North Carolina Newspapers

.... Mr-""-f"--rT'' - ! j THE ROGOMQUNr MAIL, AK INDEPENDENT V- Weekly Family Newspaper. ROC THE ROCKY- MOUNT MAIL ADVERTIS ING RATES : :0:- J. H. & W, L. THORP, One Inch or les, constitutes a Square. "i 1 Square, one insertion. . . $1.00 1 " each additional insertion. ...... .60 1 " 1 month 'i 2.50 1 " 2 months . 4.60 1 " 3- ." , .00 1 " 6 " ...rl.. ........ ...... io.oo 1 " 12 " ..... 15.00 1 Column, 1 year. 125.00 J " lyear... 75.00 f ' Our Country, Eight or Wrong ; if Wrong, to be Set Eight." Cal Scfcarz. ' rUBLISHRUS A PROPRIETORS. Subscription per Annum, in Advance, $2.00 If not paid in Advance. - - - 2.60 W. L. THORP, Editor. ROCKY MOUNT, : N, (.'.. FRIDAY, MAY 10, .1873. VOL. II.r-NO. 4. 4 KY MOUNT MAIL. ' Professional Cards. DOSSEYjB ATTIRE, v Attorney & Counselor at Law, Rocky Mount. IN". O. . Practices in the Superior Courts iof the adjoining counties. Also in the Federal and Supreme Courts. Befit eaerRiee given to the collection of claims in all pnrta of the State, r , : . j J. H. & W, L. THORP, Attorneys & Counselors at Law, Ifcocky Mount, N. C- Practires in the counties of Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash and Wilson.and in the Supreme Court of North Carolina, also in the-Unifd States, Dliitrict Court at , ' BUNN & WILLIAMS, ' ATTORNEYS AT LAW, Rocky Mount, N. C. . WILLIAMS"& BUNN, ATTORNEYS. AT LAW, Haloigli, KJ". O- t7T Hunine -letters may he addressed either to, Kooky Mount (ip 'Raleigh." ..' iuim collected in any part of the State. Practice jii the supreme t'ourt of the State and the Federal . -Quirt at Kalcigh. " - . DANIEL BOND, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Knfielcl, 1ST. C. Dr. I I . 1. rF I IOIil, Offers his Professional Services to the citizen of Kocky,Mouutand vicinity, . : i Office at tlie Iruir istorc. 1 Hotels, CJRY HOTEL, - Na.ir" tho Depot, . - Rocky Mount N . C. .'. COL. G-. -W. HAMMOND, - . - PROPRIETOR. I IOW.VTZD I IOTETU Tarboro, N. C. A. MILLPAUGII, : - PROPRIETOR. ' .1.. J. HAIWOOD, D. W. H. BAOLEY. a ion a 1 i l o t e 1 , ( RALEICU M n I - y m-9 m w Wt ff. BAGLEY & CO., Lessees. J.; PARTON, Manager. : 4ji-ft Hotel, W B. BISHOP, Proprietor, (Fnrhiei Q..nf the ,s()Vi(wio(i Intd; Richmond, Va.). A PETERSBTJKiG, VA. " Petersburg , Advertisements. Mcllwaine & Co., o hocers, . . ' ash Commission Merchants Sycamore Street. Petersburg, Va. : Agcn- for RraiUVy's Superphosphate of Lime, 11. I). ?s-a Fowl Guano, Ueeses Soluble Pacific W. H. HARRTSON & CO., 'tIOI.KS.M.E ASP r.ETAIL , ) .) i if c j ci i rr s , PETERSBURG, VA, OnVrs (o the .North cVrohua Trade the 'largest and t't st selected stock of !.. ; ' . lrui(H, Chemicals; Patent Medicines, Paints, Oils, Fancy and Tc41et - ' Articles - w , F.ver purchased by the' .house,' which will hi sold upoil the most roaQpabfr terms. Those in heed of anything in our line wovild do well byTtnowaig our lrio- l fore jiurcliasiug elsewhere. p . P HnlerH Rolicitfil. I i i . " ' V v ; j . WHOLESALE DEALER I.V Orockery,China & Glassware, LAMPS AND LAMP GOODS. ICe rose ne Oil always on hand. 04 Syoaxuoro Street, , Opposite Iron -Front, - PETERSBURG, VA. t ? '.opcl carefully packed. " - E. A. MARTIN & CO., Commission Merchants, petersburg, va., J, E. LlNDSKy, Agent, ROCKY MOUNT. N. C. HENRY T. ALLEY, WHOLESALE ASH RETAIL ' ' . G O N F E CT I ONER, ; . Fruits, Fancy Goods & Toys, 133 Sycamore Street, Petersburg, Va. Welilnigw nd Partiea fnrninhed. J. T. YOUNG & BR0., Petersburg, Vsu SILVER SPOONS CUPS, CASTORS, , And the best CLOCKS in the : - 1 World for the Pricei . Come and gee n when you visit Petersburg. WHITE, C0RLING & CO., ; ; (Successors to Smith & White,) ' f JOBBUBH AND DEALERS IM ALL KINDS OF FOREIGS . DOMESTIC - ' D RjY G OODS, NOTIONS, &c. " No. 25 Sycamore Street, PETERSBURG, VA. firdem reiectaUy solicited and promptly attend ed to. ; ; i . - , I i i. AK DREW WHITE, C. T. COKLiNO, R. A. MCKENKCT The Fickle Wooer. The breeze besido my lattice strayed , And with rose-virie idly plf ved, And BOf tly wooerd . , In loving mood The sweet rose hidden 'neath.the shade. And all tlje yellow-coated bees Grew jealous of the sportive breeze, .Who stole, away -, . .With willful pray" " The rose's fragrance at Ms'eaae ! , And as his sighing met my ear, " . Cried I, Ah, Zephjjit much I fear ; 1 Yonng trifler, yon J- - Do falsely woo . i " While lingering Meath my lattice here. L-lgaVnMf iii,'iiil wiil. And kiss her, not in love, but play ! And on the air Her treasures rare , -Are sure to fling at close of day ! . Now I've a lover o'er the eea, Who waits a word of love from me Tis not for you , To kissand woo," But you a messenger shall be. . Go take my lover, littles breeze, '. My love and kisses, if ybii please ! Now ppeod away, ' Nor longer stay, . The blushing rose tojsroo and lease WIDOW M'BRIDE. Farmer Prindle.-was a widower. He lived all alone in the old farm-house that had been his father's and his grandfather's before him'.. Farmer Prin die was not hospitable; since , his wife had died five yearglc'ome next Novem bernot a human soul or body had been allowed to enter the house of mourning. But if he wag not hospitable,, he was sociable not because he cared much for the society of his fellow-creatures, but because he wanted to grumble; and, as every one knows, good grumbling requires company. . Every pleasant evening FarmeriPrin dle visited some of his neighbors, and 'favored them with his views .of life. These views were gloomy in nature and stern in expression. ; , . 'You had better get married again? it will cheer you up a little," suggested a kind, motherly woman! Farmer Prindle" shook his head dis consolately. "No, Til neyej do' that. I hae had one good wife and that' enough for me. . Marriage ain't such a cheerful state, either, when you look at , it seriously. Ahd if it wasn't cneerful with the best of women,; as my Lizzie was, what would it bewith-one as wasn't so good ? Answer, me that Mrs. Crane. " "It is kind of; lonesome for a man to be all alone" in a rambling old hotise," she said, pityingly. . ''And the Bible says so too, you know,' she added, try ing to fortify her position. Farmer Prindle . smiled grimly.! "Maybe so. But it is better to be lone some than pestered, and there ain't a woman round here as is worthy to tie on my Lizzie's shoes, anyhow." "I don't know," said Mrs;' Crane. "There's Widow M'Bride; she is a nice, smart little body, and " "Widow, M'Bride ! she ! I wouldn't have her for' ther weight in gold!" thundered Farmer Prindle '' "I ain't so sure as she would have you, either; there's Aplenty 'after her quite as good as you be." ,' , "Widow M'Bride!" repeated the fai-m-er. -"To, think of her comparing her self to my Lizzie! Thtit beats all I ever heard in my life." . Mrs. M'Bride ; was short, pltimp, tand jolly almos; to levity, and had,' besides, a very pretty will of her own. She had been a widsnv ten years, and during this period the had allowed several devoted suitors to console her and to lead her almost to the brink of matrimony. But having reached that point, she had al ways retreated,' remembering, just in time, that "her heart was buried in the grave of John M'Bride." It so happened that, the very next day, Mrs. Crane, wishing to make griddle eakes for supper, went to Mrs. M'Bride's to borrow some butter -milk, "if so be she had any to spare. " . ' It so was that Mrs M'Bride could spare some, and welcome. Then Mrs. Crane sat down to have a talk, a thing which most women can always "spare" and welcome too. ' ' Having mentioned this-that, and the other", they finally alighted upon Mr. Prindle's devoted head. "How would you like him for a hus band?" asked Mrs. Crane. "Me? that old man!" laughed Widow M'Bride. 'i "He ain't so old, either; he ain't turn ed fifty yet; and he has got a nice place, and no children to bother." "That's true; but somehow I don't fancy him; he is a hard man. And then there's so much work to be done on a farm." . "I guess; there's no more work any where than, a woman has a mind to do. You would know how to manage him, and get along with him. All men are hard enougcj, for that matter; yet it is kind of nico to have one in the house." "But, my dear Mrs, Crane, I don't want a man in my house, I hate men!" "Maggie M'Bride! And you a-flirting like mad!". ... ' . ' t- ' "I never flirt," said the ; widow,, with .awful dignity. , "You know I don't; and I in my weeds yet! And as for Mr. Prindle I wouldn't have him for his weight in gold." . 'i 'Them's the "very words he said about you no later than last night," said Mrs. Crane, throwing prudence to the winds. " 'Widow M'Bride!'. said he, 'I wouldn't have her for heir weight in gold. Thera's his very wordsas true as I live."' j "Good land? Bid lever?" exclaimed the widow. ;1 "No, I. never did hear the like of that Not want me! Did you ever! Well,; I don't want him wouldn't touch him :With a pair ot tongs! So we are eveni you see." , Mrs. Crane departed, not entirely in peace. Jfl wish I hadn't said it," she tiioughtj But, sb,e hdd said it, and it must remain said forever. So thought Widow M'Bride, as she watched Mrs. Crane's retreating form. "You horrid creature! You won't come here in a hurry. And as , for that old man I declare!" Then suddenly a smile shone in her black eyee, and spread all over her faee, till she laughed aloud. "Yes,. I will do it see if I don't!'' Bhe said, .shaking her plump little fist in the direction of Farmer Prindle's "place." The next day, about noon, Mrs. M'Bride went to the bank 'with a fifty dollar bill in he pocket. "Will you have the kindness to change this bill for me ?" she asked Mr. Plum, in the most business-like manner. , With the atetteasure.'' iy Mr.' Plum tstewjligbtlv wsy atrotrt the eheeks wmiytxhit the"eyew.j?j i'4J v. i-r Very5 :easiajrtraay,' he e marked. 1 Then lokiiigvat the clock, and seeing that it wanted five minutes" to twelve, he sadden! remembered that hih landlady wished bim, to be punctual. added, taking up his Eat hurriedly, " and, if you will allow me " " Certainly," said Mrs. M'Bride. She knew -as well as, he did that Elm street and Pine street were as far apart as two streets can well ,be ; nevertheless Mr. Plum's remark was perfectly true he was going her way. , As good luck would have it, whom should they meet at the corner of Elm street but that odious Mr. Prindle ! At that moment Mrs.' M'Bride was so deep ly interested in Mr. Plum's conversation that she did not sea Mr. Prindle. . This made (the farmer angry, for he had pre pared !his shortest; nod and his sourest look for her special delectation, and he felt that he was defeated. Mrs. M'Bride J felt that, she was victorious so far, for she had prepared the meeting. Arrived at her own gate, the widow "said, gratefully, "I will not ask you to come in now, but I am always at home in the evening, and always glad to see my friends." ' ' Mr. Plum looked delighted, said he would be very happy, and actually took off his hat when he bowed himself away an act of politeness seldom performed in Appletown. Let no one take a wrong view of Wid ow M'Bride. As ! she had told Mrs. Crane, she never flirted not conscious ly. Never in her life had she thrown a broadside glance at a man, or smiled at him too encouragingly. "Courting is men's wOrk," she used to say. And there was something about her that helped men to do that work willingly, if. not successfully. Hitherto she had neglected Mr. Plum. -He had lately come from a large town to fill the position of cashier in the Apple town bank, and it. was said that " he didn't think much of country folks." To bashful young men Mrs. M'Bride was as tender as a mother ; but, pride was not to her taste, and she thad been rather cool to Mr. Plum, j However, at the be ginning of her campaign he seemed to be exactly the man! she needed to carry war into the enemy's camp. Mr. Plum was in jevery thing the op posite of Farmer TPrindle. He was a " city man," with city manners and language ; he was handsome, to, with black eyes, black hair, and the blackest mustache m Appfetown. It was not the style of beauty that Mrs. M'Bride ad mired ; but then, as ske said to herself, " that horrid old thing will think he is an Apollo':" Mrs. M'Bride was right there. The " horrid old thing," Peter Prindle by name, did think that Mr. Plum was " a handsome puppy 4 all hair and no brains." . . . Mr, Prindle, was rather bald, and prided himself on his brains ; and im mediately after that meeting on Elm street he began to l-despise Mr. Plum, In a large town far away there lived a swee.t little girl, who honestly believed that Mr. Plum was " too good for -thi world," certainly too good for her : yet he had vowed that he loved her. But they were poor, and they must wait. While he waited. Mr. Plum led a very endurable life, and once a week he wrote to his love, telling i her how lonely; he was without her. Mrs. M'Bride knew nothing of the littje girl, but had she known, it would have made no differ ence in her plans, for she considered Mr. Plum too young to fall in love with her. - . This little war of the "weight in gold" began in tMay,.and during the following summer Mr. Plum's devotion to Widow M'Bride was the general topic of conversation. " Did you ever !" said the women, forgetting what they had seen before. " She's hooked him!" said the men, with a knowing wink. As for Mr. Prindle, he- spent nearly all his evenings at Mrs. Crane's, smok ing, his pipe by the side of Mr. Crane, and freely expressing his disapproba tion of. Mrs. M'Bride's behavior. " It is a shame ! and ske that's old enough to be hismother! It is her money he is after." ' He had said this so often that Mrs. Crane got tired of it at last ; and as she had made up her little quarrel with the widow, she determined to stand up for her friend. t "And why should it be for her money?" she asked. "She is good enough for any man '; and as long as you don't want her yourself, why don't you let her alone ?" ' ' " Of course I don't want her," growled the farmer. . " Oh, . you needn't be afraid ; she wouldn't have you if you wanted her. When I told her what you said about it-" . j j . - Then Farmer Prindle got up, and standing in the middle of the room, he forget his mother's teachings, and ut tered very bad language ! after which he went away without saying good night, and did not return for several weeks. . ' "And he was as mad as mad can ber said Mrs. Crane to the widow, when she related that little incident to her. ,. 1 "Men are so foolish," said Mrs. Mc Bride, complacently.' Accidents will happen, and an acci dent did happen to Mr. Prindle: he was invited, to a tea-party, "I won't go," he said to himself. "Yes, I will, too. Why shouldn't I? I ain't afraid of her, if she does know. I meant what I said, every word of it !" So Mr. Prindle adorned himself and went. He looked very well in his black coat and clean shirt, but he did not know it. In the matter of good, looks men are either too vain or too modest, and Mr. Prindle was a too modest man. j Widow M'Bride was there in herpret- tiest "weeds," looking like a full-blown rose 'in a bed of autumn flowers, for this was a middle-aged tea-party, 'and she was the youngest woman in the room. She had made herself agreeable to the ladies, as she always did ; but when the gentlemen came in she felt re lieved, and soon proposed a waik in the garden,. '- y , -i '' ' - The proposition 'wa jweepted, and, by some- fateful 'chance, Sir;. Prindle? found Mmself walking by" the widow's feideAt first he felt rather sheepish. 1 Although he had . meant fwhat , he .had said, "every word of it,"; he could not help wishing he had not 'said it. Was she angry ' f he wondered 7' xf Angry J ,"No summer sky could be more sofflr serene thar,,vidow's fair idfowrctroriie she called her ''widow's cap." . ' "I suppose you have a great many flowers , in your garden," she said, milldy. ' " . ' . -5 " i ' '.' No ; I don't care much for flowers," said Mr. .Prindle. . "Don't you? I love them; I couldn't live in the country if it was not for flow ers and trees and birds. '"j "Farm-work wouldn't suit your taste, I guess." ' . ' tr " Not at all ; I should hate it so ! It would make my hands so. hard and brown." And she gazed at two hands, on which dimples had taken the place of "knuckles." T Mr. Prindle looked at the han3s too. "It would be a pity to spoil them by useful work, wouldnt it?" he said, not amiably. "I think it would. A lady must have white hands, you know." ' . " And yet," said Mr Prindle, speak ing almost angrily, "I knew a woman, the best of women, who was as good as any lady in the land, if she did milk the cows and make her own butter and cheese. She didn't think of her hands !" "She must have been a saint," said the widow, softly, " I hope she got her reward in this world, i I am not like her." " fc "No, I shouldn't think you was ! Farm life wouldn't suit you, would it ?" said Mr. Prindle, revengefully. . "No indeed ! If I had my choice I; would live in New 'York, "or Paris, or London," said .Mrs. M'Bride, trying to reriember which was the largest city in the world. 1 ;' 1 " Well, I think you have had your choice, as far as a city man goes. Al-j lew me to congratulate you, Mrs. M' Bride." " Congratulate me ! Upon what, Mr. Prindle?" . " People say Mr. Plum is to be the happy man." ! - - "The happy mlin? Oh, I see what you mean! I hope he will be happy, but not as people say." I: - "And why not ? If I may ask.'' "Oh yes, you may ask ; it is no secret. Because, Mr. Prindle, I never intend to marry again. Never! Not if the Emperor 6f China himself should ask me!" . "' , r. We all nurse an ideal of some sort. It appears that Mrs. M'Bride's ideal was the Emperor of China ; and consid ering how impossible it vas for that gentleman ever to fall in love with her, she might have been pardoned for con fessing her weakness. ' But Mr. Prindle was not in a forgiv ing mood. "You would make a fine empress, wouldn't you?" he said, scorn fully. ! i . . Fortunately tea was ready. The guests were called in, and Mr. Prindle was di rected to sit next to Mrs. M'Bride. He tried to think that he disliked that ar rangement, and yet he felt that he liked it better than any other." Mrs. M'Bride was as gracious as an empress, and strictly agricultural in her conversation. She was very fond of apples of brown russet especially and her apple-trees were not doing well; she was thinking of having some of them, grafted. . Did Mr Priddle know how it was to :be done ? Mr: Prindle kindly told her all he knew about grafting, and still more kindly offered to come and look at the trees. ' When it was time to go home, Mr. Prindle, to his profound astonishment, heard himself offering to escort Mrs. M'Bride. The lady was so used to be ing escorted that she was not astonish ed in the least, but having to "hold up her dress," she declined Mr. Prindle's arm, and trotted independently by his side, 'chatting merrily as she went. "What a cheerful little thing she is!" thought Mr. Prindle, "and so pretty too! She ain't so bid, either not near so old. as my "- Then he stopped and called himself "a fool," and Mrs. Crane an old something else. Thcnext day he came taCuk at Mrs. M'Bride's apple-trees, and was politely received, but not asked into the house, the widow having met him at the gate. But these trees must have been very in teresting trees, for he came.several times to look at them. At the end of a month his perseverance was rewarded by a general invitation to "come in any time." And remembering that Mrs. M'Bride vas one of his neighbors, Mr.' Prindle called upon her once in a while. Grad ually she seemed to be the only neigh bor he had, for he came almost every evening, and never grumbled while he was there, so, it must have improved his temper. ' " One thing amused and puzzled the widow so she said and that -was that brown russets rained anonymously into her house. "And they are so nice! I wonder who sends them?" Whoever sent them would have' been rewarded by seeing the widow's white teeth bite into them. "Don-'t eat too many of them, boys," she would say ; "the red apples are just as good. These are mine, you know." - The merry month of May had return ed. Looking out of her window one afternoon, Mrs M'Bride beheld Farmer Prindle coming toward her house, dress ed in his very best black suit. And as she looked she blushed, and , her eyes sparkled. ' . . ; The blush and the sparkle had both disappeared, however, when she greeted Mr. Prindle and invited him to sit down. .' '' ' " No,- thank you, standing will do as well. I will come to the point at once : Mrs M'Bride, will you have me !" "Dear me ! No, indeed ; I won't have anybody." "Don't say no without thinking. I am dreadfully in earnest about it as you would know if you knew all.'' " Then, Mr. Prindle, I am very sorry, but I won't have you." "Why not? Because of what I said ?" "Oh, no, I didn't mind that in the leasts But there are reasons " ' " What reasons ? Tell me." " In the first place, you don't love me." . "Don't I?" "Yon didn't say So." ' " No, nor I won't say it, because you know it." "That is not the way, Mr. Prindle.'' It is my way, and I can't change it. Will you think about it ?" No ; it would be no use. I can not give np-y'"weeds". , . ' " Weeds? What. weeds?" "I mean my widow's cap. T-will wear it till I die." " Not if you are my wife I can tell you." " But I don't-want to be your wife. Good-by, Mr. Prindle." " Good-by. But I don't give it up ; I will ask you again," said Mr. Prindle. And he may not have been far from the truth when he had called himself a f ooL Precisely a week from that day Mr. Prindle came again. "You may wear the cap if you like," he said meekly. "lhank you. But you are. wasting your time. Please don't think any more about it." Another week passed. " Will he come ?" wondered the widow. He came.' " Now, Maggie, this is the last time. 'Three times and out,' you know; What shall it be yes or.no?" " No, most decidedly !" said thp ob durate widow. ' : ' " Not if I say I love you, as I didn't think I could love ?" 'Not if you say anything. I won't do it. There !" " Then I must leave the place. I couldn't live here after this." " And what would the farm do with out you?" ' " I will sell it. I don't mind that." " Take my advice, Mr. Prindle, and don't do anything foolish Go away for a little.while, if you like, then come back and be friends." t But Mr. Prindle wouldn't take the widow's advice, and he would do some thing foolish. So he went away, and for a whole month no one knew what had become of him. Mrs. M'Bride spent that time in sev eral frames of mind. She was glad, and she was sorry ; it was a great pity, and yet it was very silly. She really missed Mr. Prindle, and she felt sorry for him, " But then I couldn't do it-the idea !" About this time another idea dawned upon the widow's mind, and that idea Avas Mr. Plum. She had been bo ac customed to deal with young men on philanthropic principles that she was slow to admit the possibility of '' such a dreadful thing." Yet if a man's eyes mean anything when they look unutter able things, then Mr. Plum's eyes meant precisely "such a dreadful thing." t ... i Mrs. .M'Bride felt that an evil day was coming, and that she was powerless to ward it off. Coolness did not cool Mr. Plum, and she certainly .could not "speak first." Then came the bitter thought, ' " It is my money he wants!" whereas she well ; knew that Mr. Prin dle's love had nothing to do with her money. , Yes, it was' her , money Mr. Plum wanted but, he was perfectly willing to take her with it. He had reflected much on the subject. On one side was love and a salary of six hundred dollars a small fence to keep off the wolf from the door. On the other side was Mrs. M'Bride and well, why not ? It was to have this question answered thaft he came one evening. The widow was alone, and Mr. Plum, taking the tide of his affairs at the flood, rushed at .once into - melting eloquence. ; But Fortune refused to smile upon him. Mr. , Pium persevered ; he stated his case part of it in glowing language ; in vain. Then Mr. Plum forgot his manners, and asked " why had he been led on to hope ?" Poor sinful little widow! she had a hard time of it. But she: stood firm, and explained matters very clearly also in part. '. She was just in the mid dle of her closing argument when the door-bell rang with a peal that startled her. A sudden conviction flashed into her mind that Mr. Prindle had return ed, and was waiting at her door. Not for the world would she be found by him alone with that angry, red-faced man! , . With the energy-of despair she turned to Mr. Plum and whispered, " You must go away at once." She led him through the sitting-room into the kitch en,, opened the door, and locked it af ter! him. T4en she went i to' the front door i ; No Mr. Prindle was there ; only a boy with a yellow letter in his hand. " It is a dispatch for you, ma'am," he said. Mrs. M'Bride took it. Who was it from ? Had anything happened to any body ? And with trembling fingers she opened the envelope. It was only a business communication, after all: , " I have a good offer for my.farni. Shall I sell er keep ? Signed Peter Pbindle." Bridget knocked at the kitchen door just then, and Mrs. M'Bride let her in. She was retreating to the parlor, when she saw her dispateh lyihg on the floor ; she picked itv up, and sitting down by her little table, she read it again. This time it began with "Dear James." "What!" said Mrs. M'Bride; and open ing her eyes wider, she perceived she was holding a letter written by some woman to whom "James" was very dear. . "Poor little thing !' she said, not meaning dear James. " Ah, these men!" Early the next morning . Widow M'Bride took a walk. She went to the post-office and dropped a letter in the box. Then she went to the telegraph office and sent the first message of the Jhe letter was ' addressed to Mr. James 'Plum, and contained only the sweet little missive. The message was addressed to Mr. Peter Prindle, and contained only one word: "Keep." And Mr. Prindle kept, from that day forward, for better and for worse. The Carlist War. In the Barcelona Independencia ap pears ah account of the capture sof Berga--the centre and key of the upper part of Cataloniaf-On the day of its capture the town had a garrison of 000 men ; the Carlists had a force of 2,500. At one a, it. two men, with lamps, knocked at the gates of the town, and desired admission. They said they were in quest of a midwife. The guards opened, and instantly, by the light of the lamps, saw the gleam of the bayo-, nets of Saballs' approaching party. They fired, and caused many casualties to; the assailants. The firing became general, and lasted all the rest of the night. - The Carlists in the meantime took XLp advantageous positions, and awaited dayligM. When it dawned the attack became r erious. The principal points were defended by a few of the Catalan francos, volunteers, and troops, apparently without any fixed direction. After awhile the CarLists slackened the fire of their muskets, arid threw in ves. sels.filled with petroleum, as also balls of lighted oakum. Entire houses were quickly in flames, and a pass was thus opened for the invaders. In the mean time the authorities concentrated the principal forces in the barrack, the cas tle, and in the parish . church of San Pedro. The flames and the suffocating, smoke of the petroleum kept advancing, followed by the Carlists, who sacked the houses-which escaped the devouring element. The heroic defenders of the weak parapets found themselves obliged to retire towards the forts or else die' ingloriously. , The church of San Pedro offered, for some time, greater resist ance, but at last the petroleum set it on fire and destroyed it in its principal part. The struggle continued until the end of the afternoon, at which time the enemy, with, their train of petrolists, were in front of the barracks, in which the garrison and the volunteers were enclosed, i These were all decided- to continue! resisting valorously in the hopes of succor . arriving, when they were told a capitulation had been arr ranged by their commandante, Morales. This was confirmed by the fact that no attack was made on the barracks. At nine at night the delivery of arms commenced, and lasted till eleven ; 1,200 rifles, 60,000 cartridges, and other mu nitions of war fell to the Carlists. These occupied thirty carts, and, with the prisoners, left under escort in the direction of Font , de Reventi. At a quarter of - an hour's distance from Berga four volunteers were shot, and shortly afterwards two moire. All this occurred on Thursday, but the castle still held out. Petroleum had to be employed to force its brave defenders to lay down their arms. IL hey wqre as sured their lives should be respected, and that they should be perfectly free. Instead of this, when they gave in on Friday they were considered as prisoners of war, and, closely guarded, led out of the town in the direction of Vallcebre. Captain Jack. Captain Jack, the chief of the tribe, and. author of the villainous plot, is a full-blooded Modoc of about thirty years of age, though he looks much older. He has a good head, though like all Indians, the forehead is low and retreating. His complexion is dark, being a bright, copper color, and his eyes are black, full, and piercing. His; hair is! long, hanging down to the shoulders, and his face is entirely des titute of beard. His mouth is large, and its shape indicates firmness and de termination, 'though it by no means de notes cruelty arid baseness traits which Jack seems to possess above all others. In. manner he is cool, self-possessed, and very dignihed. He insists upon being treated with the greatest respect by all with whom he comes m contact, . and the chief ruler of forty millions of people ,c5uld not be a greater stickler for official etiquette than is this same miserable savage. He never smiles. His greetjing; of his visitors on the oc casion oj the visit referred to was., a splendid exhibition of indifference and haughtiness,! notwithstanding at the time he was so ill he could not stand up. Before this act of treachery he was be lieved to be the bouI of honor. Settlers in, the neighborhood who had many dealings with him said that they never knew Captain J ack to do a mean or base act, nor would he knowingly permit any member of bis band to do one. - Ii any of the ranchmen ever complained of any act of , peculation or other annoy ance, Jack was sure to visit punishment ufoon the head iof the offender. He was elected chief of the tribe two Or three years ago,-and Squire Steele, of Yreka, acted as judge of election a fact which has alwaysmade Steele Jack's fast friend, j He was the Jast man in the tribe who it would be thought could be guilty of bo base an act an act en tirely out of; keeping with his .past character. San Francisco Chronicle. A Tender-Hearted Pickpocket. An exchange has received the follow ing curious letter, and prints it for what it is, worth : . ' StB: Please advise your readers al wavs to leave their names and addresses in their pocket-books." It freqeently i - i ii. .i Happens in our pusiness mai wtj come in possession of port-monnaies contain ing private papers and photographs which we would be glad to return, but we have no means of doing so. It is dangerous to carry them about so we are forced to destroy them. I remem: ber an instance where I met with serious trouble because I i could not make up my mind to destroy a picture of a baby which I had found in the pocket-book of a gentleman which came into my hands in the way of business on the Third avenue road. I haddost a baby myself, the year before, of the same age as this one, and I would have given all I had for such a picttf re. There was no name in the . port-monnaie, and no way of finding out who was the owner, so like a fool I advertised it and got shadowed for it by the police. Tell your readers to give us a fair show to be decent and always leave their ad dresses in their pocket-books. We want to live and let live. . Yours, truly, ' A Pickpocket. Leprosy is spreading to an alarming extent among the natives of Honolulu. Facts and' Fancies. ' A Vermont nurseryman finds that 30, -4 000 of his trees have been gnawed by -mice. , , Drained land gives larger props be cause the soil is deeper and the season longer and warmer.' ' Mohammedans in Bosnia had planned -the' massacre of Christians, but were' discovered and thwarted. , J , , Ex-Mayor Tarber, . of Alton, ' 111., bounced out of bed the other night and put a burglar to flight with a poker. A colored womanin Terre Haute, lately retaliated on her liege lord for beating her by pouring hot water on hiin while asleep. ,' ; ' f A fixe-engine, ioaded with sottp suds 41 and lamp black, was lately used to dis perse a crowd of disorderly women in Memphis. '. On tolerably accurate estimate,, about one hundred and . twenty acres of floor ing are contained in the mills in Lowell,- Mass. Miss Lucy Potts, of Petersburg, Va., has just had returned to her a photo graph album taken from her home by a ' soldier in 1865. " ' ; ' Custom-bouse author ities in Halifax are making arreats of the people who plunder the bodies recovered from the wjecked Atlantic. , , ; . , I A report from .Cuba' says f that in a . fib-lit t.wpntvioTiR insure-ents and. four . Spaniards were killed and thirteen ' Spaniards, wourided.' . -A convict in the" Mississippi peniten tiary dug a tunnel 180 feet long and got out. He used the handle of a spoon, and was nineteen months about it. The largest diamond in the world will be exhibited in the Vienna Exhibition. It has been found in the African dia mond fields, and weighs 288J carats. - A lawsuit to recover the value of a duck was dismissed from a; Troy (N. Y.) court,the; other day, after each party . had spent about a hundred dollars on it. ; The Dutch forces in Sumatra have re treated to the beach and entrenched , themselves. They are vastly outnum-i bered . and their losses have been heavy.. . . An Iowa paper half boastingly says i j that it starts on its sixth year with some , subscribers who commenced with 'the j first number, and have never paid a cent. 1 The jury in the case of Joe "Burton, I for outraging a little girl at Georgetown, -: j- . " Delaware, rendered a verdict of guilty, . and Burton was sentenced to be hanged on June 20. Morris Goldstein, a commercial "tour- iof " Vina hppn ordered to riav S100 in a Nebraska Court for obtaining a railroad ride by use of the free pass oi a aeaa Congressman, k . Tho organization of the new mission to San Francisco, Arizona is progress ing rapidly among tne Jtormon m Utah. Two thousand ineq have beeu called for that purpose. . t . ) An old stager was Compelled 'by his worthy spouse to "join the cold water army," which he-did, promising never to touch a drop of anything else except in sickness. He has, never been well since. ' ' . - TliW tpU nf a mother who savs of her baby, that "as it couldn't be handsome like its papa, it's going to be good Uke its mamma." This is the first baby on record that is not the prettiest that ever , was to its mother. ddr, Frv. of Sheridan's staff, who is familiar with the'Modocs," says that they have no pure Indian blood, but are , in termixed with half-breeds, Diggers, and mongrel outlaws generally. 'They are .; smart Indians real or nnxeu. - rton "Rnrnsidp!; Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic of the United States, ha3 issued joraers that the seventh annual meeting: of the Kntinnnl Ficamment will be held at New Haven, Conn., on Wednesday, May 14. ! : The Pennsylvania Supreme CoHrt haa decided, in a murder case, , that the f xri nor Ipclnration of the wife of" the murdered man should not have been ad mittfxl na Hi admission of a dving dec laration is confined jo the person who is tne victim. . A fivp-veftTR old child of Mr. P. NathJ Ca-naAa rmi" nsvpr Tit.tprp.d an articu-: late sound', arid had been given up as; hopelessly mute, until tne otner aay, when its parents were astounded by' hearing it give utterance to several well- ronnded and formidable oatns. I . . . OVllHj VA J.- - . rtwo feet from the ground a hard crust lis frozen so closely to small appie, pear, and other fruit trees, as to tase on, tne bark as the snow settles. Farmers and gardeners in that vicinity have been for several days carefully-removing tne snow and cutting away the crust to save their trees. ; k . Ateaitny rai wnicn aweit m wujun- go station-house undertooK to neip nim sel, from a plate from which an old game-cock, captured in a raid on a cock pit, was eating his dinner. The old. gamester permitted him i to reach? over the edge of the plate and nibble at a, crust of bread, but befpre he had Bwalv lowed the first mouthful, the bock drove one of his spurs clear through him. L In a public house two men were seat ed who had just been enjoying a glass of beer together. Settling time having arrived, the following discussion en sued: "It .was me asked yer ; it's my treat." "lfo.,you paid-last time; it's" my turn." "I tell yer it's my" treat, and I tell yer I shall pay," Vociferated the first speaker. "Well," cried the other at last, " I don't mind ; you pay." "You say I can! pay?" "Yes." "I havn't got any money." "No more ain't The extra pay of Congressmen repre sents, six thousand bushels-of wheat, or 15,000 bushels of corn, or do. of oats ; or 1U,UUU bushels of potatoes;; r, am barrels of flour ; or, 50 yoke q large red oxen ; or, 150 head of fat three-year-old steers ; ; or, 2,500 head of sheep ; or, 45 span of first-class horses ; or, 100 dairy cows ; or, 30,000 laying hens ; or, 15,000 geese ; or, 15,000 pounds of Jbutter ; or, j 600 barrels of eggs ; or, 20,000 pounds of cheese ; or, 18,000 pounds of hopey in the cpmb ; or, 16,000 pounds of wooj ; or, 30,000 pounds (75 bales) of cotton ; or, 2,500 boxes of assorted candy ; or, 2,600 boxes of soap. - V. 'I s !::'i" v ' ' 'It '. - i k -: - M A . ,T7 m