University of South Carolina Libraries
TRI-WEEKLY EDITION. /5 W1NNSBORO. G. 0.. MAY 10, 1883. ESTABLISHED 1848. •w BOVS WANTED. Boys of spirit, boys of will, Boys of music, brain and power, lit to cope with anything— ge are wanted every hour. Not the weaFWULwbining drones That all trouble tmi |. Not the watchword of “I can’t,” But the nobler one, “I’ll try.” Do wbate’er you have to do With a true and earnest zeal; Bend your sinews to the task, 'Put your shoulder to the wheel. Though your duty may be hard, Look not on it as an ill; If it be an honest task, Do it with an honest will. At the anvil or the farm, Wheresoever you may be, From your future ettbrts, l>oys, Comes a nation’s destiny. IN THE WRONG HOUSE. igo It was in Boston. The first snow of the season had fallen the night before, and the wind was dashing it off the tops of the high bmldings, filling the air with tiny particles that glittered like diamonds in the brilliant sunshine. It wasn’t quite so pleasant to have it come with a rush right into one’s face, bnt every one was merry and brisk this morning, and why shouldn't the wind be so too? Two bright-faced girls were rapidly threading their way throngh the crowds that thronged aronnd the great dry goods stores. For an hour they had been flitting from place to place, attending to matters important or other wise, hovering over the pretty things piled high upon the counters, but laughingly shaking their heads over their enapty purses. ‘*1 shall have to appoint myself your guardian, Alice, and put a veto on your buying what you don’t need.” And the speaker linked her arm with that of her companion, and drew her towards the door. “I ought to be grateful, for I am in debt now, and I really ought not to spend a cent. Did you ever see such a good-natured crowd? Now, you have that call to make, and while you go there I will run in and see Mollie. Don’t stay long, will you, Grace?” “No, I won’t. What a wind! Islould think it came straight from Labrador. This was rightly named Winter street! Here, give me your hand. Let us get into the sunshine, somehow, as quickly as we can. Hand in hand, laughing, breathless, with heads bent to meet the fierce winds tnat came tearing around the corner, the cousins struggled forward until they gained the comer, where Alice halted for breath; but Grace ran on, across Tremont street, and stood in the flooding sunlight, waiting for her companion. "Which way shall we go?” asked Alice, when they were together again. “Up Park street or across the Com mon?” “Across the Common by all means,” said Grace. “I go out of my way when in Boston, to walk on the Common. It is such a rebel to me to escape from the cold shadow of the high buildings.” So on they went, with faces so bright ! from the cold air and their merry hearts that all who met them smiled and went I their ways more blithely. Suddenly their path was blocked by the snow, on I which men where still at work. An tin- [ broken white expanse lay between them ‘ their goaL “Three alternatives,” exclaimed | Grace, gayly; to wade throuiih this [enow, which looks rather deep; to wait ill the men finish the path for«us, or i take this path over to Park street.’’ ”In view of the lateness of the hour, rhaps we had better make a conoes- and accept the last. See, there is lollie’s house. You see the house vith the roof higher than the others?” “Yes,” said Grace, not very decided- ‘Well, it is the third house from If you finish your call first you . stop for me, or vice versa, I will ] i meet you. Now don’ stay long. And they parted, Alice keeping on >wn Beacon street in the sunshine, trace turning north over the hill. Neither had far to go from the corner a they separated, and Grace was on waiting for admittance at her iend’s door. The servant who took tie card returned presently with the itelhgenoe that her mistress was so ill »t she was quite unable to receive lyone. So it happend that in a few aments Grace was again upon the reet. This is nice,” she said to herself, as i retraced the steps. “Alice will not herself, and, meantime, what is > become of me? I do not wish to arten her call. I will walk down the set very slowly and try to kill time,” What an exquisite picture it is! And ily it was beautiful The leafless on the Common lifted the delicate ery of their branches against the (mdless sky. The newly fallen snow still spotless, on the streets and stops. Along the few paths that been opened on the Common people ssed and repassed. The roar and , of the great city came softly to the across the white plain. Near at the State House raise \ its shining ae high in the air, and the tinkle of sgh bells and the merry shouts of tdreu added life and interest to the !“i am getting somewhat tired of this le, although I doubt if there found a pleasanter place for it i city. Which house did Alice I'm sure I don’t know, if I walk st this club house a few more iall create a sensation. That do at all Lei me try But as she turned the corner wind met 'her, and her feet jlangeroualy. on the icy pave- stand this, in more senses Why doesn’t that girl appear? [not for the snow, now, 1 might Common in the most unno- y possible. 1 will cross over these r jofs. What did Alice t a stupid not to ask her the But then I shouldn’t have she had told me, berves me ving ouch careless attention to wbat people are saying, don’t even know her friend’s name. Mollie, Mollie—what? I ought to know. I have heard her name times enough when I have be^n here before, Sh<\i ' one of jiltesT cTassmates, but 'she Mention her last name this morn ing. This must be the house. Shall I try it? Grace, who had been carefully sur veying the house that she was approach ing, suddenly looked very determined, mounted the steps and rang the bell. Thd door was opened almost instantly by a dignified old servant in livery. “1 beg pardon if .1 am makeiag a mistake,” she began, in her most win ning voice. “Indeed, I am quite at loss to explain myself. Has a young lady called here within a half hour to see a friend, a Mies Mollie ; my com in did not mention her surname.” And she paused with an embarassed half , smile. But the old servant had already shaken his head. “No, miss; no one has called I know, because I have baen right here all i.he time,” “Then I have made a mistake. 1 am sorry to have troubled you. But, could you. possibly?"—she hesitated “I think there is a young lady next door,” indicating the house with his land. “We have no young ladies in this family.” “Thank you,” aloud. To herself: “That accounts for a slight trace of crustiness in your bearing, my good sir. However, youjtreated me very well— for a tramp.” Should she dare again? Her blood was up. The merry mood of the morn ing had not passed It would be no worse than this horrid promenading, and she might find her. This time the door was opened by a pleasant-faced young mulatto, who seemed instantly to appreciate the situa tion, for a suppressed twinkle in his eye answered to the smile that, do what she would, Grace knew was twitching at the corners of her mouth. “I beg pardon,” she said, with an air of frankness that would have disarmed the most suspicious mind: “My cou sin Miss Raymond, left me to call on a friend, while I mode another call in the near neighborhood. My cousin pointed out the house to me, but really I do not know the house, the number, or her friend’s name. She called her only Mollie. Is there a Miss Mollie—? Has a Miss Raymond called? You see, I—. It is really very absurd,” and the young lady ended with a little appealing ges ture of the hands that would haye done credit to a T rench woman. 'he young fellow smiled, yet very respectfully. “There is a Mias Molly,” he said, Grace looked relieved. But she was not yet sure. “A lady may have called,” he con tinued, “although I did not see her. Miss Mollie is in Now York.” “Oh, then,” began Grace, preparing to retreat. But he went on. If you will step into the parlor, if you please, miss, I will go tfnd inquire.” T thank you. I am sorry to trouble you.” “How utterly ridiculous this is,” she said to herself, as she took the proffered seat in a most elegant apartment. “To think that I, Grace Carter, should be in such a scrape as this! That man is a true gentleman. How does he know what I may intend to carry off in my pocket while he is gone? What would Alice—” The sound of a half suppressed cough iu another part of the room started her. She became conscious that she had been thinking aloud. Throwing, for the first time, a rapid glance around the room, her eyes met those of a gentleman who was almost hidden from her view by an angle of the room and the de»p chair in which he was sitting. He rose from his seat, seeing himself discovered. Grace arose also, turning towards the door, for she heard the sound of returning footsteps. “The lady is not here miss, I am sorry.” Ail Grace thought of now was to get out of her awkward position as soon as possible. The gentleman advanced to offer assistance, but Grace rapidly and somewhat incoherently uttered her thanks and apologies to the servant, fled, and drew a long breath of relief as she reached the sidewalk once more. “I feel as if I had lived an age, and it is not fifteen minutes since I blundered into the first place. If that girl docs not appear before I reach the next corner I shall go home without her. There she is this very minute, bliss fully unconscious of the mischief I have been into,” “How nice; you are just in time, Grace. I told Mollie you might call for me, and I have been listening for the bell for some time. Did you have a pleasant call? Mollie was looking very lovely this morning; she had on a new wrapper that is extremely beoom ing.” “Mrs. Benton was indisposed, so that 1 did not see her at all,” said Grace, ra ther grimly. Alice looked up and laughed a queer expression on her cousin’s face. “Why what did you do all this time?” she ask ed. Grace hesitated. ‘ 'Gan you keep it to yourself, if [ tell you something?'' “Yes, indeed!” “Well, then. 1 have been making morning calls, on New Year’s Day, up on the elite of Beacon street, Bostonr “Grace Garter!’ “Percisely; that’s just what I say.” .. i “ .. I declare I, Raymond, that me.” ^ is all I have to guide And half laughing, half rueful, she told the whole story. Meanwhile the gentleman who had been so suddenly disturbed in his quiet dose did not seem inclined to-return to his chair. “You say she gave her cousin’s name as Miss Raymond, Alfred?” “Yes, sir.” “Very well. That will do. How long before dinner? I think 1 will go to the store after dinner. My headache seems tG Sjo bwiter." ‘ “What a face that girl had!” he con tinued, whea'left alone. “She must be a stranger in the city. She is not a Bostonian. A needle in a haystack! Yet I am bmnd to find her, and I with Alfred went away chuckling to him self: “Ur. Frank’s struck at last. ■1 too. Bnt she is a ttle lady, that’s a fact!” But Mr. Frank went to the store aud studied the direotoi-y with gieat care. He had been invited to a little New Year’s party that evaning, and as it was to /be a very quiet, informal affair, he had consented to going, for although belonging to one of the most aristocra tic wealthy families in the city, he was no society man. He wished now that he had not promised to go, for he wanted to take steps toward beginning his search for the apparition of the morn ing. “Fortune favors the brave.” “As Mr. Ellis turned away after paying his respects to his hostess, his eyes met the very eyes that had looked into his that morning in his mother’s parlor, and although they were instantly turned away the swift rush of color showed that h# was recognized. With an adroit e. :nse about “a very striking resemb lance,” he soon gained the desired in troduction and made himself so agree able to the yonng lady that Grace forgot her determination to be frigidly polite, and ere long the two were chatting together like old friends, to the utter astonishment of those present who knew Ellis. Among his eonpanions he was considered a little short of a “woman hater,” and there he sat completely en grossed by a little, plainly dressed country girl. The months fly swiftly, and again it is the eve of the New Year. Come with me to a house in one of the pleasantest suburbs of Boston. A few snowflakes are beginning to fall Look! the door is opened and a servant stands on the threshold, and, shading his eyes, peers into the surrounding gloom to see if there is a promise of a storm. We recognize Alfred. Let ns slip past him into the light and warmth of the hall, and looking into the drawing room where the ruddy fire light is dancing on the wall. Two persons are standing be fore the open fire, and the the taller has his arm thrbwn carressingly around the slight little figure at his side. ••Grace, my darling,” he is saying, “1 never can be thankful enongh that you got into the nrong house last New Year’s. It was the making of my for tune—and Alfred’s,” he adds laughing. “Do yon know,” Grace answers de murely, bnt with the merry sparkle in her eyes as of old, “1 am not sure, In the light ol subsequent events that it was the wrong house.” A Wooden Leg Under Fire. A fashionably dressed matron sat in the rear cabin of a Fulton ferry boat, New York. 8hn. wan accompanied by a thin- legged, restless-eyed little girl of 4 or thereabouts. A few seats away was a man with a wooden leg. With ucemng instinct the child’s eye had lighted upon this man. That eye at once bei ime fixed, dilating with concentrated t terest. The child crawled down from *• - seat, upon which she had been kneeling, in order to afford that eye better facilities for observation. The object of scrutiny squirmed uneasily in his seat. Turning to the mother the child exclaimed in a portentous whisper: “Oh, ma 1 Look at that man.” “Hush, my dear. You must not be rude.” “But ma" (in a very audible whisper), “do look at his leg.” Be quiet, Ethel, I tell you,” frantical ly urged the matron in agitated tones. “The poor man has lost his leg. It’s very rude to notice iL” “What’sthat one made of?” “Hush! ot wood, my dear. Look at that pretty little boy over there. See how good he is.” “Did you ever have a leg like that, ma!” “No, my dear. Look over there at that ” “Will pa or Uncle John or I ever have one, ma ?" “No dear.” “Gould he kick a ball with that leg?” “Hush, do!” “But, ma ” At this juncture the mau with the wood en leg sought, in turn, to create a diversion He drew from his pocket a pretty little bonbon box and offered the child some sweetmeats. The child accepted them with some hesitation and mistrust An instant later the boat reached the slip. The mother rose, and smiling graciously, said: “Thaak the gentleman, Ethel, and say good-bye.” Ethel advanced, her eyes still firmly fixed upon the object of interest. She held out the tips of her little fingers. “Good-bye,” she said, in a voice full of emotion; “good-bye, you poor man." The mother seized the child by the hand and, hurrying through the boat, gamed the bridge.” A Bad Man. A story is told of a prominent Wiltuing- tonian. who several years ago waa inclined to be full of fun, a little irreverent and somowhat short ot cash. One afternoon, perhaps seven or eight years ago, he waa met by a friend wbo addressed him thus': “I say, Charley, who was that nice look ing old lady, you had out riding the other day on the Kennett pike!” “That,” replied the young man, “was my rich aunt. She is about 95 years old, and 1 was afraid she had been forgotten end was never going to die, so I took her out to show her to the Lord.” The questioner waa somewhat shocked at the reply, and made no further remarks. In about three weeks, however, be met his friend Charley, the old lady in the mean time .having died and been buried, and thus addressed him: “Well, Charley, see you plan worked, and the Lord has taken your aunt. How did you make oat by her will.” “Only a part of the scheme worked, George,” replied, the young man, with a lugubrious cast of features and l-haven’t got-a-cent-m-the-world-voice. “'The old lady waa taken, that’s true, but when her last will and testament waa read 1 found she left »li her wealth to two old darkey servants and a home for aged men, while I only received as my share of the estate a dog-earned and thumb-marked family. Bible. The trouble didn’t pay at all, be sides 1 am a dollar and a half out for car nage hire. The next tune I trot anv /one out that has been overlooked, you’ll Know *5.* About the Bed. A Spanish minister signalized his ac cession to power by going straightway to !>ed and staying there, lest he should be expected to do something. No English minister ever adopted that igpoble expedient to escape performing his duties; bnt Walpole relates that William Pitt and the Dnkeof Newcastle once held counsel together in bed. Pitt had the gont, and, as was his custom when so bfilioted,day under a pile of bed-clothes in a fireless room. The Duke, who was terribly afraid of oatohing cold, first sat down upon another bed as the w<i|mest place available, drew his legs i;to it aa he grew colder, and at last txirly lodged himself under the bed-clothes. Some body coming iu suddenly beheld “the two ministers in bed at the two ends of the room, while Pitt’s long nose and black beard, nnshaved for some time, added to the grotesque nature of the scene,” The great Commoner was abed and asleep when Wyadham and others of his colleagues burst into his room and shook their chief out of his slumbers to tell him there was mutiny iu tie fleet, that the Admiral was a prisoner on board his own ship, and in danger of death. Sitting up in bed, Pitt asked for a pen, ink and paper, and wrote: f’lf the Admiral is not released, fire upon the ship from the batteries;” and turned over on his pillow, and was in a sound sleep a few minutes later. Wuen, in 1814, the military affairs of the allies looked somewhat unpromis ing, it was aronnd the bed of General Enesbeoh, at Barsnr-Aube, tnat the Emperors of Russia and Austria, the King of Prussia, Hardenberg, Vol konsky, Bchwartzenberg, Mettemich, Radetsky, Diebitsch, Nesselrode, and Castlereagh held their council c f war; and the issne of the campaign culmi nating in the occupation of Paris was virtually decided by Castlereagh in sisting upon the immediate transfer ence of watering Bernadette's battalions to Blncher’s command, and taking the responsibility upon his own shoulders. It was in bed, at the little inn at Waterloo, that Wellington received the terrible casualty-list of the memorable 18th '.f Jane; and as name after name fell from Dr, Home’s lips, he threw himself back on the pillow and groaned out: “What victory is not too dearly purchased at such a cost?” Wellington, who possessed the faculty of sleeping at will, held that when it was time to turn over it was time to turn out. Napoleon, a man of another tempera ment, provided for wakelulness by keeping tne returns of his army under his pillow, to be conned apd.oonsidered ^when tired nature’s sweet restorer re- ia«oti to uUuru iiim “bed majosticai. ■ One of Johnson’s earliest ventures in book-making was the translating of Lobo's “Voyage to Abyssinia,” whicn put fifty dollars into hu pocket. Lying in bed, he dictated sheet after sheet to his friend Hector, who carried them off to the printer without waiting for John son to look over them. When the fit was on him. Rousseau remained in bed, carefully drawing his curtains to keep oat the daylight, and gave himself up to the fascinating delights of composition. In bed, Paesielio composed his “Barbiere di Seviglia’’ and “La Moli- nara.” One at least ol Rossini’s operas was composed under the same condi tions. Swift, fond as he was of lying in bod of a morning thinking of wit for the day, wrote to his friend Sheridan; “Pray do not employ yonr time in loll ing abed till noon to read Homer.” Better, perhaps, do that than imitate George IV», and lie in bed devouring newspapers the best pait of the day. Many very clever people, however, have scouted the idea of health, wealth and wisdom coming of early rising. Maoaoley read much in bed, and anxious to keep up his German, Im posed upon himself the task of perusing twenty pages of Schiller every day before getting up. Maule won his senior-wrangleehip by studying bard, long after ordinary folk were up and about, snugly esconoed under the blankets. John Foster thought his sermons out in bed; methodical Anthony Trollope regularly read for an hour before rising; and Mary Somerville made it a rule not to get up before twelve or one, although she began work at eight; reading, writ ing, and calculating hard—with her pet sparrow upon her arm—four or five hours eveiy day, but those four or five hotus were spent in bed. Not Insulted. Borax. There is one article of merchandise enumerated iu the new tariff bill on which an import has been laid for the purpose of disoouragiug ire importation and en couraging its home production, which is largely a California product. This is borax, of whioh large quantities are gathered in that state and in Nevada. Few people, except those engaged dir ectly in its production and sale, are like ly to take much Interest in the tariff on borax, and yet it is an article of almost universal use. Prior to the discovery of the California and Nevada fields lar e quantities of the mineral were imported from Turkey and Italy. Its value then was about thirty-five cents a pomad. At present the production of American bor ax has depressed the price to ten ”ents a pound, and it would have gone still lower and canned the cessation of mining operations in California, if mining it can be called, if Congress had not imposed a customs duty upon the foreign pro duot. This duty is five cents a pound, and is to be levied after July 1st, The local producers look forward with much satisfaction to that period. The production ot borax in the United States at present is not sufficient to sup ply the demand. But it is thought that when the price shall have risen a few cents under the fostering influences of the duty first imposed the production will increase sufficiently to supply the entile market. At now ruling prices, borax making in the Pacific states is not a business which yields a great profit There are; it is true, immense fields of the mineral, but they are in distant dis tricts, not easy of access, and while the cost of condensation is. not great, the cost of freighting is so heavy that there remains but a very small margin. A nnmherof incorporated companies, who, in the enthusiasm engendered by the first discovery undertook the business, have gone the way of all flesh, Some years ago there was one company whioh operated quite successfully in Lake county. There was in the employ of this company a young engineer who some tunes struck an idea. The borax in that paiticular locality was conduct ed from the waters of a little lake, which was very strongly impregnated with the mineral. The engineer, therefore, con ceived the idea that if the water on top contained so much borax, that under ground must contain so much more. He therefore induced the company to bore at the banks of the lake. The au ger went down and strues, not borax, but a good, strong stream of fresh wat er, winch began to flow into the lake, and thinned it so much that it did no longer pay to condense its waters for the sake of the mineral. The bora* fielda whioh have been wOI>6d solar Lave been generally small in extent. Only those in the neighbor hood of good roads have been operated upon. These are easily exhausted, and the operators have to hunt for new bor ax-fields. This is the cause and origin of the numerous borax mining compan ies which are incorporated each year, Several of those lately formed are to operate in Inyo county, where the borax fields are very extensive. The water of Lower Owens’ lake contains a very luge percentage of borax. In early days prospectors loved to wash theirjgray or black woolen blankets in this water, because it removed not only dirt, but also color. They also liked to bathe in it, behause the poorest swimmer would float in its saline fluid. But the water was not good for drinking or cooking purposes, and a very small quantity is sufficient to produce sea-sickness. The nse of borax has materially increased of late years. It is now used for a great many manufacturing purposes, such as making agate household ware, pigments, &o. The trades, also, nse it in liberal quantities, and so do the soap-makers and housewives, who .hate grease-spots and cockroaches. The industry promis es to become important in California. Mexican Common Life. NEWS IN BRIEF. Saved by a Sea-Bird. “That man to whom you sent me, in sulted me,*' said a young drummer, who had only been a few months in the busi ness, to his trainer in a large house in this city. “Insulted you,” reiterated the trainer, with an expression of contempt almost sufficient to make the novice sink into the floor. “Were you never insulted,” timidly re sponded the young man. “Never, sh; not even during the period of my novitiate, which passed through very rapidly, and I have twenty yean m the business.” ‘That is very sU»j l tv’ said the novice, skeptically. “Very strange if you don’t understand it,” ferociously cheerved the old drummer. “I have been often badly abused. 1 have been ordered peremptorily to leave the premises. 1 have been frequently knocked down for standing on the order of my go ing, and several times I hare been uncere moniously kicked down stairs; but,” he continued, gasing fiercely and triumphant ly at the young man, “I have never been insulted. The moment a drummer feels himself Insulted be is no longer fit for business.” —The law library of the late Justice Clifford, of the United States Supreme Court; is now offered for sale at Port land, Maine, and an effort is being made bo have it pitnihamA oaa whole and kept in that city as a public liwy. It is said to be the largest law libnuTSa-New England except one in Boston. A singular story has been related to us by the master of the bark “Gladstone,” which arrived from London at Sydney, Australia,on the 22d, of March. While the vessel was in latitude 42 degrees south and longitude 90 degrees east, a seaman fell overboard from the starboard gangway. The bark was scudding along with a rough sea and moderate wind, but on the alarm of “man overboard” being given she was rounded to. and the starboard life boat was lowered, manned by the chief officer and four men. A search for the unfortunate man was made, hut owing to the roughness of the sea he could not be discovered; but the boat steered to the spot where he was last seen. Here they found him floating, but exhausted, clinging for bare life to the legs and wings of a huge albatross. The bird had swooped down on tie man while the latter was struggling with the waves and attempted to peck him with its powerful beak.Twice the bird attacked its prey unsuccessfully, being beaten off by the sailor battling with two enemies—the water and the albatross —both greedy and insatiable. For the third time the huge white form of the bird hovered over the seaman, peeparatory to a final swoop. The bird, eager for its meal, fanned its victim with its wide-spread wings. Suddenly a thought occurred to him that the huge form so close to his face might become his involuntary rescuer. Quick as thought he reached up and seized the bird, which be proceeded to strangle with all Ms might. The huge creature struggled with wings and paddles to free itselL In the contest the sailor was beaten black and blue, and cruelly lacerated, but he held his own, and slowly the bird quivered and died. The carcass floated lighty on the waves, its feathers forming a comfortable support for the ex hausted man, who had so narrowly es caped a lingering death. But another danger awaited him. He was not much of s swimmer, and the excitement of the extnprdinary conflict began to tell upon him. He was faint and grew giddy. But wiULone arm around the albatross' body, under the wing, and one hand clutching the bird’s feet, the sailor awaited his chance of rescue. Presently he heard his comrades shout from the boat, and in a few minutes mere was safe on board the bark, though a good deal shakes and ex You wilt find the miserable j seals (huts) of the Mexican lower class on the outskirts of every town, made of mud, sticks, straw, cornstalks, barrel staves, shoe boxes, tin cases any old drift that will bang together when once fostered into place. They are tightly roofed with file thatch, which slopes almost to the ground. Sometimes they stand in rows in the suburbs , some times they are perched ou the top of a clay cone, and sometimes tucked away in the cracks of dry ravines. Every Jacal has its garden patch, where the women cultivate a few onions, red peppers, beans and sweet potatoes. A little mud oven stands close by. A Mexican family eau live on a hill of beans per day. in the winter a five penny soun bone and a yam will satisfy their needs. Nearly every one keeps a small donkey and a few chick ens, a couple of goats and a blue-skinned dog, with no hair on except a white tufs on the top of his head and the tip of his tail They singe the thorns off the cactus and feed the pods to the donkey; give the soup-bone to the dog, and the goau have what is left m the bean-hill. Other dogs have they, marvelous in number and va riety, whose bite disturbs no one, but whose ’nocturnal baying divides the voices of the night with the cock-crowing that resounds from house to jacal, and from t&rm to ranch, in surges of sound like the waves of the sea.” Of the interior of these huts, it may be said that the earthen floors are always swept, and the gaudily covered bed looks clean and neat, thanks to the house-thrift of the women, who seem always busy. There are abundant evidences of extreme poverty, but not of filth or squalor. As for pater familias, who dozes m the sun or shade alternately, according to the sea son, it costs him a mighty effort to turn over, even to light his cigarette is too great an exertioa Occasionally, in des perate straits, he musters energy enough to bestride his donkey and ride out to the chaparral for a black load of mesquite sticks, which he will sell for a “bit” on his return, driving his beast before him. This is the most momentous event of his life, and stimulated with the proud conscious ness of having earned a shilling, he rises in his rags and salutes you with the grave courtesy of a Spanish don. it is the cli max of his ambition, but it is painful. Hla children are more active, and they vary their out-door play by throwing the lasso at each other, the dogs and the goats; but they never lasso the old man. He ia too dignified to be trifled with. And you will notice that he never demeans himself by attempting to speak English—he has not sunk so low as that; bat he will accept American money without question, It pre sented to him in a respectful way. Vul- game dios I it is interesting to walk through these strange purlieus ot the towns and watch the beggars at the church doors; visit the -cmree stain uu me pinzas; nine tuc-warer carts on their merciful errands ; the wo men at their spinning wheels or pounding com tor their frugal meal, and the grotes que milkman astride bis donkey, going bis morning rounds, dipping from one can or the other as he servos and sells. It is all very strange and foreign, but not a whit like the halls of the Montezumas or the Alhambra. I see the accquios run ning through the streets, and the irrigat ing ditches dug by the early Spanish co lonists. I saunter under the shade of huge grape vines with stems as large as a tree, and hear the clang of the iron bells in the old stone belfry, built two centuries ago. I recognize all these traces of an attempted civilization, like halt-obliterated footprints in the mire. It is the imprint of the sterling coin upon the basest sort of com- position. 1 would fain nee in disgust from the squalor, poverty, ignorance and semi- barbarism which has settled in the valley like a miasma—but already I behold the sun of a new dispensation; I see that all these Mexican features are being rapidly wiped out by the settlements from the East, which have followed the completion of the railroads. -Snow has fallen for eleven success ive Sundays at Bar Harbor, Me. —Longfellow’s daughters are spend ing the winter in Washington. —The Parisian Florist says that spring is the very worst season for selling flow ers. —Oscar Wilde is studying for the stage. One of his first efforts will be “ Romeo.” —In the United Stateaone jierson in 285 is said to be a pauper; in England one in 35. —There are 2,187 miles of telephone wire in I’aris, and what-is better, they are all under ground. —Under the new lau^the State Treas urer of Colorado has to give bonds iu the sum of half a million. —Ex-Senator David Davis is to lie presented by admiring friends ip Texas with a chair made of ox iionis. —Dr. Yates, of Shanghai, says the Chinese pay $154,752,000 annually quiet the spirits of their ancestors. —On each 1,000 of silver dolla Government clears $183.75. The costs $803.75 and the labor $12. —The Crow Indians of Aiontan Iter about 3,400 and are chiefly ed in agriculture and stock raisii A thousand dollar bill was niton the contribution plate in St Church, Pawtucket, R. I., Easte ing. A lady tourist at Jacksonville took to a jeweller a live lizard, tu, that it be mounted in gold for a s pin —Franklin Pierce’s old home in ttu outskirts of Concord, N. H., is to be transformed into a Protestant Episcopal school for girls. ■A man up town made a wager with a lady that he could thread a needle quicker than she could sharpen a lead pencil. The man won. —Taning and feathering is a Euro- jtean invention. It <Vas one of Richard Cceur do Lion’s ordinances lor seamen in punishment for theft. —Edward the Confessor was the first monarch of England who used a seal in his charters. This is the origin of the broad seal of England. —Between the years of 1783 and 1857 six gieat earthquakes took place at Na ples, which lost thereby 1,500 inhabit ants per year for that period. —Orange trees are cultivated from seed. A tree requires fifteen years to reach maturity, but produces both flow ers and fruit in the fourth or fifth year. A Queer Joke. The cash office of the Treasurer s De partment m the Treasury Building at Washington often contains many hun dreds of thousands of dollars, and great care is taken against the possible de predations of tliieves: The room is very high studded and contains a gallery which can be reached by the general public from the floor above. The Inter- est.clerk is an anborn-haired individual of the most nervous temperament, and notwithstanding the fact that he has been in his position for many years he has never lost sight of the tremendons re sponsibility of handling the vast sums of money whioh daily pass into his pos session. His nervousness has grown ohronio, and heis made the butt of many a quits practical joke. The greatest of these was played some time ago by one of his intimate personal friends who ob tained permission from Treasurer Gilfil- lan to try his little scheme. The gen tleman armed himself with about twen ty-five feet of twine, and attached to one end of it a machine composed of a steel prod pointed as fine as a needle, and a solid piece of rubber as a ballast. He stationed himself in the gallery directly over the interest clerk’s desk, where there were heaps of money all nicely ^ done up in packages. Then he slowly'; let down his string until it was directly over a large package, and releasing his hold on the twine, the steel prod impal ed a bundle of notes, which he quickly drew to the gallery, and having secured them, rushed to the Treasurer’s office with his prize, whioh proved to be $6, 000 in legal tendeis. Meanwhile the in terest clerk saw bis money going sky ward and gave the general alarm, but not in time, however, to detect the cul prit. The clerk was nearly crazed when he received a note signed “James Gilfil- ian,” asking him to come at once to the Treasurer's office. He went as fast as hu legs could carry him, and imagine his joy when the Treasurer handed him the musing $6,000, advising him to be more careful that his money did not “take unto itself wings and fly away” in the future. This practical joke has taught tbe department a good lesson, to-wit; tnat it was possible for a clever thief to abstract money in the method mentioned, and so double precautions have boon taken, and under the existing state of affairs such an event is not at all likely to happen again. I'aniil locks were known in Upper Egypt from the most ancient times 1652. —Of the $150,000,000 worth of wheat imported by Great Britain last year $100,000,000 worth was from the United States. —There is talk in Georgia of purchas ing Liberty Hall, Alexander H. Steph en’s late residence, by voluntary contri butions, and to retain in it his famous rolling-chair and other relics. —Mrs. Carter, of Bellair,0., says in her application for divorce that her hus band compelled her to swallow spools, buttons, long strings of wrapping yarn and marbles as punishment for smiling at other railroad men as they jiassed the house. —Of the 11,000,000 acres of land oc cupied by the Sioux Indians in Dakota Uncle Sam will take 8,000,000 for white settlement, placing the Indians on sepa rate reservations. The Indian territory west of Arkansas will be the next cus tomer. For a long time official circles in London have been agitated over the question whether or not a woman should be appointed to be superintendent of the female employes in the post-office. It has at last been decided by the appoint ment of a woman physician. —French mails have increased in in closures, etc., sent from 865,000,000 in 1877 to 1,340,000,000 in 1881; French telegraphs from 8,174.000 dispatches in 1876 to 19,466,000 in 1881; French money orders from $1,341,000 in 1879, when they were established to $9,775,000 in 1881. —Since the Cotton Exhibition at At lanta last year, $1,500,000 of capital has l>een invested there;a grain elevator and a cotton compress built; a spinning com pany completed, and nearly filled its capacious building with machinery, and a concern oiganized for the manufac ture of oleomargarine. —There is an earnest attempt being made to root out the terrible disease of leprosy from the Hawaiian Islands. Fifty lepers have recently been removed from Honolulu to the leper settlement at the island of Molokai, to be separated from their friends and families forever. —Sir William Thompson finds that sunlight has about 70,000 times the in tensity of the light of the full moon at any place on the earth, aud about 53,000 tliat of candle flame. The latter result differs widely from tlirt obtained by Arago, who found the light of the sun to have about 15,000 times the intensity of caudle flame. —Antwerp, a city of 200,000 has no water supply but wells and canals, and in 1879 works were built to filter the waters of the Nelhe by passing them through filters of sand and spongy iron and gravel. The plan has proved suc cessful, but the supply is very small, ac cording to American ideas, being receiv ed in a tank of only 340,000 gallons. —The number of newspapers now published iu Great Britain and Ireland is 1962, of which 1530 are published in England alone, London claiming 386 of them. In Wales there iue 75 papers, in Scotland 184 ? in Ireland 152, in the Idea 21. The daily papers are thus distrib uted: 127 in England, 4 in Wales. 22 in Scotland, 16 in Ireland and 2 in the Isles, In 1846 the number of newspa pers in Great Britain and Ireland was only 551, or about one-fourth the num ber now. and only 14 of them were dai lies. The magazines now in existence, including the quarterlies, number 1311,^ of which 326 have a decidedly religions^ character. - . ' 4® S'.?. pap*:, I