L
VOLUME 11.
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16,. 1876-
NUMBER 33.
the PEKNY ye meant to GTE.
There's a funny Uvle of a stingy man,
Who was none too good, but might have
been worse,
Who went to his chureh on a Sunday night,
And carried along liis well-tilled purse.
When the scxtou came witlrhis begging-plate,
The church was but dim with the candle’s
light;
The stingy man fumbled all through his purse,
And chose a coin by touch and not sight.
It's an old thing now that guinea’s should be
So like unto pennies in shape and size,
u I’ll give a iienny,” the stingy man said ;
‘The poor must not gifts of pennies despise,’
The penny fell down with a clatter and ring!
And back in his seat leaned the stingy man !
oThe world is so full of the poor,” he thought,
“ I can’t help them all—I give what I can.”
Ha ha! how the sexton smiled, to he sure.
To sec the gold guinea fall in his plate!
Ha, ha! how the stingy mau’s heart was
wrung,
Herceiviug his blunder, but just too late ?
“ No matter,” he said, “in the Lord’s account,
The guinea of gold is set down to me,
They lend to him who give to the poor ;
It will not so had an investment he.”
** Na na, nion,” the chuckling sexton cried
out:
“ The r.-ord is ua cheated—he kons thee
well •,
He knew it was only by accident
That out o’ thy lingers the guinea fell!
He keeps an account, na doubt, for the puir!
But in that account He’ll set down to thee
No mail- o’ tiiat g*lden guinea, my mon,
Thau the one hare penny ye meant to gi’e!
There’s comfort, too, in the little tale—
A serious .ride as well as a joke
A comfort for all the generous poor,
lu the ctuiiical words the sexton spoke.
A comfort to think that the good Lord knows
How geuerous we really desire to be,
And will give us credit in his accemnt
Fur all the peuuies we long ‘to gi’e.’
—H, II., in St. Nicholas.
HOW SHALL WE TliAIN OEK
GIRLS 3
Americans always censure that
usage which in England gives
tlie titles and estates to the oldest
son, and leaves the others, too
often to shift for tlieniselve.s, or,
what ivs worse, to sit down in
wean and beggarly dependence
on the favorite one.
But do not many among us
make quite as unjust a distinction
between the bo^'s and girls of
their families ?
All Americans, except snobs
and simpletons, rear their sons,
no matter what their prospects,
to some honorable business or
lirofession. But too may train
their girls for mere parlor play
things, and defraud them of all
chances for honest independence
in the days of darkness which may
come. There is an insane idea
among a certain class, that an
idle girl ignorant of all the useful
arts of life, is a lady above her
who applies herself to study, and
learns to do something thorough
ly—who has an aim in life.
The hope of such weak parents
is that their daughter may make a
great marriage, and be the orna
ment of some elegant home.
Will this be less likely if she
knows how to order a borne, if
she is well read, if she is skilled
in music, in painting, in writing,
or sewing ? Will she bo less a
lady in her own home for having
had the training of a sensible wo
man in her father’s house I
Suppose this girl never marries
—many noble women do not—
and that her riches take wings,
and the strong arm she has leaned
on fails ; what is to become of
her then ? She will be utterly
helpless, and will become an un
happy woman, whom the world
can lose without missing.
The Princess Louise is an artist,
and has illustrated the poem
which her noble young Imshand,
the Marquis ot Lome, has recent
ly published.
There is is no royal road to art,
and her skill, like that of any
other woman, is the result of stu-
d}' and labor.
Bismarck’s daughter is what we
in America should call “a capable
girl,” Besides her accomplish
ments, she has great skill with
her needle, is versed in all the
good German home arts, and is
possessed of rare good sense
and kindly virtues.
Let us be done with the non
sense which awards the- title
“gentleman” to our sons who
work, and denies that of a “lady”
to any but aimless, useless girls.
Let our girls all have a chance
for honest independence in this
world of many changes.—The
Watchman.
A BETKOSPECT OF CENTU
RIES.
One hundred years ago : Amer
ican Independence.
200 years ago: King Philip
(the Indian) defeated and slain ;
habeas corpus in England.
300 years ago : massacre of St.
Bartholomew; Spanish Armada
preparing.
400 yeai’s ago: printing inven
ted: Isabella the coming Queen.
500 A'ears ago: tlie days of
Tamerlane the Turk, and Chau
cer the English poet.
GOO years ago: Baliol and
Bruce; St. Thomas Acquinas;
Richard Bacon; Hapburg House
founded.
700 years ago : Richard Occur
de Lion and Saladiii, sultan of
Egypt measui'ing swords in Pal-
istiiie.
800 years ago: William the
Conqueror.
900 years ago : Huge Capet the
Frenciiman.
1000 years ago: Alfred the
Great.
1100 years ago: Charlemagne
and Haroun A1 Raschid.
1200 years ago: Moiiammedan-
ism making lively work in Con
stantinople and other places.
1300 years ago : old Chosroes,
the Persian, lives by murder, and
the Pope is made a secular judge
among kings.
1400 years ago: the Saxons
lively in Britain; Clovis estab
lishes the French monarchy, and
the Visigoths conquor Spain.
1500 years ago: the Roman
Em])ire having legislated many
years in favor of capit:il against
labor, begins to fall to pieces.
ICOO years ago: the world lias
nothing better to do than to
broach and denounce heretics and
get up religious persecutions.
1700 years ago : Marcus Aure
lius, dkioitus and Plutarch.
1800 years ago; Jerusalem
destroyed and Herculanium and
Pompeii buried.
1876 years ago: all the world
at peace and Christ was born.
6000 years ago : Adam rose to
the dignity of a large real estate
owner, but by poor management
was driven into involuntary bank
ruptcy.—Chicago Journal of Com.
of Beau-
BE MAPPY.
Samuel W. Latham
fort countv, has an orchard which
contains 6,000 apple trees, from
which he expects to realize 20,-
000 bushels of apfdes the present
■\'ear.
There are many people in this
world who areafraulto be happy,
who go moping about with the
accumulated mould of sourness
clinging them so closely that
nothing short of an earthquake
or resurrection could shake it off,
thereby denjdng themselves the
pleasure of seeing the laugh-side
of nature that trills and ripples all
over just like sunshine. Surel}'
there is enougli joy in God’s
workshop to sweep out all sad
ness if we would but seek it.
Shall I tell you when you may
hope to find this antidote for sor
row I When the angels have
enlarged and purified your own
heart. When pain, fear, woe an
guish, hunger, thirst has penetra
ted through every corner. When
you have lived long enough to
detect the mockery in the key
note of living. When you depend
less upon the disposition and acts
ot otliers than on j-our own.
When the rooms in j’our head
and heart are all rented to re
spectable tenant, whose articles
of agreement will be to keep the
furniture and drapery in repair,
and whose lease will only expire
with life. AVhen forgetfulness,
selfishness, envy, malice, hatred
and all the catalogue of deadly
sins will be rare visitors instead
ot fixtures. When love, jojq hope,
care, thoughtfulness, and above
all, cliairity have taken possession
and will thus secure to you the
full and unabridged edition of hap
piness in tills world, as well as in
world No. 2, and will open up a
thousand avenues—a thousand
outlets toward God’s siifFering
cliildren, and the poor, whom ye
have always with you.—Buth, the
Gleaner.
INAUGURATION HAY".
When the day for the inaugur
ation of the Present of the United
States was fixed upon the fourth
of March, it was for the reason
that the date occurred seldom on
Sunday. But twice during our
history lias the Inauguration day
fallen on tliat day. The first was
the second inaugural of James
Monroe, the fifth President, Marcli
4, 1821. The second was wdien
Zachary Taylor was made Presi
dent, March 4, 1849. Being Sun-
da}’, his inauguration did not take
place until the next day. The
third will be the ne.xt inaugural,
March 4,1877. This will happen
three times during each century,
or one year after every seven
leap years. Except when passing
from one century to another there
is a slight variation, as will be
observed in the following dates of
the past and future inaugurations
of the first two centuries of tiie
republic : March 4,1821 ; March
4, 1849: March 4, 1877; March
4,1917; March 4, 1945; March
4, 1973.
Barn Destroyed.—We learn
from a gentleman irom the neigh-
hood of Mill Grove, that the barn
of Mrs. Harriet Parks in that vi
cinity, was struck by lightning
last Saturday evening and totally
destroyed, with all its contents,
one mule and a quantity of for
age. All her live stock except
the mule, were out in the field at
the time and thus escaped des-
tiuction.—Concord Sun.
THOUGHTS FOB SATURDAY
NIGHT.
Time’s chariot wheels make
their road in the fairest face.
Crabbed age and youth cannot
live togetlier.
We see time’s furrows on an-
others brow ; how few, them
selves in that just mirror, see !
Cbildhood itself is scarcely
more lovely than a cheerful,
kiiidl}’, suusliiny old age.
Old age was naturally more
honored in times when people
could not know much more than
what the}’ had seen.
To guard the mind against the
temptation ot thinking there are
no good people, say to them:
“Be such as you would like to
see others, and you will find
those wh-o resemble you.”
Testimony is like an arrow
shot from a long bow—the force
of it depends on the strength of
the hand that draws it. Argu
ment is like an arrow from a cross
bow which has equal force though
drawn by a cliild.
Spero Speroni explains admir
ably how an author who writes
very clearly for himself is often
obscure to bis readers. “It is,”
he says, “because the author pro
ceeds from the thought to the ex
pression, and the reader from the
expression to the thought.
Objects close to the eye shut
out much larger objects on the
horizon, and splendors born only
of the earth eclipse the stars. So
a man sometimes covers up the
entire disk of eterniiy with a dol
lar, and quenches transcendent
glories with a little shining dust.
Christians make a great mis
take in their own interests, when
they are careless in their obser
vance of the Lord’s Day. The
old Puritan Sabbath was proba
bly a grim, unlovely institution.
But better the Puritan Sabath
than the Continental Sunday.
But there is an observance that
is not superstitious, and that is
not lax. The Cliurch presents
the Lord’s Day as a Christian fes
tival. The mistake that a Chris
tian makes in losing the substan
tial benefit of the day is so great
that it amounts to a sin. We
would not venture to say that
God inflicts physical judgements
upon “Sabbath breaking.” The
punishment that befalls those who
do not “remember the Sabbath
Day to keep it holy” is, the loss
of the benefit that comes from
hallowing tlie day.—iAnd to an
intelligent Christian such a pen
alty • ought to be punishment
enough.—Standard of the Cross.
A little boy and girl each five
USES OF AMMONIA.
years old, were playing by the
roadside. The bo} became an
gry at sometiiing, and struck his
playmate a sharp blow on the
cheek, whereat she sat down and
began to cry. The boy stood
looking on a minute and then
said : “1 didn’t mean to hurt you,
Katie, I am sorry.’ The little
girl’s face brightened, instantlty
the sobs were hushed, and she
said : “AYell if you are sorry it
don’t hurt me.”
No housekeeper should be
without a bottle of spirits of am
monia ; for besides its medical
properties, it is invaluable for
household purposes. It is near
ly as useful as soap, and its
cheapness brings it in tile reach
of all. Put a teaspooiiful of am
monia in a quart of waim soap
suds, dip a cloth in it, and go
over your solid paint, and see
how rapidly the dirt will disap
pear ; no scrubbing- will be nee
essary. It will dense and bright
en wonderfully. To a pint of hot
suds, add a teaspoonful of the
spirits, dip in your forks and
spoons, or whatever you have to
clean, rub with a soft brush, and
then finish with a chamois skin.
For washing- windows and mir
rors, it has no equal. It will re
move greece spots from every
fabric, without injuring tlie gar
ment. Put on the ammonia
nearly clear ; lay blotting paper
over, and set a hot iron on it lor
a moment. Also a few drops in
water will cleanse and whiten
laces and muslins beautifully. A
few drops in a bowl of water, if
the skin be oily, will remove all
greasiness-and disagreeable odors.
Added to a foot bath, it entirely
absorbs all noxious smells; and
nothing is better to remove dan
druff from the hair. For cleaning
hair and nail brushes, it is equal-
ly good. For heart burn and
dyspeysia, the aromatic spirits, of
ammonia is especially prepared ;
ten drops of which, taken in a
wine glass of water, will give re^
lief. 'For house plants,, five t*-
six drops to every pint of water,
once a week, will make them
flourish. It is . also good to
cleanse plant jars.. So be sure
and keep.a bottle of it in the
house, and have a glass stopper,
as it eats away corks.—Selected.
Seven miles from Osaka is Sa
kai, one of the oldest cities in Ja
pan. Some years ago several
foreigners were murdered here,
and tor participation in this crime
twenty men were obliged to com-
o-Jt hari-kari in one of the temp
les of their city. Ever since Sa
kai has been one of the most dif
ficult places of access for foreign
ers in Japan. It has now been
opened to Gospel preaching,
mainly through the effort of sev
eral native members connected
with tlie congregation of the
American Board at Osaka. The
government has oermltted a buil
ding to be rented for divine ser
vices, and the Bible and mis.sion
newspaper are now exposed for
sale in a city which was notori
ous for its opposition to foreign
ers.
Among the most aged people of
the world are Mr. and Mrs.
Peoples, of South Carolina, aged
one hundred and twenty-one and
one hundred and twenty-three
years, respectively.
It was the beautiful expression
of a Christian who had been rich,
when he was asked bow be could
bear his reduced state so happily :
“ Vfhen I was rich, I had Cod in
everything; and now I am poor,
I have everything in God.
Ten years ago there was
not a Methodist Church in Sweed-
en. Now there are seventy so
cieties, fifty-six jireachers, fifty-
six localpi’eachers, five thousand
members, and thirty-one churches
which have a seating capacity of
twelve thousand.