w,. P0IUEHED KVf RT FB1D1T BY COLL CLEVK, ALBANY, OREGON. THRO VVW JAPAN. A correspondent of the Boston Tran script, writing of a tour through Japan, says : " We passed through little vil lages with thatch-roofed cottages, cot tages guiltless of such an innovation as chimneysv Looking in through the open-paneled doors, I could see them cooking their rice on little, round stone boxes, called ' hibachi.' The smoke, growing thinner and thinner as it hid in the corners of the airy kitchen, came out imperceptibly through the broad, open doors. Now and then I saw a woman at an old-fashioned spinning wheel, and one or two weaving Japanese cloth. Darkness shut in over the pretty landscape, and our stopping place for the night was yet in the distance. Our jinrikisha men lighted their Japanese lanterns and merrily started off at a rapid rate. A half-hour's travel, by faith rather than sight, and we stopped at a Japanese hotel in Fugisiwa. The hostess met us with many salaams of welcome, and we climbed a steep pair of stairs to our room. It was matted nothing else in it. The sliding doors opened into a little court-yard, where, in the morning, we discovered one or two dwarf trees and a pond with fish in it ; but at night it seemed only an ave nue through which came up to us all inconceivable odors of Japanese cook ing. The next morning the rain was ponring in torrents, a genuine supple ment to the rainy season. After break fast ,we again started on our journey. The rain stopped for a while, but fell in showers through the day. As we rode the country became more pic turesque. "We saw huge trees and trunks of trees with ivy and wild grape vines clambering over them The coun try, if possible, reached off into greener bills and greener valleys than before, a beautiful country, a goodly heritage, no barren spot, everything green and fresh ; but on the acres and acres of pasture land no cattle were feeding, no flocks or herds of any kind. Rice was growing in the valleys, but the hill turf land seemed unused. Everywhere there were fresh mountain springs, and all around us tokens of a rich country but a poor people. Eggs, rice, and fish are the only food for the people. There were half -clothed children making mud pies in the streets of the villages, every where men standing idle. Asking them why, the answer would, doubtless, have been that of the good book of old, ' Be cause no man hath hired us.' " THE ALEXANDRIAN LIARARY. The celebrated library at Alexandria, Egypt the largest in the ancient world was founded by Ptolemy Soter, about 283 B. C. It increased so rapidly that, in the time of its first manager, Deme trius Phalerus, it included 50,000 vol umes or rolls. Under his successors, .Zenodotus, Aristarchus of Byzanteum, -and Appolonius Rhodius, its contents swelled to 700,000 volumes, ac cording toAulus Gallius; to 500, 000, according to Josephus ; and to 400,000 according to Seneca. The library was divided in two parts, situated in different quarters of the city. The larger portion, embracing the collected literature of Borne, Greece, India, and Egypt, was con tained in the Museum, located in the quarter called Brucheium. During the seige of Alexandria by Julius Caesar, about 30 B. C, this part of the hbrary was destroyed by a fire which spread from the snipping to the city. It was afterward replaced by the collection of 200,000 volumes belonging to the King of Pergamos, which Marc Antony gave to Cleopatra, greatly to the disgust of the educated Romans. The other part of the library was kept in the temple of Jupiter Serapis until the time of Theodosius the Great, when all the heathen temples in the Roman Empire were destroyed, and this among the rest. The edifice was demolished in 391 by a moo of Christian fanatics, led by the Archbishop Theophilus, and it is supposed that the books contained in it were, for the most part, involved in the destruction. In 640, Alexandria was taken by the Arabs, under the Caliph Omar, and tne entire library was burned or scattered. As the story goes, when deciding the destiny of the volumes, the Caliph declared : " It these wri ings of the Greeks argues with the Rook of God, they are useless, and need not be preserved ; if they disagree, they are pernicious, and ought to be destroyed." RAPID CURE FOR TAPEWORM. Mjention is made in the Druggist's Circular of the mode of treatment adopted by A. J. Schafish, of Washing ton, in expelling the tapeworm. He employed no preliminary provisions be yond forbidding the patient to take any breakfast the day on which it was in tended to remove the worm and giving Mm a large dose of Rochelle salts the preceding night. At 10 o'clock in the morning he had the following at one dose : Recipe bark of pomegranate root, one -half ounce ; pumpkin seed, one-half drachm ; ethereal extract of male fern, one drachm ; powdered er- j. o liolf r)nuhm : nowdered cnim jUb KJXiu n ' ' jr o Arabic, two drachms ; ccoton oil, two drops. The pomegranate bark and - a 3 1 3 pumpkin seed were tnorouguiy oruisea, and, with the ergot boiled eight ounces fvr fiftAAn minutes, thenstrain- Ul WOWi ' . rvmrse cloth. The croton cu oil was first well rubbed up with the acacia and extract of male fern and then formed into an emulsion with tne ae .17, t o0l.h nnaA the worm was VUUWUJU. M - - expelled alive and entire within two hours. No unpleasant effects followed. In each case the worm was passed with the head firmly fastened to the side of its body at about the widest part, from which it -was -with difficulty removed ; and the worm was twisted and doubled into various knots. THE ADVENT OF HORSES. In Cassell'sBookof the Racesof Man kind, the following account is given of the introduction of horses among the In dians of North America : ' The horses possessed by the prairie tribes are de scended from those originally intro duced by the Spaniards into America. The tribes on the Pacific slope of the Rocky Mountains obtained horses at a still later period. The old Cyuse chief, who had a few years ago upward of 3,000 horses (it is said), told me he re members an old man who recollected the first horse which was brought to his tribe. An Indian of an inquiring turn j of mind had gone far to the south, and j after a long absence returned with an extraordinary animal, which he was I afraid to mount, and had accordingly j led all the way. It was a horse. He had obtained it from some of the south- ern tribes probably the Shoshones, or some of the New Mexican tribes, and ; for a long time it was led out at high feasts and festivals, no one venturing to ' get on its back. At last a daring youth essayed the task, and, after having himself carefully bound on its back, trotted off, to the consternation of the female members of his family and the admiration of the rest of the village. No mishap came to him, and soon his feat was no nine days' wonder. Other youths mounted, and by-and-by they also went south and got horses until they became quite common, and the Cyuse are now some of the best horse men among the Indians, and until they went to war with the United States, and lost the greater portion of their stock, were exceedingly rich in horseflesh ; yet they did not care to sell any, though in times of scarcity they would live upon them. " ORIGIN OF SURNAMES. For a long time persons had but one name each, but as mankind multi plied it was found convenient to add another name, for the sake of more readily and certainly distinguishing one person from another of the same name. For some time the general family name was added to the first name. Thus David was called David the son of Jesse. In Greece and Rome the father's name was often subjoined. In England also, our forefathers often added the family name, but in so doing they added the word son at the end, and not at the be ginning of the father's name. Thus, John Williamson meant John, the son of William ; Thomas Jackson meant Thomas, the son of Jack ; and James Harrison meant James, the son of Har ry. The Welsh people very often add a second name by the repetition of the first ; thus, Thomas Thomas, William Williams ; and sometimes they use an other Christian name, which originally was probably the paternal name of the family. Thus, Charles Williams was probably at its first use Charles, the son of William. Sometimes a second name was given to a man from his trade, as John Baker, William Butcher. Some times names were taken from places, towns and countries, as John France, William England, Thomas Carlyle, Ralph Bolton. Sometimes names were wickedly and contemptuously applied to persons, and were fastened upon them and their children forever ; thus, Crookshanks and Sheepshanks, liut the sources of surnames are almost end less. .Nature, arts, trades, colors, bodily peculiarities, remarkable facts, places and circumstances have all fur nished them. THE " WHAT-HO-YE-C ALL-IT IN FEMININE TO G GEM Y. The gentler sex is just now in an agony of distress about a new garment j which hrs come into use. Exactly what the garment is we will let Mrs. Swisshekn tell. She says in a note to the Woman's Journal: Your correspondents are having trouble about a name for a new gar ment. For two years, except in hot weather, when I wanted as little cover ing as possible on the shoulders or arms, I have worn the article they wish to designate. Like old King George with the apple in the dumpling, every one who has seen it has asked : " How do you get in ?" The frequency of the question named it for me, and I call it a "getin.". I do not get into it without difficulty, and once in am covered from the wrists to the neck and ankles, and have no useless drapery. Then, with a drilling waist, cut somewhat like cor sets and furnished with broad straps resting just where a man's suspenders rest, and divided in front as they are, a bit of tape on each side at the lower edge, to which I attach rubber stocking suspenders, which tie with tapes to loops on the stockings, I am ready for skirts, which I pin to the waist, prefer ring pins to buttons. The trouble with this "what-is-it " is that the gentler sex do not know what to call it. Some are in favor of " chemiloon," some of plain "chem," some of " chemlin," and, as will be seen above, Mrs. S. calls it the "getin." Why not call it the "Swisshelm?" Chicago Tribune. Spiced Plums.--Take eight pounds of plums, three pounds of nice sugar, one pint of vinegar, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of cinnamon. The spices should be ground fine. Prick the plums with a large needle and put in a jar. Sprinkle over the spice. Heat the sugar and vinegar and p jur over the plums. Repeat this three mornings. On the fourth day pour all into a porcelain-lined kettle and boil about twenty minutes SHALL AND WILL. Richard Grant White, writing in the Galaxy, says : "As to shall and will, something may doubtless be done by study and by taking thought to check bad habits and correct the result of un fortunate associations. The mistake most commonly made in the use of these words, and the one therefore most carefully to be avoided, is the use of will for shall, and of the correspond ing would for should. Shall is much less often used for will. And yet in the word shilly-shally, which is upon every body's lip, is petrified the rule and the example in regard to shall and will. Shilly-shally is merely a colloquial cor ruption of Shall-I ?' and thus expresses the condition of a man who is vacillat ing between two courses of conduct. It has been made into participle, per haps even into a verb. ' A man who stands shilly-shallying about a woman,' as the ladies say, doesn't know his own mind about her a mental condition for which the sex has not the highest re spect. Now, no one would say that a man stood asking himself, 'Will I? Will I ?' and yet such is essentially the mistake most frequently made in regard to the use of these words in conversa tion. We hear people say, ' What will I do ?' and even Will I do thus or so ?' Among people of the Anglo-Saxon race and of average education the mistake, when made, most commonly takes the indicative form, thus : ' I will go to bed elegantly, retire) at ten o'clock to night,' or ' We will breakfast at eight to-morrow ;' instead of I shall go to bed,' etc., 'We shall breakfast,' etc." GEN VINE HEROISM. The true heroism of Jim Bludsoe, en gineer of that historical wreck, the " Prairie Belle," in " holding her nozzle agin the bank till the last galoot's ashore," was nobly imitated a day or two since by an engineer and fireman on the Marietta and Cincinnati railroad. Their train, bound eastward, had to cross a bridge, one span of which crossed a creek and the other a road way. The train was moving slowly as it neared the bridge, its speed not ex ceeding twelve miles an hour. When too near to be of service, the engineer ob served that a switch had been displaced, and that the engine must of necessity run into the bridge. Both he and the fireman might have saved their lives by jumping from the locomotive, but the result would have been fatal to the pas sengers. They bravely refrained, re versed the engine, and applied the pat ent air-brake. It was too late for them. The engine dashed through the wood work and landed in the roadway below. The tender followed, crushing the two brave fellows against the boiler ; a postal-car behind fell upon the tender, resting one end upon the abutment of the bridge, and checked the motion of the train. The sleeping-passengers in the palace-cars were not even awakened by the catastrophe. Only the train hands discovered the heroic sacrifice which Perdew and Parent, of Chilli cothe, had made. Two charred and shattered corpses were found in the wreck of the engine, all that remained of these two " men who died for men." Chicago Tribune. THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY. The royal family of Great Britain is a flourishing colony. The birth of a son to the Duke and Duchess of Edin burgh increases the number of Queen Victoria's grandchildren to twenty-six, and of this large family twenty-three are still living. The Queen's eldest child, the Princess Royal Victoria, wife of the Crown Prince of Germany, has had four sons and four daughters, of which number one son has died. The Queen's second child, the Prince of Wales, married to the Princess Alex andra of Denmark, has had three sons and three daughters, one son being dead. The Queen's third child, the Princess Alice, wife of the Prince Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, has had two sons and five daughters, one son being dead. Next comes the Queen's fourth child, the Duke of Edinburgh, married to the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, with one soh, born a few days ago. Finally, the Queen's fifth child, the Princess Helena, wife of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, has had two sons and two daughters, all of whom are liv ing. The Princess Louise, the Queen's sixth child, wife of the Marquis of Lome, is not yet the head of a family. The other three children of the Queen, the Duke of Connaught, Prince Leo pold, and the Princess Beatrice, are unmarried. Altogether, Queen Victoria has thirty-two children and grand children living, which constitutes a very respectable family, even for a Queen. PRESENCE OF MIND. Prof. Wilder, of Cornell University, gives these short rules for action in esse of accident: "For dust in the eyes, avoid rubbing, dash water into them ; remove cinders, etc., witn the round point of a lead pencil. Remove insects from the ear by tepid water ; never put a hard instrument into the ear. If an artery is cut, compress above the wound ; if a vein is cut, com press below. If choked, get upon all fours, and cough. For light burns, dip the part in cold water ; if the tkin is de stroyed, cover with varnish. Smother a fire with carpets, etc. ; water will of ten spread burning oil, and increase the danger. Before passing through smoke, take a full breath, and then stoop low, but if carbon is suspected, walk erect. Suck poison wounds, un less your mouth is sore. Enlarge the wound, or, better, cut out the part without delay. Hold the wounded part as long as can be borne to a hot coal or end of a cigar. In case of poisoning, excite vomiting by tickling the throat, or by water and mustard. For acid poisons, give acids ; in case of opium poisoning, give strong coffee and keep moving. If in water, float on the back, with the nose and mouth projecting. For apoplexy, raise the head and body ; for fainting, lay the person flat." DOES PROHIBITION ENCOURAGE DRUNKENNESS ? According to the Chicago Tribune, which cites figures to sustain its opin ion, it 'does. Says the Tribune: Figures won't lie, and, as they won't, figures make a very startling exhibit with ref erence to the irorking of temperance legislation. Maine, for instance, has a law forbidding the sale and manufac ture of liquor. This law has been in force twenty-three years. In that time Portland has increased in population less than fifty per cent., while the num ber of places where drunkards are made has increased over two hundred per cent. Bangor, with 15,000 inhabitants, has 300 saloons, so that every fifty of the inhabitants have a saloon to them selves. Massachusets has a prohibitory liquor law. In 1856 the namber of per sons arrested in Boston for drunken ness was 6,780, and in 1870 the number was 18,670.. In his official report for 1871 the Chief of Police shows the num ber of men made drunk during the year as follows : Number of hotels, 76 ; drunken men 57 Number of grocerieB, 1,425; d. uuken men.. 1,425 Number of bar-rooms, 1.125 : drunken men . . 6,425 Number of jug-rooms, 327 ; drunktn men. . . 3,511 Total 11,418 As compared with other cities, the New York &un says of Boston, that while it has an average of one arrest for drunkenness in every sixteen of her inhabitants, Providence has one in twenty-two ; New York has one in twenty-seven ; San Francisco has one in twenty-nine ; Rochester has one in thirty -one ; Washington has one in thirty-two ; Detroit has one in thirty four ; St. Louis has one in forty-two ; Brooklyn has one in sixty-four ; Cin cinnati has one in eighty-three. If it were the habit of temperance reformers to stop and think at all, such facts and figures as these ought to convince them of the folly of any prohibitory legisla tion in the matter of what a man shall drink ; and that, instead of advancing the cause of temperance, they are really advancing the cause of intemperance. FAITHFULNESS OF A DO G. By no animal has the sentiment of affection been so remarkably evinced as as by the dog. A poor boy was fatally injured, and carried to a hospital. His little dog followed him thither, and be ing prevented from entering it, lay down at the gate, watching with wistful eyes every one that went in, as if im ploring admittance. Though constantly repulsed by the attendants, he never left the spot by day or night, and died at his post even before his master. The dog of the French soldier follows himto the camp, often accompanies him into action, and has been found at his side when wounded or dying on the field of battle. A private was con demned to be shot, and his execution ers were ready to fire upon him. Just as the bandage was about being placed over his eyes his dog flew into his arms and began to lick his face. This touch ing incident for a few moments arrested the proceedings ; but after a short delay his comrades, with tears in their eyes, gave the fatal volley, and the two friends expired together. A youthful conscript, desperately wounded in battle, was conveyed indis criminately, with hundreds of others, to a hospital. In the course of a few days a little dog made his appearance, and, searching amidst the dying and the dead, discovered at length his expiring master, and was found licking his hands. After his death a comrade took charge of the faithful animal, but no kindness could console him. He re fused all food, pined away, and died. Many examples are on record of a similar devoted attachment, ending only with life ; and although they af ford no evidence of special intelligence, they do of a sentiment of the same na ture as that which may exist in our selves, and which is rarely exibited of greater intensity. Philosophy of Nat ural History. AN EXPENSIVE FAIR OF VASES. A gentleman well known in Boston, accompanied by a clerical friend, visited Niagara once upon a time, and was moved to cross the bridge and enter Canada. While returning, attention was called by a peddler to a pair of vases costing $12, and the gentleman, against the advice of the clergyman, made the purchase. Soon the two friends were stopped by one of Uncle Sam's Custom-House officers, and a duty was demanded. Greenbacks were proffered but refused, and the gold was only procured by the payment of $7 in bills. The cost of the vases thus f arwas $19, and the chagrin of the purchaser on reaching Niagara may be imagined on his finding that precisely similar ones could be purchased there for $6 a pair. But, having been bought, the next thing was to express the expensive articles to Boston, at the owner's risk and at a cost of $2. To cap the climax, the gentleman, on reaching borne, opened the package only to find the vases were broken in pieces, and his time, trouble, and $21 wasted in the using. He does not propose to purchase any more Candian vases. JiostonTrav- eller. The progress of Catholicity in Great Britain during the last hundred years has been marvelous. In 1765 there were but 60,006 Catholics in the island of England and Scotland. In 1845 they numbered 3,380,000, and the increase since has been rapid and surprising. There are in England to-day, according to authentic statistics, 1,453 Catholic churches, and 1,893 priests. Thirty three members of the House of Lords are Catholics ; and thirty-seven Bit in the Commons, while six are in the Queen's PrivyCounciL PARIS TRADE WITH THE UNITED STATES. The Consul-General of the United States at Paris will shortly publish a statistical abstract of the export trade of Paris with the United States for the year ending 30th September 1874. Pending the appearance of this docu ment, it may be useful to recall to our recollection some of the leading feat ures of the report for the year com mencing September, 1872, and finishing September, 1873. During that year the exports from Paris, compiled on the basis of the customary declarations made by exports, amounted to $36,000-, 000. The exports from Germany to the United States during the same period did not exceed $37,000,000. It will be observed that the trade of Paris is therefore on a par with that of the en tire German Empire, with the United States. If we analyze the Consul-General's statement, we find that $19,000-, 000 out of the $36,000,000, or more than half, consisted in nouveautcs, or ladies' dresses. Silks figured in the statistical reports for about $2,000,000 ; and fancy goods, jewelry, hats, but tons, cloth, etc., made up the balance. What have been the exploits of the American fair sex in 1874 is not easy to divine ; but we think we may safely as sume that the contributions they have levied on the sterner sex, and expended in Paris, will bear favorable compari son, as regards amount, with preced ing years. The average value of the trade between Paris and the United States, inclusive of sums expended by American visitors to Paris, may be roughly estimated at $75,000,000 per annum. TRAVELING ON FOOT. Nothing to me is more pleasant than traveling on foot. We are free and joyous. No breaking down of wheels, no contingencies attendant on carriages. We set out ; stop when it suits us ; breakfast at a farm or under a tree ; walk on, and dream while walking for traveling cradles reverie, reverie veils fatigue, and the beauty of the country hides the length of the road. We are not traveling we wander. Then we stop under the shade of a tree, by the side of a little rivulet, whose rippling waters harmonize with the songs of the birds that load the branches over our heads. I saw with compassion a dili gence pass before me, enveloped in dust, and containing tired, screwed-up and fatigued passengers. Strange, that those poor creatures, who are often per sons of mind, should willingly consent to be shut up in a place where the har mony of the country Bounds only in noise, the sun appears to them in clouds, and the roads in whirlwinds of dust. They are not aware of the flow ers that are found in thickets, of the pearls that are picked up among peb bles, of the houris that the fertile im agination discovers in landscape musa pedestris. Everything comes to the foot passenger. Adventures are every day passing before his eyes. Victor Hugo. WOULDNT MARRY TWO. A Utah teamster s ays : "I neve tried to get married but once, and tha was a Mormon gal up here to Logan. She was just about the slickest little critter ever you saw. Fust time I came across her was where her folks and I camped out right about here. I followed on her trail pretty close six months, and thought Iwas going to trap her sure. She wanted me to be a Mor mon. I wasn't per tickler about that. for I didn't like to jine any church. I never did belong to any church nor an engine company in the States. Howev er, I told her finally, as she crowded me, that I'd swallow Brigham, taberna cle and all, for the love of her. Se we got things about fixed, and if she hadn't gone too far I might have been bishop by this time. But she had an old maid sister, and she wanted me to marry that Susan Jane, too that darned, dried-up old Susan Jane! 'Emmy,' says I, I can't and I won't.' So I sot my foot down, and there's where we split. You see, the old man was kind of sickly, and just as sure as I'd agree to take Susan Jane, when he died, I would have had to marry the old woman, too. I haven't hunted after a wife since." WHERE FIGS ARE RAISED IN THIS COUNTRY. There are some twenty-five varieties of the fig known to the Southern States, of different sizes, and in color white, green, purple, brown and black ; all of which doubtless originated from the seeds and cuttings of foreign varieties imported from France, Spam or Italy. They have gradually becomeacclimated in the State of Tennessee, and Northern Alabama, and the hardier kinds have been grown successfully as far north as St. Louis, Mo., and Chillicothe, Ohio a Mr. Worthington, of the latter town, having been successful in growing and marketing them in that place. Indeed, in that northern latitude it is necessary to provide a winter protection for them, which is generally done by cutting the roots entirely off on one side and bending the tree over and covering with earth. When all danger of freez ing is past, the tree is righted to its original position, and firmly secured to a stout state. In Louisiana and the neighboring States all the hardier varieties will suc ceed without any protection. WATERPROOF DRESSING FOR LEATHER. The Boston Laboratory gives as a waterproof dressing for boots, shoes and leather the following : Lard oil, 100 parts ; paraffine, 50 parts ; beeswax, 5 parts. Gently warm the oil and in it dissolve the paraffine and wax. If too hard add a little less wax. Any dis agreeable smell may be removed by a few drops of the oil of sassafras. The wax prevents the crystalization of the paraffine, and the oil causes the whole to become a paste of the consistency of tallow. The dressing fills the pores of the leather, does not dry, and keeps the leather soft and pliable. Boots and shoes to which the dressing is applied may be polished, using ordinary black ing, which is not the case with most dressing containing oil or grease. THOUGHTS FROM THE m i i -i .i TALMUD. xne oiaer tne wise man srets the wiser he grows ; the fool, when he ages, becomes but an old fool. He who studies for a good purpose, to him his study becomes a blessing ; to him who does not, it grows into a poison. A bad wife is like a hail-storm. Do not dwell too long on your friend's praises ; you will end in saying things against him. Do much or little, so that you do it for a good purpose. Refined music is liked by refined people ; weavers do not much care for it. Three cry out, but get no pity, viz. : He who lends out his money without witnesses, the henpecked husband, and he who cannot get into one place and does not try another One goose generally follows another. Bad servants first ask only when they have committed a blunder. The load is laid upon the camel according to its strength. If a word is wor'h a pound silence is worth two. A pig is the rich, est animal ; everything is a piece of goods to him. Whoever does too much does too little. The greater a man, the greater his passions. He who presses the hour, the hour will press him. May our future reward be like that of him who remains silent under a false impu tation. One pepper-corn is better than a hundred gourds. A learned man whose deeds are evil is like a man who has a door and no house. He who prays for his neighbor will be heard first for himself. He who marries his daughter to an uneducated man throws her before a wild beast. He who throws out suspicions should at once be suspected himself. Three keep good fellowship strangers, slaves, and ravens. A fool always rushes to the fore. Do not cry out before the calam ity has really happened. If a man says something strange, beware to mock at it wantonly. Passion is at first like a thin reed ; by and by it becomes like a cable. Jewish Messenger. COMPULSORY EDUCATION. The State of New York is about to try a new and important experiment, that of compulsory education. The law, which goes into effect on the 1st of January next, requires every person having the control or charge of any child between the ages of 8 and 14 years to see that such child has four teen weeks' schooling each year, eight weeks of which must be consecutive. The penalty for not doing this is one dollar for the first oflense and five dol lars for each week of neglect afterward, up to thirteen weeks in any one year ; making a total of penalties per year, in each case, $66. The money thus col lected is to be added to the school fund of the school district in which the offenses occurred. If a child does not attend school as the law prescribes,' he is to be deemed an habitual truant, taken charge of by the school authori ties, and sent to a truant school. It is also provided that no person or com pany is allowed to employ any child tween the ages of eight and fourteen years in any business whatever during the school hours of any school day in the public school in the city or district where such child is, unless such child has had in the year immediately pre ceding Buch employment fourteen weeks' schooling ; and at the time of employing such child the employer must receive from the child a certificate of the teacher1 or school trustee certify ing to such schooling. The duty of en forcing this law is imposed upon the trustees of school districts and public schools, and Presidents of union school districts ; or, in case there are no such officers, upon such officers as the Board of Education of the city or town may designate. The Revised Statutes make the neglect of this duty a misde meanor, punishable by a line of not more than $250 for each offense. ICELAND TO BE ABANDONED. A new emigration to the United States is in a fair way to be accom plished, which will tend to develop the resources of Alaska as well as fur nish a considerable increase of hardy toilers to our national population. A committee of three persons, chosen by the people of Iceland, is now in this country looking for a habitation for the entire population of that ancient island. A war vessel has been promised these avant coureurs for the purpose of in specting the coast of Alaska. They claim that by reason of climatic changes their native home is no longer suitable for a residence ; that it has become too barren to offer the usual opportunities of deriving a comfortable living, and that starvation is prevented only by se curing from other lands the bare nec essaries of life. Alaska, they feel as sured, is sufficiently cool. It is prefer red to Canada, where a strong influence is now endeavoring to attract them. They promise to work the fisheries, supply the Pacific States with lumber, build ships as in former times at home raise cattle and other commodities, and lastly, furnish through their children, a body of sailors for the Pacific coast trade. They are poor, but determined, and wish, if the government will give the necessary assistance, to inaugurate the emigration at once. During a recent freshet in Connecti cut, one editor telegraphed to another at the scene of action : " Send me full par ticulars of the flood." The answer came, " You'll find them in Genesis." As every thread of gold ia valuable, so is every minute of time. NATURES BAROMETERS. Certain movements on the part of the animal creation, before a change of weather, appeared to indicate a reason ing faculty. Such seems to be the case with the common garden spider, which, on the approach of rainy or windy weather, will be found to shorten and strengthen the supporting guys of his web, lengthening the same when the storm is over. There is a popular su perstition in England that it is unlucky j for an angler to meet a single magpie ; but two of the birds together are a good i omen. The reason is that the birds I foretell the coming of cold or stormy weather ; and then, instead of their j searching for food for their young in i pairs, one will always remain on the j nest. Sea gulls predict storms by as sembling on the land, as they know that the rain will bring earth-worms and j larvae to the surface. This, however, ! is merely a search for food, and is due to the same instinct which teaches the ! swallow to fly high in fine weather, and skim along the ground when foul is coming. They simply follow the Hies and gnats which remain in the warm strata of the air. The different tribes of wad ing birds always migrate before rain, likewise to hunt for food. Many birds foretell rain by warning cries and un easy actions ; and swine will carry hay and straw to hiding places, oxen will lick themselves the wrong tray of the hair, sheep will bleat and skip about, hogs turned out in the woods will come home grunting and squealing, colts will rub their backs against the ground, crows will gather in crowds, crickets will sing more loudly, flies come into the house, frogs croak and change color to a dingier hue, dogs eat grass, and rooks soar like hawks. It is probable that many of these actions, are due to actual uneasiness, similar to that which all who are troubled with coins or rheumatism experience before a storm, and are caused both by the variation in barometric pressure and the changes in the electrical condition of the atmos phere. HUMAN GROWTH. It haB been ascertained that m man the most rapid growth takes place im mediately after birth, the growth of an infant during the first year of its ex istence being about eight inches. This ratio of increase gradually decreases until the age of three years is reached, at which time the size attained is half that which it is to become when full grown. After five years the succeeding increase is very regular until the six teenth year, being at the rate for the average man of two inches a year. Be yond sixteen the growth is feeble, being for the following two years about six tenths of an inch a year ; while from eighteen to twenty the increase in height is seldom over one inch. At the age of twenty-five the growth ceases, save in a few exceptional cases. It has furthermore been observed that, in the same race, the mean size is a little larger in cities than in the country, a fact that will be received with doubt by many who have come to regard the rustic as the true model man. A DISCOMFITED DEAD-HEAD. An editor, being importuned for the ater tickets by a well known dead-head, at last gave him the following letter to the business manager of one of the principal theaters : " My Dear Friend : I send to you a lunatic who has tor mented me two hours for tickets ; but beware of him, for he is very dangerous. His family usually keep him in charge of a faithful attendant, but to-day he j has managed to escape. I think he is j armed. Yours, etc." The unsuspecting D. H. presented this note at the thea ter, and was astonished to find the manager brandish a chair, order him to be off, and roar for the firemen to bring the hose and give him a duck ing. The victim went down stairs four steps at a time, and has ever since been profoundly amazed at the reception he met with. . INDIANA MAJORITIES. The following are the majorities in Indiana from 18G0 to 1874, inclusive : liev. I860 6,053 1K62 1864 0,883 1866 14,202 1868 961 1868 9,72PrH. 1870 1872 1872 21.092 Pres. Dim. 2,.fiK 1.337 1874 15.000 The following is the way the delega tions stand in the Congresses, from the Thirty-sixth to the Forty-fourth, in clusive : Thirty-sixth 8 Thirty-seventh 7 Thirty-eighth 4 1 hirty-uinth 8 Fortieth 8 Forty-flrst 7 Forty-second 6 i Forty-third 9 Forty-fourth 5 Prof. Webster told, at the late meet ing of the American Association, the story of a party that divided in the Great Dismal Swamp ; one portion of the party was lost, and, after long wandering, found their way out by a singular ex pedient. They made use of the insect for which fine-tooth combs were invent ed. Putting the insect on a flat piece of wood, and leaving it to its own de vices, it invariably began to move in a certain direction. This direction was followed out by the party, and they were thus led out to the northward. It ia supposed that this instinctive movement of the insect is due to its seeking the way toward the greatest light. Do you want an infallible protector against burglars, thieves and other noc turnal marauders ? If so, send ten sub scribers to The Chicago Ijedgeb, ac companied by the cash ($i&), and you will receive in return an elegant nickel plated Remington revolver and 100 cartridges. This weapon is warranted to kill at 100 yards. I