North Carolina Newspapers

TKc FLOWLRS COLLECTICH GAZE A Democracy Our Banner Truth. Our Standard 3 CAETHAGE, MOOKE COUNTY, N. C, THUESDAY, JANUAEY 1, 1885. NO. 17. VOL. III. MOORE - J BIDE. To the men at work in the field Ruth came running and crying, With steps that staggered and reeled, Dress, ribbons, and hair all flying One hand pressed to her side: "Little Mary is dying! - Ride for the doctor ! Ride! She hag eaten the poison paste Mixed for the vermin! Haste! Raddle the horses? Away! Death will not linger or stay! Ridel" II. While they saddle the black, While they bridle the gray, "Hurry!" Girth Knotted, buclde-a-lack Black rearing, gray pulling lack, (Harry is often delay.) Richard ran straight to the hall Where, leaning against the wall, A horse that is always ready, He caught as he ran his wheel, HI eed of rubber and steel, Silent, and fleet, and steady, Set door-way and gate-way a-flying, Leaped to his seat at a stride, And was off likoa bird on the wing! (Kide!) - III. Seven miles off is the town (Ride!) ! The roadway, winding and brown Smooth and hard as a stone, Runs the long valley down. The rider is riding alone, And his feet, like pistons plying Drive the pedals around, , And, like an engine flying, He skims along the ground. (Kidoli So rapidly, so silently The slendtr wheel did glide That the gray line of the road Backward under him flowed, - Li ke a f reshet-swollen stream And the trees on either side ' Seemed floating in a title. His pulses throb and bound; Like engine pull's of steam Is the panting of his breath; But he rides a rare with death Ad his single thought is (Kide.) IV. Now he is rising the hill; Heavily go his feet. Driven by desperato will ; (Ride!) His breath is a sob, and his heart A hammer that strives to beat His rocking rils apart; He reels and sways in his seat; ' His teeth gleam white and bare Where his lips are parted wide; The sweat driis under his hair; He cannot see aright For the black specks in his sight; But he will not pause or bide A moment's breathing spa; Sweet Ruth is his hoped-for bride; There's a double stake in this race! (Rido!) , ; V. At last he is over the brow; The village lelow him is lying; Legs over the handles, now Down the long slope he is flying; Like skimming swallows that glide Down the long slant of the wind. (Ride!) The swiftness of his pace Dashes the wind in his face; His sight is ro longer blind; . His cars-have ceased their humming; . His heart beats easy e'ain ; He draws his brapu without pain; ,4 And when ho reaches the plain, i time:) Lightly he sits in his seat, "jAnd the strokes of his rapid feet Are fast as the ceaseless Wat Of the ripples of a tide. And the wheel leneath him springs Like a bird to the strokes of its wings, Like a lover's thoughts to his bride. (Hide!) VI.. The doctor's fast-trotting nmre3 Is -fleet, and her load is light; Hut the village jK-ople stare As ho lashes her to flight. With a rush, a scramble a scurry, The dust spurns under her feet - i' "Hurry!" Put. ere she has tovered a third Of Tier rare, like a low-llying bird . Comes stealing liesido her wheel The steed of rubber and steel, Forcing the mare to her stride; Its rider sits lightly and strnightly ; Well over his handle bar, Spinning the jednls greatly, As, leaning forward far, He shouts to tho doctor: "Ride:" VII. Hnlf way on the road they meet l no galloping hoiemen:-r "Hurry!'' Pell-mell, worry and hurry, They follow with scampering feet! Now the house is in sight; at the gate Ruth waiting: "Thank tiod! not too late!" Oh, Richard!" As panting he stands. She flass him with loth her dear hands: Ami he knows as he catches his breath And looks in her tear-streaming face, Not in vain has he ridden his race, And beaten the champion, Death. - -VIII. It is done! The race is over and won ! Tho wheel st ill stands in the hall. And gleams a iul glistens with pride As, leaning against t ho wall, Silent, tireless and steady, A horse that is always readv. It seems to invite you to ride "it; And it hears the bridegroom and bride, Li the twilight, standing leside it. The murmur of vows they repeat, Tho parting of soft lips that meet, The hearts of lovers, that lieat Like the patter -of baby feet; But never again may it "feel, While rubber and metal abide. Such a thrill as ran through its teel ; When Ruth to the startled men criej "Ride!" Resident Bate, in Outing. MADAM WHIMS. BY M.VRGAKKT EYTIXOE. A young girl, who had just arrived, was the center of a group of women on the porch of the old-fashioned hotel in WHdgrapcisle, a little island the medi cinal qualities of whose springs, ' especi ally in the case of nervous complaints, were just beginning to be known, one lovely August evening. "And now" said she. after the usual , . welcoming speeches ana complimentary remarks about the heeominolnao if l,n, ,..!: costume had all been made. " T.ii Zi who i hero" ' who is here. "Oh! the old set," answered tnree ot nis friends together. " With the exception, "added two or three more, "of Madam Whims," chorused all the rest. "Madam Whims," repeated the new arrival. " What a very odd name." "Oh! ft isnt her real name. plained several of the ex one group in Voice again. " Her real name ) " Suppose one of the party enlightens me while the others remain "silent." in- -fcrrupieu ine girl laughingly. ' It's contusing, vou know, listen ills on VnllX .s to be in totalSfance - -xdiihiim in itjx in rnrai X1 " wvm iLuuiauuc. sused to be a capital story- Hi' teller in our school days, and that isn't far enough away for your tongue to have forgotten its cunning, and bo suppose you Earrate and oblige yours truly, Bell Morrison." "There isn't an v. story to tell, .Bell, my dear," replied thi'fvjuthful, bright-eyed matron thus singled out. "The case is simply this: A lady is stopping Here she came aooui inrce eci name is Mrs. Eleanor Halpin, but whom our circle with common consent have dubbed Madame Whims, because, my dear, she really is the whimmiest of whimmen. Pun intended hope you all see it." "I recognized it at once," said Bell, "having met it many times before, not ably inlhe old verse which, if mj mem ory serves me aright, runs somewhat in this way : "When Eve first wooed with love so kind Her Adam called her .wooman; But when she brought him grief and woe, Why, then he railed her woeman. Since then the men declare the sex With follies overbrimmin', And so they've changed the name again, And no w they cal 1 them whimmen. " "Am I to go on, or have you any more verses to repeat?" asked Mistress Maud. "You are to goon and goon quickly," answered her sprightly friend, "for I haven't had my supper yet and I shall soon be awfully hungry. You said last she was the 'whimmiest of whimmen.' Pray tell me what shapes her whims take?"' "Oddities of dress, principally. .When we first beheld her, two days after her arrival she had kept her room in the in terimshe wore a sort of tnrban, appar ently evolved from a large, soft, crimson silk handkerchief, tilted rather rakishly over the left eye. It was not altogether unbecoming, but it was extremely queer. In a few days the turban was discarded and she appeared, in very long, very loose gloves, morn, noon and eve, breakfast, lunch and dinner, for nearly a week. Then she came down with a cane, a handsome one, and walked with an af fected little limp for another week. Then a lace scarf graced her head, tied down 6vcr her ears, my dear, with a big bow under her chin. And to-night, warm as it is, she has several yards of white illusion twined around her throat and standing up at the back of her neck in a manner that strongly suggests an Elizabethan ruff."" "Which suggestion of an Elizabethan ruff I suppose t shall have the pleasure of seeing," said Bell, "as each vof my lady's vagaries seem to last for several days. But tell me something about her self, Jtfaud. Is she pretty? Is she clever? Is she wife, widow or divorcee? If wife, what kind of a husband has she?" "Well, she is not usrly, rather pretty, in fact, and somewhat clever; so we in fer from what conversation we have had with her, which is very flittle, for it is one of her whiins to have Iher husband alwavs at her side, and yiu know how ard it is for women to-(talk -to each ther when there is a man ground. . By the by, we also infer fro: the never- varying brightness of her lace that she must be a very happy, ve, sweet-tem- pcred woman. ' "And her husband?" "Oh! yes, I was coming to him. He is a splendid-looking fellow (though Kate Dutton, who is given, you know, to finding resemblance to animals in human beings; declares there is a hint of a tiger about him), but we are not particu larly interested in him, because to tell the truth, my dear, he hasn't shown the slightest interest in any of us." "And how does he appear to regard his wife's whiiifS?" "With extreme indulgence. I see him looking ut her peculiarities of dress, sometimes, with the kind of smile with which a fond parent regards the trick of a spoiled child." "Spoiled child, indeed!" here joined in a sharp -nosed, thin -lipped elderly dame, who had evidently thus far been holding her tongue with great difficulty. "1 have no patience with him. WThy don't he make her take off these fal-de-lals (Maud hasn't told you about half of them) and dress like a Christian? I would, mighty quick, if I were he. But as he don't I should think that compan ion of hers Mrs. Gregg who seems to be a sensible person and to have some influence over her, might prevail upon her not to make a show of herself." "Perhaps she is the sort of a person who can't be prcvaled upon," said Bell. "I guess you arc right," acquiesced Mistress Maud, with emphasis. "She has a very determined look at times about her mouth, though it is a small and smiling one. And her bir. 'dark gray eyes meet your gaze almost de fiantly." "Defiantly! Impudently I call it," re sumed the sharp-featured lady.; "and I'm sorry for her husband, I am, for altogether I've no doubt he has a pretty hard time of it. I'm sure if I were a man I shouldn't want my wife tagging 'round after me every step I took, especi ally if I had a wife like Madam Whims, eternally devisin' ways and means, in spite of her pretended devotion, of at tractin' attention." " That is false!" said a voice from the drawing-room window, and the next moment Mrs. Gregg, a tall, pale woman clad iu black robes, stepped out upon the porch. " False !v echoed the unlovely spinster. " Yes, ' false;' and to mv mind the time has come when the truth should be told. I cannot, in consideration for her, take the dreadful responsibility of keep ing my mistress' secret any longer. Ladies' that splendid Wking fellow so bound to the side of bAs wife would had it nnt luion f. V.- i: i . 1 -ivi iili auyuiiu love ana devotion, have been long ago the inmate vl . l,u,uu' oi a lunatic asvlum. Onn'f hn frit. ' tned he h.as ?ever hurt 1 one but her - J- - - or. years ne has been subject to insane . Paroxysms whose fury he vents upon the J5 wi m me nuay. unce over them he is sane as you or I. For several weeks past these attacks have been much more frequent than ever be fore. But no one has suspected them, even in this crowded hotel, for having as you have already suggested Miss Dutton, something of the tiger about him, it is but a stealthy bound, a noiseless, heavy blow, or two or three received without a murmur and then he sinks into a profound slum ber Irom which he awakes utterly - ' f!i:.U J" Wlfe'? ?him9' Th? rasiic turban concealed a wn.mrl the left temple, the long gloves covered bruised hands and arms, the scarf was tied about the swollen cheek and the yards of illusion wrapped around her slender throat to-night bide the marks of cruel fingers. 'Madam Whims!' Madam Saint, I say! 'He only hurts me, she prays, when I threaten disclos ure. 'He only hurts me and does not mean to do it, as you well know, Gregg, for he loves me dearly and I adore him. What he does in the wretched moments that he is not himself I can bear, but to be parted from him forever oh! that I could not bear.' She came here in the hope that the waters might do him good, but he has, as I have told you. grown worse, and after to-day's experience it would be crime for me to remain silent any longer. 'Give me the name, please, of the best physician in the my God !' what was that?' she broke off suddenly to exclaim, as a pistol shot rang out upon the air, and then she fairly flew back through the drawing-room, out into the hall, and up the stairs that led to her mistress' apartment, followed, almost as swiftly, by the horror-stricken women who had been .listening to her story. Throwing open the door of the sitting-room she entered, leaving the others huddled together in the threshold. "Too late! too late!" she cried; look there. And there on the floor, beside a couch Which held the form of his wife, lay the lifeless body of Luke Halpin. "He has killed her in one of his insane moments," continued the companion in a shrill, unnatural voice, "and finding her dead on awaking has taken his own life with the pistol I thought I had so care fully hidden from him. And see, see, wringing her hands while the tears rolled down her cheeks, oh! what a pitiful sight she played 'Madam Whims' to the last." ' And pressing silently forward they saw that the dying woman, with some wild idea of hiding the act that had cost her her life, and shielding him who was far dearer to her than that life, had with her last strength draped a gauzy shawl over the knife-wound" in her breast, but the tell-tale blood had drip ped through and stained the white stlk dress she wore with spots of vivid red ! Detroit Free Press. Kamchatka: The hills are covered with forests of fir, larch, cedar, birch, etc., and in these are found numerous wild animals, such as the fur sable, the otter, foxes of all colors, and the bear, which latter, on account of the- great supply of food, attacks neither man nor the domestic animals. It is curious to note that the squirrel, which is universal in Siberia, is not found here at all. Swans, wild ducks, etc., are found in great quanti ties in the lakes and marshes in the in terior, and their eggs, as well as the birds themselves, are taken in great num bers by the people. The fish, which throng the rivers in enormous numbers in the summer, form the principal ' food of the natives. For the most part they are salmon, and are dried and stored up for the winter, but owing to the scarcity and dearness of salt the fish frequently become rotten, and the people suffer great privation. The rigor of winter is much softened by warm ocean currents, which create those thick continuous fogs that render the coast so dangerous to navigation. The total popula lation of both sexes is put down at only 6,500 souls, but owing to the total ab sence of agriculture, and to the primitive methods adopted for preserving food for winter, these are frequently in a state of semi-starvation. For all except bare food they have to look abroad clothes, utensils, tea, tobacco, etc., and all these they purchase by means of their fur sable, which is unequaled in any other part of the world. About 5,000 of these skins are sold each year at fifteen or twenty rubles each. At the beginning of the present century cattle were intro duced from Iakutsk, and, owing to the excellent grass and water, would have thriven well, but on account of the lack of industry or energy on the part of the natives, it was found impossible to lay in sufficient stores of fodder in winter. The question whether agriculture is possible in the peninsula has never yet been answered Markets exist in the ports of Eastern Siberia, which are at present supplied with such articles as salt meat, butter, cloth, and hides from San Fran cisco. The main obstacle to agriculture is the excessively damp and constantly foggy climate. The sun. seldom shines, and does not, therefore, give enough warmth for the growth of rye and wheat. The trade is almost wholly with Califor nia, and as there i3 little or no money there it is carried on by a system of ex change, the natives offering their sable skins in return for such goods as they require. Nature. Popnlar Superstitions. Speaking of Governor Cleveland's luck, the thought occurs that there are undoubtedly lucky men aud unlucky ones. One of Girard's rules was never to have anything to do with an un lucky man. The Rothschilds will not employ a man who has a reputation for ill-luck. Most people are believers in ill-luck. History is full of it. Crom well trusted in . September 3, Napoleon in December 2.. Many great men have worn trinkets to give them luck. Many a woman who puts on her stock ing wrong side out will not change it. Few care to be one at a table of thirteen. In Russia they will not pass the salt. Men hate to do anything im portant on Friday. Millions believe in the virtues of the horseshoe. Even the most sensible people have little confi dence in the ultimate success of a man who has ben the victim of an extra ordinary run ot ill-luck. A man s in telligence aud integrity count for noth ing in the popular estimation, when people have seen h's enterprises fail one after another. There is a general disposition to believe that it is better to be born lucky than rich. Atlanta Constitution. The statistical account of the produc tion of wool throughout the civilized world shows that in the year 1830 it was 320,000,000 pounds: in 1871 it was nearly 2,000,000,000 pounds, while in 18S3 in the United States alone the pro duction of wool was 320,000,000 pounds, or as much aa was produced in the whole world in 18-iO. Sleeplessness caused by too much blood in the head may lie overcome by applying a cloth wet with cold water to the back of the neck. TIMELY TOPICS j An interesting feature of the world's exposition at New Orleans will be.a united encampment of veterans of the war, em bracing the soldiers of the Union and Confederate armies. The board of mana geis of the exposition have voted $10, 000 for this purpose, and 1,000 tents will be constructed for the free accommoda tion of the veterans. Four hundred and fifteen new one dol lar United States notes, from actual test, are equivalent in weight to one pound avoirdupois, and the numbej of notes should be the same of any denomination. It is not, however, perfectly reliable, as the paper upon which the notes are printed often varies, ip. thickness to the extent of 100 notesin a package of 1,000. The municipal authofiies of St. Louis have recently been ''nvestigating the sani tary condition of women employed in the mercantile and manufacturing estab lishments of that city, of whom there are over 1,500. The result of the exami nation was the passage of an" ordinance requiring employers to furnish them with seats, and to permit their use to a reason able extent. Terrapin was introduced into England by Wormley, the deceased Washington caterer, while steward to Reverdy John son when the latter was minister to Eng land. Poker was .ifterward introduced by minister Schenck. No wonder Eng lishmen try to recover the money they have lost through indulgence in these expensive luxuries by marrying rich American girls. There are twenty-four gaming-houses and gambling clubs in Paris, and be tween $30,000,000 and $35,000,000 are computed to have been lost there during the last five years. The minimum profits of the banks in the clubs are put down at $1,200 da'ly, and in le'ss select gambling houses at 200. Taking the average' at $400 per day the total for the five years comes out at the respectable figure of $17,500,000. J early $12,500, 000 are set down as the year's "pickings" of the croupiers and preteurs. At La Canada, in L03 Angeles county, Cal., what is known as "corn grass," a wild kind of pampas, is very abundant. During the spring and summer it is green, fresh and abundant, growing to a straight height of from nine to ten and a half feet. Yet the stalks are small, also the roots, but they are so solid that a wind could not blow them an iota from the perpendicular. But in the fall and winter this growth becomes stiff, with a strong fibre, and. with proper ap plication there are many acres of it would make better paper than straw or cactus. Howdon, a dirty, desolate, unsavory village on the river Tyne, is setting at defiance all the theovies of 'sanitation. Its inhabitants live and thrive with open gutters running through the center of the streets, with an inadequate water supply, and with houses condemned at wholesale as unfit for habitation. As an illustration of the longevity of its people under adverse conditions, the fact is noted that a boy was born the other day who had four grand-parents and five great grand- parents alive, each of whom was in active worK, earning ms or ner own livelihood. The Boston Journal is authority for the llowing: "The waste of money in the printing of congressional documents and sneeches in this country which are never read is notorious. The same evil exists to fully a3 great an extent in England. The list of papers iseued at the last ses sion of the British parliament a pure catalogue, closely printed on folio paper takes up lo2 pages! iMore than nail, says an English paper, are useless, and of the remainder one-half are spun out to double their needful size. The tax payer pays, and windy orators ana wri ters continue to pour out tneir endless store of words." Mr. Copeland, of Brookland, has nearly completed the machinery which is being placed under the Union lush company's wharf, Provincetown. This is an invention of Mr. Copeland's, in which the rise and fall of the tide is the motive power. The work is only experi mental, but everything is successiui tnus far. The apparatus consists of a float gliding up and down on studding, which turns a wheel, making only four revolu tions a tide. This wheel is connected by means of shafts and bells to a series of wheels, and in such a way that the terminal wheel makes 240 revolutions per minute. A quaint little machine was recently put in operation at large postoffices in England. It was intended to be labor saving. A penny dropped into a little hopper released a delicate spring which shodts up a postal card. A postmaster might put in a thousand cards in the morning and pick up his thousand pen nies for them when the supply of paste board wss exhausted. Sometimes, how ever, the postmaster leaves the machine out after the cards are all gone. Old ladies and bustling business men rush up, drop in their money, and, to their astouishment, no card - appears. Of course, there is no reclamation. Who can prove that his penny has gone into the capacious maw? So Brother Bull may "gather them in. Senator Don Matias Romero, the Mexi can minister, has transmitted to the secre tary of state, at Washington, a decree issued by the State of Yucatan, Mexico, offering a prize of $20,000 to the inventor of a machine which shall successfully ex tract the fibre from henquin. under the foll&wing conditions: It must be auto matic, and not require skilled and expe rienced workmen to manage it , it must be entirely free from danger to the opera tors; it must require less motive force than the machines now in use wi h rela tion to its producing' power; it must in crease the production of extraction of the fibre within a given time, diminish ing its loss, compared with the various machines in use. The reward is to re main open for three years and is without indice to the rieht of proprietorshin prejudice to the right r and of patent. The following very remarkable hap- related by tne rniiadelphia Press: Twenty -six years ago Samuel G. Simpson, who was then employed in Dubois's jewelry factory, was cutting a piece of gold from a breast-pin, when the piece suddenly flew upward, cutting a deep slit in his eye. Although the ac cident was not painful the sight of the injured organ was destroyed. The piece of gold was 1-64 of an inch thick and of tn oval shape, its greatest diameter being about a quarter of an inch. It could not be found at the time of the acci dent, and was supposed to have been lost. Three weeks ago Mr. Simpson's sye began to give him intense pain and became greatly swollen. For relief he applied to it a bread poultice, which was frequently renewed. "When he re moved the poultice he was astonished to find clinging to it the piece of gold which had cut his eye more than a quar ter of a century ago. No one had sup posed that the missing piece of gold had embedded itself in his eye, asd the discovery was as great a surprise to the patient as to his friends. . The sharp edge of the gold had cut its way downward and come through the skin just below the lower eyelid. There is a scramble for the possession of the Congo country between France and Germany, both of which govern ments seem to ignore the fact that the United States government has any in terest or authority in the master. But the appointment of Hon. John A. Kas son as delegate to the Berlin conference is a reminder that the rights of this na tion will be insisted on. The later ex ploration and development of the Congo valley has been carried on by Mr. Stan ley in behalf of the African International association, of which the king of the Belgians is the head, as a private under taking. The improvements of the vast region, which contains a population esti mated at 50,000,000, consists of roads, channels, missionary stations and trading posts. This work has been done by and with the money , of the asso ciation. Until Mr. Stanley de voted himself to this labor of exploration the country was a dark continent, sup posed to be inaccessible by sea or land. The Congo is so deep that sounding lines have failed to determine its depths, and a complete chain of communication has been established by means of its trib utaries and adjacent banks with a vastly rich and productive region. The exports are ivory, palm oil, ground nuts, rubber, and a great variety of articles, the list being capable of expansion by cultivation. The Dutch traders along the Congo are already doing an immense business. In a report submitted by Lieut. Drake, U. S. N., the capital invested is shown to return the enormous percentage of from 300 to 400, as the exchanges are on the basis of barter. The money of civilized nations is not employed. English im portations already aggregate $3,000,000 annually, and regular line3 of British steamships are running to the mouth of the Consro. The exports reached the sum of "about $10,000,000 last year. Thi3 fertile field of adventure and profit naturally attracts not only the attention of individual speculators but nations as well. Busy Scenes at the New office. York Post- While the rush of New York's outgo ing mail is at its height, and men are working tooth and nail to make some progress against the inundating flood that comes in fiom the business houses, thp ratable of the heavy wagons comes faintly in through the open doorways at the northern end of the building, and a growl of pardonable profanity passes around among tne hard-worked men as tbey think of over 100,000 extra pieces suddenly to be dumped upon their hands. This Is a "smash" in the vernacular of the 'postoffice. It is like a break in the levie to the inhabitants of a Mississippi town, and can be conquered ony by the most herculean efforts. It differs from the western flood chiefly in the frequency of its coming. It is at such times as this that the splendid efficiency of the New York postoffice is shown to perfection. The magnificent spectacle of a regiment of trained men working together with the precision of clockwork, and a keen intensity which causes the great mountains of paper to dwin dle away into a thousand receptacles, is worth going a great way to see. But few are privileged to see it. The post office is a hard nut to crack. It is a nut with two shells. AH can penetrate the outer husk, but when it come to crack ing the inner shell, the penctralia.of this hive of industry, one must have uncom mon good luck to make a success of it. . Exactly how big a " smash" it would take to overwhelm the office is one of these problems that have never yet been solved, for the reason that the office has always come out triumphantly from the severest trials. Considering that the daily average of pieces handled is two and a quarter millions, and the run of mail matter is always more or less irregu- lar, the working force at the disposition of Postmaster Pearson must of necessity be large and flexible that is to say,somc must be qualified to move from one place to another whenever stress comes upon a particular department. nut wnen, on the contrary, the constant pressure of regular work is brought into considera tion, one cannot help wondering that the office should be capable of performing the tremendous spurts which so frequent ly is recorded by it. New York Herald. A Tongh Snake Story. In Paragua, at Guaza Cua, it is re lated that a woman going to bathe in the lake laid her child down under a neigh boring tree and walked down to the water. A gitiola, however, which was on the lookout for prey at the shore, sprang at her and seized her before she could escape. Soon afterward a horse man passing near heard some cries, and on examining around saw the child alone under a tree. Suspecting some disaster, he rode down to the lake and there saw the huge snake swallowing the woman, who was already in up to the waist. Hastily tying his two lassoes together, the man threw the noose over the woman under her arms, and spurrying hU horse succeeded in drawing the unfor tunate woman, s stiil palpitating body from the throat of the monster. Whether the woman survived is not stated. Experts have pronounced South Caro Una tea, cured in a fruit evaporator, equal to the imported article. FOR FEMININE HEADERS, Craze for Jewelry All the people in Ceylon, lrpm the babes " feeling their feet" to old men and women, their steps tottering on the brink of the grave, wear gold and silver ornaments. They even invent new , places for carrying them and it is no un common thing to see a Cingalese belle with the top of her ears covered with gold plate Or wire, a large pair of rings pen dant from the lobes of the ear, a gold or silver circlet around her hair, her nose adorned with rings, bracelets on her wrists, rings on her fingers and silver plates on her toes. Old Notiens Concerning Brldematd. Importance was formerly attached to the colors which the .bride wore oa her wedding day. Thus, li old book en titled "Fifteen Comfoifcs oi Marriage," a bride and her bridemaids are represented conversing together respecting the colors to be used for the decoration of the bridal dress. It was finally decided, after vari ous colors had been rejected, "to mingle gold tissue with grass green," this being considered symbolical of youthful jol lity. Again, that the office of a bridemaid was in times past not altogether a sine qua rum may be gathered from the fact that during the period of the wedding festivi ties, which are often extended over a week, the bridemaids were expected to be in attendance, and to do whatever they could to promote their success. Then there was the custom of "fling ing the stocking," at w hich the bride maids took a prominent lead; a ceremony to which no small importance was at tached. It has been made the subject of frequent allusion by our old writers, and one rhyme, describing a wedding, tells us: "But still the stockings are to throw; Some throw too high, and some too low, mere s none could hit the mark." Misson further informs us that if the ; bridegroom's stocking, thrown by ohis of the bridemaids, leu upon his head, it was regarded as an omen that she herself would soon be married, and a similar prognostic was taken from the falling of the bride's stocking, thrown by one of the groomsmen. It was the bridemaids' duty, too, to present the bride with the "benediction posset," so called from the words uttered over it; a practice thus noticed by Herrick, in his ' Hesperides :" "What short sweet prayers shall be said, And how the posset shall be made With cream of lilies, not of kine, And maiden's blush for spiced wine." Suckling thus alludes to this custom : "In came the bridemaids with the posset, The bridegroom eat in spigte." Once more, the - bridemaids were sup posed to look after the bride's pecuniary interests. Thus', at the church porch, when the bridegroom produced the ring and other articles relating to his mar riage, the chief bridennwd took charge of the "dow-puise," which was publicly given to the bride as an installment of her pin money. Horace Walpole, writ ing to Miss Berry in the year 1791, speaks of the dow-purse as a thing of the past, and writes as follows: "Our wedding is over very properly, though with little ceremony, and noth ing of ancient fashion but two bride maids. The endowing purse, L believe, j has been left off - since broad pieces j were called in and .melted down." " I It has been pointed out. however, that I a survival of the usage i3 preserved in j Cumberland. The bridegroom provides j and when the srvice rcacheg the int' himselt witn gold and crown nieces, with all my worldly eoods I thee en dow," he takes the money, hands the clergyman his fee, and pours the rest into a handkerchief which the bride maid holds for his bride. In Scotland, the bridemaid is popular ly known as the "best maid." and one of her principal duties was to convey tho bride's presents on the wedding to her future home. The first article generally taken into the house was a vessel of salt, a portion of which was sprinkled over the floor, as a protection against the "evil eye." She also attended the bride when she called on her friends, and gave j a personal invitation to her wedding. Lassell's Family Magazine. . Fashion Notes. Very beautiful are the white felt hats brought out for little children. The fur-lined circular remains in favor, but it is not a fashionable cloak. Persian lamb, Astrakhan, and krimmer are all popular cheap furs, gray In lieu of sealskin jackets short man tles of sealskin will be worn this -season. Among rew lining furs come3 a long, crinkled, white fleecy fur called Chinese. The Chinese dragon, very fierce and scaly and very bright in coloring, is painted on some of the new pearl but tons. A new sort of ribbon is made to imi- . tate a network of twine lace thrown on a satin ground and outlined with gold thread. New French envelopes have square flaps, with the monogram on a seal. j gome diagonally and have the seal j oif ; ,f ,, set in the corner. One of the prettiest devices for beauti fying wedding gowns is the use of satin panels, embroidered with orange blos soms and their leaves in the natural size. New York fashion says that the veil, whether of plain or dotted net, shall fall almost to the lips this winter, but shall not cover any part of the bonnet except the velvet binding. Astrakhan cloth is one of the mid win ter novelties ; it is of pure wool, with a rough, curly surface in imitation of As trakhan fur, and comes in black, brown, gray and dark green. The waistcoats of the velvet polonaises impelled 'from Paris are often covered with the same embroidery which borders the skirt panels. It is curved gracefully at the sides and makes a pretty connec tion between the skirt and the waist. 7he Greek plait, which is to succeed thf accordion skirt, if the English man ufacturer? can possibly manage to make it, is only a box j4ait, with about two inches of the outide cut away at the hem, and the Under sides of the fold sloped to the paint where they touch. Any box plaited skirt may be transformed into Greek plaits by the expenditure of time and trouble. The English skirts are made by machinery. THE CHRISTMAS STOCKINOk - , "Doar Santa Claus," wrott little Will in letters truly shocking, 'Tse been a good boy so please" fill a beapaa up this stocking. I want jl drum to malM pa sick and drive my ma max cra ty. I want a dojgie I can kick so he will not get lazy. I want a powder gun to shoot right at my sister Annie and a big trumpet I can toot just awful loud 'at granny. 1 rant a drome big falao f"w; car in no our bo- bvJ racet majt hatch some grand mamma I wantanl' ber ball to into ft in great big in the hal lots an' winders. Ai candy that'l make m sick so ma all night will hold me an' make pa get the doctor quick an' nev er try to scold ma An Santa Claus, if pa says I am naughty it's a story. Jus' say if he whips me I'll die and go to king- dom glory. II. C. Dodge. PUNGENT PARAGRAPHS A crying evil The baby next door. A biue of contention The jaw bone. Wheni is a farmer a tailor? When he bows a cprn-patch. The popular dentist is in everybody's mouth. Sif'tings. Oscar Wilde has invented a new stvle of hat. Flat, probably, so as to fit his head perfectly. Ilatckeye. "This is my engagement ring" said the dashing equestrienne as she surveyed the saw-dust circle under the circus tent. Judge. The young man w"ho would scorn the idea of being a farmer, is the very one who is apt to be an expert in sowing wild oats. Pretzel's Weekly. Now doth tho stylish woman feel Cold chills run down her back, . And straightway runneth she in haste To get a seal-skin sacque. Merchant-Traveler. The average size of the American hm ily is 5.04. Tho decimal probably rep resents the dude, but the statisticians have got it rather large. BostonTran tcrij)'. Oh ! soft is the glance of a maiden's eye. What heart can its witching power with stand? Her voice is the strain of a melody, And light is the touch of her soft white hand. But the maiden remains not a maid for aye And the matron's voice can raise a din. And her hand is heavy, so Benedicts Ray. When it wields a broom or the rolling pin. Jioston Courier. The Xew York Post states that bees do not begin to gather honey until they are sixteen days old. Now we kmjw the origin of the flowery phrase, "sweet six teen." Boston Courier. IT SURELY IS. Sings the winter cold and dreir, Christmas is here; Sighs the leafless trees sere, Christmas is here; O'er the gloomy brake and mere Christmas is hero; And recalls the inad career Christmas is here; Of the youn ; swell cavalier Christmas is here; Who said to his girl, "My deir, Christmas is here; And I'm ne irly broke, I fear Christmas is here." Water. The muscles of the body, says the Youth's C'omjranion, - arc about three fourths water; the cartilage, three-fifths; the brain and nerves and blood, each -four-fifths. The lymph is nearly all water (ninety-seven hundredths). Even the bones are one-tenth water. Of the body, as a whole, sixty-eight parti out of one hundred are water. Moreover, water, not only constitutes the larger part of all the seeffitions, but it holds in solution all the various elements out of which the body is renewed, and is afiowf ing stream to receive again and carry away the waste which is as constantly thrown off at every point. Further, without it the chemical changes in con stant progress in every tissue would be impossible. Now the water of the body is more fixed than are its solids. Like the latter, 'having done its work once, it enters into the great waste current, and is thrown from the body through the skin, the kidneys and the lungs, at an average of ten pounds a day. Keeping these facts in view, the reader will see why water is so much more es sential to life than food -a man being able to live several times as long without the latter as without the former. The following facts, condensed from the American Journal of Medical Science, in dicate the sufferings consequent on a brief withholding of this fluid: In 1377 forty American troopers in pursuit of Indians lost their way, and for three days failed to find water.' The second day, some fell from their horses exhausted. The third day, the most loathsome fluid would have been hailed with delight. The salivary and mucous fluids had utterly failed, and the men were unable to swallow their bread. All were affected with vertigo, dimness of vision and deafness. Many were delir ious. Their breathing became difficult, and they had a sense of suffocation. Their fingers and palms were shriveled and pale. Their minds became affected, so that they grew suspicious of each other. On the fourth night they were unable to sleep. When, the next day, water was reached and drank, for a while it was vomited up as fast as it was swal lowed, and the thirst remained insatia ble until the remotest tissues of the body had obtained a supply. 5 One third of all the banking done in the world is done in England. y the parlor, k4 I loteX 1 .-V '' . - - I 1