Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, May 26, 1881, Image 1
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