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lewis m. grist, proprietor, j ^it Jniirpntiunt Jfamilg Utttospaptr: /or fj)? promotion of f|t ||oIitrraI, Social, ^griraltaral anb Commertial Jnttrests of fjjt Sonljj. |tbrms?$2.50 a year, m advance. "VOL. 27. YOEKVILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1881. HO. 21. ^ Ihe Itovu ScUct. THE DEN OF ROBBERS, Soon after the close of the last war between Great Britain and the United States, Thomas, Stogdon, a tobacco planter living iu the western part of Virginia, started on a journey for the purpose of transacting some private business which required his attention in one of the north eastern counties of that State. His route lay across one of the loftiest spurs of the Blue Ridge, the longest and most picturesque mountain range in the South. As the times were troubled, and the passage across the mountains considered dangerous on account of the robbers who infested them, Mr. Stogdon went not only well mounted but well armed?a brace of trusty horseman's pistols being carried, according to the custom of the day, in front of the rider and attached to the forepart of the saddle. The third night after leaving home, he stopped at a roadside inn, distant about five miles from the base of the mountain. On dismounting, he observed that one of his horses's shoes had been lost, and directed another to be put on at the shop attached to the inn. He rose early nest morning and resumed his journey, with a view of obtaining a morning prospect of the mountain and the scenery of the subjjfceut country, which he had heard was very fine. His horse soon began to limp, and was quite lame when he reached the base of the mountain. Supposing that the shoe had been unskilfully put on at the inn, he stopped at a blacksmith's shop, near the foot of the ridge, and had the horse's foot examined. After diligent scrutiny, the workman said that the lameness was not produeed by the shoe, which was properly adjusted and fastened to the hoof. At the request of Mr. Stogdon, the smith examined all the shoes, but could find no cause for lameness in the fit' or make of any one of them. His quick eye, however, detected a ring of ruffled or lifted hair running aroQud one of the hind legs of the horse, just above the fetlock. Raising the hair, he observed that the flesh, was bloody aud much swollen. On more careful examination he discovered that a small cord of silk had been tied so tightly around the leg that it had cut into the flesh, producing inflammation of the part and, doubtless, also the lameness of the horse. The discovery at once excited the supicion of the workman, who was both honest and shrewd. Calling the attention of the traveler to the cord, which he speedily detached from the leg of the horse, be expressed his apprehension that foul play of some sort wa3 meditated. A'few years before, he related, a riderless horse had come down from the mountain" and was found to be lame from a similar cause, a tight silken cord having cut in almost to the bone of the animal's leg. The owner had never been heard of, and it was believed that he had been murdered and his body concealed in the mountain. The smith suggested to Mr. Stogdon the precaution of examining the priming and loading of his pistols. On examination the flints aud priming in the pans were found to be in proper condition, but the loads had been withdrawn from both barrels, and wads of cloth substituted in their place. The suspicions of Mr. Stogdon were fully aroused by the proofs of a premeditated design of some sort upou him. He was a bold, brave man, however, and did not once think either of changing his route or of abandoning his journey across the mountains. Carefully reloading and testing the reliability of his pistols, he bade adieu to his honest counsellor, after suitably rewarding bim for his labor and advice, and rode off. The morning was already far advanced when he began to ascend the mountain. The road, for several miles, wound along its southern side, midway between the base and the summit. The prospect was grand and beau tiful beyond his most sanguine anticipations. To the right the mountain sank down by degrees, abrupt or regular, to the margin of the champaign country below, which stretch# ed out as far as an eye could reach, and was covered with tobacco farms, corn-fields, dwellings, and all the diversified objects peculiar to a Virginia landscape. On the left the Blue Ridge rose up like a mighty arch springing to mee; and support the sky, exhibiting, in rich profusion, all the grand and most of the beautiful features of mountain scceuery. Delighted with the scene, and absorbed with the emotions which it inspired, Mr. Stogdon rode slowly forward, recalling only occasionally, and for a moment, the suspicion excited by the events of the morning. After running for nearly five miles aloDg the side of the mountain, the road, by an abrupt turn, struck towards the summit, through a deep gorge, whose jagged sides slanted upwards to gr^at heights on either haud. Shut out of the prospect of the subjacent country, and hemmed in by steep acclivities, Mr. Stogdon reverted more frequently to the mysterious developments which had come to light at the blacksmith's shop, and became both alert and cautious in his movements. Arranging his pistols so that they could be easily withdrawn from the holsters, he urged his horse to a quicker pace, as soon as he entered the gloomy avenue of the narrow gorge. He had gone about a mile when he saw, some fifty yards ahead of him, a large boulder or earthy ridge, shooting nearly across the avenue, and leaving only a space, broad enough for the road bed, between its edge and the steep side of the gorge. It was a spot favorable for an attack by surprise, aud Mr. Stogdon surmised, at once, that if one was meditated upon him, it would be made at that point. Checking the pace of his horse, therefore, he rode slowly forward and entered the narrow pass. He had scarcely reached the middle of the defile, wh'ch was about twenty yards iu leugth, when two men rushed kokiml tho f'urtkor nf fhp hnilldor into the road and stood, with leveled guns, only a few yards distaut from Mr. Stogdon. His horse, frightened at the sudden appearance of the men, whose blackened faces and shaggy clothes made them look hideous enough to startle both rider and steed, shied and refused to go forward. The robbers approached and demanded, as they approached, the purse and the valuables of the traveler, promising to spare bis life, if he would surrender them without noise or resistance. Without making any reply, Mr. Stogdon quickly drew forth his pistol from the hostler. A derisive smile passed over the faces of the assailants at sight of the weapon. It was leveled at the nearest robber, who'fell dead upou the spot. The other, startled at the report, and terrified by the fall of his companion, instead of firing his gun, dropped it and fled in the direction from which he had come. Before Mr. Stogdon could draw and present his other pistol, the robber had turned the corner of the boulder and was out of sight Urging his horse forward with some diffi culty, for the dead body of the robber lay in the road, and the animal could scarcely be made to pass it, he discovered a lateral gorge entering from behind the boulder, the one along which the highway ran. Hoping tc overtake the escaped robber, he entered this gorge and rode some distance along its rock) bottom. The scene was wild and dreary presenting whatever is grand and impressive in a mountain solitude. The deep basin o: the gorge covered \?ith rock and tangled un dergrowth, and shaded almost to gloom b; - the dense overhanging forest, seemed a fi | retreat for marauding bauds. It requirec no common nerve to penetrate alone into it I recesses in pursuit of a robber. But thi i blood of the traveler was up, and he littli , ' heeded the risk he was running. ) As he could neither see nor hear anything ' I to direct him in the pursuit, Mr. Stogdoi ! checked his horse, and remaining silent for t t! short time, sheltered by the accidental screer I of a low bushy tree, from observation in th< '! direction the gorge receded from the road j The song of the mountain birds and the lov murmur of tiny waterfalls, were the onl} , sounds he heard. The robber had vanishec | like a shadow, and neither eye nor ear conic ! tell the direction he had gone. | Having made up his mind to abandon the 1 pursuit, Mr. Stcgdon was in the act of turn ing his horse's head towards the road, when he caught, through the branches of the tree ! iu front of him, the glimpse of a man runi ning rapidly up the side of the gorge, some ! distance further up the defile. As pursuit on horseback up the aclivity was impossible, he remained in his position and watched, as I well as he could, the movements of the re! treating figure, which no doubt was that of | the fugitive robber. Climbing from crag to crag, the robber j stopped at length in front of two ledges of j rock which projected from the mountain, a | few feet apart, thus making an entrance or j pass-way into the side of the defile. He | looked earnestly for a moment in the direcI tion he had come, and then, entering between j the rocks, disappeared from the sight of the traveler. Convinced that he had discovered the den of the robbers, Mr. Stogdon at once decided to return to the blacksmith-shop at the base of the J mountain, and give information to the neigh| borhood. Making a careful ocular explora; tion of the surrounding scenery, and fixing in I his mind as many objects as he could, which 1 might serve to identify the spot where the I robber had disappeared", he turned his horse's .head and soon reached the narrow pass in the main road. The body of the dead robber lay as it fell, with the blood puddled around it. Forcing his horse with difficulty to pass it, he rode with a rapid pace and soon reachj ed the shop, where he found several of the ! neighboring planters and the smith still busy ; with speculation unon the mvsterious devel opments which the latter had witnessed in the morning. Mr. Stogdon related to his eager and wondering listeners his adventure in the mountain, the death of one robber and the probai ble discovery of the place of retreat of perI haps many more. In a few hours the news ! spread through the neighborhood, and brought I together a company of forty or fifty men at J the shop. It was decided, without a dissent! iug voice, to ascend the mountain and storm the den of robbers. Guns, axes, dogs and conveyances were soon provided, and the line of march commenced. The cavalcade, moving with celerity and in silence, soon reached the spot where the dead robber lay. The black coatiog being wiped frdra the face, the body was recognized at once as that-of the landlord of the hotel at which Mr. Stogdon had staid the night before. The suspicions of the neighborhood long entertained, as to his character, were now completely confirmed. He was the confed erate of a band of robbers and his hotel was an outpost where plans were concocted and the selected victims disarmed and sent helpless to ! be robbed and murdered in the mountain. The body was placed upon a baggage cart and sent, with proper explanations, in the care of a servant, to the family at the hotel. So secretly had his connection with the robbers been maintained, that the return of the corpse, and the developments which followed, were the first intimation which his wife and children had of his criminal associations. After a brief delay occasioned by the examination and removal ?f the body of the | robber, the company proceeded, under the dij rection of Mr. Stogdon, along the lateral i gorge towards the place where the confeder! ate robber had disappeared between the projecting ledges of rocks. At a point opposite : the supposed cave they dismounted, and, sej curing their horses among the bushes, began j to climb up the steep acclivity. In a few moments, arriving by different routes, the j men and dogs were all assembled at the de; siguated point. The evidences of human in! habitancy were unmistakable. The ground immediately in front of the rocks was trodden and hard. Worn paths branched off in several directions from the spot. The entrance, a narrow passage between the two projecting rocks, ran inwardly, and the avenue, except for a few feet at the opening, was dark j and entirely impenetrable to the eye. It j led evidently into a cave or subterranean shelter of some sort, which the company i prepared at once to explore. Dry branches of trees and dead undergrowth were gathered, tied into bundles and lighted with fire kindled by flint and tinder. With , these for torches, six of the more resolute men entered the opening between the rocks, with the view of exploring the iuterior to ! which it led. The passage was so narrow that only two could walk abreast. Two men in front bore torches, as did the two in the rear. The middle couple carried muskets heavily charged. As they advanced the passage rapidly widened, and the roof sprang up to a great height overhead. They had gone about twenty paces from the entrance when a maze of light, accompanied by the almost simultaneous report of firearms, flashed forth from a distant, interior point of the cave. The j two men in front fell to the earth. Dis , charging their muskets in the direction of the flash, the others retreated from the cave, dragging their fallen companions after them one of whom was seriously wounded and the other entirely d ;ad. Enraged at the spectacle of blood and death, the besiegers began more resolutely the work of assault upou the cave, for sucli it was now ascertained to be, and of consid erable dimensions, too. An effort was made to induce the dogs to enter. The more reso lute advanced a few paces, and then ran back in apparent alarm. The majority stood ai the entrance and barked, but could not b< enticed, by words or blows, to go further. Another expedient was tried. A large tre( 1 was cut down and riven into bolts of consid erable length and thickness. A double row 1 of these timbers was placed upright across th< entrance passage, some twenty feet from th< opening, and securely wedged and braced, sc 1 as to form a powerful barricade or wall. Th< 1 powder in all the horns and flasks, except i - few rounds reserved in each, was poured in { pile on the ground near to the upright tim bers. Another barricade, similar to the in ner one, was constructed in front and close t< [ the powder, a train being first laid from thi i pile, through a notch in the timbers, to th< outer edge of the barricade. A line of dry leaves was formed, extending from the powde: ? several feet outside the entrance. The crowd having retired to a safe distance or hid behind trees and rocks, the train o i leaves was fired by a man who quickly gain > ed the shelter of a large tree close by thi ? cave. In a few moments a terrific explosioi ; fairly shook the mountain and filled the ai > with sulphurous vapor. A stiff breeze, blow j ing directly into the mouth of the cave, sooi r dissipated the smoke, when it was found tha , both barricades had been thrown down b; i j the concussion, but the sides and roof of th f I cave remained unharmed. * Night was now coming on. A detachy meut of the men were sent back to the sett tlement for provisions and such materials as i would be needed in the execution of the next s plan of assault which it was decided to purs sue. The rest remained as a guard over 3 the now imprisoned robbers. Building a large fire near the entrance of the cave, they r watched and slept by turns until morning. 1 At daylight the recruiting party returned, t bringing more men, provisions for man and l horse, and materials for the further prosecu? tion of the assault-upon the cave. After eating a hasty meal and feeding their ? horses, the assailants collected a large quanr tity of wood, green and dry, and then, be1 ginning ks far inwardly in the entrance to 1 the cave as they could venture to go, they, piled it up in successive layers, interspersi ing dried tobacco stalks and leaves, and sul phur in great abundance, among the wood, A ^ *nnn loff Kafirann h /"? I UUCll tt SlUttJl SJWL'C UUIJT YTOO iclb utbHvvu biiv ! top of the pile and the roof of the passage. The outer end of the heap was then set on s fire. A strong wind, still blowing directly ; into the mouth of the cave, spread the flames , rapidly through the pile, and drove the i smoke, in a dense column, into the cave, the narrow avenue between the wood and the roof serving as a flue to conduct it to the interior. No voice or sound came from the cave or, if any was uttered, it was lost iu the roar of the fire, which blazed, and crackled, and flamed in the narrow passage until it glowed i and shot forth sparks and smoke like the crater of a volcano during an eruption. For several hours the fire raged with unabated violence, fresh fuel being constantly supplied from the adjacent wood. The smoke, having filled the cave, streamed out in dense masses and floated off in the direction of the wind to the upper heights of the mountain. At length the fire was permitted to burn down. A stream of water issuing close by, from the side of the mountain, furnished the ready means for cooling the rocks and extinguished the smouldering embers. But it was not until a late hour in the evening that the smoke had escaped from the cave sufficiently to permit an entrance to be made. Witti licrVifprl fnrphpH nnd urmed with guns and pistols, the crowd crept cautiously into the gloomy cavern. The passage which led to it, widening rapidly as they advanced, spread out into a spacious room. Into this ante-chamber several small lateral fissures or apartments opened. The cave, though produced by some convulsions of nature, possessed the regularity and the proportions almost of a work of art. The floor, the sides and the roof were all of solid rock. The torch-'light, reddening the smoke, and reflected feebly from the rocky surface, lit up the gloom with an obscure radiance, which increased the horror of the place. The crowd, advancing and dispersing with apprehensive looks and cautious steps, looked amid the smoke and the sullen light, like a phantom host returning to their covert in the mountain from the glare of the outer day. In the large room, casks, boxes and barrels were found, filled with meat, flour and eatables of various kinds. In the lateral fissures, beds, guns, ammunition, cooking utensils, table furniture, and, in short, almost everything necessary to the rude comfort and convenience of a subterranean dwelling, were arranged in something like household order. The dead bodies of five men, of an old woman, and of a boy, apparently fifteen or sixteen years old, lay scattered through the several apartments, livid and discolored in the face, and most hideous to look upon. After making a full exploration of the cave, and removing from it every article of value, the crowd withdrew, leaving the bodies of the robbers as they found them, unburied and unrecognized. The cave, which had been their abode, thus became their sepulchre, and to this day the tradition of the assault upon the robbers' den lives in the memory of the people in that section of the Old Dominion. MM CELLULOID. Celluloid is a composition of fine tissue paper and camphor, treated with chemicals by a patented process. A rather common impression that it contains gun-cotton is said to be a mistake. It is claimed that it is nonexplosive, but from accideuts that have occurred, it seems to be at least highly inflammable. When crude, it looks like transparent gum, and its color is a light yellowbrown. It can be made as hard as ivory, and can be moulded into any form. With equal ease it can be colored in any tint desired, the dye running throughout the entire substance, and being therefore ineffaceable. Celluloid has made great inroads on the : business of the ivory manufacturers. Its I makers assert that its durability is much | superior to ivory, as it sustains hard knocks : without injury and is not discolored by age ' i or use. Great quantities are used for piano , and organ keys. Billiard balls are made of i celluloid at half the price of ivory, and are | more durable and equally elastic. | Large amounts are used for combs of every xmriofv fnr ttip hflf?Us nf hrnshs and hand .V. ? , mirrors, and all kinds of toilet-articles for . which ivory has been employed. Among many other articles in which celluloid takes . the place of ivory or india rubber, are whip, ; j cane and umbrella handles, every kind of ; harness trimmings, foot rules, chessmen, and , the handles of knives and forks. The freedom of celluloid from sulphur, and i the natural flesh color which can be imparted i j to it, have caused it to be extensively substii tuted for india rubber in the manufacture i of dental blanks, or the gums and other at, tachments of artificial teeth, and it is superior ,j for peucil cases, jewelry, etc., where gold > mountings are used, as it does not tarnish the metal. 1 Celluloid can be mottled so as to imitate the finest tortoise-shell, and in this form it is used for combs, card cases, cigar cases, match boxes, pocket books, napkin rings, jewelry and all kinds of fancy articles. Instead of amber, it is made into mouth-pieces for pipes, cigar holders and musical instruments, and is used as the material of flutes, flageolets and drumsticks. For drumheads it is said to be superior to parchment, as it is not affected by moisture in the atmosphere. As a substitute for procelaiu, celluloid is used for dolls' heads, which can be hammered on the floor without danger of fracture. Beautiful jewelry is made of it in imitation of the most elaborately carved coral, reproducing all the shades of the genuine article. One large establishment is employed exclusively in making optical goods, using celluloid in place of tortoise-shell, jet, etc., for frames of spectacles, eye glasses ami opera ) glasses. It is also extensively used for shoe 2 tips instead of metal tips, having the appear2 ance of patent leather; it is also used for inr soles. Large quantities of thimbles are made r from it, and it is said to be the best material : known for emery wheels and knife sharpi, eners. fi ? Most of the heathen temples in Siam e j are in a state of decay. The decline of Pa1 I ganism is seen in also in the fact that there r | are only one-fourth as many Buddhist priests -j in Bangkok as were there thirty years ago. ] 1 A missionary writing from Siam, says that t that country would ere this have beeu Chrisy tianized, but for the "fearfully wicked exe ample" of business men from foreign countries. IgisfcUiWfflus j?*xdiii?. THE COMING COTTON CROP. IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING REPORTS FROM THE PRINCIPAL COTTON-GROWING STATES. On April 16, in summarizing the cotton : situation, Bradstreet's pointed out that the : receipts for the proceeding four weeks had been larger than for any corresponding period in the history of the trade; For the past four weeks a like story can be told. Reports to the editor of Bradstreet'8, summarized in that journal of May 14, shows that on May 5 there was more cotton on the plantations in the South than at the same date last year. Indications continue to point to a confirmation of the estimate of 6,422,000 bales for the old crop. The journal named, referring | to the course of the cotton market for the 1 next few week, says that it will very probably depend very much on the weather reports from the South. The effect of the last crop has been fully discounted, and whether the final outturn is 6,400,000 bales, or 6,500,000 bales, it "will have little influence on prices hereafter. Feeling that this is the most important feature in the cotton trade at the moment, it has take& great care to be informed as to the progress of planting and the prospects of the growing crop. Full reports I as to the acreage planted with cotton this ' spring being impossible at this early date, I the best available data bearing on the condition and outlook of the new cotton crop are given, and are summarized as follows: Reports from North Carolina and Virginia point to an increased acreage of 7 per cent. The new crop was planted ten to fifteen days later than last year, but owing to the favorable weather for the last three weeks, part of the time lost has been regained. A large in- i crease in the use of fertilizers is noted, and i labor is as good as last year. i South Carolina reports an increased acreage of full 8 per cent., a large increase in the use of fertilizers, and that the crop in some : regions is earlier than it was last year. The j crop prospects are said to be quite equal to ( those of last year. i Georgia advices are to the effect that about i the same acreage as that of last year has been planted with a large increase in the use of ( fertililizers. The crop is reported as very < | promising, though perhaps fifteen days late. 1 Florida reports a slightly increased area planted, and though late in planting, the fine ] i weather for the past two weeks has placed | < the crop in good condition. i Alabama advices state that a slight de- i crease is noted in the acreage planted, and that planting was fully fifteen days later than last year. Telegraphic reports state, however, | that owing to the favorable weather for the ] past two weeks, the crops are as early as usu* i al, and that the prospects are good. i Mississippi has about the same acreage as , last year on uplands. The use of fertilizers ( will be largely increased. Planting was from eight to twenty days later than last i year, but a part of the delay has been re- i covered, and the crop prospect is good. Louisiana has about the same acreage as last year, though planting is fifteen days later. Late advices by mail state that the outlook for the crop is good, and that it is from ten . to twelve days later than last year. i Texas advices announce increased acreage of five per cent. The comparatively small increase in this State is explained by the large amount of railroad building, which has absorbed a large proportion of available lahor. The cron was three weeks later, than last year, but for the past three weeks the weather has been very favorable. Reports by mail say that the stands are good, and part of the delay in planting has been recovered. Arkansas reports an increased acreage of about six per cent., and though the crop in most localities was later than last year, it is reported to be in fine condition, and prospects for the crops are good. Tennessee reports about the same acreage as last year, with planting twelve to thirty days later than last year; but the crop is only ten to twenty da)'s later. The over-flow of the Mississippi River has interfered with planting in some instauces. These reports, which are based on the observation and experience of cotton growers, cotton factors and others throughout the States in which the great staple is raised, point, therefore, to a largely augmented use of fertilizers, an increased acreage of cotton, with the crop thus far in good condition. The drawback occasioned by the delayed spring has, in part at least, been offset by an unusually favorable season since planting. Special telegraphic advices from Memphis and New Orleans speak of the serious damage done in the largest cotton growing counties in Louisiana. Tho following telegram, I received by the editor of Bradsireet'a this ! evening, brings information as to the damage done by floods in Louisiana down to date : "Alsatia levee, about forty miles above Vicksburg, gave way on the morning of May 11, and by evening the crevasse was 250 feet wide, with water rushing through it a tremeni dous rate. The crevasse is widening and | deepening, no efforts being made to check it. i The water is now pouring down Bayou MaI con, and great damage will result from it. ' In the parishes of East Carroll, Tensas, Mad: ison and Concordia, the crops have been : planted, and were well advanced. Can ; scarcely hope for the water to recede in time I to admit replanting." INDUSTRIAL SECRETS. Our ancestors had little faith in patent j laws to protect their rights in inventions. ; What they discovered or invented, they concealed. Workmen were put upon an oath never to reveal the process used by their employers. Doors were kept closed, artisans going out were searched, visitors were rigorously exclui ded from admission, and false operations ! blinded the workmen themselves. The mysteries of every craft were hedged ; in by thick set fences of empyrical preten- ; <ainn<? nnrl inriinial affirmation. The TOVal ! I manufactories of porcelain, for example, were ' I carried on in Europe with a spirit of jealous j exclusiveness. I His Majesty of Saxouy was especially1 circumspect. Not content with the oath of j secrecy imposed upon his work-people, he would not abate his kingly suspicion in favor j of a brother monarch. Neither King nor | King's delegates might enter the tabooed , walls of Meissen. What is erroneously called the Dresden porcelain?that exquisite pottery of which i the world has never seen its like?was produced for 200 years by a process so secret I that neither the bribery of princes nor the | garrulity of the operatives revealed it. Other discoveries have been less successj fully guarded, fortunately for the world. The manufacture of tin-ware in England originated in a stolen secret.' Few readers need to be informed that tinware is simply thin iron plated with tin by being dipped into the molten metal. In theory, it is an easy matter to clean the surface of iron, dip into a bath of boiling tin, remove it enveloped with a silvery metal to a place for cooling. In practice, however, j the process is one of the most difficult in the ; Iarts- . . I ; It was discovered in Holland, and guarded . from publicity with the utmost vigilance for more than half a century. England tried in vain to discover the secret, until James Sherman, a Cornish miner, insinuated him self master of the secret, and brought it home. The secret of manufacturing cast steel was also stealthily obtained, and is now within the reach of all artisans.? Trade List. DON'T BE "DISCOURAGED. Don't be discouraged, if in the outset of life things do not go smoothly. It seldom happens that the hopes we cherish of the future are realized. The path of life, in the prospect, appears smooth and level enough ; but when we come to travel it, we find it up hill, and generally rough. The journey is a laborious one, and whether poor or wealthy, high or low, we shall find it so to our disappointment, if we have built upon any other calculation. To endure cheerfully what must be, and to elbow our way as easily as we can, hoping for little, yet striving for much, is perhaps the true plan. But don't be discouraged, if occasionally you slip by the way, and your neighbors tread over you a little; in other words, don't let a failure or two dishearten you. Accidents happen, miscalculations will somtimes be made, things will often turn out differently from our expectations, and we may be the sufferers. It is worth while to remember that fortune' is like the skies in April, sometimes cloudy, and sometimes clear and favornble; and it would be folly to despair of agaiu seeing the sun, because to-day is stormy ; so it is equally unwise to sink into despondency when fortune frowns, since, in the common course of things, she may be surely expected to smile again. And again; don't be discouraged if you are deceived in the people of the world. It often happens that men wear borrowed characters, as well as borrowed clothes, and sometimes those who have- long stood fair before the world are rotten to the core. From sources Buch as these, you may be most unexpectedly deceived, and you will naturally feel sore under such deceptions?but to these you must become used. If you fare as most people do, they will lose their novelty before you grow grey, and you will learn to trust men cautiously, and examine their character * * i n _ l1 .1 i !i! cioseiy, Deiore you anow mem oppunuumea toiujureyou. Don't be discouraged under any circumstances; go steadily forward. Rather consult your own conscience than the opinions of men, though the last is not to be disregarded. Be industrious?be frugal? be honest?deal in perfect kindness with all who come in your way, exercising a neighborly and obliging spirit in your whole intercourse; and if you do not prosper as rapidly as your neighbors, depend upon it you will be as happy. Curious Custom.?An English gentlemar " '10 has traveled in Palestine, recently gave ~ description of the curious scenes that are enacted in the Church of the Holy Sepulclier. He said when you first enter the church you would be surprised to see a party of soldiers with their swords by their sides, and their guns stacked within reach. It seemed a sacrilege in such a holy place, and struck one rather unpleasantly ; nut soon ne found out the necessity of it. According to the laws of the country, every sect is allowed to worship there, and as it is considered equally sacred by both Christians and Mohammedans, all wish a time for their mode of worship. The law allows them an hour each. They commence at six in the morning. At that hour, those who have the first privilege enter, bringing with them whatever is necessary to conduct their particular religious rites. They go through their chants, and all is very quiet to about a quarter to seven, when those who have the privilege of the next hour begin to arrive. At first all is decorum, but presently the new comers begin to hiss and mock. As their numbers increase, and they become stronger, they push and crowd, and as the time lessens they get more and more bold. A few minutes before seven they proceed to more forcible demonstrations. They think if they clear out these blasphemers a few minutes before the time, they have done so much good work, while the worshipers on the other hand think if they can keep possession a few minutes after their time, they have done an equally good work. As some of these sects use torches, wax candles, staves, or crooks in their worship, they proceed to use them as weapons of offense or defense, and a free fight ensues. Then come in the soldiers, who separate the combatants by filing in between them, turning out those whose hour is up, and leaving the place in the possession of the last comers. If blood is shed, the church is closed for the day. Such scenes are occuring all day long, and the presence of soldiers is absolutely necessary. ,?? ? > An Editor's Dream.?The editor fell asleep after a time, and lo! he dreamed a dream. And it seemed to him that having armed himself with certain papers and books, he turned his steps once more towards heaven and knocked at the gate. "Hello! is that you again ? What do you wish ?" said Peter. "Let those persons again come forth," replied the editor; and Peter made them all pass through the gate and stand outside. They canle as before and uttered the same cries as before. "Why didn't you notice the big egg I sent you !" yelled the first. "It was rotten," replied the editor. "Why didn't you write up my soda fountain said the druggist. "You had your tickets printed at another office, calmly replied the local man. "Why did you write about old Tomlinson's hens, and never speak of my new gate?" shouted a third. "Old Tomlinson paid for his advertising and you didn't. Here's the bill," said the editor. "Why did you spell my name wrong in the programme?'' groaned the local talent. "Take a look at your manuscript and see for yourself," replied the editor with a grim smile. The rest of the company yelled out their complaints in unison, and the editor calmly sorted out a pile of bills for unpaid subscriptions and presented each with one ; and it was so when they received them they all tore their hair and rushed violently down a steep place to the sea ; and St. Peter taking the editor calmly by the hand, led him within the gate, and said: "Come, friend, these chaps managed to ol!^. (Unnifti Uro in cnito r\F na hilt thanks tfl ' OJl|/ liJlUUgli IJVl V 1U U|/?VW v? v?s/| V .w | the press, we know now what sort of fellows! they are. Come in and stay ; we need a few ! such men as you in here." Marriage in Albania.?Albanian mar- j riage arrangements are very peculiar. When ; a damsel arrives at marriageable age, her parents publish the fact among their friends and i acquaintances. Should no suitor come forward, it rests with her brothers to find one. j A brother thus circumstanced will sometimes : come up to a male friend in the street and | make the complimentary proposal then and I there. "You are the man I want to see?" j thus goes the abrupt formula on these occa-! sions?"my sister is now fourteen years old ; j you must marry her." As etiquette forbids j a plump refusal, the gentleman thus honored gives a sort of half acquiescence, and I then hurries off to instruct some old lady to act as go-between. Should he be satisfied with the report made, after due inquiry, by this advisor, the wedding is arranged ; but not until the very last moment is the expectant bridegroom allowed to see his future spouse, and then it would be contrary to the prescriptions of society for him to draw back, however unprepossessing she might prove to be. After the performance of the ceremony, a very curious piece of etiquette comes into play. Among the Asiatics and uncivilized people generally, it is the rule of the brideelect to feign coyness ; but among Arnauts the bridegroom has to make this pretence. After the marriage feast is over,' and the newly-made wife has withdrawn, her husband lingers behind ; and not until he has been Isubjected to a variety of rough usage by her j relatives, are the prescriptions of etiquette : considered to be sufficiently complied with to ' admit of his following the lady. Here, how1 ever, the subjection of the husband ceases, and his reign commences. The wife is now subject to his caprices, and is expected to be subservient to his commands and wishes. The Turn of Life.?From forty to sixty, a man who has properly regulated himself may be considered in the prime of life. His matured strength of constitution renders him almost impervious to the attacks of disease, and experience has given his judgment the soundness of almost infallibility. His mind is resolute, firm, and equal; all his functions are in the highest order; he assumes the mastery over business; builds up a competence to the foundation he has laid in early manhood and passes through a period of* life attended by many gratifications. Having gone a year or two past sixty, he arrives at a critical period in the road of" existence; the river of death flows between him, and he remains at a standstill. But athwart this is a viaduct called "The Turn of Life," which, if crossed in safety, leads to the valley of "old age," round which the river winds and then flows beyond without a boat or causeway to effect its passage. The bridge is, however, constructed of fragile materials, and it depends upon how it is.-trodden, whether it bend or break. Gout, apoplexy, and other bad characters also are in the vicinity to waylay the traveler, and thrust him irom tne pass; but let him gird up his loins and provide himself with a fitting staff, he may trudge on in safety with perfect composure. To quit metaphor, "The Turn of Life," is a turn either into a prolonged walk or into the grave. The system and powers having reached their utmost expansion, now begin to close like flowers at sunset, or break down at once. One injudicious stimulant?a single fatal excitement, may force it beyond its strength, whilst a careful supply of props, and the wfthdrawal of all that tends to force a plant, will sustain it in beauty and vigor until night has entirely set. HABiT.-r-Habit constantly strengthens all our active exertion. Whatever we do often, we become more and more apt to do. A snuff taker begins with a pinch of snuff per day, and endB with a pound or two every month. Swearing begins in anger; it ends by mingling itself with ordinary conversation. Such like instances are of so common notoriety that they need not be adduced; but as I before observed, at the very time that the tendency to do the thing is every day increasing, the pleasure resulting from it is decreased by the blunted sensibility of the bodily organ, and the desire is irresistible though the gratification is nothing. There is rather an entertaining example of this in Fielding's "Life of Jonathan Wild," in that scene where he is represented as playing cards with the count, a professional gambler. "Such;" says Mr. Fielding, "was the power of habit over the minds of these illustrious persons, that Mr. Wild could not keep his hands out of the count's nnokpta tVinnorh he knew t.hev were enrrntv : fvu"u~l ? 6 J I -J nor could the count abstain from palming a card although he was well aware that Mr. Wild had no money to pay him." ?? Curing a Bad Memory.?Your memory is bad, perhaps, but I can tell you two secrets that will cure the worst memory. One is to read a subject when stroDgly interested. The other is not only read but think. When you have read a paragraph or a page, stop, close the book and try to remember the ideas on that page, and not only recall them vaguely in your mind, but put them into words and speak them out. Faithfully follow these two rules, and you have the golden keys of knowledge. Besides inattentive reading, there are other things injurious to memory. One is the habit of skimming over newspapers, items of news, smart remarks, bits of information, political reflections, fashion notes, all in a confused jumble, never to be thought of again, thus diligently cultivating a habit of careless reading hard to break. Another is the reading of trashy novels. Nothing is so fatal to reading with profit as the habit of running through story after story, and forgetting them as soon as read. I know a grayhaired woman, a lifelong lover of books, who sadly declares that her mind has been ruined by such reading.?St. Nicholas. ?? AST The Paris correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, sends the following account of the latest scientific sensation : "A remarkably interesting experiment has just been made at Calais and Dover, between which places a conversation has been kept up viva voce by means of a new kind of telephone, which has been patented under the name of electrophone. Not only were the words whispered into the apparatus at Calais distinctly heard at Dover, but the listener at one end was perfectly able to distinguish, by the mere tones of the voice, the person who was speaking at the other end. The inventor maintains that it is just as easy to talk across the Atlantic as from one room to another, and he has succeeded so well in the first practical illustration of bis apparatus, that one is scarcely justified in doubting his assertion that he has found out a system by which words spoken from the other side of the ocean can be distinctly heard. ? - j. ? An'dersonville Prison.?An ex-soldier writing from Macon, Geo., to the Chicago Tribune, of Andersonville prison, says: "The former strong walls of upright pine posts are rapidly decaying, and in most places a ridge of rotten wood is the only sign remaining of the once formidable barricades. Young oaks and pines have sprung up rapidly since the war, and many of them have attained a height j of fifteen or twenty feet. The numerous wells i * ? .1-- r? DT;Df qug dj me pribuuero jui nam ob<ii caiot, The caves and burroughs which they dug for shelter have mostly been changed into slight furrows or ridges by the wear and tear of time. The memorable "Providence spring," at the foot of the hill, which suddenly burst out one night, in the midst of a very dry time, when the prisoners were praying for water, still exists. Its cool, clear waters are the sweetest and freshest to be found in all that region. Newspapers.?There are certainly no products of the arts so cheap as the newspaper, and it is difficult to imagine any other thing. Were it not a medium for the communication of the commercial needs of the community which form a part of its income, but are not strictly one of its journalistic functions, it would be impossible to furnish what it does at the prices which it gets. That on the whole it does not pay like other furnished products?the cake, the cigar, the oyster supper, the ribbon, the laces, the glass of beer? can only be explained on the theory once advanced by the English philosopher w4io was asked why the manufacturers of ale were all millionaires and the authors all poor. "Because," he replied, "for one man who has brains thirty have bowels."-?Detroit Free Press. 4?* A stage coach was recently stopped by robbers not far from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the passengers made some remarkably hasty movements in changing the locality of their valuables. Capt. Millett snatched off his watch and chain and threw them in the brush, and wearing a long beard, he martaged to conceal a valuable diamond pin by holding down his head. He also cut a slit in the lining of the coach and slipped $600 in greenbacks out of sight Judge Leisenring shoved his watch and chain into his boot All this was accomplished before the robbers could get them out of the coach. There was great cursing by the robbers at the poverty of the travelers, and in revenge they were kept about two hours with their hands up in the air. ? ? ^ a?" The Springfield Republican predicts that Postmaster James' real trouble will begin when Congress meets. It adds: "Every ruuitt ue uno ujsl'uxjuuucu ui uu nutuu Uo haa decreased service and pay, means money to some Congressman's constituent. All over the-South there are steamboat lines?whose I profits have been killed by the railroadsdependent on a star route contract for their existence. These lines are a convenience to the locality, a very great convenience to the men who own them, and southwestern communities are extremely apt to gauge a member's success by the number of routes he secures for his district?just as a Northern constituency thinks that a Congressman is not worth much who does not see that the local manufacture is taken care of in the tariff." ' The Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad will change its track from the Southern, or five-foot gauge, to the Northern standard, four feet eight and a half inches, in June.' The Louisville and Nashville Railroad is making arrangements for a similar change, which will be consummated in a few weeks, and it is understood the Cincinnati Southern will soon follow. The late freight blockade at Louisville and Cincinnati has precipitated this change. This blockade was largely due to the fact that the cars reaching Louisville from the-North and West, were of a different gauge from those going South, and, as a consequence, goods had to be transferred at that point. ? ^ ? a?" On Tuesday of last week, the limited express train on the Pennsylvania line, made the distance between Philadelphia and Jersey City, 89 miles, iu 95 minutes. In passing through the cities and large towns, the speed was reduced to 40 miles an hour, but at some points the speed reached a rate of 70 miles an hour. Four hundred passengers were on . -t-.'-v ? J i? lot) iraiLi, wuicu wan umnu uj vuo u> powerful engines recently turned out of the shops at Altoona. It is rumored that in a few days the schedule time of the limited express betweeen Washington and New York will be reduced tc five hours. - ?? m 16?* The value of a half dollar for 1818 is sixty cents. A silver dollar of the issue of 1846 is worth $1.25, and of the issue of 1859 $1.15. A penny of the date 1796 is worth about twenty-five cents. A copper cent for 1797 is worth about twenty-five cents ; 1802, ten cents ; 1807, twenty cents ; half ceqts 1825, ten cents ; 1826, five cents ; 1832, ten cents; 1833, six cents. A Confederate silver dollar, of which a few were coined in New Orleans, in 1861, is worth one hundred dollars. : 16T The first telephone was finished January 15th, 1876. During the succeeding five years the wonderful little instrument has come into daily use in civilized countries, as well as in Egypt, China, and other places not usually included in the term civilized. Only one large city in the United States is now without a telephone exchange. There are 408 of such exchanges, and 132,692 instruments in use in the country. Speech *was recently transmitted from Tours to Brest, a distance of 800 miles. Nineteen boxes of tea, made from this !!__* 1_ t spring's picKings, were receivea iasi wee* oy Gen. LeDuc, of the department of agriculture, Washington, from the Georgia tea plantation of forty acres, eighteen miles from Savannah. The tea was made up into English tea, a fermented one, and resembled the product of-the finest India growth tea, while the.quality was equal to the finest, and finer than any sample that could be procured of similar teas grown in India or China. + + ? Domestic Disease.?A couple (not long married,) were contending, about what should be the name of their first and only child. "William, my dear, I want to name him Peter." "Oh I no, my love ; I don't like Peter? be denied his master. Let us call him Joseph." "Why William, I can't bear Joseph?he denied his mistress." ? ? JS^-The Freedmen's Bank Commissioners have over $100,000 of unclaimed dividends on hand. When the bank buildiug is sold, another dividend of 15 per cent, will be declared. After the concern shall have been wound up, the colored people will be out of pocket $1,200,000. Southern Congressmen will attempt to have that vast sum refunded by the Government. 98h The American Bible Society received for the yearendiog March 31, $606,485, and issued 1,155,017 copies of the Bible. This society will continue to issue the "King James" version, to which its charter limits it, and will have nothing to do with the New Revision. An Eastern paper says: "Brush, the inventor of the electric light, could not borrow $5 at one period of his life. He now has an income of $1,000 per day." To this it is cleverly answered that thousands who could not borrow five dollars, years ago, are in precisely the same fix now. . $@-A.M. Gib8on,oftheNew York Sun, was denounced by Star Route Brady as a blackmailer. In reply, he publishes a mild little card, beginning : "Thomas J. Brady is a thief and a cowardly liar. I invite his attention to the fact that my language is unequivocal and clearly actionable." ? * BO?* The St. Louis Globe-Democrat is authority for the statement that Texas has passed a law, which the Governor has approved, giving every Confederate soldier who enlisted in that State, a pension in the shape of a grant of public lands. t&* It is said of a girl out in Indiana, that last year she cultivated, harvested, threshed and sold 350 bushels of wheat. And now, instead of going to Washington to press her claims for a postoffice, she has bought a new sulky-plow, and entered on another campaign. ? Gov. Cornell, of New York, has signed a proclamation calling attention to the laws against lotteries and instructing district attorneys to enforce the law against them, 'there is no telling how much these swindling concerns take in from confiding Southerners. terThe American Watch Company,at Waltham, Mass., is making an addition to its works that will increase its capacity for production I to one thousand watches per day. j