Ca
CMTAINEER.
,-,
t ? . r -?
- . '
VOL. IX.
. MORGANTON, N. C, SATURDAY;. SEPTEMBER 20, 1884.
NO. 7.
T7r Blossomed, Bud.
" Twas a babe a three-month-old
Thai Death had come to see:
It was white and still and cold
As any babe could be.
Cut its features softlv traced
A life that God had planned:
Some one, dreaming this, had plac
A rose-bud in its hand.
Deeply wept the parents when
That spirit fluttered free ;
They were sad and wretched then,
As parents oft must be.
lTach 1 he other's picture borne
Saw in the fleeting face,
AVhen that heart J'io:n theirs was t'rn,
It left so large a place!
But when last in its repose
They kissed it mournfully,
That small bud had grown a rose,
As sweet as rose could be.
With its soft breath it perfumed
The sad and solemn hour;
And it sniiled and gl -wed and bloomed,
A grand and perfect flower.
Then those hearts grew strangely light,
And b:ido. their donbtings flee;
They were full of hopes as bright
As stricken ones could be.
And the pastor gently said,
" This tells, to our dim eyes,
That your darling is not dead,
But blooms in Paradise.'
"ZIGZAG."
The guests leisurely entered the large
dining room of the hotel, and seated
themselves in their places. The wait
ers commenced their service slowly in
order to allow time for those who were
late, so that they would not have to
brinj back the dishes: and the old
lathers, the habitues of the place,
looked with interest toward the door
each time it opened, to see the new
fac?3 that appeared. This is the great
distraction of watering places. One
look; forward to dinner time to inspect
the arrivals of the day, and to guess
who they are, what they do, and what
Ihey think.
Therefore, on the evening in ques
tion, as on all other evenings, we were
awaiting the arrival of the new
comers. They were only two, But
they were very strange persons, a man
aud a woman, father and daughter.
They at once produced on me such an
effect as the characters of Edgar Poe
might; nevertheless v there was about
them a charm, a charm born of mis
fortune. I pictured them to myself as
the victims of fatality. The man was
tall and spare, a little bent, with white
hair, too white for his yellow physiog
nomy; and there was in his manner a
grave air and austere bearing. The
daughter, perhaps twenty-four or
twenty-five year3 of age, was small,
quite slender and very pile, and had a
weary aaa aejsctea air. ??ne was
rather pretty, having the diaphanous
oeauty of an apparition. She ate very
slowly, as if she were hardly able to
move her arms. It wa3 evidently she
who had come to take the waters.
They were seated oppasite to me at
the table, and I at once noticed that
the father had a peculiar nervous
uffeetion.
Every time he wished to reach any
thing his hand described a rapid move,
meat, a sort of zigzag, before he was
able to touch the object he was seeking.
In a few moments this movement tired
me so that I was compelled to turn
away ray head in order not to see it.
I noticed also that the young woman
while eating wore a glove on her left
haid.
Af er dinner I went for a stroll in
the park of the thermal establishment.
This was situated at a little station in
Auvergne, Chatel-Guion, concealed in
a gorge at the foot of a high, mountain,
whence issued boiling waters, coming
from the depth of an ancient volcano.
Beyond, above us, the domes, extinct
craters, reared their truncated heads
above a long chain.
It was a very warm evening. I
strolled to and fro in the shady walk,
listening, from the mountain side
which commanded a vi w of the park,
to the music from the Casino, the first
strains of which were sounding.
I saw the father and daughter com
ing slowly toward me. I saluted
thei, as in watering place one salutes
his hotel companions, and the man, at
once pa asing, asked of me:
"Can you tell me, monsieur, where I
a ill find a short and pleasant prome
nade?' I offered to conduct them to a valley
which flowed a little stream a deep
valley, a narrow gorge between two
'teep declivities, rocky and wooded.
They accepted my offer. We talked,
naturally, of the virtue of the waters.
"Ah," said he, "my daughter has a
Jtrange malady, the seat of which is
unknown. She shows incomprehensible
symptoms of nervous trouble. At one
tfme she seems to be affected with heart
disease, at another time with liver
complaint and again with a disease of
'hespinal marrow. To-day the trouble
seems to be seated in tbe stomach,
which is, as it were, the engine, the
great regulator of the body. That is
why we are here. I believe that the
trouble is seated in the nerves. At all
events it is very bad." ..
I at once remembered the nervous
affection of his hand, and I asked:
. "Eut is not the trouble , hereditary ?
Have you not yourself a nervous affec
tion?" .
lie responded in a quiet tone:
; "I? Oh, no; my nerves are always
quite calm." " " - - - ,
Then suddenly, after a short silence,
he said:
"Ah, you allude to the spasm of my
hand whenever I attempt to take-anything?
That was caused by a terrible
experience which I bad. Imagine that
my daughter were buried alive!
I could make no reply, save an ex
clamation of surprise and emotion.
He continued: "I will relate my ex
perience. It is a brief story. Juliette
had had for some time grave symptoms
of heart disease. "We believed that
organ was affected.
"She was brought in one day, cold,
motionless, dead. She had fallen in
the garden. The doctor pronounced
her dead. I watched beside her a day
and two nights. I myself placed her
in the coffin, which I accompanied to
the cemetery, where it was deposited
in our family vault It was in the
country, in Lorraine.
"I wished that she should be buried
with her jewels, the bracelets, neck
laces, rings, all the ornaments she had
received from me, and in her first ball
dress. ""
"You cannot imagine what was the
state of my heart and of my mind on
returning home. I had only her, my
wife having been dead some time. I
entered my chamber alone, half crazed,
exhausted, and,I fell into a chair unable
to think or to move a muscle. I was
nothing but a wretched vibrating ma
chine. "My old valet, Prosper, who had
helped me dispose Juliette in her coffin
and prepare her for her last sleep,
entered noiselessly and asked if I want
ed anything, I replied that I did not,
and he thereupon retired.
"Howr the hours passed I know not.
Oh, what a night! What a night! It
was cold; the fire had goni out in the
large fireplace, and the wind, a wintry
wind.' a great wind full o sleet, made
the windows rattle with a mournful
and regular sound.
"How did the hours pass? I was
there without sleep, weakened, crush
ed, my eyes open, my limbs extended,
my body nerveless, my mind paralyzed
by despair. Suddenly the door bell
rang.
I received such a shock that my
chair creaked under me. The solemn
scund vibrated in the chateau as in an
emptv cave. 1 turned to the clock to
see what the hour was. It wa3 two
o'clock in the morning. Who could
come at such an hour?"
"Suddenly the bell sounded again,
The servants, I thought, would not
dare to answer it. ' I took a light and
descended. I was afraid to ask who
was there. .
'Then, becoming ashamed of this
weakness, I slowly withdrew the great
bolts. My heart beat; I was filled with
fear. I opened the door suddenly and
perceived in the darkness a form
clothed in white, looking like a phan
tom. - - '
"I drew back dismayed and stam
mering, 'Who who who are you?'
"A voice responded: It is I, father.'
"It was my daughter. I thought I
was mad. I retreated before the spectre
as it entered. Then I raised my hand,
as if to frighten it away, making the
gesture which you have noticed the
gesture which I cannot get rid of.
"The apparition said: 'Have no fear,
father. ' I was not dead. Some one
wished to rob me of my rings and cut
my fingers; the blood began to flow
and that reanimated me.'
"And I perceived in fact that she
was covered with blood. I fell on my
knees, choking with my sobs. Then,
when I had , recovered my thoughts a
little, I conducted her t6 my chamber
and seated her in my easy chair. Then
I summoned Prosper in order that he
might rekindle the fire, prepare a drink,
and seek help.
"The man entered, looked at my
daughter, opened his mouth in a spasm
of horror, then fell back dead.
"It was he who had opened the
vault and had mutilated my daughter.
He had not effaced the traces of the
robbery. He had not even taken the
care to put the coffin back in its place,
thinking that I would never suspect
him, as he had my entire confidence..
"You see, monsieur, that we are
most unfortunate people."
- 'Night had enveloped the lonely and
sombre valley, and a sort of mysterious
fear took possession of me in the pres.
ence of these strange beings this
woman returned from the dead and her
father with that extraordinary ' zigzag
gesture.
I could think of nothing to say. i
murmured:
""How horrible!'. T5!I,fc- j
Then.after a minute, I added: k ' ;
. "Shall .we return ?. It seems to bd
growing cold:" . . . -
- Ana we retraced our steps toward
the hotel. Guy de Maxipassant.
At Affectionate Elephant.
, .'; On .the Queen's birthday and the day
following it the khedda party in tbf
Duars, conducted by Mr4. "J. Shilling
ford, were'foftunate' enough in'catch
ing seven wild elephants by the noos-i
ing process. This makes the total
number ' now' captured twenty-eight."
On the former day the noosing party,
mounted on their kunkies fast tame
elephants trained to the work), pro
ceeded up the Joitee River, near Buxa,
at gray dawn, and soon espied a heid
feeding along the bank of that river.
Approaching stealthily from different
directions to within a short distance,
by a sudden movement, the kunkies
were amid the unsuspecting quarry,
and had secured four before the terri
fied herd rushed headlong and disap
peared into the adjoining forest
Among the captives was a fine young
tusker about five and a half feet high.
They were all lashed between the tame
ones and conveyed to camp, a long
distance off, and there tethered for the
night : Toward the small hours of the
morning a great commotion where the
elephants were encamped aroused
everyone, and a large female elephant
could be just discerned moving about
restlessly among the trees where the
captured ones were tied. Being too
dark at the time to attempt noosing,
some of the kunkies were equipped
with the rope-gear and kept in, readi
ness; silence was enforced, and. the
appearance -of daylight " anxiously
watched. The wild one . very , soon
discovered the object of 'her . search,
when, with a cry of joy, she took ujp
her position alongside of the young
tusker above referred to, and began
caressing him all over with the trunk.
The youngster made frantic efforts
then to liberate himself, the mothti
encouraging all the while, and when,
panting, he would fall to the ground
exhausted, she would endeavor to as
sist him up. This excessive affection
cost "her her liberty. " As ?oon as ther
was sufficient daylight for the purpose,
within a few yards of her offspring
she was noosed, as, on the approach ol
danger, she was reluctantly moving
away. It is really wonderful how sht
managed to trace her young to the
camp. The distance cannot ba les
than eight miles, while the trac v lay
through dense forest, and the tra'i
was mixed up with those of at leas,
some, fifteen other elephants both
tame and wild." She must have wTait
ed until it was dark, then followed th?
track, reaching camp between .1 ano
2 a. m. The sense of smell must be
developed to a. marvellous degree is
elephants. On two -- occasions whec
mothers with calves have been cap
ured and led away, the young havi
followed and been secured in camp.,
while another calf, a small suckling, is
in camp with its mother, and is kepi
loose. If any one tries to approach, i
runs up to the mother for protection. I
or else moves about among the cap
tives without any fear or hesitation.
The usual style of feeding wild ele
phants, when first taken, is to lash
them to the side of a tame one and lead
them out to graze. Some of the tamo
females here have taken a great f ancy
to calves intrusted to their care, and il
by mistake a new one is brought up,
she evinces her dislike to the change
by kicking out at the unfortunate in
truder. Elephants, it must be admit
ted, are curious animals, and the more
you see of them the greater the inter
est generated regarding their habits.
Bendigo and Tea Planters' Gazette,
A Land for Tramps.
The hospitality of the people of this
district, says a Halifax (N. S.) letter
is a strange contrast to that which
goes by the name among their city
cousins. Here is an instance cf it.
Soon after entering thi3 settled portion
of the country we come in sight of
little dwelling by the roadside. Th&
door is wide open, and we can see as
we approach that the table is inviting
ly set for supper. .s we are about
passing along a woman appears
at the door, and. after a glance
at us utters a kindly "Come in."
It is a long way to our destination
yet, and as the bracing air has given
us somewhat elephantine appetites, we
of course take . advantage of the offer.
According to . the rules of local" eti
quette, however, there is no
necessity of waiting for an
nvitation but when you are
passing a house at meai time, you
must walk right in and seat yourself
at the table: , It makes no difference if
i 1 1 1
you are a penecs stranger, umvu.,
white or copper -colored. No honest
stranger need fear to starve wnue
travelling through this part or the
country.
SOME STRANGETUIHWAYS
f
Curiqsites of Railway., Build
in fcj in Various'PIaces.
lwlroads Built 'Among the Tree Top3, in
the Air, and?-on the Ice,
Reviewing a recent . work "Won
ders and Curiosities of the Eailwav,"
by W. S.. Kennedy-r-the New York
-S?isays:' The average reader, who
has not made railway building a special
study, will perhaps be astonished to
learn that there have been railroads,
not only under the ground and in he
air, butamong the tree tep"and.on
the ice, while the model of even a sub
marine railway has been exhibited. ,
It appears that soma time ago a lo
comotive on sled runners was con
structed in Scotland, and employed for
drawing passengers and freight over
the ice between St. Petersburg and
Cronstadt . The two driving wheels in
the rear were studded with sharp
spikes, whereas the front part of the
engine rested on a sled which was
swivelled, and turned to the right or
left by wheels working in connection
with an endless screw and a segment
rack. From this locomotive, which is
said to have : run eighteen miles an
hour in any direction, the transition is
natural to railroads whose ties and
track have been laid on the frozen sur-'
face of rivers. Mr. Kennedy tells U3
that in 1879, when the mercury stood
twenty degrees below zero, a train of
the Northern Pacific Railroad passed
over the Missouri River on ice three
feet deep. The pressure which the ice
resisted may be estimated from the
fact that the track was laid on twelve-
foot ties, and that the cars carried over
a quantity of railroad iron as well as a
number " of visitors. About a year
after a similar road was built across
the river St. Lawrence at Hochelaga.
In this instance a rough road bed was
first levelled in the ice; then crossbeams
were fitted in, and upon these were
placed longitudinal beams which were
themselves crossed by the ties that held
the rails, water being then pumped
over the whole structure to freeze it
down." - . . f . ; -t;
Even'mbre"f'n:dv,er is 'the idea of
grading for a railroad through a forest
with a crosscut saw, and laying the
ties on the stumps. This has actually
been done in Sonoma county, Califor
nia. Here the trees are sawed off and
levelled, and the ties are fastened on
the stumps, two of which are huge
redwoods standing side by side, and
sawed off seventy-five feet from the
ground. So firm is this support that
cars loaded with heavy logs can pass
over with perfect security. It is not
generally known that in 1839 no less
than fifty-two mile3 of the projected
road of the Ohio Railroad Company
was laid on wooden piles which were
from seven to twenty-eight feet long,
and driven ten feet apart in four rows.
No train, however, was ever run over
this track. Several wooden track
railways, on the other hand, are actu
ally operated in the United States and
Canada. One of these in the province
of Quebec is thirty miles long and is
used in the transportation of timber.
The rails are of maple, and trains are
said to run over them with remarka
ble smoothness at the rate of twenty-
five miles an hour. Another wooden
track railway more than fifteen miles
long has been constructed on the
gradings of the abandoned South Car
olina Central Railroad in order to
carry the products of turpentine dis
tilleries to a market
Still more curious are what Mr.
Kennedy would call the bicycle rail
ways, where the car wheels run on a
single rail. One called the "steam
caravan" was begun in Syria, between
Aleppo and Alexandretta, but appar
ently never finished. In the case of
this experiment the rail was raised on
a wall of masonry twenty-eight inches
high and seventeen and one-half inch
es broad. On this one rail were to
travel the wheels of the locomotive
and the carriages attached, but it was
intended to brace the engine and the
last car in the train by obliquely placed
leather covered wheels, running along
the sides of the wall, which wheels
were further to serve as brakes. A
single rail or bicycle railroad has also
been built in the UtJted States, and
was in operation at Phoenixville, Pa.,
in 1875. Since that date atwo-wheeled
locomotive has been made in Glouces
ter, N. J., for an elevated railroad in
Atlanta, 6a. With these bicycle en
gines may be compared the railway
velocipedes, many of which, we learn,
are used on Western railroads. These,
which have a wheel on each track, can
be propelled by the feet and hands of
the rider at the rate of twenty miles
an hour. "
Among several other curiosities de
scribed by Mr. Kennedy in this portion
of ' his book may -be mentioned the
dynograph cars, of which there are but
two in existence. This remarkable ,
piece of mechanism, which was in?'
vented for the automatic inspection o
tracks, is .thus explained: A strip of
plain paper about twenty inches wide
is fed from a roll into a small machine
where it passes under a complex set oi
overflowing pens, which are connected
by rods and springs with the cai
wheels below. For every fifty feet ol
track passed over by the dynograph
car the paper moves one inch, and on
it the automatic machinery makes a
complete register of the state of the
track, showing the condition of every
joint, frog, and grade crossing, aud re
vealing at a glance any inequalities
or undulations in the rails. After a
railroad has been inspected by this man
chine, its operator shows the resultant
chart to the superintendent, who then
instantly perceives just where repairs
are needed. Of the only two machines
of this kind which have ever bees
made, one, we learn, is operated in the
United States by Prof. P. H. Dudley,
the inventor, the other has been sent
to Australia.
Sailing Among Glaciers.
We had already sailed past several
glaciers larger than the Mer-de-GIace
of Mont Blanc, but they were so fai
away that we got no adequate idea
of their extent. Nor did any of them
push their way into the sea. This
glacier, to which our boat was now
pointed, came down into deep water
and stretched back into the mountain
until its course was lost in fields ol
snow. As the steamer checked hei
speed to keep at a feafe distance f rone
the mon ter, we found that we had
sailed up point blank against the
vertical wall of blue ice a mile
and a half long, and 300 feet
high above the water! As ii
to illustrate the grand scale and mag
nitude of everything, just as oui
boat rounded to, a chip of ice, safelj
estimated to weigh 1500 tons, brok
off from the face of the glacier and
fell a distance of 100 feet into the sea
Of course there followed a mighty up
roar, and then a wave that rocked oui
steamer as do only the big swells from
the Pacific. As the tide was ebbing
the mass that had just fallen into the
water floated out past the boat, form-7
ing a field of broken ice several acref
in extent.
The upper surface of the glacier was
full of deep fissures, and at the water-
level there were mysterious caves
which no one dared explore. Pieces oi
ice, large and small, were constantly
dropping into the sea; and, as the ice
wall acted as a sounding-board, there
were constant volleys of sound as
sharp as that of musketry or artillery
demonstrating to our satisfaction that
the butt-ead of a glacier, where ice
bergs are made, is "a very noisy place.
Passengers were landed On shore;
and after a climb along the side mo
raine to a height of soma 500 feet, a
few of us found onrselve's at a point
where we could overlook the streamtof
ice and get an idea of its" deep fis.
sures and impassable condition. High
as we were there were yet peaks of ice
between us and the water that, were
still above us, and we could dnly see a
fraction of a mile inland. Everything
was-Ton a scale that could . only be r e
alized by the test of climbing. Along
side tha glacier, in ; mid-channel, there
were seventy-five fathoms of water-,
and as the steamer approached shore
to land us, the leadsman reported no
bo'.tom at twelve fathoms. .
Only last year did the boat maKe it$
first trip to this glacier Farther up
the bay four or five other glaciers
come down from " the Fairweather
group of mountains, but very little is
known about them. We only caught
an occasional glimpse of the glaciers,
and saw that but a small part of the
floating ice in the bay came from th
immense reservoir of ice that we had
visited.
Where Sharks Abound.
A Florida pilot tells big stories oi
the sharks which abound in the sea
between Pensacola and Fort Pickens,
and the unfortunate sa'lors and soV
diers they have eaten. "I'd just aa
soon try to swim a lake 'of red hot
pitch as to swim over from Pensacola
to Fort Pickens." The sharks would
be sure to get him. "I've seen 'em
moving around on the bottom like
a drove of hogs. They generally swim
slowly when not chased, but they can
work up a tremendous race when they
are chased,- and I've seen one iump
twenty feet into the air." He further
remarked: " Some time ago a Spanish
gun-boat dropped : in there and the of
ficers amuse 1 themselves with shark
fishing. They had'-quite a circus.
They would take a small dynamite-
cartridgebind a piece of, pork to it
and fix it to a float and wire and send
it 200 "feet astern. Pretty soon a
shark would take it and they would
fire, and the fish would fly into a
thousand pieces. If one, was wound
ed the others went for him and ate
him up."
AFTER THE ALLIGATOR.
Hunting the Saurian for His
, - Hide and Teeth.
Methods of the Hunters Along the
Eiver of Plorida.
The men who hunt alligators for
their hides and teeth are now reaping
their harvest, says a recent letter dat
pd Gulf Hammock, Fla. The warm
weather induces great numbers of al
ligators to frequent the marshy banks
vt the rivers,and the absence of sports
men during this season makes them
pomparatively fearless. The most suc
cessful hunters hunt only in dark
nights. A few nights ago I had my
slumbers broken several times by the
discharge of guns. On repairing to the
banks of the river the next morning
to ascertain the cause of the noises
I found two young men occupying a
hastily constructed palmetto fan camp.
Six dead alligators were lying around
the camp, varying in length from four
to eight feet. The hunters had killed
them the previous night. One of the
young men was busy skinning the alli
gators, while the other, with the aid
of a single cooking utensil, which an
swered the purpose of baking oven
and coffee pot, was preparing a frugal
morning meal. The skin is removed
from the body, the under part of thf
3a ws, and the inside of the legs. Tht
pkin on the back is worthless. As soon
as the skins are removed they are salt
ed and packed in barrels, which are
shipped to a New York firm. The
hunters receive $1 for all hides four
feet long and upward.
After the skins are removed the
hunters cut off tho heads, and place
them on the edge of the river, where
they remain for about a week. At
the end of that time the teeth become
so loose that they can be readily pull
ed out with the lingers. The teeth
from half a dozen large alligators
we gh about a pound, and are worth
$4.
The twro young men killed fifty alii
gators in the week that they hunted
jn this neighborhood. They begin
hunting as soon as , it .becomes
thoroughly darte-r'Their Suh'tihg out
fit consists of a bull's-eye lantern, a
double-barrelled shotgun, or "kill-'em-sure,"
and a hatchet, with which they
pplit the alligator's skull, and to which
they have given the very expressive
pame of "dynamite." The man who
is co do the shooting for the night
fastens the lanteui to his forehead.and
takes his place in the bow of a small
boat. His partner peddles the boat
cautiously along the stream, while the
man in tbe bow keeps a sharp lookout
for alligator's eyes, which under favor
able circumstances he can "shine"
with his lantern at a distance of 200
yards. As soon as they discover' a pair
of eyes they paddle cautiously up to
within a couple of feet of the alliga
tor's head and discharge a load f
buckshot into it. As soon as the shot
is fired the paddler catches the alliga
tor by the jaws, which he holds to
gether with one hand, while he cleaves
the skull open with his hatchet
Sometimes the alligators retain con
siderable power of action. When such
is the case, it is rather exciting work
getting them into the boat. Some
times very large alligators turn the
boat over. If an alligator is not han
dled at once after being wounded, he
sinks to the bottom and is lost
I asked one of the hunters, who had
killed more than a thousand alligators,
what was the size of the largest one
he had ever killed, and he told me
13 1-2 feet long. He said that his
father killed one on the St. John's Riv
er 17 1-2 feet long, the head of which
when placed in a flour barrel project
ed tw7o inches over the top. He sold
it to a museum for $65.
Xationat Game.
Every great nation has some game
indigenous to itself. As for instance:
The national game of Spain, is bu!
fighting.
Ireland is content with dynamite
festivities.
England's favorite pport is lawn
tennis and mild-eyed lcrds.
America has her base bailers and
presidential elections.
France ft partial to the pan-pan and
the cutlet of the mule.
Russia fancies "hide-and-go-seek" in
the mines of Siberia.
Italy has her hand organ and mon
key. The great gamb of Germany just
now is "porker."
The game of games inalestine was
Pharoh. ,
Lapland dotes on sledge.
China has no game more delightful
than rats. -Etye.
Venison was formerly so plenty in
the San Francisco market that it sold
for 3 to 6 cents per pound; now it
costs from 10 to 15 cents.
UIJIOROVS.
1 ' ep:irting, I had clipped a curl
'llmt o'er her brow did hang;
She, smiliag, s;ud: "You're like a gun,
You go oiV with a 'bang.' '
At vbieu I pressed her lips, and cried ;
For punning you've a knack; "
Cut now I'm like a fisherman,
I go off with a 'smack.' "
. A new device for wedding break
fasts is a pyramid of transparent ice
laving in the centre a photogroph of
;he bride and bridegroom. This is
mggestive of coolness as well as ex
:lusiveness. A single shoe manufactory in Mas
sachusetts turns out by patent liiachiu
jry in twtlve months as many pairs of
ooots aud shoes as 30,000 shoemakers
in Paris make by hand in the sama
period of time.
To the city of Paris have been pre
sented by the shah of Persia two
diminutive camels no larger than
ponies, which belong to an exceeding
ly rare species of whicli the shah has
four specimens in" his private stables.
"Why am I like a Wall-street finan
cier?" asked a young farmer as he re
turned from the barn. "1 give it up,"
replied his father. "Because I have
teen watering the 'stock." Brooklyn
Times.
"Halloo!" stouted one boy to au
other, whom he saw running wildly
down the street. "Holloo! Are you
training for a race?" "No," called
back the Hying boy, 'Tin racing for
a train."
"Going out with your bride to select
your tableware, are you ? Well, young
man, let me give you a hint. Buy
light cups and small plate . Many
a man and wife have been seriously
injured in a dispute by big plates."
And old Mr. Budger chuckled and rub
bed his head as the happy couple
passed on.
Various Favts About Words,
Marsh tells us that the number of
English words not yet obsolete, but
found in good authors, or in approved
usage by correct speakers, including
the nomenclature of science and the
arts, does1 not - probably fall ' short ; of
one hundred! "A large portion of these
words, however, do not enter into the
living speech, the jcommon language
of daily and hourly thought. Some
celebrated English and American ora
tors have been able, upon occasions, to
summon at their command one-half of
this vast array of words, although they
habitually content themselves with a
much less imposing display of verbal
force. Few writers of speakers use as
many as ten thousand words; ordinary
persons of fair intelligence not above
three or four thousand. If a scholar
were to be required to name, without
examination, the authors whose Eng
lish vocabulary was the largest, he
would probably specify the all-erabrac-Sng
Shakespeare and the all-knowing
lilton; and yet, in all the works ot
the great dramatist there occur not
more than fifteen thousand words, in
the poems of Milton not above eight
thousand. The Old Testament uses
tut 5,642 words. The whole number
bf Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols does
not exceed eight hundred, and the
pntire Italian operatic vocabulary 19
said to be scarcely more extensive.
To Prevent Baldness.
Dandruff is a very frequent cause
Of baldness, and this malady is usually
contracted by inoculation of the cos
metics of the fashionable barber. In
jorder to prevent as far as possible the
commencement of baldness, the hau
should be cut and dressed at home, and
with one's own implements, and these
thoroughly clean. When it has begun,
the following mode of treatment is
suggested: The scalp is to be daily
well soaked with tar or fluid glycerine
potash soap, which is to be rubbed in
for fifteen minutes firmly. The head
is then to be drenched first with warm
water, and then gradually colder
water. A two per cent corrosive sub
limate lotion is next to be pretty freely
applied. The head is then to be dried,
and the roots of the hair are to have
a one-half per cent solution of naphtol
in spirit rubbed into them. Finally, a
pomade of 1 J to 2 per cent, of carbolic
or salicylic oil is to be used to the
head. This treatment has now in
many cases brought the disease not
only to a stand, but the hair has been
to a considerable extent restored.
A Garden Party.
What is a garden party ? Do you
want to know very much? Yes? Wellf
will you promise not to tell if we let
you know? All right, then we will
tell you: A garden party is the ola
shanghai that gets over the fence and
rakes up all the mignonette and other
flowers. Puck.
Of the 4,500,000 detd letters handle J
in Washington last year, over 13,000
were mailed without any address, and
uver 200,000 without stamps.