Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I opened the old, old Bltiie , ' And looked at a ptge of PshlmB, TUI the wintry sea of my trouble Was smoothed by its summer calms. For the words that have helped so many, And the pages have seemed mofe dear- seemed new in their power to comfort, And they brought me my word of cheer. Like music of solemn singing These wprds came down to me; a Is slow to anger, ' And of mercy great is He; Each generation praiseth His work of long renown; The t.ord npholdeth all that fall, And raisetb the bowed down." 'That ga»e meNhe strength Pwanted' f knew the Lord was nigh; All that was making me sorry Would be better by and by. I had bat to wait tn patience, < And keep at my Father’s side, And nothing would really hurt me, Whatever might betide. TilK CD KPTCW HEROINE. It lacked quite half an hour of curfew toll. The old bell-ringer came from under the wattled roof of his cottage stoop, and stood with uncovered bead in the clear, sweet-scented air. He had grown blind and deaf in the service, but his aim was as muscular as ever, and he who listened this day marked no falter ing in the heavy metallic throbs of the cathedral bell. Old Jasper had lived through many changes. He had tolled out his notes of moumiugfor good Queeu Bess, and with tears scarcely dry he had rung the glad tidings of the coronation of J ames. Charles 1. had been crowned, reigned and expiated his weakness be fore all England in Jasper’s time; and uow he, who under uray held all the commonwealth in the hollow of his hand, ruled as more than monarch, and still the old man, with the habit of a long life upon him, rang his matin and sorrow. Jasper stood alone now, lifting his dimmed eyes up to the softly dappled sky. The/ walls of his memory seemed so written over—so crossed and recrossed by the annals of the years that had gone before, that there seemed little room for anything in the present. Little recked he that Cromwell’s spearsmen were camped on the moor beyond the village —that (Iromwftll himself rode with his guardsmen a league away; he only knew that the bell had been rung in the tower when William the Conqueror made cur lew a law, had been spared by Puritan and Roundhead and that his arm for sixty years had never failed him at even tide. He was moving with slow step toward the gate, when a woman came hurriedly in from the street and stood beside him; a lovely woman, but with face so blanched that it seemed carved in the whitest of marble, with all of its round- ness and dimples. Her great solemn eyes were rait-ed to the aged face in piti ful appeal, and the lips were forming words that he could not understood. “Speak up, lass; I am deaf and cannot hear your clatter,’’ The voice raised, and the hands clasped and unclasped, and rung themselves to gether, palm and palm. “For heaven’s sake, Jasper do not ring the curfew to-night.” “What, na ring curfew! Ye must be daft, lassie,” “Jasper, for sweet heaven’s sake, for my sake, for one night in all your life long, forget to ring the bell Fail this once, and my lover shall live, whom Cromwell says shall die at curlew toll i)o you hear? my lover, Richard Temple. See, Jasper, here is money to make your old age happy, I sold my jewels that the Lady Maud gave me, aud the gold shall all be yours for one curfew.” “Would ye bribe me, L! y De Yere? Ye're a changeling. Ye’ve na the blood of the Plan tag anete in ye’re veins as ye’re mother had. What, corrupt the bell ringer under her majesty, good Queen Bess! Mot for all the gold that Lady Maud could bring me I Babes have been born and strong men have died before now at the ringing of my bed. Awa’l awa’I” And ont on the village green, with the solemn shadows of the lichens lengthen ing over, it*, a strong npm awaited the curfew to toll tor his death. He stood, handsome aud brave and tall—taller by an inoh than the tallest pikeman whe guarded him. Whac had he done that he should die? Little it mattered in those days, when the sword that the great Cromwell wield ed was so prone to fad. what he or others had done. He had been scribe to the late lord up at thb castle, and Lady Maud, forgetting that man must woo and woman must wait, had given her heart to him without asking, while the gentle Lily Do V*re, distant kinswoman and poor compan.on to her, had, with out seeking, found the treasures of Us true love and held them fast. Then lie had joined the army, and made one of the pious soldiers whose evil passions were never stirred but by sign or symbol of popery. But a soorued woman s hat red had reached him even there. Ene mies and deep plots had compassed him about and conquered him. To-night he was to die. The beautiful world lay as vivid pic ture before him. The dark green wood above the rooky hill where Robin Hood and his merry men had*dwelt; the frown ing castle with its drawbridge and square towers; the long stretch of moor with tr" purple shadows upon it; the green, straight walks of the village; the birds overnead, even the daisies at his feet he saw. But, ah! more vividly, than all, he saw the great red sun with its hazy veil lingering above the trees, as though it pibod him with more than human pity. He was a God-fearing and a God-serv ing man. He had long made his peace with heaven. Notning stood between him and death—nothing rose pleading between him and those who were to de stroy him but the sweet face of Lily De Yere, whom he loved. She had knelt at Cromwell’s feet and pleaded for his life. She had wearie l heaven with her pray ers. but all without avail. Slowly now the great sun went down. Slowly the last red rim was hid behind the greenwood. Thirty seconds more and his soul would be with his Odd. The color did not forsake his cheeks. The dark rings of hair lay upon a warm brow. It was his purpose to die as martyrs aud brave men die. What was life that he should cling to it? He almost felt the air pulsate with the first heavy roll of the death-knell. But uo sound came. Still facing the soldiers with his clear gray eyes upon them, he waited. The crimson banners in the west were paling to pink. The kiae had ceased their low ing, and had been gathered into the brick-yards. All nature bad sounded her curfew; but old Ja per was silent! The bell-ringer, with his gray head yet bared, had traversed' half the dis tance that lay between his cottage and the ivy-covered tower, when a form went flitting past him, with pale, shadowy robes floating around it, and hair that the low western lights touched and tinted (is a with a halo. “Ah, Huldah, Huldah!” the old man muttered; “how swift she flies! I will come soon, dear. My work is almost done." Huldah was the good wife, who had gone from him m her early woman hood. and for whom he had mourned all his long life. But the fleeting form was not Huldah’s it was Lily De Yere, bur ned by a .sudden aud desperate pnrpose toward the cathedral. “bo help me God. curfew shall not ring to-night! Cromwell and his dra goons come this way. Once more I will kneel at his feet and plead.” She entered the ruined arch. She wrenched from its fastenings the carved and worm-eaten door that barred the way to the tower. She ascended with flying and frenzied feet the stops; her heart lifted up to Chid for Richard’s de liverance from peril. The bats flew out and shook the dust of centuries from the black carvings. As she went up she caught glimpses of the interior of the great building, with its groined roof, its chevrons and clustered columns, its pic tured saint and carved image of the Vir gin, which the in pillages of ages had been spared to be dealt with by time, the most relentless vanquisher of all. Her breath was coming short and gasp ing. She saw through an open space old Jasper cross the road at the foot of the tower. Oh, how far! The seconds were treasures which Cromwell, with all his blood bought commonwealth, could nnt.pnrrhase from hey. Tip—tivva. just above her, witn its great dtfazen mouth and wieked tongue, the bell hung. A worm-eaten block for a step, and one small, white hand had clasped itself above the clapper—the other prepared at the tremble, to rise and clasp its mate and the feet to swing off—and thus she waited. Jasper was old and slow, bnt he was sure, and it came at last. A faint quiver, and the young feet swung from their lest, and the tender hands clasped for more than their precious life the writhing thing. There was groaning and creaking at the pulleys above, and then the strokes came heavy and strong. Jasper’s hand had not forgot its cun ning, nor h'iw arm its strength. The tender, soft form was swung aud dashad to and fro. |3ut she clung to-effid car- esssed the cold, cruel thing. I et one stroke come, and a thousand might fol low—for its fatal work would be done. She wreathed her white hands about it, so that at every pull of the great ropes it crushed into the flesh. It tore her. and wounded and bruised; but there in the solemn twilight the brave woman swung and fought with the curfew; and God gave her victory. The old bell-ringer said to himself; “Aye, Huldah, my wo k is done. The pulleys are getting too heavy for my old arms. My ears, too. have failed me. I diuua hear one stroke of the curfew. Dear old bell, it is my ears that have gone false, and not thou. Farewell, old iriend.” And jnst beyond the worn pavement a shadowy form again went flitting past him. There were drops of blood upon the white garments, and the face was like the face of one who walked in tier sleep, and the hands hung wounded and p >werless at her side. Cromwell paused with his horsemen under the dismantled maypole before the village green. He saw the man who was to die at sunset standing ug in the dusky air, tall as a king ; aud beautilol as Absalom. He gazed with knitted brow and angry eye; but his lips did not give utterance to the quick command that trembled on them, for a girl came flying toward him. Pikeman and archer stepped aside to let her pass. Bhe threw herself upon the turf at his horse’s feet; she lifted her bleeding and tortured hands to his gaze, and once more poured out her prayer for the life of her lover; with trembling lips she told him why Richard still lived—why the curfew had not sounded. Lady Maud, looking ont of her latticed window at the castle, saw the great Pro tector dismount, lilt the fainting form in his arms and bear her to her lover. Bhe saw the guards release the prisoner, and sue heard the shouts of joy at his deliverance; then she welcomed the aignt that shut the scene out from her envious eye and sculptured her in its gloom. At the next matin l>ell old Jasper died, and at curfew toll he was laid beside the wife who had died in his youth, but the memory of whom hud beeu with him always. A California Diamond. In the Green Mountain claim, near Cedar ravine, Captain Ames, of Cali fornia. found a large and handsome diamond, larger than an ordinary pea, without defect in color and remarkably clear. There is a small flaw on the side, but it will dress down to a very fine gem o{ much value. Of course, no exact estimate of its value con be made until it shall have beeu dressed. cold, cannot be appreciated at their true value except among the arctic and semi- arctic wilds, where it would be impossiule to sustain hfe during at least half the year were it not for the snow. The Esquimaux hut has often been illustrated and de scribed, but there are otl er structures made of snow which, though less preten tious, are of as much value to the moose, caribou, deer and fox hunter as the hut to the E-quiu aux. The three orders of architetcure in snow are the simple .burrow, the Y camp, and the snow hut Of these the burrow needs the smallest amount of training m order to construct it, the V camp but little more, while the snow-hut is a thing, which to build successfully, requires long practice and skill. In constructing the snow barrow, all that is necessary in order to be perfectly comfortable is a heavy overcoat, a blanket or shawl to cover up the face and n aud prevent the snow from touching tl skin. Having ibis, find some place wh the snow has drifted rather deeply on tl lee side of a rock, a clump cf bushes, a tree-trunk, or in fact anything which will shelter the pile in which it is proposed to make the burrow from the wind. Then dig with the hands, or anything else, a hole in the snow, crawling in as fast as it is made. Wriggling would be a better word than crawling, because while getting into the burrow it is necessary to move along lying at full length, so that, beyond the disturbance caused by the passage of the body, the snow shall not be moved. W hen a person enters m the manner des cribed, as fast as the support for the upper snow is removed by digging, the body takes its place. Freshfallen snow—the be^t to make a burrow in—is very easily moved, aud were a person to make a hole large enough to admit him on bands and knees, the roof or covering would fail in, and he would not be sheltered at all. The blanket or shawl—the writer has known of one case where a vest was used instead with perfect success- must be wrapped around the head and neck before beginning the burrow, aud the burrower will conse quently have to work in the dark or with his eyes blindfolded. This, however, is of little consequence if he will start in the right direction, and keep going towards the ground as much as possible. The process of burrowing is very simple. Tbe hands make a hole and the head follows them as fast as possible. It is sometimes necessary to push the snow as it is dug out down at the side of the body, disturb ing the snow as little as may be, and keep ing it from contact with the skin. Once in tbe burrow, the burrower should push the snow away from around his head so as to form a small space in which nnAine it /he suow is so uget UMBL* is unable to do this withnut|its falling in,' then he should arrange the covering around his head in such a way as to give him some space inside of it. He need be in no fear of stifling, as the snow allows nr enough to pass through it to give all he wants. The one thing to be feared in snow-burrotoing is that the weather may not be cold enough outside, for if the snow be wet the burrow, is of no use. As long as the snow is dry the burrower will be as comfortable inside of the drift as he could be m the warmest feather bed. Considerably mere pretentious, and cer tainly more comfortable, because one <8 not so confined is tbe V camp. It is sel dom made unless for a number of persons, as it involves a good bit of labor. Choos ing a drift not less than five, and bitter yet, seven or eight feet deep, the campers mark out on the surface a gigantic V. For a party of five this would be about nine feet across the top, and about the same ib length. Tbe drift must be what is called “old snow,” because new-1alien snow is too light and fleecy to give the re quisite streught to the sides. Taking their snow-shoes, the men proceed to dig out the snow, throwing it qn the drift on the outside and leaving the walls perpen dicular. Having got all of the snow out at the lower or narrow end of the V, what is called a "rise” is made, which is simp ly a path tramped down from the bottom of the camp to tbe top of the snow. While two or three of tbe party are digging the camp, the rest cut down ene or two fir trees, the flat branches of which are trimmed off and brought to the camp. Some of these are placed m the “rise’’ to prevent those walking in and out from sinking in the sno^. The rest are Lid on the ground to form the bed. At the lower end of the Y a fire is built, and the camp is ready to be occupied. There are few more delightful places to sleep. 1 * Wyammg Hews. Six years ago a man came to Wyoming from New England, and started in the cattle business on the Laramie plains with one solitary Texas steer and a good, serv iceable branding iron. He now has over 600 head of stock, the multiplied increase of that one crit.er. Who says there is no money in the sloes business! A female named Calamity Jane, a character of 1877 and 1878 in Dead wood, who has beeu living on a ranch for two or three years, is again on the war-path. Her specialty is dexterity with a six- shooter and a poker deck. Jupiter is uow the evening star, and ap pears in the eastern sky as soon as it is dark enough to see him rise with stately st<p to the zenith and sinks slowly to the west, glowing m the celestial dome nearly all night. Among the unfortunate callers on Mon day was the young'-gentleman who called oa font queens at one time. He forgot there was ench a thing as kings. A co queue who meets a foeman worthy of her ateel will spare no effort to bring him to her feet, taking the risk of gettiug snared herself in the endeavor. And when she has him there, and his scalp figuratively speaking, is firmly attached to her belt, she loses no opportunity of exhibiting her conquest to her fellow laborers iu tbe harvest field of flirtation. It is one of the most amusing pastimes of society, but those who go through it without singed wings are largely in tbe minority. Pkdi bas a fall: “Dere is no danger of dambling town,” said a fat pedestri an jesterday. “I ish always in luck; a sort of a Mas—” Th« last syllable of the word was never spoken, bm some thing veiy like it in German, with sun dry additions, was mattered as a police man lifted him on his pins. The introduction of Herman carp into the Ymted States, a fish that will thrive and grow fat and savory on decaying vegeta tion, is a progressive step toward ntilizing the millions of small water tracts that dis figure the farms of the country. It is a rare exception when a hundred acre farm has not a pond, or a pool, where fish culture can be made to flourish, if not with the beauty, with more than tbe value of the harvest acre. Freeh fish for breakfast is a great rarity upon a farmer’s table. This is the more strange when we consider that many of our most fertile farms, especially those east cd the Allegheny bett, Uc eioag me great water nouises, or are furrowed by gtrwAois that will yieldra bountiful supply of coarse, but good fish food. Fish-culturp, by its rapid, economic progress durAg the last decade, has placed at ttm will ot the farmer a means of providing for his^daiiy needs which ranks in importance with the raising of ordinary farm products tor home oonsump- . tion. Why the farmer has not found this ' oof long ago it is easy to explain. The ■puTsujf oKfUb-eillUire has been almost exclusively confined to those who may be classed, without offense, as professional fish cultunsta. These gentlemen have made fish-culture an ait, from a knowledge of which, the farmer, with his acres of water area, all ready for the seed, has been debarred. Yet all these years fish raising, for domestic, use, has remained one of the simplest problems that ever a farmer was called upon to solve. Given a pond, a few fish, a shovel, a few hour’ labor, with twelve months ot patient waiting, and you have your crop, which, with cue, will become an annual one, witbout the use of plow, harrow or seed bag. Take the earp as an illustra tiou. If you have a uatural pond, cove> ing at least half an acre, with an outlet and inlet, its gieatsat depth at least eight feet, with a shelving margin, you have your fish farm. Bend to, the fish commis sion of your State for * supply of carp, which will be furnished to you free of cost, except that of transportation. Place them in your pond, feeding, if needed, with the scraps from the kitchen, or belter still, with the curd -of sour milk. In twelve months there will be a crop ready for table use. Fish, like cereals, must have p-otection. Before planting tbe carp, sec that tbe plnd is cleared of all other kinds of fish, and of frogs, both of which will soon eat up the young Ssh, as well as the spawn ot the larger ones. The young fish have other enemies, such as the kingfisher, the blue heron, ducks, water-rats, etc., against which they will need protection. Pul no other fish in the pond with carp, but if you crave a varied fish diet, and have another natural porvi, or the chance ’ itt-.f'"*’ catfish llhaaflk ^n it. This hsh protects its young, and increases with great rapidity. In a separate pond may be planted the large-mouth black baas, or the yellow perch may bo raised. All of the above named fish will live and thrive in ponds with a muddy bottom, and their growth m size and numbers will be dependent upon the food and fresh water supply. The carp is a vegetable feeder aud will re quire little food so long as the pond is well filled wit’s aquatic plants. The other fish feed on minnows, trogs, the larva of water insects, fresh-water Crustacea, and such other animal food as comes within the reach of their rapacious jaws. By the judicious culture of a small frog pre serve, sufficient food for the black bass can be raised with a surplus of delicious frog legs for private consumption. John Hearhootn’s Tear-Drops. “Mamie is dying.” These were the words that the tele graph-key clicked out upon the silence that had fallen upon the station of which John Heathcote was in charge. And so, as John Heathcote placed the message in an envelope and sent it by his office boy to an address with which he was not familiar there was perhaps the suspicion of a tear glistening in his honest eye, and mayhap the hand that penned the address trembled a little, for he had wife and children of bis own, had John Heathcote, and it came to him with awful force how cheerless his life would be were one of the little pairs of arms that each morning twined so lov ingly around his neck to be folded across a heart that was stilled forever and the deep brown eyes be closed in tbe dream less steep cf death. And while he was still thinking there came again the nervous click of the|<«- strument, and as he answered the call!be felt Instinctively that the message he was to receive would bring more bad news. And he was right. “Mamie is dead; I will be home in tbe morning,” were tbe words that came to turn over tbe wires, and then the tears in honest John Heath- cote’s eyes were plain enough, and he was not ashamed that he had wept at the sor rows of people all unknown to him. When tbe morning train from the West cam i thundering into the little town where Jotin Heathcote lived he was standing upon the platform. His hours of duty had ended some time before, but he could not bear to leave until he had seen tbe man whose name was signed to the dispatches of the previous night. A sleigh had come to tbe depot and tbe driver had said incidentally that he was to meet Mr. Jones. When the train arrived a weary-looking man stepped fr m one of the cars and the driver of the sleigb ap- proache 1 him. John Heatncote was standing within a few feet of them. “Good morning, Mr. Jones,” said the drivr. “Go'd morning, John.” * So Mamie is dead!’' asked the mm. “Yes,” was the reply, in low, agonized tones, “and 'be would have beaten 2.80 next season.” John Heathcote went away. . ‘ Start!**. Vermont is said to produce more marble than any other State in the Union or than any country except this. The business has expanded with mar velous rapidity since 1870, when com paratively little Vermont marble was to be fomyi in the market. The aggre gate amount of the State’s production the present year is 1,000,000 cubic feet, valued at over $2,000,900. The num ber of men employed in the quarries and mills exceeds 2300, and it required 10,000 car* to carry thp marble away. Nearly $1,000,000 was paid for the labor of workingmen by the quarry owners. Of the curiosities of Anglo-Indian literature there are none more amusing than the stories of matrimonial alliances in times past. It seems incredible now that a young lady could be shipped off like a parcel of goods consigned to an agent in India; bat saoh was the fate of many a girl, and it mast be confessed that ft was a destiny not unwillingly encountered. Nevertheless, wnat most have been the feelings of the young lady during the tedions time of the six months’ voyage to India, knowing that she was just as much sent out for sale as any of the packages among the cargo, and cognizant of the fact that certain pig-tailed and nankeen-breeched nabobs would be waiting at Garden Reacb, Calcutta, or the Bunder, Bom bay, to appraise her marriageable value the moment she lauded? By all ac counts, the girls thus shipped to the East, along with cadets, the black sheep of their families, accepted the situa. tion philosophically. Those who had no female relatives to look after them wore placed under the charge of the captain, and it Is a curious fact, de noting the manners and customs of the times, that one of the essential qualifi cations for the command of an India- man was a reputation in the trade as a mole ehaperon of young women. Cer tain captains were well known for the care, they took of their interesting but (Ufflcult charges. Nor was the respon sibility a light one. It is to be remem bered that even as lately as thirty years ago the East In liamen carried troops, and, of course, their fascinating red- coated officers ss well; also cadets and midshipmen, who probably asked for nothing better than the opportunity offsetting the commander's vigilance at defiance. Under the circumstances and the surroundings, the poor captain must have resembled a hen with a brood of ducklings to look after, and he must have been Argus eyed indeed to have prevented all flirtation between his young ladies and his young gentle men on the voyage out. We catch glimpses ot the good man’s difficulties iu such old Indian novels as ‘Peregrine Pulteney,’ mid in the sea journals of travelers of the period. the girls were pretty; otherwise, It would not have been much use to send them out to the Indian Marriage Market, at heavy expense m the way of outfit and passage; and. secondly, they were fresh from school and' con sequently romantic. So, too, were the cadets and young officers on board. Aud, thirdly, the monotony of life on board ship daring a six months’ voyage to India round the Cape of Good Hope was highly favorable to a development of tbe tender passion in hearts that were already fired with dreams of con quest and glory. No doubt, too, the sacrificial maidens put the future as much as possible out of their thoughts. It was no nse looking forward to the wizened old judge or the jaundiced merchant prince at the end of the voy age. Better to make hay while the sun shone—with the cadets. And so the captain had to be alert and ever vigi lant, lest the cadets and midshipmen should be whispering with the young ladies through the port-holes, or, even worse, should snatch kisses from them in the dark holes and oorners of his fine, frigate-built ship. In the novel above referred to an amusing account of the advantage taken from a storm is given, The heroine is destined for a wealthy old gentleman in Calcutta, but gets into a terrible flirtation with a cadet. And, as they choose to suppose that the ship is going to the bottom, they think it no harm to die in each othe’s arms, though the young lady’s fiance in Cal cutta would probably have thought otherwise had he been there to look on. The splendid marriages, from a worldly point of view, that were made in those days must have also been a sore temptation. Fifty years ngo men could make fortunes iu India—some times in a few years. And the girl who went out a tooherless lass might return iu a few years as the wife of an Indian millionaire, to astonish Bath or Tunbridge with the water of her dia monds and the lavish expenditure of her lord: The whole thing, in short, was a lottery in which they were valu able prizes and few blanks. The girls carried all the beauty of penniless English families to the market, the gentlemen their lakhs of easily-wen rupees. Cupid, in the shape of some self-interested harridan of the Indian fashionable world, acted os a go-bel tween, and my Lord Bishop of Benga- did the rest. Shawls, and other Indian cariosities were sent home to the happy parents, who speedily made ready new consignments of sisters to the bride, and so the game went on from one generation to another until, in some Indian proyinoes, all the wealthy or beoam influential people tor married. oe curiously in- Foreura Capital tn qeorsia. The last official signature of Governor Colquitt, ot Georgia, executed about ten minutes before the inaugura'lon of Gov ernor Stephens, will bring $*,•00,000 of foreign capital into that State. It was at tached to the certification of a deed trans ferring a tract of mining land in northern Georgia to an English syndicate, for a con sideration ot one million pounds sterling. What shall we say of the sirocco? What, indeed! Only Dante oeuld do justice to its horrors; only setting it side by side with the plagues of Egypt coni d rightly catalogue it. During the sirocco yon do not live, you exist; and your ex istence is suffering. All the strength goes out of your shews; all the stiffness out of your backbone. You have no energy, no hope, no cheerfulness, uo patience! Your head is burning, your heart heavy as lead, your nerves are rasped and as if lying bare, your temper is a curse to yonrself and an infliction to your neighbors; and yon take kindly to the strange new heresy which makes this planet the place of torment and hnman life the expiation of foregone guilt. At night yon cannot sleep; during the day you can neither work nor play. When you get up in the morning and see the clouds of dust hanging heavy in the air; when you uote what has crept in through the crevices during the night, and is now lying settled on everything in your room—when you find sand be tween your teeth and rub into your eyes —then you know what is before you, and shudder at the melanob oly prospect of the day. When the noon comes, hot and fierce like the blast of a furnace; when the air burns your face, cracks your skin and dries up your hair till it feels like b ritty hay; when the intolerable glare over everything, even when the suu does not shine, makes your eyes ache, and when it does seem as if it would blind you there and then—you think that your cup is full, and that it would be impossible to add more to your tale of suffering. But when the night falls things ore even worse. The heat is intense, and the earth seems to radiate a dull and poisonous fire. If you open your win dows you are burned; if you keep them shut you are suffocated. Mosquitoes seem to be made of the same stuff as those stout “mediums” who can drop through a roof or two or ceilings, pass through closed windows and two-inch doors, without more diffi culty than a flash of electricity; nor with all the windows fastened they somehow manage to make good their existence and to make you aware that they ore there. Daring a sirocco they bite like furv; so do tbe light cavalry, which abound ns a horn of the dust which crumbles under your feet as you walk across your tiled floor; so do the myr iads of flies ifhich infest your apart ment, for the one part, and for the other they fall about like drunken things and sicken you with their heavy loatlisome touch Well for you if these are you r only Jiving enemies! Life is prolific in Sicily; creeping aud flying things of all kinds are abundant and ubiquitous; and it would seem ns if tbe native skin were impervious to assaults which fairly madden you. Everything suffers during the sirocco. The flowers droop and fade, and the grass, or what takes the place of grass here—is burned and browned. In tbe Favorite, which should be a very carpet woven of all manner of wild flowers, there are not this year one-tenth the usual number. The orchards are stun ted; the moss is parched and dry; many seeds have not come ap at all; many roots are withered before flowering; the orange and lemon gardens are diseased, aud the fruit is covered with fungus, or tbe laryie of the little insect which in crusts the rind with small brown oval spots, and the leaves are shriveled aud blighted. Day by day you pant for the rain which never comes, and without which all things pine now and die hereafter. In normal seasons the sirocco lasts for three days, and then passes off in rain; this year it blows for more than its al- loted term—blows almost continnonly, and no ram falls. Night by night the sun sets in fiery tapors, which presage storm and deluge; day by dy the morn ing sky is overcast with clouds which anywhere else would mean a heavy downpour. But by noon these hare cleared away, and the sun shines free of all obstacles, save that light brown v«:il of dost the blue haze which lies scentless over the town. How A Man Dropping 1,000 F«et Keels. With regard to tbe resent sad suicide of a girl by leaping from one o' tbe towets of Notre Dame, Dr. BronardeH’s expressed view that asphyxia: ion in the rapid fall may have been the cause of death, has given rise to some correspondence m La Nature. M. Bontemps points out that thn depth of fall having been about sixty-six metres, the velocity acquired in the time (less than tour seconds) cannot have been so greet as that sometimes attained on railways, e. g., thirty-three metres per second on the line between Chalons and Paris, where tbe effect should be the same, yet we never hear of asphxiation of engine- drivers and stokers. He considers it de sirable that the idea In question should be exploded, as unhappy persons may be led to choose suicide by fall from a height, under the notion that they will die before reaching the ground. Again, M. Gossin mentions that a tew years ago a man threw himself from the top of tbe column ot July, and fell on an awning which shel tered workmen at the pedestal; he suffered only a few slight contusions. M. Remy says he has often seen an Englishman leap from a height of thirty-one metres (say 108 feet) into a deep nver;- and he was shown, in 1862, In tho island of Oahu, by missionaries, a native who nad fallen from a verified height of more than 800 metres (say 1,000 feet.) His foil was broken near the end by a growth of ferns and other plants, and be had only a few wounds. Asked as to hu sensations in falling, he said he only felt dazzled. 1876. 1882. F. W. HABENICHT, Proprietor of the I respectfully call the attention of the public to my superior facilities for fiup- plying everything il my line, of superior quality. Starting business In WLms- boro in 1876, I have in all this time given tbe closet attention to my busi ness aud endeavored to my estab lishment FIRST-GLASS in every par ticular. I shall in the future, as in the past, hold myself ready to serve my customers with the best articles thatoan be procured in any market I shall stand ready, also, to guarantee every article I sell. I invito anowrifpection of my stock of Wines, Liquors, Tobacco, Cigars, etc. HABENICHT. IMPORTED. Scotch Whiskey (Ramsey’s). A. Bin Laubert and Marat Cognas Brandy. Jamaica Rum. Rotterdam Fish Gin. Ross’s Royal Ginger Ale, Jules Mumm A Co.’S Champagne. Cantrel A Cochran’s Ginger Ale, Apollinaris Mineral Water. Angustora Bitters. Old Sherry Wine. Old Port Wine. DOMESTIC. Ginger Ale. Soda Water. Sarsaparilla. Old Cabinet Rye Whiskey, Old Schuylkill Rye Whiskey. The Honorable Rye Whiskey. Old Golden Grain Rye Whiskey. Renowned Standard Bye Whiskey. Jesse Moore Vollmer Rye Whiskey, Old N. 0. Sweet Mash Com Whiskey, Old Stone Mountain Com Whiskey. Western Com Whiskey, Virginia Mountain Peach Brandy. New England (French’s) Rum. North Carolina Apple Brandy. Pare Blackberry Brandy. Pore Cherry Brandy. Pure Ginger Brandy. Boston Swan Gin. SUNDRIES. Rook and Rye. Osceola Bitters. Hos tetter’s Bitters. Bergner A Engel’s Lager Beer, in patent stopper bottles aud on draught. New Jersey Sweet, Sparkling Cider, loin, Book A Bye, Lawrence A Martin, Stoughton Bitten. Rock and Com. Cigars and Tobacco Syndicate Cigar, 6 cents. The Hantreas Cigar, 2| cents. Madeline Cigar—All Havana—10 cents. Don Carlos (Nub)—all Havana—10 cents Minerva Cigar—Havana filler—6 cents. Cheek Cigar—Havana tiler—6 cents. Our Boast Cigar—Havana Oiler—-5 cento • Lnoky Hit Cigar—Havana filler—6 cents. The Unicorn Self-Lighting Cigarette, (Amber mouth-piece to every *» ten packages.) j> The Pickwick Clnb Cigarette, {Shook mouth-oieoaa.) I he Richmond Gem Cigarette, (Light smoking.) ft oily BUM ani Pool far: lor in Tom ICE! ICE! ICE! An abundance always on hand for tho use of iny customers. I wil also keep a supply of FISH, OYSTERS, &C., for my Restaurant, which is always open from the first of September to the first of April, I shall endeavor to please all who give me a cell. Very respectfully, F. W. HABENICHT. OPPOSITE POSTOF1 apt