Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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' . a- :/V j .-^rv . - - . ' . , .? x \ : _ A Fragments . < "What if, while I sit here a'one, A voice I have not heard for years Should gr et me in the low swuet tono That once was mu&io to my ears; And I should stark from memory's sway, And, turning, ilud you sitting there "Unchanged, as though 'twere yesterday Your feet went tripping down the sta r. Or if, upon some summer day. 'Mid song of birds and hum of bees, I should go down the wuodland way To our old tryst beneath the trees; And, starti 'g back in glad surprise, I should bohold you waiting th re, The o'd light shining in your eyes? The sunlight taugled in your hair. In vain I shall not fog the glow Of wine-brown eyes or catch the smilo "Of ruby lips; but yet I know That you are near mo all tho while. For I so loved you in that ran;e Of sunny years that my poor heart "Would bleed afresh and count it ft range To think God hold us far apart And so, when evening shadows creep And night falls softly o'er tho lea. "You toutfh my oyelids and I sleop, And sleeping, dream o 'leaven and thee. And when some summer morn shall break ; That flnds mo chilled by death's cold dew, j You need but kiss me, I shall wake, And waking be in heaven with you. ?Jean Inglcsido. j THE ASTROLOGER'S DUPE! A little old woman, gray-haired and | trembling, sat a little while ago in the j back ollice of a Wall-street stock broker, i Her gaze was fixed on a wide blackboard, where chalk figures showed tho drift of stock market quotations; there was no lustre in lier eve; her whole aspect was thato f one dumbfounded, brokenhearted, j She had a sad story to tell were there ! -only spirit enough left to her for a recital. A year ago she came to this same j brokerage office. Her purse was fat with iiank bills and she gave an order for the purchase of 500 shares of a stock which had been active a long time. The broker advised her against the purchase, and told her plainly that he had what he believed excellent reasons for expecting a hi...vy decline in the particular stock she had selected to buy. But she persisted in her determination, declaring that she i had information which could not be j wrong that the stock was bound to go j , -up a good deal very soon. She had lier 1 way, despite the counsels that plainly j predicted the loss of her money. She j left ?5,000 in cash as a 10 per cent, margin to protect her interest and went her way with a calm confidence shown on her countenance. "I shall make a good i -deal of money," she said as she left, "for the information I have comes from the very highest authority." The stock per- j perversely declined forthwith, and eacA I day saw some fraction clipped off of the preceding day's quotation. Within a mouth the original $5,000 margin had [ dwindled down to $1,000, and the broker was obliged to call for another deposit from his customer to protect her interest, she came down town with the same selfsatisfied smile, and with the same expres- j \ sions of confidence produced her rounded I purse again. Four thousand dollars she j left in the broker's hands this time. "The advance, I am told, has been unavoidably delayed a little while," she said, with a tone full of assurance and faith, "but it is bound to come soon now, and I feel as sure that my money is safe as if I had it all in bank awaiting my orders." This was in response to further grave predictions from the broker, who, by much argument tried to convmcc her that she was being misled. Another short period elapsed; and another enforced call was made upon the sunny faced old lady. Just a bare suspicion of disquiet was be. ginning to show itself, but there was no backdown in her action. Out came more money. Aud so a little later did more still follow. Then not long ago she came yet again; now she brought her hank book. She showed to the broker j that a year ago it credited her with de- j posits of $18,000, of which but $2,500 j remained; and that $2,500?every penny ' of it, every penny she possessed in the ; world?she handed over. She was not ! yet utterly downcast. "But yesterday," | sue averreu. "i nati my lnlormation re- j peatcd again and the rise which I've waited for so long is to come now right away." Down went the market, lower and lower dropped the price of the'ex- 1 pcctant woman's 500 shares of stock, till I that day a little while ago when for the ! last time she came into Wall-street again, j dropped into an armchair before the quo- | tation board and gazed long and listless- j ly, as one in a deep dream, confronting the white figures that glared out at her j there like the eyes of so many demons. All of her $18,000 was gone; she had j only poverty left. But she was brave | st.il 1 nrwl wVinn V*I MMiv? iimuu nvi wivivci a|jp UUtllUU her slio rose with the grace of a woman young and queenly and thanked him for all his courtesies and the good advice he had waisted on her. "Now, Madam, will you do me the great favor of telling me from what source you received the false information on which you relied so implicitly and / risked so much money?" This was the broker's question. "Upon an astrologer. This was her Amazing answer, and she named a man whose "card" is flaunted publicly in the metropolis. There was a stupefied broker, a broker who got mad. He didn't say "Fooll" but he looked it. The old lady ; vv .* ? %" ' :} H v' ! >..>; '''r:? -< * <!^s talked then freely. It was no new thing, she said, for her to seek the advice oi thiB "astrologer," her husband had done the satno before her and a score of hei friends, she said, had iihplicit confidence in the revelations of the seer. "I'll give you $1,000," said +lic broker hotly, "if you'll promise me one thing." The old lady's lightening countenanct showed that he need have no doubt oi the promise. "Never come into Wall street again and have no more to do with this blanked scoundrel whose lies havo cost you so dearly." The promise was gladly exchanged for the money, and^ihe old lady went lier way. But this was not the only sequel to this speculation. Three or four days ago a dapper little fellow with a face weazened around a pair of twinkling adder eyes thrust himself into this same brokerage office. He sought the manager and said he wanted to buy some stock on a margin, lie had brought a onethousand-dollar note along to put up as the necessary deposit, lie was just ready to band over his money when of a sudden he looked into the broker's face and ejaculated, "You've got a bright ejTe; may 1 draw this bank note across them just for a second?" The broker was astonished, but to humor a customer, whom he supposed to be only in a jovial mood, he consented, and the bill blindfolded him momentarily. The customer closed his own eyes, withdrew the bill, and ejaculated as if to himself alone, "Correct; perfectly correct!" He deposited his money, and was about to leave when suddenly the broker, urged by a strange suspicion, called him and said: "Will you tell me why you went through that performance of putting that bill over my eyes?" "Certainly, certainly!" ejaculated the sallow fellow. ' 'Certainly; I was testing the information I had. I am an astrologer, and?" ' 'Are you the man that sent Mrs. 3 here to buy stock?" "Yes, oh yes!" and the adder-eyed customer rubbed his hands ecstatically. "Yes. oh yes! I told her to come here." "You swindled her, you scoundrel." The broker's voice wasn't sweet to listen to, anQ the astrologer looked more than a little seared. "Why, I believe in the powers myself," he whined, "or, of course, I wouldn't be putting up my own money." It was 011I3' because there is a Police Court in this town that the follow was not summarily kicked into the street. As it was the broker contented himself with saying: "Your account will be closed in this office to-night. If there is anything due you you can have it at 3 o'clock. Get out of here now, quick." At 3 o'clock when the gentleman called he fouud thai something had run afoul of the markel during the day and his 200 shares ol stock had fallen enough in a couple ol hours to wipe out every cent of his $1,00C margin. And I betray only a little bil of confidence in saying that the fellow wouldn't have been far wrong if he had suspected that his own broker was responsible himself for the sudden dcclinc, having hammered the market and pacified his conscience anmrwli.it. in rcmnm. branco of the duped old lady wlios< fortune had gone at the idle dictation ol the arrant humbug who now to some ex tent was doing pcnance for her sorrow.? New York Times. Washington and Banker IIMU It was on the 15tn day of June, 1775, that George "Washington was choser Commander-in-Chief of the American army. The next day he made his answci to Congress, in which he declared thai he accepted the oftiee, but that ho woulc TT. 1-/1 -nL'-l J -11 uiiic iiu ]>u^- nt' icn jriiuaacipma 01 his way to Boston June 21, escorted by i troop of horsemen, and accompanied bj Schuyler and Lee, who had just beei made major-generals by Congress. Thej had gone about twenty miles when thej saw a man on horseback coming rapidlj down the road. It was a messenger ri ding post haste to Philadelphia, anc carrying to Congress news of the batth of Bunker Hill. Everybody was stirrec by the news and wanted to know th< particulars. "Why were the Provincials compelled to retreat?" he was asked. "It was for want of ammunition," h< replied. "Did they staud the fire of th< regular troops?" asked Washington anxi ously. "That they did, and held their owi fire reserve until the enemy was withii eight rods." "Then the liberties of the country an safe!" exclaimed Washington. lie re membered well the scenes under Brad dock, and ho knew what a sight it mus have been to those New England farm ers when a compact body of uniforme( soldiers came marching up from th( boats at Charlestown. If they coulc stand fearlessly, there* was stuff in then for soldiers.?St. Nicholas. Room to Rent. "Had a terrible shock this mawnin', Awthaw. Met a low fellow who askee mo if I had rooms to rent; actually tool mo for a beggarly landlord." "Oh, no, Percy. I daresay ho onb meant to insinuate that you had ai empty head." , "Do you think so? Quite a relief, las I suah you. So awful to suspect that I looked like a*low landloard."?Call. v " ' S'. / jtfl 1 THE COMORO ISLES." Picturesque Scenes in a Remote Region or This Earth. The Islands, Their Inhabitants andTliei] Ruler Desoribed. A correspondent of the NewYork Tribune writing from Jo' r?nn s Comoro Islands. s:\vs! Tim Comoro Islands arc four in number, lying in the Mozambique Channel, between Africa and the northern end of Madagascar. The foui islands are the Angazlya, or Green Comoro; Arijonau, or Johanna; Mayotte, and Moliilla. Mayotte was ceded tc France in 1843. The other islands be long to Arabia. The inhabitants, about 80,000, arc principally Mohametans, bul fetichism prevails to some extent. Th< pcoplo of Johanna find their principa employment in connection with the ship; calling for provisions. The trade ol Comoro and Mohilla is cr the same character, but the islands are not so much frequented as in former years. Upon entering the harbor of Moosa noodo, the principal settlement of Joliana, one is struck with the picturesque beauty of the hills. From the anchorage the town is also picturcsquc, witl its tall minarets and its two forts?one perched on a commanding hill and tin other upon the beach among the sliori houses. But the illusion is readily dispelled upon reaching the shore. Th< landing is upon a beach of roclcs ant shells and through a considerable surf ii the calmest of weather. Along the short are strewn the washed clothes of th< ship's officers and crews; and a set o va^abond-lookin^ natives of all colors o o save that of the Caucasian, are loungim about looking carelessly on, and present ing a repulsive contrast to the Arabs The costumes of the letter arc decided^ attractive; white robes with loose jack ets, and silken girdles about their waist supporting cimeters, the scabbards anc i bilts elaborately finished with gold anc i silver. These cimeters arc purchased ai ! Muscat, and costs from $."50 to $25Q^?ach , The men's feet are encased in sandals and large white turbans adorn thei i heads. Many of them speak Englisl with fluency, and French as well. The town is dilapidated and squalic i to the last degree; the houses of rougl stone, cemcntcd and thatched; tin I streets not more than five feet wide anc ; exceedingly crooked. The town is en circled by a stone wall, twenty feet ii i height, with an entrance at each come ; I of the inclosure through a gatcwa; : scarcely wide enough for two person I to pass at the same time. This wall wa t built as a sort of defence against the pi ; rates, who were in the habit of visitinj ? tho island and stealing everything frou I the people, even to the slaves. Slaver [ exists to a large extent, and the Sultar r of Johanna owns 700 beings, whom h< keeps principally to till his lands on the . east side of the island. The other Arabi ( also own plantations and slaves. The inhabitants of the islands, a mix , turc of Arabs and negroes in great part , are intelligent and sprightly. Before the I Civil War in the United States they pur . chased many cotton goods from th . American whalers, but their opportuni ties were disastrously interrupted by th Confederate Cruiser Alabama. Sine then they have not fared so well unde xae oppressions 01 rue Jtiiignsli, wno 1 they assert, "are strong enough to in 1 terfere in everybody's affairs, and t f threaten us with the exercise of thci t power if we biing over any more slave I from the main." 1 The highest parts of the islands an 1 densely wooded, and the mountain side r are so steep in some places that the top 1 of some of the trees touch the trunk* am r roots of others. The language of thi 7 .1 - I? ? ? A V - J ? -1- -i * ' iaitiiiii, a {Hjcuimr ^vrauic uiaicct, is soi r and pleasing to the oar. Prince Abdal lah is perhaps one of the best educate* I men in the Arabic territory, and I wa 3 struck with the novelty of the home, an< 1 the extreme beauty of face and physica 2 build of this full-blooded Arab. He is i tall, soldierly-looking man, with squar I shoulder-?, well-proportioned limbs, olivi complexion, finely cut features, and i 5 black moustache and black hair. I wa also surprised at the beauty of one o 3 his three wives, whom I chanced to sei - with her mask raised. The walls of hi house arc filled with small niches, recep i tacles for cofTce cups, ornaments, otc 1 Couches are ranged about the reccptioi and dining rooms, and floors are coverc< 2 with rich and heavy Turkish carpets an< rugs. A black houri was set to fan me - and a crowd of children gathered abou t me, but the harem kept in the back - ground. If any of the harem have occa i sion to go in the street or appear in pub l- lie it must be with her face behind 1 lhr/>rt.f>ftpnppMl must wit.1i Tior oiroa m>pti ? ? "j ? v?r a ing over it. After "refreshments?con fcctions nncl rose syrup?I walked int tlio Prince's garden, a beautiful wildw ness of betelnuts and cocoanuts, manda ' rin oranges and mango trees, with hetor ogcncous patches of rice, sweet potatoc ? and beans, and here and tliero a cotto: plant. On my departure the Princ ^ treated me with royal honors. A ban 11 of music?two drums and a. clariom-fcplaycd for me, each of the musician l* using his instrument regardless of th * others. Their music reminded me c what a home for fovndlings might be o v-s '.'?v;". >/r;-/ "* v Christmas morning after drums i*nd trumpets liad been liberally distributed. , The body-guard, about twenty native soldiers, was drawn up, the the men holding their arms in the most awkward . position. But their dress was a feature ?white trousers, red coats and red caps, co.idcmincd uniforms purchased from the English soldiers. Scarcely one of them had a button on his coat, so it was fastened together with pieces of 5 string. The honors, however, were the best the island afforded. r Bird-Housekeeping, From John Burroucrhs's paper on Birds' Eggs-, in tlic Century, we quote us fol? lows: "The bluebirds early took posses sion, and in June their first brood had ; flown. The wrens had been hanging ; around, evidently with an eye on the 3 place (such little comedies may be witl nessed anywhere), and now very jiatural3 ly thought it was their turn. A day or f two after the young bluebirds had flown, I noticed some line, dry grars clinging to l the entrance to the cavity; a circumstance which I understood a few moments later, - when the wren rushed by me into the cover of a small Norway spruce, hotly i pursued by the male bluebird. It was a - brown streak and a blue streak pretty 1 close together. The wrens had gone to j house-cleaning, and the bluebird had re) turned to find his bed and bedding being 2 pitched out-of-doors, and had thereupon - given the wrens to understand in the c most emphatic manner that he had no in1 tention of vacating the premises so early i in the season. Day after day, for more e than two weeks, the male bluebird had c to clear his premises of these intruders, f It occupied much of his time and not a , little of mine, as I sat with a book in a 5 summer-house near by, laughing at his - pretty fury and spiteful onset. On two . occasions the wren rushed under the r chair in which I sat, and a streak of the - blue lightning almost flashed in my very 9 face. One day, just as I had passed the I tree in which the cavity was placed, I I heard the wren scream desperately; turnt ing, I saw the little vagabond fall into , the grass with the wrathful bluebird , fairly upon him; the latter had returned r just in time to catch him, and was cvii dently bent on punishing him well. But in the squabble in the grass, the wren 1 escaped and took refuge in the friend- i i Iv evergreen. The bluebird paused for J c a moment with outstretched wings look- | I ing for the fugitive, then flew away. A - score of times during the month of June i did I see the wren taxing every energy r to get away from the bluebird. lie would y dart into the stone wall, under the floor s of the summer-house, into the weeds? s anywhere to hide his diminished head. - | The bluebird with his bright coat looked t liKc a policeman in uniform in pursuit of ii some wicked, ru?ty little street gamin, y Generally the favorite house of refuge of i the wrens was the little spruce, into b which their pursuer made no attempt to 3 follow them. The female would sit con3 cealcd amid the branches, chattering in a scolding, fretful way, while the male, - with his eye upon his tormcnter, would , perch on the topmost shoot and sing, i Why he sang at such times, whether in - triumph and derision, or to keep his e courage up and reassure his mate, I conld , - not make out. When his song was sudc denly cut short and I glanced to see : d him dart down into the spruce, my eye j r usually caught a twinkle of blue wings , hovering near. The wrens finally gave - up the fight, and their enemies reared . o their second brood in peace." r 3 Vegetation in Mexico. ; Somebody, writes a correspondent of I e the Boston Transcript, has aptly described j 3 the scenery between Vera Cruz and j s Cardova as "an ocean of verdure which 1 in the rainy season becomes an ocean of q flowers." Plantations of coffee, banant as, pineapples, tobacco and sugar cane - stretch away on every side. Gardens 1 are hedged with giant magnolias and tall s yuccas, or bordered by mango trees laden 1 with odorous fruit, interspersed by cit^ r* i: i _ _ i rous. liijo, miicy, uiangus, puim-granares, a olives, papaws and a liundred strange e and luscious varieties never seen at the B north. Far as the eye can reach are enda less fields of heliotrope, mignonette, 9 ageratum, nasturtiums and other dainty f favorites that arc the pride of our greenb houses?here springing up spontaneously s and attaining their perfection. Anon we - pass impenetrable thickets of wild bam. boo," towering, like Jack's fabled beana italk; or grooves of enormous live oaks, 1 whosf gnarled arms are burdened by 1 floating bunches of air plants. Gigantic , cypresses look like venerable druids, t with their long gray beards of Spanish - moss; and forests India rubber, mahogony, rose, tulip and cedar trees are - twined with innumerable creepers, a Every lichen-covered limb is gay with t- flor de oro?golden blossoms spotted - with black, smelling like musk; or with n nnrnlft r>;iMsir>n vines, flor de r.hnrnlntp - "all saints' flowers" and innummcrnble i- others whose twisted stems flaunt their - blossoms at the top of the tallest trees, is Here are miles and miles of fuchsias, a geraniums and oleanders, grown into e trees with good sized trunks; vegetable d patches fenced with gorgeous roses; con vulvuli in every imaginable color, mimis oaal guava trees, the precious mafafa e and alcatraz, and the zarra jmrra, from >f whose myriad water cups tho traveler n may quench his thirst. < ; f . . . CLIPPINGS FOR THE CURIOUS. T~ Before lying down to oat the ancient Roman took oil his shoes. $ Evil spirits, it was bclievod in old times often took the form of a fly, and the term "fly" was once a popular syuo- j ^ nym for a familiar spirit. Curious in the statistics of births is the fact that there is always a larger | number of boys born than girls. The * proportion varies from 102 [to 106 hoys to 100 girls. Of the 23,000 acres in the town of 1 Newtown, L, I., 18*18 are occupied by cemeteries. A million bodies are now buried in tlicsc places, and the annual interments amount to 28,000. E A Chicago writer speaking of the Chinese in that city, says that while the men appear to have a great deal of hair, cx- I in ination of the jrg-tails reveals that nearly two-thirds of that appendage is plaited silk thread. To obtain money to carry on a war against the Indians, Gov. West of South Carolina, in 1080, offered a price for 1 every Indian captive, and then sold all who were brought in to West-Indian j slave dealers, who again disposed of them profitably to West-Indian planters. Nothing disgraced the humanity of the ^ past like the neglect and cruelty practiced towards the wounded in war. Under modern law, the ambulances and ^ military hospitals for the wounded arc held to be neutral property, and arc respected and protected by the belligerents ' It is gravely related in an Illinois newspaper that after a peach tree on the farm of James M. Baker of Palmyra, had blown down, the broken trunk was stuck in the fire under a soap kettle. Not a blossom was on the tree, but when the heat of the fire penetrated the bniuchcs * ' i the tree burst into full bloom. The great reforms in modern interna- | tional law, due especially to the spirit of Christianity, begun in great part with the eminent Dutch publicist, Grotius, early in the seventeenth centurj'. He taught humanity towards women, clerks, farmers, merchants and to all in battle who cried quarter or offered to yield. Making tlie Alligator Useful. S:iys a Florida letter to the Chicago Turns-. A heathen stranger would certainly say that the alligator was the totum of the tribe and the presiding genius of the place, for it is 110 exaggeration to say that one may sec that reptile here in a thousand appearances?dried or stuffed in the shops, highly ornamented in the stores, alive in tanks, big alligators in pens, imitation wooden alligators 011"the streets, little alligators in tubs, alligators of assorted sizes in the museums, skeletons of alligators in the drug stores, alligator skins tanned in the leather stores and hundreds of different articles of jewelry of alligator teeth mounted on gold, silver or nickel. You can bu^ i a live alligator from six inches to two feet long or a dead, dried and stuffed one fourteen feet long. A favorite device is thus manufactured: Take an alligator two feet long, the tail as much longer, split it down the front and take out the entrails; then bend the tail i|p so the creature can be put in a sitting posture, sew up the front and color it to concsal the opening, and dry tllfi tllinor tn snliilitw TMinn witVi /-?->?? 0 J. 1 " "t'1-" mouth and glistening teeth, the cadaver is set upon a stand at the door and smiles a saurian welcome on the customers. The forelegs arc often bent around a cardbasket or Japan saucer; and if for sale, a placard held in its mouth announces, "I want to go North," or "I smile to see a customer," or the like. One is surprised to find the ugly reptile the source of so much art and wit. When the basket is made of some sea creature's carapace and is filled with assorted shells, the richness of the design is complete. Man Eaters. Conscious cannibalism is by no means confined to the Feejce islands. The Rio Virgen tribes of the Arancanos In lians. on the northern const of Chili, do not hesitate, in hard winter, to keep the pot boiling by slicing up a few of their superfluous relatives; and Dr. Nachtigal is positive that the country north and cast of the Congo is swarming with twolegged man-eaters. The Dvak3 of Borneo, who gather skulls as our red men ' used to gather scalps, now and then eat a 1 personal enemy as a matter of hygienic 1 precaut.on, on the theory that tho wizard ' spells of the dead man's relatives can thus be rendered ineffectual. Sparodic I cases of cannibalism occur in every East Indian famine. Tho nations of Europo 1 alone are in that respect total abstainers, 1 at present at least, for Roman traditions ' date hack to a time when the Leestrygoncs of southern Italy kept special stock yaras lor fattening tneir prisoners of | war.?Dr. Oncald. The Rabbit as a Speculator. A sagacious rabbit once bought a young woif for a trifling sum, and determined to raise him; but when the wolf became big and strong he waited till'Thanksgiving Day and then killed the rabbit and dined on the carcas?. Moral.?This fable teaches the insecurity of foreign investments, and intimates that the hen that hatches out a strange egg is liable to obtain an unnatural child.?Life. Parted. The silver brook will mis? tlico; Tho breezo tbat used to kiss theo, lihI rulllo with a soft caress tby curls of sunny liuir; When the early dewdrops glisten On tho roses, they will liston 'or thy step upon tho garden walk,thy laughter iu the air. Tho meadows gay with flowers, The summer's leaf3' bowers, Vill know thy joyous smilo no more; tho woodlands stand forlorn; I hear tho soft complaining Of birds, from mirth refraining, Mat greeted with their carols sweet thy waking every morn. Poor mother! hush thy weeping, Above thy darling sleeping, for fret with aught of earthly grief the stillness whore ho lies, Flowers In his littlo lingers, "Where tho rosy flush still lingers, Tov the angels are his pla3'niaios on tho plains of Paradise. HUMOROUS. ' Upside down?A feather bed. Always pronounced wrong, even by the jest scholars?Wrong. Glaziers take pleasure in tlic though! hat this is a world of pane. "What is the latest?" was asked of % ;vit. "Twelve P. M.," was the curt ply. The unfortunate head of a family wlKP "ell into a vat of hot water is said to ha*9 jecn pa boiled. People hire lawyers in certain casc3 f<*r two reasons. One is for the settlement }f disputes and the other 'to dispute sal? t[ements. "Shrouds!" exclaimed an old lady who was listening to an old sea-captain^ story, "what do you have them at se? For?" "To bury dead calms in." An original way of answering two questions at a time: "Here, Bid'iy, what's the time o' night, and where'a the portaty pudding?" "It's eight sir." fiinifVi /'norm 11 c?1 vA A rn TT/Mi ? VUTIJf J JUU SU1U there are no toadstools among these mushrooms?" Mary (guiltlessly(?"They wuz bought for the missus' table, but she toltl me to try 'em first on the boarders. "Arc you going to make a flower-bed here?" said the Brooklyn girl, to her father's gardener. "Yes, miss, them'a the orders." "Why, it'll spoil our tennis grounds!" "Can't help it mis?. Your pa says he's bound to have this plot laid out for horticulture, not husbandry." lira 11 din? Cattle. The subject of branding cattle at the West can but interest all readers. It is a matter of importance, for it is the only method of establishing title to fourfooted property. Every stock-owner has * his brand, which is regularly recorded and is well known. It is an immense a(T*.ir, as large as a fiying-pan, and ia burned into the shoulder of the animal. >vncn tne latter changes owners tne seller's brand is rented, i. e.f turned upside down and burned on the hip, and the purchaser puts his own brand on the shoulder. Consequently, if an animal is so unlucky as to pass through many hands he begins to look like a newspaper war map. Every frontiersman always notes the brands upon all the stock that he meets, If you should ask one of them if he had seen a red steer with a whith patch on his right eye, branded wiih a dot in a circle and two notches in his left ear, he would tell yon he saw him yesterday forenoon with three other cattle of so-andso's herd, near such and such a place,and you would probably find him there. "We discovered, however, that there are wavs that are dark on the Drairie. as well as in citics. It seems to be generally understood that a promising steer or horse that might find its way into the herd of a ranchman, other than the owner, would be apt to be found to have acquired a new brand in some mysterious manner. It was asserted that a hot frying pan, placed over an old brand, would obliterate it so as to render identification impossible. Croton oil, we were told, was also sometimes used for the same purpose by some catt'emen who did not s"Lrink from stealing another's property.?American Agriculturist. Jags. The origin of jugs dates back to antiuqity. Yet we have all discovered that the jug, whose appearance is the most antiquated, does not always belong to that rather enigmatic period. The history of "The Little Brown Jug" is quite as ancient us most people care to 50 back to investigate. Lately there has been a great breeze raised over a jug called "The Peachblow Vase." In artistic circles, its sale for eighteen thousand dollars will mark an era. Yet to most people in this world - there are many things better, "by a jugful." The jug is a most singular utensil. A pail, gob* let, or a jar may be rinsed, and you can satisfy yourself by optical proof that th? thing is clean; but a jug has a little hole iu the top and the interior is all darkness. No eye penetrates it, no eye can move over its surface. You can clean it only by putting water into it, shaking it up, and pouring it out. If the water comes out clean, you judge you ha^d succeeded in purifying the jug. In this the jug is like the human heart; to mortal eye can look into the recesaea, -' jkV and you can only judge of its purit^^J ^ what cornea out of it.