COLL. VAN CL.EVK.
ALBANY,
OREGON.
TOPICS OFTHE DAY.
I is estimated that during Decem
ber last two hundred newspapers
-daily and weekly suspended publica
tion in the United States, aDd that dar
ing the entire year of 1874 no less than
S8,000000 were lost in the newspaper
'business.
Thb House of Representatives at
"Washington has passed a general law
granting to railroads the right of way
through the public lan2s of the United
.States. The bill provides that the right
of way through the publio domain
shall be granted to any road duly or
ganized under State or Territorial law
"to the extent of 100 feet on each side
of the road.
The King of the Sandwich Islands
has paid his promised visit to Chicago,
. and of course all the toadies, big and
little, flocked to see kim. As it is the
-first time a real live king ever set foot
in the Garden City, a little curiosity on
.the part of the people to view one of
royal blood is perhaps , pardonable.
The Chicago papers state that the
dusky monarch bore himself with be
coming dignity."
Don Carlos, the pretender to the
Tthrone of Spain, persists in his rebel
lions movement, notwithstanding the
restoration of Bourbonism under Al
fonso. The Carlist army continues to
maintain its warlike attitude. This, a
'threatened war with Germany, and the
-continued insurrection in Cuba, will
fgivo the young King enough of busi
ness to keep his hands full for some
itime. -s
Thb quarterly statement of the con--dition
of the eighteen Chicago national
banks shows that these institutions
have nearly regained their ante-panic
position. It exhibits an increase of
Joans of $1,010,000, and a decrease of
-deposits of 3,500,000. This last item
shows an increased activity in busi
ness; it proves that people are not
hoarding their means in banks, but are
.putting it out where it will do the most
good, in their estimation. t There has
'been a alight decrease in circulation
from the previous quarter.
Thb late Capt. E. B. Ward, of De
rtroit, died leaving property valued at
-rthe sum of 5,250,000. By his will,
'which has lately been admitted to pro
bate, he leaves the bulk of his property,
-in real estate and bonds, to his widow
-and children, and decrees that the rest
-of kis assets shall be devoted to pro
Tiding an income for the children and
.family of his first wife. He remem
bered a number of old friends, Ben
"Wade among them, with a gift of
;$5,000 each.
Ts the year ending June 30, 1873, we
-exported breadstuffs to the amount of
-$93 318,599, and in the year ending
with last Jane the amount was $160,
rS85,421, an increase of $63,000,000.
Provisions and petroleum were about
the same in both years, while cotton
rfell off $15,000,000 in the last year, and
-tobacco increased $8,000,000. j On the
- other hand, the imports for the year
ending with Jane, 1874, were reduced
$68,000,000, thus showing that are we
lfinally getting the heavy end of our ao
-counts with other climes, on our side.
Thb great scandal suit of Tilton
against Beecher, now in progress at
Brooklyn, bids fair to be one of the
.longest and most celebrated trials of
-the age. The first week was consumed
in choosing a jury. Judge Morris,
leading counsel for Tilton, devoted
three days to bis opening address, and
-over a week was consumed in the exam
ination of the first witness, Moulton.
.As yet no testimony farther than that
-contained in the celebrated " state
ments" of last summer, has been brought
oat. It is the opinion of counsel that
the trial will be protracted through the
winter, and possibly far into spring.
Gen. S. V. Bbhbt, Chief of Ordnance,
-estimates the number of heavy guns now
in our ports at 1,745, of which 321 are
15-inch Rodman gun smooth bore ;
-1 .294 10-inch i Rodman stubs, smooth
-bore ; 90 8-inoh Farrott rifles ; 40 10-
ineh Farrott rifles. These Farrott ri
fles are so few in number as to consti
tute bat an unimportant item among the
-4,181 guns required for our forts, when
readv for their armaments,- and he
-recommends that an appropriation of
-$250,000 be made by Congress jor oou
vArtinr smooth-bore stuns into rifles by
lining with wrought iron or steeL The
-above sum will enable us to convert at
Heast 140 guns.
OmciAX. advices have been received
trfrom the City of Mexico confirming
telegraphic reports or important rau
iroad undertakings in that republic. ' A
-contract was signed between the gov--ernment'aad
a Few England company
-on the 5th of December, for' the eon---stmction
of a railroad J from Mexico to
Leon, and, on the 12th of December,
-another contract was signed with Ed
ward Lee Plumb, representing the In
ternational Railroad Company of Texas,
for the construction of a road from
Leon to the Bio Grande, to connect
-with the International railroad. Thia
-will make it necessary to construct
1,080 miles of railroad in Texas to the
'City of Mexico.
Missouri, following the "example of
nearly all the Northwestern States, pro
poses to enact a law regulating freight
nd passenger tariffs' on her railways.
-A stringent bill has already been intro
duced in the Legislature for this pur
pose. It enacts that no railway shall
charge more than two cents a mile for
passage money, except when the
amount is a fraction of five cents, in
which case the fraction may be added.
It provides that suits for violation of
the law may be brought in the Circuit
Court of the county wherein the in
fraction was committed, the action to
be brought in the name of the State.
The penalty is fixed at not less than
$50 nor more than than $300, one half
of the fin e to go the informer, and the
other half to the school fund of the
county in which suit may be brought.
This year's annual dividends, says
the Detroit Tribune, on the stocks and
bonds of the various .corporations at
Hartford amount to $2,518,698. The
insurance companies cry aloud at their
losses, which keep their dividends down
to from 12 to 25 per cent, per annum.
The Phoenix pays a quarterly dividend
of 5 per cent., with an extra dividend
of 5 per cent ; the Connecticut pays 6
and 3, and the Travelers', knock-kneed
and gouty, hobbles up to the front with
a semi-annual cash dividend of 6 per
cent., with a stock dividend of 20 per
cent, additional. The JEtna Insurance
Company pays 6 per cent., and a total
of $180,000; the Hartford total is
$100,000; the Phoenix $60,000; the
Travelers' $30,000 ; the National Screw
Company (which is not an insurance
company) pays 7 J per cent. ; total. $37,
500 ; and the Gatling Gun Company,
15 per cent.; total, $37,500.
Mb. G. E. Morrow, of the Western
Rural, delivered an interesting address
at the meeting of American Dairymen,
at Utica, New York, a few days ago, in
which he showed the large proportions
to which this industry is growing in
the Northwest. Mr. Morrow exhibited
a map giving the regious in Illinois.
Wisconsin, Iowa and : Minnesota in
which dairying has become prominent,
and a history of the rise and progress
of the business was given ; also a dis
cussion of the obstacles and circum
stances favoring prosperity in these
States. Liability to extreme drought
was named as the mos- serious ob
stacle. The cheap lands and abun
dance, and cheap food in summer and
winter, except in times of great drought,
give a marked advantage. The cheese
product of these four States for 1874,
was estimated at 25,000,000 pounds,
Wisconsin and Northern Illinois pro
ducing most of this and about equal
quantities. Iowa produoed about 1,250,
000 pounds ; Minnesota but a few hun
dred thousands of pounds. The prob
able increase of cheese product for 1875
was given as 20 per cent.
Whales as a Motive Power.
It could hardly be otherwise, and the
" divine fitness of things" still exists.
It was all well enough when whales were
necessary to the light of the world that
they should be killed for their blubber ;
but how, in the days of coal oil and gas,
when the incentive to whaling is nearly
gone, it seems all right that a new utili
ty should be found for those monsters
of the deep. To the philosophers who
have been racking their brain and pon
dering on this great waste of power, a
little paragraph published in a Halifax
newspaper must open a world of light.
This luminous statement is to the effect
that on the 23d of November the Ameri
can fishing schooner Sultan, while
riding at anchor on the Grand Banks,
with 150 fathoms of cable oat, was
taken in tow at the rate of twelve knots
an hour by a whale which had become
entangled in the cable. After an hour
and a half the monster was cut loose,
and got his harness for his pains. This
might be the germ of a great discovery.
Why should not whales do service in
the sea in the same way as horses on
the land ? We can fancy some New
Bedford mariner, who has made the
habits of the whale the study of his
life, training a school of young mon
sters. . First, to test their utility, he
might try them with a small boat ; but
to find out their power he must ship
aboard a fishing schooner and hitch one
of his immense steeds to the anchor.
All that is necessary is to form a stock
company, buy- up Coney Island for a
stable, and make application for the
privilege of taking the merchant ma
rine to and fro. "There's millions
in it. " New York Tribune.
Height of Human Beings.
M. Silbermann draws proof of the
equality of the sexes from a somewhat
novel mode of studying the human spe
cies, lie finds that the average height
of the individual in France, male and
female, is 1.60004 metres, when stand
ing with the arms hanging by the side,
and two metres when the arms are ex
tended above the head. Two persons
lying extended would measure four
metres, which is to the earth's meridian
as 1 to 10,000,000, precisely as one
metre is to the earth's quadrant as 1 to
10,000,000. Four metres, therefore, or
the average measure of a wedded pair,
he calls the base of the harmonic pro
portions of the human race, in whieh
woman fills one-half the measure, and
therefore is by right equal to man. A
more interesting result of M. Silber
mann's measurements and studies is his
conclusion that the average height of
the human race has not changed since
the Chaldean epoch, four thousand years
ago. This strangely confirms the view
of the substantial identity of the races,
in which the family of man is new di
vided, with those which existed in the
beginning of the historic period.
A Tkbbtblb Death. The Buffalo
Courier says : Augustus Catwinkle, of
Salisbury, Herkimer county, left his
home last Wednesday week to look at
some timber land several miles distant.
TT tvuMma Injifc axtA whilA nrniuino- a
creek broke through. . He "pulled off
his boots to empty the water, and they
froze so hard that he could not get them
.mi. , TTa than nrawlfwl for s lnntr
distance on his hands and knees in
search oi some reiuge irom me pene
fnr afmnflTtherA. but death tint an
JF , " " I
J9 u:m aTiiTAi-incra. ftnrl vhnn fnnnw
ciiu w o- I
he was in teat position, xv was seen
where he had attempted to build a fire
with bark which he had pulled from the
trees, and in another place he attempted
to make a snew icwu J?
top of a bushy spruce tree. Those who
v.itiV Via traveled at least a
1UUUU Juu " . ........
dozen miles before he was frozen, and
everywhere along jus iouwj uusie were
indication of his having resorted to
every imaginable plan to save his life.
Carrent Paragraphs.
Thb labor market in the Luzerne
(Pa.) ooal district is reported glutted.
Scranton, with a population of 35,000,
cannot now give steady employment to
3.000 men. Carbocdale, sixteen miles
distant, with a population of 12,000
men, cannot employ 1,000, and so it is
all along the Lackawanna valley.
Sheffield has not yet recovered from
the fright occasioned by the saws sent
there by the terrible Yankee manufac
turers. Well, it does look a little
alarming. Just imagine what commo
tion it would create among our Western
Grangers if tne Eaglish farmers would
commence exporting corn to Illinois.
Two of the old cannon used in the
Revolutionary war at the old fort at
Cambridge, Abbeville county, S. C,
were sold for $5 each the other day,
and were sent to Charleston. The can
non were about three feet long, with a
bore large enough to shoot a lemon,
and could easily be carried by a mus-'
cular man.
The production of opium in Asia'
Minor, which in former years averaged
annually from 2,000 to 3,000 baskets or
cases, each containing 150 pounds, has
of late years much increased, and the
crop now averages from 4,000 to 6,000
baskets. Out of this quantity, which
is shipped at Smyrna, the United States
take about 2,000 cases.
Some time ago, W. W. Corcoran, of
Washington, offered to the Columbian
University an estate valued at $250,
000, ai an endowment fund, on condi
tion that other friends of the institu
tion would raise within a certain period
an additional sum of $100,000. The
Executive Committee of the University
now announces that the requisite
amount has been subscribed in Mary
land, the Middle and New England
estates, ana in tne Uistrict.
Thb gold and silver production of
the district of country west of the Mis
souri river for 1874 is stated as fol
lows :
California
Nevada
Oregon
Washington
Idaho
Montana
Dtah ,
Artso&a
Colorado.
Mexico
BritiBh Columbia. .
Total
.$20,809,581
. 35,453,333
609,070
155,535
. 1,SSO,004
. 3,43t,498
. 5,911,278
20.066
. 4 191.405
788 878
. 1,636.557
$74,401,055
Thb New York Iribune recently sued
to recover moneys alleged to be due for
advertising. The suit was defended on
the ground that the advertising had
been obtained by misrepresentation as
to the circulation of the Weekly Trib
une, which was claimed to be consider
ably over, while, the defendant alleges,
it was considerably under, 100,000.
The court made a conditional order for
the production f the company' books,
and the- , t r the present, the TO eed
ing rests. "
A bachelor in Omaha, Neb., who
was the fortunate possessor of a house
ready furnished, recently effected a most
advantageous arrangement. He found
a pleasant family anxious to take
boarders, and willing to take his house
and furnish him with board and part of
the profits for the rent. This arrange
ment worked very pleasantly for the
bachelor until the other morning, when
he awoke and found the family gone
and himself with a house full of board
ers to provide for. At last accounts he
was trying to extricate himself from the
dilemma.
These recently died in the north of
France at the age i of eighty-three, a
miBer who lived alone, and whose hut,
when examined by the authori
ties after his death, proved : a
sort of gold mine. His pillow alone
contained 19,000 francs in gold pieces
of the time of Louis XV and XVL He
had a taste for old pieces. He had
been robbed many times, and the
thieves were generally detected through
the antiquity of the money they stole.
The total of the sums robbed from him
in his life, for which men have been
convicted and sentenced, reached 100,000
francs.
Home and Happiness.
There can be no doubt that the truest
happiness is ever to be found at home.
No man without a home can be leng and
truly happy. Bat the domestic group
can be productive of happiness only
when it is assimilated by affection, and
kept in union by discreet friendship.
Then it tends to produce as much hap
piness as this world is capable of ; and
its sweet repose is sought for by all
sensible men, as ever by the wisest and
the greatest. What can be compared,
in our intercourse of life, with the atten
tions of our family, with their exilarat
ing smiles and unassembled loves ? All
this raises the gentlest and most pleas
ing emotions, and calls forth' all the
sentiments of uncontrolled nature.
What are the raptures of ambition, the
pleasures of fame, the delights of honor,
in comparison with this? Utterly worth
less and insipid. Hence it is that we
see senators and heroes shutting out
the acclamations of an applauding
world to partake of the endearments of
family conversations, and to enjoy the
prattling of their little children in their
harmless pleasures. This is one of the
purest sources of mirth. It has in
fluence, too, in amending the heart;
for innocence is communicated by com
ing in contact with it; and the sweet
simplicity of children tends to purify
the heart from the pollution that it has
acquired from moving in the world and
mixing with men. Into what an abyss
of moral degradation should we not be
sunken were it not for women and
children? Well might the Great Author
of evangelical philosophy have been de
lighted with the presence of children,
and found in them what he in vain
sought among those who judged them
selves their superiors goodness and vir
tue. Cicero, with all his liberality of
mind, felt the tenderness of home at
tachment. At one time he acknowl
edged that he received no satisfaction in
any oompany but in that of his wife, his
little daughter, and, to use his own lan
guage, "hishoneyedyoungCieero." Sir
Thomas Moore, with his great powers of
mind, devoted a great share of his time
because he knew it to be his duty and
felt it to be his delight to the amuse
ment of his children. Homer, in his
Iliad, in the parting interview be
tween Hector and Andromache, - has
interested the heart of his reader in his
terrible hero by showing the amiability
of his Trojan chief ; by depicting him,
while standing completely armed for
the battle-field, taking off his helmet
that he might not frighten his little
boy with its nodding plumes. How re
freshed are we by this scene of domestic
love 1 And how pleased to see the arm
which is shortly to deal death and de
struction among a host of foes, em
ployed in caressing an infant son with
the embraces of paternal - love.-Pen
and Plow, :. ... .. 1 . .
Auosso the Twelfth' is the title of
the new monarch of Spain.
THE LITTLE FOLKS.
The Foundling.
AH the long night poor kitty waa lying
Oat on the door-step, the dear little pet ! .
Crsnched in a oorner and feebly crying,
" Pleaae let me in ; I am hungry and wet." t
Nobody shewed her a morsel of pity,
And wildly the r tin and the tempest did roar ;
Nobody oared that a poor little kitty
Waa crying, " Please open the window or door.
" Give me a corner, no matter how narrow
Only a aheltdr from weather and wind ;
I have no nest like the mouse or sparrow,
A cold, dripping door-step is all I can find."
Long after daylight we heard the faint mowing.
"A kitty I" cries Jenny, and springs out of bed,
Steps to the door to ses what she is doing,
And finds the poor creature is very near dead.
Bnt Jennv soon had her wrapt np in her tier,
And Effle and Bella brongnt milk in a disn.
And Gip was delighted, and 1'om lit the lire,
And kitty soon had all a kitty could wish.
Lightning In Johnny's Hair.
" Combs can't bkw can they ? "
Could yon guess what Johnny meant
by such a queer, backhanded question ?
I couldn't, nor his sister Mary, either.
I was quite sure, however, that be
meant something sensible, if one could
only get at it ; but Mary was doubtful.
"Blow what ? " she asked not so
gleasantly as she might.
" Why, blow air," said Johnny, " to
make wind."
' Of course not, you silly child ;
what makes you ask such a silly ques
tion as that ?"
Mary thinks Johnny is a pretty bright
little fellow in general, but on particu
lar points she is always ready to call
him a dunce, without stopping first to
find out what he really means to say.
The trouble is she knows so little her
self that she thinks she knows every
thing, at least everything worth know
ing ; and Johnny is all the time puz
zling her with questions that she has
no answer ready for.
"What have you seen to make you
ask that question ?" I inquired.
" I didn't see anything, ' said Johnny ;
" I just felt it like some one breathing
softly on my face and hand when I held
my comb near." B
"Nonsense," said Mary; " you just
imagined it."
" No I didn't," Johnny insisted ; " I
felt it really, this morning, when I was
combing my hair."
"Oh," said I, suspecting the cause of
his difficulty ; " what kind of a comb
was it ?"
"A black comb," said Johnny.
" Horn or rubber ?" I asked.
" It s a rubber comb," said Mary.
" How did your hair behave when
you were combing it ?"
Mean as anything, " Johnny replied.
"It stuck up like Mary's when it's
frizzed, and wouldn't stay anywhere."
Part of that was for Mary's benefit.
Johnny likes to tease her.
" Did yisu think the comb made it do
that by blowing it?" I asked.
"Not at firstc," said Johnny; "the
comb seemed to crackle, and I put it to
my ear to listen ; then I felt the wind
on my cheek."
" Suppose you bring the comb here,"
said I, " and show us what it did."
Johnny ran off for the comb, but came
back quite crestfallen.
" It won't do it now," he said.
" As much as ever !" cried Mary, tri
umphantly. " But it did this morning, truly," he
he said, rather humbly.
"Pshaw?" said Mary, "you imag
ined it."
Like many another discoverer, John
ny had to learn what it is to be discred
ited and ridiculed for knowing too much.
Because Mary had never noticed what
he described, she was as ready as older
people to cry "nonsense," "impossi
ble," and all that sort of thing, without
stopping to consider whether he might
not be in the right after all."
" You had better try again some other
day," I said to Johnny. " Try differ
ent combs. Try in the dark, too."
" What for ?,r Johnny asked.
"You might see something," I said.
"In tne dark?"
"Yes, in the dark."
Johnny wondered how that could be ;
and he wondered still more when I sug
gested that it might be a good plan to
try the comb also on Humpty Dumpty
that's his shaggy dog.
Two or three mornings after, Johnny
came pounding at my door before break
fast; when I let him in he cried, "It
blows now, sure I"
"What blows?"
" Why, the comb."
I took the comb from his hand and
putting it to my cheek, said, " I don't
feel any wind from it."
" That isn't the way," he said, reach
ing out for the comb. " You must do
this first," and he ran the comb rapidly
through his hair a few times, then held
it to his cheeJE, saying, " I can feel it
plainly."
"See if it will blow these," I said,
stripping some bits of down from a
feather and laying them upon the table.
Johnny repeated the combing, then
held the comb near the down expecting
to see the light ( stuff blown from the
table. To his great surprise it was not
blown away at all, but on the contrary
it sprang suddenly toward the comb,
then dropped off as suddenly.
That's queer," said Johnny.
I excited the comb again and held it
near the back of my hand, calling
Johnny's attention to the fact that all
the fine horse hairs stood up when the
comb came near them.
" When you hold the comb near your
cheek," I said, " the downy hairs stand
up like that, and the feeling is just like
that of a breath of air." t
" Then it isn't wind that comes from
the comb ?"
"No, it is not wind."
"Maybe the comb Is a' magnet,"
suggested Johnny, seeing its attraction
for light hairs, dust and the like, as I
held it over them. I took a small mag
net from my table-drawer and held it
near the feathers and hair. It did not
stir them, no matter how much I rubbed
it. It picked up a needle though, very
quickly. Then I rubbed the comb, and
though it attracted the feathers it had
no effect on the needle. '
" Is that like a magnet?" I asked. '
" No," said Johnny.
- ' When the needle . springs to the
magnet it sticks there; but when the
hair or down springs to the comb it
flies away again instantly."
It is very queer," said Johnny.
" Try this horn comb," said L
Johnny tried it, but comb his hair as
much as he might, the horn would not
draw anything. Then he tried a shell
comb, and an ivory comb, neither of
them acting as the rubber comb did.
"I don't understand it all," said
Johnny.
" Nobody does fully," said I ; "but if
you keep trying you may learn a good
deal about it in time."
Then we went to breakfast. It was
several days before the subject was
brought up again. " I've been watch
ing a long time," said Johnny, that
evening ; I began to think it would
never happen again, but it's a first-rate
day to-day
- V Have you found out anything new?"
I asked. ' ,
" Not much," said Johnny. "I tried
Humpty and the comb crackled like
everything. What makes it do that ?"
" 1 think we'll have to study that to
night," I replied. " Where's Humpty ?"
" In the kitchen. Shall I call' him ?"
" If you please ; bring pussy, too."
Johnny was soon back with Humpty
and Nebuchadnezzar th&t's pussy.
We call him Neb, for short. Then we
went into the library and put out the
lights.
"Hew can we see what the comb
does ?" Johnny asked.
" Some things oan be seen in the
dark," I replied. Then 1 drew the
comb briskly through Johnny's hair,
making it snap and sparkle beautifully.
" See," I Baid, bringing the teeth of the
comb opposite my knuckle, "this is
what makes the snapping."
" How pretty !" Johnny cried, as the
tiny sparks flew from the comb to my
knuckle. "What is it?"
" Lightning," said L
"Lightning! In my hair?"
" Certainly," I said. " Let me comb
out soaie more."
Johnny was almost afraid of himself
when I brought another lot of sparks
from his head. .
" Folks had better look out when I'm
around," said the little fellow, pomp
ously. " Mary says I make more noise
than a thunder-storm sometimes ; I
guess it's the lightning in me. Some
body 11 get bit yet."
" Not very severely, let us hope," said
I, laughing. " Suppose we try Hnmp
,ty. Maybe he's a lightning bag, too."
Sure enough, when we passed the
comb through his shaggy coat the
sparks flew finely. So they did when
we rubbed him with the hand.
Let's try Neb," said Johnny ; " here
he is under the sofa; I can see his
eyes."
But Neb had no notion of being
rubbed the wrong way. As soon a3 the
sparks began to show his patience gave
out, and he went off with a rush.
" I guess Neb's lightning goes to his
eyes and his claws," said Johnny.
After that we tried the sheepskin rug,
Mary's muff, and several other things
of the sort, getting sparks from all of
them.
Everything seems to have lightning
in it," said Johnny.
"Apparently," said I, " but you
can't make it show in everything alike ;
any way, not by rubbing. Try the chair
back, the table, the sofa, and such
things. Generally when two things are
rubbed together the lightning or elec
tricity as it is commonly called es
capes quickly. When it can't do that,
it accumulates as it does in the rubber
comb and goes off in a snap when it
gets a chance. When a cloud contains
more electricily than it can hold, some
of it jumps to another cloud or to the
earth, making a flash of lightning. The
thunder is ita prodigious snap and the
echoes of it. Are your slippers quite
dry?"
" I think so," said Johnny, wonder
ing what that had to do with lightning.
" I think the furnace has been on
long enough to make the carpet .quite
dry, too," I said, turning just a "glim
mer of light on. " If it is, you can
make a little thunder-storm of yourself
easily."
"How ?" Johnny asked eagerly.
" Just skip around the room a few
times without taking your feet from the
carpet."
Johnny spun round like a water
beetle for a minute or two j then I
stopped him and told him to reach ont
his forefinger. When he did so, I
reached ' my forefinger to his, and as
the points came together snap went a
spark between them, whereat Johnny
cried, " Oh !" and put his finger to his
mouth.
"Did it burn you ?"
"No," said Johnny, "but it scared
me."
He was not so badly soared, however,
but he wanted to try it again and again,
while I turned up the light and went on
with my reading. By-and-by Humpty
came out from under the sofa to see
what was going on, and Johnny sent a
epark into his nose. It didn't hurt
any, though it surprised him not a
little.
" Wouldn't it be fun," said Johnny,
"to give Mary a shock?"
" Charge yourself again," I said,
"then come to me with your hands
down."
Johnny did as I bade him, where
upon I stooped and kissed him on the
mouth. It was his turn to be sur
prised that time.
Just then Mary came to tell the young
lightning-catcher that it was time to go
to bed.
" All right," said the little rogue,
cheerily, skipping about the room.
" Kiss me good-night, Mary, but don't
touch me with your hands," he said at
last, demurely holding up his mischiev
ous mouth.
Mary gave the kiss, and got in return
what she didn'J; expect.
" You little rascal 1" she cried,
" you've got a pin in your mouth."
" No I haven't," he said.
"It's a piece of rubber, then."
"No, it isn't rubber."
" What was it ?"
" Lightning," said Johnny. " See I"
and he skipped a few times across the
floor, then gave her a spark from his
finger. Then he ran off to bed, laugh
ing at Mary's bewilderment. Christian
Union.
A Long Baggy Bide.
A gentleman from our distant sister
State of Kansas is visiting in this city
for a few days, who drove all the way
from Kansas to New Hampshire in a
top buggy drawn by a single horse.
This is 1'homas H. -Kinney, of Wells
ville, Kan. Mr. Kinney left the fertile
soil of the garden of tne West on the
5th day of October. He carried only
what baggage he could stow away in
the buggy-box, traveling thus in light
marching order. His horse was a native
Kansas 4-year old oolt, sired by the
celebrated Gen. Mitchell, which follow
ers of the turf have often heard of.
They started out in the early morning,
and traveled three days without incon
venience. Then, for the first time in
his life, the horse was shod. Later on
the shoes were taken off and reset, and
afterward en route he was shod a sec
ond time. This was all the shoeing
necessary. The roads were all sorts, of
course, and onoe or twice, on account of
rain and other causes, Mr. Kinney had
to stop over for a day or so at a time.
But he met with no accident, and ac
complished the .whole 1,529 miles in
fiftynine days, arriving at Charlestown,
N. XL, both horse and himself, in the
very best condition. Norwich (Conn.)
Bulletin.
Thb word "bonanza" has been freely
launched upon the sea of journalism,
and. is likely to become a household
word. A Nevada paper says it is Span
ish, end means "fair weather at sea."
Applied to mines it means " a body of
rich ore." When a Spanish miner
strikes a good vein, he replies . to the
query: "How are you getting on?"
in his own language, " Oh, ir en bo
nanza," which means in American slang,
Oh, we're all hunkey-dory 1"
Why Alexis Hade a Trip Around the
woria.
A correspondent of the New York
World, writing from St. Petersburg,
says:
You remember the vague rumors
concerning the marriage of the Grand
Duke Alexis, the handsome youth about
whom so many society belles in New
York went half wild at the time of his
visit to the United States. The story
has never been told in print except in a
very fragmentary way. Among the
demoiselles d'honneur of her Majesty,
the Empress, there was a pretty and
attractive girl, the daughter of a high
official who was a member of the Coun
cil of the Empire. She was attached to
the imperial household and lived in the
palace ; Alexis fell in love with her
fell in love over head and ears, which
was very wrong for a Grand Duke. He
declared his love and found it recipro
cated, and with the headstroncr impru
dence of youth he proposed to elope
with her and be married. She, poor
girl, did not weigh the consequences,
and probably was not aware what a
mess she would make by accepting his
offer. One day while the court was at
Moscow the twain met by appointment,
sought a priest and were united. The
marriage waa kept secret for two or
three months, but marriage, like mur
der, will out, and this case proved no
exception to the rule. When it bee ime
known there was a scene such as does
not often happen. The Emperor swore
and the Empress cried, and the whole
imperial family was in a funk. Alexis
was talked to in a very plain, old-fashioned
way. It was determined to send
him on a long journey in the hope of
curing him of his love, and so he was
started on the voyage that brongnt nun
to America and took him home by way
of Japan and Siberia. Mrs. Alexis was
sent out of the empire by a special
train, and the eye of the police was not
taken from her until she was safe over
the frontier. The priest who performed
the ceremony was packed off to Siberia
in spite of the protest that he didn't
know the parties, and that he married
them just as he would have married
any other couple. They didn't let on
who they were, buj only - gave their
names a la Husse as Alexis Alexandro
vitch and Marie Paulovna, which are
about as traceable or suspicious in this
country as John Smith and Mary Jones
would be in New York. Alexis came
back after an absence of three years,
and he is now commander of one of
the crack ships of the Russian navy.
It is intended when the Grand Duke
Constantino, present Grand Admiral,
has passed away to make Alexis his
successor, and so his voyage aound the
world cannot fail to do him good. The
wife and the priest are still in exile, the
former in Switzerland and the hitter in
Siberia.
Alexis has repented of his folly, and
the family quarrel has been partially
smoothed over.
A Razor that Talked.
A city man who has had one of his
country relations " come down " to
spend Christmas with him, was asked
for the loan of his razor by his guest.
Wishing to afford every facility, he
put an extra edge on his best Damas
cus, and passed it over. It came back
with the edge turned, and the user re
marked that he " couldn't exactly get
the razor used to his baird, fur he
didn't know what it was doin', some
how."
The gentleman glanced at the " baird"
in question, and next day handed his
visitor another razor, which had done
duty in chiro pedal operations ; but.
repenting of tne act soon alter, visited
the room of the member from Cranber
ry Center to reclaim it, where he found
him before the glass with the instru
ment going through the aforesaid
" baird " sounding like the grit of a
teazle or pair of wool cards, with the
hair flying like a shower of iron wire,
and now and then a patch of skin com
ing with some of the more vigorous
pulls. The words of apology that rose
to the lips of the host were checked by
his guest, who paused in his labor and
turning from the glass, observed :
"None of yer new-fashioned razors fur
me. This is a razor that you know
what it's doin'; this razor " as he fell
to work again, and a sound as of sand
paper scratching glass arose "this
razor talks, and tells what it's about."
' A Colored Boy's Story of the Sea.
Charles Tuttlef a colored boy, who
ran away from his home in Ellington,
Conn., three years ago, has returned,
and has a sailor's yarn to spin to the
wondering countrymen. He has been
as a whaler, and says his ship got
blown from its course, and , food and
water gave out. After three days, lots
were cast among the crew in order that
one should give his life to sustain that
of the others. The blank was drawn
by an old sailor, and he being a favor
ite, there was a cry from many that his
life should be saved. It became evi
dent that mutiny must prevail. 1 The
captain and party and other sailors
formed sides and armed themselves
ready for a bloody fight, .but just then
there came a cry of "a sail," and every
sailor dropped his arms and good feel
ings were. restored.
A Dog's Exploit.
A gentleman in Des Moines owns a
very intelligent little dog, which he has
trained to bring him his morning paper
from the front gate, where it is left by
the carrier.. The other day some one
stole the paper directly after the carrier
had left it, and Carlo was greatly mys
tified about the matter. Fearing his
master's anger if he entered the break
fast room without his accustomed bur
den, he scoured about in great distress.
A happy idea struck him, however, as
he espied a journal lying on the door
btep of the opposite neighbor, and gal
loping off in high glee, he soon came
into the house with ears pricked up
and ' tail briskly wagging, with ; the
stolen prize in his mouth. It is quite
needless to add that his penetration,
though misdirected, was rewarded with
a bone of extra siae. -
DKSTBUcnoir or Man-Eatkbs. The
destruction of man-eaters, tigers and
leopards, by means of strychnine,
proved so effective in the Coinbatore
districts in Madras that the lossof human
lif e has been reduced to nil during the
present year, and the number of cattle
killed has been much less than usual.
Fifty-three tigers and thirty-two cattle
killing leopards have been destroyed
within the twelve months, the majority
of them poisoned by baits prepared by
order of the village magistrates, ! and
the others by shoe ting and trapping.
Although the wild beasts thus disposed
of were most of them only cattle-killers,
it is stated that by . their destruction
there is a much less chance of man
eaters being developed. ' ! j
Sixes the famine set in in Asia Minor
60,000 people : have , emigrated from
various parts of the country, half of
wnom nave -suooumred to disease. :
; Carious Legends.; ; i
The Festival of the Asses, which has
been for long ages observed in Verona,
grew out of the following circum
stances :
According to the legend, the young
ass on which our Savior entered Jeru
salem was set at liberty immediately
after, and profiting by his opportunity,
took to traveling in Palestine, from
whence he made the tour of Egypt
visiting every place of interest or note,
and nobody appears to have caught
him I Crossing the Mediterranean dry
shod, without the aid of any ship or
bark whatsoever, he went to Cyprus,
Bhodes, Candia, Malta and Sicily ; he
then walked up the Adriatic to Venice,
which citv. by the way, waa not then in
existence; but he seems not to have
liked the little island, for soon he passed
on to Yerona. where he fixed his resi
dence, and where he died at a very ripe
age. The pious and hospitable Vero
nese placed his remains in a reliquary
of the same shape, and they kept it in
tne cnuron dedicated to " saint Mary
of the Organs ; " every year this inter
esting and valuable donkey was carried
in solemn procession through the town
of Yerona ; at the present date, the
Festival of the Asses has become a
mere name.
The'Geneese were fortunate enough to
obtain the tail of the above-mentioned
ass, and they kept it with great piety in
the Church of Saint Dominiok, whioh
stood where the Theater Carlo Felice
was afterward built.
In the city of Constance, on the lake
of the same name, among the relics
may be seen the spider swallowed by
Saint Conrad, when taking the wine at
mass, the spider seams to have made
good his claim to mummification by
making his exit from the thigh of the
saint, without having done any harm,
during his residence within 1
Two lambs belonging to Saint Francis
of Assisi distinguished themselves im
mensely by pious acts; one of them
went early to wake a lady whom he
afterward conducted to mass, and the
other lamb attended mass every day,
remaining on his knees during the en
tire service ! - -
la the curious legend of Saint Julian
encountering a deer in a wood, there is
a trace of the Eastern belief of trans
migration. The saint went hunting
deer in a forest, when suddenly the
animal he was following stood at bay
and spoke thus : " Do not kill me, for,
in so doing, thou wouldst kill thine
ancestors."
Saint Boch, or Boque, is always por
trayed with a dog in close company, to
commemorate the story, that, being
struck down with the plague when far
from all human aid in the wood, he was
discovered by his dog, who brought him
food every day till -he was entirely re
, stored to health.
The crab of Saint Francis Xavier has
been rendered more notorious by some
curious old frescoes in Sienna, tnan by
the printed histories whioh relate that
the saint, being desirous to calm a sud
den squall, reached bis hand out beyond
the bulwark of the ship, intending to
show the crucifix in his hand to the -waves,
but his hold relaxed and the
crucifix fell into the sea, whereupon, a
"saintly crab," as the legend calls him,
hastened after the vessel, politely offer
ing the recovered ; crucifix to Saint
Francis, and the fresco shows this
courtly crustacean holding up the re
covered treasure in his claw.
The Cock of Saint Peter is said to
have been carried into Spa'n by the
Apostle James; feathers were sold at
great prices to the pilgrims who visited
Compostella. The poet Southey gives
the story in some unimportant varia
tions in his humorous "Pilgrimage to
Compostella." The name of that city
is said to be merely a corrupted pro
nunciation of " Sanctus Jacobus Apos
tolus." RepeliiIko Ants. Some years ago,
says a correspondent of the London
Times, at my house in the country, a
colony of ants established themselves
under the kitchen flooring. Not know
ing the exact locality of the nest, I en
deavored to destroy the insects with
treacle, sugar, arsenic, etc. ; but, al
though I slew numbers thus, the plague
. -tt - . A. 1 LI 1.7
buxi increased. . at laoc, oei.iiiiia.m8
myself that ants dislike the smell of
tar, I procured some carbolic acid and
diluted it with about a dozen times its
weight of water. I squirted a pint of.,
the mixture through the air-bricks
under the floorine. and my enemies
vanished that day, never to return. It
has always been successful. For crick
ets, etc., also, a little of this sent into
their holes acts as an immediate notice
to quit. ' - ;
Ths Lost " Mtjbxjuiio." The famous
stolen picture of Moriilo. whioh was
found by Mr. Sohaus, a picture dealer
of New York, has been returned to
Spain. There -are comparatively few
so-called picture dealers who would
have recognized the priceless treasure,
even if they had seen it. especially in
its damaged condition. By a fortunate
onanoe tne persons wno nad somenow
or other come into possession of it took
it to Mr. Shaus, who is a connoisseur
as well as a dealer, and in the most
graceful manner he has returned the prise
to the country from whioh it was stolen.
It is an incident which will always be
recorded among the interesting anec
dotes of celebrated paintings.
Thbsw too Hard. A boy in Lan
caster, Penn., fourteen years old, broke
his arm in a curious way, a day or two
ago. lie was snow-oaiung witn otner.
boys, and expressed a determination to l
throw a snow ball over the top of a bell
tower. He made several unsuccessful
attempts, and in making a final " good .
effort " the. bone of his right arm was
broken square off between the elbow"
and shoulder. He was standing in the
middle of the street at the time, and.
had no opportunity of striking .his arm"
against any outside obstacle, and there
seems to be no doubt that the bone was
fractured by an unusual exertion of '
muscular force. The other boys present . -say
that " his arm cracked like a
pistol." -- - .- ' - ; . ; I
As Mb. Mobtdrs Nth, Mayor of
Lapcrte, and Mr. William Trowbridge,
of New Castle, were taking extremely
front seats at the Metropolitan the
other night, Mr. Nye, says, says he.
" There's Morg. Wier ;" and he pro
ceeded to whack Mr. Wier across the
shoulders with his cane. Mr. Morg. "
Wier turned around, and it didn't hap
pen to be Morg. Wier at all, but the
fellow that looked like him. It took."
all the eloquenoe of the Mayor of
Laporte to pacify the man that looked T
like Wier, and all three took a little
lemon in it. IndianapolU Herald.
Bkoausb Mrs. Sid don a declaimed hex
request for the potatoes or ask&l for
gravy in the same tone that she cried -"Infirm
of purpose, give me the dag
gers," most modern tragedians feel it
their daty to say "How do you do ?"
with a sepulchral emphasis that sends '
shivers down the hearer's spinal column.