The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, October 18, 1877, Image 1
THE BEAUFORT TRIBUNE
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AND PORT ROYAL COMMERCIAL.
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YOL. Y. NO. 46. BEAUFORT, S. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1877. $2.00 per Aim Single Copy 5 Cents.
I ] ,
The Home Concert.
BY MABY D. BRINE.
Well, Tom, my boy, I must say good-bye.
I've had a wonderful visit here;
Enjoyed it, too, as well as I could
Away from all that my heart holds dear.
Maybe I've been a trifle rough?
A little awkward, your wife would say?
And very likely I've missed the hint
Of your city polish day by day.
But somehow, Tom, though the same old roof i
Sheltered us both when we were boys,
And the same dear mother-love watched us
both,
Sharing our childish griefs and joys,
Yet you are almost a stranger now;
Your ways and mine are as far apart
As though we had never thrown an arm
About each other with loving heart \
Your city home is a palace, Tom; 1
Yourwife and children are fair to see;
You couldn't breathe in the little cot,
The little home, that oelongs to me.
And I am lost in your grand large house,
And dazed with the wealth on every side, ;
And I hardly know my brother, Tom,
In the midst of so much stately pride.
Yea, the concert wa9 grand last night, :
The singing splendid; but do you know, i
My heart kept longing, th6 evening through,
For another concert so sweet and low
That maybe it wouldn't please the ear
Of one so cultured and grand as you;
But to its music?laugh if you will? !
My heart and thoughts must ever bo true. J
I shut my eyes in the hall last night
(For the clash of the music wearied me),
And close to my heart this virion came?
The same swoet picture I always see:
In the vine-clad porch of a cottage home, j
Half in shadow and half in sun, ,
A mother chanting her lullaby, ,
Rocking to re9t her little one. <
And soft and swoot as the music fell
From the mother's lips, I heard the coo
Of my baby girl, aa with drowsy tongne
She echoed the song with "Goo-a-goo.*'
Together they sang, the mother and babe,
My wife and chiJd, by the cottage door,
Ah! that is the conoert, brother Tom,
My cars are aching to hoar onoe more.
So now good-bye. And I wish you well.
And many a year of wealth and gain. #
Tow were born to be rich and gay;
/ am content to be poor and plain.
And I go back to my country home
With a lore that absence has strengthened
tooBack
to the concert all my ownMother's
singing and baby's coo.
MISS CUTHBERT'S BIRTHDAY.
A
44 Miss Cuthbert, arc you an old
maid?*' The governess looked up in
surprise from the columns of figures she
had been correcting, and met the puzzled
blue eyes of little May Fleming.
44 Whv do voti ask me that question,
May?"" " t
The child flashed and hung her head. ?
44 Nothing; only last night when you
and Mr. Kenneth came in the gate, we ]
were all on the piazza, and mamma said <
Mr. Kenneth seemed very?something (
. French; and Alice said that was too absurd,
for you were only a governess, and f
an old maid besides ; and Bertha 1
said?" *
44 Never mind what Bertha said. Your i
mamma and sisters would not like you 1
to repeat what you happen to hear them i
remark. Your slate is correct," she i
. added, 44 and you can go now." *
44 Have I said any thing bad, Miss ?
Cuthbert?" and the blue eyes grew ]
abashed and wistful as they noted the 1
unwonted flush on the governess's t
cheek. i
44 No, dear, certainly not;" and she ]
smiled down in May's doubtful face as
she gave her the kiss of dismissal. (
But the smile faded as so>n as the J
small observer vanished, and tossing her ]
scattered books together, the governess f
hastened out of the sunny, dnsty schoolroom,
and up to her own apartment. ]
It was a wonderful September day, J
magnificent in cleanfess and oolor. Yel- i
lowing fields and crimsoning woodlands
were steeped in magic sunshine. Down ]
below her, in the garden, the flowers ?
glowed like jewels, and far away in
misty, glittering distance, hills, forests, :
and ocean were bounded by a purple i
sky. "Was it tears in Amy Cuthbert's
eyes that mode the sunlight seem misty ?
Impatiently she dashed them away, but
still they gathered and fell slowly, blurring
the bright day.
Only a governess! Well, had she not
become accustomed to being only a
governess during nine weary years of
lonely struggle with the world ? And an
old maid besides?yes, surely that, for
this day even now declining to its close
must be counted as her thirtieth birthday.
But that, too, was no new thought.
Why should a girl's careless, slighting
speech wound her so ?
44 Do hope and romance never die in a
woman's heart? Sitting with clasped
hands and bent head, the governess reviewed
th8 two months that had elapsed
since the morning when Bertha Fleming,
smiling saucily at her sister over the top
of an outspread newspaper, had inquired
;
44 Say, Al, which of your New York
ArinniApR ilo voti think is in this neicrh
borhood ?"
" How can I tell ?" and the golden- s
haired Miss Fleming went on carelessly 1
assorting her worsteds. ]
" I suppose yon could tell by reading ]
this paper, but I'll save you the trouble. 1
It's nobody less than Mr. Carl Kenneth,
the'young and gifted artist.' Now as '
you didn't catch him last season, aren't <
you glad pa's country-seat is located in '
this romantic spot? Oh, don't trouble
yourself to blush, A1 !w ]
" Blush, indeed ! You are too impertinent.
If I were your governess, I i
would teach you better manners." <
" Good manners don't run in our <
family," was the serene response, i
" When I reach your age I'll begin to j
cultivate them." j
"But go on about Mr. Kenneth," in- '
terposed Mrs. Fleming?a matronly
lady, who loved her ease too well to interfere
witli the little passages at arms
between her daughters. "Is hg alone
here ?"
m No, tnamma j there are tbreif #tt?W
artists mentioned. One is that dried-up
Mr. Finnis, he's so fond of."
"Who, by the way, is an artist of
great merit," remarked Miss Alice, with
mnch asperity.
" Well, well, my dears, we must have
Mr. Kenneth here to dinner. He is a
very charming young gentleman, and a
great favorite of mine. And we'll invite
his friend, of course."
So it nad nappened mat tne two artists
had been guests at the Flemings' for an
evening, which proved an introduction
to much pleasant social intercourse.
Having been prepared to see in Mr.
Kpnneth only a handsome, fashionable,
self-conscious devotee of art, the governess
had been astonished to meet one
who seemed scarcely more than a boy,
with all the ardor and enthusiasm of
voung life flushing his cheek and firing
bis glance, who yet possessed that subtle
refinement, delicacy, and dreaminess
which mark the true artist. Taking her
usual place as a quiet, unobserved member
of the family circle, she noted with
increasing wonder the simplicity and
frankness of manner of this much-praised
poung painter, this pet of society, who
sat in the center of a group of children,
his face alight with interest and merriment,
talking as vivaciously as if he were
a child himself.
That had been the beginning. From
that evening the sober governess, who
bad thought her romance dead, had beDome
oonscious of a new element in her
eventless life. Had it been only the
language of Carl Kenneth's dark eyes,
that had so often sought her retired corner,
or had it been the novelty of receiving
numberless little attentions to which
she was all unused, that had first gladlened
the dull days ? How was it that
the barriers of reserve and pride had
been leveled so completely by this
stranger'8 gentle courtesy ? How had
she managed to forget that she was
Dnly a governess, and he the heir of
millions ??she a woman past the heydey
Df life, he in the very prime and glory
Df youth?
Ah, what a foolish dream ! And now,
awakened by that careless shaft of ridicule,
she must pay the cost of her folly
in these bitter tears, falling on cheeks
that burned at the remembrance of her
presumptuous fancies. Young Mr. Kenneth
had been kind and chivalrous to
ber, as it was his nature to be to every
woman. Perhaps he had been kinder to
ber, out of pity. And she?well, thank
beaven, no one would ever know of it,
this idyl of a dead summer, this idyl that
die would bury in the sunset of her
thirtieth birthday!
Is it easy for a woman to see the glory
fade from her life?to look forward
oravely over a waste of gray, cheerless
rears that brighten only as the dawn of
beaven breaks upon their close ? You
yho think it easy would have wondered
it Amy Cntlibert'8 haggard face as she
it
A laugh rose and grew as fiend after
head bent over the paper. But it was
checked by an exclamation from Bertha,
who had turned a leaf :
"Why, here's St. Cecilia, and, as I
live, it's the image of Miss Cuthbert!" .
Every eye sought the governess' face
as she stood by the balustrade gazing
aut at the moonlight with absent eyes.
Confused by the general notice, she
said, hastily : "Of me!" and glanced
from the picture upheld by Bertha to the
face of the artist. The latter met her
look with another, half eager, half deprecating,
and a dark red tlush rose to
his cheek as he tried to stammer a j
formal apology.
" I cannot excuse the liberty I hftvc !
taken, but I can be# Mias Cuthborfs J
pardon, Ho? attitude W??] ?? j
\
Bit witli the clnsK garnering arouuu ner,
?nzing out at the distant kills, and confronting
that prospect of
"Long, mechanic pacings to and fro,
And set, dull life, and apathetic end."
It was late when a knock at her door
vas followed by the delivery of a meswge:
44 Jf Miss Cuthbert is not indisposed,
Mrs. Fleming would be glad to have her
>ome down. Miss Bertha cant sing witli>ut
her accompaniment."
Rousing herself with an effort, the
govern ess was astonished to see moonight
already silvering terrace and lawn.
The afternoon had long passed, and mer y
voices below told her that, as usual,
he Flemings' hospitable parlors were
illed with guests. How could she go
lown? But mechanically she Had said
14 Yes" to the servantAnaid; so as
she rose and dressed, removing as far as
possible the traces of tears, and saying
utterly to herself, as she cast a last
glance* at the pale face reflected in the
nirror, 44 What does it matter how I
look ?"
The maelstrom of gay life surged
iround her as she reached the hall.
Bertha Fleming, followed by a noisy
party, rushed in from the terrace, waving
i book over her head.
44 Oyez ! Oyes ! Come here and improve
your chances. I've purloined Mr.
Kenneth's sketcli-book?the same he refused
to exhibit!"
The owner of the book, who had been
running over a light air at the piano,
sprang to his feet.
"Pray, Miss Bertha," was the vexed
remonstrance which he tried hard to
make polite, "don't take advantage of
pour discovery. Don't make public the
fruits of my late industry, I beg."
"What's the use of begging, Mr.
Kenneth? After being shameless enough
to steal the book from the pocket of your
blouse coat, you might know I would
rlso disregard your prayers."
'But the sketches are so poor," the
ronng man persisted, much discomposed,
" that I really must insist?"
"No, you mustn't insist nor apologize
and Bertha's voice was supported
by a chorus from the curious group.
"You're a genius, you know. Now, are
we all here ? First comes a study of
foliage, and next the old bridge over the
?reek. Very pretty. Foliage again?
rocks?moon shadows ; how peculiar
those are! how light!?oh, how lovely I"
md she paused, enraptured by an exquisite
little color sketch of oonvolvuli.
"Oh, beautiful!" and " Mr. Kenneth,
bow could you deny us the pleasure o'f
seeing that ?" were the outcries that followed.
"Ob, now we come to the character
studies! Here's a Goliath to begin
with, and an Airy Fairy Lilian on the opposite
page. What a contrast! And oh,
here's the funniest charcoal study of
hnn/le I"
she sat at the organ the other evening
strnck me and haunted me until I made
a sketch and christened it Si Cecilia."
4'Excellent! That heavy coil of
hair, that sweep of drapery, and that
absorbed look are all perfect."
" And so like her !
" Mr. Kenneth must have made quite
a study of the lady's face and figure,"
Alice Fleming said, with a somewhat
derisive smile. " He ought to have a
vote of thanks."
" But I am afraid Miss Cuthbert, on
the oontrary, is displeased with me," the
proprietor of the sketch-book remarked,
doubtfully.
"Indeed, no," the governess hastened
to say. "I am very glad you thought I
my face worth sketching. It has never '
been so much honored before."
"She owes you more substantial
thanks, Kenneth," said Mr. Finnis, with ,
a i C din AnnVti In Inbfl lV?A trnvxr
seusation any "where.
The singer was surrounded, and eager- 1
ly complimented. 1
"What is that song?" one after i
another inquired. <
4 4 Only a little poem called a 4 Woman's 1
Birthday."' 1
44 Surely you don't mean to stop. Sing i
something else." f
But Carl Kenneth, at her side, said, f
imperatively, 44 Come out into the air; t
you look really ill. Pray don't ask any i
thing farther of Miss Cuthbert," he *
said to the others. 44 She has given me 1
my song ; that is enough." i
Only to glad to get away from the i
crowd and the lights, the governess ac- i
cepted his offered arm. Ill enough she
felt, indeed, as they paced down the
garden path in the waning moonlight.
All her excitement had passed into intense
languor?a weariness so great ]
that she was glad to sink down on a
garden seat at the end of the walk. But 1
remembering her resolution of the after- 6
noon, she half rose as her companion j
threw himself on the grass at her feet. ]
441 ought to go in. I forgot that 1
Mrs. Fleming sent for me to play
Bertha's accompaniment."
" Ah no; dor't go back amongst all
those people. Stay here in the moonlight,
and let me talk to you."
Another wave of the self-soorn -which
had humilated the governess that afternoon
seconded his entreaty. "Why,"
Amy Cuthbert said to herself?"Why
should she not sit down and talk to Mr.
Kenneth as any friend or acquaintance
would do? Why need she be so
foolish?she who had buried romance
forever ?
" I shall be glad to have you talk to
me ; and tell me about that last picture
you were so much interested in,"
she responded.
" I have not touched it for a week. I
am tired of attempts in art;" and the
young aristocrat moodily tossed his
heavy hair away from his brow. " I believe
I 6hall keep only one picture of all
those I have painted this summer."
" And what is that ?" she asked, unsuspectingly.
"A St. Cecilia."
A mv f5nt.hhp.rt firm Id not renress a .
start at this unexpected reply. Neither J
could she at once find a fitting rejoinder. f
She sat in silence, idly pulling to pieces ,
a blossom of Virginia creeper, thankful I
that shadows hid her face.
"No, I will not keep that piece
either," her companion continued, impetuously.
" I do not want to remember
you with that cold, pure, rapt expression 1
I have depicted. I will ratner paint you 1
as a Madonna?a happy, radiant, beau- ]
tiful woman."
" You flatter my face; it suits neither 1
of those characters." I
" How might I paint you, then?" 1
"As Elaine, perhaps," she answered, ;
with a sigh?" if I were young and beau- t
tiful enough." i
"Elaine ! No; if I painted you thus, 1
I would paint Lancelot kneeling before i
you, as the f
' lied-cro38 knight forever kneeled
To a lady, in his shield.1 j
And you, if Lancelot were kneeling be- i
fore you, would you smile upon him ?" j
Something in the voijce, something in i
the flushed face uplifted in the moon- I
li^ht. thrilled her strangely. Why did I
Mr, Kenneth talk to her CO ? Sh? forced i
Ueraelf to so!"?cr. with a tough i <
a inugll, k7UC \Jugut iw uaac vuu IWJ I
attitude you have depicted, and repay
you by giving us a song. Ah, Miss
Cuthbert, don't sav no I" j
The governess shrank back.
"You must excuse me. I'm not in j
the mood for singing."
" Must one be in the mood ?"
' Pray oblige Mr. Kenneth, Miss
Cuthbert," said Bertha, maliciously.
"I really can not."
"When she says she can not, she ]
means she will be urged."
The importunity, half joking, half .
serious, was continued, until Alice Flem
ing, who was already annoyed by the 1
affair of the portrait, quite lost patience.
" I never before," she said, coldly,
" have seen Miss Cuthbert attempt the i
role of the prima donna in society. She
does it very well; but I really think we
have had enough of it." <
Utter and amazed silence followed this j
speech. No one knew what to say. Amy i
Cuthbert crimsoned to the temples, anil |
walked straight to the piano, struggling .
hard to keep back the tears that threatened
to overflow.
Still possessed by the sadness and exhausted
by the excitement of the afternoon,
the effort of singing had seemed J
impossible. But no sooner had she i
Ah/% ! rtVv A VvAAn *V> A AA?
l/uuuueu 111C JkCJB UIOU oug ucwimc WJLL
scions of an imperative deeire^-almost a
necessity?of expressing her'mood in
music. Stopping abruptly in a light 1
prelude, she tossed aside the sheet of
music before her. Only a few days before
she had set to music a little poem
that had struck her fancy, and now,
without premeditation, she began to
sing it, feeling as if all the sorrow and
despair in her soul were floating out on
the notes.
Higher, sweeter, the voice rose,
freighted with infinite sadness and
yearnin g, startling the careless listeners
into attention. The passionate tones,
soaring above them, seemed singing the
dnrge of hope.
Upon my word," said Miss Fleming,
looking around the circle of astonished
faces, as the last note died away, " Miss
Cuthbert seems to be the sensation of
the evening 1"
"By Jove!" exclaimed an exquisite
beside her, remembering to raise a fan
he had dropped five minutes before,
' t?nn mar ttaI 1 nftv that She'd make a
" I could not be the 4 lily maid of
A'stolat' if I did not smile on Lancelot."
4 4 But I cannot paint you, for I have
rarely seen you smile?have never once
seen you look glad and care-free. And
yours," he added, in lower tones, 44 is
the face of all in the world that I most
wish to see happy and bright."
Involuntarily the listener started at
the words, and a quick heart-thrill disturbed
the even answer.
44 Like most of the race, I am neither
very happy nor extremely miserable."
4 4 But is not happiness possible ? Let
? * _ 1 11. - .i* L -I
me maxe you nappy oy me eaort oi my
whole Life. Miss Cuthbert, why will
you not understand me? I want to tell
you that I love you."
The last leaf of the blossom she had
ruined fell on the grass. The hand that
had held it was prisoned in two others,
and the moonlight shone on the earnest
dark eyes that were trying to see her
face. Amy Cuthbert's resurrected
romance, warm and glowing with life,
stole back into her heart and fired her
pale cheeks with blushes. Half incredulous,
she listened, as the voice went on
passionately:
" I love you. My darling, my rose of
Life, what will you say to me because
I love vou ?"
Reader, what do you think Amy Cuthbert
answered? On the one hand lay
the desert of life, unsunned and unvaried
; on the other waited love, joy,
- ? ? 11 i . i
Light, and beauty, uouia sue turn away,
when
"From lands of bliss enchanted, over wastes
of sunset sea,
SDOwy-sailed and crimson-tinted spod a wondrous
argosy ?"
In the waning moonlight, amid the
lying year, she read another page of her
idyl?an idyl destined to grow fairer
and dearer through many a coming year.
So ended Miss Cuthbert's birthday.?
Harper's Bazar.
An Ant Fight.
An interesting account of an engagement
between a party of red and of black
ints is related by a correspondent of the
Forest and Stream: " Last week, as I
was coming in the gate," says the writer,
" my attention was attracted by seeing a
stream of ants moving across the walk,
going in different directions. They were
traveling in a belt about four inches
wide, and moving very rapidly. Of
those going in one direction, each had a
>8,000,000 bushels.?New York Tribune.
A Nose Fashioner.
Dr. Cid, an inventive surgeon of Paris,
loticed that elderly people who for a
ong time have worn eye-glasses supported
on the nose by a spring are apt
to have this organ long and thin. This
ae attributes to the compression which
the spring exerts on the arteries by
which the nose is nourished. Not long
afterward a young lady oT fifteen conmlted
him to see if he could restore to
moderate dimensions her nose, which
was large, fleshy and unsightly. He
took exact measurement, and had constructed
for her a " lunette prince-nez "
?a spring and pad for compressing the
artery?which was worn at night, and
when she conveniently could in the daytime.
In three weeks a consolatory diminution
was evident, aud in three months
the young lady was quite satisfied with
thy improvement in her features. This
story romUs Gapioin Alarrystt'" phrenological
develops*.
WOMAN.
What the Poets Think of Her?1The Days of ^
Chivalry.?Some Noted Women.
Oh, woman! lovely woman : Nature made thee
To temper man : we had been brutes without
you!
Angels are painted fair to look like you ;
There is in you all that we believe of heaven, t
Amazing brightness, purity and truth, g
Eternal joy and everlasting love. ?Oticay. 0
Woman, dear woman, thou *rt still the same a
While beauty breathes through soul or frame ; ^
While man possesses heart or eyes,
Woman's bright empire never dies. ?Moore. c
The bleakest rock upon the loneliest heath a
Feels in its barrenness some touch of spring ; 8
And in the April dew or beam of May, f
Its moss and lichen freshen and revive : t
And thus the heart most sacred to human j
pleasure,
Melts at the tear?joys in the smile?of woman. ?
?Beaumont. C
I in An* ViAnro g\f AO aa ?
VUj TV "fMTTI1 . Ui VUi UVUAO VA Vtaw
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, j
And variable as the shade #
By the light, quivering aspen made:
When pain and anguish wring the brow* c
A ministering angel thon! Scott. I
Poetic lays of ancient times were t
wont to tell how the bold warrior return- ?
ing from the fight would doff his plnmed i
helmet, and, reposing from his toils, a
lay bare his weary limbs that woman's ^
hand might pour into their wounds the 1
healing balm. But never a wearied i
knight or warrior, covered with the dnst a
of battle-field, was more in need of t
woman's soothing power than are those f
careworn sons of mental or physical i
toil who struggle for the bread of life in 1
our more peaceful and enlightened days, c
And still, though the romance of the t
castle, the helmet, the waving plume i
and the c
" Clarion wild and high," c
may all have vanished from the scene, (
the* charm of woman's influence lives as t
brightly in the picture of domestic joy j
as when she placed the wreath of victory 1
on the hero's brow. Nay, more so, for t
there are deeper sensibilities at work, i
thoughts more profound and passions f
more intense in our great theatre of in- ]
* " * ? 5 1 -1.-11- IV I i
teuecruai ana morai mme, uuu wucto i
the contest was for martial fame, and t
force of arms procured for each com- i
petitor his share of glorv or of wealth, t
Aspasia, the wife of IPericles, was a i
I woman of the greatest beauty and the i
first genius. She taught him his refined \
maxims of policy, his lofty imperial elo- 1
quence?nay, even composed the j
speeches on which so great a share of t
his reputation was founded. The best f
men in Athens frequented her house and a
brought their wives to receive lessons of 1
economy and right deportment. Socra- i
tea himself was her pupil. a
Guyot, the statesman and historian, a
owed much of his success to his wife's t
co-operation. r
The wife of Louis Gal van i (daughter ]
of Professor Galezzi, under whom he ?
had studied anatomy), being a woman
of quick observation, noticed that the e
leg of a frog, placed near an electrical f
machine, became convulsed when touch- 1
ed by a knife, and a series of experi- c
mentis out of this led to the discovery of t
a new system of physiology, ever since a
called "Galvanism." \
The wife of Lavoisier, the French 1
chemist, not only could perform his |
scientific experiments, but even engrav- e
ed the plates which illustrated his "Ele- a
ments." "* t
Hubfer, the blind man, who wrote the t
best book on bees, derived his knowl- 1
edge of their habits and instincts from 1<
the observations of his wife. b
Mary Cunitz, one of the greatest t
geniuses in the sixteenth century, was b
born in Silesia. She learned languages a
with amazing facility, and understood t
German, French, Polish, Italian, Latin, t
Greek and Hebrew. She attained *a d
knowledge of the sciences with equal g
ease ; she was skilled in history, physic, c
poetry, painting, music, and playing r
upon instruments; and yet they were o
Oily an amusement. She more particu- p
larly applied herself to mathematics, t!
and especially to astronomy, which 6he n
made her principal study, and was rank- t:
ed in the" number of the most able (
astronomers of her time. Her astro- a
nomical tables acquired her a prodig- t]
ious reputation. fi
The wife of Alphonse de Lamartine, n
the French poet, was mistress of many b
languages, and excelled both in music tl
ond r?nir?fiiiir and was also a brilliant a
writer. In the stormy days of '18 her u
husband wrote diligently to free* himself
from debt She suffered acutely
for him, whose honor and fortune then
seemed trembling in the balance. The
delicate face became wrinkled and the ?
sweet voice was often tremulous with it
anxiety. When Lamartine was finish- r<
ing an article on Beranger, at a time of a
great political excitement in Paris, she ^
was nearly beside herself, lest by any P
verbal imprudence he should get himself d
into trouble. Her husband's printer b
was also greatly alarmed at the political a
allusion in his article ; but Lamartine, ^
obstinately deaf to all their entreaties, ^
vowed that every line should go to the I <1
public just as it -ras written, or not at f
all. Madame Lamartine was at her P
wit's end. Finallv a gentleman, a a
mutual friend, got leave from her hus- ^
band to read over the proofs and modify v
the offensive expressions. All the long 81
night that this gentleman was occupied,
Madame Lamartine sat up, sending into
the library to him little suggestive notes P
of her own. At last the poor, weary
friend was so overpowered with fatigue ^
and sleep that he was obliged to desist *
and go to bed; but, when he awoke 8
next morning, he found a small paper 0
pushed through the key-hole of his door
?a last idea from the indefatigable S
Madame Lamartine, who had not herself
slept a wink all night. This gentleman 8
friend took all the credit of the altera- 5
tions, while the good wife kept silence j fc
and sent her husband's article to the
press. Madame Lamartine was often 3
the amanuensis and proof-reader of her 4
husband.?Troy Times. o
c
Japanese Proverbs.
Better avoid blame than seek praise. g
A beaten soldier fears a reed.
Great men are spoken of for seventy- v
five days. t
The lower part of the candlestick is y
black. (The nearer the church the farther ?
from God). e
There are people who have read Con- v
fucins and still have not read him. c
The skill of a poor man is not much R
believed in.
When there arc bio many lioatmcn the
lioat c'imbs mountains, j
Until polished H?o precious "tone jg J
not brilliant; 1
large ant egg in its montn. i ioiiowea
the empty monthed ones and found they
were robbing a nest of red ants. The
aest was about one foot across, and was
covered with red and black ants engaged
in a most desperate battle?the reds trying
to defend their home from their
thievish enemies. At times the ants
would form in their little hills, sliding
and rolling over the ground. I observed
that the black ants that were engaged in
stealing took no port in the fight, but
would sieze the eggB and make for their
}wn hill, leaving the fighting to be done
by the rest of the band. The black ants
in making these depredations had to cross
me carriage drive, two plank walks, and
climb up a terrace two feet in height?
the distance between the two hills being
L52 feet through the grass of an ordinary
iawn. Out of curiosity I killed one of
;he black ants, and took it to a jeweler
rnd had it put on the balauce with the
egg it was carrying, when the egg was
he heaviest; which shows the remarkable
strength and endurance of these
nteresting insects. I once noticed a
small red ant trying to carry a worm,
several times as heavy as itself, up a
small mound on the top of which was its
lest. After trying several times without
success, it ran up the hill and disappeared
in its hole, and presently returned
vith quite a number of companions, who
easily carried their captive into the nest
n spite of his struggles."
Wheat Production.
The following table gives the annual
production of wheat in the United States
or twelve years, together with the annual
exports and the home consumption,
iced and wastage:
Crop (bu.) Export*. Consumption.
186 2 177,957,172 56,915,621 122,041,551
186 3 173,677,928 39,689.773 133,988,155
864 160,695,823 14,657,641 146,038,182
.865 148,522,827 15,359,137 133,172,688
866 151,199,906 10,171,692 141,028,214
.867 212,441,400 23,556,319 188,884,481
.868 224,036,600 21,136,029 202,900,571
869 260,146,900 50,026,612 209,220,288
.870 235,884,700 49,794.432 186,090,268
.871 230,722,400 35,434,161 195,288,239
.872 249.097,000 48,929,069 200,167,931
.873 281,372,000 87,393,643 193,978,357
.874 308,000,000 70,466,890 237.533,110
.875 290,000,000 71,028,346 218,971,654
.876 250,000.000 55,008,758 194,990,242
This season it is known that the relerve
lias been cut down to the minimum
py shipments of 30,500,000 bushels irom
he West since Jan. 1, against shipments'
astyearof 29,000,000 bushels from a crop
U),000,000 larger. At five bushels per
capita, the home requirement would be
ibout 235,000,000 bushels, beside the
juantity needed to replenish the reserve
?which figures of yearly consumption
ndicate may be roughly estimated at
50,000,000 bushels. Hence, if the comng
crop is as much as 325,000,000 bush;ls,
and the price is not unusually high,
Kpnsumption and replenishment of reserve
will take about 255,000,000 busli;ls,
leaving 70,000,000 bushels for export.
If the price rules high, both consumption
and the quantity taken for reserve
will be diminished, and the surplus
for export may then be as much as
A FIGHT FOB LIFE WITH BITS.
in Army *f Rats Attacking a Signal Service
Officer and His Wife?Conquering
the Rodents by Electricity?Terrible Fate
of a Child.
The vast number of rats inhabiting
he rocky crevices and cavernous passa;es
at the summit of Pike's Peak, in Colorado,
have reoently become formidable
,nd dangerous. These animals are known
o feed upqp a saccharine gam that perolates
through the pores of the rocks,
pparently upheaved by that volcanic
-li?> ?- .U tMAmila. inliirvala rrf *
iCUlUii WU1VU( ail UlCglUOt uiwa I mau v* mm
ew days, gives to the mountain crest
hat vibratory motion which has been
letected by the instruments used in the
ifflce of the United States signal station.
Jince the establishment of the govern*
cent signal station on the summit of the
i*eak, at an altitude of nearly 15,000
eet, these animals have acquired a voraious
appetite for raw and uncooked
neat, the scent of which seems to impart
o them a ferocity rivaling the starved
Siberian wolf. The m6st singular trait
a the character of these animals is, they.
,re never to be seen in the day-time.
Vhen the moon pours down her queenly
ight upon the summit they may be seen
n countless numbers, hopping around
anong the rocky boulders that crown
his barren waste'; and during the warm
rammer months they may be seen swimoing
and sporting in the waters of the
ake, a short distance below the crest
if the Peak, and of a dark, cloudy night
heir trail in the water exhibits a glowng,
sparkling light giving to the waters
?f the lake a flickering silvery appearrnce.
A few days since Mr. John T.
)'Keef, one of the government opera
ors at the signal station, returned to his
?st from Colorado Springs, taking with
lim a quarter of beef. It being late in
he afternoon, his colleague, Mr. Hobbs,
mmediately left with the pack animal
or the Springs. Soon after dark, while
dr. O'Keef was engaged in the office
orwarding night dispatches to W ashingon,
he was startled by a loud scream
rom Mrs. O'Keef, who had retired for
he night in an adjoining bedroom, and
rho came rushing into the office screening,
" The rats I the rats!" Mr. O'Keef,
rith great presence of mind, immediatey
girdled his wife ith a scroll of zinc
ilating, such as had been used in roofing
he station, which prevented the animals
rom climbing upon her person; and,
J though his own person was almost
iterally covered with them, he succeeded
n incasing his legs each in ajoims of
(tove-pipe; when he commenced a fierce
nd desperate struggle for the preservaion
of his life, with a heavy war-club
ireserved at the station, among other
hdian relics captured at the battle of
land Greek. Notwithstanding hundreds
eere destroyed on every side, still they
eemed to pour with increasing numbers
rom the bedroom, the door of which
ia^l been left open. The entire quarter
>f beef was eaten in less than five minites,
whioh seemed to only sharpen their
ppetites for an attack upon Mr. O'Keef,
rhose hands, face and neck were terribly
acerated. In the midst of the warfare
Irs. O'Keef managed to reach a coil of
flectric wire hanging near the battery ;
?nd, being a mountain girl familiar with
he throwing of the lariat, she hurled it
h rough the air, causing it to encirole
ler husband, and spring out from its
oosened fastenings, making innumera>le
spiral ways, along which she poured
hooloMnVflniii from fchfi heavilv-charared
lattery. In an instant theroom was all
blaze with electric light, and whenever
he rats came in contact with the wire
hey were hnrled to an almost instant
teath. The appearance of daylight, made
uch by the coruscation of the heavilyharged
wire, caused them to take
efuge among the crevices and caverns
f the mountain, by way of the bedroom
rindow. through which they had forced
heir way. But the saddest part of this
ight attack upon the Peak is the desroyipg
of their infant child, which Mrs.
)'Keef thought she had made secure by
heavy covering of bed clothing ; but
he rate had found their way to the inmt
(only two months old), and had left
othing of it but the peeled and mumled
skull. Drs. Thorn aud Anderson
bought at first that the left arm of Sereant
O'Keef would have to be amputa3d,
but succeeded in saving it
A Rattlesnake's Attack.
When a rattlesnake is disturbed it
ounds an alarm, and then, if compelled,
; will fight When the victim is within
?ach the jaws of the snake are separated
nd the head thrown back so as to bring
be fangs into a favorable position to
enetrate the object. The head is then
arted rapidly forward, the unsheathed
ooth penetrates the body of the victim,
nd the poison is injected into the fiesh.
'he same muscular acts which open the
round inject the venom through the
net, and into the part penetrated by
be tooth. The divergence of the fangointe
when the snake bites often causes
considerable distance between the two
rounds. The power with which the
enom is ejected from the tooth depends
omewhat upon the amount contained in
be gland and its ducts. If the snake
rils to strike the object aimed at, the
oison is sometimes projected several
3et; and a case is on record where it
as thrown into the eyes of a man who
eno \r A vnim if
rtm HA ICCt 11 Will i/uw outiavy nuvu ?v
truck upward at a stick held above its
oil.
ichool Population of the United States.
White males, 5,264,635, colored males,
14,576; total, 6,086,872, white females,
,157,929; colored females, 806,402; toixl,
5,968,561; grand total, 12,055,443.
Attending school?White males, 3,26,797,
colored males, 88,594; total, 315,391;
white females, 3,087,943, colred
females, 91,778; total, 3.179,721;
;rand total, 6,595,112.
Not attending school?Whites, 4,007,24;
colored, 1,330,606; total, 5,458,977.
Prom the above it appears that of the
shite children of the whole country, beween
the ages of five and eighteen
ears, thirty-eight per cent are not atanding
school; of the colored children
ighty-eight per cent, are not attending,
rhile an aggregate of forty-five per
ent. of both classes are not nnder intrnction.
The money presented to the Pope by
)ilgrims during the jubilee amounted to
18,300.000, Of this sum 81,840,000 was
n gold ) tho remainder in paper,
, ? ? i f
Items ?f Interest. , v
Onba has been fighting for freedom for
nine years.
The first newspaper in England was
issued in 1588.
The wealthiest farmer in Nebraska is
Isham G. Chicken. He certainly should
always haVe a full crop.
In Bath Abbey is to be seen the following
epitaph: " Here lies Ann Mann;
she lived an old maid and died an old
Mann." i: *,
If all Russia and all Turkey should
oome to engage in the strife, there would
be 87,000,000 Russians fighting 48,000,000
Turks. '*]%
A Spanish proverb says: " The man
who on his wedding day starts as a
lieutenant in the family will never get
promoted."
It is a question worthy of careful investigation,
whether a person whose
voice is broken is not all the better com
petent to sing " pieces."
- A young lady in town, who does not
pride herself particularly on being a
political economist* thinks the sooner
greenbacks reach " pa," the sooner she
will be able to invest in a new fall bonnet.
^?Rutland Herald.
The following is all the space given in
a Texas newspaper to a lynching:
"Dudley Hansford was hanged by *
mob of forty men this morning, near his
home, two miles from Perry, in this
county. Too muc^ cattle."
Such is the glut of money on the London
Stock Exchange that any man in
good credit can obtain the loan of almost
any sum for, say, a fortnight, at the rate
of 11 per cent, per annum. Yet even on
these terms there is scarcely any demand.
John Taylor, the president of the
"Twelve Apostles," and acting president
of the Mormon Chnrch until a new
president is elected, was shot at Nauvoo,
111., at the time when Joseph Smith was
killed, and is a most bigoted and bitter
fanatic, rt
The war oorreepoodent of the London
News says* that at the battle near Kazelevo,
where the Russians were defeated,
"aRussian officer, who was dbeetred
gallantly endeavoring to rally the men,
was killed, and the body, when subsequently
discovered, proved to he that
of a woman. She was buried where sho
felL"
An Englishman who has made a bet of
?50,000 that he will in six-yean wait
through France, Germany, North Russia,
and 8iberia to Cj|yna? has started
from Calais on his journeying. His bet
obliges him to return through Persia, .
and Southern Russia, and from there
over Greece and Italy to France.- He
must be in Liverpool by July 1,1888.
According to a Louisiana paper, most
desirable lands in that State, fronting on
navigable streams, and capable of'producing
from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds of
sugar and 120 to 320 gallons of molasses
per acre, or crops worth from $200 to
8500 per acre, can be purchased for the
low sum of $15 to $30 per acre. Farther
inland, and within a few miles of navigable
water courses, land can easily be
bought for $5 to $15 per nor* Excellent
sugar lands can be had at very much
lower prices than evep the above in
Texas, sayd a Galveston journal
Fashion Notes,
Simple and pretty wraps for autumn
days are square shawls of India or of
French cashmere of solid color, lightly
fringed, and worn in fichu fashion
crossed on the breast and tied behind.
Long slender sacqnee, of medium
length, made of the new rough cloths,
double breasted, buttoned their entire
length, and with ooat flaps behind, will
be favorite wrape for fall and whiter.
The Carripk cloak?-a long Ulster
shape, with three small round capes
known as coachmen's capes?is the styl
isli overall. It is seen in rain cioass
made of water-proof cloth, and in the
English cloths of gray invisible plaids
used for traveling cloaks.
Many beaded ornaments are used in
bonnets, the preference being for the
blue-gray clair de lune beads; there Are
also many jet fringes, drops, and netted
pieces, while for brown, maroon, moss,
olive, bronze, and other.colored bonnets
the mordore or golden brown beads are
used.
The majority of the new bonnets are
small cottage shapes and close-fitting
capotes, but there are many large Marie
I Stuart bonnets, with pointed front and
; flowing plume, and there are also dressy
llergese hats, with little crown and
spreading brims?gay and dressy shapes
for young folks. .
New ornamental bows for the throat
ore of ribbons of two contrasting colors
tying a small cluster of flowers on shells
of Valenciennes lace, and from thence
the ribbons liang in ends a yard long. /
Vulcan red ribbons contrasting with pale
blue or with mandarin yellow make
pettv bows. ?
The most stylish colors in head geal
are mousse, or moss green ; Vulcan red,
more brilliant than scarlet, and containing
much of the mandarin yellow shade ;
clair de lune gray, with blue tinges, and
she old-fashioned silver grey rose oonil,
a delicate shade for brightening sombre
hues, and the dark myrtle green of last
year, ^
The hair is dressed with reference to
the shape of the bonnets. For bonnets
to be worn on dressy occasions, the coiffure
is high soft loops and puffs on top
of the head. For the close shapes the
back hair is arranged in a flat chatelaine
loop very low on the nape of the neck,
or else the chatelaine is braided in wido
basket braids of seven strands or more.
Feathers and flowers are mdre beautiful
than in any former season. The bird
of Paradise, with its golden plumage, is
the choice for expensive bonnets. There
are, however, the pretty feathers of the
heron, wings, guinea-hens' breasts, peacocks'
breasts, and many other stiff and
slender feathers for lees costly hats.
Ostrich tips and the long Marie Stuart
plumes are used in profusion.
The materials for the new bonnet are
plush or velvet trimmed with satin. The *
plush may be plain or striped. Some
brocaded silks in Marguerite pattern are
used for crowns of special bonnets. There
are also some kid bonnets like those introdnced
last year, and there are very
line felt bonnets with pfaih cut edges,
while others are wrought with' jet of
with Glair fa hma beads;