COLL. VAN CLVB.
ALBANY,
-v OREGON.
XX2VCOZJVV IvtSTES,
, , . . TLtE.
IOOLIT-
RrminUeatro of A War ef Me JReheHtoM.
In the summer ; of 1864, during the
; darkest period of the war, before the
renomination of Mr. Lincon, there was
a serious effort made by man y prominent
Bepublioans to pat him aside, and to
nominate another candidate for the
Presidency. At a dinner party given by
Governor Yates, . it -was discussed, and
the Governor himself was inclined to
favor the project.
immense mass-meeting of the citi
zens of Illinois was held at Springfield
shortly after, and the Governor being
called upon to make the first speech, in
mild and gentle words, but in most un
mistakable terms, broke this . matter to
the dense mass of patriots around him.
It was the largest political meeting
ever held in Springfield. Probably more
than 20,000 men were present. I was
seated upon the stand, and had a full
view of the sea of earnest faces, and of
the speakers.
The Governor was received with great
enthusiasm. But when' he began to
broach the subject of laying aside Mr.
Lincoln as a candidate, and substituting
some other man, there was a profound
and almost agonizing silence. They
gave no cheer and no expression of
approbation. Their respect for Governor
Yates was too great to allow them to rive
'vent to expressions of disapprobation ;
. and, as he was in such high position,
they were made to feel by his remarks,
that, perhaps, they might be called upon
to acquiesce in the sad necessity, much
as they loved and honored Mr. Lincoln.
Never shall I forget the sorrow seen in
every face, as Governor Yates closed -his
address : and never can I forget the
speech which followed. -
Senator Doolittle, from Wisconsin,
spoke next. I sat near him during the
speech of the Governor ; and, as I was
one of the parry at the dinner, I watched
every movement and expression ot his
countenance, as I did not then know
whether he joined in that movement and
sympathized with Governor Yates or not.
He looked pale and nervous his broad
chest heaving with deep emotion,, and
his broad face beaming with intense
earnestness. As he stepped forward on
the platform, slowly he began, in that
deep, penetrating and far-reaching voice
of his, which all who have heard cannot
forget " " "'
" Fellow-citizens !" said he, lifting his
hand and face toward heaven. "I be
lieve in God." Then pausing, looking
around upon his audience, he added, in
a tone which reached every ear and
thrilled every heart in that vast assem
bly, "Under him I believe in Abraham
Lincoln." ., . -r- - , . , -
That was enough. Then ensued such
a scene as I have never witnessed. The
agony was over. The hearts of 20,000
men found utterance in cheers, in sobs
and tears, in grasping of " hands, em
braces and salutations. ,
For some time Mr. Doolittle could not
go on. Never have I seen, and I doubt
if in the whole history of the world a
speech of eleven words ever produced
greater effect. He went on, at length,
and spoke for an hour and a half in the
same vein. . When he finished. Governor
Yates at once took the stand, and said he
was satisfied the people demanded the
election , of Mr, Lincoln, and that he
would do all in his power to aid that
result E. L. Waterman, Ottawa,' III,
THE OLDEST WOMAN IN CHICAGO
There is now living in Chicago a lady
named Amy Gridley," who was born in
Lyme, Conn., in July, 1777. She is ac
cordingly approaching her ninety-eighth
birthday. She attributes her longevity to
three things the plentiful use of water,
ample exercise, and marrying when past
thirty-five. ' : In her youth she was a sew
ing girl, and journeyed from farm-house
to farm-house on horseback. : In 1825
she and her husband rode ' a distance of
480. miles in a wagon to witness the cere
monies attending the laying of the corner-stone
of Bunker Hill Menument
Her husband died' in 1826, leaving con
siderable property, and five months sub
sequently, when she was nearly fifty
years old, her first and only child was
born. In, 1854 she cama, to Chicago.
Until within a few years she could see
and hear plainly, but these senses, es-
pecially since the' fire, have gradually
grown weaker. She was always indus
trious, and devoted nearly all her leisure
time to reading. Evn now her mind is
unusually clear. Her only occupation
for . the past year has been rumpling
handkerchiefs, from which she seems to
derive considerable amusement. Unlike
most old ladies, she does , not take snuff
or require much attention. She is peace
ful and contented, and calmly awaits the
animmons which will nsher her into the
-world of perpetual youth.
TELEGRAPH MACHINES WORKED
'An account is published of 'an inter
esting exhibition of telegraph machines,
worked exclusively by air, lately given
in London by Mr. Guattaris, the invent
or. ' A number of different instruments
were on view. J The impulse ia produced
at one end of a tube by the operator,
and performs the mechanical work of the
oUier end, either by ringing bell or
traing a needle round a diaL A rapid
ity and precision can be made equal to
aije electric telegraph, the conducting
tcbs being able to be laid under or over
cover, Lathe same manner as the ordi
Taarj telegraph, Attached to each ma
cldae ia a bell and dial, and the message
i,i tatnBiISed by the ' moving of '" a ' small
I.. er which drives the air through a pipe
t j the other operator. As the lever is
moved up and down, the dial, which
stands where the message , is destined
for, registers whatever the words may
be. ach dial is supplied witn a neetue,
and, as each spurt of air presses against
the words of the machine, the needle is
moved exactly the number of times that
the lever is pressed. Each instrument
can receive or send a message about 400
yards, and is, therefore, of special con
venience for private intercommunication.
THE DO VOL AS MONUMENT.
For many years the incompleted mon
ument to , Stephen A. Douglas, in
Chicago, has remained a sad comment
upon the professed admiration of the
city and State for the dead statesman.
Last winter an effort was made to have
the State appropriate a sum of money
sufficient to complete the monument, but
in a spirit of economy the Legislature
voted down the proposition. - At last,
however, a scheme has been hit upon
which gives hopes of a speedy completion
of the monument in accordance with the
original plan. This scheme is to sell the
property dedicated to the purpose in
1864, and remove the remains to the
Chicago University near by. It is be
lieved that the sum realized from the
sale of the land fronting on the lake,
where the base of the monument .was
long since erected, will be sufficient to
complete the work. The total height of
the monument will be one hundred feet,
the diameter of the circular base fifty
two feet, and of the tomb twenty feet.
Within this tomb is an arched chamber
ten feet square, where rest the remains
within the sarcophagus. Near the corner
of the tomb are four pedestals, which will
be surmounted by statues of heroic size,
representing respectively Illinois, His to-'
ry, Commerce, and Arts and Sciences.
Above the tomb will be a pedestal fifteen
feet high, ornamented with festoons,
having near the base large, heavy bronze
plates sunk into the rock, bearing on the
face bas-reliefs of subjects purely Ameri
can. The first will be an aboriginal
scene ; the second, Three Pioneer Farm
ers ; the third, Trade and Enterprise ;
the fourth, Education. On the pedestal
will rest a column forty-eight feet high,
and five and a half feet in diameter at
the base. The whole will be surmounted
by s colossal statue, showing Senator
Douglas in the act of addressing the
United States Senate.
MA NA O EM EAT Of CONVICTS.
The annual report of the Inspectors of
the State Prison of Michigan, for 1874,
contains some excellent and humane sug
gestions for the treatment of prisoners and
the management of prisons. Capital pun
ishment having been some years ago abol
ished in Michigan, solitary confinement
waf substituted. It was, however, found
that this system was fatal to the health
of ponvicts. Some became insane, while
others drifted into idiocy and complete
imbecility. Such prisoners are now put
to hard labor. During the year 1874,
the number of convicts has increased
from 655 to 703; these numbers entitling
the Michigan to rank, if such a condition
may be regarded as an honor, among the
foremost prisons in the country, j No
prison government can be effective, says
the report, without the power of punish
ment. A prison contains desperate, dar
ing men, guilty of the most flagrant and
revolting crimes some of them so subtle
and cunning that they are frequently able
to hoodwink an officer, if not a firm and
incorruptible man. The report suggests,
as an effective agency in the maintenance
of good order, a. tidily-kept kitchen.
Pet animals are also introduced with
beneficial effect; and the affection , lav
ished by men confined for life upon
dogs, deer, rabbits, geese, turkeys,
doves, and chickens is said to be most
touching, and at the same time human
izing. "The matter for a hundred
thrilling books," says the agent kindly,
is ever floating among these galleries.
while these corridors echo to many a
sigh as they ring with the clik of the
watenman s Key.
I A LEGAL ROMANCE.
There has been a romantic suit in Kan
sas City for an estate of $300,000, and it
has ended, as it should have done, in the
most romantic manner. Thirty years
ago, William . Gillis was one of the
pioneer capitalists of the West. At that
time Lahurst, Chief of the Pion-Kashou
Indians, had a daughter, lovely if dusky,
and her name was musical and soft as that
of any Tnian Kahkotequa won the
heart of William Gillis, who bought her
from her father for a bale of blankets,
and lived, with her. They had one,
daughter, Nancy, one, of the prettiest -of
half-breeds, and the belle of the trading-
post which has since become Kansas
City. ' She grew up, and had two sons,
Frank Boye and Jim Charley. : Gillis did
not treat his half-breed family, kindly,
for when he died he willed his estate,
consisting of handsome business blocks,
and at least one hotel, to his niece, Mrs.
Troost, reserving $125,000 for an orphan
asylum. ; The half-breed heirs claimed
the whole estate, and the County Court
awarded it to them jointly. The ad
ministrators appealed to the Supreme
Court, and a day or so ago that tribunal
affirmed the decision of the lower, court.
Thus the two orphans most interested,
heirs of the woodland and stream, have
become wealthy capitalists. The moral
of this story is evident, and those who
make a practice of .buying r up pretty
Titdiim girls will do. well to avoid willing
their property, away. It , only , gives
trouble, and wastes the money in legal
feed, besides making the Legatee, mad
without doing him or her any good. .
Thx shoemakers of Lynn are out on a
strike again' against a reduction of wages. .
They held a mass meeting on Saturday
and the thread of their discourse showed
that they had waxed angry, and were da
termined to' fight to the last and give up
their all rather than yieki a peg. Arcadian.
RATH I NO AND HEALTH.
Dr. A. B. Crosby, formerly of the
Michigan University, now of th9 Belle
vue Medical College, New York, deliv
ered a lecture on Saturday evening in
the Cooper Institute upon " The Skin
and the Use of the Bath." Dr. Crosby
commenced by giving a series of stere
optioon illustrations of the structure of
the skin, explaining the important func
tions it performed in the general econo
my of the human system. The lecturer
said he thought it was Charles Lamb who
once said upon meeting a man with very
dirty hands : " My friend, if dirt were
trumps, what hands you would hold 1"
However that might be, be regretted to
be obliged to open his , lecture by re
marking that . man was a dirty animal.
He said the amount of fluid formed by
the sweat glands underneath the skin
was ordinarily about two pounds, or two
pints, in the day upon ; the whole body
when the person is comparatively: at
rest. If exercise was taken to any great
extent much more of this secretion or
perspiration would be thrown off. When
the skin is viewed with a magnifying
glass of moderate power it is seen that
minute particles of moisture ooze from
the pores which speedily evaporate.
The object of perspiration was to regu
late the temperature of the body. I It
was found, in connection with the circu
lation of the blood, that there was a proc
oess going on by which oxygen was be
ing taken out of the blood by the j ar
terial blood, and that carbonic
acid was being taken away by jthe
veins. The heat of the body Was
constantly being formed. . The
normal temperature of the blood was
about 98 degrees, and were it not for the
process of perspiration, which cools the
system, we would get a temperature that
would be inconsistent with life. The
temperature of the body could not be
carried 10 degrees above or below its
normal temperature without fe ceasing.
It would then be seen that the limits of
temperature within which life can be
sustained lay within a very narrow
range, and hence the importance! of
perspiration by which the temperature
of the body was regulated. He then re
ferred to the practice of bathing among
the ancients, and said the first act of
hospitality shown to a visitor was to pre
pare a bath, as mentioned in the case
of Ulysses and Telemachus whenever
they were hospitably received j in
their travels. In Greece the bath was
both a public and private institution. In
Athens the practice of bathing was joined
with that of the gymnasium, and Plato
recognized the necessity of bathing, so
much so that he made the bath one of
the institutions of theSstate. When the
explorations were madelnPptopeii in
1824 the ruins of baths were found
ainniW to those that existed in Borne,
covering 10, 000 square feet. The Romans
were in the habit of bathing seven
or eight times in the day. . In modern
times the Turks had cultivated the use
of the bath more than any other nation.
Mohammed ordained that there should
be prayer five times a day with ablutions,
and he was morally certain that we prayed
no more and bathed much less. In India
the bath had always been associated with
shampooing.
THE PRINTER'S PROGRESS.
The Registrar of the Privy Council of
Great Britain, Mr. Beeve, when examined
recently before the royal, commission on
the administrative departments of the
courts of justice, explained the practice
which obtains in his office of printing
matter that would otherwise be written.
He said:
"I have a strong opinion that there
ought to be no manual copying in offices.
I have no writing clerks; I have nothing
written beyond a very short letter. The
moment even a letter is at all long I have
it printed. I am convinced that, on ac
count of convenience, dispatch, economy,
and every other motive, all public bus
iness ought to be done by the printing
office. J think it is a barbarous piece of
antiquity to have any public documents
written, with the exception of such as are
very short and inconsiderable. ", I think
there ought to be several copies of them;
and printing is the most economical way
of multiplying the copies. You send a
quantity of matter in a very rough form
to the printer, and he produces it in an
eligible shape; it is paid for, and there
is no more expense. But if you have
clerks to do the work they are constantly
employed; there are periods when there
is a great deal to do, and periods when
there is nothing to do, and there are
vacations, but the clerks must be paid all
the year round." ' " ;
Mr. Reeve says it would require sev
eral writing clerks to do copying 7 in his
department. But- the stationery-office
accounts show that the cost of . printing
executed for his office (the judicial com
mittee) was only just over 100 last year,
including the cost of paper used. The
commissi oners agree in the main with
Mr. Reeve's reasons, and think it likely
that in the departments of state generally
the adoption of a system of printing
documents or letters where more than six
copies' are required might be attended
with economy, as well as advantage in
respect of speedy execution and accuracy.
r-JLondon Times.' . , - ;
' SLEEPING TOGETHER.: J '
More quarrels occur between brothers,
between sisters, between hired' girls, be
tween clerks in stores, ! between appren
tices in mechanics' shops, be tween hired
men, between husbands and wives, owing
to electrical changes through which their
nervous systems go, by lodging together
night after night, under the same bed
clothes, than by- almost any other dis
turbing cause. There is nothing that
will so derange the nervous system of a
person who is ehminitive in nervous
force as to lie all night in bed with, an
other person who is absorbent ia nerv
ous force. The "absorber will go to sleep
and rest all night, while the eliminator
will Via fnmViKniy o-n1 iratfonGT. restli
and nervous, and wake up in the morn
ing fretful, peevish, fault-finding afd
discouraged.1 No two persons, no ren
ter who they are, should habitually sleep
together. One will thrive and the other
will lose. This is the law, and inar-
ried life it is defined, almost universalis
CHILDREN'S DINNER - RA S KE TS
Of the throngs of children who are
obliged to carry dinner-baskets to a .dis
tant school-house, how few take yith
them perfectly suitable luncheon t '3To
wonder they grow pale and thin ! " My
children study too hard," says busy, mis
taken mother. "If they go on losiKg
vitality and color iri this way, I mist
take: them from school." Very w4lL
that'sfciot a bad idea sometimes, when
tired eyes and brains need rest ; but; in
this particular case, if you care to inter
cept one of these little victims on pis
way to school, and lift the cover of jbis
luncheon-basket, I think youll 4nd
the cause of his ill-health lurking be
neath a mass of cake and pickles. Chil
dren like dainties, and will of course? eat
them in preference to wholesome food, if
allowed to do so ; therefore, lacking
judgment as they do, they should never
be intrusted with the selection of their
luncheon, as they often are, in this busy
land, where mothers are overrun with
other duties, which seem, on the surface,
more important than the filling of dinner-baskets.
. But what is in reality more
important to mothers than the health of
their children ? This is no light matter.
The unwholesome dinners of too many Of
our school-children tell steadily upon
their growth and welfare and future use
fulness in the world. Like grown-up
people, they use up daily, or waste, by
exercise of all sorts, by mere bodily com ,
bustion, too, in keeping the body warm
with blood, ; a large portion of the
nourishment they get from food. Their
daily wastage must be made good. Chil
dren have not only to repair their daily
waste, but: to go on building up new
bone, new muscle, new brain, as they
grow from day to day. Their food
should contain nourishment for all parts
of the system, and they should have
plenty, but they should be accustomed
to such plain fare that they can readily
stop eating when their hunger is satis
fled, and not go on nibbling merely to
gratify the palate, thus forming habits of
gluttony. Cake and pastryhave but
little, and pickles have scarcely a particle
of nourishment in them, and they almost
invariably do the system positive harm,
in greater or less degree, when taken into
the stomach. The harm may be so little
and the overcoming influence so strong,
in the way of out-door exercise and other
healthy conditions, that no evil result
may be apparent ; but all our diseases
are caused by violation of hygiene in
some respect. We are not always per
sonally responsible for these violations,
since our sanitary conditions are not
always within our control, never indeed
entirely so ; but where, we can help our
selves we ought clearly to do so.
A Q VEER DISEASE.
A very valuable retriever belonging to
Mr. Higgs, of Southampton, Eng., be
came sullen and ceased to manifest pleas
ure at his owner's approach. Soon he
began to snap and howl in a peculiar
manner, and to tear his kennel, which
was of wood. Supposing it to be a case
of hydrophobia, if was at first proposed
to shoot him, but inasmuch as he was
such a valuable animal and was so se
curely fastened as net to be able to injure
any one, it was determined to deter kill
ing him for the present, and to await re
sults. ' Day after day passed, the dog re
maining in the same condition, however
eating heartily and drinking freely of
water. By this time he had torn his
kennel into shreds. One day Mr. Higgs
discovered that there was a large swell
ing, commencing at the lower rib and
extending up toward the shoulders,
which he concluded to be a tumor. It
increased in size and broke, when the
dog immediately manifested delight at
the presence of his master. An inspec
tion of the opening revealed in the cen
ter a substance which presented a . firm
and pointed front,' and appeared to pro
ceed from the intestines. Securing the
dog's head with the assistance of a friend,
Mr. Higgs seized the obstacle and with
much effort extracted, it, which to his
astonishment he found to be a galvanized
iron skewer six inches long, which the
dog had evidently bolted with the scraps
thrown to him from the kitchen, with
which it had got mixed. After a short
time and proper treatment the ulcer
healed and. the dog was apparently as
well as ever. ' - -
A DANGEROUS WIPE.
Jacob Carlyle, of Areola, HL, pub
lishes a card warning all persons from
harboring his , wife,: and declaring his
financial independence in regard ti all
bills contracted by her. In the fullness
of his heart Jacob adds:
" She haB been so disagreeable that I cannot
lire with her. She threw m candlestick into ray
mouth and cut it, and has repeatedly kicked me.
Sha threw the chairs oat of doors, and took my
ax with the intention of chopping them to
pieces, to prevent which I was compelled to
send the ax to the house of one of my neigh
bors. She threw a butcher-knife at me, stick
ing it in the door, and declared that aha 'wished
it had split my head open. She struck me on
the head with a broom-handle, raising a tumor
thereon nearly as large as a hen's egg.- An at
tempt was made td poison me by putting arsenic
in my jug of whisky, .of which I drank, and
which nearly killed me, and I s aspect that she
didif - - .
All of these . offenses save the last
might have been overlooked, but a
woman who would , put arsenic into a
man's whisky is, not merely a disagreeable
but a dangerous character, r .,
Thkbe ia a story of a defunct dry goods
clerk who, after the -funeral services
were over, and the undertaker . had put
the last screw in the lid of. the coffin
preparatory to interment,' was heard to
say, in faint and muffled tones,' " Any
thing else ?
A RATTLE WI TH BULL-WHACKERS.
Every now and then comes from the
frontier a story of blood and passion
caused by the raiding of frontier towns
by Texas bull-whackers. The bull
whacker is not necessarily destitute of
humanity er principle, although the exi
gencies of frontier civilization not un
naturally beget in him an indifference to
the amenities of civilized life, and even
to the rights of his fellows. The bull
whacker becomes a bully, with a latent
energy for evil in him, awaiting its op
portunity to become active and disas
trous. This opportunity comes when
the bull-whackers escort their property
to market. Passing through the small
towns of the frontier they become drunk
on bad whisky, and then their active
energy for evil becomes little less than
astonishing. They rough-ride it over
the townsmen, shooting and cutting in
their mad fury, and leaving corpses and
invalids behind them. Until recently a
policy of conciliation has been main
tained toward these ruffians, but' recent
outrages have welded the citizens into
bands -for mutual protection, and re
prisals' are constantly occurring. New
Mexico has recently suffered more than
usual from their incursions, and the
town of Cimarron became the scene of a
violent affray but a few days ago.' The
bull-whackers had made up a small party,
and, in the violence of intoxication, went
out with the avowed intention of killing
somebody. A Sheriff's posse opposed
them, and they opened fire. The Citi
zens' Committee immediately formed,
drove them into a stone ' building, from
which they broke every light of glass,
and finally forced them out. The bull-
whackers were prepared for such an
emergency, and had their horses held
ready for them under . cover of their
,rifies. They managed to get into their
-saddles and ride off, followed by a volley
of slugs and buckshot. . One saddle was
emptied, its occupant having been rid
dled with ten bullets; a second herder
iwas severely wounded, ; but ; succeeded
in making good his escape, 1 while the
rest escaped without injury, the citizens
not being mounted. It is barely possible
that the town of Cimarron will be the ob
jective point of an increased gang of
'raiders; but it ia more probable that the
'bullies will make a wide circuit around it
next time. The attack in this case was
purely wanton, as indeed it usually ap
pears to be.
I THE ART OF COMPLIMENT.
A delicate compliment is a work of far
higher art than the most biting sarcasm.
Every one knows the i story ! of
the poor creature who found him
self seated between Madame . Reca
mier and Madame de Stael, and
managed to offend them both by say
ing that he sat between wit ana beauty.
The court of Louis XIV. seems to have
been the school where the art was
brought to perfection. The flattery
offered by the men of genius to the King
was at once coarse and exquisite. Wit
ness the inimitable reply of Mignard,
who was painting the king's portrait for
the tenth time, when Louis asked him,
" Do I look older?" " I see a few more
campaigns on the brow of your majesty."
It is only fair to Louis to acknowl
edge that he ' could ' himself bestow
praise with more grace than any other
: monarch of whom history makes men
tion. After the battle of Seneff, he re
ceived the great Conde in state. The
Prince was suffering from a sharp attack
of the gout, and made his way somewhat
painfully up the steps of the royal stair
case, at the head of which was the king.
Conde begged of the king to forgive him
for thus keeping his majesty waiting.
Louis hastened to silence him with these
words : "Cousin, take your time; when
one is so heavily laden with laurels it is
impossible to walk fast '.' It is an old
Reproach against Orientals that they can
not understand a joke, and that they are
still less able to say pretty things to la
dies; but a daughter of Louis XTV. , the
Princess de Conti, inspired the Moorish
Ambassador with as gracefully turned a
compliment as can be imagined. ' She had
railed against, the Mohammedan custom
of polygamy, and the Moor thus de
fended the practice : "Madame, plural
ity of wives is allowed among us, be
cause in our country we must seek' in
several women the charming qualities
which are here to be found in one." Wit,
like money, is of no country.
LIFE IN VENICE.
Charles Warren Stoddard writes from
Venice to the San Francisco Chronicle .'
" There is much that is gay ' in the
beautified old city. One is forever
wending his way unconsciously back to
the Piazza of St. Mark, where, on sum
mer evenings and winter afternoons,
three times a week, the . band plays for'
two hours and the people walk up and
down the great stone-floored court, with
the ever glorious basilica at the top of it,
while in front of the florid and grotesque
facade three tall flagstaffs stand, with a
splendid display of . bunting on Sundays
and feast days. I is not surprising that
the Venetians are well bred and of very
graceful address, for they are continually
brought in contact with the best of their
people, who gather at the hundred little
tables in front of the great cafe, the
Florian, to listen to the music or gossip
with their friends over chocolate or ices.
They seem' never to be in haste , here.
The gondolas swim up and down 'the
canals at an easy rate of speed ; the
pedestrians are sure to give up a chase
after they have surmounted the, third
bridge. " And as for time, it glides by
without a break,' and is perhaps the only
element that does seem a little fast; No
wonder that -the dream -life of Venice be
gets repose. The Old East, the Orient,
lies just over the water from it.rt The.
golden j, ; horsesy that, prance over .; the.
gallery of St. Mark's have -" .nee
adorned the hippodrome and South
America. All commerce seems to find
its way through the wilderness of islands
to the marble gates of Venice, yet there
is very little shipping in port.
A GUASTL T COMFA CT.
How It Warn Fulfilled A Remarkable Story
of Special riritation One of iho Weird.
Form vhleh In unity mill Ammume. -
(Worn the Davenport (Iowa) Oawtte.
One of the strangest cases of insanity
ever heard of in this portion of the coun
try is engaging , the attention of a well
known physician in Davenport just now.
We say insanity because the doctor says
that the man is insane -a monomaniao---while
the patient himself declares that
he is in his right mind ; and he talks
sensibly enough upon every topic brought
to his notice, not excepting the one which
has alarmed his friends and caused a
physician sattention.
The person in question was a soldier
in the 2d Iowa cavalry, during the war,
and when the regiment was in camp near
Daventport he and a fellow-soldier of his
company became warm friends, although
strangers before enlistment. ' One day in
May, 1863, we believe, the two were on
picket near Farmington, Miss., and they
fell into conversation about the state of
the soul after death a topic which en
gaged the minds of soldiers of the late
war frequently, as many of our readers
know. . On this occasion the two troopers
talked earnestly on the subject. One
believed in the immortality of the soul,
and the other did not ; but then and
there each pledged the other that, should
death come to him . during the war, he
would visit the survivor, if possible. -The
next day a battle was fought near
Farmington and the party who1 believed
in the hereafter was killed, and his
body now lies in a national cemetery in
Mississippi.
That was nearly twelve years ago,
The surviving trooper was deeply grieved
over the loss of his friend,' but he con
tinued in the service .till the end of the
war, and was honorably discharged when
his regiment was mustered out.' ' He re
turned to Iowa, engaged . in business
presently, was married and has a family.
Some five weeks ago his wife became
alarmed at his actions in the night. He
would wake her and ask her if she saw
anybody or heard any noise in the room;
and of course she had not. In a few
days, finding his wife , was becoming
nervous over his nocturnal wakefulness,
he insisted on occupying a room alone,
but on the third night thereafter he came
to his wife's bed-room at midnight, threw
himself into an easy chair and said he
would ait for he could not "sleep. Just
before Christmas, while with his wife on
Second street, the intention being to
purchase holiday goods, he asked his
companion if she could see a form before
them, that had walked just a few feet in
their advance ever since' they left their
gate. No, she had not.
On Christmas the wife went to the
family physician and acquainted 'him
with her fears concerning her husband,
and the doctor returned to her home with
her, and both demanded the reason for
his strange conduct. Heretofore he had
refused to converse with his wife on the
subject.
Then the afflicted man told his com
panion and physician the story of the
promise of his comrade to return to him
after death, made under the circum
stances told above. And he stated that
thoughts of the pledge of reappearance
came to him often during the few months
after his comrade was killed, but he had
long since dismissed it from his mind.
But in November last he was wakened in
the night and saw the" form of his friend,
distinctly, in his room not in uniform,
but with a robe for apparel, a face not
very . pale, and eyes and hair of natural
look and hue. , The Hps moved as if the
form would speak, but he could hear no
words ; the face smiled also, as if the
vision was glad to see his friend. Nearly
a month elapsed before he spoke to his
wife about it, and then it was because he
had become so nervous that he could not
help it Several times the form seemed
to accompany him on the street, and it
appeared to him in his bed-room plainly
every few nights. This was .his plain
story, and we give it as it was given to
us." The patient knew that he had been
affected by the visitation ; his sleep had
been broken, . nervousness engendered,
and appetite much impaired. Weeks
have elapsed, and' he is still a patient
insane patient his relatives believe ""i
to be, though he talks sensibly on every
topic suggested except the one that re
fers to the ghost, and he believes his
friend has come to him for some good
purpose which he cannot define. He
attends to his business almost daily,
though, and none but his near relatives
know of his ailment It ia not unlikely
that a trip abroad may be advised for the
patient , . , , .
'death OF A REFORMER.
Mr. Trask, the well known anti-tobacco
apostle, died at Fitchburg, Mass., re
cently at the age of seventy-nine. Mr.
Track's long and active life was spent in
the ministry of . the Baptist Church, but
he is more widely known in connection
with the work of the Anti-Tobacco Asso
ciation, of which for many years he has
been the. chief head and front , In an
autobiographic sketch of his life, con
tributed to the Phrenological Journal,
he tells how he had been a victim of to
bacco for twenty years, and had become
''emaciated, tremulous and cowardly,"
and was at the gates of death. "Abandon,
ing the noxious poison, he regained his
former health, which - he' enjoyed
throughout an unusually long and vigor
ous life. He wrote an immense number
of tracts denouncing the . use of tobacco
and alcoholic drinks, and lectured in
cessantly on the subject ,
Auj the forty-two night schools of
Philadelphia except one . have . been
closed on account of insufficient appro
priationsdepriving 13,000 pupils of in
struction. . .:".'.!
LET THAT EOT ALONE.
' It is strange that adults so soon forget
their childhood, and that they so easily
become unreasonable in their demands,
upon the young. Are boys often con
trary and " unlikely f " Are they averse
to remaining at homo during the long
winter evenings f Are they sometimes
lazy f Well, that is not very Jstrange,
and it is possible that all of tins resulta
as much from the improper and injudi
cious treatment received from those who
should be their friends, as from their
native depravity. .When boys are treated
more like human beings, and less iiae
slaves-as we may " learn; if we notice
them in some' families where the parents
remember their childhood they" are
as ready to work as older people if there
is sufficient inducement, the proper en
couragement Adults are not easily
driven to labor, and that without some
return, some compensation. - When they
are disposed to neglect home it may be
possible that such a home is not a home,
not made as pleasant as it should be
made, not made attractive. ' ' If so, the
fault is mutual, but ' principally that of
the parents. If the older and more ex
perienced " can . not make some sacrifices,
exert themselves specially to make home
attractive, so that their children will pre
fer it to other places, it is not estrange
that the thoughtless often, become way
ward. '--;''-
But let the boys alone. Ot, do not
constantly stand over them as with a rod
in hand, ready at any moment,' at the
slightest deviation from the strictest pro
priety, to apply the lash. ; Boys are not
perfect, nor are their parents. To con
stantly watch them, badger them at every
turn, censure them for every accident,
scold them for every thoughtless deed,
ever ready to t censure and blame, and
never to srive credit, never . to utter an
encouraging word, will be almost sure to .
spoil those worth spoiling. Of course
good advice is often necessary, and not
only necessary, but useful, if given as
we would give it to a worthy friend and
respected neighbor. But when counsel
is given in a censorious spirit, the tones
marked by a malicious ring; when the
whole manner indicates . anything but
what should animate the parental bosom,
we may not expect the seed to fall on any
but " stony ground." Let the boys
alone, at least a part of the time. Do
not hedge up their way all of the time. Do
not expect them to work all of the time.
It is not best or right for even adults to
labor : constantly. Boys can not ' and
should not be required to - do so, since
rest and recreation are necessities of their
nature. If you would have them . cul
tivate judgment for themselves, do not
always attempt to instruct them , on
trifling matters. ; Let them learn some
thing by experience, and then it Vill be
better appreciated and' remembered.
Do not caution them every time : they
take a lamp, an edged tool,' a glass vessel,
or any valuables into their" hands, if you
' would ever have them learn for them
selves. In doing so you constantly remind
them that they know nothing and have
no care. Let them have a little peace
and learn from experience to practice-self-control
and self-government Do not
torment, and harass and scold them all of
the time. ' If you censure them when they
do wrong, remember that it is' honest to
praise them when they ! do right; the
praise mark my word will be the most
powerful for good. Do not follow them
about as if you had . no confidence, in
them, directing them at every Step,; un
less you wish to sour the disposition and
make them hate you. , . Give them , good
advice at the proper time, not too often,
in a loving spirit; confide in them, love
them, but do not tyrannize over them.
Teach them to respect themselves, but
do not all of the time torment and badger
them.',.. :'.") ':y:;-';;..
FRENCH DIET. -
Although from time to time attempts
are made to persuade people to vary
their diet of beef and mutton by eating
horses and other strange animals, the
movement has not met with much suc
cess. At one time it really seemed that
hippophagy had a chance of becoming
fashionable, and ," horse dinners" were
quite common; but somehow the horses
.... " wwwiinn . bUlg Ul UIO JLJ.M211
en, and their carcasses still find their
way to the dog-kennel instead of being
hung in front of the butchers' shops and
market stalls. ' It was also thought after
the siege of Paris that the rat had estab
lished a clear claim to appear at the;
dining-room table, and for the moment,
there was a decided leaning toward this
and other vermin in France, as pleasing
additions to the bill of fare. But rats,
went out of fashion with the war, and it
seems not likely that they will everr be
come generally popular as an article of
diet f It appears, however, that 'rate are
really eaten in Paris y and a disagreeable
story is told by the Petit-Journal relative,
to . the sufferings endured by "a young
gentleman in that gay city who lately
dined off .a cat that disagreed with him.
Having acquired a taste for the flesh of"
dogs and cats, the imprudent young man
feasted one day on a large cat and waa.
shortly afterward seized with excruoiat- -
lag pains. A doctor was immediately -sent
for, and discovered that the cat had .
eaten a rat which had previously taken
some food mixed with poison. Thus the
cat swallowed the rat, and the man the
cat, and the three between them nearly
aH proved fatal to each other, r After aJV
for comfort and safety there is nothing-
lilra tlkn i .ij t 1. s
oxen.' , -,
A maw 1ui w liAAn in .ne Auburn
(N. T.) State Prison for twelve years.
ana whose term of service naa expired,,
liked him nnnvtarn ma well that he ref rtaed
to go out ; nor did the jailer know how
to get rid of hint. So he was sent out.
with a. bnnm An sweeti the aidewnlV. :
whi they locked the jail door tspoa
V - m m . m A A
a.m. Aiiar many attempts o ores in,,
he was compelled sorrowfully to seek
other quartora.