The Fairfield news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1881-1900, July 16, 1884, Image 1

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-- .. upLiLii ~ WIXNSBORO, S. C., WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1884. ~~ , ' - k Fantastic Effccts of Music. 8be twankled a tune on her light guitar, A low sweet g."Dg"e of tangled sounds. As blurred as the voices of fairies are, Dancine in the noondawn dal"s and do?ns; i And the tinkling dip of thy strange re* j frain * Ran o'er the rim of my soul like rain. j? The great blonde moon in the midnight skies j Ss? Paused and poised o'er the trellis eaves. __ j And the stars fa the light oI her upturned ; .Sift#?C their love through tho rifted leaves? ; Glinted and splintered in crystal mist Dow^the glittering string that her finger Oh, tue melody mad! Oh. the tinkle and i Wr Of-the ecstacy of the exquisite thing! f The red rose dropped from the window sill And lay in a long: swoon quivering; While thadying notes of the strain divine Kippling in glee up my spell-bound spine. : ?J. W. Biley. t The Open Sea. With sails outspread, benoata tne xsoriaere ; skies, , j Have stal-wart men endured the stinging . blast, Whose freezing breath -would hold the vessel ' fast T *Bo icy coasts; from -which are heard no cries j * For-aid. -whiie each man heeds the mandate; i >' "Eise! Cut through the barriers till -we turn our J mast To-ward the open sea, in -which at last , We'll anchor as our ship in safety lies." And so, earth-bound, shall thought on j thought aspire. Cleaving the frozen shores that hold the t mind By all the links, -which in the flesh Btill bind The troth, uniaio-vnin au xrsxtiic cesjre. i ' Btxt~white I-wait I hear the Urn* decree, f "My ja-tes unclose toward the open sea." ; ' -. . ?Virginia G. Eiiard. L a TIM'S LITTLE GA^IE. How a Valiant Champion was Con- I qucred by Cupid. i .Conrad Tracy rushed into the office j of his friend, Tim Oliver, one morning, | & and, finding that gentleman alone. | P threw'himself in a lounging chair in all Lthe abandon of grief. "What is the matter now?" said Tim, J ^ as ho took his friend's hand in his. -"I?am the most wretched, man in the world, Tim! > What a terrible misfor- j tune" it is to "be poor!" ^ "Poor? If I had an income equal to j yours I would throw aside all these j r musty law books, lock my office door, j and never set foot within its precincts j again- I suppose that girl Hattie Mar- ! tial has been playing the mischief with j you once more." "She has refused me?absolutely re- j fused to 'be my wife, after all these j b months of encouragement But it is j not her fault. She loves me devotedly, : I know, which makes it all the worse j to bear. Her uncle, upon whom she is j dependent, says she has an allowance ! of ?800 a year for her personal expen- ; ses, a carriage at her command, and a { Ealatial mansion to dwell in, and that j e never will consent to her marriage ; \with a man who cannot support her in the same style. It is cruel, cruel!. And to think how the dear girl" loves reef' "Hattie is fooling you, Con. She is a born jilt, and is only anxious to "be rid of yoa that she may spin a web for another. "But she kissed me when we parted, and promised eternal fidelity! Tears were in her eyes?" "Tears?, And did yen bdiieve in - them? Why, Con, a woman's tears Sk - . : her- aroncrj", cuey ouiair Tamer" Ills. slightest summons- She can weep +V. AVY> or*/^ nftrer "f Pol <L TlPflTt riiwuo VI VW'JJJL MMU, MV ? , pang. I am a skeptic on the subject j of woman's tears!" "And yet yon were taken aback j .- /wheiiMilly Norton's eyes were fulloi ; M ~ them at the theater the other night!" W < "Well, yes; I'll confess to that I > ^ was afraid she would go'off into a fit of hysteria, as she does sometimes,, and; ? ^^ijjuii-morbidly sensitive about a sfeenejf.' but as to feeling pityforher?" Words ^ failed Tim with which to express his j contempr. nc piacea 3 uecweeii i his lips and leaned back in his chair j with a look of intense disdain upon his 1 countenance. * Conrad Tracy was a good fellow, exceedingly handsome, "well educated and possessed of a neat little income ^ of $2,000 a year. If he had a fault it was his great susceptibility to women's charms. He was always in love, read? to commit suicide for his reigning divinity?until he saw a face that was 1 fairer. Thus it-was in the present in- j stance. A new star arose in the hori- j zon of Belleville, a bright, particular j star, -whose confiscations dazzled the j k _ eyes of all the young men in its vicini- i ty, and while a quietus for the broken ! heart caused by Miss Hattic's deser- ! tion still stood on a little shelf iu Con j Tracy's dressing room in the shape of i a dose of poison, he was kneeling at the feet of this new enchantress. ^ ' She was lovely, this Miss Lucille j ? Cameron, and looked for all the world j |T ^ like a- Gainsborough picture. All the j gentlemen or tne place paxa court 10 . . " her, but % heir attentions, after at first ; f being graciously received, were coldly j discouraged, and it was not long be- ! fore the fair Lucille had gained the j reputation of being the most arrant j coquette who had ever deigned to visit Belleville. Conrad Tracy was again in trouble, - ' and a second time sought consolation from his friend Tim. "I am more * wretched than ever," he said. "Miss ; Cameron has showered favors upon j me; i iiave areamea 01 no one du& iter. . She accompanied me to the theaters, permitted me to lead the german with her, and smiled upon me when I told ~-^her of my love. 'Last night, when I asked her to marry me, she pulled my boquet to pieces, and, With a sneer that ill became her handsome face, i told me my income was not sufficient t/-? ?nTw>lir Tipr warflfobe. and that al wTfV ? 7 though she liked me very much, 11 must never speak to ner on the subject | again." , Tim pitied his friend this time, when j he saw now hard he had been hit, and determined in his heart to avenge him. He would seek Miss Cameron's acquaintance and gain her affections, fie had full confidence in his ability to win his way to the lady's heart, and he YVUIUU lca*o u.\J oti.cn.cgcj_u uixtiicu, ty L do so. Then he womd reproach her with her perfidy to his friend, and Dh leave her. A charity ball was to be <nven that very evening, in which all the elite of the town were deeply interested. ! There he would meet" the beautiful ; Lucille and begin his work at once. Tim procured a ticket and dressed | himself for conquest. He was very at- j tractivo when he chose to use his pow- j ers of fascination, and throughout the j crowded rooms there was no one to compare with him in manly grace and urbanity. It was seldom that Tim was | seen at aa evening entertainment, and iiis advent was hailed with joy by all | his acquaintances. - - The excitement produced by his appcarancc soon drew W the attention of "31iss Cameron, and, at I her request, he was brought within the ! charmed circle of her coterie. His ex- j rrroTQ ? rrrorir? CUPU i ^UiWiLO 4.V ^J.O*WV HViV j cess. They -were partners in the; dance, they promenaded together. He j accompanied her to the supper table. In fact he was by her side the whole j evening and, at the close of the enter- j ^smment, escortea. ner to uer ,. ' . *i> They parted with a warm pressure of the hand, and an understanding that they were to see each other the next day. Tim was well pleased with the impression he had made, and" did not fail to follow up his good fortune by calling on the lady in the morning. He found her so beautiful in the soft light ct tiie arawmg-room, so cnarmmgiy interesting in her merry chat about the pleasant evening they had spent together, that he half repented of his cruel design, and when at his desire she took up her guitar and sang to him her plaintive melody, and the passion, j the tenderness she threw into the in- j strument's low tones were too much for Tim's manly heart to bear. Under j the influence of strong excitement he j bade Lucille adieu and, when away from her presence, felt the full forqe of | the. danger he hadencountered. "What ; wonder is it," he thought, "that, poor, j susceptible Con fell binder the spell of j this Circe, when I, so much stronger, | have scarcely escaped her!" On the way to his. hotel, Tim met his friend, who cried out to him: "You had better look out, old fellow! It is i dangerous to trifle with edged tools! ! I very much fear you will be the victim | instead of the victor in.the mad game j you are playing!" "Never fear for me!" Tim replied, { as he kissed his hand and passed on. ? -Tim Oliver became Miss - Cameron's : shadow, and, truth to-tell,, he began to \ take more interest in the lady than he j cared to own, even to himself. Lu- j alwavs welcomed him with her i brightest smiles, and seemed to live i but in bis presence. t ' Under the trees in the moonlit park one evening they had sat down to rest j after a long ramble. Lucille was^pen- j sively plucking the leaves from a flow- i er, while Tim was" toying with her ; ivory fan. what are- you thinking, my fair friend?" he asked, as his eyes rested upon her beautiful countenance. > "Of my parting from you, dear Mr. Oliver. I grieve to think that fearful time will be here to-morrow!" " Will yon regret me?" * rAii f Qcl' m ? AT3CT T ; JV U. iwa. aaav MV < >? | shall endure existence without you!" Tim took her hand, pressed it'to his I lips, and for a moment retained it in a | lingering grasp; then he cast it from { him as he'exclairced: "Why, what a scene we are having ! here! What a pity such good acting i should be lost! Can we not manage to j have a public performance?" As soon as this cruel speech was | spoken Tim felt like a criminal. He j glanced up, expecting to be annihilate J ed with lightning from her eyes, to j hear her utter bitter words and re- I proach him with his baseness, but, in- j stead of that, she looked him full in i the face, and in the m"0onli<rht he saw ! tears gather in her eyes. Slowly they j gathered there, and she did not wipe I them away, but let-them fall one by one. The" light in her brilliant eyes softened. She gazed reproachfully at Tim, and he?well, he fell at her feet, implored her forgiveness, told her he loved her, and in another moment was j kissing her tears away and calling her.. - fan atoytiy^ ' CB "' his wile! ?? i ^ Candle Superstitions. So far as the number is concerned, the most numerous class of superstitions.is-comp?sed of those which cluster round iher^faniily. candles. The origin of these probably dates far back in antiquitv^wnsn tae-Tvoria was iuu of superstitious fancies about' light in general andfcacjUe light in particular. When we come'down to the early'days I of the Christian Church, however, we find that not a few of the ordinances of religion were accompanied by ceremonies borrowed from paganism, in which lighted candles played an important r>art Candles were lighted at birth to keep off evil spirits, at marriage to "prevent the evil eye from affecting the happy pair, and at death to drive-iway the demons who were thought to be always on the lookout for the soul of the dying man. Natur- j ally, ttr: i as candles played so impor- | tant a pari in the ceremonies of religion, men became accustomed to regard them with something of a superstitious eye, and to look to them for signs and wonders which were not to be elsewhere found. . So a peculiar: appearance in the candle, for which no reason could be given, was always regarded as something indicative of j some remarkable thing about to hap- I pen. A collection of tallow around ! -tricl- 5c Irnrvwn !). wlnrHr*or- I ? w """ ? o I sheet, and is believed to foretell the j death of one of the family, while a j bright spark'is a sign of the future re- j ception of a letter by the person oppo^- j site whom the spark is situated,"and | the waving of the flame without any j apparent cause, is-supposed to demonstrate the presence of a spirit in the room. Iu addition to these fanciful notions, there are some others which are founded on natural facts too well known to admit of dispute, such as the refusal of the candle to light readily, which indicates a state of atmosphere favorable to a comino-storm?St. Louis GlobsrDcmocrat. ,t v ''Lost in Wall Street." He was Treasurer of a county in Indiana. The other night about 9 o'clock he made a call at the house of an honest old farmer, who was on his bond for $10,000, and after the first greetings were over he began: "Mr. Thomas, I have some bad news [ "Great Scott! but are any of my re- I lashuns over in Indianapolis dead?'" I "I don't know about that; but you i remember that you signed my bond?""Yes, I did." "I am sorry to inform you that I am $14,000 short'inmy account." *ro!" i< 11 t A, " inas: ii< is nue. "And where did the money go to?" "Lost in Wall street1' "Ob! that's it. Well, I wouldn't worry over /that. My son Bill will take the lantern and <?o back to town with you, and if you'll show him Wall street he'll find the money if it takes him all night. Probably iost it out of a hole in your pocket, eh?" On fourteen sections of the Panama j Canal work is now being pushed for- j ward actively. roar million cubic > meters of earth have been, removed vrithin a few months. About 80,000,000 cubic meters in all are to be removed. Fifteen thousand men are employed on the work. They earn about $la day each and spend about 20 cents a dav for food. ? ^ I ? ? ? .. A great many clerkships and pub- | lie cilices now being filled with hoodlums might with much more decency bo held "by women. A woman employed in an office %vould not be smoking a cigar with her feet up on a desk when a citizen visits the office for business or information.?-V. 0. PicayuM. Lazy People. I have often been forced, much against my notion, to look into the sluggard's heart, says Charles H. Barlow, in Farmers World, and I have seen that the majority are more unfort nnate than the driving' working class ever gave them credit for. Men are more like horses in their habits and jays than we imagine. Poor drivers and bad breaking with men as with stock, is generally the cause of balkiiness or laziness. Education and training make or unmake man as well as beast. Now and then we find a man who works easily, sprightly and naturally. It is a pleasure for him to lay rmt-. V>io cf-ror>crfVi nnf? ririVA t.hA work merrily along. He never watches the sun nor "slouches" at his work, and it is a pleasure to see him, for .his work to him is what play was when a child, because his soul is in his work. The immortal part of his being acts like a hi^li pressure of steam, drives his.muscuiar powers, and he lays out his~ strength unconsciously, freely and gladly. Such a man is a" success at whatever he undertakes, whether it is boot-blacking, running a farm. or ruling a kingdom. Tho lazy man works only with his animal powers, his spirit, -11 hut; the animal. is dead. There is no more perfect representation of endless punishment in mundane afirfirs than the lazy man at work without the master to lead and drive him. Every muscle in his wretched, useless body seems to bo groaning in anguish of spirit as he plods along; every inch he advances increases his misery; and as he occasionally leans on his hoe, or looks up at the sun, or gazes wistfully at his cumbersome shadow, ho seems to say, "Oh, curse upon the man who invented work. The Lord has made me in vain." We know that the live, willing, goahead worker feels like work, loves his farm and home, is wedded to it asf to bis wife. His home. farm. crODS and stock, are to him what poetry, or-what the brush and canvas is to the poefr and artist, and his work, his mission,, is to build up a paradise on earth, and people it -with the living flesh and blood angels of the household; and he can no more stop his work while he breathes than the engine can stop with'a dangorous head of steam and the throttle wide open. Don't vou suppose that the sluggard would be glad to swap the animal emotions that torture him while at useful work, for what that gladspirited, work-worshipper feels while making the wilderness blossom as a rose. In csverv eommunitv throughout our land we 'see the "unlucky7' element (constantly increasing) side by side with the enterprising and successful, and at last we see the cause of this phenomenon?a poor class and a prosperous class?a distinct line of demarkation separating them. Perfect liberty, such as has never before been known in man's history, which allows and enables man to develop to-the very highest in his nobler instincts, and make the greatest success, as seen in our institutions and marvelous growth, also allows him to settle to the opposite exStoncwail Jackson's Daughter. American girls in London of late have completely eclipsed the fame of such professional beauties as Mrs. Langtry, Mrs. Cornwallis West and Lady Dudley.. Having fallen at the feet of Miss Chamberlain, Mary Anderon, and Minnie Palmer, they are now r\Trrk-r* +liz* /-vV? o Y?rv-> C nf .Till 10 Too l'_ VTCi bUV VA v u u>wu. son, the daughter of Stonewall Jackson. She must have been riding in Rotten Row when she captured the nobility and gentry of the United Kingdom, .for, i? this country at least, her beauty would hardly attract attention in a crowd. But she is theTmost^graceful and magnificent horsewoman that I ever saw. I was introduced to her at the White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, a few years ago and rode with her frequently over the difficult mountain roads of the neighborhood. She seemed born to the saddle, guided her steed with all the ease imaginable, and chal lenged the emulation of her male companions by her fearlessness in galloping along the edge of a yawning chasm hundreds of feet deep, jumping stone walls and leaping ditches. Her figure is petite and willowy, but her complexion is sallow, and the plainness of her features is only relieved by the magnificent lustre and sparkle of a pair of big black eyes. She will certainly astonish the Britishers by-her rare combina tion of good sense and culture with an utter freedom from conventionality. On horseback she is every inch her father's daughter, and by no great stretch of imagination one could fancy her leading a desperate charge with all the spirit and ardor of martial inspiration. Miss Jackson is quite young, still in her teens, in fact Her life nas been mostly spent in the country, and she was hardly thrown in Northern society nntil a few months before her departure, when she visited Boston, was handsomely received, and created a genuine sensation. Her family is comparative ly poor, having lost nearly everything by the war. But it is to be hoped that by the way of legitimate reprisal for the capture of so many of our heiresses by impecunious English lords she may make captive some wealthy scion oI the British nobility. "Wouldn't Take His Advice. One day soon after Pope's defeat at second Bull Run and Chantilly, a private soldier belonging to an Ohio regiment sought an interview with his captain. and announced-that he had ~a plan for a military campaign which mnst certainly result in crushing out the rebellion. The officer very naturally inquired for particulars, but the soldier refused to reveal them, and asked for a chance to lay his plans before Pope himself. After some delay he was given a pass to headquarters. He did not get to sec Pope, but after the chief of staff had coaxed and promised and threatened for a quarter of an hour the Buckeye stood up and replied: "Wp.11. k5r_ mvnlan is for John Pone and Bob Lee to swap. commands, and if -we don't lick the South inside of sixty days you may shoot me for a patent hay-fork swindler?" When he returned to camp ho was naturally asked what success he met with, and he ruefully replied: "Wall, they had a plan of their own." What was it?" "Why they took me out and booted me for a mile and a half!"?Detroit Free Fr ess. . - It has been noticed in- Washington that all the deaths' which have taken place among members of the House during the sessions since the Fortyfifth Congress, on both the Republican* and Democratic side, have been from the middle or fourth row. That row, nas, xncrexore, oeen canea "iaiauiy Row." '( | A CHAT WITH CABLE. The Origin, Descent and Language 01 the Creoles. Mr. Cable is a man possessed of a wonderful amount of personal magnetism, and one is unconsciously -attracted toward him. He is of slight figure, quite short, and was plainly attired yesterday in a black frock coat, dark pantaloons, and wore very little jewelry. His beard is worn full and pointed, and a heavy, dark mustache shades his mouth. His thick, dark hair is brushed carefully back from a high forehead, and his brightgray eyes are very expressive. In casual convert sation his voice is soft, low and pleasant, and he is a very fluent talker,never at a lo&a for an expression which, fully covers his meaning. In manner he is modest and unassuming, "and he is always careful to abstain, from referring of hi? own accord to Ms literary work. - * *PERSONAL HISTORY. "Were you bora in New Orleans ?" "Yes, born and brought up in that city." >^ "By tbe way, bow did you first happen to strike the fruitful 'field in, which you have been carrying on your literary labors." . . "Well, it was a sort of an .accident; I was a free lance in New Orleans for.* a time, doing work on the Picayune, and I was called upon to write up a' series of articles embodying the past history and present conduct ot tne; charitable institutions, churches and schools of that city. You know they are all old, and in writing these articles I was obliged to delve-considerably' into the old traditions of Naw Orleans. These articles brought out ftgood deal, about old Creole life in the city and' they attracted a good deal of attention. This brought to my notice the ixcxu. Vi. rvuxxx j uu iv. ,i ,vWhat were your ' first literary ^sketches?" 1 "Those short sketches published in -Scribner's and recently collected by the Century Company and printed in a volume called 'Old Creole Days.' The first of these was 'Sieur George,' which was printed in the old edition. The last edition includes that little stoi/ entitled 'Madame Delphine.'" THE CREOLES OF TO-DAY. "Do you find in New Orleans at the present aay any 01 tne type you nave individualized as Narcisse?" "Oh, yes, indeed. Thousands of them. You will find Narcisse in every bank and counting-room in the city." "Do you not find that the Northern people" generally possess a mistaken identity of the Creole?" "Yes, and I find that many Northerners believe the Creoles have negro blood in their veins. I am always glad to give the definition of the name Creole. It is correctly applied to natives or tne w est maies, tae x iuxidas, and Louisiana, whose ancestors came to these territories direct from Europe, where they had descended from the European Latins. They are mostly white, and the pure Creole who has a pure white complexion is very proud. Natives of Mexico and South America caUjthemselves Creoles JLhfir.. ui tlioy aro not recognized a.3 such by the pure Creoles. Then there are the descendants of the European Latins, who came to the Southern States, after first goin^ to Nova Scotia. These are properly called Arcadians, and they are the small farmers of Southern Louisiana." "Are the Creoles patriotic?" "Very. They will fight for their country, but the country of a Creole does not extend very far beyond the range of his naked eye. In Jackson's time the Creoles said they would fight to defend a city, but not a State, and they had considerable trouble with them at the time." OLD .ARCHITECTURE. *'Do you find in the city any traces of old Creole architecture?" "Yes, quite frequently. And when they rebuild they observe the old j forms. I remember that I was asked j in the East if the cathedral down there was not a very old building, and when I said that the old building had been torn down and this 'new' one erected, on its site in 1852 my questioner was very much surprised. The French quarter, so called, is becoming more circumscribed, and the Creoles are settling all over the city now.'1 CREOLE FRENCH. "How is it that the Creole French is so different from the pure French?" "Well, the Creoles are indolent peo-. pie who live in a -warm climate, and they relax in every way?even the muscles of the throat relax, and they talk with a lazy drawl." TEE AUTOGRAPH FIEND. "Are you greatly troubled with the autograph fiend,' Mr. Cable?" "Well, I receive numerous requests ! for autographs, and in most cases it is ! a pleasure for me to comply, as I esteem it an. honor; but I never like to j see a rxvrsom send two cards, for I ! think he wants to 'swap,' and I never care much about long letter? in which I am told of the writer's large collection, and assured if I could see it I would certainly like to put my name among the others." A NEW WORjL "Save you any new works in view?" "Yes, I intend writing a novel idealizing the.Acadians, and in the Century safe I have a rare lot of old manur AA11AA4-A#) 1*% ~VTATTT A?*. SUIiUlS yyllhju x w.uv;ulgu. m ncrt vtleans, and I think that these I* shall edit, with but very little in the way of explanatory notes. They fit together very well."?Chicago Tribune.. Somewhat Interested. He passed a hundred men on Woodward avenue ' before ho encountered a face which seemed to hit him. Then he stopped the owner with a gesture, and asked: "Mister, do you think spring, is at hand?" What if I do or do not?" was the gruff answer. "Oh, nothing, only I'd like your opinion." "Are you interested in knowing what the weather will be for the next-three weeks?" iiTXTrtll rt f T' t?A /w/vf +A TY Vslly OU1UC VYli?A4* X YC w S out of this town, and I've got to sell my overcoat for money to travel on, and I'm looking all over for some one to predict a warm wave!" He was given a favorable prediction. Whatever may have been the failures of Edward Payson Weston on the sawdust ring, he deserves some sort of. j credit for covering more ground straight away than any other pedestrian. His 1,200-mile walk from Portland, Me., to Chicago, was virtually the beginning of peaestrianism in this country. Hs has now in England successfully completed 5,000 miles in 100 days, under t.hA 9nar>ifMOQ r\f the tom-noro-n^o nprrnlp VA VMV WiJJ. M wt ??ll VV wvvj^?vj who employed him to disseminate their principles, and at the same time to illustrate that physical endurance is greater when stimulants are not used. 1 The Song of the Brown Thrush. We may be able to account, in part at least, for the disappointment which an inexperionced observer meets with when, fresh from the perusal of (for example) the thirteenth chapter of Darwin's Desnent of Man. he oyjus into the woods to lock about for himself. He expects to find here and there two or three songsters, each in turn doing his utmost to surpass the brilliancy and power of the other's music; while a feminine auditor sits in full view, preparing to render her verdict, and reward the successful competitor with . her own precious self. This would be ; a pretty picture. Unfortunately, it is ! looked for in vain. The two or three ci-nrrnTa mow Via frmnr) llbpltr ftnnnor))' ; J-UWJ WV "? ? v.^?J j btrt the female, if she be indeed within i hearing, is modestly hiding away some> where in. the bushes, and our student J is^none the wiser. Let him watch as {_long as he please, he will hardly jseo the prize awarded. Nevertheless he need not feel that V&qs. time has been wasted. He certain-. Iv will not, if he. be one who loves music; for birds like all true artists, can tio their best only on great occasions. I Our brown thrush, for instance, is a j magnificent singer, albeit ho is not of ! the best school, being too "sensational" I cnit. tViA most GT'u-.nno" ease. His son^ is a grea*. improvisation: a good f deal jumbled, to be sure, and without any reqognizabl* form or theme; and yet, like a Liszt rhapsody, it perfectly "answers its purpose,?that is, it gives the performer full scope to show what -he can do with his instrument You imay laugh a little if you like, at an ^occasional grotesque or overwrought "passage, but unless you are well used to it you Will surely bo astonished. Such power and range of voice; such : startling transitions; such endless variety! And withal^bch boundless enthusiasm and incredible endurance!, Considered as pure music, one strain of tBe hermit thrush is to my mind'worth j Xiie wnoie.oi it;.just as a smgie movement of Beethoven's is better than a world of Liszt transcriptions. But in its own way it is unsurpassable. Still, though this is a meagre and quite unexaggerated account of the ordinary song of the brown thrush, I. have discovered that even he can be outdone?by himself. One morning in early May I came upon three birds of this species, all singing at once, in a ikind of jealous frenzy. As fchey sang they continually shifted from tree to tree, and one in particular (the one that was nearest to where I stood) ?ould hardly be quiet a moment. Once he sang with full power while on _ the ground (or close to it, for ho was just then behind a low bush), after which he mounted to the very tip of a tall pine, which bent beneath his weight In the midst of the hurly-burly one of the trio suddenly sounded the whip-poor-will's call twice,?an abso JLUltsAjr j^/wivvu A.vuuv The significance of all this .sound and fury; what the prize was, if any, and who obtained it,?this another can conjecture as well as myself. I know, no more than old Kaspar.-? . " Why that I can not ttiV saW. he, ?But t was a famops victory,' ' * As I turned to come away, ".the contest all at once ceased, and the silence of the woods, or what seemed like silence, was really impressive! The chewinks and field sparrows were sing ing, but it was like tne music ot a village singer after Patti; or, to make the comparison less unjust, like the Pastoral Symphony of Handel after a Warner tempest?Bradford Torrey in April Atlantic. A Choir Anecdote. In the April Century, the Key. Chas, i S, Robinson continues his discussion of the annoyances and humors of the musical service in churches, and relates this anecdote:" "Glorious Easter was at hand and great preparations were made in the rural parish for its celebration; boughs were twined in the arches of the building; flowers swung. ( in wreaths overhead and shone \ fin beautiful baskets ..among the aisles; children had been rehearsing car<?ls. All the town came in on that notable morning. Ii was a scene never to be j forgotten. The minister was radiant; his eyes beamed with delight. But a thought struck him: this audience, so happy, so generous, so enthusiastic? j would they not hear him a moment for a stroke of business? After the invocation and the first song, he surprised them with a proposition .to bring paster onerings' now as once to vxuu. a altar, and lift the dear old church out of debt: oh, then there would be a resurrection! The congregation would come up fr<wn under its great stone into a new life, if they would roll it away! Then the plates went their course, and hearts were touched, and purses were emptied, and the heaps of money lay before the moistened eyes of the relieved pastor as he tremulously 1?j - : i , i ?. L:. manKea a guuu uuu. iur u?t> jjcvjjic o i fidelity ia response. 'The money is here, I am sure it is,' he exclaimed. 'If thera be a little in arrears, it can be made up in a day, and now we are ready heartily to go on with the worship of our risen Lord.' So the fixed programme proceeded- ' A little German had been procured from the metropolis for an annex to the tenor; his solo came in at this exact crisis of grateful emotion; he rendered it with a fresh aplomb, though the consonants were aw&ward: 'An' de det sail be raised?de det sail be raised?an' de del?an' de det?sail be raised?sail be raised?in de twinkling of an ay-eeP *ff"VT/vrrr if l'c rmifA oqfo -f/% CflTT tTiat. after the congregation went home, the theme of the day was dissipated, and the two events uppermost in everybody's mind were the surprise which the eager minister had sprung upon the people and the ridiculous appropriateness of the declamatory solo which followed it. On general principles, we have no objection to the collection of money to discharge religious obligation, evenrn divine service; but it does seem a pity that a humorous episode should be the chief reminiscence of snoh a solemn occasion." "Is this a singing doll?" asked she of tho clerk. "Yes, Mademoiselle." "How do you make it sing?" "Just as you would any other young lady." "How is that?" "By pressing it." "0!" The "Sweet_Singer of Michigan" has made "(Jscar wnae" rnyme witn *ioster child." This is a little mcR creditable than her attempt to rhyme "consanguinity" with "laws a'massy," but not much. "Is your mother in?" asked a visitor of a little Mormon boy, who opened the door. "No, ma'am," the little boy replied, with tears in his eyes (he had just been spanked,) "but my brother's mother is in." Mr. George W. Childs, the owner and editor of the Philadelphia Ledger, jias jus omce, nse most vuivi cuii^xs, away back, up stairs, where be is not easily found- But it is a curiosity shop, filled with bric-a-brac. Girls' Letters. Who nowadays writes letters? We all dash off hasty notes, or hurriedly scribble a postal card, under pressure of immediate necessity, but the "epistolary art," so dear to our grandmothers, is becoming extinct It was not long ago that postage was so high that letters were a luxury rather than the necessity they are now. The arrival of one was looked upon as a great event, and to destroy was little short of sacrilege. It was worth while to spend some time and pains on a letter which would be read and re-read, and perhaps handed down, for the benefit of posterity.. The disjointed productions that jpass lor leuers in tnese degenerate znuueru days would have shocked an educated girl of the last century. There is noreason why ^irls who can speak French and German should not be able to write English. Many young ladies who have a smattering of recondite science, and who have dipped into the grammars of one or more, of the ancient and half a dozen of the modern languages, are still unable to write a letter in their o arn tongue, that in arrangement and choice of words might not disgrace a-properly taught child of twelve. Especially the distinction between the third and first person is often so hazy that a formal note begun in one is finished in the other! -- A good correspondent begins her letter by writing her address and the fall date plainly at the top of the page. Letters are so often, referred to as evidence in trifling or important matters Vil&U MliB m VYUltil 1C11XOJJU WL JJL they should happen to be kept for any length of tim? the date would add materially to their interest. Many persons seem to think it an J insult to the intelligence of their i friends to write straightforward from page to page in the natural manner, and that the more their letters resem-. ble a puzzle the more piquantly interesting they will be. It is hard to tell why a sentence commenced at the bot torn of one page should not be continued at the top of the next, instead of rushing wildly off at a tangent, and be found at last written crosswise,- in the very last place a person would look forty. The girl who really answers a letter is no common correspondent. We have all groaned with mild exasperation oyer a letter supposed to be a reply to one of our own, but which took not the smallest notice of oiirxaodest communication, even in the cursory men. tion of its arrival, left all our questions unanswered, and, with curious ingenuity, omitted every scrap of infonnafi/irt nn fVii? cnViipota tlmt mfist: inter -estedus. : The best time to answer a letter, when it is possible, is immediately after first reading it So many things rush into one's mind that cannot be recalled afterward. Very few people have the requisite leisure to do this, as in ordinary cases it involves a brisk correspondence; but it should not be put off longer than necessary. People who are traveling abroad are very apt to make their homes letters toe much like guide bccks. Dcscrip Sions oi scenery ana lamous places are usually tedious. It is the little things that are entertaining; a droll adventure, a peculiarity in dress or speech, anything which especially strikes the writer, will be certain to be given vividly, and will add color and interest to her letter;" The full name should be signed, so that should the letter miscarry, it may be returned through the Dead-Letter Office, which would be impossible if the only clue were "Lulu" or "Katie." ?The School Supplement. On a Cuban Railway. Presently an angular mummified negro, who has been frequently passing through the .train and making himself generally conspicuous, rings a dinnerbell which he holds in his hand, and : this is the-Signal to leave. , Tou might have imagined that this bell-man was connected with the station, and not a part of the apparatus; "but that is an error?and at every station thereafter, urVion fVi/^inn^r_Violl ronnr rtn +.V10 nl"5t_ form at the rear end of tke train, the engineer always obeyed the signal The train carries three classes of passengers, the third class in front and the first class in the rear. The only difference is in the seating of the car, there being no cushions on -the second and third class, and no backs on the seats of the latter. . The road is a narrow guage, but it moves rapidly enough, and there are no vexatious delays. Many of the stations are fenced in with barbed wire, so that any one wishing to defraud the railroad comuanv, passes out at the wrong station^ or having purchased a ticket for a certain place to which there is cheap fare, tries to get off where the faro is dear, he can * be certainly detected The regulation of the rates depends perhaps upon the opposition the road may have, and the rates are strangely unjust. It is cheaper, for instance' to buy a ticket through to r Havana, than it is to purchase one to a certain point not-"quite half-way. It may be possible, too, that the road discriminates against certain points, as OCT Vsoa lrr>ATrrn O UUU Ck UU.XXL?^ 6*0 UiiUU K/\*1>sJJL " ""H " even in the States.? Havana Cor. PittsPosi "How to Make Home Happy.1' He was a book agent. He rung a door-bell, and a woman who had been sweeping opened the door so suddenly that he fell off the step and nearly lost his equilibrium. But he was a book agent, and he recovered his momentum and said-fluently: "I am agent for the most celebrated book ever offered to the public since Uncle Tom's Cabin was written, and filled with useful hints of things that dunnnt Via fnnnA nntsif?A t.hft rvwp/rs nf any other book, and with recipes for cooking and family prayers, and how to keep moths out of furs, and some fine poems by well known and popular writers, and you can give me your or'der to-day and needn't pay for it till next June, or on the installment ylan, which is cheaper than going without, and the name of it is 'Three Million Hints, or Inquire Within How to Make nome nappy. "Ob, yes," said the woman, smiling sweetly, "'How to Make Home Happy, , I have one already," and she looked at the broom in her hand with dreamy' eyes. He fell off the doorstep again, an?fr t!ma Vio rf>/>r>VHT till tTiprn was a block between them.?Detroit Free Press. Mr. Henley, the artist, now in Washington, once painted Daniel Webster. When the portrait had been finished Mr. Webster took a good look at it, and then said, in his deep, cheery voice: "I think that is a face which I have often I shaved." k _ . The Marriage Relation. Judge Jameson concludes an article in the April North Americafl Review entitled "Shall our Civilization be Preserved" as follows: A word, now, as to the perils which threaten us in connection with the marriage relation. The evil referred to is only one of a multitude that flow from the same source,?a general letting down of public sentiment in regard to the sanctity of marriage. While the Protestant view, that marriage is a civil contract and not a sacrament, has doubtless a basis of truth, it is not the whole truth. * Marriage is a civil contract and a great deal more; it is.the. creation of a status the most j sacred and the. most important known | to the law or to human, life. Regarded | merely as a contract, it is natural to I 1? J - ZJ. ? cunuiuue iiiiiu lb may uc xiguuj iuasolved; and, in fact, from preciselysuch a conclusion flows the. disastrous flood of divorces that is overwhelming our Protestant communities. Far "better than this would it he if the inflexible rule of the Koman Church were adopted and enforced^ And one hazards little in predicting that, for the salvation of society, sucn must be the result, unless there shall be restored to the status of marriage something of the solemnity and sacredness imputed to it by that church. It is needless to multiply words. Our divorce and marriage laws must be revised, made uniform and more strict, and be rigidly enforc eci, or uie aisorgaaizauoii 01 eociety novy threatened by the increased loosening of the marital ties will become complete. So long as marriage is regarded as a mere civil contract, its higher, purpose, the rearing of offspring, will be overlooked; its baser use's alone will bo esteemed until, finally, whatever stands in the way of these will, at any cost, be removed-" It must be admitted, however, that while the law, if -amended and more strictly enforced, will do- something, it cannot alone reach the inmost seat of the eviL in the perverted sentiment of the publie in regard to marriage. Since this sentiment rests not so much upon errors in reasoning as upon corrupt inclinations, logic or legal interdict can do little to correct it To that, perhaps, religion alone is equal. And we cannot better close than by stating our conviction, that for the saving of civilization from the destruction threatening it, as well from the prevalence of crime and social immorality as from the thickening dangers of industrial discontent an<T conlfict, religion is the most effective instrumentality; not the religion that' builds temples from . which it excludes the poor; not the religion which shoots philosophical treatises from Its pulpits over the heads of thdSe who most need its consolations in the condition of social contempt and proscription in.. which they are held; but the religion which reaches its hand to the plain men and women who form the bulk of our race and do Its work; wJtuch "wins,.instead or repelling tnem, and which shows itself the friend and minister of the toiling millions rather than of the millionaires who build its palaces. -3 i ?The Cowboy o? Florida. Visiting the stores for the sake of provisioning the craft, the principal business of Tort Myers was at once discernible from the array of saddles and bridles exhibited. Around this point, and from many a prairie and jungle in the neighborhood, cattle are brought in for shipment to Punta Bassa, to be sent from thence to Key.West and Cuba. A good many gaunt lads, lounging around in high boots, with jingling spurs, showed' the peculiarities of their calling, for they were the cowboys of this region. I doubt whether the cowboy 01 the west-is recruited entirely from- the country wnere ne neras or anves rns came, uu^ the Floridian cowboy is indigenous to the soiL 'Hard work and plenty of it, at times with poor food; a debilitating climate and many- mosquitoes have made them. fleshless. Driving cattle in the west is certainly no child's play, but in this portion of Florida the task must be a particularly difficult one from the nature of the country. To scamper at full speed across the country in quest of a "bunch" of cattle must endanger their necks- Through the palmetto cabbages, through toe thick tangle of vines, across , the boggy flats, driving into the pine thickets, the soil burrowed by gophers, the cattlehunter spurs his horse. Perhaps it is j the mount which ou^ht to be nitied as much as any of the animals, the horse, the boy, or the bull Western horses barely stand the hard work, -and are ! used up in a season. Anj*thing li-C r. high-legged animal comes to grief in very short order. The horse wanted for the work is the small scrubby animal born and bred in Florida. He seems to be capable of withstanding any amount of hard service. Certainly, the-Florida cattle of this section are the poorest specimens of the bovine race known. They present, save about their legs, few traces of merit Having not much weight to carry, their speed is, for a short burst, enough to blow a horse. Fancy cattle whose live, weight will average 3o0 pounds!?Fort Myers, (Fla.) Cor. K Y. World. Ail Accomplished Negro Butler. One day last fall a handsome mulatto boy came to the door of a friend of nine, asking for work. He was a good butler, he explained, despite his years; he had been carefully trained and could do many things outside of his T-? nv\r\/vr* Dbl'lVslJ 11UC VI UUOJ. ?*-* *? J vuvu to need just such a serving man, and accepted him very imprudently on his face, which was good, without asking particularly for his recommendations which were bad. He was a most accomplished servant He knew all about the dining room; he knew all about the front door; he was willing and ready and quiet, and a great success in everv wav. He was an ex tremely polite boy, thoroughly gentle and kincU and he soon worked his way into the good graces of the family. One day when one of the young ladies was playing the piano, he was discovered listening. The next day he was found listening again. His devotion to music was remarked upon. Finally he plucked up courage to ask if he could not sit down to the piano at odd moments when the ladies were otherwise engaged. They said he could. He did at the first opportunity, and for a mu latto serving'man lie played exquis- i itely. Of course the ladles heard him, | and were pleased. They felt they had a jewel. They did not have him "long. : One day, after he had won the hearts i of the whcle family, he quietly stepped out with all the jewelry he could lay i his delicate hands 011. " On Tuesday he i was arraigned at the bar of the police i court, charged with haying swindled a i dozen families in the same way. He 1 pleaded guilty in his dulcet tones to j eacix charge, ana was neia in neavy j bail for triaL?Washington Cor. Phii* j adelphia Becord. I ^ - - WIT AND HTJ3IOR. . ?< An old yellow dog in Cologne ' -5 Ean away with an old woman's bogne; But the wrathful old crogne ;x Hit him twice with a bogne, i And it was dreadful to hear the dog groga^ ! She pressed her hand en her hair, . *>i j And her cheeks as red as a rose, ** ; < ] And drew it over her forehead fair, fl.au iuj i_*u nun uer vrrvciau liusc. | And no smite on sunny wing, | Its flight o'er ter features took, ! Because on her dazziing-engagement ring Her sisters wouldn't look. - In New Orleans the sand-bag is used i to stop gaps in the levee; in Chicago to | make gaps in society^ The proper question to ask a young I woman who is about to'elope is, i "Does your mother know yourroute?" A young man with -a pair of handpainted suspenders generally finds a room too warm to work in with his coat on. . "* *' ** ? i i lNew Mexico as eiaiea .oyer me autj covery of a mountain of alxnn in the ) western part of the territory. The people should prepare to .pucker. Grace: "I am going to see Clara today. Have you any message?" Dora: "I wonder how you can visit that " dreadful girl!: Give her my love." In Armenia girls are married when 12 years old. In this country at that age they are too, busy_ buying candy and makingfaces at the boys to think of inatrimony. One young man said to another: "It , is a long way from this world to the Tip-rfc.'' "Oli.' never mind, mv dear fel low,?' said "the.other; you'll have It all down ML" Another-Waterloo veteran is dead. We are notrsure ho wc. many Waterloo veterans still live,. but if Napoleon had Half of them in Ms army he would have won the fight * " An article containing a dozen hints on how to take care of a horse is going the rotmds of - the. press,- but there is not one hint as to how to **et the horse ?Norristovm Eerdld. . :: The human is supposed "to be far (more intelligent than the brute creation, and yet ordinarily the street-car horse answers the bell much quicker than the servant-girl wilL "Shall I take your love'to your dear : mother?" .said a lady visitor who was goin<* to see the mother in question to ^ a little child of 3 years. "She "has my love," was the quaint reply. / "Yes," said Mrs. Liberal, "I hate those Sir alters, thev are so awfullv bigoted; butthey needn't be so stacS: np abont their religion. The liberal faith is gaining last, and it won't be many years, I guess, before we can bo * as bigoted as.they are." The old/tramp who was a "Michigan fire sufferer" last summer will go on . the road this spring as an "Ohio floodsufferer." He thought once he would have to appear as a 4Ja?a earth-quakecTrffoTviT " hni- +V10 frvrfrm fttA? ' iy rendered this rather far-fetched excuse'unnecessary , - New Yorker (who has been "stuck" more than an hour with intellectual . . *t young lady from Boston): **You say that you despiise Hew York men. Ihen why do you come to New York, ? and why do you go to 2STew .York parties?" "Young lady from Boston: "For, a complete intellectual rest." "Pa," said a little boy to Ms father an orvir?l .Qf T atma VU UUVU Clti. Ill (WL 6?<J . K/U JJVlUOy J. UIUA1 U know people in. this city had wings." "Wings? Certainly not," replied the father. "Then what are those things that stick np so high?" "Hush, my boy," said the father in an undertone; "you mustn't speak so loud. Those are ears." . "Remember, sir,, that yon owe some* thing to your constituents," said one member'of our city council to another. "Humph!" said the othe^^if you owe anything to your constituents, all I've got to say is that you're lucky- Why, there are not a half-dozen voters in mv ward feat have not borrowed money ' from me." - A contemporary asks: "How shall wojnen carry their purses. to. frustrate the thieves?"" Why, cany them empty. Nothing frustrates a thief more than to snatch a lady's purse, after following her half a mile, and then find that it contains nothing but a . , recipe for spiced peaches and a faded photograph of her grandmother. - ' "Come, .sorrow, smooth my brow * . and kiss my lips and lay '.thy: gentle hand upon "my heart," sings; the poet The courting of such a dismal maid betrays a bad case of dyspepsia or a woeful lack of invigorating exercise. A poet with a sound body would find joy a more cheerful and attractive maid. Rochester Democrat. How Gerstcr views it: Reporter?I suppose you heard' about that kissing affair between Governor Crittenden ana Patti? Gerster?I heard that the gov- ?^ ernor kissed Patti before she had time to resist, but I don't see anything in that to create so much talk. Eeoorter ?You don't? Gerster?Certainly not. There is nothing wrong in a man'3 jassmg a woman uiu enougu to do tua mother. o: * -5 I, A Carlisle girl has a record' of-having eaten thirty-five griddle cakes on a. wager recently. This, cf course, oc- > curred sin ce Matthew Arnold's declaration that the women of America are delicate, spirituelle creatures. It is very doubtful if the apostle of "sweetness and light" himself, with all his intelligence and deep poetic feeling, could put himself outside of thirty-fiyB <vj.lrr>s in nne innfnc.? town Herald. "Is your sister at home?" asked a St. Louis young*" gentleman of the little brother who answered the belL "Yes, she's home," said the boy; "we're going to havt cocoanut pies for dinner to-morrow, and she's out in the kitchen helpin* mother make 'em." "Indeed," replied the young man, evidently very much pleased, "and what nart of the pie does your sister make?" "She cracks the cocoanuts with her teeth." < "Sir," sharply remarked a pretty .. ^ Boston girl, moving away from a young Jfew Yorker, who was seated on the same sofa with her and exhibited a disposition to abridge the distance between them, "sir, the radius vector of your orbit is getting too short" The? young mau turned pale, felt around lor ins legs m a stupenea sort 01 way, seemed to recover some confidence on discovering that they were still there, arose :md fled. ! A deaf old fellow, charged with stealing a hog, yas arraigned before a court. The jury, without leaving the box, returned a verdict of guilty. "Old man," said his lawyer, "the jury says you are guilty." "Hay?" "The jury says you are guilty," shouting in his ear. "In what degree? "There are no degrees in a stealing case." "Hay?", "There are no degrees." "Guilty all . -I'": over, am I?" "Yes," "Hay?" "Yes,"'. - V'i yelling at the top of his voice. "Well, that's what I told you at first, but you! said you could clear me. Wish now! that I had got the judge to defend me. Will get him next time."?Arkansaw