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'.'$5 - - r^raf^-. - . -. - , .... . ... - _:-l_.rrt^_n_l , , 1L M| ^ H ABBEVILLE PRESS AND BANNER, i BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. 0.. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1885. NO. 43. VOLUME XXIX * ||| The Trne Friend. u The friead who holds a mirror to my faca, And, hiding none, is not afraid to trace My faults, my smallest blemishes, within; Who friendly warns, reproves roe if I sin, Although it seems not so, he is my friend. ttat be who, ever flattering, gives me praise, Who ne'er rebukes, nor censures, nor delays To come with eagerness and grasp my hand, And pardons me ere pardon I demand, Beia my enemy, although he aeera my fnend." DARK DAYS BT HUGH CONWAY, Author of " Called Back." CHArTEK X.?TI1E SWORD FALL,3. ! Once conquered?once convinced j that the obstacles which her soliciude for my welfare raised against my wish I were not insuperable Philippa offered qo further resistance; while as for tne every day that might be counted before I called her my wife seemed I day spoiled if not entirely wasted. With my mother's arguments to back my own fervent persuasion, I had no difficulty in winning Philippa's consent to our marriage taking place as soon Is the needful formalities could be complied with. And yet although the day was fixed it was at my instance bhanged, and the ceremony postponed for awhile. My reason for deferring my crowning happiness was this. Knowing all that I knew, the question arose, under what name was Philippa to be married ? Under her own maiden name; under the false name which for some time Bir Mervyn Ferrand, for reasons best kDown to himself, had made her assume; or under that name which, supposing Mrs. Wilson had spoken the truth, she was legally entitled to bear ? So anxious, so resolved was 1 that there Ihould be no shadow of doubt as to the validity of her second and happier marriage, that after due consideration [ determined to sacrifice my own inclinations, and postpone our wedding long enough to give me time to pay a flying visit to England, where I could do my best to obtain such evidence as would show that Philippa was the dead man's widow. I made the excuse that I found many matters of business connected with my property must be attended to before I could be married. I travelled to England?to Liverpool?as fast as I sould. I staid there for a week, and luring that time made full researches into the life and d ath of a woman who, as Mrs. Wilson said, had died on a certain date, and burried under the name of Lucy Ferrand. The information I acquired as to her antecedents is of no consequence to my itory. Whatever her faults may have been, her history was a sad one; indeed It seemed to me that the history of any woman wno naa ueeu curseu uv ou Mervyn Ferrand's Jove was a sad one. However, the result of my investigation was, in short, this: Ferrand married the woman many years ago. * fheyhad parted by mutual consent. With his cynical carelessness, he had troubled no more about her; and, Granger still, she had not troubled him. She died on the date given by my informant The question of idenity jould be easily settled; so that if ever Philippa chose to claim the rights appertaing to Sir Mervyn Ferrand's widow, she would have no difficulty in making that claim good. But I trusted that years might pass before she learned that the man was dead. I made my presence In England known to no one; in fact, I felt that in returning to my native country I ran a certain amount of risk. For all I knew t j the contrary, tliere might be a warrant out against me. If suspicion as to the author of that night's work had in any way been directed to Philippa, I, the parter of her flight, could not hope to escape free. However, I comforted myself by thinking that if danger menaced us I should have heard something about it, as after our first hurried start I had made no contempt to conceal our whereabouts. It wouiu imvu uvcu ustritraa. i>i) iiiwlm?i had friends in England, with whom ! she exchanged letters. I had an agunt and lawyers, with whom, if oily for financial reasons, I was bound to correspond. I had been obliged to write to my stolid William, and instruct him to get rid of the cottage as best he could, and to look out for a fresh place for himself. But ail the same I did not care to let it be known that I was now in England. While engaged upon raking up evidence on Philippa's behalf, 1 did not neglect to make such inquiries as I could respecting the event which had happened that night near Ruling. 1 found so far as the general public knew the crime was still veiled in mystery. No one had been arrested; no one had been accused; no reason for the deed had been discovered, and as yet suspicion pointed to no one. Indeed in spite of the hundred pounds reward offered by Government, it seems that Sir Mervyn Ferrand's murder was relegated to swell the list of undiscovered crimes. By this I knew that Mrs. Wilson had kept her promise of silence; and now that months had gone by; now that public attention had been turned from the thrilling affair; now that Philippa seemed as tar or further than ever from giving any token which suggested the awakeniffg of recollection of what her frenzy had prompted her hand to do unknowingly, I dared to bope.thot any chance which remained of a revelation of the truth was reduced to a minimum. These results of my investigations and inquiries gave tne immense relief, and my heart was . all but gay as, armed with the proofs of the flmt Lady Ferrand's death, I hurried back to Seville, Philippa, and jtbe happiness which I vowed should he mine. We were married. Philippa and I ttere married! Married; and a few tnonths ago I sat lonely, miserable and *ieart-broken deeming that the one I loved was lost to roe forover! What matters the things which have filled those months, and made thein the mo?t painful of my life? To-day wa are man and wife, joined together till death us do part! I said no word as to the result of mtr inrmtrlpn in T.iVMTtftfil. I had OO difficulty in persuading Phillppa, who in some things was as simple and trusting & ? a child, that it was necessary, or at least advisable, she should be married under the name which her first certificate of marriage affected to bestow upon her. She signed her name for the last, it may, for ought I know, have also been the first time, as PliilIppa Ferrand; and I noticed that she shuddered as she formed the letters. Although my bride was by birth half a Spaniard, and although by now m many ways conformed to the Spanish modq of life, we were still English enough to look upon going away some where for a honeymoon as indespensible; It would be but a short trip; and as my mother in our absence would be -? _i?? ?.ia oorvQnle icn tti? conic ou'iir, <si o** ? ?***? only, we did not care to go very far away. It so happened that, although so close to Cadiz, we had not yet paid that town a visit, and thought the present a capital opportunity for so doing. To Cadiz we wont, and staid several days at the Hotel de Paris. We liked the white-walled town, ri-ing and ihining above the dark-blue sea, iiko. as 1 have somewhere seen it discribed, a white pearl In a crown of sapphires; or, as the Gaditanos call it tazita de plata, a silver cup. We liked the rows of the tall terrace-topped houses. We liked the movement and bustle on the quays and in the port We liked I i the walks on tho broad granite ram- ' j parts, and the lovely views of the busy bay and country beyond it; but all the same we agreed that Cadiz bore no J comparison to our beautiful Seville, , and the sooner we returned to that gay city the better. Now that I had gained my desirs, was I happy? After all that had j passed, could I have been happy dur- i Ing these early days of our wedded life? j As I look upon them, I sit and muse, | trying In vain to answer the question ; to" my own satisfaction. Philippa j loved me she was my wife; come good, j come evil, she was mine forever. In j so much I was happy, thrice happy, i Could I have lived but for the present, j my bliss would have known no alloy. But there was the pastl I could not j altogether forget the path which had > led to such happiness as now was j mine. 1 could bo thanklul that I alone ' knew all the horrors anil clangers with i which that path Wiis studded. I alone j knew the secret ot that one night. Although I could keep it forever, j | would it De always a secret r { Yes, and there was the future, lie-; I hind the happiness which was mine | at present lurked a dread as to what the future had in store for me?for us. ! It was a dread which day by day { grew stronger the greater my happin- ! ess, the more dreadful ihe thought of j its being wrecked. The feeling that I my house of joy was built upon sand I was always obtruding on my most | blissful hours, and no', I knew, with- J out good reasons. I'hilippa's very avoidance of speaking j of her past life lent some justification j to my gloomy forbodings. Not once ! did Sir Mervyn Ferrand's name pas- i between my wife and me. Not once j did she ask me for any further particulars concerning the events of that j night upon which, in the height of her j short-lived mania, she reached my cot- j tage. True that upon becoming my 1 wife, and beginuing a new and happier stage of life, it might be but natural for her to wish to consign to oblivion, the suffering wrought by a villain's craft; yet I was so mixed up in the catastrophe that silence on the subject seamed strange. Her reticence alarmed me. I fancied it must be caused by some vague uneasiness connected with that niirht?some doubt which she dared not seek to set at rest. It is, I know, not unusual for women, after their recovery from that mysterious disease which had for awhile driven my poor girl distraught, to be able to recall and accurately describe the delusions which had afflicted them during those wandering hours. I myself had in one or two cases noticed this peculiarity, and the authorities which I had studied during Philippa's illness mention it as an indisputable fact My great dread was that j ai SUIUU lliuiurui, yvm.ij'o nuvu uui , happiness was as perfect as it could i be, some simple chance, some allusion to certain events, even in the bare mention of a name, might supply the missing link, and the fearful truth would l?e revealed to my wife. Our return journey to Seville was made by water. Although the Guadalquiver Is not a very interesting river we thought traveling by steamer would be a pleasant changu from the journeys in the hot, stuffy, slow trains, full from end to end with the odor of | garlic and tobacco; so early one morning we left Caliz, and were soon steaming up the sluggish, dull, turbid river, with the great flat stretches of swampy and on either hand. There were not many passengers on board the steamer. The boat itself was a wretched affair, and before an hour was over we wished we had chosen the train aa a mode of transit. Mile after mile of the level deserted land through which the river flows passed by, and presented no objects of interest greater than herd; of cattle or flights of aquatic birds. Save that Philippa was by my side, It was the dullest journey I ever made. Of course there were English tourists on board; no spot is complete without them. Two of them, young men, and apparantly gentlemen, had seated thmncolvou nrar n<5- nnr! affcpr the nan- I al admiring glances at my beautiful Philippa, eommcnceda desultory talk with each other. From the unrestrained way in which they spoke, and from the strength of some of their unfavorable comments on the scenery, or lack of scenery, it was clear that they took us for natives, before whom they could speak without being understood. Philippa, of course, looked a thorough Spaniard, and my own face had become co tanned by the sun that I might have been of any nationality. The young fellows chatted on, quite oblivious to the fact that two of their neighbors understood every word they spoke. Tor some time I listened with great amusement; then the lulling motion of the steamer, the sluggish muddy flow of thestream, the monotonous banks past which we stole, exercised a soporific effect upon me, and I began to doze and dream. Through my dreams 1 heard a name, a hated name, spoke clearly and distinctly. I started and opened my eyes. Philippa's head was stretched forward as if she was intent upon catching some expected words spoken by another. "Sir Mervvn Ferrand." I .heard on of our fellow voyagers repeat. "Yea, 1 remember him; tall, good-looking man. Where is he now? lie was a bad lot." "Surely you read or hear about it?" said his companion in a tone of surprise. I touched my wife's arm. "Come away, Philippa," I said. She made a motion of disent. Again I urged her. She shook her head pettishly. "Ah! I forgot where you have been j for month?," said the second tourist ! laughing; "out of the pale of civiliza- j tion and newspapers. "Well Ferrand j was murdered?shot deadl" "Philippa, clearest, come, I implore you," I whispered. It was too latel The look on her face told me that nothing would move her?nothingl She would hear the dreadful truth, told perhaps with distorted details. 1 groaned inwardly The moment I had so long dreaded had come. If I dragged her away by force ?if I interupted the speakers?w..at good could it do? Ste had heard enough. She would force me to tell her the rest. I could only pray that she would not in any way associate herself with the man's death. "Murdered! Poor fellow! "Who murdered him?" I heard the first speaker say. '.No one knows. lie was shot dead on a country roadside, just as that fearful snow-storm of last winter began. It seems almost incredible, but the snow drifted over him, and until it melted the crime was not discovered. In the interval the murderer had, of course, got clean away." " Poor chap!" I never heard any good ol hiin; uui wnai an cnn; I was not looking at the speakers. I was noting every change in my wife's face. I saw the color fly from her check. I saw her lips and throat working convulsively, as though she was trying to articulate. I saw her dark brows contract as in anguish. I knew that she was clasping her hands together, as was her way when agitated. Suddenly she turned her eyes to mine, and in her eyes was a look of horror which told me that the very worst had coinc to pass that tho ! dread which haunted me was realized! Then with a low moan she sank, white and senseless, on my shoulder. Though in a whirl of despair, I believe that I assumed a kind ot mechanical calm. I seem to remember that tho two English tourists offered their assistance; that, as we bore Philippa to an extemporized couch in the shadiest and coolest place we could find. I smiled, and attributed my wife's fainting-fit to the heat of the sun, the smell of engines ,or something of that kind. Little did those young men guess what their chance words had wrought. Little could they think that in speaking of Sir Mervyn Ferrand's death they had, perhaps wrecked the happiness of two lives. My heart was full of grief and fear, but I believe I bore myself bravely. In spite of such restoratives as we could administer, Philjppa's swoon lasted for a considerable time. I troubled little about that fact. In , deed to me it seemed well that syncope I should have surpervened, and, for a ! time, banished the dreadful memorres ; which had so suddenly invaded her , brain. Could sunh a thing have been possible, I. would almo3t have wished that her insenseibilitv would continue until we reached Seville. But it was not to be so. By and by she sighed deeply, and her eyes opened, t'onciousr e s and all its dreaded sequence was hers once more. I spoke to her but she made no re- j ply. She turned her eyes from mine; j she shunned my gaze; she even seemed i to shrink from the touch of my hand. | During the remainder of my dreary ! journey not one word passed her lips. She lay with her face turned to the ! side of the vessel, heedless of curious j glances from fellow-passengers, heed- i les-s of my whispered words of love, j heedless of all save her own thought i ? thoughts which led her, I trembled to picture whither. Through all those long sultry hours while the wretched steamboat plowed its way up the broad muddy stream I sat beside her, trying to find some way out of our sorrow. Alas! every road was stopped by the impassible obstacle i of Philippa's knowledge of what she ! had done. For she knew it, I was cer- i tain. That look in her eyes had told ; me so much. The duration of her in- j sanity had been so short that I could ; gather no comfort from the fact that by some merciful arrangement maniacs who recover their erring senses are troubled little by the deeds they have done in their moments of madness. I felt that in my wife's case my only nopa \vw w euuMvui uj iuguiumii, hj . bring I er to my own way of thinking; fhat is, to consider herself unaccountable by any law, human or divine, for her actions at the time. Hut I doubted if her sensitive, impulsive nature could ever bo induced to take this view of her act. I doubted, had she not been the woman 1 loved with a pasbionate love; if I could have quite absolved her from the crime, with the ! remembrance of her words, "Basil, did you ever hate a man?" still with me. Yet, strange anomaly, I would, in fair fight of course, have shot that man through the heart and have gloried in the deed. But then Philippa was a woman, and had she not been the woman 1 loved I might have shrunk from the one who, even in her madness, was urged to take such fear ful vengeance. l smiled bitterly as 1 tnougnt now a chance breath of wind had tumbled my house of cards to the ground, I 6miled almost triumphantly as I told myself that, come what might?misery?shame?death?I had won and held for a week the one desire of my life. For nothing could deprive me of that memory. Home at hist! Still silent, or an SWCrillg III}' (|UWUVUJ uj lituuv^i<iv?Wf Philippa was brought by me to our once happy home in Seville. My mother with arch smiles of welcome on her comely face, was at tho gate of the patio ready to receive us. As she ?aw her a kind of shiver ran through my poor love's frame. She let my mother embrace and caress her without any display of reciprocal affection. "Philippa is ill." 1 said, in explanation. ?1 will take her to her room." 1 led her to the apartment which my mother had in our abscence fitted up for us. It was gay and beautiful with flowers, and there were many other careful little evidences of the hearty welcome which was waiting us. Philippa noticed nothing. I closed the donr and turned toward my wife. Sbe looked at mo with tnose wondrous dark eyes, which seemed to search my very soul. "Basil, she said in a low, solemn voice, "tell me, tell mo the truth. What had I done that night 'e" fTO BE CONTINUED 1 sTiRviTmm i Great Destitution in Portions of j West Virginia. Many Families Suffering from the Want of Food. A newspaper correspondent who has j traveled through the famishing dis- j tricts of West Virginia, communicates as ! follows to his paper from Waugh's Mill, Clay j county: There is need of haste to tho succor of suffering West Virginia. The 1 sun is shining brightly here. Tho buds are swelling and birds sing blithely in tho woods, but many a former, standing at the threshold of his log cabin looks out over his waste land and boats his breast because he cannot still tho crica of his famishing children. The suffering in the j back counties has leen terrible through the i failure of the crops a-id the unprecedented drought which robbed the people of thiir corn, oats and vegetables. December closid the rivers and tho roads and shut the door of the world upon them, and how they have come througn those bleak months is only now ; to be discovered. The afflicted district embraces many counties. Last year there was a heavy emiera tion from Ohio to these counties. The emi- ! grants spent all their money for land, which I they relied upon to supply them with food. | Their expectations wore not renlized, beonuoo on the 1st of last Juno a drought set in which lasted until November. Scarce a fifth of a | crop was gathered, and when winter set in : barns and granarios were empty. Cattle ! have died by hundreds of hunger, and it hos been an exceptionally fortunate family that has had any better food than cakes made of cornmeal mixed with water and baked on griddles that had not been greased for months. There has been great mortality among the j children and aged people. Communities, rendered desperate by hunger, have demanded food from the authorities, with the declaration that if it was not given to them thoy | would take it by force. In answer to these i | appeals ?he judges of Calhoun, Wirt, Upshur. | I Clay and Braxton counties have purchased | limited supplies of meal and wheat, which j are being distributed at stated periods. In the other counties no public mensure of relief has been adopted, and the suffering is intense. I Whole families are literally starving, and ! there is no prospect that they will be able to 1 relievo themselves for months, as in the ; mountainous counties the snow is still upon ; the ground. In places where it hns disappeared the cattle that have not died aro too weak to work. The authorities seem unable ! to devise a plan of general relief, ond the ! 8tate officials are considering the idea of ajv pealing to the country for help. FRANCE AND CHINA. A Trrn.lv of Pcare fletivroii ilt<$ Two Countries Coue!iidoil. The liondon 7'hues' I'okin correspondent j rays that pen'-e between Franco and China ' has been concluded on the basis of the Fournier I convention of May 11, 1SS1. j\ iii>i:ituui iium iiong aohr confirms me n'-ws that peace has boon concluded. Th-s dotnnnd for iti-1 <mnity was waived by Fran-o. Tho Foumior convention was signed May 11, 1SS4, at Tien Tsin, by Ciptnin Four- | uier on the part of Fran-o and LiUung Chang for China. By its provisions China rocognizod a French i protwtoratcoverTonquinand Annam, China to hive an equal voice in certain customs regulations. The indemnity now waive.l l>y i'raiue was demanded on account of the i Chines? attack upon the French at Lnngson, ! which p'unt was claimed by Prance aa hers I unr tr tho Fournier convention. An international musical congress Is to be ; held at Antwerp toward the close of the pres; ent year. Papers on musical education will l>e submitted, and discussions will take place on subjects relating to the modes of spreading j musical knowledge, ? . ! ROYALTY'S RECEPTION. i Tho Prince and Princess of Wales | Visit Ireland. jteceived with Enthusiastic) Greetings and Some Disturbance, ! A Dublin dispatch, describing the visit Of i ;he Princo and Princess of Wales and their [ >ldest son, Princo Albort Victor, to Ireland, :ays: Tlie royal yacht Osborne was escorted ?cross the channel by tho Enchantress, a padile-wheel yacht belonging to the navy. Largo lumbers of people ha>t aisembled upon tho locks to greet the royal visitors. Kings;owii was crowded with people and the ?wn was profusely decorated with flags ind bunting. Numbers of excursion steamers, decked with gay colored bunting, hronged the bay,and six vossels of tho Chanael squadron, arrayed with the flags of all nations and brilliant with varicolored Streamers, were in waiting. Tho Osborno was sighted when ten miles out, and as sho Jrew nearer was greeted with salvos of artillery from tho men-of-war. When she touched tho pier and the royal party disembarked tho throng raised a loud and enthusiastic cheer. Iu spite of the fears of a stormy day the sun was sliming unuiauuy wuea iue rujoi party stepped upon Irish soil. Earl Spencer, lord lieutenant of Ireland, recoivod tho prince and his party, and the town commission presented an address of welcome. Thu princess at the same time was made the recipient of numerous bouquets. The crowd, which numbered thousands, kept up a continuous cheering during the reception, and cheered loud ana long as the guests'proceedod to the railway station to coma to this city. A grandstand toad been erected at tho railway station here and when the train bearing the royal party arrived an immonse crowd had assembled. When the prince and princess alighted they were greeted with tremendous cheering. 1 hey were escorted to the grand stand, whero a large representative gathering had assembled. When the enthusiasm of the crowd tad been quieted the address of welcome by the Dublin chamber of commerce was road. It dwelt specially upon the beneficent influence which the visit 01 the prince and princess would exercise upon tho welfare of Ireland, and alluded to the labors of the prince in tho cause of housing the poor of London, a subject, the address said, of great interest to many people in tho Irish capital. When the procession was about to start from tho station several bands joined forces in playing "God Bless the Prince of Wales." For a time considerable excitement was occasioned by some trouble to the royal carriage which the populace, not understanding, exaggerated ana made ominous. As the horses drawing the carriage emerged from the d >pot they wore frightened by tno sight of the crowd and the glare of uniforms. The animals shied and pranced around for a few ??Tvktnh fimA {WHO ii iu ii it; u 13, uuitii^ ??u<v ? ? feared they would succeed in breaking away and overturn the vehicle. But the driver soon had the animals quiet and under perfect control. This episode delayed the procession but a short time, and it moved off in perfect order. Tae routo was through Westland Row, Lincoln place, Nassau street and Grafton street to Colle'e Green, where the first stop was made. Tne green was literally packed with a mass of cars, carriages and people afoot. The advent of the royal party was hailed with tremendous chearin^. Mmy persons were crowded in past the escort of Lancers, The Princo o( Wales took all the3e irregularities good naturedly, and reassured the displaced spectators by shaking hands cordially with all of them within his reach. Earl Spencer, the Irish viceroy, was loudly cheered. Lord Mayor John O'Connor, who is a strong Nationalist, but who drovo in official state with the royal escort, was loudly hissed by the Nationalists. Not a sign of welcome is visible on the City Hall, ana this fact stands out so conspicuously as to force comments. The princoss of Wales captured the populace at sight. The refinod fceauty of her face and the elegance of her figure were most artistically set off in a costume composed of a close-fitting dark green velvet bodice, with a silk skirt to matcn, and a princesse bonnet trimmed with beads and dark-green feathers. This tribute to the Irish colors, so deftly and beautifuily made, was instantly recognised by the people, and her royal highness wa? everywhere greeted with applause. After luncheon at Dublin Castle tho prince and party proceeded to tbe Royal Dublin so ciety's show at Ball's Bridge. The royal escort on this trip was composed of the Hussars, preceded by Earl Spencer escorted by the Lancers. At Ball's Bridge the reception was as enthusiastic as that or College Green, and tho cheering along the route was hearty aud unanimous. Tht exhibition was varied, ono of tho feature; being a series or extraordinary jumping feats. Th? grand stand, which had been al tered for the occasion, was crowded witt prominent persons. The city was brilliantly illuminated to night. Tho police had Borne difficulty, and at one time in preventing a collision when some Nationalists began shouting, "God save Iro land!''andattempted torais3 choers for Par nolL An attempt was mado to bum tin Union Jack which had been stolon from th< Mansion house by students, but the attacking party was driven ofT by a combined force o. students and loyalists, headed by one bun dred policemen with drawn revolvers. Th< crowd took revenge by breaking the windowj of the house from which the flag was flying PRESIDENT BARRIOS, The Diciator of Central Am?rlca Reported Killed In Batilc. General Barrios, the presidont of Guatemala nnd would-be dictator of the five Cer. tral American republics, hns been killed, according to a dispatch, which snys that his gold-hiltedswor.l was found on the buttle field of Chualchuapa. Two battles were fought bt* tween the allied troops of Guatemala ana Honduras under Barrios on one side, and the forces of San Salvador 011 the other. In both battips tliu San Salvadoranians were successful, defeating the enemy with great slaughter. A Washington dispatch says that Senor Peralta. minister of Costa Rica, received a cablegram from President Zaldivar, of Salvador, of which the following is a translation: "Barrios killed at the battle of Cbalchuapa. Complete victory. Long live free Central America." Another dispatch from Central America says: "Hostilities between Guatemala and the allied republics have been suspended. An armistice of one month's duration is announced. The legislative assembly of Guatemala has annulled the decree promulgated by President Barrios on February 23, in whicn a union of tho Central American republics was proclaimed and Barrios was announced as dictator and supreme military chieftain of all Central America." Barrios was a man of considerable ability and energy, and the richest man in Central America. For tho past twelve years he exercised almost despotic sway in Guatemala, and made many ir.?mies. Ho owned property in Fifth avenue, New York, and a Ron is at present a cadet in the Umtcu w,ot?s military academy at Wt st Point. A New Orleans dispatch says: "Conflicting reports reach here about General Barrios. Mexican and San Salvador sources continue to announce him as kiiled in battle. Information from Guatemala and Honduras is to the effect that he is nlivo and nt tho city rtf Guatemala. which ho has not quitted. The Guatemala senate, in withdrawing the tlocree for a forcible union of the states, is said to have acted under his direction The reports of his death aro not believed nt New Orleans by those best posted in Central American affairs." NEWSY GLEANING* In Melbourne, Australia, they shear Bheep by steam. There are $30 counterfeit gold pieces in circulation. Great Britaix contains a million more women than men. * In Montevideo and Buenos Ayres all tht horsa cars coine from the United States. A sum equal to $10,O.K),000 has already been set aside for the I'aris exposition of It is estimated that the agricultural lands of California are capable of supporting 4,300,000 people. St.Joiins, Newfoundland,now possesses th? largest dry dock in the world. It is (500 foot long at tho top. Two hundred and twnty-three slavrs wer? freed in February in Brazil, loaving a total of 1,003,00J still in slavery. Large quantities of barbed wire for fencing purposes are now being shippod from thij country to Brazil and to Central America. There is a Catholic convent for colored women in Baltimore, containing thirty-two professed nuns, two novic?s and ono postulant. Okange-raisino in California has not boon successful this year, prices having fall mi as low as thirty-five cents a lx>x in some instances. It is estimated that $10,000.0.)0 worth ol grass is annually consumed by the prairie dogi of Northorn Texas. The creatures are [ small, but active and numerous. For the American exposition of lS8f>, to b? hold in London, man)' exhibitors at Now Or[ leans propose to transfer their exhibits across the ocean without altering them. A cow attached to the gubernatorial mansion at Jefferson City, AIissouri; having bion tnilkod forflvo years by convicts, now rcluses to allow anytio ly in citizens' dress to approach her. The governor of the island of fcjamos, Greece, recentty discovered a tunnel measuring about 5,000 foet long, which was used at least nino centuries before the Christian era. It is completely preserved, and contains water tubes of about ten inches in diameter, each one provided with a lateral aperture for cleansing purposes. | NEWS SUMMARY Eastern find middle state*. Darics W. Lawrence, a well-known New York broker, became crazy through drink and committed suicido by cutting his throat with a razor. The New Jersey legislature haa adjourned for the session. The annual report of the New York city superintendent of education shows 301 scnoob, 3,478 teachers and a total average attendance of 149,414 pupils. While a bulletin showing tho condition of I General Grant's health was oeing prepared on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, ne directed the doctor to stato that ho was very much touched and very grateful for tho prayerful sympathy and interest mani estcd for him by his friends and those who heretofore have not been regarded as such. The geieral added: "I desire the good will of all, whether heretofore friends or not" General Grant also signed an application to the Presidentof the United States asking him to appoint tho eldest son of Colonel Fred. D. Grant to a cadetship at West Point. The boy is now only threo years old. In conversation with bis doctors on the 6th inst. General Grant spoko of a strong impression which he then felt that he would recover, although he said ho knew tho clianccs wero ninety-nine in a hundred against him. The Connecticut lower houso has almost unanimously passed a bill prescribing severe punishments for manufacturing dynamite, contributing money to destroy persons or property with tho explosive, etc. Mn? f?RVEHAi- Tmt TiiuMn has taken oft her widow's weeds and again entered the bonds of matrimony. Her second husband is tho diminutive Count I'rimo Magri, of Italy. Tho ceremony occurred in a New York church, and a large audience witnessed tho marriage of the midgets. A farewell dinner was given in New York by prominent citizens of that and other citioi to Henry Irvine, the English actor. United States Senator Kvarts, Henry "Ward Beocher, Charles Francis Adams, Jr., of Massachusetts; Ex-Mayor Morton McMichael, of Philadelphia, and others made addresses. Mr. Irving has returned to England. Ryerson & Brown, owners of extensive livery stables in New York, have failed for *500,000. The Democrats carried tho Hartford (Conn.) municipal election by about 1,800 majority. Postmaster Cooke, of Unionville. Conn., was arrested on the charge of omoezzlin^ W,847 of money order funds. On the 8th, the twentieth anniversary of Lee's surrender at Appomattox, General Grant was feeling strong and in good spirits. Among his visitors was General Rosser, a prominent ex-Confederate. Bear-Admiral John Marston, on the retired list of tho United States navy, died in Philadelphia the other day, aged ninety-one years. He entered the navy in 1813. jttlchard UUAKT ?* tllTfe, lUO nui tllunu author, died a few days ago at his home in New York, aged sixty-four years. His best known work is "Words and Their Uses." Soiuh and Went. At a dance partv in Palestine, Texas. Albert Nichols and Thomas Lloyd, young farmers, insulted Zach. Foster and then drew revolvers upon him. Foster proved too autek with his weapon and fired first, killing Nichols and fatally wounding Lloya. Edward V. Nash, inaa insane fit, killed his mother and sister and laid their bodies side by side on the porch of their farmhouse near Monmouth, III The corner stone of the first negro Catholic church in Virginia was laid the other day at Richmond. Carter Harriron has been re-clectod mayor of Chicago ovpr tho united Republican and Citizens' ca-idklate. This will be his fourth term. A bitter fight was mado against bis re-election. TnE fourth marriage of Mrs. Sallie Ward Lawrence Hunt Armstrong, for forty yoars known as the most btautiful woman in tho South, has just token place at Louisville, Ky. The bridegroom, a Mr. Downs, is seventy, and the bride fifty-eight Municipal elections in Ohio have resulte.l in Republican su?cosi at Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Springflold and other cities nf Wat nntn in VlCtorim at I Dayton, Chilllcothe, TifHn, C'restJins an I other minor towns, and in tbo soluction of a mixed ticket at Toledo. A strike of the 1,000 men employed at McCormick's reaper works, Chicago? the largest factory of its kind in the world?occurred a few days since because of an at'empt t j replace the striking employee of ono department with men ai low.?r wages. The Michigan State election has resulted in a Democratic majority of over 20,000. A justice of the supreme court and regents of the university comprised the State ticket. The Detroit municipal eloction resulted in Democratic success. Sr. Jxjuis has electod a Democratic successor to the present Republican mayor. Great destitution, owing to prolonged drought, prevails among the farmers of several West Virginia counties. Whole families are reportod to be literally starving for want of food. TnE throe-months-old twin boys of William Blair, living near Macon, Ga., were found dead in bed, having been smothered by their j parents during tho night. l. K. Eldiudge, twenty years old, inmate ' of tho insane asylum at Nashville, Tenn., sud- j Hnnlv fttt.n.rlfnd and killeJ an attendant and I another patient. TiiEbilter municipal contest in Chicago resulted in the re-election of Mayor Carter Harrison for his fourth term by a majority ot 803 over the combined Republican and Citizens' candidate. His election iH to be contested. The next common council will etand: Republicans, 10; Democrats, 17. Waaliinfftona Following wore the nominations mado by the President on the 1st: A. Loo Knott, of Maryland, to bo sccond assistant [wsimastorgeneral; to be postmasters?Henry L. Kenyon. nt North field, Yt.; John A. bhowalten, at Latrobe. Fenn.; John R. Raynsford, at Montrose. Penn.: Macon Bonner, at Washington, N. C.; Adelbert Shepherd, at Waverly, la.; Bayard S. Gray, at Portland, Ind.; Thomas B. French, at Alexandria, La.; Charles E. Cook, at McPherson, Kansas; O. Marion Moore, at Pleasanton, Kansas. President Cleveland's first appointments made after the adjournment of the Senate were : General John S. McCalraont, of Pennsylvania, to bo commissioner of customs, and John R. Garrison, of Virginia, to be deputy first controller of the treasury. Mr. Norman J. Colman, the St. Louis agricultural editor, has assumed the office of commissioner of agriculture. President Cleveland has promised the Utah commission to aid them in abolishing polygamy. Some one with a troubled conscience has sent $i>15 to the government from New York. This is the largest addition to the "conscience fund" received in a long time. The United States government had on denoait in thu Rusnended Exoha:izo National f>ank, at Norfolk, Va., internal revonue collection amounting to over *400,000. The secretary of the treasury has decided that Joe James, a Chinaman livin: in the United States, who has become a Christian, cannot bring his wifo from China to this country. Miss Sweet, United States pension agent ' at Chicago, having beon requested by the commissioner of pensions to resign, dcclir.od to do bo, and appealed to the President Advices received by the minister to the United States from Costa Rica confirm the report of the death of Barrios, president of Guatemala. A friend of Gen ral Barrios residing in Washington lias also received a dispatch from a member of the Barrios family requesting that information of the would-be dictator's death bo sent to his son, a student at the West Point Military academy. K. f. Howell, of Georgia, has declined the consulship at Manchester, to which he was appointed by the President. The postmaster at Rome, N. Y., has been suspended by order of the President, and James B. Corcoran, u|>on whose nomination j tho Senate faded to act, lias been appointed in his place. President Clevoland charges the former postmaster with irregularities in his accounts. Mr. Pai.mer, the deposed pistmxstor of Rome, N. Y., has writton to President Clove| land, saying that ho had nevor boon ab!o to reply to the charges oil which ho was re- j moved, and protesting against his removal. I A dispatch received by tho Colombian minister stated that Panama was in the hands of the revolutionists, and that government | troops were on their way to tho city. The President has annotated Andrew .Tank, son Gross, of Kentucky, United States marshal for thatiStateL A committee of the Republican Senators has, after a consultation with tho Senate's sergeant at-arms, decided to recommend that his Iorce bo reduced twenty-five, which will effect a saving of $30,000 a year. During the first month of PostmasterGeneral Vilas' term in office ho commissioned 450 jjostmasters and prepared moro than 100 presidential commissions for approval. John R. Mc Dowell, postmaster at Rossville, Tenn., has been suspended for violation of the postal laws. Foreign* The annual ccremony of washing (hp foot of tho poor took place at Vienna. Twelv? Iwggars had thoir feot touched with a sponge I held by Kmp toi* Francis Joseph. Tho feet j were subsequently wipe: I by archdukes of the empire. Late news from the scat of war in tho Souj dan is to the olFoct that General Graham's j forco occupied Tamai with but slight opposii tion Irotn Osr.ian Pigna's Arabs, who ; evacuated tho placo nftor destroying every I thing of value and retreated toward Tama! nieb. Tho British burned tho villago, losing j one man kilkvl and twelve wounded during I the slight fighting which occurred. i The force under General Barrios, presidont of (iautemida, has boen badly defeated in a second battle by the Ban Salvador troops, at Chalchuapa, Central America, Kiel's rebel forco in Manitoba is said to I number 1,000 men, including 700 Indiana and | six cannon. .. -- - a* v - General Boulanoer, French commander | in Tunis, North Africa, has been ordered to | Tonquin to assume the chief command. | Wholesale arrests of anarchists have oc[ curred in various cities of Switzerland. The arrested persons are mostly Germans and Austrians. When news arrived at Paris that the French force in its retreat from Langson.had been obliged to abandon its cannon ana the money chest, which fell into the hand* of tho Chinesa troops,ft mob started for the house of M. Ferry, ex-premier, intending to attack it; but the police arrived in time to prevent trouble. Deserterb from the Arab army at Khartoum report that there has heen heavy fighting between the False Prophet and a portion of bis army which wishes to have the campaign concluded. The Madhi was soverely handled and had to retreat. Offer* have nlso been ma le to General Graham at Suakiin to deliver up Osman Digna, the chief officer of the False Prophet, if a sullleient reward be paid. The new French cabinet formed by M. Brinson to succeod the late Ferry ministry was officially announced as follows: ;u. urisson, president of the council and minister of public instruction; M. do Freycinet, minister of foreign affairs; M. Allaiu-Targe, minister of the Interior; M. Clainageran, minister of finance; M., Goblet, minister of justice; General Campenon, minister of war; M. SadiCarnot, ininiBter of public works; M. Pierre Legrando, minister of agriculture: M. HerveMnngon, minister of commerce; M. Sarrion, minister of posts ond telegraphs; Admiral (Inliber, minister of marine and the colonies. Premier Brisson was the president of the French chamber of deputios when summoned to form a new ministry. Public confidence has again been restored at Panama by the arrival of the American man-of-war Shenandoah and a British ship. Several viciroys in China havo ordered the destruction of all Catholic convents and that all converts bo killed. Reports have reached Shanghai that soveral Roman Catholic settlements have already been destroyed | and several hundred converts killed. Later reports stated that Riel's rebellion was still spreading among the Indians in Manitoba, and that three columns of Canadian tru. ..a would try to surround and capture the half-breel leader. At Toronto and other places in Canada there was great fear of a Fenian invasion from the United States, and all the public stores were guarded day and night. A French frigate will sail from France for New York at the end of April with Bartholdi'a Statue of Liberty Enlightening the "World. Forty thousand coal miners went on strike in Yorkshire, England, agahist a 10 per cent, reduction in wages. Indians from the United Stato3 are re" ported to bo joining Riel's rebels in Manitoba. Cable advices on the 9th stated that the probabilities of a war between England and Russia were greater than ever. LATER NEWS A short cable dispatch was received by the Grant family in New York from Queen Victoria on the 8th inquiring after the goneral'a health." Mrs. Grant sent a reply that the general was no bettor. The magnificent Cathedral of the Incarnation, erected at Garden City, Long Island, by Mrs. A. T. Stewart, as a memorial of her late husband, was informally opened with appropriate ceremonies. Bishop Littlejohn preached the oponing sermon before Mr*. Stewart and a notable congregation. Tho institutions built on the estate are the cathedral, St. Paul's school for boys, and St. Mary's school for girls, beside the bishop's residence near the cathedral, and occupied in summer by Bishop Littlejohn and his family. Captain Norton*, commanding the Shenandoah, informed tho navy department that ho had landed about 150 men in Panama for the protection of American interests. Secre. tary Whitney replied: "Your duty is confined to protecting railway and steamship company's property and lives and property of American citizens, and, so far as your forco permits, to keep the transit opea In conflicts between local forces you must not participate, nor show favor or disfavor to either." While a heavy storm was passing over the national capital, the other afternoon, the Washingtsn monument was struck three times by lightning without causing the least damage. The President has appointed d9i0s Birge 1 postmaster at Coopsrstown, N. Y. The president of Salvador has confirmed the news of the death of General BarrIo3 in a dispatch which says that the late president of Guatemala and oue son were killed in th battle at Chalchuapa. Dispatches from St. Petersburg statel that the war party was getting the upper hand and that the czar had agreed to appoint General Gurko and General Kuropotkine to the leading commands in the event of war. Each will lead an army corps of 50,000 men. News has just been received that on the 2M,h of last February twelve vessels, comprising five French and six native ships and the American bark Sarah Hobart, foundered in the harbor of Tanatave, Madagascar, during a terrible hurricane. The levee given at Dublin Castle by the Prince and Princess of Wales was larger than any held in Ireland since the visit of Queen Victoria in 1849.' Prince Rudolph, the crown prince of i Austria, has been scarod nearly out of his royal boots by a lunatic who smashed in tli? window of the prince's carriage at Brusselt without doing any further injury. SOLDIEKS IN OFFICE, A Grand Army Committee Request 1 heir Hetentlon. A committeo of throe representing the Grand Army of tho Ropublic waited on ( President Cleveland and presented the fol lowing communication: Headquarters jjept of rmuaai;, i Giiand Army of Republic, v "Washington, D. C., April 8, 1883. ) The President and Cabinet: As you arc aware the Grand Army of the Republic is a great civic iion-parti6an organization of ex-union soldiers and sailors, whose chief public object is the promotion of good American citizenship?the encouragement of national patriotism and the practice of fraternity and charity. To oncourage honor and purity in public affairs is one of the high obligations of all its members. In the pructico of charity one of the principal practical methods of caring for our comrades ?perhaps the best?is by organized efforts to se.ure employment for those who need it and are competent and worthy. All reasonable precautions are taken in this important mattor to avoid improper indorsements and recommendations, and no distinction of sect or party is made. In this city quito a largo number of our comrades aro ia lliu employment of the government. We are naturally solicitous for I their retention in all cases where they per- j form thoir duties satisfactorily, except in ' high political offices. VVe therefore beg leave i respectfully to present this statement to your j excollency and to invoke in bohalf of our worthy comrades in the government service that consideration and protection in their places, where they ore enabled to earn a living for themselves and families, which the spirit of the acts of Congress relating to ex-soldiers, their widows and orphans and the grateful sentiments or me peopie generaii)- | bespeak for tliem. We have performed this j pleasant, duty confidently in their behalf Heretofore upon each change of national ad- i ministration, always meeting with a kind j and just responso, and wc renew it now with the &1 mo pleasure and confidence nnd as in | duty lK)und. The President gave the committee a patient hearing and expressed himself very strongly in favor of the object of their visit. The j committee, a dispatch says, were most favor[ ably impressed with the reception accorded them by tho President and the strong assur- i ances ho gavo them. THE NATIONAL GAME, This clubs of no fewor than seven profos* j sional associations will take the fioldthis sum- I | mer. The first championship game on the new j ! Chicago grounds will be played June 6, with ; I St Louis. i An attempt is being made to organize an J j association composed of clubs in the Missis- | i sippi valley. The Harvard Daily Crimson says: It in j ~4"~ 4l*" * fftHBOC of f?l Jill IS? MUint llidki VllU \>l UUXJ f,. v.??w W- ...... - , | in Southern college* is the indifference and 1 ' even opposition ot the faculties to athletic i j sports. The AVestern College association has ; j adopted a schedule of championship contests . i commencing May 2 and ending Juno 13. \ j Each of the four college loams will play two; i games with every other toam. The American Amateur Baseball a??ooia- j i tion held it semi-annual meeting recently in ! New York. The following officers were elected: I President, Joe J. C. Heider,of New Yorkjseo | retary, M. McGowan. of Massachusetts, and treasurer, 1). M. Meenoy, of Pittsburg, I Penn. Baseball is spreading in the South. North j Carolina ball-tossers organized a State asso-! elation last February,and at a second meeting , J hold recently, the organization was completed, i ! Wilmington, lialeigh, Goldsboro', Durham, j Oxford, Winston and Henderson are repre- I | aented in tho associatioa The Now York State loague has assumed I doflnite form, and tho six cities which com- I j pose it?Svracuse, Oswego, Binghamton, ! Rochester, Xltica and Albany?are making active preparations for the formation or j strong, vigorous teams. The season opens on i May 15 and ends on September IV Each | dub will play eighty gajpet. - ... THE FIRST FIGHT. An Afghan Force of 4,000 Defeated by the Russians. Immediate Satisfaction or War Demanded in England. The chances of a great and bloody war between England and Russia over the disputed Afghan boundary were greatly increased by an attack of the Russian forces upon the Afghans on the frontier of Afghanistan. A London dispatch says that the news of the fight stirred England to the center, and that the oxcltsment grew from hour to hour as the seriousness of the hituation was shown. The auti-Russian feeling among both political parties in the house of commons amounts to a passion; and it was stated that if Russia's explanation of the attack upon the Afghans was delayed or incomplete, war would at once be declared. A short account of the battle that was fought between the Russians and Afghans on the frontier of Afghanistan is published in the Official Messenger of St. Petersburg. This account says General Komaroff reports that in consequence of provocative and manifestly hostile proceedings of the Afghans he was compelled to attack them on March 3D on both banks of the Kushk river. The result was the defeat of the Afghans, with the loss of 500 men, all their artillery, two standards, and their entire camp ana provisions. The Russian loss was one officer and ten soldiers killed and three subalterns and twentynine soldiers wounded. When the fighting ended General Komaroff returned across the river to the position he had formerly occupied. General Komaroff also reports that some British officers, who had been eye witnesses but not participants in the engagement, appealed to the Russians for protection wheu they saw that the Afghans were beaten, but unfortunately a convoy which he immediately dispatched to the relief of these officers was unable to overtake the Afghan cavalry, who carried the British away with them in their flight. A dispatch from Sir Peter Lumsaen, dated at Gulran. states officially to the British government tnat the Russians attacked the Afghans intrenched in their position at Penjdeh, and slaughtered 200 of the garrison. Seventy thousand British and Indian troops now stationed along or near the Northern Indian frontier may reach Herat in time to prevent its capture by the Russians. According to information received in London the Afghan force in the battle numbered four thousand men, with eight cannons. A dispatch to the London Times from Gulran says that the Russians, making a pretext of a change in the position of the Afghan outposts, attacked Penjdeh and A frwVt BTir rtiif nf fhain position. The Afghans stubbornly resisted their assailants. The weather was wet at the time of the attack, which rendered the muzzle-loading guns of the Afghans useless. Two companies held one position against the Russians until its defenders were killed. The Afghans retreated to Marauchalc in perfect or* aer. The Russians made no pursuit The Sarakhs remain neutral, but plundered the Afghans' camp. The Russian losses are said to do great. The British officers remained until the Afghans effected their retreat, when they joined the camp of Sir Peter Lumsden. The London Telegraph also has a dispatch from Allahabad which says that General Komaroff. after his victory, occupied Penjdeh, which has long been held by an Afghan garrison. The Telegraph expresses the fear that a British officer fell in tne rout at Penjdeh. M. Lessar,the special Russian commissioner in England, expressed (the opinion that the battle was brought about by the Afghans attacking Russian pickets and driving them from their posts. This, he thought, would have caused the Russians to retaliate, and thus a general fight would be brought on. The British cabinet met, and, after reading the latest telegrams concerning the battle, discussed the question of sending at once the six ironclads now at Malta to the Dardanelles. Instructions were telegraphed to Sir Peter Lumsden to proceed instantly with all the forces at his command to occupy Robat Pass, the approache3 to which have already been fortified by the Afghans under the direction of the British royal engineers. Robat Pass is forty-five miles north of Herat, and through 11/ lies tne oniy practical ruau iui a im^o military force to Herat. Sir Peter Lumsden has with him about 1,200 British and natives, and the Ameer's forces capable of concentration at this point number between 10,0D0 and 12,090 men. The pass is 900 feet high, and tho mountains are impracticable for even a small force. The country east of Robat Pass and south of Penjdeh, lying between Herat and Penjdeb, is held by the Afghans in considerable force, and is so difficult as to be inaccessible by any force not holding the fords and passes. Sir Peter Luinsdeii is reported to be now ongaged with a large force of Afghans and a boay of picked men of the British and Indian armies in pushing forward the fortifications of Herat. The British government has received adrlroi from its representative at St. Petersburg stating that the war feeling at that capital aince the receipt of the news from the Afghan frontier has greatly increased, and that the Russian officials make little or no effort to conceal their rratiflcation at the outcome of the fight between the Russians and the Afghans on the frontior. An explanation of the attack upon the Afghans by the Russians is afforded by a letter from Wfeshed, which states that a previous encounter had taken place in Zulflkar Pass. In this fight the Afghans were reported to have attacked the Russian troops and compelled them to retreat. M. Lessar, the Russian commissioner quoted above, said that this incident, if true, accounted for General Komaroff's attack upon the Afghans at Pflnirioh In the British house of commons Premier Gladstone, amid intense excitement, in answer to interrogatories said that the pending negotiations between England and Russia about the Afghan frontier had been interrupted by the grave occurrences iust reported. He said further that England had kept her part of the agreement not to advance, and that the Russian attack was unprovoked. During Mr. Gladstone's statements regarding the battio in Afghanistan his manner, even more than his words, emphasized the gravity of the situation. Most of the facts which he stated were quoted from an official report received from General Sir Pefcer Lumsden, the British Boundary commissioner, who was at Gulrnn, on the Here-Rud river, fifty miles wtat of Herat, with an escort of 3,000 Indian cavalrymen. It is estimated that the Russian forces ready for an immediate advauco upon the Afghan frontier are upward of 1)5,000 men. The British forces ready for the front are placed at 1G.00:) men, consisting exclusively of British and picked troops of the Indian army. The English press unanimously declared that it was England's imperative duty to fight unless Russia recalled Gen. Komaroff, nnd disowned bib action in attacking the Afghans. News of the battle on the Afghan frontier caused tremendous excitement 111 all the European as well as in the American stock and other markets. Prices of stocks fell everywhere in Europe. In the United States there was wild excitement in the grain and produce markets at New York and Chicago, and there was an advance of from five to seven cents a J^ushel in the price of wheat. Com, oats and flour also jumped up in price with extraordinary ceitrity. PROMINENT PEOPLE. Postmabtkr-General Vilas owns two hotels, arid is roputod to be worth $800,000. The king of Bavaria has spent $250,000 for a chandelier from the Meisson manufactory. The new minister to Japan, Governor Hubbard, is six feet four inches in height and weighs 370 pounds. The grandfather of George H. Pendleton was Alexander Hamilton's second in hisfutai duel with Aaron Burr. Hknry R. Jackson, of Georgia, the new minister to Moxico, has made $1,000,000 prac-1 tiling law since the war. | Five Pennsylvanians hive held the office of miuister to England?Hichard Rush, Gal-1 latin, Buchanan, Dallas and Welsh. General Neal Dow, the Maine temper-1 ance agitator, recently celebrated his eighty- I first birthday at his residence in Portland. William Putnam Endicoit, father of the i secretary of war, lives at the ago of eightytwo, in Salem, Mass., still hale and hearty. I Ciieno Tsao Yu, the Chinese minister to 1 the United States, arrived in this country a 1 few days sincc. Ho is about sixty years old, | and is also the Chinese minister to Spain and i Peru. Mu Wti t fin? ir-i-i-iv Iias hAAn chosen ora tor by tho literary societies of Lewigburg i (Pennsylvania) university for their annual | mooting in June next, and has acceptcd the I position. Dr. Miller, tho new commissioner of in tornal revenue, wears black side whiskers and a mustache; his hair is silky and &is eyes are j piercing black, underneath heavy brows. Ho weighs ii50 pounds. The Rev. Byron Sunderland, pastor of the ! First Presbyterian church, Washington, ! whore President Cleveland has his pew, was : pastor of a church at Batavia, N. Y , over | thirty years ago. The President's mother at- ; tended the samr Bartholdt, the sculptor, will probably visit this country daring the summer. lie will take a lonk nt Bodloe's island in New York harbor, whoro his statuo of "Liberty ; Knligh tuning the World," presonted by the j French p-'oplo "to thi? country, is to stand. Baron de Fara, tho Italian minister at j Washington, is describe 1 as the "handsomest | man in tho diplomatic corps." The writer i adds: "And lie looks every inch an arlsto- , crac. Ho is of commanding height, with snow-whito h.nir a.id mustache and short tufted whiskers, bright blue eyes, a Ion* straight nose and a chin as square as a block. I He dresses with tbe utmost care. NEWS AND NOTES FOR WOMEN. Tournoures grow smaller. Bangs are coming in again. Buttons are small and generally round. Spring velvets are lovely in color and texture. English brides now wear moon stones for luck. In the English civil servicee there are 3,200 women clerks. Sixty-four women engravers cam thei livelihood in England. The marchioness of Lorno is an inveterate cigarette smoker. Bright purple thistles are seen on many of the round straw hats. Two nieccs of President Cleveland teach in the public schools of Peoria, 111. Young ladies on the eve of marriage, in some regions, now give ''spinstei dinners." From three to six dozen medium sized buttons are used to decorate many of tho spring costumes. The new and very gaudy silk hand kerchiefs Are utilized as vests lor man; of the spring gowos. All reppcd silks arc in high favor this season, especially what is called gros faille, with flattened reps. Fine tapestry-covercd furniture i? again coming to the front, and the demand for plush is decreasing. Polonaises and basaues divide popular favor almost evenly, the latter displaying an unusual variety in style and ornamentation. Embroidered surahs are seen in allover patterns of a gay figure on a quiet ground, which may be either light or dark. Miss Alice E. Freeman, the president of Wellesley college, was graduated there in 1876, and is only twenty-eight years old. Widows of men who have died in the railroad service in Austria are employed at from $15 to $30 per month in the railway offices. The Turkish woman always carries on her person a three-colored bit of leather, I which encloses the mystic phrase that is potent to ward off the evil one. The most approved back drapery is so arranged as to fall high in a series of puffs, and thence to sweep in straight, iieavv lines to the foot of the skirt. One of the rich single women in New York receives several offers of marriage by post every week, and doubtless most uf the others are honored in a similar manner. It is estimated that the grand balls given by the president of the French republic cost from $15,000 to $20,000 cach. About 8,000 guests attend each of these balls; of which two ave given every yenr. A girl who is teaching in Colorado writes home as follows: "I have forty scholars of all ages, and teach almost everything?grammar, history, pbysi ology, mathematics, manners, morals, common sense, personal cleanliness, fancy work, and general civilization. Instead of severely plain bands or folds for trimming skirts there are now vandykes, escallops of leaf points on the upper edge, while other folds have openings or slitd cut at intervals, and througb these are drawn gilt or silver oraid. Tucks are more u9eu than at any previous season; and these aro decorated with braid, stitching or a piping on >he lower edge. The little so-called dog collars, introduced so long since, are now more popular than ever, and ara almost universally worn. All sorts of fancies are indulged in, from a simple velvet ribon knotted around the heck, when the corsage is not very liigb, lo several rows of pearls. A flexible cjiain-work of silver links?repetitions of ancient coins linked together to form a band?silver daisies fastened to a black velvet ribbon. Many slender young ladies wear sashef in Oriental fashion,carried loosely around the waist and knotted at one side, the Mnannal lonrrfh: nr. aorflin. theV u? *" " " V"1 q ? T ? ? -o 1 ? aro draped ns panicrs, -while another method of arranging these scarfs is to gather the ends of two lengths of silk under the broach at the throat, let it fall blouse style to the waist, where it should be confined wi'.h a clasp of some description. the remaining portions being caught up as panicrs over the hips. A pretty way to make a walking skirt of unpatterned goods in serge, cheviot or ottoman cloth, is to arrange the trimming in five fiat plait?, separated by broad panels, on which are placed five rows or velvet ribbon, half an inch wide and that distance apart. This forms the front of the skirt, and the tunic, bordered with a like number of velvet bands, is draped above, the long, wide ends forming a waterfall back, which is not trimmed, bub simply hemmed at the bottom. Chewing Gam. A recent letter from Bangor, Mc., to the New York Hun says: This is a great gum year in Maine, especially on the Penobscot, and now that the sun is climbing up into the North, and tho lumbermen are coming out, the air is fairly redolent with the perfume of spruce. The logs, knees, and bark are not the only valuable parts of the great timber tree, for the gum is worth considerable, even in its rough ctate, just as it is hacked from the crotches of old trees. There are two or three firms here which buy large quantities of it from the lumbermen and gum hunters for the purpose of refining it, ns they say. But as 1 aU:?? r?nncicfa in a general iuiuy mc iwumc adulteration with rosin. They throw it into a big kettle, bark and all, and boil it to about the consistency of thick molasses, and skimming the impurities off as they rise to the surface. Then, if the purpose be to adulterate, some lard or grease and a lot of resin is added, and in some cases a little sugar. The mixture then becomes thicker, and, after more stirring, is poured out on a slab, where, while it is yet hot, it is rolled out in a sheet about a quarter of an inch thick, and then chopped with a steel die into picces half an inch wide and three-quarters of an inch long. These pieces arc wrapped in tissue paper and packed in wooden boxes. There are 200 pieces in a box. Some -gUM. 18 treated in this way without adulteration. ... The best gum comcs~fronf no particular locality, but always from the biggest trees. The doctors up here say chewing gum benefits the teeth. The loggers, in their many idle hours by the camp lire, whittle out miniature barreis from blocks of cedar or white pine, hollow them out, and fill them with the choicest gum the woods afford for gifts to their sweethearts, children, or friends when they 'come down" in the spring. Others, who go into tbt; woods for gum alone, bring down big bags of gum, and sell it to manufacturers of the improved article. Up here adulterated gum is called patent gum. Larcenous Monkeys. Tho chipma, or black Pavian monkey, is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. Diving in tribes and always ready to plunder, this race of monkeys commit fearful devastations in the vineyards and gardens. With a sagacity almost human they will station a guard on the outposts to watch. A portion of them enter the inclosurc, climb the trees, pluck the fruit and pass it to those standing below. These hand it to others, who form a line reaching to the rendezvous, which is generally in some craggy mountain, and thus, all assisting in the good work, the booty is soon safely disposed of. As soon as the sentinel sees some one approaching he "ives the alarm by uttering a loud cry,ana tho plunderers ail scamper off. If he neglects to warn them in time the whole party will fall upon him and beat him severely.?Boiton Transcript. It is claimed by J/i Nature that the highest railroad viaduct in the wor'd is that of the (Jarabit bridge, France. That remarkable structure is 1,800 feet long, and near the middle of the great central atch the distance from the bed of tho river to the rail is 418 feet. Silen?e is the best shield to ward oil anger. PRESIDENTS AS PENMEN. DUBIOUS DOOUMJOTTS TM TKJ WriTBP STATXS 8**AM. Character 1st lea of Fresidential CMrographjr an Shown l? PnblU Papers?Interesting IflensentOMb In the executive office of the United States Senate there are preserved all the v | executive messages of Presidents of the United States from the foundation of the government. Though not often referred to some of these documents are becoming worn, and recently General McCook, secretary of the Senate, caused selections to be made from the files, with a view to preserving some of the interesting autographs in a cabinet by themselves. In tome cases the first message of a President was taken, and when this was of minor importance the first conspicuous one?generally that making the nominations for cabinet positions?was taken. They form an interesting collection of historic mementoes, and one of the most vaiuaDie auiograpu coueuuwiis <u vu? land. None of tne Presidents, with the exception of Washington and Jefferson, would be marked above fifty for penman* ^ hip by a civil service commission. General Washington's first contribution to the collection embodies nomina* tiona for judges, marshals and attorneys for the districts of New York and New % Jersey, and at the end of the same documents are the nominations of Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Randolph and 8amuel Osgood for secretary of state, attorney-general and postmaster-general, respectively. The signature is written in ^ a fair, legible hand, which would pass to-day for that of a business man not ' entirely careless of appearances, yet having confidence enough in his own work to let the details of penmanship take care of themselves. One short message was penned entirely by himself, as fol- ^ Ukited States, July?, 1793. 1 Gentle ken ov the Senate : Th? Presi- dent of the United States will meet the Senate in the Senate chamber at halt past eleven ' .J? o'clock to-morrow, to advise with them on the terms of tha treaty to be negotiated with -J the Southern Indians. Go. Washington. 4 Mr. Jefferson penned his resignation with the easy grace of a Spencerian grad- /./ uate, but his economy of space was such 3 that his documents as a whole fall below the present standard of clerical excel* -f lence. He wrote most of his messages with his own hand. One specimen em* 'A bodies no less than ninety renominations. and coyer* almost to the last inch of space three and one-half pages of a letter . : 7% sneet. The first line is written within half an inch of the top of the page, and the words are crowded, sometimes twenty ^ upon a line. Mr. Jefferson's sim- J plicity is further exemplified by his method of transmission, which shows him to have been a re* |jg former in his day, as compared with hia *vas| predecessors. Washington and Adams '3jS sent their messages to the Senate by the o hands of their secretaries, or, in the case of treaties, often by tho hands of the vJB agents in the negotiations, from whom, as the messages frequently intimated, the Senate might receive further infor* mation regardingthe subjects to which they related. Mr. Jefferson usually sent . his messages to the Vice-President by mail. It was long before the days of ~ envelopes and mucilage, and the docu- ^ ments bear the postmarks and red wafers ' of the ancient stylo. One of John Adams* autograph messages is as follows: United States, July 1,1798. - .: ! Gentlemen of the Senate: 1 nominate "S George Washington, of Mount Vernon, to be Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief of all the armies raised and to be raised in the Unitfid States. John Adams. In this signature, as in all of ifr. * i Adams' signatures, the small letters aro more than half an inch long. A labored, but unsuccessful, effort is apparent to ^ carry the same style throughout the en- , J tire document. It betrays the handi* work of one who aimed at more than he was able to accomplish in the matter of penmanship. Mr. Madison wrote an irregular hand, devoid of marked peculiarities. His nomination of John Quincy Adams to be minister plenipotentiary of the court of St. Petersburg, which was one of several nominations made in a single message, bears the clerical marks of the Senate's ^^jji disapproval. "Inexpedient to send minister,"wrote the executive clerk upon ? th? margin. Mr. Madison then wrote a ^ WCond message, giving his reasons for making the nomination and urging its confirmation, but the session expired without action. ilr. Madison's nomina- < tion of James Monroe to be secretary of state was referred to a special committee of Senators, and action was delayed for several days, while his accounts as a foreign minister were subjected to scrutiny, The committee reported that it found no reason for the rejection of his nomination, and be was thereupon unanimously confirmed. Mr. Monroe used a coarse pen, and wrote hesitatingly. He nominated hii cabinet on March 5, 1817, with John Quincy Adams at the head as secretary of state. Andrew Jackson's first message, dated March G, 1821), is an autograph document, and, more than any other one of the series, its style 6eems characteristic of its author. Its letters are angular and unsymmetrical, but they are legible,and there is an air of self-asser* tion about the document which culminates in the emphatic underscoring of the signature. Martin Van Buren's hand was unsteady when he penned his first message, as if he had not fully recovered from the cxcitement and labors of hit inauguration, but he wroto better the next day. James K.Polk's contribution to the collection is aa autograph message penned in what would be taken for a feminine hand, yet with few of the gracei _ < of penmanship. His autograph is rathet pretentious, with a row of dots and several cramped flourishes beneath it. Harrison's and Tyler's signatures have no distinguishing characteristics. Taylor and Lincoln each wrote firmly and legibly, but with extreme simplicity and without any superfluous marks. ilillard Fillmore's signature is very similar in character, but rather smoother. James ' Buchanan's hand trembled when h< signed his first message, and he mado a H failure of the elaborate scroll work attachment to his first initial. Franklin -V34H Pierce wrote a sprawliog, schoolboyish signature. Andrew Johnson started ^ fairlv upon the line, then fell a little below it, but recovered himself at th< end._ _ The collection contains the nr's^-fHid?- " ~'r last messages o( Geueral Garfield and the message of President Arthur nominating General Grant to his place upon the retired list of the army. Never. "S Never insult poverty. Never eat between meals. Never eat a very hearty supper. Never stand long at the corner of s street. '.-i Never fret; it will only shorten youi * days. Never abuse ono who was once youi bosom friend. Never reply to the epithet of a fool 01 ?? a low fellow. Never speak in a contemptuous manner of womankind. Never anticipate too much; disappointment is not pleasant. Never taste an atom when you are not hungry; 11 is sun-ium. Never spend many of your evening! away from your family. Never speak of your parents as the ' old man'' or "old woman.?Our So ci?ty Journal. The Finest Bay. k The bay of Havana is said, by the geographies to be the finest in the * j world. It is in the shape of a man's hand, the opening into the sea corre sponding to the wrist, and the finger? being represented by bays or inleti stretching in all directions. But in thit magnificent haven there is not and *evei has been, pier or rjuay or dock or anj filace for a vessel to land. All the loadng and unloading of passengers, freight or cattle, is done by means of small lighters, which are rowed back and forth between the vessel and the land. Over 200,000 women and boys in Net* M York are engaged at various kinds of work which was performed exclusively 9 by men some years ago. H A