Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, October 25, 1883, Image 1
lewis m. grist, proprietor, j % $!tbcjpbeitt Jjkmilg fjttfosjrajjrr: Jor tjjc |)romotion of tjjc ^political, Social, Agricultural anir Commercial Interests of the tJoutlj. jlerms--$2.50 a year, is adyance.
VOL. 29. YORKVILLE, S. P., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 35, 1883. NO. 43.
Jtlerted fufttg.
NOT THAT WAY.
l)o you know you have asked for the costliest
thing,
Ever made by the hand above?
A woman's heart and a woman's life,
And a woman's wonderful love.
Do you know you have asked for the priceless
thing,
, As a chiid might have asked for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win
With the reckless dash of a boy.
You have written my lesson of duty out.
Manlike you havequestioned me;
Now stand at the bar of my woman's soul,
t Until I havequestioned thee.
You require your dinner should always be hot?
Your socks and shirt should be whole;
I require your heart to be true as God's stars,
And pure as heaven your soul.
You require a cook for your mutton and beef?
I require a far better thing;
A seamstress, you're wanting for stockings and
shirts? *
I want a man and a king.
A king for the beautiful realm called home,
And a man that the Maker, God,
Shall look upon as he did the first,
. And say, "It is very good."
I am fair arid young, but the rose will fade
From my soft young cheek some day;
Will you love me 'mid the falling leaves,
As 'you did 'mid the bloom of May ?
Is vour heart an ocean so strong and deep,
T may launch my all upon its tide?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell
On the day she becomes a bride.
I require all things that are good and true,
All things that a man siiouia ne;
If you give this all, I would stake niv life
To be all you demand of me.
If you cannot be this?a laundress and rook
\vou can hire with little to pay;
But a woman's heart and a woman's life
Are not to be won that way.
i Weftoig Mltv.
THE MYSTERIOUS LEGACY.
, My grandfather was a sea captain?not a
mere claimant of the title, like the watermen
of the lakes, and the coast skippers
who never got ouf of sight of land, and who,
if they got there, could never get back?but
a genuine "old salt," trained from boyhood
under a tarpaulin hat, and as familiar with
the "paths of the sea" as a shepherd is with
a sheep-walk. Spending his life on extensive
voyages, he was seldom at home long
enough at a time for the salt spray to dry
on his weather-beaten cheeks; and there
was hardly a port on the habitable globe
in which he could not shake hands with an
old acquaintance, civilized or savage.
Of course his history was crowded with
curious incidents. Most of these, at which
my childish ears tingled and my eyes dilated.
have become so faded in memory
as to be ir:< apaoie 01 a toierauie luirrtvtiun.
The following, however, made a more lasting
impression:
During the calm between the Old French
War and the Amercan Revolution, a large
ship was lying at a wharf in the town of
New York, loaded with a valuable cargo
and ready to sail for Liverpool, and thence
to whatever part of the globe the chances of
i commerce would dictate.
This was grandfather's ship, only waiting
for her papers and a fair wind. The papers
were soon ready, and shortly after them
came a breeze. Presently everything on
? board was in active motion?the easting off
arret coiling of ropes, tire unfurling of canvas,
and the running up of sailor boys along the
ratlines like spiders on the webs; while the
sharp, imperative orders of the mate, and
the hearty "ye-hoy-ye!" of the cheerful
crew echoed over the rippling waters of the
harbor, which looked in the rays of the
setting sun as if it was covered with a cream
of liquid gold. Just before the last plank
was hauled in, a stranger stepped hurriedly
011 board and inquired for the captain's
state room. Being conducted thither, he
entered, and with a slight bow, accosted the
captain, who sat writing at his desk:
"You are for Liverpool, I believe, sir?"
"Vtw air "
A VOj *
"I am in poor health, and, intending to
spend the winter in Italy, wish to get passage
in the first ship that sails for Europe.
Will you take a passenger?"
"Yes, sir, if my accommodations will suit
you?"
"No matter about accommodations, Captain.
I am an old sailor, and know how to
accommodate myself. Besides, the trim of
your ship suits my eye."
The allusion to his ill health attracted
my grandfather's scrutiny, and the introduction
of himself as an old sailor touched
his heart. On noticing him more particularly,
he was struck with an undefinable
feeling of curiosity and sympathy at his appearance.
Tall, straight ami rather slender,
he was dressed in a fine black broadcloth,
with a sort- of Spanish cloak of the same
color and quality. A two-edged sword,
common on shipboard at that time, and improperly
called a cutlass, was partly covered
by his cloak, and hung by his side without
a sheath. His hair was quite gray, and his
manly features would have been handsome
had they not been so emaciated as to give
unpleasant prominence to a half dozen deep
scars on his face. Ilis eyes were blue and
full of expression, but restless at times,
showing a sudden abstraction. The looseness
of one of his black gloves gave evidence
that he had lost a finger or two from
his left hand. These observations were
made by the captain while the stranger was
looking at a beautiful sextant on the table.
Turning, as if startled at his forget fulness,
he resumed:
"Name the price, Captain, and I will pay
it now."
My grandfather had already lixed the
price in his mind, and replied:
"You are a sailor, sir, and sick. The accommodations
of my ship, as well as my
own services are at your free command."
The language of a sailor's heart cannot be
misunderstood, and knows no interpreter;
and the stranger knew that remonstrance
would be ungenerous on his part. He made
no reply, but eagerly extended his hand,
and my grandfather, as he shook it, thought
he saw a tear in the stranger's eye. But
noble hearts are impatient of exhibitions of
gratitude, and he quickly added:
"I am ready to sail, sir. Is your baggage
on board ?"
"This is my baggage, sir," he replied,
showing a small black satchel under his
coat.
Leading him to a state room, the captain
left him and went on deck, and found the
ship already under way, the sails filled
witn a stiff breeze, and wharves, warehouses,
and spectators fast growing small
in the distance. At length, as darkness
shut in the view, the wind increased to a
gale, and from a gale to a tempest; and
for ten days and nights the noble ship which
had ploughed the seas of every latitude,
from Spitsbergen to New Zealand, underwent
such a conflict with the elements as
she had never before encountered. During
all this time, the stranger had been confined
below with an apparently rapid consumption,
which rough weather had swiftly
matured.
During the storm the duties of the captain
were so urgent that he could only make
snatched and hasty visits to the sick man ;
and although they could have been spared
from their quarters, he could have hoped
for little aid or sympathy from any of the
crew, who, with the easy tendency to the
superstitions peculiar to'their class, had associated
his presence with the perils of the
. ship.
It would have required but slight encouragement
from their officers to induce them
to pay him the same compliment that the
sailors of Joppa paid to Jonah on a similar
? occasion, when "The sea wrought and was
tempestuous."
Kut on the tenth night, just as the captain
was ready to answer a summons to visit the
sick man's berth, the storm ceased with a
suddenness that was startling; the wind
was entirely lulled, and no evidence of its
fury remained except the long swelling
billows of the sea?the deep aftersighs ol
its mighty passion.
The sudden stilling of the tempest and
the mournful creaking of the spars, now
audible for the first time for many days,
forced a shade of melancholy over my
grandfather's spirits, as he hastened down
the gangway at the call of the stranger.
As he seated himself beside the berth,
the sick man fixed his brilliant eyes upon
him, and said calmly:
"Captain, I am dying!"
"I hope not, my dear sir; this dreadful
gale has weakened you. It is all over now,
and you will soon be better."
"No, Captain," he repeated, "I am dying!
The tempest, I know is over, so is
that other tempest in my breast. This
ship has long been tossed and beaten about
by the fury of the waves, but it has been
sunshine and calm compared with that
tempest, Captain ! Hut it is all over now,
for 1 have forgiven him?he has long been
in the grave?but I have forgiven him!"
My grandfather thought he was delirious;
but a second look at the deep intelligence
of his eye, and the smiling calmness of his
features forbade the conclusion. He gazed
at him a moment with mingled compassion
and curriosity, anxious to learn something
of a history, the closing scene of which was
so dark and mysterious, but unwilling to
ask it. His look was interpreted, and the
stranger continued:
"I told you I was a sailor. Of thirty five
years I have not spent one upon the
land. But this was not my choice. Like a
ship, Captain, my supports were knocked
from under me, and I was launched upon
the ocean. My father was an English merchant
in Cadiz, extensively engaged in
navigation. He lavishly provided for my
education. Having traversed the halls of
science, I left Oxford and returned to Spain
at the age of twenty. This first year of
ray freedom from school I spent in rambling
over the mountains of that enchanted
country. In a deep inland dell, shut out
from the world, where the earth was always
green and the sky always blue, I met,
one day, a beautiful young shepherdess?
and loved her.
"I will not describe her charms, Captain,
for you have been young, and a heart that
has loved needs not to be told that to the
eye of true affection its object has no defects.
"My father learned my secret?but I knew
it not. I had a life-long secret afterward
which he never learned! He came to me
one morning, smiled, and said:
" 'My son, do you want to go to Cuba ?'
"I eagerly answered in the affirmative;
for it had been a cherished but hitherto for
bidden passion with me to travel.
" 'One of my vessels sails to-morrow," he
said, 'and you may go.'
"This short interview allowed me no
time to bid farewell to my shepherdess, who
was fifty miles distant, nor even to inform
her of my departure, but I said aloud: "I'll
soon be back," and many other consolations
I whispered to my heart the next day while
bounding over the Atlantic.
"The ship arrived in good time at Havana,
discharged her cargo, reloaded, and
sailed for?Calcutta! I was a prisoner on
my father's ship! and for five long years
I was kept from home?as if all the waters
of the ocean could wash out my love!
"I escaped at length from the prison ship,
while lying at Rio, and took passage in a
French bark for the Guadalquiver. No circumnavigation
of the globe was ever so
long as that voyage. I strained my eyes
every day watching for Gibraltar, which
I knew was thousands of miles off; and
every night I dreamed of moutain rivulets,
snow flocks, and Ina.
"Arriving at last at Seville, I hastened
over the Nevada, and sought the sunny
dell where my affections had so long nestled,
and there found that the idol of my
heart was the wife of an Andalusian shepherd
! she had been told that I had deserted
her, and afterward that I was dead.
I did not weep, for my heart was turned
to stone. 'My father,'said I, 'shall never
know of his victory!' I did not go to see
him ; it was wicked, I know, but burning
with the spirit of revenge, I turned again
XI 1 ?... I. I
10 lilt; sen, aim never suw nun niuic. ? um
faint, Captain, and can't prolong my tale.
In six months I was master of a fast sailing
vessel?you have seen that vessel, Captain,
but never in port, and I have often seen
you, and knew your name twenty years
ago. But no matter about that. My father
continued to freight his ships and send
them to different parts of the world?but he
never knew that I superintended a large
part of his'business, and that many of his
cargoes found a sale in ports to which they
had never been consigned. His agents
sometimes failed to report.
"1 have said enough, Captain; before tomorrow's
sun sets I shall be in the caverns
of the deep. But I have forgiven him,
and do not complain. I have a fortune in
the Bank of England, but with it is deposited
a will, and the orphan son of Ina is
my heir. You have been kind to me,
Captain, and in token of gratitude I beg
you to accept my watch and cutlass, and
this paper, which you will carefully preserve."
80 saying, he held out a folded
scrap of paper, which my grandfather put
in his pocket.
Morning dawned, but the stranger's eyes
did not open upon it?they were closed
forever. In the afternoon the "Burial Ser
vice at Sea," that most solemn of sea scenes,
was performed?and the shrouded body ol
the pirate, with a gentle plunge, broke the
glassy surface of the ocean, and sank swiftly
to the mysterious depth.
It was many hours afterward that my
grand-father bethought himself of the paper
in his pocket. He opened it and read
as follows:
"Captain Lane: On the eastern point ol
Nantucket, at high water mark, is a tall,
sharp cliff. A quarter league due west
from that cliff is a large, round stone, and
near the stone a thorn bush. That bush
grows in a very rich soil."
The duties of his station kept my grandfather
a loii": tipie abroad, and when he was
in Boston about three years afterward, and
having a few days of leisure, he was thinking
about acting upon the hint of the enigmatical
paper, when his eye happend to fall on
the following paragraph in the old Boston
Messenger :
WondkhI'TI, Discovkky.?As Mr. John Rogers
was breaking a piece of pasture ground on
the east shore of Nantucket, about a month ago,
his ploughshare turned up a stout tliornbusli,
sticking to the roots of which Mr. Rogers spied
several Spanish dollars. Upon this he went to
digging lustily, and did not give up till he had
hauled out coins, chiefly Spanish doubloons, of
more than ?St,UUO value. No doubt it was buried
by Captain Kid or some of his pirate kin.
"No doubt," thought my grandfather, as
ho put down the paper with a slight nervousness.
In a week lie was again facing
the storms of the ocean, enriching his employers
by his skill and toil, till infirmities
drove him high and dry on shore. There
in due time he died of old age, leaving little
to his family except the pirate's cutlass,
which three generations of boys have used
in their juvenile "trainings," and which,
rusted and blunted, may now be seen in
the office of his great grandson, a lawyer ol
New York.
JAMES GODWIN'S FORTUNE.
"What on earth can you do, Miss Hillsdale?"
asked the lawyer, looking at the
I helpless invalid before him.
"I can find work enough to do."
The lawyer wondered at her answer.
She was young, and possessed of a face ol
rare and startling beauty, but she was a
i helpless, almost hopeless, invalid. Two
I years before she had been thrown from a
j horse, and from that time had never left her
chair without assistance. What could she
do to earn a livelihood?
It's a strange will, Miss Hillsdale," said
i the lawyer; "but I advise you to marry Mr.
Godwin'. He will make a kind husband."
She put out her hand imploringly, and
turned a pained, white face up to his.
"Very well," lie said, interpreting the j
1 expression; "I will not urge you. I'll send
i Mr. Godwin here, and let you settle the |
; matter between yourselves. Good morn- i
r ing."
She would have stopped him, hut he was
away before she could speak, and two minutes
later James Godwin was before her.
A perfect model of grace and beauty was
this man, who, by the strange will of her
Aunt Hillsdale stood between her and fortune
unless she married him ; and she look- J
-.1 -A l:? u:.., .. I
eu ill mm, jjiciui inj; nun iiiiKu i ii\_vi iv#
foor, useless being like herself. Xo, no!
t would be a sin.
He silt down upon an ottoman at her feet,
tossed back the dark waves of hair from
, his white forehead and took her hands in
his own.
"Dora, you are a weak, silly girl. Am 1
i repulsive ?"
i "No, James."
i "Yet you will not marry mo for love nor
money ?"
; "No."
"Why not?"
She looked down at her helpless form,
and tears came into her eyes.
"Unite my poor, useless life to yours?
Bind you to one who might be seventy
years old for aught of life or strength she
possesses? No, James, no? Take the fortune
Aunt Mary left, and never pain me by
again alluding to the subject."
"I will obey you, Dora, because I love
you; but as for the money, may Heaven
heap curses upon my head if I ever touch
a shilling of it! There! Good-bye, Dora,
and Heaven bless you!"
She could not prevent him putting his
strong arm around her and kissing her
again and again, and the tears fell heavy
and fast when he went out into the night.
"Poor James!" she thought, sitting in
the warm firelight. "Poor foolish fellow!"
And he, walking along the frost-covered
pavement, murmured,?
"Poor Dora! Poor silly child !"
***-*****
"They say that the bridal (roiuseau will
cost a fortune, for her father is immensely
. wealthy. What a splendid pair they will
make!"
Dora looked patiently at her gossiping
friend, Nellie Danvers, who came in every
now and then for a chat.
"You look as though you did not comprehend."
"I do not."
"Well, James Godwin is to be married to
my old friend, Clara Ellis."
"Dora said nothing, but turned her head
wearily upon the cushions of her chair.
Pshaw! why did she care ? Surely she had
sent him away and told him she could never
marry him.
She allowed Nelly to run on with her
chatter, listening patiently all the while,
and striving hard to keen her secret; but
over and over in her mind went the words,
"James to be married?James to be marm
11CU i
That night she wrote to James Godwin
for the first time in her life:?
"I have heard to-day of your approaching marriage,
and I am glad to hear of it. But before the
time arrives you must visit me. You must not
take this fair young girl from a luxurious homo
to a life of poverty. Come to me and take the
wealth I so little heed. If you do not, I shall
feel it my duty to give it to some orphan asylum
or other charitable institution. I cannot, with
respect and honor to myself, and the memory of
my beloved Aunt Mary, retain this property.
I shall expect you to come to me before your
marriage. If you do not I shall dispose of it as
I have already proposed. Doha Himsdalk."
When the letter was on its way she felt at
rest, and as soon as sufticient time had
elapsed began to look for a reply. It did
not come. She waited one, two, three, four
months, before she heard of him.
She was sitting in her arm chair in the
very room where tjiey had parted, with her
eyes half closed, anfd her thoughts tar away,
when there came the sound of a light step
' near, and before she could turn a pair of
hands covered her face.
"Who is it? Do you know me?" asked
a familiar voice.
"Yes, I know you. It is Jaincs. Let me
, look at you."
The hands were removed, and he sat down
| in his old way at her feet.
"1 came for my money, Dora, and?don't
scold me?for my wife!"
"Oh, James, 1 am"?the clear voice faltered?"glad!
Where is Miss Kllis?"
' "Did vou believe that idle story, Dora ?"
"Yes."
"You were wrong. I shall never have a
wife or fortune unless you bestow them
upon me. I told you last winter that I loved
you. Do you think me capable of telling a
falsehood ?"
"No, James."
"Then, Dora, you must believe that T am !
unchanged. If 1 marrv, it will be to vourself."
"A poor invalid like me, James?"
"Yes, and no other. Can't you love me
a little? I am a scapegrace, a wretch, and
all that; but 1 love you, Dora, and will be
a tender, loving husband to you. Won't
you try to find a place in your nenruor me r" i
' ' With perfect strength and grace she stepped
from her chair and walked straight and
well before him, her face beaming with
joy, her hands outstretched to him.
"There is a place in my heart for you,
James, if T have a heart. I'm half inclined
to think you have it all in your possession."
"Dora, Dora, what does this mean?" he
' said, unmindful of her words in his astonishment
at seeing her well and strong.
"That, by the merciful interposition of
. Divine Providence, I am once more permitted
to walk."
"And you love me?"
"With all my heart, James."
Then, with his arm around her, he walked
up and down the floor to convince himself
he was not dreaming.
"Now what is to be ilone with the money ?
. Does it go to the orphan asylum, or shall
we keep it and do good with it, and at the
same time benefit ourselves ?"
"I think we had better keep it awhile."
"They did so. and there is not a happier
or more benevolent couple in the country.
OBBHMiaHHBaBIIIBJ
, Tarleton and "By tiie Eternal."?
A correspondent of the Augusta Chronicle
and Comtnationalist writing from Halifax,
X. 8., says: "Among the other books 1
have been permitted to read, taken from a
gentleman's library, is a history of the campaign
in the Southern provinces of America,
in 1780 and 1781, under Lord Cornwallis,
ending with the surrender of Yorktown,
written by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton, of
the British Legion. Our. North Carolina
friends would like to know that Tarleton
speaks of the counties of Mecklenburg and
. Rowan in that State as being the most rebellious
in spirit of all the counties in North j
Carolina, and our Irish friends will not \
object to know that, after referring to the I
Irish settlement at Wax haw, South Carol i- \
na he speaks of the Irish in America as I
being the most bitter and hostile of all the i
King's subjects to be found in the country.
Little did Tarleton dream that already there
had been born in that Irish settlement a
lsul, whom the British officer had stricken |
with his sword for refusing to black his ;
boots, and then vowed vengeance :'By the j
Eternal" against Britisli power. The in-1
suit was wiped out by the lad in his mature j
manhood when, as Andrew Jackson, on the j
8th of January, 181">, he achieved the splen-1
did victory of New Orleans."
flj-jsT There is a saying in California that if'
i a man buys water he can get his land thrown j
in. The literal fact is that the value of j
much of the land depends solely upon the
water which it holds or controls. Four sys"
terns of irrigation are practiced: First,
, flooding the land. This is possible only in
i fiat districts, where there art; large heads of j
, water. The second is by furrows, by which I
a large head of water is brought upon the !
! land and distributed in streams as small as j
will run across the ground. The third is by
. basins dug around tree roots, to winch wa,
tor is brought by pipes or ditches. The
1 fourth is by sub-irrigation; the water is
. carried in pipes laid two or three feet below
the surface, and let'out to permeate t he soil.
IpsccUattcfltts ?jte??liuij.
COURTSHIP ANI) MARRIAGE.
At the Twenty-third Street Theatre, New
York, last Sunday evening, the Rev. C. C.
Coss delivered a sermon on "The mistakes
respecting Courtship and Marriage," which
is thus reported by the Herald:
The importance of the subject the preacher
said can only be appreciated by those familiar
with the infelicities of married life.
Our public journals teem with incidents of
domestic troubles. Divorce is getting to be
about as much of an institutiion as marriage.
The causes of this are found in the
sickly sentimentalism of our so-called story
papers, the representation of artificial life
in the scenes of the stage and the want of
proper instruction as to life's duties and responsibilities
from the pulpits. If ever the
circumstances demand a free, bold utterance
in respect to the ills of the married relation
it is at the present time, and we need expect
110 better state of things in domestic
llie till tne puipil, ine press mm uie M.iye
unite in turning the tmo in iv better direction.
*
beauty only skin deep.
First, it is u mistake for young people to
marry simply for beauty. Beauty, often, is
only skin deep, and serves as veneering to
cover up a deformed heart and soul. Some
of the most homely persons we have are inwardly
the most beautiful. Such was Annie
Steele, the tender poetess of England. Such
was Watts, the great poet, of whom a lady
said that she admired the jewels but abhorred
the casket. Seek, then, for a partner
in life who possesses the inner beauties
of virtue, truth and true affection. Such
will cause the countenance to be all radiant;
not with cosmetics, but with that which
will abide amid the stern realities of life.
don't marry for position.
It is a mistake to marry simply for social
position. This marrying of surroundings
rather than of a partner is the bane of married
life. For a young man to marry from
such a base motive is simply to add one to
the family, but that one is often a consummate
fool, and a cat and a dog life is generally
the consequence. Those who marry
simply external surroundings deserve nothing
oetter than a selfish, calculating, designing
woman, who will shoot missiles of anguish
and sorrow into their souls all through
life. Young men in seeking a wife should
look only at the individual. Internal qualities,
not external circumstances, should influence
them. A girl who helps her mother
cheerfully, cares for her brother and is kind
and affectionate to her father, is the one to
make a loving wife. A young man who
loves and cares for his sister generally has a
i 1? , c? u:.. w;+l,
lender, loving reguru iui ma win.-, n mi
such there may he glittering surroundings,
but beneath that is the ring of the true metal,
which sounds more sweet and harmonious
as life progresses.
MARRYING FOR MONEY.
Motives of wealth too often operate in the
selection of life partners. This is the case
in respect to both sexes. "Did she marry
well?" is often asked?that is, did she marry
a long, full purse. No matter how honest,
industrious, or respectable he may be, he
is of no account if he is lacking in money.
There are no terms strong enough to express
contempt for any two-legged creature who,
not having inherited wealth and not having
brains enough to make it, will go to work
with cold deliberation to marry it. This
having one eye on a woman and the other
on her purse "in base hypocrisy. Themistocles
said he would rather marry his daughter
to a man without mon.ey than to money
without the man. A true man lives for his
wife rather than 011 her. Independence is
the prime idea of true manhood. Barter
this way by living on your wife's money
and you become simply a serf. In the practical
duties of daily life the poor creature
who married money and has to live on it
undergoes a terrible crucifixion. Married
life to him is anything but a paradise. lie
is always the fawning sycophant or the selfwilled
tyrant, and in either case the difficulty
increases. The trouble was not so
much in the act of marriage on his part as
in the motives which prompted it. He did
not sow affection, hence he did not reap it;
but he sowed a sordid selfishness which
produced an abundant crop of sorrow, strife
and regret.
MOKK PKKCIOl'S THAN* (JOLI).
Young men, banish all ideas of marrying
wealth ! Earn it, then you will appreciate it
and know how to save it. If you cannot
bring a dowry of gold to a wife, bring her a
pure heart and an untarnished reputation.
Bring her what a Greek maiden once said
she would bring to her husband, "What
1
gold cannot-purchase?a neart unspouuu mm
virtue without a stain, which is all that descended
to me from my parents." (Jet a
wife who has what Dr. Watts calls "Wealth
above what earth can grant and lasting as
the mind." Then will married life be pleasi
ant and agreeable, and the end be peaceful
and triumphant.
LONG AGO POSTAL REGULATIONS.
The New York Tribune, in noting the
improvements in postal facilities, says:
The differences between the present law and
that of 1K2"> are numerous and important.
At that time and until 183(5, all postmasters,
or, as they were sometimes called, "deputy postmasters,"
were appointed by the postmaster-general.
The postmasters of the important
offices are now appointed by the
President, with the consent of the Senate.
The postage rates as they were fixed in
181G, and remained for nearly thirty years,
were on a sliding scale that must have required
a high degree of arithmetical skill
on the part of postmasters. The rates for a
letter of a single sheet of paper were, for
any distance under 30 miles, (5 cents; over
30and under 80 miles, 10cents; over 80 and
under 1(30 miles, 121 cents; over 1(50 and
under 400 miles, 18J cents, and over 4(10
miles, 2o cents. Letters of two sheets were
charged double postage, and others on the
same scale.
The instructions given to toe postmasters
in 182o indicate some of the difficulties that
were found in applying the law. One regulation
says: "It may sometimes he difficult
to discover whether a letter is single
or double, but after a little experience you
will generally be able to decide by feeling
or by holding the letter to the light." Postmasters
were directed to reckon the distance
between two places by the shortest
post-route. Circuits were sometimes made
for the delivery of letters so that the carrier
did not return by the same route that he
used in going and the method used in calculating
the distance was sometimes highly
important. "Thus in Xew Jersey," says
the regulations, "there is a circuitous route
from Trenton to Allentown, Shrewsbury,
etcetera, to Xew Brunswick, and thence to
Sonierville courthouse and Flemington to
Trenton. From Trenton by the route on
which the mail is carried to Flemington is
l.'!l miles and the postage oy mat custanee
would be 12-1 cents, but the actual distance
from Flemington to Trenton is only 28
miles and the postage of a letter sent either
way would be only six cents."
The postage was not usually prepaid.
Stamps were not introduced until 1S47.
Newspapers were sent within the State, or
a distance of loo miles for 1 cent each, and
1] cents for greater distances. "Ship" letters,
or those brought by vessels, were
charged an extra rate. A regular foreign
mail was not organized until 18-17. The
mails were carried in "portmanteaus" on
horseback or by stages. Steam boats were
utilized after lsi.'land railroads after 1888.
By a law of 181", which remained in
force for fifty years, only free white persons
were allowed to be employed to carry the
mails, lest colored persons should use the
mails to "make combinations to the detriment
of the whites." The letters were fastened
in packages and a "post bill" inclosed,
so that tin; receiving post master might
know what charges were to be collected.
The postmasters were to be paid by commissions,
except that additional allowances I
were made to the postmasters of Washing- J <
ton and New Orleans. No postmaster could ''
receive a compensation of more than $2,001). |
The number of free letters sent in 1825 was 1
proportionately larger than at present, as ;
the privilege of franking was freely bestowed.
All the important and many minor
officials at Washington could send and re- J
ceive letters without the payment of postage;
others could receive newspapers free; j
postmasters might exchange letters without
cost, and printers of newspapers might
freely exchange their publications. The
dates of the most, important changes in
postal service since 1825 are: The use of
railroads, is;{s; reduction of postage, 1815;
postage stamps and arrangement of a s-ale
according to the weight of letters, 1847;
registered letters, 1851; free delivery in
cities, 18(5:1; railway mail service, 18(54, and
about the same time the postal money order.
The reduction in letter postage to two cents
October I, is a further step in advance.
WOLVES AND DOGS.
How is it that the wolf of Russia is so '
much more formidable an enemy to the human
race than his French or (Jerman brother?
Writers and novelists of all ages have
accused this ubiquitous quadruped of treachery,
stealthiness and ferocity, until children, <
who take their impressions from books and i
not from experience, have come to regard (
him as the incarnation of all that is mean, j
blood-thirsty, tricky, and very dangerous. ]
"Truth compels me, however," says Lieutenant
Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, of
the United States Army, "to affirm that of '
all the carnivorous animals of equal size and 1
strength lie is the most harmless to beast 1
and the least dangerous to man. He will ;
not even attack when wounded, and though ]
he will snap at pursuing dogs in self-cle- .
fense, he never follows up the advantage
given him by his sharp teeth and powerful
jaws, but takes to flight as fast as he can."
These words written about the buffalo wolf j
of the American plains, tall, gaunt, lean ]
and hungry looking, may with with equal (
truth be applied to his congener in Brittany
and Poitou. In the former province wolves 1
are rarely seen, although they commit terri- i
hie nocturnal depredations among sheep, i
calves, and clogs. * Such, however, is their
cowardice, that every Breton farmer is in ?
the habit of sending his tiock of sheep out
to pasture during the day with a littlecnild,
often a girl not more than 0 or 7 years of
age, in charge of them, and nothing is more
uncommon than for the hungry marauder, i
who lies licking his chops on the edge of the
adjoining thicket, to issue forth from his (
fastness and pounce upon a sheep so long as
the infantile representative of the lord of
creation is close at hand. At night, however,
the wolf is bolder, and will scale walls
and scratch his way through the thatched
roof of the sheepfold to get at his prey.
Strange as it may seem, the dog?especially
if he be of the smooth-haired breed, like the
pointer or fox terrier?has more attractions
for the "canis lupus," whose relative or descendant
he is generally believed to be, than
the woolly sheep. "When a wolf is hungry,"
writes an English gentleman who has
long resided in Brittany, "and smells an
appetizing dog, he will spring upon him and
carry him off, even under the nose of his
master. It is certain, in fact, that the wolf
prefers a dog to any other prey. When I
was at Huelgoet three years since a wolf
jumped over the wall of the hotel yard and
carried off a dog whose piteous howls awoke
the entire village. An empty collar, suspended
at the end of the chain, and covered
with blood, bore testimony to the untimely
fate of its late wearer." The lively author
of "Wolf-hunting in Brittany" relates that a
Breton peasant named Antoine lived some
years since with his wife in the Forest of
Dualt of "Black Hock." .V heavy snowstorm
had fallen on the mountains, and for
"'" """l in ^nwo?cinn \ ntnino found
ntttiui IIIQIIIO in
it necessary to protect his three sheep by
admitting'them to his hut. Six or seven
wolves paced around his dwelling all night
uttering the most dismal howls, but a large
wood-fire and the presence of man kept off
the famished besiegers. At last the peasant
and his wife fell asleep and the lire burnt
low. A sudden dash was made at the roof,
and five gaunt wolves leaped down into the
hut. Before Antoine could strike a light
the three sheep were devoured and a favorite
little dog was swallowed at a gulp, and
then the invaders sprang upon an old oaken
cupboard and disappeared through the roof.
WINK AT THE COMMUNION.
The use of wine at the communion table
is one of the phases of the temperance question
now agitated by the advocates of total
abstinence. It has brought up the much
discussed topic of the kind of wine which is
mentioned in the New Testament as usual
when the miracle at the wedding of Cana
was performed and the last supper was celebrated.
There is a marked division of
/.i-Oniim mii tlii< noinf. nninmr I'rntoshint the
ologians, some maintaining that it was the
unfermented juice of the grape ; others believing
i* to he actual intoxicating wine.
If it was unfermented juice, the duty of
all Christians who believe that the example
of the founder of that religion should be literally
followed is very clear. Unfermented
wine is, under those circumstances, clearly
the sort to be set out upon the communion
table. But to those who are convinced that
the wine was not some harmless beverage,
but the article which everybody recognizes
as wine?alcoholic and more or less stimulating?their
duty is by no means simple.
There comes a conflict between their obligations
to follow the example of Christ and
their total abstinence principles.
The Methodist church has recognized the 1
difficulty by prescribing unfermented wines :
at the Lord's supper, whenever practicable. :
This, however, by allowing discretion in the ,
matter does not settle it. The Women's ;
Christian Temperance Union has taken up '
the subject and made some investigations.
So far as has been ascertained, while many j
churches use unfermented juice, there are
still large numbers who use wine.
One of the objections to its use is the danger
that it may excite the appetite for drink
in some one who can only subdue his appe- '
- * ' J J i i ? j- ii. . i.i.? ?
tite by never tasiing liquor ; uui h is me |
general testimony of clergyman so far as .
they have been asked that while there is, of '
course, danger of this result they have nev- J
er known any such instances. In England, j
however, Archdeacon Jell'ries declares that i
the danger is real, and Dr. Richardson, the :
great English authority on alcoholic absti- '
nence, says he knows ten persons who dare
not accept the communion for fear of falling j
back into ways from which they have been rescued.
'
One temperance tract on the subject says: .
"What men acknowledge will kill the body j
is still used as a lit emblem of that which
giveth life to the soul." "What they con- .
sider too vileand dangerous to have on their '
own tables they place upon the table of the
Lord." "It sends the office bearers of the
Christian church to the rum shop."
The position taken by many of the church
people is that even if the beverage of the J
New Testament was wine that intoxicates, 1
it is better for people who believe in total A
abstinence to totally abstain.?Detroit Free
Peers. l
1
Aximau'I'i-ks ix Vixkoak.?All vine- s
gar is liable to have something that may be i
called animalcules in it; because it is a pro- 1
duct of fermentation, and as made from ci- \
der, has more or less of gum, gluten, etc., in t
it, which breed the minuter organisms dur- c
ing fermentation. If these substances last d
mentioned be in large quantity, a putrefac- s
tivc fermentation is liable to ensue and the t
vinegar lose its acidity and become spoiled, t
To prevent this the vinegar may be boiled 1
soon after it is made, having been previous- v
ly "drawn off" from the settlings, and then v
bottled. This will get rid of theanimalcules v
and preserve the vinegar. Another meth- p
oil, authorized by law in England, is to add p
one thousandth part of sulphuric acid to the h
; newly made vinegar. This checks any fur- ii
I ther fermentation, and the very small quan- o
tity of sulphuric acid is not considered si
i harmful. e
pagritpftirnl Department
HON. JOHN KELLY,
"THE BOSS."
John Kelly, the well known Tammany
Chieftain, is now fifty ye:\rs old, and a native
of the Fourteenth Ward of New York
I'ity. 1 [is father emigrated to this country
from Ireland on account of the troubles of
I7!)8 and came immediately to New York.
John was one of a large family who, at an
iarlv age, were left dependent upon their
mother lor support and education, receiving
the latter at a public school. When twelve
years old he was apprenticed to a grate
manufacturer in Grand street, and at twenty-four
went into business for himself. He
was elected Alderman of the fourteenth
Ward in 1854, the next year to Congress and
re-elected to that body in 1857. During his
last term he was elected Sheriff of the
city anil county. At the expiration of his
shrievalty, he sojourned abroad several
years and spent his time in the study of
the sciences, arts and political economy.
Mr. Kelly is it scholar of no mean pretensions,
and the remarkable part of it is, that
his learning was acquired at middle age.
Not long after the downfall of the Tweed
Ring, Mr. Kelly's well known character and
capacity secured him the leadership of the
New York City democracy, which he still
enjoys with unimpaired influence apparently,
notwithstanding he has lately led them
to defeat rather than to victory. Since his
Chieftanship of Tammany, he held the office
of Comptroller. His term of offtce expired
a year ago. He made a good Comptroller,
being watchful of the City's interests
and attentive to the duties of his oftice.
Mr. Kelly has been married twice, his pressent
wife, whom he married in 1877, is a
niece of Cardinal McCloskey.
Jacob's Well.?This is one of the few
spots in Palestine whereof all tradition concurs
in its identity. This makes it venerable.
And now we are looking down into
the well at which Joseph so often watered
the flock of his father Jacob. The top has
been partly arched over, covering a little
space around what we should call the "curb"
of the well. The drageman gave me his
strong arm, and let me over this upper and
outer rim, down a few feet to a point where
I got a nearer view of the depth below.
Explorers who have measured it have found
it over a hundred feet deep, but a part of
this has been filled up by the stones cast into
it.
But how came Jacob to dig such a well ?
is a question often asked. lie was close to
the Vale of Shechem, which is full of
streams. What need of boring a hundred
feet through the solid rock to find what a
mile or two distant was running away in
exhaustless abundance ? The answer is that
neighbors are not always friends ; that the
inhabitants of the towns and the shepherds
of the plains had little to do with each other,
and even might be in open feud. In the
time of Christ "The Jews had 110 dealings
with the Samaritans," and seventeen hundred
years before the progenitor of the Piebrew
race may have been to them a stranger
and an alien. The people of Shechem
might be friendly to-day and enemies tomorrow
; and though they might have water
flowing through their city, they might
at any moment shut it off from him. With
all his flocks and herds, he could not be dependent
upon such an uncertain supply.
l ...1 lio rlitir it-oil "onrl rlrnnL- tnprp
A Villi Ol J ill/ UUq 11 i J ; nvii, itu\? VA?W V
of himself, and his children and his cattle."
The woman of Samaria, who came here to
draw water, had probably been out on the
plain tending the flocks, and at the sixth
hour?noon?had no other spring to go to
but Jacob's Well.
But the chief interest of this spot is that
One greater than Jacob or Joseph has been
here. On this very ground, sitting where
we now sit, our Saviour sat, and talked with
that woman of Samaria, revealing to her astonished
eyes that in the worship of God
the place matters little ; that "neither in
this mountain," looking up to Gerizim
which rose above him, "nor yet at Jerusalem,"
shall men "worship the Father;" for
that "God is a Spirit, and they that worship
him must worship in spirit and in truth."?
II. M. Field, I). I).
Tin-: Mississippi.?Some interesting and
extraordinary data has just been completed
respecting the Mississippi. It appears that
it boasts no fewer than ">o tributary streams,
with a total length of navigation of 10,071
miles, or about two-thirds of the distance
uround the world. Even this, however,
represents but a small amount of the navi-L.
._._t ,t.??
[JtHlOIl WI11CI1 Will llMlini wucii uic i'cuwiu
Uovernmcnt has made the contemplated
improvements in the Vpper Mississippi, in
the Minnesota, Wisconsin and other rivers,
>11 which it is now engaged. But while the
Mississippi has Ki,o71 miles navigable to
steamboats, it lias 20,221 miles navigable to
barges. This navigation is divided between
22 states and Territories in the following
proportions: Lousiana 2,500 miles, Arkansas
2,100, Mississippi l,3so, Montana 1,310, Dakota
1,280, Illinois 1,270, Tennessee 1,200,
Kentucky 1,200, Indiana 840, Iowa 830,
Indian Territory 72o, Minnesota 000, "Wisconsin
.">00, Ohio .">">0, Texas 440, Nebraska
loo, West Virginia 300, Pennsylvania 380,
Kansas 240, Alabama 2oo, and New York
ro. Nearly all these States and Territories
can lie reached with ease. Louisiana, Arkansas,
Mississippi, Montana, Dakota and
lie Indian Territory possess more miles i
>f navigable stream than miles of railroad, j
ill of which is open to everybody who
vishes to engage in commerce.
^
When* There Were no Matches.?
I'oung men, even middle-aged people, ac
:ustomeci to tne convenience 01 me muuem
ueifer match, can hardly imagine the time
vhen the tinder-box, with its clumsy flint
md steel and broad brimstone matches, was
he only means of procuring a light. Some
>eople were more skillful than others in
triking a light and blowing the sparks and
natch to a flame; but often on a winter
norning it was weary work with theser'ant
who had to kindle the first tire if the
inder happened to be damp or worn out,
ir the flint and steel "in a temper." Inleed,
in many houses a rush-light was in
ome bed-room or other always burned, so
hat in case of sudden illness, oranydisaser,
there might be light ready. The rusliiglit,
having as its name implies, a rush
rick, was about fifteen inches long, and
ras burnt in a huge perforated shade; it
ras the "farthing rush-light," which very
ioor people were said to use for other purose
than a night light. The picture of a
alf-starved seamstress in her garret would,
11 those days have been incomplete withut
the thin rush candle; but its flame was
i) feeble that I can hardly fancy any eyes
mild have served to thread a needle bv it.
i
I
|
I
A BIT OF SECRET HISTORY.
The Rev. William John Hamilton, rector
of the cathedral at Mobile, Ala., who was
one of the four priests admitted to the
stockade at Andersonville Prison to minister
to dying1 soldiers, was in Louisville,
Ivy., last week, visiting Bishop McCloskey.
Father Hamilton was one of Wirz's witnesses
during the trial in November, 18(15,
and he related to-day some of the secret
history of the trial that has never before
been heard. Father Hamilton, who is a
benevolent looking man of (10 was constantly
at Andersonville after the carnival of
death commenced, and while he admits the
horrors and cruelties, he defends Wirz,
who, he says, was the most humane keeper
of a prison he ever met, and was constantly
assisting in acts of charity.
"It is true," said Father Hamilton, "that
the sufferings among prisoners were terrible,
but Wirz, poor fellow, was no more responsible
than I, and so when he was arraigned
in August, I860, I went 011 to Washington
to do what 1 could in his behalf.
During the trial Captain Wirz was suffering
from various diseases and wounds, and he
was carried to and from the court room by
four marines. A medical commission hail
been appointed to examine him, and the
examination resulted in the conclusion
that he could not possibly live longer
than two months at the farthest. This
information I obtained through a friend,
and I felt it my duty to impart it to Wirz
that he might prepare himself for the next
world. This was about two weeks before
the end of his trial. lie received the information
calmly, and then made a request
of me which I shall never forget. He said ,
he realized that his conviction and condemnation
to death was a foregone conclusion,
that he had no reason to tnink otherwise.
I agreed with him that on account of the
feeling existing in the North he would certainly
be condemned to death, lie then
requested me to call upon Secretary Stanton
and say that he was willing to plead guilty
to the charges, provided that in fixing the
punishment the commission would set a
date for the hanging far enough in the future
to afford him an opportunity of preparing
himself for death, and of his probably
dying a natural death before the day
fixed.
"I called upon Secretary Stanton and
laid Wirz's proposition before him, and
made a personal request myself that it be
accented. Mr. Stanton thought favorably
of it, and said lie thought the rest of the
Cabinet would have no hesitancy in accepting
it. He said there was to he a Cabinet
council that day at 1 o'clock, and that he
would lay the matter before the Cabinet
and would inform me later in the"day what
action had been taken in the premises. (
After the meeting 1 called upon him, when
he informed me that the other members
refused to listen to any such proposition as
that made by Wirz. I asked him what reasons
they gave, and he made this reply:
I will never forget it: "The people of tne
North demand the blood of some one for
the cruelties practiced at Anderson. Wirz
has only two months to live. Let's take this
man and shed his blood and by doing so we
spare the life of a better man" and then he
mentioned the names of three men?Lee,
Davis and Stephens of Georgia.
"I saw that there was nothing more to
be done, and I communicated this fact to
Wirz, who began preparing himself to meet
his Maker. In less than two weeks he had
been convicted, was sentenced November
9th, and hanged next day. I felt that
Wirz had simply suffered for others, and he
knew it but he died without a murmur,
save at the ignomy of the means. Impressed
with this belief, when I met President
Johnson, a short time afterwards, I alluded
to Wirz's proposition to Stanton and asked
him, for my own satisfaction, why the Cabinet
had not favored it as did Secretary Stanton.
Mr. Johnson's reply was most startling
and surprising tome. "What," said
he, "Stanton in favor of the proposition?"
and lie seemed greatly astonished. "Why,
Stanton was the oiily" member of the Cabinet
opposed to it. The rest of the Cabinet
favored it, when Stanton threatened to resign
if the proposition was entertained for
a moment. Mr. Stanton's services could
not well be dispensed with, and rather than
have him resign we allowed the matter
to drop."
' Did your interest in Wirz's case end
here?" was asked of Father Hamilton.
"Not my interest, but my inquiries did.
The times were troublous, and the terrors
of Andersonville were too odious at the
North to render prudent or possible any
righting of the wrong. I have never said
anything of this, except confidentially to
one or two friends, but I will say now that
Wirz was sacrificed, and that he died to
save one of the leaders of the Confederacy.
Truthfulness.?Of all the happy households
that is the happiest where falsehood
is never thought of. All peace is broken
up when it happens that there is a liar in
the house. All comfort has gone when suspicion
has once entered?when there must
be a reserve in talk and reservation in belief.
Anxious parents, who are aware of
the pains of suspicion, will place general
confidence in their children, and receive
what they say freely, unless there is strong
reason to distrust the truth of any. If such
an occasion should unhappily arise, they
must keep the suspicion from spreading as
long as possible and avoid disgracing their
poor child while there is a chance of its
cure by their confidential assistance. He
should have their pity and assiduous help,
as if he were suffering under some disgusting
bodily disorder. If lie can be cured, he
will become truly grateful for the treatment.
If the endeavor fail, means must of course
be taken to prevent his example from doing
harm ; and then, as I said, the family peace
is broken up, because the family confidence
is gone.
It may interest our readers, and give
them some insight into the productive capacity
of the Bank of England, to learn that
in the course of live years the paid notes
at the bank have amounted to 77,745j000
in number, and tilled 13,400 boxes, which,
if they had been placed side by side, would
have reached two and a third miles. If the
notes had been placed in a pile they would
have reached to a height of live and twothirds
miles; or. if they had been joined
end to end, they would have formed a ribbon
12,44") miles long. Their superficial extent
is said to have been rather less than
that of Hyde Park. They weighed over
ninetv tons, and their original value was
?1,7")G,G26,600.
A Car Load.?Nominally a car-load is
20,000 pounds. It is also seventy barrels of
salt, seventy of lime, ninety of Hour, sixty
' bt .l.,. OoA ./\f lm v j nf
U1 WHISKEY, -I'U wi jiuui, rji-v wiuo ui
wood, eighteen or twenty head of cattle,
fifty or sixty head of hogs, ninety to 100
head of sheep, 17,000 feet of siding, 18,000
feet of flooring, 40,000 shingles, one-half
less of hard lumber, one fourth less of green,
one tenth less of joist, 340 bushels of wheat,
400 of barley, 400 corn, 000 of oats, 300 of flax
seed, 300 of sweet potatoes and 1,000 of bran.
Ifeif" Avoid the beginnings of evil. One
does not become a deep dyed villain or a
miserable sot at a siugle stride. The monster
in crime commenced with slight deviations
; the debased drunkard was first a
moderate drinker. The backslider at first
neglects some little duty. Peter followed
afar off before he denied his Master. Avoid
scrupulously the approaches to the downward
path, the first steps in the way of evil.
Keep the sense of duty bright and the conscience
clear.
Goon Advice.?The following advice Avas
given by the president of an agricultural society
on presenting a silver cup to a young
man who had Avon the first prize at a ploAVing
match: "Take this cup, my young
friend, and remember always to plow deep
and drink shalloAV."
figr Thirteen old maids recently assembled
at a tea party in Twenty-third street, Avhose
combined ages|wcre nearly a thousand years.