1 FOItGOT.
Tliere is no excuse for neglect
of duty more common or more
unsatisfactory to those liearing
than ‘ I forgot.’ Whether the for
getfulness comes from careless
ness, inattention or weakness of
the power of memory, the' result
is the same, and the loss or dam
age tlierefrom i.s no less than it
would be if the neglect was pre--
meditated and intentional. If a
boy forgets to shut the gate, stray
cattle can come through and de
stroy crops to the same extent as
if the mode of ingress was inten
tionally provided for tliem b}'
some tramp, whose latent ‘ cnss-
edness ’ had been made active by
the refusal of a square meal or a
night’s lodging.
The switchman at a rail-road
station who forgets to fix liis lever
properly, and allows the incoming
train to rush on to destruction,
has not the guilt of intentional
murder on his soul,'hut the inevi
table law of force works no less
destruction to life and propert}^
than if he had done it with malice
prepense.
To overcome the habit of for
getfulness, for it is to a great ex
tent a habit, is to a degree, at
least, in the power of every one.
He who is not an idiot has a fac
ulty of, memory, and the strength
of any faculty can, by exercise
and cultivation, he increased.
Those who do not endeavor to
cultivate it are guilty of cupable
neglect, and should not be allow
ed to plead forgetfulness in palli
ation of any omission or neglect.
We know a clerg3'man whose
power of memory is so great as
to seem really wonderful, the re
sult almost entirely of cultivation.
In fact we have heard him say
that when he was young lie was
so forgetful as to be constantly
under a cloud in consequence.
One day, when something more
serious than usual had resulted
from this failing, he determined
to overcome it, and from that
moment resolved that his memory
should do for him its appointed
work and forced it into action.
He allowed himself to make no
more memorandums or aids to
memory, but demanded that the
faculty should work for his as
sistance. The result is he has
hut few equals in the country in
this respect.-
Different from this is a gentle-
inan who lives on one of the up
town avenues in New York, and
who, for the last ten years has,
immediately after breakfast, made
a list in his note-book of ‘Things
to be done,’ always heading the
list with ‘Buy a Tribune.’
No one knows the strength of
any of his powers, physical or
mental, until it is tested. Win
ship, known the world over as
the strong man, came to be so
only by daily exercise in lifting
w&ights,gradually increasing them
as his muscular power developed;
and.other examples of increase in
physical strength, not so striking
perhaps, but sufficiently so to
attract notice, are common all
about us.
The mental powers are subject
to the same laws regulating
growth as are the physical, and
are as easily cultivated. Whose
then the fault if he is forgetful f
or with what reason can he urge
as an excuse for neglect that
])hrase of self condcuiuation, “I
forarot f ’—Selected.
l>octoi' Cliarlic and his
Patient*
Dolly’s
Run for doctor!
very sickl
Mary, you’il liax’e t-o go, I can
not leave lier^
Toll him to pack his hottles
and come quick ;
I think she’s got a very dan
gerous fever.”
In stalks a hat and cane; if
you look close,
You’ll see young Doctor Cliarlie somewhere
under;
He ttakes a pinch of snuff and blows his nose,
While poor sick Dttlly seems to stare in
wo-nder-.
He feels her pulse, he gravely shakes his
head:
His bat dropped o’er his cyos ■with tho shake
he gave it;
He says poor Doily must be putto|bed
And have her head shaved—-he, in fact, will
shave it.
Poor mamma sober looks, but says at once
That “Dolly’s head shall not be shaved-! I
guess not!
Her hair would never grow again,you dunce!”
“It shall!” “ It shan’t!” “ She’ll die then, if
it is not I”
Blit Mary, ere the quarrel gets too grave
(Already in her hand a bowl of gruel),
Says, “Don’t you know that doctors do not
shave i
And then besides, it really would be cruel!”
“I’ll give her pills, then, when she’s safe in
bed
Plenty and sweet— of sugar T will make them;
As Dtdly can not eat, ’twill do instead
For you and me and ilary here to take them.’?
THE BEOWj^ that WE KE-
CEIVE FROM OFR OWI^ KEEA-
TIOIVS STRIKE DEEPEST.
Once upon a time a lump of
gold lay near a lump of iron. A
workman hammered the iron with
all his might. Said the gold to
the iron: “ Why do you make
such a fuss ? 'VVhat makes you
groan and cry so much ? ”
“ Do you not observe, ” re
turned the iron “ how tlie smith’s
hammer strikes me I ”
i‘ His liammer strikes me in the
same way sometimes, ” replied the
gold, “ but I do not make such a
noise; I hear the blows patiently
and meekly.”
“ Ah, yes, ” said the iron, with
a sigh; “it is all very well for
you; whj’ should v’ou groan and
complain ? It is something strange
and foreign that gives j-’ou pain;
but the hammer is part of m^'self;
it is iron, like myself; it is mj’
own brother tliat strikes me and
gives me pain, and that is wdiv I
find it so liard to bear.”—Frank
Leslie's Sunday Magazine.
I>F\V UUOPS.
Obey, and jmu will liave no
difficulty about believing—diso
bedience is the mother of unbe
lief.
Idol worsliipers are very par
ticular in their obedience, that Is,
when they are sincere, hence
tlieir faitli in going to slirines,
altars, &c.
Tile day is never so dark hut
God lias a ray for it. If jmu are
too had for Clirist to help you,
then you are hopeless.
God leads us about as he did
tile children of Israel, in various
ways, to humble us, and let us
see, if not what is in our heart
now, that wliioli once reigned
tliere. With some, piosperity is
the test, and with others adversity
i.s the most fruitful state ; and we
are wise when we quietly acquiesce
in the divine method, looking up
w'itli “Thy will be done” in the
lieart.—Guide to Holiness.
It was tlie advice of Seneca to liis
friend Lncilins, in order the more dili
gently to keeji liiinself up to liis full
dut}', to iinag'iue some great man, some
strict, quick-siglited, clcar-brained man
as Cato, continuallj-looking upon him.
So the Christian, who would labor
earnestly and successfully, imrst walk
with Je.sHs must feel tliat He is ever
by his side, noting all he docs. But,
oh! how blessed is the tliought that
He is more than a silent spectator! He
is an all-powerful helper—an ever-ready
and willing helper.
THE KOMASiCE OF KICK VAN-
STAKIV-
I cannot vouch my tale is true,
ISor say, indeed, ’tis wholly new;
But true or false, or new or old,
I think you’ll find it fairly told.
A Frenchman, who had ne’er before
Set foot upon a foreign shore,
tVeary of home, resolved to go
And see what Holland had to show.
He didn’t know a word of Hutcii,
But that conld hardly grieve him much;
He tliought, as Frenclimen always do.
That all the world conld “ iiarlej'-voo. ”
At length our eager tourist stands
Within the famous Hetherlaiids,
And, strolling gaily here and there.
In search of something rich and rare,
A lordly man.sion greets bis eyes:
“ How beautiful!” tlie Frenchman cries.
And, bowhig to the man who sate
In livery at the garden gate,
“;Pray, Mr. Porter, if you iiloase,
Wliose very charming grounds are
tliese ?
And, iiardon me, be pleased to tell
Who ill this splendid house may dwell?’
To which, in Dutch, the inizzled man
Heplied wliat seemed like “ Nick Van
Staun.” *
“ Thanks!” said tho Gaul; “ the owner’s
taste
Is equally superb a-iid cliaste;
So lino a liouse, upon my word.
Not even Paris can afford.
With statues, too, in every niche;
Of course Monsieur Van Stanii is rich.
And lives, I waiTant, like a king—
Ah! wealth must be a charming thing!”
DIVEKS.
In Amsterdam the Freiichiiian meets
A thousand wonders in the streets.
But most he marvels to behold
A lady dressed in silk and gold;
Gazing with rajiture on tlie dame.
He begs to know the lady’s name.
And liears, to raise his wonder more.
The very words lie heard before!
“Jlercie!” he cries ; “well, on my life.
Milord has got a cliarmiiig wife;
’Tis plain to see, this Nick Van Stann
Must be a very happy man.”
Ne.vt day onr tourist chanced to iiop
His head within a lottery shop.
And there he saw, with staring eyes.
The drawing of the mammoth jirize.
“Ten millions I tis a iiretty sum;
I wish I had as much at liome;
I’d like to know as I’m a sinner,
"What lucky follow is tho winner
Conceive our traveler’s amaze
To hear again the liackneyed iihrase.
“ What ? no ! not Nick Van Staun
Bits.—“Are you looking for
any one in particular ?” as the
mite said to the microscope.
“ You cant make a noise here,”
as the wooden pavement said to
the omnibus.
Why should a quill pen never
be used in inditing secret matters ?
Because it is apt to spilit.
“I’m particulary uneasy on tliis
point,” as tlie fly said when the
3'oung gentleman stuck him on
the end of a needle.
again f
Faith I he’s the luckiest of men.
You may be sure we don’t advance
So rapidly as that in France:
A house, the finest in the land;
A lovely garden, nicely planned;
A perfect angel of a wife.
And gold enough to last a life;
Q'here never yet wms mortal man
So blest as Monsieur Nick Van Stann !
Next day the Frenchman chanced to
meet
A pompous funeral in the street;
And asking one who stood close by
What noblcinan had pleased to die.
Was stunned to hear the old reqily.
The Frenchman sighed and shook his
liead,
“ Mon Dieii! poor Nick Van Stann is
dead:
With such a liouse, and such a wife.
It must be hard to part with life;
And then, to lose that mammoth
prize—
He wins, and, pop—the winner dies!
All, well I his blessings came so fiist,
I greatly feared they could not last;
And thus, we see, the sword of Fate
Cuts down alike tho small and great.
* Nicht verstann—I ilnu't und-iirstaml.
Diving has become an art, a
profession, a recognized mode of
obtaining a livelihood. It is at
tended with some risk, though i
less than is generally believed, ’
and is a w'ell-paid business.
Sometimes, as wdien submerged
treasure is brought up from the
depth of tho sea, the returns are
very ample.
'I'hen, again, it enables pearls
to be brought up, the coast of
Ceylon having long been the
chief locality for that kind of
fishing. Thence, in the remote
ages, the Greeks got their pearls.
Now, however, pearl-divers exer
cise their art at many other
places—that is, on tho sliores of
the Indian Ocean, off the West
Indies’ coasts, in the Persian
Gulf, and at Panama, in South
America.
The special prizes of diving are
presented in the shapie of coffers
of gold and silver, and whole
cargoes of costly merchandise.
Last 3'ear, a British iron-clad
called the Vanguard—a mam
moth war-vessel, carrying four
teen immense guns, with steam
engines of over five thou.sand
horse-power, of above six thou
sand tons, and which had cost
82,500,000 —was run into by a
companion called the Iron Duke,
and sunk in the Irish Sea.
Divers were immediately sent
down to examine the sunken ves
sel, and so duly reported her
actual condition that the British
Admiralty were enabled to judge
that “it would not pa^'” to at
tempt to raise such an immense
mass of iron. Consequently, her
materials will be brought up by
divers, for the benefit of contrac
tors, who will clear away all of
the wreck, -which at present is a
dangerous obstruction in the Irish
Sea.
Very exaggerated stories have
been told as to the endurance of
experienced divers under water
—that is, of those who go into
the depths, like the pearl-seekers
in the Indian seas, without any
mechanical assistance. It is folH
to say, as many do savy that the
pearl-divers of the East are able,
by constant practice, to remain
under water from ten to fifteen
minutes.
Very skillful and experienced
divers may remain under water
for tivo, hut they very rarely re
main there for three minutes. The
best of the Ceylon divers, in fact,
do not often continue submerged
far more than a minute and a
half, and their condition of health
must be very good to permit
them to do this.
Those who use the diving-dress,
wliich makes the wearer look so
frightful that even sharks are said
to be frightened by it, must he
physically qualified for 'the work
Many a strong fellow has gone
down, and, after a sliort pause,
has reappeared, bleeding alarm
ingly at the nose, ears and mouth.
For the most part, the diver
does his work, if not in utter
darkness, at best with only as
much light as renders “ darkness
visible.” His occupation is not a
pleasant one. At the sea-bottom
he encounters an awful solitude
and silence. He is liable, at any
moment, to find himself in close
proximity with the ghostly re
mains of the dead, and there is
no small risk to himself.
There seems to be no special
disease induced by the occupation
of diving when the regular dress
is worn, but it is generally be
lieved that it has a tendency to
shorten life. Some very high
authorities hold a different opinion
—Saturday Night.
THE
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T. B. LYoN, an. ft. IlALBYt F,. H.LYON
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LYON, DALBY & CO.,
MANUFACTURERS OF
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saio-
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PUFF,”
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Durham, N. C.
Orders solicited-^Agents wanted—Tobacco
guaranteed.
March IT’th—IJ'2m.
H. A. BEAHS & CO.,
MANUFACTURERS OP
REAMS’ DURHAM BOOT AND
SHOE POLISH.
Warranted to excel all others, or money
"Refunded.
The onl^ Blacking that will polish on oiled
surface. It is guaranteed to preserve leather
and make it pliant, requiring less quantity and
time to produce a perfect gloss than any other,
the brush to be applied immediately after put
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this will not soil even white clothes. We
guarantee it as represented, and as for pat
ronage, strictly on its merits.
H. A. REAMS & CO., Manufacturers,
Durham, N. O.
This Blacking is recommended in the high
est terms, after trial, bv Geo. F. Brown, J.
Howard Warner, hew York; the Presideni
aud Professors of Wake Forest College; and
a large number of gentlemen in and around
Durham, w’hose certifirates have been fur
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Orders solicited and promptly filled.
March 3rd, 3875. y-tf