Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL^ NO. 16. PORT ROYAL/^^^ 1?74. ^ ?^?8S - I Tt?m? of TntprMt. A RECOLLECTION. BT CLAUDE DE HAVEN. " Deep within the curtained vale of green verdure ran the limpid stream known to us children as "Ox Creek." Low under the hills like a channel were broad pastures, wherein grazed the stock belonging to "Sidney Place," aclinowledged throughout the parish as being the most beautiful and productive farm in the whole region. The main road ran through the " Flats," parallel with Ox Creek, only once crossing it, and that in such a manner as to beautify the landscape. How my mind wanders back to the dear old bridge, deprived of the romance of a grist-mill, as in the case of Ben Bolt; Vinf tV>n oninrmonf of fishinc for " bull Leads" compensated for the lack of romance. Ox Creek bridge conld be seen for two miles on either side, as it united the Flats half way from Sidney Place to the school-house and Post-office, -where we received our mail once a week, and that on Wednesday. We knew the exact hour that John Moore would pass the bridge astride of the little donkey he had ridden for eight years, with the mail-bag carelessly thrown across its fore shoulders. Occasionally the mailbag presented a plethoric appearance; then we all imagined there were letters for the whole country; but when tb bag presented a collapsed appearn*.,0e our enthusiasm melted consider and onr journey to the Post-off^e not accelerated by the hopes of getting anything but the weekly ^aper, which was published at the shire town, fifteen - miles off. Sidney Place wr^ h happy home, for it contained the ?varm hearts of onr paheaven bless them?and four umiuicu. u jiyn was tne oldest, Mary next, and Harriet, three years older than myself. Two boys and two girls, with a plp!oeof sixty-nine highly improved acr.?j9, well stocked with cows and F,neep, and the finest span of horses to bo seen iu a day's travel. Two men attended to the place, while Mary and "Harriet assisted mother in attending to the household duties, and father attended to reading the newspapers and Veeping the public road in repair, having been Path Master for years, and knew to a cent the amount of taxes each resident of the parish was compelled to work out yearly. His close npplicato the highways kept them in good repair, which served to keep him in office. The emoluments were light, but the honor great. Everybody called him the "Squire," although he never mar- j ried two silly people in his life, or decided a case of arbitration. Ilis judgment was relied upon, and I am not positive but his premature opinion was strictly adhered to in casoe of controversy, for the actual " Squire " was a great admirer of father, and frequently consulted him upon knotty points. My father was looked upon as a great n\An. The opinion of "Squire" Sidney had more weight in public opinion than all the people in the county. The "bare expression of his mind moulded ;the sentiment of the entire community; and why not ? My father had lived amongst them for years, had accumulated a competence by honesty, temperance and humanity, treating'with just consideration the wants and claims of all who came to consult him, and with a hand ever open and a household welcome to allviate the wants of suffering Immanifr liia mnffn ***VVWV MVUU^y XV a JUUIC I blessed to give than to receive;" always inculcating the principle of thrift and prudence, and looking ahead to that inevitable "rainy day," that all have heard 6rt much about. How oomfortable and happy was o'^r home. What a large front room "N"1' had. This, of course, was the1 "aparo room," but it was never kpared *vhen we had occasion to occupy it. In faijcy the bright roses of tho threeply curpet appear before me. The cbintz sofa, rosewood centre-table covered with books and daguerreotype of family and friends, and the big oil lamp that usually occupied a promi- > neut position on the bureau. Our dining-room was covered with a carpet of rags, but so artistically were they wrought by the hands of tho village weaver, having been previously dyed by tho instructions of mother, that on several occasions our guests would sug- ; gest tho change of the rag carpet to the place occupied by the throe-ply. However, mother always objected, saying | the three-ply would not last a month in the dining-room, where so many people ! walked. The long porch that ran around three sides of the house shaded the windows t.~i* xi. - i i a.- : I unii int? uay, uuu wit? crcupiug vjuus uu the other side defied tJio hottest rays of summer's heat; and then at night, when the lowing cows have been placed in the pasture, and the duties of day were done, mother and sisters sit on the front porch and sing an evening hymn, uc-' companied by the guitar, played by brother John ; father, in his stocking feet elevated to the railing of the Eorch, with pipe in hand, directing the armony, foi father in his younger days had plaved the violin with considerable skill. Old Towzer and I would be sitting near the edge of the porch in a mute reverie, listening to the low gentle tones of Mother's sweet sophrano, the mezzo of Harriet, and the coutralto of Marv. ! John occasionally assisted with a wellcultivated bass, which completed the ' quartette. Then we would all ask mother to sing a love song; when, placing her haud in father's open palm, she would sing about the lovesof youth, unbroken affections, the ordeal of life, and death's separation. Oh, how the mild, bright, saintly face of mother ap pears before me as I write?appears before me as in days gone bye, before the frosts of sixty winters had left its timemark npon her raven tresses, and as the lingering tones of the song died away, father would press her to his bosom, and imprint love's token uponherclieerfnl face. Is not this a pretty picture, although homely drawn? but fancy will not allow me to overdo it. Those were happy days, and my heart lightens when I revert to them. Often in manhood when struggling with the world, will my mind go back to the dear old home on the Ox Creek, and count the days before Thanksgiving, fpr Cj I never allowed one to nass without going home. Nothing could prevent me from meeting father and mother once a year, if not oftener. Mary is married to a good man, and Harriet remains at home, the comfort and solace of our aged parents. How it lightens my pi daily duties to receive letters from ^ Harriet, telling me all about the " place," and what daily occurs, and or how my heart warms when I open a to little piece of paper always pecularily folded, enclosed in Harriet's letter, which invariably commences "My dear child," and closes with "Your loving mother." My heart throbs " God bless ot my mother," and when I do go home th and fold my loving mother's form to my ag breast, and cover her cheeks with kisses. I am no longer a man calloused with the toils of life, but a little child again, sitting on her knee. And when I tell her of my adventures, of the cares I am daily subjected to, how her loving eyes look upon me hi in all compassion, and pity my sorrows ; and when at Thanksgiving we all gather arounu the lamny laoie, sea ^ j at the head ia father, Mary, w>_*Jft '^ej j P good husband and two boys mother Rita opposite fa^cr to pottr tea,' b while H .orriet and A occupy the side, b poking to Me^y and her family. I am ^ , ^8 elected to do the honors of the ;a i and t feel as highly honored as if b * weie carving at the President's banquet. No national dinner ever can ? have the relish to me that does the din- b uors at home on the Sidney Flace. I t< could not tell you all that mother and 11 sister have prepared, but their cata- 0 logue could not bo surpassed. ?? I shell visit home again this Thanks- 11 giving shonld providence spare my life, ^ and if Heaven extends its blessings to " us, shall again kiss my dear parents, " shall talk over the past and calculate * ] upon the future. I shall And Harriet * and Mi ry with her little fumily ; shall see father aud motlier at each end of * the table, and I shall again carve the 8 turkey ; and when the visit of the day Sl is over, we will sing our evening songs 11 together, thanking Him for His bless- U1 iugs, and bid each other good night, " whilo each repair to their several S1 apartments to dream of the golden past t< and happy future. 11 Would that all who read this could " boast of as good a home and loving t! parents as I. The world would be w much happier, and the burdens of life i n borne with more fortitute, looking to the happy future for an annual re- n union at the dear old home. J11 But that cannot be. Time, wit f11 his living movements, is making ^ changes daily. Households are separated, families and friends divided. 111 i Some are laid away to rest until the ' last day, while others wearily wander aI ' ?-? _:*i. n< I Upon fUrUUfc^ , M-n.il uu ? 1 pect of a reunion at tlio old homestead, i Thanksgiving alter thanksgiving pass ki and no reminder of the once hnppy di days passed at home, unless it is to 8l see olws enjoying the same blessing which a few years will take from them, and they like the rest of the world gazo upon the reunion of friends with a " 1 longing heart and sigh for the good I times passed beneath their own cottage ti roof. 01 Heaven bless the wanderer, and may [ parents long live to offer up a prayer tl | for those who are separated from kin! dred and friends, with no bright, I, cheery hope of an annual reunion. Lis- di ten to the toll of yonder church bell as [another dear friend is laid away beneath the willows, and another house- m | hold made desolate by the death of one of their family. No re union for them i" uutil the last day, when all shall meet face to face with the long departed, ec and the spiritual reunion only equalled by the joys tasted here upon earth, where no separation occurs, where all ai is a perpetual thanksgiving and praise to Him for blessings past, aud the a golden home already prepared. q' w How to Save Wood and Coal. af In order to make a house comfortable, ^ its foundation or undermining should p] be made air-tight; this will keep the ; tl frosts outof the cellar,and cold draughts j of air from rushing up through the ! ^ Moors. Hanking up tiio iionso wku branches of evergreen tree is the best tli metlicd of protecting it. The ohl habit sc of disfiguring housus with piles of loam or grave),held up against them by boards i w and stakes, has disappeared ; branchi s of spruce, pine, or hemlock, cut from i tlie trees designed for fuel, or from j young evergreens which spring up among the pasturage, are now substituted with much less expenditure of j,t time in the putting down and removal ^ of them. Put them closely around the V stone work, and if needfnl, lay boards f over them to protect them from the ^ drippings of the eaves. In the early : spring, these branches can be burned i . in a bonfire in the garden, and their ashes turned to some little account. , w The comfort and health of the family , g circle depend greatly upon the warmth of the house, and it is all-importaut to attend to these matters in due season. ^ For if crevices and cracks are left w open, and the cool air is suffered to rush in from outside, it is impossible to warm a room without a great waste of fuel; because wheu a room is warm the air comes iu from out of doors with . iuereascd force, and thus more coal and wood are required than would be the P' case were the house well banked up. ?! Doublo windows will also lessen the p hills for fuel most materially, and their ,, cost can often be paid for in ono year . by the decrease in the amount of fuel J; burneil; and then they are of the greatest comfort to the inmates of the house, and this item should be always of force to the master of the mansion.?Country ? Gentleman. ^ The coal mines of Arizona show remarkable development. The coal measures are found to cover almost the en- a tiro foot-hills from the northern to the ei southern boundaries of the Territory, ti and to reach well out into the plains. * in John Ford, of England, drew a prize tt of $2,000 in a lottery, and he was so ex- w cited that he dropped dead. w . Familiar Phrases. itching a Tartar?Chip In PorridgeCart and Home?Humble Pie?P'? and <i'??Hookey Walker. BY DR. R. 8HELTON" MACKENZIE. Speculations as to the origin of irases aro very common. From time time I have received many inquiries i this snbject. To-day I shall attempt answer a few of them. So common a phrase as " Catching a irtar " has its origin variously stated, rose, the antiquarian, says that it came it of a story of an Irish soldier, in e Imperial service, who, in a battle ;ainst the Turks, called out to nirade that he had caught a Tdrtar " Bring him along, the^'" waa the plv. ;; He won't com*;'. ftnswered Paddy. Then cor^ along yourself," said ?comr^.e. . ?r!?ich the Hibernian responded, Ah, but he won't let me." This is alluded to in a recent work by rofessor Fitzgerald, entitled "Cauons for the Times," revised by Arch ishop Whately, of Dublin, the great igician, in tbe sentence, "We are like ? i # <1 : ?? le man who ooastea 01 nuvmg unu|<ui Tartar,' when the fact was that the artar caught liim." The term is also applied by Charles )ickens, in his story of 44 Barnaby .udge." It may be remembered that iward the close of that powerfnl rolance, one fine afternoon is mentioned, n which Gabriel Vurden, the jolly and ood-natured locksmith, is having tea 1 the little back parlor, in company ith his buxom wife, his pretty little nughtcr.and Joe Willet, herone-armed etrothed, when, unexpected, uninvited, nd unwelcome, that antique maiden, lies Miggs, presents herself to the ampany, sure of being re-engaged as [rs. Varden's handmaiden. As she ets the cold shoulder, Miggs becomes mcy, pouriug the vials of her wrath pon the whole company, collectively ud individually. Her criticism upon rabriel Yarden is conveyed in a rapid accession of angry and saucy senmces, such as "I have hecrd the eighbors make remark as some one ley was acquainted with was a peor, oo'd-natur'd, mean-spirited creecur, as ent out fishing for a wife one day, ud caught a Tartar." "Like a chip in porridge," meaning person or thing of small account or se, is a phrase that often turns up in imiliar conversation. Once, on enterig the witness-box, in a court of jusce, a person summoned to give testiony said to the judge: " I don't know why I am here, for I n like 4 a chip in porridge.' I can say itliing against the plaintiff." The late Sir Charles Napier, a very rave soldier, and simply speaking sofer, said, in a general order to the Benil army: 44 The reviews which the commanderi-chief makes of the troops are not to 3 taken as so manv 4 chips in pordge !'" Many years ago, at a contested elecon in England, one of the candidates iserved 44 It has been said that I have played le game of Mr. Mellish. I have, howrer, done nothing toward his success. 3 j l. ;ii? imvo renuereu iiirn iicituci dcuivouvi s-service." I A person in the crowd exclaimed: " No, nor to anybody else. You're a ere chip in porridge !" The idea being that he was utterly lefiicient. A bit of chip put into any >od, whether porridge, sonp or sauce, unmunicates no flavor to it, and is in ic same category with a man who is :terly useless. It is a familiar, natural id intelligible comparison. Putting the cart before the horse," is well-known illustration. It can boast ; great antiquity, having first been noted by Lucian, the great Greek riter, nearly seventeen hundred years jo. Francis ltabelais, the French itirist and wit, whoso "Gargantua" as published in the year 1533, has the lirase, " He placed the carri ?ge before ig steed." No derivation of it can bo iveu, but tho meaning is very obvious, id refers to those who begin to do a ling at the wrong end. "Eating humble pio"?meaning that ie conceit shall be taken out of a f>er n, that pride shall have a fall?is an ipression often used in conversation, he proper way of spelling the dish ould be "humble pie," with the asirate. It refers to a pie once more mimoH in England than it has been r many generations. Two hundred jars ago, during tho reign of Charles the condiiion of the people of Engnd was so low that, Lord Macaulay lys, wages were so low and meat "so jar that hundreds of thousands of in^ilies scarcely knew the taste of it." moug the rich folks, a venison pasty as a favorite dish, but the poor gentry | i?l to put up with a pie made of the umbles," or entrails of the deer, which ere the perquisites of the keeper. In alley's famous old dictionary, the nindation of Johnson's great work, the ord "urnble" is said to be umbilicus, ?e region of the intestines. If a person ho had afforded such a costly dish as ?nison pasty were reduced to the leaner dish, it might bo said that ho as "eating umble pie." There are various derivations of the irm, " Mind your P's and Q's." It is lid to have arisen from the ancient istom of hanging a slate behind the e-liouse door, on which was written or Q?that is, pint or quart?against le name of each customer, according > the quantity which he had drank, and hich was not expected to be paid for ntil the next Saturday evening, when le wages were settled. Perhaps the ord tick, meaning credit, may also be aced to this?a tick or mark being put >r every glass of ale. As the congregation was leaving a church in Walcott, Ind., on Sunday reuing, a coal-oil lamp exploded, setng fire to the clothingof a girl thirteen are of age. A stampede took place, i which windows were broken out and 16 doors blocked. While everybody as trying to save himself, the poor girl as fatally burned. . ... ? An American Monitor. The United States iron-clad Dictator, was built during the last year of the war, and reached the sea at the same time with the Monadnock, in 1865. She has never seen service. In her race with the Terror from Boston to Portsmouth and thence to Portland, in 1866, she showed excellent speed though she suffered defeat. She subsequently made a cruise to the West Indies, and afterward remained at Key "West for several years. Two or three years ago she was brought tq .New London, and has remained there until put into the Erie ^Ba^n dry-dock. Her hull was foury^ to be completely covered with a 4Jhick coating of mussels, and several tons were removed. The Dictator is 312 feet in length by 50 feet breadth of beam, and 21 feet depth of hold; She is rated at 1.750 tons. The Dictator's weight is about 4,500 tons. Her surface is covered with six iron plates, each one inch in thickness. Directly beneath this covering are heavy white oak stringers, nearly one foot in thickness, and behind these the solid oak of the hull, which is about four feet thick. The iron plates of the deck are several inches thick, and are as solid to the tread as a New fork pavement. The single turret which rises above the deck is formed of iron 16 inches in thickness, and conceals two heavy guns nearly 20 feet in length, and with a 15inch bore. Above this rises the pilothouse, which is about 10 feet in diameter, and of the same thickness as the lower portion of the turret. The Dictator is propelled by an enormous screw, 21 feet in diameter, with four blades, which drives her through the water at the rate of 10 knots an nour. The vessel draws 20 feet 8 inches of water. The Dictator is the largest monitor in active service in the American navy, with tho exception of the Puritan, which is of 1,870 tons. The Roanoke, which is not properly a monitor, is nearly 1,000 tons larger, and, with its three turrets, mounts six 15-inch guns. It is asserted by officers of the Navy Yard that the Dictator would prove a formidable foe to the strongest ironclads of any nation. Life In a Monitor. Life in a monitor is not the most delightful, and all officers dread to be ordered to one. Nevertheless, our monitors have generally made all trips safely upon which they ventured, and have stood the Bhook of battle, as well as that of storm, very well. Officers who havo served and sailed on them say that they are very oomfortable, but this statement is taken with many grains of salt by others, who suspect that those who thus report are something in the situation of the fox who lost his tail. The general impression is (ana any one wno examines iueui win see enough to justify the opinion) that on a monitor there is not room enough to swing a cat; that they aro very damp; when not flooded ; they are illventilated when at sea; that there is no light except artificial, and that there are other discomforts. I am told that when any one has made a voyage on a monitor (which is generally under water when moving, except in the smoothest sen), he comes up with a complexion of the most ghastly pallor, which he does not easily get rid of. All concur, however, that a monitor is less disturbed by the motion of the sea than i any other vessel, as the waves which strikes against the sides of an ordinary ship passes completely over her. Although the dread of service inn monitor is so strong and widespread throughout the navy, yet it is held a point of honor as well as of duty to accept the situation when ordered to it. Still, I hear resignations on account of orders to serve on monitors?an engineer ordered to the Manhattan (among others) resigning at tho frantic entreaties of his wife. The captain's cabin on tho Manhattan is a very small and irregularly shaped cuddy, with the scantiest accommodations of every kind. The other officers are even less well accommodated, and the crew, when there is any, stow themselves away in all sorts of odd nooks of the most contracted character. There is no crew at present 011 the Manhattan, as none is yet needed. How the Indians Climb Trees. In South America even tho weakest woman mny be, not uncommonly, seen plucking the fruit at the tree tops. If tho back is so smooth and slippery that they cannot go climbing, they use other means. They make a hoop of wild vines, and putting their feet inside they use it as a support in climbing. The negro of the west coast of Africa makes a lurgcr hoop round the tree, and gets inside of it, and jerks it up the trunk with his hands, a little at a time, draw, ing his legs up after it. The Tahitian boys tie their feet together, four or five inches apart, with a piece of palm bark, and with the aid of this fetter go up the cocoa palms to gather nuts. The native women in Australia climb the gum trees after opossums ; where the bark is lough they chop holes with a hatchet, then one throws about the tree a rope twice as long as will go u/ound it, puts her hatchet on her cropped head, and, placing her ft^t against the tree anil grasping the rope with her hands, she hitches it up by jerks, pulls herself up the enormous trunk, almost as fast as a man can climb a ladder. A Morphlne-lst. The Louisville Courier-Journal says that a young lady in that city " consumes a bottle of morpkeno every two days. A night or two ago she rushed into a certain drug store and threw a dollar bill on the counter. The clerk, knowing what she came for, instantiy ^ -1"? L/\^la nf /lon/llir tiny I1HI1UCU iiCi I* uuuuo Vi nuw cotic. She instantly jerked the cork from the bottle, and, exhibiting symptoms of excitement, poured out the contents until the palm of her hand was fairly covered ; then, with the greediness of a child eating sngar, licked the powder from her hand and swallowed it. Then she drank a little water and walkod from the store with the utmost oomposure. 'rit'r/C a&k Hardships or the March to Khiva. i A body of Russian troops under command of Colonol Markosoff endnred ex- 1 traordinary hardships while on the y march to Khiva from Krosnovodsk, a * I port on the Caspian Sea. The follow- 1 | ing account of this march is taken from ( the French periodical " La Nature1 " After unparalleled difficulties, Col- 1 onel Morkosoff came to some good ( wells. But still there remained six 1 days' march over the desert before he ] could reach the wells of Orta Kin, ? whence he could easily make his way j to Khiva. The Russians took up the j line of march for Orta Kin on the 16th t of April, after having taken every . measure dictated by prudence; not * only did each soldier take a small sup- j ply of water, but also the camels be- . longing to the expedition were loaded J with a great number of casks. The ( ration of the men was fixed at four bot- f ties per diem, and that of the horses at ( six quarts. But the atmosphere was so dry and the evaporation so active dur- , ing this portion of the march, that the | water in the casks decreased at a fearful ^ rate. On the 18th tho casks, which at j the start had contained somewhat over ( thirteen gallons each, held only about } 9\ gallons. The heat of the sun was ( excessive, the temperature exceeding 55 ( deg. Reaumur (or 155 dcg. Fahr.) ac- | cording to the official report; how much ( higher it rose cannot ne asccriaineu. n?r the thermometers were graded ouly to 55 deg. Reaumur, and burst after that point was reached. On the third day, April 19, this fearful temperature reappearing, Colonel Markosoff saw it would bo madness to persist in marching on to Khiva, so lie determined to retrace his footsteps. Measures were also taken to have water at hand for the men at all times. But the entire command would doubtless have perished, were it not that the scouts discovered some wells. The march to Khiva was definitely relinquished, and the troops returned to Krosnovodsk." A Russian officer writes as follows to the " Invalide Russe": " To-day we experienced the effects of that burniug, suffocating wind, to which M. Vambery gives the name of tebbad, and which is so much to be dreaded by the traveler on the steppes. It raises enormous masses of incandescent sand, changes entirely the aspect of tho sand-hills, and buries whole caravans. After crossing the Amou-Daria and a portion of the oasis of Khiva?a distance of sixty versts (forty miles)?this wind is now blowing here in the citv of Khiva. In the glare of the sun the heat is insupportable to-day with tho temperature ] at 35 deg. Reaumur (110 deg. Fnhr.); odo can scarcely breathe except in the ' houses with high ceilings and with tho ' shutters closed. The natives say that ; it will be still hotter later in the ' season." The Missing Steamer rictou. A letter from Pleasant Bay, Inverness I county, C. B., furnishes the following, j which may throw some light on the 1 mystery in which the fate of the miss- , ing steamer Pictou is involved. Ou tho 18th of November, a great light was j 1'- ?"' dlrtnr.nl unv n./lll. ^ sceu iiori/u-wcoK ui x rlVv ( ably near tbe. East Point, Prince , Edward Inland. Three or four days ' later the straits were visited by a heavy i gale und a consequent high sea. A < quantity of flour and dough, and j burned stores in abundance wero dis- i tinctly seen in tho bay, but owing to j tlio rough weather nothing could bo | saved. Part of the cabin, having i " officers' room" in largo letters on it, ] was picked up. The words " we are ten j yet alive" were cut in tho pauels with i some sharp instrument. On another ] beam which was was washed ashore f was cut in plain letters, "Only one man t left." Another board came on shore < inscribed as follows : " If any person < will find any of our bodies, we trust you will bury them decently." A boat twenty-five feet long has boon found ic the Bay of St. Lawrence, C. B., and the remains of another were \ washed ashore west of this place. At . Pleasant Bay, a large quantity of ; wrecked material came ashore, all of i which bore evidence of partial dostruc- 1 tion by fire. A quantity of flour badly f damaged came ashore at Cheticael . Camp. A letter written by Donald Mcintosh, .T. P., corroborates tho statement pre- (. viously reported of a vessel being seen on fire off tho coast of Prince Edward ( | Island. Would be Whipped. \ The Rev. Josiah Steams, of New < | Hampshire, was distinguished for his ^ regard to truth, justice ami consist- j ency. Having insisted much to his i children 011 the importance of frankly 1 confessing whenever they had done J wrong, instead of making their guilt < greater by attempting concealment, on ] one occasion, when a fault had been ] committed, one of the small boys confessed when he was not guilty. The truth having come to light, the child, who probably thought to appear meritorious by confession, was enlightened j by the father as to the nature of- his ( sin, and then chastised for falsehood. Being exceedingly annoyed that the 1 garden gate was often left open, and ' cattle came in and did mischief, Mr. Stearns said to his children aud ser- . vants : " The very next person who leaves the garden gate open mnst be whipped." Not many days after the unlucky gate appeared in the prohibited condition. Meeting the colored boy, Peter, he said?" Well, Peter, and who has left open the garden gate now ?" Peter linng his head. Mr. S. urged his question, till Peter answered, " I do nnt love to tell, sir." Mr. S. insisted, when Petor summoned up courage to say, " It waa you, sir !" " Me? Are yon sure ? When?" " When you came out of the garden " (at such a time) "yon left it open." " Well, Peter, said Mr. S., " go and cut some sticks and lay them over your master's shoulders." They boy begged to be excused, but the master insisted, and it was done as required. Antiquarian Discovery In tne Crimea. The Cologne Gazette says: "Last rear, near Kertch, three catacombs vere discovered. One of them is situited on the northern slope of the ' Vlithridates Mount, and its interior is lecorated "with stucco-work and picinres in fresco, in which various ani- ^ nals and hunting scenes are repre- j tented. At the entrance there are visijle on the side walls, where the stucco i ias fallen off, symbols, monograms, i ind figures of animals, cut with sharp iooIs. Mr. Lucenko, the director of ' ;he Kertch Museum, has since opened ' ;wo catacombs, which, however, have jroved less interesting. In the opinion j )f antiquaries, the paintings found in < ;he catacombs belong to an Oriental i people. As evidence of this are pointed )ut the high headdresses and helmets j >f the warriors, and the short manes of < ;he horses, which are represented as | Aaavrintf monuments. jllVJ U1C UU VUO ? \.s the bright colors of the pictures were becoming dimmed tnrough contact with the damp atmosphere, the enhance to the catacombs has for a time aeen closed in order to protect the pic;ureB from entire destruction. In the representation of battles fighting men jf two different nationalities are clearly listinguishable. One class have round beardless faces and wear armor which rovers the whole body and extends iown to the ankles. Their arms consist of two lances and a round shield. The other class, their opponents, have beards and thick, long hair. They are irmed with bows, lances, and square shields. The bearded men appear to oe beseiged, whence it may be conrluded that these frescoes are the proluctions of their beardless assailants. 2n other pictures are represented bears, wild boars, stags, birds of various kinds, and plants with large, broad leaves. Especially remarkable is a pic- i iuro which represents an animal resembling a lion, and behind in the air a vinged Cupid in a sort of Roman drapery. Besides these frescoes there bave been found two small statuettes of jlay, one of which represents the sitting Igure of a woman, who holds in her right hand a flat, cup-shaped vessel, ind wears a high, three-cornered headlress. This figure has a remarkable resemblance to the stone figures of women found in the grave-mounds of ;he steppes. The other statuette, also ;hat of a woman, likewise wears a renarkablo three-parted headdress. Navigation on the Lakes. With the close of navigation on the lakes, we have the usual list of the disistors of tho season, and it is not creditable to the navigators that during the pear there were 350 collisions and 215 vessels ran ashore. It it truo that only i small portion of these casualties wero serious, as a total loss occurred in only seventy-five cases. But, in addition to these, there were nine explosions, and twenty-one vessels were destroyed or injured by Are. Tho loss of life from ill causes was 227, being an increase of seventeen over that of tho previous *l<ia flvn annann Pfin yuur, UUb 1U I hid ico|/wv uuv wmw. uot bo considered very exceptional. It is evident from tbeso statistics that there is room for improvement in the management of vessels on tho lakes. The large number of collisions and vessels run ashore must be tuken as a proof af carelessness or ignorance. The most gratifying fact to be found iu tho statistics of tho season is the large increase in tho number of vessels engaged in the lake trudo. During the pear fifty steamers and 152 sailing craft lave been added, making an increase in tonnage of 57,051. In the previous pear there were only 127 vessels of all iinds added. The rapid increase iu ;his branch of our commerce is further iliown by tho fact that the new crafts )f this year are of a better class than iny heretofore placed upon the lakes. Hold Robberies. There is an alarming increase iu bold aurglaries throughout the country, says .he New York Tribune. In this vieinty there have been several which are nore like the lawless crimes of Mexico ban anything else. The latest is me 'orcible entry of a house near Now Rochelle by a party of masked men who iverpowered the inmates and stripped ;hem of their valuables during a tarry if several hours. It is not long since a limilar robbery, though on a smaller scale, was committed in one of the most srowded and busy sectionsof New York ;ity. And, shortly before that,a family m the banks of the Hudson, near New fork, were pounced upon and pinioned, vhile at their tea table, by a gang of mndits who robbed the house. These ind other such deeds of violence are lighly discreditable to the civilization )f which we boast so much. If they md been reported as occurring in Greece, for example, we should be very likely to think of them as peculiar to a ax administration of law. Flowers as Disinfectant. Professor Mautegazza has discovered that ozone is developed by certain ' odorous flowers. A writer in Nature states that most of the strong smelling p-nrrot-oKlo A?sr>nrfi8. such as mint, cloves, : .V6V?.w.v , lavender, lemon and cherry laurel, develop a very large quantity of ozone ! when in contact with atmospheric oxygen in light. Flowers dostitue of perfume do not develop it, and generally the amount of ozone seems to be in proportion to the strength of the perfume emanated. Professor Mantegazza recommends that in marshy districts and in places infested with noxious exhalations, strong-smelling flowers should be planted around the house, in order that the ozone emitted from them may exert its powerful oxidizing influence. So pleasant a plan for making a malarious district salubrious only requires to be known to be put in practice.?Saturday Review. The Arizona Miner in publishing the obituary notices of'its delinquent sabsoribers. j-ivmo v? *? Griddle-cako sociables are raging in [owa. Ministers of the Interior?The cook ind the dootor. Treasury defalcations have oocnrred in twenty-two counties of Ohio. The debt of Pennsylvania was rednced $1,504,673 daring the year ending Nov 10. Ashtabula, Ohio, is illaminating itself with gas made from crude petroleum. A wealthy New York lady supports eight poor families at an expense of 310,000 a year. " We see," said Swift, iu one of his most caustic moods, "what God thinks of riches by the people he gives them to." A Kansas preacher has had his salary incroased $50 a vear for thrashing three men who disturbed his congregation . Two Pittsburgh surveyors have found a tract of land in that city worth $14,000,000, which has never been properly entered. A French astronomer thinks that he will be able to find out daring the com? in?ii in# transit of Venus wneiuer kiiC Jllluici is inhabited. Miss Grace Battles won a bouquet at a Philadelphia Fair, recently, by 706 votes. And now it is somebody's turn to win battles. A veteran observer thinks that a good many men are valiant in advance, who would not be in the advance where valor was necessary. The City Council of Yeddo, Japan, has passed an ordinance directing all children to be labelled with their parents' names and residence. At Bloomington, 111., the children of the miners are taken down into the shaft of a mine when attacked with whooping cough, and in a short time are entirely well. The Patrons of Husbandry, according to their latest reports, have 8,835 granges, with 002,655 members. There wero 974 of these granges organized during November. A Frenchman professes to have diecovered, by experiment on himself, that coffee taken upon an empty stomach renders the mind abnormally clear and the temper unnaturally bad. A famous rat hunt has taken place at Witt, Montgomery county, Illinois, In one day there were killed six thousand within limits of six miles square. It is . _ proposed to extend the hunt so as to clear out all the "varmints" in the State. A French gentleman, learning English to some purpose, replied this to the salutations: "How do you do, monsieur?" "Do vat?" " How do you find yourself ?" "I never loses myself." "How do you feel?" "Smooth. You just feel me." The St. Louis Democrat says:?"Our experience and the history of the past " Urn. eighteen centuries incime US LU bUC K/\j lief that no matter how well you treat a shot guD, nor how you bring it up, it will bang the stuffing out of you the very first time it gets a chance. A mill has been recently started in England in which flour is made by crushing the grain by small trip-hammers instead of grinding it It is claimed that a pounding mill, costing 81,000, will produce as much flour in the same time as a grinding mill worth 85,000. A gentleman at a dance remarked to his partner, a witty voting lady, that the " room was too close?he must go out and git some air." After an absence of half an hour he returned, when she asked him " if he had not been to the graveyard, as his breath smelt of the beer." Tho ladies of Jamestown, N. Y., made an energetic and partly successful movement on the liquor dealers last week. A procession was formed, and the dealers were visited pnd requested to close up. A local paper says that it is the intention to keep the ball moving every day for six months, varying the plan of action to suit circumstances. A young man at Madison, Wisconsin, who could not collect his wages from Lis employer, owed a Sbylock merchant 81.75. The latter commenced garnishee proceedings against tho employer, but in the meantime the young man called at the merchant's store in his absence and paid tho 81.75. The costs of the garnishee process was $3, which the merchant was compelled to pay. He wants to know what kind of a country he lives in where it costs S3 to collect 81.75. The French Editor. Tho French editor does not produoe more than half as much work as his American fellow, and he receives more pay. When the French writer makes two articles in a week, each of about fiftoon hnndred words, he has performed what is considered fair work ; and he receives for this a salary of twenty thousand francs a year, or about seventyfive dollars per week in gold. In New York, the highest grade of salaries in the offices of the best papers, as a rule, does not exceed seventy-five dollars in currency, and the writer doet double the work of the French journalist Besides, the work of the Americun is done under unfavorable circumstances?at night, in haste, based on the latest news by telegraph ; while that of the Frenchman is done leisurely in daytry*. latAAt news feature, whioh UgUL, JLU1 is considered of snch importance in America, is not required here. There are instances where higher salaries are paid, as in that of Edmond About, at* tached to the XIX Steele, who receives thirty thousand francs a year. Several writers are paid from twenty-five to twenty-eight thousand, and with such compensation they do not stand so fur behind men in other professions as journalists do in Amerioa; for the professional man outside of journalism is not as well paid in France as in our country, where the leading lawyers and doctors make forty or fifty thousand dollars a year. rJ''" ""