The Columbian., April 13, 1883, Image 1

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THE COLUMBIAN.
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JXHE COLUMBIAN,
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ST. HELENS, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON: APltIL 13, 1883.
NO. 30.
One tquare (lo line) first insertion.-
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IAN.
-SOMEBODY'S MOTHER."
ACTIIOB UMC"OW2f.
The woman was old nnl ragged and gray,
Anl hont uritfi t K a i.tiill e,f t Ka winter' tiftvr
And the 6treet was wet with the winter's snow,
And the woman's feet were aged and slow.
She stood at the crossing and waited long.
Alone, unearcd for amid a throng
Of human beings, who passed her by.
Nor heeded the glan.-e or her a axiom eye.
Down the street with laughter and shout.
Glad in the freedom of school let out,
' Came the boys like a fleck of shef p.
Hailing thsnow piled white and deep.
Fast the woman so old and gray, . ,
- Hastened the children on their way.
Nor ofle,ed a helping hand to her,
So meek, so timid, afraid to stir,
Lest the carriage wheels or horses feet
Should crowd her down in the slippery street.
At last came one of the merry troop.
The gayest laddio of all the group
Me paused beside her, and whispered low:
"I'll help you across if you wish to go."
Her aged hand on his strong young arm
She placed, and without hurt or harm,
He guided the trembling feet along,
Proud that his own were firm and strong.
Then back again to his friends he went,
His young heart happy and well content.
'"She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
For she's old, and poor, and slow;
And I hoe some fellow will lend a hand
To help my mother you undertaud,
If ever she's old, and poor, and gray.
When her own dear boy is far away."
And "somebody's mother" lowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she
said
"Was "God be kind to the noble boy
Who is somebody's sou and pride and joy."
TOPPlSCi T&E QUESTION.
"Thou shall know him when he comes,
(Welcome youth !)
Not by any din of drums.
Not by the vintage of his airs;
Neither by his crown.
Nor his gown.
Nor by anv thing he wears.
He shall onlv well-known be,
By the holy harmony
That his coming makes in thee!"
The prosposal of marriage is a modern
Eieusinian mystery, bat with no organ
ized society to give it a uniform ritual or
to communicate its mode. There ia no
nnirecipe for it, nor can one be pre
scribed "which shall be infallible, while
another is uncertain. No one sees how
it is consummated except the parties im
mediately interested, and if it is crowned
auembei- a yea' later -the exact manner
and phraseology of it. But he who tries
it and fails is supposed to have a more
retentive memory of the occasion, and
robably always concludes that his
failure has been mostly owing to some
lack of timeliness or substance cf grace
in its address. It is clearly, whatever
else may. be true, not amenable to the
ready-made letter-writer treatment. Per
haps it comes into existence in sometime
Jike the way Topsy did, by growing, the
time in which it began and ended cot
being strictly defianbla or known. A
flash of the eye, a pressure of the hand,
a tone of the voice, an exalted sense of
admiration and welcome, these may do
even more than any words to usher in
and conclude the situation.
"It would be an interesting study,"
says a writer in Demorcst's Magazine,
"to turn over a huudred or more of the
best novels and romances and witness
the way this happy or as often unhappy
i ivpnt is flpscrihfiil And set forth in
them.- Bat I do not propose to do this.
In Mr. Howell's story, "Dr. Bruce's
Practice," the real proposal comes at
last from1 tbe heroine herself, in which
she was justified, I make free to say, not
perhaps by Mrs. Grundy, but by the
soundest canons of common sense. If
she had not been undergoing a lon.
tutelage in a profession, which is still
mainly outside of the feminine field, she
might not have been equal to this effort.
At least, a good many others who should
be are not.
To all the various kinds of proposals
suggestive, point blank, or other one
maxim, I think, of the wisdom of the
world applies, namely, that you must
not, unless you are away from the object
of your love, make the first declaration
of regard and affection through pen and
jink. Except in rare cases, nothing but
failure, comes of it, though when the
' subject has been properly begun, in
proper way, the employment of station
ery may prove, in wise hands, a valuable
auxilliary process.
But it is the contentional code rather
which has solidified itself round this sub
ject which calls for most remark. Doubt
less if some genius of a tendency like
Herbert Spencer should give us in a
thorough, radical way its history, with
, all the whys end wherefores, he would
j find himHelf the author of a most unique
and wonderful treaties. The etiquette,
as it now stands, seems to be not the pro
duct of the fern u:i lie mind, but its ideal
of virtuous essence, and to fi id its most
sturdy support on the side of humanity.
And yet it place woman on an enormous
inequality. I have been wondering all
my life why it ia that, in the matter of
initiative, & course, unattractive young
man should have the privilege to ask any
unmarried woman iu the whole world to
marry him, while his refined and much
more accomplished lister must make no
motion toward any choice of her own,
except to sit still and wait for some other
girl b lndineieiit lirc.tA-r to make a pro-
i i - i Tf I- T
sured, that the most attractive 3oung
lady cannot hoim to h-ivu more than from
six to twelve oilers at the moot in a life
time, and practically must, depend on
much le?s than this number of eligible
ones, then, while her fi.dd of secondary
choice is pitifully small; her brotheis
are absolutely unlimited, amounting, iu
fact, to hundreds of millions. I believe
I have asked nearly every prominent
lady lecturer ou behalf of woman's rights
if this ia not a state of things that needs
as much reforming as anything else, and
in every instance I got an affirmative
answer. But ask almost all other
women, and you will get the opposite
gnawer.
I have lonsr suspected if the crentle
feminine reader will pardon the heresy
that the present custom of masculine
exclusiveneas in the matter of niarrisge
proposals is little less than a survival
from Asiatic barbarism. It is a signal of
a small remnant of that tremendous
science of feminine disabilities of .which
something: more is left in Asia, which
gtves the European and Western man a
partial kinship to the bisrh pretensions
of the Shah and Sultan. It pleases him,
no doubt, and why should it not?
The so-call6d leap-year prerogative
has evidently grown out of the suspicion
that the existing order of things has
somewhere a defect, or a weak side, and
Las been offered as a make-weight against
the injustice. But every one knows that
all talk about it in society is only'a part
of that universal habitof joking and lev
ity which surrounds marriage and the
marriage proposal. It is true a joke
may break the ice sometimes over deeper
waters,, and may prove the avenue to
seriousness. Except in some way, it is
not a matter that has ever: essentially
modified the system that we are consid
ering. We read sometimes of instances
iu which a lady has availed herself of the
matrimonial privilege. One such case,
cited by a writer in a late English maga
zine, is worth quoting here: ; j
"As the controversy has often been
waged," says the writer, "ai to whether
it is competent for a lady to pop the
question, even so far as the leap-year is
concerned, an interesting example may
be quoted, the heroine being no other
than the wife of M. de Lesseps. This
distinguished lady was at La Chesnave,
when all Europe was astir about the
achievements of the Suez ' enterprise.
One day, in the garden, she saw De Lea-
seps walking on the terrace. She plucked
a rose, and going up to the widower,
begged of him, for her sake, to wear it at
dinner. He asked her whether she did
not mean it for his son. No; it was for
himself. De Lesseps explained to her
that he was on the wrong side of sixty,
while she was not yet nineteen. That
did not matter; what his age was had
never occurred to her. She had only
thought of his grandness and goodness.
In short, he was her beau ideal. How
was it possible for a man reared on the j
sunny side of a Pyrenean mountain to
reason down the feelings this confession
aroused? Time was given to Mile, de
Praga to reflect, and she was made to un
derstand that no friendship would be
lost were she , to change her mind after
the banns had been published. The
marriage, however, was ceieDratea con
temporaneously with the Suez fetes. As
the young lady referred to wa3 reared
under the French coda at manners.
which is one of almost oriental strictness,
the reader can judge whether this pretty
piece of romance is likely to be founded
on fact." . ! . . -
The writer having seen the same ac
count, told in the eamo way at the time
of the event, hopes it may be. One of
the worst features of this unmitigated
silenca which is imposed upon the one
sex alone is the insincerity and hypoc
risy which it not only inculcates, but
places a premium upon. Nothing irri
tates a woman so muc'i as to have any
ground given for a suggestion that she
has gone a step off her way to secure a
gentleman's interest or attention. She
would rather be wou by a peasant than
move the least bit aggressively to win a
prince. Her natural feelings are smoth
ered and surpre8sed, and 6he accepts the
artifice which she must put on, as if it
were both reasonable and natural.
It is not very likely that any such rev
olution as I have hinted at will occur in
our generation, however grievous the
disabilities of women may be; but, when
we consider that some of the civilizations
which are not Puritan and Anglo-Saxon,
have mediatorial methods ; of bringing
about marriage in which thir.d parties
play the cief part it is not lunacy to
suggests that modifications may be pro
duced in time, in our habits, when we
become more in unison with the rest of
the world. It is certain that, even now,
the marriage proposal as it exists here,
is as shocking to French ideas, as any
other mode than ours is to us, -o tyran
nicallv do convictions rule us. If we
can outlive this conviction; it will doubt
less be by exceptions and bv degrees.
Let us hope that some dav, by the quiet
and delicate interinediacy or some wise
tribunal if not otherwise a young lady
or a woman may speure a privilege of
choice in matters of the highest conse
quence that can only now happen ty a
lujky accident.
America Always Ahead.
W. Snndy. M. A.. D. D. Professor of
the Exegesis of the Holy Scriptures at
Oxford, is graciously pleased to speak
well of certain American accomplish
ments. "Clearness and exactitude," he
says, "are qualities that seem lo be fast
becoming national characteristics (in
America), as our burly English stock is
toned down and refined bf other climatic
and social influencfs. The fine precis
ion of .American mechanism has long
been acknowledged. Scientific transac
tions aud observations (those in astron
omy for instance) are published not only
at lavish expense that may be taken as
a matter of course but with a delicate
accuracy which surpasses the best
European workmanship. Again in clas
sical philolocry it appears that we' are go
ing to America for our best grammars
and dictionaries. And I can appeal to
even a vider circle to corroborate me
when I refer to the finish and delicacy of
American engraving. American theol
ogy is a rising school; and it is beiug
conducted, as I cannot but think, on
lines that promise well for the future."
A Catholic school house ot Detroit,
managed by tho sisters of charity ,eaugbt
fire the other day. The word was passed
to dismiss quietly, and every one of the
800 childreu marched into the street in
safety without knowing what was the
matter. Ever sirtce the New York dis
aster the sisters have drilled the children
iu g'-ing out upon a sudden order; when
the fire came the women were calm and
ready, and everything went like clock
work. .
The only coin in the United States
that strictly conforms to the law is tbe
$20 gold piece. Other coins either lack
something prescribed, or bear some
device unauthoraed by law.
A Family Picture.
"Mary, dear, this is the very time for
you to redeem your promise as to the
Mordants. We are all alone and that
smouldering fire and these comfortable
chairs, with pussy purring on the rug,
gives just the cosy air to beget story
telling, or castle building, or dreaming,
and since there are two of us, the two
latter would be rather, unsocial; s to
night we will have the history of that
family. The picture of their lovely home
stands out so fully before me that I feel
quite eager to enter into its spirit of
moviug life aud human sentiment and
passions."
"I forewarn you, Nellie, that there is
no romance connected with the story of
those three lives, and if it interests you
it will be from the intelligence, refine
ment and purity of character of those
who have lived, joyed and sorrowed
within the lonely home of the Mordants
rather than from anything unusual in
their history. I proposed to tell it to
you simply'that you miglit see that when
the touchstone of truth is applied to hu
man life, be its surroundings what they
may, we usually find
that sorrow, in
some form, comes to all: and therewith
learn to be content with what the Divine
Father has allotted to us."
"I find, dear Mary, that I take to your
moralizing much more kindly than of
yore, but to- night I will have the story;
so commence."
Mary Howard reached over and clasped
the hand of the younger girl, aud si
lently bent her eyes into the bed of dying
embers, as if they were a link in mem
ory to bear her backward to scenes long
sin co passed into the things that were.
For full ten minutes thus 6he sat, and
when she raised her eyes and gave voice
to her thorghts, Nellie saw from the
liquid depths of their rich hazel that
there was that in the history about to be
related that touched the full chords of
sympathy throughout the soul of her
friend, and that, however simple itmight
be, it would certainly be given with the
deepest interest of her being.
"Although but twelve when Laura
Murry became Mrs. Mordant, I remem
ber the bride as if it were yesterday , aye,
and the bridegroom, too. He was not
particularly handsome as to features, but
a noble head, finely poised upon athletic
shoulders, gave the beholder a sense of
God's image upon man, and filled him
with the idea of strength and power,
which is always particularly agreeable
to recognize in man. His face was the
beet type of English, with a ruddy-white
oomplexion, while Laura's brought to
mind the old Castilian race of Spain, .al
though she traced her geneology in
America as far back as the settlement of
Louisiana. She was quick-witted, spir
ited and so full of life that it seemed
like a gushing spring rtrspreading all
around it by the mere force of its own
energy.
"This was her surface life as the world
saw her; but deep down in her inner be
ing lay the fires of strong passion. These
had been latent until love for Charles
Mordant awoke them into full force. To
her this inner being was too sacred a
thing for the vulgar gaze, so she closed
the portals of her heart in upon it, and
Cnarle3 Mordant and she only entered
therein. The world knew that wealth
had allied to riche? and gave the verdict
usually just, that money had begot
money, and that nothing higher or holier
cemented the marriage vows between
them. They cared not for this. True,
Charles was in the world and of it, but
his homo was to him the sanctuary of
his heart an 1 his wife its jiresiding geni
us, and he was rather gratified that the
world knew naught of it. He knew that
its breath would surely contaminate the
air about it, even if it proved powerless
to touch the substance itself.
"As to Laura, her world was in her
husband. Her home was an Elysium,
because her all was there. Thus their
lives passed on and the world knew not
of them, though the angel host looked
smilingly down, and departed loved ones
hovereil ever around. There came
a night when the household tread was
hushed, and tho heart of Charles Mor
dant suppressed its breathing in fear aud
glad expectancy. An hour of dread sus
pense and nervous hopes, a faiut little
cry, a mother s soft sigli of relief, and
Mary, mother of Jesus, hovered low, and
imprinted a mark upon the soul of the
baby loaned to that house. Oh, what
an event on earth; an immortal soul tak
ing on mortality, an eternal existence
entering a world of sin, sorrow and death.
A boy child given unto mortal training.
No wonder that heaven is stirred and
earth pauses iff gratification at the high
honor. Laura's life was now doubled;
her world was divided; yet there was to
her a oneness in father and son that ren
dered the division only a beautiful mys
terv n charmirtp; link to life. With the
widening of her heart's world ber soul
rather expanded to meet the demand
than divided its affection. Charles Mor
dant was proudly content. He only felt
that his eoul was fuller, Jiis life richer,
even where lie Knew not that it was a
want before. Thus life glided on; and,
had not a change come, you might have
contended, almost without contradiction,
that the spirit of beauty held a charmed
life over that home.
"Another momentous night spread
darkness over tue earth, and hung a
black pall over that house. Death en
tered, and Charles Mordant grew cold
and rigid in its icy clasp, and the heart
ceased its breethings and gave no respon
sive throb to tue wild wailing of Laura s
agonized soul. The world looked on the
dumb-stricken woman, and at last saw its
error and did her justice. She heeded
not its fiat, she knt w not its voice. She
shut herself up in her home, whereevery
beauty was a mournful pleasure, bring
ing freshly before her the voioe whose
admiratiou had invested them with a sa
cred charm, the hand whose touch had
hallowed each fehrub and tree, the feet
whoso tread had consecrated every spot
01 tne iiouse .und grourds; nay, every
beauty brought back the spirit that had
embodied all of earth to her. Thus, you
see, the loveliness you so much admire
was in some kind her grief.
"As months upon months slowly
wound over her poor, aching lif 6 ' upon
the never-ceasing wheel of time, she
gradually turned to his boy to watch the
re development of the father in this little
embryo man. Slowly her life took on
this new care, and slowly her heart
learned anew its loving interest, and she
grew placidly content. Another night
came to her out of ail the many nights
of the world a night gloriously beauti
ful in tne resplendent Jignt or moon and
stars. The boy lay sleeping. The mother,
keeping watch over her smiling son, fill
ing her heart with bright promises for
his futnro, felt that the light of life was
once more passing into her soul. The
shrubs and flowers upon whioh she gazed
out from the window took on a new
beauty from tho fun and frolic of her
.boy amid their winding labyrinths
'through the uours of day, and as they
lay sleeping in the smiling light of moon
and stars, she turned a 1 lovingly from
their exquisite beaaty to the nobler, liv
ing, breathing ea;Vy of the child, who
was indeed all the world to her now. An
nnseen apgel hovered over the boy, and,
smiling, whispered in his ear: 'Thou
art so like me, surely thou art of me a
part; come" with' me.' Tbe boy lay smil
mg, as if dreaming beautiful dreams, and
the lambient light of heaven seemed
gathering over his brow in a strange new
beauty, and murmuring, he softy whis
pered: Take mamma, too.' She heard,
and in a flood of fondness, bent low and
kissed her idol.
"As the hours waned, the fair boy
paled whiter and whiter, and just as the
gray dawn came gliding from the east to
usher in a new day. an angel entered
upon the light of heaven; and the mother
dropped to earth stricken and broken
hearted. In her piteous agony a little
voice whispered: 'Take mamma, too,'
and with it came thoughts of heaven, and
prostrate she cast helpless wretcheness
at the foot of the cross. The Saviour
whispered peace, and she arose a sub
dued and comforted woman. Since that
day her life has been rich in Christian
caarities, and though she cares for her
lovely home and keeps the grounds as of
yore, their beauties breathes to her of
God's love and mercy to the children of
men, and seem prototypes of unknown
beauties above.
"Ah! Nellie, fleeting and unsatisfying
are the joys of earth, if thev be not sanc
tified bythe Spirit of God."
Tears were trembling in Nellie's eyes
as Mary closed.
"Cousin Mar3', I must know Mrs.
Mordant; such a life must baa treasure
in one's experience." "
"Yes, darling, it is my wish that you
should; few can teach you better the
true value of life or the vast importance
of eternity."
Famous Trees ou Long Island.
A white mulberry tree oa the farm of
Thomas Hallock ai Mattituckis 12 feet in
circumference at the butt.
Two pear trees near Southold are more
than 150 years old, and each is as large
near the ground as barrel.
In Aquebogue' stands a black walnut
tree 12 feet in circumference and 100
feet across the top. It still bears fruit,
and belongs to Daniel Corwin.
A weeping willow on the premises of
Marv E. Havell, in Riverhead, is now
more than a century old, and is thirteen
feet in circumference near the ground.
A black walnut on the farm or the late
William Cullen Brvant is 23 feet in cir
cumference 13 J feet from the ground, and
120 feet across the top. It bears abund
antly. Islip boasts of a pear tree whose fruit
the oldest resident of the town, who is
now 80 years of age, ate when he was a
boy. He says it was then a large frnit
bearing tree. Last season it yielded its
nil complement of fruit.
There is a weeping beech in the old
Parsons Nursery in Flushing which is 40
feet high and about the same distance
across the top. The limbs droop to the
earth all around, but leave several open
ings resembling Gothic doors, through
which one may pass to the interior.
Trying to
Abolish Breach
Cases.
of Promise
A bill to abolish action for breach of
promise of marriage has been issued
amcng the parliamentary papers to-day,
(February 2G) "backed" by Mr. Claine,
Mr. Bryce and Mr. Buchanan (Liberals)
Col. Makins, (Conservative) and Mr.
Heldon (Home Ruler). It consists sim
ply of the following clause. "From and
after the passago of this act no person
shall be entitled to maintain an action in
r. spect of .the breach of promise to mar
ry, provided always that this shall not
apply to any action commenced before
tUe passing of this act. The bill intro
duced will, if it passes into law. be the
shortest statute on our statute book.
It contains only one clause, which pro
vides that, without prejudice to existing
actions, after the 1st of January next
there shall be no action for breach of
promise to marry. It must not, however,
be forgotten that this would still leave a
remedy for injury under the ordinary
laws of contract that is, damages will
be recoverable for any actual momentary
loss sustained or incurred by the plain
tiff through the promise given by the de
fendant. The object of the oill is to
abolish the principle of allowing dam
ages to be awarded for disappointment
r grief. St. James Gazette.
Out of Luck.
Two prospectors owned a mining claim
in the Paradise Mountains, which they
concluded to dispose of to the highest
bidder for cash. As there were rich
croppings on the claim, two miners who
had saved np a few hundred dollars
bought the claim. When the money was
paid and the deed signed, the sellers
bantered to buyers to play a game of
draw poker. Tho latter agreed to that
proposition, aud in a few hours had won
back every dollar they paid lor the
claim. Next day the buyers went to
work on their purchase, and in a short
time uncovered a small lead which car
ries ore that assays very high in silver.
The sellers came to the conclusion that
luck was against them, so they left this
part of the state. Nevada Silver State.
Did it ever occur to you why Solomon
made the remark about there being noth
ing new under the 3un? Well the fact
was that his numerous wives and witches
kept hinting to him about having new
bonnets, and he merely murmured that
there was nothing new under the sun in
hones to make them believe that the fall
styles in hats had not yet been struck
n.
Watches end Xagnelkm.
"Sir, you should wear an open-faced
watch if y ou desire to bo accurate in your
time," said a watchmaker on Chextnut
street to the stout man; "you are too
magnetic." ; .
"Why, what the deuce has the case
got to ao with it?" was the interrogative
reply. I
Everything. Your watch has a hunting
case, necessitating steel springs for
opening and shutting. By constant as
sociation with your body thoso springs
become magnetized, aud they generate
their condition to other necessarily steel
portions of the watch works,: and thus
render their movements imperfect."
"Then, if I were not fat, my wutch'
would not lose two minutes' more or
less, a day," said the puzzled stout man.
"Exactly," returned the watchmaker.
"I have worn your watch for over a
week, and it has neither gained nor lost
a dozen seconds; but then I am, from a
corporal point of view, your antithesis.
1 am exceptionally thin and slender."
The stout man mused. j
"Accordingly," said he, "open-faced
tickers for fat men, closed cases for thin.
eh?"
"Not at all," replied the other. "Thin
men have at times more magnetism in
their system, than fat men. Everybody
is more or less magnetic; you happeD to
be particularly so; I happen to be quite
the reverse; hence my remarks and ad
vice. For the rest, open-faced watches
are always more accurate than hunters.
As for the steel springs in hunting cases,
mechanical science ha3 not vet discov
ered anything else to replace them. The
public like double cases, and there the
matter remains for the present.. There
are, however, many ill contrived parts in
watches; and, while tho demand contin
ues for watches of a certain price, it is
impossible, from a commercial point of
view, to think of improvements. Long
used methods and ingenious engines
have been specially provided to fashion
and cut out every one of the minute
parts which go to compose the existing
instrument. Every watch consists of
over 200 pieces, employing over 200 per
sons, distributed among -iO trades; to
say nothing of the tool-makers for the
artisans. If the construction of the
watch were materially altered, all the
trades would have to be relearned, new
tools and wheel-cufting engines would
have to be devised, and the majority of
working watchmakers would become
useless. The consequence would be
that the watch would becoma enormous
ly enhanced in value, and its possession
a token of wealth. You see, in your
complicated stata of society even ma
chines in the process of time come to
surround themselves with a circle of
vested interests which embarrass at
tempts at improvement." '
"You are interesting mo," remarked
the stout customer, as he replaced his
watch in his pocket, "ion have been
many years in the business, I suppose.
Of course there must h.ive been some
improvement in your time?" j
"Of course. Watches during the last
ten years have grown much in thickneji.
Old-fashioned watches are thin and il.it.
I have had a watch in my charge a3 thin
as a trade dollar. It is imu;ssible to
prooerly adjust the works for heat, cold
and position under such cireumstinces.
I should have to give you a long explan
ation cf the packing mechanism to ex
plain to you why." t
"Well, has the increased thickness
raised tbe value?"
"No. on the contrary. Watches are
now worth 2-j per cent less than thev
were twelve years ago. That fact, you
will say, bears against my previous re
marks. -I am referring to the cheaper
grades of watches worn by tho majority
of people. There are watches which
bring S1500 and watches .which cau be
purchased for S18 a dozen. J If you are
willing to pav Ifor costly work, almost
anything can be accomplished."
I mado a watch for a phvsician which
fitted into a signet ring not much larger
than a pea. It had only second hands
It was perfectly accurate, and was used
by the doctor to time the pulse of his pa
tients. lhat cost feiuu. NVatches are
made from the size of a ten cent piece to
half a dollar, and worn as trinkets by
ladies. They are also fitted in bracelets,
brooches, tops of watches, eye glasses,
and even umbrella bandies; but they are
very luxurious tors. i
The stout man pud his bill and went
home. j
Robert Emmet. !
Of late years the annual anniversary of
the birth of Robert Emmet has been of a
character unusually demonstrative. The
present disturbances in Ireland remind
everr Irishman of tho troubles and
sufferings of a century, from the time of
Emmet to the present day. j The purity
and loftiness of Emmet's patriotism and
his tragic death for his country, have
won the admiration of the world, and
the endurinor and tender ' love of his
countrymen, I
Robert Emmet was born in Dublin on
the 5th day of March 17 7. Me. was
hanged in the same city, September 20,
1803. He gained high honors at Trinity
College, from which he was ultimately
expelled for avowing himself a repubh
can. He joiued the association of united
Irishmen, whose object was to separate
Ireland from Great Britain and to es
tablish an independent republic, and he
was implicated in the rebellion of 1798.
After the faiiuro of this attempt he
escaped to France, returned secretly to
Dublin in 1802, reorgauizad tho mal
contents, established various depots of
powder and fire arms in different parts of
the city, and fixed upon July 23, 1803, as
th tinie to seize the castle and arsenals
of Dublin. On the evening of that day
ho directed the distribution of pikes
among the as?embleJ conspirators, to
whom he delivered an animated
harangue. The insurgent band, march
ing with cheers into the principal street
and being swelled into an immense and
furious mob, assassinated Chief J ustice
Kilwarden..who was passing in his carri
age, but hesitated to follow their
enthusiastic leader to the castle, and dis
persed at the first volley from a party of
soldiers. Emmet, in disgust at the out
rages aud pusillanimity of the insurgents,
abandoned them, and escaped to the
i Wicklow mountains
After the failure
i of the first blow he checked the other
movements which had been projected,
husbanding his resources in the hope of
soon renewmg the revolt. He might
have evaded the pursuit of the govern
ment, but a tender attachment which
subsisted between him and Miss Curran,
the daughter of the celebrated barrister,
induced him to return to Dublin to bid
her farewell before leaving the country.
He wae tracked, apprehended, tried, and
convicted of high trerson. He defended
his own cause, delivering an address to
the judge and jury of remarkable
eloquence and pathos, and met his fate
with courage. His fate and that of Miss
Curran are the subjects of two of tbe
finest of Moore's Irish Melodies.
Robert Emmet had three sisters and
five brothers residents of this country.
The brothers wer all distinguished men,
the most eminent being Thomas Addis
Emmet, who was at the bead of the New
York bar and Master of Chancery, until
that office was abolished. His daughter.
Miss Margaret Emmet, died at the age
of ninety years, March 1, 1883, in New
York, surrounded by tho surviving mem
bers of her distinguished family. She
was the laat of the Emmets who were
born in Ireland.
New Michigan Senator.
Thomas Witherell Palmer was born
January 25, 1830, oue of a family of nino
children. His father, Thomas Palmer,
was a well-known businessman of Mich
igan, and his mother, whose maiden
name was Mary A. Witherell, was the
sister of the late Judge Witherell, of the
Wayne circuit court. The senator-eleet
was educated at the University of Michi
gan, Ann Arbor. After leaving college
he mad 9 a pedestrian tour in Spain, and
supplemented this useful experience
with a residence in South America of
several months' duration. He began a
real-estate business in Detroit, in the
year 1853. Two years afterward be mar
ried a daughter of the lftte Charles P.
Merrill, owner of one of the largest lum
ber businesses in Michigan, and became
associated with his father-in-law in its
management and ownership. Mr. Palmer
and his wife inherited Mr. Merrill's bus-
ness interests on the death of that gen
tlemen, and the senator-elect continues
the sale of lumber ' at various points in
the state, where he is represented by
agents- acting as local partners. Mr.
Palmer has served one term as a member
of the board of estimates and one as state
aecator. He was defeated as a candidate
for congress in the campaign of 1876.
As a man of culture, successful in busi
ness, an ablo speaker, and possession
pleasing social characteristics, Senator-
elect Palmer is likely to make his mark
iu the senate of the United States.
Due D' An male.'
The Due d'Aumale is the fourth son of
King Louis Phillippe, and is the ablest
of the Orieansjprinces. He is now sixty-
one years of age, his profession is that
of a soldier, and before the revolution of
1848 be had rendered valuable assistance
in the conquest of Algeria. The events
which drove bis father into exile also
caused him to take up hi residence in
England, where he resided from 1818 to
1871.'
After the overthrow of the Second
Empiro the Duo d'Aumale returned to
I ranee, wan elected a member of the
National Assembly and resumed his
position as a general of the French army.
In this capacity he acted as president of
the court martial which condemned
Marshal Bazaine to death for his alleged
treachery in the surrender of Metz. Up
to the year 1879 the Due d'Aumale com
manded the seventh corps d armee. His
present position is that of inspector-gen
eral. He - is a man of great wealth, an
accomplished scholar, a member of the
French Academy and an author. At the
present time there seem 6 to be a doubt
whether the House of Deputies will suc
ceed in their desire to effect the exile of
all tho Orleans princes, the Due
d'Aumale among the number. The heir
to the throne in the Orleans family is the
Comte de Paris, son of the Duke of
Orleans, eldest son of King Louis
Phillippe.
One Picture of Life in a City.
This morning Captain Kerr noticed a
young and pretty girl walking to and fro
on the north stdo of the viaduct, appar
ently in deep thought. "I thought per
haps she was waiting for ber lover, paid
Kerr afterwards, "and paid little atten
tion to her. About an hour after I first
noticed her, Jverr continued, "I was
sweeping off the draw. There were very
few people on the bridge at the time.
Suddenly, as if by inspiration, I turned
round and the sight that met my gaze
froze the blood in my veins. There was
that girl standing on the narrow project
ing edge outside the railing on the north
side of the drawbridge, eighty feet
above the river. She was holding on to
the railing with one hand, looking down
into the river below, preparing for a leap
to death. I sprang forward and seized
her. She struggled vigorously to free
herself from my grasp. I clutched her
with an almost death-like grip, and thus
managed to save her." Cleveland Lead
or.
It seems that the earl of Dalhousie has
asked the governors of all the states for
their views on the sister-in-law business,
being specially moved thereto by a letter
from "an American clergyman" to tho
Church Review in which it was set forth
that the practice of marrying deceased
wives' sisters manifestly tends to create
heart-burning and destroy iamiry con
cord. A man cannot in this country kiss
his wife's pretty sister in any comfortable
sort of way, says the unknown dominie,
and if he does venture upon that kind of
salutation the wife will be jealous, and
especially so it she is ill. Uue case is
mentioned where a woman became so
much exercised from the presence of
particularly blooming bister whom her
husband liked as to cry and scold on her
death-bed and make evervbody uncoui
fortable to the very last. But the 38
letters which Dalhousie will get from
bachelors, benedicts and widowers giv
ing the executive observations upon fam
lly quarrels; what curiosities of litera
ture!
There is more nutriment in straw than
is commonly supposed, and if rich food
like corn or cotton-seed meal is fed, more
win do eaten by stock.
FACTS AND NEWS.
There are 40,000 women in New York
city who support themselves.
Illinois, it is said, haa a greater iium-
ber of judges than Great Britain, f
A Kentucky farmer has a duck which'
lays eggs that have shells nearly black.
Americans run the horse cars and
... , r il
manage the telephones in msmuhh,
Mexico.
Twenty-eight mining explosions oc
curred last year, of which fifteen were
fatal.
Darwin savs that hornets ware not in
vented until the world was tOU.UOO
years old.
Pennsylvania will build more railroads
this year than in any recent , twelve
month. A leaf transforms into useful work
forty per cent of tbe energy absorbed,
beating an engine.
In Asia Minor there are olive trees
Btill in full bearing known to be twelve
hundred years old.
Four barrels of water from the Groat
Salt lake, aftervaporation, will leave
barrel of salt.
Col. Tom Patterson, of Greene county.
Ark., has a coat composed or eigtty
coon skins.
The pauper farm of Clark county.Ga. ,
turned $723 clear profit into the State
troasury last year.
Baldness, some experiments recorded
. v. , 1 , T 1
by the .RdinDnrgu iueaicai juuran
show, is probably contagious. v
Eneliah eold coin has been so worn
that it will cost $4,000,000 to restore the
$275,000,000 in circulation.
Between 45,000 and 50,000 elevators
are now in operation in ins vnueu
States, of whioh 15,000 are iu New
York.
A Hall county, Ga., man has a hat
which he claims was captured frora a
Tl-Hi'aV. nidi W hiM grandfather durini? -
the revolutionary war.
In tbe course of ten years seventy-nine
murders have been committed in Cincin
nati, but during that time there has only
been one execution.
In the average New York house one-
fourth of the time of one servant is em
ployed in responding to the ringing of
ragmen and small peddlers. .
The first piano was made at Padua, in
talv. in 1711. by Christofori. The first
one seen in England was made by Father
Wood, a monk, and very few were made
there until after 17C8.
One of the curiosities shown in the
Smithsonian, at Washington, is a section
of a tree nearly twelve inches in dUm
eter, which waa cut down .by.-, minnie
balls during the battle of Chance I lor-
ville.
Sallsfled Curiosity.
It
was a quiet-looking man with a
rated mustache, who got on a Cass
avenue car tho other right, and he had a
Bquaro wooden box on his arm, with rows
of holes punched in the top, which im
mediately attracted the attention or a
corpulent passenger with cotton um
brella, who was sitting near the door.
I suppose you have some wild animal
in that box?" said he, tapping it with his
umbrella.
Yes," replied the other, shrinking
into a corner.
"You have a museum somewhere, may
be?"
"No," answered fhe small man, look
ing down at his feet.
"Well, might I ask what you hare in
that box?" questioned the fat man, his
curiosity increasing.
"Certainly, murmured the man with
the box, looking like the chief mourner
at a funeral. ...
There was a dead silence for several
minutes, when the corpulent man spoke
somewhat impatiently:
"Well, wnat is it?"
"It is a mongoose," said the melan
choly man.
"A mongoose what that? asked the
man with the umbrella, leaning over and
eyeing the box curiously.
"It is an animal that exterminates
snakes," replied the small .man, pulling
his hat over his eyes.
"And what do you propose to do with
it?" asked the fat man, opening his eyes
until they looked like watch dials.
"I don t propose to do anvthimr with
it," answered the other nervously. "It
is for a friend of mine who has the
delirum tremens, and wants something
to kill the snakes he sees."
But they aren't real snakes, - you
know!" exclaimed the fat man, opening
his mouth until' the other could see his
cork soles.
'No, that's true," said the quiet man,
getting up and putting the box under
his coat; but then this isn't a real mon
goose, you see!" And ho evaporate J out
of the door, while tbe fat msn stared
thoughtfully out of the window at the
flickering gas-lamps. New York Chaff.
Odd Wagers.
In a shaving match for $200 a Hide in
Uhicacro, me wiuuw a uuio wua a minutes
55 seconds. ,
The winner of a corn-raising contest
near Rome, Ga., raised thirty-seven
bushels on a half acre.
A Salina, Mo., woman won $20 on
wager that she oould chop a cord c f wood
in less time than a certain man could.
For a Bum of money two packages
wrappers at Daynport, Iowa, entered
into a contest. The winner wrapped
3.300 bundles in a single day, using 4000
yards of twine.
A man in a Berlin beer house wagered
four geeso that he could stand on one
leg for two honrs, He fell over in a fit
at tho end of fifteen minutes, and cut his
hands and face on a beer glass.
The Agricultural Department at Wash
ington has it that the average prioe of
corn iu the entire United States fc
eleven years, from 1871 to 1831, incln
sive," appears to be about forty-lhre
cents per bushel. The highest annual
average was sixty-four cents in 1874,
while the lowest was thirty-one cents ia
1878. The aggregata value of the crop
has increased in ten years frcm $133,
000 000 to $759,000,000, though the last
crop was the smallest for the pa it seven
years.