The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, May 26, 1870, Image 1
An Independent Family Journal?Berated to Politics, Literature and General Intelligence.
HOYT & CO., Proprietors. ANDERSON C. H., S. 0., THURSDAY MORNING, MAY 26, 1870. VOLUME 5?N& 4&
JANET'S FGBTBNE.
"And when I die I shall leave my fortune to
:he one who .will use it to the best advantage,"
Aaid Grandma Leeds, smiling from behind her
spectacles to the young girls around her.
"Your fortune, grandma ? What will it be ?
That old basket with its horrid yarn and nee?
dles, and the never-ending knitting work. If
so, you need not leave it with me. Janet will
use it to a rar better advantage than I could."
"Yes, Lettie, you are right; and I'm sure I
don't want it, either. H'm, what a fortune, to
be surel"
Til accept it, grandma, and prize it, if you
will only add your sweet, contented disposition.
It would be a fortune which none of us need
despise." #
Janet Leeds was the youngest of the family,
and the plainest. She had a sweet, fresh face,
and tender eyes; but these paled into ugliness
before Lettie's black orbs and shining curls,
and the blonde loveliness of belle Margaret.
So she settled back in the chimney corner, and
waited on grandma, or assisted the maid in the
housework.
Once in a wlile she ventured out to a party
in the village, but so seldom, that people never
observed her. That made it unpleasant, and
she staid at home still closer.
But on that morning, while they sat chatting
with grandma, she felt a deal of real discontent
for the first time in months.
Clara Bosworth, her bosom friend, was to
give a party that evening, and she could not
go. For week? preparations had been going
on in their quiet family. She had given up
the money saved for a new winter cloak,
that Lettie's green silk might be re trimmed for
the occasion, and the best dress she had in the I
world was a plain, garnet-colored poplin with
black velvet trimmings.
She had faintly suggested that she might
wear that, but the cry of dismay from her sis?
ters silenced her.
"Go and wear that old poplin!" cried Lettie,
from the clouds of white billowy lace that was
to adorn the green silk. "You must be crazy!"
"I should think so," chimed Margaret, who
was fitting a lace berthe over the waist of the
delicate lilac satin. "Do you want Austin
Bosworth to think us a family of paupers ? It
is to be a grand affair, and Clara expects all
who honor it with their presence to pay her re
spec I enough to dress respectably. It is Aus?
tin's first appearance after his European tour,
and surely you do not want h?m to think mean?
ly, of us r
Tne tears came up, but Janet was brave, and
no one saw them.
That night, when the two girls?-the one in
her dark beauty and wonderfully becoming ar?
ray, tie other all delicacy, her fair, pearl love?
liness enhanced by the pals, purple color of her
splendid dress?came laughing into grandma's
room, a little shadow darkened her face, and
she found it very hard to keep back the tears.
"Fine feathers make fine birds, but fine birds
do not always sing the. sweetest, Janet," said
grandma, ae 1;hey left. "I know who is the
true one in this family. I know my little sing?
ing bird, Janet, and she is dearer than a dozen
fine ladies. Austin and Clara will come to?
morrow, and iiie will tell us about his travels in
foreign lands, and you will be far happier than
you would be up at the house to-night, with
dancing and confusion."
"I suppose (so, grandma," and Janet took her
seat by the firs and went on knitting, with a
peaceful face.
The elder sisters came home with crumpled
plumage, but in high spirits.
Austin Bosvorth had returned, a handsome,
polished gentleman, and had flirted desperately
with Lettie.
"Why, grandma, he almost proposed to her!"
laughed Margaret, who was engaged to Judge
Lenard's hopeful son, and, therefore, had no
place for jealousy. "More than one of the
company predicted that it would be a match."
"Doa't count your chickens before thev are
hatched," adled grandma from her pillow.
"Mr. Austin Bosworth is no fool, I can tell
you!"
"Wh*t an eld croaker \"
They were entering their chamber across the
hall, but grandmother's ears were not dulled
by age, and ahe clearly heard them.
"Don't mind them, grandma," whispered Ja?
net, who had waited to help them lay aside
their finery*.
"Mind them! Do you think I shall, Janet
Leeds?"
Next day Austin Bosworth came. He was
too familiar with the old house to stop for
bell-ringing, andhe entered, crossing the hall
directly past the toarior door, where Margaret
and Lettie waited in their tasteful afternoon
costumes, and walked straight on to Grandma
Leeds' room.
She was there with her work, her placid face ,
beaming beneath the white lace-bordered cap.
A graceful, girlish figure half knelt beside
her, wreathing with deft fingers a bunch of ev?
ergreens into a frame for a mantel ornament
and her eyes were lifted smiling into the old
lady's face.
He entered and closed the door, before either
saw him.
"Grandma Leeds!"
"Why, bias my heart, it is Austin! Come
here, my boy!"
And the fine gentleman came and gave both
hands to her in his delight.
"Janie;" ray little playmate, too! What a
happy meeting! Clara came down dressed for
a call, and declared she would come, but I told
her no! I knew the amount of gallantry I
should feel obliged to use, and I preferred that
jmy^rat visit should be like the old ones."
" "You are right. We are better pleased to
tr?ve it so. tire we not, Janet?"
His call lengthened itself into two hours,
and during the time he told plsasant stories
and chatted like the boy of bygone days, but
not once did Margaret's or Lettie's name pass
his lips.
When bd went away he met them coming
with disapr?ointed faces from the parlor, where
they had been waiting for him; but he only
lifted his hat and passed out. Then grand?
mother and Janet received a sound scolding,
such as only these two knew how to give, and
the shadows of discontent again fell on Janet's
spirit.
Ah, that; long, cheerless winter! What a
story Janet coula tell you of disappointments,
of happy parties of which she haa no share, of
moonlight rides of joy and merriment! She
had only that one comforter, kind, patient
grandma; for now that Austin Bosworth had
come, the way was harder than before.
He came and escorted Lettie to parties, and
sometimes chatted with grandma, but nothing
more. She saw nothing more?she did not
catch the good-natured smiles he gave her from
the sleigh as he rode away?and Lettie never
told her how often he asked for her. Alone
w.*th grandma, Janet wished for better things,
and wondered why she was so harshly dealt
with.
At last oven the society of her aged comforts
er was denied her, and in her bed the old lady
gradually faded away, Day and night Janet
sat beside her, with the knowledge that she
was beyond earthly help?waiting upon her,
yielding to childish whims, and shotting out
everything youthful and beautiful from her
sight
"Playing household angel," said Margaret.
"Working for grandma's fortune of old shoes
and woretea stockings," Lettie cruelly added.
Doing her duty by the faithful woman who
had taken the three motherless children into
her heart, filled the lost one's place, so far as
God permitted, her own heart said, and steadi?
ly she worked on.
The first of May brought invitations to the
last ball at the Bos worth house, arid while the
two elder sisters laid out the finery, Janet fold?
ed her tiny missive, and hid it away next to
her heart as a sacred bit of paper, bearing Ana
tiff's firm, broad chirography upon it.
That night grandma was very ill, and when
Margaret and Lettie fluttered in with their gay
dresses, Janet met them, and almost forcibly
put them out of the room.
"I beg you girls, to have a little respect for
poor grandma?she is very ill to-night.''
"Nonsense! Don't be - fool, Janet; any?
body would think she was dying."
"I believe she is."
Their reply came in a violent slam of the
door, and Janet was left alone with her patient.
The hours dragged wearily, and overcome by
her long, sleepless watches, Janet fell fast
asleep. Two hours later she awoke with a
start, and in an instant she saw that dread
change visible in grandma's face.? Like one in
a dream, she walked to her father's door, and
awakened him.
"Father, grandma is worse. I believe her
dying. You must go for Dr. Berne. You will
find him at the balL Go quickly !"
She went back and sat there wearily, waiting
for something?for a sound, a sign from the
dying woman, but none came. Slowly, but
perceptibly, the lines settled around the pleas?
ant mouth, and the dark shadows crept over
the placid face, but no sound issued from the
pale lips. Janet bent her head. There was a
taint nutter?no more?and she clasped her
hands. Would grandma die there before her
eyes, and never speak a word ? She caught
the cold hand in her own, and cried aloud:
"Grandma, speak to me! Speak to your lit?
tle Janet! Don't you heed me, grandma ?"
But grandma heard nothing. The dullness
of death had settled down, and even as she
knelt there, the breath fled and Janet was
alone. She understood it all when she arose,
and she sank back half fainting in the arm?
chair, near the bed.
"Janet, my poor darling I"
She lifted her head. Austin Bosworth was
leaning over her.
"My little girl! Why did you not send word
to me to-night, and let me share your sorrow?"
"You, Austin?"
"Yes, have I not?ah, forgive me I This it)
no time or place. I missed yon, as I have al?
ways missed1 you, but thought it was your own
pleasure to remain at home. When your fath?
er came in with a white, frightened face, and
whispered to Dr. Berne, I knew you were in
trouble. I came at once, Janie, and I shall
not leave you."
She knew his meaning, and did not put him
away, when he held her close in his arms and
drew her into the parlor.
Margaret and Lettie coming in with their
faces horror stricken, saw him holding her in
his arms, her tired head resting wearily upon
his shoulder, and the proud Lettie said:
"Mr. Bosworth?I am surprised I"
"You need not be. This is my privilege,
now and forever."
Three days after they gathered in that same
parlor to hear grandma's last will and testa?
ment read. After some little directions, it
said:
"And to my beloved granddaughter, Janet
Leeds, I bequeath the Holmes estate, together
with my entire stock of furniture and money,
amounting to ten thousand dollars."
Janet's father smiled upon his astonished
and crest-fallen daughters.
"It was mother's whim I She never desired
it to be known. Therefore you were ignorant I
of the fact that she had a dollar beyond the
annuity I held for her."
When, six months later, Austin and Janet
were married, her elder sisters dared to say
that he married her for her money. He knew
better, and so did Janet
-c~
'Good Deeds Have no Sabbath.?Not I
long since, says a Breslau paper, and elderly
man, with bare head, stood in an eating house,
surrounded by a crowd of people. The land
lord held the man's hat and cane, and an im
Sudent waiter stood between che guest and the I
oor. The confusion of the old man was in- [
describable. He seemed to be for the first time
in his life in such a scrape?said nothing, look-1
ing down on the ground, and with difficulty
restrained his tears, while all around mocked
and jeered him. Just then a poorly dressed
Israelite, with a long white beard, entered, and
inquired what it all meant, and with an expres?
sion of almost feminine curiosity. He was told
that the man had eaten and drank, and now
that he must pay, he searched his pockets in
I vain for money. "Well," said the Israelite, "I I
! see the old man for the first time, but I'll be
bound that he did not come here to cheat.
And, landlord,, suppose he had no money to
forget, couldn't you for once give a poor man
something to eat, for God's sake ? How much
does he owe, anyhow ?"
The debt was eight silver grochen, and the
Israelite, paying this, took the old man by I
the hand ana led him to the door. Those pres-1
ent did not seem to enjoy the reproof which I
their brutality had received, and one insolent
fellow cried out:
"Hey, Jew, what have you done? This is the I
Sabbath, and you have touched money!" (This I
is forbidden to the Israelite.) "Just now I for?
got that I was a Jew, just as you forgot that
you were a Christian. But you may rest easy
On my account; I understand my command?
ment,' *hich says: 'Remember the Sabbath to
keep it holy.' Just get some school-master to
' explain it to you, aod if he is a reasonable man
he will agree with me, Good deeds have no
Sabbath." And with these words the good
man left the room.
-4?
DatUrar..??Young man, did you ever think how
the word sounds 7 Did von ever think what
misery and woe you brought upon your friends I
when you degraded your manhood by getting
drunk ? How it rings in the ears of a loving
wife! How it makes the heart of a fond moth?
er bleed 1 How it crushes out the hopes of a
doting father; and brings reproach and shame
upon loving sisters! Drunk! See him as he
leans against some friendly house. He stands
ready to fall into the jaws of hell? unconscious
as to his approaching fate. The wife, with
tearful eyes and aching heart, sits at the open
window to hear her nusbarids footsteps, but
alas I they come not. He is drunk! The hus?
band, the parent, is drunk, spending his time'
and money when he should be at home. In?
stead of enjoying the comforts of the home'
circle, he is drunk ! He is spending his means
of support for liquor, while his family is starv?
ing for Dread. Drunk! His reputation is gone,
gone I His friends one by one are leaving him
to a miserable fate.
"Is it a Sin to be Rich?"
What a question, and yet we have seen this
question asked and answered in all seriousness
in more than one religious journal. To the
abstract question there can be, in all reason,
but one answer. A man has a right to acquire
riches honestly, all other duties which a pros?
perous worldly condition imposes being dis?
charged. It is hardly possible to do this and
accumulate an extravagant amount of riches.
Take the New Testament?take the 'golden
rule?act by them to the letter and in their
spirit, and such are the circumstances of so
large a portion of mankind, that it would re*
quire a liberal distribution of surplus earnings
to meet the requirements of the Saviour. The
saying of Christ that a rich man can hardly
enter the kingdom of heaven, had not so much
reference abstractedly to his riches, as it did
to their accompaniments. He knew, as we
all know, that persons of wealth are in the
way of temptations which do not affect other
classes. God requires of them a certain use
of their means, which it is hard for human
nature to make. The passion for wealth, like
most other passions of the human heart, grows
with what it feeds upon, and, as a general
thing, the larger the gains, the more eager the
greed. And so riches become an idol and are
worshipped; they absorb, as it were, the soul
of their possessor, and hence he is in danger
of losing heaven for the reason that he has
lost all desire and love for heavenly things.
And this is what was meant when it was said
that a rich man can hardly enter the kingdom.
He has a burden, like Bunyan's pilgrim, and
what is worse, he loves his burden and clings
to it. He is unwilling to part with it even
with the grave opening before him; and he
goes down into the river with it and sinks, and
the waters close over him. If it were possible
for mankind to be possessed of riches and retain
their purity of soul, as they would under other
conditions, and to meet the responsibilities
which they impose, we should not have record?
ed the language of Christ on this subject. Per?
haps he intended the rule he laid down to the
young man, "Go and sell all that thou hast and
give to the poor," as one that should be appli?
cable in all time, and as a test of the sincerity
of religious professions. Be this as it may,
riches are a snare, and there are very few who
know how to use them, or knowing, do not fol?
low knowledge so as to meet the requirements
of God. We should prefer wealth for the good
we can do with it; not for hoarding; not for
the luxurious living it will give us; not that it
may pander to pride, and show, and extrava?
gance, and ostentation; but that through it we
may honor God and aid in building up His
kingdom; that we may relieve poverty and
want, and woe; that we may advance religion
and learning, that we may make the world Det?
ter, holier and happier for our having been
blessed with the spirit of love and charity.?
Standard.
A Curious Legend.?When Adam was
far advanced in years and at the point of
death, he sent his son to the angel Micha;],
who kept the gate of Paradise, to pray for the
oil of mercy, so that he could be healed. The
angel answered that it could not be until fifty
five hundred years, but he gave Seth a branch
of the tree of which Adam had eaten, bidding
him plant it on Mount Lebanon, and that when
it bore fruit his father should be healed. Seth
planted the branch on his father's grave; it
took root and grew, and from it were made
Aaron's rod, and Moses' staff, with which he
struck the rock and sweetened the waters of
Marah. It also formed the pole on which the
brazen serpent was lifted up, and the ark of
the testimony rested.
At last it came into the hands of Solomon,
who used it in building his palace; but it con?
tinually resisted the efforts of the builders to
adjust it Now it was too long, and then again
too short The builders, being angry, then
threw it into a marsh, so that it might serve as
a bridge. The Queen of Sheba would not
walk upon, but adored it, and told Solomon
that upon it should be suspended the man
through whose death the kingdom should be
destroyed. Solomon then had it buried deep
in the ground, where afterward the pool of
Bethesda was dug, and from the virtues of this
tree, healing properties were imparted to the
waters. After it had been buried three hun?
dred years it rose to the surface of the water,
and the Jews took it and made of it the Cross
of our Saviour.?IAppincotfs Magazine.
Two Stobees about Carrier Pigeohb.?
We noticed a few days since at Mr. B. Wright's
store, a flock of beautiful carrier pigeons, which
are very tame and attractive. Mr. Wright,
three years ago, sold a carrier dove, reared at
his place, to a gentleman in a distant town.
This gentleman subsequently sold the dove to
another party still further from Lewiston. A
few weeks ago, there was a flapping of wings
at the doorway of his store. The door opened,
in stepped the keen-eyed, beautiful dove which,
three years before, had been carried miles
away, and had now seized the first moment of
freedom to flee, like a spirit, home.
Not long since, Mr. Wright sent a dove from
his flock to a friend in Portland, saying to
bim?"Let this dove loose at 1 o'clock to-day."
At 1:38 o'clock?thirty-eight minutes after be?
ing let loose in Portland?the dove folded his
wings on Mr. Wright's door steps in Lewiston.
He lew directly upward from Portland, Bpi
rally, for his bearings, taking emphatically a
bird's-eye view, as though poised on a star, and
then hastened his flight unerringly homeward.
?Lcwiiton {Me.) Times.
Cure fob bhe Whooping Cough.?A phy?
sician writes to Demorest'B Monthly Magazine
an interesting communication on the nature
and treatment of whotbing cough, and adds:
"The remedy for the cure or this terrible
disease is simple. It is in reach and procura?
ble by alL Perhaps its very simplicity will
cause it to be neglected. It is simply to ad?
minister the decoction or infusion of the com?
mon cattanca veeca, chestnut leaves; or, if bet?
ter understood, chestnut leaves tea. The infu?
sion is prepared in the ordinary manner that
tea is daily prepared for domestic purposes, to
wit: Pour one quart of boiling water on one
ounce of the chestnut leaves, and keep covered.
When cold, an ordinary teacupful may be given
three or four times a day; the last at the time
of the patient retiring to rest for the night.
Sugar and milk may be added, if necessary to
deceive the patient.
-*-.
? "Pa/' said a lad to his father, "I have o?
ten read of people poor but honest; why don't
they sometimes say rich but 1100681" ''Tut,
tut, my son, nobody would believe them," an
swered the father.
? "Mamma," said a little fellow, whose
mother had forbidden him to draw horse* and
ships on the mahogany sideboard with a sharp
nail, "mamma, this ain't a nice house. At
Sam R?ckett's we can cut the sofa and pull out
the hair, and ride' the shovel and tongs over
the carpet, but here we cant have any fun at
all."
? What is*he greatest curiosity in the world?
A woman's. ,
Correspondence of Cincinnati Commercial.
The Prestons and Hamptons,
interesting family reminiscences.
Columbia, S. C, April 24.
"What fine large house is that standing over
there, surrounded on three sides by a high brick
wall, and in front by an ornamental iron fence
I with marble pillars at each corner?" I inquired
of a citizen.
"Oh, that's old General Preston's, and is said
to be the finest hud off grounds in the South.
There's a whole square or four acres of it, and
all inside is every kind of shrubbery that you
could think of with gravel and shell walks run?
ning all among it."
"Does Preston live there himself?"
. "Yes, considerably, but I believe he spends
most of his time in Europe. Has got consider?
able money invested there in one way and an?
other. He prophesied that the war would
come up a long tune before it did, and so to be
on the safe side, he sold most of his niggers,
and invested his money in Europe."
"What relation is he to the Hamptons?"
"Why, you*ee, he married a daughter of old
Colonel Wade Hampton, who was the father of
the present Wade Hampton, and his father-in
law being very rich, gave him this fine property
that we've been speaking of.
"The old original Preston of all of them came
here years and years ago. He was from Vir?
ginia, and was on his way to Florida to get
cured of the consumption. He was a young
man then about twenty years old, and traveling
along towards Florida, he passed through here
and concluded to. stop, as he liked the climate.
He went to school here awhile, married and
settled down. About that time old General
Wade Hampton, who had been a Colonel in
the Revolution?r}' War, settled here, raised a
large family, and got rich. Preston also got
rich, and the families afterwards became con?
nected by marriage. They owned a great many
plantations, and kept getting richer and richer
until the war came. Of course they all went
with the South, and many of them lost nearly
all of their property. General Wade Hamp?
ton owned a very costly residence just out of
town, which the Yankees burned up. Orna?
menting the grounds around his house alone
cost him sixty thousand dollars. Now all his
fine shrubery are turned out and the ruins look
bad enough. On top of the war came a lot of
security debts, and the General had to take the
benefit of the bankrupt law. They say he is
now getting started again in Mississippi, and
will come out right side up.
"The Hamptons and Pres tons are great work?
ers. # You may make them poor but they wont
stay so. Wade has one brother in Mississippi,
I believe, who is very rich. Besides being nch,
they are all popular men, and if it had not
been for the war, there is no telling what the
two'families would have come to. They would
have owned the State after awhile. But they
were very much set back during the war, and
some of them were killed. Thomas Hampton,
son of the present Wade, was killed in Virgin?
ia when he was only twenty-one years old.
His remains were brought home, and passed
right along the street, followed by over a hun?
dred of his negroes, most of them crying, for
they loved their young master. This was in
the fall of 1864. The following February here
come Sherman with fire and sword, and de?
stroyed a great deal of property belonging to
the two families, so that they were crushed by
all kinds of misfortunes. It was all that could
be done to keep the army from burning that
fine house we were speaking of. But they left
it, and that is about all they did leave."
There are several grave yards in and about
Columbia, belonging to different churches, and
in one of them are the graves of the Hampton
and Preston families, all in one corner, partial?
ly to themselves. Finely wrought marble slabs
are over them all, upon which are engraved the
names and date of deaths. The insatiate reap?
er has been at work among these great families,
for side by Bide repose the ashes of some twen?
ty-five or thirty of them.
They are figting stock, for one of the oldest
tombstones bears this inscription:
"General Wade Hampton, Colonel in the
Revolutionary War, and Major-General in the
War of 1812, died in Columbia, February 4,
1885, aged 83 years."
Another, but recently erected, has this in?
scription :
"Lieutenant Thomas Preston Hampton, son
of General Wade and Margaret Hampton, born
November 26,1841. killed in battle, near Pe?
tersburg, Va., October 27,1864."
Upon this tomb was lying a large wreath of
flowers, but the warm April sun had partially
faded them, and they were fast dying. Like
the body under the slab, they had been cut1
down in the spring-time of life, just as they
were blooming into fragrance and beauty. Young
Hampton fell when he lacked but a few days
of reaching man's estate, which makes his
death all the more sad. Death is a cruel mon?
ster, any time; but when he cuts down the
young buoyanfand hopeful) he seems doubly
BO.
The Hamptons and Pres tons all espoused the
cause of the South when the struggle began,
and considering their location and interests, it
is but justice to say that such a course was nat?
ural. That they were in earnest, and not act?
uated by selfish motives, let their deeds testify;
when the die was cast and the battle came, they
were not found shirking.
The families are both very popular with the
negroes; their old servants will not leave them,
but remain as faithful to their interests as be?
fore the war. Wade Hampton is as strong a
friend to the negro as he can be, and remains
in the Democratic party; he always befriends
them both in public and in private when occa?
sion demands. The negroes appreciate his no?
ble stand in their behalf, and I am not sure
but he would make melancholly inroads into
the ranks of the Loyal League if he should
run for an office. There is no danger of that,
however, as he is too busily engaged in trying
to build up his scattered fortunes, to go into
politics. Nevertheless, as loudly as we may
shriek "Bebel," and lash ourselves into fury
over the misdeeds of the great families of the
South, on sober, second thought, it is evident it
would be better for the colored people, better
for the State and better for the nation, to have
Wade Hampton in Congress rather than Cadet
Whittemore; at all events it would save the
Republican party some disgrace, which is de?
sirable. When it comes to such men as Whit?
temore, the party might cry out, with one of
old, "Oh, deliver me from my friends."
Aveey.
? The lunatic son of Henry Clay died in the
Lexington (Kentucky) Asylum on Saturday.
Theodore Wythe Clay was bora in 1802, and
lost his reason in early life through a causualty.
For over fifty years he was an inmate of the
Lexington Asylum, and during many years of
his father's life an'object of anxious and affec?
tionate solicitude on the part of the great states?
man. Theodore was quiet and gentlemanly in
his manners and s good talker, and was more
inclined to melancholy than violence.
?* To fire and fall back?shoot a gun that
kicks.
How a Circus Winds Up.
'Tat Contributor," in the Cincinnati Tvmet,
makes the following excellent hints at the clos?
ing performances of a circus s
People who patronize the circus see a gentle?
man enter the ring, hat in hand, at a certain
stage in the performance, and announce the
grand concert and minstrel performance that Is
to come off in the ring at the conclusion of the
regular show, for the amusement of all who
choose to remain and invest an extra quarter
for a ticket Then the voluble young men in
the employment of the candy stand vary their
cries of "nice peanuts, just baked," "here*
your ice-cool lemonade," &c, with entreaties
to buy a ticket to the grand concert. The con?
cert business don't pay very well in the city,
where there is usually a surfeit of minstrelsy,
and the best there is at that; but in the. coun?
try it is a big business. The privilege of run?
ning the concert usually goes with the candy
stand, and sells for from one thousand to three
thousand dollars for the season, according to
the drawing qualities of the main show. Some?
times the candy stand and the. concert make
more money than the circus itself, and there
have been instances where they have cleared a 3
high as $20,000 in a single season.
There is an opportunity for displaying .shrewd?
ness and tact in conducting this business so as
to make it successful. Some of the biggest
showmen in the country got their first start run?
ning a candy stand. Ames, of Ames' Circus
and Menagerie, is a case in point The young
men who move about among the audience ex?
hibiting tempting displays of candies and pea?
nuts and dexterously managing trays of lemo?
nade, generally get a per centage on what they
sell, which accounts for their importunity.
They keep their temper under all manner of
Blurring remarks from "Smart Alecks," and are
generally able to wind them up with a sharp
retort They learn to be good judges of human
nature and know who to press their merchan?
dize upon, and who to pass by. One of them
detects a bashful young man sitting by his girl,
a handsome, pouting, red-cheeked beauty. He
fills her lap with candies, heedless of remon?
strance, keeping up a bewildering flow of com?
pliments, which pleases her as it excites the
envy of her lout of a beau, who inwardly wishes
he could talk like the circus man. Then the
candy fellow appeals to him direct?asks if he
will sit there like a bump on a 18g, and a hand?
some young woman like that suffer for the want
of a little candy to sweeten the asperities of life.
He would keep her in candy himself for a year,
for he really felt sweet on her already, were it
not for the fact that he had fourteen young and
helpless grandmothers to support The young
woman blushes and tittles, and her beau buys
the candy, if for no other reason than.to get rid
of the good-looking and smart-talking candy
man. He is equally successful in pleasing
mammas by praising their children, and, if he
understands his business, he will talk cash out
of the most crusty, and peanuts into the moat
penurious.
We watched one of these "candy butchers,"
as they are called in the technicality of the cir?
cus, the other night and were much amused by
the way he worked up business. While urging
a party to invest in peanuts he turns his heaa
as though he had been called by another party
and shouts?"I'm coming. Don't be in a hurry,
I always wait on the ladies and children first"
Of course no one has called him, but the peo?
ple don't know that, and as he repeats it often
it gives an appearance of his wares being in
great demand.
Ever stop to hear the "Grand Concert?"
Tou ought to do it once. There is as little de?
lay as possible after the people who are not at
I tracted by it or who haven't a spare quarterare
gone. A portable platform is Drought in and
! placed in the ring, facing the audience, who are
got together in a group. A board, supported at
each end by a chair, furnishes the orchestra ac?
commodation for their music. Chairs are plac?
ed on the platform for the minstrels. Then en?
ter the orchestra, made up from the circus band,
1 who receive an additional compensation for be?
coming a Grand Concert After a brief over
I tare, which is played standing, the minstrels
appear. The two end men have their faces
blacked, (we are describing the Grand Concert
attached to James Robinson's show) the others
wear their natural skin. The troupe is render?
ed additionally attractive by the presence of a
I good-looking female minstrel, wife of one of
the performers. We recognize two of the men
as trapeze performers in the regular perform?
ance. There is the usual minstrel business in
I brief. Brother Bones is asked "how is ye ?"
and brother Bones replies that he is "salubri?
ous." There are comic songs that make you
weep, and pathetic ballads that make you
laugh, sung by a young man whose voice is ren?
dered weak and sepulchral by sleeping at night
on the top of a circus wagon. The pretty fe?
male minstrel appears again in fancy attire, and
sings a "Girl ofthe Period" song with a voice
too sweet to follow in the wake of a circus, and
then a Dutchman sings a song and te lls a story
very laughably, through whose comic? J disguise
we recognized the 'Ting-master" of the big
show. We might say for him that he succeeds
so much better in his comic Dutch business
than he does in the ring that we would advise
him to give up the ring-master's whip and stick
to his pipe and wooden shoes.
The Grand Concert lasts about an hour,
when it closes with the inevitable "Shoo. Fly,"
and the people retire apparently satisfied, or if
they are not, they make no fuss about it, which
is all the showman asks of them.
American WontjEbs.?The greatest cata?
ract in the world is the Falls of Niagara, where
the water from the great upper lakes forms a
river of three-quarters of a mile in width, and
then, being suddenly contracted, pluages over
the rocks in two columns, to the depth of one
hundred and seventy feet each.
The greatest cave in the world is the Mam?
moth Cave in Kentucky, where any one can
make a voyage on the waters of a subterranean
river, and catch fish without eyes.
The greatest river in the world is the Missis?
sippi, four thousand one hundred miles long.
The largest valley in the world iB the Valley
oi the Mississippi. It contains five hundred
thousand square miles, and is one of the most
fertile and profitable regions of the globe.
The largest lake in the world is Lake Supe?
rior, which is truly an inland sea being four
hundred and thirty miles long, and one thou?
sand feet deep.
The longest railroad in the world is the Pa?
cific Eailroad, over 8,000 miles in length.
The greatest natural bridge in the world is
the Natural Bridge over Cedar Creek, in Vir?
gin a. It extends across a chasm eighty feet in
width and two hundred and fifty feot in depth,
at the bottom of which the creeks flows.
The greatest mass of solid iron in the world
is the Iron Mountain of Missouri. It is three
hundred and fifty feet high, and two mile* in
circuit.
The best specimen of Grecian architecture in
the world, is the Delphia Girard College for
Orphans, Philadelphia.
--? There" is an old-fashioned-parlor game tha>
has' never been improved upon, and thtfrfcg \
courting.
Andrew Johnson?
ISCLDSSTB ZK TEE LIFE OF TEE EX-PBEBEDE5T,
The following is an extract from an article
in the May number of the XIX Century, from
the pen of ex-Gov. B. F. Perry j .
President Johnson came to' Lanrens C. 3Jf)
South Carolina, in 1827, and remained there
two years, working as a journeyman tailor.
He came from North Carolina, where he was
born, and served his apprenticeship. Whilst
working at Lanrens he became engaged to a
young lady in the neighborhood, and .went oat
one Sunday morning to ask her mother, whp
was a widow lady, for the hand of her daugh?
ter. He told Go y. Orr that he saw by the old
body's manner that she was not favorably dis?
posed towards him. It was bite, in the evening
before he could muster up courage to "pop the
question." When he did so, the old lady told
him very plainly that her daughter should not
marry a tailor, and intimated that she suspect?
ed he wanted some of her negroes. The young
tailor boy and future President of the United
States, was so much mortified at the rebuff he
had received, that he determined to quit Lau?
rens, and did so the next day.
How unfortunate for the daughter was the
ill judgment of the .mother. Had she given
her consent her daughter might have been the
occupant of the White House, mistress of cere?
monies and fashion in Washington, receiving
and entertaining foreign ministers and their
ladies, instead of being as she is, the humble
wife of a poor and obscure man. On the other
hand, it might have disappointed the high des*
tiny of the tailor boy. Instead of being Pres?
ident of the United States he might be still
pursuing his humble vocation. But this is not
very likely. A man with President Johnson's
natural endowments, intellectually and moral?
ly, could hardly pass through life in this Amer?
ican republic, without elevating himself and
acquiring honor and distinction.
It is a remarkable and most wonderful fact,
that President Johnson never went to school &
day in his life! His father, who was a moat
worthy and excellent man, filling the office of
town constable in Raleigh* North Carolina,
messenger of the bank and sexton of a church,
died when his son was only two yean old.
The family were left in poverty, and at the age
of ten years, Andrew was bound as an appren?
tice to the trade of a tailor. Whilst working
as an apprentice, some one came into the shop
with a book of speeches, .and read one to the
boys. This speech delighted Andrew Johnson
so much that he determined to learn to read
himself. The book was given to ^um, and in
this book, with the assistance of his fellow ap?
prentices, he learned his letters arid learned to
read; and after that, a book of some, sort was
ever bis constant companion. His wife taught
him to write and cypher after they married.
In the meantime he must have had his mind
well stored with a great deal of useful readinsr.
****** * ?
It has been said and widely circulated that
President Johnson was intemperate. There
never was, perhaps, less foundation for such a
calumny. He has always been a most tempe?
rate man throughout his whole life. This will
be testified to by all who knew him intimately,
whether friends or foes. Messrs.Burt, Ashemore
and other members of Congress, who served
with him for many years, assure me that no
such thing was ever suspected whilst he was in
Congress. Col. Williams, of Greenville, Ten?
nessee, who has known President Johnson all
his life, and resided with him in the same vil?
lage, and between whom there is a bitter feud,
told me not long since that no one ever sav/
Johnson drunk, or suspected him of drinking
to excess. In all my visits to the President,
in the day time and at night, I am sure he was
never under the influence of spirits or wine, in
the slightest degree. When inaugurated as
Vice President, he was in feeble health, and
just before making his speech, he was advised
to take a glass of brandy. Not being accus
tomed to the use of spirituous liquors, it did
effect him, and the effect was noticed. This
first gave rise to slander.
Mahostb the Sbookd Best Ftghteb op
tee late confederate Aemy.?A writer in
the New York Evening Mail, of the 12th inst..
under the signature of "A student of both sides,
endeavors to establish for Mahone a reputation
as a fighting General, second to but one other
(Stonewall Jackson) in the late Confederate
Army. Under the special head of "What one
man can do," he writes:
To give art idea of what one man can do In
command of men transfused by him with his
manhood, it is sufficient to state that Mahone.
with only eight thousand bayonets, occasioned!
to the North, in the campaign which com
me need on the Bapidan, 5 th May, 1864, and
ended on the Appomattox, 9th April, 1865, a
loss of 12,000 men in prisoners, and 13,000 in
casualties in dead, wounded and missing, be?
sides capturing thirty-six pieces of artillery
and forty-four battle flags. These statistics
were gathered from our own reports by* Ma?
hone.
What is more, with his depleted division (not
over 1,600 men all told) he alone frustrated the
success of the mine explosion, backed by a mass
of 00,000 to 70,000 Union troops?a fearful ag?
gregation of troops competent to anything, rf
they had been determinedly and scientifically
"put in"?a force and mass, if properly applied,
sufficient to have carried Petersburg at a blow
and have crushed that portion of Lee's army in
their front into the nothingness of slaughter,
capture and dispersion. There was nothing
between MeauVs 60,000 to 70,000 men but an
attenuated line under and inefficient comman?
der until Mahone came up three miles to throw
himself into the gap. and then, with a loss of
two hundred and fifty men, to win back the
captured woirks, with an admitted list of casu?
alties to us of 6,240 in killed, wounded and
prisoners?twenty-one times his own casualties.
This operation will be explained more at length
in hs appropriate place. ^
This sketch contains some interesting remin?
iscences of the war?doubly interesting whm
it is considered that the writer is a Ivorthern
man.
m
? The latest specimen of juvenile literature
is this: "As Wil-li-am W?-kins was walk-ing
in the gar-den one day, he met his dear sis-tar,
and thus he did say: 'Why is a squash like a
lit-tle news-boy V She gave it up. 'Be-caune,*
said this wick-ed boy, the old-er he grows the
more of a yel-ler he will be.' His good grand?
mamma overheard him, and went to bed sick
with grief."
? A paragraph is going the rounds about a
girl in Chester, vt, dying from tight lacing.
An editor commenting on the fact says: "These
corsets should be done away with; and if the
girls can't live, without being squeezed, we sun*
pose men. can be found who would sacrifice
themselves. As old a* we are we would rather
devote ?u^hjjnraa^day, without a cent of My, .
as a brevet corset, than see the girls dying off
in that mannet. Office hours almost tpy
time." s .
? When heodng with a friend never hit him
^ the conimisaary department It always hext?
his feelings.