. ! w--" '. : t rv "" ' ft - t ' f V -... " 1 ESTABLISHED IX A Knight's Leap at Altenahr. BY REV. HENRY KINGS LEY. "The firman hath firfd the gate, men of mine, And the water Is spont and done, Ko bring ine a cup of the rd Aarwlne I nha.ll never drink but this one . "I've stood my time, I've fought mj fight, 'I've drunk my share of wine; Knmi Trl-r to Kolln was never; a knight LI v id a mtrrrler life than mine. "Thow Joys have fled, to return no more. Yet, If I muMt die on a tree. The old saddle-tree that bore me of yore Is the properest timber for me.' "And now to fcbow burgher, and bishop, and I'rient i How the Altenahr hawk can die, If they smoke the old faloon out of hi neat He muHt take to hin wings and fly. o saddle me up my old war-horse, And lead hlrn round to the door; He. muHt take to-night nucb a leap perforce Ah never man took before." Tney Raddled him up In a warll"e Hhlne; The knight suWxJ in the door, Ami lie took men a mil at the red Aarwlne An nevr man took before. He led the horse up the steps high and wide, Aud spurred him over the wall Out into the storm, out into the night, ' Three hundred feet of fall ! i They found hlrn next morning in the-glen. And not a bone in him whole; And may (tod have mercy far more than men On such a brave rider's soul. A Night's Journey. BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE SWEET WILD ROJSH," ' COUNTRY HELL," ETC. There was a large jarty of men in the Eagle saloon In Denver, all interested and talking loudly concerning the coming pigeon shooting of the next day. The prize to be awarded to the vic tor in the match was to be no less than $1,000 u sumeient payment for a day's rk in the opinion of every one. Much did I wish that I was a skillful shot. One dollar would have been a "7(i f-r o ras, in the current iry, strapped, flat roke." I was even not where to turn, n. newcomer a k my ear : my rille here, an't do much an instant. jU say . ' l ex- . tin ... ! . g it. vv nere is 44 You can't do it. I shall want it early to-morrow morning.". 44 Where is it?" 44 Down in the camp at Silver Gulch, thirty miles from here.'' 44 Thirty miles! (Jive me a full meal and a good horse, and you shall have your gun at the time you wish." A hearty laugh greeted my propo sal. The miner good-naturedly sur veyed me from head to foot. KutiP Ishedas I w as, I looked young, healthy and strong. 44 Well, you s lall have a square meal at anv rate." I insisted thai I could accomplish the feat, although the sun was then j setting, and sam after was given j full directions and a horse which I se- j liftfil mvself-a wiry and flery mus- i tang. Bixty miles to be traveled before 8 o'clock on the following morning. I had set myself a paiuful task ; but the ten dollars I was to receive would en able me to look about me'for ten days, ami something might then, or before, turn up. I had idiiio to Denver in the hope of ...t.iiftiif nt which niv education as u civil engineer might grant me. ,oi foil ml five surveyors ready 6fler their services where one was . . 1 I.. II.. .x.i rf wnntcHl. I nal erauuauy iu i run out of funds. I had chosen my mustang we.i, as. regarding his endurance. I trusted to j my horsemanship to conquer his wild ness. His wickeil eye proved not to belie his spirit. As soon as I mounted, dis regarding any attempt of mine to guide him, he galloped furiously on as though possessed by a demon. He was proceeding in a direction but little divergent from that which I desired. I was half content, and soon, upon reaching an of en plain, I forced him to acknowledge his master an We were now alone in an oc r.,irio .rniKM. the moon shone out bright and full, and I guided myself by the stars. Although I was in a rather lawless district, I entertained no fears of bodi ly harm from any passer-by I might encounter. Indians and other ma- i J J 1878. .HILLSBOROUGH, X. C. SATIRDW. DECEMBER 25, rauding bands . Iliad well-nigh" diap- peared from the neighborhood There had bfcen talk of a gang of Mexican banditti a mouth before, but nothing had bet: h heard of them since. I felt even ecstJ atic as we jogged on- ward nr tbo bnu . ; v uwi niiw wiiuu my j jKny had fallen after hi first burst of ; sfx-ed. The "atmosphere was delight ful; a gentle breeze fanned my cheek. I experienced a Benxeof freedom, of in dependence, of lord linesrt, as I looked about me over the vast plain.. My pony showed no sign of weari ness when we must have advanced full twenty miles, maintaining an easy pace. It was not until lights gleamed in the distance that he dropped into a walk, and as we drew near them he .. u. . uroKeimo a ganop. ; We reached our destination about i 1 v t . I eicven o ciock, Having traveled thirty five rather than thirty miles, in live hours I soon found my employer's partner, although he had to be vigorously shak en before he could be awakened I fancy whiskey had something to do with his profound slumbers ; stated my business, and presented a written missive. I obtained the rille, a breech-loader of magnificent construction, valued at $i00. I secured, as well, some refresh ments for myself and horse, ami after an hour's delay started on my return trip. ; My mustang appeared to think he had done his duty for the night, and I found it difficult to urge him from the camp. .At the expiration of my two miles indeed, when my hand relaxed its pii 11 on the rein his head would slowly turn to the camp, and but for watch fulness on my part I would have found myself there again. I was now in quite a drowsy condi tion, and would easily have fallen fast asleep on my pony's back. liy-and-by, as I became convinced that the animal would proceed as I wished I yielded to a feeling of ex treme lassitude and slept. How long I slept I could not tell. I awoke with a start, and at once placed KiXan.S1Uaft! illfto assure myself j to my saddle. - - r I felt nothing. I looked ; it was gone. The thrill of horror that at once ran through me again g ive me energy. I pulled the pony stock still and meditated. Thoughts of lynch law flashed throuirh niv. mind. Had I indeed lost C3 the gun ? It would be said that I had stolen it sold it. I would be certain ly arrested if I returned without it, and held until news would be received from the camp. It would be known that the gun had been given me. Apart Irom its pecuniary value it. was highly prized by the owner. To wliat might his extreme rage incite his companions against me, a stranger and friendless. As well be hung for a sheep as a lamb was a thought that for a moment flitted through my brain. Should I not seize the txiuy and flee to another I Fatigued as I was, and come what would, I must retrace my steps aud try and find the gun. The prairie grass trampled by , my pony's feet indicated the course I had taken. I turned him back upon that path. Again and ag:in I was obliged to dismount and drag my sore and weary limits over the ground, which I care fully scrutinized, to be sure I could make no mistake. All the while I was tormented by the thought that my agonized pains- I i taking might be entirely useless; that to ! the gun might have been -stolen from behiud me by some wanderer as j s ' . , , , r . .1 x ... ' .-bn.t i llow count l kuow . i but a i ! lit n Ltrnil' Ilk: drowning mail snaicou. ai j stuml,led onward I 'searched. What time w:w passing? Even tf I found the rifle, could I reach the owner with it at the promised hour ? Only by giv-it,o- if t dim at the hour of entry for the matcfl, could it prove as desirtd by him, or I receive the ten dollars I so longed for. With feverish brain and straining, bl.xHlsliot eves, I coutihued thesearch, impatient and patient at once. .. Clouds were gathering in the sky, into one of them the moon now passed, of ! and the light so necefcary to me was ; obscured I remained motionless. W'ould I .iro mad ? M v power for collected thought o..r-nu x-.i it 5 ;liin Itxriii ....... ...--p- cain the moon came out clear auu Aaui iwc uiw briirht, and there, close to IllV teet, made shine something metallic. It was the rifle! I had found it". ' I must place it before me as I rode this time. With fragments of the broken twine dangling from the sad dle, I fastened the breech to my left wrist, and, remounting, my 'horse, al- i it loweu me gun to ret on my legs as I advanced. The iouuee. i.nmc.. of wrajKni added to m y discomfort; but, at least, it was secure, and I w. htA awake. Hut now w in w l T recognized no landmark. The aspect j generally w as strange to me : eemed to have neareil the limit of the prairie; ! a line of hills lay against the horizon I and beyond the day was breaking. ! W ith victory ready to my grasp, was , 1 lost? .Suddenly I descned in the distance what seemed a 1 ll!Tli:ili t: ,l,i tation. T truvplcd tMum-H ..,(.t c.v n, .ii.i t joiced to have k , u faiu reachel it and IiuIUkhI. I When I was within a few paces of the house a wTndow in the second . 1 l i i , .yjij niuciiij opeueu, auu a rule iar- ; rel was protruded aimed dire-tly at lne- . 4I , , . x uiuiiucisirucK at mis proceei- mg Had I come to the lair of a des- j , -..um., x 1 1 . . a. , a .. . .... i.auu- mat pre- ; sented, with my gun across my knees, as if I were ready for actian. "I have gone astray," I shouted. " Where is Denver'."' r There was a ' silejice still the.;' rifle was pointed at me and then I heard a low laugh. It was echoed by thesil- very tones of a pleasanter, laugh al woman's laugh. I felt safe. . 14 1)v nver is two miles further east," was answered me, in a rather juvenile voice. 8o I was not lost. I would triumph in my mission. I was within reach of my destination. easy tyVith the thought of my overtasked energies asserted their weakness. I longed for a moment's rest, at least. Could I not obtain it here? I lingered, despite the gun which menaced me. If they wanted to shoot they would have shot, I reasoned. Ity the light, that was now strengthening, they must see I was not a -ruffian. I was right ; the gun was soon with drawn, -and then reanneared at tlie door of the house in tlu, JiMiuJL.gr- lo.j I inroac,ied me and said l&ZiiS ml stranger, but you are rather an early visitor. I see you re a gentleman. Father's away, and the women folks are easy scared. I thought it beM to be on the safe side." " " I'd like a little refreshment," I was all I said in response. - I was really in a fainting condition, as pale as death. The lad instantly J took pity on my plight, helped me to j alight, and led me to a seat in the per- j tico of the house, to a pillar of which j he tied the horse. j TTu ontfrwl ;md returned with a iMnfu-iP which iravelife at once. , and I told him of the loss of my rifle. ! I was in the midst of the narration, when a beautiful face appeared, timid- I lv t the door, and a hand outstretched j to the lad a sandwich, which he gave to me. I ate it, and told my story as the reader has it, gaining another lis tener in the person of a charming girl of 17 It was now " o . ciock. 1 had .wo hours in which to travel two miles, but I thought I had best set about it. The mustang was as tired as mysei:". He proceeded at a walk. "However, as we reached the con fines of the town he increased his speed, and it was at a lively trot he entered the stable to which be be longed. I exhibitel little of the same .-pint wleii I presented the covered rifle to its owner and received ten dollars. I 'was yet sufliciwutly recovered from fatigue, at the close ot the nay to it I1C. th( wjl0 were congratulating tjie wjnner t)f the prize my employer, j H? ftm.eil Uj)OI1 me another ten-dollar , . ... -H WOuld admit of no refusal. bill. He .... . 1 Those two ften-iiollar bills proven tne foundation of quite a little fortune. I ,.r,,t married and livimr in the ranche I have mentioned, ibut expect stMn to leave for the Kast. My wife, being still very young, is curious to see the " higher civilization, Boston and other cities. MfTr.vi.i.v F.h.,:i,.- j bachelor saw a hand- . , , " a i ! somely dressed young lady on a W !: ton Mreet and was told that she was j the daughter of a, wealthy merchant He became acquainted, ami the girl ; knowing the woman who watched the j intend, of an elegant nou.e w owners were at me seifiioie ii ruitied'bv her to receive him there. he also gave him dinners there, hir- ( ing waiters. he tola mm max iu-r ... . r , 1 : ....nt. u-ur.i lit I- lir Vii H . !!" I . wicu- v , - t ,1..-,. o... i was ttceeJiru, uuu ivuim m. m- i the had won was a ior girl. Briefs of Wit. A fashion paper says that in wedding cardsf "if there is a crest in the bride's family, it i engraved in white at the top t the note sheet and also on the en velppe." If there is not a creat in the bndes family they should send out to the nearest drug store and get one. No family should be without on. None penume without the nmnrirfm.'- blowl into each bottle, IJohon theatre managers now pro? t! abolish the system of hanging tVjraphs oi actresses in saloon win. -i,Jw because the ssloonista want too llia,iv 4 w. . 1 uttr newels as equivalent. If '"'lout this will debar manv a man !'"'i j su-ppsng over the way to ae th pictures jo the window." A i -cdle is a tolerably hnrn thinir lit a b unko steerer is a sharner. J oli.-y" is not the. Lest Jione,ty. A New York rural town had a "tx -. . . . . pole- r:iiiirlii-i...,v..i:.-t.tt i v. . . . "",ullm. .uia tne moon- raVs t!,e I,ole Mr- Htumebean- is down orl this re- vision of the P.ihlp sin,.. i.Q v, v. in vaiu in t i;;.. r.-. , v.uiiivu um mvor- ne text, - The pen is mightier than tha SW0K1. ' Jie HUVS he Icnnu-. U ... be in the old one. A figjure of interest 10 per cent Boston's elevated railroad scheme has been elevated out of sight. .Several highly-cultured papers are discussing the prober wav to dr, blac'K ba.s;?. Never mind thp drir,,. ejl the fish around undressed The latest fashionable nornn rBM. ing night gowns is to have them made with hoods. Why not, also, put on Delta and big pockets and call 'em night I uisters ; Ducking is a capital sport, providing j you don't get ducked yourself. It is said a London tailor has in vented what is called "the united suit," whL-h is a man's complete attire in one garment. That's nothing new in this country;. They call 'em bathing suits here. j A smart American girl calls a young fellow of her acquaintance 44 Honey suckle,' because he is always hanging over thej front fence in the eveninjrs. mto i fie iwrotig end of the scales. " .Let A Tough man or Story. An accident happened to a man named Jack Welsh on Friday night, and the par ticulars are so marvellous that, were it not for the reputation for veracity which has always distinguished Mr. Welch, sceptical people would be disinclined to express a hearty belief in the story. Dur ing the wind storm, when the wind was playfullyj slamming doors, breaking win dows, rolling barrels (through the streets and chuckling at the vexation it caused, Mr. Welch was driving across the Baring Cr.s Bridge in a wagon. The roadway across the top of the bridge is open and exposed to the weather. A railing about feet high runs on each side of the win length of the bridge. W elch wai driving toward the south side of the biidge. and had accomplished two-thirds the distance, which brought him on the ilriw. .lust as ne reaciieu im jwmv hjo wind came with tremendous from tiie west, whistling, like force a cal liope. Sweeping down the narrow pas sagewayi on which the wagon stood, it knocked the horses down, upset the wagon and bW Welch off , the bridge into the nver. I ne top oi tne pnugc i bix I r,om tj1(i watCr, and, whirling, sprawling tumbling over and over, elch finally reached! the river feet first; The water dosed oyer his head and he went clear to theJMjttom. After a prolonged submer sion he Ke close to the pier upon which the centre of the draw rests He held to the smooth iron 6iir face of the pier as well as be could, but realizing that this support was somewhat insecure, inas ; much as he could not hold on at all, be ' struck out for shore. Half drowned and 1 a -most dead from his fearful falL Welch finally reached the shore, and crawling , out on the bank lay there until he had re covered fa small amount of the breath which the freakish air had caused him to lose. His horses were stopped at the gate of the bridge. Welch made his way I home, and yesterday seemed none the worse fibm his accident. Ex. The Venus of the Forest. I have sometimes--heard the oak t-.tH thp Hercules of the forest, and the ah the Venus. The comparison is not ami., for the oak joins the idea of strength and beauty while the ash rather join the idea of beauty and Lnnce. I Virgil marks the char -er the a.-h a.s particularly Dea,fiiuj: - - , -;fa Ti.oJi wcnoralv rurries Its Dill "Dal r raxinus in syiMs puRucji- e j ail I fetem mguer mau uic - 1 - r-m w 1880. -NEW SERIES. an easy, flowing line. But Its chief J beauty consist in the lightness of its ! whole appearance. Its branches at j first keep close to the trunk, and form I acute angles with it ; but as they begin I toiengtnen they generally take an easy sweep, and, the looseness of the leaves corresponding with the lightness of the spray the whole forms an elegant de pending foliage. Nothing can have a better effect than an old ash hanging from the corner of a wood, and bringing off the heaviness of the other foliage .with Its loose pendent branches. And yet in some soils I have seen the ash lose much of iU beauty in the decline of age. It foliage becomes rare and meager, and iU branches, instead of hangi. g loosely, often start away in disagreeable forms. In short, the ash often loses that grandeur and beauty in old age which the generality of trees, and particularly the oak, preserve till a late period of their existence. The Medicine of Life Mirth. Hard ware the friction on a school boy's knees. A 11 rl ' n y 4VkA.k.AAt- t a mc lwkik oi nature seems full of fly leaves. Politic is a game. Barrel, barrel; who's got the barrel ?" POKBR. "To draw or Dot to draw, that la th ques tion. Whether 'tis safer In the player to take The awtul risk of skinning Tor a straight, Or, standing pat, to rais 'em all thedimit, And thus, by bluffln get It. To draw-to skin; ' No more and bj that skin to get a nnP Oi two pairs, or the tattest bouncing kitlgs That laek Is heir to 'tis a consummation) Devoutlr to be wished. To draw to skin Toskin! perchance to burst-aye, there'sThe rub! For in that draw of three what cards may come When we have shfflued off the uncertain pack Must give us pause. There's the respect Which mokes calamity of a bob-tail flush. For whs would bear the overwhelming blind. The reckless straddle, the wait on the ed, The lnsolenee of pat hands, and the litis The patient merit of the bluffer takes When he himself might be mnch better oil J??. lUSPlfc JWVAuiA wllHeirung alter call. The undiscovered ace full, to whose strength Such hands must bow, puzrles the will And makes us rather keepthe chips we have Than be curious about the hands we know not of? Thus bluffing doth make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of a four-heart flush Is sloklied with some dark and cussed club. And speculators in a Jack-pot's wealth Witfc this regard their Interest turn away And lose the right to open." ' Old maids are described as " embers from which the sparks have fled." Even if a boy is always whistling 44 1 want to be an angel," it is just as well to keep the preserved pears on the top shelf. " Bring in the roasted chestnuts be fore the lamps are lighted " advisesa domestic exchange. That's right. We've always noticed that it was safer to eat chestnuts in the dark. At a Police Court: 44 Prisoner, what is your name?" 44 My name? Why, I've been here more'n a hundred times." 44 Your name, I tell you !" 44 Eusebe-Anacharsis lirabancon. " 44 What is your profession?" "What am I ? The despair of my family." Journal Amunant. In preparing the ground for the ice crop it should be put under water at least three feet in order that the ice won't freeze to it and be filled with sticks and mud. Use none but the-very best of ice seed. That from Maine is ex pensive, but it Is sure to sprout and grow in a pellucid nianner. A Galveston school teacher, who lost all patience with a very stupid boy, finally told the boy's father. 44 Your son is getting worse and worse every day." 44 1 don't think he can be quite that bad," remonstrated the partial parent. ."Well, then, he is at least getting worse and worse every other day, or say three timesa week. Ixrk Brougham In the Houe o Lords Wa questioned by a darne, - Who ! the ablet orator And answer gave the same. " We've many an able orator. In thought and action manly. You $Q me tor the first one? Hem ; . . The s5ond is Lord Stanley A poet chide his girl for her dilator inees in keeping an engagement. He savs: 44 See the ruoen is out, love come along with me ; hear the breezes soft, love, whispering to thee. Birds have sung themselves tosleep calling you your tryst to keep; flowers will 1 soon begin to weep, waiting, ioe, ior thee." We don't suppose .flowers would weep if she would never come, and for the bird ringing theiaaelvea ef to sleep calling ner to kccj. mrr it is all bosh. Birds have more sense. The trouble is her mother got wind of the clandestine business and locked her up in her room. - - VOL. I.-NO. 12. Mrs. Langtry Ahead. HOW THE PROFESSIONAL BKAUTY OVERSIZED A RIVAL'S PILE. Every one knows there is a great rivalry between Mrs. Langtry ami Mrs. Wheeler greater between thera than any other of the reigning "beauties '-and that what ever one can do, so as to score " off the other, is done by each. Mrs. Langtry is knowH. to possess very beaut iAd 'anm, while Mrs. Wheeler'sare thin and scraggy. On the other hand, the reverse extremi ties of Mrs. Wheeler are regarded bv those who have ncen them as models of sliaie and form, while Mrs. Langtry, though possessing fairly small feet whJu Lien cmiuste can only boast of upward continuation of Verp pipe stern order. Vell, the season before last Mrs. Lang try set the fashion of the sleeveless ball dresses, and of course Mrs. Wheeler, much to her detriment, had to adopt the .style. But she set to work to think how she would retaliate, aud this is how she did it : At the first ball she appeared at last season she wore a dress with a very short skirt. The Prince admired it, and as a matter of course, it became the fash ion. Hut what was Mrs. Langtry. to do? She tried it .-once, hut the effect, as may ho imagined, was disastrous. Then she set to work to cudgel her brains, and happy thought! at the next ball, instead of adding an inch or two to her drajH'ries, as she had first thought of doing, she had actually taken a reef in her already short skirt. But underneath apiared a pair of a certain article of ladies' lingerie, which on the present occasion shall be otherwise unmentionable, of KnickerbiH ker'cut, and reaching to her ankles, where they were decreased in fulness by a narrow hand, and thence fell over her instep in a short flounce of point lace. The effect was im mense. , The Prince was more than de lighted with it; nd not only did Mrs. Wheeler find herself completely check mated at her own game, but at the wear ing of the additional garment a fa Lang try at once becomes the thing she is of course obliged to adopt it, and thus con ceal what it had been her motive to so subtlv disJM - America. The prov'nee of Buenos Ay res and Montevideo are as yet far from being bverciowded ; but an immigrant will hot fare worse for going. further for el bow room, provided lie be as careful to insure free and easy communication as a good general would be anxious to keep within reach of his base of opera tions. There are rivers in this region nayigable by steam for thousands of miles, and the railways, which seem to have been providentially invented to serve the purposes of American col onization, are already reaching the bor ders of the Grand Chaco, the Grand Pampa, Patagonia, and other great deserts, where land is to be had for mere asking, and where the red - Indi an has ceased to be the bugbear lie was, and can not be made to face a breech loading rifle, j Tholand is, in the main, an im mense flat, no doubt ;i very large tracts of alluvial soil, without a tree or a peb ble; part of it mere swamps or salt wilderness.' But even these thousand miles of unbroken level are not with out a '-peculiar beauty-of their own; their boundless horizon and awful sol itude ; the freshness and purity of the. atmosphere, and the keen enjoyment of unlimitable freedom. Nor, apart from intercourse with Ids fellow men, is a man here crushed by a senw? of r.it.- for nothimr is morastrik- 4 -ing than the teeming life of the animal II (1 JWA 11 II V' - - ' c j kingdom in the pampas -the abun dance of game, storks and herons, the owls and the hawks, the flights of the wild turkeys and flocks of ostriches, to say nothing of the ubiquitous pterop tero and chattering little cardinal; a multitude and variety of fowls and brutes nameless to me as well a num-: rleasthe gayety of whose plumage . f i .1,,. raiwnitti nn! wild- aUU iur auu IllV ness of whose screeches and howls a settler will always and everywhere have with him, and which will only gradually make room for the flock and herds, the barring and bellowing, the crowing and cackling of hb domes tic surroundings. Life in the prairies is life in the sad dle ; for the very beggar here is moun ted ; and away from rail or tramwaj, neither for sex" nor age is there any oth er practicable, or, at least, endurable means of locomotion than tm horse back ; and the horea areAfleet and sure-footed, brave as lions, gentle and docile as cows, and their purchase and keeping cost little, and their stabling aud shoeing nothing. Checkmate is eating blue grasaat Eminence, Ky.

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