The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, December 23, 1880, Image 1
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-WEEK EDITION- WINNSBORO, S. C., DECEMBER.23, 1880. VOL. IV.-NO 154
FIAEWELL, 0 SUMXER 8ONEd I
Farewell, 0 Summer soones, no more
I walk these breezy, pine-clad bille;
No more for me the sunset's glow
Or moonlight's calni the valley fill@.
Ah I not once only, thdugh your forms
Have faded from my outward eye,
In hours of darkness shall ye come
To strengthen and t'o purify.
Farowell, 0 summer friends, with whom
I dreamed the sunny hours through I
Warm-souled yi u wore no soclal masks.
But gave the best you lived and know.
Meet, part, forget I you pass and fade,
And leave my heart but half content
Still must I hope some nobler end
Than s.myly that we oame and went.
Farewell 0 Snmmer hoels. though dear,
With willing hands I let you go!
Dreama cannot feed the hungry heart,
Nor unworked soil fair harvosti grow.
Not ours be rest in sta4nant pools,
Nor idling neath a summer's sun.
But istrength to out deep o'aanne a out
Whorein an earnest life may run.
Lost in the Snow.
bMy life has been full of strange advent
tures; for since I was a lad of sixteen, till
I reached the ago cf sixty-eight--more
than half a century-I was in the employ
of the Hudoni's Bay Fur Company. Some
times 1 acted as sn Indian trader; but for
many years I followed trapping and pack
lug.
I am now eighty-five, and still a hale
and hearty old man. It is true that I can
not stow away so large a quantity of buf
falo beef as I once could; but'even yet I
ean holle my own with younger men at
the trencher.
Sometimes, with a few choice comrades,
I would seek the trapping-grounds of the
Shayenne or Assiniboin Indians, and trade
with them for their peltries, which I would
sell again to the Company's agent at a con
siderable profit. At other times, while
drawing a y early salary from the Hudson's
flay agent, I would be frequently sent in
charge of dog-trains to distant points, to
bring in the pelts from various caches
("hiding places") where our trappers and
hunters had deposited them.
On one occasion I was ordered to go thus,
with a large train and two companions, from
a tenporary post on the loose.1tiver, a
branch of the Red River, westward, to one
of the northern branches of the Missourl.
Some of our men had, theAdnter before,
i.ade a long cache of otter and beaver
skins on the banks of that stream, and early
in the spring I was directed. to bring them
in.
- One of my companions, D'Arville, hade
been of the autumn party; he was therefore
sent with me as a guide. The othnr,
ialardeau had not been long In the employ
of the Company, but was permitted to ac
company us, at his own request, being
desirous, as lie said, to learn the country.
We reached the stream, and found the
cache8 all right; and. after stopping for a
few days, to rest our dogs and recruit them
on a good feed of buffalo meat, we started
again on our return to the trading-post.
We had traveled some three or four days,
when on reaching one of the northern
heads of the Shayenne, D'Arville the guide
renen.bered having been told by one of his
comrades of a former trip, that, by taking
,anothe~r route eastward fromi that stream,
we could shorten our distance to the Ited
lRiver; we struck out in that direction. Tihe
route would take us through a treeless
* prairie of many miles extent. None of us
had ever attoemptedi it before; but we would
have had no dhlliculty in crossing it had
not a blmnding snow storm set, in with such
violence and frequent changes of the wind
that. after struggling along for two days,
with no cessation of it, we became con
fused,and the guide confessedl that he know
not where we were, In short, we were
lost; and that under the most unpleasant
of all circumstances; upon a wide and un
known plain, on wvhich, even were it not
for the blinding storm, no laud-marks ex
isted to direct our steps.
On encamping the first night on this des
elate track, we secured our dogs around us
and were all so completely snowed In that,
on the return of clay, it was with miuch la
bor that we could dig our way again to the
surface. 'rho snow had fallen to the depth
of five feet.
'ro proceed with our slet'ges was out of
the question, for the spring snow, contmnu
ally falling, was without a crust. Leaving,
therefore, the sledges and packs behind us,
just as we hadl detached the dlogs from them
the nilght previous, we whistled on our
faithful animals, and started onward, hop
* lug, soon as the storm should abate, to be
able to oontinue our way towards the fort.
But the snow continued to fall, till It be
camne impossib~le without snow-shoes, how
we were to proceed. We thierefero dug down
to the ground, and determitied to eniCamp~
till the snow should have wvon itself out,
and the surface be hard enough to bear our
weight, or so long as our Realnty suplhy of
bultalo beef should hold out. We were
soon buried beneath the snow dIrift aigalin;
but our dioge,withi the true instinct of their
species, struck out for the fort. hand it
been possible for us to have followed them,
they wouldi have conducted us safely en
our right, course.
BAo we remained four days without food,
the atormi contluing. On the mghit of the
Aifth day, wrapping ousolves up in our
blankets and buffalo robes, we threw our
selves down recklessly to die; for death was
staring us all in the face. Despairing of
ever .seoing the light, of another dlay, we
closed our eyes, and were soon lost in for
getfulness. But still1 another dlay trrhvetd
to us-but to two of us only; for beside me,
wrapped In the same robe, lay the body of
* - my poor comrade D'Arviloe. stli and life
less. Starvation and cold had done its
work upon the stalwart hunter. During
that wretched night his brave spirit yielded
and fled.
Arousing ralardeau from his painful
sleep, and aalsting him to regain his swol
len feet, we stermined to make one last
effort to reach the fort. Leaving the corpse
of our dead cqmpanion to the wolves, for
we were too wk to attempt to bury It,we
dragged ourselgs from the spot.
On we went At last, my companion,
worn out, laid dwn to die.
As I Was about o throw myself by lis
side, to sleep my qst earthly slumber, an
object glided swift* past an openig In the
snow near my 'ace, and crawling to
the top, my eyes re gladdened by the
sight of a rabbit boirding away to vards a
clump of willows, Aion the margin of a
spring not far off.
This sight restored ihr hopes and flagglug
pulses; and with recoiwred energies we set
ourselves to work mald4g traps for the an.
imals whose tracks vqre found in great
numbers about the spriag.
By the time this labt' was completed,
we dug out a shelter in te snow, to await
the result on the return ol daylight.
W lie the morning camt, belore the light
had fairly penetrated our ilelter, without
awakening me, my friend stole noiselessly
out to examine the trape.
I called his name; but rectived no reply.
At last,as I penetrated a httlethicket, where
I had planted one of my tralp I perceived
a dark object stretched on the snow.
I approached It nearer; it Nis the cold
and lifeless form of my poor comarade. He
must, have been dead sonic houn He had
reached the trap which had contained it rab
bit.; for by tie spot were scattered fragments
of the hairy coat of the animal.
He had found the animal, and in the ea
gerness of starvation he had devoured it
alive; and the unusual stimilus of food act
ing upon his inflamed stomach, must have
thrown him into convulions-for the snow
about him, where he lay, indicated as iuuch.
Alas! poor Falardeau.
Now, indeed, desoairinst of help, and
throwing myself upon the ground,'I awaited
with resignation the period which would
terminate my sufferings.
Exhausted and spiritless, I soon sank into
a state of partial insensibility. I had become
unconscious of pain. My hunger was for.
gotten; but .still retained a knowledge of
my hopeless condition, and the desolate
surroundings about me. As near s I could
judge, in my dying state, I had lain thus,
liII the evening of the seventh day, when
grating noise upon the snow.
The sound was not unfamiliar to me; and
as it became more and more distinct. in its
nearer approach to ine, it awoke a train of
memories; and arousing mysupken energies,
called me back again to hope.
Could it be that reliet was approaching
that some kindly human aid was in searah
of me?
Still nearer came the creaking sound,like
that of a sledge drawn over the frozen crust
of the snow. Yes, yes, human aid was at
hand.
Ina few moments more, the sound ceased,
and I heard a friendly voice salute me with
the salutation of "Good morning" and the
form of a tall Cheyenne hunter stood before
mec.
It was but for a moment,however,that lie
remained, for leaving me, he hastened to
make a fire .from the dry twvigs of the wil
lows, and in a little time returnedi with a
small cup of the weakest broth of venison,
a quantity of which he had brought with himi
on his sledge.
As 1swallowed thie minute portion, all my
pains returned. It seemed as if my stomiach
was on fire.
But the Indian continued to feed me willh
lhght nutriment from time to time, till, af
ter a few hours, my hunger became so
fierce that I could have dievouredl his entire
store.
But at length, as my stomach becamec
gradually accustomed to the stimulus, he~
increased the quantity of broth, till, after
twenty-four hours lie ventured to allow me
portihms of the solid1 meat.
It was thus the faithful fellow watched.
over and nursedl me till- the fourth day aftem
his arrival when, finding that I hia'd recov
ered strength sufmicent to be removed, he
placed me on his sledge, and after binding
me like a pack of peltries to the cross.
pieces, and covering me with robes, h<i
threw the leatheorn strap over his breast,
and startedl eastwardl in the direction of th<
fort.
On thme way, the Indian informed m<
that the dogs had returned and that lie has
been sent by the agent to hunt up the party,
if they still survived, le had b en out
several (days, scouring the plain in every
dilretion where we would be likely to have
passed. On reaching the willow thicket,
he found the body of poor Falardeau.
Ie also gave me the pleasant informa
tion that we were about twenty miles fronm
the post, which place we reached the sames
might, the generous fellow diragging me all
the way, ands halting frequently to relievt
my raging hunger
In a few days, after reaching comlfortabh4
quarters, I entirely recovered my health ans
strength.
As soon as I left, my cot, the first thing]
did( was to rewardl the faithful Cheyenne,
by giving him mny besL rifle, and the amoun
of all the pay due me. To this the agent
aded a keg of rumn, ammunition, anm
blankets, sending the hunter to his lodg<
with even a heavier load than lie dragges
in from thie.plain.
Better go supperless to bed than rnt
ini dbt
Divoi-ca S.
AUstrI AANs. -Divorces have never been
sanctioned in Australia.
Jws.-In olden times the Jews had a
discretionary power of divorcing their
wives. .
JAPANs.-If the wife lie dissatisfiled she
can obtain a divorce by paying a certain
sum.
THIBE'rANs.-Divorces are seldom al
lowed, unless with the consent of both
parties, neither of whom can afterward re
marry.
Moos.-If the wife does not become the
mother (of a boy she may be divorced with
tie consent of the tribe. and sh can marry
again.
AnYssiNiANs. -No form of marriage is
necessary. The connection may be dis
solved and renewed as often as th - parties
think proper.
Sin:iAss.-lf the man be dissatisfldd
with the niost trifling acts of his wife, lie
tears her cap or voll from her head, and
this constitutes a divorce.
COnEAN.-The husband can divorce his
wife at pleasure, and leave her the charge
of maintaiuing the children. If she proves
unfaithful he can put her to death.
8IAMIEsL--The first wife may be di
vorced, not sold, as the others may be.
She then may claim the first, third id
fifth child, and the alternate children are
yielded to the husband.
Ano-cri icoioN.--When a man desires a
divorce he leaves the house in anger, and
(toes not return for severult days. The
wife understands the hint, packs her clothes
and leaver.
DuUsE AND TUnKOMAN.--Among these
people, if a wife asks ncr husbaud's per
mission to go out, and he says "Go," with
out adding "but come back again," she is
divorced. Though both pairties desire it,
they cannot live together again without
being remarried.
CoCfiN CUINA. -If th) parties choose to
separate they break a pair o chopsticks or
a copper coin in the preseuce of witnesses,
by which action the union is dissolved.
The husband must restore to the wife the
property belonging to her prior to her
marriage.
AMiRICAN INDIAN.-Among some tribes
the pieces of sticks given to the witnesses
of the marriage are broken as a sign of di
vorce. Usually ntw connections are formed
without the old ones being dissolved. A
man never divorces his wife if she has
borne him sons.
TAn'rAns. --The husband may put away
his par'ner and seek another when it
pleases him, and the wife may do the same.
If she be ill-treated, she complains to the
magistrate, who, attended by the principal
people, accompanies her to the house, and
pronounces a formal divorce.
CuiNisE.-Divorces are allowed in all
cases of criminality, mutual dislike, jeal
ousy, incompatibility of temper, or too
much loquacity on the part of th'e wife.
The husband cannot sell his wife until she
leaves him, and becomes a slave to him by
aetion of the law for desertion. A son Is
;,Fiin.. w U'vOmUu-me wae ' sne4 Qapieases
his parents.
ClnOAsANs.-Two kinds of divorce are
granted in Circassia-one total, the other
provisional. When the first is allowed the
parties can immediately marry again;
where the second exists the couple agree to
separate for a.year, and if, at tie expira
tion of that time, the husband does not
send for his wife, her relations may do
mand of hitnia total divorce.
GuopNs.-A settlement was usually
given to a wife at marriage for support in
case of a'divorce. The wife's portion was
then restored to her, and the husband re
quired to pay monthly Interest for its use
during the time lie retained it from her.
Usually the men could put their wives
away on slight occasions. Even the fear
of having too large a family sufficed. ' Di
vorces scarcely ever occur in modern
Greece.
IIINDoos. -Either party for a slight cause
may leave the other amnd marry. When i30 hi
desire it there Is not the least troubile, If
a man calls his wife 'nmother," it is coin
sidered indelicate to live with her again.
Among one tribe, the "Gores," If the wife
be unfaithful, the husband cannot obtain a
divorce unless he gives her all the propeirt~y
and children. A woman, on-the contrary,
may lowme when she pleases, andi miarry
another man, and convey to him the entire
property of her former- husbanid.
itoMAs.--In olden times a man might
divorce his wvise if she were unfaithful, i f
she couiiterfeited his private keys, or drank
without tise knowledge. They would di
vorce their wives when they pleased. Not
withstanding tis~, b21 years elampse-d with
out one divorce. Aftervyard a law was
p~assed allowing either- sex to make the amp
plication. Divorces than became frequenat
on the slightest pretexts. Senica says thait
some women no longer reckonedl the year
by the coiisuls, but by the nisumber ot' their
hiusbands. St. Jerome speaks of a man
who had buried twenty wives, and a
woman who had buried twenty-two hmus
bands. 'The Emperor Augustus ende-av
oredh to restrain the license b~y p~enalties.
The Golden Ea5Ie,
This noble biird is sp~readl over a larg<
portion of the world, being fouid mi tlb<
liritish Islands, and in varlonspaqa of Eu.
rope, Asia, Africa, andi Aimierea. Tlhae col
or of this bird-is a rich blackish-brmown or
the greater part of the body, the luad antd
neck being covered with feathiers of a rnct
golden red, which have earnecd for t~a bird
its popular name. The legs and sds 01
the thighs are grey-brown, andthe ta.l is il
deep gray, diiversiedi wvith several regulam
(lark-brown bars. 'The cae and the feel
are yellow. ini its immature state the phi.
mage of thme golden eagle is differently tltag.
ed, the whole of the feathers being reddishi
brown, the legs and~ aides of thme thIgh
nearly white, andl the tall white for thie lira
three-quarters of its length. So dlifteren
an aspectdloes the Immature bird presen
that t has been often reckoned as a separat
species, and na~med accordingly, it is.
truly magaifleent bird in point of size, to
an adhult female measures about three fee
six inches in length, and thme expanse o
heir wings is nine feet. 'rhe male Is less b:
necarly six inches. In England the goldel
eagle has long hbeen extinct;. but it ms stil
found in somec plenty in the higihlands o
Scotland and ireland, where it is observei
to frequent certain favorite haunts, and t
breed regularly in time same spot for a Ion,
series of years. TFheir neat is always mad
upon some elevated spot, generally upon
ledge of rock, and is most inartisticall
constructeil of sticks, which are thrown ap
parentty at rand rm, and rudely arrange
for the purpose of containing the eggs an<
younr. A neighboringr ledgra o mock I
generally reserved for a larder, where the
parent eagles store up the food which they
bring from the plains below. The contents
of this larder are generally. of a in it inis- c
cellaneous description, consisting of hares, h1
partridges, and game of all kinds, lambs, t
rabbits, young pigs, fish, and other sinilar a
articles of food. An eagle's nest might &
therefore be supposed to be an unpleasant t
neighbor to the farmers,,but it. Is said that P
the birds respect the laws of hospitality, ti
and, provided that they are left unuolested, 0
will spare the flocks of their innediate a
neighbors and forage for ,food at a consid- 11
erable distance. In hunting'for their prey. t
the eagle and his mate mutually assist each 1
other. It may here be montmioned that the t
eagles are all monogamous, keeping them- I
selves to a single mate, and living together 1
in perfect harmony thtpugh their lives. t
Should, however, one of them die or be V
killed, the survivor is not long left in a
state of widowhood. but vanishes from the I
spot for a few days, and then returns with t
a new mate. As the rabbits and hares are 1
generally fnder cover during the day, the t
eagle is forced to drive themn froni their C
place of concealniealmient, and manages 11
the matter in a - very clever and sportsman H
like manner. One of the eagles coiceals t!
itself near the cover which is to be'beaten, I
and its companion then lashes ainong the It
bushes, screaming and making such a die- V
turbanco that the terrilled inmates rush N
out in hopes of escape, and are immediately (
pounced upon by the watchful confederate. I
The, prey is iinediately taken to the nest, 1
and distributed to the young, if there shouid ]
be any eaglets in the lofty cradle. It is a
rather remarkable fact, that whereas the
vultures feed their young by disgorging the t
food which they have taken into their crops,
the eagles carry the prey it their nests and 3
there tear it to pieces, and feed the eaglets E
with the morsels. When in pursuit of its t
prey it is a mtost audacious bird, haviug f
been seen to carry off a hare from before
the noses of the hounds. It. is a keen tlih- i
erman, catching and securing salnon and I
various sea fish with singular skill. Some
timesit has met with more than its match, t
and has seized upon a fish that war too I
heavy for its powers, thus falling a viwi~m a
to its sporting propensities. Mr. Lloyd men- I
tions several instances whr-re eagles have 8
been drowned by pouncing upon large pike, I
which carried their w tiMan a under water t
and fairly drowned them. in mote tihan j
one instance the feet of an eagle have been I
seen firily clinched in the pike's back, the
bird having decayed and fallen away.
Brazil Ailligators. t
f
Enormous numbers of n!igator have, it d
appears, been observed frisking along the 8
lower courses and in the inarginal swamps
and, lakes of the Amazon, and even as cork
trees, in the beneficent economy of nature,
grow up, and expand and develop a bulky
epidermis of bark, for the preordained tj
purpose of stopping bottles, so, no doubt,
are amiable reptiles accredited with a niis
sion of utility to the nianulfacturers of
oemoa i ne rd case) sh otin-bots .
fashionable alligator skin. A Brazilian
paper shrewdly draws the attention of
wealthy and unoccupied Englishmen of
this remarkable increase In the ground
game of a charmingly salubrious, though
somewhat sultry district. An industrial
enterprise of great profit might, it is sug- a
gested, be combined with excellent sport,
and, ai the idea is fast spreading England
that, the land cannot much longer support
both the farners and the rabbits, what I
conld Le better than a migration of sports. t
men to the equatorial hone of the noble
alligator, whose llid-j is a natural target for
rifle practice, and, if not too much riddled
by bullets, is in brisk commercial denand,
and rules high in the quotations of the
leather market? There the alligator frisks
and frolics, there the stealthy tt tie prowls, a
and, dlespite his furtive habits, falls ania
easy prey to the wilicr atnd more intelligent *
hunter. A daring agile Alderman, with a
brace of rifles, goodi legs and lungs, a sal-a
amandarine constitution and nor objectioni a
to mlosquitos, might stalk down six or eightc
ailigators before breakfast, and saunter
homewards wvith a middling-sized turtle
under each arm. Winter is conug, the
Nile is gettIng overdone by tourists, tandi
tile midlsitner of ani infliniteshital latittude o
ntever fromi the teemling mnud andi fragrant, ih
health-breathing slime of the stately Ania- t
zon. Let enterprising Englistnoen, then, s
aiccept tihis inviting hint of the Brazilian
journal, and join thme next, excursion to the t
Atnazahlan swamps.
Tile origmn oc the View.
Trhe origin of the pl1ow andl whetelejd car
rimges wits a subject of ai paper lately read ~
by Mr-. Taylor beo the London Anthro- ~
p~ologlcai institute, lie belIeved that the
first, agricultural implement was a pointed ?
stick, which at a liater sttage of developmnent,
was b~ent at te end into the form of a hoe I
and had the point hlardlened in the fire.
After the lapse of ages a large implllemienlt,
of the same shape) came inmto use. It, was
ntot employedi like the hoe or "hack" but
drawn by 1men1 or oxen. Anmong our own I
Indians, in the traditional lore of Sweden,t
in Egypt's picture of a remote past, there
are more or less dlistrict traces of the ab~ove I
transition. Greck, Egyptian, Cihins tiSOev
erally p~ossessed the geirmt, so to speak, of I
the mlodlern plow. The spur was ne;t shod
wvith iron, the more ellicienthy to fuallil the
purpose of tho t'omer or share. Virgil
lived at a time when the plo0w hadl reached
am very hih stage of perfection. .t, was
theni constructed with a wheel anid an up
ward projecting handle, like thte best, formi
of plow it use in Enrope in the eighiteenthm
century, antd, it might well be added, like
ttte plows still einpiloyed near Mamituta and1(
Venice at the present, day. D~r. TIaylor ais
unwilliing to concede that the p)1ow was thte
progenmtor of the vehicle of to-day; lie as
signs that, honor to the sled, as is itoro
probably just. It would soon be lotind
that af nrdcinof rollers beneath the
sled ou' facilitate its tractlan. But ats
it was ntot itecessary that every part of the
-roller sholild rest on the grounad, the diatme
te~r of the middle was reduced with obvt
t us advantage. Slowly in ti way the
iheel, solidi throughout, amid rigidly attacht- I
et to the axle, camto into existence. IlThe I
Iwheel anid axle of 8'eythians revolved to- I
Igethter. Even inow somie of the p~icturesque I
c aris of Italy andi Portugal have drum
whouyis fixed on axles whieh revolve in<
fbearngs like forks opent below, F'rom the
I ude anessing of the yoke attached to the
Shorns or withers of oxen at first, the ad- I
vanceto time present method was also grad.1
-ual. Aut it is easy to follow thtis aind the
Iother inprovements In the plow and wheel..
Ied vehides up to tiheir existing comndition,
through thejud of recordted history.
A Visit to Dumas.
The illustrious dramatist bade us wal
rne with even effusive warmth, shook
auds with us most cordially, and declared
iat his friend was very wrong not to have
pprised him of our conung beforehand,
3 that he could have shown us through
ie house himself. lid we seoa every
art of it ? the library ? the drawing-room ?
to picturt-gallery f If we chose to go all
ver it again he would be most happy to
ccompany us. But we disclaimed any
Itention of occupying so much of his
ie, so lie declared ho must take us over
is Swiss chalet. This picturesque struc.
are was bought by him at the Universal
oxposition, was put up in his garden, and
ow serves as a place of deposit for a por.
on of his overwhelming wealth of artistic
reasures.
What a delightful half hour ensued I
hNmas talks as well as he writes, and
lere is a straight-forwardness and frank.
ess about him that is altogether captiva
. lie is a fine-looking man, tall, and
f % us physique, with blue eyes, a
ale '. Ithful-looking comiplexioni,
nd pr-mataely silvered hair and mus
iche, The chalet, to which he conducted
a was so crowded with pictures, busts,
nd terracotta, and other curiosities and
morks of art, that it would have taken a
1hole day to inspect them all. Lie pointed
ut to us a ghastly picture of a dead wo
ian with her baby trying to draw nourish
ient from the lifeless breast, a study by
)elacroix for one of lia groups in lia
IIassacre of Scio. 'Ihen he showed us a
critable art curiosity in the shape of a
liree-quarter figura of Luke painted by
leissonier in 1888, to 1ill an order for a
ublisher who was getting uip an illuttratod
dition of the New Testinent. This pic.
ure was sold by the artist for six hundred
rancs,
When we returned to the house, M.
)unias kindly brought down tromt his bed
om the gem of his whole collection anti
ilsplayed it to our admiring gaze. It it
lie fumiotis Artist at Work, by Alessonier,
>ainted in 1853, wheii his talent was at its
lpogce, a small sized picture of such mar
'ellous execution of perfection, that " thc
ense ached at it." And yet it represents
aerely a painter in a black, eghteen coan.
ury costume, with his iwpowdered hall
athered into a club behlud, seated before
as easel with his back turned to the spec
ator. This picture. originally sold foi
,000 francs, was purchased some years
go by Mi. Dunias for 16,000, and withiai
lie last few days Ie has refused 00,000(
rauce ($12,000), offered by a picture.
caler. Well, It is worth it. It is a Moi
anier of first quality, and such a work as
ie old man no longer has the patience, or,
erhaps, the ability, to execute.
A1. Dumas told ie lie could never write
i Paris, as he wias so exposed to interrup
ons. Ills just completed three-act comedy
rhich Ie wrote in six (lays, was composed
t the country house of a friend. its pro
Isional title is The P1rinceas of Baydad.
L iaJ ui.t wtpli Ior p.. - mu R'....,...i....
nd Ai'iie. Croette to to take the part of
lie heroine, Lionnette. lie laughingly re.
u rked blhat lie did not write for young
irls, and that his own daughters had never
en any of his plays till Mi'le. Colette
rouited by her marriage to go to see the
1'il- Natarct. lie spoke rather bitterly
' tie fact that La Danc au. (icticlas
as been played J ully 8,000 times in the
faited States Since it was first produced,
nd had never brought himu in one single
irthing. I agreed with him heartily, for
ic non-existence of any copyright laws in
'ir country, so far its the writings of for
igia authors are concerned, is a positive
iame and scandal. lie took front his
'riting desk and siOWOd us a miiodel in
ronze of a broad, powerful, fleshy hand
ke hand of his illustrious father, and also
miodel in the samne material of ani exqui
tely' female hiand, that of the well knowin
'ater-color artist,, Mile. Madeleine Le
taire. And so, charmed with our visit,
id still more so with oiir gracious and
)irteousR host, we took our dleparture.
Minenuinug or tNsia.
In the exp~ression of affection the sense
smell, there is reason to believe, Is older
use5 iind (dignlity than that of taste or touch.
f a Mongol father a traivellers wrItes: "1ke
neiled friii time to time the head of hih
oungest, soni, a mark of paternal tend'er.
ess usual among the Mongtols Instead of
mbracing.'' In the Philippine islands, we
re told, "the sense of smell Is developed tc
a great a degree that they are able, by
melling of the p)ocket-handlkerchiefs, to tel]
a which persons they belong; and loveri
t partinig exchange pieesa of the lhnenm they
my be wearing, and, during their seipara
ion, inhale the odor of the beloved being.'
kmong the Cittagong 11111 people again it
said '"the maiiner of kiss nmg us peculiar.
nistead~ of pressing lip to lip they lhace the(
Lose andi mouthi ulson the cheek and~ inhak(
lie breath strongly. Their form of speech
not "(Give ime ai kiss," but "'Smell me."
n the same way', accordling to anothe(
raveller, "TIhe Burnmese do iiot kisn each
ther ini the Western fashIon, butt applly th(
ip and niose to the cheek and miake a stronb
uhalation." Moreover, the Samnoanis sa
u~te b~y "juxtap~osition of noses, accomipa
ied not by a rnb, but by a hearty smell.'
'here is scriptural precedent for such cus
omis. When blind Isaac was in dloub)
rhiether the son wiio camne to him was .la
(lb or nuor, "hie smelt the smiell of his ral
lent, anid blessed huim."'
OUrs atui Minutes.
Whiy is one4 hour dividedi into sixty minu
ties, and1( each inuite again iuto sixty see
'nnds? Why niot dlividle our time as we d<
>uri money, by tens, countlng ten, or fity
ir one hutndred minutes to an hour? Th'li
[uestiOn was asked by an iitehligenit boy I
ew days since, and~ the anuswer given hiin
nay both interest and instruct other young
ieople. VTe answer is this: WVe have sixtj
livisuions on th~e dhmi of our clocks anm
vatches, because the old (Greek astronomier
lipparchus, whit lived in the secojid con
ury before Christ, accep~ted the Babylon
un system of reckoning time, that systen
ecing sexigesimial. WI'ho Babylonians wer
ecqulaintedi with the deeimal system; but
or common aind practical purposes, thie
otumted by 8o881 and suri, the 808808 rep
esenting sixty, and the earos sixty time1
iixty, or thirty-six hundred. F'romn liip
>archius, that mode of reckoning found it;
vay into tne works of P*tolemy, about 151
.. D)., and thence was carried down thi
tream of science and civilization, ant
ound the way to the dil plates of ou
~looks and watches.
AmIeent Rome.
The Romans were keei, business-liko
imno, who never pretended to be above
trade, even though they were of superior
rank or wealth. It did not cost much to
keep a man in the early centuries, the year
ly allowance for a slave being thirty-seven
dollars and a half, while a free laborer liv
ed for forty-four dollars a year. Corn was
the main stay, fifteen mililon bushels being
consumed annually, and oil and honey
were used In large quantities. Among the
rich, epleures were morecommon and more
extravagant than In the modern world. For.
tunes were spent on single banquets. Men
were abaurdly lavish. And yet everything
was very cheap even In this extravagant
city. The market reports show that lamb
and fish were only six cents per pound, beef
four cents, fish two cents, a pair of quall
thirty cents, eggs six cents per dozen,
wheat sixteen cents per peck, four pounds
of large grapes two cents; chickms, per
pair, thirty cents; live to ten heads of let
tuce'two cents. The tomand Were not
very fond of any meat save pork, and this
they consumed sparingly Beef was nob
popular, being used mostly for sacrifices.
inine and fish were favorite articles, and
'many choice imported fish brought large
prices. The conmuon people could not
alford many luxuries, as wages were low.
The yearly pay of a journeynan mechanic
was from nietty-five dollars to one hundred
and twenty-five dollars and board. F<Iod
cost forty dollars and clothiug fifteen dol
lars per year. From the account of Forbi
ger it seeied that goods were very low. A
pair of shoes cost thirty cents; one pair of
woman's gaiters, thirty cents; one felt lint,
one dollar; one tunic, sixteen dollars to
thirty-six dollars; one toga, twenty dol
Jars to twenty-oeiht dollars. A man could
get a share for two cents. The Romans
spent large amounts on other luxuries be
side those of the table. Tihe imports of
flowers, perfunies, ointments and dresses
from 111(1111 i) one year ammiunted to two
million two hundred thousand dollars. In
furniture they had their decorative art
-:razes, the citrus wood tables being favor.
ito articles for squandering money upon.
In Cicero's time it Wias not unusual to spend
fifty thousand dollars for one of these tab
les, and Seneca, the stole, who prated of
the virtues of abstinence and the vice of
luxury, owned five hundred of them.
Farming En Riussi -
The report comes f rom St. Petersburg
that native cereals are so scarce in Russia
that large quantities of American corn and
Uhilian wheat are selling at the capital. Al
though eminently agricultural, only 271,
U,0OU acres-a sinall area comparatively
--are under cultivation. In the central
belt of the empire the soil, mostly black
mold, is extrinely fertile, seldom requiring
manure. The system of tillage is mainly
the three-field system, as It is called, in
which one-third of the land is allowed to
lie fallow. In the south and south east the
fallow systen peculiar to that country is
four consecutive crops from the same land,
and then permitting it to stand idle for five
or six years. Alter that time the soil begins
to grow feather grass, regarded as a sign
of returning fertility. Husbandry has uan
dergone great general changes since the
emancipation of the serfs, to whlom a con
sderable portion of the land has been trans
furred in freehold. 'ite landowners hav
ing lost their former right to the labor of
their eerfs, find It advantageous to decrease
their tilled lands, or lease parts of it to the
pea'sants, often in return for half the crop.
Agriculture suffers materially from want
of proper mieans of communication, causing
the grain to be very low in tihe locality
where it Is raLIsed. The chief cereals are
wheat, grown as far north as latitude six
ty-two dug., rye, barley and oats. Buck
wheat and millet are produced In the south,
and fronm these and rye comes the staple
rood of the' inhabItants. Hemp and flax
are also wid'tly raised, and flaxaced Is used
for food by the lower orders (luring the
continually recurrIng fasts, embracing
nure than six months out of the twelve.
DurIng the last forty years potmatoes have
beeni extensively growvn, the government
having done much to encomlagea andl aug
ment their growth after the famine of 1889.
An area of 418#,000,000J acres is covered
wit h woods, but tumber is so liberally used
b~y the 1tussians in buildinig houses, heating,
lighting, making carts and hostseholdI uten
sils and lin other ways, that the supply is
steadily diminishing. In the north of the
czar's domainions from ninety to ninety-five
per cent. of the territory is covered with
forests, which are very scarce in thme south.
Wood, the prlncip~al article of mnterior comi
nmerce, is floated dhown the rivers fromi the
treetui to the treeless distrieis. Th'le wheat
.product of lRussia is generally so large that,
it annually exports large quantities. Of
the wheat exportedl iuto Britain In 1875
elgamteenm pcir cent. of it canme from ilussia
andl forty-flve per cent. front the United
States.
A Femnnio Sonkt.
Matrona Ivanovnma, a Itussian peasant,
girl of t.wo-andl-twenty, has recently ac
(quired conaldlerab~le notorlety In her native
land'throumgh the fact that, under tihe mo
nastice(designation of "Father Michael,"
she succeeded In pasnsing several months In
the cloister of Staraja Ladoga without in
cuirring the leant suspicion on the part of
lher fellow..nonks than uhte was other than
she senmed to be. Forced 'by her father
to marry a person whom she detested, she
disappeared froni her home on the (lay due
ceeding the wedding; her clothes and two
long plaits of her "black hair'' wer3 found
necar the Wolchmoff river, as well as a letter
in her hiandwrlting,stating that rather than
live with her husband she had resolved to
drown herself. Iher relatives forbore any
further Inquiry; andi mourned for her as
one dead, She,howenr, diressed in man's
Iclothing, applied last Marcih for admission
to the above-mentioned monastry, and was
duly received into the fraternity on proba
tion, taking the minor vows, and oil!ciat
lag as coachman to the prior. There is no
- knowing to whaut eccleslasticatl dhlities
she might not in time have aris'tn had not
unkind fortune decreed that a native of
her own village should have been sent to
Staraja Ladoga by hIs master for correc
tion at the hands of the brethree, is
offence being Inveterate drunkenness.
Promnptly recognized and denounced by
this indiscreet toper as Matrona Ivanovna,
a friend of his youth, "Father Mii1
was handed over tothe pollee auth~rte
by the IndIgnant monks, and Is now ~~t
ing trial for Impostuare upon a rlgious
conmunty-a crime likely to. pe visited
with severe aminmen't In Itua.
South Africa,
The discovery of. diamonds in 1860, the
adoption of ostrich tarming on an increased
scale at about the same period, and the
subsequent spread of -Angora goat fatinfirg
have been special - providences, to Sopth
Africa and have given a great impetus to
trade and settlement. Since about 1870
the recorded export of diamonds has been
at the rate of upward of $12,600,000 a
year, while it is estimated that twenty-five
per cent, of that amount finds its way
through the colonies and out of the coun
try in private hands. There is still no 0e.
crease in the amount of stones discovered
and several new fleids have been lately
opened up, among them being a valuable
field of which the Free State rejoices, in
the possession.
Ostrich farming has developed into a
large industiy -since it was first adopted,
about fifteen years ago. Tea years ago
the annual export of feathers amounted to
only about $500,000, while this year's ox
port will amount to about $5,000,000.
Angora goat farming is no doubt destined
to eolipse even those; as the finest and
rarest broods from Asia Minor have been
found to thrive as well on the Karoo lands
of. the Cape as ih their own native plains
and hille. The hair produced is of the
most excellent quaity and the Cape An
gora Is rapidly establishing a high reputa
tion in the London markets. The whii
farms of the Cape, once so celebrated for
the delicacy of their produce, are again re
ceiving attention and efforts are now made
to obtain from the English Government
such a revision of the wino duties as will
enable the colony to enter the home mar
ket in coipetition with France and Spain.
The principal exports of the Free State are
wool and skins. The Transvaal exports
but little as ydt except ivory and the skins
of wild anunals. The flourishing colony
of Natal now sends out increased quanti
ties of sugar, whicli it poodluces in excel
lent quality.
With the increase of productive wealth
public works and railroads have kept good
pace. The first qxperhient in South Afrl
can railways having been started about
1860, much progres hii of late years been
made in this direction. There are now
three systems of railroads in the Cape
Colony, leading from the tiree principal
sqaports towards the hiterior, intended to
concentrate at the dianond fields, taking
in branches through the Free State. Natal
hi a line of sogenty miles, from the chief
seaport of Durham to Maritzburg, the capli
tal, an extension to be made either into the
Transvul or to the diamond fields. There
are now In the Cape Colony 1,000 miles of
railroad in operation, and the extentions of
the various lines, which should be coni
pleted in the next five or ten years, will
add another 1,000.
In this branch of trade there is a good
opening for Amnerican enterprise in the ex
portation of passeugervcars. The only cars
in use on these lines are the English, but
the Americah cars are much better suited
to the coxa ry and would soon becomedpop.
-ung .-- .- 1- are ugAnW utanois a
considerable' distance apart, and what,
with warm weather and limited accomnio
dations at the stations, the American cars
would supply such conveniences as would
be highly appreciated and which are not to
be had on English cars.
The climate of South Africa proves to
be one of the healthiest in the world. espe
cially for pulmonary diseases, and English
and European consumptives and other in
valids are now resoiting thither in increas
ing numbers, owing to its having been so
highly recoinnieuded by some proninent
medical men sent out to report upon Its
climatic cunditions, Traders and travelers
have gradually extended their sphere of
operations in late years, until now there is -
hardly a tribe or clan from North of the
Zambezi to the Cape who have not had
seine acquaintance with the white muan. A
trading expedition through Dawaraland is
no0W no novelty, andi a hunt to the Z-n
bezi is a boy's adventure from Kinberley
or Pretoria.
Oniy a Gape anid a Sword.
WVhen Bonaparte first paid court to Mad
anme do Beauharnais, neither w'as rich
enough to keep a carriage, and the young
hero, who was deeply ia iove, often gave
the charming widow his arm when she
wont to visit her man of business, a no
tary named Ragidean.
Madame, who had great routidence in
this legal adviser, who wvas a friend as wntt,
went to see him iin~lediately after her en
gagement to Bonaparte, who, se usual, ac
comp~amed her but, fronm, motives of deli
cacy (lid not eater the notary's cabinet, buit
remainedl In an adljoining room, whiere sev
eral clerks were writing.
rThe (door being imperfectly closed he
hmere heardi nearly all that was said during
the iterviewt, and especially the arguments
used by ifagundeau to deter Madaine deo
ileauharnals from the marriage she au
knlowieedged herself about to contract..
"Mark my words, mladamle," said thme
notary, earnestly, "you are about to comimit
a great folly of which you will bitterly re
pent. Why, this man you are about to es
ponise has niothinug iqi the world but a cape
andh a sword."
Said Josephine: "Bonaparte never spoke
to me of tis, and 1 had niot the fahlites.
suspicIon thlat he hiad overheard 1(agI
deaut's conltenliptons words. Can you,
B3ouirrinnle, figure to yotusoif my gstonish
mient when, eight years after,on the day of
his coronation, as soon as ho was iavested
with his imperial rotbes, lie said:
"Let them go and seek Raguldehu;
huavo him come tnstanty. I hlave sonme
thing io say to him."
Th'ie htairy was promnptly brought, and
stood mnuch astonished before the Engpe
ror, who, with his peculiar sardonic smnle,
sali to him: 'lIlh, bieni,-monsieur I have I
nothing in the world but, a cape amd a
sword?'"
Good Reolial,ie aign..
"No," said the vagrant with a sigh,
"times are getting better, they're not
what they.. usedi to be. A mati's offered
more work that wittals."
"Hlaven't you signs amongst you so that
you know where .to go, and how. yotu will
be treated amd all that sort of thing."
"Well, we each have signs of our own.
If I see a lug, powerful bulldog -liutgltig
around the front door, I take that Me a aigmi
meaning 'move on It there are a few
stout men la the nelt field, to
that means 'too mnuelkgristle and to hIjA
meat.' If a larkedpile of biordwood ~~~
by a house with a btiikshWt relIit
against it, that's a sin for 'saWatnge
Oh, yea,.we bave lots, of. sigita.good ft4