The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 06, 1878, Image 1
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ABBEVILLE PRESS & BANNER.
? .
BY HUGH WILSON AND W. C. BENET. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAKCH 6, 1878. NO. 39. VOLUME XXV.
The Henchman.
BT JOHN GREENLF.AF WHITTIKR.
Mv lady walks her morning round.
My iady's page her fle-'t gr-yhound,
My lady's hair the fond winds stir,
And all the bird* make songs for her.
H< r thrushes si g iu Rathburn bowers,
And Rithburn side is gay with flowers ;
But ne'er like hers, in flower or bird,
Was beauty seen or music heard.
The distance of the sta-s is hers ;
The least of all her worshippers,
Thu dust beneath her dainty heel,
She knows not that I see or feel
0 proud and calm !?she cannot know
TV! ere'er she goes with her I go ;
0 cold and fair!?she cannot guesa
1 kuet l to thare her hound's caress !
Gay knight beside her hnt and hawk,
11 ol> their earn of her sweet talk ;
Her suitors corae from east and west,
I rteal her smili* from every guest.
Unheard of her, in loving words,
I ^reet her with the song of birds,
1 reaoh her with L6r green-armed bowers,
I kiss her w.th th jlips of flowers.
The hound and I are on her trail,
The wind an 11 uplift her veil;
A? if the calm, cold moon she were,
And I the tide, 1 follow her.
As nnrebuked as they, I share
The license of the sun and air,
And in & common homage hide
My worship from her scorn and pride.
Nor look nor sign betrayeth me ;
I t-erve her in my lo<v degree,
Content in humble ways to prove
He berveih well who serves for love.
And still to her my service brings
3 he reverence due 10 holy things ;
Brr tna'den pride, her haoghty name
My dumb devotion shail not bhame.
?Independent, j
The Express Train. j
TVo or three of us hat! lounged out of (
tlie ' lub one night, into Santley'a office, J (
t > find out the news coming in by cable, i
wbirfc the.Blpepiug town would not hear ' (
nutil the uaDer would be out to-morrow. 11
Sautley was editor of the Courier. He ; \
was scribbling away at driviug speed, j,
bis ha-on, an uniigbted cigar in bis
mouth. WVI
".Ton're at it late, Ben." * |(
" Accident on a western road. Sixty <
lives lo9t," without looking up. I (
We peized tbe long wbite slips which ' ^
lay coiled over the table, and read tbe (
dispatch. j
" Tut, tut I"
"Infamous!" f ' I
"Nobody to blame, of course." (
" I tell you the officers of a road where i j
such an accident is possible should be j;
1.-1. >'1 1?i? ?:?,i
ini'u iur luuxuci j umi xcucio. I ^
San tier shoved his copy to the boy, ' (
and lighted his oigar. " I think you're ! \
wrong, Ferrers. Instead of being ;
startled at such casualties, I never travel ,
on a railway that I am not amazed at ]
the security of them. Ju*t think of it. ! f
Thousands of trains running yearly on j ]
each, with but a minute to spare be- |,
t ween safety and destrue ion, tne safety I \
of the trains depeqding on conductors, j ]
telegraph clerks, brakesmen, men of I,
every grade of intelligence, the brains ,
subject to everv kind of mood, disease .
i.nii temper. The engineer takes a glass
of liquor; the conductor seta his-watch ,
half a minute too fast; the flagman falls j,
asleep, and the train is dashed into ruin! jj
It is not the accident that is to be won- ' j
lere.l at, it is the escape that is miracu- j
lous!" ;
We had all dropped into seate by this i 1
time. The night was young, and one I (
lifter another told oome storv of adven- !
ture or danger. Presently Santley said, I,
" There was an incident which occurred J,
on the Erie road a few years ago, which
made me feel as I do in the matter?I \
liappened to be an eye-witness to the
whole affair."
' What was it, Ben ?"
"its rati'er a long story?
"No matter. on. You ran't go j
home until voar proof comes in any- ,
how." ]
"No. Well, to make yon understand, j
about five years ago I had a bad breakdown?night
work, hack-writing aud
j oor pay. You know how fast it all (
wears out the machinery. The doctor (
t dked of diseases of the gray matter of j
>'ie brain, etc., and prescribed, instead \
f medicine, absolute rest and change of
s >ene. I would have Rwallowed all the ,
istruma in a drug shop rather than ]
h ive left the office for a week.
' " 'I'll take country board and send in
c: litorial,' said I.
" ' No; you must drop office and work
utterly out' of your life for a month, at
! *ast. Talk and thiuk of planting potat
>es, or embroidery?anything but newspapers
and politics.'
" Well, I obeyed. I started on a pedestrian
tour through Pennsylvania, studi
-d od stock in Alleghany county, and
. te-I sour-kraut in Berks. Finally I
i rough t up?footsore and bored beyond
i 'earing?in Williamsport. While there
T fell iuto the habit of lounging about
fie ml way station, studying the con
ruction of the engines, and making
i fiends with the men. The man with
vhom I always fraternize most readily is
1 ie Bkilled mechanic. He has a degree
<>f common-sense a store of certain facts
v Trvnr rminff nr i'r
.* >t to lack. Besides he is absolutely <
*urH of his social standing ground, and (
has a grave self-respect which teaches
!'im to respect you. The professional
l id just started on his career is uneasy, |
> 6t sure of his position; he tries to
i limb perpetually. I tell you this to explain
my intimacy with many of the offi
ials on the road. especially with an engineer
named Blakeley.
This man attracted me first by his ,
: ' >ility to give me the informat on I
wanted in a few direct sharp words, i
v . i. ?l:?-i. * l,.. 1
rnoBi rtjuucuir uitui uc j
w eight ami value of words. I soon be- j;
< !-me personally cinch interested in him. (
He was about forty, his hair streaked
with gray, with a grave worn faoe, which
hinted at a youth of hardship and much <
suffering' However, Blakeley had found i
ills way to the uplands at last. Three
. oars before he had married a bright,
heerful woman. They had one child?
;i lx>y. He had work and good wages,
:i"d was, I found, high in the confidence |
the company. On one occasion, hav-,
a Sunday off,he took me up to Jersey
Shore, where his wife and child lived.
He was an exceptionally silent man, but
? hen with them was garrulous and light- ,
' earfed as a boy. In his eyes Jane
- as the wisest and fairest of women,
: ndthe boy a wonder of intellect. One
reaf source of trouble to him was, as I
lound, that he was able to see them but
<>ace in three weeks. It was necessary
>r titp child's health to keep them in
he country air, and, indeed, he could
not afford to have them elsewhere; but
:.?iis separated him from them almost
totally. June was in the habit of com-j
i ig with Charley down to a certain j
point of the road every day,that Blakeley
i light Hf e them as he dashed by.
" And when I found out this habit, it
< ccurred to me that I could give Blakeley j
a great pleasure. How often have I I
- ursed my meddling kindness since. I
/anu*ry 25th was the child's birthday. |
! proposed to Mrs. Blakeley that she and
'! hurley should board the train which
1 er husband drove, nnknown to him,
ud run up to Harrisburg, where he
f
had the night off. There was to be a
little 6upper at the Lochiel House.
Charley was to appear in a new suit, '
etc., ete. Of course the whole affair was
at my expense?a mere trifle, but an af- |
fair of grandeur and distinction which
fairly took Jane's breath. She was a
most innocent, nappy creature; one of J
those women who are wives and mothers j
in the cradle. When Blakeley found j i
her she was a thin, pale little tailoress
?a machine to grind out badly-made
shoddy clothes. But three years of i
marriage and petting of Charley had ;
made her rosy and plump and pretty.
"The little Highland suit was brought :
complete, to the tiny dirk aud feather, i
and verv pretty the little fellow looked I
in it. i wrote down to order a stunning i
supper to be ready at eight. Jane and 1
the boy were to go aboard the train at 1
Jersey Shore, a queer little hill village '
near which they lived. Blakeley ran the <
train from Williamsportdowu to Harris- 1
burg that day. His wife being in the j
passenger car, before he took charge of j
the engine, of course he would see and j
know nothing of her until we landed at j
Harrisbnrgh at seven. I had intended 1
to go down in the smoking-car as usual, < ]
but another fancy, suggested I suppose i
by the originator of all evil, seized me. 11
No need to laugh. Satan, I believe, has i
quite as much to do with accidents and
miserv and death, as with sin. Why
-xt r JL
not t However, my muujr, ainuuiiuti ui ;
not, was to go down on the engine with ]
Blakeley. I hunted up the fireman and i
talked to him for an hour. Then I went , (
to the engineer. I e
"' Blakeley,' I said, 'Jones (the fireman)
wants to-night off.'
" 'Off! 0, no douht! He's taking i
to drink, Jones. He must have been 1
drinking when he talked of t'iat. It's '
impossible.' f
'I explained to Blakeley that Jones ;
had a sick wife, or a sweetheart or some
thinp.and finally owned that I had an nn- f
conquerable desire to run down the road
on the engine, and that knowing my |
only chance was to take the fireman's 1
place, had bribed him to give it to me.
The fact was that in my idleness and *
the overworked state of my brain I I
craved excitement as a confirmed drunkard
does liquor. r
" Blakeley, I saw, was angry and ex- c
ceedingly annoyed. He refused at first, !
but finally gave way with a grave civility,
which almost made me ash'imed of '
aay boyish whim. I promised to be the
prince of firemen.
" Then you'll have to be treated as ?
->ne, Mr. Santley,' said Blakeley, curtly. 1
'I can't talk to gentlemen aboaid my K
sngine. It's different h?re from on the ' 0
r?ln+f/\rrr> vrm'll rpmf?mhi-ir TVp. ffilt to ' ^
7* - - - o
3r<ler and you to obey, in there, ana i ?
;hat's all there's of it.' j *
44' Oh, I understand,' said I, thinking '
that it required little moral effort, to \
}bey in the matter of shoveling coal. If | *
[ could have guessed what that shovel- '
!ng coal was to cost me ! But all clay I v
ivent about thinking of the fiery ride I ?
;hrough the hills, mounted literally on t:
;he iron horse. "
" It was in the middle of the afternoon v
jphen the trait) rushed into the station. .
[ caught a glimpse of Jane on the pas- ii:
senger car, with Charley, mugniicent in ! L
lis red green plaid, bt-side her. She !
aodded a dozen times and laughed, and 1 a
;hen hid behind the window, fearing her j ii
msband should see her. Poor girl! It t
.vas the second great holiday of her life, j a
she had told me, the first being her t
we. Id in? day. ! b
" The train stopped ten minutes. It ?
was neither an express nor an accommo- a
Jution train, but one which stopped pt e
the principal stations on the route?Sel- j I
insgrove, Sunbury, etc. i d
" I had an old patched suit on, fit, as | t
[ supposed, for the service of coal- I
heaver; but Blakelev, when I came up, f
Bjed it and my hands sardonically. He a
was in no better temper, evidently, with t
amateur firemen than he had been in the
morning. * ' c
' All aboard !' he said, grufflv. ' You j e
take your place there, Mr. Sautley. 11
you'll put in coal just as I call for it, if ; t
?ou please, and not trust to your own a
judgment.' j (
" Hi* tone annoyed me. ' It cannot j h
require much ju.igm-'nt to keep up a fire 11
under a boiling pot, and not make it too *
hot. Any woman can do that in her own j I
kitchen.' j 1
"He made no reply, but took his 1
place on the little square box where the *
greater part of h:s life was passed. I c
noticed that his face was flushed, and his r
irritation at my foolish whim was cer- '
tainly more than the occasion required.
I watched him with keen curiosity, won- 1
Bering if it were possible that he could g
have been drinking as he had accused
poor Jones of doing." a
" It strikes me-as odd," interrupted I
Ferrers, "that you should not only >
made an intimate companion of this fellow,
Sautley, but taken so keen an in- r
Unrest in his temper and drinking bouts, l
Foil would not be likely to honor any of
us with such attention."
" No. I have something else to do.
[ was absolutely idle then. Blakeley
ind his family for the time made up my ttvorld.
As for tne friendship, this was ?
in exceptional man, both as to integrity
ind massive hard sense. The knowl&)ge
that comes from books count* with v
ne but for little, compared with the experience
and contact with facts for forty
fears. I wan honored by the friendship ^
if this grimy engineer. But the ques- j
;ion of his sobriety that day was a serious 0
ine. A man in charge of a train with s
hundreds of souls aboa d, I felt ought
to be sober, particularly when I was S
shut up in the engine with him. 1
"Just as we started a slip of paper
wa* handed to him, which he read and ?
threw down. j L
"' Do you run tills train by telegraph T
[ a^ked, beginning to shovel vigorously, t
" 'Yes. No more coal.'
44 ' Isn't that unusual ?' e
44 ' Yes. There ure two special trains i
on the road this afternoon.' f
44 4 Is it difficult to mn a train by tele- (
graph ?' I said presently, simply to 1
make conversation. Star ng in silence t
nt the narrow slit in the gloomy furnace 11
or out at the village street, through !
which we slowly passed, was monotonous, j
44 4 No, not difficult. I pimply have,
to obey the instructions \fhich I receive |
at each stat'on.' jl
44 4 But if you should happen to think j ]
the instructions not right ?' j i
44 4 Happen to think! I've no business 1
to think at all! When the trains run
by telegraph the engineers are so many I
machine* in the hands of one controller, f
who directs them all fro:n a central point, j
He has the whole road under his eye. f
If they don't obey to the least title their
orders, it is destruction to the whole.' i
44 4 You seem to think silent obedience
the first and last merit in a railway
man ?'
44'Yes,'dryly. i
" I took the hint and was dumb. 1
44 We are out of town now. Blakeley i i
quickened the speed of the engiue. I i.
did not speak to him again. There was i
little for me to do, and I was occupied |
in looking out at the flying landscape. , i
The fields were covered with a deep fall 1
of snow, and glanced whitely by, with a j 1
strange, unreal shimmer. The air was 11
keen and cutting. Still the ride was 1
tame. I was disappointed. The excite- !
meat would by no means equal a danh i
on a spirited horse. I began to think I j
had little to pay for my grimy hands (
and face, when we s.owed at the next !:
station. Oue or two passengers came
aboard the train. There was the inevi- |
table old lady with bundles, alighting, <
and the usual squabble about her trunk. 1
I was craning my neck to hear, when
the boy rau alongside with the telegram.
" The next moment I heard a smothered
exclamation from Blakely.
" Go back,' said he to the boy.
' Tell Simla to have the message repeated.
There's a m stake.'
" The boy dashed off, and Blakely sat
waiting, coolly polishing a bit of the
Bhining brass before him. Back came
the bov.
Hud it repeated. Sands is raging
of ttaii Q iro nn micfalra or?<1
you'd best get on,' thrusting the Becond
message up.
" Blakeloy read it, and stood hesitating
for half a minute. I never shall forget
the dismay, the utter perplexity that j
gathered in his lean face as he looked at j
the telegram, and then at tbe long train |
behind him. His lips moved as if he j
were calculating chances, and his eyes
suddenly quailed, as if he saw death at
the end of the calculation.
" ' What's the matter ? What are you
joing to do ?' I asked.
" 'Obey.'
"The engine gave a loog shriek of |
lorror, that made me start as if it were |
Blakeley's own voice. The next instant we 1
ushed out of the station, and dashed
;hrough tbe low-lying farms at a speed
vhich seemed dangerous to me.
" * Put in more coal,' 6aid Blakeley.
" I shovelled it in.
" ' We are going very fast, Blakclev,'
[ ventured.
" He did not answer. His eye was fixid
on the steam gauge; his lips closely j
ihut. j
" 4 More coal!'
" I threw it in. J
' The fields and houses began to fly j
mst but half seen. We were nearing !
Junbury. Blakeley's eye went from the j1
piuge to the face of the timepiece and j
>:xck. He moved like an automaton, j1
["here was little more meaning in his ;
ace. 1
" ' More,' without turning his eye.
" I took up the shovel?hesitated.
" 'Blakeley We're going very fast. (
ive're going at the rate ol sixty miles an
lour.'
" 4 Coal !' j1
" I was alarmed at the stern, cold I
igidity of the mau. His pallor was be- j
ioming frightful. |1
" I threw in the coal.
" At least we must stop in Sunbury. i J
le bad told me that was the next halt. ''
" The little town approached. As the I.
irst house came iuto view, the engine j'
ent out its shriek of warning ; it grew i1
ouder, louder. We dashed into the j.
treet, up to the station, where a group j J
if passengers waited, and passed it with- >'
nit the halt of an instant. I caught a i.
;limpse of the appalled faces of the \
raiting crowd. Then we were in the
ieldp again. I
" The speed now became literally ! j
)reathless ; the furnace glared red hot. i1
ihe heat, the velocity, the terrible ner-1
ous strain of the man beside me, seemed I!
o weight the air. I found myself draw- I'
ug long st-entorious breaths, like one !1
[rowning. I heaped in the coal at inter- j.
als. as lie bsde me. |
" 'I'd have done notliing of the kind 1' j j
nterrupted one of the listeners. ' The '
nan was mad.'
" I did it because I was oppressed by :,
n old sense of duty, which I never had j j
q my ordinary brain work. I had j
aken this mechanical task on myself,
nd I felt a stricture upon me to go
hrough with it at' any cost. I know now j
low it is that dull, ignorant men
without a spark of enthusiasm, show
uch heroism sometimes, as soldiers, .
ugineers, captains of wrecked vessels,
t in this overpowering sense of routine <
luty. It is a finer thing than sheer |
>r<ivery, to my notion. Ho.vever, I ]
>^gan to be of your mind, Wright, that |
Jlakeley was mad, laboring under some (
uJden frenzy from drink, though I had ]
lever seen him touch liquor. I
'1 He did not move hand or foot, ex- <
ept in the mechanical control of the <
mgine, his eye going from the gauge to ]
he timepiece with a steadiness that was ! |
nore terrible and threatening than any 11
'lutim nf irwnnit-.v would Imvfl Hpfin. ,
)uce he glanced back at the long train I
peeding after the engine, with a head- |
ong speed that rocked it from side to j
ide. You would catch glimpses of (
mndreds of men and women talking, (
eading, smoking, unconscious that their j
ives were all in the hold of one man, i
rhom I now strongly Buspected to be |
nad. I knew by his look that he re- <
nembered their lives were in his hand. ]
le glanced at the clock.
"'Twenty miles,' he muttered. ]
Throw on the coal, Jones. The fire is j
joing out.' I
"I did it. Yes, I did it. There was j
omethiDg in the face of that man that ]
! could not resist. Then I climbed for- ]
rard and shook him by the shoulder. <
4 4 4 Blakeley!' I shouted, 'you are ,
nnning this train into the jaws of j
leath !'
44 * I know it,' quietly. i
" 4 Your wife and child are on it.' ,
444 My God !' (
44 He staggered to his feet. But even ]
hen he did not move his eye from the i
^auge. ' I
" ma minute? ,
44 4 Make up the fire,' he said, and (
mshed in the throttle valve. <
4141 will not.'
44 4 Make up the fire, Mr. Santley,'
'ery quietly.
44 4 1 will not. You may murder yourelf
and your wife and boy, but you 1
hall uot murder me.' (
44 He looked at me. Hie kindly eyee ;
flared like those of a wild beast. But j
le controlled himself in a moment.
44 ' I could throw you out of this door, i
tnd make short work of it. But?look 1
lere ; do you se? the station yonder?' i
441 saw a thin whisp of smoke against <
he sky, about five miles in advance. <
4 4 4 1 was told to reach the station by 1
lix o'clock. The express train meeting (
is is due now. I ought to havo luid by i
or it at Suubury. I was told to come :
' ? - i "1- ? ? rtwa TTmIadO
>11. A lie iriMjiv. in a diu^ic vuc, uutuoo
[ can make the siding at the station in
liree minutes, we will meet it yonder in
;he hollow."
44 4 Somebody blundered 1'
44 4 Yes, I think so.'
44 4 And you obeyed ?'
44 He said uothing. I threw on coal,
[f I had had petroleum, I would have
ant it on. But I never was calmer in
ny life. When death has a man actually
:>y the throat it sobers him.
44 Blakeley pushed in the valve still
farther. Tiie engine began to give a
itrange panting sound. Far off to the
?>uth I could see the bituminous black
imoke of a train.
441 looked at Blakeley inquiringly. He
sodded. It was the express.
141 stooped to the fire.
44 4 No more,' he said.
441 looked across the clear, wintry sky
it the gray smoke of the peaceful little
pillage, and beyond, that black line coming
closer, closer, across the sky. Then
[ turned to the watch.
44 In one minute more?
44 Gentlemen, I confess; I sat down
ind buried my face in my hands. I don't
think I tried to pray. I hail a confused
thought of a mass of mangled, dying
men and women, mothers and their
babies, and, vpguely, of a merciful God.
Little Charley with his curlB and pretty
s.iit?
4'There was a terrified shriek from the \
engine, against which I leaned. Another
iu my face. A hot tempest swept past
me.
441 looked up. We were on the siding,
and the express had gone by. The
hindmost cars touched in passing.
" 1 Thank God 1 Yon've done it, Blakeley
! Blakeley I' I cried.
" But be ditl not speak. He eat there
immovable, and cold a? a eton.. I went
to the cars and brought Jane and the
boy to him. and when he opened his
eyes and took his little woman's hands
in his I came away.
" An engineer named Fred, who was
at the station, ran the train into Harrisburg.
Blakeley was terribly shaken.
Rut we went down and had our little
feast, after all. Charley, at least, enjoyed
it."
" What was the explanation ? A
blunder of the director, or the telegraph
operator ?"
" I don't know. Blakeley made light
of it aftorward, and kept the secret.
These raiiway men must have a strong
esprit de corps.
" All I know is that Blakeley'fl salary
was raised soon after, and he received
that Christmas a very handome ' testimonial
for services rendered,'from the
company."
Interesting Facts and Fignres.
A ton of coal yields about 8,000 feet
of (?as.
President Hayes receives 100 letters
a day.
New Orleans claims a population of
200,000.
There are 11,000 men on the London
police force.
San Francisco has about 100 gambling
houses.
England fed 606,392 out-door paupers
last year.
Texas would make 210 States equal
in size to Jfthode island.
There were 1,593 buildings erected in
San Francisco last year.
Tennessee's tobacoo crop is estimated
at 60,000,000 pounds.
Europe expended for telegraph messages
last year. 815,400,000.
Members of the Mississippi Legislature
receive $300 per aunum.
One thousand polygamous marriages
took place in Utah it 1877.
Nebraska raised this year 25,000,000
bushels of corn and 175,500 ho^s.
The railroad rioters oost Pennsylvania
$700,000 for military expenses
ilone.
The Cherokee Indians are enough
jivilized to possess a public debt of
5187,000 ,
Of 369 members of Congress only
193 are natives of the (States which they
represent.
There were eighty-three murderers
lianped last year among a population of
50,000,000.
Boston people eat each year about
I9.f? nflfi howwn of -wliifih the WeBt Dro
rides 38,000 to 40,000.
In Hale county,. Ala., licenses to
marry were issued last year to fortyfour
white and 202 colored couples.
During the year 1876, 108,771 Italians
jame to America. Of this number,
39,000 are set down as temporary tour- ,
ibtfl.
The population of Australia, at the J
last census was 1,742,294. The popuation
of the capital, Melbourne, is
*10,000.
The ship-yards of Maine have turned
>ut a tonnage of 76,308 tons for the
rear 1877, which is an increase of 2,734
ions over 1876.
There are entimr.ted to be about 350
natch girls. 700 bootblacks, 100 sweepers
and 250 dower-girls daily and nightly
busy iu New York streets.
The London Dust-Man.
There are more than 300,000 inhabitid
houses iu London, consuming more
;han 3,500,00 ) tona of co:tl a year, aud 1
hipui.iPK Mia asIias from this trreat auan
tity of fuel, the dust-raan gathers the
)ther refuse of the houses. He is employed
by u contrnctor, who agrees with ,
;ho corporation to remove the ashes,
?tc., out of the city, and the contractor
Jivides every load into six parts, as folows
: Soil, or tine dust, which is sold
to brick-makers for making bricks, and \
to farmers for manure ; brieze, or cin- ;
lers, sold to brick-makers for burning
brick ; rags, boneB, and old metals, sold '
to marine store dealers ; old tin and
iron vessels, sold to trunk-makers for 1
slumps ; bricks, oyHter and other shells, '
'old for foundations and road-building ; 1
ind old boots and shoes, soli to the 1
manufacturers of Prussian blue. Sometimes
much more valuable things than
these are found, and the readers may
remember the romance that Charles
Dickens made out of a London dustman?Our
Mutual Friend. It is in sifting
the different parts of the load that
the men, women and children are em- '
ployed ; ttiey are busy as ants ; mere 1
babies and wrinkled ol i dames take a ,
part in the labor, and all of them are so
sovered with dust and ashes that they
Eire anything but pleasant to contem?
?V. na a *nln flmtr nrfl noo. '
pilll?, lliuugu, no a &iuvf wuwj uw
ful, honfst. and industrious members of
society. "Dustie" is what the LonJoners
familiarly call the dust-man, and '
:>nly a few know in what ignorance and
poverty he lives. One would think
that he would work himself into a better
occupation, but his family have been
lust-men for generations, aud the generations
after him are not likely to
;hange.?St. Nicholas.
A Sausage Proce-sion,
It was formerly the custom of the
butchers of Kouigsburg, in Prussia, to
Iraw through the streets of the town on
New Year's Day, to the souud of trum- '
pets and kettledrums, a sausage of some :
hundreds of ells in length. One of the 1
most remarkable of these processions is J
thus described by an eve-witness : " On
the first of January, 1601, the butchers J
jf K raigsbnrg marched gloriously, with
ilrums beating, fifes whistling, and ;
banners of green and white fluttering 1
gaily. Their leader carried in his hand !
a om't. with feathers and 1
ribbons. One hundred and three 1
journeymen dragged the noble sausage, 1
whioh measured 1,005 ells ; on each side !
ran guards to protect it. When they
reached the royal castle, his princely 1
grace was presented with 130 ells. 1
Thence they proceeded to the Sowenicht,
where they were received with 1
many honors by the bakers, and detained
as guests. To them they prepented
a portion of the sausage, aud the day
closed with festivities which were prolonged
far into the night." This saa- i
sage weighed 885 pounds ; eighty-ono
hams, the intestines of forty-five hogs,
one ton and a half of salt, and eighteen
pounds of pepper were required to make
it, and it cost two days' work to thrqp
master butchers and eighty-seven
journeymen.
Sew Popular Music.
" Grease the Griddle, Birdie, Darling,"
a beautiful new song and chorus
by the author of " Banpr ray Scalp Locks
O'er my Forehead," will have a greater
run than anv piece since "Darling, I
ain Growing Old." The melody is simple
and plaintive. Arranged for barber
*hop guitars and French harps, thirty- !
five cents:
" Grease the griddle, Birdie, darlingGrease
it o'er wit i lambient lard,
Ponr the buckwheat batter on it
From tho bowl so brown and bard.
And in order that the buckwheats,
Be not burned and aoorched and sore,
Grease tho griddle in profusion?
Grease the griddle, Birdie, dear."
Thia beautiful song may be obtained
at all musio Btores,?St. Louis Journal.
WEDDING SIFTS.
Items of Interest Concerning Nnptlals In
Wales, Germany* Poland and Else- C
where.
Wedding presents, now so common
II rt 1 L ? J 1 II
in tne nrst stage 01 ni?imuuiiy, uuvu ,
oome down from the feudal system. In 2
almost all parts of the civilized world,
such things are given and received, and, ^
we might add?expected. ?
In a start in married life certain neces- .
saries in the way of furniture, napery,
crockery, and so on, were alwavs acceptable.
Rich people and feudal lords P*
would not object, on the bridal of their J*
daughter?, to receive presents from their
vassals.
In different countries different modes.
The penny weddings, in Scotland, of J
which Wilkie gave a lively and accurate i|
idea in one of his domestic paintings, ;| *
are peculiar. Invited guests make con- j
tributione in money. (One shilling is- ! j
the general tribute, and half a crown is
a princely offering.) Out of the sum
thus collected the not very costly ex
penaes of the feast were paid, and the
surplus went toward buying the furniture.
In the weddings of the poorer classes ,p|
in Ireland this levying contributions on m
guests never takes pdace, for, however ^
poor a man may be, his pride revolts ?Q.
from the appearance of poverty on such ce
an occasion. There is a collection, how- j
ever, to raise the sum for liberally com- \
pensating the clerical gentleman who jj""
"has tied the knot," and in the house of | ^
a rich farmer this swells up to a good
round sum. j j.jc
In Wales, among the small farmers m|
and traders, the custom prevails to this Q_
day of "bidding," not single guests, ^
but whole families, to a weduing. That jf
such an event is to come off, with the mj
where and when, is duly advertised in
the local newspaper, with a request that ^
all persons who, ia time past, have been ^
similarly obliged in that manner, will at- ^
tend, bringing presents for the bri e ^
and groom. Besides this, particular and ^
almost peremptory invitations, in writ
ing, are sent to each household on whom
the to-be-wedded folks may have some ^
especial claim for former generosity -n
under like circumstances. Presents of
all sorts?food, furniture, flour, fuel, ar(
table and chamber linen?even sheep,
lambs, calves, goats and ponies?are ^
omA?rr f 11 a rriffa ,,
In Germany there is the "pay wedding,"
at wliich the bride receives her _
guests with a basin before her, each (
person depositing a jewel, silver spoon ^
or a piece of moDey, at the same time
apologizing for the donation being so ^
far below value, oompared with the
damsel's deserts. In some ports of Germany
the rule is that the expenses of [v
the marriage feast shall be met by each ^
guest paying for what he eats and drinks
?just as if ho were in a hotel?but not r
at fair hotel prices. Thus the entertain- CQj
ment sometimes extends over several jm,
days, and the young couple oHen realize V
a sum out of the profits lafficient to jn
start them fairly in life. F rom one to ^
three hundred guests are olten present
throughout these festivities. gSometimes
the flow of presents takes ^
a very different course. In 1'oland a jr(
lady is not regarded as eligible for pg'
double - blessedness until sue nas
wrought with hei >wn hands cloth and
garments for each of her future lord's
iriends (groomsiuiai) accompanying him
to the altar. :
In Nor-ay the clergyman has to be -j,
propitiated with two or three bladders .
uf mincemeat, m-ide by the hands of the 1
bride, and a bottle or two of brandy. In
that country moBt presents made on wed- "
ding occasions take the tangible form of .. *
laraer supplies?at least among the
peasantry and artisans.
In high life in England, of late years,
wedding presents have coiae into fashion. ftP
The Earl of Aberdeen, a Scottish noble- by
man of immense wealth, recently mar- *?
ried a rich lady of high family. T1 ie
presents were valued at ?15,000 sterliD.g, "h
87fi non nf nnr monev. and the lasKnfjws
from England mentions that this oauntess,
careless of her spoil's, had taken ^et
much of it?eay to the valne of $50,000 mf
?with her on a railway journey, con- 601
triving to lose sight of the chest which At
sontained the jewel cases, and finding, ^
at her journey's end, that some adroit re'
thief had forced the lock.1 and escaped
with the treasure. m(
an
~ Fc
Two Brutes. 10,
We find this story in a late number of Pfl
the Leader, Cheyenne, Wyoming Ter- W1
A 4am?i'V\1a f aaatin>a/1 woafn??_ At
HWiJ, a VCHlCHt ii^uv WVUA1VU jtBWii
lay afternoon at the corner of Ferguson Pf
and Sixteenth streets between Crazy kit
florae's squaw and a yortng bull terrier. U8
The terrier was brought to this city j04
from Fort Laramie a oay or two ago. iQC
At the fort it had learned to despise In- ani
dians, and always fight them. Tester- J
i lay, when the dog in its rambles about or
the town ran across Crazy Horse's tui
squaw, who has been in the city about a ^
year, and is to be found at the corner 'ot
named on sunny days, t'aere was an in- 8?
Ktant declaration of war by the canine.
At the moment of attack the beautiful "*<
Indian widow was leaning against a post, j80
miling languidly upoia Turck and R >b<;rts,
who were sitting in Joslin & Park's J'?
window. Her back was turned to tlie }a';
(log ana ne sprang at her ie?s witn iury.
So unexpected was the attack, and bo " a
lightning-like the movements of the ter- 8P
rier, that he bit both limbs before Mrs. 'a(
Crazy Horse could turn around. The mi
i iwner of the dog, who loves Indians less, be
if possible than his dog, seeing that the 1?^
squaw was about to injure the dog,
Bprang upon her and grasped b Jth arma,
holding them with a vise-like grip which
ilefled her frantic eilorts to get free.
The terrier was busy, and for fr.ll fifteen
minutes it was allowed to tear and rend j
Lhe hapless sqnaw, even springing into re<
iter face, biting out one oheek and tear- hit
ing off the under lip. Satisfied at last, its
the pale face released the squaw, mount- let
sd his horse, and giving a shrill whistle, an
lisaDDeared. followed bv his dog. Drs. til
Preshaw and Tuttle were at once sum- i inf
moued by Mr. M. D. Altman, and ob
Jressed Mrs. Crazy Horse's wounds, tio
which though severe, are not considered su
dangerous, as the loss of blood was less ne
than usual. th<
' foi
Stanley's Earlj Journalise Work. ag
Mr. Henry M. Stanley is reported as J1*
Raying that the first line he ever wrote
as a journalist waa an account of a naval a8
engagement that he witnessed from the aS'
masthead?one of the earlier ones of tho
war. He sent it to the New York tio
Herald. It was accepted, published ria
and liberally paid for, and Stanley re- Ki
ceive l a flattering letter from Mr. Ben- Mi
nett, as Stanley's was the only account. Fa
This so fired the boy's ambition that he coi
applied himself to reading and study a
as rigorously as he could, and the form- dr<
ation of the resolution to travel and off
write. An acquaintance says of him in Mi
the Cincinnati Commercial: " His hoi
powers of labor were immense, and he Tn
never tired nor lost his temper. I have do
known him, after riding all day in the bu
ambulance, to remain up the entire J sc:
night, wrapped in an overcoat and | an
blanket, and on his kneeB, by the aid of Br
a tallow candle, write, the live long j ret
night, several letters to different papers, | lift
yet on the same subjects, changing j res
language and ideas, so as to be ready wi
for the oourier who started at break of tio
day, and then trnBt to the jolting of the pn
ambulance for his nods of repose, on the sta
narrow roads?to repeat the operation, cle
if he oould secure any news or smelt a at
chanoe for another letter." I . ]
DEAD LETTERS.
onnnnlcatlona That Pall to Beach Their
Destination?Wonders Unearthed.
Every day hundreds of precious and
nportant letters go astray and hundreds
f hearts are made sick by hope deferred,
i the early colonial times, so the old
allow pamphlet in the department arrives
tells us, great pains were taken
> recover letters 'which had been lost,
letter in those days was an expenBive
Fair; paper cost a great deal, and the
jstage was considerable, ranging from
renty-five cents even np to one dollar,
' say nothing of the annoyance of havg
to whittle out your own pen from
ie quill, and impressing on the back of
ie missive the immense seal so customy
in those days. Some of these rearkable
old epistles are still to be seen
the dead letter office. Their faded
ies and yellow appearance lure one
to a deep reverie of those long gone
iys, and the imagination pictures the
riters, who years ago have crumbled
to dust from which they came.
From November, 1777, to December
'89, all the letters that went astray are
corded in a book of forty-one pages,
lis covers a period of twelve years. A
arked contrast is evident when it is
town that for the year 1877 more than
or millions of dead letters were reived
by the post office department.
For the handling of this immense
imber fifty-nine ladies and twenty-nine
ntlemen are employed. It is an easy
itter to talk about millions of letters,
it when it is understood that each parmlar
one has to be separated, handled,
irked, inspected and the majority
ened and returned to the writer, the
ignitude of the work can be imagined,
not appreciated. When a letter is
sdirected or the postage haa not been
epaid it is Bent by the postmaster imidiately
to the dead letter office, with
B other letters which have not been
lied for. Here they are opened by
3 gentlemen who sit at long tables in
3 large cheerful room. If anything
luable is contained in them they are
nded over to another division,?where
3 contents are registered and placed
a large safe for future redemption. If
jre is nothing in them of value they
i sent np stairs, where the ladies inect
them, and if the address of the
iter is found 'ihe letter is inclosed to
; person by *?hom it was written. If
) letter has been held for postage a
cular is sent to the person to whom it
addressed, informing him that there
a been re chived at the dead letter
ice a letter directed to him which will
forwarded upon receipt of the necesy
postag a. To this circular the dertment
r ecf.ives many very funny rees.
If no response is made within
rtvdaTa it in treated as an ordinarv
ul letter.
rhe &yjat amount of money passing
itinually through the mails can be
agine* i when out of the dead letters
me, o. small percentage, over $50,000
money and more than 81,500,000 in
tfts and commercial paper was taken
:hin the last year. All but about
000 of this has been returned to the
.feers. A great share of this comes
tin the mis or non-directed letters,
ople seem to be so intent on what
es into the letter that they forget the
perscrif-tion. It is a sad thought when
e reflects upon the vast amount of
Serin# in many cases that comes from
is ne/lect Here, for instance, is an
istration, an exact copy of a letter reve<"i
at the office not long since :
u My dear Mag?I received yonrverry
Ikim letter yeetuday it gave me grate
5 of mind to here that yon are well a8
is leaves me in at present, thank
kI !"
The writer then adds a dad story of dispointment
imd disaster, and finishes
saying: "I sen J yon ten dollars
r you need it more than I do."
Poor Mag ! The ten dollars for which
e has longed and waited has gone into
lcle Sam's rich purse?not from
oice, but from necessity. Foreign
iters are treated in a very diplomatic
inner, and are in all cases returned
roes the water without being opened,
nerica seems to be a perfect geographi[
engima to foreigners when they di*
jt letters to friends here. They mix
the States and cities up in one grand
388, and then put a considerable
lount of the mixture on each letter.
>r instance, one address reads as fol
vs : "uie Anderson, nocicawy cin
, North America, New York." Who
11 underf ake to forward that letter ?
id yet the dwellers across the sea
obably make no more mistakes of this
id than Americans, for how many of
fully understand all the geographical
:alitif? of the minur cities and prov;e8
of Germany or Sweden, or, in fact,
y country on the continent 7
tn the gallery there are seated forty
fifty ladies, whose business it is to rem
the letters in official envelopes to
iters wh<Jn their addresses can be
im i. Every day the huge sacks which
forth from that place crammed with
texs show the amount of work which
3 ladies do. One handsome young
ly is kept busy all the day in stampj
the envelopes, and she does it with
htning rapidity. It is said that these
lies are the best readers of bad writing
the country, and it is not to be wonred
at when one sees some of the
pcimenn nf their work. The average
ly reader probably -will say that it
ist be " too funny for anything " to
continually reading other people's
re letters ; but even gold tarnishes
th mnch handling, bo it is with readl
other folks' letters when it has to
done at the rate of from twenty to
ty an hour, day after day and month
er month.
k few months ago an application was
jeived for a letter wbich had a famous
rtory. Forty-two years ago it missed
destination and landed in the dead
ter office. No call was made for it,
d there it remained in the archives
I the descendants of the writer, wish*
to prove their right to his property,
tained from old journals the informan
that the deed had been mailed at
ch a time to such a person, but had
<f
vci luouiicu ild uoobuiniiuLu xucy
an made application to the department
the letter. The odds were so greatly
ainst them that thoir surprise must
ve been boundless when the old yelw
document was returned to them just
it had been mailed over forty years
o.
Many will remember the great sensan
caused by the account of th? marge
of Don Cabral, the "Diamond
ng " (a fictitious character created by
r. William H. McElroy, of the Albany
lening Journal). Papers all over the
antry published the account, and as
consequence hundreds of letters adessed
to him came to the dead lettto
ice, and were afterward returned to
r. McElroy as the only living repreitativo
of the aforesaid fi ctitious Don.
his application for them he says : " I
not wish these letters for publication,
t would value them for file in my
apbooks as illustrating in a marked
il unique manner the success of ' The
azilian Wedding,' an extravaganza dijted
at one of the follies of modern
3." The writers of these letters repsented
every degree of life, and all
th American directness asked donaus
or loans from hirn for that or this
rpose. Some even inclosed a postage
imp or a photograph only to have the
irks who returntid these letters wonder
their creduJity,
Every day there comes with the list
from Philadelphia a letter inclosed in a
plan, white envelope and addressed in
the delicate chirography of a woman to
"Edward P. Ewing," simply thiB and
nothing more. The lady never signs
anything bnt her initials, nence the letters
cannot be returned to her. Here
is the subject for a romantic novel. One
can imacrine a broken-hearted woman
every day sending a letter ont into the
world to her lost lover, in the vain hope
that some day it may reach his hands.
She does not know ms whereabouts, so
j she sends her letter out, directed anyj
where, nowhere, hoping yet despairing
j of its ever reaching nim.
As the reporter left this interesting
j place he couldn't help thinking how
I much trouble and sadness would be
I averted if people would only direct their
I letters in a loud hand, as Pat did when
writing to his deaf grandmother, making
the superscription plain and full; or, if
this. does not suit the ladies, let them
always add their address to their letters,
and they will never be lost.? Washington
Republican.
The History of Skating.
It can only be conjectured when
skating was first practiced, but it was
certainly very long ago. In that anaient
collection of Scandinavian songs and
legends known as the "Edda" Uller,
the handsome god, is described as being
the possessor of a pair of skates. This
proves that skating is at least a thousand
years old. It is supposed to have
P.nrtlQTtA OVlrtTl4". fliA
wccu UiV(\AiUVCU mvu juuguwu HWW* ?*?v
twelfth century and into the central
parts of Europe somewhat earlier. It is
cnriouB that although all northern
nations possessed the sledge, those of
America knew nothing of the skater
while the people of Europe did not
have the snow-shoe.. The course of invention
varied, according to requirements.
In America, in high latitudes,
the snows are heavy, and open ice is
comparatively rare. In the corresponding
parts of Europe there is much more
clear ice, and proportionately less snow.
The ancient skates were nothing but
shin-bones of oxen or other.large animals,
pierced with holes to receive the
cords or thongs which bound them to
the feet. Fitzstephen's "History of
London," written in the thirteenth
century, is the earliest English book in
which skating is spoken of; and we
learn, from its description, that the
performers upon these bone skates kept
j themselves in motion by striking against
J the ice with an iron shad-pole. Some|
times specimens of these bone skates
have been discovered in the progress of
I excavations, in several European counj
tries; and a very well preserved pair,
| found in England some years ago,
I ??%? Ua oaaii \fnoflnw
[ Utii UKJ\y UD DOC?Li 111 uuu Xiiiviou muovmm
It is unknown when or where iron waa
j first employed in the construction of
skates. It was probably in Holland;
! for skates of a pattern very much like
that of the ones we have now, not only
were known in that country, but were
extensively used by all classes of its
people, long before the pastime of
skating became general elsewhere.
Skating is something more than a pastime
in Holland. There it is one of tne
useful arts, and it is universally practiced
and highly esteemed. It offers a very
convenient mode of travel in winter
over the canels that almost entirely
supply the place of roads in the Land of
Dykea; and people skate Irom farm to
farm, and from town to town, and to
church, and to market, often carrying
heavy burdens. The Russians have
j constructed an ice-locomotive, with
j roughened driving-wheels to lay hold of
the slippery surface, and it has proved
! a success ; but in Holland, every man is
i his own locomotive. And so is every
* ? ? !L 1 1
woman ners,?ior n nas iuug uecu
customary for ladies to skate in Holland;
whereas in other countries, until recently,
this most excellent of out-door exercises
tor them have been almost tabooed.
The first skaters in our part of tne
world were the honest Dutchmen of the
| " province of Nieuw Nederlandts," who
! doubtless brought their skates with
' them in that celebrated vessel, tlie
j " Goede Fiouw," which we are told by
i the learned Diedrick Knickorbooke,
j "had one hundred feet in the beam, one
j huudred feet in the keel, and one
hundred feet from the bottom of the
sternpost to the tafferel." The Dutch
certainly deserve high honor for having
introduced skating and Christmas
presents into America,, if for nothing
else. As they did so, the worthy St.
Nicholas must be esteemed the patron
of all American skaters.
A War Scene.
The horrors of war are described with
_1 n_ 1; is V^foa
guwjuy rctumiu IU ouuic UIUD
from an Artist's Sketchbook" in the
Iiondon Daily News. On the first morning
of the year, the correspondent set
out from Fratesti for Putenieu in Roumania.
Afar off a long, dark line moving
in caterpillar-fashion broke the horizon.
It was a column of Turkish
prisoners marching?the men who once
kept the flower of the Russian army at
bay around Plevna. Half-starved, almost
dead with fatigue and severe cold,
many with fever burning in their eyes?
mere stalking bones and foul rags?
! came the brave troops who made the
j fame of Osman Pasha. Thousands of
| birds of prey whirled round and settled
j in front and rear, always following this
: Rrim procession like sharks round a
I doomed ship. A few yards farther on
i lay, half covered with snow, a nude |
! body of another dead Turk, stripped by
his companions for the little warmth of
; the rags he wore. A crow had settled on
i his clenched hand, and the dogs were
j slinking round their victim. At night a
' star and the crescent moon, the only
, signs in the clear sky, shine brilliantly,
j There is the ominous black line wending
j up the valley?more wretched prisoners
j footsore and weary, with their cadaverous
faces and ice-laden beards. A halt
I is made at thejittle bridge, to dole out
to each their frozen loaf of bread. A
! few poor fellows throw themselves down
| on the snow and ferv ently pray after
i their fashion. How the heavens, with
the bright symbols of their faith glitterj
ing on the frosted snow and on their
I misery, seem to mock these poor Turks!
The World's Borrowing.
Borrowing was done on a grand scale
! in 1877. A Belgian statistician has
| compiled a list of the issues made in
various countries in tho world, and Rets
j down the total amount as 81,580,975,1
000 against ?725,000,000 in 1876, and
8330,000,000 in 1875. Of this enor;
mous amount, 81,154,650,000 was bor!
rowed by governments, national, State
I and municipal, and the balance by railway
and industrial companies and institutions
of credit. The excess of the
j world's borrowing last year over that of
' previous years was mainly due to the
| conversion loans of the United States.
1 The French loans have amounted to
8375,000,000, over two-thirds of which
| have been issued uy railway and indusi
trial companies. The large loans of
Russia were paid chiefly in the paper
money which the government itself had
issued.
Climate Changing.? It would seem
that not only is the clii nate of Iceland
growing so cold that gra in cannot ripen
! there, but that of So andinavia and
western Europe is beoo ming more severe.
This is due, it ii i supposed, to
the steady descent of thi > ice of the far
north upon the shores of Iceland. The
temperature of Greenla nd was once
much mope mild than at, p resent.
ENTERTAINLNtt DOG STORIES.
The ftenaeof the Myateriaiia in Brute*-Re*
nlta of a Natnrallat'a Experiment a.
Mr. (George J. Romanes, the English
naturalist, writing to Nature about Herbert
Spencer's treatment of the subject of
" Fetichism'in Aninials," tells some entertaining
stories about experiments
made by himself with Mb pets.
II T *r?n n l/> J '' La AA?*m II ?MaYvA
;jl >yuo leu, no oajoy vkj uirano vuo
experiments by reading the instance
given in the Descent of Man' of the
large dog which Mr. Darwin observed to
bark at a parasol as it was moved along
the lawn by the wind?so presenting the
appearance of animation. The dog on
which I experimented was a Skye terrier
-a remarkably intelligent animal, whose
psychological faculties have already
formed the subject of several communications
to this and other periodicals. As
all my experiments yielded the same results
I will only mention one. The terrier
in question, like many other dogs,
used to play with dry bones by tossing
them in the air, throwing them to a distance,
and generally giving them the appearance
of animation, in order to give
himself the ideal pleasure of worrying
them. On one occasion, therefore, I
tied a long and fine thread to a dry bone
and gave him the latter to play with.
After he had tossed it about for a dhort
time I took an opportunity, when it had
ialien at a distance irom nun auu vuuh
he was following it up, of gently drawing
it away from him by means of the long
and invisible thread Instantly his
whole demeanor changed. The bone
which he bad previously pretended to be
alive now began to look as if it really
were alive, and his astonishment knew
no bounds. He first approached it with
nervous caution, as Mr. Spencer describes,
but as the slow receding motion
continued, and he became quite oertain
that the movement could not be accounted
for by any residum of the force which
he had himself communicated, his astonishment
developed into dread, and he
ran to conceal himself under some articles
of furniture, there to behold at a
distance the 'uncanny' spectaole of a
dry bone coming to life.
" Another experiment proved that the
sense of the mysterious was in this animal
sufficiently strong of itself to account
for his behavior. Taking him into
" 11 1 LLU
a carpeted room j. dibw a euap uuuuu,
and by means of a fitful draught made
it intermittingly glide along the floor.
He became at once intensely interested,
but seemed uuable to decide whether or
not the filmy object was alive. At first
he was very cautious and followed it
only at a distance, but as I encouraged
him to examine the bubble more closely,
he approached it with ears erect and tail
down, evidently with much misgiving;
and the moment it happened to move he
again retreated. Alter a time, nowever,
during which I always kept at least one
bubble an the carpet, he began to gain
more courage, and the scientific spirit
overcoming his sense of the mysterious,
he eventually became bold enough slowly
to approach one of the bubbles and nervously
to touch it with his paw. The
bubble, of course, immediately vanished;
and I certainly never saw astonishment
more strongly depicted. On then blowing
another bubble I could not persuade
him to approach it for a good while;
but at last he came and oarefnlly extended
his paw aa before with the same result.
But after this second trial nothing
would induce him again to approach a
bubble, and on pressing him he ran out
of the room, winch no coaxing would
persuade him to re-enter.
"One other example will suffice to
show how strongly developed was the
sense of the mysterious in this animal.
When alone with him in a room I once
purposely tried the effect on him of
maxing u scries ui uuinuic ^nmuvcro.
At first be thought I was only making
fnn; but as I persistently disregarded
his caresses and -whining, while I continued
unnaturally to distort my features,
he became alarmed and slunk
way nnder some furniture, shivering
like a frightened child. He remained in
this condition till some other member of
the family happened to enter the room,
when he emeiged from his hiding place in
great joy at seeing me again in "my right
mind. In this experiment, of course, I
refrained from making any sounds or
gesticulations, lest he might think I was
angry. His actions, therefore, can only
be explained by his horrified surprise at
my apparently irrational behavior?that
is, by the violation of his ideas of uniformity
in matters psychological. It
must be added, however, that I have
tried the same experiment on less intelligent
and less sensible terriers with no
other effect than catming them to bark
at me.
" I will only add that I believe the
annan r\t +J.O mvatprinil 3 in lift thfl CAUSO
DiiDO V* IIU V 41A T _
of the dread which many animals show
of thunder. I am led to think this because
I once had a setter which never
heard thunder till he was eighteen
months old, and on then first hearing it
I thought he was about to die of fright,
as I have seen other animals do under
various circumstances. And so strong
was the impression which his extreme
terror left behind that whenever afterward
he heard the boom of distant artillery
practice, mistaking it for thunder,
he became a pitiable object to look at,
and, if out shooting, would immediately
bolt heme?or, if at a great distance
from home, would endeavor to bury
himself. After having heard real thunder
on two or three subsequent occasions,
his dread of the distant cannons
became greater than ever, so that evenrtnnflrli
Vio Irppnlv ATlinrfiil HDOrt.
nothing would induce "kirn to leave his
kennel, lest the practice might begin
when ho was a distance from home.
But the keeper, who had a large experience
in the training of dogs, assured me
that if I allowed this one to be taken to
the battery, in order that he might learn
the true cause of the thunder-like noise,
he would again become serviceable in the
field. The auimal, however, died before
the experiment was made."
Dancing to the Howling Winds.
-LUU Wl. x aui ^xuuiu.y jl # Vw
has this statemont: Frank Plummer
has attain been heard from in connection
with another and recent very perilous
experience. About the first of the
month Frank was returning to Deadwood
vrith a companion from his hay
ranche? and wns suddenly overtaken by
a furious blizzard, which continued all
night. Being without facilities fpr starting
a fixe, and finding it impossible to
travel in the face of the blinding storm,
the two put in the night in dancing in
order to avoid a severe freezing or possible
death. Frank says he has danced
when ho considered it a pleasant amusement,
but never before followed it as a
very serious and necessary business. He
has lost his taste for dancin g.
Merchant Shipping of the World.
Sailing. .tan.
Countrit*. .
Nn. of Tnn- A'o. of Ton. To'al
Ship'. na.gr. Ship'. nag*. Tonnagi.
British 20,iW5 6.811,,366 3,2<9 3,362,992 9,K0,:i67
United States 7,2*8 B.390,621 789,728 3,180,249
Norwegian.... 4,749 1.410,91(3 IB 66.874 1,466,777
Italian 4,801 J.292,076 114 97,683 1,3*>,S68
(ttrmin. 8,466 876.996 IX 228,888 1,102,8M
French 3,868 736,048 314 3^,834 1,069,383
Spanish J,915 657,320 230 176,360 783,570
Greek 3,121 426,9u5 11 7,133 434, "38
Dutch 1,433 899,933 126 134,600 634,598
Swediah 3,131 399,138 319 88,660 4X7,788
Romian 1,786 391,9.>2 161 106,963 497,914
Austrian 9X1 338.6M 78 8 ,269 419,963
Danish 1,348 188,963 87 60,697 349,66(1
Portnguese... 466 107,106 26 93,376 129,393
So. American *73 96,469 81 69,363 164,722
Oeot'l Amer'n 163 67,!M4 6 3,133 61,076
Tnrk. A Egypt 306 48,288 30 38.264 76,563
Belgian M 83^44 35 40,700 W.044
Atlaho 43 16,019 11 10,877 26,996
LibMian 3 MS 646
Items of Interest
True to the last: a well-made boot.
Milan, Italy, is preparing for an international
exhibition.
A man never uses his thumb nail for
a screw driver but once.
Eighty-three murderers, all men, were
hanged in the United States in 1877.
The Colorado mines produced $7,879,432
worth of gold and silver ore in 1877.
The males are more apt to be delayed
by pretty women than by severe northckoof
flfnrma
It is absurd to suppose that a man can
speak above his breath, since his mouth
is below his nose.
The delightful sensation felt in riding
on an iceboat can be obtained at small
cost by falling from a six-story building.
Life, young man, is only
A slippery sheet of ice ;
No girl there?it's 'onely ;
One girl there?it's nice.
Irritable schoolmaster?" Now then,
stupid, what's the next word? "What
comes after cheese?" Dull boy?"A
mouse, sir."
. A traveler met in Japan a woman who
didn't know the use of a pin. Her bewilderment
when shown a pin-cushion
was amusing*.
The United States utilizes in agriculture
ten per cent, of its area; Great
Britain, fifty-eight per cent., and Holland,
seventy. ?
Of sawdust nineteen per cent, and of
sand fourteen per cent., was what was
found in a sample of Bossian army bread
recently analyzed. ? t
?Are blacksmiths, who make a living
by forging, or carpenters, who do a little
counter-fitting, any worse than men who
sell iron and steel for a living ?
In ancient davs the precept was,
" Know thyself. In modern times it
has been supplanted by the far more
fashionable maxim, "Know thy neighbor
and everything about him.
What the Bochester Express calls
" a. to RAVfl swearing " hftg been
invented by a man in Lockport N. T.
It consists of an arrangement by which
stovepipes are joined together like a
telesoope.
The last story told about Chicago is
that twenty-five cents is extracted for
the privilege of viewing what is reckoned
the choicest cnrioeity which the great
Lake City can show, viz., the only unmortgaged
piece of gronnd.
An Indiana man has died leaving a
collection of 100,000 beetles. Yet there
are some men right here among us who
will not leave a collection of 4Nn a
dozen beetles when they die. For
shame!? Worcester Press.
A woman will face a frowning world
and cling to the man she loves through
the most bitter adversity, but she
wouldn't wear a hat three weeks behind
the style to save the government.?Cincinnati
Breakfast Table.
At bedtime little Willie was saying the
usual prayer at his mother's knee, and,
having got as far as " if I should die before
I wake,"hesitated. "Well, what
next?" asked his mother. "Well,!
- "? L KA O ^Ttr??k_
s pose me Qexi tiuag wumu uo ?
ral."
The strength of the French army is
as follows: Active army (five classes)
719,836; reserve of active army (foui
classes), 520,982; territorial army (five
classes), 594,786; reserve of territorial
army (six classes), 639,782; total, 2,473,866?all
trained men.
The total number of Methodists in
the United States is over 3,3X5,000; in
Canada, 161,172; in Great Britain and
her colonies, 607,404. In all the world
they number 4,383,888. The increase in
law mnmhprs for 1877 throughout the
world is given as 211,309.
The following business in the United
States is seen in the following : Distilleries,
4,992 ; rectifiers, 1,130 ; brewers,
2,758 ; wholesale dealers, 4,604 ; licensed
saloons, 164,598. On a basis of
45,000,000 people there is one legalized
saloon to 280 persons.
John Holden, a surveyor, of Perry
county, Miss., has dug up a treasure of
635,600 in coin, to which he was guided
by an instrument of his own invention.
The money was buried during the war
by guerillas, who quarrelled and killed
each other off, leaving only general instructions
as to the neighborhood where
it was concealed.
A lady resident of Boyertown, Pa.,
the other night had a desperate fight
with a mad dog in her bedroom, and
finally, having hurled a 8120 set of false
teeth at him, was pleased to see him disappear.
She awakened to find tbat it
was all a horrid nightmare, but that the
room was wrecked and her teeth shattered
beyond redemption.
The mesquite gum of Western Texas
is almost identical with gum arabic.
During the past year it has become an
article of export, some 12,000 pounds
having been gathered in Bexar county,
and as much more between that and the
coast. The gum exhudes from the stem
and branches of the mesquite, a mimosa,
several species of which grow in Texas
New Mexico and Arizona.
a pooh fellow's defiance.
I'm driven to the wall, and the world is my foe.
Whatever I do is a failure most flat.
Yet my soul is my own,
And I'm not overt rown ;
What mimifles that? av. what signifies that ?
I've nothing to-day for to-morrow's great needs,
I wait upon fortune that never cornea past;
Bat if, though I'm poor,
I can laugh and endure,
What signifies that i ay, what signifies that ?
Persons about to go to Hot Springs,
Ark., for health, may be interested in
the following item from a local newspaper
: "On Thursday James Cooper,
the merchant, mortally wounded Nead
Gillis, a well-known citizen. Gillis has
defied and bulldozed the civil authorities,
and threatened the life of Cooper,
who, seeing him come up the hill as
though to carry out-his purpose, stepped
* 1 GJ r\ni?ann Ilia fWn
out ana nreu iumj umm ?
tentsof two double-barreled shotguns."
Maxime du Camp, the historian of the
Commune, has been inquiring into the
stories of the wholesale massacre of
Communards after entrance of the Versailles
troops into Paris, andinstead of 25,
000 to 40,000 corpses, "including 10,00*0
women and children," ho finds that
from May 20 to May 30,1871, there were
5,339 interments in the cemeteries, and
from the 24th of May to the 6th of Sep
tember there were exhumed from graves
on the highway, etc., 1 328 bodies, making
a total of 6,667.
A recent fatal duel in Georgia has
called out in the Southern papers reminiscences
of all the famous duels of the
last half century. As remarkable a one
as any was that fought at Bridgeport,
Ky., in 1836, when Shelton and Kingsbury
were arrayed against each other.
Kingsbury knew it was a joke ; Shelton
thought it was real. The seconds loaded
the guns with soft foap. Shelton won
the first fire, banged away auii ilr.-pped
behind a log. Kinpsbury walked up t"
Shelton, put the muzzle of his put near
his head and fired. Such a looking ni:u?
was never wen in Kentucky or citewhere
; soft so"p covered his entire
head. In mortal agr.ny Shelton put up
his hand, got a handful of p.wp and exclaimed:
"Oh, my poor brains! my
Eoor brains?" Finally reahriag the
oax he chased Kingsbury more than
five miles, firing stones and volleys of
profanity at him.