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lewis >i. grist, proprietor.) An Judcpcndcnt xffaiiiilij Alcit'spaper: ,#*or the promotion of the jpoliticat, Social, Agricultural and Qlonuntrciat Jnttrcsts of the ^outlt. |TERMS?$2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE. VOL. 35. YOEKVILLE, S. C.4 WEDMESDA Y, MARCH 20, 1889. ISTO. 12. * ?hc ftorn ?ellcr? CAPITULATION. "When is the Berwick train due?" " 'Bout three hours, sah." "What? Great Scott!" The porter surveyed the tourist coolly. "You'm'll have time to get over you'm hurry, sah." "Confound your impudence I Any hotel near?" "Nearest is Millsburgh, 'bout five miles furder on, sah." . The young man, in walking costume, threw off his knapsack impatiently, clapped his hand to his sunburned cheek and groaned. Jim refrained from polishing the waiting room furniture and snowed a mila curiosity. " 'Pear to be sufferin', sah." "Suffering? I'm frantic. Never had the toothache till last night. Oh, Jupiter! Oh?my!" "Toothache ain!t nothin'." "Ain't it, you black imp? Ever i i :*o?? I XittVCJ 101 "Oceans o' times?oceans o' times. Ain't fur to say comfor'ble: but, law! rheumatiz '11 bleat it! Ever nave rheumatiz, sah?" "No; never wish to. Say, got anything here good for this pain? "Nothin', sah." "Never saw such a confounded country. Rain all the time! Wet througn, then have to sleep in damp sheets in a cold room. That's what you call 'taking mine ease in mine inn "Country's all right, fur dem 'at's used of it Reckon you'm from town, sah." Hugh Scribner uttered another groan, which was almost a shriek, and strode to the door. As he opened it the wind dashed the autumn rain in his face. It was a cheerless prospect. "Any dentist in Millsburgh?" "Tooth doctor, you mean? Dunno; s'pose so." "What do you know, you black idiot?" "Dat you'm a mighty hot tempered gemplemum." "Here!" tossing him a quarter; "I ought to thrash you instead, for calling this confounded pain 'nothin'.' Help me on with tliis strap. I'll try for a forceps, anyhow. I've no will to stand this racket long." So, buttoning his jacket snugly over his broad chest, he set out. "Must 'a' been a gemplemum when he's hisself I" commented Jim, closing the door. "This isn't rain; this is the Deluge," muttered the pedestrian, striding on. His discomfort goaded him to accomplish the "five miles furder on" very soon, and Hugh accosted the first man he met in the town, asking for a dentist. "Ain't any such fellow here." This was disgusting. "Doctor?" then he enunciated. "Yes, tbey's doctors enough. All out o' town today, though. Gone to convention down to Boston." "What a forsaken region it is!" groaned the sufferer. The citizen's pride being touched he walked on in silent contempt "I'll find a sawbones or a blast of powder to blow out the thing!" On he rushed, furious, half blind with pain, generally demoralized. Then he stumbled over a bit of old Slank sidewalk and fell. This accient tended neither to compose his . nerves nor improve his appearance, yet proved to be of use to lnni. Picking himself up, he glanced hastily about, as every one does who meets with a like misfortune, and in scanning tW opprnrit^-wimimia Ulscuv1- " ered a modest blue and gilt sign, "G. Ormesby, Dentist" "Plague on the liars, anyway!" He was across the street in an instant and only on the way up stairs did his eager pace begin to lag. Somehow, his troublesome molar was easing up. By the time he hud i-eached the upper landing and was face to face with a half glazed door bearing the inscription. "Dental Burgeon," the pain had suddenly and utterly ceased. However, the hateful thing which had given him this long tramp deserved punishment. He'd teach his teeth to ache again! so he boldly turned the knob and entered. What* A "dental office?" My lady's parlor instead 1 Dainty curtains draped the win dows, a moss-liko carpet covered tue floor, luxurious seats invited repose. There was a well filled bookcase, a tabie loaded with pretty nothings, such as women aft'ec.; but instruments of torture?none. A young woman left her writing desk in the corner and advanced towards him. She was slight and trim, but quick, firm and strong in her movements. Her face was not pretty, but exceedingly fresh and wholesome, lighted by bright eyes full of intelligence. She wore a gray gown, edged at throat and wrists with spotless linen, and the only touch of coloi about her was a bunch of roses stud in the bib of her great, snowy apron "I fear I have made a mistake. I was looking for a dentist." The comely hps parted in a pleasant smile. "I *.m the only one in Millsburgh." "You?" "Yes, a regularly finished one. What is your trouble? Maybe I can relieve it." "I should judge you might relieve anything." The smile died instantly, and now Hugh wasconseious he hod blundered. "I have?that is, I had?I thought I had a racking toothache." "Has it disap]>eared'r" "Yes; coming up the stair." "That is a common occurrence; but it will return," reassuringly; "that is, if there was real cause for it. Has it troubled you frequently?" "Never till last night. I had been tramping all day in the wet. I suppose I took cold, though that is not ray habit" The clear eyes made a brief personal survey of her patient. "A stranger, and 'a tramp' for fun," she decided. "Shall I look at your teeth ?" The young man's cheek crimsoned. He had come prepared to bully a country botch of a dentist, if need be; but this outcome of his mad haste was disconcerting. Let her peep into that cavern whence he had just hurled anathemas on the whole country! and when the only supper Drocurable on the previous night hau been baked beans and onions. No, by all that was decent, no! But this alert young business woman paid his hesitation and blushes no heed, and so promptly moved a screen which hid an orthodox dental chair, and a corner filled with the most modern equipments of her profession. A quiet maid servant, who had been arranging a stock of fresh towels, came out from this hidden torture chamber and awaited in the outer apartment her mistress' need. The "surgeon" turned, waiting for her victim. Poor fellow 1 he \vould rather have had every tooth in his head "on a ! rampage" than place himself in that i chair. He could beat an ignominious | i. ~ * u..i ii.? ii_, ii.- I rctreat, uut tiie uuuscuuusiiuss mat tills advanced young female would laugh at him wasn't pleasant. He never felt j himself such a great, awkward hulk of | a fellow before! His six feet of length seemed a dozen, and his hands and | feet were something abnormal. He ! was afraid he was too big to get into ! that chair, and was surprised to find j that he wasn't. The seat was so high that his head towered far above that of his tor- . mentor, who deftly turned a screw j and lowered him to u convenient poise, j There was no consciousness of aught but the most humdrum matter in the voice which ordered him to "Lay your head back, if you please, and open your mouth?wide." Her serene indifference restored his composure, anil lie obeyed her to the letter; indeed, so broadly did the masculine jaws separate, that the effect would have been startling on one less experienced than Dr. Ormesby. But when her delicate index finger gently moved the corners of those yawning lips, Hugh could not resist his natural impulse. He opened his great brown eyes, and flashed a sentimental glance upon tho face that bent over him; but he mi^ht as well have tried to flirt with the Sphinx. "There is considerable inflammation, but no serious trouble. Your teeth are in fine condition." "Oh, you must be mistaken. I nearly died with this fellow last night. I'm sure it ought to come out." "Indeed, it should not; it is perfectly sound." The youth's courage waxed; he looked at her slender wrists raali1 ciously. i "I want it taken out." She understood the glance, ~nd resented it. "I could not do so unprofessional an act," she said, moving away. Hugh remained seated in the chair, cudgeling his brain for some new pretext to bring the charming operator back to his side. ' There is a twinge on the other side, in that eve tooth. Must be something wrong there." The imperturbable doctor examined the healthy mouth, and shook her he|d. Not once had she seemed conscious of his admiring glance, or more curious concerning nis handsome identity than if he nad been some ancient grandsire. There was nothing left for him to do but slip down anu out from behind the screen. Ashe did so, the dentist handed him a small vial. "Bathe your face with this lotion occasionally, and the trouble will be cured." Her tone was very quiet, but Hugh fancied the bright eyes twinkled. "Thank you. Now, please to tell me your charge." "Nothing, of course." "That is scarcely business like." "Oh, under the circumstances, quite so. The value of the liniment is as trilling as tho service you required." Again that twinkling eyelash. She glanced carelessly at a card he offered her, introducing him upon the staff of The Gotham High Flyer. "1 am on a tramp trip through this section, writing it up ror our paper. Excuse me, you arc tno first woman I have ever met in your profession. Do you object to being interviewed?" "Not in the least; I should consider it a good advertisement." "Cool and shrewd," thought Scribner, "but she doesn't seem unwomanly#" He looked at a chair longingly, then dubiously at his soiled garments. She smiled and rolled it towards him, taking another herself. "Well, then," Hugh propounded, pad in hand, "how did you choose your vocation?" "From the necessity of earning my own living. Nearly everything is overcrowded?dentistry is not, at least by women." "Did you study regularly?" "Certainly; I was graduated from the 1' dental college. There is my dinloma over your head." Numberless questions he put and she answered patiently. "Allow me one more, and I will end this cTOSs-examii. ation. Does" -- he hesitated, glancing about the well appointed room. She finished his question, "Does it pay? Yes, thank God"?and her smile mado her beautiful?"it does pay." Her thoughts seemed to wander off into some unknown, happy laud, and she rose, to terminate the interview. There was nothing more the young more he would have liked to know. An inspiration came to him. "I am going to 'do' Millsburgh and its manufactories thoroughly, so shall De here some ume. i nope we may meet again. Will you allow me to call?" "Should you need my professional services, certainly; otherwise it will not be necessary." "Well snubbed for that fib I lying is in this air, and I've caught it I only I'll make it the truth. I will 'do' Millsburgh," thought Hugh, getting himself out of the room as gracefully as he could, and wending his way hotelward. "What a susceptible idiot I am 1 I've had a dozen attacks before 1 but, Hugh Scribner, if 1 can diagnose these premonitory symptoms correct! v, this one'll be worse than the toothache 1" It was. The journalist lingered in the busy town, and fared better than his deserts. His landlord gave him a first class room and every attention, with some dissertations upon the community at large gratis. Fortune favors the valiant. Having exhausted the art of flirtation, Scribner now began to . take serious lessons in loving. The landlord's pretty daughter was a fast friend of Dr. Ormesby, and described that young woman's devotion to her bankrupt father and little sister's; told how she had been the idol of Vassar, and had astonished that famous feminine fraternity by her "new departure;" and how, recovering their breath, they had applauded her independence and honored her filial affection. "But she will never marry," concluded Lucie Garrett, positively. Hugh started guiltily. Not much escapes the ken of these bright, Nineteenth century girls, and he felt his "secret" was transparent to this one. "Whatare the doctors objections? I thought matrimony entered somewhat largely into every woman's perspective?" "It doesn't, then! That is where men are mistaken. It used, I suppose; lint nniv u-liv u-ifli nilf nnlpftpQ nwl easels, our littic typewriters, our titles of M. D., our editorial chairs, we are far too wido awake. With me, of course, it's different. I'm not so very strong minded, and Paul and I became engaged when wc were too young to know any better. So, 1 presume we shall go on to the commonplace end." Fair Lucie heaved a comical sigh. "Confess now you like your bondage," adjured the young writer. He was longsinceher own, as her father's, warm friend. "Well, maybe!" up went the shapely shoulders in a dainty shrug; "but you must know I was the weak brained member of my class." "Then, if it's sweet to you to be cared for, it must be so for every woman. Listen," suid Hugh, boldly; "I love Georgette Orinesby. You have found that out. Now, help me to win her; tell me her insuperable objections to men and aid me to overcome them." Lucie was touched; being wholly feminine she was a natural match maker. "Well, you see," shaking her small foreGnger emphatically ut liim, "Georgette hasn't any use for your kind except in the abstract?in her dental chair?to torture their mouths and their pockets. She is the bread winner for her family. I never heard her say, but I know how she'd feel. She couldn't ask any man to support her old father and little sisters; and she wouldn't if she could. And when she wants a directoire gown or a pansy bonnet she doesn't nave to ask some grumbling man for it. She just sits down to her desk and sends her order and her check. That's better than your matrimony, isn't it?" "Maybe; maybe not." Hugh laid his plans more wisely after that little talk. Georgette Onneshy should be his wife; that was a foregone conclusion; but his besiegement of her heart took a new form. In the privacy of her own sanctum she acknowledged to herself that she felt that invulnerable fortress to be giving way before his resolute attack, so long continued. For all the winter had sped away, broken up by young Scribncr's weekly visits to Millsburgh, by numerous sleighing and toboggan parties, by all the impromptu gaycties which youth and love make possible. The greatest breach was made, of course, in an unexpected quarter. The doctor returned to her father's house one evening at an unaccustomed hour, to find the old gentleman playing dominos with the audacious scribbler who had so long disturbed her peace. Was nothing sacred from this fellow, who would not understand her avoidance of him ? Her office, her friends' houses, her festivities, these were free to everybody; but her home! "Well, daughter, I m glad you happened home. Mr. Scribner comes 111 every time ho is in Millsburgh to have a bit of a game and bring me news of the town. I am pleased to have you meet him at last, lie has been so very kind." Georgette stopped short, her lips Sarting to utter an indignant protest; ut the unblushing newsmonger arose and bowed with the obsequious gravity of a stranger. This was too much effrontery; and the angry woman fled, to work off her vexation in a walk. She did not heed the soft beauty all about her?the bursting buds and springing grass, the gentle trickling of little rills in the outlying fields-^ till fbn tmvn was well behind her. and she stood upon a foot bridge above the Moodua, with the peeping moon to watch her. The spring time, the spring time: The only pretty ring time! Nature's hour of universal love. Its influence stole o^er her and melted the obdurate heart, '.ill there were very weak and womanish tears in the < . cs which watched the wavelets creeping in and out beneath her slender resting place. And so, at last, she owned to her own self that she was conquered. She did love this bright, ingratiating, generous fellow who had shown sucn devotion to her! But then he should never know it?never I" "Having chosen my calling, I will live it to the endf To strengthen her resolve, she murmured the words to the brooklet; but a voice?not the brooklet's?made answer, "Quite right, my darling; only I beg that you will live it by my side!" Oh, ye treacherous moonbeams 1 is no place hidden from the ubiquitous presence of thiscreature? None, where you are, little woman, nor ever will be. "See, Georgette, my sweetheart 1 there are teardrops on your eyelids. Confess, brave girl, that the siege has been too hard for you?that you capitulate! Kiss me, my love, for truce." She put him from her and faced him, the tattered flag of her independence still waving over her. "May I'still keep up my business for papa's, for all our sakes?" He hesitated, the pride of manhood roused; but a searching look at the firm, sweet mouth convinced him that in parley, not opposition, lay his victory. "Till you relinquish it of your own free will, dearest. Then she bowed her head and folded her hands, standing before him meekly, as women will when the siege is over; and like all men and conquerors, he selfishly claimed the tribute due. When the June roses bloomed there * were two brides inMillsburgh; undone of them, pretty Lucie, went straightwav to her housekeeping and home making, after the manner of her kind. The other hung out a new and. glittering sign of "G. Ormesby-Scribner. Dentist," while her railing husband watched and calmly bided his time. He wondered how long it would swing there, creaking in the wind, quite cerI tain that eventually the home would oust the career and his triumph he -aiiiiiiiUe'1' TT Vii"? Jefferson Davis* Florae. Beauvoir, with its cool verandas, its wide* lawns and its virgin groves, its wharf, its boats and its bath house, is a typical gulf coast home, and in the occasional absence of the curious and sight seeing it looks tho very abode of peace and rest, by the placid sound that never whispers of. rocks and breakers where a nation stranded. The stranger here enjoys the true hospitality wnich to the born southron is scarcely distinctive, although many of its recipients are but so many mysteries to those who cannot conceive of Mr. and Mi's. Jefferson Davis as show people, but prize them for his simple greatness and her simple goodness; while the "Child of the Confederacy" is in the truest sense the peculiar possession of southern Mississippi. Beauvoir is but one of many in a long line of handsome villas that, with a few happy exceptions, blend walls that are variously white with blinds that are variously green, whereas a more somber or neutral combination would not only be an offset to the general glare, but a resistant to the forces that so swiftly and surely convert new white ami green into dinginess and weather stain.?Cor. Louisville Courier-Journal. Veteran Government Clerks. The career of a government clerk is fairly typified in the case of James Eveleth, the veteran of the war department. Ho began working for the United States in 1829 at $800 a year. In 1S3G ho was given $1,000 a year; in 1850, $1,250 a year; from 1851 to 1853 he was paid $1,500 and the next year was promoted to $1,000. In 1804 he was given $1,800 and in 1885, on account of advancing age, was reduced to $1,000. There he is now at about 80 years of age, and there he will die, unless, perhaps, he lives long enough to suffer further reductions. Appoint ment uierii omun, or uie treasury, tells me lie has 011 his rolls nine men over 70, the oldest being Hiram Pitts, born in 1802. Richard White, aged 75, has snent fifty-two years of his life in the department. John Lovcjoy I worked forty years in the treasury, j with but forty-one days lost time. A few of the old employes in the various departments are virtually on the retiree! list, by consent drawing full pay. Two or three of them have their salaries sent to them and do not visit their desks once a year. There is no warrant in law for this, but who care's? ?Philadelphia News. Painfully Witty. There is no occasion which presents such terrible advantage to the practical j joker as that of a sea voyage, and there ! is noncon which his jocosities become j more unbearable. The following incident embodies one of his most am- j bitious efforts: When we were in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the nearest ! coast was two hundred miles away, I a Yankee quietly remarked: "Wal, I guess wo are quite close to ! land now. It aint more'n thrce-quar- ! ters of a mile away, nohow." Personally we took no interest in ! facts of this nature, and were content j to sit and believe, but many excited travelers dashed out of the smoking | ; room to have a look at the long hoped j ! for continent. They presently came i j back, in the worst or temners, saying i that the charts and all other autiiori- I ties declared the land to be at least j two hundred miles away, and that there was certainly none in sight. uWal, I didn't say the shore," returned the champion joker. "I guess j there's land right under us, not three- ' j quarters of a mile away."?Youth's j Companion. Cultiviition of Indigo. Farmers in various parts of tlio ! I country are beginning the cultivation , | of the indigo plant, which forms a j very important feature of Chineso : agriculture. The indigo fern is one of j the seed pod variety of plants, with a stock and leaf not unlilco the fish geranium, but of darker green in color. It is very hardy, easily cultivated, and unlike many of our native products is never attacked by insects.?Omaha Bee. pisttUitncous Starting. THE PASSENGER TRAIN CONDUCTOR. The Most Exacting Position in tlio Itanlu of Railroad Employes. The passenger train conductor has in many inspects the most difficult position in the railroad ranks. Ho should boa first class freight conductor and a polished gentleman to boot. But in his long apprenticeship on a freight train he has very likely been learning how not to fulfill the additional requirements of a passenger conductorsnip. In that service ho could be uncouth and even boorish and still fill his position tolerably well; now he feels the need of a life time of tuition in dealing with the diverse phases of human nature met with on a passenger train. Ho mast now manage his train in a sort of automatic way, for he has his mind filled with the care of his passengers and the collection of tickets. He must bo good at figures, keeping accounts, and handling money, though the freight train service has given him no experience in this line. Year by year the clerical work connected with the taking up of tickets and collecting of cash fares nas been increased until now on many roads an expert bank clerk would lie none too proficient for the duties imSised. The conductor who gruminglv averred that "it would take a Philadelphia lawyer with three heads1' to fill his shoes was not far out of the way. Every day, and perhaps a number of times a day, he must collect fares of fifty or a hundred persons in less time than he ought to have for ten. Of that large number a few will generally have a complaint to make or an objection to offer or an impudent assertion concerning a fault of the railroad company which the conductor cannot remedy and is not responsible for. A woman will object to paying half fare for a 10-year-old girl or to paying full rates for one of 15. A person whose income is ten times larger than he deserves will argue twenty minutes to avoid paying 10 cents more (in cash) than he would have been charged for a ticket Passengers with legitimate questions to ask will couch them in vague and back handed terms, and those with useless ones will take inopportune times to propound .them. These are not occasional but every day experiences. The very best and most intelligent people in the community (excepting those who travel much) are among those who oftenest leave their wits at homo when they take a railroad trip. All these people must be met in a conciliatory manner, but without varying tno strict regulations in the least degree. The officers of the revenue flnn.'irtmpiit nre inexorable mas ters, and passengers offended by alleged uncivil treatment are likely to make absurd complaints at the superintendent's office. A conductor dreads an investigation of this sort, however unreasonable the passengers' complaints may be, because it may tend to show that he lacked tact in handling the case. But after becoming habituated to this sort of dealings, there are still left the occasional disturbances .which no amount of philosophy can make pleasant. These ure the encounters with drunken and disorderly passengers. The conductor, starting at the forward end of liis train, finds, pcrhans, in the first car one or two "touglis" who refuse payment of faro and are spoiling for a fight. Care must be taken with tliis sort of character not to punish him or use the least bit of unnecessary severity, for he will, when sobered olf, quite likely bo induced by a sharp lawyer to sue t.ho Ti.j1r"f?] ^??y.nv f,?. ,i:.n,;,rrL^ hjr assauir The conductor, however, if ho be one who has (in his freight train experience) dealt with tramps is able to copo with his customer and confine him to the baggage car or put him off the train. But a tussle of this kind is, at best, far from soothing to the temper, and the very next car may con' o - -.'ill ?1 111 Lain 1110 wiie 01 a millionaire, wuu wm expect the most genteel treatmr ' and critically object to any bcliai jt on the part of the conductor which is not fully up to the highest drawing room standard. Experiences of this lcind, it can be readily imagined, are exceedingly trying. The conductor cannot give himself up completely to learning gentility, for he still has need for his old severity.?B. B. Adams, Jr., in Seribner's Magazine. THE FLYING MACHINE PROBLEM. Lesson Tauglit by the Hint?Three Indisputable Tacts. Tim reason of this wonderful effectiveness of the animal machine is obvious. See how this machine has been gradually perfected throughout infinite ages, especially in birds. During the whole geological history of t^ic earth this machine has been steadily improving in structure of skeleton, c gy of muscle and rapidity of comb.. .tion of fuel, by struggle for life and survival of only the swil'test, the most energetic and the hottest blooded, until an almost incredible intensity is reached in birds. Moreover, in them everything is sacriiied to the supreme necessity of ilight. Viscera, skeleton, legs, head, all are made as small and light as possible to make room for the great pectoral muscles working the wings. Add to this the exquisite structure of the wings and feathers, adapting them for the greatest effect iveness, and we must admit that a bird is an incomparable model of a flying machine. No machine that we may hope to devise, for the same weight of machine, fuel and directing bruin, is half so effective. And yet this machine Kius perfected through infinite ages by a ruthless process of natural selection, reaches its limit of weight at about fifty pounds! I said, ''weight of machine, fuel and directing brain." Here is another prodigious advantage of the natural ovirT the artificial machine. The living animal is its own engineer, the flying machine must carry its engineer. The directing engineer in the former (the brain) is perhaps an ounce, in '.lie latter it is 150 pounds. The limit of the flying ani mm is iniv pounus. xue smauusi, possible weight of u living machine, with its necessary fuel and engineer, even without freight or passengers, could not he less than 3UU or 400 pounds. Now, to complete the argument, put these three, indisputable facts together: 1. There is a low limit of weight, certainly not much beyond fifty pounds, beyond which it is impossible for an animal to fly. Nature has reached this limit, and with her utmost effort has failed to pa:..-; it. 2. The animal machine is far more cii'cctive than any wc may hope to make; therefore the limit of the weight of a successful Hying machine cannot he more than iifty pounds. T The weight of any machine constructed for flying, including fuel and engineer, can not bo less than three or four hundred pounds. Is it not demonstrated that a true Hying machine, self raising, self sustaining, self propelling, is physically inipossihie?Professor Joseph Le Con to m Popular Science Monthly. Driving Away Malicious Spirits. Whenever we are to ascend a dangerous rapid?and nearly all are so considered by the native itinerary, and probably are at certain .seasons of the year?a boatman brings out an old rusty four barreled blunderbuss, rams the barrels full of powder, picks in fuses and stations himself at the side of. the boat for the most serious business eonncc'-d with the ascent. As the boat strikes the first fierce breakers. one barrel is discharged into the water; the gun is then dropped upon the deck, and the sailor tugs for a while at the ropes; when we have swung around and plowed and plunged sufiieiently with little progress, lie drops h's work, whatever it may be, fires another fuse and explodes the half ounce of powder into the loam: the third and fourth chum bcrs tiro likewise emptied if the business is continued long enough. This may seem a curious und useless custom to those unacquainted with the Chinese ideas of demonology, but once having mastered this branch of their intricate religious system, it will appear to be the most natural and necessary proceeding. JIalicious spirits are in and around all dangerous places, and ready to do all manner of mischief. They can be frightened by terrilic sounds; ergo, in passing all such snots the Chinaman naturally yells, beats a gong, explodes firecrackers or powder 111 any form. At worship, at weddings, funerals, in | times of severe sickness, the greater the noise the more likely the demons arc to hide themselves. The water is crowded with such demons, and tlicy are either frightened or propitiated by j the boatmen.?"Western China." With a Bear. Charles Ford, of Sbaudaken, is rated as oue of the finest wrestlers among I in.. inAoinnn Catakilis. lit?''is consul ered a nervy fellow. His nerves and muscles wcro tried to the utmost 011 Saturday, in an encounter which was as unexpected as it was startling. Ford was tramping along nilpiagajid whistling, when he sawvoSnig toward him an animal resembling a bear. On it came at an ambling, shuffling gait toward Ford. When bruin caught sight of the man it at once stopped, and Ford would have had ample time to have beaten a retreat. He did not do so. however; neither did bruin. Both stood eyeing each other and taking in the situation. Ford's only weapon was a revolver, and this he resolved to use on the bear's tenderest spot. Taking cai-eful aim he fired, but just as ho aid so, the bear made a spring and the bullet merely grazed tne bear's tough hide. ' When within about five feet Ford fired again, but without even stopping the slmggy monster pounced upon its enemy ana encircled Vord's waist with its powerful paws. He struck at the bear s jaw witn his iron fist, and when the pressure on his waist relaxed, Ford adroitly t* ipped up his bearship, but by some mischance he and tho bear took a ridiculous header together down the side of a mountain. Ford says: "It was all right when I was 011 top, but when I was underneath, the breath was nearly squeezed out of me, and as to snorting and blowing?well, I never heard such noisy licks as that bear put in outside of a railroad locomotive." A gully stopped their downward rnrpor and landed Ford several yards in advance of the be*r. Bruin was quickly on top of its victim again, however, but with an adroit movement Ford, who had retained his hold on the revolver, stuck the barrel against the bear's mouth and fired. The animal relaxed its hold and fell over dead. ?Kingston Freeman. "Ballet Playing" in Scotland. The Scotch miner has many ways of amusing liimself. Quoits is a favorite game of his, so is a game called "'rounders'1?a sort of bastard cricket? and cricket itself is popular among tho younger men, but witn them football is the favorite pastimo. Leaping, running, throwing tho hammer, and tossing the caber arc all practiced, and in some parts a game called "bullet playing" is in high faVor. I have never seen this played except in the Lothians and Stirlingshire, and there it was at ono time the crack amusement. Rather a peculiar amusement it is, too. It is played in this manner: A certain distance, say a mile out and a mile in, is fixed upon as the ground to be covered by the players, and tfAr man who does so in the fewest number of throws is ititrw[iiIUJrr"TTKrT)iiilet is a polished ball of hard whinstone, and weighs from fen to fourteen ounces, and this ball the player takes into his hand, and, running to a line drawn on the roadway, he swings his arm and throws with all his might. This is termed "hainching the bullet," and a good player can cover the mile in five or six throws. The game is one mainly of strength, but a good deal of skill can l>e shown in it. Each player has a man in front V> show where the bullets should be landed, and his business is to see that if his directions ere followed the bullet of his player will have the best part of the road to run on. The game is always played on the best highway in the neighborhood, and '^he authorities object to it as being dangerous, although I never liaVS heard of any accident arising therefrom. A bullet match is to the Scotch miner what a dog fight is to his Northumbrian or Staffordshire congener, or a prize fight to an East End Londoner. The fact that it is forbidden by law adds to its attractiveness, and it affords ample opportunities for betting. Bets are# made on the throw, on the distance out, and on the complete match, and when two "dons" are played the excitement runs high. ?Nineteenth Century. Invention of the Shot Tower. There was once a mechanic at Bristol, England, who had a queer dream. Watts was his name, and he was by trade a shot maker. The making of the little leaden pellets was then a slow, laborious and, consequently, costly process. Watts had to take great bars of lead and pound them out into sheets of a thickness about equal to the diameter of the shot ho desired to make. Then he cut the'sheets into little cubes, which he placed in a revolving barrel or box and rolled until tho edges wore off from the constant friction and the little cubes became spheroids. Watts had often racked his brain trying to devise a better scheme, but in vain. Finally, after an evening spent with some jolly companions at 1..1 i " i \ .. .i . i u.ju luciujusc nc wuiu nomcuiiu lurneu into lied. He soon fell into a deep slumber, but the liquor evidently did not agree with him for lie hud a bad dream. He thought he was out again with the "boys." They were all trying to lind their way home when it began to rain shot. Beautiful globules of lead, polished and shining fell in a torrent and compelled him and his bibulous companions to draw their heavy, limbs to a place of shelter. In the morning, when Watts arose, he remembered the dream. He thought about it all day, and wondered what shape molten lead would take in falling a distance through the air. At last, when he could rest no longer, he carried a ladleful of the hot metal up into the steeple of the church of St. Mary, of RedclilFe, and dropped it into the moat below. Descending, he took from the bottom of the shallow pool several handfuls of perfect shot, far sujierior to any he had ever seen. Watts' fortune was made, for he had conceived the idea of the shot tower, which lias ever since been the only means employed in the manufacture) of the little missiles so much used in war and sport.?Chicago Mail. Importance of Recording Deed*. Due record of deeds is a matter of vast importance in transfers, even though a deed be "perfectly good without record against the grantor himself and his boil's," and although "a deed not recorded is just as good as if it had been recorded against any parties or the heirs of any parties who took the land from the grantor by a subsequent deed, even for a full price, if they had at the time notice or knowledge of the prior and unrecorded deed." Neglect of registration is a fruitful cause of expensive worry and litigation. Registered judgments, heirs unexpectedly turning up, mortgages whose satisfaction lias not been recorded, rights of dower and courtesy, both of which conveyancers would gladly abolish in oixler to facilitate transfers, are difficulties in the way of undisputed title. Equity ultimately decides in courts of law who is entitled to possession, but due precaution in search and record would, in most instances, nullify the need of resort to it. All titles are cleared by sale under judicial decree. ?Richard Wlieatley in Harper's Magazine 'k 'POSSUM AND 'TATER. Georgia Gourmets Who Revel In the Chief Delight of the Year. Did you see that suspicious looking animal hanging out in front of a Marietta street restf.urant the other day? Of course you sjw it if you passed that way. Of course you knew, even if it didn't have any hair 011 it, andevenqif it was butchered and ready for the oven, that it was a'possum. But did you know that the 'possum market in Atlanta was not to do "sneezed" at? Did you know that "'possum and 'taters" was one of the swell dishes at the restaurants? Well, if you didn't, read along a little further and I'll give you somo facts about the 'possum crop which will astonish you as they did me. This file tailed country animal has been a part of the south as long as there has been any south, and, like the rabbit, he is very prolilic, and seems to increase instead of diminish as the years roll on. He is very fond of persimmons, from which tho name of opossum is derived. He was np.arlv alwavs rniiirht. nn n. nersimmon ^ ? j - -- o? X . ' tree, and years ago was known as the animal of the persimmon, which was gradually contracted into o'possum. It is useless to say that the 'possum is a nocturnal animal, and is caught by means of dogs who tree him in some small tree which is easily cut down. Strange as it may sound old possum hunters will tell you that the bigger a 'possum is the smaller the tree in which he is caught, and it is only the young 'possums, that climb a very large tree when pursued by the dogs. Three or four years ago our commission merchants began buying a few 'possums from the country and selling tnem to a few select customers in Atlanta. Before that time a possum now and then found its way into the city through the agency of some great 'possum warrior, who always 'found a ready sale for this toothsome animal. Everything has changed since then, and the 'possum has, through no efforts of his own, arisen to a very important place in the commercial world. One commission merchant informed mo that he handled 300 'possums a month, and at Folsom's restaurant 100 of these animals are butchered every month and served out to those who are fond of them, and that means nearly every southern raised man. The majority of the 'possums sold in Atlanta come from the country merchants, and a large percentage of this number come from up on the Marietta and North Georcria railroad, a section of the country which is regarded as the finest in the world for grapes, rye, 'possums and corn liquor. A number of countrymen living in Fulton county catch many 'possums during the season. and sometimes they bring them in Dy the wagon load, as they would bring in a load of chickens. 'Possums are sold at various prices, governed according to the size of the animal. The kittens bring from 20 to 40 cents, while the full grown range from 40 cents to $1. The 'possum is ripe by the 1st of September, and he is pullecf until the 1st of March. The average stun paid for 'possums a mouth during the season will amount to something over $500, making the 'possum crop worth about $4,000 to Atlanta. A dish of 'possum and taters at the restaurant will cost you 30 cents, but if you want a 'possum supper it will cost you from $1.50 to $2. A possum supper consists of a whole 'possum, baked with sweet potatoes, and then there's corn bread and coffee thrown in as extras, for 'possum and tutors, to be enjoyed, must be eaten with corn bread. There's a very remarkable thing about 'possum meat. It is as rayo fa'tl, 1, s.'n. by persons with the weakest digestion. It won't fill you up like pork or other meat, but you can eat a very largo quantity of it and feel no bad effects from so doing. 'Possums urc caught in a mile and a half of Atlanta, and, as I said before, they are us numerous and prolific as rabbits. My brother, in coming home very late one bright, moonshiny night last winter met a very large and very fat old 'possum on Wheat street, and after a little persuasion tho 'possum was induced to accompany him home. The next day that 'possum was tho leading attraction at the dinner table. If you have never tasted 'possum meat you have lived in vain; if you have never inhaled the delicious frar grance arising from a dish of 'possum and 'tutors, lire has been but a mockery to you, and if you do not get you a 'possum and bake him with sweet potatoes for your dinner to-morrow Sou'll regret it even to the end of your fe.?Atlanta Journal. TOADS IN HISTORY. Legends, Traditions and Proverbs About the Hopping Creature. The old Persians made the toad the symbol and pet of Ahriman, the foe of light, and declared that his Charlester, or attendant demons, took that form when they persecuted Ormuzd, says The St. James Gazette. Among the Tyrolese it is a type of envy, whence the problem, "Envious as a toad." In the Middle Ages, among artists and in many church legends, it appears as i greed or avarice; there is even to this day, in some mysterious place on the right bank of the Rhine, between Laufenberg and Binzgan, a nile of coals on which sits a toad. That is to say, coals they seem to the world; but the Sile is all pure gold, and the toad is a evil who guards it, and he who knows how can pronounce a spell which shall ban the grim guardian. And there is a story told by Mouzel ("Christliche Symbolik," volume one, j^age GOO) that long ago there lived in Cologne a wicked miser, who, when old, repented and wished to leave his money to the poor. But when he opened his great iron chest he found that every coin in it had turned to a horrible toad with sharp teeth. This story being told to his confessor, the priest saw in it the divine retribution, and told him that God would have none of his money?nay, that it would go hard with him to save his soul. And he, being willing to do anything to be free from sin, was locked up in the chest, with the toads, and lol the next day when it was opened the creatures had eaten him up. Only his clean picked bones remained. But in the Tyrol it is believed that the toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penacc as Heetschen or Hoppinen?as they are locally called ?for deeds done in human form. Therefore they are regarded with pity and sympathy by all good Christians. And it is well known that in the Church of St. Michael, in Sclnvatz, on the evening before the great festivals, but when no one is present, the immense toad comes crawling before the altar, where it kneels and lira vs. wceninsr bitterly. The general belief is that toads are, for the most part, people who made vows to go 011 pilgrimages and died with the vows unfnHilled. So the poor creatures go hopping astray, bewildered and perplexed, striving to lind their way to shrines which have perchance long since ceased to exist. Once there was a toad who took seven veal's to go from Lelfers to Weisscnstein; and when the creature reached the church it suddenly changed to a resplendent white dove, which, Hying up to heaven, vanished before the eyes of a large company there assembled, who bore witness to the miracle. And one day, as u wagoner was going from Innsbruck to Sccfeld, as he paused by the wayside a toad came hopping up and seemed desirous of getting into the wagon, which lie, being a benevolent man, helped it to do, and gave it a place 011 the seat beside liim. There it sat like j.ny other respectable passenger until they came to the side path which led to the church of Seefeld, when, wonderful to remte, the toad suddenly turned to a maiden of angelic beauty clad in white, who, thanking.the wagoner for his kindness to "her when she was hut a poor reptile, told him she had once been a young lady who had vowed a pilgrimage to the church of Seefeld. But, as heedless maidens often do, she had put it off from time to time till she died. But now, by his help, her soul was saved. Anil, saying this, she, too winged her way "to the joyous realms where the pure dwellers are." In common with the frog the toad is an emblem of productiveness and raks among creatures which are types of erotic passion. I have in my possession a necklace of rudely made silver , toads of Arab workmanship, intended to be worn by women who wish to become mothers. Therefore the creature. in the old world as well as in tlio new, appears as being earnestly seeking the companionship of men. A Clever Woman, Once, while traveling in the west, she was obliged to take a seat in one crowded car, while her friends entered the next. Her neighbor in the seat was a disagreeable looking fellow, whose features showed an alarming amount of low cunning, promising actual knavery. In spite of the Englishwoman's distrust of him she fell asleep and was awakened by feeling her companion withdrawing his hand from her pocket. Her first impulse was to raise an alarm; her second, to ascertain the extent of her loss. It proved that the thief had onlv succeeded in taking her baggage checks, and as his ticket was marked "Chicago" the lady resolved to wait until they reached that place, also her destination. The train ran into the station at Chicago, the pickpocket made his way to the door, and tlio lady walked beside him. A baggage express messenger was passing by the car and the lady stopped him. "This gentleman has the checks for my baggage," she said, pointing to the thief. The messenger turned to the man, who, astonished at the suddenness with which the tables had been turned, hastily produced the checks and disappeared in the crowd.?An Englishwoman in America. The Zinc Plato In Art. The plmto-lithograpliers are looking toward zincography as a refuge and substitute for the Bavarian lithographic stone and the wood cut, and experiments are being' made in Amorica, Germany and England, where pictorial periodicals and newspapers are published to get the effdcts of tho lithographic pen. The difference between the processes of lithography and zincography, however, is so great that judgment cannot ue passed as yet. The great ponderous soapstone reproduces colore drawn on it with a greasy pencil. The zinc can be etched with nitric or muriatic acid, and, with the aid of a powerful lens, photography called into aid with marvelous effect. The advantages of such a process may bo summarized under two headseconomy and convenience?and for daily newspaper pictorial work, where rapidity must be combined with a certain amount <jf artistic excellence, there can be no doubt of tha zinc plate superseding all other methods of reproducing pictures, and the wood cut is gradually fading away. In the weeklies and monthlies, where the mezzo tint can be successfully printed, the wood cut may endured for some time, but even now oAmft .rvP r\t r\ n*i r\ i n Tinri on/I inlr OUU IVy VI U1V |71AVlVp i Uf^lliV |/V/1A i*wv? ttitk line drawing .is immeasurably better than the black and white brush work on wood. The process of biting a plate ?*?jf UUUJ'BO, Rembrandt, but it has until the last few years been an expensive and laborious art. The hurry of the age demanded its improvement, and soon it will be possible to reproduce great pictures in a few hours, and transfers may be made with great facility and preserved for future use at the nominal expense of the cast of the zinc plates and tho necessary storage room. ?Baltimore American. A Dinner at Teheran. Thare are tiny lambs roasted whole, salmon which has been brought packed in ice upou the heads of runners from a distanco of a hundred miles, appetizing kababs of lambs and venison, fowls and partridges (in silver bowls), stewed to rags ana served with strange colored sauces of the richest kind; great heaps of boiled rice in steaming pyramids, white rice, green rice, colored by an artful admixture of herbs; rice boiled with saffron of a ruddy gold color; omelets and sweet dishes, innumerable little china cups of toothsome pickles, small china oowls containing various thick soups, but not a single joint to be seen. Everybody eats away as if he had never tasted food before. There are no forks, no spoons, 110 plates; but every man's hand appears to be dipping at once into the innumerable dishes. Occasionally our host, with his mouth half full, grunts out an entreaty that wo should taste some particular delicacy, and in twenty minutes all is over. Iced rosewater is poured upon the fingers of each guest from a silver ewer, and he wipes them upon a delicately embroidered napkin. Aoout a tenth of what has been provided has been consumed by the party; the rest is removed and gobbled up with surprising celerity by the great tribe of hungry servants. Pipes are brought once more, but there is little or no conversation; the Persians say that "to talk after a good meal is tho act of an ill bred man or a fool." And then we get up and bid our hospitable friend good night. And as wo leave, we see that tho mysterious covered tray is being taken to the banqueting room, and wo know that our Icilow guests and our host will drink, smoko and gamble until an unholy hour in the morning.?Good Words. Von DIoltke at Grovelotte. The French artillery and mitrailleuses responded vigorously to tho Krupps, and with deadly effect, but as far as wo could see tho German left continued its advance and staff officers came up frequently to report that all was gomg on well at points hidden from our view. These reports were always made to the king first, and whenevor anybody arrived with tidings of tho fight wo clustered around to hear the news, Gen. Von Moltko unfolding a map meanwhile and explaining tho situation. This done, the chief of tho staff, while awaiting tho next report, would either return to a seat that had been made for him with some knapsacks, or would occupy the time walking about, kicking clods of dirt or small stones here and there, his hands clasped behind his back, his face pale and thoughtful. He was then nearly 70 years old, but because of his emaciated figure, the deep wrinkles in his face, and crow's feet about his eyes, ho looked even older, his appearanco boing suggestive of the practice of church asceticisms rather than of his well known ardent devotion to tho military profession.?Gen. Sheridan in Scribncr's Magazine. Peculiarities of tbo Aiuus. Inasmuch as there are no family names, no village, tribal, or national rights to be respected, there is nothing approximating to father right or mother right. Or perhaps it would bo more exact to say that, inasmuch as women are only recognized as servants throughout their whole lives, and as mothers as soon as they have reached the proper age; the personality of the whole family is sunk in tliat of the husband and father while lie lives. When he dies ho is at once and absolutely forgotten, and each surviving member of his family pursues an entirely separate course, in no way concerning himself about the others. If a muu dies and leaves a family of infant children, the care of them devolves upon the mother until tho eldest son reaches the ago of about 13; ' then he becomes lhe~heau of the j family. Female inheritance is utterly unknown, ;is would he expected in a society wherein women have no rights at all. If a man is so unfortunate as ; to leave no true heir,-or so careless as ! not to have adopted one, his property goes to his next younger brother, or i his ncaisst male relative, if he have no I brothers either by birth or adoption.? ' J. K. Goodrich in Popular Science . Monthly. Ho Ate 109 Oysters. Richard Austin, a retired New York broker, who lives in Broad street. Red Bank, boasted to Col. George McGoldrich, of Philadelphia, that the most succulent bivalvo in the world was the Shrewsbury oyster, and that ho could eat more of them than any Philadelphian for a wine and oyster supper of i twelve covers. Col. McGoldrich accepted the chal- j lenge, and both gentlemen, accompanied by ten mutual friends, came to Fair Haven, where the choicest "naturals" aro plucked from their beds in the Shrewsbury river. txt 11 n t* ?n tt vv unam uross, or Jbair Jtiaven, furnished the oysters; Police Justice Curchin acted as referee; Joseph H. | Taylor opened for Col. McGoldrich anu Charles Allen performed the samo operation for Broker Austin. 1 The latter called "quits" after swallow- : in# his ninety-ninth bivalve. The Philadelphian, who had already gotten away with 103, main- j tained that ho was just beginning to warm to his work. He ate half a dozen more to show his capacity for I Shrewsbury, and then the party en- ! joyed a feast at the expenso of Broker Austin.?Fair Haven (N. J.) Cor. New ; York Journal. The Locomotive Engineer'# Anxiety. The passenger runner's greatest con- 1 corn is to "make time." Some trains , are scheduled so that the engineinan j must keep his engine up to its very : highest efficiency over every furlong j of its journey in order to arrive at j destination on time. A little careless- j ness in firing, in letting cold water into the boiler irregularly, or in slack- I ening more than is necessary where : the right to the track is in doubt for a j few rods: these and a score of similar j circumstances may make five minutes' | delay in the arrival at the terminus | and necessitate an embarrassing inter- | view with the train master. A trip ] on a crowded line may involve watching for danger signals every quarter ! of a mile and the maintenance of such J high speed that they must be obeyed ! the instant they are espied in order to | avoid the possibility of collision. The passenger runner linds himself ; now and then with a disabled engine j on his hands, and two or three hun- i dred passengers standing around ap- ! parently ready to eat him up if he does ! not remedy the difficulty in short I order. Often in such cases he is in ; doubt himself whether the repairs nec- j essary to enable his cngino to proceed ! will occupy fifteen minutes or an hour. | This, with the knotty question of i where the nearest relief engine is, causes the brow to knit and the sweat to start, and to the young runner proves an experience which he long remembers. ?B. B. Adams, Jr., in Scribuer's Magazine. Nero aa an Orator. Nero, the Roman emperor, is, perhaps, best known by his celebrated performance on the lyre during tho burning of his capital, although this legendary episode is not mentioned by such historians as Tacitus. M. IIolleaux, formerly of the French school of Athens, who is making excavations "a la Schliemnnn" ip Bceotia for tho > f pWwh ?* m the sanctuary of Apollo Ptoios, or tho "Apollo of the Infernal Regions," which presonts the Roman tyrant in another light. Tho stone has engraved upon it what M. Ilolleaux calls "a genuine speech of Nero's," that is to say, one which was not composed for him, but uttered probably ex tempore when giving liberty to the Greeks. Nero plumed liimself, of course, on his versatility, and believed that he was an "all round" genius, able to compose, to make speeches, to act and to sing. The discovery of M. Holleaux may, perhaps, prove that the tyrant was a real artist in words at least, for, according to the learned excavator, the fragments of oratory found on the stone were couched in strong, sonorous and emphatic Greek.?Paris Cor. London Telegraph. Tho Young Emperor of Germany. The emperor, during these maneuvers, lias handled his. troops without tho slightest extraneous assistance that I could see, giving his orders quickly and sharply, and, as the events proved, with no reason to recall his words. I speak only of what appeals on the outside, and cannot say that he does not most anxiously consult every source of strategic knowledge on the eve of his sham battles. Of course he knows tho immense importance of impressing an army with the fact that its chief is a clear thinker, reaching his conclusions rapidly and applying them with immediate effect; and while all the world is recording his every motion in a spirit of not altogether friendly criticism, is it likely that he is going to furnish them the picture of a nominal military chief whose steps are only taken while leaning on the arm of an older servant??Poultney Bigelow in Army and Navy Gazette. The Cat's Quiet Nerves. Life has always something in reserve for tho cat. She is a mine ot resources, and in consequence she is ever serene and hopeful. Sho can endure all night exposures, the fatigue of the hunt, the unevenness of her diet. Eight extra lives, each 0110 compounded of similar exposures and fatigues and irregularities, are hers. How do I explain this? It is all due to her attitude toward tho world, to the composed state of her nerves, and this to her peculiarly blissful accomplishment, her purr. Herein is she strong against the onslaughts of time and the ingenuity of the small boy. Sho drinks, camel like, when fountains otter, sups wiin a quiet thrust of her claw through grasping fingers, nerved alike for deprivation and sudden attack by the quiet hour purred away by the kitchen fb*c. ?G. O. Shields in Harper's Magazine. Natural Gas Thut Kills. There is a peculiar spring neur Ashland, Ore., that emits gas that is sure death to all animated nature. At one time it was frequented by the Indians as the great medicinal depository, where ull diseases, no matter how complicated, were cured. Lizards, snakes and frogs die almost immediately when placed in contact with this peculiar gas. Thcro is a spring at Soda Springs. I. T., from which the water has ceased to run, but which emits a stream of carbonic acid gas, and ull about its orifice lie continually the bodies of birds which have been killed by the fumes.?Now York Telegram. Air from Steam Radiators. In speaking of artificial heat The Manufacturer and Builder says that it is a mistake to suppose that steam heat is any "moister" or in any way different from other kinds. Air warmed by passing over a steam radiator is in no way different from that wanned by a stove or hot air furnace. In fact, the air is more likely to he impure in a room heated by a hot air furnace, from which a current of fresh air is constantly flowing.?Rural New Yorker. Glycerine for Edged Tools. Carpenters and other tool users who keep up with the times are now using a mixture of glycerino instead of oil for sharpening their edged tools. Oil, as is well known, thickens and smears the stone. The glycerine may be mixed with spirits in greater or less proper- 1 tion, according as the tools to lie sharp- i encd are fine or coarse. For tin? aver- i age blade two parts of glycerine to one of spirits will sullice.?Chicago News. For the Yorkville Enquirer. REMINISCENCES OF WESTERN YORK. In 1850, old Mr. "Si" Henry sold his land to Mr. John (Jilfillen and wfcbt West with his family. We have alrtfedy said something of him in these reminiscence^. Mr. (rilfillon was a new comer into that neighborhood and was eccentric and rather a curiosity in that community. His first work was the pruning of theorchard. He scarcely left a limb on the trees in some places. He pulled down and rebuilt all the fencing with new rails, at the bottom closely notching them down, and making it "pig tight." He married Miss Faithey Hambright, who was a good woman, a daughter of the late Mike Hambright, of the King's creek section. Though a faithful wife, she didn't approve of John's "piddling" work. She was raised to work and had some good ideas as to how it should becarried on. I will, however, say that Mr. JohnOilfillen could come nearer cutting every head of wheat or oats than any man I ever knew to use a cradle and scythe for that purpose. ' Western York or no other section could beat him. We have known but very little about him since 1880. He was raised in the Sharon neighborhood. His father was an elder in that church, and held this position, I suppose, to the close of his life. As I have mentioned something about John's eccentricities, I will repeat some of thft stories frtlrl nn him .Tnhn J Wulio was passing one day after he moved to the Henry place. He had built a pig pen and was daubing the cracks to keep the chickens out. It was a cold, raw day and he had a bucket of water with a gourd or dipper in it. Through mere curiosity'Mr. YVylic (who, by the way, was fond of asking questions) wanted to know what he was doiug with the bucket of water, when Mr. Gilfillen told him that he wanted to cover the pig pen, and he was going to pour the water on the top and by this method he would be able to see where to dig the ditch. Mr. G. was a good singer and understood the old fa sol la system as well as any man we knew of who was not a regular teacher. Many times we have met him in the Blue Water neighborhood during the winter season where the singing would end with a dance. Henry Ramsay would generally be on hand with his fiddle. After singing awhile, the church members and children would sit up in the corner and make room for the dancers. The table and all other furniture that obstructed the formation of the "big ring" would be removed or set aside. Henry would draw the bow over the strings as a signal for the dancers to choose their "pardners." This was done and some one was delegated to "call out the cotillion." Sometimes when the frolic was not of an aristocratic nature it was called a "reel." Notwithstanding whisky could be found in almost any quantity in that section, it wasn't used as extensively as at the present day by young people, and seldom did we see anybody drunk except some old men who couldn't do anything else to make the occasion a success. i tvt ao Ativ uinrri nrru tirovu of hrtliaoa UUtllUtlUi^O UUI SlUglUgO VTUIW av UVH9VO where dancing wasn't permitted. In such cases the frolic ended in a play. On one occasion, at Uncle Wyatt Neal's, some horse drovers came in. One of thera was a very lean man. Martha Childers, a daughter of .Mr. >*?"*! ejpuuc iu 'lutig, .iMfwUng mnnncr. Our lean frlencbtoofchis seat upon the table to look at the pro- > ceedings. He was chewing tobacco and spitting on the floor, which Mrs. Neal didn't like, but was reluctant to remonstrate. Mrs. Childers said: M-a-m-m-a, e-x-c-u-s-e h-i-m; h-e h-a-s t-o c-h-e-w t-ob-a-c-c-o t-o r-e-d-u-c-e h-i-s f-l-e-s-h. j. l. s. Spelling.?It is marvelous, says the New Orleans Christian Advocate, how many persons there are who, reading every day, and writing very often, do not know how to spell a great number of very common words. We never knew how widespread was this deficiency until we came into the editor's chair. We get communications from all sorts of people?from col-. I loM.hro/! man and u/nmpn nnrl from those ICgg-UlVU w who never had other than "old field school" advantages, and the defect in spelling is found in both classes. If we were to print some communications as they are written, we would call down upon our head the fiercest tempest of indignation. It seems that people who read much ought to know how to spell by the eye. Books and newspapers?thanks to the proof-reader, with a dictionary at his side?generally have words spelled correctly; and a little practice of the eye in looking at the spelling ought to give correctness. Some excuse themselves on the ground of inattention. They know how, but they are so occupied with the thought that the spelling is a minor consideration. In answer to this, it is sufficient to say: A thought worth putt;~g on paper is worthy of a becoming dress. Others say, spelling is a natural gift, and cannot be acquired by everybody." A writer who has a dictionary can learn to spell any word in the English language. If a writer has no dictionary, | let him buy one before he writes again: We are inclined to think that a good deal of incorrect spelliug is the result of carelessness : and carelessness in anything is unpardonable. These thoughts have corae from the fact that we received the other day a communication from a writer who, for a large part of his life, has been a teacher, and who has been a constant con- ( tributor to the papers, using the word "laity" quite a number of times, and every time it was spelled wrong. If we had published it as written, the printer, proofreader and editor would have been pronounced a "set of solemn blockheads." We are not complaining, but simply setting forth the curious fact that many popular writers are deficient in orthography. Slamming Doors.?One of the rudest habits of ill-bred and thoughtless persons is that of slamming doors. Once I called with a friend upon a sick person whose nerves had become so painfully acute through suffering that noise tortured her. a screen door opened from her room to the hall, and as callers or members of the family passed in or out, a quick, sharp slam of the door followed close on their egress or ingress. The torture of the noise sent a spasm of pain across thesick woman's face, but she bore it uncomplainingly, thinking it more endurable than flies and mosquitoes, and no one had thought to lessen this annoyance, until my friend's kind heartand quick eye prompted and planned a remedy. She called for tacks and cotton, and making firm little cushions of the batting, tacked them up and uown the casing where the door would strike, and the sharp slam-ban^ was instantly soitenea as tne door swung to. The grateful language and glance of the sick woman made me wish that I, too, had eyes that could see ways to be helpful toward others. A Point in Manliness.?Learn to be a man of your word. One of the most disheartening of all things is to'be associated in an undertaking with a person whose promise is not to be depended upon?and there are plenty of them in this wide world, people whose promise is as slender a tie as a spider's web. Let your given word be as a hempen cord, a chain of wrought steel, that will bear the heaviest sort of strain. It will go far to making a man out of you; and a real man is the noblest work of God; not a lumpof moist putty, moulded and shaped by the last influence met with that was calculated to make an impression; but a man of forceful, energized, self-reliant, and reliable character, a positive quanity that can be calculated upon. BttT At a New York dinner one man gave his fork to another, with "Just stick that fork into that potato for me, will you?" His unneighborly neighbordid as requested, and left it sticking there. Argument will pull a wise man down to the level of a fool, but it never raises a fool up to the plane of a wise man.