would roach from Washington to Colorado, and it is three times as wido as Lake Ontario. Tho English Channol is nearly as largo as Lako Superior. Tho Mediterranean if placed across North America, would make sea navigation from San Diego to Baltimore. The Caspian Sea would m( ret eh from Now York to St. Augus tino, aud as wido as from Now York to Rochester. Great Britain is two thirds tho size of Japan, ono-twelfth the Biz? of Hindostan, one-twentieth of China, and one-twentieth of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico is about ten times the size of Lako Superior, and about as large as the sea of Eamtohatka, Bay of Bengal, China Sea, Okhoteh, or Japan Sea ; Lake Ontario would go in either of them more than fifty times. Tho following named bodies of water aro nearly equal in Bizo: German Ocean, Black Sen, YollowSea; Hndson Bay is rathor larger ; tho Baltic, Adri atic, Persinn Gulf and yEgean Sea half as large and somewhat larger than Lako Superior.