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4 r / TRI-WEEKLY EDITION. WINNSBORO. S. 0- JUNE 281, 1883. ESTABLISHED 1848 NKW ICVERV MORNING. Every day is a fresh loginning, Every morn is the world made new. You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Hero is a beautiful hope for you; A hope for me and a hope for you. All the past things are past and over, The tasks are done and the tears are shed. Yesterday’s errors let yesterday cover, . Yesterday’s wounds, which smarted anu bled, Are healed with the healing which night has shed. Yesterday now is a part of forever; Bound up iu a sheaf, which God holds tight, With glad days and sad days, and bad days which never Shall visit us more with their bloom and their blight, Their fullness of sunshine or sorrowful night. Let them go, since we cannot re-live them, Cannot undo-and cannot atone; God in his mercy receive and forgive them; Only the new days are our own, To-day is ouis aud tCMlay alone. Here are the skies all burnished brightly, Here is the spent earth all re-born, Here are the tired limbs springing lightly To face the sun and to share with the morn, In the chrism of dew and the eool of dawn. Every day is a fresh beginning; Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain; And spite of old sorrow and older sinning, And puzzles forr asted and possible pain, Take heart with the day, aud begin again. HGB.8K AGAINST HON. “How I came to be sitting, in very good company, one glorious September even ing in the little moonlighted garden of the hotel at Algiers is neither here nor there. ” The story-teller was a good-looking man of 50, with beard grayer than his head, and a merry twinkle in his eye. What he said I shall repeat, for the sake of clearness, in the first person, just as he told the story himself: “The adventure of which I am going to tell you, gentlemen, happened to me a good many years ago. It was my first serious interview with a lion. Like most serious things, it had a comic side, too. “I was a young man then, and had been some half dozen years in Constan tine, fanning in partnership with a friend, an old colonist, whose acquain tance I made on board ship corning out from Marseilles “Our business was corn and cattle raising, and we did very well together until my partner died of a fever, and after that I took a dislike to the place. I thought I would shift my ground into this province, Algiers, push toward the frontier, and get a grant of government land and make a farm of it. So, getting a neighbor to give an eye to things in my absence, I started on my prospecting ex pedition. I say I, but I should say we, for there were three of us, sworn comrades as ever were. ‘ ‘First there was your humble servant; secondly there was my horse Marengo, and a better never looked through a bridle. He was bred between a Barb sire and an English mare belonging to the Colonel of chasseurs, of whom I bought him in town when his regiment was going home. He stood about fifteen hands two, canied the IJarb head, and the rest of his body was all bone and muscle. His temper was as good as his courage was high; me he would follow about like a dog; but he had one failing, and that was an insuperable object ion to the close proximity of anything, except one thing, that stood on four legs. We alT have our peculiarities, and this was his. Bipeds were all very well, but multiply the legs by two, and he let fly immediately, and never missed his aim. “Such was Marengo. “Thirdly, there was Cognac, the faith- fulest, the most honest, the oddest, and the wii,«*edest little dog the world ever saw. He was more like a terrier than anything else, with a short yellow coat, a fox’s head, veiy long ears, and a very short tail. The shrillness of his bark pierced your ears like a knife, but the awfulness of his howl—he always howl ed if left alone—baffles description. During the fourteen years I had him he seldom left me day or night.* On a journey he would run beside me, and when tired get up and sit in my wallet. The great pleasure of his life was to steal behind people and secretly bite their legs. “By some mysterious aftinity he and Marengo were friends from the first They now sleep under the same tree. “Well, we started, and after going over a good deal of ground I thought 1 had decided on a location, and turned my face homeward. My direction was by Alma, to strike the grert road that runs under the Atlas eastward into Con stantine. “It was about 8 o’clock oner morning, when I had been some two hours in the saddle, that I emerged from a narrow valley, .or ravine, through which the road ran, on to a sandy plain dotted with bushes and scrub. “I had just laid the reins on Marengo’s neck when suddenly he gave a tremend ous shy that pitched me clean off. “The next minute, with a horrible roar, a lion sprang right at his head. “I made sure he was on the top of him, and so he would have been, but as Maren go wheeled short round like lightning on his hind legs the streaming reins caught the brute’s fore-paw and, as it were, tripped him, so that he fell side ways on the road. “The heavy jerk nearly brought the horse down, but the throat-lash broke, the bridle was pulled over his ears, and, recovering himself, he darted away among a grove of trees that stood by the wayside. “So intent was the lion on the horse that he paid no attention to me lying defenceless before him. “Crawling swiftly along the ground, he pursued Marengo whom I gave up lor lost—for his chance against the lithe brute among the trees seemed hopeless. “However, as luck would have it, there was an open space about a dozen across. In the center of this jo took his stand with his tail toward the lion and his head turned sharply back over his shoulder, watching him. , “He stood quite still, except for the slight shifting of his hind feet and lifting of his quarters, which I knew meant mischief. “The lion probably thought so too. for he kept dodging to try and take his opponent by a flank movement. But the old horse knew, his game, and pivot ing on his fore-legs still brought his stern guns to bear on the enemy. “Soon with a roar, the lion made his spring,, but Marengo lashed out both heels together, with such excellent judg ment of time and distance that, catching him full in the chest, he knocked him all of a heap to the ground, where he lay motionless. Then with a neigh of triumph and a flourish of his heels away he galloped through the grove out on to the plain and was safe. “The lion lay so still that I thought he was dead or at any rate quite hors de combat, and was just running to pick up the bridle and follow Marengo, when he sat up on his haunches. This made me stop. “As he sat there with hisheud loosely wagging from side to side, aud mouth half open, he looked quite vacant pnd idiotic. “Suddenly his head stopped wagging, he pricked his ears, and by the flash of his eye and changed expression, I knew he had seen me. “Only one thing was to be done, and I did it. The outermost tree was large and low-branched. To it I ran and up it I scrambled, and had just perched in a fork about fifteen feet above terra f .ma, as the lion arrived at the bottom. “Looking up at m- with two red-hot coals for eyes, his long nervous tail lash- ng his sides, every hair on his body turned to wire, and his great paws pro truded, he chattered at me as a cat chat ters to a bird out of reach. His jaws snapped like a steel trap, and his look was perfectly diabolical. When he was tired of chattering he stood and growled. “Catching sight of the bridle, he walked to it, smelled it, patted it, and then came back and lay down and glared at me. “My carbine—confound it!—was slung at my saddle. My only weapon, besides my hanger, was a pocket-pistol, double-barreled, and what in thasedays we called a breech-loader, 'that is, the barrel unscrewed to load, and then screwed on again. “It would have been a handy weapon against a man at close quarters, for it threw a good ball—but for a lion! Be sides, the beast was too far off. “Then the thought flashed into my mind, where was Cognac? “I supposed he had run away and hid den somewhere. If the lion got sight of him it would, I knew, be soon all over with the poor little fellow. “All at once there arose, close at hand, an awful and familiar yell. It had a strange, muffled tone, but there was no mistaking Cognac’s voice. “Again itcame, resonant, long-drawn, and sepulchral. It seemed to come from inside the tree. Where the deuce was he? “The lion appeared utterly astonished, and turned his ears so far back to listen that they were almost inside out, when from some hole among the roots of the tree there popped a small yellow head with long ears. “ ‘Down, down, Cognac!’ I cried in my agony; go back, sir! “A cry of delight, cut short by a piteous whine, was his reply, as he spied me, and then, dashing fully a yard toward the lion, he barked defiantly. “With a low. growl and ruffling mane the beast charged at the little dog. “Back went Cognac into his cave as quick as a rabbit, and stormed at him from inside. “Thrusting his great paw right down the hole, the lion tried to claiy him out. Oh, how I trembled for Cognac! “But he kept up such a ceaseless fire of snapping and snarling that it was plain he was either well round a corner or that the hole was deep enough for his safety. “All the same, to see the great cow ardly beast digging away at my poor little dog like that was more than I could stand. Cocking my pistol, I shouted, and as he looked up I fired at his blood shot eye. He shook his head, and I gave him the other barrel. “With a scream of rage he bounded back. “Cognac Immediately shot forth his head and insulted him with jeering barks. , “But he was not tq be drawn again and after a bit he la/down further of: and pretended to go to sleep. Cognac barked at him till he was tired, and then retired into his castle. “Reloading, I found I had only three bullets left, and concluded to reserve them for a crisis. “It was now past noon. To beguile the time I smoked a pipe or two, sanj: a song, and cut my name. Cognac's, ant. Marengo’s on -the tree leaving a space for the lion’s, which I determined should be Wellington. “I wished he would go away. “Having some milk in my bottle I took a drink, and should have liked to have given some to Cognac. “The lion began to pant, with hissed thorny tongue hanging a foot out of his mouth. He was as mangy and disrepu table a looking brute as 1 ever saw. “By and by he got up and snuffed the air all round him, and then, without as much as looking at me, walked off and went deliberately down the road. “Slipping to the ground, I caught up Cognac, who had crept out directly, and after lookingcafefuUyround for the lion,’ was smothering me with caresses. The lion was turning toward a bushy clump in a hollow about two hundred yards off. That light green loliage—willows water 1 Had the cunning brute sniffet it out?. “Anyhow, it was a relief to stretch one's legs after sitting six mortal hours on a branch. The lion disappeared round the bushes. I strained my eyes over the plain, but could see nothing moving. Then I gave Cognac a drink of milk and a few bits of bread-cake, for which he was very grateful. Of course it was no use beginning a race against a lion with only 200 yards’ start in any number of miles. The tree was better than that. “All the same, he was a long time perhaps he was really gone for good. Bah! there came his ugly head around the corner :igain, making straight for- us. “When he was pretty near I kissed Cognac and threw a bit more cake into the hole, Then I climbed again to my >erch, Cognac retired growling into his ’ortress, and the beast of a lion mounted guard over us as before. “He looked quite cool and comfort able, and had evidently had a good drink. “Another hour, and he was still there. “While I was wandering how long he really meant to stay, and if I was des tined to spend all night on a bough like a monkey, and on very short commons, le got up, and walking quitely to the loot of the tree, without uttering a sound, sprang up at me with all his might. “He was quite a yard short, but I was so startled that 1 nearly lost my bal ance. “His coup having failed, he lay down right under the branch I wim> all. couch ing his head on hia paws as if to hide his mortification. “Suddenly the thought came into my mind: Why not make a devil and drop t on his back? I dismissed it as ridicu lous, but it came again. As ■ have all, including our English friend here, ieen boys, you know what l mean—not a fallen angel, but the gun-powder devil. “Good! Well, it seemed feasible—I would try it. “I had plenty of powder in my little flask, so pouring some into my hand, 1 moistened it well with spittle and knead ed away until it came out a tiny Vesu vius of black paste. Then I formed the little crater, which I filled with a few grains of powder, and set it carefully on the branch. “My hand shook witn excitement; I could hardly hold the flint and steel, but [ struck and struck—the tinder ignited —now Vesuvius! “Whiff, whizz! The lion looked up directly, but I dropped it plumb on the back of his neck. For an instant he' 1 not seem to know what had happened; then with an angry growl up he jumped and tore savagely at the big fiery flea on ris back, which sent a shower of sparks into his mouth and nose. “Again and again he tried, and then raved wildly about, using the most hor rible leonine language, and no wonder, for the devil had worked well down among his greasy hair, and must have stung him.like a hundred hornets. His back hair and mane burst into a flame, and he shrieked with rage and terror. “Then he went stark, staving mad, clapped Ids tail between his legs, laid back his ears, and rushed out of the grove at twenty miles an hour, and dis appeared up the ravine. “Almost as mad as the lion with joy, and feeling sure he was gone for good, I tumbled down the tree and ran off along the road as hard as I could with Cognac barking at my heels. By and by I had to pull up, for the sun was still very hot, but.I walked as fast as I could, looking out all the time for Marengo, who would not, I,knew, go very far from his master. Presently I spied him in a hollow. A whistle, and whinnying with delight, he trotted up and laid his head on my shoulder. “In my hurry I had forgotten the bri dle, but with my belt aud handkerchief I extemporized a halter, tied one end round his nose, and, catching up Cognac, mounted and galloped off, defying all the lions in Africa to catch me. “There were still two hours before sunset to reach the next village, and by hard riding I did it, That we all three of us enjoyed our supers goes without saying. And that, gentlemen, is my story.” We agreed it was wonderful. Stealing Melon*. The WaSHh of I’eru. The stealing of melons is something that will try the patience of even a Quaker. A farmer mpy lose his wheat crop by bugs, his corn by smut or tattle, and his potatoes by rot or bugs, and he will go right along whistling “Yankee Doodle” and put another mortgage on the farm, and lie cheerful. His cattle may die or be stolen, his horses follow off a tramp with a halter, and his chick ens disappear, and he will not get mad, but if anybody steals a melon he will load up a shot-gun and lay in an adja cent corn-field five nights in the week to get a chance to shoot somebody. A lightning-rod peddler or a fellow selling a patent coni cuitivator may beat him out of hundreds of dollars by getting him to sign a receipt which turns out to be a note, and he will sigh or go to law, and act as though he hated to hurt the feeljngs of persons who bilked him, but if he has a melon patch that is not worth and he hears that a green melon has been plugged by a melon thief, he will poison all his melons to get a chance to murder somebody, or fire his old blunder buss at a crowd of boys with murder in his heart. There is something queer about this, and we would like to have somebody explain why it is that a sensi ble man, a deacon in a church, will get so boiling over with rage at the loss of a few melons, and stand up and smile at losses a thousand times greater. Of course it is wrong to steal melons, and we do not defend the practice, but, since w'e have picked so many bird-shot and dog’s teeth out of an otherwise immacu late person, we have felt that there was a good deal more fuss made about a few melons than the importance of that agricultural product seemed to warrant, FoJlc« Order*. Among other curious police orders issued at Moscow in view ot the corona tion is one prohibiting the exhibition or sale of busts or pictures of their Imper ial Majesties among the populace, which decree is dictated by the desire to pre vent the distribution of false represen tations of the Imperial features. All householders and proprietors of apart ments in the streets through which the state entry into Moscow will be made have also been obliged to give guarantees to the police that they will not let out their windows and balconies, or allow anybody to be on the roofs of their houses, during the passage of the pro cession; besides which they will be held responsible for all persons within their doors on that occasion. The population of Peru is a curious mixture. In the interior the best type of Indians predoninates. In all settled places along thecd^st we find half-breed Spaniards, mixtures of negroes, Chinese and white people-fa people having the vices of every narifnality and the vir tues of hardly an^| The Incas or In dians still presen/iSiteir simple habits, but are steeped iiQthe deepest ignorance and kept down 41 every way. They are engaged mostly in agriculture and mining. They form but an insignin cant factor amon the people on the sugar plantations along the coast. Chi nese laborers are ciffefly employed, be ing cheaper and more reliable. Many have been thrown out of employment, the haciendas liaviiqiLj^H UwAroyod .by the Chilians. In alone .the it* venue for twenty-fiVyears wasTl,<M0,- 000.0OO- All the co mtry has to show lor this immense wealth is a few lines of railway—one towards the mines of Cerro del Pasco, which, for want of tiuids, is left unfinished to within sixty miles of the mines. Another line runs from Yollendo to Puno, on Lake Titi caca, and Is the most direct route to La Paz, Bolivia, the road going by way of Arequipa. There are two or three other short lines. All these are govern ment property. There are also two or three short lines of rail owned by pri vate parties. The debt on the government railways is nearly $200,000,000. Much of this money has enriched foreign merchants, but most of it could be found in the pockets of runaway presidents, and other Peruvian notables. Peculation in official circles has ruled in Peru to such extent that a man who, after oc cupying office, came out without a for tune, was called un leso (half-witted.) Industries hardly exist iu Peru. Com merce is in the hands of foreigners. First quality of rice (chiclayo) and large quantities of sugarcane are grown almost without labor. Much Peruvian bark and some caoutchoue are'found in the interior, some being sent abroad by way of Guayaquil, but most of it finding a market by way of the Ama zon river. The immense mineral wea 1th of the country is almost undeveloped and until a different race of [icopie takes hold ot things the mines will not rise to the importance they should. Of late years immense deposits of nitrate of soda have been discovered along the coast of southern Peru, extending to the Bolivian and nortli coast of Chile. They have proved a large source of re venue. These deposits have bean the chief cause of the war. From the nit rates large quantities of iodine are ob tained to such an extent that this metal has become a drug in the market. Many experiments ..mye lieen made to discover a mordant to 'pdine for dyeing purposes, but so fur without any prac tical result. lake Ecuador, the east ern slope of the Andes in Peru contains immense forests of valuable woods, but owing to the lack of communication they are ahuost unattainable. In the interior, near lea, the celebrated liquor- called pisco is made. Some is made from rice aud some from grapes. The liquor is put in large conical earthen jars, holding about six gallons each. To give it age it is buried iu the sand aud in time liecomes mellow. Much wool is shipped from several ports of Peru, going by tire Strait’s steamers to England. With few exceptions from Payta, the extreme northern iH>rt of Peru, to Cal dera, in Chile, the country on the sea board is destitute of vegetation—noth ing but barren sand-hills, with an oc casional oasis of vegetation. In times past, through volcanic action, the sea receded some miles, leaving a wide strip of sand exposed. Our steamer remain ing at Payta all day, 1 went ashore to take a look at the place. A couple of months before the Chileans had landed aud destroyed the railway shops and depot. The town looked desolate. All who could liad left. Nearly all the houses were empty. I took four Mexi can dollars ashore with me. We had a bottle of bear, which cost $5, and I re turned with $11. The explanation is that the silver was exchanged for Pe ruvian currency, $!l in paper money being equal to one Mexican dollar. This might pass as an adaptation of the miracle of the “loaves and fishes.” So much for the credit of poor Peru. My companion invited me to take some ckicha. Here it Is made from maize, It is a fermented beverage! We en tered an adobe building without floor. Au old woman lianded us a muddy looking liquid in an old teapot. One gul was sufficient. It tasted like vine gar itters. The natives said it was cliich . Tambo de Moro is an excep tional Peruvian port. It is a green spot in the desert. The finest oranges on the west coast are grown here; also, fruit of all kinds. The palta, a fruit tasting like fresh butter, is much grown here and prized by the people of the coast. Here the vegetation is very rich, showing that many places in Peru could be made*productive if the people would take the trouble to irrigate the land, as is done in Chile. Next to Callao the most important Peruvian port is at present Iquique. It is near the frontier of Bolivia, but only in name, Chile iiaving gobbled the whole territory, for the time at least. This port has acquired its importance through the large salt deposits in its immeuiate vicinity. Iquique is the ca pital of the province of Tarapaca. Its importance may be understood when it is known that its average monthly re ceipts at the custom house are over $4UU,000. There is a railway leading to the salt fields some »ixty miles dist ant. The road, until lately, was owned by Montero, a Peruvian notable, who turned it over to an English company, but lias lately been actually sold to par ties in England connected with the Pe ruvian bonds. A year ago an opposi tion road was started by this company. Three leading firms, uniting, built and equipped a wagon-road and now get their salt by rarta. Still the railway is kept busy all day. They do not run at night. Iquique put me more in mind of a California mining town than any other place I have seen since leaving that country. It has the most go-ahead sort of people on the coast. Burnt down twice, shaken down by au earth quake once, it is now rebuilt on a more substantial basis than ever. Most all 1 nationalities are represented here. This accounts for the cosmopolitan cha racter of the place. English capital controls the salt deposits in the north, although two or three German houses have heavy inter ests. Americans are nowhere—in fact there are but few on the coast. Much lumber is received from Puget sound; the market for it is controlled by the Bremen house of Gildemeister & Co. Three of that firm have retired witli large fortunes and the house is now managed by juniors. Gradually the business of the place is being concen trated in few hands, as it requires large capital now to handle salt mines, and as a rule, the people of - South America do not understand much about co-oper ative societies. It is also the usual story of the big fish swallowing the little fish. Iquique is built on flat projec tions of land extending out from the lulls. The anchorage is fair. The place is protected from tidal waves by an island running from southeast in a northwesterly direction. The rocks render landing, especially in rough weather, dangerous and at times im- [Kissible. Earthquakes are often felt. The bulk of the town is built of wood. Water being scarce, distilled water is mostly used. A fire once started is dif ficult to check. It-hardly ever rains along this part of the coast, but when a shower does come it is fun to watch the people scrambling out with canvas, caniets, etc., to protect the interiors of their houses. For want of yard space poultry Is kept on the roofs of the houses. The roofs are all flat and any thing but water tight. Most goods are purchased cheaper in Iquique than in Valparaiso, as the bulk of merchandise Is imixirted direct from Europe. Iquique is now the coaling station for American men-of-war. The streets are wide and well kept. Taken altogether, Iquique is the most cosmo politan town on the whole west coast, but such a hard set I never met since the palmy days of Virginia City. One morning I asked an acquaintance be fore breakfast to take a cocktail. He refused. Astonished, for it was the first time such a thing had hapi>ciied to me, I asked him, “What’s the matter?” Oh, nothing,” said he, “only I have already had five.” This is not an ex treme case, either. Thus it goes on all night. At night they taper off on Ger man beer. English beer is not much iked, being too heavy. Large quan tities of Chilean beer are consumed Here, as well as at all points south of Callao. Much American hardware is used, such as shovels, locks and notions; still, not near so much as there should be. Man chester and Birmingham goods, as well an Carman imitations, taltu the lead, American houses having no one to ro present them permanently. The best institutions in Iquique are the baths. One may have hot or cold baths, salt or fresh water swimming baths. conjurors’ Trick*. B-al- h In Housekeeping. Another convenience at Aunt Jane’s is the two dustpans and the chamlier broom hung in the back entry upstairs. You know when one has been cutting out work in her room there will lie lit ter, or when the boys are not careful to use the door-mat, they will leave traces of mud on the carpet, and what a trouble it Is to run down stairs after broom and dustpan. Aunt Jane said she never could afford to carry her one hundred and forty pounds of weight up and down stairs every time a room needed extra sweeping, when a new broom costs thirty-five cents and second dustpan ten. While she was about it, she would have a dust-bin too, and if you lift the cover of that large box in brown linen and red trimming in the corner of the pas sage upstairs, you will find it an old tin cracker-box, to receive sweepings from the bedrooms. They are all swept thoroughly once a week of course, but between whiles all transient sweepings go into this box, which is emptied at convenience. Aunt Jane counts tliat this second broom and pan which cost 40 cents in all, have saved her going up and down stairs at least five times a week for the last five years, or thirteen hundred times, and allowing that inte rest on the first investment might make the price of her broom and things 75 cents; 1 cent fare saves her from going up and down seventeen times, and she considers it cheap. I know a family who went without a new dustpan ten years after they needed it, and made the old one do, because they never felt they could afford to pay half a dollar— country price—just for a convenience. But the mistress said when she had to get a new one finally, and thought of all the backafflies and vexations about sweeping up sue might have saved by getting it before, she felt too big a fool to stay in the family. The boys’ bed stands in a corner of their room, away from the windows, and inconvenient to reach for making. You know how unwholesome it is for any one who sleeps at the back of a bed in such a position where no fresh air •reaches it. Yet how tiresome it is to pull the bedstead out every night, and push it out of the way in the momhig, the room being too small to allow its standing out. The casters are too small. Get a larger size or broad woo den wheels, and you can push the bed stead back and forth easier than you can move a chair. The boys can pull it out at night into the best air in the room, and shove it back to give them room for dressing. You can move it about as you like to tuck in the clothes when making the bed, and leave it out to air when no one is in the room; a touch will put it in place any time, aud the broad tires will not wear the carpet like small iron ones. It is a trifle to see that the furniture in a house has easy castors, but the difference in ease of moving and keeping it neat will sur prise yon. 'It’s the principle of having two tea-kettles over attain—that com forts are always cheap.' ‘ ■' —Reports up to date show 250 persons to have been killed by tornadoes in this country since Jannary 1. During 1881, 187 persons thus lost their lives, and in isss,m Mechanical pistols, not permitting ex amination, in which the projectile drops into a secret chamber bv the action of springs on the pulling of the trigger, will be Iteneath the consideration of the true areist, as well as being dangerous in the highest degree. The mode of per forming this surprising trick at the pres ent day is as follows: One member of the audience places in the pistol or rifle —an ordinary one—a charge of real powder; a second is asked to choose and privately mark a real bullet from a l>ox of such, which he himself drops into the barrel, and a third rams the whole tight ly down with a ramrod, either retaining possession of the weapon from that moment, or passing it to some one else. But in the act of moving from No. 1 to No. 2—that is to say, between the intro duction of the powder and the ball—the performer, while calling general atten tion to, and laying great stress upon the circumstance that three or four people take part in loading, and not one only, who might be a confederate, slips into the barrel a little tube about an inch in length, which slides down to the charge, andjafterwards receives the bullet. This tube, closed at one end, is of just such a size, shape, and color as to fit on the end of the ramrod, and be brought away with it without being noticeable. It is disengaged by the wizard, and the half secured as he walks back to the stage, and is put inside the lips in readiness in the very act of showing that the mouth is empty. The great difficulty which occurs in the execution of this feat is to induce the casual spectator to take deliberate aim at one’s face; so impressed is he, as a rule, that the weapon he holds is genuinely loaded, that he hesitates to let fly at the performer, and will rather let fly In the air. This, of course, spoils the effect altogether, unless the conjurer has pres ence of mind enough to pretend to catch tiie bullet as it falls. Houdin, who was pre-eminent for neatness and finish, used to conclude this trick by making a long palaver about the mysterious properties of lead in ex tracting vital essences from the body; then tiring the bullet himself at a wliite- washed wall, and producing thereon a splash of red, the hall having been ex changed this time tor a hollow shell of black wax filled with a blood-colored liquid. Only a short time ago a son of the famous Houdin executed in Paris a very pretty little trick. Coming forward on the stage as the curtain rose, he made an amusing introductory speech, with much characteristic gesticulation,hand exteuded and shoulders shrugged up to his ears; then he breathed on his gloves, and presto! they vanished. The gloves —I got it from him afterwards—had no backs to them, and were secured only by the tips of the linarers. which harelv covered the nails; a piece of strong elastic ran in a hem round the margin of eacli and kept them in j>osition. the end pass ing up the sleeve, to be attached to the back of the vest. A slight flexure of the fingers, therefore, freed them, and caused them to fly away with lightning rapidity; but everything depended on the palms iteing alone exposed, French- manlike, all the time. Address is more than half the battle which the magician has to fight single handed with the army of watchful eyes vhicli encompass him. A good story was going the rounds of the papers some months ago to the effect that Hermann, while on the River Plata, was giving a private representation before the Patagonian chiefs, and, though exerting his wonderful abilities to. the utmost, was somewhat annoyed at the stoldity, and apparent lack of surprise with which they received the marvels displayed. Showers of gold and packs of cards were made to fall from their ears and noses, dozens o*f eggs from their pockets, and live canaries from their hair, and still they sat on midis* mayed. At last, after the entertainment was over, it was discovered that one of them had abstracted a valuable gold watch from the Professor’s pocket while the latter was disengaging a miraculous fowl from the savage breast; and that the untutored mind of another had led him to improve the occasion by annex ing a handkerchief and pencil case. THE VERDICT —OF— Mexican Express Runners. THE PEOPLE. BUY THE BEST! Mr. J. O. Boao—Dear Sir : I bought the flrst Davis Machine sold by yon oyer live iear« ago for my wile, who has given It a long and fair trial. I am well pleased with It. It never atvea any ronble, and la aa good aa when Unit bought. -.J. W. HOUCK. Wlun*boro, 8. C., Xprli 1883. * Mr. Boao : Ton wish to Know what I have to say in regard to the DavU Machine bought of you three years ago. I feel I can’t ear too much In Ita favor. I made about $80.00 within live montha, at limea runniug it go fast that the needle would r ;t iierfectiy hot from friction. I feel conndent could not have done the same work with as much ease and so well with any other machine. No time lost in adjusting attachments. Tee lightest running machine I have ever treadled. Brother James and William's families are aa much pleased with their Davis Mach ues bought of vou. I want no better machine. As I said before, I don’t think too much can be said for the Dav.g Machine Respectfully, Ellkn 8tbv kkson. Fairfield county, April, 1883. Mg All through the interior of the coun try at almost every town and village, are to lie found “runners,” usually In dians, whose business it is to carry small packages upon their shoulders from place to place. Knowing all the moun tain paths and short cuts, and possess ing a vast amount of strength and stay ing power, these “runners” make long journeys in a prodigiously short time. To cite a case that illustrates both the custom of gift sending and the manner of sending gifts. One of my friends here in Monterey, being then on his way home from the City of Mexico, stopped for a night with his carriage, horses and servants at a hospitable rancho, where he was admirably well entertained. On the evening of the next day he came to a town famous tor its delicious fish, and as an acknowl edgement of the hospitality tendered him, he sent a “runner” with a basket of fish to his host of the night before. The distance, allowing for short cuts, was forty miles across a mountainous country; yet the “runner” made it in side of ten hours—leaving at 7 o’clock at night, and arriving at the ranclia (as my friend subsequently was informed) at 5 o’clock the next morning. Taking into consideration the time lost between collection and shipment, and between receipt at the terminal point aud actual delivery to consignee, the best regulated express company in the world could not have made this shipment more ex peditiously. Moreover, as these “run ners” are absolutely trustworthy— there are cases on record of their dying in defence of their freight—the express facilities which they afford in a small way scarcely can be improved upon. —In July next an Educational Con gress will meet in Rio Janeiro, under a call from the Brazilian Government. The Government of the United States has been requested to furnish the best spec! mens of work done in the public schools of this country, Mr. Boao : My machine gives me perfect satis faction I 0ml no fanlt with It. The attachments are go simple. I wtaa for no better than the Davis Vertical Feed. Respectfully. Mrs. R. Millimo. Fairfield county, April, 1888. Mr. Boao: I bought a Davis Vertical Feed Sewing Machine from yon four years ago. I am delighted with it. It never has given me any trouole, and has never been the least oat of order. It is as good as when I nrst bongbt it. 1 can cheerfully recommend It, Respectfully, Mr?. M. J. Kirkland. Monticello, April 30. 1 83. This Is to certify that I have been using a Davis Vertical Feed Sewing Machine for over tw < years, purchased of Mr. J. O. Boag. I haven't found It possessed of any fault—all the attachments are so simple. It never ictuses to work, and Is certainly the lightest running in the market I consider it a first class machine. Very respectfully, MlNNIB M. WlLUNOHAli. Oakland, Fairfield county, S. C. Mr boao : 1 am wen pieasea in every particular with the Davla Machine nought of you. I mink It a first-class machine lo every reapect You know you sold several machines of the same make to difiereut members of our families, all of whom, as far as I know, are well pleased with them. Respectfully, Mrs. M. H. Moblbv. Fairfield county, April, 1883. This Uto certify we have had In constant uae the Dan* Machine bonght ot yon about 1 hree years ago. As we take In work, and have made the JIi Hf Uf 11 ncvcatal tliaavn W • w*4At O njr better machine. It is always ready to do any kind of work we nave to do. No puckering or skipping stitches. We can only say we are well pleased anu wish no better machine, Cathbrinb Wylie and Sister. April 86, 8-3. I have no fanlt to find with nay mach ne, and don’t want any 1 letter. I have made the price of It several times by taking la sewing. It Is always ready to do Us work. I think it a first-class ma chine. I feel I can't say too much for the Davis Vertical Feed Machine. Mrs, Thomas Smith. Fairfield county, April, 1883. Mr. J. O. Boao—Dear Sir: It givea me much pleasure to testify to the merits of the DavU Ver tical Feed Sewing Machine. The ma' nine I got ot yon about five years ago. has been almost In con stant use ever since that lime. I cannot see that It Is worn any, and has not cost me one cent for repairs since we have had it. Am well pleased and don’t wish lor any better. Yours trn'y, hoBT. Crawford, Granite Quarry, near Wlnnsboro 8. C. We have used the Davis Vertical Feed Sewing Machine for the last five years. We would not have any other make at any pnee. The machine has given us unbounden satisfaction. Very respectfully, INER AND DAUIIHTKaSj Mrs. W. K. Turner Fairfield county, S. C., Jan. 81,1888. Having bought a Davla Vertical Feed Sewing Machine from Mr. J. O. Boag some three years ago, and It having given me perfect satisfaction In every respect as a family machine both for heavy and light sewing, and never needed the least re pair In any way, I can cheerfully recorumend It to any one as a first-class machlm- in every particu lar, and think It second to none. It Is one ot the simplest machines made: my children use It with all ease. The attacbmenta are more easily ad justed and It does a greater range of work by means of iu Vertical Feed than any other ma chine I have ever seen or aged. Mrs. Thomas Owinob. Wlnnsboro, Fairfield county, 8. C. We have had one of the DavU Machines about four years and have always found It ready to do all kinds of wore we have had occasion to da Can’t see that the machine is worn any, and works as well as when new. Mbs. W. J. Crawford, Jackson’s Creek, Fairfield county, 8. C. My wife Is highly pleased with the Davla Ma chine bought of you. She would not take double wnat sne gave for It. The machine has not been out of order since she had It, and she can do any kind of work on It. Very Respectfully, jab. F. Free. Monticello, Fairfield county, 8. C. The DavU Sewing Machine U tlmplr a treas ure Mbs. J. a. goodwtn. Ridgeway, N. C., Jan. 10.1883. J,O Boao, Esq., Agent—Dear Sir: My wife has oeen using a Davis Sewing Machine constant ly for the past four years, and It ha sver needed any repairs an 1 works Just aa well aa when flrst bought. She says It will do a greater range of practical work wnd do it carter and better than any machine she has ever used. We cheerfully recommend It as a No. 1 family machine, lov tray, Jab. q. Da via. Wlnnsboro, S. C., Jan. S, 1810. Mb. Boao : I have always found my DavU Ma chine ready do all kinds of to work I have had 00- CASlontodo. I cannot aee that the machine U worn a particle and It works aa wed aa when new. Respectfully, Mns. R. C. Goodino. Wlnnsboro, S. C., April, 1883, J Hia Mr. Boao : the DavU I r wife has been constantly using 1 bought of you about ave years 1 have net sr regretted buying it, w* it U a ready fot any rind of faiufiyaewlng, either or light. It u never out of. fix or needing always heavy or ligl repairs. Fairfield, 8. C., March, 1888. ■' ■ -V "J • -tfi • • ■ • v />>< a i* *