i$h$ Ohatham Record.
H. A. LONDON, Jr.,
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VOL. III. NO. 21.
PITTSBOllO', CHATHAM CO., N. C, FEBRUARY 3, 1881. L JL LOHDOI, Jr., Editor and MM.
For larger advertisements liberal contracts will
nHmtT.
The Past Year.
A ibctow stood by my bed last night
A shadow wan, and worn, and old;
With a Irozen look on the wrinkled face,
And the band he laid on mine was cold.
In the Rhostly presence I shook with dread,
And shrank irom his touch with curdling
iear,
A I cried: Go! save mc! s-pecter grim,
What sorrowlul errand brings thee here?"
Then the pale lips mOvcd. and a whisper came
Like a breath from tho uoithwind, chill and
dreai;
"Oh. timid mortal, i e not ufrald
Ol the frhrinkin; lortn of the dying year!
Ia'm sealing the rt cords my pen hath made
To be read in the light ol the Great White
Throne;
Hast thou aught to tell, ore my book is closed
01 labor lor C'iriat that thou hast done?
With the names ot those who day by day
Scattered the precious seed with tears
Who bound lull sheaves in the harvest time,
And garnered stores for the coming years,
I have vainly looked, oh, child ot earth,
It thine, perchance, might be entered there
Arise; be doing; 'tis not yet to late;
For thee, it thou wilt, thoie are gleanings
rare!
' There are golden grains by others lost;
And sheaves that the reapers in haste iorgot
Up, sluggardly soul, Irom slothtul rest
The hours are pi ecious ; oh, ate them not!
Oh, work! oh, work! for the time is short,
To write tliee the Lord's ere tho bell is tolled
That shall tell to the world that the dead old
year
Is kid in the shadows, stark and cold!"
Tie bell tolled slow for the old ye:ir gone;
Alus! for the work that was left undone!
Lixcy M. Blinn.
UNAVAILABLE TALENTS.
My wife and I looktd at each other in
blnrk despair. We are such lively peo
ple that it is very seldom we are both
blue at once, but thistime we had good
and sufficient reason. We had come to
our last dollar. We haq no certainty of
getting any more money, anl we were
too honest to wish ta be in debt. This
was an extraordinary position for us,
ns we were considered by all who knew
us to be such " uncommonly talented"
people. I was always to d in college
that if I would npply -sK?If I might
easily stand lirst in my .... though in
pointof fact I stood somewhere in the
twenties, 1 believe. 1 have since some
times wondered if application may not
be itself a separate talent, instead of be
ing within the reach of all. as is often
supposed. My wife was always the life
of any company. She was a3 pretty and
trim a weman as you would wish to see,
and she sang ballads with really won
derful expression. I never saw a
woman who appreciated a joke so
quickly, and in ania'eur theatricals she
was irresistible. Her talents went even
farther than this. She read poetry so
beautifully that everybody cried ; and, on
the other hand, she was so fond of
mathematics that she studied conic sec
tions one winter by herself, " for fua."
We were both versatile, we were both
lively, we were both mercurial.
Now, however, we hart no money,
and very little flour in the house. My
wife had made a nice johnny-cake for
the delectation of the children at supper,
and they had gone to bed content, and
were now peacefully sleeping. Mean
time it bi came absolute 1 necessary for
Ui to face our fate. I was a lawyer. I
chose that profession, not from any in
nate sympathy with it, but because I
could not be a clerarvman, and would not
be a physician. Of course I began to
practice in the city; for though there
seemed to be no opening tnere, I liked
to live in the city. You know the
theater, and music, and books, and pic
tures, and society, can hardly be had in
the country. If I had been less talented
a mere cloiliopper I could have
eone without the refinement of life and
been happy. As it was, it did not once
occur to me that I could live in the
touttry. I need not bay my practice
amounted to nothing. Those who have
tried the same experiment know that
eome years elapse before a maintenance
can be counted upon. However, I lived
meanwhile on a modest legacy which
had descended to me from an aunt, and
married a wife. Florence had no money
and no experience of housekeeping; but
1 hope I should not marry as I would
seiect a servant. We got on beautifully
in spite of the quicksands which already
present themselves to the reader's mind.
In the first place we had no end to good
times together, so our life was a success
so far, and I know we were so happy
that we made everybody arourd us
happy too. And we lived within our
means, small as they were. We would
have liked a million, and I really think
we could have spent it profitably; still
we were not extravagant, and both of
us were honorable and conscientious.
We were at peace with all the world,
nd considered ourselves noble in char
acter and talented in mind.
, Unfortunately the failure of the bank
n which my legacy was invested
changed the aspect of things. We
ensiled at first, because we thought we
should respect ourselves more if we
were brave. And our friends said we
pore it charmingly. 44 But of course it
" not as if you had not your practice.1
lias was very well, but privately we
knew that the practice would hardly
fwpusin boots and shoes; and then I
had practiced long enough now to find
out I hated it. 1 was not meant for a
lawyer, and, to speak after the manner
oi .the Methodists, it would have been
indulging a false hope" to supoose I
ever should succeed. It seemed imper
ative that I should look to some other
source for an income. I had written a
P-ay for the 44 Grecian Club," to which
we ho longed, the year before, which had
jwn received with prolonged applause
ounoWt when I wrote another, and
iT?.11 to the manager, he declined
wuu thanks. I had also written vers
sonete which had been pronounced
DV hxxI critics as witty as Holmes': but
rp!lf '1 lA Fent them to the magazines, I
revived a neat printed circular sayin?.
iiihi owing to tLe overcrowded state
J' market," they could not accept
anyuung more at present, but urging me
o ; licye that 41 want ot literary merit"
r,fa n!llilIJg whatever to do with their
rJ getting desperate, advertised
Kri,vate PUP in mathematics; but
uic only one who appeared was bent on
fn,,S,ngA)garitums. which she had
IhM, e.dious when a schoolgirl that
2 skipped them altogether. This
M 100 bi. for sheis really a splendid
mathematician, as far as tne principles
auu mm, is me reason probably she
atos eternal figuring so much.
With her music the contrary is true,
bhe knows nothing about the theory,
but her practice is exquisite; so of
course she cannot give lessons.
She sews very well, I believe at least
we are all kept neat and whole and she
has good taste; but she says her
stitches will not bear examination, and
if she tried to sew better, she should
work so slowly that she could not earn
her salt. Her housekeeping is very
pleasant. I know; but we have a hun
dred little idiosyncrasies which would
make taking boarders impossible, even
if it were not intolerable, so we have
never seriously considered that ques
tion. It will probably be thought cold
blooded in me to speak in this way of
my wife's earning anything, especially
when, now we had dismissed our girl,
Bhe had everything to do for the chil
dren and for me ; and, in fact, I did not
mean she should do anything, but she
was always pondering the matter, and
in some darx momen s I eave in a little
niysen. i tnougnt 1 wouia commit
suicide, and let her support the chil
dren! It is obvious that now neither of us
felt as sure of our elevated character or
of our talents as before the legacy was
lost, and we had at last arrived at the
above-mentioned state of blank despair.
44 It is really too bad," said Florence,
at last ; 44 it would take so little to make
us happy, and yet we can't have it."
44 There is nothing under heaven to be
done." said I, gloomily, 44 but for me to
fo as a day-laborer in a factory ; and as
am unskillful, and very old for a be
ginner, I cannot earn enough to support
the family, so 1 think, my dear, that you
had better go into the same factory :
that is, if we can find work, -which I
think doubtful in these times. And we
will apprentice the children to the trade,
so they will be better able to take care
of themselves than we were when they
grow up."
Florence made no reply to this re
mark, but shortly after began a short
catechism.
44 Vau, are you aristocratic?"
44 No, not exactly," said I ; 44 1 like the
things aristocratic people have, you
know, but it is not for fear ol losing
caste that I object to the factory."
44 1 thought not," said Florence, com
placently: 44 but of course you object to
the 4 erind,' and so do I. Now the ques
tion is, what are the necessities ol life
to you?''
44 O i. eV' said I. 44 First, you and
the children; second, a house that does
uot leak to cover us ; third, corn cake
:ia salt fish; foarth, a good lire in the
wii tjr; tif . i a warm woolen suit for
caoho mi sixth, so ne light acthe out
door employment, which will not re
duce my sp rits to such a point that I
can't enjo your society when I have
leisure to sit down in the evening.1'
44 And you would lifee to keep a
horse?" said Florence, confidently.
44 Why. yes," I said, rather surprised ;
44 but since we have never kept one since
we were married, it seems to me we
might dispense with it now."
44 Unless it came in the way of busi
ness," said Florence, calmly. 44 Now
that I know what your real views of
the necessaries ol life are, I have a plan
which I had hesitated to propose be
fore, thinking you might demand more."
She unfolded a newspaper, and pointed
to an advertisement.
FOR SALE. The horse, cart and complete
stock of a tin peddler. Excellent route.
Business pays well. Sells only because iamily
matters require a removal to the West. Terms
easy. Address A. Wicks,
Plainville.
I felt a spark of hope. I suppose
touarein fun, Florence," I said; 44 but
I really think I should not hate this as
much as anything else I see any pros
pect of trying. However it will proba
bly amount to nothing."
It then appealed that it was several
days since Florence had seen the notice,
and .!ie had taken pains to inquire into
the matter before speaking to me. She
Khew some one in Plainville who had
learned all the particulars. It really
was true. The business was eood, that
is, of its kind. 44 Of course," our in
formant said, 44 it did not pay anything
fike the law;" and we hoped he was
right. The peddler really was going
West, for he had money enough to live
on, and his wile s Health demanded
change of climate. He would sell cheap,
and let us pay in installments, and we
could rent his cottage for a very small
sum.
It did seem providential. Riding
ebout the country, even in a peddler's
cart, had far more attractions for me
than toiling in a factorv. Besides. I had
a secret assurance that I had no capacity
for 44 toil, and I knew I could drive
any horse in Pkinvil'e at least Then
the telling, my goo.1, looks (I believe I
forgot to men' ion tbat beiore), my gen
tlemanly manners, my goou-naturc, my
persuasive address, on which 1 had
been complimented again and again,
would all be of the utmost service to
mc in this business; and here I had
been almost tearing my hair in my
anguish at thinking that none of my
powers were of the least avail in the
bread-and-butter questiou.
And so we purchased the business by
selling some of our furniture, and went
to rlainville to live. I seriously believe
that there ia a niche for every one.
Looking back on my time of despair, and
comparing it with my present, I am
grateful that I can say that while I then
thought I was so constituted that 1
could be neither useful nor happy in
life. I now find that I have been endowed
with abundant capacities for both use
fulness and happiness, and that no
talent I possess has failed of bearing
some fruit. And Florence says the same
thing about herself.
Let me elaborate:
The cottage we lived in was not
strictly beautiful, but it was comfort
able, ana in a pleasant place, witn an
orchard before it, and we traLied creep
ers on trellises about it, and planted
roses and flowering shrubs along the
stone wails. It was a fresh, sweet place
to live in, and the children had a lovely
playground. At first Florence had no
servant, and worked very bard, but she
was voung and well and strong, and she
declared that she did not get so tired as
she had often done ir our old home witb
the thousand and one society duties
from which she was exempt now.
44 And the balance in favor of this is."
she added, 44 that now I get tired in ac
complishing something."
1 enjoyed my hie even tne nrst aay,
for. as nobody knew me, I had no loss
of caste to fear, and it was amusing to
mc to see the puzzled faces ot my cus
tomers, who seemed to feel that in some
way i was not to the manor born, ana
were evidently pleased with my hum
ble airs and graces.
1 like to study human nature, ana
now I saw much of it at home and off its
guard. This delighted me. Two rules
1 observed which made me respected and
popular: first, I never entered a. house
unless 1 was invited ; second, I never in
sisted that peopie should buy what they
did net want. But I always had an ex
cellent assortment of things, and any lit
tle novelty I might have I took pains
should be seen at a glance, that it might
rec mmend itself.
I am passionately fond of out-door air
and scenery. I used to enjoy fast
horses, but 1 have mv dreamv side, and
I liaiuiy Know anything imne exquisite
than lo jog leisurely along the country
roads at s;x o'clock on a May morning,
vhen the buds are all bursting anri the
inls ail singing, or to return quietly
home in the late June twilight, just as
the stars are coming out. I like to be
out in a soft summer rain, too. There
is enough to see and enjoy in the crisp
autumn weather to reconcile me to the
unwieldly cart 1 ride in. Even on run
ners it is not to be despised. I believe I
like all winds and weathers. Then I
used to give myself holidays, often in
winter, when Florence and the children
and 1 had no end ot tun. Ot course we
helped Florence to do the housework
first, and then had the day for pleas
ure. From May to October I hardly ever
went alone on my journey. Every
pleasant day Florence, or one of the
children, or all the family, went with
me on our rounds. How exciting it
was, and how happy we were! We
took our dinner with us sometimes, and
played we were gypsies, and camped out
in the most enticing places in the beauti
ful woods.
If I had to go alone, I often took a
book; sometimes I learned a poem,
sometimes I even composed one, and,
strange to ay the magazines which had
disdained my contributions in the days
when I desperately needed money, now
often accepted my effusions with com
pliments. In the evcningB Florence and I sang
duets, and popped corn, and read novels.
As we had no social dignity to keep up,
we leit at liberty to enjoy ourselves even
better than in the law days, which is
saying a great deal, for we always had
such a good time then.
Then my business kept improving, so
Florence could have a servant. Then we
had more time for 44 larks" than ever.
We got acquainted with our neighbors.
There was not a person of any literary
pretension in town except the minister
and doctor. This state of things had its
advantages as well as its disadvantages,
because it is pleasant to be Caesar even
in a country village. Florence and I
wrote a comedy lor the Sons of Temper
ance, and performed in it with great ap
plause. I suppose Shakespeare went to
his grave wit hout such recognition as
we received. Florence sang in the choir
so sweetly that several people who had
hardly baen to church twice a year be
fore began to go regularly. We formed
a reading club of 'all the young people
who showed a spark of promise, and
they had a delightful time, and thought
they were literary, and we had a de
lightfu : time, and the modest conscious
ness that we were great benefactors oi
our race.
Once a year we put on our best clothes
and went to the city lor a week, and
went to the theater, opera, concerts and
art galleries, and came home tired and
happy, and convinced that tin peddling
was a far healthier and happier life than
it was possible to lead in the midst of
such effete civilizations.
Let me be clearly understood. I did
not continue the business when I had
laid aside enough money to live upon
without it. Meantime I can tru y say I
enjoyed it a thousand times better than
I ever did the law, and to me at least it
was a hundred times more lucrative,
and I bless the day when my clever wife
discovered a sphere in which all our
odds and ends of talent would be avail
able. Harper1 Bazar.
How He Tut up the More.
A short time ago an English emigrant
family arrived in that town, and being
destitute of everything, a few kind
hearted people gave them sundry articles
to help them to go to housekeeping, and
among other things a stove. The donor
forgot, however, to send along the
necessary pipe. The day being very
cold, the first thing which the father of
the wandering flock turned his attention
to was the making of a lire. With grate -ful
eves he surveyed the stove (the first
he had ever seen) and then glancing at
the stovepipe hole in the chimney, which
was about two leet from the ceiling,
wondered how the smoke could get up
and out of that small hole. His eyes
soon rested upon 'some hooks in the ceil
ing, which a former tenant had used for
drying apples thereon, and he naturally
came to the conclusion that they were
intended to hang tne stove upon. There
was no time to be lost, and so with the
aid of chairs and table and a good deal
of exertion, the able-bodied man lifted
the stove up so that the stovepipe hole,
which happened to be at the side of the
stove, rested nicely in the hole in the
chimney, while his better half lashed it
to the afore-mentioned hooks with rope
wh ch came around their scanty lug
gage. Alter everything was secure the
patient housewife hastened to prepare
some wood wherewith to make a fire,
while the perspiring father was design
ing in his perplexed mind some kind of
3caffold whereon his wife could stand to
cook the frugal meal. But his ideas
were overthrown by the sudden appear
ance of the donor of the stove, bearing
the forgotten pipe. An explanation was
in order, and after a hearty laugh, the
bewildered Englishman was thoroughly
nitiated into the mysteries of the Ameri
can way of putting up stoves. Chatham
. Ont. Tribune.
A Call on the Editor.
The story is told that when George
D. Prentice, founder of the Ixmisville
Journal, was editor of the New England
Weekly Review at Hartford, he had
occasion to make some reflections upon
John Vanderbilt, a brother of the com
modore, who was running a boat be
tween Hartford and New York. Van
derbilt resented it and started out to
thrash Prentice, but had hardly reached
the third story of the building where
Prentice was before he found himself
lying on the sidewalk at the foot of the
stairs. Prentice published an account
oi the matter, inviting Vanderbilt to
call again, and saying that he (Prentice)
weighed fourteen stone and swurg a
pair of fists like the halyard blocks of
an East India schooner.
The man who can't assume a look of
atter astonishment and child-like inno
cence, when detected in trying to get rid
of a lead nickel, was not made to do
business in this country. He belongs to
Europe, Chic.
Hornets.
There is an old woman on Catnarine
street who delights to find a case that
all the doctors have failed to cure and
then go to work with herbs and roots
and strange things and try to effect at
least an improvement- A few days ago
she got hold of a girl with a stiff neck,
and si e offered an old negro named
Uncle Tom Kelly fifty cents to go to the
wools and bring her a hornet's nest
This was to be steeped in vinegar and
applied to the neck. The old man
spent several days along the Holden
road, and one morning he secured his
prize and brought it home in a basket.
When he reached Central market he had
a few little purchases to make, and after
getting some tea at a grocery he placed
his basket on a barrel near the stove
and went out to look for a beef bone.
It was a dull day for trade. The
grocer sat by the stove rubbing his bald
head. His clerk stood at the desk bal
ancing accounts, and three or four men
lounged around. It was a serene hour.
One hundred and fifty hornet- had gone
to roost in that nest for the winter.
The genial atmosphere began to limber
thm up. One old veteran opened his
eyes, rubbed his lega and said it was the
shortest winter he had ever known in
all his hornet days. A second shook off
hi3 lethargy and seconded the motion,
and in five" minutes the whole nest was
alive and its owners were ready to sail
out and investigate. You don't have
to hit a hornet with the broadside of an
ax to make him mad. He's mad all
over all the time, and he doesn't care a
picayune whether he tackles a humming-bird
or an elephant.
The grocer was telling one of the men
that he and General Grant were boys
together, when be gave a sudden etart of
surprise. Thi3 was followed by several
othe. starts. Then he jumped over a
barrel of sugar and yelled like a Pawnee.
Some smiled, thinking he was after a
funny climax, but it was only a minute
before a solemn old farmer jumped about
three feet high and came down to roll
over a job lot of washboards. Then
the clerk ducked his head and made a
rush for the door. He didn't get there.
One ol the other men who had been
looking up and down to see what could
be the matter, felt suddenly called upon
to go home. He was going at the rate
of to;ty miles an hour when be collided
with the clerk and they rolled on the
floor. There was no use to tell the
people in f at store to move on. They
couldn't tarry, to save 'em. They all
felt, that the rent was too high, and that
they must vacate the premises. A yell
over by the cheese-box was answered
by a war-whoop from the sbow-case.
A howl irom the kerosene barrel near
the back door was answered by wild
gestures around the show-window.
The crowd went out together. Uncle
Tom was just coming in with his beef
bone. When a larger body meets a
smaller one the larger body knocks it
into the middle of next week. The old
man laid around in the slush until every
body had stepped on him all they wanted
to, and then he set up and asked :
44 Hey dey got de flah all put out
yit?"
Some of the hornets sailed out of doors
to fall by the wayside, and others waited
around on top of barrels and baskets
and jars to be slaughtered. It was half
an hour before the last one was disposed
cf, and then Uncle Tom walked in,
picked up the no it, and said :
"Mobbe dis will cure de stiffness in
ilat gal's neck, jest de same, but I tell
you I'ze got banged, an' bumped, an'
sot down on till will take a hull medical
college all winter long to get me so I kin
jump off a street kyar." Detroit Fret
tress
Two Men and a Door.
The storm-doots around the postoffice
all open outwardly. This isn't for fear
hat a fire will occur and a rush ensue,
but it is arranged that way to make a
man mad. A man will go singing along
the stre t, smiling all over, and bragging
to himself how good-natured he is, when
he suddenly remembers that he must
mail a letter. He is only one man, but
the other mentioned in the heading
stands around to give advice.
The first man rushes up the steps and
gives the door a push. It is as solid as
a rock, and his momentum generally
carries his knees and nose against the
hard wood.
44 Push !'' yells the extra man.
The other steps back and follows the
: dvice, but with no successful results.
By this time his smile has faded, his
dyspepsia b gins to work up, and there
is indigestion in his tones as he turns
and asks :
44 Is this blasted old postoffice closed
for the day P"
44 Oh, no. sir. I guess you will get in
if you push bard enough. I presume
the hinges are a little rusty."
Then the man returns to the charge.
As a rule he puts his shoulder to the
door, his feet slip bck, and he comes
down in a graceful heap, to be laughed
at by all the boys. W hen he gets up he
feels as ir he could lick any seven men,
but before he has time to pick a fighj
the other advances and says :
44 Mighty curious about that door.
Ah ! I see opens this way. You might
have pushed ah day and not got in."
j he one who goes in is too mad to
post his letter. The one who stays out
shakes all over and keeps his eye out for
the next. Detroit Free Press.
A Hit or Komance.
A letter to the Chicago Inter-Ocean
froai Lake Geneva says: A marriage
has just come to light here that was
privately solemnized on the nineteenth
of September last, which causes a rip
ple of excitement in the higher circles of
society. The parties to the marriage
are a young man of French descent, a
carpenter and joiner by trade, of energy
and sterling qualities, but without
means, while the bride is the daughter
of wealthy and aristocratic English
parents whose home is at Nottingham,
England. The bride became acquainted
with the ambitious carpenter while here
on a visit to her grandparents, who re
side in this county, and a few days be
fore she was to sail for the green lanes
of old England the two hearts that beat
as one visited Elkhorn and had the
knot tied that should make them one
flesh, though the ocean should roll be
tween them. A few days after the mar
riage the bride sailed lor her home and
the castle of her native land, while the
groom remained to build houses and air
castles in the land where a man's a man
though.he has to labor and a that, and
no one would yet have been the wiser
but lor a law we have that all mar
riages must be recorded within thirty
days, and the fullness of time has ar
rived, and the secret is out here, while
vet the unconscious parents across the
water are little dreaming that their
English sparrow has mated with an
American bird.
Catching Halibut.
The halibut season, says the Eea
World, lasts from the middle of January
to the first of December. At one time
New London, Conn., was an important
halibut port, thirty sail of vessels hav
ing been owned there at one time. By
reason of the business not paying for a
length of time, however, the fleet has
been gradually reduced by loss to ten
schooners at the present time engaged
in the catch. These are fine going
schooners of fifty to sixty tons, and
there are no better sea boats of sail or
steam afloat. Their average cost was
about $9,000. They fish on George's
Banks and the coast of Nova Scotia, a
round voyage including the running of
fares to New York, requiring a month.
The more venturesome commanders sail
in January, although it is considered
dangerous to start thus early, and the
more careful masters will not venture
out till later. The service is a very
Eerilous one, although no men or vessels
ave been lost from New London in two
or three years. This good fortune can
not be counted on to continue, and the
hardy mariners verily go forth with their
lives in their hands. One master in
forms us that of the men who were in
the fleet when he first engaged in it, all
have perished on fishing trips. Three,
and even four, vessels have been lost in
a single year. There are various circum
stances attending the loss of halibut
men, the terrible stonm which sweep
the fishing grounds being a fearful
element of destruction. Next to the
peril by storm is the danger of being
run down by passing vessels, during
dark nights, or the impenetrable fogs,
which cover the grounds like a pall
during so many days in the year. The
halibut catchers tell of wonderful
escapes from dire destruction through
this terrible agency, which constantly
fill their lives with grave forebodings.
The greatest danger is irom the collision
of European steamers, as frequently the
damage produced by sailing ships is not
fatal. The fishermen, however, exercise
a commei dab ie degree of conservatism
in this matter toward the steamers,
averring that in general the steamship
captains keep a sharp lookout when off
the banks, and do all in their power to
avert calamity. Often in the darkness
and fog the tiny halibut vessels are not
seen until they are almost upon them,
when it requires time to change the
sheer of their long hulls, and very many
times the luckless halibutmen are run
down and sunk beneath the waves
The average crew consists of eight
men, two men going out in each dory,
of which there are tnrec, two men being
'tft to manage the vessel. Twenty-five
tathom lines are put oat from each dory,
to which are attached from 300 to 325
hooks. The men are often lost from the
vessel by the presence of a sudden gale,
or the setting in of a fog. The laic
treaty entered inlo with Great Britain
has operated against ths halibut fleet,
and the men are hoping to sec the objec
tional features revoked. Our informant
wa- confident that more vessels would
engage ia the business ere long, and
hoped to see the fleet built up to respect
able size; for, despite its peril, capital
thus invested pays very fair margins of
profit.
Itemarfcable Kemedies.
Sir Walter Scott's piper, John Bruce,
spent a whole Sunday, selecting twelve
stones from twe.ve south running
streams, with the purpose that his sick
master might sleep upon them and be
come whole. Scott aras not the man to
hurt the honest fell w's feelings by ridi
culing the notion cf such a remedy prov
ing of avail; so he caused Bruce to be
told that the receipt was infallible; but
th.it it was absolutely necessary to suc
cess that the stones should be wrapped
in the petticoat of a widow who had
never wished tv marry again; upon
ki.rniCa whici the Highlander re
nt unced ail hope of completing the
charm. Lady Duff Gordon once gave an
old Egyptian woman a powder wrappped
in a fragment of the Saturday Review.
She came again to assure tier benefac
tress the charm was a wonderfdly power
ful mi; for although she had not been
able to wash all the fine writing from
the t a er, even that little had done her a
great deal ot good. She would have
made au excellent substitue for a Llama
doctor, who, if he does not happen to
have any medicine handy, writes the
name of the remedy he would adminis
ter on a scrap of paper, moistens it with
his mouth, rolls it up in the form ot a
pill, which the patient tosse down his
throat. In default of paper, the name of
the drug i3 chalked on a board, and
washed off again with water, which
serves as a healing draught. These
easy-going practitioners might probably
cite plenty of instances of the efficacy of
their methods. Dr. John Brown, of
Edinburg, once gave a laborer a pre
scription, saying : 44 Take that, and come
back in a fortnight, when you will be
well." Obedient to the injunction, the
patient presented himself at the fort
night's end, with a clean tongue and a
happy face. Proud of the fulfillment of
his promise. Dr. Brown said : 44 Let me
see w hat I gave you." 44 Oh," answered
the man, 44 1 took it, doctor." ' Yes, I
know you did; but where is the pre
scription P" 44 1 swallowed it," was the
reply. The patient had made a pill of
the paper, and faith in his physician's
skill had done the rest. Faith is a rare
wonder-worker. Strong in the belief
that every Frank is a doctor an old Arab
who had been partially blind from birth,
pestered an English traveler into giving
him a seidlitz powder and some poma
tum. Next day the chief declared tbat
ho could see better than he had done for
wenty years Chambers' Journal..
Words of Wisdom.
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
Knowledge is more than equivalent
io force.
Duties fulfilled are always pleasures
to the memory.
Proud hearts and lofty mountains are
always barren.
The trees that are most in the sun
bear the sweetest fruits.
It is a curious fact that from vice to
virtue the road is a long and hard one,
while from virtue to vice the road is
very short.
Some men grumble because they have
no opportunity, while others go to work
to make opportunities for themselves.
We make solemn promises to be aw
fully good when we are in danger of
death, but when we begin to get well
we forget all about tbem.
It is not safe to have ton many irons
in the lire. When a man tries to catch
two rabbits he must needs leave one and
s apt to lose the other.
When a man married a large but
homely woman some one at the wedding
said that he took her by weight anl
didn't care for the workmanship.
Proverbs.
" Christmas cornea bat once a year.
This is a glorious, hearty old proverb,
full ol generosity and permission to go
to the lull length's enjojment. If the
children scream more loudly than usual
with deligSit if the boys and girls
dance and frolic wildly; or paterfamilias
purchases a present which is a little too
extravagant never mind it, for once;
44 Christmas comes but orce a year!"
Forget and forgive, go d folks, and we
will forget and forgive in turn.
44 Christmas is talked of so long that it
comes at last."
This is an old Norman French pro
verb: 44 On a tantcrie Noel que enffn
il esl venu." It is another cheerful pro
verb, full of the spirit of the season,
meaning that, whatever trouble or dark
ness may intervene, light and joy will
come at last. It is the same as 44 It's a
long lane that has no turning," or "A
fast day is the eve of a feast day." Per
haps it may have the suspicion of an old
superstition, thao if we only hammer
and weary away at anything long
enough, we bring it to pass. So then
1 Talk ot it ere summer's past,
Christmas is sure to come at last."
"Alter Christmas comes Lent."
This is German : 44 Nach weihnachten
komme fasten." Thi3 is a warning and
solemn proverb, something like, 44 It is
dark under the lamp." However, as the
Danes say, 44 Ambolat er ikke rad for en
good forhammer" the anvil does not
iear a good sledge hammer, and he who
has held a glorious feast-tide finds so
much rational pleasure in a season oi
sobriety and quite joy.
" The bow can not he always bent;
Fast Christmas comes the sober Lent."
"A green Christmas makes a fat
churchyard."
A Danish proverb: 45 En gran Jaul
givvn et led Kirkegaarn." This is
merely the old sanitary and weather
theory, that unseasonable weather is
unhealthy. When it is warm in winter
imprudent people expose themselves to
the damp, unhealthy air, or become im
patient of too much warm covering,
and are caught in a 44 cold snap, to their
sorrow." In the old times when most
people dwelt in badly-warmed, badly
constructed houses, such changes in the
weather were of much greater signifi
cance than at present.
' An old bit of a truthful role
A Christmas green, a churchyard full."
Closely allied to this, but without its
terrible warning, we have the German
proverb.
"1st das Wetter nm Weihnacht gelind,
So ireut sich Mann, Weib und Kind."
Which, in English, means :
" Is the weather at Christmas mild,
It is joy to man, and wile, and child.
44 Christmas is a good time to bleed
horses in." This was an old supersti
tion, and was closely followed. The
horses were run up and down until in a
sweat and then bled. As Tusser sings:
" Ere Christmas be passed, let horses to be let
blood;
For many a purpose it doth them much good.
" A green Christmas, a white Easter."
m " Gruene Weihnacht, weisse Ostern."
German, of course. The same has
another form:
" Weihnacht in klee,
Ostern in schnee."
" II Christmas be in clover,
Easter with snow'll be heaped over."
And the same people say: 44 1st das
wetter um Weihnacht gelind, so wsebrt
die Kselte gewoehnlich lange bis Freuh
jahr hinein." 44 When the weather is
mild at Christmas cold weather lasts
into spring." All of which proverbs
receive important modification when
applied to this our North American
climate.
Miss auiock'8 Komance.
It was 44 Jonn Halifax," published af
ter she was thirty years old, that brought
her fame, and made the task of earning
her daily bread a little less arduous.
Seven years later she was awarded a
Sension of three hundred dollars a year,
he was nearly forty when she married.
In 1865 Captain George LillieCraik, an
officer in the English army, who had been
in the Crimea, met Miss Mulock, and,
although some years her junior, ad
dressed her and succeeded in winning
her hand. They proved most congenial
companions, and their married life was
all they could wish, with but one excep
tion. The woman whose love for chil
dren amounted almost to a passion, who
wrote 44 Philip, My King," was denied
the happiness of feeling baby fingers
upon her cheek or of ever hearing herself
called mother. This was a severe sorrow,
but even this pain has been partly as
suaged. Strangely enough, one dark,
rainy night, while she and her husband
were speaking of children and of the
joy and brightness they bring to so
many dwellings, there came a loud ring
at the bell and then a furious knocking.
On opening the door, lying upon the sil.
they found a basket inclosed in many
wrappings. When they were removed
they discovered a lovely little babe only
a fe w hours old. The child was wrapped
in one roll after another of India
muslin, and on its breast was pinned a
note begging Mrs. Craik to be kind
to the little waif thus brought to her
door, and assuring her that no mean
blood flowed in its veins. Tenderly she
lifted the little thing in her arms, and
her heart opened as warmly to take in
the poor little deserted creature. They
called the child Dorothea, God-given,
and she became their legally adopted
daughter, as tenderly cherished and as
passionately loved as though she had
been their own.
Present Population of tbe Earth.
Behm and Wagner's Bevolkerung de
Erde, gives a mass of well-digested in
formation on the area and population
of the countries of the world. The areas
of Europe, Asia, America, Australia,
Polynesia and the polar regions have
been carefully recomputed, and as the
results differ in many instances froi
statements usually found in handbooks,
we give an abstratt of these new
figures:
Area in sta. sq. m. Inhabitants
Europe (exclusive of
Iceland andNovaya
Zemyla).... 3,749,263 315,929,000
Asia 17,209,806 834,707,000
Africa 1 1,548,355 205,679,000
America 14,822,471 95 495,500
Australia and Polynesia 3.457,126 4,031,000
Polar regions 1,745,373 82,000
Total 52,532,394 1,455,923,500
if these fierures are correct, the ocean
covers 144,364,860 square miles, or 73.31
per cent of the earth's surface. The
most populous towns in the world arc
London (3,630,000,) Paris (1,988,806),
Vienna (with suburbs, 1,890,000), New
York (1,500,000), Berlin (1,062,008)
Canton (1.020.770.)
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
When a dead man's property Is pit'
under the hammer, it is a sale of effects ;
but when a man gets seasick, it is the
effects of a sail.
Plants grown in small pots bloom
nore freely than those grown in larger
nes, but are more liable to injury from
irying of the earth.
The newest style of men's ulsters ap
pears with wooden buttons on tbem as
big as bureau drawer handles. These
are to make then to look knobby.
veoria Freeman.
Mrs. Yoakam, ol Coos River, Oregon,
aided by her daughter and one hired
man, carries on her farm, and last sum
mer she laid down 1,600 pounds of butter,
for which she expects to realize fifty
cents per pound during the winter. Be
sides sufficient hay for her stock she has
forty tons to sell.
We find the following in a column of
baseball news: "Muffs, this year, will
be made of velvet, with a center of fur
to match." The center of fur especially
b a brilliant idea, and will be appre
ciated by any one who ever attempted!
to take a " hot liner " and failed to con
nect. Buffalo Courier.
A woman philosopher says it is the
more complex nerve centers in a wo
man which give her greater power of
tndurance, while at the same time they
send rapid communications, and more
of them, to the brain. They act as
many telegraph wires setting in busy
activity this finely convoluted brain.
" I have no patience with a man who
can't remember a thing no longer than
it's bein j? told him," exclaimed Jones,
impatiently. " Now, I can carry a thing
in my mind a month, if need be.1'
" You're a lucky dog, Jones, " quietly
remarked Pendergast, quietly ; " it isn't
everybody that has so much room in his
mind as you have, yc- know." Boston
Transcript.
Wolves are threatening large districts
within hail of populous towns on the
northern shore of the Gulf of Finland.
Eleven children have, during two
months, near llango, been carried off
by those ferocious marauders, stealing
down from the neighboring woods to
the very threshold of the peasants'
houses. The Finish authorities have
oftered a reward for the head of every
wolf killed or captured. Two kinds of
dogs are indicated as most serviceable
in wolf hunting. There are sheep dogs
and bulldogs; the former to drive tSe
game and bring it into a circle, and the
latter to pull it down-
Wow a way is suggested to help the
shipwrecked; for there is no doubt that
as in seasons past, so in months to come,
vessels will be wrecked, and half
drowned people rescued from the waters
by the brave surfmen of the life-saving
stations. But the station buildings con
tain no adequate supply of food, stimu
lants and clothing for the use of those
who are rescued, Cut generally exhaust
ed and ill from their struggles with the
waves. The Women's National Relief
association proposes that needed stores
be kept at each station, and calls upon
the charitably disposed to aid in fur
nishing what Is necessary. Donations
of beef tea, flannels, bedding, clothing,
or anything else which would be useful,
con be sent to the armory of the Twenty
second regiment.
Vitality.
The highest vitality is characterized
by the vigorous and harmonious work
ing of all the bodily organs. There it
connected with it the power tc digest
and assimilate food and to transform it
into heat and force; to eliminate freely
alt waste products from the system, to
expel within limits deleterious sub
stances that may find their way into
the circulation through the Jungs, stom
ach or skin : to repair the effects of ao-
cidental injury; and to enjoy, without
painful reaction, the normal activity ol
tbe brain, muscles, senses, and the nat
ural appetites. To persons of high vi
tality, there is pleasure in the mere
sense of being, and vastly more in the
full and well-balanced employment of
bodv. mind and heart. There slumbers
within them, at all times, a great power
of achievement. They are equal to
emergencies, though so calm may be
their life that their neaiest friends may
not perceive how much ia in them unti 1
those emergencies, which break down
others, may call them to the front.
A low vitality is the reverse of this.
The person is effected by petty, disturb
ing causes, and readily yields to almost
every deleterious agent. The machin
ery is constantly getting out of order
if it may ever be said to be in order.
The infant is puny, and, in the majority
of cases, dies within two years. If he
manages to survive, he reaches adult
life in a staie of chronic inva idism.
He can "bear nothing;" is dyspeptic,
nervous, hysterical, neuralgic, peevish
and fickle; is easily discouraged; at
tempts little, accomplishes less ; and, if
he drags along to old age, often wishes
himself dead, and wonders how or why
he lives.
Now these are extremes, between
winch is every variety of grades. The
difference is often a matter of heredity.
Yet the best constitution may be thrown
away by over-feeding, sensual indul
gence, passion, anxiety, fret, lack of
diversion, improper food, insufficient
sleep, foul air, over worK of body or
brain, indolence, or an aimless life. On
the contrary, the feeble constitution, by
care, may be lifted to a high grade of
vitality. Parents should know enough
of physiology to begin right with their
children; train tbem to right habits,
and fix in their minds, while still young,
right ideas of morals and hygiene.
Good Advice to Young Men.
The following, from an exchange, is
true to the letter: The most unfortun
ate day in the career of any ycung man
is the day on which he fancies there is
some better way to maVe money than to
earn it ; for from that feeling spring the
many extravagant and visionary plans
which are indulged in for the purpose
of gaining a livelihood without labor.
When a young man becomes thoroughly
infected with this feeling, he is ready to
adopt any means for the accomplish
ment of his objects, and, if he is foiie
in his efforts, upon the crest of the wave
which has already mounted, and in full
view, is the temptation to crimes, to
shield him from the disgrace which he
thinks must inevitably follow in the
wake of defeat. To tho e he yields.and
the first he realizes he finds himself the
violator of the law, and a criminal in
the eye of the community, and the in
mate of a prison, waiting trial, all
brought about for the want of a little
manly firmness in the outset of life to
prompt him to choose an avocation
where the penny earned would bring
with it its sure reward.