The Aiken recorder. [volume] (Aiken, S.C.) 1881-1910, August 01, 1882, Image 1
Y DRAYTON & McCRACKEN,
AIKEN, S. C., TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1882.
■
YOU. I. NO. 42.
Evening at the Farm.
Down from the hills where the fresh breeze is
blowing,
. Rich with the scent of the resinous pine;
Up from low pastures where blue flag is grow
ing,
'Where,’mong the green grasses, brooklets
entwine.
Filled with the grasse«, intent on home-going
Wow-footed cows are all hasting in line.
Filling the air wiih their milking-time lowing,
While boldly their forms the last sun rays
define.
Afar in the west the red sun lies a-dying,
Gorgeous bis couch as Aurora’s gay bed ;
Homeward in haste the late swallows are fly
ing,
Daik float their forms ’gainst the sky’s
fading red.
Deep in the wood the night birds are crying,
Wails for the day that is past and dead ;
High in the east where the faint clouds are
lying,
Cynthia glides on her way overhead.
I knew
something Iwlignages—
kt any rate eaohgli to make out even
the Jmgiy of a German. They say it’s
the-grandest language in the world; it
may be, but it’s jaw breaking all the
same. One day being down in the
steerage I heard something that made
me open my ears. Just then down came
the girl. Oh, but she looked prettier
than ever. She had on a fine silk
»pron and a pair of shining tringh in her
little ears. Her hair was all fluffed up
and her face aglow, just like a wild ro«e
on a soft spring morning. The whole
family were up, after their spell of sick
ness, knitting and jabbering and laugh
ing, all but the girl’s sweetheart, Who,
the minute he heard her footsteps,
jumped up like a shot had bean fired a
him and went to another part of the
ship. I see that she looked after him
in that sort of way girls look some
times, wh&n they knoW they can do
just what they please with a man’s
ntart, and I took notice that she seemed
Mastered.
head, while the tears run and run—may
I never see the like again I
“Next voyage weshipped a green hand.
I never suspected till, we’d been out
three days that it Was the German girl’s
brother. T‘
meant
THE BELLE OF THE “ CHESTER BELL.”
“ Yes, sir, in the old hnlk that lies
rotting there I’ve sailed many a long
year. Hhe nsed to make splendid runs
between Bremen and here. A grand
clipper the was, a regular ocean beanty
in them days. Her name was the
Chester Bell, and she rode the waves
just like a nutshell, sir. Her captain’s
name was Tnlliver, Tim Tnlliver; likely
you’ve heard of him. I know sailors,
and pretty good seamen, too, that
change color at the very mention of
that man’s name. He was a tiger, sir,
a human hyeta, a bloodthirsty, bully
ing wretch, without having even the
saving danse of a bad temper. Why,
he conld kill a man in cold blood the
s«me as you'd relish a good breakfast,
sir.
•• Many’s the crew ol fine, honest fel
lows I’ve seen shipped aboard o’ her, to
be turned into skulking hounds the
minute he’d look at ’em. He’d a pretty
little girl for a wife, stmhge to say—
them sort gen’ly gita snch—and some
times she’d go to sea with him. If anv-
body conld keep him in order it was
her ; bat even she conldn’t pr-vent hfs
cruelty to the men With first-rate
*Oamen he was tyrannical, bnt, great
Cesar! if a greenhorn shipped, let him
look alive! He’d as lief take a belay-
ing-pin to him and knock him in the
head as eat bis dinner. I’ve seen him
do it, too. It was a young fellow that
answered him back, and be jnst laid his
face open from crown to chin. Oh, but
he was a cruel man, sir !
“He often took emigrants to tho
United States—squads of ’em. They
gen’rally got served middliqg well. Bay
the captain his money and he’d give
yon the worth of it—so much for his
due. One p^age he had rather an}
common lot^five hundred, I
young and old—a pretty decent
*11 Fact is, these Ge- man passengers,
even if they are in the steerage, have
their poeshtta pretty well lined. Com
mend me to the Germsn emigrant for
honesty and thrift. There was families
of two and live, and sometimes t. n and
twe’ve—a pood many handsome jonng
girls among them, too.
“ ike paiticaiur passage of which I’m
going to speak, however, was in the
year'50-a g'eat year for clippers that
was. I was busy tarring some ropes
when a family came aboard that made
ns all look alive. First, there was the
grandfather, in bis old country dress,
with hair as long as my arm and as
white as the foam of the sea nnder the
enn. He and his dame were as sweet-
mannered and fine-looking as you might
meet in a hundred years. Then came
the sons and daughters and grandchil
dren. It didn’t seem as if they ought
to go in the steerage along o’ commoner
passengers; but they did, though they
bore themselves like gentlefolk.
“T en foilo-ed, sir, atween two
young men—her br ther ami her lover,
we afterward ound out—a young gi»l
not more than s xteen or seventeen.
Well, that was >he handsomest little
cr&ft I ever lard these two eyes on, and
I’ve seen some fine-loosing women in
my day, having sailed from every port
in the world. She was that pretty that
we christened her on the spot the
'Bello of the Chester Bell.’
“ Behind them came Captain Tim,
behaving his level best, and there
weren’t many as conld beat him for a
fine eye and a gallant bearing. He
seemed to be looking out for their com
fort—ah, but the little beauty she was I
Queers and noble ladies might well
envy the red and white of her face, and
even the way she walked and the turn
of her read. It was a sight to see.
Her brother and her lover were both
right manly, hindsome fellows, too,
and dear enough they loved her, one
could see.
“Well, wo set sail, having beautiful
weather for the first few days, and the
pretty German girl, she would come out
sometimes for an airing, generally fol
lowed by one or the other oi t'i .n two
chaps. I was always looking out o’ the
corner of my eye, and I observed that
the captain was allays on hand looking
at her in the most admiring manner. I
wanted to tell her lover that it would be
better not to show his little beauty so
mnch if he wanted to keep her out o’
harm’s way, for girls is mostly that vain
if that handsome !
* ‘Came the second week out, and we
had hard weather. I was taking my ob
serrations right straight along, for I
noticed Captain Tim was always mak
ing much of the old gentleman and his
wife. The fools! I could a-told ’em
why he singled them out. It wasn’t the
captain’s place to be in the steerage. I
longed to tell him so, for I had a pretty
kid of my own at home; but I might
have paid for it with my life.
“ There were but few passengers in
the cabin, one of them a consumptive
lady who had not brought her servant.
How it was done I never knew, but the
oaptain managed to get this handsome
girl to wait upon the sick woman.
Mighty fond of money they must a'been
to let that girl go out o’ their sirh t and
fnto the company of a man like Captain
Tim.
“After a while I took notice that the
yonng fellow who appeared to bo the
girl’s sweetheart grew pale and n jrvons.
He was out on deck oftener, and his
face seemed to indicate uneasy, jealous
feelings. I didn’t blame him. I wanted
to warn him—for I could tell how it was
with him, poor fellow ! if he saw half
that I did, I don t wonder not only that
he was suspicious of the captain, but I
thought it I was in his place I’d make
the captain answer for it. He did get
pretty well ronsed up one time ; but I
won’t tell that part o’ the story till I git
o ft.
“ r^hen the girl spoke, I heard the
captain’s name and then they nil looked
anxious and pleased at the same time,
asking and answering questions. All
at once a strange feeling come over mb.
I didn’t know exactly what was my
duty, for I was as much afra d of Cap
tain Tim’s Ugly temper as any man
could be, but as I listened fttd listened
I couldn’t bear it any longer, and going
up to the people I said a few words in
their own language. Well, I ohly gave
them to understand that the captain had
a wife, but, perhaps I had better have
held mjr tengue, for they evidently did
not believe me.
“ Finding I could make no imprss-
sion upon them, I went after the sweet
heart and let him know what I sus
pected. I never saw a man so fright
fully angry. He grew white as a sheet,
and the terror and the horror made him
ghastly. He clinched his hands, and
the veins stood swelled out on his fore
head, while his ‘MeinQott!’ was enough
to Curdle one’s blood.
“ That afternoon Oaptain Tim came
toward me, and I knew what to expect.
So I braced my nerves up and deter
mined that, please God, I wouldn’t be
afraid of him.
*• No need to repeat his language—it
was enough to shake the nerves cf
man of brass. He used all the oaths
ever heard come out of a whole ship’s
crew’s lips in ten voyages, and swore
he d have my heart’s blood—that he’d
send me to the bottom of the sea, and
such like threats. I told him respect
fully, as a petty officer should always
speak to his captain, that I had doile
by the girl as I would by my own sister.
I don’t just remember exactly what
said, but I think words was given, for
he looked hard at me, as if be wasn’t
certain whether he quite saw through
my motives, and with one worse
threat than the last, and a mouthful
more of dirtv- oaths he went off.
“ BuUL a change 1V1 the girl
after that for I - was always on the watch.
She smiled more seldom and her color
went and came too easy. Then her step
grew slower, and she wonld go stand at
the side of the vessel and take long sad
looks at the water, ai if she was in a
brown study. Pretty soon after that
her eyes began to look heavy, and once
or twice I found her in an out-o’-the-
way place crying and sobbing like a
baby Well, I didn't attempt to c„m-
Icrt her—she wouldn’t a borne it for as
soon as ever she saw me she would fly
off like a scared bird. My heart felt
heavy for her, because I knew there
must be a reason for it, besides the
growing weakness of the poor woman,
who was dying in the cabin day by day,
and praying only to see land before she
did go.
“ One night, ah, sir, I shall never
forget that night—the moon was at her
full, and sat looking at the reflection in
the water like a queen with a silver
crown on, and a veil of white light float
ed away off on the sea, so that it looked
like a bride waiting for her husband.
For the first time in many days I saw
the pretty German girl and her sweet
heart on deck together. I could not
keep my eyes from her; she looked for
all the world like a sweet angel just
lent out of heaven for a little. It was
my watch, and my duty to bid them be
low; but I don’t know why it was, I
couldn’t do it. They r went forward
and sat at the * bows. There
were barrels there and planks atop, so
no one conld walk back and forth easily.
I conldn’t hear anything they said, of
course, bat I saw by their gestures
that they were talking very fast. Some
times he would go close up to her, and
she would put out her hand and push
him away, then cry as if her heart would
break. This went on for some time
when at the last she seemed to grow
calmer. I saw her throw herself into
his arms. 1 saw him kiss her again and
again; then she seemed to wrench
herself away, and quicker than I can
tell, over she went.
“ I don t know how I got there, or
how the whole ship seemed to swarm so
suddenly with life. I remember catch
ing at a dark body that was going over
—her po:>r distracted brother, and his
falling back into my arms dead as a log,
j after giving a great cry. That scream
brought the captain and two mates.
The captain asked, angrily, what was
the row ?
“‘That little German girl is over
board !’ I said ; and if I had any sort of
a weapon that was dead sure I’d have
laid him at my feet. He knew how I
felt, he knew, the scoundrel! the villain!
His face changed, his very voice was
different, as he ordered ‘ Bout ship.’
“One of the boats was down, and we
snpposed, through some mismanage
ment, it swamped^for we saw nothing of
boat or lover or sirl; and so that was
the end of that. It was a changed com
pany afterward. The shock killed the
poor sick woman, and she was buried
the same day, for sailors can’t bide a
corpse on board ship ; bat I declare to
yon, sir, that though we put weights in
that coffin, it stood up on end and fol
lowed ns until midnight. I never saw
such a sight before; I hope never to
again. There it was right after us, and
the sailors watched it with pale faces
,no one daring to say a word to the cap
tain, who swore if any one bat looked at
•him.
“ We all made as if the girl had
Yallen overboard for the sake of the poor
(creatures who were left. They conjec
tured everything, as folks will who go
wild with grief. But I think her
brother understood, though he was sick
witu brtin fever all the rest of the voy
age. Her mother, poor creature, came
near dying herself, and I am sure her
heart mast have been nearly broken.
It was hard to see that fine-looking old
1 idfather tottering round wringing
hands and shaking his gray old
heh 1 knew he
chief. I told him I knew him, but he
begged so h*rd i Jrept bis secret. How
often sine© I ve winhed I hadn’t, thongh
it might have been no better for him. I
was sure there was going to be more
troub!e<. and it came soon. He didn't
khow the ropes and I think the captain
saspec^ed who it was Sad kept on hie
guard, for he was mighty careful not to
angar hlih. But one day his tem
per gave way, and if it hadn’t
a bin as it was I shouldn't much
blamed him neither, for I like
good seamanship as well as tne next
Elan, and the German lad was as
contrary as a mule. The first thing we
knew the capta n struck the man, and
the next they were struggling together
on the deck. Well, sir, we saw blooi.
The captain had got at his knife and
run the poor fellow through the heart
He never spoke after that, and none of
Us could say anything, because the cap
tain killed him in self-defense. I was
that hOrroi 1 struck that I vowed I’d
never step foot in that ship again ; and
never again I did, although Oaptain
Tim offered me double wages. Sir, it
was a God-cursed ship after that. Mis
fortune went with it every voyage, and
seemed to strike everybody bnt the
captain. That always seemed strange
to n e. He lost men and the own -rs
lost money, but he always came off scot
free.
“ Well, sir, I am coming
queerest part of my story. I was once
inspecting an insane asylum with a
friend of mine from the old country.
He wished to see a case of raving in
sanity, being about to write a book in
which he wanted to describe something
of the sort. We had several cases,
when the keeper said, pointing to a
double cell:
“ ‘There is the worst subject in this
or any other establishment;. He is an
old sea-captain, whose madness is so
alarming at about midnight that, in
spite of all onr precautions, we expect
every morning to find him a corpse. We
are obliged to keep him in this closet,
the walls of which are lined that he may
not dash his brains out. He has been
here nearly a year, and imagines that he
is pursued by a girl, and held under
water by her till his breatli^leaves his
body.’
“ Well, the door was unlocked, and
there, despite the hideously-altered and
haggard face, I saw my old captain—
Tim Tnlliver 1”
“ Then,’’ said I, speaking for the first
time, “ at last God had smitten him.”
“ Well, I suppose that’s not for us to
say,” continued the narrator, “for I
haven’t come quite to the end of my
story.”
“ Some three years after the little
German beauty threw Yierself over in
the way I have told you, I was off
duty in a foreign harbor, and strolling
into a street I found a little shop pre
sided over by a woman who was the liv
ing image of poor little Gretchen—I
believe I haven’t spoken her name be
fore. I went in, and she stared at me,
and I stared at her. I felt myself grow
pale, but she flashed rosy red, which
put me more in mind of Gretchen than
ever. So I said to her in German, to
make sure, that she reminded me of a
lass I had once known.
“ ‘ Oh !' she cried. ‘ I was sure I
conldn’t be mistaken—you were so kind
to me one \ when I was on board that
dreadful Chester Bell.’
“‘Then,’ I said, completely aston
ished, and catching my breath, ' it is
really Gretchen !'
‘ Yes, indeed, I am really Gretchen,
and my husband is not yet at home ; he
has gone to look after our bit of land ;
bnt sit down, he will be back in a mo
ment ; no, no, come in here, dinner
will be ready before a great while.’
“I followed, like one in a dream, and
found myself in a neat, pretty little
parlor, looking out on a garden crowded
with flowers, and beyond that the
shingly beach, and farther the deep
sea. In a corner at one side of the tiny
fireplace stood a wicker-cradle wherein
slept a lovely child.
That’s my little Gretchen,’
said, with a happy and proud smile.
I’ve got three nice children,
eldest quite a lad.*
‘“Then, please tell me, for I
nearly dying of curiosity,’ I said, ‘how
comes it you are here and not at the
bottom of the sea?’
“ ‘ Oh, that was an awful night!” she
said, a shadow crossing her face. ‘ I
threw myself over because Hans, who
was cruelly jealous, wouldn’t believe my
word, for, you see the captain was very
wicked and I had found hiui out, and
Hans would not listen, which drove
me desperate, and I did not
oare if I died. But the poor
fellow had suffered; for, though I
hated the captain, J. was too. easy to
let him admire me. But Hans found
me, though I was half dead, and then
he kept the boat in the shadow of the
ship till all the rush and fright wls
over, for he said he wonld rather die
with me in an open boat on the sea than
put me in the power of that bad cap
tain. And so we shonld, perhaps, have
perished, but a ship came along in the
morning and picked us up; and Hans
would never go to America after that.
He found good friends and settled down
here.’
‘ ‘ 1 But your people ?’
“ ‘ Oh, they all come out here—all bnt
my poor brother—we never knew where
he went; so you see we were quite as
well off as if we had gone to America,
and I never thought to meet you again
sir, never ; are you still on that dread
ful ship ? ’
“ I told her all but'the tragic fate of
her brother, which I thought was better
suppressed; but you see, sir, there was
no real haunting, bnt the poor old cap
tain was beset by his own dreadful
imagination and the sting of his con
science, for, no doubt in his heart, he
had willed to do murder and worse.
And so there yon have the story of the
Belle of the Chester Bell.”—Afrs. Den
ison.
the
E. B. D., Kansas: The yellow or
orange-colored dust on the under side of
blackberry leaves is a fungus growth
known as rust. It is the same in every
respect as the rnst on wheat and oats,
and some kinds of blackberries, the
common wild ones especially, are very
subject to it This rust kills the plants
or makes them grow very weak,
rapidly spreads from one plant to an
other, until all are infected. The
remedy is to cut out and dig up every
plant that is diseased, and grow none
but those which are proof against it | Brooklyn Jihgl*.
Mr. Spoopandyke's Search.
“Oh, dear I ’ granted Mrs Spoopen-
dyke, “l‘m sure I'm going to die!” and
the good woman flopped over in the
bed and contemplated her hatband
with a pale face and a look of general
debility. “You’ll be good to babyj
won’t you, dear?”
“Oh, ho!” leturned Mr. Spoopen-
dyke, pounding her tenderly on the
head with his big hand. “You’re all
right. Bear up against it, and you’ll be
well in an hour or two. I’ve often bad
the cholera morbus, but you never see
me give up like this. Where’s the
ginger ?’’
“ I don’t know,” moaned Mrs. Spoop-
endypke. “Look on the top shelf of
the closet. If it isn’t there, try the
bottom drawer of the wardrobe ; or it
may be in the pantry. Ow-w I” and
Mrs. Sp lopeudyke donbled up and
straightened out with a jerk.
“ You can’t remember any other Con
gressional distnc s represented by that
ginger, can you?” growled Mr. Spoop
endyke, prowling aronnd the room in
an aimless but energetic fasbi >n. “You
don’t call to mind a couple more roost-
in^-places in which that ginger is to be
found, do you ? Where’bouts on the
top shelf ? ” and Mr. S| oopendyke rat
tled aronnd among the. old bottles and
empty pill boxes. “Look here! I’ve
found that court plaster I wanted day
before yesterday! ” and more than
gratified with hi-« find Mr Spoopendyke
utterly forgot the original object of his
search.
“ You’ll send baby to a good school,
to the 1 an< ^ 8ee l ^ at 8 ^ e mdrr * eR happily, dear?”
6 groaned Mrs. Spoopendyke, adapting a
woman's style of hinting that the ginger
would be acceptable. “And you’ll
bury me by mother?”
“ Certainly,” replied Mr. Spoopen
dyke, immerstd in the contemplation of
the court plaster. “ Where’s the sheet
of flesh color that was here?” he de
manded. “I don’t seem to detect the
presence of that particular element of
adhesiveness ! Where’s the flesh colored
portion of this curative ?” and Mr.
Spoopendyke ra over th little squires
again in a vain search for the piece he
missed.
“Did you look in the wardrobe,
love !’’ asked Mrs. Spoopendyke, faintly.
“ It isn’t here T growled Mr. Spoop
endyke, raking over the con ents of tho
drawer and turning them over with h ; .s
feet. “ What —? Upon my word 1
you’re a pretty woman ! I thought you
said that old razor strop of mine was
lost when we moved. Here it is as big
as life and twice as dirty. Glad I
found that strap,’’ mumbled Mr. Spoop
endyke, rubbing it tenderly and blow
ing off the dust. “ Got a piece of
cloth ?”
“Oh, do look in the pantry 1” plead
ed Mrs. Spoopendyke. “ I’m sure it’s
in the pantry 1”
Mr. Spoopendyke charged on
pantry like a column of horse an<
bustled arouna and bumped his
but didn’t seem to meet with much sac
cess.
“I don’t see any,” he muttered.
“Don’t you know where you keep your
cloth? I .-’pose I might stand round
here till doomsday, while moths corrode
and thieves do break into this razor
strop and steal the whole business
without finding a piece of cloth to wipe
it on. Haven’t ye got an old skirt or
something?” And Mr Spoopendyke
drew the strap under his arm two r
three times and regarded it affection
ately.
“Oh, please find the ginger!’’
squealed Mrs. Spoopendyke, as another
spasm caught her. “Never mind your
old strap ! Find the ginger!”
“Ain’t I lookin' for it ?” retorted Mr.
Spoopendyke. “ Here’s a cork, and tho
bottle can’t be far off When I find
that bottle I’ll have a cle w to the gin
ger, and I’m going to follow it to the
bitter end. You oueht to save these
corks anyway, when I go fi-ihing What
kind of a looking bottle was it ?”
“It was long and narrow,” replied
Mrs. Spoopendyke, almost in despair.
“ I ought to Mad it from that descrip
tion,” muttered Mr. Spoopendyke.
“Most bottles are perfectly round
Here’s the arnica bottle upside down,
and I told you % keep it fille». I
might knock my armimo the next Pres
byterian general assembly, and Id have
to wait all day before I could get a drop
of arnica to soothe my anguish ! Whai’s
this straw hat of mine doing in the bot
tle box, anyhow? What particular mal
ady did this hat have that suggested
such a disposition of it ?’’ and Mr.
Spoopendvke smoothed out the crown
and squinted with one eye while he
straightened the brim. “ That’s a g od
hat yet,” and he put it on and regarded
himself in the glass. “You wanted
some ginger, didn’t you ? Where is it?
Where’d you put it ?”
Mrs. Spoopendvke arose from* the
bed, pale but firm, and stalking across
the room seized the bottle and flounced
back into the bed with a bump that
showed she was mad. There is nothing
on earth that will so express a woman’s
wrath as that one dive among the
sheets.
“Getting better, ain’t ye?” snorted
Mr. Spoopendyke. “I told ye the
cholera morbus didn’t last long. Where’s
that razor strop? What’d ye do with
t strap ? ’
Mrs. Spoopendyke eyed him, but
ade no response. •
“ Point out to me the present address
f that strap !’’ howled Mr. Spoopen
dyke. “Take this fin* •>r and lay it ten
derly on the home aud country of that
strap I” and Mr. Spoopendyke whirled
around like a grindstone and filled the
air wi'h bottles and boxes, and powders
and pills. “Come out of the jangle and
face me!” yelled Mr. Spoopendyke
apostrophizing the stiap which he re
membered having in his hand bnt a mo
ment before. “Show me to the strap!
Take that strap by the ear and lead it
before Spoopendyke in proper person l”
and the enraged gentleman thrust his
foot through the crown of his hat and
drew the wreca up to his hip.
“What’s that sticking out of your
breast pocket?” asked Mrs. Spoopen
dyke, scraping off external applications
of an assortment of drugs.
“Umph!” granted Mr. Spoopendyke,
drawing out the strap. “ Pound it,
didn’t ye ? Another time you let things
alone, will ye? Made me spoil my
straw hat with your nonsense ! Another
time yon want anything ytfn just stand
back and let me search! X’ under
stand ?” ^
“Yes, dear,” murmured Mrs. Spoop-
and endyke. and as her husband left the
room she took a consoling swig at the
ginper bottle and reflected that he
hadn’t enjoyed the attack of cholera
morbus mnch more than she had,—
HEALTH HINTS.
Bread made with sea water is recom-
mended for patients suff.-ring from
dyspepsia and Scrofula.
One Of the most important bodily
needs is food for the nerves. Build up
nei"|p energy and you have the greatest
resiitinp power against disease. Wheat,
milk and peas are good nerve sustain
ing foods.
Breakfast should be eaten in the
morbiog bef u-e leaving the house fi>r
exercise or labor ol any description;
those who do it will be able to perfoim
more work and with greater alacrity
than those who work an hoar or two
before breakfast.
Brainworkers are peculiarlv liable to
suffer from the distressing affl cti n of
sleeplessness; here is a cure which in
m st cases acts like a charm: Wet ha'f
a towel, apply to the back of the brain.
ancHasten the dry half of the tow -l
over so as to prevent too rapid evapora
tioji The effect is pr impt and charm
in*, cooling ti e brain and inducing
calmer and sweeter sleep than any nar
cotic.
Dr. Poote says in his tienlth Mo* thly:
In one of our city hospitals a case of
obstinate malarial fever was treated
with all the medicines (one after
another) usually employed in such
cases, without sueces-; but a cure
was effected by takBg the patient to nn
upper floor. All honses in malarial
dis ricts should have an “ upper floor”
for refuge.
Fob Sunbubn — Bruise and then
squeeze ont the ,dica from the stalks
and leaves of the common chick weed,
and add to it three times as much rain
water. Bathe the skin with this fora
few minutes morning, noon and night
and wash it off with pure water. Elder
flowers can be similarly treated and ap
plied, or they can be steeped in milk
find the face and hands washed in it.
Sour cream applied at night and washed
off in the morning will allay smarting
sunburn.
>
^ A Miner’s Luck.
Mr. Richard Kuowles, a prominent
miner of the Gunnison country, in
Colorado, said to a reporter: “ While
1 was yet at Leadville a man came up
there from Denver named Dexter—Jim
Dexter they called him and he was full
of life and h ipe. and had some money.
Dexter looked about him for & while,
and finally bought a claim on Carbonate
Hill, which had, at that time,
not been prospected very well.
H^ paid, I think, about 15,00‘•
for it, and set to work putting in
machinery and sinking the shaft, which
wts already down some 100 feet or more.
Hq worked away on the mine, people
Sghing at him a good deal, but he
FACTS AND COMMFNTS.
Edward Barr, of Miss >uri, was at the
head of the late graduating cla«s
West Point, with an average ot 1 934.5
out of a possible d.OOO. The father of
yonng Barr, who has thus graduated
With such distinguished honor, said to
his son, some three years since, that if
he would graduate with distinction
he would make him a present of 810.-
000 The incentive had its effect, and
young Barr starts out io life with edu
cated brains and a plethoric pocket.
James L. Lorm*. a civil engineer,
suggests that tornadoes be fought witl*
cannon. He says : “It would oecheaper
to pat an iron cannon in every town in
Iowa than it will be to pay the losses of
Saturday. If one of these clouds were
seen forming near a tawn the caunon
would tell the news to ika next tovn,
and the concussion of tbs air from a
succession of firing certainly ou^ht io
effect the same result in Iowa that it
does on the equator.”
A Senate resolution calling for infer
ma’ion about pensions has bror ^ht
our some int-vesting facts. There were
close upon 270,b09 pensioners ca the
roll last September, when the annual
statistics were male np. But about
twelve thousand pensions had lapsed
throngh not being called for during
•hree successive years, and five tnou
sand were th se of sailors whose resi
dences were not known. The actual
number paid was 252 351, the amount
being 851,224,204. New Yortc State
heads the list. To her 32 024 pension
ers the hnnual sum of $3,426,532 was
given, but arrears bronght the amount
up to $6,510 411. Pennsvlvania’s 28.-
292 pensioners required $5 746 802, and
Ohio’s 24 663 had $4 911520 More
than two million dollars each Went to
Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts
and Michigan; more than one million
each to Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and
New Jersey The Third Congress district
of Maine surpassed all others in the
amount it received.
onions from the sunny gardens of
Eerinoda. Lisbon and Oporto but
the Lavaul was never before called
upon. Cue culuvat*'*n of onions on
tne eastern coast of the PaecHterr.iueau
ex'euding from the western part of
Greece around to th ) western border of
Egypt is reported as a great industry
It has been compnted that the last crop
there was over 200,OOU tons. It is
asserted that Levant onions keep bettsr
afid longer than tho e grown in any
other part of tho world This is ai.
important feature, for many onions are
needed in ships’ supplies for long
vovagei on account of their excelleuc^-
in preventing scurvy end other diseases
incident to life ou shipboard In thL
country it Is remarked that the con-
sumpt on increase? yearly. Tnis is due
nut oniy to the enormous increase of
the foreign elements, who always Use
vegetables freely, but aLo to tue en
larged use in populous cities of the
O lar.-e parts of meats, in the prepara
tion of wuioh the onion figures promi
neutly.
she
the
am
t
r once lost heart. The mine had
shown np a single thing in the way
ineral, and the shaft had been sunk
lihat time several hnndred feet,
did not know what to do. He
now spent nearly'all the money he
ad, and nothing was coming in. One
day in the early part of the year 1879
a party came to him and asked
him what he would take for his
mine. Dexter told him, and a
bargain was made between tnem
The price paid was, I think, $30,000,
some $5,000 more than Dexter had spent
on it altogether. He was mighty glad
to get the $30,000, and thought him-ielf
well out of a bad bargain. He rushed
ont to Oirbonate hill and ordered the
miners to drop their tools ami quit
work. This was about 3 o’clock in the
afternoon. He said: ‘Boys, I have sold
this hole, and I don’t want you to work
another minute in it for me. I will pay
off right now and yon can quit.’
the miners had just finished a
and were going to place a blast and
uncover some rock, and they asked to
be allowed to finish it before they quit
work. ‘ No,’ said Dexter, ‘come out, I
'don’t want you to work ano more; there
is nothing in the old hole.’ They re
luctantly quitted and departed. Dexter
got bis money and wa» happy.
Well, the mine had been bought by a
stock company, ami in a short time
they began work on it. Now, young
man, what I am going to tell yon is the
solemn truth,” said the miner. “ Those
fellows went np there to that mine and
laid a fuse t-i the blast left by Dex er’s
men and touched it off After the smoke
cleared away they went in to sea how
much rock had been loosened, when
what do you ihink? There before their
eyes they saw the richest body of silver
ore which has ever been seen since the
world began At that time hundreds of
thousands of dollars met the gaze of the
delighted owners of the richest kind of
ore. Well, young fellow,” continued
Mr. Knowles, “that mine was the cele
brated Robt. E Lee, which has made
everybody rich who has had anything
to do with it since Jimmy Dexter sold
it. Millions of dollars have been turned
out of it, and it is the greatest silver
mine in the world.”
“Cranks” iu New York.
A New York correspondent avers that
“two of the prominent citizens of New
York are now generally known to be in
sane—not hopelessly, perhaps, but posi
tively. One is a lawyer whose sei-vices
are so much in demand that he has been
paid a $50,000 fee within a year for
pleas in court since his reason went
astray. He holds a prominent public
office. The other is a bank president
and a most capable fiflancier. He has
not walked a biock in the street for six
years, for he imagines that he is a cherry
and if he is exposed the birds will eat,
him! In this delusion he is immov
able* and accordingly he always rides
to and from the bank in a close car
riage, and never exposes himself out of
doors. On all other matters he is per
fectly sane, and his counsel is taken in
the investment of millions on millions.
To a visitor from the “ provinces,” it
must seem as if a good many New
Yorkers are insane. Nowhere have I
ever senn so mMiy people who indulged
in that curious habit known as talking
to themselves.” About every tenth
person you meet on the down-town
sidewalas practices this self-com-
mnnion. Every hoar of every day you
will notice men go hurrying by, looking
neither to the right nor left, talking iu ex
cited tones and gesticulating violently. I
have seen men in an omnibus carrying
on a lively dialogue with themselves,
and laughing vociferously at the “hits”
made, as unconscious of the presence
of others as if they were alon% in the
moon. The same qneer phenomena are
frequently seen im glimpses through
carriage doors — men with faces all
aglqw, swinging their arms and exclaim
mg' in loud voices—driving a sharp
bargain with a wholesaler, maybe, or
wildly and hopefully bidding for the
stoqka that are to go up tea per cent.
» M
The importance of agriculture as a
factor in our national prosperity can
best be appreciated by visiting New
York city and observing the steamers
and ships from all quarters of the globe
loading with products of American soil,
fn a single week, recently, upward ot
$6,000,0U0 worth of agricultural prod
ucts were shipped abroad frotn New York
alone. Among the experts of that week
were 2,126 barrels apples, 1,647 pounds
beeswax, 84,202 barrels wheat flour,
1,391 barrels <3urn meal, 481,252 biish-
els wheat, 2,652 bushels oats, 46
bushels barley, 2,023 bushels peas,
427 241 bushels corn, 13,537 bales cot
ton, 462 bales hay, 492 bales hops, 10,-
967 gallons lard oil, 1,082 gallons lin
seed oil, 3 993 barrels pork, 804 barrels
beef, 1.060 tierces beef, 5.548,291
^pounds cat -jmeAta. ^pounds,
batter, 675,151 pounds cheese,
3,854 680 pounds lard, 88 bar
rels rice, 577,620 pounds tallow, 439
hogsheads tobacco, 1,226 packages to
bacco and 49,887 pounds manufactured
tobacco.
Although the sanguine De Lesseps
makes frequent announcements that the
Panama canal enterprise is in a most
flourishing condition, unprejudiced ob
servers who have been over the route
take a very different view. Captain
Belknap, of the United States navy,
who crossed the Isthmus a few weeks
ago, reports that $200,000 has been paid
fora hotel to serve as offices, and $30,-
000 more in fitting it up; that another
$200,000 has been expended in buying
buildings and grounds for hospital use,
and that honses have been bnilt for the
officials, but that the only real work yet
done toward tho construction of the
water - way consists in the clear
ing away of shrub t and
trees from the (rack. CapUin Belknap
found that intellig nt resiVntsof the
Is’hmus region believed the project
feasible, but they agree iu the opinion
that it wonl 1 take a great deal more
time than the enthusiastic engineer cal
culates upon. The cap’ain’s conclu
sion that people familiar with the Isth- ^ .
mus, aud expecting returns for capital, fighting was heaviest
invested, will not oe likely to put money 1 ”
in such an enterprise will only strength
en the disinclination of Americans to
take stock in the scheme as now con
ducted.
Professor R°ese, of Philadelphia, has
made an important discovery touching
the effects of drowning npon the human
lungs. In aa autopsy of the body
of a woman, found drowned, it
it is reported that he found no water in
the lungs, nor any evidence of water
having been there, fonpd.
in the stomach. that
the dead body bore n. - . - ^uw of abuse
and violence, and there was nothing
found iu the oasophaausto indicate that
water had crossed the woman’s lips.
As the body was taken from the river near
the wharf it is presumed that the woman
jumped overboard, which leads Dr
Reese to infer that persons plunging
into the water, especially from an emi
nence, can come to death from suffoca
tion or shock without taking water in
wardly. It is well known by bringing
together tne posterio r arches of the
palate and pressing the root of the
tongue against the pa'ate both the
mouth and the nostrils are completely
eat off fiom the air tubes, as is done in
h dding the breath. It is quite con
ceivable that the shock caused by sud
den immersion in w.,ter undi-r a tem
perature of sixty-five degrees might
induce this movement, and also canse
a muscular contraction oi longs and air
tubes, precluding the passage of water
into the lungs of a peison while drown
ing. The Case investigated by Professor
Reese is of great interest to the medico
legal experts, and the correctness of his
conclusions will be tested by other ex
amination of the bodies of drowned
persons.
It is quite generally known that Scot
land and Ireland with their potatoes
and Germany and Italy with their
beans have been most prolific in their
contributions to this country’s drought-
shortened supplies since last fall, buti'
is not so generally known that Egypt,
or properly speaking the Levant, has
begun to furnish ns in abundance with
that useful garden product, the onion.
Of this valuable bulb, which is so in
separable from the dressing of a dainty
canvas-back dock o the mgre dent* of
a popular Irish stew, there have recent
ly been imported into this country from
Egypt 10.000 barrels. After the do
mestic crop has been consumed by
win’sz use or expoited it has long been
the custom to import large q nan tides of
General SkobelefPs Careen
The late General Michael Skobeleff
was probably the most popular man iu
Russia and the most picturesque soldier
in E trope. In peace he excelled the
swells of the kingdom in his fondness
for the luxuries of dress and tbe dainti
I ness of his tastes In war he was the
embodiment of bravery and the personi
fication ol reckless fury. • Olal in a
white unifotiC that glittered with gold
braid, and moauted on a white horse,
he led his men to victories snatched
out of the very gulfs of death, and Jit
was said of those he commanded that
they idolize! him, find seemed to
prefer ^ death a" the heels Of bis
horse to victory under any other
commander. He was of soldierly
Carriage and fine physique, black-eyed
brown-haired and full-bearded. He came
of a race ot soldiers. His grau.l-fa her,
rather and himself were all generals
and dievaliers of 8c. Giorge, and valor
got eaoh one his title and honors.
Michael was the youngest Russian oen
eral. He was graduated from the Mili
tary Academy in St. Petersburg in 1868,
and, with ,ut serving in the Guards, ne
at once pitched into battle in Turkestan
at the head of a corps of Cossacks. He
was then twenty-five years old. He re
mained in Turkestan nntil 1871, and
went thence to the Caucasus on the st>«fl
of the Grand Duke M.chae’. Later he
commanded a battalion of -he Seventy-
fourth regiment of the line, and
in 1873 he was transferred to Khiva,
where the czar was fighting the khan.
Wnen the formality of military disci
pline hampered him in this campaign,
he deliberately disobeyed orders ana at
the same time gave evidence of his
genius as a soldier. In the same cam
paign, in order to finish and deliver
his report to General Kaufman, he and
MicGahan, the famous wa correspond-
ent, remained in the pii’ace of Iftf? man'
when it seemed madness to tarry there.
For this and a reconnoissanoe iu dis
guise to the Turcoman d sert he was
given the cross of 8t. George of the
fourth class. When Don Carlos was
fighting for the tofone of 8pam Skobe
hff joined his staff avoweiiy to study
war out of Russia, but probably because
he could not keep away from war.
As a cavalry commmder he fought in
Turaestan, and here, at night, with 159
men, h ! dashed into the main camp of
the enemy, who, imagiiiing the Russian
army upon them, fled without taking
even their turbans. Not one of 8kob«-
leff’s men was killed or wounded. Tem
porarily left in command he stormed
and took the city of Namanyah, which
had revolted. For this, though he was
but thirty-two yearn old, he was made a
major-general. In ths second war*wi:h
Khokland he compelled the khau tosur-
rei^er, and when that country was an-
neWhwas made its governor and given
the third class cross of St. George His
next brilliant feat was iu the Ru*so-
Turki-h war. He had been on the staff
of the Grand Duke Michael, been trans
ferred to the staff of bis father, a
lieutenant-general, and his father’s com
mand being broken up, he found iiim-
r,elf ont of employment where the
He remained m
the army as a volunteer, and sent his
name ri ging through Russia by cross
ing the Danube on hor?eoacK, sword in
h .nd, at the head of a few men, and
driving the Turks from their positions
overlooking 8 stowa. Again, almost in
the next dispatches, he was reported at
the siege of Plevna, at the head of p.
whirlwind of cavalrymen, actually pen
etrating the fortifications. Hat the in
fantry upon whom hergjiefl tailed, and
Ssobeleff had to In the second
battle ofP^^£ he captured two ro-
a..., ...’defending them for
twenty four hours against the incessant
hail of leal from a vastly su
perior force, he was forced back, still
fighting like a bulldog. He lost 8.009
out of 12.000 men, had seven horses
shot from under him, and when the last
had gone led the way into the redoubt
on foot, waving his i.iamoni-hiited
word.
His greatest military feat was, when,
with 20,0 0 men, he stormed and took
Lovtscha in Bulgaria, and won a strate
gical point behind Osman Pasha's
army. The war was not half over when
he was made lien’enant-general and
commander of the Sixteenth division.
When Ridetzky and Prince Mersky had
both been repulsed by Vessel Pasha at
Sbenova, Skobehff made the Pasha
surrender. At the czar’s ‘order he en
tered Adiianople. With his already
famous command he was long before
Constantinople, and finally had charge
o' all the Russian forces retiring from
Turkey.
Since the war the world outside Rus
sia heard but little of him, though two-
thirds of his countrymen worshiped
him as the foremost champion of Pan-
slavist theories. Love for him was said
to be one of the few things in which
the country and the czar were « holly in
accord. Last February his soldierly
blnntness gave him world-wide promi
nonce. It was at a dinner of Servian
students in Paris that he declared a
struggle between the Slavs and Teutons
inevitable. He said it would be long
and bloody, bnt the Slavs would con
quer. He had the world for hi* hearers,
and Enn-pe waited anxiuusly for aa ex
planation. Ssobeleff disavowed any
desire to make trouble, or any authority
to speak as he did, and the czar re
prov d him with signal mildness, and
sent him to Turkestan for a time. He
was thirty-nine years old.
Nworif*.
The first weapon used by man was
probably a club; and it is also likely
that in tuns thi* w?s made of very hard
wood, cod somewhat fharpened oq one
>r m'»re ri le<*. so as to inflict a more
deadly wound. Wooden weapons of
this kind are now io use by some sav
age races. Then it was found that
more effective weapons of the sort
conld be male of a harder substance,
ind. sh >rt, unwieldy sworde were hewo
ont of stone very much as our Indiana
made their arrow-heads of flint. B it a
sword of this kind, although a terrible
weapon in tho hands of a strong man,
was brittle and apt to bresk ; and so in
time, when the use and value of metal*
came to* be understood, swords w»-re
made of these substances. The early
Romans, and tome other nations, had
stron*, heavy swords made of bronz*.
But when iron and steel came into'use
it was quickly perceived that they were
the metals of which offensive weapons
■ihould be made.
By a careful study of tbe form and
use of the sword, from its flrat invent
tion nntil the pre ent rime, we may get
a good idea of the manner in which ia
various ages military opera 1 ions were
carried on. At first men fought at dose
quarters, like the beasts they imitated.
But as the arts of warfare began to be
improved, and as civilization and en
lightenment progressed, men seemed
anxious to get farther and farther away
trom one another when they fought,
and so the sword gradually became
longer and longer, Uutil, in the middle
a ^es, a man’s «word was sometimes as
long as himself.
But there is a limit to this sort of
thing, and when the use of projectiles
which would kill at a great distance be
came general, it was found thatasoldier
was eeld im near enough to bis enemy
to reach him with his sword; and at tbe
present day it is seldom used ip actual
warfare except by cavalrymen, and these
frequently depend as much on the fire
arms they carry as upon their sabers. It
is said that cavalry charges, in which
the swords of the riders are depended
upon to rout tbe enemy, do not fre
quently occur in the warfare of the pres
ent day; and those naval battles of which
all have read, where the opposing ships
are run aide by side, and the sailors of
one, cutlass in hand, spring upon tLe
deck of the other and engage in a hand
to hand fight, are now seldom heard of.
Our iron clad ships fire at one another
from a great distance, or one of them
comes smashing into another with its
terrible steel ram ; and a sword would
be a very useless thing to a modern
sailor. Our armies lie a mile or two
apart and pop at each other with long-
range rifles and heavy cannon, and
the great body of the
swords would only 1*3
—St. Nicholas.
to
opposing forces
an incumbrance.
To some men popularity is always
suspicious Enjoying none themselves
they are prone to suspect tbe validity of
those attainments wiuofi command ft.
Explorers Massacred.
The-fate of (fee French expedition
which was engaged in exploring the
basin of the La Plata, Siuth America,
under the leadership of Dr. Orevaux is
one of the most melancholy sacrifices to
science. According to the latest news,
which the council of the Argentine Re
public in L'appa receivjgl from Tavija,
the whole cjuipuny o)^ nineteen men
were butchered by Indians of the TobaS
tribe. Tne expedition bad not long be
fore left Rio de Janeiro, where they
were received with the warmest sym
pathy by the emperor of Brazil. A dis
patch from them stated that they had
come across the ruins of an old Inca
town, a few kilometers from Br<iZiL
Soon after they were arrested by an
over-zealous Argentine official in the
vil aue of Humahuaca; but after making
an inquiry he released them and per
mitted them to go forward along their
intended route. It is possible that tho
news of their arrest may have reached
the native tribe and aroused a suspi
cion as to their purposes. Tuey had
just a-cended the Pilcomayo, only a
tew day* later, when the Tobisfell upon
them aud sUnghtered every member of
the expedition.
Corner iu th? Sardine Market.
There is danger of a corner iu the
fcardihe market. For two years the fish
have failed to make their appearance off
the coasts of Europe, thereby indicting
a lo-s upon Brittany alone of not less
than 15,000,' 00 frauej. Tne cause of
their n >n appearance has been made
the subjecV' of a* discussion in the
Academy of Sciences at Paris, and has
Occupied tne attention of some of the
leading French savans One thinks
that unusual winds have driven the
diminutive fith which serve as food
for tne sardine ont of their regular
course, and that the sardine has been
compelled thereby to mate the same
deviation. Others are of the opinion
that vast ice fields coming from the
north have allected the cuirent of the
Gulf stream, by which the sardine is
supposed to be drawn to the coasts
where it is cangut. If this cause, wuat-
ever it be, is merely of a temporary
character, we may see a good haul, and
possibly a very large one iu the next
seaso.. Otherwise this widely con
sumed article of food may become
seriously scarce.
A Wealthy Newsboy.
“ Without doubt the richest newsboy
in the country is Mike My kens, of Den
ver, Colorado. He is supposed to be
worth $50,000, which he has invested in
Denver real estate. He is not yeti
to re.ire from business, but from
morning until midnight may be seen
upon the streets crying, * Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincin
nati, St. Louis and Kima* City morn
ing papers.’ In connection with his
paper stand. be has a bootblack's
chair, which he generally leaves in
charge of an assistant. He sells his
papers at a uniform price of ten cents
each, and long experience has made
him very expert in detecting at a glance
from what part of the country any one
rf the strangers who throng the streets
of Denver hails. ' Run after that old
mau with a white choker and sell him
a Boston Herald, he will say to his as-
nisiarit; or ' Work off a San Franci oo
B'dlfAin on that slippery looking cuss
under the awning.’ Mykens is no
longer a boy, but he is likely to remain
a newsboy for years to come.”
Upon the railway* of the United
K ugdom daring Iftel, forty two per
sons were killed and 1,161 injured by
accidents to trains, rolling stocks, per
manent way, e*c, us compared with
fl ty-one and 1,023 respectively in 1880,
Of tho® killed twenty-three were
pa.‘t ngers and nineteen servants of the
companies, and of those injured W8
weiepMseogers and M01