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j lewis m. grist, Proprietor. J ^it $nbqpfont Jamil]) $tappr: Jor % ^Mmnlion of % political, JSotial, ^griralkral aitb Commtrtial Ittftrtsfs of fjje Sontjr. { terms-$2.50 a tear, in advance. . VOL. 34- YOEKVILLE. S. C.. WEDIsr^SD^LY, JTJLY 18, 1888. N"0. 29. Ibe ftfltg Ml**. A NARROW ESCAPE. De Quincy relates that, shortly after th< Ratcliffe Highway (England) murder, it 1812, he met Coleridge, and found him "ir a profound reverie upon the tremendous power whicli is laid open in a moment tt any man who can reconcile himself to the abjuration of all conscientious restraints if at the same time thoroughly withoul fear." Let the criminal be not only fearless, but also couple with his contempt ioi all laws?human and divine?a keen and subtle intellect and a determined will, and we would have all that power which Socrates, in "The Republic of Plato," invests the bad man who has possessed himself oi Gyges's ring. "He can take what he likes out of market or chest; he can enter the houses of others ; he can kill whom hP will." The perpetrator of the horrible crime in Piripa, a town in the northwestern part ol Mexico, on the Rib de Sayopa, in June, 1886, almost answered such a man as described above. The victim was a young woman of considerable personal attractions, named Juanita Medanos, and occupied a suit ol apartments in a fashionable section of the city. She was an extremely wealthy heiress, whose father had died a few years before, leaving her bis whole fortune, to the exclusion of a profligate son, whom he had disinherited and driven from home. On the evening of June 15,1886, Juanita went to a theater with a gentleman who had frequently called upon her. The name of the person was only known to Iza, Juanita's maid. By others he was described as tall, dark complexioned, with large black whiskers, of a pronounced Mexican caste and the outwara aspect of a gentleman. He was supposed by some of the boarders of the house to be an Italian, but he spoke Spanish fluently. According to the gossip of the house, Ju&uita had spoken of this man as a sort of tormentor, who had persistently requested her to make a trip with him to the United States, in company with a maid and a female companion. On one occasion the stranger was with Jnanita in the saloon of her hotel when the stranger, in taking olf his cloak, dropped a large knife. Juanita picked it up and opened it by touching a spring on the back of the haft. This blade was about as wide as her thumb-nail, and had a sharp point. Iza happened into the saloon about ' this time, and, through curiosity, minutely examined the knife. There was no doubt but that this stran ger came home with Juanita from tne tneater, arriving at her hotel about midnight. This is shown by the evidence of the driver, who drove them, whose description oi the man corresponded in every particular with that given by Iza, the maid, of the mysterious stranger. From the moment when the door closed behind them on that fatal midnight, the story seemed to have been an impenetrable mystery. About a quarter past six on the following morning, a young merchant named Rosalio, who had slept on the same floor, was leaving the house to attend to business when he found the corpse of the ill-fated ^oung woman lying in a pool of blood upon the floor near the half-open door of the room in which she slept. Horrified by the discovery, he awoke a fellow-boarder and then called in an officer. The unfortunate woman was quite dead, and had probably been so for some hours. She had not undressed, having only taken off-a silk dress and placed her gold watch on the dressing-table. Beside a gaping wound in the throat, which had severed . the wind-pipe, there were several stabs in the abdomen and below the left breast. The left thumb was also cut, as if in a struggle with the assassin. There was bloody water in the wash-basin, showing that the murderer had washed his hands before leaving. The profound secrecy with which the crime had been committed caused it to create more than an ordinary degree of excitement. Rosalio slept in the adjoining room, while Iza, the maid, slept in the ante-room, separated only by a door from her mistress. There were other lodgers in the house, yet no one had heard the mysterious stranger go out, nor had any sound disturbed them during the small hours of the morning. The motive of the crime was as inscrutable as the perpetrator was unknown. It did not appear to have been commited for rrUrv ni.Mfl nf tha iloppgsprl WflC jUUliUCl* JLUU puiou VI VUV vtvvvMs/w .. said to be missing, and to have contained but a small amount; but her gold watch, diamonds and several valuable articles oi jewelry were left on the dressing-table. Usually there is some link in the chain of evidence connecting a murderer with his crime, which the detective police can take up at once. In Poe's stories the interest depends upon the skill with which this link is seized, when it is apparently concealed. In the mystery of Marie Roget, the link is the rudderless boat. In the murders of Rue Morgue, it is the huge Venetian shutter by which the ape swings from the window to the lightning-rod. In the mysterious crime of which Juantia Medanos was the victim, there was such a link in the shape of a gentleman's black ' kid glove, found upon the carpet in the dead woman's chamber. Iza, in arranging her mistress's room on the morning ol the discovery of the murder, found by the bedside a glove, with the initials "M. R." written on the inside. These initials stood for Manuel Rosalio, the man who first discovered the murder and gave the alarm, Suspicion fell upon Rosalio, between whom and the deceased the most friendly relations were known to exist. Iza told the jury that she was awakened during the night, and saw a man in the dim light, in her mistress's room, standing near the latter's dressing-table. He answered Rosalio's description perfectly, and when the maid called to Juanita, the latter told hei to remain quiet, as the gentleman was a physician, who had called at her request to administer a narcotic. She saw the so-called doctor depart, but whether he returned or not she could not say. Beside the above facts, a search of Rosalio's room resulted in finding the mate ol the glove found in the dead woman's room. The link seemed to be completed, when a man came forward with a strange story ofhis having, at an early hour on the morning of the murder, seen a man wearing only his trousers and shirt, and with bloody hands, standing at the door of the house in which the crime was committed. liosalio being pointed out to him, he said that was the man. About this time the mysterious stranger turned up, and he gave his name as Juan Bocuna. On the evidence adduced Rosalio was indicted for murder, and there was not a dissenting voice as to his guilt. His previous character had been good, and in his conferences with his lawyer he seemed overwhelmed with grief, but strenuouly denied all imputations of guilt, asserting that he had not left his room since ten o'clock of the night before. Of course his statements, in the face of proof so damning, weighed but little. His lawyer had no confidence in them himself. Still, it was his professional duty to see that a man on trial for his life, who had intrusted him with his cause, had every right the law accorded him. This duty performed, his conscience would be clear, whatever the result. It would be tedious to dwell on the steps preceding the trial. He interposed no obstacles on its coming on speedily. His aim was not to thwart justice, but to see it meted our fairly. Senor Bocuna was the first and chiei witness. He told his story clearly and methodically, and it was easy to see that it had effect with the jury. His rigid cross-examination only served to bring out his evidence with more distinctness o detail. He was interrogated as to hi: . past career, but it brought out nothing t< - his discredit. The evidence of the doctor who mad< the post-mortem was next put in, and th< 5 State's attorney rested. ' 4T have brought the maid here," he said, "but as she. was half asleep and th< I room dark at the time, her evidence is un ' important. I thought it my duty to hav< > her here, however, to afford the other side > the opportunity to call her if they de sired." f Nothing could render the prisoner's case II more hopeless than it was already, while ; something might come out' to his ad van ' tage. ( "I will call the witness," said Rosalio'e 1 lawyer. She was handsome and young. Hei ' agitation was visible, and it was noticec P _ XL !.? L. |.!J 1 mat 111 laKing ine uuui sue miu hci unut 1 beside the book and not upon it. "I ask that the witness be sworn with her hand on the book," said Rosalio's lawyer, calling attention to the omission. The judge so ordered, and the witness's 1 hand shook violently as she reluctantly i obeyed the direction, and the oath was administered. After a few preliminary questions as tc the hour of her retiring, her failing asleep, ; etc., "What is the next thingyou.remember?" was asked. 1 The witness hesitated. "Answer the question," said the court, "I?I heard a noise as of some one com1 iDg into the room," she faltered. "Did you see any one enter!" Another pause, when the inquiry was repeated. "I did," was the answer. "What did the person do?" The woman's face grew pale, and it was with difficulty she found utterance. 1 "He came to the bedside of my mistress, and, after cutting her throat, covered hei body with stab wounds." 1 The court and lawyers for the prosecu1 tion leaned forward in eager attention, The latter, it was evident, had not expected this testimony. The questions thus far had only served to draw the halter closer around Rosalio's !- neck. But his counsel had gone too far tc retreat, His voice trembled as much as that of the witness as he proceeded. "Did you recognize the person ?" "I did," was the answer, scarcely audible. 1 Rosalio's life hung on the answer to the ' next question. The silence of the court1 room was death-like. The sound of the 1 lawyer's voice startled him as he spoke. 1 "Who was it?" was asked. Her lips moved, but no sound came. "By the solemn oath you have taken oe this sacred book and by your hopes of salvation hereafter, I adjure you to speak the truth," said the lawyer, earnestly. Her agitation was fearful to witness, She shook from head to foot, a deadly pallor overspreading her face. Slowly raising 1 her trembling hand and pointing at Juan j Boeuna: "That is the man!" she almost shrieked, Then, in quick, wild accents, she wenl on to tell that on finding himself discovered by reason of her waking, the culprit, who was no other than Juan Medanos, Juanita's profligate brother, had disclosed 1 to her that his purpose was to regain his lost inheritance by putting his sister out ol the way, promising the witness to provide for her handsomely if she kept his secret; but when put to tne test she had found herself unable to violate her solemn oath. Juan Medanos, alias Juan Bocuna, the mysterious stranger, would have left the court-room, but an officer was ordered to detain ! im ; and when his disguise was removed, though he had been absent many years, there were many present who could testify to his identity. Rosalio was acquitted on the spot, and his cell in the prison was occupied by his false accuser, who subsequently was hanged [ for the unnatural crime of murdering his sister. EVERY ANIMAL ITS OWN DOCTOR. > Animals get rid of their parasite* by using mud, dust, clay, etc. Those suffering from fever restrict their diet, keep quiet, seek dark places, drink water, and ; sometimes plunge into it. When a dog i has lost his appetite he eats that species ol grass known as dog's grass, which acts as an emetic and purgative. Cats also eat grass. Sheep and cows, when ill, seek certain herbs. An animal suffering from chronic rheumatism always keeps, as far as possible, in the sun. The warrior ants i have regular organized ambulances. Latrielie cut the antennai of the ant, and other ants came and covered the wounded ' part with a transparent fluid secreted in their mouths. If a chimpanzee is ever wounded it stops the bleeding by placing i its hand on the wound or dressing it with i leaves and grass. When an animal has a wounded leg or arm hanging on, itcomi pletes the amputation with its teeth. A dog on being stung on the muzzle by , a viper was observed to plunge its head i reDeatedlv for several days in running s water. Thisanimal eventually recovered, i A terrier hurt his right eye. It remained i under a counter avoiding light and heat, , although it habitually kept close to the i fire. It adopted a general treatment, rest and abstinence from food. The local treati ment consisted in licking the upper surface of the paw, which it applied to the f wounded eye, again licking the paw when i it became dry. Animals suffering from ' traumatic fever treat themselves by the [ continued application of cold water, which M. Delaney considers more efficient than , any other method. In view of these ini teresting facts we are, he thinks, forced to admit hygiene and therapeutics as proi posed by animals may, in the interest 01 i psychology, be studied with advantage, i Many physicians have been keen ob servers of animals, their diseases, and the - methods adopted by them, in their instinct i to cure themselves, and have availed 01 the knowledge so brought under their ob, servation in the practice. The Habit of Studying Faces.?A > face is not a mere embellishment or a family device; it is a cipher in which are con densed one's history and character. Sc large and clear are these written that it is i a wonder people can err so blindly in theii , estimates of each other, and are so surt prised at being deceived. In the first i meeting there is an exquisite, electric im}>ression of the real self of the person beore one, and, good or bad, it is well tc ' keep this mental negative for reference, The habit of studying faces brings out one , convincing fact, that it is ill disposition or i neglect which prevents most women from being attractive. The features will be equally good in two faces, but the play ol i expression and signs of feeling will decide one to be charming and the other to be the reverse. Onemustdiscriminatebetween ill nature 511 l??i h tlin lottnr Koinr* a mnffDr a! HUll ill IIUIJU'/I, Hit iCUlti utiug c* tnuiivi vyj nerves and health, the former of moral de' feet. A woman of sunny, truthful, unselfish disposition, by her very sensitivei ness to mean doing and wrong, may have a capacity for honest antagonism and scorn which limited natures very ioolishly condemn as wicked. Or she may have overtaxed nerves which save themselves by flashes of ill humor, which are no more than neuralgic twinges in changing weathi er, and spring from the same physical reai sons. These things are far different from the ingrain peevishness, narrowness, hard! ness and petty malignity which write out their harsh characters unmistakably on the faces of women. In these wide social ' exchanges, the railway stations where every grade of society comes in review, the sensation is one of regret and surprise ; it would take so little to make most ol ; those women at least charming, if they would only be tidy, good natured and kindly.?[Shirely Dare. I |?i)S?HattC0ttis Reading. ; WAR ABOUT A PIG. 5 It all happened in this wise: Two citizens of Providence, R. I., fell into a most 3 unseemly discussion on account of the \ lawless trespassings of a pig owned by one j of them. The aggrieved party possessed 3 a very fine garden, in which it was his - custom to spend his hours of leisure, weeding, grafting and transplanting the flowers 3 and vegetables in which he delighted. 3 But often, as he entered his garden in the evening, his ears would be saluted with a , grunt and rustle, and the fat form of his 3 neighbor's pig might be seen making a r hasty flight from the garden in which it j had been placidly rooting all day. / In high dudgeon the gardener sought his neighbor and complained of the pig's frequent visits, declaring that a little time ' spent in repairing the pig-sty would re' I strain, the animal's rovinjr nrooensities. But to this the owner of the pig responded P that If his neighbor would keep bis rickety fences in proper repair, the pig might take its daily airing without temptation, and the garden would not be endangered. Repeated misdeeds on the part of the ' pig fanned the smoldering fires of dissension into the flames of open hostility. At last the crisis came. The owner of the garden, rising unusually early one morn| ing, discovered the pig contentedly munching the last of a fine bed of tplip bulbs. Flesh and blood could stand it no longer. Seizing a pitch-fork, which lay near at hand, the outraged gardener plunged its sharp tines into the hapless pig, and bore the body thus fatally impaled, to the sty, where it met thegaze of its owner an hour or two later. Thereafter it was war to the knife between the two neighbors. \ Now, what has this to do with the war of 1812? The answer is simple. The two neighbors belonged to the political party known as the Federalists. [ Through all the outrages that Great Britain inflicted upon the United States; while seamen were being impressed, American vessels stopped on the high seas, and while every possible indignity was being committed against the flag of the United States, the Federalists remained friendly to Great Britain, and contested every proposition for the declaration of war. But the Democratic party was eager for war, and as British oppression became ; more unbearable the strength of the Dera[ ocrats increased. It so happened that the ' election district in which the two neighbors lived had been about equally divided between Democrats and Federalists, but the latter party had always succeeded in carrying the election. But in 1811 the owner of the garden was a candidate for the legislature on the Federal ticket. His neighbor had always voted that ticket; but now, with his mind filled with bitter recollections of the death of his pig, he cast his ballot for the Democrat. When the ballots were counted the Democrat was found to be elected by a majority of one. ' When nowlir tilpfforl lporislntnr tnnk his seat, his first duty was to vote for Uni1 ted States senator. He cast his vote for I the candidate of the'Democrats, who was i also elected by a majority of one. When f this senator took his place in the United ( States Senate he found the question of war with Great Britain pending, and after a ! long and bitterdiscussionitcametoa vote. The Democrats voted for war," and the , Federalists against it. As a result of the , voting, war was declared?again by a nial jority of one vote.?[St. Nicholas. | KEEP YOUR COXSCTENCE CLEAR, j Whoever believes that knavery, cruelty, hypocrisy, or auy other vice, can, under any circumstances, promote even the J temporal happiness of him who practices it, is but a superficial observer and a shal, low reasoner. In the world's parlance, men who acquire wealth and influence by unwarrantable means are called prosperous. But what is prosperity in the true and legitimate sense of the word? Webster tells us: "Advance or gain in uny. thing good." No man can be deemed , truly prosperous whose conscience is ill at ease, and whoever enriches himself at the expense of justice, duty and honor, plunges ' his soul, even here, into a state of ndversiF ty, which no indulgence of the senses, no i adulteration of time-servers and parasites, ; nothing that money can buy or power : command, will effectually or permanenti ly relieve. Another strong argument in favor of i doing right is, that out of every hundred men who seek wealth by dishonorable I roads, ninety-nine come to poverty and 1 shame. This is a fact, and taken in comi bination with the undeniable truth, that the small percentage of aspiring knaves ; who win their game, feel in their souls fhat i it has been dearly won at the sacrifice of . inward peace and self-esteem should Jong have made all the world honest, on selfish principles. The retrospective review of a disap1 pointed scamp must be melancholy in the ; extreme. He sees, of course, with terrible , distinctness, how each departure from recl titude helDed to cloud his life, sink him , deeper in misery, and alienate him from i the sympathies of tiie noble and the good. ; He is conscious of the besotted blindness which led him to put his trust in cunning and chicane, instead of choosing the path ! of duty and leaving the consequences to t Providence, is compelled to acknowledge i to himself that roguery is the twin of fol( ly, and a pure life the best evidence of a i sound brain as well as of a Christian spirit, i Be assured, therefore, that it is good worldly policy to keep the conscience clear. 1 It tends to comfort, content, and produces real happiness; nor can this fair earth, f and the excellent things with which it abounds, be thoroughly enjoyed by any Croesus to whose gold cling the curses of s the wronged. The closing scenes of a life , are, however, the grand test of the wisf dom or folly which has shaped its course. Sir Walter Scott's dying words tell the whole story: "Be a good man, Lockhart; nothing else will comfort you when you come to lie here." SENSATIONAL UNWRITTEN HISTORY. > Arthur's life was attempted shortly after i the assassination of Garfield. A few days after the President had received Guiteau's fatal bullet, a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter ; called at the residence of John P. Jones, where Arthur was domiciled, and asked for an interview. It was midnight, and Mr. Arthur had retired, but the scribe was , invited to a smoke and a chat in the librai ry by the bonanza king. They werescarce ly seated when a bullet, following a sharp i report, whizzed through the journalist's ! hair and imbedded itself in the opposite F wall. s The editor was on his feet in a moment, i ready to pursue the villain, but the senator interposed. ! "Bo nothing of the kind," said Senator f Jones in an agitated whisper. "Make no alarm. That villain could not be caught now, and no one must hear of his attempt lest others should be led to imitate it." ! "What do you mean ?" asked the other in sururise. "I mean this: That man thought lie was shooting at the Vice President of the ' United States, who, by reckless newspa! per publications, he has been led to believe is indirectly responsible for Garfield's fate. Mr. Arthur must neveT hear of this, and above all, the public must never hear of it. I consider that Mr. Arthur's life is in ; our hands. If you publish this incident othercranks will repeat to-night's attempt. I I trust to your honor to keep this event a i secret." The incident never saw the light , of the public prints. ; The authenticity of the foregoing is esr tablished. The Washington correspon' dent of the Philadelphia Times heard the 1 occurrence narrated by the journalistic participant, in Senator Jones's presence, who corroborated it, and added these further historical facts: S "At that time Mr. Arthur's friends had great difficulty in keeping from him the threatening letters which poured in upon him. He was deeply distressed by the unfortunate position in which he found himself, and we dreaded the result if he discovered that hundredsof letters wereaddressed to him charging him with Garfield's assassination and threatening him with a like fate. I-well remember receiving at that time a confidential letter from Murat Halstead, editor of the Cincinnati Commercial, in which he warned me that he had credible information to the effect that seven men in Boulder county, Colorado, had solemnly pledged one another to go to Washington and take Arthur's life. I told Mr. Arthur nothing of the matter, but I wrote to Mr. Halstead that I hadfio fear 1 of the Boulder county desperadoes or any 1 other men who took the trouble to register solemn oaths and all that sort of thing, 1 and that the Vice President's only danger 1 was at the hands of just such cranks as Guiteau, who would nbt indulge in prefatory threats ami wbow/$resetfc#Would? < ' only be announced by knife thhist of pistol report. Of that stripe was tjje man who fired into my -window upon that night ' when he thought Arthur and I were to- : gether talking." a taliTabout"Infant"morality. i A truthful child is generally strictly ve- ( racious, and does not comprehend any de- 1 viation from the letter of truth; so that it ' is often necessary, to save it from moral ] confusion, to explain what may seem to it j like untruth. If it becomes impossible to keep a promise made to a chila, the hin- j dering circumstances ought to be mentioned, or, at least, it should be explained j that there are such. Again, the Bible , command, Parent, provoke not your chil- j dren to wrath, is often forgotten ; while , the corresponding one, Children, obey j your parents, is quoted and enforced. A [ great deal of injustice is often done, more- ( over, in settling disputes among children, ^ by not allowing for provocation received. ^ A most obvious practical rule in the j training of children is, always take for , granted that they mean to be good. If to i giye a dog or a child a bad name is an excellent receipt for making him deserve it, to let it be a matter of course that he is to be- | have properly, is to go a considerable ex- j tent toward having him behave so. I ; have seen mothers actually put it into a < child's head to be naughty when it never ( occurred to the little one to be so. In | this connection I would offer a protest < against a kind of infant literature, usually ] illustrated, in which greedy Tom and ( slovenly Jane, cruel Peter and vain Polly < are vividly described in the act of making ] themselves unpleasant. I A boy need not be a baby because he ' does not know at 10 what his grand father j did not know at 20. The modest simplici- j ty and the fresh and tender bloom of girl- ( hood?no it has not all disappeared yet! ] I believe that a child who, without being < coddled and "babified," yet is kept a child < so long as, according to its years, itis called j one, has a physical advantage over the child too early initiated into the knowl- ] eclge 01 mannooa ana woman noon, jrarents do not realize the physical wear and tear that accompany premature development of the brain; and the undue tax upon the nervous and vital forces, when a child engages in the occupations and amusements of a grown person, leaves it, In maturer years, low in physical resources just when it has most call ujion tjiero. WHAT IS TIME? Sometimes I have stood before the clock in yonder observatory and watched the hands as they approached the hour of midnight; twelve o'clock strikes, and I slip from to-day into to-morrow. Where has the day gone? Yes, where do these beating seconds go?- So fleet-winged that they are here, they have flown, vanished into the dim past! Do they travel onward forever through universial space, as some have fancied our words and actions do? Might we by some magic overtake them \ and live thera o'er again? Vain hope! They are gone irretrievably. Only the 1 present is ours. What we gave to that ' present as it passes will endure forever, but it can never be adulterated or recalled. < Have you ever thought of the difference i in this respect between time and space? We are limited by the .latter as well as by < the former; we can be in one place only i at a time; and if we speak of absolute i space, perhaps we can never revisit the re- < gions we are now passing through, unless the endowments of a future life enable us i to track the devious course we are now pursuing for, owing to the motion of the solar system, it comes to pass that even at i the end of the year we do not arrive at the spot where we were twelve months before, i but strike out into before untrodden realms < of comic space. But practically, as far as place has any interest for us, we are free to come and go at will. We can revisit < old scenes and explore new ones, being only limited by earth's extent. But with ' time how different! Past seasons we can l recall only in memory, future ones we can i anticipate only through our imagination. ' So that time is a more evanescent and, 1 perhaps we might say, ideal conception 1 than space. Both conceptions have, when 1 we come to analyze them closely, many ' elements of mystery. But time partakes pre-eminently of the marvelous. The 1 fraction that is with us now we accept I without thought, but this inflnitesmal frac- 1 tion is linked by indissoluble bands to an < eternity past and to an eternity to come. ' The fugitive moments are golden, for 1 though we shall never see them again, ' they are building up for us character and ' destiny which shall last forever. wiiMi'v war it too ii Ann : ?t " v?"* "4""" j Neither in civilized, semi-civilized, nor , savage nations do women get proper relaxation and rest. The savages "oake-of their women creatures only comparable to beasts of burden. The Comanche warrior takes better care of his horse than he does of his wife. The Turk or the Arab either locks her up as a prisoner, or makes of her a slave. In many countries the wife does i all the drudgery of the household, besides a part of the drudgery of the shop, the mine of the field. There are European states, the rulers of which hold high heads, where the sturdy yeoman thinks it well enough to yoke his wife and cow to the plow while he trots contentedly behind the handles. Even in enlightened and i republican France it isno uncommon sight j to see a woman hauling, unaided, the | heavy huckster's cart, from which the man sells the fruits and vegetables and ! pockets the receipts. j In this goodly land, indeed, it issome! thing different, but even here the woman's i work is as hard or harder than is the man's. I The man employed in the factory, when he quits work stops to rest. The woman J drops her thread in the mill to pick it up ( I otrain in the home. The farmer's wife I pets u p before day to get the farmer's breakJ fast and start him alield. Plis work is I | done with the going down of the sun. ( I Her work lasts all day, and when darkness ( j eoines she sits down and plies her sewing, s | or her knitting, or her mending, poor ] | weary soul to rest herself, while the good ( man smokes. This is no fancy picture. i It is every day life in the thousands of c households. And the women engaged in t the higher occupations, literature, the ( arts, etc., are bound by no lighter thral- i | dom, especially if they have homes and i 1 husbands and children. The man of let- i ters shuts himself up in his office or his i den, and gives his mind and his time t wholly over to the work in hand. When t it is done he rests until another day brings t its work. The woman of letters is lucky ( indeed, if she can concentrate her mind, i for the time being, upon her work. And ti when it is done there are a thousand and t one demands upon her in her woman's po- 1 sition of housekeeper, wife and mother, s and in fulfilling them thehours that should be given to rest are occupied. There is no greater drudge in the world than the woman who undertakes to do man's work and woman's work, too. She never rests. African Laws and Penalties.?In the interior of Africa there is very little thieving, so strict are the laws and so dreadful the penalties. Sometimes a man is charged with killing another by the exercise of some charm, or by witchcraft. The penalty for that is that the man shall drink a decoction of the bark of the sasswood tree. The bark is beaten in a mortar until thoroughly crushed, water is added, and the result is a poisonous drink. The drink is given to the prisoner to test his innocence, if his stomach rejects it, he lives and is innocent, but nine times out of ten the victim dies in a few minutes. The different tribes have different punishments for theft. In some tribes the guilty one is sentenced to be killed, unless he can be sold into slavery. So dangerous is drunkenness considered ? - A ? * a - 1 At _/ At mat Kings ana cnieis atung me nuo ui uie caravan path from M^tadi to the Congo have mAde a law that no man shall be allowed to carry a gun on "market day." There are markets all along the line of the road and regular "market days." They are not allowed to carry their guns on market days for fear they will get drunk and shoot somebody. On "execution days," solemn occasions, when the trials of offenders take place, the people are allowed to carry their guns. There is no punishment for drunkenness, but there is a dreadful punishment for a man who brings his gun on market day. A missionary told me of a man who brought his gun to the market near Ngombe, and was solemnly warned by the chief not to bring it again. But the next market day he violated the law and brought his gun. He was arrested, and on the following execution day he was led into the market place, and a rope tied around his neck. A hole was dug in the center of the market deep enough for him to stand in, leaving exposed the upper portion of his head, the earth being completely filled in around him. Then the natives turned and fired, shooting his head off.? [Bishop William Taylor, in The Epoch. Why Corn Bread is Scarce.?Corn nread, once a staple and common article of rood, is coming to be regarded as a luxury. Not only is this true of the north but also )f the south, where Indian corn was at me time preferred to wheat for making bread. A Georgian said in explanation if the change: "The complaint that a really prime article of corn or Indian meal ?nnot be obtained in towns and cities is general. A country miller told me that be could not produce good corn meal by t- ? C *vt/vc1n?n /??! n/lirtrt Win nVt 1 11 AVIT I -lit? use Ul JIJUUC1U ^iiuuiu^ luauiiuw.Ti The soft and best flavored meal is made from new corn. This the proprietors of arge mills refuse to grind. To get good com meal the grinding must be done slowy. and it must be given time to cool properly before it is moved. This can only be lone in country mills, and the supply is far behind the demand. "Besides this, corn meal cannot be kept long without deteriorating. It is not in the matter of bread making alone, however, that cornmeal has fallen into disuse; it is less used for cooking purposes generally. The great increase in wheat growing, and the improvements in the flour making line, together with the high price of corn and low price of wheat, is in part responsible for this state of things. Few persons now use corn for economical reasons. Many, however, would prefer it for a considerable portion of the time, if a good article could be procured. The southern corn is preferred of all other, although the flint corn raised in New England i.- an excellent article; but it requires a large amount of cooking. Corn that grows in the prairie regions of the west is the most undesirable, and as this represents most of the cereal that is for sale it is not used to any great extent." Friendships.?Friendship is a matter of character rather than a matter of choice. Even though a friendship may be all on one side, the cause for it must always be on both sides. No true man can be a true friend to another, unless that other has character enough to inspire his friendship, nor even in such a case unless he himself has character enough to perceive that character in the other. Friendship does not idealize a friend, but it does recognize a friend's ideal. A friend sees the best self of his friend, whatever may be that friend's exterior or whatever others may see, or may fail to see, in that friend. Thus it is that a friend often sees in a friend what no one else can see, yet wnicn is not an illusion. And in thus seeing the noble, the friend gives a hint of his nobleness and is ennobled by his seeing. If others had his eyes, or as keen eyes as his, they also could see and would honor that which he sees in his friend. "In the changes which, thank God, must take place when the mortal puts on immortality," says George McDonald, "shall we not feel that the nobler of our friends are, the more they are themselves? that the more the idea of each is carried out in the perfection of beauty, the more like they are io what we thought them in our most exrJted moods?to that which we beheld j through the veil of all their imperfections J when we loved them the truest." It is | ?ood to know a character which can he j thus recognized and honored. It is good to have the character which can thus recognize and honor that which is worthy when it is before one. No mere wish or longing can bring all this about; but when the opportunity is here, what a loss it 1 would be to lose it! j Advantages of Audible Laughtek. i Man is the only audible laughing animal I in existence. Girls giggle, boys te-he, women hah-ha, and men haw-haw. These j ire the spontaneous outbursts of jollity, \ ind in trying to suppress it one cannot be ; iccountable for the consequence. You I liaye the faculty of communicating to your j nlind friend the reciprocal pleasures of life, i therefore you have the advantage over the j most intelligent of the brute creation. No ; Jumb animal has the faculty of expressing my emotion they may feel save the dog, j who laughs with his tail as his long absent i master returns ; it seems as if he would} never cease to wiggle-waggle his .tail and j nibble his master's beard from one ear to j Tie other; he laughs with his tail, kisses, I is it were, with histeoth, and caresses with ! his paws, seeming to be the exact converse nf human nature. Be sure that heaven j md all the cherubims are better pleased with innate goodness, roseate witn smnes, ihan a face as long as your arm and as solemn as the day of judgment. Give us a aright, smiling face, indicative of the ef-1 fervescence of the within. It helps us to ; jnjoy a passing hour of blissful happiness. A new delight steals over the heart, and we willingly yield to the fleeting, fanciful I Jream that all the earth is surest bliss. The Dreams of the Blind.?A statis;ician who has been studying the phenomena of dreaming finds that the blind are )n the whole less liable to dream than the teeing; and the observation tends to supaort the view, generally accepted, that ireams are most largely the product of mpressions forced on the brain from with- j )ut. Of course it is not meant by this that :he stimulus which provokes a dream is :ommonly conveyed through the sense of j vision, but rather that the imaginative , acuity, which becomes abnormally active n dreams, necessarily implies, for the /ividness of its creative efforts, a cerain familiarity with the form, color, md other objective qualities, which is o most blind persons an impossibility. )ther senses than that of vision remain, t is true, with the blind and are exagger- j ited, but these afford less information for he creative faculty, and are consequently ess liable to become the paths of dream timuli. CAN A JIAN BUY HIS OWN WIFE ? That is a question on which the Massachusetts supreme court has just divided. Four of the judges say no, three say yes. It is a singular case. A husband maltreated his wife. She left him and retained counsel to sue for divorce and alimony. He proposed that if she would return and live with him as his wife he would put in the hands of a third person his note for five thousand dollars, payable to her after his death. She consented and returned. Soon afterwards he died, but the payment of the note was refused by his legal representatives. An action was then brought in her behalf to recover the amount. It is a well known principle that there must be a good consideration to sustain the validity of a promissory note. It must appear that the person who promises has received something of value to induce him to promise.' In this case the agree I menc 01 tne wne to return to ner nusoana ! was the consideration which induced him to make the note of five thousand dollars for her benefit. It was agreed on one side th&t this was a valid, consideration in law and therefore the note was good. On the other hand it was contended that it was not a valid consideration and hence the note was worthless. The majority of the court take the latter view. Here are the reasons: The consideration of the note was the agreement, or the performance of the agreement, of the wife to life in marital relations with her husband. It was not to perform some service for him which conld be hired, as to keep his house or nurse him in sickness, but to give him the fellowship and communion of a wife. That is not a service which the wife can sell or the husband buy. Perhaps a husband can hire his wife to do anything for him which a servant can be hired to do, or can buy of her anything that is the subject of barter ; but a servant cannot be hired to fill the marital relation, and the fellowship of the wife is not an article of trade between husband and wife. The minority judges maintained that the wife had good ground for divorce and a right to refuse to return to her husband, and that therefore her agreement to return was a good consideration for his promise to pay her. But the opinion of the majority was the judgment of the court, and the widow did not get the five thousand dollars. A similar bargain to this one has been held good by the New York court of appeals, and it would be held good in Pennsylvania.?[New York Herald. SEEDS WORTH $100 A.N UlKtE. Few persons have any notion of the fact that 99 per cent, of all the flower seeds sold in this country come from abroad. More than half of these are grown in Germany, where vasts tracts are devoted solely to this purpose. Travelers say that these huge farms, with acres upon acres of asters, chrysanthemums, mignonettes, sweet pease, and so on, all in bloom, are an astonishing sight. Imagine a whole district, many square miles in extent, all one continuous garden. The gathering of the seeds on these plantations is a labor requiring infinite skill and patience. Each blossom must individually receive the most careful attention. Take, for instance, the pansy. On each little plant no more than two or three flowers must be always kept in process of going to seed, which is to be removed from the bush when it is ripe and before it has an opportunity to scatter itself. Manure-water must be constantly applied, to make the little "iohnny-jump-ups" grow bigger?for that is the way, you know, in which the monstrous pansies one sees in hot-houses are produced?and great pains must be taken with the crossing of breeds, so as to obtain the best possi ble results. So it is also with other flowers. The seeds, once harvested, are bought up by contractors and forwarded in bulk to the wholesale dealers of Europe, who send them by the ounce or pound, to this country. The merchants here do them up in small packages, marked with their own stamps, and in this manner they reach the public on this side of the water. Some of them are enormously expensive. The writer bought, last season, a microscopicquantity of some pansy seed which cost at the rate of $75.00 per ounce. But they were well worth the money. The flowers which sprang from them were vegetable butterflies, counterfeiting those gorgeous insects not only in the brilliancy of their varied coloring, but even in the shape and peculiar markings of their wing-like petals. Fuchsia seeds of the finest quality bring$100.00an ounce, and others?such as those of the gloxinia, cluneraria, coleusand echeveria?fetch yet higher prices, equal to many times their weight in gold. A few are so valuable that thpv have flptiiftllv been counted out at so much apiece. Thereis a small Dumber of gardeners in the United States who make a business of growing select strains of certain rare plants for the market; but the supply derived from these sources is not considerable.?[Chicago Tribune. Upward Growth of Continents.? The notion that the ground is naturally steadfast is an error?an error which arises from incapacity of our senses to appreciate any but the most palpable of its movements. The idea of terra firma belongs with the ancient belief that the earth was the centre of the universe. It is, indeed, by their mobility that the continents survive the unceasing assaults of the ocean waves and the continuous down wearing which the rivers and glaciers bring about. Were it not that the continents grow upward, from age to age, at a rate which compensates for their erosion, there would be no laud fit for a theatre of life; if they had grown too slowly, their natural enemies, the waves and rain, would have kept them to the ocean level; if too fast, they would lift new surfaces into the regions of eternal cold. As it is incessant, growth has been so well measured to the needs, that for a hundred million years, more or less, the lands have afforded the stage for prosperous life. This upward growth, when measured in terms of human experience, is slow; it probably does not succeed, on me average, one foot in three or four thousand years. The rate varies in times and places. Under varying conditions, as when a glacial sheet is imposed on the continent?as it was, in the immediate past, in the northern part of North America?a wide area of the ice laden land sank beneath the sea, to recover its level when the depressing was removed. Still, the tendency of the continents is to elevation, and even the temporary sinking of one portion of their area is probably in all cases compensated by uplifts in another part by which new realms are won from the sea.?[Scribner's Magazine. ? ? ? Chances in Battle.?The battle of Stone's river was a general engagement and one in which some of the best fighting of the war was done by both sides. In this battle the artillery fired 20,307 rounds of ammunition, as officially stated by General Barnett, chief of artillery, in his report, which was an exhaustive one in its details, and gives the exact number of rounds fired by each battery. The weight of these 20,307 projectiles was fully 225,000 pounds. The infantry at the same time is officially reported as having fired over 2,000,000 rouncls, from .55 to .69 of an inch in diameter, and may have included some buck-and-ball. The weight this lead fired by the infantry exceeded 150,000 pounds. Hence the combined weight of the projectiles fired by the artillery and infantry at Stone's river was 375,000 pounds, and fully equal to that of the 2,319 Confederates killed or mortally wounded by the same. General Rosecrans, in his official report of this battle, goes into this curious matter also, but in a somewhat different direction, and states that "of 14,560 Confederates struck by missiles, it is estimated that 2,000,000 rounds of artillery hit 728 men; averaging 27.4 cannon shots to hit oneman, 145 musket shots to hit one man." But in this statement the term "hie," as applied, includes the wounded, while the old saying refers only to the killed. General Bragg reported officially only 9,000. Still, Rosecrans need not complain of this, as Bragg, in turn, generously overestimates Rosecrans's loss. Any such error, however, would not affect the proportion of wounds inflicted by the two arms of service, according to the report quoted. It seems strange that 20,000 artillery missels should kill and wound only 728 men, and that of the cannon pointed at the Confederate's columns it should take twenty-seven shots to hit, kill, wound or scratch one man. A Study of "Star Routes.",?All the routes wherein the mails are not carried by either railroads orsteamboatsare known as star routes, because they are marked in the official records as with a star. A study i of star routes could be made with profit, i There is a star route in Idaho wherein a dog is made to sertte as a mail carrier. A i portion of the route over the mountains is i impassable in winter, and the contractor's St. Bernard dog has been trained to make the trip at such times. The distance is a little more than ten miles, and it has to be traversed every second day, and doggy is always on time. Down in Texas there is a star route ninety-five miles long across the plains, on which there is daily service, although but two small settlements are served. The route extends from Poisedio to Alameto and Fort Davis. Another star route across the plains in Texas over which daily service is made is the route from Tayati to Saragora and Fort Stockton, distance seventy-five miles. The purpose of these two routes is to get the mails daily to the forts, and the service costs many thousands of dollars more than than the revenues amount to, they being insignificant. It is such expensive but necessary routes as these that draw on the great excesses of revenues above expenditure of the large offices of the country.? [Cincinnati Times-Star. Reverence.?There is no virtue, no no grace, in postures and attitudes. This truth we do not question. But if we refuse to express reverence we shall soon cease to feel reverence. This also is a truth. It is not enough to be interested, in a general sense, in the services of the sanctuary. "God is greatly to be feared (reverenced) in the assembly of tha saints and in the congregation." True reverence, real worship, will express itself somehow, as long as we are compounded of body and spirit. Starve expression, and how long will the feeling endure? We are persuaded that it has declined in many if not in most of our congregations. It is greatly to be wished that it might be revived. But in order for it to become a fir ed habit of our souls, we need to adopt suitable methods, of expression. We should feel more like praying if we adopted some attitude of prayer. By kneeling, bowing the head, covering the eves?bv some bodilv action or attitude expressive of reverent adoration?we shall be far more likely to cultivate the true spirit of devotion.?[Dr. Bushnell. Evolution of the Small Boy.?Of all things to age a boy the first in the line of evolution is the suspender. The first top boots are suggestive, but these can be worn with the upper and lower covering of a boy joined by buttons. But suspenders are the American .boys' toga. When he dons them he is a kind of incipient man; a burlesque, it is true, and half comical. Did you eyer notice some of our little Amish boys on the street? How old and solemn they look. Why is it ? Not because they have long hair, broad hats, long trousers, &c., but because in summer time you can see their suspenders. Put an Amish boy in knickerbockers, and he looks like any other lad. But cross his 1 shoulders with suspenders and you have the suggestiveness of age. Body and 1 breeches are the symbols of childhood. 1 The awful struggle of manhood is suggested by suspenders. I am growing old now and I do not like to see these pantaloon supporters come too early. I never look at an Amish boy with his home-made suspenders that I do not feel like condemning the American instinct which prompts us to make children prematurely old.? [Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner. Modern Sugar Myths.?There is no white sugar. It is not crystalline, but conglomerate ; it is not sweet, and, if you put it into hot water, a strange phenomenon appears. The experiment is crucial with modern sugar. In at least the vast majority of cases a dirty, cloudy solution is the result, bringing sometimes most unjust accusations of hapless servitors. As used in tea, coffee and other opaque and deeplycolored mixtures, this abominable characteristic of modern sugar of course escapes observation. But iet anybody try tnis sugar in a colorless solution, and if he does not see a soapy cloud diffuse itself he is a lucky man. The scientific person whose aid has been called in to screw the last gram of sugar, or so-called sugar, over the legal amount out of the harmless beet, so as to secure profit, best knows what obscene means he takes to secure this obscene result. We only know the fact, and the further fact that of sugar taste in modern sugar there is about as much, let us say, as of cheese taste in American cheese.?[Saturday Review. Isolation of the Battle Field.? It was an ugly give and take. We could not not see the enemy, but the whis and ting of bullets proved that they were not far away. As the excitement increased one of men in his haste fired off his ramrod, and held up his musket that I might see what he had done. Without thinking I started to the rear, where, a short distance away, lay a musket. No sooner had I left touching distance of my company than an irresitible sense of loneliness and dread seized me. Every step made the sensation more acute. Soon I was practically panic stricken. Somehow, however, I got the ramrod of the useless musket, and went back to the line on a run. With the return came assurance and courage. I never felt moie alone or helpless than in those few moments of isolation. The air seemed full of hissing, shrieking demons. I was sure that each moment would bring death.?[Rev. Clay MacCauley. Open Eyes and Nervous Tension.? ITT . J . I I X _ 1 k??4 vveareioia 10 Keep our eyes upeu, uuu it is often well to keep them shut. One of the chief causes of nervous disease is straining of the eyes and the constant tension of mind. When stretched out in the barber's chair do not try to read a newp^per, but close your eyelids under the soothing undulationsof the brush orthe dreamy sensation of the shampoo. In a railway carriage, instead of staring out your sockets at the landscape, or over a brook, told your arras, bow your head and listen to the whir of the wheels. In the concert room, in place of constantly surveying the audience or watching the singer, shut your eyes at times and let the music sink into your soul and rest your tired nerves. J?0- No one can be aware, until he has actually tested the matter by experience, how much the devout study of the Bible will do for his soul, how it will modify and spiritualize his tastes, how it will enlarge his vision of spiritual things, how it will clarify, simplify, and intensify his faith, how it will make invisible things real to him, and enable him to endure, "as seeing him who is invisible." The most charming book in this world, beyond all comparison, is the Bible to one who studies it enough to see its charms.?[The Independ