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?? . J THE TRIBUNE :i t?Jl?ii7 " ' ' ; *: ** ;" '- ;|: -;'4 ' ^;~-- " T ; VOL. I.--NO. 3. BEAUFORT, S. C'., DECEMBER 9. 1874. $2.00 PER ANNUM. The Old Man at the Fair, I'm very dusty and tired, wife ! I've juat come home from the fair ; Bo give mo my pipe and tobacco, and I'll smoke in my caay chair ; It'e a tiresomo work a playin' for feeble old men like me ; It's -a tiresome work a eeeir,' where every one wiahes to Bee. Our faira are a rutin\n' down ; they are uot like the faira of old, Where you took. the prizes for bread, and batter as yellow aa gold ; There were hundreds of useful things, thai wore well worth aeein' then. Now, dozens of racin' borsee, and hnndreda ol bettin' men. What all this aportin' will lead to ia more that I now can tell; Bat, somehow, it seems to me like the down ward road to h? well. I may be a little harsh, but I'm speaking tin simple truth, For bettin', racin', and drinkin'. are the foet of our nnt>1? rnntt, We bhall com'jto a nation of gamblers, if matters keep on this way; m.*> Why, what do you think ? a youngster accused me of bottia' to-day ; When I laid my hand on the head?that haen'l seen ten years yet? An l called him a fine littlo fellow, he answered me baok, " You bet!" *' Tut! tut! little man," said I, " that thing 1 havo never done; Come stand by grandpa's knee ! lot mo roasoi: with you, my son." Hfj straightoned up in his clothes aud said, with a look so queer, " I didn't come here for ' preachin'old man walk off on your ear !" We never heard talk like that wheu yon and 1 wore young ; My father and mother?bless 'cui?put a bridl< upon my tongu6. I'm old, and I'm gettin' blind, but a difference I can see Twixt the boys of eighteen hundred and eighteen seventy-three. How is it about the girls ? Thoy, too, from the path havo strayed ; I didn't see one a showin' the butter her handt ? had made ; They stood in their pony pluatone, with woman's ease and grace ; And shouted as loud as any when a favorite won a race. All eyes wore watching the track ; the race wat ? every man's .nemo ; And I said to myself, " la this a fair, or is il only a dream ?' I saw 'bout a dozen boys lookin' round at the sheep and swine, And the frosts of seventy winters had silverec their heads like mine. Why on earth don't thoy change the name whoa ttie wrong name it has got ? . No longer call it a fair, bnt an agricnltura trot; Then own won't be t&kin' things for sensible folks to see, With nobody there to soe 'em but crippled ole men like me. There, take my pipe and tobacco ! I'll sleep it: my easy chair; It's tiresome work a talkin' abont a degenerate fair ; Yon needn't disturb mo, wife, till the bells ol I the evening chime, I*or I may ro back in mv dreams to the fair- n< 1 oldon time. ROMANCE OF A TEAPOT. Oar grotesque teapot was an article decidedly ngly, wearing a permanent and disagreeable grim, and with a kind of snake arrangement for handle and spout. . The gentle associations?the day'e * labor done, the drawing in round the iire, the family oirclo, with no cheering and not irebriating results?seem wholly incompatible with the use of such an article, and the speotaole of the a niable fluid poured from suoh a vessel k by gentle hands almost a painful one. But I would not part with it foi any money ; it is held in affeotion like a cherished heirloom. Yet it is damaged; indeed, irom the network of linee and cracks which oovers it, even an unprofessional oould see that it hod been " smashed" into a hundred pieces at v . least. So it has. One day it got a fall, * was dropped, and lay on the flooi shivered into a heap of fragments. The restoration, deemed impossible at first, was undertaken for a large sum ol money, which was paid with delight, f for that fall brought about what yon are now going to hear. 1 well recollect the day that my deal father scoured it, and when he said il was " a unique." We oonld see no beanty in it, although we tried hard to I- do so, and as to its uniqueness, wt rather thought that was an advantage for the world and for the spread oi taste. One day there oamo a surprise, no! ' to say a shook, for me. That queei little Orinkleton, as the neighbors and (' friends would call him, had bought some now taensures and curiosities, Alas ! a stepmother and her daughter, They were .very designing people, t and, I believe, frightened him into it. He was shrinking and timorous ; li< ' would never have had oourage to oarrj li such a soheme into execution. Thence f forth began a new and, for me. terribli life. They brought no money witl them, though he was persuaded that hi was doing what is called "a goot thing." W e They very soon convinced him of th< oontrary. Two more rapaoious spoileri B | in the day they were making an iuven- i 11 tory of "the property" about them with 1 a cjneBtioning eye. An order was Btern- I ( 1 ly sent forth that all buying was to be i 1 I given up, and that " good money" was ' | no longer to bo squandered for rub- j bish. Yet it oould be Been that, with an extraordinary inconsistency, they j ' | watched jealously over every article of j the property, counting them and tak- | j ing good care to ascertain their value. All our life in that houso was of a sudden changed. Our poor dear father seemed to shrink knd cower away under thiB despotism. As for me, I felt ' that all happiness was gone and that I was living in prison nnder the charge p of jailers. Many were the little furtive walks he took with me?I being no ( older than eight or ten years?when we : would make our way" guiltily to tho ; narrow lane or street, to gaze at curiosities whioh ho dared not purchase. It was miserable for me, whose hand ; 5 ' was in his, to note his wistful looks, and even more miserable to see that j 1 this was but part o! his sufferings nn- ! ' der this slavery, which grew moro and ; more galling every day. It was on one of those occasions that I we spied the grotesque teapot. The j 1 oiguu uiuui^ut iuh cuior w uib cneoKB, | t for he had nothing of that pattern in L the collection. It was exposed in a poor, mean little den?not a curiosity I I 1 shop at all?a kind of huckster's place. ! Here the teapot was offered with a view : . to finding some purchaser who would ' " use it for the purpose of making tea. ! He was enraptured with it. He could 1 at least ask the price. Four and six: pence?worth, he said, five guineas, and would be worth double by-and-bye. As we went out it was offered for three and six. -It was very tempting, but he ! resisted it then. . , The next day he took me out with " him for a walk, but this was for a second inspection. He delayed long 3 ; before he oould make up his mind, but ' at last the purchase was made. Then 3 | it was to be brought home, and then ; came the difficulty. Where was it to j l bo placed ? for their Argus eyes would 1 detect the slightest change. But they ! had an instinct that something was 1 3 wrong. The daughter was in a parlor window, looking up and down the 3 street, while she (I always thought of her as though Bhe were a unique, like a - teapot) opened the door and gave a policeman-like glanoe at his figure. > The grotesque was hidden away under his coat, but a great protuberance re voaied tlie place of concealment. We ' were both arrested, the trembling victim assailed by both women and the k grotesque confiscated on the spot, as, indeed, all his treasures had been al> ready. I saw them later inspecting it ouriously and with eager eyes, for they l had a suspicion of its value, and, after all, trusted to his judgment. Indeed, latterlv I noticed that this * pair were inspecting the cabinets, and more than once I had surprised them I with their heads bent down over some little cup or figure. > One day, too, I heard them talking Anrooatl*. 1.1 "-I vmugoviT auuuu DUU1C UUO Utkllt'H [ "Dimbley's man" and what he had said. This did not make mnch impression, but in a day or two I again heard 1 a remark abont Dimbley's man to the effect that ho was coming to-morrow, j > In our next little walk, grown ourions j about the matter, I asked my father: r " Who is Dimbley's man, father ?" He started, r " Why ?" he said, " what abont him ? What do you know abont him ? Who wants him ? These questions were put quiokly and with agitation. I told him what I had heard, when he almost gave a cry j and turned sharply round to go home. , i " I see what they are at. I suspected it. They Want to sell the things." 1 We returned hurriedly?he was in a pjrfeot fever, and, when he entered, i flew to inspect his treasures, which he t found all safe, though he discovered I the two women busily engaged in peering into the oabinets and handling them cautiously. But with them was a gen> tlemanly and fluent personage who was 1 giving his opinion and admiiing the collection. He read the whole situation at a i glance. The color flew to his cheeks, and, with vehemence that was wholly i artifloial ana unnatural, he addressed the party. i "I know well what all this means," 1 -.1 . UTMl 1 1 * 1 1 i uo Buiu . in iiot nave 11?x 11 not allow it. It is robbery. I'll not part with these things bat with my life. Go ) away, sir," liesaid to the gentlemanly man ; " this is my property. They are ! not to be valued or sold." To do him juBtioe, the gentlemanly i man was mach pat oat at this inoident, and declared truly that he had merely come, as he supposed, at Mr. Crinkle; ton's request. And then he took his i departure at once. Then my father ? turned on them. > " Let a finger be laid on my > treasures," he cried, " and I'll do some! thing desperate. I'll send them away to-morrow to some museum?give them k ll,.n j ov/uuci vunu xjcawu vitvui DuaniivioUi 114.11111, r take warning, for they are part of my i life." t The two ladies were mnoh taken aback at this sadden explosion, and , even tried to soothe him. Bnt for the , rest of the day he was terribly excited, And the following morning was lying ill i in bed, with wild eyes and all the t symptoms of fever. A doctor was sent - for to attend him?an eminent practise tioner?who looked grave. Indeed, the 1 two ladies oanght the reflection from i his face, and looked grave and dis1 turbed. I was the only one whom he seemed ? to reoognioe, thongh indistinctly, s Again there was fresh whispering and t inspection of papers and property. And again bis eyeB peered out wistfull toward the door, as if he could seo th spectral images of his collection floal ing away in the direction of Dimbley'i Ho grew worse and worse, to my ir expressible grief. It one mornin passed around the house in a mysterion way that we were to loose him. Som one came running for me and took m by the hand to lead me to him. Ther was a piteons intelligence in his ey? and a gleam of light came into it as h saw me. He was moving his arms an pointing and trying to spoak. The lady who was his wife kept tun ing np her eyes and shaking her heac as if she would say her wits were uon< Bat lie kept his imploring glance fixe on me, making as though he woul clutch something in his hand. I wa sure?I could Lave sworn?it was on of his pet treasures, and stole away t wreck my little brain with desperat attempts. At first, I thought it mustk the two precious figures of Old Bov representing Kitty Olive and Wooc ward Martin, as the fine lady and gei tlemau, and I returned with these i my hands. A fresh eagerness oam into his eyes and he seemed to smil and nod his head, a3 though it wer something near what ho desired. Some curious stupidity came ovr me?or was it my trouble ? for I surel ought to have guessed, and gone out t choose some other article which b1iou1 be the right one. While I was taking bird's-eye glance over the colloctioi they came running to mo again and was dragged in to see the last frien I had on earth in his agony. ? * * * * So he passed away; and after scarcely deoent interval, the two wome were going about with avaricious eyet ounting up the treasures. This tim tnere was 110 one to interfere wit " Dimbley's man," and the eminer firm had pronounced that the whol< when submitted to competition at thei well-known mart, would bring a vat sum. By the will of tne deceased co lector, made shortly after his secon marriage, the whole of his property wa to go to her and a small pittance wa kept for us?that is, for me and my sii ter, who was at a cheap bourdin, school. A great fuss began to be made abon I the Crinkleton collection, and it wa discovered that another portion was t some museum in the country, where i had been exhibited and which wa quite as valuable as that in our house The whole, it was expected, woul bring ?10,000 or ?12,000. They wer gloating over their prospect. Wethat is, my sister and I?would be beg gars, but that they did not thin about. By-and-bye the inventory was takei the catalogue made out and the proi pect discovered to bo even more ii viting. The men in green baize ai rived to paok and carry away. Sprin vans stood at the door. We saw tb whole stripped gradually?there wa not to be a relio kept (so I was told) t remind us of the dear old colloctc who had brought them together. Ver I T A I. ?-? A- it- ?? ? - ? 1 I uiiuviuuoij x tiittb mojr wum let me choose something which I migl keep as a souvenir ; but an excuse wt made that a list had been taken an that it would be impossible to mak any alteration now. Utterly shooked,and almost desperal with rage at such heartlesaness, 1 can] to the resolution that I would ha\ what I wanted, and determined to si cure what was associated with one < the last act's of my father's life at whic I had assisted, namely, the old teapo That should be mine and should not 1: subjected to the profanation of a sal< I did not care for the penalties, whic I knew would be awful; they migt put me to a torture, they should nev< know where I had ooncealeu this relic. My plans were laid. I chose a mi ment when they had gone out, am taking no one into my confidence, pri pared to execute the daring scliem It was a nervous task. The teapot w: placed, with a few other articles n< yet removed, on a high bracket < antique pattern, over tho chimne; piece. Even standing on a chair could not reach it; still I was not to 1 daunted. I' constructed a sort of la< ??-it viux tuirnou ui i:iiuira, wniuu, Willi muc trepidation, I ascended. I secured tl grotesque teapot, but, without ov< having heard < the .Latin quotatic " Facilis descencus," I found rnyse cordially indorsing its truth, and Btoc there on a precarious balance, careful! holding the treasure aud not knowin what to do next. To get down an leave the teapot, it might be though would be the simplest course ; but, wil my nervousness and its own insecurit; the structure now began to totter. Ti next instant I heard her on the stairs. When they were tired of scolding an boating they had gone down stairt then, after waiting patiently, I watche my opportunity and stole down. Tht had not thought it worth while to r move tho fragments whioh lay there i a heap?the curved handle, the leerin face, the snout, the lid. T antlierf them np tenderly, and, as I did so, sa that a small pieoe of paper, folded n] was lying, as it were, partially thru into tho spout. I took it up with tl pieces, on the ground that it was a rel of his that ought to be preserved, an reverently brought the whole mass awe to my own room. It seemed hopeless. I tried myse to glue the pieces together in mar different ways, but it was not to 1 done save by a miracle?a miracle, lioi evor, whioh skilled hands acoomplishe lator.. In a sort of despair I laid aside, and then carelessly opened tl paper. It was Bigned with his name, whic was sufficient to give it an interest f< y mo. Aud yet this only made me fee e more acutely the cruel loss of the t- piece of earthenware, which I felt thai ?. nothing could ever restoie to us. 1- It was a long time indeed before J g set myself seriously to the task o! is making out what was written on ths e slip of paper. e It began, "CJodicil to my will," ant o stated that it revoked the bequest of i ?, particular date, and left all his per o sonal property and effects, including d the ohina, which was to be sold off, t< his two children, l- I This I did not quite understand ai I, ; the time, nor did I see the full force ?. and meaning of it. But seizing a favor d ; able opportunity I got out of the d house, aud hurried to a friendly Mr. is | Baker?of course bald aud benevoleni io i ?to show it. He started as he read. o| " This makes a moBt important dife ference," he said ; "you must leave it 10 ! with me, and I will cail up in the morn r, | ing." I- Everything, as it proved, was ours, l- The cruel pair got nothing, save the n small sum that had been settled on hoi ie at the time of her marriage, le The collection brought a va6t sum, e much moro than any one had ever an ticipated. And the teapot, as I have ;r said, repaired with the most exquisite XT ! Off nn u* vminaoc in (l nlnnn nf linnnw j | wiV) uw" ii'^/wpvo iu u piauo vi iivuui. 10 a ' ~ Tho November Meteors. I I Tho remarkable shower of meteors ii d j tho year 1799, and its recurrence in the | years 1833 to 1839, says tho Now Yorl * ; Timea, gave rise to tho theory thn o i their appearance was no accident, bn u ; that they might bo expected regnlarb *? . each thirty-fourth year, aud for tin e ! four or five years immediately succeed h ing. Accordingly a third shower wa< lt predicted for 1867, and for the yeari immediately following it. Truo to tbi 'r prediction there did occur a most re ?t markable display of meteors in 1867 1- and in every November since thei d there has been a like phenomenon, ex is cept that the number of shooting stan is has eaoh year decreased considerably Upon the night when this periodh g shower was to be looked for the ap pointment was fully kept. It is tru< it that 200,000 stars did uot flash througl .s the shy in seven hours, as was said t< it have been the case in 1833. And neithei it did the meteors " fall as thickly ai ? snow flakes," as one observer desoribec - their appearance in 1867. But it musi <3 be remembered that the theory onb o calls for a number decreasing with eacl ? year succeeding 1867, and that require ment was amply satisfied. From mid k night until early dawn there weri searcely any ten consecntivo minutes ir b which the heavens were not crossec ' by a gleam of phosphorescent light, one occasionally several meteors might b< r- seen at once. And, as an astronomer g would have expeoted, most of tin meteors flashed oat from the vicinity o '8 Gamna Lcoins. In short, withou wishing to magnify in the least th< >r number of meteors that were visible y they were abundant enough to shot d that they could not be the sporadic o it accidental shooting stars of any caaua is evening, but were really the remnant <1 or after-thought, so to speak, of thi magnificent periodical display of 1867 whioh, as the peried is thought to b< te thirty-four years, cannot be again ex L0 pected before 1901. So remarkable i ro phenomenon as this has of course callec s- forth many theories as to its explana if tion. One, for instance, is that tin ih earth at each revolution in its orbi t. plunges more or less deeply into a riiij >e of debris which circulates about tin e. sun. This theory demands a belief ii ih the existence of an indefinite, or rathe it of an infinite number of small heavenl; if bodies, technically called bolides, tha' wander aimlessly through space in ai i- orbit which, if it exists at all, is an ir 3, regular one. Another theory is tha o- this shower of meteors is caused by tin b. passage 01 me eariu inrougn comni is matter, the particular eomet in quee )t tion being that known as Biela's. Am it is certain that this hypothesis is sup f- ported by many reasons,*which are sail I to be astronomieally strong, but whicl >e are also, to an unscientifio mind, a 1- least, quite as bewildering as cot ih vinoing. Of theories unscientific th 10 Dumber is legion. One of them is tha ar those meteors are merely volcani >n stones, which, having been thrown is If definitely upward by an ernptiou, a id last return to the earth by force c ly gravity. And another theory differ ig from the laBt only in placing the vol id eanoes on the moon rather than on tb t, earth. Bnt, however the existence c ih these meteors is explained, there i y, another thing about them whic le troubles the popular mind. Astronr mere say that the luminous path whic id the shooting star makes in the sky i i; about twenty-seven miles long, am id terminates about fifty-five miles fror >y the earth's surface. But what become o- of the stars after they liavo flashe in across the space thus marked ont fo >K mem r ah 1,0 i-uis lutre is dux one ax sd cepted theory : they are entirely cor w Burned by their swift passage throng p, the atmosphere, and are thus eithe st entirely volatilized, or else they descen ie to the earth in an imponderable powdei ic id ly A Pleasant Life.?French journa ists must be expert swordsmen, ft If they never know when they will b ly challenged to a combat. One wel jo known Parisian editor says that lax v- year he fonght in eleven duels, an id that he oan show on his arms and fac it half a dozen ugly scars from wounds h ie has received in different encounter* These duels are seldom fatal, and th ih lirst drop of blood is counted for satii >r faction. ; BURNED ON THE PRAIRIE. | Terrible Pate or a Nebraska Pamtljr-Kseape of the Patber After alLoaf Uaoe Prom the Plame*. Capt. Laokland, a recent oitizen of I Lincoln, Neb., and well knotfn, gives , I the details of the terrible calamity that i nvArfnnlr tlia fomilw nf M* William fl i Herndon, a farmer of Gage oounty, ~ I Nobraska. He says he met Sir. HeraJ ! don on his way to Linooln, where he has relations residing, and where he . j expects aid. From Mr. Herndon's own j I lips he learned the story of his sufferj ings. Some three years ago Herndon * moved to Gage county from Iowa, and i purchased sixty acres of land, nine I : miles from the oounty seat. He pros' ! pored, and was succeeding well until _ | the late disaster, which not only de, stroyed his property, but left him alone in the world, the fire having overtaken his family, consisting of his wife and two children, and burned them to ' : death. Herndon says he noticed the . , fire miles away, but it was no unoom1 mon thing to see the grass burning, ! and he paid but little attention to it, ; | although his wife seemed considerably " alarmed, and before bedtime she had ^ j called his attention to it several times. In the morning it was notioed that the : fire was burning with more vim, and had evidently come nearer to them. He was still inclined to believe that it would pass around and leave him unmolested, or that it would rain and 1 i thus put danger out of the question. ' ! A heavy wind springing up at noon, | i however, and blowing directly from the | fire toward the house, warned him that " the danger was growing imminent. His children were now orying through fear, 3 ! and his wife was importuning him to " make the best of time. Arrangements 3 : were soon made for the journey, and in 3 a two-horso wagon they started, more a i :i - j e 1.1 n UlUii LULL Ullica 1U IKlVttUUO UL but) UTU, " j with every probability of being able to ; gel out of its reaoh. Good time was 1 I made by the team, and not until late in " I the evening, when the wind inoreased 3 I in fury, was there any apprehension of ^ ' danger. About dusk the wind inoreased 3 to a hurricane, and the flames began to " approach them with terrible speed and 3 awful grandeur. Easter and faster 1 they oame, and Mr. Herndon sayB that * j it wtto oviucub ill by would overtake L" them in a very few moments. What to 3 be done under the circumstances was a | question that had to be decided quickly. t The horses had now become unmanage7 able, and were as likely to overturn the 1 wagon and start for the flames as any " other way. A marshy piece of ground ' was some two miles distant, and near 3 this was a small branch of water, from 1 which, he remembered, he had fre| quently watered his horses. This was ' the only chanoe for life, and hastily 3 leaving his wagon and team to their r fate, he started for the marsh, with his 3 youngest child, a lad of eight years, in ' his arms. It was a struggle for life, t Death was coming, and they made one 9 grand effort to get out of its reach ; but, ? alas ! it was unavailing. We will not k' undertake to depict the anguish of that T father, as he was compelled to see the 1 cherished ones of his own heart, those 8 whom he loved even better than his 9 own life blood, sink down, one after the > other, and become a prey to that most 0 terrible of all deaths?fire. The little ' daughter was the first that was over;i taken, and the mother was prone to * stay and give up her life with her darling, but sho kept on, while the e flames were yet more than a hundred yards behind, and little Mary was left ? upon her knees, praying that her 0 Heavenly Father might take her to His 11 bosom, and save her mother and father r and little brother from perishing. )' Death soon came to her, and not long did it wait for the little brother and 11 mother. In a few moments the mother's " clothes were on fire, and she was un^ able to proceed. The father, with desu perato determination to save his little c son, pushed on ; but already his clothes were on fire, and the little boy, the ^ pride of his heart, was struggling to free himself from the tortures, and soon ho was at rest in death. His body but ^ hindered the progress of the father, and 'fc to savo himself he determined to >' abandon it. Thus freed of all incume brances he sucoeeded in reaching the stream. ? After the fire had passed by he reL' traced his steps, and gathered in one ^ place the blackened and charred re" mains of his late household. Next day S t.lia ImmpH nf uhiyia diafnnf. farrriAra vopta reached, and they retarned with Hern? don and assisted him in the burial. >f ? A New Idea. > Somebody haa hit npon a brilliant h idea for preventing the payment ef s money on forged checks or drafts. The d person givi.ig the check or draft is to n attach to the paper a photograph of the >a person to wh(yn the money is to be d paid. Another photograph is to be >r famished by the payee to the drawee, s- who will inclose it in a letter to the t- bank, notifying it that suoh a check or h | draft has been issned. When the >r ; paper is presented at the bank for payd j ment the two photographs* and the r. ] phiz of the payee will be compared, i and, if corresponding, the paper will be regarded as being all right. This plan I- will make it necessary for a business >r man to have a lot of thin paper photo? graphs on hand, whioh fact awakens 1- the suspicion that the originator of the it idea must be a photographer. He d thinks the time will come when no e large sum of money will be paid unless e the genuineness of the paper presented ). is attested in this manner*. If he exe peots to live long enough to see it himi self, he must be a young man?a very young man indeed. WHAT WE MAT EXPECT. Late Weather Anomalies and Pirognoetlee of the Comlaf Winter. The eooentrio weather through which the country has been passing for some months constitutes a memorable meteorologio cycle, of whioh we hare not seen the end. Since the early part of July nearly every section has been visited by thermal extremes and excessive droughts, whioh have lingered into the present month and bid fair to leave their, impress on the approaching winter. That the great continents undergo cyclical ohanges of olimate by no means inappreciable is a matter ox historic record too familiar to be ignored. In modern times, as in 1867 and 1868, these non-periodic vicissitudes have been sensibly felt. In the year fast named the rainless season was so marked in Central Europe that the Seine, in Paris, shrunk to a mere shadow of its usual self, and portions of the bed of the Bhine, never before dried np, were left nnoovered. Strange to say, simultaneously, however, the level of Lake Ontario was two feet higher than its mean level as deter mined bj fourteen years observations. In the few years preceding 1840 the rainfall was so large in Pennsylvania that an American geologist showed that had the same extended to the lake region, the inland waters, in the absence of new outlets, would have risen twenty-nine feet above their normal height. The extraordinary dryness of the summer and autumn of 1874 on this continent has had its compensation apparently in the abnormal rainfall of an opposite continent in the same hemisEhere. While the Ohio and Mississippi ave been sluggishly coursing their half-emptied channels the Nile has been pouring its torrential roaring floods over the inundated plains of Egypt as it has hardly been known to do from time immemorial. Early is July last the great Afrioan river began to rise rapidly (at the very time onr * American rivers began to fall) and continued so to do till it reached, on the 11th of September, the almost unprecedented height ef twenty-nine feet at Alexandria. It continued at this point till the 7th of October, when an increase of three feet wonld have put all the Delta of Egypt under the rushing, Sellow tide. Still farther east the eavy rains in India, the autumnal cyclones in the Bay- of Bengal and the terrible typhoons which recently swept over Nagasaki and Hong Kong evidence conditions of excessive humidity on the opposite side of the Northern Hemisphere, balanoing the excessive aridity prevailing in the United States. Such physical changes appear anomalous enough, especially when we contrast those which oaused the Bengal famine in 1878 and the floods in 1874. Are they due to regular oyolioal causes, recurring in supra-annual periods? So it would seem ; and it also seems likely that these extraordinary phenomena travel slewly around the' globe, somewhat as the ordinary storm does. The attempt has been made to trace hot and cold years to the variations of sun-spot frequenoy, and eminent scientists have contended that the sun-spot periods are followed by corresponding climatic changes on the earth. But, however, this may be, the abnormal seasons we have experienced are directly traceable to the variations of atmospheric pressure on the earth. Thus, according to known laws of the atmosphere, the abnormal prevalence of hot southerly winds on any continent north of the equator proves that there has been an aerial depression of long standing in the ocean west of it; and a similar exoess of oold northerly winds argues an exoess of pressure. If ih?aA Innc-ntandino' hiffh and lew nrftS o ?~ u ?o? ; x-- -euros move from west to east, in the middle latitudes, as transient oyolonea and anti-cyclones are known to do, we have an easy and obvious explanation of the contrasts of weather on opposing sides of the Northern Hemisphere in the same year. Without dwelling en the theoretioal aspects of these weather anomalies it is evident the present year must close with a great defloienoy of moisture in the soil of the United States east of the Rooky mountains. The winter and spring rains of 1875 may restore the water of which the rooks and springs have been exhausted bv the summer aud autumn droughts and thus prepare the ground for agriculture. But in the meantime the water-oonrses must be scantily filled, the wells low and the subterranean fountains but half replenished. In a word, the oontinent is now in the oondition of a thorough1? J?Aal/1 TKn oflT/irtf aI nnitlt dryness, however, will be to oheck the , chilling evaporation of the soil, and thus, in some measure, to mitigate the rigors of the approaohing winter. Two Kinds. There are two kinds of girls. One is the kind that appears best abroad?the girls that are good for parties, rides, visits, balls, eto., whose ohief delight is in all euoh things. The other is the kind that appear best at home?the girls that are useful and cheerful in the dining room, the sick room, and all the precinots of home. They differ widely in character. One is frequently a tor* ment at home ; the other Is a blessing. One is a moth, consuming everything about her; the other is a sunbeam, inspiring life and gladness all along the pathway. Now it does not neoesaarily follow that there shall be two ois?ss of girls. The right modification would modify them both a little, and unite their oaaraotera in one.