University of South Carolina Libraries
TRI-WEEKLY EDITION. .WINNSBORO, S. C., A UG UsT 9, 1879. VOL. III.-NO. 82. THE TOAM. Far, on the brink of day. Thou standest as the herald of the dawn Ere fades in the night's last flickering spark away In the rich blaze of morn. Above the eternal snows, By winter scattered on the mountain height To shroud the centuries thy visage glows With a prophetic light. . Calm Is thine awful brow; As when thy presence shrined divinity Between the flamibg cherubim, so now Its shadow clings to thee. Yet, as an angel mild, Thou, in the torrid noon, w th shelter'ng wing, Dost o'er the earth, as on a weary child, A soothlug Influence bilng. And when the evening (1is. Still too thy fringed vesture cleaves the light, T..e last sad glimmer of h tearful eyes, On the dark verge of night. So. soon thy glories wane I Thou, too. must mourn the rose of morning shed; Cold oreeps the fatal shadow o'er thy train, And settles on my head. My heart as years go by Yearns for the charm that wooed its ravished gaxe The sympathy of nature wakes a sigh, And thus its thought betrays. Thou, like the cloud, my soul, Dost Iu thyself, of beauty naught possess Devoid the light of Heaven, a vapor foul, The veil of nothingness. Romance of an Old Cream Jug. "1Oh, mother," said Ruth Wallis, ''how I should like to get out and get a few apple blossoms." "Stuff and nonsense," sad the Widow Wallis, austerely, "haven't you got work to do---milk to skim, butter to work over, dishes to wash, and two dozen shirts just in from the laundry to finish off before dhiner time? (o about it at once and don't let me hear any more folly about apple blossoms." For Mrs. Wallis belonged to the work ing bilgade of the world, and did not be lieve In methetic of auy kind. Buttercups, and red sunsets, and many tinted rainbows had always been a stand ing problem to her, and she could not .un rierstand how a man of sense could possibly prefer golden hair to red, or a daisy pink complexion to honest freckles. And her two older daughters, Naomi and Maranda Ann, agreed with her entirely on this as oii all other subjects. But Ikuth was different. Ruth treasured up half open rosebuds in surreptitious glasses of water, qow t flower seed under the dairy wIndo* f4d' poems in her own room, hud cried when the honeysuckle vine Was ralsed from before the porch pillars. "Rotting all the posts and harboring ear wigs and spiders." said the widow severely. "But the flowers are so pretty." pleaded Ruth. "Pretty," snorted the widow, as if the term were a synonym for all absurdity and weak-inindedness "I do think, Ruth, you are almost a fool.;' So upon this golden May morning, when the Illies were nodding their purple plumes, and the apple blossoms spread their sheets of billowy pink over all the orchards, Ruth was condemned to milk skimming in the dairy and the finishing of the shirts In the kitchen. She was standing In front of the milk room window, busy with shining pans after all there was a certain poetry in the - occupation-when all of a sudden a whis kered and mustached face presented itself, all fi-amed in the casement. - "Goodness me 1" cried Ruth, with a violent start, which had nearly upset one -of the vessels, and then recovering her presence of mind, she added: "What do you want I" "I beg your pardon," said tne appari tion-and Ruth began to perceive that it - had rather fine eyes and was no longer a very young apparltion-L-"I am .afrakdl I startled you." * "Yes, you did, rather," admitted Ruth, "but If you're a tramp, please go on, we never give to tramps. And if you're a sewing machine agent or anything of thle sort, it's of no use. And" "You are mistaken," said the owner of the dark eyes, with a comical curl of the lips. "I am not one of these-I am in the * china business." - . "Oh," saidI Ruth, beginning to comipre hlead, "vases, and little dogs and parrots, for cast off clothes. .But we wear all our things out and mother makes rag carpets of them afterward." "Very laudible of her, I am sure,'' nodded the stranger. But may leask wht you will take for that twisted cream pot on the shelf just over' your.head ?" Ruth glanced up with startled eyes. "It was my Grandmother Crocus's," she - said ; "and it's so old fashioned *e never use it. Mamma keeps radish seeds in it." "Exactly," said the'stranger. "It's very old and that's the reason I wan't it." *Ruth thoughtof the men who had been' reporteti as traversing the country in sepreh of antiquities, old furniture, and articles of vertu. Could this be one of themi -"It's mhlo," said she .coloring deeply. "My Girandmother Crocus left It .to mne In her will" * "Wouldn't yotu rather have ten dlollars to buy yourself a new hat ?" said the stranger, coaxingly.. "Oh, a .thousand timbs,~" -cried Ruth '9hn It's a bargipn" said th e *gentle4 * an takin~g out a -pocket -book, . which; seemed perfectly apopiectic-with bank notesu. "No tIt isn'ta said Ruth. "lI-I notldh't sell 'it, indeed." "Ahl,*said the stranger, "perhaps there dre oldifsm~ily aspelations, eonnected with " *b ' evr my grandniothor "-r s,'ut ryped ralier, bewildered. ."l ay.twen7,~tylJ% the mranger coaxd ingly.~ s-i "I a o se soat RthI cannot "p de A-i und~i ' '~ Q~tl~6~q~I~ ~ two But Ruth would only reiterate with down-east eyes and deepening blushes "I can't sell It." Mr. Wynfield Napler, walked away, pulling his utoustache and pondering over the old piece of English ware which had so attracted his attention. "I'll sit down formally before thatcream pot," said he ; "I'll besiege it. It shall be mine, or I shall know the reason why." For Mr. Napier was a connoisseur in ceramics, and the moment his idle glance cast upward through Mrs. Wallis's 'milk room window, as he drank a glass of water at the well, had fallen on the piece of Eng. lish china, his soul coveted it. "I've just a month to stay here before I must go back to my dingy old law office again," meditated he. "A manill can do a greit, deal in a month." And he sat himself regularly to work to wiln the treasure which he had yearned for deeply. DIay after day lie strolled to the old farn house, now with this excuse, now with that, a handsome, courtly, middle-aged man, whose winning ma'ners would have attracted any one, and who was as much at home under the white-washed ceiling of the widow Wallis's best room as in a man slon. One day he spoke of the old cream-pot. "'tuth's cream-pot I" said Naomi, the elder sister, a hard-featured, loud-voiced sp5ister of nine and thirty. "Wasn't it a strange provision of Grandmother Crocus's will that Ruth can never part with that old piece of cracked absurdity, unless--" "Noami, hush I" and Ruth had sprung across tne room and laid her iands on her sister's lips, and with blazing eyes and color as deep as one of her own scarlet geraniums said, "Our family affairs shall not be talked of to strangers." "Am I a stranger?" said Mr. Napier, gravely. "I am sorry for that Ruth. 'Only -only-Naomi, please to remember that this is never to be spoken of." "Dear mel" said Naomi, bristling up. "Ilere's a pretty how-to-do about an old cream pitcher." That self-same evening Mr. Napier fol lowed Ruth out in the garden where she had gone to water her carnations. "tuth," said he, "are you determined not to tell me the secret of that cream pot ?" "Yes," said Ruth, resolutely. "Nor let me have It on any terms ?' "Please, Mr. Napier," said Ruth, ''don't ask ie. I cannot." "Well," said Mr. Napier, "here is yet a third demand. If I can't have either secret or cream pitcher, can I have you ?" "Me I" "Yes," said the staid lawyer with strangely softening eyes. "Dear little Ruthli, I have somehow lost my heart to you these last three weeks. I can't go back to the old life without you. lam not a young man, but I have never loved before, and" "But," interrupted Ruth, with mantling cheeks and a quiver in her voice, "am I good enough?" By way of answer he took her in his arms and looked tenderly into her face, and to Ruth Wallis it seemed as If the whole of paradise had opened to her in that moment. "Here it is," said Ruth, with glistening eyes and smiling lips. "The old cream pitcher, dear Wyntield." The cerianiac forgot even true love in the fascination of the piece of old English ware that Ituth laid in his lap. Ile took it up with a loving touch. "But I thought it was a decree of the Medes and Persians that you were not to part with it?" "You didn't understand," said Ruth, coloring radiantly, "I was never to part with it-so Grandmother Crocus's Will said-except to my husband." "Why didn't you say so before ?" "So that you might have taken me for the sake of the old cream pitcher," said Rutli, a little piqued. Ue drew her ger'tly to his side. "My own darlIng," said he, "I love you better than all tLa ol china that is In the world." Which was a great admission for Wyn. field Napier to make. A month later there was a wedding I the village church, and after the wedding came the wedding breakfast, and not a few of.the guests wvondered that the centre or nament on the table, on such an ausp~icious occasion, should be an old ecam lug. Hlow Easy it fs To Be Guillotined. The refusal of the parricide Laprade to be guillotined recalls the man "guillotined bgy persuasion," of Cliavette. " 'But I say, you know,' said1 the execu tioner, 'everybody is waiting. Thue magis trates are there, the clergy are there, the soldiers (who are to present arms to you just as If you were the President of the Republic) are there-everybody is there. All they are waiting for Is you-only you." "'I don't know'--replied the con demned man. " 'I'm a niew executioner; you are the first person I've had to guillotine ; give me a good send-off, can't you? iHelp me to discharge .a disagreeable dluty. Just put y'ourself In my place' "'You ,just put yourself in mine.' "It can't be any qtcstlon of expense ; don't you know that everythIng Is paid 'I It won't cost you a penny ; the State stands treat.' " 'I haven't asked the State to stand treat to anything.' "'Come, now, old fellow, let's underst and each other. You mayn't thInk so, but this resistance doesn't proceed from your. owvn better nature-,some one has put you tip tQ it. You have: taken a totally erroneous Idea of the affair. WVhat, after all said and done, -does It amount to?9 It's a nothing a mere formality. Let us look Into it In do tall< You are called and~ wakened early and given a. comfortable breakfast-order whatever'you want. Nothing ls so very dreaidful abouit tht Is there? Then you have your hair cut-1it's healthy this hot 'weather, and makes you feel fresher. Then y ou go cabinly and pleasantly. Q.ut for a ride. fn a ca-arriage ; understand-.? While yott ae-vngalong you Amuse yourself chat tg ati-s, that -and 'the other . laiung 1vItht'~piriests and you never feel the ihno pass. *Welly wlten yott get there they come' out to mueet you,,they opes. the door for you, they help.yogu put~of.,tho oisge; they do eveltide in theit siower for you, Then you go .up stairs-only a step or two, and the asdent is'sot ~sythat you'd .almiost -think you -were going doW as ;You bow to the pubflc fore fl~youi btye tIr to titrn !ndr'"" a.a Is A (iam Intian. During the month of March, otr minin camp In the Black Hills, had a myster which the sharpest could not unravel. Tool provisions, gold-dust, clothing, cookin utensils and other truck were stolen awa in spite of the closest vigilance. There bt Ing no other camp within three miles, an the whabitants of our town being abov suspicion, we had a puzzle on our handk All the thieving was done at night, and arti cles were carried off even with a double roi of guards around the camp. A ravin( having two or three feet of water in It, an, crossed by a bridge, divides our camp, an it was at length concluded that the thic camne and went by this dark road. On night in April guards were posted along th ravine, which then contained thirty iece of ice-cold water, and the night was a freew. ing one. Soon after midnight an alar was raised, and the guards fired upon 80311 man or animal coming (own the ravin into canip. At least twenty bullets wer fired, but the unknown got away. Nex morning evidence was found indicating tha the mysterious stranger wits an Indial named "Gen. Scott," who had been drivei out of our camp at the close of winter fo stealing, and had been frequently seen o0 the hills above u1s. N,) white m'1ani wouli have dared the rayine and its rush of ice water for what lie could steal, but it wa elieved that "Gen. Scott" would, and tha le was tie thief. Preparations were, there made for running him (Iown. No one i cam1p went to work, but all turned out fo a sort of Fouith of July, it being know that "General Scott," had fight in him Twenty-one miners, all well-armled, turnei out oin the hunit. Half a mile above cai] we struck the "General's" trail, or the spo where lie had descended and ascended th ravine. At this point two of the missinj camp-kettles were found. Ile had stolci flye altogether, and four of theml m1ust hav, been taken from pure cussedness. Th trail ran back to the timbered hills, and wia easily followed. After a slow and carefu hunt for a mile aind half, we suddenly go news of the "General." lie ha:- discoveret us, knew our mission, and was bound t< have the first shot. Iis bullet ploughed i furrow along the scal1) of a miner name< Chalmers, from Pittsburg, knocking hin over. It was evident that the Indian ex pected no favors from u1s, and after his sho there was no intention of granting him any The fellow had lis camp under a ledge o: rocks, but, while it was a good place t4 shield him from the weather, it became tot hot. for him when twenty men, each takim his own position, opened fire. The India' was gaie. He opened fire with a revolve driving three men to cover, n'nd the nexl we knew le was crossing a valley for tih shelter of the timbered hill beyond. Thm Indian knew the risk lie ran, and as he flev across the valley lie zigzagged his course t< embarrass the riflemen ready to fire. Whet called upon to Imlt he uttered a defiant yel but was the next moment struck and brough down. When lie fell he rolled into a sink hole and was agahi at bay, having a freshl: !oaded revolver in hand. The yells of th< miners were answered with shouts of de fiance, and it was plain we had not yet woi the fight. After a brief consultation five o: the miners mnade a flank movement to gait a point overlooking the sink-hole. Thi poht gained, they could pick off the Indiai with their long range rifles. This left fif teen m11en1 in a body, and while most of then were sitting down the "General" sudden1l rose up and advanced upon uts, hobblinj dreadfully on his wounded leg. He knev his fate and was ready to die game. Hi was within Pistol shot before any one move< and lie blazed away as fast as lie could fire wounding a young man, Charles Judson, o New Jersey, and knocking the 118t from an other's lead. Even as 11e went down, hii finger pressed the trigger once more, send Ing a bullet among the clouds. Any com punctious of conscience over the "Gener al's" deathl were wIped 0111 when we 0cam1 to investigate Is camp1 on thle ledge. 11er were proofs 11181 lie had stolen fromi his owi race as well as ours, H~e was, doubtless, ai outlaw from Is tribe, or he wvould not live thus alonie, anid tile two white men1's 80811) 1in his camp told of cold-blooded miurders 01 5011omlely trail across tile hlbL. Life with Ragpickcers. A New York reporter lately accompanicl a Chliffonier or professionai ragplcker to hi (lel In that city. It was situated near Me chanics' alley, in thle Sixth Ward. Enter in~g 1110 ihallway thlrough a doorless opening the floor creaked beneath his feet, as though it was albout to separate and( swallow hlin u~p. At the end of the passage ano*the dloorway, whlichl was partially barricaldel by bundles of rags, heaps of iron, coal bonces, etc., was found, and lie entered low roofed cellar. In thiscavcrn, whichl Is per haps 15 feet long by 12~ broad, there wer< at least twenty human beligs of both sexe huddled together. Tile floor seemed to hi all 01ne bed, and was littered wilth rags o every dlescriptlon, while tile stench wa horrnble, there bIeinlg no venltilation. Bit ting or crouching roun~d the floor in group of threes and fours were several hlomel, females, old and young, who were occupiei In assorting rags by the dhm, flickerIng lIghI of a candle. Thle miserable rays of thb candle gave tihe dhell a weird, lonesome anc dismal appearance, and1 tile lIght fell strange ly on tile faces of thle occulpants, themnajorh ty of whlom were withred and wrinkle< 01ut of al.l semblance of hu~lmaiuty. Ifi thi1 den the reporter found that the ragpicke and his famIly work night and day. Whili one is making the rounds In quest of bones coal, cinders or old bottles, tihe balance o the family are at work assorting the gathler edi scraps in their den, anld selectIng wha thley intend to sell to the junkmen. "The business was good, years ago," re marked Black Paddy to the reporter, "bui tile trade of late years, Is greatly dlepresseed and a body cannot sollI for as much as h, used to." "Wile Is to blame for this ?" asked thi reporter. "Wily, thlese heathlen Italians; so that th, likesof us are obliged to be out nearly al the night." -Padldy is one of the kings of thle rag pickers., He lives in~ the "Bay" as h stylqs It, whiclh means Baxter etteet. HI claimsa to haye, come, origInally from Ire land, and says-he is one of tile oldest il business in this city. Paddy is always bos over a well filled ash barrel, from which Il often drivts. the Italian, with threate'uina gestures with his .long iron, hook. It I claimed that Black f'addy is worth a smnal fortune. .All the week lhe ctle rags an<l carrIes is large hempen bag, but on Sun day he dresses uphn gorgeussgl Pail after relieving himselte n1o'e td gree by the outb~rst .apanst Itall dari e0s% )deoesed td lagye e ho dWj4 hi rag-hook in dangerous proximity to the re porter's nose, that the business is now al most entirely monopolized by the Italians, who can "live on nothing a day and get rich on it." Paddy complaiued that the Italians start out too early In the morning, and to find anything good lhe has to follow suit, or have the labor of traveling round the city only to find that all the coal, iron, scraps, rags, etc., have all disappeared, and everything that a cent could be made on has been gathered from the ash barrels by the one who was aheatd of him. After gain n ing good deal of information from Paddy, the reporter left him and went on his way, f puzzled at the idea that men and women can content themselves with leading such a life. Iigpickers do not confine themselves entirely to gathering rgs. 'I'hey collect Old hats, paper, boots, bottles, cut glass, iron, brass and a quantity of other goois, which, to a majority of people, In spite of old John Smith's adage, "Everything is useful,'' ap pear utterly worthless. Trhe work of col lection is not a iiall portion of the rag S)icker's labor. When lie .arrives at his haunt all these articles are assorted, the bottles and rags are washed, the white and r colored rags and paper separated, and each kind of material arranged, ready for sale t die nearest junk. Very often the ragpicker finds more valuable articles than those lie stars iin search of, and lie often profits by the servants' carelessness, which frequently causes the aishes tc yield a silver spoon, sonic garment that only requires cleaning to be made saleable, or articles of glassware or crockery with neither break nor blemish upon them. In addition to these bonnes bouches of the business, his qick eye de tects the coin. or bit of jewelry which has been lost the evening previous, aind the find er seldom troubles himself as to the owner ship of these goods, but disposes of thel at, the nearest pawnbroker's as quickly as )os sible. The ragpickers could not live by their occupation only for the junk stores, and the latter would do little business with out the ragpickers. Tle junk stores serve the same purpose to the ragpicker that the stock exchange does to the broker, with the advantage in favor of the junk store that no fee for membership is required. 1lere, dur ing the afternoon, the ragpickers assemble to dispose of the goods collected during the orenoon, to discuss the probabilitiel of a rise in their particular line of goods, to gather the latest scandal that may be circu lating relative to some of their number, or to settle disputes which may have arisen in the morning on the street, but which could not, be settled there owing to the presence of their natural enemy, the policeman. The junk stores in the low haunts of the city at such times form a most interesting study, and they rank among the sights of the me tropolis. Men, women, and in sonic cases children, gather the cast-off wealth of the metropolis, and here daily they may be seen at their best and worst. The proprietor of the mart for old rags, iron, brass, rope, bot ties, etc., is one of the busiest of men about this time, for none of his cust omers are over honest, and lie woi. knowti from past ex perience that they will increase the weight of the articles sold, even if they have to add to them some of the articles which he has just bought and paid for. Then the labor of paying for the merchandise is no small task, more especially if the customers have failed to cheat the buyer durmng the weighing process. Quarrels often arise, and among the Italians a cent is sometimes of suflicient value in their eyes to outweigh a man's life, and when once their murder ous-looking knives are drawn a place of safety is most desirable. The ragpickers, in sonie instances, eke out a, good living. Some have retired rich from their findings, other have opened junk stores and given up the hook and bag for more profitable and less uncertain business. The average earn ings of a ragpicker are for an adult two dollars a day, and often this sum Is material ly increased by finding money or other valuables. On this amount they not only live, but save monley. The Italian rag pickers.spend little money on food or clothes, arid live on thre cheapest and com monecst goods the market affords. All nationalities help to make up the ar-my of Sragplckers, but the Italians make the most money, arid many save mo~ney enough to return to their Ironies in Italy. The dIwell Iigs of some of the Italian ragpickers wecll repay one for a vi4 even If the (disagree I able arid disgnsting scenes witnessed are taken Into considleration Abment-Mlidedlness. 'ltrawvberies and ice-cream," she cooed softly, as a dozen glaring signs with that r- magic inseriptioni thereon met her (love-like I gaze. "Lime, hair and cement.," quoth lie, as his eagle-eye dlespairingly took in a weath -erbeatch shanty across the street, forming a 3 sadl contrast to the palace which, If man once enters lie Is lost, If a woman goes with Shim. ''"I .haven't had any this season," said she with a wvomian's percoption that hisa thoughts we~to wondering from the sublime to the riiculoius, " Nellie, where does your father buy Is building materials? " and our young man increased lis gait to eighteen laps nmore to the nuile. I 4"Why I what (1o you--" - " Of course riot, you know I mean--you know-those aro mighty fine fellows who I run that 11ime institutIon over there-see it? right across the street. Well, you see, I've promised them to talk up their business. They're good, square boys, and I must speak to y-our father about them, Hie is a kind old gentlmanl, your father is, and en . courages economy. It was only the other day ho spoke to me very kindly about my extravagance, and brought uip as an exam - ple a remark lie heard an Ice cream dealer L make that I spent more mnonoy for ice cream than any man in town. Your father is such a p~ersuiasive 01(1 gentleman, arnd lie talked so niely about it, that I thea and a there muade a solemn resolution that I Sfwouildn't spenld a cent for Ice creami this I The last ice cream laboratory had been Ipassed. lie amiled a smile of grim satis - faction and felt lhe had done It well. H~e 3 tallied one for himself, And decided lie was 3 a schemer that could match any woman - bent on having a dish of Ice cream at his m expense. He looked over hIs left shoulder s. hit the panting breature, ' whom lie was y drag~lng along at a tremendous gait, to see g lio~w she took it, s The dove-like expression of her eye was I lost, and there flashed on h.im stuch a look I of contempt and disgust from that lovely face that he felt bad. I"Yoim see, Nelle, your soble father-"* AnI tstruck b l of .a sudden at 9'efathrA ed jar ftou' Euchared at a H1orse-Itace. "Speakin' of horse-racin'," said Jailet Birdlsal, of Virginia City, Nevada, to 11 select coterie In the city jail, the tricks ol the turf being under consideration, "I hIla my dose once, and I'm a horse thief if I haven't kept it dark for eighteen years. ] was keepin' a big stable oil B. street in 'IC and there was a sight o' racin' going on iii them times, and I wanted ily till in every thing o' that kind. I was younger and fresher than I am now. Two horses were brung up from Genoa to run for a thousand a side at the track near Long Valley TIhe, race was to come off on Saturday, and there was soilne heavy bettill' oil tie thing. I was holdin' back for points before pulttin' up any coin]. "Bill llarnesqs coIIIs to me a Thursday and put up the prettiest job I ever heard tell of. You don't remember Bill, I s'pose I Well, he was lynched over it Pioche ini '7 1, poor fellow. We took Ilardy in, an' it was agreed that the swag was to be divided equal. It wis a pretty job, an' the chief beauty of it. Wis that It Wias 80 easy an' Sim1 ple. It was just for Hardy an' me to take the horses the night afore the race an' speed 'em round tlie track till lie fond their pace. It wouldn't. be no trick, then, at all, for us to haul in ill the pools and clean up land some. Thie nags were in m13iy stable, which imade the business Just too 011y. Friday night ine ti' IaHardy set to work an' got, the jockeys blind., stavin' drunk, an' by Imiid night they was as lihp nll' senseless as a pair of lines. Hardy and me, when we'd got 'cim so they couldn't tell a stirrup from a distance pole, laid 'em out in the straw in an empty stall nll' took the black and gray out for practice. It was a pretty moonlight night, clear as day, and everything worked slick. I rode the black, an' it beat. the gray easy, although they were bo'th powerful good goers. Then I took the gray an' Ilar dy took the black, so there couldn't be no suspicion of roots agin one another, and still the black a most distanced the gray. "We jest laughed till the tears rolled down our jaws, when we led them horses back to our stalls, to think of the soft, thing we had on the boys, an' Iardy ni' Ime was quite willin' to put in about two hours 1'rub bin' (own them flyers, so as to remove all signs of the work they'd been through. 'he race wias mile heats, best two in three, an' MC inl' Hlardy was on the track good an' early next (lay takin' everythin' that was offered agin the black. We both hid Bcads in tLIemi times, an' whCn the start was made we'd about live thousand on the black between u1s. We let i) bettin' Jest out of pify for the poor devils that took us up so innocent and eager. Every now ai' then Harness an' Hardy aill' ie would neet an' go itn' take a drink an' roar with laughin' so you could hear 11 a Mile. "When the horses stIrtedl Iardy an' Ime felt- bigger'n old Grant. It kind o' surprised us to see the way the gray lifted las feet through, an' when lie come in a lengthi ahead o' the blick it kind o' made us feel ulliasy abiut the gills. Of course we knowed it was the durned jockey's fault, an1' mnaiged to git to him an' slip flye twenties into his fin. " 'Let her out this time,' I sez. 'If the black wins you'll get. two hundred more.' "le gave a wink and nodded. Boys, you kill roast ile if that. durned gray didn't distance the blick in the seciind heat I In tell minutes I was blind drnnk an' knowed n1o iore till ilornil'. Then I oiled lip imly shooter and started out to find lardy. If I had founa him lie wouldn't a been water tight long. I wis sure he'd put the Jo) pl) on me oii the track Friday night. We didnt happen to meet. Friends looked out for that I know now. Harness wasn't n1o where around, an' I tC-n1d ie'd gone to the bay. "It wasn't, forty-eight houirs afore the whole town was howlin' With delight at the way Hardy aii' imc'd been eat ill). It was that cussed Ilarniess ain' his gang. Thley'd loaded tihe shoes 0' the gray with leaid, an' then puit IHardly anl' me1( upj to our little gamile. It wvas," said( Mr. Birdeall, with tears in his eyes at the mere memiory, "the lowest dlownm shennillgani thalt ever was playedl on twvo holnest mleni. Only think what wouldl have hiappened if Hardly and ale had miet. i~e was huntin' for me just the same as I was after him. The game was blowed before wec dhid come together, an' then after flye minutes' talk we started for the bay to see Harness, lie skipped beCfore we got there, an' althoughl we followed hhnm for more'n a month, lie kept ahead of us. They gave himl lis dose over at Plochle, though," added Mr. Birdsall, cheerfully, and then lie sIghed and relap~sed into tobacco smoke and silence. Basmark's Courage. Bismark's life Is full of aulthlentic aniec dotes recording his singular fearlessness. As a child he does nOt seemi to knlow what dhanger Is. Is mother Is in constant fear about him. If lie does not get drownecd ho wvill certainily bireak hIs neck. Many acci dleats h1appeni to hliml, and lhe often hams very narrow escapes, but somiehiow 11e always doees escape. As he growsolder he becomes more prud~ent, but still lie does not know fear. In Gottingen, where lie wvent to law, lhe got Involved In four duels on the dlay of lis arrival, b~ecauise, quite regardless of the respect dure by a freshman to his seniors, lie coolly and deliberately insulted four of these who had taken the liberty to laugh at him. WVhile in the army lie saved lisa servant from drowning at thre rIsk of hIs own life. For this deed lhe got a medal, which for miany years wvas the only deco ration hie had. lUd wears It stIll ; and it Is said-and we readily believe-that he is quite as proud of It as of the numberless rIbbons, crosses and stars wvhich now cover lia breast. After 1848 lBisriark's courage was displayed on othmer fields. lie was among the first, and certainly among th~e most conspicuous of those who, while all around were carried away by thre revolution oridespair of being able to resist it, ,stood up b)oldly and agItated openly agin'st It. lie took the lead of the reaeto ary party and became very unpopular. "hle liberal press hn Prussia attacked hpu - ith great violence. In Parliament lhe ne with ve hement opposition, He seldom lost lis temper, but lhe never retracted a single word of his attack on the revolution. Some allusions havIng been made to the fate which generally awaits those wh'o try to re slat the demands of a great people for liber ty, lie merely shrugged his ahoulders. Hie Is of the opinion that "death on the scaffold may be a very honorable 'death." While lie was canvaosipg tor his oletion at a place called Ratheti*, An old farmot asked him if he Ihough~t It *oeo otf use "to- Ogb( no thse~c Belk ia10 i to be the hammer. When he was on th~e point of leaving Iathenow a mob surround ed the carriage in which he was seated with r his friend Mr. Von Stechow. Stones were a thrown at him, and one struck hihn on the shoulder. Ile rose, and picking up the r atone that had fallei in the carriage, hurled c it back at the crowd. It was a multitude L against two men, but nobody dared to stop BIismark's carriage. In 1850, when the tide of political passion was still running very high, Ilismark went. one day into a tavern at Berlin to take a glass of beer. A 3 man near him, feeling himself sUpported by j the presence of his friends, begai to abuse 1 a member of the royal family. Bisimark L looked at him, and mid qluietly, "If you v have not left this room before I have finished ; my beer I'll break this pot over your head. " lie then emptied his glass very'deliberately and, as the man took no heed of the warn ing he did as he threatened. lie went ill to the fellow and knocked him about the t head with the pot till le fell howling on the 1 ground. hiaiark then asked the waiter: "HOW muiiich for the glass ?" and lavinig paid for it he walked awiay leisurely, with- I out anyone having dared to molest him. ( Even at that tiie le was a mian of some t, political standing and the acknowledged 1 leader of the conservative party ; but, true r to his principle, Ie always took the offen- r sive, attacking adversaries wherever lie met l them, and with all weapons. Bismarck's attitude in Parliament had, of course, been i, much noticedt at court. The king, Freder- 6 ick William IV, had taken a great liking to 0 the Junker, and when the post of Prussian b inmister at. Frankfurt became vacant. lie jt thought of offering it to Bismarck. lie < was rather surprised, however, when this a latter, without asking time for reilection, i declared himself ready to accept the king's proposal. "lBit you ire aware that it is a very dillicult, post, and it involves great re sponsibility ?" said the king. "Your majesty may at all eventsgive Ie p a chance," replied IBismark, if I (o not- ti succeed, I can be recnlled at any time." c The position which lie it once assuied at Frankfurt created considerable aston- I ishiimnt there. Austria was it, that time I the ruling power in the Bundesrath, and dI the minor Uerian states not. only suffered o this, being as legitimate and unavoidable, tl but they actually favored tie pretensiionls I of Austria; for they saw in the House of % llapsburg their natural protector against c the lohenzollern. The last representative N of Prussia at the Bnd. had not been able s to resent this, and had (iietly conisented to C )layi a humble second part, Count Thun, a the Austrian minister and president of tie d Bilund, being unmistakably No. 1. This o had gone so filr tihat Bismarck's predecessor tI had, like his colleaguies, allowed Count I hun b to be the only miember to smoke during the n connuittee meetings. No consideration it could prevent Bismarck from protesting I against this. lie took i cigar out of his y pocket, asked Count ''liuin, to his amaze- k ment, for a light, and puffed away freely si long after the Austrian minister hat thrown e: his cigar away. It was but a trile, but c that, trille reuired more courage than any 1i of his colleagues possessed, anild iismarck a acquired thereby at personal position which v his predecessor had never enjoyed. We it have recalled these stories, though they are is unimportant in themselves, because we have si thought it iteresting to show that lis- 0 mailirck's "historical'" auidility-if suci a el term iny be used-hus its origin in his na- w Live, inborn daring. Ilismarek lias never r been mIeall-spirited. Ile lis not begiln to si talk loud and proudly, and to lie aggressive at since lie has become it great m11an ; on the tl contrary, he hals risen to what lie now is be- h cause lie spoke and acted boldly and.proud lv when he was but a very amiall personage. lie certainly hoped to win the game lie was playing, but lie could not. conceal from him self that all would be over if lie lost it. 0 What would Prince Bismarck be now, if, after Diuppel, Prussia had been beaten at Sad~owa, or after Sadown, ait GIravelotte ? d lie thought, of this, but lie wvas never afraid. c Tlhe poor gentleman-farmer, the Juniker, whlo had to contract dlebts in ordler to lie able1 to live in towna, became successively ani inflhiential politician, a pairlliamenitary i leader, minister at Franikfurt, St. Peters-h burg, Paris ; prhnie minister, chancellor, a count, and prince ; but still remaainled ready t to give his adversaries new chances of de feating and crushing him. I An Auction Joue. Mr. Waite Is a novel husband-that is to say, in a good maniy respects. lIe hi nether (drinks, smokes, nior oeows, hi stays home at evenlings, never gatables anid gives his wIfe all the money that r< she wants. b It is said that all men hiavesomneldlo- n syncracy or hobby. Mr. Waite has hia. t 11, Is a deep rooted mania for attending tI auction sales and buyIng articles Of a every descriptIon, a la TIoodles, with- e~ out regard as to whether they wdlever el be of any practical use to hi. As long as lie gets them at a bargain lie Is h A good Joke about this peculIarity of hIs was related the other evening ca by a friend of his. Mr. Wakte wvent to a an auction sale of a dealer in spiortinig goodls, whore lie bought two hundred a dumb bells at twenty cents a p~air, and carried them home In triumph. He stored them ini a collar wvhere they re mnained for six months or more. ( Mrs. W. got tiredl of seelig them oe cupy so much space, as she wanted the e, cellar for some purpose of her own. a 8o, imagining that her husband had hi forgotten all abotut his novel acquIsition a she sold the dumb bells for a meorosong to an auctioneer. That evening Mr.a Wakte returned honme with a hand cart. tl Ils face was flushed btit triumphamnt. r< "Whiat have you got in the cart, al dear?" asked Mrs. W,., p "Dumb bolls, darling.,' a "What I" "Dumnb bells. Bought two hundred " pairs at thirty cents a pair. Paid more for themi than the others I got, but you knowv it will never do to let~ thme prloe of h dumb bells drop. k Mr0. Waite took one look ait the ar ticles. Her worst fears were reallzed., tl They wore the samie dumnb bells that t she had sol in the morning. 'Mr. t Waite had ohancd to be in attendanceh at the sale where they huid bet4 oftei'ed and had biougt tliehti n'a thiirIad~ Our Consumption of Timber. We have now about 90,000 miles of rail )ad ; the annual consumption for ties or leepers alone is 40,000,000, or thirty years' rowth of 75,000 acres. To fence these jads would require at least 180,000 miles f fence, which would cost $45,000,000 to uild, and take at least $15,000,000 annual r to keep in repair. We have '76,000 tiles of wire, which requires in its putting p 800,000 trees, while the annual repairs imet take 300,000 more. The little, in ignifleant lucifer natcli censumqs annually I its manufacture 300,000 cubic feet of the nest pine. The bricks that are annually aked require 2,000,000 cords of wood, rhihel would sweep the timber clean front 0,000 acres. Shoe pegs are quite as im ortant an article as matches or bricks, and > make the required annual supply con imes 100,000 cords of fine timber, while te manufacture of lasts and boot trees ikes 5010,00 cords of mal11ple, beech and ircih, and about the same amount is re uired for plante stocks and the handle8 of >ols. The packing boxes made in the ited States in 1874 amounted to $12, 00,000, while the thnber manufactured iu ) agricultural imlpleients, wagons, etc., is lore than $100,000,000. The farm and til fences of the country consume an imi ense anount of lIunber and tim er annually, but as we grow older as a ation, this consuiptidh may, and probab - will, be reduced by the more general use f live fences or hedges. Our conutimption timber is not only daily onl the increase, ut our exportation of timber is also rapidly 'creasing. Our staves go by the million > France annually, walnut, oak, maple Id pine to England, and spars and docking iber to China and Janan. Economy in D~ress. To be sure, these are hard times, and rudence is needful ; but, my dear ladies, tat is poor econoiny that leads you to buy tcal) goods simply because they are cieap. the long run this plan does not pay. you buy but little, buy good material. verybody could contrive to have three resses in wear. If it is Important to have ne really good dress, it is equally impor amt to have a good second best to save it. [any poor women destroy a best dress by caring it at unsuitable times, simply be. so they have no other presutable in hich to go ont. A richer neighbor could ve her silk ott a rainy day by wearing it >arser and more suitable dress. We know hitdy who, ott a small income, manages to ress handsomely inI all occasions, going At it great deal in fashionable circles. It Akes science, but she is equal to it ; she a ys one good dress a year, this she hias Ide II) in the prevailing style, and sets aside as her very best for dinner parties, inny Sabbath's and the like. The last 11ar's best dress is remodeled into an excel I. second best, which is most used of the t. It serves for afternoon wear, for gon 'al street wear and (lull Sundays. Then mies the third best, which is made, nost kely, of several old dresses, ripped apart. id turned to the best account. This is for ry common use, bt looks very well oven i the street, for the mnaterials of which it made wore of the best in their day, and telc goods have a perennial youth. The her accessories of ier toilet are always egant. She never buys cheap lace, which ears out in a season, but procures the aIl, which lasts for years. Again she ves all her pieces--every scrap of silk, lin, or velvet-and Is never at a loss for ie materials for a bright-colored bow or it address. A Privaite itoomj. A writer in New York says I am re inded, by the announcement that some of ir clubs will have their rooms in the )tels at Coney Island this year,-as they dI last,-of an amullsing incident in that >nniectioin. Somle of thte wiindows in One these club roomns "gaze" on their private ,randa and~ sonme on the public otto, antd a wv of the members dining there one after >On were uchl annoyed by people pass g through. One big, burly fellow twice tendedc~ in thIs way, although warned that was a private roomt. Seeing him enter a ird time, one of the memnbers, whio tawers to poor Pillicoddy's description of imaelf, being "small but desperate, dimin tive but dectermlined," rose and barred his ay. ''You go oult thte way you came in," said The man, with a swagger, "woul see if wouldl." Thte gentleman forced him back, the m~gh's friend's took his part, other mnem rs of the club joined in, and in fewer miutes thtan are required to read it, the in uider hiad mlade a parabolic fight through to air and lanlded In a promiscuous beap) ite vernd~a. lie picked htimself up and )proached his adversary, his contenaince cpressing rathter a species, of surprised tiosity thant ungovernable chpler. "Is th/s really, a private room ?" asked 3, In tones quite unlikd his former ones. "Yes, and youl'il find it out," was the gorous reply. Int place of an explosion of wrath there time from the lately truculent intruder thte ords : "IwlV~!dn't hava your dispoal Hion for thiousand dollars !" Capturina'a Cooktaii. "A relic of old decency" in the form of a llapidated spechnen of humanity, with a irn-colored ntose, walked Into a Montgom y street saloon one eveiling, and jauntily altzed over to the lunch counter, remark Ig to theo barkeeper, en passan4, "Mix me stiff cocktail, pleas8," and proceeded to p off a section of corned beef as large' as b~asalt block, and covertly dumped about half-pound of crackers gbrough a hole in eo lining of hisacoat., 'Fie geektaii being ady, the customer loisurely swallowed it, id taking the measure of th~ cocktail dJ -. nser thtrouigh the. lettom, of the glA~s iked:, hee o "Has 'Goosoy~ .iooen arond hr o Ight ?" B. K. replied that'he ~idnot the hontor ! that in~Uvidual's qui4ance. "What slo)Vft.Jo(o Why he augs around hel' yy~~ aott must sow him.a Hiea~% %1r~, He watked toa4in do tstug ce waddle of ,$O0 ~ v 1 ed