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'Ilt- WEEKLY u JNBR .C.rllsDA NOVEMBER 7,1878 BEN BUTLER'S BIOGRAPHY. WHERE IrE CAME 1J2--INCI DINT8 IN 118 CALBBR. What a Reporter Learned In a Ride With the Essex Statesman--Ben Tells His Own Story. [ Rromi the New York Sun.1 The weary way was enlivened by General Butler relating many re miniscences of a varied and . active life. I picked up, in this way, some scraps of biography. General But lor's grandfather and father were seafaring men. His grandfather served, however, ai a cavalry officer in the revolutionary army until he was rendered unfit for duty by a broken leg. He then fitted out a privateer and captured an East Indian so large that lie hoisted his little craft on dock and sailed into a port of Portugal. His grandfather on his mother's side was also . a privateorsman. General Batler was 'DORN IN NEW 1AMPSI11E. His father died six months before at St.- Christopher, in' the West Indies. "The piece of land on which I was born," General Butler said, "was so stony that in driving the cows a mile to pasture I often jumped from one stou to another the whole distance." When he was nine years of age his mother re. moved to Massachuets, where an old uncle lived. There were but few houses at Lowell then. "I have shot squirrels in the woods on the hill where my house stands," General Butler said. "I have lived in that house twenty eight years. There all my children, and Sue and Blanche were born." With some emotion, after a pause, he added: "For more than forty years I have lived among the people of Middlesex county, coming in and going out before them. A. man is known by his neighbors. I do not -r believe you will find one of mine who will 1.ot tell you I have been a gool citizen, a good husband t.nd a good father-" General Butler's uncle assisted him to prepare for college at Dexter Academy, and to go through Water ville College. "I was a wild boy," General Butler said, "but not a bad one. I did not lead in all the A schoolboy pranks, but I was well up with the foremost. It was an orthordox Baptist institution, and the Rev. Mr. Smith, the same, by the way, who wrote 'My Country, 'tie of Thee,' was our chaplain. We had to get out of bed at 5 o'cloek in the morning to attend prayers, and were obliged to go to church twice on Sunday and lectures once a week. It is true," the Generai said, laughingly, "that I helped put a horse in the chapel one night, and I learned then how to make a horse go when he doesn't want to go, a .trick that served me more thar. once in the army. After the boys - had tried in vain to lead or drive the old horse, I took him by the bead and backed him down the 'stairs. I often showed my mer_ how to get horses on a boat during the war by backing them along a plank." "Another of our PRANKs5 AT coLLEGB was breaking up an abolition meet' ing. The English philanthropist who died the other day, George .Thompson, was to speak in the college town. The students shared the common feeling against th0 good man. Wa thought he was abusing Amerncans, and our patriot-. ec pride rebelled at this. We .did not want to get into a scrape ; 8o, after debating the matter for sever. al nights, we hit upon the following plan: We went into the country and p aid an old farmer fifty cents to allow us to catch in his bara all the swallows we wanted. We got a - dozen or so, and the night ' of. the meeting a number of us were pres.. ont, distributed juadiciously about the room, each boy with a swallow in his pocket; Thle 'church *as lighted by old..fashioned chande liers, holding -each three .or. four, - whale-oil -lamps. At a given signal, 'when th~e exer'cises were well undsr way, the swallows were let loose, and in thet .,'okling of an eye out went the N1*his. Trhe birds, of course, went straight for $h~e.lights, and the rush of aiF oaused by 'thei' -wings p~t $bmd .emps Oltk .W, kissed a r oj two, 'and they, of course, 's ribdc. 41 was hom*io tion and :~iw Then th6'Wdu~de silence ; said that some unaccounta ble accident had put the lights out, but the audience must sit quiet and preserve order, and the lamps would soon be lighted. "The sexton hurried away for a torch-there were no lucifer matches in those days-and presently back he came with a lighted candle. As he came into the church, holding it in front of his face and shielding it with one hand, the swallows, of course, wont for the light, and one of them struck the candle, knock ing it out of the old man's hand and into his face. Ho tumbled back, gave a yell of fright, and gathering himself up took to his heels, vowing there were spirits there, sure. The crowd, now frightened in earnest, the students leading, got oit of the church in a hurry, and the abolition imeeting was at an end.". THE WATER WHEEL STORY. "Is 'the popular story true about your att- 4hing the great Wheel of one of the factories in Lowell to compel the payment of wages to some of the fethalo operativCs?" I asked General Butler. "No," he replied, "that is a fiction, and one by the repetition of which I have gained credit among the ignorant for great shrewdndas as a lawyer. There are many other fictions current by which I have gained credit for something worse, and none -of then have as much foundation as this story about my attaching the great wheel. Not long after I began to practise - law at Lowell, the factories made a rule that if their employees qit service b.'fore the end of the month they could not be paid until ti!. first. of the next month,' the rechlar pay day. Thore was probably 'some excuse for this rule, as hell) was a groat deal more independent then than now, and by leaving in the middle of the month or earlier could seriously embarrass the mill owners, as well as put them to great inconvenience to settle a multitude of little bills. But, of course, all ruleR ouight to have their exceptions. I was on friendly relations with some of the mill owners, and saved them 'many a noyances by paying the employees who quit before the end of the month, and came to me to have their employers sued. I kept an account of these payments, and at the next pay day sent around the items by my 'office boy and got my money. Ono or two mill owners, with whom I had no relations of this kind, once undertook to treat me cavalierly, but they soon learned better. Well, one day an old spin ster, whose parents or relatives lived in New Hampshire, came to my office and told her story. Some body at home was sick ; her presence was required; it was absolutely necessary for her to go, but her employer would not pay. She needed money ; she must go home ; she could not wait till the first of the month. 'But what can I do for you, my good woman V I. said. 'I want you to see them,' she replied. 'But that will not suit your purpose. You can't wait. You nmust go, and if I bring suit, it can't be tried in your absence.' '0 yes, but I know you can make them pay me right 'away, this yery day.' - 'How so 1' I asked. 'Why, by attaching the great wheel ; of course . that will stop the milL' I rather liked that, and so I thought I would humor her. I told her to come back later, and I would see what could be done. I sent around a note to the mill and asked if so and so had quit work, and how inuch was due her, and if I should p1ay as usunal. In a little while the re ply came. 'All right.' The ac.. count was aJl right, but the rule could not be broken. "When my New Hampshise spin ar returned, I gave her a receipt to sign and paid'hei' the amount of her wages. She was tr'iumphant and said : 'I knew yda would bring them to terms,.when you attached the great wheel.' Of course abe told how I attached the great wheel all the way from Lowell to her home in New Hampshire, and thus 'the' story got started." FEzAUU, IGNoIANCE i N Ew YORK. --It is a pretty serions fact that in this city of New YorN there are to day 20,582 grown-d~p1sen andi " men who can' neither re'ad nor write while a rcentg faoe~ ~ads and misses are gettintst ng of the "highi'B EhglshbrAnchesat~ the expense of eh yl o1g)beglygof taxpayers, thousand&s of ittle ones beeis tdeor etor nind tIi SING ULAl S U.PBRSTITXONS. How 9ome Miners Think They are FPorewarneu of Death. There are wonderful things to be studied in the vast laboratory where nature has stored her treasures. The men who toil in fhe caverns of the ground and treac the endless windings of thq drifts have their presentiments of coning calamity, and at times feel the tguch of death in the very air. A Virginia (Nev.) C'ronicle reporter was talking with an old minor a few days ago who implicitly believed that no death over took place in the mines with out a warning of some kind. "You see," lie said, "death never comes of a sudden upon the men in the mines. You reporters write up accidents and toll how something gave way or fell quick and killed somebody, Now, this ain't so. There's always some warning. When I see my lantern begins to buin low down and blue, I know there is danger ahead. If it keeps on for a few days and then begins to waver and ilicker, I'll watch it close to see where it points. Now, yon may set me up for a fool, but tvhat I'm tellin' is the gospel truth. When the flame leans over (as if it was being worked by a blow pipe) and points to a man, death has marked him. Some years ago when Bill Hendricks was killed in the Savage, the flame of my lantern pointed right to him for over an hour, and When he moved the flame would turn, just as if Bill was a load stone anl to iane was a marier's needle. I kna,vI lie was gone, and tol.1 him to be catreful about the blat. \Vel, no g-.t L!roug' that all rigot, and got n thie c!kge. As we went up, the caudilo kept actiug strangely, and at timies the flame would stretch out long and thin towards Bill. At length it gave a sudden flicker, and Bill reeled to one side and was caught in the timbers. I heard his dreadful cry as he disappeared down the shaft, and while he was bounding from side to side, dashing out his brains and scattering his flesh down to the bottom, my light went out. I never lit that lantern. again. It hangs up in my cabin now, and it always will. There's more in a candle flimne than people think. I'd rather see a cocked revolver point ed at me than a candle flame; a revolver sometimes misses, but a candle flame is sure to kill when it starts towards a man. I must start for my shaft now. Don't give my name to anybody. There are some who would laugh at me." The man here picked up his bucket and walked away. There are plenty of miners on the Comstock who have just such superstitions. Some be lieve that bad and good luck come in streaks, just as quartz and property. For three years past there had been no accidents in the North Consolidated Virginia until a few days ago, when Champion had his thigh crushed. The miners said at once that a "bad streak" had been struck, and more accidents might be expected. Yesterday two more men were injured by falling thirty feet into the sump. This was caused by the breaking of a two inoh plank that seemed able to bear a, dozen men. "Handle it carefully, Marier,~ said an economical citizen, as his wife was jamming his old shirt into the rag-bag. "That shirt repre Bents capital!l It may be tnrned into a umillion dollars' worth oi Butler's cheap rag money when the old man fixes things, ar.d. capital should be treated with respect. No, Marie-, don't sell it to the junk man 1 'Lay il carefully away as fiat money 1" Tazunton Gazette. The Nevada inventors aspir'e to rival the wonderful achievemuents of Edison, and perhaps the greatesi triumph yet recoaded by them is the tinvention .. of a combine 4 or chlurin and accordeon. Tl Ieream is placed in the lower -part ol the accordeon, and while the playei is dk-awing "Sweet Spirit, Hear Prayer" out of the instrument, woodeu attaehments to the keye are churning the butter.. There 's so zrn'ch destitratioa,Li Ndw Yo'1 that men have becown deshrae,and. don't care what they doito.ma&ke a living. There were no less than iv. egndidat6e for mnayor, ll.of.thelg '$eji,licg beve heretoforE been regarded as highly resposta. ble. I Witla pe.rfo%t,fruthr t has beee remarked the Ah* avenues leading to an oly grave lr#ye;19fte6e -tsn opened cu .r throat aue 5R rC+4.BA. Who rat) to catoh me when I fell T The sheriff. In former .times the man atn the cream, (if the cat didn't antu*vate him,) but now they Oremate ,the Man. This promises to be a very .cold winter, and all of our young 1eU are wearing the heaviest. dki of canes. Putting a beut pin in a chair is a very .amusing practical joke. It never fails to excite a man's rise ability. A pretty girl down East is a "mind-readet." She said to a bash-. ful beau the. other night : "La I I believe you are going to kiss me." She was right. Professor Edison is .invet1ni q machine to turn over the feetive slapjack while the hired girl -sti in the corner and reads the latest novel. Move on, great army of progress'! Alabama has ain anti--eqVe strian society, based .on the . belief that horses were never made to cwry burdens on their backs, and ! that- it it is extremely cruel to ride tfeih. Prince Henry, second son of-the. Crown Prince of OerMany, - is a lieutenant in the navy, and set out recently from Kiel for a twoyears' voyage on the Prince Adelbert. "A beam upon the fade 6f our Democratic watrs-a perfect sky. ucraper in all our electious"--is wha a Kontucky paper called its'pet icandidate for lieutenant-..governor. Rev. Josiah Henshaw, said to be the original "Uncle Tom," recently visited a Detroit theatre and for the first time witnessed the perfor mance of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "General Sherman says tb stories about the supposed unhappiness n his family are lies." But Sheran is such a liar that nobody can credit anything he says. We are fickle as a people in our love for . popular songsI We first admire, then run the thing in the ground. Finally we wind up by abusing the author.-Nyoun t . vertiser'. Henry C. Work deserves a first class funeral after he is dead. He wrote "Grandfather's Cloak." He ought to have about sixty days i the workhouse now.-.I0oston Post, The late Mr. Vauderbilt's lawyer. will swear to the old mas's eli1g 1 him a scoundrel, a fraud, a vulture, just before he died, thus eatabliqop ing the old gbntleman's sanity. Napoleon seems to have had an u instinctive dread of the li4era8L Besides his persecu#ok of Madatne dp Stael and others, he attributed the whole of the Revolution to Rousseau, and pronounced him a very b,.d mar. It frequently happeus that the United States troops can't oyertake the Indians, but, on the oher hand, if the United States $ aO~ get fair start the Indians can'U 6tortake them either, Gambetta has created a great en thusiasm in France by hi. upseches, Some of our eagle orators could also create a great deal Of enthn siasm (in this country) by faakigg i speeches in France. The firs? Afteen mintes following a marriage engagement may be1 turned from ecstatic bus l6k bitter gal y t4 gi4 rrp~a aigt sh 'diamond in a ring with her dys shut.-1lw Press. It makest a youn nanfeel very muc.h assif somc ahns t w4 won ,ll n :vsa my bosom, eaome 6 a eg dow,,and then happen to see a sign, "To Let,' on the doox..-Ci*c(rnaL Bireakfast-.Table. If the. lew Yor bani w6fi give their safe combinatiQne direct to the burglar. instead of imparting them tlhroigh. j191 - A. might saife t$e -thieves agUoo4thaof r eious timE and nake rb much esif eouiiilt#$e & Aout hi tm hee pleaft e doesn't ktiow hse of, which hi 'wife 3 *~6~ I Z~5 bofIUfllOhi. q~* sId'ftdM adt~ MOnument in Ohio, which will cost 2lovers sat beneath the shado, And 1 un2 tie other said t ow 14 8 that you be9 th pi;iupon this suit of minel .la,,rk . palps 4you-, W-4 Wa i0 mlody i7 to be thy loved 1, 2-. ?ay Oy' nymph, wilt marry me 1" 'h Isye IP-sh6 softh, 131y I" -St. Louis Jourizal. Two Gepoese rontl (9ught a 1apl ai small boats on il e high, se, us bidIde of their native port. ithout witnesses, they fought with knives till one of hem, the lover of th other man's wift, was killed, and !s* tatho. bottom with a W,'1kht; proynd his npok, tied by the ro iOun viptor. The latter then 3#he iinto pqrtkAn d gave himself up. prayer:meeting was in progres ins church in Mount Vernon, Ind., Sn a plitool procession, mistaking the lightq4 .e4i4oo for the hall in Nhi6h:tAq Maq 4peting was to. ,be ield, "'Obed in with. banners -y ng, to.t e niuio of a full band, and .ave thrpp epis for its candidate. ce, 9lergyMaR invited the politi. ians to stay "for their.souls' sakes," ant 'thky dee1ided. AJfIe lphant in the Phila, lelphia Garden was rreatly.0 tlatpn bjy b- o t ale, rest~~ so cent ga, 1 e * 14 puon o her feet on ,beO as Qf a broken window her arrar *s. oo4;6 te. she. st on ier ha UCeOe lolid up her wounded oot, And ielfqw1a lod and l6tig. Nben the ke'er eftered her malo owpatIbi had his - trunk wound ound her foo, as though trying to ~oofort her. "VEGTITNE," aty a Boston physician, "has go equal as a Fln,1t wondeorful ItOTIM oI vt. 4 r"* lia Yaelt (I 18 g6W4 Witt Mtdpom Iroin b rk., oot and rl,ach ot %fth is highly oco. Ivep n ~~y (, r co o 41 It mla." an Ler a: W re,e!ttoisrntug resuls .MMU Vegetine s tU grea4 BloO Fr0ror. Vegetine Flu cure the Woist Sam, of serofutita, Vegetine 0 reo o edby physicians i4od apotbees vegetine * Ifftee someSaryenous ures 'in *4ms of Vegetine r3a tit i wr . 4 1 %a 19 xP"Its-r. lgetine, 16*4s witb wazdaWrtcowe in MwrourlAl dis Vegeine VillradiQ$4gat Igpum,ni troD4 iJpe systsmD Vegetine/ teov.ta Ficplog Aqid jfatogs t49l the c Vegetine 1lures Coasupatlop $gul140s ,$o Bowel., Vegetine a s valusable remedy for Neadache. Ve etine Vegeti*ae rthe entAret thIee,to.a healt,y Ln Ve etine etoves the c9 of g~ Ve&etine 54 Pains to tbsiB3A*d -M a. eg. etsabeWi*. V/ asaiiie rkiatWda -~ *"114i