9)
FAEM AND GABDEN.
Grafting the Grapevine, and Other Topics of
Interest.
r
Grafting the Grapevine.
Numerous inquiries have been made
this spring as to the method of graft
ing the grapevine, but too late for a
reply to be given in time to be useful
this season. Some of the writers pro
pose to take wild grapevines, and use
them as stocks upon which to graft
desirable varieties. This would be
very poor economy. An old vine of
any kind is rarely worth reinbving.and
east of all, a wild one. Such vines
axe poorlv furnished with roots, and
would make very poor stocks. If one
already has an old vine of a poor va
riety, and wishes to graft it with a
more desirable kind, he can do so by
digging down and inserting the cions
below the surface of the ground. The
proper season for this operation is in
the fall, when vegetation is at rest. If
the old root is in a healthy condition,
a very vigorous growth "will follow.
Another method of grafting is to in
sert the cion in a strong cane,or branch
of the vine, selecting one that may be
beat down, and have the union of
-stock and cion, with a joint or two of
the cane, covered with soil The
method known as whip-grafting is em
ployed, the cion and stock being held
together by a tie, instead of wax. The
grafted cane is then laid in a shallow
trench, in such a manner that a bud
or two of the cion will be above
ground. This, it will be seen, is a
combination of lavering and grafting:.
The cion is nourished at lirst by the
old vine, but in the course of the sea
son, the buried portion of the cane
will produce abundant roots, and in
the tall may be separated from the
parent plant. This operation should
be performed early in spring, before
there is danger of copious "bleeding,"
which might prevent the union. It
may also be done upon the new
frowth, after the shoots of the season
ave become sufficiently' matured, in
this case using cions of similar new
growth. This method with new wood
we have not tried, but it is said to be
successful. Nearly all of cur hardy
grapes are grown so readily from cut
tings, and come into bearing so soon,
that this is the usual and least trouble
some manner ol propagating them.
, Hivlne Bees.
Some apiarists practice clipping one
wing of each queen. Then when a
swarm issues from the hive, she can
not follow, but crawls about upon the
.ground in front of the hive. The bee
keeper catches, cages, and lays her
aside in the shade, moves the old hive
to a new location, and by the time the
swarm has decided to return, because
it has no queen, he has a new hive
similar in appearance to the old one,
upon the old stand, and the bees,
taking it for their old home, enter it,
and while they are going in, the queen
is allowed to run in with them. Thus
the bees hive themselves without being
allowed to even cluster. An objection
to this method is, that queens are
sometimes lost in the grass. When a
swarm of bees returns, it may enter
-the wrong hive, and if it makes no
mistake in this direction, it occasion
ally clusters all over the outside of the
hive, and remains there a longtime be
fore entering. If the queen is allowed
to enter the hive too soon, she may
ome out again, thinking, perhaps,
that she has not "swarmed." and the
bees follow her. There are some in
v dications that clipped queens are re
garded by the bees with dissatisfaction,
and are thus superseded. A queen
that is lost can often be found by look
ing for the little knot of bees that
mually accompanies her. If a swarm
attempts to enter the wrong hive, a
sheet can be thrown over the hive. If
. a queen is not given to a swarm until
the bees begin to show signs of un
easiness, she Is not apt to leave the
hive. When the queen is undipped,
a swarm will usually soon cluster upon
the branch of some tree. As the clus
ter begins to form, it should be noticed
whether it is in a favorable location
far removal. If it is where several
hranches cross, some of them should
be cut away with the knife or pruning
shears, .leaving but one branch for the
bees to cluster upon. If the bees are
slow in clustering, and more swarms
are momentarily expected, their move
ments can be hastened by sprinkling
'tfacm with water, using a fountain
pump.
Specimen Orchards.
Of all classes of business men, fruit
growers should be the slowest to take
things from hearsay. Nothing but
demonstrable facts should satisfy
them. Their bnsiness is dealing with
"futures." too far remote to be trifled
with. They plant trees to bear truit,
not next autumn, like a field of corn,
bat five or trenty years from now.
Hence they must be very sure that the
tree they plant this spring is not only
of the best age and shape, but of the
variety best adapted to their purpose.
How are they to know this? Only in
one way by actual experiment. A
Ctower sees a beautiful specimen of
fru.it, and finds it highly recommended.
The fruit pleases him; as a specimen
it seems perfect; but unfortunately it
was grown many.milos away, or in an
other state, and how is he to know it
will succeed on his farm? The soil
may be different, perhaps the climate
is also. His only sure way will be,
to buy five or ten trees, plant them in
a specimen orchard and see. In due
time he will know whether to plant
that variety by the hundred, or dig up
the trees he has. If every one of his
neighbors also had a few trees on trial,
their united testimony would bo con
clusive for that locality. This should
apply to small fruits as well. The
"'Big bob" may be the biggest of
strawberries, but how can we know it
-is the best for us, if not by actual
trial? Let each grower set apart a
plot of ground for a specimen orchard,
and each year add several new varie
ties. Give an average amount of care
ami cultivation, and carefully note the
growth, habit and peculiarities of the
trees, and finally the fruit of each.
'Rte writer has such an orchard of
trees, gathered from four States. It
comprises new varieties and "promis
ing seedlings." The trees are not yet
ilarge enough to bear, but if the future
profits equal the present pleasure of
comparing the different trees, tho ven
ture will be a very satisfactory one, to
say nothing of the information gained.
The Jersey Cattle Boom.
The leading aim of tho best breeders
now seems to be to breed for tno but
ter record. This is so much the ease,
that the great majority of .Jersoy cows
that have a record below fourteen
pounds of butter a week, are compara
tively aheap, while those with a record
of fourteen pounds a week, upwards
to twenty-five and thirty pounds a
week, are comparatively high. Those
at the top of the scale are sought for
and bring fabulous prices, or what
would be called such a few years ago.
Great emphasis is put upon their but
ter record, and the conditions of the
tests, as to rations and previous feed
of cow, continually grow more precise
and satisfactory. The aim is, to show
the value of a given animal on a speci
fied value of rations, as a machine
for making butter, or what the cow
will do on grass alone, in flush feed.
These tests are made under the super
vision of the American Jersey Cattle
Club, or under the direction of such
witnesses as secure impartially and
give entire confidence in their correct
ness. These butter records of the Jer
seys are quite remarkable, compared
with the average yield of other cows.
They are remarkable especially, as
showing the prepotency of bulls.
American Agriculturist.
Minor Topics.
It is said that the Baldwin apple has
seven synonyms, the Fallawater sev
enteen, and some others as many as
thirty different names.
It is said that eggs from hens in
close confinement seldom hatch well.
It is also advisable in selecting fowls
to breed from not to take the largest.
Half a pint of sunflower seeds given
to ,a horse with his other food each
morning and night will keep him in
good health and spirits and his hair
will be brighter. Horses soon be
come very fond of the sunflower
soed3.
There is no better investment for
farmers than in draft horses. They
arc as much a staple in the markets as
wheat, pork or coffee, and can as
quickly be turned into cash.
An experienced dairyman says :
"Never churn your cream till the but
ter comes in chunks as big as your
fist. Stop churning when the butter
grains are twice the size of a pin head.
Such butter has good grain and brings
more than greasy butter."
Potatoes should be planted, as far
as possible, on new soil, for natural
vegetable refuse, such as grass or
clover sod turned under, is better
than stable manure for this crop.
Plow deep, so as to encourage the
growth of tuber rather than of top.
From a single kernel of wheat 1,020
pounds of grain have been produced
in three years in Grass Valley, Cal.
The lirst year there were- twenty-two
stalks and heads, yielding 860 kernels.
These were planted and yielded one
fifth of a bushel, and last season there
was raised from this seventeen bush
els. For the early fattening of lambs pro
vide small troughs in a yard adjoining
the sheep fold, with entrance a little
too small for the old sheep to go
through, put a few oats or a little cora-
meal or cottonseed meal every day.
The lambs will begin to eat when three
weeks old and grow rapidly.
Sheep husbandry is well worth con
sidering on account of its poculia
adaptibilily for association with all
branches of agriculture. A well se
lected flock will, in a majority of in
stances, add to the value of grain and
grass crops, while adding in other di
rections to the polit side of the balance
sheet.
An Ohio farmer expresses the opin
ion that if a person takes proper care
of his land, uses clover, occasionally
plowing a good crop under; keeps
sheep and feeds them clover, ha' and
corn fodder in the barn, and spreads
the manure in his fields, he can raise
good crops of grain and grass without
the costly commercial fertilizers.
Objections are raised to plank floors
for hog houses, on the ground that
they are colder than the warm dry
soil. 'Protection over and arouud the
bogs will keep them quiet, while they
would be constantly squealing on a
plank floor. Rheumatism, catarrh and
lameness, from knotty legs, are also
said to be caused by plank flooring.
Pasteur's Greatest Achievement.
The greatest single achievement of
Pasteur was his restoration of the
silk-worms in France to their normal
health, after he had discovered and
treated successfully the disease which
he found them suffering from. The
wool-worm or sheep of France was
suffering, too, from a fatal disease,
anthrax, which nobody had yet ex
plained or found a remedy against.
For quiet and practical benevolence,
no act of man in France for many
years equals the work of Pasteur in
searching out and overcoming these
two pests of the industries by which
millions are supported, and the beau
ty ofhis achievement is that it seems
likely to hold good for all time, and to
be. as it has been, the indication for
other discoveries of even greater im
portance. It is not likely that even
Pasteur himself will make many more,
for he is now 62 years old, and has
never fully recovered from the paraly
sis which attacked him in l"jf8, at the
close of his labors in thsilk-worm
regions of France. It is needless to
describe what be did in this enterprise,
for it has often been published and is
the most romantic episode in his ro
mantic career. He restored to its for
mer prosperity the cocoon industry
which had yielded more than 130,000,
000 francs a year, but which the "pep
perage" (nebrine) had reduced in
amount to less than 30,000,000 francs.
The yield had been 26,000,000 kilo
grams of cocoons in 1853, but in 1865
only 4,000.000, so that the pecuniary
loss in 12 years amounted by that
time to 25,000,000 a year. No other
achievement of Pasteur's had such
immediate and beneficial pecuniary
results for now the yearly income
has been restored, and not only m
France, but in other countries of the
silk-worm. Springfield Republican.
Punishment of Falsifiers.
During the fourteenth century there
can be no doubt that the companies
exercised a very effective superintend- j
ence over trade and manufacture. The !
city records abound with the accounts
of the exposure and punishment oi j
fraud at the instigation of the compa- !
nies, whose representatives seem to
have used their powers of scrutiny and I
search with considerable vigor. Some
of the cases reported with all solemni
ty in the "Renibraneia" are very
quaint and afford a curious insight in
to the manners of the times. Thus in !
1311 we read of scrutiny of "false
hats, "being prosecuted "at the re-i
quest of the "hatters," with the result
that fifteen black and forty gray hats
were seizeu as taise, ana conuemneu
to be burned in Chepe; while "certain
other hats," of the bona fides of which
there was some doubt, were "post- !
poned for future consideration." In
1316 "the good folk of the trade of
potters" denounced to tho mayor and
aldermen diverse persons, and es
pecially one "Aleyn le Sopere," who ;
busied tnemselves by buying "in di
verse places pots of bad metal, and
then put them on the fire so as to re
sembfe pots that have been used and
are of old brass, and then" the record
continues, "they expose them for sale
in West Chepe on Sundays and other
festival days to the deception of all
those who buy such pots; for the mo- j
ment they are put upon the lire and j
exposed to great heat, they come to
nothing and melt. By which roguery
and falsehood the people are deceived. 1
and the trade also is badly put to
slander." The magistrates, of the
fourteenth century were not restricted
to the dull monotony of "40 shillings
or a month," and they seemed indevis- i
ing penalties to have given scope to '
their powers of invention. For exam- I
pie, one Quilnogge having bought a '
putrid pig, which had been laying a
long time by the riverside, for 4 pence,
cat from it two gammons for sale, and j
sold part thereof "in deceit of thepeo
pie." He was sentenced to stand in
the pillory while "the residue of the
gammons was burned beneath him."
In the same way a seller of bad wine
was condemned to stand in the pillory,
to drink a draught of his own stuff and
to have the remainder poured over his :
head.- We may well envy our ances
tors the protection of this excellent !
law, and sigh that the solace of its dis-
criminating application is denied to
us. Quarterly Review.
MARCH 28.
Properly Packing a Trunk.
"Each dress should have its own
wrap or cover, to preserve it from
chafing and fading. Take fine, firm
cotton cloth, something over a yard
wide, cut it into squares then hem and
wash i he squares. They should bo
fine, to take no room, and weigh little;
firm to keep away dust; hemmed, that
you may keep the same side next the
silk; and washed to do away with the
bleaching chemicals, which are liable
to change the color of the silk. Fold
the bottom of the train back and forth
in eighteen or twenty three-inch folds,
so as to fit the box you have for it.
The bottom now being all together,
you will cover it with a small cloth or
towel, to keep the dusty train from
rubbing against the cleaner parts of
the robe; roll the whole dress loosely
to the size and shape of the box, lay it
upon the white cloth, and fold the
corners of the same over the top of
the package, and place it in the box.
Now loosen the roll and adjust it to its
space, so as to favor any delicate or
easily crushed portion of the dress
as Medici collars, flower garniture,
embroidery, etc., relieving crowded
places, and d:stributing the thick to
the thin spots. When you come to
use the robe, shake it out, and you
will find it in good condition. The
fold of a dress or shawl will often
work up between the trays or boxes,
and by motion of cars, wagons, etc.,
get chafed into holes; to avoid this,
pin the cloth cover so it cannot jut
over the box. To pack laces, fold
them in blue tissue-paper or soft linen,
because white paper contains bleach
ing acids, and discolors and decays
ribbon or lace. The same is true of
white shoes or glovos, and especially
silver ornaments. The latter though
worn every evening, retain their pur
ity and brilliancy for months if kept
closely in blue tissue-paper. Shoes
and slippers should never be folded
together without a cloth or paper be
tween them, as the sole of one soils
the upper of the other. Put one in
the cloth, tnrn it over, theu add the
other. Mrs. Helen Potter.
An Eventful Day In the History of the French
BepnbUc.
Most people, writes a Paris corre
spondent to The New Fork Times, sup
posed that the Ferry cabinet fell in
sonsequence of a hostile vote in the
2h ambers, but the Univers is not of
that opinion; on the contrary, it as
serts and proves to the entire satisfac
tion of the editorial staff that "it was
the hand of the Almighty which
pushed Jules and his colleagues into
the abyss." There can be no possi
ble doubt on this point, declares M.
Veuillot; look at the date, he says,
and then, if you do not believe, you
must be more incredulous than Didy
mus. Did not the news of that disas
;er at Langson reach the ministry on
;he 28th of March, and does not the
world's history show that the 28th of
March is fatidical? It was on that
date that the "abominable" decrees
against the religious orders of France
were promulgated; it was two days
after the 28th of March that the
Kroumir rebellion began in Tunisia: it
nras on but I will quote as a curiosity
uuf for the benefit of amateurs of datal
joincidences a list of incidents con
nected with the 28th of March which is
calculated "to make to creep the flesh
of a raven," and leave conclusions
therefrom to your readers:
A. D. 3. Death of Herod the Great,
who M. Renan afliirms dirt not order
the massacre of the innocents.
A. D. 35. (See Pliny, Book IV,)
Burial, with great pomp, at Rome, of
a crow which could distinctly articu
late "Ave Imperator."
A. D. 58. Beginning of the Swiss
immigration into Gaul.
A. D. 198. Death of the Emperor
Pertinax.
. A. D. 440. -Death of Pope Sixtus III.
A. D. 752. Coronation at Soissons,
by Zacharias, of Pepin le Bref.
A. D. 1285. Death of Pope Martin
IV.
A. D. 1477. Decapitation, for high
treason, of Murgonnet, chancellor of
the duchy of Burgundy, and his ac
complice, the Sire d'luibereourt.
A. D. 1482. Death of Mary, of Bur
gundy, who had vainly endeavored to
procure their pardon.
A. D. 1563. Death of the mathema
tician and poet, Henry Glaireau.
A. D. 1578. Death of the Cardinal
de Guise.
A. D. 1G62. Death of Pierre de
Boiset, one of the original forty im
mortals of the Academia Francaise.
A. D. 1719. Coronation of Ulric, at
Upsal.
A. D. 1757. Drawing and quarter
ing of Damiens, who tried t5 kill Louis
XV. with a pen-knife.
A. D. 1790. Passage by the French
.national assembly of a law abolishing
the use of that gallows which M. Paul
de Cassagnac suggested on the last
Monday as the most suitable form of
punishment for M. Ferry's shortcom
ings. A. D. 1793. Edict of the convention
against the emigres and proclamation
of Gen. Dumouriez outlawing the con
vention. A. D. 1795. Capture of the Vendean
chief Charette.
A. D. 1803. Letter from the Comte
de Provence to Gen. Bonaparte re
serving all his rights to the throne of
France.
A. D. 1809. Death of the actor
Dazincourt.
A. D. 1846. Triumph of routine and
red tape in the great speech of the
legitimist barrister Berryer denounc
ing the electric telegraph.
A Canary Bird's Bacchanal Song.
A tiny yellow-feathered canary bird
stopped eating hemp seed, and began
cocking its head on one side, then
scratching its bill with one claw, the
bird began to sing in flute-like tones.
"We won't go Home 'till Morning."
Every note was as true and prompt as
a French music box. Despite the ani
mated appearance of tho songster, it
was so unnatural to hear the royster
iug song of the bacchanals chanted by
a canary, that the bystander looked
suspiciously around to find the music
box which was playing tho tune. The
bird belongs to L. D. Stebbins, the
watchmaker, on Wisconsin street, and
he explained the modus operandi by
which the little songster acquired its
surprising faculty.
He said that the bird had been bred
by himself, being a common canary.
The parent birds were chosen with
reference to volume of voice and qual
ity. "As soon as the bird was born,"
he said, "the education was begun. A
mouth organ was the educator em- j
ployed. Beginning thus early it was
eight months before the education was
completed. The bird can sing 'We
Won't go Home 'till Morning, fault
lessly, but there its acquirements end.
It has never heard any other song.
That tune was played at the bird three
times a day on an organ. It is a com
mon canary, and is valuable on ac
count of its superior education, inso
much that 1 was offered 845 for it a
few days ago, Ignorant common ca
naries sell for S4, which proves con
clusively that there is nothing lost by
educating them. Milwaukee Wiscou-
Ex-Congressman Converse, of Ohio, Is a
capital conversationalist.
Grant as a Soldier.
From an anecdotal and reminiscent
article by General Adam Badeau, on
the characteristics of Grant as a
soldier, in the May Century Magazine
we qnote the following: "At the close
of the war, the man who led the vic
torious armies was not forty-three
years of age. He had not changed in
any essential qualities from the cap
tain in Mexico or the merchant in
Galena. The daring and resource that
he showed at Donelson and Vicksburg
had been foreshadowed at Panama and
Garita San Cosine: the persistency be
fore Richmond was the development
of the same trait which led him to seek
subsistence in various occupations,
and follow fortune long deferred
through many unsuccessful years.
Developed by experience, taught by
circumstance, learning from all lie saw
and even more from what he did, as
few have ever been developed or
taught, or have learned, he neverthe
less, maintained the self-same person
ality through it all. The character
istics of the man vere exactly those he
manifested as a soldier directness
of purpose, clearness and certainly of
judgement, self-reliance and immuta
ble determination.
"Grant's genius, too. was always
ready; it was always brightest in an
emergency. All his faculties were
sharpened in battle; the man who to
some seemed dull, or even slow, was
then prompt and decided. When the
circumstances were once presented to
him, he was never long in determin
ing. He seemed to have a faculty of
penetrating at once to the heart of
things. He saw what was the point
to strike, or the thing to do, and he
never wavered in his judgment after
ward, unless, of course under new
contingencies. Then he had no false
pride of opinion, no hesitation in un
doing what be had ordered; but if the
circumstances remained the same, he
never doubted his own judgment. I
asked him once how he could be so
calm in terrible emergencies, after
giving an order for a corps to go into
battle, or directing some intricate
manoeuvre. He replied that he had
done his best and could do no better;
others might have ordered more wisely
or decided more fortunately, but he
was conscious that he had done what
he could, and gave himself no anxiety
about the judgment or the decision.
Of course he was anxious about the
accomplishment of his plans, but never
as to whether he ought to have at
tempted them. So, on the night of
the battle of the Wilderness, when the
right of his army had been broken and
turned, after he had given his orders
for new dispositions, he went to his
tent and slept calmly till morning.
. . . Not that he was indifferent
to human life or human suffering. I
have been with him when he left a
hurdle racw, unwilling to see men risk
their necks needlessly;. and he came
awav from one of Blondin's exhibitions
at Niagara, angry and nervous at the
sight of one poor wretch in gaudy
clothes crossing the whirlpool on a
wire. But he could subordinate such
sensations when necessity required it.
He risked his life, and was ready to
sacrifice it, for his country; and he
was ready, if need came, to sacrifice
his countrymen, for he knew that they
too made the offering.
"it was undoubtedly as a fighter
rather than a manosuvrer that Grant
distinguished himself. He was ready
with resource and prompt in decision
at Belmont and Donelson, but it was
the invincible determination at both
these places as well as at Shiloh that
won. As with men, so with armies
and generals: skill and strength are
tremendous advantages, but courage
outweighs them all. ... In bat
tle, as in strategical movements,
Grant always meant to take the initia
tive; he always advanced, was always
the aggressor, always sought to force
his plans upon the enemy; and if by
any chance or circumstance the
ememy attacked, his method of de
fense was an attack elsewhere. At
Donelson, as we have seen, when his
troops were pushed back on the right
he assaulted on the left; and this was
only one instance out of a hundred.
This, too, not only because he was the
invader, or because his forces were
numerically stionger, but because it
was his nature in war to assail. In
the Vicksburg campaign his army
was smaller than Pemberton's; yet he
was the aggressor. In the operations
about Iuka his position was a defen
sive one, but he attacked the enemy
all the same. It was his idea of war
to attack incessantly and advance in
variably, and thus to make the opera
tions of the enemy a part and parcel
of his own."
Andrew Johnson's Industry.
Andrew Johnson has had few equals
in industry in the white house. He
rose at 6, and until breakfast, which
was served at 7 :30, looked over the
newspapers. Immediately after break
fast he went to the executive apart
ments, and commenced the labor of
the day. First,- there were bundles of
letters to be read and the replies dic
tated to the secretaries. Applications
for appointments, promotions, dis
charges from the army and navy,
political advice, petitions for executive
clemency, and innumerable other sub
jects were disposed of; but, before half
completed, the visitors commenced to
flock into the ante-roims and thrust
their cards upon him. Pardon-seekers
swarmed on every hand. Former
owners of confiscated property paced
up and down before the door of the
president's room, and females with in
describable effrontery, insisted upon
immediate admittance.
After the most important business
of the morning had been disposed of,
the visitors were admitted one by one,
and the president submittted himself
to the artesian process. This lasted
till about half-past 1 or 2, sometimes
3 o'clock, when the doors of his apart
ment were opened and the whole crowd
admitted. At such times Col. John
son, son of the president, or Col.
Browning, private secretary, stood
near the president and took memor
anda as dictated by him on the cases
of the visitors who succeeded each
other with subjects for executive ac
tion, like the dense throng at a post-
office window. I he president s man
ner at such times was always pleasant,
and gave confidence to the most timid.
His decisions were quick, and each in
dividual who laid his case before the
president learned in half a dozen cour
teous words the final decision. When
all had been listened to, and the halls
were once more empty, the president
turned again to papers on his table un
til 4 o'clock, the hour for dinner. Af
ter dinner he returned to his office,
and there generally remained until a
late hour, seldom retiring before 11
o'clock. His favorite journalists were
J. B. McCullagh. better known as
"Mack," of The Cincinnati Com-nercial,
and Simon P. Hanscom, the editor of
The Washington Republican, both of
whom enjoyed his entire confidence,
which Mr. Hanscom derived consider
able profit from by aiding applicants
for office. Ben: Perley Poore in The
Boston Budget.
Taken Without Bloodshed.
The barttered old fort (Sumter) was
in possession of the Confederates, says
General Roseorans, and one night a
Union soldier of the force that was
holding Morris Island said he believed
he would pull over to Sumter and get
a brick for a relic. He had been hit
ting the commissary bottle pretty fre
quently, and was in a condition to do
anything. Taking an old water- logged
skid' he pulled out, and was lost in the
darkness. It was a long way, and he
was beginning to think himself gone
up, when he suddenly entered under
the shadows of the walls, and heard
click. "Who goes there?" Standing
up as well as he could in the boat, he
threw up both hands and cried,
"Yank."
"What do you want. Yank?"
"Want one o' them bricks."
"You got one in your hat now."
"Yon bet I have, but I want an
other." "All right; come ashore and get
one."
"He landed, walked up a short dis
tance, and, -sobered up by this time,
took the first brick he' found, and
started back in quick older for the
boat.
"Say, Yank, are all you uns drunk
over there?"
"Pretty much; how is it with you?"
"Some" of us air, and some us ain't.
Good night, Yank."
"Good night. Johnnie."
"That man," continued the General,
with a quick twinkle in his eyes, "that
man, if he is alive to-day and has the
brisk imagination of some men I know,
is telling his children how he arrived
at Fort Sumter one stormy night, and
in a terrified single-handed "combat
with forty rebels, killed thirty-nine
and brought the fortieth away badly
wounded." Chicago Ledger.
Senator Sp oner, of Wisconsin, doesn't
weieh as much us a barrel of sugar, but the
girs say he is nevertheless a blg.spooner.
Phantom Snips.
We are not surprised that the an
cient mariners peopled the sea, in their
quaint mythology, with imaginary
creatures, or invested the most com
mon things and occurrences with prog
nostic influences. Following them
with their sea-faring delusions, came
the monks of the Middle Ages, pre
tending to chronicle, with scrupulous
accuracy, saintly interpositions at sea,
etc., etc. The sailors wore excusable,
on account of their ignorance and
credulity, but the same apology can
not be offered in behalf of the monks.
It is not our purpose, in this article, to
enumerate the superstitions, and still
less to speak of the curious legends,
only in so far as they may be directly
connected with the title of our article.
In a very rare book entitled "Otia
Imperialia," written by Gervase of
Tilbury, in 1211, is a very odd story,
related with all the soberness of fact.
In substance it is as follows:
As the people were coming out of a
church in England, on a dark, cloudy
day, they saw a cable dangling from
the clouds, and, upon examination,
found attached to it a ship's anchor
which had caught in a heap of stones.
Suddenly the cable became taut, as if
an unseen crew were trying to haul it
up, while clamorous orders issued
from the clouds overhead. To their
surprise a sailor came sliding down
the cable, and was suffocated by the
thick atmosphere in the presence of
the gaping crowd. His shipmates cut
the cable and sailed away. The anchor
which they left behind them was made
into fastenings and ornaments for the
door of the nearest church. Whether
they still exist, in commemoration of
the wonderful event, we are not pre
pared to say.
The phantom ship was an object of
firm belief to the Norman fisherman,
and would be driven into port when
ever the prayers for the souls of their
lost kinsmen had failed to be effica
cious. In "Credulities Past and Pres
ent," is an account of what would fol
low such a mysterious visitation. The
widows and children pud friends of
tho seamen who were supposed to
have been drowned, would rush to the
quay. Cries of recognition would
arise, but no returning cry from the
crew. The bells would sound the hour
of midnight, and the fog would steal
over the sea, amid which the vessel
would disappear. Amidst the sobs
and cries of tho spectators of the
phantom ship the warning voice of the
priest would be heard: "Pay your
debts! Pray for the lost souls in
Purgatory!"
There is a legend of a Herr Von
Falkenbeg who was condemned to beat
about the ocean until the Day of Judg
ment, on board a ship without a helm
or steersman, playing at dice for his
soul with the devil, it was common
for seamen who traversed the German
Ocean to declare that they had met
the phantom ship. Some legend of
the kind suggested to Coleridge his
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
There is a spectre ship in it, and
dice are thrown for the souls of the
crew.
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were e low as gold;
Her skin was white as leprosy,
The night-mare L fe-iu-death was she,
Who th cks man's blood with cold.
The Flying Dutchman was a name -.
given to one of these phantom ships.
It scudded before the wind under a
heavy press of sail, when other ships
were afraid to show an inch of canvas.
She was generally declared to have
been seen in the vicinity of the Cape of
Good Hope, and was always regarded
as the worst of all possible omens.
Her crew committed some atrocious
crime; the plague broke out among
them; no harbor would consent to
shelter them; the apparition of the
ship still haunts the seas in which the
crimes were perpetrated, etc. The
superstition originated with the Dutch,
though the English sailors put the
most faith in the legend. Sir Walter
Scott alluded to the ship as a harbinger
of wo:
Or, of that phantom ship whose form
Shoo:s like a meteor through the storm.
Full sprea'l and crowded every sail
The dumon-friaate braves the gale,
And well the doomed spectators know
The harbinger of wreck and wc !
It was probably no uncommon oc
currence in early" times for seafarers
to fall in with ships abandoned to the
winds and waves, with corpses on
board. Such instances may have sug
gested the legends. On the other hand
they may have had their origin in the
looming up, or apparent suspension in
the air, of some ship out of sight a
phenomenon sometimes witnessed at
sea, and caused by unequal refraction
in the lower strata of the atmosphere.
We close our article with a Cornish
trad i t i o n of a phantom ship as related "
by Mr. Hunt:
One night a gig's crew was called to
go to the westward of St. Ive's Head.
No sooner was one boat launched,
than several others put off from the
shore, and a stiff chase was maintained,
each one being eager to get to the
ship, and she had the appearance of a
foreign trader. The hull was clearly
visible; she was a schooner-rigged
vessel with a light over her bows.
Away they pulled, and the boat which
had been lirst launched still kept ahead
by dint of mechanical power and skill.
All the men had thrown off their jack
ets to row with more freedom. At
length the helmsman cried out, "Stand
ready to board her!" The sailor row
ing the bow-oar, slipped it out of the
row-lock and stood on the forethwart,
taking his jacket on his arm, ready to
spring aboard. The vessel came so
close to the boat that they could see
the men, and the bow-oar man made a
grasp at the bulwarks. His hand
found nothing solid, and he fell, being
caught by one of his mates, back into
the boat, instead of into the water.
Then ship and lights disappeared. The
next morning tho Neptune of London,
Captain Richard Grant, was wrecked
at Gwithian, and all on board perished.
Frank H. Stauffer, tn Chicago Cur
rent. Overheard on the telephone between St.
Pe'ersburg and London: "Look here, Czar,
you are Russian things too much, you just tell
your men to Komoroff from Peujileh." "Don'l
you worry, Gladstone, this ' Ameer joke
Don't you get too Bombaystic about it. We'vi
made up our minds Tlrpul along still further,
Atlleboro Advocate.