Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. t* AX m - •. M • fll • - • '4. •', -*. • • ■ • • ■-• - ! A BelUs«rent Bird. t;- j if 1* - % Major. H. C. Hark ius, late ri^ijt-of- way-nxan for the Tide Water Pipe Liae Company, recently'had an adventure in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania which he will not forget until some days go around, at least. What befell Major Harkins while in that vicinity is as here in related. The Major’s bus ? nefls called him to Coal town,—a village, as most of the readers of the Guardian are aware, — which is situated in Neshannock town ship, about four miles north of this city. The Major started on foot to transact this business, and while proceeding along the road about two miles from New Castle, he was somewhat startled by hearing a Singular buzzing sound to his rear. He turned, and, to his great aotonishment, saw a large golden eagle approaching him rapidly in the roadway. The bird,by.its actions, clearly showed that its intentions were anything but of a friendly nature. The Major was un armed, and as the eagle bore down on him, still emitting the buzzing sound, he began to think that his situation was far from a pleasant one. When the bird got near him, and its formidable look ing beak and talons showed that it was able to reduce the average man to mince meat, the Major, in sheer desperation proceeded to kick with all the strength of his lower limbs, This action, instead of frightening his feathered assailant, only seemed to increase its ire, for the ««g!e proceeded to insert its beak in one of his legs, following up this warlike demonstration by using its talons with great energy and bloody execution in the same neighborhood. After a brief, though desperate struggle, the Major succeeded in < xtricating himself from the clutches of the huge bird. His blood was up, and while his anger was at white heat at the thought of the scratch es and contusions he had received in the affray, he resolved to be the aggressive party in the fight. Ho retreated a few paces, and seized a dead branch of a tree, which was conveniently lying near by. Armed in this manner he swooped down on the eagle. The bird was over flowing with pluck, and resolutely stood its ground. A sharp fight ensued in which the man used his club, and the bird of freedom its talons and beak. For twenty minutes did they battle in this way,.the Major having somewhat the worst of the fight. He might have abandoned tno contest had not he been reinforced by a strange dog. The ca nine pitched into the fight with great gusto, but the eagle’s beak and claws seemed to be everywhere, and the hair, hide and flesh fairly flew from the dog’s back, and that animal, with his tail be tween his legs, was about to seek an ignominious flight for some place where he cauld lick his wounds in peace, when a boy and another dog came upon the gory field. The attacking party, now numbering four, advanced in a body upon the eagle, and another desperate fight took place. The recent reinforce ments however, were too much tor the plucky eagle, ana it w'as finally exhaus ted m its contest against odds, and was downed, fighting to the lust. The Ma jor and the boy tied the eagle’s feet to gether and fastened its beak so that it could lo longer use it. The Major, bleeding from many wounds received in the fray, then started with his captive for the Fountain House, this city, at which place he was stopping. While t-n route he met a woman in a wagon who informed him that the eagle was the property of a yeuug man who re sided about four miles from New Cas tle, and that it had been sent him as a present from an uncle who lived in the West She expressed a willingness to return the eagle to its owner, »uu t?he was allowed to do so. ■ «i 1 hi II nfrrmrrrrhiw-'. "fa t n Old Eara’s Floating rata. AGKIO JLTUBE. DOMESTIC. mil Arp and Sweet Potatoes. Kit J ; For some time past I have been antici pating a big frolic tor me and the children, lor my tweet potatoes were very fine, and so the other day we got an early breakfast and set in for the day. It took the plow bey an hour or so to clean off the vines for a start, and I helped him with a four prong bee when the plow got too full to carry. ’Iben me and the three little boys undertook to pick up as fast as the plow turned 'em out. 1 was to give a quarter to the chap who found the biggest potato, which I soon found was bad policy for it made ’em run over and skip g good many little ones and it kept me busy picking up what they had left. Tne frolic was splen did for half a day and 1 enjoyed seeing the big ones roll up to the surtace almost as much as 1 did when a boy, but after din- ni r I didn’t feel much like going back, but 1 had to go, and I went and stack to it until night and we bunched ’em in lime piles and covered ’em up with the vines, and the next day we went at It again, but I didn’t go with the same aiacnty, and the boys got tired of hunting for the biggest cue and cue of ’em took the headache and laid down in the shade, aud 1 thought he might have overworked himself and sent him to the house to rest, and in fifteen minutes he was setting the dog on a cat up a tree and having a bulky me. We only coumed on a day and a halt to close out the job, and we worked bard and faith ful, and it took us three whole days, aud 1 never saw the like of potatoes on an acre of ground, and towards the heel oi the last day, which was yesterday, 1 was so tired of teeing ’em roll out and picking ’em up 1 wouldn’t have dug another patch if anybody had give it to' me. Thu last day’s digging was among the yarns, and the milky glue that run out of ’em got so thick ou my hands 1 bad to soak and rub and scrape ’em for an hour to get it off, and it ain’t all off yet, and my fingers looked like they used to when I had been hulling walnuts all day Saturday. But 1 believe in potatoes and take comfort in having plenty of ’em during the winter, and I have always felt a feeling of prde nad confidence iu our sunny South, be cause we could rdae to perfection four things that the Yankees can’t, and these are cotton andcowpeas and Bermuda grass sad' potatoes. When our iarmers learn bow to raise these things to perfecuon, we can defy the world and the flesh, and mighty nigh keep the old devil at a res- pecttUe distance. k — 1* used to take nine tailors to make avail. Now cue good tailor, a shoe* .BUkar and a barber can make what la paUo^ltaodetj man. “S^^'.kiug aLvUt paying taxes,” said a man who had perhaps been performing that pleasant dutv, “reminds me of an old fellow, a sort ot hermit, who lived where I did in a small town in New Hampshire, and if he wasn't the out-and-outest ohap for avoiding the demands of the State, then I’m mistaken.” “Why didn’t they sell him out ?” “Because they couldn’t get hold of the property. No, it wasn’t air castles, and he didn’t live in a balloon, but on solid property, and every time the tax-collector came around iu New Hampshire, Ezra and his property were in Massachusetts.” “Ob, I see. He had the State line on wheels, and shoved it about to suit.” “Not exactly, but he had his property fixed so that he couid shift it anywhere he wanted. It was nothing more or less than a floating island made up of bog and stuff, a~d for a good many years it blew about tbe pond, until finally the old chap put up a hut on It, kept a cow, chickens and ducks, and had a regular floating farm. But one day he heard the assessor was coming, so he cast off the moorings that he had rigged to the island, and be fore the next day the wind had carried him over the State line that ran through the pond into Massachusetts, and when the collector went out in a skiff the old bog- skipper, as they called him, actually threatened to have him arrested for trying to collect taxes of a neighbor State. He anchored the island on the Massachusetts side until the selectmen got after him there and for several years he dodged back and forth, and dida’t pay a cent on his four acres. Bui finally tbey put up a job on him, and two assessors, one from each State, went out in skiff, the island being anchored in the middle ot the lake. The old man said he was ready to “pay, only lie wanted it just right, as he lived in both States—the bouse was in one State and the barn in the other. The collectors got so mixed up trying to straighten it, tnat they had to take it into court. Anyway, 1 don’t think the old man’s taxes are square yet.” “A similar case might happen at another place in New England,” said one of the group of listeners “On Lake Menomen- auk there is an island that tor a long time was called the mysterious island. It be longed to the town of Winclienden, Mass., contained about six acres,anc. was covered with trees about thirty feet or more high. Some of the people declared they had seen tue island move years ago, but they weie generally laughed at, until one morning they found it gone, and now it Is, or was a short time ag \ over the State line in New Hampshire, nearly throe miles from where 11 at first stood. It was originally bog held together by roots, and tae water hud gradually undermined it until a good sharp breeze took the trees as sails and away it went. “Many lakes have similar islands, oven in streams effected by tide. They are found anchored by roots, rising and fall ing with the water, aud swinging by their vegetable cables. Some of tne European lakes have such islands that are ustd for pastuiage, aud they often carry the island population to great distances. •'During the great flood In the Missis sippi in 1874 vast floating islands were formed in the river and carried far out into the Gulf stream. One that a vessel ran into three hundred miles irom the. delta was over an acre in extent and popu lated with a great variety of snakes, frogs, and turtles, besides a number of land ani mals that had sought protection there from the using waters, only to be swept out to sea. The geographical distribution of life, it will be seen, depends much upon these floating islands—a fact proved by comparing the inhabitants of is'ands miles apart. Several year ago a large snake was picked up off the Bermuda islands cbnging to a floating island that without donut had come from the Am az n. Miles of cordage float out of the great rivers in the same way cai r> mg seeds and eveu animals iar around the circuit of the At lantic. The same is true of the Ganges. Great rafts, populated with animals, from the interior, have been found by vessels over 200 miles from the mouth of the river. •‘The great mass ot seaweed, occupying an area of many thousand square nines lu the Atlantic, better known as the Sargasso sea, is a vast island inhabited by a launa entirely different from that of the sut- rounding waters, and all the animals are In some way peculiarly adapted or modi fied to their surrouudiugs. similar tracts occur in various parts of the world, otlen fid thick that the passage ot vessels tnrough them is seriously impeded.’’ “Well, I declare,” said the first speaker, “then old Ezra’s floating farm wasn’t such a very singular tiling atter all; but I reckon he made aa orlgiaai use of it.” Health ojt Farms.—Farmers are wonj to think that miasm is mostly confined to dti« and large villages, and that country air Is pure and farm houses necessary healthful; but whoever has carefully In spected the premises of the average farmer has found abundant occasion for the low fevers which are the scourge of the coun- tiy as well as the city. In the first place, ail farmers should look well to their cel lars. In too many of them will be found rotten apples, cabbages, turnips, onions, etc. in some will be found old brine, with pieces of decayed meat, sending forth an odor, when the cover of the barrel is taken off, vile enough to wrench the stomach of a pig. In others there will be musty cider barrels, possibly vinegar casks, in which the vinegar has passed the putrefactive stage, Disseminating the spores of decay and death, not only through the upper part of the nouse, but even escaping through the cellar windows and polluting the outdoor air. Decaying wood generates one of the moe; subtle of poisons, because the odor is not particularly offensive, Rotten tim ber in the cellars and mouldy wood or chips in the wood house fill the air with spores, which, breathed by a person ia the full vigor of health, may ba thrown off with impunity; but inhaled by one whose blood is low may find a congenial seed bed and generate disease. Under the eider and vinegar barrels, and around potato bins, may often be found old timbers and boards that are full of dry rot, ready to propagate itself wherever the rotted parti cles may find a lodgment. Jn the well, also rotten wood is a subtle poises, mere dangerous than a decomposing toad, as the latter makes his presence known, while tew tastes are so keen as to detect the pres ence of decaying wood. Probably the most prolific sonree of disease around our tarm houses is the cess pool into which pars the kitchen and chamber slops. In the cities and large villages these are carried off in the sewers, but seldom does a farm house have any system of sewerage. The slops are too often thrown out of the kitchen door, and lelt to generate vile odors on the surtace oi the ground. To keep the air of tne cellar and around the boose pure and sweet, we have never tound anything more economi cal, pleasant and efficacious than a free sprinkling, as occasion may demand, of dry, air-siaked lime. Chloride of lime is a greater absorbent ot vile odors, but this ilsclt is offensive to most oltactory nerves, aud is also quite expensive. Common lime is cheap, and it scattered freely in the cellar aud wnerever ihere are impurities, wiil render the air sweet and wholesome, even in the most decomposing dog days. It is not necessary in this ago ot the world for the farmer to ras m the middle of the night and begin bis work. This getting up so early in the morning is a relic of barbarism. It has made hundreds of thousands of young curse the business. Ihere is no need of getting up at three or four o’clock in the winter morning. The farmer who persists in dragging his wife and children from their beds ought to be visited by a missionary. It is time enough to lise alter the sun has set the example. For what purpose do gou get up? To feed the cattle? Why not teed them more the night before? it is a waste of life. In the old times tbey used to get up about S o’clock in the morning, and gone to work long before the sun had risen with “heal ing upon his wings,” and as a just punish ment they all had ;he ague; as they ought to have it now. The man who cannot get a living upon Illinois soil without rising before dayught ought to starve. Eight hours a day is enough for any farmer to work except in harvest time. W hen you rise at four and work till dark, what is hie worth! Ot what use is all the im proved machinery unless it tends to give the farmer a little more leisure? What is harvesting now, compared with what it was in the old time? Think of the days of reaping, ot cradling, of raking and binding and mowing. Think of threshing with he flail aud winnowing with the wind. And now think of the reapers and mowers ibe binders and threshing machine!, the ’slows and cultivators, upon which the armer rides protected from the sun. If, with all these advantages, you cannot get a living without rising in the middle of the Kb into some other busiuess. You should net rob your family of sleep. Sleep is the best medicine in the world. There is no such thing as healtn without sleep, sleep until you are thoroughly res ed and restored. When you work, work, and when you get through take a good, long and refreshing sleep. Visli in Roathern Italy. While in an out-oi-lhe-way part of Sohtheru Italy, a morning’s ramble to the landing place, where the boats discharged their fish, was a constant source of interest and amusement: and when the nets were shaken to free them from seaweed, curious marine treasures were often exposed to view. Returning to the primitive market close to the beach, consisting of a few large tubs tilled with sea- water, in which the live fish were kept, and heaps of small fish in baskets, of the most briliant colors —blue, green and crimson—on the ground mignt be seen a sun-fish, over 100 pounds in weignt, shaped like a halt-moon, ot a Huh gray, ox-eyed, with long pointed doi- sal and abdominal fins projecting on either side, the boys testing its horny jaws with a slick, which it bit viciously, although out of the water so.ne time. Close at hand were several triangular elongated mussel shells with the fish,about a yard in length in one of the tubs were cuUluflah, really beautiful in their transparenev, floating gently on the surface. The other tuns were filled with octopus, lively and f ull grown, iheir long arms feeling tenderly over me sides, some writhing horribly, and others quietly reposing, their arms coded at their sides, exposing the dread suckers in every fold, the body in shape and color resembling a large, rough cocoa- nut, with evil, protruding, observant eyes, looking straight to the from, at tne same time vigorously discharging water troni the pair ot blow-pipes like a steam pump during their short and quick respirations. When a purchaser arrives and makes a selection, the vendor adroitly seizes the fish by the neck, the arms twisting in all directions, it is dropped into the scales, and, it approved of, tue salesman gives it a twist, almost turning it Inside out, kill ing or disabling u in a moment. The octopus is eaten with gusto in Southern Italy; but to see a mess of chopped full grown octopus served with tomato sauce is really trying. W hen very small the octopus is used as a garnith for fish, and when fried crisp it might be mistaken for macaroni. The oc topus uas a strong beak like a parrot, and is especially fond of crabs. It is often caught by tying crabs to a string and drop ping them on the clear gravel bottom where they are quickly seized by the octopus, who holds on steadily; meanwhile he is steadily dn.w& into the boat. They are also found entangled In nets. Trtk Black Walkut.—The usual mode of propagating the black walnut is by planting the nuts. For this purpose the best nuts should be selected, and, without allowing them to become dry, should be placed in lay era of moist land and kept in a cool place until early in spring; then they should be sown or planted, so as to be covered shout two inenes in depth. If the nuts aie planted where the trees are to stand, it is said, the best and tallest trees are obtained, but if first raised in dursery rows and transplanted, they will come sooner into bearing. A oouPKsroiiDkiiT of the Blacksmith and Wheelwright says: “fhe best reme dy 1 have ever tound for horses clicking or striking their hind shoes against the for ward ones is to put on high toe calks and low heels on the hind shoes, if mg broth er smiths aie incredulous concerning this remedy, I advise them to try it and be convinced. fik caresul about permitting cattle to drink from ditches, or liom pcols In which they are accustomed to stand, or in which their droppings are deposited. Such im pure water is cot only liable to injure the the health of the stock, bm is also a fear- lul cause of malarial and typhoid fever among those who use milk product from cows thus watered. Farm La»c'R.—Under a well planned system, li would not be necessary to make any marked inertase of working force on the average faim at any season ot the year if full advantage b taken ot the improved farm machineiy tnat can now be readily obtained ter a variety of purjioses. In the cases where it is not possible to secure an exact uniformity in the distribution of la bor it will he best to make as close an ap proximation to it as possible. Mast dairymen practice milking their cows steadily without allowing the ani mala to 2° t , 0’- They feed heavily on corn meal and oil cake until the milk fails when the cow is replaced by a fresh one. A dairyman who keeps one hundred and and fitly cows says such a practice is more profitable tban to lose the time between their going dry and coming. Charcoal pulverized and mixed with water is highly recommended for relieving cattle suffering from any derangement of the stomach, such as bloat, hoven, etc. In Kansas oas shepherd and a dog do the work for S.000 head of sheep doima the aosunar season. | i Flals MffnuoAZlAWHY Soup. —In u 1 frying-pan fry three large onions, and with them a slice or two of fat bacon out up into small pieoee; the .onions most be fried a dark brown, but take care not to bom them; when they aie a nice color, take the pan from the fire, and stir into it a teaspoon ful of curry powder, four tablespoonfuls of peas flour, and half a teaspoonful of salt; stir these well together, and continue stir ring until the mixture becomes smooth; moisten it from time to time with a little hot water or stock, and go on in this way until the frying-pan will nold no more; then turn the contents into a stewpan, adding in all about three pinto of stock, including that which has al ready been put in. Chop np two large apples, add them to the soup, and let •all boil well together until the apples have disappeared or melted into the soup. This will require occasional stir ring while boiling; should it become too thick, add a little more stock, and boil np once more, if not thick enengh, go on boiling until it has been reduced to the proper consistency; it should be thick enough to stick to the spoon. Earthesw^b is Cookino.—The fla vor of foot! baked or boiled in earthen ware is taid by those who have made the experiment to be far superior to that of vegetable or animal food cooked in the same way in iron vessels for the reason that iron is a conductor of he«t, while earthenware is a non-conductor; consequently, ipod cooked in the latter is rarely ever horned, the degree d heat not varying perceptibly during the process of cooking, thus preserving the flavor of what is cooked as well as uni formity throughout the substance of the meat, vegetables or grains, until the pro cess of cooking is completed. So earth enware takes the premium, as it deserve* to, and those who have found out how much better they can do their cooking in these vessels than iu ironware, give poto and kettles a cold shonlder oiten. Pocket Books.—Warm one quart of new milk, add one cup of batter or lard, four tablespoons of sugar, and two well- beaten eggs; stir in flour enough to make a moderately stiff sponge, add a small cup of yeast, and set iu a warm place to nse, which will take three or four hours; then mix iu flour enough to make a soft dough, and let rise again. When well risen, dissolve a lump of si da size of a bean in a spoon of milk, work it into the dough, and roll into sheets one-half inch iu thickness; spread with thin layer of butter, cut into squares, and fold over, pocket-book shape; pat on tins or in pans to rise for 'a little while, when they will be fit for the oven. In summer the sponge can be made np in the morning, aud rise in time to make for tea. In cool weather it is best to set it over ni^ht. Lights Burked in SLEEPixa Rooms. —It is well to remember that a burning lamp, gas or other, is taking oxygen from the air of a sleeping room, and adding to the stale and exhausted con dition of the air. People who are afraid to sleep in a room with growing plants, and who yet composedly shut them selves up until morning with a low- burning gas-light, should listen to Pro fessor Goodale, of Massachusetts, who says that it taken about 400 plants to give out as much carbonate acid as one taper does—in other words, one burning c indie reduces the froshness of the air as much as a small greeu-house iu one’s bed room. t’wamrra koh 13utter A lady who is a famous housekeeper recommends an economical plan for making cakes without butter, which may be of use to our readers who have a dread of •‘mar garine,” Take a piece of fat pork, melt it down and strain it through a piece of coarse thin musiin. Set it aside until it is cold. It is then white and firm and may be used like butter in any kind of cake. In pound-cake she assures us it is delicious. Mot sffHFs Pound Cake.—Take one cup of sugar and one cup of butter and beat to a cream; add three-qnarters cup of molasses; two eggs well beaten; one cup of sweet milk; one teaspoonful of best soda, dissolved in the milk; into four cups of tartar. Stir all together, then add a teacupfull of raisins, well dredged with flour; a teaoupful at cur rants, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamou; one of cloves, and a wineglass of old brandy if you choose. This wiQ make two round loaves. Rabbits.—Rabbits, which are iu the best condition in midwinter, may be fricasseed like chicken, in white or brown sauce. To make a pie, first stew till tender and make like chicken pie. To roast, stuff with a dressing made of bread-crumbs, chopped salt pork, thyme, onion, pepper and salt; sew up; slices of salt pork, add a little water in the pan and baste often. Berved with mashed potatoes aud currant jelly. Matgnnaish or (Jaulxfjxjwkr.—Put some cauliflowers into jnst enough boil ing water to cover them; add a little salt and butter to the water. When cooked, let them become cold; then sea son them with a marinade of a little salt and pepper, and one speonfol of oil. Let them remain for an honr. When ready to serve pile them on a dish to a point, then mask them with a-mayon naise sauce. Silk Worms.—Au Italian has discoy- l eied that the batching of silk worm eggs may be hastened by friction. The pro cess consists essentialy in brushing the eggs vigoiously for ten or twelve min utes with a moderately hard brush, made preferably of coarse grass. In less than fifteen days the eggs thus Urea ted will hatch out, with a product as healthy as that obtained in the usual way. Tkk Warming Foods.—Buckwheat and Indian meal are the two blankets of the breakfast table. Either as mash «r griddle cukes, these have more warmth in them, as food, than wheat bread. - Rubber Srorraas. —To preserve ca outchouc stoppers and tnbing they should be kept in a dosed jar, in which a vessel containing petroleum is placed. Oaoutchouo stoppers which have become hard may be softened by expoanra to the vapor of carbon bisulphide. Yeast.—Good yeast can be kept in excellent condition if it is twice 'well washed with ice-cold hard spring water and then dried and wdl p. issed. This mass is afterward to be well mixed with malt lust and stored in closed jars in ice cellars To destroy black-heads, wash the'face thoroughly at night with tepid water and rub briskly with a Turkish towel; then apply a mixture of one ounce of liquor of pottaaaa and two ounoes o cologne. RnpMvUtlote* is Afenaf, The coach road is a harrow old road where two carts can hardly pass one another, with high banks'and sharp turns, and it ia haunted. There is a spectral coach that is said to frequent this appalling land. Who ths restless spirit may be, none can tell, or how long he has been traveling about in his weird conveyance, but that he has been long a wanderer iu hii coach, which ever and anon appears among ns, none would be so ( persevere as to question. Indeed, the phantom coach travels far and wide through Norfolk, and stops at people’s houses in the dead of night. An unseen hand lets down the steps, the horses clamp the'r bits and snort, the carriage door is slammed, and the thing moves oil: but when people pre* pare to let in the unexpected visitor with kindly welcome—lol there is noth ing. The coach has gone,- There are a dozen living men who must positively affirm that they have had a visit from the coach. On one occasion, my in formant, who lived m a lonely old farm-house, saw the flash of co^oh- lamps, and heard the champing of the bits. He opened his bedroom window and called out, but, receiving no an swer, he went down to the front door. The night was calm and still, the stars were shining; but there was neither voice, nor any that answered, nor any that regarded. No harm seems to come to such as receive these nocturnal visits, but it is the prevalent belief that the oecnpant of the couch is condemned to walk like the Wandering Jew. Presumably he would prefer to ride oa in his chanot uudisturoed. Bat no. He is turned out to pace'the earth, which preadvent ure he has polluted with some ghastly crime, and w.dk he must until the coach comes to pick him up at some appointed spot. Then it is thought that he has another term of “vehicular traffic. ” A coachy Sisyphus, condemned to everlasting alterations of being drop ped and picked up again by an infernal chanot, with snorting horses and flash ing lamps, must have a very, very hard time of it. This dreadful equipage seems to have some connection witu an old house, the traces of which were ob literated when the railroad invaded us. it is a carious tea.are of the story that the high-road along which the mail used to travel in tne good old times, passed at some distance from the haunted way, which was certainly culled the ooaoh-road some generations back, and I h tve a suspicion that the fact that no phantom having been seen of late on the couch-road itself—though they tell me it has been seen by “scores of ’em” elsewheie—may be accounted for; it is a matt.r of history that some thirty years ago the present Lord Du# ley drove a carnage aud tour along the coach-rood, and, to the amazement and perplexity of mankind, did not perish m tiie attempt. Since then the gnostly Automedon. shamed at being so mam lestiy outdone, has retired from this part of the scene of his former cha rioteering. Kknb.-leir to Asttuu. When, after a three days’ struggle with the snows, the ravines, the precipices of the Fuss of Hemedli, during which guns, wagons, tents, even much ammunition had to oe abandoned, Skobeleff’s tired column emerged on the valley of Tundzaand came face to face with Vessel Pasha’s army, which had just victoriously driven back Kadetsky’s aud Muzky’s columns, General bkobeleff rode along the line informing bis men that there was no retreat—all that was left to them was dea’h. glory, or— alter a pause—shame. ‘ Death or glory!” was the cry, with loud huzzas for their loved and devoted leader, and right nobly did tbey vindicate tneir choice. Many instances of his consummate courage and eoolness in danger are already well known to readers in Western Europe. Let me add one or two. On the day before the assault ou the Green Hill redoubt at Plev na, 1 was with him on a vine covered ridge which commanded a view ot the Turkish position. Skobeleff was making preparations for the assault. He had from persenal inspection made a plan of the surrounding ground, and was. quite in view ot the enemy, making a senes of sketches of the exact points and of the ground leading to them, which were to be the objects of attack bv each oi his batol- ions. The Turks opened fire; at first the shells were short; then they Hew overhead but suddenly two shrieked unpleasantly near. One burst within a few yards of wnere Skobeleff was sitting on a camp stool drawing, and he and the paper were covered with the friable soil of the vine yard. Without a word or a wince he simply shook the soil off the paper and finished the preparation of his plans, or dering bis staff, when he observed that the fire continued exact, to find cover un der a sloping bask some twenty yards off. At the battle of benova—and 1 refer to this engrgement frequently because the details of it are afmo t wholly unknown In England—Skobeieff, mounted on tun white charger, went out alone to reconnoiter the Turkhh position. Of course he was the mark tor a pretty hot fusillade from both infantry and anilkry. Buddcnly a shell appeared to striae the ground rsgbt be neath his charger and exploded. Thous ands thought that his temerity had at last brought the death he seemed to court. But when the smoke cleared . away the white charger was observed plunging gal lantly onward, and his rider, unharmed, soon afterward, rejoined his own troops. Skobeieff told me that when the shell ex ploded he was almost suffocated with the sulphurous smoke, and that for a moment he actually believed his hour had come. 1 he plunging of his horse, as it were, awoke him from the shock, and he was able to finish his survey unnerved It would be wearisome to multiply instances of his escapes or bis daring. Mew Orders. The Synod of the Catholic Church of this country held its sittings in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, and whose deliberations came to a close on the 9th of last month, issued decrees winch arc now in the hands of the printer and will be published about the middle of this month, Tuey are not to be sent to Rome for ratification, as has been supposed, for tney relate to mat ters of morals and not of faith, and therefore do not require Roman rjiflea- tiou. Those most interesting to the public are a decree forbidding priests to attend drapaatio or operatic per formances in theatres, one forbidding Clerical attendance at race courses aud one making the wearing of the rsbba or Roman collar obligatory ujxm priests. There is also a decree prohibiting the use of flowers at funerals, except iu the ease of young children, wheie they may be appropriately uied az typifying tne mnooenoe and parity of the uead. None of the decreed deal with the amusements of the laity. Bhinur Sport l« Ooaoiwd*. ■ ■ *' •r »1 ; n l' - Bom* time lioce, William Farontau, foreman of the Gunnell mine, Goiorudo,- started out lor Sabbith’s sport, and reached Mammoth Park rather early. Before he had gone fifty yards be heard a Plight noise to his left, and, quickly turning around, he discovered a large female bear and and a well-grown cub. Bho seemed to be hesitating for the moment whether to give fight or not. The mother of the cub were not over twenty yards from the hunter, and his decision was made up az' a flash- He would kill the old one and take the chances of the younger running away. His rifle wa» at his shoulder m an instant, but as his finger touched the trig ger the bear made a lunge at him and the hall went wide of iu murk, missing the now infuriated animal entirely. He threw hisgunasldeand jerked from its sheathe long hunting knife. Unfortunately for him the bear caught the band in which the knife was clutched as it was over with him; but the bear seemed anxious to get her victim around the neck and give him a death hug, so she released the hand and got her paws on both shoulders. Parenteau doing all that he could to keep out of her embrace, in the meantime he was apply ing the knife with all the desperation ot a man who knew ttjat he was in the very clutches of a terrible death. The bear gave him a terrible slap in the face, lacer ating the flesh and almost blinding him IShe was now fairly howling with a pain, as the knife would sink up to the hilt at every thrust. In the struggle Parenteau felt hia left thigh give way or leaving its socket, and he knew that the struggle could not last much longer. TJhe pain and loss of blood were telling on him rapidly, but he determined to sell hla life as dearly as possible. Whenever an opportunity offered he buried his trusty knife in the body of the bear, who showed some signs of weakening. His left knee cap also re ceived a terribly injury, and he was al most crazed witu pam. Finally he saw an opportunity to drive bus knife home behind the left shoulder of his enemy, ami she loosened her hold, bhe stood over him for a moment, with the blood gushing from eighteen wounds, and the* falling over on bar side, expired. It was some moments before Parenteau couid gather up strength enough to even try to move. He presented the appearance ot having been through a slaughter house. He was unable to pick up or carry his gun, but finding a stick close by, he hobbled and crawled • along until the saw mill was reached, some two miles distant. Phil Parenteau, a brother of the wounded man, has arrived from Mammoth Park. He says that his brother’s injuries are much more serious than at first reported. The bear got his head in her mouth amt aotu ally chewed on it for a few moments. The bridge of the noss was literally crushed aud shattered into small particles of bone. A cavity was created through which the walls of the throat can be plainly seen. There is a deep incismu between the head and the termination of the spinal column, and the scalp is lacerated and shockingly torn in a number of places. Tba Crown of Thorn*. At the harbor mouth of the little Nor man seaport stands a loftly crucifix, high up against the sunrise and the sunset; the figure carved realistically enough, with eyes gazing over the sea, watching since time immemorial the outgoing ships. It is the last picture ou the ej es of the fisher men as they sail away to narthern lati tudes for their hard, cheerless labor of the Newfoundland coast, and the first high landmark that greets those of them who return; for the frail vessels that venture thither, sometimes no tidings come again, and on those vessels sailing in, often some voice fails to answer when the women stream out to welcome them irom the pier-head. For here there is a widow’s dress in every young wife’s wedding cheat. It was well thought to set it there, tor who so mystically minded as the tail or, ever face to face with the mystery and majesty of nature! A good thought for these simple miuds to associate with the haven of their home when tbey start, as one of them finely expressed it, into the great waters to see the glory of God. 80 it stands there, and the rough sea winds shake it, aud the sea swallows rest on the arms of the cross, and at times the spray rains over the three white figures at the base. A little while ago they built a scaffolding around it, and 1 saw that they were regiiding the crown of thorns. To day there was a great stir in the little town. From the old church, a mile up the in land valley, a long procession passed along the hillside road, and down the slop ing streets to the port. Many chJdren, ail m white, and music aud many banners of many colors, came winding on below the great gray cliffs; little boys m sailors’ dress, carrying a model ship; then the ban ner of our Lady, borne by the virgins of the town; something pathetic there also— old wrinkled faces, two of them yet dressed in ihe viigia white among the young girts, and « ooarse jest in the crowd perhaps. The sea bad never brought their lovers home, yet they followed, though their yearly prayers had litue availed. Then then the choristers sing ing—an old brass trumpet to give volume to the sound; then the priests with cross and candle; so along to the Calvary at the harbor myuth. They are ranged round it now—the priests and choristers below, the fishermen and their banner in front, the white children in a wider ring, and all the. people of the little town around. On ote side the giant oi ff; on the other the calm sea, witn its iitile sails drifting down the tair ioriKon. Borne one has crowned the lair Madonna with a crown of white roses. A young pries is preaching at the foot of the cross. A few of the boys, in their festive dress, have broken away, and, climbing the steep grass bank tiist leans against the cliffs, are running races down 11; butthe crowd ia attentive, silent; a lew women crying. Kydal ohapel. This edifice where worshipped Ihe poet Wordsworth, is undergoing vari ous alterations, made necessary by the diy rot, which had eaten through every joist and piauk, and the narrowness of the pews, which almost precluded the poeeibility of kneeling. The incumbent of the parish wntee to one of the Lon don newspapers that it is h >ped a suita ble chancel may be built in plase of the present recess which serves for one, and which “has often proved most in convenient when there has been more than one offlciatfmg clergyman.” He hopes that contributions in aid of this object will be made by the public out- aido of Rydal. “On account of tha celebrity of this little placo,” he »ays, “as being intimately connected with some of England o greatest men. 1 venture to ask you, by printing this letter, to give further publicity to onr scheme than you have already done, in the hope that some of your readers may be indueed t to subscribe toward making the worshipping place of Wordsworth and Arnold ’less a contrast T The tmAf lh Black. Ghotik ttol-iet *adore, roval and other wise, Lady Bloomfield has scattered' through her volumes ot kimintactncet Of Court and Diplomatic tafe. A par ticularly gjoomy one was told to her by Princess Reuss, the niece of its heroine, Queen Theresa of Bavaria. It appears that in the Bavarian royal family there is a tradition of the appearance of a black lady before any death; jusi as in the Prussian royal family a white lady ii peon.' One evening Q nieen Theresa was sitting with her brother, on the eve of her departure for Munich when her lady-in-waiting came into her majesty’s room, and asked whether she was going to give an audience, -because • thougu she, the lady-in-waiting, had not been apprised of that intention, a lady was waiting in the antt-room. The Queen, much astonished, said she had no inten tion of seeing auy one that evening, as she meant to start very early the next mor ling for Munich and wished to re tire to rest in good time. Her majesty then asked her brother togc and seethe lady in question, and require what she wonted. . On entering the ante-room he saw the figure dressed in blaok, sitting ; but as he approached, it disappeared, so he came back to the Queen aud said, 'Es Ut »ehr unheimlich, es muss die Schwarze Frau gewesen etyn.' (It w very uncanny, but it must have been the black lady.) The next morning at ti o’clock the Queen started for Munich. As she was leaving Asohaffenburg, she told her chaplain she had left various petitions on her writing table, which she wished him to atteud to, and os soon as the carriage drove off he went to get the papers, and there, standing by the Queen’s table, was again the same figure, dressed in black. That evening, after the coetellan aud his w fe had re tired to rent, they were surprised at hearing the great bell of the castle toll. The key of the bell-tower was hanging up as usual-in their room; but they noted the hour, and at that moment Queen Theresa.died Munich of cholera, which seized her on her arrival in the town at 6 o’clock p.m., and earned-her off in a few hoars. A mystical anecdote about Napoleon III is given on the au thority of Lady Bloomfield's relative, Lord Normandy. He was at the Eiysee one day, when he saw the Emperor con versing with Ban Giacomo. They bec koned to him to approach, and then Napoleon bh d that he was reminding Ban Giucomuot a curious interview they had wuen young men, with a tomnum- bulist, He added that she preoicted three things ; * -That 1 should be some tune in prison, tin n reign over an em pire, and lastly that I should die a vio lent death” "Deux de ces chases tout arrived” he said, "Cautre arrivera.'’ Lady Bloomfield tells among her otner picturesque tales a carious story of Harriet Hosmer, who declared that the spirit of her Italian servant appeared and spoke to her at the moment of the girl’s death in another quarter of Rome. Rather Too Keali-tl*. At a very relreahing season of revival in one of the largo railroad centres, not Jong ago, one of the pastors announced than he would devote an evening to the boys connected with the roads, inviting them all to be present, and promising something that would be of interest to them. The night came around, and the lads were on hand. Perhaps they did not take much stock in emotional re ligion, but they were prepared to par respectful attention to anything that might be said. “Riag the bell!” exclaimed the minister, plunging iuto his theme with out further introduction, hoping to please his auditors he continued refer ence to their avocation. “Toot, toot- toot 1 Away we go !” and he began to hop up and down and stagger around the stage. His imitation of car motion was infectious, aud the men bobbed around on their seats. “We are plunging along at 60 miles an honr 1” he roared. The audience said nothing but looked at each other with raised eyebrows. “There is nothing between us and death 1” continued the clergyman. “It is a station to which we are all bound ! Look out 1 Ha 1 That switch was open I Now we are bound to eternal perdition ! There is no help for us ! We are ’• But all he could see were assorted sizes of legs disappearing through door- and windows. There was but one man left in the audience, and he was screw ing of an imaginary brake with all his strength. “My friend—,” commenced the pas tor. “Jump, you dog gone jackass .’’roared the solitary brakeman. “if we’ve cat the switch and hell’s ahead, you want to jun p 1” “But you. my brotutr, but you—I” exclaimed the clergyman, hoping to im prove the opporluuity aud impress one emotional soul. “Never mind me i” yelled the brake- man, setting his foot firmly aud crouch ing over the wheel. “Never mind me!” I’ve been brakeman on this road for 21 yearn, and i’m wdhug to Jay off iu hell for a little rest! Jump, you infernal jackass, unless you’re tired of preach- mg I” .[ Referring to the ocoasion subsequent ly, the clergyman solemnly affirmed that he had made his last effort at a real stic sermon. Imlcbtsdneen ol tui Fnutuii k h , | The Earl of Aylesford is one of those aristocratic young gentlemen who pos sess a wonderf e I iaeihty for running into debt. On the 28th of November last his affairs came up before the Court of Bankruptcy in Loudon, when it ap peared that he owed £200,000 to the Eagle Insurance Company, £69,000 to his lawyer, £16,000 to Lord Hastings and about £14,000 to tradesmen. The matter was brought before the House of Lords and a special aot obtained and trustees appointed to take charge of the property, amounting to £760,000, to re ceive the rents and raise money to nav the debts. The Earl then started tor tins country on a short shooting tour till Christmas. Meantime an impatient wine merchant filed a petition in bank ruptcy, alleging that his customer de parted from the realm to defeat and ' detoy his creditors, and obtained an order appointing areceiver. it appeared tnat last year the gro<* income ofthe estates was £26,000, but there was no thing available for the nusecured credi tors at present. Mr. Registrar Haziit discharged tue receiver appointed under are snob aa to allow of his waiting a year for hi. money without amage to the profit and Joss account. Her gentle hint: Foungtodv (mdden- ly starting)—“My goodness!” Young gentleman (late stayer)—“What’s the ^ -1