Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE BETTER CHANGE. The road that hath no turning Makes travelers sick with yearning; To hearts where sorrows enter Come joys that sweetest sing; A world without a winter Can never know a spring. Man's hope no fear can fetter Where best may yet grow better; Faith builils no walls of granite Where time is but begun. And life, a changing planet. Runs round a changeless sua. Oh bliss of expectation! sweeter revelation Boyond these fading pleasures, Beyond these falling tears. Where love's new-given treasures Grow never old with years: Above all harm and hating. Through pain of want and waiting, Comes holy comfort's wooing. In words of heavenly breath, "This grief is not undoing, This dying is not death." Faith's martyrs, love's annointed, Hope's toilers disappointed, Shorn lambs to shelter slumber From earth's oppression passed? All, with God's star-crowned number, Shall .find their meed at last. 1 To hold that future firmer Is wise to do, nor murmur Because its entrance only Lies through the mortal gate. The soul oannot be lonely Where friends so many wait. Death's deluge boundless swelling, 31ay drift this transient dwelling, When fear's foreboding raven Hath flown across the sea, The dove of peace my haven Will find, and come to me. Atii] I shall rest seewelv At anchor there, and surely God's hand will break my prison, And I ray heaven shall view When, for His children risen, He niaketh all things new. ?Thcron Drown, in Youth's ^Companion. [ A TERRIBLE BIDE. BY WILLIAM M. GRAYSON. "Now then, Dave, I reckon that's about all. Don't fergit theterbacker, an' don't fail ter inquire if thars any letters for Abram Bartlett," and glaring at Dave over his great horn spectacles, Mr. Bartlett leaned over the counter and slowly repeated the last clause. 4'Yes, sir," answered Dave, struggling bard to keep back a smile, for 3Ir. Bartlett's anxiety about letters was a standing Joke at Dagon's Cross Roads, as he was never known to have received one yet. "And where arc you expectin' a letter from. Mr. Bartlett?" Dave asked. The storekeeper's brow wrinkled and he hesitated between anger and amazement at such audacity. Before he could reply the door opened and Squire Dagon came in. *'Going to Wysanking, Dave?" he asked abruptly. "Yes, sir." "Now sec here, my boy," went on the quire, pulling out a bulky-looking pocketbook. "I think I can trust you, and I want you to attend to a little bussiness for ine. I ought to go to Wysanking myself to-day, but I find it impossible. Ia this pocket-book is the money to pay the. Joggers over in Powell's Valley. There are three hundred dollars in currency there, and I want you to give it to Ned Hark ins, the boss. He must have it today so he can go up to Towanda and get ft changed to pay the men off on Saturday. You will find him at the postoflicc. You have an inside pocket there. Put it in that, and button your jacket tightly. 1 guess there is no risk," and the squire Jooked uneasy for a minute. "Of course mot," he added with a laugh. "Nobody knows you have it. Better go now. No time to waste if you want to get back toaight," and with his own hands the aouire nut the monev in Dave's Docket i - - - i" and buttoned up the ragged jacket. "I'll deliver the money all right, Mr. Dagon,'' he said resolutely, as lie started toward the door. "Now, Dave," called out Mr. Bartlett, "don't fergit ter ax the postmaster if there's any?" but Dave was already out of hearing. "Dave IJunter is an honest lad." observed the squire, lighting a cigar. "The money will be safe enough with him, I guess." Mr. Bartlett took a pinch of .snuff, and drawled out slowly: "Waal, yes I reckon ke is. But he's gettin' impudent, squire, 1 declar' he's gcttisi' impudent." The squire only laughed, and with a cheery "good morning," mounted his horse and rode off to visit his lumber camps. Dave felt as happy as a lark as he trudged off down the valley, pulling an empty sled behind him. His father had keen killed by an accident several years before at one of Squire Dagon's lumber amps, and ever since Dave had been working hard to support his mother. He did odd bits of work for Mr. Bartlett, who kept the rude store at Dagon's Cross Roads, a backwoods settlement five miles from the river. Nearly every week he went to wysanking across the Susquehanna, and brought back such supplies as the loggers purchased of 3Ir. Bartlctt. But Dave was only sixteen, and without Squire Dagon's kindly help he would have struggled in vain. "My gracious!" he said half aloud as he slapped his hands to hisbrcvist, "what a heap of money! If that was mine I'd buy mother a new dress au' a shawl, an' lots to eat, an' I'd go to school at To wancla, an' have an overcoat, an' a breech loader gun an'?" but Dave's air castles suddenly vanished as he looked up and saw where he was. For beyond him ran the valley, the beaten footpath through the snow growing dimmer and dimmer till lost in the hazy distance. But above him, up the steep mountain side crept a zigzag road. This led up to the summit, and thence along the crest to a lumber slide overlooking the river. Both the slide and the road had been in disuse for several years, but au icy crust on the s:;o\v, anil Dave knew that by taking this course he could save a good mile at least. He remembered also that near the slide a gradual footpath led down to the river. He hesitated only an instant, and theu started up the jnountain. He rested a while at the top, and then -went on along the ridge. On both sides was the unbroken forest, and here and there great masses of stone piled up in fantastic shapes. It was a wild, lonely place, but Dave had not a thought of fear. He could hear the mountain tortent brawling over its rocky bed away down in the ravine, and some birds were chattering in the woods. It wis toward noon when he crossed a ; small clearing that lay half a mile back I from the river. The ridge at this point ; widened and formed quite a vast plateau, j Dave walked fast, and before long he i could see the end of the wood less than ! a quarter of a mile away, and the great | pines that rose on either side of the slide, i He was still thinking of all the delightful possibilities that lay snugly next to his breast, and wondering if ever he would be the owner of so much money, when a gruff voice broke in on his reflec-! tions. liT-Tiilln lllfilinv!" Leaning against a great rock 011 one I side of the path was Elaek Mike, a worth- j less fellow, who had been discharged from one of tl.e camps nearly a week before, and whom every one supposed to be far away by this time. A broad grin distorted his ugly face, and his hands were thrust carelessly into his pockets. Dave's heart sank within him, but he repressed all signs of fear, and with a cheerful "How dy do. Mike?" he walked past. "See here a ininit, me lad," and Mike stepped out in front of him. "I'll trouble ye to hand over that money, me boy. You're too young intirely to be 'trusted wid such valuables." He leered at Dave with a chuckle, evi dcntlv anticipating an easy victory. Dave trembled as he realized how com- j pletely he was in the rulnan's power. "Be quick, now," added Mike. "I'll J not hiirm ye. Pass it over, an' go back ! an' tell ould Dagon him an' me's quits now. Hurry up, Oi say," and Mike's smile gave way to a heavy frown. At this critical moment, like a flash an j inspiration came into Dave's mind, a plan so reckless, so daring, that it nearly took his breath. The mouey must be saved at any cost. How could he face the squire and confess ( that he had calmly handed it over at the . robber's bidding? Quick as conceived, his determination was formed. He must take the only chance, but it was a desperate one. "See here, Mike," said he, "what'll the squire say if I go back this way? Can't you tic my hands behind me so lin'll l-nnw T mmlon tir/hf. for it?" Mike laughed loudly. "Oi'll be hanged if you ain't a cute j one. I'll see if Oi have any cord," and he dove into his pockets with both hands. Dave took one long breath, and like a streak shot off down the road, with his sled carceriug madly from side to side behind him. The very daring of the act nearly deprived Xike of his senses for an instant, | and with open mouth and staring eyes he saw the space between them grow bigger and bigger. Then, with a terrible imprecation, he dashed in pursuit, shoutiug loudlj-: "Stop, ye thafe, stop, or ; Oi'll break every bone in vure body!" | Dave was making a desperate effort, [ ' straining every nerve, and holding his I breath hard, but the infuriated Irishman j was coming on behind with great plunging strides that were rapidly bringing him | close. The bluff of the mountain was very ! near now, and beyond the cliff line Dave J could see, far across the river, snow-clad fields and scattered farms, and even a tiny church spire, shining clear in the bright moonlight. But before him. only a few yards now, was that awful abyss, ten I times longer and steeper than any tobaggan slide ever built, a great gully, glidiug j almost perpendicularly down the rugged I face of the mountain. ; Dave remembered with a shudder how ; the great logs used to plunge madly down ! the slide, turning somersaults at the botI torn, and churning the turbid tide of the I river into a seething caldron of tawny j yellow foam. Now the river was ice j bound from shore to shore. j The robber's crunching footsteps were ' close behind him. An instant's delay j and lie was lost. I lie stooped, grasped the sled with both ' hands and threw himself with a forward ! motion heavily down the path. As the runners struck the frozen snow, ' Black Mike, with a wild cry, hurled hiinself on Dave's back. The sled, freighted ! with its heavy burden, shot rapidly down the path, and darting between two great j pines, plunged sullenly over the briuk. Not a cry escaped its occupants, and | what followed Dave could never afterward speak of intelligently. "When the . sled made the plunge he jerked his cap j partly over his eyes and held his head ! down. He remembered the Irishman's j heavy weight on his back, the long arms ; that reached beyond his own aud gripped I the sides of the sled. Then came a blind, j dizzy sensation, a roaring in his ea:s, I burning pains as of a thousand needles : piercing his hands and face, a feeling of suffocation. Next, just as his cap was i wrenched violently from his head, the : sled appeared to leave the ground, leap madly into the air, and with a stunning j shock that scorned to have shattered every : bone in his body he lost consciousness. ! It was only momentarily. He opened . his eyes, and with one hand drops of j blood from his face. They were gliding j with fearful velocity over the frozen river straight toward Wysanking. lie rememj bcrcd only dimly what had happened, i That heavy weight was still pressing on i his back. i Instinctively he reached for his breast ! pocket. The money was there. lie was | just beginning to realize the situation ! when the sled plunged blindly into a , half-frozen air-hole surrounding a great ! brown rock in the center of the river. ' He heard the ice crack and break, he felt the icy water splashing full in his face, and then in some mysterious man' ncr. he never knew how, the crushing weight had parted from him, and the I noble sled was bounding over the solid ice again at a beautiful speed, j A moment more and its iron runners scraped the sands on the Wysanking ! shore. j Dizzy and bleeding. Dave staggered j up the bank and looked back across the ! river. j Sitting disconsolate, and forlorn on the I rounded apex of the rock was Biack I Mike, and around him was a circle of deep, open water, which completely isolated his position. His dripping garments were beginning to freeze, and he was uttering pitiful shouts of distress. | Dave watched him an instant, nnd then ! he turned away and ran off at full speed toward Wysanking, half a mile distant. ; The loungers who stood about the I huge old-fashioned stove in the combined grocery store and postofiice were greatly ' startled when Dave rushed wildly in the door with his bleeding face and bauds. ! "Where's Ned Harkins?" he gasped, j "The money?here it is?Black Mike is j out?on the rock?in the " And ! then, for the second time that day, Dave | fainted. Black Mike was rescued by the aid oi boards, rather more dead than alive, and was speedily consigned to a stone cell in Towanda. That same evening Dave was escorted back to Dagon's Cross Roads by an admiring crowd, and in front of Bartlett'a store was received by the squire himself, who publicly called him a hero, and ended up by presenting him with a pocket-book that felt as heavy as lead. As the squire stepped aside, Mr. Bartlett came out of his store. "Dave Hunter," he called out shrilly, "did you fergit tcr ax if there was any : mail fer Abram Bartlett atthepostoflice?" The wild shout of laughter that arose made the storekeeper's eyes Hash undei his spectacles, and in the confusion Dave slipped off home. His heroism had received due recognition from the squire, and lie is now on a sure road to prosperity. As for Black Mike, he spent two years in close confinement for his share in the adventure. No one ever knew how he ! discovered that Dave had the money that day. One summer afternoon long afterwards, .L/aYC VlSllCCl IUC UlU lUlllua suuc, auu, as he looked iuto the dizzy gulf, lie saw what had caused that last great crash. Half a dozen yards from the bottom was a huge log, stretched directly across the passage. The snow had backed up above this, and the fearful momentum had sent the sled far into the air, landing, strange to say, fair and square on its runners.? The Argosy. Derelicts. The long journey made by derelictsvessels abandoned by their crews to drifl whithersoever the winds and current) carry them?have lately become a mattei of great interest. The American schooner, W. L. White, which was abandoned nol far from the Delaware coast, drifted cleai across the Atlantic, crossed and rccrossed her own track many times, and finallj went upon the rocks on the Hebrides islands, off the coast of Scotland. She had occupied more than ten months in the strange voyage. Throughout that time she was a continual danger to navigation. It is the duty of a master of a vessel who encounters a derelict on the high seas, at a distance from shore too great to make it practicable to tow her to port, to blow up or otherwise sink the derelict; but lately an abandoned steamer floated about oil the coast of South America i which no ship-master dared approach. 1 She had a great iron hull, her cargo had taken fire, and the fire, after consuming her woodwork, still smouldered in the hull for a long time. The heat kept othci j vessels at their distance. In order to study more" closely the movements and directions of the ocean currents, upon which so much of the safety and celerity of navigation depends,1 the United States Hydrographic Bureau has had printed rt large number of blanks, I wliicll it will cause TO DC msmuuieu among ship-masters sailing in all parts oJ the world. The blanks are to be filled out with statements of the exact location where vessels may be at a given time, and then placed in bottles, which are to be so sealed and weighted that only a part ol the necks will appear above the water, in ! order that they may not be blown by the wind. The bottles will then be thrown into the sea. | Upon the bottom of each of the blank; is printed a notice requesting the findei | to forward it to the nearest consul of the | United States, or to the Hydrographie Bureau at "Washington, after affixing the exact date and place where the bottle containing the blank was found. It is hoped that, in the course of time, enough of these blanks, which are printed in six different languages, will find theii way back to Washington, to establish many new facts with regard to the direction and force of oceau currents.? Youth's Companion. The Dearest Book in the World. The Paris Bulletin de VImprimcric contains the following query, which I think likely to interest your readers: "What was the highest price ever given for anj book? We leave this question to be decided by competent authorities among book lovers. We may, however, venture to say that we know of one for which a sum of 250,000 francs (850,000) was paid by its present owner, the German Governj rnent. That book is a missal, formerly I given by Pope Leo X. to King Henry ! VIII, of England, along with a parchment conferring on that sovereign the right of assuming the title of 'Defender of th? Faith,' borne ever since by English Kings. Charles II. made a present of the missal to the ancestor of the famous Duke of Hamilton,'whose extensive and valuablo library was sold some years ago by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge of London. The book which secured the highest offer was a Hebrew Bible, in the possession of the Vatican. In 1512 the Jews of Venice proposed to Pope Julius II. to buy the Bible, and to pay for it its weight in gold. It was so heavy that it required two men to carry it. Indeed, it weighed 325 pounds, thus representing the value of half a million of francs, (8100,000.) Though being much pressed for money, in order to keep up the 'Holy League' against King Louis XII. of France, Julius II. declined to part with the volume."?London Bookseller. The Prince of Monte Carlo. The Prince of the little principality ol Monaco, the notorious European gambling resort, reigns over his 5000 subjects r it. 1- ~ 4l,^nA 1 TO 111 iUU LIUl^UU Ui it imuui;, ??ii4\,vi uj the tripot, with the solemnity of Louis XIV. at Versailles. His guard of honoi (is it the correct term?) is composed of seventy men; his array, of thirty-six carabiniers and eighteen sergents de ville. What people say about the etiquette oi this court it is difficult to realize. Taciturn aud blind, the Prince of Monaco is seldom seen. Ilis son, the hereditary j Prince, spends a week every year in the principality, and ijives a dinner to the j principal functionaries, the clcrgy, the navy, the army, the judges, the other principal personages in the principality, j and the lords of roulette and barons oi trente-et-quarante. As the hereditary Prince represents his father, all must remain standing during the reception. Although without a diocese, the principality possesses a mitred abbe?a Bishop in partibus, who must have at least three parishes under his jurisdiction before he can obtain a bishopric, aud at Monaco there arc only two. But, as the most cordial understanding exists between the church and the tripot, both having the same clieutele, the mitred abbe obtained frome Mme. Blanco, who was excessively pious, a third parish, appropriately christiened "Notre-Dame de la Roulette!"? 1 cv?n Francisco Argonaut. BUDGET OF FUN. ! HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. A Successful Bard?A Clear Conscience?Very Practical Mr. Shotldy?A Righteous Protest, Etc., Etc. Miss Minerva?"If is is a proper question, please tell me, Mr. Longlccks, if the magazines ever return any of your poems? I have such ill-luck myself," "No, never." Grumps (inaudibly)?"He never sends stamps."?Chimrjo Herald. A CLEAE CONSCIENCE. "Ma," said Bobby, "is it wrong for little boys to tie tin kettles to dogs' tails?" "Decidedly wrong, Bobby; I hope you'll never do such a thing as that." "No, indeed, ma," replied Bobby, emphatically; 1 'all I do is to hold the dog." ?Bazar. VERY PRACTICAL MR. SHODDY. j\Irs. Shoddy (before serving the soup, and wishing to say what is proper)?"I always say, 'Will you drink soup?' What do you say, Mrs. Newstar?" Mrs. Newstar (in Mrs. Shoddy's set)? "I generally say, 'Will you eat soup?' What do you say, Mr. Shoddy?'' Mr. Shoddy (hungry and wrathfully)? "I'll take soup."?Bazar. A RIGHTEOUS PROTEST. Street-car Conductor (to passenger)? "You'll have to pay fare for that child, sir; he is over six." Passenger?"Well, that's the first time I've been asked to pay fare for that baby, and he's ridden with me on street cars for nine years and more."?Harper's Weekly. THE ROAD TO FAME. "Johnny," said the father, severely, "are you still reading that history?" "Yes, father." "Well, you drop it pretty quick and hustle out with your baseball bat and go to practising. If you ain't careful you never will get famous." ANOTHER VIEW. "Fencing," says an authority, "is one of the most enjoyable of athletic sports." Maybe it is, maybe it is. Still there are liable to be exceptions one would imagine. For instance, if it were a ten-acre lot that was to be fenced, and one had to split the rails.?Detroit Free Press. A FEAT WORTHY OF DE LESSEPS. Husband (jest from Europe, traveling) ?' 'Wife, I have sad news. Coming across /vr. +Vio Sorrin T lost vour net doer over VU UUU K/*'* ? y - u board." Wife?"Heavens! Fidolost!" Husband?"Yes, third day out from Queenstown." i Wife?"Dredge for him at once."? Epoch. i a2tcious for a proposal. Elderly Spinster (at Navy Department) ?"I understand that you are going to open a lot of sealed proposals here today." Officials?"Yes, madam, we are." I Elderly Spinster?"Well, I guess I'll sit down and wait. I'm not going to throw away cny such chance as this."? Puck. i conned ix ins grammar. "Did everything go off pleasantly at ; school to-day, John?" j "Yes, mother, but some bad boys per1 juaded me to play truant." | "You mean they tried to persuade you, i John; if they had persuaded you you would have gone off with them." "That's what I did."?Bnton Transcript. a scene in cannibal land. AIT1SI?-"Xicrc id a vci j aiumuic jjxwJ ure, Mr. Gibbs. It represents Rev. Mr. Goss, the missionary , in the center of a group of cannibals." ! Deacon Gibbs?"I sec the cannibals, Mr. Turps, but where is the missionary?" I Artist?' 'Didn't I just tell you that he , was in the center of the cannibals!"? i Terre Haute Express. . SHE DIDN'T GO. Mother?"Johnnie, why are you crying? I'm only going to be away a week, and your papa will be home with you." "2so, he won't; he's going to Rome." "Going to Rome? Why, child, what do you mean?" I "I heard him say that he would make Rome howl when you left." I "Oh, indeed? Well, I won't leave you, Johnnie.''?-Lincoln Journal. AN ACCIDENT. Mr. De Prig (of Boston in a Dakota 1 hotel)?"Waiter, what caused the ex' plosion just now at the other end of the i dining-room? Was somebody shot?" I Waiter?"Oh, no sir. We don't al! low shooting in the dining-room. The ! cook was a little careless and let a car! tridge from his revolver fall in the soup, and the gent who was just carried out happened to crush it between his teeth." ?Time. HE FRIGHTENED ITER. Young Wife?"Oh, George, see this ! lovely little statuette I Drougnt to-ciay. ! It's gold." I George (examining it)?' 'Did the dealer ! say it was gold?" Young "Wife?"Y-c-e-s; isn't it?" George?"A part of it is of base metal." Young "Wife?"Is that so? What part?" George ? "The pedestal, dear."? j Brakes Magazine. A PATHETIC INCIDENT. "How much can I get on this?" The childish face looked up appealI ingly to the hard visage that gazed down | contemptuously upon the little out| stretched hand. (Ah. the old. pitiful story?childhood too soon pressed into the service of grind' ing poverty?the last fond relic of hap! pier days pledged for bread and fire?) "Not morn 'n a pint," said the icc; cream vender, as he took the saucer, "if : jrour ma wants a quart, she'd oughter 'vc give yer a bigger plate, sonny."?Puck. LINCOLN'S ESTIMATE OF VARIOLOID. i Will Cumback wfs at the Ebbitt.' 'Spcak! ing about the President," said he, "and the office seekers, of course, where there are three applicants for every position two are going to be disappointed. Hn can't give them all places. That reminds me. When Lincoln was President he ! was taken ill, and the doctor told him he I had varioloid. " 'WhAt is it?' he asked. " Varioloid,' said the doctor. " 'Good enough,' said Lincoln; 'I've got something now I can give everybody.'"? Washington Post. biddie's break. A Boston lady told her newly acquired Irish maid, the other day, to say she was ; not at home in case any one called. One ! visitor did come, and she is responsible j for the story. "Is Mrs. Blank in?" she asked, when i the door was opened in response to her ring. "No, ma'am," replied Bridget stonily. "She's not at home; and may I get forrri-cpripca fnr thn nwful lie I'm tellin?? Ve." * ' o # j Whereupon she slammed the door m | the visitor's face and that was the end of it.?Picayune. A GOOD TDIE TO FULFILL HIS FKOJriSE. "Dear John," wrote the wife, "I am sorry to say Willie fell out of a swing yesterday and disabled himself. He will not be able to use his arms for a month ?so the doctor says. He is getting along all right, but it makes him restless to stay in-doors. When you return from the city please bring him something he can amuse himself with." "Willie," said the father, kindly, as he patted the little boy consolingly on the head the next day, "I have brought you that drum I promised you a year or twe ago you should have sometime." ?Chicago Tribune. OX THE HOME STRETCH. "Have you done anything for me?" asked the condemned man in pitiful tones, as his lawyer entered the cell. "Yes, indeed," said the legal gentleman, gleefully. "Oh, what is it?" demanded the murderer, "a pardon?" "No." "A commutation of sentence?" "2sTo." "Then, in mercy's name, what?" "I have succeeded," said the lawyer, "in having the day of your execution changed from Friday to Monday. Friday is an unlucky day, you know."?Yankee Blade. A COLLEGE TRAINING. Young Wife?"Why, dear, you were the stroke oar at college, weren't you?" Vminnr TJmhnnfl?"Ye?, love." "And a very prominent member of the gymnastic class?" "I was the leader." "And quite a hand at all athletic exercises?" "Quite a hand? My gracious! I was the champion walker, the best runner, the head man at lifting heavy weights, and as for carrying?why, I could shoulder a barrel of flour and?" "Well, love, just please carry the baby a couple of hours. I'm tired."?Philadelphia Press. KILLING TIIEJI OFF. When a stranger makes his appearance in the backwoods of Maine he is naturally presumed to be on the lookout for game. Last summer a distinguished prelate of the Episcopal church found himself stranded in a small village in that region, and was compelled to put up at a farmhouse. "Do you have many Episcopalians down here?" he inquired of the very hospitable hostess. "Well, really now, I don't know," she answered. "Our hired man shot some sort of a queer critter down back of the barn the other day, but he claimed it was a woodchuck."?Boston Herald. THE TRAMPS WERE CUNNING. Some eight or ten tramps were recently beating a passage from Pittsburg cast on a freight line. The conductor ordered them off, a ad approaching two of the fraternity, who for tattered garments and uncleanliness could be better imagined than described, the following ensued: Conductor (slightly kicking the one)? "Well, where are you going?" First Jramp (tearfully)?"I'm goingto New York. My mother's dead." Conductor (benignly stirred)?"If that is the case you may remain." Then turning to tramp No. 2, he inquired: "And where are you going?" Second Tramp (ostensibly weeping)? "I'm going to-the funeral." They did not reach their destination on that train.?Philadelphia Press. NOTHING HAPPENED. She had just returned from Europe, and was telling about the trip of a party when an old bald-head inquired: "See any whales going or coming?" "No." "See any sharks?" "No." "See any icebergs?" "No." "Pass any wrecks?" "No." "Rescuc any castaways?" "No." "Very stormy?" "No." ' 'Fire or fever break out aboard?rruD short of fuel or provisions?meet witl: any accident to crcate alarm?" "No?nothing." UTTumv*!^ YtTViir rli/Jn'f VA11 Cff\ TyE "UUII'U. " '-J V ox-cart, madam?"?Detroit Free Press. TIIE n.VIlE SHOT BACK. The Paris Figaro published not long since an account of a practical joke, which, unlike most practical jokes, has the merit of being amusing: An enthusiastic sportsman went to a breakfast given at the commencement ol the shooting season. The conversation naturally was of game, when suddenly in rushed a servant, exclaiming to the host that a hare had been seen moving about the lawn. Out ran the enthusiastic sportsman, guu in hand,fired at the hare, and missed it. The hare scratched its nose, then stood on its hindlcgs, presented a horse pisto at the sportsman, and fired in return. No one was hurt, but the sportsman was naturally astounded to have the tables turned in this unexpected and surprising manner. It was explained to him, and then his laugh was as hearty as any one's. This remarkable hare was a performing animal, which had been hired from a neighboring show. The sportsman's charge had of course been tampered with by the confidential servant. A silo for fifteen cows can be made at an expense of 6150. In a general way it may be said a silo (wooden) will cost $1 for each ton it. is intended to hold. A GREAT FOREST. STANLEY'S PASSAGE THROUGH AX AFRICAN JUNGLE. The Explorer's Vivid Description 01 the 160 Days Spent in Its Gloomy Shade Amia Many Dangers. The Edinburgh Scotsman prints an interesting letter from Henry M. Stanley, dated in Central Africa, and addressed tc Mr. A. L. Bruce, a son-in-law of Dr. Livingston, who lives in Edinburgh. The following account of the journej through the forest region to the Grass Land is very interesting: "While in England considering the best routes open to the Isyanza (Albert) ] thought I was very liberal in allowing myself two weeks' march to cross the forrest region lying between the Congo and the Grass Laud, but you may imagine our feelings when month after month savi us marching, tearing, plowing, cutting j through that same continuous forest. II took up 160 days before we could say: 'Thank God, -we are out of the darkness at last.' At one time we were all? whites and blacks?almost 'done up.' Our officers are heartily sick of the forest, but the loyal blacks, a band of 130, followed me once again into the wild,trackless forest, with its hundreds of inconveniences, to assist their comrades of the rear column. Try and imagine some oi these inconveniences. Take a thick Scottish copsc, dripping with rain; imagine this copse to be a mere undergrowth, nourished under the impenetrable shade of ancient trees ranging from 100 to ISO feet high; briers and thorns abundant; lazy creeks, meandering through the depths of the jungle, aud sometimes a deep affluent of a great river. Imagine this forest and jungle in all stages of decay and growth?old trees falling, leaning perilously over, fallen prostrate; ants and insects of all kinds, sizes and colors, murmuring around; monkeys and chimpanzees above, queci noises of birds and animals, crashes in the jungle as troops of elephants rush away; dwarfs with poisoned arrows securely hidden behind some buttress or in some dark recess; strong, brown-bodied aborigines with terribly sharp spears, standing poised, still as dead stumps; rain pattering down on you every othei day in the year; an impure atmosphere, with its dread consequences, fever and ' ? ? * ? Anf +Virt /"IOT* uysemerv; ijiuum uuuu^uuuu and darkness almost palpable throughout the night; and then, if you will imagine such a forest extending the entire distance from Plymouth to Peterhead, you will have a fair idea of some of 'the inconveniences endured by us. Now that we have gone through and through this forest region I only feel a surprise that I did not give a greater latitude to my ideas respecting its extent; for had we thought of it, it is only what might have been deduced from our knowledge of the great sources of moisture necessary to supply the forest with the requisite sap and vitality. Think of the large extent of South Atlantic Ocean, whose vapors arc blown during nine months of the year in this direction. Think of the broad Congo, varying from one to sixteen miles wide, which has a stretch of 1400 miles, supplying another immeasurable quantity of moisture to be distilled into rain, and mist and dew over this insatiable forest, and then another 600 miles of the Amwimi or Ituri itself, and then you will cease to wonder that there are about one hundred and fifty days of rain every year in this region, and that the Congo forest covers such a wide area. "Until we set foot on the grassland, something like fifty miles west of the Albert Nyanza, we saw nothing that looked a smile or a kind thought or a moral sensation. The aborigines are wild, utterly saragc, and incorrigibly vindictive. The dwarfs?called Wambutti ? are worse \ still, far worse. Animal life is likewise j so wild and shy that no sport is to be en-1 joyed. The gloom of the forest is per I petual. The face of the river, reflecting j its black Tails of vegetation, is dark and sombre. The sky one-half the time every day resembles a wintry sky in England; the face of nature and life is fixed and joyloTs. If the sun charges through the black clouds envjfoping it and a kindly wind brushes th Jpiasses of vapor below the horizon and the bright light reveals our surroundings, it -is only to tantalize us with a short-lived vision of brilliancy and beauty of verdure. 4 'Emerging from the forest finally, we all became enrapted. Like a captive unfettered and set free, we rejoiced at sight of the blue cope of heaven, end freely bathed in the warm sunshipe, and aches and gloomy thoughts and , unwholesome ideas were banished. "Had you seen us you - would have thought we had lost our senses, or that 'Legion' had entered and taken possession of us. We raced with our loads ovei a wide, unfenced field (like ijn English ' " - - ? v J I park for the soitness oi its grass;, anu herds of buffalo, eland, roan\ antelope, stood on either hand with pointed ears and wide eyes, wandering at th<e sudden wave of human beings yelling with joy as they issued out of the dark deptHs of the forest. "We poured out on the plain a frantic multitude, but after au hour or fwo we became an orderly column. Into the empty villages of the open country we proceeded to regale ourselves on melon, rich-flavored bananas, and plainiains, and great pots full of wine. The fowls, unaware of the presence of a hungry mob, were knocked down, plucKed, | roasted or broiled; the goats, me(|itaI tively browsing or chewing the ?ud, i were suddenly seized and decapitated, j and the graceful aroma of roast mejat gratified our senses. An abundance, \,a prodigal abundance, of the good things | had awaited our eruption iuto the grassj land. Every village was well stocked | with provisions, and even luxuries long j denied to us. Under such fare the menj j became most robust, diseases healed as if I by magic, the weak became strong, and i there was not a goee-goee or chicken j heart left. Only the Babusesse, near the \ main It mi, were tempted to resist the in- J vasion." I, ! Antiquity of the Louvre. An exhibition of revolutionary relics has been opened in the palace of the Louvre in Paris. The greatest relic of I them all is the palace in which the ! collection is housed. When mobs and | insurgent armies have wrecked everything else worth wrecking in Paris, the Louvre has held its ground. The measure of its antiijuity is past calculation, but the primitive building is known to have been in existence as far back as in the seventh century, when King Dagobert? reigned. It was used then as a stable, and kennel for the King's horses and, I hounds.? Washington Star. |8 ' v":>il^BB CURIOUS FACTS. IB The ancients slept on skins. MB TV ling rings were used by ^^B ancients. King Alfred compiled the Saxon co^MI mon law. MB London was first lighted in 1414 wMM private lanterns. Copper money first made its appearanHH in England in 1609. HH The largest and most important city^HB South America is Bio Janeiro. The first coach in England was bu3t^H| 1565, for the Earl of Rutland. MB Rude carriages were known in FrazHH A. D. 1547, in England in 1555. ^^^B A new candle has been brought c^^B which extinguishes itself in an hour. flj The granting of licenses as a mode levying money was introduced into'Eo^^S land by Richard I., about 1190. HH The plant from which licorice is maHH is found on the shores of Lake Erie a^^B farther west. It is called glycyrrhiza. The fieece of ten goats and the wo^H of several men for half a year are requir^H to make a cashmere shawl a yard and^Mj half square. HH The University of Edinburg, which 1^H| risen to great fame, is among the earlii^^H institutions of its kind in the world,beiBM founded in 15S1. y'^BjflB The idea that fish food was brain fo^BB had a run of ten years before any o^Hg asked why Esquimaux, who eat the m<M|| fish, had no mental smartness. SO It is said that the word canonv con^^H _ i'W from konop, a gnat or mosquito, and tl^H the first canopies were neither more n^^B less than curtains to shut out th<^H troublesome insects. , l5aj.c Keim, of Heading, Penn., hast^H fur of the largest fox ever killed on tHf Blue Mountains. The length, -with taflfl is over four feet. The fur shows that-t^H animal was a cross between the red a^Hj 'gray foxes. "* ' A remarkable story of canine intel^H gence comes from Orrville, Ga. Ad^H in that village has been trained to pl^H the piano, and can, on direction, ,drc^H out any one of a half a dozen tunes his right paw. It has been discovered that the gra^B of William Penn is in a sadly neglect^H condition. There is not even a mou^^J above it, and only a flimsy slab of sto^H stuck in the ground at the head or fOj^H no one can tell which. BH An Arab rule for selecting agoodhoi^H is to measure him from the tip of nose to the top of the withers, and frc^H the latter point to the root of the taHfl The longer the first measurement is proportion to the* latter the better horse. H A North Geiman custom and supt^M stition is, that if tlx* master of the hot^B dies, a person nusj; go to the bee-hrv^H knock and repeat Tfiese words: master is dead, the master is dead,*! the bees will fly away. This supers^H tion also prevails in England, LithuarHH and in France. ? The Raleigh tavern at Williamsbm^B Va., was the cradle of liberty in Yirgin^H as Faneuil Hall was in Massachuset^H It was there the patriots of the House of Burgesses met when / Govern^H Dunmore, dissolved that house in 177^^ and there they appointed delegates to t^H Cist Continental Congress. Suspenders were first known as gallo^^l ses. and right here the first light is thro\^H on the subject. Hanging criminals w^H probably known before suspenders we^H invented, but when they were brought flH public notice it was doubtless considen^Mj a rare joke to call the articles on whit^B trousers were hung by the same name HI that on which sheep-steelers were hange^H The similarity in the uses of the gaUo^H and the gallowses suggested the nsa^H but the likeness ends there. ' 1 Steel Shields for Soldiers. JH The Austrian, French, English Italian Governments have ordered trial specimens of the steel shields iflH vented by Captain Holstein of the Da^H ish army for the protection of soldiers S the trenchcs and on the ramparts frofl| rifle fire, shrapnels, etc. They are easi^H carried out; each shield is capable of prfl| tecting two men, and they are claimed be bullet-proof at a distance of 190 The Spcctateur Militaire suggests that metal of greater tenacity than steel, aluminium bronze, be adopted for the i^H fantry. It says that to cover the hea^HH of columns advancing to the attack onl^H 'J? BfAA TT* /*V ill /I Via I to OU\J &1I1C1119 ? UU1U Mb Armor for soldiers was neglected becau^H the increase in the offensive power weapons made it useless, and the presei^H tendency in naval warfare is in thesam^H direction. Admiral Farragut predicte^B that iron-clad war vessels would follo^H the cuirass. The value of a weapon does not cotiH| sist merely in its material power. I^H value increases or diminishes according it inspires more or less confidence i^H those who use it and more or less fear i^H those who are menaced with it. It moral valve of the weapon. In da^^^ gone by, when firearms were in their inHj fancy, or at most in their childhood, i^H the days of the flint-lock or muzzli^H loader, a musket ball was seldom know^H to pierce the breast-plate and kill il^| wearer, who thus considering himselfl almost invulnerable rushed to the chargHf and bore down his opponents wit^H the audacity inspired by confidence. Th^B foot soldier armed with the musket fel^H himself at a disadvantage against a cuira?^H a foe on whose shining plate-scales hi^B bullet would flatten and his bayonet tuf^Hj aside. But those days are gone by. ? Smoke as an Instrument of Warfare.^| The claim i? made that smoke wil^H iil.n* nn iinnortaut mrt in the warfare o^H I? 1'---? 1 ? the future. The London St. James's GamM zettc says that at Langford harbor it wa^| artificially created in large quantities u^B order to form screens behind which ai^H attacking party might unobserved ap^H proach within short range or forts an^H batteries. On the occasion referred t^H rafts laden with combustibles were set ^lire and floated into positions from whicBj ithc wind carried away the smoke in 'dense cloud in the direction of the deHj fensc. \ On the other hand since the introdu^H tion of modem ordnance and rapid rii^H fixe it has been felt that the huge vo^H umes of smoke which would be bclche<^B forth during the battle of the present da^H would probably prevent the use of th^^ big guns to the best advantage. SinokeHJ in fact, may according to circumstance^B bd either a great assistance or a grave im^H pediment in warfare. Four new furnaces just finished nea^H Birmingham, Ala, cost $1,250,000. Bfl