Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, December 21, 1882, Image 1
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lewis m. grist, proprietor. | Inbfpfnirml J'amilg ftetospper: tjje |romation of tlte |olrtical, Social, ^grinxltnrai anH Commercial Interests of t|e Sontj). |terms--$2.50 a year, in adtance.
VOL. 28. * YOEKYILLE. S. C.. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 21, 1882. HO. 51.
Original ?odrg.
. Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.
THE RECKLESS SPIDER.
BY EZEKIEL SMOKER, ESQ.
Behold, what comes here? It is a spider!
Descending on a thread with lightning speed ;
Indeed, he's a bold and daring rider,
And he'll be on me, too, without great heed.
Puff!
Why has he thus dared to leave the ceiling,
Where, it seems, he's made firm and fast his
thread,
To be attracted down by the gleaming
Of the candle here, shining so bright and red ?
Puff!
Or can it be this veturous insect I
Has been induced to take this downward tlight,
Because he thinketh all his deeds correct,
And so very jnst that thev will bear the light?
Puff!
Be this as it may, he's fast descending,
Heeding not the breeze that drives him to and
fro;
. But I'll be patidnt and see the ending
iLI "J n.t.o.o ho rot mov trrt.
KJl IU1S WliU rouic, auu nuovuv J~. ? ?
Puff!
'Pon my word, he's making rapid headway,
For some daring purpose or reckless gain;
'Tis, perhaps, to make some frail thing his prey,
Regardless of its rights, if he but gain.
Puff!
But in mercy I'll fight the creature back.
I take no pleasure in beholding pain,
And I see he's on a dangerous track,
And if not turned will perish in the flame.
Puff!
See hanging now, he swiflgs o'er the taper,
O, headlong wanderer, get thee back again,
XV But he will not heed, and through the vapor
Fast he sinks down into the burning flame!
Puff!
Mercy! how he twists and writhes in agony!
I saw this end, and warned him of his shame;
But wild and reckless he plunged on his way,
With speed down to fire and unending pain.
Puff!
This was but a poor, unreasoning insect;
Time and all else will soon be o'er with him.
Behold, that's his last struggle; his life is spent,
And there he roasts?a spirit black and grim.
Puff!
Yea, even now to a cinder he's burned.
Poor thing! he went as all the reckless goMost
rapidly, and even unconcerned,
The shortest way to death and endless wo!
Puff!
But, O my soul, why should any mortals,
Like spiders, run the brittle thread of life,
Till at last it snaps at death's dark portals,
There evermore to sink in endless grief ?
Puff!
But men, like the spider, oft refuse to turn,
^mvn QnmA riskv
? nen lurtju i\v uusv tiguio .. .. 4.
track,
Till Death has laid tliem in his silent urn,
And God, for judgment, calls their spirits back!
Puff!
Mia??j???i^?<?OM?w?!
She ftartr idler.
i
THEMISSUfW WITXm !
.
"I'm afraid it's a bad case," I said to myself,
as I laid down my brief, after reading it
"" over for the third or fourth time, and leaned
back in my chair to reconsider it for about the
twentieth.
"A bad case, and I am sorry for It."
I waS a barrister, young, l>oth in years and
professional standing, and this was the first
brief of any importance I had ever held. My
client was an Italian sailor named Luigi Bernini,
and the crime of which he was accused j
was robbery; the plunder being the lifelong |
savings of a woman upward of eighty years of i
age, which the poor creature kept hidden in !
the thatch of her little cabin.
The witnesses were the old woman herself,
who had been stunned by a severe blow from
the perpetrator of the theft, and a neighbor,
who denosed to having met the prisoner in the
immediate vicinity ofthe cabin. When Ber-1
nini was arrested* some days later, a curious
foreign coin, identified as a part cf the stolen j
hoard, was found in his pocket. This, howev- ;
er, he accounted for by saying that he had j
picked it up on the road. The weak point in
the chain of evidence was a scarcely percepti-1
ble hesitation on the part of one of the wit- {
nesses. She had at first declared positively
that the prisoner was the man whom she had
seen going toward old Joan's cabin, and had
afterward adhered to this statement with what
afterward appeared to be dogged obstinacy,
rather than real conviction.
? The prisoner himself positively denied having
been in the neighborhood at all on the day
of the robbery, but unfortunately he could not
speak with certainty as to his whereabouts.
He had been lately dismissed from hospital, j
scarcely convalescent, after a bad fever ; his
own ship had left the port, and he had been rejected
by the captains to wiiom he had offered ;
his services, as not being sufficiently robust |
for a sailor's work. He had a little money left j
and, therefore, took to wandering aimlessly '
about the country, intending, as soon as the
Columbia returned, to ship aboard of her again. ,
His mind had been weakened and confused by j
his illness, and although he knew that for sev-:
eral days preceding and following that of the j
robbery, he had been in a part of the country i
fully twenty miles distant, he could not posi-;
tively say where he had been, or to whom he
had spoken on the day in question. Many in- ;
quiries had been made, and many persons in- j
terviewed, who remembered "the poor foreign ;
chap," but no accurate information as to dates |
was forthcoming. As the testimony of the person
who had extended her hospitality to him, '
"either of a Tuesday or a Thursday, she could j
not say which," would not, unfortunate- j
ly, carry much weight in a court of justice,
I had to trust for a defense to the cross-'
examination of the witnesses, whose character
for veracity I hoped, by judicious management
of the usual forensic weapons, to compel them
to annihilate with their own lips. I much regretted
this want of evidence, as I was strongly
prepossessed in favor of the prisoner;soinething
frank and honest in his face making it
difficult for me to believe him guilty of the
cowardly crime of which he was accused.
Besides, it was, as I have said, my first important
case, and self-interest and professional instinct
alike prompted me to desire the successful
issue. But of this I had little hope.
T 1.,ia ooi/ln mtr at lonrrHi iirifl ivpnt nn
J. 1CV1U (bOIUV ik/tiv*. I?V v,.% ..J,
to the drawing-room, where I was greeted by
my cousin and hostess with a somewhat petulant
reproof for having lingered so long over
those musty law papers.
Alice and I had been children together?a
big girl and a little boy?we had grown from
playfellows into friends, and since her marriage
her house in Carrigarvan had been my restingplace
in assize times. I was at no loss to understand
the cause of her vexation at my tardy
appearance. She was somewhat of a matchmaker,
and having no one but myself on whom
to exercise her talents, she had devoted them
exclusively to my serviee. She had already decided
on a suitable wife for me, and was exerting
herself to the utmost to bring about the
marriage. The chosen young lady was present,
and I knew that Alice was much annoyed
with me for devoting the evening to my brief
instead of to Dora Lyne. The latter was the
daughter of a solicitor in good practice, and
was herself a very pretty, bright-looking girl,
who would, I was compelled to admit, be a
most desirable wife for a young unknown barister.
I was thoroughly fond of Alice, and she was
my chosen confidante whenever I needed one ;
but I could not tell her even that the true reason
which prevented Dora Lyne's brown eyes
and sweet voice making their due impression
on me wa9 the remembrance of a face seen but
during a three-hours' railway journey, a face
with dark gray eyes and quiet, thoughtful expression,
and of a voice heard at somewhat
intervals in the space of time, whose lowpitched
tones still vibrated in my imagination.
; Alice would have been too good-natured to
| laugh at me, but I felt sure that, had she
: known the state of the case, she would have
1 entertained, and probably expressed, fears that
i over-study had affected my brain?an opinion
| that would probably have been shared by all
! persons whose characteristic was common
j sense.
Miss Lyne, perceiving that Alice was vexed
| with me, and wishing, I think, to show that
she did not share the feeling, called me over
to look at some prints and photographs which
she was examining.
"Alice," said Miss Lyne, at length, "did
you show Mr. Lest range the sketch you found
in that book V"
"No," said Alice ; "I forgot it. You will
find it in that volume of the "Stones of Venice"
on my table, Richard. It is really a beautiful
sketch. I wonder how it came to be forgotten
in the book."
I brought the book to Dora Lyne, who turned
over the leaves until she found the drawing,
which she put into my hands. The moment I
saw it I uttered an exclamation of surprise,
which brought my cousin at once to my side.
It was a spirited water-colored sketch of a
man's head?a dark, foreign-looking face sur
mourned oy areu cap. il was, iiuwcyw, unmer
the skill of the artist nor the picturesque
beauty of tho model that attracted my attention
; it was in the fact that in the somewhat
peculiar features of the latter I recognized
those of my client, Luigi Bernini.
"What an odd coincidence !" said Alice,
when I had explained. "I wonder who could
have taken the sketch?some one who knows
how to handle a brush," she added, looking
critically at it. "See, here are initials and a
date, buc they are so faint that I cannot make
them out."
"Let me try," said Dora ; "I have good
sight." She took the sketch over to the lamp
and scrutinized it closely. "W. M. D., but I
cannot make out the date. Stay, I have it.
May 10th, 13?
"May 10?why, that was the very day of the
robbery," I said. Then the full significance
of this date flashed suddenly upon me and I
adsolutely turned giddy. "T1 e alibi 1" I
gasped?"If we could find the man who did
that sketch, we might succeed in proving the
alibi." Dora Lyne grasped my meaning with
ready quickness*
"Morrison's library that book came from,
was it not, Alice V They ought to be able to
tell you there who had it on, or immediately
after, the 10th of May.".
'And the person, whoever she or ne is, will
have to be hunted up," I said, "and there's
so little time. This is Monday and the trial is
fixed for Wednesday.. I supjwse Morrison's is
closed by this, Alice ?"
"Indeed it is," she answered. "You would
find no one there now but a caretaker. You
must just wait patiently until to-morrow,
Richard."
I had perforce to wait ; as to the patience
with which 1 did so, the less said the better.
The following morning found me at Morrison's
library. On explaining my business,
I was referred to the clerk in charge of the
library department, from whom I totally failed
to obtain the required information. The
young man who usually attended to that part
of the business was away ; i# I could call next
week?"
I intimated with what appeared to me, at
the time, most praiseworthy self-control, that
next week would not do, giving a partial explanation
of the circumstances. But the clerk,
although apparently willing to help me, professed
himself quite unable to do so.
"You see, sir," he said, "if you wanted to
know what book any subscriber had out at a
given time I could probably tell you, but as
for ascertaining the whereabouts of a special
book?it's an impossibility. If you like to
look over our entries for yourself, you tire
welcome to do so."
I accepted this offer, and spent a good part
of the day in turning over the blotted pages
wherein were inscribed the names and course
of reading of Morrison's. And an unprofitable
morning's work it was. The record in all
appearances imperfectly kept, and I failed to
trace the second volume of the "Stones of
Venice" through a period longer than three
weeks, during which time it had twice changed
hands.
Some hours more were spent in hunting up
the persons in whose possession it had been
for that length of time, neither of whom could
give any information concerning the sketch.
An application to Bernini himself was equally
fruitless. lie remembered that a lady and
gentleman whom he had met during his wanderings
had asked him to sit to them, but he
did not know who they were, nor could he
even make it clear where the incident had
occurred.
I returned home at dinner-time, tired and
baffled, to report my failure to Alice and her
husband, from whom I received much sympathy
but no suggestion of any practical value.
I had given up hope, and was endeavoring to
dismiss the subject from my thoughts, when
late in the eveing the hall door-bell sounded
and a message came up that a person wanted
to speak to Mr. Lestrange. Going down I
found a bright-looking boy, one of the sbop
assistants at Mr. Morrison's, who had been
for a short time aiding in my investigation of
the entries.
"I think I have what you want, sir," he said,
as I entered the room. "It was in my mind
all that day that I had given out the book to
someone, I couldn't think who, and a chance
word that I heard this evening brought it all
back to me like a flash. It was to Mrs. French,
of litdeourt. that leave it., and it must have
been on the 3rd or 4th of Miiy. Here is the
lady's name and address, sirand he handed
me a slip of paper on which was written "Mrs.
French, Redcourt, Kilearran."' It was in Kilcarran
or tiie neighborhood that, according to
Bernini's own statement, he had spent the
day of the robbery.
Thanking and dismissing the lad, I returned
to the drawing-room with my prize. The
next step was to communicate with Mrs.
French. Kilearran was fully fifteen miles
from Carrigarvan, and the trial was to begin
the following morning.
"Hand me over that railway guide. Dick,"
said Alice's husband. "I thought so?no train
before ten. There's nothing for it but for me
to drive to Kilearran the first thing in the
morning?the mare can easily do it in two
hours?and if 1 lind that any one there can
give evidence worth having, I'll bring them
back with me, and have them in court before
the case for the defense opens."
The trial began next morning, proceeding at
| an unusually rapid rate. It seemed to me
! that the learned counsel for the prosecution
j had never before put forth his wisdom and
I legal knowledge in so condensed a form. The
j cross-examination of the witnesses was of
i course in tny hands, and I did my best to make
; it as tedious as possible, totally failing, how
CI", III III jtllr-Ull'lO III l/Ulllll^c llll lll ?<1 vuu.n,
j them to contradict themselves. My only hope
i lay in the unknown witness, and of him there
; were no tidings. The case for the prosecu!
tion closed and the court adjourned for lunch ;
I was standing in the barroom, thinking over
my speech for the defense, and mentally re-ari
ranging my sentences after the manner of the
; most prosy member of the circuit, when a note
; was handed to me: "All right?the witness
I is in the sheriff's room."
Going into the sheriff's room 1 found my
j cousin, accompanied by a strange lady and
gentleman.
j "This is the prisoner's counsel," said the
j former, as I entered. "Allow me to introduce
, Mr. Lestrange?Miss Darey, Mr. French." I
j turned to the lady as her name was pronoun
! ced, and. I am afraid, forgot to bow, in my
i surprise and delight at recognizing iti the tall,
j fair-haireil girl before my dream of the last
| six months ; my unknown love, another
i glimpse of whom had been my chief desire
; ever since I lost sight of her as she stood on
I the platform of the little roadside station
where she had alighted.
"It was Miss Darcy who did that sketch,"
j said my cousin, "and she remembers all about
i it."
j "Yes," said the girl, "the sketch was taken
j at Killcarran on the 10th of May. 1 remem|
berall the circumstances perfectly, and should
' have no difficulty in identifying the original."
Having by a few hurried ijuestions convinced
myself of the value of Miss Darcy's testimony,
I took her and her brother-in-law,
placing them where they had a full view of the
prisoner. Miss Darcy looked attentively at
the latter for a minute and then said, decidedly
:
"Yes, that is the man."
I opened the case for the defense in as few
words as possible, and then called up my witness?Winifred
Darcy. She gave her evidence
very well, in grave, concise language, without
irrelevance or circumlocution. She stated
that she lived at Redcourt with her sister,
Mrs. French and that on the 10th of May she
and her cousin had spent the greater part of
the day sketching by the river-side at Kilcarran.
At about 2 o'clock a gust of wind had
carried her hat into the stream, whence it
was recovered by the prisoner, who happened
to pass by the moment. Interested by something
in his appearance, they tried to enter
into conversation with him, but without
much success, his English being very imperfect.
They, however, managed to make him
understand that they wished to employ him as
a model, and he sat to them patiently for
more than an hour, at the end of which time
he went away with many expressions of gratitude
for the money they gave him. Miss
Darcy would have been certain as to the date,
even if it had not been affixed to the drawing
(which was produced in court), as her cousin
I had arrived at Kilcarran- on the SthmfMay,
j and left on the 11th.
j Cross-examination failed to cast any doubt
; on the accuracy of Miss Darcy's evidence,
! while her veracity was of course above suspicion.
The j 1117 professed themselves satisfied with
the evidence, and declining to hear counsel
for the defense, returned a verdict of ''Not
Guilty." The prisoner was seized upon by some
of his compatriots, who were serving on the
mixed jury, and carried off in triumph, somewhat
dazed by the change in his prospects.
Some months afterward, a man, dying from
the effect of a hurt received in a drunken
brawl, acknowledged himself guilty of the
crime of which Bernini had been accused. He
also was an Italian, and bore sufficient resemblance
to his countryman in height and complexion
to account in some degree for the mistake
of the witness.
As for me, I date the beginning of both my
professional success and of my life's happiness
fjom the day of Bernini's trial.
Mormon Faces.?The Salt Lake Trimne,
published in the Mormon country, says: Uiere
are three distinct types of faces, denoting
stubbornness, ignorance and superstition. The
stubborn face first strikes the observer. A
forehead like the end of a filbert, crooked nose
and a protruding lip. Such faces belong to
men who will take the minority side of aiy
question and stick to it clean to the gme.
Every town has some odd, cranky character
who is willing to bet two dollars atd a half
that the world is fiat; who denies :hat water
. will seek its level, and if 011 a jury always
stands out against the othereleven. If he ever
lias to leave his native town, he will fetch
up in Salt Lake in the Mormon Clurch to a
d.ead certainty. He embraces the faith, content
to know that 9,999 out of 10,00 look upon
it as the grandest sham in tie century.
The superstitious class have faces if another
type entirely. There is strength 11 the stubborn
facp, but none in the soerstitious. |
Their under lip retreats ; their chis are hardly
discernible, and, sitting with ilated eyes I
and open mouth, they drink in tie flood of
bosli and drivel from the preacher! absolutely
believing that the meaningless lanuagc is the
divine inspiration of God. Thencomes the
vast array of ignorant faces?whle rows of
men who look like chimpanzees fron the jungles
of Central Africa ; men with ttlc dimini
utive noses, big mouths, cunnin; twinkling
I eyes and protruding teeth. The frige of neck
I whiskers about the lower part of tj face comI
pletes the general resemblance tohe baboon,
which is never lost when viewed iim any di- 1
rection. front, side or oblique.
These faces only belong to the ccgregation, 1
the tithe-payers. The tithe-eato,, who sit
up and do the talking, are of a diflrent order. ]
Their faces are stamped withaslet, plausible
cunning, and they maintain their ravity and '
decorum with a good show of nalralness as !
they face the poor devils whom tlr have robbed
and duped for a half century. Cannon is <
a tine type of the sleek-faced apost of fraud {
and robbery. To the cbngregatioibelow he '
seems the perfect impersonatio of piety ' 1
| and purity. The cut of his jib, le perfect i J
I til-tie). r\t' liit- Irnir unrl flio mil/1 -jrwloritlo Innlr i 1
of his eye all indicate the man whc sleek ex-1(
terior is but a mask to cover his nl charae- 1
teristics. The wretches to whom khypocrit-1 *
ical sermons are directed drink irlns plati- j
tudes like water. (
Finger Nails.?Our finger naigrow out 11
about three times a year ; theyihould be J
trilfimed with scissors once a week,:>t so close \
as to leave no room for the dirt to'ither, for
then they do not protect the end ofie fingers,
as was designed by nature, besides,' trimmed =
too close at the corners, there ilanger of
their growing into the flesh, causii inconve- !
nience and sometimes great pain, he collections
under the ends of the nails sh;ld not be
removed with anything harder than brush or *
a soft piece of wood; nor should t nails be J
scraped with a pen-knife or other italic sub- ;
stance, as it destroys the delicat of their :
structure and will at length give tin an un- r
j natural thickness. We are not favably im- '
| pressed as to the cleanliness of a jrson who f
! keeps his nails trimmed to the qui:, as it is ,
i often done to prevent dirt gatherg there ; j
i whereas, if a margin were allowedt would
I be an index to the. cleanliness of le hands, ,
i i will u ultll iiic i.uiivvhuiio ullvltl lie i
nails are made. Leave a margin,ten, and
the moment you observe that these Elections
need remowal, you may know thathe hands
need washing, when they and the najare both
cleansed together. Most persons a familiar
with those troublesome bits of sn which j
loosen at the roots of the finger nis. It is :
, caused by the skin adhering to the il, which i
j growing outward, drags the skin aloi with it, !
: stretching it until one end gives fay. To j
! prevent this, the skin should be loosed from j
j the nail once a week, not with a knior scis-1
I sors, but with something blunt; sh as the j
j end of an ivory paper cutter; this ifest done
I after soaking the fingers in warm wer, then '
J pushing the skin back gently and skly ; the ;
j white specks on the nails are made bjcraping !
j the nail with a knife at a point'here it ;
i emerges from the skin, liiting off le nails
is an uncleanly practice, for thus theisightly
| collections at the ends are kept eat! clean !
j Children may be broken of such a d;v habit
by causing them to dip the ends of eir fini
gers several times a day in wonnwodiitters,
| without letting them know the object If this
j is not sufficient, cause them to wearcap on
| the end of each finger until the practi is dis- i
j continued.?HuWs Journal of Health.
The Duty of Dressing Well.-)o not |
' disdain dress and the little nicetiebf the
toilet: you may be a very clever worn?per|
haps even intellectual; but for all tt you i
cannot afford to be careless in these itters. {
No woman with any sense of selespect'
should allow herself to sink into a do\y; but i
whatever be her trials, vexations, aidisap
pointments, she should dress as wens her |
tuwitimi will ullnw Tin nut ilimfriiipfiiit \vp
; are advocating extravagance ; on theontrp.- i k
ry, simplicity is onr motto, which, innited ;r
j to good taste, will be found more elftive in 1
j the eyes of husband, father, brother clover, i i
; than tlie most costly attire which t milli- j1
! ner's art can invent. A simple boin the 1 j
hair may look quite as coquettish aifasci- j
j nating as a diamond aigrette ; and aotton i
; dress, if fresh and prettily made, m<be as (
| becoming as silk; indeed, we have oft seen j f
' a cotton eclipse a silk. We mention thto il- j<
, just rate the fact that riches are little cjpar-11
! i ed to taste, and that every woman majress j i
well if she chooses?that, in fact it is hduty <
j to herself and those around her to ds as j i
: well as her position will allow. Thoswho j1
' j accuse us who write of the fashions, a tri- k
j viality, forget that it is just as easy toress 11
: well as it is to dress badly, and that taess 11
11 out of fashion requires as much expenmre j 1
! of thought and care as to dress in it. j
i We are always more disposed to lau at t
| nonsense than at genuine wit; becausthe i
1 nonsense is more agreeable to us, being ore a
, comfortable to our natures ; fools lovelly, i
! and wise men wisdom. e
ftttscfUaucous fhadrog.
HAOOWEENT
From the earliest :inies men have been try
ing to look ahead. ?he ancient Egyptians hac
oracles where their (ods were supposed to an
swer the questions o men by dreams and othei
! ways; the ancient (reeks also had famous or
r acles, which people wrae from far-otf lands t(
; consult; the Romais killed certain fowls oi
I animals, and guessdat the future by the looks
of their internal organs ; the Hebrews and tin
i Babylonians had thdr own peculiar ways oi
i finding out what ws to happen. The world
! has not yet outgrow) the longing to look ahead.
The Hindoo to-dajMets a lamp afloat on his
sacred river, and jtilges of the future by the
length of time it brns ; the Chinaman consults
his "wise mer," who pretend to understand
signs; the igwrant African takes notice
i of the cries of birdsindanimals; the English?
j not long ago?triet to learn by help of what
I they call "witches;" ana spiritualists even
now believe the prelictioHS of a "medium."
No serious attenk to look into the future
has been made for a long time by intelligent
people, and the old customs have become a
frolicsome trying ofTttarms," especially on
one night of the yeai It is curious enough
that the night selectd is the eve of the festival
of All Saints, whch was established in the
seventh century by jpope of Home, in honor
of all the saints whohad no particular day assigned
to them. Tie Romans brought this
festival to England ;there it became All Hallows,
and the evenin; before it Hallow-even or
Halloween, and in ;he seventeenth century
England gave up tie night to feasting and
frolicking. Nuts anl apples were plenty from
one end of the islancto the other, and "Nutcrack
night," was th name given to it.
In England the rebels were for fun, such as
diving for apples doting in a tub of water,
and, of course, gettiig very wet; or trying to
snatch in the teeth ih apple off one end of a
stick, which had a lghted candle at the other
end, and, being hun* by a string, could be
spun around very fast so that the players often
seized the candle iistead of the fruit; or a
playful fortune-tellinj by naming nuts, roastI
ing them before the ire, and watching their
conduct when heatel?whether they burned
steadily or bounced avay, or burst with a noise,
each movement of tie charmed nut being of
great importance.
One nut test wastred by grinding and mixing
together a walnut hazelnut and nutmeg,
making into pills witi butter and sugar, and
swallowing them on g>ingto bed. Wonderful
cireams wouiu ionow wnicn was not surprising).
In Scotland the nifht was given entirely to
serious and sometime frightful attempts to
peer into the future br means of charms. One
way of trying fortunewns to throw a ball of
blue yarn out of a wiidovv and wind it into a
ball again from the other end. Xear the last
something would hold it fast, when the winder
must ask : "Who holes?" The answer would
name one who was ti have importance in the
questioner's future.
Another Scotch custom was "pulling kalestalks."
A young person went blindfolded
into the garden, pulled up the first kale or cabbage
stalk lie touched and carried it into the
house. The whole fuuire was read from that
stalk ; the size indicated the stature of the future
partner in life ; the quantity of earth at
the roots showed the amount of his or her fortune
; the taste of the pith told what the temper
would he ; and when the stalk was placed
over the door, the first name of the person en
lermg was me iaieu name.
The island of Lewes, on the coast of Scotland,
had some curious customs. Young women
made a "dumb cake" and baked it before
the fire with certain ceremonies and in perfect
silence,- expecting to see wonders; and the people
also sacrificed to a sea-god called Shong,
throwing a cup of ale into the sea, and calling
an him to give them plenty of sea-weed to enrich
their grounds.
in another Scotch trial a girl would go into
i barn, holding a winnowing sieve and stand
done, with both doors open, to see her fate.
The fashion of trying charms is now nearly
Dutgrown among English-speaking people. It
mrvives in America as a pleasant frolic for
i social gathering. In our own day young
jeople "sow hempseed," "cat apples before the
*lass," "go down the cellar stairs backward,"
lold a candle and a mirror. Tjiey also, "pop
ihestnuts," "launch walnut shells" holding
;apers, and try the "three saucer" test of the
'ut ure.
In some of our cities the boys on Halloween
jollect old tea-kettles, boots, large stones, etc.,
md dejiosit them in clean vestibules, ringing
;he door bell and running away.
DELUSIONS OF THE INSANE.
Let is now look at another and very nunerous
class of patients?namely those laborntr
under fixed or transitorv delusions. Some i
>atients, although quite able to do easy houseYork?able,
in fact, to perform the duties of
sveryday life, and to occupy themselves or engage
in games with apparent sanity and pro>riety?are,
when questioned, found to labor
uider the most extraordinary fancies and
deas, which in any one not accustomed to the
nsane appear preposterous and incredible.
Phere is no end to the absurdity and variety
>f these perverted imaginations. A man will
:onverse with you quite intelligently on the
ending article of to-day's newspaper, on the
ast budget or railway stock, and then sudlenly
inform you that his head is made of
jrass, and that be has no inside?that it has
K?eu all burnt out; and no amount, of reason-!
ng will convince this man to the contrary. |
- -1 1 il l 1 4..W.U I
.nueeii, mere is nu mure iiujicicss uisn. num iu
ittempt to convince an insane person of the
alsity of his delusions, lie believes as firmly
n the truth of them as we do that we live ;
lis ideas are concomitants of strange and
tltered feelings, which have a real existence;
md until these fancies pass away, they are
lot to be removed by demonstration or argunent.
.Some patients, though in good cir:uinstances,
will imagine that they are finan;ially
ruined; others of the most blameless
ives, that they have committed sins for which
here is no pardon, and that they are eternally
loomed.
Delusions arc not always of a gloomy nature;
>n the contrary, in one of the commonest and
nost fatal forms of insanity, exalted delusions
are the leading feature. There are parents
exhibiting in couutitenance and manner
md feeling of well-being, a conviction that
;hey were never better in health, and never
stronger, although hardly able to place food
n their mouths on account of increasing
taralysis. Their extravagant notions know
10 bounds. One will tell us that he is a king,
i marquis, or a dukp, nay even at times the
\lmighty. At onetime he is possessed of niilions
of money and property; at another, he
s going to pull down all London to-day, and
ebnild it to-morrow. lie invents wonderful
midlines, which will make his fortune: he
liscovers perpetual motion, or how to square !
lie circle; and imagines that he has been
senior Wrangler at Cambridge half a-dozen j
imcs running. The asylum in which he lives, i
le imagines to be a regal abode; and the!
ither patients, courtiers and nobles; and,'
'last scene of all," when strength is failing,
md lie can scarcely stand or raise his hand to
lis head, he tells us that he can write his
lame on the ceiling with a five-hundred-poundveight
hanging to his little finger.?Chambers'
Tournal.
Washington's Punctuality.?When
General Washington assigned to meet Confess
at noon, he never failed to be passingthe
loorof the hall while the clock was striking
welve. Whether his guests were present or
lot, he always dined at four. Not unfrepiently,
new members of Congress who were
nvited to dine with him, delayed until dinner
vas half over ; and he would" then remark :
?'/? ????A ivimnf Mill liiiro \ftr onnl- I
ITCJIlieilieil, WC aic pUiiUtiKU iihl, -4,1J vvun
lever asks whether the company lias arrived,
jut whether the hour has." When he visited
Boston, in 1789, he appointed eight o'clock,
V. M., as the hour when he should set out for
Salem ; and while the Old South was striking
light he was mounting his horse. The corapaly
of cavalry which volunteered to escort him
vere parading in Tremont street after his delarture,
and it was not until theGeneral reachel
Charles River bridge, that they overtook
him. On the arrival of the corps, the General,
i in perfect good natnre, said : "Majors ,
I thought you had been too long in my family
not to know when it was eight o'clock. Captain
Pease the father of the stage establish
ment in tfv? United States, had a beautiful
1 pair of horses, which he wished to dispose of
- to the General, whom he knew to be an excelr
lent judge of horses. The General appointed
- five o'clock in the morning to examine them.
> But the Captain did not arrive with the horses
r until a quarter past five, when he was told by
j the groom that the General was there at five,
and than was fulfilling other engagements,
f Pease, much mortified, was obliged to wait a
I week for another opport unity, merely for de,
laying the first quarter of an hour.
! COTTON ANECDOTES.
In a little book published in 184B-, called
"Census of the City of Savannah, together
k unf h afntiofipc rolntnirr fcrarlo nnmmpmt
mechanical arts," etc., of the city, it is stated
, that cptton, even then, one of the largest items
in the exports of Savannah, Was an article
which was almost unknown in commerce until
the close of his last century. Of the two kinds
cultivated in the United States, the black seed,
or loqg staple cotton was first produced in
Georgia about the year 178yt and the green
seed or short staple cotton, not until some
years later, although it had been raised in
North Carolina and Virginia, in a limited way
prior to the revolution. Its first, cultivators
in this State were Messrs. Josiah Tatnall,
Nicholas Turnbull, James Spalding and Richard
Leake. The first bagexported from Georgia
was grown by Alexander Bisset, of St.
Simmon's Island, and was shipped from Savannah
by Thomas Miller, in 1788. Mr. Miller
was still living in Camden county, in 1848,
and was one of the first who ever engaged in
the purchase of cotton in the Savannah market,
where, for a long time, he was the only
buyer. He used to purchase it by the pound,
in small parcels, and with his own hands assorted
and packed it for market. The.industry
and interest he displayed in his business,
added to the fact that he was the pioneer in
cotton buying in the South, gave him the
name of "Cotton Miller," by which life was
long and generally known. In 1792 the growth
of cotton was so inconsiderable, or deemed of
so little value as an article of commerce, that
Mr. Jay, in his treaty with England, negotiated
that year, stipulated that no cotton should
be shipped from Ahierica. The United States
Senate, however, refused to ratify this article.
In 1792 the entire crop of the country was only
four hundred and fifty bags, and in 1784 an
American vessel that carried eight bags to
Liverpool, was seized on the ground that it
was impossible for so much cotton to be produced
in the United States.
In 17P4 the invention of the saw gin by Eli
Whitney, of Connecticut, gave a powerful impetus
to the culture of cotton, and regarding
this most useful invention a very interesting
incident is related, which we believe has never 1
heretofore appeared in print. It seems that
Mr. Whitney conceived the idea of the gin 1
while he was employed as tutor to Mrs. Gen- 1
eral Nathaniel Greene, at Mulberry Grove, I
Chatham county, on the Savannah river, and \
set about carrying his idea into effect, in- i
constructed a gin, and when he thought it was 1
perfected invited certain persons from this *
section of the State to see it in operation. '
| Among those present was Mrs. Greene, who }
I manifested much interest in the invention. 1
: While looking on at the working of the gin, ]
| however, it suddenly became clogged from i
some cause, and Mrs. Greene took a comb '
from her hair and placed the teeth of it just '
in front of the roller of the gin, so as to un- clog
the machine, and the cotton began com- '
ing out beautifully. This little act suggested 1
one of the most important and useful improve- '
ments of his invention to Mr. Whitney. He 1
immediately adopted it, and then for the first 1
time really perfected his gin. This anecdote f
was told to Mr. John M. Guerard, of this city, ?
I... AC- I) rrrui.ll. I
UJ iUl. A. ATA. II itlllgdlUf \IL I/IUMOH ivrv,
son of General Greene, who vouched for its '
truth.?Savannah News. (
?, , 1
PAINTING THE DOME. f
The work of repainting the great white dome (
of the capitol, which has been in progress sever- (
al months under the immediate personal supervision
of Signor Phillippo Costigini, the well- (
known Italian artist and frescoist, is offering .'
daily attractions to hundreds of people, not J
a few of whom are visitors from every part of *
the country. The men actually employed up- 1
on the outside of the dome are twelve in num- '
her. They are Washington painters, men of !
more than ordinary daring in their profession. 1
who are not afraid to risk their lives for fancy ?
prices, and that is what the Government pays *
for all its work. 1
The dangers to which these men are daily 1
subject would no doubt freeze the blood in the 1
veins of their loving spouses and cause their
hair to stand dizzily on end, but, fortunately t
for the good dames, they are told nothing i
fhnon Thni' nnlir l?nn r olmtit S
ilUl'UL lUUaC JL lit Y KJIUJ 1JUI/WIU
the wages. It may seem incredible, but it is a t
fact nevertheless, that to repaint the outside 1
of the dome requires fifteen tons of pure white ;
lead. Common white paint would wash off s
the roof of the dome in the first rain that s
came along, and trickle down in big streams, J
leaving the dirt as palpable as before. The *
work of repainting would not be rendered so c
often necessary were it not for the fact that ?
the dome is so constructed that the vertical i
joints, or ribs, of the walls which are of iron, s
as is the entire structure, do not come in ac- a
tual contact with each other, thereby allow- c
ing the rain to get in and rust. i
The painters on the roof of the dome re- t
semble nothing so much as tiny dies, and the
roi>e ladders stretching down from the top in
every direction like hair lines remind one of 3
delicate streaks of molasses, which these flies 1
are working for all they are worth. To reach 1
the bottom of the dome it is necessary to lie c
prostrate and climb down these ladders, a 11
proceeding which is not of itself peculiarly i(
difficult, but becomes so when he who de- '
scends has a dizzy head, an unsteady nerve, t
and is incumbered with too many paint pots, 3
and several brushes. Fortunately no accidents 3
have as yet occurred, although a single mis- I
step, or the giving away of a slender piece of t
rope, would send the unlucky painter rolling 3
down the steeply curving roof, and off into? '
u'ijII pfprnitv ?
The most wonderful tiling about the Cap- :l
itol dome, however, is yet to be told. It is 1
said that there was a statue in ancient Egypt, s
called Memnon, which whispered sweet words r
of melody to the sun as he appeared above the a
horizon, and sang him to sleep with wild weird *
lullabies. The grand, haughty Goddess of 1
Liberty on the top of the dome has a heart of *
bronze, but a good heart for all that, and one c
filled with true old Virginia courtesy. ?
She has not yet picked up enough courage '
to attempt to do the prima donna act, but r
every morning the good dame courtesies .to a
the sun. and as he sinks in the west she again v
courtesies, but without turning around. Some ^
time since Architect Clark suspended a plum- a
met line from the interior of the dome and it v
was found by actual measurement that the ^
lead swung over a space of four and one quar- ?'
ter inches, making a total dip out of the per- 1.
pendicular of eight and one-half inches. This d
is caused by the alternate contraction and ex- i
pansion of the iron? Washington Post. |
The Uses of Adversity.?"There is notli 1
ing in life," says a writer, "so fatal as to be 3
fortunate." Good fortune has little to rouse, 3
draw out the faculties or elevate the soul. On 0
most natures it acts as a sedative. The nobler s
parts of the man sink into inactivity and de- a
cay. Adversity is a benefactor in disguise. v
Advancing with a stern aspect and relentless 3
demands he necessitates self-reliance and rouses e
the soul to high endeavor and noble deeds, f?
No one knows his own capabilities until he 1
has struggled. The uncounted wealth of the v
mine is unknown till the rock is drilled and P
blasted. The true wealth of many people is | ^
never developed; their good fortune keeps d
them perpetually on the surface. Many a man 11
will have occasion forever to bless the day of 81
trial. It introduced him to himself.
? In the interest of industry as against out- a
siders the Richmond State wants to have a tax h
of 1,000 per cent, put on all "patent outside" c
newspapers, and at the same time a free circu- tl
lation of the domestic article through the si
mails. v
! CURIOSITIES OF TATSE ANft SftELL.
Hunger, which is usually associated with
the "mouth watering" and other palatal indications,
is really located in the stomach, and ;
can only be appeased by the presence of solid
matter there. Some tribes of Indians show
| their recognition of this fact by swallowing
I earth when debarred from food. In the Southern
States hunters take with them piilS made
I of calcined oyster shell, for use in case their
provisions become exhauisted while crossing
the prairies ; the trapi>er of the far West mixes
hair (which is wholly incapable of digestion) i
with his pemmican on a similar principle, superslitiously
insisting that it must be the fur
of the very animal from the flesh of which the
compound has been made, to impart its peculiar
virtue ; Kamschatdales stir up sawdust to
give body to their train-oil when they are reduced
to live on that exhilarating beverage :
and the Cingalhese Veddahs mix pounded
wood-fibre with honey when they can get nothing
else. Thirst, again, really belongs to the i
stomach, in spite of the dryness of the mouth
uml t.hrnat, which nails' our attention to it.
this being engineered by the lack of due fluid 1
proportion in the contents of the blood-vessels, j
Both human beings and animals have been seen :
to drink till they could drink no longer, without
slacking their thirst, when the throat was ]
cut and allowed the fluid to escape. Many animals
never drink, but absorb sufficient mois- f
lure for their tissues from the air or from their
food ; there is a parrot in the Zoological Gardens
in Regent's Park which has lived there i
fifty-two years without a drop of water. <
Snakes will go a year or more without food or <
water, apparently suffering no inconvenience, <
and a beetle has lived three years without ?
either. '
The taste and smell of many things are iden- <
tical, so to speak ; so that either sense would 1
immediately recognize them, if they had only <
been exhibited to the other previously. This <
is especially the case with violet, rose, orange, i
lemon, and most vegetable essential oils. If
we take one long "sniff" at the musk-plant,
we cannot detect any odor in it at all on a second
inspiration ; and there would seem to be ,
something peculiar about the scent of sweet- j
brier, since it eludes.many people's olfactory j
nerves altogether. The idiosyncrasies of indi- r
viduals with regard to these two senses are a
numberless and entirely inexplicable. Some v
faint at the perfume of certain flowers, while *
distaste amounting to utter abhorrence of certain
ordinary foods has been known to be he- j.
reditary in families. The reflex action of j,
mental .association may account for this in v
some instances, but certainly not in all. Ileat *
favors thp nrntpness of both senses, and Cold I *
blunts it, it being notorious that the delicate ?
flavor and boquet of choice wines are destroyed t
by over-icing them.?All the Year Hound.
? 3
Ahout the Sun*.?Speaking of the out- n
low of heat from the sun, Prof. Young says : c
"The quantity of heat emitted is enough to tl
melt a shell of ice ten inches thick over the A
whole surface of the sun every second of time ; i'?
this is equivalent to the consumption of a a
layer of the best anthracite coal nearly four ?
inches thick every single second." In regard n
;o the distance of the sun from the earth, he h
says: "Though the distance can easily be
stated in figures, it is not possible to give
iny idea of a space so enormous ; it is quite f*
leyond the power of our conception. If one
were to try to walk such a distance, suppos- it
ng that he could walk four miles an hour, and n
ieep it up for ten hours e.very day, it would oi
:ake sixty-eight and a half years to make a w
single million miles, and more than sixty-three tl
itindred years to traverse the whole. If some di
.-elestial railway could be imagined, the jour- si
ley to the sun, even if our train ran sixty h
niles an hour, day and night without a stop, s?
-vould require over one hundred and seventy: h
ive years. Sensations, even, would not travel
infur in <? Vinmnn lifo.finiP To lmiTOW thftCU- Si
ions illustration of Professor Mendenhall, if
,ve could imagine an infant with an arm long ?
mough to enable him to touch the sun and
)urn himself, he would die of old age be'ore
the pain could reach him, since accor- oi
ling to the experiments of Ilelmholtz and l>
>thers, a nervous shock is communicated only w
it a rate of about one hundred feet per second, ai
)r sixteen hundred and thirty-seven miles a 01
lay, and would need more than one bun- fii
lred and fifty years to make the journey. c<
sound would do it in about fourteen years if fi
t could be transmitted through celestial space; ai
md a cannon ball iii about nine, if it were to d
nove uniformly with the same speed as when
t left the muzzle of the gun. If the earth tl
ihould be suddenly stopped in her orbit, and ]c
illowed fo fall unobstructed toward the sun,
inder the accelerating influence of his attrac- if
ion, she would catch the center iu about four ai
nonths." d.
As to the attraction between the sun and ci
die earth : "It amounts to thirty-six hundred pi
luadrillions of tons?in figures, 3G followed by la
teventeen ciphers. "We may imagine gravita- it
ion to cease, and be replaced by a material
jond of sort, holding the earth to the sun 0i
md keeping her iii her orbit. If, now, we \j
iinnAOA f 111 a nnnnoofinn frt nf ? Wph nf ru
Up^UOV WJ1U VVUI?VVW*WM VV? vw.?w.w? ?* ?- l>\
iteel wires, each as large as the heaviest tele- \v
jraph wire used (No 4), then to replace the et
urn's attraction these wires would have to &
:over the whole sunward hemisphere of our fc
jlobe about as thickly as the blades of grass jj(
ipon a lawn. It. would require nine to each ni
iquare inch." Tliere are many other facts y<
md illustrations as striking as these, and tiie 0<
ihapters on the corona and on the solar prom- C(
nenees are fine examples of descriptive wri- ;vi
ing." t L
Provisioning a Steamship?Three thouand
five hundreds pounds of butter, three
housand hams, one thousand six hundred X1
jounds biscuit?not those supplied to the crew; I1
me thousand of "dessert stores" muscatels, j'
dinonds, figs, etc., exclusive of fresh fruits,
ire taken in at every port ; one thousand to 11
ive tiiousand pounds of jams and jellies, six
housand pounds of tinned meats, one thou- 01
and pounds of dried beans, three thousand ni
1x hundred pounds of rice, five thousand
)ounds of onions, forty tons of potatoes, six- f
y thousand pounds of flour, and twenty thou- .'
and eggs. Fresh vegetables, dead meat, and c
ive bullocks, sheep, pigs, geese, turkeys, guin- j?1
a-birds, ducks, fowls, lish and casual game ^
ire generally supplied at each port of call or
eplenished at the farther end of the journey, 11
o that it is difficult to obtain a complete est!- !V
ate of tliera. Perhaps two dozen bullocks ^
incl sixty stieep wouut ue a ralraverageior me
vhole voyage, and the rest may be inferred in *
>roportion. The writer has known twenty- st
ive fowls sacrificed in a single day to make
ihickenbroth. We therefore shan't starve,
iven if we are a day or two behind time, which P
s considered a great enormity now. The hi
nention of chickenbroth suggests sea-sickness P
md sea-sickness conjures up the doctor, and ry
vith the doctor is associated medicine. His M
lispensary is as well furnished with drugs as cc
.ny chemist's shop in a country town, and ci
vhen we observe that, among other things, it D
ontains twelve ounces of quinine, four gal- 01
ons of black draught, twenty pounds Seidlitz th
lowders, a gallon of castor-oil, and half a lain- &
I red weight of Epsom salts, it is evident that M
f the sick people do not get well it is from no in
ack.of physic. Four thousand sheets, two ar
housaml blankets, eight thousand towels, two w'
housand pounds of various soaps, two thou- ne
and pounds of candles?except in those ves- Tl
els which are fitted with the electric light ; ye
ne thousand six hundred knives, two thou- Sc
and two hundred plates, nine hundred cups dt
nd saucers, three thousand glasses?fancy P?
rime a nannsome income me amuuno xejueented
by annual loss from breakage would height
hundred table-clothes, two thousand in
lass-cloths?all these are figures exhibited in py
he provendering of one ship alone. Think a"
rhat they would amount up to when multi- a
lied by the number of ships in each company's in
eet, and then try to realize the fact that this se
epartment constitutes only one, and by no tv
leans the greatest, of their incidental expen- r>;
es.?Chambers' Journal.
t t , .e the
Traveling in Mexico.?In MexW1 in j?st
re no hotels nor boarding house? *fV9 staSe thr(
irge cities where foreigners rr-"'ces are rar1e' a
oaches or other public corJl0Fse^ac^- .,e
he travel is mostly do^ed with gold or su- lcm
iddle is generally rented. The rowels of at 8
er, and richlv
the spurs are as big as a silver dollar, but the
points are very dull. The spur seetas intended
more to frighten the horse than to hurt
him. The Mexicans are expert riders, being
so much in the saddle. In traveling quite
a retinue of attendants is necessary. You
have taken along your bedding on a pack
mule, with servants to attend to the mules
and the luggage, and a cook to prepare your
meals. In many parts of the country it is t
necessary to tike your provisions with you,
and all the conveniences for camping out. In
some cases it is difficult to get drinking water
for yourself and your animals unless you buy
it. If you cannot reach a settlement at night,
you camp out; in town, you can usually rent
a room, entirely unfurnished, for the night.
The servants spread the bedding on the floor,
purchase victuals in the market, and prepare
the meal in Mexican style. Bedsteads, tables
and chairs are luxuries known only to the wealthy
among th6 native inhabitants.
Butter the Mexicans do nat know how to
make. The sugar is a very crude article, inferior
to our darkest brown sugar, and is sold
in "little cones, weighing about a pound.
Cheese is made in cones of similar size, from
goat's milk. Cow's milk Is used only fresh,
ana 18 never maae inu> cneese or Duiier.
Horses in Mexico are never used for draught
purposes, but sire employed only for riding.
Mnles and oxen do all the work of transportation.
The flue wines made at ElPaso on the
llio* Grande are transported in skins, as in
Bible times. Bottles, kegs and barrels are
almost unknown. In many portions of the
country timber is to5 scarce to be used for
tasks; and a frame house would be a very
jxpensive affair. American influence will
joon instil new life into a primitive people.
Die railroads now building will be the means
>f civilizing the country, developing its immense
natural resources. It has a beautiful
flimate and vast mineral treasures, which
>nly await this foreign stimulus to be made
i source of national wealth and prosperity.
KISSES.
A father talking to his careless daughter
aid : "I want to speak to you of your mother.
:t may be that you have noticed a careworn
ook upon her face lately. Of course it has
iot been brought there by ariy act of yours,
till it is your duty to chase it away. I want
ou to get up to-morrow and get breakfast,
,nd when your mother comes and begins to
xpress her surprise, go right up to her and
;iss her on her mouth. You can't imagine
iow it will brighten her dear face. Besides
ou owe her a kiss or two. Away back when
ou were a little girl she kissed you when no
me else was tempted by your fever-tainted
ireath and swolen face. You were not as atractive
then as you are now. And through
he years of childishness and sunshine and
hadows she was always ready to cure by the
nigic of a mother's kiss the little, dirty,
hubby hands when ever they were injured in
liose first skirmishes with this rough world,
tnd then the midnight kiss with which she
suted so many bad dreams as she leaned
bove your restless pillow have all been on
iterest these long years. Of course she is
ot pretty and kissable as you are, but if you
ad done your share of the work for the past
m years the contrast would not be so mark1.
Iler face has more wrinkles than yours,
ir more, aiid yet if you were sick that face
'ould appear more beautiful than an angel, as
hovered over you, watching every opportuity
to minister to your comfort, and every
ne of those wrinkles would seem to be bright
avelets of sunshine chasing each other over
le dear face. She will leave you one of these
ays. These burdens if not lifted from her
loulders will break her down. Those rough,
ard hands that have done so many nnnescesiry
things for you will be crossed upon her
felessbreast. Those neglected lips that gave
3u first baby kisses will be closed, and those
id, tired eyes will have opened in eternity,
ad then you will appreciate your mother, but
; will be too late."
Energy.?Energy of mind is necessary in
rder to do good in the world, because it is to
e expected that wise and benevolent designs
ill be opposed with energy. The greatest
ud best purposes have been the most vigorasly
opposed. The want of energy disqualies
men for every duty of life. All duties are
mnected with difficulties from within and
om without. Without energy, no man, in
ny profession or business of life, can do his
uty.
Men may acquire energy of mind by placing
lemselves under a necessity of acting. So
rng as they feel themselves under nonecessi7
of forming and executing any noble and
nportant designs, they feel no occasion for
squiring energy of mind. But those who
esire to serve God and to do all the good they
in in the world, are .willing to devise and
roinote great and noble designs, which will
iy them under a necessity of exerting all their
lental powers and capacities.
Another way to acquire strength and energy
F mind is to keep noble and worthy objects
i view and pursuit. If men would only proise
and pursue great and good designs, they
ouia soon nnu resolution ana energy to ex:ute.
Xo man knows how much good ho.
in do in the world until he makes attempts,
>r he cannot know the power and faculties
e possesses till he tries them by repeated
ental exertions. How many men have lived
;ars in obscurity without knowing their
ivn circumstances or some important event
mstrained them to exert their talents and
bilities in doing great and noble deeds.?l>r.
hnmonds.
Our Bodies After Death.?Within a
ery near approach to truth, the human famy
inhabiting the earth has been estimated at
000,000,000; the annual loss by death is
3,000,000. Now, the weight of the animal ~?
latter of this immense body cast into the
rave is no less than 034,000 tons, and its deimposition
produces 98,000.000 cubic feet of
latter. The vegetable productions of the
irtli clear away from the earth the gasses
iiis generated, and decomposing and assimi,ting
them for their own increase. This cire
of changes has been going on ever since
lan became an occupier of the earth. He
:eds or the lower animals and on the seeds
! plants, which in due time become a part of
imself. The lower animals feed upon the
?rbs and grasses, which in their turn become
ie animal ;then, by its death again pass into
le atmosphere, and are ready once more to lie
isimilated by plants, the earth or bone subance
alone remaining where it is deposited.
The Baptist State Convention ?In the
aptist State Convention, which recently met
Darlington, B. W. Edwards was chosen
resident, and Iter. Luther Broaddus Secreta .
The corresponding secretary of the Home
ission Board reported that the Board had
illected 88,000, and that the funds Were sufiient
to pay off the indebtedness of the board,
r. James Furtnan, Chairman of committee
i work among the colored people, reported that
lere are insuperable difficulties in the way of
>ing anything among them at present. The
ission Church at New Orleans was reported
straitened circumstances, lieavily in debt
id threatened with execution. The Baptists,
hite, have 025 ciiurclies in the State?eight
;w churches organized during the past year,
here have been 3,602 baptisms during the
ar. Present membership 58,437. Sunday
ihool membership 33,689. Money receive''
J ring the year 8122,605. Value of ch'
operty *>35,771. . morn.
,T : diiy a hapH
vppiness.?V hen you rife easily done ;
g form a resolution to j?n who needs it;
n? i? a fellow-crenfowful; an encouragleft-oft
garment driving?trifles in themkind
wordjf ajr_^Will do at least for the
g express^urs And if you are young, deve?.&
it, it will tell when you are old;
'assured it will send you gently and happi[own
the stream of time to eternity. By
most simple arithmetical sum, look at the
dt. If you send one person away happily
jugh the day, that is 365 in the course of
sir. And suppose you live forty years only r
;r you have commenced that course of mede,
you have made 14,600 persons happyill
events for a time.?Sidney Smith.