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ABBEVILLE PRESS AND BANNER. 1 BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C.. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1884. NO. 27. VOLUME XXVIII... -M _ ???a? ?! ! ! Paawwww????j???? CHRISTMAS CHIME3. I. ."he bells?the hells?the Christmas bells, How merrily they ring! is if they felt the joy they tell Tx .very living thing. The? Jvery tones, o'er vale and hill A| i swelling soft and clear. As wave on wave, the tide of sound Ff Is the bright atmosphere. 11. 7<jp bells?the merr\ Christmas bells, 1 hey're ringing in the morn! The* *Crg when in the eastern sky T"i3 golden light Is born; riTiey ring, ::s sunshine tips the hills. An 1 gilds the village spire? When through the sky the sovereign sun Rolls his full orb of tire. hi. The Christmas bells?the Christmas bells, How merrily they ring! ( To weary hearts a pulse of joy, A kindlier life they bring. The poor man on his couch of straw, The rich on downy bed. AL . ?1_ J ] ? . cWAAf. nun uic ?j;iu > uimi* i^> >v?wo o?vv?, Of angels overhead. iw Tho le!!*-the silvery Christmas bells, O'er many n mile they sound! And household lone; are answering them * In thousand Iton e> around. Voices of c hildho k1, blithe and shrill, "With youth's s i-on;; accents blend, And manhood's deep and earnest tones "With woman's praise ascend. - . ... JETTY'S CHRISTMAS. His real, 1'truly name,'' as little Annie would have toid you. was Jessie, but his i hair and his big. solemn-looking eyes were ' so black, that, as it is customary to give i all babies some pet name, when Jesse was ! a wee mite, "so oncanny lookin'," ?>s the 1 Scotch nurse said, and his mother named hiin Jesse, liar loved father's name, the . nurse said: ''I dinna ken it wol' be i' the same to ca' the baimie Jetty, an' ha' doon wi' it, fur he be thet black i' the bed, like the : nin' iof in biv nnr.mnv p'c." Anil so at home and abroad, which meant only the small avenue where little j Jesse was known, at the time I am going ' to tell you about, he was called Jetty. Very unlike in looks were Jetty and his little sister, Annie, nor quite two years , younger tluui he ?a<, for her tender, wist- j ful-looking eyes were blue as the fair June I sky, and her sol't hair was pale golden in j color. And this bleak December day, when Jetty was six years old and Annie four, j the curly black head and the golden one were very cloee together as they sat in th" same chair, holding their little hands out to the fire, and Jetty had a very wise look j on his "oncanny face," and delicate little j Annie a frightened, nearly terrified one, < * as he said, loudly: "I tell you, Annie, it'll never do to tell ma we're going," and the black curls, now quite long, bobbed up and ( down quoerly as he >hook his head, and | the soft bluo eyes raised timidly to his j face, fill with tears, as. huddling still 1 closer to him. little Annie said: "I dassent. Jetty.?'twould be so naughty, and?and?I's 'fraid of the ! dark!" and the golden head dropped and the soft voice faltered, as she told ! her weakness. "Pooh! Then you can stay at home and I shall go alone, so there now!"] and Jetty moves to the very edge of the I chair, as far as he can get from her and j sit still in the chair, as he adds, really . ovvn imi; en au , I "But you won't have one bit of the j Christmas I get. I can tell you now!". I ain't afraid of the dark and I can go ' alone?'fore I'd be so scared! I should j be with you." And Jetty rises, drawing his childish I form to its utmost height, even standing j tip-toe, as he looks scornfully at little : timid Annie, who is crying softly now. and wiping away the tears. She looks wonderingly at him as she says: "Oh, Jetty. \ou will never go alone, will you!'' I should be more 'fraid J "then,"' and she hold1* out her little bands entreatinglv to him and Jetty sits down beside her again. Then with the black and golden heads | close together, they talk and plan in their ' childish way all about the "dreflul thing | to do,'' as Annie calls it, until deter- j mined Jetty has her promise not to tell j "ma" and consents to go with him. It is two very conscious-looking faces ! rthat greet the delicate looking mother ; when she enters, shaking with the cold. ! : just as Jetty has won the day. and smiling , at them, looking inquiringly in the little faces now wearing a strange expression, she askes: "Well, what is it, babies? How queer you look!"' Jetty shakes his head at Annie, and answers: "Nothiny us the mother shakes up the fire. ' Nothing? Well, you looked different i somehow to me," the mother says, as she | opens the roll of fine shirts she has taken I home to make, and sits down beside them. ' But she trembles, really shakes so with " the cold that she cannot even hold the work, and after many vain efforts, she . tosses it to the table, and leaning over j the stove, she exclaims: "Oh! how chilled I am, and how my j head aches!'' And wonderingly the children see the tears falling fast over the worn-looking but still lovely face, the thin cheeks flushing to a vivid red, the breath com-' ing hurriedly, and their loved mother changing so in looks that they huddle down beside her in a frightened way, ; and baby Annie slips her little hand into hers and begs her not to cry, but hugging them closely to her, and calling tnem her "poor babies,"theweary, really sick mother only cries the more, till , both children begin to cry also, and the ! mother's irrief is stayed in her efforts to ] console them. That .ight. the close of J the saddest day that the children have j ever known. Jetty whispered to Annie: : "Twill be to-morrer-night, "cos next day is Christmas." L "But ma cried, you know. Jetty," An nie answers, tremulously. K "You said you would, you did!'*! W Jetty says, firmly. f " Yes," Annie replies, lowly. "Why, it is really snowing. Grandpa, and we shall have a white Christmas, oil r !im irliid s:iiil ,*i chfcerv. ttl IV? ?? ?. * ? ^ - - , 7 musical voice, nsn beautiful young lady steps from the elegant carriage, and shaking out the folds of her costly wraps, she stands, smiling, beside the grandlooking, white l a red old gentleman addressed as ' Grandpa," who replies, as Intakes her dain'ily-gloved hand and places it on his arm, "Yes. dear, it seems so." Then they pass into the brilliantlylighted "Bazaar." all aglow and aglitter with its magnificent Christinas display, quite unmindful of the shaking, shrinking little ones, huddled close to the gor- j geous windows, and over which the folds of her wrappings had fallen, nearly covering them as she shook them out. ' Oh my! warn't she nice, Annie!" said Jetty, squeezing little Annie's hand, as the door closed after the young lady. "Yes, and she looked good, just like ?like ma. Jetty, didn't she? But I'm so cold, Jetty, and most fraid of so many people, and rwbbn ma has waked?let's go home, Jetty, come!" Annie entreated. "Xo, I shan't. Come, now. you stop, Annie! Jest as if I'd go home 'thout uo Christmas?I'm going to sing tu that nice lady," Jetty replied, pinching Annie's little, blue-looking hand. "But p'raps she won't let you sing to , her, nor give you nothin' for Kissnius, L 'toll, Jetty, an' there's some big, uyly 1 bflys tumin', and you know one "pushed you an' told you to clear out. 'cos you & looked in the other store window. Oh! nk do come home to ma. Jetty!" Annie sobbed piteously as the "big boys'' o,-ew nearer. But before Jetty could reply, the door of the " Bazaar" was opened, I and laughing and chatting the " niccK looking young lady" came out, ae^ ^^ooipanied by another lady, as finely^nearly as nice-looking. ^^^^^H^^^K|^nfront of her so quickly. push ^ HHUnHH^^^lamation I the wondering gaze bent upon them, and brave Jetty stood quite abashed before the " nice-looking lady." But she took the cold, little hand in hers, and said, kindly, " Well, what is it. little boy ?" The big, black eyes looked up again, but somehow the bold heart would flutter so. that the brave voice could not utter a word, for poor Jetty found, as we j older ones so often do, that it is one j thing to plan, but quite another to do as } we have planned; and timid little Annie, i who hud hidden behind the other lady, came to the rescue, and putting her hand j in Jetty's, she said, quite bravely, for. as I she told Jetty afterward, "she looked 1 so much like ma. 1 touldn't be scared." | He wants to sing to you for a Kissj nuts," just as the young lady exclaimed: ! "Oh, Edith! Did you ever see such : lovely black eyes!" 1 "Wonderful!" Edith replied, laugh- ' i inqly; "but I must say that I prefer the l r*1.1? ?^ . \f...w5 M I SUiltT IUI1V UUf>, .UHUU. "Why, there's a pair of them. K?lith! : What tlici you say, little one?" Maud asked, smiling at little Annie, but still ' holding Jetty's hand. "To sing to you for a Kissmus." Annie shyly repented, at which Edith laughed aloud, and Maud said, wonderinglv: "Wants to sing to me for a Christinas?" just as her grandpa bade the friend he had met in the store good-night, and i stopped beside her, exclaiming, as he j gazed at the queer group: "Why, what is it, Maudie?" And Edith answered, laughingly: "Only that Maudie is spell-bound by a pair of wonderful black eyes, and offerc.1 , a rare entertainment in exchange for a I Christinas." "Now,don't, Edie!" Maud said. "The : poor little thing thinks you are laughing i at him. Only see how cold they look, ! nnrl lu> h:ic imt snrh lovnlv ItlHek eves. grandpa!" ' Pshaw, dear! Let the black eyes go, 1 and jump iuto the carriages, lest we get ! red noses. Whew! How it does snow!" j But Maude held back as Jetty's plead- < ing voice began again: "Please do?" and she said, coaxinglv, ! "Now, really, dear grandpa, I do want: to know what these little ones want out j here in the cold; please now. grandpa, that's a darling', let's see what we can do for them." ana she patted the old gentle- j man's cheek lovingly. "There, there. Maude, let the little; beggars alone, and get into the carriage," i he answered, testily, yet stopping beside ! the children with her, as >he leaned over j them and said: "So you want to sing to me to get something for Christmas, is that it j" "Yes, yes!" both children cried, eager- j ly: and then Jetty added, boldly, "like j they did in the stnrv." "Oh! I understand." Maude said, add- j ing: "Now, don't, Edith, please don't!" j as Edith laughed again. "Well, but it is so funny, Maude; so j queer for you to stand there with them [ so. i can t neip laugmng. Are you going to stand here in the cold and let thom sing for their Christmas? If so, I' beg to be excused from listening, for I j am cold. Oh, do make her leave the | black eyes, Mr. Carlton'" ' If you are cold, what do you think j of them.Maude asked, sharply. ''Do let's give them something for Christmas, ' grandpa," she urged. "If you had your way, Maudie, you'd give to every beggar and impostor in the countrv," he said. Ilut these are neither, grandpa. Why, they are mere babies, and lovely ones. ; too." she added. And, turning abruptly to little Jetty, who shrank away from the severe-looking gentleman, he said, not unkindly, "So, you thought you might get a Christmas by singing for it, did you? A pretty easy way that, yet not so bad as to expect one wirhout maKing any return. Well, step in here, boy, and let's see how well you can sing," and he turned toward the j store. ' Oh, grandpa! They'll be so? " But what Maude would have said further, in behalf of their shyness, was ; instantly checked by her grandpa, as, j taking Jetty by the haud, he said: "Xon- j sense, Maudie. I'm too old to stay here in j the cold any longer, and your babies, as > you call them, are too young, so I must1 choose my own way to help them, you see.'' Poor little Jetty clung closely to the j old gentleman's hand, as he was led into the brilliant store, as did little Annie to Maude's hand, while Edith followed them reluctantly, looking far from pleased at the delay. Then, releasing his hand from , Jetty's almost convulsive grip, amid the j curious, wondering looks of the clerks ! and the few people still in the store. Mr. Carlton adjusted his eve glasses, and then . sitting Jetty upon a stool, he looked curiously at him, his broad brow contracting i unpleasantly as he looked, as if there was J that which was far from pleasing in the j boy's looks to him. Then to the proprie- j tor, who stood beside him. he said: "By ; your leave, this little fellow will sing to ! us. he says, for a Christmas, which my I Maude proposes to {ret for hi*u. Come, j now, my boy," he said, coaxingly. Poor Jetty's curly head drooped lower, but little Annie left Maude's sheltering presence, and slipping her little arm around Jetty, she said: "Sing 'Happy Land,' Jetty, I'll help you." And Jetty raised the lovely black eyes j and fixing them in an intent gaze upon .Maude's n-.ce, he began to sing in a peculiarly sweet, clear voice, "I have come from a happy land, etc.,'' and when he had sung to the refrain they had quite a j wondering and most appreciative audi-' once around them. As little Annie threw back her golden head, which had rested ! lovingly against Jetty's shoulder, and : joined her baby voice, most melodiously j with his, Mr. Carlton started and gazed with a puzzled look for an instant into j the tender blue eyes fixed wistfully upon his face, as little Annie began to sing, j then a startled, pained look crossed his , noble face, and to the surprise of all, es- 1 peciallv Maude, he strode away to the ! farther end of the store, where he walked rapidly to and fro, as if ill at ease, until the song was ended, and then quickly 1 returning, he leaned over little Jetty ami asked in an unnatural tone. "What is your name?" ' Jesse Carlton Hugo." Jetty answered, ; promptly, at which Maude and Kdth i both started, and he murmured, huskih : ' I thought so. So she named you after me, did she '{" "He got danpa'sname, he has, ma say j so," said little Annie, positively. At which* Maude smiled, and Mr. Carlton said sharply: "Com#. Maude, let's go home." " Hut the children, grandpa "Yes, yes, get them whatever you j like, and then they go too.' And then such a Christinas as their | most extravagant desires or wildest im- j * ? * * i 1 - I agmings never couiu nave piuuneu. was selected by Maude, assisted by the nowinterested Edith, and taken with the ex- ( I cited children to the carriage. Scarcely i | a word wj>.s spoken during the rapid ! i drive to the humble avenue where Jetty | > had told them his home was. and as I the carriage stopped, little Annie, wlur j had nestled contentedly in Maude's arms, | said shyly: ; "I desina bo awake now." j Awake! There was a cry of dismay from the three as they entered (he lowly ! room and heard the delirious moaning I from the fevfcr-parched lips of the sulTer! ing mother as she tossed restlessly about. .Air. Carlton uttered an agoniziug exclaI mation, as he sprang past the frightened I children to the bedside of his once dearly i loved but discarded daughter, whom he had not heard from for years, since he told her never to come in his presence or enter her home again, as she had so enraged him by marrying her music teacher after he had driven him from the house and forbade her ever to see him again. Then followed a week of most anxious watching, when all that the most .skillful medical aid could do seemed of no avail, and the young mother, the re covered daughter, now so deeply prized, drew very near to th silent bourne whence the young husband and father had passed two years before. But when at last the crisis was past, and she opened her eyes consciously once more, they rested wonderingly upon her loved father's face, in whose arms her baby Annie was sleeping sweetly. And I ^.Dce(i scarcely tell you that noble, loving ^MBju^^^ladly, tenderly welcomed J her father's only sister, and her lovely children, to the luxurious home where ! [ she had presided for her lonely and ! fondlv-lovcd grandpa since the death of ' her parents. And Jetty, with his "lovely j eyes." so like his despised father's, is her ! especial pride and delight, as little Annie, j loving and winsome, is her doting grandpa's joy and solace in his old age, prattling and singing to him the same songs 1 her mother used to sing to him. Hens hy Wholesale. Mr. D. W. Andrews, Lvnnlield, Mass., is poultry-farming <n a scale unusually large, and with very exceptional success. | He started thirteen years ago, and now winters 1,500 hens and has 4,000 to .1,000 during the summer and fall. Of the location, breed, losses and feed, the Ameri .... .. i oiji Unltiriitor gives tins lniormation: "The farm is surrounded on three ! sides with rocky, wooded hills, and has | in front a pond, while a stream of water, which is rarely dry, runs through tho middle of it. The area occupied by the | poultry coops is but two or three acres, lie changes, raising his own chickens ! every two years. The breed selected as i most profitable is a cross made by breed- j ing pure Yellow Leghorn roosters | to pure White Brahma hens. He sets .j his hens (I understand he does not use an incubator) all along the course of the winter and spring, and markets broilers in April. The broods average eight or ten each, but of these he raises hut about half, owing to depredations from foxes, weasels, mink and owls from the woods close by. He gives them one ,,,.<.,1 O ,1,1V n.ifli tnnrninrr which consists usually of boiled fishes' heads and onions, thickened up with meal. For the remainder of the (lay he gives all they will eat of oats, corn and wheat screenings. Occasionally he mixes a little sulphur with the meal. Has had no trouble from disease." In reference to range, coops, roots, ; and some points of care and unique in- i come, we have the following data: "In summer he uives them free range, j and they ramble beyond his bounds into the woodland around. In winter j they are cooped up. There arc J twelve ranges of coops, having j from seven to twelve coops in each range. The ranges themselves are about sixty feet apart. The roosts are strips of ! board but little above the ground, with < board floor beneath to catch the drop- j pings, which are cleaned oil daily. The coops are thoroughly wnnewasneu insme i and out once or twice a year with ordi- [ nary whitewash. The roosts and parts j near are thus whitewashed several times. The floor of the inner coop is covered with sand, which is rertioved as deep as it is dark-colored each spring, and sold for manure at $6 per cord. The droppings from the roost are sold to tanners for forty cents a bushel, and bring about $300 annually. Powdered oyster shells lie scattered about the grounds. In most | of the open coops remarkably healthy i plum trees are growing. The coops and grounds are very neat and clean. Mr. Andrews employs two hands the year round to a>d him in taking care of his fowls and marketing the product of his poultry barn." All About Lifeboats. A New York boat builder told a Sun , reporter that "the best lifeboat made is j the invention of a man in the American | life-saving service. It has a number of j leatures wmcn specially uisunguisn n. | It is very light, and can therefore be \ easily transported over the sand. It is ' very strong. It will not upset in launch- I inir out through the surf, or in beaching when returning from a wreck. If, by j any mishap, a big roller thould turn it i over it will right itself instantly. If I wholly submerged it will rise to the sur- j face and free itself from the water ship- j ped. To explain, we will suppose that j the boat is thirty feet long, seven feel. | bioad, and three feet deep. The frames j of the boat are of oak and the planking ( of cedar. A deck is put in just above ' the load water line. In the center of | his deck is a slat, say five feet long fore I and aft, by four inches broad. A similar j hole i3 made in the bottom and a casing J put in so as to make a well that reaches t from the deck down through the bottom. ' As the deck is above the deepest load water line, it is evident that any water i taken 011 deck will run down through the ; well. To keep the water from coining t up through the well with the swash of j the waves, a valve is put in the well that j opens downward only. With the crew ! and the rescued people on the deck and ; nothing below it, the boat would be topVi<.!iw !in#l wnnlil pnsilv hf! rolled over, i Ballast must therefore be used. Iron j would do, but in the event of the boat being wholly tilled with water the iron | would overcome the buoyancy of the i wood, and the boat would sink. Beside j the ballast would have to be carried con- ' stantly in the boat. So small tanks are ' fitted in with valves that oj>en through the j bottom of the boat. The valves can be operated from the deck. As the boat is i shoved into the water, these valves are j opened to let the water till the tanks. ! The confined water serves admirably as ; ballast. If the boat is capsized, the 1 ballast rights her at once. When th boat is beached the valves are opened and the water runs out, leaving only the j weight of the boat to be transported over the sand. The large space between the deck and the bottom of the boat, which j is not occupied by the ballast tanks, is j divided into air-tight compartments. | The bulkheads between these compart- ! ments serve to strengthen the boat. The ! compartments are filled with cork. The weight of the cork is smail, but if any i compartment should be stove in bystrik- j ing a rock or otherwise, the cork would ! prevent the water from filling j it and injuring the boat's buoyancy. 44 The bow and stern arc built higher | than the sides of the boat amidship, so | that she will be le? likely to ship water i as .she plunges through the surf. The j bow and stern arc: both sharp, and the | boat can back about as easily as she can run forward. When beaching n boat through the surf, the common broad- | sterncd yawls have to be turned around j to keep the sharp bow toward the big I waves. The crew have to row right out : to sea when the swell liist catches them j to avoid being turned end over end, a j mishap that has lost more than one ship's j crew just as they reached the shore. The , lifeboat can back out, and having asharp j stern, there is no more surface for the I water to take hold of than there would j be at the bow.'' I Interchange or Christmas Cards. For several years the general postofiice in London has s<-nt copies ?f a handsome Christmas card to all the principal post offices in the world, from many of which j it receives in exchange a similar greeting, i In whatever manner this kindly custom , began, it has now become one of the ( pleasant features of the season in postal , circles; and some of the most elaborate j cards hail from tlie remotest points. "A poet at Honjj Kong," says the London j l'el<'</ra/>h, "distinguished himself with j ' a 1 Post office Sonnet,' which is quite 1 excellent and interesting in point of : theme and workmanship. When Fiji first j I received the London card, it grew quite j ' rapturous, and sent back a long and clo- i ; quent letter of thanks, together with the j j postmaster's photograph. Next year it j I outdid itself by forwarding a water-color : j drawing of Fijian scenery. Several other postal stations have sent water-color or pen-and-ink drawings of varying degrees j of originality. The London officials, j however, take care to maintain their 1 superiority in the matter of art.'1 " i i Of Interest to Teamsters A farmer who had used a wagon with \ ! broad tires on the wheels long enough to j ascertain their relative value as compared j with narrow tiles, writes: "A four-inch ] tire will carry two tons over soft ground with greater ease to the team than a two and one-half inch tire will carry one | ton. The wheels arc not so much strained by stones and rough tracks on the road, and the road is not cut up, but, on the contrary, is packed down and kept smooth. The prevalent idea that the draught is increased by widening the tire is altogether baseless; on the contrary, a wide tire reduces the draught. The extra cost of the tire is repaid many times over every year in the extra work that can be done by a team. ? Chicngo Times. L ^ i BATTLE WITH AN OCTOPUS. I A DIVEB'S STRUGGLE I2T THE HOU> 07 A SU2TKE2T VESSEL. One of the Itlonuter'M Saw-Edged Sucker* >'#w Worn 8m a WatchCliariit by (lie Victor in the Fight. "That's an odd charm," said a New York Hun reporter to a traveling companion on the New York Central railroad. "So it is," was the reply, "and it has a story," holding up a curious oval object in which was set a compass. It formed a bowl about two inches in diameter, and was of a substance resembling fish scales, but of a rich opal hue. The edges were serrated, and within them had bc*n placed a compass. "If you didn't know what it was," continued the owner, "you'd never guess, but not to keep you in suspense, it's the sucker of an octopus that attacked me once. If you remember, about four years ago there was a rumor to the effect that valuable _ i n y t_ _ JI \ J! J ^ peari nsneries utiu uueii uiscuvacu uu iuu Alaskan coast; in fact, a large jewelry house in New York displayed some large pearls that was claimed came from that locality. It fooled a good many, as it turned out to be a dodge to start emigration, and it caught me for one. I secured five men, good divers, and started across the continent, and got there to find that it was all a swindle. There wasn't a pearl within two thousand miles, and to get my money back I went into the regular diving business, and after raising several vessels we squared up and left. "It was during one of these trips that I got my charm. We generally went down in pairs, but this day we were working at a small smack that had sunk and I took the first spell down alone, to see what was che matter with her. She was lying in about forty feet of water, some of her running gear afloat showing where she was. We anchored our sloop to it, put out a mooring, and in a few moments I was going slowly down. I suppose you can't imagine, the sensation, but I never saw a diver, young or old, that liked his business. To feel that you are strapped to weights and going down to a depth where, if a blow should cut your pipe you would be anchored for good isn't pleasant, to say the least. In about five minutes I reached the deck, and as I wanted first to find out what had hit her, I walked forward, swinging myself round the shrouds and ropes. I swung of! and I found that two of her planks had burst right out. She was loaded with pig iron, and I reckoned the seaway had jerked the bot-' torn out of her. Having settled this I walked around her to the lee side, the bottom being a hard, clean sand, and there I easily stepped aboard and walked toward the hatch. It was wide open, and as I stepped near it I saw something That I took for a rope hanging over the coamings. Taking.my boat hook I gave it a punch, and it seemed to fall off into the hatch. One of the main halyards was hanging clear, and, taking it, I swung off and lowered myself into the hold to see if the iron had been covered with sand. "Down I went, my book in one hand and the halyard in the other, and when near the bottom I let go. In a second I landed on a soft, yielding mass that, Douna as i wus, guve mu u sitAcmuy at:usation. It moved from under me, and in a moment I seemed to be surrounded by [ some hideous creature. They clasped my legs, wound around my body, and fastened about my helmet, gradually drawing mo down and horrifying me bo that for a moment I was utterly powerless. But at tne first alarm I had given the signal to draw me up, and having a large knife fastened at my waist, I attacked the monster, cutting it anywhere that I could strike. In a moment the animal had lifted itself so that its body rested against my chest, and it seemed to be about as large as a flour barrel, with legs extending" out from it, like the legs of a spider. I hacked at it with the knife, my armor preventing it from biting or cutting me, and soon had the satisfaction of cutting it fairly in two, so that it partly dropped off, and I tore the remaining arms away. | I was dragged to the surface with ! lmrt nf it. however, clinsriner to me. I ' was about exhausted with the work and nervous prostration, and if they hadn't unscrewed my helmet immediately I should have dropped; but a few minutes^ in fresh air revived me, and in that time I closed my career as a diver. I don't think h million would have tempted me to go down again." "And the charm?" "This charm, as I said, was one of the suckers that lined the arms, and had so cut into the rubber part of my sleeve that it had been torn from the animal in the Btruggle, and as it was rich in color I kept it as a curiosity. When I reached the surface the men hauled up half the octopus with a boat hook. I tell you it was a fearful sight. The arms, when stretched I out on opposite sides of the body, measured exactly twenty-seven feet from tip to tip. On their under sides were these suckers, each one a shelly cup with a saw-like edge. When the arm is wound about a fish or other animal, cach of the suckers is pressed against the flesh, the saw edge cutting ana hoiding it firmly, while a piston-like arrangement exhausts the air, and thus you are Vi/.l/I Ki? tinnrlroiiu r?f nir nnmns ivhiln UV/iU "* J 1?7 j the body of the animal is drawn toward I you aud the mouth applied. The latter was between the arms. There were no [ teeth proper, their place being taken by a pair of hard, black bills, that were almost fac similes of a parrot's bill, cxccpt that the lower jaw received the upper. The tongue was armed with I teeth for the grinding up of prey. "You may be surprised to learn that j in San Francisco the Italians and Chinese ! eat octopi, and the octopi fisheries are quite important. In all the fish market they may be found hanging up. They attain a legntli of fourteen feet." "Is yours an isolated case?" "By no means, "was the reply. "Some ! years ago a Flathead Indian woman was j bathing with a party of companions, who j finally left her in the water alone. All at once she disapDeared. A boat was | sent out aud search made, and after a long time one of the men saw the body at the bottom lying on some rocks. A man dived down, but came up, siting that an octopus had the woman, and so it proved. The monster had seized and pulled her down before she could utter a cry. A long spear being secured, both the animal and its prey were brought to the surface together. The creature was nlmnet ne lnrirp ;i? the one that attacked me. The largest authentic specimen from Alaska was seen by Mr. Dall,of the Smithsonian. It had a length of sixteen feet, and a radial spread of twenty-eight feet. The body was extremely small, however, in proportion. I believe they attain nearly the same size in the Mediterranean sea." Fire or Food. It is to the lire to which the poor cling with the last clutch ot desperation. They would sooner do without food than the tire, for the darkness of the winter without it is unendurable. We saw one instance of that. Picture a November ev-ning in a dirty black hovel in a Shad well court, almost all the furniture sold: a bundle of rags to lie upon; filth and dirt about the room, and a woman sitting alone looking at the last half-inch of red expiring in the forlorn grate. "Oh, dear, sir," wailed this poor creature to the missionary, "what on earth shall I do? I have parted with everything; I am half starved, and now the fire is almost out, and the night is coming on!" I saw the missionary turn and fumble in his bag. "I may have one left, Mrs. ; and, if so, you shall have it, and gladly/' It wns a ticket for groceries or rice ?and coals. One heart rejoiced, at any rate, in that filthy little court.?London Telegraph. Commercial Comment. | "Is the boss in ?" asked a commercial traveler as he entered a Calhoun street I clothing store the other day. "Who do you want to see?the buyer i or the seller ?" queried a clerk. j "The buyer." "Well he's out of town ; but the cellar | down stairs."?The llooshr. i SELECT SIFTING9. Naiba, an isolated mountain more than 2,500 feet high, near Bona, is slowly sinking into the bosom of the earth. A deep ditch has been made all around the engulfed mass. Formerly the bishops of France had the right to nominate the mid wives. Now any young woman can become a sage femmc if qualified for admission to the Hospital college. In the place known as the "Sink i Hole," between Savannah and Clyde, N. Y., on the West Shore railroad, fish without eyes have been taken from the fissures caused by the upheaving of the ground. A short distance from this hole is what is known as Crusoe lake, the I bottom of which, it is declared, cannot , be found. The recent tribute sent by the king o | Annam to the emperor of China con j sisted of: 1. Two elepliants's tusks, j 2. Two rhinoceros's horns. 15. forty-five catties of betel nuts. 4. Forty-five catties "grains of paradise." ">. 000 ounces of sandal wood. G. 300 ounces i of garroo wood. 7. 100 pieces of native silk. 8. 100 pieces of white silk. !). 100 pieces of raw silk. 10, 100 pieces of native cloth. We read in Dr. Footed Health Monthhi: Francis Galton says that it has occurred to twins who were widely separated and subjected to different educational training, that they have been known not only to have the same bodily ailments at the same time, but also to experience simultaneously novel sensations, mental and bodily, and even to think upon the same subject at the same time, using almost the same words to express their ideas. No man, woman or child big enough to hold it is without a fan in Japan, even priests and soldiers of the army being so provided. Among the men the fan serves a great variety of purposes. Visitors receive the dainties offered them in hospitality upon it, and the beggar, imploring alms, will extend his fan to receive a copper. The Japanese dude uses a fan of marvelous worth, just as our dude does his cane, drawing inspiration by chewing the end of it. The school-boy is whaled with a fan. Later on he is mar ried with ft fan, find if he is of good blood and should fall under the ban of the reigning prince, a fan upon a fan is the notice he receives of his death-warraut, and, fan in hand, he dies. Life In the American Metropolis. Father Ryan, he poet-priest, says in a New York letter to the New Orleans Times-Democrat: All the highways of seas and lands meet in New York. Like I ?? U We/Jf ilil lilliuuudu iiia^iicUf It ititiaui/o v\j nowu the energies of all the world. It is not the ships from all shores anchored in the harbor; it is not the railroads from all over the continent converging toward this great center; it is not the vast business establishments spread all over the city; it is not the massive and magnilij cent residences of the fortnnate in life, nor the tenements and hovels of the mis erable, nor any such material things that give to the visitor the real character of the city. It is the people. Of all races, from,all lands, you meet them on every street, and all work, work, work? I some with hands, some with brains, some with both, some in honest ways, some with the wits of dishonesty, but for all I the watchword is work. Oncc ideas ruled. But dollars have dethroned ideas, and they govern the government and are presidents of the people. "IIow much are you worth ?"* That settles your status?defines your position, and gauges your influence. Now York is the Koine of Mammon. Dollars there are dogmas, j New York, which to a narrow eye seems the very Babylon of iniquity, you will find a hidden Jerusalem, a holy city with a thousand tabernacles before which religion worships. At first you only see the veil?dark, woven of wickedness, bordered with crime?but behind I that black veil is many a holy of holies of beautiful lives, of glorious virtues. There is not on earth a city of such charities and generosities. And, breast to breast with men who are working with all energies for money, you will find men of equal energies working for the amelioration of human want9. I know too little of other churches save my own to form an estimate of their numbers or their zeal; but, speaking only of my church, I can justly say there are twice more Catholics in New York than in Borne, nor can the city of the Seven Ililis boast of more piety than the city on the sound. The Finn Mother. "Come here to me," said a firm mothci to her son. "Didn't I tell you that I'd whip you if you went downtown?" "Yessum," standing on one foot. "What made you #o? Say!" "'Canse," standing on the other foot. "Didn't you know I'd whip you?" "Ycssum," showing by his manner that he didn't. "I'm a great mind to wear you out. If you go outside the yard again to-day I'll whip you." About ten minutes afterward she sens the boy plaring in the street, and calls him. He comes reluctantly. "Didn't I tell you I'd whip you if you went outside the yard?" "Yessum." "Why did you do it?" "'Cause." "You good for nothing little rascal, I'm a great mind to wear you out. If you co ontside this yard again to-day I'll whip you, if it's the last act of my life. Do you hear me?" "Yessum." After a while she sees him playing in the street again. Calls him ami says: "Nevermind. I'll tell your pa when he comes."?Arkamatc Traveler. Wanted to Know About Switches. A white-haired, shrill-voiced boy, about eight years old, rode down town with his parents on the Sixth avenue elevated road, lie gazed curiously at two or three tip trains which whizzed by the one he was in, and in a voice that sent a thrill j through every person in the car, piped j out: j "Pa, how do these cars turn around?" ' 'They don't turn around, my son; when they reach the cud of the line they are switched from one track to the other," answered the father, sedately. "Who switches 'em?" asked the boy, eagerly. "Why, the engine, to be sure." j "The Indian!" repeated the questioner. ! "He must be a pretty big Indian, isn't | he, pa?" j "Yes, yes; don't taik so loud," said | the father, curtly. "Ma," queried the boy, after a ino| merit's pause, "does he switch "em the same as you and pa switches me, when 1 I don't do right?" The maternal relative reached for the boy, wiped his nose, pulled his cloth <;q> down over his eyes, and told him to keep quiet.?Hcic York Times. Vaccinating Animals. The vaccination of animals according to the plan suggested by the eminent French savant, M. Pasteur, in order to j protect them from rinderpest and other diseases, has been tried in British Burmall with great success. Some calves, j elephants, sheep and a pi?jf were inocui lated with M. Pasteur's lymph, and, though they sulfered in no way from the experiment, the calves in particular seem to have been so far proof from further infection that they escaped scot-free when placed several times among herds severely affected by the rinderpest. X<> official opinion has yet been given on the merits of M. Pasteur's discovery, un I til further trial has been made, but one I otlicial intends to have all his govern j ment mules vaccinated, and a trading company also intend to try the plan ! with their elephants. i ~ . ... George Murray, oi mitnnorc, is inn years of ape. He married his second wife when he was seventy-four and she forty-eight. Massachusetts ami Rhode Island are the only States which now elect all State officers and legislatures every year. India ink, according to a Chinese writer, was invented 2907 B. C. * V SUMMARY OF CONGRESS. Senate. Mr. Hall introduce'I throe bills in regard to the navy?ono to promote its efficiency, one j to authorize the construction of additional : steel vessels, and one providing for the estab' lishnient of additional coaling stations A | message was received from tho House an* I nouncing the death of Representative Haskell, of Kat sas, and after a eulogy had been i delivered by Mr. Ingalls. the chair appointed i Messrs. Plumb, Cockrell and Dawes a com1 inittee to attend the obscrjuies: and on motron 1 of Mr. Inpalls, out of respect to the memory : of the deceased Representative, the Senate i then adjourned. I Tho organization of the Senate was completed by tho election of the following officers, all nominated at tho caucus of Re' publican Senators: Anson (i. McCook, of New York, secretary: Chariot W. Johnson, I of Minnesota, chief clerk: .Tame* R. Youngj ot Pennsylvania, principal executive clerk; i Rev. Ellas Ho \\ itt Huntley, of tho District I nk.nlain onrl Ul'lliftm P. Cail I aday, of North Carolina, sergeantat arms | ....The report of the committee on rales wns further considered without notion. ! Bills were introduce I to rejnia c the sub; letting of mail contracts, for the appointment of a commission to investigate the j subject of railroad transportation, to promote the efficiency of the army, anil to conf solidato the bureau of military justice and j corps of judge advocates of the army....A j bill was passed adopting for the District of j Columbia the new tim > standard?The reI port of the committee on rules was further i considered A resolution to adjourn over j the holidays was passed. XlOUMO* j In announc ng to t he House the deatli of | Mr. Haskell, h!s colleague, .Mr. Anderson, j paid a glowing tribute to the memory of the : deceased. The Speaker appointed as a com| mittee to accompany Mr. Haskell's remains to his homo in Kansas, Messrs. Ryan, Hanback, I Kasson, Russell, Browne, Ix>fevre and Burns, I and out of rcsjject to the memory of the e; ceased the House then adjonrned. j Mr. Scales asked that his colleague, Mr. j Skinner, bo sworn in as a Representative ; from tho First North Carolina district. Mr. i Keifer objected, and offered a resolution, I which he supported in a long speech, that the ! whole matter be referre I to the committee I on elections. Mr. b'caies replied in a lengthy : speech, and Mr. Hiscock offered a sub! stitute for tho Keifer ro-olution, | which directed that Mr. Skinner be ; sworn and that the legal question as to j whether or not he was elected from the ! proper district, be referred to the elections ! committee with instructions to report there! on at the earliest time practicable. Messrs. | Reed and Belford sup;>orted Mr. Riscock's ! substitution in speeches, and it was carried j by 117 yeas to 10s nays, Mr. Keifer !>ein? J the only Republican who voted in ! the negative, and about thirty-five | Democrats voting in the affirmative ' Mr. Calkins offered a resolution, which was adopted, calling on the secretary of state for j all communications, documents and papers ! in his posfession relating to the trial, convic! tion and execution of the late Patrick O'Don- I j nell by the British government. The | l Speaker apjKiinted Messrs. Hob'.itzell, of \ Maryland; Cobell, of Virginia; Wilson, of j ! West Virginia; Ka^son, of Iowa, and Long, j of Massachusetts, as the members of the i special committee on the centennial anni| versary of Washington's surrender of his I commission as commander-in-chief of the ! urmy. PROMINENTJEOPLE C'AttusLE.--Sfx?aker Carlyle was at one time a schoolmaster. Ten'.vysox.?It is sxid that the poet Tenny son's title will ha Baron Tennyson Deyujourt | of Aid worth. Gakrett.? John W. Garrett has b?enelccI te 1 president c>f iho Baltimore and Ohio railj road for the twenty-sixth time. Evarts.?Since Alexander n. stepnens' i j deatli, Win, M. Evarts is the smallest man of J political renown. He has eleven children, some ! 1 of them married, and makes a hundred thou- j sand dollars a year in his law practice. Blaine.?One of Mr. Blaine's friends says j that tho statesman has injured his eyes by his ' dose work upun his book of Congressional j ; reminiscenses. He fi-ared a caratact 0:1 his ! 1 left eve. but his occulist assures him that tho i trouble is not a serious 0110. Carleton.?Mr. Ashbaugh, a friend of | Will Carleton, the poet, learns the latter Is ) about to publish a vo.unie of poems on city ' I life. "He will take it up as Dickens dia, I I only in the form of verse." Mr. Ashbaugh, | who lives at Carleton's old home, Hillsdale, I i Mich., estimates that the poet has made ; J $150,000 by his pen. Kino of Siam.?The present king of Siam j | is iloing his best to pive his sous a European | , education, and his people good government, ; ! good roads, and good carriages. His army I is drilled by Eur. >) wans, and many of his ' j high functionaries of sta'e can speak Eng lisli, and have provided their houses with j i English furniture. Siam is rapidly advanc- i i ing in prosperity. ] Krupp.?Herr Alfred Krupp, the proprie- | I tor of the great steel-works at Eisen, Ger- j i many, where theguns which bear his name are j manufactured, employs -O.uOO men who oper: ate 1.542 furnaces, 4o!l steam-boilers, 450 . j steam engines and 1 .(>'3*2 machines for work- ! j ing iron. Beside boing the owner of the i ! works at Elsen ho is the <>w,ier of r>47 mines in various parts of IJermanv. Hisentirepos j sessions are said to b_> worth $40,01)0,000. He | : is described as a tall nnd rather stern-looking : j man, with sloping shoulders, a long neck and j full white beard, hiding a sensitive mouth, and a face narrow at the jaw and broadening j above the thin, well-shape:! nose. His dark j j eye is keen and penetrating, his forehead expansive. He is delicate, nervous and intellec- 1 j tual, and looks liko a clergyman. ! | O'DONNELL'S EXECUTION, j | ICaiifinp: of lliv Slayer of the Informer Cnrej', in I.ondou. The trial and execution of O'Donnell for the > j murder of the Irish informer Carey aroused j great public interest in this country as well , j as in Great Britain. General Pryor, a New i York lawyer, was one of O'Donnell's counsel j and after the prisoner's sentence to be j hanged a delegation of Congressmen waited , ' upon President Arthur and requested him t> ; I interfere in O'Donneh's benalf. Victor ; Hugo, the eminent French writer, also wrote j to i^ueen Victoria, asking her to pardon I (I'DonnelL A Washington dispatch saysthat Secretary Frelinghuysen telegraphed "Minis : ter Lowell, stating that tho House of Representatives had brought the case of O'Donnell to the President's notice, in the hope that the latter might secure reasonable delay in the execution of the sentence, and might ascer ; tain whether the pr soner was an American I cit zen, and whether there was error in the j tria'. In this telegram Mr Lowell was in| ?. ructed as follows: As before instructed, you will consider , < " iiiineH'8 citizenship as established. There being in Great Britain no judicial examination on appeal of the proceedings j | at a criminal trial, possibly errors can j only bo corrected through a new trial, or by executive action upon the senI tence, therefore this government is anxious 1 that s-uch careful examination bo given to i j the proceedings in tins case as to discover i error, miouki onu imve utm uuiuuuvi^i, are, therefore, directed by the President to ! request a delay of tne execution of the senI tence and that a careful examination of the j ease lie made by ller Majesty's government, an?l that the prisoner's counsel be permitted ! to present any alleged points of error." Secretary Freliughuysen received a telc| gram from" Mr. Lowell, who stated thnt he j immediately communicated the substance of i the above telegram to I/ird (Jranville. who acknowledged its receipt and stuted tliat it j had been referred to tho proper authorities; ! also that Mr. Lowell received Lord Ciran- > | ville's reply, in whi h tho latter, alter 1 | referring to Mr. Lowell's communication, ; stated that the counsel for O'Donnoll having | submitted the representations ho thought nd. visablo on the prisoner's behalf, those ' representations and nil the other oircninj stances of the case had been cirefully ex- j amine I and considered in the manner usual j in the ca-e of capital convictions, and ller j Majesty's government had found no grounds : upon which they would bo justified in advisj ing the crown to interfere with tho sentence ' of the law or its execution. i < )'Donnell was hanged at *:< .' o'clock in tho i morning. Despite boisterous and spuilly weather, a considerable crowd assemble 1 at the prison at -I o'clock. Hundreds of workmen whi i passed by tho jail waited to gaze at the black flapr. "Among them was O'Donnoll's brother, who ] ace I to and fro opposite tho ; flagstail' iu a most restless and dejected man- : iter, exciting the sympathy of nil present. ; The hangman's arrangement^ wore per Cot, | j and the execution ? ceurred without a hitch. J | O'Doiineli was calm and collected, and made I no statement on the sonH'old ' DANGERS OF COAL GAS, I I ' \ >1 oilier mill Cliild 9 ose tlieir I.ivc?i mill 'I'll ret- Person* Itescneil. I Henry lin^eunin, a vipuiiknu jh.-hh.-i, ... ...^ , in Cleveland, Oliin, with his wife and tlireo , children, retired to rest as usual the other evening. The next morning a neighbor i noticed that no one was henrd stirring | about ttio house, but knowing Ha,'e- -j dorn was nut cf wor!: she simply thought j they were takin; a long sleep. At o'clock I she became worried und knocked at their ! door, but received no response. She tl en ' arous'd the neighbors, anil after Consulta- i tinn they decided to force tho lock. On I doing so a great draft of coil gas rushed j out, almost c:>m|>eling them to go back. ! Seeintr what the trouble was. one of the <nen j rushed into the bei!room and threw up tho windows, letting air in as fast as he could. The five inmates lay motionless in t'leir I beds. The mother, naby and daughte.* in 1 one and the father and son in the other. ! The mother and girl wore dead; the baby Mas j still alive, but unconscious, anrj the father and s.?u were in a similar condition. ' The father, son. a-id baby were j hastily i emoved.aud all possible efforts n.aile : for their recovery. The father's jaws were set, but thoy were pried apart and a stick | iqserte I. Stimulant? were freely given,' nnd as ho revive l^the teeth of the suffering n.au i sank Into toctrtick in his agony. All three ! nlnXk Jiint niitoidA MM were uiuuuromw. -- TVTZT bedroom d?k?teqort a base-burner, whiih was the caus^tf^to roffocirtloji. NEWS OF THE WEEK, j Eastern and Middle States. Active work has been commenced in Boston to prevent the employment of children more than sixty hours per week. A phexomexal change in the weather is reported from Vergennes, Vt., where the thermometer fell fifty-eight degrees in one night and paralyzed business. Ail over New England the change was as great as it was sudden. Dm. Albert G. F. Goersen, convicted in Philadelphia of poisoning his wife, has boeu sentenced to be hanged. Memorial services for the lost fishermen were held at Gloucester, Mass. Two more vessels overdue, if proved to be lost, will swell the number of ves-els lost to twelve, with probably 1"><> men. The number of lives lost during tlie year will not fall much short of two hundred. Evangeli.vus Apostolides Sophocles. professor of Greek at Harvard college, i3 dead. He was l>orn in Greece in 1807. New York financial circles were considerably aroused by the announcement that Henry Villard, "tho well-known railroad magnate, had resigned the presidency of the Uretron ann 1 rnnsconuneuwu the Oregon Railway Navagation companj. Low water caused an explosion of t ? four boilers attached to the kmiure oil works at Pittsburg, Penn. Three men received probably fatal injuries, and three others were fatally hurt. The New Jir.-ey State Temperance alliance has been in session at Camden. The records of the postofllce department show that Henry Beardsley, of ^rth Latv sine N y., is the senior postmaster in tne service. He ha. held his offl e since June, 1S2S, having served all the time nnder his origlual commission. The Iwndsmen that he gave then have I teen dead for nearly forty years. Four men were drowned near Calais, Ale., by the capsizing of their sailboat. James "Weaver, sixty years old, employed in steel works at Pitti-burg, Penn.. was caught by the arm in the belting of an engine, and drawn into the machinery. Before he could be extricated he was torn limb from limb, portions of his body being scattered a distance of 100 feet. South and West. A fire in the Plankinton house, at Milwaukee.Wis..created a panic among the00 guests, ancf a repetition of the terrible Newhall house disaster in the same city was only barely averted. The female servants, mostly on the upper floors, made a rush for the flr e escape, and about twenty of them, with the assistance of the firemen, were landed safely upon the sidewalk. Eight firemen were temporarily asphyxiated by gas. The flames were subdued before much damage was done. Virginia and North Carolina have had an unusual visitor?a snow storm. Two brothers named De Rusk, while working in a field in Morgan county, Ky., quarreled, and the elder, fourteen years old, shot his brother through the heart. While trying to frighten some boys at Paris, 111., bv shooting his gun in the air, Sandford Norris fatally shot his brother Tod, seriously injured his brother Orlando, and fatally wounded two other lads. General W. T. Sherman has been elected commander of a new Grand Army of the Republic ] ost, formed at St. Louis, where the late general of the army now resides. A German named Geoll, his wifo and son and six men boarding with them, were taken down with trichinosis at B.oomington, ill. Thev hod been eating sausage made of raw pork from a hog raised by Geoll. I eoll and his son were not expected to recover. Fire in a cotton warehouse at Ealtimore damaged property to the extent of .MU),000. James Dyer, a widower, uas been indicted at Middletown, Ind., for the terrible crime of wilfully burning two of his four children one a paralytic and the other an idiot?to death, as they were in the way of Ins contracting a second marriage. Washington. | Congressman P. C. IIaskell, of Kansa s died in Washington after a lingering illness Mr. Haskell w;is born in Vermont in and had lived in Kansas since 18->r>. He was elected to the Fortv-fifth Congress and has served ever since. In the last Congrots he was chairrnauof the committee on Indian affairs. Mr. Haskell is the fifth member-elect of the Forty-eighth Congress who has diel. There were three deaths among ReouDlican members and two among Democrats. The Republicans who died were Mr. Marsena E. Cutts, of the Sixth Iowa district; Walter K. Pool, of the First North Carolina, an 1 D. C. Haskell, of Kansas. Both Cutts and Pool have been sue | ceeded bv Democrats, Mr. John G. Cook being elected in place of Cutts and Thomas , G. Skinner in place of Pool. The death? among the Democrats were E. \\ .Robertson, of the Sixth Louisiana, and J. II. Herndon, of the First Alabama, and both vacan- j cics were fil ed by Democrats. There are now three vacant soat< in^the House the ; Second Mississippi, Second Kansas and bov- i enth Virginia. The President Appointed the following board of army and navy officers to consider the question of sending another expedition to the relieL of Lieutenant Greely: General Hnzen, chief of the signal bureau; Captain James A. Greer, United States navy, who hail command of the Tigrejs on the search for the Polaris survivors; Lieutenant Commander McCalla, and Captain G. W. Davis, of the Fourteenth infantry. At a Republican senatorial caucus it was decided not to proceed to the election of a president pro tempore until after the holi- i day recess. j Persons holding near relations to the ( administration say that a paragraph in the : President's message, suggesting the propriety | of retaliatory legislation toward Germany j on account of the action of that government | with respect to American hog product* was , stricken out before the message was sent to j Congress, because negotiations have boen commenced by the German, government looking to a modification of the restrictive on'ers. It was downed discourteous to send j that paragraph to Congress in view of these negotiations. The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lawrence Weldon, ol Rlinois to be Judge of the court of claims; Nathaniel P. Banks, | of Massachusetts, to bo United States mar- i shal for the district of Massachusetts, and Colonel Samuel B. Holabird, assistant-quar- j termaster-general, to be quartermaster-gene- j ral with the rank of brigadier-general. Attorney-General Brewster has ap- i pointed Cecil Clay, of West \ irgmia to be ( chief clerk of the department of justice. The Senate hns confirmed tho nominations I of Walter Evans, commissioner of internal ] revenue; Albert M. Wyman, treasurer of | the Vnited States and K . O. .Graves, assistaut treasurer of the United States. Congressman Robinson, of New York j presided at an indignation meeting of the a-hingtou society. Clan-na-(.ae, held to condemn the action of tho British government in executing O'Donnell, tho slayer of Carey Conjressmen hinerty, Belford, : Calkins and Rcbin-on made speeches. Foreign. The first canro of American wheat has ; just been received in Austria. : KiNfi Ai.i'ONSo opened the Cortes?tho , Spanish national gislature?in person. A dispatch from Port Arthur, Manitoba, savs that tho <ch-oner Marv Ann Hulbert, which was being towed to Mic upicoton by the stonmer Kincardine, fouiideied ? t. I.-nace island, 'llie HulDertcarriel a crew of five in addition to fifteen laborers, all ot whom went down with the vessel. Fifti KN thousand troups are accessary to defeat Kl Mahdi. the falso prophet, in Kgvpt. The Cairo dispatch savs that further native accounts of the battle between hi Mahdi's forces, and th.tse of Hi ks I'a-lia.",1? I that Hicks l'adias hands weio f'rst cut off, , and that he was afterward c"t to piece-. 1 lire thou-an 1 men of Hicks Pashas army I were taken prisoners. A moT has taken place between some ( drunken soldiers and a number of Jew* at . i 'ni'iiKilin'/i Russia. resulting m tho killing Jews. The soldiers have bt.en arre^te I. FMl-r...YES of the Metropolitan Under | i ,..,;uvnv of London. have written to Sir.'l-owell. th? Amo iean minist.T, thai the | recent exulosions were plannel in America, | and produce evidei.ee in suppor- of then a.- . sertion. ! Fivi: come's are visible at Hucnos Ay res. South America. . . Tin: French f".ce in Ton [Uin is to bo j raised t.. Hi.niHl men. What was left of the town of Portage, i Manitoba, after the recent conflagration there, was almost totally dcstroyetl by a similar dis .s'.er. The lo.*es aggregate about | it). ; V vt\ce was run into bv a train near Cat araiqui, Canada, and three married women. | 1 avengers in the stage. wi re instanth Killed. , Joseph Poole, a Fenian, was hanged in j Dublin for the murder of John Kenny, i So was suspecto 1 of giving information concerning the assassination of Lord (_a\tiidish and I.'nderSecretary Burke. The lord mayor of L >nd.m has received , anonymous letters thivntening to a\enge the j execution of ODonnell bv blowing up l/m- | don bridge, Newgate pri^n, and Ha war Jen I cast'e, tho residence .?f Premier (dadstme. Extra prccaui ions have been taken to guai.I these places. At a meeting <>r Ir.sli refugees in Paris resolutions were raised condemning Oiloiui' ll's execution a-ut threat"tiing revenge therefor. i Fkaus are entertaine I for the safety of ( Europeans in China, as the members of na- j tive secret organizations are rcjiorted to be i plotting for the destruction of foreigners. , During a riot in Shekloong chapels were destroved and many w.irsliiiiers \vero serious- l lv injure 1. Two American Presbyterian missionaries loft th- place and 'went to Can- j ton. During his visit to Ttaly the German crown j prince?future emperor of Germany?had a , private interview with the jx);.e. , A review of ~0,00d troops was held Jn Rome in honor of tho flerman crown pnnce s visit. Twenty Servian radiea's who took pari- In the late rovolt, and tied to Bulgaria, h^^ been sentenced to death. j LATER MEWS. Ex-Policeman William Conrov, who, I while on duty, November 3, as a member of ' the New York police force, killo.l Peter Keenan with olub an 1 pistol, has been sen* ! tenced to be hanged 011 February 8. EdwardG. Rough, the stage carpenter at ! the New York Casino who tried to set that j theatre on fire in revenge for having been i discharged by the mana,er, was sentenced : to seven years' imprisonment. Major General Je:-ferson Cram, of the engineer corps (retireJ), died suddenly the other afternoon in a Philadelphia street car, of apoplexy. Capitalists fi-jm Slainion, Va., lnv* purchased 32,000 acres "f laud at Great Eend. Stafford county, Kansas, for $100,0X1, for the purpose of Oitabli hing a colony of Dunkards. Guilford Soon, a colored man, wa-s hangedat Kinston, N. C., for assaul tine a i widow. Governor McEnery was renominated at i the Louisiana Democratic State convention j in Eatoa Kouge, receiving ISO votes to 170 | for Nicho'.k I Cohb Washburn was quarrelling with his niece, Jennie Washburn, at Williamston. III., about a sna'I amount of money, when the latter seized a heavy s'iek ami struck her uncle cn the head, inflicting a wound which proved iatalan hour later. Henry Fabst, a dissipated young nmn residing in Belleville, 111., twice shot a young i girl who had rejected his suit, and in attempting to thoot the officer who was trying to ar rest him shot himself dead. Three pension agents?X. W. Fitzgeia'd, S. C. ! itzgerald and A. B. Webb-have bven indicted in Washington for fraudulent u.^e of the mails, and for defrauding pensioners. Formal notice of contest for a seat in th House as Representative of the First North Carolina district, was s.Tved by Charles C. Pool against Thomas G. Skinner, the sitting member. General E. S. Mackenzie, who has be< n in command of the department of Texas, L n.ted States army, since November 1 last, and who has been suffering greatly froai old wounds received during the civil war, has been retired from active duty. Fl'rtherconfirmations by the Senate: Ben* jamin Butterworth, to ba commissioner of patents: F. B. Conger, of Michigan, to b^ postmaster at Washington; Julius Gr. Voigt, of New York, to be consul at Manilla; Charles P. Williams, of Montrose, N. Y., to be cun-ul at Rouen. The French expsdition from Hanoi, Tonquin, attacked the strongly fortified town of Sontoy, and met with a stout resistance. Finally the outposts of Sontoy, embracing five strongly fortified villages, were captured by as ault, the Frcnch flotilla rendering efficient assistance. The French forcc c.insisted of 7,000 men, under Admiral fourbet, and its lossin the atta ck on the outposts consi-tsd of 200 men and fifteen officers killed an 1 wounded. While hunting, the czar of Russia was thrown from his carriage, an 1 his arm injured. A farmer named John Moylan, who had just returned from America and taken possession of a farm near Galwa y, Irelaud, was shot deal, the slayer dragg /ng h s victim's ! wife from her prostrat > husband's body after Mm first shot in order to indict another | wounl. MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC. Jisri.v McCarthy' has dramatized the tiovo", -'Maid of Athens." Offenbach's "Orpheus" has been revived at :he Bijou in Kew York. Edwin Booth is playing an engagement at uhe Star theatre, New York. Alms Anna Dickinson was worth $200,000 before* she went on the stage. It is reported that Madame Ristori will accompany Salvini during the next and la^t tour be will n a^e in America. CliiiTENDALE. an American actor for many years connected with the London Hayinarket, has been sent to a lunatic asylum, lie is eiffhtv-thrua. TiiFR-:;ire 1,.S11 theatres ana halls, equipped : with scenery and furnished fur theatrical (.erformances, an 1 used for that purpose in tho Unite 1 States. Ax organ of 1^4 stops has just bsen complete 1 at Ludwjgsburg fon the cathedral at Kiga. it contains T.OtX) pipes, and is blown by a gas engine of fuur-norse power. S:g.\or Puerart, a tenor, who is rapidly rising into prominence abroaa, was a lawyer in Alexandria, Egypt, until ruined by the English bombardment, when he took to the s'age. Tiie two great dramatic successes of the season in New York have boeu Lawrence Barrett in "Francesca da Rimini." by Booker, and Fanny Davenport in "Fedora," by Sar.lon. Heur Pollixi has offered Rubinstein th* rum of r,CO,000 marks, or about $125,000, fort, tour of one hundred concerts to be given in America, but the great pianist has not yet given his decision. Karl Formes, the greatest of bassos, has now a music conservatory in New York which is well patronize J. Among his pupils is a young bass singer name ! Frank Bendinot, tor waom Formes predicts a grand operatic career. M h. (trifftv Mary Anderson's step-father, says that the new picce written for Miss Aucioi-.on Ly Gilbert, "is. out-ideof Shaiifpeare, ti e best piece I ever read." Mr. Griffin is the gentleman who wrote home to a friend that "u:e and Mary arrived sate." The eminent basso, Karl Formes, tells American parent< that they mako a grave mistake in sending their children to Italy to study n:u>ic when they can obtain much better revu tsat home. "He says musical science is at its low, st level in Iialy, aud the great singers , are not Italians. The fiftieth anniversary of Sir Julius Ben- | edict's first apjiearance as a conductor of ; liigh-c'ass music conies in June, an I great | jueparations are alrea ly being ma !e in Lou- j <1 11 for celebrating the event. There will be a series of concerts lasting over two days, j mid many of the great singers of the day will j take part. An interesting incident at the breakfast tendered on Thursday to Mr. Henry Irving by th-? Clover club, or Philadelphia, was the presentation to him of the watch once carried by Kdwin Forrest. Among the guests j at . lie'breakfast were tho Hon. \\ ayne Mac- } Wairli. attoniev-eeneral, and ex-Governor 1 Henry M. Hoyt." Sarasate, the celebrated French violinist, is t he possessor of a wonderful head <>f hair. Duo Uiij* he went to a barber, while in London, and as'ced to bo shaved. When this ha 1 been lone the barber politely' suggested that his customer had better lmvo his hair cut j al-o. for as he wa> he looked for all tho world like a "violin serajier." M/. if id, the tenor, who has just die I in was the greatest male singer that ever liv. J. H?-made vast sums of money in tlif days of his popularity, but led an extreme!; prodigal life. His Sunday dinners in l.o-j don !o liis friends used to be famous. Of latv v ars ht> hius l>eeii working in a library in I'orne for a weekly st ipend much smaller than he was once in the habit of giving the man who brushed his coat. coxc;ukssio>a 1. m:\vs. j Senate. Among the bills introduced, wore the fol lowing: By Mr. Culsoin, t"> establish a hoard of railroad commissioners, and to regulate int>r-Stato commerce. By Mr. Lipham, authorizing the payment of prize money to uie oiucers or me rurragui neuv iur uiu ui.v traction of the enemy's shipping in l^fii. By Mr. Miller, of New York, to authorize the secretary of war to erect a mc morial to the late General G. fv. Warrenfly .Mr. Biown, to authorize distillation of fruit without tax by the Federal govern meat, leaving the question of such taxation to the State. By Mr. McPherson, to an thorize the distribution of prize mon\v to tin- survivors of tho "Monitor'' who partior ] ateil in the action with the rebel ironclad Merrinia , in March, 1SC3. j IIOUHO. Mr. Ifablitzell. from the special committee I having the matter in charge, reported a joint resolution requiring the President to issue a proclamation recommending the poo;i! either by appropriate exercises in c mneetioii with the religious servic'8 of December or by such public observances as they may deem projier oil December 21, to eomtnemor. ate the surrender by Washington of his commission as commander-in-chief of the army. The President was also requested to order the national salute from the various forts throughout the country on December \M. The joint, resolution was passed by the Hons and at once concurred in by th > Senate. A report from tho committee on rules making some changes in the number of nicmliers of committees was made by Mr. Blackburn, and, after much debate, it was adopted. The report providing tor the appointment of a committee on rivers and harbors was adopted. Mr. ICeifer's eflort ^oure the appointment of a committee failed. CALENDAR FOB 1884. I ^ J'l1! i'je.J | 22 1|!| i Ja..i 2 3 4 Ja!? j.j ij 2! ? 4 ? \:jM 6 7 . ? 0 10 II 12 I 1 ti 7 6 9 10 11 12 , 13 H 15 II. 17 IS 19 13 11 15 HI 17:18 19 30,21,22,23 21 25 2d ,2? 21 22 23 24 25 28 *. 27 2? 29,30 311... ..J1 . 27 28 29 30 311...... Feb.!...' L.... i 2 Ang. ...'..J...I..A..I i 2 J, ; 31 4 ,V 6| 7 8; 0 I . 3 I 6 8 7 8 8 ,'i 10 11 12 13 14 15 18 10 11:1211314 ISjl# - \ >.S 17 IS 19 20,21 22 23 '17 18(19 20 21j22 23 ? 24 25 28,27,28 20. j 12125 28,27,28 29m Mar. ...'...i.J... 1 ? , 3l;...'...l.? ... ...L. *,2 3 4 5 d! 71 8 Sfpt. ...I 1 2 3 4l 5j 8 ! 9 10 11 12 13 14 151 I 7> 8 9 10 111213 Hi 17 Is 19 20 21 22 I II 15 18 17 1819,20 * V.r 23 2 1 25:28 27,28.28. :21 22 23,212528 27 ,.,30 31 . 28,29 30'............ April ... ... 12 3 4 5 Oct. ?'...I?I 1| 2! 3| 4 $. jj I 8 7 8, 9 1H11 12 1 5 81 7i 3 9 1011 JjX 13 11 15 18 17 IS 19 12 13 14 15 16 I7;l? 2U 21 22 2:1 24 Z> 28 \ 19 21) 21 22 23 2425 . ;S ? (27 28 29 30 _ 28 27 28 29 30 31 ? Sir... ... ...'...I 1 21 3 Nov 1.1...U.J 1 5S 1 4 f. 7 8 9 10 I 2 3, 4| 4| 8! 71 8 ...in 11 12 13 II 15 Ifi 17 9 10 1112 131418 .ZZH 18 19 2i) 21 22 23 24 '18 17 18 19 20 21 22 -^h \ 25 28 27,2S 29 ;j),31 23 21 252827,23,20 .'. '3 i Jnof "i *2;*3;"-i'5 fij'T DetJ?Vi "ii'Sri''ifS S o'lo'll 12 1311 ! 71 81 9 10 11)12113 wig 1 15 10; 17 18 19 211 21 |14 15 16 17 18,19 20 j 22 23 24 25 28 27128 j ,21 22 ?5 24 25.28 27 I 2!) I28 29 30 31I...UL.I Eelipnc* for the Year 1884. There will be five eclip'cs this year?three of the: ?? a a# tVso mnnn ' I. A partial eclipse of the sun, March 57th. Invisible in America. II. A total eclipse of the moon, April 10th. VIsl- -sS* ble at Huston. New York and Washington. Iuvifll- *2 ble at I harleston, Chicago and St. Louis. Will be partly visible before the moon tots In the morning. . -p. III. A i anial C'-llpse of the sun, April 25th. In- : i I visible in the Unltsd State?. IV. A total eclipse of the moon. October 4th. -.^Sj I Visible at !!oit>n, fch. 26m. eve.; at New York, fth. | 15m. eve.: at Charleston, 5h, 55m. eve. When the moon ri?es at chlc.-.go and St. Louis the eclipse ha* passed. . ' -t-rtSa V. A partial eclipse of the sun, October 18Ul Invisible on this continent. ( IV. Eclipse, October 4th, at Washington, 6h. 3m. Morning Stnrs. I Ercnixf Stars. > Venus, after July 11th. Venus, nntii Jtrly 11th. ' />i& Mars, not this year. | Mars, for the wholeyear. ' .Jupiter, after August 7th. I Jupiter, until AngortTth. . JA. Satum,after.Iune3d, an-1 Saturn, untiiJone 3d, ?/ til September 15th. | ter September 15th. ry}-~ Finnetfl Ilriglitest. Mercury, February 14th, June l'ith. October4tb, December 17th, rising then just before the sun. - -y Alto January 4th. April 2.ith, Angnst 23d, setting V^sS then Inst after the sun. Venus, August 17th. '- jScS .Vnrs, February 1st. Jupiter,January 19th. Saturn, December J 2th. Tlic Fonr Senionn. Winter begins 1^83, Dccembcr 21, llh. 2m. evening, 1 % and last* 90d., lh. ISra. Spring begins lSi?, March 20,12h. 20m. morning', and lasts Old., lull. 13m. Slimmer begins 1S84, .June 20,8b. 3m. evening, and lasts Old., 2h. 13m. < * At tumn begins September 22, lOh. 16m. morning, nnd lasts S'Jd., ISii. iitiin. Winter bejlns l*Sl, December 21,5h. 12m. morning, \'_i Tropical year, 3G3d., 18!i. 10m. Church I)ny? nnd Cyclcs of Time. 'j<$, Septnagesima Sunday, Feb. 10; Sexagesimal 8nn- ? day, Feb. IT; Qulnqutgesinia Sunday, Feb. M; . Afli-We Inesday, Feb. 27 ; Quadragesima .Sunday, March 2; Mid-1 ent Sunday, March 23; Palm Son- - H day, April G; Good Friday, April' 11; EasterSnndar, April 13; I.ow Sunday, April 20 ; Kogition Sunday, .; .*>A May 19; Ascension Day, May 2-2; Whit-Snnday, June 1; Trinity Sundiy, June 8; Corpni CbriaU. '"jf$ Jiir.e 12; First Sunday In Advent, Nov. 30. - I.. A TERRIBLE VISITATION. Scencfc WitnesNcd by a Sea Captain ? after the Earthquake in Java* The American sMp Samar reached her f&gft berth at Brooklyn, a few days since, having . ? just arrived from Cob i, Philippine Isles, iShe j asset! through the Straits of Sunda three Z, days after the terrible volcanic disturbance . > in that section. Captain Miller said to a reporter: "The scene, as we passe'I the island of Kratatoft, & which was probably more damaged by the eruptions tlia i any island, w.is terrible. The island looked as if it had been broken in half .'* nnrl thnt n.irb of it had sunk. The ? entire north western end was pone, and that which was left was ha: dly to be recognized. Fields and forests were apparently turned |HbS upside down, while dead bodies in large numbers could be distinguished from wK&P the vessel's deck. At this time there 1 wns little or no ashes failing, but I the'water,'as far as the cyo could see, was covered with lava and pumicet to lie. As .'9 soiled along we passed othi;r islands which had b:en shakes, and the daKs^K j bodies lying around told a terrible tafe t />? of the scenes which had been esnocbti , - X; there. Although the air soon became. Q&2 quite clear. It soon became apparent us that light dust was floating in the ^Hj atmosphere, as before we had been many j -j lours in the straits ourde-ks and rigging HJ were covered with a hard substance much | resembling sand, only black in color. Many 9H islands must have been entirely swept away ] . i by the awful catastrophe. I shall never for- S iie: the scene as long as I live." LOST FISHERMEN. Twelve Vessels and 151) Tien Lost Dariny the Past Three month* A Gloucester (Mass.) dispatch says, that two more, a nd the last of the overdue fishing vessels, have been-given up by their owners aa lost. The schooner George H. Pierson sailed for Georges nearly six weeks ago. She had Aj on board the following: Patrick O'Neil. master, who leaves a widow and three chit ' dren; John Keo^h, leaves a widow; John Keogh, (two sons of the same name) William : Brennan, John Connor, Abner Larrabee, leaves a widow; Isaac Elsen, leaves a widow; William Driscoll, Michael Ready, James Galvin, leaves a widow, and one unknown man. The vessel was owned by Cunningham '? & Thompson. She was of sixty-five tons register a:id was insured for $:5,4ti?t. 1 he schooner Helen M. Dennis left port on November 1 for a Western Bank trip with a cre v of fourteen, two of wh<?t ' were lost in a dory, but were picked up -3 and save l. The others on board were Archie A. McDona'd, master; William Nutting, steward; Duncan McDonald,Joseph MeMaster. Vittorius McDora'd, Jeffrey Duong, * James Murnhv, Augustus Hiltz, Alexander Scanlau, Elward Cotter, Allan McLa^cand one unknown man. The Dennis was of sixtynine tons register, and was insured for i'4,100. The men were mos'.ly from the Provin- '' ces. This gives a list of twelve vessels lost within the past three months, having on board 15'.) men. Phenomena of Scent in Dogs, The complaint has been general in England. says the Turf, Field and Farm, tliiit sccnr gets worst auu *>ursc c?cijr year, :ui<l it is suggested that the dogs are partly to Maine for this. Xosc has been sacrificed to other qualities, such as legs and feet, but something should be _ charged to modern agriculture. Land mid 11 "uter devotes some space to the discussion of the phenomena of scent: Is any one to be found bold enough to say he has mastered even the rudiments of the phenomena of scent ? It lias long been found that even a southerly wind and a cloudy sky is a certain prelude to a day's sport. The late Lord Fitzhardings once remarked he had hunted hounds for over lifty years. Imt knew no more about the chances of scent or the reverse than he did when lie lirst began to carry the horn. The poet, Soinerville, declared that "on the air depend the hunter's hopes;" and the great Beckford, while appreaehing the subject with much diffidence. thought scent mainly depended on the state of the ground and the temperat ure. (Hlier writers have fancied scent varies much in dillerent foxes, and the celebrated Ximrod was much of this opinion. AVe all know certain COtlllltloUS HI1? ;?'? Milieu J1UIII1U3 iKj ? rule arc unable to get along, but we know nothing more. On most seemingly unfavorable days they can often run to distraction; on others, with apparently ev rytliing in their favor, they can only walk after a fox. A cold, raw, windy day is, so far as can be judged, the most unfavorable to hounds, as are also those sunny, gaudy days we get sometime in hitrincr ami autumn. One thing is well ascertained, and that is. pastures carry a better scent than arable land-:. The reason is not so easy io explain, but the fact remains. It 18 commonly said that the earth sticking to the fox's |tads prevents the ground being tainted with the effluvia, and that when the ground is wet. and "carries," as the term is. hounds cannot even puzzle out the line by slow hunting. This never seems a very satisfactory explanation, though it is the one generally given to inquirers. In all countries there are covers, and pertain fields, which are notorious for an utter absence of scent, and usually without any assignable cause. We arc almost tempted to think that no general rule can he laid down, but that the phenomena of scent vary in dill'crent countries, according to the diversity of soil and prevailing winds. There can he 110 doubt that the modern crowded Holds arc all against hounds and in favor of the Sox. It has been said that hounds, if left entirely to their own devices, would rarely miss catching their fox, but now they are harrassed by the Held, and often by a too officious huntsman. As :v matter of fact, those best able to judge of the matter would pronounce the contrary to be the case, and would say there arc but few days on which hounds would be successful by their own unaided effort*. Never to let the fox get far ahead is the .great nmim of the day, and a very sensible one: for we all know. how. quickly on bad d^js he V< canruijTumseifout