' tlorvallis Weekly Grazette.
GAZETTE PUBLISHING HOUSE, Pubs.
CORVALLB3,
GREGON.
The report cf the Kansas State board
of Agriculture says the indications are
: that the wheat .product of that State in
1885 will not exceed 44 per cent of the
crop of 1884. The yield last year was
46,681,321 bushels; 44 per cent of this
would be 20,539,781.21 bushels.
Sidney Everett, lately appointed
chief of the diplomatic bureau esf the
State department at Washington is a
son of the late Edward Everett, (cele
brated as an orator and scholar. The
.son was born in 1834, and graduated at
Harvard College, and was Secretary oi
i legation at .Berlin a number of yeses.
The Raw York supreme court up
holds the legality of the oleomargarine
jaw, saying that the legislature had
. power to pass the act by virtue of the
.police power vested in it, and that it
.was constitutional and valid. The
.court said that it might well be that
.such legislation required the highest
.reasons for ite justification, but, that it
was not the province of the court to in
quire into their existence.
The immigrant's to the United States
during the month ef March numbered
23,350 persons, against 38,597 arriving
ingin the same month of last year. The
'total immigration for the nine months
-ending March 31 was 224,600, as against
.304,825 arriving in the corresponding
period of 1884. Of the number arriv
ing in March 7,407 came from Germany
5,536 were from the United Kingdom,
and 2,410 front the Dominion of Canals.
On paper, the effective strength of
the Russian army on a war footing is,
in round numbers 1,100,000 men, of
whom 45,500 are reckoned as non-combatants.
In addition to these the re
serves, partly available for active ser
vice, number 570,000, and there still
remain 142,000 Cossacks, besides depot
and local troops, to the number of 180,
000. Without drawing on the un
trained militia, Russia can, without ex
hausting her supply of soldiers, place
2,000,000 of armed men in the field.
Of the thousands of messag es of con
dolence and sympathy sent to General
Grant the past month from men of all
classes, creeds and parties, in all sec
tions of the country, few, we believe,
have more touched our dying old haro
than the resolution offered by William
Preston Johnston the brilliant and
worthy son of Gen. Albert Sidney
Johnston, whose attack on Gen. Grant's
forces on the 6th of April, 1862, was
one of the greatest displays of skill and
valor made during the whole war at
the reunion of the Louisiana division of
the Confederate "Army of the Tennes
see. " Col. Johnston's resolution is as
follows: That the Association of the
Aiiny of the Tennessee hear with deep
regret of the pain and peril now en
dured by Gon. U. S. Grant Twenty
three years ago our soldiers met him on
the field of battle and foun d him then,
as ever, a soldier without fear and ma
lignity. In his own suffering and the
sorrow of his family we tender him and
them our heartfelt sympathy and ask
for them the comfort and peace which
come from Him who is not only Lord
of Hosts but Father of us all.
The Formidable, which has just been
launched in France, and which ig
classed as ths most powerful ship in the
Frenoh navy, is a steel vessel of 11,441
tons, with an estimated horse power of
8,500 and a speed of fifteen knots.
She draw3 twenty-five and three quar
ters feet of water, and carries armor
ranging in thickness from' seventeen
and three-quarters to twenty-one and
one-half inches. Her armament consists
of three seventy-five ton and twenty
Jight guns. The only completed ship
in the British navy which is her equal
in size, power or armament is the In
flexible, which is of iron and which
has not exhibited the speed which the
Formidable is expected to attain. In
view of the great attention which
France has for some years paid to the
work of constructing a powerful navy
there is ground for the agitation now
going on in England without tak
ing into account the threatened war
with Russia, for the improvement ol
the British navy. It is remarkable that
the four most powerful ships in the
Tvorld although none of them has been
subjected to the teats which the power
ful British and Freach ships haw., and
two of them are not completed belong
to Italy, which is otherwise an interior
naval power. These four vessels are
the Diulio.Dandolo, Italia and Lepanto.
Each has four 100-ton guns. The twc
former are armored to the depth oi
twenty-two inches each; the two latter
to that of thirty-six inches. The dis
placement of the Italia and Lepanto is
14,000 tons each, or from 2,000 or 2,506
tons more than the Formidable or Inflexible.
how THnrsa go wbosq,
Bwston Courier.
'.'Alas! how easily Uungs go wrong;
A sigh too much or i kiss too long,
And a father's patience is quite worn out;
There's a hurried step and a wrathful shout,
And the dream, of a.youthful pair ia o'er,
A'.youth escapes through the open door,
With terror imprinted upon his face,
And goes down the street at a flying pace
With hat in hand and a dog in chase.
The dog to the flying youth draws nigh;
Here's a savage growl and a piercing cry,
"Alas! how easily things go wrong;"
Wbj did the lover stay so long?
A pan ti ng youth at his mother's door
Is owing he'll go out to court no more;
A dog is returning with visage grim,
Dragging an ulster's taUs with him.
"Alas! how easily things go wrong,"
When lover foolishly tarries too long;
"And yet how easily things go right"
When .he leaves at a decent time of night.
He's Wise who this in hismemory logs;
Fatherajjre fathers and dogs are dogs.
CAPTAIN BRANDTS BET.
Few cargo steamers were in the habit
of making .the passage between New
York and Liverpool quicker than the
"Picayune," iCaptain Hosea E. Bart
Iett; and few men were prouder of their
craft than was Hosea E. Bartlett of the
"Picayune." Bartlett was ; a New Eng
lander, a typiea'l long-legged, hatchet
faced, wiry-haired, keenreyed, New
Englander.
"America," said he, "bosses creation,
sir, and New England boys boss Ameri
ca, .an' that's a fact "
Upon July 10, 1883, the "Picayune
was announced to sail from the foot of
West Tenth street for Liverpool. Upon
the preceding evening Captain Hosea
E. Bartlett was seated in the Oriental
saloon, a. famous house of call for skip
pers and gentry interested in shipping,
smoking a very big cheroot, and occa
sionally sipping a :'John Collins" at his
elbow. He had a contented expression
in his face, for ho had a full cargo at
full season when freight was going beg
ging, he'd shipped his crew and did not
expect to have to whistle for more than
three absentees at the hour of starting,
and he was going to see his English
wife who had settled for a while in Liv
erpool. To him enter Captain Brandy, of the
British steamer "Cockney,"
Just as the "Picayune" was famous
for her smart passages, so was the
' 'Cockney" celebrated as being one of the
' 'slowest of tubs on the pond." Hence
it was that American Bartlett and Brit
ish Brandy never met without exchang
ing some lively chaff and repartee, al
though t jev were the best of friends.
"Hello, Brandy! When's the old
mlassea tub off?" was Bartlett's greet
ing. "'The British steamer Cockney, Bran
dy, master, sails to-morrow morning,
July 10, as ever was," replied Brandy.
"And d'ye reckon she'll make Liver
pool this side o' Christmas ?" asked Bart
lett, with a twinkle in his eye.
"To-day fortnit she brings up along
side o' the quay," said Brandy.
The Yankee skipper burst into a
scornful chuckle.
Captain Brandy called for a "Bour
bon," leisurely lit a clay pipe, took a
few whiffs and a sip, rested his chin on
his hands as he leaned forward, and
said :
"Bartlett, you reckon yourself tol'bhi
spry, don't yer ?"
"Wall," replied the Ameridah, "I
guess I know the difference between a
jay bird and a caboose, an' I ain't likely
to mistake the ci'owin' of a shanty-town
cock for 'Hail, Columbia,' and that's a
fact,"
"There ain't nothin' as goes out of the
port of, New York as can whip the
'Picayune,' " continued Brandy
"No, I reckon there ain't," said Bart
lett. "You wouldn't like to put a hundred
pound on a little notion of mine, would
you ?" said Brandy.
"Barrin' the 'Cockney,' I don't mind
if I do," replied Bartlett.
"That's right," said Brandy. 'Look
here: you're always a-pokin' fun at the
'Cockney.' Well, Fll bet yer a hundred
pound that I see Mrs. Bartlett before
you do."
"You bet me a hundred pound,
British, that you see the missis in Liver
pool before I do ?" repeated Bartlett.
"An the 'Cockney' sails by first tide to
morrer mornin'?"
"That's so," said Brandy.
"Barrin' all mail steamers?" said
Bartlett
"Barrin' all mail steamers," .said
Brandy.
"Done with you, boss," said Bart
lett So the wager was cemented over a
fresh supply of drinks, after which
Captain Brandy walked out, wishing
the American skipper "Good night."
"Dernea fool, that Brandy," said the
American to himself.
In the mists of early morning the
"Picayune" cleared out So did the
"Cockney."
Somehow or other, news of the wager
had leaked out, and general opinion
indorsed that of Captain Bartlett, al
though others guessed that Brandy
wasn't the sort to go slinging away
100 for a mere notion, and that he
knew what he was doing.
At seven bells half past 7 in the
morning Captain Bartlett, on the
bridge of the "Picayune," a cheroot in
his mouth, and his hands plunged deep
into his pockets, sang out to his first
mate :
"Mr. Slope, send a hand up to the
fore-top and report if the 'Cockney" 's in
signt.
' 'Ay, ay, sir !" replied Mr. Slope. The
man ascended to the fore-top, scanned
tne ocean tor some moments, and bel
lowed out:
"'Cockney' astern, sir; hull down."
"Brandy's aderned fool," muttered
Captain Bartlett, and rolled himself off
the bridge to breakfast.
During the second dog-watch in the
evening. Captain Bartlett, reclining in
his cane eh. air on the bridge, observed a
comma-ion forward. The first mate and
half a jzen of the crew were assembled
.around some object, and at intervals
cast side-glances at the skipper. Jiart-
lett had the eye of a hawk.
"Mr. Slope, what's going on forr'ard?
he sang cut.
Mr. Slope came slowly aft with the
air or a criminal.
"Please, sir, it's a stowaway."
The effect of this announcement -up
en his superior officer was terrible and
immediate; he jumped up from his
chair as if agitated by an electric
shock ; his eyes glared like a couple of
torches; hia brow contracted into -all
sorts of frowns and furrows : he foamed
and spluttered, and at length roared
out:
"Chuck him overboard!"
"Please, sir, it's a she, "said the chief
mate.
"iChuck her no ! Great
Bring her aft!" roared the Captain.
So the mate returned to the group
forr ard, and presently returned, lead
ing by the hand a fair-haired, blue-eyed
child ot about eleven.
"Wei," said Bartlett, after he had
slowly surveyed her from head to foot
and from foot back again to head, and
noted that she was apparently of a very
superior order of stowaway, her clothes
being good, and her physical appear
ance that of a child well looked after,
who are you ?
"Mary Jane Johnsworth," was the
ready reply-
"Mary Jane Johnaworth," repeated
the skipper; "wall, and what the tar
nal does Mary Jane Johnsworth want
hidin' of herself aboard a craft as don't
belong to her?"
"I don't know," was the answer.
"You don't know. Got father and
mother ?" asked Bartlett.
"Yes sir," answered the child.
"Then what are yer a-slopin' from
home fur?"
' 'I'm not. Fm going home."
"Then you're a Britisher, I reckon."
"Mary Jane is my name; England is my
nation,
Birkenhead is my dwelling place, and"
said the child.
Captain Bartlett filled up the rhyme
with something which was not "salva
tion," then took a turn or two along the
bridge, keeping his eye on the child all
the time, as if she was some rare zoolog
ical specimen.
"Wall," he said, stopping suddenly,
"if you wur a man, or a boy, do you
know what I should do with you ?"
"Ask me if I could eat anything ?"
was the reply."
Captain Bartlett took his cigar from
his mouth, and looked at her with in
creased amazement.
"Great Scott!" he ejaculated, "you've
got sass anyway. Mr. Slope, take her
ferr'ard and see that she has s&mething
to eat, and Mr Slope, send a hand
aloft, and report the hearings of the
"Cockney."
The report presently came that the
"Cockney" was out of sight.
"Brandy's- a dernedfool," chuckled
the skipper.
In half an hour Mr. Slope reappeared
on the bridge.
"She's a queer 'un, that ther kid,
sir," he said; "I left her with a couple
o' pounds o' beef, and a loaf o' bread,
an' potaters, an' fixins', and I'm blessed
if she hadn't stowed it away in a quar
ter of an hour. She's a proper stow
away, she is sir."
"Poor little cuss!" said Bartlett ; "I
reckon I should like to have a ten
minutes' talk with her skunk of a
father, or whoever her friend is.
Thar's one thing, Brandy's hundred
pound'U pay for her passage, an' that's
a fact,"
Three days passed, three days of
glorious weather and calm sea, and the
Picayune made her twelve Knots
regularly every hour. Mary Jane
Johnsworth in this time established
herself as a general favorite with officers
and crew, and particularly with the
skipper. She could sing any amount
of old sea songs, could imitate to the
life the noise made by the men as they
ran round the capstan to the shanty of
"Johnny Frsfflswaw" or the "Shanan
dore." She uld dance, and with all
she had sntfll pretty, piquant ways,
that there wft not a man. On board who
would not have done Anything to please
her, from the skipper to the steward's
boy. Her appetite continued huge;
with ease she put away twice the ration
of an ordinary seaman, although she
bad a whim of preferring to have her
meals alone at all sorts of odd times.
On the fifth day out, Marcus, the
black cook, came aft with long face to
the skipper.
"Please, sah,"he said," I nebber
seed such a ting in all my horned days,
nebber !"
' 'What is it, you vagabond ?" demand
ed Bartlett.
"Why, sah," replied the cook, "de
steward he gib me beef, an' mutton, an'
pork, an' m'lasses, an, Hour, an' biscuit,
ebery mornin', and it go!"
"What d'ye mean, it go? of course,
it go," said the Captain, "yer don't
reckon ship';; stores ain't made to go."
"Dat's jes'what I sez to myself, sez I,"
replied Marcus. "Ship's stores is
meant to go, but dey isn't meant to fly."
"Wher do they fly to, you black-liv-ered
skunk ?" asked the skipper angrily.
' 'Dat's jes' the oder ting I asks my
self." replied the cook," wher does they
fly to ? Steward he gib me over' lowance.
Dat ain't no good worth a cent."
"I reckon some of the boys rob you,
Marcus," said Bartlett; 'jest' you keep
that weather eye o' yourn open, an' if
you ketch any skunk prowlin' around
the galley when you ain't thar, jes'fetch
him over the head with anythir g handy,
and then tell me. You can bat your
bottom dollar he won't do it a second
time."
Marcus took all possible precautions.
After nightfall he would prowl about
the galley with a marling-spike in hand,
ready to'pounce upon any hungry foc'sle
hand or fireman who should be tempted
to tap the provision store in the galley.
He and Mary Jane were the very best of
friends, and in return for little delicacies
he made her, she would offer to keep
watch wfadst he snoozed or joined the
hands in skv-larking.
Still, the provisions went, and the
rum went and the skipper's whisky
went, and neither Marcus nor Mary
Jane, nor any one else could imagine
how. Bartlett waxed furious, and held
a consultation with hia first mate ; the
result was that 31 hands were piped
forward of the bridge, and the skipper
addressed them as follows :
"Now, look yer, 'boys, Irecken, takin'
yon all roun', you're as smart a lot as
ever shipped, but thar's a derned thief
amongst you, a lowminded cuss, what
can't content hisself with the regylation
skinful, but must go sneakin' an' prow
lin' around like a coyote, and freezin'
to things as don't belong to him. I
don't suspect nary a man in partikler,
but he's amongst you, an' if I nab him,
I set him afloat in the dinghy with a
bit o' hard tack, an' an anker of water,
as sure as my name's Hosea E. Bart
lett, an' that's a fact."
The men slunk off grumbling.
That very evening a bottle of three
star Exshaw disappeared from the
swinging shelf in the saloon, and a
packet of Virginia from the Captain's
own cabin.
Bartlett was furious : he swore that
the steward was in league with the
erew.; he swore that he didnt trust a
man in his ship from the first mate
downwards.
More depredations occured in the re
gione of the cooking galley. Marcus.
the eook, was furious, and the only
thing that prevented a row c n board
was the alternate intercession of little
Mary Jane with the skipper and the
cook.
There was but one solution to the
mystery. The ship was haunted.
Strange stories were told with bated
breath about spirits who lived on board
ships, of which the skipper or an officer
was a bad man; big, bearded men, who
had braved danger in every part of the
world, related all they had ever heard
of gnomes and sea spirites with ;
spite against a certain craft, or a cer
tain member ot its:crew, wun serious
nods and wink3.
Bartlett alone pooh-poohed these idle
tales, and linked the believers with
Captain Brandy in his category of
derned fools, and almost got angry with
the little girl for sharing the popular
creed.
Mary Jane enjoyed herself immensely.
The weather was perfect, so that she
could romp about as much as she liked ;
her appetite maintained its invariable
excellence, although she generally had
her meals alone, and nobody could
swear that she ate all that was placed
before her.
This last fact gave Captain Bartlett
an idea. She was the thief. He knew
that she was a favorite with the men,
and he knew from long experience that
the men were up to any dodge .to get an
increase of rations and grog. They had
got over the innocent little thing with
their soft sawder. He watched her.
The steward set before her for supper
one evening meat and biscuit enough for
three men, and left her. Bartlett from
the buDk of an empty cabin saw her fall
to with fair appetite for a while, al
though he remarked that she did not
eat extraordinarily for a. healthy, grow
ing child.
When she had finished, she pulled
out a linen bag from her pocket, and
into it she put all that was left. Then
she rose gently, got on to the seat, took
down the whisky bottle "from the shelf
swinging above her head, and poured
half its contents into a flask.
Then she stole away, Bartlett after
her. Bight forward she went along the
deserted deck, and disappeared in the
darkness under the raised foc'sle.
' 'Wall," said the skipper to himself,
"ef this don't beat 'possum trackin',
bust me ef I know what does, an' that's
a fact. They're a cunnin lot o' rascals
they are ! Jes' think that they should
come it over a poor innocent little kid
like that thar, an'then try an' blarney
me with a lot of yarns 'bout spirits !
We're ten days out, anyway, an' we'll
make Liverpool to-morrer, so that it
doesn't signify wuth much, an' Brandy's
hundred pound '11 pay; but it's real
mean, that's what it is."
Baitlett, who, with all his rough
ness, was a kind-hearted man, could
not bring himself to tell Mary Jane
what he had seen, but he became con
cerned with a new thought. What
was to be done with her on landing?
She lived in Birkenhead, but how was
he to find out in a huge place like
Birkenhead where she lived and who
her parents were ? Take her to his own
home he dare not ; partly because Mrs.
Bartlett had five youngsters of her own,
and, partly, because she was a bit of a
Tartar, nd would be sure to be down
pretty heavily on him for taking so
much notice of a strango, stowaway
child, when he was always complain
ing about the expense and worry of
his own.
So this question as to the disposition
of Mary Jane Johnsworth vexed Cap
tain Bartlett all the next day, and un
till next evening, when Holyhead
Light was sighted, and his attention
was directed to other matters.
Little Mary Jane was in a state of
great excitement at the approach to her
land, now running to one side of the
deck, now to the other, then scuttling
up the companion ladder to the bridge,
then darting into the galley to pester
Marcus with all sorts of questions, to
which the faithful negro had to invent
ans-vers, then dashing away into the
foc'sle until it was dark and she could
see no more.
At midnight, the "Picayune," Cap
tain Bartlett, was safe alongside the
dock quay, and the Captain himself, af
ter a bothering day, was at liberty to
turn in.
"Poor little kid!" be said as he ca
ressed Mar,y Jane's iair hair; "and
what's to become of you? I'm real sor
ry that the voyage is finished, as I've
got uncommon fond o' you, Mary Jane,
an' ef I hadn't kids of my own, I'd like
to change your name to Mary 3ane
Bartlett, and turn you out a real lady."
"Is your home here ?" asked the child,
looking up in the Captain's face with an
artless raze.
"Yes, my sugar stick," replied the
Captain. "Nummer 12 Providence
Road, that's where the Missis is located,
but she's agoin' back to New York, she
ls.next trip. But look yer, I reckon
you're a bit tired : von eo an' turn in ah
to-morrer we'll see what's to be done."
So he kissed the child as he bade her
goodnight and she pattered eff singing
as if it were mid-day.
"Poor little kid 1 poor little kid I" solil
oquized the Captain when she had srone
j. siiouia iiKe to nave ten minute!
with them brutes as have sent her awaj
like this, and that's a fact!"
Jiariy next morning, the Captair
sent a hand ashore to find out if the
ocKney had by chance arrived dur
ing the nieht.
"Not that I reckon she's more'n half
way across the pond," he said to him-
sen ; but .Brandy's up to dodges, he is,
although he is such a derned fool."
1 he reply came that the "Cockney"
uau ii u l ti rivea.
"Wall, then, I reckon I needn't hur
ry ashore," said Bartlett.
ne was in the saloon going over his
papers with the customs officers, when
the chief mate appeared at the door
with a broad grin in his face.
"Thar's a gentleman an' a lady come
aboard and wants to see you, sir."
"A gentleman an' a lady!" repeated
the skipper. "Great Thunder! wit n
are they ? Tell 'em no, show 'em in
say, Mr. Slope, is the kid up yet?"
"Dunno, sir, I'll see," replied the of
ficer, and disappeared. The skippei
bent over his papers again, but was
disturbed by the entrance of the vis
itors. He looked up and beheld Cap
tain Brandy and Mrs. Bartlett.
Had a bombshell exploded on deck,
it could not have produced a greater ef
fect on Captain Bartlett than did this
apparition.
He jumped up, mouth and eyes wide
open, utterly unable for some seconds
to utter a word.
"Mornin', Bartlett 1" said Captain
Brandy.
"Wher the How the Almighty
sakes! Great Scott " was all the
American could ejaculate. He took no
notice even of his spouse.
"The 'Cockney' ain't in port !" he al
most screamed at last.
' 'No, but her skipper is," said Bran
dy, "an' he's brought this yer lovely la
dy to bear witness that Hosea E. Bart
lett, master of the ship 'Picayune.' be
longing to the port of New York, owes
him one hundred pounds sterlin'. I
say Bartlett, your salt-horse ain't by no
means up to what it oughter be, an' as
for vour Exshaw"
"What the tarnal do you know about
my salt-horse an' my whisky?" roared
the American.
"Well," replied Captain Brandy, "con-
siderin' as how I've been livin' on it for
ten days, I oughter be a judge."
"You've been livin' on my salt-horse
an' whisky for ten days?" exclaimed
Bartlett, more and more amazed.
"Yes," said Brandy; "hand us the
hundred pound."
Bartlett stared about him as a man
newly awakened from sleep ; then he
burst out into a roar of laughter which
shook the little saloon, and which was
the signal for everyone else. Custom
house officers. Mrs. Bartlett and all, to
join, and for rally-nve minutes the unit
ed guffaw lasted.
Brandy, said Uartlett when he had
recovered so far as to be able to speak,
although the tears were running down
his cheeks, "I thought you wur a derned
fool. But you ain't."
"You're the derned fool, Bartlett,"
said his wife, speaking for the first
time, "to go and throw away a hundred
pound iilie this, when
Don t ye fret yourself, marm, said
Captain Brandy, "I ain't a-goin to take
the hundred pound, 'cos why ? 'cos your
husband has been so kind to my little
daughter."
The chief officer here came in.
"Please, sir, the kid ain't nowhere to
be found ; we've been all around, and
we've"
"All right," said Captain Brandy,"
"she's at home."
' 'Do you mean to say that Mary Jane
Johnsworth" began Bartlett, with a
renewed look of astonishment.
"Ain't no more Mary Jane Johns
worth than I'm Hosea E. Bartlett,"
interposed Captain Brandy." "Look
heref old chap. You keep the hundred
pound, but don't go larting at the mas
ter of the 'Cockney' no more."
"No, I'm blest if I do," said Bartlett,
grasping his rival's hand. "But the
hundred pound, I've fairly lost that."
"Give it to the Seamen's Hospital,
an' then it'll be fairly spent."
"Bully for you !" said Bartlett. "Great
sakes ! I kinder can't help laughin' agin'
to think of you fixed up thar in the foc'sle
for ten days. And that's whar all the
ship's tucker went, an' my baccy an' my
whisky. I did wonder how the kid man
aged to put away what she did, an' that
a fact."
"I was right enough," said Brandy.
"I sez to myself, sez I, afore I sees yon
at the Oriental I'll take a rise out of
Bartlett afore I'm a fortnight older, so
I gets hold of your chief officer ,an' I fixes
everything with him unbeknown to any
one else"
"Dern that Slope!" put in Bartlett.
"An he shows me an old sail bunk
right forr'ard with a port in it, an' fixes
a bed on' all that, an' thar I was."
"An' whar's the 'Cockney?' "asked
Captain Bartlett.
"Well," replied Brandy, "you see
she's my own craft, so I trusted her to
my first mate to navigate her over the
pond."
"And shell make port about Christ
mas time, I reckon," said artlett, with
a grin.
"Hello! Now then!, Avast there!"
said Brandy, shaking his great mahogany-colored
forefinger at the American.
"Eight for you, sonny, I forgot,"
said Bartlett, "But say, it'll be kinder
hard for me not to have the 'Cockney1
to laugh at."
"Laugh at yourself, you old fool,"
remarked Mrs. Bartlett.
Thus Captain Brandy won his bet,
and the story may still be heard round
the tables in the parlors of Captains'
houses, by the waterside in New York
and Liverpool, told by weather-beaten
gentlemen in stiff black cloth suits and
tall hats, the positions, however, being
generally reversed, according to the
nationality of the narrator.
Frank Abell.
Curious Payment for Land In England,
Gloves of various kinds were fre
quently presented in service for lands.
Thus, two farms at Carlcoats, in York
shire, paid "the one a right hand, and
the other a left hand glove yearly;"
and some lands in Elmesale, in the
same county, were held of the king
"by the service of paying at the Cas
tle of Pontefract one pair of glove
furred with fox skin, or eighteen pence
yearly;" while for the manor of Els
ton, in Nottingham, were rendered
two pairs of gloves, together with a
a pound of cummin seed, and a steel
needle. Needles are met with several
times, but one instance must here suf
fice where "Roger, for some time
tailor to our lord the king," held
lands in Hallingbury, Essex, by paying
at the king's exchequer "one silver
needle yearly." Still more curious is
the service for certain lands in Bode,
Northampton, which consisted in
finding "one horse of the price of 5s.
and one sack of the price of 4 l-2d..
with one small pin, for forty days."
Probably this "small pm" was similar
to the skewer noticed above, and was
used to fasten, or attach, the sack,
wlfich mayhave been employed to car
ry fodder to the horses. That the
horses were tolerable cared for, even
in those davs, seems to bo Droved bv
the fact that the manor of Cherburgh,
in Dorset, was held "by the service of
Dne horse-comb, price 4d.. to be paid
yearly. " and that certain lands in the
hundred of Losenberg, in the same
country, were held "of our lord the
king, by the serjeantry of finding a
certain horse-comb, or currycomb,
etc." Among other miscellaneous
services by which lands were held
may be mentioned certain instances
of hose. Thus, Cottington. in Not
tingham, was held by the service of
presenting to the king a pair of scar
let hose yearly; Eldresfield, in Wor
sester, was held by rendering to Ro
bert, Earl of Gloucester, hose of scar-
let on his birthday, and Henlev. in
Warwick, was held bv Edmund. Lord
Stafford, by the service of '3s, or a pair
f scarlet hose.
Parties from Howard, Dak., report that the
grand jury of Miner county have found two
indictments against Rev. J. C. Shetland, 1
prominent Methodist Minister, in connection'
with the sonthjDakota conference, and a strange
man whose name is unknown, for the intimi
dation and robbery of Dr. Conlin of Alexan
dria at Vilas. Key. Shetland is now stationed
at De Sine t, bat was at Alexandria last year,
where Conlin doctored in his family.
Battle of Flowers.
Among the features of the carnival
it Nice this year, writes a correspond
ent, was the battle of Flowers, which
took place on Friday, Feb. 13, and
was repeated on the following Mon
day. Precisely at 2 o'clock on the
Srst day named the gun at the chateau
Save the signal for beginning the hos
tilities and by 3 o'clock the battle had
really begun. Vehicles richly deco
rated with flowers, fruits, ribbons,
straw, and other decorative material
parade the Corso and bouquets fell
thick as hail upon the crowds, which
extended in a thick mass from one
end of the course to the other. The
people on foot responded with vigor
to the attacks of the riders, many of
them having provided themselves
with large baskets full of small bou
quets, in the manufactnre of which a
whole army of florists had been en
gaged during the whole of the preced
ing day and night. There was a con
stant shower of violets, mimosas,
lilacs, pinks, anemones, roses, and, in
fact, every flower to pe found in bloom
at the season in that portion oi France.
Some of the vehicles were remarka
ble pretty, and among the most notice
able was a victoria entirely hidden
with scarlet pinks, even the wheels
being covered with these flowers. An
other vehicle was a cart covered with,
yerdure and vegetables and occupied
by three pretty peasant girls, who
threw leeks, carrots, cauliflowers and
even large cabbages as well as flow
ers among the people. There was of
course a great variety of costumes
nut the battle was a scene of anima
tion and beauty.
Senator Vest's Dog.
"I have a doff," said Senator Vest,
who had just heard a precocious crow
story, "who is very sagacious. One
morning he watched intently while a
negro boy blacked my shoes. The fol
lowing morning he came to where I
was sitting with a blacking brush in
his mouth. You may not believe it
but that dog got down on his haunches,
spit on my shoes, took the brush in his
teeth and'rubbed away like a house on
tire. But I must admit that he did not
get up much of a polish. One Sunday,
while I was living at Sedalia, this dog
followed me to church. I noticed that
be watched eyery movement of the
preacher. That afternoon I heard a
terrible howling of dogs in my back
yard. I went out- to see what was the
matter. My dog was in the woodshed,
standing on his hind legs in an old
dry-goods box. He held down a torn
almanac with one fore paw and gesti
culated wildly with the other, while he
swayed his head and howled to an
audience of four other dogs, even more
sadly than the preacher I had heard
that morning." The narrator of the
erow story "threw up the sponge."
Memphis Appeal.
Foes of the Oyster.
A bill has been introduced in the
New York Legislature, at the sugges
tion of Fish Commissioner Blackford,
for the destruction of star fish, which
are said to be one of the most dan
gerous foes of the oyster. The bill
authorizes a reward for star fishes
taken in quantities from any of the
oyster-beds in the waters of the State,
the reward to be at the rate of 25 cents
per bushel when the number of star
fishes taken amount to thirty or more
bushels at any one time. Boston Jour
nal. The hunting dagger which belonged
to Col. James Bowie, and which has
served as a pattern of all subsequent
bowie-knives, has been sent for exhi
bition to New Orleans. It is a for
midable double-edged weapon, with a
horn handle and a curved blade fifteen
inches long and an inch and a quarter
wide at the hilt. Like Dr. Guillotin,
Col. Bowie unwittingly gave his name
to an invention that has earned for
itself a rather unfortunate reputation.
"Where do policemen go when they diet"
isked little Flossie. "To heaven, dear," re
plied the father, tenderly. "Oh, no, papa,
!hey don't," quickly replied the little philoso
pher, "for mamma says its always day there
and nobody ever Bleeps."