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About The Albany register. (Albany, Or.) 1868-18?? | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1875)
A LtTEUAHT HOAX. .b'.x w.!?ce!?f,lU3r tn.-t4t im ???rtth, Boston PrW ClnbTon tetany evening. BmnllMm were read, snmrtlii to fromdtotMmiabed tadiTWSS ecterisiie poem, which the author of tse " Heathen Chinee" vroold, we thick, be almost willlns to eJUn a IndW, if, not Vy himself, certainly by a "doable." Mo assertion mi made at the table that rSStFJf flf e"m ,rom B,t with "U present, nn the few in the secret, ItuBped e the fallacious conclusion : end eo have ererel of the paper eisoe. The Unes were. In fact, wnttes ere the initials " B. H." by J. CheeTjj Goodwin, and all will agree that he waa far snore than a parodist, and excuse the locoes cheat very willingly. Here lathe Brett Harte poem of the occasion : rmxaft-nooM biij. Bill was cuss ; Slept all night en a pile of stock Hard as a reck. But what'd he are ! He'd no friends That would make a muss If he slept in the streets. Bo he seuda For a pot of beer, and a bite to eat In the press-room, Where, with jes' room To stretch ont straight. He'd wait Till the boys got round in the upper regions : And by legions He fed the shorts to the hungry maws And iron Jaws i Of the press. I.I You can guess How he loved the machine and bis work. He shirk T When he ffare his word That settled it sure. Whatever it was Ton eould be pox That he'd do as he said, if It took a leg. Not a peg Would he move, whatever he saw or heard, To break a promise Was farthest from bis Thouirhts of what waa the duty of man. And where the law of right began. One night the boss (Member of Congress now, they says) Game down stain - Putting on airs -(His usual way). Pretty soon he came across Bill, who was putting the forma in place. " B1U," mays he, " I want a copy brought up to me At four o'clock in any case ; , For I leave at ttve By an early train. So look alive ; - " Or" here his language became profane 'YouHdoit,BlT' Bays BUI, " I will." That night at just about half-past one. The bells begun The awful clangor that tells of fire. Twasourold place That was being burst. When Bill learnt The fact, by his linen coat tails'blase. The room was getting about red hot. There was just ons spot That the are had managed, so far, to spare, And the press stood there. Bill wssnt a crier, And when he saw There was no ue trying to ssve a thing Out of the fiery dragon's maw. He gave one spring ' For the stock ; there wasn't an atom left. Bill says the heft Of his heart, when he found there wasn't one Identical sheet that he could use, - Waa more'n a ton. . In his two hoars' snooze. He hadnt taken his garment off. They came off now. ' That is he Stripped, as if for a row, Down to the buff. Let us draw the veil, ' And end this tele With a scene that morning sharp at four. BUI knocked at the door Of the boss's house, and out he came, . a iTot knowing the place was all aflame ; "Get the paper?" Says Bill, " You're right, The ola office bunt down to night, . There wssnt no one hurt, And I got you a copy." Here he gave -The boss, who was just beginning to rave, - An impression struck off on his shirt. P. S. Twas Bill's shirt, not the bosses. I tell you Bill was one of the hosses. Kovwbeb 5, 1874. DUELING IN ILLINOIS. TB History of the Code In she Backer State Remarkable Duels of Rmfc., le Persons The) M.etimfj Between , Abraham Lincoln and Clem. Shields The Many Other Affairs Which Grew Ont of It. From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. In no other State in the American Union, and perhaps in no other place - in all the world, are there eo stringent and so efficient laws acrainst duelinr as in Illinois, To be either principal or seoona in an an&ir ox nonor ; even to write or bear a challenge, though no snoc snouia oe exchanged, is an infam ous crime, and renders the parties for ever disqualified from holding any of fice of trust, honor or profit within the State. Before any offioer, elected or appointed, can enter nDon the dicharff of his duties, he is required to make oath that he has not been engaged in any duel in the State, either as princi pal or second, and that he has not (since 1818 left the State for the pur pose of engaging in' any affair of that kind, elsewhere. This stringent pro vision has had a very cooling effect upon the sanguinary temperaments of tnese amoiaous partisans amoncr wnom. under ordinary circumstances, the pistol has been a frequent arbiter. Compelled to oiioose between disfranchisement or a fight, without much hesitation they forego the latter, and other methods of satisfaction' are devised or the affront meekly borne. Previous to the Constitution of 1848. belligerent parties who sought to settle their affairs by the barbarous code had only to cross the state line, and for bat tles foncht on the soil of another State they could not be held to an account by the authorities of this. As a preventive of dueling among our citizens, there fore, the statute was a comparative fail- tire ; but in the Constitution of 1818 a provision was inserted reamnnor tne aa ministration, to every State offioer, and to eyery voter whose ballot was received under challenge, a solemn asseveration that the party had never been engaged in anyduel in this State since 1848, nor had-ever left the State for the purpose of engaging in any elsewhere. HOW TErtS FRO VISION WAS ADOPTED. . .The circumstaxces under which the last clause of the oath was adopted were peculiar and interesting. Among the members of the Convention of 1848 were Mr. O. C. Pratt and - Thomas Campbell, both of Jo Daviess county. During the sittings of the convention, the question of alien suffrage came up for discussion' and Mr Pratt opposed the granting of the elective franchise to foreigners before they were naturalized. To this Mr. Campbell replied, favoring the broadest extension of the franchise, and in the course of his speech taunted Pratt with having obtained his election by pledging the foreigners in his dis trict tht he would support their cause in the convention. Mr. , .Pratt denied the charge indignantly, and attributed his colleague's mistake .to the pres- , ence of a barrel of beer and a keg of ' whisky." Campbell instantly denounced, the iiiflinnation as, fae and, cowardly, and concluded, fey edsrhig ithat jie held himself personally accountable for his language. ' . TH3B CHAXJjEXOK PASSES. Two hours -aferJie' received a note from Mr. Pratt, simply requesting his Eresence' at the Planters' House, St. ouis, at his earliest convenience. Campbell replied that he would be on hand promptly, -and -departed at once. The seconds were arranging the terms of the meeting when a St. Louis Alder man, named Blennerhasset, caused-the arrest of both parties; and they were placed under $3,000 bonds to keep the peace. . , The affair was thus ended, and the parties returned and resumed their seats in the convention. sThe fact that two members of so important and hon orable s body as the Constitutional Convention could violate the spirit of the State law against dueling and es cape ail the penalty by the simple de vice of crossing the State line, caused unfavorable comment, and drew atten-, tion to the weakness of the law upon ; the subject, A few of the leading mem bers met in private consultation, and decided upon a stringent statute whicn should cover ail such cases in me iu ture. Hence they devised and framed an oath of office, and incorporated it into the Constitution, so broad in the terms of its disfranchisement, and so comprehensive in the structure of its language, as to cover not only Illinois, but all the world Desiae. as was aimeu at the murderous practice, without re spect to place, circumstance, or time, save only that the offense should date from the adoption cf the new Constitu tion. The measure was introduced by R. B. Servant, of Randolph county, and passed by 74 yeas to 44 nays. No law ever so completely fulfilled the de sign of its framers, and it was adopted entire by the Constitutional Convention of 1870. In this connection, it may be inter esting to give a brief history of the var ious duels in which citizens of the State have prominently figured. Of ten af fairs of this nature which have taken place since the organization of the State, it is noteworthy that in only one were shots exchanged; that was the first one ever attempted, proved fatal to one of the combatants, and the sur vivor was afterward tried, convicted, and hung. This was known as the Bennett and Stewart duel, a full ac count of which was published in the Inter-Ocean a few months ago. XlTNCOLN and shields. The most noteworthy affair of this kind was that between the late Abraham Lincoln and Gen. James Shields, now of Missouri, which took place in 1842. In that year there was great public ex citement caused by the refusal of the State officers, among whom was Gen. Shields, then State Auditor, to receive the bills of the State Bank in payment of taxes, said bills being worth in specie only about fifty cents on a dollar, xne measure provoked universal denuncia tion, and Mr. Lincoln, then a young and comparatively unknown lawyer, wrote a communication on tne subject, wmcn was published in the Sangamon Jour nal, the Whig organ at Springfield, over the signature of "Rebecca," dated " Lost Township, Sept. 2, 1842. The article was in the form of a dia logue between "Aunt Rebecca" and her Democratic neighbor, in which she handled the officers of the State savage ly for their order refusing the State Bank money, and was particularly se vere on Shields, calling him a liar and a fool, "dull as a cake of tallow." Shields -was a bachelor, and very vain, and his appearance at a lair in the city was car icatured, his demeanor criticised, and he denounced as a "conceited dunce. The article soon became the talk of the town, and the excitable' Irishman fairly foamed with rage. He proceeded at once to the editor of the Journal, Simeon Francis, demanded the name of the author of the offensive communica tion, and that of Mr. Lincoln was given him. Lincoln was at the time attend ing court at Tremont, Tazewell county. but thither Shields Hastened, accom panied by his " friend," Gen. "White- sides, and immediately on his arrival sent a note to Lincoln stating that his name had been given him as the author of an insulting article signed " Rebec ca," and requiring " a full, positive and absolute retraction of all offensive allu sions to hi personally, and an ample apology for the insults conveyed." It so happened that two friends of Mr. Lincoln, Dr. Merriman and William Butler, learned of Shields' departure for Tremont and the object of it, and, mounting their horses, rode all night, and communicated with Mr. Lincoln be fore Mr. Shields did ; so he was in a measure prepared for the hostile note. THE PRBTiTMTK ABIES. The same evening he replied, refusing to offer any explanation, on the ground that Shields assumed the fact of his authorship of the article in question, and while not pointing out any particu lar part to which he objected, demanded a general retraction, accompanying the same with threats and menaces in case of a refusal. One or two other notes were exchanged, when Shields sent a final rejoinder, designating Gen. White sides as the friend selected to arrange for the meeting at which the satisfaction he demanded should be tendered. Mr. Lincoln promptly responded, and named Dr. Merriman as his friend. Furtner proceedings were, however, adjourned to Springfield ; but the fact that a hostile meeting between the two parties was imminent soon became known, and in order to avoid arrest Mr. Lincoln suddenly retired to Jackson ville, leaving with Mr. Butler the fol lowing instructions for his "friend," Dr. Merriman, who was conducting the affair in his behalf : MB. LiTN'COLN's BOTES FOB THK FIGHT. "In case Gen. Whitesides (Shields' second) shall signify a wish to settle this affair without further difficulty, let bim know that if the papers already passed be withdrawn, and a note pre sented from Gen. Shields asking if I am the author of the articles of which he complains, and asking that I shall make him geutlemanly satisfaction, and that without menace or dictation as to what that satisfaction shall be, you can assure him that the following answer shall be given : " I did write the " Lost Township " letter which appeared in the Journal of I . i n t. X 1 1 1 i- . - . I tne zu nunuiii, uul una no participation in any form in any other article allud ing to you. I had no intention of in juring your personal or private charac ter or standing as a man or a gentle man ; and I did not then think, and I do not now think, that tne article could produce, or has produced, that effect against you ; and had : I anticipated such an effect, I should have forborne to write it.' . " Such is the tenor of the apology I am willing to make, providing all former demands are withdrawn. If no arrange ment is arrived at, the preliminaries of the fight are to be : "1. Weapons Cavalry broadswords of the largest size, precisely equal in all respects, and such as are now used ... A T . the cavalry company at Jackson ville. ' ; : "2. Position A plank ten feet long and from nine to twelve inches broad, to be firmly fixed on edge on the ground as the line between us, -which neither is to pass his foot over on forfeit of his life. Next, s line drawn on the ground on either side of said plank and parallel with it, each at the distance of the length of the sword and three feet ad ditional from the plank, and the retreat ing of his own accord over such line, by either party, during the fight, shall be deemed a surrender of the contest. "3. Time On Thursday evening, at 5 o'clock, if agreeable ; but in no case to be deferred longer than Friday evening, at 5 o'clock. - " 4. Place "Within three miles of Al ton, on the opposite. Bide of the river, the .particular spot to be agreed on by you! Any details coming within the foregoing rules you are at liberty to make at your discretion, but you in no case to swerve from these rules or pass beyond the limits. "Abraham Lincoiin." Dr. Merriman read these instructions to Gen. Whitesides, who, in the absence of his principal, declined to discuss the terms of settlement until they should meet in Missouri. All parties now left for Alton. Lin coln's friends met. him at Jacksonville, where the weapons were procured, and a surgeon Dr. A. T. Bledsoe added to the party. When Shields and his party arrived, all crossed into Missouri, and the work of laying off the ground commenced. . Fortunatelv. at this luncture. Colonel J. J. Hardin and Dr. R- W. English, warm personal friends of both parties. arrived on the scene, having come all the way from Springfield with the -sole Snrpose of bringing about an accommo ation and immediately presented the following proposition : ALTON, Sept. 22, 1842. Messrs. Whitesides and Merriman : As tbe mntnal naraonal friends of Shields and Lincoln, but without authority from either, we earnestly desire a reconciliation ol tne mis understanding which exists between them. 8uch difficulties should always be arranged amicably, if it is possible to do so with honor to both parties. Believing that such an ar rangement can possibly be effected, we re spectfully but earnestly submit tne xoiiowmg proposition for your consideration : Let the whole difficulty be submitted to four or more gentlemen of your own choosing, who shall consider the affair and report thereupon for your consideration. Josnr J. Habdik, tt. v. uouai. This paper was laid before the princi pals and accepted. Mr. Shields prompt ly named Gen. Whitesides, W. L. D. Ewing, and the surgeon who had accom panied him, T. M. Hope, to conduct the negotiations on nis benaif. Tne demand for an apology and ail other belligerent papers were with drawn, when Mr. Lincoln tendered the explanation he had already promised, which proved satisfactory, the parties were reconciled, shook hands, and re turned together te Springfield. So ended .Liinooln b nrst, last, and only duel, xsm the affair did not end with Lincoln's withdrawal from it. The blood of all the parties who had been connected with it was up, and nearly half a dozen chal lenges grew out of it, nearly as many as nave occurred in tne wnole History ox the State before or since. SHTEXiDS AND BUTLER. Butler, it will be remembered, was one of Lincoln's seconds, irt his affair with Shields, and had urged the fight with great vehemence. Greatly dis trusted at the fiasco, he returned to Springfield; and published a letter in the Sangamon Journal which was very severe upon both Lincoln and Shields. The latter was greatly irritated, and forthwith sent a menacing note to the author. Mr. Butler made no other re sponse to the note than to accept it as a challenge, and without further circum locution fixed the Time Sunrise on the following morn ing. Place The Allen farm, one mile north of the present State House. Weapons Rifles. Distance One hundred yards. Position The parties to stand with their right sides toward each other ; the rifles to be held in both hands horizon tally and oscked. Neither party to move his person or his rifle after being placed, until the word fire. Shields was net a little surprised at the promptness with which his overtures had been met, but protested that as a State officer he could not fight within the limits of the State. He also claimed that the position would give his oppo nent the advantage, as he was left handed. Mr. Butler, with his friend, the inevitable Dr. Merriman, was at the place appointed, and at the time designated,' but failed to find any ad versary. There followed some rather caustio criticisms on Shields' declination of a meeting he had so ostentatiously in vited, whereat he sent another note ac cepting the original terms; er, if that was not satisfactory, he would " go out to some lonely place on the prairie and fight, without seconds, and beyond the danger of molestation." Butler replied that he had once offered him battle, which was refused, and he would now have no more to do with him. So the affair ended, so far, at least, as the principals were concerned. THE SECONDS THIRST FOB GORE. But the seconds took up the affair where the principals laid it down. In the course of the correspondence con nected with the unpleasantness between Shields and Butler, in which White sides and Merriman had acted the part of seconds, the former had severely censured the course of the latter, who responded that "the arrogant, dictatorial, rude, and ungentle- manly character ot the note precluded ail furtner correspondence on tne sub ject." Strangely enough. Abraham Lin coin was the bearer of this message, and thus repaid tne servioes of tne man wno had served him in the same capacity but a day or two oerore. To this note Gen. Whitesides laconi cally replied: Meet me at the Planters' House, St. Xjouis, on .Friday next, wnen you will near furtner from me." ' Dr. Merriman as laconically answered. " I wish to know if you intend your note as a cnaiienge. ii so, my friend Capt. Lincoln will wait upon you with the conditions of our meeting." Whitesides responded: . " You shall have a note of the char acter yon allude to when we meet at the Planters' House, St, Louis, on Friday next. ; , - - - . Merriman replied, denying the right of the challenger to name the place of meeting and suggested Xiouisiana, Mo, Whitesides then called noon Mr. Lin coin and informed him verbally that he could not accept that proposition ; that he had business in St. Louis, and that place was as near as Louisiana. . Merriman then dropped the matter. Finding he could not force a fightat St. Louis, Whitesides sent note by the hand of Gen. Shields offering to meet his adversary at Louisiana, but Merri man refused to reopen the matter. . So ended another bloodless battle of the braggadocios. It is a singular fact that out of the af fair of Lincoln and Shields grew nearly aa many aueiB, or attempts as duels, as have occurred in all the previous and subsequent history of the State. It is a little singular, too, that amid all this blaster not a sword was unsheathed or a pistol cocked. The affairs did not even end in smoke, for they did not come tnat near to actual hostilities. ibb xungnamton imen prints a copy of an original letter of President Lin coln, now in ' the possession of Hon. Henry R. Mygatt. of Oxford, to whom it was given by the confidential clerk of tne secretary of War, soon after it was written. t reads as follows : Executive Hakbiob. WAantitnToic. Not. 11. 1861. Hon. Sxcbktabt of Wab. My Dear Mr . I personally wish Jacob B. Freer, of New Jersey, to be appointed a Colonel for a ooiorea regiment, and this regardless of whether he can tell the exact shade ol Julius Ciesars nur. lours truly, A liincour. iUl Sorts. Fectt canners are engaged on pat-np jobs. At Benicia, Cal., there is aow on ex hibition a grape measuring 4 5-8 inches one way and 3j inches the other. Thb Bostons retain the base ball championship for the third season, with the Mutuals second and Athletics third. Good nature, like a bee. collects Its honey from every herb. HI nature, Use a spider, sucks po.son from tne sweet est flower. Germany has just launched her sev enth first-class iron-clad, and the eighth, now being constructed, is to be afloat in April. Senator Goldthwaxtil of Georgia. is thinking of resigning on account of ill-health, and General . Morgan is spoken of as his successor. , Some folks call it "Boss-town " others "Bawston," and others "B-os- ton," but the real , pronunciation is Boz-ton, dwelling long on the "z." A dsad man can drift down stream. but it takes a live man to pull up against it. That is the time that tries a man's soul when the tide is acrainst him. Ristori has been quite successful in studying tbe English language. She can say "ridiculous improbabilities" with ease, and is practicing on "thirsty." Mr. Geobgx EL Nbttlbton has bei appointed General Manager of the Mis souri River, Fort Scott and Gulf. Rail road, with full powers and authority as its chief executive officer. The following' striking lines forms an inscription found at Melrose Abbey : The earth goetb on the earth, glistening In gold ; The earth goes to the earth sooner than it wold ; The earth builds on the earth castles and towers ; The earth sajs to the earth" All shall be ours I A California temperance association limits the beverages of its members to wine, beer and cider, "except when laboring under a sense of discour agement, and then whisky will be al lowed. Thb mild weather is hatching ont the grasshopper eggs at the West, and the fields swarm with young insects. 5 The farmers exult in the thought that win ter will kill them and they will be free from the pest next season. Coii. Wiixiam Wilson, who raised the famous corps known as " Billy Wilson's " zouaves," at the beginning of the war, died at New York city last week. He fought gallantly throughout the war, and had since lived a quiet life. Three little girls in Hartford. God bless 'em, spent a week on fancy work, and tnen neid a fair, wnicn netted nine dollars, with which they purchased a ton of coal for a poor widow lady of that aity. Thb invention of the musical scale, or gamut, occurred in 1022T Vlt was the work of an Italian monk. ana. contrib uted much to diffuse a taste for music. The inventor, Guido Arctine, was sent for thrice to Rome to teach it to the clergy. Thx annual report of Superintendent Bangs, of the Railway Postal Service, shows a variety of interesting facts, prominent among them being the state ment that of all the mail carried under his superintendence 77 per cent, is news matter to regular subscribers. Prince Bismabck is now reported to be in excellent health. The weund in flicted by Kallmann has left a scar, but it is perfctly healed. Close to it, how ever, on the wrist of his right hand, a red mark remains, which is still sore enough to make writing a somewhat painful exertion. Such a death as that which occurred at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, recently, is extremely rare. The body of an un known man, sixty years old, was found hanging with ad downwards on the fence of he cemetery. He had appar ently caught his ankle between the rickets over the fence, and had evident y been dead a day or two. Thb habit of breathing through the mouth instead of through the nose tends to weaken the whole respiratory appa ratus, diminish the capacity of the lungs, and when commenced in early infancy, to distort tne jaws and deform the teeth. Many of the tribes of Ameri can Indians as explained by the emi nent artist, the late Mr. Cblton are particular never to allow a child to sleep for a moment with its mouth open, and unsymmetrical teeth are un known among tnem. wnenever a child is inclined to open its mouth dur ing sleep its watchful mother or nurse presses its lips together, holds them closed. , and preserves the corrective process until the abnormal habit is overcome and breathing the natural way established.. Physical and Mental Disease. A writer in Chambers' Journal speaks of the fact as decidedly noteworthy that the common opinion that excessive men tal occupation gravitates toward insanity is not only not yenned by facts, but tnat, on the contrary, one of the foremost living physicians doubts whether aliena tion of mind is ever the result of over strain ; it is to physical, not mental, derangement, he thinks, that excessive work of the brain generally cives rise. Insanity, he points out, finds the most suitable material for its development among the cloddish, uneducated classes, while the worst forms of physical- dis eases are originated and intensified by the educated, overstrained brain workers. Thb railroad casualties fof October in the United States, that have been reported, amount to eighty-one in all, makincr an averaire of about three acci dents per day during the month. There has been also during the same time about one person killed in every two days, and two injured every day. Dur ing the year ending November 1, there were about 1.000 accidents, over 200 killed and over 700 injured. It is a fact well-known to railroad men that not nearly all the casualties on the lines are reported to the general public or the statisticians. If they were, the averasres in the taoies of accidents, deaths and injuries on railroads would be materially increased. Burnt i and Ground " Coffee. Are you fond of your coffee? An official investigation has just been made in Paris as to the materials of which this " delicious beverage " is made. There are five nrinoipal compounds : 1. Burned bread and coffee grounds : 2. Powdered chiocory, sand and brick duet. -8. Ci hirvnrv and burned bones. 4. Chiooorv burned, mixed with but ter anrl ralnmd with Prusian red. 5. Burned cabbage, rot and boiled norse liver ' i A - A Dying Man The Latest Detroit Dodge - Wednesday morning last a stranger entered a dry goods store on Woodward avenue and inquired for the proprietor, whose feelings are herewith respected and his name suppressed. The stranger introduced himself as Fiske, and said that a man who lay dying at a certain boarding-house on Lamed street west nad something to say to tne mercnant before he passed away. Thinking it very singular, the mercnant put on his overcoat and went down to the house in company with the stranger. On a bed up stairs he found the dying man. The merchant expected to find a pale, emaciated patient, but instead he found a pretty healthy looking fellow, who was, however, snugly covered up in bed, and whose voice was away down in his throat. . , "You wished to see me, did you?" asked the merchant as he sat down. " I did." answered the patient. "The doctor says that I will not live twenty-four hours, and I want to con fess a crime and ask- your forgiveness. You don't know me. hut I know you. You were keeping store in St. Joseph in 1857." t " Yes," answered the merchant. " Well," continued the man, " I hap pened to be in St. Joseph that year, and one day while you were at dinner and your clerk busy I stole a pair of boots and a cap, amounting in value to per haps six dollars. It is the only theft I ever committed, and it has caused me endless anxiety. Now, before I die, I wish to ask your forgiveness and to re store the value of the goods." - The merchant could not remember anything about the affair, nor of the man, who said his name was Jefferson. and he replied that it was all right, and tnat he didn t care foi compensation. But both men pressed him to take at least fifteen dollars for the amount stolen so long ago, and he reluctantly consented. The dying man pulled out a roll of bills, all of the denomination of 0100, and the merchant handed back nfty-fonr dollars, ail the money he hac , and told the well man to come to the store after the rest. He shook hands with the patient, hoped that death might be arrested and returned to the store alone having the $100 bill in his vest pocket. The stranger had not called up to 2 p. m. and the merchant finally took a closer look at the bill. Mis bair began to raise up, and he started for a bank. Best counterfeit 1 ve seen for a ear,' remarked tne cashier he Landed the bill back. The merchant then secured the ser vices of a detective and they hastened to the boarding-house to find that the men had departed before noon. They came there the evening previous, paid for two days' board, and the landlady did not know anything about them, but supposed the merchant knew them both. One at least must have known something of the merchant's former history, as he referred to facts, and al though they did not get the stake they played for, they nevertheless made a good enougn tning of it. liver since Wednesday a detective has been looking for the men, and the greatest care lias been taken that the reporters shouldn't get hold of the item. Detroit Free Press. A Lover's Revenge. Some five or six weeks ago a young man, named Charles Perrin, 23 years old. a earoenter bv trade, fell in love with a good-loeking girl whose parents reside on Urcnard street. Unaries nad red hair and a freckled face, and al though the young lady treated him courteously when he called at the house, she had her mind made up that she could never wed a red-headed man. After an acquaintance of three weeks he asked her to become Mrs. Perrin, and was greatly taken down when she told iim that she couldn't think of such a thing. Charles then sought to have the old folks put in a good word for him, but they declined to interfere. He continued his visits, perhaps hoping to soften the young girl's heart, but Thursday evening the crisis .came. He went to the house with a bottle of acid in his pocket, prepared to spoil her beauty if she did not give him a favorable answer. There was no one at home but the girl and her mother, and Perrin first wanted the girl to take a walk with him. She refused to go, and he asked to see her alone. She also re fused this request, and the lover had just got ready to draw the bottle from nis pocket when something bit him. He thought it was a dog, but it wasn't. The cork had worked out of the bottle, and his coat-tails were turning brick color at the rate of a yard a minute. The acid wasn't content with the coat-tails, but struck out for flesh, and in about a minute the young man was dancing around the house as if to escape a bullet. Shout ing and whooping he got out of doors and threw off most of his clothing and rolled in the mud, and it was some time before any one could find out whether he had snakes in his boots or had sat down on a brad-awL He was so badly burned that two men had to help him to his boarding house on Fifth street, where a physician dressed the burns. There is a good deal of laughing at his expense, and if he makes his -appearance at the house again he will be ar rested, as he told one of his friends in advance that he meant the acid for the girL Detroit Free Jreas. A Poet's Prosperity.' Bryant .has made more money than any poet that ever lived. It has, how ever, not been the product of his Muse, but of his newspaper. To this is to be added the fact that he is of simple hab its, and cannot but be moderate in gen eral expenses. He is estimated to be worth from $400,000 up to $600,000, which is certainly doing very well. No other editor except Bennett has exoeded this sum, or even equaled it, while, as for poets, which of this gifted clan ever dreamed of such success ? Bryant, in deed, reminds us, (in this point at least) of what Jeffrey said of Byron in his critique, 'He never lived in a garret like thoroughbred poets." , But wealth never inflated his vanity. ' It came as the earnings of a great journal, and was never used for display. New York Dstter. -. - " , .. Thb Center of Pofuzatioit; North and South, the center of population steadily clings to the thirty-ninth parallel, along which are situated Balti more, Washington and Cincinnati. At no time from 1790 to 1870 has the center of population departed north or south of this line more than twenty-six miles. It has marched westward 399 miles in that period, the greatest leap being from 1850 to 1860 (eighty-one miles) when the transfer of a small popula tion to the Pacific coast gave a sudden elongation to the Western arm of the lever and necessitated the moving of the fulcrum quite a distance. It ' is now forty-eight miles east of Cincin nati, and in 1883 will nearly coincide with that city , A GIGANTIC RAILWAY PROJECT. An Eight-Track fload between New York and Chicago Six Thousand yrelght Trains in Constant Motion How Freight Rates Mmy he Reduced Three- W ourtns. A new and important railroad move ment is said to be on the tapis. It is understood that the management of the New York Central and Lake Shore rail roads are contemplating the formation of a joint company, with a view to lay ing exclusive freight tracks all the way from Chicago to New York and Boston. The extra two tracks between Albany and Buffalo are nearly complete, and the plan is to continue the extra double tracks from Buffalo to Chicago. When this is done it will be possible to carry freight at very much cheaper re tea than it can now be handled on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, notwithstanding the shorter distance on the last mentioned railway. It is believed that the freight can be transported on an exclusive freight track at rates not very much above those charged on the Brie canaL The trains are to be run at the rate of eight miles an-hour, which is the rate that gives the least wear and tear of track and cars. On a uniform time table, the freight track not being ham pered by passenger trains or trains of unequal rates of speed, an incalculably large-amount of business can thus be done. Under such an arrangement it would be possible to run trains which would be less than half a mile apart. Now, as the distance from New York to Chicago is about one thousand miles, if we allow that under such regulations as the above there would be three trains of from ten to twenty cars per mile, we should have the enormous aggregate, on the two tracks, of six thousand trains constantly in motion. Such a stupend ous amount of business as this would enable the companies to reduce freight charges to a point far below anything now thought of. Under a uniform time table it would be possible to throw open the freight business to general competi tion and take private cars upon the line in the same way that private canal-boats are taken upon our canals. This would give free trade in freight in its most perfect form. With a quadruple track it is believed that the Central railroad could defy competition, and carry freight at one-third the charges of the Balti more and Ohio railroad, and the imme diate effectof the change would be the ruin of the Erie railway. The way this crand scheme is to be carried out is as yet undetermined, but it is in contem plation, we are assured; in fact, it is forced upon tne New York Central by the exigencies of the situation. Of course, in taking tnis departure, tne New York Central will cut loose from all connections with other trunk lines, and will undoubtedly force the Pennsyl vania Central .into a similar arrange ment, which would give these two roads the practical monopoly and complete command of the freight business, at the same time meeting the growing dei manas oi tne country ior cneap ixeigni. The cost of this vast improvemen would be commensurate with its im portance, but after all would not amount to such a sum as to be impossible for such a powerful corporation as would be formed by the combination of the New York Central and Hudson River and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern companies. The first named company, with the lease of the Harlem road and its additional tracks, now nearly comoleted between Albany and f Buffalo, has practically a quadruple track from Mew Xork to isullaio. and of the whole distance between Buffalo and Chicago 541 miles the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Company has now 823 miles of double track. There remains, therefore, but 219 miles of single track to be laid to make that section a double-track railway and but 541 miles more of double track to com plete the quadruple track, from New York to Cnioago. At the latest prices paid for honest and economical con structions this work could be done for $25,000,000. The united capital of the two roads amounts to $139,428,300 and the funded debts of the two roads are about $64,000,000. An addition of $25,000,000 to tbe latter would make the aggregate liabilities of the com bined company amount to $228,000,000, which, with the new tracks proposed and present length of main road and branches, would make an average ih debtedness per mile of single track of less tnan $3 , UUO. Jew iorJc urapmc. The Great Fire at Cronstadt, Rossis. A St, Petersburg letter, dated Novem ber 5, says:' "The great fire at Cron stadt is still the universal topic of con venation here. Uronstadt, as every body knows, is on an island at the very mouth of the River Neva. How, there fore, a fire in such a place can be allowed to spread so as to destroy the dwelling places of from 10,000 to 15,000 people puzzles many wise men hem The local paper, the Cronstadt Boten, of to-day, cives the following details: 'Nine squares or blocks of houses, including the Uostinni JJwor, or liazar, nave been completely destroyed. The mass of .houses thus laid in ashes was in habited by 15,000 people. The build ings consisted -of 101 wooden and 18 stone housed, 1 church, 2 chapels, 50 shops in the Gostinni Dwor, and 78 shops attached to the marine, barracks.' It will, perhaps, not appear so extraor- dinarv that a considerable Dart of Cron stadt has been destroyed by fire, when it. is remembered tnat it nas not yet been supplied with any, civilized system of water-works. People who require water in Cronstadt have to fetch itf rom the river which washes its shores, and as such an operation -can hardly keep pace with the demand in case of a con fiogration. it is only astonishing that the result has not been more disas trous."; '.. - lV Facts Worth Remembering. 'The following was gathered by ob servation and inquiry while buildin my house the ' past summer, which willingly give for the benefit of those designing to build. One thousand Bhingles' laid four inches to the weather will cover one hundred square feet of surface, and five pounds of shingle nails will fasten them on. One-fifth more sidimr and flooring i needed than the number of square feet oi jranaoe to De covered, because cf the lap in the siding anA the matching of the floor; ...... One thousand lath will cover seventy yards of surface, and eleven pounds of la. :ii 'll .1 u uiui viu ubui tnem on. Eight bushels of (rood lime, sixteen bushels of sand, and one bushel of hair will make enough of good mortar to plaster one hundred square yards. A cord ef stone, three bushels of lime, and a cubio yard of sand will lay one hundred cubio feet of wall. Five courses of brick will lay one foot in height on a chimney, six bricks in a course will make a flue four inches wide and twelve inches long, and eight bricks in a course will make, a flue eight inches wide and sixteen inches long. W. Oreen, in Prairie Farmer, 1 Political Pimts. ; The vote, for Governor of MiVinigmi,,, except four small counties, is r Bagleyv Rep., 111,353 ; CJhamberlain. Item.. 105,700. Eighteen of the members of the Forty-second Congress who voted audi kept the back pay nave been elected to the Forty-fourth. Of these, nine ar from the Northern and nine from thsv Southern States. Thb Khoxville (Tenn.) Chronic&v says: The full returns of the recent, gubernatorial election in this State.eot oept Johnson county, foot up for Pbr ter, 104,455 ; Maynard, 54, 9 ; leavingr Porter's majority 49,486. . Thb Topeka Record of Nov. 18 clas sifies the Legislature elect of Kansas a, follows: Senate 21 Republicans, 13 Opposition ; House 70 . RepubUoanav 36 Opposition. The Senate holds fox two years, the House for one. Nevada has got all the returns col lected. 'The Legislature will stand: Senate, Republicans, 18 ; Democrats, 7. Assembly, Republicans, SI ; Demo- -crats, 17 ; Independents, 3. Republi can majority on joint ballot, 22. Official vote of New York for Gov ernor : Tilden, Dem. '. Dix, Rep Clark, Temperance , ..Ml.eeav. ... j,tt Tllden's clear majority . . . t. 7Sc The vote of North Carolina in August -has been declared by the Legislature as xouows : Superintendent, 1874. Governor, 1871. Fool, Deu 98,217MerrinHn, Dea. ..S.Mf PnraeUi Bep ,18ljOail well, Rep. .. . UHi -. The ' vote of Pennsylvania, as officially reported, for Lieutenant-Gor ernor, is as follows : Latta, Dem... TTJ,3K . Olmstead, Bep .TTt.5M r, Ijstta's majority 4,CI The majority for Dunnell. Republi can member of Congress-elect from tbe First District of Minnesota, lacks only 5 votes of being 3,000. Strait's (Rep.) , over Cox, in the Second District, is 221.. and King's (Rep.) over Wihon. in the. Third, is 42,348. The votes for members of Coaeress in Maryland are : - Dirt. Bepub. j 1. Goldsboro. : . . .10,147 Dem. Jfs. 2,31 It 3,444 ,& 3,4-M 1,410 7S-. Thomas 12,460 Hubert. ...... li,6)tt O'Brien ..... ,28C Swann .. 10,234 2. Elisor 8,238; 3. Snter 4,834 Cox 610 Haftner. . . . .....JO.ni Henkle U.HO'i Walsb...,....12,'S; 6. Lowndes... .....12,89 The official vote of Alabama, pared with that of 1872, is as follows : Governor. 1874, Governor, 18T2. Houston, Dem.. .107,118 .Henidon, Dem.... Kl,3m. Lewis, Rep y3,krjl Lewis, Hep K.b . Totsl 201.04 Total.. 171 Dmd. mai..: 13,iatllKp. maj MW. The Arkansas V. V. Smith is a son of - Delegan B! Smith, who went to Iowa . from New York in 1846, and remained there tilt 1852, when he went to Oregon where.'after several years' prominence in politics, he in 1859 was elected Sen- -atorof the prospective State, but died in I860. - 3?he statement that the last Demo cratic Governor of Massachusetts was . elected in 1839 is an error. George Boutwell was first elected by the Demo crats in 1851 ; then by the Coalition in 1853, which re-elected him, sent Charles -Sumner to the Senate, made Henry Wilson. President of the State Senate. , and Banks Speaker of the State Legis lature. The Columbia Union-Herald gives the vote of South Carolina for Goverao as follows: Governor, 1874. I Governor, 18T7. Chamberlain, Bep. 80,531 iMoase, Rep ' Green, Opp C8,INI4 romlinaou, Opp . . -- Tne Unton-Merala also ciassines tne - Legislature elect : ' " " Senate. BMim TettU. . BepabUcans 1 71 M Democrat. 7 y Independents.... 7 an - So far, five colored men have been elected to the next .House of Bepre- -senta tires, and they are all bow men.. Two are from South Carolina, one front North Carolina, one from Alabama. antX one from Louisiana. One of the South Carolinians (Lee) is a Democrat, and. was eleoted by a Democratic and bolt ing Republican constituency. One col- pred man B. - K. Brucehas been elected to the United States Senate- from Mississippi. A Washington telegram says : " A gentleman of prominence in Indiana., politics arrived here a few days ago and says tnat tbe canvass for t he United States Senators hip is becoming: ratber -warm, lie be neves tna Uae- - choice will fall on either McDonald- or -Voorhees. Intelligence received di- rect from Senator Chandler says that ; he is confident of his re-election from.' Michigan. Congressman Hale, nt son-in-law, now here, feels also assured of Chandler's re-election." The vote of New Jersey foots up s follows : For Governor, Joseph D. Bedle, Democrat. 97,254: George A. Halsey. Republican, 83,945. The whole vote i 22,454 -greater than the vote for Gover nor in 1871. The returns from Congress . give footings as follows : Diet. ' Rrpub. t 'Dem, 1. Slnnleltson......l4,WMi Aleertson. 13.01. Smith...., 13,us Hoes .. l&,cnt 2. Dobbons. .13,1(71 8. Clark... 4. Place.... , ft. Phelps... ..13,643 .. .9,941 ..11,672 ..13,7 .. 8,272 Hamilton...; I4.SM- uutler njgtesi. Terse .. ..isjwvj t. win. ... T. Scndder. Hardenburg 11,1S A story is told of a ' young man oi Louisville. Ga,, becoming smitten withe a young lady of Savannah, and oftessv visiting her at her father's home. Tins-, father did not like bim as often hap pens, and bethought him of a way to get rid of the visitor. It was a very pious thought too; The couple- were in . the parlor at 11 o'clock one night, andt the rest of the family were ia the si&--ting-room very sleepy. The old mas, invited the couple to join in family worship, and asked the young man soJL emnly to read a chapter from tbe family- -Bible. He was obliged to submit, and', stammered through the' chapter. At. the close there was a pause and tbm the old man asked the .reader to lead ir prayer.' This was more than heeouha stand. He dropped tbe book, seized! his hat and bolted for the front door., which was quickly bolted after hisa The young man walked to the first rail road station out of town and waited for the morning train. He has since bad no call to Savannah, and there is not so much worship in -that house as for merly. - J' A patent has been renUv taken in England for a substitute for IeilMv whichgis produced in perfect of different ds of leather., TW sheets of fibrous pulp, from which th material is made, are pressed into renl, skins of leather, the grain of the ak, to be imitated being thus Mcnrately is produced. The article is called leath erette, costs one-eighth as much mm leather and is stronger and of mar uniform-quality. The British . Trod Tnirnal. which describes it, does give any description of the .process manufacture. , , Handles without gloves forks, generally. -Knives ansa