Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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%*? FOR THE FAIR SEX. Fashion Fancies. oillr linnrllrprrthlpfq *rp popular for neck wear. * Wide ribbon sashes will be muchworn during the coming season. The novelties in gloves for evening wear are those with kid lace tops and those trimmed with real lace and lace insertion. A standard dress among ladies of simple but elegant taste is of satin de Lyon, which presents a satin finish on one side and gros grain on the other. In combination with this material satin brocade with silk and jet passementerie arg mostly used as garniture. Small stuffed birds and butterflies of silk brought from China are new and costly ornaments for the hair. They are made of bits of blue, red and yellow silk, auntily touched up with crimped gold wire. Their length is three inches, and this does not inq^ide the upright crimp ed wire tail teatners or in tue ouiteiint-o the projecting feelers. The correspondent of Harper's Bazar, writing from Paris, says that the fash ion of a corsage different from the dress wiil prevail also in the spring. Long corsages (or, if one prefers, short casaques) of material or color different from that of the skirt jrill be worn, both in the house and on the street, without any other wrapping than that which the state of the temperature may impose. The coat for spring is a sort of ulster, close-fitting, with coat seams across the waistband, long skirt, with lap pel folds a id square pockets. They are made in ! ight-colored cloth, with small breastpockets and are verv much affected by what are called "nobby young women," who often have little muffs of lightcolored cloth made to match and lined, as are the pockets of the coat, with mastic satin. A round beaver hat, with wide, rolling brim, set well back upon the head and trimmed with broad, fuil feathers to match, piaced close around the crown, is the proper chapcau. What lie dress is. is of little consequence, as barely the edge of the skirt is seen. Alfonso's Sisters. The King of Spain has three sisters who live in the royal palace. Tte eldest of these ladies is the Princess Maria Isabella of Asturias, infanta of Spain, aged twenty-eight years, and for the last eight years the widow of the Count of Girgenti. She has been a second mother to Alfonso. Highly intellectual, well read, nr.dest, she has aimed to no higher role than that of being the consoling and protecting guardian angel of her brother. Her only ambition is his happiness. Her face is singularly sweet and serene. The second sister is the infanta Maria de la Paz, who is seventeen years old, tall and slender, pretty | ( . and graceful, and an excellent musician. ^^^Tbe third is the infanta Maria Eulalia^ ea riof age, and still more hlonde and slender than her sister Maria. She has lovely eyes and she is a wonderful linguist.- Among the men of the court the most prominent are Count 1 Morphy, the Duke of Sesto and the ] Count of Onate. Count Morphy is a i perfect type of the Castilian gentleman? < learned, good-natured and devoted to < his king, to whom he was formerly tu- s tor and is now secretary. He exercises ] x most wholesome influence upon Al- < fonso. He keep3 aloof from the conten- < t.iftn nf nnlities. his one nassion beine I r.rt, which he patronizes in true Micce- 1 nas fashion. The Duko of Sesto, whc I * married the Duchess of Morny, is the 1 head of the king's household. His i politi. al career has been very short. It ] ended with the coronation of Alfonso, < which was largely his work. He is a j great friend of Frascuelo, the bull- 1 fighter, a fact which certainly does not ] argue well lor his taste. Count Onate ] is a venerable old man. He was one of ( the most loyal servants of Isabella, and ; he now serves her son with equal fidel- < ity. He is the type of those faithful 1 men upon whom " El Key" can always ] depend. . < 1 A W oman in Bonds. j A fashionable lady of San Francisco 1 attired herself in a party dress, and had a full-length photograph taken. Envel- 1 oping her tightly-laced finery in a bal- 1 loon C1UHK, SU15 UCOICHUCU iu me oueei, hailed a street car, and seated herself within. When her street was reached she motioned to the conductor, and attempted to rise. But so tightly was the 1 poor thing harnessed that she couldn't get up, and blushing scarlet, she told the conductor that she would go a few blocks further. When the terminus of the line was reached and the last gentleman had left the car, the conductor risked her if she wanted to ride back. "No, sir," she replied, with sweet sim plicity, " I merely want some help, for I can't get up." The conductor set "her on her feet, and she walked home a wiser woman. Mr. Edgar Gilkes, one ol the constructors of the Tay bridge, has given his theory of the cause of the awful disaster. He holds that " the present evidence indicates that some other force than the tempest acting with it destroyed the girders," and he Relieves that that force was the momentum of the train. Mr. Gilkes finds that the force ol the w ind as actually registei*ed at Dundee was sufficient to overturn a train, and that the guard rails could not prevent this, and further, that, if the upper parts of the carriages were thus brought in contact with the leeward girders, the damage they would cause would so far destroy the unity of the fabric that tl e same wind would cast it down altogether. There are 32,571,000 >heep in Great Britnic. The Moss Industry in Louisiana. T11- T Wkyxnn WnaSnaao ia nf Xlit; ljUUiditiLia luuaa uuoiucoo 10 vuu vi the important industries of New Orleans, and as such demands some attention at the hands of the press. In common with all Southern manufacturing interests, it has had its days of flush and its days of gloom in business. At present, however, the depression seems about over, and the \r ide is attaining its former respectable proportions. The history of the manipulation of moss is very simple. It is gathered mostly by negroes, who devote a spare hour of the day to such work. After a tree is stripped it is allowed to rest for seven years, during which period of time the moss renews itself. Cypress moss is preferred, as it is the longest and most tenacious of all the varieties. After the moss is nathered it is plrtced on a sunny spot and left a month to the action of wind and weather. At the end of that time the grayish bark peels off, leaving the hair almost clean. Some of the moss requires no manipulation, while other assortments are, in weight, more than half dirt. After being thus dried the material is sold to the plantation storekeeper or to the cross-roads groceryman, and the gatherer receives from one to two cents a pound for it, according to its quality. The stuff is baled and brought to this city for manufacture. , The gatherers of late seem surprised at the falling off in the prices paid for moss. The reason is simple. The demand is not great, or rather has not been up to within-the Inst two months, and the quality of the moss gathered has not been of a good grade. The gatherers think that dusty and rotten moss should command three cents and be worth in the market four and a half cents, because it took as mu"h time to gather it as it does to gather moss that commands such prices. If they would bring in a better article they would have no reason to complain of the smallneM of the money paid. AfterTne moss reaches the factory it is subjected to the action of the washer, which is a large cylindrical arrangement with a wheel inside, which pulls the moss hither and thither and dashes it through a vat of boiling water and soap until the stuff is cleaned.. .Then it is hung out upon racks to dry. This done it is put into the duster, a fan mill, which entirely removes all the dust that may have survived the washing process. As a result the moss comes into me iaciory yeuuw ux uoiui ?uu goes out inky l>lack. , The arlicte-is then madojnpi into bales, 1 according to quality, and lettered with | single, double, treble and quadruple X's. : The highest grade* XXXX, can hardly be distinguished from the finest and ' choicest horse hair. The other grades i are consumed mostly in Louisiana.? New Orleans Times. Two QneeiM.'ats. A Wtor Bank CN. J.) - ? Register gi. ~ ~Jc- rollowing particulars about a couple of queer cats: Dr. Ridg. s way, a few days ago, showed us a photo- 5 graph of his two oats," "Ourie" and 14 Dot," (and 44Go-Two," so named from J her manner of walking,) taken in the ' altitudes in which ilicy play together, * one sitting upon her hind legs, and the * other crouching as if to spring at her 1 intagonist. The latter we have already 1 mentioned as having been born with only three legs, one in front and only t one shoulder, though the doctor men- 1 Lioned to us, as if by way of compensa- i tion to the cat, that she had a 44congeni- < Lai umbilical hernia." (For an expla- : nation of which those iutcrested in i anomalies can inquire of their family | physicians.) She is quite active, can 5 latch mice, climb a tree, and run like a t zood fellow; is quite intelligent, and ( when the bell rings for ideals she calls tier master, and takes her place on the , lounge near him. The other, "Ourie," j 'so called by her mother when quite ( young,) the "kangaroo cat," and mate t jf "Dot," has two false joints about two j and a half inches up the forepaws, say j tialf way up the legs; or to speak more f correctly, the joints being weak bend ? backward when she walks or sits on ; them. This faux pas, which was unno- t ticed at her birth, has caused the fore j legs to be very little used, and-by using t the hind ones so frequently the former remain quite small, while the latter are remarkably developed, compelling her ] when she wishes to see around her or be 1 fed to raise herself on the latter like a ( kangaroo, and when she walks to thrust the former before her like a man walk- ( ing on his hands and feet at the same l time. The head, neck and shoulders \ remaining quite small, as well as the 1 fore lees. make3 her walk with her head 1 lower than her hind-quarters, say "very 1 like" a bear. Weie Dai-win to repub- ' lish his " Descent of Man," he might use 1 this plantigrade cat to demonstrate that ' we were returning to the original mon- 1 key (through the cat), who, he argues * w:ts our common ancestor. She also is very lively, catching mice, climbing ( trees, etc., and to see them playing to- < gether is most amusing. t ?? V Ou the Right Side. j It is better to lie upon the right side ( than the left, because in this postion the t food gravitates more easily out of the ' stomach into the intestines, and the < weight of the liver, a pretty large and i heavy organ, does not rest upon other < internal organs. Some people are apt to s sleep with one arm above the head be- t cause it makes free circulation in the i n ck and upper extremities, and respira- j tiou is made easy, but it is apt to cause 1 headache. cramDS and dreams. There i is one good reason why this last posi- < tion should be avoided. If the arm i gets beneath the head, important nerves i may be pressed upon and temporary j paralysis result. Such cases are by no i means rare, and the paralysis may con- < tinue several weeks. i r FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD Farm and Garden Notes. A peck of sour apples once a week, a correspondent of Land and Water says, promotes health and flesh in horses, and is " sure cure for worms." To destroy pin-worms in horses, give an injection of salt and water two or three days in succession, then administer a ball consisting of half an ounce of aloes and one drachm calomel. It is impossible for house-plants to do well if the earth about them remains wet for any considerable length of timesay two days. Plants need fresh water the same as individuals. Let the earth be so poroff? and the drainage so complete that the plants will need watering daily?Rural New Yorker. The Michigan Farmer says: If you desire to get a large yield of rich milk, give your cows every day water slightly warm and slightly salted, in which bran has been stirred at the rate of one quart to tvfro gallons of water. You will find that your cow will give twenty-five per cent, more milk immediately under the effects of it. A gardener of experience says: After trying for a number of years al most in vain to raise good celery on ordinary garden soil I finally borrowed the use oi a little patch of reclaimed swamp land?deep black muck, well drained, but moist, and for the two past seasons have grown on it very fine celery with but little labor. Hogs when nearly fat are liable to have a disordered stomach through over feeding, refusing their food. The best' antidote for this is charcoal. If the I charcoal is taken from the stove when cold there will probably be ashes taken up at the same time, these will not hurt the hog should he eat a portion of them. Charcoal is best taken from an open fire-place. It would be well to have on hand at all times a barrel or two of charcoal. Charred corn cobs or charred corn have a good effect. There is nothing belter than these substances where hogs have the scours. " What is the best method of cultiva ting cornl'" is thus answered by a Michigan farmer in writing to the Ohio farmers1 club: In regard to the cultivation of corn, I would say, plane three , and a half feet each way, four grains in a hill, which may be thinned to three if all grow. In regard to culture, throw the dirt to the hills by all means, as it takes less hoeing, and, I think, keeps the cround more moist than level culture. I think it injurious to plow after the cq^fegins to tassel. But if the corn is veiyweedy, the good accomplished by late plowing might counterbalance the harm ;.at any rate the roots should not be c'ul oy deep plowing. A Culinary Chapter on Potatoes. Puree of Potatoes.?Mash them and mix while quite hot with some fine white gravy drawn from veal, together with butter and cream. The puree should be rather thin and seasoned with salt and pepper. Potato Balls.?Bake the potatoes, nash them very nicely, make them into sails, rub them over with the yolk of in egg, and put them in the oven or be:ore the tire to brown. These balls may se varied by the introduction of a third sortion or grated ham or tongue. Old Potatoes.?These can be made ;o look like young ones in this way: Wash some large ones and cut them nto as many small slices as will fill a iish; boil them in two or three waters ibout three minutca each time, the vater being put to them cold; then let ihem steam until tender; pour a white lauce over them. Potatoes prepared in his way have been mistaken for young mes. Potato Loaves.?These are very nice vhen eaten with roast beef, and are nadeof mashed potatoes prepared with>ut milk, by mixing them with a quan,ity of very finely-minced raw onions, iowdpred with pepper and salt, then mating up th^ whole with a little but;er to bind it, and dividing it into small loaves of a conical form, and placng them under the meat to brown; -hat is, when it is so nearly done as to mpart some of the gravy along with :lifi fat. Browned Potatoes. ? While the neat is roasting, and an hour before it s served,\ boil the potatoes and take )ff their skins; flour them well, and put ,hem under the meat, taking care to Iry them from the drippings before they ire sent to the table. Kidney potatoes ire best dressed In this way. The flourng is very essential. They should always be boiled a little before being put nto stews, as the first water in which Jiey are cooked is thought to be of a aoisonous quality. Potatoes when soiled, if old, should be peeled and put whole upon the gridiron until nicely Drowned. Fried Potatoes.?Raw potatoes,peel, rnt in rings the thickness of a shilling, >r cut in one continuous shaving; throw .hem into cold water until you have sufficient; drain on a cloth; fry quickly n plenty of hot fat, and with as little ioloras possibic; dry them \teil from die tjrease, and sprinkle with salt. When nicely clone, and piled up prop;rly. they make a fine side d ish, which s always eaten witb great relish. Or nit a potato lengthwise the size and iliape of the divisions of an orange, ;rin them neatly and lry them; they ire an excellent garnish for meat. Cold lot ltoes may be cut in slices somewhat ess than an inch thick, and fried in like nanner. They can also be fried with inions, as an accompaniment to pork ;hops, sliced cod, red herrings, or with a rasher of bacon. Another nice way is lolboil them and let them become 20H, then cut tlum into rather thick 3lkes. Put a lump of fresh butter into a ster-^an, ac'd a little flour, about a I teaspoonful for a moderate sized dish; when the flour has boiled a short time in the butter, add a cupful of water and a little cream; boil all together; then putin the potatoes covered with chopped parsley, pepper anil salt; stew them for a few minutes., and then take them from the fire and send to the table. Kow Did the Tay Bridge Accident Occur. Speaking of tne breaking of the bridge across the Frith of Tay, in Scotland, by which every person on a train crossing it was lost, the London Times says: Sir T. Bouch's theory of the cause of the accident is very generally accepted. As has been already stated, that theory is tljat the train was tilted up by the force of the wind on its western side and thrown against the eastern lattices, and that the girders gave way under the combined pressure of wind and steam. Few persons now doubt that what is here described really happened. It is consistent with the erratic movement of the lights of the train observed by spectators on shore, and with the fact that the tops of the carriages found have been in every case torn off. At the same time it is doubted by many whether this explanation is of itself sufficient to ac-! count for the extent of the accident. It would have accounted for the breaking away of two or three girders, or pairs of girders, or for the collapse of two 01 three sets of pillars, had that been all the damage done; but it is felt tu be difficult to understjyid how the pressure of a train only 100 yards lone could have carried away a section of the bridge upward of 1,000 yards long, or more than ten times its length, unless there was some inherent weakness in the bridge itself. In this connection two points are noted: The first is that the fact of the entire center and high level section giving way is a proof that the several parts of that section were more strongly bound to one another than the whole of it was to the other parts of the structure. The force of this observation can hardly be denied by any who look at a plan of the bridge, and still less by any who examine the bridge in its pres| ent state. It is evident that the tie between the girders turned upward and the girders turned downward was very slight in comparison with the height of the bridge and with the depth of the girders themselves. Of course the engineers and the board of trade authorities must have been satisfied as to tne strength of these connections when the plans were sanctioned; but the fact remains tfiat it was precisely at these two points that the bridge gave way. The other point noted is that the greater height to which the bridge was carried in this section greatly increased the strain on the pillars; but, it is added, while this would account for one or two sets of pillars giving way, it would not of itself account for the disappearance of the entiiregecton. Duck Decoys. * Norfcik was 4 stronghold of decoys, and there are still as many as six in ac tive operation. Very few persons have actually seen decoys, for, as the greatest quietude is necessary in order to give the ducks a sense of security, the presence of visitors is not encouraged at any time, and the greatest mystery and secrecy is observed without a aecoy. Briefly speaking, it may be said to be a pond or lake from which shallow creeks or arms branch out like the arms of a star-fish. These arms are curved so that the ends are not visible from the lake, and are arched over with network, forming pipes which lessen in size until at the end there is a kind of removable pocket. No gun is allowed to be fired within the neighborhood of the decoy, and the fowl rest there during the day in, as they fancy, unassailable security. But from behind a screen of reeds the decoyman, who holds in his hand a bit ot smoldering turf to prevent his own odor from reaching the birds, gives a low whistle. On the pond are several tame ducks, who know that food is ready for them at the mouth of the pipe, whence the sound proceeds. These swim quietly toward the hidden decoy man, and are followed by the wild birds. Then a reddish-colored dog jumps through a hole in the screen, and hack again through another. The ducks are immediately brimful of curiosity and swim to inspect this curious creature. The dog reappears a little way up the pipe and the ducks follow. When they are well inside, the decoy man presents himself at the opening, and the frightened crowd flutter into the pocket and arc captured. From one to two thousand birds might be taken in one season.?Blackwood's Muqazine. Pilots Examined for Color-blindness. A number of pilots and lookouts ot the Jersey City ferry, have been exf/ .n a/>1/m?_V\1 I Oou nf f 11 UU11 ui:u 1V1 tUiUl UllUUiROO til LliU U111V,*; of the United States marine hospital. Tliere was a long table in the middle of the room covered with a white cloth, and on it were skeins of Berlin wool of about one hundred and fifty shades. The examination was conducted by Dr. Fessenden, the surgeon-in-chief, and Dr. White, his assistant. Each man was asked to pick out some particular color ir^m the pile of Berlin wool, and afterward to pick out the shades of that color. All of the first lot passed the examination, although some were much slower than others in placing a doubtful shade, and each teeeived a certificate. Superintendent Woolsey, of Jersey City ferry, was to send ten men every day to be examined, until the eyes of all the men employed under him had been tested. An examination of steamboat men and seafaring men generally for color-blindness has been conducted at Philadelphia, and most of the employees of the steamboat lines of that city have been examined. It is believed that many collisions have resulted from color-biindacrs.. t jL A Railroad Blockaded by Snakes. A letter in the St. Louis Olobe-Dcmocrat says: In Northwest Missouri,where ex-Gov. R. M. Stewart resided years before and after his T?olitical career, up to the time of his death, many old citizens love to tell oi his brilliant conversational powers and inexhaustible fund of anecdotes. The governor often told of> the difficulties which he had to surmount, and in one of his happiest moods he related a snake story which I have never seen in print. In those dayB, said the governor, snakes were not only uncom ULiUIlljr II UUit'I UU3, UUb laiUOKVU VUW1U portions of the State to such an extent that farmers would often pack up their household wares and remove elsewhere. During the building of the road I have seen them so troublesome and numerous that the hands would sometimes stop work and inaugurate n short campaign against them with shovel?, axes and crowbars. The serpents were not vicious, the men being hardly ever bitten, but the great vexation consisted in their sociability and perfect indifference to danger. They apparently were utterly devoid of that instinct of self-preservation with which the Almighty endowed every creature. At night they would sometimes make sleep impossible by hissing and squirming in and about the tents. and riiirinc the dav thev would vex the men almost beyond endurance by running between their legs and otherwise annoying them. They were not considered dangerous, being of that species known 03 prairie higsers. It was only now aud then that a rattler was discovered among them, and death was sure to follow, for the men would always stop and find time to chase one until he was overtaken and his head chopped off. The men always dreaded a shower, for then the snakes were the worst. They would literally swarm out on the prairies and travel in schools. On one occasion of this kind, when the road was in course of construction in Livingstone county, the construction engine with three flat cars was at the last campineplaee, about ten miles in the rear of the track builders. I was there awaiting the landing of some tools and spikes, which it was intended to convey to the end of the road. It had been raining ail morning, but cleared up about noon, and when we pulled out after dinner the weather was pleasant but a little hazy. We had traveled about half the distance when the engineer?I was riding on the engine?called my attention to the hundreds of snakes crossing several hundred yards in front of us, the track tor a short rliotonno V>o?nn> lilont "ariXVi tlipm finrl PI1 tirely lost to sight. The engine-driver opened the throttle, and in a few moments we were crushing through them. The drivers had not made more than two or three revolutions when they began to fly around at lightning rapidity, and the speed of the train was slackened. The wheels of the engine were almost clogged with crushed snakes, and still the track was actually buried beneath them for one hundred yards in front of us. We did not succeed in getting much more headway, when the train came to a standstill. We were unable to make our way through them, and amused ourselves by knocking them off the engine. We were detained nearly an hour before the grand march of the serpents bad crossed and we were enabled to proceed. They seemed to be ? ~ noconmorl 1IIU> llig I LULL UJVjr J AiiU LUC CU1 bu tswviuvvi to be alive with them; indeed tbey seemed to cover the earth. Prices Paid for Furs and Sklus. The New York Tribune, quotes latest market prices paid for furs and skins (quotations are for prime skins only) as follows: ^ Bear, Northern black, according to size and quantity, prime ....?7 OOalO 00 Bear, Southern and Northern yearlings 4 00a C 00. Bcavor, Northern, per skin 75a 4 50 Beaver, Western and Southern... 50a 3 00 Badger 75a 1 00 Cat, wild 20a 40 Deer, summer 40a 50 Fisher, Northern and Eastern, each 7 00a 9 00 Fisher, Southern and Western... 5 00a 8 00 l?n-r aitvpr. na In nufllitv 15 00a50 00 Fox, cross, Northern and Eastern. 3 (,0a 4 00 Fox, red, Northern and Eastern. 1 40a 1 50 Fox, red, Southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Northern Ohio. 1 10a 1 20 Fox, red, Southern and Western. 80a 1 00 Fox, gray, Northern and Eastern, cased 60a 75 Fox, gray, Southern and Western. 40a 60 Fox, kit 30a 50 ' Goat, Ameiican, lb 10a 16 Lynx, each 1 00a 2 00 Marten, States, dark I 50a 2 50 Marten, do., pale 1 00a 1 25 j Mink, New York and New England 1 00a 1 50 Mink, Canada, Michigan and Minnesota .' 60a 80 Mink, New Jersey, Pennsylvania I and Ohio 60a 70 Mink, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin and own 50 a 60 M Missouri and Southern .... 35a 45 Mu mat, Northern and Eastern, tall and winter 10a 12 Muskrat, Western Pennsylvania and Ohio, Hill and winter 9a 11 Muskrat, Southern, fall and win ter 7 a 9 Otter, Kentucky, Virginiu, Nortti Carolina, Kansas, etc 5 00a 6 00 Otter, Northern and Eastern .... 5 50a 7 00 Otter, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Western 5 00a C 00 ?Iter, South Carolina and Georgia 4 00a 5 00 Opossum, Northern, ca^cd 10a 20 Opossum, Southern and open Northern 5a 12 Florida and Alabama 25a 40 llaccoon, Mich., N. Ind., N. Ohio t5a 75 Kaccoon, 111., Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota oust 4'J Raccoon, N. Y. und IS. Statu and N. Pennsylvania 50a 60 Raccoon, N. J., S. Penn., Ind., Mo., Nob. and Kan 30a 60 Skunks, prime black, No. 1.cased. I lOu 1 25 Skunks, prime black, No. 1, open. I 00? 1 10 Skunks, half .-triped 46a 00 Skunks, striped 26a 3d Skunks, white 10a 20 Woll skins, mountain, largo 1 G0u 2 00 Wolfskins, prairie, prime 50a 00 Europeans seek to renew strength hj baths of earth and baths of mud. Ii.valids arc planted in the ground, leav .n^ the head and neck atone unco ,'ered. How Congressmen are Plundered. Besides the money that is voluntarily given away Congressmen are frequently made victims of pretended constituents. Not long ago a very good looking man called upon a member from a distant State, and wanted to borrow $250. The applicant for the loan represented himonl T no n ^w/\f knw /> f a 1 aa ? ?? ?? ?1 oau oo ,? uiuiriici ui u icauiijg merciiani in one of the principal towns of the member's district. "Then," said the "Congressman, " your brother will certainly have no objection to becoming security for you. I'm willing lo advance any amount upon his security." " But, I'm so far away," pleaded the stianger. "You can telegraph to him," answered the member. "Bring me a line from him by telegraph, saying it's all right, and you can get the money." " Oh, certainly I can do that," said the stranger, and lie immediately departed. In a few hours he returned to the Capi tol, called out the member, and showed him a telegram purporting to have come from the brother, who had been mentioned, and pledging himself to be responsible for the loan. The member led his pretended constituent to the sergeant-at-arms' office, and there gave him the $250, for which due thanks for the favor were returned, with the promise that the money should be refunded. The member thought nothing of the af- ?* fair until, some days afterward h2 was writing to the merchant. In his ietter he mentioned the loan " to your brother," and directed the merchant to put the amount in a certain bank to the writer's credit, whenever " it was convenient." imagine the surprise of the M. C. when he received a telegram, followed in due time by a letter from the merchant, saying he had no brother, and had not sent any telegram about the $250. The member related the affair recently, saying he could not explain how the swindler had so cleverly prepared the forged telegram; that he must have gotten hold of a telegraphic blank; ' but," added the duped Congressman, *' I must confess I did not examine the kviv^taui ICIJ wvocij. JL siuijjjjr reau the words it contained, and for aught I know now to the contrary it may have been written upon one of the sending instead of the receiving blanks of'the telegraph compay." This was told in a group of Congressmen, and brought out several similar accounts of tricks that had recently been resorted to?always by pretended constituents ? to dupe members out of money. One member had been caught for $100 by a forged check, another by a letter purporting to come from a friend in the city, who wanted$25 "immediately,"and soon. The correspondence 'of members of Congress, too, entails a great deal of labor. Letters from constituents must be answer^ promptly, and in order to do this there is scarcely a member who is not compelled to employ a secretary or an emanuensis. Uno?-A*-?v??w?r ' 1 ?1 it takaT three hours each day, at least, for a member to r< ad and reply to the letters he receives. The impression that Congressmen have nothing to do but enjoy themselves is altogether wrong. They have their troubles and annoyances as -well as other people, and, upon the whole, do not deserve half the censure they get.? Washington SUIT. _______ How Nutmegs Grow. Nutmegs grow on little trees which look like small pear trees, and are generally over twenty feet high. The flowers are very much like the lily of the valley. They are pale and very frag 1. mi. a. i.1 3 _ r i.1 rani, me nucmeg ia mts aecu 01 me fruit, and mace ia the thin covering over this seed. The fruit is about as large as a peach. When ripe it breaks open and shows the little nut inside. The trees grow on the islands of Asia and in tropical America. They bear fruit for seventy or eighty years, having ripe fruit upon them at all seasons. A fine tree in Jamaica has over 4,000 nutmegs on it yearly. The Dutch used to have all this nutmeg trade, as they owned the Banda islands, and conquered all the other traders and destroyed the trees. To keep the price up they once burned three piles of nutmegs, each of which was as large as a church. Nature did not sympathize with their meanness. mi j. ;?? T? JL lit' HUUllt'g pigL'UIl, JUUIiU 1U 2111 LUC ?11' dian islands, did for the world what the Dutch determined should not be done? carried the nuts, which are their food, into all the surrounding countries, and trees crew up again, and the world had the f-neilc. How to Hitch a Horse. The Country Oentkvian says that, iu-. credible as it seems, not half the tavern keepers, hostlers or teamsters know how to tic a horse,either putting some clumsy knot that is troublesome to undo or making a hitch that is insecure. The proper way, alter passing the tether around the thing to be attached to, is to make a half-hitch, passing the end of the strap through the loop. If the horse, nibbling, pulls it, he merely ties [ the knot tighter. And to unhitch, it is , only necessary to remove the end lrom the bow, and it is instantaneously loosened. Not one-fourth of the butchers or farmers know how to tie the legs of a calf or sheep for transportation. The * ?? /vf tttl-> a*> f Itotr wronf f A ujuijul 1lj ui pcupic, it ucu bucj nmiv w make the animal very secure, wind the cord tightly around the legs, oauing pain trom congestion. The proper way is to make a half knot only on each hind and fore leg alternatively, fastening with a how at last, which is easily untied. I tind, usually, a pocket handkerchief the handiest thing, it .being about the right size. Tied in this way they are absolutely secure and without pain. General Grant has ordered Irs Etlian Allen colt, now on the farm of General Beale, near Washinton, to be sent by the next steamer as a present to the Mikado oi Japan!