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About The Albany register. (Albany, Or.) 1868-18?? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1874)
I I III JUMP l KVKTIY KIWI AY nx COLL.VAJT CLK" ALBANY, OKEGON. ?0 YERXMEXTAL MAX A GEMEXT. Ex-Mayor Medill, of Chicago, now traveling in Europe, is making a special study of the railway and telegraph sys tems of Germany. His conclusions are decidedly favorable to placing these im portant -works under governmental con trol. The net profits of the Alsace Lorraine railway lines, purchased by the empire from the French, are esti mated at 82,545,000, and those derived from the postal service and telegraph business, over and above all expenses, are estimated at $3,250,000 for the year 1871. The imperial government owns and operates all the telegraph wires in Germany, in connection with the Post office Department. The tariff of charges is as follows : For a message of twenty words anywhere within the "first zone," of, say, 150 miles' distance, 5 groschen, equal to 13 cents ; within the ' second zone " of 300 miles, 10 groschen, or 26 J cents; within the "third zone," from one end of Germany to the other, over 300 and under 900 miles, 15 gro schen or 40 cents ; additional words in like proportion ; and preferential mes sages sent in advance of their turn, one and a half to twice the foregoing rates. Mr. Medill says the people of Germany would be afraid of trusting this impor tant business to "the selfish rapacity of company monopoly." Facts like these explode the tradi tionary notion that the government can not successfully manage such public works as a railroad and a telegraph line For what Germany and Belgium have done, and what England is doing, can be done just as well here. There is no more intrinsic dimculty in managing , the telegraphs than in controlling the postal service of the country. Indeed, me aimcnity oi the postal service is much the greater of the two. The busi ness of transmitting messages by tele graph is really a public matter. It be longs to the postal service of the coun try. It interferes materially with the postal service, and diminishes receipts from that source. It is easy to see what condition the business of the country would be put in were the postal service left entirely to private control. Suppose a monopoly were to have the management of all the postoffices and routes of the nation, and could read every letter sent through the mail, and take its own time in sending it after the reading, what safety would any one have ? Who would feel at liberty to trust secrets of vital business impor tance to such a surveillance ? How long could the country stand such a power, operating in its own way for its own ends, without the serious embarrass ment, if not the utter prostration, of business and social intercourse ? But telegraph business, which is now in its infancy, is as truly a public interest and belongs as truly to the legitimate province of the government as the postal service of the country. We are begin ning to see some of the results of pri vate monopoly in this public interest, and every day is teaching us more clear ly that the only protection from serious evils and a great inconvenience is in placing the telegraph system of the country under governmental manage ment, where, like the postal service, it properly belongs. New York Graphic. COMPULSORY EDUCATION IN GER MANY. Hon. Joseph Medill, in one of his very interesting letters from Berlin, in stitutes a comparison between our sys tem of voluntary schools and the com pulsory educational system in vogue in that country. He says : There are upward of 100,000 teachers in the pub lic schools of Germany, and the num ber of scholars enrolled, between the ages of 6 and 14, exceeds 6,000,000. The number attending private primary schools is about 500,000, while those who attend the higher schools, acad emies, gymnasia, technical schools, and universities exceed 500,000. Thus there are seven millions of scholars attending all the schools of Germany. The United States of America, with an equal popu lation, can scarcely exhibit half that number ; and yet Americans are much given to boasting about the vastness and superiority of their school system. They had better adopt the German sys tem of compulsory attendance, and force 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 of youth now roaming around the streets and go ing into loaferism before they institute comparisons with the public schools of Germany. Children in this country attend school for ten months in the year. How many months do American children average ? Does it exceed half that time ? The youth of Germany are being educated ; the youth of America are well, the less boasting about it the better. The Germans would regard our system of voluntary schools, kept only three or four months in the year in the country districts, with more than one third of the children never in attend ance, but growing up in vice, ignorance and depravity, as very little better than no system at all. BOW TO GET ALONG. Do not stop to tell stories in bu sines hours- If you have a place of business, be found there when wanted. No man can get rich by sitting round stores and saloons. Never fool in business mat ters. Have order, system, regularity, liberality and promptness. Do not meddle with business you know nothing of. Never buy an article you don't need, simply because it is cheap, and the man who sells it will take it out in trade. Trade in money. Strive to avoid hard words and personalities. Do not kick every stone in the path. More miles can be made in a day by going steadily on than by stopping. Pay as you go. A man of honor respects his word as his bond. Aid, but never beg. Help others when you can, but never give what you can't afford to, simply because it is fashionable. Learn to say no. .No necessity for snapping it out dog fashion, but say it firmly and re spectfully. Have but few confidants, the fewer the better. Use your own brains rather than those of others. Learn to think and act for yourself. Be vigilant. Keep ahead rather than be hind the times. Reader, cut this out, and if there be folly in the argument, let us know. THE CLIMATE OF ALASKA. The Service Monthly, in an interest ing chapter upon Alaska, gives a few items regarding the weather that will be of interest to those who do not ap preciate the peculiarities of that climate. At Sitka the mean temperature of sum mer is 54 degrees and that of winter is 32 degrees, the latter being precisely the mean of St. Louis, Mo. In place of incessant hail and snow, as is fre quently erroneously supposed, rain falls throughout the winter season, and whatever snow falls soon disappears. Not only do these thermal conditions exist at the capital of Alaska, but a pro portionally high temperature reigns throughout the coasts beyond, and the influence of the ocean currents extends even to Norton Sound, near the arctic circle. In the Aleutian Islands the winters are somewhat colder, but the temperature frequently remains above 35 degrees until the 1st of January. On Kodiak Island the two most severe frosts of one winter were recorded at 0 degree and 13 degrees. The Greek Bishop Veniaminoff, who has kept a continuous record for six years, states that during that interval only on nine occasions did the mercury fall below 10 degrees Fahrenheit ; but on the other hand the summer temperature averages only 49 degrees, and the line of per petual snow on Maskushin, an active volcano in Oonalaska, has an elevation of 3,100 feet. The arctic winter in the interior at Fort Yukon yields a mean temperature of 30 degrees, but the mean temperature of July is frequently as high as 65 degrees or 70 degrees. From December to April the average number of days on which rain or snow falls in the Aleutian Archipelago is twenty-six per month. The mean temperature of the winter months on the island of St. Paul is 20 degrees, or very nearly the same as at Omaha and Northern New York. Fog prevails almost incessantly in the autumn. Iceland in the North Atlantic and St. Paul in the North Pacific, or Behring sea, represent re spectively two areas of low barometer. BEAUTIFUL INCIDENT IN THE LIFE ' OF A QUEEN. William IY. expired about midnight at Windsor Palace. The Archbishop of Canterbury, with other peers and high functionaries of the kingdom, was in attendance. As soon as the " scepter had departed," with the last breath of the King, the Archbishop quitted Wind sor Castle, and made his way with all possible speed, to Kensington Palace, the residence at that time of the Prin cess already by the law of succession, Queen Victoria. He arrived long be fore daylight, announced himself, and requested an immediate interview with the Princess. She hastily attired her self, and met the venerable prelate in her ante-room. He informed her of the demise of William, and formally an nounced to her that she was, in law and right, successor to the deceased mon arch. " The sovereignty of the most powerful nation of the earth lay at the feet of a girl of eighteen. " She was de jure Queen or tne only realm, in tact of history, " on which the sun never sets." She was deeply agitated at the formidable words ' ' so fraught with bless ings or calamity." The first words she was able to utter were these. "I ask you prayers in my Denaii. xney knelt down together, and Victoria in augurated her reign, like the young King of Israel in the olden time, by asking from the Most High, who ruleth in the kingdoms of men, " an under standing heart to judge so great a peo ple, who could not be numbered nor counted for multitude." The sequel of her reign has been worthy of such a be ginning. Every throne in Europe has tottered since that day. Most of them have for a time been overturned. That of England was never so firmly seated in the loyalty and love of the people as at the present hour. Queen Victoria enjoys a personal influence, too the heartfelt homage paid to her as a wife, a mother, and benefactor to the poor, a Christian woman incomparably wiser and greater than any monarch now reigning. She is loved at home and ad mired abroad. A new law in reference to truant chil dren is about to go into effect in New York city. It is designed to clear the streets of the young vagrants, who, growing up without care, furnish many recruits to the criminal classes. The law gives the Board of Education au thority over all children between the ages of 8 and 14 years who are found wandering about the streets and public places during school hours, having no lawful occupation or business, and growing up in ignorance. These chil dren the board may order to be taught in the schools like ordinary pupils, or they may be instructed in useful trades, or they may be put in confinement and educated there. The agency of the police force is availed of for the enforce ment of this new law. The British government is talking of expending $200,000,000 in irrigating the lands of India to prevent future fam ines. It is a gigantic conception. AN EYE FOR BUSINESS. It is not generally known that the entire glass-eye business of the United States is in the hands of one firm, Messrs. Theisman & Paulding, of Pitts burgh, and but few people have any idea of the immensity of their busi ness. There is in the United States a deficit of some 60,000 eyes. Of this number about 25,000 make use of glass eyes. To supply these "bully boys with glass eyes," at least 100 specimens of optics are manufactured. Some rich, aristocratic old gentlemen have their eyes made to order. These are manufactured by hand, with great care and nicety, a certain fire and vigor being thrown into them more than realistic. We know a Mr. Johnson who is greatly improved by wearing one of these class eyes. The young ladies dote on him, and say he looks like a poet, "his eye with such fine frenzy rolling. " Such are some of the advantages of a glass eye. The cheapest kind of eyes are the light blue. These are sold in large quantities. The poor people who can not afford luxuries usually wear these, whatever the color of their natural op tics. When a man has a genuine black eye supplemented by one of dim, dis mal blue, it produces a weird effect. This strange appearance is still more heightened when the black eye gives evidence of a glass or so too much of whisky ; its contrast with the sleepy soberness of the blue eye is apt to astonish a stranger. Several years ago Messrs. Theisman & Paulding were burnt out in the big fire in Pittsburgh. The sorrow, the ruin, the misery this caused can only be appreciated by a one-eyed man. Al most all had to content themselves with second-hand eyes, dim, and consider ably the worse for wear and tear. A well-known merchant of New York, who was wanting in optics, dissected a doll of his daughter to procure an eye, so that he might appear in society de cently, and a poor man in this very city, in a similar strait, made use of those large variegated crystals of which chil dren are so fond. His eye of many colors produced quite a sensation, and Messrs. Thiesman &: Paulding threw a quantity of Dolly Varden eyes on the market, but somohow they did not take and become the fashion, and the cargo was an entire loss. THE SEEKERS FOR TEE POLE. Another Arctic expedition has suf fered the usual fate of shipwreck and suffering without achieving any other substantial results. It is true that the gallant Austrian explorers, Payer and Weyprecht, who have just been rescued from the ice-fields of Spitzbergen, suc ceeded in reaching north latitude 83 degrees, having thus penetrated seme fifteen miles nearer the Pole than did Capt. Parry. But this gain of fif teen miles added really nothing to our geographical knowledge, while the real object of the explorers, that of sailing through the so-called Northeast ern passage, was defeated. They saw nothing that differed in any way from the ice and snow and water seen by former Arctic voyagers, audit would be diffieiilt to point out a single particular in which science has benefited from their bravery and their suffering. Nevertheless Arctic exploration will go on. Baffled and turned back a score of times, the seekers for the Pole will still renew their efforts. It has already been shown that no discoveries in that direction can be made which will bene fit commerce, for the dream of utilizing the Arctic seas for the purpose of navi gation has vanished since the North west passage has been found to be practically impassable. Still, the fact that no human being has reached the Pole is a sufficient incentive to advent urous men to strive to succeed where Parry and Kane and Hayes and Hall and so many more have failed. Whenever an Arctic expedition re turns and the survivors tell the story of their hardships, a certain class of hu manitarians protests against any fur ther attempt at exploration in the froz en seas, with equal instice might it be claimed that the climbing of the Alps and the hazardous voyages of aeronauts should be forbidden in the in terests of humanity. It is true that no man will be richer for the discovery of the Pole, but mankind would certainly be poorer in bravery and enterprise were polar explorations to cease. It is something to know that there are men bold enough to face the horrors of an Arctic winter on a cruise which can yield them no money. The world is not so full of unselfish bravery that we can afford to underrate the daring of the seekers for the Pole. CHANCES OF LIVING. A medical writer of eminence has been collecting evidence as to the chances of life which children have, upon being born, in different countries. Out of 10,000 children born it is found from official statistics that in Norway as many as 7,415, or roughly speaking, three out of every four, live to twenty years of age. In England only 6,627 so live, or 788 fewer than in Norway. In the United States boys have nearly as good a chance of life as in England, while girls have not. But in France only 5,022, or scarcely more than one out of two, reach twenty. While in Ireland no more than 4,855, or actually less than one out of two, attain that age. More surprising still are the statistics regarding old age. Out of the same 10,000, for example, we learn that in Norway 3,487, more than one out of three, reach seventy ; in England al most one out of four : in the United States, still men only, one out of four a trifle higher than England ; in France 1,776, or about one out of 84 ; and in Ireland only 861, or one out of 11. If this table is to be depended upon, we thus learn that of all coun tries in the world Norway otters the new born child the best chance of long life ; while Ireland offers the worst. And France, universally admitted to be so far as soil and climate are concered one of the most favored regions of the earth, offers but little better chance than Ireland. AN OLD PORTRAIT OF G. W. Through the efforts of Robert C. Winthrop, now in Europe, the Massa chusetts Historical Society will come into possession of an exact copy of a painting of George Washington which has unusual historic interest. The original was intended for the Stadthold er in 1780, and was captured with Lau rens by Captain Keppel, of the British navy. Laurens had been appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the Hague in 1779, and was on his way to Holland when the capture was made. He was sent to the tower, where he remained for more than a year. The portrait was claimed by the captor as a personal prize, and presented by him to his uncle, Admiral Lord Keppel. It then became one of the treasures of Quiden ham Park, the seat of the Earl of Albe marle, present head of the Keppel fam ily in Norfolk. The name of the artist is unknown, which is not a matter of moment, since the portrait is not an exhibition of the highest order of merit. Mr. Winthrop had Albemarle's eordial permission to see the painting, and, sub sequently, his authority to make a copy of it. A photograph was taken and magnified to the dimensions of the orig inal. The copy was then finished by a skilled artist, in oils and colors, in the immediate presence of the original, so as to leave no room for the slightest discrepancy between them. Both Mr. Winthrop and Earl Albemarle, who have taken warm interest in the prog ress of the work, certify that it is a perfect fac-simile of the portrait just as it was painted for the Stadtholder and captured by Keppel.nearly a cen tury ago. Even the frame is to be re produced in kind. The whole is a gift to the society from Mr. Duncan, late of Rhode Island, now resident in Lon don. UNEXAMPLED PROSPERITY. Thirty years ago California was a Mexican province. In 1847 it became a part of the United States ; and in 1848 its mineral wealth was intimated by the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill. The progress of that State since 1848, is one of the marvels of modern times. Until within a very few years the min eral resources of California have been the main stimulus to its prosperity, and the development of its agriculture is now alike remarkable both in the amount and value of the products. The San Francisco Bulletin of the 29 ult., gives us, as a careful estimate of the wealth created the past year from this source, the following figures : Wheat, barley, corn, and oats, $50,000,000. Hay, wood, wine, fruit, and dairy $18, 000,000 ; miscellaneous items, $3,000, 000. Making a total of $71,000,000. The Bulletin thinks the actual results will exceed rather than fall below this estimate. The product of the mines will be about $20,000,000, and of lum bering and manufacturing $10,000,000, making a total of $101,000,000. To this must be added wages for the laboring classes and the profits of the merchants, professional men, and others in the ag gregate a very large sum. Of course, this is not all profit ; but estimating it at only 30 per cent., leaving the balance for consumption, waste, etc., the Bul letin believes the net gain to the wealth of California during the past year will be $50,000,000. This, for a State the real history of whose progress dates back only a quarter of a century, is a most gratifying result. POWERFUL BRAND1. A gentleman who has for years lived on the banks of the Carson river came to town on Thursday evening to attend the Jones reception. He took a little champagne with Jones, and afterwards commenced on brandy. After taking two drinks he caught himself taking his shirt studs out and putting them into a friend's vest pocket ; after the third drink he atole his own watch. We passed him on his way to the railroad depot, and heard him moralizing thus : "If that there brandy is cheap at two bits a drink, how much is Carson riv er water worth at nothing ? I got that fellow's watch and his studs, and if I'd took another drink, I'd had his boots. " Tyke and Sidon. Tyre was a very ancient city, and one of great renown. It was in Phoenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean, and partly built on an island. The part of the city situated on the shore was called Old Tyre. The tribe of Ashur bordered on Tyre. Here Solomon obtained lumber and skilled workmen for building the temple at Jeru salem. Tyre was famous for its arts and skilled artisans. It was conquered by the Chaldans and afterward by the Persians, and then by Alexander the Great, and was finally destroyed by the Saracens, A D. 1291. It is now a heap of ruins, and a memorable illustration of the fulfillment of prophesy. See Ezek. xviii. The Paris correspondent of the Bos ton Saturday Evening Gazette writes that 10,000 volunteers joined the French army last year, representing the upper and middle classes of France. Of this number, 5,500 are scarcely able to read and write, 3,000 have only the most elementary education, and 1,000 have only the mere elementary education re quired of non-commissioned officers. Such facts as these go to show that Sedan is not the only disgraceful fact in French affairs. OLD AGE AND OUR COUNTRY. The Cincinnati JSnquirer calls at tention to the fact, in an elaborate arti cle, that the literary and political men of Europe seem to live much longer than they do in this country, Here is Guizot dying at the age of 87. M. Thiers is but three or four years his junior. Lord Brougham, in England, was 91 when he died. Lord Lynd hurst was still older almost a cen tenarian. Humboldt, if we mistake not, was near the nineties. Lord Pal merston was over 80. So were Talley rand and Metternich. Disraeli in Great Britain, Marshal Moltke and Emperor William in Germany, and Mc Mahon in France are all old men, and yet they are the rulers of their respect ive countries. Save Washington Irv ing we recall no literary celebrity in the United States who attained what might be called longevity of existence. Some of our statesmen lived up into the eighties and nineties, but then they had retired for a long time from pub lic life, and consequently were un known to their generations. With the exception of John Quincy Adams, none of our Congressional and Presidential officials have had anything to do with public affairs after they were 70. But in Europe great things have been done by scholars and politicians long after that age was passed. There are in our judiciary two bright examples of the European character. We allude to Chief Justice Marshall, of the Supreme Court, who was 80 when he died, and his successor, Roger B. Taney, who was 87. There is something, we sus pect, that is faster in our mode of life something in our climatic influence that is not as favorable to health as it is in Europe. There are those who main tain that America is the mausoleum of our race, that it has been the grave yard of several distinct civilizations, and that in time it will be fatal to us. The oldest of the continents, it was found nearly unpopulated by the Europeans, but bearing evidences that there had been high civilization here centuries before. The genuine Ameri can, in the older States of this Union, where there has not been from time to time an infusion of foreign blood, has usually a delicate organization, which is especially marked in the female sex. It is much marked and commented upon by the philosophical observers of New England, where consumption and all other organic diseases of the lungs, heart and brain are becoming fearfully prevalent, and a general decay of the physical constitutions of the masses is certain. YAKUB BEG. The Eastern question, which is never asked above a whisper, is daily attract more attention. The Independent gives a sketch of a singular character who has already figured conspicuously in the re mote politics of the East, and who will probably find himself the cynosure of all eyes. He is Mohammed Yakub Beg, ruler of Eastern Turkistan. This al most unknown territory is said to be the birthplace of the great Aryan race which rose mysteriously from its val leys to overrun the Indies and found the families which to-day shape the destinies of the world. Long ago the Mongols superseded the Aryan stock and not a vestige of-the primordial race remains there. And now, by some strange fatality, comes this daring strategist, a pure Aryan from the Cau casus to the home of his earliest ances tors, to grasp the scepter and defy the invader. A despot without regard for life, his rule is marked by its stern re gard for justice. Every serious offense is summarily punished by death, but only upon the best of evidence. Ignorant and illiterate himself, he has instituted a vigorous system of education, whose only flaw is its enforced religious ten dency. While possessing unlimited power himself, he observes the rights of property with scrupulous honesty, and inculcates the same ideas of justice and equity in his subjects. Little is known of the history of this remarkable man until he appeared as an officer in the army of the Khan of Kholand dur ing the struggle with Russia. By his dazzling military skill he raised himself from obscurity to prominence, and by artifice, craft and cunning he usurped the government which he now holds. Though of obscure origin, he has suc ceeded in marrying one of the sacred virgins descended from the prophet, and has thus added to his influence. This is the ruler of that region which is to be the battle-ground between En gland and Russia forthe possessionof the Indies. He is compared to Napoleon and Cromwell, and is probably destined to fignre in history as prominently as did either of the prototypes to whom he is likened. THE DCG QUESTION IN GEORGIA. There are, according to the official returns, 122,318 dogs in the State of Georgia, and this is about one-half of the real number. A tax of $2 per head would raise more for a school fund than the whole State now expends in educa tion. Moreover, the people have a lik ing for fat mutton and yarn socks, and dogs diminish the production of these comfortable articles. But the difficulty is in determining what to do with the faithful or ferocious creatures. Taxa tion is well enough to talk about, but how is a tax to be levied ? The bother is that under the code dogs are proper ty, and under the Constitution property must be taxed ad valorem. Unfortun ately, nobody returns a dog as a part of his taxable estate. Besides the crea tures who are owned by nobody, there are thousands of mangy and worthless curs owned by people who give in no returns of their estate, and have rarely enough money to pay their polls. Un der these circumstances the dog ques tion has assumed important proportions in Georgia ; and so absolute is the mud die that the animal kills sheep, goes mad, and disseminates fleas with reck less impunity. i SIGH LIVING. The highest spot on the globe inhab ited by human beings is the Buddhist cloister of Hanle, in Thibet, where twenty-one priests live at an altitude of 16,000 feet. The monks of St. Bernard, whose monastery is 8,117 feet high, are obliged to descend frequently to the valleys below in order to obtain relief from the asthma induced by the rarity of the atmosphere about their moun tain. At the end of ten years' service in the monastery, they are compelled to change their exalted abode for a per manent residence at the ordinary level. When the brothers Schlaginsweil ex plored the glaciers of the Ibi-Gamin, in Thibet, they once encamped at 21,000 feet the highest altitude at which a European ever passed the night. At the top of Mont Blanc, 15, 781 feet above the level of the sea, Prof. Tyndall spent a night, and with less discomfort than his guide, who found it very un pleasant. In July, 1872, Mr. Glaisher and Mr. Coxwell ascended in a balloon to the enormous height of 38,000 feet. Before starting, Mr. Glaisher's pulse beat 76 strokes per minute, and Mr. Coxwell's 74. At 17,000 feet. Mr. Glaisher's pulse had increased to 84, and Mr. Coxwell's to 100. At 19,000 feet, the hands and lips of the aeronauts turned quite blue. At 20,000 feet, Mr. Glaisher could hear his heart beat, and his breathing became oppressed. At 29,000 feet he became senseless ; notwithstanding which he ascended still another 8,000 feet, when his hands were paralyzed, and ke had to open the valve with his teeth. In the Alps, at the height of 13,000 feet, clim bers suffer from the rarity of the air ; yet, in the Andes, persons can dwell, as at Potosi, at a height of from 13,000 to 15,000 feet, without inconvenience. REMARKABLE CRAFT. Stanley has had a boat built in England for his African expedition. This craft possesses some remarkable features of construction to meet the necessity of lightness, strength, and small draught of water, combined with great carrying power. She is built of cedar wood, with mahogany bulkheads, is 40 feet from stem to stern, with 6 feet beam, and is put together in such a manner that she can be divided into five sections, each section weighing only 120 pounds, and being provided with carrying-poles, so that it can be carried by two men in the style of an Indian palanquin. Though so light, the boat will carry about fifty persons, or between six and seven tons burden, while drawing only one foot of water when fully loaded. She is fitted with a double bank of fourteen oars, seven on a side, and will carry two large sails. With peculiar appropriateness to the object of his mission, the boat was christened Livingstone. GIRAFFES. Recent note has been made of the ar rival at the Garden of Acclimation, in Paris, of six giraffes, the oldest of which is three years of age. The giraffe is a native of Africa, and used to inhabit the country from Nubia to the Cape of Good Hope, but it is said now to be re stricted to a small canton of Abyssinia. All attempts at domesticating the ani mal have failed in Africa, yet it is easily tamed in Europe. In its native haunts it roams in herds of from five to fifty, browsing on the leaves and small branches of trees. It is inoffensive, and seeks to escape danger by flight ; yet, if hard pressed, will fight stoutly, discharging a storm of kicks with its hind legs that will even beat off the lion. Its running pace is swifter than that of a fleet horse, and it moves over uneven ground with great advantage. The flesh of the giraffe is called palat able, and its marrow is a favorite Afri can delicacy. A Paris correspondent of the London Times, who writes about the late tour of President MacMahon through France, declares that the French peasantry do not believe the late Emperor Napoleon is dead. Their theory is that the story of his death was concocted by his ene mies who wish him dead. They also believe that MacMahon was placed in power for the purpose of seizing on the favorable moment for the return of the Emperor. In the city of Mans a peas ant told the correspondent that they were deceiving the people ; that the empire in fact existed in Paris ; and that he had seen the Emperor on horse back, in a Marshal's uniform, in the very costume he used to wear, with the same large red ribbon, the same mus tache and short hair, but only a little grayer than it used to be. It was in fact to dispel this delusion that Presi dent MacMahon made his tour, and he now finds that most of the peasants ac tually took him for the late Emperor and refuse to be convinced of the ex istence of a President or a republic. Somebody ingeniously calculates that in planting and garnering twenty acres of corn a farmer must travel at least nine hundred miles in tbe cornfield alone. "I have, he says, "a. twenty acre field forty by eighty rods. To break this up would take one hundred and sixty-six miles ; harrowing it, about forty miles ; furrowing out, ninety miles; planting, forty-five miles, if with a planter; and if dropped and then covered, nicety miles ; and for each plowing of two furrows in a row, ninety miles ; or, five plo wings, four hundred and fifty miles. Thus you will see it takes about eight or nine hundred miles of travel to raise twenty acres of corn, not counting going to and returning from the field. Besides, there is some replanting, thinning, roll ing," etc. ABRABAMIC MAXIMS. A contributor furnishes the following chunks of wisdom : To be great among fools, thou must be a great fool. Woman it said to be fickle. And man is born of woman. There be those who think that mules cannot be driven without swearing. Well, that depends upon the education of the mules especially the one that drives. " Be just before generous." There be men who make this an excuse for be ing neither. Nothing is smaller than fallen great ness. Were all men great there would be no great men. Were mice as la.'ge as ele phants, elephants would be as small as mice. Seeking fame is like climbing a greased pole. Men will cheer to see thee go up, and laugh to see thee come down. There aint always as great a distance between greatness and idiocy as many suppose. IS thou art too lazy to think, thou wilt be too poor to know. If thou canst tolerate a liar, tjou art half a liar thyself. It takes more than one to get all the good out of a laugh. The devil will never get to heaven, because he cannot die and have a fun eral sermon. When a man is too poor to feed his own fleas he gets a dog. All men think well of themselves, but some have a queer way of showing it. Men boast of their relations when they have nothing else to boast of. Never thing of reasoning with a mule whether it has four or only two legs. When the devil praises thee, remem ber that he is " The Father of Lies." Thou mayest tell the truth so that it will be a lie. A knave cheats others ; a fcol him self. Sleep is said to be brain-rest. Were it nothing else, there be men who might keep awake forever. Father Abraham. REN AND KITTENS. Two or three weeks ago a family liv ing in the Third ward set a hen on ten eggs in the barn. The same family keeps a cat. It seems that the children belonging' to the family did not know that the hen was " set," so they dis turbed her and brought in the eggs, and chased her about the yard for play and recreation. While thus occupied the old cat that had a Utter of kittens only a few days old decided at that oppor tune time to change their location, and brought her little ones to that very nest, goad went out in search of food. The hen returned, sat down and mothered those kittens, and seemed to be very proud of them. The cat of course drives her off when she is in, but as soon as the cat is away the old hen returns to take care of the kittens, and the hon ors of mother are about equally divided between the hen and the cat. Lacrosse Democrat. We learn from the Springfield Re publican that Mrs. John Morrissey promenades the streets of Saratoga in a black drap d'ete polonaise, embroid ered in silk, with true lovers' notes and wild flowers in all their natural and strong colons yellow, red, white, etc. It was imported from Paris, a a cost of $1,000 gold. Nobody passes the lady without turning to look at her gorgeous costume. The lady were single stone diamond ring, said to be valued at $10,000. Base-bam clubs are starting up in various parts of England. The recent base-ball contests in London between the Boston and Philadelphia clubs have excited very general interest there. Bats, balls, and the other articles used in playing the game are being imported for sale, and the papers are publishing manuals for the instruction of players. The Americans astonished everybody by winning several ericket matches, beating the natives at their own game. On an average five million newspapers are distributed every day in the United States more than two newspapers a week for every man, woman and child that can read. No other country or age has ever had such a multiplicity of journals. Great Britain has only two- fifths as many, and twenty years ago we had but one where now there are five. Important old gent from the country (who thinks the lofty bearing of those London barmaids ought to be "taken down a bit") "Glass of ale, young woman ; and look sharp, please !' Haughty blonde (blandly) "Second class refreshments lower down, sir !" The French Academy of Sciences is in a state of profound anxiety, and manifests the greatest alarm lest the climate of Southern Europe should be injuriously affected by turning the Des ert of Sahara into a sea, which some one proposes to do. Hitherto worn-out straw hats have been considered things utterly beyond utilization. The world advances, how ever, and now a profound American economist proposes to chop them up by machinery and feed horses with them. When a man reminds you that you owe him, just make a note of it. He will take more interest in the matter if you humor him in that way. The Pennsylvania railroad claims the largest locomotive in the country. It has twelve driving wheels, and weighs seventy-five tons. Gold may be beaten into leaves so thin that 180,000 would be only an inch thick.