North Carolina Newspapers

-tttw- dhalham Record. EATE3 OK ADVEItTISING. H. A. LONDON, Jr., XDITOR AND riiOPBIIIOB. out! Hjiurt', our luci lion, On,j uiuiire, two liiftortious,- One fiii:ir, f n ni'ttttli, I.M l.W 3. so TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: OneeorT. OKe.yar, On copy .nil muntlis - - - - -0nC9pr, thr mnntbl, - l.oo VOL. II. POTSBOUO', CHATHAM CO., X. C, FIiIHTAUV :, 1880. NO. 21. (the tarn To the Bereaved I Headstones, Monuments AND TOMBS, IN TOT BEST OF MARBLE, Good Workmanship, and Cheapest end Large iintn in tne bum. xaras oorner morgan ana tuomnt street , below Wynn livery ioie. lawii au commnnioauona to CAYTOW WOLdFE, Raleigh, N. 0, Steamboat Notice! Tbe boati of the Eipre Bteamboat Compa ny wul run aa follows from the flrit of October ontu farther notice: Steamer D. MCBCHISON, Cept Alone Oar. neon, wiu leave rayeueviiie every Tuesday and Friday at 8 o'olook A . M., and Wilming ton every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 o'clock P. M. (Steamer WAVE, Capt. TT. A. nobeaon, will leave F.yetteville on Mondays aud Tbnradayi at 8 o'oioeV A. M. , and Wilmington on Tnee daya and Fndaya at I o'clock P.M., connecting with the Western Ittilroad at Fayetterllle on Wrdnesdays and 3ator'ajs. jr. n. n tin Ann co. Agent at FayettevUle, N. 0. 65 BUGGIES, Rockaways and Spring Wagons Al Prlrr Hull the Time, Had of the beet materials, and warranted te give entire ratisfaotion. coxsvLT rout oirx ixtkhbst, By giving na a call before buying. Alao. a f nU lot of Hand Made Harness, A. A. McKETHAN A SON8, ocMnoelm Favettevillfj Jf. O. JOHN M. MORINC. Attorney at Law, MrlBfTlll, Chatham (:., N. C. JOHN K. K'BIifCt, Of Chatham. ALFBEB A. KOBIH, Of Orange MORINC & MORINC, Attorneys at Xjw nrRDAn, . c. AU bofineaa intrnited to them will reoeive prompt attention. THOMAS M. CROSS, Attorney at Law, PITTNBORO", N. C. Will praotiee In Chatham and aorromn counties. Oollcotion of claim a specialty, ding Certain and Reliable! HOWARD'S INFALLIBLE WOULD RE R0WNED BIMEDT FOR WOI1M-J If now for aale by W. L. London, In I'ittiboro'. A'l tanas who are annoyed with thoae Pet are ad.iaed to call anil get a package of thia valuable remody. Thia compound ia no bum bug, bnt a grand mcoeaa. One agent wanted In every town in the State. For particular, address. enHoalng S cent stamp, Ir. J. M. HOWARD, m. Olive, Waynaoonaty, N.C. H. A. LONDON, Jr., Attorney at Law, a'aTT.vioiio', s. jajr-Spoci'il A'.'ti'ioti 1-V;.l i NORTH CAROLINA STATE LIFE INSURANCE CO., OF RALEIGH, S. CAR. t. H. CAMKRON. rrtMtnt. W. I. ANDERSON, Yiet Prn. W. H. HICKS, Sn'y. only Home Life Insnr&ncs Co. la the Stat. All It fund loaned out AT HOME, and among our own people. We do not send Worth Carolina money abroad to build up other Bute. It 1 one of the moet lucccatful eom panlea of Us age In the United State. It ar eata ar amply luluoient. All lor paid promptly. Right tuoutaud dollar paid in lb last two year to families in Chatham. It will eoat a man aged thirty year only five cnU a day to inanre for one thousand dollar. Apply for further Information to H.A. LONDON, Jr., Gen. At. FITT8BOKO", K. C. J. J. JACKSON, ATTOB NE Y-AT-L AW, PITTSBORO,N. C. pay-All biaalnaaa eotr-Aed te kin will m eafrs prompt atUaakm. W. E ANDERSON, Prala.at. P. A. WIL1T, Cealr CITIZENS NATIONAL BANS, Of RALEIG1T, Jf. C. J. D. WILLIAMS It CO., Brown, Commission Msrchanti and Frodnoo Bayera, FAY-TT-VIL-E, N. O. Au Appeal. Oh ! ye who loll in sfrlaeuoe and oaae, Blest with the sweets and luxuries of life Who never felt misfortune's stern decrees, Nor hold with poverty Ignoble strife, Have ye not sighed o'er sad ifrl.clion s tale ? Or wept to see the sufferings of the poor? Or with sweet pity heard the mournful wail Of hearts bereaved beyond what ye eudnre ! The widow desolate, the orphan loft, Weeping aloud o'er the unburicd dead; Of husband and of father thus bereft, Aud left perchance to beg their daily bread, Cast on the world witbont an earthly stay, No home to oheer them not a living friend To ahield and shelter them on life's bleak way, O er wbioh they know not where tbeir foot steps wend. Or have ye marked the toiler slrioken low. Thrown out of work, and starvicg in the treett, Whose labor helped to swell the pompous show Where pride disdains the suppliant it meets, Aud frowns upon bis children's wasted forms E'en while their father begs to work for' them, Whom callous upstarts look upon as worm, Aud mock the claim; they heartlessly con temn ? Have je not known the pleasure of the Just, When with humanity their bosoms glowed, And thought of Him in whom tho righteous trust While Heaven's blest mercios were in love bestowed V E'en as ye soothe the wretched in their woe, Or feed the famished, bid the weary rest, Then in the teara of gratitude which flow Hay ye not feel like them divinely bloat V THE CRYSTAL-SEEKER. A FAIKV T.tl.K. FROM THS WBBMAX OF JULIUS STORM Deep within the mountains on the banks of a beautiful blue lake, there stood for many years a littlo honee of mean appearance. It contained only two small windows, and the dry, thatch-covered roof was coverod with heavy stones. From here the eye rent ed npon mighty mountain ranges, that raised their glittering snmmits, docked with everlasting snow, far into K blue ether; the glance soon foil, i. vt -or, npon the transparent crystal Ukc, iere the dazzling white mountain tops ap peared to plunge into the bottomless depth below. Numberless sweet and fragrant flowers, whioh, although they were so small, mtde a show of splendid color, blossomed in the meadows tint bordered the lake. Here glitterod, omid the verdant green, the blue star of the gentian; there the elegant Alpine prim rose reared its rosy head, while dots by a white anemone, like a newly-fallen snowflake, appeared to rest upon its stately stalk; while aronnd about the mountain, like a purple border, stood the blooming baches of the Alpine rose. Far and near there reigned profound silence, only broken now and then by tho dismal cry of the greedy hawk, or by the shrill whistle of the mountain rat, standing on guard. In the little lonely and poverty-strick en honse lived a man and bis wife and a troop of poorly-olothed but blooming and sprightly children. The man looked very odd when he stepped out of his little house in the morning. He was large and strongly built, had a long, gray beard, and wore a round hat, orna mented with a large eagle feather, and over his shonlder hnng a chamois skin; on his feet he wore thick, nailed shoes, at his side hung a brown leather pocket and a very large hammer, and in his right hand he carried a long stiok with a sharp iron point at the end. With a slow step he wandered up hill deep among the mountains. The man wai a crystal-seeker. When he came back to the house in the evening, his pocket was often filled with monntain crystals which he sought for in deep oaverns, and quite often with danger to his life, These stones his wife then offered for rale, and from the money reoeived for thorn the numerous family were miserably enongh supported. One day when the man had long sought in v ain, and had continued mounting higher and higher, a fissure in the rocks arrested his attention. He peered into the darkness of the cave, but soon drew back afraid, for from out the deep hollow a light came to meet him. Before he had reoovered hia senses, a little miner stood before him, cvrying in his band a miner's lamp. The little follow was dressed exaotly like the orystal-aeeker, had allowed his gray beard to grow just as long, and his face presented the same weather-beaten ap pearanoe, and from under bushy eye brows his small, deepset eyes peered cunningly forth. The crystal seeker did not know what to make of it, and looked at the little man with great, wondering eyes. But tho little man called ont in a shrill, artful voice: "What is there to stare at so, jm great lnbber? You gaze at me aa a cow does at a new gate I" "Do not be quite so rough, sir dwarf,' replied the tall man, "I hardly think you will try to spoil my tTade." "Hi I" laughed the little one; "how would it be if I should prove mastor and you the dabbler f Let's see what yon have found." "As many m you have, snre ly," was the answer that came fretfully enough. "Oh, you great fellow," laughed tha little man; "sea bore I ' And the little man opened his leather pouoh, which was filled to the top with the moat dazslingly beautiful stones that the crystal-seeker had ever seen. Then the man conceived a wonderful respect for the little dwarf, and said: "Where did you find these oostly stones ? ' "Hi, hi I" said the little man of the moun tains; "men qnestion fools thus." How ever, the man began to entreat him, and spoke so well that the dwarf said: "If you have sufficient courage for the e x pedition, you can go with me to-day." While the crystal-seoker was consider ing a moment to see if he dared, the dwarf cried out soornfnl?y: ''Now you can aee how little courage a tall man has; he does not dare to go with me once on a searoh I" The orystal seeker, who, it must be admitted, felt very uneasy in the presence of the mountain dwarf, de fiantly gathered his oourage together and cried: "What you dare, I can also dare I" Then both wandered deeper in among the mountains, and at last the dwarf came to a stand bofore a cave and lit hia little lamp. "This is the way to go in," he cried, and at once ho was through the hollow. The largo man was obliged to stoop and creep after him on his Lauds and knees, aud the dwarf derided him for thin and called out: "That c imes from your f-izo; were you small liko myself it would be easier for yon; bnt came on now, we are almost at the end." Still wider aud wider grow the cave, and at last it fpread itself ont into an immense grotto. The dwarf held tho lamp np against tho walls and cried out: "See, only see!" The man stood still with astonishment, for the wonderful rocky ttmoture was before him, and wherever the little man of the mountains allowed the light to fall, it brightened and sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow, aa though all the crystals in the world were gathered to gether there. The crystal-seeker drew his fingers k variably over them, then convulsively seizod his hammer in order to fill his leather pooket on the spot, when the dwarf called ont imperatively : "One alone, ond no more, and this one only that you may not think in tho morning that jou have been dreaming." The man did not appear to pay auy at tention to what he said, but the dwarf continued, threateningly: "If you do not obey I will put out the light, and yon will soe how you can get ont of the mountains." Tbe man looked anxiously at the light, and began to entreat, but Ihe dwarf adhered to his first command: "One, and no more." "Then light me," begged the crystal-seeker, "that at loast I may seek for the finest one." This request was granted him, bnt a loeg time elapsed before the man could de cide upon a choioe. At last I yes, this was surely the largest and finest crystal. A short stroke with tho hammer, nnd the stone sprang off with a ringing sound. "Now yon hava your share," said the man of the mountains; "we will go on onr way back." After Buying these words he wandered on ahead with the lamp in his baud, and the crystal seeker crept painfully after into the open air. "Listen; I know many of such caverns," said the pigmy, "and I know also of caves in which quite different stones aborin '." Then he felt leisurely in his pocket and held up before the astonished crystal soeker a handful of sparklinor prtcions stones, snd said, winking ennningly with his eye: "Shall I take you nndcr my instructioa." Theu the poor crystal-seeker laughed in his hoart and said: "Yoa, you are tha mas ter; let me bo the scholar." "You are quite large enough for that," laughed the dwarf; "but what will you pay ma for tuition?" "Ah I' answered h?, laughing, "I am only a poor man, but I will serve you a whole year for nothing." "It is needless," t'ttered the dwarf, "your service would be of little use to me; I hav workmen enough; that we may be tvon, you must give me your yoangeBt little daughter for a wife. She will have a good time with me, for you must know I am king of the mountain dwarfs; deep among tho mouutains stands my castle. Yon shall sue it. All tbe windows arc mado of precious stones, and every year a hundred thonsaud will-'O'the-wisps are burned out U3 lamps. There shall yonr danghter liva and be qmeen I" The crystal soeker shook his head sadly and said: "No, I will nevor do that. The youngest one is my fa vorite, aud what would my poor wifo sayf" "As yon wish," said the dwarf, "bnt you will soon think bolter of it. If you will givj me your littlo girl for my queen-wifo, oomo with her to tho moun tain that you saw over yonder, and knock with your hammer. And that yon may not go home empty-handed, I will give you a present for my little lady love 1" With these words the little mau felt in his pooket and drew out a chain, a baautiful golden chain, and said: "That will suit your little daughter nicely; and now farewell, and do not oontinue as stupid as you long have been." Hardly had the little man said this than ho dis appeared, and the crystal seeker stood in the midst of a thick cloud and with great difficulty found his way home. When he reached the house there was great rejoicing, but the man had not any pleasant words for hia ohildren. He was thinking all the time of the cave fnll of crystals and of tho prcoions stones that the dwarf oarried in hia pooket. Hie wife did not know what to make of her hatband; she reoeived no answer to all her kind words. Before the next day dawu:d the crystal seeker wandered beck to the mountains; the cavo was on his brain. But in spite of his earnest scr.kiug the cave was not to be found, and in tbe evening he brought nothing bock with him except a buic'J cf hawthorn. The flonrwas ont, hunger present; what was now to be done ? The unhappy man glanced secretly at his youngest little daughter aud thought: Would it not be better for mo to give her to the moun tain dwarf than that wo should all go hungry. But then her mother; no, it can not bo. And what would become of the poor child's soul ? To morrow I will go into the monntaius again, and my wife can meanwhile sell the stone that I have in my p'okot. Tne chain I dare not allow to bo seen, people would think I had stolen it. Ho he guvo his wife the commission to go into the n xt town and find a puic'iaserfortho crystal which he took fiom his pocket and buy bread with the money thus obtained. Then he laid upon his ouch, but cauld not sleep, for he was always thinking of tbe mountain dwarf, of bis boloved youngest child, of his groat poverty, an 1 of the riches ho might ob tain provide! he wauld sa -rifloo his lit tle daughter. In the night he rose many times aud stood beside the b.l of b is youngest little one and sighed: "Ou, you poor, daar child I" His wife hoard him, and asked what was the matter with him. But ho only answered: "Anxiety prevents mo from sleeping; I citne home empty-handed, and I fear will often re turn thus. lean not fiud my way rightly in tho mountains auy more, aud the stones are as hard to find us though my feet were clogged by lead." His wife tried to comfort him, but ho only sigho-.i : "Itcinnot lant much longer; wo must soon all staivj, Oh, my pour, dear child I" Tho wifo 6w that nil was not right with him nnd started on her way before daylight, while tho children were yet asleep, for she thought: "If I can ouly bring back bread again, then ho will be reat-ou iblo. Ha haH always been a ur&vd, pious man, who has often bid me look to (-d for comfort when caro has op pressed mo." Htrdly hal his wife left tho house when the husbaud stood again beside his little daughter's bed. Siio lay so sweetly there before him that ho softly kissed tho child uud said to himself: 'No, yon shall stay with us, let things go as thev will." Suddenly he thought of the golden chaiu. "Ah I" cried he, "I had almost forgott-;u it. I must just see how it looks upou her white neck." He Beizod the chain and laid it softly upon tho neck of iho little sleeper. Hardly had he done so wheu ho became very mtic'a alarmed. A doath-like p.il lor overspread tho child 8 fae, her heart beat audibly, aud her w'uito lips were drawn as if in paiu. More and more strangely tho little face became altered. Tho father experienced an iudefcribuble anguish; he wished to takeoff thochain, but in vain, for, doepito her suffering, the child awoke, felt aronud her neck ith her little bauds, and looked com- plainiugly at her father. Ho tried to fOtho her, but she bugan to cry vio lently, and her features continued to change more and more, until at last it appeared to the angnish-striektnmnu as though tho faceoftho mountain dwarf Uy in the cradl-J beforo him. He cursed the malignant dwarf, and cried out des peratoly: "My good wifo must not aoe the child liko this. She nmt away I away out of tho honso I tho dwarf has bewitched her, he has conquered ly lus arts, and so he shall have tho child; but the price must stand as ho said, that he conduct me to tho cavo in which the precious stones grow. I will become rich, so rich that the king will bo a beg gar in comparison with me." Ha took tho screaming child from the cradle, wrapped it in his chamois skiu in spite of its struggles, dretsed himself, bound the child upou his back, and find, as though pursued by evil spirits, into the mouutaiu. The Btars shone wonderfully clear, and when he stood alono ia the solitude of tho rverlasliDg hills, with tho moauing child upou his back, it seemed to his disraiyod soul as though the stars shot darts of fire through his heart; then ha thonght again npom his poverty, and it seemed to him au though tho whole heavens hung full of shiuiug precious stoues, an as though he ueod ouly stretch forth his hand and all wonld be his as the prioe for hia child. He rnnhed forward ngain, and the way led over mighty glaciers; suddenly the ground gave way under his feet, aud he foil into a deep crevasse. When bo ro oovered his senses ho saw tho stars shining upon him, and behind and be fore him was ice, ooldic. Still tbcro was ground nuder his feet, and ho saw that he stood upon an immense ice block, which had bseu foroed into the crevasse. A moaning voico reached his ear. The bundle was gone. Before him lay his child; he saw her clearly, for tho dawn had oommeaoed already. He raised his child np; she threw her little arms aronnd her father's neck and sobbed: "Oh, I'm 03ld I" He pressed her against hia heart and looked, sighing, toward heaven; then he laid her again upon tho block of ice, wound her in the chamois skin, and tried to climb np the wall. But it was a vain struggle. Then he thought of the hammer that he oarried by bis aide, and began to hew slips into the wall, and as he pounded and thump ed, his heart aud conscience awoke, and he thought upon the sin that he was about to ommit;and kis fault stood out before him in all its darkness. He was reizud with deep rcpontauce, and while he worked with the hammer he prayed to God for mercy. Ihe mBn sncceaded at last, after bard labor, in mounting up from the ore vasse; quickly he steppe.lnp, and bounds tho child again npoa hi back and walked oarofully forward. When, hap pily, lie climbed out above, he threw himnelf prayerfully upon his knees. Day had corae. Far around the moun tain-tops glowed in the morning re 1, and tho glory of tho Lord enlightened his heart. He wished to see If the child were unhurt. He took hor from his back, and oh, wondor I before him lay his lovely, blooming little daughter. The chain had slipped off and lay upon the block of ioe iu the crevasse. The man rejoiced aloud, hugged and kissed his child and hurried home; ho thought no more of poverty or riches, but of a merciful God who had saved him from a great sin. When he reached home the other children lay still asleep in their dark chamber, because no one had awakened them. He laid his little dangLter in her warm bed and she soon fell asleep. When she awaked she remembered nothing that had befallen her in the night, and the other children bad not noticed tho absence of their father and little sister. In the evening the mother returned from the city much depressed, the beautiful crystal having met with a, to her, inixplieible scsident, to wit: as she was taking the wtly stone from hor pock'.'t to show it to a dealer it had suddenly split into countless small and quite worthless pieces in her hand. Thus she ha 1 been obliged to return homo without bread. In tears sho ro luted this to her husband, who, with a joyful face, was rocking his youngest littlo daughter. She feared he would lie angry, or at bast quite vexed; in stead he gave her his hand in a friendly manner, comforted hor, and directed her to Heaven for help. She rejoiced inwardly at the change which had taken place in her husband, but could not, however, imagine how it had come to pass that he had suddenly become quite c. mrageous. When the crystal-seeker went forth into the mountains the next morning he stepped briskly as though he had been ton years younger. With folded hands his wifo stood at the door aad followed tho departing ouo with a friendly glance uud nod of tho head, aud then wont back to her work. Whou it began to grow dark she looked often toward the mountains; at last sho caught eight of tho rotnrning ouo, who already hailed her from a dis- ttuco, taking off his hat, and then hal looed so loudly that all the children ran out of tho hut aud hastened to meet their father. As the latter came nearer he held his leather packet up there was now au end to want; ho roturnod with a heavy load of sparkling crystals. The path ho had taken led him hitjh up among the mouutains, and suddenly it appeared to him us though he were standing in tbe same placs where ho once stood with tho dwarf, no looked around e uefully, and there, behind a block of grauite, he discovered a eivern. He crept in upon bin hands and kuoos. After ho had gone a littlo distacci ho found that he could raisa himself up. Then ho took a minor a lamp from bis pocket and lit it; he was not yet at the right spot. Cjuragoonsly ho wandered further, when buddeuly out of a crevice in tho rock, by tho light of his lump, the beautiful crystals came flashing forth to meet him. He sought no further, but staid to fill his pocket; his joy over his fortunate search caused him to return quickly homeward to his wife aud chil dren . There was great joy that evening in the littlo hut; but the moat joyful one in the happy circle was tho father, who had taken his little daughter iu his arms and given hor the largest crystal in her hand. In the course of timo prosperity in creased iu tho littlo house, nnd ono day tho cty.Ud-soeker brought home with him a gold chain which ho had bought in the towu; from tho chain was sus pended a oross of ruouutiiu crystal; it was a prertont for his youngest little daughter, who stood beforo him frosh a-t n blooming ros and npou whoso nook ho fastened, with a father's holy bless ing, the golden chain with tho cross. Michigan hss cause to be proud of its financial condition. Her d"lt is $H30, 000, while thero is S'JO.000, iu her sinking fnud to pay it. A ruoro ttxtraor diuary cirenmstauco thau thUistha fa-t t'-at the new state capitol, which is com pletud and paid for, actually cost $15,000 less than the appropriation made for building it. The German government, recognizing the danger of smoking tobacco by you thf, have seriously taken the matter in hand, as it considers tho praotioe dangerous to the constitution. In many towns tbe police bavo received orders to prevent all youths under sixteen years of age from smoking, A Belgian physician oonsiders it causes color blindness, Fatal Superstition Among Russians. The reported ravages of diphtheria in Russia offer a fresh aud most lamenta ble instance of the extent to whioh the greatest human calamities may be aggra vated by ignorance and superstition. It is often found absolutely impossible to persuade the Russian peasants to acoept medical aid of auy kind, even when iu extremity. To all such offers they re ply with their wonted fatalism. 'If we are to die, no medicine can save us ; if we arc to live we don't need it.' The prolonged fasts of the Greek church, the praotice of baptizing infants iu ice cold water, which it would be thought impious to warm, and of clothing them insufficiently until the age of seven, in compliance with some absurd supersti tion, yearly causo countless deaths. Nothing is mort astounding to a for eigner thau this utter recklessness of life among tbe Slavouiau races, which evinced itself during the great cholora epidemic of 1871, in details who grotes que horror surpassed anything in Do foe's history of the London plague. One poor wretch actually pointed with pride to a colli u whioh he had 'bought cheap' as soon as the pestilence began, aud kept standing in a corner of his room ever since, in readiness for immediate use. You know,' he added, with a ghastly chuckle, 'if my wife and I should both die about the same time, we can both go into this coffin, and that will save the expense of another.' A Siid Story. Some months ago a young man named George Youngs went to Bath, Pu., from Schenectody. He was a printer nnd was handsome and intelligent. Vlice Beets, a I oatiliful girl, daughter of a prominent citizen of tho place, fe-11 in love with Yoiiuga. Tho pnir desired to uiarry, but the girl's paieuts refused to consent to the match. Youngs nnd Miss Bee ra ran nwpy. Tiiey returned next day and Youngs exhibited a mar riage certificate bearing ihe signature of a clergyman. Tho girl's parents re ceived her aud ht r husband to prevent I'oiudul. A week or two ago it was rumored iu Bath that Youngs Lad a wife aud child iu Sclieneetudy. His Bath wife was given good evidence of the fact, but she refused to believo it. A gentle man of Bath last week investigated the marriage. Ho found that the clergy man's signature to the marriage certifi es' e was forged, and that tho ceremony Youngs had had performed was a mock ceiemonya' a disreputable lioii--e, a boon companion of his hxving person ated Iho clergyman. When tho news was carried to the young wifo she feli to the floor dead. Yuiiugs lied, and no trace of him hna jot beeu found. He has n wifo nud two childieu iu Schenec tady. The American The editor uf the I.mduu Whitehall Ittvlt w at a dinner, recently, propound ed tho following question : 'What is the origin of tho sign for the American dollar.' The Amer cau cousu' did not know. It was suggested by cue of i lie guests upon the authority of 'Notes and Que ries that the sigu was a sort of mono gram of tho United States, from I'. S.' But this would not do. The American dollar, enys the editor, is takeu from tho (Spanish dollar, ut.d the sign is to be found, of c urse, in the associations of the Spanish dollar. We littered the table with books in thf courao of our researches, but J proved my point iu tlec en I. Ou the reverse of tho Spanish dollar is a representation eif the Pillars of Her cules, aud round each pillar is a scroll, with tho inscript ion, '7.s ultra ' This device, ia tho course of time, has degen erated into the sign which stands at pre sent for American as well ns Spat.ish dollars, '$.' The scroll round tho pillars, 1 lake it, represents the two serpents seat by Juno to destroy nercules iu his cradle. How lie Became au Actor. Mr. Johu MeCalli ugh gives un cuter tuiuiug nci'ount of his first leanings to ward tho drama. It was iu a Philadel phia shop as reliite-d iu The. Scrr of that city that the boy Johu beg.ia his workiug life as apprentice in c'inir makiuj.'. iu the ssmo shop waa au in telligent old mechanic named lliirko, whose busy life h id bct u lu ilit 'iiod bj mtic'.i hard reading, and who was con tinually reciting Shukspcaro, greMtly to tho boy's delight. Burke's fuv-rite amnBi nieut when i-lightly enlivened by the wine cup was to murder youug Mc Ciillough with a paint brash, and theu recite with xoecdit g gr -d effect over him, Muic Antonv's speech over the dead Catiar. 'I bec-imc perfert'y euinplured with the man,' sa.is the uctor, 'Htid mado frueh a pttieut, iiv'c.onmoda'ii g cor i so (or him that ho finally mad:' meu present of a copy of Siiukspearo, From that day the doom of the cliairmuking business, so far as I was concerned, was s aled forever. It is ooreputed from official statistics that the number of oigars smoked ic Germany during tne year tS7a was about 7,000.000 000, or two cigai-s daily to 10,000.000 smokers. But besides cigars, tho Germans smoked more t'ian CO, 000 tons of tobaojo. Tl e value of the tobacco consumed was mow than $RT, 000,000. ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. General Grant is the first ex-preaident who bus visited the upper part of South Carolina since Washington passed through iu his private carriage in Ihe year 1797. Albert Olesou, living near Clayfield, M'nn., had both his eais hard frozen, last week, aud two friends, in endeavor ing to btart a circulation, rubbed them clear from his head. The highest diploma for porcelain poiuting in Loudou has been awarded to Miss Stevens, au American, who already has orders from the Frince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge. A womau at Ulysses, Neb., wrapped her baby iu a sheet and left it in the warm ashes by the fire-place while she went to visit a neighbor, and when she returned the infant was burned to a crihp. Four trans-Atlantio steamers, one from Havana and one from Bermuda, arrived in a bunch at New York one day recently, and made things lively in the great paste Hi e, there being one hundred and sixty thousand letters to sort, Ex-Controller Connolly, of New York, ono of tho Tweed crowd, now a fugitive from justice has recentlj made three millions in New York speculations. His son-in-law conducted the business. This is not generally the way of the trans gressor. W. Frice, a yeung boy living in ven tre street, Orange, N. J., while playing with some comrades, was kicked in the mouth by one of them. A tooth waa knocked out and down his throat, from which he choked to death in a few minutes. The dutv on salt in Russia brings to the statd treasury fifteen and a half mil lion dollars annually. Now the Russian proas advocates tho abolition of the salt duty, us it falls chiefly on the poorest cluhoes, aad sei v js ra'.her to depress thau iucrease the national welfare. Statistics gathered for the forthcoming annual report of tho New Jersey labor uiiieuu iucludo reports from Bixty-seven silk mills, mostly iu Futerson. The Fiittrtjou mills uloue employ 10,000 hands, besides from i.OOO to 3,000 em ploy ed iu tbeir owu homes. The an nual production of these mills reaohea the total ol $11 000,000. There bus beeu a frightful mortality from utuullpox in Ottawa, the capital of the proviuo oi Ontario. The deaths during the laht year were 902, of whioh H) were from smallpox. Owing to tha Fiench C lua-.tiiius being averse to voc ciiiution, thero were 197 deaths from smallpox among thtni, while the deaths unmiig others were ouly 22. Mr. Telford Tippet, ot Howard county, Mistioiiri, while iu his well at a depth of titty feet, was hemmed iu by the upper part caving in upou him. Two hundred people from tho neighborhood as sembled, aud after nineteen hours of arduous labor, they had the pleasure of repelling him al.ve, tin ugh severely bruised by the falliug rockf. Freuch privates aro prohibited from traveling in uniform iu tirht-class rail road can -iugea, nnd a wriUr in Figaro tells how a poor fellow was lately refused a ticket by nu express, exclusively first class, -nheu his mother was dying. The pastcugers took compassion, opened their vulisus, aud rigged him in enough civilian I'loth to enable him to pass. Tne receut cold weather in Franco has rc iliod the remarkable fact that in 1795 th.- severe aud prolonged frosts euubleJ a regiment of French cavalry to gain one of tho strargost successes ever recorded in military annals. The Dutch fleet wan iroz- ii up iu emu of the harbors of northern Frauoe, aud iu this condi tion the vessels were attacked by thete mounted troops, uad, utter a vigorous defeusc, tho nlmiral was compelled to pull down his flag. Oa Sunday morning a steamer ran in to the drawbridge ou the New York and New Euglaud road iu Boston harbor. The blow uis;irrauged tho draw and discou nt e'ed tho tracks. No oue was on the bridge or near at the time, aud a traiu was iipproachiug when the engiueer no ticed ih- disarrangement. By appljing tho air brakos tho train was stopped withiu lifteoti feet of the draw. Had he failed, tho traiu of five cars, filled with passenger, would have gouo into the water. After the numerous discussions of Mr. E lisou's electric light, it will be iutor eMiiiK to sen exactly what claims for it Mr. E lis-ou himself is williugto indorse. A puper is uuiionneed to nppear in tho Mi (winter Scribnr.r by Mr. E.liaon'n mathematician aud assistant, Mr. Fran- h li. Upton, which, besides the writer's iLtiniaie eiouuectiou with th.) invention itvelf, hits the further voucher of a letter (mill Mr. Etisou, certifiug that it is 'Iho lirst correct und authoritative amount.' iu 1) ember, 1876, tho United Stales exprves compnuy, in New York, reoeived frrm tho Biuk of North America a money paekao cou! tiuitig $6,000, which they undertook to deliver to the First National liauk of Baltimore, The pack age reached tbere next dsy, aud on being opened was found to contain nothing but waste paper. The cose was given to some of the most tkilled detectives in tha oouu'ry to work np, bnt aa yet the miss ing money has uoi boon found. The I bank pu d the express company, and has I sec-red a verdict tor the full amount.