The Albany register., June 25, 1875, Image 5

THE CAUF AMD THE TJKV1X.
An Oriental Title.
A plons Calif unaware '
Waa alaeping past Ua hoar of prayer,
When, of a sudden, Satan came
And woke him a p. In Allah' name.
Arle 1" he aaid, " and go and pray ; -
The dawn i deepening into day, ;
And atiU tbon tieat here in bed f"
" And who are yont" the Calif said:;
",So matter who or what am I,"
The atranger aaid, in enrt reply ;
" Tie quite enough for thee to know
My connstel'a good ; so, prithee, go
Straight to the mosque ; nor longer etay
Bleeping the eaored now away t '
Tour act aeema kindly meant, I own;
The Calif aaid ; but in your tone
There's eomething wrong ; metninks I hear
In that the Devil's mocking aneer ;
And then, deepite your worda of grace,
Pardon I I do not like your face !"
Mere fancy, aire I" the atranger aaid,
fToesing in acorn hi haughty head);
" I'm not the beast that beldams paint
With hoof and horns and swinging tail,
To turn the cheeks of children pale ;
(A copy of the pagan Pan)
But aa you eee a gentleman ;
Who doubt the statement as yon will
Keeps something of the angel still."
You are The Trmpter that in clear,"
The Calif said ; " and yet tia queer
Toubademe rise and go and pray I
Tell me what wicked motiTe lay
Beneath advice so seeming good ?"J
Ah !" said the fiend, "what likelihood
la there that Satan tells the truth T
Yet, would you know the rery sooth,
Pray listen (may it be in rain f)
Twaa but to harm you I waa fain;
To wake you np for morning prayers ;
For well I knew if, nnawarea.
You slept too long, your penitence
Would soon wash out the slight offence ; .
Whereaa. if thus from year to year
You kept your conscience wholly eleai
In trifles ; and could scarce detect
One fault ef ritual neglect
Puffed up with vanity and pride,
In mortal sin you might have died I"
THE FATAL SAIL.
On the evening of June 20, 1837, a
peddler on horseback stopped at the
smithy of one John Steele, on the out
skirts of the town of TickhilL near
Doncaster, . England. Several persons
were in the smithy at the time, beside
the blacksmith and - his son Bichard.
The peddler asked Steele to shoe his
horse as quickly as he could, as he wished
to reach Doncaster early, and get a bed
at his old place; for next day being
"Statues," or Fair, a number of visitors
would be looking for accommodation.
While the smith was attending to the
peddler's horse, . another stranger ar
rived, also on horseback, and likewise
desiring the smith's services, as his
horse had cast a shoe.
The two strangers and the loungers
got into conversation, and the peddler
finally opened a mahogany case which
was suspended by a strap from his shoul
der, and exhibited his wares, which con
sisted of rings, gold and silver chains,
watches, and so forth. On the last
comer's hearing that the peddler was go
ing on to Doncaster, he offered to accom
pany him, as he was going in the same
direction; adding that as he was a stran
ger the peddler might take him to spme
house waere he could get accommoda
tion. The peddler replied that he was
going to " The Travelers' Rest," on the
outskirts of Doncaster, as it was a good
house and he knew the landlord.
When the smith removed the shoe
from the horse of the last comer, he ex
amined it closely, remarking that it had
been made in Holderness, pointing out
the fact that the nail was peculiarly
made, having a half split in the head,
and saying that that was a Holderness
fancy.
"IH keep this nail," the smith said,
and he drove it as a wedge into the han
dle of a small hammer, where it passed
through the head.
The peddler sent out for a flagon of
ale, and they stood drinking and talking
for some time. When the blacksmith
joked the peddler about being in such
a hurry when he first came ia, he laughed
and said :
" Oh, that's all right. I've made up
my mind to sleep in the big outhouse,
where I've often slept before; it's com
fortable, and you take anybody you like
in there, you know, 7 the peddler added,
with a wink.
part, the peddler took a large wallet
from the valise on his saddle-bow and
paid the smith. The peddler seemed to
make a rather ostentatious exhibition of
this wallet, which was crammed with
bank notes and gold. .
The two men rode off together, and
the smith cleared his place and closed it
for the night.
In due time the peddler and Lis new
friend reached the Traveler's Best, and
told the landlord they would sleep in
the outbuilding in- the rear,' in which
there were several beds. The landlord
said there was good' accommodation
there, and promised to make them- com
fortable. The peddler retired first, and
supper and linger over his ale. . At eleven
o'clock he went to the outbuilding, and
' five minutes later the landlord observed
the light put out. . 1
Next morning neither the peddler nor
his friend appeared, and the landlord
went to the outbuilding to arouse them.
Tr i. vwAn Anil sin ATltavlTl AT
the room discovered the , peddler in his
shirt, lying on the floor at the far end in
a pool of blood. His bead was battered
. 1X1, emu xxeiar jluji "y
with blood and hair on the head. He
was dead and cold.' ' - :
Wfeon thn alarm was given it was
3 .1 A. 1- L.. u. lulnnnnff
man who had 'accompanied the peddler
to the irr and occupied toe same room
with V-.im u mifwinsr. and suspicion at
onoe fell on mm as the, murderer. ine
' authorities werenotifieiandofSflers were
1 1 1 riumuv v " ... -
ilu -au an hmir nlilflr. Thev
of him just outside that town, - on the
road to Sheffield, ? The keen eyes of the
nfR&rn. however, esusht Sight of a horse
among the brambles in a valley to the
left of tha road, sad mere ine man was
captured. He was terribly frightened
an mrmh so as to be unable to articulate
for some time. Strapped to his saddle
bow was a valise, and on opening it a
HMMrilv-filled wallst, identified as the
. peddler's, was found. r - t ?-
, Ti.fr.rrt the Coroner the prisoner, vwho
ui hin name was Henry Soott, told a
' most ostoundkur story. He said that
v. it ts tht nnthonse the Ted-
tiler had already gone so Jus bed, wnicn
was a high, old-fashioned tent bed, with
Soot took a bed at the opposite end of
the roonv This bed toad ourtams also,
m t.fiA rmim was larsre and 'draughty. He
placed his clothes on a chair; and flung
his valise, or holsters, oil a bit of carpet
at the side of the bed. When he put out
the light, he observed that the moon was
shitting full into the room. He lay awake
for some time, bat at length fell into a
dose, f;T'm which he waa startled by a
noise. He listened for some time, and
-riTPBwnily heard footsteps in the room.
The next moment the curtain of his bed
was Kr; "Jy drawn, and he .saw a face
oc Vli 7 down upon him. He lay perfectly
tsti'il, tltorigh greatly alarmed. ,The .face
diaapj;!carl, and jretiting; footsteps
wew leard.' He arose n bis elbow, and
teed ihxoxtsa. : the curtains. . He ,. dis-
tl.a.. ' ;r t w two men at the further end
rf t. rtxm, near the peddler's bed.
ZZ. ied round the foot of it, and
disappeared at the other side. The next
moment, ha heard a scream and a scuffle,
and saw the legs of the peddler protrude
from the curtains. There was a scuffle
and a suppressed cry, and the next mo
ment the peddler bounded from the bed
aud ran, screaming "Murder!" toward
Scott's bed, holding his valise at arm's
length. Two men followed the fugitive,
and Scott, horrified and terror-stricken,
slipped from his bed on the far side, and
hid himnnlf in a closet. He heard eroans
and blows, and the sound of retreating
footsteps; then all was stilL The next
instant, however, the door opened, hasty
footsteps were heard along the floor, and
the curtains of Scott's bed were hastily
drawn. The visitant, whoever he was,
uttered an oath of disappointment, and
hurried from the room.
After waiting for some time Scott came
forth from the closet, and found the ped
dler lying on the ground, dead. Scott
was in a terrible dilemma, and saw at a
glance that he would be suspected of
having murdered the peddler. Panic
stricken, he hastily dressed himself,
picked up his valise from the floor, took
his horse from the b table, and departed
from the inn. resolving to seek safety in
flight. It was daylight when he reached
Coninbro', and then for the first time he
discovered that the valise, which he had
taken from the floor was not his, but the
peddler's, which he had no doubt
dropped when the murderers fell upon
him. aud in the place of . which they
doubtless seized and carried off Scott's,
which lay on the carpet close by.
This extraordinary story was not be
lieved by the Coroner's jury in the face
of all the damning evidence against
Scott. It was shown that hfr had seen
the peddler produce his wallet from the
valise, in the blacksmith shop, that he
had offered to accompany the peddler to
Doncaster, and that he had taken up his
quarters at the same inn, and slept in the
same room 'with the murdered man.
Beside this, he , was captured with the
valise in his possession, and. what better
evidence of his guilt could there be?
. Scott was sent to jail, and in due course
tried for wilful murder. Out of charity
a young lawyer undertook his defense.
The evidence for the prosecution was
clear and convincing, and Mr. O'Brien
afterward Sergeant O'Brien the prison
er's counsel, saw no chance of his client's
escape. The principal witnesses against
him were the blacksmith, John Steele,
his son Richard, the men who were in
the smithy when the peddler and Scott
first met, the landlord of the inn, who
swore that Scott urged the peddler to
take the out-room when he wanted to go
to anether inn, and the officers whe found
Scott with the ped tiler's valise in his
possession.
The hammer with which the murder
had been committed was produced on
the trial and shown to the jury. One of
them remarked to the court that it was a
blacksmith's shoeing hammer. Mr.
O'Brien quietly asked to be allowed
to look at it, and he examined it closely.
Then he stood up and handed it to the
prisoner. Scott glanced his eye over it
for a moment, and then handed it back
to his counsel. The next instant he
clutched at it, drew it from Mr. O'Brien's
grasp and scrutinized it with the most
intense interest. Then he leaned on the
dock and spoke in a hurried tone to his
counsel. The latter, with flushed face
and hasty movements, made his way to
the side of the prosecuting officer, and
conversed with him in a low tone for
several minutes. The prosecuting officer
then spoke with the Judge, and after a
few seconds, beckoned an officer and
whispered to him a few words. Mr.
Steele, the blacksmith, was recalled to
the witness stand by Mr. O'Brien, who
said:
. " Mr. Steele, you are an old and ex
perienced blacksmith, are you not?"
"Yes, sir," Steele answered with a
perceptible tremor of voice.
" Did you ever work at your trade in
Holderness?" '
"Yes, sir, when I was a young man."
" Anything peculiar in tile manufac
ture of horse-shoe nails in that district,
Mr. Steele?"
"I think there is, sir."
" Pray tell us what that peculiarity is,
Mr. Steele."
"The head is divided like, in the
middle."
"Anything like the head of that nail
used : as a wedge in the handle, of that
hammer, Mr. Steele?" the counsel asked,
handing to the witness the weapon found
near the body of the murdered peddler.
The witness' hand Bhook like a leaf as
he reached it out for the hammer, his
cheeks grew deadly pale, his hps became
parched, and though he held the ham
mer in his hand, his starting eyes were
fixed on his questioner.
"Anything like that nail?" Mr.
O'Brien repeated, calmly looking at the
witness.
"Yes, sir," Steele replied "at length,
with difficulty. -
"Should you say that nail had been
made in Holderness, Mr. Steele t"
" It looks like it, sir," was Steele's
Steele," the counsel said, mov
ing almost close up to him, and standing
so'that judge and jury could see both
witness and interrogator distinctly, did
you ever see that hammer before you saw
it in this court?"
The witness gave a gasp, and then re
covering himself,- said: "
- " Yes, sir; I saw it in the hands of the
Coroner." '
At this juncture there was a disturb
ance in the court, and, the officers were
seen striving to prevent a young man
from quitting the room. - ,
The 'young man was Bichard Steele,
the blacksmith's son. .
"Let ; me go," he said, " that's the
damned old scoundrel that did it. He
knows that hammer's his well enough.
He knows that lie planned the whole
thing and led me into it. Ill turn King's
evidence; 111 blab the whole story. Let
me go, and '111 hang the bid villain,
though he is my father." ; .
The-scene that followed cannot be de
scribed. Suffice it to say that a nolle
prosequi was entered, , and Scott was
transferred into an important witness,
Steele and his son being duly indicted
and tried for the murder of the peddler.
Scott swore to the blacksmith's having
taken the nail from the old horse shoe,
remarked that it had been made In Hold
erness, and driven it into the hammer
bead as a- wedge. The hammer was
furthermore identified as having be
longed to : Steele, and testimony was
given which showed that the blacksmith
and his son were absent from home the
Bight of the murder, a marketman swear
ing that he passed them near Doncaster,
going in the direction of VickhilL at 3
o'clock on the morning of the 21st of
June. But the evidence that settled
their fate was furnished by Scott's valise,
which they had taken at the time of the
murder instead of the peddler's. It was
discovered in the ash heap at the back of
the smithy. . Steele and his son were
convicted and sentenced to be hanged,
and both made a full confession to the
following effect: ' , -
Steele,. Sr., resolved on the , robbery
and the murder, if needs were, of the
peddler, immediately ater he discovered
that the man was possessed of a large
sum of moneys After the peddler and
his companion had quitted the smithy,
Steele closed it, and communicated to
his son his design respecting the peddler..
wm a promgace man, as
sented to the scheme. Both were about
to start after the two men and get ahead
of them by a bridle path, but the smith'
changed his plan. If they did that they
would have to tackle them both in the
open road and on horseback. The Bmith
knew the inn to which they were goinr
and was well acquainted with the out
building in which they were to sleep.
He proposed, therefore, that they should
rob the peddler in his sleep, and only
use violence in case it was necessary to
secure their safety. When they entered
Oie outbuilding the smith went toward
tscott s bed, while Bichard remained near
the door. Finding the man they wanted
" Dietue ana ms son ap
proached the other bed, and found the
peddler asleep, knowing it was he from
his bald head. Thev tried tn
yalise on which he slept from under hisc
neaa, put he evidently had hie hand in
the strap, and the tug awoke him.
The reader knows the " rest "from the
story told by Scott. After the smith and
his son had emitted the room, with what.
they supposed was the peddler's valize,
Steele's mind misgave hun, and a dread
that Soott had been an observer of the
bloody deed and would recognize the
perpetrators seized him.
He hurried, back to the room, resolved
to brain Soott if he found him awake.
On discovering the bed empty, the smith
dropped his hammer in af right, the only
explanation to his mind of Scott's ab
sence being that he had witnessed the
crime and quitted the place secretly to
give the alarm. The smith and. his son
departed panicHstricken, and on reaching
home discovered, to their intense mor
tification and disappointment, that the
yalise for which they had murdered a
man and exposed themselves to the gal
lows, contained only a few old clothes
and a Bible. Steele and his son were
hanged at York, December 8, 1837. ,
The British Parliament and the Press
Mr. Sullivan, a member of the British
House of Commons, a day or two since
gave notice that, in order to bring about
a change of the anomalous condition of
the press and the House, he intended to
daily notify the House of the presence
of strangers. This seems somewhat sin
gular in this country, where the legisla
tive halls are free to the public The
oretically, all persons except members
and the necessary officers are excluded
from the hall while ; the House of Com
mons is in session.! There is a small
gallery in the hall, fenced off by a wire
grating. Admission to this gallery,
which will seat but j comparatively few
persons, is obtained by tickets from
members. The hall of the House of
Commons itself is a dingy, inconvenient
room, of very limited proportions, and
not capable of seating more than one
half the members. When the attend
ance is large, those not able to obtain
seats must stand or find refuge in some
of th3 various small ante-rooms . adjoin
ing. The attendance of strangers is
tolerated by practice, but prohibited by
rulev Officially the House is not aware
of the presence of reporters ; and the
publication of debates; is in violation of
law, a law which is hot, however, en
forced. British statesmen, elik all
others, have great ambition to be re
ported, but none of them have the cour
age to propose a legal authorization of
the publication of the debates. Under
the rules, it is sufficient for a member to
call the attention of the House to the
presence of strvigers, when business is
suspended and the gallery is cleared. It
requires no motion lor this purpose ; as
soon as the Speaker is informed that
there are strangers present, he must or
der their exclusion.
The reporters for the London papers
are admitted to a part of the strangers '
gallery upon tickets issued to them by
the Speaker ; but this is in an unofficial
way, and gives them no right. They are
regarded just the same as any other
strangers, and must go out. In fact,
their presence is a double violation of
law, because it is unlawful to take, notes
or publish any of the debates of Parlia
ment, the House having , in its history
repeatedly declared such publication to be
a breach of the privileges of the House.
This old rule rests upon the assump
tion that the publication1 of the debates
is an abridgment of the freedom of de
bate, that it tends to make the member
responsible for what he says. Chicago
Tribune.
Bathing Children.
Some mothers, writes a physician,
think when their children get beyond
two or three years of age, the frequent
entire bath can be dispensed with. If
some of the main facts ! of physiology
were well known and understood, every
one would perceive that cleanliness of
the skin is one of the conditions of good
health. It happens when bathing is dis
regarded, that - the lungs, kidneys or
bowels have more than their appointment
of work. It these are strong and
healthy, they may bear the tax with lit
tle apparent iniurv. but. in most cases.
a lowering of the vitality and tone of the
nervous system ensues, ijarge oatn
tubs are pleasant and convenient,- but
not indispensable to the proper cleansing
of the sKin. A speedy sponging or tne
body in warm water, followed by friction
in pure air, is all that is necessary.
When disinclined to use water, I find
a thorough application of the flesh brush
to the whole person an admirable substi
tute i especially on retiring, it relieves
nervousness, equalizes - the circulation,
and induces quiet sleep. Mothers, above
all, should see that their . children are
well bathed. : - If their skins are kept ac
tive and healthy there will not be half
the danger from fever, cold and eruptive
diseases, if your little one W cross or
troublesome, and finds no occupation
that pleases him, try the effect of a bath;
sometimes it is magical, and if tired, he
will go to sleep and awaker bright,
cheerful and happy. r Do' not.- thoueh.
as I have seen some parents do, plunge a
child into water, when he screams and
shrinks from it, thinking you are doing a
gooa aeea. .nature must be the guide ;
li yourcrma nas a nervous constitution.
a shock of this kind is only exhausting
and injurious. ' , ,
A Dbbaic Bevobb thb Tragedy.
Speaking of the tragic death of the late
Mrs. Margaret Bingham, murdered in
East Boston, the Zion'a Herald says :
" A clergyman relates to us a singular
incident which came directly to his
knowledge. The night before her death
she told one of her friends she had suf
fered from a terrible dream which she
could not throw off. She dreamed that
she was murdered. She remarked that
she was not afraid to die, but was terri
bly shocked at the idea of such a form
of death. How singular, at times, these
mysterious mental pictures of ccmiag
events cast their shadow upon us. Or
was a divine whisper preparing the soul
for the hour of extreme discipline ?"
SoiniTEcrjro which they eail a starch
mine has been disoovered a Colorado.
H How Mr. Ccffln Spelled It.
The other evening old Mr. and Mrs,
Coffin, who live on Brush street, sat in
their cosy back parlor, he reading his
paper and she knitting, and the family
wm BLreicneu ouc under tne stove, and
sighed and felt sorry for oats not so well
fixed. It was a happy, contented house
hold, and there was love in his heart as
Mr. Coffin put down his newspaper and
" I see that the whole country is be
coming excited about spelling schools.
" well, it's good to know how to
spell, " replied the wife. " I didn't Jiave
the chance some girls had, but I pride
myself that I can spell almost any word
A 1 A aa
mai comes along. '
Til see about that," he laughed;
come, now, spell buggy. '
" Humph I that's nothincr b-u-ff-c-v.
buggy," she replied.
"juLissea tue nrst tune nai nar he
roared, slapping his leer.
" Not much that was right."
"It was, eh? Well, I'd like to see
anybody get two g's in buggy, I would."
"But it is spelled with two g's, and
any school-boy will tell you so," she per
sisted. "Well, I know a durn sight better
than that!" he exclaimed, striking the
table with his fist. -
"I don't care what you know 1" she
squeaked; " I know that there is two g's
in 4 buggy 1 "
" Do you mean to tell me that I've for
gotten how to spell ?" he asked.
"It looks that way." - i -.
" It does, eh ? Well, I want you and
all your relations to understand that I
know more about spelling than the
whole caboodle of yen strung on a
wire !" . p .
"And I want you to understand,
Jonathan Coffin, that you are an igmorant
old blockhead, when you don't put two
g's in the word buggy yes you are !"
" Don't talk that way to me 1 " he
warned.
"And don't shake your fist at me !"
she replied.
" Who's a-shaMng his fist ?"
"Yon were." I
" That's a lie an infernal lie !"
" Don't coll me a liar, you old bazaar 1
I've put up with your meanness for forty
years past, but don't call me a liar, and
don't lay a hand on me !"
. " Do you want a divorce I" he shouted,
springing up; "you can go now, this
minute!"
"Don't spit in my face don't you
dare do it, or I'll make a dead man of
you !" she warned.
" I haven't spit in your freckled old
visage yet, but I may if you provoke me
farther!"
" Who's got a freckled face, you old
turkey-buzzard?"
That was a little too much. He made
a motion as if he would strike, and she
seized him by the neck-tie. Then he
reached out and grabbed her right ear,
and tried to lift her off her feet, but she
twisted up on the neck-tie until his
tongue ran out.
" iiet go of me. you old" fiend I" she
screamed.
"Git down on yer knees, and bejr
my pardon, you old- wild-cat! " he re
plied. They surged and swayed and struggled
and the peaceful cat was struck by the
overturning table and had her bock
broken, while the clock fell down and
the pictures danced around. The woman
finally shut her husband's supply of air
off and flopped him, and as she bumped
his head up and down on the floor and
scattered his gray hairs she shouted:
"ion want to get up another spelling
school with me. don't you ?"
He was seen limping around the yard
yesterday, a stocking pinned around his
throat, and she had court-plaster on her
nose and one finger tied up. He wore
the look of a martyr, while she had the
bearing 'of a victor, and from this time
out " buggy " will be spelled with two
g's in that house. Detroit Free Pre.
An Item for Housekeepers.
In cleaning table-lamps, remove the
shade carefully before you soil your
hands with the oiL Provide a bottle of
warm water a little above blood heat, and
in this first wash the glass chimney, then
pour the oil from the fountain, and re
move any sediment from about the brass
work ; screw up the wick, and if it is not
long enough for the time it may probably
be required to burn replace it with a
fresh one, by means of the stick. Having
washed all the brass work, wipe the parts
carefully, screw everything in its former
position, and take care, in replacing the
wick, that the small notch at the side of
the brass enters the groove which is sunk
to receive it; turn it up and down onoe
or twice to make sure that it works
freely; then prime it (that is, singe the
top), replace the fountain (filled with
oil), chimney and shade; the lamp is
now ready for use. Purchase the best
oil, as the inferior qualities emit an
offensive smelL tvud produce so much
sediment that the delicate works of the
lamps are quickly clogged, and the cur
rent of air impeded, which causes it to
burn dim. Occasionally it is necessary
to wash the shade. This should be done
in clean, hike-warm water,, with the ad
mixture of a little soda, which removes
all the stains and does not injure the ap
pearance of the ground glass. The glass
chimneys will sometimes crack with the
heat, particularly in fiosty weather.
J. ins may be prevented by scoring a
small notch in the glass at top and bot
tom.
. Cleaning Stains.
Mud, especially that of cities, is a
compound of vegetable remains, and of
ferruginous matter in a state of black
oxide. . Washing with - pure water, fol
lowed, if . necessary, with soaping,- -will
take away the vegetable juices ; and then
the iron may be removed with cream of
tartar, which itself must, however, be
well .washed out. Ink stains, .when re
cent, may be taken out by washing, first
with pure water, next with soapy water,
and lastly with lemon juice ; but if old
they may be treated with oxalic acid.
Stains, occasioned by smoke, or by
sauoes browned in frying-pan may be
supposed to consist- ot a mixture of
pitch, black oxide of iron, empyreumatio
oil, and some saline matters dissolved in
pyroligneous acid. -In this case several
re-agents must : be employed to remove
the stains. Water and soap dissolve
perfectly well the vegetable matters, the
salts, the pyroligneous acid, and even the
empyreumatio oils in a great measure ;
the essence of turpentine will remove
the rest of the. oils and all . the pitchy
matter ; then oxalic acid may be used to
discharge the iron. Coffee stains require
washing with water, with a careful soap
ing at tiro temperature of one hundred
and twenty degrees Fahrenheit, followed
by suphuration. . The two latter pro
cesses may be repeated 'twice or thrioe,
chooeSate stains may be removed by the
same means, and more easily. ...
v A 8najcb ajtd Axxjoatob Ksat-A
make fight was -advertisedt Palatka,
Fla. and the gathering of spectators was
ery large. A large rattlesnake and an
a&asr were put into the arena together,
hat neither would attack the other. , Then
a young alligator and the rattlesnake
were tried, and an encounter immediate
ly began. 'The alligator was bitten
four times, but he finally crushed
the snake to death between his jaws, and
Some Carious Things In Housekeeping.
Every branch of science, says Scrib-
ner Mazazine, has its marvels : but.
expecting to meet in nature with wonders
that baffle knowledge, we : are not so
much astonished at these as at the start
ling facts that are forced upon us from
day to day in social life. Some of the
most surprising of these confront us in
the developments of the science of house
keepin&r. They are entirely beyond ex
planation, and would be beyond belief
u tney rested on mere assertion ; but as
all of us, unfortunately, have tested them
by our own senses, we accept them with
wonder, and with some show of resigna
tion. 1
Take an important branch of house
keeping cookery. - How inexplicable
are some of the results of culinary study.
A woman with whom we once lived for a
time had kept house for thirty-five years,
had never had a servant, and had, during
that time, as she informed us, " baked
twice a week regular." Consequently,
to go into the .'statistics of the matter,
bread had been baked m that establish
ment 3,640 times. Deducting 240 for
occasional sickness or absence of the
mistress (a. large allowance, for she was
healthy, and seldom went from home).
and we have 3,400 times that this woman
had made and baked bread.
She used good flour, and yet her bread
was invariably damp, sticky, and unht
for a savage to eat, and no Christian
stomach could possibly dicrest it with
comfort. Now surely this was a won
derful thine:! By what methods un
fathomable to ordinary reason could she
have avoided in thirty-five years prac
tice - learning how to make good yeast,
how much to work the dough, bow long
it should stand to get light, what temper
ature the oven should be, and the proper
length of time to bake it T How could
she help doing it. right the three thou
sand four hundredth time? It would
seem that a vast amount of labor would
be necessary to do it badly ! She was a
woman of average good sense, and, no
doubt, conscientious. She had no as
pirations and no "mission," and read
nothing but a weekly religious newspa
per. Her whole mind was in her house
keeping, and here was the result t
Another womm, now over fifty years
of age, has cooked more or less, gener
ally mere, since she was twelve. She
has a special liking for lamb chops,' and
has cooked them very many times. And
to this day she serves up liver-colored
chops, fried, and swimming in a greasy
liquid I Merely looking at them will
give a right-minded man dyspepsia.
This woman has eaten lamb-chops else
where, cooked according to the best
civilized methods, and has praised them;
but each time she - returns serenely
to her frying-pan and grease. Now
upon what hypothesis can this be
explained? Can it be possible that
there are human beings so constituted
that their bodies and minds act inde
pendently, so that the sensation of taste
has no mental effect whatever? For in
these instances the results were not the
effect of carelessness or indifference
they both thought the horrid abomina
tions were feasts for the gods.
And not the least curious things in
these cases is that these poor cooks have
sharp eyes for the faults of the butcher
and the baker. The butcher knows better
than to offer a stale or tough chop to No.
2 ; and if the baker were to serve No. 1
with such bread as she makes herself
she would refuse to pay for it, entirely
unconscious of the reflection she would
thus cast upon herself.
Why do some housekeepers continue,
week after week, month after month,
and year after year, to use raw flour for
"thickening?" Would it not be rea
sonable to suppose ' that after a num
ber of years say ten the raw flour,
and the stickiness of the compound,
would suggest to them the' possibility of
altering their manner of preparing it ?
We have suggested but a few things
that happened to occur to us, and these
belong to only one branch of house
keeping; but if we were to pursue our
inquiries into other departments we
'should be met at every turn with phe
nomena similar to the above. They in
dicate the existence in the midst of home
life of marvels that science has so far
failed to explain, and for which reason
can find no law.
A College of Mu sic in Sew York
The rumors of a proposed College of
Music, endowed largely by unknown gen
tlemen, are verified. A well-known mer
chant of New York, a bachelor upwards
of 80 years of age, has given $1,000,000
and signed a will bequeathing all the rest
of his estate, valued at $4,000,000, except
a life interest in about $250,000 of estate
to several relatives. ! The character has
already passed one branch of the Legis-
lnfnro Tha TmnfAAR have not vet been
selected, bnt the names of Cornelius
Vanderbilt, W. B. Astor, D. A. Kings-
land, Dr. Elmer, Chas. D. Xiffany and
Mr: Witthaus are mentioned as probable
members of the board. The college is
to be dedicated to the daughters of Amer
ica, but is not to exclude males. The
building will occupy a site of 300 by 200
feet and the ground is said to be that oc
cupied by the Hippodrome. An effort
will be made to secure Bichard 'Wagner
at the Lad of the institution- and. . Theo
dore Thomas and Doctors Pearce and
Damrosch are mentioned as members of
the faculty. Work - on- the permanent
building commences next fall, but tne
school will be started before that time in
temporary quarters. New York Trib
une, - ' '
Bout Eat Save When Hungry.
Dr. Hall declares unhesitatingly that
it is wrong to eat without an appetite,
for it shows there is no. eras trio juice in
the stomach, and that nature does not
need food i and not needing it, there be-
imr no fluid to receive and act upon it,
it remains there-only to putrefy, the very
thought of which should be sufficient , to
deter any man from eating without an
appetite lor the , remainder, oi oe -me.
If a. tonic is taken to whet the appetite,
it is a mistaken . course, - for its only re
sult is to cause one to eat more, when al
ready in amount has been eaten beyond
what tfce gastric juice ia able to prepare.
The object to be obtained isa larger sup
ply f gastric juice, not a larger supply
ef food ; and whatever fails to aeoosa
icdish that essential object fails to have
ny efficiency toward the cure of dyspep
tic diseases. The formaUoa of gastxae
juices is directly proportioned to the
wear and tear of the system, which it is
to be the means of supplying, and this
wear and tear can only take plaoe as the
result of exercise. The efficient remedy
for dyspepsia is work oufc-door work
beneficial and raaoessful in direct pro
portion as it is agreeable, interesting md
profitable. :
Lkmon juice and glycerine will clessse
and soften the hands. -
V Giant Powder.
The use of giant powder in blowing
up the ioe on the river in this city, says
the Rochester (N. Y.) Express, has at
tracted considerable attention to this
dangerously powerful explosive, as many
are anxious about its composition and-
qualities. ; : t: .v---
Its proper name is Dynamite, bnt it is
better known in this country as Giant
Powder. No. lcontains 75 per cent, of
nitro-glycerine, 24 per cent, of infusorial
earth. No. 2 has much less of nitro
glycerine, and the deficiency is supplied
by niter, saltpeter and rosin. It looks
like, dirty, corn meal, and .gives no sign
to the eye of the resistless power it con
tains. - xt does not explode like gun
powder, but the entire mass, however
large, bursts at once, as if each recoil of
each grain took place at. the same in
stant. It shatters the hardteBt rock an if
it were the a&oet fragile of - thinca. and
rends wrought iron and steel as If they
. mi. i i . -i .
wcid diko. xne mruiest enanm of if. in
the heaviest rifle or ordnance, tears the
gun into a .thousrudpieces. It is as good
-m waiw uu oxa. ine only practicable
means of exploding it is by a large and
powerful percussion cap. Strange to say
mo auu neas will not explode it : it can
be poured on a red hot -nlate. nr a. retri
hot poker can be thrust into it and it
will not explode ; or, it can be thrown
from any height upon rocks until th
boxes are broken, and it will not ex-nlnrta
. The secret of its safety lies in the f act
mat ine absorbent is soft, compressible
. T . . 1 . . . .
and elastic, whereby the powder becomes
a cushsion on., which all blows are de
fended. Hence the greater the quality,
the greater the safety. .
He Bet Because the Odds Were Great.
A son of the faderland. savs an ttn
change, went into ' Barney . Oalligan's
saloon the other day and called for a
drink. Barney observed how blooming
ke was with the "rosy" already, and
shook his head, saying: " You have had
enough." ; " Enough of whad, I guess ?"
asked the Teuton, Enough to drink."
Whe is running mv machine, von nr
I ? You are, and you are ruiining it
in the ground."
" 1 bade you ten dollars dat I am a li
ar. Bald he. slamming his hand d mm cm
the bar.
" There is no bet there." said Barnev.
smiling.
" (.rife us a drink."
" No, you are drunk now."
I bade you. not."
"Well. I will bet von fifty dollars to
one that you are drunk," said Barney,
while quite a number of bystanders gath
ered around to see the fun. .
" Good enough. I bade vou." said he.
pulling out fractional' currency enough
to make up a dollar. "Now, who will
you leave it mid ? "
1 11 leave it to yourself. Are you
not drunk ? "
Yes, by iingoes, I am." said he.
mournfully, " dake der dollar." ' ,
A friend of bis happened to be in the
crowd, and upbraided him for deciding
against himself.
" But it was the druth." .
" Well, supposing it was : what did
you wont to be fool enough to bet for,
ineni"
" I couldn't help it der odds was so
gread," he replied, turning away, more
in sorrow than anger.
Arsenic in Wall-Paper.
This poison is largely employed as a
ooloring in green paper. We tested a
beautiful sample the other day, aud found
in a square foot, thirty-Seven and a-half
grains of pure arsenic. The least rub
bing set free a cloud of green dust, which
was rank poison to inhale. A few weeks
since a physician was asSed to see, in
consutation, a brother medical man who
was dangerously ill of erysipelas of the
face and scalp. He had only just
removed into a new house. On entering
his consulting-room, the new comer was
struck with bright green of the wall
paper, and asked to have a piece sup
plied to him. " After some time this was
done, when he found, on examining it,
that it was, as he anticipated, arsenical.
It is not asserted that the newly-hung
wall-paper had anything to do with the
attack : but the simple suggestion is of
fered, that, as the methods for discover
ing arsenic are-eo simple and so accurate,
medical men should always take care to
guard themselves; at least ; and, without
much trouble, they may guard their pa
tients also against the risk of injury from
this source. If, on burning some of the
suspected paper in the center of the room,
so that the fumes can be inhaled, the
odor of garlic or onions is apparent, ar
senic is present, aud the paper should be
condemned. -HalC Journal of Health.
. Ice In the Atlantic
The steamship Nova Scotian, . which
arrived at Baltimore on Wednesday, from
Liverpool, via Halifax, reports that at 8
a. m. on the 14th of April, in latitude 42
deg. 20 min., longitude 49 deg. 10 min.,
an immense ice-field was met in the At
lantic The steamship skirted its edge
for five hours, and altered her course to
escape it. From the mast-heads, as far
as the eye could reach with the aid of
glasses, an unbroken stretch of ice was
to 'be seen extending for many miles.
There was in it many small icebergs, and
a number of vessels, some of them long
distances from the outer edges, arid seem
ing to -have been caught there a long
while before. There were a ship, two
barks, a brig, and other vessels bo far
in that they could hot be made out. This
ice had come down from the Arctic re-
fions, and the imprisoned vessels had
oubtless come many miles with it, and
will not be liberated until the warmer
waters of the Gulf Stream melts them
out. The. steamship also report that
eight American fishing schooners had
been forced to seek refuge in the harbor
of Halifax, where i they were driven by
the heavy fields of floating Arctic ioe.
New York Timet.
' ' 'A Dark Prvpheey. -'
The birth, and death of a miraculous
child is reported from Saarlouis, in Al
sace. ..The' mother, .had just been con
fined, the midwife was holding forth gar
rulously oa the blessed little creature,
andthe friends were congratmlatincr tha
father on bis, luck, when somebody asked
what time it Was. Judge of the surprise
of U on hekring the . new-born babe re
ply -aistiaetly, "Two o'clock." But
peam was ttothing to what followed. The
company ,were looking ; on the infant
was. -speechless ; wonder and -dismay,
waLenat opened its eyes and said: "I
hae -been sent into the world to tell you
that 5875 will be a good year, but that
ISTSxviH be a year of Wood." - Having
utte&Bd this prophecy, it turned on its
wile and expired, aged half an hour.
IChe good people of Saarlouis Lave been
QraiaB upset by the miraculous ntteranees
wft&e precocious prophet.
Thb Benedict Arnold house at New
Haven has been demolished to make
rsrom :for a neighboring store. It was
bailt between 1650 and 360 of brick
Drang ht from Holland, aud raa not only
once the lodging-pdaee f Benedict
Arnol 3, but the scene of his marriage.
Thb Japanese persimmon has been ia
troduced into California.
Thb number of fixed stars seen at any
one time by the naked eye is estimated:
at one thousand. ,-
A son of Secretary Stanton is said to-
be one of the most brilliant young at
torneys in Waahington.
Khnbau, the belligerent counsel of
the Tichborne claimant, is coming to
this oountry on a lecturing tour.
' A Kansas naturalist holds that the
grasshopper plague was caused by then
destruction of the prairie chicken. '
Bbown, the mind-reader, has become-
a reporter on a Washington joumaL.
What an interviewer Brown will make B
Thb Irish papers are well pleased to
find that the number of emigrants from
I Ireland in 1874 was 16,213 less than ia
1873.
Fashion, with her avenging club, has
knocked just one foot from the height
of every lady in the land. Let theater
goers rejoice, jg' - - -
A Boston paper thinks that the em
ployes of the gas companies and water
works ought to wear some kind of uni
form, to distinguish them from tramps.
A Nkw Yobk thief snatched 83,500
from under a. man's arm, in a crowded.
street-car, ana wnue tne owner ana peo
ple around were wondering at the rob
v v i
uci o smuiubj) aid oouipvu,
Onb-haLp of the whole cultivated area
in Great Britain, or about 23,000,000
acres, is given up' to permanent pasture
aud meadow, and the average yield of
hay from it is only 2,016 pounds pert
acre,". .,, V.; ;.. ; ..: ;
Canada has established a Supreme 5
Court, which will do away with appeals
to the mother oountry. Sir John Mc
Donald calls this the first step toward aa
separation of the Dominion from En
gland. s-'i - . 'j. 7
There is a family of four brothers in
Minersville, Schuylkill county, Pa., who
weigh, altogether, 965 pounds. They
have three sisters whose aggregateweight
is 590 pounds makes a total of 1,555
pounds.
A Canadian has just won a libel suit
against a newspaper aud got twenty
cents damages. The newspaper was
little too frank, but the jury thought av
little one franc all the plaintiff was en
titled to.
Thb Hussion nobility, and particular
ly of the Government of St. Petersburg.,
recently declared spontaneously that.
they were ready to pay taxes an obli
gation which hitherto applied only to
the bourgeois and the peasants.
A ' man in Michigan has this seasonA
raised five lemons on a tree kept in ax-
hot-house. Four tons of coal were con-- -sumed
in ripening them, and he soldi
them for twenty cents four cents eaeri
Not a very profitable investment.
A man in Sacramento read on a sign"
"Oysters in every style for 25 cents;" so
1 - . - "mi l .
ne went m ana uau a raw, iry, bicw,.
got through he put down a quarter, re- -
marking to the astonished caterer,
"That s what your sign says."
Coixnei.Leb Jordan, a Georgia farnre
er, owns and cultivates zuu.uuu acres.,
the original cost of which was $45,Q00l-
lie has euu laborers, duc is gradually
adopting the tenant system. Six over
seers superintend the plantations, and.
raise from 1,400, to 2,000 bales of cotton.
A coktpant has been formed in. Lon
don, with' a large capital, for the pur--pose
ef carrying live cattle from, Gal
veston, Texas, to England. It is- pro
posed to bring emigrants and - merchan
dise back. Each steamer will carry r
about 15,000 head of cattle, aud make-
the outward passage m sixteen days. -
About 6,000,000,000 feet of seft wood!
lumber were cut in the United States'
and Canada in 1874. Recent estimates
put the entire manufacture of lumber r
and timber on this continent at about '-.
12,000,000,000 feet per year, and if this
estimate be- correct, the pine districts -furnish
nearly half of the whole product
Jim Fenton on Cupalos." -
In Dr. Holland's." Story of Seven
oaks," in Soribner for May, Jim Fen ton
the backwoodsman, pops the question .
and proposes to build a hotel. In the
f ollowing passage we get at his ideas' on
the subject of ornamentation :
Jim b love had wrought a miracle in the
night. He had said nothing about it tea'
his- architect, but it had lifted him above'
the bare utilities of a house, so that ho
could see the use of beauty. " Thar'a
one thing, "said he, " that thar hain't none
on us thought on ; but it come to m&
last night. : There's a place where thee
two ruffs come together that wants some
thin', an' it 'seems to me it's a cupalo
somethin' to stan' irp over the whole-
thing, and say to them as comes, Halt
lelujerl' We've done a good deal for-house-keepin',
now let's do somethin?
for glory. It s lest like a ribbon on a.--
bonnet, or a blow on a potato-vine. It
sets it off, an' makes a kind o' Fourth
July for it. What do ye say, little?
woman ?"
The " little woman " accepted the
suggestion, and admitted that it wouldC
at least make the building look mores
like a hoteL.
w Sea-Tater.,
' The water' ot the ocean is a weak aniT
ebmparatively 'speaking, impure brine.
It contains from three fend one-half t
four per cent, of saline matter, of whicbx
about three-fourths is chloride of sodiums
or jalt, and about one-fourth impurities.
Its chief impurities consist of chloride
of magnesium end the sulphates of lime,,
magnesia and soda.' Sea-water varies but.
littie'in .composition and concentrationt
except in localities where-either a limited
body of water is prevented from - an un
restricted communication with the oceanv.
or 'where a large influx of fresh water -oansan
ita dilution - It represents the--
main sourcq'of supply for the manufac- .
ture or Bait la DTanoe, i-orrngai, epaiu, .
Italy, the West Indies, and Central anil
South America ; it is also largely used
for the production of salt in Holland, .
Belgium and England, being frequently -employed
for the solution of rock-salt 1.
an inferior color. In the United States-'
it h s' been turned to advantage but to a
very limited extent. Three hundred to ;
three hundred and fifty thousand bushels
cover, in all probablh, on
borne production of salt from sea-water
. ' Whuji our thermometers wc Joid
togallthe way from ten to
SLw so, tife opposite to.
perienoed in Austral .toe f.
toTvicinity of VJyB,T5 mero
ter than doTihe shade and
ry reached 111 dege
150 degree XUy was,
rbed- of raili, do
iSrTences, aud in many cases.
bSKTo nian lost a thousand i.
sheep from tbi cause. .