North Carolina Newspapers

BLUE RIDGE BLADE. J 11 Pj VOL. III.-NO. 50. MORGANTON, N. C., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1879. WHOLE NUMBER 154. IF 05LT M0THER3 KNKW. It ouly mothers knew, she said. Bow hungry children in for love. Above sch'little virgin bed A, mother's lipa would prove How sweet are kisses that are given Between a rosy mouth and heaven. If only my mamma would kneel. . Aayour dear mother, every night. Beside her little girl, to feel If all the wraps are folded tight, And bold my hands, her elbows fair Between my obeek and her soft hair. And looking in my dreaming eyes As if she saw some lovely thing, And smiling in such fond. surprise On all my hopes of life that spring L ie flowers beneath her tender gaze, I could not stray in evil ways. " I woa'd nut -wthitid the Bntle breast. That held me warm within its fold; My mother's love would still be best, However sad, or plain, or Old, And, even though the world forsake, I'd love her for her love's dear sake Unproven Courage. On a lovely moonlight night in the middle of June, a light carriage drove down a grand avenue of lime and bircb trees that led to an old manor house in - the province of Livonia. Harness-bells, which there serve to distinguisli. be- j tween post carriages and private ones, broke the silence merrily. In tle carriage sat, or rather stood, a boy of fifteenvwhose eyes were intently fixed on the bouse in front of him, ea gerly watching for some sign that bis coming was noticed, or for the sight of a familiar face. And not in vain, for the sound of bells reached the servant's hall, and before the carriage had time to draw up at the door, an old servant stood there waiting to greet Oscar with a smiling face of welcome. "Can I believe my eyes, young sir? Is it really you who havearrived at this late hour without giving notice of your coming? Can it indeed be you, Master Oscai?" . jl es. x etrusciiKa, i am really my- self. Do you think it'likely that I should stop away at school a moment longer than I was obliged to? No! not I, and the holidays began rather sooner than we expected. But, I say,- is there no one at home?" "No one but the servants. Your fa ther, the Baron, has not yet come back from Riga, and the Baroness has gone -away, for three days, on a'visit in the neighborhood." "What! My father and mother away, and all four carriage-horses out too. But I suppose that my dear old pony is in the stable anyhow. Tell me, how is Tuckum the fox getting on, and the IfT i"""! i "" a-fl fhfl t Anita? They ooght to be fit for light work by this time," i Thus eagerly inquiring after every thing that seemed most lovable to his boyish heart, the handsome, well-built lad walked into the old hall; a large low room decorated with ancient weapons, armor, and many a flnely-antlered red deer's bead', all of which he bad not seen since bis last summer holidays. "If it were not too late, Petruschka, I should like above all things to run out to the stable this very moment and give the old pony a kiss. But I'm afraid it must be nearly midnight, and barkl the cuckpo-clock in the dining-room is striking half-past eleven, but at least let us go out on the verandah for a few moments," said Oscar. So Petruschka unbolted the French windows which opened on to it. They walked out together unto .the tcrht. clear. November summer nierht. blight, clear, November summer night, which at this time of the year is no dar ker than our earliest summer twilight, and filled with intense pleasure at find ing himself after twelve month's ab sence, once more in bis dearly loved home, Oscar drank in the delicious smell of the wild cherry-blossoms and elder flowers, which there' bloom later than with us, and often both together. For some time they stood there talk ing and at length the old nurse turned to go in, but Oscar bung back, listening to the nightingale, whose voice gave a mysterious life to the deep stillness around.- He waited Uwjre looking at the weird light of the moon glistening coldly on the silvery stems of the birch es, but at last went into bis own bed room. When he got there he sat on the edge of his bed and opened bis heart to his old nurse and friend. He told her he was now in the second class, and that therefore his school days would be over in two years and a half. "And then! then!" cried he, his eyes bright with excitement, '-I will go into the cavalry. What a glorious life it must be when one can ride every day! And, who knows? perhaps a great war may break out, and if so, I feel an inwaid cert lint y that I shall distinguish myself in it But be sure of this, until I have accomplished something that my father and everyone shall be proud of, until I have become a hero, a celebrated man, --.il t a o a iAi ucvn win A oib uumi m raw win iuic- a .,f....i ,f,.ti "For heaven's sake, my dear young r-ocfor An nnt fait nf nrar Vmir rrrvivl motherland all of us, would be ready ly in to breakfast, according to its cus todieof anxiety if we knew that you torn. And although 1 could not help lau-hinsr lust now. yet 1 am really very .were in danger and far away. We have only to see how well you eit a horse, and to know how kindly you deal 'with the servants and laborers, in order to be assured of your courage. You need not kill a lot of ptonle to convince us of that" "Indeed. Petruschaa. vou are wronz! Unproven courage is no courage at all," cried Oscar, stretching himself on his bed. "You have often said that I am kind-hearted, but 1 can tell von that if anvone ever dared to insult me, 1 should nnvAr rst until 1 had taken full yen geance." "Dearl dear! young master, how can von have snch wicked and terrible ideas in your head, and on the first evening of vour return home, tool l ou should rather be thinking of returning your thankn to God for having escaped the dangers of traveling by day and by niTiit nd hfiinflr safely housed here with 1 flrri Viloaa vrtn and send you quiet rest" " With this Petruschka shut th door, and five minutes later Oscar was in bed, and asleep as sound as a top, only dis turbed now and then by dreams of the flying enemy, whom he pursued on a coal-black steed, and struck down with out mercy or pity. Suddenly he waa awakened bya strange noise. He rubbed his eyes. Was he still asleep and dreaming? No, he was quite sure he was awake Again that very odd noise. Some one seemed to be pressing heavily on the latch of the door, and grumbling and grunting at it in a very odd way. Then the thing seemed to press harder and heavier on the fas tening, till at last the door burst open. Oscar knew that be was alone on this floor all the servants slept below. He felt bis blood run cold, in spite of the dreams of heroic courage which his im agination had paintad in such lively colors a short time since. But what on earth was it he saw com ing in? - ' An enormous bear, clear visible in the bright summer night,strode very solemn ly into the room; it stood . erect on its hind legs, growling gently to itself and swaying its body from side to side. It looked and sniffed about as if searching for something, and then softly and cau tiously took its way towards Odcar's bed. His hair stood on end with terror, and beads of qpld sweat broke on his forehead as the monster came nearer and nearer. Even smaller grew the space between him and the monster. Thoughts raced with lightning speed through the boy's fevered, brain. In a few seconds all the stories Tie had ever heard about bears came into his head; how men had es caped from their deadly embrace by shutting their eyes, and holding their breath as if they were dead. But now there was only a space between him and the growling beast, and, shuddering and trembling he watched the. bear raise it self up and stretch out its huge paws towards the bed then all his plans about shutting his eyes and pretending that he was dead were scattered to the winds, and the poor boy bid his head like lightning under the bed-clothes. But what did it mean? nefeltnoth- hrtntintr frm-unw ij fthe ey gr3g awafcose tx his head. , What an agtrthose few seconds seem, ed to him! At length he plucked up enough of courage and moved the clothes very gently to get a breath of air, and then cautiously peeped out, when, to his amazement, he saw the bear turn to the spare bed "which stood at the' foot of his own, and begin to roll up the bed clothes and pillow into a bundle. It then squeezed them togeth er with its powerful fore-paws, and dragged them quietly towards the door. With every step that took the bear further and further from him, Oscar's ei--wwte f -mind . returned more ana mora, ana wnen at last ne heard the growling well outside in the music-room, he drew a deep breath, and felt that a spark of his old heroic cour age still smouldered within him. He got up very gently and crept to wards the door, wondering all the time what on earth the bear could want with bed-clothes and pillows. He locked his door hurriedly, and then peeped through the keyhole, and behold I the bear had placed its stolen goods on one of the di vans that stood against the wall ot trie music-room, just as if the regular cush ions were not soft enough, and was turning round and round on the divan, like a dog making a bed, and evidently meant to make itself quite comfortable and curl itself up for a good night's rest. The boy watched all these proceed quite rigid with astonishment, and :. PH r. : then, after having again made sure that his, enemy was securely locked out, he rushed to the bell and rang it violently for help. It was a long time before anyone came to answer the bell, but at last Petrusch ka appeared, sleepily rubbing her eyes. "Oh, Petruschka, I have passed such a terrible night!" cried the excited boy. "It is a miracle that you did not find me dead!" and he poured forth in glow ing language a vivid account of all the horrors he had gone through. Petruschka listened attentively at first, but gradually an amused expres sion stole over her face, and at last she could constrain herself no longer, and inst as Oscar came to the climax, she burnt, our. into an unconuoiuiouj m. in. ... t laughter. Tf ( )snar had Deen astonisireu uu tuo ? - ... i t 1 .un behavior of the bear, he was hardly less so at that of Petruschka; but as soon as she could find wordsshesaid, "ine tact ia vminsr sir. that nobody expected you to return so soon, and in the night, like this. Your father, the Uaron, Mas oeen lookine forward to your coming nome, and he bad arrangea aiime suipuse for you. The bear was caught in the WSOQS HOOUli bU19 Lliua iooi J" Ju"" t i i i. : ;mn in.f inat or. ter vou left for school. It has grown very large, but at the same time so ame auo go hou u w"a.f "Yf " ! outside and the dos. It bas even. learn- r , ... " rnu i pa to ouen uoora veiv uictcui. xu U,1""UVK" : c" T lCt IUO uret time mo wi vomo Bi.v- laughing just now, yet 1 am really very sorry you have been so badly frightened bv our tame bear." Oscar's face during this recital would have been a curious study as it went through the various changes from ex I citementtoastonishment,andtromthem to shame and self-reproach. ' When the old nurse had finished her story he cried, with a burning face and broken voice. "Petruschka, 1 will con- fess something to you that 1 would not have admitted to any other living soul, - Never till now did 1 feel what fear I mea-t;" hut to night, during five min utes, which seemed as long as eternity 1 1 learned to know it only too. well, and 1 shall never forget the sensation as long as 1 live. 1 felt so utterly helpless witn the wild beast, as 1 thought it, that, had 1 been able, 1 would have run away out of the room and hidden myself like a coward." J 'TYm't Via oahamfirl if vnnraalf rtn that account," answered Petruschka; many another man would have dorJ WU V W W . J V. the same in your place. t' And 'she wished him good-night and left him. Oscar turned and tossed on his bed for many aweary hour that night be fore he went to sleep. In his heart of hearts he saw clearly that his courage bad not stood proof, and from his lips rose the neglected thanksgiving for bis protection from all evil. He never forgot the lesson, and when in after years he became a brave sol dier and celebrated man, his favorite saying, "Unproven courage is no cour age at all, but all true couiage comes from trust in God. Old Desks and Chairs. A correspondent at Washington bas had a talk with Isaac Bassett, who hag been Assistant Doorkeeper of the Sen ate for forty-eight years, and who, by the way, proposes to write a book embody ing bis recollections. Mr. -Bassett said : "I was appointed page In the Senate in 1331, through the influence of Daniel Webster. Previous to that time there was ouly one page In the Senate, and he devoted himself too exclusively to the side of the chamber on which Mr. Benton sat. Mr. Webster thought that he wanted a page, too, and he insisted on ray appointment." "Is It true, Mr. Bassett," asked the correspondent, "that the seats and desks which were once occupied by Webster, Clay, Cal houn, Benton, Cass and the Senate ge nerally of half a century ago, are now In use in the Senate Chamber?" "Per fectly true," was the reply. know the Senators who occupy the seats and desks of the statesmen yon have named. I am the only person, I believe, who knows the history of the furniture of the Chamber. I have certain marks on the desks and seats which Clay, Cal houn, Webster, Benton, Cass, and .a dozen other' prominent Senators of their time occupied by which I can identify them. It cost me a great deal of trou ble to keep the chairs and desks togeth er during the sessions. The sweepers move the chairs about. Often I have found Webster's chair before Clay's desk and the new chair of some mem ber. from a State recently admitted to the Union before Calhoun's desk. You see tvery time a State is admitted two new chairs and desks are made - for the new Senators. Frequently 1 am asked by Senators to point out to them the seats of Webster and Clay, but 1 always refuse. If the history of the seats be came known, curiosity -seekers would cut and deface them. Just about the time the seats were moved from the old Chamber, where the Supreme Court now is, to the new one, some one cut a few splinters from Webster's chair, but tton oi it, anu it not De-n marred since. It Is not possible tor me to he mistaken about the identity of the fur niture. In an iron safe I keep a list of the seats and desks I have named, with the names oi the Senators who occupy them at present. Some of them are ve ry able man, 1 assure you. Others are not so able. Be Lddu't Walk Far. A young man in Toronto has a very clear knowledge of the danger of at tempting to flirt with a female pedes trian. One of these walkers stopped at an inn there last week without making riown her powers of speed and endu rance' and the clerk of the inn showed her a great deal of attention. At last, one afternoon he proposed to take a walk. She consented at once, saying that sire' was longing for a ramble. 'Let me know if I go too fast,' lie said. She scon took the lead and began a pace of five miles an hour. Her gallant companion kept up by great exertion, but when she increased her speed he proposed to return home. She protes ted that she was not in the least tired and on they went. When about a dozen miles had been walked the clerk felt that his gallantry must yield, and he dropped down and confessed that he could not take another step. His com panion then turned back and walked to the inn. savinsr that sue wouia seuu a carriage for hLr.. The young man now thinks that he will take a year's prac tice before asking another young lady to have a stroll with him. Seals and Whale. Orkney game includes seals, which have their favorite haunts, such as the Wire Skerries and Kilns of Brinnovan, in Rousav, and it requires as much skill to bag them as to stalk a red deer on the corries of the Highlands. The seal is about as amphibious as a beaver and the raniditv with which it " slid- ders " off rocks into the water on the approach of danger is highly creditable to the promptitude and agilitv of this very queer flish. Whale-hunting as seal-shooting must also be numbered among Orkniau sports. In the autumn season great "droves" of bottle nosed or 'inp whales, often 300 or 400 troug. come down among the islands in pursuit of the herring shoals; and the visitor may consider himself highly fortunate if he is enabled to take part in the exciting chase. Hundreds the island boau, some speeding under sail, some propelled by oars, lollow l the wake of the shoal, the efforts of the ijfmpn hinr directed to drive the whales, if possible, into shallows sandy bays, where they fall an easy nrpr til the destrovefs. who are armed f j with harpoons, ware-forks, turee pronged " graips," and any other lethal weapons which come to a point. There is a regular baitue when some hundred or two of bottle-noses aredriven ashore bv the pursuing fleet of small boats. The tour ist w Hl flnd this sport decidedly more entertaining, as well as novel, than wandering over the aoounaing moors and healthy hill-sides, gun over . lllUVt U U U 1 j shoulder, in search or snipe or piover rabbit or har An Arctic Story. In the spring of the year of 1840 a whaling vessel'sailed from the port of London, upon a voyage to the Polar Seas. Xothing material is said to have occurred until their arrival In those solitary regions, when it became the duty of the crew to keep a perpetual look-out upon the horizon iu search of fish. While thus occupied it was fan cied by oqe of the seamen that a sail was discernible as far to the northward as the eye could reach. As the course of the whaler was towards the supposed vessel a mast became gradually distin guishable amid the mountain of ice which appeared Iu that; quarter to bound the sea. It was now summer, and the afternoon unusually calm, while the whaler gradually Beared the object in view, the opposition' "oeTng that it was a vessel engaged in opera ting upon the blubber in a bay which would open to the view upon approach ing nearer to the ice. Upon arriving, however, at the spot. It became clear that the vessel was a wreck Imbedded in the ice, and could only be ap proached by a boat. This having been lowered, the captain and several of the seaman landed upon the ice and pro ceeded to the vessel, which proved to be a brig. The sails were furled, very little appeared upon the deck, and all the arrrugejnents were those of a ves sel laid up for a long period of time. Descending to the cabin the first object that was. Seen was a large Newfound land dog coiled upon a mat and appa rently asleep. Upon torching the ani mal it was found to be dead, and the body froxeii to the hardness of a stone. Entering the cabin there was nsstseen a young lady seated i-t a table; her eyes were open, and gazing with a mild and steadfast expression upon the new coiners to that solitary spot. Sht was dead; and in that apparently resigned ahd religious attitude had frozen to death. Beside her was a! young man, who, it appeared, was the brother of the lady, and commander of the brig. He, too, was dead, but sitting at the ta ble, and before him lay a sheet of pa per, upon which was written the fol lowing words: "Our cook has ende v ored since yesterday morning to light a tire, but all in vain; all is now over." At the other side of the cabin stood the cook, with a flint and steel in his hand, frozen to a statue, in the vain endeavor to procure that fire which alone could save him and his compan ions from the cold arms of death. The uperstitious terrors of the seamen now e ptaiu4iway from thepld Owing to the i '..aPSrtlE;, their -? from this it appeared that w-Jugn Lie d away, anu trom tins it appear the ill-fated vessel was a brig, which had belonged to the port ot London. and had sailed for the arctic .region more ban fourteen years before. Under the Waves. "What Is the chief drawback of a diver's life?" whs asked of Coolan, a professional diver. "Well, I 6)ouid call It the uncer tainty, f or Instance, you go down into ninety or one hundred feet of water, with nothing between you and the sur face except that little air pipe. If it should break or leak, or get cut, it is all up with you. As long as that whizzing noise at the back of the helmet keeps up, you are all right; but let it dwindle or stop, and there's only one thing to do, to make tracks out ot there." "Have you ever had It break with you ?" I have had the noise stopped as quick as ybu'd shut off steam. 1 didn't stop there long, you can bet. 1 was down In fifty feet of water, and it took the liveliest kind of scrambling to get up in time, The pipe had Dioken at the top, but one of the tenders put his hand over the break, and they managed to send mc down a little more air as 1 was coming up. The air inside of the helmet grew hot and thick, and by the time I got to the top I was gasping like a fish out of water." Next to the air p'pe, the diver looks most carefully after the little pane of glass which covers his face. The iron rods, two vertical and two horizontal, which protect it, are made and htted with especial care, so as to afford the greatest amount ot protection consistent with a clear view, lhe breaking ot this glass Is generally equivalent to immediate death.Tffe rush of the water within being apt to choke the victim in- gtantly. Feterson tells of a case on the Atlantic coast In which a diver was drowned by the breaking of this glass The man was exceedingly nervous, and apt to lose his head when he got Into difficulty. Especially he dreaded the breaking of his face glass, and for this reason had it made unusually -stout. One dav. while working in the hold of a shin loaded with railroad iron, he jammed his helmet against the thin bottom edire of a rail. I ha glass was shattered. The green water rushed In with tremendous force, and strangled him before he could make an effort to get out. Feteri,n Kr0Pln2 his way through the dark hold, stumbled upon the lody of his anfortuuatc mate, doubled up around a stanchion. In divingfor the Submarine Company of SU Louis in 1371, Peterson himself met with an accident that well nigh proved fatal, ne was employed at Port Leavenworth In the Missouri River in over fifty feet of water. While at the bottom of the river the bell in which be was at work was overturned, the bell boots which he wore being torn com pletely off him by the violence of the shock. The current was running at the rate of seven miles an hour. He retained presence of mind enough to grasp a life line which happened to be within reach, whereupon the current bore him to the surface. Coolan was one of the divVrs who fished the six hundred budlvs out of the wreck of the White Star steamer Atlantic In 1873. The corpses of the dead were found jammed against the furniture, crammed through glass sky lights, hidden away behind stateroom door, and' always In the most fright fully contorted attitudes. To grope into a cabin In the dark and come suddenly upon the bodies of an entire family father, mother, and children inter twined in one last embrace, was not un common. The most hideous cases and most trying to the nerves were the single corpses, hid behind doors, which tumbled Into the divert embrace on hit opening them. "Which is the easiest sort of cargo to mover" "Railroad iron. It is the cleanest and the easiest to handle. Assorted cargoes, grain In bulk, and miscellaneous goods are the worst. Pretty Paraguayan. The preponderance of females Is ex traordiuary. The population of the country was estimated to be about 220, 000 in 1840. The natural rate of increase till 1805 would have doubled this num ber, but In the subsequent five years' war the losses may be estimated at half the population, 170,000 males by battle and disease, and 50,000 women and chil dren by famine and exposeure, The census of 1873 was probably correct, therefore, in Its result, viz., 220,000. Oi this number about 28,700 were males, and over 106,000 females. The popula tion Is principally Indian, the most of the whites are gathered around Asun cion. But though their complexion va ries from that of a true black of the rich brunette of Ci-stlle, all the women look exceedingly cleanly and even hand some with their exquisitely white frocks and glossy, raven hair, which, like mermaids, combing. Their figures are faultless and remarkably erect, never having known the deforming confines of a corset; the poise of their heads Is something to excite the envy of a Clara Vere de Vere, and their pace in walk ing is worthy of the emulation of a Von Hillern. Yet what they carry Is bal anced on their heads jars of water, baskets of verba, or bags of mgndioca. One meets them every morning coining to market in single tile, all dressed the same, laughing and talking, with their naked toes seeming to grasp the ground rank herbage, they do not de I i dense grasrntm nouiv another is that of the bullock-wagons, which is Invariably followed, as it h easy to lose one's self in the tall parapa grass and undergrowth. The ground sometimes covered with tangled creepers, even In the city which caught caught us and threw us down, while branch played havoc with our clothing, and seemed determined to simplify our attire. Being convinced oi tne reason ableness of that proverb which admits the propriety of doing in Rome what the Romans do, we attended a ball on Sunday evening, and I was not long In recognzingsa pretty maiden who had welcomed me agreeably on the steamer landing. She was again among a crowd of others, many of them carrying light ed candles, and a few affecting high heeled boots in addition to the ordinary robe of calico and linen. As we entered the musicians were tuning their Instru ments, consisting of a harp, a violin and a flute ; and as they struck up a Spanish dance, the ball soom became a rippling lake of white skirts and co quettish scarfs. But the music was almost drowned by the laughter. The Paraguayans And mirth In everything, as we nave saiu. n a uuu muo a , if thev fall down ; if it rains; if it shines .email misfortunes as well as good luck Invariably invoke ebullitions of melodi ous laughter. She Thought She Knew. The passengers in the sleeping coach were just dozing off when something howled out : "Ow wow wow "' "Great dragons, there's a young one aboard "' growled a fat man from up per berth. "I'll bet a hundred dollar none of us can get a wink of sleep to night." "Wow rwow I" whined the chllJ. "There he gons again," growled the fat man; "I never travel but what I run across some one's offspring." "Who's thattalking?" said the moth er of the child, In a loud voice. "Me!" answered the fat man. "Why Hidn't von either leave that child at home or stay at home yourself?" "Are you talking to me?" demanded the woman. "Yes, ma'am, I am ! I say It is a big shame to bring a sick child, into sleeping car to disturb twenty or thirty people." "Are you a father: sue ashen. "Xo, I haim!" "Nor a mother f" she continued. "No, nia'am." "Well, sir," she continued, as she poked out her head between the cur tains, "when you've been the mother of eleven children, moved forty-eight times, lived in nine different states.and worn one corset right along for seven teen years, you'll begin to think you know" your own business. I think 1 know mine, and if this baby wants to howl he's going to do It, if I have got to come over and kick a bale of hay an' a ton of conceit out o' yer ! D'y'e un derstand?" He did. Gambling la WaahingtaBw "In olden times," says an old gam bler, "we thought nothing of having a thousand or, two up on a turn. There was old Humphrey Marshall. - He waa a prince. I never saw an amateur In my experience of forty years who would put down as much cold-money out of his hand as Marshall. Some fel lows, you kuOw, are queer about cards. There was the other Marshall. He was different from Humphrey that way. tie laid himself out ou piling his stack of chips up to the cein'ngTBiit Humphrey would come in and pull the cc d cash out of hi clothes and put It at down on a turn. He made lots , of ioney, lived like a lord, and never scored to be short. Hold up Yes, he wi- short once, that's a fact, i I wm sAit the tim that li cauw fria Chiii&icWi was American Minister. He came Into the rooms one day, and said his wife wanted an additiou to the house, and he was going to give her money to build it with right off that table, and by the Lord he did ! He walked ofl with $4,400 on three turns, and the next day began work on his house. He played just like one of us cool as ice all the time. Oue of the grandest old men at the business was Thad. Steveus. Thad played a pretty game, not very big, but scientific, and then, too, he was regu lar about It. Never came across any one who had a bigger soul of honor about him than Thad. I used to love him like a brother. He always played bine chips, never got excited at all, but took more solid comfort out of it than most any one I ever saw. Poor old Thad. The doctors had been giving out that, he was sick of this thing and that, and wouldn't let -any oue come into his room. He sent for me. When I got there the housekeeper said that she had positively oidered not to let any person talk to Mr. Stevens, but Thad, happening to hear my voice, he called out: "Bob, these old fools are trying to find some excuse for killing me ofl', but It's all nonsense. Seventy-eight years is my complaint. And 1 wanted to see you, old fellow, before I passed in my chips for the last time," and he died that day, the grandest and best old fellow we've had in public life for many a day, I tell you. Some of these foreign felloes used to be game, especially the Russians. I guess its in the blood with them, any how, they all did it in the old days, from Bodisco down. He was a queer coon, but the most systematic man at the game you ever saw. He used to set aside just so much money for this fun. If he was in luck he'd pla.vwjad, and ally didn't turn up well, aTl t-TiSO much was gone, he'd push his chair back from the table and say quietly, Ze appropriation for zat is all ex haust." Then, if he didn't feel tired, he looked on for a while before going home. He neyer went over his limit on. the appropriation. The fellows con nected with the Russian Legation then used to come around nearly every day, some ot them playing mg. 11 uicy didn't have the cash It made no differ ence, for they were just as good as wheat. The hank kept a regular ac count with them by the month, and, when their sinews of war came around, they'd clear the slate. But, Lord! I don't believe any of those good old fel lows are in the country any more. Just appears like a pestilence or a hurri cane bad come along and swept the whole crowd into the wave. In the old days there was money in the game, and it paid to dine and wine vour natrons. hen a game useu to J x - clear upwards of $100,000 in a season, we could afford to be generous and give awav the luncn. l can rememuer unr year when we got away during the sea son with 1,500 baskets of champagne Yes, of course, it cost a good deal less than now. but other values wre In proportion. We never thought of ask ing a gentleman what he'd have to drink when he looked thirsty ; we just wrung the neck off a bottle, and that was the end of it. Champagne, then, was the only drink. But nowadays there isn't a customer who comes to tne rooms who don't eat up his head and drink up his jaws throe times over in twenty-four hours. ' Carbonic Acid In Plant. It has long been known that the green parts of plants arc able In sunlight to decompose carbonic acid, and absorb the carbon. To decide the question whether plants can take up carbon in any way except throagh their leaves J . W. Moll undertook a aeries of experi ments, which led to the following re sults. Leaves and parts of plants kept continually In a place free from car bonlc acid never form any perceptible quantity of starch, even If in immediate contact, bv any over or underground part of the plant, with an atmosphere much richer in carbonic acm tnan in the air. Hence the excess or carbonic acid that is at the disposal of any por tion you choose of a plant, never causes the production of a sensible quantity of starch in a leaf or part of leaf united to it. if the leaf is kept in a space free fiom carbonic acid, lbe lormatloa or starch in a leaf iu open air, is not has tened when any other part of the same plant Is in a place containing more car bonic acid than the atmospheric air The carbonic acid at the disposal of the root of a plant in the soil, neither causes the formation of starch in a leaf excluded from carbonic acid, nor per ceptibly hastens it in th.e open air. The wheat crop of Texas this year amount to 12,000,000 busbeU. NEWS IN BRIEF. Kansas counts on a papulation of 1,000,000 by 1880. The first cotton factory in the United States waa established at Bever ly Mass., in' 1787. It continued In opera tion until 1802. and then stopped, nine ty per cent, or the capital having beou suuk in- the enterprise. The Bo don Transcript says there Is money enough ?pent in charity in Bos- . ton every year to carry the , whole ex cess of population of the dry to point where they could at earn a living bj1 working on tbo laud. J. C McCabe, Commissary of the Citizen's Relief Committee, or Menphi-, IVnn., In making a Anal statement, re pot m that 743,000 rations were lamed to 68,023 persons during the prvak- uoe oi yeuow lever in this cUy, oles ldvimr for nlre nrUie Paris bring In a revenue of nearly 143, 000. The city has ISO cab stands, to each of which is attached an Inspector, appointed by the prefecture of police. According to the Swiss tables of mortality just issued, 697 persons com mitted suicide last year in Switzerland, which is at the rate of one in every 4, 000 inhabitants, a greater proportion than In any other European country. Most of the Paterson (X. J.) silk mills are running to (heir fullest capa- city, and making two or three hours overtime every night. The greatest de mand is for ribbons and ' scarfs. From 8000 to 10,000 hands, it is estimated, are employed in the mills. The usual distribution of decora tions among the foreign officers that represented their countries at the graud manoeuvres has been made In France. . Germany not only has the greatest number 7, but also the only appoint ment to grade of grand officer. A two-dollar bill, issued by the Smlthtield (K. I.) Exchange Bank In 1823, one year alter its organization, was presented for redemption, iu clean order and excellent condition one day . this week. It was found anion 2 the ef fects of a lady recently deceased. The guests at Marshal MacMahonW Versaillos fete consumed 2,000 bottles of champagne, 1,000 of claret, 2,000 litres of punch, 2,400 litres of syrup and Icd ' conee, 4 .000 cups ot chocolate, 20,000 cakes, 20,000 sandwiches and rolls, 400 partridges, bOO fowls, 60 hams, and 200 pounds of candy. . .' It is announced that there will be an international exhibition of sea and river fishing material In Berlin, In 1830. lhls exhibition will contain not less than nine departments. A programme will be sent abroad soon, giving all ne cessary particulars to those who may desire to forward exhibits. Lieutenant Colonel John Brett, one of the few English oflicers who rose Irom the ranks, has just died. lie got his commission as ensign after the bat- -, tie of the Alma, in 1854, and when In 4474he.was retired with full pay wor l uriish meuat iuU the Ci oss wTKSo gion of Honor. The value of land in Melbourne, Australia, bas increased somewhat slnco the city was founded. A lot 63 feet wide and 220 feet deep, which was bought from the Crown in the early days of the colony, for $80 by Mr. Michael Pander, and remained in his possession until his death, was recently sold by his heirs for $163,000, Ireland has 751, 809 turkeys, 2 250,- 399 geese, 2,053,070 docks and 7.S20 80o ordinary fowls, making a total ot 13,- 6CG,083. Estimating the geese and tur keys at an average market price of seventy-five cents each, and ducks and or dinary fowls at sixty-two cents per . pair, the poultry in Ireland would rep resent a total value of $5 .518,400. The failure of Messrs. J. Innen, Wright & Co., of Glwcow, for $2 380,000 disclosed the fact that the books had not been balanced for thirteen years, nor hod the cash books been added up. Sometimes for months together ti'o . books were left blauk, the only records of business transactions being memo randa on scraps of paper. The bvipk keeper was "too busy." Lord Carnarvon in his addreos at the Edinburgh Philosophical Institu tion, last month, said during his own four years of office be was not aware that one unfriendly word has passed between Britain and America. That waa due to the right intention of each Government, to the mutual good will of the two peoples, and the tact and good feeling of .Lord Dufferin. Vermont Is said to stand at the head of the New England States In the rela tive proportion of her agricultural pop ulation. Over fifty per cent, of all who are engaged in occupations are engaged In agriculture, while the percentage thus engaged In Maine is less than for ty. In New Hampshire thirty eight, In Massachusetts less tban thirteen. In Connecticut about twenty-two, and in Rhode Island about thirteen per cent. In excavating a well at Castleton, Vermont, recently, a bone of some un- known animal was dug out nlrve feet below the -surface. The formation in which it was found is glacial sand and bowlders. One bowlder was to large, that it had to be reduced in size before it could be removed. This bowlder was originally from the conglomerate' for mation extending along the west sido . of the Green Mountains in StarlUboro', -Lincoln and Rpton. The cause of the ex-Empress Eu-. genie and her son against tbe SUte is just now being tried In Paris. They claim certain property oi aiwnevu , as belonging to tbem, particularly me Fontainebleau Chicago Museum, the collection of armor at Comrjelme and a great many pictures. In 18 s a com promise was signea oeiweeu ji. wraun and the.llquldatorof tbe civil list but difficulties of construction have given - rise to the present suit. A tablet of black marble has been placed upon the house 86 Rue Saint Uo note, corner of Rue Baoval, where Mo UeJe was born in 1622. Corneille's house, Rue a'Argentenll, where he died, October 1st, 1684, has been torn down to lay out tbe out the Avenue de l'Oper, and the only memorial to the great dra matist Is the name of one of the roost In significant streets of Paris, a name con ferred in 1790. Corneille's house, near Rouen, Is, however, in good preserva tion, and Is to be restored and furnished with relics of the poet and object re calling his history and works.