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If'flHSS - it-- . <.I I H BI * V ' 1 _ i |f THE TRIBUNE. ,301 MO ' , " * is si to^IJ ooicrfO < VOL. L--NO. 31. BEAUFORT, S, C., JUNE 23, 1875. $2.00 PER ANNUM. v J % . ' t J . s ? \ -1 f ' . . A Sketch. ~ - Thsnky is bhie and bright above, Tho trees have' douuod their soft green drOBBCB, And prattling ont its lazy love, Tho river rakes the sun's careBBee. * The air with sweat Bpring scenta is rife, And pleasant with the talk of thrushes, And glad with a now sense of life Tho year toward its noon-day rnsheB. Within a corner of the wood, Where the sun's might comes something fainter, Aud dulled the voices of thifloOd, There nit a lady and a painter i ) ( i I 1 .41 %r.?.h Intend tho scene's delight to trace, Ue deftly plies his practiced fingers, With eyes that gcpw toward her face, And mo3t on her his labor lingers. And while he works the day glidos by, Until with pink the hillside fiuBhes, And with p. half regretful sigh, i Thus speaking, ho flings down his brushes: " Tho light that travels down tho stream, ( ?r w.~.'?? " ... J..OIV-1UK mrongii an opening Blender, Fall* through ttib lcaVcs with fitful gleam? Thia light my Bkill can catch and render; " But, sweet, your eyes give out a light That, though I strive from morn till even, I never can reflect aright? I paipt the earth, and not high lleavau." THE BOORN AFFAIR. One of the .Host Kxtrnordlnnrr ('nan of Clrciinihtniitlnl Evidence ou Itccord. nf?|2 "3 Ou the morning of the 2fith of November, 1819, I read in the Rutland (Yt.) Herald the following notice : " Murder ! Printers of newspapers throughout the United States aro desired to publish that Stephen Boorn, of Manchester, in Vermont, is sentenced to bo executed for the murder of Rusaejl Qolvin, who lias been absent about seven years. Any person who. can give information of said Colviu may save the Hfo <)i the innocent, lv=- ?i.. ? . muaiug llliuieuia^o communication. ' Colvin is about five teet live inches high, light complexion, light hair, blue eyes, andi about forty years old. Manchester, Y?, November 26th, 1819:" This oommuuication was copied- very generally by newspapers, and created a . great deal of interest. BCToffe ' describing events that followed, let us go back to the year 1812 and to the little town of Manchester, Vermont. ; . . Harney Room, an old man, had two sons, Stephen and Jesse, and a daughter Sarah, wife of Russell Colvin, a halfcrazed, half-witted day laborer. They were a bad lot, poor, ignorant, and in doubtful repute for liouesty. Two miserable hovels served them for shelter, and a few acres of pine barrens constituted all their possessions. They raised a few potatoes *iud garden vegetables, and elWf out n scanty livelihood by days' wtai for the neighboring farmer^ : J8Colvin was at hanfe. In June lie waa missing. At first this occasioned no remark.. He was always a tramp, absent from home sometimes for weeks together. But this time he did not come back., As weeks grow into months inquiries began to bo made otnrt^iv 4-lv^ ?mc ucignuors auout tlie missing man. There are 110 tongues for gossip Eke those which wag in a village. One spoke to anotlier. Excitement grow. Wonder, liko a contagious disease, affeoted everybodyt t It was known that tliero had long existed between the old man aud boys a grudge against Colvin ; it was in proof that the last time the missing man was seen lie was nt work with the Booms clearing stones from a field, and that a dispute was going on, and |^ouis Cylvin, a boy, son of Russel, had stated that his father had struck his undo Stephen, and that he, tho boy, becoming frightened, ran away. Again, a Mr. Baldwin hail heard Stephen Doorri, in answer to the inquiry as to wliero Colvin was, say: "He's gone to U?IV J hope!" "Is he-dWl, Sto'phen? pursued Mr. Baldwin. "I tell you again," replied the man, 'that Colvin has gono where potatoes wont freeze." Bennington County. There was no known proof tba? f^ho* Jlooms were guilty, ninl yet everybody believed it. A button and jaekknife were found, which Mrs. C. believed to have belonged to * Rnssel; dreams, thrice repeated, were box had by old women and kitchen girls? and tun thousand stories were in circulation . . r* U-aOl I)ivA' yean after *Oolvin was miseed, Stephen ftocrn removed to Denmark, N. Y.f while Jesse remained at home. After the former had left, some bones weM accidentally found in the decayed trunk of a treo near his honse, and though all surgeons said to the contrary, it..was universally belipvod that they were part" 61 a ntimfin skeleton. Of course, then, .they must be Colvin's bones. Jesss-'dsas arrested. Stephen was brought baak from Denmark, and both were "held fof examination. Although ^all theteptimony when sifted was fouila to bb IrorEhless, yet the two brothers were. remanded Dock to jail, and Jesse was wprk,ed upon to make him turti - State'ff^^onte.^5 VTh?* jailer torinented liim with suggestions, which bis wife followed up with wothanly adroitness. Neighbors helped. Beset witli'direotions?rtohl that there wi.i n< doubt 'iA"kh^ one's mind but that Bteplien e mmitted the murder?urged to make a cle m brt-tet of it and thus i save both lus dy and . soul, what wonder that the in-Ji confessed, or was alleged to hava confeeeed, that Stephen Boom did murder Bnesel Colvint M ' A i - Oil September 3, 1819, the grand jurj found a bill of indictment againsi Stephen and JesSe Booru for the murder of Unwell Oolviu. William Farns worth testified that Stephen confessed that he did it, and that J esse helped him that they hid the body in the bushes, then buried it, then dug it up and burned "it, and then Scraped together the few remains and hid them in a stump. Upon this unsupported evideuoe the jury returned n verdict of guilty against botli Erisoners, and they were sentenced tc o hung on January 28, 1820. And now the men came to then onnaco J il ? ? U^unvo, xurj uosi'lliuu umir liiuuui'lice. They said that they had confessed af their Inst hopo. Some compassion began to bo felt for them. They might, after all, be innocent. A petition foi their pardon was presented to the Legis lature. But it availed only to obtain commutation of Jesse's sentence to imprisonment for life?no more. Stephen was to be hanged. Lot the reader now turn to auotliei chapter of this strange history. In April, 1813, thero lived in Dover, Monmouth county, N. J., a Mr. Jnmee Polhamus. During that month a wayfarer, begging food, stopped at his door. ' Being handy, good-natured, quiet and obedient, homeless, and weak of intellect too, ho was allowed to stay. He said that his name wos^ Russell Colviu, and that lie comq from Manchester, Vt. Not far from Dover lies the little town of Shrewsbury, then a quiet ham let, now invaded by 'the cottages and villas of Long Branch''pleasure-seekers. Here lived Taber Chatlwick, brother-inlaw to Mr. Polhamus, and intimate with the family. Accidentally reading the New York Evening Post, he met, not with the notice of the Rutland Jlcru/d, but with an account of -the trial of the Booms. Convinced that the Russell Colvin, alleged to have been murdered, was the verv man then livinc -with "Mr PollmmuH, he wrote to the Evening J'ost ft letter, which was published Docombe*-?, J819? I j * Upon thd'arrival oftliin paper at Manchester it excited but little attention. The letter was believed to be a forgery or ft fraud; v'* Hafl ?pt the boUfc people in the town long believed the Boorus to be guilty ? Had not owe, perhaps both ol tuem, made full confession ? Th,e bouef of the murdered man, a button of his cost, his jockknifo?had they not" nl been found ? Had not an upright judge mode solemn charge that the evidenc< was conclusive, aiid an intelligent jury found them guilty, and the Legislature sanctioned the findings ? There was nc doubt of their guilt?none whatever and therefore no benefit of a doubt luui been given by jury, chief justice or eourl of appeal. Mr. Chadwick'a letter was, nevertheless, taken to Steplien's cell and rone aloud. The news was so overwhelming tlxat nature could scarcely survive the shock. The poor fellow dropped in o fainting fit to the floor, and had to be re covered by clashes of cold water. Intelligence came next day from a Mr. Whelploy, formerly a resident of Man cheater, that ho himself had been to Neu Jersey and seen Russell Colviu. The tnomUuiM r\f 4Vk/X ?- -A w* tuv JUIJ UiUUll I1UU I'UIIVICIed the Boorus, however, hesitated to ac cept anj thing short of the man's pres ence, and Judgo Chase, who had sentenced them, pointed to Stephen Boom't confession. "The third day came another letter. " I have Itussell Colvin with me," wrote Mr. Whelpley. "I personally know Russell Colvin," swore John Rempton "he now stands before me." "It if the same Russell Colvin who maxrieii Ann Boom, of MancheAter, Vt.," made affidavit Airs. Jones, of Brooklyn. Bui it would not answer. Pride of opinior is stubborn. Doubt of opinion diet hard. However, Colvin, or Colvin's double, was on his way. As he passed tlirougl: PonchltPunRifl t.l:n nfcroofo urom o X- I ?iuun8ct to see bim. The news everywhere preceded hfm. His story was printed in every newspaper, and told at every fireside. At Hudson cannon wero tired ; in Albany be was shown to the crowd from a platform; and all along the road tc Troy bands of music wpre playing anil banners were flaunting, and cheers were given as Colvin passed by. Some men become famous from having been murdered. Russell Oolvin was famous because he was alive. * Toward evening of Friday, Decembei 22, 1319, a double aloigh was driven furiously down the main street of Man Chester to the tavern door. It contained Whelpley, Komptou, Chad wick, and the bewildered Russell Colvin. Immediately a crowd of men, women and children gathered around, and as the sleigh un loaded its oocnpants and tliey took theii places on the piazza, exhibiting tho last man to view, "That's Russell Oolvin, sure enough ! There's no doubt aboul itl" come from the lips of scores ol gazers. He embraced his two children, asked after the Booms, and started foi the jail. The prison doors were unbolted, and the news was told to Stephen Boorn. " Colvin has come, Stephen," said the Rev. Lemuel Hayiies. " Has he!'* asked the prisoner. " W tie re Is he $ "Here I am, Stephen," said hif brothfcr-in-law. 44 What's them on yom legs ?" -?" "Shackles I" replied Boorn. "What fort" ?? P- -iiM-L thoy .inJd I murdered you." ' Von never hurt me in Joqr life," rei plied Colvin. r t Xiie ooqiiel is soon told. Stephen Boom was released frbm prison, as ww Jesse ilso. RuskhII Colvin returned tc New Je.vey. But 10 judge who euffured fcr. incooent man to be couvioted ol morder by the admission of extra r judicial confessions?the members of the k jury who deliberated but one liour be fore agreeing upon a verdict of guilt upon evidence that should not hang a I dog? -the deacon and church members ; who urged confession and preached re, peutance, and the ninety-seven members of the Legislature, sitting as a court of r appeals, who refused rehearing of cvii deuce?what became of them? The Last Station. ?. He had been sick at ono of the hotels for three or four.weeks, and the boys on the road hod dropped in daily to see i how he got along, and to learn if they . oould render him any kindness. The ( brakeman was a good lollow, and one and all encouraged him in the hope that he would pull through. The doctor i didn't regard the case as dangerous, but - the other day tho patient began sinking, i and it was seen that he could not live tho night out. A dozen of his friends sat in the room when night came, but his miud wandered and he did not recognize them. i It was near one of the depots, and, after the great truoks and noisy drays l.o.l i A I... W?ll 1 it._ I uuv4 V.v,c?0CU AOlUil^ UJj tuu UCim 1U1U 11IU short, sharp whistles of the yard engines : sounded painfully loud. The patient had been very quiet for half an hour, . when he suddenly unclosed his eyes and shouted: * *'K*l?-mn-zoo!" * i One of the men brushed the hair back . from the cold forehead, and the brake[ man closed his eyes and was quiet for a time. Then the wind whirled arouud . the depot and banged the blinds on the ! window of his room, ard he lifted his i hand and cried out: ; "Jack-son ! Passengers going north by the Saginaw road change cars." i The men understood. The brakeiuan 1 thought he was coming east on the Michigan Central. The effort seemed to liavo greatly exhausted him, for he lay r like one dead for the next live minutes, . and a watcher felt for his pulse to see if life had not gone out. A tug goiug . down the river sounded her whistle loud aud long, and the dying brnkemnn opened his eyes and called out: ! "Ann Arbor!" > .He had been over the road a thousand f times, but had made his last trip, i Death was drawing a spectral tram ever i the old track, and he was brakoman, p engineer and conductor. ? One of the yard engines uttered n } shrill wliistlo of warning, as if the glare r of the headlight had shown to the engi5 neer some stranger in peril, aud the , brakeruan called out: ; " l'p-slauty?ehrtfigo cars liero for the 1 Eel River road !" t "He's coming in fast," whispered one of the men. " And the end of his ' run * will be the [ end of his life 1" said a second, r The dampn ss of death began to colw lect on the patient's forehead, and there L was that ghastly look on the face which . death always brings. The slamming of a door down the hall startled him again, and he moved his head and faintly called: " Grank Trunk junction?passengers r going east by the Grand Trunk change ? cars!" He was so quiet after that that all tho . men gathered around the bed, believing . that lie was dead. His eyes closed, and . the brakeman lifted his hand, moved lvis , head and whispered: " I)o'7? Not " Detroit," but death ! He died j with the half-uttered whisper on his r lips. And the headlight on death's en gino shone full in his face and covered j it with such pallor as naught but death [ can bring.?Free J*reus. 5 t The Fashionable Child. ^ There is unquestionably in infancy an " interference with the natural instincts which is far too great for healthful ' growth. This, of course, from the con| (lition of the subjects of it, who are hardly moro than vegetative beings, is chiefly physical. Consider for a mo1 ment how artificial a thing a modern baby becomes under the hands of a fasli1 ionable mother 1 Look at its manifold 1 wrappings of finery, with involutions of f lace and fine linen more complicated than those of a mummy ! See how carefullv * it is handled and deposited lest a speck [ should soil or a touch derange the drossed-np manikin! Notice how often it is introduced to company, not seldom even awakened out of sleep to be shown by mamma, eager for a compliment, to flattering visitors with the ever ready [ "What a fine baby!" on their lips. What more unnaturul usage could an [ infant be subjected to than being thus oppressed with finery, deprived of its 1 liberty, disturbed of its repose, tormentPfl hv flfranoPA lunula on/1 infonfn/1 . ? ~j ; ? . hips, in the closeness of a kiss by re' pouted inspirations of tainted breath ? It ' is a cruelty to an infant to clothe it in I any way by whioh its limbs are checked 1 in the freest movement, to which it is ' impelled by natural instinct. It should havo the fullest lilierty to turn and roll, , creep or toddle, as it may, without fear of disorder from exercise or dirt from floor. No superfluous swatliings of ' flurry should bo allowed to interferowith any of its vagaries of motion. A baby should be left very much to itself and nature. The less clothing it wears, and | the less this shackles its body and limbs, the better. We need hardly iusist upon its being allowed to get all the sleep it will take, for a great deal of this, it is , well known, is essential to its health. It is equally obvious that its natural instinct seeks for pure air, and not the atmosphere corrupted by human' breath\ > A Mcruncher cat established herself as a her ne by rescuing her kittens I from s*> - ling stable, and having her 1 hair ac . y all singed off in ths exploit* THE MONEY-VALUE OF A MAN. Whnt It In, nn Social Hclcncc Ulnkra I lie ^ l'lKurcn?An Intercut ln? question. A curious economical question, often discussed, lias arisen incidentally in the t recent American Social Science Con- < gress, ns to the money-value of each in- 1 dividual to society. Mr. Wells states, t as the English experience, that the cost ? of bringing up a child in a public iusti- c tuflon, allowing nothing for education i or amusement, will amount, without in- 1 terest, when he is fifteen years old, to i $800; and at eighteen, allowing for in- t terest and all expenditures, he repre- t sents a capital value to the community c of *1,500. j This is the value of a person brought ? up in a public institution in England, a Iu this country it must be considerably ' greater. But what is the value of a productive laborer ? Dr. Engel estimates t the cost of supporting a laborer iu Ger- > many at forty thalers a year for the first five years of his life, at fifty thalers for I the next five years, and at sixty from the 1 | eleventh to the sixteenth year, or say f seven hundred and fifty thalers for the 1 whole. It would be reasonable to esti- c mate the expense of bringing np an c American farmer or laborer for the first t fifteen years of his life at one hundred th;tiers per year, or a total of 1,500 f th.tiers?say about $1,100 currency. An- ? other statistician of eminence estimates 3 the average money value of the foreign o laborer as $800. t Sho statisticians, however, the New v York 7'irnza says, muko one frequent insdoke iu estimating the pecuniary value a ot'?o human being. Value does not de- ? peud alone on the cost of production, bn? also on supply and demand. The r cost of producing the best breeds of r horses might bo no greater than that of t raising poor breeds, and yet the demand * might be so great that the value would w bo proportionately increased. There t might also be, for instance, an ovorpro- c duction of sewing machines, or they r might be of poor quality, so that thede- ? mand would fall, and their money-value to the community sink below the cost of production. The same is true of aii articles which belong to the capital of a country. Tlris principle applies also to hnnlan beings. An idiot may cost as much to bring up as an intelligent boy, but his money-value to the community on the demand for his labor. Bo with the wages or sahu v of men in ' the professions; these are measured not alone by tho cost of their education, but by the demand for their services in tho market. The capital value, then, of a human being is always determined by two elements: cost of production and demand. But the servicos of a male laborer are nearly always in demand iu the United States, so that his value, like inat of gokl and silver, will depend j mainly upon the cost of production, I which is undoubtedly near the estimate 2 made above of one thousand or one thousand one hundred dollars. If this be compared with the money- t value of a male slave in former years in this country, it will be found to bo little ' less, inasmuch as'the pecuniary value of f slaves was somewhat speculative, based f on the expectation of profit from the best cotton lands. i Thero is still another way of estimating the money-value of each laborer to the ' country. This must be the profits from his labor after deducting the cost of his 1 support. Now the average cost of each < laborer to his employor, including wages and board, is about four hundred dollars ' per annum. The ordinary profit on f common farm labor is probably from t fifteen to eighteen and three-fourths per cent.; this would leave the gain to ' tho country from sixty to seventy-five rdollars anuually from each laborer. This, at six or seven per cent, interest, 1 would represent just about the value es- t timated aboVft for a male laborer, or about one thousand or eleven hundred f dollars. ' F Dr. Hill, iu his paper on immigration, 1 has touched upon the interesting con- > elusion we may derive from tliis estimate t as to the money-value of immigration. ^ ml i? <1 ? ' * - - ?? x inns, estimating tnat one-nan 01 tno i immigration of last year was of produc- *tive laborers, it would make an addition s to our capital in 1874 of one kuudred I millions, a sum which appears in no 1 statistical records of importations. Mr. t Wells in his paper makes a still more f impressive use of this valuation. If a t poor boy has reached the ago of fourteen, ( neglected 1?y the community, ho repre- f sents a capital of nearly one thousand > dollars wliich is unproductive; and if ho lives out the term of life for which he has a probable cliatco in the lifo insurance tables?forty years?as a pauper or r criminal, he ontails a loss upon his Stato j of tive thousand dollars. On the other , hand, every youthful criminal mude iuto . an honest boy by our preventive iustitu- t tions of charity and reform is a clear , saving of Ave thousand dollars to the | ' community. It may be somewhat nn- I j pleasant to regard the human being ] ( simply as a money capital, but the as- j j pect has its peculiar and impressive lcs- > sons. Extract from a Young Lady's Diary. ?What are these thoughts that surgo across my heart and wildly palpitate in every crevice of my braui ? What is this strange longing after the unattainable ? Am I what I really seem, or is it, as it were, not so much tho infinitesimal as tho unspeakable f Let mo bo calm, t have reread Don Juan to day. Ah, alas! will there ever be another llyron i May there not lie somewhere coming toward me from tho mist of the mountain top or tho flowers of the valley* some such crowned youth who? Here papa called out: "If you don't oome down to dinner it will be postponed till to-morrow." Coarse idea ! I waa obliged to go for many reasons, 1 THE DEATH OF BISHOP POLK. 11 In Account that DIDeri from thnt offlrn. v.. Hkeratii DC A? officer on Gen. Howard's staff at bi he time gives ns the fallowing account )f the death of Bishop Polk ? On June 4th, General Howard and staff left Qj heir headquarters for tjie front, where r-( Stanley's division of Howard's (Fourth) torps had broken camp and were await- , ng the order to attack Pino mountain. w' t was just after sunrise. A mile or two P1 n rear of tlio advance Howard met "c Sherman, bnt the conversation between 01 hem I did not hear, as the two generals jonversed aside. Howard and staff th oined Stanley and his staff on the road, in md in full view of Pino mountain, and nc lh we drew rein and exchanged greetings w< Stanley exclaimed : " Howard, do you see that group up here on the crest of the mountain ? I fr< vonder who they are ?" in Wo all brought our field glasses to f<> >ear upou the point indicated and could re )laiuly see three persons standing in ront of a lino of breastworks and a ^ arger group in the background. We wj otild not tell whether they wero officers ^ >r privates, but as it was evident that nn hey were watching our movements Stanley suggested that a few shots be ^ lred to drive them tinder cover. How- ^ .rd, who had suggestod that perhaps Pnllr tuna 111 flio nnrtv ma^A nn >bj actions, when Stanley turned to Cap- J*8 niu Simonson, his chief of artillery, ritli the remark : "J? " Simonson, can't you unlimlier, put 9? shot into the group and givo the bishop . morning salutation ?" F? "I'll try!" was Simonson's laconic eply. And away he galloped to the ear. A few minutes later a section of ro he Fifth Indinua battery (Simonson's) th >ras unlimbered within twenty feet of wi is. The lieutenant sighted the gun and wl h?. shot exploded over and to the right th' ?f the group. Here my memory fails th ne, but my impression is that a second fiti hot was sighted and fired by the lieuenant with no better effect. Simonson, ed vhou the gun had l>een reloaded, dis- to nonnted and said : "Here, lieutenant, wj et mo try it." H^ took the range and th ho messenger of death sped on its mis- or lion. Our glasses were bent upon the to jronp and wo observed a commotion as ,he shot took effect in the group that ar mattered to the rear. While Simonson * seas upon his knees sighting the gun ol for another discharge, Captain Leonard, ar rhief of Howard's signal corps, sitting j >n his horse beside me, read the Con'ederate signal code that our officers had _ nterpreted at Lookout mountain, and mught the words: " j. "QeuoralPolk is killed!" With a jn ook of amazement Leonard turned to Toward and Stanley and exclaimed : ? " Bishop Polk is killed! " " What?" exclaimed Howard; "have roil interpreted the signal correctly ?" "Yes, general; Simonson'B last shot i illed him. They are signaling it along r<J ;holino." The young men of the staff who were :rackiug jokes instantly ceased, aud for i moment none spoke. Then Howard ? said : ft " Well, a Christian has fallen. Such .. ' ar s war." Just then Simonson caught the words, 4 Bishop Polk is killed 1" He was sighting the gun, and, lifting lis eyes, tlint glared fearfully, exhumed : 44 What is that, Leonard ?" 44 Bishop Polk is killed ! Your last of iliot did it. They are signaling it over n< lie mountain," I replied. ri Simouson's head dropped upon the cc 4 vent," \Vhero it rested for a moment, m rheu, raising his eyes, ho exclaimed : hi 44 Thank God ! Yesterday they killed fo ny dear brother; I bavo killed a lieu- in tenant general and am avenged !" ot Without discharging the piece Simontou arose, remounted and joined the di itaflf. Silently ht repaired to his regu- of ar dut ies, and, the line being formed, ve advanced slowly against the moun- in nin, every one of us feeling that we af vonld have rejoiced liatl some other lian Louisiana's fighting bishop gone lown before Siraonson's first and only hot. The enemy was so demoralized hat he evacuated the mountain, and ti rnlf an hour afterward we stood upon it he spot where Polk fell and saw the oi ground stained with his blood. A day >r two after poor Simonson, the only one '* >t us who rejoioetl at the bishop's death, le ell, shot oil the Hkirmisli line in Ack- qi vortli woods. 88 Preservation of Wood by Lime. M. Lostal, arnilway conductor, ofFer niny, has commnnicated the results of lis observations on the effect of lime in ireserving wood, and his method of apilyiug it. He piles the planks in a tank, md puts over all a layer of quicklime JV1 vliich is gradually slaked with water. " Fimlier for mines requires about a woek ;o become thoroughly impregnated, and ither wood more or less time, according ;o its thickness. The wood acquires re- fit narkable cousistenoe and hardness, and ?x fc is said, will never rot. Wood has hi aeaii prepared in this manner for several jy nines, bo that the plan will shortly be fi] nested on a considerable scale. Beech- w vood has bean prepared in. this way for h, inmmars and other tools for several iron p] vorks, and it is said to become as hard ft] is oak without losing its elasticity or a onghness, and to last much longer than ft vhen unprepared. It has long been 0] mown that wood set in lime or mortar r( s preserved from decay, but no system- ft] itio i>lan for its preservation has until M io\v been attempted. p ai Mrs. Gaskins, of Carter oonnty, N. C., a treighs six hundred and forty pounds, si md one of her stockings ean hold a t< iiushel of shelled corn. n * Items of Interest. A shirt dealer has given up coaxing and illying the pablio and despairingly anmnces on a placard: '' Buy or I will 1st." The Baltimore American says it has ldom known a season when the ladies Baltimore appeared on the streets in olier attire than at present. Borne of the greatest benefits are those liich we are slowest to detect, and a an who moves into a quiet neighborKid with a family of boys is perhaps \e of them. The actor who supported Miss Neilson is season has the satisfaction, acoordg to a Western paper, of having hieved a national reputation -as the irst Borneo on the American stage. She was beautiful, but she had large et, and when she was just recovering im illness and said, in response to an quir, that she "could just put one ot beforethe other," the spiteful friend sponded: "And that is a great deal." An adventurous little boy undertook cross tne pain 01 a nuge eiepnant lich was walling in a circus profession rough Detroit the other day, when Use imal seized him in its trans, held him ng enough to frighten him well, and en set him down about three yards >m the starting point. Ex-Gov. R. O. Powers of Mississippi is foreman of the grand , jury of Noxue county, ?nd found an unusual nnmr of true bills for larceny. After the and jury adjourned, the ex-Governor jnd that one of his brother jurors had ieved him of bis pocketbook containJ seventy five dollars. A Chicago jury being confined in a om without anything to eat or drink, e other day, lowered a string from - a ndow aud - pulled up a bottle of lisky that somebody bad ready for em, and one of them got so arank at he was unfit for duty. The judge led nine of them five dollars each. The following appears in k will recordL in the surrogate s office in Binghamu, N. Y.: A word of advice to my fe. I think yon had better sell everying you do not need for your own use, i a credit. Take good, reliable notes, be paid when you want it. Be are1 how you trust blood relations; they ? apt te be blood-suckers. A dashing Pacific slope scamp has an ltflt consisting of four spotted horses id gilded wagon. He drives into a aoe with a flourish, makes extensive rang emeu ts for a mythical circus -usually calling it Van Amburgh's or arnum s?borrows several hundred >llars on bogus checks signed by his 1 aginary employer, and rides away. JaniAfl Viflt fnflinv fVia InVa Tamna isk, Jr., and formerly known thrqogh e Hoosac and Connecticut valleys, in mneetion with his son, as A fiedcfter of y goods and notions, is gding to Etiipo. He will also visit the Holy Land* id will publish letters concerning his ur in a newspaper ot western Mascunsetts. Mr. Iisk is sixty-six years d, and of late years has been somewhat roken in iniud. He has lived much of e time at Maple Grove, South Adams, id it'liios been quite a common incident r the old man to be at the 'depot inuring about " my son at New York." He Never Saw. . t i Two gentlemen from New York, one whom had been iu California for >arly a year, and the Other just arved, were overheard in the following nversntion at the Sutter House, Saoraento. The uew-eomer was lamenting a condition, and especially two beastiil daughters, who were just budding to womanhood?when he asked the her if he had a family. " Yes, sir; I liave a wife'ahd six chilren in New York?and I never saw one them." ** After tlii? the con pie sat a few momenta silence, and then the interrogator fain commenced: " Were you ever blind, sir ?" "No, air." r , Another lapse of time. "Did I understand you to say, air, int yon had a -wife and six children Hvig in New Tork, and bad never seen le of them ?" " Yes, sir?I so stated it." Another and a long pause of since. Then the interrogator again inaired: " How can it be, sir, that yon never iw one of them?" , "Why," was the response, "onq.of lem was born after I left" " Oh ! ah I" and a general laugh toti wed. After that the first New Yorker was 11 v? i * :_i j it i tpociniiy uiHuuguituiwu ju> sue mw wuo iid six children, and never saw one of lem. , lt Darning Iron. A Berlin experimenter has demonrafted the combustibility of iron m a iculier manner. He takes a straight ir magnet of some power, andspriaUee on filings on one of it* poloe.. These lings arrange themselves in aooordanoe ith the lines of magnetio foroe; and r>wever closely they may appear to be laoed, of course no two of the metallic laments are parallel, and consequently, certain amount of air is inoloeed as in metallic sponge. The flames of any rdinary spirit lamp or gas buthOr eddy ignites the llnely divided iron, nd it continues to burn brilliantly far >me time, the combustion being, aparently, as natural and easy as that of ay ordinary substance. If the experiicnter with this operation stands on a ight elevation and waves the magnet > and fro while burning, a magnifloenl kin of fire is said to be prodooedL l ..