Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, October 21, 1880, Image 1
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lewis m. grist, proprietor. J An Jukpcnbenf drantilu ftetospper: Jf0r l\t |)rontotiijit of f|t political, Social, Agricultural anli Commercial Interests of t|e Sonf|. |TERMS?$2.50 A TEAR, IN ADVANCE.
VOL. 26. YORKYILLE, S. C? THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1880. I>TQ. 43.
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PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST.
"O, mother, mother, I am so tired !"
The dewdrops quivered like imperial diamonds
upon the broad, green plumes of the
cornfield by the wayside ; the grass that bent
over the footpath was heavy with the evening
moisture ; yet these two wanderers clung together
homeless and alone, in the shadows of
the night.
"Cheer up, my child ; we have not very far
to go. Come closer; let me brush the dew
from your curls. Now take my hand."
But the child hung back, sobbing with
weariness and exhaustion, and the pale young
mother, bending over her in the vain attempt
to soothe the hysterical excitement, did not
hear the rumble of advancing wheels until
they passed close to her, and a rough, hearty i
?: .
VOJCB CAClttlllJCU .
"What ails the little girl ? Is she sick ?"
Mary Elsworth had never seen Farmer
Raynesford before. Yet, the moment her
eyes rested on his wrinkled, sun-burnt face,
with the shaggy eyebrows overshadowing kind
eyes, she felt that he was a friend, and made
answer promptly:
"Not sick, sir ; but very tired. We have
walked a long way."
"Got much farther to go ?" asked the farmer,
tickling his horse's ear with the end of his
whip.
"To Breck ton."
"That is four miles off, and the little gal
pretty nigh used up already."
"I know it," said the woman, with a sigh.
"But I have no money to hire a lodging nearer.
In Brecton, I hope to obtain work in the
factory.
"I won't hear to no sech thing," said he, energetically.
"Why, that child can't go twenty
rods further! Here, get in along with me.
You won't be none the worse for a bit of supper
and a good night's rest. I know Hannah'll
scold !" he muttered, as he lifted the
little girl to his side, and extended his hand
to the mother; "but I cannot see folks perishing
by the wayside, and never offer to help
'em. I don't care if she scolds the roof off
the house."
It was an oddly shaped old farm house,
gray with the storms of nearly half a century,
with a broad door stone, overhung by giant
lilac bushes, and a kitchen where even in the
bloomy month of June, a great tire roared ;
up in the wide-throated chimney, and shining
rows of tin winked and glittered at each upward
leap of the flames. Such a neat kitchen
as it was ! Mrs. Ellsworth's heart involuntarily
warmed at the genial sight.
Mr. Raynesford jumped out of the wagon,
threw the reins over the post, and went in to
conciliate his domestic despot.
"Look here, Hannah," said he, to a tall,
angular-looking female who emerged from a
pantry near by, at the sounds of his footsteps,
her face nearly or quite as sour as the saucer
of pickles she was carrying, "jest set a couple
more plates on the table, will you ? I've
brought home a woman and a little girl that
I found a piece below, e'en a most tired to
death. They was calculatin' to walk on to
Breckton, but I thought it wouldn't hurt us
to keep 'em over night."
"I am astonished at you, Job Raynesford !"
said his better half in a tone of indignant remonstrance.
"We might jest as well hangout
a tavern sign at once, and have done with it. ;
You're always bringing home some poor mis
erable creeter or other,ami?"
"There, there, Hanuah," interrupted Mr.
Raynesford ; "I'm always williu' to hear to
you when you're anyways reasonable, hut it
goes clear agin my grain to see poor folks
sufFerin' and never stretch out a helpiu' hand.
"Taint Scripture, nor taiut human natur."
"Well, go your own gait, Job Raynesford," :
responded his wife, tartly ; "only mark my
words?if you don't end your days in the 1
poor house,'twont he through no fault of j
yours!" She shut the pantry doors with a
hang that made all the jelly cups and milk |
pans rattle, while Job, with an odd grimace, !
went out to help his guests to alight.
"Don't mind the old woman," said he apol-!
ogetically, as Mrs. Ellsworth sprang to the ;
ground. "She's kind o' sharp spoken, but she
means well, arter all. We ain't all alike in
our notions, you know."
"If all the world were like you, sir," said
the young widow, with tears in her eyes,
"there would be far less want and suffering
by far!" Farmer Raynesford pretended not
' to hear. He was busy lifting little Mary out.
"Set out them blackberries, Hannah," said
he towards the close of the evening meal;
"the little girl's so tired she can't eat nothing
solid."
"I was calculatin' to keep the blackberries
for the donation party to-morrow," said Mrs.
Raynesford, rising with rather an unwilling
nip
"Nonsense!" quoth the farmer with a'
broad laugh. I'm having a donation party
of my own to-night! Here, little one; see if
these berries don't put some color into your
cheeks!"
All the evening little Mary sat by the
hearth with her hands in her mother's and
her large blue eyes fixed earnestly on the kind j
farmer's face.
"What are you thinking'about, dearest?"
asked Mrs. Ellsworth, once. She drew a long
sigh and whispered: "0, mamma! he is so
kind to us !"
The tops of the far-off eastern woods were
being turned to gold by that wondrous alchemist,
the rising sun, when Mary Ellsworth I
aud her little girl sat out upon the long walk
to Breckton. Job Rayuesford went with
them to the gate, fumbling uneasily in his
pocket, and glancing guiltily around to make
sure that Hannah was not within seeing distance.
When Mary extended her hand to
say good bye, a bank bill was thrust into it.
"Don't say nothin'," muttered Job, with a
sheepish air. "Ten dollars ain't much to me,
and if you don't chance to get work in the
factory right away, it may be a good deal o'
use to you. Needn't thank me; you're as
welcome as flowers in May !"
"Ten dollars," ejaculated Mrs. Raynesford,
who had witnessed this little episode from
behind the curtains of her milk-room window.
"Is Job Raynesford crazy? To give ten dollars
to a poor strolling vagrant! If he don't
get a piece of my mind?" And she hastened
out, her cap border fairly standing on end
with horror. Job awaited the coming tempest
with philosophic coolness, his lips parted
in a good humored smile.
"She means well," he said to himself, when
the volley of wrath had been discharged on
his luckless head, and Mrs. Raynesford had
returned .to her butter-making; "but she's
got the greatest faculty for scolding of any
woman I ever saw."
The years flitted by, sprinkling the steep
old farm-house roof with crystal drops of
April showers, and thatching it with the dazzling
ermine of January snows many and
many a time. Gray hairs crept in among
the raven locks of Parmer Raynesford ; careworn
wrinkles began to gather around his
mouth aud brow. Alas! those swift footed
years brought troubles innumerable to the
old man.
"Twenty years!" mused he, one bright
June morning. 'Tt don't seem possible, Hannah,
that it was twenty years this very day
that I caught that ugly fall from the hayrack,
aud got lame for life." And he looked
down at the crutches by his side. Hannah
stood in the doorway tossing corn to a forlorn
little colony of chickens. Twenty years had
not improved her in any respect. She was
gaunter, bonier and more vinegar faced than
ever,
"Yes," said she slowly, "and perhaps you
don't remember that it is just twenty years
ago today that you threw ten-dollars away j
ou that woman and her child. I told you 1
then that you'd end your days "in the poor !
house, and I don't see but what my prediction j
is likely to come true. Didn't I say you j
would live to repent it ?"
"I won't deny, Hannah," said the old man,
"but that I've done a good many things, I've
been sorry for. We ain't none of us perfect
you know, wife?but tliat is not one of them.
No, I never for a minute repent being kind to ;
the widow and fatherless."
Hannah shrugged her shoulders, but made j
no answer.
"Didn't you say you were going up to see
that iit*h lawyer about the five thousand dollar
note to day," she said.
"Yes, but I don't suppose it'll be much use. I
He'll be sure to sell the old place from over
our heads, however. They tell me he's a
hard man. I mean to explain to him just
how the matter stands and?"
"I told you how it would be long ago !"
ejaculated Hannah, uuahle to retain ner vexation.
"What on airth ever possessed you to
, sign for Jesse Fairweatlier ?"
"I 8'po -ed he was- an honest man, and
wouldn't see an old friend wronged."
"Fiddlesticks! That's just your calculation,
Job! There; Zeke has brought the
wagon?do start off or you'll be too late for
the New York train!" And Job meekly
obeyed, only too happy to escape from the
endless discord of his wife's railing tongue.
The rays of the noon-day sun shown brightly
through the stained glass casements of Mr.
Everleigh's superb Gothic library. The room
was decorated with every appurtenance of
wealth and taste. Velvet chairs, with tall
backs of daintily carved rosewood, we're scattered
here and there ; marble vases occupied
niches besi-'e the doorway, and the rarest pictures
hung on the paneled and gilded walls.
But the prettiest object of all?the one which
the rich lawyer oftenest raised his eyes from
his writing to contemplate, with an involuntary
smile of pride and affection?was a lovely
woman in a white cashmere morning robe,
trimmed with white velvet, who stood opposite,
arrangiug flowers iu a bouquet. She
wore a spray of berries carved of pink Neapolitan
cora l at her throat, and tiny pendants
of the same rare stone, in her small, shell-like
ears, and the slender waist was tied around
with a bright pink ribbon.
"There, Walter, isn't that pretty?" she
asked, holding up her completed bouquet.
"Very pretty," he answered; looking not
at the roses and geraniums, but directly at
the blue eyes and golden curls of his beautiful
young wife.
"You are not even noticiugit," she said.
"Because f see something so much better
worth looking at," he said, playfully.
"Do you really love me so very much ?" she
asked, throwing down the flowers, and coming
arotfud to his side. "0, Walter! if mamma
could only have lived to see how happy we
are !"
Mrs. Everleigh slipped from her husband's
arm with the prettiest blush in the world, and
was very busy with her flowers, when the rich
lawyer's "right hand man" put his grizzled
head into ti e room
"The old man wants to see you about the
Fairweather business."
"Show him in. Don't look so disappointed,
love," he said, as the grizzled head disappeared
; "I shall not be detained three minutes,
and the horses are at the door."
Mary Everleigh never troubled her pretty
little head about business matters ; so she never
looked up as the halting sound of old Mr.
Raynesford's crutch echoed on the carpet.
But the instant he spoke, she started as it' an
arrow had smitten her, and stood with her
eyes dilate*! and her slender hands clasped together,
listening as intently as though her life
depended upon hearing every word.
The old man was pleading and sorrowful?
!>/-?* KnoKun.l n/klitnlir infloviKln At lpnortll
IIVI 11 uowaint |/\f1IWV1J KIIIWAIUIVI V
Job Raynesford started to go.
"Well, sir," he said in a subdued tone, "I
don't know much about law and law-books ;
but it does seem hard that an old man should
he turned out of the home that has sheltered
him for sixty years, and all for no fault of his
own. They say you are a very rich gentleman,
sir. T'ive thousand dollars may seem a
small sum to you ; but it is my all!"
Mrs. Everleigh's soft voice broke the momentary
silence that succeeded this appeal.
"Walter! come here one minute?I want
to speak to you."
He obeyed, somewhat surprised. She drew
him into a deep recess of the stained glass
bay window, and standing therewith the rosy
and amber shadows playing about her lovely
brow like some pictured saint, told him
how twenty years ago a wearied child and its
mother were fed and sheltered by a kind
hearted stranger; how he had given them
money and kind wishes when they were utterly
alone and desolate in the wide world.
"But, my love, what has all this to do with
my business matters ?"
"Much, Walter. I am the little child !"
"You, my dearest?"
"I am, my husband; and the noble man
who, I am persuaded, saved my life that
night, stands yonder, with gray, bowed head
and sinking heart.
"Mary, you must surely be mistaken."
"I cannot be mistaken, Walter. I should
know him aruoug a thousand. You said you
loved me this morning?now grant me one
little boon!"
"What is it, dearest ?"
"Give me that note he spoke of."
Mr. Everleigh silently went to a small ebony
casket, unlocked it, and drew out a folded
paper, which he placed in her hands. She
glided up to the old man, who had fallen into
a reverie, and laid her soft hand on his arm.
"Do you remember the little golden-haired
Mary whom you found, with her mother,
wearied out on the roadside, twenty years
ago?"
"Do I remember her, lady ? It was but
this very morning I was recalling the scene."
"And don't you recognize me?" she said,
smiling up into his face as she drew back the
drooping curls. "I am little Mary."
He stood in hewildered silence. All of a
sudden the truth seemed to break upon him,
I and he laid his hand upon her head with a
tearful blessiug. "And your mother, my
! child ?" '
"She has been dead for years; but it is my
dearest task to be the instrument of her grati!
tude. Here is the note you endorsed?my
j husband has given it to me. "See!"
A small spirit lamp was burning in One of
j the niches. She held the bit of paper over
| its flame uutil it fell a cloud of light ashes
upon the floor.
*****
"Well?"
Mrs. Ilaynesford met her husband at the
j door at the'instant his crutches sounded on
the little gravel path.
"Why don't you speak. Of course I know
! you've nothing but bad news to tell; but I
| may as well hear it at once. Have you seen
. the gentleman ? What did he say ?"
"Hannah," said old Job Raynesford, slow!
ly folding up his gloves, "do you remember
| the ten dollars I gave that poor young wan|
derer a score of years ago ?"
"Why, of course I do. Didn't I remind
you of it not twelve hours since ? What has
j that to do with our troubles, pray?"
"Just this. Today I received payment,
' principal and interest."
"What do you mean, Job Raynesford ?" |
"The little golden-haired child that sat be-1
side our hearthstone that June evening is !
lawyer Everleigh's wife, und I have seen the i
last of the note that has hung like a millstone
around my neck for years. She said it
was but discharging a sacred debt of grati-1
tude ; but heaven knows I looked for no such
reward.''
There was a moment's silence. The old ;
man was pondering over the past, and Mrs. j
Raynesford was so taken by surprise, that she >
really couldn't speak.
"And now, wife, what have you to say
about my financial mistakes?" said Job,
archly.
Mrs. Raynesford had no argument suitable
to th ; emergencies of the case, so she wisely
said- -nothing!
A STAGE DRIVER'S STORY.
Fourteen years ago I drove from Danbury
to Littleton, a distance of forty-two miles,
and as I had to await the arrival of two or
three coaches, and I did not start until after
dinner, I very often had a good distance to
drive after dark. It was in the dead of winter,
and the season had been a rough one. A
great deal of snow had fallen, and the drifts
were plenty and deep. The mail that I cartied
was not due at Littleton by contract
until 1 o'clock in the morning, but that winter
the postmaster was obliged to sit up a
little later for me.
One day in January, when I drove up with
mv mail at Danhurv. the nostmaster called
me into his office.
"Pete," said he, with an important serious
look, "there are some pretty heavy money
packages in that bag," aud lie pointed to it
as he spoke. He said the money was from
Bostqu to some land agent near the Canada
line. Then he asked me if I had any passengers
who were going through to Littleton ?
I told him I did not know ; "but I suppose I
have not," says I.
"Why," said he, the agent of the lower
route came in to-day, and he said there were
two suspicious characters on the stage that
came in last night, aud he suspects that they
have an eye on this mail, so it will stand you
in hand to be a little careful this evening."
He said the agent had described one of
them as being a short, thick-set fellow, about
forty years of age, with long hair and a thick,
heavy clump of beard under his chin, but
none on the side of his face. He did not
know anything about the other. I told him
I guessed there was no danger.
"Oh, no, not if you have got passengers all
the way through ; but I told you this that you
might look out sharp when you change horses."
J*
I answered-that I should do so; and then
took the bag under my arm and left the office.
I stowed the mail away under my seat a little
more carefully than usual, placing it so I
could keep ray feet against it, but beyond
that I did not feel any concern. It was past
one when we started. I had four passengers,
two of whom only rode to my first stopping
place. I reached Gowan's Mills at dark,
when we stopped for supper, and where my
two passengers concluded to stop for the
night.
About 6 o'clock in the morning I left Gowan's
Mills alone, having two horses and a
pung.
I had seventeen miles to go, and it was a
hard seventeen too. The night was quite
clear but the wind was sharp and cold, the
loose snow flying in every direction, while
the drifts were deep and closely packed. It
was slow, tedious work, and my horses soon
became leg-weary and restive.
At. the distance of six miles I came to a
small settlement called Bull's Corner, where
I took fresh horses. I had been two hours
going that distance. As I was going to start,
a man came up and asked if I was going
through to Littleton. I told him I should go
through if the thing could possibly be done.
He said he was anxious to go, and, as he had
no baggage, I told hitn to jump in and make
himself as comfortable as possible.
I was gathering up my reins, when the
hostler came up and asked me if I knew that
one of my horses had cut himself badly." I
jumped out and found that one of the animals
had got a deep cork cut on the off foot.
I gave such directions as I considered necessary,
and was about to turn away when the
hostler remarked that he thought I came
alone.
I told him I did.
"Then where did you get that passenger?"
Said he.
"He just got in," I answered.
"Got in from where ?"
"I don'tlaiow."
"Well, now," said the hostler, "that's kind
of curious. There ain't been no such a man
at the house, and I know there ain't been
none at any of the neighbors."
"Let's have a look at his face,"said I. "We
can get that much at any rate. Do you go
back with me, and when I get into the pung
just hold your lantern so that the light will
shine into his face."
He did as I wished, and as I stepped into
the pung I got a fair view of such portions
of my passenger's face as were not muffled
up. I saw a short, thick frame, full, hard
features, and I could almost see that there
was a heavy beard under, the chin. I thought
of the man whom the postmaster had described
to me, but I did not think seriously
upon it until I had started. Perhaps I had
gone half a mile when I noticed that the mail
bag wasn't in its place under my feet.
"Hallo!" says I, holding up ray horses a
little, "where's my mail ?"
Mr. Passenger sat on a seat behind me, and
I turned toward him.
"Here is a bag of some kiud that slipped
back under my feet," he said, giving it a kick,
as though he would shove it forward.
Just at this moment my horses lumbered
into a deep snowdrift, and I was forced to get
out and tread down the snow in front of them
and lead them through it.
This took me all of fifteen mniutes. and
when I got in again I pulled the mail bag
forward and got my feet upon it. As I was
doing this I saw the man taking something
from his lap, beneath the buffalo, and put
it into hi9 breast pocket. This I thought
was a pistol. I had caught the gleam of a
barrel in the starlight, and when I had time
to reflect, I knew I could not be mistaken.
About this time I began to think somewhat
seriously. From what I had heard
and seen, I soon made up my mind that the
individual behind me not only wanted to
rob me of ray ipail, but was prepared to rob
me of my life. If I resisted him he would
shoot me, and perhaps he meant to perform
that delectable operatiou at any rate. While
I was ponderiug, the horses plunged into another
snowdrift, and I was again forced to
get ouk. and tread down the snow before
them. I asked my passenger if he wouldn't
help me, but he didn't feel very well, and
wouldn't try; so I worked all alone, and was
all of a quarter of an hour getting my team
through the drifts.
When I got to the sleigh again I began to
feel for the mail bag with my feet. I found
it where I had left it, but when I attempted
to withdraw my foot I discovered it had become
fast in something. I thought it was the
buffalo, and tried to kick it clear; but the
more I kicked the more closely it held. I
reached down my hand, and after feeling
about a few moments I found that my foot
was in the mail bag. I felt again, and found
my hand in among the packages of letters
and papers. I ran my Angers over the edges
of the opening, and became assured that the
stout leather had been cut with a knife.
Here was a discovery. I began to wish Ihad
taken a little more forethought before
leaving Danbury; but as I knew making such
wishes was only a waste of time, I quickly
gave it up and began to consider what I had
better do under existing circumstances. I
wasn't long in making up my mind upon a
few essential points. First, the man behind
me was a villain ; second, he had cut open
the mail bag and robbed it of some valuable
matter?he must have known the money letters
by their size and shape; third, he meant
to leave the stage on the first opportunity;
and fourthly, he was prepared to shoot me if
I attempted to arrest or detain him.
I resolved these things over in my mind
and pretty soon thought of a course to pursue.
I knew that to get my hands safely
upon the rascal I must take him wholly unawares,
and this I could not do while he was
behind me, for his eyes were upon me all the
time, so I must resort to stratagem. Only a
little distance ahead was a house, and an old
farmer named Lougee lived there; and directly
before it a hnge snow bank stretched
across the road, through which a track had
i 1 J .?:.u ?u
ueen uieaicu mm suuvcio.
As we approached tire cot I saw a light in
the front room, as I felt confident I should,
for the old man generally sat up until the
stage went by. I drove on, and when nearly
opposite the dwelling stood up, aB I had
frequently done when approaching difficult
places. I saw the snow bank ahead, and I
could distinguish the deep cut which had been
shoveled through it. I urged my horses to a
good sp?ed, and when near the bank forced
them into it.
One of the runners mounted the edge of
the bank, after which the other ran into the
cut, thus throwing the sleigh over about as
quickly as if lightning had struck it. My
passenger had not calculated on any such
movement and wasn't prepared for it; but I
had calculated and was prepared. He rolled
out in the deep snow, with a heavy buffalo
robe about him, while I alighted directly on
the top of him. I punched his head in the
snow and sang out for old Lougee. I did not
have to call a second time, for the farmer had
come to the window to see me pass, and as
soon as he saw my sleigh overturned he had
lighted his lantern and hurried out.
"What's to pay ?" asked the old man, as
he came up.
"Lead the horses into the track and then
come here," I said.
As I spoke I partially loosened my hold
upon the villain's throat, and he drew a pistol
from his bosom; and I saw it in good season
aud jammed his head into the snow again,
and I got it away from him.
Bv this time Lougee had led the horses out
and came back, and I explaiued the matter
to him in as few words as was possible.
W'e hauled the rascal out into the road, and.
upon examination we found about twenty
packages of letters, which he had stolen from
the mail bag, and stowed away in his pocket.
He swore, threatened and prayed, but we
paid no attention to his blarney.
Lougee got some stout cord, and then, when
he had securely bound the villain, we tumbled
him into the pung.
I then asked the old man if he would accompany
me to Littleton, and he said : "Of
course, I will."
"So he got his coat and muffler, aud ere
long we started on.
I reached the end of my route with the
mail all safe, though not as snug as it might
have been, and the bags a little the worse for
the trick that had been played upon them.
However, the mail robber was secure, and
within a week he was identified by some officers
from Concord, as an old offender, and I
am inclined to the opinion that he is in the
State prison at the present time. At any
rate, he was there the last time I heard of
him.
That is the only time I ever had any mail
trouble, and I think that under, all the circumstances,
I came out of it pretty well.
Ipscritottcous fUailittg.
GHAHGING THE BATTLE-LINE.
HOW CAVALRY ARE EMPLOYED IN A BATTLE.
Over on the right, our infantry were falling
back and the centre could hardly hold its
ground. The enemy could spare two brigades
and still push our right. They were now
bringing them up uuder cover of the woods
to hurl them at our left. All our troops were
in action, and men died on the battle-line
with the dogged determination not to give bd
inch of ground.
Now there is a lull.
No need to tell a soldier what it means.
The enemy is changing his battle-line so as
to include the reinforcements coming up.
Murder takes a rest for a few minutes.
An aide-de-camp dashes up and inquires
for the officer in command. He rides down
the line to the colonel. Our regiment is all
alone, here and we are less than 700 men in
the saddle.
Away goes the aide, and as the colonel
turns in his saddle to look over the men, we
can all see that he wears a pale face. What
was the order ? It was for that lone regiment
to swing around the corner of the woods
and hurl itself against the enemy coming up!
Was it a blunder, or was the order born in
the grim despair gnawing away at the commanding
general's heart as he felt the battle
going against him ? If any man knows he
has never spoken.
The colonel hesitated just a moment. He
had seen a hundred^addles emptied that day,
and now 700 men were to be matched against
8,000!
"Forward !"
We in the line did not know where, until
we turned the woods and halted to dress the
lines. Half a mile away, and coming forward
in battle line, were the two brigades. There
were stumps here and there in the field, and
the fruit was ripe on a dozen scattering cherry
trees.
There was no order to unsling carbines.
We were going to fight with the sabre alone.
Faces grew pale, teeth shut together hard,
and then the Bilence of death settled upon
the little band.
"Forward!"
"Trot!"
"Gallop!"
"Charge!"
Aye! we are not mutes after all! Yi! yi!
yi! comes the ye 1, and we all take it up.
' n i . I L: 3
r?aores are nasnin , nurses mailing, mm ifuup
ers shouting, and tnere is an exhilaration in
the moment which lifts men in their stirrups.
Will they form in square ?
No! They shout in derision as 700 men
ride down upon 8,000! They halt, and the
front rank drops to its knees, and the rear
rank takes steady aim. I am in the front
rank of our charging line, and I can see every
movement. I wish it was over. It does
not seem possible that one of us will be alive
after their first volley. There will be a grand
crash, a sheet of flame, and the maelstrom of
death will have drawn us to earth.
Nearer?nearer: I hear their officers commanding
them to be cool. Nearer?here is
the crash?the flame?the smoke?the cheers
Hnd groans! Now we are upon them ! Our
horses strike the line like a great wave which
cannot he stayed nor turned aside. I see men
under foot?they jab at me with bayonets,
they strike at me with clubbed muskets.
Bugles sound, officers shout?sabres ring?
muskets crash, and men live through it to j
pass beyond out of the smoke-cloud.
We have broken their lines and confused j
them. They are not retreatiug, but they are J
disorganized for a moment. We can hear J
their officers shouting orders, and there is a
pop ! pop ! pop ! of musketry around us.
"Rally on the centre !"
Every horse knows and obeys the call, j
Under the smoke we re-form. The trooper j
at irty left is leaning forward in his saddle,
sabre gone and both hands clutching his
horse's maue. There is blood on his bare
head and bronzed face, and a bayonet has given
him a horrible wound in the leg. The
three horses beyond me on the right have
empty saddles, yet here they are, ready to '
charge back again!
"Yi! yi! yi!"
Here we go again ! Who leads us I do '
not know. What we are charging I cannot i
see. It is only a minute before I saw bayo-1
nets and men in line, and then comes the
shock. No mau could tell you what takes
place in tbat brief moment. It is a horrible
nightmare of flame and smoke and blood and
death.
We are scarcely through one battle-line
before we wheel to the left and strike another.
The trooper who was at my left is missing.
There are three riderless horses on one side
and two on the other. They keep, pace with
mine. They rear and fling themselves against
the line, striking with their feet, qnd screaming
like wild beasts as the bayonets prick
them.
Now to the right, and we dash through a
line?now a shorty half-circle and men are
knocked down and trampled under foot?now
straight ahead, and we follow the single bugle
call back to the cover of the woods from
whence we started thirty minutes before.
There is a heavy smoke cloud down where we
fought, and under its cover the enemy is
trying to reorganize. It is too late. Our infantry
line of battle has advanced half a mile,
our batteries have secured better positions,
and the enemy must fall back all along its
line or be flanked and crushed.
Where is our colonel ? Dead under one of
the cherry trees. Our major ? Killed as we
charged the first line. Five of our captains ?
Stark and stiffdown there in the clover patch.
Eight lieutenants? Dead where the bluecoats
are thickest.
Where are the troopers who sat in these
bloodstained saddles? When the enemy
draws off we -shall ride over the field and
J count nearly 200 rank and file of the brave
nld ?th whn sleen their Imifr sleen. Their
fingers will be clenched in agony?their eyes
wide open?the grass beneath them saturated
with blood, and their parted lips will seem to
ask of us:
"Have we died for aught which Christian
men could not have peacefully settled in
peaceful voice?"?Detroit Press.
COMPULSORY PRAYER.
AN ADVENTURE OF TOM WOOD, THE QONFEDERATE
SCOUT.
"Well, now, tell us, old friend, when scouting
inside of the enemy's lines, did anybody
ever detect you as a Confederate spy ?"
"Never. But I was mighty near being
caught up once, and the only way I escaped
was by being mistook for my brother Jim."
Hers the smile on his face spread into a broad
grin, and the old man chuckled as his mind
went back to the serio-comical adventure.
Tom Wood, or "Uncle Tommy," as he was
known in General Lee's camp, had never
been with the army in Flanders, but he had
learned their habits all the same, and was
perhaps as wicked a hunter as ever shouldered
a rifle.
"But I'll tell you about how I liked to
have been caught. It was late in December,
and it occurred to me that I would take my
Christmas frolic by making a little scout out
to my home in Randolph county. We were
camped at the Warm Springs, and had nothing
to do in camp and I felt lonesome like.
As Christmas drew on,T got to thinking about
my old woman and the children at home;
ihey were away inside the lines of the enemy,
and I thought Christmas would be more like
Christmas to them if I could unexpectedly
dtop down among them. Sol shouldered ray
old gun, and away I went, out through Pocahontas
and down into Randolph. I got
along first rate on my way out; saw no Federals
; slipped around their pickets; saw my
family, and after enjoying myself for a season,
started back.
"Of course I kept *out of the way of all
the settlements and stuck to the mountains.
I stopped at nobody's house unless I knew
them .to be true blue Southerners. One night
I came to the Greenbrier, and just as dark
came on, a heavy sleet set in. I was cold,
tired and hungry, and the only house where I
could find shelter was the home of old Billy
Johnson, whom I knew to be the most ultra
union man in all that region. I had no personal
acquaintance with him and didn't think
that he had ever seen me, so I concluded to
risk myself under his roof that night anyway.
It was my purpose to give him a fictitious
name, for I felt pretty sure that if he
discovered that I was Tom Wood, the rebel
scout, I would not live to see daylight. Mustering
up courage, and helped along by the
wet and cold, I sought refuge under Johnson's
roof, and was hospitably received.
While sitting by the fire warming myself,
Johnson kept looking into my face very earnestly,
when all at once he arose from his
seat, approached, and standing directly in
front of me, says: "Ain't your name Wood?"
"Here was a poser, and I thought I was
caught. I knew that if he recognized me it
would do no good to lie about it, so I owned
up and said that was my name. "Well,"
said he, 'this is Brother Jimmy Wood, ain't
it?" This relieved me. You see he mistook
me for Brother Jim, and seeing how it was, I
humored the mistake, though Jim is a blasted
sight uglier man nor me. But I wasn't
standing on looks then; the circumstances
didn't admit of it. 'Well, really,' says he,
'Brother Wood, I am glad to see you. I ain't
seen you since the camp-meeting on the hill,
nigh on to twenty years ago.' And he took
my hand and shook it like he was glad to see
me. But I could hardly keep from laughing
in his face at being taken for a class leader.
You see, Jim is a Methodist and a leader in
the church, and so is Johnson, and that's how
he called me 'Brother Wood.' And then he
sot down and talked over old times and the
camp-meeting in the hills, and as the old man
rona willinor tn dn most nf the talking. I was
willing for him to do it.
"I got along very well until we sot up to
supper, when Johnson called on rae to say
grace. 1 had done many a hard day's work ;
had been on many a long scout; have been
iu some mighty hot fights; but I tell you
honestly, boys, the hardest and hottest work
I ever done was to get out that blessing in a
genteel way. But this was no time for flinching,
arid I got through with it. Ererything
moved on smoothly, until bed-time came
around. Brother Johnson put the Bible on
the stand, snuffed the candle and asked rae
to lead in family worship. I had broken the
ice by asking the blessing at the supper table, i
so I read a chapter in the book, and kneeling
down offered up the first prayer of ray life, i
By jings, it was a good one. I didn't forget
to pray for the restoration of the Union and i
the destruction of its enemies. Maybe it was. j
answered. 1 had a good night's rest, and '
when I left in the morning felt better than I i
ever did in my life. In fact, boys, I believe
it does a man good to pray a little once in a
while, even if he is forced to it I mean to i
do more of it hereafter. But'that is the way i
I escaped, by being mistook for my brother
Jim." i
And the grin broadened again on the old
scout's face, and the chuckle sounded louder
and deeper as he mused on his adventure.?
Captain Ma fit, in Philadelphia Times.
" ?
FEATHERS OF A BIRD.
Of a feather's lightness we may form some
idea wheu we find that the largest quill of a
golden eagle weighs only sixty-five grains, and
that seven such quills do not weigh more than
a copper penny-piece; that the feathers of a
common fowl, which weighs thirty-seven
ounces, weigh only three ounces; and that
the entire plumage of an owl weighs only
one ounce and a half. Meant as they are,
some for covering and some for strength, we
shall find them, on examination, very differently
put-together. The light downy part,
when examined through^ microscope, will be
found to bear little resemblance to the flat
part or blade of the quill. If it were not so,
a bird would scarcely be able to fly at all;
for when the flat of the wing was pressed
down, the air would pass through it, and yield
no resistance. The fibres of the downy part, i
we see, have little conuectiou with each other;
they have short and loose side shoots, just
sufficient to mat them together when pressed
close to the skin ; whereas, the side shoots of
the quill feathers hook and grapple with one
another, so as to make one firm and united
surface. But others there are, much stronger
and stiffer than the wing quill feathers; as
those, for instance, forming the tail of the
wood-pecker tribe. And the reason would be
evident to any person who watched a woodpecker
on the stein of a tree feeding. Its
food consists of grubs, usually concealed in
the wood. In order to get them, he must,
therefore, remain fixed on the bark, and make
a hole with his beak, a tedious, if not impracticable
operation, were it not for the wiry stiff
ness of the tail feathers, which press against a
tree and act like an additional limb. The
tail, however, has another use, applicable,
more or less to all birds; it is to them what a
rudder is to a boat, and in many cases acts
like a third wing. If we look at a hawk hovering
in the air, when he remains in one spot
we shall see the tail spread out like a fan, and
it is in a constant state of quivering motion,
balancing the bird, while the wings are keeping
it afloat. It is clear that if water could J
soak into the soft feathery covering of a bird,J
every shower of rain would be the death of 1
thousands, inasmuch as it would increase their
weight considerably, and, at tbe same time, by
destroying the fine elastic nature of their feathers,
entirely disable 'them from flying, and
they must remain in a helpless state upon the | *
ground, either to perish from hunger, or be-1
come tbe prey of men or animals, who would j (
tViam witlinuf tpntlMo Rllf nnrftinsf i
such a possibility they are guarded by an
abundant oily covering, which is constantly
renewed ; so that the rain, instead of sinking
in, runs off, without remaining an instant; j i
and we all know that if we take up a duck, j <
or any swimming bird, we shall find, though :
it might have been diving just before, that it j
is perfectly dry and free from all damp. But j (
this principle of life, it may be so-called, in a
feather, ceases with the life of a-Bird ; for if j
we were to throw a dead duck into the water,
we should find that its coat had lost all power .
of resisting water, and becomes a spongy mass
of .moisture. The growth of feathers in ,
hot and favorable weather is very remarka- ,
ble. It has been ascertained by attepding to
nestlings, that in eight days after their appearing
from the egg in a helpless, naked
state, they have acquired the first part of their
feathers.
HISTORY OF ZERO.
"Zero," on the common thermometer, like
the fanciful names of the constellation, is a (
curious instance of the way wise men's errors ]
are made immortal by becoming popular. It ,
may be worth while to say that the word itself
(zero) comes to us through the Spanish
from the Arabic, and means empty, hence,
nothing. In expressions like "90 degrees '
Fahr," the abbreviation, Fahr, stands for ]
Fahrenheit, a Frussian merchant of Dantzic, <
on the Baltic sea. His full name was Ga- '
briel, Daniel Fahrenheit. <
From a boy he was a close observer of na- 1
ture, and when only nineteen years old, in '
the remarkable cold winter of 1709j he ex- '
perimented by putting snotf and salt togetb* 1
er and noticed that it produced a degree of <
cold equal to the coldest day of the year. 1
And that day was the coldest day that the '
oldest inhabitants could remember. Gabriel '
was the more struck with the coincidence of 1
his little scientific discovery, and hastily con- =
eluded that he had found the lowest degree of '
temperature known in the world, either natu- |
ral or artificial. He called the degree zero, ;
and constructed a thermometer, or rude
weather-glass, with a scale graduating up *
from zero to boiling point, which he number- J
ed 212, and the freezing point thirty-two? 1
because, as he thought, mercury contracted the <
thirty-second of its volume on being cooled T
down from the temperature of freezing water
to zero; and expanded 180th on being heated
from the freezing to the boiling point.
Time showed that this arrangement, instead "
of beinp trulv scientific, was as arbitrary as !
the division of the Bible into verses and chap- J
ters, and that these two points no more represented
the real extremes of temperature than
from "Dan to Beersheba," expressed the ex- "
act extremes of Palestine.
But Fahrenheit's thermometer had been ]
widely adopted with its inconvenient scale; !
and none thought of any better until his 1
name became an authority, for Fahrenheit 1
finally abandoned trade and gave himself up
to science. ,
The three countries which use Fahrenheit
are England, Holland and America. Kussia *
and Germany use Reauraer's thermometer, in *
which the boiling point is counted eighty de- 1
grees above the freezing point. France uses
the centigrade thermometer, so called because )
it marks the boiling point.one hundred de- t
grees from freezing point. On many accounts t
the centigrade system is the best, and the tri- i
umph of convenience will be attained when c
zero is made the freezing point, and when the c
boiling point is put 100 or 1,000 degrees from f
it, and all the sub-divisions are fixed deci- a
mally. 1
If Fahrenheit had done this at first, or c
even if he had made it one of his many ira- a
provements, after the public adopted his er- t
ror, the luck of opportunity, which was real- B
ly his, would have secured to his invention l
the patronage of the world. p
Adopted by a Queen.?In Naples, the
papers tell a very pretty story of the queen of *
Italy. It appears that as she was driving the '
royal wood of Licalo, the-coachman mistook ?
the road, and one of the gentlemen asked a ?
countryman the way. The man, seeing the J
fine carriage and horses, and the servants' *
livery, and all the gay company, thought ^
that he was being fooled. "As if you did not c
know !" he said, with a big grin. The queen ?
laughed, and assured him that they were
lost. Then only did the countrymen conde- 0
scend to point out the way, after which he *
walked oflf as if fearing to be laughed at
again.
"Give him twenty francs for his trouble," ^
said the queen to one of her escort, who, t
going after the countryman, said to him:
"Here, my man, is a little present from the
queen of Italy, who thanks you." / .;
"The queen 1" cried the countryman, re- I
turning to the carriage. "Forgive me that I ii
did not know thee. Eut I- had never seen a
thee before. Thou art as beautiful as a May a
rose. God bless thee," and the carriage
drove off.
Now the countryman, who had once seen
the queen, wanted to see her pretty face
again, and the following day he presented
himself at the palace.
"I know her, you know," he added, mysteriously.
"I spoke to her yesterday, aud I
want to speak to her again."
' Thinking he had to do with a madman,
the porter was about to have the poor fellow
arrested, when the very gentleman who had
given him the twenty francs, appeared, and,
recognizing the man, told him to wait. He
informed the queen of his presence. "Bring
him here, by all means," was the answer.
When the man was for the second time,
before the queen, he said ; "Yes 'tis thou. I thought
I had seen a fairy. Thou art just
1 T V 1 __x x .11 xl X J it x
an angei. i aiu not ten mee yesteruay m u
I have two little ones without a mother.
Wilt thou be their mother ?"
"That I will," said the queen.
"Then there's the twenty francs thou gavest
me yesterday. I thank thee, but I want no
money." And he went away, crying and
smiling like a child.
The queen has adopted the two little ones,
and they are in an institution under her
special patronage.
Saving the Country at S3 a Gallon.
He had been electioneering some time for a
local office, but seeing that there was considerable
lack of genuine enthusiasm among
the suffragans, he determined to give the boys
a little blow-out.
He went to a prominent grocery establishment,
the proprietor of which is a very public-spirited
man. He told the grocer with
great earnestness:
"I am giving H#ncock and me a lift, and
I thought I'd give you a chance to contribute
a few gallons of that three-dollar-and-a-half
whisky. I suppose you know that if we are
to be once more a happy and a united people,
we must do our duty.
The merchant replied that while he yielded
to none when it came to making sacrifices for
the good of the Country, yet he did not think
it was good policy for Texas to poll more
than 100,000 majority for Hancock anyhow ;
however, if he was paid, cash $3.50 a gallon,
he would yield.
"If this is the spirit that animates the business
men of Galveston, then all I've got to
say is that I'll quit. If Indiana and New
York don't go right, you are to blame for it;
but say $3 a gallon for ten gallons of the
Cow-boy's Delight, taking my note for the
money, and it is not too late yet to save the
country."? Galveston News.
Story of a Proverb.?The Boston 'IVanssript,
in answer to a correspondent's query,
retells the origin of the rhyming old saw:
"There's many a slip,
'Tween the cup and lip."
Some of our subscribers who have studied
Greek, may have seen the account in the
Greek readers:
A king of Thrace had planted a vineyard,
when one of his slaves, whom he had much
oppressed in that very work, prophesied that
he should never taste of the wine produced
in it. The monarch disregarded the prediction,
and when at an entertainment, he held
a glassful of his own wine, made from the
grapes of that vineyard, he sent for the slave
and asked him what he thought of bis prophecy
now. To which the other replied :
"Many things fall out between the cup and
the lip," and he had scarcely delivered the singular
response, before the news was brought
that a monstrous boar was laying waste the
favorite vineyard.
.The King, in a rage, put down the cup
which he held in his hands, and hurried out
with his people to attack the boar; but being
too eager, the boar rushed upon him and
killed him, without him having tasted of the
wine.
Why Judge G'Neall Hated Whisky.?
The Judge's father, who lived to be an aged
man, was, in the earlier part of his life, very
prosperous. After passing middle life, he
opened a country store for the sale of goods,
and also began to deal in whisky, and from
Jealing in it, he commenced drinking it. He
ultimately became crazed from its excessive
use. In consequence, besides impairing his
mind, he lost much of his property. There
was an erroneous notion prevailing at that
time, which was near fifty years ago, that the
minds of those thus impaired could be restored,
or partially so, by corporal punishment.
This was inflicted on the old man,
who, thinking it was done with his wife's consent,
forever alienated and* separated her from
iim. In consequence, the family was broken
jp. These were the reasons assigned by the
Judge for his great aversion to intemperance,
rhe loss of property and of social standing,
ind the brpakinc nr> of the familv ties, with
jieat unhappiness, bv his parents, forever
nade the sod one of the strongest advocates
>f the temperance cause the country has ever
produced.
"No Doubt Shis Could Swim.?"Oh ! I
ilmost wish something would happen," she
laid to her group of friends on one of the fer y
boats yesterday. "Since I learned to swim
[ have the utmost confidence in myself, and
['m not a bit afraid of the water."
"Why, can yoa swim ?" asked several at
>nce.
"Oh, yes. I've been practicing for over a
veek, and I can swim, dive and float. You
adies don't know how much enjoyment there
s" in skimming along on the surface of the
vater. Why, I feel perfectly at home there."
"And where do you swim ?" inquired one.
"In the bath tub, of course! Why, our
>ath tub is seven feet long and three feet
vide, and I can swim twice around it without
topping! Oh ! I just wish we had a puddle
n the back yard, I'd learn you all in a Week !"
A Wise Plan.?Every man should mind
lis own business, and only that. It is hard
o tell him in plain words; yet it is one of
he simplest rule3 of conduct, and the most
iseful that mankind can adopt in their inter:ourse
with each other. There is a great deal
?f Paul Prv in the human heart, or wonder
ul inquisitiveness in regard to the personal
ind private affairs of friends and neighbors.
This spirit makes more mischief in the community
than almost any other cause, and ere- 0?
tes more malice, envy and jealousy than can
le overcome in a century. Let every man
aind his own business and there will not be
lalf the trouble in the world that there is at
>resent.
?
S&* The largest tobacco pipe ever made
or actual use was probably one made for a
Russian Count by a maker in New York
ome time ago. The block of meerschaum
rom which it was cut weighed, when ready
or the stem, just half a pound, and measured
i j inches from the outer edge to the joint,
i'he stem was made from a single piece of
louded amber 81 inches long, and was joind
to the bowl by a silver screw. The total
ength was 171 inches, the weight was 14
unces, and the cost only $200, as the bowl,
hough nicely shaped, was not carved at all.
J?* At the beginning of this century the
hurch members in the United Sta'es were 1
o 15 of the population ; now they are 1
o 5, and yet the church attendance is less
iow than then.
ifSF The Great Eastern is soon to depart from
jiverpool for New Orleans on her initial trip
a the cotton trade. The officers and crew
re to have a public welcome on their arrival
t New Orleans,
4t ,
\