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About The Albany register. (Albany, Or.) 1868-18?? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1874)
TULE LOSE WIDOWS SOLACE. BY LOUISA 8. UfHAM. Yen, she sat there alone, with the daintiest cap Perched atop of her soft brown hair; The deep weeds of mourning, though sombre as night, But rendered the widow more fair. She thought of her wedded one's grave far away, 'Neath the cypresB-tree's evergreen shade, And wondered if she would not happier be When sne by his Bide should be laid. Then she sighed, as she looked at his vacant chair ' By the hearthstone, waiting him still ; And she wondered if ever another guest That long-honored place would fill. And she sighed, when crackled the cozy wood-flre, That she now must enjoy all alone ; For " the blessings that ye have received, freely give," Was a favorite theme of her own. Then she thought of her neighbor across the way, Who mourned his departed wife ; And she sighed again, but not for herself For the deacon' desolate life ! He was chastened, though why she never could tell; Who in prayer wjs so gifted as he? And in singing a soul-stirring psalm or hymn, Who teemed nearer heaven to be ? The while she mused tu. the deacon, too, thought Of a lesson he had learned in his youth. To " love rll his neighbors as well as himself," And he asked. " Have I done this in truth V Another old adage arose in his mind : " What ought to be done to-day, Defer not till to-morrow." He started at once To comfort poor ione Widow May ! In comforting others, our griefs may grow less; The deacon forgot all his own ! In all .hat was said, only erne text he heard : " It's not good that man dwell alone!" If only he dared - and his heart beat fast, For the widow Ms suit niiaht decline : " Would you or might I that is, now, I mean I'otrhome is so lonely and mine.''' And the widow blushed as his eager eyes His meaning at last made plain ; And one lonely house, where once there were two, Gives token he wooed not in vain ! PIDO'S CHARGE. In an upper room of a miserable lodging-house, a man lay dying. Be side him, her hand clasped in his, her ear strained to catch the low words of the rapidly-sinking man, was a little girl of eight years. On the opposite side of the bed, his head pressed close to the sufferer, was an immense New foundland dog. Through the long night he had remained thus a faithful watcher while little Nell slept. At early dawn a token of Fido's uneasiness awakened her, and she sprang up to catch the feeble tones. " Little Nell, papa wants to speak to you," ho whispered "and you, too, my faithful Fido." In an instant the dog moved around the bed, and stood beside Nell, the eyes of both eagerly gazing into those of the speaker. , "Here " drawing from his bosom a little leatuer bag, he placed it around ! the child's neck, saying : " Look to it, Fido, eld fellow !' The dog understood him. The little bag was smelt and licked, and Fido turned to his master with eyes full of intelligence. " Take care of Ntjll, Fido," the man whispered, his voice growing fainter. Then, hiding the little bag beneath her dress, he said : " Don't let her see it ; keep it. It is mamma's ring and some papers. Give her anything else she wants, to pay what we owe her, Fido." He placed the child's arm around the dog's neck. "Take care mind her, dear old fel low ! Kiss papa goou-by darling. God, bless care " Then a deep sigh escaped his lips, as Nell's warm kisses were pressed there. Terrified, she called : "Papa, open your eyes! Speak to Nell again !" When no answer came to her, a wild, terrified cry, followed by a piteous moan from the dog, brought the land lady to the room. " What s it now?" she asked, in a sharp, shrill voice. " Another spell, I suppose " She ctopped as she saw the closed eyes and pallid face. Then quickly stepping to the bed, she placed her fingers on the brow and wrist, with an awed expression on her hard face. She said: " Dead for certain. It come awful suddent. If I'd thought it was so nigh I'd have hustled him off to the hospital. Just my luck ! And how am I to be paid?" She glanced around the room as if in search of something to pounce upon. Fido's eye was upon her. As she ap proached Nell, and laid her hand upon the child's shoulder, he drew near, a slight sound of distrust escaping him. " What's the matter with you ? I'm not going to hurt your mistress," the woman said. Turning again to little Nell, she asked : " Did he leave nothing ?" she was going to say "to pay me," but hesi tated ; the presence of death somewhat subdued her, and she continued : " No wishes I mean, didn't he say nothing about what he wanted done ?" " No, no ! Only told Fido to take eare of me, and said you could have anything we had to pay you. Oh I maybe he is not dead. Please see, Mrs. Brown. It might only be a faint. Oh ! papa, open your eyes' call Nell again. Oh! if I had only kept awake last night I" Mrs. Brown again approached the bed, bent over it a moment, and then said : gone, cer- tain." We must pass over the pauper's burial, and little Nell's uncontrollable grief. Between the orphan asylum and Mrs. Brown's Nell had her choice. In the first she would be separated from her loved Fido. Mrs. Brown had offered to keep both. But " you will have to earn your bread, "he had said to the oiphan child. Gladly the little one accepted the offered home. "We will not be separated, Fido. And we won't care much if we do have to work hard. Will we, dear old fel low ?" Nell said to her constant com panion. His great honest eyes looked into hers, and answered just as she wished. But neither knew how hard the bread would be won, nor how meagerly dealt out. For a few days Mrs. Brown was not very hard on Nell or Fido. She in tended to do as well as she could by them. But the world had not dealt very kindly with her, and the constant battle with it had hardened her nat ure. There were little Browns and sizes, and Nell was a of all handy little nurse. From early dawn until almost mid night there was work for Nell to do. Constantly she heard her mistress call ing : " Rock the baby, Nell. Walk Billy about a bit. Sing Polly to sleep ! Run to the pump ! Step over to the shop ! Did you wash out the hall ? Don't for get your kindling for morning. Get the water in the lodgers' rooms. Never a moment's rest for Nell. The little bag had escaped Mrs. Brown's notice for several weeks. But one day, when fastening a dress on Nell, she caught sight of it. She attempted to open it when a low, threatening growl arrested her. Fido was on the watch. "Let me see what is in it?" the woman asked. "No; please don't make me. Papa said I must not," Nell answered. Of course Mrs. Brown's curiosity was excited. She determined to possess her self of Nell's secret. But Fido was ever near. Sleeping or waking, he never left his little mistress. Finding herself foiled in every attempt, Mrs. Jtsrown deter- mined to make both suffer lor it. Nell's work grew heavier, and Fido's rations lighter, the first accompanied with angry words and threats, the lat ter often blows ; but Fido never re sented any ill-usage of himself. Mrs. Brown knew well enough, though, that she must not attempt the same treat ment with his mistress, or it would meet with a different reception. Little Nell was growing paler and thinner. After a day of unusual toil and harshness, the poor child threw her arms round Fido's neck, and moaned : " How can we stand it, Fido? You are always hungry, and I all the time so tired ! And it grows worse, don't it? Dear old fellow ! Let us run away, Fido," she whispered close to his ear. " Look at me, right in my oyef , and tell me if we must go. It can't be worse, Fido, and maybe we may find a better home. Oh, if we could only die, and go to papa ! Come shall we go ?" Fido did her bidding. Nell looked earnestly into his great, truthful eyes, and said : " That's right ; I knew you would tell me. Come, then ; let us go now. It is snowing, and they cannot find us. But, oh, Fido, where shall we run to ? You will take care of me, dear, darling old fellow, and I'll ask God to take care of both of us." She dropped on her knees for a few moments, and remained with her head bowed, her faithful companion close beside her. " Now come," she whispered, as she arose and wrapped her shawl about her, and tied a little hood over the golden head, which would remain beautiful and bright, notwithstanding all neg lect. They stole down the stairs, watchful and noiseless, and went forth into the cold, dark night. In a luxurious apartment, surround ed by euerything to render life happy, it would seem, was a man, apparently not over thirty-five years of age. Up and down the floor he paced, his steps sink ing without sound into the velvet carpet. At length he stopped, sank into an arm chair before an escritoire, unlocked a tiny drawer, and drew forth a miniature case. Holding it a moment unopened, he murmured : " How memories crowd around me to-night ! Why has fate dealt with me so cruelly ? Everything dear taken from me father, mother, brother, and, worse than all, love." Opening the ease, he gazed tenderly on a fair, lovely face, with eyes as deep and blue as little LNell's, and hair as bright and sunny, Ten years before, that beautiful girl was Edgar Austin's promised bride. Two brothers only represented an old and wealthy race Edgar, the elder, and Charles. Merry-hearted and fun-loving was thxs younger brother, who came from abroad, and sang, danced, and rode with Edgar's love, as sister and brother, " 'Taiu't no nse. He's they thought. But the time came when the heart of each was awakened to the truth. She was false to the one that worshiped her he to the brother who trusted him with euch perfect faith. Yes, Charles Austin won his brother's promised bride. " Go ! Let me never see you more ! Take with you the half nay, more, all you wish. Pave your way with gold if you choose. Only go, and quickly !" Edgar said, when the hope-crushing truth came to him. Thus they parted, never to meet again. . Closing the case with a deep sigh, Edgar Austin again paced the flooi. "To-night they seem hovering around me. I believe I could forgive them now. Where are they ? Oh ! I am so weary, so desolate ! 1 must get out, or I shall go mad !" he cried. Touching a bell, he said to the man who came immediately : "My coat and cap, Thomas." "It snows, sir," the man said. " I care not. I shall not be long. I must have a walk, or I shall not sleep to-night," The snow was falling thick and fast. The streets almost deserted. It was impossible to see more than a few steps ahead. Yet Edgar Austin pushed for ward. Presently, a sound near arrested his steps ; an instant more, and an immense dog was beside him. He -rew back on the defensive, but the animal's manner was not threatening at all ; on the con trary, friendly. Walking on up under a gas-light, Edgar Austin looked into the dog's eyes, and, seeing the eager, pleading expression, asked, putting forth his hand and patting his head : "What is it, old fellow? What do you want ? " The noble animal was delighted that he had found a friend, and profuse in his thanks. " All right," said Edgar. "I know. Now go ahead and let me know what you want." The dog ran forward a few yards, then back, to insure his friend's fol lowing. On again and back. He con tinued in the same way until he had proceeded about two squares, when an other sound was heard, which Edgar's companion answered immediately. "Fido oh, come, Fido!" called a child's voice. In an instant more Edgar was pulled gently up to a door, within the shelter of which crouched little Nell, shiver ing and terrified by Fido's long ab sence. She threw her arms around the dog's neck a moment, then raised her eyes pleadingly to the friend Fido had brought her, and said : "Oh, please, sir, take me and Fido. We will be very good, and work very hard, and not eat so much. Only just once ; we are so hungry now, ain't we, Fido ? " Edgar caught the child's hand, drew her quickly up to the store window, from which the gas shone brightly, and asked : " Where are you from, child ? whom do you belong to ? " " From Mrs. Brown's. We don't be long to anybody but ourselves. We've run away. Please take us. Ain't it awful cold ? " she said, hovering close to him, and looking up again into his face. The next instant the little form wa3 caught up, pressed close, and wrapped with the fur-lined cape. Calliug to Fido, " Come on ! " Edgar hastened to retrace his steps. In fifteen minutes more he had reached his home. When he had unwraped his little burden ani placed her on the rug be fore the brightly-burning grate, she threw off the hood, which completely covered her head and partially hid the broad white brow, and turned to speak, when "Great Heaven 1" Edgar Austin cried, " Ella Harland's miniature self ! " "Yes," nodding her pretty head; "yes, that was mamma's name," said Nell. " Where is she ? " Edgar asked, drawing her child closer to his heart. "In Heaven," she answered, her lips quivering, and, adding, " Papa, too," she dropped her head on Edgar's breast and sobbed. " Mamma left us when we were across the ocean and papa not long ago, at Mrs. Brown's. May I stay with you, please ? See, I'll give you this." She drew from hfer bosom the little bag and placed it in his hand, Fido ex pressing approval. No further proof would have been necessary, but in the bag Edgar found the wedding-ring, marriage certificate, and a little locket containing the like ness of his brother and two locks of hair, one raven, the other sunny-hued. " You look like papa, I thing," Nell said, " and Fido thinks so, too, I know. See how he licks your hand and looks up into your eyes. May we stay ? " "Forever, my child. I am your father now." A cry of great joy escaped the hearts of both Nell and Fido. All the past was forgiven ; and, in time, sweet little Nell blotted from her uncle's mind and heart all memories but those loving and treasured. Mrs. Brown was sought and found. Through her he obtained all necessary information concerning Charles Austin. His body was placed in the family vault, beside his parents. A few years more, and beside him lay the wife, for whom he had forsaken home, friends and country. Next to Nell, Fido retains the affection of Ed gar Austin, who declares that his (Fido's) nature is more noble than most men's ; and, if he could only speak, his intelligence would surprise the world. THE TRUTH OF HISTORY. It is astonishing what a fund of in formation some young men acquire, despite their misfortune of being born rich and boosted through life on the end of a long rent-roll. Sometimes we see a young blood who nas been to school all his life, who can tell you the name of every billiard expert and trot ting horse in the country. But such young men are exceptional. The aver age young blood can't tell you much of anything. The two bloods we are about to introduce belong to the exceptional few, whose fund of information is vast. The other day the two learned bloods under discussion were seated in the midst of a throng of kindred spirits in one of the high-toned saloons of our citv. and the subiect of the Indian war came up for discussiion. Blood No. 1 said the Indians were a rac8 of catawampuses that ought to be exterminated wiped off the face of the earth. Blood No. 2 said the Indians had been sadly abused. When they were fairly treated they dealt fairly in return. "Look at William Penn," said he; " didn't old William buy the great State of Pennsylvania from the Indians, and didn't he always use them well, and didn't they always live in peace with him?" "Oh, well, now," rejoined blood No. 1, " the Indians used old William pretty rough, in the face of all his kindness to them." Blood No. 2: "Well, what did the Indians do to William Penn, I'd like to know?" Blood No 1 ; " Why, you don't know anything about the history of your country ! Didn't the Indians make old William stand up one day and shoot an acme on his little boy s Head witn a A. A bow and arrow ?" Blood No. 2 : That's so ! I forgot all about that !" Blood No. 1 (triumphantly) : "Well, what do vou think about the Indians now ?" Blood No. 2 (crestfallen) : "I expect you are right. They ought to be wiped out." They all take a little sugar in theirs. The truth of history is vindicated. Exchange. A SPIRIT-MADE WILL A woman iu Maine, a believer in Spiritualism, made a will which she supposed her deceased husband to dic tate, or to approve. The will was con tested, on the grounds that the testa trix was of unsound mind and was un duly influenped in making it. A jury sustained the will, and the Supreme Court sustain the verdict of the jury because the question whether her belief in Spiritualism, and her supposition that she was guided by the spirit of her dead husband, amounted to an insane delusion, and affected the terms of the will, was rightly left to the jury to de termine as a matter of fact. The court also said that it could not say, as a matter of law, that such belief is ipso facto proof of insanity or insane delu sion, so as to void a will ; and that if the te&tatrix retained her own judgment and free agency, so as to be ultimately governed by her own will, it did not make any difference whether she fol lowed any given advice or rejected it, nor can the source of the advice make any difference, if it did not overcome her own will. She was at liberty to fol low the advice of a living person, or that supposed to come from one de ceased, provided she regarded it simply as an opinion. This opinion, though it will bind only the courts of Maine, is one of the greatest importance, and will, doubtless, aid in settling a ques tion in which thousands of Spiritualists are personally interested. An Englishman named Parry is the preacher for a Worcester church, who is endeavoring to become famous by eccentricities in the pulpit. Sunday week he preached in Hartford, and in the middle of his sermon suddenly paused and plaed his hand over the region of his heart. " There was a pang there," said he, "as though my heart were in the grip of a great lobster claw." He looked at one of his hands. " Oh, it's a mosquito," he exclaimed ; "Hart ford is an awful bad place for mos quitos." He went on to say that he shouldn't know that he had a heart or hands without such reminders, and it is not the object of this paragraph to dis pute him ; but until this eccentric Parry takes his proper place in the economy of the universe, the canal and railroad-makers on the earth, or the miners for coal and iron under it, are deprived of the fellowship of one who was designed by nature to hold a sub ordinate position in companionship with them. QUARREL With won't get hurt. dead men and you AN IS VI TED AOSE. At one of the demi-French reunions not long since, a littls scene occurred which amused the few who witnessed it. About ten o'clock a monsieur entered, very correct in his "getting up," un exceptionable in his demeanor, but a gentleman gifted with a very consider able nasal organ. The old proverb says, "A large nose never spoiled a handsome face," and the stranger justi fied the proverb. Advanciug to the mistress of the house, he made the formal reverence which ceremony requires on a first visit, then, taking a more familiar tone, he aid, "It lias been very happy to ac cept your invitation, madam ; an honor of which it is quite unworthy. " This was said in a low voice, but so distinctly that it could be understood by those who stood near. The lady, who, though a very dis tingue person, is somewhat timid, be cause still young, was somewhat em barrassed at this address, and, thinking she had misunderstood him, replied : " Excuse me, sir ; were you say ing " 1 said, madam, that it was very grateful for the invitation to your soiree." The bystanders exchanged looks and began to wnisper ; tlie lady became more and more out of countenance. ;' I do not understand you," she said, at length; "of what are yon speaking ?" The gentleman did not speak again, but pointed, in reply, to the prominent feature in his face. "What! do you know? Oh, how imprudent !" exclaimed the lady ; and bltfshing from her chin to her eyes, she concealed in her hankerchief a face half laughing and half embarrassed. The explanation of this little mystery soon came out. The hostess had met this gentleman the eveniBg before at the house of her sister, where he had made himself very agreeable, as was his cus tom. On her return, recollecting her own soiree of the next day, she wrote hastily the following concise note to her sister : " I have taken a liking to the big nose. Give him an invitation for me. Her niadcap relative amused herself by sending the invitation as it was, and the gentleman responded to the joke in a manner which brought the laughter on his side. HOT AIR AND COOL ROOMS. Because, when the air of the streets make 30 or 40 degress on the Fahrenheit scale, a room overwarmed by fire can be cooled by opening the windows, the average householder adopts the ready conclusion that whenever a room feels hot the way to cool it is to let in the ex ternal air. Accordingly in these piping times he, and still more often she, opens the sunny siueof the house and lets in air of a temperature varying from 100 to 100 degrees or so. Then, because in a very short time the room naturally be comes much hotter than it was, it is con sidered that the windows are not opened widely enough, and the supposed error being remedied, and a larger quantity of hot air is then let in. And so we find materfamilias sitting with a great deal of perspiration upon her upper lip, her face the color of an Orleans plum, and her condition of mind in the last degree dejected, simply because she persists in disregarding the most elementary prin ciples of natural philosophy. We tell her that if she will Open the windows on the shady side of the house only, and keep the others closely shut, her dwell ing will be at least not hotter than the shady side of the street, whereas by her arrangement it acquires the heat of the sunny side. We tell her, also, that if her house be large and inmates few, she may live in a delightful state of coolness by only opening the windows at night and keeping them closed dur the day. Her house will be then some ten or fifteen degrees lower in tempera ture than the streets, and convey very much the refreshing effects of a cool bath upon entering it. We tell her ad this and she is very much interested. At our next visit we find every window open and the house full of red-hot air. "It stands to reason," she says trium phantly, "that yon cannot possibly cool a house without plenty of ventilation." A Prediction About the Bx.uegp.ass Region. The unprecedented drought in Kentucky has brought to the mind of a correspondent of the Cincinnati Com mercial a startling story promulgated by some geological and meteorological writer, to the effect that within one hundred years the beautiful bluegrass region f Central Kentucky would be come an arid desert, a waste plaee. " I. do not remember now," says tne corre spondent, "upon what he based his theory, but his conclusion was that this direful state of things would be brought about by protracted droughts, which would come every year, and gradually prolong their stay until what is now the most beautiful part of Kentucky would become a parched desert, unin habited by man or beast." When Adam met Eve he was smit, and when Eve met Adam she was smit. Then they were both smit, which is German for Smith. Now we- know why it is that, when a man is not named anything else, his name is as above. THE PRACTICAL LOVER. I did not purchase for my bride Rich jeweled rings and costly fans, But what I thought would be her pride A set complete of pots and pans. I would not win sweet Jennie's love By golden gifts of magic power ; If slie a proper wife would prove She would prefer some bags of flour. I did not play with Jennie's heart, Nor try to fix it were it fickle, But sent, mistrusting modern art, A side of pork for her to pickle. I did not give her rubies red, To lend her raven hair relief. But what would charm when we were wed- A good supply of potted beef. I did not wanton with her love, That pined to nestle on my breast, Just like a drooping, tired dove, But sent a couch where it could rest. I did not, when the moon was bright, Take Jennie out for tranquil walks : But took her what would more delight A dozen each of knives and forks. I did not send her flowers bright, Whose brightness, ah ! so quickly wanes, But sent her, in the darkest night, A set of sheets and counterpanes. And so at last our little store Would furnish well an ivied cot. But then I should have said before She jilted me, and kept the lot. VARIETIES. Brisk talkers are usually slow think ers. Keep your own secrets, if yon have any. To remove stains from character Get rich. If a man doesn't take care of No. 1, he will soon have 0 to take care of. We believe that the time has arrived when every energetic journalist should begin to gather up and publish prog nostigations in regard to what sort of a winter the coming one will be. New Jersey is a little disappointed that thirty million gallons of water should have been lost all at once, but then, as a Trenton paper remarks, " s'posen it had been good whisky !" Susan B. Anthony says she is only fifty-five, and she brands all stories about her having been in the ark as in fernal lies. Anyone who says she is over fifty-five must pass over her dead body after the figures. People talk about the Christian spirit of forgiveness to be met with in America, but let a young man sit down on a plug hat at a Sunday-school excur sion and it mars the harmony of the whole assembly. An interesting little boy, timid when left alone in a dark room, was over heard recently by his mother to say in his loneliness, " Oh, Lord, don't let anyone hurt me, and I will go to church next Sunday and give you some money." A Paisley, manufacturer got, by some accident, a severe cut across the nose, and having no court-plaster at hand, stuck on his unfortunate organ one of his gum tickets, on which was the usual intimation, "Warranted 350 yards long." "And when in after days," sabl a learned counsel in the court-room, " we meet together around the social hearth, where I shall no longer be oppressed by the heat and burden of the day, and you, gentlemen, will find yourselves in other scenes than this, at rest, from ar duous labors, then, as we talk together of bygone times, may you be able to say that the first thing you did on re turning to the jury-room was to unani mously agree that you could place no reliance whatever upon the testimony of the man Smith." A young lady thus describes her feel ings, and courts sympathy : " My heart is sick, my heart is sad, But, oh ! the cause I dare not tell ; I am not grieved, I am not glad, I'm not ill, I'm not well ; I'm not myself, I'm not the same; I an. indeed, I know not what ; I'm changed in all except my name Oh, when shall I be changed in inxt ?" MOONAAD EARTH METEORS. Prof. Newton has estimated, by a fair estimate of observed facts, that each day on the average 400 millions of meteors fall of all sizes down to the minutest discernible in a telescope upon the earth's atmosphere, so that on the moon's unprotected globe with its surface one-thirteenth of the earth's about 30 millions fall each day, even at the present time. Of large meteoric masses only a few hundred fall each year on the earth, and, perhaps, about a hundred on the moon ; but still, even at the present rate of downfall, millions of large masses must have fallen on the moon during the time when her surface was plastic, while presumably a much larger number including many much larger masses must have fallen during that period. Thus, not only without straining probabilities, but by taking only the most probable assumptions as to the past, we have arrived at a result which compels us to believe that the moon's surface has been very much marked by meteoric downfall, while it renders it by no means unlikely that a large proportion of the markings so left would be discernible under telescopic scrutiny ; so that strong evidence exists in favor of that hypothesis which one or two writers (who presumably have not given great attention to the recent progress of meteoric astronomy) would dismiss " without consideration " (the way, doubtless, in which they have dis missed it) .