Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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w ? lewis >i. grist, proprietor. J ?|ui Jndcpcndcnt ofaiiiiltj Jfteii'spapfr: ,tfor the promotion of the ?olitieat, js?otiat, glrjriailtural and Commercial Jntorcsts of the jsoutlt. J terms?$2.00 a year in advance VOL. 35. YOEKVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1889. NO- 18. J>clectd f iortrg. OUT IN THE COLD. Turned out in the somber twilight. Out into the bitter cold. And the pitiless sleet as it sweeps the street Is piercing her garments old. And the babe on her breast is crying. And her little ones, clustering 'round In a vague affright at the falling night. Are clutching her tattered gowv. For the rent was not forthcoming And how could the landlord wait, # And what did he know of her want and woo As early she toiled and late? He couldn't be losing his moneyIt's only the way of the world!? And why should he care if she crouches there 'Mid the storm king's wrath unfurled! She has sewed in the dawning sunrise. She has stitched in the gath'riug gloom. And her eyes have grown dim and her fingers thin As she worked tn her dreary room. But the pay was very meager. AiiU UiO IUUUU19 wen? UiUU/ in; uu, And the fatherly heart lay far apart In the grave yard on the hill. So she stands In the deep'ning darkness. And her tired and aching head Is throbbing with pain and the sad refrain Of her children's cry for bread. And she sees the laughing maidens v Ride past in their robes of fur, - AadtLooJtyb bright with its mansions to-night, But there's never a home for her. ^Nellie Booth Simmons. ihc l^torn idler. IN TWO HALVES THE FIRST HALF. Wet and dreary. It is midwinter; the scene is Kirklington, on the London and Northwestern; the time quarter to 11; just after the night mail had flashed through without stopping?bound for Liverpool and the north. The railway officials are collecting, preparatory to going off duty for the night "Where's Dan?' asked one of the crowd upon the platform. "I saw him in the hut -just after the quarter to 11 went through. Can'tJbave oomo to any harm, surely?' "No; he said he'd seen something drop from the train, and he went down the line to pick it up." And Dan had picked up something. It was a basket, a common white wicker basket, with a lid fastened down by a string. What did it contain? Dirty clothes? What? A baby?a child half a dozen weeks old, no more* "Where did you come across it?' asked .one. "Lying on the line, just where it fell. Perhaps it didn't fall, perhaps it was chucked out. What matter? I've got it, and got to look after it, that's enough for me! The little mite's linen was white and of fine material, but lay upon an old shawl and a few bits or dirty flannel. All they found was a dilapidated purse, * a common snap bag purse of faded brown leather. Inside was a brass thimble, a pawn ticket and the half of a Bank of England note of ?100. # * # * * A new parson?Harrold Treffry?had come lately to Kirklington. He is now paying a round of parochial visits, accompanied by an old college fihitm, who is spending Christmas with him. "Yonder," said Treffry, pointing to a thin thread of smoke which rose from eome gaunt trees into the sullen wintryair, "yonder is the house?if, indeed, it deserves so grand a name?the hovel, rather, of one whose case is the hardest ?f all the hard ones in my parish. This man is a mere hedger and ditcher, one who works for any master, most often for the railway, but who is never certain _ a job all the year around. He has a Swarm of young children, and has just lost his wife. Ho is absolutely prostrated; aghast probably at his utter incapacity to do his duty by his motherless little ones. I wonder whether you could rouse him. If you could only get him to make a sign, or cry, or laugh, or to take the smallest interest in common affairs. Jack, I believe you're. the verv man. Vrt,i n>!r,Vkf nt Ktm fKl-AllfrK tjio AVU UUXUV 5VV UU m Am ill VMM dren?that marvelous hanky panky of yours, those surprising tricks; a child takes to you naturally at once. Try and make friends with the^e. Perhaps when the father sees them interested and amused ho may warm a little, speak, perhaps approve, perhaps unile, and in tho end givo in. Jack, will you try? Jack New biggin was by profession a conveyancer, but nature had intended him for a new Houdin, or a wizard of the north. Ho was more than half a professional by the time ho was full grown. In addition to the quick eye and the facile wrist he had tho rarer gifts of the 6uave manner and the face of brass. He liad even studied mesmerism and clairvoyance, and could upon occasion surprise his audience considerably by his power. They entered the miserable dwelling together. The children?eight of them ?were all skirmishing over the floor, except one, a child of 0 or 7, a bright eyed, exceedingly beautiful boy, the least?wcro not nature's vagaries well knov, 'i?likely to be born among and belong to such surroundings, who stood between tho legs of tho man himself, who had his back to tho visitors, and was crouching low over the soanty fire. The man turned his head for a moment, gave a blank stare, then an imperceptible nod and once more he glowered down upon the fire. "Here, little ones, do you see this gentleman? He's a conjuror. Know what a conjuror is, Tommv?" catching up a mito of 4 or 5 from the door. "No, not you; nor you, Sarah; nor you, Jakey"? and he ran through all their names. They liad now ceased their gambols and were staring hard at their visitors? the moment was propitious; Jack Newbiggin began. Ho liad fortunately filled his pockets with nuts, oranges ana cakes before leaving tho parsonage, so ho had half his apparatus ready in hand. The pretty boy had very soon loft the father at tho fire and liad come ovor to 3oin in tho fun, going back, however, to exhibit his sharo of the spoil and doscribo voluminously what liaa occurred. Thb and the repeated shouts of laughter seemed to produce some impression on him. Presently he looked over his shoulder and said?but without animation: "It is very good of you, 6ir, surely; very good for you to take so kindly to the little chicks. It does them good to laugh a bit, but it ain't much as they've had to make 'em lately." "It is good for all of us now and again, I take it." said Jack, desisting and going towards him, the children gradually collecting in a far off corner and comparing notes. "You can't laugh, sir, if your heart's heavy; if you do it can be only a sham." While he was speaking ho had taken the Bible from the shelf, and resuming his seat began to turn tho leaves over. "I'm an untaught, rough countryman, sir, but I havo heard tell that these etrango thing3 you do ore only tricks; ain-tit so?" Hero was indeed a hopeful symptom. He was roused then to take some interest in what had occurred. "All tricks, of course; it all comes of practice," said Jack, as he proceeded to explain some of the simple p^cesses, hoping to enchain the man s attention. "That's what I thought, sir, or I'd have given you a job to uo. I've been in want of a real conjuror manv a long day, and nothing less'll do. See here, sir" ne said, as he took a small, carefully folded paper from between the leaves of the Bible, "do you 6ee this?" It was half a Bank of England note for ?100. "How, sir, could any conjuror help me to the otlier half?" "How did you come by it?" asked Jack at once. "I'll tell you, sir; short as I can make it. Conjuror or no conjuror, you've got a kindly heart, and I'm main sure that you'll help if you can." Dan then described how he had picked tip the basket from tho 10:45 Liverpool express. "There was the linen; I've kept it. Seo here; ull marked quite pretty and proper, with lace round the edges, as though its mother loved to make the little one smart." Jack examined the linen: it bore a monogram and crest. The first he made out to mean II. L*M., and tho crest was plainly two hammers crossed, and tho motto", "I strike"?not a common crest? and he never remembered to liavo seen it before. And was that all? "'Copt tho bank note. That was in a poor old purse with a pawn ticket and a thimble. I kept them all." Like a true detect!vo Jack examined every article minutely. The purse bore the name Hester Gorrigan, in rude letters inside, and the pawn ticket was out in the same name. THE SECOND HALF. When Jack Newbiggin got back to the parsonage he found that Ins host had accepted an invitation for them both to dine at the "big house," as it was* called, the country seat of the squire of the parish. "I have been fighting vour battles all day." began Mrs. Sitwell, the hostess, when seated at dinner next to Jack. "Was it necessary? I should have thought myself too insignificant." "They were talking at lunch of your wonderful tricks in conjuring, ana one said that the skill might prove inconvenient?when you played cards, for instance." "A charitable imputation; with whom did it originate?" "Sir Lewis Mallaby." "Please point him out to mo." He was shown a grave, scowling race upon the right of the hostess?a face like a mask, tho surface rough and wrinkled, through which tho eyes shone with a baleful light, liko corpse candles in a sepulcher. r,- Jack tet his oompaviion chatter on.- It was his habit to get all the information possible about any company in which he found himself, for his own purpose as a clairvoyant, and when Sirs. Sitwell flagged ho plied her with artless questions, and led her on from one person to another, making mental notes to serve him hereafter. It is thus by careful and laborious preparations tliat many of the strange and seemingly mysterious feats of the clairvoyant conjuror are performed. When the whole party were assembled in the drawing room after dinner a chorus of voices, headed by that of the hostess, summoned Jack to his work. T1 icro appeared to bo only one dissentient, Sir Lewis Mallaby, who not only did not trouble himself to back up tho invitation, but when the performance was actually begun vtfas at no pains to conceal his contempt and digust. Tho conjurer made the conventional plum pudding in a hat, fired wedding rings into Quartern loaves, did all manner of cara tricks, knife tricks, pistol tricks, and juggled on conscientiously right through his repertory. There was never a smile on Sir Lewis' face; he sneered unmistakably. Finally, with an ostentation tliat savored of rudeness, he took out his watch, a great gold repeater, looked at it, and unmistakably yawned. Jack hungered for that watch directly he saw it. Perhaps through it he might make its owner uncomfortable, if only for a moment. But how to get it into liis hands? Ho asked for a watch? a dozen were offered. N#, nope of these would do. It must be a good watch?a repeater. Sir Lewis Mallaby's was tho only one in tho room, and he at first distinctly refused to lend it. But 60 many earnest entreaties were addressed to him, the hostess leading the attack, that- ho could not in common courtesy continue to refuse. ' With something like a growl he took his watch off the chain ancf handed it to Jack Newbiggin. A curious, old fashioned watch it was, which would have gladdened the heart of a watch collector?all jeweled and enameled, adorned with crest and inscription?an heirloom, which had probably been in the Mallaby family for tmnyo lrw->IroH if- nwr OliriOllKl V. meditatively; theft, suddenly raising liis eyes, ho stared intently into Sir Lewis Mallaby's face and almost as quickly dropped them again. "This is far too valuable," he said courteously, "too much of a treasure, to be risked in any conjuring trick. An ordinary modern watch I might replace, but not a work of art like this." And he handed it back to Sir Lewis, who received it with ill concealed satisfaction. He was as much pleased, probably, at] Jack's expression of possible failure in the proposed trick as at the recovery of his property. Another watch, however, was pounded into a jellv and brought out whole from a cabinet in an adjoining room. "Oh, but it is too preposterous," Sir Lewis Mallaby was hoard to say, quite angrily. The continued applause profoundly disgusted him. "This is the merest charlatanism. It must be put an end to. It is the commonest imposture. These are things winch he has coached up in advance. Let him be tried with something wliich upon the face of it ho cannot have learned beforehand by artificial means." "Try him, Sir Lewis; try him yourself," cried several voices. "I scarcely like to lend mvself to such folly or encourage so pitiable an exliibition." But ho seemed to be conscious that fur * * ' 1-1 I - i- f uier protest; wouiu ue m uaus s iuyux, bo he said, "C;in you tell what I have in this i>ocket?" He touched the left breast of his coat. "A pocket book." "Bali! Every one carries a pockotbook in his pocket." "But do you?" asked several.of the bystanders, all of whom were growing deeply interested in this strange duel. Sir Lewis Mallabv confessed that he did, and produced it?an ordinary morocco lcadier purse and pocket book, all in one. ' Are you prepared to go on?" said the baronet, haughtily, to Jack. "Certainly." "What does this pocketbook contain?" "Evidence." "Evidence of what?" "Of facts that must, sooner or later, come to light." "What ridiculous nonsense! I give you my word that this pocket book contains nothing?absolutely nothing?but a Bank of England note for ?100." "Stay!" said Jack Newbiggin, facing liiin abruptly, and speaking in a voice of thunder. "It is not so?you know it?it is only the half!" And as he spoke ho took the pocketbook from tho hands of the really stupified baronet, ipid exhibited, for inspection?tho half of a Bank of England note for ?100. There was much applause at this harmless and successful denouement of what threatened at one stage to lead to altercation, perhaps to a quarrel. But Jack Newbiggin was not satisfied. "As you have dared me to do my worst," said he, "listen now to what I have to say. Not only did I know that was onlv tho half of a note, but I know where the other half is to be formd." "So much the better for me," said the baronet, with an effort to appear humorous. "That other half was given to?shall I say. Sir Lewis?" Sir Lewis nodded indifferently. "It was given to one Hester Corrigan, an olu nurse, six years ago." "Silence! Say no more," cried Sir Lewis in horror. Sir Lewis had been a younger son; the eldest inherited the family title, but died oarlv, leaving his widow to give him a posthumous heir, the title remaining in abeyance until time showed whether the | infant was a boy or a girl. It proved to | ue u [K_>y, wnereupuu u'wi,> luauuuy, \v xiu luwl tho first information of the fact, put into execution a nefarious project winch ho had carefully concocted in advance. A girl was obtained in a foundling hospital and substituted by Lady Mulluby's nurse, who was in Lewis' pay, for tho newly born son and heir. This 6on and heir was handed over to another accomplice, Hester Corrigan, who was bribed with ?100, half down, in the shape of a half note, tho other half to l>e naitl when sho announced her safo arrival in Texas with the stolen child. It occurred to Mrs. Corrigan in her transit between London and Liverpool that though ?100 would bo acceptable on her arrival, the child would be only an encumbrance. She thcreforo threw the basket containing him out of the window, forgetting that in it she had for safety deposited her purse. It was tho watch borrowed from Sir Lewis Mallaby which first aroused Jack's suspicions. It bore the same crest?two hammers crossed, with the motto, "I striko"?which was marked upon the linen of the child that Dan Blockitt picked up at Kirklington station. The initial of tho name Mallaby coincided with tho monogram H. L. M. From these facts and what we had been told by Mrs. Sitwell, Jack rapidly drew his conclu- j sions, and made a bold shot, which liit tho mark, as wo have seen. Lewis Mallaby's confession, combined j with that of Mrs. Corrigan, who was found by the police, soon reinstated the rightful heir, and Dan Blockitt in after years had no reason to regret tho generosity which had prompted him to give the little foundling the shelter of his rude home.?London Tld-Ilits. pfetrUancmiis grading. TOO INTENSE LIFE. DANGER, NOT IN STEADY WORK, BUT IN WORRY AND STRAIN Over Taxation of Brain and Physical Powers?Nervous Expenditure of Our Daily Lives?A Warning:?A Life That Should Bo Abandoned. Few of us realize how far we are over taxing not only the brain, but all the physicial powers, in the mere fact of keeping up our daily lives with the exactions of modern habits and demands. In order to maintain these habits and gratify these demands we exert ourselves to make money at a rate quite beyond our natural and normal powers; and then one day everything gives way onrl Hrani vt'f, rrn ar manV wrecks and ruins. This is perhaps inevitable from the fact of our newness as a country, and the unconsciously felt necessity of being equal with others in t&GLf&co where all have had a fair Btait, and so of leaving a family provided for. Future generations, when the social limits may have become more fixed, when it may be found all but impossible to make more money than the legitimate return for labor gives, will in a measure remedy this by making the ceaseless struggle under which we labor today unnecessary and fruitless then. Perhaps we shall then settle into the condition of people in the older countries who accept tneir fate, striving just to do their duty in it, and do not wear out their forces in furious haste to reach that wliich is unattainable without such wasto; and thus there may in time come a calmer and stronger race in consequence of the calmer modes of life, if indeed the nervous expenditure of the present do not hinder the continuance of any race a^ all. It is said that today we as a people distinny,* nf ?-ncii It nf wnrrv and 4AAV/AW vr* ViiV *vuv??v v " w? strain in our health than is shown by any other nation. The number of our dyspeptics may be known by the number of our patent remedies for dyspepsia which pay for their vast advertising and bring fortunes to their proprietors, while the frequency of apoplexy, of heart paralysis, of direct and indirect brain trouble and of disease of the kidneys, all of which are immediate effects of excessive mental exertion, is something really appalling. WHEN IT IS TOO LATE. The worst of it is that no one realizes the danger till the blow has fallen and the damage is done, and we go on in our ruinous courses, often without warning or advisement. People hesitate to lift more weight than can be lifted easily, because it will strain the muscles of the back injuriously and do mischief; they hesitate to run or walk greater distances than can bo comfortably accomplished, because it will tire the "muscles of the legs and give pain, and so in relation to much other physical exertion; they never seem to feel that as, according to Bichat, life is the totality of the functions, so all functions and all organs are to be regarded with equal care and concern; and thus they forget that to think, to plot and plan, and strive and fret and worry, tires and weakens both the brain and the heart, and puts' additional work on the kidneys, domg damage thut is more than permanent, inasmuch as it is fatal. When it is remembered how the heart shakes at any and every emotion of consequence, how it sinks with fears, and palpitates with desires, and 6tands still with loss and horror and defeat, it will be seen that lives of strong emotions and unceasing efforts and aspirations must have a great deal to do with the condition, of the heart. It is not steady and persistent work that does this. That, with fit intervals of rest, does injury to no one, but, on the contrary, is healthy, and in a way strengthening; it bringB no trouble of lieuts and colds, of beatings and boundings, no holding of the breath, no nervous starts, no dizzy pauses of expectation. ^ NOT WC5Z, BUT WORRY. It is not work, but it is worry , that does the harm; worry and strain and shock, whether sudden and vehement, or of long continued frequency, like a series of small repeated blows, the first of which is unnoticeable, the last of which is agony. The brain, however, would stand a great deal of strain, and even shock, it it wero not for its auxiliary, tho heart. The heart has by no means the vigor and elasticity and resource of tho other organ; sorrow and fear, suspense. anxiety, all rush at once with their burdens and blows to the heart; and great joys, great succossos and triumphs, act just us strenuously as shocks upon that delicato organ, enfeeble it, and prevent it from feeding the brain till it is impoverished, or from relieving that brain again of its overcharged load till it becomes congested. It seems strange that from this overtax of the heart insomnia and insanity, paralysis and apoplexy, and even mortal kidney trouble, can be developed; but such is the alarming truth, while dyspepsia and hysterics and affairs of that sort, which, without being exactly fatal, yet are enough to make life a burden, are too frequently the consequence to be more than spoken of; for when the heart once becomes enfeebled every other organ of the body is in dungor, although "by means of strength some come to four score" in spite of it. It follows, then, that a life where tho individual feels himself subjected to heart beating excitements, to Shock and strain and struggle, or to the too intense thought which hums tho blood in th? brain, is a life at onco to be abandon^. And there is no mistake about it, for if wo do not abandon such a life as that it will in a very short 6pace of time abandon us.?Harper's Bazar. SHOES IN CHICAGO. Pl*?*+ ? !*?? n nonlrtw^ottimr I?'it?SllOCA of Today. I walked into one of the principal shoe stores on Madison street where shoos tiro sold on something like scientific ideas, and whero the proprietor talked with a sort of philosophy on feet and shoes far above tne ordinary merchant. "Americans," he said, "pay more attention to their feet than they used to. This being the case, tho man who caters to the comfort of the feet must make a study of the same. When you and I were boys we bought shoes in which our j toes came out to the end of tho shoe? right against the end. We also bought, or our fathers did, according to the price. No intelligent dealer in ^lioes today will ever sell u customer a pair of shoes against tho end of which tho toes will bo forced. The shoe of today?that is, the I common sense shot?is always longer j than the fuut. Tho stylish shoe is long : and narrow. No lady who lias any re- ; gard for her comfort, to say nothing | about her pride, will over wear anything oluo )li!in u Inmr Jlwl tiiirrfiVV slum We are now making a cheap shoe on the same principle. I suppose you know that m England an American is generally known by the kind of shoe he wears. The English wear wide shoes?men and women alike. .Some folks think this is done because the English do so much more walking than we Americans. That is not it. It is habit. They don't take the same pains with their feet in the old country that we do over here. 1 do not know of any nation that does. "Somebody asked mo the other day what sizes were mostly worn in Chicago. My answer rather surprised him. I said 8's and 4's, and more 4's than 3's. He got off the idiotic talk about Chicago women's feet that you lind in newspapers of rivul cities. The same thing is true of every American city in this ago of the world. In some sections of the country children used to run in their bare feet more than they do now. I should say thut with ladies a No. 4 is the most generally worn?I won't say called for?shoe in the market. No. 2's, ladies' sizes, you understand, are not much worn, although called for frequently. That is another tiling you hear a great deal about in a funny way. I never deceive a customer about las or hor number if the question is asked. But when a lady comes in and says to one of the young men that she wants a No. 2, he looks at her foot, if ho can do so without giving offense, and proceeds to lit her. "I must say for the intelligence of the average woman that this sort of nonsense is not indulged in so much now as formerly. The intelligent woman comes in and says she wants to be fitted, at the same time putting up one foot to the salesman. Wo don't go as much on numbers as we did twenty years ago. Wo lit the shoo to the foot, and when wo have clone that it makes precious Utile difference to the wearer what the number is or whether the last is 'doublo A' or 'doublo E.' You know, of course, that 'double A* is a narrow last and 'double E' a very wide last. The widths become wider as the letters run down. The French heel is not worn as much as it was. It is a good thing it is not. No woman's foot over looked so well in a 6hoe with a French heel. The half Fronch heel is a popular one. "The shoes of today," he continued, "aro smaller tlian they were twenty years ago. That is saying that the feet are smaller, of course. That is so, especially with Americans, I don't mean by that that feet aro becoming actually smaller. But they aro becoming educated, so to speak. Better care is given them in every way. An intelligent dealer fits the foot to the shoe. "I told you that the tendency is to long shoes. This does not apply to shoes worn on tho stage, which are always short. There is more taste displayed in the shoo for the parlor now than there used to be. mi _ i. j_ :c ?i.? re 1 ia. J.OO 1UUY OI lassie, U SHU LU.I1 uuuru 11, VI course, has a pair of 6hocs to match each dress. One of the prettiest shoes for evening is the undressed kid, orange shade, especially if the dress is of black 'silk or satin. One of the most stylish things wo know of in this line is a lavender. It is exceedingly rich and cost* $20. "?Chicago Times. English Women's Lovo for Dogs. An English woman would not bo Men in the company of her young children. As soon as f.ney are born she hands them over to almost any hired, ignorant and uneducated woman, who may bring them up in their tender and most impressionable years according to her own ideas of life. To such women are intrusted the feeding, dressing and general care of the future leaders m the social and politicul world. The mother "visits" them once a day for a few minutes in the rooms set apart for them at the top of the house, and dreary rooms they sometimes are. The mother, however, will take a dog and fondle it, tlnd seldom bo seen without it. She will walk with it when she would not walk with her own children, and she must have the snapping, pampered little beast beside her m her bedroom, in her boudoir and in her carriage, and 6he will keep no lady's maid who will not as carefully tend this dog, wash and comb it daily, caress it and take it for its daily walk. In fact, the English adoration of dogs is only to be compared to the ancient Egyptians' adoration of cats, though I marvel much if these latter ever put them in the place of their children. But I conclude that this love in the English is hereditary. In the bone caves of their Briton ancestors is there not to be found a confused mingling of the bones of human and animal life of ages and ages ago? It is possible that in those days they worshiped the horse and dog, as their descendants now do in another sense, living with them and adoring them at the samo time.?Edith Abell in Boston Transcript. A Famous Telegraph Operator. "I reipember," said Mr. Somers, a Western Union electrician "when we first began reading by Bound. The first man I ever saw or heard try it was Jimmy Leonard. It was in an onice on the old National line. It was like everything else new?looked ppon by the management with suspicion. Leonard soon picked it up, but he didn't dare let the superintendent know it. The superintendent was named Speed, and he had said that reading by sound was all bosh and he didn't want any such nonsense in any of his offices. Leonard was working on this principle all the while, however, when Sliced wasn't around. After it became known that such a thing was possible and that it was advisable to adopt it, Speed went to Leonard and asked him if he could do it. Leonard said ho couldn't. Speed thought he might learn and give him the benefit of his judgment. Leonard was afraid to learn too uuuriuy, iui iiu was* nut tu unu that Speed was not trying to catch him. By degrees he unfolded the secret and finally Speed gave in. "Leonard was one of the most remarkable operators I ever knew," continued Mr. Somers. "He was tlio only man I ever knew who could send a messago with one hand while at the same timo he could receive from another lino with his other hand. Ho died down south not long ago. When the old time telegraphers met hero they raised money and had his remains brought back to Louisville, his old home, and put to rest among his kindred."?Chicago Times. . Loudon's Growth of Population. When the population of England in 1801 was under 0,000,000 that of London was 958,803. The capital and the kingdom havo grown together, but the former has always grown faster, so that while England (including Loudon) mounted from nearly 9,000,000 in 1801 to nearly 20,000,000 in 1881, London grew from 058.8G3 to 3,810,483 in 1881. Iondon more than quadrupled its people, while England (including London) did not quito triple it; England (excluding London) advanced in a still smaller proportion, and it will be seen that England, excluding all its big towns, exhibits a still feebler advance. But note this point about London: its limits increase. If we had a series of maps shaded so as to show the population we should see the black central spot of London getting bigger and bigger? tho wen which Cobbett detested and denounced?growing more and inoro portentous in Bizo, out though the black spot grew bigger, yet its center grew lighter and lighter; and by tbo center is not meant tliat strictly limited area called the city, but something more like what London was when the century be fan. xaiic, in iacc, me area occupiea y the mass of those 938,80b who constituted the population of London in 1801, and fewer persons will bo found living upon it, while around it lies a widening nng, growing blacker as the center whitens. While, however, London has grown so enormously in population and in so great a proportion compared with the rest of the kingdom, its rate of increase has not been at all commensurate with that of many provincial towns, nor lias it been equal to that of tho towns of England as a whole.?Nineteenth Century. Mr. Astor's Kipcnglvo Yacht. Within a stone's throw of a South Brooklyn pier recently were fifteen yachts, sloops and schooners, little and big. They represented ?1,000,000 of capital. Tho highest priced was Mr. Astor's big 373 feet long steum yacht Nourmahal, which lay looming up liko ah ocean stoamer. Tho Nourmahal cost ?300,000, and Mr. William Astor, her owner, uses her for about throe months in tho year; the other nine months sho lies idle. The expense of running this leviathan toy is $6,000 per month. Bv the necessary expense is meant the cost of fuel and the wages and keep of her crew. What Mr. Astor spends in entertainments, etc., on board, of course nobody knows but himI self. The expense, therefore, of keeping the Nourmuhul for a year, outside of her owner's personal expenditures,is: Interest on money invested, $16,000; expenses for time she is in commission. $16,000; repaire, etc., each spring. alx>ut $5,000; total. $41,000. From these figures It j would be easy to estimate how much the yacht would cost to keep should she be in commission the year round. About $100,000 a year would just about covor it. Even Mr. Astor, with all his wealt h, could j scarcely nlford this, and so tlio Nourmahal lies idle most of the time.?Brooklyn Eagle. Let Your Work Talk. Mr. Bok says, in his Literary Leaves, published in Tlio New York Graphic, I that an editor of one of the great magazines said to him, in reply to his question, j "Are personal introductions helpful to : young authors?" "Don't go to a friend who knows the ; editor and get a letter of introduction; it will bore the friend, the editor and j eventually yourself. If you suggest the value of a 'friend at court' remember that the editor has met this scheme a thousand time3. It means that you ask ; him to rnako an exception of your case ; against his judgment, and this annoys I liim to begin with. If you want to sell a iirm a bill of goods you do not feel that you need a letter of introduction to the buyer, and an editor is in exactly this : position of one who is always buying what ho thinks is salable." There is a good deal of truth in this ' advice of tlio magazine editor. Tlio author's best friend or his worst enemy j is his manuscript. That should be his letter of introduction without anypre, lirainary flourishes in tho shape of actual letters of introduction.?Tho Epoch. For the Yorkville Enquirer. REMINISCENCES OP WESTERN YORK. Many years ago, ah old gentleman by the name of E|enry Moore lived on the Pinckney road, near Bullock's Creek Churchi He was a wagon-maker by trade. He couldn't speak plainly; in fact, he could scarcely be understood by his nearest neighbors and best acquaintances. In sight of his house, and just across the branch, lived Uncle Sam Feemster. Uncle Sam had a lot of boys as I full of mischief''as egg* are full of meat." Capt. "Lige" (one of them) is still living, near Yorkville. The boys, in common with others in that section, knew how to have a little fun with old man Moore. Taking a few old hens, they went to Mr. Moore's one dark night and near his hen house made the hens begin to squall. This aroused the old man, I who cauie to the doer with his gun | in his hand. The boys would choke the hens so as to prevent them from making any noise until the old man went back into the house, and then they would begin agaiq. This was kept up ttor some time, tintil the old man be|^he ti^d^j^} began to On another occasion, some one had borrowed the old man's gun, when his nocturnal visitors tried to have fun at his expense. This time he made a break for what he thought was chicken thieves and fell over the chicken coop, the pretending chicken thieves with their arms full of squalling old hens scattering in every direction. The old gentleman, finding himself powerless to do anything, gathered himself up as quickly as possible and yelled at the top of his voice: "Go-uck, go-uck; goggomuck, go-uck." If anyone failed tounderstand him, he would get angry. He lived there for a long time, and perhaps until he died ; but I lost sight of him in 1853 or 1854. This old gentleman with his wife, or daughter, was a regular attendant at Rev. Wm. B. Davis's church, at Bullock's Creek. I don't know whether they were members of that church or not. There ???* ? onln furA in fKft famtllT Ulhon WCIOUIIIJ UIU IVTUIU UIU JUUIWJ VTdVU I knew them. Atone time Mr. John Davidson, who lived at Bullock's Creek, had a cow to stray off and was gone for some days. Passing near Uncle Ned Feemster's mill, he found what be thought to be his stray cow and started to drive her home. It happened, however, to be Mr. Moore's cow. To drive the cow home Mr. Davidson had to pass Mr. Moore's. Driving the cow along, she turnpd into the pen at Mr. Moore's, and Mr. Davidson thinking it his cow (as they were both just alike) drove her out of the pen and into the road leading to his place. Mr. Moore saw him and planted himself in the road to dispute the right of Mr. Davidson to the cow. Mr. Davidson couldn't understand what Mr. Moore said (or rather attempted to say) but drove the cow on without noticing him. The old man Moore became iidignant at Such an outrage on the part of one of his best neighbors. One of the Feemster boys was present, enjoying the fun. Mr. Davidson would ask Feemster what Mr. Moore said, and consequently Feemster became the interpreter. Mr. Moore said that his cow was like Mr. Davidson's, but her bdll had no clapper in it. Mr. Davidson said it was his, and he thought she had lost I it opt since leaving home. So after Mr. Feemster had as much fun as he wanted out of the two old men he interfered and settled the dispute, as he knew both cows in question. J. Ii. S. FACTS FOR THE PUBLIC. As is usual at such times the discussion of the recent tragedy at Charleston has produced in different parts of the State a number of surmises, rumors and questions, some the results of malice, some of idleness and others of ignorance,, which can be most effectually answered by a plain statement of facts. These facts are not revelations; they are known to all who have been in position to learn of them or who have enquired. They are given here without request or authority from anybody and only because their publication is justified by the circumstances. There is no mystery, nothing hid or to be hid in the matter to the min-! ute of Captain Dawson's entrance into Dr. McDow's office. The young woman who was the cause of the murder was found in Switzerland, tfe believe, three or four years ago by lady members of Captain Dawson's family. She was living with her parents and was, and is, of I good character and position. There is no evidence to indicate that even recently she has been guilty of anything worse than imprudence. Her services were engaged because she spoke French welT and had the other qualifications for a governess. Captain Dawson was a master of that language and had been at much pains to have it used in his family fluently and in its best forms. The young woman is rather a fine looking person, but not especially noticeable in any respect, and her relations with the family were those usual to her position. She was an inmate of Capt. Dawson's household and without friends, kin or protectors in this country. He was responsible for her safety and her association with his family gave him a double reason for protecting her from associations and preventing her from conduct likely to injure her character. She met Dr. McDow, whose residence was around the corner from Captain Dawson's and within a stone's throw of it, in a street car and strolled with him in an unfrequented portion of the city, but in broad daylight and under the eyes of any who chose to see. It was natural that the facts should rqach Captain Dawson and he should immediately act, first to learn if what he had heard was true and next todeal with the man?a married man notorious for debauchery. There was no concealment or mystery. The simplest and most direct methods were used. The Chief of | Police was informed of what Captain Dawson had heard and requested to give his help in learning the truth. When he had investigated and reported, the next?and surely the most natural?step was to apply the remedy by the endeavor to break off' a connection which threatened the character and life of the woman. Captain Dawson's habits of life were usually as regular as clock work. He had his time for reaching <V\n loQTjinn1 if fnr /linnnr 1113 1VS1 lUdviii^ iv iui uiuuvi] for returning and forgoing home at night and they were varied only by special pressure of work. Probably five days in the week he rode down town in the same car and rode home to dinner in the same car and five nights in the week he would be found sitting on the pedestal of a pillar of St. Michiel's Church, waiting for the last car from the battery to Kutledge Avenue. He called at Dr. McDow's office in the course of his daily routine, having started to his hoiiie for dinner at his usual hour and walking only a few steps out of his way to make the visit. All the circumstances and surroundings forbid the idea that he went there for any purpose other than to request that the attentions to his governess should cease and to warn against their continuance. lie had been warned by the chief of police that McDow was a dangerous man. Yet he went unarmed and unprepared for combat of any kind, wearing his glove, as was his habit, carrying the same light walking stick he always carried. It is to be remembered, too, that Captain Dawson was an eloquent and consistent upholder of the law as the proper | remedy for all grievances. In the j last seventeen years of a life in j which personal grievances were frequent, he had steadily adhered to the principle of defending himself when attacked, but declining to seek difficulties with any man and regulating his conduct by the requirements of law. With an array of friends around him, with scores of men ready to follow him anywhere at his lightest request, it is inconceivable that he would have gone alone and unarmed to seek a personal difficulty with a dangerous man in that man's own house. lie was a brave man and an impulsive one, but he had had a day to consider this matter and to prepare i himself for any emergency likely to result from the interview he intended to have. All the circumstances indicate that he did not suppose the affair would detain him ten minutes and that when he stepped from the street car he thought he would be at his home after that slight delay. They establish, we think, to the satisfaction of any impartial mind that his action throughout was faultless and prudent and such as would be taken by any quiet gentleman mindful of his responsibilities and. having proper care for the well being of his family. It is well to remember that Captain Dawson was a powerful man physically, light on his feet and clever with his hands?a man who a few years ago had a fancy for sparring and who proved himself with the gloves a formidable opponent for the best and strongest boxers. If he had made a premeditated assault on Dr. McDow or had been provoked to assault him he. would have left his mark too plainly for doubt; if those powerful nervous hands of his had taken a grip of collar or throat their hold would not have been readily relaxed or easily shaken off. We do not seek to strengthen the public sentiment against the man we believe to be a miserable, venomous assassin. Hp is pntitled to a fair trial by unprejudiced minds. But we believe we have the right to express the belief, and to review the circumstances supporting it, that Captain Dawson's conduct throughout was that of a manly, honest, clean man ; that he did only what his duty required him to do; that his action was open and fair as daylight and that there is not one fact in all the record of a life lived under closer and fiercer scrutiny than most men undergo or in all the circumstances of this affair, from beginning to end, on which to base a suspicion to the contrary.?[Greenville News. COURAGE IN THE PULPIT. I One of the most imperial and indispensable qualities for a Christian pulpit is courage. The preacher should be quick to see the right, should be in ardent sympathy, with it, and should dare to proclaim it. We do not hesitate to declare that it is far less deplorable for a preacher I to be suspected of lack of what is commonly understood as "ability," than to be suspected of a lack of courage. But courage is one form of ability. He who has "the courage of his conviction" is, so far at least, a man of real and effective ability. Just what do we mean by courage? Some time ago we heard Dr. Lorimer, of Chicago, tell us about his preaching a sermon against card playing in the homes of Christians. The next Sunday he noticed that a leading member of his congregation was absent from his accustomed place. But his wife was present. "Where's the Colonel to-day?" inquired Dr. Lorimer, after the services. "Oh," said the lady, "he didn't like what you said last Sunday, and thinks that if you have got so notional that you can't allow a man to play cards, he doesn't want to hear you preach any more!" "Well," said Dr. Lorimer, "I guess you may tell him that if he has got so notional that he can't allow a preacher to speak his convictions, he will have to stay away; but tell him I'm sorry?for him; he will lose a good many things that he ought to hear /" But, says some one, I)r. Lorimer is a very able man, and can do such things, when a young man, for instance, cannot. But a good part of the Chicago preacher's ability lies in this very courage. People like him for it; where one fool {we use the term in the Scriptural sense) will flare up and run because hit, scores will applaud and take, with more or less gratitude, the raps which their sins and . ollies invite. There is nothing in the pulpit to day, or in any day, that the people can more admire and "run after," than courage, combinedwith good hard sense. General Clinton B. Fiske tells of a young preacher who had just been sent to a new charge, and was warned that a wine merchant, who occupied a chief seat in the synagogue, contributed fifty dollars to the stipend, so he was to deal gently with the drink question. "No, sir," was the reply; "let's begin fair. Take fifty dollars off my salary; I want to get a shot at that pew." He got his shot at the pew, and it is said that he got his fifty dollars too. Assuming that good sense characterized his conduct and speech, as it evidently did, he presented an example of the courage that is desirable in the pulpit.* Klunf avliAnfrit* nnrl ofroin?lif. mat uiuui anu oviui^uvout hitter of hard blows, Sam Jones, speaks the truth in the following: "The greatest blessing God ever bestowed on a church is'a good preacher that is afraid of neither man nor devil. The greatest blessing God ever bestowed upon a preacher is a membership that will stand up to his side when the blasts of the mouths of a thousand cannon are belching in their faces." From Sara Jones to John G. Whittier may be a long stride in some respects?for instance, as to form of utterance ; but we take it, and quote the following from the Quaker poet: (iod's true priest is always freeFree the needed truth to speak, Right the wrong and raise the weak. ?[Morning Star. TURNED OVER ONLY FOR LADIES. "Can't you turn over this seat for me?" asked a man who was traveling with his little boy on a train going out of New York on one of the trunk lines'. The question was ad| dressed to the brakeman, who seemed endowed with good nature above the average of his class. That he was in a cheerful frame of mind was shown by the pleasant smile as he answered: "Sorry, sir, but I can't do it without the conductor's permission." On the conductor's next trip through the car the same question was put to him. "No," he replied; "it's against the rules to turn over a seat for a gentleman. If you had a lady with you it would be all right." "Can't you do it for a little boy !" queried the passenger, pointing to his traveling companion. "No, that wouldn't do." "How long has that been the rule?" was the next question. "About six weeks." "What made the company make such a rule?" "Because the men would put their feet on the seats. There were ten coaches spoiled that hadn't been out of the shops more than two months; there were big black spots of grease and shoe blacking on the cushions, and, of course, they had to be fixed over again. The company couldn't stand that sort of thing, and they decided to shut down on the whole business. I have no doubt you would treat the seat all right, but we have to enforce the rule against all alike. Ladies can still have the seats turned over." HANDWRITING. One of the most interesting persons in England is Mr. Inglis, an expert in handwriting. Havinggiven himself to this business for more than forty years, his skill in detecting fraud is so great that there is scarcely a single contested will-case, turning upon the handwriting of testator or witnesses, in which he is not called upon to testify. He is a quiet gentleman, but he has a fund of stories at his command which a novelist would prize?stories of mysterious disappearances, murders, forgeries ajid concealment, which have been unrav eiieci or detected ny tne stuuy 01 a few strokes of the pen. One of these curious facts will snow the nature of this expert's profession. A miser by the name of Whalley died a few years ago, leaving his property, worth seventy thousand Sounds to two men who had nursed im during his last illness. Asthese men had no especial claim on the miser, his relatives contested the will on the ground of forgery. The document was shown to Mr. Inglis, who declared the signature to bo genuine, but the will Itself to be a forgery. By the use of a powerful microscope, he discovered marks in the paper of previous writing, and after long and patient study, he told the court and jury in the case his opinion. "I find," he said, "that the deceased probably wrote this will with a lead pencil. Now a lead pencil will always leave a furrow in the paper, no matter how carefully the lead pencil marks may be removed. When he had written the body of the will, and was ready to sign his name, I think the lead pencil broke. And this is my reason for thinking so. "The signature of Mr Whalley is undoubtedly his own. When the lead pencil broke, it is my opinion that another person supplied Mr. Whalley with pen and ink. He signed his name. Then the two nurses rubbed out the will which was written with the lead pencil, and rewrote this present will with ink, substituting their own names in the place of those originally written by Mr. Whalley. "The whole thing was very skillfully done, but, gentlemen, the marks of that lead pencil are to be seen on the paper, and this will is undoubtedly a forgery, although the testator's own signature is attached to it." The facts of the case actually proved to be exactly as Mr. Inglis stated them. One of the two forgers is now in prison; the other confessed the forgery. Mr. Inglis says: "Experts in this work are the growth of years ; but I do not think you can make an expert, though you may train him up to a certain point. "Suppose I have two documents to compare, to fint^ out whether they were written by one and the same person. I study the most minute particulars of each paper in turn, the junction of the letters, the slopes, the size of the letter and of the lines, the loops and the points. "I then make out a report on sheets of tracing paper, fastened to a white surface, on which are shown loop for loop, letter for letter, habit for habit, in one column the false writing, in the other the real handwriting, of the person suspected. To each of those is attached in red ink, for facility of recognition, the letter, two numbers in the form of a fraction, say a 3, the 2 showing the line in the document from which it is taken, the 3 indicating the word where the 4a' is, in which I detect a similarity. And in this way the whole problem is worked out. "There are some peculiarities about handwriting which an expert must take into consideration, or he will blunder in coming to a decision. A servant, for example, is very apt to imitate the writing of his master. A private secretary will often fall, unconsciously, into the style of his chief. If twenty young ladies are orliipatori of. the qnrriA srhnnl. and taught writing by the same master, their handwriting will have much in common. "Then again, the fact that a signature is seen under the microscope to be cramped or tremulous is no indication of a forgery, because thousands of genuine signatures are signed every day by men who are excited, or nervous, or even drunk at the time. The expert must remember all this, and a hundred details besides. "In the famous TicHborne trial, the comparison of different letters played a large part in deciding who was the right claimant to the English property. It may be said that the final disposition of thousands of pounds turned upon the writing of certain letter l's, which were made with too sharp a turn at the top." On the Bight Side.?The world is ready 10 Jaugn at tne man vvno boldly defends a principle, but there ?:e also many people who will admire him for it. Humanity in general is not so bad that it can never applaud a righteous decision, even when its own side is thereby worsted. A certain lieutenant-colonel of cavalry was noted for his profanity, but one day he met with a deseryed rebuke. Gen. Custer was with him, when he rode up to a sergeant of the guard in his regiment, and swearing at him furiously, ordered him to attend to a matter that had been neglected. The man folded his arms and stood at bay, looking the officer squarely in the eye. "Do you hear me?" said the colonel, with anotheroath, 41 Why don't you do as I tell you? 44When I receive a proper order, I shall obey," said the soldier firmly. "The articles of war forbid you to address me in the language you have used." "Gen. Custer laughed, with a keen appreciation of the state of affairs. "He's got got you there!" he said to his subordinate. The colonel at once changed his bearing, and apologized with a very manly frankness. "Sergeant," said he, "you are right, and I apologize. I should not have addressed you as I did." Then he gave his orders, the man touched his cap respectfully, and turned away to fulfil the command. The colonel, moreover, had risen many degrees in the estimation of his soldiers. A Curious Custom.?On an island in Terra del Fuego there is a fair division of labor between the men and the women, but one curious custom exists. The men make and fit up the canoes, but the women are the rowers. The result is that the women are good swimmers, but the men cannot swim at all. The reason is, that often on the coast there is not a single tree to which to fasten the canoes. The women, therefore, after landing their husbands, have to row the canoes to a spot where sea-weed has been massed together, in order to moor the canoes thereon ; after which operation they are compelled to swim out for it and row back for their husbands. IIohson's Choice.?Did you know that this familiar phrase, "Hobson's choice," preserves the memory of a very good and useful man ? Thomas Hobson was born in 1/344 ; he was for sixty years a carrier between London and Cambridge, conveying btters and packages, also passengers. In addition to his express business, he had a livery stable and let horses to the University students. He made it a rule that all the horses should have, according to their ability, a proper division of work and rest. They were taken out in regular order, as they stood, beginning with the one nearest the door. No choice was allowed, and if any man refused to take the one as signed him he might go without any. That or none. Hence the phrase, "I-Iobson's choice." In the spring of 1630, the plague broke out in England. The colleges * of Cam bridge were closed, and among i the precautions taken by the author- j ities to prevent infection, Hobson was forbidden to go to London. He died in January, 1631, partly, { it is said, from anxiety and fretting 1 at his enforced leisure. Hobson was 1 one ofthe wealthiest citizens of Cam- i bridge, and did much for the benefit I of the city, to which he left several ' legacies. His death called forth I many poems from members of the < University, officers and students, < among them two by the poet Milton, when a student at Christ's College.? ] fWide Awake. i Lost Property.?It is decidedly 1 embarrassing to look for one's purse, 1 and find only an empty pocket, but 1 there are occasions when the sense of loss becomes even more serious. < A lady from one of the suburbs of a i city walked into town, trundling her i baby in a carriage, aud looking into 1 shop windows asshesauntered along. < Before a milliner's display, which i was particularly resplendent, she j stood for a long time, looking at the ] bonnets. Then she started on her j way across the street, still pushing i the carriage before her. j On the other corner a grocery man, s who stood in front of his store with a I Keck measure in his hand, said to er, "Aint you dropped somethin', I ma'am ?" i "Why,, no, I think not. What | makes you ask ?" < "Nothin' only you seemed to be I shovin' that baby-carriage kind o' i careful like, as if there was somethin' : in it, and there ain't nary baby : there!" "Oh mercy!" screamed the lady. She looked into the carriage. It was empty. No one can tell how soon she might have fainted, if she had not heard a cry from the other side of the street. The baby had amused himself, while she was gazing at bonnets, by climbing down from the carriage and moving on to the next store. He was restored safe and sound, to his place. Hope fob Better Things.?Mr. Lincoln was an early settler in Springfield, 111., and used to tell same spicy stories about pioneer life in that locality. He said there i were at first in that flourishing town three regular orthodox churches, a Methodist, a Baptist, and a Presbyterian, and all were getting along i swimmingly when suddenly a Universalist preacher made his appearance upon the scene and held his meetings in the court house. He was a young man of talent, and soon made such progress in winning people over to his views as to alarm the i regular ministers, who in view of the danger held a consultation, and agreed to take>turns in preachingthe Universalist fellow down. It fell to the lot of the Methodist brother to open the war, and a large congregation was assembled to hear what he had to say. H: began his discourse in the usual oil-hand way by announcing that the moral condition of Springfield was good, and that religion was prospering there; but of late there had come among them, in the guise of a preacher of the gospel, one who openly taught that there is no hell, and thatall men are to be saved. "But, my brethren," said he, "let us hope for better things." 19* When Columbus was on his his first voyage of discovery, and was approaching the shores of the New World, he was steering straight ahead toward the Florida coast; but at that time a flock of sea-birds flew across the track of his vessel. "Me thinks," said one of his men, "that there is a sign from heaven. Something tells me we ought to follow the track of these birds." Columbus partook of the same superstition, and turned his keel. In doing so, he turned, in some sort, the destiny I of two continents. He turned the ; whole course of modern history. : And if, in shaping the future of a continent down the long centuries in its customs, laws and language, there is a Providence that guides the sea birds in their flight, will you not believe that in our personal history, as he leads us and ripens us for heaven, not a sparrow falls on the ground without your Father? ?[E. H. Sears. Frugal.?Forethought is sometimes learned at the expense of bitter experience. A soldier writes: In the fall of 1864 we were in West Tennessee, on short rations. Our regiment had been fighting hard. One day Capt. G and myself sat eating beans and coffee, when a " ?"?11 <Vvll aIaaa f a a?i?? f Aai? \\7 a SUCH 1CJ1 CJLISOC 11/ UUi Itui-uvuit IT v could see the blue smoke curliDg from its fuse. The captain at once clapped his hat over our coffee and beans, and went down under the table, while I went under our bunk. With a fearful report, that shell burst, covering everything about us with sand. Jumping up, the captain took the hat off from over the beans, put it on his head, sat down, and finished his eating, remarking, "Rations are too scarce to lose any by foolishness." A good story is told about one 1 of the Maine Central engineers, says the Bangor Commercial. Last sura- 1 mer when the Vanderbiltcar was at 1 Bar Harbor the. manager of the Maine Central sent an engine down there to take it to Portland. The ' run was made in very quick time, 1 and at Brunswick the train stopped to take on water. While there Mr. Vanderbilt got out and said to the engineer that he didn't want him to drive so fast. The engineer, the : veteran Simpson, looked at him a quarter of a minute, and then said: "I am running this train under J orders from Payson Tucker to be in Portland at 1.07. If you want to ] otnn lioro all rio-hf Tf vr>n want: tn I ' Oiup 1IV1V) u?* 11^11 VI A* ^ wv ?MM? WW go to Portland, get in." He got in. #aT Among peculiar wills made recently is one which gives the son and heir an annuity, but he is not to receive the first installment of the principal, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, until ten years have passed, and then on condition only that he has not been drunk during that time. Ten years later he will be entitled to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars more on the same condition. But what is peculiar, the son is said to be temperate, and with no tendencies, so far as is known, to form drinking habits. The latter is not inclined, however, to submit gracefully to the prohibition, and is trying to come into full inheritance at once. Reversal of Apparel.?In Muscat the men all wear skirts and the women wear breeches, though this principal of reversal does not extend beyond the apparel. Muscat's principal industry is the export of dates, the finest of which come to America. In return we send the people of Muscat cotton sheeting. The dates as they are packed down for export are packed down with American cider presses. India takes large quantities of the inferior quality of dates, and the membranous parts of shark's fins are dried and sent to China. The Kansas Legislature has changed the name of Davis county to that of Geary. The reason was that the ex-President of the Confederacy is named Davis. Mr. Davis ' lives in Harrison county, Miss., but the name of that county will not be changed. The Kansas Legislature has been guilty of a very small piece of legislation. Correspondftoe of the Yorkville Enquirer. LETTER FROM LANCASTER COUNTY. Springdell, March 2.3.?So little news stirs abroad in this community that writing a letter is almost as difficult as "making bricks without straw." Farmers are decidedly behind in their aperations; but they console themselves by the reflection that the trees are not so far advanced as to indicate an early spring, md that if they keep pace with the operations of nature they will be fast enough. Uerhaps this conclusion is correct. It is at least somewhat philosophical; and a great leal of philosophy is needed by that class 3f our population. At first the question of labor was of prime consideration. That being in a measure settled, the bad weather came in large streaks and prevented work. For a few days past the ground has been very bard to plow?the result of a continued beating rain of about four weeks ago. A considerable area has been seeded to Data which will help to diminish expenses inlthe summer, as there is very little corn in the country. It seems that there is too little attention generally given to this 2rop. Not long since I heard of an old farmer saying, "If I was oats, I wouldn't , grow for anybody." When reason he replied that they tfSr^'alwSys^ put on poor land that would not fetch anything else, badly plowed in, and treated generally as if they were not worth consideration at anybody's hands." I thought his remarks only too true. Labor is scarce, but not for want of numbers. Just below here is a section fitly named Liberia. There half a dozen negroes will follow one ox or an old mule, in expectancy of a living, when they might be profitably employed by others. But it is convenient to the river, where a few fishes, caught by hook or seine, serve for meat, or may be exchanged for bread. This is true of some other localities, but not to such extent. Then a number of ablebodied men have been loafing about the railroads, hoping to put in a little time whereby they may eke out a scanty living. I sometimes wish that the railroad was so far away that the whistles could be heard only when the wind and atmosphere were favorable to the transmission of sound. Schools and churches are at a discount. The former are scarce on account of paucity of white people in our section, and the latter are without pastors except the Waxhaw M. E. Church, where services are held twice a month. Four Presbyterian and one A. R. P. Church, within reach of our attendance during the middle six months of a year, are without services. This is a sad state of affairs; but, if we had more Anglo-Saxon in our population, matters would mend. We have good lands, good water and good health; but we want good society. Some one has remarked that that is all a certain warm place wants to make it bearable. Will not some of the good people, who now make a scant living on poor lands, take leases or rent farms, or work on shares in this productive section ? Even if the men would work for wages, and the women by the day, they could live better and have a better chance to lay up something. A good yeomanry is badly needed here and they could prosper. A good male hand, at eight dollars per month and board from Christmas until August, and then working by the day or job until Christmas again, could make more than by working a crop of his own. Yet a number of them could find such employment here. Even at seven dollars the result would be profitable. It is to be hoped that another year will witness a change in the direction indicated above. Such an arrangement would benefit all concerned. Laborers at present complain of low wages in comparison with the wages of twenty years ago. When prices of produce and consumption and the amount of service rendered are all compared with those of twenty years ago, cTft^laborfcc really gets more than he did then ; for he only renders about two-thirds of the service, while he eats as much or more, and his wages will buy about the same amount of supplies. In order to properly adjust the question of wages, resort should be had to the old reliable rule, by which the laborer was allowed one-fourth of the produce raised by him, and his rations. This will lead to a calculation, the result of which, for the average hand, is as follows: One bale cotton ?40.00 150 bushels corn 15.00 25 dozen oats 5.00 100 bundles fodder 1.00 1 load hay 3.00 Total 964.00 Some will make more grain and less cotton ; but the above is a fair estimate of one-fourth of the average crop made by a hand. Some hands might make more; many would make less. In spite of these figures, which I believe to be liberal towards the laborer, better wages are given; and sturdy Anglo-Saxon piovv nanus couia maae money oy coming here to work. They could command better wage9 than the present labor, because they would do more work up to August and be more reliable. On a farm here in 1868 all white labor was had except some hoeing and cotton picking, and all parties made money. The next year all colored labor was hired and the consequence was a loss. WAXHAW. The Story of "Annie Laurie."?The famous song that is sung by all singers of the present day,. I am informed, says a writer in the Chicago Herald, is a mystery to the author. I was raised on the next farm to James Laurie, Annie Laurie's father, and was personally acquainted with her and her father, and also with the author of the song. Knowing these facts, I have been requested by my friends to give the public the benefit of my knowledge, which I have connsented to do. An nie Laurie was born in 1827, and was about seventeen years old when the incident occured which gave rise to the song bearing her name. James Laurie, Annie Laurie's father, was a farmer, who lived on and owned a very large farm called Traglesdown, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. He hired a great deal of help, and among those that he employed was a man by the name of Wallace to act as foreman, and while in his employ, he fell in love with Annie Laurie, which fact her father soon learned and forewith discharged him. He went to his home, which was in Maxwelton, and was taken sick the very night he reached there and next morning, when Annie Laurie heard of it, she came to his bedside and waited on him till he died, and Dn his death bed he composed the song entitled "Annie Laurie." A Beautiful Definition.?A dear child called Mary Cooper had read her alloted piece with such appropriate emphasis md such sympathy of expression that the nspector said to her, in his kind sincere manner, "That was really beautiful my child ! And now," he added, "if you can :el' me the meaning of that word 'turf,' I shall give you the very best mark." Meanings of words are mountains of difficulty to some children, and the tears almost started to Mary's eyes because she ealized that the inspector had chanced to lrop uu it woru wnuse meaning sno nuu iot lately studied. Poor child! I wonder iow often' she froliced and tripped over lature'semerald carpeting! Possibly nevir! But Mary had plenty of determina;ion ; she felt that her life almost depended on giving an answer ; and she lost no ;ime in exercising her little brain to the ltmost for some kind of a definition ; and ustas the inspector was saying, "Well, lever mind child, I will pass on," she sigerly exclaimed: "Turf, sir, is grass and :lean dirt stuck together by God." A nost excellent definition," said the inspecor; "In fact, the answer I looked for was iot nearly so precise as that. You have piined my highest mark." BSafThe famous Eiffel Tower, which is leingconstructed in Paris, is now five hunlred and eighty-three feet high. It is to ie nine hundred and seventy-five feet in leightwhen completed. It will then be ibout two and a half times higher than the lighest church steeple in the world, and hree hundred and seventy-five feet higher han the supposed height of the Tower of [label. An elevator will run to the top, ind carry visitors at one dollar each. The :ost of the tower is about one million dolars, a part of which is furnished by the government. After fifty years it will be:ome the property of the French nation.