The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, April 14, 1883, Image 1
TRI-WIEKLY EDITION- W.INNSBORO. g C..APRIL 14, 1883.
ED 184
THE AU PUMN S'ENE.
The Indian summer's velt of blue
Lies on the inountains far away;
And from the east, forever new,
Dawn ushers in the dleany day.
The air is st ill, the rivulet gleams
in silver flalies througir the vale
The ailent mint above the stream's
.air path shines like a glist'nIng sail.
I see -the squirrel skip and dart*
Among the raiDbow-tinted leaves,
Tle glossy ohestnurs fire his heart
But, as for him, he never grieves.
Where red and russet orchards staud,
Bowing their burdens to the' plain,
The .lover takes his loved one's hand
And saunters through the orchard lane.
Tito clouds are soft that fleck the sky,
The dry leaves rustle Oast their feet;
But their unolow'letd reverie,
Aud bliss*ut dreams and visions sweet,
Ottdo the splendor of the day,
Surpass t lie glory of the dawn:
The world itself must pass away
Ere such delights are dead and gone I
1 inark their measured step-and slow
The cottage gate, the parting kiss,
And think no summers vainly go
That end in Nuect triumphant bliss I
MAY'S MISSION.
Pretty May Winsone sat in her own
little room in her mother's cottage, with
pen, paper and ink spread before her,
and though her eyes were intently gaz
ing through the open window, she saw
neit:ier the bright flowers nor the fleeey
clouds sailing in the blue sky on the
distant horrizon, nor heard the low
buzz of the be6 flitting from rose to
rose, nor the loud song ot the robin to
his mate.
The sun glinted her hair with flecks
of gold, the summer breeze caressed
her, but for once the girl was deaf and
blind to all save one great purpose, one
absorbing thought.
A week before she had met Vernon
Rushton.
Picnics were a favorite summer amuse
ment in the quiet little country town
where was May Winstone's home, and
it was at one of these fate had thrown
her and Vernon Rusliton together.
He was a stranger, spending i9 few
weeks at the small hotel in the village,
which occasionally attracted summer
guests.
At first something in his light blue
eyes had repelled rather than attracted
her ; but as .. they wandered together
through one of the leafty paths, and
he had told her how as soon as he had
4een her he had wished and asked to be
presented to her, and confided to her
now low people in. tho world possessed
for him this subtle chord of sympathy.
i he began to believe she had done him
groso injustice, aind was quite convinced
7he ueVer betoro bad met so charming
a man.
Of course this sweeping assertion
did not include Dick Travers, for she
and Dick were euguged to be married.
Indeed, Dici talked of the autumn
as the proper time for the wedding to
take place, though as yet she had not
given her consent to such speed.
She know now that it was impossible,
for in this one short week she and Mr.
Ruhhtonii had held many long, confiden
Tial talks.
He had told her that he wrote, and
wau a poet-that everyone in life should
have a miisiou, and that he wts quite
sure she could make her name famous
by her pen-that he saw the inspiration
of poetry in her eyes.
It his words were true, she had won
derful difficulty in getting the said in
tpiration any further than her eyes, for
it was at this task she was occupied on
this lovely July day.
"May 1,' called her mother's voice.
"Will you come down, <tear, and help
me shell the peas ?
- "it is washing-day, you know, and
MIary hats niot time."'
Shell the peast I
Oh, what a fall from the clouds.
And Mas, usually so bright and ready,
slowly p)ut away her writing mnaterials,
and, with a dr eided pout on the sweet,
red lips, slowly descended the stairs.
11er task finmshed, a sudden shadow
fell athwart the window, though which
was thrust a handsome closercropped
head, and two laughing, brown eyes
survey ed the interior, while a cheery
voice broke the silence
"1 ha~vo come to take you for a drive,
* May.
"it is really too lovely a day.for in
doors.
"Oome, g.ot your hat, dear, and let
us lbe olf."
"Not to-day, Dick I" she answered
indifierently.
"it was very kind of you to come,
but I've something - I particularly. wish
to do this afternoon."
"Not drive, May I Why, what is to
be done ?
"I will wait for you a little while if
it is important."
"Don't wait,
"I can't go I"
"i've hardly seen anything of you
for a week, May,
".boat night that Uushton fellow de
liberately outstayed me.
"He'd have had harder work, but
that lie made me mad and jealous, How
can you tolerate him, May ?
"There isn't an inch of real manhood
about him, yet y'ou smiled onthim, and
encouraged him to stay until I could
stand i" no longer, and left him a free
"We saw yopr temper, Dick.
"You need not recur to it.
"Mr. iRush4on said it was greatly to.
be regretted you wer.e so rash. and not
headed.''"
"Mr. Bushton j
"Confound thim I
"What right has he to express an
opinion of m, to you?i
"If you le' ed me, you wouldni't! have
listened to it.('
For all repl , the girl exasperatingly
shrugged her -shoulders, and roso to
put away the pas.
' Wheit she Ui*ied back,flie -f'aek at
the window ha gone,. lls
Fearful of gi ing er,another ils
traton of .Ih much-to-be-regretted
dispof'iion, he. hail sought refuge ini
flight ; and she was once more free to
seek the room ich, henceforth Vernozi
Rushton had told her would appear in
his eyes, though they never had beheld
it, as the enshrined bower of a poetess.
An hour passed, and only four lines
was imprinted on the sheet but of those
metre and rhythm were juite perfect,
and her heart beat high with exultation.
Then again her mother's voice re
called her to this mundane sphere
this time, however, to announce a visi
tor-Mr. Rusht:n was below.
Vtry, very pretty 'May looked, as,
with flushed cheeks and bright eyes,
she ran down to meet him.
His light blue orbs dilated at the pic
ture.
"I have come to ask you to take a
stroll with me," he said, in his weak,
low voice.
"Such days as this inspire one, and
I am sure in every bush and tree you
will find lurking some new and beauti
ful thought."
Ah, if Dick had but asked her to go
out to seek inspiration, she might have
responded with as much alacrity as
now I
So it happened that, returning from
his lonely drive, a little repentant for
his hastlnes3, and ready to blame his
own jealous and impetuous temper for
unjust suspicion,. he saw directly in
front of him two figures, slowly stroll
ing along.
He was not long in recognizing them
both, and a great, hot wave of indig
nant anger surged up to his face.
He was wonderfully tempted to leap
out in front of them, and by a yigorous
application of his whip, teach this
miserable pretender a lesson he would
not soon forget.
But he resisted the temptation and
drove on, deigning them, as he passed
neitler word nor glance ; but May,
catching a look of his face, felt a sud
den fear.
She had never seen Dick, dear old
Dick, wear that look before, and Mr.
Rushton, for the rest of their walk
found her very silent, and it is to be
feared that neither from tree, nor shrub,
did May gather inspiration.
And though Mrs. Winstone's delicious
there were far more inviting that the
repast spread at the hotel, he was not
bidden to enter in and feast.
Yet May had condemned herself
thereby to a long, lonely evening.
If Dick had come in, all might have
been explained ; but Dick, white and
miserable, was bending over his desk,
writing a letter ; which though savoring
nothing of poetry, cost him as infinite
labor as all her inspirations.
Many % sheet he begai. and never
finished, before, at last, a few Curt lines,
which almost hid the pain their birth
had given him, were left to stay and
reach their destination.
Next morning May found them be -
side her breakfast plate.
These were air the words they con
tained
"I have been blind, May; but I see
now. I know now why you could not
drive with me yesterday, and 'why you
let me go away the nght before. You'll
forgive me that I didn't recognize the
truth you have tried to toll me in every
thing but speech, and so the sooner
have given you back your freedom. If
you'll keep the few things I have sent
you, I should be very glad, for they
are hateful enough in my sight, and the
weather ie somewhat too warm to build
a fire for a funeral pyre. 'ICK,
This was all.
But for the last phrase, born of the
great bitterness of a young heart. May
might have relented, and sent back a
few lines which would have brought
her lover to her feet; but these harden
ed her.
Within an hour she hadagathered to.
gether every token of his love ; then
slipping from her finger the pearl ring
which had betoked their engagemnent,
she put them with the rest, and' de
spatohed them to him without a word.
"Mr, Rushlton says every woman has
a mission," she told herself, lest she
should fancy her heart ached.
"Nothing now need interfere with my
work.
"I shall writo a poem.
"1 can make my owvh- experience its
foundation, and so send it into the world
to teach other women man's perfidy.'
When Mr. Riisnton called that, even
ing, she said
"I have broken my engagement, Mr.
Rusliton I"
It was too dark for May to see the
sudden flash of triumph in his light,
steely eyes.
It was strange, she thought, as the
days wore on, but Vernon Rushton's
attraction for her had fled,
somehow he wearied her.
She wished he would not come quite
so of ten.
S3he did not care to offend him, for
he-was to give her the name of the edi
tor to whom her precious poem, now
rapidly approaching completion, was to
be entrusted.
At last-she had put to it the final
correction, the last stop, signing hev
initials with infinite precision and care.
She had tasted some of the first fruits
of future triumphs, when she had read
it to him in its completed form, and he
had listened with upturned eyes and
batett breath.
"Your mission soon will bie fulfilled,"
he s.aid to her ; "but, oh, what , might
we not accomish together- wo 4uch
poetic nmints I
"I would not separate you from your
mother, dear, if you would become my
wife;, but here, in t,his pretty cottage
we could be happy together.
"May I hope, my love ? Will, you
eget your ot Writh mine ?"
-But Ma? had fled shuddering from
his extenuted arms, and a few hours la
ter there followed him to his hotel the
hastily-scrawled note, which he read,
cursing his fate, since the pretty nest
he had so carefully Atriven for, he learn
ed, all luxuriously 'feathered as it was,
never might be his, .
P'enniless. ahd love-lorn, he must
again return to daily toil1for daily bread,
too mubhn time having been squandlered
in a vaini i,rsuit for food andl shelter,
with iine noBesshrty accomp)anieint of a
wife.
There was now. .nothing left fbr May'
but to find onsolation in her mission.
With irembling hands, but hopeful
heart, she despatched her poem to its
destination.
Days merged into weeks, and she
heard nothing from it, until at last sek
sent a tiny note asking for some news
of it.
The reply was brief.
Her sacred wori had long since been
consigned to the waste-paper basket,
condemned as rubbish, and unreturned
to her for want of return postage.
The blow was terrible.
She had not even kept a copy, and
never could she gather up courage to
make a second effort.
With the heartless letter in her hand,
she flew to the woods, where secure
from interruption, she might fling her
self face downwards upon the sward
and sob out some of her he%rt's grief.
Ho wrapped was ste in her own mis
ery, that she heard no step approach
ing, until some one called her name.
It was Dick, her lover, who stood be
side her.
Alf, her lover now no longer I
"May I" he said.
"W$at is it, child ?
"Will you not tell me ?
'Poor little girl I What is troubling
you ?"
The tender tone was more than she
could b9ar. 0
How it happened she did not know,
3ut in a moment she found herself sob
iug, not tears of wretchedness, but
tears of joy ; for Dick's arms were about
her and her head was on Dick's heart.
She tried then to make him under
stand some of her humiliating confes
sion ; but he would not listen to it
only, a few days later he came to her,
with a roguih. snile on his face, and
held up before her a little slip of paper.
It was an advertisement, in doggerel
verse, for some patent toot-powder.
This is one of Mr. Rushton's poems,"
he told her.
"Evidently not a very lucrative occu
pation, since he has left the hotel a
month in arrears for his board."
But seeing the quick tears of mortifi
cation start to May's eyes, he bent and
kissed them away.
But in long after years the girl learn
ed that only her false mission in life
had failed her, and her true mission
the mission of a loving wife and tender
mother-had met its richest and its
fullest completion.
Store vl ks III Mexico.
Think of paving $5 a dozen for plaiu
linen collars which in New Orleans
would be considered high at $1, or of
giving $6 for a pair uf shoes which t
home dealer would bih to chtige
$2 50 for, says a writer. The Americans
in the City of Mexico look back to their
own land as the paradise for people
with thin purses, and sigh for the day
when a commercial treaty between the
United States and Mexico shall not only
remove the duties on sugar and toacco,
but bring down the comtorts of life to
a reasonable rate.
8peaking of dry goods brings us back
naturally to the stores, and these we
cannot mention. without being painfully
reminded of a subject to which it is
difficult to refer without losing that
equanimity essential to a Christian
frame of mind, and this is-the clerks.
When we reflect upon the amount of
time and patience'expondci during our
shopping expeditions and all charged
to the account* of these aggravating
specimens of humanity, to take an
almost savage pleasure in saying that,
according to our belief, no other city
can compete with Mexico in regard to
thai indolent, indill'erent, highly pro
voking class, who are employed nomi
nally to wait upon customiers Lntt who
turn the tables by making customers
wait upon them. The purchase of a dress
in these stores implies the loss of nearly
a whole dgty, and an amount of patience,
wvhich, if properly exerted, would lead
to canonization.
Un enterimg a dry goods emporium
you will find a large number of clerks,
entirely out of proportion to the size of
the establishment, most of whom are
busily employed In doing nothing.
After wvaitia.g for ,some time one will
approach you witb the most nonchalant
air, and ask you what you want in a
tone of voice, however, which implhes
that he makes the inquiry merely out
of consideration for you, and not be
cause lie has any interest in the answer,
When your want is made known--and
you must ne asisured in your own mind
as to the width, quality and color of the
good~s req\tired-no will depart, appar
ently in quiest of your material; Ihow sad
is your nmistake, however, if you expet
a speedy return, for on the way he will
stop to slay with somebody's baby, or
to hold a long conversation with one of.
his follow-clerks, or to take half-an
hour's puff at his beloved cigar, and
sometimes daring an unusually lengthy
period of suspense we have been tempt
ed to beheve that he indulged in a
siesta. At last, when bodjy and spirit
are both nearly exhausted, you will
perhaps succeed in finding the stull' for
your dress; but this, you soon discover,
is only the beginning of your troubles;
you ask for buttons, and are told to
seek them in a fancy store on the next
block; for needles, pans, hock and eyes
-they are to bie found in a hardware
establishment around the corner; k
thread- it is Itopt at another shop
several squares off; for black sewing
silk-that can be bought only where
machines arc sold; for ribbon--and are
answered with a look of surprise at
your ignorance that such a thing is
never to be met with in a dry goods
store. By the time you -have bunted
up'these articles in their various appro
priate p)laces, and have been subjected
to the same delays and annoyances on
every side, you will be. ready to agree
with us in saying that Mexican stores
anid clerks arc institutions peculiarly
obnoxious to Americans.
"Human Languagce,'' says Julien
Vmzon. "appear to have grown like trees
mn a wood, which In the Diet stages arc as
numerous as possible blin are'soon rteduced
tb et few individuals,o( whicl4 a.very amal
number attamn theIr f'ull teim 9f life. Nu
miorous as wors at first the local maniteata
tiene of human beings, the prhmordi lan
8uages were as Inatuorable.
How He Cooked TOaew.
Several years ago a genuine speimer
of the genius Yankee emigrated froi
the central part of Maine where he had
spent the whole of his life, to a well.
known town on the Eastern 8horo. He
had never.seen an oyster except in its
canned condition. and was naturally
anxions to know what kind of an ant.
inal or vegetable it was. One bright
fall morning soon after he had arrived
at his new home he was -leaning con.
templatively over the front gate when a
cart full of the bivalves drew near.
"Oysters! Oysters! Any good oystern
this morning, sir?"
"How much are they? 'as ed the Ney
Englander stepping, out ,o exaninc
them.
"Forty cents a bushels."A
"Waal 1 guess I'll take a peok, ]Jul
look a here stranger, how do you cool
them things!"
"Different ways, sir. Some people
fries 'em; some roasts em; but they
mostly stews 'em-cooks 'em in water
awhile, puts a little milk ii, and season
'em with popper and salt. They're
first-class this way."
"All right, I guess we'll try 'em
stewed.
The oysters were duly delivered and
paid for.
This was early in the morning.- Late
in the afternoon, about eight hours
after the above, the spindle legs of the
Yankee were seen rapidly measuring
their longest strides down the street.
Fire was in his eyes and madness in his
mien. He soon reptohed the crowd as
sembled on the street corner, and at
once singled out the man from whom
he had purchased the oysters. The
vials of his wrath were immediately
uncorked. Shaking his fist in the man's
face he roared forth:
"You're a gol darned humbug, you're
a cheat, a vile swindler, an-"
"Wnat d'ye mean?" growled the oys
ter-man.
"The oysters you sold me. You said
they were good, You told me how to
cook them. You told me to stew 'em,
didn't you?"
"Waal, we put the blamed things on
the stove this morning, and they ain't
soft yet; though they've been boiling
hot for eight hours-"
"You lank-sided, bald-faced idiot,
why didn't you take the sheols off? The
oyster's inside.
"The thunder it is! Then why didn't
you tbll me?"
But nothing more need be added. it
is only necessary to say that the Yankee
now always shucks his oysters before
he cook's them.
A stuiendaus wor&L 6'r mature.
Ages ago an arm of the Gulf of Mexi
co extended northward probably to
where Cairo now stands. This water
varied in wiath from ten to sixteen
miles. Stretehing for 1.000 miles north
ward, and from the Alleglianies to the
Hocky Mountains, was, and still is, the
land that drained its surplus waters
into this arm of the sea. Nature sought
to fill up this deep triangular trough,
the aplex of which touched the present
waters of the Ohio. The work was an
extensive one. The granite flanks of
the Rocky Mountains, the shales of the
Alleghanies, the tertiary formation of
the plains, were all plowed by rivers,
and the material was pulverized by the
action of strong waters, grouind in the
batteries of nature, until they were an
impalpable dust, capable of being held
in susp)ension by flowing water. In the
workshop of nature, on the plains and
in the mountains, this process eniaseless
ly continued. The melting snow and
heavy rains, causing the rivers to riec,
carried the pulp to Cairo. There the
salt water of the Gulf was met; and the
flow of the river checked, unable longer
to hold the pulp in suspension, it was
precipitated, forming a delta, Slowly
this delta was pushed southward.
Mountains were cut to the level of' the
plains; the flanks of mighty ranges
wvere deeply furrowed to supply the
demand theriver made to fill tihe trough
below (Jaiiro, and render it fit for 'the
ha bitation of men. The north was de
vastated to answer the call. For ages
the waters of the north anid west poured
into the trough. For ages the process
of shoaling the salt waters slowly con..
tinued. After the land appeared above
the surface of the river the annual over
fibw added to its height.
Mad.e mn Exception.
A Beaten capitalist, who has just
returned from a trip to the lumber re
gions of Wisconsin, struck a country
hotel one night during a blizzard. The
landlord was doing his best to heat up
and make everything comfortable, but
after hris heels had been frost-bitten
within six feet of the bar-room stoye,
the Bostonian hinted that he would go
to bed.
"Stranger in those parts, aren't you?"
whispered the host.
"From Besting, ain't you?"
"Well, i'll make an exception In your
care' and give you your choice between
a room where thre boys will likely sit up
till 8 o'clock and play old sledge, or one
next to where me and the old woman
will begin jarnng and fighing about 10
and keep it up till square daylight, You
look like a man of eulture, and I'll
jriake it. ami comfortable as .? oan for
you!"
The Bostonian compronmised by tak
ing a north room with seven panes of
glass broken out of the window.
Uarlyle's Home at Uralganputtoek.
Fifty years have come and gone sin(c
this lonely moorland farm-house wa
tenanted by 'ihomas Carlylo and iii
newly-wedded wife, Jane Welsh. Verj
little changed is anything outward;
quiet Oraigenputtock was then qiet, i
is still. You hear the wind moaning
among the trees, the leaves falling tI
the ground, a distant murmur of water
the bleat of some sheep on the uplands
These are the sounds by night and b
day; all else is silent. Very simpl
were thi. "curious impertinent" once
baffed, but now the door stands open
and, though few Indeod venture near, i
isi.tors'bpok lies on the lobby table
where those who make a pilgriuge t4
the spot can register their names.
Craiginputtook, meaning the woodei
hill of the puttock, a kind of hawk, is I
small estate on the borders of Dumfries
shire and Galloway, some 1800 acres ic
extent, mostly moorland, and lying 70C
feet above sea-level. Its precise situa
tion is on the valley, running from thE
parish of Danscore in Glencairn to the
river Urr-flowing from the adjaconi
loch of the same name. Fully 17 milet
from Dumfries, the nearest railwa3
station (save Auldgirth, which- may b(
somewhat less) it will be seen to b
suffioiently inaccessible. The nearesi
village, Corsock, is between three and
four miles away. The house itself ih
not beautiful, not even what may b(
called picturesque. Where it stands,
.nevertheless, it looks far from amips,
ar.d seems not out of keeping with it,
barren surroundings. Still guarded 1>y
fine old trees, and flanked by the orang(
and purple moors and Galloway hills,
there is about it a quiet dignity whiell
does not jar with its associations.
The front of the house, facing the
north, commands no view whatever,
and looks into a grassy bank, rising
immediately towards a now spare plan.
tation. To the back, where there mighl
have been preserved a wide panorame
of moorland and hills, all outlook i
forbidden by the farm buildings. girdled
again by trees. Indeed, so surrounded
is the house, and so sheltered is the
little hollow, that no sign of a habita.
tion is visible from any distance, save
from the moor above, where one may
indeed see the roof and a window oi
more. On entering we find ourselveE
in a somewhat spacious lobby, hardly
deserving the name of. halil. To the
right is the former drawing-room, and
entering from it is the old study, a very
tiny room which looks into the yard.
On the left of the lobby is an apartment
used by the Carlyles as the dining-room,
and behind it is a bed-room. The
kitchen, a large, cheerful place, now
the pleasantest room in the house, is
built out at the back. Ascending a narrow
stair from the hall, we find ourselves on
a small landing, whence four doors open
into four several bed-rooms, which com
plete the modest accommodations of
Craigenpi*.
The Canmer Ahead.
A new bank_ which had been estab
lished in a town in Indiana had engaged
the services of a watchman who came
well recommended, but who did nol
seem over-experienced. The Presideni
therefore sent for him to post him up a
bit, and began:
"James, this is your first job of th
kind, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Your first dutty must be to exercisc
vigilance."
"Yes, sir."
"Be careful how strangeis approach
you.1'
"I will, sir."
"No strangor mnud. be permitted te
enter the bank at night under any p)re
text whatever,"
"No, sir."
"And our .cashier-lhe ir a good man,
honest, reliable and thoroughly trust.
worthy, but it will be your duty to keel
an eye on him."
"But *MiwilI he hard to watch two
men and the bank at the same time,
sir."
"T wo :nen-how?"
"Why, sir, it wvas only yesterday that
the cashier called me in for a talk, and
he said you were the squarest man in
Indiana: but that it would b>e just as
well to keep both eyes on you, and( let
the directors know.if you hung around
after hours!"
oow Thlnogy.
"Now, deacon, I've just one word to
say. I can't bear our preaching! .L get
no good There's so much in It I don't
want that 1 grow lean on it. I lose my
time) and pains."
"Brother Bunnell, come here. ThterS's
my cow 'Thankful'-sheo can teach you
theology."
"A cow teach theo'logy! What do you
mean?"
"Now see, I have just thrown her a
forkful of hey. Just watch her. There
now! She has found a stick-you know
sticks will get into tJie hay-and see
how she tosses it to one side and goes
on to eat what is good. There again!
She has found a burdqock, and she throws
it to one side and goes on eating. Be
fore miorning she will have, cleared the
manger of all save a few' sticks and
weeds, and she will give milk. There's
milk in that hat4 and site ,knows how to
get it out, albeit there may be now
and then a stick or weed which she
leaves."
Pets of rIsoners.
It Is somewhat surprising to what an
extent men confined in a prison will
succeed in domesticating different kinds
of animals. This practice has never
been more successfully developed than
at the State Prison at Concord, where
there are men who, in a number of in
stances, derive great comfort from the
companionship of dilLfreut species of
animals an who while away many a
lonely hour by training them, while in
their cells, to perform different tricks.
At the present time one of the most
noted convicts in the institution has a
pot mouse which he has caught and
trained to whirl a small wheel ararnged
on tpO same priniple as a guirral,cage
Is. Anothek has two whart rats which
he has tolled into his cell, fed and so
ogmpletely domesticated that they will
go through a tight-ropo performanod
in his cell when they are bidden to do
so. Others have traiiod rats and mice,
which they carry to and from the work
shaps, and become greatly attached to
them. The trained pet canary of Jesse
Pomeroy, the boy fiend, h%s just died.
He was a very fine singer, and Jesse
grieves very much on account of the
bird's death, for, in solitary confine
mont, he hae been much cheored by the
singing. 1 He now expects his mother
will bring or send him another soon.
The steward in the hospital depart
ment has several pot canaries, and one
of them has been trained to a remark
aba degree. A colored convict, formoly
a well-known waitor in one of the lead
ing Boton hotels, who occupies a
strong cell, has succeeded in propa
gazing pigeons in a peculiar manner.
The window of his cell opns into the
prison yard, and on this window he
pjaced bread crums until ho trapped a
pair of pigeons. He aiterwards caught
three more in the same way, clipped
their wings, and they have become so
thoroughly domesticated that they have
built a nest underneath his bed, nd
at present have three young(doves which
they have roared. OWo of the old pig
cons is coal black, and this on the
darkoy has named after his wife, an<I
all the rest have names. IIa regularly
feeds his flock from his own allowance.
The other convicts felt very much disa
pointed because the large number of
doves formerly kept at the prison. wore
killed and the thatohed dovocote ro
moved. At one iimo a numbor of do
mosticated skunkim were kept in the
prison yard, and they were cared for by
the convicts. There are now numerous
cats in dilerent parts of the pni0ion
and if a person wishe to got the ill,
will of a convict he only needs to mo
lest "his cat. Theso animals always
dissappear from view when viisitors
come to the prison, for they always
know a strangor.
E~xereuo.
Take plenty of exercise, and you can
use your broin as much as you pleaso.
Lawyers and clergymen, who use their
brains much, are the longest-lived men
in the country, showing planly that
regular brain work is good for the gon
oral health as well as for the efficiency
of tihe nervous system in particular.
The muscular system must be treated
in a similar manner 1f you do not wish
it to become subject to fatty degenora
tion. An unusett muscle s~brinlis andj
becomes soft and flabby, presenting an
appearance of marked contrast to the
brawny arm of the blacksmith. In
stances of the feebleness of tissues thus
preserved t requently present themselves
to the notic of tihe surgeon. A muscle
is called upon to pQrform a vigorous
contractioni. but it snaps) ill the effort.
TLhc heart itself is sometimes torn asun
der in attempting to send an extra sup.
p y of blood to some needy limb. No
man can afford to lower is general
vitality for the sake o,f mere idle grati
floation. H e never knows when ho may
require all the energy which can be
stored up in his tissues. A railway ac
o:dent, a runaway hlorso, a run to catch
a train, a fall on the ice, or even a fit of
coughling, may bring a life of misery or
an early dealth to) one wile would have
passed unscathed throngh them all had
ho allowed his nerves and muscles to
wear away in vigorous activity,
lpt,aking of locks, says a New York
letter, one is led to notice tihe improve
mont in these methods of protection.
one of which is the "time lock." This
is so constructed thlat an automatic
action is obtailled. Thle interior of the
look contains a spring and wheel like
a watch movemenlt, and It is wound up
in the same manner anti1 set so as to
open at a regular time. There are sev
eral patents of this kind of look, which I
is so popular. that two thousand are in
use. They cost $400 apico, but are
cheap even at that, whlen one consiers<
the vast amount of money thus pro
tooed. Formerly cashiers have been 1
seized, bound and compelled by burglars
to unlock tihe safe under fear of death<
but these timo looks cannot be opened I
untill the fixed moment arrnves. E~ach
manufacturer has a number of expert
workmen traveling for t,he purpuso of
examning and cleaning locks, whicha
should be done annually. TheO fee for
thuis service is $10. One. o1 thoseoex
amners informs me that ho has been
thus employed three years and he re- a
cemltly visited some of thec mosut impor- .i
tant bapks of this city, He Is a watch- t
maker by trade, and considerg these a
locss merely large watohes. H-e also
informs me that thlere are a dozen I
other men li the same Itierancy, eitch 2
of whom averages 150 exanawstions ae
year. The range of travel to whtonli
they are subjected inchider~ the 9atire<
area of the Union, with ulhost of its ter
ritories, and hence this forms i& pecullar<
featere in the traveling commtity.
OpIum and Mf,rplita.
"Is opium used in Philadelphia?" was
asked of a druggist recently.
I'Yes," was the reply, "and It is not
coDfinQd to the Chinamen either. Do you
know what opium is? Wel, it Is a juice
obtained from the unrIpe. capsules of the
poppy, extensively cultivated in Asiatio
Turkey, E;ypt and India. Uhina has of
late years (despite the heavy penalty for
its use) cultivated,the-plant to a great ex
tent, but its quality Is said to bo greatly
inferior to the Indian and, is chiely used
for the purpose of adulteration. This
juice is evaporated ad finally ' makes its
appearance here in the shape of fiat cakes,
about five inchep.. square, covered with
leaves. The miu(acturer, fully under
stands his business, as 9tones, illets,
buckshot, pieces of scrap iron frequently
ate siugly imbedded in the centre of the
opium cake and volhen you sonaider4hat it
Is purctised hy w Ihtthat it Is worth $5 .
and' often through monopohes $19, per
pound,the scrap iron assumes considerable
importance. ,
"it is from opium that laudanum and
its principt1 alkaloid, morphia, ts Irepar
cd. its uses are indicated by its naie
to act as an opiate anI the general relief
from pain from any causes whatsoevtir.
Is is the favorite poison- for suicides, from
the fact, perhaps, that it is the easiest ob.
tainable. Where almost every respectable
druggist would hesitate to sell prusee acid
arsenic, strychnia,.or morphia t9 an adult
nine out of ten will dispense laudanum
with a free and easy way, even to children
as though it were as 'harmless as Water.
Alany begin its use, likely, beoaus- in
sull doses it produces excitement apd ox
hilaration and a general feoling of 'A owe
the whole world.' The Iesire to'experience
iiese resuls,flnaIly leads to a consumption
frlrhtful to consider, although its chief at
traction has vanisied, I doubt that when
liquor ceases to be strong enough the toper
resolts to laudanuni. It is only when that
dread sleeplessness seizes on 'him, when
visidnary reptiles fantastically wind and
dance about him, that he sceka to banish
them and find 'nature's restorer' in opimini.
Paregoric and the many soithing and cough
syrups have for their bases morphia anid
opiiml. When the baby is fretfull has the
colic, is teething, keeps the family awake
it Is (osed with paregoric or s'oine other
preparation. Thus the desire is instilled
very young. I know of a boy and a, girl,
[iged respectively twelve and six years,
who began in this way untiliInally the
boy received a tablespoon and the girl a
teaspoonful oi laudanuni three tines daily
-why? I don't know, but I do know,
wtienever the boy visited the store ipstead
of asking for licorsce, a pictuto card or
other trifles used by energetic druggists
to pander to the unsophisticated youthful
mind, this boy invariably asked for a'dose
of laudalun' (znd his doses were no small
ones) as a bribe lor the retoution of his
mother's custom.
"On one occasion during rny temporary
iLbsene fnom the prescription countor he
selzed the opportunity to swallow two
ounces, or four tablespoonfuls at a single
Jiraught. He refused and laughed at all
mietics. I anxiously awaited the result;
but no alaring effects- followed. Tne
isual doso for An adult is about 40 drops;
ror a imy of twelve, 15-25 drops, con
"aining one grain of opium, and fo ir grains
Frequently preving fatal. A tablespoon
-onia ns about 400 drops, so thit boy ac
Lially drank 1,100 drops, or torty tinies
the regular (lose for an adult,and suflloront
to kill twenty.Ove boys unaccustomed to
its use. His sister, 0 years ala, received
900 drops dtaly, and her, brother 1.200
laly, probably as negative fo:d, for no
boy can eat and sleep at the same time.
Aiull its effects are not always bo frightful
ts is generally imagined. I know of at
>1d woman aged 70 years who takes~ about
bhree ci.nees-six tabiespo,atuls-daily,
,3 400 dropis). She has been indulging
or the past 45 years and still pursues her
rocation, which is scrubbing from morn
ug till night, with no apparent diminution
i s.rength,
"The sulphate of morphia is the more
;enteel way of using is, principally on ac
:ount of being less nauseous and more
iasily administered, the hypodermic syr
ngo being the favorite way, as on account
>f dlirect contact with the circulation it
iets more quickly. B3ociety girls, cravmgi
~oa rest, use iorpia, and whelionce mur
phia or opitim comes home to rde~st it
generally reinains and it. takes a ilrm,
strong will to banish it. In experimenting
began with one eighth ot a grain, the
regular dose, and in six weeks took one
gzaini (enough' to kill one unaccustomed)
with impunity. I amn acquamitedi with a
nan who consumes fteen grains of imor
phiia daily. or ehough to k.i1 fiftieei .mcn.
iqually disetribuIted and taked ast a single
[108c.) One-eighth grain m,r phia equals
bhree-quarter grain of opium; one grain
quahs six grains; six grains of opiumn re
resent .15') drops of laudanum, or 2,250
irops daily, or nearly sixty times the
-egnlar adult dose. This simply demon
ri.rates tn what angven h its pnann a ,,1nis.
rated.. All question of exhilaration.now
yenaes; the man under its use becomes a
iere automaton: his brain is in a com
pletely fuddled state, incapacitating himn
from any busineass--andl, strange as It may
rem, physicians and women are opium's
principal votaries. htatistics do not show
nany deaths from excess of opium- Un
ike liquor, it destroys no organic miteri
imd no leelons are found alter death. .It
pbrates principally upon the brain and .
iervous systemr, wlidoh accounts for the
eeling of excitement it, produces in io
lerate dloses. -Th$ro is probably not a
iruggist in the city but thht has ia regu
ar opium and mnorphlia customecrs--averag
ng at least five eachi-.'and as there are
ihout eight hundred druggists the number
>f consumers can safely be quoted at. four
houssa. 'Thle use, ont an average one
ad a:half; ounces. per. day,.i at a. cost of
bout twenty cbt.per -one. and la halt
unc. representing an 'aggregate' of$800
day, or '$290,000 per! year-anidltis
mount ia mostly expoiddy' those in
aumble circumistancesj
m~~ t ilfterbs
our crealn o uro,il ith
if giger', ~d WlI,!P:5~I
~atter, afiake an ZolhttekaV.
ako, This is bestw a , te
oodlohn ookso