The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, January 12, 1887, Image 6
skating song. *
Oh, come on the ice with me to night
'Tis smooth as a polished crystal sheet,
The moon is at full, and by its light i
Y/e dance to the ring of steel-clad feat;
And wo laugh?ha! ha!
And wo shout?ho! ho!
While swif5 as a swallow's flight we go.
Oh. not in the close and crowded rink,
With huudredvof staring eyes to see,
And jostled aad tripped, w.th click and
clink,
But out on the river, broad and free:
And we laugh?ha! ha!
And we sh-jut?ho! ho!
While swift as a swallow's flight we goThen
on with your blades of polish?d steel,
As keen as the mowers whettod scythe.
And iirra as the sole from toe to heel.
They ring o'er the iie with music blilha;
And we laugh?ha! ha!
And we shout?ho! ho!
While swift as a swallow's flight we go.
Around and around, or right or left.
In sweeping and graceful curves we
P^y,
Or straight as the line by arrow <jleft
We speed on our course for miles away:
And we laugh?ha! ha!
And wo shoiit?ho! ho!
While swift as a swallow's flight we go.
And oh, for the glow on brow aud cheek,
The tin ;Ie anri thrill of frosh, keen nir;
It bring-; us tbe vigor atid health we seek,
And purest of pleasure, free from care:
And we laugh?ha! ha!
And we shout?ho! ho!
"Whileswift as a swallow's Sight we go.
?D. Ur. Browiitll in Youth's Companion.
ARTIST AND BURGLAR.
Owing to the difficulties surounding
the --tudy of burglars few people may be
dnsMcred competent to write upon the
subject. The birgl.ir is a modest, retiring
beast, whose habits an: not familiar
to the general public, lie is nocturnal
and generally very icticent when the
eyes of the world arc upon him,and those
person? who hive survived a midnight
visit from him have in most cases been
incapable of a conscientious, scientific
scrutiny 01 ins mannerisms ana moae 01
action.
The real dramatic quality of an interview
with a large, live, rampant burglar
has been heretofore unappreciated and
the whole sub ect is involved in a d?.ep,
seal-brown obscurity. I may be, therefore,excused
when I say that I had Ixen
a total disbeliever in the cxixti-n e of
this ereat ire, and was more or less inclined
to think tho whole thing a sunmyth
of the old Greek mythology
handed down from our ancestors.
I awoke one ni ht an 1 saw a short,
thick set man with an old-go'd beard
standing at my ebony dressing-case. lie
was so intent in his scrutiny of the contents
of iny jewel casket that he did not
ob erve that I was awuke and regarding
him ivith great curiosity.
I had a big seven-shooter in my overcoat
pocket, but tint was hanging on a
chair beyond my reach. I concluded,
with that quick mentil action for which
my friends admit me famous, that I
would preserve the peace and use mild
measures, as I noticed he hai a pistol
himsel.
After I had studied his physiognomy a
while I coughed a slight apologetic
cough to draw his attention to th'j fact
that I was noticing him. lie started
slightly and pointing his pistol in a cursory
manner in my direction, siid: '*Ah!
good evening. You will pardon me for
disturbing you. I assure you it was
quite accidental. Nothing, sir, was
further from my thoughts." "'Who are
yoaf' I inqnircd. for I began to realize
liis painful situation.
Ht; struck a match on the rosewood
bedstead and lighted the gas. Then ho
handed me his card very politely ynd
with the erace of a Duke. I look it, and
-sitting up in bed, read as follows:
; T. Mauhice Float, :
; PROFESSIONAL BURGLAR. :
: OfDco Hoars froai 12 to 3 a m., :
; Sun lays Excepted. :
"Oh,"' said I, "you're a burglar, ch!
How d d you get in?" ".Just opened the
front door w.th a key and walked in.
You don't suppose I was tired in a sky
TOCKet, ao you l copie sevin iu imvu
such strange idea*. Still, as there are
somo twenty ways to enter your house
I'll ovoilook your i?noran. e. "Worst
guarded house I ever saw," he went on,
"but it's large; affords scope to a mind
like mine, which delights in breadth and
> ^ space. May I trouble ycu to tell me
N where our watch i<?"
I told h;m and he placed it in his
pocket w th a deferential bow.
"You don't seem to have much plunder
'or me." lie le-umcd. "Hain't you
any bonds?" I told him that I was just
out oijbontls and th-it the house had been
burg ari/.ed the week before "Ah!"
>aid he. "I thought so, and a poor job
they made of it, too! 1 never saw a
more bungling piece of amateur work.
8'>me m 11 seem to have no idea of finish
and delicate techuhjue. They lack enthusiasm.
sir. Where did you hint ihat
your diamond studs wero, or didn't you
pay? Thank you, don't disturb yourself.
I'll get them." And he opened the
bureau drawer and took them.
I felt had about his taking the studs
and watch because I noticed that he already
possessed those necessary articles.
"I meant to a-k you, but Iliad forgotten
it in the press of busings," he resumed.
"Have vou a do^'?" I told him that the
dojj was in the cellar, ile smiled, and
Njudded: ' I'm gbd of that, as I am not
fond of docs and generally avoid them."
"lou will pardon my niriosity," I
, said, after"a pause, during wh ch he put
the alarm-clock into his overcoat pocket;
"U t as 1 nevernaa an opportuuuy uc- ;
fore of talking to n real burglar, I'd like j
to a?k how burglary pays."
"Well, ' ho replied with a si^h, "lliis
has been a hard winter for burglars, but
tilings are lo king up. i eople are be- j
ginning to get v. hristmus presents in, I
but a wedding night is the racket for |
roe.' ICxcut>e my s<lang, please. It's a
hard life tho i?h?you've no idea the
trouble people make for us sometimes,
and it takes the fine point of! th:- 8?n3ibilites
of most natures. But. thank
goodness I'm cot lost to all feelings of ,
humanity. I don't steal from babies in |
the cradle."
"What were you," I inquired, "before '
you became a b rglar<"
"I was a policeman," he answered,
haughtily.
"1 don t often strike a house as poor as
this," h-went on. "Was that silver
?AMA ?A? liorl 2 Wlitf
WHUJI IUC UUIJ uug juu uw?i .. ..J
you wear a gold one? And, by the way,
have you such a thing as a gold lead pencil?
I've wanted one for a long while and
never could seem to come across it " I
told him I had nothing but a stylographic
pen It was in my vest pocket.
He too'; it. He also took a bottle of
dyspepsia mcdirine and mv tooth-brush
aud stowed them away. I asked h:m if
| he ever toox a fellow's clothes. "Oh,
no," said nc quickly, "i maw tne line at
clothes, especially such clothes as yours.
I h:ive mine made to order in England,"
and he glanced proudly at his overcoat,
which was Imed with sealskin. Then he
ask'd rac if I had any wine in the house.
I told him that I only had beer. lie
didn't want beer, and then he said if I'd
come down into the parlor he'd play on
the piano and sing a song called: " Put
More Wind in My Doughnuts, Dear I
Mamma."
I said heartily, and with perhaps superfluous
emphasis, that I was puuished
en H14I1. Then he wanted to know wnen
the first train left for New York in the
morning. He lingered around awhile
and then picked up and opened a volume:
"Mrs. James Brown potter's Select
hecitations," putt'.ng his pistol in his
pocket. This was the first chance. I
waited till h'i bec.imo absorbed and
re ached for my seven-shooter. Then I
pointed it directly at his diaphragm and
said in a slow-music sort of way: "Excuse
me, bat I mu>t compel you to hold
up your hands." He was quite surprised
?in fact, he looked very mortified, and
I was afraid he felt that I was acting
harshly, but he held up his hands. Held
'em up hard, too, for be seemed anxious
that 1 shoulfl notice right off that they
were up.
I got up and took his pistol from his
pocket and then I said: "Just shell out
my watch and studs." He shelU-d.
Then I remarked: "I'm afraid I must
ask you to part with your own watch aud
diamond studs, as I perceive they are
better than mine." His watch wan a
heavy gold repeater and the studs were
about four carat-! each. I als > took his
large diamond collar-button and a big
ring.
4'I yearn for a seilskin overcoat," I
remarked, "and yours will fit me, I
think." He gave me the coat, and then
I urged him 10 take of! hissuit. He was
rcluctunt to part with it, but he felt
that it would have been impolite, no
doubt, tn refuse me. I gave liini an old
suit that I wear when 1 go fishing,-and
ail old army overcoat. I have a t nder
heart. Some men would have sent him
ea clishabillo into the cold, cold world,
but I'm not that kiud of a man. lie
looked like another man when he was
dressed. I wouldn't have re.ognizcd
hitn. After he was clad in ray secondbest
suit of cl?thes 1 ushered him down
stairs and opened the frout door.
"I then remarked: "I'm so sorry that
you must go, but I suppose you have
other engagements." lie replied with
much fc.'liiig, and there were tears in
his voice: "Yes. I must leave you now,
but I've had a real nice time; en oyed
myself immensely. I3y the way, may I
inquire what your busiue-:s is?"
I told him I was a mere newspaper artist.
His face fell. "(Jreat heavens!"
he exclaimed. '*1 made a mistake and
got in the wrong hou>e! Serves me
right, by gosh! You won't mind mo
asking you your occupation, but I kind
o' thought you were perhaps a burglar
yourself at one time. Good night."
Call again," said [.
"I will,"he replied cordially from the
front gale, lust as liector, my big brindie
bull-terrier got out of the ccllar and
made a wild, soulful rush after him into
the outer darkness.
I heard the soft patter of footsteps for
a moment and then all was silent. Hector
returned a few moments later with a
large section of the basement of my fishing
trousers in his mou.h and I judged
that he had overtaken and sampled Mio
burglar.
I countcd up the profits of the midnight
visitation and and this is how I
cauie out: Three gold watches, two
chains, three diamond studs, one collarbutton,
one pistol, two knives, one ring,
oue silver tobacco box, one gold cigar
cutter, one meerschaum pipe, one gold j
match-box, one gold card case, one ivory J
comb, one pack of cards, one paper chew- .
ing tobacco, seven cigaiS, one silk handkerchief.
one "Guide to Burglary," third
edition; in silver, $330 in bills, fourteen
government bonds, 64 cents in postage
stamp*, one suit of imported clothes,
one sealskin overcoat, and one pair of j
rubber overshoes. It was a largo aud
elegant night for me.
1 ki'cp Hector in the cellar now and alwa}-s
leave the front door wide open every
nigut. There is a beautifully worded
motto just opposite the front door w th
this legend in large, distinct red letters:
: Burglars ord iall v welcomed at all hours.:
: VV. H. "MCDouoall. :
?Nw York World.
Tragic Use of a Telephone.
If we arc to believe a story told by the
Belgian correspondent of the friyaro, the '
telephone has recently been put upon
novel duty in Urussells under cirtumf
I- 4. m.% AIah
stances 01 an exirciuuij nuynj uuauitiitii, i
A young laily of that city mistook, it appear*,
the civilities of a young man who
visited at her parents' house for attentions '
of am >ro serious nature. To her great
surprise and mortification, however, she
learned some little time ago that he was
engaged to cnc of hor friends. Shortly
after she m ule the discovery the young
mnu received a summons to place himself
in telephonic npport with a friend who
hud something to say to him. The friend
turned out to be the young ludy who loved
him u-it wisely but, as the sequel shows, ,
too well. Without waiting t me on pro
liminarics, she a-ked him point-blank if it
was true that he was going to m irry Mad
i iuoLsello He replied that it !
was quite true. '' Then good bye forever
" were the uext words which reached
his care, and they were immt-di tely followed
by the report of a firearm, The
poor girl had lodged a revolver bullet in
her heart. She had thus, with the aid
of the telephone, made the man for whom
she had sacrificed herself as-ist at her
suicide, while putting it absolutely out
of his power to do anything to j.reventit.
?Si. James's Gazette.
A Story of the Princess of Wales.
A pretty story is told about the PrjnWnlna
TKft (tAonn ftt if. Wftd tl\P
.Mansion House, the occasion a ball
given some years ago, and to which,
among other "invites,'' was a provincial
Mayor, who had the honor of being in- \
troduced to the pretty I'riocess. The
talc iroes, and the truth of it ia vouched
for. that upon his worship asking,against
all rules of etiquette, the Princess to
grant him a dance, she replied with a
t >uch of delicate humor: ;tI do n>?t
know whether you will not be rathei
afraid; some of my children are only
just recovering from the measles. and
y u might take th'm." The wearer ol
the civic ch;iin, however, was e u;il tc
the occasion, for bowing low, he replied
11 should bo delighted to take anything
from so charming a source."
? _
The Age of Man.
The soldier's age is cour-age;
The shopman's age is till-age;
Tho gamWers age is cribb-age;
The doctor's age is pill-age;
Tbe traveler's age is lugg-age;
The lover's age is ooit-age;
The lawyer's aue is dam age;
The preacher s a ,e is verb -age;
Tho ilrunkard s age is rumm age;
The cook s age uiu^t be pott-age;
The German's age is saus age;
But the b st aud worst is mirri-age!
?TidrBitx.
AGRICULTURAL.
TOPICS OP INTEREST RELATIVE
TO FARM AND GARDEN.
Winter Work in the Orchard.
"When the farmer is drawing out manure
from his yards to spread it where it
will do the most good, the orchard should
not be forgotten. A frequent mistake is
: made by forgetting that the orchard is a
permanent crop which pays well for
| good treatment, and that the failure to
I recompense the owner is mostly due to
[ his neglect of his fruit trees. Just now,
too, it will repay well the trouble taken
to secure the trees against injury by rabbits
and mice, and also by hogs and
sheep which may have the run of the
orchard. To wrap the trees with old
newspapers and tie these securely will
bo a safeguard against the rabbits and
1?* 1 * nVAtt]^ n<nr/ir ho
mice, duc nogs auu succp auuuiu ui..v.
permitted in an orchard except when
the wormy fruit is falling, and then they
will do good service and will not injure
the bark.?New York Times.
Cost of an Acre of Wheat.
A contemporary indicates the cost of
an acre of wheat under two separate systems,
viz:
No. 1, Not No. 2 Well
lertilized. fertilized.
Plowing $1 25 $2 25
Sowing and harrowing 50 6>
Seed 1 70 1 70
Harvesting 1 50 2 50
Stacking..., 75 1 25
Ihieshing 1 10 2 60
Selling 1 00 1 00
Manure, barnyard, 12
tons 6 00
Total $7 80 $1? 95
The unmanured acre produces fifteen
bushels at a cost of $y.80, or 52 cents
per bushel. At 80 cents per bushel the
crop would bring $12, leaving a profit
of $4.2U. The manured acre produces,
forty bushels at a cost of $K:.95, or 42.5 |
cents per bushel. At the prico named
the crop would bring $32, leaving a balance
of $15, or a profit of nearly three
hundred per cent greater than in the
first instance. Nor is this all; the crop
of fifteen bushels makes a straight hole I
into the capital stock of the farm; that
is, its stored fertility. It is like selling
off a corner of the farm for cujrent expenses.
The manured land, on the contrary,
is as sound as ever, and is in some
respects like its owner, a little richer.?
Cincinnati Commercial.
Marl as a Fertilizer.
Professor James, of the Ontario (Can.)
Agricultural College, in a recent bulletin
considers marl In the light of a fertilizer.
With statements made by Professor
James that may be serviceable to farmers
generally are the following:
Marl is frequently found below deEjosits
of muck or humus in swamps and
ow land' sometimes quite near to the
surface. It is then of a slate or bluish?L
"x- ? ?n/1 anA?rtxr /3nrlronoH a
Willie UUIUf, ncv ouu opuujjj,
little on top from the overlying dark soil.
Upon exposure to the air it dries to a
wnite crumbly mass. In some localities
the marl bed is found exposed high and
dry ready for immediate application to
land. When found lying lo , and soaked
with water it ought to dug out and exposed
to the weather. Fall is the best
time for excavating. Let the marl lie in
heaps until spring, when it will be found
thoroughly pulverized by the winter
frosts.
To distinguish marl from clay pour
apon it a small quantity of any acid, and
if it be ma:l it will effervesce. To test
its value quickly, place a small lump in
an earthen dish and pour upon it a little
hydrochloric acid; the less residue undissolved
the better the sample of marl.
The effervescence is caused by the setting
free of carbonic acid gas from the
carbonate of lime, of which marl is prin
J mu-i 1 i;m(l
CipallV composeu. lue|l.'Hiuuuailc vi UU(
or calcium is the most valuable ingredient.
In addition will be found small
quantities of sand sili-a, oridcs of iron
and aluminum, and occasionally small
quantities of phosphate of lime. Marl,
however, is a rine fertilizer, and is used
is such.
According as the lime, clay or sand
predominates the marl is classed as calcareous,
clayey or sandy. The Ontario
marls are ca careous.
As before noticed, marl is a lime fertilizer
Phosphoric acid when present
adds to its value slightly. Its effects
are either physical or rhemical. I hysically,it
seems to give lightness and looseness
to soils, and thus rcnde.s them
more workable. C hemically, it sorves
either as a direct food to the plant, as in
the case of grasses, or indirectly by its
action in rendering available the organic
compounds in decaying vegetation?humus
for instance.
The nitrogen of swamp muck is unavailable
in its usual condition. Thoroughly
d'ained the land and apply sixty
to sevcnty-nve uusueis ui man poi auv.
On light soils about twenty-five bushels
per acre, sufficient to help the decomposition
of organic matter and 3iipply lime
to the crop-*. For grasses, aaa nbout
two bushels of salt per acre and apply as
surface dressing. .For clay lands, apply
by the wagon load: har ilv too much cun
be added ( se muck also, if available.
Farmers having mirl deposits will do
well to test their value on different lands.
Small plot* in a couple of fields will bo
sufficient. Those not having them should
examine their swamps and marshy lands,
and dig a few feet beneath black soils.
Lime, in the form of marl or carbonate,
should not be used with manures. In
the changes resulting, ammonium carbonate
is formed; this is a volatile compound.
Lime, in the form of sulphate, i.
e., gypsum or land-plaster, is best; it
--1--1--1. _ .t.Ul.
produces ammonium suipuaie, u unuio
compound?in other words, it fixes the
ammonia.
The e is no market for marl at present
established in auada It* value depends
upon its situation and the nature of the I
surrounding land. The commercial value |
of lime :n fertilizes is sometimes plnced I
at to per ton. At that rate, )ntarin dried i
murls are worth from S*i to $: per ton.
Rich marls are sometimes utilized for
burnt lime.?New York World.
Farm and Garden Notes.
Save the best potatoes in the most prolific
hills for seed.
Don't waste food on cows unable to
make a decent return.
If you want the flow of milk to keep
nn nlwAvs milk ciean.
~r% ? ?J ?
If you starve your hens you will not
fatten your egg basket.
The quality of fond has much to do
with the qualitv of mi k.
Guinea fowl9 arj excellent sentinels
agiinst hawka, cats and other "varmints.
'
Make your b itter sn good a9 to carry
it clear out ot competition with all substitutes.
The richest mess of milk is not usually
the largest, nor yet is it always the
emalle t.
Dnn't fo-pet that milking in u foul
stable or vnrd allt;rts the flu.d ami imparts
an in uri us taint.
There is nothing so attractive ornamental
an a shi ely, well-kept hadge,
?nd it add* va ue to the larin. '
Old, well-dried corn should be fed
first, so as to give the new corn as much
time as possible for drying.
Know by test, and not by guess,
which is the most profitable cow in your
herd, and why she is the best.
Weighing a cow's milk will not cause
her to give any more, but may cause her
lx.
owner 10 suusutuie ? ucuur uue.
Turkeys are profitable birds to raise,
for they arc marketable, tn some extent,
at fair prices throughout the year.
Manure from the hen-house is the best
fertilizer usually produced on the farm?
equal to much of the commercial guano.
Using a Y-shaped trough, with slaked
lime in the bottom, for hog feeding, is
said to keep off cholera from the porkers.
Put yourbruiD into this winter's dairy
management, and see if you cannot make
it the best dairy winter in your experience.
The farmer who gets the most eggs is
the one who gets up earliest and secures
to his flock a good, waim breakfast by
daylight.
In the matter of raising crops cheaply,
it is safe to lay down the principle that
large crops cost less to the acre than
small ones.
In foddering milch cows mix fine feed
and coarse fodder together by giving a
foddering of one kind and the next foddering
of another.
Ashes are best .for recuperating moss
grown pastures, but bone m-ty be profitably
employed where the pastures have a
foir sod and a good stand of grass.
Brood sows, with litters of pigs, require
plenty of pure water to drink, with
sloppy food, gras? .or cut hay steamed
with shorts?middlings?twice aday.
Many farmers swamp themselves by
hiring more labor than they can proitably
employ, but more lose money by not
employing intelligent labor to stimulate
the production of their farms.
The m st successful shepherd of the
future will have his mutton on the market
as regularly and in as good condition
au his wool. The same man uvill make
both products as good as possible.
A writer, whose head is level, savs:
"Clover ie a great aid in cutting down
the cost of a bushel of wheat. Wheat
should never be sown without it. It
ventilates the soil and tears it to atoms."
Oats come the nearest to the filling of
" * t?A .
ail requisites 01 a comp etc iuuu. jcu, u
they are crushed, the additiou of a little
pea meal would be an improvement in
cases where extra exertion is demanded.
Winter is the time when young trees
are injured by rabbits, micc, etc. A
mound of earth will keep off the latter,
and wrapping, above the roots with
tarred cotton cloth will discourage the
rabbits.
Young stock, once allowed to run
down, never fully recover from the effects
thereof. Of inferior feed and lice
the irst generally brings the second.
Poor leeding is scandalou3; vermin
abided it is brutal.
The American Agriculturist remarks:
No animal does as well as it should th t
is not comfortable. Study th? comfort
of all kinds of stock. Regular feeding,
.wholesome feed, pure water and comfortable
lairs are essential.
The American Ponltry Yard recom- J
mends a cross between the Langshans
and the Partridge Cochins lor good laying
qualities and rapid growth. A cross
of T.angshans and White Leghorns is
spoken favorably of for the same purposes.
"Extra food will make cows milk
longer," says the Germantown Telegraph.
And yet there is such a thing as
surfeiting old Sukie, and throwing her
into a fever. Warm bran mashes and
clover hay run through a cutting-box,
mixed, will promote milk-giving.
Horses kept in stables will be all the
better for a run in the barnyard an hour
every day, where they will not only exercise,
but roll in the straw and clean
themselves. Stable-kept horses need
some extra gruouiiuj;, uuv Luciuuijuutcu
condition under this management will
repay it.
In this country it ha3 been demonstrated
to the satisfaction of many critical
minds that a limestone soil has a
benetici il effect upon animals bred and
reared by physical tasks. A limestone
soil bears on its bosom t!ie finest development
of the humau. race, physically
speak, ng.
Do not allow stock, especially work
horses and milch cows, to drink ice-cold
water. To take the chill from water
costs so little that it is hardly to be considered
in the expense account. Some
of the more advanced stockkeepers now i
will not allow any of their stock to drink ,
ice-cold water. I
Nothing is quite so good for young
pigs as their mother's milk. When old
enough to wjan take o f the best and
put them in a separate pen, with abundance
of good feed. Keep the remainder
with the how one or two weeks longer,
or until \hcy have evened up somewhat
with the others.
Stable manure should be protected
from the weather. Exposed as it often
is ill the open barn-yard, it is soaked
by the rains and baked l>y the sun, and
its own fermo itation burns up that
which the weather does not reach. Barns
with good ce lars under the stables can
- ? ' I
be best arranged ior toe proper vuic wi
manure, especially the liquid portion.
Where cellars are not, low pools in the
barn-yard should be provided.
A Blow from a Tiber's Pftw.
A man-eater, which for six months had
been the terror of the neighborhood, had
been traced down, and was seen to creep !
into a ravine. The beaters were at once
ordered o!f. as they could be of no scr?ice
and might be charged by the tiger,
1 which had already been rendered furious
I by a wound. L'nfo tunately these men
are in the habit of half intoxicating
! th mselves with opium before d iving
the tiger from his efuge, and one of
them who had taken too large a dose refused
to escape, and challenged the
tiger, drawing his sword and waving it i
defiantly. In a moment the animal j
sprang upon hhn, dashed him to the
ground with a blow of his paw and
turn- d to bav. After a series of desperate
charges he was killed. The hunters
then went to the assistance of the
wounded man, but found that he was
past all aid; the lower pan of his facc.
including both uws, having been carried
away as if by a cannon ball. The ter
ritic effect of the uingle blow indicates
the power of the limb that struck it.
Had the blow taken effect a few inches
* " * * * ?1 iitaii]/) Ko c
higner tno wnoie 01 mc wuu ,u ,
been carried away. By a similar b'ow n J
tiger h;8 been known to crush the skull
of an ox so completely that wh n
handled the broken bones felt as if thej
were loose in a bag. ? Good Words.
J The amount of money in the United I
State*, exclusive of copper and nickel, j
was recently estimated at $> #,3e0,0 1:
in gold, $ SO-,784,233 in silver, and
$40,000,000 in paper; total, $1,48 , '
101,20 .
! FAMOUS FASTERS.
MEN WlIO HAVE GONE LONG
PERIODS WITHOUT FOOD.
A Man Who Reduced His Sire by
a Diet of "Sea Puddinff"
?The Longest Fast
on Record.
The great publicity given to the question
of fasting now before the world,
j excited by ?ecent successful attempts to
i sustain life. ha3 induced mc to state a
I few facts not generally known in reference
to this matter. That life can be
supported and preserved and the ordinary
dutios performed on a diet comparai
tivcly simple and limited in amount, is
an admitted truth and accepted by most
persons who have investigated it. In
I7ly there lived a certain Thomas Wood,
born of intemperate pari-nts. Up to the
age of forty he indulged himself to excess
in meat of a fatty nature and in large
quuill/ies Ul LLLUOO U1 tlWXCO Vi uigi wukaiuing
fatty ingredients, such as cheese,
butter, and sugar, his beverage being
strong a!e. He gradually developed into
a man of enormous dimensions, and
complication after complication of disorders
arising day by day, he became
alarmed at the inevitable, which stared
him in the face. He gradually cut down
his diet by degrees, d.m.nisbing his beer
to begin with, and then those diets containing
bugar, and also animal flesh. He
ultimately allowed himself only pudding
made of sea biscuit. With this
change of food all his symptoms disappeared,
he became metamorphosed from
a monster into a man once again. The
curious fact is that he abstained from all
drink of whatever description. Tee "sea
pudding" was composed as follows:
, three pints of skimmed milk; this being
boiled, was poured on one pound of sea
biscuit broken into pieces. This comEound
being boiled in a cloth for two
ours, it became a pudding of sufficient
consistency to be cut with a knife, and
on this alone he subs:sted for two years,
enjoying splendid health, and with an
absence of all those disagreeable symptoms
before mentio: eJ. The quantity
taken was pounds at five o'clock in
1 ' v:- 1
me morning us Ilia ureunmai., auu tuc
same quantity at noon for dinner; after
this hour he abstained from all food
until the next day. The case of Wood is
beyond all doubt, as two clergymen, two
doctors and the church warden in the
, parish where he lived all testified to the
i truth of the facts.
Tracing the history up of fasters, we
come upon that of John Brown, a miner j
in Ayrshire, lie li"ed buried in a coal j
mine without swallowing anything but
small quantities of chalybeate water
sucked through a straw, this being sufficient
to sustain life even in a contaminated
atmosphere, the nervous excitability
being thus diminished, and thus mitigating
the cravings of hunger. This is
a most interesting case, and bears comparison
at the present time with the Italian
fasters and their wonderful drinks.
At Liege some colliers were shut up in a
p.t for twenty four days, and sustained
their lives with water alone from a fountain.
Experiments were made and the
water analyzed. It was found to contain
upon evaporation nothing extraordinary, (
and only lime, or what is ailed '"calx."
The same constituent is supposed to have
e isted in the fiuid which supported John
Brown, as before alluded to. Why
should this not be the same in case
of the Italians??water impregnated
with lime suspended in solution.
I only give it aa a theory, and I think
a correct one. Elizabeth Woodcock :
in 17ir.-, lived eight days on snow water.
Cecilia Steers, in 1820,1 ved fifteen days
also on snow water alone. This came
from a well thirty feet deep, and which
had been made for the purpose of obtaining
chalk. Here we have another instance
of the "calx." In 1705 we read
of three women in Italy, buried for
, thirty-seven days in the snow, living on
snow water also impregnated with lime.
' In 17?5 a Yorkshire gentleman, aged
sixty, absolutely was incapacitated from
tak.ng fi;od for thirty-six days. When
in health ho weighed 210 pounds, and on
the thirty-second day of his fust hs was j
reduced to 138 pounds in weight. Dr. |
| Wilton rclat03 a case of an abstainer liv-1
ing seventy-two davs without nourish- j
ment, on which day he died exhausted. '
He lived only on water flavored with ;
orange-jui c. Henry "Welby, in 1037, j
for forty years, though of great wealth, !
never tasted either fish, flesh, or fowl, j
He died at the ripe old age of eighty- <
four. J>uring the whule of his retirel
ment his chief food was oatmeal gruel !
and a salad of cool herbs.
The longest time recorded in the an- |
nals of physic in whir.h a man existed
without food was sixty one days, the ,
case being that of a young man driven j
i mad from overwork. Alexander Benei
dictus mentions a case at Venice where a
I m;in lived forty-six days without food.
| The history of France states that Louis ;
. the Pious Emp ror of France, who died
in 8<0, existed forty days without food
or drink. Albertus Magnus gives us the
record of a woman of Cologne, who lived
for seven weeks only on water. It is J
said that Democritus lived to the age of;
10</ years, and that in the latter part of !
i his life, for forty days, he lived on j
smelling honey and hot bread. Kaulin j
' relate another case where fifty-two days I
of fasting took place on water alone. !
The Me ical (Jazette lor -inly, 1833, contains
two remarkable instances; one of j
these, a patient, is stated to have lived I
six years without f wallowing any food, I
the mouth being occasiona ly moistened
with water, tea or whey, !
waich was not swallowed, but spat '
out. In the other case, which j
was originally recorded by Professor
Iiicei, of Turin, ai inability to take food !
existed for three years. There are many
traditions in all histories relating to the
means employed by various individuals
to support life during danger and privation.
The Indians of Asia and America,
when they are bound for a long journey
whe:e there is a possibility of such a
I state oi' affairs evisting, prepare them!
selvesfor emergencies as follows: They
I mix the juice of tobacco with powdered
I she.Is in the farm of small balls, which
they retain in their mouths. The gradual
solution serves to counteract the unea-y
craving for food, it haviug been
proved by experiment that clav introduced
into the stomach relieves hunger.
Iu 1 i.O a woman living at Yarmouth
! created considerable excitement and
- 1J
amazement ia wie wuuu, uuc n?o imported
to have lived for sev.n years and
a half witho.it tasting fuod, her iipsonlv
moistened with water.
The manuscript department at the
| British Museum contains a quaint descrip- i
I tion of the f isting of Jane Hodges, i-ho j
i lixed in the year l(i(5i). {-he suffered
from hy-t-jrical aphonia and neither ate
nor drank for nine weeks, so it is reported.
She was undi-r a delusion, and
stated that "she fasted for the sins of
the people, and that she was the savior
of the nations."' She ultimately recovered
and touk food. In 18.0 we read of
the 44 Lancashire fasting girl," Ellen Sud vrorth,
aged ele en. This is. however,
not one of clear abstaining from solid
food, as she lived on liquids and soup3.
' \ V
??? i.
We now come to Dr. Tanner, the Amed>
can physician, who in 1880 commenced
his fast of forty days' duration.. He apparently
completed this, and was stated
to have benefited to the extent of ?2>V
000 by it as a commercial speculation.
?Pall Mall Gazette. ^
Punishments Under Early Laws.
Laws were established in Massachusetts
earlier than 107ti, for at the first
meeting of the court of assistants, at
Charlestown, August 23, 1630, (before
Boston was founded), they estab'ished
"rules of proceeding in all civil actions
and instituted subordiuate powers for
punishing offenders." Curiously enough,
the first law proposed was "for regulating
the price of wages for workmen, under
a penalty to him that gave, as well as
to him who received, more than the
limited price," which was two shillings
per day for carpenters, bricklayers, sawyers
and thatchers. Other laws were
also adopted, punishing idleness, encouraging
industry and requiring military
exercise of every man. Nevertheless,
the "subordinate powers" above
mentioned?namely, the judges?had
recourse to the "reason and understand
ing which God had given t&ern. in
punishing offenses they professed to be
governed by the judicial laws of Moses,"
and they actually, as in Connecticut,
made the "blue laws."' To illustrate
thi3 state of things may be mentioned
the following cases, taken from the public
records, where many are to be found
of similar character:
John Wedgewood, for being in the
company of drunkards, to be set in the
stocks.
Daniel Clarke, found to be an immoderate
drinker, was fined 40s. [Moderate
drinking was the custom. 1
Sergt. Perkins ordered to carry 40
turfs to the fort for being drunk.
Capt. Stone, for abusing Mr. Ludlow,
calling him "justass," is fined ?100 and
prohibited coming within the patent
without the Governor's leave, upon pain
of death.
Thomas Petit, for suspicion of slander,
idleness and stubbornness, is censured
to be severely whipped, and to be
kept in hold.
Hobert Shorthorne, for swearing by
the blood of God, was sentenced to have
his tongue put into a cleft stick, and to
stand so for the space of half an hour.
[An original punishment. J
But one of the most remarkable and
severe punishments was that of .Edward
Palmer, who, "for his extortion in taking
?2 13s. 4d. for the woodwork of
Boston stocks, is fined ?5 and ordered
to be set one hour in the stocks," which
he had made.
There were various other rulings,
coming under the same category of blue
laws, no doubt, which were enforced,
some of them probably only once, on the
occasion for which they were made.
Stealing from the Indians was punished
in various ways. In one instance
recorded, Josias Pkijtowe, for stealing
four baskets of corn from the Indians,
was required to return eight baskets,
fined ?5, and thereafter to be called
Josias, and not Mr., as formerly.?Boston
Lerald.
Persian Superstitions.
There are many and curious superstitions
in Persia. Without meaning to
exhaust the subject I will give you some
of the mora neruliar ones. The "baade
khademwhich is approximately rendered
in English by the term of evil eyet
though literally it would be translated
"evil step," plays the largest part in this
line. The evil eye is believed in by every
body in Persia, the highest as well as the
lowest. A baby is healthy and pretty.
A friend of the mother admires the little
ODe in glowing terms. That would be
"baide khadem"'?or evil omen?and
would be taken as a diabolical design to
injure the child if the phrase "JSenshlil-'
lah" (may it please God; were not added
to every eulogium. An old woman looks
at the child from the right-h ind sideevil
eye again. The child atumbles early
in the morning?evil eye. The father,
by accident, speaks first to the baby at
sunrise?evil eye. A girl, pretty, wellmannered,
healthy, with a gool dowry,
is wedded to a man. The first business
undertaking of the young benedict turns
out disastrously?evil eye! Nothing
could induce that man to keep his young
wife. She is "baade khadem" to him,
and she's got to go, willy nilly. As the
divorce law is such that it virtually lies
with the husband alone to keep or send
away uis wife, and as the coremony it
self is very simple, and requires neitner
time nor money, he soon gets rid of her.
Nobody blames him. "She was 'baade
khadem' to him," everybody says in explanation.
and that's enough.
The Shah has appointed a very able
and deserving man to an important position.
for which his previous experience
and his capacity eminently qualify him.
On the same day the Shah happens to
overfeed himself with lamb aud raw cucumbers,
and has an attack of colic. The
new appoiniee is blamed. He is "baade
khadem," and incontinently gets the
sack. Every thing is judged in this way.
If a man has made n fool ol himself and
run to too gre;it expense in entertaining
a guest, for instance, the blame is put on
one of the ladies of his andaroun, on his
head servant, or somebody else, and that
one is made to suffer. Astrology <moonadshim),
the horoscope (talch). the rosay
(tesbini used as an oracle, and the Koran,
the poets, especially baadi and Hanz,
used in the same way play also a most immio
in f.hp liffi of the modern
Persian. In all doubtful cases, called
technically "istekharet," recoqrse is had
to one or the other or to all of them. A
man is in doubt whether to purchase a
hor<e he desires. Dealer and customer
resort to the nearest house of a mollah
and the Korun is opened at raudora. If
the eye happens to alight on such a passage
as "Happy art thou, oh >on of the
faith, for Allah will bless thee," the purchase
is effected. If not, not.
A Machine for Melting Snow.
The London Times directs attention to
a system of snow melting devised by Mr.
P. Lyon, of London. When It is considered
that a fall of snow six inchi'8
deep over one mile of road sixty feet
wide amounts to 5,86(5 cubic yards, the
impossibility of removing it promptly by
means of horses and carts is at once apparent.
'J he principle of Mr. Lyon's in
AitAin nnn Ko ^onlf
VCOtlOU 19 IrliUb UiC OUUH V/C4U l/W uww?? I
with in the roads on which it falls when
it is in a light and tieecy condition, and
therefore easily melted. The apparatus j
consists of a wrought iron tube about s
thirty-five feet long, having a furnace at |
one end, and a short length of vertical
pipe for a ch mney at the other. The
tube is made in lengths of six feet, and
each length is tapered so that they all fit
into each other, and are closely packed
for transport on wheels. "When a fall of
snow occurs the apparatus is to be laid
along the gutters of the roads to !:e
cleaned, the width occupied being about
four feet. A fire is then to be lighted
in the furnace, the beat from wh ch will
pass along the horizontal tube, which has
a flatly arched top. The snow is then
to be shoveled on to the heated tube,
which will melt it, the resulting water i
flowing away to the nearest gully.
POPULAR SCIENCE 1
The proportion of land to water upon I
the globe bu been usually reckoned a* I
1:2.?6. But exception is now taken to l
these figures, as the amounts of each in l
the vast unknown polar regions are too ' i
?aI anvtYiinflp lilro an 1
e&iciisive IU aumn W4 ??
accurate ratio being established. 1
An English w'gmaker has invented an ]
electric hat which he claims is a perfect s
cure for nervous headaches and nenral- I
gia. The apparatus consists of a small I
battery placed inside the lining of Vx
ordinary silk hat, with the flat terminals
cutside the lining, so that when the hat ^ .
is put on a current of electricity passe* jv
between the terminals and diftoses it- i ,
self all over tho wearer's head. }
A letter from Decatur, 111., contains a ' ;
brief account of the killing of birds by
the electric light towers. Mr. J. H,
Coonradt, Principal of the high school,
has determined ten different species j
among the thousand or so birds killed.
The number killed is qaite remarkable.'
nor less so is the variety of species, par-i,
ticularly at the time of year (September)^ :
when the event oct aired.
A reindeer's antler pierced with alarg^L
hole and beautifully decorated withca**-^*
ings was exhibited recently by M. A.
Gaudrv before the 1 aris Academy of
sciences un ono lace are iwo tea lb,
fish, and three twi s of plants. On' tho
other are two eel like, slender animals,
three indeterminable animals, and an insect.
This is a fragment from the rein- . !
deer age and wjis discovered in the Jfl
& ontgandier Caves, Department of Cha- ' - J!
rente.
The particular office of flies appears to i.
be the consumption of those-dead and " .t!
minute animals wh se decaying myriads
would otherwise poison the air. It was '/
a remark of Linn ius that three flies ','i
could consume a dead horse sooner than.
a lion could. He doubtless included the
families of the three flies. A single fly,
the naturalist td s us, will sometimes
produce 20,000 larwcy each of which, in
a few days, may bs the parent of another / ?'
20,000, and tnus the descendants of tliiee
flies would soon devour an animal
much larger than a horse.
A striking illustration of the fact that
the least is known about the most common
things is sho . n by some recent sur- ~
vcys of the Pyri-nces Mountains. A large
lake hitherto unknown, and the largest - ;M
among these mountains, has been discovered
on their northern slope Ijing in ' $
a gap between two (hains of reaks, y
themselves supi osed heretofore to oe one |:'; j
and the samo. Also on the south and -f I
southeast sides several ranges nearly ten . J
thousand feet high were described, none j
of which had e e- been noted on any
geographical m:ip of this region.
In a recent: ddress to the British Geo- ,g
loerists' Association, Mr. W. Topley
stated that the land-area of England if ' ^
probably a* great as 500 years ago, although
certain coasts have been m^cft
worn by the waves. On the coast of -S
Bolderness ard Norfolk tnesea is gain- riJ
ing on the land at the average rate of '{%
from two to 1 hree yards a year, while
during exceptional gales the loss in places
has been many yaids in a single day. The
eroded material is deposited elsewhere,
as in the estuaries of the Humber and -''
the "Wash, forming new land quite equal "l
in extent to that carried away.
' .
Some Big Salaries.
Curiosity, writes a New York correspondent
to the Cleveland Uader, led
me to make note of the salaries paid b; t
the railroad and telegraph companies. 1
The New York Central Hail road pays I
ChaunceyM. Depew, it is said, $40,000 * J?
a year; the Erie paid <>:r. Jewett alike
amount and presumably the present in-i /Jy
cumbent is satis;>id wi.h no less. , The \ ?j|
revenue which men like Jay Gould, and
Cyrus lieW aud llusscll Sage derive :.'q
from the position of directors of many A
corporations, should be better, than a : *
munificent salaiy. Each company pay? jjgfi
its directors *5 for attendance at meetr > icings;
this alone to a man with as many- "
1 runs ill ills lilt?aim uu mc jjiuuuu-m y,
has Mr. Gould, cmoonts in a tear to
princely si m. Alter the railroad Presi' v'^
dents, perhaps the best paid class of men
are the Presidents of the large insurance * i
companies. The President of the Equitable
1 ife and the New York Life each "*1
receive $00 per year. Tae poorest . v<!
paid men are cn the daily papers,tae larg
est salary in New \ork city of the.class-.
mentioned being that paid to Mr.
David M. Stone, editor of the Journal of . 4.'y
Comn.erct, which is $l-,00< a year. The
ministers of the gospel and the judges ,'Ji
rank between the corporate o ticcra and
the journalists. } r. Beecher, $~'0,i)0n a
year; Mr. Talmnge, $12,00'f or $15,000, ^
for it has been several times changed. |j
However, it must not be thought that
the salary is the only consideration wwhich
the minister receiv< 8, for I have :v
heard it reckoned that Mr. lie-'cher'a receipts
from marriage fees ha e averaged
$10,000 per.year; >.r. Tairaage's half as ; v|
much. They are both voium'nouiv I
wrimni nnfl fluent lectti ers and should
not be in want. The judges of the
courts in New Yo:k, the supreme Court, 'i
rec.ive $7,f>0(; per year, :o which in the $
county of New York it added $10,000
per year, making a judge of that court
in ftcw "iork city the re ipient of "fl
$17,500 for each year of his judicial - .J
labors. 1
"I Need Thee Every Hoar." J
"Preachers have edd experiences of
which they say very little,said a Chir . *!
cago minister recently. "When I insti- v
tuted my Sunday evening meetings I attributed
the lar?:e audiences to interest
in religious services. One night as I an- <1
nounced the hymn 'I Need Thee Every -i]
Hour.' 1 distinctly saw a young lady in I
one of the front scat* nudge a vounggen- ' I
tleman at her side. Three seats back I 1
saw a young gentleman nudge a young I
lady, and t re seat* back I saw nnothez -M
gentleman nudge a young lady. Theset J
m- to thinking, and the next Sunday J
night I gave out the hvmn with my eyei %jm
wide open, and as I uttered the word* |
'I Meed Thee Every Hour,' 1 saw several I
people nudge several other people, and 1
my notions'of the zeal of these ladiea I
and gentleman changed They came to J
church to be in each other's company.? I
Chicago Inttr- Ocean.
"A Cfone Sucker.'* I
In a certain city in ( onneoticut there I
lived a very email boy with a liberal V-pa
share of smalt ''original sius." It
chanced that one d;iy i.e wa> playing io 9
front of the house and overheard some ;jfl
street gamins using s ang expressions -fl
profusely. He ran oh is mother crying, 9
Mamma, mamma, ""-wlia's a 'gone Jfl
sucker'?" > ow mamma did not in the J
least Know, uuc as ucr son nan oeen ,
disobeying her that morning, she took
advantage of the op;>ortu ity to point a
good moral. "A go e sucker, my son t
"Why, it meant anaugl tv little boy who
doesn't miid his mother.1' Tint night,
as . ohnnie was saying hi* p avers, the
full measure of his s r. seemed to occur to
him with awful sig ifica ce, and stoppi
g short in the usual petition, he cried
out in the abandonment of his reirorse, v
"Oh, Ltrd, I'm a gone sucker .
Harper1* Magazine.
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