Newspapers / The Blue Ridge Blade … / Oct. 11, 1879, edition 1 / Page 1
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nnxiT? IxlJlli B LUE RIDGE BLADE. VOL. IV.-NO. 34. IF If wo knew when walking thoughtless Through the crowded, dusty way, That some pearl of wondrous whiteness Close beside our pathway lay, We would pauss where now we hasten, We would often look around, Lest our careless feet should trample Home rare jewel in the ground. If we knew what forms are fainting N- For the shade which we should fling If we know what lips are parch ng, For the water we should bring We would haste with eager fo )tsteps, We would work with willing hands, ' Bearing cooling oups of water, Planting rows of shading palms. If we knew what feet were weary, Climbing up the hills of pain . By the world cast out as evil, "-"IVjr, repented Ai'dalenee ' Wo no more would dare to seorn them With our Pharisaic pride. Wrapping close our robes around us Passing on the other side. If we knew when friends around us Closely press to say "Good-bye," Which among the lips that kiss us First beneath the flowers should lie, While like rain upon their faces Fell our bitter, blinding tears, Tender words of love eternal We would whisper in their ears. Stoiy of a Herring. A herring ? Bah ! , .My dear sir, will you please to take a reef m your sail ami give the herring a chance To be sure the poor little smoked and wilhered object is at best but a hunger-and- thirst-inspiring mess ; but if you follow its career tioni the tune it got lost from some body's basket until it ceased to be used as a promulgator of human' happiness, you will in 'justice to this odoriferous and much scorned I's i, confess that it really had a mission. For a practical jt modest wielder of fate, ve me the herring that "Ted" Harper found one night as lie was going after his pretty sister at the Bank theatre. A deceptive parcel it represented, as it' iayon the pavement, wrapped in a white paper, neatly tied around with a string, "Ted" made' a grab for it, with a thrill of joyous expootut ion. "Holly! maybe it's a bonanza!" ho ex claimed, rushing toward a restaurant win dow near and eagerly scanning his "find," his dirty little digits trembling with exe't ing hopes supposed to be hidden in a "bo nanza." "Hang it! a herring!" Oh, the disgust, the conoentrated dissappointment, contained in the kick that helpless little fish received as "Ted'' Jung it from him into the gutter. 'Ted" ran his hands down deep into his,, pockets, and meditated upon the shallow- . ness ot tnpe and the liollowness of life gen n'ly. Ik' had not helped Longfellow write his "Psalm of Life," but he was the personification of the line, "A a ihlngs are not wuat they seem." "Hang it all!" he muttered, "if that had been a million bonanza, me and Nell would a-gone to the jconternent and got our names in the papers like high-toners by Jawg." This last explosive evidently meant some thing quite foreigu to his meterings, for' he made a sudden dive after the abused herring, and, wrapping it into a neat par cel again, he assumed a mild and business -line air, although his" eyes twinkled with' some hidden idea, and entered the restau rant. "Say, -mister, buy a blind?" "A what ?'' exclaimed a waiter. "A blind' a something what's got value and you don't know what 'tis till yous paid for it."' "Get out, you little Vagabond! None of your smart tricks here," tile bar-tender cried with an angry move toward "Ted;" but one of the gentlemen present interfered, saying, with a jocular glance at "Ted:" "Let him alone. Come here, my bov, and give us a peep at your 'blind.' " But "Ted" made for the door and would have escaped if he had not been caught by the speaker, who laughingly wanted to know what was in the parcel. "Ilowshud I know,?" "Ted" retorted, with the wit of an embryo politician. " 'Taint no put-up job, honor bright -taint!" "Where did you get it ('' i "Found it right outside ef this here door." The gentleman took the package from "Ted's'Meluctant grasp, lingered it, smelt of i) and with a knowing smile at "Ted," remarked : "Found it, ;lid you, and, supposing some of us lost it, thought you would sell it for the reward f" "Ye-as," the young speculator drawled, looking- down at the end of his nose that he waslihgeutly scratching to avoid meeting the humorous scrutiny of his interlocutor: then added courteously at . . . J i nmsi go. My sister, she for me to take her home, and .theater is out now." a waitin guess the Hill, 110, ItS! time eilOUi'll v,- fnr annthor act, ' the gentlemen renlifJi .Wainino- icu uy .geucrat torce. "1 young and prettv'f" I i.A' i .1. ... vour sister 1 u T , U'11 crie' w enthusi asm, 'and she is going to bea second Lotta after awhile. ;You see, she ain't been at it long yet, but ;she gets enough money al ready to support me'n her !" .'So you are a pair of orphans; are you?" "I should think so. We ain't always been poor neither; but after mother died father tookj.um worse than ever., no body didn t buy his pictures and he jiali no money to buy paint, j Then 'my uncle' you know him as plays the three balls-he got hold of father, and it duln't take long to use us up after that." -Ted" said this last with a solemn wisdom, joined with a sorrowful comprehension of his family trou bles that was as touching as ridiculous touching 1 win its apparent truth, and ri. ! icuious in its efforts to invite attentionto the tact that the- liitle common "scrub st(ck." '"Ted" had bylhis time quite an audi ence, who became interested in his worldly wise ingenious little face, and when his first friend proposed an "auction" then and there to dispose of that mysterious "blind" parcel, the good-natured crowd fell into the liwft with arc a'llrltin Tl... l.I.l.i: 1 i with a nickle . and 1 f ""'""'"S with a nickit and the fun of (competition ; hi hW! ft . r U'e highest bidder for a do lar and a naif. "led was simply charmed into open-' mouthed silence; but when they proposed again disposing of it by auction, and played ?KCJ1,neer with 8ucb advantageous skill . 1 rf,a,ked over two dollars by the sale, "Ted" began to think he had, indeed, found a bonanza. At this moment the door opened timidly, and an anxious 'pair of bright eyes righted from out a closely-muffled face upon "Ted," "Teddy, Teddy, what in the world are you doing here ? Come home this minute!" "Ted" rushed toward the door, shouting : "Don't scold, JNeil ; found a herring, and it's turned out to ne areg'ier bonanza." Poor "Ted1" cicuea -give away" of the "blind" created a roar of laughter, and hp was sharp enough tosee his blunder and joined in the fun at his own expense, while his sister peered into a half opeft door in perplexed anxiety, the gentleman, a handsome fellow, who first interested himself in the brother, ad vanced now to the sister, and, while plac- '?! 5 r"1 of riag action in led s hand, explained briefly how "Ted" came to be detaiued. The girl blushino-lv scolded the boy for his "wicked trick" and added: "I have had such a fright ! I waited for himi until they closed the theatre and then hurried home, fearing something had hap pened to him. Of course, when I did not And him there, I started out to look for mm, ior tie had never failed tn Jli Aot mo at the theatre before. I called arid made in quiries everywhere. At last a policeman told me a little boy was in here. Dear me; how scared I was! Come. TpdrW " iJ said, taking him bv tlip hand in m,.n,.i.. - .- J ........ 11 I11VLIH.1 I J fashion; "and don't VOU CVPr h cunh u bad boy again or I'll do something awful to you! ' "May I walk home with you?" The girl drew back and her fat fl.iaiw.,1 but she met the gentleman's admiring glances with sly reproach in her own lar-e dark eyes, as she replied : "Thank you ; I need no company but Teds." A short walk brought the two ornhans tn their neat little apartments, and ti,o Nell" sat demurely and listened to the story of "Ted's" herring. A silpnrp nf deep thought followed, "Nell," the. seven teen year-old judge, sitting with her hands crossed over her face the picture of bad perplexity, while "Ted" somewhat shame faced, gazed upon her with a dawning con sciousness of having done something wrong. "Teddv." at lost hia ictr uolH n'tl. .. t . 4 7 .vji. DUIU TV 1111 a sigh, "I don't know what mother would have said to such conduct on your part but I know it is only another way of play ing the beggar, and I'm right down ashamed of you. That monev has got togo back ! Come on ; I'll wait outside the door, and you go in and put it on the counter. Come, we are not beggars yet. " 'Ted" began to cry qufctlv. but he knew there was no use protesting ; they started on their errand. The girl waited in the shadow of the adjoining hall door as "Ted, " deeply humiliated, opened the restaurant door and found the same crowd gathered there. ! jtiv siaier is much OTngeu, bui she "ledV throat filled and obstructed fur ther utterances. Laying the money down, ne rusnea out and joined his sister again. They gained their home without discovery mat tney nau Deen followed. The following day a large package-'was left for "led -and his sister. A letter ac companied it, which read : 1 irusi uns sail 01 domes will nt vou nicely, and that you will wear it with credit to your sister, who takes such admirable pains to make a fine man of you. The in closure she must accept from a sincere friend to all of her sex who strive honestly to surmount the difficulties besetting their pathway while unaided and alone they bat tie for place and bread. 'Tis not the offer ing of charity. It is rendered in the spirit of a brother to a sister. Be a brave, studi ous boy, Teddy, and hurry up into the growth of a protector. " j en len-uouar miis constituted the "m- closure." The letter was signed "True Friend." ".Poor little .Nell! 11. the government had opened its treasury to her, she could not have felt richer. She knew what it was to make the most of a dollar. The burden of living had fallen upon her early, and the hundred dollars in her lap seemed to lift a world of care from her mind coal, rent, victuals and those not considered trifles in a household which consume so many shillings ; and Nell only earned eight dollars per week, and here were one hun dred dollars to smooth the rough corners of all their needs. Nell bowed her head in her little, womanly hands, and cried as if her relieved heart could not give vent to its gratitude in any other way. "Ted" had got into his new clothes. They fitted him splendidly. But when be saw his sister weep he went and laid his head on her shoulder and began to force a tear or two from his beaming eye, just for sympathy, and said : ' "What's the use of crying, 'Sis?" When all these-"spots" is gone I'll be big enough to earn money. " Nell only hugged his head and cried the more, saying: "Ain't it awful nice, Teddy ? I do won der where it came from ?" "I'll bet you I can guess," "Ted" re marks, a little uncertain whether to express his "guess." "Why, who?'' '. "1 think it '8 that nice big gentleman who wanted to see us home." - "Teddy! How dare you think so ?" "Ted" thought he had better retract for fear those new things would go the way of the herring monev; for he quicklv ex claimed: "Pshaw ? It couldn't be him, you know, for he don't know where we live, nor our names, nor our nothing !' ' Happily som months passed, Nellie was making rapid progress in her business. She had spoken some lines and received the commendation of the stage manager, and, filled with hope for the future, she flitte out the stage entrance door to meet "Ted" and tell hi m of her success. "Ted" was there, but he was .so sick that he could ! scarcely tower along by his sister's side. I He had complained of a severe head and ! throat ache all day, and now the little chap j was completely "used up," he told his sis- ter, staggering with each word. ) She supported him: until his legs refused i support themselves, and frightened and heaitsore, she attempted to carry him, when 1. J ic as quietly nned trom her hold and ta- n m me arms of a-gentleman who had "shadowed" the two from the stare door 8?nSati" of Pleasun- and Ptel b?s as- s.stance with a quiet "thank you " ' "Ted" was caVried up i their little room MORGANTON, and placed on his lounge, the gentleman saying 10 "iNeil: " undress him and get him to bed while 1 am gone ; I will fetch a physician." ieq was utterly unconcious of the kisses and tears that rained upon him bv ",D 'or, uu wnen me doctor came he looked very solemn, and said "pneumoni. " The unusual noise in the room arrested the attention of the people in the house, and friendly hands ministered to the moaning Kv encouragement to the almost frantic, sisler. "Ted's" nice, big gentle man attended to all the doctor's orders, and wuiu uuij loos ner iervent grati- ob ue weni in anu out nice some angel of meitcy. Once he stooped over and whis pered 10 ner: . trust me as you would a brother or iatner." "What shall'! call you?" "James Overton." The nextmight and the following "Nell" did not go to the theatre, for she sat bv the 3iuc ui poor mue 1 euuy, who would never again find a "bonanza" or witness an auc tion 01 herring, for he was dead. As if frozen withher lonelinessand oripf "Nell" bent her tearless eye upon the si- ent form lior fir.,,,.-- 5 ! 'a .u . lent form her agony of her unutterable sorrow. ungno iiiicntujcu m ine ah are gone, all all and I am left aione. Oh Teddy ! Teddy ! why could it uoi nave Deen me " she murmured. "Not alone, Nellie, my brave little wo man. .Let me be your more than brother or friend, if in time of sorrow you can lean upon me conndentially. Nellie, here at poor teddy's side-1 tell you that I have known and admired you for months, have watched your heroic conduct, have learned to love you. Do not be alone in vour sor row, dear girl, for your grief is mine only icu me mat my sympathy is not instrusive, and that my presence is a comfort." She gave him her hand, saying mourn fully : "It seems as if God had sent you. Tell me nere, are you the writer of a letter signed "F(riend ?" "I am. You will not be angry ?" "Oil, no. It made poor Teddv so Droud and happy. He guessed it enrnft fmm you." . A few months after poor Teddy was buried, Nellie left her little room for a com fortable home as the wife of James Over ton. Among the curiosities in their handsome cabinet is a sealed little glass cabinet con taining a smoked herring. It is the identi cal one "Ted" wanted to sell James'Over ton as a '"blind. " Thomas' "Fo Yeah Ole." "Driving recklessly through the streets, Thomas, what do you say to that ?" Thomas Fletcher scratched his head and grinned as the question was asked him in the Jefferson Market Police Court. "Do you know what reckless driving is?" "I doan' know, boss ; dat depen's 011 the speed I s'pose de nnjmile is a makin'." i "Exactly, and your animal was making the dust fiy this morning, the policeman says, said the (Jourt. - "Well, as gards dat I neber see him wait long 'nough for to count de cobble stones on de street, but I doan' tink I was agoin' so bery fast." "VV hy the policeman says your speed was terrinc. ' "1 guess he neber seed dat fo'-yeah ole uetor , or lie am t 'quainted with the pecoo- uariues 01 iun uiooued stock." "Is your animal a trotter ?" "I'll match him fo' anyfing agin any oder nag in uis yere town io kivenn de groun in less'n free minutes." "Go as you please ?" "Uoan make a dif of bitterence to me. if 1 hab de ribbons ober dat nag's tail I tole you dar's goin' to be some tall steppin' uone. 1 11 have to punish you for driving so recKiess mis morning." "1 couldn t help it, boss. De nag heard a fellow a scootin' up behin' him, an' as he doan like nuttnr foolin' 'roun' his heels, he jes' gib a snort, 's much as to say, Tse off, Thomas,' an' dusted. Befo' 1 knowed where 1 was de ossifer cotched me." "One dollar this time." '"Dat s too bad, boss. Now, if dis ting goes on an' oat hoss keeps up his dustin', I'll hab to eider sell out o' git busted." He paid the dollar and passed out, look ing sad and disgusted. Slipper Throwing. 1 he ancient custom of throwing an old slipper after the bride as she leaves her home is still in many places believed to bring luck, to the happy couple. But it may be questioned whether the old shoe was thrown for luck only. It is stated in the Holy Writ that "the receiving of a shoe w as an evidence and symliol of rejecting or resigning it. The latter is evinced in Deu teronomy, iloth chapter, where the ceremony oi a widow rejecting ner nusuand s brother in marriage is by loosing his shoe from off his foot, j; And iu Kuth we are told that 'it was ithe custom in Israel concerning changing1, that a man plucked off his shoe and delivered it to his neighbor." Hence the throwing of a shoe after a bride was a symbol of renunciation of dominion and authority over her by father or guardian, and the receipt of the shoe by the bride groom, even if accidental, was an omen that the authority was transferred to him, Lont Children. A mother one day lost ono of her child ren, a child ot two years, and after a long and anxious search found him in the kitch en closet, in a huge iron pot, fast asleep. He had been left in charge of a servent, who had fulfilled her duties by taking the child to the kitchen aud then going off to gossip. A .Mrs. D of Barnngton, af ter a similar experience, found her missing child in a bread-t rough, sweetly sleeping on the dough. Ihe trough was a very large one, used for mixing bread for the ship yard men, and when lull of dough usually stood on a low settee -near the fire, that the bread might rise the quicker. The child during the alisence of his elders from the kitchen, crept in and made himself com fortable. But more amusing than this was the case of a lady who lost Tier baby, and after disturbing the whole community, and crying herself nearly blind, found baby safe in the cradle, with clothes heaped in so disorderly a manner as to have defied pre vious'' search ! An unusual number of eagles have been noticed in the Allegheny moun tains this summer. N. C, SATURDAY, OCTOREft 11, 1879. A Fhaatom Train. "Did Train?" you ever hear of the Phantom an old. erav-haired man xki-l The old man might have been sixtv or si xtv five, or for all that a casual observer could tell, he might have been seventy. He was thin and emaciated, and the few straggling hairs in his head were white as snow." His beard was long and fine and tied in white ness with his hair. "Did you ever see the Phantom Train V he asked'again, having received no answer TV,. . ;i : .1 , naa a oueuce m luenxjin ana no one answered. The gentleman seated next te me writer whispered : "Don t mind him that 8 his hobby." t IT . ' "i nave seen the Phantom Train," said me old man, in a tone such as he miht nave used had some one denied the-f act '1 have seen the Phantom Train more than once. " Impressed bv the u "", ouu iiuiuenceu no doubt by nat ural curieeity to hear a ghost story in which a train played the leading part, the writer requested me old man to recite his trhriat i i . o , compuea without de- ' ''Pm mnf i 1 m Out Of S service now, out tea ve ago, and for many years before that, I was a svwicnnian on the Hudson liiver Railroad. 1 ni retired now, but through no fault of mv uvvu. inese Deome nere wi te vnn il.t 1 am crazy on one subject. Don't you be- ucneve mem. mi as " "But about the train?" iuteminted of the party. les, yes ; about the train." renlind thp old man, switching himself back on the main track again as easily as thouno-h hn had never abandoned it and run upon the siding of mere personal reminiscences. ' 'It was in April, 18tij, that President Lincoln's body was brought over our road. I did not see the train, and as I was no great reader of newspapers, I saw no description of it. I want you to remember this. Just one year after the funeral train passed over the road I saw its ghost. "What? The ghost of a train?" "Yes. It must have been a ghost. I was at my post, waiting for the midnight express, which was due at about 12.30 in the morning. I Vant you to remember that I had read no descrintion of the funer al-train. I had read of the assassination, and knew that President r.i was sent West, but I was sick a-bed when the train passed my station and didn't see it." "But the ghest ?" "Well, it needed some little exDlanation for what I'm about to tell vou is so extra ordinary that you might feel disposed to set it down as a hallucination. What I am going to tell you I actually did see." "When did you see it, and what was it ?" "It was the night of Auril 24. 18fiti. as tar as I can le.nember, ih it I first saw it. It was a phantom train. I was at mv switch station, and had a good while fo wait be fore the next train was, due. I was about to retire into xny lit lhouse when. I heiird a suneu, l umonng- sotfEM mat gave me i warning ot the approach of a train. We expected a freight train that night, wliich was to leave half a dozen cars on the side track, and the noise I heard seemed to me to come trom that train. Knowing that there were no regular trains on the road at that hour, except freights (the midnight tram nao passed beiore 1 heard the Phan torn Train), I fixed the track accordingly, the switch was so set that the train could run upon it and detach such cars as it was designed to leave. that being done it would have been my duty to attend the switch on the other end of the siding, so that the engine and the remaining cars might strike the main track again. While I was arranging the first switch the ruin bling in the distance became louder and louder, and I knew that the train was not far away. I had posted myself at the up per ena oi me siaing in oraer to jnaKe no more delay than was alisolutely necessarv. Just as I had completed my. arrangements I heard a dull, sullen roar made up of a thousand different noises blended together. Looking down the road I saw a headlight wnose power and intensity l had never seen equaled in my experience of thirty years, mere was a chill auout the air that I couldn't understand. As 1 said be fore, I had things so fixed that the train had t6 run upon the siding. What must have been my astohishment, then, when I saw rushing along the main track with reckless speed a locomotive draped from one end to the other in crape, and carrying at least a dozen little flags, also slirouded in crape, on her side rails. I could read her name as she passed by me it was the Constitution and I could see three men clearly. One man had his hand on the lever, and was peering out into the night, as if in search of something on the track ; an other was shoveling coal into the furnace, and making a deal of noise about it, and a third, dressed in black, with crape dang ling from his ami and encircling his stiff high hat, sat upon a stool doing nothing. You ask me how I saw so much in such a short time ? I can't explain it. All I know is, that I saw wia. tilling you. there was something ghartly about the faces of the men, but that might have been caus ed by the tenfic rate at which they were speeding along. As soon as the Constitu tion had passed I ran to the lower end of the siding to fix the switch, which I feared somebody hail tampered with. It was just as 1 had left it." "You mean that it was so set as to send a train upon the side track f" "Just so. If that locomotive had been of honest iron and steel it never could have jumped that switch as it did.'1 Did you set the switch again No, I hadn't time, for just as I reached it I heard a train coming, and my ears were pierced by the shrillest whistle that I ever heard. (Mind, that switch was set to send a train ujHin the side track. Don't forget that). While I was puzzling my head over the mysterious engine a second headlight threw iu reflection upon me. (I forgot to say that the switch was just above a curve), and I saw ano her black draped locomotive. It was not going as fast as the first, but was mak ng what was called ex press time say thirty -five or forty miles an hour. I could hardly see any ot the iron and steel work of the engine, bo thoroughly was it covered with crape, ribbons and black cloth. The hand-rail was hidden from sight by masses of crape, as was also the steam chest, and in front of me boiler was a heavy fold of black cloth. Even the smokestack had fleecy streamers of black crape, and ten little national flags that or namented the hand-rail were shrouded in the same material. On the lamp I saw a wreath of living flowers, which shone in the light with a whiteness more than nat- A: u.a.. i ne nag of the engine with the name I nion ir) letters of gold, carried crape ovuUnH, wi on nere and there with rosettes of white. Indeed these rosettes appeared almost everywhere to relieve the aomuer uiat Kness of the crape and cloth. .mot liolrar K.J 1 ., . iu,, niuuow oi ine can I saw a portrait framed in a wood as black as eb- on. n was that of the martyred Presi dent ! Then I knew that the train was j i"""uu,n' "cinnd the engine were eight cars anil nil ,.. i ;i , . . . CIC ueaViiy oraped in mourning. The second of a chocolate coior, wim streaks of silver tn mart tl, panelling, was almost hidden from sight bv the profusion of : 1 wwft (..una it earned. Little silver stars and white roseues snone jhere and there anion? thp black. As the' train passed by I could see ine iaces oi me engineer, two or three madmen, and several passengers who were seated pear the windows, whose black curtains Were raised. Thov all link ed pale and ghostly, but those who moved at all moved naturally, and transacted thi.ir nusiness in just the same way that any uiuei train nanus would have done. As 1 stood watching these cars tne engine reach eu me switch, and I expected to see her turn off on the siding. But she didn't turn off. Instead of that she kent. ri flit along on the main track as thnurh tWn were no such things as switches in the world. The cars followed her as easilv as though the goiiig was clear, and in a few seconds all that I could see of the train wrs me lamp ot the nagman on the rear car. found the switch set as I had left it P "What was ithe obiect of the first gine?" j sue was probably a 'pilot.' Verv of ten when an Important 'special' is on the track a 'pilot' is sent on ten minutes ahead ot her to prepare the wav for her. nave you ever seen the Phantom Train since i "Yes, twice,: and both times on the anni versary of that night. Nothing was chnno- ed, not even the wreath of flowers, which -.Til r , ,, ' were sun iresn, As the old man concluded he walked to ward the door with a dazed, far-away look in his eyes that; betokened mental trouble. All ! saidibne of the bartv as the closed behind him, "poor old Maitwood is gone here (tapping his forehead). He thinks he never read about that funeral train ; but I know he has read Pv-tHi.; he could get hold of concerning it. He began to tell this story in 1867, and has never left off. lAnd what is singular about n is, mat ne nas persuaded a good people to believe him." many Mocking liirds. I give my birds mainlv boiled etra- and baked Irish potato. The ctrfr is rrx-iL-nrl hard, fifteen or twentv minutes, so the vollr will be dry and Imealy, then mix half and half with a fresh-baked or dry-boiled po tato, with a fork so it will not be pasty but light and delicate. The white of the egg I do not put in as the birds will seldonT.eat foJ" is 'pvjiaretr- everyday -ftnrr in hot weather kept in an ice chest or cool cellar so as not to sour. I put food in.the cage and as the, bird needs it, put in more trom that set away. This is the mocking bird's standard, dish when old enough to feed himself but I do not feed much potato to an unfledged bird. With egg" alone and plenty of grasshoppers, I have always had good success in rearing the young. They need as much care as an infant. The mock ing bird must have a variety of food, crack ers dipped in sweet milk, oatmeal boiled soft but not mushy, instead of insects, raw beef steak shredded fine, and fed to them once or twice a week, all the grasshoppers they will eat, apples and tomatoes, berries not too acid, a walnut or hickory nut cracked and thrown into the cage these are good for mocking birds. A red pepper split open and given occasionally is good. In the Fall I boil several dozen eggs, crum ble the yolks, thoroughly dry them and put them in wide-mouthed well-corked bottles. A very little of this powdered egg mixed with potato makes their chief Winter food. A beef's heart long boiled and hung where it will freeze, then grated, is good to mix with their food in Winter. My Frenchman used to keep a tin fruit can with some bran in it in a waim place and if his birds ap peared out of sorts he gave them some mil ler's worms from the bran. A cousin of mine in Texas, gives her birds sour milk curd or Dutch cheese and also fresh butter, but I doubt about the butter. On no ac count let the birds have .any salt or fat meat. Give no cake, but "a small lump of sugar may be i given occasionally. No limed or pickled eggs must be given. The cage should be large, clean and airy, at least 10x25 inches and 20 inches in the highest part. The bird must have access to clean sand and pure water at all times and be allowed to bathe often, for the dry iairof our sitting rooms in Winter is verv thing to them. They thrive in the dustless, moist air of a conservatory. A mocking bird well cared for will live for years constantly im proving and in beautiful song and winning ways repay all care bestowed upon him. I have known birds to be bred in a room of which they had the entire freedom, but it was under favorable circumstances. If the birds foot swells and he holds it up, it is probably because of gout he is being fed too high. i One Gone at Lust. It has been frequently asserted that a candy butcher" is possessed of more than the proverbial nine lives of a cat, tliat, in fact, it is impossible to kill him, snd, while persecuted travellers often wish to see one, a defunct train boy is such a rarity that even Barnum has never had one on exhibi tion. But at last one has turned up his toes, but uuderi such harrowing circum stances that is not to be wondered at. One of the Union nevtg company's boys was ex plaining in a rather loud voice, the other day, to an old gk-nt Who was a little hard of hearing that the paper was "jest chock fiill of yellow fever news, when a louz lank specimen ot humanity leaned forward from a seat slightly in the rear and solemnly asked : j "Youngster, how does your remark re semble the epidemic you're sboutin' aliout ?" 1 he boy gave it up and the attenuated man remarked : i "You see, onef s a yell o' fever and " The boy saw! right off, and before the stranger could finish the sentence he had dropped his merchandise in a wild parox ysm of terror, and thrown himself beneath the wheels of the rear car. The jury brought in a verdict of justifiable suicide. There was ice quarter of an inch thick cn Mount Washington on tbe 25th of August. j Gambling on the Greon. A reporter fell among a group of persons wno were comparing experiences on that fruitful field of the cloth of green. One of them said : "An Evansville gambler told me he went to Vicksburg last winter and dropped into a iaro-room. Around the table were seated a number of bald-headed fellows, wearing jeans suits, and looking like solid but mis guided farmers. The Evansvillian watched them play, and each had big pije of blue ano red chips before him. At last our gam bier concluded to go in, and, thinking to make a 'bloody big bluff,' pulled out his rou ana said to the dealer, m a loud and pompous tone of voice : -uimnie a hundred dollars' worth of chips." to his astonishment th plavers naid no atteution, and the dealer,, without putting uuu me uox, supped his hand in the drawer and pulled out a little white chip. " 'I never even stopped.' said the Kvan's. villeman, 'to inquire what the blue and reds were worth.'" Another of the group told a storv nf a friend of his who was in the railroad business, aud was in the habit of nlavino- a small game of poker at five cents ante with- me men at head-quarters. Thechips were. in technical parlance, called "five and fif teen" worth five and fifteen cents respec tively. He went to Indianapolis to meet some big guns of other roads, and after din ner it was proposed to play poker. He was a man of moderate circumstances, and not a ganibler by any means, playing only for the, smallest stakes. He agreed, and the chips were, called out "five and fifteen," and he said he would take aliout ten reds and twenty whites. They were counted out, and, as usual among friends, were not to be cashed until the game was ended. The deal was made and he drew a pair of queens. He thought he would show them that he played a liberal game although he got nothing in the draw, and when his turn came to bet he shoved up his ten reds, and anally put in the twenty whites. The oth ers all drew out, one throwing up two pairs and another a flush. He threw down his two queens and raked in the pot. The oth ers looked at his hand in astonishment, and one exclaimed : What ! do you bet 1250 on a pair of queens?" "Dollars J" said the other; "no! but cents, yes. Cents !" echoed the first 'why these chips are $5 and $15." then take vour monev." cried our friend, jumping up in holy horror. 'Twas betting five and fifteen cents. Why $250 keeps my family tliree months." And he quit the game in a hurry, and re fused to take his winnings, because he thought they were not honestly his own. "I think it was John Miller," said an other gentleman, "who ran a 'doctored deck in a little game one evening. We had played for some time, and Miller dealt n e could see as soon as the cards were dealt uicw uicir uuaira up, lingered their chips uei vousiy, anu me netting began. it, siarieu cautiousiv. and No. 1 nut nn oa ii ue was airaio oi ins judgment. No. S doubled it. No. 3 came in' and doubled :c i ... , .:'. . r r and so it went until at last everv one s watch and chain, studs and pins were un and ticketed for value. Not a man went out, and the excitement was intense when the last bet was up and a call made. men, saiu me story teller, "everv man showed up, and every one of us had four kings and an ace, and Miller sat and hallooed. He had run a doctored deck in. ' :'I don't think I ever saw so much ex citement in a game in my life. Of course-, all bets went off." A Hank That Could Keasou. "I had just left the dinner table, to walk across the lawn when my attention was at tracted by furious screams in the upper air. A dark shadow flitted across the grounds. Looking up I saw a fish-hawk flying low in a straight line, and pursued at a hundred yards distance by a bald-beaded eagle. The hawk was moving leisurely, so niuch so that that I was struck by the little dread of capture which his flight exhibited, and the fear that his startling cries betokened. The intentions of the eagle were soon seen. A few strokes of his powerful wings brought him close to the hawk. The screaming fisherman, relinquished his prey, which quivered and gleamed in the sunlight like a disc of silver as it clove through die air in its descent toward the earth. It was a small fish, apparently a perch. We were a little surprised that' the rapacious bandit should have devoted his powers to the cap ture of such small game. The fish had not fallen fifty feet before the eagle by a pecu liar dip rather than 15- the use of his wings sank below it, and turning almost upon his back, clutched and bore it away. He flew in an opposite direction to that the hawk was going. The hawk seemed satisfied to have escaped with the loss of propertv, and kept the even tenor of his way. But our attention was again arrested by renewed screams. Looking at the hawk, we noticed that he was a changed bird as to conduct. V lsibly agitated, he was urging his flight with surprising energy. A glance at the robber revealed the cause of the change. The eagle had turned and was again in pursuit. The hawk seemed almost frantic in his struggles to escape. A torrent of cries, screams, maledictions and imprecations poured from his thrbat. He vainly beat the air, flying now higher, now lower, now straight forward. The eagle came down upon him in swifter flight, causing us to wonder as to the cause of the pursuit. In a few moments, he came almost in contact with his fleeing victim, with outstretched talons, and poising hiniself alxive the hawk as if to tear hu in pieces, he uttered a loud slirill scream. Instantly we saw leaving the claws of the hawk, a second flsh, much larger than the first. The eagle did not see it until it had fallen a bundled feet. Desisting at once from his threaten ttd attack, and half closing his wings, he plunged swiftly downward below the flsh, 1 turned on his back and clutching it, bore it oil in triumph. The hawk with a wail of vexation and resentment, sullenly con tinued its flight. The fact suggests a curi ous speculation. Did the hawk part de signedly with the smaller fish ? If bo, it ex hibited an intelligence which we have been accustomed to observe only in things of a much higher order." The Held, on the Little BIr Horn," where the gallant Custer fell, has been made a National Cemetery bv order of the Secretary ol War. WHOLE NUMBER 190." BRIEFS. tU French Academy of Arts has paid $300 for an Egyptian papyrus, be lieved to be more than 4,000 years old, but in! excellent preservation. In Boston there are 7.3C0 women who pay taxes on $75,000,000 of proper ty, and 34.000 women In Masnachusett. w hose property is taxed at $i00,000,000. Mrs. Annie E. Alsop, of Middle town,; Conn., ba glveu St. John's Catholic parish of that city $5000, the income to b used for the aged poor of the society. The brew era ol the . United States last year manufactured and sold 9,473, 3G1 barrels, 24,200,830 gallons ; .equal to a little over six gallons per capita for the population. 1' to Novmbel, VT.Uiere were ;',00O,uOo feet more ol lumber aurveyt-U at Bangor, Me., than in 1877 to that date, and 5,000,000 feet more than In 1876. The Russian Official Gatette states the number of men levied for the conscription for 1879 for the Russian army, navy and the frontier guard at 218,000. . Two houses were recent null,l down iu Aldersirate street. Iuulon which were the residences of John Milton and of the famous Couutess of Pembroke. The oldest school teacher In Greens county, Pa , is Wm.Teagarden.of Rleh- iiiu townsuip. lie is 80 years old, and is now teaching his seventy-fourth term. The Dalryniple wheat farm, fn the valley of the Red River of tbeRorth. contains 37,000 acres, of wliich 13,000 are this year In wheat in atlngle block, making a neiu oi twenty square miles. The last survivor of the nirBa of Sir Walter Scott, of Abbottsford. has just passed away at the age of slxtv- three Mrs. Elizabeth Charlotte Peat. " widow oi Maior Peat. C. K. at th Bombay Engineers. The reyisers of the authorized ver sion of the New Testament have recent ly held their nlnety-flrst session. It is expected that the . entire revision will be completed within a year, and that publication will speedily follow. Florida is now shipping 6.000 head ol cattle monthlv to Cuba, with h prospect for an Increase tn the demand. Ihe shipments of Texas cattle to. Cuba are also large, giving regular occupa tion to several of the Morgan steamskips. The Marquis of Lome Is having two beautiful cars built for him In' Troy, N. Y., at a cost of I15.000. One is to be'used as a sitting room, the other for smoking. Their fittings are luxu rious; and they are made to run on any road . Fort Wayne. Ind.. has a profession al frog catcher, who works the canal trom that cltv to Deflane. Ohio. Ha frogs Ui a single trip, which retail from iwentyi-nve to seventy-rive cents per dozen. j It has been estimated that the loan Ing associations of the east, bold mort gages on w eBtern farms to the amount of $300,000,000. On this enormous sum of borrowed money the interest ac count will amou n t at least to $50,000,000 per annum. Mr. Conrad, sculptor In the New England Granite Workst Westerly, R, I., is making the model for a medal lion head of Noah Webster, as a com' panion to the one of Dr, Horace Bush nell, to be placed just over the east en trance to the State Capitol at Hartford, Conn. The Cape May, (N. J.,) City Coun cil have passed an ordinance exempt ing from tax all buildings costing $10, 0O0 and upward for three years, 40,000 aud upward for four years, 50,000 and upward for five years. The exemption does not apply to the real estate or fur niture nor to State and county tax. The quarterly examination of the clerks in the Box Department of the I'ost-ofliee In New York, has lust end ed. Each clerk was eiven 2.000 canln upon which to write from memory the names of the box-holders and of those who receive mail In the boxes of others. Robert Millei took first place, mlsslne only three names, his average being 99Jg John Tobin made four mistakes, and took second place. The parents and guardiana of chil dren within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are requested by the Massachusetts Society for tbe Preten tion of Cruelty to Children, to have at least one article of clothing UDon their children plalnlymarked with the child's lull name and residence, so as to assist the local police artd the officers of the Society in returning children to their homes when lost or stolen. The Commissioners of Montgomery county, Ia., have resolved to pay off $15,000 of the county debt $10,000 of the loan of '68, and $5,000 of the loan of '70. They have also Dut In fore law approved in April last, reducing the jurors' fees In coroner's inquest from two to one dollar, and settled the bills for Inquests accordingly. The new law allows tl.M) where iurors are occupied more than six hours. The sale of the "further portion" or George Cruikshank's Doasessions took place In London in August-. A pencil portrait of the Prince Kezeat as a dandy of sixty years, with the head of a drunken Sllenus as a shadow, sold wim a iew otner less Interesting de signs for about twenty-six "'dollars'. Cruiksbank was especially severe on tbe Prince Regent and Napoleon the rirsi. Mrs. Margaret Turoev. of Flushing. the oldest person on Long Island, cele brated her 110th birthday recently. Tbe old lady sat in an easy rocking chair in the neat "little cottage of her daughter, and received the congratula tions of a large number of visitors. whom she welcomed with a hearty shake of the band. The family record shows that she was born in tbe county of Roscommon, Ireland, on the 15th day of August, 1769. In tbe belfry of the Episcopal Church; at EllicottsTille, N. Y., there is a bell which was cast in Moscow, in 1708, and was one of a chime for the cathedral which was burned daring Napoleon's Russian campaign. Along with other old metal this bell was, brought to New York by a sea captain, as ballast for his vessel. Eventually it was carried to Troy, and became the -property of a well-known bell founder of that city.
The Blue Ridge Blade (Morganton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 11, 1879, edition 1
1
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