The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, November 18, 1885, Image 2
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HAND IX HAND.
Hie boats go sailing
Over a silver soa:
rhe wind has hushed its wailing
Through brush and tree.
Hand in hand, let us fare together,
Through the sunny and windy weather.
IQ9 Diras nave uusuea tueir eaurua,
Stars, through the twilight soft,
Will soon bo glimmering o'er us?
The moon's aloft.
Hand in hand, let us hold together,
Through tho dark and the starlit weather.
With dewy drops of healing,
The thirsty grass is pearled;
A Sabbath calm is stealing
About the world.
Hand in hand, let us fare together,
Through working days, and Sabbath weather
The little flowers are sleeping;
Tha enr* ic onf. r\f cio*V?f",
God bave us in His keeping
All through the night!
To-morrow let us faro together,
Still onward through the changing weather.
?The Quiver.
GIRLS OF GRIT.
It had been a dull day at the store,
fcnd Netta Carstairs was tired of standing
behind the connter with nothing to
do. Mr. Bobbinet was always a degree
crosser than usual on dull days. He
6C0lded the little "cashes'' for whispering,
criticised Miss Drggett for the way
in which she piled her collar-boxes on
the counter, and reproved Miss White
for packing her parcels of lace under the
shelves.
"It is very easy," said Mr. Bobbinet,
aao rV.ufr vnii vnnnnr wnmpn Vinvp. nrt
personal interest in things."
"Why should we?" whispered Rosa
Nixon to Miss Carstairs. "He has no
personal interest in us, except to contrive
how much money he can make out of
us."
And Mr. Bobbinct had told them?
probably to increase their spirits?that
after the first of May their scanty salaries
would be docked twenty-five per cent.
"Fori am losing money in the business,"
said Mr.Bobbinet?"yes, positively
losing money all the time. I ought to
have cut you down at Christmas, but I
am a conscientious man, and mid-winter
is a hard time to reduce wages."
Netta Carstairs had looked incredulously
at Lillian Hand. Was it not on
the very last Sunday afternoon that they
had walked past tho elegant new house
that Mr. Bobbinet was erecting on Paragon
avenue? Did that, they asked
? t 1 *T__ l : 0
tneroseives, iook. iikc i using in-juuv i
"What an old humbug that man is!"
said Rosa Nixon. "If I knew any respectable
farmers wife who wanted a
'help,' I'd quit business and go to her?
see if I wouldn't!"
^ "But we are all dependent upon our
salaries," sighed Lilian Hand. "What
can we do?"
_ This was at the noontime, when Mr.
***" Bobbinet had gone down stairs to quarrel
with the fireman, and the girls hud -,
died disconsolately around the registers
to eat their little paper packets of
lunch.
"I know what I'd do if I had a house,"
said Netta. boldly.
"What?" said Clarissa Daggett.
"I'd keep boarders," said Netta.
"Boarders! Dea." me, what a funny
.Idea!" cried Lilian Hand. "What made
' you think of thati"
"Because I had a letter from Stonington
last night," said Netta. "And
my old grand-aunt Locke is dead, and
she has left me a lot of old furniture?
the accumulation, in fact, of two or
three generations. What could I do with
old furniture, or new, either, for that
matter? The homestead?a tumble-down
place enough?is left to a cousin up in
Maine, and all the ready money to a
ne'er-do-well relation out in Kansas,
who will speud it before the dear old
soul is fairly cold."
"Furniture!" repeated Lilian Hand.
"Why, isn't that strange? And I have
got a house out at Watch Hill?a lonely
old place, on the very edge of the sea?
that is, if it hasn't fallen to pieces in
these heavy winter-tides."
"What sort of a house?" said Netta.
"I don't know," Lilian answered,
laughing. "I never saw it. My uncle
died theie, and I am the only surviving
relative. I might have fitted it up for a
country-seat if I had been rich; but 1 am
not."
Netta put her light hand on the other's
shoulder.
"Lill," said she, "there's a fate in
these things. You have a house, and
I've got the furniture. Watch Hill is
the very place to take boarders in!"
"Are you crazy, Netta?" said Lilian.
"The big hotels would swallow us up,
as the whale swallowed Jonah."
"Fiddlesticks!" cried Netta. "Our
chance is as good as anybody else's!"
"Oh, girls, let me keep boarders,
too!" urged Kosa Nixon. "I can't stay
here, if old Bobbinet mows down our
wages bo pitifully. I haven't got any
capital, but I can make such stunning
cake and pie, and I can beat all creation
on bread, and biscuit and johnny cake."
"I could help you, too!" said eager
Miss Daggett, who was a tall girl, with
hectic red spots on her cheeks. "That
is, if the house was out of repair. I
painted all the inside of Cousin Dobson
Daggett's house once, and papered the
parlors in blue and buff. And you don't
know how nicc they looked! Oh, do
take me, too 1"
"But it's all nonsense!" said Lilian.
1 'No, it isn't!" said Netta. "Listen!
You and I keep boarders. Rosa is our
cook, and Clara our carpenter. Here's
a fair beginning. Hush! here comes
old Bobbinet, looking as black as a
thunder-cloud. Now for a lecture half
an hour long. Well, let him blaze
away. I don't care whether he discharges
me or not!"
"What sort of a place is Watch Hill?"
whispered Clara Dagget.
"It's the seashore," said Netta?"directly
on the grand old Atlantic. The
very place for you to get strong in, Clara.
And I say?suppose we ask Fanny Hoyt,
that little, ailing cash-girl, to come with
us? She could wait on the table and
wash dishes, you know, and?"
"Young women! young women!"
solemnly croaked Mr. Robbinet, "is this
bu3iness?"
But when the April winds began to
1 rlnot onrl w^?r]trin/1e Af
Ulv TT ViVUUO V/A UUOV UUU HUillHlUUg Vi
paper scraps about the streets, Lilian
Hand and Netta Carstairs set boldly
forth for the rock-bristling shores on
Watch Hill, stopping by way of Stonington
to overhaul the .old furniture bequeathed
by grand-aunt Locke.
"Enough to set up a dozen boardinghouses,"
said Netta, exultantly. "We'll
have Clara down to repair and varnish
it at once. And now for the house!"
"Sea Cottage" was an old stoae house
on a shelving beach, with apple orchards
behind and a little garden in front,
where sea sprav sprinkled ihe "Rose of
Sharon" trees at every high tide.
It was ancient and inconvenient, with
additions clumsily fcu'lt on; steps to go
up here and oteps to come down there.
. (ftio W'uuuvvs were suiail; ike s'.o~c
wmamm?? ?aamwminn i?iibbo*?hmmam
porch ludicrously proportioned, and
Netta clapped her hands in glee.
"The very place!" said she.
Lilian pointed disconsolately at the
great hotels on the heights beyond.
"What of them?1' said Netta. "We
shall not interfere -with their customers.
We are appealing to an entirely different
class?the people who abominate bands
and Germans?the people who come
here for rest and quiet. Why, there
must be fourteen or fifteen rooms in this
delicious old cubby-hole. And such a
view of the sea! Count the lighthouses!
Look at the signal service
buildings! Lill, I already see ourselves
shoveling gold pieccs into our pockets!"
"I wish I could be as hopeful as you,"
said Lilian, softly.
So the brave little brigade went to
work on the wave-washed beach of
"Watch Hill.
Miss Daggett proved herself not only
j an adept at repairing old furniture, but
i she went valiantly out with hammer and
nails and mended the fence, put in new
panes of glass, whitewashed the ceilings,
and. with the aid of a young Rhode IslI
laud carpenter, actually put up a row of
: cow-sheds and hen-houses in the rear.
Rosa Nixon reduced the kitchen de- 1
! partment to working order, and drove
j sharp bargains for a supply of provisions
! from WesTerlv to Stonington.
! "It isn't the kickshaws that trouble I
j me," said Rosa. "I Gan make ice-cream
equal to Madame Habcnstein herself, 1
i and nobody can beat me on jellies. But 1
the gardens here arc so late. And city 1
j boarders want green peas and strawber- 1
; ries and all that sort of thing just the
j same as if "Watch Hill lay on the edge of ,
j the tropics. People are so unreasona- 1
ble!" 1
In the course of their business affairs,
Netta had made the acquaintance of the 1
editor of a New Haven newspaper. 1
j "My dear sir," said she, with charm- '
i ing frankness, "I'm going to advertise
: in your paper. Nothing can be done
1 - -* -t i?-: XT (
nowadays witnout aavertisiiig. -l-huw,
don't you want to give us a pull? The
' least bit of one will do!" '
"I am always ready to commend 1
genius," said Mr. Fordyce, gallantly. !
, 4'In fact I was going to speak of cngag- |
! ing three connecting rooms?with a view
i ol the ocean, of course?for Mrs. Forj
dyce and the three little ones and their
; nurse. Just write your notice, and we'll '
j try and edge it in!"
"You are so kind!" cried Nettn, who 1
' telt just a trifle disappointed when Mrs. *
j Fordyce and the children were men- '
tioned, though why she did not know. j
i "Business is business," said the edi- j
; tor, sereneIj*. 1
j But when Lilian read the notice she I
opened her blue eyes wide. ]
"Why, Netta," said she, "you give 1
the impression that Sea Cottage is lull c
of boarders."
! "Well, what then?" said saucy Nctta. c
j "Xo one wants to be first at a place like
. this."
i .I x ii. 1:--!. : ? l (
Almost ;lie earnest uriivai nua wc
I ne'er-do-well cousin from Kansas, wi-th 1
! his wife and sons. lie had settled dov^n 1
into a portly, middle-aged merchant, r
and his appearance lent a solid sort of f
respectability to the place. j
"Never believe what you hear," said '
he to Netta. ,lI was rather wild as a r
lad, but I am soberer than twenty judges s
now. Ask my wife. And I came here J
because my boys like the sea. Never *
! expected to find a relation on the prem- 1
ises." |
' Do you call those six-f ooters loi/&?) *
said Netta, laughing.
i Sea Cottage throve under its vigorous t
; new administration.
Clara Daggett kept everything in ap'
pie-pie order. Rose Nixon worked like f
a bee in the kitchen, aided by little Fanny 1
; llovt, and a barefooted ton of the soli,
who dug clams, caught blue-fish, turned J
i the ice-cream freezer and ran errands.
! Everything else was done by Netta
and Lilian (Carstairs & Hand they called
themselves on the bill), and well done,
! also.
j And early in the morning before any
: of the boarders were up, they ran down
i tc the fringy edge of the .sea and had
' their "dip"?the delicious tonic that
i gave them strength and courage for their
I day's work.
"It's better than drudging at old Bob- 8
; binet's, isn't it, Lil?" said Netta. 0
I "Oh, a thousand times better!"
j In the second week the editor arrived,
i with a dashing young woman, a colored ^
1 nurse and a swarm of little ones. I
! "There she is," said he, as Netta came 1
to greet them. "Miss Carstairs, let me c
introduce my stepmother, and little f
| brothers and sisters.,' v
| Netta's cheeks flamed; her eyes c
sparkled. }
j "They are very welcome to Sea cot- }
j tage," she said, gracefully. 9 11
And Mrs. Fordyce afterward complain- F
| ingly remarked that "if Miss Carstairs 1
had been a duchess, she could scarcely f
j have assumed more gracious airs. Not 1
: but that the house was well kept and u
! the table really excellent. But, after 0
j all, the young woman was only a board- =
; ing-house keeper!" 3
| And her amazement may be imagined,
when, at the end of the season, her step!
son calmly announced his engagement to a
I Miss Carstairs. ^
j "I do like a woman that has gfime ?
j pluck and go in her," saici ne. -one j
i suits me exactly, and I mean to do my ^
best to suit her." ^
Miss Daggett, it presently transpired, 9
j had been plighting herself to one of the v
tall Kansas "boys." 3
"He says the West will be the rery c
climate for me," said he. "And you ^
mind, Lily dear?will you??but Rosa v
I Nixon has promised to marry the young ^
; man who keeps the books for the Triton ^
hotel. I do think the air of Watch Hill c
promotes weddings?" c
Lillian Hand laughed. c
"You are all typical women,"said she. 0
"Well, well, go and fulfill your mis- *
sions?make home happy and all that f
sort of thing. But I mean to stay here
and keep the Sea cottage. There are
plenty of half-starved and overworked
city girls who will come out and help i
me; and I rather like the business. Oh, s
of course I shall spend my winters in c
Stonington. There is always new house- I
linen to make and old to mend, and r
[ plenty to keep mo busy; but I really g
' think I have found my vocation at last." j
And thus triumphantly closed the first c
campaign of the Sea Cottage brigade.? t
Helen Forrest Grates. t
' t
Lima a Preservative From Bnst. F
All steel articles can be perfectly ?
preserved from rust by putting a lump
of freshly burnt lime in the drawer 01 B
case in which they are kept. If things ?
are to be moved (as a gun in its case, for :
instance) put the lime in a muslin bag. I
This is especially valuable for specimens
of iron when fractured; for ia a !
moderately dry place the lime will not
want any renewing for many years, as it 8
is capable of absorbing a large quantity 1
of moisture. Articles in use should be
placed in a box nearly filled with thor- a
oughly pulverized slacked lime. Before g
using them rub well with a woolen cloth. 0
Men make a living in New York by ^
picking up cigar stubs thrown away in ^
, the streets by smokers. j
TIMELY TOPICS.
The German government has discharged
all women who were employed
in its postal, telegraph, and railway service
as clerks and in other capacities.
As during the last twenty years they
nearly monopolized such service in some
towns, much suffering has ensued among
the discharged. The motive alleged is
that women are unfit for such public
service.
Widows and old maids can take comfort.
Any woman twenty-one years of
age, who was born in the United States,
or whose parents or husband got naturalixed,
can take up a homestead, a preemption
or a desert land claim. By the
words "any woman," a single or widow
"lady" Is meant. A married woman
whose husband is still living cannot taKe
up land unless she is divorced, as the
privilege is limited to "head3 of families."
It appears that a valuable substitute
for alcohol in the sphere of medicine has,
by experiment, been found in nitro glycerine.
The Boston Traveller mentions
that "it is stated by medical authority
that nitro glycerine, as a heart stimulant,
is far superior to brandy, and may be
Ejiven with confidence whenever the administration
of brandy is indicated. Two
irops of a one per cent, solution are
equivalent to an ounce of brandy, and
the effects of the drug are felt immediately.
It creates no uunatural craving."
A novel and absorbing entertainment
is sweeping over the social surface of the
:ouutry with the rapidity and earnestness
nf the sr>r?]lin<? bee. Mum Social is
its name. And mum socials are all the
rage. The rules are?All entgring the
room will be expected to maintain perfect
silence. Second?The first person
svho speakg will be fined eighEy-three
sents. Third?Each succeeding person
ivili be subject to a fine of twenty-five
scnts and be entitled to a ticket for refreshments,
and the privilege of talking
ind of making others talk. Fourth?No
cvriting allowed. The proceeds are demoted
to charity.
The American Architect and Building
.TAnnU,, nnn nf nftlvAlnnm in.
LT'WtJ auvuurttc^ IUC UOC ui VIVUIU 1U
stead of coal for the heating of houses
ind for the making of steam. At pres;nt
crude petroleum is not only used in
Russia, but also -widely in the western
>art of our own country. It is thrown
n a spray across a lighted wick and
nto the furnace, where it ignites and
generates great heat. Its use in this
ivay is almost unknown in the Eastern
States except in steam launches. The
)dors that arise, however, are said to be
;o disagreeable as to make its successful
:mp!oyment in these still very doubtful.
The Mexican Financier says thnt one
)f the greatest disappointments to the
projectors of new railways in Mexico is
hat the country through which the lines
un doe3 not attract settlors. Imini,'rants
are rushing by tho thousands to
he Northwest, but the fertile lands and
'avorable climate of Mexico have little
ittractioa for them. And tiiey win not
;ettlc there until land may be bad at low
ates. They know that the land of
Hexico is owned in huge tracts by a few
)eople; in fact, Mexican authority states
hat the land of the country is in the
lands of some 50,000 out of 10,000,000
>f people. This monopoly of the soil is
he cause of -the backward state of things, i
Among the recommendations of the
;hief signal officer in his annual report
s one for the establishment of signals to
jive warning of approaching tornadoes
md other violent storms. Lieutenant
?inley, who has made this subject a
ipecial study, says that the storms which
:ause the greatest loss of life and prop;rty
in this country can be predicted at
east from five to eight hours in advance.
U present the means of giving warning
>f approaching danger of this kind are
>f the most primitive description. In
he regions in which severe storms are
lot unusual proper arrangements for distlnvinr*
eirfnftlo orA rrroo t l rr* nnrfo nn/>
""Jlu6 "'fi""'" ?* '" fc> 1
ind would result in saving many lives
knd much property.
Mr. Hutchinson, the apiarist, writea to
he Farmer#' Review that the raising of
ilants for honey alone is not profitable,
f sweet clover or something of that kind
an be made to occupy waste spots in
ilace of the weeds usually found there,
veil and good; but good, tillable land
an be more profitably occupied. Tha
jest that can be done in the way of raisng
honey plant is to raise some crop that
3 profitable aside from the honey it may
iroduc?. The writer knows nothing
Viah iq hpttpr for this numose
ban alsiko clover. He one season had
hree acre9 of this clover, and from it
line colonies of bees gathered 300 pounds
>f honey; or, to be more exact, they
gathered enough honey from it to enable
00 pounds to be extracted.
An experiment has recently been tried
?t the Inventions Exhibition aquarium
>y Mr. W. August Carter, with a view to
liscovering how far fish are prone to
leep. After close examination he found
hat among fresh wuter fishes the roach,
lace, gudgeon, carp, tench, minnow,
,nd cattish sleep periodically in common
vith terrestrial animals. The same intincts
were found to actuate marine fish,
>f which the following were observed to
>e equally influenced by somnolence?
riz,: the wraBse, conger eel. dory, dogish,
wrasse bass, and all species of flat
ish. Mr. Carter states that, so far as he
:an discover, the goldfish, pike, and
ingler fish never sleep, but rest periodi:allv.
Desire for sleepamonsr fish varies
iccording to meteorological conditions,
rish. do not necessarily select night time
or repose.
A New Musical Instrument..
The "Pyrophone" is the latest musical
nvention. It is a novel instrument, contracted
to make music from gas. Its
:ompass is three octaves, with a key>oard
and it will be played in the same
nanner as an organ. It has thirty-seven
jlass tubes in which a number of gas
etsburu. These jets, placed in circlcs,
:ontract and expand like the fingers of a
land. When the small burners separate
he sound is produced, when they close
ogether the sound ceases. The tone de)ends
upon the number of the burners
>nd the size of the pipes in which they
mm sn thfifc bv a nareful arrangement
,nd selection all the notes of the musial
scale may be produced in several ocaves.
Some of the glass tubes in which
he jet3 burn are nearly eleven feet high.
Vnen the "Pyrophone" is played upon
eith the keyboard it gives out a rich,
ull tone of remarkable delicacy, and to
, great extent resembling the human
roice.
The Miquelon islands, four in number,
,t the lower entrance to the gulf of
it. Lawrence, are all that remain of the
nee vast^ possessions of France in North
Lmeiica." A steamer makes fortnightly
rips to them from Halifax. The resilent
population is about 6,000. St.
?ieric is tho capital and DfiacUwl toivji.
A CALIFORNIA ROMANCE.
Strange Story- of a Couple who Were
1 ong- Separated.
Last week, says a San Francisco correspondent
of the Sacramento Bee, the
residence of the late Judge Delos Lake
was sold at auction for $17,000. It cost
to build it over $.50,000. It has rather
an interesting history. It is u monument
to a woman's folly and a man's weakness.
In the early days of California, a Massachusetts
farmer started for the land of
gold, after selling his farm and dividing
the proceeds with his wife, who, with
her two little girls, he left in Boston.
His wife did not hear from him for a long
time, and her money being expended,
she had a hard struggle for life, but she
went to work bravely, making fancy
horse blankets through the day and giving
music lessons in the evening. In
this way she managed to feed aud clothe
herself and children and save a very
small sum every month. Communication
between the Eastern States and California
was not so direct nor sure then as
it is now. and kIio thought that the letters
she wrote might have gone astray,
and a iike misfortune had prevented her
from hearing from her husband. Then
came a letter, short, and containing no
intimation of what he was doing or how
he was prospering in his new home.
After this she received one or two letters
.it lonfr intervals, and then thev
" o /
ceased forever. She wrote continually,
but received no answer, and she feared
he was dead. She gave up all hope of
ever seeing him again, and devotod herself
to the education of her two little
daughters aud the saving of money for
a rainy day. Years went on, and she
did not hear from her natural protector
until a lady returned to Boston from
California on a visit to some friends. The
anxious wife called upon the California
lady, and inquired of her whether she
had" ever heard of her husband in that
wild western land, aud was surprised to
hear that the lady knew him, aud that
he wis considered quite a rich man out
there. She obtained his address and
wrote him, but received no answer.
Then, like a brave Yankee, she sold her
belongings, took what money she had
saved, and with her little children
started for San Francisco, arriving there
with $7.50 in her pocket.
She inquired for the si!ent husband,
was directed to where he Jived, and
presented herself to him with her two
little ones clinging to her skirts. You
would imagine that a first-class circus
would have ensued, but it was not so.
lie received her calmly, as though it
were quite an ordinary thing to have a
wife and two children drop down on
him from the clouds, and expressed
himself as pleased to see them. She was
a spunky little woman, and no doubt
"gave him a bit of her mind," but it
affected him no more than the cry of
poverty does a millionaire. He gave no
reason for his long silence, and she
found on looking over his trunks, all
her letters unopened.
When she asked him why he acted in
the way he did, he only answered, "I
don't know." That was all?he did not
know?and she docs not know to this
day why he remained silent. lie had
formed no other ties of any kind here,
and there was not the slightest evidence
of a woman being at the bottom of it
all. lie was a good-natured, kindly,
well-disposed man, honest and industrious,
not given to any vices, and had accumulated
quite a large fortune. He
was stopping at a hoiel when she arrived,
but he immediately, on her arrival,
took a house, furnished it, and
they went to housekeeping.
The wife, for the first time in many
years, enjoyed the comforts of a good
home and rest from hard labor, but she
was net content. She could not let well
enough alone, and determined to make a
show with the fortune which the. old
man had quietly accumulated. The first
thing she must have was a fine house,
then fine clothes, a carriage and servants.
The old man pi obably thought he had no
right to refuse her anything under the
circumstances, weaKiy acceuea 10 aer request,
and began the erection of a fine
house on a fifty-vara lot in the then most
fashionable portion of the city. The
house was finished and furnished, and a
big hole was made in his pile. Then
came expensive living, and then, in a
little while, a visit to the East to show
her friends the fine lady she had blossomed
into in California. She went East,
sujnmered at Saratoga, married one of
her daughters off. aud cut a dash generally,
returning home to find a mortgage
on the new house.
The old mau had not?as is usual with
rich husbands when the wife is away?
gone in for dissipation, but a misfortune
just as great overtook him. He got into
the hands of sharpers and they robbed
him. Loss followed loss until he was
hopelessly involved. Most of his money
was gone and his spirit was broken.
While he remained at his old business of
making bricks he was all right,but when
hn crave nn that olebian buisncss, and
? ? o ? j- (? #
started out into what the wife considered
a wider sphere and one more in keeping
with their wealth, he was all at sea and
was soon a financial wreck. He wa9
still silent with reference to his affairs,
and the extravagant style of living was
kept up until the inevitable crash came
and the sheriffs red flag floated from the
graud mansion.. To day the old couple
ate poor and the husband an invalid.
They had their time, at least she had.
The house came into the possession of
Judge Delos Lake, then judge of the
criminal court in this city, where he
lived until he was carried from it to be
placed in a narrower house in the city of
the dead. There seems to be a fatality
about the house, for his family left it
almost as poor as that ot its builder.
A Knoningr Old Rabbit.
Here is a story which beats the old
dog stories hollow. According to M.
Laborde, a writer in the Heme Scienlifique,
a rabbit, one of the ordinary tame
species, was bought for purposes of experiment
at the Physiological Laboratory
in Paris, and after a portion of the
facial *erve had been removed it wa9
left to run about the laboratory. It very
soon recovered from the effect of the
operation, and was for four years M.
Laborde's affectionate companion. It
would await at the top of the stairs his
arrival in the morning and would sometimes
run to meet him. Whenever it
had the opportunity the rabbit would
jump upon his knee, and was as fond of
caresses as a cat. During the progress
of an experiment it would sit on the operating
table watching the nroceedin??s
with every appearance of interest. Bunny's
chief delight, however, was in a
microscopical examination. As soon as
M. Laborde put his eye to the microscope
the rabbit would pcrch on his
shoulders and endeavor to take a peep.
This wonderful animal lived on terms of
the most affectionate friendship with two
dogs belouging to the laboratory; but
when a strange dog arrived he invariably
turned it out and sometimes chased
it along the street. Nor did he show
himself very friendly to unfamiliar biped
visitors.?Pall Mall Gazette.
It take? eighty men and women to
make a postage stamp. i
JOSH BILLINGS.
i IXcminiicci?os of the rate Humorist
?Specimens of fits Fun*
I was sitting down to lunch one raorni
ing .at Dclmouico's with a literary friend
when there entered a gaunt, tall man,
with stooping shoulders, a slouching
walk, iron gray hair and a pair of keen,
bright eyes, who deposited liimse f upou
a chair at the nearest vacant table. My
friend touched my foot to direct my
attention to the new comer and softly
said: "Do you know who that is?"
"No." "That's Josh Billings," he
??? V* In4<P11 nnlr liim fr? lAin na "
J X. U tto IV A-JL A l XJk w \J> JW1U ItOf
My friend arose, went to hjs table,
grasped his hand and in another instan:
I was introduced to the author of a vast
amount of mis spelled wisdom. "How's
every bone in your body?" said Josh to
my friend. Then, turning to me, he said:
' iilad to see you, sir. Just arrived from
England, eh? Bring my cutlet and
colfee here," he went on, addressing the
waiter, as he inserted his loug, lean legs
under the table.
Jo3h rattled on, telling us strings of
adventures and now and then uttering a
quaint, wise thought. One remark I
remember. He was saying that a friend
of his had been on a spree for a fortnight
and that he had a whisky head on h;m.
"What's that/" I asked. "Why, his
head was so swollen that he had to work
on his hat with a shoe-horu."
Josh was extremely fond of animals
and had a cat at his housa in Albany
which he gravely addressed as "William."
I suggested that that was a dignified
name for puss, as cats were usually
called "Tom" or "Tip" or a quick, short
r.n<?nnmeif.
o
"J3ut that's a special, swell, blueblooded
specimen of the feline race, I
wish you to know," rejoined the humorist.
"Recently, poor fellow, he has hid
fits, and since then I call him 'Fitz- William.'
"
Before I left New York I callcd on
Josh Billings with an album and modestly
solicited his autograph. He took
it on his knees, gave his mouth a comical
twist and wrote:
''Thrice is he armed who hath his quarrel j
just." The Bard of Avon.
"And four tim93 ho who ge!s his blow in
fust." J. Billinos.
"Mr. Billings," I said, at parting, "it's
astonishing how your wise saws and
comical straws float all over Christendom.
One can scarcely pick up a paper
in any part of the world where the English
language is spoken but there, in au
odd corner, nestles one of your little
grains of philosophy. You keep yourself
well before the public." His reply
was compact, pertinent and to the point:
"Yes, sir, I keep myself just sufficiently
in the public eye without putting it out."
I complained to Josh one September !
night some years ngo, when on this side j
of the Atlantic, that the nights were so !
abominably hot I couldn't sleep. '
"My dear boy," he replied, "you I
ought to accustom yourself to these
American alterations of heat and cold.
Summer and winter I always sleep with
three quilts. In summer, I may remark,
I put them under me."
When Rubenstein was over here he j
ras presented to Josh, and the pianist j
vas careful to impress the American with '
accounts of the nobility of his ances- ;
tors. "My family," said he, loftily, i
"croes back to the time of the Crusaders, j
My researches in this direction enabled |
me to discover that one of my ancestors j
nn/tAmnnniArl PmnorAr T-tavhurncQfl " !
UV/^UU1|;UU1^U l>U^I X^iU^/Ul VI vwwvf,
Josh smiled, and affecting to be immensely
impressed immediately remarked:
"On the piano, of course."
A good story is told of the humorist
being thrown, on one occasion, among a
batch of students in a country town near
New Haven. Ho was tramping along
with a rusty yellow dog, and entered the j
bar-room of a hotel for some refreshments.
A group of the Yale lads '
chanced to be there on a frolic, and irn- j
mediately interviewed Billings, whom ;
they evidently mistook for a farmer, j
They inquired with affected interest after j
the health of his wife and children, and
Josh, with counterfeit simplicity, gave
'hem a graphic account of his family andarm.
"Of course you belong to the church?" J
.sked one of the boys.
"Yes, the Lord be praised, and my j ,
father and grandfather before me." i j!
"Now, I suppose you would not tell a ! j
lie," said one of the students. <
"Not for the world." j
"What will you take for that dog?" t
pointing to Josh's cur, which was crouch- s
ing beneath his chair. 1
"I won't take twenty dollars for that |
dog." L
"Twenty dollars! Why, he's not worth ; |
twenty cents." j
"I assure you I would not take twenty a
dollars for him."
"Come, my friend," said the ?tudent,
who, with his companions was bent on
having some fun with the old man.
"Now, you say you won't tell a lie for e
the world. Let me see if you will not j t
do it for twenty dollars. I will give a
you twenty dollars for your dog." ii
"I'll not take it." v
"You will not? Here! let mo see if 1
this will not tempt you to a lie," added J
the student, producing a small bag of; i:
half dollars, which he built up into small j t
piles on the table. Josh was sitting by ! I
the table, with his hat in his hand, ap- ! ii
parently unconcerned. "There," added j A
the student, "there are twenty dollars, } d
all in silver; I will give you that for the j o
animal." Josh quietly iaised his hat to b
the edge of the table, and, as quick as1 a
thought, scraped all the money into it s<
except one half dollar, and then ex- ii
claimed: 1c
"I won't take your twenty dollars! tl
Nineteen and a half is ns much as that a:
dog is worth; he is your property". p
A tremendous shout from his fellow b
students clearly showed the would-be i o
wag that he was completely sold and I ci
that he need not look for sympathy from j w
tlinf-. minrf-pr sn hn cnod-nnturcdlv ac- Ol
knowledged himself beaten.
Jo9h was impatient of the airs and J
graces of the Bostou shop girls. I went j in
with him into a store in Washington j le
street one day, and he asked one of the : c<
maideus if she was the attendant who j fe
had sold him a handkerchief the day j hi
before. j cl
"I am the saleslady who served you," tc
responded the reduced empress in ni
fringed hair and ringed lingers who pre- i cl
sided at the counter. I cl
"Well," said Josh, "I will take a hj
dozen more, and as I wish to get them }1(
to my waslierlady at once I will get you b<
to send them to ray carriage around the d<
corner. My coach gentleman cannot get bf
to the door just now in consequence of re
the cart of the ash gentleman blocking m
the way." ni
in
It was Josh who originated the phrase of
that is now a national expression?"The i dc
Knainaai onri nf ft WAsn " and whwn hn ! di
said to a lady, "It is better to be iv
laughed at for not being married than to an
be unable to laugh because you are," it be
leems to me he uttered a sentence, to m
use one of his own expressions, "bulging
out with first-class wisdom."
Three little points of interest before I
close. Josh did the greater part of hia
best work after he was forty years of age,
and the New York Weekly paid him $100
a week for a column of "Sayings." and
he wore the long hair that trailed down
his back and flowed over his high coat
collar to conceal an unsightly wen on his
neck.?Howard Paul, in Philadelphia
Times.
Dojs A?ainst Mountain Lion.
Jack Gaylor, a noted hunter of the
Wind mountpins, Montana, has a breed
of dogs famous for their fierce courage
and active strength. They are a pure
cross between the bloodhound and the
best English bulldog. Many bear, elk,
and mountain iion have these dogs
brought to bay and assisted in slaying.
Ilair and Hide are the two foremost
representatives of the gallant and efficent
breed.
ftot long since Mr. Gaylor was aroused
from sleep during the night by a piteous
bawling in his calf pen and an uproar
among his dogs. Hastening out, he perceived
by the light of a brilliant moon
two lions making off. They had come
for veal, and had nearly succeeded in
getting it. The next night Mr. Gaylor
watched his corral, but the wary brutes
did not come. The following night
there came from the snowy summits ol
Wir.d mountains a light snowfall. The
old hunter was now sure of his game.
Taking Hair and Hide in the early morning
he sallied forth. In a short time his
course was crossed by the trail of the
whole lion family. The dogs at once
sped along the freshly-tracked snow
and soon the game was touna in a
leafy covert of pine and quaking
aspen. Pushing his way through the
snow-laden boughs the hunter came in
close sight of the family. The lion was
standing on the trunk of a huge fallen
pine; his long tail swingiug from side to
side, while his eyes flashed with green
fire. The lioness was crouched a short
distance oft at the foot of anether huge
tree, in the forks of which couli be seen
two active whelp3. Ilair and Hide at
once sprang for the lion and the savage
fray at once began. With a long leap
the lioness came to the aid of her mate,
but a ball from Gaylor's ride broke one
of her shoulders, and she retreated, spitting
with pain and rage, to the vicinity
of her whelps. The combat between
the royal brute and his fierce and active
foes now became terrific. Gaylor watched
the lioness and the fight. He was sure
of his dogs, and wanted them to kill
ptipttiv nlnnp Fv(>n if he had been
disposed to lend a helping hand such was
the fierce confusion of the struggle that
he would have been as liable to have
hurt his faithful friends as their savage
foe. After a ten minutes' struggle the
deep growls of the lion became more
faint; soon they ceased entirely, and the
proud hunter beheld his two brave dogs,
one at the broad muzzle of the mountain
king, and the other at his wide haunch.
The lion was dead and fairly "stretched
out," to use an expressive westernism.
Hair and Hide were dripping with gore
from a dozen different wounds, both
deep and sore. They were on the fight
still, however, and wanted to attack the
lioness at once, but Gaylor would not
allow them to do any more, and a ball
from his rifle stretched the lioness in
death. Each of the whelps demanded a
bullet, and the whole royal family had
paid the stern penalty of their tyrannical
customs. ? Chiaigo Tribune.
A "Stick" of Importance.
From a Gold Coast (Africa) letter to
the Boston Bulletin, wc take this extract:
The guide knew his ground, and was
A* Knmn aq fA miMfumonfa frnm
pi;! ICUbiJI ai/uuuiu ag bv IUV? vutvuvo *AVU4
this time out. He led on to the entrance
of the African village proper, halted for
a "custom," and waited till the messenger
from the chief put in an appearance. A
medium rigid carbonate soon showed
up and the customary dash was made up
and sent with some flourish to the
receiving officer who examined it, and
tinding it all right, forwarded it to his
bigness, who in turn sent us his "stick,"
which is "safe conduct" through his
loimtry, and with quite a deal of flourish
said stick was presented. Now this was
ao ten cent cane, but a jeweled piece of
jbony beautifully carved and curiously
nounted. This stick serves many purposes
in different African conntries. In
lome provinces, Cape Coast, and in
!act anywhere on the Gold Coast from
Dommenda to Whydah, the "stick" is
;be oath test and its presenta;ion
is the same as a bond signed by the
lender. Contracts are ratified over the
'stick."
The guide received the "mark" as a
)ledge, and turning a cunningly wrought
igure toward me, I saw the emblem and
mew we were in a country where we
hould find friends.
A Japanese Plant Care.
On the bodies of almost every Japanse,
and sometimes on every part of the
>ody, one sees round white spots. These
re the moxa spots, produced by burnQg
the flesh with a species of plant,
yith the object of curing some affection. ,
"his is a universal popular specific in ;
apan, which is its home, although moxa \
3 to found used elsewhere. It was in- ,
roduced from Japan to Europe by the 1
'ortuguese and Spaniards,and the name ,
3 Japanese. In May the leaves of the
irteraisia Chinensis are powdered and (
ried, and the mass cut into small blocks ,
r pieces. One of these is laid on the
ody ana set on fire, burning slowly ,
way. At first it naturally produces a j
jre, more or less deep, according to the ?
itensity of the heat; soon this heals, t
saving the scar for evor. The belief in j
le efficacy of this process is universal,
nd Dr. Baelz thinks, not altogether mis*
laoeJ, for the moxa acts much as our
listers do. Moreover, from the accounts
f those who have gone through the
jre, it is by no means as painful as one j
ould anticipate from the heroic nature
f the remedy. c
A Remarkable Case in Surgery.
An accident so remarkable occurred c
i this city a few days ago to one of our r
ading merchants that it has no rc ^
)rded parallel in civil surgery and but g
tw in military experience. The patient ](
id been playing and romping with* his a
lildren. After he had sat down to rest, fl
) his ama/.euient he found that he could ^
at place his back close to that of the c
inir. Finding no aDnarent cause in the
? 1 4 *
liiir for this obstruction he requested ei
is wife to examine his back, and to her
)rror she discovered a hideous protu- 0
;rance in the region of his right shoul- S|
;r blade quite six inches beyond the jj
ick and adherent to it. lie at onca ^
paired to his physician. Dr. C. Cole- hj
an Benson, on Pearl street, who recog- ^
zed the lesion as displacement of the ^
ferior angle of the scapula by rupture ^
the superior fibers of the latissimui ^
jrsi muscle, and quickly reduced th? ^
slocation so as to alleviate the excess- jj.
e pain and distortion in the shoulder ^
id arms. Appropriate bandages have a,
ien applied, and the case is progressing V(
ost favorably.?Baltimore American. ?
WORDS OF WISDOM. *
Good manners and good morals art
sworn friends and firm allies. 1
Chance is a word void of sense; noth*
ing can exist without a cause.
A good name is your best trademarkf
It can be equaled but not counterfeited*
He that waits for an opportunity oj
taking his revenge, watches to do him? self
a mischief.
Many people believe that where a great
deal is said something must be true; the)
split the difference.
On the diffusion of education among
fiie people rests the preservation an(f
perpetuation of our free institutions.
^CT _ _ 1 ? . . i '
i ou can prove your peaigree Dy youi
parents, but your good qualities will be
recognized without any such evidence.
To excel others is a proof of talent;
but to know when to conceal that supe*
riority is a greater proof of prudence.
To find friends when we have no need
of them, and to want them when wfl
have, are both alike easy and common.
To succeed in any of life's endeavors,
be our talents what they may, we require
perseverance, decision and tenacity of
will to reach the lull measure of suecess.
A man who can give up dreamiogaad
go to his daily realities; who can
smootheu down his heart, its love or woe,
and take to the hard wm-k of his hand;
who defies fate; and if he must die, dies
fighting to the last?that man is life's
hero.
Men are more civilized by their pleas*
ure than by their occupation. Business
dispensed not only with ceremony, but
often with common civility; and wt
should become rude, repulsive, and un?
gracious did we not recover in our recre*
ations the urbanity which in the bustle ol
our labors we disregard.
The first cracks made in the smootlj
surface of friendship are as dangerous
as those which come to the sheeny satin
garment of a young married love. Free- *
doms of speech and exactiuguess of at?
tention, neglect of due forma, - liberties
beyond the license of just intimacy, all
these are cracks to be stopped in the he*
orinninor rlcp t.hfi will r.ome when '
no masonry of tact or of affection can
repair them.
A Clock Wound Once in 400 Dajs.
"This clock after once winding will go
for 400 days." The foregoing inscrip*
tion, neatly printed on a card, appeared
over a small timepiece exhibited in an
uptown New York jeweler's window. A.
reporter for the Mail and Express asked
the manager of the store to explain hovi
the clotfk worked. lie said: "It is just
an ordinary clock, but it will go for 400
days."
"Do you mean to say that if started on
New Year's irorning it will run into
February ot the next year before stoppine?"
<rThat?s just it. It takes about three
times as long as an ordinary eight-day
clock to wind up, and then if stood on
an even mantel piece or a sideboard will
run as I have said."
"Are the works at'all peculiar?"
"Well, it has a very strong spring of
course, but 1 don't tfaink the work9 are
any different from other clocks. It is
an imported instrument. Just look at
it."
The clock stood about six inches kigh,,
and was about three inches deep and
broad. The works were very like any.
other clock, except the pendulum. This
consisted of a heavy round weight suspended
on a very fine wire. Instead of
swinging this weight revolved, twisting
round in one direction and then reversing.
It took just four seconds for this
clock to tick once. >
* ?i i -t
"inis is tne longest running ciouk
ever made, and is a great novelty," said
the manager. "There is a great demand
for clocks just now in all shapeg. Some
you see we have mounted on earthen- .
ware, some represent nautical, some
sporting, and all kinds of scenes."
Drooping Shoulders.
This is a serious evil. It comprise!
both appearance and vitality. A stooping
figure is not only a familiar expression
of weakness or old age, but it is,
when caused by careless habits, a direct!
cause of contracted chcst and defective
breathing. Unless you rid yourself of this
crook while at school, you will probabls
go bent to your srave. There" is one
good way to cure it. Shoulder-bracei
will not help. One needs, not an artifU
cial substitute,but some menns to develop
the muscles whose duty it is to hold the
head and shoulders erect. I know of
but one bull's-eye shot. It is to carry a
weight on the head. A sheepskin or
other strong bag filled with twenty to
eighty pounds of sand is a good weight.
When engaged in your morning studies,
either before or after breakfast, put this
bag of sand on your head, hold your
head erect, draw your chin clo?c to you*
neck and walk slowly about the room*
coming back, if you please, everj
minute or two to your book, or carrying
the book as you walk. The muscles
whose duty it is to hold the head and
shoulders erect are hit, not with scatter*
ing shot, but with a rifle-ball. The bone?
of the spine and the intervertebral sub?
rtance will soon accommodate themselves
to the new attitude. One year of daily
practice with the bag, half an hour morn*
in# and evening, will give you a noble
carriage, without interfering a moment
tvith vourstudies.
It would be very difficult to put into a
paragraph more important instruction
:han this. Your respiration, voice and
strength of spine, to say nothing of your
ippearance. will find a new departure ia
his cure of drooping shoulders.?Dio
Lewis.
Foretelling the Weather.
When distant obje;ts stand out very
ilear in the atmosphere a storm is near,
f there isn't any clouds in the sky it
nay mean more of a storm than if tha
:louds are plentiful. "When the stars are
lumerous and bright that's a sign of bad
weather before long. If you see shafts
>f red in the east just before the sua
ises there's going to be wind soon, per.aps
the next day. When the swallow#
y high it is clear weather. If they flj
3w look out for rain. If pigeons hang
round the coop it means rain; if they
y away and fly a great deal the weather
rill be dry for at least a day or two. Of
ourse, I mean well fed pigeons. A
tarved bird will look for something ta
at, rain or shine.
If a male cat stays in the house of hia
wn accord at night look out for a
torm in less than twenty-four hours,
f a she cat washes her face befora
reakfast it's a sign of rain. The aver
?e dog will come in under shelter sir
ours before rain, no mattei how clear
le sky is. If the pains of glass in your*
indDws are cool when the weather is
'arm rain is near. No matter hovr
arm you may be in the city on a sum*
ler's day if you can breathe freely th^
eather will continue clear; if you feel
3 if you needed air, or as if choking/
ou can be sure of rain in a short whila?:
Brooklyn Union* j