The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, April 13, 1886, Image 6
In some parts of Vermont, last year,
foxes were so numerous as to make the
raining of turkeys a risky business. There
are almost as many foxes in some places
in New England now as there were fiftj
years ago. ;
Miss Sarah A. Hughes, of Raleigh, N. 1
C., was ordained recently by Bishop M.
M. Turner, of the Africau Methodist
i I
Episcopal church. She is a bright niul- j
lato, well educated, and is, it is believed, J
the first colored woman preacher in the 1
world. 1
- t
The civil engineers of New York have t
decided that the Egyptian obelisk in i
Central Park will have to be housed and
kept at an even temperature to prevent
disintegration. Five years' residence in j *
New York hsis chnncrcd the obelisk more I 1
than 3,500 in Egypt. *
====================== t
Dakota is well scattered over with col- d
lapsed people from the east, who, ruined ?
by speculation, arc endeavoring to grow (i
up new fortunes with the country. Gen- :
erally they have little knowledge of agri- a
culture and no adaptability for the new 3
life. As a consequence they are pretty a
miserable. N
- 1 1 -- i
The United States Marine Band at r
"Washington, in addition to playing on *
the "marine parade" twice a day, fur- t
nishes all the music at the "White House, {l
and at the receptions of the secretary of e
the navy, according to an old usage.
The bandmaster, Prof. Sousa, composes
a new piece for each "grand occasion.n w
T? D. Curtis, of Syracuse, says there
are 16,000,000 cows in the United States.
The money value of their yearly product 8!
is $1,000,000,000, and the total cost ol ?'
the land and plant necessary for their sup- g
port $3,800,000,000. Last year 00,000,- a
000 pounds of imitation butter were sold C!
from a capital of $2,000,000. This is ,1
hurting the dairy interests.
Thomas A. Edison is thought to have *
cleared two millions out of his electrical ^
inventions. His purchase of a rural resi- A
dence at $400,000 cash, to take his bride u
to, is regarded by his intimate friends as t
no great extravagance. In appearance g
he is a clean-shaven man, youthful in face, *
and so nearly deaf that a talker has little o
Cun in making himself understood. tl
================= a]
v At the recent annual convention of the j{
National Sugar-growers' association, at n
St. Louis, it was shown that the amount
of gold and silver sent to foreign countries
from this for sugar has exceeded the p
amount of money coined at home in one A
hundred years. "And no better sugar f<
than we can make right here in Mis- L
sourij" says the St. Louis Jtepublican. t
1" a
A petroleum region about one hundred n
miles long and from ten to seventy miles e
wide has been discovered in Wyoming ter- r
ritory, north of Rattlesnake Hills. Near n
Independence Rock, on the Sweetwater v
route of railroad, are lakes which con- j(
tain ninety per cent, of pure soda, "no r
bottom" to which has been found to a a
depth of forty feqt. By pipe lines and j
projected railways Denver is in expecta- ?
, . tion of reaping the usufruct of these val- f
uablc natural productions, as well as of o o
largely increased live stock trade. b
n
Notwithstanding the sweeping destruc
tion of cattle during the war, says the
Nashville American, there are ten highly
bred animals to-day in the south where ^
there was one in 1800. The stock men
of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and
other southern Stfitns. wIikpa nnturni . .
, ?
grasses would flourish, entered with a ^
zeal and energy into this business, which j
has wrought great results. The south a
has now over eight hundred millions of 0
dollars invested in milch cows, oxen and v
other cattle, sheep, hogs, horses and 0
# mules, Fully one-fourth of all the live s
stock in the United States is owned in c
the south.
* Housekeeping in Japan has few trials, a
according to a lady writing from that ^
country. She says: "I do not visit my
kitchen once a month, never give an or- ^
der outside of a spoken wish, yet the do- a
mestic machinery moves with an ease and a
perfection unattainable at home by al?? 8
most any effort on the part of the mis- a
tress. The manners of the servants are c
amusing, mot to say startling. Every ^
night at bedtime our five retainers ap- s
pear, prostrate themselves in succcssion 0
to the earth, and retire. This is to wish *
me good-night and to renew their testi- a
mony of profound respect and pleasure *
over the privilege of serving me." 0
f ===== i
Last year the Signal and "Weather Bu- 0
reau announced that special weather pre- ?
dictions would be telegraphed to any *
__1 - fi * " - -
piucc, provmca tne residents thereof
-would provide a set of flag signals and
make arrangements to notify the neigh* t
borhood with them of the predicted I
changes in the weather. The people of c
a large number of towns and villages, es- r
pecially on the sea and lake coasts, act- c
ing upon the suggestion, bought the (
necessary flags And in ado tho necessary 1
arrangements. Recently tho Beeond Con- *
troller decided that no telegrams could t
bo paid for out of appropriations for the <
observation and report of storms "except (
for reports at stations.* Under this de 1
cision the Signal and Weather Bureat t
has discontinued the special telegrams tc 1
particular places, confining its announce *
V? ments to the regular general bulletins. 1
The New York police justices report
that last year there were 75,042 arrests
made, of which number 64,350 vrere
moles and 20,692 females, the usual proportion.
Of these 53,683 were held for
trial and 108 cases are still pending. The
rest were discharged as innocent. The
justices in their prefatory remarks complain
that there has been little or no
improvements in public morals during
;he past year. <4It is the same aad
itory," to quote their words, "again
epeated, of misery and suffering which
;vcr attends crime, and emphasized by
ke aggregation of figures suggestive of
ts extent.1'
"What is the natural term of a carp's
ife? The question is suggested by the
announcement bj the Berlin papers that
i fish of this kind has been taken from
he Spree at the age of 26*8 years. Some
lays ago a fisher was plying his vocation
irhen, like his olden predecessors, he was
avored with a mighty draught. His
atch consisted of a carp beneath whose
louth a ring was found attached.
Scratches upon the ring, we are told,
lake it clear that the fish was placcd in
he water in the year 1618, or nearly two
nd three-quarters centuries ago. This
cnerable inhabitant of the Spree
reighed thirty-six pounds, and measured
hundred centimeters in length and
eventy-eight centimeters in circumfernce.
The American birds will feel an unronted
security this summer on account
f the efforts made for their protection.
'Perhaps the most sensible move made
gainst the slaughter of birds for millin- J
ry purposes," asserts the Boston Travel- t
-, "has been started by the Ornitholoists'
Union, which has organized a committee
on the protection of North Amerian
birds for the purpose of obtaining ^
tatistics and facts on the subject as well
a to agitate. This is commendable. 11
1
lefore denouncing every hat trimmed
dth feathers it will be well to investi- s
ate whether the birds are in reality CJ
jnerican songsters or are not charming *
nitations manufactured from the plum- 1
ge of the American hen. Most of the 1
orgeous real birds in the millinery trade 1
re imported from South Amcrica and 1
ther tropical countries, and their fea- c
liers are wrought into many different 0
tapes by skillful designers. But there 11
i nothing more highly appreciated in
lillinery than the American cock." 1
?? v
The statement is made in some Euro- 1
ean papers to the effect that the Russian v
Jisma, or water plantain, is a remedy v
or hydrophobia. The roots are collected h
a August, dried, grated and spread on t
read and butter. Two or three doses :i
re taken in this manner, night and .i
norning, and a cure is supposed to be tl
ffected. The efficacy attributed to this h
emedy is wholly imaginary. The Alis- 1
aa family is a group of aquatic plants, s
rhich grows in still water, with tapering ?
saves resembling those of plantain, and t
ather handsome flowers. Twenty years
go Rev. C. A. Johns, an accomplished '
English botanist, wrote of thTs plant:
'The solid part of the root contains
arinaceous matter, and, when deprived S(
f its acrid properties by drying, is eaten \
y the Kalmucks. From some fanciful |;
otion that the fearful disease, hydro- c
hobia, could be counteracted by watei
ilants, Alisma was idly pitched on as a s
pecific by empiries, but it is now no
>nger in repute."
. f(
Hu-Tow-Tai, a great Chinese specnla- (j
ar, and probaly the richest merchant in s
tie empire, died recently at Hang Chow. n
lis progress through life may have been
s prosy and uninteresting as that of any s
ther common millionaire, but his funeral
ras the loudest and one of the grandest t
n record. At the head of the procesion
a number of coolies trudged along ti
arrying little scraps of paper upon which 1S
hort sentences full of wisdom and sound n
dvice were traced in pencil. Then fol- w
awed a crowd of lantern bearers, the
interns fastened at the end of long
amboo canes. After them came a small jj
rmy of musicians with gongs, symbals
nd trumpets, making noise enough to s
care the sulphur and brimstone out of Q
11 the wicked spirits within range. Next .
ame a few hundred little boys, each g
lolding in his hand some weapon of
trange form intended for the slaughter
f evil-disposed devils. The bearers of j
he family tablets with the names of the
,'ncestors of the deceased marched after (
he boys. Next in the procession, altars
n wheels appeared loaded with choice ^
ruits, the last one bearing the portrait ^
f the deceased. After these altars, two
[roups of priests presented themselves, t
he first dressed in white robes, richly t
mbroidered, and the second in scarlet
nd yellow. Between these two groups .
here was a crowd bearing lanterns, flags,
>arasols and fans, together with all sorts ^
>i queer tilings, i ne master 01 cere- I
nonies rode on horsebaek, and was; ^
tressed from head to foot In white, the ^
Chinese mourning. Behind him was a
arge white tent carried along by strong
nen, and in this the relatives concealed j ^
heir woe. At last the coffin came in I
tight mounted npen a magnificent hearse'1 ^
>rnamented in the most-gorgeous style, j ^
md borne along upon the shoulders *61 ?
wenty-five men. A large number of ^
nandarins dressed in their official robes,
md carried in Japanese chain, closed the ^
procession.
t
A V . , V y."
v.'.'.,-V,:". v> ^ A-:
J
* \ ' : > * ^.Vv ' '
How to Lire.
TjIvo for good that >ou may do;
For the errors you may fight;
For tbo aid that you can give;
For'the needs you can relievo;
For the wrongs that you muy righfcl
Livo thus?God will prosper you.
Live for brave and noble deeds,
With an aim and purjx>se high,
With a faith and courage true,
With a future still in view,
Resting, when you come to die,
On God's love. To heaven it leads.
Live, affliction to console,
Giving strength unto the weak,
Giving hope to dumb despair,
Like an answer to a prayer;
Be a help to those that seek,
Comforter to heart and youl!
Live to learn, and to be wise.
And to scatter what you know;
Live to sweeten sorrow's cup,
And to lift the fallen up;
Live for vice's overthrow,
And to rescue truth from lies!
Live to say: "Thy will bo done!"
Even though it seem unjust
To your dim, imperfect sight;
"What He doeth must l?e right.
Keep a firm, unwavering trust,
Doubting none and questioning none.
Live, that men may all be won
To be folio Wei's of the Light;
Live in fellowship of love;
Live so that, when called above,
And you bid the world "Good-night!"
God shall welcome you: "Well done!"
?George Dirdseye.
THE FOUNTAIN.
Out of the shadows of the garden two
>cople came into the moonlight, and
caned over the little chain that encircled
he small fountain, into whose basin a
uarhle Ilebe continually emptied her
ver-brimming cup.
As the girl looked down into the water
icr fingers trifled with a lily, and she renarked
that one of the leaves had been
iroken. It is strange how we notice
uch small things when we are thinking
f greater ones; yes, and remember them,
oo. Ever after Lina Miehcl remembered
hat broken lily leaf, and the fluttering
eflcction in the water, and the scent of
he roses, and the few wind-blown drops
hat. were east vpon her neck from the '
up of the llebe at the fountain in that
Id garden at Munich, on that sweet
tridssuinmer night.
The young man stood vbry near her.
Ie had a sweet, grave face, and eyes that
t*ere as soft and dark as a gazelle's,
"hey were not unlike?, these two; both
fere spirituelle?both were dark, both
fere romantic. The tie of blood was
ictween them, for they were cousins,
hough, as the Scotch folk say, "far
way cousins," and bearing different
ames. They had been brought up unler
one roof, and Lina Michel's mother
iad been all the mother the little orphan
Ienri Ivlebcr knew. When, after a little
ilence, she turned her eyes toward him,
he looked into his without reserve, just
s a sister might.
"It is cruel of grandpapa," she said.
'It is very cruel, Ifenri. These old peoilc
think only of money. Why can they
ot let us have peace, when we could be
[> happy? It is such an absurd idea.
rou and I to marry each other! We arc
ke brother and sister. Nothing can
hamre that."
''But we tire not brother and sister,"
iiid lie; "and even first cousins marry. I
ave been thinking that?"
"Oh, don't, don't!" she said?"Henri,
or Heaven's sake, don't begin to be as
ad as the rest. Be my good brother
till. It would be frightful for us to
larry. Besides, one should fall in love
rst?should not one? Think how aburd
to marry without that."
"But I like you so much," said Henri.
'Dear Cousin Lina, let us talk about it."
"I will not," said she. "If you desire
o quarrel, you can talk about such fool?ll
flinfi/1*; Rflf. Of mitNl' n lilro
, ?? > ?
ie; of course, I like you, and that is just
rhy it can't be. Grandpapa ought to be
shamed of himself."
She paused a moment, then turned her
ips toward her cousin.
"Give me a kind kiss, brother Henri,"
aid she, "and never, never, never speak
f this "bsurdity again. As for marryig,
I shall never marry any one. Why
hould I, when I detest the thought?"
Henri gave a little sigh.
"I shall never marry either, Cousin
jina," said he; "but you see we are not
rother and sister. You can't make it so
iy saying so."
Then he kissed her and they walked
>ack into the house, where Grandpapa
[leber and Granduncle Michel had just
ettled the matrimonal prospects of these
wo young cousins to their own satisfacion.
The result of the young people's rebcll- 1
an was a quarrel.
Lina cscaped very easily. It was only |
iroper for a girl to be coy; but the young 1
lan was so beset with reproaches that ho
inally defied his relatives much as Ajax
[id the lightning.
In his case the lightning had the best
>f it, and the end of all this was that one
ine morning Henri Kleber found himself
urned out into the world to seek his forune;
and long ere his cousin's black eyes
vere opened upon the dawn, had left
funich and his furious relatives behind
lim.
From that day nothing was heard of
urn by his friends in Munich for many a
ong year. x
T' v : , * - v-. ' O- "V ' ;i V "
Tlic old people were unforgiving.
Grandfather Klober died and left all his
money to Linn, who had already refused
two excellent matches. Grand uncle
Michel died also, and Lin a became yet
richer. At last her beloved mother also
left her. She long remuincd Linn Michel,
though her beauty and her wealth had
brought many suitors to her door. The
love that she had thought necessary to
marriage?the mysterious, wonderful love
?had never come to her; and now she
believed that it never would, for she was
eigh-t-aud-twenty. But, somehow, ever
since the morning when she awoke and
found that her cousin Henri was gene,
her memories of him had grown more
sweet and tender with cverv vear.
She traveled two years unci heard nothing
of her Cousin Henri, and at last
found herself in Paris, at the liight of its
gay season, and there rested a dove who
had not found her olive branch.
There is no place to dream like a picture-gallery;
no place like Paris for pictures.
Lina Michel spent many hours with
her eyes fixed on painted faces that she
never saw, for the living face that haunted
her; but one day she awoke to a wondrous
interest in a small picture which
hung in a small dealer's gallery in which
she found herself.
It was a simple scene. A moonlit garden,
the distance dying into undefined
shadows, a fountain into which a Hebe
emptied her cup, and by the fountain's
brim a youth and a young girl. The
moonlight kissed her face. His was not
seen. lie bent toward her, lover-like.
His hand touched hers, and hers rested
on one of the little posts that held an encircling
chain about the fountain. These
were crowned with lilies, and as she
looked closer, she saw that one had a
broken leaf.
It was the garden of her grandfather's
old house at Munich. And this was
more thau chance. Was there such a
thing as magic, or had some artist watched
Henri and herself on the night when
she made that miserable mistake? For
that was Henri, and surely that blackhaired
girl was not uniikc herself.
"Is this picture for sale?" she asked
the dealer.
rie snruggew 111s siiou liters.
"I think the artist is mad," he said.
''This is the first picture any one has
wanted to buy, and he refuses t(^ sell it.
Perhaps a pricc sufficient will tempt him;
but if I give his address the lady will remember
my commission?"
The lady promised faithfully to do so.
"It is a wretched street?he is very
poor," said the dealer, and gave her the
number written on a card. "The fifth
floor," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Linn Michel stepped into her carriage
and soon, followed by her maid, climbed
the stairs of a dingy dwelling, rapped
upon the door that bore the word "Atelier"
upon it.
In a moment a man with a long beard,
who held a palette in his hand, opened
the door for her, and stood regarding the
apparition of a closely-vailed lady attended
by her maid, with some surprise.
"I speak to the painter of the picture
at Monsieur s," said the Fraulein
Michel. "The garden and fountain. I
desire to purchase it at any price."
"Madame," replied the artist, "I regret
to say that picture is not to be sold."
"But I must have it," said the lady.
< <T ?i?n <?nvflnnr? ^
-
"I um poor," said the artist, "but it
lias no price."
"Listen, sir,." said the lady. "It is
more than a picture that I want?it is a
reminiscence. It is like a?a place that
I know. I beg for it. I implore you to
sell it to me."
"Madame," said the artist, "I see you
have a heart. I will speak plainly. Long
ago I stood with the only woman I ever
loved, beside that fountain?a fountain
in an old garden in Munich. I was a
young idiot. I did not even know my
own heart; but I know it now. I have
known it for years. One day the memory
of the spot and of the hour returned to
me as if by magic. I painted the picture
in a few hours. Then again she stood
before me. I saw the moonlight on her
face. I saw her white hand lying in
mine. I saw the whole picture. Never
before could I put it upon canvas. I
know I never can again. And, Madame,
while I live, I must look upon that picture.
When I die, I must cast my last
glance upon it. I shall never see her
again. Long since she has become the
wife of some one she loves well, no
doubt; but I?I shall never love any
other. So I must keep her picture; I
must. You see that, Madame."
A nrl no Ua T 1 1 1
1*9 i*v o|iuiVLj ijllUl iUlt'HUl K11CW
Heuri Klebor?knew him despite the
flowing beard and all the changes of
twelve long years. And as he ceased,
she threw back her vail and held both
her hands toward him.
"Henri," she sighed, "Henri 1 Oh
Henri, do you not know me?" And then 1
he had clasped her in his arms, and she
lay sobbing on his bosom.
mi ii ? - - - -I
w nun mey siooa Dcside the fountain
in the old garden at Munich again, they 1
were man and wife.
' Hope on, hope ever," is the motto of I
the man who does no advertising; the :
man who advertises has no time for such <
sentimentality; he is kept busj pocket- <
ing the receipts. i
A Talk With a Taxidermist.
"We will undertake to preserve and
fix up any kind of a bird or animal, from
a humming-bird to an elephant," said n
taxidermist to a reporter for tb^ New
York Mail and Express recently, "and, I
might just well add, from a bee to mammoths."
"Are there many in this eity who pursue
your art?"
"About twenty. Too many altogether
for any of us to do any decent business.
It is not an easy trade to learn. Sometimes
a man may accomplish it in a few
months; sometimes it will take a much
longer time; it depends upon the natural
good judgment and dexterity of the pupil.
A little carelessness or want of skill
will often spoil a job. In the preparation
of our subjects we use a large
amount of arsenic in a powdered form.
During the manipulation this powder is
shaken into the air and is inhaled by t,lic
operator. As arsenic is an accumulative
poison it will remain in the system until
there is enough to cause serious results.
Very often a man is compelled to quit
the business in order to save his life.
Life insurance companies hesitate to take
risks on men engaged in our business.
Arsenic is used to preserve the skin, fin
and feathers of birds and animals. Several
substitutes for this poison have beeu
tried, but none of them have been found
to be any good."
"What do you most work on?"
"We drive a thriving business in the
canary bird line. People bring their little
birds here to have them stuffed. The
owners are mostly ladies, and you can
imagine what a comfort it is to have theii
little feathered pets preserved in such i>
manner that their beauty and form oJ
feather can be seen and admired long
after their sweet voices are hushed.
"Love-birds are preserved in great
numbers. Cardinals are somewhat rare.
and their plumnge is so bright-colored
and beautiful, that when they die they
arc seldom thrown away. There fs always
a ready market for them, and wc
will pay good prices for them. Lov
birds are brought to us in pairs. It it
customary when one of these affectionate
little things die to bring its dead body
and the living mate to us. We kill the
live bird and preserve the two together."
"Could the skin of a man be stuffed?"
"Certainly in the same manner that a
monkey's skin is. I would undertake
the job, but it would cost a great deal ol
money. They say that the human skin
is very much like the skill of a hog, and
that if subjected to a tanning process it
would be very thick and strong?the
same as the hog leather which is used foi
saddles and trunks."
A Check on Watchmen.
"There has been a great demand ol
late years for a clock that wo'uld record
the going and coming of night watchmen
in factories, hotels and other large buildings,"
said a manufacturer. "You may
provide a building liberally with fireescapes,
but they arc of little use if tht
watchman, being asleep, neglects to givt
the alarm when the fire breaks out. Thus
the best of all precautions is the 'electric
watchman's clock and register.' Watchmen
are no better than other mortals,
they will grow weary and sleepy, and
some of them vfould rather doze all night
in an arm-chair in some snug corner than
march their appointed rounds. But the
clectric clock and register is an invention
that serves as the most potent stimulus
to the watchman to make him go his
rounds.
It is so arranged ns to serve for any desired
number of stations, 'and controlling
from one to ten watchmen if necessary.
At each station the watchman inserts a
key and gives one full turn. This makes
its unfailing record on a blank which is
locked inside the clock in the office, and
whiph ifl an r\lnpnfl +l*af wn4-/>U
II M.WM ?W MV |??l?VVV KIAUW ilU U U V^UlUiUlj
however ingenius or sly, can tamper with
it. The record wlu n taken out in the
morning shows exactly what stations the
watchman visited in the night and the
time of his visits."?New York Mail and
Express.
Damp Beds.
The London Lancet, referring to the
death of Mr. Maas, the well-known tenor, i
calls attention to the peril of sleeping in
a damp bed. As a matter of fact, this
peril is of the greatest, and it is almost
ever-present. The experienced travelei
rarely hazards the risks of sleeping between
sheets, which are nearly sure to
be damp, until they have been aired under
his personal supervision at a fire in
his bed room. If this be impracticable,
he wrap9 his rug around him, or pulh
out the sheets and sleens between the
blankets?a disagreeable btlt often prudent
expedient. The direst mischief may
result from the contact of an imperfectly
heated body with sheets which retain
moisture. The body heat is not sufficient
to raise the temperature of t'he sheets to a
safe point, and the result must be disastrous
in the extreme if, as is sure to happen,
the skin be cooled by contact with
a surface colder than itself and steadily
abstracting heat all the night through.
There is no excuse for the neglect of
proper precaution to insure dry beds.
Servants are never to be trusted in this
matter, and the managers of hotels, even
of the beat description, are singularly
careless in respect to it.?Scientific Amir
.. . . ^ ; '
I , '* ' 1' . ' i ' ' i V '
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
Statistics are said to show that over
ninety per cent, of mad dogs are re!
trievers, or animals so-called, and that
j mongrels are much more liable to hydroI
phobia than dogs of pure breed.
j Tlte generation of heat by friction has
j been applied in England to the produc
tion of a friction still, with which survivors
of shipwrecks may obtain steam
and fresh water from sea-water without
I the aid of tire.
A paper machine shipped from South
j Windham, Conn., recently, weighed
i *niicty-Jive tons, and is declared to be
J the largest machine of the kind ever
. tnanufneturcd in the east. Nine freight
cars were reouired for it? uiii>nt>/>?f
I It is computed that a twelve-inch wall
j of hard-burned bricks and good lime
and sand mortar could be built 1000 feet
1 high before the Ixittom layers would bo
i crushed. If Portland cement were added
to the mortar t^ie height might reach
2700 feet.
A comparative statement of the death
rate in England and Wales in the two
decennials periods 1871-1880 and 18011870
has just been published, and shows
a decrease of 1100 deaths a year in each
million inhabitants. The deaths from
diphtheria and fevers supposed to be
due to unhealthy surroundings were
greatly reduced in number.
The Paris Figaro has published an article
on the "manufacture of skeletons,"
in which the writer says that just outside
of Paris there is an establishment wherehuman
bones of all sorts are collected.
and after being carefully prepared are
fastened together with wires, and when
the work is done it is impossible even for
the scientific eye to detect anything
wrong in a skeleton that has been made
up from the bones of several different individuals.
Perhaps no more striking illustration
of the wonderful reproductive powers of
certain insects could be given than that
contained in a new work by Mr. Theodore
Wood, an English entomologist. Itis
assumed, first, that 100 aphides weigh
110 more collectively than a single grain;,
and secondly, that only a very stout man
can weigh as much as 2,000,000 grains. A
Then it is found that if multiplication
were entirely unchecked, the tenth brood
alone of the descendants of a single aphis
would be equivalent in point of actual
matter to more than 500,000,000 very
stout men, or one-third of the human
: population of the globe supposing each
| person to weigh 280 pounds.
An Under-waiter Boat.
A boat has already been invented, and
is actually in existence, which can sink
below the surfaee of the water at will
and travel many miles entirely out of
sight; and many keen and fertile brain^^
are at work perfecting the horrible
vention. Such a vessel, on sighting a
hostile fleet or vessel, would immediately
dive down and make for her foe unseen,
and absolutely impervious to attack.
Her enemy can not tell where she is, 01
when she may blow her to pieces. She
has absolutely no means of defense.
Flight is her only resource. The difficulty
the undcr-watcr boat has to contend *
with is that of seeing through the water.
Even now there arc signs of the solution
of the problem, but even if it is not overcome
the boat can rise to the surface
when she likes, take a fresh observation
of her enemy's whereabouts, and dive
down again preparatory to the final blow.
A few such boats would be more terrible
lo a hostile fleet than a whole row ot
ironclad forts. They would be an intangible,
haunting danger that would
demoralise the stoutest heart.?All the
Year Round.
The Weaker Force Generally Worsted.
From Gen. Buell's "Shiloh Reviewed'*
in the Century we quote as follows r <
"Nowhere in history is the profane idea
that in a fair field fight, Providence is on
the side of the strongest battalions, more
uiu iui uny au^uiiuuu liihh in our civil war.
It presents no example of the triumph of
15,000 or even 20,000 men against 25,000. r
It affords some such instances where the
stronger force was surprised by rapid and
unexpected movements, and still others
where it was dircctcd with a want of
skill against chosen positions strengthened
by the art of defence; but nowhere
else. The weaker force is uniformly defeated
or compelled to retire."
Unable to Tell.
"Hello, Ned! You've been getting
married, have you?"
"Guess I have, Tom."
"Good move, I suppose? Father-io~
law well off ?"
"I hope so."
"Hope so! Why, don4 you know?"
"Nothing definite. You see, he died
about two weeks ago, and we haven't
any information from him yet as to
whether he's well off or not."?Y<mker*t
Qazettt.
- ) A '
He Was In a Hurry.
"Do not intercept me, or del&y me a
moment." said a crentleman to si friend
j "for I am in an awful hurry/7 V
"What's the matter,'r replied hi?
friend. I ^
"Oh, nothing, only I have just bought
my wife a new bonnet ana I Want to got
home bcfoie the style c^an^es."?Ccni
PreUet. Ik <
I