THE BEAUFORT TRIBUNE
AND PORT ROYAL COMMERCIAL.
VOL. V. NO. 49. BEAUFORT, S. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1877. $111 Iff Mil. dull CW 5 Cull
Living1 on a Farm. ; i
i ]
How brightly throagh the mist of years.
My quiet country home appears ! . ^
My father, busy all the day
In plowing corn, or raking hay ; j
My mother, moving with delight |
Among her milk-pans, silver bright ; f
We children just from school set free, ; i
Filling the garden with our glee ! i ]
The blood of life was flowing warm '
When I was living on a farm.
I heard the sweet church-going bell
As o'er the fields its music fell. j ]
I see the country neighbors round
Gathering 'neath the pleasant sound ; j \
They stop awhile beside the door,
To talk the homely matters o'er? i
The springing corn, the ripening grain 1
And "how we need a little rain."
" A little sun would do no harm, 1
We want good weather for the farm.' ' {
i i
When autumn came, what joy to see
The gathering of the husking bee, j i
To hear the voices Keeping tune, f
Of girls and boys beneath the moon,
To make the golden corn-ears bright,
More golden in the yellow light! j j
Since 1 have learned the ways of men.
1 often turn to these again,
And feel life wore its highest charm, | I
When I was living on a farm. ]
m=S=SB (
MISS DABNEY. j !
, f
It had been universally conceded among j
Louise Dabney's friends that she was not 1
a favorite with gentlemen?that fortune <
so essential to feminine well-being, j
Whether it was from lack of beauty I
(though about that there were diverei- ]
ties of opinion), or because of a cold and ]
critical manner, a certain reserve, irre- j
sponsive to the masculine touchstone, i
an innate detestation of flirtation, of t
making an effort to please one sex more t
than another, who could Bav ? Louise 1
was herself aware that she inspired the
masculine heart with no serious senti- 1
ments, and 6he may have wondered secret i
ly by what spells other girls who were I
not so well bred nor so intelligent, and cer- i
tain y no fairer, gathered groups of lovers i
about them, while she stood by, alone i
and uueared for?not that she coveted a <
plurality?but what charm had they to ;
w hich she could not aspire ? Every |
woman loves admiration, and it is not to j
be supposed that Louise Dabney was ! i
superior to this amiable weakness. \ \
* "Louise has never had a flirtation, a j
love affair or a proposal," her friends j *
would have told you; but they were not j ?
quite correct in their verdict. She had i t
had "an interest, "to put it mildly, ever j 1
since that dreadful night on the Continent {
when her uncle had been brought lifeless i
into the little out-of-the-way place among \
the. mountains, and had left her alone ;
among peoplo speaking an unfamiliar j
jargon, with the sea rolling between [ t
herself and home; and Loring Northcote : a
had come to her aid, though a total
straDger, had taken iier burdens upon i
himself, and had been like a shadow in
a weary land to the desolate girl, and j
had finallv escorted her home across the ;
sea, with liis widowed sister as chaperon. : i
Since that period there had been more j
or less intercourse between them, to be *
sure, but the half-tender regard he had f
manifested toward her had seemed to
crystalize, without developing into any- i
tiring more personal and particular.
. "It is only Lis way with all women,"
she said, and excused him in her heart. ]
And when fhe had thanked him for all
liis kindness, and said : 41 How can I 4
ever reward you ?" 44 By always com- a
ing to me when you need kindness," he a
had answered, but he thought: 44 She 1 c
is less emotional that a sphinx." And \
though Louise bad more than half ex- J t
pected that their relations would grow s
closer as time sped, had, perhaps, some | ?
right to expect it, yet Mr. Northcote
had never advanced a. step nearer ; and ! a
if she had abandoned hope, the flame i
still smouldered, ready to be rekindled j
by a word, a touch, and nobody the ! f
wiser, not even the interested friends, ; a
who thought Louise neglected her op- j f
Dortunities ; that any other girl would 1
have had an offer, at least, under the j
circumstances. ' y
It was the following season, which she ;
spent at the fine old mansion of a friend, :
when, seeing the company dispersing!
day after day bv twos, she resolved to i \
amuse herself like the rest?to do as the ;
Romans. Every woman likes to believe ;
that she has her own little attractions, , i
and how was she to make sure of it if e
she attracted nobody? Besides there c
was nothing else to do. To abstain from * ]
the popular amusement seemed like I
reproaching those who engage in it Mr. | ^
Leroy appeared to adopt her views. If
she walked, he followed like her shadow; j *
if the river allured, his boat was at
hand; if driving were in order, he i f
handled the reins like a Jehu. Their ;
acquaintance had begun, moreover, ]
under the most favorable auspices, to 1
take a romantic view of it She had dis- ]
covered that her pocket had been picked I \
on the cars of both money and tickets. !
A handsome stranger steps forward to 1 j
the relief of the distressed damsel; grati-1 ]
tude on one hand, gallantry on the other;
he has established a claim to conversation, ; <
and discovers that they are both bonud for j i
the same hospitable roof at Valley Farm, j
Could a flirtation i>e usnerea in more j
propitiously ? \ \
"Really," whispered Mrs. Furniss, a j j
fornight later, sitting on the veranda , i
and looking toward Louise, who sat in i
the hammock which Leroy was lazily : \
swinging, "I believe Miss Dabnev has
made an impression." i
"Who is Mr. Leroy ?" asked the gentleman
to whom she spoke, and who had
just arrived in the last train.
"A capital catoh."
" Alliterative at least. And has Miss
Dabney landed him V"
"She could if she would. It isn't his
fault if she hasn't."
"I shouldn't say that Miss Dabney
was susceptible."
"How did you find that out, Mr.
Northcote ?" laughed the hostess.
"By natural processes, I believe."
" I'm told she isn't a favorite with
your sex; but exceptions prove the rule.
I never knew her to have a flirtation
before, I confess."
" Is this a flirtation ?"
" On her side, yes. It's her very in- j
difference that attracts Leroy. He's i
used to being made much of, and to have j
the girls thrown at his head, 60 to I
speak. As slie doesn't want to marry
him, she can afford to be audacious."
441 didn't think she would oondescend
to flirt. '
4 4 You seem to have made a study of
Miss Dabney. I think she didn't wish
to be left out in the cold. All my guests
seem to be paired off this season. You
still have to devote yourself to me, Mr.
Northcote, unless I import another
1 blessed damoseL'"
44 Don't, I beg ; I am content with the
blessings the gods have provided."
44 You might dispute Louise with Mr.
Leroy, to be sure,
44 True. Let Us begin by interrupting
die tete-a-tete."
44 Mr. Northcote," said Louise, 44 this
s a pleasure for which Mrs. Furniss had
aot prepared us."
"F.rrnRp m?_ hnt vour friend doesn't
,ook as if he regarded it in that light,"
said Northcote, aside. 44 I hope I am
lot de trop."
" I didn't know that such humility as
:hat hope suggests was a trait of your
sex."
44 Shall I go away again ?"
44Why, certainly not, immediately;
t would look as if *1 had snubbed you."
44 And I'm not sure but you have."
It was doubtless pleasant to have a
spectator witness her refutation of the
popular prejudices respecting her want
if attraction, and that the spectator
should be Mr. Northcote added piquancy
to the affair. 44 At leat he will see that
somebody finds me worth cultivating,"
she reflected. But in spite of this she
found herself incapable of entering into
;he spirit of flirtation with the same unxmcern
after Northcote's arrival. She
felt a perpetual insane desire to shorten
he walks and drives, that she might
lasten back to his neighborhood, and
mow just how he was passing the time,
hat she might see his face and hear his
roice. But the further she withdrew,
;he closer Leroy pursued, the old adage
hat a bird in hand is worth two in the
lush not holding good in love affairs.
The family had been picnicking in the
woods one afternoon, where the pine
leedles made a carpet, and a frolicsome
Drook capered and bubbled down from
ts mountain source. Leroy and Louise
iad wandered away to collect brushwood
to boil the tea-kettle, but had
gathered flowers instead; and when the
mnset had begun to fade, and warned
hem to return to their party, they
:ound it was something more easily said
hau done. After some time spent in a
. ain search for the right path, they seated
hemselves on a mossy log till Louise
ihould recover breath and strength, and 1
itudied such fragments of constellations
is peered through the branches over
lead, and listened to the lonely pathos of
he whip-poor-will, and made the place
ing with their chorus, not much daunted
iy the situation, Leroy happy enough in
he protracted seclusion which had bealleu
him. Later he had waxed sentinental
and poetical, and she had laughed
it and interrupted his loftiest flights.
"Wereyou ever in love, Miss Dabley?"
he asked.
"Scores of times ; from the age of six.
[sn'tthat everybody's experience ?"
"Not mine," he returned. "I was
lever in love but once."
" And who was the happy creature ?"
he asked, recklessly, thinking he re
1 i. KrtV.V>l
C11CU IV DVU1C UVUUJCV4tUV/J V1U?
"Who was she? Why do yon speak
n the sad imperfect ?"
u Yon don't mean to say? "
*' I mean to say that the only woman
[ ever loved, or shall love, is?"
" Oh, hark!" cried Louise, rising.
* I hear footsteps?pardon the digresicn.
* Lo, the conquering hero comes !'"
he sang. "Oh, Mr. Northcote, how
jhid I am to see you ! I didn't know as
re should get home till morning," as
hat gentleman wa\ed the brand he had
tolen from their gyp9y fire and shouted,
4 Eureka I"
"I didn't know but I was de trop
igain, when I found you aud Leroy takng
it so oozil.y," said Northcote, later,
ib he opened Mrs. "Furniss' garden gate
or lionise to enter, Leroy having been
ilready captured by the hostess. " I
eared 1 had mistaken my vocation, and
jad not been cut out for a discoverer."
"Indeed, I was never so glad to see !
rou in my life."
" Really ? Was it so bad as that ?
" We were so hungry."
" I thought Leroy looked as if he
rould like to eat me."
" I doubt if you would be tender."
" I could be, Miss Dabney. depend on ;
t?both tender and true. There, don't 1
tart. You thought you had escaped
Cliarybdis only to fall upon Scylla.
Jpon my word, I was afraid you would
lave accepted Leroy before I could find
rou."
" You thought I was to be had for the
isking."
" I feared you were not to be had at
01."
" Rnt, wliv shonld von have eare<l if I
rad accepted forty Mr. Leroys ?
44 Because, in the first place, it would
ue a little unusual, and became I
bought you might do better."
44 Thank yoH. I will go in now. Were
there any letters to-night, Mrs. Fur:iss?"
44 Hera are two for Mr. Loring Northrote,
ditto for Miss Mellish, and one?
res, one?for Miss Dabney," replied that
lady.
441 don't know the hand," Raid Louise,
turning it over and studying the postmark.
44 Fairfield. I never heard of
the place before. Some mistake, I fear."
44 Fairfield," repeated Leroy, catching
the word, and speaking on the impulse,
with a heightened color. 44It's anew
summer resort. There's some sort of
water there good for blues and biliousness."
Louise opened the letter.
44 Miss DABXEY"(it began;,?44 You
may think it an intrusion for me to address
you, but I hear that you are staying
at Valley Farm, under the same roof with
Mr. Leroy, and that he is falling a victim
to your cruel spell. I beg you send him
back to me. He is mine ; he is all I
have. I can not live without him. Before
he met you, he was all my own.
Have mercy, and send him back to me
heart-whole 1 What will it signify to
you ??only one conquest the less amoDg
your soores, while it will mean either lifelong
misery or happiness, as you may
choose, to LizetteLaytox."
The gentlemen had gone to the smoking-room,
and the ladies of the house
were chatting merrily about her as she
read. Mr. Leroy had been trembling od ]
the brink of a proposal that very night,
I and yet he was engaged to be married,
i How dared he mention love to her! But
| had she b$$n blameless ? Hadn't she I
j flirted deliberately with another girl's I
I lover? What disaster had she not ?
j wrought in her mad pursuit of an ad- 1
; miration which she did not value! What c
1 should she say to him ? How could she i
| send him back ? At what expense had f
j her vanity been flattered ? Just to prove I
that she was attractive like other women, f
she had worked this wrong. To be sure, ?
she had had no experience to guide her. t
She hod supposed that the boundaries c
of flirtation and love-making were more t
clearly defined. She had never meant t
to make Leroy love her; but, whatever ^
she had meant, it was all one to his poor
foolish Lizette. Her regrets and selfaccusations
beset her so sorely that she
was obliged to leave the gay raillery
about her and take refuge upon the veranda,
where the shadows hid her ; and
leaning her head against the lattice,
where the dew-drenched passion-flowers
shook out their sweetness, the hot tears
filled and overflowed her eyes, and sobs
seemed to tear her heart asunder.
" 'Tears, idle, tears,' Louise," whis- T
pered some one whose neighborhood she 1
had not heedfd. "Can I help you! i
Shall I stay and try ?" i
" Nobody can help me, Mr, North- *
cote I have done such a dreadful thing! 1
I have?yes, I have been flirting with 8
another woman's lover. She has written *
to tell me so?to beg I will send him t
back to her. He is all she has, she says. ^
And 1?I don't care a fig for him ; and s
what shall I do if he asks me to marry t
him, as he may, you know ?" ^
?? Ao Vin TrnnlH Viava rlnnfi if T hadn't t
arrived in the nick of time, to-night." a
" What shall I do ? How shall I send a
him back heart-whole ?" t
" You would avoid the dreaded ques- I
tion, I fancy, if ho were to hear to-mor- c
row that?that you belonged to some- c
body else; that some one had stolen a t
march on him?if he were to hear that e
you belonged?to me." i
" Oh, Mr. Northcote, to you ! You s
don't want to own such a mischief- 1
maker." i
" I want to own you, Louise." ? J
Mr. Leroy, strolling out from the
smoking-room, was petrified by the
shadow of a pair of embracing lovers, E
cast by the late rising moon. " Check- <]
mated, by Jove!" he muttered, reflec- (
tively. " No fun hanging about here
any longer. I had better go back to
Lizette. ?Harper's Bazar.
An Editor's Sanetun
A few mornings ago, just after we had
swept up and made our bed look as
plump as a soda biscuit, we were surprised
at hearing a modest rap at the
door. Callers seldom rap?they usually
kick. When we answered the summons
we found two ladies awaiting entrance.
They told us they'd always had a curiosity
to see how an editor's sanctum looked
and begged the privilege of entering and
j looking 'round. They spent the next
I half hour in extravagant praise of our
j furniture, etc. " How spotlessly clean
he keeps his Brussels carpet?it looks as t
fresh and bright as if it had just come c
from the loom," said one; aud the other n
chimed in with " Yes, and do look how t
sweetly that bed is made up. Those 1
pillows look like snow heaps and the o
symmetrical plumpness of the bed is s
something wonderful." And thus they t
went on, now bestowing the most extrav- t
agant laudations upon our statuary and e
oil paintings, and then going into ecsta- a
cies over the diamond studded chandelier, r
1 k ? -1 ?nrvAn nnr Y
iuejf lUU&CU WlIU IHlUUiauuu u^vu VU1 r
gold-mounted spittons and wondered I
were we got the enchanted 6oap with 1
which our towel had been washed. They I
fairly shrieked their appreciation of our a
l>eautiful lace curtains and stared in mute f
admiration before our golden-framed I
full-length mirror. "Is this indeed an t
editor's quarters, or are we in fairy- a
land?" one of them gasped, and the s
other, sinking on the luxurious sofa, I
sobbed, "I do not know?I am be- a
wildered by the magnificence around me. c
Heiglio ! The above, alas, is merely a v
fable. It is true that we were called a
upon by two ladies, but ye gods ! what a v
spectacle met their gaze. When they a
entered we crawled under the bed among c
the old boots and sardine cans and re- 1
mained there till they left. Their de- ?
risive laughter still rings in oiir ears. 1
Their sarcastic remarks still lacerate our j t
l>osom.?Franklin (Ay.) Patriot. j
A Brave Russian General's Origin. v
The Skobelefis have a singular origin. *
In 1839 the Emperor Nicholas, while at \
a review of his whole army, ordered a , c
| General Skobeleff to select the finest 1
j men in the army to form into a body of
i imperial guards. In the first regiment *
| examined, the general came across a fl
i stalwart young soldier, who far surpassed j
his comrades in appearance. The soldier ! 1
: said that his name was Kobelefl', and that j I
he came from a village in the province ; \
' of Novgorod. The general, upon hear-1c
ing this reply to an inquiry he had made, i
seemed greatly interested, and being '
! told that it was only the youth of Kobe:
leffs that had hindered his advancement ! e
j from the ranks, at once gave orders that t
I he should be made a non-commissioned t
j officer. That evening General Skobeleff, 1
at a dinner given to the officers of the t
1 regiment to which Kobeleff belonged, t
I told an anecdote. He said that many i i
j vears before, when he was a private 11
soldier, he was on guard one day at the j <.
i Winter Palace. While keeping guard j 1
i the empress passed by, and, after ; t
j looking at him a few moments, asked J ?
' him his name. He replied that it was t
! Kobeleff. " Kobeleff," said the empress; i <
: " I don't like the sound of that name ; ; >
for the future you are to be called Skob- jI
eleff." From that time the empressj t
took an interest in his welfare, and ! c
eventually, through her favor, he be- i
came aide-de-camp to the czar. " I have 1
only one more remark to make," said the i
general, " and that is that the young ! 1
; fellow whom I raised to be an officer to-;'
1 day is the son of the brother I left at; c
j home to look after our village home- 1
j stead." The nephew took his uncle's <
i name, and subsequently himself be- 1
came a general. It is his son, "Skob- !1
i eleff the younger," who has just dis- ; 1
tiuguished himself before Plevna. 1
?? i j
About the most uncomfortable seat a 1
| man can have, in the long run. is self- j <
1 conceit. ' j
.'ARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
The Crop of Potatoes.
Many fanners have large crops of
>otatoes that cannot be sold readily.
!fow, what is it best to do with them ?
Shall they be sold for what they will
jring, or is it best to put them in the
jellars? Or in the absence of cellaroom,
is it best to cover them in the
ield ? When they can be sold at a fair
jrofit, my advice is to sell them in the
all; but if they cannot be thus sold,
jither store them in your cellar or bury
hem in the field, and trust to your
hances to be able to sell them during
he winter around home, or to forward
hem to a market early in the spring,
riiere there is transportation by water in
Ipril. Canals are of little benefit to pota068
growers except in the fall, as they
ire not open early enough in the spring.
I great many potatoes can be sold in
ullages and large towns during the
nild weather, and they must be sold
>efore they sprout much, Potatoes are
vorth twenty-five cents a bushel to feed
o stock? raw to cows and horses and
sooked with meal for swine.
To buy potatoes in the field, select a
dace a little elevated and dig down as
ow as you can dram the excavation. It
nay be two feet, one foot, or but a few
ncnes, according to the drain that
rill command it. Suppose that you
lave 200 or 300 bushels to bury, the bed
heuldbe made about eight feet wide
nd as long as necessary, with the potaoes
four or five feet deep in the oenter.
Vhen all are in position take long rye
traw and set it against the two sides of
he heap thick enough to shed rain,
[lien throw earth against the sides of the
ninVi^ innlioa tlll'nV htlt ndllfi
alC DLL U1 jluvuvu VJLi?v?, MVW
it the top where the straw meets, as an
dr hole mnst be left open here till abont
he time when the ground may be ex>ected
to freeze, when a thick covering
>f earth all over must be applied. In
old climates, as in the Northern States,
his covering should be from fifteen to
lighteen inches thick ; and if the straw
b wt^l applied, the potatoes will stand
my weather that may be expected,
[ his system is better than to put them
nto deep pits, as was the custom fifty
'ears ago.?T. B. Miner.
A Valuable Table far Fanners. '
The following table contains the
lumber of pounds in a bushel of the
tifferent articles named :
)f Bran 12 lbs.
Blue grass H '
Shorts 18 "
Dried apples 25 "
Oats 32 "
Dried peaches 33 "
Hemp seed 44 "
Timothy seed 45 "
Caster beans 4G "
Barley 7. 48 "
Flax seed 56 "
Rye 56 "
Shelled oorn 56 "
Onions 57 "
Wheat. 60 "
Clover seed 60 "
Mineral coal 70 "
Salt 75 "
Coruoncob 75 "
Norway Women and Weddings.
The women on holidays turn out in
he old Norse costume, the chief feature
I which is the bodice, which is often
aade of some bright-colored velvet,
urned down in front with white silk,and
aced before and behind, according to
iur author, " with several yards of fine
ilver chain, each chain ending in a silver
>odkin, in order that they may be the
>etter threaded through double rows of
yes (in themselves strikingly pretty
rticles of silver), that run in four linos
ip the back and front of this showy
of Scandinavian haberdashery."
loth men and women are very fond of
[urge bright buttons and of silver or
>lated ornaments. A Norse redding is
lways preceded by a series of presents
rom" the bridegroom to the bride,
rirst, there are about two dozen mealubs
of various sizes,elaborately painted;
nd last and crowning glory of the trouseau,
there is a wonderful clothes-press,
nside, as far as regards drawers large
nd small, and brass pegs and racks for
rockery, it is a marvel of ingenuity;
rhile outside it is a perfect triumph of
rt. The ground tint is a warm bright
'ermilion, painted all over with green
nd yellow scrolls, enlivened with wreaths
>f gorgeous flowers, and piles of briliantly
lined fruit, pleasingly interspersed
rith quaint lover's knots and bleeding
learte transfixed upon Cupid's darts, in
he midst of which are the names and
)irth-dates of the liberal donor and
>li8sful recipient of this magnificent
redding-gift. A Norwegian maiden,
eho is generally as sober as a linnet in
ler ordinary attire, appears on her bridal
lay glittering in all the oolors of the
ainbow. On her long fair hair is set an
intique crown of silver gilt; and her
>odice, stiff as a cuirass, is thickly
tudded with beads, silver-gilt brooches,
aid small mirrors. This bridal adornnent
is too valuable to be the individual
nopertyof any Norse belle, but belongs
o the district, and is hired out for the |
.
About Thiers.
The prints abound now with pen
iketches of Thiers. ' A writer in Applemi's
Journal says of him :?To us he
ippeared a short, thick-set, squareKwi'oHi'nrt.lioirfl/1
nnfmn/rinnfl lit
JVOUCVl, W?,iuu6-U?.v-, ,
Je man, with a good deal of sparkle and !
jood deal of obstinacy, brimming with j
rony and " fightnervous, petulent, J
ineasy, and charged throughout his
liminutive body "with a seemingly inexlaustible
vitality and force?a physical
rait well fitted to his strong, determined,
ind bellicose character. Rather German i
han French in plivsiognomy, he was all
jrallic and Marseillaise in his impetuous j
nvacity and demonstrative manner. |
Most engaging, no doubt, in converse- j
ion, and when talking in the social oirsle
ehowing at once his brightest and his i
nost amiable side, it was evident that he
lest enjoyed political life, especially
vhen that life was freely checkered by a
landemonium of strifes of the forum.
To see him in the tribune, with his cup
>f coffee or his glass of claret bv his side,
lis handkerchief in his hand, and bis
joal-black eyes glaring out from beneath
:he big, square spectacles which he alvays
affected, was to see him when his
fullest force and genius were in play.
Fie was a good hater, and probably never
m orator lived who felt more keenly the
usury of forensic combat than Thiers
lid in his old-time contests with the prim
and austere Guizot-.
A TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER.
The Political Meeting that Ended In a Horrifying
Combat Between on ex-Cnited
States Minister and a Mall Agent.
A writer in a Western paper, giving
some reminescences of Gassins M. Clay,
once United States Minister to Russia,
tells the following story of an appalling
incident in his career : Mr. Clay's duel
with Robert Wickliffe, Jr., grew out of
some remarks made by the latter in a
public speech when they were running
for the Legislature in Fayette county, Ky.
They fought on Mr. Clay's challenge,
ripar Tjcminvillo Mav 15. 1S41. shots be
ing exchanged without effect, owing, Mr.
Clay has always held (since both were
dead shots), to the inferior quality of the
powder employed. His seconds, one of
whom was Albert Sidney Johnston, refused
to cormtenance Clay's demand for
another fire, and the duel ended thus,
but without a reconciliation, Three
years later, when Garrett Davis was running
(in the Whig interest) against
Wickliffe for Congress, Mr. Clay warmly
opposed Wickliffe, and followed him
through the canvass, making a habit of
publicly contradicting Wickliffe when he
spoke. Wickliffe declared that he did
not notice these interruptions because he
thought Clay wanted to fasten another
quarrel on him. Clay declares that
Wickliffe's friends conspired to provoke
him into a brawl at Russell's Cave, where
a political meeting was to be held, August
1, 1844, a mail agent, Samuel M.
Brown, being summoned to Kentucky to
do the work. The meeting was held ;
Wickliffe spoke, and Clay interrupted
his statement with a denial, pulling a
paper from his pocket and announcing
that he was prepared to prove his words.
Brown then called him a liar and struck
at him with an umbrella, Clay retorting
with the butt-end of his whip. Suspecting
a concerted attack, Mr. Clay attempted
to draw his knife, but was
seized and dragged a distance of fifteen
feet. Releasing himself he heard Brown
cry out, " Clear the way," and a line was
immediately opened between them,
Brown with a cocked pistol in his hand
taking deliberate aim at him. Clay advanced
unon him with his knife. Brown
waited until they were within four feet
of each other, and fired. The bullet
struck the silver mounting on the scabbard
of Clay's knife, directly over his
heart He was staggered by the shot,
but reached Brown, and dealt him a terrible
blow directly on the top of his
head, laying the skull open and exposing
the brain. The friends of Brown' again
seized Clay, and caught his arms just
above the elbows, which interfered with
his handling his weapon, but in spite of
it he confinued hacking away at Brown's
head and face, inflicting horrible injuries.
He cut out one of his eyes, split his nose,
cut off an ear and sliced his face in a
dozen places, 60 disfiguring him that his
most intimate friends subsequently failed
to recognize him. Clay himself was
struck with chairs, canes and fists by
outsiders to make him desist, but without
effect, owing to his prodigious
strength, until finally it was found
necessary to throw Brown over an adjoining
fence to prevent his being killed outright.
The last blow Clay aimed at him
struck the top of the fence, and the
mark remained there for many a year.
When the combat was over Clay raised
his bloody kuife aloft and cried out: "I
reiterate my statement, and defy anyone
iu this crowd to dispute it." No one,
however, cared to challenge the accuracy
of his information under the circumstances.
For the offense of mayhem
Mr. Clay was subsequently put on his
trial, bnt Brown's evidence was so
straightforward and truthful that it acquitted
him. Mr. Clay, impressed with
his adversary's manliness, sought a reconciliation,
but Brown rejected all his
overtures. In October, 1845, Brown
was killed in a fearful steamboat exnlnninn
hia son afterwards was an
I ? ,
officer under Clay in the Mexican war
and his warm friend.
The Diamonds of Barmah.
The Indian princes and nobles ure
greedy of diamonds beyond all people,
and there is but one" country in the
world in which any product of nature is
held more precious than this wonderful
combustible gem, whose nature, indeed,
we know, lmt whose genesis is still a
mooted question for science. That conntry
is Burmah, the land of the white
elephant, where the finest rubies sheltered
in the earth's breast are found,
and are rated far above diamonds.
As the King of Siam prizes his cats,
so the King of Burmah prizes the rubies
of his country, jealously prohibiting the
export of them, so that the beautiful
aluminous stones?which do but glow
with a clearer and richer color when ex-!
posed to a fire in which the diamond
would be consumed and disappear?can
only bo procured by stealth or favor of
private individuals.
No European has ever bq^n permitted !
to see the king's wonderful ruby?"the
size of a pigeon's egg, and of extraordinary
quality;" and the sale of the two
magnificent rubies which were brought !
to England in 1875?the finest ever
known in Enrope?caused such excitement
that a military guard had to escort
the persons conveying the package to the
ship.
Five days' journey southeast of Ava
lies the home of the blood-red gems, the
jealous earth in which the people believe
that they ripen, becoming from their
original colorlessness yellow, green, blue
and last of all, the matchless ruby-red.
Next to these rank the rabies which are
found in the Tartar wilds of Badakshan,
and which the people there believe are
always found in pairs. When one of
the seekers has discovered one he will
freoncntlv hide it until its mate be
! found.
Oat of the World.
Some half-dozen Scotchmen passed
l through Duluth, Minn., recently, on !
thei" way from McKensie's river, which |
i is 1,300 miles to the northwest from
; Dnlnth, and which runs to the Arctic
: ocean. They went to that barren country
some ten years ago from the islands
i to the north of Scotland by ship direct
to Hudson's bay, and until they got to
Fisher's Landing, on the St. Paul <fe
Pacific railroad, on the r return, they
1 had never seen a railroad. They knew
; nothing about the Franco-Prussian war,
j in fact they had been practically out of
I the world.
A DESPERATE DEFENSE.
Thrilling Story of the Siege of a Uuitsiaji
Fort in Aula Minor, as Told by One of
the Garrbton.
One of the most remarkable episodes
of the present war, which, however, has
not as yet received all the attention it
deserves, is the defense of the fort of
Bayezid in Armenia by a Russian garrison,
3,000 strong, against a Turkish
army numbering 20,000 men. The Moscow
Gazette gives the following interesting
extracts from the private journal of
one of the officers of the garrison :
"June 10.?The enemy has blockaded
us on all sides, and intercepted the aqueducts.
One cistern and a few bags of
biscuits is all we have to live on. At |
night, by the light of the burning
town beneath us, we saw the atrocities
perpetrated by the Kurds on the help*
lees inhabitants. It was horrible beyond
description. Women and children were
thrust alive into the flames and carried
about the streets on lances, horribly
mutilated and shrieking with anguish.
The sight was so sickening that one of
our officers was quite overcome by it and
had an attack of brain fever that night
June 18.?General assault of the Turkish
forces, which we succeeded in repulsing
towards nightfall. Our rations have
been reduced to half a pound of biscuit
and one glass of water per diem. June
20.?A parlimentaiy came with a sum|
mons for us to surrender. Our com- I
mander answered that being so much
stronger, the Turks could well try and
take the citadel by storm. * * *
June 26.-? Oar ration has been further
diminished to a quarter of a pound of
biscuit and two spoonfuls of stagnant,
rotten water. We suffer terribly from
hunger and thirst. After a day's hard
fighting I am utterly prostrate and
scarcely able to write these few words.
June 28.?For two davs and two nights
we have been exposed to a terrific cannonade.
On the 29th a general assault,
which we repulsed, followed by repeated
injunctions to surrender, to which our
answer was the same as before. July 1.
?Our ration to-day is one-eighth pound
of biscuit and one spoonful of water.
Starvation is approaching rapidly. I
nave seen some ui our meu vun uui
slices of flesh from the half-putrified
carcass of a horse and eat them. . July
L?Again a summons to surrender, this
time written in Russian by a Pole in the
Turkish servioe, Colonel Komarofif. Of
oourse our answer remained unaltered.
July 7.? We have repulsed one more assault.
It is the-last one. We cannot
hold out much longer. Mines are laid
out to blow up the citadel and the garrison.
f It is better so than starve. July
10.?The cannon ! Never has any music
sounded so sweet to eur ears. It is
General Tergukassoff, who comes to save
us. I am so weak that I feel utterly unable
to write or move a finger., But we
are saved.
After the siege had been raised there
remained of the garrison about 2,000
men, who were mostly so utterly worn
out that they had to be carried out of
the citadel The came of the gallant
oommander of this equally gallant garrison
is Captain Stockvitch.
A War Romanee.
The war correspondent of the London
Timet relates this incident of the,battle
of Rasgrad : As the Russians began to
| waver and their fire to slacken as the
Turks were pressing forward with increased
vigor, a young Russian officer
was seen standing just behind one of
| their batteries waving his sword and
I boldly encouraging his men to stand
their ground. Over and over again he
rallied the troops who were pouring out
of the trench, but it was of no use ; it
was not in his power alone to stem the
tide of victory. His men, animated by
his example, turned and held their own
for a few minutes, but the fire was too
heavy for any human thing to stay and
I live. They could not bear it. They fell
on their knees and entreated him to fly,
but not au inch would he stir, and at j
last he stood for more than a minute ab- j
solutely alone, save for the dying and i
the dead piled in heaps around him.
It could only end one way amid the j
storm of bullets which were raining j
around him thick as hail; one at last1
found its way to that noble heart, and he
foil /IoqjI a a fVio TSirba Rwent over the !
parapet and dashed past the spot where
he lay, the colonel, struck by the boy's
extraordinary courage and devotion, gave
orders that he should be decently buried.
In the evening he reported to the com-1
mander-in-chief that the body was that
of a girl. I give this most astounding
declaration of the colonel upon the authority
of one of the English officers of ,
the serdar's staff, who tells me that he j
was really present when it was made. It j
seems almost incredible; but, true or!
false, no braver heart ever beat than now i
sleeps in that little grave on the sonny
slope of Kacelyevo.
More Telephonic Discoveries
Still another development of the powers
of the telephone has been made. An
experiment in New York demonstrated i
that the current of one telephone would j
divide itself into numerous smaller cur- j
rents, sufficiently strong for at least six :
telephones, a discovery unparalleled in j
the science of telegraphy. Connections ;
were made between the central office and
six other places in the city, and a cornetj
played in the central office was distinctly ;
heard in the other six offices.
A rather embarrassing discovery was
made the other day. "Whilst putting up
a new line, the person engaged in the
work accidentally dropped the wire of a
lino between a business establishment
and the residence of one of the proprietors,
and overheard a conversation between
an employee, at the place of busi:
ness, and the wife of the proprietor, at
j home. Fortunately no dangerous secrets
were betrayed.
Thirty - one miles from Colorado
Springs, starting out by the grand Uta
pass road, is to be found one of the
greatest curiosities of the continent?a
grove of mammoth trees in stone, theremains
of some extinct forest of primeval
times. These trees lie just on the edge
of the South park, and are accessible by
good roads. The group first discovered
and best known is a natural grove of im- j
mense trees, from fifteen to sevantoeu
feet in diameter and forty to fifty feet in j
circumference, ' i
Aii Expeditions Poet*
At ft social party in Virginia Oity,
Nov., say8 the Gold Hill News, Sam
Davis bet an ovster snpper with one of
the gentlemen that Capt Jack Crawford
could, in less than fonr minutee, write
acrostics on the first names of any fonr
ladies in the room. The fonr names
were selected and .handed to the poet
scout, and in twelve minutes and nine
seconds the following productions were
finished
Esteemed and most bewitching little creature
Truth and honesty I see in every trace ;
'Tis sweet to watch the sunshine in each feature
And say, may heaven bless your pretty face
Louise, I scarce know what to say,
Or how to write fair girl of you ;
Unknown by me until to-day,
I'm rare I can't tell what to do,
Bo strange we meet, so strange we part,
'E'en as heart oft speaks to heart
Rose, sweet Rose ! Fairest of your sex!
Oh, how sparkle those blue eyes of thine;
Sweet your face, without one care to rex ;
Esteemed by all the good and meet divine.
Henrietta, fair, bewitching!
Ever bright be thy sweet face;
Never may thy life be clouded,
Radiant beams life's pathway trace.
In the future may with gladness
Ever be thy prospects bright
Till the traces of all sadness
Turn and leave your heart to-night?
Anxious, waiting heart goodridght
Items of Interest.
A difficult lock to pick?One from i
bald head.
A woman in Ohio recently married her
eighth husband.
Kansas is almost exactly in the center
of the United States.
A householder advertises rooms to let
to gentlemen furnished with gpi.
The Forty-fifth Congress oontains one
hundred and seventy-five lawyers.
In Los Angeles, CaJL, they mash
grapes and feed them out to the oees.
" That's only a wedding trip, " said the
groom, as he stumbled over the bride's
trail.
About thirty-three millions of dollars
of fractional silver have gone into circulation.
, ..
. At San Antonio, Texas, the citizens
have requested the maydr to allow bullfighting.
A woman in Polo Pinto, Texas, gave
birth to a child on a Thursday sadbon the
following Saturday gave finth^/o two
CQ0r6, ? i !!?? ?
When a man and woman are made one,
the question is: " Which orient* ^Sometimes
there is a long struggle between
them before the matter is settled. <
In many parts of Australia the gradual
disappearance of the natives an^ their
doge has led' to an immense increase in
the herds of kangaroos. '
A grave old man told his son that if he
did not grow less dissipated he would
shorten his days. "Then, dad," said
the boy, " I shall lengthen . vgrJiighta."
It is estimated that over. 150^000 persons
in this country are engaged in the
keeping of bees. This includes farmers
and others who make the production of
honey a portion of their occupation.
The Boston common cottiMul recently
resolved, by a vote of thirty-six to nineteen,
that no wines, cigars, lager, cider
or mineral water shonld be famished at
entertainments or with refreshments
paid for by the city. * >d
San Francisco has the first W9d the
only endless wire-rope street railways.
The cars stop and start easily, and ran
more rapidly than horse-cars. In eastera
cities the frost and snow of Winter
would render them useless, but in San
Francisco they promise to entirely supersede
horse cars. ; 4Ti
She sat upon the parlor lounge,
4nS William, he sat bv her. *
And neither spoke a single word,r
Bat both g&zed in the fire,
At last he clasped her dimpled hkxtd,
And told her of hi* love, H.
And swore he woold be true to. kar,
By moon and stars above.
He said he oonld not live without?
Before he coald say more
Her dad came in, and with a dab
Enticed him oat the door. h * t *
A (California papor describee )" the
latest tiling out " as a new home-shoe
mode out of tliree thicknessesc/ rawhide,
compressed together by" lieavy
pressure. It is said to last longer,
weighs only one-fourth as modi as the
common shoes, never splits the-hoof,
and has uo bad influence on the foot
It is so elastic that the horsey step is never
uncertain. This will remind the
farmers who drove cat Me and - horses
across the plains in early days of the
fact, now almost forgottten, that this is
no new invention, for the cattle, and
liorses, too, were often shod with shoes
made out of buffalo hide, cut from the
neck, where the skin is almbet an inch
thick .jirM
Stanley's White Companions.
The two companions selected by Mr.
Stanley to accompany him on hfs long
and adventurous journey through Africa
were two young Englishmen, brothers,
named Francis and Edward Pocock, and
Frederick Barker. In all his letters
from the interior Stanley writes of these .
in the warmest terms of friendship ; and
a perusal of the letters of the Pocoeks
shows clearly that this feeling was reciprocated
heartily by them. The
melancholy fate of these brave Englishmen,
so far from their homes and
t.imi'ir foctii ft aVio/inw over the bright
iauuij | vwvw w -fT?L-? U ,? ^ ^
ness of Stanley's success. All three
have fallen victims to duty, and their
young lives have been tributes to the
cause of science, which their oountrymen
cannot fail to remember. J?o fi.
in their lonely graves near the south
shore of the Victoria Nyanza, and the
other in the depths of Congo, in which
river he was lost by beinu swept over
the falls of the Massasa on the 8d of J one.
Though separated in body by the broad
plains ana forests of Africa, brave
spirits such as theirs must dwell in
happy union in the other life. Their
letters fronp African-first from the two
brothers, and then from the survivorhave
attracted considerable attention on
account of the unaffected honesty of
style and filial piety that characterized
them.