BEGIN ANEW.
JL Cheery Homily for Ntw-Viw'i Day.
BT CAUB Mn.
The Old Trar iroea ; the New Yesr oomn-
411 hmil lta first-born dsy !
While Boresa basts on icy drama
HI Arctic reveille.
Tan loo oa many a hill Ilea white,
The merry chimes ring clear
BIor to the Old a last good-night ;
Sing, hail to the Mew-Tear !
Eo t tired and heaft-eore traveler I
Hard la the load yon beer
Ton deem it hearlett by far
The aching heart cau wear ;
2at tnoastnds. man, have borne it, too
Have borne it and kept heart.
As many thonaande more ahall do.
Who act the hero's part.
Shake off your griefs, ahake off your donbt
Begin anew this morn ;
Drive all your dark forebodings out.
And welcome Hope new-born.
The Past ia dead ; the Present Uvea
The Mew-Tear is began ;
Oh. hail the light that Promise gives
From ita new-risen ann !
Oft times the yoke seems heavier man,
Becaase we make it so, . - -
. By losing faith in what we can.
With courage, snreiy do.
Ob, brave ia he who ever strives
To wear a smiling face I
Who knows that labor honor gives
That sloth is deep disgiaee.
So, while the bells are throwing out
Their welcome to the year
While ring the merry langa and shoot,
Cast off yonr frown and tear.
This is the time for fortitude.
For hope and courage, man.
The hour t 'enlist among the good,
And try to reach the van.
St-rt ont with Honor for yoor guest,
With purposes snew.
Determined e'er to strive yonr best.
The Mew-Tear'a work to do ;
Ziet sorrow psss, let Joy arise,
In effort put your trust.
And learn, by triumph true and wise,
That Be ia always just.
THE OLD POCKET-BOOS.
A. New Year's Story.
It was New Tear's Eve.
Every 8 tors
whs open, irom me grana palace em
poriums to the narrow stalls where pen
nies were treasures.
Oat of the busy throng who wended
weir way through the noisy streets.
there was odb with whom my reader is
asked to take a brisk stroll upon the
New Year's Eve in question. He is a
tall man, past fifty, with cur line, iron
gray hair, kindly blue eyes, and a face
that having a gravity resting upon it
habitually, can light to sunniest bright
ness when kindness or humor stir the
radiant smiles.
Into the jeweler's to select a pair of
costly bracelets ; out again to enter a
neighboring toy-shop, where a life-size
baby doll, a rocking horse, baby house
and sled were only foundations for the
piles of expensive toys that caught his
eyes. : over to the confectioner's, where
white paper bags multiplied under his
directions ; into a dry goods store, for
an Indian scarf hiB wife had admired a
day or two before, and where dresses
for the servant girls could be selected ;
in and out, busy and happy, piling
pockets and arms, Charles Haughton
ppent nearly two hours in the heart of
Broadway.
Everywhere he met the most prompt
and deferential attention. Smiling
clerks .moved with alacrity to fill his
orders, and courteous cashiers graoe-
xuuy accepted ms Handsome checks.
For his face was well known as that of
sv prosperous .merchant, and his name
was good for over a million dollars.
His pretty, winsome wife was a belle in
the most aristocratic circles, and his
children had never had a wish un grati
fied. His house in Fifth avenue was
well known for its lavish hospitality and
the beauty of every appointment, and
no handsomer equipages or more costly
horses were found than those that car
ried Mrs. Haughton from her home and
back again.
Charles Haughton had nearly com
pleted his purchases, and was hurrying
from tne irons 01 one of the toy stores
he patronized, when his foot struck
something upon the pavement, and
looking down he saw a small pocket-
book. He lifted it and looked around
him for an owner ; but there was no
one who seemed to miss such an article.
There was no time to examine it, so he
thrust it into his breast pocket and
hurried on.
Having completed his arrangements
for the morrow, he went to his library
for a quiet smoke before retiring. He
was puffing slowly, when he recalled
the pocket-book he had picked up in
the street. . Thrusting his hand into his
pocket, he brought it to the light.
It was a very shabby affair, the leath
er worn at the corners, the inside dilap
idated, and the fastening a piece of
twine.
" Some poor soul, who could ill af
ford it, has lost this," the merchant
thought, pityingly; "and pn New
Years Eve, too. It is too bad. Let
me see if there is any clue to the
owner."
He took out two folded papers, each
containing a small a am of money, and
each eloquent of the poverty of the
owner. At the sight of the first Charles
Haughton started and sank into a rev-
ery, painful and sweet at the same time.
The paper was a grocer's bill for four
dollars and eighty -three cents, made out
to " Mrs. Edward Hill," and inside was
a five dollar note.
The thought of the man who looked
at it ran something in this wise :
" Mrs. Eaward , Hill I Can that be
Mattie Hunter pretty, dark-eyed Mat
tie, who ran away with Ned Hill because
her father would not give his only child
to a man who found too much comfort
in a whisky bottle. Pretty Mattie I
How angry she was with me when I
tried to make her see that Ned was not
the anael or hero she imagined him.
She said I was "jealous. Well, perhaps
' I was."
And the prosperous city merchant
went back in imagination to the days
when he was a country boy, desperately
in love with the minister s daughter,
Mattie Hunter. He recalled his bitter
jealousy of the gay city fop, Edward
Hill, who came to the -little village and
fascinated Mattie by his fine dress, his
smooth courtesy and airs of superiority,
TTn thouc-ht of th father's oppression.
his grief and his death, when holding
Charles Haughton's hand in his own,
Via left his forgiveness for the willful
child, should she ever return. She left
swoid in the honest loving heart that
was nnfc filled for manvvears. Restless
and lonely, Charles had gladly accepted
an offer from an uncle in New York to
enter his counting-house, and rising
rapidly, he had finally, at his uncle's
death, inherited his fortune and busi
ness, and when past forty had married
a belle of soc'ety, whose love was his
great hapiness, and whose children were
the idols of their father's heart.
And now, twenty long years after he
had last seen her face, Jlattio's name
stirred all these old recollections in his
heart.
It may not be the same," he thought;
it ia a-common name."
Then he unfolded the second paper,
and here a penciled slip, folded over a
two-dollar note, explained the errand cn
' New Year's Eve that had resulted in
- the less of the pocket-book. For the
pitiful memorandum ran :
" tor Eddv. 10 cents : (Trapes for Matiio,
23 oenU : bushel of coal, 40 cent ; toy for
Minnie. 10 cents; candies, 15 cents; dinner,
etc, tl.00."
"Eddy! Mattie!" Charles Haughton
thoueht. " It is Mattie Hill ! Ah me !
She must be very poor when she calcu
lates so closely. Let me look at the
srrocer'B bilL Bread, milk, brown sugar.
cheap tea everything of the meanest
kind and in smallest quantities. Poor
Mattie ! Little children, too ! Oh I
must find out about her, and let me
see. I owe her father many a kindness.
and'I am a rich man. IH begin a new
year with a payment of Mr. Hunter's
croodness to me, u x una is is ms
child."
He opened his pocket-book, and
taking a crisp bank-note, folded it in a
paper, upon wmcn ne wrote, " mattie
Hill, from an bid friend," and put it in
the shabby pocket-book. Then he
glanced at his watch, and whispered :
" only a litue alter iu. mverytning
will be open late to-night, and I can
find this grocery store and make some
inquiries."
Before he left the house he hovered a
few minutes over the collection of toys
in the nursery, selecting a few, and then
he hurried on his errand, to find the
grocer just putting up his shutters.
" Can you tell me. ' he asked, any
thing about a Mrs. Hill, who deals with
you?"
The man put down the shutter and
motioned the questioner into the store.
Mis round, good-natured face wore a
troubled look, as he asked :
" What do you want to know for ?
She's in sore trouble, every way, and if
its Dad news
It is not." was the emphatic reply,
" i want to do her a kindness.
Poor soul, she needs it. She is
very poor, with a consumptive daughter
dying by inches, and two little ones.
Five she's buried, sir."
" Where is her husband ?
"Dead,' sir, the Lord be thanked!
He went off three years ago in delirium
tremens.
" How does she live ?"
" From hand to mouth, sewing by
hand for a tailor's store, and that is
poor oav. now machines are so plenty.
She did better while Miss Mattie could
work too, but now she has her to nurse
and feed. To-night, poor soul, she was
to get ten dollars for some work, and
she came in here an hour or more ago
to tell me that she had lost her pocket
book and the money. Her hands were
chilled and it slipped out.
Charles Haughton looked round the
little store and his eyes brightened as a
kindly idea came to his mind.
" You could fill a large order?"
Oh, yes sir."
" Fill this one for me. and send it to
Mrs. Hill's address in the moraine.
What is the bill?"
Never, probably, had so large a sum
for one order passed over the little
counter, as the grocer consented, in
happy excitement.
A 11 send them in, sir, he said, tak
ing the money, "and 1 promise you
they shall be the best I can buy."
Will you give me Mrs. Mill s ad
dress?"
" Three doors above, sir. on the third
floor. You go in at the openwioor
next the clothing store."
"Good-night."
" Good-night, sir. and God bless you
fer a kind-hearted gentleman."
it was a very narrow door that Charles
Haughton entered, and a narrow flight
of stairs that led him to the third floor.
Quiet reigned in the miserable house,
and ha could hear quite distinctly the
Voices of women conversing in the room
he sought. One .was broken by sobs ;
the other weak and often interrupted
by a hard, dry cough. The latter voice
was saying :
" Uon t cry so. mother : some honest
person may find the money and return
it."
" I can't advertise it, Mattie I can't
even buy a paper to see if it is found.
And I promised the children a piece of
meat and some candy and toys for New
Year, because we could give them no
Christmas gifts."
Was Mr. Mart angry about his
bill?" . '
" No. he was very kind. Bat there
is Mr. Lee coming day after to-morrow
for the rent, and not a cent to meet it.
even if we are not all dead with hunger
and cold.
Charles Haughton drew from his
pocket the shabby pocket-book, and
knotting it fast to the string of the
package of tojs and candies he carried,
put it before the door of the room.
Mattie s weak voice greeted him as ne
stopped, saying : '
" God will provide, mother ! '
A -rap at the door startled both
women, but the widow, candle in hand,
opened it at once. Nobody greeted
her, for Charles Haughton was hidden
behind a curve in the wall, but her foot
struck the bundle and she looked down.
With a cry of joy that thrilled the
heart of the hidden listener, she lifted
15, saying: .
"Mattie I Mattie ! it is here V
" Your money, mother ?"
" Mv pocket-book tied to a bundle !'
"In her excitement she left the door
open, and from ms niaoen piace ner
old lover could see and recognize her.
She was very thin and pale, and her
hair was thickly strewn with gray, but
it was the shadow of the face he had
loved twenty years before. The open
door showed him the wretched room.
the two children asleep upon a mattress
upon the floor, and the pallid woman
upon the bed.
Witn trembling nngers tne motner
and daughter untied the pocket-book.
'It is all here, Mattie, the mother
cried, " and a folded ' paper ' Mattie
Hill, from an old friend,, and inside !
am I awake ! Mattie ! it can't be - true.
A hundred dollar bilL"
"Mother!"
" It is here look 1 Now. Mattie.
you shall have a fire at night, a blanket.
and some nourisning food, ion will
set welL Mattie !"
And here happy sods came too fast
for words. Mattie drew her mother
into a close embrace.
" Come, you forget your bundle,
she said gently. " Oh. only look, Ed
dy's ball, and such a beauty ! A doll
for ALintue, ana a lovely one, too ; a top
ana a tea set i Ana pounds of can ay i -
Then & violent fit of couchinsr re
minded the mother of the open door.
and Charles uaugnton, shut out in tne
dark, crept softly down the stairs, full
of kindly resolutions. Before he had
reached home, several stores had had a
call from him, with orders for the mor
row, and he bent over his own sleeping
darlings with a heart happier for the
eveninor's work.
- It was long after midnight when Mrs.
trill still wondering who her "old
friend " could be. lav down to sleep.
only to rise at dawn half afraid her hap
piness was all a dream.
Before the breakfast was over, while
Minnie watched her doll, and jsaay
held his ball fast m his hand, the neigh
bors wondered if the Hills had come
into a fortune.
For, first of all, a ton of coal, was
dumped into the widow's coal box, with
a load of wood for company. Mr. Hart
sent in a supply of groceries that seemed
inexhaustible. A dry goods wagon
brought a pair of warm blankets, rolls
of cotton and flannel, shawls and a
great Bquare of thick, warm carpet. A
market basket was left with an enormous
goose, oysters, celery, oranges, grapes.
jellies and other good things too numer
ous to mention. And last oi ai a
wagon brought a Bewing machine,
marked like the note, " From an old
friend."
No need to touch the note, which
Mattie put aside carefully for a rainy
day. j
- Mattie, comforted and cheered by
this sudden influx of plenty, rallied
little by little, gaining strength in the
well warmed room, with good food and
an ease of mind long a stranger to her.
Nobody knew the story of the old
pocket-book,' and Mattie did not guess
who sent her such noble New Year's
gifts ; but tfce rich merchant finds no
happier thought in his record of the
year than the generous act that opened
it, and the memory of Mattie's happy
face and voice as he last saw them irom
the dark entry of her dwelling-house.
Distributing Christmas Presents.
The Christmas tree and the time
honored stocking are the common and
generally satisfactory methods of dis
tributing Christmas presents, and- so
often have they been celebrated in song
and story that they are likely to retain
a foremost place, so long as rhymes
stand for reasons and tradition exercises
its influence over the imagination.
Moreover, there is variety even in
Christmas trees. Here is the little one,
set in its green stand covered with
moss, for the darling only child ; and
the family tree, covered with a hetero-
fenous collection of articles, from the
nitted shoes for the baby to the
" dress-pattern " for the " girl," and the
Christmas-party tree comic, which
grows jumping-jacks and tin' whistles
and Japanese oddities ; and the Christmas-party
tree serious, which displays
embroidered handkerchiefs, elegant
slippers, curious sleeve-buttons, and
even sets of coral and gorgeous brace
lets. Then there is the church Christ
mas tree for the poor and the church
Christmas tree for the children, the
first of which deals in stockings and
comforters, and the latter in cheap dolls
and boxes of candy, varied by books
and oranges, which last must be con
sidered the most sensible. But though
you can hardly improve upon the idea
of the Christmas tree for persons in
whose hard lives few poetical associa
tions find a place, yet, socially, we
sometimes want a method to vary the
monotony and cause a surprise. To
effect this, a figure of Santa Clans is
sometimes dressed in the long coat.
great beard, and fur cap, all tufted
with snow (or cotton batting) and in
trounced into the drawing-room, pro
vided with a huge pack from which he
distributes ms gifts.
Another way is to have a ship arrive
ana umoaa its cargo, among wmcn is a
package for everybody present. Christ
mas suppers sometimes close with the
introduction of a huge bean pie, which
the host anathematizes for not making
its appearance before, and laboriously
cutting into it discovers paper parcels
instead of a savory inside.
An amusing method is to have them
come in the form of spiritual " mani
festations. A curtain is drawn across
one end of the room, the company sit
round in a circle, each one provided
with a number, and ask the spirits to
favor them with some manifestations.
Mounted on steps inside the curtain
the distributer throws one parcel after
another over its top, so that it will fall
upon the table with much clatter and
confusion. Each parcel being number
ed and folded in several papers, it takes
time to find the right owner and to
open, and then thev begin to come
" thicker and faster." Hot a little fun
and mixing-up ensues, immeasurably
heightened where the company are un
aware of the purpose of the sitting,
and have sat down for a regular seance.
Wood Books.
In the museum at Hesse-Cassel, Ger
many, is a library made from five hun
dred European trees. The back of each
volume is formed of the bark of a tree.
the sides of perfect wood, the top of
young wood, and the bottom of old.
When opened, the book is found to be a
box containing the flower, seed, fruit,
and leaves of the tree, either dried or
imitated in wax. At the Melbourne In
ternational Exhibition of 1866, Colonel
Clamp exhibited specimens of Victoria
wood converted into small boxes of
book form, according t to a design
adopted by that gentleman at the Vic
toria Exhibition of 1851, and then sug
gested by Baron Ferd. Mueller. Noth
ing could be more interesting than a
library (to speak allegorically) of such
imitation books, representing the dif
ferent, timbers of various countries
which could be systematically, or alpha
betically, or geographically arranged.
Australia alone could furnish of such
a collection over a thousand volumes.
At the Paris Exhibition of 1867, Russia
showed a similar collection of wooden
books cleverly designed, showing the
bark as the back biudine. and lettered
with the popular scientific names of the
wood, Iliac h boon contained samples of
the leaves and fruit of the trees, and a
section and shaving, or veneer
of the wood. American Educational
Monthly. '
Wooden Railroads.
The following description of a wooden
railroad now in use in Bay county,
Mich., will be interesting to those re
siding in sections rich in hard wood.
but where the dearness of iron or the
thinness of population prevent the use
of metal rails : -"
There are, first, logs laid crosswise,
about five or six feet apart. The logs
are from twelve to sixteen feet in length.
Then gains are cut in the logs and flat
tened timber laid in these gains ; this
prevents the road from spreading. Our
rails are of hard maple. Before spiking
the rails down we put ties across the
stringers, notching the stringer enough
to let the tie down even with the top of
it, and spike the tie fast before the rail
is laid on. The ties are of two-inch
hemlock plank, from six to twelve
inches wide ; this prevents the stringer
from rolling, -is ;
We would recommend any one who
wishes to build a road on the above
system to build it as straight as possi
ble. We have some curves in our road,
and we have been obliged to dispense
with wooden rails on the curves, and
lay down iron. We operate our road
" 1 1 , ! . . t , -
witn locomotive power, vost oi aim
ing, without rolling stock, is about
$2,000 per mile. The stringers are
made of elm, oak. pine, and ash, and
are flattened on two aides to ten inches
in thickness. v.
Tsa New York Ghraphio has it bad.
It remarks of an individual it describes :
"He was of obscure, but tasteful par
entage." That ''tasteful" is equal te
anything yet produced by the new
graphic process, r
Paul Boynton's Swim, as Belated, by
Col. Forney.
OoL Forney writes from London to
the Philadelphia Press " Capt. Paul
Boynton, of the New Jersey Life Guard
at Atlantie uwy, uuw uere alter nis
ATtrnnrdinarV feat of throwing himself
into the ocean, from the National steam
ship Queen, on the stormy night of Oct.
21, seven miles off Fastnet rook, on the
Irish rock-Douna coast, ne Degan his
experiment east of Baltimore, where the
cliffs are 180 feet high and more, and after
being seven hours in the water, swim
ming over forty miies, ne nnaiiy guided
himself, in the midst of the tempest,
into one of the fissures on that terrible
shore. He was clad in the life-saving
apparatus recently invented by another
American, Mr. Merriman, and aided by
. . . -. ... .
his great skiu as a swimmer and a
diver, his cool courage and strong con
stitution, performed a feat which, when
the news reached London, was regarded
as a hoax, and generally commented
upon as another evidence of American
exaggeration.' You have heard the
story how he attempted to get
passageon several of the outgoing Amer
ican steamers from New York in vain,
because thei captains knew that he
would attempt to leap from the ship to
prove the American apparatus of Mr.
Merriman, and how, finally, he obtained
a berth on the National steamer the
Queen, and was prevented only by main
force from jumping overboard when
300 miles from New York, and how at
length, at 9 o'clock on Tuesday even
ing, Oct. 21, off the Irish coast, he per
suaded the captain to put him down
the side, and all alone, in a dark, tem
pestuous night, clothed in his India-
rubber air-tight suit, with its inflated
air-chambers, with food for three days.
a compass, a bull's-eye lantern, some
books, several signal rockets, an Amen
can flag, witti a number of letters be
longing to the passengers, in his inside
pocket, with his bowie-knife and ax at
his side, he grasped his . paddle and
amid the cheers of the crew and com
pany entered upon his awful journey.
Every soul on board believed that was
the last of the brave fellow. I wish
you could hear him tell the - story
of his condition after being tossed
on . these mountainous seas for
Beven long hours : how he was cast into
the rocky fissure on the Irish coast ;
how in the dark night he scaled the
almost perpendicular cliffs, and, mount
ing the top, fired off his signal-rockets
for the relief that never came ; how he
descended the dangerous declivity,
stripped off his preserver, and walked,
bruised and battered, until he came to
a little Irish town, the barefooted
inhabitants of which, regarding
him pretty much as the Indians
beheld Columbus, or Rob id eon
Crusoe's man "Friday," stared at
the Bight of the shipwrecked sailor;
how, at last, he got to Skibbareen,
where he posted the letters intrusted
to him by the passengers of the Queen,
who had all given him up for lost, and
were astonished when he telegraphed
them to Cork that he had arrived, and
would soon be among them. His pas
sage through Ireland was something
more than a triumph ; the " man-fish,
as he is called, bean object of wiid
curiosity and admiration. Crowds fol
lowed after him, and when he got to
Cork he was welcomed at the theater
by the company singing the "Star
Spangled Banner," and on the 27th of
October exhibited himself in the harbor
near Queens town for more than an
hour. He proved at once the efficiency
of his life-saving suit and his own dar
ing courage.
A Peansjlvania Affair.
A horrible story is told in the Allen
town (Pa.) Herald of a lunatic named
Levi Handwerk, who was discovered by
a hunter on Blue Msuntain imprisoned
in a brick cell, about four feet square,
where he had been immured for twelve
years. The father of Handwerk died
when the latter was a voung man, leav
ing mm gi.uuu. Tne motner married a
second husband, after which young
Handwerk was bricked up in this prison
in the woods, and left to live or perish
as he might. After the discovery was
made the Coroner and others from
AUentown proceeded to the place in
Washington township where Handwerk
was imprisoned, and found a constable
from Slatington already making prep
arations for the deranged man s re
moval. The iron bars guarding the
entrance were taken down and the un
fortunate man was found lying on a
patch of straw, nude and incrusted with
dirt, while the surroundings were too
filthy for description. His limbs bad
become paralyzed, and he was unable
to stand upright without assistance. It
is said that the reason given for his
imprisonment in this filthy den was that
it was unsafe for him to be at large, and
that if he had been sent to an insane
asylum the money he possessed would
have been appropriated by the State for
ms support. Handwerk has been sent
to the county almshouse.
A Great Farmer.
Dr. H. J. Glenn, of Jacinto, Colusa
county, CaL. has raised and harvested
this year, on his own ranch, 600,000
bushels of wheat. This is equal to
18.000 tons, end will load eighteen 1.000
ton ships, and all of this he has in his
own warehouses ready for shipment
when the water of the Sacramento river
rises sufficiently. The doctor's freights.
to put his wheat in San Francisco, will
amount to $90,000 In the plowing
season he runs ninety gang-plows, and
in harvest any number of headers. He
threshes his wheat by steam power,
using Home half dozen steam threshers.
He has about 200 miles of good board
fence on his farm. But his farming
operations are not confined to wheat
growing alone. He markets about
$100,000 worth of stock each year. Dr.
Glenn is a practical farmer, and man
ages all his business himself. He can
mend a trace iust as well as he can get
the highest price for his grain. Santa
vruz (Cm.) iseniinei.
Dsssolntlon of Partnership.
Among the Burmese the marriage
knot is very easily undone. If two
persons are tired of each other's sooie
ty, thev dissolve partners nap m tne fol
lowing Simple ana wucumg nmiiimr ;
They respectively iignt two candies,
and, shutting up their hut, sit down
and wait until they are burnea. The
one whose candle burns out first gets
up at once and leaves the house for
ever, taking nothing but the clothes he
or she may have on at the time ; all else
men becomes tne property ox tne otner
party. --'. - '
Black Hms Gold Digging.
Lieutenant-General Sheridan expresses
utter want of belief in stories recently
telegraphed from Sioux City, of the
presence of a prospeoting - party of
miners in the Black. Hills country. All
advices received by the General from
the commandants of the military posts
on the borders of the Black Hills coun
try go to show that no white men have
penetrated into was region since uret
eral Custer's expedition of last summer.
Giving Gifts.
A writer on this subiect saystrulv:
The gift season is now at band. All
things have their season there is a
season for sorrow and a season for joy.
Man lives for a time, and when he ends
his earthly career he dies, but he goes
irom this earth lamented according to
the amount of usefulness and joy he has
dispensed. All have their joys and sor
rows, only some are blessed more than
others. Some have much, others lit
tle ; some have great talent, others not ;
some have much of this world, others
little. Just in proportion as we have
means and opporunities, in that pro
portion do our responsibilities increase.
This rule applies to the dispensing of
gifts. The Great -.Giver had this world
at his command ; he gave it to his
children. To save this fallen worle he
gave his Son as a sacrifice. Christ
came to us as a gift He came on
Christmas day. For this reason this
day has become a day of giving gifts,
and it is for this reason Christians, es
giftf, ly, love to observe Christmas as a
meann of joy and delight. Giving
pecial therefore, has become a favorite
seasos of commemorating this annual
festive occasion ; just as firing guns,
pistols, crackers and displaying the
American flag are means of com
memorating the Fourth of July to the
American people. "It is more blessed
to give than to receive," is a truth fully
comprehended by the open-handed, lib
eral giver ; the close-fisted, selfish. De
grudging giver may not enter into the
spirit of that saying. To give gifts,
then, requires means, judgment and
liberality. The world is rich our
country and people are now rich but
no doubt some, like the foolish man,
have buried their talent or locked it up,
and will refuse to put it out for the
benefit of others nor will they profit
by it. A means thus locked up becomes
a curse and makes men poor, endanger
ing them, so that they must suffer in
mind and means. The curse of this sin
rests on them. Such, of course, will
refuse to give gifts. Such are too poor
in their own estimation to give or en
able others to do so. But the liberal,
the Christian, ever happy and making
happy, will give to those they love.
They will seek to make others happy by
giving, and will be happy themselves in
the consciousness of having made one
happy. The needy poor should come in
for a share. Christ said, "You have
the poor with you always, but not so
with me." He meant by this that there
was a time to care for the suffering
poor ; as you have them with you al
ways, plenty of opportunity is offered
to care for them. It should not be for
gotten that winter is now upon us, and
that the poor and helpless may not be
well housed, clothed and fed. Let it
not be forgotten that our crops have
been large, the prices profitable, and
that our people must have plenty of
bread and money. The panic has not
ruined our people ; it has only fright
ened them ; and now that the danger is
rapidly passing away, let fear be dis
pelled. Let the money safely and waste
fully locked up be put out at interest
again, in good real estate and other
good securities let business have the
.
have work and wages to support his
family and himself let Christmas, the
season of guts, inspire our people witn
financial courage and liberality, i-very
one that has money and debts should
use it at once and pay. xou will do a
benefit to all classes. Let all have the
means to give gifts. Giving gifts is a
pleasure it is full of benefit it is a
Christian virtue it is a blessing and a
comfort to giver and receiver, and its
influence extends far beyond this. May
it cause a turn in the events of the day
a source of change for the better,
with the whole country, financially and
otherwise.
The Freedman'g Bank Swindle.
The reports which have been current
so long regarding the desperate condi
tion of the affairs of the . bankrupt
Freed m an 8 Savings Bank are more
than confirmed by the report of the
Commissioners appointed to liquidate
them. It would have been less' cruel to
the depositors had the full truth been
told long ago. It bas been apparent
during the past six months that there
was no hope for the unfortunate depos
itors, and, notwithstanding this fact,
the truth has only been partially told at
long intervals, the policy of letting
down easy having prevailed. The ne
groes of the North and South who had
intrusted their little savings to the cor
morants wno managed the bank, nave
thus been kept in a state of alternate
hope and despair, now expecting to re
ceive their money, and again doomed to
disappointment ; while all the time it
must have been apparent to the Trus
tees that there was no hope for the vic
tims. ,
The developments made by the Com
missioners show that the main cause
of the collapse of this bank was not
the panic, but the corruptions and
mismanagement of the bank offi
cials. The assets show that the
President of a Washington club-house
got $28,500, secured by law. Howard
University had $75,000, and it is not
very creditable to that uneasy seat of
learning that the debt was secured by
college property of little value. One
man had $2,000 secured by the stock
of a bankrupt manufacturing company
in Maryland. Borne of Jay Cooke s
friends got several thousand dollars
without giving any collateral whatever.
.District of Columbia officials and con
tractors obtained loans amounting to sev
eral hundred thousand dollars upon col
laterals which had no estimable value.
F. A. Dockray, an adventurer, got
,514 out of the bank on a security of
$10,000 of the bonds of Fremont's
showy bubble, the Memphis and E
Paso Railroad Company, which re
cently got the latter into trouble in
-t aris. Thus the mt of assets reads to
the end of the chapter reckless waste.
corrupt . management, and moneys
loaned out without, security. The as
sets which were without collateral were
as good as those with collateral, and
neither were good for anything. The
liabilities of this bank and its Southern
blanches were almost exclusively to
negroes. Chicago Tribune.
An Eye Fight on the Cars.
A clergyman writes : . " Did you ever
have an eye ngnt have some person
look at you persistently, catching your
eye every time you looked toward mm ?
Did you ever get annoyed and fix your
eyes on him, and struggle and wrestle
witn mm, -ana nnaiiy tnrow him?
have many a time. -1 was once riding
in tne cars witn a beautiful young lady
who wv in my onarge. a man sitting
near fixed his wicked, greedy eyes on her
ana one was annoyed. X got in good
range, and fought that man's eyes all
tne way irom VJieveiana to JDuHaio. iiu
eyes both needed what no minister.
what no good Uhnstmn. could give
them, and, if any wicked man had come
into that car and had given him a pair
of black eyes,
I should have thanked
theIord.,r
Davenport Brothers Beaten.
A Gallipolis correspondent of
the
Cincinnati Commercial writes
In John Montgomery's saloon, under
the Dnfour House, some pranks have
been performed that put to shame the
Davenports and Hume. Bight here I
will remark that John Montgomery was
greatly afflicted last winter with a mal
ady affecting his pecuniary constitution,
and known generally as the crusade.
One morn John opened his saloon, and
about the time the first red-nosed toper
appeared to take Lis matutinal dram,
divers and Bundry of the mothers- and
daughters of Gallipolis appeared and
began to sing " Come to Jesus," which
melody, with sundry others of the same
nature, had a wonderful effect in keep
ing John's bottles on the shelf full and
his pocket-book empty. After about
one month's siege, John showed signs
of capitulation, in that he kneeled reg
ularly at all the prayers and sung with
lusty vigor, " Without one plea, except
that Jesus died for me," eta, which
signs were accepted as repentance, and
John was allowed a breathing spell.
Being a disciple of Horace Greeley,
John thought that the easiest way to
resume was to resume, and so the red-,
nosed fraternity returned, and John's
pocket-book waxed fat. ' As I said some
time since, John's saloon has now been
visited by veritable ghosts, spooks, or
spirits, and this has been about the pro
gramme they played : !
The medium, a lively chap of this
place, came into the Baloon and calling
John aside, said,"Putone of your hands
upon my Bhoulder and with the other
take hold of both my wrists," which
being done, John's coat calmly and
gently as a child slumbers, slid off his
shoulders upon the floor. Of course
John was astonished, and when he was
handed thirty feet of " trot " line, and
told to tie the medium to a chair in a
sitting postute, and having done so,
saw the medium arise without a rope
about him, he was more astonished, and
this was not allayed when the aforesaid
cord was found in the hall, all of the
windows and doors being fastened. Bat
the most astounding feat of all is,
that the medium allows a man
(any one) to tie him, sew him up in a
bag, seal the bag with sealing-wax, put
the bag in a box and lock the box se
curely, then throwing a cloth over the
box, in less than sixty seconds the me
dium is found sitting on the cover, the
bag, seal, and cord being found inside
intact. This has been accomplished,
and that, too, by a young man of good
character, never a Spiritualist, at least
not until thirty days since, and entirely
above and independent of mercenary
motives. i
The Katie King Swindle.
The exposure of the wretched swindle
so long -maintained by ivatie mag
knocks the bottom out from under that
sham of the Spiritualists, " materializa
tion of the spirit," and brings the whole
shallow legerdemain of the mediums
down with it. That such a sham could
have been sustained bo long, almost
passes comprehension. It is not re
markable that ignorant and supersti
tious persons should have been deceived
by it, or that imaginative young people '
of immature judgment, and addicted to
running after every new ism that turns
up, should have accepted this female
charlatan as a "materialized spirit;"
but it is remarkable that she should
have deceived such men as Mr. Robert
Dale Owen, and misled others laying
chum to superior intelligence and scien
tific knowledge. Katie King, by hei
own confession, now appears to have
been only a very shallow swindler, who
practiced the panel-game upon her
dupes, and found her reward in the
valuable presents with which her ad
mirers . loaded her. ; Rings, lockets,
crosses, diamonds, and toilet goods
showered in upon her daily, and at
night she soared away with them into
the seraphic regions of a Philadelphia
boarding-house, and smiled angelically
at the foJly of her victims. This
seraphic two-hundred-year-old maiden
counted her dupes by thousands. - They
were not only the credulous victims who
thronged her seances from all parts of
the country and witnessed her antics
with wide-open mouths and eyes, talked
angelic bosh to her, and emptied their
pockets and pocketbooks into her spirit
ual lap, but there were thousands of
others who had never seen her old men
and women grown fond and foolish, and
young men and 'women of airy fancies
and morbid musings who were dazed
with Katie King. Chicago Tribune.
,A Tale of Two Poets.
James Russell Lowell, the elegant
and high-cultured poet and Professor of
Harvard University, who has just re
fused Grant's .offer of the Russian mis
sion, 'took occasion, in visiting this
place, to call upon and make the ac
quaintance of a more youthful child of
Parnassus' whoee roseate productions
had attracted his notice. The poetical
sapling (let me call hira X.) felt quite
overcome, and. in short, was really in a
state of " suffusion," when the lofty
genius at once famous and obscure
made his appearance, revealed his name.
and stood before mm in his limited
quarters. As soon as X. had recovered
his self-poise he sought to appease the
author ot " The Cathedral - by an in-
cens-3 ottering, and so in softest voice.
with gracefulest bow, he tendered him
a seductive cigar from a handy box of
i lor del i umas. " lint haven t ye
goi
a pipe?" said Lowell; "that's what I'd
like." X. happened to have just that
sort, of thing at hand, produced it with
the Kinnikinnick, and presently vast
clouds, roiling from .Lioweii s moutn,
A - S 1 - t -3 . TY
amazed at such aueerness. X. produced
a decanter of wine, which he piacea De
fore' the author of "Hosea Biglow."
But haven't ye anything stronger
than that ?" was the sound that came
out of the smoke-cloud.
' X. grappled a bottle or whisky
r That's what I'd like," said Lowell,
passed it to the " Vision of Sir Iiaun
f el." who seized it by the neck, poured
out a couple oi sun noras, anii mere,
over smoking pipes and jovial jorums,
the elder poet andthe younger got to
know and understand each other, and
established themselves in ! a co-operative
attitude of mutual admiration like
nntrt that which they might have en
joyed by reciprocally quaffing the oracu
lar Deverage ui tu umwubu .
Fin nli is Lowell one of the friend
liest, freest, and juiciest of the high-
toned proaucis oi literary culture.
New York Cor. Cincinnati Commercial.
... . -. : fl-
IS Piano, 111., Mr. Mosfaer sold Mr.
RaVrv a pair of boots, both lefts. Mr.
RaIot clamored for his rights, but the
nnnrt decided that a pair of boots waa a
pair of boots, and if Mr. Belvy had to
wear them both on one foot , it was a
case which the laws of Illinois could
not reach.
- . VrBQrjoA is constantly receiving' im-
migruuui oiu uio ixortnern states.
" Abosh " by any other name wouli
be " got up." .
All Sorts.
Poets and pullets chant their lays.
Thb charities of New York disburse
$7,000,000 annually.
Papeb under-garments for women
have struck the Pacific coast from.
Japan. ,
A NASHVTJLidB doctor tells of a woman
who lost her sight by the excessive uae
ef snuff.
BxrfnrDiif is going to stretch a rope
from the top of the pyramid of Cheopes-,
to that of Kephron, and walk it.
Two of Robert Brace's bones we re
sold in Edinburgh for 5, and one oi:
the vertebras of VVilliam the Lion f ox
5 10s. .v
The St Louis papers put it thus r
"Two niggers and a razor, now one
nigger. The Coroner held the in
quest." v. :k
Last year railroads in Illinois were
assessed for taxation at $64,000,000:
This year at one-half that sum.Lorr
$32000,000. ,
Ik the Dakota Territorial Legisla
ture,, now 'in session, Jolley is. Presi
dent of the Council, and Moody Speaker
of the House.
Chicago has 39 public schools, at
tended by 49,500 children. The teaohers&
number 640, all of whom, with the ex
ception of 82, are ladies.
WtTiT.t ah Kppp, who died at Douglas
ville, Pa., last week, weighed 450.
pounds. Not a Knpp one would care
to raise to the lips very often. ;
Sauta Ansa is living comfortably iat
.the City of Mexico. He is described a
otill of an upright, soldierly figure, with,
eyes as black as coals, and thin but not;
gray hail. ;-
Senator Buckingham, of Connecti
cut, is so seriously ill at his home that;
it is thought he will not be able toe
be at Washington at all during the-i
winter. - . -
MiNNKAPOiiis, Minn., has a new jour
nalistic venture in the shape of a daily
paper printed on a postal card. This'
miniature sheet bears the name of the
JPoet Baby. .
Lascab Sax, the original of Dickens?
opium smoker in "Edwin Drood.T
died miserably a short time back, in a
court in Blnegate-fields, St. George's-in-the-East,
London.
Hobacb Gkexkey, a nephew of 'the
late founder of the New York Tribune,
is 'a day laborer at the glass works oT
Stephens, Crandell & Co., Bernhard'&v
Bay, Oswego county, New York. . -
A numb kb of the large corporations! .
mercantile firms, manufactories, and
newspaper ofhees in .New York con
template reducing wages on the first of ' '
January, as a measure of economy. -
They say they have made nothing this
year, and are forced to curtail ex--penses.
At Houston, Texas, a jury has award
ea $220 damages to JJrs. lilake antK
Parker, homeopathic physicians, from .
the Medical Examining Board; because-
the latter refused to sit with the doc- -tors
named. This decision will break.:
up the board, for none of the allopaths
will recognize, their homeopathic-.-."
brethren as physicians. .
: Information Wanted. y
Will sum benighn being explane to
me : - .
Why a dog allwuss turns around
times .-before he lies down.' ' - ' ..
Why a horse allwusa gits np bpbi
from the ground on his. forward feet.
fust. Why a cow allwuss gits up oph from -the
ground on her behind feet fust.
Why, when a man gits lost in the
woods, or on the plains, he . allwuss -walks
in a oirkle.
Why a goose stands fust on one Ice l
and then on tuther. . ...
Why rabbits hav a short taleaadkatt-.
havalongone. 1
Why most all the birds Dim men r-
nests ont of different materials.
Why a hen allwuss knows her little -
ones from another's, ,and why she will?.?,
hatch out 12 ducks eggs and then think.: .
they are her own chickens.
Why a bear allwuss klimbs down a .
tree backwards.
Why a turkey's eggs is speckled, ana'
a duck's eggs blue.
Whether a log floats faster in a river- -than
the current runs, or not.
Why an oyster and a klam are the -only
things I knb ov with animal life
that don't hav to move but of their -places
to git a living. ' ' . . - '
- Why a mule's bones are all solid, andi
their ears twice az long az a horse's.
Why a pig gathers straws in hisr
mouth and runs about with them just
before a rain storm.
Why litening never waz known ta
strike a beech tree.
Why the males amung the feathered!
race do all the singing.
Why natur will allow
one cross be
then allow no
tceen some animais ana
more. ?
Why. the blak scaik iz the only snaikr
in tlus (M.nn try that, kan klimb a tree.
, , "Wh axe the fljs all go. to when the
told weather sets in, and whare they
all cum from so sudden next summer. '
t Why a musk rat's tale haz no fur era
it, ana a mink's haz. . .-. ;
Why a quail's egg is round, and as
hen's egg iz pointed. , ;
Thare iz lots ovhily eddicated people--who
won't beleave the Book ov Genesis- -bekause
they kant prove it, who kant ;
answer korrectly one-third ov the abuw
questions. Josh Hillings.
Origin of Western Grasshopper.
I have been muck, interested in the
papers of Mr. Dodge and others, on.
this subject. .The origin of these pests
is still obscure, and hanoilv it ia hkp.1v-
to remain so, as it is doubtful whether.
we shall be visited by them again for a
number of years.
in conversing with a resident of Mont-
tana, recently, he said that several,
years ago he excavated the side of a-
mountain j or a stamp mill, which wasu
placed on the solid ground, the loose
earth lying ia front of it. The ensuing:
EspiixiK, uus pans: oi loose, earth nau a.
strange appearance. On examination
it waa found filled with grasshopper',
eggs, then being hatched out. of course.
tney leit when fully fledged, and noth .
ing more waa seen of them in that.
locality. ';
As no sign of grasshoppers could be-
previously seen, whence could these
eggs have come ? I only tell the story
as it was told to me. if true, it is, as -Dundreary
says, one of those mysteries
that no fellow can find out." T. of
Iowa," in JPrairie J-armcr. - .
Secbetabt Belknap announced th
birth of his little daughter by a jubi
lant telegram to the confirmed old'
bachelor, Gen. Phil Sheridan: ; Don't
think of selecting a wife until you see
my daughter." Mrs. Henry Olewes
has a rival daughter,' just two or three
days the elder of the two little stran
gers just taking their 'first peeps at.
existence.