i
PUBLWHHn EVXBY rBIXlAY, BT
OOL.L. VAN OLKVE,
ALBANY,
OREGONJ
NEW YORK.
Fashionable Tollies in Dress and Persona
Ornamentation Savings Banks
The Sunday Question.
The Opera Season It has not Paid the
Manager.
THE ITAXJAN OPKBA SEASON.
New York, December 2. The Italian
opera season is over for the present, and
the Academy of Music will be deserted
mi til Miss Kellogg takes possession with
oiraxoscu nas not met witn tne encour
agement that his efforts deserve, and i
is not unnatural that he should feel dis
couraged. Last year he barely paid his
expenses, sua tins year He lost $40,000.
ne people go to tne opera for one or
two nights and then stop. That sort of
patronage is not going to pay a man
ager. j.nen tney want a new opera
every nignt. xney win go to the same
. play week after week, but when it comes
i to tne opera tnat is another thin g. Now,
it is three times more expensive to mount
an opera than a play. Very often "Rip
Van Y inkle" has a run of two months
at Booth's Theater, and, aside from Mr.
Jefferson, costs but a trifle. None of
the actors are stars, with one exception
and all the manager has to do is to take
ui the
money. At the Academy of
Music it is very different. In the
first place. Aida" and " Lohen
grin" cost Mr. Strakosch $20,000 each to
the regular troupe, the orchestra and
chorus are largely increased, there are
four solo cornets on the stage, besides
horses, and other smaller things too
numerous to mention. Mr. Strakosch
provided Nusson's dresses in this opera,
and sail bolus them in his possession,
Mile. Albani did not wish to wear the
same garments that had become familiar
to New York audiences on Nilsson's tall
and slender figure, and her agent wrote
Mr. btrakosch to that enect. jir. fttra
kosch replied that he thought it hardly
fair that he should go to the expense of
new costumes when the old Had iieen
worn but a few times. But. with his
usual liberalitv. he offered to pay for
the making if Mile. Albani would buy
the material. The prima donna ac
cepted this offer, and appeared in beau
tiful new robes on V ednesday Jast.
The cost of the goods alone for these
new dresses was $800. People hold tap
their harirla in amazement at the large
pay of operatic stars, but they forget
that their expenses are very large also.
A prima donna, as a rule, finds her own
dresses, the cost of which, judging by
the above figures, must make quite a
hole in her receipts.
There is one thing very certain, and
that is that the public will growl at
whatever a manager does for them. They
would like Patti, Lucca, Wachtel and
Santley for the quartette, Thomas or
chestra, and the Boston Handel and
Haydn Society as chorus, with reserved
seats at $1, children half price, and min
isters and doctors free. They seem to
forget that all this costs a manager
something. It takes a fortune to bring
an opera troupe to this country. In
England the singers do not get more
than half what they ask to come to
America, and the other expenses are
much less and the price of admission
much higher. Five dollars is the least
you can get a seat for in Convent Garden
or Drury JLane.
It is extremely doubtful whether Mr,
Strakosch will take his troupe on a
"Western tour. He will be in Philadel
phia for two weeks and in Boston for
three. After his Boston engagement he
will probably take Albani and the rest
of his troupe to Havana and finish out
'the season there.
THE REVIVAL OP IO HEN-GRIN.
The most important and most inter
esting opera announced by Mr. Stra
kosch was postponed until the last week
of the season, and then only sung twice.
I refer, of course, to "Lohengrin."
The town was on the tip-toe of expecta
tion to hear Mile. Albani in the role of
Elsa, and the Academy was packed on
both nights of the performance. Nilsson
made such a profound impression in
this role that- comparison, though
usually odious, was in this case most
natural. Mile. Albani learned her role
in a very short time, and Carpi the same.
She certainly sang it welL beautifully,
in fact; but we missed the ideal estab
lished by Nilsson. The truth is, that
Nilsson looked and acted Elsa as well
as she sang the music of the part. It
was just suited to her peculiar northern,
not to say unnatural, beauty. Mile.
Albani's assumption of the role was
thoroughly artistic ;v it is hard to find
any fault with it, but it has not the in
spiration of Nilsson's personation. Sig
ner Carpi as Lohengrin, sang the music
of his part with taste and some fire, but
he acted very poorly, or rather he did
not act at alL , ,
It was no small matter to learn such
difficult part" as Elsa and Lohengrin in
the short time allotted to Mile. Albani
and Signor Carpi, and it is to their
credit that they performed them as well
.hw Aid. Cam panic l had made a
reputation in this opera before he came
to this country, and therefore felt per
fectly at home in his part. To Carpi it
was all new, and he is not to be blamed
for feeling a little awkward.
FAINT, POWPEB, KTC
Since the early days of paint, powder
and court-plaster patches, the ladies
have not disguised their natural com
plexions as completely as they are do
ing at the present time. Not long ago,
one could tell a lady the moment he
saw her; now it ia impossible to tell a
Murray Hill belle from one of the
demi-monde. Your own cousin, per
haps your sister too, blacks her eyes
and paints her face after the fashion
whicli we used to think belonged to an
entirely different class of society. I
am utterly surprised when looking
around me at the theatre or" opera, to
see persons whom I know to be ladies,
painted like the ballet girls. One is
utterly bewildered at the matinees.
The young ladies who follow the fash
ions appear with their faces painted,
nften enameled, their eves
blacked, and sometimes with the uds
Minted red, after a peculiar
ptich stvle. and their hair brought
down low on the forehead and plastered
" - 1 1 . 1 1 xl
in regular scollops, an mcu suotb meir
carefully corked eyebrows. Then their
lips are bo heavily loaded with a salve
like preparation that talking becomes
-r. irnnossibilitv. and kissing utter-
th anestion.
VWi villi)
con-
glomeration they wear a thin veil of the
palest gray, sometimes dotted with
ShiXh heio-htens the effect to an
fem.hfer degree. Under all this stuff
they may have a most beautiful natural
complexion; but that is not the fashion,
u it nntnf sierht. but pre
serve it by bathing their faces in cold
wrve is uy L,i"-.L" . , fr llQT
; y,nA To sav that
cream
these
mn
young ladies 100a uunmiijui,
fast " would be doing them scant jus
tice.
And in the evening in full dress, or
full undress I should say, these ladies
outdo themselves. I am still talking of
ladies ot good families, please bear in
mind. -The lowness of their necks and
the shortness of their sleeves, makes
their fathers and brothers blush for
them. A well-known actress attended
a large party in this city recently, and
the next day she said to me : "I as
sure you that when I looked about rae
at that collection of the bon ton, I was
the only woman in the room dressed
with any regard to decency. Yet
have no doubt that they rather
scorned my virtue in their hearts."
SAVING THE PENNIES. j
An old adage says: "Save the pen
nies and the pounds will take care of
themselves," and judging from the num
ber of savings-banks in this eity and the
patronage which they receive, it woidd
seem that JNew xorK liad tried tne plan
and found the adage a true one. The
number of savings-banks is over thirty,
and the excess of assets over liabilities
amounts to about ten millions of dollars.
The oldest ones are of course the most
flourishing, as is seen in the case of the
Bowery Savings Bank and the Bleecker
Street Bank. This one on Bleecker
street is the oldest in the city, and the
second or third oldest in the country,
having been chartered in 1819 as the
Bank for Savings in the City of JNew
York. It was first situated on Cham
bers street, but was removed in 1856 to
a handsome marble building on Bleeck
er street, which it occupies still. In
order to show what classes of people
patronize savings-banks, I will quote a
little from a recent report of this bans.
In the list of new depositors domestics
predominate, there being 1,400 of that
class more than double the; number
from anv other and of laborers, who
come next, only 660, clerks 387,
seamstresses 357, tailors 177, merchants
130, liquor dealers 126, waiters 116, and
bar tenders 29, shows that the trades
are well represented. But with the pro
fessions it is different, there being only
51 musicians, 28 artists, 24 clergymen,
in nhvsicians. 17 attorneys, and 10 en
gravers, and no actors at all. Out of
the whole 10,187 depositors opening ac
counts 2,711 were married women, z,utu
single, 882 widows, 341 minors, and 65
colored persons. About 10,010 persons
closed their accounts there, probably on
account of the panic, lhe deposits,
old and new, numbered 45,393, made in
sums of from 1 to $1,000. The bank,
since its organization, has opened about
363,000 accounts, and received from de
positors some 110,000,000. The comp
troller of the bank has been connected
with it for the last forty years. The
Jew residents on the Bowery patronize
the well-known Bleecker Street Bank
to a great extent. Their own neighbor,
the Bowery Bank, situated on the Bow
ery, near Grand street, was chartered in
1834, forty years since.
I will take a few figures from the list
of depositors in another wealthy savings
bank in this city to show the nationali
ties of some of its patrons. Our own
countrymen head the list with 771, and
are followed by Germans, 448; Irish,
400, and English, 112. A Dutchman,
an African, eight Bohemians (not re
porters,) and others vary the list.
THANKSrGIVTNO DAT IN NEW YORK.
There was probably more actual
thanksgiving in this city last Thursday
than there had been for many years pre
vious, and the holiday was far more
generally observed. The churches and
places of amusement were crowded, and
everybody on the streets was attired in
holiday garments. Religious exercises
and feasting weie the order of the day
at the charitable and other institutions.
It is a significant fact that more poor
people applied for meals at these
places than ever before. On Wednes
day a large wagon went about the city
and visited stores in quest of pro
visions for a big dinner to be given
at the Five Points House of Indus
try on Thursday. The Wagon was
labeled ' Thanksgiving dinner at the
Five Points House of Industry, V and
was well filled with all sorts of edibles.
In addition to the 400 inmates, 1,100
strangers were fed at this place. The
little waits who are sheltered here appre
ciate their advantages more on account
of the familiar contrast presented by
the domestic condition of the adjacent
tenement houses, from which most of
them have been taken by the managers
and missionaries of this truly charita
ble institution in which they are so well
taken care of.
EMBEZZLING CAB FAKES.
The managers of the horse car rail
roads seem to find it a difficult matter to
prevent the conductors in their employ
from appropriating fares, and despite
constant vigilance, all their efforts
have never completely stopped
this system of peculation. All sorts of
ingenious devices have been used, but
the ingenuity of the peculators has in
every case set them at defiance. The
plan of having boxes to put the fares
in, and thus dispensing altogether with
the employment of conductors, is prob
able the only safe one, but it is a
perfect nuisance to passengers,
IMPRISONMENT FOB DEBT.
Many people doubtless think that the
practice of imprisonment for debt is a
tiling of the past, and that: together
with many other semi-barbarous vcus
toms of the early part of the present
century is no longer in vogue. But they
are mistaken. Although debtors may
no longer be imprisoned for their debts
under that name, they are in reality
often locked up for no other cause in
the world. Of course New York is not
the only place in the country where
such things are done, but they are pro
bably of more frequent occurrence here
than elsewhere. .The system, although
much practiced, is none the less unjust.
This is the way it is done: A
man has a number of creditors. Wish
ing to get either money : or some
other sort of satisfaction from him,
they trump up pretty much any charge
against him. Such as that he is about
to leave the place, dispose of his prop
erty, or in some other way escape the
paymentof his bills. A warrant is issu
ed for the debtor's arrest, and he is made
to answer the charge whether it be false
or not. Under tne circumstances it
is naturally hard to prove his innocence,
and he is consequently compelled to pay
a visit to the Ludlow Street Jail, an es
tablishment for the reception of prison
ers awaiting trial for almost any offense.
Cases of a similar nature are far from
being uncommon, and in fact the num
ber of occupants of the Ludlow Street
.Toil ia tvtf T7S large. Nearly all the pris
oners there claim to be locked up for
ioHf. a that in considered a much more
respectable offense than forgery, or other
crimes. !
THE SUNDAY QUESTION.
Shall we observe the Sabbath accord
ing to the dictates of our conscience, or
shall the law compel us to follow a pre
scribed rule? is the question which is
now agitating the clergy and laity of
both this city and Brooklyn. There
have been more places of amusement
open on Sunday evenings in this city
this season than ever before.
ntwrns and concerto have. K
Theatres,
; operas and concerts nave been in iuu
attract
r - .
large and attentive audiences. Natur
ally the clergymen have become indig
nant at what they choose to call this
desecration of the Lord's day, and a
number have denounced it from their
pulpits. Mr. Talmage not only de
nounces Sunday amusements, but he
pitches into theatres, generally, giving
them no . quarter at all. Many peo
ple, probably play-goers themselves,
think that Mr. Talmage 's attacks upon
the stage are not because he honestly
looks upon theatres as pest-houses, but
because by abusing and preaching
against them he creates a sensation and
gets his name thoroughly advertised in
the press.
In his last sermon on the stage. Mr.
Talmage stated that ;he had received
threatening letters on account of his
views. Some of these letters, he said.
threatened personal violence. From his
pulpit he called upon them to do their
worst, informing them that he went to
Ijafayette avenue every Sunday night
after the services, and added that they
were too great cowards to .attack him.
This statement was received with "great
applause' bv the vast audience assem
bled in the Tabernacle, and perhaps by
the fifty policemen who were scattered
through the building to preserve order.
On Sunday last the subject was well
aired in the churches, and evea dir.
Beecher, who had heretofore kept out
of the discussion, took up a lance. What
he said was very sensible and fair.
While he does not approve of Sunday
amusements, he does not think that our
law-makers have a right to legislate
upon the subject. A petition, bearing
many well-known names among them
those of two distinguished actors
called the attention of the Board of
Bnhce Commissioners to the law pro
hibiting " Theatrical and other enter
tainments of the stage on Sunday."
This law has so long been a dead-letter
that the police authorities are doubtful
about enforcing it.
Setting every other a5stion aside, we
need Sunday as a day of rest, and there
are many among us who cannot remain
quietly at home if the theatres are open.
In the" meantime the theatres will con
tinue open on Sunday as well as other
nights.
Hunting for Silver in Nevada.
The Virginia (Nev.) Enterprise says:
Many of the leading mining companies
on the Comstock lode are now down to
the depth of 2,000 feet, and a few still
deeper. When mining first began on
the great lode such a depth was not
thought of, or if thought of, no one ex
pected to see mining operations carried
to the depth of 2,000 feet in less than
fifty years.,. Now we not only do not
feel startled at hearing the great depth
of 4,000 feet spoken of, but when we
see preparations in actual progress for
sinkings to such a depth we think but
little of it. The Savage Company have
broken ground for the foundation of
new machinery, which is to be suf
ficiently powerful to sink their main in
cline to the depth of 4,000 feet. This
incline is already some distance below
the 2,100 foot level, and is still being
vigorously pushed downward. - But the
present machinery cannot be expected
to do the work required more than a
few months longer, and a force of men
is now at work sinking the huge pits in
which are to be laid the foundations of
the powerful new incline, engines.
Indeed, these ' pits are fast
approaching completion, and soon
the stone masons will be at work
on the foundations. The new hoisting
engine will be supplied with two 24-
inch horizontal cylinders, of 4-foot
stroke, and will be of over 400-horse
power. The steel wire rope to be used
will be 4,000 feet in length, and will
weigh about 24.0UO pounds, it is now
being manufactured by John A. Boe-
bling's Sons, Trenton, N. J. It will be
a round rope, and the upper end will be
two inches in diameter, but 2,500 feet of
its length will be tapered and the lower
end will be If inches in diameter. The
reel on which this cable will wind and
unwind will be conical, and the cable
will wind about it spirally. When the
greater part of the cable is down in the
incline, and its whole weight is added
to the weight of the incline car, the
rope will be winding on the smaller end
of the reel, where the miachinery will
have its greatest purchase, and as the
cable is finally wound up it will run
upon the larger end of the reel. Thus
the same steam will do the work at any
point in the journey of the car up and
down the incline track. The new hoist
ing machinery will be in readiness for
starting about the first of April. Other
companies contemplate the erection of
similar machinery and propose pushing
their works to a like depth.
Scrupulous Highwaymen.
A stage coach was stopped by high
waymen, a couple ot weess ago, m
Northeipi Texas. While "going
through" the passengers, several of
whom were ladies, and one a preacher,
they protested that they were " gentle
men," and did not intend to molest any
of their victims who made an "honest
living." Under this head thepreacher,
the ladies, and the driver were classi
fied, and escaped being plundered. So
punctiliously scrupulous were they in
their vocation, that they refrained from
swearing while pursuing it. They were
lucky in gathering in a rich spoil. That
feature of the affair which is particular
ly worthy of notice is a letter written by
the gospel minister describing the rob
bery. It concludes in this way ; " They
were so polite toward me that perhaps I
should say no more. Really, I did not
know but they would request me to
pray for them; and if I had only had
my wits about me, I should have asked
them for a contribution for Tndian mis
sions, as our cause is suffering im
mensely for lack of funds just at this
time, and I am sure they have more
greenbacks on hand than they can use
with convenience
Should they see this, and I know they
read the papers, they will favor me
greatly (as one good turn deserves an
other) by forwarding to my address a
hundred or more dollars for the cause
of Indian evangelization. Virginia
City Enterprise. .
The Largest Iron-Clad Afloat.
The Russian iron-clad Peter the
Great, which was built after the de
signs of Adjutant General Popoff in
1872, was sent on its first trial trip
from Cronstiutt on the loth of October,
accompanied by the steam-frigate Rurik.
It started at ten o'clock in the morning,
and after steaming out of the harbor
went out to sea at the rate of twelve
knots an hour. After proceeding at
this speed for a short time it was found
that one of the ship's screws was dam
aged, and it had to put back for re
pairs. According to the Golos, the
Peter the Great is at present the most
powerful iron-clad afloat. Its hull is
333 feet long by 63 feet 8 inches wide;
it has a double bottom, and is covered
with armor plates to a depth of 6 feet
below the water line. It has two tur
rets, which will be armed with four 12
inch rifle guns, whose muzzles will be
14 feet above the water. The plates
over the water-line are 14 inches thick,
with a 10-inch backing. Below the
water-line the thickness of the plates is
12-inches, and of the backing the same.
CALIFORNIA.
CliarnctcrimicK of Man Frnnclnoo Its Bum
Iiipms and Gromh The Wheat Trade
How it Is Carried On Money fpecula
'tionH. From a letter to a Wisconsin paper
written by a gentleman now traveling in
California, we make the following ex
tracts:
San Francisco has a population of
180,000, which, combined with that of
Oakland, a suburban city across the bay,
sustaining the same relation to San Fran
cisco that Brooklyn does to New York,
would reach two hundred thousand
comprising nearly one-third the entire
population of the state. Her citizens
live, to a greater extent than is usual
elsewhere, in hotels and restaurants; the
number and elegance of which are re
markable. One of them, the Lick
House, is noted for having the largest
and most magnificent dining-nall in the
United States. The charges are mod
erate, being three dollars a day at the
best hotels, and at one of the finest
restaurants any three ordinary dishes
desired for a meal are furnished for
twenty-live cents; though the usual
charge varies from twelve and a half to
twenty-five cents a dish. The city is
thoroughly metropolitan in appearance
and activity, and also in society; and
possesses advantages and facilities of
every kind, equal to the largest Eastern
cities, tier buudings rant among tne
first in point of architecture, manifest
ing a taste, however, for excessive orna
mentation. In neignt, tney seldom ex
ceed three stories, and a large propor
tion are not moze than two; a precaution
observed in building for security in case
of earthquakes, which are regarded as
liable to occur at any time. As an offset
to this liability , indemnity from thun
der storms is claimed, which are ex
tremely rare. Curious statistics are re
ferred to, showing that the damage and
loss of life occasioned by earthquakes
in the state, bear only a small pro
portion to those resulting from
lightning in other portions of
the country; but I have seen
nothing in which the relative terror
arising from the two causes is actually
compared. .tor additional security,
buildings constructed of brick have
heavy bars of iron interlaid with the
brick every few courses, and the walls
are firmly bound together from side to
side with a framework ,6f iron laid
under the' floors. The churches, which
are not very numerous, are plain, with
a few exceptions, and are generally
built without towers or spires, from the
same consideration. But few public
buildings of magnitude adorn the city
as yet. A city hall is in course of con
struction, covering several acres of
ground, now nearly in' the outskirts of
the city, and has already cost upwards
of a million dollars, with its walls not
more than ten feet above the ground.
The dwelling houses are nearly all
built of wood, and they abound in bay
windows in front and on all sides, and
from every floor.
The city presents a singular appear
ance, being built on as many hills as
was Borne, though of sufficient height
to be entitled to the dignity of moun
tains. A range, varying from 600 to
800 feetn height, thickly covered with
business blocks and dwellings, extends
directly through the iieart of the city
for a distance of nearly two miles, so
steep that it is exceedingly difficult of
ascent, and street-cars are hauled up by
a stationary steam apparatus at the
summit. Along the foot of this 'range
extends a level track over half a mile in
width which has been artificially made
by filling in the bay on which lie five
of the principal parallel business
streets two important results having
been thus secured: deep water-front
and level ground for business.
The trade of San Francisco is simply
astonishing. With a population dou
ble that of Milwaukee; the number and
size of its business blocks, the large
stocks of merchandise, and the activity
exhibited, indicate a volume of busi
ness certainly four or five times
larger than our own. In foreign
imports she ranks the fourth city in the
Union, being surpassed only by New
York, Boston, and Baltimore. The
entire population of the states and ter
ritories lying west of the Rocky Moun
tains being less ' than that of the State
of Wisconsin, hardly a million, this is
remarkable, and it is difficult to ac
count for it. A partial explanation may
lie in the fact that the people spend
their money freely, and seem to take
very little " thought for the morrow"-
an. idea which f requently impresses one
in observing the people, even to the
point of regarding many as improvi
dent and wasteful. A member of a
leading wholesale dry goods house in
San Francisco stated to me that his
house sold upwards of $100,000 worth
of the one article of kid gloves annual
ly, which is merely an incidental item of
their trade. The great number of
jewelry stores, with large, handsomely
displayed stocks, attract one's atten
tion, and indicate the liberal handed
character of the people.
San Francisco must take the palm
for the wealth of her citizens in pro
portion to her population, as she boasts
upwards of a score who count their
wealth by millions, several of whom
reach from five to ten millions. Capi
tal is abundant and the amount seek
ing investment is large, and is offered
on long time, at what have been con
sidered, until recently, remarkably low
rates of interest, Beven to eight per
cent, per annum. The usual bank rate
of discount for short paper is, however,
one per cent, a month. The deposits in
her savings banks aggregate nearly
fifty millions of dollars, ana she pos
sesses several commercial banks rang
ing in capital from one to five millions.
The spirit of speculation, the great
bane of commercial life, is rife, and
seems to infect all classes of the com
munity. Mining stocks are the princi
pal medium, the rapidity and extent of
the fluctuations in which have no par
allel, variations of fifty per cent, and
upwards often occurring in a single
day ; and not unf requently an advance
of from one hundred up to five hun
dred per cent., or a corresponding de
cline, in a few ! days. The mania ex
tends to the women, even, and school
mistresses and dress-makers are known
to risk their hard-earned savings in the
chance of a lucky turn in the market.
Defalcations arising from persons in
places of trust drawing unadvisedly
upon their principals toneet losses and
provide margins for further operations,
are of frequent occurrence. The
process of putting new mining stocks
on the market, and manipulating
them is curious. A capitalist or com
pany, on learning of the discovery of a
new mine, after having it examined by
scientific experts, and obtaining a satis
factory report, makes purchase of
the property, and issues stock to the
amount of $50 to $100 for every dollar
invested. A brilliant prospectus is pub
lished, a liberal amount of newspaper
puffing procured, and the stock is put
upon the market at from one to five per
cent, of its face, as it will bear. The
wjrk of developing is then commenced.
Ia case the property proves non-productive,
the stock is quietly disposed of by
the originators to the best advantage
possible; but if gold is found in paying
quanties, tne stocit-noiaers are discour
aged by deceptive reports until induced
to sell out, or they are "frozen out" by
heavy assessments, and the insiders get
possession of most of the stock. It can
then, by fictitious dividends on the one
hand, or suspending the development
on the other, be made to vibrate on the
market to suit the interests of the man
agement; there being, however, a suffic
ient element of chance in it to entice
outsiders to operate in it freely.
The grain trade of San Francisco,
which has become nearly equal in mag
nitude to that of Milwaukee, and, like
the latter, consists principally in wheat,
is conducted in a very primitive man
ner, and is mainly monopolized by one
individual. This is the more surpris
ing, in view of the abundance of capi
tal and the enterprising character of the
business men. The grain is handled
entirely in sacks, containing about 100
lbs each, which are sewed up, and go
with the grain to its final point of ship
ment. Nothing is allowed the farmer
or shipper for the cost of the sacks,
which 'varies from fifteen to twenty
cents each. I was told by the manager
of the Central Pacific Kailroad, which
company operates nearly all the rail
road lines in the Btate, that by a careful
computation which he had made, it was
shown that the sacks for grain shipped
over their lines of road cost ninety
three per cent, as much as the company
receives for the transportation of it.
The grain is sacked in the field when
threshed, and is piled up on the ground,
where it remains until taken to market.
Large shed ware-houses, varying in ca
pacity from 20,000 up to 200,000 bush
els, are erected at the railroad stations,
in which the sacked grain is stored and
tiered up until the owner desires to BelL
It is transported on platform cars, with
no protection whatever from the weath
er. It was a sorry sight, when the first
fall rains came on, to see train after
train of grain-laden cars, destined for
market, exposed to the drenching rain.
Grain is sold wholly by samples, which
are procured by boring the sacks with
small tryers. A large proportion is
bought in the country by agents of the
Wheat King before referred to, and
what is consigned to the San Francisco
market for sale is mostly sold to him
there, at his office, at his own prices.
He does not deign to visit the Produce
Exchange, and transactions there are
restricted mainly to the local require
ments. Shipping merchants and others
who receive foreign orders, execute
them by purchasing directly from him
at such prices as he may choose to
name.
As a counter movement to this mon
opoly, the Grangers appointed an agent
at San Francisco to receive and ship
their grain to Furope directly for the
account of individual members; a pro
ceeding which, as might have been ex
pected, resulted disastrously to all con
cerned. A constantly declining market
during a four to five months' voyage,
on successive cargoes, and a large line
of freight engagements made for
months in sdvance of the requirements
of the business, serious decline subse
quently occurring in rates, proved too
much for the revolutionists of trade,
and the enterprise collapsed, with a
large deficit pretty evenly distributed
between all parties in any way connect
ed with it.
The bay of San Francisco, one of the
finest in the world for commercial pur
poses, is really a small inland sea, ly
ing parallel with the ocean, and con
nected with it by a channel from one to
two miles in width, and about six in
length, with a depth of thirty feet of
water at the lowest point. San Fran
cisco lies on the west side of the bay,
and on the south of this channel. The
bay, with its out-reaching arms, is
about seventy miles in length, and from
six to eight in width, with a sufficient
depth of water, throughout its entire
extent, for the largest ocean vessels.
In some places on the Eastern shore,
however, long piers are required to
reach deep water. The Central Pacific
Railroad Company have constructed a
pier at Oakland, on the east side of the
bay, which is the terminus of their
road, extending two miles into
the water. All the railroad lines in the
state, excepting the Southern Pacific,
which runs directly into the city of San
Francisco, terminate on the opposite
Bhores of the bay; and ocean vessels
load at the several termini, and at other
places of importance which skirt the
the bay. Several tributaries now into
the bay, navigable for small steamers
to an aggregate distance f two
hundred and fifty miles for those draw
ing three feet of water, and a distance
of four hundred miles farther for those
drawing fifteen' inches. This gives a
large portion of the best wheat-produc
ing region of tne state water communi
cation with San Francisco.
Cosily Chandeliers.
Chicago will henceforth hide her di
minished head. Those 500 chandeliers
in the Honore mansion, which the Chi
cago papers worked so hard to immor
talize at the time of the Fred. Grant
nuptials, are outdazzled by the chande
liers in the Sharon mansion, in San
Francisco, where the Pacific coast re
porters have beea doing their worst on a
swell wedding. One of them calmly
drives the iron into the Chicago soul as
follows: " It was mentioned by one of
the Chicago papers, as a rather remark
able incident, that a chandelier was put
into Mr. Honore's- house at the time of
Fred. Grant's marriage, at a cost of $500.
The three chandeliers that light Mr.
Sharon's large drawing-room cost $2, 100
each, and the three that light the library
cost $1,800. Even the small gas-brackets,
disposed at intervals along the walls,
cost $75 apiece. The drawing-room
chandeliers are of glass from the ceiling
down, with glass crystals, festoons and
pendants, and loos, wnen lighted, like
a tree incased in sleet in the blaze of a
brilliant sunset."
Chunks of Wisdom.
Too much rest itself becomes a pain.
Pleasure of every kind quickly satis
fies. Necessity makes dastards valiant men.
By sowing frugality we reap liberty, a
golden harvest.
Gayety is the soul's health ; sadness
is its poison.
A great mind will never give an affront
nor bear it.
The less we parade our misfortunes
the more sympathy we command.
Most of our misfortunes are more
supportable than the comments of our
friends upon them.
It is not only old and early impres
sions that deceive us ; the charm of
novelty has the same power.
The future does not come from before
to meet us, but comes streaming up
from behind, over our heads.
Dr. Franklin says: The eyes of other
people are the eyes that ruin us. If all
but myself were blind, I should neither
want a hue house nor hue furniture."
One month in the school of affliction
will teach thee more than the great pre
cepts of Aristotle in seven years, for
thou cans't never judge rightly of hu
man affairs unless thou hast first felt the
blows and found out the deceits of fortune.
BflTLl
What He Thinks of Hotel.
Hotels are houses ov refuge homes
for the vagrants the married man's re
treat and the bachelor s fireside.
J. hey are kept in all sorts ov wavs:
some on the European plan, and many
ov them on no plan at all.
a good landlord is like a good step
mother he knows Liz bizziness, and
means to do his duty. v
He knows how to rub hiz hand with
joy when the traveler draws nigh; he
knows how to smile; he knew your
wife's father when he waz living, and
your wife's first husband, but he don't
speaa aoout nim.
He kan tell whether it will rain to
morrow or not; he hears your com
plaints with a tear in his eye; he blows
up the servants at yure suggestion, and
stands around ready, with a shirt collar
az stiff az broken china.
A man may be a good supreme court
judge, and at the same time a miserable
landlord.
Most everybody thinks they can keep
a hotel and they kan; but this ackounts
for the great number ov hotels that are
run on the same principle that a jus
tice ov the peace offis is kept in the
country during a six days' jury trial for
kiliing somebody's yellow dorg.
A hotel won't keep itself , and keep the
lanlord too,, and ever kure a traveler
from the habit ov profane swearing.
I have had this experiment tried on
me several times, and it alwus makes
the swares wus.
It iz too often the kase that landlords
go into the bizzness ov hash as minis
ters go into the professhun with the
very best ov motives, but the poorest
kind ov prospects.
I don t Know ov enny fcizzness more
flattersum than the tavern bizzness.
There don't seem tew be ennything tew
do but tew stand in front ov the regis
ter with a pen behind the ear, and see
that the guests enter themself s az soon
az they enter the house; then yank a
bell rope six or seven time; then tell
John tew sho the gentleman tew 976;
and then take four dollars and fifty
1 A- 1 f
cents next morning irom tne poor uevu
ov a traveler, and let him went.
This seems tew be the whole thing
and it iz the whole thing in most cases.
You will dipkover the following de
skription a mild one ov about 9 hotels
out ov 10 between the Atlantik and
Pacifick Oshuns, akrost the United
States in a straight line :
Yure room iz 13 foot 6 inches, by 9
foot 7 inches, parallelogramly.
It being court week (as usual), all the
good rooms are employed by the law
yers and judges.
Yure room iz on the uppermost floor.
The carpet iz ingrain ingrained with
the dust, kerosene ile and ink spots ov
four generashuns.
There iz two pegs in the room tew
hitch coats onto, one ov them broke
oph, and the other pulled out, and
missing. '
The buro haz three legs and one
brick.
The glass tew the buro swings on two
pivots, which hav lost their grip.
There iz one towel on the rack, thin
but wet.
The rainwater in the pitcher cum out
ov the well.
The soap iz as tuff tew wear as whet
stone.
The soap iz scented with cinnamon
ile, and variegated with spots.
Thare iz three chairs, kane settree,
one iz a rocker, - and all three are
busted.
Thare iz a match-box, empty.
Thare iz no kurtin tew the windo,
aud thare don't want to be enny; ju
kan't see out, and who kan see in ?
The bell-rope iz cum oph about 6
inches this side ov the ceiling.
The bed iz a modern slat-bottom, with
two mattresses, one cotton and one
husk, and both harder and about as
thick as a sea-biskit.
Yu enter the bed sideways, and kan
feel every slat at once, as eazy az yu
en could the ribs ov a gridiron.
The bed iz inhabited.
Yu sleep sum, but role over a good
deal.
For breakfast yu hav a gong, and rhy
koffee too kold to melt butter, f ride po
tatoze which resemble the chips a tew
inch auger makes in its journey thru an
oak log.
Bread solid; beefsteak about az thik
az a blister-plaster, and az tuff as a
hound's ears.
Table covered with plates, a few
scared-to-doath pickles in one ov them
and 6 fly-indorsed crackers in an
other. '
A pewterinktom castor with three bofc .
ties in it, one without enny mustard,
and one with two inches of drowned
flies and vinnegar in it.
Servant gall, with hoops on, hangs
round yu earnestly, and wants tew
know if you will take another eup of
koffee,
Yu say " 2no, mom, I thank yu," and
push back yure chair.
You havu't eat enuff to pay for pick
ing yure teeth.
I am about as self-konsaited as it will
do for a man tew be and not crack
open ; but I never yet konsaited that I
could keep a hotel. I had rather be a
highwayman than tew be sum landlords
I Lave visited with.
Thare are hotels that are a joy upon
earth; whare the man pays hiz bill as
cheerfully az he did the parson who
married him; whare you kan't find the
landlord unless yu hunt in the kitchen;
whare servants glide around like angels
ov mercy; whare the beds fit a man's
back like the feathers on a goose; and
whare the vittles taste just az yure wife
or yure mother had fried 'em. I
These kind ov hotels ought tew be
built on wheels and travel around the-1
kuntry. They are az full ov real com
fort i az a thanksgiving pudding ; but
alass, yes, alass ! they are az unplenty
az double-yolked eggs.
Singular Detention of A Railroad Train.
The Chicago Post and Mail has the
following:
Smashed grasshoppers and other bugs
occasionally stop trains on the roads of
the far West, but the Northwestern rail
road has just invented a lubricator which
discounts all the old methods. Between
five and six o'clock last evening a grain
car sprung a leak on the track of the
Iowa division, a few miles west of Gen
eva. The grain was crushed by the
wheels, and the slippery pumice soon
put a stop to further progress by that
and other trains on the line. A deten
tion of some ten hours was the result
of the mishap, and this morning a horde
of belated and hungry passengers ap
peared at the depot "onssin" bath the
cause and the effect of the unusual
oc
currence.
Demand for Postage Stamna.
The applications for stamps for the
orepavment nf
A V .. f'""
the first month of the new year already
n L 0Rnf fsf ran . M -
v cajv,ouv. xne postomce offi
cials, however, consider that this sum
exceeds the nrohahle mnnfhlv
the estimate of the annual revenue from
tnis source being $1,U0U,000. The de
partment does not expect that any con
siderable amount of M jthe newspaper
uuouiBws wm go to tne express com
panies.
JOSH
A Hint.
ANNA C. BRACK ETT.
Our Daisy lay down
In her little nightgown,
And kissed me again and again.
On forehead and cheek,
- On lips that wotild speak,
Bat found themselves shut, to their gain.
Then, foolish, absurd,
To utter a word,
I anked ber the question so old,
That wife and that lover
Ask over and over,
As if they were surer when told I
There close at her side,
" Do you love me?" I cried ;
She lifted her golden-crowned head ;
a puzziea surprise
Shone in her gray eyes.
" Why, that's why I kiss y
you," she said.
The Boy Astronomer.
Hexekiah Butter-worth, in 8t. Nicholas for Decem
ber. -
The first transit of. Venus ever seen
by a human eye was predicted by a
boy, and was observed by that boy just
as he reached the age ot mannooa.
His name was Jeremiah Horrox. We
have a somewhat wonderful story to tell
you about this boy.
tie lived in an obscure village near
Liverpool, Eng. He was a lover of ;
books of science, and before he reach-1
ed the age of 18 he had mastered the
astronomical knowledge of the day.
He studied the problems of Kepler, and
he made the discovery that the tables of
Depler indicated the near approach of
the period of the transit of Venus ,
across the sun's center. This was
about the year 1635.
Often on midsummer nights the boy
Horrox might have been seen in the .
fields watching the planet Venus. The
desire sprang up within him to see the
transit of the beautiful planet across
the disc of the sun, for it was a sight t
that no eye had ever seen, and one that
would tend to solve some of the great
est problems ever presented to the
mind of an astronomer. So the boy
began to examine the astronomical
tables of Kepler, and by their aid en
deavored to demonstrate at what time
the next transit would occur. He
found an error in the tables, and then
he, being the first of all the astrono
mers to make the precise calculation,
discovered the exact date when the
next transit would take place.
He told his secret to one intimate
friend, a boy who, like himself, loved
science. The young astronomer then
awaited the event which he had predict
ed for a number of years, never seeing
the loved planet in the shaded evening
sky without dreaming of the day when
the transit should fulfill the beauti
ful vision he carried continually in his
mind. '
The memorable year came at last
1639. The predicted day of the transit
came, too, at the end of the year. It
was Sunday. It found Horrox, the boy.
astronomer, now just past twenty years
of age, intensely watching a sheet of
paper in a private room, on which lay
the sun's disc on the paper where he ex
pected, moment by moment, to see the
planet pass, like a moving spot or a
shadow. -
Suddenly the church bells rang. . He
was a religious youth, and was accus
tomed to heed the church bell as a call
from heaven. The paper still was spot- "
less; no shadow broke the outer edge of
the sun's luminous circle.
Still the church bells rang. Should
he go, a cloud might hide the sun be
fore his return, and the expected dis
closure be lost for a century.
But llorrax said to himself: " I must
not neglect the worship of the Creator,
to see the wonderful things the Creator
has made."
So he left the reflected image of the
sim on the paper, aud went to the sanc
tuary. When he returned from the service he
returned to the room. The sun was
still shining, and there, like a shadow
on the bright circle on the paper, was
the image of the planet Venus! It
crept slowly along the bright centre, like
the finger of the invisible. Then the
boy astronomer knew, that the great
problems of astronomy were correct,
and the thought filled his heart with re
ligious joy.
llorrax died at the age of twenty-two.
Nearly 130 years afterward, Venus was
agam seen crossing the sun. The
whole astronomical world was then in
terested in the event, and expeditions -of
observation were fitted out by the
principal European governments. It
was observed in this country by David
Rittenhouse, who fainted when he saw
the vision.
Egyptian Flies and Rats.
A large stable contained t.Tio
horses, which by great care had kept
their condition. It was absolutely nec
essary to keep them .in a dark stable on
account of the flies, which attacked all
animals in swarma. V.wn ti-ifi.ir. (ho
darkened building it was necessary to
iif.uu iin-n wuipuDcu ui uneu norseuung,
to drive away these persecuting insects.
The hair fell completely off the ears and
legs of the donkeys (which were allowed
to ramble about), owing to the swarms
of flies that irritated the skin: and in
spite of the mnwrK
stable, the donkeys preferred a life of
uuiruuor lnuepenuence, and fell off in
condition if confined to a house. The
worst flies were the small gray ones
with a long proboscis, similar to those .
that are often seen in houses in England.
an xjucreuioiy snort time tne station
fell into shape, I constructed three
magazines of galvanized iron, each
eighty feet in height, and the head
Storekeeper. Mr. Afftrnnnnia of
completed his arduous task of storing
tne immense amount of suppbes that
had been cont&innil in iha ..
Sels. This intrndniwl na fcn .Vo m.
Nile rats, which volunteered their aer-
w oy tnousauds, and quickly took
possession of the magazines by tunnel
ing beneath, and. appearing in the
midst of a rat s paradise, among thou-
Bauasoi Dusneis oi nee, biscuits, len
tils, etc The destruction caused by
these animals was frightful. They
gnawed holes in the sacks, and the, con
tents poured nnnn tha
from an hour-glass, to be immediately
attacked and destroyed by white ants.
TKam urn u 1 1 m . ik a.
- ' "v uio wuuiej, nor
stone of any kind, thus it was absolute-
lv impossible tn ntnn t!ha
white ants except by the constant labor
u tunuugover tne vast masses of boxes
and stores to elnaniut tham fmn v.
, . ua sua
earthen galleries which denote the pres-
. . .1 . ...
ui me termites. jsmatiia Au
Samuel Baker.
The Finances of the Centennial.
The management of the Philadelphia
Centennial Exhibition have given out,
recently, that they do not intend to ask
further for aid from Congress, but will
depend upon the state of Pennsylvania
and upon their private arrangements,
fox the necessary funds. A year ago
Drexel & Co., the well-known bankers,
offered them a loan of $2,000,000, pro
vided all the receipts of the enterprise
were made over to the firm; and it ia
supposed that this offer has now been
accepted, and j that . it is this money
which ia to be used in the construction
of the exhibition building.