COW V-f OLBVK.
ALBANY,
OREGON.
WRITERS OF ONE HYMN.
The fame of many writers rests on a
single production. Defoe was a volumi
nous writerj but " Robinson Crusoe "
, is all that has come down to us. " The
Burial of Sir John Moore " has em
balmed the memory of the Rev. Charles
Wolfe, no less than that of the military
hero !
It is so In sacred poetry. Take most
favorite hymns, and you will find their
authors oomposed nothing else popular.
. Their genius seems to have been ex
hausted by a single happy effort. Let
as look at a few illustrations :
" Come, thou fount of every bless
ing," was the earliest and best per
formance of Robert Robinson, awak
ened under the preaching of White
field. He was unstable, becoming
Methodist, Independent, Baptist, and
finally died an avowed Socinian, in
179a
Bock of Ages is a glorious Chris
tian lyric, and Toplady has left nothing
.half so precious. He began his minis
try amid the beautiful hills of Devon,
in 1768. Toplady was bitter enough in
dispute, but his spirit lost all its harsh
ness when he tuned the instrument of
sacred song. ' ...
Few hymns have been more frequent
ly sung at times of special religious
feeling than " Come, ye sinners, poor
and needy." Its author was Joseph
Hart, born in London, 1712. He began
life as a teacher.
The Rev. Edward Perronet gave to
the church that , grand 'march, of the
aaints, "All hail the power of Jesus'
name. His father was a clergyman of
the English Establishment, but he him'
self labored under the patronage of
Iady Huntington, who died in 1786.
"Nearer, my God, to thee," has
probably touched more hearts than any
other hymn. Sarah Fuller Flower, its
author, was the younger, of the two
daughters of Ben j amine Flower. In
1834 she was married to Adams, a civil
engineer, and died in 1849, at the age
of 44. She was buried near Hartlow,
Essex.
How many weary pilgrims have been
cheered in passing through the dark
valley by the consolation of " Just as
am, without one plea." Charlott
Elliot was an invalid from early years,
and died in 1871. She was the third
daughter of Charles Elliot, of Clapham,
England.
Timothy D wight, elected President
of Tale College in 1795, prepared four
ponderous volumes of theology, which
few clergymen ever take from the shelf.
His classic version of the 137th psalm,
"I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord," will
perpetuate his memory.
A few years ago, in New York, Phoebe
CJary died of consumption, at the age
of 46. She and her sister Alice were
both graceful poets. "One sweetly
solemn thought," written by Phoebe,
in its pensive sadness, touches the
heart like a dirge,
"Sweet the moments rich in blessing,
one of the most inspiring songs for the
great congregation, was composed by
Sir Walter Shirley, converted under
the ministry of Venn, who died in 1796.
Shirley afterward preached in England
and Ireland.
About fifty years ago the Rev. Dr.
Muhlenburg, rector of St. Luke's Hos
pital, New York, wrote the well-known
hymn. " I would not live klway." Not
satisfied with its spirit, the author has
since endeavored to correct its teach
ings, writing, in 1868, an additional
verse, which breathes the true feeling
of resignation. This is generally ound,
however, with the older verses.
PR I G RTF UL RAILWAY SLAUGHTER.
The London Timet, of Dec. 25, gives
an account of a terrible accident on the
Great Western railroad, in which
thirty-one persons were killed, and up
ward of seventy wounded. A large
number of passengers, most of whom
were visiting friends for Christmas,
were being conveyed in thirteen car
riages, with two engines, from the sta
tion at Oxford, at 11:40, to Birming
ham and the north. The train, which
was half an hour late, proceeded safely
for about six miles when the tire of a
wheel of a first-class carriage broke and
the car immediately left the metals,
and for at least 300 yards plunged along
ever the sleepers, many of whom were
cut in two, and rushed over two wooden
bridges, one over the Oxford and 'Bir
mingham canal. The carriage was
thrown down an embankment, and
dragged after it several others. The
train was traveling at the rate of forty
miles an hour, and the impetus given
to the carriages as they left the rails
carried them with terrible force for a
Jong distance, until they were finally
dashed to pieces in the meadows below.
Three carriages and a luggage van were
deposited beyond the canal. :", One car
riage carried away one of the stone abut
ments of the bridge, and fell in splin
ters into the water. Fragments of two
earriages, turned wheels upward, were
literally strewn about the embankment,
and one carriage was hurled right across
the line on to the bank. The front
part of the train continued its course
for some distance. In the ease of a
majority of the victims, death was in
stantaneous. - .: ' - - -- ;'-
Ix devising his property Dr. Frank
lin made a bequest of five thousand
dollars to the city of Philadelphia, and
alike amount to Boston. This money
was to be loaned to married mechanics,
te assist them in starting business, and
the interest was to be compounded for
se hundred years, at the expiration of
is-hica tim the accumulated funds were
to be expended by the respective
for public improvements. Eighty-five
years have passed. The Philadelphia
inna amcunts to about forty-six thou
sand dollars, while Boston has a fond
accumulated to the amount of one hun
dred and eighty-two thousand dol
lars. r.
- CREMATION.
"We read an interesting account of an
act of cremation successfully performed
inxsresaen. xne body was that of a
lady, the young wife aged twenty-
snree oi a soutn Uerman physician.
The hall around the furnace was 1aw
rated with flowers, and in everv nth a
respect the solemnity which should at
tend so serious a rite was duly ob
served. No clergyman could, however.
be found to take part in the ceremony
ana Bpeax a Disriai address over the
dead body, so Herr Siemens, the eon
Btructor and proprietor of the oven, de
livered a brief but impressive speech.
after which the coffin was committed to
the flames. The process of cremation
was screened from the eyes of the lady's
friends by an iron door, but a small
number of physicians and other scien
ti.no men witnessed the operation
through a slit in the wall. Thev de
scribe the spectacle as free from any
thing offensive either to the senses or
the imagination. The current of hot
air burning up the body appeared as a
transparent name of a pale redish hue.
There was no smoke er any unsightly
transformation of the body. ' When the
coffin was consumed the body appeared
in its natural state, then red hot, and
at last appeared to be of translucent
white. From this it crumbled into
ashes. Up to the period of its entire
consumption by tne names the process
was merely a rapid drying up. After
seventy-eight minutes all organic matter
was gone and nothing remained but a
small heap of ashes, which was con
veyed away in an urn.
CUR1AG THE HICCOUGH.
The Reese River (Nev.) Reveille tells
the following : A young gentleman who
attends the Austin public school had
been told that a sudden shock or fright
would cure the hiccough, and the other
evening, while he was studying his les
son for the morrow by drawing a picture
of tne schoolma'am on his slate, his re
spected progenitor was seized with a fit
of hiccoughs. The old gentleman was
tilted back in his chair, with his feet
resting on the stove, and the young
hopeful concluded to try the cure . on
him. J ust as the old man was " rast
ling with a heartbreaking hie, the boy
jumped up and yelled "Fire!" The
old man was just getting out cuh-ouh,
but he never got it out. He gave a
jump which tilted over his chair, and
in endeavoring to regain his lost equi
librium his feet flew up against the
table, upsetting it and a student lamp
which stood upon it, and his head land
ed in the ashes on the stove-hearth.
The old lady, hearing the racket, came
running in from the kitchen and tripped
over the old man's prostrate form.
knocking down a whatnot with a lot of
glass and china ornaments. When that
boy's father arose from the wreck, and
shook the ashes and splinters of glass
out of his hair and clothes, he was
cured of the hiccoughs, but there was a
look of sternness in his eye ; the boy
says he knows it was a "stern" look
feelingly "stern," as he can testify.
He says fright is a splendid cure for
the " hiccups," but that the " stern
look it occasions is three hundred thou
sand times worse than the " hiccups. '
He can't play tag now, as he says his
mother has forbidden him, and he sits
on the edge of the seat at school and
lies on his front when in bed, and silent
ly murmurs that the old man can hiccup
his consarned old head off before he will
ever again try to cure him.
THE DOG HEAVED HON KEY.
A full-grown specimen of the dog-
headed monkey from Abyssinia has been
presented to the Museum of the Uni
versity of Geneva. - This Abyssinian
monkey is characterized by the long
hair on its cheeks and the greater part
of its body. It was held in veneration
by the ancient Egyptians, and enjoyed
a certain celebrity from the rank that it
occupied in their cosmogony. Its fig
ure is engraved upon the mouments of
ancient Egypt, and there have been
found mummies of the animal well pre
served. According to Ehrenberg, this
monkey served as the emblem for the
arts and sciences, music and astronomy,
and especially for speech and hiero
glyphics, or letters, over which he was
supposed to preside. It is for this that
the AbyssinLtns now call it iota. - Hor
apollon reports that this monkey was
consulted in the temples ; a tablet, reed
and ink, presented by a priest, were
used as tests to ascertain if the partic
ular animal belonged' to the race that
knew how to write. This representa
tive of Thoth also symbolized the judg
ment of souls; and upon one of the
temples of Philae . there is one rep
resented with a balance in hand weigh
ing the actions of men. In other places
it is represented writing with a reed.
hrenberg also supposes that it is the
locks of this monkey that have served
as the models for the perukes figured
upon the heads of different divinities in ;
the Egyptian mythology. -
A ooon-zooKisa house-girl, employed
in a family in Detroit, received a pres
ent of a muff the other day, and in a
day er two after the lady of the house
discovered a receipted bill in her hue
band's desk, reading s " For one muff
$20." She hadn't had a new muff, and
when the man came home to supper
that night the old girl was gone and
a new one was wrestling the dishes
about.
Miss Ahthohy, who recognizes only
the rights of the Eves, owes her nativity
to Adams, Mass. -
EDUCATING APPRENTICES R. ROE
co:s TECHNICAL BCHOQL.
The house of It Hoe & Co., well
known for the invention of the wonder
ful Hoe cylinder press, convinced that
the efficiency and success of their corps
of workers would be greatly increased
if they possessed a good English educa
tion and a thorough knowledge of the
fundamental principles of mathematics
and mechanics,' established a year or
more ago a school for their apprentices.
The recitation room, fitted up with all
modern improvements, is a portion of
the large, airy, commodious apartr.ent
on the upper floor of their new busi
ness house, No. 504 Grand street, hav
ing magnificent views from windows on
every side. The course of study em
braces grammar, arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, reading, writing, drawing,
composition, the ten science primers,
and Overman's mechanics. The classes
in these various branches recite once a
week, the recitation being an hour in
length. The lessons given' are Jong,
but the apprentices have ample time
out of work hours, not only to prepare
them, but to reflect upon and study
their practical applications. All the
apprentices, numbering upward of a
hundred, are compelled to , go through
this course of study, and as the term of
apprenticeship ranges f ron five to seven
years, they have time to become profi
cient in every branch taught, so that
when their apprenticeship is over, they
have ahorough English and technical
education, so far as mechanics are con
cerned. Everything is furnished gratuitous
ly the best of instruction, text-books
and drawing materials ; and the annual
outlay required is, Mr. Hoe assured us,
very trivial compared with the valuable
results already attained. The benefits
conferred upon the apprentices them
selves, and upon the community, by a
school of this sort, are inestimable.
From the ranks of iceehanics thus care
fully educated must come skilled work
men, inventors, and those who shall
make new and valuable applications to
the practical economies of lif a of prin
ciples already known. The scholars in
this school are earnest and enthusiastic
in their studies. New York Tribune,
PRACTICAL HINTS CONCERNING
THE USE OP TEA. j
The following hints concerning the
use of tea may prove useful :
1. Whoever uses tea should do so in
great moderation.
2. It should form a part of the meal,
but never be taken before eating, or be
tween meals, or on an empty stomach, aa
is too frequently done.
3. The best time to take tea is after a
hearty meal.
4. Those who suffer with weak nerves
should never take it at all.
5. Those who are troubled with in
ability to sleep nights should not use
tea, or if they do, take it only in the
morning.
6. Brain-workers should never goad
on their brains : to overwork on the
stimulus of tea. ,
7. Children and the young should not
use tea. 1
8. The over-worked and under-fed
should not use tea.
. xea snouid never be drunk very
strong.
10. It is better with considerable milk
and sugar.
lL Its use should at once be aban
doned when harm comes from it.
12. Multitudes of diseases come from
the excessive use of tea, - and for
this reason those who cannot use it
without going to excess should not use
it at alL
WORK. !
" I am a burden to no one, I pay for
whatever I have. I am dependent only
on myself." We hear such assertions
every a ay xrom tnose who never did a
stroke of work, either at business or
manual labor, but they have some hun
dreds of. thousands, left them by some
one who did work, and they have sat
down to "enjoy life," as they term it.
Let us tell you, friends, the workers of
this world support you no less than they
do the veriest paupers in the alms
house. We ask, What do you in your
idleness ; but . consume ? , And ; by
what divine right are you entitled to
idle about and use without endeavor to
keep good that which' industry has be
stowed on you ? Are you a better man
than was your father that you can spend
his hard-earned gains regardless of the
example be set you? Or a better woman
than was your mother that yon need not
remember thatshewas a worker?. Bouse
your selves, thoughtless ones. Find a busi
ness, go to work as men and women,, in
your homes, among the busy throng, any
where or at anything respectable, only
find something to do now, and trust the
testimony of the many that you will be
far happier than in this life of idleness
which, when you stop to consider, dis
gusts you as much as it does any one.
John Wabp, a young man of Haro .
county, Mich., about two years ago
committed some fracture of the law and
was arrested. He broke, loose from the
officer who had him in charge and es
caped out of the county. . But John
Ward left some 'unfinished business
with a girl of 17 who had a liking for
him, and for , whom he proved himself
willing to suffer imprisonment and even
death. " He returned to see the girl.
Her father forbade him coming into the
house. Ward drew a pistol and walked
in. . The mother admired - the dash of
the young man and became bis friend.
The girl was there, lovely, and 19, and
true to her lover. .Ward was arrested
on complaint of the father for assault
with a pistoL i The mother' testified in
favor of Ward and against her old man.
Ward was found not ffuiltv. It was
soon John Ward and wife. The old
lady having, as she supposed, fulfilled
her mission, took a big dose of lauda
num to get away from her husband who
had disgusted her by persecution of
Ward, but the doctors pumped her out,
and she still lingers in this wicked
world which does not pay for the
trouble.
CHINESE CHRISTMAS FEAST.
The San Francisco papers record a
perfect marvel in the way of a Christ
mas dinner given by a few wealthy
Chinese merchants to some of their
American friends. Under the gaidance
of Dune Sone and Yim Chang, the
guests found themselves in a perfect
maze of grandeur, rivaling the descrip
tion of the "Arabian Nights" in
splendor. There were gigantic lanterns,
gilded ' hangings, and embroidered
chairs. During dinner the guests were
regaled with the " Overture a-la Con
fucius," or " Celestial Chords,", with
tin pans and clashing of gongs. There
were lacquered tables with ivory chess
and checkers for those who cared to
retire for a smoke. Over the. backs of
the sofas and chairs and around the
side tables were covers of elaborately
embroidered scarlet broadcloth in gold
and silver. The dinner table was a
marvel of taste and beauty. No two
plates or bowls were alike. Besides
chop-sticks, there were the usual array
of spoons, knives, etc. ; and scattered
over the table were images of dragons,
lions, antelopes, devil-fish, in rice,
flour, and sugar. The native wine was
scented with attar of roses, and it was
ae strong that a couple of thimblefuls
were considered sufficient for the even
ing. The bill of tare consisted oi thirty
courses, comprising stewed birds nests,
stewed shark fins, duck legs, Li Chee
nuts, pigeons, watermelon seeds, fried
fish fins, mushrooms, an4 ducks' web
foot, capon and bam, and almond paste.
The pastry was wonderful in design,
resembling birds, beasts, and fishes in
endless variety. After eah course the
party left the table, converged, lounged,
or smoked. Following the Chinese
dinner came a European spread, of
twelve or thirteen courses. After six
hours of hard dining, !. the party
separated.
i
MILKING A MULE.
He is an industrious citizeiof Charle
county, Ohio. He got up at the usual
hour, some time before daylight, a few
mornings ago, and, taking his milking
pail with him, went out to the barn.
There were four stalls in the Btable and
in the stalls were two mules and two
cows, and the boy, not the old man, had
put up the animals the night before.
It was very careless of the boy, very
careless and blameable, indeed, to put
the cows in the mules' place and the
mules in the cows' place, rjid he should
have told his father of the change but
he didn't. The old man, too, was care
less in not taking a lantern to the barn
with him. The off mule is a vicious
brute, and it was additionally unfor
tunate that the off mule was the one in
the place of old Brindle, the cow the
farmer has always been in the habit of
milking first. And surely some spirit
of evil must have possessed that off
mule to a greater degree than ordinarily
that it should have allowed the farmer
to get fairly settled down and fumbling
away before it turned on the steam in
its big, bony off hind leg. And, if
Ohio people are as carious as other
people, it must have been aggravating
to the neighbors that afternoon that no
body was around the yard to tell them,
when they called from the street, what
made that big hole in the side of Smith's
barn. The old man was the only one
who knew anything about it, and he
had been in bed senseless from the
time that careless boy found him lying
close by the barn in the morning.
. HOW TIGERS 4.UE TAKEN.
Jamrach, a London dealer in animals,
gives the particulars of a tiger capture
in Asia. ' Full-grown tigers are never
brought away for the use of showmen,
as they cannon be tamed, and make
trouble by gnawing and breaking their
cages. Therefore, only those under six
months of age are cap tared. The natives
stealthily watch the lairs at the time
of brooding, and, upon waylaying a
male at a distance from the female and
her litter, shoot him. For his head
they get a government reward of fifty
rupees. When tne cubs are old enough
to live without their mother, she is
also shot and beheaded. The capture
of the young ones is then safe and easy.
They are kept at Calcutta until after
teething, and are thence sent to the
purchasers. The Sultan of Turkey buys
many, but most of them go to the
menageries in various parts of the
worid Tigers are also killed by the
natives for their skins, wkich, if hand
somely marked, are worth a hundred
rupees - each. The claws, too, are
bought by the Indian jewelers, and
sold for ornaments. Jamrach says that
the number of men eaten by tigers in
Singapore is very great, and that an
average of one Chinese wood chopper
disappears everyday.
A BUSINESS WOMAN.
Mrs. Phebe Benedict, of Antioeh,
California, ' has solved the question,
What can women do ?" Some two
years since she took ont papers as sole
trader, gained the consent of her hus
band to allow her complete manage
ment of the farm, ana transact all the
business of the place, and at a time
when the farm was mortgaged for sev
eral hundred dollars, and - farming im
plements out of repair. Now, by econ-
otuy, close attention , to Business and
shrowd management, she bat paid off
the mortgage and interest, purchased a
new cultivator, plows and other imple
ments, treated herself to a sewing ma
chine, repaired the buildings and will
shortly loan money.
EL1CSR OF ANTIQUITY.
Among the most interesting relics of
antiquity that have been brought to
light in Rome, in the course .of the
building and restoration that have been
carried on of late years in the old city,
are a numoer oi writing tablets, or
pugillares. These writing tablets were
much in use in the times of the Caesars,
and consisted of two leaves of ivory
hinged together bookwise. The inner
surface of the leaves was slightly hol
lowed to admit of a thin layer of wax,
and the enter surface wai often adorned
with elegant carving. The writing was
executed with a stylus having one end
pointed for the purpose, and the other
blunt for making erasures. These
tablets, called pvgillarea because they
were small enough to be borne in the
band, or diptycha, because they were
double-leaved, were tied, sealed, and
sent from friend to friend as tokens of
regard. They were especially used by
Consuls, who presented them to their
friends on their elevation to office.
Juvenal mentions their use by lovers in
transmitting tender messages. The
missives conveyed in them frequently
had the portrait of the writer at the
commencement. One of the tablets
recently found in Rome still bore the
inscription of its owner, Licinius, a
favorite of Julius Caesar, and created
by him Governor of GauL The in
scription gives evidence that Licinius
was a man of great wealth.
A quantity of silver forks have also
been recently unearthed in Rome. They
are two-pronged, and with handles of
elegant design. It has been hitherto
supposed that the table-fork was a mod
ern invention, and that the Romans, as
the Greeks and other nations, ate with
their fingers. Such, indeed, was the
prevailing custom among all peoples
down to the fourteenth or fifteenth cen
tury. Meat was generally stewed, or,
if roasted, it was cut into small pieceB
by the carver, so as to be easily man
aged by the fingers. At sumptuous
tables the guests were furnished with
basins of water and towels, for the con
venience of washing their hands at the
close of the repast. It is said that the
use of forks at table first arose in Italy.
In the reign of Edward I. forks were
very rare in England. A half-dozen or,
so were reckoned in the King's treas
ures at his death in 1307. For three
centuries later the convenient imple
ments were employed only by the
higher classes. Hence the interest of
the present -"find" in Home. It cor
roborates the old saw that there is noth
ing new under the sun.
MORE NEXT FRIDAY.
A postoffice romance comes from
Washington. It began forty years ago,
in 1835. Mr. John II. Hallett, now
Superintendent of the Dead Letter
Department, was then a delivery clerk
in that postoffice. In the year named, i
a fine-looking, well-dressed lady came
to his window one Friday morning and .
inquired for a letter for Mrs. Mary H.
Russell. There was a letter. She
called the next Friday morning. There
was another letter. She called every
Friday morning ; there was always a
letter if net in the morning, it came
in the afternoon, and the lady returned
and got it. They were all dropped let
ters, directed by the same hand, and
Mrs. Mary H. Russell never got any
other letters. This went on for thirty
years, and Hallett 6till stood at his
window. In the meantime the hand
writing of ; the address showed signs of
age, and the lady was gray and looked
60. Hallett was transferred to the
Dead Letter Department, and a younger ,
man took his place at the window. For
short time the lady came and got her
letter, as of old. At length Hallett
found a dead letter addressed to Mrs.
Mary II. Russell. He knew the hand.
The lady had thea quit calling for her
weekly missive. The letter was opened.
It contained a 5 note and this sentence,
without signature: "More next Fri
day." The letters continued to come,
and they were all dead letters, and there
was always So and "More next Friday."
For ten years they have come 520 dead
letters and 520 $5 bills. In one letter
was the admonition, " Do not write."
What could he mean ? Who is he ? and
what has become of her? Still the
weekly dead letter comes addressed to
Mrs. Mary H. Russell, and forty years
have passed. The history of that cor
respondence is the history f two long
lives. John M. Hallett, growing old at
nis postoffice window, saw the hair
turning gray and the wrinkles multiply
ing on Mary H. Russell's face. Then
he went to the Dead JLetter Office, and
the letters followed him, but the old
woman comes no more.
THE EFFECT OF M VSIC ON 8A VA GES.
Sir Samuel Baker, in his new volume
of African adventure, tells us of the
notable effect of music on the natives.
" I believe, "he says, "the safest way
to travel in those countries would be to
play the cornet, if possible, without
ceasing, which would insure a safe
passage. A London organ-grinder
could - march through Central Africa,
followed by an admiring and enthusias
tic crowd, who, if his tunes were lively
would form a dancing escort of the
most untiring material " One can but
imagine the different record we should
have if music, instead pf gunpowder.
had been employed as a force for the
conquest of savage races. The pilgrim
father, who so severely condemned un
godly music, might have reversed his
judgment had he known the effect of the
fife and the drum and the trumpet on
the sensitive ears of the Indians ; i he
might, indeed, have organized bands of
organ players ; ana, even if his own
spirit had severely suffered under that
unwonted noise, the speedy conquest of
the otherwise intractable savage would
assuredly have rendered the employ-
ment of such means good and wise in
his judgment. Let African explorers
hereafter go forth with many wind and
string instruments ; even the pirates' of
the China Beas,' or the cannibals of the
Pacific would cease to be a terror to
every traveler, had they means at hand
for the production of " sweet and dying
sounds." Fearful has been the blood
shed because the power of Orpheus has
been unknown or neglected, and f atnre
travelers, explorers or adventurers into
unknown wilds may cordially thank Sir
Samuel for this valnable hint. I
A MISSING WATCH.
The Duke of Athol having one day,
at Blair-Athol, entertained a large
party at dinner, produced in the even
ing many curious and interesting fami
ly relics for their inspection, among
them a small watch which had belonged
to Charles Stuart, and been given by
him to one of the Duke's ancestors.
When the company were on the point
of departing, the watch was suddenly
missed, and was searched for in vain
upon the table and about the apart
ments. The Duke was exceedingly
vexed, and declared that of j all the
articles he had exhibited, the lost watch
was the one that he most valued. '.The
guest naturally became exceedingly
uncomfortable, and eyed each other
suspiciously. No person was present,
however, who could possibly j be sus
pected, and courtesy forbade any
stronger step than the marked; expres
sion of the noble host's extreme annoy
ance and distress. Eaoh departed to
his home in an exoeeedingly unenviable
state of mind, and the mysterious die
appearance of the royal relic was a sub
ject for discussion for several j months
in society. . . . j
A year afterward, the Duke being
again at Blair-Athol, was dressing for
dinner, and in the breast-pocket of a
coat which his valet handed to him, felt
something which proved to be the miss
ing watch. i
" Why, !" exclaimed his grace,
addressing his man by his name,
" here's the watch we hunted every
where in vain for I"
" Yes, sir," replied the man, gravely ;
"I saw your grace put it in your
pocket." , ,
" You saw me put it in my ; pocket,
and never mentioned it 1 Why didn't
you speak at once, and prevent all that
trouble and unpleasant feeling ?"
" I didna ken what might ha'e been
your grace a intentions," was the reply
of the faithful and discreet Highlander,
who saw everything, but said nothing,
unless he was directly interrogated.
GOLD IN THE SLACK RILLS.
Here is a story about gold in the
Black Hills. It is told by Mr. James
Bridger, an old mountaineer, who lives
in Jackson county, Missouri. In 1859
he acted as gnide and interpreter
to Capt. Reynolds, United States En
gineer, in an expedition to explore the
head waters of the Missouri, i Yellow
stone, Columbia and other Western
rivers. Lieut. Lee, Capt. Menadier
and Dr. Hayden were along with a num
ber of teamsters and other employes.
One day while in the Black Hills, Mr.
Bridger stopped to drink at a brook,
and waa attracted by the curious ap-
perance of the bottom of the stream
He picked up a handful of yellow peb
bles from the size of a pin's head to
that of a bean. Though well acquainted
with the appearance of gold, he was in
doubt and took a handful of the stuff
to Dr. Hayden and Capt. Reynolds, who
pronounced it pure gold. Capt. Bey
nolds became excited and insisted that
Mr. Bridger should cast it away and
not tel1 7 of the party about it fear
: mg that it would break up the expedi
tion, by inducing the men to desert
and hunt for gold. Mr. Bridger has
since traveled several times through the
Black Hills and has found gold in other
place, though never to the same amount.
The old gentleman says there is good
farming and grazing land in that coun
try, and in the winter, which is severe,
stock of every kind can find shelter and
food in the valleys. . He thinks it fool
lshness for white men to invade the
country, except in large parties and
well armed, and he says it is impossible
to go there before the middle of June,
owing to the severe cold and the snow
in the mountains.
They must have a very foolish breed
of deer in Canada. They have not
sense enougn to. run away from a man
with all the world before them. Dr.
BiUmgton, of Strathroy, found one of
that breed. He was driving along one
day and saw a deer in the road. He
shouted at the animal, and expected to
see it scamper acrosv the 'fields. It
chose the highest panel of fence at the
roadside, and tripping on the upper
rail, fell back in the road. The doctor
still shouted, and the deer tried the
same panel several times with the like
result. The deer was evidently be
wildered. It could see no way out of
danger but over that particular fence.
The doctor thought venison was good
enough for him, so he got out of his
wagon, hitched his horse, took out his
pocketknife, caught the tired animal
and deliberately cut its carotid artery,
and its poor," fluttering life ebbed away.
The doctor slung the game into his
buggy, took it home, told his story to
unbelieving hearers, but he had venison
steaks and stews for a week, j
Pxtboucuic springs have been dis
covered on the Luneburg Heaths, in
Northern Germany. The petroleum is
obtained by simple borings, 1 and at
some spots, as the village of Weitx, the
sand ia saturated with rock oQ. In
clearness, purity, and specific weight,
the Luneberg is said to be identical
with American petroleum, and to be,
moreovert almost entirely without
smell of any kind.
HE PENSIVE DONKEY.
How to Put a Stoppeb osr His Music.
In 1840, says M. Hno, we were once
making a journey in the province of
Pekin. Our equipage was under the
guidance of an old schoolmaster,
mounted upon a magnificent ass, so full
of ardor and agility that the two mules
that completed , pur team had H.' the
difficulty in the world o keep up with
him. This ass, however, was so filled
with a sense .of.., his own superiority,
and so proud of it, that when
ever he became aware of the pres
ence of any of his brethren he
never failed to comm?ncn boasting
of it in such loud and sonorous
toaes that his folly, became quite in
supportable. Whea he gotto an inn,
instead of trying to re6t himself, the
beast passed the whole night in prac
ticing his music, setting all the donkeys
in the neighborhood to singing the
same tune, so that it was impossible to
sleep. One evcDicg we said to the
schoolmaster : " Yaur donkey is an
abominable brute it prevents our get
ting a wink of sleep. .
" Why did you not tell me so be
fore ?" said the schoolmaster ; " I would
soon have stopped his singing."
As the old - pedagogue was somewhat
of a wag, and indulged sometimes in a
small joke, we took little notice of his
reply, but that night we slept quite
soundly.
"Well, did th ass make a noiae last
night ? he asked, when we met in the
morning.
Perhaps not," said we ; "at all
events, we did not hear him."
? No, I think not," said It;' "I saw
to that before I went to bed. You
must have noticed," he continued, "that
when an ass is going to bray he always
begins by raising his tail, and he keeps
it extended horizontally as long as his
song lasts. To insure his silence you
have only to tie a largo stone to the
end of his tail, so that he cannot raise
it." ,
We smiled with oat reply, thinking
this was only another piece of pleasan
try ; but he cried : C '
" Come now and see ; you can easily
convince yourselves." -
And accordingly we followed him to
the court-yard, whre we beheld, sure
enough, the poor ass with a large stone
attached to his tail, and with the air of
having entirely lost bis accustomed
spirits. His eyes were fixed on the
ground, his cars hung down, his whole
appearance denoted humility and de
jection. We felt quite compassionate
toward him, and begged his master to
untie the stone directly ; and as soon
as ever he felt his musical appendage
at liberty, the creature raised first his
head, then his ears, then his tail, and at
last began to bray with all his wonted
energy. '
A CURIOU- INDUSTRY.
The statement recently mode, that
the supply of ostrich feathers from
Africa is gradually becoming far inade
quate to the great and constant demand
for them by dealers, has led to soma in
teresting explanations of the methods
of treating and disposing of these arti
cles in the workshops of - Europe,
where this curious industry is almost
exclusively carried on. It appears that
the feathers plucked from the living
ostrich are far more beautiful, as well
as more durable, than those taken some
time after death ; but the feathers ob
tained from recently killed birds have .
the same qualities of adaptation as well
as the living ones, and are far superior
to the cast or , drop ped feathers. The
plumage of the male bird, as is gener
ally the case in all varieties of the
feathered race, is very superior to that
of the female, the fine drooping plntnes
on the back and near the tail being of
the purest white, while those of the fe- '
male birds are never free from the well
known tinge of gray near the tip. The
preparation of these feathers for their
ornamental use is an industry peculiar
in some respects. Tbey are first tied
together in bundles, plunged into tepid
soap and water, and rubbed with the.
hand to free them from grease, and, af
ter remaining in this for a few minutes,
they are washed several times in pure
water, as hot as the hand can bear, to
rid them of the soap. Then they are
bleached by being placed for a quarter
of an hour in boiling water, holding in
solution Spanish white, the solution be
ing frequently agitated during the time,
and the feathers washed in pure water
on their removaL The next process is
to pass the feathers quickly through a
bath of cold water tinted with indigo,
and the final one consists in sulphuring
them, and then hanging them up to
dry. The ribs of the feathers are
scraped to render them pliant, and the
filaments are curled by drawing the
edge of a blunt knife over them. They
are made to take a variety of beautiful
colors, and of these rose color is given
with saffiower and lemon jnice, and
deeper shades of red by a boiling bath
of Brazil wood, and subsequently a
bath of cudbear. Indigo supples the
blues, and tumeric the yellows.
THE
nAKflKR OF
BETTING ON A
More money has been lost in draw
been lost in
ing to aflush than in the Franco-German
war. It is estimated in my country
where men are apt to reduce the most
leoondite matters to their arithmetical,
results -that over 600,000 negroes and
20,000,000 bales of cotton have been,
bet and lost by holders of sequences of
four, with the chance pi drawing a.
" quint " and filling the nush. Whether
the player gets his flush filled ' or not,
he ia sure to bet ; hence comes much
bluffing. But for the consciousness of
having bees so near a goed thing and
misssed it unnerves and betrays them.
A Senator who has just failed to get th
nomination for president i never good
for anything afterwards. Gen. Sohencfe
on "Draw-Poker"