Newspapers / The Blue Ridge Blade … / Aug. 2, 1879, edition 1 / Page 1
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I I V V '. . . . ' " - L ' THE BLTOKIDGE BLADE , VOL. IV.-NO. 24. "JUST 8LXTT-TW0." "Just sixty-two I Then trim thy light, And get thy Jewels ell re-set ; Tie PMt meridian, bnt bright, And lacks one hour of sunset yet At sixty-two - -Be etrong and true ; Clear off thy rost and shine anew. ' '. 'Tie yet nigh tune thy staff resume. And fight freVh battles for the truth j For what is age but youth's fall bleom A riper, more transcendent youth ? A wedge of gold - Is never old ; Streams broader grow as downward rolled. "At s xty-two life is begun ; At seventr-three begin oooe more. Fly Swifter as yon near the snn, And brighter shine eighty-four ' " ' -tjn ieT7S"nj iSfl" .mi UWTI. - "Keep thy looks wet wit'i morning dew, And freely let thy graces flow ; For life wejl spent is ever new. And years annointed ever grow. So work away, Be young for aye ! From sunset breaking unto day." A Second Trial. It was Commencement at G College. The people were pouring into the church as I entered It, rather tardy. Finding the choice seats in the center of the audience room already taken, I pressed forward, look ing to the right and to the left for a vacan cy. On the very front row of seats I found one. . , Here a little girl, moved along to make room for me, looking into my face with large gray eyes, whose brightness was soft ened by very long lashes. Her face was open and fresh as a newly-blown rose before sunrise. Again and again I found my eyes turning to the rose-like face, and eaoh time the gray eyes moved, half-smiling, to meet mine. Evidently the child was ready to "make up" with me. And when, with a bright smile, she returned my dropped handkerchief, and 1 said "Thank youj" we seemed- fairly introduced. Other persons, coming into the seat, crowded me quite close up against the little girl, so that we soon felt very well acquainted. "There's going to be a great crowd," she ' said to me. "Yes," I replied; "people always like to see how schoolboys are made into' men." ' Her face beamed with pleasure and pride as she said: "My brothers going to graduate; he's going to speak; I've brought these flowers to throw to him." - They were not greenhouse favorites; just old-fashioned domestic flowers, such as we associate with the dear crrandmothfii-s i 'but. I thought, "they will seem sweet and beautiful to him for little sister's sake. " 'That is my brother." "The one with the light hair?" I asked. "Oh no, "she said, smiling and shaking her head in innocent reproof; "not that homely one, with red hair ; that handsome one with brown wavy hair. His eyes look brown, too; but they ain't they are dark blue. There! he's got his hand up to his head now. You see him, don't you ?" In an eager way she looked from me to him, and from him to me, as if some impor tant fate depended upon my identifying her brother. "I see him," I said. "He's a very good looking brother.'" "Yes, he is beautiful," she said, "with artless delight ; "and he's so good, and he studied so hard. He has taken care of me ever since mamma died. Here is his name on the programme. He not the valedic torian, but he has an honor, for all that." I saw in the little creature's familiarity with these technical college terms that she had closely identified herself with her brother's studies, hopes and successes. "He thought, at first," she continued, "that he would write on the 'Romance of Monastic Life."'. What asU-ange sound these long words had, whispered from her childish lips! Her interest in her brother's work had stamped them on the child's memory, and to her they were ordinary things. "But then,"she went on, "he decided that he would -rather write on 'Historical Parallels,' and'he'sgot a real good oration, and he says it beautifully. He said it to me a great many times. I 'most know-it by heart. Oh! it begins so pretty and so grand. This is the way it begins," she ad ded, encouraged by the interest she must have seen in my face: '"Amid the per mutations and combinations of the actors and the forces which make up the great kaleidoscope of history, we often find that a Destiny s hand ''Why, bless the baby !" I thought, look ing down into her bright, proud face. I can't describe how very odd and elfish it did seem to have those sonorous words rol ling out of the smiling infantile mouth. f The baud striking up, put an end to the quotation and to the conferences. As ' the exercises progressed, and ap proached nearer and nearer the effort on which all her interest was concentrated, my little friend became excited and restless. Her eyes grew larger and brighter, two deepred spots glowed on her cheeks. She touched-up the flowers, manifestly making the offering ready for the shrine. "Now, it's his turn," she said, turning to me a face in which pride and delight and anxiety seemed about equally mingled. But when the overture was played through, and his name was. called, the child seemed, in her eagerness, to forget me and all the ' .earth beside him. She rose to her feet and ! leaned forward for a better view of her be loved, as he mounted on the speaker's stand. I knew by her deep breathing that her heart was throbbing in her throat. I knew, too, by the way her brother came up the steps and to the front that he was trembling. The hands hung limp; his face was pallid, and the lips blue as with cold. I felt anx ious. The child, too, seemed to discern that things were not well with him. Some thing like fear showed in her face. He made an automatic bow. Then a be wildered, struggling look came into his face, then a helpless look, and then he stood staring vacantly, like a somnambulist, sX the waiting audience. The moments of painful suspense went by, and still he stood as if struck dumb. I saw how it was; lie had been seized with stage-fright. Alas! little sister ! She turned her large, dismayed eyes upon me. "He's forgotten it, " she said. Then a swift change came into her face; a strong, determined look; and on the funeral-like 'silence of the room broke the sweet, grave, child-voice; "'Amid the permutations and "combina tions oi me actors and the forces which make up the great kaleidoacone nf h;at weoften find that a turn of Destiny's hand Everybody about US turned and lnnboH The breathless silence; the sweet, childish voice; the childish face; the long, unchild- HKe words, produced a weird effect. But tVe help had come too late: the an nappy brother was already staggering in uuu.mm.ion irom the stage. The band qmckly struck up, and waves of lively -mu- .v n.c,c luiieu ow 10 cover the defeat. I gave the little sister a glance in which x lucam, r snow me intense- sympathy I felt; but she did not see: me Iier pvps swimming with, tears, were on her brother's face. I put my arm areund her. She was nltfnpprS;lkte lief DumoJC j5 wm j2rJ. d&iJtillQd before . r - ... . i ' -r on "j vu uic Buame-HincKen young man oiiuug wuu a lace use a statue s. When he saw her by his side. the Ul't face relaxed, and a quick mist came into uweyes. ine young men got closer to gether, to make room for her. She sat uown oesiae mm, laid her flowers on his Knee, and slipped her hand in his. I could not keep my eyes from her sweet, pitying face. I saw her whisper to him, he bending a little to catch hPr wn. Later, I found out that she was askin- him u ne Knew nis "piece" now, and that he answered yes. When the young, man . next on the list had.spoken, and while the band was Dlav- "si "" vuuu, iu me oromer s great sur prise, made her way up the stage steps, and picweu lurougn me mrong of professors and trustees and distinguished visitors up to the college president. "If you please, sir," she said with a little curtesy, "will you and the trustees let my brother try again? He knows his piece now." for a moment, the president stared at her through his gold-bowed spectacles, and then, appreciating the child's petition, he smiled on her, and went down and spoke to the young man who had failed. So it happened that when the band had ceased playing, it was briefly announced that Mr. would now deliver his ora tion "Historical Parallels." " 'Amid the permutations and combina tions of the actors and the forces which make up the great kaleidoscope of history This the little sister whispered to him as he rose to answer, the summons. A ripple of heightened and expectant interest passed over the audience and then all sat stonestill, as though fearing to breathe lest the speaker might again take fright. . No danger ! The hero in the youth was aroused. He went at his "piece" with a set purpose to conquer, to redeem himself, and to bring the smile back into the child's tear-stained face. I watched the face dur ing the speaking, j The wide eyes, the part ed lips, the wholej rapt being said that the breathless audience was forgotten, that her n mo trmicti "Wlni the ardent abandon of one who catches en thusiasm in the realization that he is fight ing down a. wrong judgment and conquer ing a sympathy, the effect was really thril ling. That dignified audience brojie into rapturous applause; bouquets intended for the Valedictorian rained like a tempest. And the child who had helped to save the day that one beaming little , face, in its pride and gladness, is something to be for ever remembered.; Icebergs. The icebergs which come down from the North pole and lie in wait for vessels crossing their path find their grave in the Gulf stream. Northward and eastward runs this fierce current, yet below it is a stealthy polar current gliding ever south ward, and the mighty berg, whose bottom reaches many fathoms down, is seized by the lower current and borne against ; the Gulf stream, until the heat of the upper current melts and disintegrates it, and al lows it no longer to be a menace to the marinet a siren indeed, the very embodi ment of poetry and splendor, but treacher ous and remorseless as a fiend. Several times have I seen icebergs at sea, gener ally looming suddenly, startling and ghost like out of a dank fog, but once 'robed in imperial magnificance. It was the 4th of July, tuid the sky was without a cloud, but the air was cold and keen as winter, and we knew what it meant. As the sun arose the horizon was studded with glittering points like the serried spears of a great host; here and there a loitier mass flashed back the rays of the sun from some berg towering above the field ice. There was nothing to be done but to keep on our course, for we were near ly surrounded by the ice; but we had t leading wind, a good top-gallant breeze. and felt our way without much difficulty through the broad channels. What love Iy pale greens and blues were revealed in the caverns of the immense, cathedral- iKe icebergs into which the waves brake with a far-oflNeerie boom, and how exquisi e "was the roseate blush which the icy pin nacles assumed when kissed by the setting snn ! The full moon arose soon after and shone on the silvery bastions and towers of an iceberg scarcely half a mile from us, which was not less than 400 feet above the sea and nearly four times the height of our own masts. Next morning the polar fleet had disappeared in the south era board, and, on the whole, we were not sorry to part company with it. The Finest Residence in America, Flood, the California millionaire, build ing what will, it is said, be the finest pri vat,e residence in America. The grounds include loOO acres on San Francisco bay, comprising a natural park ready for lm provements to any desired extent The house is 100 by 200 feet in area, and re senibles a French chateau of the old style. Verandas surround it, and the roof is broken with many gables and two towers 140 feet high. The entire exterior is very ornate. Among the apartments are several parlors, j music room, library and wine room, the j latter being of uncommon size. The din i ing room is 100 feet long, so that great din ners may be given in it ; most of it can be j shut off, leaving a room of comparatively small size ior ordinary use. five years will be consumed in completing the house and its surroundings. Mr. Flood also con templates a city residence of corresponding magnificence. j ' America imported from Germany this spring 32,000 dead humming birds tor ladies bonnets. MORGANTON. . --- Peter the Uremt In pesonal appearance Peter was tall and robust, quick and nimble of foot, and dex trous and rapid in all his movements. Hia iace was plump and round. His eyes were imge ana Dngni, with Drown eyebrows. His hair was short and curling and of a uruwuu?u coior. iiis look was fierce and restless. His gait quiek and swinging. That superfine and satirical Wilhelmina, Margravine of Baireuth, de scribes hhn as tall and well-made. 'His countenance, she says, "is beautiful, but has something in it so rude and savage us to nu you with fear." When she saw him during ius visit to Frederick William's youn in i U7, he was dressed like a sailor, m a itock wnnout lace or ornament. A nne, nooie, heroic face the portraits repre sent him as having : - onlv his and deep drinking and low morals had im paired his majesty, and given it rather a ueusuai and lallen expression. From-his youm ne had beeu subjected to a spasmodic affection of the nerves which always at tacked him in his hours of rage. It is said to have resulted from a fright he received in early boyhood; some Rebel soldiers forced their way into the convent where he was brought up, and flashed their naked swords round his head. The spasms showed themselves by a contortion of the muscles oi me neck and of Jus face. Dining at .tseriin, wilhelmina tells how such . ah at tack took place. "At table the Czar -was placed beside the Queen," Wilhelmina's mother. " There took him a kind of con vulsion, something like Tic, or St. Vitus, which he seemed quite unable to control. He got into contortions and gesticulated wildly and brandished about his knife within a yard of the Queen's face, who, in great alarm, made several times as if to rise. iheUzar begged her to retain her composure, ss he would not hurt her, and took her bv the hand and untuned it an violently that she shrieked out in Tm in The Czar laughed heartily, and added that she had not bones of so had a texture as his Catharine. After supper a grand ball was opened, which the Czar evaded, and, leaving the others to dance, walked nlonn homeward to Mon Bijou," a palace which Frederick William had placed at his dis posal, and in which the Czar and his suite made fearful havoc, almost breaking the thrifty King's heart. The sierht of a bfi- tle, it is alleged, had the effect of throwing him into such a fit, and the sight of a beau tiful young woman had the effect of taking him out of one. M. de Stachlin says that when the Czar was attacked the Empress was instantly sent for, and failing her, the first young woman that came in the way was conducted to the Czar's apartment; and, if she had been sent for. was intro duced with the formal announcement. " Peter Alexievitz, this is Ithe person von desired to speak with." The soft voice and agreeable conversation and sweet pres ence of the charmer had such an effect' on the Czar that instantly the convulsions ceased; and he was himself again, his vis- .a2ca , Tea in Holland. Tea in Holland is, like almost everything but water, of excellent quality, and is not converted into a beverage by the'proprietors of tea gardens. Everybody makes her own tea at Hague and Amsterdam, and even at Schevemngen. W hen Mynheer and his fa mily have taken their seats at one of the green tables closely packed under the trees round the orchestra, madame proceeds to make tea in the national machine known as the "theestoof." This is very unlike the English urn and teapot, and eqnally dissi milar from the1 Russian samovar. The care fur waiter first brings what appears to be iron pail, but is in reality a stove of primitive construction, bottomed well with charcoal. On this is set the kettle of" com mon life, boiling, and kept boiling by the charcoal underneath. Tea is brought in a caddy adapted to the size of the party and a black earthenware teapot. Madame, pro ceeds to make tea, first ascertaining that the water boils, and when the first round is poured out removes the lid of the kettle and puts the little black teapot in Its place. There is clearly an understanding between the" coppersmith and the potter as to tke size of teapots and kettle-lids, for the fit seems exact, and the tea is kept hot, as it needs to be in the open air. Ihus, after the manner of the nursery rhyme, the fire begins to boil the kettle, the kettle begins to warm the pot, the pot begins to make the tea, and the tea, presumably, begins to warm its drinkers, tor mey seem nappy enough in a quiet, self-contained way They are not listless, these Dutch drinkers of tea (shade of Van uunk! dui iney can not be pronounced festive, evidently tney are contented folk, well off in the world's e-oodsand careful of them, there are no peals of laughter, no flashing gestures, no demonstrativeness of any kind, and yet and these Dutch' folk are not sad. 1 hey are "gentle, yet not dull," happy, yet not boisterous perhaps, nicely, modulated cheerfulness is the best term Dy wnicn to indicate their mental condition. Chatting quietly they advance to more and more cups of tea, made tresn and iresn Dyme lady presiding, far too good a housewife to have lavished her store ot tea on tne nrst hrewinff. She appeals to the caddy and the! ever-boiling kettle, and brews inter minable tea of excelleat strength and flavor. Fred Archer. Fred Archer is the jokey who has ridden Parole to most of his victories in England and the characteristics of his ' method of riding may be summed up in three words patience, vigilance, courage. He is al ways ready and nearly always first at the starting post so as to seeure tne nest piace. He olievs the starter implicity and thus avoids irritating that important functionary, and never takes his eyes from the flag. He holds false starts and breaks away mere f ally, thinking it better to wait till it was really a "go," and then he is like a gray hound from the slips. Since the days when George Fordham, in Captain Chriestie's white jacket, made the souls of book makers to shrivel within them, no jockey has got off like Fred Archer. Instead of pulling his horse's head off, as he eyes the flag, he leaves it loose, and when the signal drops sends his horse along with a touch of the spur. This is very different from the bustling scrambling style of young jockeys who have- been educated after the manner of Joe Saxon. It is said that when old Joe was Jimmy Grimshaw's master he was perpetually impressing the lad with the ne cessity for "getting off." Little Jimmy said he was always getting fined and sus pended as it waa. "Never thee mind," was the encouraging reply, accompanied by N; ay SATORY, an ominous flourish of a stout ash plant "if these gets mispenderl -PB rve thee a holiday;but if thee don't get of Til break ivery bone in thy infernal young skin!" Mat Dawson's method of teaching is quite the opposite of that of thetordy old hero of the green and gold,1 No. master in Eng land is more quickly and. silently obeyed than Mat Dawson, who without making the slighest assertion of authority, has his little army of men and boys bompletely under control. Archer, during five years' apprenticeship; gave no, troul.Ie. Appa rently impressed with the Talueof that im mortal north country proverb, which ought to be written in letteraof gold aver every racing stable and a good many lass institu tions. "It's canny to say nbwt," he from childhood kept his eyes and 'ears open and his mouth shut He has thus by degrees acquired every point of goodjiding, .that of ''finishing" well having cost hiia more time than all the others put together. Ma ny of hia best races have been won actually at the start, and more by his marvelous quickness in seeing an opening and his pluck in cramming his horse at it. His fine hands also contribute greatly to his success. A proof of his dainty handling of a horse'fi mouth is that he is never run away with. His head is as cool as. his hand is liget and his heart stout. Whpn he had seized an advantage at the start, ip making a sharp turn or by driving his horse through an opening that nine riders out of ten would be afraid of, his clear head pre vents him from throwing it away. He has, however, with all his self possession no lack of earnestness. He is all jockey from the button of his cap to the tips of his spurs, and rides as the . backers of his mounts know irrespective of the odds. Whether on a six-to-four or a twenty-to-one chance he equally strives to win. Across country he goes quite as well as on the flat, and should his present eight stone and five pounds expandsed so as .to put him out of count for the latter he will have a erand career before him as a steeple-chase rider. He is frequently to be found at Captain Machell's school for jumpers and private course, putting new horses to the business over hurdles, and in winter hunts regularly with , the Valve of White Horse or the Cot8wold. At Melton, Lord Wilton, who has shown him much kindness, always find him a mount and takes great delight in the verve of his riding. In the flat-racing season he rides nearly every day in every week, and often and after a hard weeks works in this country will run over to Paris to ride on Sunday and be in the saddle again at Newmarket on Monday. For the fatigue of railway traveling" he has one un failing remedy, sleep: and it mav be added that except when riding horses in trials he is no early riser. Kacing is afternoon work and hard work, often preceded or followed by a long railway journey and a jockey's morning is thus his only leisure time ex cept Sunday that is if it be a Sunday on which there is no big race at Paris. It must of course be obvious to all who. have given the subject a thought thata iock at waruiotTG ii&d au m;uji ;"ttno y-irftsser" "J look after the multitudinous jackets, boots, breeches and saddles. Fred Archer, with his income, might if he were thoughtless, require such a person to attend on him alone, but it speaks well for his' good sense and that of his intimate friend, Constable, that these admirable horsemeu have a "jockey's vale" between them, and find themselves most efficiently "looked after." On the "off" Sundays Archer is much at Heath House Where he is quite one of the family, and enjoys a cut of Mat Dawson's prime lamb and ' a glass of champagne as well if there were no such limit as eight stone ten in the conditions of classic races.' J. C. Bemorti the Bmnting. Among the most active dispensers of the bounties of the Pickwicks in New Orleans there is a handsome brunette, by the name of J. C, who is a bachelor his age is a ins crutable as that of a pretty woman. Two young and tidily attired women confronted J. C. recently whilst he was distributing the beef tea at the club, and one of them, heavily veiled, disclosing one eye a bright, cunning one and, extending her soft, white hand, gave him a printed sup oi paper. J. C, whose batchelordom is not at all due to a want of , admiration for the 'fair sex," received the document with tie impressment and courtesy of a youth oi twenty Summer, and was about handing in return a bottle of prosaic beef tea to tne ap plicant. Upon looking oyer the paper, however, J. V. discovered mat n was a re auisition for one bottle of brandy, one bot tle of sherry,a half bottle of champagne and box of Vienna Discuits. signea oy a Howard, and not at all within his provi dence to fill. Returning the paper, he said : "But. Miss, vou must have another requisitionf " After some hesitation the fair one ftnawered. demurely. "Oh. yes," and produced another document, which, upon examination, proved to De another requisi tion for one bottle of brandy, one bottle of sherry, a half bottle champagne and a box Vienna biscuits, signed by a member of the Young Men s Christian Association. J. O. s suspicious had been aroused by this time, but in strict penormance oi nis omciai du ties hfi seemed determined to get a requisi tion for "beef tea." In a few seconds, at his bidding, it was forthcoming, written in a neat, legible woman's hand, and signed ostensibly by one of our well known phy sicians. J. C. s expectations were more than realized. The .requisition called for two bottles of essence of besf and two bot tles of beef soup. "Miss said he, after drawing a long breath, and with a sacrili gious reference to the green veil that still kept concealed mree-quariers oi me young woman's face, "will you please remove that bunting?" As though the applicant had sailed before the mast for many years, she threw aside the mask and disclosed most fascinating features, staggering J. C, whose perpendicnlar was only maintained by the bottles ot soup wnicn ne neiu in eacn nana and served him as a balance-pole to a tight rope walker. J. C. has seen a great deal of the world its felitiii?s and deceptions his embarassment was, therefore, only mo mentary. With a gentle bow and bland smile said he to the fair sufferer, "Before I cam ply with this demand, wil you please go and get me another requisition for a dozen shell crabs, a noiseless sewing machine and a set of parlor furniture, and have thrown in, also, one of those nineteen dollars china sets " The last seen of the young woman they were sailing down Canal street in search of Judge Myers to teach them his system or success in defraud ing the poor and needy. Forest fires have been very destruc tive in Pennsylvania. AUGUST '2, 1879. The "Feasant Millionaire. " By the murder of Josef Weyer at Szentes, Hungary, the Emperor of Austria has lost one of his wealthiest and most noteworthy subjects a peasant who was a much more curious character than ninety-nine out of a hundred peers nnd princes of the realm. Weyer was popularly known as the "peas ant millionaire." Sixty years ago he began life as a small farmer. At the time of his death he enjoyed an ineome of 500, 000 gul den, in spite of which he lived in a modest farm-house, dressed like a peasant, ate food which his wife cooked, and indulged in no luxury except norsenack nding. The latter might be regarded as a neces sity though. Like most Hungarian farmers, he was an extensive cattle breeder, and his herds were scattered over miles of vast gra zing plains. He counted his, houses and farms, too, by the score, and up to the day of his death kept all of his vast possessions uuuer nis personal supervision. Many curious stories are told of the old farmer prince and his eccentric ways. He was a peasant to the core in spite of his en ormous wealth, and looked it. At one time he bid at an auction sale of oxen, ' which, according to Hungarian fashion, were put up by yokes. There were 800 yokes, , and the old man bought the whole 600 beasts. The auctioneer was a stranger, and when the miserable, shabby little granger who had bid so steadily was pointed out to him, he waxed wroth. "Josef Weyer," he said, "do you not know that it is forbidden by law to hoax a public auctioneer?" "Surely, sir, surely," was the reply. "The price of these oxen you have bid for must be paid down. Cash I do you un derstand? Cash!" The old man dived into the breast of his dingy Dolman, hauled Out a ragged old blue silk handkerchief, and without a word counted out a pile of 1,000 gulden notes, that made the auctioneer's mouth water. "It's a pity .you have no more bullocks," he said, as he rolled the remaining notes up and stuffed them back into his breast ; "I was in hopes to be able to buy a thousand or so." During the state of siege which succeed ed the Hungarian revolution an edict was enacted forbidding the peasants of the Theiss valley to use saddle horses without a spe cial permit from the military governor. One day some gens-d' annes overtook Josef Weyer riding along some twenty miles from Szentes, on his favorite horse ana de manded his pass. "It is at home in my house in Szentes," he said. "Indeed ! And how is it that you ven ture to affront the law by traveling. I am only visiting' my estates. " 1 he gens-d amies grinned. They fan cied they had a prize in this old beggar who with a sweep of his hand claimed proprie torship of a dozen leagues of land. Per haps he was even one of the dreaded revo lutionists. At any rate, they arrested him, laughed at his request to send to hjs house ress or me grave, he was locked up forsev- eral days. ' He did not grumble, and true to his busy instincts pottered around the jail doing light chores till a small Official who knew him found him cleaning a win dow. "Good Heavens, Herr Weyer!" he ex claimed, "what are you doing here f " "Don't you see, my son ? Cleaning the windows. The gens-d armes arrested me because I had no pass." The man secured his release at once, A short time afterward, on the day of his mar riage, a lawyer handed him the deeds of - a comfortable little farm and ten cows and oxen. Did 4osef Weyer had not forgotten the geod turn he had done hhn. Weyer purchased his first farm from Count Steven Karoly, who let him have it on very easy terms, in view of hisproyerty. Marshal Hayhan fined the Uount a half million gulden for befriending Kossuth, after the capture of Of en by the imperial troops. The Count's resources were badly crippled at the time, and ' his steward was in despair at his inability to make up the amount of the imposition, when a little old man, smelling rankly of sour milk, called on him and stated that he had heard Count Steven wanted to borrow some money. "Well, what business of yours is that? "I thought I might help a little, sir. The Count was a good friend to me once God bless him ! and I would like to help him if I could." i The steward laughed heartily. "Why, my dear fellow, do you know how much money the Count needs ? ' ''Excuse me no, sir." "Two hundred thousand gulden. Do you know how much money that is ?" "Look! look!" muttered the old man, scratching his ear. "Why, I havent brought that much with me, to be sure. "1 should fancy not." "But here is a hundred and eighty thou sand. I'll go home and bring the rest in the morning.." Josef Weyer was assassinated most bru tally by a drunken vagabond at a public house in Szentes. The miscreant who was mad drunk, was shot dead bv the police in attempting to secure him. The colossal fortune of the peasant millionaire will prob ably go to the State, as his wif e is dead, and he is not known to have any heirs. A Bloody Affair. A bloody and brutal affair recently took place near Farley, in Platte county, Mo. Captain Lanter. a School Trustee, attended a meeting of the Board to which he be longed; T-m Morgan, a young man 23 years old. was also in attendance. Morgan was known as one to whom a word means a blow following it and who needed but slight provocation to wreak summary ven geance upon me onending ones, in me course of the meeting he became involved in a auarrel with Lanter, whom he assault ed and brutally pounded, so that he is now lying in a critical condition at bis home. The high standing of Captain Lanter pro duced considerable excitement and a war rant wra sworn out for Morgan s arrest and placed in the hands of Constable Ben Fulcher, a young man scarce the age oi Morgan, and Israel Heath, a Justice of the Peace, a man of advanced age, and who is regarded as a quiet peaceable citizen. Both of these men were on mendiy terms with Morgan. They proceeded to Morgan's about noon. On entering the room Ful cher said : "Torn we have a warrant for your arrest and it isn't necessary to make any disturbance, but just settle the thing peacefully and coolly." Morgan replied: "It's all right, boys; you are friends of mine, and I will go with you peaceably, but I wouldn't go with anybody else. But it's now about dinner time. Put your heraea up and feed them ; come in, and the old woman will get us some dinner, and then we will go and see about this thing. ' Morgan took his violin and played a few tunes for the entertainment of the visitors. He then handed the violin to Fulcher, saying: "Ben, you play a tune and I'll dance; there's nothing like a good shuffle before I go." Fulcher took the violin and pwyea and Morgan danced for a few mo menta He then stopped and said: "That's imkt; I'll mil him yet" Mr. Heath, who was reading a newspaper, looked un and said: "Tom. von onirhtn't tn ti? that way ; remember you are under arrest, andsuch things will go hard with you." Morgan hastily exclaimed: "Damn you, are you going to take it up? If you are, ril kill yon too ! " He raisad a fhir nA rushed upon Heath, who had risen to. his -i uui uiui m uTiuie mow over the head and eyes, which stunned him and brought him to the floor. As Heath arose he struck him again, when Fulcher stepped forward and told him he muct stop. Turn ing like an infuriated demon upon his new opponent, he told him he would kill him; too, and rushed upon him.. Fulcher drew his pistol, a small one of 32 calibre, and fired rapidly at Morgan three times, each time with terrible effect The first shot took effect in the mouth, and passed near ly through the head; the second in the right temple, tne latter nearly tearing off the top of his head. He turned to run, exclaiming : "My God, I'm shot ! " As he turned Fulcher fired two more shots, taking effect in Morgan's back. Morgan went out of the dooc, his young wife with him, and both fled across the field for near ly a quarter of a mile, his wife ahead of him. Near the home ol his another he fell. He was taken to her house and died in a short time.. Capt. Lanter, the first party assaulted by Morgan, was in a dan gerous condition when last heardjfrom, and his second victim, Mr. Heath is also serious ly injured. The Lower Animals, It is pretty well known that the lower animals possess all the weaknesses, vanities and vices known to man. Indeed, they have the passion for dress even more devel opedsometimes to the cost of their lives than (jur fine ladies have. The cock is notoriously ambitious and tyranical ; the hog as he grows old becomes a mere lout and sensualist, though the promise of his youth was of better things; the jackdaw and monkey are full of mischief ; the beau teous dove is Quarrelsome, and even the penguin which sits on rocks in the Southern Pacific arrayed in a white apron and pre tending to be as neat as a pin, is foul beyond conception. That they have a taste for al coholic liquors is known as a fact by scien tists. One of these selected for his subiects the quiet household of a cock which had never done him any harm, and in which there was no hereditary tendency toward the bottle.- To the master nfltiBihOM, ifotatni at first iirn 0n. stfeo bv aroused appetite uulTue 8nl5hgeBrwwij,ia The hens, too, took kindly to their potations, though not so eagerly as the cock did, and ere long that once happy home was a scene woe, disorder and irregularity, lhe comb and wattles of the father swelled and grew purple like a tippler's nose ; his eyes became bloodshot ; his whole oeing was changed ; he quarrelled with his wives and beat them over the head with his spurs,and in their turn the wives grew reckless, cross and dumpish, and neglected their broods. The old gentleman would go to roost at all odd hours of day and night, and presently fall from his perch. He would crow in the most absurd and unreasonable way; get his legs tangled together, flap one wing when he meant to flap both, refused his meals, and at last he fell a victim to the demon of rum by dying. It was a sad ending, but it sat isfied the demon of science mat men are not alone in their love for intoxicants. Floating Light. Besides the light-houses which warn the sailor of danger and guide him in his course amidst the darkness of night there are along the British coasts numerous float ing lights, or light-vessels in situations where the erection of a light-house is im possible, where there are banks or shoals perilous to ships but affording no founda tion for a building. These vessels ride at anchor in places that ive been selected for them, and which are as exactly marked on the charts as the positions of the light houses. Most of them are stationed off the east coast of England from the mouth of the Hutnber southward; a few on other parts of the English coast and on that of Ireland ; and two on the coast ot Scotland. They are generally vessels of about one hundred and fifty tons, specially construct ed with a view to their riding safely at an chor in exposed situations and during the most severe storms, without regard to sail ing powers, of which they have no need; and it has been an extremely rare thing for them to be driven from their moorings or to experience any disaster. The mariner counts upon the guidance of their light in any weather, as confidently as he does on that of a lighthouse built upon avock. Fampaa Graaa. Few plants are more attractive for the lawn and form a more conspicuous feature than the Pampas grass (Qynerium argen teurri), and, since it is entirely at home in the lower South, one is at a loss to make put why it is so rarely met with ; especially when one reflects that almost every South ern nurseryman has it for sale, and that it is held at prices by no means high. The comparatively few who have it growing on their lawns or in their gardens are loud in praising the beauty of its long, slender leaves, which form bundles of sheaths at their base, and rise to the height of six or eight feet when they gracefully curve out ward, giving the plant the appearance, at a distance, of a hemisphere of beautifully curved lines. Towards autumn when the leaves have attained their full development the flower stems appear from the centres of the strongest sheaths, shooting up perpen dicutlarly three or four feet above the mass of foliage, and gradually unfolding a plume of elegant, feather-like flowers, which at first are of a silky whiteness, but assume a darker tint as the season advances. Of course the reader will understand that Pam pas grass is cultivated only for ornament, and that therefore, one or two tufts is all that a person would be likely to want A single plant will soon form a tuft It kills down in winter at any point above the frost line, but being perennial-rooted soon springs 1 up into conspicuousness the next spring. , I '1 WHOLE NUMBER 180. 1 . . BRIEFS. t-i,. The population of Australia U now 2,500,000, and the import and export trade is 70,000,000. , : t Four carrier pigeons flew frotn-" Harrisburg, Pa., to Hoboken, N. J., in 125 minutes. Distance, 158 mjles. -It is repotted that Presided flayes will spend the summer month t Vi home in Fremont, Ohio. t i4. ., v The Howard iron works f Canter county, Pa., lost 1,000 cords of wood by n mountain Urea. , . . .." Chicago fires in May caused a loss .' of $110,403, of which abouthalf jwasv borne by Insurance companies. T r'" London has a shell mission, shells being sent by children at the sea . aide fur children la hipitals. . v . Ocean county, X. J Is the place to get- wortleberrles, of which 50,000" worth will be gathered this year. It is estimated that the Log crop of Wisconsin this year will reach $1,633 -feet against 1,075,000,000 last year, ' Mr. Spurgeon has been presented with a testimonial of more than $30,000 in honor of the twenty-fifth year of his -work as a preacher. The potato bugs in the western part of the State of Maine are, It Is said, 1 making sad havoc with the potato vines. i . ' t . There were 1,367 fires In thetTnlWd1' States and Canada in April, 1379. The0 aggregate loss is $9,109,00 The loss to insurance companies Is $4,5Od,8O0.' -r Mr: John B. Gough has !ended his lecture tour Jn Great Britain, and la4 about to return home. He has given 115 lectures there. V Isaac and DavJd Seltzer, twA bro thers, haye just celebrated their 83d birthday in their Chester county (Pa.) home. The Prince of Wales has reduced the rents of all his farmers In the Duchy of Cornwall twenty per centum for three years. Only 7,000,000 of the new silver dollars have gone Into circulation since the coinage began last year, whtle the treasury holds $15,00000. Forty-six thousand dollars' worth of lobsters w ere shipped from Halifax ior tne London market, one day last week, it being the first cargo. During the month of May the . V nited States Mints coined gold pieces valued at $2,878,550 : 2.330.C00 silver dollars, and $4,708 In smaller coins. The longest pine root on record has recently beeu dug up on a plantation a few miles from Savannah, Ga. It was 102 feet long. The total bonded debt of New York city, less the sinking fund, on May 31, was $121,532,007.51, an Increase of $2,- 409,175,41 over the previous month. , ThjeJniMobacco jmTT Dibit SmOkinir oy youths under sixteen years of age gram n v. .... . feet 1)6 Inches, and average weight WaS 195 pounds. The tallest wss 0 feet 4 inches. The Germans, Italians, and French are preparing for extensive exhibits at the Mexican Exhibits in 18S0, with a view of interrupting trade between the United States and Mexico. The exports of provisions to Europe are falling off very rapidly the total during April being only about $8,500, 000, or $1,500,000 less than during the montn ef April, 1878. . A piece of ordnance has beet man- 1 ufactured at Turin which throws a pro- . jectile weighing a ton, and requires 500 . pounds' of powder f6r a charge: ' It la 34 feet long, and has an lS-lnch calibre.' J To the 120,000,000 quirtff of milk sent annually to New York there Is ad ded 40,000.000 quarts of water, which, sold at ten cents a quart, brought $4, 000,000 per annum, or $12,000 per day. In 1870 Colorado had a population of 39,864. Now it has grown to 350,000, it or over six hundred per cent. In nine " years a proportion even greater than -Kansas. ;. The formation of a company to con struct a tide level canal across the Isth- mus of Darlen, has been begun by M. De Lessepg, and a subscription for 400. 000,000 francs will be immediately call- ' ed for. . It is stated that they are now mak- , Ing artificial ice down South at a cost . of only seventy cents per too. ID tie f factory turns out ten tons dally in the form ol blocks i feet long by ten ln- chls In thickness. ' . V, The Pennsylvanlaranroadcompany, , has begun to plant Virginia creepers on the hillsides along their tracks. The effect it is thought will add to the beau ty of the scenery and tend to prevent land slides. ' . . The exports of wheat and wheat flour at its equivalent In grain from all the United States ports to all foreign countries for the year ending Decem ber 31, 1878, as per the official report of the government, were equal to 134,309,- 966 bushels, against 64,462,866 bushels In 1877. Mrs. Zervlah Gould Mitchell, of North Abington, Mass., an old Indian woman who says that she is a lineal de scendant of Massasoit, has pitched her ' tent on the borders of Assawompset Pond, In LakevUle, Mass., on the land ' of her forefathers, which she claims, 1 and intends to pass the summer there. Up to the 17th of May, nearly 7.000.000 francs ($1,400,000) have been sent to the Archbishop of Paris as sub scriptions for the Church of the Sacred Heart, now being built In that city. The subterranean vault of the edifice is nearly finished, and its dimensions are said to surpass those of any existing cathedral In France. According to statistics just publish ed, there were 18,738 young men stu dying at tbe 20 German universities during the winter semester Just passed. Of these 2438 were studying, theology, 5106 law. and 3537 medicine, 7657 being inscribed in the Philosophical Faculty, Their ages ranged for the most part from 19 to 22 years. During the year 1878 there were recorded in the Register's office In New York about twelve thousand deeds, in cluding thereunder leases, contracts or other Instruments, and about six thou sand mortgages. The average cosi oi recording a deed was $2.25; of a mort gage, $2.75. So that during one year about $40,000 was paid to tbe Beglste for recording instruments in bis office.
The Blue Ridge Blade (Morganton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 2, 1879, edition 1
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