hil (fthafham Jucord.
H. A. LONDON, Jr.,
EDITOR AXD TKOrUIETOR.
am jjucqi
V
I
Ml
BATE3
or
ADVERTISING.
Ay v
z
Ay
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION:
One square, one insertion,
One square, two insertions, -
One square, one month,
1.60
in,,. (viy ,si nii'iillis
copy, three months,
vol. in.
PITTSBORO CHATHAM CO., N. C, AUGUST 11, 1881.
NO. 48.
Por larger advertisements liberal contracts wf II
made.
1
! O.tif (if, mi
X x I I I I I 1 V V V - I I I I I I I I II
2- -
1.00 1 ' : :
Con1 eut.
Piflst ever hoar the ntoon complain
Because 'twas not Iho eun ;
Or know a star to sigh in vain
To be a brighter one ?
Me thinks the smallest orb that glows
In yonder fields of light,
IN brightest, purest lustre shows,
To glorify the night.
What if the brooks should ceaso to be,
And hush their prattling tone,
Because the music of the sea
Was grander than their own ?
But rippling o'er their shining sands,
They keep the meadows green
Unmindful of tho wondrous lands
The ocean rolls between.
For every mountain peak snow-clad,
.Mijtvtic and alone,
A thousand little hills are glad,
With verdure overgrown.
And from each leafy grovo and vale
Such dulcet music Hows,
Each bird might be a nightingale
And every tlower a rose.
So, in the earth beneath our feet,
In skies ultovc us lent,
In lonely path, or crowded street,
God teaches ns content.
Then why, my soul, shouldst thou repine,
Though poor thy gifts, and small,
And few the blessings that are thine ?
His love is in them all.
And thou canst learn while others teach,
Canst list while- others sing,
And loving C,d, at length canst reach
The good in everv thing.
The Last Glass The First Feast.
"Why, you careless man, you've been
and broken your glass," said a sma
looking young landlady, with a quick
tongue, to one of her best customers,
who spent the bulk of his wages at her
husband's house, and kept his wife and
family in rags and misery.
'.usfusi", missus, said tne man
Saul Hobson by name ; "I haven't broken
your glass."
"But you have then," she retorted, im
patiently, annoyed at his contradiction ;
"j;it look at that crack; do you mean
to tell me that crack was there when you
took your drink? You've knocked it
against something, that you have why,
the glass is utterly mined."
"All right," said Saul, pacifically, in
a rather maudlin tone, for he had al
leady diunk a great deal.
"Tisn'tall right," said the provoked
landlady ; "it's all wrong, and 1 can tell
you you shall not leave this house with
out paying for the glass you have
broken."
"Nonsense!" said Saul ; "you know
me, and you ought to believe my word.
I didn't break that glass. You don't
ujoan that?"
"I do moan it," she said.
"Bless my heart ! and think what an
eld friend I am of you and yours ; you'd
never be so hard upon a poor fellow as
that? Beside. I know T iliiln'f hm.il- if "
"You did break it!" she exclaimed,
Mill more angrily.
Then Saul Hobson grew red in his
tu ni.
"Ve ry well, missus," he said, steinlv
"what's to pay V"
"Foi.rp. nee ; and 'twas worth every
fart hin? of the money, too."
Ho (lung do.wi four penny pieces
noNily upon the labl
"Theie, then ; and now the glass is
mine, and I can take it home?''
"Of course you can," she rejoined,
haughtily and sarcastically, "if you've a
mind to go filling up your place with
poor broken stuff like that. Take it
p.tid welcome."
"There's no welcome about it ; I've
paid for it, and it's mine."
With these words Saul Hobson rose
to leave the "Three Fawns," carrying in
his hand tho broken tumbler. At the
door hd met the landlord, who had been
out.
"Good evening, Saul ; where aie you
going off to, man?"
"Home," said Saul.
"Home? nonsense !" said tho landlord ;
"it isn't nine o'clock yet you'vo been
in no time at all, man ; what's the mat
ter V"
"I'd better not speak any more in this
house, for my word isn't believed."
"Sally," said the landlord of the
'Three Fawns," turning a look of an
noyance on his buxom partner behind
the bar, "what have you been quarreling
TUth Mr. Dobson about?"
"Nothing, Mr. Hart ; he's broken a
jrlass and had to pay for it, that's all."
"I didn't break it," said Saul.
"Had to pay for it ? Give him back
tl'e money this moment. Is this how
Jon manage my business when my back
i turned? Don't you know better,
Sally, than to treat an old friend and a
good customer in such a way ? WTiat's
pace of a tumbler? Come back,
S-uil, and forget all about her folly,"
urged the landlord.
"No, thank you," said Saul, not smil-
ug nor yielding in the slightest degree
to Mr. Hart's good nature and blandish
ments. "I shall keep my word and go
Home."
So saying, he left the house.
'You are a beauty to quarrel with
oaul Hobson," said the landlord, an
grily, to his wife, and there ensued a
war of words between the pair which we
need not chronicle here.
"There's no sense in your being so
savage, Mr. Hart," said his wife, amongst
her other speeches; "that man will be
back in a few nights at furthest, as sure
as my name is Sarah Hart."
But the landlady's prophecy- was des
tined to bo unfulfilled.
Sam Hobson took his way to the deso
late, barely furnished room he called
his home. His wife looked up in sur
prise as she saw him enter. With dry
humor, that she hardly appreciated, he
sat tho broken tumbler on the table and
said,
"There, Fan, what do you think of
that as a bargain for fourpence?"
"Fourpence, Saul?" she answered in
grave earnest, "it would be dear at a
ha'penny. What on earth did you buy
a broken tumbler for ? Surely we have
broken things enough about us," and
she glanced around at the contents of
the room, of which certainly quite a
large proportion was unsound. Saul
followed his wife's glance, with a bit
ter smilo upon his lip3.
"Yes, Fanny; so the tumbler will
match."
Wondering alike at the comparative
sobriety and the strangeness of tone, the
discreet wife ventured no further remark.
nave you got no supper lor your
husband, Fan ?" he next asked.
"I've a bit of bread, Saul, there's
nothing else in the house."
He laughed bitterly.
"And you didn't expect me?"
"No, I didn't."
"Well, I don't blame you for that
Is it too late to buy a pound of bacon ?
There is fire enough to fry it, more's the
wonder. There's a shilling, Fanny ;
perhaps you wouldn't dislike a cup of
tea."
"Oh, thank you, Saul !"
Fanny Hobson was hungry and tired,
and the prospect was inviting. She
slipped out readily, wondering and
exciieu. one soon returned wiui tue
.'i. J OI... A 1 11
bacon and an ounce of tea. It was quite
wonderful, the alacrity with which, thus
encouraged, she bustled about to make
the place comfortable. The warm, savoy-
smell, and the noise of tho frying bacon
as it fizzed and hissed in the pan, reached
the children in their bed on the floor in
a little recess of the room, and they
called out,
"What is it, mother; who's frying?"
"Mother is," answered Saul Hobson
"and if you are good and quiet you shall
have a taste.
Awestruck at their father's voice, the
children were like mice for the next few
minutes, save a whispered comment or
two on the prospect before them.
It was a sight to behold that family
half an hour later the poor little wan,
half fed, scantily-attired children gather
ed around their parents' knees, and eat
ing ravenously of bread and bacon, with
an occasional sip of warm tea from the
basin which their father used, or th
cracked teacup of their mother. When
they had gone back to their bed, warm
and contented, there was a whisper
among them, and then uprose in tremu
lous tones a little out of tune, perhaps,
and yet surely somehow in tune witl
the angels' music the simple words of
thanks,
"We thank The.-, hmd, fur this our food,
15 ii t iimre. because, of Jesus' Mood ;
Let maiiiia to our souls he given,
The bread of life, pent down from Iflfaven.
Saul Hobson's eyes grew moist with
blessed'tears, and ho was silent for some
time. Then he raised the broken glass
in his hand and flung it on tho fireplace,
where it fell in a dozen pieces.
xuere, anny, saiu lie, "tueres my
last glass at the 'Three Fawns' that's
the last glass of liquor I shall ever drink."
"Thank God!"
Eight years have passed away eight
happy years for Saul and Fanny Hobson.
Slowly but surely the Work of reforma
tion nas oeen carried on m tnat once
miserable family. Almost the first act
of its head, when he had recovered all
his articles from the pawnshop, was to
remove into a tidier quarter of tho town,
and to engage two rooms.
jieing an a Die workman ne soon re
ceived an advance in his wages, when
his master discovered he could depend
on his punctual attendance ; and Saul
began to save. He had ideas of better
ing his condition formed in his sober
brain, which in his drink-loving days
could not find room there. And now,
with a small capital carefully and pru
dently accumulated yar by year, he has
just gone into business as a master
tradesman, with a light heart, a clear
conscience, and a happy home.
Best of all, he and his wife have
become members of a Christian church,
and are endeavoring to bring up their
family in the fear of the Lord, which is
the beginning of wisdom.
Saul Hobson never ceases to rejoice
in those circumstances whichled him to
decide that he had taken his last glass.
Now is the time to shout your hose-
annas. One thousand stocking makers
are coming to this country from Chem
nitz, a Saxony town.
A Detective's Great Feat.
A great forgery having been com
mitted, whereby a bank was robbed' of
30,000, the culprit succeeded in get
ting safely out of England, and escaped
to the Argentine Republic, where there
was no extradition treaty. He was be
lieved to have taken the whole of the
plunder with him, as his wife, who was
narrowly watched, certainly held no
portion of it, and no letter addressed to
him had passed through the postoffice ;
so a private detective of great reputation
was employed by the bank authorities
to go out to the River Platte, and en
deavor either to recover the money or to
luro the forger into a position where he
might be captured. This detective was
an educated man and well fitted to carry
out the role he assumed that of Major
R , traveling for his health, and in.
tending to pay a short visit to Buenos
Ayres before proceeding to Valparaiso
and Peru. Unlimited powers, official
and unofficial, wero conferred on him ;
he was supplied with letters of introduc
tion to the leading people in tho Re
public ; ana ot course there was to be
no question of expense. Thus furnished,
he set out.
On arrival in Buenos Ayres he discov
ered that his man had gone some leagues
up the country. Following up tho
track, he found him living in apparent
great poverty, employed as a shepherd
by an English estunrin-o, to whom the
would-be Major R happened to have
a letter of introduction. In this way he
had no difficulty in making acquaint
ance with his intended prey gradually
and casually to avert suspicion. One
day he asked him openly whether his
position in life had not been very differ
ent from that in which he found him, as
his speech and manner were those of a
gentleman ; and, after a little hesitation.
tne snepneru contested tnat sucii was
ill 1 A , .
the case, presently telling a plausible
tale of misfortune in business, etc. Pro
fessing pity for him, tho kind-hearted
major lent nini money, and took him
back into the city, where he entertained
him as his guest, having mentioned con
lidentially to him that he wished to in
vest a considerable sum m land out
there, and promising to instal him as
manager of the estate. All this time
the thief was supposed to be carry ing
the money hidden about his person ; and
it was to devise some strategy for ob
taining this with certainty and safety
that tho detective postponed the iJukhh
1 - P Al. -1A 1 . .1 ,
mini oi mo piot so long. At length
when he had excluded every other pos
sible place. of concealment, and seemed
to have won the man's entire confidence,
he went to the captain of the British
man-of-war lying there and revealed
himself in his own character for no
body till then had the least inkling of
tho truth and together they arranged
a very nice little trap. The officers of
the gunboat were to give a grand picnic,
followed by a dance on board ; and all
tho best people in Buenos Ayres were
invited, Major R and his friend
among the rest. The "friend"' was de
lighted at the prospect, and drew largely
on the major for the wherewithal to pre
sent a befitting splendor of appearance
on the eventful day. As thev strolled
down to the wharf, arm in arm, you may
be sure that Major R- 's heart beat
high with the triumph already in his
grasp, one of the cleverest captures ever
planned by an emissary of Scotland
Yard. Hiring a boat, they soon arrived
alongside the man-of-war, where the
poop was already crowded with ladies.
"Jump up," said tho Major, as the
gangway ladder was lowered : "we re
just in time."
"Wrell, no, Mr. G ," returned the
forger, calling the detective by his real
name. "I don't think I'll go on board ;
but I'll stay here in the boat and listen
f n f li a nmsin. wTiil a von rrn mi and lano.fi !
If the officer did not feel sold at that
moment no man ever did. The best of
it was the audacious robber had not one
penny of his booty with him, and was
much too wary to trust the post. Both
he and his wife, who joined him soon
afterward, were obliged to work for their
bread until the arrival of their govern
ess, who had never been suspected of
complicity, with the whole sum. But
how ho discovered his adversary was
never known.
JUy tne way, this same detective is
said to have had another "sell a few
days later. He went on board the mail
steamer just come in from Brazil, as he
thought he might obtain an English
newspaper. If he got one he certainly
had time to read it, for the steamer hap
pened to be in quarantine, and he had
to undergo the horrors of seclusion at
Ensenada for three weeks !
A man's shocking behavior : A lady
alighting from a street car met an ac-
ouaintance, who said to her: "You
onmor tn li oY.it.ft1 9" "So T am. I had
"rr '
to stand up the whole way." "Did
nobody offer vou a seat?" "Yes. one man
1 V '
but I declined it, thinking he would
urge me to accept." "And he didn't ?"
"No; the beast went on reading and
never looked up again. Bah ! if there's
ATivthiner I hate it's hoggishness in
horse car."
- J O WW I
Elephantine Morality.
Hundreds of men and women have
laughed over the amusing picture of the
monkey using the cat's paw to take
chestnuts off the hot stove. Perhaps a
few of the laughers have recognized
themselves either in the monkey or in
the cat.
Yet it is a common practice to use
others to do that for us which we would
not do for ourselves. We may think
that we thereby escape responsibility.
But the legal maxim which asserts that
what one does through another he does
himself, is not only good law, but good
morals He who influences another to
act for him is responsible for the charac
ter of that other's action.
Singular as it may seem, elephants
who have associated with men also
entertain the notion that they are not
responsible if they uso some one else to
do a wrong act. An anecdote will illus
trato this elcihantine morality.
A gentleman in Ilangoon bought
three young elephants to send to Eng
land. They were tame and playful, but
cunning. Knowing tbat it was wrong to
steal paddy (unhusked rice), the idea
had doubtless been impressed upon
them by punishment for stealing, they
would not touch it themselves. But if
a boy went to see them, he would be
seized by one, the little trunk coiled
around his arm, and he be led to where
the paddy was kept in bags.
The elephant would make a cat's paw
of tho boy's hand to take up a handful
of paddy. Then letting so, ho would
turn up the end of his trunk, open it,
and coaxingly invite the boy to drop in
the paddy
Should the boy, however, put it back
in the bag, his arm would be again seized
bv the trunk, and his hand againinserted
into the paddy-bag.
Tho boy, anxious to bo released,
would usually drop tho paddy into the
trunk, and the elephant would blow the
rice into his mouth. After repeating
the operation several times, the elephant
would scamper off, feeling that ho had
got tho paddy without stealing it.
There arc not a few men who have
that elephant's notion of morals, and
congratulate themselves whenever they
have made another person do a "smart'
thing for them. Y tut It a (Utinpanion.
Ihe Pines or the World.
Dr. Braggo's collections of pipes now
on view ac tne Alexandra l'aiace oners.
savs the the London Times, one of the
most interesting of minor art exhibitions.
Mr. Braggo's collection includes speci-
mens, oi ail countries ana ueionging to
many periods, of the graven images and
idols of clav which have been dedicated
to the worship of tobacco. From France
m tt 1 Al
como pipes or Sevres made m me
national porcelain factory; from Germany
old Dresden pipes and the pipe formerly
smoked by the giant in possession of the
guilds at Cologne ; fiom Holland sev
eral hundred of the :esthetie clay called
Early Dutch," c ollected by leer Van
der Want, Master cf the Piponiakers
Guild at Gouda. The Dutch contribu
tion includes also specimens of the bride
grooms' pipes, clay ornamented with
ribbons, which the fanner of the polders
smokes on the day of his wedding and
then lays by on the shelf, to be taken
down once a year when the anniversary
conies round of the momentous occasion.
This pipe is regarded with groat interest
by smokers as an example of the various
which tobacco serves in calming
eelings of ecstatic joy and mitigating
the pangs of regret. There are 00
early English pipes, Scandinavian
pipes, with modern ruins inscribed upon
them, Siberian bowls, the consolation of
the exile, made of hard wood and mam
moth ivory ; Basque pipes and the costly
meerschaum and amber toys smoked by
pachas in their saraglois. Ninety-six of
the Japanese pipes are m ivory, twenty
four in wood, horn, rock crystal, agate,
etc. The carving illustrates tho social
life of Japan in its most amusing rela
tions. One pipe which formerly belonged
to Enomoto, foster brother of the im
. i, i ,i
peror, bears tne imperial symuois, aim
the central portion is entirely inlaid
with gold. The bowls are extremely
small. A pipe contains merely a whiff.
A piece of tobacco is rolled up to the
size of a pea, and one long, soothing
inhalation exhausts it. Tlie smoke is
retained for some time in the lungs, as
is usual in the East. It is no matter of
surprise that, according to the Earl of
Elgin's mission, a Japanese will smoke
fifty such pipes in a morning. From
China come the opium pipes, which
balance the finances of India tubes of
jade or tortoise shell, bowls of silver and
enamel. Hookahs from India, the calu
mets of peace and war from North
America, the pipes of the Aztecs and
Caribs, the latter called "tabaco,"
whence the European name of the weed
originally consumed in them is said to
be derived ; pipes smoked at tne great
"customs" in Central Africa, the
sperm whale's teeth carved into bowls,
; pipes from Caledonia and New Guinea
t M.
are also to be seen at Muswell Hill.
A black bear endeavored to nug a Mon-
tana girl, and she punched out nis eyes
a with a parasol. Detroit white bears are
1 somewhat better treated.
FACTS FOR THE CURIOUS.
The number of vertebrated animals is
estimated at 20,000.
A codfish pioduces 3,G86,7G0 eggs.
A mackerel 454,860.
In 1526 roses were placed over con
fessionals as symbols of secrecy.
Iron can be made so thin that it takes
4,800 sheets to make an inch in thick
ness. A nugget of gold weighing fifty-eight
pounds has been unearthed in Mr. Trape-
guekoffs mines in Siberia.
The paper for the Bank of England
notes has been made in the same mill,
in Lanerstoke, Hampshire,'since 1719.
The lucifer match was invented in
1827, by an English chemist, and Fara
day first brought the discovery into
practice.
Between the years 1174 and 1G00,
three hundred and fifty printers llonr
ishe in England and Scotland, and the
product of their presses amounted to
10, 00 distinct productions.
The Persian King Cambyscs caused
one of his judges, who had allowed his
decision in a certain case to be influ
enced by a bribe, to be flayed alive and
his skin used as a covering for the seat
of his son, who was to succeed him in
in office.
Coffee was first sold in London in
1052 by a Greek whoso handbill read
"The virtue of the coffee drink first
publiquely made and sold in England
by Pasquallosee, in St. Michael's Alley,
Cornhill, at the sign of his own head."
There are five cities in the world hav
ing each a population of over 1,000,000
inhabitants one each in Britain, United
States, Germany, France and Austria.
Then there are nine having more than
500,000 inhabitants three in Great
Britain, three in the United States, two
in Bussia, and one in Turkey. Of cities
having between 200,000 and 500,000 in
habitants there are twenty -nine six in
the United States, five in Great Britain,
four in Germany and in Italy, three in
France, two in Spain and one in Bussia,
Austria, Belgium, Holland, and Por
tugal.
France, viewed from a sanitary point,
is one of the most favored countries in
the world, yet nearly 1,000,000 persons
die thero every year. From this it is
statistically proved that the daily number
of deaths in tho world averages nearly
98,790, while the number of births is
over 101,000 in every twenty-four hours.
The timid, who think the earth is going
to fill up with people in a very few years
and crowd them off, can take courage,
as from tho latest showing there is an
annual increase in population of less
than 3,000,000 at tbo present time.
The lion has often been seen to
despiso contemptible enemies and par
don their insults when it was in his
power to punish them. He has been
seen to spare the lives of such as were
thrown to be devoured by him, to live
oeaeesiblv with them, to afford tliem
part of his subsistence, and sometimes
to want food himself rather than deprive
them of that life which his generosity
had spared. The lion is not usually
cruel ; he is only so from necessity, and
never kills more than ho consumes.
When satiated, he is perfectly gentle.
Curious Oriental Dress.
The black garments which have given
distinctive name (SiaJi) to the race
(tho people of Kafiristan) apparently
differ in various tribes. Those on the
Kabul side wear entire goat-skins with
the hair on. The Bushgalis. a main
tribo dwelling southwest of Cbitral,
wear tunics with half sleeves, of black
woven goat's hair, reaching nearly to
tho knee, gathered in at the waist with
a leathern belt, from which hangs a
dagger, and with a broad red edging
along the bottom. Where the Kafirs
abut on their Afghan neighbors they
aro found to be gradually adopting cot
ton clothing. Tho women, however,
appear to adhere to the traditional garb,
which consists in their case of sack-like
garments of black woven goat's hair,
with long, loose sleeves; reaching to the
ankles, and gathered in loosely at the
waist with a colored cotton scarf brund
tightly over the shoulders. Th j men
shave the whole of the head, except a
circular patch about three inches in di
ameter, whence the hair is allowed to
grow long and hang down behind, often
to the waist. The Bushgali women wear
a curious head-dress, consisting of a
sort of black cap with lappets and two
horns about a foot long made of wood,
wrapped round with black cloth and
fixed to the cap. A somewhat similar
fashion -prevailed in our island in the
reign of the Plantagenets, and strange
to say, the Chinese pilgrims, Sung Yun
and Hwen Thsang, noted a like peculi
arity in vogue in Turkestan in the sixth
and seventh centuries of our era. Lon
don Times.
A Kentucky girl of shifting affections
said yes to two men, and allowed both
to obtain marriage licenses. Tney met
... .
at her house on the appointed day, and
she made a final choice between tnem.
The proprietors of a soda-ash factory.
at La Salle. Illinois, are building
chimney 250 feet in height to carry off
the noxious fumes.
VENTRILOQUISM.
Some of the Pranks Which Ventriloquists
Have Played on Their Fellownien.
The following is from an interview
with Professor Dixon, a ventriloquist:
'Who were the greatest ventrilo
quists?"
'Well, there was an old Athenian
named Eurykles, who i3 spoken of in
history as master of the art. Then there
were Professor Alexandre and Louis
Brabout, of modern times. They were
both Frenchmen. Brabout lived in the
fourteenth century, I believe, and was
said to be tho best ventriloquist the
world ever knew. Alexandre lived at
an earlier period, and was noted more
for his mimetic representations than for
his ventriloqual powers. Professor
Love, of England, was celebrated in the
art, and was rivalled by Professor Har
rington, who died recently in Bevere,
Mass. Of those living to-day, Frederick
McCabe and E. D. Davies are tho great
est. Davies is now retired in Australia,
and McCabe has recently signed a con
tract to go thero the present season.
Davies was the first ventriloquist to in
trodncc 'figures' as an assistant to the
art in America.
"McCabe was a great practical joker.
Several years ago ne was on board a
Mississippi river steamboat, and form
ing an acquaintance with the engineer,
was allowed the freedom of the engine
room. He took a seat in a corner, and
pulling his hat down over his eyes, ap
peared lost in reverie. Presently a
certain part of the machinery began to
squeak. The engineer oiled it and went
about ins usual duties. In tne course
of a few minutes tho squeaking was
heard again, and the engineer rushed
over, oil can in hand, to lubricate the
same spindle. Again he returned to
his post, but it was only a few minutes
until the same old spindle was squeak
ing louder than ever. 'Great Jupiter !'
he yelled, 'the thing's bewitched.'
More oil was administered, but the en
gineer began to smell a rat. Pretty
soon the spindle squeaked again, and
slipping up behind McCabe, the engi
neer squirted a half -pint of oil down the
joker's back. 'There, said he, I guess
that spindlo won't squeak anymore!'
The joke was so good that McCabe
could not keep it, and he often tells it
with as much relish as his auditors re
ceive it.
"At another time McCabo was con
fronted by a highwayman on one of the
lonely streets of Cincinnati, as ho was
returning to his hotel from a moonlight
picnic. The robber presented a cocked
revolver to the ventriloquist's head, de
manding his money or his life. Mc-
Cabe's quick wit saved him. He threw
his voice behind the robber, exclaim
ing: 'Hold, villain, you are my pris
oner!' The frightened scamp turned
his head, and McCabe dealt him a blow-
that felled him to the ground. He then
secured the revolver and marched the
scoundrel to a police station.
"Do Jon ever Play iokes ?"
ot often- 1 am not clvcn to meh
sPort as a general thing, but occasion-
ally amuse myself at the expense of
others. Last year I was traveling with
a musical combination. One day while
riding on the cars I threw my voice into
a covered basket, and set up a furious
barking like a dog. The lady beside
whom the basket was sitting gave a
scream and bounded out of the seat.
Then I made a cat join in with the row.
and a brakeman came running pell
mell to quiet the disturbance. He
jerked the lid off the basket and found
nothing but a lot of delicious peaches
the lady was taking home. The crowd
was considerably mystified. Then I set
a bumble-bee buzzing about the brake
man's ears and he retreated. A gentle
man who was standing near neard a
wolf growl so ferociously behind him
that he jumped about two feet high.
Then the lady was made to believe that
a mouse's nest had found lodgment in
her pocket, and the circus was complete,
Bnt I don't believe much in sucli ca
pers, and generally forego the fun I
might have if I felt disposed."
(Jrowlli and Weight of Children.
Some interesting studies witn re
ference to the health and growth of
children have been made by Dr. Boul-
ton, of the Samaritan hospital, London ;
and, instead of taking the average of a
large number of chudren measured once,
he adopted the plan of measuring a num-
ber of children of normal growth,
brought up under average circumstan-
ces, many times, thus ascertaining their
rate of increase. By this means, tne
annual rate of growth was found to vary
between two and three inches for each
childper year. Dr. Boulton believes
that when a child varies more than a
quarter of an inch annually, or when
his weight does not correspond with his
weight within a margin of safety put
at seven pounds tnen ic is saie to con
elude the child's diet is not good, or
possibly some disease is lurking m his
. I . m l Atl I
system, ine curious iaci appears mat
oss of weight always precedes the de-
velopment oi consumption.
Baltimore gravely announces that her
a handsomest man is a coroner, but jour
nals of other cities seem inclined tomb
make sport of the fact.
ITEMS OF I M EREST.
A young lady is giving whistling en
tertainments in the oil regions. Any
thing to raise the wind during the dull
season.
In Texas when a man wants to com
mit suicido ho steals a horse, says his
prayers and calmly awaits the inevitable
result.
St. Louis bakers are on a strike and
aro loafing around, doughmg nothing
and making kneadless trouble for their
employers.
Beavers aro rapidly increasing in Cal
ifornia, and are damming the state al
most as much as some of the disap
pointed politicians aro.
An exchange says that Von Moltke
can get only three hours of sleep out of
the twenty-four. Perhaps Mrs. Von
Moltke snores.
A pair of scissors were found in an ox
just killed in Pennsylvania, and it is
feared the animal has made food of some
green editor.
The California Supreme Court has de
cided that bad spelling does not vitiate
the verdict of a jury even when the
judge himself writes it.
A trustee of the Lutheran church at
Poestenkill, N. Y., carried off the com
munion vessels on withdrawal from
membership, and used them on his own
table. The pastor jhas sued for their
recovery.
Tuchmann & Co., of London, have
invented a fire-extinguishing prepara
tion which can be kept in powder or in
solution. They claim that it is not only
more speedy and effectual in action than
water, but that nothing once sprinkled
with it will ignite. It excites much at
tention. "Where'er she went sho boasted of
Her beautiful complexion,
And claimed to bo the handsomest
Young lady in her section ;
And of her face sho well might boast,
Because it cost the "rocks"
That beautiful complexion cornea
At ninety cents a box.
What Cyrus W. Field Saw in Asia;
"There is no unusual discomfort
about railway travel in India. Bail way
management there is of a high order,
and as to expense of operating exceeds
anything to be found in the United
States. But about thirty-three per cent,
of receipts of Indian railways are re
quired to meet the expense of operation.
What one of our railways can report as
favorable as that?
"The Japanese aro one of tho clean
liest people on earth, personally. But
as much cannot be said of them morally.
It is the custom of the whole nation to
bathe daily, but it may shock you to
know that until recently men and wo
men bathed together perfectly naked.
Th ovcrnment has established a law
against promiscuous bathing, and the
bathing houses aro now made with a
partition to separate the men and the
women, but it is not very high.
"The most refined Japanese aro ex
. i -i 1.1. i
r emery courteous ami agrccuuie peupio.
We were invited to visit a Japanese
merchant, with whom I was much
pleased. Our reception was as curious
as it was cordial. We had to removo
our shoes at tho door, and enter and
make our visit in our stocking feet. Our
host introduced us to three of his wives.
I do not know how many more he had.
It will give you some idea of tho ele
gance of our entertainment if I tell you
the tea we drank was made before us in
a golden teakettle.
"The hills, mountains, and volcanoes
of Japan are exceedingly beautiful.
The groves which occupy so much space
in Japanese cities are very attractive.
The inland sea upon which wo crossed
to Nagasaki is as beautiful as any water
I ever sailed upon.
Shanghai and Hong Kong aro not
filthy, and Saigon, in Cochin China, is
cleaner than New York lias been in
many years. But the people do not
bathe as frequently as in Japan and the
peoxle are not as clean. The Celestials
are sinewy and have great endurance,
but they would doubtless look less sal
low and their physical condition would
improve if they were not restricted to
such a monotonous diet. Rice is whole
some food, but they live almost exclu-
siVcly upon rice, and the poorer class
have hardly enough of that.
"The dwellings of the natives aro
pGor everywhere in Asia. The only fine
private buildings are the houses of for
eign residents. The pagodas of tno
great cities of China are conspicuous
above the hut-like houses of the people,
but they are much inferior to the mos-
qUes and temples of India. Aswesailea
from the ports of China tho pagodas
were the last objects of sight, and as wo
am)roached Singapore, the southern-
most point 0 sia, and passed through
- tne gtrait8 of Malacca to Penang, tne
t emTies cf heathen deities were the first
nivf.t to attract our attention. Bo it
. Asiatic Dort we entered.
As ve sajiea np the Bay of Bengal to
Tianjronn. the canital of British Burmah,
twenty-five miles within the mouth of
- the Irrawaddy, the greatest pagoda in
J the world raised its great golden dome
f imposingly oeiore us.