Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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~ ""V ' ? ' ? | ^?J??? lewis >1. cjrist, Proprietor.^ _ * gin .Independent Jamils ftctrapapcr: Jjor the |romotioit of (he gotitical, Social, Agricultural and (^ommereial Interests of the j$oufh. jTERMS?$2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE. VOL. 35. 1 YORKVIDLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1889! NO. 6. t . ?hc Jftoru better. DOLPH HE7LI6ER. When encamped by the water side some of the party would go into the woods and hunt, others would fish? sometimes they would amuse themselves by shooting at a mark, by leaping, by running, by wrestling, and Dolpn gained great favor in the eyes of Antony vander Hoyden by his skill and adroitness in all these exercises, which the Heer considered as the highest of manly accomplishments. Thus did they coast jollily on, choosing only the pleasant hours for voyaging; sometimes in the cool morning dawn, sometimes in the sober evening twilight, and sometimes when the moonshine 6pangled the crisp curling waves that whispered along the sides of their little bark. Never had Dolph felt so completely in his element; never had he met with anything so completely to his taste as this wild haphazard life. He was the very man to second Antony " J T-T...S _ !_ VI; v miuer xau vut'u m inn liuuuuu^ uumum, and gained continually on his affections. The heart of the old bushwhacker yearned the young, man* who. seemed thus, growing up in his owni likeness; and as they approached to the end of their voyage, he could not help inquiring a little into his history. Dolpn frankly told him his course of life, his severe medical studies, his little proficiency and his very dubious prospects. The IJeer was shocked to find that such amazing talents and accomplishments wero to bo cramped and buried under a doctor's wig. He had a sovereign contempt for the healing art, having never had any other physician than the butcher. He bore a mortal grudge to all kinds of study also, ever since ne had been flogged about an unintelligible book when he was a boy. But to think that a young fellow like Dolph, of such wonderful ' abilities, who could shoot, fish, run. jump, ride and wrestle should be obliged to roll pills and administer juleps for a living? twas monstrous! He tola Dolph never to despair, but to "throw physic to the dogs;" for a young fellow of his prodigious talents could never fail to make his way. "As you seem to have no acquaintance in Albany," said Heer Antony, "you shall go home with me, and remain under my roof until you can look about you, and In the meantime we can take an occasional bout at shooting and fishing, for it is a pity such talents should lie idle." Dolph, who was at the mercy of chance, was not hard to be persuaded. Indeed, on turning over matters in his mind, which he did very sagely and deliberately, he could not but think that Antony Vander Heyden was, "somehow or other," connected with the story of the Haunted House; that the misadventure in the highlands, which had thrown them 60 strangely together, was, "somehow or other," to work out something good; in short, there is nothing so convenient as this "somehow or other" way of accommodating one's self to circumstances; it is the mainstay of a heedless n/?+rvr anrl turrltr ronsnnpr. like Dolnh Heyliger, and he who can, in this loose, easy way, link foregone evil to anticipated good, possesses a secret of happiness almost equal to the philosopher's stone. On their arrival at Albany, the sight of Dolph's companion seemed to cause universal satisfaction. Many were the greetings at the river side and the salutations in the streets; the dogs bounded before him, the boys whooped as he passed, everybody seemed to Know Antony Vander Heyjen. Dolph followed on in silence, admiring the neatness of this worthy burg; for m those days Albany was in all its glory, ar.d inhabited almost exclusively by the descendants of the original Dutch settlers, for it had not as yet been discovered and colonized by the restless people of New England. *. .Everything was quiet aryd orderly, everything was conducted calmly and leisn6lrttyry,"ao bustle, ho struggling' and scrambling for existence The grass grew about the unpaved streets and relieved the eye by its refreshing verdure. The tall sycamores or pendant willows shaded the houses, with caterpillars swinging by long 6ilken strings from their branches or moths fluttering about like coxcombs in joy at their gay transformation. The hquses were built in the old Dutch style, with the gable ends towards the street. The thrifty housewife was seated on a bench before her door, in close crimped cap, bright flowered gown and white apron, busily employed in knitting. The husband smoked nis pipe on the opposite bench, and the little pet negro girl, seated on the step at her mistress' feet, was industriously plying her needle. The swallows sported about the eaves or skimmed along the 6treets and brought back some rich booty for their clamorous young, and the little housekeeping wren flew m and out of a Liliputian house or an old hat nailed against the wall. The cows were coming home, lowing through the streets, to be milked at their owner's door; and if, perchance, there were any loiterers, some negro urchin with a long goad was gently urging them homewards. As Dolph's companion passed on he received a tranouil nod from the burgers, and a friendly word from their wives, all calling him familiarly by the name of Antony; for it was the custom in this stronghold of the patriarchs, where they had all grown up together from childhood, to call every one by the Christian name. The Heer did not pause to have his usual jokes with them, for he was impatient to reach his home. At length they arrived at his mansion. It was of some magnitude, in the Dutch style, with large iron figures on the gables that gave the date of its erection and showed that it had been built in the earliest times of the settlement. The nevjs of Heer Antony's arrival had preceded him, and the whole household was on the lookout. A crew of negroes, large and small, liad collected in front of the house to receive him. The old, white headed ones, who had grown gray in his service, grinned for joy and made many awkward bows ana grimaces, and the little ones capered about his knees. But the most happy being in the household was a little, plump, blooming lass, liis only child and the darling of his heart. She came bounding out of the house, but the 6ight of a strango young man with her father called up, for a moment, all the bashfulness of a homebred damsel. Dolph gazed at her with wonder and delight; never had he seen, as he thought, anything so comely in the 6hape of woman. She was dressed in the good old Dutch taste, with long stays and full, short petticoats, ao admirably adapted-to show and set off the female form. Her hair, turned up under a small round cap, displayed the fairness of her forehead; 6lie had fine, blue, laughing eyes, a trim, slender waist, and soft 6well?but, in a word, she was a little uutcn cuvinity, and Dolph, who never stopped half way in a new impulse, fell desperately in lovo with her. Dolph was now ushered into the house with a hearty welcome. In the interior was a mingled display of Heer Antony's tasto and habits and of the opulence of his predecessors. The chambers wore furnished with good old mahogany, the beaufets and cupboards glittered with embossed silver and painted china. Over the parlor fireplace was, as usual, the family coat of arms, painted and framed, above which was a long duck fowling piece, flanked by an Indian pouch and a powder horn. The room was decorated with many Indian articles, such as pipes of peace, tomahawks, scalping knives, hunting pouches and belts of wampum; and there irere various kinds of fishing tackle and two or three fowling pieces in the corners. The household affairs seemed to bo conducted, in some measure, after tlio master's humors, corrected, perhaps, by a little quiet management of the daughter's. There was a degree of patriarchal simplicity and good humored indulgence. The negroes came into the room without being called, meTely to look at their master and hear of his adventures; thev would stand listening at tbo door until ho had finished a 6tory, and then go off on a broad grin to repeat it in the kitchen. A couple of pet negro children wero playing about the floor with the dogs, and sharing with them their bread and butter. All the domestics looked hearty and happy, and when the table was set for the evening repast, the variety and abundance of good household luxuries bore testimony to the open handed liberality of the Heer and the notable housewifery of his daughter. In the evening there dropped in several of tho wortliies of the place?the Van Rennsellaers and tho Gansevoorts and tho Rose booms and others of Antony Vander Heyden's intimates, to hear ar account of fiis expedition; for he was the Sindbad of Albany, and b- aAgjrploits and adventures were favorite :?cs of conversation among the inhab tflbts. While these sat gossiping togetUB* about the door of the hail, and telfewong twilight stories, Dolph' was cozHJOgeated entertaining the daughter on^Bpdow bench. He had already got on uHfcbste terms, for those were not times <?3!alse reserve and idle ceremony; and,^^Mes, there is something wonderfully ""propitious to a lover's suit in the delightful dusk of a long summer evening; it, gives courage to the most timid tongue hides the blushes of the bashful. The stars alone twinkled brightly, and now and then a firefly streamed his transienjt light before the window, or, wandering ijuto the room, flew gleaming about the ceiling. - m; ?} What Dolph whispered. What Dolph whispered in her ear that long summer evening it is impossible to say; his words were so low and indistinct that they never reached the ear of the historian. It is probable, however, that they were to the purpose, for he had a natural talent at pleasing the sex, and was never long in comjiany with a petticoat without paying proper court to it. In the meantime the visitors one by one departec, Antony Vanaer Heyden, who had fairly talked himself silent, sat nodding alone in his chair by the door when he was suddenly aroused by a hearty salute with which Dolph Heyliger had unguardedly rounded off one of his periods, and which echoed through the still chamber like the report of a pistol. The Herr started up, rubbed his eyes, called for lights, and observed that it was high time to go to bed; though, on parting for the night, he 6aueezed Dolph heartily by the hand, looted kindly in his face, and 6hook his head knowingly; for the Heer well remembered what he himself had been at the youngster's age. The chamber in which our hero was lodged was spacious, and paneled with oak. It was furnished with clothes presses and mighty chests of drawers, well waxed and glittering with brass ornaments. Theso contained ample stock of family linen, for the Dutcn housewives had always a laudable pride in showing off their household treasures to strangers. Dolph's mind, however, was too full to take particular note of the objects arounu him; yet he could not help continually comparing the free, open hearted cheeriness of this establishment with the starveling, sordid, joyless housekeeping at Dr. Knipperliausen's. Still there was something that marred the enjoyment?the idea that he must take leave of his hearty host and pretty hostess and cast himself once more adrift upon the world. To linger here would be folly; he should only get deeper in love; and for a poor varlet like himself to aspire to the daughter of the great Heer Vander Heyden?it was madness to think of such a "thing. The very kindness that the girl had shown towards him prompted him, on reflection, to hasten his departure; it would be a poor return for the fr^nk hospitality of uis host to entangle his daughter's heart in an injudicious attachment. In a word, Dolph was like many other young reasoners, of exceeding good hearts and jgjiddy heads, j. i who think-aftettbey act, act differ- r "enEJy frdm what Jthax^faMp^o make* i excellent aeh^riSinatioEL^vernightan^l forgot to keep them the next morning. "This is a tine conclusion, truly, of my voyage," said he, as he almost buried himself in a sumptuous feather bed, and drew tho fresh white sheets up to his chin. "Here am I, instead of finding a bag of money to carry home, launched in a strange place, with scarcely a 6tiver in his pocket, and what is worse, have jumped ashore up to my ears in love into the bargain. However," added he, after some pause, stretching himself and turning himself in bed, "I m in good quarters for the present, at least; so I'll e'en enjoy the present moment and let the next take care of itself; I dare 6ay all will work out, 'somehow or other,' for the best." As he said these words he reached out his hand to extinguish the candle, when he was suddenly struck with astonishment and dismay, for he thought he beheld the phantom of the haunted house staring on him from a dusky part of the chamber. A second look reassured him, as he perceived that what he had taken for the specter was, in fact, nothing but a Flemish portrait that hung in a shadowy corner just behind a clothes press. It was, however, the precise representation of his nightly visitor?the same cloak and belted jerkin, the same grizzled beard and fixed eye, the same ! broad, slouched hat, with a feather hanging over one side. Dolph now called to mind the resemblance he had frequently remarked between his host and the old man of the haunted house; and was fully convinced that they were in some way connected, and that some especial destiny had governed liis voyage. He lay gazi ing on the portrait with almost as much i awe as he had gazed on the ghostly j original, until the shrill house clock warned him of the lateness of the hour. He put out the light, but remained for a long time turning over these curious circumstances and coincidences in his mind, until ho fell asleep. His dreams ; partook of the nature of his waking thoughts. He fancied that he still lay , gazing on the picture, until, by degrees, n occame auiLuui/cui mas llie agUTG descended from the wall and walked out of the room; that he followed it and found himself by the well, to which the j old man pointed, smiled on him, and disappeared. In the morning when Dolph waked ho j found liis host standing by his bedside, ! who gave him a hearty morning's salutation and asked him how he had 6lept. Dolph answered cheerily, but took occai sion to inquire about the portrait that hung against the wall. "Ah," said Heer Antony, "that's a portrait of old Killian Vander Spiegel, once a burgomaster of Amsterdam, who, on some popular j troubles, abandoned Holland and came ogertAthe ,-jryafr- ment of Peter Stuyvesant. He was my ancestor by the mother's side, and an old miserly curmudgeon he was. When the English took possession of New Amsterdam in 1G64 ho retired into the country. He fell into a melancholy, apprehending that his wealth would be taken from him and that he would come to beggary. He turned all his property into cash, and used to hide it away. Ho was for a year or two concealed in various places, fancying himself sought after by the English, to strip him of nis wealth; and finally was found dead in I his bed one morning, without any one being able to discover where ho had concealed the greater part of his money." . When his host had left the room, Dolph remained for some time lost in thought. His whole mind was occupied by w liat he had heard. Vender Spiegel was his mother's family name; and no recollected to have heard her speak of tliis very Killian Vander Spiegel as one of her ancestors. Ho had heard her say, ioo, mat uvi lamer was Alliums ngni^ul heir, only that the okl man died without leaving anything to be inherited. It now appeared that Heer Antony was likewise a descendant, and perhaps an heir also, of this poor rich man; ana that thus the Heyligers and the Vander Hoydens were remotely connected. "What," thought lie, "if, after all, this is tlio interpretation of my dream,that this is the i way I am to make my fortune by this i voyage to AJbany, and that I am to find the old man's hidden wealth in the bottom of that well? But what an odd, round-about mode of communicating the , matter! Why the plague could not the old goblin have told me about the well at once, without sending me all the way to Albany to hear a story that was to send me all the way back again?" These thoughts passed through his mind while he was cbessing. lie de; scended the stairs, fiifl Gf perplexity, when tho bright face of Marie Vander ! Heyden suddenly beamed in smiles upon him. and seemed to gi?e him a clew tc . i the whole mystery. "Alter all," thought . he, "the old goUin is iq the right. If \ , am to get his wealth,ho means that 1 , shall marry his pretty descendant; thus I f both branches of the family will be again united, and the property go on in the proper channel " No sooner din this idea enter his head than it carried conviction with it. He was now all impatience to hurry back and secure the treasure, which, he did not doubt, lay at the bottom of the well, and which he feared every moment might be discovered by some other person. "Who knows," thought he, "but this night walking old fellow of the haunted house may be in the habit of haunting every visitor, and'may give a hint to some shrewder fellow than myself, who will take a shorter cut to the well than by the way of Albany?" He wished a thousand times that tne babbling old ghost was laid in the Red sea, and his rambling portrait with him. He was in a perfect fever to depart. Two or three days elapsed before any opportunity presented for returning down the river. They were ages to Dolph, notwithstanding that he was basking in the smiles of the pretty Marie, and daily getting more ana more enamored. At length the very sloop from which he had been knocked overboard prepared to make sail. Dolph made an awkward apology to his host for his sudden departure. Antony Vander Heyden was sorely astonished. He had concerted half a dozen excursions into the wilderneqa: and h(s l nrliaq^ wprft qptiiflllv nrp- J. paring for a irand expedition to one of the lanes. lie took Dolph aside, and exerted his eloquence to get him to abandon all thoughts of business, and to remain with him?but in vain; and he at length gave up the attempt, observing "that it was a thousand pities so fine a young man should throw himself away." Heer Antony, however, gave him a hearty shake by the hand at parting, with a favorite fowling piece, and an invitation to come to his nouse whenever he revisited Albany. The pretty little Marie said nothing; but as lie gave her a farewell kiss, her dimpled cheek turned pale and a tear stood in her eye. Dolph sprang lightly on board of the Vessel. They hoisted sail; the wind was fair; they soon lost sight of Albany and its green hills and embowered islands. They were wafted gayly past the KaatskiU mountains, whose fairy heights were bright and cloudless. Tney passed prosperously through the highlands without any molestation from the Dunderberg goblin and his crew; they 6wept on across Haverstcaw bay and by Croton Point and through the Tappaan Zee and under the Palisadoes, until in the afternoon of the third day they saw the promontory of Hoboken, hanging like a clould in tne air, and, shortly after, the roofs of the Manliattoes rising out of the water. Dolph's first care was to repair to his mother's house", for ho was continually goaded by the idea of the uneasiness she must experience on his account. He was puzzling his brains as he went along to think how he should account for his absence without betraying the secrets of the haunted house. In the midst of these cogitations he entered the street in which his mother's house was situated, when he was thunderstruck at beholding it a heap of ruins. There had evidently been a great fire, which had destroyed several large houses and the humble, dwelling of poor Dame Heyliger had been involved in the conflagration. The walls were not so completely destroyed but that Dolph could /I<i?-?rw*iioVi oAmo twirtfto nf fKn onrvnr\ /\f UldLUX^UlOll DUIUC UUV/CO Vi LUU VI his childhood. The fireplace, about whiihhehad often played, still remained ornauented with Dutch tiles, illustrating passages in Bible history, on which he md many a time gazed with admiration. Among the rubbish lay the wreck of the rood dame's elbow chair, from which she had given him so many a wholesome precept, and hard by it was the family Bible with brass clasps?now, alad reduced almost to a cinder. F>r a moment Bolph was overcome by this dismal 6ight, for he was seized with thefear that nis mother had perished in the flames. He was relievea, however, fron this horrible apprehension by one of tie neighbors who liappened to come bvArA who inf0*311 ed hj^ that his The good woman had, ipdeed, lost everything by this unlooked for calamity; for the populace had been so intent upon saving the fine furniture of her rich neighbors, that the little tenement, and the little all of poor Dame Ileyliger, had been suffered to consume without interruption, nay, had it not been for the gallant assistance of her old crony, Peter de Groodt, the worthy dame and her cat might have shared the fate of their habitation. As it was she had been overcome with fright and affliction, and lay ill in body and sick at heart. The public, however, had showed her its wonted kindness. The furniture of her rich neighbors being, as far as possible, rescued from the flames, themselves duly and ceremoniously visited and condoled with on the injury of their property, and their ladies commiserated on the agitation of their nerves; the public, at length, began to recollect something about poor Dame Heyliger. She forthwith became again a subject of universal sympathy; everybody pitied more than ever, and if pity could but have been coined into cashgood Lord! how rich she would have been! It was now determined, in. good earnest, that something ought to be done for her without delay. The dominie, therefore, put up prayers for her on Sunday, in which all the congregation joined most heartily. Even Cobus Groesbeck, the alderman, and Mynheer Milledollar, the great Dutch merchant, stood up in their pews, and did not spare their voices on the occasion; and it was thought the prayers of such great men could not but nave their due weight. Dr. Knipperhausen, too, visited ner professionally, and gave her abundance of advice gratis, and was universally lauded for his charity. As to her old friend, Peter do Groodt, he was a poor man, whoso pity and prayers and aavice could be of but little avail, so he gave her all tliat was in his power?ho gave he&j^glter. To the humble dwelling or FetcTde Groodt, then, did Dolph turn his steps. On his way thither, he recalled all tho tenderness and kindness of his simple hearted parent, her indulgence of liis errors, her blindness to his faults; and then he bethought himself of his own idle, harum-scarum life. "I've been a sad scapegrace," 6aid Dolph, shaking his head sorrowfully. "I've been a complete sink pocket, that's the truth of it!?But," added he briskly, and clasping his hands, "only let her live?only let her live?and I'll show' myself indeed a son!" As Dolph approached tho house, he met Peter do Groodt coming out of it. The old man started back aghast, doubting whether it was not a ghost that stood before him. It being bright daylight, however, Peter soon plucked up heart, ^isfi?Libn? no ghnstdqrfiritrrHd fax*, m suchcicar sunshine. Dolph now learned from the worthy sexton tho con sternation and rumor to which his mysterious disappearance had given rise. It had been universally believed that he had been spirited away by those hobgobliu gentry that infested the haunted house; and old Abraham Vanilozer, who lived by the great buttonwqod trees, at the three mile stone, aftirnied, that he had heard a terrible noise in the air, as ho was going home late at night, which seemed just as if a flight of wild geese were overhead, passing off towards the northward. The haunted house was, in consequence, looked upon with ten times more awe than ever; nobody would venture to pass a night in it for the world, and even the doctor had ceased to make his expeditions to it in the daytime. It required some preparation before Dolph's return could be mado known to his mother, the poor soul having bewailed him as lost; and her spirits having been sorely broken down by a number of comforters, who daily cheered her with stories of ghosts, and of people carried away by the devil. lie found her conlinod to her bed, with theother member of the Heyliger family, tho good dame's cat, purring beside her, but sadly singed, and utterly despoiled of those whiskers which were tho gory of her physiognomy. Tho poor wouan threw her arms about Dolph's neck "My boy! my boy! art thou still alive?" For a time she seemed to have forgofcen all her losses and troubles, in her jcy at his return. Even the 6ago grimaUin showed indubitable signs of joy at tie return of the youngster. She saw, perhaps, that they were a forlorn and undone family, and felt a touch of that kindlness which fellow sufferers only know. But, in truth, cats are a slandered people; they have moro affection in then than the world commonly gives then? credit for. Tho good dame's eyes glistened as she saw one being, at least, besde herself, rejoiced at lier son's return. 'Tib knows thee! poor dumb beast!" said the. smoothing down the mottled coat cf her favorite; then recollecting herstff, with a melancholy shake of tho he*d, "Ah, my XX)or Dolph!" exclaimed she. 'thy mother can Help thee no Iongeri she can no longer help herself 1 What will become of thee, my poor boy?" "Mother," said Dolph, "don't talk in that strain: I've been too long a charge upon you: it's now my part to take care ox you in your old days. Come! be of good heart! you, and I, and Tib, will all see better days. I'm here, you see, young, and sound, and hearty; then don't let us despair. I dare 6ay things will all, somehow, turn out for the best." While this scene was going on with the Heyliger family, the news was carried to Dr. Knipperhauserr of the 6afe return of his disciple. The little doctor scarcely knew whether to rejoice or be sorry at the tidings." Ho was happy at having the foul reports which had prevailed concerning his country mansion thus disproved, but he grieved at having his disciple, of whom ne had supposed himself fairly disencumbered, thus drifting back, a heavy charge upon his hands. While he was balancing between these two feelings, he was determined by the counsels of Frau Ilsy, who advised him to take advantage of the truant absence of the youngster and shut the door upon him forever. Atj the hour of bed time, therefore, when it was supposed the recreant disciple .would seek iiis old quarters, everything! was prepared for his reception. iv>ljj!k having talked his mothey into a state jof tranquillity, sought the mansion of his quondam master and raised the knocker with a faltering hand. Scarcely, however, had it given a dubious rap, when the doctor's head, in a red nignt cap, popped out of one window, and the housekeeper s, in a white night cap, out of another. He was now greeted with a tremendous volley of hard names and hard language, mingled with invaluable pieces of advice, such as are seldom ventured tp be given, excepting to a friend in distr ess or a culprit at the bar. In a few mc ments not a window in the Btreet but liaa its particular night cap, listening to the 6hrill treble of Frau llsy and the guttural croaking of Dr. Knipperhausen; and the word went from window to window, "Ah! here's Dolph Heyliger come back, and at his old pranks again." In short, poor Dolph found ho was likely to get nothing from the doctor but good advice?a commodity 60 abundant as even to be thi-own out of t^ie window; so he was fain to beat a retreat and take up his quarters for the night under the lowly roof of honest P^ter de Groodt. The next morning, bright and early, Dolph was at the haunted house. Everything looked just as he had left it. The fields were grass grown and matted, and it appewed as if nobody had traversed them 6ince his departure. With palpitating heart he hastened to the well. He looked down into it, and saw that it was of great depth, with water at the bottom. He had provided liimself with a strong line, such as the fishermen use on the banks of Newfoundland. At the end was a heavy plummet and a large fish hook. With this he began to sound the bottom of the well, and to angle about in the water. He found that the water was of some depth; there appeared also to be much rubbish, stones from the top having fallen in. Several times his hoot got entangled, and he came near breaking his line. Now and then, too, he hauled up mere trash, such as the skull of a horse, an iron hoop, and a shattered, iron bound bucket. He had now been several hours employed without finding anything to repay his trouble, or to encourage him to proceed. He began to think himself a great fool, to be thus decoyed into a wild goose chase by mere dreams, and was on the point of throwing lino and all into the well, and giving up all further angling. "One more cast of the line," said he, "and that shall be the last." As he sounded, he felt the plummet slip, as it were, through the interstices or loose stones; and as he drew back the line, he felt that the hook had taken hold of something heavy. He had to manage his line with great caution, lest it should Kml'nn 1\tt if Dtt /Ja. K/Ks VJl WikV.il KJJ VUG Dl/lUlXl U^Vil IV. AJJ Uf grees the rubbikh that lay upon the article "-JM t\9 |i?d ll-yAwl gave wny^bfl.dxq^ . it"to the" surface of the water, and what was his rapture at seeing something like silver glittering at the end of his line! Almost breathless with anxiety, he drew it up to the mouth of the well, surprised at its great weight, and fearing every instant that his hook would slip from its hold and his prize tumble again to the bottom. At length he landed it 6afe beside the well. It was a great silver porringer, of an ancient form, richly embossed, and with armorial bearings, similar to those over liis mother's mantelpiece, engraved on its side. 1 ho lid was fastened down by several twists of wire: Dolph loosened them with a trembling hand, and on lifting the lid, behold! the vessel was filled with broad golden pieces, of a coinage which he had never seen before! It was evident* he had lit on the place where Killian Vander Spiegel had concealed his treasure. Fearful of being seen by 6ome straggler, ho cautiously retired, and buried his pot of money in a secret place. He now spread terrible stories about the haunted house, and deterred every one from approaching it, while he made fref It was a great silver porringer. quent visits to it on stormy days, when < no one was stirring in the neighboring fields; though, to tell the truth, he dia not care to venture there in the dark. For once in his life he was diligent and i industrious, and followed up nis new i trade of angling with such perseverance and success, that in a little while he had hooked up wealth enough to make him, in those moderate days, a rich burger < for life. i It would be tedious, to detail minutely i the rest of this story?to tell how he gradually managed to bring his property into use without exciting surprise and , inquiry?how he satisfied all scruples with regard to retaining tho property, and at the same time gratified his own feelings by marrying tho pretty Marie Vandci'Hcyden?ana EutTLo and Heel ' i Antony had many a merry aid roving < expedition together. 1 must not omit to say, however, thai ' Dolph took his mother home to live with ' him, and cherished her in her (id davs. < Tiie good dame, too, had the satfcfaction i of no longer hearing her son mule the I theme of censure; on the contrary, he i grew daily in public esteem; evq-ybody i spoko well of him and his wines, tnd the ' lordliest burgomaster was never cnown 1 to decline liis invitation to dinner. Dolph ' often related, at his own table, the nicked 1 pranks which had once been the tbhor- 1 renco of the town; but they were now i considered excellent jokes, and the 1 gravest dignitary was fain to hol| hfc sides when listening to them. No one was more struck with Dolph's incre^ing merit than his old master, the do?tor, and so forgiving was Dolph that he actually employed the doctor as his family physician, only taking care that us prescriptions should bo always throvn out of the window. His mother hid often her junto of old cronies to *ake o 1 snug cup of tea with her in her comfoitablo little parlor, and Peter de Grooot, as ho sat by the fireside, with one of lur grandchildren on his knee, would maq 1 a timo congratulate her upon her 6oa ] turning out so great a man; upon whic* j the good old soul would wag her liea< with exultation, and exclaim: " Ah. , neighbor, neighbor, aid 1 not 6ay that j Dolnh would one day or other hold up I ^ his nead with tlio best of them?" Thus did Dolph Heyliger go on, cheer- J ily and prosperously, growing merrier as ! ho grew older and wiser, and completely falsifying tho old proverb about money 1 got over tho devil's back; for ho made q good uso of liis wealth and became a distinguished citizen and a valuable member of tho community. He was a great promoter of public institutions, such as oeefsteak societies and catch clubs. He presided at all public dinners, and was the first that introduced turtlo from the West Indies. Ho improved tho breed of raco horses and gamo cocks, and was so great a patron of modest merit, that any ono who could sing a good song, or tell a good story, was sure to find a place at 1 his. table. lie was a member, too, of the corporation; made several laws for the protection of game and oysters and bequeathed to the board a large silver punch bowl, made out of the identical porringer before mentioned, and which is in the possession of the corporation to this very day. Finallv, ho died, in a florid old age, of an apoplexy, at a corporation feast, and was buried with great honors in tlio yard of the little Dutch church in Garden street, where his tombstone may still be Been, with a modest epitaph in Dutch, by his friend Mynheer Justus Benson, an ancient and excellent poet of the province. The foregoing tale rests on better authority than most tales of the kind, as 1 have it at second hand from the lips of Dolph Heyliger himself. He never reIa+asJ if 4-111 f/\TTTorrla fVia lof+z^T norf. nf VllQ micu IV bUi WWCWUO M?vw* v? life, and then in great confidence (for he was very discreet), to a few of his particular cronies at his own table over a 'pcrnumerary bowl of punch, and, ange as the hobgoblin parts of the . ory may seem, there never was a single doubt expressed on the subject by any of his guests. It may not be amiss, before concluding, to observe that, in addition to his other accomplishments, Dolpb Heyliger was noted for being the ablest drawer of the long bow in the whole province. ' )' ' [THK END.] pisKtllattwuis -Starting. KINDLING FOR FIRES. A west-side man was called upon not long ago to make a fire. After searching about diligently for kindling and finding none, he took his wife's toilet set, and, it being of celluloid, the flames soon glowed vigorously. It is scarcely needful to say that this was during the temporary absence of his better half; but she found it out, and her lecture was not restricted to the extravagance of such a proceeding. It is rather strange that this great city, with its manufactories of well nigh every material, has not a single kindling factory, or, if there be one, directory men fail to discover it. Understood, there are several places where the original article is prepared. One firm has a saw, or saws, propelled by a large engine, which turns out daily many cords of the commodity, cutting it into short pieces and tying it into bundles of convenient size, while nigh every factory using much wood sells the odds and ends for the purpose named. But there is no factory which turns out artificial material, such as prepared cake sawdust or resin?or kerosone dipped wood. This may be duo to the cause assigned by a well known wood box manufacturer of this city who sells two or three thousand wagon loads of board ends annually. He said: "There can be no improvement made upon wood, pine wood, I mean, that being best of all. Given plenty of this and there is not the slightest difficulty in starting a fire in a moment, more quickly and satisfactorily than in any other way." Chicago people 1 are snrewu ana aro not incunea to unaertake the impossible. Wood being the best possible material, they stop at that. This, though, is provided in. plenty, and the only good excuse for a failure to keep a supply at home is a lack of money. The amount used is enormous. If one reflects for a moment that hundreds of thousands of fires aro started daily, he 1 will be ready to accept the statement , that many thousand tons are consumed annually in Chicago alone. At several | box, sash and door and furniture manufactories the reporter was told that ten or twelve years ago they found difficulty in i getting rid of their kindling stuff, but that now all they have finds an immediate , market. The increase in the demand is j due to increase of population, of course. Of late, in particular, orders keep up with ; if they do not run ahead of the supply. Pino is the preferred wood, but all kinds are readily sold, if well seasoned and cut ' short, for this latter quality is as high a I virtue in kindling wood as"in a political J spcttsk^op-eertuoirr V-1 The reporter woald by no means be un- | derstood as saying that wood is the only i material used in starting the fire upon ] the domestic hearth, or in the new patent j stove or range. He would be derelict in ( his duty if ho failed to refer to that arti- , cle so popular with the average hired girl, ( the very danger in the use of which appears to add to its value in her eyes. It ' is needless to say that kerosene is meant. ' But the employment of kerosene is scarcely more hazardous than the chopping up of an old board or barrel into the i requisite size for kindling. "Putting up i the stove" has been the subject for a J thousand newspaper jests, it being com- < monly agreed that to adjust the joints of pipe demands more patience than Job ex- , ercised during all his manifold trials; yet j one who has had experience will doubt j whether that be attended with so great . danger or with such trial of patience as the attempt to chop kindling with an old ox or hatchet with serrated edge aud * with tendency to fly off the handle. * As to the danger, that inclines to the side of the chopper and splitter. Ono may onco in a while fall from a chair when the pipe obstinately declines < to jpint or to enter the chimney hole; but one cannot well escape the perils which environ him who undertakes the task of ( converting a gnarled and knotted board, or a meek looking but weather beaten , and shaky flour barrci into the A B C of , fuel. If the ax do not come off and fall upon his head or back, somo bit that , seems to require the exercise of greatest , force to break will yield with surprising j weakness and fly full into his face. Or , if ho do escape these perils a long and ( ugly splinter is sure to pierce his hand ( and cause him to bless the whole busi- j ness. The need for work of this kind ] diminishes year by year, thanks to a civil l.: * &uuuu wiiicu cuuiita u uuty tijo prepare tion of kindling wood for the people. The heaven for the kindler of fires is in proximity to a southern swamp whose black loam bears upon its surface and within its depths the famous pine knot, or light 'ood, as it is called by the natives. Of all known woods this burns quickest, brightest, longest and best. Fairly saturated with resin, it is as quick to take fire as tinder. The people there use it not only as a substitute for candle or other illumination, but also invariably for the purpose of starting their fires, whether in the house of the wealthy planter or the cabin of the poor negro. The supply is apparently inexhaustible, and but for great expense of transportation no doubt its pre-eminent excellence as kindling would havo caused its introduction and general use in Chicago and through the west. In its absence, its congener, the pine of the north, less firm and less resinous, is a favorite. But shavings, old papers and debris of all kinds come in as __ substitutes ""tvReif liegilgenco liar ied to exhaustion of the legitimate supply. Given the best of material, however, there are many people who would find its uso to the starting of a good fire a task of no easy accomplishment. Woman has como in for full share of ridicule hero, it having been charged that she cannot start x fire any bettor than she can whistle or sharpen a pencil. That this is a slander upon the gentler sex Is proved in the millions of cases of wives who presido over their own kitchens and the numbers of them who indulgently suffer their lazy worso halves to he abed in winter mornings until lires are built and houses are well warmed. Still, it is none the less an irt that must be acquired. Success will not follow the mere throwing together of x lot of kindling and the placing upon that jf a quantity of wood or coal. The bits must bo placed compactly, yet not so dose together as to choke the draught. It is important, too, that a little time shall bo allowed for the fixing of tbo flamo jcforo the fuel proper is added.?-Chicago Herald. Immenso Gains in Force. What science and invention is doing j 'or tho human race was tersely and , plainly presented. Note the following j llustration: ' ( Compare a galley, a vessel propelled by 3 jars, with the modern Atlantic liner, and Irst let us assume that prime movers are ion-existent and that the vessel is to bo 1 jropclled galley fashion. Take her length is some GOO feet, and assume that place je found for as many as 400 oars on each ride, eacli oar worked by three men, or f,400 men; and allow that six men under lbese conditions could develop work equal V) one horse power; we should havo 400 iprse power. Doublo the number of men ltd we should have 800 horse power, with 4ilS00 men at work, and at least the i sine number in reserve, if the journey is tiJbc carried on continously. Contrast tl| puny result thus obtained with tho ltBOO horse power given forth by a lai. ;e prime mover of the present day, sui 1 a power requiring, on the above mole of calculation, 117,000 men at work and 117,000 men in reserve; and these to be carried in a vessel less than 600 feet in length. Even if it were possible to carry this number of men in such a vessel, by no conceivable means could their power be utilized so as to impart to it a speed of twenty knots an hour, weighing as it would come 10,500 tons gross. Prime motors can do what human muscle can never accomplish. Take a railway locomotive?600 horse power developed in a wagon which does not occupy fifty square yards of space, and that flies at the rate of sixty miles an hour with its heavy train. How weak and puny human muscle toward attaining such results.?Sir Fred Brambull to the British association. FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. Impoverished Lands of the United States. Caases and Results. I venture the statement that neither the agricultural class nor tho world at large estimates at its value the discovery of the preparation and use of artificial manures. What we are accustomed to call the natural fertility of the soil is soon exhausted. For a long period after the settlement of ithe American colonies the inhabitants Belied chiefly upon the natural fertility of the soiL The beginnings of flocks and herds were by importation, and the means of the settlers were limited, and the opportunities for obtaining a supply of animals from England were infrequent. As each new state to the west was open for settlement the pioneers relied upon the natural fertility of the soil, and very generally they were deluded with the notion that its fertility was inexhaustible. Except in a few favored spots, as in the valleys of the Scioto and Miami rivers, the delusion has been expelled by experience. Those valleys are kept fertile by an annual deposit of finely comminuted vegetable and mineral matter brought down by the river freshets of the spring. Thus one section is robbed of its fertility for the benefit of another. The autumn crops that are gathered in the liver valleys have exhausted the natural resources of the earth as much as they would have been exhausted if the same crops had been gathered on the hillsides of the country above. Although the forces of nature are at work constantly in refertilizing the earth, the process is so slow that its present pop U1UL1UU ?UU1U U1111111191J 1UL11C1 l/llclll All" crease. Beginning with New York and going west there has been a common experience. The lands that have been chopped for successive years without the the appfcation of manures have yielded annuall^less and less returns per acre. The expeiience of the south previous to the war was the same, With the exception of the river bottoms the cotton lands were soon exhausted. It was the custom of the planters to secure a quantity of land so large that not more than onethird or one-quarter would be under cultivation at the same time. The larger part wan given over to a process of natural renovation. Yet even under this process the planters of the older cotton states were impoverished, and there was consequently, an annual movement westward to the valley of the Mississippi and the plains of Texas. It is manifest that under this Bystem of cultivation there must have been a serious diminution of the cotton product in less than half a century from the opening of the war. In the north and west, as the fact of a diminishing product of wheat and corn was realized, the farmers began to apply animal manures. But the ability to command even a moderate supply of animal manures implies conditions which do not everywhere exist. First, the country must produce grass?it must yield pasturage on which cattle can live during a part of the year. In tho-ttW)B*'"yotieal- sense ' 'UH flesh is grass." Next, the seasons must be such that the cattle will require shelter for a period of time, as otherwise there can be no accumulations of luanure for the use Df special fields and special crops. In the south neither of these conditions existed. Consequently, under the old system, the people of that section could have adopted no other plan of culture than that under which they were acting. In the north and west the country is a grazing country generally, the winters are harsh and long, and consequently the accumulations of animal manures are considerate, but manifestly the supply Ua Inn^AAiiAfa ^aw fV?A onririAwf aP O wuuiu uc uiauut[uatc iui uic ou^iv vi u i great population. Beyond this the distribution of animal manure over large fields, and its transportation from the towns and cities to distant country districts, is a heavy addition to the cost of a crop.?George S. Boutwell in Boston 31obe. POLICE IN JAPAN. A Japanese policeman was never known to smile, but when ho finds it necessary to proceed to the extreme step of arresting a lawbreaker his face becomes clouded over with a pall of sorrow and solemnity that would do credit to on Irish undertaker taking the coffin measurement of in archbishop Grasping. the offender firmly with one hand, with tho other he Bxtracts from an invisible pocket of great capacity a roll of strong cord. Whispering polite and minuto directions in tho sar of the victim, who obeys them with scrupulous consideration for the feelings uf his captor, ho winds the cord several times around his waist and then attaches his wrists in optical contact with tho small of his back. Six feet of cord remain; the policeman grasps the loose end, ind bowing to the prisoner with an "After you, sir," the pair march away in 1 touching union of sadness and security. The neighborhood is paralyzed during the performance, businoss is suspended and traffic is stopped. MAKCIIED OFF TO PltlSON. The formality of an arrest, however, Is tho only amusing side of Japanese justice. If you follow tho white clothed policeman and his prisoner you will soon well a police station in which sit a dozen clerks and functionaries hard at work at hooks and accounts and reports, with nothing except their physiognomy and the little teapot and tobacco brazier boside each one to differentiate them from similar European officials. Tho prisoner will bo taken beforo a superior officer, the charge against him noted down; ho will iM3 searched and then put in one of a dozen wooden cells, ten feet square perhaps, separated from the central passage by weeden bars reaching from floor to ceiling, and making a cell curiously like m elephant house, but providing admirably for ventilation in this hot climate. At tho police station he may not bo kept noro than twenty-four hours, and then he ,s removed to u central station, which is simply tho first police station on a largo scale, minus the functionaries and plus ;he necessary arrangements for tho detention of prisoners for long periods. The courts are much like European courts. After visiting many court rooms wo eached a room where twenty particularly nteliigent looking officials sat at oom lidcs of a long table piled up with newspapers, scissors, blue and red pencils, paste pots and all the familiar equipment of the ixchange editor's sanctum. I turned to ny guides for an explanation, and caught ;hem regarding mo and each other with imusod smiles. Then I saw the joke. It was the Bureau of Newspaper Censorship, and these gentlemen with the specsacles and scissors and paste were examning all the newspapers of Japan for ;reasonablo or seditious sentiments or improper criticism of ministerial and imperial affairs. I was introduced, the t wenty gentlemen rose simultaneously and the augh became general. "This," said my juide, waving his hand proudly over the piles of newspapers and the teapots of tho ionsors, "is an institution you have not et reached in England." CENSORSHIP OF THE PIIF.S3. The proceduro of this branch of the Fapauese police is simple in the extreme. V lynx eyod censor discovers an articlo vhlch seems to his conservative notions ,o threaten tho stability of tho governnent, to bring a minister into contempt >r to foster improper agitation among the leople. lie extracts it and submits it to .ho director of tho bureau, who probably alces counsel with the higher authorities. !f tho censor's view is confirmed the edi;or of tho paper is peremptorily but poitely summoned?everything is dono mlitely in Japan, and I havo no doubt l^at the school boy is politely birched and lie criminal politely executed?to appear it tho department of police at a certain lour on a certain day. When that sumnous comes to join tho innumerable caravan of martyrs to a senso of journalistic languago of llio Bowery?ho is a ""goner." "Sir," ho is told, "your estimable journal is suspended for so many days. Good morning." The whole system of secret police is highly developed in Japan. There is a regular staff of detectives who disguise themselves as laborers, merchants or travelers, or even in case it is necessary to hunt down some great criminal, hire a house in the suspected neighborhood and live there. One of these men loses caste very much in his office, if he does not actually suffer a degradation of position, by failing to return with information he is dispatched to secure. Besides these, however, there is a regular staff of private police correspondents in all parts of the country, and one whole bureau at the department of police is devoted to receiving, ordering, classifying these, and taking action upon them. A good deal of Information must be picked up from tho teahouses, each of which is a center of gossip, and in one or other of which almost every malo well-to-do inhabitant of Tokio is an habitue.?Tokio Cor. New York World. "Bail Men" of the Frontier. The professional man killers, or "bad men," may bo horse thieves or highwaymen, but more often are neither one nor the other. Some of them, like some of the Texan cowboys, become very expert In the use of the revolver, their invariable standby; but in tho open a cool man with <1 riflo io nlwntro or* fnv Ann nf a HUB .o V,.?=WIH??VU IVi vuu them, unless at very closo quarters, on account of the superiority of Lis weapon. Some of the "bad men" are quiet, good fellows, who have been driven into their career by accident. One of them has perhaps at some time killed a man in self defense; ho acquires some reputation, and the neighboring bullies got to look on him as a rival whom it would be an honor to slay; so that from that time on he must bo ever on the watch, must learn to draw quick and shoot straight?the former being oven more important than the latter?and probably has to take life after life in order to save his own. Some of these men are brave only because of their confidence in their own skill and strength; once convince them that they are overmatched and they turn into abject cowards. Others have nerves of steel and will face any odds, or certain death itself, without flinching a hand breadth. I was once staying in a town where a desperately plucky fight took place. A noted desperado, an Arkansas man, had become involved in a quarrel with two others of the same kind, both Irishmen and partners. For several days all three lurked about the saloon infested streets of the roaring little board and canvas "city," each trying to get "the drop" ?that is, the first shot?the other inhabitants looking forward to the fight with pleased curiosity, no one dreaming of interfering. At last one of the partners got a chance at his opponent as the latter was walking into a gambling hell, and broke his back near the hips; yet the crippled, mortally wounded man twisted around as he fell and shot his slayer dead. Then, knowing that ho had but a few moments t? live, and expecting that his other foe would run up on hearing the shooting, he dragged himself by his arms out into the street. Immediately afterwards, as he anticipated, tho second partner appeared, and was killed on the spot. The victor did not live twenty minutes. As in most of theso encounters, all of tho men who were killed deserved their fate. In my own not very extensive experience I can recall but ono man killed in these fights whoso death was regretted, and he was slain by a European. Generally everyone is heartily glad to hear of the death of either of the contestants, and the only regret is that the other survives.?Theodore Roosevelt in Tho Century. Tho Mocking Bird on Gaard. T kla nmiiLMurf onti n>ol oa bl rrVilt? na_ iuio auugobgi| au w teemed in the countries to which it is imported, is almost as common in some parts of Central America as the robins are in our country lanes. Free in the woods they learn to imitate a number of birds so .correctly as to deceive any one. The mocking bird is by no means weak or timid, and can defend itself against a scoro of other birds, as wo have more than once had occasion to see. They are quarrelsome, living alone, except at certain seasons when they seek mates, soon to separate again. The mocking bird selects some tree, particularly that called palma real, or royal palm, and makes it its headquarters as soon as the fruit is ripe, appearing like like clusters of golden berries beneath the broad waving leaves. The bird in possession of the tree devotes his time and attention to guarding the fruit. He cannot possibly eat it all, but will allow no other a Bhare of it, and this is not so much because he thinks of the morrow as because ho loves to dispute.. He pretends to be not at home while all tho time he is lying in wait. He will perch on tho roof of the nearest house, or, if away from habitations, on another tree, keeping as silent as a mouse does when a cat is hard by, not even indulging in "forty winks." The instant some bright winged songster alights among that yellow fruit, down swoops tho watcher, Und trouble ensues, generally ending in.the unwelcome visitor being driven off as hungry as he came, temper and feathers both ruffled. Then back to the housetop or tree flies tho mocker to await patiently another adversary. The natives of Honduras and adjoining countries take the fledglings from their nest and bring them up on corn, boiled, ground, and mixed with water to the con j v. blbl/UliUy Ui UUU^U. XliOjr buiivo rrcu v/u it, and, having had quo wing clipped, are loft free in house ana garden, subsisting on earthworms and other Insects; but they generally become in the end the prey of cats.?Alice D. Le Plongeou in Homo Journal. Influence of the East Wind. With fow exceptions tho east or north cast winds act unfavorably upon human beings. Dr. Richardson says: "That all nervous conditions in which, for want of a moro correct term, wo say tho nervous tone is lowered, are much intensified by tho east wind, and, indeed, tho special action of this particular wind is to produce want of tono or debility. Under its influence almost all sick persons say they are depressed; they do not complain of reduced appetite, nor of pain intensified, nor of derangement of tho secretions, but they declare that they are rendered prostrate both in mind and body. They aro also more irritable in mind, which perhaps leads them to feel acutely tho sense of prostration. In briof, if a single word were wanted to express tho morbid effect of an east wind on tho sick man, and on all tho members of the 6ick community, that word would be prostration " Tho same authority continues: "That tho presence of the east wind increases the mortality of those who are suffering from diseases of debility of every kind is a fact that seems undoubted. The physician, through tho whole of tho spell of on east wind, will find his patients complaining of not making satisfactory progress, ana will seo extreme cases rendered more speedily hopeless?facts indicating the existence of a general and all pervading influence in tho atmospheric sea itself as the cause of the whole of tho ovil. What that influence is, how the air is modified, whether it is modified by some change in the constitution of tho oxygen, or whether it carries with it some foreign deleterious product, it is impossible to say, for up to this timo no special chemical examination of tho east wind has been made with tho object of determining its special physical properties. We know the effects of it, and we know no more."?Herald of Health. Adventures of a Scientist. Boussingault spent ten years in South America, making use of every opportunity to study the grand phenomena in which that region is so rich, and reaped as the fruit of his sojourn an abundant harvest of observations in many departments of science. His work included numerous mineral analyses; the discovery of a new mineral, which he named after one of his teachers, GayLussite; analyses of the milk of the "cow tree," of palm wax, of guanos, and of the thermal waters of Venezuela; and tho discovery in the province of Antio o ho/1 r\f o mnfol vltloll v]um ui a utu vi jnaiuiuui) c* mwui ?'*v. had previously been known only as it was disseminated in sands. He often made his analyses of minerals on horseback, with the aid of a portable balance; he carried a Fortin barometer slung over his Bhoulder, with which he estimated the height; of mountains. His methods of investigation were sometimes extraordinarily ingenious. In taking the temperature, for injtance, in the crater of Parto, having found his thermometer inadequate, he let down some of the tin foil wrappings of his chocolate cakes. The tin was melted. The temperature was, f ~>;' ~ ( tL higher than the melting point of that metal, or more than 2S5 degs. C. He then let down a pistol ball, which was not melted. The temperature was thus found to be lower than the melting point of lead, or less than 332 degs. C., and was, therefore, somewhere between the . two extremes. The guide who accompanied him on this adventure could not :onceal his nervousness at hearing the subterranean roarings of the volcano, and, lookine into the crater, asked, "What if it should burst out?" "Then tve Bhould be lost," replied Boussingault. The guide answered, calmed by thecoolness of his superior, "That is what I think, too." In 1831 he accomplished the ascent of Chimborazo, which Humboldt had been obliged to give up, with the loss of one of his instruments?and recovered the instrument.?Popular Science Monthly. A FEW HEALTH HINTS. Wearing Night Clothes?Dressing the Neck. Outer Wrap*?Foot Coverings. It cannot be generally known that we practically breathe through the skin?in other words, that the skin has a function something like that of the lungs. It cannot, of course, be active unless kept clean. But In other ways than by neglect of cleanliness can Its usefulness be Impaired. Tight clothing cripples it and keeps the poisons which should be thrown out at the surface locked up in the system, and also shuts out pure air which should reach the skin. In purchasing underclothing, therefore, It should be so large that, even after frequent washing ana shrinking, it will still be loose and permit of a volumo of air between it and the body. It naturally follows that the outer garments should also be comparatively large, and at least enough so to permit every movement to bo made with as much ease when they aro on as when they aro off. mere is a nablt wmch all, without exception, should practice, and yet it is safe to say that not one man in ten of our people do follow it. Reference is made to the removal of the undervest on retiring, and the substitution of one kept for night wear alone. The underclothing, during the day, becomes filled with emanations from the body, and must be well aired regularly every night, otherwise it becomes to a considerable extent poisonous, and the noxious matters are again absorbed by the skin. This self poisoning is sure to go on unless the rule given is observed. Safety from "colds" depends in no slight degree upo'u how the neck is dressed. Nothing should be worn about it which Interferes with its freedom of movement, nor should it be encumbered with handkerchiefs, which so many wear as much for appearance as for comfort. Let each one now choose a certain kind of collar, and wear no other style until spring comes. Even a very slight variation in this important article of dress will favor a sore throat. The habit of wearing the fashionable bandages? silk neckerchiefs?is an exceedingly bad one to get into, and, as a rule, those who have it are frequent sufferers from throat troubles. Practically the collar aud neck tie will bo sufficient protection for the throat. When the cold is Intense, turning up the coat collar will be a sufficient additional protection, unless one is riding far in a strong wind. When leaving the cold air and entering warm rooms, remove the outer wraps at once. Ladies fail to observe this rule oftener than d# men. When people have been long enough in warm rooms to become heated, they should not leave them and at once enter their carriage or a street car. Under those conditions they are chilled even by a short ride. Before attempting to ride they should walk a few blocks, until the body is accustomed to the change and circulation is active. After one has been exposed to intense cold and is even slightly chilled, a cup of hot tea or coffee is advisable to "warm up." Alcohol, so often taken for the purpose, is more active, but seldom better than the simple, harmless beverages mentioned. During prolonged exposure to cold, as on a long drive, hot drinks should not be indulged in, for they render the body yet more sensitive to cold. A word about foot coverings. Woolen stockings, of course, should be worn by all. Wear now heavy shoes and delay to put on overshoes as long as possible; when once they are on, keep them in service until next spring. Car drivqrs, conductors and other men out all day in the cold will be by far more comfortable if they discard leather boots and shoes and wear cloth shoes inside their overshoes. Then their feetv will bo better ventilated, perspire le3s and hence keep much warmer.?Boston Herald. Took Her at Her Word. A queer episode iu Connaught life was the case of the king at the relation of Dennis Bodkin versus Patrick French. The plaintiff and defendaut were neighbors. The latter was of tho "ould shtock," full of airs, and possessod of an Intolerable temper. He and wife had conceived a deep dislike for Mr. Bodkin, who entertained an equal aversion to the Frenches. Bodkin had happened to offend the squire and lady. That evening they entertained a large company at dinner, when Mrs. French launched out in abuse of her enemy, concluding her wish "that somebody would cut off the fellow's ears, aud that might quiet him." The subject was changed after a while, aud all went on well till supper, at which time, when everybody was happy, the old butler, one Ned Regan, who, according to custom, had drunk enough, came in. Joy was in his eye, and, whispering Something to his mistress which she did not comprehend, ho put a large snuff box into her hand. Fancying it was some whim of her old servant, she opened tho box and shook out its contents, when lo! a pair of bloody ears dropped out on the table. Tho horror of the company was awakened, unnn which old Ned exclaimed: "Sure. my lady, you wished that Dennis Bodkin's ears were cut off. so I told old Geogkegan, the gamekeeper, and he took a fow handy boys with hijn, and brought back his ears, and there they are, and 1 hope you are pleased, iny lady." The gamekeeper and the "boys" left the county. French and his wifo were held in heavy bail at tlio Galway assizes, but the guests proved no such order was given, that it was a mistake on the part of the servant. They were acquitted. The "boys" and their leader never reappeared in the county until after the death of Bodkin, who lost his ears many years before his death. ?Argonaut. Jn a London Miulo IIall. The London music hali fr-nishea-at once music and liquor for the 'masses. Thero is always a "chairman," who announces the title of each song and the name of each vocalist. The importance and impressiveness which ho shows in his manner, and its apparently impressive effect upon the audience, gives the American a strange sensation. He doesn't know whether to accept the whole thing as serious or as a farce. It is always tne same old tune which has been sung to generations of Londoners, with variations of word and sentiment to suit the times. The farces are long, tedious and stupid? the fun is boys' horseplay. The Bowery ten-cent temple of the drama would not tolerate such bosh. The music hall at night is the favorite lounging place of that fine animal in uniform, the British soldier of the Horse Guards, in his tightly fitting red jacket, his cap raked so far on one side of his head you wonder it does not fall off, his hair neatly brushed, his logs faultless as to cut of pantaloon, and in his hand always a little switch cane. He affords a refreshing contrast to the prevailing dim and dingy hue of London's garb. You will see "there suits of black on men's forms which look as if they must momentarily fall to pieces. It won't do to call such clothes rusty, threadbare or seedy. Thero is a certain quality of de cay visible about tnem never seen nere. They give you the impression of having been first worn, say, sixty years ago, aud then abandoned for a year or so to the moths, and then hung up four or five years in a second liaud clothing store, and then purchased and worn a few years, and so on, alternating as above mentioned up to the present time. This treatment gives them a certain look of oleaginous rottenness, rich, fruity and peculiar.?Prentice Mulford in New York btar. Putting It Very Politely. A while ago a student preached in a New England city "with a view." After his Sunday evening sermon one of tho "pillars" Baid to him: "We have been much pleased with your sermons and I am very sorry we are never going to seo you again." This suggestive remark co^I vincod tho candidate that he was not^ l.likdy to be elected to the vacant pulpit.j^ Christian Jnnjpirer. For the Yorkville Enquirer. REMINISCENCES OF WESTERN YORK. Mr. William Mitchell, commonly known as "Little Billy" Mitchell, married Miss Violet Guyton, daughter of Mr. Joseph Guyton, of Union county. He was like many other men who lived in Western York?a self made man. These good people lived in their first home all their married lives and died at advanced ages on the spot were'they spent their useful days. Though coming of parentage on both sides who owned property, these youthful people began life comparatively poor. Both knew how to work and were not afraid or ashamed todo it. Mr. Mitchell's first wag od was a "sled." He had two horses. One was a true; the other 'balky. Hauling wood one day with his team and ground wagon, he came to the foot of the hill that rises from the spring to the house. It is rather steep and was quite difficult to haul a load up. At the foot of this hill his ' team stopped and the balky horse wouldn't pull a pound. Mr. Mitchell exhausted all the means at his disposal to get the refrac- . tory animal to do-his duty, but to no purpose. Determined that he wouldn't be outdone, he unloaded part of the wood from the slide, leaving a pretty good load on it for one to pull on fair ground. He removed the stretchers and hitched the unfaithful horse to the slide, fixed up his bridle reins and left him. He led the other horse off up the hill toward the house. The balky horse now found out that he was whipped at his own game. By thp time Mr. Mitchell and the lead horse reached the house the other was there with the slide and load of wood. This strategy completely broke that horse from "balking" after that. Mr. Mitnhpll was nnp nf thp hpst. hlstaH ans Western York ever had, to our personal knowledge. He never studied grammar, at school, a day in his life. Yet few men could be found who were better conversationalists than he was. He has frequently told the writer that his knowledge of grammar was derived entirely from reading.and observing the "punctuation marks." He was a very correct reader. He was a mechanic of the first order, could weave cloth or do anything about a loom necessary to make cloth. To the success of the looms during war times, when our people made their own dressing, too much credit cannot be given to him and Mrs. Violet Mitchell for their enterprising disposition. Much of the dye stuffs we have spoken of heretofore were the results of some of their botanical experiments. Mr. Mitchell was a great waterman, and fisherman. The last years of his life were devoted principally to reading and study, except when the arduous duties of the farm, devolving upon him in consequence of the war, prevented the prosecution of this favorite amusement. Mrs. Violet Guyton Mitchell, who survived him several years, was his devoted and faithful wife. She was a kind mother. Much of her life was devoted to the welfare of her less fortunate neighbors. She was a Samaritan of the true type. Poor people, if decent and respectable, always found in her a true and faithful friend. She scorned a "high look and a proud heart." The writer was a beneficiary of her charity during the war, as well as at home before and since. While in the army f we received many_ messages_from which none but a motherly kindness and a Christian heart could conceive. In that unfortunate struggle she bore her part faithfully and accepted the result with Christian fortitude and resignation. Her sleepless nights were spent in knitting socks or making other articles of comfort to clothe some poor soldier, who had no one to care for him. Right here it is not out of place for us to prove what we say respecting her loyalty to the Lost Cause. It was during the month of February, 1865^when the Confederate cause was in hopeless despair, that one or the cooks from McKissick's cavalry came home, he having been wounded by the bursting of a shell. He was a bright mulatto and would be taken for a dark skinned white man where he was not known. He came to Mrs. Mitchell's about dark, to deliver some message from her son, Capt. John W. Mitchell, and other neighbor boys in whom she felt great interest. The boat at Howell's ferry was gone and he couldn't cross the river that night. Mrs. Mitchell insisted that he stay all night at her house, which he consented to do. She provided the necessary bandage, &c., for his wounded leg and perhaps assisted him in dressing the wound. He was very homesick and kept telling her how anxious he was to see his "mamma." She said : "I'll be 'mamma' for you while you are here." When bed timecame, he said he would stay by the fire, as he didn't care to soil the bed clothes. "Never mind," said she, "we'll have them washed." He wouldn't tell her that he was part negro, and from his complexion no one would have thought so. But at last she gave him a blanket and quilt on which to sleep by the fire. When she was told afterwards that her guest was a negro, she was somewhat confounded, but said: "No man, be he whom he may, At- ? A -1 iruu snares my emiu s mie uu uic uniuefield, shall ever be mistreated by me. I'm proud I treated him beyond his expectation." Had she known it, she would, in all probability, not have wished to put him in a negro kitchen, but would have treated him with all the courtesy his condition and her self-respect would warrant. Of this good woman and her family, I have many things yet to say, and I treat this incident will be received in the spirit^ 4hat prempts-ue^-rnemTtm-ltv * ? Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, who are the subjects of this chapter, have passed to their final accounts, and their aust lies in the family burying ground at Salem charch awaiting the resurrection of the just. j. l. s. Curious Facts.?A correspondent of the Columbia Record gives the following curious facts from his memorandum : 1. The South Carolina railroad, from Charleston to Hamburg, was the first road that was commenced in this country with a view of using steam instead of animal power. 2. That the first locomotive engine ever built in this country was built for this road. 3. That it was the first road that carried the United States mail. 4. That when completed and ready for use, which was on the 2d October, 1833, it was the longest road in the world. We traveled upon this road in 1830 five miles in a car rigged with sails and propelled by wind at the rate of five or six miles an hour. North Carolina Veterans.?Dele? ? J -1 -- ? 1 1 4k/\ AAitnftAa in gtues jrum ueuriy an uic iuuuuco iu xwn?? Carolina, representing ex-Confederate pensioners, met in Raleigh on Tuesday of last week. It was the first convention of this character ever held in North Carolina, and the interest in it was unusually great. Several hundred veterans were present, nearly all with an arm or a leg missing. They marched to the Capitol where there was a large audience. Speeches were made by distinguished citizens, and Col. ?. D. Hall presented resolutions in behalf of the pensioners, asking the Legislature to annual tax of five cents on each $10a^roperty valuation for a special pr^g^Hfund for disabled soldiers aad sai^H^Bows, and to provide for aSol^er^^^^^BThe^. ?. pensions are now annum. ^ Massachusetts^^^^^^^^A JJw1. nil fuse invali^^^^^^^B \ \<j$& -> k$60,255,294.