IVrtnn flcrjistrr.
gil Win rvrnr riinviT by
C O LL. CLEVE.
ALB AM V,
OREGON.
THE LITTLE FOLKS.
. Story of the Maple-Tree.
1 ist litre ihe cliirn trtMp 3i .. ,
Ai mora mid noou together,
A pie M grew ureen an.t strong
I jii "ti fcU tue summer wtuther
rhe .:U; UM, Bo slim, no gree
Aiy Mi rhe birches rouurt it
r on I h 1-1 to zuake a screen,
AuJ ui oue eVr had fouud it.
- N BHtnmet days begin to fade,"'
C . ri s..,.l :he iu i . , sighini :
All I u(i on ee-t me in this sha.I !
Watt i' -.he use of trying?"
Ami wkUs one i.:.'.",'. slip frettefl tuns,
Ttbe air nrw ood aud colder.
At. i Ifeerfl r-arue a painter down tiie road.
His colors ou his shoulder
T.,. . Pvoai -iKiwn the winding way
. te ::.ttir, leaping, tinging ;
And as he ran about in play,
Bia Batata baS went io.viaging.
Th en how th spatters flew about.
And srreuki luth red and yellow,
.k.t the U avee that leaneU far out
Glowed tike the apples itirJtow.
Ttw maple watched the colors grow,
.. n tied, "Oh. stop! oh, listen :
Before my leaves fall, paint me now
Catil iu red I glisten."
,Ta- c Frost stands still. So small the tree,
II '. safe among the birches.
He stops uncertain; then he climbs,
And rock and bink he s arohes.
" Ob, paint cue, please I the maple cried.
Bright red and red all over.
Till each one that niay walk or ride
v. m ant y shall discover.'1
N incr said than done it is ;
h - swift brush tone he sinking,
Xhi :. . wings away, upon his back
li;' brashes, tightly sUuiu.
Ail;vn the road the painter goes ;
In attest joy she watches.
Til the far -off hills betray his path
Ir. rod aud p.lrple blotches.
liow rpiendid shine the mapo'-trce.
With ;reeu arouud and under ;
Tb golden rods in all the place
ow dowu iu reverent wonder.
And how she scorns the ladv birch
That stands so close beside her ;
H .-r head she tosses, waves her anus,
And shakes her leaves out wider.
(. silly little raop'y-tree !
Have doue with all your prinking ;
Aio-fci the road tie -hildren see.
Of fun aud pleasure thinking.
'Ok, look ' hallo I come see the sh am '.
A tree jus like a :"e3ther '.
l,er v Btica it in our ii&Ts, yt u kuow,
.: ri march dewu -II together!"
TLoy sv.-arm the raapberry bushes through ;
The;, tread the thistles under :
Tney gather rou the trembling tref
Intent ou scarlet plunder.
O, dainty attic tree'. She stands
I.lke a t:-le-u-red city;
They b-'ud a&c br-ak with feet and hands
The jubilant ttaTttfHtt'
Thtn off they inarch in scarlet line.
And blase through all the meadow;
Bj: the birches droop tueir glistening leaves,
And screen her with their shadow.
I una C. BrtwkeU, an '!. .Vi-AWs.r Xevem&er.
How Pussy Died.
One day in the early spring a little
girl went with her father to a bazar.
She had three shillings to spend, and
wondered very much what she could
find to buy. And she bought a tiny,
wee kitten, with a blue ribbon round
its neck. She carried it home herself,
and puss grew fat and merry, and her
little mistress loved her dearly.
One morning, two or three months
later, when the spring had almost
tnmfd into Riiramer. and when Pnssv's
life was chiefly spent in playing about i
the garden, or sleeping in the warm
sunshine, two little girls were standing
near an open window. It was 8 o'clock,
and breakfast was not ready, so they
were watching the happy birds as they
flew past, singing, and thinking about
their nests. It was the little girl who
had bought the kitten, and a sister,
only three years older than herself.
All oi a sudden a terrible loud noise
was heard quite close to the window,
which frightened her so much that the
younger began to ery ; and the elder
child would have cried, too, if she had
not been too buay trying to comfort her
little sister.
"Don't cry, dariing," she whispered;
"it is only Tom in the next garden
shooting; he won't hurt us." Still
comforting her little sister with gentle
words, she looked once more out of the
window, and her eye caught sight of
something moving on the grass in the
next garden. It was Pussy. But what
made her walk in that old way, drag
ging her leg and twisting herself
about ? She had bu-en shot ! No one
was there to tell the child, but as she
"looked she knew in a moment that
the gun that had just gone off, and
frightened them so much, had shot lit
tle Pussy.
What should you have done, little
boy or girl, who reads my story ? I will
tell you what, this little girl did. She
held her Hps quite tight together, that
she might not ery, and said softly to
her sister, " I must go away for a few
minutes, dariing," and then she ran
down into the garden. And the thought
that filled her mind as she went was,
'" Oh, I am glad little sister did not see
Pussy !"
Into the garden she ran, and all abont
she looked, and at last, under the green
bush where she had so often lain bask
ing in the pleasant sunshine, the child
saw Pussy lying stiff aud still. She
had crawled to her own little sunny
bed to die. I She did not mew, or
make any seund, only one leg moved a
very little. Not far off was the gar
dener, busy mowing the grass. He was a
kind man, and came to see what was
the matter. He took up Pussy in his
hands.
" She is dead," said the gardener ;
" what shall I do with her?"
Then a thought came into the child's
mind, " If we do not hide her qnite
away, sister will wish to see Pussy, and
that will cause her much grief." At the
bottom of the garden flowed the river,
wide and still. ' ' Put her in there, " she
said, looking up to the gardener.
And down the path where Pussy had
often played so merrily, and the chil
dren had laughed to watch her jumping
and skipping in jthe sunshine, she waB
carried now, for the last time. The
kind gardener tied a stone round her
nek, and nut her very gently into the
river and the water closed over her.
"Good-bye, Pussy." Then the child
turned, and went slowly and sadly into
fv, bruise. Her little sister had come
down to breakfast ; she had forgotten
all about the gun. and was full of fun
and merriment. The heart of the other
.nild was sad : but there was joy in it,
too, for she said to herself, "I have
saved little sister from a great grief ;
she must know about Pussy soon
mother will tell her ; but she will not
feel the pain that I felt when I saw her
lie."
Little children, this is a true story.
Let us try to be like that little girl,
and save each other from pain. It will
help us to bear trouble, and will lighten
our own sorrow. And God will bless
us if we try, for in the Bible it is said :
" Bear ye one another's burdens, and
so fulfill the law of Chrit."-Prize.
-Children's
Legends unci Superstitions.
Traditions, legends and superstitions,
closely linked as they often are, remnin
very distinct in themselves and in their
influence. A tradition may be true ; a
legend is not only untrue, but improb
able ; and a superstition is a foolish be
lief in the supernatural and impossible.
The first two are apt to be full of inter
est and charm iy the last is always a
blight, wherever it may settle. The
world abounds in wild and marvelous
stories that are believed in by the un
educated. For instance, in almost
every country there are legends about
long-sleepers. According to them,
Charlemagne sleeps in Hess, seated on
his throne, with crown on head and
sward in hand, waiting tUl Antichrist
shall come ; the seven youths of Ephe
sus, who refused to bow down to the
idol of the Emperor Decius, sleep on,
their faces fresh as roses, till the resurrection-day
; Epimenides slept fifty
seven years ; a Christian priest sleeps
in St. Sophia till the Turk shall be cast
out ; three Bohemian miners sleep in
the heart of tho Kuttenburg ; and Rip
Van Wiukle slept twenty years in
Kaatskills. In the great hills of Thur
ingia still sleep Frederic Barbarossa
and his six knights. A shepherd ones
penetrated into a long winding cave in
the heart of the mountain, and there
found the seven all asleep, tho Em
peror's red beard having grown through
the marble table. The noise of foot
steps awakened him, and he asked :
' Do the ravens still fly over the
mountains ? "
" Yes," replied the shepherd, "they
do."
"Then we must sleep another hun
dred years, ' answered the monarch,
aud turned again to rest.
In Switzerland three William Tells
sleep in a cave. A brave boy once
crept in.
"What o'clock is it?" asked the
third Tell.
" Noon," replied the lad.
"O dear! the time has not yet
come, said Tell, and he lay down again.
There are many superstitions about
the man in the moon, and almost every
country in the world has a story about
him. In New England the nurses tell
the children that thi3 man was found
by Moses gathering sticks on a Sab
bath, and that, for being so wicked, he
was doomed to reside in the moon till
the last day.
"If you don't believe it," they say,
"look in the-Bible. It is all told in the
fifteenth chapter of Numbers."
Tne Germans have the tale this way.
Ages ago there went one Sunday morn
ing an old man into the forest to cut
Wood. When he had made a bundle he
slung it on his staff, cast it over his
shoulder, and started for liome. On
his way he met a minister, all in his
bands and robes, who asked him :
"Don't you know, my friend, that it
is Sunday on earth, when all must rest
from their labors ? "
" Sunday on earth, or Monday in
heaven, it is all one to me ! " laughed
the woodman.
" Then bear your burden forever,"
said the priest ; " and as you value not
Sunday on earth, you shall have Mon
day in heaven till the great day."
Thereupon the speaker vanished, and
the man was caught up, with cane and
faggots, into the moon, where you can
see him any clear night.
In Norway they think they see both a
man and woman, and the story goes
that the former
threw brambles at peo-
pie going to church, and the latter made
butter on fcmnday. In the clear, cold
nights of winter they will point out the
man carrying his bundle of thorns, and
the woman her butter-tub. JV. S.
Dvdyc, in St. Nicholas for November.
The White King.
A few weeks ngo, dear children. I
read a paper in the Christian about rail
way flags, which made me think of
something which happened many years
ago.
When I was a very little girl I was
traveling one day to Manchester with my
mamma. We had to go a long railway
journey in order to reach the place to
which we were going, but all was new to
me, and I Uked to watch the people
getting in and out of the carriages.
Mamma gave little books to all our
fellpw-passengers, and I was very much
interested in watching the different
ways in which the little books were
received.
At last at one station ( I think it was
Crewe) an old man got into the carriage.
He had a nice face, and looked both
happy and sad, and I wondered what
made him have that look on his face.
When mamma gave him a little book,
and spoke to him of Jesus, the sad look
quite went away from his face, and he
smiled and said, "Ah, yes ! I too love
the Lord Jesus."
I think mamma had noticed the sad
look on his face, for she said something
to him about the " Comforter," and
about God being " the God of all com
fort and consolation."
Then I saw the old man bend forward
and tell her that only the week before
his wife died ; " fallen asleep in Jesus,"
I think he said.
" I should like to tell you something
about her, if you will let me," the old
man said ; and mamma told him she
would like very much to hear about
her.
" I am a station-master, at a small
station on the line," he said ; and my
wife used often to sit in the little win
dow of our parlor, and watch me waving
the different colored flags as the trains
came in. We both loved the Lord
Jesus, and used often to speak to
gether of him we loved so dearly, and of
his great salvation. he was an in
valid, and at last began to droop rap
idly. One evening she called n i i
and said, 'John, there will be a flag
held out to-night; a flag in the hand of
J esus. it will not be a red flag, for
there is no danger ; and it will not be a
green flag, for, thank God, there is no
doubt ; but it will be a pure white flag,
for all is perfect safety and peace, and
I am very nearly at my journey's end.'
And that night my wife died."
I cannot remember any mere of the
old man s story, dear children ; but
whenever I see the white flag waved, I
think of the evening at the little way-
siae station, wnere tne sick woman s
earthly journey was ended, and in per
feet safety she went home to God.
Would there be a white flag or a red
flag held out to-night if you were called
to your journey's end, dear child? The
Cnrtstian.
A New Yobk paper says
sculptor is to make a bust
" a Virginia
of Captain
John Smith." It is really curious what
a liking these Virginia artists have for
this subject. Over two hundred years
ago, a Virginian named Pow Hatton
attempted to bust Captain Smith, and
had the advantage of later artists, as he
araa in take the subiect from life. Still,
we shall be glad to see the last Virginia
sculptor succeed.
The Champion Stove Polisher.
Since the death of Beason Davis,
several years ago, Snndown Smith has
claimed to be the champion stove-polisher
of Michigan, and he has hold his
medal through many hot contests. He
goes for a stove like a Texas steer for
a red necktie, and when he leaves it
there is a shine on it which makes the
owner's heart Bwell with pride. The
other day a Gratiot street merchant
fished his coal stove out of the cellar and
found it red with rust. He ordered the
store boy to clean it. and the boy greased
it all over with lard oil and kerosene as a
preparatory step. The oil took the rust
off, but the blacking slid right off from
it when applied, and the boy was told to
get up and dust and never come near
that store again. The stove was wheel
ed out on the walk and Sundown Smith
came alonsr. out of a job. He took a
look, made a mental calculation, and
said he'd make that stove put on the re
flection of a mirror for about twenty-five
cents. The bargain was closed, and the
negro slid up to the base-burner and
gently applied the foundation for a
shine. He remarked that it was a very
8of t, smooth stove, and he wondered if
they hadn't got so that they mixed
the iron with glue or India rubber. It
seemed to him that stove polish spread
out a good deal on that stove, but that
money was in his pocket and he didn't
say anything. When he had a good
thick coat on he seized his broom, took
a long breath and went in. He brushed
up and down, sideways, diagonally, and
various other ways, and the broom
seemed to just glide around without an
effort. After ten miuutes' work with
out result, Sundown paused and re
marked :
" Whar's dat shine, eh ? Didn't know
dat Snndown Suiif was here, did ve ?
S'posed it was sum common stove
blacker, eh?"
He took up another broom and danced
around and went for the stove-door like
a tornado, shutting his eyes and breath
ing hard and calling to the small boys
to stand away if they did not want to
meet the fate of Pompeii, and be buried
under a cloud of dust. The grease held
it down. The sweat trickled down Sun
down's cheeks, and the rent in the back
seam of his coat widened rapidly. He
worked desperately for nine or ten min
utes, and then he opened his eyes in
amazement.
" Dis yer's powerful curus," he
growled as he gazed at de door. " I
guess dat blacking dun fell down in de
road and got mud in it."
He looked at the blacking, then
walked around the stove, and as the
crowd began to jeer at him he got mad
and shouted :
" Can't shine dat stove ! Can't make
dat base-burner reflect the morning
raysbf de sun ! Can't I do dat ? '
And he kneeled down, uttered a
" whoop !" which sounded far up and
down, aud made that broom fly like a
towel on a clothes-line with a nor'
wester blowing.
" Can't make him shine, eh? whoop!
never heard of Sundown Smif , eh ?
whoop !" he shouted, but after awhile
he paused. There was a new light in
his eye. He got up, rubbed his hand
over the stove, looked at his hand, and
then
, wnnoui saying a worn or replying i
question, he picked uo his "kit";
to a
and slid across the road into an alley,
his face wearing such a look of contempt
and disgust that it was a study for a
painter. He came not back. His form
finally disappeared behind a wagon, and
the crowd slowly dispersed. It was an
hour of Grecian triumph. Detroit
Free Prcsx.
Four Distinguished Men Predict a Eu
ropean War.
Father Hyacinthe and Victor Hugo
have joined Mr. Disraeli and the Pope
in prophesying the approach of a tre
mendous war, which shall rage all over
Europe and elsewhere. Mr. Disraeli
predicted that the war would be a re
ligious one, and that it would convulse
the globe. The Pope debcribed the im
pending struggle as one between the
armies of the Archangel Michael and
the hosts of Satan. According to the
prognostication of Father Hyacinthe,
the coming war will be three-fold, and
will include a fearful conflict between
popular rights and the power of capital,
in which the combatants will tear each
other to pieces. According to the vati
cination of Victor Hugo, the great and
inevitable encounter is to be " between
two principles, republic and empire."
He says that " we have before us in
Europe a series of catastrophes which
engender each other, and which must
be exhausted;" that "we can get a
glimpse of peace only across a shock
of arms ;" that " between the present
and the future there is a fatal inter
position ;" that the " Kings must ex
piate their crimes ;" and that the
separation of the people will result iu
federation and fraternity. He thus
closed his prophecy of the " Universal
Fatherland:" "The solution is this:
The United States of Europe. The end
will be for the people that is to say,
for liberty and for God that is to say,
for peace." There must surely be
something in the atmosphere of Europe
that leads so many prophets to prophesy
the approach of war war about re
ligion, republicanism, and the rights of
human nature.
Not Gallant.
A painftd feature of Continental life
is the lack of gallantry on the part of
gentlemen toward ladies outside the
drawing-room, of course. In Germany
no gentleman wouia ininn oi turning
out for a lady whom he met on the side
walk. She might be crowded into the
gutter for all he would care, unless he
happened to be acquainted with her,
when his politeness would be profuse
enough. The story is told of an Eng
lish girl in Berlin, who at last rebelled
against the indignity of being compelled
to make way lor every man sue met..
She determined that she would yield no
longer. She had scarcely began her
first promenade after announcing her
resolution, when she found herself op
posite an astonished gentleman, who
had suddenly sioppea ior lear ui run
ning over her. He evidently expected
her to turn out for him ; but she held
her place. At last, with a bewildered
look from his great blue eyes, he spoke :
" I am waiting. instead oi answering
So am I." she gave up the con
test and walked around the obstruction.
She should have been an American girl
just at that moment. Imagine one oi
our smart Yankee maids being so easily
disconcerted.
Switzerland. Recent statistics show
that of 485,000 households of Switzer
land, 465,000 possess landed property,
and of the entire population of 2,400,
000, about 500,000 only have no landed
possessions. About one person in
twenty lives by alms, while in England
there is one to every eight, and in
France one to every nine. The reat
majority of the people live by agricult
ure, but the exports nevertheless
amount to $58,000,000 annually above
home consumption. The three Protes-
Itant cantons are richerthan the ten or
twelve Roman Catholic cantons.
The Strength of the Horse.
We are to completely in the habit of
regarding the horse as a docile slave,
expected to minister to our necessities
with uncomplaining complaisance un
resisting generally under ill treatment,
often half-killing himself by struggling
to drag loads beyond his powers, that
we are apt to forget the tremendous
strength which he can exert if he
pleases to put it forth.
I saw, lately, a small pony running
away with a little carriage, in which
were two large, strong men ; one sat in
his place dragging at the reins with all
his might, the other was on his knees
adding his utmost poweiw nearer the
bead, but in vain. They were just able
to give some sort of direction to their
course, so as to avoid the carts and car
riages, which, fortunately, were not
many,' and in turning several sharp cor
ners but they could not moderate the
pace' hi the least, till it pleased the pony
to stop at the door of his own stable.
They set their strength against his, and
on the tendered point, the mouth, and
the pony won.
The great dray-horses of a London
brewery are almost like elephants in
weight and power, yet are so good
tempered that they can be guided by a
child. The strength of the neck, or
the heels, or the teeth of such a beast.
I is fearful indeed, if it were used against,
instead of for, the service of man, and
it may help us to treat him with great
er respect to hear how powerful, and, at
times, how savage an animal a horse
can be. We have much to learn in our
treatment of him. An Arab will make
his mare go far longer distances with
out suffering than we can our horses.
In South America, the " topping mer
chant " of Santiago used always to have
at hand horses which could be ridden
to Valparaiso, some ninety odd miles,
and back next day, with no food but
hay and a little chopped straw. The
Hanoverian troopers in the Peninsular
war were able to keep their chargers in
good condition, while those of many of
the English cavalry regiments were dy
ing by wholesale. The Germans were
more kindly anxious for the welfare of
j their rough, ugly beasts than the En-
glish " horse-subduers," as they count
I themselves, were of their far superior
animals. We shut them up in stifling
stables, with no fresh air, and with
! abominable smells, while they are by
nature hardy creatures, belonging to
I temperate climates, and used to expos
1 ure. It has been found that the mor
I tality in some of the great cavalry sta
i bles in London has been diminished
; very greatly by admitting more air and
light.
The courage which horses will show
in a charge during a battle ; the tem
per, when in a nc.ob (the good-natured
giants of the Household Brigade back
their horseB, so as to disperse a crowd
by mere force of the terror of their
heels, or the switching of their tails,
without doing any harm to man, woman
or child) ; the intelligence with which
a horse, who is set to move whole lines
of trucks and carriages at a railway
station, understands the complicated
commands made to him by word and
sign, all show powers ano qualities oi
which, at Dresent. we
make but very
muinerent use.
. .
J. UllUUg O IU m. t VUvll ..-ji ,14'ri.i .
A writer in the Pall Mall Gazette,
'. speaking of recent disorderly sceneB in
; the French Assembly, gives some rem
! iniscences of still more riotous pro
; ceedings in the Assemblies of 1848
i and 18-49. He says : " On one occasion,
I Prince Pierre Bonaparte rushed up to
i the hemicycle under the galleries and
i boxed an antagonist's ears ; on another
: occasion Count Keranflecli, a Breton
I member, emptied his glass of sugared
water into the face of a Deputy
j the Left, who had come under
i the tribune shake his list at him ;
j and on a third occasion MM. Victor
i Hugo and Baroche had a bout of bil-
lingsgate, which was only stopped by
j the disputants being forcibly hustled
i out of the Chamber by their friends
through open doors. But the most
memorable affray occurred one after
noon during the debate on the Con
scription bill, while the Marquis de
Querhoent, another Breton, was speak
ing on the Conservative side. ' Don't
talk like an old woman ! ' suddenly
shouted M. Doutre, member for the
Rhone. ' Who is the imbecile who said
that ? ' retorted the noble Marquis,
stopping short. Whereat half a dozen
of M. Doutre 's friends roared together,
1 We all say it ; it's you who are an im
becile.' This brought the whole As
sembly to their legs, and M. Dupin's
bell began to peal away like that of a
ship in a fog. But there was no check
ing the riot. Scores of members on both
sides had clambered over their desfcs
and invaded the floor of the house,
exchanging invectives ; and above the
din resounded the voice of a maddened
Royalist, who yelled : If any one
would give me a' pistol, I would tire it
into that pack of wild beasts !' Wild
beast yourself ! and I call you to order,'
sang out M. Dupin, beside himself,
but this only increased the tumult, for
the whole Right, turning on the Presi
dent like one man, vociferated, ' Vous
nous insultez, II nous faut des excuses !'
M. Dupin saw it was time to suspend
the sitting, and groped about for his
hat, but as he lived in the building of
the Assembly, and had only a few
passages to cross to reach the chamber,
he usually came bareheaded, and the
hat with which he used to quench par
liamentary fires was a dusty old proper
ty, which lay under the desk. For some
cause, however, as yet unexplained, the
emblem of peace was not found this
time, and the President bawling dis
tractedly, 4 Lend me a hat, some one I'
a wild scene of confusion ensued. The
Right, wishing to force M. Dupin to
aoolosize. rushed to both staircases of
the platform to prevent any member
from handing the President a hat ; the
members of the Left, who wished the
sitting to be suspended, tried to carry
the s taircase by storm. At last, an im
aginative Republican, putting a bundle
of papers inside his headdress to give
it weight, flung it at the President's
feet ; and M. Dupin, catching it up,
planted it triumphantly on his head,
and declared the sitting suspended,
adding with intense feeling and loud
enough to be heard by the reporters,
Ah 1 tas d'animaux !' "
Mb. Bennett, of the Herald, having
offered to pay one-fourth the cost of an
expedition to discover the North Pole,
on condition that the rest of the press
throughout the country should pay the
other three-fourtns, Air. jviurat Mai-
stead. of the Cincinnati Commercial,
" raises ". Mr. Bennett, and offers to
crive a million dollars for a Polar expe
dition, provided every editor in the
country will add a thousand dollars to
tne fund.
Thebe is a temperance society upon
an extremelv accommodating plan in
California. No member is permitted to
drink anvthine excect wine, beer, and
cider, save when "laboring under a
sense of discouragement," and then
whisky is allowed.
Awkward Revelations of Acoustics.
A Boston musical journal calls at
tention to some applications of a rather
obscure principle in acoustics, which it
will be well to bear in mind when talk
ing in noisy places.
While walking through one of the
retired streets of Cambridge a short
time since we met a carryall coming in
the opposite direction. In it were two
persons having a very animated con
versation. The ancient vehicle rattled
along with much clatter, but every word
they uttered was perfectly audible from
the sidewalk. The conversation was
peculiar. Were the people aware how
their voices could be heard on either
side they would have related their fam
ily secrets in a less public manner.
From the beautiful expression of in
nocence on their faces we guessed they
were not conscious of their involuntary
auditor. Of course we assumed our
most demure and unconscious expres
sion till they were safely past. Now
these innocents were ignorant of one of
the simplest laws of acoustic science.
Noise, such as a carriage would make,
consists of confused and irregular
sounds or pulsations in the air. The
vibrations, being long and short, and
of every variety of amplitude, crowded
each other and destroyed their progress
through the air. The voices of the
riding innocents were, in a degree, mu
sical, because the human voice in speak
ing gives a kind of irregular vocaliza
tion. The tones, being less hampered
and obstructed, traveled further, and
reached an unwilling listener, who was
partially beyond the influence of the
noise. To the speakers the rattle of
the carriage seemed much louder than
their voices. To the hearers, at a dis
tance of a hundred feet, the voices were
the loudest. Most people, in riding,
moderate their voices to the circum
stances, without, perhaps, thinking of
this matter, or without being aware of
its explanation. The same effect may
be noticed in concerts where silly peo
ple talk during the performance. Dur
ing the loudest crash of the orchestra
or organ they talk sweetly on, only to
find themselves shouting aloud when
an abrupt piano passage comes. At an
organ concert in Music Hall the audi
ence was once amused to hear a bit of
conversation that was not intended to
be public. The organ pealed through
the hall with every stop out, and, just
as it sometimes will, indulged in a re
markable piano passage, and in the un
expected stillness an old lady was heard
to remark aloud, " We always fry 'em
in butter ! "
A History of Mowing Macldnes.
The oldest mowing machines, though
very rude, were used by the Gauls. A
cart, having blades arranged in front,
was pushed forward into the grain by
oxen hitched on behind, and thus cut
on the heads. A system of six rotating
scythes was made by Joseph Boyce in
1799, and" an attempt to use the same
principle was made by Gompretz and
Mason, in 1852. In 1811-1815, Smith,
of Deans, once brought out a machine
in which a short vertical revolving
cylinder carried a knife on its lower
end ; but all these rotating machines
have proved impracticable. Robert
Meares, in Frome, in Somersetshire,
established, in 1800, the shear principle
as the only practical one. Salmon, in
Woburn, in 1807, built a machine with
a row of blades and fingers moving over
them, and also applied the reel. The
Scotch parson, Patrick Bell, of Forfar
shire, in 1826, and William Manning,
of Plainfield, N. J., in 1832, were the
founders of the present style of ma
chine. Manning was the first to attach
the draught at the end of the machine,
all others previously having been
pushed from behind. Obed Hussey.
of Cincinnati, attached the side-platform
and slit-finger. McCormiek, then
of Rockbridge, Va., now of Chicago, in
1835 improved the Manning and Hus
sey machine, and the appearance of
these at the London Exposition, in
1851, was the signal for their introduc
tion into general use.
The oldest threshing-machine (ex
cept the antiques!) was made by
Michael Menzies, in 1732, or perhaps
at the same time by Tull, consisting of
a rotating cylinder with flails. Several
others followed shortly, some like a
flour-mill, and in 1692, Willoughby, of
Bedford, made one like that of Men
zies, wfaica V on Thaer brought to Ger
many, and which served as a model for
the Mecklenburg thresher. The ma
chine of James Wardropp, of Ampthell,
in Virginia, is on a similar principle,
only the beaters are sticks moving up
and down. Finally, in 1785, Andrew
Meikle, of Tyningham, East Lothian,
laid the foundation of the present form,
by using a drum with four beaters
parallel to the axis, that carried the
gram between itself and a concave,
furnished with similar reds. An
American, named Moflitt, in 1854, sub
stituted spikes for the rods, though
Menzies' machine adheres to tue old
system.
Chinese Students.
Two Chinese students were recently
admitted to Yale College, scientific de
partment. They passed the examina
tion most creditably, and gave promise
of superior scholarship. There are now
sixty Chinese students supported by
their government in Connecticut and
Massachusetts. Thirty came two years
ago, and thirty arrived a year since,
and thirty more are expected in about a
fortnight. So far their deportment has
been excellent and their progress quite
remarkable. The students are placed
at first in cultured families, two in a
place, where their first aim is the mas
tery of our language. They are all un
der strict supervision, and spend each
from two to four weeks a year at the
" Headquarters" of the Chinese Educa
tional Commission, in Hartford, where
they are carefully examined as to their
nanus and progress, scattered in some
twentv or thirtv different towns, these
boys have everywhere been favorites.
The kindness with which they nave
been treated has been very gratifying
to the commission here and 'to tne
Chinese government at .home. Boston
Traveller.
Smelling His Breath.
Scene Brown's parlor in Springfield,
Mass. Brown, hat in hand, just got
home from a walk with his eldest an
enfant terrible. Mrs. Brown : " Now,
John, I smell your breath ; you've been
drinking again." "No-no, my dear,
you hie alius had a sharp nose. I
(desperately) you must smell the bay
rum the barber put on my hair. I went
into a barber-shop : didn't I, sonny ?"
" Yes, ma'am, you bet. Pop told me
to stand outside and suck that stick o'
candy while he got shaved, an' he went
into the shop on Main street, near
wignt s diock, wnere them screens
made like window blinds stand just in
side the door." Exit Brown juBt in
time to escape a crusade of articles of
bijoutry and vertu.
A woman m England, named Betsey
Letherton, has reached the extraordina
ry age of 111 years. Her mental and
physical powers are still good.
A Cougar's Leap.
An Eastern tourist read to his com
panion the following newspaper para
graph :
" The cougars are killing a great
many sheep in Washington Territory."
"In New York," said he, "they
Erotect their sheep from those insects
y rubbing tar on their noses ; it keeps
the cougars from going into their nos
trils. "
A Sacramento man, who was down
here attending the pioneers celebra
tlo4n heard what he said, and remarked :
' One Of them ntiw affonbail a an1
I am of the opinion that tar on my 'nose
would not have been of much benefit to
me."
mwas ?ot aware tlley troubled men. "
I hey have got to be pretty hungry
before they will do so."
Tle Pioneer then informed the tour
ist that he was laboring under a mis
take, and told him that a cougar was a
ferocious animal, not a sheep insect.
He complied with the request to re
late the particulars of his encounter
with one of them, and commenced bv
saying : J
" I suppose it was the spirit of ad
venture which brought me here twenty
five years ago that prevented me from
remaining in San Francisco, where I
could have amassed a fortune, and made
me the 'Wandering Jew' of the many
widely-spread mining regions. I was
among the hrst that went to the newly
discovered diggings on the head waters
of the Missouri river. My partners and
myself had discovered a quartz ledge
and were sinking on it in hopes of find,
ing the paymaster. It was situated
near the summit of the Rocky Moun
tains. The road leading to it was un
frequented, and all the wild animals
to be found in that region were our
neighbors.
" One day, when returning from a
neighboring claim, where I had been to
get a drill sharpened, I stopped to rest
under the shade of a large pine tree. I
had placed one end of the drill on the
ground, and was in the act of sitting
down, when I was startled by a strange
noise over my head. X looked up and
saw a cougar just in the act of pounc
ing down on me. His huge mouth
was open and his eyes shone like fire
balls. " Men who lead lives fraught with
danger, in moments of great peril
think rapidly. The thought flashed to
me that I must catch the cougar on
my drill, or be his breakfast. I dropped
on my knees and aimed the drill at
the place where I thought his breast
would come.
" When I recovered enough from the
shock to realize my condition, I found
myself on my back with the carcass of
the monster on top of me. For some
time 1 thought my arms were broken ;
on finding they were not, I managed
to roll him off. I next thought my
legs were broken ; they were numb and
remained that way a long time. No
one part of me was injured more than
the others ; but all parts were nearly
murdered. Instead of penetrating his
breast, the point of the drill had en
entered his mouth, passed down his
throat and came out near his backbone.
It was a long time before I fully re
covered. The drill had only partly
broken his fall, and the monster had
nearly crushed me to death ; but I had
the satisfaction of knowing that I out
generaled him, and spoiled his appetite
for miners. "
After the pioneer concluded, the tour
ist congratulated him on his escape
from a horrible death, and admitted
that a man's life would be lost on such
an occasion, if he had nothing but tar
on his nose to defend himself with,
San Francisco Golden Eagle.
Hash.
makes
Natur never makes any blunders ;
she now and then indulges in phe
nomena, just for the fun ov the thing.
The generality of Amerikans travel
simply to spend their munnj.
A live Yankee iz like a trout, oneasy
in or out ov the water.
Thoze who hunt after human happi
ness, don't bag much game.
Natur iz generous, but she iz also
just, she revenges all her wrongs.
It iz hard work to beat enny organiza
shun who blindly follow a leader, right
or wrong.
Them who are allwuss straining to be
witty seldum am wit is incidental, and
generally is accidental, too.
Keep still, mister, and no one will
ever suspekt that yn are a phool.
Dandys hav pretty mutch run out ; i
hain't seen but one or two in the last
10 years.
I hav sed it before, and think it will
bear repeating, that you kan't make a
whi8sell out ov a pig's tail without
spileing a respektabel tale, and getting
a kusBid poor whissell.
The eazyest things to do are oftenthe
last things attempted.
It iz man's natur to fall, and we
should not be surprized when we see
him do it.
I hav drank whiskee, but I kan't help
but blame the man who made it, reprove
the man who sells it, and despize the
man who drinks it.
I konsider all profeshuns that are
honest honorable enuff, but I hav
thought that a traveling korn dokter
wuz the last one I should adopt for the
sake ov glory.
If a man exceeds me in politeness he
iz a better man than I am for the time
being.
Yu mite az well undertake to outtalk
an echo az to outtalk a woman. Josh
Billings.
Hygiene for the Aged.
In one of his recent clinical lectures
at Guy's Hospital London, Dr. Haber
shon referred to the case of an old man
who died simply from the shock pro
duced by going out into the cold and
fog, which, though only an inconveni
ence to people generally, was sufficient
to lead to a fatal result in one whose
circulation had become enfeebled, and
whose vital force had so early lost its
power. Dr. Jtiabershon also alluded to
an instance oi longevity of which he had
been informed by a gentleman the case
being the latter's mother, who had died
at the age of 102, and who, during the
winter months, used to refuse to get
up, saying that she was warm only in
bed. To this uniform warm tempera
ture the fact of her great age was
doubtless owing, and Dr. Habershon
urges that, in prescribing for old peo
ple, they should be advised to keep
warm ; and, as they cannot eat large
meals, they should take them more fre
quently. There are many of them,
also, who wake up at about 3 or 4
o'clock in tho morning, and it is a good
plan for them to have some nourish
ment then ; otherwise the interval be
tween the night and morning meals is
too long for their declining strength.
The life of the aged may be considera
bly prolonged by care in these mi
nutiae. nmoT-nr-rrr-rrr river farmers are very
joyful over the big prices their tobacco
I crop of this year is bringing.
,OJi THK CAMS.
Hnrrylnn to the city
In the crowded car
Jumping, jolting, dodging,
Backed by many a jar ;
Ijookiug out tbe window.
Seeking aught to pleaae.
Finding duat most plenty.
Finding not your ease.
Olanolag at the papers,
Xakiag In the news,
Some new-wrought sensation
Sure to cure the bluea ;
Talking to your neighbor
Sitting by your aide,
Trying hard to slnraber,;
Dozing whUe you ride.
Over lofty bridges.
Flying tunnels through.
Shooting through the forest
What a great ado I
Running over cattle
Just by way of spioe
Biding on the railway
On, it is so nice !
Whistles a ways blowing
' ml you're deafened near.
Cinders from the smoke-stack
Filling eye and ear ;
Bells forever ringing.
Out of tune and time.
Brakes forever creaking
lent it sublime 7
Daily undergoing
Biding ou the cars
To and from the city
Fills one's life with ars ;
Tet it hath its lesson
With this brief refrain :
I.ife is but the passing
Of a railroad train.
Pith and Point.
Bond-hoddkbs Safes.
Fobgebs Blacksmiths.
To secubb a result, look it up.
A hioh note One of a thousand dol
lars. It is never too
mend.
late to marry or to
Lageb-bythms The songs of German
students.
The material for making game bags
Gunny cloth.
Home stretch The stretch across tho
maternal knee.
A veby. unsatisfactory sort of bread
The roll of fame.
" Cubbant literature " ought to ba
full of tart sayings.
Leigh Hunt was asked by a lady if
he would not venture on an orange.
" Madam," he replied, " I should be
happy to do so, but I am afraid I might
tumble off."
" Mamma, why are orphans the hap
piest children on earth ?" "Why, my
child, they are not. What makes you
think they are ?" " Because they have
no parents to lick 'em. "
" So tot; are taking lessons in draw
ing, Sallie?" "Yes, and the teacher
says I am an apt pupil, as I draw more
inferences, insinuations, admirers, and
allowances than any in the academy."
' What sort of a sermon do you like?"
said Dr. Rush to Robert Morris, one
day. "I like, sir, "replied Mr. Morris,
" that kind of preaching which drives a
man into the corner of the pew, and
makes him think the devil is after him."
"FeliiOw trabelers," said a colored
preacher, " ef I had been eatin' dried
apples for a week, and den took to
drinkin' for a monf, I couldn' feel mo'
swell'd up dan I am dis minit wid pride
an' vanity, at seein' such full 'tendance
har dis evenin'. "
A Pennsylvania sevetf-year-old was
reproved lately for playing out of doors
with boys ; she was too big for that
now. But with all imaginable inno
cence she replied : "Why, grandma, the
bigger we grow the better we like em.
Grandma took time to think.
A little girl was visiting a school
with one of her mates where they sar,
while practicing gymnastics. The cho
rus ran thus :
Be lively, boys, be lively, boyc.
Be lively.
But she, not quite understanding tha
words, took up the tune and sang,
We like the boys, we like the boys,
We like 'em.
AX ALTAR-ATIOV.
When Mike was courting Kitty Mill,
He begged as lovers often will
In accents softly spoken.
That she one lock of golden hair
From her fair head to him would spare
By way of a love token.
Now Mike and Kit are man and wife
Their courting, turned to married strife
And a sad difference makes it ;
Though still attracted by her hair,
He ne'er now begs a lock che'll spare,
But out in handful take it !
Judy,
Mb. CrjRBAN was once engaged in a
legal argument ; behind him stood his
colleague, a gentleman whose person
was remarkably tall and slender, and
who had originally intended to take or
ders. The Judge observed that the case
under discussion involved a case of ec
clesiastical law. " Then." said Carran,
" I can refer your lordship to a high
authority behind me, who was once in
tended for the church, though in my
opinion he was litter for the steeple.
A Ventriloquist's Joke.
There was much excitement, a few
nights ago, on the train bound south
from Charlottesville, Va. In the pal
ace car was a gentleman who had step
ped aboard at Charlottesville with a
child muffled from head to foot with
shawls. Before the train had gone far,
the occupants of the other compart
ments in the car beard a child's cry,
then another. Then came the angry
tones of a man's voice: " You are not
Charlie ; you are Tommy ; and if you
make any more noise I'll throw you out
of the window." "I want to go to
mamma. I am her own little Charlie," '
the child was heard to say. Then
blows were heard, and screams, and a
passenger said, "It is little Charlie
Ross," and a rush was made. The man
was dragged from his compartment,
and the ladies sprang forward and got
their arms about the child. They re
moved the covering from his f aoe, and
found that instead of Charlie Rdss they
bad in their embrace the wooden auto
maton with which the ventriloquist
Wyman is wont to amuse the public.
The practical joker wa Wy aan him
self, who was on his way to Lynchburg.
A Hint or Two.
It is the penny saved more than tha
penny earned that enriches ; it is the
sheet turned when the first threads
break that wears the longest ; it is the
damper closed when the cooking is done
that stops the dollars dropping into the
coal-bin ; it is the gas or lamp turned
low when not in use that gives you pin
money for the month ; it is the care in
making the coffee that makes three
spoonfuls go as far as a teacupful ordi
narily ; it is the walking one or six
blocks instead of taking a car or omni
bus that adds strength to your body
and money to your purse ; it is the care
ful mending of each week's wash that
gives ease to your conscience and length
of days to your garments ; and last of
all, it is the constant care exercised over
every part of your household, and con
stant endeavor to improve and apply
your best powers to your work that
alone give peace and prosperity to tha
family.