THE PEOPLES’ ADVOCATE.
VOL. I. NO. 20.
Better Things
Better to smell the violet cool than sip the
glowing wine;
Better to hark a hidden brook than watch a
diamond shine.
Better the love of a gentle heart than beauty's
favor proud;
Better the rose's living seed than roses in a
crowd.
I
Better to love in loneliness than to bask in
love ull day;
Better the fountain in the heart than the
fountain by the way.
Better be fed by a mother's hand than eat
alone at will;
Bettof to trust in God than say: “My goods
my storehouse till.”
Better to be a little wise than in knowledge
to abound;
’ |
Better to teach a child than toil to fill per
fection's round.
Better to'it at a master’s feet than thrill a
listening state;
Better suspect that thou art proud than lie
sure that thou art great.
Better to walk the real unseen than watch
the hour’s event;
Better the “Well done!” at the last than the
air with shouting rent.
Better to have a quiet grief than a hurrying
delight;
Better the twilight of the dawn than the noon- j
day burning bright.
Better a death when work is done than earth’s i
most favored birth;
Better a child in God’s groat house than the
king of all the earth.
—George Macdonald, LL.D.
BAFFLED.
It was during the time of powdered
hair and cocked hats—the year 1781.
Off Philadelphia lay the twenty-gun :
ship Ariel, just arrived under command
of Commodore Paul Jones.
There were in the city many persons
who had never seen that remarkable man,
among them the subject of this sketch,
Ben. Wilson—a trim, powerful young ;
Jack-tar of twenty-five, who had lately i
married Susan Gray, a humble but beau- ;
tiful damsel of eighteen. There had
been another suitor, also a sailor, named
Thomas Wright, who hated Wilson be
cause Susan had preferred him, and who,
being of a cruel, malicious disposition,
longed to do him some injury.
Having finished his term aboard one of
the vessels in the harbor, Ben. shipped
aboard the Ariel, that he might serve :
under the renowned hero who, with his j
craft, the Bon Ilomme Bichard, had ;
fought the English frigate Serapis.
Learning that Ben. had shipped, ;
Wright, who, like the former, had never
seen Jones, also became one of the Ariel’s
crew. Neither, however, could yet get
sight of the commodore, who was absent
—would not be back for a week.
In a few days Wright was chosen to
act in the place of the boatswain’s mate,
who was at that time ill. His duties besides
blowing on the call, etc., were to punish !
with the colt—a coil of rope from two to •
three feet long—and also with the cat-o- !
nine-tails, usually termed the “cat,” such j
of the sailors as “offended” against the !
rules of the ship, and he ardently hoped
that he might yet have a chance to tlog
with his cruel lash the man he hated for
winning pretty Susan.
One day some of the crew were grant
ed liberty—that is to say, permission to
go ashore. They were ordered to return
to the ship at nine o’clock. The boat
swain’s mate, Wright, and Ben. Wilson,
were among them, the former on the !
watch for the coveted chance which |
might favor his evil designs. Unfortu- !
nately, Ben. drank, and in a state of par- j
tial intoxication he visited, a few min- j
utes before nine o’clock, when he should
have repaired to the boat, “The Dol
phin”—a tavern not twenty yards from
the landing. Here the landlord accom
modated him with a glass of brandy,
which the young man lifted kigh, saying
at the same time, in a loud voice:
“A health to Commodore Paul Jones!”
Then he left the place, not to go to
the boat, but intending to seek some
other tavern.
It was a dark night, but by the bright
light- streaming through the windows of
the house, Ben, could see a middling
sized, broad-shouldered man, enveloped in
a shaggy overcoat, watching him with a
mingled expression of stern disapproval
and amusement on his broad, weather
beaten face.
“Hold there, my man,” said this per
son, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“What’s your name, and what ship do
you belong to?”
“My name? Why, now, my name is
Ben. Wilson, and my ship is the Ariel,
but blast me if know what business it is
of yours?”
“It is time you went to the boat. You
will get yourself into trouble if you don’t
cro in time. Bear a hand.”
O
“Aye, aye, all very well; but I ain’t
ready yet, do you see?”
“Come, you must go!” and the hand
on Wilson’s shoulder pressed it heavily.
“Let go of me!” cried Ben. angrily;
but the other, half smiling, gripped him
yet more firmly.
Then Ben. made a blow at him, which
the man parried, when a struggle ensued.
Ben. fought his best, but the man at
length succeeded in grasping him round
the arms from behind, in which position
Wilson was literally carried to within a
few fathoms of the boat, when, seeing a
number of the sailors approaching, the
stranger released his hold, caid laughing,
made off in the darkness. Ere Ben.
could pursue, the coxswain and several
other seamen arrived on the spot and
drew him to the boat.
“It’s lucky you came when you did,”
said the coxswain. “We wou’cln't have
waited for you many seconds longer.”
“I wouldn’t have been he.:e if old
Nick or somebody like him hadn't
brought me,” was the reply.
“A citizen, probably,” said the other,
laughing. “We all said that some one
had hold of you, but couldn't make out
who it was in the darkness.
“Just then the boatswain’s mate,
Wright, who had been an unseen wit
ness of the struggle toward its termina
tion, but who, in the gloom, had not
been able to obtain a good view of the
stranger’s face, made his appearance,
coming from the same direction in which
the man had vanished.
“It was I,” he whispered to the cox
swain, who brought Wilson. “He at
tacked me near the Dolphin, because I
requested him to go to the boat. Iliad
to let him loose when I got him most
here; and run, as you saw me, for I was
afraid he would stab me.”
“Ha!” said the coxswain, “it will go
hard with Wilson for striking a boat
swain’s mate. He will be court-mar
tialed and flogged.”
“lam afraid so,” said the hypocrite,
while in his heart he congratulated him
self on this occurrence, which so well
favored his evil designs.
The boat’s crew were soon aboard,
when Wright lost no time in reporting
that he had been attacked and struck by
Wilson. This the latter denied, of
course, saying it was a citizen and a
stranger with whom he had his combat,
but be was not believed, and was, there
fore, ironed and put into the brig to
await the sentence of a court-martial.
The court-martial was held the next day,
when Jones ai rived on aboard, Wilson
being still kept in the brig, whence he
could not s.e the commodore. There
was a singular expression in the face of
Paul Jones when tiie court-martial was
ended, and the sentence of the prisoner
—a hundred lashes on the bare back
with the cat —was pronounced. The
next morning was appointed for the ex
ecution of the sentence. When the time
came, the boatswain gave a long blow as
at his call and shouted :
“All hands on deck to witness punish
ment!”
The master-at-arms brought up the
prisoner and took off his irons. On one
I of the gratings, placed just forward of
the gangway, he was made to stand, liis
feet being fastened with a rope and his
hands secured, wide apart, to the bul
warks. There he stood, his back bared,
his cheek red with anger and shame, his
eyes flashed indignation at the unmerited
punishment he was about to suffer.
Along came Wright, scarcely able to con
ceal his exudation as he drew the cat
from its sheath and lovingly stroked the
strings.
“Go on, boatswain’s mate,” said the
! captain.
Wright lifted the lash on high, but
j at that moment the voice of Paul Jones,
j who now appeared, boomed like thunder
I on his startled ear:
“Hold? Avast, you rascal!”
And he stepped round, so that Wilson
could see him. The young sailor looked
! up at him with a start, then colored, j
then turned pa c.
j “Commodore,” he stammered, “I -I— j
my God, sir!—l was a little in liquor on !
that night, but I recognize vour face. It
! was you who took hold of me there by j
the Dolphin tavern, and carried me al
; most to the boat. Aye, aye, sir, and
God knows I would not have struck at
you had I known who it was—that it
was Commodore Paul Jones.”
“Enough,” answered the latter; “I
forgive you.”
Then he turned his eagle-eyes on
Wright, who turned deadly pale and
cowered, trembling like a leaf.
“The court-martial was a mere farce,”
| continued Paul Joues. “I wanted to
I see if this rascally Wright would really
; have the heart to carry out his accursed
falsehood. Now cut loose that man
| Wilson and put Wright in his place.
! Give him a round dozen, then let him be
broken and put in the after-guard. His
chief punishment will be that of his hav
, ing made an enemy, by his dastardly
conduct, of every man aboard this ship!”
The commodore’s orders were obeyed.
Wright, with every man against him,
alter this, led such an unhappy life
WITM, FOR Aisrp BY THE 2 PEOPLE.
NEW BERNE, CRAVEN CO.. N. ('.. JCLV 31, l*Sli.
aboard the Ariel that he attempted on*
night to desert from the ship. When in
the water he was seen by a marine Z'
guard and ordered to come back, but nol
obeying, he was shot through the hei» i
and killed.
As to Wilson, the fact of his having
strucK, under the influence of liquor, *
man, who proved to be Commodore Paul ;
Jones, had such an effect on him, that,
never after that, greatly to the joy of hi?
pretty wife, Susan, would he touch an
other drop of alcohol.— New York News.
Cliocolaie.
Chocolate is a kind of hard paste, the
principle part of which is the pulp of the
cocoa or chocolate nuts. The cocoa,
from which it comes, is a tree that has j
been brought into great prominence only
in comparatively recent years, although ;
for man v generations it has been excr-!
cising beneficient influences upon mil- I
lions of the human race. The Spanish i
word is coco,signifying nut. The < ocoa j
nut palm grows in warm climates, aud at- j
tains the height of from 60 to 90 feet, j
The stem is similar to an apothecary’s
mortar, being of equal diameter at each
end, but tapering somewhat in the mid
dle. The bark is smooth, of a pale
brown, and the tree generally inclines on
one side. The f:uit is shaped like a
cucumber, green while growing, then
changing to a blush red color with pink
vi ins, and contains from 20 to JO nuts.
The calyx of the cocoa nut palm is com
posed of five sepals; the petals are five,
lengthened into a strap like form at the
apex. The stamens arc five each with
double anthers, and a horn
like appendage between each fila
ment; the style is filiform with a five part
ed stigma, the fruit a five celled capsule
without valves, the seeds embedded in a
soft pulp, and thick, oily, wrinkled
cotyledons. The species chiefly used in
the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate
are cacao, and the fruits are collected
from both wild and cultivated plants,
the size and form of which vary with the
species. The cacao tree is carefully cul
tivated in many of the settlements of
Spanish America, and particularly in
Mexico, where, we learn from Humboldt,
it was extensively reared so long ago as
the time of Montezuma, and, whence,
indeed,it was transplanted into other de
pendencies of the Spanish Monarchy.
The names by which the plant and the
food prepared from its seed are recog
nized in the present time are derived
from the Mexican language. The Mexi
can word chocolate is derived from the
sound of the stones as they crash to
gether in the primitive method adopted
by them for bruising the bean and in
corporating the sugar and vanilla, and
from this comes the English word choco
late. The seeds of the cacao were made
use of as money in Mexico in the time of
the Aztec kings, and this use of them is
still partially continued. But the Cacao
tree is not confined to Mexico. It is ex
tensively grown in Central America, Bra
zil, Peru, Venezuela, Caraccas, Ecuador,
Dcmerara, Guayaquil and Surinam; it
is also extensively cultivated in Trinidad,
Grenada, and is found in some of the
other West Indian Islands, but that
coming from Caraccas being considered
the best.
Electric Alarms in Vineyards.
Mention was made some time since in
these columns of the use of an electric
alarm in vineyards, by which warning of
the approach of a low degree of temper
ature at night was at once communicat
ed, in time to permit of the lighting of
prepared bonfires, in order to ward oil
all danger of damage from frost. By tliq
method described it was necessary tc
keep a number of men under engage
ment, so that -when the alarm was given
| no time might be lost in getting the fire?
started. This has proved the most ex
pensive part of the plan, but a Glen El-
I len v.ticulturist has, by an ingenious in
: vention, entirely obviated this difficulty.
: Attached to the frost bell of the ther
j mometer are wires leading to the heaps
of combustible matter kept in constant
preparation. A little gun cotton is put
in each bonfire, and when the tempera
ture reaches thirty-three degrees a spark
is at once communicated to the cotton,
and the bonfire is lighted without the
intervention of human agency. The in
vention is a valuable one, as thereby a
great saving is effected. — San Francisco
Chronicle.
Stating a Problem with Exactness.
“Bessie, if there were three apples ou
the plate, and you took one, how many
would be left?”
“If Fred was here, mamma?”
“That wouldn’t matter.”
“Yes it would, mamma.”
“Well, with Fred here, then.”
“Mamma there wouldn't be any apples
j left.”
“Why not, Bessie?”
‘ ‘’Cause Fred wonld take the other
; two.” — Philadelphia Call.
A LOGGERS LI EE.
Perils and Privations of the 1
Maine Lumbermen.
flow Logs are Driven From the Distant j
Wilds to the Lumber Mill?.
A Bangor (Me.) letter to the New
Fork World says: This city, once the
greatest lumber market of the world, j
hough doiug a much smaller business
;ban in Penobscot's palmy days, is still
he home of expert loggers and drivers
ind the headquarters for the most ap
proved kinds of lumbermen’s irnple
neuts. Such is the fame of Bangor
iaat-dogs and axes and batteaux that
| )pcrators in the comparatively new log
ging regions of the west and far-off Pa
! nfic slope send here for them. But it is
| he men of the Penobscot who are prin
i lipally sought, not for cutting the logs,
| for almost anybody can swing an axe,
! Dut for the perilous work of driving the
j bgs through rapid waters and over roar
ng falls and swift rapids. Every spring,
Alien the trees have been felled and
Alien the warm sun has transformed
frozen streams into rushing torrents, men
from the Kennebec and Connecticut
mine to Bangor to hire crews who arc
Ilevcr with the axe and cant-dog, and
tvho are not afraid to break a jam or
lleep on the bare ground in a single
blanket. They are especially anxious to
get Bangor boys when they have a hard
drive in prospect, for they know that the
Penobscot red-sliirters will pull them
through if it is a possible thing.
Not many people understand how logs
Ire driven from the wilds where they are
?ut so many miles to the great booms
Qear the mills where they are sawn into
lumber. It is a peculiar and a hazard
ous work, and when a lot of drivers start
iway for the headwater with their pick
poles, cant-dogs and axes it is just as
natural to expect some of them never
trill come back alive as it would be in
?ase of a company of soldiers starting for
a battlefield. After the loggers get
through dumping the logs over into the
/rozen streams but a brief period ensues
before the snows and ice melt and carry
the big spruce sticks in great masses
down stream and create big jams, back
ing the water up so that many of the
logs are floated over submerged flats, to
be left high and dry when the first de
tachment of drivers break the jams and
let the water loose. Then the drivers’
work begins. The grounded logs, in the
upper country where horses cannot be
Used, must be carried to the streams by
the men, and often it requires twenty
strong drivers, wading knee deep in
mud, to carry a single stick to the water.
The farmers whose meadows are thus
Strewn with logs often claim the timber
as a recompense for the obstruction it
causes to their operations, and at times
they appear with shotguns to prevent the
drivers from carrying oIT the logs. But
the boss driver orders his men to “bring
that stuff down,” and the “stuff” gener
al 1 comes.
Several crews are employed on a drive
of any considerable size, one at the head,
or lower end, others along the line and
one at the rear. There are many rocks,
rapids and falls where the moving mass
is likely to jam, and these places must be
carefully watched to prevent a general
“hanging up” of the logs. Sometimes
one big stick, caught on a rock, will
bold back hundreds of thousands of feet
and then some daring fellow is ordered
out with an ax to chop away the obstruc
tion. It is at the risk of his life. He
must be quick, for at the last stroke of
bis ax the big log snaps assundcr with a
boom like that of a cannon and then there
is a tremendous stampede of all the logs
behind it. If the driver is lucky and
agile he gets ashore all right, leaping
from log to log, but one misstep or a
little slowness is likely to percipitate
tiim into the seething mass, and if it is
;ver found below, his body is mangled
llmost beyond recognition. Genera ly
it is never found. As the drive pro
gresses the men follow through the
woods or along the rocky, uneven shores
after it, the “wangangs,” or commissary
departments of the different gangs,
going on before. The driver works
as Ions; as it is light enough
to see a log, and when the moon is bright
they often go to work at 3 o’clock in the
morning and continue until the last glim
mer of twilight. Then they eat their
plentiful but coarse evening meal and,
wrapped in their blanket*, lie down to
sleep. While they sleep, which seems to
them but an hour, the “wangan” moves
iliead five or six miles, and when they
iwake there is that distance to waik
through the woods before breakfast.
I'he Japanese believe in bathing. Pub
ic baths are so numerous at Tokeo that
;h .*re is one for every three hundred m
• aabitants.
Submarine Boats.
The problem of submarine navigation
concerning which M. \ erne romanced
fourteen years ago, may be now regarded
as completely solved, and the clever
structure imagined by the novelist is far
surpassed in ingenuity by the actual viv
scl* designed and buiit by M. Norden
felt, a Danish inventor, and Mr. J. F. |
Waddington, of Birkenhead, Eng. The
Nordenfelt vessel is run l*y steam, the
Waddington boat by electricity. The
former is cigar-shaped, steel-plated, 64
feet in length, 12 feet beam, and 11 feet
deep. Two propellers working in a ver
tical direction supply the sinking force,
and a system of balanced rudders keeps
the boat in a horizontal position. The
steam is supplied by a marine boiler for
travelling on the surface, and is stored
up for moving under water. The crew
live in the air space in the hull, which is
sufficient to sustain four men six hours.
This boat has remained underwater over
an hour at a time without inconvenience
to the men, and has been success- :
fully operated at a depth of sixteen feet, j
She has been run 150 miles on the sur- ■
face, without recoaling, at a maximum
speed of eight knots, and under water 16
miles at a maximum speed of three |
knots. Although this is comparatively
a low rate of speed, the vessel is re-
garded as a complete success. Mr. i
Waddington’s boat is also cigar shaped, !
but somewhat smaller than the other, j
being 37 feet long and 6 feet in diameter i
at the center, tapering off to the pointed •
ends. A tower is mounted on the boat, i
and her depth of immersion below the
water surface is regulated by external
inclined planes, placed one on either j
side and controlled from within. She i
is fitted with a rudder placed aft, and a |
self-acting arrangement serves to keep j
the vessel in its horizontal position. She I
is manned by a crew of two men, and a i
supply of compressed air is provided tor
occasions when the boat remains sub
merged for any length of time. The
motive power is electricity, which is
stored on board in 50 cells. These drive
a screw' propeller, and the charge they
carry is sufficient to propel the boat for
10 hours at a speed of nearly nine knots
an hour, either below the water or on its
surface. The cells also supply lights
through glow lamps, and drive a pump
for emptying the water ballast tanks,
which are filled for submerging the
boats. This vessel has been given several
trials near Liverpool, England, with
results that are declared highly satis
factory : — lnter- Ocean.
A Struggle for Principle.
, A rainy day had housed us up in the
cabin of a Tennessean, and about 9
o’clock in the morning a man who was
addressed by our host as Uncle Billy came
riding up through the steady pour on a
mule. The animal was placed in the stable,
and as the two men entered the house our
host observed:
“Well, Uncle Billy, how’ll you trade
mules ?”
“Oh, ’bout $3 tew boot,” was the an
swer.
They returned to the stables and talked
until noon. Then we had dinner, and
they talked until 4 o’clock. The rain let
up a bit then and we went out to see a
cave, leaving them talking mule. We
returned at G and they were still at it.
We had supper, and the interrupted con
versation was resumed and kept up until
9 o’clock. We went off to bed with
Uncle Billy saying:
“Tell ye w’hat I’ll dew. I’ll trade fur
$3 tew boot.”
It thundered about midnight, and I
woke up and heard that mule talk still
going. At 6 o’clock I got up. Uncle
Billy was iust riding away.
“Well, how r did you come out ?” I
asked of our host.
“Beat him down to $2 and three bits,”
he replied.
“So you saved two shillings?”
“Exactly, though I wasn't working for
that. It was the principle of the thing
which I looked at.”— Detroit Free Press.
Fhotog»*apliy in Ophthalmology.
Messrs. W. T. Jackson and J. I). Web
ster have lately succeeded in obtaining
good photographs of the retina of the liv
ing human eye, illustrations of which are
given in the English Photographic News.
They were able to bring the time
of exposure for the negative to within
two minutes and a half, and it is very
probable that technical skill will further
reduce the time and difficulties. The
chief obstacles to shortening the time of
exposure, so far encountered, are the
color of the retinal reflection and the fact
that the lens of the eye has the property
of absorbing the ultra-violet rays. It seems
highly probable that the photograph will
here become a valuable adjunct to the
physiologist, opthalmologist, or even the
I general physician, as the eye affords the
; diagnostic aid in not a few' diseases.—
I Science.
I’RK E.U ENTS.
Alone.
Sim'o she went borne—
Tli*' evening shadows 1 nger longer here.
The Winter <ia'* till -» much of th*' year,
Aud even Summer winds are chill and drour.
Since >he went home.
Sinoo she went home
Tli»* n‘bin's note lias touched a minor strain.
The oM glad -ongs brvatho but a sail refrain.
And laughter sobs with hidden, bitter pain.
Since >be w nt home.
Sinop she went h *me —
flow still the empty rooms her pre^ne*
Mvssed;
Cntoueluvl the pillow that her dear hea l
pITWKtI;
My lonely heart hath nowhere for its rest.
Since she went home.
Since she went home—
Hie long, long days have crept nw iy like
years,
•*he sunlight has lssm dimmed with doubt i
nml fears.
And the dark nights have rained in lonely
tears,
Since she went home.
— J. Hnrdftt
111 MOUOUS"
A "ood year for pics—The current
fear.
The fishery question; Honestly, now
:lill you got a single bite?
It is not patriotism which leads doc
tors to go to war. It's pillage.
The dogs that went naked all winter
have put ou tlieir summer pants.
Age appears to increas • the value
.if everythin" except women aud but
ter.
Oliver Wendell Holmes calls a kiss a
lisping consonant. lie should have added
also that it usually follows a-vowel.
We never speak as we pa s by;
Although a tear liodims his eye;
1 know he thinks of when ho wrote
His name across my three months’ note.
A bore, meeting Douglass, said: “Well,
what's going on to-duy?” “1 anti’ 1 ex
claimed Jerrold, darting past the
Intruder.
A new song is entitled, “Take your
girl some candy when you visit her nt
night.” The writer is probably a con
fectioner.
A somewhat weather-beaten tramp,
being asked what was the matter with
his coat, replied: “Insomnia; it hasn't
had a nap in ten years.'*
There are few disappointments in life,
equal to that experienced by a man, w ho
expects that lie is going to sneeze and
suddenly discovers that he can’t.
Employer (to collector) “See Mr.
Smith ?'* Collector “Was he annoyed
at your e tiling upon him ?” Collector
“Not a hit. He asked me to call again.”
ST!I.I, UK WONDKKH,
The young man g<x*s to see his girl,
And then what does lie dot
He wonders if six * a week
Is money enough for ‘J.
This life would indeed be a blank,this
• world a dreary and desolate waste, if, af
ter a misfortune has befallen us, we Had
no friend to call in and say, “I told you
so.”
An exchange says that a folded news
paper placed under the coat in the small
of the back is an excellent substitute for
an overcoat. Now is the time to sub
scribe.
A big advertiser was overheard the
i other day as he made the following judi
; cious remark: “You cannot eat enough
in a week to last a year, and vou cannot
l . .
j advertise on that plan either.
If they indulge in many more terrific
tornadoes in the brisk and breezy West,
Horace Greeley's famous admonition will
have to be modified to “Go West, young
man, and blow up with the country.”
“Are we going to have a picnic this
i year (” inquired a youngster of his Sun
day-school teacher. “Why, what d 6 you
want of a picnic?*’ “Nothing much;
but I can get six new scholars in a hurry
if you are going to have one.”
Tyler’s Sccon I WiCfc*
A few years ago a friend loaned me a
book containing the reminiscences of Mr.
Wise. In it he says that he was rifling
j out one evening with President Tyler,
who informed him that he was going to
marry Miss Gardner.
“Why,” said Wise, “she is too young
■ for you.”
“Not at all,” leplied the President,
“I’m still in my prime.”
“That reminds me,” continued, Wise
“of au old colored man down in Vir
ginia, who was generally consulted by his
old master on any affairs of importance,
to both. The old master was a widower,
and when hr got the consent of a young
lady to marry him he communicated the
fact to the old man. ‘My sakes,* said
Sambo, ‘she is too young for you;’ ‘Not
a bit of it,’ answered the master, ‘Pin
still in my prime.’ ‘Yes,’ responded
Sambo, ‘you are in your prime now, but
wait till she gets in her prime, then
where will your prime be.’”— CouT&r
j Journal.