The Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, April 16, 1880, Page 4, Image 4

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    WEEKLY CORYALLIS GAZETTE.
CORVALLIS,
APRIL 16, 1880.
OTHER DAYS.
BY EUGENE I,. THOME.
I think of the days that have gone by forever.
And wonder If others as bright will again
Be mine to throw back, or yet will 1 never
Agan see tbe visions of youth I saw then ?
Those visions of yonth when yon stood beside
me,
Day-dreams of happiness, night dreams of
yor.
Tbe goddess I worshipped, tbe siren that held
me,
My angel of yonth whom I thought wonld be
true.
Tbe springtime comes back with each year
giowing older,
Ana memories are fading of the days that
have fled ;
And the heart that was warm is each year
growing colder.
As cold as me days of tbe winter that's dead.
Yet I think of the past as I look to tbe future,
The i ist, when you promised wbale'er might
betide
Promised to go with me down through life's
Journey,
Ana share that life's sorrow and joy by my
side.
Through showers of sweet smiles that have
fallen unheeded
From lips Just as red and from eyes just as
blue,
My heart, has kept faith with the love it first
pleaded,
The love of my boyhood awakened by you.
And sometimes I fancy that life in its waning,
By forgiveness is hallowed ere its last sun is
set.
And I know by the toien of memory that
lingers,
Thougn love will forgive, yet It ne'er can
lorget.
MY TWO HUSBANDS.
BY MAY BRENTWOOD.
I was called a strange girl, with quix
otic notions of morality. I had a high
ideal of manhood that seemed almost im
possible to be realized in the weak, frail
mortals of the sterner sex.
I was nineteen when I first met Harvey
Murch; my eyes found in him their ideal
of manly beauty, while my innocent,
girlish heart clothed him with all the
virtues I had vowed that the man I
wedded must possess. I think it would
have been hard to find a man of nobler
bearing, or of a more high-bred, cour
teous manner.
He drew me out little by little, until
he held the key to my heart. He pro
fessed the deepest veneration for a pure
and virtuous life; he may have meant
what he said ; I would rather believe that
he did than that he stained his soul with
a lie in those first halcyon days of onr
love; for even now, looking back through
the mists of bygone years, with all their
sorrow and shame, I believe there was a
time when he loved me.
I was not handsome. I was tall and
slender, with brown eyes and hair. I
had a pretty chin and thin red lips. Peo
ple called me interesting, but never
handsome.
In due time Harvey and I were mar
ried, and moved away from the city,
with its noisy din and perpetual excite
ment, to a lovely place in the country,
ten miles from B I enjoyed the
change, and, with perfect trust in the
man of my choice, for three short years
was as happy as the birds that carolled
to their mates in the soft, balmy days of
spring.
When we had been married cne short
year a little stranger, with large, won
dering brown eyes and tiny form, came
knocking at the door of our hearts for
admittance; and no baby could ask for a
warmer welcome than we gave to our
darling baby boy. It seemed as though
there was nothing more that my heart
could desire; a husband who was still
kind and true, a baby who grew in
beauty and in grace, every day taking
one more step in the mysteries of life
watched and guided by our loving
hands.
Our little Chester for such we had
named our boy was two years old when
the cloud arose on the horizon of our
domestic happiness that was so soon to
burst over our heads .
I had heard my husband speak of
Mabel Mace as of an old mend. 1 had
no thought of jealousy, I trusted him
too much for that. What sent her to my
home, to enter, like the serpent, our
JSden V
One day Harvey told me she was com
ing to board vvith us through the sum
mer, if we could accommodate her. I
dreaded a stranger in our household,
but, as he seemed to wish it, I took all
due pride in making everything ready
for my guest.
One beautiful June morning the old
stage deposited a wondrously beautiful
woman at our door. No description
could do justice to Mabel Mace. She
was small, with childlike blue eyes, a
fair complexion, with dimples in her
cheek and chin, and a mouth that looked
as though it were made to be kissed; she
did not look over seventeen, although
twenty-four summers had passed over
head. She was just the woman for most
men to love; nothing of the dreaded
"woman's rights" style about her. She
was one to float with the current, but not
the one to stem the tide. A woman to
be petted and cared for as tenderly as a
baby, but not the woman to struggle on
alone. I wondered in a vague way, even
then, why Harvey had not loved her
when he knew her first.
My husband greeted her with a smile
and a warm clasp of the hand, saying he
hoped she would be contented with us,
and. we would do our best to make her
stay pleasant. Then he introduced me.
She greeted me with a warm embrace
and a kiss. I liked her; I could not
help doing so, she seemed so innocent;
while she seemed to worship Chester and
me.
I told Harvey he must help her enjoy
the summer by waiting on her to the va
rious places of interest, and it was sur
prising how willingly he obeyed. On
Sundays they went to church. I did not
go, as-some one must remain at home.
Once he had hired a boy to come and re
lieve me; but things had changed since
then. I was blind, and thought it no
hardship to remain at home.
Sometimes Mabel would say, with her
sweetest smile,
"Will yoU go berrying to-dav with me,
pet?" the name by which she always
called me.
When I could I went, but when I
could not she would prevail on Harvey
to go, and then she wouldsay,
"You won't be jealous of poor little
me? You know I don't have a chance to
go berrying every summer, and I am
afraid of cows and snakes, and dare not
go alone."
Of course I Would excuse her on that
plea, and I was not afraid to trust Har
vey. """
At last there was a vague rumor float
ing to the effect that my husband was
false to me that he loved Mabel Mace.
I did not believe it, and even though I
saw the looks of pity bestowed upon" me,
I did not doubt my husband. I be
lieved he was still true, while Mabel
might be weak, but not wicked; bo, 1 1
could not believe her that. But at last
there came a dav when I was forced to
believe. I could doubt hearsay, but I
could not doubt his spoken words; and I
heard him tell that girl he loved her bet
ter than all the world beside.
The bitterness of that hour I shall
never forget. I was too proud to cen
sure him, or to sue for a love that was
mine by right; but I vowed that I would
not live with the man who had given his
love to another. I packed up what few
things I needed for Chester and myself,
and sent my husband on an errand to the
city. Of course Mabel accompanied
him. Then I started out in the great,
wide world, with no friend but my inno
cent boy. I left my husband this note
"Sib: I have cailed you husband for
tbe last time while life remains; I blush
for shame to be obliged to call you the
father of my boy. You are free to love
Mabel. Some women might forgive you;
I never can. She is weak and easily in
fluenced; that is my excuse for her. I
have none for you; you knew you was
breaking the holiest vow of your life,
and disgracing your wife and child. You
need not follow me, for you will not
find me; henceforth we are strangers."
The letter was written in bitterness of
soul; it seemed as though my love had
turned to hate; yet I loved Harvey with
my whole soul. I had no money. I
would not take one cent from him.
I stood on the bridge where the stage
would pass me. Soon I saw it coming.
I told the driver that I was going away,
and asked for a ride. He looked at me,
and questioned me until I told him all.
He advised me to return, but I told him
that I would seek rest beneath the water
of the river before I would return to
my dishonored home. He took me in,
and at the station handed me ten dollars,
saying:
"You may need it. Keep it; pay me
when you can. And may God bless and
keep you!"
From my inmost soul, I thanked the
kind old man. In after years I was able
to repay his kindness, but never the debt
of gratitude I owe.
I took the first train for Portland, only
to mislead my husband, for at the first
transfer station I took the train for the
mountains. It necessitated me making
extra change, but was my safest plan. I
had one friend there I could depend on;
he obtained a situation as table girl for
me in one of the large hotels. I paused
for a widow; for was I not worse than
widowed ?
Chester was the favorite of the house,
and more than one gentleman would
have given him presents or money; but
I would not permit it. 1 bated all men.
1 believed them all false, weaK or sell
ish; presents from ladies he accepted
with a quaint bow and a "Thank you
you very kind. But to gentlemen he air
ways said: "Thank you; mamma won't
let me.
This made me the subject for com
ments, more than one wondering why I
hated men so much. 1 never smiled, un
less it was on my boy. I had grown sad
and silent. I believe I should have gone
mad, had it not been for his sweet, child
ish love.
At last Harvey found me. It was in
vain that he pleaded for me to return; I
would not. 1 could never trust him
again. He pleaded for one glimpse of
his boy. I would not permit him, say-
1 did not want him to remember the
father who had disgraced him. I might
doubt his love for me, but I could not
doubt his love for his boy, and 1 knew
it was a cruel blow I dealt him with
those words; but I had grown hard to
ward him, and he had made me so. He
left me, vowing to take away the boy.
Who Harvey was soon became known,
and I was again the subject of talk,
either of censure or pity. I could not
endure to be made the topic of conversa
tion for the house, neither could I en
dure the constant dread of my husband;
so I left my situation, so shut up my own
misery that I could not give even one
sigh of regret for the beautiful scenery
that at one time would have hiled my
soul with rapturous joy.
I chose a far distant village this time
as a place of refuge. I was successful in
getting a situation as seamstress for one
of the summer visitors to The place, and
when she returned home for the winter I
accompanied her, I was happier with
her than I had been since leaving my
own home, bhe knew my history, and
did not blame me. She loved my boy,
and so won the heart of the mother.
The next summer we again sought the
mountains. One day I was reading in a
secluded spot, when a gentleman dressed
in hunting costume approached me. I
had been slightly acquainted with him
the previous summer, and knew his
name. It was Stevens. He raised his
cap cautiously, and made a few common
place remarks. He made no allusion to
the past or to the fact that we had ever
met before; yet 1 knewhe recognized me.
He was stopping at the same hotel with
us, and that evening I saw him bringing
Chester up the steps; and from that time
they were firm friends.
I could not help liking Lawyer Ste
vens. He never threw himself in my
way, never questioned me, and was al
ways kind and obliging. One night he
handed me a paper; there was a marked
paragraph in it which I read, and knew
that henceforth I was free. I caught my
boy in my arms and fled to my own room,
and wept the only tears that I had ever
shed for the man who had wronged me.
I do not think I forgave him even then ;
but death had brought pity for his mis
spent life, and in after years I could say
I forgave, even as I hoped to be for
given. He left his property to my boy.
It was a long time before I saw Law
yer Stevens again, and when I did there
was no allusion made to the paper by
either of us. Before the summer was
over he asked me to be his wife. I re
fused, telling him I could never trust
any man again. It was in vain he
pleaded; I was firm; so we parted as
friends, not lovers.
I met him again in the city. I had
learned to miss him since we parted, and
welcomed him cordially, while Chester
climbed upon his knees, saying:
I love you almost well enough formv
papa; don't you, mamma?"
That gave him a new argument, and
one that I could not resist; so for my
boy's sake I promised to be his wife.
1 have never regretted my second
choice, while my boy loves him de
votedly. He is the only father he can
remember, and he is truly a worthy one.
The time of the year has come when
the boy transforms his handkerchief into
a kite tail, and tells his mother he
guesses some feller hooked it at re
cess.
Little Gertie went with her mother to
see Mme. TouBsaud's wax-works. After
looking about curiously, as if toying to
find out something and could not, she
said: "Why do they call them the wax
works, mamma? They're wax, but they
don t work."
Miss Margerct's Romance.
Miss Margery stood on the veranda in
the shadow of the luxuriant clematis vines,
and watched the man and woman in the
garden among the roses, with a sorrowful
little shadow on her face. It was a sweet,
pleasant face, despite the shadow on it,
and a few silver threads that five-and-thirty
years had left among the brown
tresses on her forehesd, a grave, kind face,
with a soul looking out of the brown eyes,
and making you feel at once that Margery
Marsh was a woman to be trusted, and one
who was able to stand alone with her pure
womanly dignity. But.it is a sad thing to
see any woman or man, for that matter
standing alone in the world. God never
meant it to be so.
The man she saw helping Elfie Darryl
to tie up her rose bushes was John Cramer.
She had known him years ago, when they
were children, in fact, and she had never
forgotten him, though years of separation
had come and gone, and both of them were
growing old. She had loved him then,
and her heart was not one of those which
changes easily and forgets the absent face.
She had thought that he loved her. In
deed, she was sure that he had, for with
John Cramer, softlyrwhispered words
meant something.
He was not the man to use words hgntly.
But an uncle of his in England had died
suddenly, and he was sent for to take
charge of his affairs, and the years bad
come and gone, fifteen of them, she told
herself, as she thought it all over, and the
man she had loved was lost to her.
Well, it was better to have a sad yet
sweet little memory of pleasant vanished
days, than a life full of discord and regret
for hasty action. Now she was Bure that
he bad ceased to care for her in the old
way, and if he had cared for her as she
wanted the man she married to, he could
not have forgotten so easily. He never
could have forgotten. And since he could
forget, it were better that everything be
tween them had ended as it did.
But hei woman's heart would feel its
loneliness sometimes in spite of her, and
yearn for something to lean on, and some
one heart dearer and nearer than any
other heart could be, to confide in. And
this morning, as she saw the man she had
loved walking and talking with Elfie Dar
ryl, her heart cried out longingly for that
which seemed beyond its reach.
It is a bitter tantalizing thing to see the
happiness we covet most, coming unasked
to brighten lives that have no need of it
seemingly lives so full of completeness
before that tbev cannot properly appreoi
ate the greatest of all boons, love while
we wait outside tbe charmed land, and
stret h eager hands, imploringentrance
where that must be which we have looked
for, and not found. It must be somewhere
for all ot us. If we could only find it!
When John Cramer came back from
Europe a thrill of old love woke in Mar
gery's heart, like an echo of music that
has almost died away in a mountain glen,
but which something suddenly sets ring
ing again . The man whom she had loved
so long ago, the roan whom she thought
her lover once, was near her. The
thought was sweet, aud at the same time
bitter. Her lover no longer. She had
thought, in a vague, dreamy way, when
she heard that he was coming back, un
married, that possibly, after these years
of absence, his heart yearned for the
woman he had left behind him. But
when he came, and the first quiet greet
ing was over, she was quite sure that he
bad long ago ceased to love her, and she
had kept herself in a shy seclusion. He
came often, but she fancied that it was
Elfie Darryl's pretty face that attracted
him thither; aud thiukiug this, she tried
to avoid him, and forget her foolish dream
of what might not be.
He loosed up, as they stook among the
roses, an i saw Margery standing on the
veranda. A bright smile made his
boron zed and bearded fade look very
much like the face of the John Cramer
she had known years ago. and he came
up the path, and said as he ran up the
steps and held out his hand in the old,
frank way:
"You have grown to be a little gray nun,
Margery. I hardly see you at all. I am
halt inclined to think yoii hide away when
I am here. You are not afraid of me, I
hope?"
"Oh, no," she answered, quietly, though
the touch of his lingers woke a strange,
swift thrill of fire in her veins. "I am
never afraid of an old friend."
"An old friend !" he repeated Bofth,
with his eyes upon her face. "Have you
ever thought that that might be a sorrow
ful word to listen to?"
"Friendship is never a sorrowful word,"
she answered, her eyes faltering a little
under his earnest gaze.
"It might be if we cared for something
more than friendship," he said, and there
was something in his tone which made
her lift her eyes in a sudden, questioning
way to his face. There was a strange,
grave tenderness In his eyes that she had
seen there long ago.
Just then F.trie came up the path with
her hands full of roses.
"See these white ones, Aunt Margery,"
she cried: "your favorite, you know.
You must let me put some in your hair.
They will make her look like a bride,
won't they, Mr. Cramer?"
"Perhaps," he answered, with his eyes
on the blue line of the hills.
"No, I dou't want any in my hair,"
Margery said, and she would not have
them there. She took one, and let it lay
against her eyas while she closed them
aud thought of many things.
Presently, John woke from his reverie
and came back to early things.
"I believe I promised you a row
this morning, Elfie," he said, turning to
the girl, as site stood braiding the roses
in a chain. 'T am ready to fulfill my
promise if you are."
"I'll be ready it a minute," she said,
and ran away for her hat.
somehow 1 can't make it seem tnat
fifteen vcurs have been added to our
lives since we used to go drifting down tbe
river together," he said, coming to Mar
gery's side. "Are we always to go arm
ing down through life alone, Margery .'
Hhe lttted eyes that were almost tngtit-
ened ones to hie for a moment. Was he
trying to wring her heart? He was
cruel, cruel.
Yes, I suppose so," she answered, in a
tone that was full of the weariness she
could not conceal. "And it is better so,
perhaps."
xou don't mean that," he sain, bend
ing to pick up the rose she had let fall.
"Drifting alone is a dreary, dreary thing."
"Do you think so?" she said, with an
effort to appear at ease. "Perhaps there
is some one somewhere in the world who
wbould drift with you, it you could find
her.
' Do you know where she is?" he asked,
bending down till she could feel his
breath upon her cheek, as they herd Elfie.s
step upon the stairs. "Who is she, Mar
gery?'1 .
How should I know ?" she answered.
with a forced gaiety. "You must seek
her, if you would find her. If I knew,
though, I would tell you."
lie looked at her in a puzzled way. xte
could not undertand her. A moment ago
he would have sworn that she loved him.
Now her face was like a mask, and appar
ently she was thinking as little of him
as of the Sphinx.
I am readv, kibe said, and then he
turned and joined her on the steps. And
Margery, watched them with a weary pain
9&
in her eyes. She believed he loved this
girl.
The sun was shining on the river as if
the clouds were shifting gold-dust over
each ripple, as Margery sat down upon
the bank and began to read. It had been
a lonesome day to her. Elfie had come
home with a headache, and everybody
else had gone away. She had tried in
doors, but the afternoon languor promoted
her to take her book and seek some spot
where there was less of a lotus-spell on
everything. She opened her book at a
little poem of Philip Marston's, called
"ungathered love." It was a quaint,
sweet littlo thing, sad as winds in Autumn
time, and in perfect accord with her
thoughts. As she read the tears crept up
into her eyes, and when she had finished
It the river and world beyond it was
hidden in a mist.
Tbe splash of oars roused her, and she
saw John Cramer drifting down the river
at her feet.
"You here, Margery ?" he cried. "Aud
crying?" what are you reading that has
touched you so ?"
He gave his boat a turn and shot it in
among the lilies by the bank before she
knew fairly what ne was doing, and was
standing by her with her book hi his
hand, and reading softly one little verse
of the poem :
" When the Autumn winds go wailing
Through branches yellow and brown,
When tbe gray, sad light is falling.
And the day Is going down,
1 hear the desolate evening sing
Of a love that bloomed in the early Spring,
And which no heart had lor gathering."
"Margery," he cried, suddenly, "is there
any love for me in your heart that I can
have for the gathering? I am tired of
drifting alone. Will you drift with me
down the river?"
"Do you mean it, John ?'' the cried,
with a glad eager light in her eyes. "Are
you sure you want me?"
"I want you," he said, simply, and he
knew by the look in her face that he
could gather love in her tender and faith
ful heart, and he bent and caught her in
his arms, and kissed her.
And they went drifting down the river
in the waning day, aud touched the happy
shore of the enchanted land.
YoU.vG Widows Widows are an at
tractive and frequently an engaging class
of ladies, that fill a very important nicTie
in society, the subject both of envy and
admiration. We have seen them in the
first throes of their bereavement, when
they utterly refused to be comforted, de
claring that their hopes all lay buried
with their first and only love, in the new
made grave of their dear departed; and
their streaming eyes behind mourning
veils have caused the sympathetic sob to
swell up from the bosoms of all who lis
tened. But, as the time wore on, we have
observed with satisfaction for we would
not have them weep always that com
fort invariably comes to the young
widow's, heart and that hope is restored to
her troubled mind. We were called upon
some time ago to attend the funeral of a
young and noble fellow who left a pretty
widow to mourn his untitnely"taking off.
She sat by the side of her unconscious
love, dressed in the most sombre but at
the same time most becoming mourning,
with her lovely hair arranged with infi
nite labor and care in glossy finger puffs
all over her shapely head, and her black
bordered handkerchief went ever and
anon to her streaming eyes. Ever and
anon Bhe talked in tones soft, tremulous
and low to the inanimate clay that was
soon to be hiddeu away forever, telling
him her heart would always throb for him
alone; and what a dreary blank the world
would ever be to her without his presence.
Then, iu a sudden burst of grief and wild
despair, she besought the undertaker to
let the friends fill the carriages and drive
away, leaving her dearly beloved with her.
But the funeral went on in the usual way,
and the fair mourner returned to her
stricken home, crushed and disconsolate.
But, thanks to the soothing hand of Time,
ere her widow's weeds had grown the
worse for wear her spotless cap had be
come mussed or soiled, she rallied suffi
ciently to marry the dear friend of her
late departed, aud ber loving heart now
reposes on the bosom of another. How
fortunate that her young, crushed affec
tions have such wonderful elasticity, as
Boon as a desirable provocation Dresents
itself. Pity is akin to love, and the former
sentiment awakens kindly sympathy for
the fair mourner that quickly ripens into
a tenderness that Booths her young heaat
into a sweet forgetfulness and makes life
around her look bright once more. She
becomes the pet of society, a pleasant
companion, a charming sweetheart and a
dangerous rival; and we pity the girl that
hus to battle against her.
THe Lkmuks ok Madagascar In
traveling from the coast to the elevated
plateau of the interior, one is sure to fre
quently hear their loud, wailing cries,
which sometimes make the woods resound
for some minutes together, and have most
startling effect when heard for the first
time. For a moment one supposes there
is a company of people not far distant in
deep distress, but after discovering the
source of the sounds, I always found a
curious pleasure in listening to the long-drawn-out,
melancholy cries, which are
doubtless rather signs of the little creat
ures enjoyment of their forest life than
any expression of pain or iear. The
lemurs have all the agility of monkeys,
but with none of their comic , half-human
expression, the head being more like that
of a dog or fox, with sharp muzzle and
large expressive eyes; the fur is thick and
soft, and the tail often long and bushy.
There is a good deal of variety in size and
color among the lemurs, and the allied
genera, the largest species, Indris, being
equal to a good-sized monkey, from three
to four feet long, while the smallest Lep
ilemur, is no larger than a rat or a small
squirrel. One species, found abundantly
iu a spur of forest crossing the centre of
tbe island, is entirelv of a glossy black;
others are of various shades of brown and
of warm dark red; others are of a silvery
white. One species has a curious devel
opment of hair around the face, giving it
the appearance of having a pair of very
bushy whiskers, while another has a thick
bushy tail banded with black and white,
which, when the creature is in repose, is
usually coiled like a comforter round its
neck. Lemurs are gentle and affectionate
animals, and easily tamed, and are fre
quently kept as pets in Madagascar, being
secured by a long cord to a post of the
veranda. Their agility is marvelous, for
they leap to considerable distances from
branch to branch; so a wood frequented
by a company of them is all alive with
their rapid movement-, and resounds
with their crie3 as they dart from tree to
tree.
The tree lemurs are mostly fruit eaters
but they are said occasionally to feed also
on the smaller animals; found in the
woods lizards, small birJs and insects.
Most of them are diurnal in their habits,
but there are some species which are
chiefly nocturnal.
"My boys," said an Oil City teacher,
"if yon would be President of the United
States, yon must be good and studious."
"Who wants to be President?" yelled out
young chap from a back seat. "I'd
rather be Burner Bill and shoot an
Injun." And the boys all chorused,
"Them's our sentiments."
Bad boys should be hand cuffed.
Spongn-0 rowing.
The universal and increasing demand
for sponges and the unremitting drain to
which all the best "fisheries" are sub
jected, has led to a partial dearth in the
supply of these useful articles; but art,
which has thus threatened the extinction
of the supply, has in this, as in many
similar cases, stepped in to restore the
balance. It is only within the last few
years that the real natnre of the sponge
has been recognized. In its natural
state it is a disagreeable and almost re
pulsive looking object, the soft, fibrous
mass with which every one is so familiar
being hidden beneath, and its intricacies
filled up by a slimy, gelatinous sub
stance which rapidly putrefies, and adds
tenfold to the generally unpleasant na
ture of the thing. The tenacity with
which these objects affix themselves to
rocks and stones suggested the idea that
they were a species of vegetable, though
they really belong to the animal king
dom, and are allied to the anemones and
other zoophytes, with the beautiful ap
pearance of many of which the public
aquaria have helped to make us ac
quainted. A sponge is nothing more
than an animated stomach, which,
though the very lowest of all forms of
animal life, is endowed with more reason
than the stomachs of the many so-called
lords of creation, or mankind, inasmuch
as it knows what is good and what is bad
for it, and rejects the latter while imbib
ing only the former. The gelatirous
substance, which forms the actual body
of the sponge, being beaten and washed
out of it, the fibrous skeleton is left in
the state in which it is sold in shops.
The search for these creatures employs
an army of skilled divers, the principal
sponging ground being in the Greek
Archipelago, and in other parts of the
Mediterranean, in the Bed Sea, and in
the Bahamas and other parts of the West
Indies, and in some of the islands of the
Pacific. The Colonies mid India gives
publicity to a fact which is likely to di
minish the dangers attending the opera
tion of sponging, and at the same time to
increase the available supplies of
sponges. It appears that two German
naturalists have made the discovery that
small pieces carefully cut from live
sponges, and attached to boards or stones
and sunk in suitable localities, will
grow, in a few months, into large
sponges, as though nothing had hap
pened. This fact is of the utmost im
portance to our sponge-growing colonies.
Our contemporary suggests that a close
time should be enacted in the Bahamas
and other localities where sponges are
diminishing in numbers; but with or
without such a law, the possibility of
growing sponges at will and increasing
their numbers indefinitely, in the man
ner indicated by the German natural
ists, should soon set at rest any doubt as
to a falling off in the supply of .these in
valuable articles. The Globe.
The Queer Conklings.
I have made some inquiries in New
York about the Conklings, and they seem
to be queer. In Genesee, where they
came from originally, they tell all sorts
of ridiculous anecdotes about them. It
appears that there are three sisters and
two sons. The sisters live a sort of her
mit life, and two of them, I think, did
not marry. They say Conkling's brother,
Fred., thinks he ought to be Senator, as
he is altogether a bigger man than Bos
coe. The old man, Judge Conkling,
father of Boscoe, must have been a curi
osity. I was told that some gentlemen
called to see him at Utica on one occa
sion, presuming that he was staying at
his son's house. Conkling entertained
them with considerable grandeur, sup
posing that they had come to see him.
He was not so cordial when he found that
they were in search of the old man.
The Judge was found in a little house,
away down the street, and in a small
room, and when he heard that they
had called on Boscoe, he exclaimed:
"That is all you come to Utica for, to
see Senator Conkling. You did not
think me worth calling on first." The
old fellow was jealous, and wanted the
attention. On another occasion Judge
Conkling was called on to make a speech
and was introduced to the . audience as
the father of Hon. Boscoe Conkling. At
this the old fellow's countenance fell,
and he began to stumble in his speech,
and seemed to lose all heart in what he
was going to say ; and after the meeting
he belabored that man fiercely for having
introduced him as the father of his son,
instead of the judge himself. "They tell
me that on one occasion Conk
ling wanted to consult his father on a
point of law," said Grossvernor, "the
father being the best lawyer of the two.
So Boscoe began the letter to his father :
'Hon. Alfred Conkling, Utica, New York
My dear sir' instead of saying: 'My
dear father, give me some information.'"
Geo. C. H. Grossvenor in Cincinnati
Commercial.
An Educated Horse.
You ask if we have any particularly
bright horses," replied a hook and ladder
man. "Here is Peter; he's been with
us nine or ten years, and we rather brag
on him. Liet me introduce you. eter,
here is a chap from the Detroit Free
Press:'
Peter nodded his head and pawed the
floor.
"Peter, have you been to a Are to
day?" He shook his head.
"Were you out yesterday?"
He nodded.
"Peter, how old are you?"
"The horse pawed thirteen times with
his right foot.
"That's right, old boy. Do you re
member when a loafer stabbed you at a
fire?"
He did.
"Where is the scar?"
Peter bent himself almost double to
bite his hip at a spot where a scar could
be traced.
"Now, Peter, show the Detroit man
how you take your place at the pole."
Down went the chain and the horse
covered the distance in two jumps.
"Now walk around the truck and come
and take off my hat."
The horse obeyed to the letter.
"Now," continued the fireman, as he
lay down on the floor, "step over me."
Peter lifted his feet very high and
stepped softly over, and returned to his
stall.
"That horse is one of us," said the
man as he bmshed off the dust and sat
down. We can rest the foot of a ladder
on his back and he will not move.
Wherever we stand him at a fire he will
stay without watching. He eats with us,
chews tobacco, likes beer and would
learn to play dominoes in a week, if he
could only handle them." Detroit Free
Press.
Tis not the whole of life to live, nor
all of death to die; 'tis raising cash to
pay our bills, that worries you and I.
Professor Nordenskjold's Vessel.
An unexpectedly fine day tempted
me to go and make the closer ac
quaintance of the Vega. She is a
whaler of 500 tons, painted black,
and bare ot .ornament, save for a
gilded line below her bulwarks. She
is fitted up with a small engine that
enables her without sails to move at
the slow rate of five miles an hoar.
As she lay, so black and unpretend
ing in the water. I fancied what a
dark little nutshell she must have
looked when jammed among the ice
fields off tbe East Cape. The
obliging officer showed us the track
of the vessel on the chart, and the
point at which she stuck fast, a lit
tle to the southwest of the East
Cape, when one day more of open
water would have carried her-safely
round and spared the ten months'
waiting. Here, attached by ropes to
large pieces of-ice, about 5000 feet
from the Siberian coast, the stout
little vessel waited, and her inhabit
ants did not suffer too much from
the cold of winter, for the sides of
the ship are composed of two strata
of wood, between which is a Tnisg
of felt; and on the stern, besides this,
there is a vacant space between
wood and felt, through which passed
hot air. Thus, a temperature of
twenty and more degrees above zero
was maintained in the saloons and
cabins, when outside it showed fifty
degrees below zero. Five stoves
were kept constantly heated in dif
ferent parts of the vessel, and yet
the ceilings were lined with strips of
ice, the result ot condensation. The
cold was not the voyagers' worst
enemy, and they suffered but little
from it, but it was impossible to face
the terrible storms of wind, which
drove the snow along at the rate of
thirty-live miles an hour, and daring
such times ot storm, which repeat
edly occurred until the month of
May, tbe illustrious explorers shut
themselves up as hermetically as the
Tuchutski, the Esquimaux and other
Arctic populations. Until the in
creasing depth of the snow prevent
ed such exercise, skating and games
of ball assisted in keeping up the
health and spirits of the crew, not a
man of which was lost or seriously
ill. On arriving in port, Professor
Nordenskiold received from the
King of Italy the Grand Order of
the Crown ot Italy, and irom the
King of Sweden that of the Polar
Star, through the hands of the Ital
ian Admiral and Swedish Ambassa
dor. The news is now confirmed
that the Nordenskjold, the steamer
that was sent in search of the Vega,
and which stranded off one of the
Japanese Islands, is now afloat again,
and, if possible, will be newly fitted
out, and next year attempt the north
east passage in the contrary direc
tion to that so successfully taken by
the Vega. Naples Letter to the Lon
don Standard.
An Actor's Mothek. i remember a
whimsical incident occurring in a the
atre where the leading member of the
company was celebrated for his magnifi
cent physique. One night he was en
acting Virginius, and his mother, who
had never been in a theatre in all her
life, happened on the occasion to be in
the boxes. Fresh from her native York
shire village, it will be readily imagined
that she was somewhat bewildered with
the novelty of the scene. When her son
appeared, she was amazed at the grandeur
of Jus presence, in fleshings, sandals and
toga. His appearance caused a great
deal of enthusiastic applause. When it
had subsided the proud mother, unable
to restrain herself , and to the astonish
ment of all around her, said, "I'm so
glad you like him. He s my son.
Whereupon the mother immediately be
came the centre of attraction, and one
admirer exclaimed, Well, Madame, you
may well be proud of your son, for he
looks godlike as a Boman." "Ah,"
sighed the poor old lady in reply. I
didn't want him to be a Boman. He
wonld have looked splendid as a police
man.")' Tinsley's Magazine.
Girls Know only one quarter as much
about ' courting as boys, because they
have only one year in four in which they
are allowed to practice.
A sleeping-car was recently enter
tained with the sight of a man beating
his wife. Some men have the rare faculty
of making themselves at home anywhere.
JOB PRINTING.
THE
Gazette Job Printing House
IS NOW PBEPARED TO DO
Plain and Ornamental Printing,
As neat and Cheap as it can be done by any
Office on tbe Coast.
Bill Heads,
Letter Heart
Mom heads.
Mm:eimiti,
Pi ofrBimfi,
Ball Ticket.
limitation
Circulars,
Batlacil nrda.
Visiting- Cards,
Labels.
Dodgers.
Mil n 1 1 Posters,
envelopes.
Legal Blanks
Bank Botes,
kklftplBis; Receipts,
Order Books,
Bums,
Taw.
.t., Kte
9Orders by mail promptly filled. Esti
mates furnished.
$15
TO $6000 A YEAR, or $3 to $20 a day
in yoiirown locality. No risk. Wo
men doas well as men. Many make
more than the amount stated above.
No one can fail to make money fast. Any one
can do the work. You can make from 50ets to
$2 an hour by devoting your evenings and spare
time to the business. It costs nothing to try the
business Nothing like it for money making
ever offered before Business pleasant and strict
ly honorable. Reader, if you want to know all
about the best paying business before the public,
send us your address and we will send you full
particulars and private terms free; samples worth
$5 also free: you can then make up your mind
for yourself Address GEORGE STINSON
CO., Portland, Maine. l:31yl
Rupture,
J CURED.
From a Merchant.
Davtos, W. T., Feb. 10, 1879.
W. J. Home, Proprietor California Elastic
Truss Co., 702 Market street, San Francisco Sin
The Truss I purchased of you about one year ago
has proved a miracle to me. I have been ruptur
ed forty years, and worn dozens of different kinds
of Trusses, all of which have ruined my health,
as tney were injurious to my DacU and spine.
Your valuable Truss is as easy as an old shoe, and
is worth hundreds of dollars to me, as it affords
me so much pleasure. I can and do advise all,
both ladies and gentlemen, afflicted, to buy and
wear your modern improved Elastic Truss imme
diately. I never expect to be cured, but am
satisfied and happy with the comfort it gives me
to wear it It was the best $10 I ever invested in
my life. You can refer any one to me, and I
will be glad to answer any letters on its merrits.
I remain, yours respectfully,
D. 1). Bunnell.
Latest Medical Endorsements.
Mabtinez, Cal., Feb. 17, 1879.
W. J. Heme, Proprietor California Elastic
Truss Co., 7u2Market street, S. F. Sir: In re
gard to your California Elastic Truss, I would say
that 1 have carefully studied its mechanism, ap
plied it in practice, and do not hesitate to say
that for all purposes for which Trusses are worn
it is the best Truss ever offered to the public
Yours truly, J. H. C aroth ers, M. D.
Endorsed bjr a prominent Medical In
itiate. San Francisco, March 6. 1879.
W. J. Home, Esq. Sir: You ask my opinion
of the relative merits of your Patent Elastic
Truss, as compared with other kinds that have
been tested under my observation, and in reply I
frankly state that from the time my attention
was first called to their simple, though highly
mechanical and philosophical construction, to
gether with easy adjustibility to persons of all
ages, forms or sizes I adil this further testimony
with special pleasure, that the several persons
who have applied tome for aid in their special
cases of rupture, and whom I have advised to use
yours, all acknowledge their entire satisfaction,
and consider themselves highly favored by the
possession of the improved Elastic Trus3.
Yours truly, Barlow J. Smith, M. D.
Proprietor Hygienic Medical Institute,
635 California street, San Francisco.
A REMARKABLE CURE. -
San Frakcisco, Oct 2(1, 1879
W. J. Home, Proprietor California Elastic
Truss, 702 Market street, San Francisco Sir I
am truly grateful to you for the wonderful CURE
your valuable truss has effected on my little boy.
The double truss I purchased from you has PER
FECTLY CURED him of his painful rupture on
both sides in a little over six months. '1 he steel
truss he had before I bought yours caused him
cruel torture, and it was a happy day for us all
when he laid it aside for the California Elastic
Tri'ss. I am sure that all will be thankful who
are providentially led to give your truss a trial.
You may refer auy one to me on this subject
Yours truly, Wm. Peru,
633 Sacramento Street.
This is to crtify that I have examined the son
of Wm Peru, and find him PERFECTLY
CURED of Hernia on both sides.
L. Dkxteb Lvrosn, M. D.
Surgeon aud Physician.
Trusses forwarded to all parts of the United Statts
at our expense on receipt of price.
Send Stamp for Illustrated Catalogue
and Prlee idsi
Giving full information and rules for measuring.
California Elastic Truss Co-
702 Market Street, S. F.
HALL'S
8AF AND LOCK CO.
CAPITAL, $1,000,000.
General Office and Manufactory,
CINCINNATI, OHIO.
Pacific Branch,
Sill and 313 California St., San Francisco.
CHAS. H. DODO & CO., TOKTL V.VU,
Agent for Oregon and Wasltlngton Ter.
II ALL' PVIF.XT CONX'KKTE
FIRE-PROOF SAFES.
Have been tested by (lie most disastrous confla
grations in the country.
They are thoroughly fire rroof.
They are fret? from dampness.
Their snjieriority is beyond question.
Although about 160,(100 of litem sales arc now
in use, and hundreds ii.jve hep n tested by some
of the most disastrous Conflagrations in the
country, there is not a single in-luitce, .u record
wherein one of them ever failed to pYeseive its
contents perfectly.
HALL'S PATENT DOVETAILED
TI.NON AMI GROOVE
BURGLAR-FAQS
Have never been broken open ami robbed by
burglars or robbers.
Hall's burglar work is protected by letters
patent, and bis work cannot be equaled lawfully.
His patent bolt is superior to any in use.
His patent locks cannot be picked by lire most
skillful experts or burglars.
By one of the greatest improvements known,
the Gross Automatic Movement, our locks are
operated withont any arbor or spindle passing
through the door and into the lock.
Our locks cannot be opened or picked by bur
glars or experts, (as in case of other locks), and we
will put from $1,000 to $10,000 behind them any
time azainst au equal amount.
THEY ABE THE BEST SAFE
Made in America, or any other country.
One Thousand Uollnrs
To any person who can prove that one of Hall's
patent burglar-proof safes has ever been
broken open and robbed by
burglars up to the
present time.
C. W. Pool, Traveling Agent.
Office with O. H. Dodd & Co., Portland. Oregon.
C. B. PARCKLL8, Manager, 8. F.
AUGUST KNIGHT,
Cabinet flatter.
UNDERTAKER.
Cor. Second and Monroe Sts.,
MBTALUI, OBMOB,
Keeps constantly on hand all kinds of
FUBNITUaE
COFFINS AND CASKETS.
Work done to onler on nlfrt : of see, tttid
at reasoiiHlM'- raiiu.
Corvuliu Jati 1. Is";.. II Itf