PUBUBBTD EVERY TRITiAT BY
COLL- "VZSI CLEVE.
ALBANY,
OEEtrTSff.
A CARNIVAL OF GHOSTS.
The millions of Spiritualists in the
United States find their Mecca, just
now, in a little farm-house which lies
seven miles north of Rutland, Vt. It
is the home of Wm. H. and Horatio G.
Eddy, and it is haunted by hundreds of
ghosts. Col. Henry S. Olcott has been
investigating the phenomena for the
New York Sun and the Graphic. His
series of letters in the latter paper have
Deen profusely illustrated. The Cbi-1
cago Tribune condenses from both
sources an account, apparently au
thentic, of the Eddy brothers and their
doings! They were, it seems, tormented
by spirits from their birth. Their
fattier, a prosaic farmer, first essayed to
cast out the devils by beating and starv
ing the victims. When this failed, he
used his children's spiritualistic gifts
to make money. They gave exhibitions.
He superintended the show and pocketed
the proceeds. The boys and their
sister (now dead) were mobbed, stoned,
beaten, burnt and shot. They were
twisted into agonizing positions, and
tied there for hours, while the mani
festations went on. When they came
home, they would gladly have relin
quished their inconvenient powers, but
they could not. It is noteworthy, by
the way, that these powers were in
herited. Mrs. Eddy, the mother of the
boys, was a clairvoyant. Her mother
had the same faculties. Her great
grandmother was sentenced to death
for witchcraft in 1694, but was rescued
from Salem jail by friends, and
secretly sent to Scotland. The children
could not go to school, for they were
accompanied thither by rappings that
drove the other scholars wild with fear.
They have consequently had little edu
cation. They are, and always have
been, unpopular. They are shy, gruff,
sensitive men. Their reputation for
integrity is 'good, but the neighbors
think they are in league with the deviL
With this preface about themselves, we
pass to what they, or the spirits around
them, have done. There have been
thousands of manifestations. Very
many have consisted only of feats of
clairvoyance, moving furniture, and
rapping out communications. Two
great classes of facts remain the float
ing in air of human bodies and the ma
terialization of spirit forms. Horatio
Eddy, when he was in his seventh year,
was one night carried three miles
through the air to a neighboring moun
tain-top, and left to get home as he
could. Col. Olcott gives no authority
for this story, which may be founded
on a mere case of sleep-walking, but he
quotes the testimony of two out of three
eve-witnesses to the fact that another
brother, now dead, was carried out of a
window and over the house. There are
hundreds of instances to be given under
the second grand division the ma
terialization of spirits. The ghosts of
known and unknown persons have ap- )
peared in the house and in the neigh
borhood, in darkness and in light.
People have talked with them and have
felt them. They have been distinctly
seen. CoL Olcott weighed the spirit
of an Indian girl, Honta, twice. She
stood on a Fairbanks scale and weighed
88 pounds the first time and 65 the next.
He turned the full force of a battery
upon her without producing any appar
ent effect. Nearly all the phenomena
attending the appearances of " Katie
King" in London and in Philadelphia
have been repeated in or around the
Eddy homestead. Very many persona
have witnessed them.
Since Col. Olcott began his investi-'
gation he has received innumerable
letters from all over the country asking
him to procure information on different
points from the spirits. Most of the
letters, it is heedless to add, are very
silly. They serve to show, neverthe
less, how wide spread public interest in
this subject is. Is Spiritualism a cheat,
or is it true ? There are many, many
people who would give a good deal to
have that question definitely decided.
WEARING SIXTY FINGER-RINGS
DAILY.
Among the Romans plain rings were
worn originally on either hand at option,
but when gems and precious stones
were added they were worn by prefer
ence on the left, and it was considered
extremely effeminate to wear them on
the right hand. At first one ring was
worn, then one on each finger, and last
ly one on each joint. Charinus, accord
ing to Martial, wore sixty rings daily,
or six on each finger, and did not take
them off, but slept in them. This was
an extreme case, but rings were of ten
worn on every finger, and also on the
thumbs. In Germany rings were fre
quently worn upon the joints, as was
the Roman custom. The wife of Sir
Humphrey Stafford (1450) is sculptured
in the Broomsgrove Church, Worcester,
with a ring on every finger but the last
one on the right hand. Massive' thumb
rings were supposed to tell of. wealth
and importance, and Falstaff declared
that when young "he could have crept
into an alderman's thumb-ring.
A Liverpool invention is the substi
tution of oil or glycerine for steam as
power for engines. These substances be
ing placed m small cylinders and heat
ed, the expansion produced is found to
be 10,000 pounds per square inch, with
out the danger of explosion. Even if
an explosion occurs, it is claimed, there
will be none of the danger attendant
upon steam explosions, as the cylinder
would only crack, and not hurl every
thing endwise after the manner of
steam. This process has been applied
to printing presses and puucljang ..and
riveting machines with perfect success.
WHO ARK THE MENN0N1 TES
This question derives interest from
the fact that a large number of persons
so-called are settling in this country,
not in a casual and hap-hazard way, but
with system and organization a large
colony, for example, having just pur
chased a tract of land of nearly two
hundred thousand acres in and around
Marion county, in Kansas, and an-s-
nouncing themselves as the forerunners
of many more.
The Mennonites are the followers of
the doctrines propounded by a remarka
ble man, who shared in the awakening
of mind of the sixteenth century. His
birth is variously placed in 1496 and
1505 ; but of his being a priest of the
cimrwh, and not very good at that, there
is no, doubt. The reading of the New
Testament, the history declares, pro
duced a change of view and of charac
ter, his meekness, purity and gentleness
becoming very conspicuous. It was
common in those days to call all radical
reformers Anabaptists, that name being
familiar, and rather ill-omened ; and
Menno (Simonis was his second name)
was so classed. But he did not hold
or
teach the extreme views ascribed to
the Anabaptists, who denounced war,
magistracy, oaths and science, and are
charged by their enemies with violence
in attempting to carry out their ideas,
and set up a visible millennial " king
dom of God" at Munster. It must be
borne in mind, however, that all ac
counts of a sect that come from its ene
mies have to be largely discounted.
Whatever be the truth regarding the
Anabaptists, it is admitted that Menno
did not go to extremes ; that he com
mended his canso to the judicious and
moderate, who desired Scripture-teaching
for all men, and free Christian in
stitutions ; that he was extremely ac
tive in spreading his views in Holland
and Germany, especially along the
shores of the Baltic, and accordingly
was much persecuted, finding protec
tion at length in Holstein, and availing
himself there of that great missionary
agency the printing-press. He died
there in 1561, leaving a work (published
in 1739), known as the Fundamentbuch,
expository of his doctrines.
WRITING ANOTHER MAM'S LOVE
LETTERS.
There resided in the lower portion of
Rondout, not long since, a swain whose
sweetheart dwelt in a distant place, and
in communicating with her her lover
was compelled to call in the aid of
a third person, as his early education
was defective, perhaps from too fre
quent indulgence in "playing hookey."
To guard against any temptation for die
scribe's falling in love with his sweet
heart, the young fellow settled upon a
married man to perform the duties
thereof, and so for a time things worked
most harmoniously. The scribe had
been there himself , and profiting by his
experience, he penned such deliciously
gushing letters to Mary Ann in the
name of George, of course that the
little maid soon surrendered the citadel
of her heart to George, and promised in
due time to surrender her hand also.
Now, time in its flight caused the swain
to move to a neighboring river town to
pursue his calling; but it was necessary to
keep up the correspondence with Mary
Ann in the same handwriting, as George
got a friend in his new home to write
the tender messages and mail them to
the scribe in this city to copy and post.
The plan succeeded admirably for a
time, but on one ill-fated day the scribe,
after inditing a most loving epistle to
Mary Ann, ending, of course, with a
prayer for a reply by return mail, in a
fit of abstraction signed his own instead
of George's name. The return was a
female, and no less a one than Mary
Arm's own mother, who searched out
the scribe, and laying his last tender
effusion to her daughter before his as
tonished eyes asked him in such tones
as only an outraged mother can com
mand, how dared he, a married man,
with a family, write such a letter to her
innocent lamb of a daughter. Then
that scribe had to rise and explain how
he had been engaged in an amicable
fraud, and the words must not be taken
as an expression of bis own sentiments
oh, no 1 by no means but those of
George. His explanations, however,
fully satisfied the matron, and all' is
again serene.
PREVENTION
USING
OF MISTAKES
IN
MEDICINES.
The many deaths that occur through
the lack of a proper system in the i apoth
ecary business demand a speedy reform.
There will be plenty of ignorant and
careless people among the sick or their
friends, who, without some better warn
ing than they have at present, will mis
take one drug for another. They have
a stricter system as to this matter in
German j, and one still more strict in
Sweden. In those countries, the pois
onous medicines are locked up by them
selves in a special closet. We cannot
see why this should . not be done here.
If morphia or any two' or three danger
ous substances are too much used that
they must be handy, le each have its
own place and package, so as not to be
mistaken for anything else. Some have
suggested triangular, vials for poison, so
that nurses and patients, as well as
clerks, may know the danger by tho
touch;, and the suggestion is a good
one. Bmt best of alh .we think, is the
plan of having every proprietor or chief
clerk of a drug store make out a com
plete list of ' poisons that he sells, and
place it in a conspicuous position on his
prescription counter, and compel every
clerk who waits on customers io learn
the list by heart. The list must, of
course, include the dose within Which
safety lies. If druggists performed
their duties properly, there would be
no need for protective legislation.
iSoietitiflc American. ' .
'OuBsat'home The baby.
THE CAPTURE OF NENA SAHIB.
The announcement by dispatches
from Hindostau of the capture of Nena
Sahib carries the mind of the mature
reader back at once to the terrible Se
poy rebellion in British India, seven
teen years ago, and the shocking details
of massacre, murder, torture and out
rage worse than death which' accom
panied that insurrection. In that ter
rible history Nena Sahib was the fore
most figure, and the most devilish of
the diabolical tortures visited upon the
English captives were of his invention.
His escape and continued hiding for
sixteen years after his last forceB were
defeated and disbanded, is an illustra
tion of his craft and cunning. His cap
ture now ought to be followed by speedy
trial, conviction and condign punish
ment ; for, if ever there lived on earth a
treacherous and malignant monster,
prodigal in cruelty and apparently
utterly devoid of mercy or feeling, Nena
Sahib filled fully that detestable ideal.
He was born in 1824, the eon of a
Brahmin of the Deccan, and was adopt
ed when an infant by Bajee Rao, the
Peishwa or chief of the Mahrattas.
This adoption, according to the Mah
ratta law, carried with it the heirship
and property of Bajee ; but, on the
death of that prince in 1851, Nena
Sahib, who claimed the inheritance, was
not recognized as the heir by the Brit
ish East India Company, and an estate
which had been bestowed upon Bajee
was declared lapsed to the company,
while a pension of 450,000 a year, which
was granted to him and his family in
1818, was stopped. This seems to have
been the cause of Nena Sahib's fero
oious hatred of the English a hatred,
however, which he managed to conceal
under ah assumption of extreme friend
liness. He was still fabulously wealthy,
and lived in royal splendor at Cawn
pore. He entertained the English mag
nificently, imitated English customs,
and even followed English fashions. All
the time, however, he was secretly fo
menting the disaffection which finally
broke out in 1857, sweeping over India
in a whirlwind of fire and blood. Such
was his duplicity that he was trusted
by the colonists as their friend,
even after the rebeUion was
at flood tide. But the tigerish nature
of the man soon showed itself. He sud
denly took the leadership of the insur
rection, and massacred all the English
that fell into his hands, among them
two large parties, principally women
and children, who were endeavoring to
escape down the Ganges. He then laid
siege to Cawnpore, and after it surren
dered, on the condition that the garri
son should be permitted to escape un
harmed, let his prisoners embark on
their.voyage down the Ganges. This
was, however, but another instance of
the feline cruelty of the man. He was
playing with bis victims as a cat does
with a mouse. Immediately after the
captives had got aboard they were fired
upon, 'and the survivors recaptured.
The men , were instantly killed ; the
women and children reserved for name
less horrors. They were kept alive for
eighteen days, and then, when Havelock,
hurrying to rescue them, was close at
hand, they were slaughtered with in
conceivable barbarity, and a well filled
with their mutilated bodies.
Through the rest of that exciting In
dian war Nena Sahib was the chief
spirit of the insurrection, and displayed
no little military skill and energy. He
was defeated at Bittoor by Havelock,
and his army destroyed, but he soon as
sembled another, and besieged his late
conqueror at Lucknow until the latter
was relieved by Sir Colin Campbell. In
185$ he was chosen Peishwa or supreme
ruler of the Mahrattw. Long after the
rebeUion had been practically put down,
and its other leaders had either sub
mitted or been captured, Nena, with
the Begum of Oude and some ten
thousand Sepoys, maintained armed
opposition to the British in the north
ern parts of Central Hindostan. In
1859 it was asserted that he died of fe
. ver, and since then the accounts of him
have been vague and almost like le
gends. There seems to be no doubt,
however, that he is now in the hands
of the British authorities. Detroit
Tribune.
"DEATH NOT GENERALLY PAIN
FUL." When the blood ceases to be oxygen
ated, physical sensibility is destroyed,
and the oxygenation of the blood being
accomplished by the lungs, if these or
gans are obstructed, a proportionate
privation of sensibility will necessarily
be the result. The lungs are the weak
est of all the great vital organs ; they
ordinarily begin to die sooner than
other parts, and their function is actual
ly suspended before that of other or
gans. Thence it follows that the4 oxy
genation of the blood being gradually
suspended, the privation of nervous
sensibility immediately ensues, and
tttere can be no suffering. , These
theoretical notions aie supported - by
facts. So far as my experience goes, if
a1 dying man be asked whether he suf
fers pain, he will, in the greater mem
ber of instances, answer in the nega
tive ; yet there may be at the same
time a frightful appearance of distress.
-.My opinion, therefore, founded on a
great cumber of observations of the
character above mentioned, is that
death; iB , hot generally painful, and that
nature, "like a kind mother," while she
surro'tmds its idea with imaginary ter
rors, has contrived the animal organiza
tion in such a way as to produce a
natural anodyne in depriving the blood
of oxygen. There will be found, ho
doubt, exceptions in chronic diseases
already alluded,', to, as arising from
physical causes', and there will be an
other class of exceptions of a different,
nature from moral causes, such as the
recollection of abad'ijtte.-t25r. Warren.
A GOOD REPUTATION.
The young live much in the future ;
they are fond of gazing into its un
known depths, and of endeavoring to
trace the outlines, at least, of the for
tune that awaits them. With ardent
hope, with eager expectation, they an
ticipate the approach of coming years
when they shall be called upon the
grand stage of action, confident that the
future will bring to them naught but
unalloyed felicity.
But they should allow their anticipa
tions of the future to be controlled by a
well-balanced judgment, and moderated
by the experience of those who have
gone before them. In looking to the
future there is one important inquiry
which the young should make : "What
do I most desire to become in future
life? What position '0m I anxious ts
occupy in society ? What is the estima
tion in which I wish to beheld by those
within the circle of my acquaintances?"
The answer to these . inquiries from
the great mass of young-people can well
be anticipated. There are none among
them who desire, to be held in disre
spect, and shunned by the wise and
good ; none who are anxious to be cov
ered with disgrace and infamy ; none
who seek to be outcasts and vagabonds
in the world. The thought, if they are
doomed to such a condition, would fill
them with alarm. Every discreet youth
will exclaim : ' Nothing would gratify
me more than to be honored and re
spected as I advance in years ; to move
in good society ; to have people ask my
company rather than shun it, to be
looked up to as an example for others to
imitate, and to enjoy the confidence of
all around me. "
Surely there can be Hone so blind to
the future, so lost to their own good, as
to prefer a life of infamy and its ever-
accompanying wretchedness, to re
spectability, prosperity and true enjoy
ment. But how are these to be ob
tained ? They do not come at your
bidding. You cannot reach forth your
hands and take them as you would
pluck the ripe fruit from the bending
branch. Neither will wishing or hoping
for them shower their blessings on you,
if you would obtain and enjoy them,
you must labor for them earn them.
They are only secured as the well
merited reward of a pure and useful
life.
The first thing to be aimed at by the
young should be the establishment of a
good character. In all their plans, an
ticipations and prospects for future
years, this should form the grand start
ing point, the chief corner-stone. It
should be the foundation of eveTy hope
and thought of prosperity and happi
ness in days to come. It is the only
basis on which such a hope can mature
to full fruition. A good character es
tablished in the season of youth be
comes a rich and productive soil to its
possessor.
INTERESTING.
Europe signifies a country of white
complexion ; so named because the in?
habitants there are of lighter com
plexion than those of either Africa or
Asia. Africa signifies the land of corn,
or ears. It was celebrated for its
abundance of corn and all kinds of
grain. Spain, a country of rabbits, or
conies. This country was once so in
fested with these animals that the in
habitants petitioned Augustus for an
army to destroy them. Italy, a country
of pitch, from its yielding great quanti
ties of black pitch. Gaul, modern
France, signifies yellow-haired, as yel
low hair characterized its first inhab
itants. Hibernia, as utmost, or last,
habitation; for beyond thiB, westward,
Phoenicians, we are told, never extend
ed their voyages. Britain, the country
of tin, as there were great quantities of
lead and tin found on the adjacent
islands. The Greeks called it Albion,
which signifies, in the Phoenician
tongue, either white or high mountains,
from the whiteness of its shores, or the
high rocks on the western coast.
Dr. C. Ewai.0, of Berlin, describes
a method of washing out the stomach,
which, on account of its great sim
plicity, seems likely to make the topical
treatment of diseases of the stomach,
especially in cases of poisoniflg, much
more common : "A piece of ordinary
India-rubber tubing, such as is used
for gas lamps, about six feet long, is
used ; one end is rounded with scissors,
and, if necessary, two holes are cut at
a short distance from the end This
tube possesses quite sufficient rigidity
to be passed without difficulty into the
stomach. To the outer end a funnel is
fitted, into which can be poured either
water or a solution of soda, etc., ac
cording to circumstances. If the con
tents of the stomach are to be removed,
the outer end of the tube must be sunk
to the level of the pubes, or even lower ;
then the patient must make a short but
forcible contraction of the abdominal
walls. By this means the tube is filled
to its highest point with the fluid con
tents of the stomach, and becomes a
siphon the liquid continuing to flow
until there is no mere, or till the tube
is stopped up. This last seldom oc
curs, if the tube be of a moderate cali
ber. Should it, however, happen, or
should the abdominal pressure be in
sufficient to fill the tube in the first in
stance, or the patient be insensible, or
any similardifficulty arisej ii. can, in
general, be readily overcome befitting
a common clyster-syringe to the end
of the tube, One stroke of the piston of
which is generally sufficient to remove
the difficulty."
Tub title of Czar is obsolete, and not
applicable to his Russian MjVsty,
while the ft-repeated formula, l"Em
peror of all the Rassias," is aro8s
error. The title, literally translated, is
"All-Russian Emperor."
HOME.
A trite maxim hath it that " Home is
where the heart is ;" and if we might
sometimes be disposed to quarrel a little
with the assertion, we should har Uy be
inclined to do more than transpose it
slightly, and say " the true heart is
where the home is ;" for it is undoubt
edly true that the first instinct of man,
alter the merely animal instinct of self
preservation, is to provide for himself a
home. And let that home be what it
will squalid, dingy, meagre, comfort
able, or palatial let it be desolate and
lonely, or illuminated with the presence
of fond companions and musical with
the laughter of children, it will be,
through all, the central point of exist
ence, around which will cling and grow
lovingly all the truest, purest and
noblest sensibilities and aspirations.
Our first thoughts in moments of tri
umph, success, or happiness, and alike
in moments of pain, sorrow, danger and
despair, is of home ; for there, more
than anywhere else, we are sure of
that tender or exuberant sympathy
which our varying moods demand. The
spot hallowed by our tears, our prayers,
our hopes, our sacrifices, and above all
our love, becomes the Mecca of all
our pilgrimages ; and let us be erratic,
truant, discontented as we will, we
shall eventually double upon our own
wayward footsteps and return to it once
motel if only to die surrounded by its
holy affections and influences. "-w, .
How the poets have sung in eloquent
numbers of homej and how they still
sing tirelessly upen the same darling
theme ! Search the language through,
and there is no fitting or beautiful word
which has not been used for its exalta
tion. Who has not seen a gay and mer
ry company, seemingly carelesF,
thoughtless heartless, almost hushed
into the most tender and touching rev
erence, when some sweet young voice
among them rang, with bell-like vibra
tions through their hearts, those sweet
lines so replete with holiest meaning':
" 'Mid pleasures and palaces
Though we may roam,
Be it ever bo humble.
There's no place like home."
And with what pathetic pathos and
fervor every soul found utterance in the
simple chorus, grand in its very sim
plicity :
" Home, home, sweet, sweet home,
Be it ever so humble,
There's no place like heme."
MAN AND WIFE.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the following
excellent advice. There is much human
nature and good sense in it : " Harmony
in a married state is the very first thing
to be aimed at. Nothing can preserve
affections uninterrupted but a firm reso
lution never to differ in will, sad the
determination of each to consideVt the
love of the other of more value than nay
earthly object whatever on which a wish
can be fixed. How light, in fact, is the!
sacrifice of any other wish when weigh
ed against the affections of one with
whom we are to pass our whole life.
Opposition in a single instance will
hardly of itself produce alienation ; this
- i i i i .11 i.i ;
only iaK.es pia.ee wiieu itii me opposi
tions are put, as it were, in a pouch,
which, while it is filling, the alienation
is insensibly going on, and when full it
is complete. It would puzzle either to
say why, because no one difference of
opinion has been marked enough to
produce a serious effect itself. The
affections are wearied out by a constant
stream of little obstacles. Other sources
of discontent, very common indeed, are
the little cross purposes of husband and
wife in common conversation a dispo
sition in either to criticise and question
what the other says, a desire always to
demonstrate and make the other feel in
the wrong, especially in company.
Nothing is so goading. Much better,
therefore, if our companion views a
thing in a different light from what we
do, leave him in quiet possession of his
views. What is the use of rectifying
him if the thing be unimportant ? Let
it pass for the present and wait a softer
moment and more conciliatory occasion
of reviving the subject together. It is
wonderful how many persons are ren
dered unhappy by inattention to the
little rules of prudence."
SUN SPOTS.
The idea that some connection exists
between the weather on the earth and
the spots on the sun is supported by
the numerous series of meteorological
observations which have been collated
by Mr. Charles Meldrum, of the Island
of Mauritius, with special reference to
the subject. These show that there is
a terrestrial rainfall periodicity corre
sponding with the periodicity of solar
spots. There is an increase of rain
when the spots occupy the largest area
on the sun's surface ; and, conversely,
when the sun-spot area is the smallest,
there is a decrease of rain. Whether
changes of temperature upon the earth
also correspond with the fluctuations of
the sun-spots is yet to be determined.
The Brunswick (Me.) Telegraph re
lates a strange occurrence. It says that
Mr. John Fitzgerald, a well known
temperance fjeeturer, was confined to his
bed and quite feeble, being able to
speak scarcely above a whisper. Satur
day morning, the time of the Fall River
disaster, his wife had just left him to
go out into the stable, when she was
startled by the cry of Are. She went to
her husband, when he repeated the cry.
He was greatly excited, and attempted
to get out of bed, saying; " There is a
fire in a factory in Fall River) 'Mass., in
the upper story the mule room ; I see
sparks flying from the machinery, as
sparks fly from a grindstone when men
are grinding their tools, and the factory
is full of women and children. I see it
all." After a while he fell back ex
hausted, saying the roof had fallen in
ar$ the poor people were burned. This
occurred about the same time in the
morning that the fire did.
STRANGE MATCHES.
It is an historical fact that Frederick
of Prussia formed the idea of compel
ling unions between the tallest of the
two sexes in his dominions, in the hope
of having an army of giants. The
reader will, in all probability, recollect
the following ludicrous incident. It
so happened that, during a rather long
ride, the King passed a particularly tall
young woman, an utter stranger. He
alighted from his horse, and insisted
upon her delivering a letter to the com
manding officer of his crack regiment.
The letter contained the mandate that
the bearer was instantly to be married
to the tallest unmarried man in the
service. The young woman was some
what terrified, and, not understanding
the transaction, gave an old woman the
letter, which was conveyed to the com
manding officer, and this old woman
was, in a short time, married to the
handsomest and finest man in the crack
regiment. It is not necessary to say
that the marriage was an unhappy one
particularly so to the old woman.
In this connection comes another anec
dote. A rich saddler directed in his
will that his only child, a daughter,
should be deprived of the whole of the'
fortune unless she married a saddler.
A young Earl, in order to win the
bride, actually served an apprentice
ship of seven years to a saddler, and
afterward bound himself to the rich
saddler's daughter for life. But the
union was anything but a happy one ;
the bride, neither by birth nor breed
ing a lady, reflected little credit on her
bridegroom's choice ; and repeated
quarrels were followed by separation.
So it is with all unequal matches ; gold
and brass won't unite. Novels tell us
the felicity following the union of Lord
Fitzgerald to Mary Ann Jones, quite
ignoring Mary Ann's predisposition to
red knuckles and unshapely feet, which
peculiarities finally make my lord's life
burdensome. Novels are amusing, but
not to be relied on in " matters of the
heart," as a rule. Common sense says,
" Young folks, marry within the bound
ary of your social and religious circle."
A FAITHFUL DOG.
Metcalf 's grocery store in our place
has been closed for a week or so. Met
calf was perfectly willing to have it
open, but circumstances rendered it
necessary for him to suspend business
for a while. There had been a good
many burglaries, and Metcalf bought a
dog to keep in his store at night. The
man that sold the dog said that its one
strong peculiarity was vigilance. That
dog would watch that store closer than
the Genius of Liberty watches the des
tinies of America. So the man turned
the dog loose in the store, and Metcalf
locked up and went home. When he
came down in the morning the dog flew
at him as soon as he opened the door
and attempted to breakfast on Mr. Met-
calf's legs ; whereupon Mr. Metcalf sud
denly shut the door and sat down to
think. Then he went after the man
who sold the dog, but he had gone out
of town to see his aunt, and wouldn't
be back for a month. Metcalf then un
dertook to coax the dog through the
crack of the door, but the animal still
manifested a resolute determination to
chew Metcalf's legs, and so Metcalf
closed the door again and began to wish
he had bought a dog less attentive to
business. Then he procured a double
barreled gun, and spent the remainder
of the week shooting slugs and bullets
down the chimney, and through the
doors and windows, and up through the
cellar ceiling, and still the dog held
out, until finally Metcalf got a section
of wire fence, placed it across the door
way, opened the door, and banged the
obnoxious animal into eternity. Then
he entered and found that he had shot
holes through the molasses cans and
the coal-oil barrels, and had blown all
the chinaware to atoms ; so that the
store looked as if a fifteen-inch shell
had burst in it. ' Metcalf cleaned up
and resumed ; but he is anxiously await
ing that man's return from his visit to
his aunt's. He wants to see him about
something. Danbury News.
THE DISEASE GALLED EXCITEMENT.
Man does not need that which he calls
excitement. What a healthy mind most
craves is placidity ; to do its work in
perfect calm, without any stimulus ex
cept that afforded by perfect bodily
health. Mind and body healthy, each
will give all the stimulus the other needs
without resort to artifical means. Men
tal dissipation and physical debauchery
are alike disastrous in their effects ;
alike breed a fierce appetite for more,
an appetite that will not be appeased
except by deeper and deeper draughts
which finally ruin body, mind, and
soul. Unfortunately, 'this appetite is
fostered by our theatrical performances,
novels of the day, and social gossip, so
that religion (so terribly assailed by
scandal just now), legislative enact
ments, social philosophy all seem
powerless to effect a cure. We are
sometimes disposed to think that the
only way is to let the disease run its
course, until the poison eliminates it
self from the body politic. Society, as
at present organized, may die of the
disease, or perhaps it may survive to
enjoy better health afterward. Let us
pray for better health.
A German cremation society, num
bering 450 members, exists in New
York. Its design is to build a hall
with iron walls sixty by forty-four feet.
In the center will be erected an altar,
and in front of it, upon a large plate,
the iron coffin will be placed. After
the burial services have been performed
the car containing the body will be
moved under the furnace and subjected
to the action of the air at a tempera
ture of 1,000 deg. F. The ashes in the
coffin will then be returned and col
lected. An hour and a half is the time
mentioned, 250 to 450 pounds of coal
oil the fuel and $8 the price.
THE JUDGES OF THE SUPREME
co:.. mm
A Washington correspondent writes
as follows of the nine black-robed ven
erable Judges of the nation's high court :
Chief Justice Waite is the youngest
man on the bench, and looks still
younger than he is. With a solid and
erect form and bearing, square and
massive head, covered heavily with
black hair, which years are mottling
into gray ; strong and expressing face,
genial but decided manner on the bench,
he looks the Chief Justice of the pres
ent, being clearly distinct f frrjifc the
ideal Judge of the past, when wiufcftaad
scanty locks, a bald and glistening dome
of thought, great age, and somewhat of
coldness and reserve marked the typical
jurist.
Seated on the right of the Chief Jus
tice are Judges Clifford; Miller, Field,
and Bradley, in their order, and on his
left Judges Swayne, Davis, Strong, and
Hunt, the various positions being de
termined by seniority of appointment,
beginning with Judge Clifford on the
right, continuing with Judge Swayne
on the left, Miller on the right, Davis
on the left, and so on through the list.
Among the Associate Justices there are
i three" distinct types of men. Swayne,
Davis and Miller are the large and
weighty men, who impress you with
gigantic ability to digest either an
abundant dinner or an abstruse legal
question. Clifford and Bradley, though
no pigmies in stature, aefem rather the
sages of the bench, who, with voices
somewhat broken by age ply the ad
vocate with questions that show there
is no lack of mental -gor. Field,
Strong, and Hunt, on the other hand,
are the clear cut, cold," and college-
bred men who seem to furnish to the
bench the culture and polish of the
East, as Swayne, Miller, and Davis do
the native vigor of the West.
TnE NEW FRENCH MUSKET.
The Journal de Paris states that or
ders have been given to proceed faame
diately with the manufacture of f!ue new
musket, model 1874 (system Gras).
These weapons will only be constructed
in the workshops of the state ; private
firms will not be called upon to assist.
The calculation is that in about a year
a million of them will be made. Then
only will the arm be placed in the hands
of the soldiers of the active army, and
the men of the reserve and the terri
torial army will be drilled in the man
agement of this musket. The chasse
pots will be withdrawn, and they wilfbe
altered to the new pattern. France has
at present 1,800,000 of them. One year
will be necessary for that transforma
tion ; so that, by adding 200, 000-.new
ones to be constructed in the interval,
the Minister of War counts upon pos
sessing, at the end of 1876, 3,000, OOTJbf
muskets (model Gras), witfi store of
250 metal cartridges per weapon. he
manufacture will afterwards be tm
tiuued on a normal scale, and in ""pro
portion to the resources of the ordinary
budget of war. The news concerning
the artillery is no less satisfactory.
France will have, at the end of the year
1875, 494 batteries of six cannon each of
calibers 5 and 7, with ir a carriages,
the pieces in bronze, breech-loading, on
the Reffye system. From the begin
ning of next year the construction of
bronze cannon will be abandoned, and
those in steel on the Lahitolle system
will be adopted.
NOT TO BE FRIGHTENED.
An ol i French shoemaker, who boasted
that nothing could frighten him, was
put to the test by two young men.
One of them pretended to be dead, and
the other, going to the shoemaker,
duced him to "sit up" with the sup
posed corpse. The shoemaker was in a
hurry with some work he had promised
to have completed the next , morning.
So he took his tools and leather, and
began working beside the corps,.
About 12 o'clock at night a cup of blacK
coffee was brought ,, him to kjQpp him
awake. He drank it and rsnTnH ntni-t
About 1 o'clock, the coffee having ex
hilarated him, forgetting that he was
in the presence of death, he commenced
to sing a lively tune, keeping time with
his hammer. Suddenly the corpse
arose and exclaimed, in a hollow voice
" When a man is in the presence of
death he should not sing !" , .'"
THlA ft 1 1 - f TY1 Q 1.-1- V cfrfol flion cni".
denly dealt the corpse a blowL on tho
head, exclaiming at the same time
vvnen a man is dead he should not
speak." It was the last time they "Tried to-'
scare the shoemaker.
Mb. Okton's report of the condition
and doings of the Western Union Tele
graph Company is interesting teading
to those who have a mind for such
things. The capital of this compary is
in round numbers forty-one millions, of
which the company holds a little over
seven millions and a quarter, with no
floating debt. The income of the com
pany last year was nine millions and a
quarter, and its expenses fell short of
six and three-quarters, leaving a clear
profit of $2,506,920. And it has added
21,264 miles of wire to its lines by pnr
cha.se and construction during the year.
It has 71,585 miles of line, 175,135 miles
of wire, and 6,188 offices.
A novel and exciting race lately took
place at Cork, Ireland, between a Mr.
Playfair and a horse ridden by a Mr.
Arnott. The conditions of the race
were that Mr. Playfair should rim a
hundred yards while' the horse ran the
same distance, the rider to stand at the
horse's head and mount at the word
" go. " The race was run in eleven sec
onds, and won by two yards by the
rider of the horse, who exhibited great
agility in mounting. In most like con
tests the mounted horse has been
beaten.