The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, March 24, 1881, Image 1
fl14 WYEDITION. WINNSBAORO, S. C., MAR{CH 24,981 SABIHDlm
From 16E1 LAY of the LAST MINSTREL."
7 a0l it not vain :-they do not err,
Who say, that when the Poet dios,
Mute Nature mourne her worshipper,
And celebrates his obsequies:
Who say, tall cliff, and cavern lone,
For the departed Bard make moan;
That mountains weep in crystal rill
That flowers in tears of balm distil
Through his loved groves that breezes siab.
And oaks, in deepor groan, reply;
And rivers teach their rushing wave
To mutmur dirges round his grave.
Not that, in sooth, o'er moital urn
Those things inanimato can mourn
But that the stream, the wood, the gale,
Is vcoal with the p'antive wail
Of those, who, else forgotton long,
Lived in the poot's faithful song,
And, with the poet's parting breath,
Whoso momory fools a second death.
Tho Maid's pale shado, who wails her lot,
That love, true love, should be forgot,
From lose and hawthorn shakes the tear
Upon the gentlo Minstrol's bior:
The phantom Knight his glory fled,
Mourns o'er the field lie heap'd with dead;
Mounts the wild blast that swoops amain,
And shrieks along the battle-plain.
The Chief, whose antique crownilot long
Still sparkled in the feudal song,
Now, from the mountain's misty throne,
M Bees, in the thanedom once his own.
I] ils ashes undistinguish'd lie,
Ilia place, his power, his momory die
His groans the lonely eavernis 1111,
is) ears of rage impol the rill
All mourn the Minstrel's harp unstrung,
Their name unknown, their praiso unbung
The Doctor's Story.
We were a knot of doctors, enjoymng
ourelves after meeting of the Hippocratic
Medical Society, whose members were ac
customoid to assemble once a year for pur
)oses of mutual edification and improve
ment. Dr. 0,!len Cupps waLs in tie chair.
lie was our Nestor, our oil man eloquent,
a iving professional legendary budget. On
hlis face you could read "'Enterlainment"
as plainly Its you saw it painted Oil ai old
V fashioned tavern sign; and to it, after a
day of weary rambling over thle dusty
paths of therapeutic lore, we turned as
naturally for reireshment as the tired way
farer ailts before the inviting signboard
waving hospitable welcome to the cheer
C ithini.
Genial )r. Cupps I Like Father Grimes,
that other good old man, "we'll never see
him any more." No nonument marks his
list resting-place. The guild of under
takers,possessed they a spark of gralitutide,
would not sutffer this to be As for his
surviving professional brethren, few of us,
I fear, have money to spend in that way.
"low (1o young doctors, its a rule, get
their slart i" queried i cynical-looking M.
D). at the foot of the table, with a nose as
sharpt as the tip of his own lancet-'leav
ing out., of course, exceptional cases, like
that of a nman swallowing a fish-bone, or
dropping suddenly into a fit, where there
ii no choice blt to seek the nearest aid.
N Whitt I ask is, how (10 people coie to trust
their lives delilacrately in inexperienced
hands ? W hat's the philosophy of it ?"
"Pptilar ignorance,probably,"suggested
one.
Or cheek i the youngster," another
hilLted.
It's mostly luck, I think,'" reniarked
the chair, wvhereon ha~d con verged a num
ber of iniquiring looks.
: "C'ome, doctor, gives us yiour ex
permence on the poinit wais seconided and
catried.;
M fine was a case of pure luck,'' sia (
'"A 'Won't y'ou tell US about it ?'" we en
Dr up was not the mani to refuse.
"Y oung iien na~w-a datys," lie begant;
" '~'enter thte priofessioni with other iadvan
u ~tages thani we 01(1 fellows hiad. Th'ie puib
ic hlospitals, now accessible to students,
allot d thetm opportunitie s to learn niuch by
bse%(rvaltion, whieb we were left to find
tilthiroughi exp~erhuienits on our paticn's.
"Though I took miy dlegree after a
kcredi table examination, I doubt, if I cotiuld
hcen have ditnuseby inspection, he
wcon tihe incipient stages of chicken-pox
ntd measles. Inid I been called to treat a
limnple case of rheumatism, teii to otne I
hiotuld ha ve fotumd ai verduict 13f white
welling, andu passed a sentence of atmputa
Ion without stoppi)ng to ask the v'itm
hait he had to say against It. My first
aticut was Percy Tiophlamt, a yountg man
ho had inherited a splendid cotnstittution
,s well as fortune, bitt was fast miakling
ay wvithi both. T1hie casc, no doultbt, would
ave fallen in D~ingo's hiandls, for lie mnon
piolizd the prattice thereabout,bhut for lisa
bsence otn a distant call.
"C(omte quick, sitrl" urgedi tihe messent
er; Mr. Percy's tiaking on iat an a wf uii
ate.'
*'Wiouit slaying to inq~uiire further, I
natched miy hat, anad satiledl forth. quite
orgetting, in the exeitenient, te new-pill
ags wherein wias stored miy stock of
mnples.
'". a r~vedl to find my patient, '!aking Ott'
tanm awful rate, sitre enough.
"Poker in hand, lie wits laying abut
mn ii i amnner highly dietrhmiential to the
niture. Ile was killiung ernkes, lie said.
ad it beeni dogs, htydrophibia mi ght have
ent myi diagntosis; bitt snakes I knew,
ciant delirium IPremensl. And such was
edecision of Mr. TIopham's own more
cticed judgmnentfor,turuing toward me,
a luicidi mtoment:
"I've got 'em, D~oc,' lie said,
- 'I (lid may best to cahn hiim,assured him
ould bring imt arounmd, phacedl miy fln.
on his pulse, atnd began to count the
beats, but, darting from me, he exclaim
ed:
"There goes the biggest snake yet--the
old serDent of all ' making a slash with the
poker, which caused me to do.'ge into a
corner.
"Leaving two to watch him,and accomp.
anlied by the atun who had summoned me.
I hotrried home to prepare such remedies
as I should conclude the case required-a
point, I must confess, I was very far from
clear upon. I had been reared in a tem
perate community, had seen little intoxica
tion or its eltects, and my reading had not
borne specially in that direction.
I I"H1efore reaching my ofice, however, I
decided what course to take. There was
no tune to consult b.)oks. ilesides I was
ashamed to do that in the presence of the
ian who waited to carry back the physi c.
Ile would have taken it as a confession of
ignorance, and would have lost no time in
proclaiming mte a dunce.
"Overhauling my stock of drugs, and
taking a little from every Onie, I produced
mixture, Son; element of which I hoped
might pr'>ve a service.
"'4 ive him a tablespoonful of it every
half hour,' I said to the man, handing him
the bottle, on which I was careful to put
no label.
"Not caring to be present to witness the
effect of my maiden prescription, 'Tell
Mr. Topham I'll call in the morning, ' I
said.
"Whatever my patient did, I passed a
bad night. Of all cases in which to make a
debut, why should the malgnant, fates send
the very one most likely to expose me?
IWith iianty misgivings I presented my
self iiext iormniig at the patientt'S door. I
was glad to see there was no crape on it.
Passing the servant, who admitted me. I
hurried, trembling, to the sick room.
"'Good-morning, Doe,' cried the invalid,
rising front a tumptuous breakfast, wiping
his mouth with one hand and extending
tie the other. 'By George,you did bring in
through famously I That stuff was mighty
nasty, but it did the business. I'm sound
as a dollar this morning P
"Before I could reply, a serving-man
entered, the same by whom I had sent the
medicine.
"What's the matter. Dick ?' said Top
haiti.
"Boxer's dead, sir."
"Dead! The deuce I There's a go I 1
suppose you forgot to call at Botts,'' the
farrier's for that drench yesterday; just
like you when my back is turned.'
No, sir," the man replied: 'I slopped
and got it on ily way from the doctor's,
and gave it according to direction.'
"Just my luck I" cried Topham, smiting
the table, 'You see, Doc, Boxer was my
fastest trotter. I counted on winning a
mint of money on him at the coming races,
and now lie's gone and kicked the bucket.
Well, "peace to his munes " as the poet
says. Itere, Dick, hand the doc'or that
medicine bottle from the mantel. lie m1ay
as welt ill it up again. This morning's
luck may set me on a fresh spree, and
there's no telling how soon I may need
another dose.'
'A glance at the bottle as I took it made
me start. It bore a lable, on which I read
SIMON Bo-rrs, .arricr.
"Can it be," I mentally exclaimed,
"'(hat it u'as Bolls' potion that cured
the man, andt( mine tha~t Akilled the
horsc/'' It was a strong case of circum
stantial evidence, at any ra e.
''Quietly pocketing the bottle, I went
my13 way. If the truth was ats 1 surmised,
it, never camne out. Topham soundi~ed my
praises every where, and so'on the local
death-list was- pretty equially lilled with the
niamtes of old Diugo's patients anid mty
own."
F'orgotters Oiiclals.
A wr'iter w~ho has b~een giving reminis
cences of lhfe in Washington siays: Before
this house (the( (;ne occupiedl 1)y Mr. Sew
atrd whlen hie was atackedl by Mlr. P'ayne)
tor- cieral years alterward It sentry paced
night and day, even wheni Mir. Me ward nmad
motved away a'ndl gone out of 1)11lee. Tlhie
samte but (dog wais on1ce us5ed as a club
houise, and Iromt it Key just issued when
lie wias shot by Stekles. Thlis lonely sen-*
try, stil at his post long alter lie had been
forgotten ait, the win deptartmnent, and1( al
1,>wed to remain, I suippo te, because no one
thought, it was his duty to relieve him, re
mmds1(1 mei of sevmral s.mnilar mncidents that
are related in Washington. Tlhe great
falls of the P'otomnac arc about sixteen
miiles- above Wmhmisnton, and( duirIng the
war there was a station for the collection
of provisions for the army on the bank of
the canail near these gramt~ cataracts. The
roadt between Washington nds (reat Falls
was several tines s aided hy the Confede
rates, anid a block house wa a erectedt by
the Federals at, a p)oint three or four miles
above Gheorgetown to prievent parities of
S ..uthierners front paissi img up ant (towni thme
r ad. At, the close of thme war- the defences
about the caital were one after anothier
dlesertedl, but nobody senms to hlave re
imemtberedl thte corporal's guard stat i.>nied
out t here on the Aqueduct road, and they
remine onlc~ Oiutily Ior a year or- two). At.
ter lhey were relievedt, the block house
was set oii lire by3 trampls or boys, and only
a few blackened posts nmow miai its site.
A still miore reimakable case was that, (di
covered by (Jem-rali 11 F. Butler, about tent
years ago. lie was nosing atroiund aumong
the appriopriatio.is, onie dlay, waenm he dlis
covueed aii ollier in the capitol whiose dui
tics lie (1hd not, underssand. lie was
"wmatching crypt." An lnvestigation
showed that niany years ago it was propos
Cd to deposit the bont-s of Gener-al W anhing
toin benieath the capitol, and a crypt was
p~repaired for that, purp)ose. Whent It was
e unpleted a public olllcer was apjpointed
whose dutty it, was to watch this crypt and
p~revent is desecration, and there he l'ad
tbeen ever sice, growing gray in the ser
vice; while Cengress htei appropr-iated
mioney to pay his salary year aiter- yeair,
nobody had thought it worth walla to In
quire how lhe earned it.
Widow Harkins.
One evening a crowd of young peopl e
congregated at Bill Burton's ranch, and
when the first quadrille was over lie took a
stand in front of the fire and parting his
coat tails in a comfortable manner remark
ed :
"That was rurty neat dancing; you all
know the step and handle yer hoofs purty
peert, but some of you young folks can't
hold er candle to sum old 'uns I've seed,
nit' that kinder reninds me of old Widow
I larkii:s I knowed back in Georgy, when I
was a boy.
"Oi, tell us about her, Uncle Bill,'' ex
claimed a chorus of voices.
"Wall, she wus ther all firedest aptivest
old heifer I ever knowed. She lived up in
the Peach Branch settlement nigh to Bill
Brown's an' wits kin-aunt or suthin'-to
ther Millers from Alabamy. When I
knowed her, she was crawlin' on to eighty
years old, but she was tougher'n 'er pecan
sapling, an' the way that 'ero old critter
knocked dust that June dav was 'er caution
to 'er Inustaug colt."
"Was she scared, Uncle Bill?" in quired
the crowd.
"Vall, now, I guess she was kinder
skeert. You see one day I had jes' cum
outer the field from plowin' an turned old
Job in thor lot. Darn that old iule, lie
had jes' busted a new pair of traces to ihn
ders tryin' to kick 'er parcel of bumble
bees; of'ern his hind legs. Ile was allers
gettin' in a yaller jackets' nest or suthin'
else, an' consarn his ole pictur; he busted
my leg outer lint je' when camp meetin'
wits cumin' on 'bout 'er week atter that. As
I was goin' oii to say, I wus huntin' round
'er stable gettin' up .'er new set of gear
when I licerd the derndest yellin' an' er'
bellowin' up ther lane, 'an it peered to me
it wus cumin' closer all the the time, an I
clit' on the fence an' 'gin to iook. Ther
fust thing 1 seed wus 'er big cloud 'er dust
'an ther next thing my eyes lit on wus Bill
Brown's ole brindle bull jes 'er rippin' an
'er rearin' an' 'er lilia' up his tail an' 'er
chasin' old Widow liarkins fur everthing
site wus worth. Thar wus ther hull with
his head down 'an tail up, an, thur wus ole
Widow I larkins with hei bainoral histed,
jez' 'er clatterin' down ther lane like 'er
couple of race horses. I warn't muck
pious in those days, aa' get tin' kinder ex
cited I tuk off my liat an' yelled, 'Sling
out yer best hoofgo it,old gal,till you make
ther gap in the calt-pen an' thar you're
safe.' Wheni I hollered to her it braced
her up. She puckered her mouth like ther
butt end of 'er persimnion, histed her
balmoral 'er little higher, 'an I tell yer it
fairly mide miie sweat to see ther way that
ole citizen did climb over dirt. She sorter
looked back over one sh.,ulder an' saw that
bull about ten feet behiid hter an still 'er
cuimin' 'er rippin' an' rearin'. But feel
in' she wus safe, she jest pulled the bal
moral over her head; 'an tie ole bull stood
still, astonished, an' went off kinder'a a
kitten. I wouki jest like to see sone of
you quadrille dancers try to take the rag
off Widow Harkins."
'You Bull" shouted his wife in d ismay.
lie stopped dead short, and there was ia
pause-a long, dreaty pause, until one of
the young men looked out of the 'vindow
and said lie thought it would rain before
morning. The young ladies said they
thoualit, it would, too, and Old Bill Burtoii
went down to the cow-pen to see i f the
calves had been turned out,ard never cane
back in the plrlor again that night.
A Teatm of Reindieor.
Each of the Wl'apoo8 had under his of
her charge five deer, and except upon thens
live animals, they did not bestow a thought,
leaving the othersi to each capture his own
individual five is best he could. Even the
old W1apoos, Nilas, by nane, did not offet
to assist ii Is better half, nor1 did she seem
to ex pect such assistance. VTe aniiah
h-iving been very speedily got in order, the
next lihing is to harness themi, which is done
ini this fashiaon : 'The (leer hats a skim col.
lar on its shoulders, to which is fastened a
long strap), alo of untanned skin, whichi,
gotig between the legs of the animial, ii
tied to a ring at the prow of the poolk.
The single rein with which we (rive is
tintde faist to the left side of the head atnd
is hlcd in thme right, hand. In steering te
the right, cast the areum over tihe right shoul
dher of tihe aniimalh, and p'ull, or mather u
a little. If you wish to haisten you cal
strike with the reii on the ammttal's sides
andI back, thiought if you have a wild brute
this is rather dangerous, as it on be ing
struck becomes utterly tumatnageable, and
therefore it is genterailly quite sullcient to
ratise the left hand, as if 10or a blow, which
wi'll cause the (deer to run ofl auartly
enough . Thec instanit thte forenmost deer
stairts all the otheors followv in a long hine,
winxding il andtt out atccordling as the lead
er's tracks go. All deer won't lead the
wily. Alany lare trained to follow only.
Over all Finmarken, in fact, over till 1Lap
liaind, onie neyer sees t wo deer hiarnssaed
togethier,or wit hproper gear. In this re
spec~t the Samtioyedes are4 tare mlore pratctical,
andJ not inly dho they bring the animal to
the sane state of subijection as the ihorse
with us, but they also tise entire bucks for
domestic iiurp~oses, a thinug unuhe ard of iln
L~aplanmd.
3li llIi ig.
'The proecess oh tanniang in Chinia is tua
described : The skins are put into tuba
contamaing waiter, saltpetre anud still, after
thirty (days they are taiken out, thme hair is
shatvedl off, atnd the skins are' welJ washed
in sprmng waiter. Each hide is thent ciit
into three piece.- andI well steamed, which
is done by p~assing thema several timies back
waird and1( forwardh over a steamning oven.
F'urther', each piece is stretced out sepa
r'ately oveir a lit board and secured with
nais, in order1 that it mnay dlry gralduailly
andt thlor.,ughily in the siun. TIhe smioke or
the oven miakes the leather black, and1( If it
is requtiredl to give it a yellow alppearanlce,
it is rubbed oveir witht wvater ill winch tile
friit of the so-called wongobee has been
soaiked. 0Of the offal, ghile Is made by heat.
tug it mI panls for twelve htouars over a slow
fire. T1hie gIlue so obtained is p~ourmed into
rough eairthena vessels, where it remiains
threce damys, in order to coatgulate. Thef
solid nmass is thten cult In pieces with sharp
knives andiu calrefully 11aid up)on grattolg,blke
trays, to dry, whIch areC laced( in open
spaces aSsemliniug the Dutcht threCshting
Iloorsa.
-T1here are hun tite Soldher-s Orphan
Schlool of Punnstiylvaias aoout twenty
six htundred pupils, whosme mainten
anceandztm edtcuai during the comingli
1year wIll coat tiro Stato about #110 (JOtn
Hidden Lights of Constantinople.
Not far from the Atmeidan, or ancient
Ilippodr, ie, a hole opens into the blank,
level eafrui. Its diameter is not so great
as a man's stature, and it Is half hidtien
with a trap like a cistern's lid. You have
passed It a score of tines anid the busy
uppi r world of Turks and bustling Arme
nians, and it has gone unobserved. Your
attention has been called. You lting aside
the trap door and descend fifty feet by a
ladder, and land amid a wilderness of
columns of the times of Theodosius. A
learned Greek, versed in the history of his
race from the days of its rule on this spot,
lets you into the confidence of a score of
secret entrance ways, amid the rubbish of
the tumble-down Turkish metropolis, into
the subterranean city. Yo'n descend again
here and there, and find yourself in the
presence of the early empire, the aque.
ducts and cisterns of Constantine, the
walls, tile streets, the broken palaces of
Arcadius and Marcian. You secure some
day, through a stratagem and a bribe, ad
libsion to one of tile secret galleries of St.
Sophia while the Mahonmetans are at wor
ship. You see there, dotted over the al
most infinite space of floor, a thlusand
kneeling Mussulmans, prostrating thema
selves towards Mecca, and hear their
strange, chanted wailings, ti t recall the
hot st etches of anient desert out of which
was bor it the weird sentiment of their re
ligion. In a forenoon, ebiconced in yoUI
comfortable quarters at the hotel or in the
Rue Dervisch, yon read Gibbon with that
sense of remoteness and far away in(Iis
tinctniess of places and objects usually as
sociated with the reading of history. At
ter a hearty lunch you walk out in the af
ternoon and .within twenty minutes or all
hour are face to face with the sites and
ruins of the monumeits of history which
your author has pointed out, the l'alace of
flelistirius, the towers of the Iflacherne,
the vast gaps in the antique (iiadrulple
wallis through which tile legions of Ma
lonst 11. rushed in to destroy the lust ves
tige of ioman )ower. (On a sunny day
yot miount a', Arab horset, whtici you find
coiveniently %Y aiting at the end of a street,
and gallop twenty miles wcstward into the
Houielian hills, and find amid alt old for
est, as intact as when lie built thent, the
mus:ive walls of the reservoirs frot which
Justinman watered this capital of the East.
tern Crusars. The hidf-ruined aqueducts,
alter nearly fourteen centuries, stilt partial
ly suppliy the thirsty Constantinople of to
day. Hiding honieward in the soft after
noon of tie East you catch, thirty miles
away, between two abruptly parting hills,
that flash front the waters of the Black Sea
which Dieracti in his "Tancred,' con
pared to a "glinimpse into eternity." No
other metaphor would liave described it.
The Lantana.
This is a plant that the lovers of flowers
are now just beginning to appreciato. It
is a perennial, and a contjnual bloomer,
giving us more flowers and a greater varie
ty of colors than any plant we know of.
No plant could be more eatsily cultivated or
propagated. It grows fromt slips or cut
tings as readily as It sweet potato, ad ini
the lower States when once set it is there
forever. Frost bites the top down in thc
fall, but early hit spring the shoots start u
again and commence blooming at once. It
starts up in wiespreading bunche-, and
grows witht such rapidity that by fall the
bunches, if not cut back, will in fair soil
have attained a dialleter of six or eight
feet, rounded up to a height inl tile middlh
of from four to live feet. And throughout
the season every part of the buinch is liter.
ally covered with flowers. The flowers are
produced on the ends of the numerous
branchlets in verbena like trusses, froin
one to two inches tin diameter. They tire
in color usually yellow, orange, scarlet,
crImson, pink or white, and they present, i
sp)ecial interest in the fact ithat several
shaides of color are always to be found its
thesame truss, due to their chanuge in shatd<
Oin exposure to the atmospher~ie. For in.
stance, tihe flower- that opens thtis morning
a ich orange will most likely have changed
to at bright scarlet or crimson by ico-morrow
moriut. Thme foliage, of thle latanaui Is o1
a dark glossy green color; the stems art
anigulatr andt~ somtewhiat prickly; the leavet
are priOdmned in palits, opposite, ovate,
acutinate, rough.isht, dleely3 veiined, with
the edges finely serrated, and possessing a
p~eculiar odor. It is a fine plant for- a cen
tre or backgrountd in thte Ilower border,
presentitg a leaosing elfect whent plamntedl
in colors. Single specimtens, when lant
ed out on the lawn, contrast finely witL
thte green grass-its compactlt trusses o1
Il wers showing to great ad~vatage,
Though nattural ly inclinteid to gr-ow in
buncthtes, it maty, neverthteless, be trimmed
into tree form andt~ thus converted into
miost b. autiful object for the lawin whiert
such formts are rcquiiredl.
hiostinai',s .%tyane watch-,
in the y-ear 1883 King Lotuis Philippe)
presenlted lRossiini with a matignilleet re
p~eater, wvhicht the latter was extremely
p~roud~ of, iand earried in his right waist
coat-p~ocket evei-y day for stome sIx years.
Onie afternoon, ias lie wits showing it tc
somte acquamntances in thte Cafe lleder, S
strange geintleman wallkmtg up to thme table
at which lie was sitting, addressed hinm
with the words, "'M. fltossini, you (10 noi
know the secrets of your watch, althtough
you have wornt it for suich a long time.
WVill you perit me to reveal thtem to
you ?'' Ilossini, witht an irotticail smtilc,
handed himl the waitch; whent, when greout.
ly to his sutrpriste, the stranger touched a
hidden sprinig and a false lining to the
bitck of the watch flew open,disclosmg the
mtaestro's plot trii patinuted m mithuature
and sur-rolundled by3 a wrath of enameled
Arabic characters. Interrogated as to how
he came by htis knowvledge of the watchi
secret, the existenice or wich Htossimt had
never before susplectedl, the straniger avow
ed himself the itatker of the costly toy,. but
odly eoutgh positively (declined to ox -
lamtt the sigmtilcation of the Arabic words
cetcirelinig thle likeness, althtough repeated.
ly and~ uirgenmly solicited by3 liossinti to dc
so. Froim thatt mioment iossini, conivin..
ced that somne evil spelt must be conttamied
in the mtystic character's which their authot
stealdfastly refused to miterpret to hImt,
contceivedl so unconiquierablo a fear of thec
wittch tat hte never again wore at. After
his death It was founid b~y lis heirs securely
setaled up antd iddl~en away In tin ol com
mode(1 whIch apparently' had not beech open.
ed for several years, its Its contents were
covered with thick dust.
-TIhe North Paclile built 217 tmilet
of track In laxa.
The Holy Fire.
It is stated, that on the last ilght of th
year 1880., about nine o'clock, a large por
tion of the counties of Galway and Mayo,
Ireland, were suddenly ablaze with torcho
formed roughly of Sheaves of wheat. I
was not u quarter of an hour from thi
tune that the first torch was observed be
fore the country to the horizon was al
alight. Loud shouts were heard, horn
and whistles were blown, cans were beaten
and the inhabitants seemed to have beconi
demented. County houses were hastily
closed up and secured; the police preparet
In theiir barracks for (lefense, and every
body outside the Land League made cer.
tai that the dreaded moment had come
'The lights and the noises subsided about
eleven o'clock, and the night passed ove
with no more than the usual number of
outrages. The country people affect to b.,
ignorant of the cause of the illuimination;
some said it was to celebrate the liberation
of Parnell, but the facts of the trial are
well known in every hamlet and such a
reason could not hold water. There is n<
custom of the kind on New Year's eve,
The question asked on every side in Ire
land is, we hear, was , it a preconcerte(
practice in signalling? or was it an expe
riment? A few nights before the Fenian
rising something of the same kind wa!
observed i several parts of the country,
and MAny Well aRffected people are of thc
opiniioni that the inciuent portends no good.
In the winter of 1832 the country was ob
served one nght to be full of flushinig
lights in every direction. Meol were fran
tically running around with lighted sods o
turf in their hands, with which they
rushed from one house to another. Tin
origin of the phenomena was never clearl
traced, but it was supposed to have been v
innii appearing at a house and leaving 1
lighted sod of turf, at the same time giv
ing directions that the house owner shouh
rut) it to seven other sods which he 'wa:
to le.ve to s v. n loisea t'at had not befor(
received them. This was to be done oi
pain of eternal perdition. That night al
mlos'. every Catholic house in Ireland wa
visited,and niany died from the exertion o
getting rid of their seven sod of turf. I
i supposed that it was an experiment to se
in how short a time communication migh
be effected on an emergency from differen
centres of activity, acting simultaneously
it was called "the night of the holy fire.'
In Ireland no sign ought to be neglected
In 1867 the police were still in thei
country barracks when the day of the ris
ing came, although orders had been issue(
for their concentration in the event of th
near proipect of what was know ii mu
come."
The Man at the Winldsor.
While riding up town the other (y in
Fif Lt Avenue stage, New York, a rep ortt
met an acquaintance who is a frequenter o
races during the suson, and a fair juadg
of a horse.
"Anything new i" mquired the reporte
"I have just heard of a trick in hors
selling that I think should be shown up i
the newspapers."
"What is the dodge?"
"AMy uncle, who considers himself prett;
sharp, came down from the country to bu
a trotter. Without taking any one into ii
conildence, he started off alone to make
purchase. lie met with several queer e.
periences, one of which, being new to me
is best described as follows:
"A stranger enters a sales stable and e:
plains what sort of a horse lie desiros. A:
ter two or three ordinary animals are show
up1), an apparently likely horse is brougi:
out with considerable flourish. 'There
says the seller, 'is tle offer for you. You'
never take anybody's dust behind that fel
low. 'he filet is, I sold him to a city ima
recently, and allowed him to try the hor
on the roadt. I knew the man had plent
of money, and thought lie could manage
trotter. Ini about three hours afterwvard
negro brought the horse back, with th
harness and cutter all knocked to pieces
ie said( a mi~uu who was a little off ha
given him $5 to bring thie horse'arounid, an
say that lie would call and pay for hini
But,' continues the seller, 'lie can't hay
the animal at any pri1c; I'll never seil
good horse to a mian that ean't take propt'
care of himn. You can have hiim for $20
less thiaii lie promised ime.'
"Whuile they are dickering about th
animal in walks a well-dresed man, sayin
in a rathier blui teaing manner. 'I hav
come to paiy for (liat horse I bought receni
ly,' at the same time displaying a larg
roll of money. 'You can't, have hlim,' ri
p~lied (lie stablemnan. 'Why ?' 'lBecam
you damaged my prop~erty, andi don't k no,
how t'o use a horse. Besides, I have sot
lhim to tis gentleman.'"
''After a quarrel, in which thme city ma
swears that, lie will have the horse at an
p~rice, and thme seller is equally emphatic i.
declaring thiat the horse is 8so(1, (lie cit
man sidles up to the stranger, wvhisperin1
Il get the best, of him aniy way. Yo
pay for the horse and bring him righ
aroundi~ to tme at the Windsor, when 1'
lind you $100) more than you pay ft
"To cut the matter short, thie strange
buys (lie horse,and afterward looks ini vai
for the nmn at the Windsor."
"'Did your uncle look for thme man at thm
Windsor?"
"~No, but I know of several who woul
hike to see hm."
H10 Diudn't, 9Faurt t~o Buy.
Looking at ihe tw in "'before" and "'aftet
p~ictuires on the bottle, thme bald- headed oh
Lenitleiman asked, "Is that thie way itia
wiays works ?" "Always," saId the cleriF
"'Produces hair on the smoothest head ?
"'Y es,'' said the clerk, ''produces a imio:
luxuriant growth of hair in six weeks<c
money efunded. Never was known i
fail, sir, and we have sold a milhlion and
half of bottles. How nmany will you have?
"Young man, dlon't ask me to take ani
more bottles. T'he Iast, one I took horn
hase ruIned miy peace (of mind and brougl
dlesolation to my home. My wife thougl
it was bay riumu or something or other ft
the complexion, aind shie'sm just worried
death now that she's found out what it wi
(10, and spends hiaif her tinme at the irr<
wvatchlng for (lie first premonitions of th
luxuriant full beardl that is to hIde hi
beauty forever. No young man I (lonl
want aiy more of It. And to toll you th
truth," lie added In a stage wvhisper, "'
woumldni' be of any use. Sheo is that mi
that she pulls out my hair as fast as
grows. Look at my bald head now. Ti
clerk looked, and had not tho heart to sa
more, but put the bottle away anid advise
the 0o(1 gentleman to present his wife wit
au rauzor and firmngs.
an Age of Crivne.
Not long ago a wagon rumbled swiftly
away froin the Eastern )emLtentiary, at
Philadelphia, Pa., and an hour afterwards
stopped in the muunicipal burying-grotid
-the potter's field of the vulgar--and hi a
few minutes a plain pine box was lowered
into a hole in the earth and the frozen clods
I rattled upon the plne-inclosed form of
Wade Sipple, alias Pierce, alias ,William
Oray, who in his day was one of the most
famous hotel and sneak thieves in the Uni
ted States. His end was that of nine out
of ten nalefactors, although his fate had
.not overtaken hint until he had gone be
yond ihe allotted three-score and ten years.
For iore than forty years Sipple had pur
sued a criminal career, and in that tiie he
had been made familiar with the interiors
or the county prison, the Eastern pdiniten
tiary, Sing Sing, Charlestown, Mass., Bal
timore, Richiond, Whelling and Wilming
ton, N. C., prisons and penitentiaries. lie
was known to the detectives all over the
land as a darIng hotel thief ; the stories of
whose exploits would fill books. lie was
first known in 1830, whon lie became
an iniate of the Eastern penitentiary. In
the great days of steamboat travel along
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, thirty years
ago, when the hoats were infested by regu
lar coalitions of ainblers, who preyed upon
the Smithkern) and S mthwestern plianters
wll travelled between New Orleans and
Cincinnati and St. Louis, the fine art of
sneak-thieving was adroitly plied. The
thieves stole fron the planter and from (lte
successful gambler alike, often taking
thousan is of doluars froin the stateroons,
where it had been deposited by the, card
shirpers for safety during the progress of
the fainous gaines in which the reckless
plainters oftei staked, not only the ready
money derived i rom the sale of their crops,
but wagered, besides, their platiations,
i field hands, resideitces, etc., and lost all to
the cuining knaves whom the blind god
dess and skill favored. Sipple, who was
i down on his"ick" itter a terin of inpris
Soinent at. lichmonid, Virg n , encountcied
i tin acquaintiice of Lii Alegary, the notori
Ios lississippi river thief, who was in part
nership with Al Burtis and ''om Buchanan
in workiig the steamers plyinig the Father
of Waters. 'I'his ainn took Sipple WYest
with hilm), iad his coolness and adroitness
so pleased the veterais that lie was admit.
ted to full membership in the band o1 plhn
,derers, with whom lie remained mniy
r years. lie had a thrilling adventure once
near Natchez, Miss., which is said to have
I frightened hm into abaiidoning his ailin
tion with Burtis and his other confede
rates. A party of gamblers had come up
froin New Orleans, had "cleaned out'' a
nuiber of planters, and were makinag ir
ry over their Iriumpli. The spoils of vie
tory were supposed to be fabulous. Sipple
learned that the money, which was mostly
r in bundles ot brand-new crisp bank notes,
was in the stateroom of one of the gam
a blers. lie deteriined to possess hinself
of it and succeeded in his enterprise, after
wards concealing the plIunler inl his own
roomu. The gambler discovered his loss in
a few hours aInd notilled his associates.
They fixed on Sipple and another man its
the thieves and, catching themn on the up
per deck of the steamer on a ntoonlight
night, as she was passing Natchez, they
s surrounded them, and, with drawn bowie
knives and derringers, threathened them
- with instant death unless they produced
the booty or told where it was htduien.
Sipple pretended to be frightened into cuni
pliance, and told his captors to accompaity
- hiin to his room. On his way thither, il
a though eincoipassed by gleauing steel, lie
sprang through his eiv:rmnment and
plunged overboard. An attempt was matde
to Stop the boat iad capture the thief, ulit
nio trace of him could be distiiguished
even undei the moonlight, and he was
given up for lost. Not s>, however. Hie
'escaped, and n iot liking the iimanners of the
Southlerin gamnblers, lie forsook steanatboat
~ 1 'y~ing as too perilousa. 'The gainbllers re
coveredl their money in Sipple's roomn after
a fight with his comnpianions. As age crept
over the onice darinag crininal lie tdescend
edl lower aned lower in the gratdes of crimne
'until he becamne a merec sineak thief-a
Ssnaipper' iup of trifles. Suspicion wits noit
a likely to sett'e upo~n a white-hired, white
r whiskuired, niely-dtressedl old inan, and si)
lihe suisted1C ianiseriably on his pilfering
where thiotuads lad been lziutillieiit tto
a satisfy hihin before. Hie was arrested mnany,
tinmes fori petty larcetny mind sentenced to a
a few tauonths in the countty prison. In
- January, 1878 he was in cumtody under
Sthe niaine of Peck along with Charles
- Bltake, the burglar, on thle charge of diis.
posing of sonie of thle p'lundter from J.10
B Jtiim's house, 20Lib Diaimond street, at a
second~ hand dieailr's store, repres eulting
thiat Blake was his son int-haw, who was
breaking ap housekeeping. Bltako was
taken to West, Chester afterwards on sus
picion of pairticipattioni in the Bii cy mnask.
Y ed robbery, On October 16I, 1878, Gray
is founid in tr-ouble again for the last tiue.
Three aen who elihabedl over a back fenace
Sfrom a biri'kyamrd were suirprised while in
the act of breaking into thme residenice I 208
r TVhomlpson street. Tl'wo of them escaped-(
froin the police, but the third, p)oor, ('1(
r \Vade S$ippiel, who toldl the magistrate
" afterwatrds that lisa namue was William
Gray, was too stilfeiied b; age aindirheuima
e tism to clamuber tip the ladder again iad
was c'>rnered behiind a barrel ini the yiard of
ii the dlwelling. lie wits convicted and sen
tenced to three years imuprisoumeint. Af
ter a little over two years' coiifhmtement lie
fell (dead on Saturdiay last fromi appoplexy
'' and his melancholy burial, like that of the
d forger Rtollins, took p1 moe ini Potter's flehl.
-Very few of lia old issociates in crimte are
.believed to be alive.
t A Smarv'elou,t Statge liit
r
n One of the darkest, coldIest, rainiest
a nights of the past amonith, aii ad(venture oc
" curred in it neighboring counity which deC
y serves to be perpeluated among the rt
e markable episodes of stage traveling. The
t laidy iand geiitlemian who were p)romninent,
.t actors in t lie ahino.st triagedy were receintly
r at the Mlorris I louse, and the story is in nmo
o nmanner exaggeriatedI or overwrought. TIs
11 coulle were the sole occulpanmts of the lnte
ir rnor of the stage on thme night in qtuestion,
0 andl were sitting silenitly mtullied up wish
tr lng for mniniig to dawn. Th'fe hack was
't, drawn by two horses that were quite res
e tive andl hIgh-spirited, though the (droway
it passengers gave little heed to this fact untIl
dI afterwardl. The ight, was so drieadfully
tt dark that, it was ahniost, ipossible to keep
to in the ,road~,. and1( the stage was finally
y brought to an abrupt, halt by onet of the
d wheels striking against a stump. The
li gentleman partially undId thme ropes in
which lie was mnu~tllcdandi atske thn (Irivar
if he necled any assistance, and receiving
a negative answer, snuggled back into his
wiappings. Presently the stage insved on
and the incident attracted no further atten.
tion. In a little while another stoppage
occurred and the passengers had a vague
conscioustsess that the driver again descend
ed to arrange something about the wheels
or traces. The rain pattered unceasingly
upon the roof, the wind moaned thiough
te forest branches, and weary, exhausted,
and betaumbed, our friends were only semi
conscious of the fact that the stage again
resuned &its journey. Suddenly the gen
tieman became impressed with the idea
that they were travelieg at too high a rate
L speed, aniid tisle conviction bocage so
strong that he finally leaned out of the winl
low far enough to ascertain that tlie driver
had disappearedf and his horses were, run
ning away.
Without awakening his wife to a sense
of their danger he attepited to perform a
feat which few men would have the nerve
to do in broad day tight. This wasW toclinib
out of tle window while the team was run
ning at full speed, and swing h iself up on
to the driver's-seat so as to secure the reins.
it required the strength of tau athlete anid
.he courage of a hero to accomplish this
task, but it was accomplished. As'soon as
ho gained I he driver's seat lie reached for
the reins which le expected to find twisted
aioit the biake, and to his utter horror
found i hey were gone. Meanitime the horses
were running at. the top of their speed, the
haak n as being violently jolted and tossed
f roi sie to side,aid the ominous darkness
into which they were plutnging threatened
insant destruction. Lea:iang over the hoot
trying to reach down and laind Ihe. reins,the
stlage gave at sudden lurch aid th- getil
anii w as huii led liavilong under the wheels.
I lhere ,wai momeniarily ia stunned seni
ai.ioni, Ia Iiarp L i -ii as the wheels paised
over Ias less, iid there was a rush and ela'
ter of hoots s tie runaway tenai disid
pimel in the darkness. I'hme wile was
goAne ill Ih: ruan a IIy S 1.;0a. FictioU never
,n.irj ir-s Ip inily SItu1a.URS111 miiore uniquely
uiniiortia ale. Tunnbled uncerenon.ou..
1y ()it .intO the imid It id wa'eir, with a half
.roken leg iad a fill klnoW ledge that Iis
wile woul.i he tili h..d speedIly to a horrible
dta I, our friend wa< atnost fia tic wheni
la naI.lly arose an1d conuieniced groping
aII ,ng inl thle darkniess.
It wai not. very 1->ng before the driver
nt(ile rushing a olig inl IrSuilit of tie Silkre
aid his im ieengers, aid gbrwiously aitomih.
ed he %mais to nicet Wi.hI 1111 of them unuer
such ciretinstiIaces. There was nothing to
do lilu' follow he radni aid a wait the ter
iinina ioi of atlairs. buddeldy, as they
were luisiig over I bruslly kuoll, they
larti a soind which they rei.lily kuew
1inist be ocasiionied by the runl way tea.n.
I l, wonde.' of it, however, Was that the
ICiIn w% asi evidenI ly comiIIg toward theI.
Bfy sonicnit ntis the horses linj turned
a.oiind maid were coiing Ncuk. It was not
easy iatter to check tie frightened aut
aii, utI by vigorous shouting a.id hurra
ing it ly were tlliett 1(Into the brush a.id
caiglit. imuhiig to tile stige to see what
ha t econlit of Ils wife, til. gentleinan
lutind her all wralippel up as lie ha.1 le t ie
a Id totally outhvious 01 the taCt that she
si I DUie tie Abject of aniy paI ticular soe
itude on his pitu, or th i he had been tb
Sent 1roiin lid 8ide, Or that. sle hIAd been in
anty k.anger. %1le tUew the stage wa go
ing very rapidly, but innocently supposed
LinL. the tdriver was niuking up br lost 07 in1.
t a i tig was broken nout, ti. carriaige
. r in. iim,s.
A tn razlin iraram
Mr. Dorl 's great teri-tapin fiirim is lot a
Led It etuatr 'oinit. Tis pioJection of
laMItI Oil the western shore of Mobile bay,
ntotit 30t ileis below this city, at Is li
tiabtitedl priniieiam ly by oystermien who reap
golden harvests Iroin the mnany beds which
I urnish nearly every oyster brought to the
port of Alobile. Mr. Diorlon, wno keeps it
store at this pomlt., hias about, three acres
feiiced in with strong pilings. Leading to
this inchosure are two canals, one oii the
baiy side and the othier on the gtulf sit1e,
inich suply with tailt wauer a numnber or
dittctes 10 teet wide and 100 heet long. The
sandit accumuitla'ing fronm the ceavaAon or
tthese (litches us thrown oii eacti side, a:it
tused bly,thie terrapins to sn themnselves
nod lay their eggs im, which,,i A counted,
woutd go upi in the inuilhoets, and caii be
rakedl up by the bushel. in the winter sea
soni tic terrapiins reninin iintjeddedi In the
iniud of the (tices, where they stay iutil
spring tuine, never touching it norsel of food,
A system of sluices enaoles Mr. D)orlou to
keep the ditchies full of sat water,or drain
tiem at pleasure, and hie is z ot. a, nil de
pienitent Onl theC tidec for ih it purpose.
The numiber of terraipris on the farmu, as
fari as can be ascer.aiined and by the closest
calcuilati,>i, is betweeni 20,OO0001(n 25',00J,
nd in the courise o~f the next, three or four
ytrs wiill be somnthinog hlard to calculate.
About. Alay 1st,, Mr. llorlon tmakes his pur..
iChasie oh teriai,nnis froan the counitry pdopile
Oil tile Mississippji Sinin I, aid Ian(1 111 alich
(il ansecure it, 54 it dlozen, iid that gener
alhly averages aoa, 8,000~ a yea: a'ided to
ins harm ,outside 01 those breed therein.
Thle inihaibitanits of l5i5issippi anld Alaba na
hunt thec terrapins with dogs tranod f:>r tt
p~urp) se. The diog barks wnen lie Jiis
one aid the hiuiiter iminediately~ secutes ii
I)y gomilg to the shot, whiere the dog points.
'1 he cost 01f feedng the terrapins, which,
as we hatve said, is (only donie m the Humi
ir is atbouit 51 per tozeni for thme seasoni,
a11u( the price per dhozen in New York has
varied 11ron: $18 to $8. The 11ood, waich
conisists oIf cirats ami ilh, 1s caught With ia
seine in Iront of ihe farazu, and reailly very
little expense is attached to the raising or
these viiluable land tor.oisus. Mr. D)oraon
begins to snip about (haober, 1st, anid thein
01n to atbout Alay 10t.h. lie gean1-ally sendls
his to tiavannan by rail, nadtaence to New
York by steamer, avraginig about I12,uut0
a seaison, uatd, luad it not beni lor a dieas
trois biuriienne which sonic tuine ago Wash
ed out, Mr. LDorlon's farin, It, wouhld he to
(ily tihe greatest terrapm in in i the Mou, I I.
lie cain always ship all hie ca.i get,Ior Lilcre
is a ready muarke t for these (detiencies.
Paste for Vaper.'
To ten parts by weIght of gum arabit add
three parts of stugar in ordur to prevht, this
gum from cracking ; then aidd water uil
the desired consiatency is obtained. If a
very strong paste is reqiired ad I a 'laan
tity of flour eqIual mn weighit to tilo kum,
without boling thie mixtutre. The >Iaste
unproves In strength whieii it biegtfi ter ..*
mentt