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An Independent Family Keiywpaperi F.r tho Iomotion of the rolltlcj, Social, Agricultural and Coutoienilal Intorertg of tho Sonth,
VOL 7.
LINCOLNTON, N. C, SATURDAY, SEPT;! 13, 1879:
NO. 355.
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What Makes Bow-Legs.
Bow-legs and knock-knees arc
amon 1 lie commonest deformities of
l.nmanity, and a Manchester (Eng
land) physician, Dr. Compton, at
tributes the first mentioned distortion
to a bahit Home youngsters delight in .
of rubbing the sole of one foot against
that of the other ; some will go to
sleep With the soles together. They
appear to enjoy the contact only
when the feet arc naked ; they don't
attempt to make it when they are
Hoaked or slippered. So the remedy
i obvious ; keep the baby's soles cov
ered. Knock-knees, the doctor as
cribes to a different, childish habit,
that of sleeping on the side, with one
knee tucked under the hollow behind
the other. He has found that where
one leg has been bowed inward more
than the other, the patient has been
always slept on one side, and the up
permost member has been t lie most
deformed. Here the preventive is to
pad the inside of the knees, so as to
keep lhm apart, and let the limbs
grow freely their own way. All of
which is commended to mothers who
desire the physical uprightness of
their progeny.
A French Way of Washing
Clothes.
A sytom of washing clot ben bus
lately been introduced in some French
towns which is worth y special meii
ti'ui. Its econoiuv is '.so irrcat as to
gn at ly reduce the cost. This is the
process : T--vo pounds of soap is re
duced with a little water to pulp,
which having been slightly warmed
is cooled in ten gallons of water, to
which is added one spoonful of turpen
tine oil and two spoonfuls of ammo
nia; then the mixture is agitated.
The water is kept at a temperature
which ma j- be borne by the hand. In
this solution the white clothes arc
put and left there for two hours be
fore washing them with soap, taking
care in the meantime, to cover the
tub. The solution may be warmed
again and used once more, but it will
be necessary to add a half a spoonful
of turpentine and another spoonful of
ammonia. Once washed with 6oap,
the clothes are put in hot water, and
the blue is applied. This process, it
is obvious, saves much time, much
labor and fuel, while it gives to the
-clothes a whiteness much superior to
that obtained by any other process
and the destructive use of the wash
board is not necessary to clean the
clothes from the impurities which
they contain.
The Power of Latin.
Some years ago in a-Khode Island
Legislature a member' moved to
translate all the Latin phrases in the
statutes so that the people could un
derstand them. A Mr. 'Updike took
the ground that it was no advantage
to have the people understand the
laws. He said they wero hot afraid
of anything they understood ; that it
was the Latin words they were afraid
"f, and proceeded to illustrate as fol
lows : "Mr. Speaker, there was a man
in South Kingston about twenty
years ago who was a perfect nuisance,
and nobody knew bow to get rid of
him. One day he was hoeing corn,
and he saw the sheriff coming with a
paper, and asked him what it was.
Xow if he had been told it was a writ
what would he have cared ? But he
told him it was & capias satisfaciendum,
and the man droppedbiVhoe and ran,
and has hot been heard 'of since.""-
' ' ' ,t ill ( I , J J
A GHOST STORY.
From the Tarboro Southerner.
Timidity i one of those idyosyn
cracys of. the human mind that has
never been satisfactorily accounted
for, and I believe that,"as a general
thing, most people are more or less
timid.; Probably credulity has much
to do with 'it, and probably it may be
a want of that strong reasoning facul
ty which could not fail, when proper
ly exercised, to convince one's self
that tbere.rcally could be no danger
where their exaggerated fears most
apprehended it.
Braver, on iho other band, is a
qualification that few, if any, possess.
In fact I doubt its very existence in
the common acceptation of. the term.
Pride, self-respect, a fear of ridicule,
and a strong senso of duty all conduce
to the make-u of what is commonly
called bravery, and when j'on find a
brave man, so-called, 3011 will find
that he possesses all these good quali
ties with a great many others. When
you find one wanting in these, vou
will find them replaced l3 an over
weening eti piclity or strong avari-
ciousncss ; or the first law of -nature
so firmly implanted in his mind that
he ha been driven by it to make for
himself the questionable reputation of
being a brave man.
Daring has often been confounded
with tho term bravery and, if the
truth were known, most of
those called brave have gained the
appelation through daring. Man3'
men become tired of the burden of
life and wish to Ia3 it down, while at
the same time a long religious sense
prevents them from thrusting it from
them.' Such men seek cvciy means
authorized bv religious belief and the
opinion of the world to rid them
selves of it and thus become brave or
daring as the case muv be. Beinr
destitute of these feelings the3 become
suicides and. gain the reputation of
being too cowardlj to live. How in
consistent with what our opinions
ought to, be. Both are too coward
to live,but the suicide the more daring
and consequent!' the' braver of the
two, according to the common ac
ceptation. The fear of supernatural agencies is
the must common. und there arc buf,but
people who will acknowledge, even to
themselves, that", the are afraid of
ghosts, et they will, on passing un
frequented places, particularly those
that have the reputation of be
ing haunted by spirits from the other
world, feel an indefinable dread of
something, they know not what, and
are continually on the qui vtve for tho
sudden appearance of some shape or
other. An unusual sound or an ob
ject distorted by some peculiar light
or shadow at once magnifies what
was before a mere apprehension into
a reality, and presto, a marvelous
ghost story follows. A little time to
think, a little boldness, a little com
mon sense, the slightest investigation
of the matter would reveal the whole
truth and reduce our fund of ghost
stories wonderfully. No doubt many,
so-called, ghost stories are manu
factured for the entertainment of the
credulous public by clever 'people.
Remarkable as it may appear, we
seldom hear of a ghost being seen by
more than one person at the same
time, and the proof of the fidelity of
the 6tories related by ghost seers is
almost always wanting. I can recall
but one instance where more than
one person was present at any ghostly
entertainment.
Not very many years ago in the
county of W stood, and still
stands for that matter, a house that
had the reputation of being haunted
by a real rapping spirit. No one
could remain in the house for any
considerable length of time, 'night' or
day, on account of a loud knocking
on the roof, ides or doors of the
building, as if some one without or
within,; according to the position of
the audience, were beating the -long
roll with a pair of heavy drum sticks.
No food could be prepared or , eaten
anywhere on the premises ; . as soon
as it was uncovered it was immediate
ly filled with filth, as if the '-Harpies
that annoyed vEneas and his Trojans
were invisibly. present in the air and
paying their ! unwelcome attentions.
The reputation of the place spread
far and wide and hundreds ' came to
witness for themselves, -many of whom
J i a K . i L j w It tt r .."- - - I . . . .
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are living at. thuj day. ,1 have heard
the; circumstances -related by more
than a dozen credible witnesses and
believe they were sincerely , truthful
in their statements, but lacking snf
ficient-courage to attempt a rational
solution of the wonderful mystery.
An attempt was at last actually
made, not'to solve it, but rather to
investigate.it by out-heroding Herod.
A gentleman, then in the prime of
life and magnificent manhood, pro
posed; to some of . his companionsto
go with him to the bouse and remain
all night with the hope of making
some discovery. The proposition was
accepted by a few of the boldest of
them and they at once made prepara
tions to carry On t their design against
the rapping ghost. They procured a
jug of whisky and a pack of cards and
proceeded to the scene of their future
exploits, with a determination not to
be out-done by any ghost of, a Harpy
that ever flew.
Having lighted a roaring fire and
several, caudles, they began their
amusement of .playing-cards, and
drinking. It was not long before
their cards were not in a condition to
be handled on account of the filth
with which they were covered and
the glasses from which they drank
were in the same condition and both
had to be abandoned. At first the
rapping was gentle and not very
rapid, but gradually increased until
the gentleman referred to arose from
his seat at the fire and, in rather a
bantering tone, remarked : "Play me
a tune, d n you, and I will dance it."
Immediately it struck up one of the
popular airs of tho day and he began
to dance. Such terrific rapping, it is
said, was never heard and in perfect
time, and the dance was executed
with equal vigor and preciscness.
The pidgcon-wing, the doublc-shufHc,
the scamper-down and other popular
steps kept oxact time to the .diaboli
cal music. Tluaowing his hat on the
floor and his coat on a chair, he cried
orrt7FtisterT--d n you, or .acknowl
edge yourself beaten. The knocking,
still keeping time, descended from
the roof down tho side of the house
and at last reached the door, upon
which a perfect hurricane of blows,
louder and quicker than ever, descend
ed. One by one his companions de
serted him and ran out of the oppo
site door, leaving him to his solitary
dance and tho supernatural music.
All over the door it played and then
crossing the floor began under his
very feet.
This was more than he
could stand. His face was pale and
haggard, his hair with great drops of
sweat clung to his forehead. One
fearful glance bo threw over his
shoulder to see if his companions . were
still sustaining him with their pres
ence. He massed them and, with a
single spring, cleared the door, leaving
hat and ceat behind, and though
wearied with his dance, was not many
minutes in reaching his house.
He is living now, and has never
since been known to .defy the powers
of a ghost. The whole mystery still
remains'unsolved save in this way :
The owner of a- house, who was a
young man and' bad married against
the wishes of his parents, was in
duced to send for a celebrated con-;
jurer or root-doctor, and employ his
services, who informed him that it
was his own father who was carrying
on this diablerie and that the only
way to put an end to it was to do him
some bodily harm or damage to his
personal property.
He acted upon the advice and in a
night or two went to his father's
stables and cut the throat of a very
valuable voung mare that he owned.
From that time the knocking ceased
and has not since been repeated.
Of quite a different character how
ever is tho story I am, now about to
relate. Not a thousand miles from
the. village of L., in the same county,
resides a gentleman of the very best
character in every respect. Intelli
gent, generous, charitable, hospitable
to a fault, he is honored by all who
know him : ytt strange to relate, he
is afraid of ghosts and jjoblins, J"
Living in an old fashioned house
with no one but his wife it is hardly
to be wondered at . .that his super
stitious motions cause . him to act
strangely at times. One night during
a slight windstorm the front door was
Wown frpes knd by Hs. !'rcontinnal
slamming awoke him from his slam-
ucr. aio awoKe nis wue ana in a
frightened whimper communicated to
her the startling intelligence that the
ghosts -were walking again.
; She is of ; the type called strong
minded, fortunately' for him, -and not
afflicted with any r ridiculous notions
of ghosts. After satisfying herself
that the noise proceeded from the
damming of 'tho door she informed
him what it was, and proposed that
he go and shut it. This he refused to
do unless she would go with him and
carry the light.
When she had bantered him for
some time on his cowardice, she told
hira in plain terms that he ought to
be ashamed of himself being a man
and. the head of a family to entertain
any such notions, and concluded by
6rdcring him to get up and shut the
door. This he positively refused to
do, as she knew would be the case,
but offered to go with her and pro
tect. After amusing herself at his
expense as long as she chose, arose,
lit the lamp and proceeded into the
outer hall forbidding birn to follow.
When left alone in the darkness he
became frightened at the idea that
the ghost fleeing from the light might
seek refuge in the chamber where he
lay, so he got up and followed her to
the hall.
When ho arrived within a few feet
of her, a puff of wind extinguished the
light and the' were both left in the
dark, he frightened and she annoyed ;
but, in order that she might not es
cape him and leave him alone with
the hobgoblins in that great large
room, he seized her night gown.
Feeling something tugging at her
gown from behind, she at once thought
that some evil disposed person had
entered the house and endeavored at
once to make her escape to her hus
band's room at the same time giving
a slight scream.
At this point all his absurd fears
culminated in the certainty that she
had seen the terrible apparition and
so he screamed in concert, which
frightened her still more. """"
In clutching ;her gown from his
grasp it was torn near off her, but she
succeeded in releasing herself at last
and ran for the door of the bed-room,
but instead she ran full into his arms
and they both rolled onto the floor
together frightened out of their wits
and each screaminir for the other
with forty-hyena power.
At length a servant in one of the
out-buildings was aroused by the
hub-bub and came with a Hirht dis
closing the whole laughable scene.
It is said no man ever put on a
more sheepish look than he did while
his wife was lecturing him for nearly
frightening her to death so foolishly.
It is to be hoped that this incident
has taught him a lesson and that on
the next visit of his ghost he will re
main in bed and keep his head cover
ed up.
Cruel to be Kind.
Two travelers, relates Lord William
Lennox, were journeying together
over a dreary common, when one re
marked to the other that be trusted
they should not fall in with any high
waymen, as he had one hundred
pounds secreted in his boot. They
had not gone many miles before they
came to a most secluded spot where
four cross roads met, and a gibbet at
some little distance, with a skeleton
body suspeuded in chains to it, show
ed that a human creature had met
with an ignominious death. Ast the
two travelers, who had met accident
ally at an inn, passed the gibbet.
three fierce,' rough-looking men sud
denly rushed forward, determined, as
they swore with a dreadful impreca
tion, to have the money or the lives
of the travelers.
"Spare our lives! Take all I have I"
cried one. "Here it is," offering a
handful of silver.
"That won't 1 do," responded the
highwayman. PH soon see what you
have about you."
"Stay," said the other. "My com
panion has our money hid away in
his boot."
"Traitor!" exclaimed bis compan
ion, while one of the gang, with black
ened face and cocked pistol, proceeded
to take off tLe boots of the terrified
victim v t -'i'-n'i :'- -
lf you've spoken falsely," shouted
the first, "I'll give ; you an ounce of
fead for your pains.t , f; ? ;t .
rile has spofcen truth, announced
toe searcher. "Here's it prize a
hundred pounds of Bank of England
notes."
Securing the money the two travel
ers wero blindfolded , and bound to a
post, while the horse was taken out of
their gig and turned loose on the
common. It was nearly an hour be
fore they were released from their
position, during which period the ill
used victim rented his anger pretty
Iondh. Upon "reaching the net town
where a deposition was made before a
magistrate, tho worth justice com
mented in rather a severe strain upon
the conduct of the base miscreant who
had acted so treacherous a part.
"Hear my puliation," meekly said
the accused.
"Stand down ; I've heard enough,"
vociferated the man in authority.
"One word," continued the other.
"My object was not to screen" - myself
at another's expense. My companion
told me he had one hundred pounds
in his boot ; I had twelve hundred in
my waistband. Had I been searched
that must have been discovered, and
would have probably led to my com
panion being searched ; so I thought
it better to sacrifice the smaller to the
larger sum. I now return the money
I was the means of his being deprived
of, and in future recommend him to
be more prudent in keeping his own
counsel."
Thirty Hours in a Chest.
Among the prisoners who sat in
the Central Station dock-on Saturday
after-noon, was. a young girl, but six
teen 3-cars of age, who, in a brief
period, has had the most sensational
experience as a burglars "kid," com
prising a forced concealment in a
West Philadelphia residence for the
long period of thirty hours. She said
her name. was Katie Du Roy, and that
two months ago she came here from
Reading, but declined to sav where
m
she lived.
The house where this occurred is
located at No. 12 South Thirty ninth
street, and is occupied by W. H. Har
rison with his family and domestics :
and it was the design of burglars, tho
o .0.7
names of whom are not disclosedfto
make it the field of a night's operation.
They found in Katie a willing tool,
and on Sunday evening, the 10th of
August, she stole into the house, leav
ing her shoes in the cellar and creep
ing up stairs into the servants' room.
Mrs Harrison being in confinement
that evening the household was all
astir, and just after the girl had gone
up stairs, one of the servants entered
the room. The young thief crawled
under the the bed, but not before
she was observed. The servant
shrieked with fright and rushed from
the room. Mr. Harrison hurried up
stairs, heard the servant's story, in
stituted a search, but found no one.
During the entire night, owing to
Mrs. Harrison's condition, the family
was constantly moving about "the
house. Day came, but nothing more
from the alarm of the night before.
Another night.followed, and the famil'
sought repose, wearied from a long
season of watching. On the morning
of the 12th Mr. Harrison arose to find
that his clothes had been rifled of
what valuables were in them. Going
down stairs he saw that some one had
breakfasted before dawn, and found
ever3'thing in confusion, but nothing
of value carried away. The back part
of the house was open, but bore no
evidence of violence, and had clearly
been opened from the inside.
Mr. Harrison, shortly after this
strange occurance, read of a girl who
had been found secreted under a bed
in a house on Thirty-fourth street, be
low walnut, and he went to Moya
mensing to see her, believing that she
was the party who had created such
havoc on his premises. He had an
interview with her, when she con
fessed that she had spent a night and
a day three weeks ago secreted in his
house.
Katie DuRoy being called upon to
explain at the hearing, made a full
confession. When the servant girl
rushed ftom the room in fright she
looked around for a place of conceal
ment, and observing a large sized
chest standing in the chamber, she
jumped into it acd closed down the
Kd. Fortunately, the family, in their
search, bad overlooked this, and she
was not caught. Here she remained
all that night and all of the next day
and into the night, without food or
drink, while her accomplices wero
waiting and wondering without. On -the
second night, when ail were asleep,
she issttcd from her retreat, and hav
ing appeased bcr hunger from a meal
which had been spread .for .the ser- .
vants breakfast, she slipped away.-
The magistrate held her in 1,500 bail
to answer at court.
How Butter Is Sometimes Taint-
ed.
.Winter and spring butter is often
very much injured in -flavor by allow-,
ing cows to cat the litter from horsa
stables. Cows are not unfitqucntly
very fond of this ;fkter, though it is
impregnated with liquid manure frorri
the horses, and if allowed, they cat it
greedily ; and tho effect is that their :
milk and butter will bo tainted with
tho tasto of this kind of food, in the
same way that the flavor is injured
by eating turnips, but to a more dis
agreeable degree. If the litter is
allowed to be eaten, it should be given
to cattle not in milk, and on no ac-
count should milch cows bo allowed
to consume other than tho sweetest
and purest food. Very nice butter
makers are sometimes at a loss to ac
count for stable taints in butter, es
pecially when extraordinary precau
tions have been taken to have' tho
milking done in the most perfect man
ner, and so in all the processes of
handling the milk until tho butter is
packed for market. Still the butter
has a disagreeable taint, and the cause
often comes from allowing the cows,
when turned out to water and exer
cise, to feed about the horse stable,
where they consume all the litter
which, on account of its being soaked
with liquid manure, is cast out of the
stable. New Yorker.
The Treatment of Cows.
Of the treatment of cows the Prai
rie Farmer $&ys : "Very many far
mers and many otherwise good dairy
men seem to think that they may
save money by turning the cows upon
the pastures on the first appearance
of grass, and that thereafter all tho
feed given at home is thrown away
There is nothing more fallacious. If
you have plenty of pasture and it will
not poach under foot, givo tho stock
a chance at it by all means, but do not
fail to give the usual feed at night
and morning so long as they will cat
Tho young grass will tend to clear
tho system of humor, and act as an
alternate to tho other food given. It
will also quickly improve the color
and flavor of butter. If pasture is not
plenty, it is far better to keep them
in tho yards until tho grass grows to
a fair bite. It is tho worst possible
policy to try and savo hay and grain
in the spring between fodder and
grass. Such stock will show this
false economy all through the season.
Another mistake is in supposing that
cattle stabled all winter may bo turn"
ed out in the spring and exposed to
cold storms of wind and rain. . Pull
off your winter flannels tho first of
April, and see how it is yourself,
Stock, especially dairy stock, and all
animals giving milk, should be care
fully protected from storms in the
spring until tho days and nights are
warm. A cold storm will not only
distress a milking animal severely,
but tho milk will shrink froirfa single
exposure, often to such a degree that
it will not bo regained during the
wholo summer. It is far easier to
bring the milk yield up to a maximum
than, once lost, to recover it. There
fore givo plenty of good feed and
shelter all through the spring."
An Irishman who had been over
whelmed by a torrent of babble turn
ed loose upon him by a' verbose sim
pleton, with whom he had attempted
to reason on 6ome question of law or
gospel was a day or two after told
that the fellow was boasting of having
gained a victory over him that he
had ""utterly annihilated him."
"Faith and be did," said the son of
Erin ; "ho demolished me wid exactly
the same kind of a weapon as that
wid which Samson of ould slaughter
ed the Philistines "
" Tho Prince Imperial of Austria has
been appointed Commandant of the
Tbirt-sixth Regiment of Infantry,
and will study the administrative ser
vice in garrison with it at Prague.