IT ? J TIT! VOL. y. NO. 11 The jHH-ret. l*aiu uamon uuio ravins : * i.?-i nu* wuirixu m your ear; I would fain impart ? -ecivt that n?> othor soul may hoar."' Said Phyllis unto Damon : " And why whis|> r? We're alone ! * You had lx*ttcr tell your secret in an ordinary tone." ' Cut, Phyllis, little birds, they say, are sometimes telltale-tits ; One cannot he too cautious in divulging precious bits." " But. Damon, this is nonsense, for there's not I a bird about; Besides, I can't keep secrets, and am sure to i let it out." I "Yet, Phyllis, 'tis a secret that but concerns us j two ; 1 scarce dare say it to myself, much less spent | loud to yon." "Well, Damon, you may whisper, since you de- j cline to speak ; But' promise, first, to keep your lips sow distance from my cheek." Then Damon gave his promise, and he whispered soft and low; The secret seemed to please her, but its purest nons can know. "Dear Damon." was the maid's reply?and ill I that could be heard? "I won't be very angry if you do not keep your : word!" I TEE AMBER NECKLACE, j - I She was very haughty ami indifferent, j like her fair mother, and she held her i head high as she walked among bei! friends, but deep in her heart lay the warm, smoldering fire that the blood of her Portuguese father had kindled, and the one weakness of her life was an unwavering faith in the dear old legends that her father was so fond of telling. One of the precious heirlooms in the Vasquel family was a long rosary of wonderful carvings, in the pale, silvery tints of clouded Turkish amber, or the deep, sunshiny gold or rare Persian specimens. This had descended to t!ie present Vasquel, and he cared for it with almost superstitions reverence; 1 ut when he married Margaret Dale, so cold and stately to all the re.4 of the w orld, so winsome and loving to him, she had coaxed from his strong box of treasure trove the wonderful amber rosary as an orniihent for her fair, white neck, lie had given it but unwillingly into her j keeping, and she had worn it in triumph j over her pale blue satin dress. She went out one chilly, dreary morning, unbeknown to him, and returned with burning cheeks and shining eyrs, when the fierce November storm was at its worst For several days she w is very s!ck with a sudden attack of inflammation about tK? lungs that lmshcd her sweet voice and made her breathing 4eavy and painful. Then just when tin y thought the crisis past and that she would soon recover she died. Through the brief, bewildering days of her illnoes i Vasquel never thought, of the ami er j rosary, but in the terrible stillness that followed her death and burial lie L.ul i time to tliink of everything, and it was j then he missed the precious relic. Little Margaret was two years old then, and j wondrously beautiful. Into her uncoil- J * scions baby ears the father poured his i hopeless wail of agony for the loss of his j wife, and his fretful complaining tlt.it j the Vasquel talisman was lost. Babv ' Margaret comforted him with for iut an tile caresses and cooed her inartk u late blessing to his wounded heart. Fifteen years lind passed si nee her mother's death, and "proud Miss Yj<hquel" walked in regal indifference aim :ig the score of friends and flatterers v. ho clung about her, despite a dim financial rumor that the Vasquel property was slowly diminishing in value for want of i proper attention. Seuor Vasquel had lost heart and courage in the long, lonely years in w hich his only light and comfort was his darling girl, hnt she was * proud and beautiful, and lelt that in J some mysterious way the fate of the j family depended upon her. "I want my portrait painted," she! said, one day, to a friend of hers, Senor . Keno, whom she kuew was a commissi ur 1 in art. "Father has mourned all my j life that he has no picture of mamma ;! he does not seem to think how l>adly he would feel if I should vanish from his sight forever, and leave no shadowy semblance." Senor Reno took immediate interest in this matter, and soon invited Miss Vasquel to the exhibition at the academy of design, to study the different styles of j a few fine artists, and choose between i them. She chose one, for the strangely familiar look in a child face he had contributed, more than for any special skill iu manipulation that the picture evinced. Still Senor Reno approved her choice, ' said the young artist she had selected I was conscientious about his work and j skillful in its execution, hih mhji.^d were commenced the next .day, and the ' picture soon completed. " It is a superb likeness," said Seuor j Keno, admiringly. " Yes," answered the young lady, with j a curious look; "but I did not know I 1 looked so much like porcelain." The artist smiled gravely. "It is true," he said, "the face is; without enthusiasm, but it has the possi- j bilities of life and soul, if only I knew what | would interest you. Is there no costume you would be pleased to assume, no I character you might represent with glad- i ness ?" "There is a costume1," she said, "in which I would delight to be painted. I wonder I did not think of it before." Without further explanation she went ; way. In a few days there came to the studio an elegant costume, suitable for a Portuguese lady of high rank. Soon thereafter came Miss Vasquel, and arrax-oul >,orcolf in nnaint dress. A high, pointed comb held a long black veil, which drooped mantilla-like over a pale blue satin corsage, shading her rose tinted shoulder aud round white arms. A satin cloak, edged lightly with eider down, hung from one shoulder, fastened by showy, silken cords, ami soft, thick tassels. " I hato these ornaments," said Miss VasqueL touching the heavy gold chain dead gold band bracelet*. "7hty leek like mantelet, But diamonds r ever p&iit w?U, tad 2 ha*e no petrlceofclaei' " 5 BE The artist came to her mil, and with bis critical gravity nuilisturbed, though his eyes were alight with admiration for hi* beautiful subject. "You are very rTplit to distrust the eilect of dead gold," he said; "but. ! think, if you are not averse t?> the antique, T have something more appropriate." Slowly unlocking a heavy chest, he brought out a strange ebony casket, and from its satin and sandal wood interior lie drew fortli a long string of carved amber beads. Miss Yasquel gave a little cry of delight as she gathered. the xi.: i i 1.. 3 curious, sjuuijif^ tilings iu at r uiuius, ujhi slipped tliein through her delicate fingers. She held them to her burning checks, touched them with her scarlet lips, whispered to them under her! breath, and then held them up between 1 her eyes and the one dim window, that, the sunbeams prisoned in them centuries ago might meet the light once more. The artist, dazed for a moment by her : unexpected enthusiasm, soon recovered 1 liimself and went at work. The sketch grew in bold relief and delicate tint and color, while the girl's eyes questioned of the amber rosary what its mystic i depths and brightness held of fate for her and hers. Suddenly she gathered the whole shimmering mass in her hands again, and turning to the artist, asked 1 where he had found these wonderful bends. "It is no secret," he answered, i " They were given me by my father. ' Years ago, when I was a lad of fifteen, I In4 painted an English lady and her child. The lady wore a costume somewliAt like yours, ami when the faces were done, she left the dress and ornaments i on a lay figure, that the picture might i be made complete without her presence. ! Many days my father waited for her, but she came no more. So he turned the ' picture with its face to the wall, and 1 folded away the dress and ornaments in ; yonder chest." "May I see the picture?" the girl j asked, with an eagerness she tried hard ! to repress. "Doubtless," was the grave replv ; and from a huge pile of what looked like rubbish hp drew out a canvas on which : the dust of years had settled. Miss Vasquel gave one glance at the ! two bright pictured faces, then a puzzled | look at the artist. "Yes," he said, answering her eyes, "my picture that you saw at the exhibition was an old copy of this child face, slightly retouched for the occasion." " But my father must see these," she murmured, and glided away like one in a dream. Soon she came back with the stern, silent man, and together they gazed upon this strange reminder of a lost, lost life. Oh, beautiful face, so fair and bright, when the heart that vivified it lies cold and still in death. Oh, sunny eyed babe, vanished as utterly from the earth, but living not less truly uuother j life. Ah, well! Senor Vasquel thinks luck j came back to him with the amber beads, j but the daughter thinks his heart grew : strong and warm when he found this i new proof of his young wife's l%ve and constant thought for him. The Monkeys' Cage. I've been standing before this cage of monkeys fqr an hour, and I admit the fact that monkeys are very like men. j Like individual men, too?persons one j knows. That white faced monkey there, I with chin whiskers and a conceited ex- . prcssion of countenance, how like Sena- : tor , as he sits reading his newspa-j per of a morning. To be sure, it is duly , a large piece of brawn paper which the monkey holds before his nose, but the air is exactly the same. There, upon iui up]>er bar, *its a very solemn monkey with brown hair, a ! sharp nose and rod eyes. He keeps a store in our neighborhood, and al ways makes mistakes in his own favor as to change. Just below him is perched the ; family doctor, owl-like and comfortable, j I fancy I can bear him saying : " Yes, i yes?certainly, mv dear madam, certainly; it is either the measles or the spotted fever, or?ahem ! we shall be able ? . * -i .1 i to t-t-11 111 a day or iwo; meauwime, toe ; prescription as before." Who is that on the lowest bar ? A i funny, littl*% tliiu monkey witli black side whiskers and white rings around his | eyes like the rims of eyeglasses ? That ! is Count Dandelion, who tanght French I in Mrs. Middleton's seminary. One expects him to speak in the old style : " It ! is necessaire zat you study, young i ladees. It is not posseeble zat I split open your head and put into it zo vairb. I should hike pleasair to do it, but I cannot. " And that very restless, sentimental looking young monkey who just now j went down into the bottom of the cage . to bring up a nut, and sits eyeing it suspiciously?who is that ? Oh, it's very ungrateful of me, but he does look so , like a beau I had once, especially now that he pauses to stroke his mustache. As my beau used to look, I mean; the portly monkey of forty years, with no i nonsense about him, probably looks; more as he does now. There is not a monkey of them all who dues not remind me of some one I know*. And Jet who will stand before ! the cage awhile, she will come way with the same impression; and not one of the tribe will ever for a moment remind her ef a woman.?licadaiy Ea<jb\ How to Pmen tColds. Popular Science Monthly gives ?; advice in regard to the prevention 01 colds. The mistake is often made of taking great care to put on extra wraps and coats when preparing for ontdoor exercise. This is not at oil necessary in i robust persons. Sufficient heat to pre; vent iftl risk of chill is generated in the body by exercise. The care should be j taken to retain sufficient clothing after ! exercise, and when at rest, to prevent the j heat passing out of the body. Indeed, persons very often catch chills from i throwing off extra clothing after exer| cise, or from sitting about in garments the material of which is not adapted to prevent the radiation of heat from the body. Luttrell was once asked whether a certain accjuaintance of his was not always j very disagreeable. "Well," eaid he, ! " be is always ts diasgrecsblc &? the cir? i eumrtss?** will penult." ? :auj AND PORT BEAUFORT, 8. C THE ELECTOR A I, TKIIU >A1.. Thr fill I Tf\l of lb?* Hill If *!>?>! I? ?! li> lh?Joint Committee ol" ( The following is tlio complete t?-\t ??f the 1 ?ili agreed upon by the joint committee tni counting' the electoral vote of tlie United States : A bill to provide for and regulate the counting of votes for President and Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising thereon, for the term commencing March 4, A. D. 1877: lie it enacted, ct<\, That tha Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in tlie hall of the House of Representatives, at the hour of one o'clock p. m., on tlie first Thursday in February, A. D. 1877, and the president of the Senate shall be their presiding officer. Two tellers sladl be previously appointed yn the part of the Senate and two on tlie part of tlie House of Representatives, to whom shall be handed, as they are opened by the president of the Senate, all the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of electoral votes, which certificates and papers shall be opened, presented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with tlie letter A, and said tellers having then read the same in the presence and hearing of tlie two houses, shall make a, list of the votes as they shall appear from tlie said certificates, and, the votes having been ascertained and counted as in this aet provided, the result of the same shall be delivered to the president of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of tlie vote mid the names of the persons, if any, elected, which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected President and Vice-President of the United States, and together with a ,--A ~?/viA? "1*^11 l\n nrtlAvail nil list Ol luo vuura Minn ur mx. journals of tlie two houses. Upon such reading of any certificate or paper, when there shall be only one return from tlifc State, the president of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely and without argument the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one senator and one member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received. When all objections so made to any vote or paper from# State shall have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate for its decision, and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall in like manner submit such objections to the House of Representatives for its decision, and no electoral vote or votes from any State from which but one return has been received shall be rejected except by the affirmative vote of the two houses. When file two houses have voted they shall intra e<Jiately again meet, and the presiding offieer shall then announce the decision of the question submitted. Sec. 2. That if more than one return or paper purporting U> be a return from a State shall have been received by the president of the Senate, purporting to bo the certificates of electoral votes given at the last preceding election for President ami Vice-President in such State, unless they shall be duplicates of the rutiivnK 11ml VMmi'PH rviiiic lV VUlli^ IUI ? , shall be opened by him, iu the presence of the two houses, when met as aforesaid, and read by. the tellers, and all such returns and papers shall thereupon be submitted to the judgment and decisions as to which is the true and lawful electoral vote of such State of a commission constituted as follows, namely: During the session of each house on the Tuesday next preceding the first Thursnay in February, 1877, each house shall by viva voce vote appoint five of its members, who, with the live associate justices of the supreme court of the United States, to be ascertained as hereinafter provided, shall constitute a commission for the decision of all questionsupon or in respect of such double returns named in this sectiou. On the Tuesday next preceding the first Thursday of February, A. D. 1877, or as soon thereafter as may be, the associate justices of the supreme court of the United States now assigned to the first, third, eighth and ninth circuits shall select, in such manner as a majority of them shall deem fit, another of the associate justices of said court, which five persons shall be members of the said commission, ami the person longest in commission of said five justices shall be the president of said commission. Members of said commission shall respectively take and subscribe the following oath : "I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that J will impartially examine and consider nil nnestions submitted to the commission of which I am a mc-mbcr, and a true judgment give thereon, agreeably to the Constitution and laws, so hell) me God." Which oath shall be tiled with the secretary of the Senate. When the commission shall have been thus organized it shall not be in the p#wer of either house to dissolve the same or to withdraw any of its members ; but if any such senator or member shall die or become physically unable to perform tlie duties required by this act, the fact of such deatli or physical inability shall be by said commission, before it slndl proceed further, communicated to the Senate or House of Representatives, as the case may bo, which body shall immediatel #and without debate proceed by viva voce vote to till the place so vacated, and the persou appointed shall take and subscribe the ;dh hereinbefore -prescribed, and be; come a member of* said commission. And, in like manner, if any of said justices of the supreme court shall die or become physically incapable of performing the duties required by the act, the ! other of said justices, members of the | said commission, shall immediately apooint another justice of said court a \ member of said commission, and in such appointments regard shail be had to the impartiality and freedom from bias sought by the original appointments to said commission, who slmll thereupon immediately take and subscribe to the oath hereinbefore prescribed, and be; come a member of said commission to ; fill the vacancy so occasioned. All the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of the electoral rotes of each State ehcll bo opened in thf alphabetical order of the States, ae i prortded in section one c? this act, and FOR' ROYAL OC THURSDAY. FEJ \vho)i iJit-rc sluJl W iiuiiv liisut (uu> such ot-riiticxti* nr :is tin- n or papers from sfah State shall be opened (excepting duplicates of the same return i. they shall la lead hv the tellers, and thereupon the president of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, mid shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one senator and one member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received. When all such objections so made to any certificate, vote or paper from a State shall lwve been received and rend, all such certificates, votes and papers so objected to, and all papers uecompnnviil? the same, together with such objections, shall be forthwith submitted to said commission, which sludl proceed to consider the same, with the same ! powers, if any, now possessed for that purpose by the two houses acting separately or together, and by a majority of votes decide whether any and what votes from such State are the votes provide! ' for by the Constitution of the United j States, and how many and what persons 1 were duly appointed electors in such State ; and may therein take into view i 6ucli petitions,' depositions,- and other | if o,i*r oq ulioll l?v fli? famuli hi I'UpriOj XI UU J j (?W UlllMt WJ M4V .. ( tion and now existing law he competent , and pertinent to such consideration, . which decision shall be made in writing, stating briefly the ground thereof, and be signed by the members of said j, commission agreeing therein. "Whereupon the two houses shall meet:, and such decision shall be read and entered in the journal of each \ ( house. And the counting of the votes j shall proceed 'in conformity therewith, j, unless upon objection made thereto in | < ! writing by at least five senators and fire j 1 members' of the House of Represen-:, tatives, the two houses shall separately j 1 concur in ordering otherwise ; in whicn j 1 case such concurrent order shall govern. | < No votes or papers from anv other State j .j shall be acted upon until the objections ! 3 previously made to the votes or papers i j from any State shall have been finally ; j disposed of. j j ! Sec. 3. That while the two houses , | shall be in meeting as provided in this net 110 debate shall be allowed and no i question shall be put by the presiding J j officer, except to either House on a mo ! tion to withdraw; and he shall have j power to preserve order. ] Sec. i. That when the two houses ] separate to decide upon an objection that may have been made to the counting of any electoral vote or votes from any ! J | State, or upon objection to a report of ( : said conunmi8sion or other question j ( arising under this act, each senator and ; j ! representative may speak to sucli objec- j tion or question for ten minutes and not1, ! of toner than once, but after each de- j j bate shall have lasted two hours it shall j , be the duty of each house to put the [ ( ! main question without further debate, j, Sec. 5. That at such joint meeting of , j j the two houses seats shall be provided j ( i as follows: For the president of the . : Senate, the speaker's chair ; for the i ] speaker, immediately upon his left; for i < tlie senators, in the body of the hall, ' ( upon the right of the presiding officer ; : ( j for the representatives, in the body of 3 } the lmll not provided for the senators; j ( for the tellers, secretary of the Senate I, and elerk of the House of Kepresenta- ] : tives, at the clerk's desk ; for the other j ^ ; oilicers of the two houses, in front of the 1 } clerk's desk and upon each side of the ' j speaker's platform. Such joint meeting shall not be dis-11 ! solved until the count of electoral Votes ! ( i shall be completed and the result de- ( | clared ; and no recess shall be taken un- ] j less a question shall have arisen in re- j ] gardto the counting of any such votes or j 1 i otherwise under tiiis act, in which case j j it shall be competent for either house, ! j acting separately in the manner herein- j: ; before provided, to direct a recess of j i such house, not beyond tbe next day , i (Sunday excepted), at the hour of ten ' o'clock in the forenoon. And while any ( question is being consideredbv said com- j mission either housL may proceed with ( its legislative or other business. Sf.c. 6. That nothing in this act shall , : be held to impair or affect any right now ] * ^ 11 { existing under tne uonsnnmon anu tuw.i . ; to question by proceeding in tlie judicial i i courts of the United States the right or j, i title of the person who 6hall be declared : j I elected or who shall claim to be Presi- j i dent or Vice-President of the United : ! I States, if anv such right exists. | Sec. 7. That said commission shall make its own rules, keep a record of its i proceedings, anil shall have* power to employ such persons as may Ije necessary j I for the transaction of its business and ! the execution of its powers. ? mm* Prince Albert's Room. Oliye Logan thus describes the apart | ments at Windsor Castle that were al 1 ways occupied by Prince Albert, and j liaye never been used since his death : [ The faitliful servitor who points them i out says that nothing has been touched | in them since the fatal fourteenth of Docomber, 1861, when the "blameless prince " quitted these scenes of e;irthly i i glory to find, let us hope, even more de| lightful ones among celestial spheres. The prince's hat and cane stand where he i last placed them; the book he was reading is open at the page where Le left off; *1 1 1 ? b el r< i /1 TT'b nvnon TI10 D6C1 OH WU1UII iiu oirpu axiu viu^xwu i ho died stands exactly as it did when he breathed his last; an inscription at its foot records the date of his birth and of I his death. To come daily into these de- : serted rooms and see for Lerself that the ! thoughtless hand of some servant has not disturbed any of their pious arrange- j ments; to gaze her fill on the vacant couch, the unfinished book; even fit is said) to herself brush away any trace of ! ; dust which may have fallen within the ' ' hour upon the cherished relics cf her : dead husband, is a duty scrupulously performed by this exalted woman and ; good wife each day when she is at Wind- 1 sor. It may be that it is the reports of these truly wifely actions?which could not degrade a woman if she were a queen of heaven instead of empress of India? which have spread from lip to lip, ami formed a basis for unfounded gossip . about the queen's semi-lunicy concerning the prince. That 6he causes his plate to be placed at all meals, talks to him as if he were present, and other t things mors shocking than these, are ; rumen without a grain oi truth in th#m i at this tia? or formerly i r t JMMERCIAL. BKUAItV is, 1877. Till! SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. Ten Year* ul .>1 i-er>?A 11 Extorted Be?ttrM und u Cruel CotlieU. : A few weeks uifo. bfiVH the New York 1 JJcraltl, h man, nearly eighty years of ! age, died in this city. He left no cbildren, Hinl, it is alleged, scarcely a friend 1 to pay the last rites to his ashes. He ! died at midnight, and alone. Xo one ! had thought hiiu dangerously sick, for ' he reiired to lietl at night as usual, and ' his death was onlv ascertained at noon ' of the following day, when his door was ' broken open and he was found lifeless : J upon his bed. Breakfast had been pre- , ! pared for him as usual, and his passion- j ate temper was so much feared that no one had ventured to disturb him till it"1 grew so late iu the day that the house- ' hold became seriously alarmed at his 1 non-appearance, An autopsy was held j ! upon the body, and the whole system of J the deceased was found to be thoroughly ' diseased, though the proximate cause of > ' his sudden death was considered to be 1 disease of the heart. ( Such painful' scenes as those from ' which the veil has been partially lifted j j in this old man's ease are almost sacred. | ' One hesitates to draw the curtain aside j ' fn rt?v#>n1 the misew A cirl of fifteen marries a man of middle life, a widower, with children older than herself. She lived with him till no longer youthful, ' lias borne him children, and lias seen him change from a doting lover to a j querulous husband, and finelly to a mo- ] rose and pitiless old man. Both her own children and those of his former wife are death He has no near relatives and 110 familiar circle of acquaintances. ! He keeps a solitary Lome, from which ! all strangers are jealously excluded, and I that home becomes her prison. This was ' ten years ago, and her life since, all accounts agree, must have been a weary torture. In fact, the stories recounted by those in a position to know the truth seem to go beyond belief. The man bad received the education of a gentleman, but the veriest savage would have revolted at the cruelties he is accused of practicing toward his "wife. Without the slightest provocation, it is said, he had been known to strike that helpless woman to the floor, drag her about bv the hair, and kick her brutally. His whims and caprices were legion, and the whole household crouched in terror before him. It was never known what new vagary would take possession of trim. Both his trembling wife and servants would study his humors with a ; painful zeal, and yet fail to satisfy the j capricious tyrant. Servants, however, ' could and did leave the house, but not I < even this resource was open to the snf- j < fering wife. j ] Kuowing that even a woman's endur- 1 mice has its limits, he threateued openly, < it is averred, to shoot the man who < should dare to give her refuge, and i cither kill his wife as well in her hiding 1 place or drag her back to her old life of j torment. Nor was this any empty 1 ?ravailo, intended to frighten a weak woman, I \ fur it is flrrnly believed by those who j ( knew the man best that he meant it to ! < the letter. So his wife suffered on. with- ! 1 nit relief, waiting for the end. Wl.at | 1 ten years of such a life must have been ; ? ui? Uiir; uni nit' (umau|/i(uuiu^; nuuc-ioi I i ?au tell, nml the oliuiax to her wrongs i i was only to be reached at the end. lie ' i Inul given lier many years ago a deed of , i the house and lot where they were living, j ( uid this was her main resource for sup- ' i port in ease of his death. i 1 A week or two before he died, jieiliups i ] being conscious of the precarious state ! r :>f his health, lie determined, it is said, to [ 1 extort this deed from her. As she knelt j I before him he placed a pistol to her 11 bead and threatened to kill her instantly I ? unless she would give him back her j f property. It is asserted that witnesses 1 stand ready to attest this fact in court, if i necessary, and to aver that being in dead- 1 !y fear for her life she made the required j surrender. No sooner had she made 1 this last concession than he hastened to i J raw up a codicil to his will, by which < liis wife was shut out from all claim up- j; :>n his estate except what she derived j l from the bare dower which the law 1 i makes the portion of a widow. : i Had he any near relative to whom he i ] might naturally have desiredto bequeath j i his estate or some portion of it, the sola- j ] tiou of the mystery might not be far to j 1 seek. But it is reported that the prop- i 1 erty lias been vailed nwav to distant j ] relatives and business acquaintances for : < whom he could have had no special at- j 1 tuchment. This statement must be re- j i reived with caution, for, apart from the j < exclusion of the widow, nothing is detin- j 1 itelv known of the provisions except to ! certain gentlemen acting as counsel or executors. It is stated, however, on the authority of one of these gentlemen, , that the body of the will is very loosely and badly drawn, but that it is not pro- J to o.mlriwd otir lmrfinn fa i t |M/Drw IV tVUkVOV UliJ |/wiiivu VAW|/W vuv j codicil referred to. The amount of the ! estate cannot be accurately determined i ' ut present, but the real estate bequeathed j is valued roughly at $30,000, . I; A Slid inheritance* A writer in the Psychological Journal, j a British periodical, gives the result of ! his observations in these strong words : i 14 The most startling problem connected j with intenqjerance is, that not only does it affect the health, morals and intelli- j gence of the offspring of its votary, but ; they also inherit the fatal tendency, and i feel a craving for the very beverages ; that have acted as poisons on the.'r sys- 1 terns from the commencement of their being." Especially so it is when both parents are drunkards. Maudsley says : " Idiocy is, indeed, ! a manufactured artiele; and although we I are not always able to tell how it is j manufactured, still its important causes . are known, and are within control. J Many cases are distinctly traceable to ; parental intemperance and excess. Out of three hundred idiots, Dr. Howe found as many as 115 to be the offspring of intemperate parents; and there are numerous observations proving tha1: chronic alcoholism in the parent may directy produce idiocy in the child. Ij \ WAAM f^AA linn *1* ; iiui wjyr, iii icu jowo ui inu i?^u M j traffic, after the removal of the spirit duty, insanity increased fifty per cent, j I)r. Crane makes some figures and in- , fers that " the intemperate have nearly i twenty-nine times as hi any idiots amc'lig their children as do teifipirate parents." ! Th? objective 5f the sa frhf?** * isw is family v \ RIBl $2.00 per 1 The Heal Sea Ser|M*itt. The lv?n?loii Sjtcot?fi>r says: In the limits of Mulawa. the sea monster so j repeaO-illy wen, ami so repeatedly de- J dared to be mythical, appears at last to , linve been carefully observed by com- j f>etent witnesses. ' Tiie creature was <een by the passengers and crew of the drip Nestor, on her voyage to Shanghai, iud on her arrival at Shanghai tlie master of the shi}> (Mr. .John Keiller Webiter) and the surgeon (Mr. James An-, lersou) made a statutory declaration of j ivhat they had seen before a magistrate, ; is a mode, we suppo#>, of formally at testing that tliey spoke in good faith. The creature (which resembled a huge salamander, only that instead of being ibout. six or eight incites long, these di mensions must be multiplied by at least ; seventy-five or one hundred, the laxly ' being from forty-five to fifty feet in length, the head' twelve feet, and the tail, it is said, no less than 150 feet ) was first seen at half-past ten on the eleventh j if September, fifteen miles northwest )f the North Sand lighthouse, in the I itraits of Malacca. The weather was fine, the sea smooth and the air perfectly dear. The Chinese on deck were terri- j bly alarmed and set up a howl. The j whole watch and three saloon passengers iftw the creature clearly, and observed | its movements. It traveled for a long j time about as fast as the steamer, ap- j pearing to paddle itself by the help of i " an undulatory motion of its tail in a ! rertieal plane." The Ifodv and tail were j marked as those of the salamander are 1 '? o Klo/ilr an/1 I marjteu?wnii aut'iuair umxuo, miava iu?u > pale yellow in color. " The head was j immediately connected with the body, without any indication of a neck." Both j witnesses state positively that the ouly J resemblance was to some creature of the frog or newt kind, while one of them (the surgeon) says that the longer he observed it the more he was struck with its resemblance to a gigantic salamander, rts back was oval in form. No eves or fins were seen, and it did not blow or 3pout in the manner of a whale. The greater part of its head was never seen, being beneath the surface. Probably the creature is of a race which survives from that very different world in which creatures of gigantic size seem to have been so much commoner than now. There appears to be no manner of reason for doubting the very express evidence 30 succinctly and soberly given. The Sicilian Brigand. The evil of brigandage in Sicily is now continually increasing, and calls for serinis attention. The duly journals of Palermo, reluctant as they are to confess the true state of things, say now that the cup is full. Society is so corrupted by the nil that Rose assorts that Leone, the noted cliief, know all the watchwords of lie troops, and all that was said und done iu the family of his captive. At times it has been the dominant power in the kingdom of Naples, and fjolleita relates of Murat that meeting i )ne day on the open plain some soldiers with a man in chains, he asked who he was. " Your majesty," quickly reejx?nd*1 the prisoner, " I am a brigand, but j worthy of pardon, because yesterday, i when your majesty ascended yonder | nonutaln and I stood hidden , behind a ' - ? - ' ? ? ? _ __ T il - ,1.1 i roeii, i could nave kiiicu von. j. uiougin ; ?f doing so, but your dignified appear- : nice prevented ne. lint if yesterday 1 ; md killed the king, to-day I should uot*j mve been a prisoner and near death." ' The king panloned him, and the outlaw. ! visaing the knees of his horse, went away j "ree and happy, and lived hmiestly in j hat neighliorhood from that day. The generals of Murat, to eradicate brigand- j ige in the kingdom of Naples, employed, he most severe measures. Good citizens i were eujoined to imprison or kill the ; brigands, and all men able to light were j irmed. All correspondence with them I was punished with death. Husband and j ,vifc, mother and son, brother and broth-: >r were divided by this scourge ! In the : rear 1800 the government, which was 1 molested in Calabria by the brigands j under the protection of the Pope, again | idopted serious measures. I have often j listened to the description by the colonel i in eharge of that expedition of his terrible work there. He caught the outlaws j by fifties and sixties, and ranging them j before his soldiers' guns shot them down i like wild animals, regardless of the pray- : ?rs of wives and children. But as this j was a means of public safety ami not mere cruelty, he afterward gathered the 1 diildreu into asylums where thev were j well eared for. A Loose Lord. Why did not some rich American girl I buy up Viscount Maidstone, who sold j himself to the queen for a shilling ? asks ! fi London correspondent. This young ! man is the eldest son of an earl, un- I doubted heir to the estates and title, j handsome, graceful, well educated ami i young. At the conclusion, it is sup- 1 posed, of a family row, he presented j himself at the Royal Artillery at Wool-; fA^Ai'vinor t.ViA rumen's shilling. ! VVlllly CU-lVt} A vvv* ? *"v 'listed as a common soldier. When it j came to stating who he was, yon can imagine the flutter the incident created, j In the course of the day liis father got | wind of it, and came down to barracks, ; paid " smart" money?a pound or two? j and got his young lordship of}'. The j young man's plea was that he was allow- j ed bnt% ?10 a week income, and a lord j could not live on that. The very next1 day he enlisted again, lmt agam he was 1 turned from his purpose by the com- ' mauding officer e :ercising the prerogative vested in him of refusing any re- i emit he does not deem suitable. The : report isrfhat the viscount has now enlisted in a cavalry regiment, where, in ad- 1 dition to ether hardships, he will be i obliged to perform a stableman's duties. ' Another Amendment.?Petitions to ; the United States Congress from fourteen j States asking for a sixteenth amendment ; to the Constitution of the United States, ; prohibiting any State from disfran he* : ;.vnr TTnif^rl Shafts citizens on account of 1 ? sex, have been received by the president! of the Congressional committtee of the National Woman's Suffrage Association : within the present week. Nearly 4,000 signatures of prominent citiaens in the ! several States are appended to these ne- j tituras. They were presented Hie: Hones sad fitaate j \ V r hi T X \] ? - y , *?' ' F? inn. Single Copy $ Cents. I Items of Interest. i There are 728 granges in Pennsyl vania, II an increase of ninety during tlie year. | The membership aggregates about j j 10,000. " xl A grocer Juki a pound of sugar returned with a note stating: " Too much sand # for table use, and not enough for builditiir mi nvviipa " ?"8 The opinion that Weddings day follows appropriately after Choose day is put forth with dne diffidence by the Fhfladelpliia' BuUetin. * *# 7! A Bohton nam committed suicide because Tildeu was elected. A Sedalia man has committed suicide because Tilden was defeated. A New Orleans thief lately sent back the stolen clothes of an under sized citizen with a note saying that he would wait for his victim to grow. A Londoner, seeing an advertisement headed " American Steam Safe Com-v pany," remarked that he was glad the Americans had made steam safe com- v' * pany . 1 A man can't throw water on his front stoop in freezing weather without giving rise to the suspicion that lie expects a visit from his mother-in-law or a poor relation. Judge Hoar once said of He has reached the superlative of At first he sought to get .on, and then he V sought to get honor, and now he is trying w to get honest." V< A young woman in Rochester, N. Y., has sued for damages a man who kissed her. A man who can't kiss a woman without damaging her ought to pay for his awkwardness. Dion Boucicaiilt recently told a friend of hi* that the whole number of dramatic $ pieces which he had put upon the stage _ is 367, and that they have yielded hfm not far from 33,000,000. The London Telegraph, which claims to be the daily paper having the largest circulation in the world, publishes a certificate that during the five months ending December 1 it printed the vast number of 26,^1,875 copies, being a daily average of over 200,000. In Scotland it has for a long time been usual to blazon on a man's tombstone the , symbols of his trade. A sugar cone inchoates the grave of a g> ocer: an ax and saw, with hammer and nails, occurs on the grave of a carpenter; for awl and j hammer on that of a shoemaker, I About iliis time farmers are sitting in 71 the evenings by their comforting fire- /J sides, with a pitcher of cider, plate of / M apples and pan of nuts before-tJ>enL Iii^M the interim between their eating H drinking they look solemnly upward exclaim : " What awful hard times 1" \ Of the 60,000 Chinese in Ban Fran* cisco, about 750 attend the evening^ 1 H mission schools. Three hundred have\ joined churches. Seven hundred are/- ^B members of Christian societies and are jfl studying Christian doctrines. Nearly 1,000 regularly attend Sunday-school. "Yen, fun is fun," the old man *<id, u be H brushed awav a tear, And wildlr clutched his pantalooiuv -the jwrtion -I in the rear ; r " But putting crooked pina and sich in a per- ! sou's easy chair Is rather more. I svrow to gosh, than mortal * man can hear!" v " Ransalvatioi)," the little l>oy tliought it was. It lx>tliered him. especially as as he heard it snug very often. Ana sq 1%^. hi'o SniwlHv-sohool teacher. Thft ii^r aom \ t , _ mystic word turned out to he part of. th# line : " Glory, lionor and salvation.JPPBPF^^ the Lul said lie wished they would sing it ' plainer. j " Ulio, Fwed! What en earth are J you walking about with that beastly I sausage under your arm tor?" Fwed: " Well?aw?the fact is, the othaw day / I saw in the papaws that a fella'd been sent to the workhouse?aw?because he'd got no visible means of subsistence. Put me in a regular blue funk, you ^ j know! So I got tliis sawsage to protect l/j myself." *" An old German farmer in Iowa had his born, which was destroyed by tire, insured for $500. The company said he could accept $200 or they would build^jj^^ him a new bam. When the life iuauTance agent came around the Gennan & facetiously intornnvl him tliut he would' ; J not have the life of his wife insured, as the company, in the event of lier death, might want him to take some withered old Dutch woman. Apples being so nbimdant this seasoii,|fl^H the sheep may be treated to a feed once^K^H a week. There are none>of ourdomestiq^B^H animals who feel the cliange from greeiflj^H food to dry so sensibly as the sheep, and^^^H they need a feed of turnips, apples, cab-^^^H bage or something of that kind quite^^^H often. This prevents costiveness I stretches, an ailment common to sheep fl in this country but unknown in Great fl Britain, where turnips are fed daily. Salting sheep is quite as important in the | winter season as in any other. Indeed, J all animals should have access to salt A church in Hanover, 111., played a M pleasant little joke en its pastor. They M a..1,1 i..'m l>n lio/5 1 w?ffpr take a holidawfof ll'lU 1UUI UV UIKt - - w ___ two or. three weeks, and, like a sensibly man, he to< >k it, and journeyed into a far ooimtry. When he came back he found the old t mlpit gone, and u delightfully J fashioned new one in its place. His elders greeted him with a roil of " soft money," tnore than sufficient to cover all JM tlie expense of his jaunt. This way of r\ treating a minister is better than the 1 donation party nuisance, which generally A brings the suffering pastor a lot of mis- M cellaneous rubbish which lie can neither^ J1 use, sell nor give away. One More About General 5je. The Utica Observer teils this btory i It is related that he was trying a case the Southern tier, the presiding judge being peevish and irritable, as well as rather dull Gen. N\ had not only cross-examined a witness at great length, but had frequently put the same ques- H tions, which the judge had frequency W ruled against as improper. At last the patience of the judge was exhausted, *?t lie rebuked Gen. Nye, oiid ];etukntiVje^ asked : " Gen. Nye, what do you think am sitting here i'or?" Nye locked upjfl I and, with a grave countenance, but J|H twinkle in hi? ere, answered coolly iqJ|H composedly: "*ou got ac tti? I time, jrotf honorF