Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BY HOYT & CO. ANDERSON, S. 0~ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1^ 1875. VOL. Xt-NO 8. A HUE IN THE BEAK. Wendell Phillips . Declares .for a Green? back Currency. The. following letter from Wendell Phillips has been addressed to Mr. Eu feene-Beebe, Secretary of the New York Legal-Tender Club. It gives in forcible language that gentleman's views on the delicate question of a circulating medi? um, and will be read with interest by all who have money or want it: . August 23 rd, 1875. ?Mr. Eugene Beebe, Secretary Legal-Tender . Club: Dear Silt?I, appreciate the great im? portance of your agitation to prevent uirther contraction of the currency, and am. sorry I shall not be able to attend Vour meeting in September. It seems to me there are but two questions to be con? sidered touching the currency: . Fust Upon what basis shall it rest? ?'Second. ? JHow much of U shall we have? -; 4xZ ? liiiiino A long tame ago there might have been a third : of what shall it be made, gold fcAd silver or paper? But the experience ?of rjnsiness men long ago answered that inquiry and settled it beyond recall, that throughout Christendom the currency must be paper. It is idle to talk to-day of a' specie oasis. That gentle hallucina? tion has been encouraged to quiet timid men and delude the masses. But the things itself has not really existed for fifty or a hundred years. Great Britain, where, if anywhere,, such a basis could be main? tained, has to-day fifty cents of coiri to $100 .of. paper. (Patterson, Science of Finance, pp. 5, 6, 27, 28,37, 38. Edin? burgh, 1868.) Any .ibdividual may have that fifty cents, provided lie does not need it, and frovided there is uq special reason why e should, have it. If at any time his business absolutely requires that he should have that fifty cents of coin, at that time he cannot have it. A specie basis of fifty cents coin to support one hundred dollars paper! It reminds me of that Irish six-bottle toper, who always sat down-to<drink with a small bit of a strawberry at the bottom of his wineglass and kept it there through the evening? "It gaye^fo fine a flavor, to the wine!" Doubtless' that* fifty cents coin gives a strong specie flavor to the vast system of British paper, and makes Bull feel warm and comfortable. Political economy settles very few points by theorizing. Now and then experience decides a question, and it passes into accepted and undeniable truth. In this way business experience has decided that currency, in civilized and commercial nations, must rest on credit, and consist of paper. Thus ex? perience answers, our first question ; the currency does rest and must rest on cred? it Whose shall that credit be ? Shall it be the credit of banks and their custo? mers or the credit of the nation ? This question also experience has answered. Before the war we had banks resting each one off its own credit. We all re? member the result. The bills of a bank ceased generally to be current a hundred miles fr3m<itaown counter. You lost ten per cent, in changing those of the South and West for Eastern bills; and Horace Greelev demurely told the com? mittee who paid him a handful of Western bills, "If convenient, I should much prc for a well executed counterfeit on some Eastern bank." What makes our nation? al bank bills good, and equally good, ev? erywhere to-day? The nation stands behind them. Such notes pass every? where, and eveiy where at the same value, because the nation guarantees them. All the note currency we have rests on na? tional credit, directly or indirectly. No man can. give a reason why they should not all rest directly on national credit; \vhy all bank bills should not be with? drawn and legal tenders supply their place. In building., a house, you dp .not put a Slatform--b5?ween the-hetif>e and its foun ationI "t^rtaTnly 'not. Your walls rest ?Uwctlyon'youTifoundation. To-day the nation pays the banks $20,000,000 or more to allow them to play the useless jiart of standing between- it (the nation) and its own currency. Dr. Franklin's herOj who asked his victim to pay for heating the poker, was a most reasonable person and a Solomon compared with ourselves in this matter. I nave heard of an incompetent man put under guar? dianship ana obliged to pay trustees lib? erally for taking care of his property, but I never heard of one put under guardianship and paying his guardian liberally and then obliged to do all of ?bis own business besides, which is exactly ?oui case. We furnish the credit that supports these bank bills, and then we ,pay the banks for using that credit. Bagehot, ftoe-hi^est authority in Eng? land, savs the public takes Bank of Eng? land bills without i inquiry or hesitation, because it knows that in any emergency the government will sustain the bank. Here our bills pass 'because the goverd ment is distinctly pledged to do so. The ?two great commercial centres have drifted into currency based, in fact, on govern 'ment credit, and they deliberately accept '?the situation. .Our first question (On what shall our currency rest?) is fully answered by facts. In commercial nations it rests, and must Vest,?t? government credit ?Second. How much currency shall we fcaVe? No single ? man, officer or institution van decide or ever did decide this ques-1 tion. Currency made up of bank bills, deposited nptes,;bills of exehange, &c, is like any^btker article or manufacture? *we make as much of it as we need. The business of a country, when not inter? fered with, always settles the amount, of its currency. Business creates, .every? where and at all times, just such and just so much currency as it needs. Banks ?nd Secretaries of Treasuries imagine they determine the amount of the cur? rency. As well might Old Probability ?claim that he determined the weather. He and they only record what mightier forces do. Hats, shoes, wagons, rails, ?cloths, cotton, wheat?one year we want more, the next year less?who decides ? The dealers in the article and the users of it Does anybody advise going back to other days and having some board of wiseacres decide how much wheat shall be planted aud how much cotton, how many'loaves or wagons made ? No such dreamer'obtrudes himself on the public. But thousands clamor for allowing bank directors and them alone to settle the amount of the currency. And they are allowed more control than any other ?agency. The New York city banks Alone increased the currency $3,000.000 j {$2,957,200) in one month, September, 1874, and decreased it ?5,000,000 in one week of March, 1875. This aristocracy in the money manufacture is an odious monopoly, alien to our institutions and harmful to our prosperity. What should we say if 500 men and such friends as they chose were allowed to plant wheat aud mine iron while every one else was forbidden? Yet this is but another name for our present bank system. Let us cease, then, to have any plan either to enlarge or contract the currency. t Let the govern? ment stan4 ready to issue all the currency any business man ^wishes; and ean give good security for, at low interest and con? vertible into long bonds. If necessary, in order to conciliate existing prejudice, let the capital of these bonds, having long terms to run, be payable in gold. Make greenbacks legal tender for all Surposes, customs/and all government ues included. There is every reason why this should be done. History is re? peating itself. England never knew more prosperous years than from 1800 to 1812, during which she neither had gold, nor wished to have it, nor promised to pay gold to any one whatever. All that while she extended and contracted her currency, without any regard whatever to gold* Her enormous trade and ex? penditures were all paper, and only pa? per, resting* on credit and nothing else. We had similar prosperity during the war and after, on the same terms. In 1820, England;, yielding, to- theorists and dreamers, trie'd to put this new wine into old' bottles, and dragged- her business back to methods a centruxy-old??to specie. Bankruptcy, the very history of which makes the blood cold to-day, blighted the' Empire.- It took half a generation to recover from the mistake. No man can to-day begin to show that such suf? fering was necessary; that it achieved any good, or that it effected any changes which could not have been as well made without it. We entered that same valley of the shadow of death when, in 1865, McCulloch began contraction. We are hurrying fast to England's 1820; proper? ty sunk to half its former value; the streets crowded with unemployed men fast rotting -into criminals; grass growing on the wharves, machinery rusting, wealth alarmed, poverty starving. Woe to the political party which the nation shall finally pronounce responsible for this fatal mistake I No previous merits will avail for its pardon. Its leaders will be buried in curses, as men whom neither history nor their own experience could make wise. We lament, as well we may, the wide? spread corruption of business men and office-holders. But where such corrup? tion in high places steals a dollar, con? traction?this well meaning ignorance of bullionists?robs the people of thou? sands. If this generation is ever bank? rupt, its bankruptcy will not be the work of knaves, but of honest men following a jack o' lantern and dragging us to ruin. Yours, Wendell Phillips. Strange Story of an Ex-Confcd. A travel-stained pedestrian, who gave bis name as Johnson, passed through this place Friday last. Ho was badly crip? pled, and apparently in very indigent circutnstauces. In response to certain in? quiries propounded by several persons, whose charitable offices he solicited; he related a strange story, which, if true, embraces a sad personal experience, as well as a notable instance of official pre? sumption. His narrative was, in sub? stance, as follows: He was a member of John Morgan's famous command in 18G2, and in a skir? mish near Murfreesboro, in that year, was badly wounded, and fell in the bands of tbe federal troops. Immediately after bis capture, he was sent to Kock Island, a prison of bitter memory, where he re? mained a helpless cripple until the clone of the war, when, instead of being dis? charged, he was transferred to the Jeff. Davis'Hospital in Marion county, Ohio, where he remained until a few weeks ago. His detention in the latter place is the strange part of the story. His wounds were of such a nature as to render him entirely helpless, and being unable to work, he was a mere iucumbrance to the establishment. He claims, however, that his detention was due to the fact that the keeper of the hospital received a liberal stipend from the Government for his board, and as there was quite a number of disabled Confederate soldiers quartered in the same establishment, under similar circumstances, it was manifestly to the interest of that officer to retain them. During his confinement in the hospital, he, in common with his fellow-prisoners, was hot allowed to communicate by wri? ting or otherwise, with tbe outside world, and his letters to friends and relatives were invariably intercepted by the hos? pital authorities. A few weeks ago he regained the use of his limbs, and the first use he made of them was to leave the hospital and strike out for Tennessee.? Having no money he was forced to travel on foot, and trust to the charitable for subsistence. He succeeded in reaching this place without suffering for food, but his general condition was anything but enviable. He told his story in a quiet, earnest way, that enlisted the sympathy of all who heard it, and as he gave an ac? curate history of his command up to the date of his capture, and displayed a fa? miliarity with tbe characters of several who belonged to it, which must have grown out of a personal acquaintance, his statements were received without the figurative grain of salt. He says that two citizeus of this county?David Bag gerly; and-Landes??are at present confined in the hospital mentioned, and the latter claiming to be a son bf Jesse Landess. We do not pretend to say that Johnson's story is worthy of credence, but it is certainly plausible enough to awaken investigation. At any rate, the man, as well as his narrative, enlisted Uie serious attention of several of our promi? nent citizens, and at their suggestion we give publicity to both.?Faydteville, Tcntu, Express. ? An amusing story is told of Go v. Bagley, of Michigan, who is a good Sabbatarian. He was lately in Detroit on Sunday, and, passing a billiard hnll with some friends, heard the balls, clicking ns if it were a week day. He politely inquired of the proprietor if he made a practice of keeping his hall open on Sunday, and was astonished when the man replied: "No, Governor, not as a general thing; but if your party would like to play a quiet game, I guess I can fix it for you.' ? Even the laziest boy aun sometimes catch a whipping. Cost of Fencing. "When I look around me in this enlight? ened nineteenth century, with my politi? cal economy study cap on, and see the stu? pendous follies of people, for want of what they always claim to have in a high degree, a little common sense, and the want of sensible concurrent action to achieve important results, I have no hope of a millennium in agriculture or any? thing else, aud believe "dm ircv" will come and lind the fool-killer's work not half accomplished. In this day of degenerate politicians, however, who never attempted to enlight? en the people, but follow in the wake of crude public opinion, as sharks in the wake ota vessel, who listen for the "vox populi" with ears as erect as a wild In? dian who catches the sound of his game upon the passing breeze, who are all for personal success, and nothing for princi Ele or the common weal?there is no ope for us but to await a change in the tide, and hope almost against hope, that a better day will dawn. Some year or so J ago there appeared in an agricultural pa? per the broad assertion that the cost of fencing in the State of Pennsylvania was equal to the whole value of the live stock in the State. This was so remarka? ble a statement as at once to attract our attention. To make some approximate estimate of the cost of fencing to the people of Vir? ginia is the object of the present article, and whilst the data are insufficient or not sufficiently accurate, perhaps, to arrive at a high degree of approximation, low estimates have been advisedly taken, that the actual cost shall rather exceed .han fall short of the results obtained. From the statistics of Agriculture in 1770, we find that in the State of Vir? ginia as at present organized, there were 73,849 farms of all sizes, and that of im? proved lands exclusive of wood lands, and other unimproved lauds there were 8,165,040 acres. This gives 410 acres as the average size of the farm of improved lands necessitating a fence. If we add ten acres additional to cover the wood and other lands under fence, we may safely assume, we think, that the average farm in our State requiring to be enclos? ed is about 120' acres, or 1200 square four-pole chains. If we suppose this farm to be in the form of a square, which of quadrilaterals gives the minimum fen? cing for the area enclosed, the side of the square would be 33.G4 chains, or as a very close approximation 762 yards. If divided into six rectangular fields the amount of fencing required would be seven times as much, or 5,334 yards. Allowing forty rails for every hundred yards ot an ordinary good fence, we have to enclose properly the average farm, 21,335 rails. The rails are worth per huudred in both the timber and mauling about ?1.10 say, upon an aver? age through the State, though as we have no means of verifying this hypothesis, it I may not be a very near approximation, yet the true value would probably exceed the amount assumed as our basis, as lui) good rails would make a cord or more of wood, and the cost of mauling is from 50 to 75 cents per hundred in different sec? tions. This gives say 235 dollars as the cost of the rails necessary to enclose the aver? age square farm. But this being* the most economical form of enclosure for four-sided areas, and not adhered to in practice, we may safely assume in consid? eration of the crooked fences aud irregu? lar forms of our field 250 dollars as a still closer approximation. Now comes in the additional expenses of hauling and fencing. We suppose at the average dis? tance for hauling rails at different seasons of the year, niue loads per day with a two-horse team, and 22 rails at a load would be a sufficiently high estimate. This would make 300 rails per day. If we as? sume the cost of hauling and the addi? tional expenses of fencing the 100 rails to be two dollars, a low estimate, the cost of fencing the 31,335 rails would be 142 dollars, and allowing the small amount of eight dollars for the irregularity of fields above 150 dollars. Thus we have 4U0 dollars as an approx? imate result for the outlay necessary to fence in 120 acres of land with a good new enclosure into six fields. It would therefore require an outlay to enclose the 73.849 farms in the manner and upon the basis adopted, $29,539,900, or twenty-nine aud a half millions of dollars. "The value of all the live stock in the State by the same census was $28,-1 197,669, over twenty-eight millions. Even if a four-field enclosure be adop? ted, the expeuse would be six-sevenths as much, or it would do away wjth only one division line, and the eo.-t would be over twenty-five millions. We may safe? ly assume, then, that the cost of good new enclosures for all the farms of the State equals the vahie of their live stock. Granting that these enclosures require to be replaced every twelve years, we have here a little item of nearly two and a half millions of annual expenditures sunk in fences to keep out stock, two millions of which could be saved by requiring all farm stock to be fenced in, in standing pastures, or by moveable fences that I could be durably constructed. It should be observed also that the smaller the farm the greater the relative expense, as it requires just half as many rails to enclose 25 acres as prescribed, as it does to enclose 100 acres. The poor man and small farmer is thus much mon interested in this matter than he has ever been taught to consider, but as we said before, our public men and law? makers never attempt to teach the people I up to economic laws, but rather mount I the rostrum to teach them how to vote. ! We omit here the losses incident to j our agriculture from successive droughts, which by some are supposed to be due in part to the destruction of our forests. This is, however, controverted. Though we have paid no special attention to this subject, either as to its philosophy or sta j tistics, if there are any reliable?which we doubt Yet one fact is worthy of con? sideration, and that is, that waters which fall to the earth are rapidly collected into streams and move olf to the ocean pre? senting very little surface for evaporation, whilst the immense amount of water I caught and held for evaporation by the great forests of the groat continent, can be better appreciated by the little urchin, who inveigles his playmate under a tree I to shake down a heavy shower upon him, than the philosopher who has forgotten his boyish tricks. But wo leave this to the philosophy that rides upon the wings of the wind, and shoulders all responsibility upon the gulf stream. What say the editorial fra? ternity of your cily, yourself included. We believe they all speak ex arfhedra on kindred subjects, and English Grammar. | Kuman Idiosyncrasies. That curiosity which originated in the feminine sex, but did not fail in fullness of time to lapse into a masculine attrib? ute also, seems to have a fair share in evolving those discoveries which run all the way from the practical and useful to a frantic belief in, and steadfast endeavo to prove, the most ridiculous isms. Each decade of time furnishes its own examples of those who risk life, and lose it, in their devotion to science. Living? stone's explorations in Africa made him a hero in his own country, and his dcr.'.b made him take rank among the martyrs who sacrifice their being in pursuit of discoveries so remote that they are almost entitled to take rank with the vexed question, "Was Adam the common father of us all?" A taste for experimenting is generally unsafe. Although it is now some two hundred years Bince Bishop Wilkins re? marked that it would be as common here? after for a man to call for bis wings, when about making a journey, as it was then to call for his boots and spurs, the story of Darious Green and his flying inachiue, supported by the unhappy fate of the luckless Grimwood, warns us that the "hereafter" he then alluded to is some distance off in the future, and that those who have an agreeable premonition that they "are bound to rise," will find it consistent with personal safety to under? take such evolutions merely in flights of fancy. While a thirst for discovery may be founded on a desire to benefit mankind, as iu the case of the physician who, to test the contagion of yellow fever, supped on the black-vomit of a dying patient, in many instances it seems as though some cerebral perversion inevitably impelled the would-be discoverer to risk health, for? tune, even life itself, iu order to freeze fire or ignite snow, or cause water to run up hill. Thej? is not a more touching narrative in a^ literature than the story of the German peasant who turned away from many friends and a happy home to wander over the wide world in search of a four-leaved clover that was - to be a charm that would make life a perpetual joy and blessiug. He wandered faraway, and looked along the ground for many years. He did not pause to make friends, nor did he pluck auy flower by the way side, but when old age came and it seem? ed to him that his search was not ever to be successful, the story tells us that be went slowly back to the old home in the mountains, in order that he might die there, and just beside the door grew the four-leaved clover he had wasted his life in search of. But few of us are iuclined to bo content with life just as we find it, or to echo the question of the poet who exclaims, "Why should I tear my flesh and bruise my feet Climbing lor ruses when from where I stand Down the green meadow I may reach my laud And pluck them otf as well?" * While our eccentricities do not master us so us to interfere with the tenor of our every day life and conversation, pet weak? nesses will occasionally rise to the surface, not so much in faculty for gathering spilt milk, or curing spoiled hay, as in an unlimited confidence that our ability to make preserves for family use far exceeds the ability of some less favored mortal, whose genius extends no farther than a special faculty for making soup for asick neighbor. Both qualifications are harm? less and necessary in their way, and those who carry their exercise to excess, are but guilty of amiable weakness, and are to be much commended, in contrast with their sisters, who so sacrifice home com? fort to personsal display, in the egotisti? cal belief that they sqould be a cynosure for all eyes, that one who marked their finery otherwise than admiringly wrote thus concerning them: "Dross drains our cellar dry, And keejis our larder lean, puts out our Area, And introduces hunger, frost and woe, Whero peace and hospitality might reign." Again, there may be an itching eager? ness for autographs, or a longing desire after fossils, and the whole world seems called upon to pay tribute to those snap pers-up of uncousidered trifles, who ran? sack the ends of the earth for specimens, until their absorbing interest in science reminds a distinguished looker-on of the will of one Nicholas Gimerack, who left "to my dear wife" one box of butterflies, one drawer of shells, one female skeleton, and a dried cockatrice, while he cut off his eldest son with "a single cockleshell," for undutiful behavior in laughing at the little-sister his father had preserved in spirits of wine, and bequeathed to anoth? er relative "a collection of dried grass? hoppers" as an adequate acknowledg? ment of virtue and reward of merit. Well may those whimsicalities remind us of "what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue," as human ingenuity varies from a harmless inquiry as to the relative Hpeed of the hare and the tor? toise to the horrors, calamities and trag? edies that follow in the wake of scien? tific or adventurous investigations from the argonauts of olden time to the aerouauts of the present day. A Practical Formula.?-Commis? sioner Janes, in answer to repeated in? quiries for a formula for manuring wheat and other crops, has recommended the following formula: 700 lbs. green cotton seed. 700 lbs. well sheltered stablo or cow manure. 500 lbs. acid or superphosphate 40 lbs. muriate of potash. GO lbs. sulphate of ammonia. Spread tbe cotton seed and manure in alternate layers under shelter, sprinkling each layer with a due proportion of acid phosphate and a solution of potash and amonia thoroughly dissolved in a suffi? cient quantity of water, warm if conve? nient, to hasten decomposition and pre? vent excessive heat. After fermentation has so thoroughly set in as to kill the germ of the cotton seed, cut down the mass vertically through all the layers. Shovel it into a heap and allow it to remain for a week or ten days, when it will be ready. Sow broadcast at the rate of 400 pounds per acre, and harrow in wheat. M" ap? plied in drills one foot apart 300 pounds per acre will secure better results. In the spring, when wheat is in the boot, sow broadcast in wet weather, 50 pounds of uitr?te of soda, well pulver? ized. When the cotton need or manure is inaccessible, use 1,400 pounds of the other. The land must be well prepared, and this formula is adapted to small grain and narrow blndcd grass. This formula is worthy of a trial. The Lien Law. We notice a disposition on the part of the press, as well as among individuals, to denounce the lien law as the source of many, if not all, the evils that atllict the fanning interest. It is illustrative of the fact that "thousands are hacking at the bending branches of evil, to one who is I striking at the root." The lien law is a necessity. It is the result of the condition into which the farmers have placed themselves, by the improvident system they have pursued. They are without supplies, without money with which to purchase, without credit, aud if without tue lien law would soou be without existence, for no one would make the requisite advances unless the security fiven was satisfactory to the creditor.? 'he lien law, then, is a necessary evil; it is the system of credit; it is the branch of an evil, as its root, which utterly fails to provide the means of subsistence and necessitates a resort to the original in? vestment itself. It is an evidence of the dissolution of the farming interest of the country. He who gives a lien thereby confesses that his farm has failed to sus? tain itself. If this view of the subject is correct, we fail to see the wisdom of denounciug the lien law. Rather denounce the system which ha? called it into existence and made it a necessity. Point out the evils in the system of labor, as the root from which springs all other consequences, as evil branches, which can not be destroyed unless their cause is eradicated. When farmers resolve to pay only for services, and that at a fair valuation, then they will have struck the root which gives rise to the lien law. When they realize the fact that the result of their operations under their present system is often insuf? ficient to pay the demands of the laborer, the lien law will cease. When they re? fuse longer to employ their lands and stock and tools for the maintenance of the laborers, to assume all risks therefor, incur all liabilities, and endure the anx? iety and care incident to such a position, which noue can realize except he who has tried it, then the lien law will cease. If the farmer awakes to the magnitude of these evils in time to save himself from rapidly approaching and complete ruin, I the lieu law and similar evil results will disappear, and a tide of prosperity will flow in on him that he has not anticipa? ted.?New Era. There is much in the above for our far? mers to seriously think upon. They complain grievously of the lien law"; but avail themselves of its provisions year after year, acknowledging all the time that it is injurious to them. The law is not to blame in the least. It does not compel the farmer to give a lien ; it does not prevent a farmer from raising his own supplies, nor does it compel him to locate his granary andmeut house hundreds of miles from his farm: \>ut if farmers prefer paying 50 per cent, more for what they eat than it would cost thci* to raise it, the law allowing him to do so should not be blamed. One would sup? pose that after one year's trial of the lien j law, every farmer would bend all his energies toward relieving himself of the necessity for its assistance. If every far? mer in this County would adopt the sys? tem next year of raising all the meat, bread and provender be will require for his household and stock consumption the following year, he would be independent of the lien law and it would be inopera? tive, in this County, at least. The only reason why wc think the lien law should be abolished is, that hundreds of our planters never will make a provis? ion crop ;o long as they can get credit for provisions to make a cotton crop; and that system of forming is doing great in? justice, not only to themselves but to everybody else, because all the money made from the cotton crop is sent West and North to pay for what they have already eat and used, instead of being kept among us to build up our own me? chanics, improve our own farms aud spread its encouraging iuflueuce through every industrial interest in the State. Entertaining this view of the operations of the lien law we are in favor of its repeal; at the same time we believe the farmers themselves?those who avail themselves of its privileges?have no right to complain of the high prices they arc compelled to pay, under it, because they can help themselves if they deter? mine so to do. The law was intended to do good, but those for whose benefit it was enacted have so abused its privileges that it has become an evil?much like the . use of whiskey. Used only when necessary it is a good thing, but when its use has be? come a confirmed habit, from which in? jury is done, then it is a great evil and should be abolished.? Union Times. Railroad Across the Atlantic.? A railroad across the Atlantic is on the list of possibilities for the future achieve? ment of science. Many years ago a civil engineer read a paper before the French Academy suggesting submarine railways. His theory was that at a certain depth of the ocean?a hundred fathoms or more? tar below any agitation from surface storms, the water is of such density that nothing in tubular form, whatever the weight, can possibly sink. Having thus made a foundation in the very bowels of old Neptune, he proposes to sink a con? tinuous line of immense iron tubes?after the manner of the recent cable laying? in which a double track railway could be laid between Cape Clear, Ireland, and Cape Race, Newfoundland, and thus trains go booming through, to the con? sternation of the sea serpent and the mortal terror of the big ana little fishes. The only really serious objection to his project that the engineer of this deop-sca scheme could then see, was the su{locat? ing effects of the smoke from the locomo? tives; and if this could be overcome thou the grand ocoainc railway only required the necessary construction capital to outer upon its career of "successful experi? ment," which he duly figured out upon the profits of the ample traffic between the two worlds. Now, the aforesaid "scientific objection" has already disap? peared in the smoke-consuming engine of modem Invention, to say nothing of the "Kccly Motor." Can this capital question be as easily solved? Who will form the company, anil who will take the snares. ? A precocious boy in an up-town family was asked which was I bo greater evil of the two, hurting another's feel? ings or his linger. Ho said the former. "Right, my dear child,'' said the gratified questioner, "ami why is it. worse to hurt the feelings?'' "Because you can't tie a rag around them," explained the dear child. The Crovm of Scotland. The ancient crown of Scotland, now in the. Castle of Edinburgh, has had adven? tures not unlike some of those of the Hungarian diadem. It is supposed to have been made for King Robert Bruce, and is formed of two circles of gold, the Upper one being surmounted by a row of crosses and flans de Iis, while "the lower and broader ring is adorned with precious stones, in their rough, unpolished state. From this, rise two arches of gold, which unite in a ball and cross. Even when the Stuarts became kings of England, they came to Scotland after their Eng? lish coronation, to receive this crown at Scone. Charles I. indeed, wished to have the crown and regalia of Scotland sent up to London in order that the cere? mony might take place there, but this was regarded as an infringement of the rights of the kingdom, and be bad to come to Scotland, where he was crowned June IS, 1G33. When, after his father's death, Charles II asserted his rights in Scotland, he was crowned at Scone on January 1, 1651. On Cromwell's advancing across the border, the crown and regalia were sent away from Edinburgh to the strong castle of Dunnottar, on the shores of the North sea, lest they should fall into his hands. They were placed under the protection of a picked garrison, commanded by the Earl MarischaLand Ogilvy, of Barras, a veteran soldier. Several guns were sent to reinforce tbe other castle, among others, M?ns Meg, and the great embra? sure, through which this monster was fired, is still shown at Dunnottar. On the 3d of January, 16?2, the Crom wellian General Lambert, having closely invested the castle, summoned it to surrender. The summons was rejected, and the siege began. Ogilvy had previously asked that a ship might be sent to carry off the crown, sceptre and sword of state; but Charles had not been able to comply with his request. It soon became evi? dent that the castle could not hold out long, and it was therefore necessary to devise some plan for saving the regalia. The chief agent in the plot was the wife of Rev. James Granger, of Kinneff, a small church four miles from Dunnottar. She obtained from General Lambert per? mission to pass through his lines, in order to visit the lady of the castle, and, on her return, secretly brought away the Scot? tish crown. Her maid followed her, bearing two large bundles of lint, as if for spinning, but in one of them the sword of state was hidden, and in the other the sceptre. On reaching Kinnctf, she gave them to her husband, and that night they went into the church, raised a dag of the pavement in front of the pulpit, dug a hole, and buried there the crown and the sceptre. In another part of the church they hid the sword in the same way. When, on the fall of the castle, the re? galia were found to be gone, great was Lambert's indignation. Tradition says that he suspected the Grangers, and tor tutcd them in vain in order to extort their secret. But suspicion was at length lulled v, rest by the report that the crown had been sent abroad. Occasionally the minister an.] his wife went bv night into the church to change the cloths in which the crown was wrapped, in order to pre? serve from the damp, and at the resto? ration, they gave up*he regalia in safetv to Charles II. A gram of 2,000 marks rewarded Mrs. Granger hr her faithful service. After the union, vhen on ac? count of the strength of tin Jacobite party, the English government ^ry un? wisely exhibited on many occasion; the mistrust with which they regarded ?.he sentiment of Scottish nationality, tlr?. I crown and regalia, as its most striking1 emblems, were shut up in a strong coffer iu the crown room of Edinburgh castle. This toook place in 1707, and there they remained for more than a century, until they were agaiu restored to light by the commission appointed for that purpose in 1818.? Chuiiwcr's Journal. A Little Mistake. ' He took the evening traiu up from Cleveland, aud in lookimr through the the cars discovered a female sitting alone in ascat, and it instantly occurred to him that she might be lovely. A veil dropped over her lace, but there was no reason to suppose that she was not good looking, and he gallantly raised his hat and sat down beside her, remarking with a smile: "It's lonely travelling alone." She just murmured a reply, but the ac? cent was captivating, and he was won at the start. He was practiced in all the arts of po? lite tactics, and spoke to her softly of this great, desolate world, with appropriate al? lusions to humau hearts, lie told her how he had hungered and thirsted after the affection of a true heart, and had yearned to feel tbe breath of the heaven? ly flame of love. No, he sighed, lie had no wife, no one to love and caress him and mend his sus? penders ; and when be enquired if she was treading the path of life single and alone, she murmured so pensively and sad that he felt compelled to put his arm on the back of the seat lest she should fall out of the window?which was closed. They reached Norwalk, and just a* the train stopped he heard a grating, hissing sound close to his ear, and then the words: "Y-o-u villain; y-o-u old hypocritical s-i-n-n-c-r, I'll make you think you've been struck by a breath of heavenly flame, you old owl." -"He looked around just far enough to get a glimpse of a pair of Hashing eyes and the face of his wife, who had mur? mured so fondly to him along the jour? ney. A sudden spasm seized him, but he managed to accompany her from the train, and as they moved into the dark? ness toward home her flashing eyes lit up his pale face with spectral effect. TJXPKK Tin? Fifth Bin.?On the Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad the other day, a Louisiana planter encoun? tered a colored man whose face had a familiar look. The negro had his atten? tion attracted likewise, and it was !*oon ascertained that he was once owned by the planter. "Yes, you once owned me." he remark? ed, "and I was no better dan a boss.? Now 1 holds an office, and is as good as anybody." "Do you want to do me a favor, George?" inquired the ex-master. "1 spects so, sah." "Well, in case you ever tell any one that you hold an office, don't let on that. 1 ever owned you, for, with this one ex? ception, all my nigger* turned out to be respectable people!"? Viehtburff fferald. Remarkable Surgical Operation. On the 25th of February, 1874, a young man named Best placed a pistol to bis head and fifed a bullet into his brain, which remained there until last Saturday. The young fellow, who was only seven? teen years old at the time, was very at? tentive to a Miss Lena Schmidt, nineteen years old. Best's suit did not thrive suc? cessfully, either: from the opposition of the parents or from the girl herself* How? ever, on the night in question, Best call? ed on Miss Schmidt, and, after what ap? pears to have been a stormy interview, left the house. A moment afterwards the report of a pistol was heard) and the girl rushed out to find her lover With a hole in his skull and blood and brains oozing from the terrible wound. He was removed to his brother's home, on Fifth street, and his death regarded as certain to occur within a few hours at the furthest. Favorable symptoms set in the next day, however, and the wound? ed man continued steadily to improve until, after a few months, he was able again to resume work. The attendant physician had not ventured to attempt the removal of the bullet, and surgical care was only taken to remove such parts of the shattered skull as from time to time were discharged. Last Saturday Dr. R. 0. Cowling was called into the case by the attendant physician, Dr. Bodie, to assist in removing another piece of bone. The probe touched a large substance which wrs thought to be the section of the skull, which the surgeons were looking for. Carefully working around it, it was finally brought out and discovered to be the bullet, which had been within the brain for a period of eighteen months. Although under the influence of chloroform the patient vis5 ibly winced as the ball was extracted. Upon coming out of the influence of the anaesthetic, however, he was compara1 tively free from pain, and his surprise i and pleasure, when the leaden ball was shown him^ may be iningiueA Some months after his attempt at suicide he was married to Miss Schmidt, and the young couple have since lived very hap? pily together. During Saturday aud Sunday young Best's condition steadily improved, and at 1 o'clock this afternoon he was still better, with every prospect of ultimate and entire recovery. We learn that the operation has never before been performed, with one exception? that of Dupuytren, the celebrated French surgeon. Several notable instances of the survival of meu who have been shot in the brain have recently occurred, of which the case of Caruth, the Vineland editor, is familiar to all readers of the newspapers. Drs agree able HABits.?Nearly all the disagreeable habits which people take up and come at first from mere accident or want of thought. They might easily be dropped, but they are persisted in un? til they become second nature. Stop and think before you allow yourself to form them. There are disagreeable habits of body, like scowling, winking, twisting the mouth, biting the nails, continually pick? ing at something, twirling a key or fum? bling at a chain, drumming with the fim gers, screwing and twisting a chair or whatever you lay your hands on. Don't do any of these things. Learn to sit quietly like a?gentleman I was going to say, but I am afraid even girls fall into such tricks sometimes. There are much worst habits than these, to be sure ; but we are speaking only of those little things that are only annoying when they are persisted in. There are habits of speech also, such as beginning every speech with "you see," or"vou know," "now-a," "I don't cafe>rt "ten ye what," "tell ye now;" indistinct' Uttcrahte, sharp, nasal tones; avoid them all. Stop *ud think what volare going to say, and the*, let every word drop from your lips just perfect as a new silver coin. Have a cjqre about your way of sitting aud standing and walking. " Be? fore you know it you H ill find that your habits lu?*e hardened in\o a coat of mail that you cannot get rid of without a ter? rible ctl'ort.?Little Corporal* Capturixo Ostriches-.?The- ^rcat> est feat of an Arab hunter is to cap^ire an ostrich. It is the largest of liviiiy birds, and probably the swiftest of all living animals. Being very shy and cau? tious, and living on the sandy plains, where there is little chance to take it by surprise, it can only be captured by a well-planned and long-continued pursuit with the swiftest horses. The ostrich has two curious habits in running when alarmed. It always starts with outspread wings, against the wind, so that it can scent the approach of an enemy. Its sense of smell is so keen that it can de? tect a person at a great distance, long before one can be scon. The other cu? rious habit is that of running in a cirelo. Usually five or six ostriches are found in a company. When discovered, part of ^thc hunters, mounted on fleet horses, will 'pursue the birds, while the other hunters will gallop away at right angles to the course the ostriches have taken. When these hunters think they have gone far enough to cross the path the birds will be likely to rake, they watch upon some rise of ground for their approach. If the hunters hit the right place and see the ostriches, they at once start in pursuit with fresh horses, and sometimes over? take one or two of the birds, but often two or three of the fleet horses fall, com? pletely tired out with so sharp a chase. How to Dry Figs.?Assort as fol? lows : Figs not quite ripe, figs barely ripo, and ligs fully ripe. Keep each kind by themselves. , 2. Scald in a weak lyc of salcratus, to take the roughness off of the skin. 3. Boil in syrup (made with fourteen pounds of "A" sugar to one gallon of water) five to ten minutes; take out and dry on a cloth spread over a suitable frame. 4. When dry, roll in ] ulverizcd sugar, place in a (Irving furnace, or a stove gently heated, and when rally baked or dry, pack in tight boxes or cans, using a little pulverized sugar, flavored with ex? tract Vanilla between the layers. ? The editor of the Elmira Gazeiii says : "Wc always did like a girl with a blue Veil, and we rejoice tc see that this becoming article of female gearing is coming into style again. They arc twis* ted into the most bewitching shapes and so tantali/.ingly tied around and about :? ? to make the wearers more winsome th:n: over. If there is anything nicer than a pretty girl in a blue veil, wc never found it out"