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; ' , v ABBEVILLE PRESS & BANNER. ????? - - * ' BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 1877. VOLUME XXIV.---NO. 48. I tL V? Tn^ov The Old Garden. A garden, a lovely old garden I see, As I shut my tired eyes in the night; With its alleys and walks and green groupii :s of trees! Afc a picture it shines to my sight. Not the picture it shone, but neglected r. d rude: Its borders all ragged with moss; It beds tracts of weeds, and its blossoms 1 n wild As if ruin had driven across. There stood the old pear?a pagoda of grec: With fruitage like bells covered o'er; The whole summer sunshine, its dews and its scents, Mellowed in from the pfeel to the coro. And U-jre stood the cherry tree's rich ccral gems, Where the cherry thieves peeked might a:id main; With tho boy in the harvest moon, robbing the boughs, And the mastiff up leaping in vain. And the peach, with its rich, luscious, velvc ty gioDea, That sensitive child of the sun ! The red down cleft open to show the g< Id flesh; And the mounds where the cucumbers mn. The nectarine's smooth, sheeny fruit bv th ir side; The apricot's pin speckled rtist; The damson's bright blue: the large, oval Cfjplum; And the grape's silver, delicate dust! Yes, the old fruitful garden plot shone a bouquet, The richest and rarest of bloom! Wheh the jewel eyed May came in youth fid array And shed round her gladsome perfume. In the hot summer nights, the dull beetle began, With its bagpipe, to skim o'er the ground, Sip the nectar of flowers and honey dew-d plants, The fire-flv lighting Litn round. Then the glow-worm her green and gold In a terns neia lorcu Where the gooseberry sprawled by the wisII; And the fox fire's pale silver shone out of the black, The lilac stretched wide like a pall. And the bat - that winged mouse?left his be;>in in the barn, ( (And wheeled in his pathway askance: "While the cricket its shrill, hollow violin scraped For the fairies to come to the dance. When the sun. to draw water, his ladder let down, The garden expanded its breast; And soon the bright pellets glanced rjph on t'ie rose, And danced on the hollyhock's crest. Tho bumblebee's jacket was spanglod with drops, As he tumbled inside the cupped flower, And the butterfly's fans found their velvet w et through In the warm, ba'ny 'las of the shower.. The old ciooked quince in a nook of the fer.-'e Its silver-gold product displayed; And the currant hung out its red tassels of fruit Where tlic sunflower kindled the shade. With wealth of rich health the syringa pour d out When spring shone again on the scene ! What worlds of sweet violets blue, gold and white, Awoke in their tuftings of groen ! The old garden spot has now vanished away; A dwelling stands forth in its place; And a street, hard and stouy, runs straight 1 v the fence, Where the roses no longer I trace. Those pictures of bygones! how lovely tbi v look In the desert and glare of to-day ! glow Jllie UJU uma^t; mm uivrouuio ai.u streams That in Edeu but flourish and play. ? Christian Union. My Mysterious Muleteer. We were a party of three Englishmen, traveling by rail from Madrid to the east coast, bound to Puerta Muerta, to buy transport mules for a certain little war then in progress in the remotest east. ? It was at Almanza, the junction for Valencia and Barcelona, that I first saw my mysterious muleteer. No muleteer was he then to all outward seeming; but dressed like a Spanish gentleman of the old school, wrapped in a wide capa or cloak, which, when he chose, completely enshrouded his face. This was n?.| invariably ; more than once I saw his features plainly enough. He was not alone. A strikingly handsome girl, so like him that'she was evidently his daughter, cliiin; to him in a manner that betrayed evident anxiety and nervousness on his account. Her eyes, full of loving solicitude, were continually turned to his ; now and again she motioned to him as if she wished him to cover up his mouth with his cloak. Was this for ooncealme.\t, or was he an invalid ! They were ratl'ir a remarkable pair. Possibly it was the splendid Spanish beauty of the girl that attracted me, but I found myself thinking of them for the remainder of the journey. I looked out lor them on the platform at Puerta Muerta, but they were nowhere in sight. Then the pressure of ray own affairs drove them quite out ?j my head, and for some time I was so busily occupied that I had no leisure for vagm. dreams. Puerta Muerta, when we reached ii might, in truth, have been dead a thousand years. The houses were like crumbling mummies set up in rows along the deserted dust encumbered streets only a stray f;:lucha or two, with ragged sails, lay in lhharbor. The warehouses were all boarde< up, the mole overgrown with grass. Tin great caravanserai or fonda by the se: shore could have done no business foi years; we had the greatest difficulty i; persuading its landlord that business had come at last. But in an hour or two all was changed A Spaniard has a keen scent for gain, wher money can be made without great expenditure of force. The town awoke with a start galvanized, as it were, into life by the actio:; of English gold. The shopkeepers took down their shutters; merchants hithertr idle came to proffer their services; dealerwithout mules came in crowds to propose contracts for their supply. t My duties brought me into close connection with the people of the place; good eafy going country folk,speaking a provincial patois, clinging to local costume?: black, flat sombrero as wiue as a carl wheel, a white shirt, black sash, white pet ticoat or kilt, footless stockings, and ropt soled sandals on their horny feei?veryteui perate, not over-industrious, hut patien! and willing to work for very moderat< wages. The times were hard ; recent po litical troubles and a bad harvest hat brougham any to the verge of want, an< raen <?aroe -'u great numbers to be "apun | tado "?" put down," or noted for employ j ment by us. I was perplexed at times to I choose, but I relied chiefly on my own judgj ment of physiognomy and physique, provided all could produce, as proof of respectability, their " cedulas de vecinidad," or ! passports, signed by their local authorities. I We were seated in the patio smoking one 1 evening, when a waiter came to say a man j had called to be "put down." It was after business hours, but he was shown in. He was a tall, well grown man, in the prime of life, dressed in the country fashion, holding himself very straight, and with voice and manner seemingly above his station. He made his request for employment in an in; dependent, straightforward way, which i nleaeed me. " What do you think of him?" I said in I English to Clayton. " Pardon me," said the applicant, also in ! English, correct, but not fluent, I under! stand your language." I liked him for his honesty. "You have papers; your cedula and all I that?" "Xo, I have none. I stand simply on my merits, such as they are. I am accustomed to animals, strong, willing to ?work, honest"? "That you had better leave us to say," put in Clayton. We were still speaking in j English. " Do you doubt it, sir ?" said the stranger, I raising his voice? as if disposed to call the J questioner to serious account. j Then, although the light was not good, I ' recognized him. It was the stranger I had I seen at the station at Almanza. " You are engaged," I said at once. ! "Come to-morrow to the bull ring, our j headquarters, for orders." He made a courteous bow, and, without speaking again, left us. " Well, of all the idiotic proceeding*," cried Clayton at once?"to engage a mnn I who has no papers; a man who speaks i English"? I "That oucrht to be in his favor." " My experience is that the linguists of an out-of-the-way foreign town are all I rogues. How comes he to know English? It looks fishy." " Your absurb mistrustfulness, Clayton, | is the worst trait in your character. You will 1 never be a great man." "Rubbish! That is beside the question. ' I protest against the employment of this fel| low." " And I insist upon it. I was much taken with his looks. Don't vou agree with me, 1 Hinks?" 'The "vet" never ventured an opinion spontaneously; even when directly asked, he hesitated. Now, he felt the sinews of one arm slowly up and down, a favorite habit of his when in doubt, as if he were trying the tendons of a suspicious horsi-, and after a time only said : " I wonder what he knows about animals? ! He may be of use." And he was, undoubtedly. Before he had i been in our employment for twenty-four hours, Enrique, as he was called, became I our right-hand man. We were now in the I full swing of purchase; daily we sat in I state at a long table in the arena of the bull | ring, and gave audience to high and low. The dealers flocked in?some with droves of mules; others with a team or a pair. Now and again, a laboring man with tears J in his eyes, brought his one precious beast? | his bread winner and familiar friend?and I sold him to us, or tried to sell him, for | double what he was worth. Enrique was i invaluable; he was profoundly knowing in ) ?! 1- 1 ..11 Hllllilill^, itUU up iu an mc tn^ivo kji tit.. trade. To save trouble, although I spoke a { certain amount of Spanish, we installed j Itiin as interpreter and go between; and a-> I such he gave such souyd advice, and seemed j so trustworthy, that even suspicious Clayj ton began to appreciate him. Enrique j possessed, also, the rare gift of organization j to a degree seemingly strange, unless it j were the result of long practice added to natural powers. ' Seeing this, and that the rest of the muleteers readily admitted his j superiority, I gave him carle blanch'-. ! Within a week our men and animtils weiv | brigaded; responsible heads were appointed; j our stables were as well disciplined and | orderly as those of a regiment of horse. He went on with his duties steadily and ' quietly, and lie made no friends among the | muleteers; he seemed to talk to no one but I jnyscif, and even with me, although I treat t ed him, as I felt he was, quite as my equal, ! he ?'as singularly reserved. Every night at varying hours I visited i the ring, and found Enrique prompt always I to answer my call. I / fntKor 1'itn lu? U'nc ar?/V\m nanvittn ".."I ?- 1 J?-J, j me on my rounds, when a tremendous knocking at the outer gate made us boili ' start. "Go and see, Enrique, what that means?"' " Excuse me, Senor Capitan. I will send Alejandro;'' and with a strange alacrity Enrique loft me. I myself reached the gate in time to hear the following short colloquy: i " Who goes there?" from within. | "La authoridad (the authority). Open, in the name of the quee.i." Isabella was on the throne; Xarvaez at : j her right hand. The political air was heavy with electricity, and all Spain was , j under martial law. "I am the master here,'' said I, at once putting myself forward. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?" guards, and at their head was a small I dried up atom of a man, who seemed all gray mustaches and gold headed cane. " I am the chief of police of this city. I ; require to see all your muleteers. I am informed yon harhor here a dangerous rebel i chief." I resented these peremptory tones, but even before I could protest, the muleteers, with the instinct of obedience to a despotic 1 rule, had ranged themselvesin a row. * "They are all here?" s;.id Don Cirilo, turning to me, as soon as he had inspected > each in turn by the light of a lantern. ' " All your muleteers are here?" " All my muleteers are here," I repeated. ; Enrique was absent; but he was now our overseer, not a muleteer. I permitted mv, self this slight evasion, for 1 felt certain En[ rique wished to remain concealed. ;1 ' It is very strange." And then the intruders made a thorough search of the place, all to no purpose. Pres ently, without a word of apology, they took 1 their leave. > On mentioning the affair to Clayton, all t his old suspicions of Enrique revived. "I knew how it would be. You have i made a fatal mistake. You were particu1 larly desired to avoid any collision with the local government, and yet your hasti. ness in engaging this fellow will cornproi iuise us seriously. . |. " You have always admitted Enrique was worth his weight in gold to us." [ "lie will I>e dearer than that, if the , Spanish authorities, as 1 fear, order us to i leave Puerta Muerta." i While he was still speaking, a pair of . civil guards appeared, and one of them served upon me a .summons to appear iin . mediately ltcfore the military governor of , the town. Till now, although employed by our own i government, our operations had been cont ducted as private persons; a purely com mercial enterprise suffers from official rec> ognition. But feeling that now we were in . some danger of misconstruction, I hastily t put on my uniform and wetit to the citadel. 1 was received most courteously. The - uniform did that. Directly I entered, the 1 commandant turned to the chief of the poI lice and said, rather sharply: I " lie is an English officer, you see. Thit ! can go no further, captain," he said to me, j " pardon our suspicions. Some wise peo1 pie have discovered a dangerous conspiracy in your doings. Tell me the truth. What j is your object here?" " We are buying mules." " That I know, but for what purpose ?" " To send them to the East." " For the British government?" "If you must know, yes." j' " We heard you were drilling and rais| ing a force of insurgents, and that you I meant to seize the citadel for Prim. | Forgive me. Will you take a cigar?" He was decorated with the Moorish war j medal, and perhaps was not violently opposed to Marshal Prim. j My interview with the authorities ended ; thus. But we were no* yet out of the wood. I I saw from the face of the chief of the po: lice that he was not satisfied, and I meant to put Enrique on his guard directly he re| turned to his post. But he never returned, ; for obvious reasons. Two civil guards I mounted sentry night and day at the gates | of the bull ring, and made it their business 1 to examine everybody who went in ana out. Clayton was now quite convinced of j Enrique's guilt. We must have nothing more to do with the man, thut was plain. I wassorry for my mysterious muleteer. I had seen enough of him to gather that he ! was a person of superior station, and I had | no desire to help him to exile at the Philip; pines, or perhaps to be shot with only a 1 iorm of trial ?and then his daughter, the ! Spanish beauty ? I had seen or heard nothing "whatever of her since the day at AlI manza junction. A few days passed. Then the first steam ship arrived to load up with mules, and we proceeded to embark our first batch. While I was " telling off" the muleteers and the animals, and preparing to send them?missing Enrique's services at every instant?a note^was put into my hands. " When can I speak to you ? Your uniform courtesy and kindness lead me to throw myself at your feet. Will you add the other favor to the many I am in your debt. The bearer will bring you to me at the hour named to-night. Enrique." I was punctual, and was led by a ragged lad down several back streets, and at length below a low archway down into a sort of vault. There, shrouded in his big cloak, was Enrique, and with him was his daughter. Hp did the honors of his cellar as if it i had been a palace. I was presented to his daughter. She might have been a princess. "I will not waste your time, Capt. Gaythorne," he said, speaking in Spanish. ' What I ask is that you should send me in your steamer to Alexandria to-morrow." "You are anxious to leave the country?" " I am." "Compromised ?" " There is a price upon my head." " It might involve me, and, worse than that, my government." I really hesitated. " Oh, sir, for the love of God, have pity "? His daughter had seized my arm. Tears filled her large eyes. How eloquent they were! " Concha !" said her father, "you must restrain yourself. I respect.your scruples," he said to me. " But, believe me, I am not a very hardened offender. I am more sinned against than sinning. I was led to ' pronounce' "? " You are an officer ?" " Of course." He drew himself up, as if he wondered how I could have doubted it. " My father is "? I interrupted her. " I had rather not know, senorita. But he can command me to the utmost of my power. It may not be easy to get him on hoard; the police are on the alert, and we I must be very circumspect." I lelt them as soon as possible, although it was sweet to hear Concha's voluble thanks, and to look into her grateful eyes. A watch, unobtrusive but close, was kept upon the ship. Civil guards patrolled the wharf; the chief of the police came on oavopo! timoa I wah nhliororl "WttiU |OV'UtU ^ show him every attention. He made several visits to the mule deck, and inspected our muleteers every day. To the very moment of starting he hovered about, his myrmidons within call, as if he suspected to the last. But the good ship Sophonisba at length cleared for sea. Warp after warp was cast adrift, and she forged slowly ahead past the mole; then her bows swung round, she gained the open sea and went fairly oil* under full steam, pausing only to pick up one of her boats which appeared to be waiting for her outside. Enrique was in this boat. Years passed, and I heard nothing more of the mysterious muleteer?years of turmoil and dissension in Spain. First, Isabella fled before the insurrection of Montpensier and Prim; then came the Republican risings, quenched in torrents of blood ; next, Amacieo and the assassination of tho I king maker ; last of all the Carlist inva! sion and the bitter civil war. Concha I had never quite forgotten. I Often I had wished to revisit Spain. In ] all the changes and chances of these very ! years perchance her father might have | found himself at the top of the tree; perI haps, also? Then a roving spirit took me to the | northern provinces. San Sebastian was be j sieged; i must needs push torward and sec all I could, when I suddenly found myself surrounded and a prisoner in the hands of j the Alphonsist tfoops. I spoke in Spanish, and said I was an Englishman. There were Englishmen among the Carlists; my knowledge of Spanish did not befriend me. I was evidently a suspicious person. The subaltern officer in command was for disposing of me at once. My fate would have been sealed but for the oppor| tune arrival of a colone' in staff uniform, | who hearing my explanation decided that j I must go before the general-in-chief. Accordingly, bound with a thin cord in ths?t | ingenious Spanish fashion, which is more | efficient than handcuffs or shackles, I was, j after a long delay, ushered into the presence I of the great man. " Your name,"said he, without looking up. I "Gaythorne." "Gracios al cielo!" cried the general, springing to his feet. "At last we meet, generous friend. .Release him instantly. | This gentleman is most dear to me?dearer ! than a son." " Enrique !" I cried. " Enrique Guevarra y Camposillos, capj tain general anil commander-in-chief of the armies of Castile, and your firm friend till I death." 1 spent the following winter at Madrid, i and, renewing my acquaintance with Concha t Guevarra, think it is not unlikely that I [ may become the general's son in more than i in name. I Not Valued Highly. A minister whs told once by a man , that lie had been a professor of religion for many years, but for ten years had neglected all religious duties; but notI withstanding this he had never given up j his "hope." The reverend gentleman ! noticing meanwhile that his breath ' smelled strongly of liquor lost no time j in telling him it was time he did. He j did not set much value upon a hope that : had been preserved in whisky for ten I years. .! There are nine things that will make a man mad, but one is enough when his wife tells him he can't have any dinner because she couldn't get the wash boiler i off the stove in time. Hog Raising in Texas. Colonel J. Depuy Davis, sojourning in Texas, in a letter to the editor of the Reading JEagle, gives an interesting account of the life of settlers in Stephens county, that State. One of the pioneprs wrote as follows: I am at present located about twenty miles west of Palo Pinto. This is a fine country?mountainous and picturesque, and well adapted to the raising of hogs and cattle, and enough of good farming lands in the valleys for all practical purposes. We are boarding at a rancho while we get our claim in habitable shape. It is about a mile from here, beautifully located, and has about eighty acres, which we can cultivate. We are at present cutting house logs and cedar poles for rails, and hope to be located permanently in a few weeks. We had four horses to start with, and by trading around have still that number and a start of hogs, twelve in all. This is the greatest country for trading I ever Baw. The people here are mostly from the North and have the Yankee proclivity, "swapping," fully developed. I like the country and tho people and intend to stick out here. Stock raising is the principal occupation. When I tell you that the hunting is good here I am not joking? chickens, quails, deers, turkey?the latter till you cannot rest; also occasionally catamounts, panthers, bears, etc. A good hunter can keep himself in fresh meat easily. It does not require much to start hero. Should you desire to come, 8100 would give you a good start in the hog business. For instance, you have S100. You invest before coming, either in Dallas or Forth Worth, in two ponies, the one to ? J J 11 41 4-W./U -nrJfV, v riUU 11 LIU LXIW UtJLLCl tv LA UUV HiVii, JLVU can get them for, Bay $15 each, and say S15 more for a Baddle and bridle?in till 845. Put the remaining money in your pocket and don't fool any away and strike out, not neglecting to bring all jour clothes, as they dress very well here. You arrive. Keep your saddle pony for vour own uro, and trade the other for hogs. You can get, say fifteen head for it, which will be enough to start you in that line, and if your saddle pony is a good one you can get for the use of it your board wliile you are getting your claim ready?that is, putting up a log house ten by twelve and cutting a few poles, which make excellent rails. An ordinary hand can cut 100 per day and not hurt himself. In two weeks you have n place to live in with hogs cough to start you and a Baddle pony and $50 in money, or thereabouts, $10 of which will keep one man over a month "batching" it. Should J. -!. i. 1 yOU not? WlWl IrU put up jruui uwu U^uov-'j $15 will get it (lone for you, and you can hunt in the meanwhile?which reminds me, that you will need a gun, either a good shot gun or a rifle. It would be better instead of getting a trading pony to get a pretty fair work horse. You have no idea the amount of hogs or cattle you can procure for him. The Question of Mortality. The comparison of vital statistics, as given in a large number of reports from various countries, makes the death rate of the cities of each of these countries considerably in excess of the cities of the United Stales. For instance, the annual mortality for each thousand in Madrid is sixty-five ; in Berlin, 30.6 ; m London, 22.2 ; in New York, 27.9 ; or, bv another report, 29.8 ; Philadelphia, 20.3; or, by another report,- 19.82; Boston, 18.85; Liverpool, 23.9. Or, taking twenty i^ngiiBii ciues, uu uveiage of 22.79 per thousand, an excess in the same year of 2.96 over that of as many cities hi the United States. According to De Bow's statistics the mortality of Sweden is 2-4.39 ; France, 26.89; Belgium, 23.23 ; Massachusetts, 17.31. By the returns of the seventh census, 1850, the death rate of the whole United States was 13.8 ; while England was 22.07 ; France, 23.97 ; Russia, 35.50 ; Prussia, 20.58. By the eighth census, 1860, the death rate of the United States was 12.5, showing a decided increase of vitality, as, in times of peace, the death rate is an iudex of the sickness rate and the general degree of physical disability. The recent army statistics of our civil war give yet stronger confirmation of American advantages. In the mean girth of the chest the Americans enlisted measured a little less as compared with Canadians, Englishmen, Irishmen and Germans ; but in the mean expansion of the chest they surpassed all but the Canadians. The height of the Americans, five feet and 7.29 inches, was the greatest, except that of the Canadians, five feet 7.50 inches. The testimony of the great majority of our army surgeonB in answer to the question: " What nationality presents the greatest physical aptitude for military service ?" is most emrslmtin in fnvnr of the native American as possessing more physical stamina, greater average height, superior intelligence and activity. Not to multiply dry facts and figures, they seem to support the ojpinion that the native American type, instead of being a degeneration, is an improvement. Tlio new world has so far improved the progenitor races. This is hopeful and cheerful for a national outlook toward greater improvement and a worthy destiny. A Foreign War in Washington. The prospect of immediate war between Russia and Turkey, with a probability of other powers being dragged into it before long, is of course the subject of much consideration at Washington,and the New York World has obtained the opinions of Admiral Porter and Gen. Sherman in regard to it. The admiral naturally looks at the matter from a naval point of view, and finding that the Russian navy is inferior to the Turkish, and that the Dardanelles and Bnsphorus | are well fortified, concludes. that it will ! be impossible for the Russians to take, or perhaps even attack Constantinople , from the water. no, counts inucji ou | the religious fanaticism of the Turks, | who, he thinks, having already bought j in the United States an abundant supply of the best arras in the world, will give every dollar and every valuable they have to aid their side. Gen. Sherman's idea is that all the great powers will be involved in the war before the year is out,and that the struggle is going to cost a million of lives, with some of the greatest battles ever fought. As to Constantinople, he suggests, with his usual acuteness, that it will do the Turks no good if they loBe every other point. The general has not forgotten how he squeezed out the rebel forces from Charleston and Savannah. Both officers dwell with satisfaction upon what is patent to every one, tha{; the war will enure to the benefit of the United States, and give a long and sorely needed impetus to our trade and commerce, Admiral Porter predicting that the war will last two years at least, during which we shall have to plant for the whole world. FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD. Dainty Dlshe* From Cold Scraps. Stews and baslies come under the clans l of rechauffccn, on which time enough cannot be expended. There is no reason why the causes of their importance j should be enumerated. Equally promi' nent are the reasons of their disrepute, . for tliis the more shame, for everybody likes hash and Irish stews secretly if not | openly, though the one is held up to scorn by the mistrel and the other is reviled by the seminary girl as "muss."] ; There are, however, many other ways of; disposing of yesterday's feast, and with- i out opening further the subject, which yawns too widely for the space here, a few new recipes will be sufficient. There is a book in England, brought to notice by Truth, the new English periodical, called ' 'Cold Scraps Made Into Dainty Dishes," j from which that journal extracts the fol- j I lowing, called: I A Herring's Grave.?Pick all the i bones out of a salt herring, divide the J j flesh, and mix it with mashed potatoes, j : pepper and salt, and a good lump of but! ter. Take a boiled onion, finely chop it j and mix with the herring; put it in a saucepan over the ftro, stir it till it warms j through, turn on to a disb and smooth I round. F Cold fish of any kind may be always j transformed into a salad with mayonnaise I Ul'CBBllJg, Meat Rissoles.?Chop flue the cold 1 meat, .carefully excluding every particle of fat, skin and outside; pound in a mortar with a small piece of butter, adding pepper, salt, and powdered fine herbs; put this into a pan on the fire and take off as soon as hot; stir in the yolk of an egg beaten up with a little lemon juice and put the mixture by to cool; make a paste of six ounces of flour, two ounces of butter, a pinch of salt, the yolks of two eggs and? a little water; roll it out and cut into smell squares; put the meat in the center and paste the corners over, pressing them well down; fry in hot lard and serve with parsley. Chicken Croquettes.?Take half a medium-sized onion, chop it up and fry with an ounce of butter until it begins to turn wit.li a tfthlfiSDOOn of floUT! add it to the meat Which iiaa been minced, having removed the skin and gristle; pour in a teacup of broth, and season with salt, pepper, and some chopped sweet herbs; having molded the croquettes in proper Bhape (lip them in the beaten yolk of an egg and roll in bread crumbs; fry in hot lard; mushrooms may be added to the meat with advantage. The Next Day.?Take beef or mutton left over, mince it tine with an onion, stir in a half cup of broth and put into the baking pan; the cold mashed potatoes moisten with a tablespoon of cream, and add a beaten egg to every cup of potato; put this above the meat in the baking "? i 1--11 ? 1- - * i.1.* pan, ana giazc wun ouuer ueiure puitnig in the oven. Veal Bits.?Cut cold veal inte square pieces; beat two eggs with salt, pepper and chopped parsley; dip each piece into this and then into bread crumbs; butter a baking pan and arrange the pieces of meat within, scattering through small pieces of butter; bake and serve with tomato sauce. The Snowflfikc Potato. Since the introduction of the Early Rose there have been a host of new seeding potatoes brought out, all highly lauded as something better than what we already possessed, which in a few years would almost entirely disappear, in consequence of not possessing the requisite qualities to meet the present views of cultivators. The Snowflake, however, is an exception ; it has so many good qualities and traits that it is xiniversally liked wherever known. I believe it to be the coming potato, and will prove as great a boon to the potato growing and eating public as the Early Rose has been. I have long contended that, in this latitude, we could not grow late potatoes profitably, and we needed an early potato that was of good quality, productive, and would keep late into the following season. These conditions the Snowflakes meets perfectly. It ripens about two weeks In tor thnu the Early Rose, is even more productive of beautiful, oval, flattened white tubers; eyes even with the surface ; boils and bakes dry and mealy, and will keep in tip-top condition until late the following season. The tubers are medium sized, and grow close together at the foot of the plants, which makes easy digging. The plants are vigorous growers of a light green color, which when they get nearly grown, fall over, thus covering the whole ground, and effectually preventing the growth of weeds after the crop is made. I have grown it three years, and I have never seen a hollow potato, nor has it ever made a second growth and become prongy, and has always proved uniformly productive. It possesses more good "1-4-1?? i1?n? r\Afofrt flinf T (JUiUlUCtt limn au^y umui j/v/ucn/vr v**c*v kuow of, and is bound to become exceedingly popular.?E. A. Richl in Rural World. A 1Ioii.no Tor Drying Fruit. E.M., Columbus, Penu., asks how to build a dry-house for drying fruit for family use. Reply.?There is nothing better for this purpose than to use the common brick oven when the heat has been reduced after baking bread, if one is at hand. A very good method is to make a frame similar to that used for a hot-bed, and cover it with sash, beneath which the fruit is dried by the sun's heat; or a sheet iron box, about threo feet square and five feet high, may be made with a flue in the bottom, in which a small charcoal or wood fire may be kept. Shelves of wire gauze are arranged in the box, upon which the fruit is placed to be dried. Some holes are made in the bottom for the admission of fresli air, which is made to pass between two sheets of iron placed near the flue, so as to become heated; and after passing through the fmit on the shelves, the hot air, loaded with moisture, escapes through a ventilator at. the top. Such n dry-oven lis this would dry two or threo bushels of apples, or other fruit, in a day, and would consume half a bushel of charcoal daily. What He' Wanted. A letter was received by the postmaster-general at Washington from a person living in the Eleventh ward of New York city, who wrote that he wanted an office worth ?5,000 per year, and promised to five SI. 000 vearlv to the poor if the President would give him the office. He suggested that if there was any doubt of his fulfilling this promise, the $1,000 could be deducted and $-1,000 per annum paid him. He hoped fyr an early answer before nil the best post-offices were taken up. The letter, although inclosed to the postmaster-general, appeared to be addressed to the Almighty, and was the freak of a lunatic. Black Hills Highwaymen. The peaceful dulness in and around Deadwood, in tlie Black Hills, says a New York Sun correspondent, has been abruptly and tragically broken. The northward bound stage from Cheyenne, : for Deadwood recently, carried eleven passengerB, one of them a lady. The trip had been safely made through 200 miles of Indian country, and the passen-: gers, worn out by six clays' travel over ' the rough and muddy mountain roads, were congratulating themselves that an- ; other hour's run would bring them to i their destination. , j They entered the grandly picturesque Whitewood gulch, whose flanking monn- j tains, fringed with pines, rise hundreds j of feet on either aide above the road, i Upon the box sat the driver, Johnny j. Slaughter, as jolly a fellow as ever held j i.i - - ?J ?\ i? ?? ? T}? : me rems, uuu us lituuucso uo a tuuu, *>j ; his side eat Walter 8. Her, of the firm of: Iler & McCaffrey, wholesale liquor dealers of Omaha and Dead-wood, who was returning from a business visit to the East, j The other passengers were inside the ' coach. As the weather was warm every ! ourtain was rolled up. Down the gentle [ incline the four steaming horses went at j a good round pace, the passengers sing- j ing and joking. Suddenly five men were ! seen ahead, walking in single file and in : silence. Johnnv said toller: "Iwon-j der what gang that is?" "Oh, I guess | it's only a crowd on a lark," replied Her, ' Scarcely were the- words out of his ; mouth, when the strangers turned, lev- | eled their guns and pistols, and ordered j 4-Vio A in rrar* irt afyin Tnlinnv rpnfVhf>r1 fnr a closer grip upon the reins, but, before he could check his team, the outlaws | fired. Fourteen buckshot, piercing the j coat of Mr. Her at the shoulder, passing j across his back, and out on the other. side, struck the driver's left breast just' above the heart. Poor Johnny fell from j his seat a corpse. Another ball slightly j wounded Mr. Her's finger. That gentleman, believing death certain if he stayed ! on the box, leaped to the ground. In i the meantime the desperadoes, separat-1 ing to right and left) had fired through ; the windows of the coach. Henry Lake : seized the barrels of two revolvers with a j grip that the robbers could not break, i They pulled him from his seat, threw ! liim upon the ground, and ordered him ' to give over his weapons. He replied j that he had none, and tossed his empty i pistol belt toward them. He was order- j ed to "git," and obeyed with alacrity, | jumping up and running down the road in pursuit of the coach. The team, j frightened by the fusilade, had started j off, driverless. The chase continued for , half a mile, when Messrs. Her and Lake i overtook and stopped the coach, and the ; former, mounting the box, drove into ! Deadwood, a distance of two and a half ' miles. The only other passenger hurt J was B. P. Smith, of Denver, whose face was badly burned with powder. Sheriff Bullock and forty men were soon galloping toward the scene of the attack followed by many citizens on foot. The lifeless body of Johnny Slaughter was found lying by the roadside. Tenderly they lifted the corpse into a wagon j and returned to Deadwood. No man in ; the community was better known or i more respected. Grizzled miners pushed I forward to gaze upon his face, and with-: drew wiping their eyes and clenching I their fists. Prepared for War. At the beginning of the present diffi- 1 culties between Russia and Turkey, "it: was the general opinion among many of J our army officers that the trouble would j create a market for ordnance supplies, I arms, and other implements of warfare, j and that the United States would be en-1 abled to dispose of the vast amount of i unserviceable goods of that character. r>/>Tir utnwirl in nnr nrKonnln nn/1 fnrtificil tions; but a careful examination of the subject by prominent officer? of the Ordnance department leads to the belief that there will be no demand upon our country for these goods, for the reasons that England, Germany and France have vast quantities of condemned arms for | sale, and therefore neither of the contending parties would find it necessary to I make purchases on this side of the Atlantic i when they can obtain similar goods so j much nearer home; but should the | present complications assume such shape ; that the powers mentioned would decline to dispose of their condemned arms and j supplies to either party, then there might be a demand for ours. Since the FrancoPrussian war both France and Germany j have been rearming and replacing the' arms used by them in that war with those j of more improved patterns, and conse-1 quently have many old arms for sale. It has also been ascertained that Tiu- , key is much better supplied with arms , than was at first supposed, she haviug ! received over three hundred thousand stand of arms from the Providence Tool ; Company, of Providence, R. L, within the past two years, under a contract J made with that company to furnish half; a million Peabody guns?a breech-load- j ing rifle similar to the Martin-Henry i rifle used in England. These rifles are still being manufactured for and deliver- ' ed to the Turkish government, several officers of which have been in this conn- | 'try for some months past inspecting the arms and superintending their manufac- i ture. The Turks also havo contracts . with various firms in this country for ; 200,000,000 rounds of metallic cartridges, ; and for a large number of cartridge | cases, which are now being made at | Bridgeport and New Haven, Conn., and ; other places. That government is also | well supplied with breech-loading steel i guns for field service, and it is not prob..kiq fimM -trill ho iitiT creat demand i I IIUID j 0 i for arms of obsolete patterns upon this | or any other country. Russia has also j received a good supply of arms from this j country, having had contracts with Smith j & Wesson, Colt, and other manufacturers. These contracts were for revolvers and breech-loading rifles, a large number of i which have been delivered. We have for sale about 400,000 of the new (Springfield muzzle-loading rifle, and ! a large number of repaired brecch-load; ers, besides ordnance and ordnance sup- j plies of every description, left from the i late civil war. j Gossiping Idlers.?The idle levy a i very heavy tax upon the industrious when ! by frivilous visitations they rob them of 1 their time. Such persons beg their happiness from door to door, as beggars 1 their bread, and, like them, sometimes meet wiih a rebuff. A mere gossip ought not to wonder if we evince signs that we are tired of him, seeing that we are indebted for the honor of his visit solely to the circumstances of his being tired of himself. He sits at home until he has j accumulated an intolerable loan of ennui, when he sallies forth to distribute it amongst all his acquaintances. _ The Illinois House of Representatives hasjclefeated a bill limiting the rate of in- i toxest in the State to eight per centum, j THE ST. LOUIS FIRE. Thrilling .Scenee?-T!ie Scarch for the Bo?U: -t. | When the lire at the Southern Hot<!, ! St. Louis, which led to the Ions of fo ! many lives, broke out, Mr. Ernest Arg \ J of No. 1,006 Washington avenue, v as Inlaying billiards in the Laclede Hot*!. j A second and general alarm beirgl sounded, he went out into tlie street to I ?ee where the fire was. Looking down ! F.fth street heat once'saw that lliej flnuii'H were devouring the Southern, j "Without stopping a moment he rushed! to. the scene, and assisted in. raising the ! fin-t ladder to the third story of the W;d- j nut street front. At this time Mr. E:i.sman and his family were at the windows of their room on the fourth floor of llic j hotel, crying for help. Although the j ladder referred to only rcached to t?.e j third floor Mr. Argo ascendcd to the top j and crawled in at the third story windo-.v, ! and,leaning out, he directed Mr. Einsm.:n , what to do. It was by Mr. Argo's direo-1 tion that Mr. Einsman split the shee's j of the bed and tied them together, l;y : which Mr. Einsman swung down, while Mr. Argo attempted to catch him in his , arms while sliding down the sheet. T!ie improvised rope parted, and Mr. Eii's-1 man sEot by Mr. Argo in his descent nrd i was dashed to'pieces on the pavemei.t. i Mrs. Scott was the next to descend 1 y : the part of the sheet ropo yet remaining, j and when getting to the end she dropped i through the arms of Mr. Argo, tearijig ; his left arm badly, it is supposed by her nails, and fell to the pavement. Fortunately she was not killed, but bu j tained a severe cut on the left side of j her head and was badly bruised. The ; next and last person to'take such a ter-1 riblo risk was Mrs. Einsman. She had j seen both her mother and husband fail i through tho arms of Mr. Argo to the ! pavement, fifty feet below, but yet she 1 never hesitated. Seizing the treacherous sheets she climbed carefu^y out of the window and, with great- fortitude, end down until she reached the end. Mr. ' Argo then cried out: "Let go, and I will catch you." Mrs. Einsman dropped when the word was given, and Argo, ky a heroic effort, j succceded in catching her in his arms and drew her into the room, which was at this time breaking out with flames. He then carried her down the ladder, both reach ing the ground uninjured. One of the narrowest escapes from death was that of Professor J. H. Rees, of New York, his wife and two chambermaids. They occupied apartments on the Fourth street side of the sixth floor. At about two a. m. Mrs. Rees was awakened by , heartrending shrieks, and, rousing hor husband, the couple endeavored to make their way through the^hall. Driven back by suffocating smoke and intense her.f, J they re-entered their room, closed the door and ventilator, and rushed to the window. No help was in sight, and % they made a second attempt to escape by ; the door the two chambermaids rushed 1 frantically in with their heads covered, saying that egress by that route was cut off, it being impossible to reach the stairs. All four again rushed to the window for air, the room by this time being filled with smoke. Mrs. Rees and one of the girls fainted, but recovered. When oil Virmn lmtl hppn abandoned the Skinner fire escape hove in sight. It was raised very slowly, but the firemen succeedcd in ascending and rescuing several persons from the fifth floor, including one mnn, who had let himself down from the story above by means of sheets tied together. After these were saved the ladder was moved very slowly into position for the people on the sixth floor, but it only reached as high as the windows below, and it was several feet from the wall. A rope was fiually thrown to the Rees window, and a fireman, a very brave fellow, was hauled up. Mr. Rees was then let down to the window ledge below. His wife followed, and she was supported on the narrow ledge until another fireman, Ed. Thorn, arrived and assisted in swinging her to the ladder. This brave man carried the woman who was sick and weak down part of the way. His strength abandoning him she clung to his back until additional assistance arrived. Professor Rees remained on the fifth story window ledge until both maids were lowered to the sidewalk by means of ropes tied around their waists. THm wnrnen hphaved jidmirahlv. keening perfectly quiet and betraying no alarm. Had it not been for their presonce of mind it would not have been possible for the firemen Thorn and Kirk to save them. While the second chambermaid waH being lowered the rope slipped and caught Mr. Rees around the neck. Had not the woman reached the grouud at that instant the professor would have been dragged down to a horfible death. He succeeded in freeing himsel f, however, and jumped in safety to the ladder, descending preceded by Thorn, who succeeded in suv porting him. The search for bodies in the ruins of the hotel continued very slowly, on account of the hot condition of the dcbri.i. A body was unearthed, but so badly burned that its recognition was impossible. All the face and two-thirds of the upper portion of the head were burned entirely away. The arms wore burned off to the elbows, and the lower limbs were so crisp that they fell into blackened ashes when the body was picked up. Enough of the breast remained, however, to prove that the body was that of a woman, but only this, as there was no clothing about.it to assist in the identification. A cloth was procured and thrown over fi>r> vmnni'im ivln'flt were then conveved to the morgue. A quantity of remnants of clothing was found all around the body, but none of the badly burned apparel belonged to a female. The body of a man was subsequently discovered about five feet from the body of the woman, and the bodies wore identified as those of H. J. Clark and wife, of North Adams, Mass. There were portions of two fine white shirts and a handsome night shift, and a small piece of a white vest. Within a foot of where the body lay a fine linen handkerchief with a blue border was found. In one of the corners were tlio initials "J. C. N." in-wrought with the silk. The handkerchief was folded, and had four or five holes burned in .he folds. In addition to the remnants of clothing alluded to a letter was also found lying very close to the body. The letter was written on a sheet of paper, having the letter head of the National Photograph eis' Association, addressed to W. J. Berryman, of New York, and signed by James H. Fitzgibbon, a pliotc grapher of St. Louis. There are in Colorado over fifty peaks which rise more than 14,000 feet above sea level. Blanca Peak, in that State, the elevation of which was determined last year by Hayden's survey, is probably the highest point within the limits of fcho United SUites, being 14,464 feet abovo the level of the sea. airengiu mi * u-u?j? Strength for to-day is all that we need, As there will never be a to-morrow; For to-morrow will prove but another to-day, With its measure of joy and sorrow. Then why forecast the trials of life 1 With such sad and grave persistence, And watch and wait for a crowd of ills That as yet has no existence. Items of Interest. House, flies that have survived the winter are beginning to twist their hind legs together and kick oat, to gain muscle. The Massachusetts House of Represenatives has voted, 122 to 83, not to permit women to vote in municipial elections in that State. A vessel is loading at Port Royal for Holland. It will carry 450,000 feet of lumber, and will bo the first shipment thence to that country. The salaries of good base ball players will this year range from $20 per week down to a whack under tha jaw for jumping into a man's garden after the ball. One of the most ambiguous communications you can make to a partially bald headed man is to observe that liis nair is coming out. Think it over and see 11 it isn't. The author of " Home, Sweet Home," never had a home ; and George MoDonald, who has eleven. children, is the author of "Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood." Our lawyer says that in a breach of Sromise case, although the lady is often escribed as interesting, or good-looking, or possessed of considerable personal attractions, she is still almost invariably the plain-iiS. Let us discuss the question why a woman can pin on a man's collar the first time trying, when the very same pin, if engineered by a man, would double up and run backward to stick in his thumb. "It'snice to have slippers given to you," said the naughty boy who had just n^vrontoA for lvinc. when he saw ""** o, the fine pair his big brother received from his girl; "but it makes all the difference how you take them." i A woman entered a post-office and said: " Mr. Kreps, one day there was a sphider walked over my liand, und I come to the post office, und I got alcdder. Und this morning there was a sphider walked over my hand, und I corned for the ledder. But the sign failed this time, and she went away disappointed. "Why do we live; what is there for us in life ?" inquires the Christian Register. We don't pretend to answer the question, but we do know that when a man has walked four miles through the mud to see a girl and finds another fellow sitting up with her, it comes home, it comes home.?Norivich i Bulletin. He was praising her beautiful hair, and begging for one tiny curl, when her little brother said: # " Oh, my! 'taint i nothin' now. You just ought to have i seen how long it hangs dgwn when she 1 hangs it on the side of th#table to comb it." Then they laughed, and she called her brother a cute little angel, and when i the young*mau was going afld heard that | boy yelling, he thought the lad was j taken suuueniy in. , A sad case of liome sicknesS is report! ed from France. A young soldier in I garrison at Mortlimer fell a prey to this ' malady to such a degree that he excited . j the compassion of the officers, who tried I by indulgence and kindness to cheer him ! up; but the mountaifis of his native ! Correze were ever before the eyes of the j poor conscript, and one evening he fail) ed to answer the roll-call. His body was , found on the railroad track, where it had i been severed from his head by a passing 1 train. I The wars of this century have been the i most bloody and costly since the palmy days of Rome and Greece. For its ten j great bloody periods, viz., the Napoleonic, i Grecian, Crimean, Italian, Danish, Austrian (1866), Brazilian, American, Abyssinian and Franco-German wars?leaving ! out minor expeditions uuu omnmoucii? i the figures foot up $38,967,300,000 expended, nuil 11,708,t]00 men destroyed from 1800 to 1871. Two-thirds of this ! aggregate outlay of men and money are to be charged on the ledger to Napoleon I. up to his closing battle fought at Wateri loo. A young Freuchman, to avoid conscription, pleaded that hie right arm was paralyzed. The 6tory was not believed, and various pretexts were resorted to to compel him to acknowledge the efficioncy of the member. It was proposed to cut it off, but the young man did not shrink I in the presence of the surgeon and his i instruments. Under pretext of taking ! him to another hospital for the operation, he was thrown into the river that was j crossed. He at first swarm with his left ) arm, but finding that insuflicient, finally | struck out with his right, and revealed his trickery. Three years ago the visitors at the Pe! quot House, New London, were startled ' when they sat down to breakfast by the j appearance of a very well looking lady I guest with a pair of whiskers that thou| i i.j Tri q11 ! sanas oi men wuuui cuTjr. respects her appearance was perfectly ' feminine. A radical and non-disfiguring cure for a misfortune of this kind seems j to be unknown, for a medical man lias ; written lately to a London paper to ask i if anybody can suggest oae in the i interest of a lady patient of his, whose ! life is made a burden by a beard and i mustache which defy local applications. A Very Peculiar Pride. The Popular Monthly has the following: A gentleman traveling in England had a letter of introduction to a person of f onic distinction whose whole estate ; was in excellent keeping. Among other fine animals shown him was a fine white i cow, and this creature, he was told, was the very personification of pride. As though she considered herself of pure blood, she claimed precedence in all cases; she always went ahead of the herd, the best bit of pasture was her ex elusive domain, on which no other durst intrude. So far did she c:irry her pretensions that if any of the other cows entered the stable before her she would ofnso to pnter. Anxious to see this with his own eyes lie desired to be taken I to her stable at evening. The man, instructed how to act, drove in some of the other cows. The white cow drew ' up; not only did she refuse to advance, in spite of all encouraging words, but her whole frame swelled with auger and offended dignity. She kept lowing continually. At last the cows within, as though conscious that they had forgot! ten their place, began to come out, raid i as they were driven out the proud white, j with an evident air of gratified pride, i strode in in state.