University of South Carolina Libraries
.A.? Indepetideat Paper Devoted to tjjte Interests of tlie ^People. ? 'ft >W VOLUME IV. ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1875. NUMBER 3* : AVIS. i have wat?he? you Ion?, Avis? Walch?! yoa so, i bavo found your secret out; Audi know That tho restless rlbboued things Wh?ro your slppo of shoulder springs, Are but undeveloped wings That will grow. When you enier in a room It Is stirred With tho wayward, flaahmg light Of a bird; And you speak and bring with you I>af and Sun-ray, bud and blue, And tho wind-breath and the dow, At a word. When you left me only now, In that f aired, Pa fled and feathered Polish dress, f was spurred Just to catch yon, ob, my sweet, By tho bodice trim and neat, Just to feel your heart a*bcat, jj I irikd a blrdt J Yet, alas, love's light you dohju But tc Wear As tho dew upon tho plumos, - ?' ? "Aud you caro - ? Not nwlt for resto? hush; 11 nt tu? loaves,'tho IyHo gnsh, ' 'And lue wlng'pdwer and tho rush Of the alt. Bo I dare not woo yon, swoot, For a day, lest I love you In a flash, As I may, Did I tell you tondor things ! ' ; Yon would shako your suddeu wings? You would start from him who slugs, And away. A NEEDED REFORM? Being Also the Story ot a Klre Screen. . "Plague on that screen 1" Standing with Mildred Weyman in ?the door of her parlor, you would not have thought her laugaage too strong* The room was of fair size, light and lofty; wood-work heavy paneled oak ; coiling white; walls a delicate mi?ty gray, with a green and gilt border; Window-shades gray, picked ont with gold, overhung with open white drapery; oar not a small pattern in green and. oak ; table-covers to match, and fnrnitnro that harmonized with the prevailing tone. The offending screen showed an impossible dog on a black velvet .background, bordered by a moie impossible vino of intensest green, twiuiug about a orimson column^ lt^ "?Ui?' "Been accounted a masterpiece in its day, twenty years ago, when her eldest sister slowly and painfully wrought it. It had long been an eye-sore to Mildred, bat the great, empty fire-place looked even worse, so she was fain to lot it stay, in default of anything better. She had thought herself alone when her discon tent found vent in the emphatic expres sion I have recorded, but ib reached another ear, for Will Winston put his head inside the hall with? "What are you sweating about, Milly?" "I am not swearing, but that horrid old thing iB enough to make mo do it." Then, her face brightening, "O! Will! If you will help mo, 1 can get rid of it entirely." " What is your notion ?" "First you must make mo a frame of smooth plank that will just fit insido the mantel. Let it come out over tho edges of the Uro placo nnd then fit it in a sort of recess about four sizes smaller.". "How much is a size ?" " Something larger than your com prehension. But como out to tho work bench. Til show you what I want." They wore oousins nnd groat friondp, these yonng folks. Of course tho world insisted they were something more, whereat they often laughod honrtily. Each liked the other bettor than any one eleoj but Will was quito suro that his wife mnst not flirt on outranco as Milly wonld do, and Milly thought Will tho best fellow in tho world, but bo dreadfully matter-of fact. They woro quite agreed that they never could be lovers, and I think woro sinoero, for Milly did not mind his seeing hair in orepe pins, and Will was altogether in different to the fact that she knew ho . waxed his muBtaohe. In all joint en terprises, Milly, in virtue of her quick cleverness, was engineer, and Will, the brawny, muscular machine, was won derfully obedient to her small hands. She flitted betwixt parlor and work shop with rule and square, measuring, planning, and oaloulating, and her ideas rapidly grew into tangible shape. "What is the matter, Will r" sho asked, notioing a decidedly serpentine mark that should have boon straight. " 'I want a chaw of torbacker ; and that's what's the matter with me.'" "The hateful stuff. It has almost mined your nerves now. What will you be by the time you are fifty ?" V Don't know. It's awfully comfort ing now. Oould'nt got on without it." " Awfully disoomfoiting to tho rest of the world. You tobaocochewera can have no idea how disagreeable it is for the girls to talk to you." "You do suppress it horoically, I havo nover no en tho least manifestation of snob a thing." " After that mcdest speech, let's go to work again." "Well, this affair is ready for the bottom. How must that be $" V Saw two bits of plonk j two by three inches ; nail them outside on the lower corners ; put a strip three inohes wide ftom one to the other. Put the bottom an inch from the lower edge of this; let it slope to the baok to secure drain age." 44 Drainage ? I don't understand." 44 Do as I tell you. You will in timo." 44 Will you leave this thing its natu ral color ?" 44 I'd like to stain it oak. As I can't, Imnat whitewash it." 44 Whitewash rubs off."' 44 Not my sort,'* whioh Was this; und I recommend it to all in need of tho nitiolo, from Credit MobUierists down, or up: Into one .gallon of sweet milk stir powdered lime till a little thicker than cream, add a teaonpful of turpen tine, stir well and apply with a paint brush, almost equal to whito load. The "thing" was finished, and loaned against tho wall, white and staring, in virtue of three coats.. 44 What will she do with it ?" queried Will, 44 Wait and see," was tho sententious rojoindor. * 44 Can you get up at day-break to morrow, and go to the swamp for moss and ferns ?" 441 reckon so. Ii you will go with mc. I wouldn't know what you want." 44 All sorts?high, long and creeping. Any green thing that lives in shade," 44 All right; you shall have them." And true enough, Milly was; wakened boforo sunrise by the call, 44 Hero is your trash?a whole oart-load," and running down, was soon able to realize her ideal screen. Tho bed of the frame was filled with earth and small" stones. In it were planted all sorts of fern, tho toll ones at tho back; thn lnw-r? vowing next, and the delioate viny creepers trailing over tho edge, then tho surface a couple of luxuriant basket-ivies put, one at each end, and trained to small nails in the outer board, so as to make a lovely living frame for tho lovely living picture. Even prosaic Will was delighted with the result, while Milly could have danoed with joy. This room was her especial pride. Tho pictures, brackets etc., wore all of hor choosing. She had an idea of rooms expressing chaiaoter, and this day, of all days, wanted hers to show a faultless taste. She was a sensible girl, though I cannot affirm that she "had no non sense about her." Her weakness for poetry, whioh she wroto of the desper ately sentimental kind, common with people of hoalthy, highly-nervons or ganism. Consequently she was shy of having it seen, und few of her nearest friends ever saw it. Will was pro foundly ignorant upon tho subject. He oould not understand, yon know. Rural Quill, Esq., was somowhat a celebrity, wroto humorous articles that wont the rounds of tho stato press, and was hailod wherovc r he went by the same unquestioned authority, 4,Wit, Scholar, Patriot, Poet," an?, indeed, ouly missed being a great man by so many others having been greater in his peculiar line. Ho was editor of 44 The Clarion," published in Lynosville, a live town, I Bomo thirty miles away. Some mouths j ago Milly had sent him, with a letter, quaintly apologetic for the 4; sin of rhyme," a poem, beginning? " Above tho fitful, moaning boa Tho wild wind? eigh and Bhivor, O ! Winds! Blow homo my lovo to mo; I lovo my lovo forever," and so on, through a dozen stanzas, wherein several most heart-breaking imngos, and nil available rhymes for Ever, Nover, Quiver, and Shivor, wero completely used up. Hojiad replied astmiiug hor that '4 Tho sin of rliyme is ono not to bo paliated hero, nor par doned in tho world to como, bub when one oan wrilo as you do (and that ono a woman) then 'tis sinful to bo sileut," and published her poem as one 44 that would do credit to tho pages of our best magazines,'' and the correspond ence and contributions had gono on, inoronsing in vigor and intensity until now. His last, lottor had said, 44 In such a oftRO I too 4 know no impossible,' so five o'clock Thursday afternoon will find me in presence of tho Roto of Brier Wood," and this was the fatal Thursday. It was not without trepida t inn that Bhe confided all tho moment ous nfiViir to Will and she was relieved that Iiis only opmmtnji wn?, 44Tako earn that lie don't get Hcratched. No roso without a thorn, you, 1 now." That wns u busy day f.?r Milly. Sho filled thu house with flowers till Will declared "the garden had moved in doors," ransacked the orohard for choicest fruits and helped the cook get up many and various dainty supper dishcg. At 4 o'clock she went to array herself in the freshest of muslins, and came down a perfect picture, with her white draperies and tea roses and helio trope crowning her brown braids. She was pardonably proud of her appear ance. Even Will thought "there wasn't a girl in the whole oountry who could hold a oandle to Milly in that rig." How he liked to tease her, so now he said: "I know you don't al low spittoons in the parlor, Milly, but you'd better have one hunted up. Ill bet my head your editorial friend chews, and, with the eccentricity of genius, he may take your new soroen for a substi tute." "Horrors 1 What profanation! It would be unworthy a Feejee' Islander. No. P.ir ? whoever sJse allows it, my faee is set against it for all time. But hush; there he oomes." And sure enough, punctual to a minute, aoross the lawn rolled a shining buggy, and from it alighted the dapper and distingue Rural Quill. . j K When Milly reoovered from tho em barrassed first greeting, she found her self tete-a-tete with an undersized, mid dle-aged . person, whoso notioeable points were a general wrinkled yellow ness of complexion and a pair of dark, kindly eyes. He was fluent, courtly, polished, hone of your self-made men, but the carefully manufactured article. Like his lettors, he was extremely complimentary. Had ho not been a little less than "all her fancy painted him," Milly would havo declared him " splendid;" but nothiug so disposes to oaptious criticism aB unfulfilled ex pectations. Milly breathed more freely. Supper was over, and with it all danger of in terruption. Papa Wey man slept the" sleep of the tired. Will sat on the porch, whence he could see and hear "Tho Mutual Admiration Society." I don't know what was in his heart. His mouth wan full o? tob^oon.. J?sw?,? per" had beenover an hour, and Rural Quill, Esq., was hard beset with the peculiar craving toeth-on-edgo sensa tion born of abstinence and eating, known to all tobacco-ohowors. He strove against it valiantly,, bnt who can mastor the giant, Habit ? Milly went for the writing-desk to show him her last poem. She might be away ten minutes. Ho would quiet his nerves with a chow. Bat she was not. She rcorossed tho threshhold nlmo&t before the precious morsol was settled in place. There was a very becoming tremor in the white hand that held toward him the fairly written sheet, no gave it back with a most superlative, bow. Sho must read it to him. Even its music wonld be enhanced by her lips. Milly did road it, then wandered on into a discursive review of her favorite poets, whioh, I am bound to say, abounded more in quotations than com mon seuBe?for woman's memory is always ahead of her judgment?but was not wholly destitute of that invaluable artiole. It was almost a monologue, and hor wonder grow and increased over the sudden quenching of editorial bril liance. Perhaps he was bored, but too oivil to interrupt her. Sho would ohango tho subject by a question to whioh ho must make a direct and lengthy reply. She began : "By tho way, Mr. Quill, aro you ready to give mo that 'critical and ox hau?tivo analysis' of my poetic powers which your loiter promised me 'when wo mot.' " Poor Mr. Quill. Just then he was neither oritical nor analytical. His chair was on tho hearth-rug ; between him and the white draped window sat Milly, a seeming embodiment of tho pure, cool room, intently legnrding him. His mouth was full, yet speak he mustr Tho screen caught his eyo. Hero was a way out of his dilemma. The next moment tobacco juice went Hplashing ovor moss and fern, and Rural Quill was himself again, brimming ovor with facts, fancies, and compli ments. With them wo havo naught to do. Milly 1 i.stoned with a decent grace, but " tho gloss had departed, tho magio had flown." Indeed, it woro not too much to say that " tho trail of tho ser pent was over them all." Rural Quill, Esq., never came back to Brier Wood. Milly did ask him to " call aiain," but so indifferently that he wisely conoluded to make himself henceforth " conspicuous by his ab sence in that region. As they watohod him on his winding, moon-lit way, Will said : " His coming and going havo con vinced mo of two things/1 "What aro they?" ??Pirat, I most ?top che wing tobacco." " Gc?A I A needed reform. And the other?" " That I must ruairy you." "MOIy's answer to this, with the moral ttf my story, I shall leave to the individual discernment of each reader. ?Lo??ville Courier Journal. Elaborate Entertainment. Few things not absolutely essential to happiness add more to the enjoyment of life than social interchange of evening visits among friends and neighbors. IndeoJ, 'wo are hot quite sure that it is not essential to happiness as it is, for we can live to good purpose and pleasure without many of our luxuries, without fine clothes, costly pictures, splendid jewels, but wo cannot live to any use at all without friends and the upbubbling of friendly emotions and the fruition of j ideas' ??fc Hist? a?nn?? O"? r??? would gfow dry as husks if our feelings were Muddled only for our own immedi ate home eirole, and the very apotheo sis of selfishness would take place with us isolated from outside' interests and love of our kind. Nor would our intel lects fan; much better than our emo tional natures; for if genius itself is an intermittent fountain, as Qoethe said, the Bomse of ordinary thought and fancy mu&t be quite as capricious, and our buckets must need all the replen ishing from the wells of our neighbors that can bo had. If it were not for the perpetual; weaving among us of the warp and ?woof of eaoh other's ideas, ho varyuig views of things when seen from each other's stand-point, we might as well be living solitary in the eaves of the desert or on the tops of pillars in the town for all the good we should do to ourselves or the . world either. For really no. one helps hifiisolf without helping the world, too, in its. great, on ward m?voh toward a civilization that, "wo may hope, shall be- as much higher than thisias this is higher than the bar K*?*v?.? -ia J-? ???.-?i- ' ?;?-^ ? iw>w<.v ntvjra (jmu? monsters/>stoatn and electricity, were,' u>go of tho orators, har Still wo do not mean to be under stood as advising or encouraging frivo lous gadding to the negleot of some duties, but, first assuming that home duties aro already discharged, as the greater part of them may well be, leav ing the hours of eye-trying lamplight for lesser matters, we urge the cultiva tion of a social spirit to enliven the evenings and to afford nuolenB of harm less enjoyment. We all know how keen that enjoyment can be--tho bright disonsBiob that en ightens even the listener who will not take the tronble to think; the latest news, with its gay gossiping; the eager gamo, the song, the reading, pretty toilets, pleasant man nors, cordial wordsof hosts and friends; the oheery separation ; the lying down to sleep at the end of it all, well pleased with tho well-rounded day; tho sense that snoh evenings ought to oomo twice as often as they do and that we mean to have them. Thb Crnelty or Monkey?. An amateur naturalist, writing of the 'fondno3s of crnelty for its own sake ob servable |n the human speoies, says : " To refer to the striking similarity of this passion in man to that which is man ifested by monkeys, is not, of courso, to explain its origin ; but I am quite sure that it is in the monkojs that this ex planation is to bo sought. Fvery one knows that thepe animals show tho keen est delight in wantonly tortnHng othors, but evory ono does not know how much trouble an average monkey will put himself to in order that he may gratify this taste. One example will sufllce. A friend who has lived a long timo in India tolk me that he has not nnfrcquontly seen monkeys feigning death, for an hour or two at a time, for tho express purposo of inducing crows and other carniverous birds to approach within grasping distance; and when ono of tho latter was caught, the do lighto:! monkey would put it to all kinds of agonies, of whioh plucking alivo seomed to bo the favorite. As I am not aware that any other animal exhibits this instinct of inflicting pain for its own sake (tho case of a cat with a mouso, belonging, I think, to another category), T believe, if ?b origin is over toroceivo n soionlifio explanation, itwdl bo found in some way connested with monkey life." Anna Dickinson is soon to make her debut as Joan of Aro. 8 io will appear, mounted on a snow-whito palfrey, but iB much cmbarrasHcd by the confiiot of historicnl anthoritioB aa to whether .Toau uno i a side-saddle or followed tho inlo laid down in United States calvary tacli)p. Alfonso In Ills Palace. Describing the entry of King Alfonso' into the capital a correspondent says :. "All tho traveled -world knows the saloon of the nrabnssador?, tho govso ons throne-room of the royal palace at Madrid. Into this noble apartment tile procession now -swept. The saloon glittered with colloaaol mirrors, crystal chandeliers, marble statues, and fine pictures. The gorgeous dais of tho throne roso from the floor by three bread steps, With golden lions at the corners, the four paws resting proudly on marble globes. The throne was a beautiful struoture of crimson velvet, enamel and geld. A brilliant throng gathered round the throne < as the king sat on it a few moments, and the scene was very striking. Through the great; windows opposite a wide view stretched across the valley to orchards and villas ?n4 ^oodsd slopes, =sd the bzsa z^gg^q mountains beyond. The reception be gan by the Marqnis de Molines, Sonor Oanovas del Castillo and General Primo de Rivera standing on the steps of tho throne'with four of the leading Gran dees. The king stood on the edge of] the dais, with his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was dressed, as he had been throughout his progress, in an undress general's uniform, with a sash and'a few orders. Presentations were modo by the grand hereditary chamber lain, attired in a gorgeous court dress. Tho deputations and persons presented I defiled past the throne and bowed to the king, receiving his bow in return, . Meanwhile the gorgeous suite of Btato | apartments was thrown open to prome naders, and ladies and gentlemen circu lated through the -rooms, decorated in different styles. This o?ow.k hung with cloth of gold, with silver woven into it. Another, one was. inlaid from ceiling to floor in porcelain with raised figures. A third was lined with.great.China Vases. I A fourth was simply furnished as an j ordinary room. A fifth was hung | with. J Cuuijluu portraits. A sixth was ctovo ?cd to mythological pictures, and so on. j Tho king'u f:t>\to -bedroom was also Tho Senator*. The "points" of some of the United States senators are pithily summarized by a Washington correspondent. Conk ling is the senatorial Adonis. When he was in the house the young ladies used to sit in the galleries and wish they had a lock of the dear little curl that adorns his brow, and, as it is thinner now than it used to be, it is probably even dearer. It is rather singular that tho three baohelors of the senate should be the favorite presiding offloers?Wilson, ex officio ; Anthony, pro tern,, and Ferry, of Michigan, in default of either. An thony is the handsomest; still, it is not alwayB beauty that wins. Gordon, the confederate general, is a fine looking, soldierly fellow. Bayard, of Delaware, is the third generation of senators in his family. Frelinghnysen is something of a swell. Edmunds, his neighbor, is the most quarrelsome of senators. Thurman looks and moves like Beeoher. Dorsey isonly thirty three years eld, the "baby" of the senate. Cameron is the oldest senator. Dorsey, Allison and Oglesby have young and prelty wives. Stewart and Jones are two poor, impecunious miners, with only a few millions npieee ?Jones especially, whoso incomo per month is ?'250,000. Tipton is a fnuny little fellow, Schurz an admirable speik er, but Fenton has the most courtly manners in the senate. Hamlin, of Maine, always wears a dress coat, nover an overcoat. Flnnngan, of Flanagan's Mills, Texas, is a jolly old fellow, who says "whar" and "thar," and rouses the eohoes generally when he speaks. Robertson weara jewelry of fabulous value?emerald sleeve buttons worth a fortune, and diamond studs that would make the idols of ludia jealous. Duke of Wellington and His Majesty. Greville says in his Memoirs: " When the duke of Wellington was at Brighton, in the winter, ho and the king had a diHpnto about the army (it was at din ner) by >ho king saying that the Rus sians or tho Prussians (E forgot whioh) j woro the bent infantry in the world. Tho duke said, ' Exospt your majesty's.' The king then said the English cavalry woro tho best, whioh I he duke doniod ; then that an inferior number of French rcgimentu would always beat a superior nnmber of Ecglieh, and in short that they were not half bo offeotive. The king was very angry ; the dispute waxed warm, and ended by his majesty rising frcm tho laVdn and saying, * Well, it is not for me to dispute on snob a subject wilh your grace.' The king iIccb not liko tho duke, nor does the- duke of York. This I know from hi a self." SAYING!* AND DOINGS. ,.- '^Maiuby a widower I Not I,'"said Matilda. "Babies are hke; tooth brushes. Every body wants their Own." - fi""v gratification in the hign-preL'ii uro power that keeps a man going; and ?duty ia only the donkey-engine tthat he works at- intervals, i bdiltt I Douglas Jbbbold used to say, of fem inine o writers, 4 * If you ; once *t^p a woman's finger in the ink-pot she will go on writing forever." " ' /' rj Sdxty. thousand Japanese id Yeldo are studying the English lasghajge* and tearing their hair over Iii torturing idioms. Never trust with a secret a married man who loves his wife, for he will tell hei, sad she will tell her sister, her airier will tell every body. i c Another Londdu idea ha* crept into New York?that of having one's door bell answered by a'spruce little boy in uniform and gilt, known as *' button*." :i TnrivR aro 21,000 idiots in this coun try, who are acknowledged na ouch. The majority of people: Will/tregard these figures as being a low estimate. '< In threo years two rats become ? G10, 808; and yet the druggists look-with ffuspicion oh a man who asks for a dime's worth of strychnine. . When a young man in Patagonia falls in love with a girl he lassoes her, drags her homo.behind his horse, and that's all the marriage ceremony necessary. It is time to stop talking about tho softening in fin once of woman. A Mas sachusetts man who has four wives has just been sent to the penitentiary for stealing horses. . The deputy constable, appointed to look after the children employed in tho factories of Massachusetts, reports that fully go,000 children are growihgjup in ignorance on account of their being set to work at too early an age. m Gladstone's retirement from publio lif?-wjll be' sweetened, it is said, by the admiration of Queen Victoria, who^ 's offered r? peprcge in her own right to his wife, and will confer a baronetcy upon tho yourig Gladstone. This is London gossip. A tot An c clips o of the sun will occur on April 5. As the king of Siam is tho only potentate advantageously situated to see the spectacle, he has kindly in vited British, American, and other as tronomers to dine with him on that day and bring along their instruments. One of the reasons why a fight fre quently oconrs in Montana churches is, while the preacher is praying, tho congregation sit on the backs of the ohairs and frequently ejaculate? ?? That's right, old boss!" ?? Bully for you!" "He's a book sharp!"etc. Sometimes the ministers get riled, and there's where the disturbance comee in." Gambling has reached such a pitoh in Nevada that the legislature has at last concluded to legislate on the sub ject, which is all that ever will be done, probably. The proposed law is partic ularly severe on faro, monte, roulette, lansqnenette, rouge et noire, keno, run-' do, ton fan, red, white and blue, strap game, California dice game, all of which are in full blast in silver barreled Ne vada. Astronomer BautiiEtt, of Battle oreek, is circulating this bit of gossip about the big dipper: " One hundred thousand years ago the bright Btars which at present form this familiar con stellation woro arranged in tho form of a large cross; and one hundred thou sand years henoa they will assume the appearance of an elongated 4 dipper*? different* in shape from the one now seen?and stretching ovor a wide extent of the celestial vault." The royal baby begins to notice things, and to handle 'em, too! The other day ho reached for the paregoric bottle and smashed it on his pa'a nico center-table, and then tried to make a canal by running his finger in a oirole "all round about." Then Edinburgh went in and borrowed his wifo's old kid slipper, and when ho came back there was considerable excitement for n few momenta, Men do that eort of thing so awkwardly.?iV. Y. Mail. Some curious customs aru still extant iu tho Spreewald villages in Wondish Prussia when the head of tho family dies. For instance, if the, deceased should have chanced to be a bee-keeper, one of the family will go to the hive, at d, striking the comb, will exclaim, "Boes, arise, your master is dead!" On the morning of the fuueral, too^ the men prooeed to the cattle-sheds, and after causing the animals to ge'i npon their logs, and plaoing oheoae !>?? fore them, will solemnly announce to them that the body is about to be tak? n away.