Chatham jjuconl.
ccotjd.
Mi
1
H. A. LONDON, Jr.,
EDITOR AND riJOPIUKTOR.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION:
.1
- f2.00 -
Tlie Empty Cradle.
She sits Inside t!u cradle,
Ami her tirs streaming last,
- r flie (( tlio present only,
While tlje thinks of all tlie past
(t'tlio layH so full of gladness,
When her lirst-liorn'a answering kiss
Thrilled her soul with such a rapture
That it knew no other bliss.
Oh, those happy, happy moments,
They lut deepen her despair !
For she beiuls above the eradle,
And her laly is not there.
There are words of comfort spoken,
And the louden clouds of grief
Wear th' tnilin hw of promise,
And h!i fet ls a sad relief.
Hnf her wavering thoughts will wander,
Till they settle on the scene
1 f" the dark and silent chamber,
And of all that might have been ;
I'or a little vacant garment, .
Or a shining tress of hair,
Tells her heart, in tones of anguish,
That her baby is not there,
she sits beside the cradle,
Put tier tears no longer tlow;
For she se s a blessed vision,
And forgets all earthly woe.
saintly eyes look down upon her,
And the voice that hushed the Bea
Stills her spirit with the whisper,
"SuiYor them to come to 3Ie."
An I while her soul is lifted
On the soaring wings of prayer,
Heaven's crystal gates swing inward
And she sees her babv there.
What Came of a Dream.
Hans Getter was a wealthy old Dutch
man, whose broail acres of field, wood
land and meadow are now partly covered
by the compact blocks of Brooklyn or
the village lots of Flatbush, L. I. They
had descended to him, in the third or
fourth remove, from the ancestor who
first cleared and tilled them, and there
he was living in all the rnde and sump
tuous plenty of the thrifty Hollanders
in and around New York and along the
Hudson, whom Irving has so pleasantly
immortalized. His numerous barns
were bursting with the products of his
golden harvest ; his stalls and shed
ranges housed the choicest breeds of
cattle, sheep and horses then known ;
while his house, broad like its master,
rather than lofty, was stuffed from attic
to cellar with every commodity that
could contribute to the comfort and
respectability of the 2ortly and ease
loving proprietor. Servants, stewards
and helpers he had in abundance, so
that his personal participation in the
management of his affairs was mostly
confined to their general supervision
and the care of his income. This afford
ed him abundant leisure for the indulg
ence of his pipe and that dreamy inac
tion which is the pai'adise of all fat
Dutchmen. Besides his wife a fair,
rotund, fresh-looking woman two
children, a son and a daughter, both
adults, aided in the business of farm and
household ; while their position and
prospects thrust them into prominence
as specimens of the rustic nobility ot
the times. In the squat old mansion,
with its broad verandas, hospitality
reigned supreme ; all the festivals and
holidays of the old country were duly
observed; the dominie and the school
master were often and ever welcome
guests ; and during the autumn and
winter months, at the harvest -home and
husking-bees, the premises were the
focus of luxuriant cheer and good times
generally.
Our story takes us to the opening of
the American Revolution. Bunker Hill
had been fought, and the British, driven
from Boston, were concentrating their
forces to capture and occupy New York
and its vicinity. As the quarrel with
the mother country progressed, men
were compelled to avow partiality for
one party or the other with more pro
nounced distinctness. Hans Getter's
leaning, during the preliminary troubles,
had been toward the colonial side ; but
being constitutionally sluggish and
timid, he would have greatly preferred
to remain a non-combatant and to have
his territory considered neutral ground,
supplying either belligerant, or both,
for a proper consideration. The pros
pect of trouble which threatened his
quiet annoyed him extremely, and as the
cloud of war neared his own locality,
the incident confusion made a chaos of
his restful ideas and threw him into a
ondition noticeable in some persons
over a burning dwelling. Compelled
to think and act rapidly, he became
lowildered, lost all jjresence of mind,
and finally tottered on the verge of
insanity. But we are anticipating a
little.
While the Continental army lay in his
neighborhood, and in partial occupancy
of his farm, Hans, though sorely grieved
'it the unavoidable disturbance of his
ease, had passed as a sympathizer with
the colonial cause and had contributed
to the commisary stores, not so much for
the love of the paper currency tendered
in exchange, as because he could not
hdp it. No military rules could prevent
countless petty vexations by an armed
host encamped on and around him. But
he was not treated as an enemy, nor was
the sanctity of his household openly vio
lated. His paramount concern was for
the fafety of a ceatain earthen crpek
the treasury of his annual revenues
w hen tumed into gold coin which had
always been kept in a secret nook in his
Har, ttctvpsible only tp himself. There
One ri'i y. no year, -one
ropy .six mouths
One ropy, three mouthy 1
VOL. III.
were no banks in which to deposit it ;
or stock companies in which to invest
it, and of landed estate he had all he
cared for. And so his hoard had con
tinued increasing, until Plutus, or some
other deity, might please to enlighten
him as to a better disposal thereof.
Such information must come, if it all,
as an afflatus ; for necessity did not com
pel, and protracted thought on the sub
ject was entirely incompatible with the
temperament of the proprietor. He
had enough ; his heirs must look after
the proper employment of what he
might leave them. WThat would you
more ?
But matters changed for the worse
when the British ships of war appeared
off the island, threatening invasion and
1 another kind of occupants. Visions of
I devastation leered from the smoke of
his pipe and troubled his slumbers. As
he pondered the subject, his anxiety
deepened into chronic dejection ; his
appetite dwindled ; his days were dole
ful, his sle'ep fitful and his reason
seemed nearly unhinged. At length ho
began walking in his sleep an occur
rence which at first occasioned some
alarm in the household, and prompted
a watch upon his movements. But
when it was found that they resulted
only in harmless peregrinations about
the premises and then a return to bed,
close observation was relaxed and the
circumstance settled into a matter of
course affair. He never remembered
these nocturnal rambles, but occasion
ally mentioned dreaming of inspections
of the plantation and the transfer of his
crock to another place of security.
At length news came of the landing
of the enemy. Then followed the bat
tle a portion of it on his own farm the
result of which gave the British posses
sion of the island. At its close a body of
the dreaded Hessian cormorants encamp
ed in agrove not a mile from his own door,
and immediately appropriated one of
his fat beeves for their supper, without j
so much as saying : "bv vour leave." '
j The crisis had come. Old Hans was
j terribly excited that evening, talked
! much of his treasure, ate little, and
i yielded to the entreaties of his family to
take an anodyne and go early to bed.
As usual he rose during the night, but
so silently as not to disturb his wife at
his side. His return toward morning,
however, awoke her, and she noticed
that he seemed wearied as though from
extra exertion. But a sound sleep there
after and a later rising put him into a
more cheerful frame than he had worn
of late. His daily visit shortly after to
his subterranean treasury revealed the
astounding fact that the crock, with all
its precious contents was missing ! Con
sternation immediately pervaded the
household, and Old Hans seemed abso
lutely stunned. When capable of ex
pressing an opinion, it was that some
Hessian burglar had invaded his deposit
and that the act was only a preliminary
to further operations of the red right j
hand upon his possessions. An 1 time
lamentably verified his surmises.
Fi'om that day forward he was a
broken-down man. His apprehensions
of the Hessians became a sad reality.
They regarded him as a rebel at heart,
but too imbecile for harm. His son, to
avoid arrest for complicity with his
father's supposed sympathies, fled and
ultimately joined the patriot army. His
wife and daughter, to escape the con
stant danger of mortification and insult,
took refuge with relatives on the Hud
son, urging old Hans to accompany
them. But he could not be induced to
do so, and with a few of his elder ser
vants remained to abide the devastation
of his premises, being treated by the
usurpers as a moping dotard. Every
thing on the once thrifty manor went to
ruin. Hessian officers were quartered
in his mansion and tenant-houses ; his
groves and fences supplied them fuel,
and several of his out-buildings were
pulled down and sent after them. His
stock was butchered for rations or de
voted to other service. His furniture
some of it the heir-looms of generations
was banged and battered like the
fixtures of a dram-shop, and all articles
fancied by the rapacious foreigners law
lessly appropriated by them. In fine,
at t he close of their seven years' pos
session, the buildings of the once pros
perous old Dutchmen were a wreck and
his farm a desolation.
At length the war closed with the
welcome acknowledgment of the inde
pendence of the colonies. After the
last red-coat had left the country, those
who had been driven from their homes
for opinion's sake began to return and
to gather from the general ruin the
wherewithal to begin anew the struggle
for a livelihood. Among these was the
family of old Hans Getter. With sor
rowing hearts they surveyed the wrecks
of their former prosperity. Of their
whilom abundance nothing remained
save the bare territory and the dilapi
dated buildings. Except shelter every
thing necessary to household comfort
was as completely wanting as though
they had been dropped down in the
midst of a western prairie. But by
dint of hard work and borrowed money.
PITTSBORO',
wnerewilh to restock the farm to a
limited extent, the son, who now as
sumed control of affairs, made a push
for the revival of better days. The con
trast with their former opulence ren
dered this a depressing labor, while the
old man seemed to be whelmed in a
melancholy daze; his rare utterances
being those of a cheerless crone, look
ing for his grave. The household had
always held suspicions that Hans had
robbed himself during his somnambu
listic performances of the years agone ;
but the most careful search, far and
near, had failed to substantiate them,
and though present necessities revived
the wish O how strongly ! for the re
covery of the needful, all prospect
thereof was as dim as ever.
Toward the close of their first year's
struggle with poverty and depression,
the mind of old Hans seemed suddenly
to bur&t the crust of hopeless apathy
that had so long overlaid it, and he be
trayed a keener sense of his situation
and surroundings. He once surprised
the family at tho breakfast table by the
impassioned exclamation to his son. "O
John, if ye had that crock the cursed
Hessians stole, ye might knock off work
and be a nabob !" He farther enlarged
upon its aid in the restoration of their
former status, and from that hour his
thoughts, sleeping or waking, appeared
to be energized over his lost hoard. At
length, so completely did his longings
possess him, as to occasion a repetition
of the consemienees nf liia
anxiety for its safety. He again com
menced his nocturnal peregrinations
about the premises, of which, as before,
he remembered nothing when awake.
On the morning following one of these,
he told the family he had dreamed that
he saw his crock with its contents in
tact, where, he remembered meanwhile,
himself had bestowed it a hint which,
corroborating as it did the opinion his
son had always entertained of its dispo
sal, was improved forthwith. His next
midnight tour was awaited with solici
tude ; nor was it long delayed. After a
day of great mental perturbation, Hans,
after smoking his evening pipe, retired
early to his restless bed. Near midnight
he rose, dressed and went forth, silently
followed by his son. Taking a spade
from the tool-house, the old man moved
cautiously across the paddock mto the
field beyond and toward an oak that
once sentineled a considerable grove
now laid low by the Hessian axe, whose
size alone had saved it from a similar
fate. At its foot the sleep-walker stop
ped, looked furtively around ; then,
removing a covering of withered leaves,
began digging. The son, lying down at
a short distance, watched his maneuvres
by the dim star-light, with feelings
which may be better imagined than de
scribed. It was some time ere the
spade was laid aside, and then the old
man knelt down, seemed to remove
something and to bend inquir
ingly over the excavation. Next he
proceeded to return the earth, smooth
the ground carefully and deftly replace
the covering of leaves. Then he stole
homeward and back to his bed. The
sequel which his son acted thereupon
may be at once surmised. Repeating
the operation he had just witnessed,
albeit with more speed and less caution,
he unearthed the veritable crock,
heavy with treasure, and took it to the
house. The next morning Hans told
the family that he had again seen in
dreams his precious treasure, lamenting
that he must wake to the distressful
sense of its loss.
Then followed the joyful denouement.
When the crock was produced, and
while its golden thousands were being
counted, Old Hans laughed for the first
time in many years, and fairly danced
with delight. Never Paas festival, with
its boisterous merry-makings, found so
happy a household. The result may be
anticipated without further description.
A twelve-month thereafter saw the
buildings and fences renewed or re
paired ; the farm re-stocked with the
choicest breeds ; trees re-set ; helpers
and tenants regained ; debts paid and
the smile of former thrift overall. Hans
renewed his age, his flesh and his ease ;
married his daughter to a nice young
Holland neighbor, whose buxom sister
espoused his own son, and as the old
Dutchman smoked once more his eve
ning pipe on his veranda, he forgot the
Hessians and smiled over his remunera
tive dream. Sirring field Republican.
Editors' Troubles.
If an editor omits anything he is lazy ;
if he speaks of anything as it is, he is
mad; if he smooth down the rough
places, he is bribed ; if he calls things
by their proper names, he is unfit for
the position of editor ; if he does not
furnish his readers with jokes, he is
stupid ; if he does, he is a rattle head,
lacking stability ; if he condemns the
wrong, he is a good fellow, but lacks
discretion ; if he lets wrongs and inju
ries go unmentioned, he is a coward ; if
he indulges in personalities, he is a
blackguard ; if he does not, his paper is
insipid. In short, if he edits a paper
properly, and sticks to truth and facts,
he is a fool and doesn't know how to
edit a paper half as well a.s his readers
could,
CHATHAM CO., N. C,
Some Snake Stories.
Mr. Calkins, a gentleman on his way
to La Crosse, from Sabula, had three
pets in a box which he was taking home
as a present to a gentleman who has a
private museum. He had occasion to
stop off at Dubuque, and the pets were
placed in front of Jaeger & Romberg's
store, where they were viewed by hun
dreds of people. They consisted of
three species of snakes, the venemous
rattler, the blue racer, and a garter.
Mr. Calkins found all three coiled lov
higly together and in a comatose state
Their bodies were as hard as rocks, and
they appeared as if all life had been
frozen out of thejn. When the sun
shone upon their bodies life returned.
and the warmer they became the more
frequent were their split tongues ex
hibited. The rattlesnake was the live
liest in the party, and kept moving
about and darting his head against the
wire covering the cage. It could be
seen that ho -was just about to crawl out
of his old skin, as his new coat of yellow
shone brightly through the dried and
worn one. Mr. Calkins stated that by
throwing a shovel of snow over them
they would straighten out and pass into
the spirit world, and apparently be as
dead as a door nail. He has on several
occasions frozen them as stiff as a bar
of iron, and could bring them back to
life by the least bit of warmth. WThile
viewing tho snakes the spectators en
gaged in snake stories which were high
ly interesting. One gentleman claimed
that a piece of mountain ash would do
wonders to knock the life out of any
snake, and not by pounding it either.
To prove this assertion he stated that
several years ago in Mayor Bush's field,
Frank Bush and himself saw a large fat
rattlesnake sunning itself. At first
they wanted to club it to death, but
having heard that mountain ash placed
upon a snake would cause it to pass into
a dead state, they wished to satisfy
themselves. Securing a large limb of
ash they poked the old fellow under the
nose and he died as slick as a whistle.
He didn't seem to know what struck
him. Previous to the time he smelt of
the ash he was hissing, rattling and
playing quite a bluff game, but the ash
fixed him. In a fewlirrates after that
wood had been removed, the snake re
turned to life, and was the same active
old fellow, and as saucy as ever. Hav
ing satisfied their curiosity, they beat
the life out of the reptile and resumed
their work. Another gentleman said he
had been bitten three times by a blue
racer, but none of the bites proved fatal,
and he didn't believe a racer was a poi
sonous reptile. His hearers were well
aware that they didn't prove fatal, but
think that man is liable to say most
anything.
A man with a freckled face and a sun
burnt nose told about the wonderful
joint-snakes he had killed on his farm
near Bollevue. "I tell you, gentlemen,"
he said, "them's the snakes which am
snakes. Hit 'em with a stick, and every
hit makes a dozen snakes. One day I
was w alking in my field with a rake
thrown over mv shoulder. Lookin'
down, I seed a snake run between my
legs. I come down with the old rake,
and durned if that old snake didn't un
joint itself and run in fifty different
directions. I was confused and didn't
know what ter do. By and by I seed all
the jointers comin' toward me, and as
they met, all hitched together and
pulled one way. They came directly to
me, and as I made another hit again
they dissolved partnership and each
joint paddled its own canoe. I watched
'em again, and durned if they didn't
come to me again hitched together.
WTiile I was thinking I felt something
under my shoe, and lookin' down I seed
one of the joints squirmin' and trying
to get away. I then knew what was up
and hurried home to tell my boys. We
all came out, but the snakes were gone
and I haven't seen any since." He re
cently took the pledge. For fear that
an honest man might come along the
party adjourned. Dubuque Times.
Inventor of the Ulster.
A story is told to prove that Doni
zetti was the inventor of the ulster.
One day at Paris, so it goes, he sent
for his tailor to measure him for an
overcoat. The tailor found him at the
piano surrendering himself to the rap
ture of composition. Nevertheless, he
was persuaded to quit the beloved in
strument and deliver himself up to the
man of tape and chalk. The tailor
made the first measurments, then
stopping began to take the length of
the garment. "To the knee, sirs" he
said, timidly. "Lower, lower," said the
composer in dreamy voice. The
tailor broflght the measure half way
down the leg, and paused inquiringly.
"Lower, lower." The tailor reached
the composer's ankles. "Lower, low
er." "But sir, you won't be able to
walk." "Walk! walk! who wants to.
walk ?" with an ecstatic lifting of the
arms, "I never walk, I soar."
There is a sort of Lenten affinity be
tween the haddock and the hassock.
Devotees will take first a kneel jn
church and then an eel for dinner,
MAY 12, 1881.
INDIAN SUPERSTITIONS.
The Close Relation or Indian Traditions
and Ceremonies to Ancient Kites.
A correspondent, writing from Ponca,
Neb., says : The Sioux entertain many
fanciful ideas concerning the future
world and the condition of those who
inhabit it. They believe that for some
time after death the soul lingers about
the body, in consequence of which idea
they are unwilling to visit or approach
a newly-ereoted scaffold on which has
been deposited one of their dead. This
feeling of dread is enhanced by a belief
in the vicious propensities of the lately
freed spirit, which is inclined to harm
the presumptuous mortal who ventures
too near. A spirit blow is liable to pro
dace death, and is, I believe, always
followed by direful consequences, as
delirium, paralysis, or some permanent
injury. The Sioux, following the prac
tice of many other tribes, place the
bodies of the dead on a scaffold raised
on poles some eight or ten feet in height.
The corpse is wrapped in folds of cloth
or blankets and buffalo robes. The oc
cupants of old scaffolds, which are often
met with on the plains, resemble Egyp
tian mummies. Persons of distinction,
as noted warriors and chiefs, including
sometimes the families of the latter,
receive more honor in sepulchral rites,
their remains being frequently inclosed
in boxes a dry goods or shoe box, ob
tained at the trader's store, answering
the purpose. Sometimes in the grave
yards of our frontier posts may be seen
towering above the stone that marks
the white man's burial place the scaf
fold oa which reposes the body of the
lnaiau cniei.
The soul of the departed Sioux finally
ascends to the milky way, which, in
their system, is a highway leading
through space to the happy hunting
grounds which lie somewhere in the
far-distant regions beyond. To sustain
the spirit during this long journey food
and drink are required. The noted
warrior and chief should be ushered in
to those realms in becoming state ; to
provide which, one or more horses must
be sacrificed. There is an element of
refinement in the savage idea attending
the disposition of the supplies thus fur
nished. It is not believed that the ma
terial food is eaten, nor the actual water
drank, nor the veritable horse ridden ;
but in all material resides the soul, and
this resident spirit of the food and drink
is consumed by the spirit of the deceas
ed, and the spirit of the horse accompa
nies the spirit of his master to the In
dian paradise, where they are both re
ceived into the spiiit land. These pro
visions appear to be needed only during
the journey from earth, the probable
supposition being that the blissful re
gions to which they are destined will be
amply supplied with everything that
can contribute to the haipiness of its
inhabitants.
The Sioux, or at least some of the Da
kota bands, seem to possess quite ancient
records, embracing prominent events in
the history of the tribe. These records
are inscribed on parchment, the events
of one generation being recorded by an
individual who has received the appoint
ment of historian, in virtue of which he
writes the history of his people during
his life. On his death another is ap
pointed. Thus the more interesting
events are perpetuated. Among the
more prominent that appear in these
barbarian annals is the account of the
coming of the first white man who ap
peared among them. He is represented
in a vry favorable light. At first he
came poor and defenceless among the
Indians, who gave him a cordial wel
come and ministered to his necessities.
He did not prove ungrateful, but after
leaving them, returned to the tribe,
bringing articles useful to the Indians,
with which he engaged in trade, the
traffic being continued to the satisfac
tion of both red and white men. The
records inscribed on this parchment, or
skin prepared by savage skill, extend
back to a remote date, perhaps reaching
over nine hundred years. The early
portion appears to be of a legendary
character, relating to the creation of
man on this continent, or at least the
first appearance of tho Indian race. The
Black Hills was the theatre of the earli
est of those historic or mythological
events. Perhaps the fondness of the
Sioux for this special territory, and their
reluctance to part with it, was owing to
the associations connected therewith,
as in Dakota annals the Black Hills ap
pear to have constituted a new-world
garden of Eden.
The superstitous element of Indian
character is manifested in the peculiar
regard paid the medicine man of the
tribe, and the implicit confidence with
which his mediations are received and
his advice followed. Perhaps among all
religions known to mankind the priests
exert no greater influence over the
minds of their followers than does the
medicine man of the North American
savage. His incantations were watched
with the most profound respect, and the
result thereof awaited in fear and tremb
ling. Their fortune in hunting and
their success in war are foretold by, and
perhap3 depend upon, the invocations
and mysterious charms of the medicine
man. His rude lodge is invested with
a mysterious awe equal to that which
NO. 35.
hallows the stately temple whose grand
dome towers above the habitations of
half a million worshippers in other
lands. Many of their dances and other
ceremonies partake of the same religious
character. The great Dakota festival,
the sun dance, appears to partake both
of a religious and patriotic character.
During its continuance, which is gener
ally for three days, various ceremonies
take place, perhaps the most prominent
of which is the self-torture inflicted by
the young men to give evidence of their
bravery and test their endurance. The
white visitor to the scene U attracted
by the ghastly spectacle of men in vari
ous postures undergoing all the pain
that their nature is capable of sustain
ing. Vigorous methods are devised to
exhibit the courage of the sufferer, and
particularly with the design of attrar
ing the admiration of the spectator.
One favorite method i3 to cut incisions
through the skin of the back, and
through these pass thongs, the ends of
which are secured to some support
above, after which the victim throws his
weight on the rope and remains in this
position until unconsciousness or the
setting sun gives relief. There appears
to be a like element pervading all bar
barons or semi-barbarous religions.
The priests of Baal cut themselves and
lift their bleeding hands in supplica
tion to heaven. The followers of Brah
ma inflict physical torture as a powerful
aid to their invocations. The worship
pers of Odin and Thor delighted in pain
and bloodshed. The druidical priests
offered human sacrifices. The natives
of the North American plains, in their
great annual festival, indulge in ceremo
nies similar in nature to those practiced
centuries ago in the mountains of Syria,
tho forests of Scandinavia and Germany,
and until a recent dav in Hindostan.
A Ship's Log.
The speed of vessels is approximately
determined by the use of the log and
log-line. The log is a triangular or
quadrangular piece of wood about a
quarter of an inch thick, so balanced by
means of a plate of lead as to swim per
pendicularly in the water, with about
t wo-thirds of it under the wat er. The log
line is a small cord, one end of which,
divided into three so that the wood
hangs from the cord as a scale-pan
from a balance beam, is fastened to the
log, while the other is wound round a
reel in the ship. The log, thus poised,
keeps its place in the water, while the
line is unwound from the reel as the
ship moves through the water, and the
length of line unwound in a given time
gives the rate of the ship's sailing.
This is calculated by knots made on the
line at certain distances, while the time
is measured by a sand-glass of a certain
number of seconds. The length between
the knots is so proportioned to the time
of the glass that the knots unwround
while the glass runs down show the
number of miles the ship is sailing per
hour. The first knot is placed about
five fathoms from the log, to allow the
latter to get clear of the ship before the
reckoning commences. This is called
the stray-line.
A Gentleman.
If you cannot find a gentleman to
marry, girls, do not marry at all. By
that term I do not mean a man who is
above the need of work ; he may be any
thing but a gentleman ; but a man who
knows how to work, who has self-respect
enough to keep him from low habits
both of speech and action ; who is cour
teous and honorable ; who is not afraid
of soiling his hands; the farmer, the
blacksmith, the carpenter, any man may
be a gentleman under dust and soot and
chips, but if he is not, girls, don't mar
ry him at all ! There is enough trouble
in life without increasing it in any way.
Do not subject yourself to the mortifi
cation that would be sure to come with
a husband who would continually cause
you to blush for his lawless actions, for
his coarseness and roughness, for h's
slippery dealings or for his hypocritical
polish. It is not sufficient that a man
looks and dresses well ; he must act and
live well beside.
In the Sick Room.
Under all circumstances keep the re
freshments intended for the use of the
invalid covered. Milk is a ready absorb
ent. Then there are cooling drinks,
jellies, blancmanges, and a variety of
.liquids usually seen at the invalid's
bedside, which are all more or less ab
sorbent. These should be kept covered.
I once visited an invalid who had her
bedside table supplied with an array of
glasses, cups, tumblers, etc., the con
tents of not one of which could we see,
all being covered with a most amusing
variety of glass and porcelain lids. The
invalid liked to forget the contents of
each, and was amused to lift one or an
other of the tiny covers and select a
refreshment which presented itself to
her taste. And to keep invalids amused
and ready to relish what is provided for
them, are important duties in nursing.
Such slight attentions cost little trou
ble, while they prove to the sufferer that
he or she is tenderly cared for.
If you want to find a man of iastg go
into thg nearest lunch-rqpnj.
of
ADVERTISING.
One square, one Insertion,
One square, two Insertions,
One square, one month,
1.30
2.50
For larger advertisements liberal contracts will
UhUw
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Chicago and St. Louis now furnish
nearly one-half of the manufactured ar
ticles needed by Texas merchants.
One of the grounds on which an Ohio
wife demands a divorce is that her hus
band habitually sleeps with a pistol in
his hand.
In Michigan the men who were for
merly undertakers, now have their .win
dows painted in mournful black, with
the words, "Funeral Conductor."
The Princess Doigorouki is very rich,
the late Czar having invested over two
millions sterling for her in France and
England alone, to say nothing of money
in Berlin.
A project is on foot in Vera Cruz to
build grand moles, docks and quays, in
anticipation of the growing commercial
intercourse between Mexico and the
United States.
So far as heard from, no North Amer
ican baby has yet been named nffctr
Bjornsljerne Bjornsen, the Norwegian
poet. Probably American parents do
not bjfancy the bjnanie.
Ex-Queen Isabella, it is reported,
owns thirty acres of land on Capitol
Hill, Washington, including a row of
brick houses, the purchase being mado
through a Philadelphia firm.
A medical journal in Munich says
that diphtheria caught by kissing is
likely to assume a much severer form
than if the disease were contracted or
the contagion imparted in any other
way.
Buffalo Bill drew better houses in
Philadelphia than Salvini or Bernhardt.
"I did feel a little anxious," said B. B.,
"playing against such rivalry, but it
turned out all right. Oh, the public
knows a good thing when it sees it."
The alarm twelve years ago in regard
to the exhaustion of English coal fields
led to the adoption of various economi
cal expedients which, in the making of
pig iron alone, are estimated to have
reduced the consumption by nearly five
million tons since 1871.
That now almost indispensable instru
ment, the telephone, is being put to
improper uses. Tho Boston Globe says
that some of the young people of Fitch
burg, Mass., are carrying on courtships
by telephone, and that it ought to bo
stopped before the wires are gummed
up with "taffy."
Men of rank and title are classified
down in Ar-kan-saw According to the
Boston Globe, they call an ordinary man
who drinks but little, "captain." A
colonel is one who can "stand the
racket" pretty well, and "general" is the
title given to a man who must have
"suthin' " once in so often, or perish
but the pickled old toper is called
"jedge."
"Gath" saw Uncle Sammy Tilden
among the old .bookshops on Nassau
street, New York, the other day, and
says he never saw the old man (he is
now sixty-eight) looking better. He
generally wears brown clothes and a
high silk hat. He is seldom seen in
company with anybody, and only one or
two persons out of hundreds rushing by
were aware who he was.
In 1877 Mr. de Lavergne estirr.ated
the value of the agricultural produce of
France at $4,500,000,000 including
wine, cattle, and all other products of
the soil. In 1868, Mr. Caird, who is to
England what M. de Lavergne is to
France, estimated the total value of the
agricultural products of the United
Kingdom at $783,000,000. The area of
France is. double that of the United
Kingdom.
The Law of Finding'.
The law of finding is this : The finder
has a clear title against all the world
but the owner. The proprietor of a
railroad car or bhop has no right to de
mand the property which may be found
upon his premises. Such proprietors
may make regulations in regard to los;
property which will bind their employ
ees, but they cannot bind the public.
The law of finding was declared by the
King's Bench one hundred years ago, in
a case in which the facts were these : A
person found a wallet containing a sum
of money on a shop floor. He handed
the wallet and contents to the shop
keeper to be returned to the owner.
After three years, during which time the
owner did not call for the property, the
finder demanded the wallet and money
from the shop-keeper. The latter re
fused to deliver them up on the ground
that they were found on his premises.
The finder then sued the shop-keeper,
and it was held as above stated, that
against all the world but the owner the
title of the finder is perfect. And the
finder has been held to stand in the
place of the owner, so that he was per
mitted to prevail in action against a
person who found an article which the
plaintiff had originally found but subse
quently lost. The police have no spec
ial rights in regard to articles lost, nnless
those rights are conferred by statute.
Receivers of articles fonnd are trustees
for the finder. They have no power, in
the absence of a special statute, to keep
the article against the finder any more
than the finder has to retain the article
against the owner,
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