Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I lewis >i. grist, proprietor. gm Independent family |jtapaper: <Jor the promotion ofl the |otititat, facial, gajricutturat and dfommerriat Jntereate of the ?^outh. |terms?$2.00 a year in advance. VOL. 36. YOBKYILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 189Q. ^O. IP. A Story of Americ by;capt. charl Author or "The Colonel's Dangl Desertex ? Copyrighted 1888 by J. B. Lippincott Coi special arrangement through the CHAPTER L ffflmT T WAS nearly midnight, and 8till the gay party lingered on ^9 the veranda. There had been a fortnight of "getting settled" at the new post, preceded by a month of marching that had brought the battalion from distant service to this strange Texan station. The new comers had been hospitably welcomed by the officers of the little garrison of infantry, and now, in recognition of their many courtesies, the field officer commanding the arriving troops had been entertaining the resident officers and ladies at dinner. The colonel was a host in himself, but preferred not to draw too heavily on his reserves of anecdote and small talk, so he had called In two of his subalterns to assist in Che pleasant duty of being attentive to the infantry ladies, and just now, at 11:45 p m., he was wondering if Lieut. Perry had not too literally construed nis mctructions, for that young gentleman was devoting himself to Mrs. Belknap in a manner so marked as to make the captain, her lawful lord and master, mani" festly uneasy.' Mrs. Belknap, however, seemed to enjoy the situation immensely. She was a pretty woman at most times, as even her rivals admitted. She was a beautiful woman at all times, was the verdict of the officers of the regiment when they happened to speak of the matter among themselves. She was dark, with lustrous eyes and sweeping lashes, with coral lips and much luxuriance of tress, and a way of glancing sideways from under her heavily fringed eyelids that the younger and more impressionable men found quite irresistible when accorded-the rare luxury of a tete-a-tete. Belknap was a big and boisterous man; Mrs. Belknap was small in stature, and soft?very soft?of voice. Belknap u*a3 Aithar hrnsmielv reDellent or onDressivelv cordial in manner; Mrs. Belknap was either gently and exasperatingly indifferent to those whom she did not care to attract, or caressingly sweet to those whose attentions she desired. In their own regiment the young officers soon found that unless they wished to be involved in an unpleasantness with Belknap it was best to be only very moderately devoted to his pretty wife, and those to whom an unpleasantness with the big captain might have had no terrors of consequence were deterred by the fact that Mrs. Belknap's devotee among the "youngsters" had invariably become an object of coldness and aversion to the other dames and damsels of the garrison. Very short lived, therefore, had been the little flirtations that sprang up from time to time in those frontier posts wherein Capt. and Mrs. Belknap were among the chief ornaments of society; but now matters seemed to be taking other shape. From the very day that handsome Ned Perry dismounted in front of Belknap's quarters and with his soldiery salute reported to the then commanding officer that CoL Brainard and his battalion of cavalry would arrive in the course of two or three hours, Mrs. Belanap had evinced a contentment in his society and assumed an air of quasi-proprietorship that served to annoy her garrison sisters more than a little. For the time being all the cavalrymen were bachelors, either by actual rank or "by brevet." as none of the ladies of the ?th accompanied the battalion on its march, and none were expected until the stations of the regiment in its new department had been definitely settled. The post surgeon, too, wa3 living a life of single blessedness as the early spring wore on, for his good wife had betaken herself, with the children, to the distant east as soon as the disappearance of the winter's snows rendered staging over the hard prairie roads a matter of no gTeat danger or discomfort. It was the doctor himself who, seated In an easy chair at the end of the veranda, first called the colonel's attention to Perry's devotional attitude at Mrs. Belknap's side. She was reclining in a hammock, one little, slippered foot occasionally touching the floor and imparting a gentle, swinging motion to the affair, and making a soothing swishswish of skirts along the matting underneath. Her jeweled hands looked very slender and fragile and white as they gleamed in the soft light that shone from the open windows of the parlor. They were busied in straightening out the kinks in the gold cord of his forago cap and in rearranging a littlo silken braid and tassel that was fastened in a * 121? r?t.:? ClUIlisyt muii Iihu luaiuvu bv vuu vi uiv buttons at the side; he, seated in a camp chair, was bending forward so that his handsome, shapely head was only a trifle higher than hers, and the two? hers so dark and rich hi coloring, his so fair and massive and strong?came rather too close together for the equanimity of Capt. Belknap, who had essayed to take a hand at whist in the parlor. One or two of the ladies, also, were silent observers of the 6cene?silent as to the 6cene because, being in conversation at the time with brother officers of Lieut. Perry, they were uncertain as yet how comments on his growing flirtation might bo received That their eyes should occasionally wander towards the hammock and then glance with sympathetic significance at those of some fair ally and intimate was natural enough. But when it became presently apparent that Mrs. Belknap was actually unfastening the little silken braid that had hung on Ned Perry's cap ever since the day of his arrival?all the while, too, looking shyly up in his eyes as her fingers worked; when it was seen that she presently detached it from the button and then, half hesitatingly, but evidently in compliance with his wishes, handed it to him; when he was seen to toss it carelessly?even contemptuously?away and then bend down lower, as though gazing into her shaded eyes, Mrs. Lawrence could stand it no longer. "Mr. Graham," said she, "isn't your friend, Mr. Perry, something of a flirt?" "Who??Ned?" asked Mr. Graham, in well feigned amaze and with sudden glance towards the object of his inquiry. "How on earth should I know anything about it? Of course you do not seek expert testimony in asking me. Ho tries, I suppose, to adapt himself to circumstances. But why do you ask?" "Because I see that he has been inducing Mrs. Belknap to take off that little tassel on the button of his cap. He has worn it when off duty ever 6ince ho came; and we supposed it was something he cherished; I know she did." Graham broke forth in a peal of merry laughter, but gave no further reply, for ju3t then the colonel and the doctor left their chairs, and, sauntering over to the I MICE ail Frontier Life. ES KING, V. 8. A., iter," "From the Ranks,*' "The Etc. npany, Philadelphia, and published by i American Press Association. hammock, brought mighty relief to Belknap at the whist table and vexation of spirit to his pretty wife. The flirtation was broken at a most interesting point, and Perry, rising suddenly, came over and joined Mrs. Lawrence. If she expected to see him piqued or annoyed at the interruption and somewhat perturbed in manner, she was greatly mistaken. Nothing could have been more sunshiny and jovial than the greeting he gave her. A laughing apology to Graham for spoiling his tete-atete was accomplished in a moment, and then down by her side he sat and plunged into a merry description of his experiences at dinner, where ho had been placed next to the chaplain's wife on the one hand, and she had been properly aggrieved at his attentions to Mrs. Belknap on the other. "You must remember that Mrs. Wells is a very strict Presbyterian, Mr. Perry; and, for that matter, none of us have seen a dinner such as the colonel gave us this evening for ever and ever so long. We are quite unused to the ways of civilization: whereas you have just come from the east?and long leave. Perhaps it is the fashion to be all devotion to one's next door neighbor at dinner." "Not if she be as repellent and venerable as Mrs. Wells, I assure you. Why, I thought she would have been glad to leave the table when, after having refused sherry and Pontet-Canet for upwards of an hour, her glass was filled with champagne when she happened' to be looking the other way." "It is the first dinner of the kind she has ever seen here, Mr. Perry, and I don't suppose either Mr. or Mrs. Wells has been up so late before in years. He would have enjoyed staying and watching whist, but she carried him off almost as soon as we left the table. Our society has been very dull, you know?only ourselves at the post all this lasf year, and nobody outside of it." "One would suppose that with all this magnificent cattle range there would be some congenial people ranching near you. Are there none at all?" "Absolutely none! There are some ranches down in the Washita country, but only ono fine one near us; and that might as well be on the other side of the Atlantic. No one from there ever comes here; and Dr. Quin is the only living soul in the garrison who ever got within the walls of that ranch. What i .1 i.~ -?J*:?i?#.,>11 I1U BUW tuci c UO pUEMMWIJ i^iuoco tv bVii, despite all our entreaty." "You don't tell me there's a ranch with a mystery here near Rossiter!" exclaimed Mr. Perry, with sudden interest "Why, I do, indeed! Is it possible you have been here two whole weeks and haven't heard of Dunraven Ranch?" "I've heard there was such a thing; I saw it from a distance when out hunting the other day. But what's the mystery? ?what's the matter with it?" "That's what we all want to know? and cannot find out Now, there is an exploit worthy your energy and best efforts, Mr. Perry. There is a big, wealthy, well stocked ranch, the finest homestead buildings, we are told, in all this part of Texas. They 6ay it Is beautifully furnished?that it has a fine library, a grand piano, all manner of things Judicative of culture and refinement among its occupants?but the owner only comes around once or twice a year, and is an iceberg of an Englishman. All the people about the ranch are English, too, and the most repellent, boorish, discourteous lot of men you e 'er saw. When the Eleventh were here they did everything they could to be civil to them, but not an invitation would they accept, not one would they extend; and so from that day to this none of the officers have had any intercourse with the people at the ranch, and the soldiers know very little more. Once or twice a year some very ordinary looking men arrive who are said to be very distinguished people?in England; but they remain only a little while, and go away as suddenly as they came." "And you have never seen any of them?" "Never, except at a distance. Nor has any one of the officers, except Dr. Quin." "And you have never heard anything about the inmates and why they keep up this policy of exclusiveness?" "We have heard all manner of things ?unmA nf Mif?m wilHlv rrnnnntir^ qnma mysteriously tragic, and all of them, probably, absurd. At* all events, Capt. Lawrence has told me he did not wish me to repeat what I had heard, or to be concerned in any way with the stories afloat; so you must ask somebody else. Try the doctor. To change the subject, Mr. Perry, 1 see you have lost that mysterious little silken braid and tassel you wore on your cap button. I fancied there was some romance attached to it. and iiuw it is gone." Perry laughed, his blue eyes twinkling with fun: "If I will tell you how and where I got that tassel, will you tell me what you have heard about Dunraven Ranch?" "I cannot, unless Capt. Lawrence withdraws his prohibition. Perhaps hp will, though, for I think it was only because he was tired of hearing all our conjectures and theories." "Well, will you tell me if I can induce the captain to 6ay he has no objection?" persisted Perry. "I will to-morrow?if you will tell me about the tassel to-night." "Is it a positive promise? You will tell me to-morrow all you have heard about Dunraven Ranch if I will tell you tonight all I know about the tassel?" "Yes?a promise." "Very well, then. You are a witness to the compact, Graham. Now for my confession. I have worn that tassel ever 6ince our parting ball at Fort Riley. That is to say, it has been fastened to that button ever since the ball until tonight; but I've been mighty careful not to wear that cap on any kind of duty." "And yet you let Mrs. Belknap take it off to-night?" "Why shouldn't I? There was no sentiment whatever attached to it. I haven't the faintest idea whose it was, and orly tied it there for the fun of the thing and to make Graham, here, ask questions." "Mr. Perry!" gasped Mrs. Lawrence. "And do you mean that Mrs. Belknap knows?that you told her what you have just told me?" "Well, no," laughed Perry. "I fancy Mrs. Belknap thinks as you thought? that it was a gage d'amour. Hallo! look at that light away out there across the prairie. What can that be?" Mrs. Lawrence rose suddenly to her feet and gazed southeastward in the direction in which the young officer pointed. It was a lovely, starlit night. A soft wind was blowing gently-from the south and bearing with it the fragrance of spring blossoms and far away llowerets. Others, too, had arisen, attracted uy itu) o ouuucu v'ALiuiuauvii. mio. Belknap turned languidly in her hammock and glanced over her pretty white shoulder. The colonel followed her eyes with his and gave a start of surprise. The doctor turned slowly and composedly and looked silently towards the glistening object, and then upon the officers of the cavalry there fell sudden astonishment. "What on earth could that have been?" asked the colonel. "It gleamed liko the head light of a locomotive, away down there in the valley of the Monee, then suddenly went out." "Bo silent a moment and watch," whispered Mrs. Lawrenco to Perry. "You will see it again; and?watch the doctor." Surely enough, even as they were all looking about and commenting on the strange apparition, it suddenly glared forth a second time, shining full and lustrous as an unclouded planet, yet miles away beyond and above the fringe of cottonwoods that wound southeastward with the little 6treaui. Full half a minute it shone, and then, abruptly as before, was hidden from sight. Perry was about starting forward to join the colonel when a little hand was laid upon his arm. "Wait; once more you'll see it," 6he whispered. "Then take me in to Capt. T ^l.-i Lawrence, uo you see unit um uuvwi is leaving?" Without saying a word to any one, the post surgeon had very quietly withdrawn from the group on the veranda. He could not well leave by the front gate without attracting attention; but he strolled leisurely into the hall, took up I a book that lay on the table, and passed I through the group of officers seated i smoking and chatting there, entered the sitting room on the south side of the I hall?the side opposite the parlor where the whist game was in progress?and there he was lost to sight. A third time the bright light burst upon the view of the gazers. A third time, sharply and suddenly, it disappeared. Then for a moment all \yas silence and watchfulness: but it cam-j no more. Perry looked questioningly in his companion's face. She had turned a little white, aDd ho felt sure that 6he was shivering. "Are you cold?" he asked her, gently. "No?not that; but 1 hate mysteries, after what I've heard, and we haven't seen that light in ever so long. Come here to the corner one moment." And she led him around to tho other flank of the big wooden, barrack like residence of tho commanding officer. "Look up there," she said, pointing to a dark window under the peaked dormer root of the large cottage to the south. "That is tho doctor's house." In a few seconds a faint gleam seemed to creep through tho slats. Then the slats themselves were thrown wide open, a white shade was lowered, and, with the rays behind it growing brighter every instant, a broad white light shone forth over the roof of the veranda. Another moment and footsteps were heard along tho doctor's porch, footsteps that presently approached them along the grass. "Come," 6he said, plucking at his sleeve, "come away; it is the doctor." "For what reason?" he answered. "That would seem like hiding. No, Mrs. Lawrence, let us stay until he comes." But the doctor passed them with brief and courteous salutation; spoke of the beauty of the night and the balm of the summery air, and went in again by the main door to the colonel's quarters. Then Perry turned to his partner: "Well, Mrs. Lawrence, what does it all mean? Is this part of what you bad to tell me?" "Don't ask mo now. I?I did not want to 6ee what we have seen, but 1 had heard queer stories and could not believe them. Take me in to Capt. Lawrence, please. And, Mr. Perry, you won't speak of this to any one, will you? Indeed, if I had known. I would not have come out here for the world; but I didn't believe it, even when she w; t away and took the children." "Who went away?" "Mrs. Quin?the doctor's wife. And she wna such a sweet woman, and so de voted to him." "Well, pardon me, Mrs. Lawrence, 1 don't see through this thing at all. Do you mean that the doctor anything to do with the mystery?" She bowed her head as they turned back to the house: "I must not tell you any more to-night. You will be sure to hear something of it all, here. Everybody on the piazza saw the lights, and all who were here before you came knew what they meant." "What were they?" "Signals, of some kind, from Dunraven Ranch." CHAPTER EL JKEXgj^ ED PERRY hated re'veille and morning Jtf&T stables about as ve'^SgL hemently as was posEl 6iblo to a young felC3' ^ low who was in other respects thoroughly in love with his profession. A fairer typo of the American cavalry othcer, when once he got in saddle and settled down to business, one would hardly ask to find. Tall, athletic, slender of build, with frank, laughing blue eyes, curly, closo cropped, light brown hair, and a twirling mustache that was a source of inexpressible delight to its owner and of soino envy to his brother subalterns, Mr. Perry was probably the best looking of the young officers who marched with the battalion to this far away station on the borders of the Llano Estacado. He had been ten years in service, counting the four ho spent as a cadet, had just won his silver bar as the junior first lieutenant of the regiment, was full to the brim of health, energy, animal spirits and fun, and, barring a few duns and debts in his earlier experiences, had never known a heavier care in the world than the transient and ephemeral anxiety as to whether he would bo called up for recitation on a subject he had not so much as looked at, or "hived" absent from a roll call ho had lazily slept through. Any other man, his comrades 6aid, would have been spoiled a dozen times over by the petting he had received from both men and women; but there was something essentially sweet and genial about his nature?something "lacking in guile about his perceptions," 6aid a cynical old captain of tho regiment?and a jovial, sunshiny way of looking upon the world as an Eden, all men and all women as friends, and the army as the profession above all others, and these various attributes combined to make him popular with his kind and unusually attractive to the opposite sex. As a cadet he had been perpetually on the verge of dismissal because of the appalling array of demerits he could roll up against his name, and yet the very officers who jotted down the memoranda of his sins?omission and commission?against the regulations were men who openly said he "had the making of one of tho finest soldiers in the class." As junior second lieutenant ?"plebe"?of tho regiment, he had been welcomed by every man from the colonel down, and it was considered particularly rough that ho should have to go to 6uch a cpmpany as Capt. Canker's, because Canker was a man who never got along with any of his juniors; but thero was something so irrepressibly frank and contrite in Perry's boyish face when he would appear at his captain's door in the early morning and burst out with: "By Jove, captainl I slept through reveillo again this morning, and never got down till stables were nearly over," that even that cross grained but honest troop commander was disarmed, and, though lie threatened and reprimanded, ho would never punish?would never deny his subaltern tho faintest privilege; and when promo tion took the captain to another regiment ho bade good-by to Perry with eyes that were suspiciously wet. "Why, blow it all, what do you fellows hate Canker 60 for?" the youngster often said. "He ought to put mo in arrest time and again, but he won't. Blamed if I don't put myself in arrest, or confine myself to the limits of the post, and do something, to cut all this going to town and hops and such things. Then I can stick to the troop like wax and get up at reveille; but if I'm out dancing till 2 or 3 in the morning it's no use, I tell you; I just can't wake up." It was always predicted of Ned Perry that he would be "married and done for" within a year of his graduation. Every new face in the five years that followed revived the garrison proph ecy, "Now lie's gone, 6ure!" but, however devoted lie might seem to the damsel in question, however restless and impatient he might be when compelled by his duties to absent himself from her side, however promising to casual observers? perchance to the damsel herself?might be all the surface indications, the absolute frankness with which he proclaimed his admiration to every listener, and the fact that he "had been just'so with half a dozen other girls," enabled the cooler heads of the regiment to decide that the time had not yet come?or at least the woman. "I do wish," said Mrs. Turner, "that Mr. Perl j would settlo on somebody, because, just so long as ho doesn't, it is rather hard to tell v/ho he belongs to." And, as Mrs. Turner had long been a reigning belle among the married women of the ? th. and one to whom the young officers were always expected to show much attention, her whimsical way of describing the situation v readily understood. But here at the new station?at far away Rossiter?matters were taking on a new look. To begin with, the wives of the officers of the cavalry battalion had not joined, none of the laiies of the ?th were here, and none would be apt to come until the summer's scouting work was over and done with. The nt flm liffla hnt.tnlinn of Infantrv were here, and, though there were no tnaiden sisters or cousins yet at the post (rest assured that more than one was already summoned), they were sufficient in number to enliven the monotony of garrison life and sufficiently attractive to warrant all the attention they cared to receive. It was beginning to be garrison chat that if Ned Perry had not "settled on somebody" as the ultimate object of his entire devotion, somebody had settled on him, and that wjis pretty Mrs. Belknap. And though Ned Perry hated reveille and morning stables, as has been said, and could rarely "take his week" with out making one or more lapses, here lie was this beautiful May morning out at daybreak when it was his junior's tour of duty, and wending his way with that youngster out to the line of cavalry stables, booted and spurred and equipped for a ride. The colonel had listened with some surprise to his request, proffered just as the party was breaking up the night liefore, to lie absent from garrison a few hours the following morning. "But wo have battalion drill at 9 o'clock, Mr. Perry, and I need you there,'* he said. "Oh, I'll bo back In time for that, sir. I wanted to bo off three hours or so bofore breakfast." The colonel could not help laughing. "Of course you can go?go wherever you like at those hours, when you are not on guard; but I never imagined you would want to get up so early." "Neither I would, colonel, but I've been interested in something 1 heard about this ranch down the Monee, and thought I'd like to ride down and look at it. "Go ahead, by all means, and see whether those lights came from there. It made me think of a play I once saw? the 'Colleen Bawn'?where a fellow's sweetheart signaled across the lake by showing a light in her cottage window just that way three times, and he answered by turning out the lights in his room. Of course the distance wasn't anything like this; and there was no one here to turn down any light? Eh! what did you say?" "T hpt* nnrdnn rnlnnpl. I didn't mpan - "o r?~ to interrupt," put in a gentle voice nt his elbow, while a little hand on Perry's arm gave it a sudden and vigorous squeeze, "but Capt. Lawrence has called me twice ?ho will not re-enter after lighting his cigar?and 1 must say good night," "Oh, good night, Mrs. Lawrence. I'm sorry you go so early. Wo are going to reform you all in that respect as soon as wo get farly settled. Hero's Perry, now, would sit up and play whist with me an hour yet." "Not this night, colonel. He has promised to walk homo with us" (another squeeze), "and go ho must, or bo a faithless escort. Good night. We've had such a lovely, lovely time." And Ned Perry, dazed, went with her to tho gate, where Capt. Lawrence was awaiting them. She had barely time to murmur: "You were just on tho point of telling him about tho doctor's lights. I cannot lorgivo myself for being tho means of seeing it; but keep my confidence, and keep?this until everybody is talking about it; it will como soon enough." Naturally, Mr. Perry went home somewhat perturbed in spirit and all alive with conjecture as to what these things could mean. Tho first notes of "assembly of the trumpeters"?generally known as "first call"?roused iiiui from his sleep, and by tho tinio the inun marched out to tho stables ho had had his plunge bath, a vigorous rub and a chanco to think over his plans beforo following in their tracks, dressed for his ride. Tho astonishment of Lieut. Parke, the junior of tho troop, was something almost too deep for words when Perry camo bounding to his side. "What on eartli brings you out, Ned?" was his only effort. "Going for a gallop?down tho Monee; that's all. I haven't had a freshener for a week." "Gad! wo get exerciso enough at morning drill, one would think, und our horses too. Oh!"? And Mr. Parko stopped suddenly. It flashed across him that perhaps Perry was going riding with a lady friend and tho hour was her selection. If so, 'twas no business of his, and remarks were uncalled for. When he mounted and rodoaway from the stable Mr. Parke was outside at the picket rope, and busily occupied in his duties, supervising the fastening of the fresh, spirited horses at the line, for tho liuup tuiiiiiiiiiiuci ? up u uiau iiiiuiti auii of disorder of any kind, and nothing more offended his eye than tho sight of two or three of his charges loose and plunging and kicking up and down the stable yard. On tho other hand, there was no one exploit that seemed to give the younger animals keener delight? nothing that made the perpetrator a bigger hero in lus own eyes or the object of greater envy among his fellows?and as a consequence every device of which equino ingenuity was master was called into play, regularly as the morning came around, to break loose either from the controlling hand of tl>o trooper or from tho taut and straining picket rope. Tho first care of the officer in charge of the troop sergeants was, ttiereforo, to see that all tho.horses wexo securely lashed and knotted. Not until he had examined every "halter shank" was Mr. Parke at leisure to look around, but when ho did his comrade had disappeared from view. And over this broad level, horizon bounded, not a moving object could be seen. Far away, in little groups of three or four, black dots of grazing cattle marked the plain, and over in the "breaks" of the Monee, just beyond the fringing cottonwoods, two or three herds of Indian ponies were sleepily cropping their morning meal, watched by tho little black imp of a boy whose dirty red blanket made the only patch of color against the southern landscape. Later in the day, when the sun mounted high in the heavens and the brisk westerly winds sent the clouds sailing swift across the skies, all the broad prairie seemed in motion, for then huge shadows swept its face with measured speed, and distant cattle and neighboring pony herd appeared as though calmly and contentedly riding on a broad platform, Nature's own "observation car." taking a leisurely journey towards the far away Pacific. But the sun was only Just up as Mr. Parke catuo back from his inspection of the halter fastenings and paused to look across the low valley. Far down to the nAitfltnnof f lia rova <rlinf tnrr rm OUUbligttOV VIIW wwv.MV? gitiivtng VM some bright objects clustered together within short range of the shadow; fringe, and the lieutenant shaded his eyes with ids gauntlet and looked fixedly thitherward as lie sto<*l at the stable door. "Some new tinning down at that English ranch they talk of, 1 suppose," was his explanation of tho phenomenon, and then "wonder why Perry hasn't ridden to cultivate the acquaintance of those people before this. He was always the first man in the -nth^ find out who our neighbors were." Pondering over tins question, it occurred to Mr. Parke that Perry had said ho was going down the Monco that morning; hut nowhere was them a speck in 6ight that looked like loping horseman. To be sure, the trail l>ore close to the low bluffs that bounded the valley on the north by the time one had riddun a mile or so out from tho post. He was probably hidden by this shoulder of the prairie, and would continue to l?o until he reached the bend, five miles below. No use watching for him then. Besides, he might not yet have started. Mr. Parke recalled the fact that he half suspected a while ago that Neil was going to ride? an early anto-brealcfast ride?with a lady friend. Mrs. Belknap had her own horse, and was an accomplished equestrienne; Mrs. Lawrence rodo fairly well, and was always glad to go, when somebody could give her a saddle and a reliable mount. There were others, too, among the ladiesof the infantry garrison who were no novices a cheval. Mr. Parko had no intention whatever of prying into the matter. It was simply as sour thing the officer in charge of stable dutj was entitled to know that he turned suddenly and called: "Sergt. Gwynnel" He heard the name passed down the dark interior of tho stablo by the men sweeping out the stalls, and tho prompt and cheery reply. Tho next instant a tall young trooper stepped forth into the blaze of early sunlight, his right hand raised in salute, and stood erect and motionless by tho lieutenant's side. "Did Mr. Perry take an extra horse, sergeant?" "No, sir." "I thought possibly ho meant to take Roland. He's the best lady's horse in tho troop, is ho not?" "Yes, sir; but Roland is at tho line now." "Very well, then. That's all. I presume ho has just ridden down to Dunraven." And Mr. Parke turned to look once more at the glinting objects down the distant valley. It was a moment or two before he was aware of the fact that the s^geant still stood there, instead of returning to his duties. "I said that was all, sergeant; you can go back to your feeding." And then Mr. Parke turned in some surprise, for Sergt. Owynne, by long odds the "smartest" and most soldierljvof tho non-commissioned officers of the cavalry battallion, for. the first time in his history seemed to have forgotten himself. Though his attitude had not changed, his face had, and a strange look was in his bright blue eyes?a look of incre-1 ! ' J 1. -J i. LI. -11 aunty ana wonderment ana iruuuie an combined. The lieutenant was fairly startled when, as though gathering himself together, the sergeant falteringly asked: "I beg pardon, sir?ho had ridden? where?" "Down to the Ranch, sergeant?that one you can just see, away down the valley." "I know, sir; but?the name?" "Dunraven Ranch." For an instant tho sergeant stood as though dazed, then, with sudden effort, saluted, faced about, and plunged into the dark recesses of the stable. CHAPTER IIL V^mK^A^ ' l^E Lieut. Perry WUS ^own 1m.V'y unconsc't>ua thut his fi ^9 HI movements were of the \H faintest consequence to J? i'BI janybody but himself, Vfi v|{ and equally heedless of ^:vm) their being a source of ' speculation. His horse was one ho rejoiced in, full of spirit and spring and intelligence; the morning was beautiful, just cool enough to be exhilarating; his favorite hound, Bruce, went bounding over the turf under the slopes, or ranging olT through tho cottonwoods along the stream, or the shallow, sandy arroyos, where the grass and weeds grew rank and luxuriant. Every now and then with sudden rush and whir a drove of prairie chickens would leap from their covert, and, after vigorous flapping of wings for a few rods, would go skimming restfully in long easy curve, and settle to earth again a hundred yards away, as though suddenly reminded of the fact that this was mating time and no gentleman would be mean enough to 6hoot at such a season. Every little while, too, with prodigious kicking of dust anu show of heels, with eyes fairly bulging out of his feather brained head, and tall lop cars laid flat on his hack, a big jack rabbit would i>ound ofT into space, and go tearing across the prairie in mad race for his threatened life, putting a mile between him and the Moneo before ho began to realize that the two quadrupeds ambling along the distant trail were obedient to the will of that single rider, who had no thought to spare for game so small. Some Indian ponies, grazing across his pathway, 6et back their stunted ears, and, cow like, refused to budge at sight and hearing of the big American horse; whereat a littlo vagabond of a Cheyenne, not ten years old nor four feet high, set up a shrill chatter and screech and let drive a few well directed clods of turf, and then showed his white teeth in a grin as Perry sung out a cheery "How! sonny," and spurred on through the opening thoroughfare, heedless of spiteful pony looks or threatening heels. Perry's spirits rose with every rod. Youth, health, contentment, all were his, and his heart was warm towards his fellow men. To tho best of his reckoning, he had not an enemy or detractor in the world. Ho was all gladness of nature, all friendliness, frankness and cordiality. Tho toughest cowboy whom they met on the long march down, tho most crabbed of tho frontiersmen they had ever encountered, was never proof against such sunshine as seemed to irradiate his face. Ho would go out of his way at any time to meet and lin.il a 1 fellow man upon the prairies, and rarely ' came back without knowing all about 1 him?where he was from, where lie was 1 bound and what were his hopes and ' prospects. And as for himself, no man 1 was readier to answer questions or to 1 meet in friendliest and most jovial spirit the rough but well meant greetings of "the plains." 1 Being in this frame of mind to an extent even greater than his normal wont, Mr. Perry's eyes glistened, and lie struck spur to hasten Nolan's stride, when, far ahead, and coming towards him on the 1 trail, he saw a horseman like himself. Being in this mood of sociability, he was something more than surprised to see 1 that all of a sudden that horseman had reined in?a mere black dot a mile away ?and was presumably examining him as he advanced. Hostile Indians there had been none for many a long month, "road agents" would have starved in a region where there practically were no roads, cowbovs might. and did, get on frolics and have wild "teais" at times, but who over heard of their being hostile, uian to man? Yet Perry was plainsman enough 1 to tell, even at the mile of distance, that the stranger had halted solely to scrutinize him, and, next, to his vast astonishment, that something in his appearance had proved either alarming or suspicious, for the horseman had turned abruptly, plunged through the timber and across the stream, and in another moment, veering that way himself to see, Perry marked him fairly racing into the mouth of a shallow ravine, or "break," that entered the valley from the south, and there ho was lost to sight. "What an ill mannered galoot!" was his muttered comment as ho gave Nolan brief chance to crop tho juicy grass, while his perturbed rider sat gazing across the stream in tho direction taken by the shy horseman. "I've half a mind to drop tho ranch and put out after that follmv Timt-. rnvinn mn'h rrc\ in Rn vorv far but what he must soon show up on the level prairie; and I'll bet Nolan could run him down." After a moment's reflection, however, Mr. Perry concluded that as he had come so far and was now nearly within rifle shot of the mysterious goal of his morning ride, he might as well let the stranger go, and pushed ahead himself for Dunrhven. The stream bent southward just at the point where he had first caught sight of the horseman, and around that point lie knew the ranch to be. Very probably that was ono of tho ranchmen of whom Mrs. Lawrence had spoken?churlish fellows, with a civil word for nobody, grim and repellent. Why, certainly. That accounted for his evident desire to avoid tho cavalryman; but ho need not have been in such desperate haste?need not have kept at such unapproachable bounds, as though he shunned even being seen. That was tho queer thing, thought Perry. He acted just as though ho did not want to bo recognized. Perhaps he'd been up to some devilment at the ranch. This thought gave spur to his speed, and Nolan, responsive to his master's mood, leaped forward along the winding trail once more. Tho point was soon reached and turned, anil the first object that caught Perry's eye was a long row of stakes stretching from the cottonwoods straight to tho south up the gentle slope to the prairie, and indicating beyond all question the presence there of a 6toutand high and impassable wire fence. There are few things the cavalryman holds in meaner estimate. "That marks the western mint, thought Perry to himself, "and doubtless readies miles away to tho south, from what I hear. Now. where does one enter?" A little farther on ho came upon u trail leading from the low bluffs to his left hand. It crossed the winding bridle patli on which he rode, though somo of the hoof tracks seemed to join, and wheel tracks too. He had marked that between the fort and the noint no siern of wheel appeared; it was a hoof trail and nothing more. Now a light and little traveled wagon track came in from the north, and while one branch seemed to cross the Monee and to ascend the opposite slopes close along the wire fence, the other joined him and went on down the stream. This lie decided to follow. A ride of a few hundred yards brought him to a point where a shoulder of blufl twisted tho trail well in towards the stream, and he, thinking to cross and reconnoiter on the other shore, turned NoIan in that way, and was suddenly brought up standing by tho heaviest and most forbidding wire fence he had ever seen. Yes, there it stretched away through the cotton woods, straight as a die, back to the angle whence started the southward course he first had noted, and, looking down stream, far as the eye could reach, lie marked it. "Well," thought Perry, "I've often heard an Englishman's house was hi3 castle, but who would have thought of staking and wiring in half a countyhalf a Texas county?in this hoggish way? How far down is the entrance, anyhow?" Following the trail, ho rode down stream a full half mile, and still there seemed no break. Nowhere on the other shore was there sign of bridle path leading up the slopes. Turning to his left in sorno impatience, he 6ent Nolan at rapid lope across tho intervening "bottom," and soon reached the bluffs, which rose perhaps forty or fifty feet above tho stream. Once on the crest, the prairie stretched before him northward, level as a floor, until it met tho sky; but^t was southward ho longed to look, and thither quickly turned. Yes, there it lay?Dunraven Ranch, in all its lonely majesty. From where he gazed tho nearest building stood a good long milo away. That it was the homestead he divined at once, for a broad veranda ran around the lower story, and white curtains were visible at tho dormer windows of the upper floor. Back of it and on tho eastern flank wero other buildings, massive looking, single storied affairs, evidently stables, storehouses and corrals. There wan a fall windmill there?an odd sicrlit in fio remote a region?and a big water tank. Perry wondered how it ever got there. Then at ihe southwest angle was a building that looked like an ofllee of some kind. lie could seo horses tut I lered there, and what seemed to bo human figures moving about. Beyond it all, to the east and south, were herds of grazing cattle, and here and thero in the dim distance a horseman moved over the prairie. This reminded him of tho stranger who had given him tho slip; and he gazed westward in search of him. Far up tho valley, between him and the distant post, he could plainly see a black object just descending the slopes from the southern prairio to tho stream. Not another was in sight that his practiced eye did not know to bo cattle. That, then, was his horseman, oncemor6 going fort-wards in the valley, after hav in'g made a three or four mile detour to avoid him. "Now, what sort of a Christian is that fellow?" thought Perry, as he gazed at tho distant speck. "Going to the fort, too. By thunder! I'll find out who ho is. anyhow. Now I'm going to the ranch." Down tho slopes he rode. Down the winding trail once more he trotted, peering through every gap among tho cottonwoods, slaking Nolan's thirst at a little pool in tho stream, and then, after another long half mile, ho camo to a sudden turn to the right. Tho road dipped and twisted through the stream bed, rose to the other side, wound through the cottonwoods and then out on the open turf. Iluzza! There it stretched up tho slopes straight away for the south, straight through a broad gap between two heavy gato posts standing on the stake lino of that rigid fence. Nolan broko into a brisk canter and gavo a neigh of salutation; Perry's eyes glistened with anticipation as ho bent over his charger's neck, keenly searching the odd looking structuro growing on his vjsion os they ncarcd the fence. Then, little by little, Nolan's eager stride shortened J and grew choppy. Another moment, and horse and rider reined up short in disappointment. Between the gato posts 9wung a barrier of cobweb lightness, ^ slender and airy as spider ever wove, but bristling with barbs, stiff as "bullfinch" and unyielding as steel. One glance showed Perry that this inhospitable gate jia was firmly locked. For a moment he sat in saddle, study- 'st l ing the situation, while Nolan poked his ^ head over the topmost strand of wire and keeping at respectful distanco from rp the glittering barbs gazed wistfully over the inclosed prairie in search of comrade < quadruped who could tell him what pe manner of place this was. Meantime er, his rider was intently eying the heavy ^ padlock that was secured on the inner ^V'f side of the gate. It was square in shape, thi massive and bulky?something utterly inl unlike anything ho had ever seen among an the quartermaster's stores. Dismount- cif ing and holding Nolan well back from Ml the aggressive fence with one hand, of ho gingerly passed the other through the spike fringeu aperture and turned tne 11 padlock so as to get a better view. It sei was of English make, as lie surmised, "U and of strength sufficient to resist any- e" thing short of a trip hammer. Evident- m< ly no admission was to be gained here, he reasoned, and yet it was through here that rpj that horsemen had come but an hour before. Here were the fresh hoof prints in ^ the trail, and it was evident that the ar rider had dismounted, opened the gate, ru led his horse through, closed and fast- j^t ened it, then remounted and ridden wl away. Perry was plainsman enough to atl read this from the hoof prints. Studying up them carefully, a look of surpriso camo ly into his face; ho bent down and closely m< examined the two or three that were be most clearly defined upon tho trail, then gave a long whistle as a means of ex- an pressing his feelings and giving play to SK liis astonishment. P|" "Johnny Bull holds himself too high and mighty to have anything to do with us blarsted Yankees, it seems, except Jf1 when he wants his horses shod. These shoes were set at tho post blacksmith shop, or I'm a duffer," was tho lieuten- _ aut.'s verbal comment. "Now, how wjis ^ it dono without the quartermaster's knowing it? That's the cavalry shoe!" fr( rouucnng overima umooKeu ior revelatinn, Mr. Perry onco more mounted fig and turned his disappointed Bteed again fig down stream. At last, full half a mile U farther on, he saw that a wire fence ran uj southward again across the prairie, as sa though marking the eastern boundary th of the homestead inclosure, and con- tfe jecturing that there was probably a trail HI along that fence and an opening through, j1( even if the southeastward line should be j11 found fenced still farther, he sent Nolan through the Monee to the open bank on ar the northern side, cantered along until s, the trail turned abruptly southward, and, following it, found himself once ^ more at the fence just where the heavy ^ corner post stood deeply imbedded in the soil. Sure enough, here ran another c,j fence straight up the gentle slope to the sj south, a trail along its eastern side, and fi, a broad cattle gap, dusty and tramped til with the hoofs of a thousand steers, was fa left in the fence that, prolonged down stream, spanned the northern boundary, sc Inside the homestead lot all was virgin sc turf. hi Following the southward trail, Perry SC rode briskly up the long incline. It was to east of this fence he had seen the cattle hi herds and their mounted watchers. He was far beyond the ranch buildings, but di felt sure that once well up on the prairie he could have an uninterrupted view of e* them and doubtless meet 6ome of the ranch people and satisfy himself what there was in the stories of their churlish i and repellent demeanor. The sun was n, climbing higher all this time, and he, jj, eager in pursuit of his reconnoissance, gj' gave little heed to fleeting minutes. If ej fair means could accomplish it, he and a Nolan were bound to have acquaintance m with Dunraven Ranch. tl Ten minutes' easy lope brought him tl well up on the prairie. There?westward now?was the mysterous clump of brown cl buildings, just as far away as when he tl stood, bafHed and disappointed, by the CC gateway on the Monee. Here, leading tc away towards the distant buildings, was Cf " unt-n ir? flin fotlpa \vm a. ^ a U1AUAO pabll? lAtiu aaa vuv av..vw " ? gap just such as ho had entered on the stream, and that gap was barred and Ir guarded by the counterpart of the first }}j gate and firmly secured by a padlock that was the other's twin. Mr. Perry's comment at this point of his explora- w tions was brief and characteristic, if not e, objectionable. He gave vent to the same a] low whistle, half surprise, half vexation, that had comforted lii3 soul before, but supplemented the whistle with the unnecessary remark: "Well, I'll be c( damned!" Even Nolan entered his protest against p, such incredible exclusiveness. Thrusting ft his lean head far over the topmost wires, c( as before, ho signaled long and shrill? e< a neigh that would have caught the ear T of any horse within a mile?and then, C] all alert, ho waited for an answer. It ic came floating on the rising wind, a re- 01 sponsivo call, a signal as eager and confident as his own, and Nolan and Nolan's rider whirled quickly around to see a! the source from whence it rose. Four j5.1 hundred yards away, just appearing over a littlo knoll in the prairie, and moving towards them from the direction of a ^ distant clump of grazing cattle, another a, j?rvr<a nml ridnr name trottincr into hail ing distance; and Perry, his bright blue eyes dilating, and Nolan, his dainty, sen- jv sitivo ears pricked forward, turned jj promptly to meet and greet the new ar- 1), rivals. p For fifty yards or so the stranger rode r< confidently and at rapid trot. Perry 11 smilingly watched the outturned toes, ill the bobbing, "bent over" seat, and an- fi gular elbows that seemed so strange and I* out of place on tho broad Texan plain. <1 lie could almost see the "crop" in the P free hand, and was smiling to himself ? at tho idea of a "crop" to open wire 511 gates, when ho became aware of the fact that the stranger's mien had changcd; confidence was giving place to hes- ^ itancy, and he was evidently checking (j the rapid trot of his horse and throwing his weight back on the cantle, while his feet, thrust through to the very heels in rj the gleaming steel stirrups, were braced a] in front of the powerful shoulders of the e? bay. The horse wanted to come, the ft rider plainly wanted to stop. Another n moment, and Peny could see that the n stranger wore eyeglasses and had just g succeeded in bridging them on his nose and was glaring at him with his chin si high in air. They were within two huntired yards of each other by this time, ?' and to Perry's astonishment, tho next " tiling the stranger did was to touch sliarply his horso with a barbed heel, j.( whirl him spitefully about, and go bobbing o(T across the prairie at lively can- J?' ter, standing up in his stirrups, and be- ^ striding his steed as though his object were not so much a rido as game of leap- j frog. C( It was evident that he had caught sight n of Perry when Nolan neighed, had rid- r( den at once to meet him, expecting to find some one connected with the ranch, and had veered off in disgust tho mo- a ment ho was able to recognize tho uni- 11 form and horse equipments of the United States cavalry. tl ' \ SSf A French savant has calculated j the time required for a journey round c< the earth, and has obtained the fol- & lowing results: A man, walking day and night without resting, would Jj take four hundred and twenty-eight d ?> > ftvm-una furtv rlnvu SI V?<1J a f (111 VA[/1V>XI VlUlllj AWA VJ u ^ ?sound, at a medium temperature, q thirty-two and a half hours; a can- cl non-ball, twenty-one and three-quar- b ter hours; light, a little over one- s< tenth of a second, and electricity n passing over a copper-wire, a little k under one-tenth of a second. tl iiliscfUnncous grading. ? re; THE CHAPLAIN OF THE HOUSE. tal r INCIDENT IN TIIE LIFE OF THE V' IlEV. IF. II. MILBUUN, I). 1). lit \V( The "blind man eloquent," who be s been elected for the fifth time Fa s chaplain of the house of repre- cit itatives at Washington, has been a lb ominent figure for more than forty ars. The following account of his st election was written long ago by ha B. Thorpe, Esq., for a New York be lrnal: tei Mn the fall of 184o he made his ap- lej arance in the Northern and East- oy i States as an advocate for the use of education in the West, and on is. everywhere received with en- vo usiasm, not only on account of his ac tellectual qualities, but also for his trt liable disposition and eminent so- th< tl virtues. On his journey North be r. Milburn found himself on board tlv an Ohio river steamer, on which th ;re three hundred passengers, wi 0111 the number of days the pas- he igers had been together, Mr. Mil- ' rn had become pretty well inform- ge ^ aUamaa4>aw B a fruitirl Til/ ui tiifir uiimuuiui) ana nc iuuuu ast prominent among the gentle- m en were a number of members of pe ngress on their way to Washington, pu lese gentlemen had attracted Mr. is ilburn's attention on account of th eir exceptionable habits. On the tu rival of Sabbath morning, it was 1 mored through the boat that a min- tei er was on board, and Mr. Milburn, na 10 had up to this time attracted no hi tcntion, was hunted up and called sa >on to give a discourse. He prompt- gr consented, and in due time com- oj priced divine service. The mem- qi rs of congress, to whom we have br luded, were of the congregation, A d by common consent had posses- nc in of the chairs nearest to the 01 eacher. He gave an address suitae to the occasion, full of eloquence 8? d pathos, and was listened to w roughout with intense interest. At se e conclusion, he stopped short, and ar rning his face, now beaming wi^h ta rvent zeal, towards the honorable th ntlemen, he said: 'Among the ti< ssengers on this steamer are a ar imber of members of congress; of nn their position they should bo ca emplars of good morals and digniid conduct, but from what I have m sard of them, they are not so. The es nion of these States, if dependent ca ion such guardians, would be un- so fe, and all the high hopes I have of tli e future of my country would no u ished to the ground. These gentle- to en, for days past, have made the air to ?avy with profane conversation, tli ive been constant patrons at the P< ir, and encouragers of intern per- gi ice; nay, more, the night, which it lould be devoted to rest, has been dicated to the horrid vices of gam- in ing, profanity, and drunkenness. It nd,' continued Mr. Milburn, with le solemnity of a man who spoke as I by inspiration, 'there is hut one 'n lance of salvation for these great tl nners in high places, and that is, to I>J ambly repent of their sins, call on 1' le Saviour for forgiveness, and re- tc rm their lives.' ^ "As might be supposed, language c* ? bold from a delicate stripling, S< arcely twenty-two years of age, S< id a startling effect. The audience iparated, and the preacher returned & l.!n niAiniinnm tn tliinlr imnti whflt, ?J I ' IU? SIUICI UUUl HI lllliin. uj.vy.. 2 had said. Conscious, after due -A (flection, that lie had only done his ^ aty, he determined at all hazards N > maintain his position, even at the fr cpense of being rudely assailed, if s at lynched. Wnile thus cogitating P rap was heard at his stateroom door, ti gentleman entered and stated that 3 came with a message from the lembers of congress?that they had . l stened to his remarks, and in con- ir deration of his boldness and his P oquence, they desired him to accept tl purse of money which they had el lade up among themselves, and also j* leir best wishes for his success h 1 rough life." "But this chivalrous feeling so ti laracteristic of Western men when T ley meet bold thought and action Sl >mbined, carried these gentlemen o: >more positive acts of kindness. Be- k nningacquainted with Mr. Milburn, o: hen they separated from him they n ffered the unexpected service of a< taking him chaplain to congress?a ? romise which they not only fulfilled, c< at through long years that have assed away since that event, have 0: lerished for the'blind preacher' the armest personal regard, and stand rer ready to support him by word ^ ad deed." r( n THE BOGUS COFFEE TRADE. cl The average bulk of the genuine J* iffee imported into the United States ^ 8,000,000 bags, or 180,000,000 pounds r' er annum. Experts estimate that j? dly 20 per cent, of the coffee sold to iinirns which raises the I w J1IOU1I1V1C *?-? _ msumption to 216,000,000 pounds. P aking 30 cents per pound as theav- P *age retail price, the people of Amer- 1 a pay $65,000,000 every year for this P. ne article of food, of which $13,(MM),- 11 >0 is paid for roasted and ground cans, peas, rye or a manufactured P rticle in no way resembling the Bralian l>erry. To this must be added le production and sale of what are ,J died "coffee substitutes." ^r( There are two kinds of bogus cof- ? ?, an imitation bean and the ground * rticle. The bean is the most diflialt to produce, and it is only recently 0 lat actual success in this direction ? as been attained. The bogus bean 1' lust not only look like the genuine 1'. erry when raw, but it should be ca- f1 able of taking a proper color when P >asted. A very good specimen is ow manufactured in Philadelphia 11 nd Trenton, being composed of rye Cl our, glucose and water. The soft {? aste is then moulded and carefully riod. To the eye of an expert the 7, resence of this imitation is easy of etection, and it cannot be used to I1 nmmwf 11'hlllMnlpiN. IIV' gU3U CAiniv <uuwii? ?, ........... But when coffee goesto the retailer, .J lulteration begins. Sometimes the j jtailer is deceived, but nine times J' ut of ten lie is the one who intro- ^ uces adulteration. The ground ar- j* cle is very easily produced, for then . is only necessary to give the mateals a proper color and infusing an , roma by strong decoctions of coffee * ?ence. * When mixed with real cof- : >e even the expert eye and tongue " lay be deceived, whHe to the ordi- , ary consumer it seems to he the ' enuine product. ? Bogus coffee beans have only a l1 ight resemblance to the natural J erry, for though they possess proper * >rm the cicatrice on the inner face is cs >o smooth. Then again the gray >lor of the raw bean is not quite up ) the mark, but when these manu- n ictured beans are roasted with live a er cent, of genuine coffee they find cl ready sale. These bogus beans can e made at a cost of $.30 per 1,000 tj ounds, and when mixed with fifty ci ounds of pure coffee the 1,050 pounds ft jst $.37.50, cents, so that a profit of ' early 1(M) jier cent, is the proper cl ?sult. ? t< i>t-t i.'c nr.n a#;k.?In renlv to si correspondent's request for Dr. si Lichardson's "Rules for Old Af;e," t< re republish them as follows, al- c! lough we don't endorse all of them : ti Vhen old age has really commenced, :s march toward final decay is best elayed by attention to those rules of I observation by which life is sustain- a :1 with the least friction and the h last waste. The prime rules for this b urposeare: To subsist on light but p i 1!?J. :il. ofn,-, +] UiriUOUN UltJl, Willi imm ?n uicoinu- n ard food, but varied according to ii jason. To take food, in moderate t< uantity, four times in the day, in- 1 luding'a light meal before going to o ed. To clothe warmly but lightly, 11 ) that the body may, in all seasons, \ lain tain its equal temperature. To v eep the body in fair exercise, and t le mind active and cheerful. To i lintain an interest in what is going in the world, and to hike part in isonable labors and pleasures, as ough old age was not present. To ke plenty of sleep during sleeping urs. To spend nine hours in bed least, and to take care during cold iather that the temperature of the drooin is maintained at 00 degrees ihrenheit. To avoid passion, exement and luxury.?[Herald of ?alth. Fating the First Oyster.?It s been often said that he must have en a bold man who first ate an oys\ This is said in ignorance of the lend, which assigns the first act of ster eating to a very natural cause. It is related that a man, walking e day, picked up one of these sarv hivnlvp-s insf n? if was in t.hf* t of gaping. Observing the ex?me smoothness of the interior of e shells, he inserted his finger tween them that he might feel eir shining surface, when suddenly ey closed upon the exploring digit th a sensation less pleasurable than i anticipated. The prompt withdrawal of his flnr was scarcely a more natural ovement than its transfer to his outh. It is not very clear why ople when they hurt their fingers it them into their mouths; but it very certain that they do; and in is case the result was most fornate. The owner of the finger tasted ovsr-juice for the first time, as the Chiirnan, in Elia's essay, having burnt s finger first tasted crackling. The vor was delicious; he had made a eat discovery; so he picked up the \sters, forced open the shells, banleted upon their contents, and soon ought oyster eating into fashion, nd, unlike most fashions, it has iver gone, and is never likely to go it. a1* The period of prosperity through men our country is passing prents problems that call for thought id solutions. Two thousand capilists own more than all the rest of e sixty-five millions of our populain. Two hundred and fifty thoustd rich men control 75 per cent, the national wealth. The Ameri.11 republic is therefore practically vnea by less than one quarter of a illion of persons. If present causwhich produce concentration of * pital continue, the republic will on be owned by less than fifty ousand men. This rapid concenation of wealth in a few hands gives trusts and monopolies the power control the government and tax e people indirectly for their sup>rt. If it be true that the rich are owing richer and the poor poorer, will require the wisdom of true atesmen to prevent the clashing of iterests and collision of classes.?[A. . Presbyterian. V3T The capital of the United States is been located at different times at le following places: At Philadellii from Sept. 5, 1774, until Dec., '70; at Baltimore from Dec. 20, 1776, ? Mar., 1777; at Philadelphia from [ar. 4, 1777, to Sept., 1777; at Lanister, Pa., from Sept. 27, 1777, to jpt. 30, 1777; at York, Pa., from apt. 30, 1777 to July, 1778; at Phillelphia from July 2, 1778, to June ), 1783; at Princeton, N. J., from une 30, 1783, to Nov. 20, 1783; at nnapolis, Md., from Nov., 1783, to ov., 1784; Trenton, N. J., from ov., 1778, to Jan., 1785; New York om Jan. 11,1785, to 1790, when the sat of government was changed to hiladelphia, where it remained un1 1800, since which time it has been t Washington. > ? 1 A fresh theory as to the cause of lfluenza is being ventilated by some aris physicians, who maintain that le epidemic is due to an excess of ectricity in the air. They have een making some experiments at igh altitudes, where the air is rareed, which induce them to believe lat they are on the right track, he excess of electricity leads to a iperabundance of electrified oxygen r ozone, and animals have oeen nown to exhibit all the symptoms f influenza when subjected to air atlosphere of this kind. To counterut the effect of over-electrified air lfluenza patients are, therefore, remimended to inhale ammonia, and > allow the same substance to evap rate in their rooms. Lost a Wife for One Dkixk.? [iss Nannie McKinney was married jcently to a young Mr. Thomson 1 Stokes county, N. C. At the conlusion of the ceremony the pretty ride was being congratulated when, y some means, she happened to dis3ver that her newly made liege lord ad taken a drink of whisky just be>re the ceremony. The young wife 'as an ardent temperance woman nd had believed her sweetheart to e a teetotaler. Finding that she ad been deceived she at onceanounced that she would decline to ve with him as his wife. The friends f both parties made every attempt ) effect a reconciliation, but their ef)rts availed nothing. tor At San Diago, Texas, on the )uthwestern border of the State, oung corn planted in December is nee high and last year's cotton :alks are full of cotton in all stages f development from the bloom to the pening boll. In some places the trnnj orn tl rim-npd with rine iums and the bananna fruit is still ipening. In north Texas the winir has been unusually mild, but there as been frost and ice, and the farlers are not expecting a mid-winter rop of last year's planting. In most laces the ground is being prepared >r putting in seed in the spring time, hose facts illustrate the variety of limate the State offers to the prosective settlers. ? ? ? t@T A home missionary was preachlg to a frontier audience on the rodigal son. After he had descrii)l the condition of the son in rags mohg the swine, and had started ini on his return, as he began to >eak of the father coming to meet im, and ordering the fatted calf to e killed in honor of the prodigal's iturn, he noticed a cow-boy looking itcrested, and he determined to lake a personal appeal, hooking irectly at his hearer, the preacher lid, "My friend, what would you avc done if you had had a son reirning home in such a plight?" ave shot the boy, and raised the df,? was the prompt reply. ? ? ? Naming Xavy Vessels.?The aming of vessels of the navy is reglated by law. Vessels of the first lass are reouired to be named after :ates, those of the second after rivers, lose of the third after the principal ities and towns, and those of the nirth as the president may direct, he law is not always observed as losely as it ought to lie, hut in the lain it governs naval nomenclature i-day. The first act bearing on this abject was passed in 1819, and was absequently amended by that of 18.58, i bring it' in harmony with the hanges wrought by steam naviga^ ion. A Photographic Hat.?Herr aiders has patented a photographic pparatus that can be carried in the at. This novel head dress contains, esides the machine, a number of repared plates. In the front part of he hat there is a small circular openng about the size of a small shirt but[>n behind which the lens is fixed, ly means of a string on the outside f the hat its wearer, whenever he inds himself enjoying a pleasant lew or in contact with a person, can, vithout attracting attention, instanuneously take the picture and finish t up at leisure.?[8t. Louis Republic.