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p.- ' ft* TRI-WEEKLY EDITION. W1NNSBORO. S. V,.. JULY 12. 1883. ESTABLISHED 1848 THE VERDICT —OF— \ 0 V K U ► THE PEOPLE BUY THE BEST! Mr. J. O. Boao—Dear Sir: 1 bought the flrat Davis Macbtae koIiI by you over live years ago lor uiy wile, who has given it a long ami lair trial. I am well pleased with It. It never Rives any rouble, ami Is as good as when ttrst iiought. J. W. 110I.ICE. Wlnnsboro, 8. C., Aprl. 1883. r l Mr. Boaa: You wish to know what I have to say in reuard to the Dav.s Machine bought of you three ears ago. I feel 1 can’t say too much in its favor, ma le about fso.i o within Hve mouths, at times running it so last that the needle would get per fectly hot from frtclion. I feel confident I could not have done the same work with as much ease and so well with any other machine. No time lost In adjusting attachments. The lightest running machine I have ever treadled. Brother James and V\ Ilhams’ families are as much pleased with their D tvis Machines nought or you. I want .*«iik too machine. As I said bef™*-' sachlne. much can he * Kespect fully, KU.KN fTKVENoON, Fairfield County, Apr! 1 , 1883. Mk. Boao : My mschlne gives me perfect satis faction. I find no lault with it. The attachments a e so simple, i wish for no better than the Davis Vertical Feed. Respectfully. Mrs. R. Milling. Fairfield county, Aprl’, 1883. Mr. Bo\g: i bought a Davis Vertical Feed few.ng M ichlne trom you'our years ago. I am deligute t with It It never has g.veu me any tromde, and has never been the lesstout of order. It Is as good hh when I Urst bought it. I can cheerfully r.cn.umend it. Kespectful’y, Mm. M. J. Kirkland. Montleelio, April 30,1883. This Is to certify that 1 hav > been using a Davis Vertical Feed Sewing Machine for over iw <years, purchased of Mr. J. O. Bo.ig. 1 haven’t found it passeeseil of any fault—all the attachments are so simple. Ii never lefuses to work, and is certainly th i luhtest running in the market. I consider it a first-class machine. Very respectfully, Minnir M. Willingham. Oakland, Fairfield county, S. C. Mr boao : i am wen pieased in every particnla with the Davis Machine nought of you. I think it a firsl-c.asa machine in every respect You know you so d several machines of the satr e take to diiterent meuiiicrs of our families, a .< whom, as far as I know, are well pieased wltu them. itesoectfully, Mrs. M. II. Mosisr. Fa rfleld county, April, 1883. This tstn certify we have ha I in constant use the Davis Machine bought of you about three years ago. As we take in work, and have made the p.ice of it sev.-ral i lines over, we don’t want jjuh better machine. It is always skipping of work wc nave tpjlftj gjfy we are well pieased •titcMHn uo better mach ne. I ATHEK1NK WYLIK AND SI8TBR. April 26,18-3, i I have no fault to find with my mach ne, and don’t want .my tletter. I have m ide the price of U several times by taking In 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. Th.imas Smith. Fairfield county, April, 1883. Mr. J. O. Boag—D'sr Sir: H gives me much pleasure to testify to the merits of the Davis Ver tical Feed Sewing-Machine. The mai nine I got of you about nve years ago. has been almost in con- s’ant use ever since that nine. 1 c.muot 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 tietter. Yours trn'y, host. Crawford, Granite Quarry, near Wlnnsboro a. C. We have used the Davis Vertical Feed Sewing Machine for the last five years. We would not have any other make at any price. The machine has given us unboundeo satisfaction. Very respectfully, Mrs. W. K. Tdrnkk and DaoohtkiisI Fairfield county, 8. C., Jan. 2;, 1883. Having bought a Davis Vertical Feed Sewing Machine from Mr. J. O. Boag some three years ago, and It havtwg given me perfect satisfaction in every re*!«ct as a lainily machine both for hea y and light sewing, and never needed the least re pair in any way. I can cheerfully recommend it to any one as a first-class machine In every pari icu- lar, and think It second to none. It is one ot the simplest machines made; my children use It with all ease, ’the attachments are more easily ad justed and it does a greater range of work by means of its Vertical Feed than any other ma chine I have ever seen or used. Mrs. Thomas Owings. Winnsb ir'', Fairfield county, S. C. We have had one of the Davit Machines stiout four years and have always found It ready to do all kinds of work we have ha 1 occasion to no. Can’t see that the machine is worn any, and works as well as when new. Mrs. W. J. Crawford, Jackson’s Creek, Fairfield county, 8. C. My wife is highly plfiased with the Davis Ma chine bought of you. She would not take double what sue gave for It. The machine has not been out of order sluce she had It, and shecau do any kind of work on It. Very Respectfully, Jar. F. Frrk. Montleelio, Fairfield county, S. C. The Davis Sewing Machine Is simply a treas ure Mrs. J. A. uoodwtn. Ridgeway, N. C., Jan. 10, ls88. J, O Boao, Esq., Agent—Dear Sir: My wife has oeen using a Davis Sewing Machine constant ly for the past four years, an I it has never nee led any repairs and works just as well as when first b >ught. She says U w,U do a greater range of practical work wnd do it easier and bet’er than any machine she uas ever used. We cheerfully recommend it as a No. 1 family machine, Your tru-y, Jas. Q. Davis. Wlnnsboro, S. C., Jan. 3, 1883. .TRUST. I cannot see, with my small humad sight, Why God should lead this way or that for me; I only know he hath said, ‘‘Child, follow me.” But I can trust. I know not why my path should be at times 8o straightly hedged, so strangely barred before; I only know God could keep wide the door; But I can trust. ' I find no answer; often, when beset W1 th questions fierce and subtle on m y way, And often have but strength to faintly pray; But I can trust. I often wonder, as with trembling hand I cast the seed along the furrowed ground, If ripened fruit for God will there be found; But 1 can trust. I cannot know why suddenly the storm Should rage so fiercely round me in its wrath" But this I know, God watches all my path— And 1 can trust. I may not draw aside the mystic veil That hides the unknown future from —* • sight! _. dark or light; Nor know if for ptatfi trust. x nave no power to look across the fide, To see while here the land beyond the river; But this 1 know, 1 shall be God’s forever; So 1 can trust. FROM THE HEFTHS. Mb. Boag : I Have always found my Davis Ma chine ready do all kiudn of to work I have bail oc casion to do. 1 cannot see that the machiue Is worn a particle and it worka aa weilaa wnen new. Respectfully, Mrs. K. C. Gooding. Wlnnsboro, S. C., April, 1883, Mr. Boag : My wife has been constantly using the Davis Mactime bought of yon about live years ago. I have never regretted having It, as it ia always ready for any kind of fan.Ily sewing, either heavy or light. It la never ont of fix or ueeutng repairs. Very respectfully, A. W. Ladd. Fairfield, a C., March, 1888. Helen why ao you waste your time talking to Paul Thyrley when Mr. Hart well and Egbert Van Dom are both disengaged?” said Mrs. I)e Groot, in an angry whisjier, to her daughter, on the evening of her debut, at the house of a fashionable friend. “You know tbe position Paul Thyr ley holds in our home. “Your lather keeps him as his secre tary out of charity, ou the score of their old boyish friendship. “I am surprised that you should dance twice with him this evening. “Some one is sure to make an ill-na tured remark about it.” “He is really very nice, mamma,’ said Helen, gazing after her late part ner with a suspiciously admiring ex pression in her hazel eyes. “If he was only rich he would be per fect.” “But he is not rich. “How can you be so foolish—so mad, Helen?” , “Are you sure that he is not rich, mamma?” “Have you noticed that splendid dia mond ring in the shape of a star that he is wearing to-night? “How could a poor man ha’’e a ring like that?” “It is paste, no doubt,” said her mother irritably. And then a really tragic expression crossed her still handsome “Helen, Mr v'<ut Dom w coming H-i- "“J* “For mercy’s sake, leave off staring after that poverty-stricken Paul Thyr ley, and make yourself agreeable to him if he asks you to dance—unless you wish to break my heart.” With a sigh Helen dropped the plumed fan front before her face and turned to welcome the wealthy banker with a beaming smile. Egbert Van Dom was a short, heavi ly-built, prosy man, live and forty. He had been bom and reared in pov erty. Coining into an immense fortune when youth was gone, he had but two ideas, apparently, in his brain—the one his money; the other his very uninter esting self. Such as he was, however, the bright est aud fairest of society belles were ready to nm a race for his favors. And Helen De Groot’s handsome Spanish face Bushed with exultation as the evening passed by and still found hind constant at her side. Schooled by her proud mother, and prompted by her own ambition, she cast aside her momentary dream of love, and met Paul Thyrley so coldly on the next morning in bet own home that his sudden lock of intense mortifi cation showed the pain he felt. Prom that day they were as stran gers. Paul Thyrley busied himself in the duties of tus place, and turned for com fort in his leisure hours to Helen’s young cousin, Lucy Fair, who held a position in the great g and house that was even lower aud less satisfactory than his own. One morning, some weeks after his binhnight ball, Lucy Fair ran hastily down the staircase from her cousin’s room, her pretty face all bathed in teats. « “What is it Lucy ?” he asked, hold ing her fast as she attempted to run away. " What has been grieving you?” “It is—oh, Mr. Thyrleyl “Helen says that 1 have been so rude and forward in my behavior to you that vou must despise me in your heart,” said Lucy, after ft long pause. “She saw us come in from our walk last evening do you know?” She hesitated. The secretary smiled. “Well, my Lucy. “Did she see me bid you good night with a kiss? “Is that the cause of all these teara?” he said. “Oh, she has said such cruel things, Paul 1 - ✓ “She declares that you cannot possi bly respect me, because I hava not re spected myself. “Aud aunt He Groot says that she cannot take me to the grand party at Upton Park next week. “She says that I will disgrace them by my behavior, that I have already disgraced them—that I—oh, Pauli have 1 done wrong? “Was it unmaidenly in me to, own that 1 loved you, aud to allow it as I did?” " “My poor little Lucyl” cried Paul indignantly. “1 see how it is.” “But they shall not torment you like this another day. “Look here. Lucy! “I’ve given up my place—I am going away at once!” “Going away? “Going to leave me? She clung to him In mute dismay, the tears still standing in her bright eyes. “There is the thing that grieves me,” replied Paul. “Do you love me well enough to go with me, my dear? “If you do, speak the word—and at least your aunt and cousin shall never have the power to torture you again. “1 can promise you comfort In your home, and kind care, and a love that will never fail. “What do you say, Lucy?” “I would go with you to the end of the world, Paul.” “And never be afraid of the hard work, the anxiety, the care, that are the daily portion of a poor man’s life?” “Never! “If you are with mA tR«—> j- ”” 301 row', no trouble that I fear to meet, she answered, with a trusting smile. That night the lovers left that stately home and fled to the city, where, in the presence of her Lucy lair pro- nounceji rt- * ows that made her au “You have done well and wisely for yourself, little girl.” said her uncle, as he bade them farewell the next day. “I wish your cousin had been half as wise. “Farewell, Paul don’t fail to bring your wife to the party at Upton Park, my boy.” Mrs. De Groot held up her white and Jeweled hands in horror when her hus band told her what had happened. But she was too busy preparing for her own and Helen’s sojourn at Upton Park to waste many thoughts upon her rebellious niece. The party was now close at hand, and was to be a gorgeous affair. The owner of Upton Park, it was widely rumored had been a poor boy, a newsboy in the city streets. Befriended by the benevolent Paulus De Groot, then but a lad himself, the newsboy had worked, striven,and risen, till, in the prime of his manhood, he bad now come to reside near his early friend in a home like a palace. It w r as a romantic story. Mrs. De Groot received them, acting as hostess by the request of Mr. Upton, who had not yet arrived. “Mamma, you told me yesterday not to accept Mr. Van Dorn till I had seen Mr. Upton,” said Helen De Groot. as they stood apart from the guests watch ing the inner door of the library, through which the owmer of the house would very fioon appear. “But they are sayiqg now that Mr. Upton is actually married, and that he is to bring his bride home to this house this very night.” “Nonsense, Helen!” cried Mrs. De Groot sharply. But slia Jnnkod thor« a 8k|y uneasy. "Mrs. stone pretended that your fa- fh«r was in the secret, and that he was present at the wedding yesterday in the city,” she began, “but I will never believe that Mr. De Groot would The words died on her lips. She grasped Helen’s arm, clinging to it as if to save herself from falling. The arched two-leaved door of the library was opened. There stood Paul Thyrley and lean ing on his arm was a lovely little dark- eyed fairy, in a bridal robe and lace veil, with diamond ornamouts that blazed like stars. There, too, was Mr. De Groot, w’hose voice sounded like the “trump of doom’ in the ears of his wife and daughter as he spoke in thiswise— “Friends and neighbors, let me pre sent to you Paul Thyrley Upton aud Mrs. Lucy Upton, my own dear niece. “In their name and in my own I bid you welcome most heartily to their pleasant home-coming at Upton Park.” Flowers. Front Yard Vexations. The amount of money invested in and spent for fiowera in London is something marvellous. Fashion loves flowers, or pretends to, and is willing to pay for them. One florist says:— “The best business comes from the wealthy, who give orders to furnish flowers and decorations for such an evening at such a price, and -do not concern themselves with details. The floweis fora dinner party of fifty covers can easily be made to cost from J2100 to £200, and I have had one dinner last winter for which my bill was £300. That, of course, included the decoration of the dining-room after special designs, which were first prepared in color, showing the masses of foliage, the palms, and the beds of flowers in differ-' ent parts of the room. When you con sider that hybrid roses, of which there are seven different varieties, cost 2s. Od. apiece, and that a hundred of them can be crowded into a vase on a mantel piece, you see how the money goes. Marechal Niel and ‘Jacqueminot roses are worth now Is. each, but there is little foliage with them, whereas a hy brid rose with its stem and leaves is quite a bouquet in itself. Besides deco rating the supper-table and rooms for balls we frequently have to make up fa vors for a wedding, and these are often made to cost from 2s. to 6s. apiece. The intention is generally to combine in a favor a few beautiful flowers, and something that will remain as a me mento of the occasion; so the holder is of silver or porcelain, or a basket of value is used. A few uights ago the baskets were Leghorn hats, which will doubtless be trimmed ana worn this summer. ’ ’ Kama of A>no » f Se». A return was lately published m London giving the loss of life in each of the last fifteen years arising from casualties at sea to British ships in the home and foreign trade, excluding fishing vessels. Tbe grand total is 89,414, of which 8372 is the total tor 1881-2, this being the largest in any single year, tbe nearest to it being 1874 5, with 2980 In the three years ini mediately preceding the numbers wen much smaller—they having been 1907 in 1878-9, 1789 in 1879-80, and 2421 in 1860-1. Of the grand total, 2178 was the number of lives lost by collision, of which 019 were those of passengers; it is to 13 noted, however, that 273 of the latter number, or more than half the total for fifteen years, were lost m the first six months of 1878, the running down of tbs North fleet by the Mmillo in tne early days of that year off Dungeneas account ing for ibis. We have recently moved into a house that has a front yard. We have aTways lived in houses whose front yard was the street. Children will play in the street. Children will play in the yard whether there is a street running through it or not. After two or thjree of them had barely escaped being nm over by the teams that Insisted on running through our front yard, wife said we must rent a house that hadn’t any street in it. So we did. But pshaw! the children don’t make any account of it. They are in the street as much as ever, accumulating their g^ilv —* row escapes. -tvne said the yard looked bare with out shrubs arid flowers and vines. I hinted that a little "grass would help it, Ido. One evening as T was going away, wife asked me to bring iter a few “an nuals” when I came back. I wondered what she wanted of annuals as 1 rode down town in a street car, but I am accustomed to blind obedience to her requests, so when 1 went home at night I brought her some annuals. There were Dr. “Jayne’s Annual Almanack,” I remember, and “The Odd Fellows’ Annual Offering,” and a New Year’s Address” for 1862, and the “Birthday Gift” and numerous annual addresses before agricultural associations, that had accumulated on my hands. “Good gracious!” exclaimed Mrs, Boggs, (she never swears like that ex cept under great excitement) what have you brought me?” “Annuals, Mrs. Boggs,” said I. “You said you wanted annuals, and here they are.” Then Mrs. Boggs burst out laughing, and cried: “Why, you old fool, you (we have been married twenty years, but Mrs. B. calls me pet names yet), the annuals I meant ate flowers, such as verbenas, pansies, daisies, morning- glories, mignonette, and the like, to set in our front yard.” Then site took all the annuals I had been at so much pains to collect and set them out in the back yard among other rubbish. The next morning she asked me if I thought I could get some roses for the front yard. Told her I knew a man who had got a lot of early rose potatoes, but it wasn’t the right time of year for setting them out. (I have an idea that ground is much better employed in rais ing a potato than in raising a flower, un less it is a barrel of flour.) Wife said I hadn’t a bit of taste. She then gave me a memoranda of roses she wanted. I was busy all day, but as I was about taking a car for home, I thought of the roses. I referred to the mo*.——- 1 t louud the e -*i****t’ ‘t»w~E tew geraniums, fuchsias, heliotrope, roses, bourbon, running rose, ‘Prairie Queen,’ golden tea plant vines, English Ivy, Wandering Jew, seeds, etc.” I studied it hard, but it was slightly incomprehensible. She had evidently got things mixed up. However, I went to a florist’s and got what I wanted. Said I, “give me a few gera niums and a few she’s, and .” “A few what?” asked the flower- man, looking puzzled. “A few she’s,” said I, turning very red, I know’, for I couldn’t tell for the life of me what my wife wanted of a few she’s about the place, as she never could live in the same house with an other woman. As the florist looked more staggered than ever, I handed him the memo randa, when he burst into a loud laugh. "Why, man, he cried, “it’s fuchsias she wants!” and he roared again. Well, whatever it is, give me a cou ple of yards of it anyhow, front aud back yard, too.” You see I was mad. I got the things the memoranda seemed to call for at the various places, and went home. Here, Mrs. Boggs,” said i, testily, “are the things for our front yard.” “Why, what is this?,’ she cried, as I thrust a two-gallon jug upou her among other things. “Bourbon, my dear. I found it on the memoranda. Pretty tiling to set out in the front yard, though. How long do you s’pose it’ll stay there with the neighbors we’ve got?” “Boggs, you are a confounded ; that memoranda was ‘Bourbon Rose.’ But what is this -nasty little book?” holding up a dime novel with a highly colored title page representing a gor geous squa-v on a fiery and untamed mustang. “That? Why you ordered it, didn’t you? That is ‘Running Rose;* or, the Prairie Queen;’ one of Beadle’s you know.” My wife carried it at arm’s length and threw it into the stove. Then she took the jug of Bourbon and emptied it into the back gutter. While she was gone I concealed Alexander Dumas’ “Wandering Jew,” which I had also purchased, for 1 began to see that I had made a terrible blunder in filling that order. (I have ascertained since that “Wandering Jew” is the name of a vine; but how was I expected to know allaLOfcrii?) _ “liere, my dear,” said I, as my wife entered the room again, desiring to mollify her, “here is some ivy. I know tliat it is right, for I hired a boy to go out into the woods and cull it.” ‘}Go out in the woods and cull it!” shrieked Mrs. Boggs, suddenly dropping it; “why, Boggs, that’s Pizen ivyi” So it was. Dear! Dear! how was I expected to know anything about it? 1 didn’t know there was any other kind of ivy ’cept that which grows in the woods. 1 went around a week or two with both bauds done up in linen rags soaked in salt aud water, and Mis. Boggs’ hands looked like a pair of box ing gloves. I will never meddle with ivy again, ivy notion. But my mishaps arc not all re ated yet. I planted the seeds I had bought) and what do you think came up? A lot of gourds, sunfiowera, hollyhocks and pumpkin vines? “What are these?” said Mrs. Bogcr?. examining a flower bed where I had stuck some plants. Then she bent down, scrutinized the leaves closely, and with a scream pulled them up by tbe roots and threw them away. We fixed it at length. We hired a landscape gardener, and turned the front yard over to him. Mrs. Boggs bossed the job, and under her eagle eye very little ground ’scaped gardening. A hose became necessary, of course, to sprinkle the grass and flowers, so she bought one properlp furnished with a nozzle and sprinkler. Mrs. r >ggs going out marketing one evening, requested me to take the hose and sprinkle the front yard. I had never operated such a contriv ance and made horrible work of it. I forgot to substitute the sprinklef for the nozzle and played havoc among the plants and flowers. Whenever the "♦-’"•k a .ulant it was either scooped out or driven into the ground out of sight. The flower beds looked as though they had been fooling around a water spout. I was disconcerted at the ruin I was working, and turning around to see if my wife was coming, I let the stream go full drive in my neighbor’s face who was observing me and I turned it quickly around, firing it into a passing baby wagon. Baby screamed, and getting a dose hi my own eye, I popped it next in the face of Mis. Boggs, who was just entering the gate. That concluded my performance with a rubber hose. If you know any one who wants to rent a house with a front yard, -“end me word. Impaled. The impalement of persons sentenced to death for great crimes has been practiced in the East for many cen turies. In Turkey, where tliis punish ment was most frequently inflicted, assassins whose crimes w r ere of an aggravated character w r ere always con demned to die on the pole; and the traveler who iienetrates into Asia Minor will now and then, even in our times, ride past slender posts erected along the roadside, on which the skele tons of the unfortunates are hanging who have been put to death in this horri ble manner. Saint Edme in his Dictionnaire de la Penalite describes the maimer in which this punishment is inflicted as follows: “The unfortunate man who is to suffer death by impalement is laid flat on the ground, face downward. His hands are tied on his back, aud one of the executioner’s assistants sits down on his back, so that the victun cannot move. A second assistant holds the culprit’s head firmly to the ground, and a third assistant seizes his legs, which he holds so that he cannot movo them. The executioner ap proaches with tb» instrument of death, a loiur or pole, which he pushes int/O the body L-om bohiud. The pole tapers almost to a point, but is rounded off somewhat at the end, so that it will not penetrate the entrails all at once. The executioner pushes this pole into the flesh as far as he can with his hands, whereupon a fourth assistant drives it in still further with a mallet. Now the pole, which has jienetrated deeply into the body of the doomed man, is set upright into the ground, and the victim is left to die upon it. The weight of the body presses it further down upon the stake every moment, and the point finally protrudes from the breast or side of the culprit. Some of those upon whom this horrible punishment has been inflicted, died quickly, and their suffering was soon over, but others are said to have suf fered untold agony for hours, and even days, before death put au end to their torments.” Impalement, horrible as it is, is not the cruelist punishment “inflicted in Oriental countries. Particularly the Chinese and the inhabitants of Anam, Cochin China and Siam seem to have exhausted all their powers of invention in devising new and insufferable tor ments for criminals or persons who had incurred the hatred of the rulers of tliose countries. In China rebels and traitors are lite rally cut into a thousand pieces. The executioner who is to carry out this dreadful sentence fastens the prisoner, who is tied hand and foot, with a chain to a post, and makes au incision over the forehead of his victim. He pulls the skin of the forehead over the eyes of the sufferer, so that he cau no longer see. A large basket with small knives is now r placed beside the executioner, who shakes them up several times, and then takes them up, one by one. On each knife is written the name of a part of the human body which the fiend who takes the instrument of tort ure from the basket proceeds to lace rate slowly. Little pieces of flesh and skin are cut from the struggling wretch, and when the executioner lias cut and slashed one part, in his opinion, sutli- ciently, he takes another knife from the basket anil proceeds as before, until at last all the knives have been taken from the basket. But while the victim suffers horrible torments the executioner operates on liim with such skill that no vital parts are touched, and death does not come to the relief of the sufferer. Aud when all the numbers of this terrible lottery of knives are drawn, the bleeding body of the unfortunate man is thrown to rave nous dogs, who, more merciful tlian their masters, soon put an end to the agonies of the doomed man. Another punishment said to have been inflicted in China on great crimi nals consisted in being “brushed to death.” The instrument employed in this torture was a wire brush, witu which the executioner brushed, or rather scraped off the flesh of the cul prit, a proceeding which naturally consumed a great deal of time. The tormentor, w’iih consummate skill, brushed around all great veins and arteries to prevent the victim from bleeding to death, and kept him alive fioraloug Liiae. In Siam the death penalty was in flicted ou rebels by having them tram pled to death by eiaphants. Others had a small cocoanut forced into their mouth so that they had to starve. Other horrible punishments have been inflicted by Oriental despots, and many of them liave taken particular pains to vary the pains, changing the mode of their torment with every suf- erer. But the above instances will uttioe to show what cruelties are prac- iced in those countries, ■' Thin out Fruit. As the season seems favorable, the prospect is that the trees, of all kinds, will be well loaded with fruit. Too much fruit is something unusual, for the market is never overstocked in quantity, but too much inferior fruit is a yearly infliction on all who buy. Priming, trimming and cultivating, while pushing forward the trees in vi gor and productiveness, also assist in the development of a surplus of blos soms, the stimulus causing the trees to bend their energies in that direction in preference to an excess of leaves, for the embryo buds are alike, and diverge into leal or fruit as the conditions di rect. Thinning out fruit seems repulsive to tliose who are accustomed to seeing heavy clusters of fruit on trees* and the operation appears to lie a wasteful one; but, when we consider that fruit ing is but an effort of natural reproduc tion, it is to be wondered, rather, that thinning is not more commonly prac ticed. If the tree cannot propagate by seeding it will endeavor to do so from the root by sending out shoots. It either sends out shoots or fruit buds, or both, and this must be accomplished only with the material which the tree affords, part of which is stored and part new, taken directly from the soil at the time of blossoming or a little be fore. This material is distributed to every part of the tree, the remotest blossom not being forgotten, and the tree can only nourish according to its capacity to supply. Where the fruit is overcrowed on the tree the fact is ap parent that inferiority of size must lie the consequence; and whenever the fruit is dwarfed the flavor and appear ance is below the average, to say noth ing of the drain on the vitality of the tree, which is thereby compelled _o use its utmost endeavor in order to develop its fruit. By thinning out the inferior speci mens, leaving only that which looks promising, the sap is directed iutotewer channels instead of the many, the fruit being supplied with a greater propor tion of nourishment, grows more rap idly, ripens sooner and is improved in appearance and quality. Nor will the ■actual production be less, for the chan ces are that by measurement'the quan tity will be more than if no thinning process had been practiced, the chief benefit being the doubling of the price owing to the superiority of tha fruit. Strawberries «*> trc»i«a have been grown to oucn proportions as to readily com mand fifty cents per quart when infer ior kinds were not in demand, and pears have been sent to our markets that sold singly at good prices, while others were sold by measurement. Thousanfhrof bushels of apples rot in our orchards annually simply because the trees are overcrowed and the fruit becomes unsalable, and the cherries, peaches aud even the small fruits are no exception. Another point to be observed is that trees and vines must not be allowed to make any effort other than by seeding. The shoots and runners must be kept down, as they rob the parent stock of vital power—as is well known to those who grow strawberries especially, the runners ot this year being detrimental to fruit production the succeeding sea son. Let every fruit-grower eudeavor to produce goou, well-formed, market able fruit, culling out that which is inferior, and allotting to the trees only that which is suitable to their capacity and the increased prices and quick sales will be more than a satisfactory remu neration for the small amount of extra labor required. A Secretary In Trouble. A gentleman who had business with the W ar Department during the Presi dency of General Jackson, called upon the Secretary for the purpose of trans- actiug it. As he approached the door leading to the Secretary’s apartment, the messenger informed him that the Secretary was engaged for the mo ment, and begged him to take a seat in the ante-room The door was ajar, and the visitor could not avoid hearing the loud and angry tones of the great functionary. He was evidently ad dressing an officer of the anny, who was delinquent in the matter of his accounts, “You have been repeatedly directed to bring your affaire to a settlement,” said he, “and you pay no attention to the instruction, delaying on one frivolous pretext or another, and offering the most preposterous excuses, until the thing has become intolerable. If this goes on much lon ger 1 sliall order your arrest, and try you by court-martial. The War De partment cannot lie trifled with. The offending officer was a French man, whose broken English and ex traordinary phraseology were most mirth-provoking. He presently bowed himself out into the hall, the very impersonation of composure and self- complacency. The gentleman who was waiting for an audience inquired what was the matter. “Nossing wfz me,” was the reply with a grimace and a shrug of the shoulders. “But ze Minis ter of ze War is iu trubble.” Napoleon’* Son. Prince Napoleon’s son is only one of a long line of royal pretenders, refugees, or captives who have entered English schools within the past dozen years. He eutere Cheltenham College. It was there that Dr. Jex-Blake first received Prince Aleymayu, son of King Theodore of Abyssinia. Soon after, the Duke of Genoa entered Harrow under Mr. Mat thew Arnold. Prince liassan, Of Egypt, aud Prince tiootebai, of Siam, were not long ago at Oxford, Tbe King of Spain was once at Sandhurst, aud Don Jaime, son of Don Carlos, the pretender, is now at the Jesuit College near Windsor, while the Woolwich career of tUPlonof Napoleon HI is still fresh in memory. Religion is as necessary to reason as reason is to religion; the one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempt ing to account for the phenomena of nature had he not a Supreme Being to refer to. If there had been no God. mankind would have been obliged to ! imagine one. A Joke on e Soldier. Many persons think that these old soldiers who meet at reunions have be come dignified and forgotten how to have any fun when they get together. This is the greatest mistake that was ever made. We suppose there was more fun to the square mile during the reun ion here than was ever enjoyed since the world began. Among the Chicago boys, as a guest, was Theo R. Davis, the artist of Harper's Weekly, who was all through the war, and whose pencil has caused many a battle-field to be impressed upon the minds of hundreds of thousands of people who were not there. There was one of the Chicago men who sometimes took a little too much wet stuff, and who was a little excitable when full, though a ffiyal good fellow. The visiting, the music, the marching, the cheering and the ex citement of the reunion, with a little dust of liquor, had made him feel quite excited, and he wanted to fight his battles over again, but the boys kept him quiet, aud finally got him to bed, and soon he slept like a log. The boys were in the room telling stories, when some one called attention to the sleeping comrade, and in a second an idea oc curred to Davis, the artist. He said he would go to his room and get his water- olor paint aud brushes, aud some court plaster, and paint the face of the sleej)- ing comrade so he would look as though he had been in a fight, and been knocked all to pieces. The boys said it would be a good idea, and pretty soon the artist was at work with his soft camel’s hair brushes, and the boys stood over the artist and his human canvas, holding their sides to keep from roaring. The artist first painted two black eyes that you would swear had been made by a man’s fist. Then he painted a swelling ou one cheek, and on the forehead he painted what looked as though a sledge hammer had mashed in the skull aud left the brain oozing out. Then the artist took some strips of court plaster aud stuck one across the painted broken nose, another across the mouth, sealing both lips; and the boys stood back to look at the stricken man and wait for the court piaster to dry. The scene was so real that one of the boys actually turned pale while looking at the sleeper. The boys held a consultation and agreed that when their friend awoke they should look heart-broken, aud make him believe he had been mauled out of all human shape ; and they got a strange veteran from Oshkosh to personate a doctor. After a little the sleeper began to wake up, and one of his friends took a seat by his bedside, took hold of his pulse, and as he opened his eyes the frieud said: “ Now, don’t exert yourself, and don’t try to talk. The doctor says you will be all right if you remain quiet.” The victun of the joke opened his eyes and was going bo •a, what in Gehenna was the matter, and what maae aiou* stand around like a lot of pall-bearers, when he found his mouth held together by court plaster, and his voice sounded like a man with a hair-lip asking some body to go to the devil. At this point Lu Drury, one of the jokers, was having trouble to keep from laughing, so he put a handkerchief to his face, sobbed, aud said, “ My God, boys, this is horri ble.” The victim looked at Lu, aud would have sworu his great heart was overcharged with grief, and he tried to talk, but the court plaster would not permit him. At this point the Oshkosh villain, who acted as army surgeon, went to the bedside of the wounded ■an, reheved the other watcher, felt of nls pulse and said: “Don’t be discouraged, my boy, we will pull you through, if you do not get excited. I have cured worst cases. ” Then he took a pair of scissors and cut the court plaster that held the lips together, aud said: “There, how do you feel now? Don’t talk much, hut don’t you feel relieved ?” The victim looked at the doctor and at the boys who were picturesquely standing around the bed, and said : “ Doc, for God’s sake, what has hap pened to me ?” The doctor told him to be quiet, and then whispered to him : “You have had the worst fight that a man ever had aud lived. A man at tacked you on Wells street with a view of robbing you, and you defended your self, but it was a hard struggle. Mr. Drury, please hand me that hand-glass. There, you can see for yonrself. There is a contusion of the brain, the eyes are discolored, and I thought your jaw was broken, but as you can talk I guess it is only fractured. But you ought to see the mau that jumped on you. There, now, don’t look at yourself too much. You will look better to morrow.” The victim took a long look at him self, aud the first thing he said was: “ Is the other fellow alive ?” It was all the boys could do to keep from bursting, but they kept sober faces, and the doctor said the other fellow was alive, but he was the worst used up mau he ever sewed up. He said one arm was broken and one eye gouged out, and his face looked as if a pile-driver nad struck him. The victim smiled a satisfactory smile as he heard how he had whipped tbe other fellow. Then the boys asked if he had any mes sage to send home. He took tho mirror and looked at himself again, and said^: “Telegraph for ray wife.” That was too much, and the boys roared and the doctor tore off the court plaster from his nose, another fellow brought a wet towel ana the paint was washed off, and when he was clean the boys handed him the mirror, and he looked at himself again, and then saw it was a joke, and he wanted to kill some of them, but just then a colored boy brqught up a coupleof bottles of wine, and the injured man got up and the war was over. But for a couple days, if any body aftid, “ Is the other fellow alive ?” or *» Telegraph my wife,” in his presence, his hand instantly sought his pistol pocket. The artist, Mr. Davis, the one most to blame, had to lock out for himself the rest of the time during the re-union, or he would have been challenged. Certain sounds from a musical instru ment will affect tbe flame from a gas jet causing it to dance about, . tM | | * *w w». ** IU Bfl •v *■ .>