Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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i'hij 'I'l'ii .t j.liim' j?l -soc^v: ifceaes^CTeag35Be3^iUffi.'^'.tr'..''>i5&???Tab*^?*--ifti<'< JW>^?'.'1A WVFB".?.'jVM?VT li.'" i Mil ! < iUI''1liill*IIMIMaasasa^?*??w-ttilfcrtMjJM>ffciBBMaMBtBMMSffa*WiJgHTOnfrmil)iiiJ.TiMWrt-itTi*iiri<Vi n1 11 Hi II W! I ?j<fcidHB>Bg3MiI,UUUlhww/ ? ! nlirirnii'flWihl"JTitWyBW|WW>W<B??Wte?i WINNSBOEO, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 1885. mi ii an* ?2v Mcjlhoi-'s lV;*i:jkJcd Face. (Y!p".r :t' ! i.-> ;t ( !>! inothtr.) i* r'F :<'<i it ;> ".ii'J wr.a, ,A. p.i? j!i<* < f ;< ' ? ?sfv has t>;l, Vs <-:t ! vf :! ::r so :!i? tree. J \vh'i: its ::r.* v r<-! and <!cad: >v~ * t. 'j.a:::cs the scars of :bo I __ year*. J I':: cl rt ?i? lY-nS'ty R"'l ]Ijrlit. | Tp true :ls i =' .? J';:;! f< k>\vs t!k* SUil. To 0 thcni^iitl _ / TV- >?w .'if r r.c r . 1:1 -y s'- inf as liic wag, JS$i Of r'i? : !>i?"0r. To ; y ivi:?ii'V.oy Is dry, /. i:<i I he* v.*I;s ? f ;s is i our: Bat lho ]ov<- tual ic liri::e<I i:i nsotlierhood's W\ lx-:irt. f v X:.' v:.< r.i .: t'.r <<v iic ti.e- izi.U: lh:U . "Kitrv< v? i:e:i ti:-.- e'.O'Is of the ?v<e trsxupi J. Is i >'vs :>::1 c'.ny. mother'*:o!fl (Vc*. i. v.-ri:u:;e<; una wan, il!:t what viJSi it> v.-< rii? can compare? Or rival tl:oK:v<- t::i : true. In its ffttl.T.r e:;rc: ?ie|? . 5o ;;:?!?, :u; i?; i:i J V. yours, And dror.p ::: ?1 si> < i' \1." In ihoj^rccr.s ol \y.;; u^ain, The row thnt was gallic a;:! below. Y'ot c.rov. Pes Moinc s. l.Y-eerober, lSSi. Va VS. FALSEHOOD. It is true, llclcnc. God knows I **oitld span: you the rain, if in anyway, with honor. '? could <!* > > Ciiild. your fatlier loved too and If.': vouto my care. C;;n I see yon wron:?nd stand silently by? You eo:;:;* of a proud race, and simwlc u:i i f - ::!:-" know yon to be. I know ::!> > iii-.^ (."arleton pride lies dormant yo;:." Astor spoken the truth, and Ilelenc C::riotnn felt he had done so. She wa> : r;>i:d. not with arrogance or hauteur. hut with a sweet, grave, womanly pride, a pride that lay buried bcneaih ;;I 1 ust childish simplicity cf njauncr. She was very lovely, tins blue-eyed gfiri, who with paling face to !: ? story of her'.over's falseness, the story in! i ;.y th's man who loved her so madly :;';:t - -! Her t:. strayed back now to the eve:.:.e had ioid her his love? the <;ny !: ii/ ! pleaded a- :i man might plead i-.-.r life It-e!:. and si:o had an>we.vd him r.:ve!v. but decid cd:y. i-er ho.itt was another's, she i:;.d : ! !<:. 10his passionate quest io::i ^i:c raised her eyes to his face row, and he :V!' h"s iu'rirl p*ow cold at the looic of i ki their shadowy depths. .Ail. - :k *.vh:il would he not give to be IoVv-d as Gler.don Withers was ^^^^1^/edhylhis vrho;:i out of nil the How lovS^he was. with her wavy tinted with roso-pTn^sw the soitlyro nded clu'o'c-.with her CTsrvinrr mouth so ripe and red. her dimple;* chin and sle::der prlis!: for;:?, her stately little head s??t so gr.:v.'t::liy on hen, rounded neck! S:i reracinli-'lvd his love-srory and pas^onatc pleading. but it* was 110 warning to a uatnru to pure and true as hers. I: lie loved he would save her pair.?:: would mnko hi;n move careful of wcu::d:::g her unneeessaril'v. Tiio st'>ry Ii? toM her was tin : that her lover?her p.om'cd hnsbafid?was looked upon the suitor of another. Ko rend her a quotation from a letter in which (j'endoa \v;i- spoiien of. PorV fcetly uiiwliliaii was ;h?; wwter, howevc-r, of the da ago his i-J'e pea would do. flc'wns stopping in the-same city with Glendon. bat however, in ihc same house: had r.ot favored Lim so far. but had !o -alod Gieudoa in ihe home of a <rir: as beautiful :>.s ever was maiden before. And Giendon was infatuated?her smiles dazzled bin:. Ti:o light of her eyes was his heaven. At least, swh.was.his friend's judgment on ihv 'ct ? i Leouetta's beauty on G tendon \Y, How near ho v r,. rig!: I. how far he was wrong, we L;., decide ourselves if v.v s:.\v )j o niiiii ::a<i (i&lldcv. lu ? -.* *. '??:llum v.?i ruast v .: ?: . .. : N .;l-rc?nd in ihv _ y i is.:In; queen ?:; ia.i-'o ;i ti :;??* i\\\ t?i? ii^htuud laughter and ; ::r .champagne well-bo]: '. :\- -. I We c:x-- v. .,;or : *: !. e*' lhe:n to' get her. a::i n:it i~ o;:r deeudou? Wo r tau v,v.i.^ v\* . ( Leone; ta i* v.i;h a brilliant dark boa:::;: of s .a:?Jsh typo. Her I'oi-ciiii.i-i > lo'.v : ".;1 broad, her nose short an I >;r.-:igiit. her mouth curved aaii tii.. her eyes magnificent. deep as . eii<. and dark as night ?now" shiUibcrlau" in quiet dreamy beauty, then flashing wiih passion or glowing with delight. Sac is a be v.: twenty?certainly no more; but h?r form has every curve and grac of pcrA'ct woranhoo But fate, proliiic in all gifts where beauty of face and form was concerned, had not otherwise been kind to this girl, with her passionate* soul that longed I'or wealth and amusement, and the homage her beauty would bring l:er had she been placed* in a position worthy of it. But Provi :o cc had placed her life in a very narrow groove, a yd her soul rebelled against it. But nov;s!:cmet this handsome young Englishman, with his frank grey eyes his bread white brow and cheery smile. and Well, to doherji:stice,she loved him; but had she not, still she would have exercised every rower to win him. for the wealth and position she had learned he possessed. I 3Ien are not very strong at l est, and I Leonetta was more than passing fair, aud to a certain extent he Yielded to uie pleasure 01 ner oars s.ua suuu? smiles. |j| Xot. however, that he was false to Sm Helene; that was something he never jjijfrj| dreamed o:; but he would take the good A the gods seat him, aad enjoy the glaK mor of Leonetta's dark beauty. And then?then, in the very midst of a more than fool's paradise, a letter ^ came from ile'er.e. I He held 1: in his hand unopened for a moment, a sv.nt repentance for the N moments he had basked in the light of Leonetta s eyes liiling i:i> soul, along H^Apt with the uec si on to tcli the uark-eyed v Aias! alas! he had not that story to tell her after the kiicr was opened, for his face actually blanched when lie opened it. Opened it to read the words: ' I give you back your freedom. I wish no explanation, as I can give none. Kki ::xe C.yrletox." S He then opened a -mall sealed parcel that had come with I Lie letter. His ring, and every : resent he had ever given Helene CarIeton,!ay glittering before him. L After all. with all her weakness, wofft man is vi- ser th:i^ man, for she seldom dashes into an aec of madness without ? waiting to sutler awhile:but man?well, i Glecdon Withers was a pretty good example of what r. man mad tor a moment with pain and humiliation will do, for what ho did was this: asked LconCtta Meredith to marry him.and cursed lijmseif an hour-kiter ior his iolly. But the die was cast. In honor ho could not retreat, and one uuiet day he I made Leonetta his wife?made her his ! wife on the very day that Helene Carleton knelt below the low window-sill of her room, trying to decide would she : believe her lover true or false, i "1 will trust him," she said softly; | "what i< love without faith?" And so she trusted him: and at the ' ' ' ? 1- J 4.1. same moment ins arras eiicneieii auuui| er whose head lay on his bosom, and i who bore to him the most sacred of ti| ties?his wife." ! Yes, Leonctta was his wife. .She had : r ached the c:owning-point of her ambition, and?was she satisfied? Xo?most certainly. A mad passionate love tilled her I breast?a love that refused her rest or i pence. A liery llame that seemed to ; consume her very being. She realised the truth with clear dis| ccrning eyes. Siic was an unloved j wife, neither more nor less, and the thought was maddening. Siie had dreamed that wealth, and I oositicn. and ^ratified ambition would II CT till her heart, out once obtained, they j turned ?<> ??h??s in.her bosom?a Dead Sea fruit that held but bitterness to the i core. I "Love, love; give me his love!" her i soul cried night and day: "to obtain i that, I would barter soid and body.:' i Once she came on a pictured face i among her husband's treasures. A fair young face, calm and serene, the low whit' brow shaded by silken curls, the ! sweet sensitive mouth slightly apart i with a smile. And then this woman, who for years had believed love but a second or third accessory of life, if even that, indeed, had found it the one thing mo>t to be desired on earth. Day i y day her passionate love for her husba d increased, kept burning to a feverish flame by the knowledge of how far she was from reigning in his heart. Not that willingly, by word or deed, did Glendon Withers give sign of the terrible truth of the knowledge of his awakening from the passion of temper that h:id conquered iii.s reason' for a while. Under the spell of her dark eyes, miller the subtle wooing of her manner, and half maddened by Heiene's cold dismissal, he had yielded to passion's impulse. aud wed a woman he felt by intuition was far from worthy to till the place Hclcne had once piomised to hold. The past was past, however. The words spoken could never be recalled. For good or ill. for better or worse, Lo<;:ietta was his wife. 0::e evening1 Leonetta strayed down by a glade that lay below the hotel to I which licr husband bad taken her. iicr beautiful face was unusually pale, i and she sat thoughtfully down on alow > grassy mound. it is strange," she murmured half I aloud, "that ihiscvening, in particular, j his memory haunts me so persistently!" Nut strange, had she known the truth, for coming events cast their shadows before. I lTV^v. ihn,". ,1/-,,,.,, tl,r? ehmWwri* Jj \ vu viun u iu uav wiikuwvAj below where she sat, a pair of dark fierce eyes were watching her with an expression not <:ood to see. ' I will await my time/'the man murmured; "in the height of her triumph I will iinmble her in the dust.*' * * * * * A brilliant ballroom, the mirth at its height, dancing aud music, mirth and laughter, the order of the night. The grounds around the mansion ablaze as well, and nothing til >t money could procure left lacking to add beauty to the scene. ^? flirt tlwjrn VI.vi WUV Kfx. lauvoi ili.uuvuo luvib was bine-eyed Helenc Carlcton. robed hi ivorv-eoiored satin, her soft gold curls ciusleringaround her dainty head, her soft while throat clasped with creamy pearls, whiie a few priceless ones clustered above her-brow. And beiow in the lower corridor,two mon faced each other, pale-faced and stern, whiie the bride of one of them impatiently awaited her husband's com mcr m lac nine-room. Tiso men were Glendon Withers and II:iHvrt Astor, and with |>ale *.>: f.-iee the former fastened, while He!cne*s | guardian told him?what? Simply this: That llelene knew nothing of the letter sent him, that she had loved?nay.did love and trust him still, and knew nothing of his marriage with Leonetta. "You must break the news yourself," Halbert said. "I dare not. It will kill her." What answer Glendon would have made was never known,for this instant, flushed and pearl-crowned, a smile on her lips. Helcne came up the corridor leaning on her escort's arm. The next moment, forgetting all else, Glendon was holding her han .s in his. Only for a moment?the next he remembered all. He must tell his sensitive blue-eyed girl, whom he loved with all his heart, that in a moment of pas? ? . . i _ sion lie naa ruaue anoiuer woman n.s wife. lie let? he;* into the grounds,and then. Halbert sought Leonetta. . "Your husband commissioned me," iie said, ai^u Leonetta laid her hind on his nrm. He led her to the groi.nds as well, and near a rustic seat, half screened from careless eves by magnificent shrub-? berr, and then "Look!"he saidslo.wly; "doyou know who they arc?" With haughty paling face Leonetta followed the directio i of his eyes. "One is my husband," she said quietly; "the other " '"'The woman he still loves?Helcne V,tt ixirieion. uis ui'iruiouu i>uu, uj some fatal miatakc was parted from i:im." It seemed at that very instant as if the fury of Hades was loosened in Leonetta's bosom. The next instant she ha<l drawn a j dagger :;nd leaped toward Holene. A wild cry ran<r out on the nijjlit air, startling all the bright assembly. Lconetta had grasped-Helene\s arm, j her poniard upiiitou, and then Glemlon J had leaped between them. J It was a .man's cry of agony that rang j I ont, for the glittering weapon was bur- J I ied to the hilt in Glendon Wither's | j bosom. I TTn TTol?r.? TTn tlOf! Oriv(?71 ! his own life to do so. They carried him into the house, and in a moment sympathising friends were gathered around, while anxious enquiries flew from lip to lip. lie opened his eyes with an efTort. j -It?it was?it was an accident,11 | he said, then lapsed into unconsciousi ncss. *1- - is one coiuraructcu. tue ?ui"iw.-ui,? | he meant to save the honor of his j name. j Then suddenly into the crowd pushed j ! a man. dark-eyed and pale-facedlie looked arouud till his eyes fell on , ! Leonctta, who fell back, white, and al- ; I illUM 5CU?ViV?C. j lie pointed to the shrinking woman. I It was no accident," he said: "that ; j woman is guilty of crime.' , ! "His wife?bis wife!*' ran from one to j the other. . "No?not his wife but mine. She | tried to murder me. but failed, ami I ; am here to avenge the attempt. For years my mi ad has wavered between : justice and mercy, but to-dav justice i has lowered the scale: and as for juer- I cy?even from God tiiat woman deserve -; none. The next moment the <rrotip in the i room was swaying fro:u .side to side? j shrieks and horrified cries, the report j of a pistol,anotherhorritied shriek more j terrible than the rest, two white arms | thrown in the air, a slender form that | swaved for a moment, a horrible rod | stain on the .silken bodice of the costly i robe, and then beautiful, sinful Leo-etta Meredith hail fallen forward, shot through llie heart by ihe man who called | himself her husband. In the terrible excitement that followed, the murderer escaped, but months after his claim was proved true. Fer many long weary weeks Glendon Withers hovered between life and death, but by God's providence life was conqueror, ant! the blessed boon of health was his acrain. Then, one quiet morning, he and Helenc knelt side by sid , and spoke the vows thai made iheui one, and entered upon a life in whose perfect bliss the past was almost forgotten. There was one man conspicuous bv his absence at the lime, :m i that was j Halbcrt As tor, whose treacherous hand j had worked such woe. But joy hail come with renewed faith j to Glendon and llelene, and pe haps j their love was deeper and purer for! the trials they had gone through. Boys and 0*.vre??:;ts. "Let me tell you." s:iid a Detroit man the o:her day. "that it's all nonsenses for boys to wrap up the \v;iy they do nowadays. Why, when I was a youngster such a thing as a boy's overcoat was never heard of." "ilow did the little fellows keep waiyn in cold weather?'1 "Exercised, of course. I was raised up north, and in ihe winter I had a warm jacket an.i a pair of mittens, and tied uiy ears up with :i woolen comforter. Chest-protcctors and insoles.and flannel underwear and such wen; unknown quantities in those days, and it was coid onoui;!i sometimes to freeze the horns ofl'of a brass monkey." "And were you never cold?' "You bet 1 was cold, 1-ut I just run i for it. An overcoat! Why. a boy in an overcoat would have astonished the community. And the boys in tli se | rinvs h.td one nair of mittens to a win- i tor. If they lost them, they blew on their lingers lo keep them warm. If they wore ont, they patched the sent o: the mitten with leather. It makes me j sick to see the puny boys of to-day i roiled up like a lot of girls and afraid of catching cold. And that is just how .hey get cold, too. Boys had sore throats in those days and their grand mothers gargled them with s:i!t and water, and made them hot do.-o.s of vinegar and molasses and butter, and they got well the next day. Tuey didn't .lie oil'at a minute's notice because they forgot to put on their arctics." And the indignant citizen went off muttering. "Hoys in overcoats! Well, I should smile to remember."?Detroit Free I'rcss. Can You l>o It? Last'night tlie cutting winds seemed co biow direct from the Polar regions. Viae street was' almost deserted and only.ii few whoso busiuess kept thsm out were seen walking at a rapid gait to their several piaees of destination. A reporter was slowly sauntering through the streets in his midnight wanderings with his biir ulster buttoned tight around him, and his sealsk n cap pulled down over his cars, when his attention was attracted to a party of swell society gentlemen, who had been out for a night of it. -*i bet yon 8.30." saitl 0:10 of iheni to a companion, that you canuot drop a nickel from your eye into a funnel five times in succession.'' The proposition was immediately accepted, when the parly stepped into Billy Gruber's. A funnel was procured, and placed with the small end running down the waist of.the gentleman's tvAIIMl.., A nis.l-al H-OO /in hi"* bi t? UO V<* ? left eyelid with the other one closed. He slowly bowed his head and the nickel fell into the funnel. "Once," ci'ied out the friend with whom the wager had been made. The second time the feat was successfully accomplished. As Uie third trial was about to be pjade his friend accused him of having an eye open. "2s o, indeed, I have not," was the replv, but before he had i * < i. - r?: 5 conipicicu uus assurance iue iutuu emptied a pitcher of ice water into the funnel. "A bottle of wine, and as much more as they want," said the man as he^; hastened to the Emery Hotel, whence a^E messenger was dispatched for dry trousers, etc.?Cin. Com. Gazette. ?Som? Odd Incidents of Dueling. Or.cv of the most singular features of iucling is that the lives of the combatants have not unfrequently been saved by a ticlcs carried on the person. The life of Broderi k, of California, was 1 n f o rrr\r? . 1 ist sinking his watch, while we have the oratorio> of Handel because the sword of his antagonist broke t>n his coat button. Two lighting Irishmen, McXally and Harrington, once fought, and the bullet of one was turned aside by the suspender buckle of the other, while the second bullet lodged in a paper of ginger nuts in the pocket of the lirst man. Another Irishman, fighting with Barrington hnd his life j preserved by a brooch which he wore, in which t!ie ball lodged, while Roche- I fort was spared for years to abuse Lis j political enemies by the accident of j having a 5-franc piece in his vest j pocket. But perhaps the most singu- I lar result ever know in a duel was th:#t j achieved by two French gentlemen ! named Pierrot and Arlequin, who at the word lire J together, and each succeeded in killing the other's second. What an escape!'' cried a spectator, though the seconds had both fallen dead. But it may be safely affirmed that the friends of the seconds did not look on the matter in this accommodating way, and much trouble ensued, though linallv the whoie affair was 1 ------ 1 ---I*. '..^1^- ! uroppeu, uiiu uv iuuuu suited from so unlucky a duel.?The Field of Honor. Lord Coleridge says that when in this country he was struck by the absence of childhood. We defer to our children and their opinions, allow them to engross the general attention, force social obligations on them, and cut them off from "all the sweet dependence of their years." making grown ner-ons of tueui before English children have Mt the nursery i I A 3IOI>EIiN* (JKUSOJE. Romantic Yarn That Siionld Probably be Toil! ti> the Marines. A New York contribution to the columns o the Boston Globe relates the following interesting and romantic; ry: A few days ago a man ubout sixty years of :i<re. with the appearance of an old fanner. :uni very tacitsira. registered at t e Sinclair House, under the name of Ezra W. Forman. No;i:ora, Pleiades group. Pacific Ocean. Conversation shows him to be a very inteliig.-nl man. He tells a wonderful tale. II - says in substance that in the year !S 17 the ship Ocmulgee of Ware ham ?v-is homeward bound with full load, try works overboard, and txialis- and k.-gs of oil stowed in every top. After leaving'La'halnarST I., October 7, "with* "i iO barrels of sperm, "3.250.' barrels of whale .oil. and 41,000.pounds bone,.she was never heard from. Forman was boai-steerer. / He claims lie ."is* the sole survivor. aud^atesfehnt:'. ibje? ship .wjw wrecked on Xomora, an. islandaajthe Pleiades group, and gives -the following romantic story of the wreck:, . "The Ocmulgec went ashoro dn~ |5omoraln December, 1S47, and "all bands were drowned axcepting^HHraetfr.^lar* tin. the cook, and .an HawaHan- sailor named Waincc. : ?.11 the oil casks were; stove, and the;sfrip gi&dually hove over the reef, until 7finalFy the survivors could walk : ronnd Wet at lowiwa.ter.. 'Through the Hawaiian. I was ' enabled to talk to .1 he chief on the island.; 1 i'XDlained the uscsthatmisht be made of tl.e various- articles, .ani assisted ty natives got everything- out* of the ship,' including the hone; and :then broke up the.-shipi paving planks, nails, anchors,: chains and\ whaling gesa*- 1 . i.-"We were given -houses, landsatd wives, accepted our-'position and determined to make the best of-it, and except that we were exiles ftom >home and friends, were content anil happy, fraught the natives many of the-ruder arts.and' they prospered greattov Buttbenativetf f/>., frt Iftco ne r\ <}H?n Mmi> in sig;lit hurrfeft lis awav into7the interior until the foreign vessels had passed 02. ? jzr'..-:r-l r. s". Later my two.^ampanions-died-and. I was left alone. ' Sam>traded by my children rind grandehi ldtdn, Lw^'finally acknowledged'to "Ke "their ruier, and my word was their-liC\\Y7l told them I mlist goto my friends,; b'utV.^d.-toswear by thekjaodslhatl would return J Finally a sandal-wood tradertoGehedthcre, I em barked-in- her,-was landed in Sidney", and s^atfe my way here after m:;cii"trouble.an,d time-V-^^..Suctis Forman,s.stor}v- 'lK'dw comes" another remarkable"tale. , Hc-says tlie> whalebone is in prime- condition,. -ana: from the time of its wreck to. tbe.pres-. ent day a native, has always :been.-.on: guard over it-, and that. regularly.once a week its position has been shifted to sweitfrom rats and mold. Forman says tiiat his two companions^ left utimber of children who are now big and healthy, aud that he has twenty-: nine sons and daughters and s'xty-nine grandchildren. Some Philadelphia, merchants have taken stock in F05maa's storv, have advanced him $5,0$) worth of goods. chartered a steamer and she will soon leave'New York for tlie Pleiades, to carry out this modern Alexander Selkirk and bring back the bone, estimated to be worth now from, $130,00 ', to ?17 , 000. 8 The story is a romantic one and ther.ppearan'je of Forrnan carries truth* with it; but :fXu lit ticket gentleman, to w.iom the tale lias been submitted, who IS conversant Willi Wiiaiiug maiiera, doubts ii from lirst to last, and advises the merchants, responsible ones, by the way. to examine Fonuan and his story veryeaivfuliy before acceptingits truth. The go.itlemau who ius advised on the . matter sax's there never was a ship Oenmlgee of Wareham in-the whaling :u>.ness that was lost. The only whaler of that name was owned in ii -Imics and sailed repeatedly .. ;n liiat port from 18W until, in 1865, s.ic w;:< burned by the Confederate cruiser Alabama. There are also other serious discrepancies in Fo man's statement apiong wJiioii is-tiie proportion of whalebone to the. proportion of oil. taken, and although his yarn is ingeniously twisie.I. yet it is full of flaws and apt to strand on examination, and the * * i i- - ? ^4 iniercnce is. uniess nc can lucuusuutu his story with :i now name lor the ship that is acceptable, he is a crank or a cheat of the worst sort. tenius Ward and Tom Pepper. . ?7 - - v. /c 5 7 ' & * Tom Pepper, who is known as "the; - > -i e -vr; iivJ .. peencss prevaricator 01 i^evaua, rcu * I3ohemian life here years a^o. One day. hearing of Artemus Ward s arrival at t^e International Hotel, in Dreathlcss haste he rushc i away to interview the great humorist. He ran at once to Ward's room and, knocking, was instantlj admitted. "Artemus Ward, I believe!" Artemus signified that the guess was a good one. "I am delighted to meet you," cried Tom?"delighted to meet you, sir." '"And I have the pleasure of seeing? ?" and the smiling Ward looked a whole line of interrogation points. "I am?I am?that is my name is"? *** ' - TTT ? 11 t. gasped iom?"my name 13. wen, just wait a moment till I think,1' and Tom ran out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Artemus standing in the middle of the floor. After a few moments in the hall Tom rushed back toward the astonished Ward with extended hand and glowing facc, crying: "Pepper, Pepper, sir! I'm Mr. Pepper?Tom Pepper?better known as Lving Tom Pepper." TT? 1*7 ?f mngsiun?t? itiu s a?cm?nos uun ?? the moment. Thinking h'? had an insane man to deal "with, Artemus smiled the most cheerful smile then at his command. He declared he had often heard of Mr. Pepper, and was delighted to meet him. At the moment he was about to change his sock: wonld Mr. Pepper be kind enough to withdraw and call round again in half an hour. Mr. Pepper would, and did. When Mr. Hingston came in Artemus had a fearful story to tell about his adventure with a crazy . man. * 1 TIf?J 4.^ Alterwaru, Wfleu> tr am tauic iu &uun that a sense of his greatness as a humorist had so overcome poorTom as to cause him to forget his own name, the genial lecturer declared it was thegreatest compliment that had ever been paid him.?Virginia (Nev.) Enterprise. A Hamilton (Cal.) paper says a r'timimio lin? r?r>vnfnd the whole sum nuer and fall to gathering horned toads, which are very numerous on the Red Hills, are as much dreaded as rattlesnakes. Recently he made a shipa-.ent of 2,000 of the toads to San TTrorir-kr-n. from which olace thev will be sent to China. The toads are converted into various kinds of medicines, which sell very high. For the cure of chills and fever they are said to be the finest things known. A toad is placed in a flask of whisky for several weeks, and then the stuff is sold as a tonic. i A War-time Incident. The following good story on Rev. Dr. Bartlett, of the 2sew York Avenue Presbyterian church, is printed here, says a Washington dispatch to 'The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette: "Just about the close of the war, --1 1 1-_ ?T,rJ tYUUH grevtlUilCAS ?v?ic uuuuuaiiu uuu entertainments in demand at points where large numbers of troops were stationed, Rev. Dr. Bartlett, who was then lecturing, received a telegram from someone at Cairo, 111., asking his terms for a lecture. 'Five hundred dnlisrs and sinenses.' answerei the doctor, hoping to get rid of the annoyance and danger of so long a trip. 'Name jour own time: terms satisfactory,' was quickly wired back. So in due season the doctor started to fill his engagement. He was to speak on Friday evening, but owing to several accidents common in those days, he did nofc reafti.his destination till late Saturday ttight He was most cordially welcomed by the .chairman of the lecture comriftftee, whom he found to be an enterprising sutler. Apologizing for his ' ??? Ua Ttrnp f fiof UUU-&JJf>Vikl*kLlw;9 noo rsMRRn on Sunday evening.: The "doctor said he woulddeliveronje oifhis lectures on-thg'Krlbry and Shame of Lan fjtfage,' appropriate to the occasion. To Sis astonishment he found Sunday morning that he -was advertised in an extra bulletin to deliver his grandest and most eloquent lecture that evening at $4 per ticket. He expostulated, but in vain. He was told that he must keep his promise. "Expecting to find a small audience at such a large tariff he was surprised with a crowded house, and four major generals on a front seat. It was all clear gain for the sutler, who had sold tickets ahead for the regular lecture, and used the Sunday-night service to ^ wwtf /\# A/\nfT*AAfArc Affioore I tuxwv; 1U tiiC iXLlXXJ UI WUH UV/IUIO, viiivv/k. Kjy and others then thronging Cairo, who were willing to pay almost any price for an evening's entertainment "J hey treated me like a prince,"said the doctor, "but I never preached Sunday night before or since where tickets of admission were paid for.' The sutler get ahead of me, and came out with several hundred dollars1 profit." Senator Garland's Speech. Augustus H. Garland was born in Tennessee in 1832. His looks are not strikingly impressive, llis frame tall, well built, compact, surmounted with a oron_Tv\ini/-inr} hii<hv hlftftk hair: face clean shaven; his mouth firm set, but pleasant, solemn one moment and twitching the next with iome nascent droller}*; brown eyes, small frank and piercing; kindly withal, but changing rapidly from earnest to quizzical; in movement, easy and self-possessed; in debate, clear, cool, fair, driving directly by strong logic tc the end in.view. The i senate does not contain a more universal student or a more restless wag. A guilty conscience keeps him always on the lookout for some terrible retalia?tion, and it is a rcd-lctter day in the senate when thi-t biter is bit. - On one occasion, when an important : measure was before the senate, Mr. Garland delivered a careful and exhaustive speech, to which close attention was ?iven. About ten minutes after he had finished, ami, metaphorical |ply speaking,- "his brow bound with it victorious wreaths," Don Cameron went over to the Arkansas Senator's side of the chamber and said: "Garland, when are you going to speak on this question? I want to hear you." "Good Lord!'1 remarked the surprised senator; "why I just got through. Where were you?" ? About five minutes later Mr. Whyte, of Maryland, who had not been in the senate during the speech, had the job put up on him, and asked the same question in good faith. "Why, I just finished. Whyte, consult the' Rccord in the morning." Another five minutes passed, and then Butler, of South Carolina, another sleepless wag, went meekly up to Garviand and asked him when he was going to speak to the bill. Considering the source of this last inquiry, the remark was in the nature of an eye-opener, and Mr. Garland tartly replied: "If you have any more oi 'cm, Butler, bring them on in a body; it saves time? Washington I'ost. Seen Through a Window. I She sat at a window on a public fstreet, and day after day the crowd who passed saw her at the sewing-machine. The old men mentally remarked that she was a perfect lady, and the young men voted her the rival of a June cose. If she had raised her eves to the window she might have met the pitying gaze of various old baldhcads and tlie admiring glances o: legions ui ,masher;, but she neve* did so. Noses were wiped and handkerchiefs waved within a foot uf the gla;s, but she hemmed, and tucked, and gathered, and plaited as if utterly unconscious of the ex stence of the outside world. It is probable that 500 men glanced into that window in the course of the day, but the sewing-machine never' stopped humming on their account. Things had i een going on this way for months when, ouly the other day, a widower with a heart full of pity for a!? /v/xf tin rv>rrorH II1U UlliUi LUIIiHC IjUL lii iv^u^M , less of expense and boldly entered the j place. The clnrmer was there alone. With a melting soul he approached the sewing-machine and laid his heart upon it. That is, he coughed, .gurgled, stammered, and inquired if she would not "prefer to boss a*$15,0 Obrick-house rather than to make shirts for 75 cents per day. The charmer rose up. She had a short leg. That side of her face which the public had never seen displayed three moles, and a bad scar. That eye which the public had never gazed into contained a squint, and. she had oau front teeth. She made a grab at a yard-stick. and said something about "settling an old duffer's hash pretty infernally quick," and the widower broke for out-doors. His sympathizing and palpitating heart was left behind him as he went,but the charmer picked it up and followed after him and heaved 11 iliiu IHC gullet WILLI LUC Ltujam. 'Tve just been aching for. a chance to break some of your necks, and don't you put your hoofs in here again if you want to see next spring's dandelions." <9 - ^ Experiments have recently been made by the French Government with a new kind of siege gun of prodigious power. It is described as made of steel and nearly thirty feet long, and the tube is strengthened wim icn ccms 01 piateu steel yvir-e one millimeter, or .039 inch in diameter. The weight of this gun is fifty tons, and it projects a shell weighing 297 pounds, capable of penetrating armor plates nearly six inches thick at a range of seven and one-hall miles. Ships or the Past. In those days of large ships and still larger steamers, it is refreshing to an old salor, o- still older shipowner, to < recall the grand old ships of thirty-five and even fifty years ago. Compare the sailing ships of to-day with those of . years ago, and what do we find? Large ' and moderately sharp hulls, with square yards and short masts, wire standing : i riggings, patent anchors, windlass pumps, steering gear, iron water-tank, . steam engine, and many other convenient arrangements. Doubtless the march of improvement and the grow- ! ing necessities of commerce have grad- j uailv led no to the nresent stvle 01 ves? i sel. Buta.e they an improvement up- J on the old? I do not find that the av- , erage time of passage from and to the j East Indies, or round the Horn ports, is j lessened. Occasionally there is noticed ^ some rapid passage, but reference to ( old shipping papers -will show the rec- , ords of passages to or from the identi- ( cal ports equally quick, such passages j having been made by vessels that in these times would be as much a enri- J r*cif"ir ?q t.lvo r^hir>*?c^> innJos : their voyages, 'delivering their cargoes in line order, after which they were , ready to load for the return voyage at once. No iong and expensive joos at j the end of every passage, in order to j put the ship in a seaworthy condition. The good old ship, with her round and j easy model, carried a cargo with ease and comfort. No thrashing and strain- ( ing in a gale of wind or heavy sea; easy . to her rigging, she came out of a gale ] fresh as a daisy, and without a particle of damage to herself or cargo. What 1 /?or>c fhp ciilnr nf tn-rlnv Irnnw nf thfl beauteous ship of old? The snug little j ship of four hundred tons or there- ( abouts, with a white baud picked y out with ports, or the bright waist, j flush deck fore and afr, broken onlj by < the caboose, long boat, and companion j way; the old-fashioned windlass, with ^ working-room on each side of it? ( good hempen standing rigging, well 1 taken care of; the old-fashioned wheel and tiller, the big, lower studding ( sail, with the swinging boom; the com- j fortable and serviceable topmast stud- i ding sails, and the less useful, but yet graceful and airv, topgallant and royal ?1 "li i. .. l I stuaaing sans, not iorgeumur me snowy white main skysail, the apex of -the t whole beautiful creation. t Whole topsails had not then given j place to double. Ciose reefing off t either of the caps meant warm work * for the crew; but the men kn-w their , duties, were sailors, and could tie up . the muslin and i e happy. Dear old vessels! I know the ending of many of , you, and as from time to time I have < read of the final end' of some of your A number, I have felt as though some old friend had <rone before me." Your ^ memories are pleasant to dwell upon, j onH Tomtmhron^ nf li.r* frlnrinria men that trod your decks as masters, mates, and sailors recall ulso the pleasant days that I have pas>e I on board some of you during voyage-; to India 1 and China. At some time in the fut r?; I may recall my experiences of ci-; i-.iin voyages j in years long gone. In tho e days the j telegraph was unknown. O'.d Parker, j upon the observatory <.n Central wharf, nad a telegraphic code of signals for vessels; but-Morse had not electrified. the world. Sixty days was the aver- t age time of the so-called India mail, s so that a voyage to lmiiu meant from " four to four and a half months' passage s out, and an additional two mouths for the news of your arrival lo reach home. Now the Suez canal and the electric wire have chauged everything. Bat, as the world must progress, I must accept all the terrible changes, and comfort iuy.-elf talking with some old . fogy, like my-el'", of the "good old 1 lays.";? uti Budget. "Dot Vhas All." C "I pelief I vhas shwindled vonce 1 more/' he said to the Sergeant at the i Central Station yesterday ::s he was 1 asked to take a < hair and report his er-- ? rand. t "How?1' . ' J "Yhell, I vhas in my blace apoudt i two hours ago vhen two strangers vhalk t in, and one of 'em says to me:' s "Shake, I haf a "bet on you. I know t you vhas a great man to haf confidence f in human nature, und I bet 82, eafen i oup, dot you vhill lend me fecty cent." i "Vhell, I duuno. I nefersec him pe- 1 fore, but if someuody bet $2 on me I 1 * t 1 *_ J _ 1 aoan jikc mm to lose 11, una mavpe ue also divide vhat he wins." "And you let him have it?" "Vhell, I haf some confidence in human nature. He vhalks off mit my feety cent, und my vliife says I vhas derpiggest fool in Detroit." "And what do you want of me?" "I like to know if vou pelief like my vhife?" "Yes, sir, I do! You'll never see your money again." "My son Carl says I petter soak my headt I like to know if you think dot i vhay?" ] "I do." ] "Und my brudder-law says I make a i fine lunatic asylum all by myself. Yhas 1 he correct?" i "He is." 1 "Vhell, dot vhas all. If I vhas ' right I get madt und clean ondt der s shanty. If 1 vbas wrong I go home ] und "keep still until my headt vhas 1 soaked enough to lose my confidence J in human nature. Dot vhas all?good- ? /Iot^ ' ' 77*/> "Pir/> | A'W'W vtv JL' / gv at 4 uv. Celebrated Women. i Sarah Althea Hill, of the famous law- 1 ! suit against Senator Sharon, is of me- s ' dium height, well developed, with a 1 lithe, trim figure. She gives at'-first ' sight the impression of a woman who 1 is abundantly able to take care of her- 1 self, and yet the expression of her face J and her attitudes are very womanly, as .though she lacked confidence and were ' appealing for' support. Her features 1 are regular, her faee oval. - She is * neither blonde or brunette, with, dark" < brown hair, which is allowed to fall ic ? graceful waves over hei; full, round. 1 forehead. Her most attractive feature 1 are her full, brown eyes. Her nose is ' clear cut, and lier mouth: is resolute in ' the habitual compression of her lips: * but this is somewhat belied by a slight ^ droop at the comers, as though an ori- 3 ginally line will had been overlaid by. a strain of voluptuousness which weakened and coarsened it. Her whole man- ] ner shows nervousness and vitality. J Lucy Stone congratulates her sex on 1 the past year's gains for their cause. ^ Full suffrage for women has beenestab- 1 lished in Washington territory, and J municipal suffrage has been granted to ^ unmarried women and widows of ^ Ontario and Nova Scotia. Municipal * fl* * ? 1 J trrftll in ITnflflori/^ 1 | sunra^e w*v> u ui kcu SU ncu iu : that the British parliament has extend- 5 ed it to Scotland . . ! . ? 1 i There are 4.000 Chinese in New York ( and Brooklyn, seven-eighths of .whom i are in the laundry business. t A Lonely Death. It was here in Detroit at one of the city hospitals that I saw the saddest funeral ceremony I ever witnessed. It was that of a woman who had lit J* - J i .1 srcuiy aieu oy jjiciius. ruvcnv, 2>ui- | row, and sickness had been her constant companions for years, and when at , last on a hospital bed she drew her last breath it seemed as if there could be Qothing left to feel the pang of dissolution?nothing but skin and bone. She had been well cared for in her last sickness by those who gave their LILIAN O.UVJ. OCi Y1V/C' W ill^ VA V****** tv,' but it is doubtful if she knew it., fier mind lived in the past, and she murmured in delirium of a happy home, and seemed to be always caressing a little child. Now she would talk to it in a sweet mother-tongue, using the fond, endearing language of love to 3all it to her again:'she seemed to dread { some terrible fate for it, and besought I God to save it. even to take it away I from the evil to come- Always it was : the child that was present with her, so paiii was naught?the child that : Tins was ail there was of the dead woman's history. The pall of a dark past had fallen upon her. It was only fcnown that the child about whom she bad raved and praved was still alive, md somewhere irT the city. But so tar all search had failed to find her. The brief funeral ceremonies?at the expense of the city, for her's was a pauper burial?were held in the large paror of the hospital. A young clergynan who had just entered upon nis ,vork, the assistants of the hospital, the andertaker, hat in hand, and one or ;wo strangers, were all who were pres;nt The dead woman lay in a highly famished pine coffin, from which the netal shells were already falling in a shower of tawdry splendor, so imper'ectly were they fastened on. Her face ivas composed and peaceful. Life and icath had done their worst?the battle vas now over. In the chill and the silence the voice >f the young minister, cultured and ;uneful, sounded like a strain of music. Ill heads bowed as he recited: I am the resurrection and the life. There was a scream?a wail of hcart ending CTief?and the service was in;errupted, as a woman, young and haggard, rushed into the room and threw lerself on the coffin: she was dressed jailv in silk attire. A long feather iangled from a ^andy hat?everything ibout her bespoke death sadd; r than ;he colli n. "Mother mother," she moaned, 'why did you you not let me know? 3h, I would have come to you and vorked my fingers to the bone to save rou! Oh, mother, mother! come back n ms inst to sav that you. for<?ive me. ' ~ " j "?~ ~ ~ _ c " Mother, it is your o>vu little "Emmy! Do you hear me? It is Emmy! Oh, uy'Godl I'hra toalate! She will nev;r speak to me .i^ain!" Pitying, friends uiew die frenzied aroman away. In a moment she had Jashed them aside, and leaning again >ver the dead mother she pressed her ips once?twice?thrice to the cold J eK/i A!onr\A/^ Kat> UI kxir XiiUU DU^ UV1 lands and lifted her eyes to heaven, vhiie her lips seemed to be recording a row* The wintry sun shone out at that noment from.the western sky, and ouched with golden linger the sad, ;ad scene of death in life, and life in leath, and the minister resumed the ervice where he had been interrupted; I am tbe resurrection and the life. ?Ddroit Free Press. <i i-? Sponges. One of the sights of the Florida roef s the sponger. He is generally a :onch from Conchtown, Key West, and levotes his entire time to the business >f fishing up the rcpul-ive objects callid sponges. This is done chiefly -with looks or spears, the boat drifting along intil a sponge is sighted, when it is looked or speared, and jerked from its itronghold upon the bottom. When he water is too deep for the hooking )rocess, the sponger goes overboard tnd dives to the sponge, by main force earing it. from the bottom. The iponges taken from this section are not he delicate toilet sponges, being a (liferent grade, and only used for coarse vork. They grow to a large size, some neasuring three feet across and two ligh, and Avhen active present anything >ut an attractive appearance. A good aealthy sponge looks as it comes to the ;urface like a great beefs liver, and the )dor is, spongy ?no other word describes t. When a load of these aromatic lowers of the ocean is secured, they ire taken down to Key West, or may >e cured on some of the keys. This jonsists oi allowing tnem to remain m ;he sun UDtil thoroughly decayed, and ;hen treating thera to repeated rinsings, mtil the animal matter is entirely removed. They are then placed in the >un to.bleach, and in this stage are >een covering the fences in Conchtown. Later they are subjected to several Drocesses," one of which in some cases s sanding. This is more common in ;he toilet sponge from the Mediterraiean. Shake one and you will find :hat quite a deposit of fine sand escapes. I'his was not eaten or absorbed by the sponge when alive, as you might suppose, but is a process by which the weight of the sponge is increased, and, is they se:l by the pound, the object is ivident. The trieks that the sruileless sponge iealer is not up to are not worth'chroncling. Some time ago a young man ;vas sent to a- sponge locality to buy jponges for a firm . u ho was going to Manufacture a new article that requir2d large quantities, and it was found ;hat the young man paid as much for yatcr and coral rock as he did for sponge.; Better sponges are found in the Balainas than on the Florida reef, and ;he business, though in the hands of a ;ew. is a valnable one; Th'c majority >f people have rather peculiar ideas regarding the sponge. Some think it an nsf-ct, others a plant- It is, however, i simple animal, composed of many jells, that are arranged .in three layers, ;he middle one "secreting the lime or >ilex, as the case may be, that goes to :orm the skeleton of the animal.?Flor'xla Cor.-Cincinnati Enquirer. Be camei nas twice me carrying power of an ox. With an ordinary load of 400 pounds he can travel twelve Lo fourteen days without water, going fourteen miles a day. ' They are fit to svork at five years, old, but their strengtn Degins 10 aecnae at iwentyive, although they live usually until 'orty. They are often fattened at thir:y for the butcher, the flesh tasting like 3eef. The Tartars have herds of these unmals, oiten i,uw oeionging to one i ;amily. The Timbuctoo breed is re- j nark able for speed and used only for ;ouriers, going 800 miles in eight days ivitb a n}eal cf dates or grain at nights all VXIXGS. The Standard Oil Company employ^ 93,000 m<*n. Six of the prominent hotel-keepers of New York are widowers. Froudo, the historian, thinks of making a journey around the world. Germany is beginning to grumble at the enormous expense of the standing army. The fiinninst thino1 about Mark Twain's new Icclurc ia the receipts at the box office. The deficit of the hist World's Exposition, held at Paris, was xipward of $6,000,0j0, and that of Vienna, in 1S73, was over 89.000,000. Wooden shoes, of the old Dutch type, are now made at Danbnry, Conn. They are of butternut and while impervious * to water a:c very light. In Southern Alaska rain falls during three days of the week. The other four days are damp and foggy. The winters are comparatively mild. Sir John A. MaeDonald. Prime Min tic Ocean by October, 1886. A malicious scribe started the atory that a daughter of Emma Abbott is to be married shortly. As if Emma were old enough to have a marriageable daughter/ Large numbers of dried and smoked lizards are imported by the Chinese physicians, which are used in cases of consumption and anajmia with considerable success. The beginning of the Christian era is not so very remote, after all. Theodore Parker once said that eighteen old men touching each other's hands carried us back to Chri-t. "TV* "nni Kir*rr- cor r?r\fViir?nr- fimo will put everything to rights," is Emperor William's invariable answer when one member of his family comes to complain of another. There is a cat in Philadelphia which gets up its back, claws, and spits every time it hears "Sweet Violets." In the opinion of the Call there is a good deal of human nature in cats. A party of beaver hunters sent two large beavers to Griffin, Ga., where they were exposed on sale at the butcher shops, the meat being regarded, by experienced epicures as very line. The following thrilling sentence is taken from a recently published society novel: "For a whole quarter of an hour the young man gazed thoughtfully in the Same of the extinguished candle." An Italian woman in New York celebrated the day before Christmas by eating a porous plaster which had been * prescribed for her arm. She. didn't know any other way to take it? and she found its"internal application both uacomfortable and dangerous. The plaster model for a heroic-sized statue of the late S. S. Stone, of Cleve- . land, UJtno, uas oeen compiecea. xzie statue will be of granite." "It will surmount a monument now being built in Lake View Cemetery, which, wheiffinished, will be in the form of a sarcophagus. The monument when complete will be twenty-live feet in height The Yukon River, in Alaska, is so long, says Lieutenant Schwatka, that if its source were at Salt Lake its wa- ' ters might empty into New York Bay, ,. . and its month is so wide that New York would be one side and Philadelphia on the other. Alaska has a coast line greater than that of all the rest of the United States, adding together the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacilic seaboards. A chemist of Munich has invented a process whereby a white powder, which has all the properties of quinine; may be produced from coal. It always happens this way. Just about the time a product of nature becomes so essential that apprehension is excited lest the natural supply may fail, or its price become so high that the poorer man can not buy it, somebody comes to the rescue with a sufficient recourse. We heard the other day of a belligerent gander in the liock of J. F. Stephens, Carroll County, which met with a singular accident three weeks ago. Making fight at a heifer in the lot he seized her by the forehead, when the heifer, by a dexterous turn of a horn, 'struck the gander's neck and cut out _ the windpipe, leaving it hanging down like a snout. The old gander's wound healed over with the windpipe still hangingout, through which he breathes, and he seems to be as hearty as ever, though not as belligerent as" before.? Newman (Ga.) Herald. In Persia, long ago, they had a cheerful" and effectual manner of punishing criminals. For stealing, death was tho penalty. Two young trees were by . main strength brought together at their summits and then fastened together with cords. The culprit was then? brought out and his less tied with ropes, which were again carried up and fixed to the tops of tae trees. The cord* that forced the trees together were then car, and by the elasticity and power of the spring" the bod\r of the thief was torn asunder, and thus left to hang di* vided on each separate tree. - The carpet-making business is very extensive in Philadelphia. There are . 170 establishments, and their average annual output is 22,000,000 yards. They give employment to 8,500 hands. Ten years ago the price of the best ingrain ' carpets at the factory ruled at $1.0$ per yard, shading olf into thelower grades. On the day preceding the recent strik? the price was from 5o to 60 cents at the **-' 'I'l-oon .-rn flirt nriAM 5)T J A lifcV VMV ~ J the manufacturers who sell to the retail trade. The prices to jobbers., of course, arc lower. Most of these factories are now idle. Sarah Bernhardt never had the furof her sealskin, jacket rubbed the wrong way so unmercifuiiy as at the critic!* hands of Ivan TurguenefF. In that famous Russian novelist's correspondence, recently published at St. Peters burg, tnere was louna ine iouowm?;: "Whenever I think of Sarah Bernhardt I am reminded involuntarily of the toad. Why did God ^ive to 6oth these creatures "an adorable and poetical voice?" In another lecturohe callsher an "ugly mouther and posturer,'-'' '"a cold grimacer?pourrie de chic?whom nature has provided with an adorable voice while refusing her all other gifts by some incomprehensible caprice. ' fn Sweden voun<r ?rirls place under three separate cups a rin?, a coin and a picce of black ribbon. If the ring is : first accidental!}* exposed she will be . married within "the year; if the money, ., she will get a rich husband; if the^ ribbon, she will die an old maid. It is a favorite amusement among the- young girls in Russia to conceal their "finger rings in small heaps of corn-on the floor. A hen is brougnt in, wmcn at once begins to peck at the tiny heaps of grain. The owner of the first ring exposed to view will, according to pop- * nlar belief, be married before her companions in the experiment. . . < I iu ^ i 1 *' ? ? ?