University of South Carolina Libraries
. . \ ABBEVILLE PRESS & BANNER. / BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C.. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1877. VOLUME XXIV.---NO. 36. ? - * ? " ^ 1 UA..M nf Shut the Door. Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore No doubt vow have heard that name before? Was a boy who never would shut the door ! The wind might whistle, and the wind might roarr And the teeth be aching, and throats be sore, But still he never would shut the door. His father would beg, his mother implore: "Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore, We really wi -li you would shut the door!" Their hands they wrung, their hair they tore. But Godfrey Gordon Gustavus GoreWas deaf as the buoy out at the Nore. When he walked forth the folks would roar : "Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore, Why don't von think to shut the door ?" They rigged out a shutter with sail and oar, And threatened to pack off Gustavus Gore On a voyage of i>enance to Singa]>ore. But he begged for mercy, and said no more, Pray do not send me to Singapore On a shutter. and then I will shut the door : 41 You will ?" naid the parents, " then keep on shore! Bnt mind you -do! Fur the plague is sure Of a fellow that never will shut the doorGodfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore!" AN HISTORICAL JEAN YALJEAN. The 111 Luck that Pursued Frangois Dubois, Hero and Convict, for Forty Years. This is the story of Frangois Dubois, hero aud galley slave,as it is written in the police archives, the army records and the Gazette den Tribunaux: Toward the close of 1813 he presented himself to the commandant of Wesel, Prussia, haggard and in rags, saying that he belonged to the chasseurs, and l-.i a: ?a ~ x a. imu utrtrii uiMiiuunwu uujliu^ uiu it'iiwi and compelled to skulk slowly after the army, and asked to be forwarded to liis regiment. In those terrible days men were precious, and officers were not surprised to discover veterans in rag-clad skeletons. Dubois was hent to the hussar regiment attached to the Marshal Martier's army, where he soon became the talk of the corps. He never was known to laugh, spoke but rarely, and fought with a reckless daring uncommon even in those times. At Bar-sur-Aube, when the hussars charged the butter)- at the bridge of Bout-de-Lain, he w?s the first to reach th( guns, and, falling with Berserkir rage 011 the cannoneers of one piece, killed, wounded and dispersed them, and had taken the gun single handed before the squadron could seize the others. The marshal had seen the battery carried, and sending for* Dubois praised him highly and promised him the cross. Not long after, the marshal had occasion to send a dispatch from Troyes to the emperor, then at Pine, on the Brieune road, and selected the hussar as his messenger. The country was thick with hostile U'ckets and scouts: he was lived upon several times, but by good luck and good management, now lighting, now running, now hiding, he made his way in safety to Marmont's outposts, and was conducted to the emperor. Napoleon gave him a brief written replj*, instructing him, in the presence of his staff, to conceal it in his bootleg. Dubois hiul nnyle his way back as far as the mill of Sanciere, near la BelleEpine, when lie foir :d himself hemmed in on all sides by a squad of Cossacks. He rode resolutely ut the thinnest part of the line and tried to cut his way through, but,after a desperate tight, was unhorsed, disarmed and led t? the headquarters of the Russian emperor. "What orders were you carrying?" asked the chief of staff. "Verbal orders." " That's a he. Search the lining of his left boot," replied the Russian. The guard did so?wl^ had betrayed the emperor frg^i his ow? headquarters ??and the paper was found. Dubois was lock ea up, a prisoner, wun juieutenant Auger, of the lancers of the guard, and Augusta Bernard, one of the emperor's couriers. Two days later, at St. Marc, he aud Auger escaped and rejoined the French army. The Duke de Trevise welcomed him warmly and rewarded him for his services. At Berger Dubois was severely wounded while fighting with his headlong bravery. Napoleon ? waw forced back on Paris, stubbornly though he resisted. March 27, 1814, at Dubois, his wouuds not yet healed, but attached to the commissariat staff, was just about to enter the liead. quarters of Count Millot, who had proposed his name for the cross, when three of Yidocq's agents arrested him as a fugitive galley slave! At the police office he was identified and J ordered aside to be returned to the galleys. He gave up to the police a sura of 4,000 francs belonging to the regimental chest, with which he had been intrusted to make some purchases at Bondy. Brincart, the colonel of hi6 regiment, made the most earnest attempts to secure his release, but all in vain. The mighty fabric of the first empire was falling to pieces, and officials had some uuux mure important 10 iuim aooui man the case of a private soldier?an escaped convict. * # * * ? * Dubois was born at Prauthoy, in Upper Mariie; he was sent to the school of Brienne at the age of twelve; in 1790 his'futher placed him among the students of Mars. After Robespierre's downfall, Dubois was returning homeward when, at Bar-snr-Seine, he fell in with a soldier of the Fourteenth dragoons. They became friends, visited the different places of the town together, and (lined with much jollity at the Crown, a public house kept by one Chevrelat. At dinner the dragoon stole three silver spoons, which, a couple of days later, as they were about to separate, he sold to Dubois at a low price, saying they were his own. Meanwhile, the landlord, missing Mfl mlvpnunrp Rtisntvf.p/1 them ami followed them to St. Marc, where they were arrested. The dragoon escaped from the gendarmes; the spoons were found on Dubois, and he, then being only twenty years of age, was sentenced to eight f* hard labor as'an accessory to the was first sent to the galleys of m, whence January 21, 1796, he escaped, enlisting in the Seventh chasseurs. He was sent to the army of Italy, where he served with marked courage, receiving several wounds, notably one in the face from an Austrilan sal>er at Marengo. Being honoraby discharged he went to work at Ancerville ; one of liis men identified liim as a convict and be had to*fly to Troyes. Here, too, after a considerable interval spent in labor, he was recognized, betrayed to the police axul sent back to the ^alleys, Fortunately his services in the array pleaded for him, ami as an act of grace the tim^ he had served was deducted from his sentence, and eleven months later he was set at liberty. Going, on his release, to La Villette, Dubois had lived there peacefully and industriously for something more than a year, when he was arrested and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for?escaping from the galleys in 179G ! This time he was sent to Cherbourg, whence he escaped in 1809, fleeing to Paris and enlisting in the cavalry. He served in Spain, as in Italy, with marked heroism and faithfulness, and won the confidence of General Laverdiere, who made him his orderly and selected him to attend him in the Russian campaign. Passing by l?io v/\Oil 4-/* "Dllltnlfl Viinuiuo UU X1IO iunu IAJT IUAV, AAV.U*, ^ U could not resist the temptation to visit his family. His brother-in-law denounced him to the authorities, and Dubois was sentenced to twenty-four years at the galleys. They sent him to Anvers, whence, in 1813, he escaped to rejoin the army, as we have already said, and vainly seek death. Betaken in 1814 by Vidoeq, the prisoner was sent to Rochefort. After seven or eight years he was pardoned. A miserable tiling: was a freed convict in those days. For ten years he was condemned to police surveillance ; his yellow ticket of leave announced his disgrace to everyone ; he could find no employment nor even shelter. They hunted him from * l 1 i . * ?n i i l 1 place u> piaco iiko a wiiu ufusb or w teper. He tried to shoot himself?and failed. Refused work and lacking bread, he stole the means to purchase a meal. The court unly looked at his record of escapes aiyl kentences; counsel were assigned him too dull to see the magnificent opening such n case presented, and the poor fellow got ten years more. For thirty years now he had been convict and* soldier, but he had not lost strength?possibly even some hope survived in him that the luck would turn. At any rate, he broke jail again?he had been confined at Dijon?and made his way to Paris, where, August 10, 1823, a detective recognized him on the Rue St Martin, and hauled him before the commissioner of the second division, M. llenrv. It was befoie M. Henry that Dubois had been taken when he was arrested at Bondy in 1814 ; to him the soldier had intrusted the 4,000 francs placed in his hands from the regimental chest; he knew all about his case. To his in- j delible disgrace the official only recalled that Dubois had been before him on a previous occasion, and the prisoner was pent to Bicetrf. Bicetre and La Force were then literal ' hells. There was 110 classification of prisoners; the strongest anil most brutal ruled his.ward without interference by his koepars. The prisons swarmed with vermin and reeked with malaria, and the prisoner who could not bribe the turnkeys ran an imminent risk of dying of hunger. Dubois remained here four years, slowly sinking in health and spirits. Justice seemed to have forgotten him, when he was takeu back to Dijon. He had been condemned in contumaciam for his escape in 1822. The prison doors opened for him again as inexorably as ever, this time Mont St. Michel being his destination. On his way thither, while passing Prez-enPiul, he escaped again. He was subsequently asked why he had so frequently escaped, and answered : " I had lost hope. I begun to believe that I was destined to end my days under the lock and key, and I sought to escape because every day of liberty was a day saved from inevitable captivity. It had been for more than thirty years my luck to be rearrested and committed, and since it had to be bo, I tried when I could to cheat it." I Yes. It was hie luck. November 25, 1S31, he was entering the diligence, Rue du Bouloi, when a hand was laid on his ! shoulder. It was the inevitable police j officer. For the first time, gaining ! strength and eloquence from his des; peration, Dubois resolved to plead his ( own case. He told his story, insisted on 1 his innocence of the original crime laid to his charge, recounted his honorable service in three armies of France, showed his scars. The court heard him part, ly through, yawned and sent him back ' to Bicetre. Small wonder he gave up for a while and abandoned himself to despair. He was almost sixty, and luck had run cruelly against him for nearly forty years under the republic, the consulate, the empire, the hundred days, two restorations and one revolution. He was destined to Mont St. Michel, most horrible of the prisons of the day. The | monarchy of July was then in its first ' flush and inclined to be merciful, and as a last hope he wrote out the whole story of his life from the time that he entered the school of Brienne. He did not omit ; an incident, his escapes, the petty theft lie committed alter vainiy attempting suicide. You will find it all in the Gazette den j Tribunaitz of the time. It concludes thus : " Advanced in age, my strength is failing. There remain to me but one hope and the sorrow of never seeing the end to my evils. Still the sovereign's mercy is great. I have never committed a crime which should make me despair of pardon. I cannot survive the hardships of the fearful route from Paris to Mont St. Michel. I beg, therefore, that my position may be ameliorated, by sparing me that terrible journev and severe treatment, and that I may be sent to a place of detention nearer Paris, as Poissy or Melun, where my brother, who will give security for me, can find me work at my trade (saddlery), and I can await in patience the moment when your majesty will deign to take pity on my misfortunes." This plea he sent to Qneen Amelia most pious and venerable of sovereigns. And now with a tender hearted woman, and Bhe a queen, on his side, Dubois' luck turned. The queen had the whole story hunted out. It was all true ! The regimental records attested the bravery and scrupulous honesty of Francois Dubois. Old Marshal Martier told how the hussar had ridden first and headlong into the battery of Bout-de-Lain. The Duke de Trevise bore witness before the queen of the_ hussar's repeated ; gallantry and of liis services to France as a dispatch :arrier, and interceded warmly for him. : The prefecture of police itself could onto report that the worst offense against Dubois wus his breaking jail; it was for this that he had been so relentlessly pursued and so often arrested ; there was no reason jhe should not be pardoned. He for the next week's Gazette 7V.;AiM,/mr nnnfninprl this an U' O JL / DVWfUVu.v nouncement: "Weh*vethe satisfaction of announcing that this unfortunate prisoner lias I l>een liberated ami that her majesty the queen lias presented him with a sum of money sufficient to prevent liim for the lvst of ltis days from again falling into misery." We never heard of Dubois after this, i and it is pleasant to think that at last he found rest, peace and comfort. That is the story of Frangois Dubois, . hero and galley slave, as it is written in the police archives, the army records and the Gazette den Tribunuur, how the blind fury of the law hunted him for forty years, and to the verge of the grave, for an offense which he never committed! Fashion Notes. Vorv dark' shades are as fashionable t l.'1/l lur UiUUUCli an 1UI ^iv;wu iwjao, Cat's-eye stones sot in diamouds are among the new thiugs in jewelry. Dark blue waterproof skirtnig suits are worn over eardinel red petticoats. Long trained hustles are worn hy some i ladies under trained evening dress. White Smyrna laces are used for trimming red flannel skirts and drawers. Tiny turquoises, rubies and garnets are the favorite jewels for baby sets. Cardinal ,red cashmere stockings arc clocked with black or blue or white silk. It is the fashion this winter to wear warm and comfortable shoes and stockings. Chamois skin under jackets are pre ferred by stout ladies for skating purposes. Outer garments of :ill kinds for child-1 ivu are cut very long and with no full1 11 CSS. Mrvtle green, seal brown and ink blue are still the favorite colors for dress fabrics. Ccral and gold necklaces, of tine and ; delicate workmanship, are the styles for ladies. Seal brown stockings, clocked in ribs a ad checks, with red or blue silk, are sought for. Fall dress coiffures require a great deal j of false hair, curls, puffs, frizzettes and ! false braids. Jewelry made of tigers' claws has be- j come fashionable since the Prince of! Wales' visit to India. Humming bird jewelry made entirely from the feathers of these little creatures ! i is sought for in Paris. Cashmere stockings, in pale shades of i blue, clocked with dark blue or cardinal ; red, are very fashionable. Baby pins and rings, when not sot with jewels, have the word " baby" carved or enameled on tliein. Scarf pinR, with the enameling done in i very bright colors, representing Chinese pictures, are in great demand. Skating skirts of cashmere, felt, moreen and mohair are all wora, and in i various colors, but red is preferred. Old fashioned " gemmel rings," two : or more rings joined together to form one, are among Tiffany's new styles. Gold cuff buttons, covered entirely with white enamel, to resemble linen, is j the latest style brought over from England. ? The favorite skating petticoat is of quilted red satin, sometimes flounced; and again trimmed, with frills of Smyrna | lace. ? How it Feels to be Drowning. I was crossing a bridge over a wide ! U..J. ? 1 ; UilL DUUllun micuiu, IU a IUUCIJ i-riavc, and accidentally fell off. When I say j shallow, I mean for such a wide body of , water. I saw nobody near me and could j not Bwim a 6troke. I knew how deep ' the water w{is, and gave myself up for lust. The quickness of the senses when sudden death seems impending has frequently been noted, but still, without experience, no oue can realize it. It is as if one's whole life were spread out in ! a panorama before him, every portion of which was visible at once. Every min- j ute detail of things long forgotten, and which when they happened were so trifling that they apparently made no impression on the memory, stand out in sharp and bold outline. I remembered, for instance, games of marbles played when I was a boy, and a futile attempt I once made to transmute a "commoney " into a " white alley" by roasting it in the tire. I remembered how the marble I bursted in the operation, and how a piece , of it?t,ruck and cut the cheek of the boy j who naa oepmeu me imo uiu rxpennient, and the satisfaction I experienced at the retributive justice. It seemed as if everything I had ever done, suffered, or thought, was presented to iny memory ! at a single flash. Then I struck the water, when a sound, I which I have siuce learned to liken to the roar of Niagara, burst on my ears ! and stunned me with its overwhelming j volume. I remembered a brief instant | of struggling and clutching, and then a I sense of sinking ? sinking?sinking? until I had reached a depth of thousands j of fathoms. I neither suffered pain nor j felt alarmed, but had a vague feeling j of being irresistibly home to some cat- j antrophe, the climax to which would be ] terrible. Suddenly I found myself pos- ; sessed of the power of floating or waft- j ing myfftlf along by mere volition. With ! a delicious feeling of languid indolence I suffered myself to float about?not- in I the water, but in the air?skimming over j j the surface of the ground in whatever > j direction I chose, hither and thither, as ! I a wayward fancy led. I was conscious j ; that it was a new power, and I exulted in its possession and reasoned on its j nature. I found that my body was as light as the air in which it moved, and imagined that a thistle down would, feel as I did, if possessed of consciousness. Then I was in the water again, and everything around me had a roseate hue, which speedily changed to green, then to violet, and finally to jitter darkness, aud then all was blank. As I subsequently learned, some men in a skiff half a mile away had seen me fall into the water and hurried to my assistance, but I had disappeared long before they reached the spot. Many minutes elapsed before they found me, and full half an hour afterward before the physicians, who had been summoned, nriMva/1 TMinxr ino /lon/1 niwl that they made any attempt to resuscitate me was clue solely to the persistence of au intimate friend of mine who had'' accompanied them. The Lake Shore railroad company, it is said, will contest suits for damages on account of the AslitaVmla disaster, claiming that the breaking of the bridge waft " an act of God," for which they cannot bo held responsible. They will endeavor , 1 to prove that the bridge was ordinarily cafe, and that cold weather weakened it. Should they be defeated, the amount of . judgments would amount to about half a ; million dollars. I IX THE VMTEI) STATES SENATE. (<'rn]ilitc of the Serin- when flip ('nni|>roiiiiM<> Kill wn* PreMenied. It cannot lie said that the plan of the committee was received very favorably by the members of either house, writes a Tribune Washington correspondent. Almost every one had ideas of his own which he desired to have adopted, and the passage of this bill supersedes the pet plan of procedure which a majority of the members hoped to see agreed to. Notwithstanding the abundance of adverse criticism the bill encounters, its passage may be confidently predicted. At least such is the plain outlook now. The men who denounce it most strongly ?l/i nnf env tlinf, tlirv iinfcifiiimte its de feat, and do not even propose to make an open tight against it. They usually end their criticisms by saying that they suppose the final adoption of the compromise is inevitable. Nothing was thought of or talked about at the capitol except the report of the electoral committee. Although the outlines of tlie bill agreed to were generally known, there was an anxiety and J eagerness manifested not only by the senators and representatives but by hundreds of people who gathered at the capitol early in the day to hear the text of the measure read and to learn how it , would be received. The report was presented to the Sen-' ate by Mr. Edmunds just as soon as the committee adjouured their meeting,being apparently for the purpose of carefully examining the printed copy of the bill agreed upon. The news that the report was in spread rapidly through the lobbies and coat-rooms, and the vacant chairs in the chamber were speedily filled. Perfect silence prevailed and the closest i SUKJI1UOI1 wiu* given UIU leaning. JUVGLJbody recognized the gravity and importance of the occasion. The members of , the committee had a look of serious satisfaction?all except Mr. Morton, who appeared to be in ill humor. Mr. Conkling nervously washed his hands with invisible soap and water. Mr. Edmunds sat with lingers interlocked across : his vent, twirling his thumbs. Mr. . Bayard took his pen and made an occa- i sional note, Mr. Thurman wore an impassive and judicial .look. Mr. Fre-1 lingliuysen was more than usually dig- i nified. Not a senator left his seat until : the bill and report had been read. The j excited interest in the subject was shown ! at the moment the secretary announced | the title of the report in a manner al- i most unprecedented in the Senate. A I score of voices demanded: "Bead,! read." Evidently the report was written by Mr. Edmunds, for when the secretary stumbled once or twice over the manuscript, Mr. Edmunds prompted him. Besides, its language and logic ! are characteristic. When the report had been read through, the secretary said : " Signed by the members or the committee. " Read the numes," insisted at least at score of senators in one breath. They were read, and then it was found that Mr. Mortoih's name was not there. Of the fourteen members of the joint committee, every one had signed it except the Indiana senator. All eyes were turned toward him, but he offered no minority report and said nothing. A buzz of relief from the suppressed ex- | citement that hail prevailed ran through 1 the galleries. Mr. Sargent, who came iu after the bill had been read, insisted on a i second reading. j Mr. Morton slated to one of the House members of the committee that, although j he should not sign the report, he should ' probably say nothing in the Senate to | oppose the passage of the bill. He took | strong grounds last session against the , constitutional powers of Congress to | throw the settlement of disputed questions growing out of a Presidential election into the supreme court or into any tribunal outside of the two houses. An Engineer's Snichle. Charles Collins, a civil engineer of the Lake Shore road, on which the Aahta- ' bulu calamity occurred, was found dea^l in his house, having evidently committed-suicide by si looting. He was before the investigating committee of the Legislature a few days ago, and was ! closely questioned regarding the acci- , dent and lack of wire which might per-' hitps have prevented it, and this, coupled with the fact that public opinion would not be satisfied of his innocence, it is believed led to the rash act. He had appeared very despondent previous to and immediately succeeding the examination, and had been missing since the da}- following. It is supposed that in- j stead of going to Ashtabula to join his family, who were visiting there, he repaired to his house, and fell to brooding over the terrible affair. He had passed the ordeal of the examination by the ; coroner and the legislative committee , with great satisfaction to all his friends, the members of the legislative committee entirely exonerating him in private. But he was unable to withstand fears that the general public would not so decide. The deed was evidently committed on the day succeeding the examination. Mr. Collins was highly respected as an engineer and ft gentleman, and enjoyed the complete confidence of Commodore Vanderbilt. He had been in the ' position since the consolidation. He was a graduate of the Troy Polytechnic Institute, and former eluef engineer of the Boston and Albany road. The Ballet in Elmira. The Elmira Advertiser thus expresses its omuion of ballet dancers, incidental to a description .of a recent performance in that cily : But the ballet was the , most attractive part of the entertain-1 inent, and it was the beat one ever given in Elnn'va. If it in said that our people are hardly up to the finest kind of music, how much more can it be said that tljey are not up to the ballet. They didn't seem to appreciate it. Some most graceful and beautiful dancing was allowed to pass without a murmur, while the athletic jumps of the master of the ballet, his gymnastic turns and evolutions, were encored. Four of the principal ladies 1 *1 11 1 Ail*.? 1 1 were ueciueuiy neauiiiiu iu uieir uuucing, ami looked pretty, except for their ; white skirts that didn't reach to the I kneo. Their dresses were the only ones out of character, and out of harmony with the play. The remainder of the troupe wore a graceful, neat, and not immodest costume that was Assyrian, that gave their l'mbs freedom of action, and withal was very pretty. If there is an ungraceful and ridiculous costume for a woman, it is .the usual ballet girl's dress, the white gauze skirts, that are of no possible use, either for protection or attraction. They had much better be left off entirely. A woman thus accoutered looks like a hen with all her feathers plucked off except a rim around the center of her body, and becomes rather an object for laughter and ridicule than for admiration. THREE ABANDONED CHILDREN. A Slx-Ycnr-Olil Girl Gone Crnz.v from Ilunvcr nnd Cold. Mrs. Margaret Dunn, with her sixyear-old daughter Johanna, lived in the tenement house in the rear of No. 91 Oliver street, New York. They had one miserable little room and the others about 1 it were all empty, for the tenants had 1 not paid their rent and the landlord had | turned them out. Mrs. Dunn went on a spree, leaving her children alone. Just when the spree begun is not certain, but the woman was arrested on a Saturday, too drunk to answer questions intelligently, nnd was committed to the city prison for ten days on Sunday morning, after a night at the station house. On Monday she was found raving from the effects of the liquor and was sent to Bellevue. Here her delirium passed off, and coming to herself she remembered her little daughter and besought a visitor of St. Vincent dc Paul to go and find lier before it should be txxi late. The woman will die. Mr. O'Sullivan, of that society, at I once went to the miserable room, and found the little girl alone. How many days she had been alone it is impossible to say. There was no food in the room, no lire, no water even. She was in rags , and filthy, and luid traces of dried tears on her face, but when she was found she was done crying, anil was sucking eagerly at her left hand, which she liad thus drawn o>it of all shape. The visitor spoke to her, but she paid him no attention beyond a foolish laugh. He suj>posed she was merely weak from want of food and cold, but when he had taken her away and had her fed and washed? , they had to cut oft' her hair for filth?it was found that she was demented. In- : quiry among the neighbors showed that she had been a bright, intelligent child, and though her face is pinched and wan the features* are good and the head is shapely. ' It is hoped she will recover with care and nursing, but in the Tombs police court she laughed foolishly 1, when spoken to, and said nothing. At the same time two more children were presented in court by officer Edward Chiardi, of the society for prevent? * "I * TT _ * / 1 ing cruelty to cnuureu. ne kiuuu ukiu iu a miserable hovel in Front street. It' ( is the office of this gentleman to visit the 1 island institutions and the city prisons to make inquiries for the ehiklreu of prisoners. On Blackwell's island lie learned from a Mrs. Bums that her two children were in Front street. He went there and found Bessie and Mary Burns, aged six and four years respectively. They were not in so terrible a condition as the Dunn girl because the neighbors, though having more mouths to feed themselves than they had bread for, ' gave them enough to keep body and ;: soul together. Mr. Cliiardi took them ; i under his protection, and fed them and doctored them. The mother of these i children had been sent to the island for four months. It was nearly a week after i her committal when Mr. Chiardi heard of the children, the mother seeming indif- i ferent about them. Judge Duffy sent all three to the commissioners.?Xcii' York ' World. i The Colorado Desert. The Colorado desert is 150 miles'long "* '1 nnitAi.li. nn',In wivorinnr nn ni'Pit U.11U. DC *VUUJ -XI ?\j n 4V4^J vvivt^ .... of 3,000,0(K) of acres. It lies across the i path of all immigrants and all cattle entering overland into southern California i and the oblique passage across is dread- , i ed by all travelers. It is hot as a baker's , i oven, which is caused by its being be- I low the level of the sea some seventy j i feet, and without shelter of trees, flow- . i iug water or herbage for cattle. The i aJjacent country is desolated by climatic peculiarities incident to the borders of 1 all deserts. Till lately this great basin i was part of the gulf 'of California. < Gradually obstructing drifts formed a < dam that cut off the upper end, and in i time the isolated lake dried up and be- 1 came a sunken desert. The marine shells i under foot attest this. On its now bar- ] ren borders there flourished formerly a ] populous race, with cultivated fields, sheltering forests and healthy climate. < There is occasional rain, but it comes in 1 furious and destructive storms, deluging i the country, plowing up the mountains I and scattering the surface soil over the < desert, and in process of time preparing 1 it for agriculture and forestry in genera tious to come. This gives us instructive 1 revelation of a law of nature more ford- ] bly impressed than any other, viz.: the ] law of perpetual change of forms. In time, geology teaches that every 11101111- i tiiin is destined to seeK the plains oe- j low, every sen upheave and become 1 mountains, and, literally, the earth will, 1 so to say, be turned inside out. This is 1 not idle faucy. To-day the process is ] going on before our eyes. Three thou- I sand miles of coral islands are being ] built up by marine insects from solid ] elements of ocean waters, and by gradu- ] al unheaval the sea bed becomes moun- < tain. These coral isles form a continuous chain, stretching from Australia to the continent of Asia, and they are clearly destined to be united in some future ages. Holland is drying up ancient seas 1 and converting them to dry land. Every- < where nations are reclaiming submerged i landB. Coal and metaliferous rocks are ' i being taken yearly hi hundreds of millions of tons from the bowels of the ; earth. i Sojourner Truth and the Mob. 1 At one time she was at a camp meet- ' ing, and a mob of young ruffians were determined to break up the meeting. : She, at first, hid herself, from fear, but , afterward said to herself : "What! shall I run away and hide , from the devil?me, a servant of the liv- ' big God? Have I not faith enough to mioll flint. mnh wlion T know ! uuu 44,1 lvl UUV41 v""v **"?1 , I it is written: 'One shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to . flight ?' I'll go to the rescue, and the ; Lord will go with me to protect rae." She went out into the open field. , 1 among the wild and reckless mob, and commenced to sing in the most fervid | manner and with powerful voice? It wan early in the morning, it wan early in the { morning, lust at the break of day, When He rose, when He roso, when He rose, | And wont to Heaven on a cloud. Soon the crowd surrounded her, arm-1' ed with clubs and sticks. As she ceased, one suoke up: ] "Sing on, old woman! nobody shall ' hurt you." Another said: "Talk to us, old woman!" Another: " Pray, old woman, and tell uh your experience !" < 8a she talked and sung and prayed until tho subdued and convicted mob : quietly dispersed, and the exercises of the camp meeting proceeded peacefully ;. to the close. i , Some goodness is like the glow worm in this, that it shines most when no eyes, ! except those of Heaven, are upon it. I; The Story About Mrs. Gaines. A Washington letter to the Cincinnati Commercial nays: The community was rather startled by an announcement in a paper of an engagement between Mrs. Myra Clark Gaines anil Mr. Billy McGarrahan, whose claim before Congress is an ol<l story. A first reading of the article astonished people, but a sober second reading convinced them that it was a hoax. Poor Mrs. Gaines, she is wedded to but one thing?"The case;" and can anything in this life bo more pitiable than that of a daughter striving for thirty or more years to establish her legitimate claim to property left by her own father ? From court to court this dauntless woman has fought her ground ?to-day gaining an inch, to-morrow losing a foot, but never, never giving up. j "What has been accorded as a right by I one court, has been snatched from her by the next. She is a wee bit of a woman, with eyes of piercing brilliancy; in color one moment of the blackest hue, the next a steel gray, and the same eyes, when softened by the recital of another's distress, becoming of the most tender oiue. one wears ner ngnt nair m curia, and rarely appenrs without her bonnet. She is one of the best conversationalists you ever listened to, and'one of the most agreeable women it was ever my fortune to meet. Her "laugh" lias been Celebrated for forty years,'and tilne, that ruthless destroyer, has* neither marred nor destroyed the rippling qualities which make it so infectious that whoever hears it must smile, if they don't join in with it, whether tlioy know or not the subject which has provoked the __ mirth. The supreme court has finally and unquestionably decided in her favor, and if she can collect it she will liavfe thereby $36,000,000 of money, less the $8,000,000 or $10,000,000 to be deducted for lawyers' feea, etc. When she gets final possession she intends erecting in Washington a grand hotel, where members of Congress and their families will be able to live off their salaries. Poor McGarrahan, whose name is coupled with that of Mrs. Gaines, is here this winter; but what chance has he to win even an honest claim ? He is poor. He cannot fix up the members. He cannot push his affairs forward over "canvas backs" and Vcuvc, Cliquot. If his1! claim is fraudulent it serves liim right that he is deprived of the means of carrying his bill; but* if, like Mrs. Gaines, : bo is struggling for an honest right, then " God help Billy McGarrahan " becomes more than the frivolous utterance of a heartless politician whom I heard make the exclamation several days ago. For the North Pole. Captain H. W. Howgate in a receut; letter says his polar-colonization scheme naturally divides itself under three heads, lis follows : 1. The organization of a properly i equipped expedition, with ample means, ootn ro mum mm h cuiuuy uhu mj pzuae- j cute efforts to reach the north pole. To this end Congressional aid is to be sought! and a bill has been introduced into the lower House and properly referred. j This provides that $50,000 be appropriated, to be used under the direction of ! the President, in organizing one or; more expeditions, and that the naturid ncademy of sciences be invited to assist with its advice. In case this bill fails to pass, the necessary fluids, it is hoped, could be raised by private subscription. 2. The establishment and maintenance of the colony. Proper material for j shelter, ready to be immediately put up, should be taken by the vessel carrying j the colonic. With tlus precaution | they could lie made aa comfortable as fclie signal service officials at present are at the summitof Pike's Peak or of Mount i Washington, although the exposure of these last mentioned would be for a shorter period; Proper food should be provided in proper quantities and sufficient vari- 1 sty. Fresh meat in proper quantities j can be had in the immediate vicinity of the proposed colony. With proper food Mid shelter there is 110 trouble about! keeping men even at sucn attitudes in robust health. 3. Explorations to the pole.?The jllicer in charge being on the spot would r be able to take advantage of all favor- ! ible opportunities, and no doubt, in j three yeaus' time or less, would dis-! ioxer the pole itself, if such a feat is , ivitliin the reach of human efforts. The : vessel taking the colonists should return immediately, and the colony be 1 provided with sledges and small boats . for their penetrations northward. Captain Tyson, of the Polaris party, j jntlmsiaatically indorses Captain How- j gate's scheme. He' characterizes it as the most practicable yet devised, and j thinks the scientific societies of the conn- ! try ought to memorialize Congress in j favor of the bill bofore mentioned. If ' the United States, lie says, proves too ! niggardly to prosecute this enter; rise, i England or Germany will undoubtedly j move in the matter and secure the honor ! jf accomplishing the desired result. The Fiend Twin's Diary. January.?Am bom. Didn't want to j be. Object immediately as loud as I jail. Younger brother boru seven min- | utes later. Looks like a fool, but may j improve as he mellows with age. February.?Catch r cold. Give it to younger brother. He's sicklier than I im. Very nearly settles liim. March.?Catch a nice rash. Pass it on to the other cove. Pretty well winds up [lis clock. April.?They've christened us. I'm Augustus and lie's Alexander. Don't he look an ass of an Alexander! I'll kick liim when he sleeps. May.?Got the nettle rash. HoorayJ so s ne ! omy worst1. June.?They don't think they'll be ; ible to reur liirn. He's to have cod liver oil. Can't help laughing. July.?He's been squalling awful. Nurse says it's his nasty temper. I; know it's a pin, but I'm not going to say. August.?We've got a new nurse, who talks to tall soldier, and leaves perambulator basking in the sun. Alexander's [jot a blister on his nose. They d^n't know wlmt.it is, and they're going to give liim a powder. , September.?I ve given him the scarlatina. He seems resigned. I've nailed liis feeding bottle. October.?I've got a new game now? poking Noah's wife into his ear when fhe nurse ain't looking. November.?We're beginning to walk. He's weaker on his pins than I am, so I can shove him over easy. December.?I'm beginning to cut my first tooth. As soon as it's through I've made up my mind to bite Alexander.? Puneh. Frank Walworth is still in the State lunatic asylum in Auburn, N.Y., and Superintendent Gray believe? tlwt he was insane when he killed liis father. j He Whipped "lanKee" nuinvan. Among the storiee told about the late Commodore Vanderbilt is the following, related by an old resident of Staten Island: During the warm and closely contested Presidential campaign of 1844, when James K. Polk aud Henry Clay were running as the respective candidates of the Democratic and Whig parties, there was great enthusiasm and intense excitement on Statcn Island relative to the issue. Commodore Vanderbilt, who was ( then in his prime, took a great interest in the fight, and was an ardent supporter of Henry Clay, for whose success lie exerted himself with all the vigor for which he was so well noted. He was amorg the foremost in getting up meetings and processions, and organized and commanded a magnificent troop of horsemen composed of about 500 of the finest men in the Whig party on the island. When the grand Clay and Frelinghuysen procession took place in New York Commodore Vanderbilt and his troop of horsemen occupied a very conspicuous position in it, drew encomiums from all who saw them, and were greatly cheered. The commodore, especially, presented an imposing appearance on account of his magnificent physique. At that time " Yankee " Sullivan kept a barroom in Chatham street, just opposite City Hall park. He was in his barroom with a irancr of roughs fis Commodore Vander hilt's troop passed by, and hearing the applause and noting the fine appearance of the commodore, he thought it a fine opportunity of exhibiting to his friends h >w lie could "take the commodore down," and ruslxing out he seized the reins of his horse and tried to compel him to alight. The horse reared, the commodore cut Sullivan across the back with his whip, and then, leaping to the ground, so badly beat him that his friends took him away in a nearly senseless condition. Commodore Vanderbilt remounted and proceeded, and was not molested again tliat day. As every one knows, Clay was defeated. The result was, so far as Commodore Vanderbilt was concerned, that he went out of politics, and ever after kept entirely clear of pariy b triii". Bank Clerks. The Boston Commercial Bulletin says that the bank clerks of Boston arc as capable, industrious, and faithful a set of bank officers as can be found in any city in the world. But after all, it states, the place to find an extensive army of well trained bank clerks is in the Bank of England. This institution, with its capital of ninety millions of dollars and dating back to 1694, to-day employs nine hundred clerks. The building in which these clerks do their work covers live acrefc of ground. It has not a single window upon the street, the light of day being admitted only through open courts. It has a clock in the center of the bank with fifty dials. The ' Bank of England is instituted in the ! center of London ; but it has one branch i at the west end of the city, and many ; branches in the provinces. Though the Bank of England employs a very heavyforce of, clerks, it would seem, from a glance at its business, that it ought to keep them well employed aud fairly remunerate them. Its sole work in its ' issue department is to give out notes to the public. The profit the bank derives from its issue department is the interest received upon the 870,000,000 govern- ' ? ? ? -- i 4.1,^ ment uem ana securities, wmvu, ?t me rate of tliree per cent., is ?2,100,000 a year. By its dealing in coin and bullion, it lias the reputation, of making $150,000 a yeftr. The amount of Bank of England notes afloat generally averages about 3100,000,000, and has lately reached1 $1(55,000,000. The deposits in the Bank of England, out of which it of course makes a great deal of money, range from $60,000,000 to nearly twice that sum. The Ohio Valley Floods. It is fortunate, says an exchange, that the area of heavy precipitation which caused the floods in the Ohio and Cumberland rivers has been limited to that of the Ohio valley region. If it had extended into the watersheds of the upper Mississippi and the Missouri rivers we might now be recording the destruction of levees and the inundation of the bottom lands along the lower course of the "Father of Waters." While the Ohio and tributaries were gorged with the floods descending from their respective ! watersheds the upper portion of the j Mississippi and the entire length of the j Missouri were so unaffected by the recent heavy storms of rain and snow as to I add but little beyond the ordinary flow j to the volume of water entering the lower i Mississippi at Cairo. Hence the latter j, river below that city was low rfnd rendv to receive the surplus from the Ohio .miiuv witlmni PThihit.imranv remarkable ..mw, o ? disturbance of its levels. The damage i caused bitlie floods wa?, therefore, con-1 fined to tne regional which they originated. If, as we stated above, the immense watersheds of the Mississippi and Missouri had been proportionately affected ' by the storms as was that of the Ohio 1 valley, the destruction of property would have been unparalleled, for the united waters would have continued to be pre-,: cipitated into a reservoir, or rather channel, already filled. The " danger line " 1 would have been overtopped at all points and the adjacent country inundated. The possibility of this occurring any year should awaken the State authorities 'to a sense of their danger, and induce them to exert themselves to provide against such a contingency by raising , and strengthening the Mississippi levees The Centennial Addresses. It in not so generally known as it ; should be, says a Washington paper, that Congress invited by special joint resolution, approved March, 13, 1876, , that all counties or towns where histori nil addresses were delivered on the ceutennial day. July 4, 1876, should file one . copy of such addresses in the library of Congress, at Washington. Up to this time about 150 historical documents 1 illustrating the origin and progress of j ais many American towns and countries have been received and filed ait the ' library of the United States. Many of these aire in manuscript, many more in : newspaper form and others in quite jf elaborate books with illustrations. ' Twenty-seven States aind four Territor- |: ies are represented in this collec-!1 tion, and others are still coming in, which, it is hoped, will be continued 1 until printed sketches or manuscript, histories of American towns are gathered ; together at the seat of government. Representative G. A. Hardenbergh. of New Jersey, under whose auspices the work has thus far been done, is still giving the subject his earnest attention, and hopes to be fully successful in completing this greait commemorating record , of American progress. / ancvi nuiu u? Sweet hour of prayer, nwcet hour of prayer, % That calln nie from a world of care, And bidrt me at my Father'* throne Makes all my wants and wishe# known ; In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief, And oft escaped the tempter's Bnare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, May I thy consolation share, Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height, , I view my home and tako my flight; This robe of flesh I'll drop, and rise To seize the everlasting prize, And shout, while passing tlirough the air, Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer. Ifoitis of Interest Every clay of your life is a page in your history. The best portrait ol Happiness ih a laughing child. California shipped 3(>.000,000 pounds of wool last year. Many a man blows the bellows of the organ that sounds his praise. A young lady may dine in an ivory cashmere, trimmed with pink silk. "A" is easy enough, but the last letter of the alphabet izard. Do you Z it? Over seventy members of the Vermont Lesislature attend a prayer meeting every morning. Eemember that one square meal is better than all the " Heaven pity the poor " poems ever written. , The Lowell Courier 6ays wlien a man is elected mayor he naturally thinks ha is getting Hon. in the world. It is estimated that not less than 10,000,000 trees have been set out in Minnesota during the past year. The T,nn Ancplpa Herald, savs that southern California needs farmers and money, and not helpless clerks. An exchange says that " money is so tight that we actually believe it must wear corsets." Of corset does. Sweet are the uses of adversity. A cross eyed schoolmarm can keep twee the usual number of children in order at once. A fashion paper says that damasses will be popular with the ladies this winter, and society men have taken'fresh hold of life. A mother remarked: "Yes, I want my daughter to study rhetoric, for she can't fry pancakes now without smoking all the house up." A philosopher who went to a church where the people came in late said it was " the fashion there for nobody to go till everybody got there." A Nashville man answered a Chicago advertisement, "How to win at poker," and received for his two dollars the following : "Hold four aces or don't poke." The Bashi-Bazonks have been described as " irregular Tartar troops who are quartered on the inhabitants in time of peace, and quarter them in time of disturbance." The State of Maine pays a $5 bounty for every bear killed within its limits. Last year was apparently good, or rather a bad year for bears, for 54i^ere killed, costing the State $2,745. A postal clerk in Dubuque opened a letter just to see if a certain girl was very sweet on a certain fellow. She was, and the government is also very sweet on the postal clerk. They do business witn uiBpatcn iu Texas. A man iu a certain neighborhood who had lost a valuable mare, received the following by telegraph:' 'Mare here. Come get her. Thief hung." The time is at hand when a fellow buys for his chum's sister a highly ornamental valentine, the great center of attraction of which is a picture of the fabled boy who has decidedly more wings than overcoat. How a St. Louis bankrupt got rid of 86,000 in three weeks was explained to the satisfaction of the creditors by a witness, who explained that he was a "genial" fellow, that he played poker and bought lottery tickets. Norristown Herald:? Love makes 128 pounds of girl feel no heavier than a feather on a fellow's knee. Fulton Tuiich :?And the same fellow would have his leg cramped all out of shape by seventy-five pounds of wife. "Is that a friend of yours?" asked a New York gentleman, pointing to a party who was sailing rapidly down the street. " Can't tell you till next Saturday," returned the iudividual addressed. " i've just lent him five dollars." The principal of a Des Moines (la.) school raised a false alarm of fire us an experiment, just to see how quickly the pupils could get out of the building. The panic was a striking success, and several children were slightly hurt. In the following there is a good deal # of truth : There are plenty of good but weak women iu every community who'll work, and starve, and scrimp, in order to furnish their parlors, and then won't sit in 'em for fear of injuring the furniture. The correspondent of a Western newspaper says that Claude Burroughs, on being sent from the Union Square Theater to act in the Brooklyn Theater wrote a note to the young woman to whom he was engaged, saying that he wished tiie Brooklyn establishment would burn ilown. This is a dreadful winter for the poor icemen. Every time, says the Burlington JIaw/ccijc, they have raised the piteous wail that there will be another ice famine next season, the thermometer goes down to bed rock, aud the Mississippi freezes from top to bottom and half way back.' Mr. Holly, the engineer, will attempt to heat the entire city of Lockport, N. Y., by steam. The city is divided into districts, and each district is to have its separate boiler. Mains from each boiler lire run to the different houses, and all the occupant has to do is to turn a faucet and obtain all the heat he wants. The newsboys of Washington are uniformed. This is a departure from tho ancient and accepted uniform of the newsboys, which usually consists of a man's coat, one suspender and a cigar Btump. Sometimes, under stress of very trying and destitute circumstances, the ? i ?i suspenuer anu cuul iimj ut~ uumwu. Three millions in twenty-dollar gold pieces arrived in New York from San Francisco. The weight of the gold was six tons, it filled fourteen iron safes, and it took seventeen men to guard it on the way. Suppose Yanderbilt's sixty millions were hi gold, weighing one hundred and twenty tons, what a troublesome thing it would be t<> have about the house.