The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, January 02, 1884, Image 1
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<
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